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Pathfinder Society Scenario #4–20: Words of the Ancients (PFRPG) PDFPaizo Inc.Our Price: $3.99 Add to CartVery Dangerous, Very Creative 
surfbored
(RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32)
—
First the complaints... My party found this scenario to be quite dangerous, especially the first encounter. While the encounter was within the appropriate CR, the tactics were so brutal and one-sided, it nearly caused a TPK. In a party of 6; 1 was killed and 4 were knocked unconscious, the sole survivor ran away with single digit HP. The GM (who played the baddies with expert skill), went easy on us at the encounter end so we could continue further. The other disappointment was the puzzle in the same room. We solved the puzzle accidentally while trying to figure out the clues. But what really bugs me, it was a (tedious) math puzzle. Why would a runelord have a math puzzle? It felt very out of place. The second riddle was much more appropriate (and somewhat easier). Now the kudos... Other than the afore mentioned missteps, the plot was interesting and the encounters were creative. There was enough roleplaying for our table and tactics proved to be important (hack-and-slash players be warned!). Paying attention to details can sometimes be tough when running in a public place, but there was enough repetition to warn us when something was amiss. Due to the wildly difficult combats and the out-of-place math puzzle, I can only rate this scenario a "3". On a sidenote: If you're planning to GM this, you better prepare in advance. It was clear our GM did a lot of prep work and studied the NPCs carefully beforehand. If you don't prep, it will likely show. This is a fun mini. The slightly blue tint with a frost coating makes it only semi-transparent, which is great. This makes it harder to see the bones and flotsam that have accumulated inside, thereby drawing you closer. The slightly forward leaning sculpt gives a sense of movement and the dripping edges are a nice touch. There are a couple of places that improvements could be made however: - The mini is a bit short. Rather than filling a full 10', it's closer to 7-8 feet tall.
None of these things stop this from being a cool mini though. Keep the awesome coming Paizo! 
Pathfinder Society Scenario #2-23: Shadow's Last Stand—Part I: At Shadow's Door (PFRPG) PDFPaizo Inc.Our Price: $3.99 Add to CartA Tactics Bonanza (Some Spoilers)
surfbored
(RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32)
—
I GM'd this (low tier) at my local game store and all the players seemed to enjoy themselves. If you enjoy tactics, and can use them well, then you will likely enjoy this adventure. If you ignore the special conditions and tactics then you will find this boring and plodding. Spoilers follow, so if you're going to play this, stop now! Virtually all the encounters get their novelty by using relatively uncommon tactics. This makes combat interesting and fresh so don't ignore them if you GM, seriously. Luckily my players were the "tactics types" and immediately picked up on how things needed to go. Even the challenging stained glass was handled well, eventually -- they grappled it and tossed it off the balcony. Then dropped heavy things on it. Roleplay is minimal, but you can get a lot out of the hobgoblins if you put some effort into it (the snipers taunt and run, the BBEG is smug and sinister). The homunculi are also a prime source of roleplaying if you want to inject humor or creepy (whichever you or your players prefer). The atmosphere is thick, with all the old religious iconography; and a sense of tragedy/despair is well represented, with the dead party-goers and destroyed rooms. The last room is especially tense with the pseudo-time limit in place. This felt very urgent and the players immediately felt the need to hurry. It was also easy to GM as it's a simple countdown. The tactics (feats) and conditions (rough terrain) in this room are very important; pay attention, otherwise the combat is over too soon or very vanilla. I removed a full star for the terrible map however. Not only are there missing symbols, but the amount of extra "dead space" is annoying. There's nothing worse than players opening door after door with only filler in them. I redrew the map and removed all the extra 5'x5' rooms and reduced the two towers to two rooms. Why spend 30-60 minutes searching emptiness? As for the tunnel, I had it pre-collapsed by the hobgoblins. My group would've gone into it otherwise! Thankfully the two minis I purchased did not have any fragility issues. They match wonderfully well with the non-mounted Mites, and my players scooped them up to admire them as soon as I put them on the battle map. The paint looked great on both and the sculpts were outstanding. More like these would be fine by me! 
Pathfinder Module: City of Golden Death (PFRPG)Paizo Inc.Add PDF $19.99 Print Edition Unavailable Non-Mint Unavailable Weakest of the Trilogy
surfbored
(RPG Superstar 2011 Top 32)
—
For my group, this adventure was the weakest of the trilogy. The shortage of roleplaying encounters, the repetition with combat encounters and some illogical aspects of the storyline left a lot of work for the GM (me) to do before we could actually play. That’s not to say it was all bad, in fact parts were quite good and if your players are strictly hack-n-slash then you may not have as much rewrite time as I did. For the details read on, but beware of spoilers. Do not read further if you plan to play in this adventure! The Problems: * Logic Errors Spoiler:
Iramine and her priests are several days (perhaps a week) ahead of the PCs, yet the PC’s are instructed to follow the same route she took. Instead the PCs should trek across the lake rather than around it. Unfortunately only random encounters are given for the long voyage, so the GM will need to flesh this out. I changed the described boat entirely, making it a fishing vessel. * Deja Vous Spoiler:
Some of the encounters in this module closely resemble encounters in the first module of the trilogy, for example; wolves, skeletons and a crazy stranded NPC paralleled the first module too closely. If your group plays regularly, consider changing this up. * Almost No Roleplaying Spoiler:
The semi-insane Dusan is the only hope of non-combat interaction (well maybe you could start something on the boat ride, but that feels forced). To rectify this, I made Dusan friends with the lizardfolk; had Aglanda’s group join with the PC’s and had Tar-Baphon’s Dragon ask riddles rather than attack. Dusan has a lot of island knowledge, so I had him give crazy-sounding advice that would actually help. For example, rolling around in dung was one recommendation. Any PC that did so gained concealment from the Bullette later on. * Encounter Repetition Spoiler:
Too many of the same creatures are used (e.g. wolves, undead, fire elementals, etc.) As the GM you may want to switch these up. I used an Ettin for the wolves and Salamanders for the undead. I removed half of the fire elementals. * Odd Pacing Spoiler:
The adventure starts off with sparse combat at the beginning but ends with one killer encounter after another. I couldn’t envision my PC’s completing the 3rd ring of the city, so I spaced it out a bit more. As mentioned, Aglanda’s group decided to side with the PC’s as long as they were allowed to get out alive. The Dragon delivered riddles rather than straight combat and I removed Naramoc and his two priests entirely. This gave the PC’s a fighting chance against Iramine in the final battle. * No Big Ending Spoiler:
While the fight with Iramine was difficult, the end of this module came prematurely and without the big climatic ending I crave. Here are the PC’s, at the center of a flooding golden city, and they just have to saunter out? Instead I added a chase out of Xin-Grafar as it flooded and collapsed around them.
Here’s the chase I used for the escape (it gave the tension filled, dice rolling climax I was hoping for). Have each player roll once for each challenge and keep a running total of the results: Escape Xin-Grafar
1. The Naga's Pit
2. Crumbling Bridge
3. Closed Gate
4. Toppling Buildings
5. Iron Cobra Swarm
6. Steam Geyser
7. Noxious Fumes
A deep rumble ripples through the massive chamber as the jagged cavern ceiling plummets directly towards you. Only quick action will save your life... The last PC (the one with the lowest final total) takes 8d6 points of damage (half, DC15 Reflex) and is buried. Characters in the slide zone take 3d6 points of damage (no damage, DC15 Reflex). Characters in the slide zone who fail their saves are buried. Characters take 1d6 points of nonlethal damage per minute while buried. If such a character falls unconscious, he must make a DC 15 Constitution check each minute. If it fails, he takes 1d6 points of lethal damage each minute until freed or dead. Characters who aren't buried can dig out their friends. In 1 minute, using only her hands, a character can clear rocks and debris equal to five times her heavy load limit. The amount of loose stone that fills a 5-foot-by-5-foot area weighs 1 ton (2,000 pounds). Armed with an appropriate tool, such as a pick, crowbar, or shovel, a digger can clear loose stone twice as quickly as by hand. A buried character can attempt to free himself with a DC 25 Strength check. The Good Parts: * Island Hazards Spoiler:
Hazards make for interesting encounters and the island has plenty of them, quicksand, poisoned rivers, negative energy storms and molten gold all make for tricky conditions that will keep players thinking. * Tension Building Spoiler:
The looming storms and flooding canals kept my players moving. No stopping in a safe location to prepare spells or heal to 100%. The players felt like they had to keep moving or they would fail. This sense of urgency can be difficult to come by in other adventures. * Cool New Baddies Spoiler:
The Golden Guardian was a favorite of the players. It was tough and memorable, and it felt unique. The terror template was also useful, adding a creepy twist to otherwise typical creatures. While not new, the summoned Babau demon was intelligently placed and had the players quite worried. In the end, the adventure was a success, but I did have to make a lot of adjustments for my players. You may not experience the same issues we did, but if you do, the problems are not insurmountable. All the same, I had to give this module an average rating of 3 stars. I have to wonder if maybe too much was squeezed into the 36 pages. Trying to describe a giant lake, a whole island and a huge underground city (with a complex history) is a lot in such a small space. Paring the scope down might have improved the final product. The adventure "Escape from Meenlock Prison" is especially gritty and spooky. Play this one late at night, in a dimly lit room, or on a special night (i.e. Halloween) and you'll have your Players creeped out in no time! I purchased the Black set and was very happy with the quality of the dice. Even the little box that the dice are in is clever in design - as it almost looks like a little, clear treasure chest. Makes for a great gift and takes some of the sting out of rolling those dreaded one's! |
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