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The Urge to Evolve

Monday, October 29, 2012

Back in spring 2011, the first Pathfinder Society Quest, "Ambush in Absalom," was released in the pages of Kobold Quarterly (and has since been made available as a free PDF here on paizo.com). Last spring, knowing that we'd soon be using quests as the format of our Pathfinder Society Open Call and urged by Kobold-in-Chief Wolfgang Baur to put some new Pathfinder Society content in the magazine, I asked frequent KQ contributor and my fellow Pathfinder developer Adam Daigle to write one up for me. And did he ever!

Called "The Urge to Evolve," this Tier 3–7 quest features a sinister plot by a powerful outsider who needs to consume humanoid spirits in order to increase its own might. Set in Magnimar, this adventure can easily be used during the Year of the Risen Rune as a time-filler or quick demo (using either 4th- or 7th-level pregenerated characters for those new to the game), and fits thematically with the Varisian focus of the current season. The adventure consists of just a single encounter and should take no more than an hour to complete, so organizers will likely have many opportunities to run it, even over the course of a single game day.

You can find the Chronicle sheet for this quest on its product page or download it below. We'll eventually release this as a standalone product like we did with "Ambush in Absalom," but for the foreseeable future, Kobold Quarterly #23 is the place to get this exciting new adventure. I can't wait to hear what people think!

Download the Chronicle Sheet for "The Urge to Evolve" here.

Mark Moreland
Developer

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4/5
1 person marked this as a favorite.

I see the need for these especially as demos for curious would be pathfinders. If were going to get dozens of these in the future I hope the chronicles have more than what amounts to boons on the sheets.

Perhaps 4 or so of theses 'quests' make a complete story arc.

Complete any 4 Quests based on Magnimar and get a chronicle sheet with 1xp, 1pp, plus x amount of gold.
The Exchange 5/5 RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16

Question for Mark --

If a player uses a pre-gen for the quest (or for "Ambush in Absalom") can she hold onto the boon and assign it to a character later? (The quest never gets reported, so the usual reasons for requiring a player to assign the resources to a specific character don't apply.)
5/5

I do wish these included a small amount of gold. At least enough to cover the cost of a few consumables.
The Exchange 2/5

Probably don't because when it first came out, they went by the same rules as sanctioned modules and at that time consumables magically refreshed at the end of a sanctioned module?
Silver Crusade 5/5 5/55/5 ****
teribithia9 wrote:
Probably don't because when it first came out, they went by the same rules as sanctioned modules and at that time consumables magically refreshed at the end of a sanctioned module?

Can you make a Day Job check after playing a quest? That could offset consumable use.

Grand Lodge 4/5 Pathfinder Society Campaign Coordinator
1 person marked this as a favorite.

No day job checks are permitted.
3/5
Kyle Baird wrote:
I do wish these included a small amount of gold. At least enough to cover the cost of a few consumables.

Pathfinders aren't in it for the gold. ;-)

Grand Lodge 4/5 *
1 person marked this as a favorite.

Love this quest, but... I wish it was Tier 1-5. Almost all of the usage I foresee with quests is at the HQ table at a con, where new players have made up characters and have an hour to kill before we can muster them into a "real" game. If I'm level 3 or above, I don't need a quest to show me how to play. I'm sure some folks will play them, but I'd really like to see another Tier 1-5 Quest or three to go along with "Ambush in Absalom".

I'm fine with no gold, etc. but perhaps item access might be useful? Something like partially-charged wands or higher-CL versions of spells on scrolls, or other stuff you can't just buy with fame. Wouldn't affect WBL but just provide a way to make the quest "matter" more.

KQ was good already, but Wolfgang & Co. have definitely been bringing it in these last few issues.

Sweet, Daigle invades PFS! :D
4/5 ****
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Scott Young wrote:

Love this quest, but... I wish it was Tier 1-5. Almost all of the usage I foresee with quests is at the HQ table at a con, where new players have made up characters and have an hour to kill before we can muster them into a "real" game. If I'm level 3 or above, I don't need a quest to show me how to play. I'm sure some folks will play them, but I'd really like to see another Tier 1-5 Quest or three to go along with "Ambush in Absalom".

I'm fine with no gold, etc. but perhaps item access might be useful? Something like partially-charged wands or higher-CL versions of spells on scrolls, or other stuff you can't just buy with fame. Wouldn't affect WBL but just provide a way to make the quest "matter" more.

This. The only thing missing from quests is a reward other than an iffy 1 use boon. Access to slightly nonstandard items would be perfect.

Dark Archive 4/5 *** Venture-Agent, Finland—Tampere

Soooo wait, this was supposed to get standalone release eventually? Huh, noticed this on additional resources list so I guess its still usable?
The Exchange 5/5

It is still available through the purchase of the KC#23. The two original "quests" never caught on due to the (IMHO) lack of reward on the Chronicle sheet. No XP, no PP, no GP, no incentive to play. Don't expect to see the web team tasked to fix this, I consider the 'eventual release' plan to be shelved with good reason. Sorry :( The new quests are an improvement, have you had a chance to play them?
3/5

RISE FROM YOUR GRAVE!
5/5

This one did make stand alone status as well here for free...HERE

Though yes, it didn't seem to get a lot of usage due to the issues spelled out by Doug and others above.
Scarab Sages 4/5 5/55/5 *

In Season 6 Cell has a larger supply of androids to consume in his quest to reach his perfect form.
Grand Lodge
Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
June Soler wrote:

I see the need for these especially as demos for curious would be pathfinders. If were going to get dozens of these in the future I hope the chronicles have more than what amounts to boons on the sheets.

Perhaps 4 or so of theses 'quests' make a complete story arc.

Complete any 4 Quests based on Magnimar and get a chronicle sheet with 1xp, 1pp, plus x amount of gold.

As it is, the Chronicle does not come with an explanation sheet to let us know whether the PC's get XP or PP at all.

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