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Good Overall but a Little Disappointing

Swiftbrook — Aug 10, 2011, 04:48 PM

Inside cover: pictures of the 10 faction leaders

Welcome to the Pathfinder Society These two pages give a basic background of Pathfinder Society for Organized play and reprint Day Job and Prestige And Fame rules from the free Guide to Pathfinder Society Organized Play.

2/5: Most of the information is available free in the Guild to PFSOP.

Absalom Eight pages describe the various quarters of Absalom. The material in this section feels like it’s stuff Paizo couldn’t fit in the Guide to Absalom. The included city map is the same art as in Guide to Absalom recolored and with better labeling.

3/5: Good material but it feels out of place.

Factions Twelve pages describe ten factions within the Pathfinder Society. Included with each faction are several boon that can be purchased with prestige points. These range from titles, to skill bonuses, to equipment. Though some of this material is essentially what's available in the free Guide to PSOP,it is still one of my favorite sections of the book.

4/5: Some repeated information in the free Guide to PFSOP but lots of new good stuff.

Pathfinder Society Archetypes As the name implies, these eight pages detail six archetypes. Scroll Scholar (Cleric or Wizard), Scroll Scoundrel (Rogue), Dimensional Occultist (Witch), Seeker (Oracle or Sorcerer), Grenadier (Alchemist) and Lore Warden (Fighter). My favorite is the Lore Warden which I think is really well thought out. I only wish they would have had more Archetypes for ‘outdoor’ classes (Barbarian, Druid and Ranger).

5/5: Good archetypes.

Field Guide Here we have fourteen pages describing some of the various roles a Pathfinder can take. These include Ambush Specialist, Cultist, Environmental Dangers and Getting Stuck. This section is all fluff, no rules, feats, or traits.

3/5: While not bad, this section didn’t really spark my interest.

Society Resources: Eighteen pages filled with gear, magic items, spells and vanities. This is my favorite section. Adventuring Kits are introduced, “bundles of equipment organized around common adventuring goal” … and include a small discount. Five new Wayfinders. There is no reference to ioun stones use in these Wayfinders as was described in Seeker of Secrets. The last four pages describe Vanities, boons that can be purchased with Prestige Points. You can purchase a business that gives you bonuses to certain skills while in the city where your business is, and providing a bonus to day job rolls. You can join an organization that allows you to use various additional skills to use on day job rolls such as Survival, Sleight of Hand and Intimidate.

5/5: I think most people will find a lot to use from this section.

The last page is an ad for Pathfinder Society Organized Play and the inside back cover is a clean piece of art of the cover.

Overall 22/30 = 4/5 stars. Though some parts feel out of place and material that is free on the web is included, overall I like this book.

-Swiftbrook
Just My Thoughts

No good roll goes unpunished

Swiftbrook — Nov 16, 2010, 02:07 PM

I played The Heresy of Man, Part 1: The First Heresy at tier 5-6 with a well prepared GM at U-Con. I think we had a good balance of characters at the table, but not necessarily an optimal or power build table. This review is based on playing the adventure, I have not read it.

I enjoyed that the opening encounter was skill/role-playing oriented instead of combat oriented.

Detailed info in spoiler

Spoiler:

Unfortunately, in this adventure, my good perception check really hurt us in the end. As we approached the caves, I made a good perception check and spotted the tunnel to the right, up on the wall. We took the small tunnel and never had an opportunity to explore the cave to the left. In the end we learned that we had missed out at earning about 50% of the treasure and both prestige awards for the Andoran faction.

My PC generally has a difficult time earning PA for the Andoran faction, but I never got the opportunity to even try to earn it. Even though we skipped several encounters in the caves, I still feel as if I was cheated of the opportunity to earn the gold and PA. Also, I don’t know how we would have finished in our 4-hour slot if we had explored the cave.

In the stairwell/tower, our group had no good way of fighting the Deeper Darkness that we were enveloped in. I’m not sure if it was our group make-up or the adventure, but it seems that even if we did have spells to fight Deeper Darkness, (I haven’t read the adventure) the critter’s Deeper Darkness power would have just drained us of the spells until it’s power prevailed. I spent most of this encounter felling completely helpless.

In the end, I just didn’t have fun. It wasn’t the GM, he did a great job, it was the adventure. We’d played really hard, made some good skill rolls, but still lost a PC and earned no PA and only 50% gold.

Final Thoughts

Spoiler:

After reading the Undiscovered Traitor boon, I felt as if I had been slapped in the face. It has no purpose being on the Chronicle. Simple crossing off the An Agent Uncovered boon should have sufficed.

-Swiftbrook

Swiftbrook's page

Good Overall but a Little Disappointing

No good roll goes unpunished