Funnest 1st Level Scenarios for Complete Newbies

[W E Ray]

My first thought was to run "The Confirmation" again for a 'beginner' table I'm going to be DMing at the brand new LGS at opened recently near me.

But as good a 'first adventure' / 'intro to PFS' as "The Confirmation" is, not only am I kinda tired of it, but also I never really thought it was gobsmacking fun.

And I don't want to have to make time perusing bunches and bunches of my Scenarios to try to remember the 1st level ones where I had lots of fun.

What are the funnest intro-to-PFS Scenarios -- any Season (including Zero)?

Thanks guys!

[dwayne germaine]

A couple of my favorite ones for new players are Silent Tide, and the Frostfur Captives

[TriOmegaZero]

Gotta go with Mists of Mwangi or Black Waters for classic, easy to pickup fun. For more recent offerings, House of Harmonious Wisdom and The Unseen Inclusion are some of my favorites.

[Quentin Coldwater]

3-01 The Frostfur Captives is pretty straightforward, and if you can play up the Goblin's antics, it's a great romp. It's one of the first scenarios I played, and the one I probably remember the most simply because the GM made the Goblins as entertaining as possible, even if it broke some of the rules.

I liked 5-19 The Horn of Aroden, because Lander is such an incredible brat. Again, go all-out on him and you'll keep a table entertained. Do get a feel for the table though, he can get annoying fast.

I recently GMed 7-01 Between the Lines, and I loved it. The mindspace is an absolute acid trip and if you can portray it well, it's great. Again, get a feel for your players, the complaint I got was that it was just a little too confusing.

7-21 The Sun Orchid Scheme is great. It introduces new mechanics, but the players don't have to know they're playing a minigame if you roleplay it well enough (I didn't explain the mechanics about the heist to my players, and they didn't know any better). There's some cool roleplaying here, interesting skill challenges, and a nice bit of lore.

8-01 Portent's Peril is a really elegant scenario. Nothing amazing, but it just works. Fun mechanics with cards, fun challenges, all-around great time.

So many -01 scenarios, apparently Paizo likes to make strong first impressions.

[Auke Teeninga]

We be goblins

[Gary Bush]

Yes, We Be Goblins. Any of them.

[Woran]

Consortium Compact is fun for new players. It ntroduces a well known enemy (aspis) so they are in on that plot. And it lets them choose the missions to their strength. It also lets them rest in the middle, which makes it more fun for casters.

[Philippe Lam]

First Steps part 1 or the quests of year 6 to 8 aren't bad on that point too. The first one on displaying which kind of abilities a group may need, and the other of the ability to get credit even if incompletely played and so need less time.

[Quentin Coldwater]

I'd personally not advise We Be Goblins if they're totally new to roleplaying, as I find getting into the spirit of crazy Goblins is a bit difficult, but otherwise yeah, they're great.

[GinoA]

I'm a big fan of The Wounded Wisp. You can plant a lot of the PFS storyline with it and it's got a nice mix of encounter types wrapped in a "lost treasure" hunt.

[W E Ray]

Thanks Guys!

You've been a tremendous help.

[Ascalaphus]

Night March of Kalkamedes is my favorite. It's the essential D&D adventure; wilderness challenges, a dungeon, dragon, damsel in distress, everything.

What I particularly like is that it doesn't really require the players to know all that much about the game rules, but rather that they need to be quick and imaginative coming up with ways to get through the wilderness problems.

[Hmm]

Gallows of Madness! Especially the first one, Foul Breed. It's a fun module with a really sweet mission for the players. It's one of the most delightful adventures for level one players out there.

And don't forget House of Harmonious Wisdom!

Hmm

[schattenstern]

I made great experiences with wrath of the fleshwarped queen.
GMed it twice this weekend for complete newbies (I even had to explain what a non 6-sided die was...)

[WalterGM]

If you can read your audience, there are some great scenarios to pick from that can fit almost any situation.

Lovecraftian mythos and monsters? Consider 1-35 Voice in the Void or 3-07 Echoes of the Overwatched.

Want puzzles and non-combat enjoyment? 5-11 Library of the Lion and 6-15 Overflow Archives are both excellent choices.

Want to recreate the 7 Samurai? 3-13 Defenders of Nesting Swallow. If you can, get in the other two parts first for bonus points (3-09, 3-11).

Players that want to RAWR SMASH with their 6 barbarian table? Test their mettle in 6-06 Hall of the Flesh Eaters

Want to introduce them to the Pathfinder Society as an institution? 5-08 The Confirmation and 6-10 The Wounded Wisp are what you need.

Do you want to do a multipart scenario set in a 'Lost World' jungle of tribal kobolds and savage dinosaurs? Scions of the Sky Pet part 1-3 (6-12, 6-14, and 6-16) are right up your alley.

Players that want to play Pacific Rim? 2-02 Before the Dawn, part 2 has a giant robot battle in it.

Interested in showing your players the joys sarcasm tag of gotcha mechanics? Force them to go through 4-07 Severing Ties.

Looking to have your players explore a plant-based cult in a barren, mutated radioactive wasteland!? Look no further than 7-12 The Twisted Circle.

Have a table of toddlers and want to softball em? 0-01 Silent Tide is the scenario for you.

Players that want to investigate and solve a crime? 5-21 Scars of the Third Crusade and 4-11 The Disappeared fit that bill.

Do you want to take your players to different planes? 8-05 Ungrounded but Unbroken , 3-19 The Icebound Outpost, and 3-21 The Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment come to mind.

Looking for some urban investigation? Check out 6-22 Out of Anarchy and 4-15 The Cyphermage Dillema. The latter has the added bonus of being about PIRATES.

Need to balance your pirates with ninjas? Look into redacted.

Want to work on your 10 GM specials for your 5th star, have new players try level 7 pregens, and butcher them so badly they never return? Might I suggest Ruins of Bonekeep level 1 and 2.

Still can't find the perfect scenario? Consider trying Starfinder with SFS 1-01 The Commencement.

[W E Ray]

I've never met any of my Players. I won't know their experiences (if any) or even their names until I see them next Wednesday night at the LGS. Right now I'm told three Players have signed up for my "beginner / novice" table.

I've printed out fifteen of the PreGen PCs, mostly Core but several Base Classes as well. I don't know if any of them will have their own PCs already made, who knows, maybe even with a Chronicle or two. But I'm going under the assumption that that's as much as it can be, otherwise they'd sign up for my "advanced / expert" table for the alternating Wednesday night.

Part of me wants to just do "The Confirmation" as an obvious intro -- but between wanting to have something really spicy to guarantee they come back, and the fact that if any have played PFS before there's a real good chance it was 5:08! -- I want to rule that out.
....Ideally I'd run a spicy Lvl 1 Scenario this Wednesday with the PreGens and then help them make their own PC, then on the next alternating Wednesday I'll run "The Confirmation" with their very own PC instead of a PreGen, kinda like the first adventure was in medias res and we're really starting PFS in our second session.

. . . .

As a result of meeting Woran and Hmm at PaizoCon a few months ago I'm drawn to their suggestions, but I'm currently taking a hard look at the "Honor's Echo" Quests because I can run them individually and have more flexibility with time. I'd really hate to prep "Portent's Peril," for example, and then spend the first half hour explaining a d20, what Society is, and going over the PreGens -- then when 8:01 takes longer than expected and we can't finish -- uh oh!

That also means that if I don't do the Quests but instead stick with a Scenario I know front and back having DMed them three or four times each (Silent Tide, Black Waters, Mists of Mwangi, Frozen Fingers of Midnight, Slave Pits of Absalom, Voice in the Void, Delirium's Tangle), I'll better know how long it'll take.

....Ultimately, I'm having more fun briefly perusing through these Scenarios trying to find the perfect choice than I thought -- I even bought four of y'all's suggestions since, holy cow, I didn't own them yet.

[Ferious Thune]

I haven't played Honor's Echo yet, but I would suggest something out of the Quests line as well. Phantom Phenomena is fun and a little more cohesive of a story than Silverhex. If you suspect they may have played PFS before, choosing any non-evergreen is a risk, as you might end up with one or more of the players not being able to play. Once you meet them and have a sense of what, if any PFS they've played, then it should get easier to schedule things. If they truly are new to PFS, then it won't really matter. Start with something you enjoy running, and have fun with it.

[Hmm]

Oh, did we meet at PaizoCon? Cool! Sometimes I cannot join real person and avatar together in my head.

House of Harmonious Wisdom is in quest format and it is AWESOME for beginners.

I also recommend the lovely Phantom Phenomena over Honor's Echo, primarily because you can explain its genre pretty easily. (The other reason is that each quest is balanced with combat and RP, and the whole thing is fairly non-lethal.) Tell them they are doing adventures for a mad scientist in Ustalav, Golarian's Transylvania, and it flows quickly. For time constraint reasons I would do only 5 of the 6 quests, leaving out "monument" in favor of the ones that do more roleplay and problem solving.

With HHW, you can also explain the genre as "You're all the heroes in a Wuxia film, on a quest to return stolen artifacts and prestige to a fallen kingdom."

Hmm

[Hmm]

Walter Sheppard wrote:

If you can read your audience, there are some great scenarios to pick from that can fit almost any situation.

Want to recreate the 7 Samurai? 3-13 Defenders of Nesting Swallow. If you can, get in the other two parts first for bonus points (3-09, 3-11).

I'm taking notes. That sounds awesome, and we haven't run much Season Three at Dreamers lately. Thanks for the ideas, Walter!

Hmm

[W E Ray]

(I was the English professor/ Dean with the mutton chops and the ARSENAL jerseys.)

[Woran]

W E Ray wrote:

(I was the English professor/ Dean with the mutton chops and the ARSENAL jerseys.)

And the sticker of your avatar!

[GM Lamplighter]

Hilary Moon Murphy wrote:

Walter Sheppard wrote:

If you can read your audience, there are some great scenarios to pick from that can fit almost any situation.

Want to recreate the 7 Samurai? 3-13 Defenders of Nesting Swallow. If you can, get in the other two parts first for bonus points (3-09, 3-11).

I'm taking notes. That sounds awesome, and we haven't run much Season Three at Dreamers lately. Thanks for the ideas, Walter!

Hmm

Have you played that series? I built 3D terrain for all three parts for our RetroCon event last year, and part 1 didn't go off due to last-minute cancellations. I can do it at next JimCon if you have folks who haven't run it yet. Unless I can get to SkalCon...

[Hmm]

I have never played it. We should get you to SkalCon.

(You knew I would say that, right?)

Hmm

[GeoffA]

Kwinten Koëter wrote:

3-01 The Frostfur Captives is pretty straightforward, and if you can play up the Goblin's antics, it's a great romp. It's one of the first scenarios I played, and the one I probably remember the most simply because the GM made the Goblins as entertaining as possible, even if it broke some of the rules.

I have recently started running a monthly PF game for some of the teenagers at my church (and one Dad who used to play RPGs back in the day). I ran this, Sunday afternoon, based on Kwinten’s suggestion and it was a lot of fun. Much hilarity watching some relatively new role-players threaten and cajole their goblin prisoners. Giving each gobbo a name and one sentence of personality was totally prep time well spent.