A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 1–5.
Rumors of a lost shrine in the Segang Jungle draw the Pathfinder Society’s attention, but the prohibitive cost of sending a team into the wilds of Jalmeray threatens to shut down the expedition before it even begins. Fortunately, a wealthy patron has offered to fund the PCs travel expenses in return for their help in his decades-old quest. Can the Pathfinders balance this new obligation with their exploration of the archaeological site?
Content in “The Segang Expedition” also contributes directly to the ongoing storyline of the Sovereign Court faction.
Written by Benjamin Bruck.
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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This scenario was an absolute blast. Just for background, I ran it over PbP for a group with an APL of 2.6 (playing up to subtier 4-5 with the 4-player adjustment).
The color and flavor for this scenario was fantastic. The NPCs were likable and had very clear goals. As a special GM treat, for the first 2/3 of the adventure, you get to take them along and have them be useful in directing the flow of the adventure. This is a real bonus for any GM who loves to roleplay characters and not just describe monsters and situations. We spent a good chunk of time just on a made-up ship having a made-up banquet... that's how well the scenario lent itself to good roleplay.
Any fans of jungle settings, and African safaris or old-school British hunter-types will have a ball in this scenario. Even those not a fan of such things will still find plenty to do. Every role has a part to play at various times - and even the little-used "handle animal" skill gets a good look in (okay, so you don't need it, but it's handy).
I'll leave detailed feedback below, but my small gripes were:
- If you're not Sovereign Court faction, a chunk of stuff happens that won't gain you a boon. 1 boon is fine, but 2 boons just for 1 faction is a bit much.
- One encounter in particular had balance issues between the regular scenario and with the 4 player adjustment.
Those are very minor, though, and you'd struggle very hard to find a better PFS scenario. Easily on a par with Slave Ships of Absalom, in my opinion.
Detailed review with spoilers:
The initial set-up for the adventure is great. I was initially dubious about the favor point mechanics. However, they are fairly organic with the scenario situations (requiring no special effort on the player's behalves to gain them). Also, the favor points - unlike the "epiphany points - in Trial by Machine, are directly linked to boons (albeit only for Sovereign Court members) and a success condition (1 PP for all players).
I love how a good chunk of the encounters can be bypassed by creativity alone. It really rewards characters who think about what they're doing and where they are. The monkey fight is a particular favorite. If the PCs shoo them off, they swarm. If they behave respectfully towards the monkeys (and there are plenty of clues around that they should) then the monkeys come back to help them (a little) in the final fight. Really cool stuff.
The fight with the "tiiger" is also a big one. There was a lot of build-up and set-up. I would have loved to see my PbPers faces when they found out what it really was. This leads to a gripe, though: the Subtier 4-5 custom jalmeri leucrotta is demonstrably less powerful than the advanced leucrotta to use for the 4 player adjustment. The one for the 4 players is the right CR (though maybe a bit tougher based on the poor tactical situation the PCs end up in ), but the un-adjusted leucrotta needs beefing up. Small gripe, and chances are you wouldn't even notice if you weren't running over PbP and had time to stat compare and such things.
The final battle was a real challenge for my PCs. I read extensively on the Asura's abilities before the battle (mostly just making sure I didn't get anything wrong). I started blink during the surprise round, and it really screwed my players over! They had to really think hard about what they were doing, but in the end triumphed. They all agreed it was one of the hardest PFS fights they've had where it wasn't a TPK. They were very well-prepared players with (mostly) optimized builds. If you're running for players who are playing up, be aware that the 4-player nerf isn't much of a nerf (-2 to it's last 2 attacks of 4, and -5ft to a special ability it can't really use in such close quarters anyway). Unprepared players playing up will likely die... especially if they can't get past its DR or deal good damage. Check over the sheets beforehand and maybe have Valsin suggest some vials of holy water if they haven't otherwise got a way to stop the asura's regeneration.
Overall, an absolute delight to run and my players had a wonderful time playing. Really nice work, Ben! Easily one of the best scenarios out there.
While the scenario is somewhat sound, it is very long and exhausting. Due to the limit in word count, some encounters feel like they've been cut short.
This scenario would have worked a lot better as two separate scenarios.
There are also some editorial issues, and some encounters are really tough unless the PCs have one particular resource.
Quick question and excuse my ignorance, but is there some rule or something about only certain star level GMs or venture-staff able to run new games for a certain period of time? Or can anyone run this for PFS once it goes on sale?
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Usually the exclusives, marked with -EX or something similar--like Day of the Demon, in its exclusive form, are the only one with limits on who can run a scenario.
That's the encounter with the looters, who just want to bug out of the temple as fast as possible. If the PCs choose not to fight them or talk to them and let them walk out, they'll flee and take all their treasure with them.
Rather than lose all the gold from the encounter if the PCs choose not to deal with the looters, the encounter gives the PCs a reduced gold value--the gold from the next lowest subtier. At the 1-2 subtier, they get the gold listed for Below 1-2.
A nit-pick: The good baron does not seem to be proficient with his weapon of choice. :) When I played this it didn't matter because he did not get to shoot at his famous 'tiger'.
Firearm Style: At 2nd level, a trophy hunter gains the Amateur Gunslinger feat and Exotic Weapon Proficiency (firearms), and can use any 1st-level gunslinger deed (page 10).
Started to prep the scenario, and I noticed the Baron fought against the Gorilla King in 2690 AR. This puts him at a little over two millenia old. Am I missing something?
even with good aligned weapons Asura fight was a really hard fight with his 4 kukri and 2 claws attacks. 3 of us were with only 3-5 hp and we were really excited when he went down with a lucky critical hit from our prone barbarian!
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2010 Top 8
