The Evergreen Desert

Monday, November 30, 2015

November's adventures fit two of the toughest kinds of scenario to write. The first is the load-bearing adventure, one whose contribution to the campaign's ongoing plotline is so central that it must work properly. The second is the Tier 1-2 evergreen scenario, which far and away sees the most play of any adventure during that season of Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild. I know that from replay alone, the latter needs to be especially clean, effective, and fun because so many people will see it—often again and again while taking characters from 1st to 2nd level. These needed some especially capable authors.

It's especially fitting because of the recent American Thanksgiving holiday that I give thanks for the consistently excellent RPG Superstar finalists who have contributed to the Destiny of the Sands, Scions of the Sky Key, and the upcoming Faithless and Forgotten series. I am consistently impressed with the quality of their turnovers, and it's telling that their names continue to appear in recent Pathfinder products. There were two authors that quickly came to mind for these two tough projects: Mikko Kallio and Mike Kimmel, finalists in RPG Superstar 2014 (the third finalist Robert Brookes handled one of the adventures last month and recently concluded a Kickstarter for a new campaign setting).

Illustration by John Derek Murphy

With Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-10: The Consortium Compact by Mike Kimmel, the organized play campaign publishes its third evergreen Tier 1-2 scenario since the First Steps series. In a recent blog, assistant developer Linda Zayas-Palmer provides an initial preview and explains what makes an evergreen scenario. This week I'd like to introduce you to Magali Delroya, an informant with growing sympathies toward the Pathfinder Society. Look forward to meeting her for this assignment in Diobel, on the western coast of the Isle of Kortos. Get your new characters ready to stick it to the Aspis Consortium!

Illustration by Kim Sokol, John Derek Murphy

Mikko Kallio had the tricky task of picking up the ongoing Scarab Sages metaplot and continuing a story that goes back several seasons. Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-11: Ancients' Anguish is (to the amusement of many) a Tier 7-11 adventure that begins in Katapesh with Venture-Captain Roderus and takes us to the desert of northern Nex, where a member of the Jeweled Sages fled millennia ago. Recent divinations have picked up his trail, and the PCs brave the stinging sands to uncover secrets from a rarely explored time period in a rarely explored region. This is a story that I've had rolling around in my head since we first introduced the sage jewels, and I'd hate to spoil the surprise by saying much more. I am really happy with how this adventure turned out, and Mikko not only respected the outline but also breathed some great flavor into the adventure. To preview just one of those additional elements, take a look at The Dark Iris.

As the end of the calendar year approaches, I'm spending more and more time outlining and assigning scenarios for Spring 2016 and beyond—including several really fun special events. I can hardly wait to share what's coming up.

John Compton
Developer