A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 3–6 (subtiers 3–4 and 5–6).
The Sarkoris Scar still aches from the recently closed Worldwound, but that hasn't stopped the Pathfinder Society and their allies in the Farheavens Clan from maintaining their efforts to reclaim the Sarkorians' ancestral homelands. At a trading post near the southern border of the Sarkoris Scar, the PCs meet their contact from the Farheavens but not all is as it seems. The PCs and their allies will need to unravel the twisted skeins of an infernal plot if they have any hope of avoiding becoming the next victims of a fiendish spirit. This adventure was concepted at Paizo's Adventure Design Workshop panel during GenCon 2019.
Written by: Jenny Jarzabski
Scenario tags: Faction (Vigilant Seal)
[Scenario Maps spoiler - click to reveal]
The following maps used in this scenario are also available for purchase here on paizo.com:
...which is problem when you try to run this as 4-6 hour one shot :'D Party I played in took 8 hours to complete this(and that was with us picking up the pace after 6 hours), another party took 10 hours to complete this. Yeaaaah you need basically 2 or 3 sessions to do this scenario justice.
It does offer tons of great roleplaying and mystery and reactivity, though i do think final boss is kinda... Too powerful and annoying? Like their tactics basically nerf them because they would otherwise be able to crit pcs to death very easily. Like evil GM could just make them hit and run. Oh and first encounter in scenario was completely unnecessary, it could have been cut out completely without changing anything else about the scenario and it would have been better scenario for it. The other two encounters were really dangerous as well, but I think they were better type of difficult encounter than the final one was. (I do have to say though, I think the final boss would have been good hard boss if not for their absurd attack bonus)
Looking at the other reviews, I don't really agree with the railroad complaint ones in this case. PFS allows for "If party creatively bypasses or solves problem, then allow it and give them reward they would have gotten from written version" and nothing from scenario's ending would actually change if PC's actually solve that problem creatively and skipped the encounter successfully.
Comment on other reviews with minor spoilers:
The "I locked the character in room and they got out" isn't really a railroad when its plausible in scenario(and scenario as written doesn't actually directly say "Character gets out if locked in room" so you could also argue that was GM's decision)
For clarity, I played in this scenario and then read it afterwards when reviewing this, but I haven't run it myself, so I could be missing details.
This module kind of made the misstep of trying to put together two different things that can go well together but didn't mesh well here. You have one part that is a mystery and another that is a evil dead situation.
Either of these can do well on their own and sometimes they can mix together well, this time, they didn't mesh as well.
It will run long, even if you are not trying, it will run long cause you will have players split up since the get the sense of a small area being safe. I think this scenario would have been better without the mystery part in it and instead focused on the surviving a locked house situation.
The mystery part is actually interesting and I wish it got the time to get the focus it deserved. I ran this so I got to see all the background story and that in of itself would be a good story to explore more.
Mixing these two elements left a long adventure that is fun, exciting, and intriguing, but it will run over time and makes it difficult for con play. Store or home, it's great.
I have always enjoyed Jenny's scenarios and this is another good one. It _is_ complicated with a lot of moving parts, but that's part of what makes it interesting. The problem is that to role play and run this properly feels like it would take about 12 hours.
I ran this for 6 players in low tier. I ended up having my players dice out of most of the investigation to move things along, I dumbed down the monsters a little to speed up combats, and we finished in 5 1/2 hours, just before the store closed.
I'm looking forward to running this again with a better idea of how to approach it.
Oh, and just skip the first combat. It adds NOTHING to the scenario and will gain you some time.
This adventure is two very very different and well-put-together scenarios that have been mashed together to fit in one time slot.
One is a reasonably well-put-together mystery filled with interesting NPCs, each eith her/his own motivation. The other is a tactical fight against powerful foes.
Unfortunately, attempting to pack so much into one scenario hurt the first scenario. Out-of-game time considerations make it hard to get the most out of the NPCs and mystery.
The combat scenario is great, and has the most challenging battle I've yet seen in 2nd edition. But it suffers in one very particular way.
Spoiler:
It is extremely anti-climactic to simply have the threat go “poof” after X rounds. It leaves the scenario without a conclusion – either the enemy will disappear with time to heal up downed characters, or the PCs (as happened in our run) will have been taking a beating and feel tantalizingly close to winning the fight before it is snatched from them.
The PCs don't have much agency. There is not much that PCs can do to disrupt the sequence of events. Add to this the problem mentioned in the spoiler, and the whole adventure feels a little hollow. Which is really sad, given how great the flavor is, and how much potential the mystery had.
I just went over a few of the encounters with a friend to help them prepare to run this tomorrow. I discovered what can only be an error in one of them, or an oversight in the PF2 Silence spell as written. I don't know if anyone's watching this space, but I figured this would be the most appropriate place to ask for some guidance running this adventure in PFS. If we were just playing this in a home game I'd just advise my friend to alter the problem spell to fit the encounter as written
encounter C:
"During combat, the ascendant casts paranoia on a martial PC, then casts silence on a PC who uses magic."
the problem:
Silence as written in PF2 is
PF2 Silence wrote:
Range touch; Targets 1 willing creature
Duration 1 minute
The target makes no sound, preventing creatures from noticing it using hearing alone. The target can't use sonic attacks, nor can it use actions with the auditory trait. This prevents it from casting spells that include verbal components.
Heightened (4th) The spell effect emanates from the touched creature, silencing all sound in or passing through a 10- foot radius and preventing any auditory and sonic effects in the affected area. While within the radius, creatures are subject to the same effects as the target. Depending upon the position of the effect, a creature might notice the lack of sound reaching it (blocking off the noise coming from a party, for example).
It can only be used at touch range. Meanwhile, the Ascendant is described as staying atop their dais and attempting to prevent PCs from approaching. Not to mention it requires a willing target in PF2
I feel like the encounter was written with the PF1 Silence in mind, which is
PF1 Silence wrote:
Range long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Area 20-ft.-radius emanation centered on a creature, object, or point in space
Duration 1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw Will negates; see text or none (object); Spell Resistance yes; see text or no (object)
Description
Upon the casting of this spell, complete silence prevails in the affected area. All sound is stopped: Conversation is impossible, spells with verbal components cannot be cast, and no noise whatsoever issues from, enters, or passes through the area. The spell can be cast on a point in space, but the effect is stationary unless cast on a mobile object. The spell can be centered on a creature, and the effect then radiates from the creature and moves as it moves. An unwilling creature can attempt a Will save to negate the spell and can use spell resistance, if any. Items in a creature's possession or magic items that emit sound receive the benefits of saves and spell resistance, but unattended objects and points in space do not. Creatures in an area of a silence spell are immune to sonic or language-based attacks, spells, and effects.
So if we were just playing at home, I'd suggest they change it to a typical range, Will save, and degrees of success to match some similar spell
But what about in PFS? Just ciest la vie, and the Ascendant doesn't use that spell after all?
Organized Play Developer
