A Pathfinder Society Special designed for levels 3-7.
A group of Pathfinders recently delved into the ruins of Bonekeep, a siege fortress destroyed centuries ago. There they discovered not only terrifying threats but also extraordinary treasures. Warded by the magic of a senior Pathfinder, the party must explore as much of Bonekeep as they can before the spell dissipates, lest they too are enslaved by the enchanted maze that looks hauntingly more familiar with each discovery.
Written by Jason Bulmahn.
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Sadly I can't give this zero stars. The whole scenario seemed designed to be more annoying than dangerous. Small rooms with hard corners to prevent most of the party from effecting the combat. High defenses for little reason. Traps that were no real threat, just consumed time and out of combat healing.
The only thing really challenging in this scenario was the 5 hour real world time limit, which is very tight, and the scenario appears to be deliberately using up. It actively punishes any enjoyment of the game, and leads to a totally unsatisfying ending - randomly stopping a combat and denying any scenario resolution.
I cannot stress enough how bad a design decision this was. If a scenario absolutely needs to be done in 5 hours, write a scenario that plays in under 5 hours. I cannot fathom how anyone could think this was a good idea.
A scenario that rewards very effective, and narrow, combat character builds, but not many skills or roleplay. Big muscles, good saves and a little healing is all that need apply. I would have liked to have seen deadly mechanics that were handled with more variety of character options. An experienced GM can take the tools and wield them to devastating effect. Especially after luring players onward with their successes to hit an inevitable wall. Wiping 3 of the 5 characters out in Round 1 with a single action didn't make me (the GM) or any of my players feel good.
I've played through this twice now (used a star replay) and had interesting experieces both times. The first time was online with my, and while the party was filled with strong PC's only had an okay time because people couldn't work together. The second time was at a local con with people that worked well together and had a blast, even though we weren't as optimized. We did fine both times.
I like how the first two Bonekeeps felt like completely different challenges to me. One was trickier and made me think more, while Two was a much more visceral fight for survival. Two was a much swingier experience, with things feeling like our survival was balanced on a razor's edge the entire time, with a slight nudge either keeping us alive for another room or ending our run right then and there.
I refuse to give a star rating to Bonekeep, since my personal scenario design philosophy is in conflict with Bonekeep's design philosophy.
That said, I ran this scenario at a convention on higher tier and miraculously the team survived with only three deaths and completed the whole thing just under five hours, which is the artificial limit in Bonekeep. This limit, however, has an ingame explanation, so it's not all that arbitrary.
So what of it? It's a dungeon crawl with no roleplaying opportunities, so in case you dislike it, don't even try. The design philosophy strongly gears towards challenging the characters to their limits, handing out tougher and tougher encounters. To my surprise there were a few combats which were ridiculously easy to the group, and managed to wipe their foes away in 3 rounds' time.
To those with patience, ability to construct powerful characters, and don't get emotional when something bad happens to your character, this just might be your cup of tea.
It just came out a little over 2 months ago as a special... Even if it was available as soon as the annual GenCon specials it would be next August at the earliest.
They still haven't released a release date for level 1 and that came out in January...
The release of The Ruins of Bonekeep, Part 2 will likely coincide with the release of The Ruins of Bonekeep, Part 1. As noted in the latter's product thread, the exact date for this has not yet been disclosed.
I played the first one at the last PaizoCon with a character who is now 7th level.
Do these two need to be played together, for a boon or something, or can they be played with different characters?
Several rewards on the Chronicle sheets are thematically related, but there's nothing on the Chronicle sheet for Part 2 that requires one to have played Part 1 to earn it.
I played the first one at the last PaizoCon with a character who is now 7th level.
Do these two need to be played together, for a boon or something, or can they be played with different characters?
Several rewards on the Chronicle sheets are thematically related, but there's nothing on the Chronicle sheet for Part 2 that requires one to have played Part 1 to earn it.
That's good, as the character who played Part I has long since leveled out of tier.
This scenario continues to be a convention exclusive requiring 50+ tables for the event to qualify and probably will stay that way for the time being.
If Bonekeep I is the template, then BKII will become the annual exclusive scenario in February of 2015, after which it can be run at any event (no table minimum), but would require a 4/5-star GM or VO to run it.
I have asked in the GM Forums as well but thus far no real answer either way
spoiler:
was in a discussion the other day that brought me back to this encounter with a couple questions about it Specifically regarding Resist energy or Evasion
if that thing goes off
do the PC's make 7 saves ... or 1 I can see evidence for both sides of it
I looked at the text in the Scenario and it reads like its 1 save since only 1 damage value listed (1 for each tier)
when it comes to resist energy that could be a big deal (10 or 20 off each explosion)
or evasion ... failing against 2 but saving the other 5
TBH without resist energy or evasion it wont matter ... even 1/2 damage is enough to kill almost any PC there is at that level
In the 6-7 subtier, the Ratfolk are listed to have a +4 shield bonus to AC. What gives them that? They're fighting with two weapons or spellcasting, with the only defensive spell being Mage Armor
Unlikely to ever go public. The idea of these are for 4+star GM or VO exclusives. I assume that if your account is registered as 4+star GM or VO, then it will be available to you. Another option would be that if you are eligible and cannot access it, contact your VC and I am sure he or she will fix things up.
Scenario-6-98-Serpents-Rise
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