PFS2 7-22 The Handmaiden's Gaze

[Christopher Waterfield]

I'm currently prepping this for Origins and I have a question about the final encounter. The text on page 6 says that the players control 2 ******. The map on page 9 is only big enough for the PCs and 1 ******. Handout #3 shows 1 ****** instead of 2. For this to truly be a Severe encounter, I think the correct number is 1 ******, but wanted to see if someone who knows more about encounter design can confirm or deny.

[logsig]

Obligatory reminder that the street release date of PFS2 7-22 is July 1st (3 weeks from today) so the only people who know what ****** refers to would be GMs prepping for a con who got an early drop of the PDF.

[RedOrca]

I took a look at the scenario. Unless I did my math wrong, zero of the ****** would be exactly Severe for six level 11 PCs. Even one ****** pushes the fight under Severe, so I think giving them one is probably the right call here.

Adding allies on the PCs' side directly adds to the encounter budget XP. In this case, the budget is 180 XP (Severe for six PCs), so a PL+0 ally adds its 40 XP directly to that, for a total of 220 XP. It makes me wonder if someone forgot that the new scenarios are balanced for six PCs, not four.

[RedOrca]

I looked at the scenario a bit more thoroughly, and I think two of the ****** is the intent. However, that means the encounter's difficulty is actually Low instead of Severe (using the skirmish encounter difficulty rules).

The easy solution is to limit tables to four PCs, plus two ******. Four level 11s use standard difficulty, which is just under Severe. Removing the weak template from the strongest enemy makes it exactly Severe. Four level 12s use harder difficulty, which is exactly Severe.

If you decide to let them field three ****** (which the scenario allows), you'll be under Severe, so you might want to just run the fight on harder regardless.