A Pathfinder Society Quest designed for levels 1–4 (subtiers 1–2 and 3–4).
On the border between Isger and Andoran, the Pathfinder Society is called to action! Venture-Captain Brackett's allies in the Eagle Knights of Andoran have requested aid with defeating a group of duergar slavers. Before these duergar can cause any more pain and suffering, Brackett hopes that the PCs and Lieutenant Evanno Pratt of the Eagle Knights' Steel Falcons division can mount a pincer attack that will defeat the villains without allowing them to escape into the Darklands with their victims.
Written by: Joshua Hennington
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:
Falcon is a skill-based scenario followed by a combat.
I’m not sure what the other reviewers played, but there was no roleplay whatsoever in this quest. Any roleplay was basically fabricated by their GM, who could fabricate roleplay in any campaign and any environment.
I found the punishment for failed skill checks very weak.:
The paltry amount of damage is easily fixed by a single healing spell or potion.
I also found the ending combat not particularly interesting or challenging.
Strong premise for the story which can be hard to do in Quests. I makes the adventure feel larger that what it is on paper and that's pretty impressive writing. I would like to see this idea flushed out more in a full scenario.
The mechanics are fun. Exploring with bonuses and drawbacks that you don't know are coming till the end keeps it fresh feeling.
There is a lot of options for roleplaying in this. More than I've seen in many quests.
I guess this will be the last PFS "quest", and I think they closed on a pretty strong note. The scenario is well motivated both in why the Society is involved and the interaction of the (minimal) plot and adventure structure. The writing is clear and straightforward, and the art includes a common low level foe who lacked an image in their Bestiary entry.
There's a limited time budget to work with in this format, but I think author Joshua Hennington did well with a narrow canvas. I actually like this style of "skill gauntlet" to beat up the party a bit before the single fight; in fact, the consequences of failure could probably be bumped up a bit. Comments behind spoiler.
Spoiler:
The initiative penalty from one of the skill checks, and from taking too long by taking too many ten minute rests is a good idea, but doesn't interact well with the combat design. The PCs start far away from their foes, who are largely out of sight and taking advantage of terrain features. The foes can't really use superior initiative to get the jump on the PCs.
The production/editing is solid. This may seem like a small detail, but the map for this scenario (composed of flip tiles) is properly aligned. These days, when most sessions are being run by VTT, it greatly helps GMs to not have to twiddle the maps in Paint/GIMP/Photoshop because the map tiles are misaligned or mis-sized, making it look poor on the VTT. So... kudos for putting in the effort on that.
If you're not running this for PFS and are just looking for an adventure hook, you can do worse than this as a starting point.
Thanks for wrapping up the Year 1 quest series with a great adventure, Joshua!
Thanks, Micheal! I really appreciate the OP team for taking a chance on me, and turning what I wrote into a truly solid adventure! I eagerly look forward to everyone's opinions on the adventure, at GenCon and beyond!
(based on 3 ratings)
