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!
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.
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.)
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?
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.
Michael Brock
Pathfinder Society Campaign Coordinator
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.
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.
