Pathfinder Society Scenario # 5-11: "Library of the Lion" [RPG]

 NO SPOILERS

Library of the Lion is a really cleverly-designed scenario that has both an original premise and original gameplay.  This is not your traditional "Act 1 Encounter, Act 2 Encounter, Act 3 Encounter, Act 4 Encounter, Conclusion" PFS scenario.  It's a scenario that truly shines a spotlight on characters good at underused skills like Disguise, Bluff, and Stealth, as well as on those good at research and knowledge skills.  In fact, it may be the only PFS scenario I can think of where combat may not happen at all--at least if things go well for the PCs.  I would peg it as one for more experienced groups and GMs, but overall it's a great scenario, especially when hacking and slashing have lost a bit of their charm.

SPOILERS!

Library of the Lion takes place in the middle of the Season 5 "Year of the Demon" story arc, which sees the Pathfinder Society enmeshed in demons pouring out of the Worldwound.  To help combat the threat, the Society needs information on previous campaigns (successful and unsuccessful) to seal the threat in.  Enter the secret archives of the Kitharodian Academy, a storehouse for historical records and confidential intelligence files produced by Taldor's legendary Lion Blades.  In a joint briefing in Oppara provided by Venture-Captain Muesello and Lady Gloria Morilla, the PCs are asked to infiltrate the secret archives during an extravagant orchestral performance for the Grand Prince, which will make a lot of noise and provide an excellent distraction--but it only lasts two hours.  Although the PCs' primary mission is to find records on the Shining Crusade that will help in current efforts to stem the tide of the demon armies, their secondary mission is to do it without leaving any trace of their presence!  Early discovery could be fatal to the mission and potentially fatal to the PCs themselves.

Getting into the main (non-secret) library in the Academy is easy, as the PCs have a secret weapon--permission from Princess Eutropia, who is cooperating with the Pathfinder Society.  But from there, the PCs have to slip away into the secret wing (once they find the hidden door).  As an aside, I love that (quite naturally) large and exotic animals aren't allowed in the library.  In another scenario, I once saw a player try to bring a giant cockroach animal companion into a fancy opera house!

The core gameplay mechanic is to search the various rooms of the secret archives using skills like Linguistics or Knowledge (history), but there are also room-specific skills that can be used--so in the recital hall records, for example, Perform skills could be used.  Success turns up either clues to help bypass traps and secret doors or pieces of the historical information the PCs are seeking.  It's really smart how the writers allocated which rooms have which bits of information, with some randomness seeded there as well.  All of this has to be done within the two-hour (in-game) time limit, and the duration of various tasks are set out clearly for the GM.  I love how characters with the right aptitude can listen to the music from the orchestra (playing above them) to get clues as to how much time has passed or when a really loud crescendo is about to play, which then helps them coordinate anything noisy the PCs need to do.  This is all against a backdrop of a library attendant in the non-secret room making periodic checks to notice anything suspicious.

The scenario does have a couple of role-playing opportunities, in the form of a intelligent object that guards the library (Glorymane) and a blind caretaker--each of them could sound the alarm or be bluffed or persuaded into cooperating with the search.  The necessity of the PCs carefully covering their tracks is represented by the accumulation of "Discovery Points"--including, in a bit I love, that *not* taking magical items as loot helps contribute to the group's success here.  If the PCs are discovered early, they'll have to fight successive waves of Lion Blades and capture is treated as the equivalent of character death (unless the player wants to spend some Prestige Points).  High stakes!

I've glossed over a lot of the details and additional flavour the scenario provides, but suffice it to say it's excellently written.  My only regret playing it is that I brought a deranged dwarf spouting prophecies of doom instead of my professional scholar PC--but that's the fun of PFS, you never know what a mission might involve.  Anyway, I highly recommend Library of the Lion.