A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for levels 3-6.
On an island off the coast of Jalmeray, the Pathfinders are called to action! The Society's friends at the Monastery of Unbreaking Waves are faced with a horde of sea devils seeking to level their recently rebuilt temple beneath the waves and claim it for themselves. The Pathfinders arrive just as the invasion reaches a crescendo and must fight for their lives in pitched underwater combat if they hope to protect themselves and their allies!
Written by: Dustin Knight
Scenario tags: Repeatable
[Scenario Maps spoiler - click to reveal]
The following maps used in this scenario are also available for purchase here on paizo.com:
Encounters are interesting and varied enough that playing or running it multiple times isn't a drag.
The only complaint I have is the final encounter where the the boss is described to be riding a mount and has a lance yet the 'mount' is presented as its own creature (it doesn't have the mount or minion trait) that has its own initiative and reaction with no indication of how it is supposed to work. Ultimately I decided to have the boss automatically go after the mount in the initiative order and count the mounts movement for joust.
I have run this once and played it a couple of times.
It is a strong addition to the list of repeatables. It pushes PCs into an unfamiliar environment, makes them look to adapt and forces them to work together to win.
It can be quite a long run depending on which choices you make.
I played this in high tier at 25 challenge points, with a spellcaster heavy group of monk, cleric, cleric, cleric/champion, ranger/alchemist, and wizard. I'm fortunate enough to have the author as a local Venture Officer, so that was an added bonus for their insights.
Without gettings into too many spoilers, the Pathfinders get called in to deal with behind the front line threats, which is something I always appreciate. It's a great way to give the feel of a large battle without breaking out mass combat rules. The repeatable aspect comes from the threats that you deal with, with an opening and final encounter being mostly fixed bookends. From what I played, they've very flavorful encounters. After the session, I was excitely telling my partner about one of the set pieces. While every encounter was challenging, I don't believe anyone in the party felt overwhelmed or anything was unfair(although there were gripes about one creature's special attack).
The only reason I'm reluctant to give this five stars is a lack of in-game preperation. You get thrown into the thick of things and don't really have time to adjust. If you go into this scenario blind (i.e. you don't realize it's likely going to be fighting aquatic threats) and your default is something that the scenario hampers, it's going to be a rough go of things.
I had fun playing this at Subtier 3-4 and now I'm GMing it at Subtier 5-6.
It was very tough when I played it, and I'm concerned it was because of anomalies in the stat blocks, especially when higher-level creatures were downgraded to lower-level ones.
Could Dustin, James, or Linda (or another appropriate Paizo developer or editor) please review these questions?:
Temporary hit points:
Should all sea devils have their temporary HP from Blood Frenzy standardized at (level x 2) +3? This is the case for the scouts, impalers, and Baron Utomo at both subtiers. But a weak scout, which is supposed to be a creature 1, gets 7 temporary HP just like the full-strength scouts, rather than 5. The saboteur at Subtier 5-6 (creature 5) gets 15 temporary HP rather than 13, and the saboteur at Subtier 3-4 (creature 3) also gets 15 temporary HP rather than 9.
Sneak attack damage:
Should the Subtier 3-4 saboteur have only 1d6 sneak attack? The saboteur at Subtier 5-6 (creature 5) deals 2d6 sneak attack damage. The saboteur at Subtier 3-4 is supposed to be a creature 3, but also has 2d6 sneak attack. A rogue PC wouldn't get the second die of sneak attack until 5th level.
The only real complaint for this adventure is that some of the stat blocks don't have the speed of some of the monsters. The maps also don't specify where a few monsters start.
I played this once with a pregen for the Guns and Gears playtest. There is enough variety in the encounters to keep it interesting every time.
After finishing C2:Ward Failure, the scenario says the players receive a +1 striking scalpel.. I can't find any stats for a scalpel anywhere. Is this just a dagger?
After finishing C2:Ward Failure, the scenario says the players receive a +1 striking scalpel.. I can't find any stats for a scalpel anywhere. Is this just a dagger?
Basically. Same stats as a dagger but versatile P instead of S and no Thrown trait. I've always considered it a reflavored dagger, and I have a cahracter in PFS who has a scalpel which is a reflavored dagger.
