Scenario Starts mid action - sans Venture-Captain?

[OctopusMacbeth]

Hey.

Looking for a Pathfinder adventure that starts right in the middle of action (in medias res, as the kids are saying these days), as opposed to a load-up meeting with Venture-Captain Tom Exposition.

Any insights as to scenarios/adventures I should check out?

[NielsenE]

For PFS2, there's a fair number that start with the agents on the road, with their mission briefing in a letter. These can be a bit briefer since there's no Q&A with the VC and often the letter are a bit more short and to the point. However none of them jump straight to action that I can think of, you typically still arrive a secondary briefer.

Partially this is due to needing/wanting the 'briefing' 'boons/school items determination' 'investigation/combats/etc' ordering. They don't like making you slot boons before you have some idea of whats coming.

The forthcoming Bounties (replacing Quest line) might fit your needs.

[Gnollvalue]

Definite middle of action.

Mid-combat? No, none that I can think of.

No story, middle of dungeon. If you're playing 2e, check out 1-17.

[NielsenE]

True 1-17 is closer to picking up in the middle, but its a two-parter and I really wouldn't recommend jumping in to part two w/o playing part one.

[Tomppa]

For PFS1, the season 10 adventure "Oathbreakers Die" is a pretty "in the middle of action" start, even if it does have a venture captain give you the breafing.

For PFS2, Quest 10 does have a short, sort of briefing, but starts very-action oriented anyway.

[Nefreet]

I feel like there were a handful of such missions in the early seasons of PFS1, but I can't for the life of me remember which ones they were.

Nothing really in PFS2, likely for the Boons reason stated up thread.

[Watery Soup]

PFS1 #10-01 Oathbreakers Die:

Venture Captain dies before the briefing

[OctopusMacbeth]

PFS1 #01-11: The Third Riddle

Show:

The VC’s briefing is in flashback, then you immediately begin the race against Aspis.

PFS1 #02-13: The Throaty Mermaid

Show:

The VC’s briefing is in flashback, and aquatic elves begin boarding before the PCs act.

PFS1 #08-13: Hrethnar’s Throne

Show:

The VC’s briefing is interrupted by ballistae breaching the hull of the Grinning Pixie.

PFS1 #10-01: Oathbreakers Die

Show:

The VC’s briefing is interrupted by his own poisoning.

[Woran]

A few of the old PF1 scenarios (season 4 and earlier) had scenarios start with a flashback to the mission briefing, but otherwise with the mission already underway.

(as a generalisation, this is to do away with travel time. You are now at location X, and you think back to the VC telling you to get to X and why)

[andreww]

I seem to recall that the Fiend series (Fingerprints, Fury, Fate) did something like that.