A Pathfinder Society Quest designed for levels 1–4 (subtiers 1–2 and 3–4)
The Ruby Prince has banned much of the archaeology that once took place in the nation of Osirion. Rather than quelling the demand for access to the mysteries of ancient Osirion, this created a new market among Osirion's neighbors. Prince Zinlo, ruler of the city-state of Aspenthar, has offered several potentially interesting contracts to explore and document ancient sites within his holdings. As the PCs are sent to secure one of these sites, will they uncover new secrets long lost to modern recollection, or will they find that the Prince Zinlo's offer truly is too good to be true?
Written by: Quinn Murphy
Scenario tags: None
[Scenario Maps spoiler - click to reveal]
The following maps used in this scenario are also available for purchase here on paizo.com:
I feel like the skill challenge in this one is adequately daunting to give players pause, which is a bonus in my book. The combat is well balanced--difficult enough that sloppy and unlucky players will be hard pressed but not so hard that it's going to be a wipe out easily. I did drop down to 4 stars only because the conclusion wasn't exactly satisfying in my opinion.
Not everyone likes genre mixing ("you got Science Fiction in my Fantasy game!). I don't especially mind, if there is for-warning -- but without for-warning it just seems out-of-place and distracting.
The skill check DCs were too low, and the fight was too easy. For a side fight in a full adventure, it would have held up; but for the only fight, the boss fight, it was weak. There's some drama in making people make saving throws all over the place, but the DCs were low, and the effects were not particularly grand when they did affect.
Having run this a few times, I really like how it flows. There is dialogue, exploration and skills, and a tough fight. The challenge level is just about right, and the extra lore bits are awesome. All in all, it's a really fun way to spend an hour and a half or so.
The format of: 1x Skill/diplomacy challenge + 1x combat for PF2 quests I've found leaves one to be desired. Either the skill challenge is tacked on, or the combat feels forced.
This one has both feeling great! There is some good lore, and reveals some developing relationships between pathfinders and the Osiriani government. It also just has a solid combat.
5/5 for me!
Great little adventure, with a really tough finale
I GM'd two Quests back to back yesterday. This was one of them. The group was five players, including four brand new Pathfinder 2 players - one of those had never played any RPGs before.
The entire adventure took just over an hour to play - the vast majority of that was the final combat, which was really tough. I'll just throw out that having vast swathes of immunities handicapped the two spell casters. Everyone still had fun, and the skill challenge(s) were appropriate and taught some basic game play concepts.
Well done overall, and this was a nice adventure. The PF2 Quests are more situational, I often have a hard time rounding up a regular table for only an hour or two.
I've really been enjoying the quest line and this one looks like another good one. I especially like the hints and connections between these and the full length scenarios. The quests have had two of the more creative boons in second edition too.
Best part, the roughly 1 hour format has opened up local options for weeknight gaming.
