Jason S's page

Dollhouse is a roleplaying quest.

Dollhouse has some great characters in it. I love the custom art as well.

The roleplaying isn’t ruined by the influence system.

It is on the cute side, but it was appropriate.

Overall: A great roleplaying quest, but like any roleplay scenario, it all depends on how well the GM portrays the NPCs and if the players like roleplay. (9/10)

Influence is a mix of combat, roleplay, and skill challenges.

I didn’t like the story in this scenario at all. Hang around a party until the evil guys do something evil, fix what the evil guys are doing, have the evil guys smile and giggle the entire time, have evil guys accuse you of wrongdoings, evil guys repeat and do it again and again. There’s no PC agency, just the PCs reacting to one situation after situation, forced to go with the flow.

Before anything happens, do some random side quests for NPCs you-don’t-know, because you are afraid of losing treasure bundles. The auction quest should have had a high chance of failure. Performing this criminal act was extremely embarrassing for the PF society (successful or not successful, word will get around) and damaging for our reputation.

Despite spending significant time with various major NPCs, I didn’t fully understand who they were, what their organization does, or why they are important.

Everything about this scenario felt forced and I didn't feel like there was room for player choice.

This product is a must have for the Pathfinder game. It has all the minis you need to run most Pathfinder games. Even if it doesn't contain the exact creature you need, it contains a pawn that's similar enough.

This product has especially good value if you're on a budget. Although I have many plastic and paper minis, this is still a useful accessory.

If you already own a Bestiary pawn box, there are probably not enough changes in this one to make it worthwhile.

This pawn box has the same great quality of previous pawn boxes. The art is great, the bases and pawns are sturdy.

It contains a large amount of black bases: 20 small/medium, 10 large, and 5 huge bases.

A great value.

Port is a quest with a mix of everything.

I liked the background and information about the Shackles contained in this scenario, which made the scenario (and roleplay) come alive.

The scenario started however, in an awkward way. We’re on an important mission, but yet our Pathfinder ship drops us off in the middle of the ocean on a sandbar, miles away from shore (without any explanation)? To make things worse, they tell us to jump overboard and swim to the sandbar in deep but calm water in our armor (no mention of whether the contract is waterproof, just that it’s sealed). We’re told to wait there for an undetermined amount of time for someone to pick us up. During this time, the water rises and covers the sandbar with 2 inches of water, submerging our feet while we wait, preventing us from even sitting down. Hours later, a local fisherman picks us up in his rowboat, but do we go directly to Port Peril? Nope, of course not, we make numerous stops along the way catching crabs. But it doesn’t end there. Once the mission is finished, you escape and take that same fisherman’s boat back to the sandbar and sleep the night on the sandbar, which may or may not be flooded with water. Then, you wait an entire day on the sandbar for another ship. I’m not sure what feeling the author was going for, but I couldn’t help but feel disrespected, treated like dirt. If this were a real campaign, this would be the last mission my PC would perform for the Pathfinder Society. Anyway...

The combat at subtier 1-2 was very easy.

Love the maps that were used. This quest has very good qualities for a repeatable.

I had a new GM run Port and I thought it was too complex for her. She didn't understand the background lore, there's a unique hazard, spells, it’s too sandboxy, and there are too many details that the GM is left to improvise. It took more than 2 hours. This quest is for an experienced GM.

Overall: Good lore and a sandbox a creative GM can use, but weak combat and irritating fluff. (7/10)

Blackwood is a scenario with a mix of everything. This was played at subtier 3-4. It took 5 hours.

I think the story was great, even if it was a little slow at first.

The encounters were somewhat unique and more memorable than most.

I felt the scenario (or GM?) railroaded you into certain choices and if you didn’t choose the expected choice, you were punished (lost treasure bundles). We didn’t want that, so we performed the expected skill challenge.

Authors should consider skill feats when making scenarios. Our GM decided our Survival feats didn’t even allow us a bonus to a very specific Survival check. The feat should have at least resulted in a circumstance bonus, but it could have easily resulted in 4 successes instead of 1, but it wasn't clear. GM decided it did nothing. Although it's not the author’s fault, it reflected badly on the experience.

The scenario had a very serious tone with very serious consequences, which was somewhat ruined by silly situations. For example, the cute Kolbolds, a dog named “Good Boy”, a sex change while starving to death on a deadly demi-plane collapsing around us, and killer green sloths.

There were too many opportunities to lose treasure bundles. This was the first time in a long time I’ve lost any.

Overall: A long scenario with a good story and memorable experiences, somewhat ruined by other various elements. (7/10)

Hidden is slow investigation sci-fi thriller featuring mostly combat. It was played at subtier 9-10 and took 3 hours.

The main problem with Hidden is that it starts really slow. A slow briefing. Lots of narration about traveling. Talking to the captain and crew (which is irrelevant). I think it took an hour before anything happened at my table. It just seems like the GM should (quickly) narrate everything until they reach the desert.

The investigation itself was somewhat interesting, but it needs to be sped up. Basically, not enough happens with the amount of time you spend searching through every room. There are a lot of empty rooms.

Each encounter starts off in an interesting way, but it's just cosmetic and the encounters end up being average slugfests.

More Starfinder tech (and maps). If we wanted to play Starfinder, we'd be playing Starfinder.

The boss encounter could be somewhat deadly. For us, we resolved it quickly and easily.

This scenario could (and probably should) be really short, maybe even as short as 2 hours. The horror elements were extremely mild, I'd call them creepy.

Overall: A short investigation scenario that has a sci-fi feel to it. (5/10)

Lies is mystery and investigation scenario with a mix of combat, skills, and roleplay. Played at subtier 3-4.

The strength in Lies is the story and especially the encounters, NPCs, maps, and mood in the latter half of the scenario. The encounters were challenging, unique, varied, and enjoyable. Lies had the most handouts I’ve seen in a scenario and although there were almost too many, they were useful.

The weak part of the scenario are the skill challenges. For example, if we’re trying to break into a house and I pick the front door’s lock, why does everyone else need to pick that same lock, climb through a window, smash a door, or contort themselves through a hole? I find that absolutely ridiculous. In the same home, how many Pathfinders (and successes) does it take to clear a room of cats? Seriously? This needs a skill check? How many Pathfinders does it take to pry a single floorboard? Scenarios need to stop using subsystems where they're not applicable. We also don't need to make skill checks for tasks that my 95 year old grandfather can do.

The farm was also silly. Her husband is missing and she doesn’t have enough time to talk to us until we finish her barn chores for the entire day? Yet another scenario where we take care of the kids. Babyfinder.

Luckily, the rest of the scenario was great, even if it runs long (5 hours).

Overall: Lies has some great encounters, NPCs, and storytelling in the latter half of the scenario. (9/10)

Tapestry is a combat and skill challenge orientated scenario with plenty of reveals and PFS story lore.

The good parts about Tapestry were the story lore, easy to understand box text, the reveals (I was genuinely surprised), the combats, artwork, unique opponents, no influence system, unique environments. It finished in 4.5 hours and it had an epic vibe. It also has a big effect on Golarion lore and future Pathfinder scenarios. It continues the storyline from one of Pathfinder 1s most iconic and recognizable NPCs. It’s basically everything you would expect from a level 9-12 scenario. It’s the best (or one of the best) scenario from seasons 4 and 5.

On the other hand, at subtier 11-12, Tapestry was several times more difficult than any scenario I’ve played in PF2 (including The Thorned Monarch). Although we were successful, it was too difficult. It’s on the same level as “Salvation of the Sages” and other hard mode scenarios in PF1. Our group was the most optimized and twinked party I’ve seen in PF2 , our GM softballed everything, and we still barely made it. I thought our group was skilled, but we failed the skill challenges.

It's very possible that this plays out differently at subtier 9-10.

Overall: Tapestry is a dangerous epic experience, with a great story and Pathfinder society lore. Proceed with caution. (9/10)

Firelight is a strong story based repeatable with an equal mix of combat and skills. This was played at subtier 7-8.

The strongest part about firelight was the story and the supporting artwork. Firelight is one of the rare repeatables where it actually makes sense that it’s repeatable. It’s the first repeatable that I’d want to play again.

Even the preparation for the trial (with skill challenges) made sense, although I did not enjoy taking care of children yet another time (at this point my character had taken care of children 3 scenarios in a row. Pathfinders = Babyfinders).

The combat did have a unique feature but otherwise it was fairly mundane. If the combats were more unique, this would be a 5* scenario.

Overall: A great story that you’d want to experience again. (8/10)

Trapping is mostly a combat scenario with the influence system. This was played at subtier 7-8.

I thought the overall story and handouts for Trapping were well done. The description of the trap was also well done.

I found that the influence section in Trapping was contrived. Why are these NPCs withholding information? Why do we need to convince them and be friends for them to give us as much information and/or gear as possible? Especially considering that they will suffer the same (or worse) fate than we will.

Also, why is Star following us around on a mission to assassinate Aslynn? Star is a complete unknown and (narratively) could have been on Aslynn’s side as much as he could have been on our side. It’s an unknown and a risk that PFS should have never taken.

Starfinder content (stasian coils) was again infused into another scenario, I’m not sure why we couldn’t just stick with magic and rituals to trap Aslynn.

Aslynn’s rhymes and dialogue were good as normal.

The dream could have been great, but I just found it confusing and not well explained. I still don't know what happened to the Wall of Force. The skill challenge was forgettable.

The biggest flaw in the scenario is unfortunately the final encounter, against Aslynn. Our group ended up killing Aslynn in 2 rounds. Yes, we were successful in the influence section, but it shouldn’t have changed the encounter into easy mode.

In the end, Star seemed too child-like and his actions seemed almost comedic (instead of tragic). We just shrugged. Also how did he jump 300’+ in the air, did he have rocket packs? Honestly, I just didn't understand aspects of this scenario.

Glorious is a combat scenario with a few skill challenges, that runs long (5 hours). Our session was at subtier 9-10.

Glorious is an enjoyable scenario, with opponents that have powers that you don’t see much at lower levels but get used repetitively at high levels. Some of the monsters were also used repetitively. I'll agree with another review in that rare higher level creatures could have been used, creatures not seen at lower levels. The last combat had a few stages and unique events each round, which made the scenario more unique and enjoyable.

There were two skill challenge sections. I didn’t find them particularly memorable and I thought that they were a little too inclusive with skills. (The results matter however). If someone wants to use a non-intuitive skill for a skill challenge, players need to put in a little effort and be creative on why the skill could be used. In practice at conventions, skill challenges that are too inclusive are just roll offs using one of your best skills, with no creativity or problem solving involved. Yawn.

Overall: A good and sometimes unique combat scenario that is appropriately challenging. (7/10)

Pathfinder 2 is a fun and faithful evolution to Pathfinder 1. It still has the same feel and familiarity. While I like both systems, I’ve played Pathfinder 2 for the past 5 years and it’s my preferred system.

The best parts of Pathfinder 2 are three action rounds, the condensed skill list, and how easy it is to make and modify characters, while still allowing for many different character builds and options. It’s also easier to make an effective character, and more difficult to make a character that's better than everyone else's. Multi-classing is brilliant and balanced.

Monsters in PF2 are improved and have unique abilities. It helps to make fights different from each other and interesting. The math around PF2 also makes it very easy to build encounters of various difficulties, which is great for homebrew GMs.

Most players will appreciate how easy it is to make a character that has meaningful choices at every level. PF2 should be popular with D&D 5E players that want less generic characters. However, some players in Pathfinder 1 liked to spend hours on their character, looking through splatbooks, looking for ways to make the ultimate character. For these players, they might not like the simplicity of PF2.

PF2 also cleaned up a lot of rules, which makes it easier to play. High level play also scales really well, with fast play, and isn't a burden on the GM, which is a real accomplishment.

It's not all good however. I didn’t like that PF2 nerfed the classes that were too strong in PF1 (alchemist, monk archetypes, spellcasters, gunslingers) and made weak classes in PF1 too strong (rogues, barbarians, fighters). Spellcasters are further nerfed in the sense that they no longer have a niche. Most magical problems in PF2 can be solved with skills that any character can easily attain. The only nerf that was good was that ranged martials are no longer overpowered.

The real failing in PF2 is that there’s too much variation in the damage output between martials and spellcasters. Spellcasters, even with cantrips, do 50% or less damage compared to martials, and it gets worse at higher levels. Spellcasters claim to fame is basically fireball. I could write an essay, but the main problem is the game nerfed the utility of most spellcasters, spellcasters don’t have the same attack modifiers as martials (less hits/crits), and spells do less damage yet take 2 actions. Except for cantrips, spells no longer improve as you level up, so the only spells that are viable are your highest spell level, which is only 3 spells, which is NOT good enough for a typical adventure day.

At one time, spellcasters were "glass cannons" (less AC, HP, saves, perception) but now they do less damage, so they are just glass. At high level tables, if I see we have more than 2 spellcasters, I know we’re in trouble. Those casters are almost always clerics, because clerics get free heals at their highest level, effectively doubling their spell pool.

The Core rulebook, while big and unwieldy, is one of the best purchases in the RPG market. The book itself is presented and explained very well, and is a joy to read.

Pathfinder 2 is my favorite game and I love it, but I really think spellcasters need some love in the future.

Poisonous is a sandbox scenario with problems that can be solved in many ways. It can be a roleplay scenario, an infiltration scenario, or a combat scenario, it depends on you. It also has a small influence section.

Personally, although nothing new or unique was done in Poisonous, I thought this scenario was solid: it was well themed, had a great story, and interesting NPCs. Also, the handouts and art were very helpful.

The influence section was good, mostly because the NPCs were interesting, and it wasn’t long. I still think it would be more interesting to roleplay this section than use the influence system.

I found the herb part of the scenario (and the handout) to be a waste of time, irrelevant to the story. The only relevance it had was to reduce the number of treasure bundles the PCs receive.

Our group went off the rails a bit and the GM abandoned the Infiltration system, which made the scenario much better.

We played at subtier 3-4, chose non-combat solutions, and the scenario was just over 3 hours. If the combat approach is taken, it could run long and the combats are too easy.

Overall: A good sandbox scenario with problems that can be resolved in a variety of ways. (7/10)

Wall is a classic combat scenario with some investigation and some horror elements.

One of the combats are tough but overall was good for subtier 7-8. In some ways the combats were redundant with other combats in this scenario and other recent scenarios.

The scenario finished in 4 hours, although one non-optional encounter was skipped through good scouting.

There was an influence section but it was over fairly quickly (30m), so there were no issues. I thought it was ridiculous to introduce the PCs to all of the council, with extravagant descriptions, do a few skill checks, and then have it be completely irrelevant to the scenario. Again I think the scenario would be better WITHOUT the influence system. Simple is better.

I agree with the other reviewers.

Overall: A fairly straightforward (but enjoyable) combat scenario. (7/10)

Tapestry is a combat and skill challenge orientated scenario with plenty of reveals and PFS story lore.

The good parts about Tapestry were the story lore, easy to understand box text, the reveals (I was genuinely surprised), the combats, artwork, unique opponents, no influence system, unique environments, it finished in 4.5 hours, and it had an epic vibe. It also has a big effect on Golarion lore and future Pathfinder scenarios. It continues the storyline from one of Pathfinder 1s most iconic and recognizable NPCs. It’s basically everything you would expect from a level 9-12 scenario. It’s the best (or one of the best) scenario from seasons 4 and 5.

On the other hand, at subtier 11-12, Tapestry was several times more difficult than any scenario I’ve played in PF2 (including The Thorned Monarch). Although we were successful, it was too difficult. It’s on the same level as “Salvation of the Sages” and other hard mode scenarios in PF1. Our group was the most optimized and twinked party I’ve seen in PF2 and it wasn’t enough. I thought our group was skilled, but we failed the skill challenges.

It's very possible that this plays out differently at subtier 9-10.

Overall: Tapestry is an epic experience, with a great story and Pathfinder society lore. Proceed with caution. (9/10)

King is a combat scenario with a few skill checks.

I ran King at subtier 7-8 with a very strong group with no time limit. It took over 7 hours. Most of the scenario is fine, but parts (D and J) feel especially difficult, but I think during a special you'll just run out of time. It's unlikely that Qxal will die unless the GM plays Qxal sub optimally (which just happens to be the recommended tactics). At this subtier, I found combat with Qxal has the potential to be extremely tactical (which I liked), but tactical combat doesn’t please everyone.

I’m also running King at subtier 1-2 and 3-4 and will update the review when I do. At these subtiers, I feel King is mundane, but it will be easier to complete the special on time.

At subtier 7-8, there were a lot of huge creatures, creature types I don’t usually use, so it will be a little harder for GMs to source minis, but it could be a treat for the players.

At subtier 7-8, the scenario was well written, but I found that it took longer to prepare than usual. Everything from the unusual minis, multiple special abilities, multiple spells (Ex. Qxal has 31 unique spells, many are high level), and uncommon rules. Even during the preparation phase, there is the potential for getting free items, but most players don't know what they do, so as GM I created a handout to explain what they do, so we didn’t have to slow down the session looking them up. As a player, it's something different, but it did take a lot of extra time as GM.

I didn’t like how all of the skill checks in Charting a Course all came at once. It would have been better to intersperse them between (or at the start) encounters.

I found most of the NPCs to be irritating, and the dialogue between encounters to be cheesy and unneeded. I wish there were less Pathfinder leaders speaking, it’s confusing for the players and doesn’t really add anything to the scenario. Using they/them for Qxal is just confusing and not needed, luckily he’s not a big part of the scenario.

Alpha is a short scenario with a mix of everything.

The hobgoblins have good art and are interesting characters to interact with. The skill checks feel organic and are not overused. The combats are just right.

Overall: A solid and enjoyable scenario. Another scenario that deserves to be played more. (8/10)

Crocodile features the influence system with far too many rounds. The influence system took 2.5 hours of non-roleplay to complete, and all of players at the table were very bored. As I’ve explained, the influence system snuffs out imagination and roleplay and promotes roll-play.

The worst part was, the influence system and all the work you did, will have no effect on the outcome of the story. All of the work you completed was for nothing.

Overall: Scenarios just need to go back to their classic roots. (1/10)

Crisis is a short scenario that is a mix of the influence system, chase, and easy combats. It took us 2.5 hours.

I think the story is good, although it’s a non-epic story in a long list of non-epic stories.

I dislike the influence system, but it was relatively short lived, and the NPC was interesting and well written. The encounter would have been better without the influence system.

The obstacle system in PF2 doesn’t work. If there is a locked gate blocking the party, why does every member of the party need to unlock it? After we unlock it, do we close and lock the gate for the next person going through it? If 5 players can squeeze through an opening, why does that allow non-mobile player #6 squeeze through the same opening? It doesn’t make any sense. And in terms of fun, it’s just more roll-play.

I liked that the skill challenges included only a smaller subset of skills, and that they made sense.

The combat was too easy. Both combats were over before the end of the 1st round (some players didn’t get to act). Only one player took a few HP of damage the entire scenario.

Overall: For me, the PF2 subsystems are being overused and are ruining the game. (3/10)

Battle is a scenario that extensively uses the influence system and has some combat.

I think Battle really illustrates how the influence system doesn't work. The influence system is non-organic, restrictive, and most importantly, not fun. When you finish speaking to an NPC, it's not fulfilling, you're always wondering if there's more to do.

With the influence system, it kills creativity by restricting your approach, your roleplay is NOT important, what's important are your dice rolls. And getting enough check marks. And that... is boring.

The scenario starts off with the PCs riding a cart to the site of the golem. For some reason, we need to use the influence system and engage the cart driver (really?) and a merchant. This process was forced for several rounds, and had no (known) impact whatsoever. It felt like we were fishing for information, but all we got was a backstory of a random NPC.

We then continued using influence at the dig site, for no apparent reason, on a wider variety of NPCs, for several rounds. The golem was the only one where it actually made sense to speak to, and we certainly didn’t need the influence system for that.

The "boss" combat at the end was extremely disappointing.

Overall: Pointless roleplay followed by underwhelming combat encounters. (2/10)

Heart is a scenario that is mostly exploration and skill checks, with some combat.

There wasn't much of a story in this one, just a long series of skill checks. The last combat involved some terrain and was OK, but overall the combats didn't feel particularly unique.

Considering this scenario is a race to find two separate locations, navigating in uncharted territory, in a dangerous hostile desert, you would think that a skill like Survival would be used extensively, maybe even overused. My character did not have the chance to use Survival a single time, which was disappointing. If PFS were realistic, every PC would need Survival; I find it funny that it’s one of the least used skills in scenarios.

Perhaps we were too good at hexploration, with spells, and we bypassed both the Survival checks and other encounters. We had 2 combats encounters, 3 encounters total. I’ll rewrite the review after I GM and run it.

Our particular group did not have a problem with making "the choice". I think important choices are what makes RPGs great and PFS doesn’t have enough of them. We made a choice and although it was unexpected, we had time to complete both objectives.

Overall: While there is nothing wrong with this scenario, there wasn't anything memorable about it either. (5/10)

Symphony is a combat scenario with several unique and gimmicky combat encounters.

I want to like Symphony, but I found that the scenario lacked story, there was no roleplay, and that made it bland and flavorless. Our mission is to "search and destroy" whatever exists in the fortress. We didn't know what was there, so we had combat without knowing who or what we were destroying. The combat encounters could be too tough for some groups.

I don’t believe too many groups will be solving the puzzle, and quite frankly GMs don’t give you enough time to do so, or a hint.

Several treasure bundles were behind skill checks, and some of the skill checks needed a master level in the skill, which was only available to a few classes. Technically, quite a few groups should not be gaining maximum treasure bundles.

This map is beautiful, generic, extremely versatile, and has seen a lot of use (perhaps too much) in both PFS and outside PFS.

It's the not-so-nice house sibling to the Pathfinder Lodge flip map.

Blessings is an even mix of both combat and skill challenges. Players can more or less choose in early encounters.

Blessings was well organized and themed.

Update: I’ve played this scenario at both subtier 3-4 and 7-8. At subtier 3-4 (and probably 1-2) this scenario is too difficult, a 2 star scenario. At subtier 7-8 (and probably 5-6), this scenario is great and 4 stars.

At subtier 3-4, Blessings was too difficult. We essentially TPKed 2 times (but were saved by the clock before the last PC went down) and we didn’t defeat a single combat encounter the entire scenario. Writers need to remember that at levels 1-4 at conventions, that many of the PCs are non-optimized for combat (too many spellcasters) and players don’t have a 100% grasp of the game. We had our butts kicked.

At subtier 7-8, the combat was just right. The skill checks had some roleplay involved and were somewhat amusing (not sure if that was meant on purpose).

There were too many encounters chained in a row, with not enough time to rest. For spellcasters, they ran out of their best spells long before the final encounter.

The bog rules were neither realistic or fun. Traps with suffocation are not fun (either nothing happens or you’re dead) and are a time waster in non-combat. We spent 15+ minutes watching two PCs with +0 Athletics flounder and almost die. No one wants to die by a bog because the ranger failed too many Survival checks. Why not have anyone who fails 2 Athletics checks in a row be fatigued or enfeebled? Why is it so hard to pull a PC out of a bog with a rope? This experience was very non-heroic in a long series of non-heroic encounters at subtier 3-4.

While the story was OK, Blessings had nothing to do with the plot of season 4 (which was concluded with Trapping the Hags Claw).

Overall: At low tiers, it wasn't fun. At high tier, it can be enjoyable. (3/10 or 8/10)

This product should be called Forest River Crossing. Every map is a river crossing, with the following crossing points: bridge, rocks, log, or none.

Why does each map in this set feature a river? It's a tad redundant.

In addition to all of these maps featuring a river, we already have:
1) A River Crossing flip mat (which was all that was needed and doesn't get used very much)
2) Bigger Forest also has a river crossing.
3) Falls and Rapids also has a river crossing in a forest.
4) Deep Forest also has a river crossing.
5) Battlefield also has a bridge river crossing.
6) Enormous Forest has river crossings on BOTH sides, when it should have featured forest terrain other than rivers!

How many forest river maps do we need?

These maps are 5 star in quality, but I find they are very redundant with each other. This product and Enormous Forest are especially disappointing with their redundancy. We need new ideas.