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Pathfinder Module: Dawn of the Scarlet Sun (PFRPG)

3.00/5 (based on 29 ratings)
GameMastery Module D0: Hollow's Last Hope (OGL)
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An adventure for six 5th-level characters.

The coastal city of Magnimar is no stranger to crime, yet recently, a series of murders has sent a chill through the early morning streets. Someone—or something—is stalking and killing worshipers of Sarenrae, the goddess of the sun. The city guard is prepared to ambush the murderer, but they need help—help of the kind that adventurers are so good at providing. What is the sinister truth behind these violent acts?

Dawn of the Scarlet Sun is a Pathfinder RPG adventure for six 5th-level characters—such as the six iconic heroes provided. In addition, this adventure can be integrated into the Shattered Star Pathfinder Adventure Path, and uses the villains featured in the Pathfinder Battles Champions of Evil Encounter Pack.

Written by James Jacobs.

This special 16-page Pathfinder Module was initially made available for Free RPG Day on June 16, 2012.

Note: Due to the special nature of this product, it is NOT part of the Pathfinder Modules Subscription.

Dawn of the Scarlet Sun is sanctioned for use in Pathfinder Society Organized Play. The Chronicle Sheet for this module is a free download (123 KB zip/PDF). Pregenerated characters are available here (1.9 MB zip/PDF).

Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:

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This product is non-mint. Refunds are not available for non-mint products. The standard version of this product can be found here.

Are there errors or omissions in this product information? Got corrections? Let us know at store@paizo.com.

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Average product rating:

3.00/5 (based on 29 ratings)

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4/5 —

Overall I enjoyed this one, but ...

3/5 —

The ambush mechanic was a bit of a pain and contains the possibility for a series of bad PC rolls (and high GM rolls) to end the adventure with them solely on failed stakeouts. While this is fine for a homebrew (as you can then move on to the invasion of Magnimar by demonic forces), it really does not work if you are going to use it for PFS play.

Other than that, however, I really enjoyed running it. There were a couple of different ways for the PCs to find the BBEG, the fights were definitely challenging and the mystery aspect of the adventure can lead to some interesting conclusions on the part of the PCs (the group I ran was convinced the attacker was coming from the interior of the Irespan ... talk about a potentially lethal red herring).

Was the final encountered overpowered? It had the potential to be for the pregens, especially if the Babau gets summoned, but for a party of 6 5th level PFS PCs this should be a close fight ... as any fight with a BBEG should be.

And the BBEG has the potential to be memorable recurring villain. I do plan on breaking this one out in a homebrew at some point simply for that purpose.

That said, this is definitely NOT a module for new players. Players should be fully familiar with their PCs' abilities; lack of that knowledge will definitely increase the death toll.

All told, I would rank this as 4 stars, but due to the ambush mechanic issue, I'm dropping it to 3.5 (rounding down for the star rating options).

This module is a plague, avoid it like the.

1/5 —

The story is thin but I've seen worse, the investigations are boring, the opening fight isn't even worthy of half the party, and the end fight is way OP for the pregens unless you have forehand knowledge and select the correct upgrades.

Aside from all of that, the reason any serious PFS players should avoid playing this is because if you fail to kill the BBG, she just flits away and then comes back to haunt you for the rest of your career by potentially messing with your boons. There is no sure way to avoid it either, if the dice are unlucky for your party, you've got a succubus breathing down your neck for the rest of your characters life.

Pass

Strong module with minor glitches

4/5 —

Having both played and GM'd this, I can say that overall it was a fantastic module. It has a great mix of combat and non-combat, and the pregens are solidly-built (assuming the players are familiar with their capabilities and play intelligently).

There were a few minor "glitches" that keep me from giving it the 5 stars it would otherwise have:

Spoiler:
1. Avalexi spends her first turn in the final battle retrieving a bow that isn't in her stat block and that she can't use if she follows her written tactics (she'll have a hand full with a flame blade). This results in a round of essentially doing nothing.
2. It's clear that either killing Zadendi in the ambush or getting her to flee on foot will lead the PCs to the shrine (via the key or by tracking her, respectively). However, if the Scarlet Son successfully carries her away into the foggy sky, GMs are left with no clues on how to get the PCs figuring out what to do next. If you're going to have the baddies try to do something, give us some idea how to handle them being successful.
3. Allegedly, Zadendi needs a dozen hearts. Four have already been taken, and the module says the PCs fail if a few more are taken. Four plus five-ish (whatever the exact number was) is not twelve.

A nice little adventure

4/5 —

While many seemed to have problems with the adventure, we found it to be a nice challenge. A hard fight, certainly, but not every fight should be a sure thing!

We ran the adventure twice, once with the pre-gen characters and once with a current party. While the pre-gens are not as optimized as many would prefer (and truth be told, neither is the current party) that is, in my opinion, part of the challenge.

As far as the adventure goes, while it was for Free RPG Day as an introduction to Pathfinder, it is also a 5th level adventure which should be an indication that thing will be more difficult. Given the subject matter of the mystery, players that have ever played other RPGs or seen horror/fantasy books or movies should have an inkling of what may be in store.

All in all, a challenge for newer players to the game and a little something different for those new to the game or those with hundreds of hours under their belt.

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Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer
1 person marked this as a favorite.

We've just announced this for Free RPG Day 2012! The cover art is final, though the cover layout could possibly still be tweaked slightly prior to release.
Dark Archive

Sweets!

Sweet
Dark Archive
Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

So Merisiel & earn will be in this one,mplus presumably Kyra as it's Sarenrea based, but with other three iconics will be in this one?
Dark Archive
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Very cool

I'm hoping to carry on my tradition of running the Free-RPG-Day module at Scotty's pre-GenCon Wednesday. Are there plans to PFS sanction this?

Ooh, this sounds cool. Not to mention the first Pathfinder Battles Encounter pack as well! Definitely be picking them both up (only got 1 succubus and 1 gargoyle in my case)!
Scarab Sages

Looks good!
Grand Lodge
tburke0 wrote:
I'm hoping to carry on my tradition of running the Free-RPG-Day module at Scotty's pre-GenCon Wednesday. Are there plans to PFS sanction this?

Yes

Grand Lodge

Will it be sanctioned before Free RPG Day? I'd like to be able to offer it that day.
Liberty's Edge
Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
godsDMit wrote:
Will it be sanctioned before Free RPG Day? I'd like to be able to offer it that day.

The rules for PFS and Free RPG day modules have always in the past come out in time for Free RPG day.

So who are the 6 Iconics used?

My first guess would have to Merisiel, Ezren, Valeros, Kyra, Seelah, and whichever Iconic is featured in Pathfinder Battles: Rise of the Runelords (I'm betting on Seoni [Featured in The Rise of the Runelords AP) or Harsk (for purpose of gender / racial balance). This way in addition to the encounter pack minis, a Pathfinder Battles mini of each of the pregenerated characters will be available as well.
Paizo Employee Creative Director

Valeors, Ezren, Merisiel, Harsk, Kyra, and Seelah.

Then can we assume that Harsk is the Iconic Hero immortalized in the PB: RotRL set?
Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer
Leo_Negri wrote:

Then can we assume that Harsk is the Iconic Hero immortalized in the PB: RotRL set?

Who are we to stop you from making assumptions? :-)

(Take, for example, the assumption that there's only one iconic in the Runelords set...)
Vic Wertz wrote:
Leo_Negri wrote:

Then can we assume that Harsk is the Iconic Hero immortalized in the PB: RotRL set?

Who are we to stop you from making assumptions? :-)

(Take, for example, the assumption that there's only one iconic in the Runelords set...)

Touche, so there's more than one Iconic Hero in RotRL.

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber

Cool deal. I'm thinking we are going to be seeing some Magnimar lovin' in the year ahead.

I love free rpg day. Great idea to release the mini set for it. Also, so great to be back in Varisia.

Shattered Star AP?
Liberty's Edge
1 person marked this as a favorite.
The NPC wrote:
Shattered Star AP?

Shattered Star is a sequel of sorts to the Rise of the Runelords AP. #1 will be available at GenCon 2012.

Silver Crusade

The synchronicity between this module and the new Wizkids Encounter Pack for Free RPG Day is why I love Paizo.

Thanks, all.
Liberty's Edge

So in June we get a rockin' module for Free RPG Day with its own Encounter Pack, PB minis of the iconics available in time for it, the RotRL Anniversary Edition AND a sequel of sorts for it comes out two months later?

Paizo, you're setting the bar too high for anyone else who wants my money.
Shadow Lodge
2 people marked this as a favorite.

Hells ya. I just realized with luck, I may actually be home from redeployment on Free RPG Day. . .
Dark Archive
Leo_Negri wrote:
Touche, so there's more than one Iconic Hero in RotRL.

I believe Erik very tongue in cheek said our guesses that RotRL iconics would be Harsk and Seoni were 'good guesses,' then again I can see Erik typing that response with a poker face.

Dark Archive

More Varisia goodness... wow, we'll be truly spoiled this year! :)
Grand Lodge
1 person marked this as a favorite.

I am on it like a fat gamer on an awesome Paizo offering. Waitaminute . . . ..

I love names of adventures with the word "Dawn" in them, even better when it includes a word that is simply another form of red.

This probably means I need to get my hands on a copy when it becomes available.

Great! I was looking for a short-ish level 5 adventure. I'm just about to start a new Pathfinder-Group (thanks to the Beginner Box) and I'm running them through a few modules up to level 5. This looks like it'll be an awesome last challenge for the party before we start over with the "real" rules - and the RotRL Anniversary Edition. :D

Does the change from an assumed party of four to one of six imply anything going forward?
Paizo Employee Creative Director
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Steve Geddes wrote:
Does the change from an assumed party of four to one of six imply anything going forward?

Not necessarilly.

We made the change for this one after hearing that most groups who played previous free RPG day adventures had larger tables than four, and so decided to build this adventure to make it easier to accommodate these larger tables.

Whether or not we'll switch to assuming 6 players as a baseline for all adventures... I can't say yet but it's something we'll be keeping our eyes and ears on.
Silver Crusade
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

I think it's easier to adapt adventures up for larger groups than down for smaller.
James Jacobs wrote:
Steve Geddes wrote:
Does the change from an assumed party of four to one of six imply anything going forward?

Not necessarilly.

We made the change for this one after hearing that most groups who played previous free RPG day adventures had larger tables than four, and so decided to build this adventure to make it easier to accommodate these larger tables.

Whether or not we'll switch to assuming 6 players as a baseline for all adventures... I can't say yet but it's something we'll be keeping our eyes and ears on.

Cheers.I figured it was something like that, but I was wondering whether it was broader than free RPG day.

As one among many, let me put in a voice for four - I also find it easier to scale up than down.

A JJ module is a must buy for me. 'nuff said.
Dark Archive
Steve Geddes wrote:
As one among many, let me put in a voice for four - I also find it easier to scale up than down.

I'll echo that (or +1 as you kids say).

Dark Archive

Yeah 4 is much easier to balance up than 6 is to balance down
Ravenmantle wrote:
Steve Geddes wrote:
As one among many, let me put in a voice for four - I also find it easier to scale up than down.
I'll echo that (or +1 as you kids say).

I stopped being a kid twenty five years ago.

That's another part of the problem, actually - the older we get, the smaller our group. :(

We can't even get four PCs without someone playing two characters. Another vote to keep the baseline assumption four, please.
Liberty's Edge

I say 5 player baseline!

+1 to the existing 4 player baseline.
The Exchange

Since this is set up for free RPG day, is this going to allowed for all players to be able to play. Or will it only be for those players that have a specific fifth level character? If so that might make a few issues for players.

I totally missed the part about the module being for 6 players. That'll be a bit complicated for our 4-man-group. :-/
But maybe I'll just add 2 iconics as GMPCs to show of a few possibilities of the complete rules (see my last post for details).

Anyway, I'll add my voice for keeping 4 players as standard size. Adding a monster or two to an encounter or adding a template to a boss seems way easier than toning things down to fit for a smaller party.

Still, I'm totally looking forward to this :-)
Dark Archive

Come to thik about it if this is desighned for six players and can be integrated into Shatterd star does that mean shatterd star assumes 6 players?
James Jacobs wrote:
Valeors, Ezren, Merisiel, Harsk, Kyra, and Seelah.

D'oh!

Paizo Employee Creative Director
Blave wrote:

I totally missed the part about the module being for 6 players. That'll be a bit complicated for our 4-man-group. :-/

But maybe I'll just add 2 iconics as GMPCs to show of a few possibilities of the complete rules (see my last post for details).

Anyway, I'll add my voice for keeping 4 players as standard size. Adding a monster or two to an encounter or adding a template to a boss seems way easier than toning things down to fit for a smaller party.

Still, I'm totally looking forward to this :-)

There's advice in the adventure for how to run it for a 4 person group—the simplest being "If you run this for 4 players, they should be 6th level instead of 5th level."

But yeah, for all the reasons listed above—we're likely staying with a 4 player assumption for the most part.
Paizo Employee Creative Director
Kevin Mack wrote:
Come to thik about it if this is desighned for six players and can be integrated into Shatterd star does that mean shatterd star assumes 6 players?

Nope.

As I mention above, if you play with 4 players, then the adventure works best for 6th level players. And the way the adventure plays out, in addition to it's plot, it works pretty well as a "sequel" of sorts to play after you play the 2nd adventure in Shattered Star, when the players are 6th level or have just hit 7th level.

Level 6 won't be an option for my group because I want this to be the last module played with the BB rules. But I'm aware it's not an issue for most groups. I'll figure something out and use it anyway.

Thanks for the response, James :-)
Dark Archive

A I'll be doing the Free RPG Day at a FLGS using the Pathfinder Battles Champions of Evil Encounter Pack figures, but how does a person get the module prior to the day? I have told the store to make sure they are registered for the event (The are now big supporter of PFS as well) so will they get a copy early enough or do I cold run?

--michael
Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer
OberonKestral wrote:

A I'll be doing the Free RPG Day at a FLGS using the Pathfinder Battles Champions of Evil Encounter Pack figures, but how does a person get the module prior to the day? I have told the store to make sure they are registered for the event (The are now big supporter of PFS as well) so will they get a copy early enough or do I cold run?

--michael

Stores should be getting their bundles a few days in advance.

Dark Archive
Vic Wertz wrote:
OberonKestral wrote:

A I'll be doing the Free RPG Day at a FLGS using the Pathfinder Battles Champions of Evil Encounter Pack figures, but how does a person get the module prior to the day? I have told the store to make sure they are registered for the event (The are now big supporter of PFS as well) so will they get a copy early enough or do I cold run?

--michael

Stores should be getting their bundles a few days in advance.

Cool beans! Thanks.

--Michael
Dark Archive Contributor

Is this module going to have ties to any map packs or flip-mats? I'm getting myself ready for free RPG day and it would be great to know ahead of time if any of the maps work particularly well.
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