Pathfinder Quest (Series 2) #25: The Greengold Dilemma

The adventure has a simple format, and straightforward plot which makes it easy to run in the timeslot. There are lots of RP chances with the NPCs or the player can just make some rolls if they aren't the RP type which suits different levels of player involvement (there is no wrong way to play a tabletop game). There were lots of chances to high-light little lore tidbits such as the actions in Spore War, and the fact that the Encarthan Alliance is forming up to take a stand against the Whispering Tyrant (none of these directly affecting the plot). The repeatable element was fun too, with several NPCs to choose form and different locations to put them. Keeps each table a bit fresh since you can change out some NPCs or where they are found (which can also affect how they can be influenced). I actually enjoy the Influence rules (in small doses) and felt this was a good showcase of it.

The description says it all, as soon as the adventure was focused on the influence subsystem - and this sounds like something that was part of the outline - there is not much an author can do to make it more palatable (and it seems like that was at the very least attempted).

Unfortunately, without significant changes to the existing rules, the system is a bad fit for shorter adventures and, in my personal view, really poisons attempts to RP.

The choice of antagonist feels, particularly considering when and where they have appeared previously, as somewhat default to the old standard.

Update: After playing it I noticed a couple of things but my feeling have largely not changed.

At the intro, the adventure mentions two more NPCs that accompany the Master of Scrolls on this mission. Personally, I think that's a mistake if you follow that up with introducing 4 more NPCs with unfamiliar names. Players tend to get overwhelmed, though I appreciate that the influence part limited itself to only 4 targets, as anything more than that is usually making these parts worse.

What I did not expect was how trivial and to be honest, comedic that Aspis agents ended up being (the "Destroy after reading" letter did not help. I always cringe when I see them in PFS2 as I felt like their story was sort of concluded in PFS2, and their appearances in PFS2 always feel like a desperate attempt at nostalgia.