A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for 1st to 7th level characters (Tiers: 1–2,
3–4, and 6–7).
When the son of a famous Pathfinder gains control of his father's holdings in Taldor, the Pathfinder Society decides to build a new lodge there as a base to explore the many ruins of that crumbling empire. Unfortunately, the Taldan Phalanx has its eye on the holdings and an ancient curse has turned many of the residents into the walking dead. Can you survive the tangled web of Taldor's politics and fight off the echoes of the past or will you, too, see your glory decline?
Written by Tim Hitchcock
This scenario is designed for play in Pathfinder Society Organized Play, but can easily be adapted for use with any world. This scenario is compliant with the Open Game License (OGL) and is suitable for use with the 3.5 edition of the world’s most popular fantasy roleplaying game.
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I had the chance to play this scenario at Gen Con 2010 and had a blast. It's one of the first modules that really gave me the opportunity to play my arrogant wizard out in a manner that was appropriate within the context of a society adventure.
The adventure started a little slow, but between the tremendous RP possibilities and the exciting climax, I'd suggest this adventure to most anybody looking for an low-tier adventure. While challenging, it never felt over-powered, and the situations were varied enough that it never felt like a cookie-cutter adventure.
Definitely a good horror themed module that could easily be toned down for for younger audiences as well. The atmosphere is great and the story is genuinely good and has a logical flow to it. As a DM I loved running this module and the big fight at the end helped to build a lot of tension and was a nail-biter for the party.
There were some decent moments of role-playing and the fight scenes involved some good tactical challenges. The faction quests were unique and required investigation, not the token scavenger hunt or messenger service types. There was something to do for everyone, with a tip of the hat to clerics as explained by the module blurb. I'd definitely recommend this scenario as one of the better ones put out in during Season 0.
Finally, something good! It was a long a time since I last saw a really good PFS scenario. Decline of Glory gets a cake.
It has a good plot, great atmosphere, challenging encounters, and intriguing situations. I might say that some parts are just way too deadly though, like the first encounter where our party TPK'd, but the GM felt that this scenario must not go to waste and altered the plot for the better. This, though, is a trait of Tim Hitchcock; he has said to be a sadistic GM/author, kinda the thing I don't like. Regardless, this is a wonderful adventure.
Also, this scenario has weather effects! It *gasp* rains! When have you last seen it rain in a module? In a home game? Ever in the history of RPG?! It's been years!
If the GM has taken the time to prepare this scenario, the players should really enjoy themselves with this one. Decline of Glory is a great role-playing opportunity for players who are looking for a break from the hack & slash rut that some other PFS scenarios have fallen into. While there is some combat to be enjoyed, the role-play at the table should occupy most of the gaming session. The fights aren’t as challenging as I would like them to be, but that’s one of my few gripes. OK, I’d like to have had more campaign world flavor, but this scenario has most everything else I was looking for. Much of the faction missions require some thought and aren’t simply a skill check. All PC classes have a chance to contribute and shine. The author has done a splendid job with this offering and I encourage any GMs who run it to put the time into prepping so it gets the attention it deserves.
Or so my players said as I ran this scenario for them at PaizoCon 2009. (They are lucky my loyal-to-Taldor barbarian wasn't around to hear them say that!)
This is a really well-designed adventure with a lot of fun options, including RP vs combat and opportunities to switch sides and still complete the Pathfinder mission. There was even a little good-hearted player vs. player there at the end of the game with the higher level table that I ran on Saturday. And just when the PCs think they have everything under control...things get quite interesting again!
I'm a bit confused by the counts of the final combat.
Spoiler:
The Tier 1-2 for the Distillery lists Grald and 4 Phalanx guards. The Distillery is then attacked at 4 points. Is Point A Grald + 4 guards and then area b, c, and d have 4 guards? Is Point A Grald + 1 guard at Point A while 1 guard is at b, c, and d?
2 guards came in at 1 side and the boss with 2 other guards attacked the front. This made it easier because we were mostly newbies and I was a cavalier so my horse got left behind in the swamp.
I'm about to host this one today, and I was wondering, whether I should add some level of difficulty since the group has a gunslinger.
In act 1:
for example speeding up how fast the next guard team arrives? Firearms can be heard quite far when compared to the normal clash of steel against steel etc. so I think it might be plausible if it took a little less than 10 rounds (I was thinkin 5 rounds, not less) for next group to join the fight. Besides, since this is season 0 scenario, those stats the guards have are bit of a joke anyway.
