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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.

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.
For the rest, refer to the Skills part: You will have to talk and roleplay your way though the first part of the scenario.

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).

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.
I particularly enjoyed the moment where my Twilight Talon Inquisitor (perfect character for the job for me) could deliver a speech against slavery (Faction Card) at a very interesting moment to create chaos.
The only downside I have to admit, is that the only combat we had (although the NPC's are apropriate) was slightly underwhelming.

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.
And the first (very well-balanced) "encounter" was very well implemented, again with potentially severe consequences for failure (I'll take my GM's word for it).

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 background is nice and there is SO MUCH going on, it's vaguely impossible to find and do everything unless you skip the roleplaying.

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

All in all I enjoyed myself enough to give this 4 stars.

I ran this adventure this afteroon at the high tier (hiya, TheDegraded).
I gave more detailed feedback in the GM thread to prevent spoiling too much.

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.
Highlights: The background it uncovers, and the second encounter. My players also cheered at one of the items you recover (and of course, I did as well!).
Downside: The final encounter can disappoint in the low tier, and/or if you do too well in the mechanics. If you dont, fight for your life!

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.
The difficult part for the GM is, as earlier reviews mentionned, portraying the young nobleman. If you fail the presentation, and/or fail to drop the right hint(s), the party will most likely dislike the NPC. As a result, all of you will probably have a terrible time.
On the other hand, if you do it right, the players should recognize the "suck up to nobles" faction goal for Taldor/Sovereign Court for seasons 5 & 6, as well as recognize what the young nobleman wants.

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.
Small drawback is that I felt the scenario was written with the high tier in mind, since some of the encounters in the low tier feel strangely balanced.

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.
I must say I'm impressed at how well-balanced the targets actually are, both for "Success" and "Success +".

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.
As to the final combats, they are really nasty for a 4-man LvL1 party.

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.
Although the background is great, actual RP sequences are pretty rare.

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:
I don't know for the lower tier encounters, but at our tier, this scenario works a lot better if you really work as a team. Having played together before, we knew our strengths and weaknesses and what we had to do. Everyone had a major role which we were willing to fulfill, which gave each of us glorious moments. But in my opinion, if the required skills are poorly represented in a party, you may be in serious trouble.
The interaction between the tables was not very interesting, mostly because only a few people seemed to understand how this worked. I advise event overseers/GM's to explain this clearly at the beginning of the adventure.

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Edit 2019:
Having run this yesterday (after having also run quite a few specials since way back in 2014), I can safely say this is my favorite special so far. The encounters were challenging for 6 players even at the 10-11 subtier, something I haven't really experienced in specials later than this one. The skill challenges and saving throw difficulties are also much better calibrated than in later specials. And finally, the necessary prep for GMs is also much friendlier than in later specials, especially compared to Siege of Serpents or Cosmic Captive, for which you prep a huge amount of encounters, of which the party will logically only see about a quarter to a third.

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
The challenges are adequate, except maybe the first combat encounter at low tier.

Roleplay: 5
If you, as a GM, manage to spook the players, the roleplaying that may follow, is worth gold! It helps to have some preparation and knowledge of the players, though. Even a slight bit of knowledge of the Lovecraftian mythos helps a lot.

Background: 4
Mists of Mwangi sequel, Blakros Museum, Nigel, Lovecraftian mythos, Period.

Skills: 4
Some knowledges can be nice to have and can give slight advantages in what to expect, but there are no absolute must haves, which makes it a nice "Everyone can play" scenario.

General opinion: 5
A "Must Play" scenario.

I played this as a LvL5 Ranger along with a few sixes and a seven (so low tier), amongst which Ascalaphus and Damanta, at Maglok's table, and I had a blast.

Adventure (5): The party is sent from Absalom to Nantambu (without stopping in Bloodcove) to recover an important book containing information about the secrets of the Technic League. Nantambu is a beautiful location, and Maglok described the "defiant city in the heart of Africa"-feel incredibly well.

Combat (5): The encounters are very tough and the challenge is great, but every party member had multiple moments to shine. The end encounter has some really nasty spells (as Damanta mentionned in his final "Eep"-spoiler). Barely achieving the primary objective with a succesful untrained Sunder maneuver (thanks Favored Enemy!), was a moment I won't forget very soon.

Background/RP (5): The strategic choice the players must make are great RP moments. Each of us weighed the pros and cons, and in the end we let our alignments do the rest, while still having the feeling having made a significant choice. The NPC's, both ally and enemy, all had personality; A feature that is difficult to achieve succesfully.

Skills (5): YES! I could finally use (non-CS) knowledges I invested in heavily, which had very unexpected, but awesome (!) consequences during the final encounter. Actually succeeding in reading the book, was a nice bonus feel-good moment. Proud of the quote on my chronicle sheet!

I played this scneario high tier as a LvL5 Ranger, along with a few sixes and sevens, including Ascalaphus and Damanta (earlier reviews).

Adventure (3): Something's terribly wrong in the Blakros Museum. Sounds familiar? Think again. The faction mission is not extremely interesting, but the result was somewhat funny :).

Combat (4): I was glad I had just bought an adamantine earthbreaker and selected Constructs as my second favored enemy (this was mostly done from character background, but still it was a happy coincidence). This should not be a spoiler anymore by now, I believe.
The two-handed frontline had a few glorious moments, during which we showed the world no-one needs a shield to be able to tank.
The final combat was a total mess for us. GM's should be very careful and read into the abilities (and racial traits!) of special monsters, especially when these are less common. Because of this, the battle was incredibly hard and in the end we almost had to set fire to the building to defeat the encounter.

Background/RP (3): The adventure is set at the start of a struggle between the Pathfinder Society and the (until now) unknown Technic League. The background of the museum and all you can discover, is great. The encounter in the second room is great and should give many clues. The problem about these, is that their importance are easily missed either by the GM and/or by the players.
It's also a shame that, weeks later, I still don't understand the link between some of the encounters and their relation to the BBEG. Maybe the scenario explains this for the GM, but it was not explained to us players.

Skills (1): There are enough opportunities to use your knowledges... Provided you have the Technologist feat. Forget your ranks in Knowledge skills otherwise. In my opinion, it is terrible design to ask players to buy a feat to be able to succeed at the core theme of a whole season. I believe GMs should be allowed to either ignore the Technologist feat and to simply increase the difficulty of the Knowledge checks by 5 (or in some cases even 10?). This should still give enough difficulty, instead of stating a party cannot discover what the story in the background is, or what the weaknesses of an enemy are all about if they refuse to pay a feat tax (which it is).

I played this in a party with Ascalaphus and Damanta, at Woran's table (three earlier reviews). We had no real trouble rampaging through this scenario (No murder-hobo aspect, though!).

Adventure (3): It's a basic "Do something with your lives and go train" mission in one of the many derelict fortresses outside of Absalom. While happily obliging, the party stumbles on highly technological gear. As always, "Explore, Report and Cooperate" is the key to this adventure.

Combat (3): Very (!) tough opponents with fair damage output, combinded with funny/dangerous abilities. The third word of the Pathfinder mantra is the key and that worked out great for us.

Background/RP (3): I personally dislike scifi, which is a bit of a downer for many adventures, this season. For many players this may be a great opportunity to roleplay wonder (see the title of the review). The Machine Mage/Technology aspect is well defined, omnipresent, and clearly shows the threat to come in future scenarios (as The Silvermount Collection and The Technic Siege show).

Skills (2): A looooot of opportunity to throw skill checks... Provided you have the Technologist feat. Forget your ranks in Knowledge skills otherwise. In my opinion, it is terrible design to ask players to buy a feat to be able to succeed at the core theme of a season. I believe GMs should be allowed to either ignore the Technologist feat and to simply increase the difficulty of the Knowledge checks by 5 (or in some cases even 10?). This should still give enough difficulty, instead of stating a party cannot discover what the story in the background is all about if they refuse to pay a feat tax (which it is).
The only reason I give this section higher than a 1, is because Trapfinders have a few moments to shine, and I always enjoy those immensly with my ranger.