Starfinder Society Scenario #3-03: Frozen Ambitions: The Shimmerstone Gateway

Some aspect and choices of this one really does not make it a good fit for beginners, there is a rather aggressive clock, and an enemy type with a lot of immunities that really needs some sort of loot, that helps with teaching.

I could totally see people drop Starfinder like a radioactive potato if this is their first experience.

As a secondary issue, I am sick and tired of working for evil regimes, the actual plot helps but.

The volume of skill checks and the very specific checks it sometimes ask for, make me feel like this was written for operatives. That's likey not what happens, but my personal perception.

Even without the issues listed above, an mentioned by others, the story is not super appealing to me.
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I am still in the process of playing this scenario and will update the review, but.. the fact that I am writing a review while playing likely tells a lot.

Pretty good.
There are some weird areas where thing happen that cant (sounds and smells in a vacuum), which is weird, but ok.
A few encounters arent as smooth. Certain creature types can be hard to deal with on low levels (altough in this case, most pregens would do well as they DO have the equipment to deal).

The little roleplay enounter is nice. I hope the reporting of this scenarios will have real consequences down the road.

I'll give this scenario five stars simply because I think it's unfair to give it 1-2 stars. Otherwise, I would put an honest 4 stars. This is a normal scenario, a bit old-school. Yes, there are a variety of mechanics and in some places heavy fighting encounters. But after all, what is a game that can't be lost? Why play it at all? As a player, I enjoyed the game and so did my entire table. So I wish you a good game too!

I played this scenario, but have not bought it. Quite honestly, it felt very much like a D&D dungeon crawl.

You basically walk through a portal and face three monsters. Very little in terms of role-playing.

I wanted something with a bit more sci-fi to it. This one felt kind of generic.

(I played this.)

There are some rough patches in this scenario, not going to lie. And honestly, we avoided some of those by clever thinking and good luck. But even without that, I don't think I'd rate it as low as others do. Yes, there are some weird things such as sounds and smells in a vacuum. Some things happen just for the sake of plot. But I can overlook that. Maybe a bit immersion-breaking, but not a total negative. Yes, that one encounter is maybe a bit ridiculous, but not to the level others make it out to be.

Other than that, I found it pretty enjoyable. I don't really see how it's "beginner-friendly," though, but that could be just me. Showing you several hazards without giving you any methods of dealing with them isn't beginner-friendly. Anyway, other than that, it's a decent scenario. Nothing mind-blowing, but also not as egregious as others make it seem.