Pathfinder Society Scenario # 10-02: "Bones of Biting Ants" [RPG]

SPOILERS

I was a player in this at low tier, and afterwards read it for this review.  Bones of Biting Ants has a lot that on the surface makes it seem like it'll be reminiscent of a Season 0 or 1 type of scenario, but it actually has a much deeper spine.  It involves a player-facing sub-system that was a bit jarring at first but I can now see and appreciate (in retrospect) what it was trying to accomplish.  It's not a perfect adventure, but there's enough interesting and original features in it to make it one worth seeking out.

NO SPOILERS

Bones of Biting Ants starts at the Pathfinder lodge in Eleder, a town in Sargava that borders the Mwangi Expanse.  Venture-Captain Finze Bellaugh (who doesn't have much description or personality in the scenario) starts telling the PCs about a former field agent named Stuinvolk who had a disastrous journey into the Mwangi interior a decade previously.  Stuinvolk's company recovered some ancient artifacts (pertaining to a sorcerer from millenia ago named the King of Biting Ants), but on their way back were ambushed by local tribespeople named the Mzali.  The rest of Stuinvolk's party were slain one by one during a harrowing attempt to escape the savannah, until Stuinvolk himself was captured and staked out to die in a field of ants' nests.  However, a strange type of gremlin called a nuno set Stuinvolk free after leaving him with a permanent disfiguring curse as a reminder never to trespass into the area again.  In the decade since, Stuinvolk has been a shattered figure, suffering from nightmares and what today we would call PTSD.  The Pathfinders are to escort Stuinvolk back into the Mwangi interior to retrace the steps of his escape.  (based on the backstory, I wondered then and still if this scenario was a sequel to an earlier one?)

This scenario is one in which what the players take away as their goals from the initial mission briefing could be something different than what the author assumes, and that can lead to some major problems. The Venture-Captain's final words to the players are "Find the treasures, compel the nuno to lift the curse, but most of all, help Stuinvolk find peace."  The mistake I made as a player was in thinking that the first two things (recover artifacts, lift curse) were the "real" goals of the mission, and the "help Stuinvolk find peace" bit would be accomplished through getting the curse lifted.  However, it turns out that the opposite is true.  The scenario assumes the PCs make multiple attempts each day of the expedition to gain insight into what Stuinvolk is going through and to try to connect with him on a deeper level.  This is represented by a fairly elaborate mechanical sub-system drawing on the Influence rules from Ultimate Intrigue.  The PCs need to accumulate "empathy points", and the number of successes they get determine Stuinvolk's mood, how easy or hard it is to influence him further, how much he helps the party (in quite specific ways) in later encounters, etc.

It's a situation that's original and compelling, and I can definitely see how it enables quality role-playing at the table.  However, I think the concept came across as forced and intrusive to me for a few reasons.  First, as I mentioned earlier, I originally took something very different away from the mission briefing.  Second, Stuinvolk has been dealing with this for a decade and is stated to have had a counsellor during this time, so it felt a bit far-fetched and also presumptive to try to get him to have some sort of cathartic release with us strangers.  Third, my PC just wasn't the type for deep soul-searching talks and so (on his behalf) I felt resentful of the mechanism.  But I'm sure my experience won't be universal, so I'll chalk it up as a good idea that maybe isn't implemented quite as seamlessly as it could have been.

The first real encounter on the journey is portrayed well.  The Pathfinders run into a Mzali patrol and either have to persuade the leader to give permission for a trespass into the tribe's territory, or fight their way past.  A little detail I *really* liked is that the patrol leader seems to speak only Polyglot, but secretly understands Common (something she puts to advantage by hearing the PCs talk amongst themselves).  I also like that the negotiations here don't boil down to a single Diplomacy check, but are a real series of offers and requests, with multiple checks and modifiers involved (so much so that careful prep on the part of the GM would be important).

During the journey, the Pathfinders often find themselves hearing strange howling at night and the sense of being stalked.  Eventually, they're attacked twice by a supernatural manifestation of Stuinvolk's guilt in the form of a mngwa (a nightmarish jungle cat).  The trick is that the mngwa can be defeated only if Stuinvolk delivers the "killing" blow, and he may or may not be in a condition to do this if the PCs have earned enough empathy points.  It was an interesting and unusual situation to be in as a player (setting an NPC up for the kill), and I like encounters that deliver surprises.

As the PCs get closer into the hills where the nuno gremlin resides, there's a completely filler encounter against hyenas.  The nuno, named Bujune, presents another solid and interesting choice for the PCs.  He can be killed (which will lift the curse) or he can be negotiated with.  If the latter option is chosen, he offers the PCs a deal: he'll lift the curse on Stuinvolk if the Pathfinders investigate what's going on inside some giant anthills nearby where the ants have become sickly and deranged.

The final portion of the scenario has the PCs navigating underground ant tunnels.  A series of skill checks determine whether they find their way or get lost and face multiple encounters of giant undead ants.  I think most groups will have the skills to avoid too many extra encounters, but if they have too much bad luck I imagine they could be worn down before the big finish: a battle against several more undead ants and their queen, "She Who Devours" (a deathweb).  It turns out that the artifacts that Stuinvolk left behind had the effect of releasing necrotic energy which turned the normal inhabitants of the area into soulless abominations!  It was a good, reasonably tough and satisfying climax.

Two miscellaneous points: 1) the scenario does a really good job incorporating rules and options from Occult Adventures for characters with psychic abilities, something I don't see very often; 2) the scenario didn't do much with the Mwangi environment--the heat dangers were nerfed substantially, and there weren't any other of the classic hazards presented (insects, disease, etc.).

Overall, although I had some qualms at the time, I can see that Bones of Biting Ants is a really good scenario.  It has an interesting goal that asks the PCs to be more than just killing machines, and to actually help an individual on a personal, emotional level.  I'm impressed by that, and I would like to continue to see more scenarios that stretch the boundaries of what PFS scenarios can involve.