Hmmm, any news on that sanctioning? Its in the works! Schedules tend to get a bit scrunched up around the holidays, and there have been some other issues that are quite demanding on time as well. We hope to have some time late next week to start the process moving again.
Yes, that's pretty harsh for low-level PCs, and the trap is scaled down in other ways from the original CR 7 it is based off of. For this one, the PCs can automatically find a fellow Starfinder to remove the curse for free after they complete the quest.
DC 9 Fortitude negates, and it should be damage rather than drain.
No bonuses are listed, so they don't gain any bonuses. They can use their choice of Bluff, Intimidation, or Stealth, but it's likely they'll choose Bluff or Stealth given their bonuses.
I'm glad to see the response folks have had to this revision, and I hope it runs much more smoothly at all of your tables. The revision wasn't just the work of OP developers; it also took the efforts of Alex and Tonya, as well as editors, art team members, project management, and customer service. I appreciate the hard work everyone put in to make this possible. A revision on this scale isn't something we can undertake lightly, but this scenario's unique circumstances of production combined with its role as an introductory scenario made it worthwhile.
I'm glad to see the response folks have had to this revision, and I hope it runs much more smoothly at all of your tables. The revision wasn't just the work of OP developers; it also took the efforts of Alex and Tonya, as well as editors, art team members, project management, and customer service. I appreciate the hard work everyone put in to make this possible. A revision on this scale isn't something we can undertake lightly, but this scenario's unique circumstances of production combined with its role as an introductory scenario made it worthwhile.
Thanks for finding issues, folks. I've made corrections, and we will reupload shortly.
Corrections log: *Fixed runestone price/level to standard *Fixed Elite template application on nightmare for high level range *Fixed CP scaling in first encounter of high level range to list high level ranges. *added number of spells to spontaneous casters (the standard, same as # listed) *added missing checkbox to treasure bundle list *added perception to Nigel's discovery skills (DC 2 higher than Arcana) *blowgun damage normalized (technically NPCs don't have to do the same damage as PCs with weapons, though we generally try to have them do so) *Map for Area B (added in previous revision)
Thanks for finding issues, folks. I'm correcting the raw scenario file, and we'll reupload shortly.
When we concepted The Pathfinder Trials, we planned for it to be a new-player friendly interactive that introduced key aspects of Pathfinder Society lore, releasing early in the PFS Second Edition campaign. But then the pandemic happened. Instead of leaving this intro scenario on ice for an ever-increasing amount of time, we're going to convert it to a non-interactive scenario, to release as one of our two January scenarios. It will still be a level 1 repeatable adventure.
Now that where you're going isn't a secret anymore... :) Congratulations, Mike! Your seemingly endless font of creative ideas, your insights, and your dedication to making the Pathfinder Society program the best it can be have made you a huge asset to the Organized Play team, and an amazing coworker. While I'm sad to see you go, I'm glad that the community will be able to enjoy your work for many years to come. And I know that in your new position on the design team, you'll continue to create things that inspire people's imaginations and spark memorable stories.
Yes, this is a typo. 19–22 should indeed have only one spell weaver.
Hi! For those of you running this, there's an error in the challenge point sidebars for Subtier 5-6 for encounters A1 and A2: they should use the standard high-subtier categories of 19-22, 23-27, 28-32, and 33+ instead of the ones from the low subtier. The scaling instructions are otherwise correct.
For the map, the octagonal building on the center west is should be keep (B4), and the wooden building on the east side should be the barracks (B5). Sylvina doesn't share the consecrate ritual with the PCs. Rituals are a pretty big category of treasure, moreso than an uncommon spell. To offer ritual access as treasure here, we would have had to significantly cut into the other rewards the scenario offered or charge a fee that was beyond the means of 1st level PCs, which wouldn't have been appealing to PCs who didn't want the ritual. Of course, people running this adventure for their home games are welcome to add it in here :)
It's just been brought to my attention that we did not correctly update the treasure table in the back of The Dragon Who Stole Evoking Day, and that the Guide does not include a chart that explains how we generate quest treasure.
Spinning Falcon joins in with the dancing, flipping and flying to and fro. He sings along with the music with a series of beeps and flashes his lights in tune with the beat. His patterns repeat in the same way Rose-5's do—this is a formulaic dance that the two of them have practiced many times before. The social interaction and public-facing speech have tired him out, so he mostly spends time with Rose-5 after returning to the ship rather than speaking with the other Starfinders much. Still, in between hours in the machine shop with Rose-5, he takes some time to hang out with his new friend Tyus.
Rose-5 says, “No hard feelings, Moxie. Zo!s challenges are quite inventive. I believe I would enjoy experiencing more of his creativity and using it to augment my training and performance as an agent of the Starfinder Society.” She turns toward the large group dancing. “Oh, another surprise challenge. To dance for the audience. I am not good at dancing, but I will try.” Stepping forward into the crowd, Rose-5 gives dancing her best shot. Her dance is a ritualistic series of moves repeated precisely in time, with no improvisation or signs of her feeling the beat as more than a mechanistic set of instructions. When Zo! offers the Poshkettle tea to Rose-5, she grins, entirely oblivious to the implication that Zo! just wants the tea out of his studio. “Thank you, Zo! I am glad that you remembered that I like Poshkettle Tea and that you have generously decided to share it with us as a gift in acknowledgement of our victory.” Back in the Lorespire Complex, Rose-5 kicks back and relaxes, in her way. She spends hours upon hours in her machine shop plotting future improvements for Falcon in her sketchbook and then trying new models in search of an innovation that works well and strikes her drone’s fancy. All the while, she enjoys numerous cups of her favorite tea. When the anti-Starfinder propaganda plays, Rose-5 sputters at the vid-screen. “That’s…That’s highly inaccurate. They are reporting on a nonlethal battle as if it were mortal combat, and selectively editing the video footage in order to produce a false narrative. I don’t like this. And then they just talk about soap operas?" She sighs, “This is why video news is inferior to written news.” She shakes a bit, as part of her mind that she's pushing far to the back contemplates the possibility that what she saw on the screen about the fate of the Rivals may well be true.
We'll be updating the pregens on Wednesday. This update adds a set of 6 3rd level pregens: Amiri, Ezren, Fumbus, Kyra, Merisiel, and Valeros. The update also corrects errors in the existing level 1 and level 5 pregens, cleans them up a bit, and applies the errata. If you've already printed out level 1/level 5 pregens, you can still use them in scenarios. They are still fundamentally the same characters. If you're going to be doing new printing, I recommend re-downloading the file first so you have the latest version. We are still planning to release level 5 pregens for the other 6 classes, just not right now.
In an attempt to keep Rose-5's spirits high, Spinning Falcon jumps in to her hammy attack routine.
"ERROR ERROR ERROR Target Not Found. Commence location protocol."
So, is there any word if this is legal for Pathfinder Society? Hi! After carefully weighing a variety of factors (such as the burden on GMs still grappling with a new set of rules), the Organized Play team has decided that it's not in the best interest of the campaign to have playtest characters participating in official Pathfinder Society games at this time. If you're interested in earning Pathfinder Society credit for participating in the playtest, I highly recommend playing Fall of Plaguestone and downloading the free sanctioning document for it on the adventure's product page. You can play a playtest character through the adventure and then apply the credit to a Pathfinder Society character of your choice when you're done.
Thanks Hmm! I've added this to our list of updates for the pregens. This feedback is well-timed. I'm actually working on some fixes now, both to address errors and to input the errata (which changes the Bulk of basically every character, giving them more space to pick up things they find in their adventures).While you are looking at that list Linda, one of the main complaints I have gotten about the Pregens was the removal of the background story for them. Would love to see that added back. Hi! Given the mandate to keep pregens to a single page front and back page whenever possible, the more visual layout, and the amount of time such a revision and design would take, we're not considering adding stories to the pregens at this stage. But the stories on the iconic pregens are nearly always paraphrased and truncated versions of the text of blogs from the Meet the Iconics series, so if your players are interested in engaging with the stories behind the pregenerated characters, I'd recommend checking out the blogs: https://paizo.com/community/blog/tags/iconics/meetTheIconics.
Thanks Hmm! I've added this to our list of updates for the pregens. This feedback is well-timed. I'm actually working on some fixes now, both to address errors and to input the errata (which changes the Bulk of basically every character, giving them more space to pick up things they find in their adventures).
For his part, Falcon isn't quite ready to talk to the other team. Instead, he flies gracefully up and past Zez'ka. As he passes Rose-5, he does a little pirouette in the air, beeping merrily as he goes.
Rose-5 turns to Smek, "Don't worry, Spinning Falcon's on the case. I'm the Rebel, too, so I can look out for Zez'ka as well. Speaking of which..." She calls out to Zez'ka, "Zez'ka! If the past challenges have been anything to go by, I wouldn't be at all surprised if this place is rigged with terrible traps, and the third flag would be a perfect place for one. I suggest looking first before grabbing it. I've got my toolkit at the ready just in case."
As she passes through the door, Rose-5 attempts to turn smoothly. Instead, as she bumps into the back wall, she pushes off too hard, causing herself to spin in slow circles that make it harder for her to control her movement. Spinning Falcon beeps. Rose-5 rolls her eyes and sighs, "Seriously Falcon? EVERY time??"
Falcon says in a playful voice, “I think I've done a good job keeping them from knowing I can speak, so I expect they'll underestimate me. I'll take to the sky and watch for signs of sneaky flag-thieves. If I find them, I'll point them out with a handy trail of arcing electricity. I *would* offer to let you glue a flag to my chassis if it were smaller, Rose, but honestly, flying with a thing like that? I'd look utterly ridiculous, even if my propulsors were strong enough to stabilize me.” His ocular sensors widen as he looks around at the group, hoping to have surprised at least someone.
Back in the break room after Zez'ka's lovely speech, Rose-5 says, "If you are 'The Rebel', can I be 'The Rebel' too? You said they are both being 'The Grump', so more than one person is allowed to be 'The Grump.' Whether I earn the title or not, I would be happy to join you in enjoying this delicious food.”
As the combat with the hordes of undead begins, Rose-5 comments to the rest of the group, “This is far more traditional than the other challenges so far. Be on the lookout for 'surprises'.” Despite her warning (or perhaps because she was on-edge), when the first skeleton explodes, she yelps and jumps into the air. Spinning Falcon circles around her protectively. “I'm fine, Falcon. Please just focus on the battle.” She looks a bit embarrassed, but she tries to, well, just focus on the battle.
At the suggestion from Smek to attach the beacon to him, Spinning Falcon's lights flash between red and green, and he beeps quizzically. Rose-5 says, “How much danger would that course of action put him in? He's willing to consider it. When Smek volunteers for the task himself, Falcon beeps cheerfully. Rose-5 helps the others open the equipment crate. Wow, there is plenty of useful equipment in here. It takes a while to switch out Falcon's weapon mount, and I'm not the best at combat myself. I recommend that someone else take the weapons and the jets. As for the epoxy...is there anything in the rules that would stop us from using it to glue the real flag to something? Smek's armor, perhaps?" She taps her lip, "No, then they'd just pick up all of Smek as well. We'd need something heavier and sturdier to attach a flag to. We will be getting a second flag if all goes well, so it could be part of our plan for that flag. Regardless, it's worth considering that the other team probably has the same supplies at their disposal." When Zez'ka announces her plan to rush forward to claim the other flag, Rose-5 replies, “Then Falcon and I will go forward to cover you. I'm sure we'll meet some of the other team there, and it won't be easy for you to fight while carrying something so heavy. Falcon can maneuver around and attack them."
...huh. Not sure how *that* crept in. The scenario should give the standard amount of Reputation.
Oblivious as usual to conversational subtlety, Rose-5 asks Smek, "Why did you tell Datch that we won't take her gift? I think that was perhaps a snub of some kind. Do you know her? And even if you don't want the fruit, do you mind if the rest of us have some? It looks delicious, but maybe you'd be mad if I eat it?" Rose-5 frowns. After a few moments in thought, her face lights up with With an expression of dawning recognition, and she turns to Zez'ka. "Wait, you're an expert in friendship. What's going on here? Maybe this is one of those situations that some people think is obvious but then they don't say it and then other people are confused. Then the people who think it is obvious either yell that it is obvious or walk away and refuse to explain. It is very annoying." When Zo! comes backstage, Rose-5 replies. "Nearly ready, Zo! I don't suppose you're planning to give us any hints about what we'll be up against next? Your challenges are certainly highly creative."
Noticing the distinct lack of anyone stepping forward to describe the dish, Rose-5 awkwardly steps forward and clears her throat. This kind of promotional speaking is *way* outside of her comfort zone. If anyone else wants to chip in, I'm more than happy for this to be an attempt to aid.
"Ahem. Ah. I would say as you can taste, but you're undead so you can't taste anyway, so I'm not sure what you're looking for here. My teammate Deger cooked this meat in the "old fashioned way", which is probably good or it wouldn't have stuck around for so long. And Zez'ha added some unusual things to the mix too. And Tyus added some sleeve-leather, which is also unusual. And there's Smek's dish too. It BOOMED, and that was interesting. I fixed our stove, which means that our food is safe to eat and won't poison you. But actually you're undead, so you wouldn't be poisoned anyway? Yeah, that's it. I hope you enjoy our food." Rose-5 looks for all the world like a child relieved to be finished with an oral presentation in school as she slinks back to the rest of the party.
Important note on Reputation in this scenario:
With that in mind, please strike out the phrase "If any of the PCs are members of the Grand Archive faction," in the faction notes section at the beginning. Have Zarta talk to the PCs regardless of their faction affiliation (if none are representing the GA, you'll probably want to paraphrase the boxed text a bit). Then at the end of the scenario, if the PCs meet the conditions listed in the faction notes section, every PC gets the bonus Reputation with the Grand Archive faction.
To answer some of the questions in this thread:
The 2019 GM boon should also open up the same kobold rules options as the Gen Con 2018 one. That is to say, add the following to the kobold section of the GM boon that lets you play a Ghoran, Kobold, Rougarou, or Samsaran. "Treat all kobold specific character options in the Advanced Race Guide and Inner Sea Races as if they appeared on the Additional Resources list, as well as all character options from Kobolds of Golarion except the traits icy mementos, lair snake, lightning blessed, ooze defense; the spell blightburn weapon; and the item blightburn paste."
The street date for Pathfinder and Starfinder Society scenarios, with occasional exceptions for winter holidays, is the last Wednesday of the month. So this month, it's October 30th. As for the Maps: Flip Mat Classics: Village Square (B side) Flip Tiles: Forest Starter Set Flip Tiles: Forest Perils Expansion
If that dragon is who I think it is, and it still has the items in its hoarde from first edition, its going to make my dwarven paladin PC extremely happy. I can't wait to get my hands on this one.It's not that dragon. I'd love to see what happens if someone confuses the dragon in this AP for the dragon you think it is, though :)
When the trap went off, the electricity damage didn't seem to phase Rose-5 that much. It did, however, cause her braids of metallic hair to hover in the air for a moment. "This is far from the first time I've accidentally shocked myself. It is one of the dangers of teaching yourself how to create electrical systems. She quickly grounds herself and let the buildup leave her body before offering help to Tyus and leaping across pillars as described in the botting. Once Tyus makes it across too, she says to her, "There we go. The finish line is just up ahead. Watch your step on the conveyor belt, and keep your eyes sharp for last-minute surprises. For example it seems that people are hopping over a spot on this conveyor belt, so there is probably a trap there."
Thanks for this Linda. I did have another issue crop up now I have finished prepping this, how do players qualify for the Bag of Contingencies boon? earning boon:
Ah, right. As the boon's text implies, this one's basically automatic. As long as the group doesn't TPK before meeting Torch, they get this boon.
Has there been any allowance made for being able to play 2-08 after this if you level to 9 from 2-06? If we expect xp to be evenly distributed we should have one player at every other table of this leveling out of being able to do what seems like it is the second half of a story. Feels like a design issue with an otherwise neat idea. No special allowance. When we present multi-part scenarios, we know that some people may level out of them, but there's not really an easy solution to that issue. If you are interested in experiencing a full story arc with the same character, we recommend playing earlier parts with a character that is not at the maximum level for the tier.
"Nice to meet you, Verity. I expect this will be rather entertaining for us as well as for the audience. Rose-5 inspects Shonvyzam's gear closely, trying to find a flaw that she can point out.
She probably doesn't find anything worthy of a witty quip, though. She speaks to Rafelo, "Perhaps if you would like people to stop associating you with your physical attractiveness, it would serve you well not to introduce yourself by telling people of your victories in contests in which attractiveness is a primary component. I am now thinking a lot more about your physical attractiveness than I would have been if you had not made those comments, so your strategy is counterproductive. In response to Tillik's remarks, she says, "I'm glad that you are no longer confused about where you are. Smek, I did not realize that your flips could be so disorienting. This tactic may well be of use to us in the challenges ahead."
Rose-5 answers Kemashi, "Thank you. People rarely say nice things about my voice. But these songs are very catchy. I got a Strawberry Machine Cake album recently and I liked it a lot. Then I started looking for similar artists. If you like this type of music, it would make sense for us to spend time together and present samples of songs so that we can efficiently grow our music libraries. That would also be an effective way to assess the possibility of developing a friendship based upon common interests." After a quick count of team members, Rose-5 says, "Excuse me, Mr. Zo! Should we not be the Starfinder Seven? There's Spinning Falcon, Kemashi, Frank, Deger, Tyus, Smek, and also me."
And then when the other team comes out, she replies to Mia Moxie, "Well, hello there! Spirited competition you are, then! I'm Rose-5, and this is my traveling companion, Spinning Falcon. This is the part where we do the trash talk, I see! Unfortunately, you haven't given me much to work with yet. I'll have to wait to see you fail first. A word of advice though--anger clouds the higher functions of the mind. If you wish to perform well at these contests, I recommend calming down. Many breathing creatures find taking deep breaths to be an effective means of re-centering concentration and reducing emotional interference. If you wish to assist me in insulting you by increasing your probability of failure, by all means continue to allow your inaccurate hypothesis that we will be an easy team to defeat to annoy you."
"I'm glad to participate as well," says Rose-5. "Spinning Falcon is much more capable at combat than I am. I'm curious, though--you said that you love questions but then your answer to the questions about what to expect is that everything is a surprise. Do you love questions because you love being enigmatic? Is this one of those social situations like when a person buys someone else a gift and asks them to guess what it is but actually doesn't plan to tell them what it is?"
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