A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for 7th- through 10th-level characters.
A mysterious abandoned laboratory is discovered in the Arcadian Ocean, with clear signs of occult experimentation having occurred at some point. The Waterfall, strangely fascinated by this new find, sends a group of Pathfinders to investigate and gather whatever research they can find inside, while also ensuring the building poses no further threats. Deep inside, a soul and forgotten memories wait, hungry to be found and revealed to the light. The research and artifacts inside seem like they'll lead to answers about the enigmatic Waterfall, though this information may turn out to be unwanted.
All in all, I liked this one. Mike Bramnik captured the personalities of the Pathfinder Leadership as more fully themselves than we have seen in ages. The lab was appropriately creepy, and the story is great.
As a bonus, it runs fast. My party of five got through in four hours. Not bad at all! Plus, I loved all the PF1 callbacks. It was so lovely having a previous plot from First Edition get this sort of callback for dedicated players, and my PF2-only players enjoyed it as well.
Mechanics-wise, a previous reviewer was correct that the pangolin battle drags a bit, but otherwise I had no complaints. This one was a pleasure to run.
Hmm
Terrible encounter balance ruins an otherwise good scenario
The encounters in this scenario need some additional review, especially the final one.
Encounter 1:
Spoiler:
The Pangolins are way too beefy for a level 8 creature, having 160 HP, which when combined with the tar ability makes the combat drag on.
Encounter 3:
Spoiler:
Specifically the haunt, with a High Attack and Damage bonus, along with being able to hit everyone at full MAP, and a +26 Stealth bonus, this level 9 hazard can easily TPK a part without them even being able to act. We were only saved by the grace of poor attack rolls and good skill checks, otherwise we would likely have lost in a very anti-climatic way. It reminds me of the old "rocks fall, everyone dies" meme.
I really hope you do more playtesting for the next scenario in this series, as recently it's either been too easy, or insanely difficult.
Without getting into spoilers, since this scenario is a bit of a callback for those who have been playing since PFS1, my only real complaint is the pacing. I feel like the layout of the main map leads to a lot party indecision, coupled with a lot of lore dumping in the end that most people might not get or care for. My party mostly had newer players, so the impact was really lost on them. It would also would have been nice to touch upon the associated legacy boon, but c'est la vie.
Otherwise, the scenario had a very creepy vibe that could be exported to home games. Combats were solid and flavorful, particularly at the end. I'm excited to see the conclusion of he Equal Exchanges metaplot goes. I was intending to sit out this PFS season until this one was announced.
This was great! Even as someone newer to the meta-plot, the reveals were very fun.
If you're planning to GM this scenario, I'd suggest adding more detail to the content warning for a pre-session discussion of lines/veils:
>>> Themes of creepy horror such as human experimentation, medical trauma, incarceration, torture, and brainwashing
^ That won't spoil the surprises, but it will give players the opportunity to request lighter descriptions/detail if they have a trauma history of their own.
I made a Gear Handout for all the strange equipment in this scenario and I included a bonus handout of the partial letter which the party is supposed to find (but for which we had no handout.)
All in all, I liked this one. Mike Bramnik captured the personalities of the Pathfinder Leadership as more fully themselves than we have seen in ages. The lab was appropriately creepy, and the story is great. As a bonus, it runs fast. My party of five got through in four hours. Not bad at all!
Plus, I loved all the PF1 callbacks. This one was a pleasure to run.
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