Mission struggled to explain why we are doing jobs for a dragon, I know that it is implied at the end of the last scenario, but even something needs to be able to stand on its own and set the scene in a way that is explained to the player characters.
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Intro via text is not always ideal, particularly since we were apparently close enough to deliver the items to the VC at the end.
The handout from the dragon was fine, if you ignore the issue of the dragon and our connection to them not being explained, but the letter from the VC was just pointless, and the writing felt rough and stunted when I tried to read it aloud. It does not seem to really help with the mission and mostly spends time on generalities.
While I know that the VC appears in this season's intro, he has not left a positive memory in this one.
Just because this is part two of this metaplot, recapping what happened in the first part would have enhanced the start.
Main mission: "Go there, fetch my stuff" can easily feel like busy work instead of adventure, particularly since the adventure does not provide the players with a more extensive motivation/context than the dragon wanting it.
Vibe: Once you leave the ship the scenario sets up a vibe that is somewhere between returning to Jurrasic Park for someone's forgotten Mcguffin and the Alien movies. That is a pretty nice thing, unfortunately, the early parts (before there are tentacles everywhere) could use some more content to make the most of it, because after the kids hatch, there is just the chase.
Unfortunately what we recover is "just" star metal and while it can be expensive.. it feels like this was anything but time-critical. After all, metal tends to last, and if you leave it in some temple on some island, it just feels off.
Local sprits: I suspect, that this plot point was inspired by some real-world mythology, Paizo tends to care about things like that. Unfortunately, the plot point does not get enough space to breathe, mostly because the adventure doesn't do enough with them.
Befriending spirits on another island in another adventure had them turn up to help deal with a rather nasty final boss.
It might be a personal weakness of mine, but I rather like the plot point of your allies coming to your aid in times of crisis.. and here the just give a skill bonus.. once.
The adventure seems to really care about players not "excessively harming the natural surroundings" but in the framing of org play, the player characters are sent on the mission, if they send a fire kineticist what is that character supposed to do?
I am not entirely certain what sort of super destructive methods the scenario is expecting and wants to react to.
Run time:
We needed about 2.5 hours and we had tech issues at the start of the session, part of the reason it runs so fast is that the main area of the scenario just doesn't have any NPCs to interact with. This is a genuinely bad choice for any "social" character.
If you cut the first unsatisfying encounter (barely did anything felt like a huge letdown even though the concept of traps felt interesting though the adventure does not do a lot with them) this would be a nice length for the series 2 quests... which sort of showcases that this one does not have enough meat on it's bones for a scenario.
While running long causes issues, being done early and having to entertain players for another hour or two is... not exactly great. There isn't even much where the GM could play for time by having the players interact with the environment or each other in ways that feel like a good fit.
Verdant Wheel rep... this one is totally out of the blue, while players can harvest from the akata's (while you are in theory packing up and trying to not trigger even more of them) I find it questionable that a lot of players will come to this conclusion. Since you are inevitably chased by them it feels irresponsible to even suggest giving up a couple of minutes head start.
I was not worried about losing a treasure bundle, but now reading the scenario the fact that we are losing it because we did not risk out lives and the entire mission to take some samples is... quite vexing.
I could see the Vigilant seal reward the very same action and call it threat assessment.
It feels like a weird oddity that does not really mesh with the surrounding framing and content.
The ability to greedily harvest noqual from less developed cocoons sounds... somewhat... well if this was a movie the people doing that likely trigger traps and get killed.
Akata normally do not have pack attack, and considering the D&D term that snuck into the first version of this scenario, I am sort of thinking the author was more familiar with that system where "just add pack attack" is already the subject of jokes.
Maps: Sometimes it feels like scenarios exist to sell Flip Mats, particularly if the maps are not a really good fit for the region. I am happy to say that the chosen maps are a great fit for the island and what area they are supposed to represent.
Art: You meet the VC and the kobold in the end and can have a debriefing, reprinting their art would have been welcome for those GMs that might not have ready access to other scenarios with the NPC (or the blog). Since there are 3 empty squares on page 25 there was absolutely space without increasing the page count for those that print scenarios.
Chase: Rather liked the chase, maybe a tiny bit too long, but I liked the reminder at the start that reminded GMs to be open to creative solutions and other skills/ability uses.
Ending: The adventure really seems to expect the players to care about the area and the local people... but outside of the captain you never met any of them, so when and how are people supposed to have formed a positive association?
This is like asking how you liked your vacation when your plane crashed and you had to subsist on a rocky shore for 2 weeks until the rescuers arrived. Either a substantial amount was cut from this scenario for some reason or there is just some level of disconnect here.
The first two parts of this adventure are barely conceded to the plot they claim to be part of, or alternatively, the plot has a very light touch, at least in the first two scenarios.
The core of this scenario might have been a stronger story without the connection to one of this season's metaplots.
Chronicle: How do"crafting materials for a druid's crown make any sense" there is no discount, the item is not uncommon, having players buy specific purpose-bound materials to craft a particular item, is a downside, not an advantage. It’s particularly odd with this item since part of using it can involve recreating it from local materials. Using Akata material for it is a choice I struggle with.
Organized Play Coordinator
