paizo.com Recent Reviews of Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDFpaizo.com Recent Reviews of Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF2018-12-04T20:11:52Z2018-12-04T20:11:52ZPathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF: Better than I expected (4 stars)Ascalaphushttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8dai?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-51-The-City-of-Strangers-Part-I-The-Shadow-Gambit2017-06-20T06:27:09Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>I played this last weekend at the 6-7 tier with a six-player party, and both us and the GM were expecting a walkover. That didn't happen however. We triumphed but it took some ingenuity; in some of the fights the enemies are well-placed to handle PC crowds.</p>
<p>The thing to remember when playing this adventure is that at the time of this scenario, <i>nobody</i> knows about "that other lodge". It's not until the next season that they come out of the closet.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>I played this last weekend at the 6-7 tier with a six-player party, and both us and the GM were expecting a walkover. That didn't happen however. We triumphed but it took some ingenuity; in some of the fights the enemies are well-placed to handle PC crowds.</p>
<p>The thing to remember when playing this adventure is that at the time of this scenario, <i>nobody</i> knows about "that other lodge". It's not until the next season that they come out of the closet.</p>Ascalaphus2017-06-20T06:27:09ZPathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF: All on the GM hands (4 stars)N Mayoralhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8dai?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-51-The-City-of-Strangers-Part-I-The-Shadow-Gambit2016-05-28T14:01:05Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>This adventure can be pretty boring or an excellent adventure depending entirely on how the GM prepares it.</p>
<p>In my opinion, completing the adventure with a full background on the City of Kaer Maga taken from the Pathfinder Campaign Setting City of Strangers is a must, and gives the adventure the flavour it might be lacking.</p>
<p>Only downside are the encounters which can be quite easy for some parties. Big room for role playing on this one.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>This adventure can be pretty boring or an excellent adventure depending entirely on how the GM prepares it.</p>
<p>In my opinion, completing the adventure with a full background on the City of Kaer Maga taken from the Pathfinder Campaign Setting City of Strangers is a must, and gives the adventure the flavour it might be lacking.</p>
<p>Only downside are the encounters which can be quite easy for some parties. Big room for role playing on this one.</p>N Mayoral2016-05-28T14:01:05ZPathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF (2 stars)Slothsyhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8dai?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-51-The-City-of-Strangers-Part-I-The-Shadow-Gambit2016-04-19T16:08:58Z...Slothsy2016-04-19T16:08:58ZPathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF: An 'Investigation' Where Nobody Knows Anything (1 star)Kurald Galainhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8dai?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-51-The-City-of-Strangers-Part-I-The-Shadow-Gambit2016-03-08T13:12:45Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>The upside of the scenario is that Kaer Maga is an interesting location with colorful NPCs, and that several of the faction missions are funny (although Silver Crusade asks you to murder a civilian for some reason). The combats are nothing special and are all very easy.</p>
<p>The downside of the scenario is the absence of plot. Your goal is to locate the Shadow Lodge, but <i>nobody</i> in town knows anything about it. The various colorful NPCs don't know, gather information reveals nothing, divinations don't help, the crime lord who ambushes you early on doesn't know either, even the Shadow Lodge goons that also ambush you don't have any info. Only after spending enough time getting no results whatsoever, you get the attention of <i>another</i> crime lord who knows where the Lodge is. After meeting him, you get ambushed <i>again</i> by Shadow Lodgers, who apparently followed you the whole time with no chance of being noticed. And then you easily defeat the leader in his lair, although the sequel reveals they have a second lair, that nobody has information on either.</p>
<p>I did have a pleasant time roleplaying with my teammates, but must note this is not <i>because</i> of the scenario, but <i>in spite</i> of it. So while I hope there are other missions to vibrant Kaer Maga, I really can't recommend this one.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>The upside of the scenario is that Kaer Maga is an interesting location with colorful NPCs, and that several of the faction missions are funny (although Silver Crusade asks you to murder a civilian for some reason). The combats are nothing special and are all very easy.</p>
<p>The downside of the scenario is the absence of plot. Your goal is to locate the Shadow Lodge, but <i>nobody</i> in town knows anything about it. The various colorful NPCs don't know, gather information reveals nothing, divinations don't help, the crime lord who ambushes you early on doesn't know either, even the Shadow Lodge goons that also ambush you don't have any info. Only after spending enough time getting no results whatsoever, you get the attention of <i>another</i> crime lord who knows where the Lodge is. After meeting him, you get ambushed <i>again</i> by Shadow Lodgers, who apparently followed you the whole time with no chance of being noticed. And then you easily defeat the leader in his lair, although the sequel reveals they have a second lair, that nobody has information on either.</p>
<p>I did have a pleasant time roleplaying with my teammates, but must note this is not <i>because</i> of the scenario, but <i>in spite</i> of it. So while I hope there are other missions to vibrant Kaer Maga, I really can't recommend this one.</p>Kurald Galain2016-03-08T13:12:45ZPathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF: An awkward combination of sandbox and railroad (3 stars)TheDegradedhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8dai?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-51-The-City-of-Strangers-Part-I-The-Shadow-Gambit2016-02-11T23:19:26Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>I had the pleasure of running this scenario earlier this week for a band of misfit pathfinders. Above anything else I agree with some of the others below that the scenario is hard to rate. It's essentially an investigation-based railroad with a lot of role-play opportunity. </p>
<p>And that's exactly my issue with it. It's a railroad, meaning players can not easily deviate from it. You have to accept a certain favor in order to progress and to proceed to part 2, but my players had valid in-character reasons to not do so. You can have all the fun role-play you want, but in the end certain things have to happen and there is no way around it, mostly due to the second part. It's basically frustrating and I could see the disappointment on the faces of my players. They specifically said they didn't blame me, but I as a GM still feel like I failed to some extent even though I probably shouldn't be feeling that way.</p>
<p>The scenario started on a great note. The players had fun dealing with the first encounter and loved role-playing with each other. They had the chance to really show off the quirks of their characters and enjoyed the first couple of acts. They also enjoyed meeting Dakar - the Taldor faction mission is weird and awkward, but still amazingly memorable - as well as the way they got to him. The freedom they had to talk to NPC's was appreciated as well, though it had to be cut a little short due to time constraints, but the way they had to progress through the story ruined the mood at the table a fair bit. </p>
<p>In short, I'd say that the scenario has a lot of things going for it, but that it fails to be an actual sandbox. It offers the room for it by having a bunch of fun NPC's the players can talk to, but in the end they still are forced to follow a certain path no matter what happens or what they want. It basically ruins the freedom they get. It has a huge amount of potential, but is limited by actions that have to take place regardless of what the players want to do. I know that's partially due to the premise of the second part, but it feels awkward.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>I had the pleasure of running this scenario earlier this week for a band of misfit pathfinders. Above anything else I agree with some of the others below that the scenario is hard to rate. It's essentially an investigation-based railroad with a lot of role-play opportunity. </p>
<p>And that's exactly my issue with it. It's a railroad, meaning players can not easily deviate from it. You have to accept a certain favor in order to progress and to proceed to part 2, but my players had valid in-character reasons to not do so. You can have all the fun role-play you want, but in the end certain things have to happen and there is no way around it, mostly due to the second part. It's basically frustrating and I could see the disappointment on the faces of my players. They specifically said they didn't blame me, but I as a GM still feel like I failed to some extent even though I probably shouldn't be feeling that way.</p>
<p>The scenario started on a great note. The players had fun dealing with the first encounter and loved role-playing with each other. They had the chance to really show off the quirks of their characters and enjoyed the first couple of acts. They also enjoyed meeting Dakar - the Taldor faction mission is weird and awkward, but still amazingly memorable - as well as the way they got to him. The freedom they had to talk to NPC's was appreciated as well, though it had to be cut a little short due to time constraints, but the way they had to progress through the story ruined the mood at the table a fair bit. </p>
<p>In short, I'd say that the scenario has a lot of things going for it, but that it fails to be an actual sandbox. It offers the room for it by having a bunch of fun NPC's the players can talk to, but in the end they still are forced to follow a certain path no matter what happens or what they want. It basically ruins the freedom they get. It has a huge amount of potential, but is limited by actions that have to take place regardless of what the players want to do. I know that's partially due to the premise of the second part, but it feels awkward.</p>TheDegraded2016-02-11T23:19:26ZPathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF: Starts out great, then limps to an ending. (4 stars)Quentin Coldwaterhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8dai?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-51-The-City-of-Strangers-Part-I-The-Shadow-Gambit2015-11-22T20:10:26Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>(I both GMed and played this.)</p>
<p>Kaer Maga is a fantastic city, and when I explained to my players what it was, they were eager to explore it. The scenario starts out with two great combats, then gets bogged down by social encounters. I like roleplaying, and so did my players, but in the end there's too much pressure on those encounters and not enough attention to making this scenario fall together.</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>The social encounter part fell a bit flat, as you can read in my spoiler. Two sentences isn't enough to make memorable characters, especially if they're implemented in such a clunky way. I'm reminded of Shades of Ice 2, with a similar disappointing mechanic. You'd think that a season later they'd have learned from their mistakes, but apparently not.
<br />
The meeting with the information broker was very memorable, though, and I would have liked to see more of that, impress the hostile nature of the town on the players. The Taldor faction mission is great, though silly.</p>
<p>And then the final encounter. Hoo boy.
<br />
[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>I did like the encounter difficulty. I've mostly GMed earlier seasons, and there they just wiped the floor with every encounter. Here, (barely tier 3-4), every fight was a challenge (though also through terrible rolls by the party, I must admit), though not insurmountable. I did see quite a bit of errors in statblocks, though. Also, why are there so many potions? In the second encounter, all enemies have three potions of CLW each, that's way more than my party needed, especially since they also got seven from the first encounter.</p>
<p>In short, great adventure with amazing atmosphere. Too bad it sort of petered out in the end.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>(I both GMed and played this.)</p>
<p>Kaer Maga is a fantastic city, and when I explained to my players what it was, they were eager to explore it. The scenario starts out with two great combats, then gets bogged down by social encounters. I like roleplaying, and so did my players, but in the end there's too much pressure on those encounters and not enough attention to making this scenario fall together.</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>The social encounter part fell a bit flat, as you can read in my spoiler. Two sentences isn't enough to make memorable characters, especially if they're implemented in such a clunky way. I'm reminded of Shades of Ice 2, with a similar disappointing mechanic. You'd think that a season later they'd have learned from their mistakes, but apparently not.
<br />
The meeting with the information broker was very memorable, though, and I would have liked to see more of that, impress the hostile nature of the town on the players. The Taldor faction mission is great, though silly.</p>
<p>And then the final encounter. Hoo boy.
<br />
[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>I did like the encounter difficulty. I've mostly GMed earlier seasons, and there they just wiped the floor with every encounter. Here, (barely tier 3-4), every fight was a challenge (though also through terrible rolls by the party, I must admit), though not insurmountable. I did see quite a bit of errors in statblocks, though. Also, why are there so many potions? In the second encounter, all enemies have three potions of CLW each, that's way more than my party needed, especially since they also got seven from the first encounter.</p>
<p>In short, great adventure with amazing atmosphere. Too bad it sort of petered out in the end.</p>Quentin Coldwater2015-11-22T20:10:26ZPathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF: Lots of fun, lots of RP (4 stars)Amanda Plagemanhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8dai?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-51-The-City-of-Strangers-Part-I-The-Shadow-Gambit2015-09-10T00:52:29Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>GM'd, not played.</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>GM'd, not played.</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>Amanda Plageman2015-09-10T00:52:29ZPathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF: Almost Perfect (4 stars)Eryx_UKhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8dai?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-51-The-City-of-Strangers-Part-I-The-Shadow-Gambit2014-12-31T23:56:34Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>Played this at low tier.</p>
<p>I absolutely enjoyed playing this. It was a real delight to find a scenario that isn't OTT combats and silly darkness/blindness style encounters.</p>
<p>There was a hell of a lot of room to actual role play for a change which was really refreshing. The combats were simple and over quickly.</p>
<p>The only reason I didn't rate as 5 stars is because even with a lot of role play and good diplomacy checks it still felt like it took forever to actually get anywhere in finding the NPCs and clues we needed. A little more work there and this would have been 5 stars.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>Played this at low tier.</p>
<p>I absolutely enjoyed playing this. It was a real delight to find a scenario that isn't OTT combats and silly darkness/blindness style encounters.</p>
<p>There was a hell of a lot of room to actual role play for a change which was really refreshing. The combats were simple and over quickly.</p>
<p>The only reason I didn't rate as 5 stars is because even with a lot of role play and good diplomacy checks it still felt like it took forever to actually get anywhere in finding the NPCs and clues we needed. A little more work there and this would have been 5 stars.</p>Eryx_UK2014-12-31T23:56:34ZPathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF (2 stars)Woranhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8dai?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-51-The-City-of-Strangers-Part-I-The-Shadow-Gambit2014-10-13T13:28:12Z<p>This is a hard scenario to rate.</p>
<p>It has a lot of potential for a real scenic roleplay adventure.
<br />
But too much depends on the preparation of the GM and the party you get. Even if the GM reads this 20 times, there is just so much more to Kaer Maga then described here. A more experienced GM that has the City of Strangers book, and/or ran something like the Godsmouth Heresy, will get more out of this. But that is not something you can or should expect of someone.</p>
<p>Also, if the party fails to have certain skills, it can easily end up with a boring dice rolling excercise to get what you need.</p>
<p>Hence my bad rating. Too much is left up to circumstance. With the right party and right GM, this could be a four or five. But that combination is not something that should be counted on in PFS.</p><p>This is a hard scenario to rate.</p>
<p>It has a lot of potential for a real scenic roleplay adventure.
<br />
But too much depends on the preparation of the GM and the party you get. Even if the GM reads this 20 times, there is just so much more to Kaer Maga then described here. A more experienced GM that has the City of Strangers book, and/or ran something like the Godsmouth Heresy, will get more out of this. But that is not something you can or should expect of someone.</p>
<p>Also, if the party fails to have certain skills, it can easily end up with a boring dice rolling excercise to get what you need.</p>
<p>Hence my bad rating. Too much is left up to circumstance. With the right party and right GM, this could be a four or five. But that combination is not something that should be counted on in PFS.</p>Woran2014-10-13T13:28:12ZPathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF: Excellent social scenario (5 stars)Netopalishttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8dai?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-51-The-City-of-Strangers-Part-I-The-Shadow-Gambit2014-08-29T17:52:28Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>Personally, I am fond of investigative scenarios. This one presents a great number of intriguing NPCs for the party to encounter. Kaer Maga is a fantastic setting, and this adventure and its counterpart showcase it well. If you are considering GMming this, be prepared to think on the fly and really get into the NPCs heads. The difference between a poor running of this and an excellent one is how well those NPCs are played.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>Personally, I am fond of investigative scenarios. This one presents a great number of intriguing NPCs for the party to encounter. Kaer Maga is a fantastic setting, and this adventure and its counterpart showcase it well. If you are considering GMming this, be prepared to think on the fly and really get into the NPCs heads. The difference between a poor running of this and an excellent one is how well those NPCs are played.</p>Netopalis2014-08-29T17:52:28ZPathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF: FRUSTRATION (2 stars)patharhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8dai?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-51-The-City-of-Strangers-Part-I-The-Shadow-Gambit2012-07-05T21:23:44Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>I found this module to be incredibly frustrating. First of all, the thing about Society play is you aren't always going to get all the skills represented at a table. Sometimes a table is all combat builds. Sometimes it's all stealth builds.</p>
<p>Sometimes it's a great combination but still nobody has a decent diplomacy modifier.</p>
<p>In which case a module where one source leads to another leads to another leads to another with branching dead ends off every chain and a DC 20 diplomacy check is BASICALLY IMPOSSIBLE.</p>
<p>Failing until the GM takes pity is not my idea of a good time.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>I found this module to be incredibly frustrating. First of all, the thing about Society play is you aren't always going to get all the skills represented at a table. Sometimes a table is all combat builds. Sometimes it's all stealth builds.</p>
<p>Sometimes it's a great combination but still nobody has a decent diplomacy modifier.</p>
<p>In which case a module where one source leads to another leads to another leads to another with branching dead ends off every chain and a DC 20 diplomacy check is BASICALLY IMPOSSIBLE.</p>
<p>Failing until the GM takes pity is not my idea of a good time.</p>pathar2012-07-05T21:23:44ZPathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF: Really need to prepare to GM this scenario (3 stars)Masikahttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8dai?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-51-The-City-of-Strangers-Part-I-The-Shadow-Gambit2011-07-06T05:27:06Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>Great scenario with balanced encounters. There are 6 scenes with one optional scene. Only downside is to GM this you need to do research to do it justice. Not a great pick up and run adventure.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>Great scenario with balanced encounters. There are 6 scenes with one optional scene. Only downside is to GM this you need to do research to do it justice. Not a great pick up and run adventure.</p>Masika2011-07-06T05:27:06ZPathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF: Very Mixed review (5 stars)Red-Assassinhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8dai?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-51-The-City-of-Strangers-Part-I-The-Shadow-Gambit2011-03-27T21:52:45Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>First I have ran this and played it more than once/I have later changed my review I think I have ran it 4x so far.</p>
<p>Roleplay 3 stars
<br />
Roleplay with a dm familiar with the City of Strangers 5 Stars
<br />
Combat 2 Stars, Combat with experience running this multiple times 5 stars.</p>
<p>If you do run this purchase the city of strangers book. I think it totally changes the mod. Then sit back and let the city tell a story to the players.</p>
<p>It is hard to rate this one, as I have played then ran it, ran it more and more. I quickly find it to be my favorite scenario to date.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>First I have ran this and played it more than once/I have later changed my review I think I have ran it 4x so far.</p>
<p>Roleplay 3 stars
<br />
Roleplay with a dm familiar with the City of Strangers 5 Stars
<br />
Combat 2 Stars, Combat with experience running this multiple times 5 stars.</p>
<p>If you do run this purchase the city of strangers book. I think it totally changes the mod. Then sit back and let the city tell a story to the players.</p>
<p>It is hard to rate this one, as I have played then ran it, ran it more and more. I quickly find it to be my favorite scenario to date.</p>Red-Assassin2011-03-27T21:52:45ZPathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF: Good, not awesome (3 stars)James Laubackerhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8dai?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-51-The-City-of-Strangers-Part-I-The-Shadow-Gambit2011-03-23T20:52:58Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>This module is very well written, but the combat encounters are both underpowered and boring. CR2 Goblins at Tier 7? That's just a waste of time at that level. Both part 1 and part 2 suffer from the same problem as so many Pathfinder Society mods - its a 'Humans and Humanoids' adventure, 99.9% of the Bestiary is ignored.
<br />
Kaer Maga is an original setting to be sure, but only if you have the book describing it, all that detail is completely left out of the mod, and for the most part, the locations suffer a lack of description.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>This module is very well written, but the combat encounters are both underpowered and boring. CR2 Goblins at Tier 7? That's just a waste of time at that level. Both part 1 and part 2 suffer from the same problem as so many Pathfinder Society mods - its a 'Humans and Humanoids' adventure, 99.9% of the Bestiary is ignored.
<br />
Kaer Maga is an original setting to be sure, but only if you have the book describing it, all that detail is completely left out of the mod, and for the most part, the locations suffer a lack of description.</p>James Laubacker2011-03-23T20:52:58ZPathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF: The Pinacle of Role-Play Scenarios to Date (5 stars)MisterSlankyhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8dai?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-51-The-City-of-Strangers-Part-I-The-Shadow-Gambit2011-03-20T03:03:41Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>I decided upon 5 stars for this module because I simply don't want to give the wrong impression about my overall feelings. While there is one minor misstep throughout this module, none to date have oozed roleplay from its pores like <i>The Shadow Gambit</i>. While most modules offer up some routine and good opportunities for the people who like to roleplay, none that I have played have an entire section with upwards of an hour of play dedicated to it like this module. In my experience, with the right ambiance, players get a chance to feel like they're part of this city, and for the first time ever the faction missions play a significant part of it.</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>If you're planning on GMing this module, you really need to understand Kaer Maga because the only way to successfully run it, is to let the city speak for itself. Frankly, you should just go out and buy <a href="http://paizo.com/store/games/roleplayingGames/p/pathfinderRPG/paizo/pathfinderChronicles/v5748btpy8fda&source=search" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><b>The City of Strangers</b></a> not only because it's such a good book, but because it makes the module just that much better.</p>
<p>My one issue is similar to Doug's. The encounters are not significantly challenging. It makes for a great introductory module because of this, but after a session or two (or Gods forbid 2nd level players), they will simply blow through the encounters as written. As I mentioned a the beginning of my review though, none of this matters though when the module is just that strong to begin with.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>I decided upon 5 stars for this module because I simply don't want to give the wrong impression about my overall feelings. While there is one minor misstep throughout this module, none to date have oozed roleplay from its pores like <i>The Shadow Gambit</i>. While most modules offer up some routine and good opportunities for the people who like to roleplay, none that I have played have an entire section with upwards of an hour of play dedicated to it like this module. In my experience, with the right ambiance, players get a chance to feel like they're part of this city, and for the first time ever the faction missions play a significant part of it.</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>If you're planning on GMing this module, you really need to understand Kaer Maga because the only way to successfully run it, is to let the city speak for itself. Frankly, you should just go out and buy <a href="http://paizo.com/store/games/roleplayingGames/p/pathfinderRPG/paizo/pathfinderChronicles/v5748btpy8fda&source=search" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"><b>The City of Strangers</b></a> not only because it's such a good book, but because it makes the module just that much better.</p>
<p>My one issue is similar to Doug's. The encounters are not significantly challenging. It makes for a great introductory module because of this, but after a session or two (or Gods forbid 2nd level players), they will simply blow through the encounters as written. As I mentioned a the beginning of my review though, none of this matters though when the module is just that strong to begin with.</p>MisterSlanky2011-03-20T03:03:41ZPathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF: Great role-play and personality (5 stars)Hank McCoyhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8dai?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-51-The-City-of-Strangers-Part-I-The-Shadow-Gambit2010-11-06T07:18:25Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>While it's not required, reading City of Strangers will be very helpful in fleshing out Kaer Maga and makes for a much richer environment for the players & GM and I'd definitely recommend it. As part one of a two-part series establishing a feel for the city for this adventure makes it easy to maintain player connection to the city for part two. And because many of the faction goals require a bit of investigation within various districts of the city, making the setting memorable was a natural outcome of the players' desire to fulfill their faction quests. This is a great example of how faction goals can be used to guide player action while creating a stronger connection to the campaign setting.</p>
<p>The adventure itself had great pacing between combat and role-playing encounters while allowing everything to flow together logically and smoothly. Combat encounters were well balanced, although somewhat average tactically. The inclusion of some interesting weapon choices helped make them more fun. The real highlight for this adventure was that the PCs were able to meet & interact with several prominent NPCs in the city. Even interacting with minor NPCs that had short but unique personality descriptions became fun and eased the workload of the GM to create them on the fly. Characters that have a high charisma score or well developed personalities will really be given the chance to flex those attributes in this adventure.</p>
<p>Although I'm of the opinion that many Pathfinder Society adventures are somewhat of a rail-road due to time constraints and single-session style, this adventure definitely felt more open ended than others. That open-ended feel worked well with this setting in particular to highlight the uniqueness of the city while requiring the players to interact with the sandbox. Anything that encourages my players to do more than react to combat scenarios makes for a great game.</p>
<p>Overall, I'd highly recommend this adventure and the icing on the cake is that it becomes a great way to introduce an significant, ongoing storyline that stretches beyond itself or its sequel.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>While it's not required, reading City of Strangers will be very helpful in fleshing out Kaer Maga and makes for a much richer environment for the players & GM and I'd definitely recommend it. As part one of a two-part series establishing a feel for the city for this adventure makes it easy to maintain player connection to the city for part two. And because many of the faction goals require a bit of investigation within various districts of the city, making the setting memorable was a natural outcome of the players' desire to fulfill their faction quests. This is a great example of how faction goals can be used to guide player action while creating a stronger connection to the campaign setting.</p>
<p>The adventure itself had great pacing between combat and role-playing encounters while allowing everything to flow together logically and smoothly. Combat encounters were well balanced, although somewhat average tactically. The inclusion of some interesting weapon choices helped make them more fun. The real highlight for this adventure was that the PCs were able to meet & interact with several prominent NPCs in the city. Even interacting with minor NPCs that had short but unique personality descriptions became fun and eased the workload of the GM to create them on the fly. Characters that have a high charisma score or well developed personalities will really be given the chance to flex those attributes in this adventure.</p>
<p>Although I'm of the opinion that many Pathfinder Society adventures are somewhat of a rail-road due to time constraints and single-session style, this adventure definitely felt more open ended than others. That open-ended feel worked well with this setting in particular to highlight the uniqueness of the city while requiring the players to interact with the sandbox. Anything that encourages my players to do more than react to combat scenarios makes for a great game.</p>
<p>Overall, I'd highly recommend this adventure and the icing on the cake is that it becomes a great way to introduce an significant, ongoing storyline that stretches beyond itself or its sequel.</p>Hank McCoy2010-11-06T07:18:25ZPathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF: Quite Good (5 stars)Catproghttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8dai?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-51-The-City-of-Strangers-Part-I-The-Shadow-Gambit2010-10-15T14:56:01Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>Is quite good.</p>
<p>One thing I learnt. wizards do not do well in melee against other wizards in melee.</p>
<p>(Me and the enemy wizard had both used all our spells and were doing 1-2 damage every 2nd or so round. )</p>
<p>the colour sprayed and dominated fighter eventually recovered and we won.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>Is quite good.</p>
<p>One thing I learnt. wizards do not do well in melee against other wizards in melee.</p>
<p>(Me and the enemy wizard had both used all our spells and were doing 1-2 damage every 2nd or so round. )</p>
<p>the colour sprayed and dominated fighter eventually recovered and we won.</p>Catprog2010-10-15T14:56:01ZPathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF: Great Setting, Needs Tougher Fights (4 stars)Doug Mileshttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8dai?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-51-The-City-of-Strangers-Part-I-The-Shadow-Gambit2010-07-13T21:25:05Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>Many PFS scenarios make you feel as if you’re on a plotline railroad that only stops for scheduled encounters. Although the same could be argued for The Shadow Gambit, the players won’t notice it. Kaer Maga, the City of Strangers, is a very colorful and fascinating setting. To do this scenario justice, a prepared GM <i>must</i> have a copy of the Pathfinder Chronicles “<a href="http://paizo.com/store/downloads/pathfinder/pathfinderChronicles/pathfinderRPG/v5748btpy8b7r" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">City of Strangers</a>” by James Sutter. Without it, Kaer Maga is like an unblossomed flower.</p>
<p>As for the scenario itself, the campaign setting flavor is excellent. Kaer Maga is nothing like any other city the Pathfinder Society scenarios have been set in. The combats are the largest let-down with this scenario, being way too easy on the players. Unless there’s a four-player table or playing up, most fights are pushovers. However, the real draw of this scenario is the plot and the exploration of the city. The players will enjoy themselves but there is a feeling like they’re sheltered or isolated from the real dangers of Kaer Maga. The Faction missions are OK and present some opportunity for humor. Sutter’s excellent companion to this scenario earns it an extra star.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>Many PFS scenarios make you feel as if you’re on a plotline railroad that only stops for scheduled encounters. Although the same could be argued for The Shadow Gambit, the players won’t notice it. Kaer Maga, the City of Strangers, is a very colorful and fascinating setting. To do this scenario justice, a prepared GM <i>must</i> have a copy of the Pathfinder Chronicles “<a href="http://paizo.com/store/downloads/pathfinder/pathfinderChronicles/pathfinderRPG/v5748btpy8b7r" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">City of Strangers</a>” by James Sutter. Without it, Kaer Maga is like an unblossomed flower.</p>
<p>As for the scenario itself, the campaign setting flavor is excellent. Kaer Maga is nothing like any other city the Pathfinder Society scenarios have been set in. The combats are the largest let-down with this scenario, being way too easy on the players. Unless there’s a four-player table or playing up, most fights are pushovers. However, the real draw of this scenario is the plot and the exploration of the city. The players will enjoy themselves but there is a feeling like they’re sheltered or isolated from the real dangers of Kaer Maga. The Faction missions are OK and present some opportunity for humor. Sutter’s excellent companion to this scenario earns it an extra star.</p>Doug Miles2010-07-13T21:25:05ZPathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF: Awesomeness (5 stars)Thea Petershttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8dai?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-51-The-City-of-Strangers-Part-I-The-Shadow-Gambit2010-06-29T01:36:02Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>Is about the only word to describe this mod. I both played and ran this mod at Origins 2010. The intrigue that feeds into part 2 is great. The story line and the NPCs spectacular. I can't wait for the successive parts to the series; in fact my warrior will not be leveled until this series is done!!</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>Is about the only word to describe this mod. I both played and ran this mod at Origins 2010. The intrigue that feeds into part 2 is great. The story line and the NPCs spectacular. I can't wait for the successive parts to the series; in fact my warrior will not be leveled until this series is done!!</p>Thea Peters2010-06-29T01:36:02ZPathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF: Interesting and fun (5 stars)S. Wernerhttps://paizo.com/products/btpy8dai?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-51-The-City-of-Strangers-Part-I-The-Shadow-Gambit2010-06-27T17:49:35Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>I played this scenario at Origins a couple of days ago and it was definitely my favorite of the con. I'm not sure how much detail to go into since it hasn't been released yet and doesn't have a description so I'll try to keep things as vague as possible.</p>
<p>The Shadow Gambit takes place in Kaer Maga in Varisia. It has a good mix of role-playing and some good fights. The first encounter is a bit perfunctory, but that's really the only complaint I have. After that our party spent a good deal of time travelling the city hunting down leads and several different individuals. Both encounters prior to the final one were interesting and rewarded us for using our brains. I heard of one party that went in aggressively and was wiped out, so just fair warning to think before you act.</p>
<p>The final fight in the opera house was fun. It wasn't quite as challenging as it was probably intended to be but I think that was due to the rather unorthodox tactics our group used and the way we took advantage of a couple of scrolls we picked up earlier in the adventure.</p>
<p>I also liked the way we were sort of drip fed hints about the organization behind the nefarious activity and the foreshadowing of things to come in the next chapter (which unfortunately I won't get to play until GenCon). Overall this was a well written scenario. It was well balanced and if you appreciate well thought out role-playing you'll like it.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #51: The City of Strangers—Part I: The Shadow Gambit (PFRPG) PDF</b></p><p>I played this scenario at Origins a couple of days ago and it was definitely my favorite of the con. I'm not sure how much detail to go into since it hasn't been released yet and doesn't have a description so I'll try to keep things as vague as possible.</p>
<p>The Shadow Gambit takes place in Kaer Maga in Varisia. It has a good mix of role-playing and some good fights. The first encounter is a bit perfunctory, but that's really the only complaint I have. After that our party spent a good deal of time travelling the city hunting down leads and several different individuals. Both encounters prior to the final one were interesting and rewarded us for using our brains. I heard of one party that went in aggressively and was wiped out, so just fair warning to think before you act.</p>
<p>The final fight in the opera house was fun. It wasn't quite as challenging as it was probably intended to be but I think that was due to the rather unorthodox tactics our group used and the way we took advantage of a couple of scrolls we picked up earlier in the adventure.</p>
<p>I also liked the way we were sort of drip fed hints about the organization behind the nefarious activity and the foreshadowing of things to come in the next chapter (which unfortunately I won't get to play until GenCon). Overall this was a well written scenario. It was well balanced and if you appreciate well thought out role-playing you'll like it.</p>S. Werner2010-06-27T17:49:35Z