A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for 3rd- through 6th-level characters.
During routine study on the Maze of the Open Road, a lecture is interrupted by the old Pathfinder ghoul ally, Marcon Tinol. Through discussions with him, the Society learns that he and Drandle Dreng established an island haven in Azlant for ghouls wishing to live apart from humans, referred to as the Island of the Vibrant Dead. Marcon reports that a strange new ghoul named Ghessa has arrived on the island but her story about her death and undeath isn't adding up, leading him to fear that she may be up to something sinister. The PCs must travel to the island, where the residents maintain a ghoulish existence celebrating their undeath, and dig into Ghessa's story, as well as her trips into the vaults of the long-dead Arodenite priesthood.
I find it bizarre that this scenario didn’t get a higher rating, as it is one of the better among season 5, as well as everything within the 3-6 tier. The setting is interesting, and so are the encounters. That said, they really should let the players investigate within the town and maybe on the magic of the tome, instead of running around the island and facing random ambushes, which have nothing to do with the setting and really made this a missed opportunity.
When I played this, my GM combined some of the encounters, and it was...Quite challenging. So when I ran it for a party that was fragile, I was a bit careful and let them take time to heal (and Barnaby was just bored). The final encounter can get pretty dangerous if the dice go poorly. The scenario can run long, too, with a lot of combat: it took me five hours for a party of five at the lower end of high tier.
...But the setting and the characters are very worth it! The town of Deadhaven is very creatively put together, with fascinating culture, and some outstanding characters. I hope we get more than the brief glimpse into this place that we had in this scenario.
Played once, GMed once. Great hook, both groups got *very* invested in the investigation, and the dungeon crawl was reasonably challenging. However, it's worth warning that both of my groups also ran long - I had to cut out one of the encounters entirely, just so we could finish before closing time of our LGS! That's really my only problem with the scenario, that running it in the future will probably need me to block out 5 hours rather than 4.
First off, I did enjoy both playing and running this scenario. It has amazing flavor, but there are some challenges to overcome.
The pros
- The flavor is amazing. The whole presentation of the surroundings is highly evocative and feels like it dips strongly into the pirate and carribean themes
- The NPC's are cool, and their artwork is fantastic
- In advance you can surmise the general theme of the encounters that you're going to face, but they all still manage to surprise and to pack quite a punch
- That BBEG is a seriously mean and terrifying piece of work. Both Loved and hated it :D
- The metaplot storyline implications are interesting and cool
The cons
- As a player I still have to come to terms with the whole "not all undead are evil", and I know from playing that I'm not alone in this. I'm definitely not opposed to the concept, so I do not hold this against the scenario: As previously stated, I loved the flavor that was presented. The reason that I add this as a negative, is that the GM does not get any handhold or suggestion to help champions, clerics or even plain followers of a deity to work with this (Pharasma is a Core20 deity that has an edict to destroy undead, even in the Remaster). A sidebar with a few suggestions would have helped
- The whole investigation and dungeon crawling felt too obvious, and it does not really support very obvious player actions such as wanting to interview the NPC's, or wanting to gather information about them. I undersdtand GM freedom allows a lot, but suggestions would have been welcome
- The scenario runs long (ran it in 6 hours while skipping one encounter, and without any downtime or 'slow play'). It felt to me like the dungeon crawling part alone could be a scenario.
All in all
Despite the challenges, I did enjoy the scenario and I wouldn't mind running it again. Finally, I'm curious where this is leading to.
- Good Varied combat encounters finally! There were 3 very good fights in here and one which i had to cut for time and thats okay because it was wholly unnecessary anyway. Big props for finally doing good combat design work!
- Tone and setting - it feels like a fun romp because its supposed to be. It raises a LOT of setting related questions specifically on the nature of this island, ghouls, undeath in general. Its really really weird. Hopefully we eventually get answers because the mystery of the island was way more interrsting than the actual mystery the adventure was about and doesnr get resolved.
Downsides
- The mystery itself...isnt a mystery. You get told who the suspect is and then every single piece of evidence supports that theory. If a GM really tries and reaches for it you can loop in a red herring but its tough sledding.
- Pacing its ALL mystery and then ALL combat which just isnt good pacing. Something more varied (and there were opportunities for it in this story) would have helped
- The setting and tone are VERY light hearted regarding topics which are typicslly quite heavy. If a player brings a champion or a cleric of pharasma or Iomedae or just...is from Last wall, there is a lot of cognitive dissonance the scenario does NOTHING to smooth.
So good combats, good humor and memorable npcs but it can run long and the mystery itself is simply a dissatisfying conclusion
GHOUL ISLAND GHOUL ISLAND GHOUL ISLAND GHOUL ISLAND GHOUL ISLAND GHOUL ISLAND GHOUL ISLAND GHOUL ISLAND GHOUL ISLAND GHOUL ISLAND GHOUL ISLAND GHOUL ISLAND GHOUL ISLAND
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
You know one addition that would make my life super awesome and easy? A combatant count or "Dramatis Personae" list so I know what mini's or pawns I need to pull.
Pathfinder LO Special Edition, Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, PF Special Edition Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Superscriber
Ron Lundeen did something like that for Abomination Vaults. It's on Pathfinder Infinite, "Abomination Vaults GM's Guide".
Doing it routinely in the PFS Scenarios would probably significantly increase the word/page count.
I'm currently trying to figure out what I think about the scenario since I'm currently kinda wary of specific kind of trope that has been popular in PFS ever since I was brought attention of it
The map for this scenario has been changed, please note the new map.
Map question. ** spoiler omitted **
That was my first thought as well, but ** spoiler omitted **
It's funny, I actually thought myself a dunderhead for not realizing that yes, of COURSE the map has another side, so surely that's what they're using. Which is especially great for people who DID play the previous module, no need to go out and buy another flip-mat and you can just play them back-to-back!
Pathfinder LO Special Edition, Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, PF Special Edition Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Superscriber
The map change in this scenario is definitely an issue. You really can tell that they wrote the scenario based on another map, then at the last minute decided to change over to the map from this scenario's predecessor, but rushed it and didn't get all of the language right.
So...none of the descriptions of rooms match the actual map in any useful way. I don't suppose anyone ever updated them? I'm thoroughly confused as to what they are supposed to be.
Pathfinder LO Special Edition, Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, PF Special Edition Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Superscriber
