Mushrooms can do some really scary things to animals in nature. Look it up if you don’t know.
Spore War is a mid to high-level Pathfinder Adventure Path set in Golarion’s elven kingdom of Kyonin. The campaign takes place during a war between the elves and Treerazer’s fungal-demon armies. Unlike most war-driven campaigns, the focus is not on mass battles but on strategic missions behind enemy lines, where the players influence the war. War Interludes simulate the large-scale battles taking place while players are in the background influencing the outcome.
Players will start the campaign as 11th-level heroes in the first volume: Whispers In The Dirt. Just about every ancestry and class from the first two Player Core books are suitable, though elves with the Aiuvarin heritage will have the closest ties to the cause. There aren’t any classes that are not recommended, including the new Gunslinger (To learn more about this class, read our review of Guns & Gears Remastered). The only ancestries that aren’t appropriate for this campaign aquatic ones.
What’s Inside?
Inside Whispers In The Dirt are the three chapters that make up this leg of the campaign, a six-page write-up on Kyonin, and an Adventure Toolbox.
Storytelling & Worldbuilding
Whispers in the Dirt tells a much larger story than the immediate things that happen to players as they play. While the heroes remain central to the story, the adventure path positions them as key figures within a much larger conflict, where political maneuvering, and social dynamics are just as important as combat. This approach gives the world of Spore War a sense of realism and weight, and it feels like history is unfolding regardless of the players’ presence.
The campaign balances diplomacy with high-stakes action, ensuring that every decision the players make feels meaningful. For players to enjoy this campaign, they need to embrace roleplaying over combat. The campaign opens with combat, but after that, there is a lot of relationship-building and navigating politics. Players who just enjoy a good dungeon crawl might find themselves mentally checking out early, though the introduction to this book does give the GM some options for working around this. Players need to be fully invested in the setting and telling a good story together, or they might want to skip this Adventure Path. It’s at least worth noting that there will likely be much more conflict in future books as things escalate.
For GMs, this campaign is much less prone to railroading the story than others. GMs are provided with tons of history, culture, and key character biographies that make it easy to roleplay.
Gameplay & Mechanics
As an Adventure Path, players will naturally be guided toward the call of adventure and pushed along a set path, but Spore War ensures there are plenty of forks to take and roses to smell along the way. The campaign incorporates several subsystems, including Influence, Research, and Infiltration, each offering varying degrees of success and rewarding players with valuable advantages.
While the gameplay in these sessions leans heavily on roleplay, the book does an excellent job of making it clear to the GM how different roleplaying outcomes will impact the players and their success. There are numerous opportunities for players to gain insight into situations through skill checks, and how they choose to spend their downtime can be crucial in gaining an edge later on. The battles themselves are also creative, with enemies that employ diverse tactics to catch players off guard.
Artwork & Presentation
This is another win for the artists at Paizo. The abundance of nature and grotesque fungal elements gives the artists plenty of opportunities to create imagery that is both unsettling and beautiful. The colors are vibrant, especially the lovely border that frames each page.
The maps and handouts are both practical and visually appealing, as expected. In the digital version of the book, these maps are even more interactive, allowing grids and labels to be toggled on or off for added flexibility.
Is It Worth It?
Whispers in the Dirt gives both a political thriller and a war story, where players shape the outcome not by leading armies, but through alliances and targeted strikes. While it’s not a campaign for players who only crave dungeon crawls and combat-heavy encounters, those who enjoy deep roleplaying and playing politics will find plenty to love here.
If this vibes with you, it’s worth it.
