A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 7-11.
When the Jeweled Sages, an ancient order of Osirian scholars, fled Qadiran invaders millennia ago, some perished, and others disappeared deep into territories once held by the pharaohs of old. With the help of the Jeweled Sages' long-abandoned tools, the eminent Tahonikepsu has discovered one of the sages' last known whereabouts in the wilds of Nex. What secrets lie within these inhospitable ruins that date back to the Age of Darkness, and what fate did the so-called Amethyst Sage meet within?
Content in "Ancients' Anguish" also contributes directly to the ongoing storyline of the Scarab Sages faction.
Written by Mikko Kallio.
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This adventure really was the perfect mix of everything you want in an adventure. A great mix of skills, role-play, story, group decisions, and combat all wrapped into one scenario, as well as all of those elements being high-quality.
***Spoilers below***
Skills:
The first skill challenge was the chase. I'm a huge fan of chases, and this one had real consequences for failure. I feel the DCs were just about right for the party. Having GMed this twice, I had one party fail once and another not fail at all, but oftentimes it was by the skin of their teeth.
The second skill challenge, I have to say Thank you author/developers for giving the players all the rules on that handout. I feel I need to say it again, so: Thank you author/developers for giving the players all the rules on that handout. It made things go a lot more smoothly, and both of my parties had a great time. One party got finished with a couple minutes left and ended up facing an epic battle with all the wall crumbling around them (Did I mention it was epic? Because it was really epic...had a fantastic "Oh crap, we're out of time" feel to it). The other got done handily with plenty of time to spare. Great ruleset too I have to admit. Both parties I had enjoyed it greatly.
Story:
Excellent. The encounter with the scorpions was fun, and the decision to be made at the end was excellent. Both parties opted to save him, btw, even though one had much turmoil about it.
Combat:
Fantastic. It is excellent to see that there are environmental effects coming into play as well as not just having one BBEG each fight that fails one save and gets shut down before it can even act. It's also good to have a variety of monsters instead of similar monsters throughout. And all of the monsters made perfect sense in the context of the scenario (Props for the contingency for the object, btw). Challenging and fun, it was a great time for everyone.
Played this at 4-player high tier with Living Monolith 9, Cleric 11, Witch/Druid 8, Summoner 9, Paladin 9.
Premise, 5: The premise sets you of on the trail of the Amethyst Sage. Our GM advertised this as Destiny of the Sands part 5. Our expectations were high, and the scenario delivered.
Combat, 4: I was surprised to see how well equipped my Living Monolith was for all the combats. Tough fights in the Iris Room, including interesting opponents you don't see every day as well as unexpected twists on at least one more familiar one.
Background/RP, 5: When people think of Osirion, the thing that pops to mind is pyramids. This scenario manages to capture an aspect relayed to that in a way that shows how creepy and advanced the ancient Osirians have also been. Loved that aspect.
Mechanics, 4: Interesting puzzle that gradually reveals what you're dealing with, with quite serious consequences for failure. Very interesting and unexpected mix of martial, knowledge and other skills.
And the first (very well-balanced) "encounter" was very well implemented, again with potentially severe consequences for failure (I'll take my GM's word for it).
Skills, 5: I believe nearly all skills were used, and believe it or not, bringing an Osirion focused character is relevant.
General, 5: I was very impressed last season by Scions of the Sky Key part 3, and I was looking forward to this one when I saw who wrote it. I was seriously not disappointed. I can absolutely recommend this adventure for the way it depicts the power Osirion achieved in times before the Kelleshite invasion. The combats are interesting, using opponents (or twists) you don't see every day. Looking forward to your next scenario!
I have run this three times now and highly recommend it for anyone, but especially Scarab Sage members.
It has a bit of everything in it. There are social challenges for face characters, exploration stuff hitting a range of different skills and a good mix of potentially challenging combat.
Each run has been high tier with 5 PC's. So far 1 actual death and numerous close calls.
Also comes with an interesting moral choice at the end which has a real and substantial impact on how the final part of the module plays out.
I have given this 5 stars but would have given it 4.5 due to one issue.
Spoiler:
The incredibly high risk of tpk'ing any group if the group provoke the encounter in the Iris room.
A moderate challenge with some outdoorsy skills, some sleuthing and knowledge checks, and some combat. A hard moral challenge which could lead to extra combat in a home game. Some Occult Adventure material.
In play (with a optimized party of 5{yes, 5; 2 O Faction} at Lvl 10-11) it came to a 30min discussion in the last section. Full gold & 2 PA.
Given the setting the temple area could have been larger or more complicated than 4-5 rooms. However, then it would run longer.
GM eyes only!:
Engagement: Moderate to High. Some cooperation and bluffing is required throughout the scenario. The last hard moral decision may take 30+min.
Plot Development: Clear travel/location based A-B-C plotline; A)Get there, B)Explore, C)Fight... Part B could have been fleshed out some more. Never a good thing leaving artifact like items laying about in a home game or as a backdrop. Combat NPC should have had more time to prepare (given that she is active behind the scenes in part A and her statue animates in part B) and should have left a guardian or at least an alarm.
Roleplaying: Moderate. Cooperation in part A and B, big discussion in part C. So really 2 sets of NPCs; A) make some skill checks, B) one is a talker and the other a combat.
Challenge: Moderate. PC choices play a critical role. In a total crawl you'd kill off all the NPCs and hit maximum difficulty.
Complexity: Moderate. GMs need to know how to run arcane and psychic casters.
Chronicle: Good but mainly focused on arcane casters/knowledge skills(if you can take 5min probably never fail another knowledge check), a bevy of wands. Other items always available in absalom.
I ran this scenario for four players on tier 10-11. They managed to make it through without any significant trouble mostly because of balanced party composition. I have also played this on the lower tier with six players. We had a bit more trouble, but managed to squeeze through.
The scenario offers plenty of opportunities for many types of characters. There is a social encounter, two skill encounters and a couple of relatively challenging battles.
The map is unique, but easy to draw and comprehend. Also the fact that there is only one map makes this scenario easily playable with only a basic flipmat.
I also like the fact that things like the height of rooms and climb DCs have been told in the scenario. And what happens if the PCs decide to run and rest before facing the boss.
A slight minus for some editing mistakes, but the scenario writer has provided answers on these forums in the scenario thread, so check there if running.
