Pathfinder Society Scenario #2-19: Shades of Ice—Part III: Keep of the Huscarl King (PFRPG) PDF (based on
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A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for 1st to 5th level characters (Tiers: 1-2 and 4-5).
Information in the Shadow Lodge headquarters in Whitethrone leads you into the Realm of the Mammoth Lords in search of an abandoned tower of a lost Ulfen king. The powerful weapon rumored to be there could be disastrous if it falls into the hands of those who plot the Pathfinder Society’s destruction; who will find it first?
This scenario is designed for play in Pathfinder Society Organized Play, but can easily be adapted for use with any world. This scenario is compliant with the Open Game License (OGL) and is suitable for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.
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So I'm a somewhat new player to Pathfinder, and this game was only my 3rd adventure. However I have to say it was a massive disappointment. I have been told the first two modules of Shades of Ice were good, but this last one had a ton of writing flaws and was just plain too easy. Way too many unnecessary perception checks and the final encounter was a joke.
Spoiler:
We had a party of 7 and managed to get 4 village warriors and the chief to come with us. So we pretty much had a small army and we're faced vs 4 warriors and their leader - who apparently had less health than all of the warriors. We had a gunslinger, two rangers, and a rogue with a crossbow. We took her down before she could even react and the rest ran away.
The lore was pretty well written, nothing to really complain about. However the gameplay itself was quite awful. I had fun but it had nothing to do with the module being fun.
A lot of the encounters feel like filler, and the climactic battle is a joke. There's some nice roleplaying and lore here, but it's just too easy to be any fun.
compared to the first 2 it falls short. There are some great parts, only 1 real RP moment (tho it is a great one). I could see some people getting bored playing this one.
Strange that the product discussion is mostly positive while the product reviews are mostly negative!
Minor spoilers for this review:
Spoiler:
The beauty of this scenario is really in one particular roleplayed encounter, where the rest of the scenario leads up to it without you really realising it.
The scenario doesn't take much into account from parts 1 and 2, but there is one hook - Skagni's map - from part 2, which you follow throughout the scenario. This, too, is pretty refreshing, because usually - maybe - you'd get to see a map of where you are briefly before the game starts, in the "Where In Golarion" section. Here, you follow that very important map throughout the scenario. In other words, this is not just a bunch of random events, it is a journey that happens to have random events happen.
So, yes, there's letdowns (maps, editing errors, other mechanical things that should have been better looked at), but if your GM is making sure you understand every word of what you come across, and making sure you play your part where it's needed, this can be a pretty valuable little venture. I even had one player tell me it was the best scenario he'd played to date.
I played this series a year ago, and remember being underwhelmed by this finale. Having prepped it, now, that impression is very much reinforced.
The encounters feel like a series of random happenstance with no flow, including one specific one that comes out of left field and makes no sense, at all (see spoiler below). The last encounter is a pushover at either tier, with the unfortunate side effect of being very deadly if the bad guy gets off a lucky critical hit - which will only happen on a 20, and then she actually has to confirm it with her terrible attack bonus. There is nothing interesting about that kind of "danger" when you are fighting it.
Encounter details:
So, what in the world is up with the dinosaur encounter in the middle of the snowy wastes? I just can't get by that. Thermal vent explanation or not, it's just silly. Couldn't this have made a bit more sense? A crystalline cave with a crysmal that wants the gems the PCs surely have on them from previous encounters would make for a far more interesting idea. Or even a batch of ghouls/ghasts left over from trapped, starving barbarians. So many options exist that would make so much more sense and fit the flavor of the region so much better. This one encounter completely kills the mood of "arctic adventuring" and destroys immersion in story.
And by linking it to a faction mission the ability to punt it as an optional encounter and leave it on the sidelines where it belongs is removed, as well. Even worse, that faction's missions in the first two scenarios led us to believe that this mission would be the penultimate item for this faction member to get. A quote from the previous scenario's mission: "Should your journey to the north next send you to the Realms of the Mammoth Lords...no, the thought is too exciting to finish." So it finishes with, "Oh, by the way, get a piece of a dinosaur, would you? Not that you should find one in the snow and cold..." Ugh.
Then, to have the Snowmask Clan do their utmost to destroy the party with a stampede, at the end of which they say, "Hey, can we tell each other a story?" while surrounding them with an overwhelming force? I realize we're playing a fantasy game, here, but being asked to check my sense of realism at the door like that is going too far.
Considering the build-up in story to this point from the first two scenarios, I'm left with the impression that the author of the first two in the series decided to not write this one at the last minute and Paizo was sent scrambling to meet a deadline. Poor Jesse Benner was left holding the ball, and did his best, but didn't have enough information to work with to make a satisfying end to the arc. Unfortunately, it's his reputation that takes the hit, but I feel like it was just poor timing on a series of other events that led to this point. If that is not the case, then I sincerely hope Mr. Benner uses the criticism in these reviews, and the threads about this scenario, to improve his work.
Paizo, I know you have done better since this point in PFS scenario development, so I hope to never see another "fumble" like this, again.
