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I would be grateful if anyone could tell me what the highest level of play tier is for this scenario. Our home group is flying along pretty quickly, and I want to make sure we halt our progression on our main characters before we exceed the ability to play it. We are really hoping it will get ran at either GenCon or Origins this year so we get an opportunity to play it!
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Awesome, thanks for the info on the level ranges!
We are fortunate to be in the greater Columbus area of Ohio, as the gaming community here is very strong. That was an excellent suggestion Noswald, as it looks like CincyCon in March has exactly what we are looking for, and is less than a 2 hour drive.
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Our group is already teetering on that edge. We get together most every Saturday, and play from noon to midnight, so we are pretty solidly plowing through scenarios and mods. We just started last November and are already at level 10. My players are also powergamers without peer, so they already trivialize most of the content. They are solid role-player's though, so it's still alot of fun to run for them, and they did manage to get a bit of a beating from Curse of the Riven Sky at level 9, so that was a pleasant surprise for me :).
We have a heavans oracle, pistolier gunslinger, two-handed fighter, and cleric (all optimized). Most combats don't run past 2 rounds unless there are a ton of enemies, and even then it's typically not too challenging as the 26 Cha oracle locks most everything down.
I'm looking forward to actually getting to play some! My poor monk hasn't seen any action yet, he's a pure GM credit baby.
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Hi, I would like to say I didn't enjoy this module much. Although the first 2/3 of the story were great (well thought and interesting) once I got to the cathedral bit and it got real I gotta say I rapidly grew frustrated and annoyed.
To clarify things somewhat it was a party of 1-3 level characters, it was at Arcanacon in Melbourne Australia and it was only about 7 or 8 hours ago.
Here's why:
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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@Damalon01: Best thing to do is put all that as a review on the scenario's product page. Leadership reads all the reviews and takes them into account, but we can't guarantee they'll see it if it's here instead of there. :)
Even so, some responses that may or may not make you feel better:
1) Don't feel too bad about the consumables; here's why: first, if it's a scroll (and a summon spell would have to be, as it's not a legal choice for a potion) and it's got a higher caster level than the baddy does, he has to make a CL check - failure risks a mishap. Second, anything he doesn't use, you get to loot! :) Third, baddies have a calculated amount of wealth (and less than a PC, I might add), and those consumables count against it. So the more scrolls and potions he has, the less likely he is to have other nasty gear. It all evens out. And finally, what do you mean when you say you wouldn't tolerate such shenanigans? You mean your BBEGs don't carry scrolls? Or you wouldn't let your PCs use scrolls? A little confused here.
2) I have mixed feelings about chase scenes myself. :P
3) It may seem like the fight is slanted in his favor, until you realize that he's built on 15pt buy and all the PCs are 20pt buy, and the baddy has only a fraction of the wealth that EACH player gets. Can a fight still be nasty? Sure. But it's not nearly as slanted as it might appear at first. :)
4) The payoff is tied to your level. 500gp is standard for subtier 1-2 scenarios. Sanctioned modules give more because they're longer; they're basically the equivalent of 3 scenarios, so they give you about triple the rewards.
Hope some of that helps. :)
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Sorry Jiggy, while your advice was well meant it doesnt help in the that much. I actually knew most of that already. Ive only been playing Pathfinder for the last few months but during that time ive been to two conventions and read as much material as i can find to build my knowledge. You see ive been role playing in different games since I was thirteen, thats 24 years.
ill try to adress what needs addressing in your post, if only for myself.
You said: @Damalon01: Best thing to do is put all that as a review on the scenario's product page. Leadership reads all the reviews and takes them into account, but we can't guarantee they'll see it if it's here instead of there. :)
This is really handy info. I intend to complain as loudly and as long as takes to get noticed, while being respectful and polite. where do i find the link?
You said: baddies have a calculated amount of wealth (and less than a PC, I might add), and those consumables count against it. So the more scrolls and potions he has, the less likely he is to have other nasty gear. It all evens out. And finally, what do you mean when you say you wouldn't tolerate such shenanigans? You mean your BBEGs don't carry scrolls? Or you wouldn't let your PCs use scrolls? A little confused here.
I mean that i wouldnt tolerate anyone power gaming at my table (as in table top homegame). If its the GM i would play until after the session were done and then go to him and complain, if he didnt change his game accordingly i would quit the group. If it were a player I would ask him to stop and if he persisted I would ask him to leave my game.
Next my monsters will carry scrolls and theyll use them if they need them. But they wont throw away a resource immediately, i try to think like some who actually has to consider whether or not hey need to save it for later. Also if im not mistaken monster are supposed to split the resources they recieve across many categories proportionally, some on waepons, some on armour, some on scrolls/potions.
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Oh i forgot point 4
I did the Mod Crypt of the Everflame as the Convention if went to before this last one, a few months ago. I recieved
Race for the Runecarved Key rewards are
Draw your own conclusions.
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RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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This is really handy info. I intend to complain as loudly and as long as takes to get noticed, while being respectful and polite. where do i find the link?
SHAZAM! :D
I did the Mod Crypt of the Everflame as the Convention if went to before this last one, a few months ago. I recieved 3 xp, 1398 gp, 4 pp, and Kassen's blessing (reroll a d20 once in any game, ability permanently expended). That was an awesome reward for a simple and basic adventure for beginner that took about 4 or 5 hours to complete.
Looks like your GM/organizer did you a disservice. Modules (except Free RPG Day modules, which give the same rewards as a regular PFS scenario) are supposed to take about 8-12 hours to complete. The rewards (3XP, 4PP, more gold) are approximately equal to what you'd get if you played three PFS scenarios, because you spend more time, face more risk, use more resources, etc.
But if it only took you 4-5 hours, then that means the GM ripped a bunch of stuff out (mostly encounters, I imagine), giving you a scenario-level challenge/resource-drain, but then gave you triple the rewards. This was completely inappropriate since (as you've obviously noticed) it set up a false expectation of what the "baseline" for wealth/XP rewards are in PFS.
Whoever made the decision to run a module in a too-short convention slot and give PFS credit for it basically set you up for a nasty surprise. I'm sorry. If you know the names of the GM and/or coordinator (I know it's a longshot, but still) you should see about bringing up this topic with a Venture Captain (I'm sure someone can pop in with info on who that would be).
Sorry for the mixup. :(
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Really. I played this in 2 settings of 6 hours each. We did it at a home, but I've also prepped this to run it. I figure a fast crew - rushing thru encounters and with no RP should be able to do it in 8 hours... you did it in 5? what did the judge short you?
Just because the modules are slotted to take that amount of time does not mean that all groups will. My players for our home game enjoy role-playing (though there have been instances we were trying to cover a lot of ground in a day, so they would dive right into the heart of the matter, get the needed info, and move on), but they are so min-maxed that almost no battles last more than 2 rounds.
Our early modules typically took us 3-6 hours to get through, but now that they are higher level, they absolutely plow through the combat encounters so fast that it quite literally often takes us longer to track all the PC/NPC initiative scores than for them to murder everything.
My point is just because one group takes longer than another doesn't mean they are "shorted". Some groups are just faster or slower than others, which is fine, because it's all about how you have fun playing.
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RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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My point is just because one group takes longer than another doesn't mean they are "shorted". Some groups are just faster or slower than others, which is fine, because it's all about how you have fun playing.
Sure, but some random table at a convention? Sounds to me like it's more likely that the organizer had a slot to fill, and decided to cram a module into it instead of a scenario.
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I was also playing this game yesterday, but not at the same table as Damalon01 and I also was very unimpressed. That being said, it was a game designed to be a mega-challenge and that isn't my kind of game. In the future I won't play or GM these games. There is no fun in them for me - too much cheese and they just encourage more cheese at character creation in order to survive. I would prefer more story and in-character fun. But I recognize that we players aren't all the same - different players look for different things in a game.
As for chase scenes,wow! I don't think there is a worse mechanic in Pathfinder. The need for a suspension of disbelief is ridiculous. How can I succeed at two checks, move three cards forward and fling myself over walls and past guards without even dealing with them. The sooner that this chase scene mechanic is ignored the better in my eyes. Can I use a chase scene to put distance between me and an NPC? It reeks of 4E skill challenge. Please no more chases with this mechanic.
Anyway, thanks to the organisers and GMs at Arcanacon. Overall I had a good time, although since the last game was Race for the Runecarved key, it left a disappointed taste in my mouth. As I mentioned above, it was not my kind of game.
Could we see some encouragement for story and in-character stuff in future PFS?
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RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Could we see some encouragement for story and in-character stuff in future PFS?
The style and content of PFS play will vary by scenario. For instance, some scenarios are mainly "secure location X by force" or "retrieve trinket X without getting killed". Other scenarios include murder mysteries, high-profile weddings, sneaky sabotage, gather evidence against the *true* villain, etc.
If you're gonna play PFS, you'll have to either select your scenarios very carefully or be very flexible in what types of games you can have fun playing.
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Well Golariofun Im glad I wasnt the only one that was dissappointed with the scenario. I spoke to the Regional GM about it all and I have asked him to send the feedback I gave to the apropriate people and also asked him to let me know how it turns out, I dont intend Paizo or the designed who wrote the mod to go on not knowing how i felt.
Jiggy thanks for your advice, but seriously man where that link? :P
AT this stage I do intend to keep playing PFS at cons, like Golariofun i may decide to avoid the big events too. I really hate powergaming, i hate when player and gms get caught up in the viscous cycle. Role playing is not a cold war or an arms race, theres no need for everyone to min max and someone has to stop.
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Hi Damalon01.
I hope you don't stop playing PFS at cons. There is a lot of fun to be had and cons are a great place to meet gamers with similar ideas of fun play. Arcanacon seemed drastically down on numbers this year and even the PFS seemed down on numbers. It would be great to encourage more players to come along. PFS can be great fun.
IMHO games like Race for the Rune Carved Key don't do a lot to encourage new players. We need to get new players into the game and we need to find fun games for them to play. We can't keep running the same old games, because the older players have played them, so some new games that come out need to have some focus on story and fun, not super-overwhelming mega-combat.
I'm really pleased to hear your voice Damalon01 because if we don't give feedback then we can't expect anything to change. I hope you spoke to the VC on the day and know about the local gaming groups and opportunities to play.
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Hi Damian - I was at that high level table, so I can probably tell you how some of it went down for us as well (I'm Tony, I look a bit like my avatar but with less tattoos).
Hi, I would like to say I didn't enjoy this module much. Although the first 2/3 of the story were great (well thought and interesting) once I got to the cathedral bit and it got real I gotta say I rapidly grew frustrated and annoyed.
To clarify things somewhat it was a party of 1-3 level characters, it was at Arcanacon in Melbourne Australia and it was only about 7 or 8 hours ago. Here's why:
scrolls and potions:1) every bad guy seemed to have one or the other, usually stuff outside of their normal ability to cast ie summon monster 3 when the guy in question is clearly not capable of that level of spell. I think this is a cheap and nasty way to get around the level limit to make the encounter harder. Ive been in enough games as either GM or player to know the advantages of consumables, especially as a GM since you dont need to worry about the replacement of your resources, so I feel comfortable calling this an overuse of consumable items and therefore an unfair power gameing tactic. I wouldnt tolerate that sort of shananigans at my table.
Not sure what to say to this one; every game will have bad guys (and good guys) with gear that makes them more powerful. It's all worked into the CR of the encounter, so it can't really be unfair unless you consider the CR unfair.
Spoiler:2) The chase scene: So we chase the baddy and theres obstacles and I get that, I also get that the baddy is good at getting through those obstacles. My problem is this, why are the DCs the same for the low tier as they are for the high tier? My group of lowby characters got through with a few stumbles but I heard after the fact that the high tier group got through easily. My group came in second place at the Con, the high tier group beat us by 3 'Key' points. Geuss where they got those points. By the way we were winning until the cathedral act began, I wonder why that would be? Could it have been because at high level you have more options and resources to overcome scenarios?
Having said that, a lot of scenarios are like this with skill checks that aren't adjusted by tier, and it seems to be hit and miss with which ones adjust and which ones don't. Definitely something the design team needs to pay closer attention to.
Catching the baddy:3) So we catch up to the baddy at the end of the chase and we fight it. Its diffecult but we manage it. However its a struggle, two potions of invisibilty got used for gratuitous backstabs or to avoid getting ganked. Darkness got used, which the baddy was conveniently immune to btw,...
Specials are much harder than scenarios. You'll know next time you play a special to be ready. The first special I played was like this. It's outrageous but rewarding if you can get through it. I haven't played one at low levels, so I can't speak for that, but we certainly didn't blitz it.
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Well Av i didnt find the rewards, ie the xp and such all that worthwhile. The first 2/3 of the adventure was fun but the last third has spoiled the rest for me. My first impressions of these specials has been spoiled, at least for now. Im an experienced role player who has plaed 3.0 and 3.5 dnd extensively so im well aware of the dangers and such of both high level and low level adventuring so i wouldnt say i wasnt prepared and quite frankly i will not and should not have to change my rpg style just for these so called 'specials'.
All in all i would say that the adventure was too frustrating to be rewarding. It wasnt 'challenging', it was frustrating. I dont want to be frustrated, i dont want to be 'challenged' with scenarios that are min maxed in order suit min maxed players. I want to be rewarded for my merits as a seasoned and skilled player, one who doesnt min max characters and does his best to balance team work with the abilities i have selected for my character. In short i play as fairly as i can and expected to treated fairly in return.
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Hi Damalon01.
I hope you don't stop playing PFS at cons. There is a lot of fun to be had and cons are a great place to meet gamers with similar ideas of fun play. Arcanacon seemed drastically down on numbers this year and even the PFS seemed down on numbers. It would be great to encourage more players to come along. PFS can be great fun.
IMHO games like Race for the Rune Carved Key don't do a lot to encourage new players. We need to get new players into the game and we need to find fun games for them to play. We can't keep running the same old games, because the older players have played them, so some new games that come out need to have some focus on story and fun, not super-overwhelming mega-combat.
I'm really pleased to hear your voice Damalon01 because if we don't give feedback then we can't expect anything to change. I hope you spoke to the VC on the day and know about the local gaming groups and opportunities to play.
You better believe I spoke to the VC Golario. I spoke to him in person right after the game was concluded and have emailed him since I got home, asking him to forward feedback to me from Paizo if possible. I will email him again in a while if i get no response.
Unfortunately as far as PFS goes, here in Bendigo there is no local group that I know. I might be interested in starting one but I gotta say the events of the special are colouring my opinion of the whole experience so I may never go ahead with that one. I was also thinking about getting involved in the superstar competition for next year but if this is the sort of mod Paizo wants I definately will not be going ahead with that plan. That being said I have started two tabletop home games of Pathfinder here in Bendigo for two seperate groups of players and i think good thoughts about those games.At this stage, like yerself, I dont think i will be going to another special event. Not an enjoyable experience for me. But I wont give up on PFS as a whole just yet, not judged on one bad experience. I wont forget that bad experience though and ill tell anyone and everyone I can about PFS, both good and bad.
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I played it at APL 15 at pacificon, was disappointed they did not scale the reward past level 12.
And good lord I hate "chase" mechanics. D-Door anyone? Teleport? Mass fly?
But we had a fantastic GM that understood our frustration with those rules. Had a great time, doing hundreds of HP damage with my fighter...we did have a couple deaths, but they were always to save or die effects. combat we rocked.
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urm im having trouble figuring out how to add a review to those already listed on the page.Jiggy thanks for your advice, but seriously man where that link? :PThat would be the bolded, italicized, all-caps, hyperlink-blue "shazam" a few posts up, from about 10 hours ago. ;)
Under "average product rating" is a link that says "write a review"
I would urge to you be thoughful and clear when writing your review. Your original post on here was one big wall of text, which I'll admit I skipped over. Paragraphs are your friend.
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To Jiggy and Nosig, all you have said are perfectly fair opinions, and I do not contest them in the least. As well to be fair, that module was my groups very first one, and it by far took us the longest of anything we ran, as all characters are very tender at level 1.
On the whole and in general however, my home group completes modules significantly faster than the time frame they are typically slotted to be ran in. So while 5 hours for that particular mod at that particular level might seem questionable to some (and fairly so), I personally don't find it overly suspicious. When we played, a number of the "trash" encounters were successfully avoided due to the gunslinger simply scouting ahead.
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Hi Damian - I was at that high level table, so I can probably tell you how some of it went down for us as well (I'm Tony, I look a bit like my avatar but with less tattoos).
Hi, I would like to say I didn't enjoy this module much. Although the first 2/3 of the story were great (well thought and interesting) once I got to the cathedral bit and it got real I gotta say I rapidly grew frustrated and annoyed.
To clarify things somewhat it was a party of 1-3 level characters, it was at Arcanacon in Melbourne Australia and it was only about 7 or 8 hours ago. Here's why:
** spoiler omitted **
Not sure what to say to this one; every game will have bad guys (and good guys) with gear that makes them more powerful. It's all worked into the CR of the encounter, so it can't really be unfair unless you consider the CR unfair.
** spoiler omitted **...
If you didnt know Av im the fat guy in the grey and yellow shirt that went up to collect the Key when the auction was over, the same guy that went to run away when the assassin appeared :p
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Damalon, please add spoilers to your comments about scenarios in future. This isn't the place to post things like that out in the open.sorry i dont know how to add spoilers yet.
underneith the text box that you type in for every post you make, there is a button that says "show" this will have all the formating tools that work w/in the forums... including how to add spoilers.
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You know, I rather enjoyed RftRK... Playing with my NON-combat Bard.
** spoiler omitted **
Both you and your character sound awesome Nosig. My group also talked our way through quite a few of the early parts,
Also I think my Gunslinger wants to meet your bard /wink
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underneith the text box that you type in for every post you make, there is a button that says "show" this will have all the formating tools that work w/in the forums... including how to add spoilers.Damalon, please add spoilers to your comments about scenarios in future. This isn't the place to post things like that out in the open.sorry i dont know how to add spoilers yet.
found it thank you, just a little obscure
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found it thank you, just a little obscureunderneith the text box that you type in for every post you make, there is a button that says "show" this will have all the formating tools that work w/in the forums... including how to add spoilers.Damalon, please add spoilers to your comments about scenarios in future. This isn't the place to post things like that out in the open.sorry i dont know how to add spoilers yet.
actually not really, but whatever.
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actually not really, but whatever.found it thank you, just a little obscureunderneith the text box that you type in for every post you make, there is a button that says "show" this will have all the formating tools that work w/in the forums... including how to add spoilers.Damalon, please add spoilers to your comments about scenarios in future. This isn't the place to post things like that out in the open.sorry i dont know how to add spoilers yet.
Lol one small button at the bottom of the box marked 'show' with a single sentence saying how to format text isnt a little bit obscure? I obviously failed my perception check then while you didnt!
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It was fun both when I played it (in Canberra) and when I ran it (in Sydney) its very different than the earlier specials as this one is more competition based unlike the others which are cooperative but all in all its quite fun.
I agree that individual parts of it are fun, I'm not a fan of the overall scenario ... other things I've played by the authors I've enjoyed so I have to imagine that this is not indicative of their writing persay but the nature of the beast that they were given...
Ok ... so moving on lol
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It was fun both when I played it (in Canberra) and when I ran it (in Sydney) its very different than the earlier specials as this one is more competition based unlike the others which are cooperative but all in all its quite fun.
I agree that individual parts of it are fun, I'm not a fan of the overall scenario ... other things I've played by the authors I've enjoyed so I have to imagine that this is not indicative of their writing persay but the nature of the beast that they were given...
Ok ... so moving on lol
agreed, lets move on
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Feeback
Hey Damalon, as one of the co-authors, I want to thank you for the feedback. Whether positive or negative, every data point is welcome.
1) scrolls and potions. every bad guy seemed to have one or the other, usually stuff outside of their normal ability to cast ie summon monster 3 when the guy in question is clearly not capable of that level of spell. I think this is a cheap and nasty way to get around the level limit to make the encounter harder. Ive been in enough games as either GM or player to know the advantages of consumables, especially as a GM since you dont need to worry about the replacement of your resources, so I feel comfortable calling this an overuse of consumable items and therefore an unfair power gameing tactic. I wouldnt tolerate that sort of shananigans at my table.
I'm sorry that you felt this was a cheap tactic, but I want to put yourself in their shoes, or more specifically in the Cult of Lissala's shoes. (do they wear shoes?) You're the head of your local chapter and you're planning the biggest heist/event in your history. It includes dozens of followers, covering a wide range of ability (i.e. your followers range from level 3-10 give or take). Would you not arm them with the best stuff you had? Thinking more out of character, I want to say two things about this encounter.
1) The most powerful "damaging" spells any of these cultists had were Summon Monster and at higher levels Black Tentacles. Everything else they had access to was control. And that's the point, they weren't there to kill you. They were fodder so the thief could get away. (as another aside,
2) You didn't have to fight them. IN FACT, the only fight you HAD to have was with the thief. You are even rewarded for not fighting the cultists, as it makes it much easier to catch the thief.
3) The scenario was written without knowing that several scenarios released around the same time had a chase scene. Would this have changed whether or not RACE for the Runecarved Key had a chase encounter? I don't know.
2) The chase scene: So we chase the baddy and theres obstacles and I get that, I also get that the baddy is good at getting through those obstacles. My problem is this, why are the DCs the same for the low tier as they are for the high tier? My group of lowby characters got through with a few stumbles but I heard after the fact that the high tier group got through easily.
Again a couple of points (I like bulleted lists, must be the engineer in me):
1) The original turnover had a sliding scale for the chase DC's. This was not supposed to be a difficult chase. There are two schools of thought on this, however. Some believe that the DC's should slide and move with the tier that's being run. Others believe that a pile of rubble, is just a pile of rubble and it shouldn't be more difficult for someone who's higher level.
2) There is a half-page of additional information for GM's on how to run this chase so that it stays cinematic and moves quickly. It's a plot device, not a featured encounter of the scenario. In fact, the only real purpose it serves is to separate the party.
My group came in second place at the Con, the high tier group beat us by 3 'Key' points. Geuss where they got those points. By the way we were winning until the cathedral act began, I wonder why that would be? Could it have been because at high level you have more options and resources to overcome scenarios?
I'm sorry but this sounds more like a whine than feedback. I'm sorry you didn't "win," but as long as the Society retrieved the Key, then we all won, didn't we? To try to argue that higher level groups have an advantage is ridiculous. The higher tiers are penalized throughout this scenario in that it always takes longer complete encounters at higher levels. I'll admit this was a major failing of RftRK. The whole way the auction was run turned a cooperative event into a competitive event and it was bound to cause hurt feelings for players who feel like they "lost."
3)Catching the baddy: So we catch up to the baddy at the end of the chase and we fight it. Its diffecult but we manage it. However its a struggle, two potions of invisibilty got used for gratuitous backstabs or to avoid getting ganked. Darkness got used, which the baddy was conveniently immune to btw, to buy time. Reinforcements arrived to provide flanks and distractions. In short the fight is HEAVILY tilted in the favour of the baddy. Wanna know how we won? Baddy failed a save against a colour spray...Lame...Im pretty sure at least a couple of us would have died if we didnt get lucky there. Maybe all of us. i believe Players shouldnt have to rely on luck to survive an encounter, otherwise skill and preparation have no meaning.
So you catch the guy who just assassinated the high priest of Abadar and you expect him to kneel down so you can slit his throat? To me it sounds like your final fight was pretty epic, but this is where I just have to say that your preferred style of play doesn't match this scenario, or most scenarios for that matter. It's very clear that you don't enjoy roleplaying games where there is a chance of character death and perhaps Pathfinder Society just isn't for you. Also, would you have been so upset that your darkness spell didn't have an effect on a dwarf or half-orc either? A very simple knowledge (planes) check would reveal the BBEG to be a tiefling.
By the way i also resent that I cant play a Tiefling unless I own the 'Blood of Fiends' book while the mod has that advantage at no cost, I certainly wont be falling for that particular brand of strong arm commercialism.
As others have pointed out, you only need access to the Bestiary to play a Tiefling.
If the BBEG had been a dragon, would you have been upset that you couldn't play a dragon in PFS? What if they were a giant or an aboleth? I don't understand why you think NPCs should be player races...
4)The payoff: So we survive. I geuss thats the payoff really, no one died. Somehow that feels empty. I get my sheet and i see the following: +500 gp, +1 xp, +2 pp and a one time half cost rescue/res along with a small bonus to intim check against a obscure cult ive never heard of before and may never face again. Heres my conclusion. I got more for doing Crypt of the Everflame and it was MUCH easier, why should I sign up for this hard stuff when the rewards for the easy stuff is better? I would gladly trade the one time half res for 1 xp or 500 gp or 2 pp (Im 2nd level I need resources now not promises of stuff I may never use), the intim bonus is almost completely insignificant and there are no magic items offered. I would even do the Cyphermage Dilemma again before doing this mod again, I got 32 more gold and I got some respect with my fellow Pir-Sailors! I mean Sailors.
Show me another scenario OR module that rewards you more than this scenario, especially at your level. Seriously. You got 500 gp, 1 xp, 2 pp and a half-cost raise dead or resurrection... So, effectively you either save 5525 gp or 16 PP on a resurrection or 2725 gp or 8 PP on a raise dead. You essentially earn up to 6,000 gp or 18 PP for a single first level scenario!
P.S. This "obscure cult" that you've never heard of and may never face again is in 2/3 of season 4's scenarios. So, really, not that obscure.
Again, thanks for the feedback. I'm hoping next time you can phrase it a little more objectively and perhaps you'll get more helpful answers and responses from the community.
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Damalon:
I just wanted to say "hang in there." From what I can tell from these posts you are a) fairly new to PFS and b) tend to play with the same group/GM. As you go to more conventions and larger game days you'll find a wide variety of experiences. Some will be awesome, some will be disappointing. My first game day was TERRIBLE, but I later read that scenario and found out that is was a great scenario and it was just bad GMing that made it so unfun. Similarly I've played very "blah" scenarios that a good GM and group made much better (still not great, just more fun).
Right now you're comparing apples to kumquats. Once you see more of the fruit basket you may realize that you just happened to have bitten into your least favorite of a wide variety. Perhaps you've gotten lucky so far with the perfect mix of scenarios and GM.
As far RftRK, I have both played and run it and I will say that there are some things that could be better. Partly it's the nature of the Special scenarios (Year of the Shadow Lodge, Blood Under Absalom, and Race for the Runecarved Key). They are intended to be "epic" in feel and that's why they throw some things you don't normally see at you. The multiple table format (also adding to the epic feel) where everyone moves to the next stage at the same time means that GMs can't customize the experience to the table's play style as well as normal. Some people love the overall setup, others would rather play at their own pace.
You may not have realized it yet but the payoff is one of the best I've ever seen. There are things at higher levels that REQUIRE resurrection or true resurrection to recover from. It's also possible that you haven't yet seen many deaths yet but it's a very rare character who makes it to level 12 without two or three deaths.