Pathfinder: Troubles in Grayce Adventure Anthology (Review)

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Over the past few months, we’ve seen publisher Paizo increasingly focused on introducing new players to the world of the Pathfinder. One key entry point is the recently released Secrets of the Unlit Star, a beginner box that includes everything first-time players need to jump into PF2E Remastered.

As a complimentary product, Paizo has also also just released Pathfinder: Troubles in Grayce, an adventure anthology designed to pick up where the beginner box leaves off. Released on May 6th, 2026, it’s available for purchase now from local game stores, Paizo and Amazon.

So is this latest Pathfinder adventure anthology worth picking up? Below, we go looking for trouble and see if there’s any saving Grayce. (NOTE: We purchased a copy of this book at our own expense and have not received a review copy from Paizo.)

What is the Pathfinder: Troubles in Grayce Adventure Anthology?

Troubles in Grayce is a 128-page supplement for Pathfinder Second Edition Remastered designed to take characters from 2nd to 5th level. As with the recent Pathfinder: Beginner Box (which also just came out May 6th, 2026), the adventures all take place in Grayce, a small town in the fog-shrouded nation of Ustalav just across the border from the undead-ravaged Gravelands. It’s a land known for its misty skies, dark forests, eerie monsters and unsettling events.

The book is designed to pick up from the events of the Secrets of the Unlit Star (which took players from Levels 1 to 2) and contains the following:

• Six adventures: These are for Levels 2 to 4 and can either be run as complete campaign or as individual one shots.
• Grayce Gazetteer: This includes notable locations and NPCs (including motivations and demeanors) and is designed to help flesh out Grayce and its nearby surroundings
• Adventure Toolbox: This section includes treasure, monster stat blocks, a random encounter table and advice on how to connect the adventures to the upcoming Bastion of Blasphemies campaign (which takes players from Levels 5 to 13).

What are the adventures like in Pathfinder: Troubles in Grayce?

There are six adventures in total, each of which contains one unique monster and one unique treasure item. They are as follows:

*** MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD ***

• The Path River Peeler (Level 2): Written by Bill Fischer, players are asked by a local farmer to hunt down the monster that has been skinning his sheep. The hunt leads them to the Path River Peeler, a creature believed to be myth and that may be operating out of an old cavern system. It’s a classic monster hunt with some unique twists and turns and has a solid mix of investigation, roleplay and combat.
• Sabotage! (Level 2): Written by Quinn Murphy, the municipal leaders of Grayce ask the players to investigate a potential saboteur who is causing mechanical failures at key locations in town. It’s a solid mystery that also involves overcoming traps and an unusual monster encounter.

• They Hunger Below (Level 3): Written by Joseph Blomquist, the story kicks off after a huge sinkhole opens in the town square. A local engineer has gone down to see what might have caused it and has not been seen since. Players are asked to track down the engineer and find out the cause of the sinkhole. It’s an old school dungeon crawl with a creepy undead undertone and unique twist.
• The Disgraced Dollmaker (Level 3): Written by Jason Keeley, players are hired by a local tax collector to recover a deed from an abandoned mansion once owned by a reclusive and long disgraced professor. Inside, they stumble upon some of the professor’s long forgotten experiments (including a series of creepy dolls). This one leans heavily into horror and exploring a haunted house, but also avoids a lot of the cliches.
• Sweet Tooth (Level 4): Written by Solomon St. John, players are asked to find out what happened to the local baker, who left town under unusual circumstances. This adventure involves a rescue mission and a clash with fairy-tale monsters along with a slight dash of horror.
• The Count of Petals (Level 4): Written by Mikko Kallio, this adventure involves players heading into the dreaded Gravelands to battle a vampire within his crumbling castle. It is, however, far more than just a Pathfinder version of Curse of Strahd and does a great job of subverting the now all-too familiar vampire tropes.

In general, all six adventures are rock solid in terms of the writing and design, and offer a decent range of adventures styles and formats. That being said, they do tend to lean more into the horror-side of things, which fits nicely with the environs of Ustalav, but also may not be every player’s bloodsoaked jam.

*** END OF MINOR SPOILERS ***

What is the art and design like for Troubles in Grayce?

Like all Paizo products, the illustrations are absolutely gorgeous and do a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of bringing the adventures to life. That being said, they’re also somewhat few and far between and it would have been great to see more artwork included (which is always a big draw, especially for newer players).

The maps are also well done, although the room descriptions do tend to suffer somewhat from the same issues that plague Wizards of the Coast D&D adventures: namely large blocks of text that can be tough to reference at-a-glance at the table. In general though, it’s a well designed product that even first-time GMs can probably pick up and run with a bit of prep.

How much is Pathfinder: Troubles in Grayce?

The hardcover version of the book retails for $44.99 USD (not including shipping and handling), while the PDF version retails for $19.99 USD from the Paizo website. You can also pick up a Foundry VTT bundle called Secrets of Grayce, which retails for $49.99 and includes both the Secrets of the Unlit Star adventure from the Pathfinder Beginner Box and the six adventures from Troubles in Grayce.

Is Pathfinder: Troubles in Grayce worth picking up?

Pros

• Seamless beginner integration: The anthology is specifically designed to pick up where the Pathfinder: Secrets of the Unlit Star, providing a clear narrative path from Level 2 to Level 5, although they also work great for new players even if you don’t own the Beginner Box.
• Diverse adventure styles: The six adventures offer a variety of gameplay formats, including classic monster hunts, investigative mysteries, creepy haunted houses and high-stakes dungeon crawls.
• Expanding setting material: Beyond the adventures, the book includes a detailed Grayce Gazetteer with a surprising amount of lore and NPC motivations. The Adventures Toolbox is also a much-appreciated addition, particularly in terms of the random table and advice on how to continue on with higher-level play.
• Solid production value: The book features gorgeous illustrations that do a great job of bringing the world of Grayce to life, and proves once again that Paizo can go toe-to-toe with Wizards of the Coast in terms of production.

Cons

• Niche horror theme: The content leans heavily into horror and supernatural tropes, such as soulbound constructs, ghouls and vampires, which may not suit groups looking for traditional high-fantasy heroics.
• Dense text layout: The maps and dungeon description suffer from large blocks of text that can be difficult for Game Masters to quickly reference at the table (although this can be overcome with a bit of prep).
• Sparse illustrations: Despite the high quality of the artwork, it feels like there’s some hefty gaps between the text and the next piece of artwork. Not a deal breaker, but it would be nice to see more visuals from Paizo.
• May not appeal to PF2E vets: The adventures are great, but definitely skew more towards first-time players, which may be offputting to existing Pathfinder fans looking for a bit more narrative and mechanical meat.

Final thought and review score

Troubles in Grayce is a well crafted adventure anthology that offers a solid continuation of the adventure started in the Pathfinder Beginner Box. That being said, it’s also a great option for new players and DMs who want to dip their toes into PF2E for the first time. It’s also modular enough that the adventures can be run as one shots or strung together into a complete campaign.

And while the tone and structure may not necessarily appeal to seasoned fans or new players who don’t really gel with horror, if you’re looking for Pathfinder 2E adventures that are fun, fast and flexible, you’ll find this new anthology is a work of amazing Grayce.

Final Review Score: 18 out of 20

You can pick up the book now from your local game store, Paizo and Amazon.