Pathfinder Society Scenario #5–07: Port Godless (PFRPG) PDF

I recently completed this scenario in play-by-post. We were a high-tier party with 4 player adjustment, but there were 6 players (mixed tier group).

It is a really well written scenario. I look forwards to GMing it some time.

The scenario starts with an investigation. The scene is evocative, and the location makes a difference. There are interesting NPCs. You have to think about where you are.

The second half of the scenario is a rescue mission. This part is "hard-mode." The BBEG is strong, with effective tactics. But what makes this really difficult is the use of (imho) a seriously under-CR'd adversary. The adversary makes sense in the scenario. It all fits together. But because of the flawed CR this can be very deadly. We all survived, and when you have to really work for a win (as we did here) it makes the victory sweeter, but be warned!

Would be a 5-star review but for the CR issues.

Together with three others I tackled this scenario last Wednesday on the high tier. We had a pretty awesome combination of characters: a tank, a turret, a bard and an enchantment-focused mesmerist (me). Needless to say we had two highly effective damage-dealers and two characters who could really talk their way through everything, except for the 2’s I rolled on for my mesmerist. Turns out that 26 on bluff isn’t enough if the enemies roll decent on their sense motives. That just shows you that this scenario clearly is not a cakewalk.

This scenario can basically be divided into two parts: investigation and a heist. For the investigation part it’s obvious you can search for information and intel discretely or through sheer force. Or in our case overconfidently asking around and hoping we could talk our way out of any issues. Let’s just say that there were mixed results which really added to the flavour of Rahadoum and the Pure Legion’s presence. I really liked the way the country and its occupants were portrayed and how certain laws had a noticeable impact on the entirety of the scenario. Role-play is very important in this part, but you’re not limited to just a few option you have to pick from. Creativity gets rewarded.

The heist is the highlight of the scenario for me and that’s mostly because you’re presented four potential avenues of approach, all with its different pros and cons. Our party ended up using two of them, basically helping us get a feel for the place before striking hard and fast. Mind you, decisiveness and speed are very important as the heist is time-sensitive, another mechanic that was brilliantly given shape in this scenario. Depending on what you do and when you do it, you can get a different experience.

Given the sense of urgency your characters can feel, I can see how the encounters can be rather difficult. However, in our case, we had a perfect combination of characters and great teamwork. We also had a bit of luck and got rid of what potentially is the biggest hurdle in two rounds due to a lucky Overwhelming Grief. We were probably one of the more obvious heist-crews given the things we did prior to and during the raid, but we raced our way through the compound with a combination of elegance, crowd control and martial prowess.

Needless to say, I love this scenario. There’s a huge amount of role-play and a heist that can be executed in a bunch of different ways. The encounters have the potential to really challenge you and you can’t afford wasting time in order to reach your goal. I highly recommend playing this scenario. One thing I did notice, and which was confirmed by the GM, is that it’s somewhat of a nightmare to prepare and run. The sandbox element and flexibility comes with a price and certain key things are hard to look up in the scenario itself. GMs really have to prepare well, more so than normal. That said, I still think it’s worth it so I won’t lower my final rating. Five stars are truly deserved.

This was a fun scenario!
Especially for players who like a good dust-up and detective work.

Ran my bloodrager, Gruugdúrz, through this with some other tough party members.
Pushed us to the limit! Gruugdúrz just barely survived the ordeal.
Definitely a fun and action packed scenario, this.
If you like an intense, and challenging, fight, this is is for you.
If you like to to use your smarts and avoid needless fights, this is also an excellent choice.
(Read: Gruugdúrz might have started a fight needlessly.)

Overall, a good challenge for a party of players who like to use both brain and brawn.

So you already guessed I liked this scenario. Perspective: player.

I'd just played the Heresy of Man series and was a bit nonplussed about how little those actually did with Rahadoum as a country. In those adventures, the Pure Legion were just faceless goons that we beat up and moved on. It was just us murderhoboin' our way across the sandbox.

This adventure was quite different. It hit a particular tone I've never really had before in PFS (although this adventure would fit nicely together with Ageless Ambitions). It was as if we were the foreign spies coming into a sovereign, civilized and functioning society to do some "housecleaning", and while we might feel justified about that, local law enforcement wasn't going to agree that we had any right to interfere. So we had to be on our toes about that. It was an interesting tension in the adventure.

Meanwhile, our enemies weren't going to take our efforts lying down either. We ran into plausible and effective defenses, and enemies that fought back effectively.

Nice things about this scenario:
- Celebrity NPC
- Nice locations (don't drop the soap)
- Interesting investigation
- Heist/raid planning
- Well-designed enemies that put up a fight
- Enemy locations that make sense
- More than one way to approach the main dish
- Intelligent play with regards to NPC "feelings" matters
- Well-balanced for four players as well
- Uses the country where it's set to effect
- Advances the metaplot in a way we understand/premise makes sense
- Treated like adults by VC
- Difficult for divine PCs, but not unplayable. Take your precautions. The Pathfinder Pouch exists for a reason.