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Sign in to create or edit a product review. Perspective: Playing as Trapper Ranger/Living Monolith 11, with a party of Illusionist Wizard 11, Hellcat Monk 10, Spell Sunder specialized Barbarian 11, Swashbuckler 11, Archer Bard 11. Scenario Experience: This is likely one of the hardest 10-11 subtiers I've ever played. It's on par with The Waking Rune in sheer power level (albeit without resorting to "one-shot the party" spells). The skill challenges were challenges for a highly skilled party. The backstory moments are amazing, very descriptive and enjoyable. This is what a faction retirement scenario should be like! Pros:
Cons:
The final part of the trilogy is of really epic proportions (including the maps!!), and is an absolute must play, with a hilarious final encounter. I will not go into further detail. Finally Played this after having run it a few years ago: I had loads of fun with this one. There is a lot of predictable elements, but that's not a bad thing. The fights are fun and involve pretty iconic opponents. Only the timeline is strange. You get sent to Urglin to find a guide into Urgir (the similarity of the names is slightly confusing at times), and at the same time find out what happened to another Pathfinder who came here some time ago. It's not very well presented to the players that the latter is the thread around which the scenario is written.
Having now played it, after I ran it a chowing off years ago: I don't entirely agree with the reviews below. The lore aspect could have focused a bit more on the dwarven aspect of the dungeon, but this is still clearly a dwarven structure that has stood the test of time.
All in all, I like this scenario, but this is a dungeon crawl: Don't expect a social adventure. Although I played at a different table than the one Quentin bases his review on, I agree with him: the plot is so predictable that you expect a final plot twist that never comes.
Enjoyed both running and playing this scenario very much: Lots of things going on at iconic locations in the City of Monuments. The encounters were interesting and made sense. All the singing and dancing have the impression of a Halloween Musical episodes or something. The thing I'll nitpick about, is that the mechanics for the rituals are interesting but need tuning: The DC's are pretty steep, and the success threshold is harsh for the number of checks you need to make. I also found it strange there did not seem to be any real kind of time constraint. I had fun with this one: I played this one up in the 4-player high tier and felt reasonably fragile, but in spite of this I felt like I was able to do a lot. A setup in Galt is always fun/scary, and the follow-up on the previous adventure (Case of Missing Persons) is interesting. As expected, infiltration is part of the game in a country where the society is basically outlawed. What you have to infiltrate and what you'll encounter there is scary even for a high tier party: We were nearly in full panic mode when the GM told is what was going on, but weer managed to keep out heads cool. You will face some people and I was disappointed to see the way they're scripted:
Spoiler:
As if people are going to argue that they don't want to be saved, as they're facing the guillotine... Why?! The final encounter felt strangely easy: High level parties should be able to face the odds that are presented here, barring severe flukes in the initiative rolls, but the opponent felt somewhat weak. Some classes are not really suited for near-lone opponents because they don't deliver the punch need against a high level party, even if they're thematically correct for the situation. Despite these flaws, I genuinely enjoyed this scenario, which puts a party up against at least 1 iconic and scary enemy. Played this at the 6-player high tier (APL 4) with a party only somewhat capable of investigating properly. Our knowledge and social skills were subpar, but weer managed a near-total success. This doesn't mean the scenario was easy for us though, but by following the right clues from the multiple ones you'll get, you can compensate for a lot. Right off the bat, the local setting crashes its flavour on the party, which starts off an interesting adventure. The combats were fun, and fit for the plot. No doubt playing a Vishkanya made some obvious checks a lot easier, but still the opponents managed to deliver a punch. This ranks the scenario as one of the better investigation scenarios I've seen. Played this as a final unscheduled slot of a convention last weekend; Low tier, 6 players. As an experienced Pathfinder player not too kind on sci-fi, after a year keeping distance from Starfinder, I decided to give SFS a go. As quests go, these were straightforward: Go there, do some investigation, do a combat and get out out, which works fine. Some portions of the setting were lost on me, but the quests were interesting, an as a whole are a pretty good showcase of what SFS has to offer: some space combat, some fighting, some infiltrating, and an iconic final boss, which is always nice. Highlight of the session was the third quest, which started with our Operative going on a solo mission, while the soldier was providing a distraction, and the rest of us were just hanging around. Street a bit, or operative said "alright close your eyes and proceed towards the exit". Things had already been escalating because of role-playing, but that turned everything into mayhem. Perspective: Played as a 4-player party in the high tier with 2 archers, a frontline wizard and a twohander based fighter type. The story setup brings you to an underwater location somewhat close to Jalmeray. I like that you get prepared for that in advance, allowing for some preparation, rather than being suckered into it. The first encounter is pretty intense, introducing a creature I haven't seen before, which immediately introduces you to the story as well. Beware, because this is quite a killer encounter on all tiers (and adjustments). The second encounter feels a bit random and out of place for the rest of the story, but the setup is nice. The final destination feels weird, with an encounter that is reasonably fit for the location, although further explanation as to how the backstory was actually possible for such a creature is missing. But this encounter was also pretty brutal for or party, simply due to the strong action economy of the opponents. All in all I enjoyed this one, and it fits the Concordance pretty well. Also: Archers can still be devastating under water. Perspective: Ran this for a high tier party of 3 with a Kyrah pregen. The flavour starts out amazing, with an adventure setup in the Golarion polar circle, where an interesting people has managed to survive for centuries. As this usually goes, such cultures have some skeletons in at least one closet. The way the local culture is portrayed, is very well done.
Perspective: GM'd this last night for a 6 player 12-13 subtier with Hard mode (ranged Magus 12, bomber Alchemist 12, support Shaman 13, dim. dervish Monk 14, feint Rogue 14, melee Hunter 12). Be warned that this is a reasonably dangerous scenario to begin with. So, once again, the Society is after one of its more dangerous enemies that just won't stay dead. The scenario is true to what we know of previous encounters with him: Expect a challenging dungeon delve. As an added bonus, depending on player decision, closure for one of the factions from the past. I thoroughly enjoyed the setup of most of the encounters, some of which are upgrades of classic encounters that manage to be surprisingly dangerous without 'cheesing' it. The boss encounter felt satisfying to run, and the players had to really fight for their victory.
I must also compliment the hard mode setup for the scenario. The choice to not simply add more enemies, or add spiteful abilities as was done in the past (season 4 or 5), but with interesting additional (in some cases reasonably scary) abilities that will cater to an expert party without creating a feeling of resentment. But be warned that this scenario, even without hard mode, will probably run long. As the people I play PFS with will know, I'm usually not a fan of introducing new subsystems (Alabastrine, Seal the Shadow (TStS), etc). But in this case, it was a blast. Characters able to adjust to the wild environment will have a field day :D Positive points:
Points of improvement:
Negative point:
I (finally!) ran this last night at low tier, after a few failed earlier attempts. Party Setup:
Alchemist 8 (bomber, infusions) Arcanist 7 (controller) Zen Archer Inquisitor 8 (archer) Wind Shaman 8 (no-one really knows what role) First of all, a warning: The current standard for scenario's is 6 players. This was clearly written for 4, as was the standard in season 2. I very highly recommend running this for 4 players max. Otherwise the hinges of the scenario will burst on all sides. Premise, 4: The blurb is on the gloomy, creepy side and conveys the horror aspect of the scenario very well. Combat, 5: All of the combats are interesting (take note of the warning above). At some of the abilities, the players were going "What the...?", for more hilarity.
Background/Roleplaying, 5: The background of the scenario is y'olde Lovecraftian horror, very well executed. There are no real flaws in the story.
Mechanics, 5: You know there is a railroad, but the railroad is logical. There is no reason not to follow it. The next location the party has to visit has a severe story-wise pull that makes much sense. It's hard to do it better than this.
General, 5: After 6 years, to me this scenario retains a solid 5 star rating. Due to map sizes and the mechanics of the final encounter, the best experience is to be had with 4 players (avoid 5 or 6 players at all cost!), this really ensures the best experience. With 5 or 6 players, expect clutter and a skewered action economy (especially in the final battle). Also, play up at your own risk... ;) Okay, okay, just a sort one then: I played this one with the 4 players below as the Sovereign Court socialite Savage Technologist. The high points were the moment I was happy to have:
When I read the blurb of the scenario, I was expecting a variation on Fortress of the Nail, and I started worrying a bit, since this scenario is a Tier 1-5 adventure. I quickly realised I was wrong to worry. Party setup:
The party was composed of:
Inquisitor (Infiltrator/Sanctified Slayer) of Iomedae 5 (me) Wizard (Conjuration) 5 Psychic 5 Medium 2 Qinn Pregen 4 So a 6-player high sub-tier Premise, 5: Break into a prison in Cheliax to retreive an NPC that you have been tied to during the first two parts of the trilogy. Sounds epic enough. Combat, 3: We managed to avoid all but the final combat, which may be a push-over depending on the circumstances. If things go wrong, you may be overwhelmed though, and that will be too much for a Tier 1-5 party. Just remember this is primarily an infiltration mission and that you're not supposed to go for a full frontal assault. Background/RP, 5: The potential is there for all parties. Conflicting interation between Mr. Goodie Two-Shoes may not agree with the most favorable course of action for the party, which can result in interesting difficulties. Our party got into trouble at some point, resulting in the LvL2 Medium to be out of order for the greater part of 2 hours to save our asses with an interesting life-choice.
Mechanics, 4: Most of the scenario uses pretty standard mechanics, with one thing that may be a teensy-weensy bit of a surprise in case of failure. The greatest puzzle may interestingly enough be roleplay heavy. The mechanics of the second part of the scenario seemed arcane at the time of playing, but appeared clear once the GM explained them afterwards (For GM's I would recommend reading the GM thread for this for additional support). Skills, 5: You will be rewarded for having skills, no matter whether you're a skill monkey or not (though having no skills at all, you may have a bad time). Remember::
This is an infiltration mission. Which skills will/may be required could be easy to guess. General, 4: All in all, I enjoyed this scenario very much. There are many solutions for many a party setups and GM's are given the opportunity to allow much creativity within the given framework.
As mentioned in the GM thread, I would like to compliment Christopher for coming up with this excellent scenario. I can highly recommend it as the final scenario in this year's three-parter. Played this at 4-player high tier with Living Monolith 9, Cleric 11, Witch/Druid 8, Summoner 9, Paladin 9. Premise, 5: The premise sets you of on the trail of the Amethyst Sage. Our GM advertised this as Destiny of the Sands part 5. Our expectations were high, and the scenario delivered. Combat, 4: I was surprised to see how well equipped my Living Monolith was for all the combats. Tough fights in the Iris Room, including interesting opponents you don't see every day as well as unexpected twists on at least one more familiar one. Background/RP, 5: When people think of Osirion, the thing that pops to mind is pyramids. This scenario manages to capture an aspect relayed to that in a way that shows how creepy and advanced the ancient Osirians have also been. Loved that aspect. Mechanics, 4: Interesting puzzle that gradually reveals what you're dealing with, with quite serious consequences for failure. Very interesting and unexpected mix of martial, knowledge and other skills.
Skills, 5: I believe nearly all skills were used, and believe it or not, bringing an Osirion focused character is relevant. General, 5: I was very impressed last season by Scions of the Sky Key part 3, and I was looking forward to this one when I saw who wrote it. I was seriously not disappointed. I can absolutely recommend this adventure for the way it depicts the power Osirion achieved in times before the Kelleshite invasion. The combats are interesting, using opponents (or twists) you don't see every day. Looking forward to your next scenario! Played this one last night in about 4,5 hours.
The scenario is composed of two parts: A mini-dungeon and an infiltration. The first part is nice and has a fun mini-boss in an even more fun room. The execution of the second part is quite okay and less clunky than in Season 5 scenario: , but as I said before: There is so much going on that is nigh impossible to find everything.
Port Godless All in all I enjoyed myself enough to give this 4 stars. I ran this adventure this afteroon at the high tier (hiya, TheDegraded).
Premise, 5: The expectations after part 2 were high, and the setup promises a worthy conclusion. Combat, 3: Sadly, the first encounter is somewhat difficult to have work. The second combat is brilliant, and playing into the players' paranoia resulted in a hooked audience and exploding cheers. The challenge in the final combat is somewhat strange: If you perform too well in the Mechanics, the encounter becomes too easy. Background/RP, 5: An absolute fiver here. The various encounters and the actual information to recover, makes the scenario a worthy ending for this trilogy, and a great follow-up on #6-00 Legacy of the Stonelords. Mechanics, 4: The scenario's mechanics are fair and interesting, and rely on your party not being a bunch of murder hobos. The bonus you can get if you played an earlier scenario is also nice. The only downside I found, was that the final encounter can become somewhat underwhelming. It does not seem difficult at all to receive the (near-)maximum bonuses if your party follows the mission briefing, although this may be party- and sub-tier dependant. Skills, 5: As in the previous part, there are not many skills that are not being used here. Skill & Knowledge monkeys, have fun! General, 4: All in all, I really enjoyed preparing for this scenario, and running it did absolutely not disappoint me.
I had promised a friend of mine to run this adventure after he ran Library of the Lion. Reading the earlier reviews, I began to think it had been a grave mistake. In the end, I managed to enjoy both myself and the party.
Premise, 3/5: After their finds in the Library of the Lion, the players are sent on a diplomatic mission to Brevoy to negotiate for an ancient relic. Combat, 3/5: If the players are aware of the goal, this makes for potentially histerical combats. Otherwise, this is not a combat-heavy adventure. Background/RP, 4/5: There is plenty opportunity to RP in this adventure. This is actually essential, since otherwise this would become a "Roll the d20 to solve this check" adventure. Actually playing out the "sucking up" part was quite fun. Apart from that, the plot in the background is somewhat predictable. Mechanics, 2/5: The adventure uses fairly standard skill check mechanics to determine the result of the players' attempts to solve the adventure. If the GM drops the right hint(s) and the players catch up on them, there is nothing to worry about. It's when players don't, that everything falls appart. If the players have no clue, everything the young noble does seems pointless and may seem to exist with the sole purpose of annoying the players. Skills, 3/5: Guess what skills you need on a diplomatic mission. If the party has at least one member who has invested in these skills, you're safe. Otherwise, you're somewhat more likely to fail the secondary objective and miss out on some of the loot. General, 3/5: All in all, this adventure has some interesting aspects, but is too dependant on how the young noble is portrayed and on how the players pick up on the clues. I had fun, but this could have gone totally wrong way too easily. I both played and GM'ed this scenario at low tier. Great scenario with plenty of opportunity to roleplay and enough choices to make, that affect how well you deliver in the end. Premise, 4/5: An ancient temple has been discovered on the island of Jalmeray. Since the end of the war in the Worldwound, the Pathfinder Society must look for alternative ways to fund an expedition. The Sovereign Court faction is central in the search for these ways. Combat, 4/5: The combats are interesting, with opponents using interesting tactics and abilities. Next to that, players need to keep in mind the goals of their mission, which may lead to interesting situations.
Background/RP 5/5: The sucking up to the nobles is very well written into the scenario (mechanics). The south-eastern jungle feeling is very well set, which is enhanced both by descriptions in the cut-scenes and in the choice of opponents/encounters. And the map/lay-out of the temple is very inspiring as well. Remind people of the temple of King Louie in The Jungle Book and they should instantly see the style of the building. Mechanics 5/5: The way the social mechanics work, is simple and elegant. The actions the players take at a few crucial moments will determine (at the end of the scenario) whether they sucked up enough or not. Let it be noted that I recommend GMs to write down what all these occasions are. This scenario has a lot of information for every location and the effect of a decision on an encounter is not always mentioned where you would expect it.
Skills 5/5: This is a suck-up mission in a safari setting. Guess what skills could be important: Quite a few, actually. Apart from that, there are some surprises as well, which gives the scenario a few very interesting twists. General 5/5: Overall, both as a GM and as a player I had a blast. Top notch scenario that combines a safari, a (small) dungeon, interesting combats, great background, nice roleplay opportunities and very flavourful rewards for everyone. GM'ed this scenario last week at low tier for a party of 4. Although the party enjoyed the adventure, I cannot help but feel disappointed. With the 4-star rating, I was expecting something of a "Classic", like Mists of Mwangi or Silent Tide. Instead the adventure seems to have been written from the point of an old school "we must kill the baddies" perspective, leaving little room for diplomacy and even respect of the Law, if you want the full reward.
Premise, 3: The party is being sent to rescue a noblewoman from slavers. Combat, 2: Either extremely weak (opponents with 0 build points). The final combats scale badly to a small/low level party. Background/RP, 3: The opportunities are there for the players, but the adventure as written, leaves little room for diplomacy. Skills, 3: I did not notice anything in particular. General, 2: It may be the high standard of the season 5-6 season scenario's, but generally, to me, this scenario feels outdated. This was my first Special and I enjoyed it immensely. I played it as a level 8 Living Monolith at tier 7-8 in the party with Ascalaphus and Damanta (earlier reviews). Adventure, 4: The premise suggests a logical conclusion scenario for season 5. This promise is delivered nicely. Combat, 4: The fights were pretty straightforward, although some monster abilities/spells were quite nasty. Fighting (and obliterating) the tier 10-11 encounter on the stairs felt epic for all of us (although our paladin was a bit disappointed). Background/RP, 5: The way the end of season 5, which has a great Demon- & Jormurdun-focus, mingles with the theme of season 6 is actually nicely done. Needless to say you need to have played #6-01, #6-02 and/or #6-03 first to realize that. All you need to remember is that this is a "Fallen Sky Citadel" in more than one way way.
Skills, 4: Quite some tough knowledge skill checks were made, as well as some pretty difficult Disable Device checks. Cuddle and thank your party's Trapfinder if he is succesfull with them. As Ascalaphus mentioned earlier: Ever since character creation, I have enjoyed every time the ability came up. General opinion, 5:
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I played the adventure as the Living Monolith in the party with Damanta (previous review) and it was indeed a blast (no pun intended; There was not much left of the BBEG). Background 4: Nice story, although slightly predictible. I'm curious as to any repercussions this adventure might have. Combat 5: The combats were quite interesting, but would be more challenging for a party with fewer two-handers. Roleplaying 5: Good opportunities for roleplaying, especially for LE and SC faction members. Being a murder hobo will not pay off. This ain't no dungeon. Skills 5: Plenty of opportunities to use the skills you shine in! General 5: This is an excellent adventure all-round. Absolutely worth playing! As mentioned by previous reviewers, this adventure might take long, depending on the amount of roleplaying. ... said the alchemist to the arcanist, the skald and the ranger, while pointing at the druid and a flask of tea. I loved GM'ing it! The scenario is a pretty straight-forward dungeon-crawl and the GM challenge in the scenario clearly lies in how to creep your players out, rather than in the combat encounters. Combat: 4
Roleplay: 5
Background: 4
Skills: 4
General opinion: 5
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