Best Current PFS Scenarios?

[Marc Radle]

I'm curious - what are the best of the current (or at least fairly recent) PFS scenarios?

This is obviously opinion, but I'd be interested to see which scenarios people consider to be the best? More to the point, why? What makes that scenario the best, both in terms of an adventure, but even more in terms of PFS play?

I'm really hoping to get some great, insightful answers here ... so get some coffee and start thinking :)

[RainyDayNinja]

Best in what way? At what level? For what kinds of players?

[Zach W.]

Current? I mean PFS is only a few years old..what is considered current? Season 5?

[Marc Radle]

Good questions!

OK, let's see ...

Best, meaning players and GMs both really loved playing/running it and would rank it number 1 or 2 on their 'Top 5 PFS Scenarios' list for instance. For GMs, it might be because it was so well-written, was easy and enjoyable to run; for players, the scenario was great fun to play, maybe it had the perfect balance of combat, role-playing, investigation/problem solving, maybe there was an awesome and memorable final encounter... or maybe for some other reason or reasons! Basically, the scenario people say "Oh, I love that one - that was an awesome scenario! That was a blast to run/play!"

I guess any level, really. If you are feeling industrious, you could always do a best low and a best high level scenario or something!

What kind of players? Well, I guess just the average PFS player (whatever that is! :)

By 'current' I guess I just mean within the last 2 or 3 years, but, as you point out, PFS isn't that old, so maybe we can just ditch the 'current' part :)

[wvpolarbear]

Dawn of the Scarlet Sun
Citadel of the Flame
The entire Blakros museum / Hao Jin storyline mash up scenarios.

The first two scenarios were unusually hard for the time they were released, and even with power creep from additional resources they are still classic challenges. They key is that for both of them, one superstar table shattering damage pro will not turn the fight in your favor. They are some of the earliest low level scenarios that force you to work together.

[Aeshuura]

Immortal Conundrum. The thing that I loved about it was that a major portion was able to be completed strictly by roleplaying. If you have players that are not comfortable, or prefer not to, there were rolls that could be made, but ultimately they were not necessary.

Then there was a little combat, well placed, and neat puzzles that could be difficult, but they made sense.

[Kyle Baird]

The way season 5 is going, the best scenarios have probably yet to be released. Nearly every month they get better and better.

[David H]

Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment: Great amount of roleplaying, and even with a little metagaming, use of faction missions help players navigate around the area so you can still setup the eerie-ness. Plus, the BBEG feels like a good BBEG battle that can play out in a number of ways (I've ran it 6 times, and only 2 of the final battles ever looked somewhat similar).

[Mazlith]

A few of my favorites:
We Be Goblins
Frostfur Captives
Day of the Demon
Rise of the Goblins Guild
Sanos Abduction
Bloodcove Disguise & Rescue at Azlant Ridge
Quest for Perfection series

[Marc Radle]

Mazlith wrote:

A few of my favorites:

We Be Goblins
Frostfur Captives
Day of the Demon
Rise of the Goblins Guild
Sanos Abduction
Bloodcove Disguise & Rescue at Azlant Ridge
Quest for Perfection series

Thanks Mazlith - can you elaborate on what about these make them among your favorites?

[Ferious Thune]

Blakros Matrimony (If you want a role-playing heavy scenario)
Waking Rune (For the most challenging combats)

Those are my two favorite, but I also enjoyed:

The Disappeared
Day of the Demon
Fortress of the Nail
The Quest for Perfection Series
Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment (My former favorite scenario prior to Season 4, and also role-playing heavy)
What I've played of Season 5 has been good (Glass River Rescue, Wardstone Patrol, and You Have What You Hold)

[Marc Radle]

Ferious Thune wrote:

Blakros Matrimony (If you want a role-playing heavy scenario)

Waking Rune (For the most challenging combats)

Those are my two favorite, but I also enjoyed:

The Disappeared
Day of the Demon
Fortress of the Nail
The Quest for Perfection Series
Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment (My former favorite scenario prior to Season 4, and also role-playing heavy)
What I've played of Season 5 has been good (Glass River Rescue, Wardstone Patrol, and You Have What You Hold)

Thanks! Can you elaborate on what about each of these make them among your favorites?

[Feegle]

Kyle Baird wrote:

The way season 5 is going, the best scenarios have probably yet to be released. Nearly every month they get better and better.

You're just saying that because your new one is out this month. :P

[Ferious Thune]

Marc Radle wrote:

Ferious Thune wrote:

Blakros Matrimony (If you want a role-playing heavy scenario)

Waking Rune (For the most challenging combats)

Those are my two favorite, but I also enjoyed:

The Disappeared
Day of the Demon
Fortress of the Nail
The Quest for Perfection Series
Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment (My former favorite scenario prior to Season 4, and also role-playing heavy)
What I've played of Season 5 has been good (Glass River Rescue, Wardstone Patrol, and You Have What You Hold)

Thanks! Can you elaborate on what about each of these make them among your favorites?

Sure,

(Spoiler tags are just for organization. I'll try not to include actual spoilers)

Blakros Matrimony:

One of the few very role-playing focused scenarios that allows you to interact with several influential npcs. It also kicks off a mini-arc within season 4. Despite being a role-playing scenario, the potential combats are interesting and challenging.

Waking Rune:

The combats more than live up to the hype, and even without hard mode, it was one of the most challenging scenarios I've played. Given that most of our group was level 11, and it was still difficult, it kept us on the edge of our seats. Also, despite combat being a large part of it, there are some out of combat things to solve, too.

The Disappeared:

Another different style of scenario that requires more than just killing things. It's especially good for Cheliax PCs

Day of the Demon:

Suitably creepy with at least one very memorable npc.

Fortress of the Nail:

the culmination of one of the season 4 mini-arcs, it takes the PCs into an interesting setting and also requires more than just killing. Some good role play opportunities, and another one that is good for Cheliax PCs

The Quest for Perfection series:

it employs a variety of settings and challenges, and the mechanics in part 3 are different and fun.

The Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment:

Run well, this is an incredibly creepy and fun scenario with excellent role-playing possibilities and memorable combats. As was mentioned up thread, the final fight can play out many different ways and the PCs success during the role-playing portion affects the difficulty at the end.

For season 5, the stories have all been good, and the combats challenging, while the secondary conditions force the PCs to think before they act.

[Akerlof]

I just GM'd The Sewer Dragons of Absalom and it's become one of my favorites.
--The combats actually give me a chance to do something: Terrain forces the PCs to spend some time getting to several of the bad guys, giving them a round or two to do something before they're surrounded. Some of the encounters are dangerous enough to challenge PCs without being outright deadly, while weaker combatants use intelligent tactics allowing me to force the PCs to do something other than charge and kill.
--It was a great eye opener for some of my new players, showing them how dangerous the higher level games can be, while still giving me control over just how dangerous things actually got so I didn't inadvertently kill anyone. All within RAW and tactics as written.
--The combats added to the story, giving the impression that the PCs were facing and intelligent and organized enemy.
--There were good roleplaying opportunities that the players could take advantage of or bypass, depending on their preferences.
--NPC names were awesome, and I had enough information in the scenario to develop personalities and motivations for the NPCs players would interact with.

Frostfur Captives is another of my favorites, both to play and GM. Interacting with the NPCs over time gives you great opportunities to work out personalities (it even helps you develop your own PC's personality since you get a lot more interaction than you normally would in a scenario.) It's also the scenario that most encourages and rewards players to come up with creative solutions beyond hitting things with a pointy stick. It might be worth burning my GM star replay just to play it with my Evangelist Cleric with the the right GM.

[Nathan Lindy]

My two favorite scenarios to GM are Day of the Demon and Red Harvest.

I like Day of the Demon, because the scenario is well written and goes a long ways in creating the haunted house on the hill type of feeling.

I personally really like the setting of Red Harvest, with the PCs actually having to travel to a far off land with unknown inhabitants. Also, all the foes are much more than your standard fighter or rouge.

[Dorigin]

My personal favorites are:

Rise of the Goblin Guild:

This has a chase scene, some investigation and a Goblin in Jester Motley!!

In Wrath's Shadow:

The creepy factor in this scenario coupled with a haunt and then a significant final encounter leaves each table I run it for hoping to run it for others in the near future.

Day of the Demon:

This was a great continuation of a story that can be tied through a number of season's scenarios. It has some great RP opportunities and a fun ending.

The Rebel's Ransom:

If you like puzzle scenarios with a deadly encounter mixed in, this was memorable.

You Only Die Twice:

This had a number of "Oh Crap!" moments. If you have a group with a heal-bot that is making things too easy, this is a great scenario to get them thinking of what else their character should be good for.

[Jayson MF Kip]

Way of the Kirin was wonderful.

Way of the Kirin:

Our GM really played up Amara Li's excitement that all of her work was finally coming to a head, as well as Iko Tsuneo's relative disbelief in the Pathfinder Society- -our reputation certainly preceded us. It was our responsibilty to live up to the stories Amara had told.

Then, the fight in the Manor gave a chance for everyone to shine...the Druid had Call Lightning, the fighter and barbarian built a freaking catapult! The ranger had found and scouted the escape route, and along with the Druid's animal companion took out the enlarged samurai boss. My character got to use Deflect Arrows to knock alchemist bombs harmlessly away. It was (for me, at least) the combat that I most remember being won by teamwork (despite the motley crew of Pathfinders there).

Rant:

It was probably magnified by the utter shite that was Rivalry's End the week after.

[Ferious Thune]

Jayson MF Kip wrote:

Way of the Kirin was wonderful.

** spoiler omitted **

** spoiler omitted **

I should probably have had Way of the Kirin on my list as well. A very fun scenario that also offered a different dynamic than is usual. It was a proper send off for the Lantern Lodge, and I could see it still being enjoyable, even with a non-Lantern Lodge character.

[Benrislove]

Another vote for quest for perfection series.

Spoiler:

Part 1: Requires lower level players to think about natural challenges, interesting and varied encounters, and a good set-up to the story-line

Part 2: Pretty classic travel adventure, but those are pretty rare in PFS, I don't think it's particularly hard, but still has a good variety of encounters with multiple ways to circumvent them. It's not just "you see a guy roll initiative"

Part 3: You're defending a town from an attack by a lot of bandits. Creative thinking and use of unusual skills really comes into play. I love it :D

Rats of Round Mountain part 1; The sundered Pass.

Spoiler:

Every Encounter has multiple solutions, none of them (save the optional) are shoot first ask no questions ever encounters. Choices, the game is just more fun when people have choices.

I'm a big fan of scenario's that aren't always the same, season 5 is doing a much better job of pushing this type of writing, and I love it :D.

Eyes of the Ten part 1

Spoiler:

I'm not going to spoil this for you, if you haven't played or run it. Anyone who HAS played or run it knows that reaching level 12 has this scenario as a reward. It's excellently written, very fun, and not incredibly straight forward. It's the best pre-written adventure I have ever played in "high levels".

As Kyle posted above, season 5 is doing an excellent job of creating scenario's with the elements I mentioned above.

Elven entanglement fell a little bit flat in my opinion, though still a good scenario it felt more rail-roady than the other season 5's I had played.

[Matthew Morris]

I'll toss in Nightmarch.

enough fighting for the combat types, rewards creativity and lots of RP opportunities. (I play <redacted> like Marvin the Paranoid Android. "Oh, Pathfinders. I'll likely end up at the bottom of a ravine.")

[Victor Zajic]

I for one really enjoyed playing Stolen Heir, even with a character who wasn't in one of the relevant factions. It was really well written and intersting, despite my character's attempts to not care about what was going on, he got sucked into the plot/story by the end.

[Rei]

A second vote for Red Harvest from me. I prefer it to other RP-heavy scenarios like The Blakros Matrimony because the characters have real power to decide. I ran it twice this year and both times it was an absolute delight to watch.

The Disappeared is pretty unique as scenarios go, and though I have a lot of bias for why I like it (the character I played it with was coincidentally nearly tailor-made for it) it's still a scenario I would recommend. It requires a lot of creative thinking from both the players and the characters, and is very engaging.

I'm also always going to have a soft spot for Frozen Fingers of Midnight, and would love to see it converted to PFRPG, with one specific NPC changed to make them more thematic. If done right, it could serve as a great inspiration for new players to want to learn about Golarion lore.

The Frostfur Captives has one great thing going for it: it takes a trope everyone normally loathes and makes it amusing. Again, a lot of potential for creativity.

The Golemworks Incident oozes atmosphere, or at least my VC squeezed plenty out of it. It also makes characters ask some important questions.

Below the Silver Tarn is another atmospheric scenario, with a lot of things going on that have a potential to blindside or at least surprise characters and players alike.

Before the Dawn: The Bloodcove Disguise is yet another flavorful and atmospheric scenario that simultaneously makes you wonder why the location hasn't been revisited and wish you never have to go back there again.

Way of the Kirin has some of the more interesting combats I've ever seen, and it's a great send-off for the Lantern Lodge.

[Finlanderboy]

I enjoyed the lisalla arcs in season 4 greatly. Those were some of my favorite adventures.

I truely loved season 4s challenge.

[Netopalis]

My two favorite scenarios of all time are easily Severing Ties and The Gods' Market Gamble. Both provide challenging combat and fantastic RP experiences. I've never seen a player walk away from those scenarios thinking that the time wasn't well spent.

Close seconds include The Blakros Matrimony, The Hellknight's Feast and Murder on the Throaty Mermaid. These are fantastic scenarios, but they do require a lot more work from the GM. With a great GM, these are golden.

After those, I'd probably list things like Kalkamedes, Frostfur Captives, Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment, Stolen Heir...

There are so many good scenarios to choose from, though, so it's hard to pick just one or tow.

[Kurthnaga]

Going to second Matt on Night March. Best 1-5 I've had the pleasure of playing. Hoping to GM it sometime soon as well. Lots of creative solutions available for the variety of problems.

The Fabric of Reality was pretty fun to GM for. I can't really identify what was so good about it though. The combats were fun and it just had a few cools things going for it.

[Jason S]

The star rating system is probably the best place to look for the best scenarios, since it's an average score among multiple reviewers.

The problem with the question is that different things appeal to different people. To make it even more complicated, a good GM might make any given scenario a 5 star scenario and a bad GM makes it 1 star.

And then there is the difference between home play (unlimited time, relative quiet) and convention/store play (often limited to 4 hours, sometimes noisy). Huge difference.

My suggestions are the following, but keep in mind I've had limited season 4 and 5 exposure.

- We be Goblins: Maybe the best all around introduction to Pathfinder and PFS. Entertaining, good roleplaying, fun. But you play a goblin, not your own PC.

- Crypt of the Everflame: A great start to any campaign and PFS compatible.

- Frostfur Captives: Still one of the best scenarios in every aspect.

- Before the Dawn Part 1 and 2: Somewhat of a sandbox (as far as PFS goes) followed by epic climax.

- The Golemworks Incident: Horror appeal. Complex scenario to GM properly but worth it.

- The Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment: I hate to say it, but it's memorable.

- The Disappeared: An investigation / stealth / puzzle "sandbox" with everything in it.

- The Night March of Kalkimedes: Another story that allows for creative solutions and outcomes.

I enjoyed lots of other scenarios but they weren't "fool proof" and didn't appeal to a wide variety of players, so I didn't include them. For example, Murder on the Throaty Mermaid was the best scenario for my players and me, but it's not for everyone. The scenarios listed above appeal to almost everyone.

[DM Beckett]

Ferious Thune wrote:

The Disappeared
Fortress of the Nail
The Quest for Perfection Series
Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment
Glass River Rescue

Wow. Many of those are on my Worst Scenarios Ever list. Missing Severing Ties, and a few on yours I have not played. Just thought it was odd. :)

I would say my top 4 best are:
Frozen Fingers of Midnight, because it really presented a unique story focused adventure that felt epic, had meaningful choices and the potentual for a redemption and player caused happy ending. Even being an early scenario, this is the type of adventure all others should have tried to immitate.

Night Marches of Kalkamedes even being an escort mission, itpresents some odd challenges that can be fun, sets the players in a rare position to be there when some pretty high level nastiness gets started, (and hopefully returns), and has the coolest chronicle sheet boon Ive seen.

Godsmarket Gamble was a great city based scenario with some interesting rp options. Really dug the plot, too.

Voice in the Void. When people talk about the Blakros scenarios, its really the crown jewel of that series, and there of plenty of opportunity for a GM to set the mood for a good horror/Halloween game in there.

[Ferious Thune]

To each his own. I like scenarios that break from the typical PFS mold, and most of those do. They are scenarios where lack of preparation on the GM's part or bringing the wrong character can create a bad experience, though.

[TheInnsmouthLooker]

4-EX Day of the Demon. Some really fun encounters and an NPC that really gave my gnome barbarian a reason to rage that day (she killed my dog).

5-04 The Stolen Heir. I ran this one with two brand new players and they really got into the roleplaying and arguing politics and law with the NPCs. It's so easy for this scenario to be entirely roleplaying or entirely combat depending on what the PCs want to do.

[Kyle Baird]

Jeff Mahood wrote:

Kyle Baird wrote:

The way season 5 is going, the best scenarios have probably yet to be released. Nearly every month they get better and better.

You're just saying that because your new one is out this month. :P

I wouldn't expect The Confirmation to show up on these types of lists, tbh. Most of the scenarios showing up here can be very complicated to run and involved a lot of twists or complicated encounters. The Confirmation had to keep in mind brand new players as well as brand new GMs, AND it's Tier 1 meaning more limited tactics and abilities for bad guys (although I sure as hell tried to mix it up *evil grin*).

[Zach W.]

1. Shades of Ice Series. I GMed this one and I LOVED it! Anything that ends with a viking party is great! My players loved Role playing the induction.
2. Rescue at Azlant Ridge. A GREAT Role play scenario that leads into a wild and over the top combat scenario.
3. You Have What You Hold. LONG scenario but the scene is very well set, and the players loved the gladiatorial games.

Sorry I used a series for the first two, but it was the series as a whole that was so great.

[Dieben]

My top 3:

3. Rescue at Azlant Ridge- great combat theatrics

2. Way of the Kirin- very fun combat with quite interesting battlefield preparations. The role play, if GM'ed well, can be enthralling.

1. The Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment- Hands down the best scenario I've played thus far, and it was online at that. Requires some serious GM skill, but is an incredible role play experience with magnificent depth. The combat isn't half-bad either as the end-boss mechanics are brilliant.

[Wraith235]

Absolutly loved - you have what yu hold ... I just wish I had been more awake when it was played

[Marc Radle]

Wraith235 wrote:

Absolutly loved - you have what yu hold ... I just wish I had been more awake when it was played

What, specifically, did you love about it?

[Wraith235]

gonna try to be Vague so as not to Spoiler

IMHO this has been the MOST Satisfying Scenario I have yet played because of a Series of Blind Luck Choices made when I created the Character

Character Backstory-
The character has a VERY Deep Back Story Dealing with
the people that inhabit the Crimson Citadel, located outside the city of Ilizmagorti on Mediogalti Island

on Agu 18th(ish) I took a Free Change to Osirion

I did Not Like the Osirion Season 5 Faction Goals so;

I paid transfered to Sczarni

The Tie-in between a person of their interest as well as the back-story I came up for the character ... fit so well it felt like Sweet Vengance on my (as a players Lips)

.