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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.
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