This adventure is 34 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page blank inside front cover, 1 page editorial/SRD, 1 page sketch, 1 page ToC, 1 page back cover, leaving 28 pages of content, so let's check this out! Set in a mangrove-style jungle/swamp-environment, the colony of Kith'takharos thrives on the trade with rare herbs and makes for an interesting mini-setting. This being an adventure-review, the following contains SPOILERS. Potential players are advised to skip to the conclusion.

Still here? All right! After being introduced to the mini-setting in the first adventure, this one already assumes familiarity with the basic lay of the land and the peculiarities of the outpost. After having dealings with the Transit guild, the PCs are this time contacted by the Order of the Jade Leaf. The order suspects a connection between the ancient Harlass Orn-ruins and the strange plants and fauna that thrive in Kith'takharos and has hired archeologists to get to the bottom of the matter. Unfortunately, the assistant of the chief archeologist is a local outlaw spying on the order. Worse, a team of plant harvesters has gone missing and it's up to the PCs to find them and rescue whomever (or whatever information) they can.

On their way to the ruins, the PCs will be shadowed by said criminal's poachers and potentially will have to deal with them later, lose them or otherwise get rid of the threat. This might actually make for a memorable encounter, as the skiff they travel on is fitted with a mounted, almost ballista-sized crossbow! At the island (which again comes with a full-color DM and player-map, as does the mini-dungeon Harlass Orn library), the PCs will soon realize that not all is fine: On their way, they are attacked by mutated giant lizards with a rather deadly trick up their sleeves - their spittle is corrosive, as is their skin, and thus they destroy weapons and armor when hit or attacking. It is rather unfortunate, though, that this sq is named "acidic", as the attack deals no acid damage. "Corrosive" would perhaps have made for a more interesting choice. Also, there's something off with the mechanic - the abilities don't use the regular item durability/hardness/item hp-rules of PFRPG and instead opt for a general guideline à la "10 damage inflicted on them, -1 damage on the weapon". While a neat OPTIONAL rule to handwave the whole thing, I can already see player-outrage at e.g. a masterwork two-handed sword taking as long to be destroyed as a common dagger. Sticking to established PFRPG-rules would have been a better way to handle this monster-ability.

Then, the PCs enter the ruins and here hopefully recall some of the information provided by the archeologist: A puzzle based on a peculiarity of the lost culture of Harlass Orn. Unfortunately, the trap linked to said puzzle is ridiculously weak: 1d4+2 damage. At 3rd or 4th level, that won't send any PC screaming. Once the PCs have entered the tunnel and "braved" the 1d4-damage trap, they may find the remains of the poachers and here, the adventure takes a turn for the lethal: Two mutated snakevines, deadly, paralytic poison wielding tentacled plant monstrosities attack the PCs and have obviously eaten the first exploration, which was in the process of unearthing an as of yet untouched part of Harlass Orn-ruins! Once the plants have been dealt with, the PCs can enter the true ruins, deal with another, logical puzzle based on the culture's fascination with the number three and acquire priceless old manuscripts from the place, which might fetch quite a price back in Kith'takharos - if they have dealt with the poachers. Otherwise, they'll have to deal with a rather deadly ambush here...

Conclusion: Editing and formatting are good, though not perfect: I noticed some minor glitches, but overall, narrative and scenario are solid. Layout adheres to a 2-column standard and features nice pieces of full-color artwork as well as full-color cartography including player-friendly maps for all regions featured in this module. The pdf comes fully bookmarked and features links to jump to the respective maps, texts etc. Over all, "The Missing Harvesters" is a solid module with a neat flair: It manages to evoke a sense of exploration of an ancient culture seldom seen and its puzzles, while not per se easy, should stupefy none. I really like how puzzles are used to shed a light on a mentality of a culture that no longer exists. On the downside, though, one of the new creatures uses rather wonky mechanics that WILL have players protest. When compared to the first adventure, though, PFRPG mechanics seem to have been integrated better. Overall, the module is superior to its predecessor and offers a nice evening of adventure - not more, for the scenario is not too long. At the low price of only 3 bucks, I can wholeheartedly tell you that you get your money's worth in this module. While not being stellar, it's a fun little ride and thus, due to the glitches, wonky mechanic I'll settle only for a final verdict of 3.5 stars, which I'll gladly round up to 4 due to the low price-point, though.

Endzeitgeist out.