Scott Young's page

I played this with 4 PCs at subtier 7-8; we had a barbarian-7, bard-8, fighter-9, inquisitor-10, and a 5-star GM. I was very excited about the scenario intro - tie-ins to a novel I had just read, an area of Golarion I'd never been to, lots of Season 5 plot potential. Some good RP at the beginning sent us on our quest, and our allies were even kind enough to teleport us to where we were going.

Things were looking grim. Luckily, there were some allies to help...

Then it was our turn...

So, after spending enough Prestige to get raised and remove 1 negative level (there wasn't time to wait a week to remove the second one), we were able to start the actual mission.

From this point the scenario was very good - a mix of combat and roleplay, some really cool environmental and terrain effects, and a great sense of what may be to come from other Season 5 scenarios. It was still hard, with a negative level and environmental effects that were quite hard to avoid completely, plus other encounters that tried to delay you and make you spend more time in the harmful environment. Still, I loved this part - really hard, thought I was going to die, but just made it through.

If the first encounter hadn't happened, this would be a 4-star scenario for sure, maybe higher. Unfortunately, as-is, I suspect the first encounter really can't be handled by most in-tier PCs (at least at the low subtier).

Alas, we're going to think long and hard about offering this one again in our Lodge. I still have hope - there hasn't been a lot of feedback yet, so maybe there are ways for the scenario to be "run as written" without requiring a TPK in the first encounter. It really is a great scenario story-wise, but my fear is that only the uber-combat builds will survive to see the story unfold.

My first run of this scenario started at 6:30pm, and we didn't roll the first initiative check until 9:45pm. If your character doesn't have any skills that can't be used without rolling initiative, this scenario will show you the weakness to that approach to character building.

Those 3 hours of roleplaying were pure gold. Several of my "top ten" moments at the table were replaced last night by new ones that occurred during this scenario. There is a useful mechanic for quantifying the roleplaying and skill checks, and all success for the Society mission hinges on non-combat events.

There is combat, but it is refreshingly different - story-driven rather than "here's something you know you can win". Maybe you can win, maybe you can't - maybe you're not even fighting the right people because you made a mistake or didn't think before you acted. (And, depending on your favorite weapon, you might be severely hamstrung - security disapproves of people walking around with loaded muskets or longspears at a wedding reception.)

Highlight of the night: our non-Qadiran dervish dancer challenges the Qadiran faction leader to a dance-off.

If you are a Pathfinder in the tradition of Durvin Gest or Eando Kline, you will love this scenario. If you are one of those Pathfinders who can only do maximum damage with a single weapon and not much else, you might be ill-suited to this mission's requirements.

Played this first, and now prepping it to run. I really liked the scenario set-up, although there was some grumbling about why the PCs are being delivery boys... some hint of trouble or suggestion to "check up" on the researcher and ehr crew might be in order. (She's a gnome after all - everyone knows you can't leave them alone very long without something exploding!)

The enemies were disturbing... several players said, "XX creature? Who DOES that?" which helped build up antipathy for the BBEG. They were also sufficiently scary and easy to underestimate, which was a nice surprise.

Also - it's nice to see enemies whose abilities and save DCs actually challenge players of the appropriate level. Nothing turns encounters boring faster than a cool enemy that the PCs are immune to because her save DCs are laughably low.

Enjoyed playing this one a lot, looking forward to running it soon.

It's clear this zombie died of starvation before reanimation... he's really skinny in comparison to the other humans in the set. :) He does have a great facial expression, and the pose kind of works, but also kind of looks like he's in the Thriller video. Not my favorite, but nice as one of many zombies shuffling across your table.

This wolf looks great, but it's in such a specific pose that I can't see using more than one at the table. If you put four of these guys out in a pack, ti would look like they were in a conga line or something. Would have been a good third option for a wolf, but as the only one it's a bit limiting. Of course, there are other wolves out there from other sources that will work as companions to this one.

This guy is a good match for his guardsman subordinate. His shield is a bit too simple for me - sure, it's a simple steel shield, but it's too big of a piece of plastic to leave plain like that without it looking... plain. Room for a painted or decalled town logo, though...

I love this guy - simple, but exactly what I imagine when I think of the "town guard". The lantern is a great touch - who calls the guard during the day anyway?

Only complaint: in two bricks, I got one guard, but three officers to boss him around.

This is a nice serpent, although I'm still not sold on the "red = poisonous" theme, which makes this mini (and the spider) a bit garish. Still, I want a bunch so I can repaint them and have different versions... why through one poisonous snake at a party when you can throw half a dozen at them!

Nothing about this guy really screams "vampire" to me... and that's good. He can stand in as a gentleman from Ustalav, or any old, creepy guy with a sword in your campaign. Use him as a patron for your PCs if you want to mess with the meta-gamers' heads! ("The GM is using the Vampire mini for this guy... he must be evil!")

This one could have been a five-star if it was in scale... it seems really small for a troll, in fact, almost as small as some WotC Medium creatures. Also, that lower lip/jaw is just a bit much - how does he close that mouth to chew? While it looks like the artwork from the Bestiary, I think this is an example of a concept that worked well in 2D but not as well in 3D. S

A nice miniature. The wings are great, and the slightly-elevated pose on the rock outcrop makes it look equally like she's standing or flying.

This is one I wish could have been molded in translucent plastic - it seems just too solid. The wisps of material at the bottom just contribute to a sense of bulk. Still, it's a creepy mini, great detail and expression, and the paint job highlights the detail nicely. Still nice as-is; would be better than the ettin if it was in translucent plastic.

While he looks a bit skinny compared to other minis, the skeleton actually appears to be in scale with the other humans in the set. Nice detail and a few holes where there should be holes.

This is one of the minis where all that silver paint is perfectly appropriate. Gleaming armor and sword, nicely detailed shield and gear... a great hero figure. You'll only need one, probably, but most folks are reporting multiples are a greater frequency than other rare figures.

This guy is almost as good as the Orc Brute, but his sword and shield are a bit simplistic and also a bit too "clean" for orcish gear. They will work nicely with the pre-painted orc warriors from Reaper, as well - skin tones and overall look are close enough most folks won't notice the discrepancy. Need more of these!

This mini shows that not all of the great sculpts went on goblins. The two orc figures in the set are both top-notch as well. This one is my favorite of the two - in my top five for the set.

Another one taken right from the pages of Paizo, this Ogre looks just like the one in the Bestiary (although in a different pose). Still, he looks a bit odd - torso big, head very small, legs in between leave this figure looking misproportioned... but that actually makes sense for a ogre, somehow. Still, not as nice as so many of the others in the set. (While I give him 3 stars to differentiate between the 4's and 5's, really everything in this set is at the "very good" or better level.)

While the level of detail and expression on this mummy is great, it's just so... skinny. You get the sense that this corpse has desiccated and wasted away, not been imbued with power and negative energy. Maybe it's a scaling issue. One of the candidates in my "least favorite of the set".

Another one of the top five in this set. "Minotaur with axe" has been done before, but this one has nice detail and a face that looks almost fiendish. He could stand to be a bit taller, but looks great. Has me looking for a PFS scenario with minotaurs in it.

I predict lots of single sales for this one, one of the "must-haves" of the set. While simply painted, the hair and pose are great, and the add-on snake is a great touch. (Looks like it's molded separately then glued on later.) It's also nice that she's depicted in a non-combat pose - I have enough medusa archers already, and this is a refreshing take on a classic subject.

I like this one - the face, while a bit larger than a lion's head, has the right mix of lion and human to make this disturbing. Dynamic pose, the wings are a bit small overall but it makes the mini easier to handle than bigger, more "realistic" wings would have. Like.

This one is a bit odd - I'd have preferred a basic lizardfolk instead of a "champion". This guy seems like a leader with his trident, and he needs some followers. Also, the face is a bit odd as well - big teeth and blue lips seems a bit more kuo-toa or Deep One than reptilian. I got two of these in my 2 bricks, and one of them broke off the base as I removed it from the packaging. Easily fixed.

A few people have commented that this guy should be a halfling.. but I like this guy, a mysterious stranger, assassin, or sneak thief to menace your PCs. His hat/hood is a little long and "Seven Dwarfs"-y, but that's easily fixed if it really bugs you. Like most of the uncommon PC/NPC characters, you probably only need one or two of these, but they'll be useful.

This pose is straight from the Kingmaker adventure path... great pose, overall nicely detailed, but the face seems a bit blank. Not the paint job, the sculpt - the face is a bit flat. Still, a good archer figure for your PC or NPC guide/hunter.

While this is a nicely-detailed mini, I'm bewildered by her choice of weapon. "This is Smother, my +2 defending bedroll..." Actually, it's fine that she doesn't have a weapon, but of all the items to feature her holding... a bedroll? Or maybe it's a giant scroll. Still, it is a nice mini, I'll probably find a recurrent NPC to use her for as well.