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Pathfinder Society Scenario #5–20: The Sealed Gate (PFRPG) PDF

2.70/5 (based on 39 ratings)
Pathfinder Society Scenario #5–20: The Sealed Gate (PFRPG) PDF

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A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 7–11.

Following its efforts to set up a base camp in the Realm of the Mammoth Lords, the Pathfinder Society seemed ready to mobilize its forces when Marcos Farabellus received troubling news: something dire had befallen the camp. What’s worse, these events resulted in the disappearance of one of the Society’s most valuable tools as well as two of its esteemed leaders. The PCs must investigate the ruined camp, track down the perpetrators, and recover a powerful relic to prevent this tragedy from ruining the entire expedition.

Content in “The Sealed Gate” also contributes directly to the ongoing storylines of the Grand Lodge and Silver Crusade factions.

Written by Kyle Baird.

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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Fulfilled immediately.

Are there errors or omissions in this product information? Got corrections? Let us know at store@paizo.com.

PZOPSS0520E

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Average product rating:

2.70/5 (based on 39 ratings)

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couldn't you have just punched me in the face instead?

1/5 —

Two and half hours into the game, I died. It was the fourth round of combat. I had not yet been allowed to take an action. I was the fourth person to drop; two others got away.

Literally: Teleported in, did nothing, died.

Bite me.

Classic Baird!

4/5 —

Just played his scenario on Monday, and was impressed. The difficulty in this scenario is high, and the first encounter hits hard right out of the gate, it was daunting at first but once we settled down it went well. The inclusion of another player's seeker in the scenario was really cool, and I hope we see more of that in the future. There wasn't too much in the way of RP in the scenario, there is some in the final encounter(s), I count the final two as the same encounter, although that will vary from table to table, depending on how the NPC's are presented. The optional encounter is pretty neat, but my other party members murder-hobo'ed through it fast enough to prevnt any RP with the things from occurring. The first and final encounter can be very long and grindy. The inclusion of hard mode was a plus, I wish I would have gotten to experience it.

The bottom line is if you like challenging, combat heavy encounters and don't mind that there isn't a whole lot of RP (unless the table really works for it), then this scenario is for you.

If you like to have fun and roleplay, avoid this scenario like a swarm!

1/5 —

I've played alot of unfun scenarios in PFS, but this is the first time, I ever have to say, that this is the most unfun scenario I have ever played in PFS. If you are a power gamer/murder hobo type, then you will love the scenario. But for the Pathfinders who love a story and meaningful combats, save your gold (and time for that matters) and skip this scenario.

There was no roleplay aspects. It was the infamous Season One format of combat, trap, combat, boss combat. And the difficulty of it was just insanely obscene and quite unnecessary. Quite frankly, I want the 6 hours (4 and 2 overtime) that I lost playing this game back.

Which sucks, because I like all of Kyle's scenarios to date. This scenario, was NOT the same style of writing I am used to from him, nor do I like to play or run as a GM. I do hope that this was a one time thing, because if not, I plan on not participating in any future scenarios he writes in the future.

Hard Mode Hijinks!

4/5 —

I really enjoyed running this scenario in Hard Mode for my group. We have a lot of optimized builds in our lodge, and finding combat challenges for them is tough. Sure, there's the comical aspect of having them constantly roflstomp encounters. Going into this, I had a bit of a pause; there were 7 knowledgeable, experienced, optimized players at my table!

But several party members were reduced to single-digit hit points multiple times throughout the scenario. I was happy to see them buckle down and rise to the challenge.

During the year of the diplomat, it was nice to have a combat-heavy scenario to break up the pace, too.

Masochism

1/5 —

I played this scenario today as a Slot Zero.

We died, after four hours, in the first encounter.
As a seven person table on the high tier with the 4 player adjustment with competent builds, it became clear that this combat was futile. The sheer quantity of effects in play (almost all of which were exceptionally difficult to treat let alone avoid,) combined with the brutal abilities of the foes, were bordering on insurmountable.

Once we were all dead, we spent the remaining time reviewing the rest of what would have come. It rapidly became clear that, while any one of the encounters would suffice as a finale in a difficult scenario, them being strung together in succession with no realistic opportunity to rest makes for an experience akin to character suicide for a non optimized build. I do not want to feel forced into power-gaming in order to have the possibility of experiencing a scenario in full, let alone surviving it.

It is clear that the GM of this scenario needs to have an unprecedented amount of preparation as well as patience and coordination in order for the full tactics of the scenario to be followed.

It is no exaggeration to say that for average players and game masters alike, the enjoyment of the scenario has a prerequisite of masochism.

I played in the hope of running this one day, but I can only imagine doing so for someone whom I hold a grudge against.

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Webstore Gninja Minion

Announced for May!
Silver Crusade

I stand ready.
Grand Lodge

I cannot wait. I bet Kyle Baird and Paizo's staff have quite a challenge for us with this one!
Grand Lodge

Kyle's back, maybe for another deadly scenario?

I'm a bit disappointed by the blurb to be honest, I thought this would be the scenario where the Society would at last explore Jormundun.
Paizo Employee Developer

They can't explore Jormurdun until they lead their army from this base of operations to its gates. Then they have to actually gain entry into the chambers within. One step at a time!
Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8
1 person marked this as a favorite.

By "the disappearance of one of the Society’s most valuable tools" do they mean Drendle Drang?
Shadow Lodge
1 person marked this as a favorite.

They certainly don't mean he's one of the esteemed leaders...
Grand Lodge

Yep, going to use this one to level my druid to 12. Should be fun, Kyle Baird always writes a nice adventure.
Liberty's Edge

Really wondering what tool we lost and who the esteemed leaders are.
2 people marked this as a favorite.

Worst-case scenario (and with Kyle, you know you want to plan for that): Aram Zey, Marcos Farabellus, and the Hao Jin Tapestry?
3 people marked this as a favorite.
Nari Burnsong wrote:
Really wondering what tool we lost and who the esteemed leaders are.

Tool: Trusty Buddy

Leaders: Mike and John
Dark Archive
Kyle Baird wrote:
Nari Burnsong wrote:
Really wondering what tool we lost and who the esteemed leaders are.

Tool: Trusty Buddy

Leaders: Mike and John

NOOOOOOO!!!! Not Trusty Buddy!

Really looking forward to this one, Mammoths was awesome, and I'm interested to see how it follows up.

Damn. Kyle wracked up a body count with a level 1, we're going to need a bigger cart if he's writing 7-11s....
Paizo Employee Developer
BigNorseWolf wrote:
Damn. Kyle wracked up a body count with a level 1, we're going to need a bigger cart if he's writing 7-11s....

How do you think he started his writing career with PFS?

Shadow Lodge
John Compton wrote:
BigNorseWolf wrote:
Damn. Kyle wracked up a body count with a level 1, we're going to need a bigger cart if he's writing 7-11s....
How do you think he started his writing career with PFS?

WITH BLOOD! (and Caubo's tears)

Silver Crusade RPG Superstar 2013 Top 8

There are some extraneous words in the blurb, which I have bolded below (IMO they should be removed).

Scenario Blurb wrote:
Following its efforts to set up a basecamp in the Realm of the Mammoth Lords, the Pathfinder Society seemed ready to mobilize its forces when the Marcos Farabellus received troubling news: something dire had befallen the camp. What’s worse, these events resulted in the disappearance of one of the Society’s most valuable tools and the disappearance of two of its esteemed leaders. The PCs must investigate the ruined camp, track down the perpetrators, and recover a powerful relic to prevent this tragedy from ruining the entire expedition.

Base camp is not a compound word, it is two separate words. It sounds like the original draft read, "the Pathfinder Society received troubling news..." and 'Pathfinder Society' was replaced with 'Marcos Farabellus' without removing 'the'. You could also change "and two of its esteemed leaders" to "as well as two of its esteemed leaders".

So it should read:

Following its efforts to set up a base camp in the Realm of the Mammoth Lords, the Pathfinder Society seemed ready to mobilize its forces when Marcos Farabellus received troubling news: something dire had befallen the camp. What’s worse, these events resulted in the disappearance of one of the Society’s most valuable tools as well as two of its esteemed leaders. The PCs must investigate the ruined camp, track down the perpetrators, and recover a powerful relic to prevent this tragedy from ruining the entire expedition.
4 people marked this as a favorite.

Meh. Words are hard.
Webstore Gninja Minion

Thanks for the catch, greysector!
Silver Crusade

Ack! Just noticed the release has been pushed back from Wednesday to Friday...

Say I was scheduled to run this on Sunday...should I inform the event coordinator that we'll need a different scenario, or do you think the Friday release date will stand?

(and I'll hope that Kyle's writing is clear enough that I can figure it out and prep it in a 24 hour time span) :P

Thanks, and sorry to bother.
Sovereign Court
2 people marked this as a favorite.

Running this in three and a half weeks. Can't wait to add some more notches to my GM screen. I'll send a portion of player tears as tribute to Baird the following Monday.
Mike Bramnik wrote:
(and I'll hope that Kyle's writing is clear enough that I can figure it out and prep it in a 24 hour time span)

Feel free to shoot me an email if you have any questions.

Silver Crusade
Kyle Baird wrote:
Mike Bramnik wrote:
(and I'll hope that Kyle's writing is clear enough that I can figure it out and prep it in a 24 hour time span)
Feel free to shoot me an email if you have any questions.

Will do - thanks! Looking forward to digging my teeth into this one (and then its teeth into my players)!

Shadow Lodge

*finishes his first read-through*

Dude... just... wow. *rubs hands together gleefully and looks around for a suitable vial for player tears*
Dark Archive
1 person marked this as a favorite.

I'm kind of disappointed in the writing for this one, as I've seen some glaring plot holes that make no sense.

1.) They clearly remind players that when you enter the Tapestry, that you leave a planar eddie where you came in. It states to the players that all they need to do is enter that eddie and they leave the Tapestry and return to the material plane at the spot where they entered. So, if Zay and Li entered the tapestry, how can they not exit via their own planar eddies? There is no explanation for this, and it is clearly in odds with what they remind the players so that they, and the other pathfinders, can leave the Tapestry.

2.) Even more disturbing is the horrible way that Nikolai is presented. It is claimed in several places that he had fallen under the influence of the Alraune. For most of the scenario I assumed that this meant that it had some power over him that was manipulating his mind and making him more pliable. Having seen both stat blocks, the only thing I can see is the Charm Monster power, and having seen Nikolai's stat block, there is virtually no way that he would have failed the Will save to fall under its effect. So either the Alraune is great at mental manipulation, and therefore didn't need the spell like ability to control the venture captain, or Nikolai is just that pliable and arrogant that he easily fell under the manipulations of the creature because of his own arrogance. Either way, the whole thing makes no sense, and given that it is the entire driving premise of the scenario, it makes the whole thing tenuous at best.
Paizo Employee Developer
morbon wrote:
1.) They clearly remind players that when you enter the Tapestry, that you leave a planar eddie where you came in. It states to the players that all they need to do is enter that eddie and they leave the Tapestry and return to the material plane at the spot where they entered. So, if Zay and Li entered the tapestry, how can they not exit via their own planar eddies? There is no explanation for this, and it is clearly in odds with what they remind the players so that they, and the other pathfinders, can leave the Tapestry.

In Response:
The issue that those two ran into was that their connection was disrupted when the tapestry moved (in addition to the disruption of the arcane foci stabilizing the portal they were creating). Thus far the Society's travels into the tapestry have involved the artifact staying on one place the whole time. When the alraune carried off the tapestry, it appears it made Zey's and Li's respective eddies disappear or be disrupted.
Grand Lodge
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

Brought 'em back alive, every one of them.
Dark Archive

If you take out the reviews from people that complained because their characters died, this is actually a well-liked scenario...YOLO
Shadow Lodge
1 person marked this as a favorite.

It's a scenario for REAL Pathfinders™.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

Why is the prices of magic items wrong? Do I use the price in the book or on the sheet?
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