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Adventure Spotlight: Short-Form Adventures

Thursday, April 27, 2023

Greetings, Paizoverse! As the warm weather rolls in and the sunlight lasts longer, we want to highlight some of our shorter adventure formats you may not be aware of! Whether you want a quick game around a campfire, your game store is looking to close its doors earlier, or you just want to try out Pathfinder and Starfinder without a four-hour commitment, these adventures are perfect for a quick trip into our worlds.

You can also find these adventures at conventions worldwide, including our major conventions like PaizoCon Onlineand Gen Con. Our developers will tell you more!

Alex Speidel
Organized Play Coordinator

Let’s start our overview with Pathfinder Society Quests.

We’ve got a new style of Quest coming out that we’re calling “Series 2.” Unlike the older format, these are much more clearly tied to Pathfinder Society Organized Play. All of these will be written for levels 1–4, and all will be replayable. Currently, Series 2 only has Pathfinder Quest #14: The Swordlord’s Challenge, where the PCs must prove their skill against the students of a swordlord challenging Marcos Farabellus, but we’ve got more on the way.

In fact, let me announce Pathfinder Quest #15: In the Footsteps of Horror, where the PCs get drawn into an unplanned dungeon delve while on an otherwise routine mission. The goal of these products is to provide short-form content that still has enough space to tell a more involved story with room for more roleplay. Quests are also a great way to introduce newer players to Organized Play without devoting the full 4+ hours a scenario might need, and provide a way to play when that length of time simply isn’t available, like a school club or a game store that closes early. We’re putting all the polish you expect from full-length scenarios here, so I hope you all give them a shot!

Josh Foster
Pathfinder Society Developer

A Taldan woman wields an Aldori dueling sword as well as a grim expression

Illustration by Allan Santos da Silva


With that, it’s time to leave the past behind and travel to the future, with Starfinder Bounties!

Starfinder Bounties are exciting, standalone adventures designed to be played in approximately 60 to 90 minutes. Our first eight Starfinder Bounties are written for 1st-level characters and are already available for purchase! So whether you want to track down a con artist on Absalom Station in Starfinder Bounty #1: The Cantina Job, rescue genetically reengineered extinct animals from poachers in Starfinder Bounty #4: Poacher’s Prize, explore a haunted hospital in Starfinder Bounty #5: Echoes of Woe, or escort a famous athlete on her river cruise vacation in Starfinder Bounty #7: Voyage on the River Between, Starfinder Bounties are for you! Want to start off with our latest release? Traverse the frigid glaciers of Triaxus, planet of dragons, to track down a missing explorer and find the lost lair of the white dragon Arothalos in Starfinder Bounty #8: Lost Dragon’s Legacy by Brent Bowser.

Looking for something a little higher level? No problem! Our upcoming Starfinder Bounties are all designed for 4th-level characters! Be on the lookout for the first of these adventures, Starfinder Bounty #9: Burning Ambitions by Joel Southall, releasing this summer! Sounds like the perfect time of year for a trip to the sun!

Have fun out there!

Jessica Catalan
Starfinder Society Developer

A dirindi poacher, dressed in camouflage, grins as they gaze into the distance A grizzled old dragonkin explorer with purple scales assesses their surroundings seriously

Left to right, illustrations by Bruno Senigalha and Jason Smith

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Tags: Organized Play Pathfinder Society Pathfinder Society Scenarios Starfinder Society Starfinder Society Scenarios
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4/5 5/5 **** Venture-Lieutenant, Massachusetts—Boston Metro
1 person marked this as a favorite.

Alex go back on vacation. You shouldn't be working. (Note: This is clearly a joke.)
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

I'm glad we got a full set of eight 1st-level SF Bounties. As a home GM, I could use them (with some minor tweaking) to cobble together two more "The Commencement"-like adventures to kick off new PCs.
2 people marked this as a favorite.

I'm really liking the short-form stories that are more realistic about the spaces and game durations that we're actually dealing with.
Wayfinders
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Great to see higher higher-level bounties for Starfinder.
5/5 5/55/55/5
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It just takes too long to set up a group and get going and to make these worth it unless there's a four pack for an adventure.

having it make your paperwork go wonky doesn't help either.
1/5 5/55/5 **
2 people marked this as a favorite.
BigNorseWolf wrote:

It just takes too long to set up a group and get going and to make these worth it unless there's a four pack for an adventure.

having it make your paperwork go wonky doesn't help either.

A clear illustration of how different groups/people have different needs/preferences.

I find the shorter adventures perfect in some settings, while the scenarios work better for others.
Dataphiles 5/55/5 Venture-Agent, California—Sacramento
1 person marked this as a favorite.

at an convention not based around roleplaying, but with RPG still a thing short adventures are great, 2 ish hours, from set down to quick explain for people who have never played before to here are some magic click clacks. and roll to finish is nice. then it brings them back wanting a longer 4 hour one when they have the time. or the next day when they "didn't have anything to do" but now do
5/5 5/55/55/5
1 person marked this as a favorite.
GM Numbat wrote:


I find the shorter adventures perfect in some settings, while the scenarios work better for others.

I can see why you'd need level 1 quests for that sort of thing.

But what do you do with a level 4 bounty? If you can't play longer games regularly you can't get to level 4 or progress.
Dark Archive 4/5 5/55/5

There are 4th level pregens... I don't care much for the short format, but I do see places that would appreciate that smaller time commitment.
Grand Lodge 4/5 * Venture-Agent, Texas—Houston

Society play indeed gives you no way to advance from level 1 to level 4 with just short-form content. (At least so far.)

I can see the use if you want to quickly demo some 4th level content at a con in a short slot.
4/5 5/5 **** Venture-Lieutenant, Massachusetts—Boston Metro
BigNorseWolf wrote:
GM Numbat wrote:


I find the shorter adventures perfect in some settings, while the scenarios work better for others.

I can see why you'd need level 1 quests for that sort of thing.

But what do you do with a level 4 bounty? If you can't play longer games regularly you can't get to level 4 or progress.

Play at another venue? I mean it's whole purpose is to allow the option of allowing people to organize games in places they wouldn't normally be able to.

Second Seekers (Jadnura) 1/5 5/55/5
4 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Starfinder Society Subscriber

I'm pretty pumped to see these level 4 Starfinder Bounties - especially interested on if they'll still be pretty snappy to run, with higher level combats! They're perfect filler for those nights when one person can't make Game Night, but everyone else still wants to Find some Stars!

I'm still hoping we someday see some bonkers Starfinder Bounties - like level 12, or crazy Starship combats, or some less savoury, not-evil-but-also-not-good, plotlines, too!

Is that dragon person illustration something from Starfinder or Pathfinder?
Silver Crusade

Starfinder, given the mention of Triaxus.
1 person marked this as a favorite.

It's from the cover of Starfinder Bounty #8, Lost Dragon's Legacy
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