Jason S's page

Lions is a simple combat and skill challenge scenario.

I guess if you are amused by goblin silliness, this might be for you.

The scenario can (and should!) be quite brief.

There is nothing wrong with this scenario, it’s just that generic replayable scenarios are not what I’m looking for in a game.

This scenario is basically an assassination mission.

It was over fairly quick, in less than 2 hours. For us was not particularly challenging. Maybe it would have been better if special tactics weren't used.

One of my favorite scenarios from PFS 1.

A great epic final encounter.

This scenario had several unique combat encounters suitable for high level play.

There was a roleplay section at the beginning that I didn't find to be very memorable. The location itself was though.

We played at subtier 12-13 on normal mode.

I thought this scenario is a must play scenario, if you like Pathfinder Society lore and have been playing PFS for awhile.

I've been following PFS for years now, so it was great to learn more of the story behind how Pathfinder Society began.

Several scenes were memorable.

I just thought it was a terrific series of quests, very different from the norm. If you're not heavily invested in Pathfinder society, this might be average for you.

I thought the research portion of this scenario really boring and drawn out. The revealed information might have been interesting for the character but was not particularly interesting for the player.

The encounters were average and there was no payoff to the skill checks and research subsystem.

Sevenfingers is a satisfying conclusion to the Gloomspires series of scenarios.

It contains super flavor, one of the most memorable and horrifying NPCs (Shivers), and facing off against a famous Pathfinder NPC.

If you were on the Gloomspire journey, it shouldn't be missed.

Like others have already said, History and Engineering skills pretty much dominated this scenario.

It wasn't very interesting, I have some notes about coffee grinding and merchants. Was certainly not heroic.

Pretty much the same as Scott Young's review, this scenario had an interesting story and NPCs, a good investigation and roleplay, and some tactical fights.

The only downfall is the mystery was revealed too early by clues that were too obvious. We basically figured out the mystery on the 1st clue.

Sandstone is a mix of roleplay, investigation, and combat.

It has great Pathfinder flavor and teaches players about what it means to be a Pathfinder. It's quite witty as well.

I think one of the encounters is too difficult at subtier 1-2. If the GM can avoid that, you've got a great session on your hands.

Full props to Linda on this one. I’ve run this three times at subtier 1-2.

I can't believe there is only one review for this scenario.

The finale was great. It was epic. And the best special event I've played so far.

I played this at tier 12-13 at Origins.

Thanks for producing a great ending to season 1!

Mosquito is a memorable investigation and roleplay-based scenario with some combat.

The story and idea behind the Mosquito Witch is great, it's memorable, and there are some great scenes.

The investigation has too many possible encounter areas (12?), red herrings, and NPCs to speak to. Four would have been more than enough.

The biggest problem with Witch is that the ending is anti-climatic and needs to be handled carefully by the GM.

Spirit Road is mostly an investigation scenario with some combat.

The plot was to find out what happened to a Pathfinder caravan in a supernatural forest.

A lot of time was spent with the introduction but not a lot was said about the Spirit Road or Tian (the only thing I can remember is that we need to pay tribute, alcohol, to the Kami and we need to stay on the road).

I wasn’t impressed with any of the combats. None of them were unique and I didn’t understand the motivations of most of the enemies. So the scenario lacked story.

The roleplay was mostly trying to find out where the caravan went, which was not interesting.

This scenario wasn't deadly and I didn't take a single point of damage. I'd rather have this than a TPK when trying to introduce new players to PF2.

We finished in 1.5 hours, but it's because we were fast and experienced players. We even had a lot of roleplay. Same GM went 4 hours with other groups. It must make it hard to develop scenarios with that much variance.

Summary: The evergreens have been really vanilla so far. Whether it’s killing mites, goblins, or goblin like Tian creatures, it’s been boring. I want unique encounters and interesting storylines and the evergreens are not providing that.

Initiation is mostly a series of fetch quests that required skill checks or combat.

Initiation is the spiritual successor to First Steps, an older introduction to Pathfinder Society.

I felt the start of the scenario could have been used to introduce the new factions (which would have been great since no one at the table understood them), but it was not, instead we had to work hard to get our fetch quests. I’m not sure if this was the fault of the GM or the scenario.

The fetch quests in themselves didn’t tell a good story either and the stories didn’t go anywhere.

At least the scenario wasn’t deadly.

Summary: PFS needs to get back to telling great stories. So far, the evergreens are not accomplishing that.

Open Road is a mix of Pathfinder lore, roleplay, investigation, and combat.

This sounds like a good thing but it was not. The main problem was the plot was boring and didn't make a lot of sense.

The scenario was poorly paced and it started with yet another library. Library scenarios have been overdone now and they have become a boring cliché. This was one of the worst libraries for a few reasons.

Another problem was that the pregens were not updated for PF2 and were instead built using something that was in between the playtest rules and PF2 rules. So you’re teaching new players the rules but you’re teaching them the wrong rules. For example, Valeros’ shield hardness being 3. Also, it didn't provide Valeros the option to strike with his gauntlet, which was needed.

The combats go from easy to very hard quickly. My group were veteran PFS players with a grasp of PF2 mechanics and even we had a hard time. I saw a TPK during the con with another group. Not a great 1st time experience.

I liked the final encounter, it was really well designed. I didn't find the bad guys motivation very realistic though, and not worth dying for.

The Pathfinder lore at the end is interesting for any long time Pathfinder Society players. I think that this scenario would have been much better as a regular PFS scenario.

Summary: This is an OK scenario for long time PFS players, but it's not suitable for players new to Pathfinder 2. I would have rather seen this as a high tier scenario with a sequel.

Harmonious was a mix of investigation, combat, and a little lore.

Harmonious was poorly paced. There was too much uninteresting lore, inconsequential roleplay, too many empty rooms, too many skill checks, and a lot of nothing happening, especially at the start.

In general PFS box text is too complex, the names are too complex to hear (Tien especially), especially in a loud convention. Simple is best, I don't even want my GMs to read boxtext.

The lore and the roleplay were not very good. Maybe part of the problem was that it was run in 5 hours, honestly it *should* be run in less than 2.

The puzzle was easy and has already been used several times.

There was one unique combat, but for our low Str group it went too long. Also, even with a handout, it was too complex (and unneeded and didn't make a difference), it would have been better to give the PCs a few names and let them improvise. The premise of the encounter was also silly, and it was unbelievable that we could gain those powers in a day.

Betrayal is a combat scenario with a little bit of roleplay.

Your mission is to hunt down and exterminate two longtime foes of the Pathfinder Society who are trapped. This aspect of the scenario is really nice for those of us who have been around a while and provides some closure, which is great! Unfortunately, this is one of the only selling points of this scenario.

Each encounter, it felt like the GM opened the monster manual, placed an appropriate CR opponent on the map and said "Fight!". For seeker arc material, this just isn't good enough and was very disappointing.

Even the storyline was fairly mundane. There were no "Aha!" moments like we've had in previous seeker arcs.

The good part about this scenario, I guess, is that this scenario is fairly easy compared to the other level 12+ scenarios. We basically beat the scenario with 3 PCs (other two players were not very good) and except for the 1st encounter (when we realized they weren’t going to help), it was fairly easy.

The encounter with the assassin has the most potential to be memorable, but it highly depends on tactics and skills of the PCs, and the creativity of the GM. It also has the potential to be super boring, haha. Personally, although short lived, it was enjoyable and memorable (which is why this scenario is 3, not 2 stars).

Twice is an exploration scenario with a mix of combat and roleplay.

Twice is a unique and interesting story and environment with some interesting roleplay moments.

There are some monsters that are rarely used, which could result in an easy battle (for us) or nearly impossible. In 2018, I think Twice is more easy than difficult. If it would have been more difficult it would be 4 stars.

Twice is a very short scenario, I believe we finished in 3 hours, but it could have been less if we started on time. It could take longer depending on choices and skills.

Having said all of that, there is nothing super special about this scenario, it's just a unique environment.

Cultist is a horror scenario with investigation, roleplay, and combat.

The environment and dark mood that was created in Palin’s Cove was fantastic. As well, the NPCs and slightly disturbing storyline were also great. Some tough decisions, some moral decisions, I loved it!

Copper is a horror scenario with complex, punishing, and challenging combat.

The story was completely forgettable, so if you don't like interesting combat encounters or your character is suboptimal, skip this.

Copper features some very interesting multi-phase, environmentally challenging, punishing, complex fights.

My party was only average and although we finished it, I believe there was some softballing, and the GM could have easily TPKed us.

Besides the combat, this scenario doesn’t have anything else to offer. No story, no roleplay, no atmosphere. Other combat scenarios, like Elven Entanglement, had these intangibles.

Overall: If you like interesting combat encounters that are more challenging than normal, you might like this (7/10).

Absalom is a combat-based scenario.

Absalom was definitely a well designed and innovative scenario.

I especially liked the part with the robot, although not everyone at my table did. Even with handouts, this just goes over some people's heads. Even with good division of labor, we lost however.

I’m not sure I like the (story) concept of a ½ construct ½ demonic horde, it just doesn’t make sense to me, sorry it just didn't feel like a realistic threat, especially given how long it takes to make constructs or how expensive it is.

Having said that, this is probably the last special I will play for awhile, although this was well done, specials are just not appealing to me.

Far is a short exploration scenario with combat.

This is one of the shortest scenarios I’ve played. It will take a maximum of 2-3 hours, it could take less.

Far is only "OK". The mission wasn’t quite compelling (why are the Sarkorian ruins so important? And why is second hand information from someone who was only a baby at the time relevant?), and the story was only... OK (and the GM was a good storyteller).

For some groups, the final encounter could be unbeatable.

Still one of my best and surprisingly, one of my most used flip maps.

Should be coming out in classic.