paizo.com Recent Reviews of Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroadspaizo.com Recent Reviews of Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads2023-11-01T01:37:20Z2023-11-01T01:37:20ZPathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads: You need an 8 hour slot (5 stars)Jason Shttps://paizo.com/products/btq022lb?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-113-Devil-at-the-Crossroads2023-03-14T06:09:57Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>Crossroads is a scenario that is mostly investigation and roleplay punctuated by several extremely deadly encounters.</p>
<p>It’s essentially what every one else is saying. Although I rated it as 5 stars for my home game (I modified the scenario), it is probably 2 stars when it comes to a 4-hour slot.</p>
<p>The most obvious problem is that the scenario took 7 hours, and I removed the first encounter (as was suggested in the reviews).</p>
<p>This scenario is a sandbox (there are many ways to solve it) but the way that the scenario is written, it ASSUMES certain choices will be made. If you plan to GM this, you will need to spend a lot of time preparing it and understand the motivations of the NPCs and the choices the PCs have. It’s not super clear and a lot goes unsaid. This scenario isn’t a railroad, some GMs just didn’t prepare enough and/or have enough imagination.</p>
<p>You can get stuck if a certain NPC dies, and the scenario doesn’t explicitly tell you the alternatives and leaves it to the GM to make them up.</p>
<p>The encounters (as written) are not simple, can be extremely long and drawn out, and are potentially deadly. The problem is, there’s more than 1 encounter like this, and it doesn’t work in the time constraints.</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>Overall: If you have 8 hours to play this, I think it’s worth it. Everyone loved it. (9/10).</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>Crossroads is a scenario that is mostly investigation and roleplay punctuated by several extremely deadly encounters.</p>
<p>It’s essentially what every one else is saying. Although I rated it as 5 stars for my home game (I modified the scenario), it is probably 2 stars when it comes to a 4-hour slot.</p>
<p>The most obvious problem is that the scenario took 7 hours, and I removed the first encounter (as was suggested in the reviews).</p>
<p>This scenario is a sandbox (there are many ways to solve it) but the way that the scenario is written, it ASSUMES certain choices will be made. If you plan to GM this, you will need to spend a lot of time preparing it and understand the motivations of the NPCs and the choices the PCs have. It’s not super clear and a lot goes unsaid. This scenario isn’t a railroad, some GMs just didn’t prepare enough and/or have enough imagination.</p>
<p>You can get stuck if a certain NPC dies, and the scenario doesn’t explicitly tell you the alternatives and leaves it to the GM to make them up.</p>
<p>The encounters (as written) are not simple, can be extremely long and drawn out, and are potentially deadly. The problem is, there’s more than 1 encounter like this, and it doesn’t work in the time constraints.</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>Overall: If you have 8 hours to play this, I think it’s worth it. Everyone loved it. (9/10).</p>Jason S2023-03-14T06:09:57ZPathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads: Great setting, very unsatisfactory encounters (2 stars)Monkhoundhttps://paizo.com/products/btq022lb?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-113-Devil-at-the-Crossroads2020-11-22T22:01:57Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>Experienced as a level 5 with 19 CP. We had a party of 5 seasoned but reasonably casual players.</p>
<p><b>+</b> It started with a flavor that reminded me of a blend of movies between Cabin in the Woods and the Hateful Eight </p>
<p><b>+</b> The investigation and the story are pretty straightforward, and nicely presented, in accordance with the flavor of the adventure: Not for the fainthearted.</p>
<p><b>+</b> The enemies make sense in the story, but see the point below</p>
<p><b>-</b> There are 3 combat encounters. The first one is ok, I guess: It serves as a reminder that you're traveling in what used to be the Worldwound with all its abyssal warping. The second and final ones just throw one BS ability after the other, resulting in excessive damage both to and from the party. Some issues could have been avoided (we had some bad luck due to character designs), but the rest felt like it was meant to avoid satisfaction on the PC side</p>
<p><b>-</b> This one is WAY too long. I admit we did not necessarily play the investigation part efficiently, but it took us about 8 hours (with 3-4 five minute breaks). I cannot over stress that the combats were a dis-satisfactory grind: Especially the second one felt like a meat grinder.</p>
<p>One of my major peeves with some scenario's, including this one, is that the stakes of a scene (often the boss encounter) are unclear:
<br />
[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>All in all, this thriller scenario has a great potential, but the combat encounters either need either some balancing or some rescripting.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>Experienced as a level 5 with 19 CP. We had a party of 5 seasoned but reasonably casual players.</p>
<p><b>+</b> It started with a flavor that reminded me of a blend of movies between Cabin in the Woods and the Hateful Eight </p>
<p><b>+</b> The investigation and the story are pretty straightforward, and nicely presented, in accordance with the flavor of the adventure: Not for the fainthearted.</p>
<p><b>+</b> The enemies make sense in the story, but see the point below</p>
<p><b>-</b> There are 3 combat encounters. The first one is ok, I guess: It serves as a reminder that you're traveling in what used to be the Worldwound with all its abyssal warping. The second and final ones just throw one BS ability after the other, resulting in excessive damage both to and from the party. Some issues could have been avoided (we had some bad luck due to character designs), but the rest felt like it was meant to avoid satisfaction on the PC side</p>
<p><b>-</b> This one is WAY too long. I admit we did not necessarily play the investigation part efficiently, but it took us about 8 hours (with 3-4 five minute breaks). I cannot over stress that the combats were a dis-satisfactory grind: Especially the second one felt like a meat grinder.</p>
<p>One of my major peeves with some scenario's, including this one, is that the stakes of a scene (often the boss encounter) are unclear:
<br />
[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>All in all, this thriller scenario has a great potential, but the combat encounters either need either some balancing or some rescripting.</p>Monkhound2020-11-22T22:01:57ZPathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads (4 stars)Watery Souphttps://paizo.com/products/btq022lb?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-113-Devil-at-the-Crossroads2020-09-18T17:15:48Z<p>This is a well-written scenario with a lot of challenging combats. My only gripe is that it was really designed to run long - I don't see any way to make it shorter than the 6.5 hours it took us (with a few corners cut). In contrast, the other very long scenario (#1-18) is compressible.</p>
<p>I felt tension all the way through, which is excellent, and the end fight felt like it was the culmination of everything that happened (which is not always the case).</p>
<p>If this were a non-Society adventure where people didn't play at game stores with a hard closing time, I would easily give it 5 stars. I intend to run this on PbP so the time won't matter as much.</p><p>This is a well-written scenario with a lot of challenging combats. My only gripe is that it was really designed to run long - I don't see any way to make it shorter than the 6.5 hours it took us (with a few corners cut). In contrast, the other very long scenario (#1-18) is compressible.</p>
<p>I felt tension all the way through, which is excellent, and the end fight felt like it was the culmination of everything that happened (which is not always the case).</p>
<p>If this were a non-Society adventure where people didn't play at game stores with a hard closing time, I would easily give it 5 stars. I intend to run this on PbP so the time won't matter as much.</p>Watery Soup2020-09-18T17:15:48ZPathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads: A Well-Earned Reputation, For Good or For Ill (3 stars)Kaushal Avan Spellfirehttps://paizo.com/products/btq022lb?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-113-Devil-at-the-Crossroads2020-09-12T20:24:14Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>The premise of Devil at the Crossroads is reminiscent of a teen horror movie. A group of friends, or acquaintances, or even strangers converge on a location with a dark and mysterious past. They awaken an evil force, and must struggle to survive until daylight. But where Devil at the Crossroads deviates from the formula is what really sets it apart as a scenario—both to its benefit and its detriment.</p>
<p>Devil at the Crossroads is not a horror, however, but a thriller, combining elements of a murder mystery and a supernatural thriller to produce a uniquely Pathfinder experience that is both memorable and well-paced. The story, which takes place mostly at a trading post in the middle of the wilderness, is accented by a cast of colorful and unique NPCs, each with their own motivations and secrets.</p>
<p>The non-player character cast of the scenario is one of its strengths. The GM is provided with enough detail on each NPC to make them “pop,” but not overburdened by minutiae or excessive backstory. Each character has a distinct, and colorful, personality and set of quirks, but also enough blank space to let the GM really make the characters their own.</p>
<p>In addition to the central mystery of the story, each NPC has a secret motive that will drive their interactions with the player characters. Unfortunately, most of these motives cause the NPCs to remain close to the party during the “haunting,” so most of their behavior (especially during combat) is standing around and looking pretty (or hiding behind things and shouting commands to the PCs along the lines of “kill it!”).</p>
<p>Combat is probably the greatest weakness of Devil at the Crossroads. Of the combat encounters within the scenario, one adds nothing to the story, another is cumbersome to run, and a third is what makes this scenario somewhat infamous amongst players.</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>Overall, Devil at the Crossroads deserves its reputation—both for its entertaining story premise and its unforgivingly difficult encounters. When taken with the fact it has very little luck-gated treasure (although there are still some treasure bundles gated behind arbitrary skill checks), the decision whether or not to play or run Devil at the Crossroads depends on how much your players see randomness in combat as a “challenge” (or whether they’re willing to overlook an unfair fight for the sake of an otherwise solid narrative).</p>
<p>Personally, I would recommend this scenario. I really like the premise and design, even over some of the rougher combat encounters and poor map choices. It has a lot of room for roleplay, but moves quickly enough to never lose the plot. My one recommendation is to also roleplay your villains. Once you see the encounter I’m talking about, you’ll know what I mean.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>The premise of Devil at the Crossroads is reminiscent of a teen horror movie. A group of friends, or acquaintances, or even strangers converge on a location with a dark and mysterious past. They awaken an evil force, and must struggle to survive until daylight. But where Devil at the Crossroads deviates from the formula is what really sets it apart as a scenario—both to its benefit and its detriment.</p>
<p>Devil at the Crossroads is not a horror, however, but a thriller, combining elements of a murder mystery and a supernatural thriller to produce a uniquely Pathfinder experience that is both memorable and well-paced. The story, which takes place mostly at a trading post in the middle of the wilderness, is accented by a cast of colorful and unique NPCs, each with their own motivations and secrets.</p>
<p>The non-player character cast of the scenario is one of its strengths. The GM is provided with enough detail on each NPC to make them “pop,” but not overburdened by minutiae or excessive backstory. Each character has a distinct, and colorful, personality and set of quirks, but also enough blank space to let the GM really make the characters their own.</p>
<p>In addition to the central mystery of the story, each NPC has a secret motive that will drive their interactions with the player characters. Unfortunately, most of these motives cause the NPCs to remain close to the party during the “haunting,” so most of their behavior (especially during combat) is standing around and looking pretty (or hiding behind things and shouting commands to the PCs along the lines of “kill it!”).</p>
<p>Combat is probably the greatest weakness of Devil at the Crossroads. Of the combat encounters within the scenario, one adds nothing to the story, another is cumbersome to run, and a third is what makes this scenario somewhat infamous amongst players.</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>Overall, Devil at the Crossroads deserves its reputation—both for its entertaining story premise and its unforgivingly difficult encounters. When taken with the fact it has very little luck-gated treasure (although there are still some treasure bundles gated behind arbitrary skill checks), the decision whether or not to play or run Devil at the Crossroads depends on how much your players see randomness in combat as a “challenge” (or whether they’re willing to overlook an unfair fight for the sake of an otherwise solid narrative).</p>
<p>Personally, I would recommend this scenario. I really like the premise and design, even over some of the rougher combat encounters and poor map choices. It has a lot of room for roleplay, but moves quickly enough to never lose the plot. My one recommendation is to also roleplay your villains. Once you see the encounter I’m talking about, you’ll know what I mean.</p>Kaushal Avan Spellfire2020-09-12T20:24:14ZPathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads: Great concept, bad editing (4 stars)LeftHandShakehttps://paizo.com/products/btq022lb?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-113-Devil-at-the-Crossroads2020-05-14T19:03:49Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>This scenario has a lot going on, and is quite interesting. However, in contrast to other reviewers, it looks to me like the final boss fight is •too easy• rather than too hard. It has a high attack bonus and can do significant persistent damage on a crit... but hardly has a chance to use that attack and can barely damage the party at all. If played at 8 or 16 CP (minimum for each subtier), the PCs win nearly automatically by passing on each of their turns (but they won't know that).</p>
<p>The specified tactics for the boss nerf it to being nearly impotent. This isn't a problem in a home game, as GMs can deviate from the scenario as they wish. But PFS mandates that GMs follow all mechanical elements of the scenario text exactly, and that means...</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>Even that undersells how crippled the boss is by the scenario text. Consider also that...
<br />
[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>There are other editing mistakes in this scenario, some of which make it unplayable in PFS:
<br />
[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>All that said, this is a fun scenario with interesting characters and investigation. Difficult to run in PFS due to length and the requirement to follow scenario text to the letter, but good in a home session.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>This scenario has a lot going on, and is quite interesting. However, in contrast to other reviewers, it looks to me like the final boss fight is •too easy• rather than too hard. It has a high attack bonus and can do significant persistent damage on a crit... but hardly has a chance to use that attack and can barely damage the party at all. If played at 8 or 16 CP (minimum for each subtier), the PCs win nearly automatically by passing on each of their turns (but they won't know that).</p>
<p>The specified tactics for the boss nerf it to being nearly impotent. This isn't a problem in a home game, as GMs can deviate from the scenario as they wish. But PFS mandates that GMs follow all mechanical elements of the scenario text exactly, and that means...</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>Even that undersells how crippled the boss is by the scenario text. Consider also that...
<br />
[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>There are other editing mistakes in this scenario, some of which make it unplayable in PFS:
<br />
[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>All that said, this is a fun scenario with interesting characters and investigation. Difficult to run in PFS due to length and the requirement to follow scenario text to the letter, but good in a home session.</p>LeftHandShake2020-05-14T19:03:49ZPathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads: This is basically 4 star module (3 stars)CorvusMaskhttps://paizo.com/products/btq022lb?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-113-Devil-at-the-Crossroads2020-05-03T10:46:41Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>...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.</p>
<p>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)</p>
<p>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. [Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>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.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>...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.</p>
<p>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)</p>
<p>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. [Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>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.</p>CorvusMask2020-05-03T10:46:41ZPathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads: Lock house and devils but it runs long (4 stars)MrNastyButlerhttps://paizo.com/products/btq022lb?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-113-Devil-at-the-Crossroads2020-04-29T15:08:18Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>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.</p>
<p>Either of these can do well on their own and sometimes they can mix together well, this time, they didn't mesh as well. </p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>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.</p>
<p>Either of these can do well on their own and sometimes they can mix together well, this time, they didn't mesh as well. </p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>MrNastyButler2020-04-29T15:08:18ZPathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads: Run this over a double slot (5 stars)Chris Sharpehttps://paizo.com/products/btq022lb?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-113-Devil-at-the-Crossroads2020-04-26T06:12:46Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>This scenario is not a con-scenario. It WILL run long, but it is a great one.</p>
<p>Really strong mystery, and the fights are incredibly challenging.</p>
<p>First time in 2E that playing I felt like our party was well out of depth.</p>
<p>We played 6 player low-tier 17 CP.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>This scenario is not a con-scenario. It WILL run long, but it is a great one.</p>
<p>Really strong mystery, and the fights are incredibly challenging.</p>
<p>First time in 2E that playing I felt like our party was well out of depth.</p>
<p>We played 6 player low-tier 17 CP.</p>Chris Sharpe2020-04-26T06:12:46ZPathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads: Marvelous Story But Too Much for Timeslot (4 stars)Timingilahttps://paizo.com/products/btq022lb?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-113-Devil-at-the-Crossroads2020-03-02T15:17:01Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>I'm looking forward to running this again with a better idea of how to approach it.</p>
<p>Oh, and just skip the first combat. It adds NOTHING to the scenario and will gain you some time.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>I'm looking forward to running this again with a better idea of how to approach it.</p>
<p>Oh, and just skip the first combat. It adds NOTHING to the scenario and will gain you some time.</p>Timingila2020-03-02T15:17:01ZPathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads: So much potential . . . some real problems. (3 stars)Diodotushttps://paizo.com/products/btq022lb?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-113-Devil-at-the-Crossroads2020-03-01T01:23:11Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>This adventure is two very very different and well-put-together scenarios that have been mashed together to fit in one time slot.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>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.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>This adventure is two very very different and well-put-together scenarios that have been mashed together to fit in one time slot.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>
<p>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.</p>Diodotus2020-03-01T01:23:11ZPathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads: Excellent scenario. (5 stars)iosokinehttps://paizo.com/products/btq022lb?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-113-Devil-at-the-Crossroads2020-02-18T21:03:39Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>I GMed this scenario at my local game store and had a blast running it. My players had a lot of fun playing it, and thoroughly enjoyed the pacing and the unique situation. This module is one of the rare few that, while being great for Society play, can also be adapted very well to any kind of home game. It’s essentially a “locked room” mystery, with a good cast of characters, interesting set-up, and well-paced progression. Home GMs can use some of their favorite NPCs to drive the action.</p>
<p>That being said, it has a lot of moving parts and the NPC characters have their unique motivations and reactions to what is going on, which should be used liberally to help set the mood and keep the game moving. I would not necessarily agree that it’s “low-prep,” especially for a novice GM. I also don’t agree about the “railroading” aspect. Although the final encounter does occur no matter what the players do, there are numerous ways for them to gain the information they need to keep the scenario moving. GMs should remember that even the “unhelpful” NPCs can be helpful, providing clues through their actions or maybe muttered offhand comments. </p>
<p>This scenario can potentially run long, especially if your party really enjoys the social aspect and interrogating the suspects. I had to fit this into a 3.5 hour time slot, so we bypassed the first encounter entirely, and the scenario was probably better for it. “Random animals attack” type of encounters are a waste of space in my opinion anyhow…</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>I GMed this scenario at my local game store and had a blast running it. My players had a lot of fun playing it, and thoroughly enjoyed the pacing and the unique situation. This module is one of the rare few that, while being great for Society play, can also be adapted very well to any kind of home game. It’s essentially a “locked room” mystery, with a good cast of characters, interesting set-up, and well-paced progression. Home GMs can use some of their favorite NPCs to drive the action.</p>
<p>That being said, it has a lot of moving parts and the NPC characters have their unique motivations and reactions to what is going on, which should be used liberally to help set the mood and keep the game moving. I would not necessarily agree that it’s “low-prep,” especially for a novice GM. I also don’t agree about the “railroading” aspect. Although the final encounter does occur no matter what the players do, there are numerous ways for them to gain the information they need to keep the scenario moving. GMs should remember that even the “unhelpful” NPCs can be helpful, providing clues through their actions or maybe muttered offhand comments. </p>
<p>This scenario can potentially run long, especially if your party really enjoys the social aspect and interrogating the suspects. I had to fit this into a 3.5 hour time slot, so we bypassed the first encounter entirely, and the scenario was probably better for it. “Random animals attack” type of encounters are a waste of space in my opinion anyhow…</p>iosokine2020-02-18T21:03:39ZPathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads: Well, I liked it (5 stars)logsighttps://paizo.com/products/btq022lb?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-113-Devil-at-the-Crossroads2020-02-18T10:18:14Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>I've run this twice face-to-face - the first table in low subtier with 4 players (3, 4, 5, 5) and the second table barely into high subtier with 7 players (3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5). The low subtier table with 4 players ran a little over 3 hours. The barely-high subtier 7-player table ran 5 hours - and that's long, in my estimation. I don't think this is really a problem with the scenario, though. </p>
<p>The scenario contains plenty of recognizable genre tropes (which is not a bad thing), and the atmosphere is enjoyable. Other than the first, trivial encounter of the scenario, the other combats were interesting and tense. The lead-up to the final encounter definitely caused some raised eyebrows at both tables, as it is quite dramatic. The boss combat itself was challenging but not impossible. Though (as you would expect) people did get hit hard, I never felt the party as a whole was ever in imminent danger of failing. The terrain does pose a challenge, but not one which is unique to this scenario. And yes, the geometry causes line of sight issues, but that works both ways. As with many PFS2 scenarios, the odds might seem bad at first glance but barring exceptional circumstances, the encounter balance is on the side of the party.</p>
<p>The alternative success route for the boss encounter is a novel experiment that (I think) succeeds in its intention. As a GM, if you think your players might be annoyed by having it just suddenly happen, I suggest adding some foreshadowing flavor before it does. It is, however, entirely possible to win the traditional way (my low-tier table did so).</p>
<p>This is definitely not what I would call a social scenario, but unlike (say) #1-04 which is almost pure combat, there is enough social interaction required here that it makes this scenario feel more balanced. Prep-wise, the NPCs don't need a great deal of additional work to portray. The trope-y elements are good and the events unfold with minimal-to-no GM extemporizing needed to make things hang together. You can easily say yes to players' creative ideas in the RP on the fly - if you keep in mind what's going to have to happen and flavor events appropriately. On that basis, this is a fairly low-prep scenario.</p>
<p>Overall, I enjoyed running this and I believe my players had fun with it. I can understand how it isn't necessarily going to be the scenario of everyone's dreams, but I think it was a pretty good one.</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>I've run this twice face-to-face - the first table in low subtier with 4 players (3, 4, 5, 5) and the second table barely into high subtier with 7 players (3, 3, 3, 3, 4, 5, 5). The low subtier table with 4 players ran a little over 3 hours. The barely-high subtier 7-player table ran 5 hours - and that's long, in my estimation. I don't think this is really a problem with the scenario, though. </p>
<p>The scenario contains plenty of recognizable genre tropes (which is not a bad thing), and the atmosphere is enjoyable. Other than the first, trivial encounter of the scenario, the other combats were interesting and tense. The lead-up to the final encounter definitely caused some raised eyebrows at both tables, as it is quite dramatic. The boss combat itself was challenging but not impossible. Though (as you would expect) people did get hit hard, I never felt the party as a whole was ever in imminent danger of failing. The terrain does pose a challenge, but not one which is unique to this scenario. And yes, the geometry causes line of sight issues, but that works both ways. As with many PFS2 scenarios, the odds might seem bad at first glance but barring exceptional circumstances, the encounter balance is on the side of the party.</p>
<p>The alternative success route for the boss encounter is a novel experiment that (I think) succeeds in its intention. As a GM, if you think your players might be annoyed by having it just suddenly happen, I suggest adding some foreshadowing flavor before it does. It is, however, entirely possible to win the traditional way (my low-tier table did so).</p>
<p>This is definitely not what I would call a social scenario, but unlike (say) #1-04 which is almost pure combat, there is enough social interaction required here that it makes this scenario feel more balanced. Prep-wise, the NPCs don't need a great deal of additional work to portray. The trope-y elements are good and the events unfold with minimal-to-no GM extemporizing needed to make things hang together. You can easily say yes to players' creative ideas in the RP on the fly - if you keep in mind what's going to have to happen and flavor events appropriately. On that basis, this is a fairly low-prep scenario.</p>
<p>Overall, I enjoyed running this and I believe my players had fun with it. I can understand how it isn't necessarily going to be the scenario of everyone's dreams, but I think it was a pretty good one.</p>logsig2020-02-18T10:18:14ZPathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads: The tracks are very visible in this deadly scenario (1 star)pauljathomehttps://paizo.com/products/btq022lb?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-113-Devil-at-the-Crossroads2020-02-16T17:53:01Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>Note, I was in the same group as The Vortex. Read it after playing it.</p>
<p>One comes to expect railroading but this scenario went to extremes. Lock up an NPC? Matters not, they escape anyway.</p>
<p>It has several "fail this roll and you're arguably dead" situations (the GM was nice and didn't kill us). Even at tier 3-6, gating some extremely important information behind an expert only check us rather optimistic. There are a lot of skills to be expert in.</p>
<p>And the final battle is just crazy. At low tier it's a CR 6 with some extra mooks to slow you down AND an incredibly hard terrain disadvantage. It's very likely that only 1 or at most 2 characters will get to the big bad quickly and even the tank is being crit on something like a 15 or so. And a nasty (or just honest) GM is going to rule that there isn't line of sight based on geometry. </p>
<p>And all this in a place where running away isn't an option (actually, it's unclear what happens if the PCs attempt to flee the final encounter)</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>Note, I was in the same group as The Vortex. Read it after playing it.</p>
<p>One comes to expect railroading but this scenario went to extremes. Lock up an NPC? Matters not, they escape anyway.</p>
<p>It has several "fail this roll and you're arguably dead" situations (the GM was nice and didn't kill us). Even at tier 3-6, gating some extremely important information behind an expert only check us rather optimistic. There are a lot of skills to be expert in.</p>
<p>And the final battle is just crazy. At low tier it's a CR 6 with some extra mooks to slow you down AND an incredibly hard terrain disadvantage. It's very likely that only 1 or at most 2 characters will get to the big bad quickly and even the tank is being crit on something like a 15 or so. And a nasty (or just honest) GM is going to rule that there isn't line of sight based on geometry. </p>
<p>And all this in a place where running away isn't an option (actually, it's unclear what happens if the PCs attempt to flee the final encounter)</p>pauljathome2020-02-16T17:53:01ZPathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads: Confusing and quite railroady with lots of punishing encounters (2 stars)The.Vortexhttps://paizo.com/products/btq022lb?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-113-Devil-at-the-Crossroads2020-02-16T16:32:33Z<p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>I just played this online with a group of 5. And what can I say? The plot was confusing, too many weird characters, all with their own agenda. That in itself would be a good thing, if there weren't also four encounters, so that roleplaying and encounters are just not doable in the alloted time and the GM had to handwave and railroad us even more than the adventure already enforces.</p>
<p>The worst thing though was the final encounter. It made no sense that it happens the way it does, with no way to prevent it, and the encounter itself is extremely poorly designed:</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p><p><b>Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-13: Devil at the Crossroads</b></p><p>I just played this online with a group of 5. And what can I say? The plot was confusing, too many weird characters, all with their own agenda. That in itself would be a good thing, if there weren't also four encounters, so that roleplaying and encounters are just not doable in the alloted time and the GM had to handwave and railroad us even more than the adventure already enforces.</p>
<p>The worst thing though was the final encounter. It made no sense that it happens the way it does, with no way to prevent it, and the encounter itself is extremely poorly designed:</p>
<p>[Spoiler omitted]</p>The.Vortex2020-02-16T16:32:33Z