This adventure seems to have a lot going for it. Quite a few NPC's that are interesting to interact with and the premise is something new and enthralling. Combats were quite well balanced and some of them could be bypassed without violence and I personally like to have the option. One thing that irks me is to have a bunch of new sub-mechanics and mini games that take the focus away from the adventure itself, but this scenario does not fall into that pit.
The first act has the risk of taking too long though so it does not get a 5/5 from me.
This adventure kicks off in a brilliant manner but the ending falls a bit flat. With a lot of NPC's from the past and a premise that is intriguing, the latter half of felt a bit rushed. The final chapter seems to make GM's sweat with keeping the narrative moving and thus meeting with a formidable foe does not hit it's mark.
After having played and GM'd this: I was happy to see the new approach to high level scenarios coming to life with this adventure. It skipped the "this is the filler to get enough XP" -fight and gave a simple challenge to replace it. It made sense and let us have more relaxed pace and thus more time to roleplay between characters and NPC's. A few editing snags were slightly disturbing, but nothing major to get upset about. I hope to that we see more of this story, characters and writer!
A few days after playing this scenario, I have come to the conclusion that I did not like it at all. Played it tier 7-8 with six players.
What comes to mind?
Pros:
RPing with other pc characters.
A hilariously funny use of a boon by a PC.
Cons:
It took forever even without the optional encounter.
The last fight took forever.
(I'm sensing a pattern.)
We really didn't care for the NPC or his buddies. My IC and OOC thoughts were roughly: "F this guy and his whining."
A lot of 'save or suck'. (Does anyone enjoy these?)
Overall? If you reall like challenge, do it and do it in hard mode.
If you have enjoyed season 5's rp-heavy side, skip this one. I would have liked to get my laundry done on time instead of playing this one.
I GM:ed this for a group of experienced players and everybody enjoyed it a lot! Myself being a newbie, speaks for this scenarios quality. I highly recommend it.
