Venture-Lieutenant, Finland—Tampere
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Season 0: Frozen Fingers of Midnight (I really wish this would get an update to current rules and Golarion canon.)
Season 1: The Pallid Plague (Disregarded EotT, and Hall of Drunken Heroes was a very close second; I just find this a really quality premise for a scenario that is executed brilliantly.)
Season 2: Murder on the Throaty Mermaid (Again, disregarded EotT. This is a versatile, interesting scenario that's tons of fun for both the players and the GM, and despite some gaping plot holes is very satisfying.)
Season 3: Red Harvest (Because it's Red Harvest. This is my fave scenario in the whole campaign so far. Again, it has some plot holes, but it's great fun.)
Season 4: The Night March of Kalkamedes (Evidently, my type of scenario is low-tier, varied, and gives room for improvisation and creativity...)
Season 5: Library of the Lion (Yeahp, there is definitely a type present here.)
Season 6: The Technic Siege (This isn't as strong a favorite as some others - Season 6 doesn't have any supremely good scenarios in my personal opinion.)
Season 7: Between the Lines (I've played less than half of the current season, so this is the hardest season for me to pick from. Still, this sounded like a terrible scenario on paper, and then ended up playing brilliantly.)
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
PFS 00-01: The Silent Tide
I still consider this scenario one of the best scenarios (even over some of the evergreens) for introducing the game to new players. The combats are interesting and unique (especially the piano), and the scenario gives chances for skill challenges and roleplaying.
PFS 01-46 Eyes of the Ten, Part 1: Requiem for the Red Raven
Do yourself a favor and don't play this series unless you've played a good bit of Seasons 0 and 1. There are callbacks to previous scenarios and you wont want to go into this scenario or the series without knowing why some of the stuff is important.
This scenario has the best 'Welcome to high tier play' Ive seen. The combats are rough, the roleplay is awesome, and the story is still among the best PFS has to offer. THIS ONE SCENARIO is why you should want to get a group to 12.
PFS 02-21 The Dalsine Affair
This scenario will likely not be as important or interesting to newer players as it was to the older crowd due to lack of faction missions now, so the major event in this scenario could just be a 'meh' moment for some, but it was awesome for me as a player, and I love GMing it.
The opening of the scenario is great, too.
PFS 03-02 Sewer Dragons of Absalom
I really enjoy this scenario. The roleplay and story are interesting, and the combats are far from ordinary. None of them are challenging on their own, but if you dont step lightly, you might end up in over your head.
Plus, dragons. I mean, c'mon. Who doesn't love dragons.
PFS 04-11 The Disappeared
This scenario was unlike any other at the time of it's release, and it's been one of my favorites since then. The story is interesting (and part of my favorite PFS meta-plot), the roleplay is excellent. The combats are meh, but those aren't the focus of the story.
PFS 05-01 The Glass River Rescue/ 05-14 Day of the Demon
I cant pick between these two.
Glass River's second half is amazing for roleplay and this scenario is the only one Ive seen to so easily split the party, and the party split so willingly.
Day of the Demon (another entry, though a minor one, in my favorite meta-plot) is more or less a dungeon crawl, but the encounters are awesome and the story is very cool.
PFS 06-07 Valley of the Veiled Flame
I really enjoyed the roleplay in this scenario. It puts the players in a difficult situation and you need to find the correct way to get out of it. And the bestter you do over the course of the scenario, the more the ending is changed. It's unique, interesting, and a lot of fun.
PFS 07-17 Thralls of the Shattered God
Holy crap, go play this scenario. No wait...first go play Traitor's Lodge, then go play this one. It's amazing and a lot of fun. The encounters are challenging and you better be able to think of creative solutions to creative problems, or else you might need a hand with the ending.
If you haven't gotten to play this one and have some time at Gencon, you might want to try to snag a table of it there. Andrew Hoskins, the 5-star GM, VC, author of the scenario is going to be running it a bunch, I hear.
|
Season 0: Nothing noteworthy
Season 1: Eyes of the Ten part 1, a truely epic adventure
Season 2: The Dalsine Affair, I love the opening to this scenario. The BBEG is also infamous at this point and you haven't properly fought him unless hes fighting defensively.
Season 3: The Rats of Round Mountain—Part I, that final encounter yessssssss
Season 4: Fortress of the Nail, there are several scenarios I really enjoyed from this season but I'm a huge Hellknight fan and again the final combat seals the deal.
Season 5: The Sealed Gate, played in 4 man hard mode while out of subtier. The scenario didn't disappoint. Thanks Kyle.
Season 6: Trial by Machine, I know this scenario was a savage start to the season but it captured everything I expected the season to embrace. I was very disappointed when the feedback ended up leading to a lot of backpedaling and I feel the theme and story were completely lost later on.
Season 7: Ancinets Anguish, I haven't played too much from season 7 yet but this one seemed to be a well-rounded adventure which included many elements different tables will each enjoy.
Special: Ruins of Bonekeep Maze of the Mind Slave, I thought the little bit of story going on added some flavor to this dungeon crawl. Nothing is more scary than yourselves Pathfinders.
Adventure Path: Jade Regent part 6 The Empty Throne, a high level sandbox which lets you help decide the fate of Minkai. Very cool setting.
|
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Season 0: #24: The Decline of Glory (Levels 1-7): I love the story of this one, and it can also be challenging in any tier, which is asking a lot for a Season 0.
Season 1: #46: Eyes of the Ten Part I, Requiem for the Red Raven (Level 12): Yes. YES! This scenario is straight up awesome. I don't want to spoil it, but I am glad that this is a rather long scenario. It totally deserves all the hype and respect it gets.
Season 2: #2-02: Before The Dawn Part II, Rescue at Azlant Ridge (Levels 1-7): If you've played this scenario, you know exactly what I'm talking about here.
Season 3: #3-25: Storming the Diamond Gate (Levels 3-7): Veritable slugfest that is actually entertaining and hard! Love it!
Season 4: #4-06: The Green Market (Levels 5-9): I love the story of this one, and love the reuse of atmosphere and spaces. So awesome.
Season 5: #5-24: Assault on the Wound (Levels 3-7): Many people hate this scenario, and I have to agree that this is a terrible scenario to play at a convention. However, if you get a group together and go over what exactly is expected of them from the scenario, it can be a terrific and unique experience.
Season 6: #6-14: Scions of the Sky Key Part II, The Kaava Quarry (Levels 1-5): There's a particular part of this I really like, and it's probably the most memorable part of the whole series...
Season 7: #7-11: Ancients Anguish (Levels 7-11): Honestly, I think this is the best 7-11 out there. The mix of RP, puzzle, skills, combat... it's all a perfect enough blend that I think this is the correct "formula" of the perfect PFS scenario. I feel when it is a mix of all those elements is when the Pathfinder system REALLY shines.
Best Special: #5-00: Siege of the Diamond City (Levels 1-15): What I really like about this interactive is it did what interactive really should do: Have really good and unique interactions between tables! That combined with the level range of it makes it easily the best special out there.
Module: Tomb of the Iron Medusa (Level 14): Hands down the best module ever made, in my opinion. Lots of story conveyed in unique ways, and definitely an appropriate challenge for level 14. Highly, highly recommended.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Season 0: Mists of Mwangi or Decline of Glory. Mists is a great twist to the good ol' "Grand Opening at the Mummy Museum" kinda story. It's horror but very gonzo horror and that's hard to do. Decline is much more down to earth but it's still fairly difficult at parts and contains the right amount of Taldor.
Season 1: Jester's Fraud, definitely. This season is reall iffy. The beginning is the low point of the whole campaign, containing such dreck as TDWK 2, Sniper in the Deep and Drow of the Darklands Pyramid and doesn't really hit its stride until the Drowning Stones, but damn are there some great scenarios after. Fraud is a wild ride through the Taldan countryside, has alternate methods to every encounter, contains memorable NPCs, etc. Great allrounder.
Season 2: Below the Silver Tarn. Everything is so darn creepy, there's still challenge to had and oh boy that final scene! A true classic. The rest of the season suffers a bit from the fact that every Shadow Lodge agent you fight, except Hondo Heru, is a complete pushover. Other great ones: Murder on the Throaty Mermaid, Red Revolution, Rebel's Ransom and Sarkorian Prophecy.
Season 3: Haunting of Hinojai. Cool haunts, cool foes, great milieu. This season is my favorite one with some very memorable outings and crazy locations like the Round Mountain, the tournament island in Goka, temple of Ragdya and Ghenett Manor. Introduced the Desimires too. Good picks: Red Harvest, Frostfur, Sewer Dragons, Rats of the Round Mountain part II.
Season 4: The Golemworks Incident. Oh boy, is Mr Black a great villain or what? Absolutely insane final encounter, good creepiness, great introduction to the City of Monuments and probably one of the better chronicles so far. This season started off a bit too rough and it's still visible in some of the our local scene. Scars, man. Highlight of the whole arc was probably in Cultists' Kiss after reading the message from Lissalites. Shivers! Other highlights: In Wrath's Shadow, The Disappeared.
Season 5: The Horn of Aroden. It'll be horrible if you can't stand Lander, but other than that the scenario is likely my favorite 1-5 tierer so far. Sandboxy roleplaying scenarios are hard to do but this one hit it outta the park. The season is general is very good, but I've got to admit that I don't really like demons too much. Weapon in the Rift, Port Godless and Stranger Within are all good.
Season 6: The Technic Siege. Nantambu is very flavourful and cool and you get to sandbox it to death. What a day! Well designed foes, interesting approach to the final encounter, great NPC's and one of my fave chronicles ever. Other season top picks: The Overflow Archives, Valley of Veiled Flame, Fires of Karamoss.
Season 7(so far): Between the Lines. Lovely idea well presented, some interesting if hard to run foes and an antagonist who is not a villain. Curious and effective. This season has so far been another season 4. It has great stuff in it but often goes overboard with the opposition. I'd have liked more Occult stuff, but hey, there's still time. My other picks: To Judge a Soul part II, The Sun Orchid Scheme, Blakros Connection.
Specials: Legacy of the Stonelords. It's all about the twist. Just play it!
Sanctioned AP sections: Misgivings from RotRL 2. How-to of a haunted house. Decent story, nasty consequences and memorable foes.
Sanctioned Modules: Murder's Mark! What a fun outing in Varisia. NPC's finally in focus instead of dice rolling, cool carny milieu and some nice choices to boot. Also try: Cult of the Ebon Destroyers, The Harrowing and The Ruby Phoenix Tournament.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Season 0: Mists of Mwangi
Season 1: Hall of Drunken Heroes
Season 2: Wrath of the Accursed I've only played 1 other season 2 scenario though (excluding EotT)
Season 3: The Frostfur Captives
Season 4: The Disappeared
Season 5: You Have What You Hold Again I haven't played much of this season
Season 6: Hall of the Flesh Eaters I love a lot of season 6 scenarios, but right now I think this is my answer
Season 7: Thralls of the Shattered God I was really torn between this and Labyrinth of Hungry Ghosts which is a close second.
|
Season 0: Black Waters
This scenario is good all its own. It holds up to time, even without the Season 7 callback in School of Spirits (also pretty awesome).
Season 1: Eyes of the Ten 1
Without spoiling anything, it is that good.
Non-Seeker option: Hall of Drunken Heroes
Barfights, Temples, Osprey, <redacted>, 2x <redacted>s, and a freaking <redacted>-casting <redacted>. This scenario is legit.
Season 2: The Rebel's Ransom
Awesome puzzles, brutal combats, tricky traps. Welcome to the 5-9 tier, sucka!
Season 3: Rats of Round Mountain 1.
There's what in my tapestry? And before that, there are two 'holy s$!$' encounters. Well done, Mr. Baird.
Honorable Mention: The Ghennet Manor Gauntlet
Temmel Passad, you beautiful bastard.
Season 4: The Disappeared
Bond. Pathfinder Bond. (Or Mission: Impossible, or any number of spy-tropes. I dig the infiltration/espionage missions.
Season 5: You Have What You Hold
River pirates? Check. Arena battles? Check. Prisoners being fed to a gelatinous cube? Check. The BEST Venture Captain in the society? Check.
Season 6: From Under Ice
Disregard the people stating that Season 6 was weak. Season 6 was awesomely diverse- -this one stands out if you have a keen grasp of 'The Story So Far.' "How Gin" is my favorite dwarven ally ever.
Honorable Mention for Those Who Aren't Abreast of the Metaplot: The Overflow Archives
Craving something completely different? This one is awesome. And kind of wet.
Season 7: The Deepmarket Deception
Love Goka? Love infiltration? Love hard fights? You should. And this one does it well.
Module: The Ruby Phoenix Tournament
Can't get a group together for 40 hours of Eyes of the Ten? Here's the next-best-capstone to a PFS career.
Special: Siege of the Diamond City
This one feels tense. It's hectic, it's grandiose in scope, it's actually interactive (aid tokens =/= interaction). Siege of Serpents came close, but it's hard to beat the desperate feeling that Diamond City invokes.
|
|
Season 0: Black Waters (Appropriate mix of social interaction and solid fights. Plus an excellent story revisited later with great integration.)
Season 1: Eyes of the Ten I (Nothing can top it, it is worth all the scheduling headaches.) Honorable mention to Hall of Drunken Heroes for a good plot and unusual locale.
Season 2: You Only Die Twice (Great infiltration scenario with a brilliant twist taking you to a place not often touched on. Fairly solid challenges to overcome as well.) Honorable mention to The Flesh Collector for an excellent mystery and unique villain.
Season 3: The Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment (Another excellent exploration with a ton of social interaction and some deceptive challenges.)
Season 4: The Blakros Matrimony (Excellent start to the influence mechanics, lots of interactions with memorable NPCs and a few thematic fights to set up future plots.) Honorable mention to Severing Ties for another excellent infiltration mission.
Season 5: The Traitor's Lodge (SO much fun to be had here, despite the risk of some parties missing content thanks to a doomsday clock. Love to run this one and terrify some players while playing one of the funnest NPCs to act out.) Honorable mention to Where Mammoths Dare Not Tread for big bad beasty rumbles in the land of megafauna.
Season 6: Beacon Below (High level delving with great NPCs and Scarab Sage lore. Some seriously epic encounters to be had alongside excellent archeological exploration.) Honorable mention to Hall of the Flesh Eaters for a creepy delve into a well constructed location.
Season 7: All for Immortality I (Like the previous Seeker arc, it stands head and shoulders above the rest. The true purpose of the scenario is beautifully hidden behind the excellent if flawed encounters.) Honorable mention to Between the Lines for being a great opener and great introduction to PFS for new players.
Special: Legacy of the Stonelords (It was my 5-star table. The twist was beautiful. It's everything that Pathfinder Society should be.) Honorable mention to Siege of the Diamond City for being a desperate struggle for the entire room.
Module: Carrion Hill (I got roped into running this for my crew by one of our newest players. He did NOT know what he was getting into, and I terrified the party with the excellent retelling of Lovecraft's story.)
|
Season 0: Black Waters - I'm surprised nobody else picked this one, given its popularity. Great creepy theme and flavor, and interesting surprise ending.
EDIT: And while I'm typing, I get ninja'd by two people who both picked Black Waters.
Season 1: Assault on the Kingdom of the Impossble - While it completely fails to play up the island's unique flavor (making the title irrelevant), I just love the opening. As Nosig said above, being ordered to lose the first combat was just weird, and has groups wondering how to make it happen every time. This is one of my "go to" adventures to GM on the fly, so I've run it 5 or 6 times, and that first fight is always a blast.
Season 2: I'll go with Eyes of the Ten 3: Red Revolution, just for lack of a better choice. There were a lot of good scenarios this season, but nothing that stands out as great. I really want to say Murder on the Throaty Mermaid, because I had a great time playing that the first time, but the scenario just has too many flaws, as I discovered when I later GMed it.
Season 3: If season 2 was tough to choose due to lack of great options, season 3 has the opposite problem - too many great scenarios. I'll call it a tie between Frostfur Captives (RP with goblins!), Sewer Dragons of Absalom (interesting plot with kobolds), Quest for Perfection 3 (Defend the village!), Rats of Round Mountain 1 (possibly the best end boss in PFS history), and Storming the Diamond Gate (a tactical strike that's not the generic dungeon crawl you expect, with a massive final battle). I think season 3 was my favorite season overall.
Season 4: The Disappeared is probably still my favorite PFS scenario (though see my season 7 note, below). Just so much fun, and another of my "go to" scenarios to GM often, just to see the players' faces when certain things are revealed. Honorable mention to Rise of the Goblin Guild for one of the most memorable NPC's ever, and Night March of Kalkamedes for a terrific and unexpected ending.
Season 5: Believe it or not, I'll go with The Confirmation. Just a great intro for new players. But I took a break from PFS for a while, so I haven't played as much of seasons 5 and 6 as other seasons, so I may have missed some gems.
Season 6: The Silver Mount Collection - Tough, but flavorful. Not a flavor everyone will like (if you don't like lasers and robots in your medeival fantasy), but done well. Again, I didn't play as much of this season, so I probably missed some gems.
Season 7: The Sun Orchid Sceme - Remember what I said above about The Disappeared being my favorite scenario? This could give it a run for its money. So far, I only played it and had great time. I'm scheduled to GM it four times at GenCon, so once I read it and see how it goes to run it, this may surpass The Disappeared for that title.
Sanctioned Module: Feast of Ravenmoor - Another one with fun, creepy flavor, and some interesting encounters, both combat and non-combat. Honorable mention to We Be Goblins! and Masks of the Living God
Venture-Lieutenant, Florida—Melbourne
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Season 1: Assault on the Kingdom of the Impossble - While it completely fails to play up the island's unique flavor (making the title irrelevant), I just love the opening. As Nosig said above, being ordered to lose the first combat was just weird, and has groups wondering how to make it happen every time.
Not to mention...half the group trying to stop the other half of the group from winning because they didn't listen to the mission briefing.
"Why are you raging!?!"
"Stop casting Color Spray!"
|
|
Season 0: Mists of Mwangi
Was unsure whether to pick this one, or Black Waters as my choice for Season 0. Both are truly excellent, and atmospheric scenarios, which do a good job of putting the PCs in an otherworldly location. However, I believe Mists of Mwangi holds up better when pitted against 6 modern PCs.
Season 1: Voice in the Void
Yet another Blackrose scenario, but with good reason. Like Mists of Mwangi, this scenario focuses on building an oppressive atmosphere, culminating in a pitch-perfect, and suitably terrifying, boss fight. In the hands of an experienced GM who understands Cosmic Horror, this is a truly memorable scenario.
Honorable Mention: Eyes of the Ten 1
Believe the hype. I came into the arc with rock bottom expectations, but this scenario made me change my tune. Play it.
Season 2: Below Silver Tarn
This scenario is dark, moody, and atmospheric (noticing a trend yet?), probably the only true "horror" scenario in PFS. The scenario does an excellent job of nursing a sense of lingering dread, the feeling that something ancient, evil, and omnipresent is lurking just out of sight. Like Voice in the Void, it takes an experienced GM to truly make it shine, but it's worth the effort.
Season 3: Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment
I still hold this up as the gold standard for design in PFS, but I can't say anything more without giving it away. If you only play one PFS scenario ever, make sure it's this one.
Season 4: Severing Ties
If the Disappeared is an episode of Mission Impossible, then Severing Ties is an episode of Archer. The party is charged with going undercover as Aspis agents, and ruining the Consortium's reputation in Riddleport. The city is a delightful hive of scum and villainy, and the PCs are going to have plenty of chances to take advantage of some... ahem, unique opportunities. Definitely not for small children, or the overly serious, but still a bucket of fun, and a great opportunity to behave badly.
Season 5: Scars of the Third Crusade*
Now, I put the asterisk up there, because this recommendation comes with a caveat. If ran strictly as written, this is an interesting, but fatally flawed scenario. The town isn't fleshed out, the atmosphere is non-existent, and the characters are little more than cardboard cutouts.
However, if you use the conversion guide from the GM thread, the scenario absolutely comes alive. The characters become some of the most complex and memorable in PFS, the added NPCs do a great job of fleshing out the story and themes, the descriptions of the town makes it feel truly alive, and the added weather effects do a great job of adding to desperate atmosphere.
Honorable Mentions: Weapon in the Rift, Port Godless
Season 6: Of Kirin and Kraken
I will be the first to admit that I don't like Tian Xia. Copy/Pasting real world ethnic groups and mythology into a fantasy world feels tacky, and I've never felt like the land got fleshed out beyond generic samurai/anime stereotypes. Also not a fan of the Lantern Lodge, or fetch quests.
So... I came into this scenario ready to hate it. What I got, was a scenario which just oozed love and care. The author clearly poured their heart and soul into making the encounters unique, and it shows. The Cultists of the Deep are some of the most interesting, unnerving, and threatening humanoid creatures I've seen in PFS, the Caretaker is memorable, whether you fight or talk, and the final boss.
You couldn't pay me to spoil the final boss. All I can say is this: The second he showed up, my jaw hit the floor. After composing myself, I spent the entire fight with a massive, stupid grin on my face.
Honorable Mention: The Fires of Karamoss
Season 7: Abducted in Aether
This one is fairly new, so I'll keep this as short as possible.
Play Abducted in Aether, at high tier if possible. You won't regret it.
Special: Siege of the Diamond City
Don't know why the author of this one hasn't been commissioned to write all the specials. Unlike most of the other specials, this one just feels epic. There's a very real sense of terror and dread, as the party clamors to stop the demonic onslaught. It's also the only good example of interaction between tiers (seriously, stop with the freakin' tokens.), and only special that actually feels special.
Exclusive: Serpents' Rise
While I have yet to receive my copy of Serpents' Ire, I can say that it'll have big shoes to fill.
This scenario has lovingly built characters, creative backstories, and best boss fights since Kirin and Kraken. It's gonna be difficult to get a table for this, but it's absolutely worth it.
|
In terms of scenarios I had the most fun playing:
Season 0: #5 The Mists of Mwangi
Season 1: #40 "Halls of Drunken Heroes"
Season 2: #2-02: Before the Dawn—Part II: Rescue at Azlant Ridge
Season 3: #3-01: The Frostfur Captives
Season 4: #4–11: The Disappeared
Season 5: #5–07: Port Godless
Season 6: #6–13: Of Kirin and Kraken
Season 7: #7–08—To Judge a Soul, Part 2: Karma Reclaimed (So far! Though Abducted in Aether looks good!)
|
|
Season 1: Assault on the Kingdom of the Impossble - While it completely fails to play up the island's unique flavor (making the title irrelevant), I just love the opening. As Nosig said above, being ordered to lose the first combat was just weird, and has groups wondering how to make it happen every time.Not to mention...half the group trying to stop the other half of the group from winning because they didn't listen to the mission briefing.
"Why are you raging!?!"
"Stop casting Color Spray!"
As I said, I've GMed this 5 or 6 times, and I've never had that problem.
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I haven't played all of the scenarios, of course, so I'm probably missing some good ones.
Season 0: Frozen Fingers of Midnight. Dunno why. I really enjoyed this one when I played through it. The GM running the PbP made the NPCs come alive. It was one of my earlier PFS scenarios, too. Mists of Mwangi is a close second, as is Silent Tide. I agree that Silent Tide is a nice introduction.
Season 1: I'm going to leave Eyes of the Ten out of consideration; it's not a "normal" scenario. I know others haven't. Whatever. There are several from this season I like. I agree with some of the ones people threw in above. But I want to throw in a recognition of Citadel of Flame.
Season 2: You Only Die Twice. Lots of other good ones. Fond of The Flesh Collector, even if the cook did whack my character with an iron skillet every time we walked through the room.
Season 3: The God's Market Gamble. I think my character still has the fake "apple bitten by Norgorber" on his inventory sheet.
Season 4: Night March of Kalkamedes, but close seconds are Golemworks Incident and Blakros Matrimony. Don't play Waking Rune unless you loved Bonekeep.
Season 5: The Wardstone Patrol. This one gets across the creepiness and despair of fighting in the Worldwound. Lots of other good ones this season.
Season 6: The Overflow Archives. Great fun. From Under Ice is a close second.
Season 7: Captive in Crystal. I may have imprinted on this by running it once before PaizoCon and five times at PaizoCon, but its got great fights, great NPCs, great story, great setting, great roleplay. School of Spirits is a close second.
Exclusive: Serpent's Rise rocks. True Dragons of Absalom is also very cool, but needs more time so the end bit doesn't get rushed.
|
|
Season 0: King Zeros of Old Azlant Be warned this scenario is hard (at least one of the combats), but it lead to some great stories and even one home brewed module for level 13 players.
Season 1: EoTT Maze of the Open Road or Voice in the Void Voice was my first scenario to run and I love the atmosphere/ambiance would probably run this any time I could. But Eyes overall is amazing, I personally (not the table) had a bad time at Part 1 and Part 2 is where the links to the past really start coming into their own.
Season 2: Year of the Shadow Lodge Despite some very good recent specials this one is probably still my favorite. This is also probably my most incomplete season
Season 3: Rats of Round Mountain Very well linked 2 part series, and the final combat of part 1 is really cool. Well done. (Frostfur, Temple of Epyreal Enlightenment, Sacred Rune, and Golden Serpent all came to mind as well)
Season 4: Severing Ties Quite possibly the best season overall (IMO). There's plenty that could be mentioned here (Golemworks, Blakros Matrimony, The Disappeared, Night March, etc.) but I loved playing and running Severing Ties, a very limited sandbox mission that felt appropriately railroaded but loose.
Season 5: Weapon in the Rift Close one with a few others (Library of the Lion being chief among them), but I like the combats/setup of this one better. Overall a really good season, though it cpntains a heavy contender for my least favorite scenario
Season 6: Valley of the Veiled Flame Probably the only season that competes with season 4 for best season (IMO). Valley is a nice mix of rare locale, decent combats (though some are a bit easy), and good social, same author as my season 5 pick. Honorable mentions: Overflow (quirky characters), and Test for Tar Kuata (best single opponent combat I've seen)
Season 7: Abducted in Aether Could really use more than a 4 hour slot, but it's doable. The combats are hard but give the GM lots of options to suit the table, the first locale is amazing (in fact whole days of home games could be spent here) and the NPCs are very interesting/inhabitable. (This season has been pretty good overall but it does contain my other offender for worst scenario, also contains at least one puzzle that feels like it got messed up between hand over and printing, but that's a different scenario)
Adventure Path: Reign of Winter Atmosphere/mythos/everything about it. (Though I will say it feels like Reign of Winter and Giantslayer spent too much time together and Giantslayer ends up looking like Reign of Winter (in the crunchy bits), pretty often). Book 1 is endlessly repeatable and ends in one of the great OMG moments.
Module: Ruby Phoenix It's got something for everyone, the combats are varied and some are amazing. For a nice level range to prep for Eyes, or play as Seekers.
Specials: Serpent's Rise If I could play it more I would. It would make my list for I'll run it any time I can.
|
|
Season 0: Mists of Mwangi: This is an enjoyable museum ride.
Season 1: The Jester's Fraud and Pallid Plague: This season for most part seems quite unispired but these are scenarios that still work fine. Of course the best of the bunch for me is EoTT Maze of the Open Road which was a fantastic experience.
Season 2: Before the Dawn - part 1: Bloodcove Disguise: This is fun infiltration scenario to a place pathfinders a not welcome. Leads to the second part which is a lot different but has some epicness to it.
Season 3: The Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment: I like the open approach and the vibe you can get from this place. Has also a bit of everything so different kind of groups should manage.
Season 4: The Golemworks Incident: There's a great villain and some nice challenges all around. Disappeared: Is also another great scenario which gives you a different kind of mission.
Season 5: Port Godless: A nice sandbox and some good encounters.
Season 6: Beacon Below: This is a nice scenario for a skill oriented party but there's also some choices to be made and a nice mix of opponents.
Season 7: Ancient's Anguish: This is just a nice mix of skills, exploration, roleplaying and combat. I also really enjoyed Abducted in Aether for the locale and NPC:s
|
|
0-11 The 3rd Riddle This crazy scenario has a bandit caravan chase, delves into some neat Golarion lore and has a series of encounters that brains help as much as being able to kill things. The encounters are probably a little hard and it feels balanced for 6 rather than 4.
1-46 Eyes of the Ten p1 An amazing capstone to a PFS career. Makes it all worth it.
2-09 Hersey of Man p3 Important plot reveal, epic combat, unique and very special reward.
3-26 Portal of the Sacred Rune An suitable epic season finalle with interesting hazards and memorable foes.
4-11 The disappeared This unique mission impossible-ish scenario will leave players on their toes the entire scenario.
5-08 The Confirmation The first evergreen with changable encounters to help keep it fresh, along with memorable NPCs and a powerful foe who can be made reasonable through the use of things on hand.
6-05 Hall of the Flesh Eaters This is a really cool location and I'm looking forward to getting to go back.
Venture-Lieutenant, Washington—Pullman
|
0-05 Mists of Mwangi- All about that last fight.
2-01 Bloodcove Disguise p1- Love the sneaking around.
3-26 Portal of the Sacred Runes- Fantastic location, Great enemies, amazing opportunities.
5-12 Destiny of Sands P1- I LOVE GMing this scenario. An entire scenario of creative solutions.
Those are my favorites.
Venture-Captain, Netherlands
|
Season 0: Blackwaters is really cool. But the prince of Augustana is a good second.
Season 1: Hall of Drunken heroes was very, very cool. Voice in the void will also have a special place in my heart.
Season 2: Below the Silver Tarn. Man, we were scared. It was so awesome. The flesh collector does come really close. Hard pick between the two.
Season 3: Tide of Twilight is one of my alltime favorites. But season three has a lot of scenarios that I like. Frostfur captives. Sewer dragons, Ghenet manor, haunting of hinojay, RATS OF ROUND MOUNTAIN!!!!
Season 4: The Disappeared. Hands down.
Season 5: Library of the Lion was cool.
Season 6: I played very little of season 6. Trial by Machine is my personal favorite. I love the investigation.
As a GM I loved making everyone paranoid in Hall of the Flesheaters. Good solid scenario. The Segang Expedition was also very good.
|
Venture-Agent, Netherlands—Utrecht
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Some shared spaces, because I can't choose.
Season 0: Our Lady of Silver. The story is just so terribly weird. And that opening scene. Prince Ali, fabulous he, Ali Ababwa...
Black Waters and King Xeros are good runners up. BW is just amazingly atmospheric, King Xeros is just so out there.
Season 1: Eyes of the Ten. Everything's already been said about this. It's truly the highlight of your career.
Runner up: Assault on the Kingdom of the Impossible. That first fight is just so memorable.
Season 2: Rebel's Ransom, Below the Silver Tarn, and Forbidden Furnace of Forgotten Koor are all amazing. The first is a good puzzler, the second and third just have amazing atmospheres, especially Forgotten Koor. Someone had been watching Aladdin right before writing that scenario.
Season 3: Ghenett Manor Gauntlet, Haunting of Hinojai, Golden Serpent and Storming the Diamond Gate all have a special place in my heart. GMG and Haunting are devious, Golden Serpent has an amazing opening, and Diamond Gate is just great fun.
Season 4: Golemworks Incident! I just felt dirty afterwards, the atmosphere was amazing. The villain was amazing, and a departure from the standard "I'm gonna rule the world" stuff. Cultist's Kiss is also really good if your GM has a flair for certain NPCs. We had incredible fun.
Season 5: Library of the Lion. Horn of Aroden is a close second, for the amazing NPC.
Season 6: Valley of the Veiled Flame. Reason why is a spoiler.
Season 7: Blakros Connection. I've heard some people have problems with it, and I understand why, but for me, it just clicked. This scenario has everything for me. School of Spirits is a close second, and Bronze House Reprisal is third, because I always wanted to be part of a SWAT team. Thralls of the Shattered God is also somewhere up there. It's an excellent dungeon crawler.
|
RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 8
|
This is my list of favorites to GM from each season. Need to do all of Season 7 before I assemble my thoughts there.
1-40, Hall of Drunken Heroes
2-07, Heresy of Man pt. 2
3-26, Portal of the Sacred Rune
4-15, The Cyphermage Dilemma
5-11 Library of the Lion
6-15 The Overflow Archives
6-98 Serpent's Rise (bonus scenario!)
WE BE GOBLINS!
Cult of the Ebon Destroyers
|
|
Season 2: Flesh Collector
Hey! I ran that one for you. Glad you liked it.
(Not counting Eyes of the Ten)
Season 0: Mists of Mwangi
Season 1: Hall of Drunken Heroes
Season 2: The Flesh Collector
Season 3: The Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment
Season 4: Toss up between The Blakros Matrimony and Waking Rune, but like many, it's probably my favorite season as well.
Season 5: The Traitor's Lodge
Season 6: Of Kirin and Kraken
Season 7: Ancient's Anguish (Bid for Alabastrine is close)
Special: The Sky Key Solution
Exclusive: Day of the Demon
Module: From Shore to Sea
|
|
Season 0: Mists of Mwangi
Season 1: Eyes of the Ten—Part I: Requiem for the Red Raven
Season 2: Before the Dawn—Part I: The Bloodcove Disguise
Season 3: The Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment
Season 4: The Blakros Matrimony stands out, but the competition is hard. The Night March of Kalkamedes and The Disappeared are also favourites.
Season 5: Library of the Lion, with The Traitor's Lodge not far behind.
Season 6: The Beacon Below, although as many have mentioned before, it was a rather unmemorable season after such great quality in seasons 3 to 5.
Season 7: I'll reserve my judgement for this one since I haven't played beyond 7-16. I have the feeling that I'll thoroughly enjoy "Thralls of a Shattered God" since I've loved playing The Traitor's Lodge, but I won't know that until I play it. Until then, I have to go with The Blakros Connection
Special: Serpents Rise
Module: Carrion Hill
|
|
Without reading any other posts to change my mind...
Season 0: Tide of Morning (#1 Fave still)
Season 1: City of Strangers, Part I
Season 2: Shades of Ice I: Written in Blood
Season 3: Portal of the Sacred Rune
Season 4: The Waking Rune (though *so* many good ones)
Season 5: Destiny of the Sands 2: Race to Seeker's Folly (Mammoths a close 2nd)
Season 6: The Overflow Archives
Season 7: Ancient's Anguish
Special: Siege of Diamond City
Exclusive: True Dragons of Absalom (fantastic, though not a lot of competition)
Module: The Harrowing
Honorable mention: Forbidden Furnace of Forgotten Koor, probably the least-known, really exciting adventure. Have only run it once myself, but it nearly snagged the Season 2 spot from some really strong competition.
Faction mention: Osirion, from Heresy of Man I (great except for one annoying mechanic encounter) to Shadow's Last Stand II. Really felt meaningful to me, even with a large time gap between them.
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 32
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I'll happily chime in.
Season 0: Our Lady of Silver
Wonderful scenario, one of my favorites. It requires a bit of work from the GM to bring it to life, but if the GM is good at ad libbing and is good at adding roleplay that is hinted at but not specifically called for in the scenario, this one features everything from a dinner party to a murder mystery to a courtroom drama, all set in the woefully underused land of Qadira. Levels 5-9.
Season 1: Eyes of the Ten, Part 1
In my opinion, Season 1 is a bit lacklustre, but this one really has stood the test of time as one of the best scenarios ever written. It's got a wonderful plot, tough combat and surprises at every turn, all the while rewarding players who know their Pathfinder lore. Level 12.
If we exclude the Eyes of the Ten series, I'd put in Hall of Drunken Heroes instead.
Season 2: Beneath the Silver Tarn
This is one of the most original stories that PFS has told. It's got a really gripping horror-themed plot with some really unique social encounters. Strongly recommended. Levels 7-11.
Season 3: The Gods' Market Gamble
CSI: Golarion. What could go wrong? I've ran this thing 10-20 times, and it never gets old. It's a wonderful investigative scenario that never fails to grip players. Levels 1-5.
Season 4: The Golemworks Incident
Another investigative scenario, this one really stands out for the truly, uniquely creepy final boss. The reaction of the players as they realize culprit's identity is always priceless. Levels 5-9.
Season 5: The Traitor's Lodge
This is a delightful scenario in which the players explore an abandoned Pathfinder lodge FILLED TO THE BRIM WITH HORRIFIC, VILE ABOMINATIONS. It has a number of unique maps, several excellent roleplay opportunities AND A FINAL ENCOUNTER THAT YOUR PLAYERS WILL SEE IN THEIR NIGHTMARES. Levels 3-7, FOOLISH MORTALS.
Season 6: The Wounded Wisp
In my opinion, this is the best introductory scenario ever written. It has multiple features which switch between adventures, meaning that even people replaying it can get something out of it. It also does an excellent job of introducing players to Pathfinder lore and gently informing them of the types of equipment they should have around. Levels 1-2.
Season 7: All For Immortality, Part 1
I can't say too much, as I don't want to spoil this one, but it's a supremely well-done seeker-level scenario that actually runs in a timely fashion. Levels 12-15.
Honorable mentions:
Season 0:
Black Waters
Season 1:
The City of Strangers series
Hall of Drunken Heroes
Season 2:
Murder on the Throaty Mermaid
Eyes of the Ten 3
Season 3:
Ghennet Manor Gauntlet
Sewer Dragons of Absalom
Haunting of Hinojai
Season 4:
Severing Ties
King of the Storval Stairs
Feast of Sigils
Season 5:
The Hellknight's Feast
Season 6:
The Darkest Abduction
Of Kirin and Kraken
Season 7:
School of Spirits
The Blakros Connection
|
Venture-Agent, Netherlands—Utrecht
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
We did spend most of the slot singing songs from Alladin...Season 0: Our Lady of Silver. The story is just so terribly weird. And that opening scene. Prince Ali, fabulous he, Ali Ababwa...
Wait a minute. A PFS Musical? That's my kind of game!
Hmm
The opening encounter is basically this. If you GM this, make sure to play this in the background at least once or so.
I don't consider myself really proficient with social encounters, but this scenario practically ran itself. This is a weird scenario, even for season 0. This scenario has the most content in a scenario I've seen up until season 5, and yet it's only 18 pages. It's amazing.|
|
Season 0-Mists of Mwangi, although Prince of Augustana has my favorite in-game VC.
Season 1-Voice in the Void
Season 2-Murder on the Throaty Mermaid (I really need to play season 2)
Season 3-Frostfur Captives
Season 4-Severing Ties
Season 5-Weapon in the Rift
Season 6-Trial by Machine
Season 7-Deepmarket Deception
Special-Serpent's Rise
Module-Carrion Hill
A lot of these are flavored by nostalgia for me. They trend lower since we do a lot more 1-5 than anything else, but these were probably either the most fun I've had playing or they're a scenario that piqued by interest to consider putting on my calendar.
|
Venture-Agent, Massachusetts—Boston Metro
|
Season 5: The Traitor's Lodge
This is a delightful scenario in which the players explore an abandoned Pathfinder lodge FILLED TO THE BRIM WITH HORRIFIC, VILE ABOMINATIONS. It has a number of unique maps, several excellent roleplay opportunities AND A FINAL ENCOUNTER THAT YOUR PLAYERS WILL SEE IN THEIR NIGHTMARES. Levels 3-7, FOOLISH MORTALS.
One of the most interesting story lines in PFS but that ending encounter was just odd more than anything as it kind of didn't fit theme. I get why it was there but still it could have been something less random.
|
|
How? You'll gets hints that Thurl has powerful allies throughout the dungeon. Indeed, the very door through which you enter gets this little tidbit:
The heavy iron door that leads into the basement is undecorated and unlocked, but the other agents report that until recently it practically glowed with Abyssal runes. Spells like detect magic can identify a lingering aura of abjuration magic.
"Wait, there's still an aura after months? Did they get freakin' Merlin to do it?"
|
Venture-Agent, Massachusetts—Boston Metro
|
How? You'll gets hints that Thurl has powerful allies throughout the dungeon. Indeed, the very door through which you enter gets this little tidbit:
"Wait, there's still an aura after months? Did they get freakin' Merlin to do it?"
The heavy iron door that leads into the basement is undecorated and unlocked, but the other agents report that until recently it practically glowed with Abyssal runes. Spells like detect magic can identify a lingering aura of abjuration magic.
Yeah all of them are abyssal and beyond our comprehension until you reach the last one. Of all the things to corrupt Thurl that is what they choose? Long running plot NPC would have been a better choice to use. And mind you Im being nitpicking and there could be a potentially in game plot reason to use that character but still its odd.