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I ran this for the first time this past weekend, during PaizoCon Europe Online. I have some comments and questions about it, and would love to hear what other GMs think about these:
1a) I found the setup overly complicated. You get contacted by the Venture-Captain, who asks you to meet with the Prince's advisor, who brings in the surviving victim, who mentions the first victim.
1b) Why is the Prince requesting the help of the Society? His soldiers were good enough to defeat the assassins, and his magical advisors were able to extract the approximate location of the Usij ruins. Why wouldn't he send his own troops to deal with the cultists instead of asking some foreigners to handle the situation?
2) Why would the party stop at the oasis if they're provided all the supplies they need at the start? My group headed straight to the ruins. I solved the situation by having one of the camels spooked and unretrievable during the Swarming Insects desert event, forcing the group to go to the oasis to re-supply.
3) The Fierce Sandstorm's effects (straight up damage) just before the party reaches the Wellspring is completely irrelevant, since there is no immediate threat of combat. My group just Treated Wounds/used lay on hands once they reached the entrance. It would be much more impactful if it gave fatigue for an hour or two.
4) It would have been nice to mention that there is no map for the Entrance, Stairs, Corridor and Lost Temple areas. Since they're interior locations, I initially expected them to have maps, and I thought for a few moments that Paizo had accidentally left them out of the published version.
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First, I would like to ask you not to duplicate a topic that is already on the forum (https://paizo.com/threads/rzs43fv1?221-In-Pursuit-of-Water).
1a) Yes, this is a slightly overloaded introduction. Nevertheless, my players liked it - at least because of the strangeness of this. Personally, I presented this as a feature of the local culture - in principle, this is how it happened in the Ottoman Empire, for example.
1b) I hinted to the players that their task is a kind of check of the Pathfinder Society from the prince. If they cope, the Company will be offered new, more .. delicate orders. It is quite logical to use a multinational corporation to solve cases that you officially cannot participate in.
2) I explained to my players that it will be much faster and easier to travel along the caravan paths, and then to the ruins, than to independently make a path through the desert, in which there are creatures that can devour whole caravans (and this is true - just look at the Bestiary) It is quite logical that caravan routes bypass dangerous places and are laid along the most convenient routes.
3) I agree, from the point of view of injuries, Fierce Sandstorm is useless. However, he forces the party to waste time healing in a place where the countdown to the event is important. However, I agree that it would have been more impactful if it gave fatigue for an hour or two.
4) I agree entirely.)