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Pathfinder Society Scenario #6–16: Scions of the Sky Key, Part 3: The Golden Guardian (PFRPG) PDF

4.00/5 (based on 12 ratings)
Pathfinder Society Scenario #6–16: Scions of the Sky Key, Part 3: The Golden Guardian (PFRPG) PDF

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A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 1–5.

Having bested the Aspis Consortium and recovered a powerful weapon, the PCs return to the Bandu Hills to delve into its ruins, confront the ancient guardian within, and find their missing venture-captain. Even greater secrets lie below, and the Pathfinders soon find that there is more to the so-called Golden Guardian than legends suggest. Are the PCs resourceful enough to survive the mounting danger and find Nieford Sharrowsmith?

“The Golden Guardian” is the final scenario in the three-part Scions of the Sky Key campaign arc. It is preceded by Pathfinder Society Scenario #6–12: Scions of the Sky Key, Part 1: “On Sharrowsmith’s Trail” and Pathfinder Society Scenario #6–14: Scions of the Sky Key, Part 2: “Kaava Quarry.” All three chapters are intended to be played in order.

Content in “The Golden Guardian” also contributes directly to the ongoing storylines of the Grand Lodge faction.

Written by Mikko Kallio, RPG Superstar 2014 finalist.

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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4.00/5 (based on 12 ratings)

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Love This Storyline

5/5 —

Part 2 is far more memorable, but part 3 was my personal favorite. There was a lot of effort put into this one to create an atmosphere for the players and a lot of room was given for the GM to create that atmosphere. Room B in particular is a lot of fun for the gamemaster, and bits and pieces of the story of Ashkurhall are sprinkled all around the ruins for the players to put together. I panicked during the Gold Guardian encounter when the invisible player opened the dwarven talisman, since it's based on sight, but luckily they figured it out.

There's a mildly useful boon for the Grand Lodge faction, and a couple of other boons that are a little more challenging to obtain (you might easily complete the adventure without earning them.)

The story as a whole, across all three parts, is a great adventure. Part 1 was interesting, part 2 was memorable, but part 3 is my favorite because it had the best atmosphere and really brought in the story of Ashkurhall.

Good exploration

4/5 —

Play through all three parts. Not bad, love the baslisk:), and the final fight.

However the gold en guardian and kobolds are not connected well with the scenario, too many knowledge checks really annoying, and gain nothing but some little story? (not impressive either)

3/5 —

Fun, relaxing and easy to run scenario

4/5 —

Overall pretty good. Still need some work balancing between diplomatic and murder hobo outcomes. The elaboration at the end was nice, as were the rewards. Though I think there needs to be a "hard mode" for the high tier on this to make the end fight satisfying for skilled parties that were able to maximize their points, especially if there were people that were itching for a "fight".

Fun

3/5 —

Played this at low tier after completing the previous two parts. Party was ranger/rogue, ranger, sorcerer and fighter.

I think we won this scenario simply on the grounds of being diplomatic and not a bunch of murderhobo's which seems to be what the author was expecting. This made it very easy.

One element of the scenario I did think felt rather forced was a certain series of tests all of which seem to be based purely on skill checks that if you don't have, you'll not do very well at all. This was the only downside for me.

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Announced for March!
Sovereign Court

Should this be 15 or the listed 16th scenario? If it is 16th, why the missing scenario?
Grand Lodge
Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, Maps Subscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

Likely its because they announced all 3 parts at once, while the 15th scenario will be announced later.
Paizo Employee Developer

That's correct. We announced the three-parter all at once. Information about the next scenario or two should be coming up in the next couple of weeks.
Grand Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

I hope that everyone who plays this scenario enjoys it as much as I enjoyed writing it. :)

Writing an adventure about exploring ancient ruins allowed me to play with some classic themes and combine them with fresh ideas. If you like a bit of mystery, action, and roleplaying, this one's for you! :)
Shadow Lodge
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Superscriber

Was there a reason why this three-parter didn't all contribute to the storyline of the same faction, like Destiny of the Sands did for Osirian/Scarab Sages?I thought that had been one of the best uses of factions in scenarios to date, and was looking forward to seeing it continued.

I was *really* looking forward to an in-depth exploration of the Exchange's dealings in Garundi...

(I mean, I'm still looking forward to this, because the three-parters are always great fun...just not quite as much as I had been.)
1 person marked this as a favorite.

@pH: If you haven't already played it, try "By Way of Bloodcove". It's got a much more Exchange feel to it (and the boons to match). It also leads very nicely in to part 1 of this adventure (even though it's the higher subtier). We coincidentally played By Way of Bloodcove at 3-4 and then moved on to Part 1 of Scions at 4-5... definitely the "right" way to do it - but it could be done as a "flash back" to the past if you have a regular group, or a "oh, cool, I know what happens there!" if you play with randoms.
Dark Archive
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Serpent wrote:

I hope that everyone who plays this scenario enjoys it as much as I enjoyed writing it. :)

Writing an adventure about exploring ancient ruins allowed me to play with some classic themes and combine them with fresh ideas. If you like a bit of mystery, action, and roleplaying, this one's for you! :)

I've had an absolute blast running parts 1 and 2. The chase scene in part 2 is the best use of those mechanics I've ever seen.

Really looking forward to running part 3 on saturday.

Anyone know why it's unavailable.....? This morning it was available today....now it's unavailable

/unhappy face
Scarab Sages

I hope it's available first thing in the morning, I have it scheduled to run tomorrow and it's the last time I can run games for my store for two months. I'd hate for my players to not get to finish this chain up.
Sovereign Court
2 people marked this as a favorite.

Release dates are more like...guidelines.
Paizo Glitterati Robot

Now available!

Only managed a quick flick through it so far, disappointed not to see a boon for those who complete all three parts. Frankly the Blade of the Open Road could easily have been removed for it given they are likely only of interest to a very small percentage of players.
Scarab Sages

Page 6 has a cut and paste error from #6-15: The Overflow Archives.

Spoiler:
The information box is titled "The Kitsune's Gambit" for the defense points which is the same title used in #6-15 for the Kitsune.
Grand Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
skyshark wrote:

Page 6 has a cut and paste error from #6-15: The Overflow Archives.

** spoiler omitted **

Thanks for catching that! I haven't played #6-15 yet and was wondering what it was and how it got there, but that explains it. I hope everything else looks ok!

-Mikko

Overall I'm happy there isn't a boon that needs all three parts to work. Those types of things can be cool, but sometimes the payoff for that heavier investment can also be only of interest to a few types of characters (the Quest for Perfection series jumping to mind). Given the choice, I'm happier with a multi-parter whose story has a very tight throughline like this one does.

(Also, this scenario does incorporate other chronicles in a really cool day. I'd be thrilled if Paizo kept up things like that moving forwards.

There seems to be an issue with the price of one of the items on the chronicle sheet:

Spoiler:
The Blade of the Open Road seems to be priced at about 10,000 more GP than a +1 Bane Longsword should be, even accounting for the enhanced survival check bonus for wayfinders.

Has an official response to what appears to be an error in the price been posted someplace? If yes, I apologize and am not finding it when I do a search.

I'm also looking for any updates on the price of the Blade of the Open Road!!
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