A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 3–7 (Tier 3–7; Subtiers 3–4 and 6–7).
The Blakros family, long an ally of the Pathfinder Society, has come into possession of a manor house in the imperial nation of Cheliax, where a once prominent noble family was known to practice diabolism before the Age of Lost Omens. The Pathfinders' task is simple: clear the abandoned manor of any remaining threats before the Blakroses move in. Unfortunately, the estate hasn't sat empty as long as the Blakroses think it has, and its recent inhabitants were anything but the devil-worshipers who originally built the manor.
"Day of the Demon" is an exclusive adventure to be run only by 4-star Pathfinder Society GMs, Venture-Captain and Venture-Lieutenant campaign volunteers, and Paizo staff for its first year.
Written by Larry Wilhelm.
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.
Note: This scenario has been updated from its exclusive version for public release and is now available as Pathfinder Society Scenario #5–14.
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Played this with a wonderful judge, had lots of fun. NEED a GM with lots of roleplay abilities I can see why it has to be a 4-star or more to pull it off.
Spoilers below!
Like several of the reviews above. There were so many red flags with the child that she never made it 10-ft from where she started. I think for anyone that's played lots of PFS the setup was too similar to other mods. We EXPECT any major-follow-the-PC's-through-the-mod NPC's met to stab us in the back. The second the kid said, "I'm going with you." Into the dark scary demon filled basement that was it. We knew. I know it's meta, but it practically slapped you in the face. You don't GET to be a higher than 1st level Pathfinder Society member without a healthy, well earned dose of paranoia. After that revelation there's the game of how to you prove the kids isn't what she says she is. All sorts of fun/trouble was (and was had) figuring that out. I don't think that was the writers intention, but it WAS fun.
We did the optional because the GM liked it, it links to year 5 plot nicely and we had two hours left to kill (figuratively speaking). It was a pain, but we slogged along and managed it. Without a daylight spell and without darkvision. It would have been NICE to have those. Three dispel magic's into it we realized that wasn't going to work, but by then the bad guys were cornered.
I gave it four stars because while I don't "think" it went the way the writer wanted, it was fun and very differently paced than any other PFS mod I've ever played with the boss up front (well nearly). It sure made the GM earn his keep.
My perspective on this scenario is as a player. For reference, I played it in the lower tier (3-4). Be warned, spoilers will follow!
I rather enjoyed playing "Day of the Demon" for several reasons:
- The mood & atmosphere of the scenario is amazing, and really helps with the immersion.
- Most fights are alright, though I was a little disappointed by the final one. We certainly were surprised and the fluff part was great, but mechanics-wise it wasn't that interesting. Special mention to the monster depicted on the cover, who managed to gate in another friend! That fight was actually better than the one mentioned above.
- As a lore-loving player, I deeply appreciated the handouts and information obtained about the metaplot. We played "Day of the Demon" in the very last slot of the Con, right after playing "The Disappeared" and while "Fortress of the Nail" was being played on another table. It really was a blast!
Overall, I think this scenario is a very decent and enjoyable link between seasons 4 and 5. I'll give the scenario a 4-star rating (out of five), with a minor disappointment in the combat department.
There was nothing difficult whatoever about this scenario, other than one particular thing (see below). Went through this and found nothing especially memorable.
Difficult:
The most difficult part of this was that no one was able to figure out that the girl was bluffing us and was really a mass-murdering halfling.
Fantastic scenario
Jiggy
(RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32)
—
This was a great scenario. The atmosphere was creepy, the encounters were varied and interesting, and the whole thing held together like a cohesive whole.
Sometimes (especially in older seasons, it seems to me) some of the encounters felt pretty random, like the plot only produced maybe two encounters but they needed four, so during a couple of travel/exploration segments you end up with what amounts to (and feels like) a couple of pre-selected random encounters. Not so in this one. You never find yourself in a fight that feels like there's no reason for it to be there.
Spoilers below!
The encounters were fairly challenging, depending on what the group is capable of. For instance, if you can hit a high enough Knowledge check before embarking, you can skip the toughest monster. Two more encounters have challenges that a prepared adventurer can probably deal with, so there's some back-and-forth and actions other than each side full-attacking until someone drops.
I absolutely loved this scenario. It had great atmosphere, lots of storyline advancing information and enough fights to keep my ADD barbarian sated. I understand where people say it's an easy TPK, but any slightly prepared pathfinder group shouldn't have too much of a problem with this scenario.
I loved the flavor of this scenario. All of the spooky scenarios and modules (Feast of Ravenmoor, From Shore to Sea, Haunting of Hinojai, etc.) are awesome in my opinion. Our GM (Dennis Wheelock. Thanks Dennis!) provided plenty of descriptions of creepy lightning strikes, strange organ music and odd tracks all around the building. Maybe it was all just our haunted Oracle, though.
The advancement in the overarching Pathfinder Society plot was amazing. As someone who played The Disappeared, The Blackros Matrimony and Fortress of the Nail, I loved all the handouts. They gave so much insight as to what was going on, and perhaps what will happen in the future!
The "surprise": Our group completely ruined the "surprise" at the end. As soon as we met the little girl our alarms went off. She was seemed to be sustaining quite well for the lack of food and there weren't any signs of long occupancy, so we were all a little edgy. Eventually, my stupid barbarian walked up to her and just went, POKE! Failed the will save, so it still seemed like I just poked a little girl in the eye. The oracle said "I have a way to tell if she's human or not," and all hell broke loose. Needless to say, she began panicking, which led to initiative and her being grappled by the monk. Boss fight over.
The "TPK": As for the Babau, we had no trouble with him due to our Aasimar cleric. As soon as the darkness went down, daylight went up. People are complaining that PC's need to bring a level 3 spell as a level 3 caster, but you don't. Any prepared PC will have spent either 300 gold on a Potion of Darkvision or 750 on an oil of daylight. We're Pathfinders, not untrained mercenaries.
I am eagerly awaiting a chance to play this. Cheliax, demons ,Larry, his maps, the special all in one...wow. Unfortunately, I won't be able to run this for a year or better I am sure.
I'm really looking forward to being able to run this for my area. Good luck making it feel as special as an Exclusive should. ;) And to me, any scenario that deals with the Blakroses is bound to be good... ;D
Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber
I was so ready to order this. Oh, 2014. My bad. :) See you this time, next year.
So if the January 26th date is changed, can we please get a new estimated release for the scenario? I have a con in March with this on the schedule, and I need to know ASAP if I need to change it. Thanks!
They've stated that it is supposed to drop along with the other two (Cyphermage Dilemma & The Fabric of Reality) at the end of February, but of course only for 4 & 5 star gms and Venture Officers.
Regarding the 4 and 5 GM/regional coordinators part of the requirement, once it releases, how do we purchase this? Will be become available to only us (4 or 5 star GM) or are we going to have to work with Mike and Mark to get it sent to our account?
It will automatically be granted to all 4- and 5-star GMs and provided to all regional coordinators. Being in one of those groups is the only way to get it until next winter when it will be released to the public as one of the regular Season 5 scenarios (likely 5–19 unless our preliminary schedule shifts).
Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
TriOmegaZero wrote:
Hope I can get into this at PaizoCon. :)
If you don't want to wait, we will be running it at ChimaeraCon in San Antonio.
Question: For those of us who will hit 4 stars after this scenario is released, would we need to email someone to receive it or will it just automatically be added to my downloads once my 100th game is logged?
Three-Eyed Sloth, I hit four stars last year after "cyphermage Dilemma" had been released. I dropped a note on the messageboards and had access within a day.
Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
After a quick read through: as usual, your awesomeness remains unchecked, Larry. I'm gonna enjoy this one. (-:<
Yeah, this looks great! And now to tease everyone else with a very minor tidbit concerning the use of "non-evil PC"--I'm wondering how you can have and keep an evil PC; maybe it was just covering bases...
The scale on the map has to be incorrect. 2' wide hallways and balconies, 2' wide beds, "luxurious" guest rooms that amount to 7 & 1/2 foot by 10 foot spaces, and rooms that are 20' x 10' but expected to have four large creatures in them? Something went wrong somewhere...
GMs, please take note when prepping. Paizo, hopefully you can correct this?
Developer
Owner - Enchanted Grounds, President/Owner - Enchanted Grounds
