Pathfinder Society Special: Siege of the Diamond City (PFRPG) PDF

After several years of PFS specials, this is the best large-scale event that I've played in, and a great start to the season five plot. The pathfinders are forced on the defensive for once as a massive host of demons assaults a city and the characters struggle to push them back. The scenario does a good job at pulling off the vibe of a panicked city under supernatural attack, and gives a wide variety of missions for PCs of all levels to assist and mount a counteroffensive. This also allows the GM some leeway to tailor the tasks to suit that particular table, which is good to have.

What makes the special particularly impressive is the interaction between tables. Many events on one table directly affect what's going on at another, so you strongly get the feeling of cooperating as you slowly turn the tables and clear the city. For example, a team of low-level characters get to liberate and then operate siege weaponry to take down oversized demons that are being held back by their high-level allies.

It'll require some organizing to get all the tables, but overall it's a joy to play with a satisfyingly climatic ending. Highly recommended!

I've played this at a con last weekend, and it was terrific.

At first you are gathered in the city, then the abbyss spews forth the invasion, and action commences.

While we were rescuing people, fighting off demonic invaders, and avoiding traps, the repeated improvement or worsening of the situation in the several districts (and just outside of the walls) has you eager to finish your encounter and defend the city elsewhere.

There is chance to have your skills tested, not limited to social and knowledge rolls, though those of course come in handy.

Defending the battlements with a freaking large ballista is awesome, all the while defending against enemies coming from outside and within.

Though this will work in PBP, like previous specials, this one will truly shine in a F2F Multi tables game.

All in all, this is a must play, imo.
There is something to be said, about defending a city against demonic onslaught. Awesome comes into the direction...

Multitable specials always bring something extra to an event. No matter what level you are, you are a part of something clearly bigger. You’re all trying to achieve the same goal; in this case saving a city.
In more recent years, say season 6 to 8, this basically means that groups have a couple of paths to choose from and that basically only the monsters you face are different. You still work together and it is still fun seeing districts slowly come under Pathfinder control, but it misses the real interaction between tiers.

That last part is something that this special actually does well during its final act. The tiers are divided in three groups and they all have different task to accomplish. When a group succeeds at their task, it has an impact on the other groups. If the high level tables are struggling, they can suddenly get a boost because the lower tiers successfully fired a siege weapon. Even though you as a low tier don’t fight the bosses directly, you indirectly have a big impact. In terms of interaction between tiers, this is an improvement compared to the later specials.

The highlight for me, however, is act 2. There are basically 5 districts you have to secure as they’re under attack. This is translated into 12 different, sometimes district-specific, events. These events are not just standard ‘here, have combat and here’s another one’. Instead there’s a mix of combat and social events, which all differ in nature. For example one combat requires you to hold a position and only shoot at targets, another have you check a house if it’s a safe refuge. One of the social events tasks you finding and bringing back pathfinders who are outside the wall, another has you acquire medical supplies as cheap as possible.

In short this means that there’s an event for everyone. While you should roll which event you get, it also puts a GM in a position to tailor the entire experience to the players at his table. If you notice they are bored of fighting all the time, you can toss in a social event. If you know your players just want to smash things, you can put the emphasis on combat encounters. It allows you to really adapt based on the situation and cater to the needs of the players at your table. If you do, they’ll definitely have more fun.

Compared to the latest special, the Sky Key Solution, this flexibility is far superior to the ‘pick one route with a single theme’. Players are likely going to have a better time and as a result the special will be more memorable. I’ve GM’ed both and can safely say that while a portion of what I prepared never got used, that portion is still considerably smaller than the Sky Key Solution. There were also less mechanics to keep track of, so this special is a clear sign that less can be better. I honestly hope that newer specials will be more like this one than some of the recent ones.

I had an absolute blast playing this scenario on subtier 14-15. It was the single best experience I've had playing in a PFS game. The encounters reminded me of a good LG battle interactive, such as the battle for Niole Dra at the end of LG in Keoland. The story was extremely compelling; especially to my Paladin of Abadar. Nothing screams awesome like an abyssal siege on a metropolis. The final encounter I was anticipating for months, it did not disappoint. (Even though it got 1 rounded. It was still epic.)

I had a lot of fun running this special as well at a local convention later in the year. Did a bit lower subtier at 10-11, but the encounters still challenged my players and were a lot of fun. One of the randomly determined early encounters in particular seemed especially brutal with 3 flying critters that could unleash havoc backed up rounds later by a big guy. Had my players were scared; but didn't result in any deaths. Best experience for everyone.

Hope we go back to post level 11 gencon specials next year!