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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Tim Hitchcock has brewed up another excellent adventure with Decline of Glory, a challenging scenario set near a downtrodden Taldan village and its distillery. I was one of the first people to run this adventure when it premiered at PaizoCon 2009, and my players had a blast!
The Pathfinders’ initial goal seems fairly straightforward: They want authorization to build a new Pathfinder chapter house in Taldor's rural countryside. Unfortunately, the area has gone downhill recently, as a changing watercourse transformed the region's rich bottom land into vile, fungus-draped swamps. Calling the area "wine country" would be a grave error: "Muddy, whiskey-besotted squalor" suits the place better.
Decline of Glory features several well-drawn, three-dimensional NPCs. Although their pasts are only briefly sketched in, the details provided by the author give an attentive gamemaster a solid impression of the character’s opinions, emotions, and problems. From a former knight fleeing his past to a soldier cloaking personal ambitions behind loyalty to his crown, these supporting characters really came alive for me.
The PCs' task gives them several scenes of heroic action, spiced with chances for interesting role-play. While the order of many events is predetermined, there are plenty of opportunities for creative play. I’ll never forget the inspired roleplaying it brought out in my players at the ‘con, as the party tried to bluff an important NPC into cooperating. Everything builds to a satisfying crescendo in the final act, when the PCs’ face grim odds in a scene reminiscent of classic horror films.
I enthusiastically recommend this scenario, and can’t wait to see what Tim Hitchcock does next!
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.
