Half the Sky's page

Well made and crafted, has a spot with my partner's licktoad goblin. My feelings are similar to the previous poster - cuddly yet creepy and full of mischief and surprises. Physically soft yet firm and holding up well, I think I purchased him two years ago. I have a soft spot for goblins so this plush more than does the job.

Unfortunately it is way too big to incorporate onto a physical 2e table/map, but it could make an excellent prop in the right circumstances, I've used pictures of this plush for VTT games, so it still works in that way if creative enough.

Also fairly priced, even with shipping, I have no complaints. Buy one of these if you love nerdy plushies or want to get creative at a physical table.

As player: 6 players, 28 CP, 4h. As GM: 6 players, 23 CP, 3h45.

The good: The storyline. Mind you, this is personal preference. My tables (on both sides of the screen) loved the storyline. So did I. A few others I know, despised it. I enjoy a more lightheartened plot for a change and something a little different that stands alone and not tied to a metaplot; meanwhile others I know felt that escorting them throughout town is dull. I did my best to roleplay the linnorms as best as possible and heavy roleplaying is what will bring this to life. My GM, at the time I played it, did a terrific job playing the linnorms as well and he’s not much of a roleplayer either. Some minimal effort by the GM will go a long way here. I’m not close to being the best voice actor in the world, but my players seemed entertained and happy by it. And I had fun roleplaying them.

I would also like to see these linnorms in a future adventure. Maybe when they are older.

I give the storyline a 9/10.

The bad: The combats were almost too easy. As players, we had a balanced team and we steamrolled through the combats. Almost too quickly, which is surprising for high tier, on both sides of the screen. When I ran this table, the players also steamrolled the combats. A number of them appeared bored.

The ugly: The mechanical design of the skill check challenges. This is what I felt torpedoed the scenario despite extensive work on presentation in Foundry and trying to roleplay as best as possible. If your team didn’t have at least two social characters, you were going to struggle, not just through one skill challenge but ALL of them. This scenario was heavily weighted towards skill challenges, which is one thing in of itself. But, only a pool of repetitive 1-3 hard social checks over multiple skill check challenges made my players felt like they were banging their head against a wall for the better part of three hours (to literally quote one of them).

I will openly admit that I tried to pull some creative GMing, I allowed additional skills as long as they were germane to the action going on, but it just owes to how flawed the design was. I’m aware that these challenges should be quite difficult to achieve, and yes I’m aware that storyline wise, the Pathfinder Society needed to demonstrate poise, but mechanically, it was proving (for lack of a better word) one-dimensional. Since the scenario was pushing social skills and poise, I tried to incentive my players to roleplay what they were doing if they could get creative with a non-face check, but Foundry didn’t cooperate. Ah well, this is a dice game after all. But at least fewer people were on the sidelines and non-face characters (in this case, the whole table, although I think someone had a 14 cha) felt like they could have a chance.

In the end, the narrowness of the challenge was not a problem because of missing some of the 10 treasure bundles, but it was the feeling of the repetitive checks across three challenges (and a good chunk of time compared to nearly any other scenario I have played in PFS 2e) that is the problem. If it was just ONE challenge, this wouldn’t have been as big deal to me.

I give the mechanical design (at most) a 3/10. GMs can try to get creative here to get around this, but again it’s more work for the GM.

Additional notes: Lesser experienced GMs may struggle as there is a lot to keep track of, so more extensive prep is required. I did not have issue with this, but others may well.

Final verdict: Great storyline, subpar mechanical design. As a player it was beyond frustrating. As a GM, I felt I bent over backwards to keep my players happy whilst staying true to what the scenario appeared to be pushing but it had to be said.

I played this once in low tier (APL 1.7) with a lodge virtually and ran this twice, both at virtual conventions (APL at 2.7 and >3 respectively). All tables had six players.

Most of my players at both tables absolutely loved it although there was one player who complained on voice he “wanted to play Starfinder and not solve a murder mystery”. But that’s the beauty of Society and so if you are looking for a mini-dungeon crawl, this might not be the scenario for you. It’s different from most Starfinder scenarios I've played, and it was executed well.

There are some gaps in the storyline (more on that later) but the overall execution on how this could play out put a different touch compared to most SFS scenarios (especially with the “whodunit” effect), although at the cost of significantly more prep work for the GM.

As a GM, I can say that newer GMs - don’t be fooled by the fact this is a tier 1-4 - will absolutely need a flowchart for what happens when and as a result of what. Visuals of the different PCs are mandatory (if not on different panels/screens) for players to keep an easier track of what could be found and what is required. If in person, distribute flyers or a binder of dossiers at the table.

Finally, you’ve got to put in a bit of work with voice acting and roleplay – there are a LOT of different PCs. This is something I greatly enjoyed, but can understand if this is a pain point for GMs that prefer out and out combat (although I still felt the balance between combat and skill checks vs roleplay was fine, especially as combat in high tier was pretty difficult) or just don't roleplay well or vibe with the setting.

RussGreene had the same concern as I did regarding the lack of connection to 5-06. This was particularly acute for me as at the second of two conventions I ran this at, I ran 5-06 Tarnished Legacy Part 1 in the afternoon block RIGHT BEFORE I was running this scenario in the evening, and three of my players in 5-06 carried over from my Part 1 table into this Part 2 table. Two of them called me out on asking me to clarify “what this adventure had to do with what we did earlier in the day” so having to backpedal to make those connections on the fly was real borderline at best. There were two characters that barely made an appearance and that was really it.

That said, I feel objectively this is the only flaw in the scenario.

As a player I really enjoyed the “choose your own path” perspective of this, the skill checks were varied and had balance and you had choice. The dressing room skill check DC(s) stuck out as almost impossibly high but this is balanced by the other options you had, so no bother there and if someone had the notably high skill in question, it’s an extra cherry on top to cracking the case.

Combats were fine, although the latter confrontation on the stage can be cruel in high tier so players need to exercise some caution particularly if they are soft on hp. I knocked two players down into dying if I recall correctly in both tables I ran, and had a few more on the ropes; in low tier, the stage confrontation felt way smoother even for a not optimally balanced party.

To comment on length, even with extensive roleplay we had no issues respecting the con limits of the five-hour slots we were given.

Again, caveats for newer GMs, considerations for a flowchart and keeping track of everything possible. But if you can do this, and/or are experienced enough, this scenario is fantastic in every sense of the word. My partner loved this so much, he bought his own copy and ran it for his friends.

Overall, a 9/10 and only knocking a point off because not much a connection between Part 1 and Part 2 (and I was in an awkward spot at the one convention having to run those scenarios consecutively) but as a standalone, you could not ask for a better experience and the extended prep was absolutely worth it and made the NPCs come out alive.

Honestly this is one of the best scenarios I have played or run in either system. Easily top 3 in either system. Please produce more scenarios like this; if the author was responsible for the storyline (choose your own path) design with varying consequences in catching the guilty party, I’d love to see more of her work here in the future.

I played this once (6 players, 25 CP, clocked in at 6h40) and GMed this once (6 players, 28 CP, clocked in at 5h13).

So here's the good and bad from me:

(1) Constant combat, as others have said. I'm okay with this, but a lot of people may not be. The problem comes in when there literally is barely any time for anything else. There's one segment that involves skill checks, but given how long the combat is drawn out, those three fights suck the oxygen from your timeslot. Especially if you are running/playing at cons (which was my experience both times) or racing the clock at a physical LGS and you know the store is going to close before you can finish. A lot of the drawn out combat came down to enemy positioning, and my player experience was so drawn out, I had to consult 2-3 other GMs and get tips on how to possibly condense my fights without dumbing it down. At the con I was running at, I had an upper limit of 5h, and with a 5m break I really had to bend over backwards to keep it as close to 5h as possible.

(2) GM preparation. Even if the GM IS prepared, if players don't know what they are doing with the trees, the first two fights can consume an insane amount of time. I attempted to save time by controlling the trees myself; but I know in reality, properly briefed players would have enjoyed this mechanic more if they were acquainted with the mechanic and focused. I'll admit I faltered in this as a player especially given how tiresome the first fight was.

(3) The final fight. Without giving too many spoilers, let's just say we have a VERY tight spot with potential for environmental damage and enemies that are extremely resilient. When playing, the "key" troll that "made her way" on the map...we had little chance of catching her just because of the sheer number of companions she had. Too many and too beefy. We were given nine rounds to stop the troll from evading us, and it took us dealing massive damage in that last round to simply survive. On the other hand, the group I GMed played extremely well and worked extraordinarily well together AND had some VERY solid abilities and rode their luck on the dice.

(4) Skillcheck challenge. The rotation of folks and getting the aids you need. This was a nice break in combat, some players commented on how harsh a critical fail would be on you, but I felt probability was low enough this should not be a big deal and when one of the frontliners in the group I GMed got punished in this challenge, the rest of his team stepped up.

That said....it took me bending over backwards, constantly monitoring time, really overthinking my fights to save every second I could. In the end it was draining, and the group (the people) that I GMed and/or played with was literally the only reason I enjoyed it. I was exhausted in both games and especially so when I played (because it just took significantly longer and we had much worse with the trolls). My playing experience was significantly worse, we barely succeeded and our champions were the sole reason we did not get TPKed.

This scenario had potential with the tree mechanics but the execution let me down. I've never felt more relieved to be over playing a scenario and this was what I felt.

I played this once (low tier) and have run this twice (once in low tier, once in high tier).

Overall, this adventure was a great balance of hazards, fighting, a puzzle, and skill checks. Plenty of things for players to do, and in high tier, the final fight drug on a bit, but low tier finished in about 3h30-3h50 (albeit a few cheat for charity rolls helping at a con) and high tier game finished in about 4h40. In both tiers, 1-2 players found themselves in dying state, but fights were not so overwhelming or felt imbalanced.

I feared the puzzle would be a bit difficult at first, one of my teams skipped it up front and then came back to solve with more clues, and the second team had enough lore knowledge they were able to solve fairly quickly.

My (player) group struggled with the hazards in low tier, although the group I GMed did not. Really felt that was just luck of the dice in low tier; in high tier, the players needed to expend cheat for charity rolls to disable the hazards, but in theory, I felt most balanced teams should be able to overcome the DCs.

That said there is the possibility that without charity rolls, the timing of the high tier game could have definitely run longer and that may potentially be a concern if a time slot were to exceed 5h.

This overall falls between a 3.5 and a 4 for me. It's hard to say.

I played this in high tier and GMed in low and high tier.

The first two fights felt quite straightforward in both tiers. These fights were reasonably challenging but did not drag too long in low tier. In high tier, the first encounter ran long. The final part in the cave felt like it dragged on, although one of my groups really struggled with the final fight. I thought that recovering artifacts in the cave was fine and made things interesting, but depending on how players want to roleplay, they could really drag it out if they wanted to. Having run this scenario at two different cons, I'm thinking the more CP the group has, it not be ideal in a con setting with set timeslots.

I'm a bit biased because I love the undead in games, but overall I found this well written and definitely liked how the skill check outcomes factored in later.

I ran this twice, played this twice.

Playing, we had a good mix of roles, and had no issues taking down the bad guys at the end. As a GM, in one of my games, I nearly landed a TPK, but that was likely due to my extreme luck on the rolls as well as the players' team comp, too many melees did not help. Absent those outliers, I felt the game was balanced.

I've played this one time at low tier and GMed twice, both low and high tier.

The short version of this review is that all seemed fine unless (1) you were in high tier and (2) the interaction aspect with Vionnia really bored the players and dragged the game on. Regarding #2, both my teammates (when I played) and my players (when I GMed) both in low and high tier all complained about this aspect, and I think two rounds instead of three would have been a sweet spot. Finally in high tier, DCs weren't easy to hit at all, and I felt the party was pretty well balanced, at least on paper.

As a player, I had fun, as a GM, preparation was fine. Low tier was almost too easy combat wise for the first two fights, but the final fight was well balanced. High tier almost felt like a drag running - again the team was balanced, and combat was balanced, but all fights took very long. My low tier game clocked in at 2.5 hours, and the high tier game exceeded 5 hours and that wore on the players a bit even though no one was in danger of completely dying. When I played in low tier, I don't recall exceeding 3 hours.

I'd probably give 3/5 here...storyline is more than fine, but I feel between the interactive, and the combat experience, a few things fell flat.

I've played this one time and GMed twice.

As long as the party is balanced, there really shouldn't be any issue, and only minor if not balaned. When I played, I was a frontlining swashbuckler (there were no other viable players in our six-person party), and with combat, that brought me down a few times, but no issue otherwise with the NPCs. As a GM, I had balanced parties that had a lot of fun with the story and relative ease in combat - even had one person sing the holiday anthem from this bounty.

Would solidly recommend to any player or GM, new or not.

Overall I found it enjoyable to both play and GM, and appreciated the twist with the riddle at the end. The desert fight felt a bit too easy - as in, it went way too quickly - with only four players and a little more balanced with six (irrespective of whether I was playing or GMing), but maybe party composition affected that. Hard to tell.