Pathfinder Society Scenario # 9-07: "Salvation of the Sages" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

I started playing Salvation of the Sages with my half-orc Paladin of Sarenrae.  I say "started" because I had to leave before the first encounter due to a plot point discussed in the spoilers below.  Suffice it to say, there's something that makes this scenario very hard for paladins and certain other character concepts to play within alignment and other restrictions.  Putting that to one side, however, the scenario looks really interesting, has an epic conclusion, and nicely resolves some long-standing storylines within PFS.  I guess I'd recommend it for those PCs with more  . . . flexible . . . conceptions of morality.

SPOILERS

Salvation of the Sages starts with a briefing in the city of Merab in Osirion.  Venture-Captain Diya Akan and one of the jewelled sages, Tahonikepsu, explain the situation.  The sage jewels used by the leaders of the faction have, since their inception, been contaminated with a fragment of the soul of an evil necromancer named Aryana Tahari.  Although at present the contamination manifests as easily-resisted evil thoughts and urgings, the influence of Tahari's soul seems to be growing.  The jewelled sages have decided to come together as a group and try to remove the contamination before it becomes too powerful and leads the order into evil.  To do this, they need to perform a ritual at the heart of Tahari's stronghold when she was among the living: a village named Resa that has now fallen into ruins.  There's a lot of additional information and backstory that stems from previous scenarios (none of which I've played), so I'm just summarising the gist of the plot here.

My involvement as a player in the scenario unfortunately ended with the next scene.  The members of the order assemble, and the GM asks for Knowledge (religion) checks.  It turns out that one of the jewelled sages is a freaking lich, and, yep, detects as evil!  In a group with multiple paladins, that brought the adventure to a sudden lurch.  I will say some excellent role-playing eventuated all around, but the bottom line was that there was no way my character could ally himself with a lich--so I had to walk!  I'm of two minds about the issue.  On the one hand, I think it was short-sighted and exclusionary.  On the other hand, it was a good moral dilemma and no one said life as a paladin would be easy.  I do find it ironic now that there's no consideration of this problem whatsoever in the scenario, but there is extensive discussion of how PCs may react to another problematic member of the sages--Grandmaster Torch.  Anyway, the rest of this review is based purely on reading the scenario.

The first encounter of the scenario is triggered when the group move toward the ruins of Resa.  By bringing the sage jewels back in proximity to Tahari's source of strength, the group enable the evil necromancer's spirit to activate a deadly ward.  In a very cool and well-described moment, a basalt monolith erupts from the rumbling earth, sandstorms begin assaulting the area, and masses of undead creatures arise to attack.  In mechanical terms, the monolith gives off periodic waves of negative energy and needs to be disabled through skill checks, while the horde of undead use the troop rules from Bestiary 6 to good effect.  A really nice touch is that the undead can air walk by climbing along the surfaces of buildings that collapsed millennia ago, but so can PCs who have strong connections to undead (like dhampirs or sorcerers with the undead bloodline).  One of the jewelled sages directly assists the PCs in the combat, while the others are helping off-grid cinematically.  It looks like a really good encounter to start things off, though it is also the last combat the PCs will face until the last part of the scenario.

The middle part of Salvation of the Sages is general exploration of Tahari's underground vault containing her research laboratories.  There aren't any encounters here, but there are a couple of traps (with a decontamination trap that inflicts a maximized fireball on players particularly nasty).  There's a ton of background information on Tahari, the diseases she created, potential cures, and much more.  It's definitely fitting that there's so much information to process in a mission that spotlights the Scarab Sages.  Players who like to put the pieces together and assemble a narrative will be happy with what they have to work with.  In a way, it's like a dungeon crawl but with important lore in every room instead of monsters.  Some character concepts won't have much to do in this section of the scenario, but authors can't always cater to everyone and I think that's okay.  The hack n' slashers certainly have their fair share of scenarios.

The big capstone to the scenario is probably the most complex encounter I've ever seen in PFS.  The PCs take part in a ritual to draw the evil of Tahari out of the sage jewels and into a coherent form so it can be banished or destroyed.  There's a *lot* going on here: multiple skill checks for the rituals; four different sets of enemies with complex stat blocks who arrive, contingent on events, at staggered times; multiple ongoing hazards and magical effects that have to be resolved each round; an elaborate presentation of a mindscape mechanism (PCs can journey into a sage jewel to try to expel Tahari); and handling the jewelled sages themselves, who can either help the PCs (if freed from Tahari's influence) or turn against the PCs (if possessed too directly by Tahari's evil).  At this point in the game's (and organized play's) lifecycle, I have no qualms about complex encounters--though I think if any scenario should be gated behind 4 or 5 star GM access, it might be this one!  GMs need to prep for this encounter thoroughly and probably have a round-by-round flow chart or something similar ready.  I haven't played or run the encounter, so I can't evaluate how well it works in practice but it does sound pretty epic.

I really appreciate how the scenario's epilogue accounts for a wide variety of possibilities in what happens during the ritual.  Resolution is provided for if the ritual works or fails, of course, but there's also specific discussion of each of the sages and what happens to them if their own sage jewel was destroyed.  As I often say in these reviews, too many scenarios end too abruptly, but that's not the case here.

My concluding thoughts are that, although it's certainly a bottom-heavy scenario and the issue with the lich is significant, I have to imagine Salvation of the Sages was a satisfying resolution to those players invested in the saga of the sage jewels.  It makes me wish I had been playing since the beginning of PFS so it could have full impact on me.

Pathfinder Society Scenario # 7-99: "Through Maelstrom Rift" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

Through Maelstrom Rift is definitely different than your average PFS scenario.  It can only be run by four- or five- star GMs, so you don't see it offered everyday.  It also uses special pre-gens that are very different than your run of the mill races and classes!  The backstory to the plot is a bit opaque and confusing, though the adventure itself has some interesting encounters and role-playing opportunities.  It's an odd scenario, but a memorable one, and worth signing up for should you see it offered.

SPOILERS

Through Maelstrom Rift takes place entirely on the elemental Plane of Air!  The adventure revolves around a tower that has become the focus of chaotic planar eddies from a breach of the dimensional walls with another plane, the Maelstrom.  The breach and resulting eddies are causing major disruptions in that area of the Plane of Air, and the PCs are tasked with investigating and solving the problem.  There's a fairly involved backstory behind the crisis that involves lingering magic from the ancient imprisonment of Ranginori (an elemental lord), an artefact called the Untouchable Opal, a "naunet protean" called the Rift Spinner, a group called the Concordance of Elements, and more.  We're clearly not in Golarion anymore!  There's a lot of setting lore here that was brand new to me as a player (and subsequent reader) of the scenario because I haven't done much with the game's planar cosmology, but, fortunately, grasping the nuances aren't crucial to understanding the general thrust of the scenario.  I will say in the scenario's favour that at least some of this semi-convoluted backstory has some player-facing content so it's not a GM-only thing.

The pre-generated PCs are a fascinating collection of custom-made adventurers tailored to the plot.  Each is given a full backstory and motivation, and there are several points in the scenario where particular named PCs are given special opportunities or role-playing interactions.  The pre-gens are mechanically a really fun lot as well, ranging from a kineticist water mephit to a pyrausta bard and much more in between.  I signed up late to the scenario and was assigned a janni (genie) aristocrat named Jamila, and I can't tell you how nerdishly happy I was to realize that this was the same character from PFS # 0-3, Murder on the Silken Caravan (and her backstory references the events of that scenario)!  I'm a sucker for surprising continuity.  My favourite of the pre-gens is "Octaris", who is actually someone impersonating the intended recipient of the mission invitation and has to use various means to disguise the fact that they have a different set of powers.

The scenario starts with a briefing in Armun Kelisk, a metropolis on the Plane of Air.  A member of the Concordance of Balance (a group dedicated to building peace and relationship between the elements of air, water, fire, and earth) named Ashasar delivers the briefing.  He assigns the PCs to charter an airship, travel to the site of the planar eddies, investigate, and, if possible, set the matter right before returning home.  The briefing itself is fairly standard apart from a quirky bit with an air elemental chef serving "bubble halo pie" and other foods.  There are knowledge checks to acquaint players with the basics of the Plane of Air, though I still found it hard to get a sense of what the place was like.  I guess some things are best learned through experience.

As the PCs journey from the briefing to the docks, the GM is given a handful of little vignette encounters to help provide some flavour to the city.  I really like things like this.  They don't take long and there's nothing on the line, but they give players a chance to role-play and enjoy feeling like different settings are more than just different names.

Finding an airship captain willing to take the PCs to the site of the disturbance is a role-playing and skills encounter.  The good side of this encounter is that the various NPCs captains are well-described, have very distinct personalities and ships, and the choice impacts the plot later on.  The downside is that the skill checks are pretty easy and no guidance is given to how many PCs can attempt them, whether re-tries are possible, whether a character can try another skill if they've failed on an early attempt, etc.  Setting the boundaries are crucial to make a skills challenge like this workable (and not trivially easy).

After a few days in the air, whatever airship captain the PCs chose tells them that the ship has gotten as close as it safely can.  The captain provides the PCs with a smaller vessel (I guess the aerial equivalent of a rowboat) so they can approach the eddies without risking the entire airship.  This is where the fun really starts, as, after a day or two of travel, a sudden incredibly violent wind completely smashes the PCs' ship and throws everyone overboard!  Important cargo (like rations, charts, and a special magical gift provided by the captain) fly off in various directions.  The PCs, for their part, are also flung randomly into the sky and get their first taste of the joys of the subjective gravity of the Plane of Air.  Some of the PCs have natural or magical flight and will be fine, but others have to decide what's "down" and "fall" towards it in order to move, but unless they roll well on Wisdom checks, they're likely to drastically overshoot.  All of this occurs with the added complication of a group of "comozant wyrds" (air elementals) taking an interest in the debris.  It's an encounter like nothing else I've ever played in PFS, as the PCs have to reorient themselves, recover whatever cargo they deem is most important, and either negotiate or fight the wyrds, all while falling through the air!  It's very cool and original.

After dealing with that problem, the group can make their way to the source of the problem.  The Tower of Contemplation contains several rooms that can be investigated for insight on the cause of the planar eddies.  There's a weird elemental (instead of undead) haunt that has to be neutralized before exploration is safe, as it deals constant damage and will otherwise weaken PCs substantially before the scenario's big conclusion.

In order to set things right, the PCs need to enter a portal to the Maelstrom.  They'll end up on a cool island floating in the chaos (beautifully represented with the Extradimensional Spaces Map Pack).  There's a backstory link to Runelord Azlanist and ancient Thassilon here, which (as much a fan as I am) might just be over-egging the pudding.  But anyway, the PCs need to defeat Rift Spinner (the naunet protean) and either fight or free a pack of elemental wysps that are also present.  Each round, the Maelstrom's influence produces a rippling "warpwave" that has very negative effects (usually) on a randomly-chosen PC.  I enjoy complications like this in encounters.  Once the opponents are defeated, closing the rift still needs to be done--and it's not easy or automatic, as failing skill checks causes more warpwaves and four failed skill checks result in the rift becoming permanently stuck open.  I appreciate real consequences for failure.

Unlike many scenarios, there's a nice conclusion here.  Ashasar wants a full debriefing from the PCs, and specifically calls upon any PCs who are being quiet.  It's another little thing I like, as players can't just lurk and hide from the role-playing.

All in all, there's a lot to like about Through Maelstrom Rift.  It has some interesting encounters, solid writing, great pre-gens, and a very different setting to the norm.  It'll hold special meaning to fans of planar adventures or the PFS storyline about elemental shenanigans.  It's definitely worth playing for a chance at something different.

Pathfinder: "PaizoCon 2012 Pint Glass" [RPG]

A classic Pathfinder design here, with the seven-pointed Sihedron star of Rise of the Runelords, Shattered Star, and Return of the Runelords fame.  As promised in the advertising, it is indeed dishwasher-safe and made to last.  Every would-be Runelord will want this glass to sip the sins of lesser beings!

Starfinder Flip-Mat: "Starship: The Sunrise Maiden" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

Starship: The Sunrise Maiden is (I think) the first oversized flip-mat in the Starfinder line, akin to the "Bigger" flip-mats in the Pathfinder line.  The Sunrise Maiden is a pretty cool ship that's perfectly-sized for an adventuring party, and could be used as a stand-in for most PC ships in any science-fiction campaign.

One side of the flip-mat shows the port side of the ship from above as the vessel is at rest in a docking bay.  You could use this for a "Stormtroopers are setting up the E-Web while Han runs for the gangplank" scenario, or (with a little more imagination) any sort of EVA mission on the outer hull of the ship.  There's a lot of nice detail here.

The other side, probably the more important one, has the full interior of the vessel.  The flip-mat depicts everything you'd expect a ship of this size to have: the bridge, a couple of airlocks, a (fairly large) engine room, bathrooms, escape pods, two mostly empty cargo bays, a briefing room, toilets and showers, and enough beds for seven crewmembers (though there's only six escape pods--uh oh!).  There's also a "recreation suite," though I didn't realise that's what it was from the visual depiction.  Again, there's a lot of nice detail.  Although parties may modify their ships across the course of the campaign, I could see this being the setting for all sorts of encounters and, even apart from that, I think it's important for players to be able to visualise the place their PCs spend weeks and months on as they travel across the stars.  How much I would have loved to have something like this back when I ran Star Wars campaigns!

I will quibble over the title, as "Starship: The Sunrise Maiden" is clunky, and asymmetrical to other flip-mats in the line (i.e., we don't have a "Building: Hospital" or "Planet: Jungle World" flip-mat because we assume people can figure out what stuff is).  But that's my pet peeve, and shouldn't distract from a really good flip-mat.

SPOILERS FOR DEAD SUNS BOOK 1

The Sunrise Maiden is the vessel that PCs find at the end of Book 1 of the Dead Suns AP.  The flip-mat is an exact reproduction of the ship's layout depicted on the inside back cover of that volume.  In addition, the other side (showing the exterior of the ship in a docking bay) is perfect for the big penultimate encounter of that chapter.  So in other words, GMs running Dead Suns should jump at the chance to get this flip-mat.  We've been using it in the Dead Suns campaign I've been playing in, and it's come in quite handy on multiple occasions.

Rise of the Runelords Recap # 75 [RPG]

[6 Calistril 4708 continued]

Following their successful battle against the lamias, the cautious adventurers decide to return to their hideout rather than press on.  As they’re passing through the narrow tunnels that connect Jorgenfist’s subterranean level with their own cave, however, they see a surprising sight: a large ceramic vase standing in the middle of the route.  Kang and Jemar hear the sound of movement in the various branching side tunnels around them and call out in alarm just as a stone thrown from somewhere in the darkness crashes into the vase and breaks it, releasing a massive black ooze!  The scope of the ambush becomes clear when the adventurers realize that a group of redcaps are trying to cut off their retreat so they can’t escape the writhing mass that seems to flow towards them.  Fortunately, Kang and Salma react quickly and incinerate the aberration before it can hurt anyone, and the party’s rear guard drives the surprised redcaps away.  It seems even the murderous fey know when they’re outmatched.

The glistening animate piles of sludge known 

as black puddings are the true scavengers of the underworld.

When the adventurers reach their makeshift base, they see the dwarves that they rescued earlier have arrived safely.  Considering his expedition to Jorgenfist successful, Jemar decides to escort the dwarves back home to Janderhoff.  Carefully descending to the riverbank below the cave, he and the other dwarves depart with barely a farewell, leaving Ava with hurt feelings.

After a brief rest, the adventurers decide they should press on with their own mission.  When they make it back near the winding ramp that connects the surface fortress with the subterranean level, they see barrels rolling down.  Ready for anything, the adventurers are shocked to see one of the barrels is labelled (in Giant) “Suitable for sacrifice for Lokansir” and contains a humanoid figure—alive!  When the captive is released, the adventurers can see it’s an almost naked, muscular figure covered in scars and tattoos with subtle gills on the side of his neck.  The newcomer thanks his liberators and explains that he’s Yuzo—“a seeker of fame and fortune—but mostly fame!”  Yuzo explains that he sought glory in matching his prowess against that of giant-kind, but must have been blind-sided because he doesn’t quite remember how he ended up in the barrel.  The others explain their mission to slay Mokmurian and prevent the destruction of Sandpoint, and Yuzo is keen to take part in a quest that is sure to bring them all great renown.  Fortunately, the other barrel contains Yuzo’s equipment, including a deadly-looking falchion.

Yuzo is a Gillman, a race of semi-amphibious humanoids

 with strong ties to Aroden, the Azlanti, the aboleths, 

and many other important aspects of Golarion's history.

With their numbers again bolstered by fortuitous aid, the adventurers continue past the site of their battle against the lamias and into a narrow passageway that starts to descend.  But before they get past the natural chokepoint, sharp ranseur blades suddenly jut out from the walls on either side!  The adventurers realize seconds too late that the walls on either side of the passageway have small holes in them, and that creatures on the other side don’t intend to let them pass without paying a toll in blood.  Kang is hurt and retreats, but Jinkatsyu darts forward and finds the narrow gap that allows him to slip around to the other side of one wall—only to come face to face with massive, armored troll!  The kitsune tumbles away, hoping to lure the troll out into the open.  About the same time, the troll on the side of the other wall is engaged.  Kang’s bombs blow one of the attackers to flaming bits of flesh, but not before Yuzo is badly hurt by getting repeatedly clawed and bitten.  Working together, however, Kang and Jinkatsyu manage to finish off the last one, and Ava is able to draw upon powerful magicks to heal Yuzo.  Salma’s keen eyes discern that some of the trolls’ possessions are magical, which leads the group to backtrack to their own hideout to secure the spoils of war.

While there, Yuzo sets up a collapsible bathtub and then opens a metal flask from which gallons of water stream forth!  He fully immerses himself in the water while the others talk about their plans for the morrow.  Kang expresses concern that they might be running out of time, and that, for all they know, the giant armies may have already set off.

[7 Calistril 4708]

In the morning, determined to finish off Mokmurian after days of gruelling effort, the adventurers sally forth again.  They pass the troll guard post and start following a narrow, corkscrewing tunnel that takes them hundreds and hundreds of feet below the ground.  When their descent ends, they see that the architecture is of ancient, peculiar design.  This is no giant-craft, but instead a place dating to the days of the Empire of Thassilon!
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Director's Commentary

I don't quite remember what led me to place the black-pudding-in-a-vase trap, but it seemed like a very redcap-appropriate scheme.

Yuzo, of course, was the new PC for the player who previously ran Nerissa, et al.  Yuzo was a very boisterous, outgoing character, and a lot of fun to see role-played.