This scenario is all about fun. It begins with a Goldilocks level investigation -- not too easy, not too hard. Uncovering the causes behind the effects will have you saying "Hmm ..." As well as having a simplified mechanic (thank-you!) the Chase scene shows off the author's knowledge of Magnimar, presenting an insight into city life without weighing one down with unnecessary detail. Sheila is portrayed in a favorable light, and a fave NPC from 1e Season 4 returns. There's nothing not to like ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fun scenario and an ideal introduction to PFS for new players. Michael Kortes demonstrates why he is such an able adventure writer by making:
✦ Low level adventurers feel like epic heroes
✦ An unusual first encounter which can be suspenseful
✦ Players roleplay with the most notorious figure in PFS
✦ Puzzles, which earn the Goldilocks seal of approval for being juuuuust right in terms of DC
✦ A unique setting for the optional combat (my players loved it)
✦ A ‘have fun storming the castle’ fight
The variety of encounters kept the players interested all the way through, which makes a GM’s job easier.
Some nitpicks now. The opening scene is awkward and disregards player choice. The Soggy Piper (great name!) just begs to be the opening scene. The scenario mooks are weak – even for a 3.5 scenario. The second fight looks great on paper – but was underwhelming to play and GM. Players avoided the ‘square dots’ on the map like the plague. The amount of GM map and prep time is reasonably high, and it takes a little GM ingenuity to get each of the separate parts to flow seamlessly.
HOWEVER, after 3-4 hours it all boils down to whether the players had fun … and by Gyr of Gixx, mine did! Would I run Silent Tide again? In a heart-beat. ☆☆☆☆
Context: Played and GM’d subtier 1-2. APL in both cases was a smidge under 2.5
Ron Lundeen’s writing is fresh, creative and evocative. He is also not afraid to put players under pressure. I like that as both a player and GM – others may not and that’s fine.
The premise for Severing Ties is original and fun. The setting is the well-documented pirate town of Riddleport, the details of which are used to good effect by the author.
The scenario is split into halves – a roleplay-heavy beginning and a combat-heavy ending. So theoretically there is something for everyone. The group I played in had a good mix of role-players and roll-players and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. I GM’d a combat-loving group and despite my best efforts, they were pretty …. well … bored by the end of the first half *sigh*
This changed with that first encounter in Part 2.
The final fight was an epic, one last roll of the dice between success and a TPK. The hard luck PC made the clutch roll to down Big Bad and save the others ... And there was cheering! There was laughter! There were backslaps all round! This my friends, is what PFS should be about.
Because of the difficulty of ‘those two’ encounters, I would not run this for first level characters or novice players, which knocks a star off an otherwise excellent scenario.
Ah, the much maligned Many Fortunes of Grandmaster Torch. It’s such a fun scenario … here’s why!
The Qadiran slave-city that provides the backdrop is different and exotic. A good GM can make it their own.
The adventure is comprised of four parts that can be completed in any order. When GMing this, I found I could leave the players to engage within and between each part much more easily than when trying to guide them from one Act to the next in a regular scenario.
The antagonist in each part is wonderfully described and named. The mini-settings are varied and the tasks to perform are potentially a blast! A special call-out to a chase scene that didn’t use the chase rules. Fantastic! Yes, there is murder and mayhem involved – just like pretty much every other PFS scenario.
On paper the combats look pretty easy. However, the first level group I played with were challenged by the monster encounter and the group I ran for was definitely out of their comfort zone in the secure market.
There are some problems though. The scene leading to the main antagonist is too railroady. I added a ‘bogus’ chase using a published map to give it some dimension. The players lapped it up. There is no map for the factory. However, I found the Warehouse flipmat perfect for this. The ‘reward for honesty’ is lame and fortunately I have not seen anything similar in PFS since.
As a GM, it was satisfying that my group had so much fun with a scenario that has the reputation of GM Torch himself.
When I played this, we didn’t catch her and this scenario was an above average dungeon crawl with a tense BBEG fight. Call it 3.5 stars.
But when I GM’d it, the players caught her (I didn’t let them – they rolled well). And this is when the adventure began to shine.
The roleplay was over-the-top hilarious, with the party adopting her as a mascot – the party barbarian carried her on his shoulders all game – even after they gave have her a flaming torch to carry …
GM: Are you guys sure you want to do that?
Muah-muah-ha-ha-ha!
Interestingly, the players I ran this for found the early dungeon encounters challenging, but steam-rolled the BBEG fight. Go figure. Thanks for a great scenario, Matt Goodall!
I read through this scenario and thought, Meh. Generic dungeon crawl.
Rob, I’m sorry I doubted you.
I had the players jumping at shadows in the upper level, freaking out in the Big Bad’s antechamber and certain they were all going to die in the final fight. (I was pretty sure they’d be fine – and they were).
The great thing was – this was the same experience I had playing Void twelve months prior to running it.
Combine this with straightforward maps, easy prep and simple yet interesting encounters, and you have the one-shot gem that is Voice in the Void. Bravo, Mr McCreary!
