A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for 3rd- through 6th-level characters.
The Pathfinder Society recently discovered that a rune-encrusted dagger in its vaults is somehow connected to an ancient weapon buried in the remote deserts of Thuvia. The weapon's precise location is unknown, so the Society dispatches a team of agents to explore the desert, using the dagger to guide the way. Unfortunately, the dagger is one of a matched pair, and the Society's enemies have its twin! Can the agents reach the weapon before their enemies do? What other surprises lay in wait?
This adventure is the first part of the two-part Calamitous Dagger metaplot arc in the Year of Boundless Wonder.
I had so much fun with this adventure as a player. It felt great to be rewarded, playing a wizard water elementalist in this adventure allowed me to make good use of spells like create water (to remove some of the time crunch and to allow us to use the camels for a purpose other than carrying water) and a wand of purify food. It was great fun exploring the various hexes and the care put into each stop made each stop really pop. It has been a trend lately to pack an absurd amount of disparate elements in PFS adventures and instead this adventure knows its vibe and hammers it home with incredible guile.
I also have to throw props for the trollish but fair combat composition. I felt all clever prepping spells based on some hints laid by the adventure only to get blindsided by something totally unexpected. I howled with delight at how well the author tricked me. The hazards presented some unusual scenarios and allowed me to use some under-used abilities.
I enjoyed that the adventure actually presented a clear, easily articulated choice and allowed us the ability to make a meaningful decision regarding the future of the campaign without there being a clear right side and long side. Just head and shoulders above the rest. Go out of your way for this one.
The introduction of hexploration should have at least included an explanation of forced march which would have made it possible for a party of normal speed to complete one of the Faction missions as outlined. The other option would have been to simply make the camels riding camels that can't be force marched which actually doesn't disrupt the possible scenario outcomes as intended and keeps parties equal.
The flavor and setup of the adventure was good with an interesting introduction and interesting NPC's. The scenario does require the GM to have a good understanding of hexploration and prevent parties from getting led astray by the way the dagger works. Parties are likely to miss some treasure which is a bit of a letdown, but not enough to dock a star. The complexity keeps it from being 5 star and overall I have it as a 3 1/2 rounded up.
I played this at the weekend and enjoyed it but I have still given it a fairly low rating. Overall the premise, setting, theme, mood and flavour are all good but it has some seriously flawed mechanics if how it was described by our GM is right.
Unlike others I dont mind the conflicting faction goals. What I disliked was that it was almost impossible to actually make one of them. The timescales given in various parts for what was achievable within the hexploration timescales were hopelessly unrealistic. It would have taken a party of elven monks with fleet to make anything like the times suggested by the missions.
Also, please stop putting spellcasters with Vampiric Touch in 3-4 adventures. Vampiric Touch has the death trait so f it reduces a PC to 0HP they are flat out dead with no way to prevent it. Only a very lucky hero point saved our level 3 rogue from what would have been perma death as they were a new player with their first ever character.
I played this scenario and am now prepping to run it. I wanted to give it two stars, but the flavor and encounters are enjoyable. The problems lie in the mechanics of the reputation goals and treasure bundles.
I’m not a fan of the conflicting goals, but that’s not too big a deal. Hopefully most parties take a vote, decide which to attempt and then move on from there. The problem arises from the fact that neither goal is realistically achievable for your average party (without GM fudging, as happened when I played it).
Then there’s the fact that taking the most direct and logical path to accomplish the mission results in the loss of a treasure bundle, not from a poor choice or failed roll, but simply for following the mission as given by Eando. Again, GM fudging saved us, but bad, bad Paizo.
I did enjoy the flavor and lore of the scenario. The locations came across scary and unique.
I enjoyed running the combats. Most of them packed quite a punch, although one of the combats can take forever.
I liked the GA/VS choice you have to make as a party; I don't think it's that much of a controversy. The only caveat is that it needs to be clear to the players that they should make a choice and stick to it.
I mentioned my improvement points in the GM thread, since they are heavy on the spoilers.
All in all, it's a pretty decent scenario with a story that I like, though I have some doubts about some of the mechanics.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Maps, Rulebook, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Society Subscriber
Is Calamity the name of the dagger in the Multi-Table Special that had 4 variations?
BTW, I would love to know if scenarios have certain callbacks. Maybe a mention of it in the VO Discord channel? Because I would love to post old scenarios that lead into new ones. Even if I have to adapt them to PF2 and run them un-sanctioned. Just sayin.
This adventure is designed so that it cannot be adequately completed by a skilled partly at level. In fact, I don't see how it could be completed unless the players are literally psychic and guess their way into the correct solution in time. It looks a lot like you're meant to believe your party can have an impact on the metaplot, but you're actually just meant to lose, and that's a terrible game experience. 0/5 stars, arguably worse than Lions of Katapesh.
This adventure is designed so that it cannot be adequately completed by a skilled partly at level. In fact, I don't see how it could be completed unless the players are literally psychic and guess their way into the correct solution in time. It looks a lot like you're meant to believe your party can have an impact on the metaplot, but you're actually just meant to lose, and that's a terrible game experience. 0/5 stars, arguably worse than Lions of Katapesh.
If you want to write a review, that is at the top of this page to the left of the discussion tab. Reviews help the people who craft these scenarios to figure out what worked well and what was not so well received, so they are super appreciated.
If possible it helps to list factors like the tier placed and potentially CP. Whatever information you can provide is very much appreciated.
This adventure is designed so that it cannot be adequately completed by a skilled partly at level. In fact, I don't see how it could be completed unless the players are literally psychic and guess their way into the correct solution in time. It looks a lot like you're meant to believe your party can have an impact on the metaplot, but you're actually just meant to lose, and that's a terrible game experience. 0/5 stars, arguably worse than Lions of Katapesh.
I agree. Nothing but homogenous skill checks and boring overland travel. This was the worst scenario I've played in PFS yet.
