Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-20: The Rats of Round Mountain—Part I: The Sundered Path (PFRPG) PDF

4.40/5 (based on 23 ratings)

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A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for Levels 7–11.

In an effort to prevent an alliance between the Aspis Consortium and a contingent of ratfolk with incredible regional influence, the Pathfinder Society sends its best agents deep into a Darklands passage to the heart of Round Mountain, where the ratfolk hold court. But as is often the case for Pathfinders, the journey is an adventure unto itself, potentially deadly enough to prevent the PCs from reaching their destination at all.

"The Sundered Path" is the first scenario in the two-part The Rats of Round Mountain campaign arc. The story concludes in Pathfinder Society Scenario #3–22: The Rats of Round Mountain—Part II: Pagoda of the Rat. Both chapters are intended to be played in order and consecutively; PCs who do will receive a special reward at the arc's conclusion.

Written by Kyle Baird.

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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PZOPSS0320E


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4.40/5 (based on 23 ratings)

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Simply outstanding and memorable

5/5

At long last my only Ratfolk character was in range of this two-parter. Even though she’s just a level 7, I decided to tag along on a high tier adventure. To everyone else who is contemplating doing the same thing, I urge you to reconsider. I’m not saying this because it’s lethal, but more because you might end up feeling useless. The AC of some of the enemies you’ll face will be nigh impossible to hit, for instance. Luckily as an investigator I had some good knowledge and other skills, so I could still contribute. A level 8 Swashbuckler in my party, however, didn’t have that opportunity.

But that’s also the only thing I can say about this scenario that’s negative. The encounters, challenges and lore is amazing. There’s something for everyone. There’s some talking that has to be done, some skill-checks and the fights can certainly be brutal. The last fight in particular is scary. Of course the BBEG has to be a challenge, but this was only barely fair. We struggled a lot, but in the end we managed to best the foe without suffering any casualties. In hindsight, we might have opted for the other way out, but we ended up acting in character and just going for the kill.

I feel like we really achieved something as a result. I hope the next part will be more of the same.


5/5

I've GMd this several times.

It has all the things you want: Good RP and tough fights. And you know that when you get into trouble it was all your own fault.

Not for the faint of heart!


5/5


Nifty Scenario

5/5

I was going to give this scenario 1 star, but then I remembered I'm not the kind of person who cries when my character dies or gets bored when I have to sit through *gasp* a social encounter!

Sarcasm aside, this was a well-written scenario. The encounters were challenging but most could be overcome by quick wits and diplomacy, something that cannot be said for many PFS scenarios.

I'll avoid spoilers here, since I think the individual encounters have already been discussed, but I will say if you have not played this scenario, come prepared for a challenge.


3/5

Played this at the higher tier. Party was tiefling witch, human paladin, human barbarian (grappling build), wayang unchanined rogue and human sorcerer.

I had expected this to the a stupidly hard scenario yet most of it we breezed simply by use of Diplomacy. Two tough fights, one of which was way too hard (but eventually overcome by Diplomacy again) and should have been toned down.

All in all it was fun but rather disappointing. The boss fight needed to be toned down somewhat but being able to actually use Diplomacy for a change made the scenario that bit more fun.


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Announced! Cover image is a mockup.

Paizo Employee Director of Game Development

Kyle Baird!? Be afraid!

Shadow Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Adam Daigle wrote:
Kyle Baird!? Be afraid!

Of me? nah...

The Exchange

This is why I rarely leave the demi-plane of Pain.

Things like this make it seem nicer in Painland.

-Pain

Grand Lodge

Congrats Kyle!

Grand Lodge

Congrats Kyle!

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

Looking forward to saying.. This TPK brought to you by Kyle. ;)

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

This month's Pathfinder Society Scenarios have been delayed by a week, and are now scheduled to be released on May 2.

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
Vic Wertz wrote:
This month's Pathfinder Society Scenarios have been delayed by a week, and are now scheduled to be released on May 2.

I blame Kyle!

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

Dragnmoon wrote:
Vic Wertz wrote:
This month's Pathfinder Society Scenarios have been delayed by a week, and are now scheduled to be released on May 2.
I blame Kyle!

I know you're joking, but it's nonetheless appropriate for me to say that this the authors of this month's scenarios are in no way responsible for this delay.


Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Lost Omens Subscriber
Vic Wertz wrote:
Dragnmoon wrote:
Vic Wertz wrote:
This month's Pathfinder Society Scenarios have been delayed by a week, and are now scheduled to be released on May 2.
I blame Kyle!
I know you're joking, but it's nonetheless appropriate for me to say that this the authors of this month's scenarios are in no way responsible for this delay.

Thanks for the disclaimer, Vic. It's one small part of why Paizo has become my favorite company.

That said...I second Dragnmoon's motion. Let's blame Kyle anyway. :-D

Sovereign Court Contributor

Vic Wertz wrote:
Dragnmoon wrote:
Vic Wertz wrote:
This month's Pathfinder Society Scenarios have been delayed by a week, and are now scheduled to be released on May 2.
I blame Kyle!
I know you're joking, but it's nonetheless appropriate for me to say that this the authors of this month's scenarios are in no way responsible for this delay.

:)

Dark Archive

I fear the release of this scenario yet the thought of inflicting it on my players fills me with a strange murderous glee.

Well seeing how this still has the coming soon cover and yet is still scheduled to be released today leaves me confused and anxious.

Paizo Employee Director of Brand Strategy

Scenarios are generally released at the end of the business day. No need for confusion or anxiety.

Dark Archive

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Mark Moreland wrote:
Scenarios are generally released at the end of the business day. No need for confusion or anxiety.

It's Kyle Baird, there's ALWAYS a need for confusion and anxiety. And fear, always with the fear.

Contributor

Now available!


I love you Mark. That is all.

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
Kyle Baird wrote:
I love you Mark. That is all.

But will you kill his PC if he sits at your table?...


Dragnmoon wrote:
But will you kill his PC if he sits at your table?...

No, he gets a free pass.

For anyone wanting me to run this for them in the Midwest, let me know. I'm also thinking about running this Thursday before PaizoCon and at Scotty's before Gen Con.

Of course I wouldn't blame you if you'd rather have Thea run it. ;)

Grand Lodge

I am officially reserving a seat if this runs at Scotty's

The Exchange

Awesome. I'm in.

This will be fun.

-Pain


I almost forgot... I can't wait to play this at Caubo's table during PaizoCon. muhuhahahaha!

Silver Crusade

I would like to reserve you as well at some point Kyle. Either myself @ gencon, or have you come out to West Michigan, or something. We'll figure it out I'm sure. Either way, this is fantastic. May it get 5 stars on it's merit, instead of the 1's it will in reputation. :P

Shadow Lodge

Kyle Baird wrote:
Dragnmoon wrote:
But will you kill his PC if he sits at your table?...
No, he gets a free pass.

And here I thought it was "You always hurt the ones you love..."

Dan Luckett wrote:
I would like to reserve you as well at some point Kyle. Either myself @ gencon, or have you come out to West Michigan, or something. We'll figure it out I'm sure. Either way, this is fantastic. May it get 5 stars on it's merit, instead of the 1's it will in reputation. :P

Talk him into running it at Ucon at least.

Dark Archive

Ok, after reading through this module thrice now I will have to say this scenario's kill power is over 9000!!

I'll spoiler it and just hint at things but... WOW, just WOW.

Rats:

Ok, of the 3 possible combats:
Shrine: Those opponents will be murder machines. With the environment they set up and their racial + class abilities the damage will be insane. I do REALLY want that wand though.

Optional: This is not optional, my players will fight that thing EVERY TIME I run this module. Awesome Blow + Lunge + passageway the players make = Pinball !! Poor players will be bouncing off the walls for days. Oh, and I love the tactic for WHEN a PC drops. That's just evil.
(Do need some ideas for the chase that we all know is going to happen after that)

Landing: Is it me or does that landing + corridor equal the exact amount of space for the Grinder? (Spike Stones + AoE Fear =run down the corridor and shred your feet apart).
Then a certain line effect down that straight as a pin corridor with a soften earth to collapse the ceiling on them as the waddle away. Wickedly nasty.

Kyle, you are an evil evil man.
I hope I can grow up to be as ruthless as you.

The Exchange

Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
TwilightKnight wrote:
I am officially reserving a seat if this runs at Scotty's

If we have time after the VO dinner, I'm completely up for this.


Mathwei ap Niall wrote:

Ok, after reading through this module thrice now I will have to say this scenario's kill power is over 9000!!

I'll spoiler it and just hint at things but... WOW, just WOW.

** spoiler omitted **

Kyle, you are an evil evil man.
I hope I can grow up to be as ruthless as you.

Only 9000? *cry* (It's probably because the scenario tries to force some roleplay moments. I knew I should have skipped that and went right to the killin')

A tip for the inevitable chase:

Have a small tertiary tunnel just down the path. Utilize the compression SQ. Think scared feral creature fighting for survival.


Kyle Baird wrote:

For anyone wanting me to run this for them in the Midwest, let me know. I'm also thinking about running this Thursday before PaizoCon and at Scotty's before Gen Con.

Of course I wouldn't blame you if you'd rather have Thea run it. ;)

I'm in for Scotty's before GenCon.

1. Twilight Night
2. Painlord
3. Dan Luckett (if not earlier)
4. Alizor
5. Swiftbrook

Now, can we run this in the afternoon and have Russ Taylor run The Rats of Round Mountain—Part II: Pagoda of the Rat afterwards? If so, we may get the special two-part arc reward.

Oh, and I'll pitch in on your dinner or a drink.

-Swiftbrook


I haven't purchased this scenario yet, but it sounds interesting. I am adapting some of the PFS scenarios as adventures in my own, oriental-style campaign (changing Tian Xia locations to that in my own campaign world, making the players on missions from their Daimyo rather than the Society, etc.) -- so far I've got the Quest for Perfection series in progress and Red Harvest and Haunting of Hinojai planned for the near future. The title of part 2 of this series, "The Pagoda of the Rat" makes me think these two might be asian-themed as well, but can anyone who has played it tell me this?

Contributor

They are both Asian-themed and set in the same area—you could adapt them pretty well for your campaign, it sounds like. :)


Paladin of Baha-who? wrote:
I haven't purchased this scenario yet, but it sounds interesting. I am adapting some of the PFS scenarios as adventures in my own, oriental-style campaign (changing Tian Xia locations to that in my own campaign world, making the players on missions from their Daimyo rather than the Society, etc.) -- so far I've got the Quest for Perfection series in progress and Red Harvest and Haunting of Hinojai planned for the near future. The title of part 2 of this series, "The Pagoda of the Rat" makes me think these two might be asian-themed as well, but can anyone who has played it tell me this?

"Round Mountain" is actually a massive chunk of the Darklands scooped up from just beneath Lung Wa.

Paizo Employee Director of Brand Strategy

The PDF of this scenario has been updated (emails informing those who have already purchased it should be going out soon) to clarify the wording on a special boon and add access to a special material for characters meeting specific requirements. If you're running this in the future, please make sure you provide the most up-to-date Chronicle sheet.

Liberty's Edge

It might be nice to add something to warn people who sign up to play in this series that you have to play part 1 and then immediately play part 2 as the next chronicle on the character if you want the boon, so that they don't schedule games inbetween with that character at conventions and things. Other then that, this was a very deadly but pretty interesting and fun scenario.

Paizo Employee Director of Brand Strategy

BTLOTM wrote:

It might be nice to add something to warn people who sign up to play in this series that you have to play part 1 and then immediately play part 2 as the next chronicle on the character if you want the boon, so that they don't schedule games inbetween with that character at conventions and things.

The product description for both this and part 2 state: "Both chapters are intended to be played in order and consecutively; PCs who do will receive a special reward at the arc's conclusion."

Liberty's Edge

That's true. I guess what I mean is that at big conventions, it might be nice for the coordinator to inform them that you have to play them back to back for the full benefits. As most multipart scenarios don't have that restriction, some people might end up having to put games between them because they didn't read over every scenario before scheduling.


For more information on the future of multipart scenarios, follow this link.

Mark gives a good example of how even if you don't play them in order, you can still gain access to the special boon.


Will PFS ever allow PCs to be of the ratfolk race? (via boon or ARG allowance) I have a player is absolutely dying to make one.


I doubt you'll get a definitive answer. I suggest reading the boon from part 2 for a big clue.


Thank you, Mr. Baird... for your response (I think I know what you are implying) and for the scenario- well done!

Dark Archive

Kyle...

Enjoyed getting mauled by scenario, but lived.

Jumped like a grasshopper to stunning fist your BBEG mid-air. He rolled a 1 on his save. It was hilarious.

Please write another soon. Got a good workout.

~ Nbarg


posted a new review - just played this scenario - very fun times


Thanks for the review Michael! It's really a shame you didn't get to play the optional encounter. >:)


Don't worry Kyle - Jesse showed us the miniatures that would be used for that one - and that produced enough bowel loosening on our part for you to feel that your fiendish design was accomplished. Sadly we were just short on time at the end of a long local con weekend to play the op, but skipping it actually gave us some freedom to truly enjoy the fear and exaltation of the final struggle.

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