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Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-00: Origin of the Open Road

2.70/5 (based on 19 ratings)
Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-00: Origin of the Open Road

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A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for level 5 pregenerated characters.

Over recent decades, numerous incidents at the Pathfinder Society's Grand Lodge in Absalom have damaged the priceless collections, destroying many documents outright. The Society has sent the PCs to Nexus House in the arcane metropolis of Quantium, hoping that the second oldest Pathfinder lodge might contain duplicates of the lost texts to copy and study. Yet the PCs are not the only ones interested in the secrets preserved in Nexus House, and the PCs find themselves on the trail of unlikely criminals.

This adventure makes use of the 5th-level pregenerated characters available as a free download.

Written by Ron Lundeen.

Scenario Tags: None

Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:

Fantasy Grounds Virtual Tabletop

Note: This product is part of the Pathfinder Society Scenario Subscription.

Product Availability

Fulfilled immediately.

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

PZOPFS0100E

See Also:

<< Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-01: The Absalom Initiation
<< Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-02: The Mosquito Witch
<< Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-03: Escaping the Grave
<< Pathfinder Society Scenario #10-23—Passing the Torch, Part 2: Who Speaks for the Ten
Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-04: Bandits of Immenwood Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-05: Trailblazers’ Bounty >>
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Average product rating:

2.70/5 (based on 19 ratings)

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Good, but not without flaws.

4/5 —

From a player perspective, i enjoyed it. The story was compelling and the combats were exciting.

Overall though, some issues with this which are largely discussed in other reviews but to expand:

Potential spoilers:
- high potential of TPK
- Pregen's are not optimized for this, and this is compounded by you're not recommended which pre-gens to use
-It is entirely possible to go from full to dying 3 in one round which I think is a design flaw for that encounter.

Apart from that, this scenario I think adequately highlighted differences between PF1 and PF2. In my session we learned that assurance isn't very good for at-level DC's. We learned that crit fails on a non nat1 can happen. We learned the importance of learning about your enemy before charging into battle. Stuff like that.

So yeah, it has some flaws, but at a minimum provides a learning opportunity. If looking to run this scenario I strongly suggest steering PC's towards a pre-gen party composition that will succeed.

No

1/5 —

The pregen characters are weak and uninteresting. If one must use them in an adventure, the plot has to be more engaging and tell more of a story.

The skill test wasn't. No strategy, no challenge, and ending up in the same place -- a waste of time.

And combat was too random to be engaging -- and against a foe that could leave people out of play for too long, perhaps only making 1-2 characters relevant.

A bad introduction for new players

2/5 —

Open Road is a mix of Pathfinder lore, roleplay, investigation, and combat.

This sounds like a good thing but it was not. The main problem was the plot was boring and didn't make a lot of sense.

The scenario was poorly paced and it started with yet another library. Library scenarios have been overdone now and they have become a boring cliché. This was one of the worst libraries for a few reasons.

”Library”:

1) Nobody understood the lore or how it was relevant. The information just wasn’t interesting. Libraries need to be short and the information needs to be interesting.

2) The actual research went very slow (in both game time and real time) since there was unlimited time and it promoted us assisting with anyone that was any good. I’ve used research mechanics in PF1 dozens of times but the way we did this (only one check of each kind could be used), was not good.

3) Library mechanics are allowing too many options for skills. It’s a reach to allow Athletics (seriously, how many fallen bookcases can there be?) but … Acrobatics? That’s just getting silly. There’s a little too much inclusion these days. This is true for all skill challenges.

4) The combat wasn't good for most of the players. Since we were so far away, my character spent the entire encounter just trying to move to a location to strike something, which he didn’t have the opportunity to do. Many other characters got only one strike as well. It felt worse because we had new players at the table and each round dragged out, 45 minutes of moving.

Another problem was that the pregens were not updated for PF2 and were instead built using something that was in between the playtest rules and PF2 rules. So you’re teaching new players the rules but you’re teaching them the wrong rules. For example, Valeros’ shield hardness being 3. Also, it didn't provide Valeros the option to strike with his gauntlet, which was needed.

The combats go from easy to very hard quickly. My group were veteran PFS players with a grasp of PF2 mechanics and even we had a hard time. I saw a TPK during the con with another group. Not a great 1st time experience.

I liked the final encounter, it was really well designed. I didn't find the bad guys motivation very realistic though, and not worth dying for.

The Pathfinder lore at the end is interesting for any long time Pathfinder Society players. I think that this scenario would have been much better as a regular PFS scenario.

Summary: This is an OK scenario for long time PFS players, but it's not suitable for players new to Pathfinder 2. I would have rather seen this as a high tier scenario with a sequel.

Great adventure

4/5 —

Very much enjoyed playing this one as Merisiel, who has become quite the killing machine. But all pregens are quite powerful, though some situations require you to think outside the PF1 comfort zone. Mechanically it feels quite different from first edition, but the quality of the story is simply great, and I'm curious to see where this storyline is going. Keep on the good work.

Insufferably boring and unfair

1/5 —

This would be a middling adventure if not for the fact you're shoehorned into playing poorly designed pregens against threats that directly counter your character's main contribution to fight. Most of the encounters have enemies that leave half the party useless. This results in encounters that take forever to resolve. I literally fell asleep at the table because it took 10 minutes for my turn to come up only for me to just Step into flanking and end my turn since my character had no chance to hurt any enemies. The plot is also fairly uninteresting and disjointed.

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Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Michael Sayre wrote:
Jib916 wrote:
Is there a link somewhere to the pregens? Not seeing them? (Or do we just use the 5th level Iconic pregens?)
Use the 5th level iconic pregens.

At GenCon, our party was Fumbus (Alc), Amiri (Bbn), Kyra (Clr), Valeros (Ftr), Merisiel (Rog), and Ezren (Wiz), since those were the only six pregens on the table.

I'm scheduled to run this at ReaperCon over Labor Day weekend.
I don't see the scenario prescribing which pregens to use.
Should I offer only these six to my players, or should I let them choose from all of the pregens?
Sovereign Court
Derek Schubert wrote:
Michael Sayre wrote:
Jib916 wrote:
Is there a link somewhere to the pregens? Not seeing them? (Or do we just use the 5th level Iconic pregens?)
Use the 5th level iconic pregens.

At GenCon, our party was Fumbus (Alc), Amiri (Bbn), Kyra (Clr), Valeros (Ftr), Merisiel (Rog), and Ezren (Wiz), since those were the only six pregens on the table.

I'm scheduled to run this at ReaperCon over Labor Day weekend.
I don't see the scenario prescribing which pregens to use.
Should I offer only these six to my players, or should I let them choose from all of the pregens?

Unless there is an update before then, those are still the only six pregens available at level 5.

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Kyrand wrote:
Derek Schubert wrote:
Michael Sayre wrote:
Jib916 wrote:
Is there a link somewhere to the pregens? Not seeing them? (Or do we just use the 5th level Iconic pregens?)
Use the 5th level iconic pregens.

At GenCon, our party was Fumbus (Alc), Amiri (Bbn), Kyra (Clr), Valeros (Ftr), Merisiel (Rog), and Ezren (Wiz), since those were the only six pregens on the table.

I'm scheduled to run this at ReaperCon over Labor Day weekend.
I don't see the scenario prescribing which pregens to use.
Should I offer only these six to my players, or should I let them choose from all of the pregens?
Unless there is an update before then, those are still the only six pregens available at level 5.

Thanks for the quick reply.

I've downloaded the pack of iconics and now I see. That's easy.
Dark Archive
Michael Sayre wrote:
Jib916 wrote:
Is there a link somewhere to the pregens? Not seeing them? (Or do we just use the 5th level Iconic pregens?)
Use the 5th level iconic pregens.

So for those of us that don't have access to all the secret links to all the PFS2 documentation... can I have a link to the pregens?

Scarab Sages Organized Play Developer
2 people marked this as a favorite.
Callandor Prespotus wrote:
Michael Sayre wrote:
Jib916 wrote:
Is there a link somewhere to the pregens? Not seeing them? (Or do we just use the 5th level Iconic pregens?)
Use the 5th level iconic pregens.
So for those of us that don't have access to all the secret links to all the PFS2 documentation... can I have a link to the pregens?

Word.

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Starfinder Society Subscriber

Is Paizo going to do anything about those of us who had complementary PFS subscriptions last month but paid for this product by mistake since they never gave us any clear indication that it would be part of the subscription? Certainly nobody got this module as part of the last drop even though we can now start a PFS subscription with it.
Scarab Sages Organized Play Developer
2 people marked this as a favorite.
David knott 242 wrote:

Is Paizo going to do anything about those of us who had complementary PFS subscriptions last month but paid for this product by mistake since they never gave us any clear indication that it would be part of the subscription? Certainly nobody got this module as part of the last drop even though we can now start a PFS subscription with it.

I honestly have no idea, but I've brought your question to the attention of those who can get an answer.

Any news on what was asked by David knott 242?
Pathfinder Starfinder Society Subscriber

I got mine fixed via Customer Service. Your best bet is probably to ask them for that refund.

I am a bit confused by the chronicle at the end of this scenario. The chronicle says that you can award it to "any character of levels 1-5 who does not already have a copy of this Chronicle sheet."
However, the scenario is not tagged as repeatable. Reporting for the events seems to be marking all 2e scenarios as repeatable, so that's not a good source to get an answer. Does anyone know if it's possible for players to receive credit for this scenario more than once?
Scarab Sages Organized Play Developer
Avram Suson wrote:

I am a bit confused by the chronicle at the end of this scenario. The chronicle says that you can award it to "any character of levels 1-5 who does not already have a copy of this Chronicle sheet."

However, the scenario is not tagged as repeatable. Reporting for the events seems to be marking all 2e scenarios as repeatable, so that's not a good source to get an answer. Does anyone know if it's possible for players to receive credit for this scenario more than once?

It is not inherently repeatable, but that doesn't mean that there won't be ways to get a replay for it, and since the Chronicle doesn't apply to the character who earns it (since it's a pregen scenario) we want to be clear about the limitations on applying the Chronicle.

Liberty's Edge
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Should this be part of a Pathfinder subscription? I have a subscription but not this scenario.
Pathfinder Starfinder Society Subscriber

Yes, it is part of the subscription. It was added late in a slightly irregular manner. If you should have gotten it and didn't or if you paid for it when you should have gotten it for free, you should contact Customer Service to get the issue fixed.
1 person marked this as a favorite.

I've been playing pathfinder since 2012, this is the worst map I've ever had to draw.
The Exchange
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

I appreciate the nod to Loial (from WoT) on page 5 - if no one else caught it.

For 1-00 there is variation, must a player apply the chronicle immediately since they would be at appropriate level, or may they hold it? If so can they only then hold it to 5, or somewhere between?
1 person marked this as a favorite.
NicoleH wrote:
For 1-00 there is variation, must a player apply the chronicle immediately since they would be at appropriate level, or may they hold it? If so can they only then hold it to 5, or somewhere between?

This got asked in a separate thread

I have two questions:

PFS Guide 0.9 (Bold added) wrote:
During play, your pregenerated character may be afflicted with negative effects such as a curse, a disease, or even death. The pregenerated character must clear and resolve these negative effects before the end of the adventure; otherwise, they affect the Pathfinder Society character that’s receiving credit for the adventure. A few adventures, such as Origins of the Open Road, have special rules for pregenerated characters that provide alternate means to clear negative effects.

1. I see nothing in the 1-00 PDF, GM, or product discussions for this. What special rules, if any, are there? Namely, if a pregen dies does the underlying character still die? From what I can see, yes.

2. We're expecting a bunch of new tier-5 pregens shortly. Are these allowed for 1-00? From what I can tell, yes. 1-00 specifies that it is designed for "5th-level pregenerated characters (Tier 5)" which doesn't exclude any new pre-gens. And again in this thread it's just specified "5th level iconic pregens".
Scarab Sages Organized Play Developer
1 person marked this as a favorite.
redeux wrote:


2. We're expecting a bunch of new tier-5 pregens shortly. Are these allowed for 1-00? From what I can tell, yes. 1-00 specifies that it is designed for "5th-level pregenerated characters (Tier 5)" which doesn't exclude any new pre-gens. And again in this thread it's just specified "5th level iconic pregens".

You can use any of the 5th level pregens.

Edit Realized you were asking a different question than the one I was answering for the first point. Let me look into your actual question.
Scarab Sages Organized Play Developer
3 people marked this as a favorite.
redeux wrote:


1. I see nothing in the 1-00 PDF, GM, or product discussions for this. What special rules, if any, are there? Namely, if a pregen dies does the underlying character still die? From what I can see, yes.

After reviewing with the team, it appears the reference to 1-00 having special rules is from a dated version of the guide text and is scheduled to be pulled from the guide entirely. The rules as they are written without that reference cover clearing conditions in 1-00 without further amendment.

Hello!!! I'm running this scenario in a week or so and I have a question. Its been 4 years and people now have higher level PCs. Do you still have to give the Chron Sheet to a PC level 1 to 5 as it says in the Chron Sheet or ca it now be given to any level Character? Thanks!
Scarab Sages
Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, PF Special Edition, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

I can't find anything in the PFS guide saying this has changed. You should apply credit as directed by the chronicle sheet.
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