I ran the 3-4 sub-tier version at Gen Con with a group of AMAZING dark elves with their characters of differing races.
The event itself was absolutely stunning. The maps and ambient music put it over the top. Only real downsides to the running were the lack of coordination with the warning signs and the fact that an interim report made many GMs think we were moving to act 3. Ah well, minor things. Because throughout the whole thing, there was an energy in the air of excitement, teamwork, and anticipation.
Now for the scenario itself, if it can get that much of a reaction from practically the entire room, it obviously did something right. It was a blast to prepare and run with excellent use of utilizing a minimal amount of maps for combat encounters and incorporating ample opportunities to roleplay and social interaction so every character had a chance to shine.
The timing was perfect and allowed encounters to be run with urgency but not in haste. They were also very easy to follow as a GM, a very nice touch when the encounters are entirely random.
My biggest qualms for the scenario as written are as follows:
- The sub-tier didn't seem very challenging for a table of six, with the exception of certain baddies in act 3. The group I had practically steamrolled most/all of the combat encounters, only narrowly getting some of the social encounter DCs.
- Some elements could have been fleshed out more, such as where or how many circles there were for a certain character's warding spell. It is possible to make this up on the fly, but standardization would be lovely for such an event.
The rest of my qualms were mostly GM error. Whoops.
Elsewise a great scenario! Wish I could participate at future cons either as a player or reprising my role as GM.
From reading the tiny blurb given on the scenario's store page, I had been excited for this scenario. So first chance I got, I ran it. If I had to explain GMing this in one word, it would be thus:
Gigglefest!
The scenario is very well written, with most of the information behind it actually given to the players, so they don't feel so out of the loop. The events are very fun and had me grinning just reading it!
Playing down with 6 players (and an animal companion), the skill challenges seemed appropriate. Sadly, two were bypassed easily because of one character's spells or spell-like abilities. The first seemed like it would have been easier if the players had agreed on one tactic rather than going for two or three, but each played to their character's strengths, which is acceptable.
The biggest snag the group hit was
Snag:
when in the entry chamber to the Black Edifice, only one person had Spellcraft and failed on the wand. If I'm not mistaken, using a wand blindly is a UMD DC 25, which they could not have made even on a 20 (without invoking "20 is automatic success"). Eventually it came to an excellent roll and an assist to get the doors open. Naturally, the whole time I was giggling like a little schoolgirl at their misfortune.
The BBEG nearly convinced the party, but one character's excellent rolls made the group pass. The final fight was good, though none of it felt threatening. Truthfully, the encounter by the stream felt more deadly than that (one dropped, one staggered, sadly no deaths... still no notches on my GM belt!!)
My biggest gripe with this scenario involves many many typos and odd wordings which don't make sense, giving some parts the feel as though they were translated from another language. Given that I'm still rating it as 5 stars should go to show how minuscule they are. They are annoying, but the quality of the scenario more than makes up for it!
I will be running this again and again until I have no players left for it! And hope to play it once sometime for myself.
I just purchased my 2nd physical copy of this product. The first I use regularly at Pathfinder Society games, and the second just acquired for my secondary character.
The layout has been very beneficial with defenses and attacks in one view and skills in another, and I much enjoy the tracker in the back to remind me how my character got this way. I find that writing and erasing are easy to do with minimal damage to the paper.
I also much enjoy the quick reference throughout regarding Common Conditions, Skill Check DCs, and Actions in Combat.
A few pages are unnecessary to me, however, and just take up space. Everything about appearance and personality and history, etc., as well as the spellcasting section have no personal meaning to me since I rarely play magical characters (too much paperwork, imo), though this might aid if I decide to go that route.
The biggest grief I have is the fact that the cover page, while having some coating to it, is not wet-erase compatible as originally assumed. However the coating prevents easy writing in pencil. And I'm sure dry-erase would not be removed easily if let to sit over long periods of time. I was right in copying it on a piece of paper to be replaced as needed.
Otherwise, I much enjoy the product and use it often. I would recommend it for people who wish to invest much time in their character to be worth the price. The free-reroll in PFS play isn't bad, either.
