A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 7–11.
In the ruins of a fallen empire built on the power of sin lies the key to awakening a great evil from a time long gone. The Pathfinder Society isn't the only organization seeking this potent artifact, however, and the result of failure could mean disaster for the whole of Varisia and beyond.
Written by Steve Miller, RPG Superstar 2012 finalist.
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 Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.
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I played through The Refuge of Time via play-by-post, and did not have a good experience. Part of that was a poor GM (which isn't the scenario's fault), but now that I've read the scenario I'm still not impressed. It's a short, simplistic scenario with extremely challenging combats and a problematic reward at the end. Unless you're set on playing through all the Season Four meta-plot scenarios, I would skip this one.
SPOILERS!:
The Refuge of Time ostensibly starts in Kaer Maga, but the PCs are only there long enough to get a letter and promptly leave. The letter, from Venture-Captain Sheila Heidmarch down in Magnimar, tells the PCs that a cult is planning to bring back one of the Thassilonian Runelords. In order to do this, the cultists need to find "refuge tokens" which (when broken after speaking the correct command word) will teleport them to where the Runelord is interred in a state of suspended animation. A storehouse of these refuge tokens has been discovered in the Wyvern Mountains about 100 miles away from Kaer Maga, but the cultists have a two-day head start. The PCs need to get a move on! This scenario builds off of other ones in Season Four.
The journey from Kaer Maga to the ancient storehouse in the mountains is completely handwaved, so for all intents and purposes, this scenario is a pure dungeon crawl. Getting into the storehouse is the first obstacle because it's guarded by, of all things, an angel! The leader of the cultists used a planar binding spell to force the angel into his service and thus bar entrance to all non-worshippers of Lissala (an evil deity worshipped in Thassilon). The PCs effectively have two options here. First, they can fight a Lawful Good creature who is literally from Heaven itself. Second, with a DC 34 (!) Diplomacy check they can remove all of their magical items and persuade the angel that they're not lying about having pure reasons for entering the storehouse. When I played this adventure, my paladin certainly wasn't going to fight an angel, and was happy to take off his gear to be tested. But other members of the group were extremely reluctant to do this (there's nothing some players hate more than risking their PC's gear), so the scenario was brought to a standstill almost right off the bat as we went back and forth on what to do. From one perspective, the encounter is an original and interesting one. However, there's no information on exactly the extent of the angel's knowledge of what it's protecting and the exact scope of its orders, nor on what it would take for the PCs to free it from the binding spell. Unfortunately, it comes across more like "you know what the PCs never fight? Angels! Let's toss one in and see what happens!".
Assuming the PCs make it inside, there are five rooms for them to examine in the storehouse. The first has them encounter some random travellers magically charmed by the cult to help dig out the site. There's some role-playing possibilities here, but mostly these individuals are here to help fulfil several of the faction mission objectives. The second room is a simple battle against a very deadly undead--either a greater shadow or a bhuta, depending on tier. The third room contains a magically-trapped statue that, depending on a die roll, may give an effect that is beneficial or harmful. The fourth room is an ancient chapel dedicated to Lissala and has a battle against a graveknight with several fighter class levels. This is an extremely challenging encounter--3 to 4 CR above the average party level. The final room has the cult leader (a conjuror) and a handful of sinspawn. It's also 3-4 CR above average party level. Suffice it to say, this scenario is a good example of the view that Season Four is filled with deadly scenarios!
After defeating the foes, the PCs can find the refuge tokens they need. In addition, they'll come across an evil-aligned ioun stone. This ties into probably the most overpowered (and potentially problematic) Chronicle boon I've seen in PFS: it gives you a free feat! Using the ioun stone is an evil act, but (at least how my GM handled it) you could deal with that by simply getting an atonement. I think guidance needs to be given in the scenario as to one whether one can "atone" for something and continue to do it to receive benefits. I've seen a *lot* of boons in PFS, and most range from ridiculously niche to handy to have in a pinch, but I've never seen anything like this one. (actually, now that I think of it, there was another Season Four scenario that gave a permanent +2 profane bonus to an ability score--maybe it was a theme!)
I guess the good thing I can say about The Refuge of Time is that it is a very short and straightforward scenario to run. A GM has very little prep to do, the layout of the dungeon is exceedingly simple, and the plot is extremely manageable. The combats are very challenging, but depending on how strong the PCs are, this could also be a very fast scenario to complete if time is a factor. Still, I think the scenario is underwritten, potentially unfair, and has a very problematic reward. Although that my views may be coloured by my personal experience in the session, I still wouldn't recommend this one.
It's a straightforward dungeon crawl, that suffers from the common problem of pitting a single enemy against half a dozen PCs. Other than a powerful but completely random trap and the discussed-to-death story boon, nothing in particular stands out here.
Refuge is a short combat based scenario with the most powerful boon PFS has ever offered.
The start of Refuge placed us against a unique foe and we weren't sure if we were going to TPK. It was also the best part of the scenario. Having said that, the guardian wasn’t protected enough.
”First Encounter Results”:
It died before it was able to act. We were able to buff, plan, and cherry pick how we approached it (archers can basically kill it from a distance). It should have been concealed inside, and we shouldn’t have had the opportunity to buff and plan, especially if the premise was to disarm everyone at the start of the scenario.
It’s kind of a dumb premise when you think about it. If you’re tough enough to kill the 1st encounter, the rest of the scenario will be a joke. And if you’re not tough enough, then the rest of the scenario will be insanely hard. It’s impossible to design the rest of the scenario appropriately like this.
The other encounters were fairly standard. The environment had very little to offer in terms of story or interest. The last encounter was poorly designed, especially the tactics.
”Last Encounter”:
The caster had poor tactics and a weak spell list. I grappled him (with my character that doesn’t even have Improved Grappling) and it was over. Even if I didn’t, the caster wasn't going to do much. That caster should have been conjuring monsters the entire time and sending a menagerie at us.
”Detailed Rating”:
Length: Super short(3 hours), especially for a 7-11, which is good.
Experience: Player with 5 powerful PCs at subtier 7-8.
Sweet Spot: TBD.
Entertainment: First encounter was entertaining. Standard faire besides that. (6/10)
Story: Some story about Lissala, but not much. (4/10)
Roleplay: Minimal roleplay. (3/10)
Combat/Challenges: I was told this was hard but for us it was easy. (6/10)
Maps: Standard. (4/10)
Boons: Mixed feelings, but in terms of power it doesn’t get much better. (10/10)
Uniqueness: Standard McGuffin scenario. 1st encounter was unique but could be improved. (3/10)
GM Preparation: TBD.
Secondary Condition: Was fair. (8/10)
Overall: The most notable aspect if this scenario was the boon. (5/10)
Played in tier 7-8 with all veteran players and GM. Almost no roleplay, pure combats, but I love it!
There are four combats, all of them are pretty challenging but not overwhelming. Two power players died, and two almost died... but had a fun time, that's what PFS lacks in later seasons, strong fight in season 4 is must for epic adventures.
You don't want to succeed at this adventure, really. Let the cultists do their thing. Wouldn't it be nicer just to sit at home over the long holiday off from work and just watch TV or play XBox or something? You really want to move about and have fun? Really? All to stop some cultists from their ... totally not evil plans?
The conclusion of this adventure suggests that there is at least one more adventure following the other Lissala adventures this season, but I don't see anything like that in the remaining relases for season 4. When are we likely to see the conclusion of this 'arc of Sloth' of adventures?
The following two parts of this metaplot series have not yet been announced. One will be released in the spring and the other in July, as the conclusion to the Year of the Risen Rune.
I'm curious about what Emketta would do if one of the PCs happened to openly worship Lissala. One example, openly displaying an unholy symbol of Lissala..
I'm curious about what Emketta would do if one of the PCs happened to openly worship Lissala. One example, openly displaying an unholy symbol of Lissala..
I recommend
Spoiler:
Bluff vs Sense Motive if they just have the unholy symbol and no faith to back it up. If they are a true follower, let them pass. That PC can try to take on the following encounter solo.
I'm curious about what Emketta would do if one of the PCs happened to openly worship Lissala. One example, openly displaying an unholy symbol of Lissala..
That actually triggered some of the more interesting roleplay of the evening when I ran this. I had Emketta interrogate the bard who was displaying the Sihedron brand from [Redacted] about Lissala and the tenets of her faith. Fortunately, the character was fairly knowledgeable about the lore (he'd taken 20 at the start of the scenario on the Knowledge: Religion check) and was able to bluff his way past.
Of course, then he flubbed his bluff check against the BBEG (rolled a 2), whom promptly shouted out "They're spies, kill them!" to Emketta and made it a very interesting fight.
They then proceeded to pull both encounters and lost party members to a celestial tyrannosaurus, again.
Naroth is Evil he would summon a fiendish tyrannosaurus not a celestial one.
Also Summon Monster VII is in his spell book, but not on his prepared spell list for the day. I might be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure that you're supposed to play the module as written so the spells he has prepared are what he would bring into combat.
Someone feel free to correct me on that actually being a society requirement though.
They then proceeded to pull both encounters and lost party members to a celestial tyrannosaurus, again.
Naroth is Evil he would summon a fiendish tyrannosaurus not a celestial one.
Also Summon Monster VII is in his spell book, but not on his prepared spell list for the day. I might be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure that you're supposed to play the module as written so the spells he has prepared are what he would bring into combat.
Someone feel free to correct me on that actually being a society requirement though.
He has a bonded object, and casting Summon Monster 4 in a 10-11 scenario would be supremely stupid when he has 20 INT and is capable of casting Summon Monster 7.
The only truly broken thing about his module (and I'm surprised nobody has mentioned it) is that my level 8 character earned ~4000 for doing the module, and ~15000 for taking the stone and selling it after a party member used Remove Curse.
The only truly broken thing about his module (and I'm surprised nobody has mentioned it) is that my level 8 character earned ~4000 for doing the module, and ~15000 for taking the stone and selling it after a party member used Remove Curse.
You cannot sell the ioun stone in this manner. It has a 0 gp resale value if it was gained without a gp cost to the PC.
The magic item on page 14 has construction requirements like regular magic items, but doesn't list any kind of spell that needs to be cast as part of its crafting.
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