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.