Pathfinder Society Scenario Intro 1: First Steps—Part I: In Service to Lore (PFRPG) PDF (based on
24
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A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for 1st level characters.
In your first mission as a Pathfinder agent, the head of the Grand Lodge sends you on a number of missions throughout the metropolis of Absalom, pitting you against traps,thieves, and even an unruly devil, all in the pursuit of knowledge.
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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Ran this yesterday as my first ever Pathfinder Society event. Two of the players were new, but even the non-newbies had a lot of fun. I chatted with the players about it afterwards and they broadly agreed with my feelings of the scenario.
We liked how it gently and progressively introduced new players to various concepts in each scene:
Spoiler:
- Simple attack and skill usage mechanics in the warehouse,
- Roleplaying encounters and investigation with Auntie Baltwin,
- Puzzles and traps in the mansion vault, and
- Encouraging the players to think outside of the box to solve problems with the imp.
Too bad the final scene ruins all of that.
Spoiler:
- Railroady forced entrance into the alleyway (although I guess you can expect 'forced' in PFS),
- Annoyingly small map where only 1-2 people can do anything at any given time,
- Combat tactics from the enemies that make absolutely no sense and don't work together at all,
- Stupidly high damage output for level 1 from Ledford, and
- Color spray against newbies? Really?
I was lucky to only hit with Ledford twice during the combat. I still managed to nearly kill two out of the four PCs.
Overall a good starter scenario, and besides, it's free!
Length: Medium
Experience: GM
Entertainment: Decently entertaining, if you have a group into the experience. A disinterested group will probably see little more than "fetch quests". (3/5)
Role-play: The amount really depends on the personalities and experience of the players that make up the group. The group I ran through it didn't do too much, despite my trying to "play up" the personalities, but I can see lots of opportunities for role-playing. (4/5)
Encounters: The challenges are varied, but require a bit of thinking on players' parts. The scenario provides some work arounds for stumped players (i.e. skills checks). (4/5)
Overall: The scenario is an interesting and helpful way to introduce new players to PFS, but it does help if GMs are familiar with Absalom to provide good flavor and role-playing for each of the districts the players visit. (4/5)
Would you recommend: Definitely
Extremely fun to play and GM! There's a lot of roleplay as this is mainly a diplomatic errand and investigation type scenario.
As a GM - have fun with the NPCs and let their personalities come alive. This is the first time players will meet faction heads and get to roleplay as Pathfinders, so make it memorable for them!
spoiler:
The final combat was confusing for me as a GM. The tactics don't entirely make sense and I wish that bug would be fixed. It was also my first time to GM so I would recommend new GMs study the tactics a few times before running the scenario.
Good intro scenario for new players, but not overly challenging
This is a good way to introduce players new to PFSOP, especially with meeting faction leaders, there is also some pretty good rp opportunites here, but my group found the combat encounters and puzzles extraordinarily unimpressive. On the other hand, it's a free scenario, and it's a good way to break in inexperienced players, but players who have experience playing rpg's are likely to be underwhelmed by this one.
There isn't really a lot of lore to speak of, but for a basic faction introduction mission it's not bad. The pacing is swift and the straight forward nature of the tasks keeps new players focused and experienced players wary.
This mod truly shines when the GM plays up the NPC's. As a GM it gives you a chance to break out your best used-chariot salesman, distracted little kid, or pompous professor. Show players this is a role playing game, have fun with it.
