Pathfinder Society Scenario #4–02: In Wrath’s Shadow (PFRPG) PDF

Announced! Cover image is a mockup.

Author announced!

Yes, got to Love Mike Shel.

Yes, got to Love Mike Shel.

It's just platonic.

Go Mike Shel!

Congrats Mike!

Yes, got to Love Mike Shel.

Heh. You might want to let about half the reviewers of Isles of the Shackles know that.

Dragnmoon wrote:

Yes, got to Love Mike Shel.

Heh. You might want to let about half the reviewers of Isles of the Shackles know that.

Most of those reviewers under scored it due to the map.

Mike Shel wrote:

Dragnmoon wrote:

Yes, got to Love Mike Shel.

Heh. You might want to let about half the reviewers of Isles of the Shackles know that.

Most of those reviewers under scored it due to the map.

That, and vomiting comes always easier than praising. Just look at me.

Ah I shall return in triumph to MY ISLAND! The Warmages of Bakrakhan shall return in all their glory.

I guess im going to put Eldarius on slow play mode if these scenarios get too juicy!

Added final cover image!

That, and vomiting comes always easier than praising. Just look at me.

Huh? You're a bag of devouring ... how is that even relevant???

Thanks again to all the GMs who ran this scenario and GenCon and for letting me pop in and out to observe. Apologies to those who got murdered, hope everyone had a great time! Please take a few minutes to post your reviews. Paizo listens to feedback and so do I!

See you next year!

Thanks Mike for sitting at our table, it was nice to have you there on Sunday.

I will be putting up a review when I get back home.

The scenario was great, and very well written. The problems I had with it (running out of time both times I ran it, and neither time was the overall mission completed) had nothing to do with how well this scenario was written. Thanks again Mike for contributing to PFS, you are one of my favorite scenario/module writers.

Question about one of the stat blocks -

I loved this scenario and was honoured to have the author at my table 3 times. Some parts of it had the potential to be very creepy and provide a great opportunity to play up the atmosphere. Pretty sure I traumatized a kid who played at my table but it was very well received by all the groups I ran through it!

Question about one of the stat blocks -

** spoiler omitted **

Yes. Looks like that was an oversight. Look to Bestiary 2 for the actual value, which I think is 12.

I loved this scenario and was honoured to have the author at my table 3 times. Some parts of it had the potential to be very creepy and provide a great opportunity to play up the atmosphere. Pretty sure I traumatized a kid who played at my table but it was very well received by all the groups I ran through it!

Dude! Write a review!

As for the trauma, there was one boxed text passage that Adam re-wrote during the development process that creeped me out. For the record, what's floating around in Mr Daigle's mind is far more disturbing than what's floating around mine! Paizo staff, keep a close eye on him!

Ha I may have upped the traumatizing side of it a bit. It's what I do.

Review submitted.

I played this today at Austin, Tx's Dragons Lair Lair-Con

Something about Wraths Shadow reminds me of either an older scenario or an AP encounter, I could swear I've played/dealt with several of those fights/situations before in exactly the same manner.

Dear evdjj3j:

Thank you so much for your thoughtful and cogent review of this scenario. I was especially charmed by your call for the brutalization of my testicles. I think I speak for many scenario authors when I say that it's this kind of insightful critique of one's work that makes all the time and labor that goes into producing PFS scenarios and other Pathfinder products worthwhile. Should you deign to participate in any other material I have written, I hope you will provide more of your adroit and penetrating commentary.

On the off chance that you are under the age of 13 — chronologically or emotionally — let me make a recommendation: while the internet provides a level of anonimity and therefore offers opportunities to ignore basic rules of courtesy, try to refrain from coarse insults. It tends to mark one as a troll and results in others making an uncharitable assessment of the poster. Indeed, some may make comparisons of the poster to specific parts of the anatomy.

Sincerely,

- Mike Shel

I happened to see Mike's name as I scrolled through the Messageboard, and now I've caught up on everything.

Having not read the scenario, I can't YET offer a good review of it. However, based on this, I will be getting it just to put a review up.

You deserve better than this, Mike.

I happened to see Mike's name as I scrolled through the Messageboard, and now I've caught up on everything.

Having not read the scenario, I can't YET offer a good review of it. However, based on this, I will be getting it just to put a review up.

You deserve better than this, Mike.

Thanks, but I'm not special — everyone on the boards deserves better. No one likes a negative critique, but it helps if the poster puts a bit of thought into it. Smug calls for punting my pudenda might give someone a chuckle, but it doesn't illuminate. Unfavorable commentary is useful if it gives some quantifiable reasons for the dissatisfaction.

This particular scenario produced some strong reactions and those reactions have had an impact on my design work. For instance, I now work harder to make the backstory discoverable for players in situ. If you're unhappy with a scenario, by all means, let Paizo and the author know, but doing so in an insulting manner is counterproductive. Deliberately cruel language may seem clever or edgy, but it just gets you marked as a creep.

The reviewer also shows some deficiency in knowledge of PFS rules as this scenario is unlikely to be a players first organized play experience as the minimum level is 3.

Mike, loved this scenario, creeps out my players every time. :)

justmebd wrote:

I happened to see Mike's name as I scrolled through the Messageboard, and now I've caught up on everything.

Having not read the scenario, I can't YET offer a good review of it. However, based on this, I will be getting it just to put a review up.

You deserve better than this, Mike.

Thanks, but I'm not special — everyone on the boards deserves better. No one likes a negative critique, but it helps if the poster puts a bit of thought into it. Smug calls for punting my pudenda might give someone a chuckle, but it doesn't illuminate. Unfavorable commentary is useful if it gives some quantifiable reasons for the dissatisfaction.

This particular scenario produced some strong reactions and those reactions have had an impact on my design work. For instance, I now work harder to make the backstory discoverable for players in situ. If you're unhappy with a scenario, by all means, let Paizo and the author know, but doing so in an insulting manner is counterproductive. Deliberately cruel language may seem clever or edgy, but it just gets you marked as a creep.

Agreed. I'm off to my "real" job now, but I've already glanced through the scenario and I can't wait to dig into it when I get home tonight. I believe you'll like what I have to say. I'm planning something . . . . creative. :)

The reviewer also shows some deficiency in knowledge of PFS rules as this scenario is unlikely to be a players first organized play experience as the minimum level is 3.

Mike, loved this scenario, creeps out my players every time. :)

Thanks, though I can't take all the creepy credit. I sent in my turnover, which I thought was pretty creepy, but then it got...

Daigle-fied.

Every time I roll a 1 on a save, the writer of the scenario I happen to be playing in should be subject to physical violence.

Right?

...right?...

No?

Hmm.

Oh well.

On topic: I played this quite a while ago. It may be that memory fades with time, but I have to admit I don't remember being terribly creeped out with it. Now I'm fearing that I might have missed out on the experience. Perhaps this would be a time to use a GM star replay and convince TOZ to run it....

Or I should just GM the thing.

This is one of my Favorite Scenarios to Run. One of the few scenarios I was able to actually get reactions from players from the horror aspects of the scenario. I also got lucky and was able to run it with Mike Shel sitting at our table to witness the game.

Off work today, so hopefully the kids will leave me alone long enough to get this review done. It may be a two-parter.

The reviewer also shows some deficiency in knowledge of PFS rules as this scenario is unlikely to be a players first organized play experience as the minimum level is 3.

Mike, loved this scenario, creeps out my players every time. :)

Player could have used a pregen character. It's becoming apparent through seasons 4 and 5 that pregens have little to no use in a level 5+ encounter, and it should be the GM's call as to whether it's appropriate to allow a new character to pilot a pregen through an especially deadly encounter. If they adjust the sub-tier, they could easily be more of a liability than an asset (in the hands of an inexperienced player).

I loved the scenario, though. The players... not so much.

The review is up. I hope everyone enjoys it!

Player could have used a pregen character.

Indeed, but that doesn't change my opinion that it is unlikely to be a players first organized play experience. They would have to walk in on a game day where only this scenario was being offered as their first time sitting down to PFS. That's enough if statements that I consider it unlikely.

The scenario itself is pretty cool, even though our table had a very poor experience. That mainly had to do with the player that didn't realize he had already played the scenario until after the first encounter, which resulted in our party wiping in the final encounter. Having that many things that impart that particular negative condition is practically begging for trouble. I didn't even act in the final combat, taking two of the same spell before I could even act. Even then, character death happens, but it still smarted, especially since the GM talked me into playing a character that was 3 in the 6-7 tier because of the cert, and one of the people that had a character die hasn't shown back up for PFS since.

But, like I said, the scenario itself is pretty cool, it has good atmosphere, and the fights are super tough, which is nice if you're playing a character that can deal with it.

Gah. I was running "Glass River Rescue", and had a player who had played it before, but only realized it after the initial briefing. Fortunately, there, after he left, I still had four players, and everything was fine.

I predict this becomes more of a problem as there are more and more scenarios out there; it will be harder for everybody to remember which ones they've done. Myself, I keep a spreadsheet of which scenarios I've played, GMed, how many times I've GMed them, and which characters got credit... but I'm extremely anal, and I'm aware that most players aren't going to do that.

It's this one specific person that does it over and over. Now when he's sitting at the table, we have to have him double check and make absolutely sure he hasn't already played the scenario before we start.

Myself, I keep a spreadsheet of which scenarios I've played, GMed, how many times I've GMed them, and which characters got credit... but I'm extremely anal, and I'm aware that most players aren't going to do that.

... Could I get a look at this spreadsheet? I actually want to do something similar.

This feels awfully exhibitionist, but sure.... Here it is as of today (July 26): scenarios.ods.

It's in ODS format, the spreadsheet format used by OpenOffice and LibreOffice. (I use OpenOffice 4 mostly.) The font I use is DejaVu Sans.

The spreadsheet isn't designed to be used or seen by anybody other than me, so I have built in all kinds of assumptions that I will "just do it right" without documenting them....