Pathfinder Society Scenario #4–19: The Night March of Kalkamedes (PFRPG) PDF

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A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 1–5.

A veteran Pathfinder exploring the Fenwall Mountains of Varisia has begun sleepwalking, traveling through the dead of night in the same direction each time. The following mornings, however, he awakens injured and lost in the wilderness, never reaching the mysterious destination that drew him from his bed in the night. Something is calling Kalkamedes, something powerful, but unless he can make it safely to the source of his somnambulism, that power will remain a mystery. It falls to a team of Pathfinders to escort the sleepwalker to his destination and uncover the true nature of the strange phenomenon overtaking Kalkamedes's dreams.

Written by Michael Kortes.

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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4.50/5 (based on 43 ratings)

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Weekend at Kalkamedes'

5/5

From reading the tiny blurb given on the scenario's store page, I had been excited for this scenario. So first chance I got, I ran it. If I had to explain GMing this in one word, it would be thus:

Gigglefest!

The scenario is very well written, with most of the information behind it actually given to the players, so they don't feel so out of the loop. The events are very fun and had me grinning just reading it!

Playing down with 6 players (and an animal companion), the skill challenges seemed appropriate. Sadly, two were bypassed easily because of one character's spells or spell-like abilities. The first seemed like it would have been easier if the players had agreed on one tactic rather than going for two or three, but each played to their character's strengths, which is acceptable.

The biggest snag the group hit was

Snag:
when in the entry chamber to the Black Edifice, only one person had Spellcraft and failed on the wand. If I'm not mistaken, using a wand blindly is a UMD DC 25, which they could not have made even on a 20 (without invoking "20 is automatic success"). Eventually it came to an excellent roll and an assist to get the doors open. Naturally, the whole time I was giggling like a little schoolgirl at their misfortune.

The BBEG nearly convinced the party, but one character's excellent rolls made the group pass. The final fight was good, though none of it felt threatening. Truthfully, the encounter by the stream felt more deadly than that (one dropped, one staggered, sadly no deaths... still no notches on my GM belt!!)

My biggest gripe with this scenario involves many many typos and odd wordings which don't make sense, giving some parts the feel as though they were translated from another language. Given that I'm still rating it as 5 stars should go to show how minuscule they are. They are annoying, but the quality of the scenario more than makes up for it!

I will be running this again and again until I have no players left for it! And hope to play it once sometime for myself.


Unique and incredibly fun

5/5

Our group had an immensely entertaining time with this one. It takes a unique approach, and actually has a fairly compelling plot once you reach the end.

There seems less focus on the fighting this scenario, which I definitely appreciated, and I could see several situations where individual characters would have abilities that could shine.

I will say our party of melee-oriented fighter types struggled with much of the skill-related challenges, but we still had fun.

Sidenote: the most enjoyable "on-rails" adventure I've had.


Sweet Dreams

5/5

The Night March of Kalkamedes is an absolute gem of a scenario; probably one of the most fun I’ve ever run, and I certainly look forward to being on the player-side of the screen once it’s offered at our game store again.

The bulk of the scenario requires a fair amount of problem-solving and skill-sets that don’t see nearly enough light of day in PFS play (at least in my limited experience) -- intimidation and cracking heads isn’t going to deliver you to the finish line with a full-clear. For those more inclined to fight, there are several combat encounters that are made more challenging by your wandering ward risking life and limb to push forward.

The story was rather good, but there is a long delay before players will get any of it -- your Venture Captain gives you some basic introductions during the setup, a half-dozen encounters will go by, until finally in the last act players are hit with a very compelling story-arc. The curious route of the “Night March” makes up for the lack of exposition one would normally get when escorting a VIP.

The chronicle sheet is impressive, considering the party is able to achieve a full clear.

Spoiler:
If you are able to solve the mystery, all tiers get access to an intelligent weapon. For those who are able to save a particular NPC, you will also receive a one-use boon which, depending on your level and the situation, could prevent a TPK (Total Party Kill) in later scenarios. The periphery items on the chronicle sheet are solid, especially if you’re a low-level character with more gold than fame will allow you to purchase.

Some notes for GM’s:

Spoiler:
Considering I had a low-tier group with varying levels of experience, I wanted to make it clear to them that they would be participating in a night mission. My way around this was having one of the PCs, the night before, grab a midnight snack at Heidmarch Manor and overhear Sheila discussing the situation with a messenger; the PC had the opportunity to relay to his compatriots that tomorrow, they would be embarking on a night mission. The next morning, Canayven Heidmarch gives them a quick briefing, and that they would have about an hour to make purchases before they would need to leave to make it to Kalkamedes’ home by nightfall (this was also my opportunity to deliver faction missions).

Read up on grapple rules. Kalkamedes has a decent CMB/CMD, and was able to free himself from grapples and bust out of hog-ties regularly when not regularly attended.

The Dais is a good opportunity to mess with PCs. Keep the bonus/penalties a secret for as long as possible. Watching the Nagaji Cavalier collapse onto the Dais under the weight of his gear as the Gnome Bard singlehandedly pushes the heavy steel doors open was entertaining, at the very least.

The final encounter is a TPK waiting to happen at low-tier. In my first run, he dropped two party members in as many rounds, though quick-thinking PCs were able to tactically outmaneuver him and put him down in about 8 rounds. Read the tactics carefully and take them to heart, and your PCs should be able to make it out alive.

This one took us about 5.5 hours to run through, which is a bit longer than my average. Plenty of opportunities for puzzle-solving RP, though you’re looking at 4-5 puzzles and 3-4 combats, depending on how things are played.

A very fun scenario which deviates from the norm; your RP’ers will thank you, and your combat-nuts will love the challenge late in the scenario.


Really, really great concept

5/5

After reading this, I havent played or ran it yet, I am REALLY excited about this scenario. I absolutely love the fact that even though pathfinders are escorting him, they still have to make sure he doesn't get himself into trouble from basic wilderness hazards.

Just the overall plot of the scenario is very clever. This might be my new favorite, time will tell.


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Webstore Gninja Minion

Announced for April!

Grand Lodge

This premise just sounds weird. I can't wait to play it! :-)

Shadow Lodge

Love the sound of this one!


This sounds really cool. And it's written by Kortes, awesome!


1 person marked this as a favorite.
TwilightKnight wrote:
This premise just sounds weird. I can't wait to play it! :-)

I dunno, sounds to me like a bit of a snoozer. [/cymbal crash]

Sovereign Court

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Ever since I played in the Pact Stone Pyramid, I look forward to Michael's adventures. Can't wait to try this one!

Digital Products Assistant

Now available!

Sovereign Court

Just read through it! Can't wait to run it! This one actually seems more fun to run than to play.

Minor concern is there are a LOT of typos and rough bits. Easily managed, just a little distracting.

Finally, a question on the Chronicle Sheet:

Chronicle Sheet:
For Gift of Ghaele, would I be correct in assuming they gain access to their choice of spell from the sub-tier the player plays "Night March" as? As opposed to them choosing it when playing in either sub-tier at a later time? So one of those lines will be crossed out, yes?

Dark Archive

From a skim read it looks great fun to run, with some great elements. Roleplaying choices matter. I think its going to be a classic.

Project Manager

Sior wrote:

Just read through it! Can't wait to run it! This one actually seems more fun to run than to play.

Minor concern is there are a LOT of typos and rough bits. Easily managed, just a little distracting.

Finally, a question on the Chronicle Sheet:
** spoiler omitted **

Sorry about that. We had a problem with the file getting corrupted and changes getting lost, so it was difficult to determine whether all the changes got in. We didn't want to delay it to do additional copyediting, though.

Sovereign Court

Jessica Price wrote:
Sorry about that. We had a problem with the file getting corrupted and changes getting lost, so it was difficult to determine whether all the changes got in. We didn't want to delay it to do additional copyediting, though.

And I personally appreciate it, since I've been looking forward to this one, haha. There's nothing insurmountable, just distracting. That's all.

Project Manager

Sior wrote:
And I personally appreciate it, since I've been looking forward to this one, haha. There's nothing insurmountable, just distracting. That's all.

Whew! Good to know. :-)

Scarab Sages

I agree with Sior and ZomB, I think this will be a blast to run. I typically prefer higher tier scenarios, but with this one I do not care. I am looking very forward to running this.

I do wish that there was some form of scenario completion element as there is in "The Dissappeared" and "Fortress of the Nail", for if you know who gets out.

Sovereign Court

Kristen Gipson wrote:
I do wish that there was some form of scenario completion element as there is in "The Dissappeared" and "Fortress of the Nail", for if you know who gets out.

The penalties for letting that happen are on your Chronicle. As for wide-reaching effects of the scenario you mention, I don't think it's that much of an impact on the overall story-line. But good players will incorporate it into their roleplaying.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook Subscriber

rewards:
I wonder if in a future chronicle their will be an opportunity to reforge the Gamin, perhaps at the next subtier. I love the flavour of the Gamin and it would fit well in a redemption sort of story.

faction stuff:
I also really appreciate the telegraphing of the end of the shadow lodge in this module, that Sheila is explicitly both concerned for Kalkamedes and the also concerned that she been seen showing concern.

Grand Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

Oh man I cannot wait to run this at Origins...

Grand Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

And I ran it at Origins. Possibly the best 1-5 of the season.


Read through this one today - it looks very good. I like it a lot. One thing, though, is a quibble about a conflict between the art and a description of an NPC.

Spoiler:

text: "Sulianna appears to be a beautiful, elven warrior-woman"
but the picture shows a woman with non-elf eyes (they have whites) and non-elf ears (no points).


Is this a good one for me and my 2 sons to join in on for gencon? They are 10 and 12 and we've got moderate experience.. been playing Pathfinder at home for almost a year, but never with others.

Also, should we bring level 1 characters? level 5 characters? Anyone know what the norm is for when this gets run at gencon?

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

WebHammer, you can bring any Pathfinder Society Organized Play legal character you have. If you do not have an Organized Play character there will be pre-generated characters for you to use until you have a chance to make one yourself. You can show up with a 1st level character built using the character generation rules found in the Guide to Organized Play (a free download here) and play using that.

This scenario is perfectly suitable for young players, and is a dynamite adventure that should be a good introduction to the world of Golarion and organized play.

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