What would you want in an intro scenario?


Pathfinder Society

5/5

So rumor has it that there could conceivably be a new intro scenario before the end of the year. Which I think is pretty nifty.

So I thought I'd ask what people would like to see in a new intro scenario. I don't know if it's already under development, so this might simply be an exercise in theory, but I like theory (and worst-case it might be useful later).

So, personally: Aside from meeting each of the factions--which might be problematic, since you'd have four hours to get a feel for eight factions--the biggest thing I would want to see would be FUN. I don't hate the first First Steps, but it's more like running errands than going on an adventure. I've noted before that Frostfur Captives is (in my opinion) a much better intro. When I'm trying to get people hooked on the Pathfinder concept, I'm much more inclined to go with We Be Goblins! for very similar reasons--it's goofy, low-pressure fun.

Thoughts from the rest of y'all?

5/5

No one has any thoughts on this? I am surprised.

3/5 RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16

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I like that First Steps 1 had a sample of all the kinds of challenges you face as a Pathfinder, but you're right that it didn't tie them together narratively, which turns me off.

So I'd like to see a variety of encounter types, and hopefully include some things that new players should be prepared for, like swarms, invisibility, basic DR, and darkness, just to set the tone for the rest of their careers.

Verdant Wheel 4/5

I liked first steps very much. You managed to meet all faction leaders, and got to experiment various shades of adventure. Roleplay, investigation and puzzle in First Steps 1. Dungeon Exploration in first steps 2. And travel, exploration, logistic and plot twist in first step 3. I hope all of this again in next one.

4/5

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I think it would be fun if the new intro scenario started off as a training mission. I'm kind of thinking of a vibe similar to the Star Trek movie: you start off on a routine mission, you lose your leader and have to figure out how to rescue him all on your own.

You'd get to start off in the Pathfinder Lodge, to get some experience and familiarity with the organization. With First Steps, I felt I learned a little about the various factions, but almost nothing about the PFS itself.

Some of the Faction leaders could drop by at this point, trolling for recruits. There could even be some banter between them, so players could see how the factions interact within the society.

Your trainer tells you you're going to accompany him on your final training mission: exploring a minor archeological find on the Isle of Kortos. He gives you some time to prepare, at which point you can start asking questions, giving players a feel for how they should interview the people that give them missions, and how to prepare accordingly.

You'd also have a Pathfinder NPC to start you off, leading by example. Maybe in the first encounter, you face a swarm and he opens up by throwing alchemist's fire at it.

He falls into a pit trap that closes up behind him and suddenly you're own your own. Now the trainees have to find their way through the small section of dungeon, dealing with lighting issues (dim lighting! 20% miss chance!), maybe some form of undead (skeletons! good thing our trainer dropped his lucky mace when he fell down the pit!)

They find where they believe the trainer must have landed, but it's trapped behind some crazy door with wheels or tiles or something. Puzzle!

Maybe in the end it turns out he was never actually disabled and it was all just a test, although I personally think that kind of twist takes the wind out of the players' sails.

In general, though, I'm thinking of something that basically represents the typical (as much as there is such a thing) Pathfinder mission while providing a certain degree of "training wheels."

Anyway, that could be one way to approach the idea.

5/5 *

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I think the number one thing I want to see is exactly what Mike had said he wants to address with the new intros: it needs to be shorter.

First steps was alright, but it was 12 hours of content. That is a lot of time for a new player to get all the information that First Steps was supposed to bring, such as what each faction is about. Plus some of the factions were horribly represented (Taldor?) in the original First Steps.

4/5 *

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I like Master of the Fallen Fortress because a) there are no faction missions,; b) you don't start as Pathfinders but learn about them in-game; c) did I mention, no faction missions?

First Steps was all about the factions - apparently that is a Pathfinder's real job, to run errands for a bunch of non-members. Fallen Fortress sends you into the unknown, on an exploration mission, where you become a Pathfinder by doing it. Now that it also grants XP and prestige, it's a lot more useful as an intro.

I'd like another one along the same lines, so not every PC you have begins with the same story, but a lot of the elements could be similar.

Silver Crusade 5/5

Pathfinder Academy - training to be a Pathfinder - New NPCs that reoccur in future content, or bring back some oldy but goody ones we don't see anymore. Make it a Module, 3xp 4pp takes 6-8 hours... Xmen school danger room stuff, followed by some "save the teacher" rescue mission that lets the young team test their new skills... The end should have a graduation ceremony where the team is introduced to the factions as they are given awards for completing different aspects of the Mod. <<-- I'd have 6 different Chronicles with each a different minor boon... that way you have the potential of starting your character out differently every time.

Pipedream I know

Liberty's Edge 5/5

I’d like to see encounters that helps new Pathfinders learn to be prepared.

For example, they encounter a cliff or wall that they have to climb. But they aren’t under time constraints and have easy access to a town (perhaps Absalom) where they can buy a rope if they don’t have it.

Basically a scenario that has some assumptions about what they need to be a prepared pathfinder (rope, alchemists fire, silver weapon, etc.), but gives them the opportunity to fail and still have a chance to go back and purchase an item to ultimately succeed. The 2nd PP would be contingent on them only failing say 2 out of 5 times or whatever.

Scarab Sages 4/5 RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

I actually disliked First Steps because it introduced all the faction leaders. The factions are not officially part of the society, so why would the Decemvirate/VCs send new pathfinders around to these people? To my knowledge the only Faction leader that was actually a member of the society was Amara Li, because she was also a VC and head of the Lodge in Goka. The rest are just "friends of the society".

I think it would be more appropriate to introduce new pathfinders to the head of each branch of the society - the scrolls, the spells and the swords. How many players are there out there that don't even know that those branches exist within the society?

Sovereign Court 4/5 5/5 ***

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Well, Ambrus Valsin is a member of the Society...

But I fully agree with you, Rusty.

Scarab Sages 4/5 RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

Right, I forgot about Valsin. Totally makes sense the Grand Lodge not-a-faction-faction is led by a Venture Captain.

Have not played many GL missions, my GL characters are still 1st or 2nd level. :)

I also think the suggestions to include examples of the various types of common encounters is a good idea. First Steps did an okay job of this.

Grand Lodge 1/5

How about a training mission?

Welcome to boot, if you are taken down, you aren't killed but you are removed from PFS due to being an unsuitable candidated. Which is the same thing as dying. Now, you've got a couple of instructors coming along with you and telling you how to prepare for it and how to attempt to accomplish it, if you don't know how. They might provide you with advice like, go back to town and pick up a bottle of alchemist fire, or go get yourself some healing, if you are hurt, etc, etc, etc....

The other option is possibly a guard scenario, where you are assigned a low priority defensive job, to keep a door open, to an ancient grave, while higher ranked Pathfinders are searching for treasure inside the dungeon. Except that while they are down there a few skeletons got through and you have to fight them off, some natives need to be convinced that you aren't grave robbers and bandits and maybe some Aspis Agents want to go in or shut the doors against the Pathfinders, who are down in the hole.

Those are two I came up on short notice.

Grand Lodge 1/5

I like Redward's idea... I think that would be an awesome intro scenario!

Shadow Lodge 3/5

Less barbarians with both a x3 crit weapon and a decent attack roll.

Grand Lodge 4/5

There are a few things I like about the First Steps format. One is that by the end of the FS 3 each character that survives has made it to level two. I also like that they don't have to be played in order. I think there should be a few tough fights, but I agree that very strong crit heavy NPCs should be toned down. Being attacked by 6 goblins makes for a fun fight.
Being surprised by a wight or similar undead that can take down a character a round should not be used in a beginner adventure. You want the players to come back.
Paizo could also use these sessions to help with new GMs too. Perhaps hints on how to role play the Venture Captains. Example: Drangle Dreng speaks in your best Jack Nickolson impersonation.....

Shadow Lodge

Baronjett wrote:
Example: Drangle Dreng speaks in your best Professor Farnsworth impersonation.....

Fixed that for you.

Sovereign Court 4/5 5/5 ** Venture-Lieutenant, West Virginia—Charleston

I think that the new intro scenario should have at least one good RP scene, preferably with some humor. Auntie Baltwin has been responsible for more players coming back to PFS after their first session than most other NPCs, in my opinion.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Rather than introducing the PC's to the various Factions & their leaders, how about introducing the PC's to the three actual branches of the Pathfinder organization? the Pathfinder Society Primer was the first I had even heard of the Scrolls, the Spells & the Shields...
Admittedly, PFS is not strong in my hometown.

But to be painfully honest, I have more interest in whether my character is focused on the goals of those three branches than on the Factions...

Grand Lodge 5/5

More dragons.

5/5

redward, I adore your ideas and wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

That said, I ran both WBG! and First Steps #1 today for some people, and I liked it more than I remember liking it. The biggest issue I had with it was having to tell the person repeating it that they basically weren't allowed to talk for two entire chunks of it. But I think that's going to be a problem with any replayable scenario, and also not something we should do away with--if they hadn't been replaying, we wouldn't have been playing. So ... hm.

Shadow Lodge 3/5

Maybe an option to talk to faction leaders, instead of a mission-giving requirement.

With the scenario giving GMs small pointers to their personalities, rather than just a script on exactly what they are to say. I have no idea what Ambrus Valsin or Drandle Dreng is really supposed to sound like.

2/5 *

1) It would be unlikely that this scenario would kill new PCs, even when played by new players. I think First Steps failed in this department, too many TPKs in all 3 parts. No x3 or x4 crit weapons. Not fun for most new players and when you kill them, you often don't get a second chance to introduce them to the game.

2) Pathar mentioned it, a focus on fun, similar to scenarios like Frostfur and We Be Goblins. This means NOT being introduced to annoying aspects of PFS such as: DR, swarms, incorporeal creatures, and Darkness.

3) It would be interesting and fairly short (2-4 hours).

4) It would be an introduction to Pathfinder Society, without factions. I don't think it's necessary to introduce the factions and there probably isn't enough time for it. Also, if anything changes with the factions, it's better not to involve them so that the scenario is more robust for the future.

5) It would be a nice mix of roleplay, investigation, puzzles, and combat. Something CSI like, with the real possibility of failure (but not death).

6) Variation in case they are played more than once. A random element. The McGuffin or culprit would be selected randomly.

That's a tall order!

Silver Crusade

At the beginning of First Steps 1 it is referenced that there was some sort of training or test for prospective pathfinders. I would like to see what that was.

I would like the Pathfinder contact to send the characters on whatever missions there are and have the faction leaders make overtures to the new prospects independently.

My favorite part of first steps was investigating the orphanage/children’s hospital. I want more missions like that.

I would love to start my pathfinder carrier uncovering some unknown lore or artifact.

The new set of First steps could build off the first ones. Do we know what was in the locked box we got back from the Paracountess?

CRobledo: Three scenarios are needed to level. The standard time for a scenario is 4hrs. That is 12 hours.

4/5

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I'd also love for their to be more focus on the Scrolls, Spells, and Swords.

In fact, if we end up with three new intro scenarios, each could be focused on one of those branches:

Kreighton Shaine, sends you on the aforementioned mission to catalog a discovered tomb, assigning one of his lieutenants to escort you.

Marcos Farabellus, orders you to clean out a Pathfinder Safehouse in the Puddles that has fallen into disuse and become infested with vermin (and as the initiates soon learn, a group of druids that controls them). A glorified pest control job uncovers a plot to start a plague in Absalom.

Aram Zey asks you to deliver an artifact (perhaps uncovered in the tomb) to an expert for appraisal. The expert has gone missing, and now the Pathfinders must investigate, eventually finding him--and an ambush by the Aspis Consortium.

Again, trying to give the players of the kinds of things they'll encounter: destructive fanatics, rival organizations, and, of course, the mindless threats that they loose upon the world and now must contain.

4/5 5/5 ***

Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

I liked the meeting of influential NPCs that carried over into regular play. It added to the sense of the missions, knowing that characters had met and chose to follow their leader's vague inklings and ploys.

I do think that the three First Steps scenarios are too long together (if they're replaced with three different scenarios, I'd feel the same), but like the idea of the introductory "Pathfinder Training Camp" that has been suggested (introducing core game concepts and encouraging roleplaying).

As to what I would really want in an introductory scenario: less druids, it seems like there's a lot of low level scenarios (and the lower level free RPG Day modules) that have way too many druids (at least the one's I've run and played in).

4/5

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Ledford's bodycount aside, one of the bits I really liked from First Steps was the bizzaro Pathfinder party. I'd really like to see something like that again, but with the Season 4+ scaling built in. I'd love to have throw in a bunch of common RPG tropes for fun:

The NPC party scales with the PC party. For a 7-person table, there's an extra NPC who basically does nothing because there's no room for her to get into the fight.

For the larger parties, one NPC just stands in the back throwing daggers into melee (no Precise Shot). Players start to learn about ranged combat. Maybe he readies actions to throw them at casters, still missing because of cover, but teaching them a lesson about readied actions.

The party rogue is vocal and bossy, constantly ordering the others to provide him with flank. Players start to learn some basic tactics (and hopefully etiquette, based on the NPCs' annoyed reactions).

One or more of the NPCs constantly harries the party Cleric to heal them in combat as soon as they take damage.

Have the NPCs "table talk":
"you go over there and wait for me to attack!"
"I'm out of spells!"

Let the PCs gain advantage from this, but also realize what too much meta-gaming looks like in character.

Grand Lodge 1/5

Hahaha! That might be too subtle for some players... :p

Dark Archive 4/5

A tanky NPC terrible to hit +3 and damage 1d8+2 but 25+ AC requiring the PC's to use tactics like combat maneuvers (trip/grapple), debuffing items (tanglefoot bags) and aid another to actually hit it reliably.

I would use it as a training golem or something similar that the PC's are informed about in advance so that they can practice teamwork before heading out into the field

Sczarni 2/5

Aeshuura wrote:
Hahaha! That might be too subtle for some players... :p

Sadly, that is true, but I've yet to see a suggestion made by Redward in this thread that I disagree with.

I honestly believe that an introductory scenario should really introduce new players (and characters) to the Society (more than the factions) and the sorts of "general" things they may face, as has been previously mentioned in the thread. I also like Caderyn's suggestion, since it would encourage players to think more tactically about combat instead of just the whole "I hit it with my sword" mentality.

5/5 5/55/55/5

1) something that shows the flavor of the pathfinder society as a bunch of tomb raiding archeologists interested in knowledge: not the harpers, not the mendevian crusade, not the good guys. You might save the damsel in distress along the way but you're not sent out to save the damsel (or don)

2) A brief Avengers assemble moment for the characters where you go into why they're a pathfinder, whether they got a field commission or academy training, and give them a chance to show off how awesome they are at what they're awesome at. Take the persons highest skill (or ability to hit things) and show them off. The person with disable device is upside down from a rope trying to get the rubies out of some clockwork contraption, the druid uses wild empathy to stop a rampaging bull in the middle of town, a cleric is

3) A brief introduction into the remaining factions, perhaps with some sort of "if the PC did this faction head Y personally extends them an offer"

4) I would save darkness , grabbing, tripping, etc for later. Remember this may be someones first introduction to a d20 system at all, so they're going to still be learning the d20 (that funny looking one there) plus that modifier plus that modifier over there.

Scarab Sages 4/5 RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16

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Rusty Ironpants wrote:

I think it would be more appropriate to introduce new pathfinders to the head of each branch of the society - the scrolls, the spells and the swords. How many players are there out there that don't even know that those branches exist within the society?

Irnk, Dead-Eye's Prodigal wrote:

the Pathfinder Society Primer was the first I had even heard of the Scrolls, the Spells & the Shields...

Ha! There's one!

Nothing against you Irnk, I just agree that the three branches should feature more prominently in PFS.

Btw, the third branch is the Swords - not Shields.

3/5

Netopalis wrote:
I think that the new intro scenario should have at least one good RP scene, preferably with some humor. Auntie Baltwin has been responsible for more players coming back to PFS after their first session than most other NPCs, in my opinion.

The PCs decided to distract with her drinks while the others searched the place. So I had the PCs taking huge drinks with her and got the cleric of Sarenrae drunk.


Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
Rusty Ironpants wrote:
Btw, the third branch is the Swords - not Shields.

.

Yeah, I realized that after I had already posted & I had a chance to re-read my copy of the Primer.

& I agree with you, which is why I made the post I did.

Scarab Sages 5/5

pathar wrote:

So rumor has it that there could conceivably be a new intro scenario before the end of the year. Which I think is pretty nifty.

So I thought I'd ask what people would like to see in a new intro scenario.
....

Thoughts from the rest of y'all?

I'd like the adventure to cover a lot of the more difficult threats providing the tools to resolve them.

Like an NPC with some scrolls - so the first round or so the characters deal with darkness and then the NPC uses a light spell; or deal with invisibility for a few rounds and then have a counter for it; maybe even deeper darkness to teach the darkvision crowd they too have to worry; you could hit typical sort of critters swarms, low DR critters, etc.

I can think of a 1-2 game that teaches characters to have some way to make their weapon magical - but usually by killing a couple - something short of that might be nice.

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