Pathfinder Society Scenario #3-21: The Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment (PFRPG) PDF (based on
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A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 1–5.
In order to learn about the esoteric faith of the Empyreal Lord Korada, the PCs are sent by the Pathfinder Society to explore an abandoned aasimar temple to the benevolent deity. But what they find there is anything but an opportunity for peaceful reflection and enlightenment.
Written by Ron Lundeen.
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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I played last night in the 1-2 tier, and was so either bored or alternately frustrated that I'm taking the time to write a review. I originally typed a lengthy review which got "eaten", so I'll settle for this adventure is god-awful terrible for most players.
It's boring, gimmicky, and has very little to find in what's supposedly an "investigation" sandbox adventure. We all survived - which apparently is an abnormality, because unless you have a paladin in your party or are able to somehow solve one of the particular mysteries (see: gimmicky) the BBG is pretty much impossible to kill at this tier. The only saving grace to this is that you don't actually have to do so to complete the mission, but many players won't be able to complete their Faction mission.
The GM of my table, and all the other GMs, were continually exclaiming how wonderful the scenario is and how much they love it and it's the best scenario for PFS ever. If that's the case I'm done with PFS because I absolutely couldn't stand it and the only reason I didn't walk out on the table after three hours was because I didn't want leave the other players with even less of a chance of successfully completing it.
I played through this scenario a week ago at a convention, and I must say it was without any doubt the best PFS scenario I've played so far. For reference, I played it at tier 1-2.
What I liked about this scenario is how open it is for the players. There's no railroading, and players can spend most of their time leading the investigation about the temple the way they wish. I deeply appreciated this, as well as the roleplaying experience that is available here. Less encounters also mean more time to do that.
The only (very minor) disappointment I've had concerned my faction mission (Grand Lodge), which was nothing more than an incentive to explore the temple further - which we would have done anyway.
As a conclusion, I'd like to convey my thanks to Mr. Ron Lundeen, and say that more scenarios like this one would be most welcome.
This is one for my collection of favorite scenarios. Creepy and mysterious, the scenario evokes a sort of paranoia that few PFS experiences can achieve. This is a rather taxing scenario on the GM, though, as certain events and encounters can leave players confused and angry at getting punished for no apparent reason, unless they are explained properly.
A few GM tips:
Spoiler:
1) I recommend playing nice with the haunt in the kitchen. It's really there to scare players, not to kill them. Give the team multiple turns to try to prevent their teammate from killing them. Go overboard with description, talk in a hurried and hushed tone...really play it up.
2) Roleplay a lot with the characters before the haunt is discovered, or any of the subversion. It makes it all the more surprising when bad things happen. Remember, you can put almost all of the characters in the dining room for dinner at the start of the scenario - my groups have both made a beeline for that room, too.
3) Prepare yourself well for the final fight and stick to the tactics. The final fight can be brutal if you depart from them - going all out with the final boss will result in a TPK, even with a well-optimized party. Remember, these tactics are figured into the difficulty level of the scenario and its appropriateness for the level of character playing them.
Let me start by saying this one's intro sounded so great. Probably my most disliked scenario yet. The DM suggested mechanic was terrible. It left our entire group not understanding at all what the heck was going on the entire game. This is the first scenario we have rested multiple times in to just be able to move along, and that is not counting the overly brutal BBEG fight or 1 other that nearly TPKd that party before we could really even act.
It has all kinds of great story and flavor, for the DM, but players just dont get to see most of it, which at least for our group led to the DM having a blast and everyone else, not. Some of the faction missions where very wonky, and it kind of felt like some where just handed to you on a plate while others required a Nat 20 on a one time only roll.
Spoiler:
In the end, I think everyone was down except me (Cleric) with no more healing left (and I guess we misundersstood NEA, so most of the damage we did from my Channeling every single round didn't actually happen), and the NPC guards came to save us. This is after we devised a (what should have been) great plan to finally set up and corner the BBEG away from it's allies.
This is an absolutely fantastic scenario; one of my favorites so far. It's slow-building, and roleplay intensive, which can turn off a lot of Society players, but this is just FUN. The absolute confusion, especially if characters don't have certain knowledges, is just a treat. The final fight is horribly gruesome, and brutally demoralizing--everything I could want in a BBEG.
... of course, I'm speaking as a GM. As a player I probably would have hated it. ;p
