PFS2 4-13: Within the Prairies

[logsig]

Copying discussion here from the PaizoCon planning Discord server back from when this scenario was still SUPER SEKRIT.

*****

First, the obligatory stat block complaints, about which there is really nothing to be done, but should obviate the need for any other GM to point them out.

Hedron wrote:

Suncatcher Blooms (p. 18 & 23). The Stealth DC of the low tier version is 21. The Stealth DC of the high tier version is 17...

I have been noticing more more curious things like this lately... but the low-tier version of Suhko has a +10 Perception, and the High Tier version has a +8 Perception. Having worked on the stats further... the high tier verison of Suhko inexplicably loses the Arcana skill... and gains Deception and Stealth. She also loses a point in Intimidation for going up two levels... Her attack bonus with her living hair decreases (which, granted, shouldn't be her go to anyway...) And her armor class remains... the same in both versions.

The Meddlesome Scrit from low tier and the Troublesome Scrit from high tier have the exact same stat blocks with the exception that one is marked as Level -1 and the the other Level 1. Same hp, ac, spell dcs, same attack, same damage...
Oh... actually the higher level one has a spell DC one lower than the 'weaker' one.
I have looked the scrits over a bit, trying to figure out what the intention was for them. I am guessing that the low level version (given its level) is suppose to be a 'weak' adjusted scrit... but as a zero level monster that shouldn't reduce it's hp... so that makes no sense. The higher level one is clearly just wrong. (being identical with the exception of the higher level one having lower DCs...)

AndeGM wrote:

the damage on the Weak Air Mephit is applied correctly to its Breath Weapon. however, the damage on the Elite Burrowing Viper Rat is not applied correctly to its Burrowing Viper Rat Poison

*****

Regarding the Blue Bison Jerky and the text mentioning that it should be given as a gift to either the gunsmith or the mayor.

Hedron wrote:

Blue Bison Jerky: Given to the PCs with instructions to use as a gift, there is no mention of what (mechanically) this does anywhere in the adventure. My plan is to leave it in, for flavor reasons, but to remove any mention of it being a useful gift in negotiations.

Alex Speidel (OPC) wrote:

It doesn't look like the benefit is explicitly called out, no. I leave it to the GM to determine an appropriate boon for presenting the jerky to either of the individuals.

Saphireking wrote:

I think a +2 circumstance bonus to an Impression check is a good mechanical bonus for Whiirii, and for the Mayor, a bonus on the Request check (since the other things reduce the DC instead)

*****

Regarding the starting positions for the final combat

Hedron wrote:

Final Encounter Placement: There is some inconsistency with the flavor text, listed strategy of the foes, and the map markers on where everyone should be in the final encounter. I plan to put Suhko right next to the travelers, the rest of the monsters where they are marked on the map, and the PCs in-between them.

Getting the Travelers to Flee: It isn't completely clear what happens when the PCs get the travelers to 'snap out of it' and flee. For ease, if they succeed I will simply immediately remove them from battle and have Suhko turn her attention fully to the PCs.

*****

Regarding the lore referenced in the scenario

Hedron wrote:

For any GMs running this scenario who enjoy injecting a bit of lore, I would highly recommend reading over p.206-207 of Guns and Gears which covers the aforementioned Crowned Regents and the Star Code.

Short(er) version: The Crowned Regents were "a gaunt, isolationist people who inhabited monasteries high in the Mildanesi Mountains. Imposing and mute, with stone crowns protruding from their long heads, these recluses gave no name for themselves but became known as the Crowned Regents." Who vanished long, long ago... around -5111 AR.

The Star Code is a sort of chivalric-like code of the ancient hero-warriors of Arcadia: "to never attack an unarmed opponent, to give parley to the weak who request it, to eschew deceit, to honor the terms of a duel, to respect one’s star gun, and many more rules that vary in the retelling."

*****

Regarding the combat difficulty

Eric Nielsen wrote:

The encounters for this scenario all feel significantly under tuned. Both high and low tiers I ran were cake walks for the parties. Felt like everyone had fun though. Low tier, I would especially advise against weak templates on level 1 creatures. I think it's not yielding a level 0 as desired, but something weaker than a -1.

(advice for editors/authors, obviously not something gms can change)

[Darrell Impey UK]

Are GMs still required to run as written, despite these obvious errors?
(Barring an official correction obviously.)

[NielsenE]

Yes, until we have an official correction, we run as written.

[Darrell Impey UK]

"The scrit fights until reduced to 10 Hit Points or fewer..."

They have a maximum Hp of 8... [sigh]

[Hilary Moon Murphy]

My poor Scrits didn't survive long enough to run away. They and their smudgy fingers were bull-dozed by my players.

[Darrell Impey UK]

Hilary Moon Murphy wrote:

My poor Scrits didn't survive long enough to run away. They and their smudgy fingers were bull-dozed by my players.

(Expecting the same...)

[Darrell Impey UK]

Yep, the Scrits all died to a single area attack, one failure a d two crit failures...

More relevant question though; players took the witch and her familiar alive, one character is also a witch, is familuar to familiar spell copying allowed from a captive enemy? (I'm guessing that it would be the same as finding a wizard's spellbook after a battle.)

[GM Computerpro82]

For the starting positions in the final fight, which is considered running as written? The position on the map or the position described in the text. I am inclined to consider the text more authoritative than the map positioning, which feels like a late add.

Does anybody else find the Tiny Drakes underwhelming?

[LeftHandShake]

I posted these questions on the OPO Discord server yesterday, but haven't received any response, so I'll repeat them here:

1) The section entitled "Repairing Hatahasi" begins with the phrase, "Repairing Hatahasi requires the PCs to succeed at three DC 15 skill checks". The paragraph then provides an outcome for what happens if they succeed two or more times, but does not describe what happens if they succeed less than three times and thus fail to repair Hatahasi. After the box text, the next paragraph begins, "Once Hatahasi is repaired, Whiirii offers the PCs a drake rifle." What if it isn't? Does the scenario end right then in failure? Do they just not get the drake rifle? The scenario's success conditions don't make any mention of actually repairing Hatahasi, which is the entire point of the adventure.

2) In encounter B, the air mephits are specified to attempt to Disarm a PC, but their Athletics modifier is +1. The OrgPlay table variance rules allow a GM to change specified enemy tactics in some situations; is this one of them?

3) In encounter C, the text says, "the scrit fights until reduced to 10 hit points or fewer ... at which point he attempts to flee". In low subtier, this enemy only has 8 hit points, which is fewer than 10. Does it flee immediately at the start of the encounter? Is there GM permission to fix that?

In response to a prior question: yes, your familiar can learn spells from other familiars. Player Core, p181 (similar text is in the APG): "You and your familiar can use the Learn a Spell activity to teach your familiar a spell from another witch’s familiar. Both familiars must be present for the entirety of the activity, the spell must be on your
spellcasting tradition’s spell list, and you must pay the usual cost for that activity, typically in the form of an offering to the other familiar’s patron."

What's omitted from that rule is any mention of *consent* from the other familiar-- it just says they have to be there, not that they have to actually allow you to do so. In this adventure, there's no benefit to doing so: by the time you could capture Runt, the adventure is over and you can learn spells for the same cost anyway.