Darksider1969's page

The map is... Problematic, yet affords a neat change from the typical dungeon crawl. Have run several times, and experienced many variations of success through the tiers. Not nearly as bad as all the other reviews would have you think, yet editing and map make for a challenging scenario for any GM to run.

The editing was pretty bad, and the sled mechanics were obviously beta for later releases but the challenges were appropriately balanced. The time to play was pretty rushed for a 4-hour PFS session, it has alot of action and at the higher tier needs more time per combat from my experience. The treasure was either lackluster or beyond the reach of a typical 7th level character. The faction missions weren't too hard or overly dependent on a single die roll and flowed well with the main story line.

Although I personally like this series and have played and ran both, the first is pretty tough on new players or those accustomed to more rp than combat. Other than that, as a GM I loved the setting and feared it equally as a player. Its a fun, emotion inducing romp into one of the best multi-arc stories yet written.

I have had the pleasure of not only playing the arc, but GMing the scenarion in PFS and I can assure you its one of the best multi-arc stories I've seen. The third part is not for the dull-witted, and the final showdown is as epic and you can get. I'm looking forward to running it again for a new batch of players. The end boon didn't seem very useful for PFS but to each their own.

This is not a scenario to enter into lightly. It requires a thorough reading, and then another two and looking up several rules. The basic premise is sound, the means are entertaining and I especially liked the villain as portrayed in the script. It was almost too much for the PCs yet they performed admirably, mostly due to using the cover and buildings to disguise their movements. All around a solid run, but not one to run with short notice.

SPOILERS - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Frankly, I am surprised by the critical reviews of my peers. Although they are correct in their judgement of the editing (not the best), I feel they missed the point of the adventure. Your players are not meant to truly understand what happened to the colonists, nor are they intended to kill every monster on the Island. If they can rescue more than the cook, then good on them, but from what I have found, if you have a typical PFS group, they are lucky to escape with only a single casualty. Even so, the wealth of information would provide months of weekly adventure if adapted for campaign play. The story was somewhat typical, but when dealing with the mysterious Derro (think UFO conspiracy for how the bulk of Golarion sees these creatures) a little goes a long way. Scared the crap out of my party of six (which sadly became five and a corpse after digsite Stygia).
**For its detractors, if you feel you can write a better one, then by all means please do, I would love to see more on these psychotic fiends.
**My main criticism is mostly the monster layout - a planned encounter with a clay golem AND THEN ANOTHER CLAY GOLEM IN THE MAIN DUNGEON was too much, especially when you take into account the Gug and the near-limitless mounted Derro with repeater crossbows.
**This module could very well kill any party not armed for bear and sporting a ninth-level Wizard in the wrong hands.

The art was excellent, the story was a bit predictable and the treasure offered was very useful. What really excited me was the chance to get all the faction missions taken care of BEFORE the adventure, allowing the Players to focus on the mission at hand. The interactive ability and thought that went into making the choices for Players more varied than previous scenarios was a breath of fresh air. I am looking forward to more Season 4 scenarios of this caliber or higher.

I love zombies!!! That being said, the scenario was clunky and frustrating for both GM and players.

This was excrutiating to run for a Paladin and Lawful Good Cleric; robbery and murder are not very heroic and lead said types into an atonement spell faster than cookie monster can scarf down macaroons. With a less savory group this would have been a better run, so make sure you know who your audience is prior to running.

Okay, this has a straightforward story, lots of opportunities for roleplay and a clear chance for the PCs to be heroes for the Pathfinder Order. Tier 1-2's final boss encounter was anticlimactic, though, possibly due to the other horrific encounters found in the museum proper. Although it can be run both 1-2 and 4-5, this is one of those cases where the upper tier lends for better play. A bit of a rewrite for the lower tier and this would easily be a 5-star adventure!

The overall experience is good only if your players are not new or unable to think out of the box. The very first time I ran this I wasn't even planning on GMing. With a half-hour of prep I had the gist down and took six players through a harrowing dockside crawl that ended with half the party dead, one of whom drowned. Not a very heroic death, but it does happen and a good lesson on why you shouldn't wear heavy armor at sea unless you maxed ranks in swim or have spell support.

Even though I enjoyed this, as both player and GM, I don't think it rates a fourth star simply due to the hamfistedness of the final two encounters. The first encounter, properly run, is fine for beating down the party, while the second allows for sharp operators to avoid a fight.

This scenario had all the pieces you need to have a fun, enjoyable play experience. It just doesn't fit together well and requires a harsh hand by the GM to keep the action going. There seemed to be too much included when a little less information, combat and weather would have sufficed. Take a lot of time to prepare this one, its hands down one of the poorer offerings in PFS.

This was incredibly fun to both run and play! Its a rare scenario that can evoke as much joy on both fronts and this is one of the best that PFS offers. The story is smooth, the characters believable and the action non-stop!

Highly recommend this to even new GMs with a small amount of preparation.

The scenario is shiny, and its what every GM and Player want: An interesting crew, an elusive and mysterious VIP and of course, murder!

That being said, it fails to deliver across the board and comes off as stiff and unwieldy. It felt like 8 hours of roleplaying crammed into half the time with no thought for seemingly obvious player actions. The villain was too apparent and his hatchetman even moreso.

Without getting into specifics, it seems like it would have been a better two-part scenario, allowing for a build-up of tension and a more realistic culmination of the plot instead of the "just go with it" linear results we encountered.

The preparation time we gave the GM of one week was barely enough, so if you decide to run this, make sure your GM devotes TWO WEEKS minimum.

I ran this at Dundracon 36 and must say it was the best waterborne adventure I have run to date!
The pacing is quite good and the threats were palpable and appropriate as befits a PFS scenario.

Firstly, I love the continuity and the setting. The story fits nicely with the previous adventure and the setting is aptly challenging. Which leads me to my second point and the reason it only earned a 3 Star Review:

The requirements to enter the city and remain undetected are a bit much for a group of mostly 1st level characters, too much import is put on a few skill checks and the result is a non-stop running battle through the streets of Whitethrone.

Now, admittedly, the party in question could have tried to think outside the box more - perhaps a wagon or cart to carry the chest and bolster their attempts to pass themselves off as merchants. And I for one am always a big fan of running away from unnecessary combat (i.e. guards and other non-boss death threats) especially when the only other option is a disastrous fight with heavily armed grunts.