Pathfinder Society Scenario #1-21: Mistress of the Maze

Disjointed locations with hard to understand skill checks to move. The sudden but inevitable betrayal, a narrow largely useless boon.

Confusing and punishing mechanics for doing what the scenario tells you to.

Weird planar creatures are at least thematic with their encounters but the maps are not used well.

The scenario really felt like a "hey look at these monsters!", and the map choice was definitely odd, but overall I found the scenario to be a fun yet mindless romp.

It did not deliver on the maze. It did not deliver on its twist. It was a fun series of disconnected fights. And for once, after all of 2e's intricacies and complicated plots, it was nice to have a simple: "Go here, do thing. There will be enemies in the way."

I played at the same table as Ascalpus. Before I prepped it I might have been similarly scathing. Having prepped it now to run tomorrow I am slightly less harsh. This scenario has a number of issues:

1. There is very little flavour of the Maze. Admittedly we didnt know much about it in 1E except for its appearance in Eyes but it doesnt really come across.

2. The progression through the gates is not terribly well explained and was vey confusing when I played it.

3. The potential encounter in the gate area is far too small, given you may well have multiple large opponents. This whole scenario smacks of an attempt to get us to buy the awful map packs. Please stop doing this. I dont know if your data is showing an uptick in their purchase but from personal experience I can say it is not inducing me or anyone I know to buy them. Mostly I run online so it is less of an issue, apart from having to stitch together way too many very annoying single tiles. If I ever ran this in person you can be sure I would be drawing something basic or picking a flip mat that was "close enough".

4. It haas a variety of editing errors, most noticeably in the note section which cannot make up its mind how may there should be.

5. It is missing key information on Eliza. Sure she isnt supposed to be involved as an active combatant but lots of creatures in this have area effect abilities which she will be caught by.

6. It has way too much combat, potentially 5 different combat encounters. You can technically avoid two of them but its not very liktley, at least for the first set of guardians. I wouldnt ever want to run this in a con slot.

The locations were exotic . . . or so we were told. But, apart from rolling a single skill-check here or there to see if one could act, there was nothing persistent or clearly unique.

There were a lot of fights, none challenging. Giving the environments of those fights some character - felt character, rather than words - would have gone a long way.

This is the sort of scenario in which having different mechanics for mundane things might capture tone -- from air so think in one area that fighting there follows "underwater combat" rules, or negative consequences (damage) for standing in one place during a fight, or having to fight while climbing.

The main NPC was obtuse. And the character had not been in 1st edition scenarios. Maybe this is a hint that the NPC is under mind control or something, but it seems to have more to do with the adventure being poorly put together.

The scenario is ok-ish, but it does not capture fe feeling of the maze (mostly extraplanar stuff) and the revieal of the "traitor" was not very... interesting.