Jenny Jarzabski's page

My group just plunged into this epic tome several months ago so I'm not capable of writing a full review yet. So far Tsar does not disappoint. The game is open enough for characters to explore and take the adventure in multiple directions, at least initially. There is still an overarching theme that calls us back to Tsar no matter how far we stray from its ruins. The vivid landscapes, unique characters, grim dungeons and fatal encounters combine to create what promises to be a great adventure that will last for years to come.

I'm not normally a fan of dungeon crawls but this one was pretty good. Interest in solving the mystery will propel you through the zombie and sin infested crypts below Kaer Maga. The module was simple, didn't feel tedious after nearly a day of playing, and though the fights weren't too challenging for us it was a lot of fun.

This is a great intro to the dungeon crawl, skill and knowledge checks, and problem solving in game. I don't like it quite as much as part 1 but it's still a lot of fun. I wish all dungeon crawls were this good.

Extremely fun to play and GM! There's a lot of roleplay as this is mainly a diplomatic errand and investigation type scenario.

As a GM - have fun with the NPCs and let their personalities come alive. This is the first time players will meet faction heads and get to roleplay as Pathfinders, so make it memorable for them!

I enjoyed this scenario as a player. There was some investigation, some roleplaying, challenging faction missions that didn't feel too contrived, and some good encounters. I think the encounters would have been very difficult with a weaker party, but we played up and steamrolled everything. I enjoyed the twists and turns as we searched for the villain. The final fight was pretty tricky, even for our party, and the guy got away at the end (disappointing) but we still did what we came to do. I've heard from other players that this scenario was confusing and boring but I don't agree at all.

Great story and roleplaying and a chance to interact with our most hated of enemies, the Aspis Consortium, but not in the way you would think!

This was a lot of fun! There was a "dungeon" of sorts but it was small and had plenty of open space. There were some truly nasty (in a good way) encounters but none felt impossible. One of my favorite things about this scenario was a certain object that could either bestow a buff or debuff purely based on chance. We almost lost a party member to it, but it was a nice touch. This was the first "high tier" scenario I've played in PFS and I enjoyed it.

The best thing about Refuge is that it had my favorite PFS formula - enough roleplaying and story to keep you interested and a few (but not too many) challenging yet balanced encounters. It also didn’t have constricting dungeon passageways that keep all but a few characters from being in on the action.

This was a fun scenario that was blessedly light on combat. I enjoy a good encounter but many PFS scenarios are too combat heavy. The twist at the end was somewhat unexpected and the story was interesting. I did feel a bit useless at the dinner party and for some reason kept getting tongue-tied/putting my foot in my mouth.

As much as I love roleplaying, this should have been my favorite scenario but really wasn't. There were some hilarious moments and the fights at the end were challenging and almost refreshing after hours of just talking. I definitely liked this scenario but it wasn't as great as I thought it would be. My faction mission (Szcarni) was awesome

This scenario was part investigation, part heroic escapade, and part diplomatic errand. I enjoyed being down in the sewers, as weird as that sounds, and the NPC roleplaying was fantastic. The only way the roleplaying wouldn't be fun is if the GM didn't get into it.

I had fun with this one. It was one of the scenarios that had a compelling story that made me care about getting to the end. The characters were memorable and there was a real sense of heroism at the completion of the game. I like when Pathfinder lets me pretend to be a hero. :) My character was a newbie level 1 hiding behind the level 3-5 people so I don't remember a whole lot about combat, other than that I was only mildly effective, but nobody seemed angry or confused and nobody got murdered.

This scenario is somewhat foggy in my memory (which is probably not a good sign) but I remember it being tedious. I remember making a lot of survival checks and the GM introducing us to the necessity and annoyance of buying and marking off supplies such as food and water. It's a good introduction for new players, though, and how fun it is probably depends upon the GM.

I played the high tier version of this scenario as the Kyra pregen. It was one of the first PFS games I ever played. I had a lot of fun, particularly with investigating grisly murders in the dark heart of gothic Ustalav. There was a time limit, significant player challenges both with combat and roleplay, and an interesting chase scene toward the end. Mauler leaves room for player creativity and there is more than one solution to the main problem. I highly recommend this scenario!

The City of the Golden Death was not my favorite module but it was definitely not my least favorite. The module itself seemed like it had PC massacre potential---the skeletal dragon on the cover, negative energy storms, molten gold flooding through city streets, and the very names of places containing words like “terror” and “death”. In reality we waltzed through all but the last encounter.

The module had an interesting premise but after awhile the huge city/ruins we had to trek through and its puzzles and secret doors became tedious. Golden Death was also combat heavy though not oppressively so. My favorite combat was an interesting encounter with

The module was pretty good overall and other than a few dull moments was a good way to spend a Saturday. It provides plenty of connection to the current Rune Lords theme and was fun but challenging for all party members.

Yikes! This scenario is simple enough and the faction missions are easy but the combat is easily deadly. I almost lost my bard to the first combat. (We played at the higher tier.) The scenario kept me engaged, mainly because of fear my character might croak if I didn't stay on my toes, but it was a lot of fun. My group had fun with a lot of inter-party role play and the big bad at the end was delightfully cheesy and fun to hurl insults at. Overall I would recommend this scenario.

My advice for this module:

1) Bring a rogue.
2) Be prepared for the dreaded, cramped dungeon crawl.
3) Check for traps.

As a player I thought this scenario was okay. It would have been better if the GM had been more into it, I think, but I don't think it was all his fault. The final "boss" wasn't really that hard to defeat and the puzzles and traps were interesting at first but grew tedious. I got tired of being stuck in the back of a long, narrow tunnel and hardly ever being able to hit the monsters we fought. I am not a huge fan of dungeon crawls so this scenario was definitely not my favorite. Also, there was hardly any roleplaying with NPCs, which is something I enjoy.

This is a great module, full of intrigue and dark Nidal flavor. I hadn't read the Pathfinder novel Nightglass yet but this module inspired me to read it. The characters and situations are compelling and feel real. I could definitely imagine myself in Nidal trying to help an ancient but corrupt noble house. There is one character in particular who was very entertaining to talk to, though I won't say more because I don't like to give spoilers. The Midnight Mirror allows PCs to roleplay, think critically, and engage in some (potentially deadly) fights. Alas, my party experienced a TPK during this module. I really wish we had been able to finish it. I still recommend this module, just be prepared and realize that anything involving Nidal is not for the faint of heart!

After playing the first part, which I thought was awful, this was a relief. There's a lot of great roleplaying in this scenario and opportunities for your characters to get creative and think outside the box to solve problems. The fights pose a decent challenge but the scenario is not too combat heavy. My master-of-disguise bard had a blast.

This scenario was boring, lifeless, and completely devoid of role play. It was like a dungeon crawl without any of the cool stuff you usually find in dungeons. I honestly can't even remember what the main plot was. It was very hard for me to not space out for most of the game and I was not engaged at all. The second part, on the other hand, is definitely worth your time.

The idea of this scenario was a good one. It wasn't boring but there was a lot of combat and a truly nasty debuff that, while good for flavor, made two of the characters nearly useless toward the end. My group made it about 3/4 of the way through the scenario before a pair of nasty crits took down our highest level character (and the only front liner). At that point the group as a whole was given a choice to keep going and risk a TPK or stop there. We decided to quit while we were ahead, mostly because two of our characters had been hit where it counts from the aforementioned debuff. I was disappointed. I would have loved to play the game until the end and find out what happened. I really was having fun but the group felt that going on would have been too risky. We still got our XP but now I can never play that scenario again.

There was absolutely nothing wrong with the scenario. My table's problem was that we had an imbalanced group from the beginning. I suggest you don't let that happen if possible!

This is my favorite PFS scenario so far. I have experienced Severing Ties from both sides of the table, as a GM and as a player. Both times I enjoyed the awesome opportunities for role playing as well as the few but interesting fights.

I would definitely encourage GMs to not allow children at the table for this game, however. Severing Ties has mature themes that adult players will have outrageous fun fleshing out. The actual written text isn't entirely explicit, of course, but there is definitely a brothel involved and having kids within earshot might put a damper on the fun.

There are some encounters that have the potential to be deadly so GMs should be familiar with tactics and mechanics before running and pay attention to the adjustments for tables with four players. Challenging fights are great but overpowered, nearly impossible fights are not.

I think everyone should play this scenario. It's new and it's got a great balance of role playing, puzzles, and hack/slash. Grab your favorite chaotic or fun-loving character and remember, what happens in Riddleport stays in Riddleport.