Starfinder Society Scenario # 1-23: "Return to Sender" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

My disgruntled solarion ran through this, irking his colleagues throughout.  We played at low-tier with the four-player adjustment.  I had a good time while playing, and after reading the scenario afterwards, I can attest that it's solid and ties in well to the season's developing storylines.  It's an action-heavy scenario and one especially well-suited to groups who like more shooting and little-to-no talking.

SPOILERS

Return to Sender is set a few months after the events of # 1-99 (The Scoured Stars Invasion).  In that scenario, the Starfinder Society finally returned to the Scoured Stars system and evacuated hundreds of trapped agents.  But the rescue mission was interrupted by the arrival of a fleet of aggressive, insect-like aliens called the jinsuls.  The Starfinders had to make a fighting retreat.  Now, however, it's time for payback!

I like how the scenario writers have started to be a little bit more creative with their briefings.  Return to Sender starts with the PCs arriving at a secret, "off-the-books" site maintained by Radaszam's Obsidian Spiders mercenary organisation.  Radaszam is accompanied by Historia-7 for the briefing, and they explain an audacious plan.  During the retreat from the Scoured Stars system, Radaszam's ship was able to capture a small jinsul shuttle. Historia-7 was, after months of work, able to decipher the ship's programming and noted it was pre-progammed to return to a particular starbase in the system for repairs if damaged.  The two faction leaders propose piling themselves and the PCs into the shuttle, piloting it into the jinsul starbase, disembarking, and then planting a massive bomb in the base's power reactor!  The PCs serve as the shock force necessary to clear a path to the reactor for Radaszam and Historia-7 to bring up and set the explosive charges.  Then, everyone's to run like hell before it goes bang!

It's an awesome premise, and an original one as far as SFS scenarios go.  The goal, to strike back at the jinsuls and warn them not to mess with the Society, is an understandable one given the events of the first Special.  It's also interesting from the perspective that this mission hasn't been sanctioned by the Starfinder Forum (and perhaps even Luwazi); the two faction missions are taking this on themselves, and it would be very interesting to see if there's any fall-out from their actions in future scenarios.

To be fair, despite the great set-up, the scenario itself basically boils down to a (very good) dungeon crawl.  After an uneventful voyage to the jinsul base, the PCs advance, room by room, overpowering defenders and avoiding traps, until they get to a boss fight in the reactor.  Then, they signal the two faction leaders to plant the bombs (which happens "off-camera") and the scenario ends with a brief conclusion.  One little touch I liked on reading (and had no idea was happening while playing because my PC turned off his comms) was that the faction leaders keep an open channel with the PCs during the mission, and the PCs can overhear the two talking--Historia-7 is worried about the return of Historia-6 (who hasn't yet resumed control of the faction, but could) and says her dates with Zigvigix are going well.

Despite being a jinsul starbase, the encounters are fairly varied and interesting.

1) The loading dock places the PCs in a battle against a pair of jinsul torpedo technicians, and the PCs might discover that one of the torpedoes is outfitted with stealthy technology allowing it to turn invisible in flight!  They may also discover that the jinsuls plan an attack in an uncharted system far out in the Vast.  These discoveries tie into the mission's secondary success condition (obtaining intelligence), and add a little more depth to what would otherwise be combat-combat-combat.

2) A weapons storage room has a *very* nasty combination of an inhaled plague hazard and then a magical irradiation system with the deliciously cruel twist of a door that seals behind intruders and is very hard to open.  I'm really glad my PC wasn't in that room (sometimes not being a team player has its advantages!), and it was a very narrow thing for two members of the group to make it out alive.

3) A navigation room is defended by a pair of security robots with the interesting ability to inject intruders with nanobots that then respond to spoken jinsul and can hamper the actions of the victim.

4) An animal experiment lab has a goofy little alien critter that could become a pet or a mascot.  Not my jam, and I was *very* quick to cross that "boon" off my Chronicle.

5) A cleaning pit holds an ooze that gives off a gas that can debilitate PCs for the rest of the scenario.

6) The reactor chamber holds three jinsul guards and the base commander, a technomancer (the artwork of the commander is really cool--whoever did it deserves a raise!).  The jinsul have an interesting ability, one I've never seen before, to counteract an operative's trick attack ability--a cool touch.  Anyway, the battle here is appropriately hard given the nature of the mission, made worse by the fact that additional jinsul arrive every few rounds unless the PCs are able to seal access to the door with some Computers or Engineering checks.  It's an exciting battle, and a very satisfying conclusion.

After the chamber is secured, the conclusion is pretty quick and straightforward.

One thing I would have liked to see, although I acknowledge it's very hard to do in scenario writing, is providing for other approaches--like groups who want to stealthily make their way to the chamber instead of fighting every fight.  I also might have liked a more dynamic environment--everything pretty much stays in its room, there's no alarms, and there's no actual risk to lolly-gagging through the place apart from the final battle where reinforcements start to arrive in dribs and drabs.  These complexities might have elevated the scenario from a very good dungeon crawl to something really special.

Overall, Return to Sender is a well-written, exciting scenario with a great premise.  It helps to advance the storyline of Season 1, and now I can't wait to see how the jinsul respond.  The scenario is heavily combat-focussed, so it's probably now best-suited to an RP-heavy crowd, but I'm happy with the variety of scenario types I've seen.

Rise of the Runelords Recap # 64 [RPG]

[20 Abadius 4708]

In the catacombs under Sandpoint, the adventurers have stopped for a short break.  Nerissa opens her pack to pull out some rations, sees the strange mask she was found with when she washed up on the beach, and gasps—“I remember . . . everything!”  Suddenly, her eyes roll back in her head and she falls to the ground convulsing.  Ava, realizing the seriousness of what’s happening, instantly grabs Nerissa and teleports her to the surface so that help can be sought at the Cathedral.

The remaining three members of the party decide they may as well continue with their explorations.  In one ancient chamber, a jagged block of marble forms an altar of some kind.  A shallow concavity in the block holds what appears to simply be filthy water, but Salma’s divinations prove it to be so-called “Waters of Lamashtu” capable of creating mutations and deformities in those who drink it.  The adventurers move on and soon come to what must be an immense underground cathedral.  Bodies of monsters slain just months ago lay here and there.  As the trio of explorers approach a sort of dais that holds a bubbling cauldron of water, the ghostly form of a young man wearing robes and holding a thick grimoire appears above the cauldron. 

Xeveg Kishalq died in the Cathedral of Wrath
when his allies refused to treaty
with the demon that held a knife to his throat.

At first, the adventurers are concerned that they’ve triggered a hostile wraith or spectre, but then the ghostly figure starts to speak!  In a sombre tone, he explains that he was once Xeveg Kishalq, the first Hero of Sandpoint slain since the monumental events that started with the Swallowtail Festival.  He says he has been sent “by those who watch” to deliver a message to those who currently quest in defence of the town: the path lays elsewhere, and although in time they must return here, a nigh-unstoppable force will soon sweep down on Sandpoint if they tarry too long.  The spirit of Xeveg then states he has been authorized to answer three questions.  The trio consult amongst themselves and then start by asking why the giants came to Sandpoint.  The spirit says that the giants were looking for a stone they could speak to in order to ascertain if Sandpoint hid a place of great importance.  When the second question is whether that place is the catacombs, the spirit says that it lays below the catacombs, but that its time has not yet come.  “What’s so important about this place” is the third question, and the spirit says that, in time, words will be scribbled on the walls that lead to the keys to the true conqueror’s undoing.  The spirit starts to fade, but not before its final words echo through the chamber:  “I was the first to fall, but I shall not be the last.  May you fare better than I.”

 The adventurers discuss what they’ve heard.  Although wary that they may have fallen for trickery and misdirection, the looming threat of an invasion of Varisia by Mokmurian’s army seems too dangerous to ignore.  With Salma casting a spell to help them find a way out of the catacombs, the adventurers make their way back into Sandpoint by passing through a secret door and out a cave that obviously once served as the means by which the goblins snuck into Sandpoint to attack the town. 

After checking at the Cathedral and learning that Nerissa has entered a deep catatonic trance and will require Ava’s constant monitoring, the three return to their suite at the Rusty Dragon to plan their journey to Jorgenfist.  One idea is to accept the offer of Tuvarok, the captured giant, to lead them to the fortress.  Kang, however, expresses worry that Tuvarok will surely lead them into a trap, and that by the time they reach the Iron Peaks on foot, Mokmurian’s army could already be on its way.  Jinkatsyu says the key is Mokmurian himself: if the adventurers can cut the head off the proverbial snake, the army may fall apart.  Extensive discussion is held on the best route to take to get to Jorgenfist, with leading contenders including a quick teleportation to Galduria and then travelling the rest of the way on foot, teleporting to Hook Mountain and then west to Ravenmoor and then northeast to the Storval Stairs, or trying to discover enough information about Jorgenfist (perhaps through scrying) to allow a direct teleport there.  No consensus is reached, but the trio agree to conduct some inquiries on their own and then meet back at the Rusty Dragon in the evening to make a decision.

Salma visits with Ilsoari Gandethus and gets permission to look through the man’s journals on travels through Varisia.  The half-elf finds notes about a prominent inn in Ravenmoor called “The Bobbing Cork” that might serve as the basis for magical spells that could help keep the adventurers from getting lost if they start at Hook Mountain and travel to the town.  Kang, for his part, tries to address the problem with altitude sickness he and his now-deceased former companions encountered on their ascent to the Kreeg Clanhold.  However, the secrets behind “Nisk Tander’s Elixir of the Peaks” continue to evade him, a fact that is particularly galling for the self-described “Master of Alchemy.”  Meanwhile, Jinkatsyu decides to consult with an expert, and visits his old friend Veznutt Parooh.  Parooh explains the natural path from Sandpoint would be to take the Lost Coast Road over to Ember Lake and then pass through Galduria, Wolf’s Ear, and Ravenmoor before travelling cross-country up the Storval Stairs and then directly east into the Iron Peaks and the Valley of the Black Tower.  When Jinkatsyu asks about what might be possible if the adventurers started at Hook Mountain, Parooh gives a surprising answer: what if the adventurers used rafts or canoes to sail across the Storval Deep and follow the Muschkal River straight to Jorgenfist?  Jinkatsyu is intrigued by the possibility.

That evening, however, when the group meet up again, Salma says that a water route would be too dangerous: there are known to be giant creatures in the lakes in central Varisia, and carrying even a small canoe could be exhausting in the mountains.  Kang suggests a minor alteration: following the river, but on foot, so to avoid getting lost.  Salma, however, is concerned that uneven terrain and rocky cliffs could make following the river much harder than it sounds.  With a route still unsettled, the adventurers decide to sleep on it.

[21 Abadius 4708]

Longnight, the shortest day of the year, is an extremely cold one.  At breakfast in the inn’s common room, the adventurers reach a decision: they’ll teleport to Hook Mountain, descend to its base, journey directly west until they reach the Muschkal River, and then follow it on foot north until Jorgenfist.  Kang notices that the common room is busier than usual, and that several ethnic Varisians seem to be streaming in.  A barmaid explains that they’ve come for the celebration of Madame M’vashti’s life.

The trio make final preparations for departure.  Ava is told about the plan and instructed to contact them through magic once Nerissa recovers from her current predicament.  Potions to endure extreme cold are purchased, and Kang and Salma discuss the best spells to use on what they expect will be a difficult journey through a rugged and foreboding landscape.  When the three are as ready as they can be, Salma teleports them directly to the entrance to the Kreeg Clanhold near the peak of Hook Mountain—and right next to the cave’s new inhabitants!  Hundreds of venomous snakes are slithering all over the cave floor, obviously having found it a warm, dry place to survive the winter.  Kang, however, labours under the  misapprehension that the snakes are common, harmless garden snakes!  But Salma knows better, and immediately evokes a magical inferno to kill dozens of them.  But the survivors slither and swarm all over the newcomers, and Jinks and Salma can’t help but be bitent and poisoned before another magical fireball can destroy the rest.  Fortunately, the adventurers are hardy enough to shake off the worst of the poison and they’re able to continue.

A tangled mass of venomous snakes
 like this would fell many lesser adventurers.

The journey down the mountain is marked by a near tragedy, as Jinkatsyu’s handhold gives way and he falls nearly two hundred feet before landing on a ledge below!  Somehow, the kitsune survives, but only with the aid of several magical healing elixirs will he be able to continue on the next morning.  For now, the adventurers sleep in the temperature-controlled comfort of a magical dome conjured by Salma.

[22 Abadius 4708]

The adventurers reach the base of Hook Mountain safely and turn west.  It doesn’t take long to reach the point where the Muschkal River flows into Lake Coal.  The trio turn north, but soon further progress is blocked by a series of jagged cliffs.  Salma and Jinkatsyu are able to ascend, but it takes Kang hours of work to finally reach the top.  Finally, near midnight, the exhausted adventurers set up camp and rest.

Having set off on a dangerous journey through the mountains towards Jorgenfist, three adventurers have temporarily left their companions behind in Sandpoint.  Will they come to regret their diminished strength in the time ahead?

-----------------------------------------------

Director's Commentary (March 24, 2019)

Neither Nerissa's nor Ava's players could be present at this session, hence the Nerissa's mysterious fainting and Ava's need to watch over her.  I'm 99% against meta-gaming, but I do approve of it in circumstances like this when, if the same in-game circumstances happened with everyone at the table, half the party would never leave the other half behind.  (Another occasion when I don't mind a bit of meta-gaming is when a new PC is introduced to the party, and the existing PCs are more willing than normal to let a perfect stranger accompany them.  Sometimes personalities and motivations and in-character paranoia have to be stretched a bit to accommodate a new PC--though there are limits!)

In retrospect, I'm of two minds about having Xeveg's ghost appear.  On the positive side, I felt justified with might otherwise have been heavy-handed GM intervention because my one Plot Twist Card for the chapter was something like "help comes from an unexpected direction."  In addition, I was still prepping the rest of Chapter Four and hadn't even touched Chapter Five yet, and had no idea what to do if the PCs jumped a chapter ahead!  On the negative side, it might have come across a bit forced and cheesy (though I did my best to make it an interesting role-playing encounter and provide a nice call-back to a memorable event earlier in the campaign).

It might sound odd, but I really enjoyed the part where the PCs learn about and discuss the pros and cons of different routes to Jorgenfist (some of which I never envisioned!).  When players are doing good role-playing about something important, I can just sit back and relax and enjoy the show.  I made careful to stay neutral on things, but I was somewhat glad they didn't choose a route that involved Galduria or Ravenmoor, because I hadn't managed to obtain much information on either city and I always want destinations to be portrayed "authentically".

This session contains the end of the very, very, low-on-the-radar Madame Mvashti subplot.  It never achieved what I had originally intended, but GMs can only influence the overall story, they aren't writing a solo novel where they have total control.

Pathfinder Combat Pad [RPG]

This is a clever, durable little product that I now use every time I run Pathfinder Society games.  The combat pad itself is a thick magnetic board with a column for Initiative on the far left side, “Action, Ready, Delay” columns next to that, and a column with Rounds (1-20) in the center.  On the far left is a large blank area for notes.  The set comes with a *lot* of blank magnets for writing the name of a character (with different coloured magnets for PCs, enemies, and NPCs), and then you just slot in the magnets in order on the left side of the pad to keep track of everyone’s Initiative order with the help of the little “Turn” arrow magnets—which I need to remember to use!.  If the order changes or more characters join the fight (or drop out of the fight), it’s very easy to slide the magnets around to change the order.  The package comes with two little “Round” magnets so you can keep track of what round it is, which is particularly useful for keeping track of limited-duration buffs, how long a poison lasts, etc.  Last, it includes two “Next Round” magnets—I’m not really sure what the purpose of these are, since you know it’s the next round when everyone has gone.

The particular genius of the Pathfinder Combat Pad is that *everything* (pad and magnets) are coated for dry erase and wet erase markers.  Adding or removing names to the character magnets is a snap, and the large “Notes” section is perfect for keeping track of all the little details a GM is supposed to remember (but often forgets) during an encounter.

My only criticism of the package is that both sides of the pad are exactly the same and there’s way more magnets than you could possibly need.  If I had my druthers, the flip-side of the pad would be designed for something different (like how the Starfinder Combat Pad uses the flip-side for starship combat).  I’m not sure what I would want on the flip-side, but almost anything would be better than the redundant design it currently has.

That point aside, this is a very useful product and one that will last a long time.  I’ve used it in dozens and dozens of sessions, and it has held up well.  For GMs who currently juggle a dozen pieces of scratch paper to keep track of things during encounters, I strongly recommend purchasing this product.  

Starfinder Society Scenario # 1-99: "The Scoured Stars Invasion" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

The Scoured Stars Invasion is the first multi-table Starfinder Society special event scenario.  With multi-table specials, several groups of players run through each part of the scenario simultaneously and, together, influence the overall result.  This special is the finale to Part 1 of the Year of the Scoured Stars and the launching point of Part 2.  I played the Iconic Raia in a mid-to-high tier (I don't remember exactly which) at PaizoCon Asia-Pacific in 2018.  There's a lot to love about this special, and some awesome surprises.  As with any special (or even regular scenario), the GM you get will have an enormous influence on the players' experience, but, as written, this one is top-notch.

SPOILERS

It's all led up to this!  From its debut, the in-universe premise of Starfinder Society organized play was that the bulk of the organisation was lost on an expedition to a mysterious system called the Scoured Stars.  Several Year 1 scenarios (including # 1-11, # 1-13, and # 1-17) tell how the remnants of the Society (and its new recruits--the PCs) have pieced together some of the history of the Scoured Stars system and obtained a way to lower the golden "Godshield" that now prevents access to it.  The goal is to get in, recon the system, see if there are any survivors, and get out . . . fast!  But there are a variety of mysterious threats within the system, and one of the eight civilisations that originally fled the Scoured Stars (the insect-like Jinsul) return just in time to wreak havoc for the Starfinder fleet.

The Scoured Stars Invasion starts with an exciting moment: the entire remaining Starfinder fleet exits the Drift and arrives outside the Godshield.  Luwazi broadcasts a message asking everyone to make final preparations and double-check that all systems are on-line and ready.  This is a clever way of giving those tables that have already mustered (gathered all their players and ready to go) something to do while waiting for the others.  PCs can take on little tasks (like checking the engines, cleaning missile tubes, boosting crew morale, etc.) that involve a minute or two of role-playing and a couple of skill checks.  There are some useful one-use boons for the table that can be obtained, but more importantly, it's a good way for players to get acquainted with one another and their characters.  Very smart design.  Once all the tables have mustered, Luwazi uses the tear-shaped obelisk (from the Izalguun) to lower the golden shield.  This mission is a go!

Part 1 is titled "Reconnaisance."  Essentially, each table gets to choose one of five missions to go on based on some capsule hints in a handout.  When a table completes a mission, it counts as one success, and when 2/3 of the tables have reported success on a mission, no other tables can begin it.  When a table completes one mission, it can move on to any of the others, in any order.  It's a very flexible way that allows different groups to look at their strengths (and interests) and choose custom challenges.  Before going on, I'll mention that page 9 of the scenario has an excellent map of the Scoured Stars system--a trinary system composed of the stars Agillae, Bastiar, and Callion.  The available missions, with the location and individual giving the briefing, are as follows:

Recon # 1::)  "Planet of the Dinosaurs" (Agillae-2) (Fitch):  The fleet has received an emergency transmission coming from the wetlands on Agillae-2.  After the PCs land and start traversing the wetlands towards the source of the signal, they have to overcome a variety of rough terrain and obstacles through skill checks.  Having a good GM able to describe the challenges in an interesting and engaging way would be a real advantage here; ours just read out a bare description and asked for skill checks ("Flying creatures attack you.  Roll Medicine or Survival") and it was pretty boring.  After the skill checks, the PCs find the source of the signal: a Starfinder emergency beacon.  Unfortunately, a pack of carnivorous dinosaurs have also made their nest near it!  After dispatching the dinosaurs, the PCs will learn that the Starfinders who set up the beacon have unfortunately all perished, but there are clues to a larger group having established an outpost on another planet.  A sad story when you think about it, but a good little mission with a mix of skills and combat.

Recon # 2::)  "Starship Graveyard" (Agillae-5) (Historia-7):  Scans of the system show that several Starfinder vessels crash-landed on the same spot on a planet, forming a veritable graveyard.  The PCs are sent to investigate, but as they breach atmosphere, a computer virus somehow enters their ship's systems and makes everything go haywire.  Crew members can use a variety of skills to try to repair and control various systems, but a crash is inevitable.  It's a very exciting scene.  There's a lot of text for the GM to interpret quickly here, and good preparation would be key.  Once planet-side, the PCs enter a linked-conglomeration of ships and discover several Starfinders, only to discover they're mind-controlled by some sort nanite intelligence!  I got myself an Infamy here for dispatching the Starfinders in a lethal fashion, which I thought was perfectly fair.  The PCs also discover dozens of Starfinders held comatose in stasis chambers.

Recon # 3::)  "Lifeless Spaces" (Bastiar-4) (Naiaj):  Scans detect a fully operation Starfinder vessel, Aeon Horizon, but it doesn't respond to hails.  The PCs board to find no crew members present.  When they reach the bridge and start to download the ship's logs, a self-destruct sequence initiates, the airlock doors seal, and several "huskborn" monsters right out of Aliens attack.  This one was on rails in a bad way, as the airlock doors coincidentally remain sealed until the huskborn are defeated, there's no clue why the self-destruct started, there's no way to stop it, and yet there isn't actually a timeline to escape or consequences for delay.  I found such a heavy-handed and nonsensical approach frustrating when playing.  Give me autonomy and consequences over rails and safety any day of the week.

Recon # 4::) "The Third Kind" (Bastiar-7) (Zigvigix):  Scans detect several derelict ships drifting amid the ring system of a giant ice planet.  When the PCs fly over to investigate, they get a message from a Starfinder vessel called the Empyrean Eye and its captain, a very suspicious woman named Katryn Mathius.  Mathius attacks if the PCs don't answer her questions very carefully, but what she doesn't realize (though the PCs should figure out) is that she's dead and the Empyrean Eye is a ghost ship!  My table didn't do this one, but I really like the concept.  I feel bad for the GM though, as it looks really tricky to draw the necessary scene on the very dark starship hex grid.

Recon # 5::)  "City of the Ancients" (Callion-2) (Radaszam):  A technologically-advanced megacity is detected in the narrow habitable zone of a tidally-locked planet.  When the PCs land to investigate, they can search five locations in any order: a factory, a library (containing historical records on the Izalguun!), a military base, a residential area (with no living inhabitants, just robots cleaning and repairing a city abandoned millenia ago), and a shopping mall.  This one also has the possibility of the players avoiding combat through good role-playing, but it's not likely: there's a very touchy artificial intelligence who will probably send killer robots to off the PCs just like it did when the Starfinders visited the city a year ago.  It's basic, but good.

Part 2 is "Evacuation."  Once enough tables have completed recon missions, the overseer announces the next phase of the scenario.  In this one, the fleet starts to evacuate the groups of Starfinders discovered in the previous set of missions.  Again, there are five possible missions that each table can choose to play:

Evac # 1::)  "The Last Outpost" (Agillae-1) (Fitch):  The PCs land at the outpost they learned about from the matching recon mission, to find several groups of Starfinders alive but menaced by carnivorous plant creatures called bluethorns.  In what's probably the coolest moment in the scenario, the previous First Seeker (Jadnura) arrives and blows away half of the monsters with one cinematic sweep!  The PCs still have to escort the survivors as the remaining monsters continue their attacks.  It looks pretty exciting, and I really wish my table had played this one: I didn't learn about the big revelation that Jadnura had been found until after the special was over.  As an aside, there's a very cool picture of the character on page 24.

Evac # 2::) "Cracked Mirror" (Agillae-5) (Historia-7):  This one has a solid premise.  The PCs have to enter a virtual world to set free the minds of the Starfinders who are being held comatose in stasis tubes.  The PCs can speak to three different groups of Starfinders and try to convince them that they're "living" in a mere simulation.  How the necessary skill checks relate to persuasion is opaque and hard for a GM to convey naturally.  Persuading the groups gives the PCs bonuses when they fight the strange keeper of the virtual world (a guy named Jodain), who has the ability to transform round-to-round into different types of monster (a cool idea, but there's no explanation of who the heck Jodain is or why he's trapped the Starfinders in his simulation).  The reappearance of Jadnura was a big deal, but an only slightly-less-big-deal is that the PCs find Historia-6 on this mission!  My table did play this mission and I have no recollection of Historia-6, which means that either I was very distracted or my GM sucked and didn't even bother to mention it (and there's a pic--somewhat disturbing admittedly--but GMs, show pictures of the NPCs to your players!)

Evac # 3::) "God's Home" (Bastiar-8) (Naiaj):  The PCs are sent after a group of Starfinders presumably holed up in an air-filled cave on an icy moon.  It turns out this "cave" is actually a Jinsul temple; maybe that's why they're mad at humanity?  From the looks of things, the Jinsul worship a pretty evil deity who is fond of blood sacrifices, and this "Slumbering God" may have created the Godshield to begin with.  Anyway, the PCs have to fight a host of summoned demons to rescue the Starfinders trapped within the temple.  I notice that for some of these missions, the text makes reference to keyed rooms, but there are no corresponding labels on the maps--this must make things extra stressful for harried GMs.

Evac # 4::)  "Lava River Rescue" (Bastiar-2) (Zigvigix):  Ziggy is a delight.  Just saying.  Anyway, emergency signals are coming from Bastiar-2, a planet with major seismic and volcanic disturbances.  It's a race against time for the PCs to rescue a small group of Starfinders from one threat while another tries to hinder them.  It's a solid set-up.

Evac # 5::)  "Sands of Oblivion" (Callion-1) (Radaszam):  This mission to rescue Starfinders trapped on a desert planet is very different than the others: it uses the Chase mechanics, as PCs race in vehicles while a massive armored worm tries to eat them.  It looks complicated (my group didn't do it), but a change of pace could be good.

Part 3 of the scenario is "Sudden Arrival."  In a bout of curious timing, as the Starfinder fleet is evacuating those trapped in the Scoured Stars system, a massive battle-fleet of Jinsul ships arrives!  Each table must choose to engage in starship combat with the Jinsuls to help defend the fleet, or continue with the evacuation missions from Part 2.  The starship combat is pretty easy, but I like how Jinsul landing parties interrupt the evacuation missions and complicate things on the ground.

Part 4 of the scenario is "Escape from the Scoured Stars", and the name is apt.  The Starfinder fleet is outnumbered and outgunned, so it has to make a fighting retreat out of the Scoured Stars.  The PCs get a choice of two options.  First, they can choose to repel Jinsul boarding parties.  This is what my table did, and it was a solid capstone with waves of Jinsul attackers culminating in the appearance of a heavy-hitting commander.  The alternative mission is more starship combat: protecting a transport until it can get to a capital ship and then a counter-attack mission to drive away a Jinsul capital ship.  The concept sounds cool, but reading through it, the combat has a lot of board-game like elements that I think would slow things down too much.

The scenario concludes with a brief congratulatory message from Luwazi, but also a warning that the Jinsuls are sure to rear their ugly heads again soon.  This is a scenario that has no failure state-- how often the tables do or do not succeed on missions doesn't affect the story in any way.

Now, on to some ancillary points.  In terms of difficulty, I thought The Scoured Stars Invasion was on the low-end; I don't remember worrying that my pre-gen was going to die at any point.  The scenario does a fantastic job making use of the NPCs (faction leaders and Venture-Captains) that have appeared in earlier scenarios.  The special, like many other Paizo specials, has an "aid token" mechanism but the instructions on how to use it are overly complicated in the hustle and bustle of a special--I think it needs to be kept simpler even if the goal (one table directly helping another table) is a good one.  GMs really need to prep for specials, more than anything else they run.  I've now been to one special with a well-prepared GM (a deep knowledge of the scenario, along with minis, face cards, condition table-tents, etc.), and two with under-prepared GMs of the "I'll figure it out as we go" variety, and the difference in my enjoyment of the scenarios was dramatic.  Specials are complicated and have so many little details that preparation is the key to success.

Credit has to be given to Mikko Kallio and the organised play development team for the massive undertaking a special like this must be.  The scenario is 72 pages long(!), and the sheer number of stat blocks, sub-tier planning, linking parts, etc., is an impressive accomplishment.  The story told in the special is suitably epic and important for the future of the Society, and sets a clear "before and after" for some of the stories that can be told.  I have a criticism here and there, but overall this a fantastic scenario and one that shouldn't be missed.

Pathfinder Flip-Mat: "Tech Dungeon" [RPG]

A more honest name for Tech Dungeon might have been "Crashed Starship."  One side of the flip-mat shows the upper deck of flying saucer-like spaceship that has crashed into a forest.  The detail here is fantastic, as you can see shattered bits of the hull strewn amongst the trees, various types of damage to the bridge, and even some animal skeletons near what looks like a radioactive power core.  A central spiral staircase (admittedly a bit low-tech for a spaceship) leads onto the second side of the flip-mat.  This is the lower deck that is buried underground.  Apparently the water table is pretty close to the surface at the crash site, as there's a pool of water and several caverns visible.  I like the little touches like the bent corridor walls, the glowing orb underneath where the bridge would be, and the multicolored fungal-growths in the caverns (obviously affected by the strange energies of the ship!).  I would like to see more interesting stuff in the rooms and corridors, as only the bridge has any interesting technology--absent that, this could just be a circular fantasy dungeon.  All in all though, it's a pretty cool flip-mat (though I imagine it'd be much more useful for Starfinder than for Pathfinder).

Pathfinder Society Quest: "The Silverhex Chronicles" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

The Silverhex Chronicles is a series of six linked adventures designed to take about one hour each.  Although they can formally be played in any order, I’d suggest doing them roughly in the order they appear (or, at least doing the last two sequentially at the end).  As Quests go, this one comes pretty low in my estimation.  There are a lot of plot holes, not many interesting NPCs, and the encounter difficulty is all over the map.  I don’t think it’s a great representation of what Pathfinder has to offer, and I would choose others unless I’ve started to run out of material.  I played through this over the course of two nights with the four-player adjustment in effect.

SPOILERS

The backstory to The Silverhex Chronicles doesn’t quite gel.  There’s a half-orc explorer named Ulisha who operates out of the River Kingdoms.  She’s discovered an ancient enchanted sickle and wants to sell it to the PCs so that she can “pay off a bounty” that has been placed on her head by noblemen she has angered.  Ulisha has gone into hiding, but has left a series of letters for the PCs with leads to profitable opportunities in the River Kingdoms so that (I think) they can earn enough money to buy the sickle so that she can pay off the debt.  It’s a very roundabout way of doing things, and I’m not convinced it makes sense.  Natural questions are: why doesn’t she slip out of the River Kingdoms and sell the sickle herself and why do the PCs want the sickle so bad? (there’s no explanation of its historical value or, until the Chronicle, its magical abilities).  In addition, we find out at the very end that her debt can be cleared for just 500 gp and that she’s going to charge the PCs over 6,000 gp for the sickle, which they wouldn’t be able to afford even if they succeeded on every quest!  It all hangs together poorly and is too transparently an ill thought-out MacGuffin.

Anyway, each of the six Quests are preceded by a handout letter and together they take the PCs on a little tour of the River Kingdoms.

“Mausoleum” is the first Quest, and from a morality point of view, it’s a doozy.  The PCs are asked to break into the mausoleum of a recently-deceased nobleman and steal whatever’s valuable inside.  It’s not exactly a mission for lawful or good PCs, and can’t even be justified by the usual “Indiana Jones-style archaeology” rationale.  The adventure takes place in Gralton, a town filled with exiles from the Red Revolution in Galt, and they’re some of the nobles that are after Ulisa.  When the PCs arrive at the cemetery, they find the body of a young man draped over a post in front of the mausoleum they’re supposed to break into.  The post holds a cryptic clue to getting the mausoleum’s door to open without setting off a trap, provided by a magic mouth: “When the last sun falls upon this spot, receive my thanks.”  The idea here is that a member of a rival noble house thought the reference to “sun” was a reference to “son” and killed the interred noble’s son in a bid to gain access inside.  (I actually came to the same conclusion, thinking I was being clever—apparently, murderers and I think alike!) 

In fact, the puzzle’s solution is the obvious one: it’s when rays of the setting sun fall upon the post.  The problem is that the scenario doesn’t make it clear to the PCs what time of day it is and that the sun’s rays can’t fall on the post because of the shadow cast by a spire on a different mausoleum (the Conclusion section mentions this to the GM, but many understandably won’t notice until it’s too late).  What the PCs are supposed to do is cut down or break the spire (add vandalism to grave-robbing!) to gain access to the mausoleum.  Inside is a valuable tapestry (worth enough to pay off Ulisa’s debt—done, everyone go home!).  The complication in this Quest is that the murderer of the noble’s son is lurking about, and there’ll inevitably be a battle with her.  She’s heavily outnumbered, however, and won’t pose any real threat.  

This one wasn’t bad in concept, but care really needed to be given to the exposition of crucial information to the players in order for it to work properly.

“Mists” is the second quest and sees the PCs in the bordering country of Ustalav.  Ulisa has told them she buried a magic lantern in a place called “Cannibal Grove”, and the PCs are expected to recover it.  (the backstory, which the PCs won’t get, explains that she stole the lantern from a necromancer and hid it in a place full of evil energy so that he couldn’t find it easily)  The adventure starts at an inn called the Restless Bear, and the writer does a good job giving it and its proprietor some flavour.  Once the PCs head off into the wilderness, they’ll find that the lantern is in the middle of a haunt that has a pretty cool effect: as “Cannibal Grove” would indicate, it might force a PC to eat some of their own flesh!  The added complication for this scenario takes the form of a super-tiny fey with 9 hp who wants the lantern, and she’s temporarily aided by an elk.  The battle is almost laughably easy.  Still, I didn’t mind this one as it had some good atmosphere. 

“Colony” is the third quest, and has the PCs travel to Allenstead, a small village on the border with Razmiran.  The hook is solid: Allenstead has always been staunchly resistant to the faith of “The Living God” Razmir, but suddenly, in the course of just weeks, the whole town has converted!  The cause must be related to the recent arrival of a priest of Razmir and the strange sceptre he carries.  Ulisa wants the PCs to get that sceptre by hook or by crook, on the assumption that it’s magical and therefore quite valuable.  (she’s really able to keep up on current events despite hiding out in a cave in the wilderness!)

The PCs arrive in time to hear about a daily noontime sermon.  My group spent some time formulating heist-like plans to try to swipe that sceptre, which would have been a lot of fun, but the scenario has other ideas.  At the sermon, the priest goes to use his magic wand to hypnotize the crowd (as he’s done every day previously) only to find out it doesn’t work—he’s exhausted its charges!  It’s a very, ahem, convenient coincidence as far as the PCs are concerned.  The priest runs for it, the PCs give chase (with the aid of some skill checks to escape the crowd) and do battle.  It was okay, but I liked the premise more than the execution.

“Crash”, the fourth quest, was a real wake-up call—or, some might say, a kick in the nethers!  The hook is again solid: Ulisa has found clues pointing to the location of a potentially-unexplored crash site of debris from the “Rain of Stars” (when a fantastical vessel broke up over Numeria, raining down shattered bits of strange metals and wondrous devices).  Following her directions, the PCs unearth a metallic pod with silver disks and a bracelet inside.  Getting the stuff is easy, but getting out with it is the challenge.  The PCs are waylaid by a group of kellids who demand the PCs turn over the loot along with all of their gold.  There’s not really a diplomatic way out of this without failing the quest, and realistically the PCs are going to have to fight.  But these kellids include two Level 1 barbarians who can use Power Attack with their greatswords to do 2d6+10 points of damage with a single hit!  It’s brutal enough to kill a Level 1 PC outright (especially on a crit!) and that’s exactly what happened to one poor player’s PC before mine hastily surrendered.  Low-level games always hold the risk of something going very wrong when crits are involved, but this encounter was drastically more dangerous than all the others in the series and wasn’t really fair.  The lesson here is that scenario writers need to rely on formal CR less and common sense/judgement more: antagonists like raging barbarians and ghouls are far more lethal than their CRs might indicate.

“Webs” is the fifth quest, and it suffered from not clearly explaining to the PCs what they needed to do.  The letter from Ulisa references a desire to obtain spider silk (from giant spider nests, naturally) and sell it in Daggermark so the Poisoner’s Guild can use it in their concoctions.  That seems straightforward, and obtaining the spider silk is.  But the letter makes a passing reference to a particular merchant as “not being as forthright in our latest dealings as I’d like, and perhaps it’s time I sold elsewhere.”  The scenario expects the PCs to interpret that as the need to seek out multiple buyers and haggle in order to get the best possible deal for the spider silk.  None of us at the table clued in, and we simply sold the spider silk for the 200 gp we were first offered and thus missed the entire back-half of the quest..  It’s rare in Pathfinder, but especially in Society play, that haggling is allowed, as traditionally scenarios give a fixed price and PCs take it or leave it.  A better explanation of why the PCs needed to eke every single gold piece out of the sale would have made this quest much better—but even then, it’s still rather forgettable.  The morality angle of PCs taking part in the poison trade is also never broached.

“Silverhex” is the final quest, as the PCs learn of Ulisa’s location (either by haggling really well in the previous quest or, very coincidentally(!), overhearing the man who hired the assassins remarking where she’s been hiding.  The PCs may arrive at her cave hide-out in time to set an ambush for the assassins, or, if not, just as they attack Ulisa.  Ulisa wields silverhex (the magic sickle) in battle and you would think, given all the fuss, it would be really cool and impressive, but it’s just a spell-storing sickle and her stat block doesn’t even indicate what spell it has stored!  The assassins put up a fair fight, and I have no difficulty complaints with this one.  After the battle, the PCs can then intervene with the noble who set the bounty on Ulisa and get it lifted for just 500 gp or a DC 25 Diplomacy check.  There’s been a lot of drama over so little!

There’s a last bit of weirdness on the Chronicle sheet.  One of the boons speaks about the PCs coming to the attention of the Pathfinder Society and being invited to join as a field agent.  Nowhere else in The Silverhex Chronicles is there a reference to the PCs not yet being Pathfinders (the default assumption for PFS), so it was a bit jarring.

The label that comes to mind when I think of this Quest pack is: “sloppy.”  There are a lot of little plot elements and details that just don’t make sense.  The encounters are all over the place in terms of difficulty, with some quests featuring trivial battles and another verging on a TPK-generator.  And although I like the idea of seeing more of the River Kingdoms, the bits of lore I saw didn’t always match closely with what I’ve seen referenced in campaign setting sourcebooks.  This Quest pack is free, so one really shouldn’t complain overmuch, but this one definitely needed better editing and oversight to bring it all together. 

Pathfinder Society Scenario # 10-05: "Mysteries Under Moonlight, Part 1: Testament of Souls" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

I played through this with my half-orc paladin, and read it for the purposes of this review.  I think I have to be candid and say that my experience was very much affected by the GM, as he mistakenly started running it at the high sub-tier, and then when the combats were overwhelming and he realised it, he made a series of ad hoc adjustments to later encounters rather than shift to the right sub-tier.  Suffice it to say, that didn’t exactly inspire confidence, and that along with what I later realised where other changes to the scenario have probably biased me in a more negative direction against the scenario than it may deserve.

With all those disclaimers out of the way, I can fairly say the scenario is really useful in the flavour and lore it provides for Magnimar and some of its notable locations and personalities.  Players and GMs who use the city as a setting in other adventures will get a lot out of it.  Apart from that, the scenario left me feeling a bit flat.

SPOILERS

The scenario starts with a briefing inside the Magnimar Lodge, with both PFS regular V-C Sheila Heidmarch and, in a nice touch, her husband, V-C Canayven Heidmarch.  The couple explain that several of the monuments in Magnimar (famous as sites of pilgrimage and ritual power) have started acting strangely in recent weeks.  Although Lord-Mayor Grobaras has hired a supernatural investigator named Theodorus, the agent has lost the confidence of the local Varisian population by turning up little in the way of results while badgering witnesses along the way.  Thus, the Varisian Council has contracted the PFS to conduct an independent investigation.  I really like the premise here for a couple of reasons.  First, I’m fond of Magnimar after spending more time there than I expected when running Rise of the Runelords.  A story involving the famous monuments is a natural fit for the setting, and I wish I had done a better job integrating them into my games.  Second, I like the political conflict angle between Grobaras and the Varisian Council.  It’s not reflected in the scenario as much as I might have liked, but it’s another good way to flesh out the city.

The PCs’ first stop will be a monument called the Mistress of Angels, erected in honour of Ordellia Whilwren, one of Magnimar’s most beloved founders.  Ordellia’s ghost is known to make frequent appearances near the monument, but lately it has appeared frightened and upset.  When the PCs arrive, they see the Lord-Mayor’s investigator, Theodorus, interrogating witnesses.  Theodorus does not take kindly to word that a parallel investigation is going on, and he presents a natural but non-violent foil for the Pathfinders (my GM played him as about to start torturing the witnesses, which almost led to a fight breaking out!). 

There’s some excellent role-playing to be had in this section, both in terms of antagonistic banter with Theodorus and the questioning of the witnesses, each of whom has a brief but effective backstory and personality and that can be persuaded to talk with a different selection of skills (some of which are a bit forced).  I particularly liked seeing a same-sex couple represented in a matter-of-fact way.  Effective questioning will lead PCs to suspect that perhaps some sort of cult is at work, intentionally defiling the monuments.  Also on the scene is an ally of Sheila Heidmarch, a cleric of Ashava named Davorge.  Davorge is a further source of information and background, but he also serves to keep the PCs on track.  He tries to enlist the group in performing a sort of cleansing ritual on the monument; it makes sense, but came across a bit cheesy in play.

The next monument for the PCs to visit is the Cenotaph, a ten-story tower that serves as an urban cemetery for the wealthy and influential.  As the PCs descend into the catacombs to investigate the reported disturbances, they’re accosted by five spirits, one at a time.  As the scenario intends, the PCs are to influence the spirits to depart by using one of a set list of skills; failure means the spirit “overshadows” the PC and gives them a pretty hefty penalty for the rest of the scenario.  The issue I found here is that undead in Golarion are assumed to be evil or at least trapped souls needing to be set free, but there’s no way to use traditional means (like challenging positive energy or using a ghost touch weapon) to affect them.  In other words, they have every appearance of being creatures that the PCs should be able to affect, but they “break the rules” of the setting by being invulnerable to everything but the right skill checks.  I found it quite frustrating as a player.  One little touch I did like a lot is that if any of the players have had a PC die in one of a set list of scenarios involving Sheila Heidmarch, she’s arranged to have that PC interred in the Cenotaph with a plaque listing their contribution to the Society.  Very cool idea!

Once past the spirits, the PCs descend into the catacombs for a more traditional fight against a group of undead (depending on the tier, it could be a mix of zombies, skeletal champions, mohrgs, or mummies).  The encounter is very bland as there’s no description of the environment and the map selection is a very generic stone room.  The PCs can again attempt a ritual to sanctify the place.

The final monument is the Founder’s Flame in the nouveaux-riche Naos district.  Normally a small bowl burning with an inextinguishable flame, it now burns with a sickly green hue and functions as a haunt that spews forth fire elementals.  I think the encounter here was reasonably interesting.

Once the PCs have investigated the monuments, they’re expected to return to Ordellia to speak with Davorge.  The ghost of Ordellia Whilwren beckons them to enter her old townhouse, where they find Davorge and another figure (an azata) badly hurt and unconscious.  The villains responsible are “vampire spawn cultists” along with (at high sub-tier only) a soul eater.  It’s definitely a tough battle, with the enemies’ energy drain ability particularly nasty and likely to require some spending of Prestige Points to clear.  Assuming the PCs rescue the captives, they learn that the malevolent entity truly behind the desecration of the monuments is an evil will-o’wisp named Tulvhatha.  Tulvhatha’s spiritual raid on Magnimar is only an extension of what she’s done in the Mushfens, where she’s turned a holy site of Ashava called the Soul Spark into a force for darkness and despair.  Cue Part 2!

All in all, I guess I have a mixed reaction to the scenario.  There’s definitely some quality writing and interesting NPCs, and I love the use and elaboration of Magnimar lore (and the incorporation of material about Ordellia and Davorge from Undead Unleashed).  On the other hand, some of the plot elements felt very forced and I was particularly not fond of the spirits in the Cenotaph.  I’m going to give it an “average” rating, and hope that the discussion above does a suitable job explaining why.

Rise of the Runelords Recap # 63 [RPG]

[19 Abadius 4708 continued]

"Man's best friend" doesn't apply to ghoul hounds!

With a few hours of daylight left on a cold, wintery afternoon, the adventurers decide to take up Sister Giulia’s vaguely-stated request to investigate the “haunting” of Paupers’ Graves.  The few miles’ walk eastward on the Lost Coast Road is uneventful, and soon the adventurers reach their destination: three acres of land, bordered by a low crumbling wall, perched between the road and the seaside cliffs to the north.  Although the graves are overgrown with vegetation and many of the tombstones are faded and indistinct, the place appears serene and far from terrifying.  Salma examines some of the markers and explains that the graveyard was popular with Varisian caravans long before the construction of Sandpoint began several decades ago, and that many poor labourers who died in the town’s construction were buried there.  When a graveyard was added behind the town’s cathedral, few bothered using Paupers’ Graves anymore.  The adventurers walk around and, not finding anything suspicious, discuss either leaving or waiting until nightfall.  Jinkatsyu, however, clears away the tree branches and dead leaves covering one of the graves and realizes a disturbing fact: it’s empty!  And worse, a vertical shaft has been dug out of the earth and descends at least 25’ down into darkness.

Nerissa is quick to volunteer to go first, and drops down the hole to find a warren of rank-smelling passageways frequently layered with well-chewed bones.  Instants later, her visit is welcomed by the slavering jaws of a pair of large dogs that are clearly amongst the walking dead: ghoul hounds!  One by one, the adventurers drop into the hole to do battle with the ghoul hounds (who are easily dispatched), but the last member of the group left above on the surface receives an unwelcome surprise—an arrow in the back!  Ava panicks and jumps into the hole, saved from further harm by a magical ring that slows her fall.  With Jinkatsyu taking point this time, the group moves further into the warren.  Salma’s fireball disintegrates a pair of ghouls who thought to make a meal out of the kitsune, but there doesn’t seem to be any further opposition.  Coffins, gnawed bodies, and piles of bones are found, as well as a small cache of treasure. 

Ghouls are intelligent enough
 to use weapons and tactics.

After a thorough search of the underground tunnels, the adventurers decide to return to the surface.  No sign of the mysterious archer appears until the half-elf Salma (the only member of the party with human ancestry) climbs out of the hole.  Once she does, a volley of enchanted arrows come speeding out from behind a well-hidden sniping position and strike true.  The adventurers spring into action, but not before the archer (revealed to be yet another ghoul) fires a final arrow that kills Salma outright!  The archer is quickly destroyed, but the real hero of the fight is Ava who springs quickly to Salma’s aid and uses powerful divine magicks to bring the fallen wizard back from the realm of death.  The faith that the grippli has repeatedly demonstrated through prayers to her deity Sinashakti was amply rewarded.  A thorough search of the cemetery turns up no further ghouls or other threats, and with Nerissa and Jinkatsyu suffering from the low temperatures, the group decide to teleport instantly back to the Rusty Dragon.  Nerissa personally delivers the news of the group’s success to Sister Giulia, and the others pass the night resting from their harrowing experience.

[20 Abadius 4708]

In the morning, the adventurers undertake a few errands.  Salma teleports herself and Jinkatsyu to Magnimar to purchase supplies and sell some of the items the group found in Paupers’ Grave.  Kang continues using the freely-provided and well-appointed suite at the Rusty Dragon to conduct his smoky and foul-smelling experiments into alchemy, testing the patience of even a veritable saint like halfling maid Bethana Corwin.  Nerissa goes over her journal again, still frustrated that she wrote such an extensive diary at some point in her past but cannot now decipher the code.  Ava continues her prayers and supplications to Sinashtaki.

Alaznist was not a Runelord to be trifled with!

Around lunchtime, the adventurers decide to make a serious effort to investigate the catacombs underneath the town.  Through a variety of magicks (the most visibly interesting of which is Kang’s elixir that turns his body into fluid), the adventurers all descend through fissures in the ground to the chamber that Nerissa scouted earlier.  Tunnels and chambers of ancient worked stone are explored, but beyond a pool that magically replenishes purified water and an impressive statue that Salma identifies as Alaznist, the Runelord of Wrath, little of interest is discovered.  Clear signs indicate that the heroes who aided Sandpoint after the Swallowtail Festival had already trod this same ground, and vanquished any visible threats.

-----------------------------------

Director's Commentary (10 March 2019)

The mission to Pauper's Graves was from the back of the first volume of the hardcover Pathfinder comics collection.  For the Jediah Kheln ghoul, I used a "Ghoul Huntsman" (I think it was called) from the Monster Codex, and tried to play it as cleverly as possible.  Its elf bane were what caused Salma's death.  We see Ava use breath of life for (I think) the first of the many subsequent times to come.

Pathfinder Flip-Mat: "Basic Terrain Multi-Pack" [RPG]

There’s not a lot to say about the Basic Terrain Multi-Pack beyond the basics you can read about in the product description.  It’s a set of two 24x30 inch gridded mats that, as with all Paizo flip-mats, accepts wet erase, dry erase, or even permanent marker.  Each side of the mats is a different colour and is very lightly textured to serve as an otherwise-featureless landscape: grasslands, stone floor, water, and street.  By “otherwise-featureless”, I mean that these are uniform in pattern—there aren’t any fallen trees in the grasslands or broken cobblestones in the street.  But to me that’s okay, as it’s not the point of the set and other flip-mats exist that provide that additional layer of detail.  In terms of the colouring and texture that are there, I think each side is a good representation except that the “street” side doesn’t seem particularly evocative of anything at all.

In terms of usefulness, I think it’s really going to depend on the level of immersion you want players to have during encounters.  Featureless grids aren’t hard to find, and the Bigger Basic flip-mat could stand-in for any of these terrains.  But if you’re vexed with players who are like “why is the ocean a light tan”, then having terrain-specific but detail-free flip-mats could be useful.  I don’t have those players and don’t use this set very often, though it’s always handy, of course, to have some extra mats available to pre-draw certain encounters.  And if you don’t already have any blank flip-mats, then this is a good value and worth the purchase.

Pathfinder Flip-Mat Classics: "Swamp" [RPG]

I've had occasion to use the Swamp flip-mat on a few occasions now.  The two sides of this mat have a lot in common, with identical color schemes, basic terrain features (winding paths of dry land with boggy water on either side, with darker patches that could be maybe quicksand or deep water?), and the same sort of drag-and-drop trees that don't really look like they fit naturally into the scene.  The difference between the two sides comes in some additional features.  The flip-mat's "front" (according to the packaging) has crumbling stone walls from some sort of an ancient ruin (complete with broken columns, a throne, and a staircase leading downward) near some sort of hut or dugout surrounded by sphere-topped stakes of some kind (I can't quite tell).  It's okay, but I tend to like my terrain flip-mats more "pure", and find the addition of extraneous structures to be distracting limitations on my ability to re-use them for various scenes.  The "back" of the flip-mat is better, and contains some believably-common features such as tree-trunks blocking the path, a small island that could *maybe* be reached by balancing across a branch, etc.  Overall though, the design and art on the flip-mat just aren't very impressive, and I wouldn't mind seeing an updated take on the idea--or even a "Bigger Swamp" flip-mat.

Pathfinder Society Scenario # 8-01: "Portent's Peril" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

Portent's Peril will always be a special Pathfinder Society scenario to me; it was the first one I ever played!  Using my "caveman shaman" PC for the first time and attending my first PaizoCon, this was the scenario that started off my experience in organised play.  That was a couple of years ago now, and this review is based on my memories of that session as well as recently reading the scenario.  It's a very original adventure in terms of concept, and cleverly incorporates some mechanics (inspired by the setting) that players may have never encountered before.  One of its strengths is that there's a lot of latitude given to different ways to solve problems--it's far from being a rote dungeon-crawl like some early season scenarios.  It also makes great use of world lore and contains several references to earlier adventures.  Although one section might be a little on the cheesy side and the plot is a bit loose, on the whole I had a blast playing it and enjoyed reading it.

SPOILERS

Via a brief handout, the PCs are sent to Korvosa at the behest of Venture-Captain Sheila Heidmarch to meet with Zeeva Foxglove, the owner of a marketplace called the Green Market.  The name "Foxglove" may strike some Rise of the Runelords players as familiar, and it was a great easter egg for me when I played.  When the PCs meet with Zeeva, she explains that, after an encounter with a fortune-teller, she's become convinced that a terrible slate of calamities is about to befall Korvosa.  She offers the adventurers a Harrow reading, and this cleverly combines the fun of a real-world Tarot card reading (especially in the hands of a creative GM) while advancing the plot.  With the benefit of some knowledge checks, PCs will realise that the cards they drew are clues to where these disasters might strike; and in addition, each PC gets a special benefit dependent on the card they drew.  My caveman drew the Idiot card, which was perfect!  Owning a Harrow deck is not a requirement to play the scenario (there are alternatives), but having one does add a lot to the feel of the adventure and I'd recommend it.  Anyway, it's a very memorable beginning and a nice change from the standard mission briefing I've become all-too familiar with since.

The clues from the Harrow cards lead the PCs to three different sites around Korvosa, and they can investigate them in any order.

My favourite location was a run-down tenement full of homeless people calling themselves The Empty.  There's some excellent role-playing to be had here.  Once the PCs move on to the second floor to investigate the rooms of some suspicious people, there's a good chance they trigger a trap that collapses part of the floor, raining bricks and debris on the people below!  The PCs may have just caused the exact calamity they were sent to prevent, a clever plot point.  But as they hurry to rescue those trapped in the rubble before they suffocate or are crushed to death, they'll also see the loose pages of a book or journal being blown out the window of the room they want to search.  The PCs have to decide quickly what their priorities are and how to handle the twin dilemmas, which will reveal a lot about individual personalities and the group's ability to work as a team.  Mechanically, a good array of skill checks are used and player creativity is explicitly rewarded.  I'm on the record as favouring encounters with a sense of urgency and multiple problems that have to be solved at the same time, and I thought this was a fantastic way of implementing the idea with the added bonus of a revealing moral dilemma.

A second location is an inn called the Frisky Unicorn.  Again there's a lot of role-playing potential.  The drama is caused by the presence of several psuedodragons in the building's turret, and unless the PCs are friendly and diplomatic, misunderstandings can lead to combat.  Still, I found the whole thing ran to the cheesy side and it was only, in the most tangential sense, related to the plot.

The third location is the Kendall Amphitheater.  The PCs arrive as a troupe of actors are practicing stage combat, and (as in the tenement) their attempt to stop catastrophe is actually what causes it.  By distracting the actors, they cause a minor accident and blood is shed.  But because the theatre is built above an old sinkhole full of ankhegs, the blood lures the monsters to break through the floor!  It sounds like a real stretch, but it's actually a plot point right out of the Guide to Korvosa.  Good research!

After visiting the three locations, the PCs may start to pierce together what's really happening: a somewhat baroque plot by disgruntled members of the Pathfinder Society's former Sczarni faction to assassinate a Taldarn noblewoman (Lady Auralina Qualstair) and blame it on Qadira in order to spark a war that would fracture the newer Exchange faction.  I imagine most of the major NPCs in this scenario must stem from previous PFS storylines even if they were all new to me.  Anyway, the PCs will realize that the assassination attempt against Lady Qualstair will take place at the Green Market, and that's the real catastrophe that Zeeva Foxglove may had foretold for her.  As they race to get there in time, there's a fun little obstacle in the form of a street preacher of Groetus proclaiming doom and gloom--this isn't designed as a combat encounter, but instead one that (unless handled smartly) can slow the PCs down with detrimental effects for the big climax.  I really liked it, and I might just have to play a street preacher of Groetus someday.

The big end to the scenario is suitably exciting.  Depending on how quickly they arrive, Lady Qualstair has been or is just about to be poisoned by a Scarzni assassin named Jaelle Goldtooth.  The PCs need to save Lady Qualstair from the poison while apprehending the fleeing assassin, all in the middle of a crowded market that Goldstar starts on fire to cover her escape!  Again, there's a lot going on (poison! assassin! crowd! fire!) and I love it.  As a villain, Goldtooth is memorable as she has an archetype from The Harrow Handbook and her choices and abilities depend, round to round, on the crowd she (and the GM) draw.  All in all, it's a great encounter and a satisfying climax.

There's also a brief Conclusion that nicely wraps things up with some additional role-playing instead of the usual abrupt ending.

I do have a few criticisms.  As I mention above, the pseudodragon side-trek could have been much better.  Korvosa as a whole seems like a much friendlier place than I imagined, and a darker tone for the city would have fit even better the "impending calamity" theme.  The plot, although simple from the player's perspective, doesn't really hold up to scrutiny from a backstory perspective.  Last, GMs *really* need to draw the custom maps ahead of time: they are large and detailed (with the Green Market still probably the biggest and busiest location I've seen yet in PFS).  I'm also not sure why flip-mats weren't chosen for the Frisky Unicorn (only the turret is likely to have an encounter, and that could be a quick add-on to any inn/tavern map) and for the Kendall Amphitheatre (there's a theatre flip-mat, though admittedly it's an older one).

Few scenarios are perfect though, and these criticisms shouldn't dissuade you from running Portent's Peril.  With some extra preparation, I'm confident your players will have a great time.

Rise of the Runelords Recap # 62 [RPG]

[19 Abadius 4708 continued]

A tentative foray into the catacombs under Sandpoint continues, as Nerissa drops intangibly through almost thirty feet of rock to find herself in a small, dark chamber that contains a spiral staircase wrapped around a pillar.  The staircase literally leads to nowhere, as tons of fallen rock have destroyed wherever it originally led.  Trusting her uncanny ability to see in the pitch blackness of the underground area, she moves along a short corridor to find another chamber of worked stone.  This one contains a circular stone pool of rippling water lined with skulls.  Wary of a trap, she lobs a rock into the pool only to see it sink to the bottom in a perfectly normal way.  Meanwhile, on the surface, the others hear the sound of cheering coming from the northeast.  Kang’s keen hearing picks up chants of “Nisk! Nisk!” and he can’t resist investigating.  Ava uses her abilities to slip through dimensions to drop down to the catacombs and retrieve Nerissa, and everyone leaves.  Brodert Quink is annoyed at the interruption, saying he’s spent a lifetime trying to learn more about the ruins of ancient Thassilon in and under Sandpoint.

Nisk Tander isn't much of an alchemist,
but he's excellent at self-promotion!

When the adventurers reach the sound of the cheering, they see an odd sight:  two large, flatbed wagons have been lashed together and are being pulled by a team of oxen, and their cargo is a bound and unconscious stone giant!  And even more surprisingly is that local alchemist (and Kang’s hated rival) Nisk Tander is standing on the giant’s rock-hard stomach receiving the plaudits of victory!  Walking easily alongside the wagons is elven scout and bounty hunter Shalelu Andosana.  The adventurers pull her aside and she explains that she was in Galduria a few days ago when Nisk (her source of knock-out poison for her special sleep arrows) suggested an audacious plan: by leaving a cartload of sedative-laced alcohol out on the road for the giant raiding parties to “stumble upon”, they might take one of them prisoner for interrogation!  Shalelu recounts that, surprisingly even to herself, the plan went off without a hitch.  She says, however, that Sandpoint wasn’t the only place raided in recent days—many towns and ruins in western Varisia were targeted, with the giants usually making off with stones, treasure, and wealthy merchants or moneylenders.  As Shalelu finishes her tale, Nisk sees Kang in the crowd and smugly announces that he’s done what even the “Heroes of Sandpoint” have failed to do by taking one of the attackers prisoner.  And more, he says that after hearing the adventurers’ “tale of woe” about altitude sickness on Hook Mountain that he’s personally perfected a formula to make mountaineers immune to the danger.  “Nisk Tander’s Elixir of the Peaks” the formula will be called, he says, and adds that if the adventurers had a competent alchemist among their number, their battle with the ogres would have been much easier.  Kang is predictably outraged by the comment, and his allies come to his defense.

When Sheriff Hemlock arrives, he orders the odd procession to continue on to the Garrison.  He tells the adventurers that they’ve earned the right to take part in the interrogation of the stone giant if they wish.  Nisk Tander begs off, claiming he has important matters to attend to at his shop (even though it’s a Sunday).  As the others enter the Garrison, Ava sees a trio of young nobles standing across the street at the Town Hall.  They wave her over with kind smiles on their face.  “I’m Nagol Scarnetti, president of the Sandpoint Welcoming Committee,” one of the men explains.  “And we’d like to welcome you to leave Sandpoint, freak!”  He and his cronies start chanting “People Not Freaks!” and handing out fliers for their new campaign as the grippli’s face widens in shock and anger.  Salma and Jinkatsyu come to her aid, but the verbal altercation doesn’t end until Ava summons a gout of water to douse Nagol.  “This isn’t over, you freaks!” he shouts, before storming off in a huff.

Tuvarok of the Valissgander Tribe has no fear of humans.

In the courtyard of the Sandpoint Garrison, the unconscious stone giant is starting to stir.  Hemlock calls out several guards in case even the thick steel chains tying the giant to the wagons aren’t enough.  Shalelu nocks an arrow and points it right at the giant’s neck.  When everyone is ready, Ava conjures a gout of water to spray the giant in the face.  Deeply hungover and still partially drugged, the giant moans, flickers his eyelids, and tests the chains holding him in place.  The stone giant, who proclaims his name as Tuvarok of the Valissgander Tribe of the Plateau People, doesn’t seem frightened at all by his predicament.  He arrogantly explains that his lord, Mokmurian, has mastered the lost arts of powerful magic and has assembled several tribes to sweep down into the lowlands and rule Varisia as the giants once did in ancient times.  At first he refuses to say more, but Nerissa persuades him to expand on his earlier statements by appealing to his weakness: strong human ale!  When she rolls a keg of Two Knights beer over from the Rusty Dragon, Tuvarok laughs, says he will take her as his personal slave when the true invasion comes, and then starts to talk.  He explains that Mokmurian has gathered at least seven tribes under his command, with each tribe numbering in the dozens.  In addition to stone giants, lesser kin—ogres, hill giants, trolls, ettins—have flocked to his banner, as have several lamias, followers of the Mother of Monsters.  When asked why the giants raided Sandpoint, Tuvarok says he doesn’t really know.  The leader of the scouting party, Teraktinus, mentioned having a special mission from Lord Mokmurian, but didn’t tell anyone what it was.  Tuvarok explains that his people have a special way of prying secrets from the stones, and that perhaps one of the stones knew something that Lord Mokmurian wished to learn.  When asked about Jorgenfist, Tuvarok says it’s a mighty fortress constructed by Mokmurian around an ancient place that is taboo to his people: the Black Tower in the Iron Peaks.  “Lord Mokmurian is too powerful to fear blasphemy!” Tuvarok shouts proudly.  Indeed, Tuvarok is so confident in the superiority of his master and the assembled tribes that he even offers to lead the adventurers to Jorgenfist so that they can witness its majesty firsthand.  The interrogation concludes with a promise from Tuvarok that the true invasion force will come in less than a month and will sweep through all of Varisia.

Afterwards, the adventurers discuss what to do.  Nerissa says that it sounds like the giants are planning to march en masse even if they didn’t get what they came for in Sandpoint.  Jinkatsyu says that if the giants are coming for a particular stone, the adventurers could find it first and take it away, thus sparing the town.  Kang notes that if they do find the stone, it could be a useful bargaining chip with the giants.  He says that the first thing to do is find whatever it is the giants were looking for.  Conversation turns to what should be done with Tuvarok.  A consensus is reached that the giant poses too much of a danger to Sandpoint and should be killed.  However, when the group broaches the idea with Mayor Deverin, she’s adamantly opposed and says that murdering sentient prisoners of war would be illegal, immoral, and likely to make tensions with the stone giants even worse.  She says she’ll arrange things with Magnimar so that Tuvarok is detained safely until he can be tried for his crimes.  The adventurers do succeed, however, in persuading the quite reluctant mayor to give them permission to enter the catacombs.  She reminds the group of her concern that if there is anything down there, it’s best to leave it safely contained rather than stir up trouble.  After meeting with the mayor, the group settle on a plan to explore the catacombs for a few days and, if nothing of interest is found, to plan an expedition to Jorgenfist. 

The adventurers spend the next few hours on various tasks.  Having been told by Sheriff Hemlock that Miryana Lahs has been seeking information on how her husband died, Kang pens a very matter-of-fact letter about Artemis’ death.  Jinkatsyu and Salma head over to Nisk Tander’s shop, Bottled Solutions, in the hopes of obtaining a sample of his “Elixir of the Peaks” so that Kang can replicate it.  Salma adroitly plays to Nisk’s ego, but can’t persuade the alchemist to part with a vial for less than 3,000 gold pieces.  The two leave, disappointed.  Nerissa runs into Sister Giulia and is asked, in a circular and absent-minded way, if she and her friends could put a stop to the “haunting” of a local cemetery, Paupers’ Graves, because Madame M’vashti always wanted to be buried there.  Nerissa says that the defense of Sandpoint has to come first, but that, if there’s time, they’ll try to get to it.  In the middle of the afternoon, everyone assembles at The Way North, the small map shop run by Jinkatsyu’s friend Veznutt Parooh.  The shop is open, despite it being a Sunday, and Veznutt delivers the promised map of how to reach Jorgenfist.  When asked about a map of the catacombs, however, he says the adventurers who previously explored it never revealed enough details to create one.  The excitable gnome offers to go along as party cartographer if there’s a new expedition, but Kang distracts him by mentioning some maps of the Hook Mountain region he recently donated to Ilsoari Gandethus.

---------------------------------------

Director's Commentary (March 4, 2019)

Even though I'm running the campaign, I'm still surprised in retrospect at how some NPCs really come alive and take on significant roles, while others fade away into the background quickly.  Shalelu, for example, is a major NPC with her own subplot in the AP, and stats are given in case she becomes a cohort or permanent member of the group.  But in this campaign, Shalelu never really formed strong bonds with anyone and quickly faded in importance after Fort Rannick--I think perhaps this session is her final appearance.  On the other hand, minor NPCs that only receive a couple of lines' worth of attention--like Veznutt Parooh and Nisk Tander--gradually develop into significant allies or rivals in a very organic way.  I have as much fun as anyone in seeing where the story will go, and it's why I love to drop little scenes and subplots (such as Nisk Tander's Elixir of the Peaks and Ava's verbal assault by Nagol Scarnetti) into the game  even though I don't know how they'll be resolved.

I didn't know if the PCs would take advantage of having a prisoner to interrogate, but it turned out to be a good decision.  It allowed them to learn a lot about Mokurian and his fortress, for me to drop some back-story and lore, and for the sense of urgency that comes from knowing something is going to happen on a fixed date (such as the invasion in one month).  As I write this, Chapter Four is long in the past and the sense of urgency has unfortunately disappeared because an abstract danger that will occur at unknown some point in the future doesn't seem all that pressing.