Pathfinder Society Scenario # 3-S: "Blood Under Absalom" [RPG]

 NO SPOILERS

I got a chance to play in Blood Under Absalom, the multi-table interactive special from Season Three, many years after it was first offered.  It was really interesting to compare the incredibly dense and complex Specials in SFS and the last few years of PFS1 with one of the earlier Specials that has far more straightforward content.  For example, there are no mustering activities, no aid tokens, no House-wide conditions, etc.  (Blood Under Absalom is a 50 page document, compared to the 107 pages of the Season Ten Special!)  I think there are real advantages to the more streamlined approach, even if it doesn’t do as good a job as preserving the illusion that each group in the room is having its own unique adventure.  This is a pretty combat-heavy Special, with only one real opportunity for role-playing.  The story, although straightforward, is an important one that ties into not only to the “Year of the Ruby Phoenix” season plot but also PFS content as late as Season Ten (essentially, this scenario is where the whole Hao Jin Tapestry storyline begins).  I enjoyed playing in it, and it was cool to see how the lore all tied together.

SPOILERS!

The name can be a little misleading—although the scenario does take place entirely in Absalom, it’s not some kind of dungeon-crawl.  Instead, the Decemvirate assembles all nearby agents of the Pathfinder Society to announce that entrance trials for the Ruby Phoenix Tournament are going to be held in the city.  The Tournament is held only once a decade, and the winner is allowed to choose something from the personal collection of the legendary sorcerer Hao Jin.  (This scenario just tells how the PFS gets entrants into the Tournament—there’s a whole season’s worth of stories about the Tournament itself.)  But of course, the PFS isn’t the only organisation interested in Hao Jin’s collection—those snakes the Aspis Consortium want it too!

After the briefing, there are six Acts and an Interlude in between, each of which contains at least one and possibly multiple encounters.  Just from reading it, my guess is that’s too ambitious for the hurly-burly of an interactive Special and I’d be surprised if most groups were able to accomplish everything they wanted.  I don’t know for sure though because I played it via play-by-post, which of course doesn’t have the same time restrictions.

Act 1 takes place in a crowded waterfront tavern as the emissary of the Tournament throws a hundred rubies into the air and explains that, on the morrow, those in possession of one will progress to the next stage of the trials.  This naturally sets off a huge brawl as everyone scrambles to get one.  It’s a fun premise for an encounter.  A GM’s job is hard though because for each subtier, there’s a random encounter table, so instead of preparing one batch of enemies, a GM has to prepare several. 

Act 2 sees the would-be entrants in an arena, simply trying to survive as waves of foes from Tian Xia (onis, tengu, ogre mages, etc.) are unleashed until time is called.  Again, random encounter tables mean more GM prep.

Act 3 has the PCs traversing an underground sewer system hoping to be the first to find and return with a vase.  Agents of the Aspis Consortium will spring an ambush. 

Tables are then given 15 minutes for an Interlude scene that involves a drunken ronin involved in a misunderstanding at a tavern that could lead to violence.  PCs who move quickly could resolve the situation peacefully and gain an ally, but if they don’t, the ronin instead joins the Aspis Consortium and will be encountered later as an enemy.  This is essentially a little role-playing and one-skill-check exercise, but it’s probably good to have a break from the heavy combat of the previous acts.

Act 4 is fun.  It’s a classic “assassins attack as the PCs are sleeping in an inn” scenario, something which we rarely see in PFS.  I like how GMs are instructed to handle the whole lead up nonchalantly, because if you ever ask players about watches and sleeping arrangements, they instantly know something is up.  The assassins are Qadiran poisoners hired by the Aspis Consortium.  I remember having a lot of fun with my trickster gnome detecting the ambush early and singing opera loudly to wake up the other PCs.

Act 5 has a really creative premise, and is probably the most memorable part of the scenario to me.  The PCs have to take part in stage combat at an opera house, with each assuming the role of a different character from the Lung Wa operatic tradition.  So there are characters like the Monkey King, the Wizened Crone, the Cruel Bandit, and Chou (clowns).  Each role has different (nonlethal) weaponry and restrictions on whether spells can be cast.  My GM did a great job of making the encounter all about impressing the Tournament emissary with acting out the assigned role instead of simply winning the “fight”.

Act 6 starts with an interesting exercise.  The PCs only have to ring a gong to advance to the next stage of the entrance trials.  Of course, the gong is guarded by an oni and can’t be rung too softly or too forcefully.  Clever groups might devise some interesting strategies.  The final task is to “simply” touch the robes of the emissary.  But wave after wave of elementals stand between the PCs and emissary, as do several trained monks.  One of my favourite little bits of the adventure is that the individual PC who is the first to succeed in getting to the emissary is recognised by the event overseer in front of all the assembled tables, and shortly thereafter the first table to complete another task as a group is similarly recognised.  It’s a neat thing I’ve never seen done in a Special before.  I know the Pathfinder Society is all about cooperation, but a little inter-table competition can be fun too.

Overall, I really liked Blood Under Absalom.  I can see its limitations—it doesn’t have a great storyline, there are limited opportunities for role-playing, and the time-constraints look pretty rough.  But to me, it just had a fun feel to it, and I think too often the multi-table Specials overcomplicate things.

Pathfinder Tales: "Pirate's Promise" [RPG]

 NO SPOILERS

Pirate’s Promise is my new favourite Pathfinder novel, and I’ve read a lot of them.  The story is full of genuine surprises, truly thrilling action scenes, strong dialogue, intelligent use of the setting, and three-dimensional characters.  The novel avoids the problems that plague some RPG novels (a series of random encounters, cardboard personalities, the good guys always win because they’re the good guys, etc.).  I was on the edge of my seat for this one, and I’m not a reader or gamer with a particular interest in pirates.  The novel ends strongly, and I can’t wait to read the next one.  Do yourself a favor and read this book (after reading Pirate’s Honor, naturally).

SPOILERS!

The Stargazers from Pirate’s Honor are back in Pirate’s Promise.  The novel has two main threads that eventually connect.  In Katapesh, the Stargazers are on shore leave so that the ship’s lunar naga navigator can visit a magical observatory in the desert.  This thread has exciting battles against were-jackals and the surprise revelation that there’s another lunar naga at the observatory—one with far more problematic motivations than mere astronomy.  Meanwhile, on Okeno, Vevre Jhaffre continues to pose as a mere courtesan while secretly spying for Andoran to help end the slave trade.  This is storytelling that doesn’t mess around—in one scene, Vevre has to murder an ally because she knows he’s made a blunder and, if interrogated, could reveal the whole secret abolitionist movement!  A major part of the plot here is that Vevre has come under investigation by an inquisitor of the Church of Abadar; Vevre does what Vevre does best and tries to seduce the inquisitor but ends up developing genuine feelings for her.  It’s great to see queer relationships in the setting.  I also love the portrayal of Vevre’s banter with her familiar; the novel really demonstrates why it’d be worth keeping one around.  Just don’t get *too* invested, as this isn’t a book that’s above killing a cat. 

The two threads come together when Vevre enlists Torius (captain of the Stargazer) to become her new intermediary with Andoran.  Torius’ acceptance makes perfect sense from what we know of his background, but I like how the rest of the crew struggle with the choice—it’s a huge risk, after all.  The climax of the book, a massive ship-to-ship battle, really shows off the author’s mastery of real-life naval tactics combined with intelligent imagination about how those tactics would be affected by things like fireball spells and alchemical catapults.  It led to several WOW! moments for me, and I don’t remember ever turning pages so quickly to see what would happen next.

Read this one.  You won’t regret it.

Agent Liberty # 1 (one-shot, 1992) (DC Comics) [COMICS]

 "Slashing his way through his 1st solo adventure!"  I have only the vaguest recollection of Agent Liberty--I may have encountered him in the early 1990s Superman comics he occasionally appeared in.  In my head, he's like Captain America, but reading this one-shot reveals he's much more a paramilitary operative/spy than a traditional super hero.  Agent Liberty can fly, create a force shield, has forearm blades (I'm informed a special metallic silver ink was used to make them shine on the cover, though I didn't notice), and uses a gun.  He has a support group called the "Sons of Liberty" which sounds a bit too MAGA for my tastes.  Anyway, Agent Liberty, whose real name is Ben Lockwood, was once a CIA operative on the ground in Iran during the aborted rescue of the American hostages in 1979.  After the rescue attempt was called off, the CIA, on direct orders of the President, let Lockwood and another agent dangle with no evacuation plan.  Ben escaped, but his ally Devlin was captured, tortured, and eventually became a terrorist.  Devlin has a nuke and Agent Liberty has to stop him!  That's the gist of the issue.  All in all, it's not bad, though the one-shot doesn't exactly made me eager for more.

Agent Liberty never got another solo offering again.  Apparently the character has continued to appear occasionally in other books, and there's even a heavily-adapted version of Agent Liberty in the Supergirl tv show.  The more super hero stuff makes it to the screen, the more obscure characters get dug up and given new life . . .

Starfinder Society Scenario # 3-00: "The Last Bite" [RPG]

 NO SPOILERS

The Last Bite is a multi-table Special that resolves the Season 2 storyline.  I played it at subtier 5-6 via play-by-post.  It is repeatable if you jump from one major divide (Tier 1-4) to the other (Tier 5-8) or vice-versa.  Although the overall thrust of the scenario and the climax would be the same if you played through it a second-time, the variety of different missions means you’ll probably enjoy some different content as well.  Gamers familiar with other Paizo multi-table Specials (whether PFS, PFS2, or SFS) will find this one very similar in structure.  There’s a mustering phase to give everyone something to do while tables are assembling, a way for tables to help other tables through the provision of aid tokens, a mission-based format where each table reports a success and the overseers transition when the collective has reached a certain number of successes (or when time limits in real time are exceeded), special conditions that go into effect at the achievement of goals (which make a fairly easy scenario even easier) and a structure and storyline that that implicitly provides absolutely no possibility of failure.  All of that being said (I know I sound jaded!), there some really good moments in the adventure and it certainly feels like an important turning point for the Starfinder Society as a whole.

SPOILERS!

Throughout Season Two, the Starfinder Society had been plagued by a mysterious nemesis named Datch who orchestrated a damaging public relations campaign against the Starfinder Society.  Datch was revealed to be a ysoki worshipper of Lao Shu Po intent on becoming Executive Archdirector of AbadarCorp and corrupting the company for her evil schemes.  (I don’t quite recall why Datch decided to come after the SFS to achieve this, but that’s okay.)  The fun thing about Datch as a villain is that she’s not a physical threat, and her schemes can’t be stopped through old-fashioned violence.  Instead, as Luwazi Elsebo explains in the briefing, her schemes have to be first foiled and made public before she can be apprehended by the authorities.  Luwazi Elsebo explains all this during the preparations to make her elected successor, Ehu Hadif, the new First Seeker of the Starfinder Society, cleverly masking a massive counterpunch to Datch behind festive ceremonies.  It’s Luwazi’s last mission, and a nice send-off for an NPC I really like.

From the players’ perspective, after a brief introduction to Luwazi’s plans, they get the opportunity to assist in the preparations for the elevation ceremony through various skill-based tasks.  These are the low-stakes mustering activities and feature the PCs resolving minor problems like catering or valet service.  They’re little but fun, and the bonuses they can provide for use later in the adventure are nothing to be sneezed at.  I think the idea of mustering activities is a good one, as it gives players a chance to introduce themselves and roleplay a little if time allows, but players who come to a table late certainly aren’t missing out on anything essential.  I like the little callbacks to previous scenarios, such as the mention of Sparklemane.

In Part 1, after the mustering has concluded, the briefing continues in a “secret meeting” where Luwazi explains her plan.  The Society needs to first stop Datch from gaining control of AbadarCorp.  To do this, the SFS must influence the corporation’s board of directors so they vote to keep the current CEO.  From a gameplay perspective, each group is given the option to undertake one of five different missions.  If they succeed, that’s reported to the overseers and the table can continue with another mission until time for this segment of the scenario runs out.  There’s a variety of missions to suit different players and groups: a role-playing/skill-based mission at a casino to befriend an AbadarCorp board member, a starship combat mission to intercept a shipment of “recycled parts” Datch is sending to Aballon, an interesting mission to disperse a vaccine at a space station infected with murkblight (Dr Monsylkis from a previous scenario reappears here), a mission to break into Datch’s office (with a nasty “cursehack” trap!), and my favourite, a mission to go undercover at an AbadarCorp employee retreat and take part in what’s essentially a game of paintball—“Suzi from Accounting” is a great NPC, and I hope she makes a return in a future scenario.  Unlike Pathfinder, one of the things that Starfinder can do is reflect modern culture in a damning or satirical way, and the idea of an uplifted bear who’s an accountant and extremely violent at corporate retreats is pretty funny.

Part 2 is another choice of five missions (tables still on a mission from Part 1 can finish it when Part 2 begins).  Each of these missions connects to a plot point from one of the missions in Part 1, which is a good way of keeping the storyline coherent.  I didn’t think the missions were as good here.  A mission to bodyguard the AbadarCorp member from the casino has a generic battle against assassins, just like a mission to visit the recycling center on Aballon has a forgettable encounter against security robots.  Another vaccine-related mission has a good premise, but (like a lot of Starfinder Society encounters) no failure condition—PCs can just retry skill checks until they eventually succeed.  A fourth mission involves drama at a jungle resort (it’s not bad), while a fifth actually brings in the vehicle chase rules—it’s nice that the PCs can use one of their own vehicles if they happen to have one.

Part 3 is *blah* starship combat, as the SFS has formed up to assault Datch’s hidden fortress but have to fight their way through wave after wave of armed drones.  The one redeeming element is that NPCs from past scenarios appear with encouraging words, and these messages are well-written and help remind the players of NPCs they’ve helped in the past.

In Part 4, the meta-premise that multiple groups of Starfinders are operating at the same time breaks down, as every table has the same mission: capture or kill Datch.  I do love the hard choice that players have to make here as to whether to simply arrest her or to essentially execute her.  In a good twist, this choice happens at the very beginning of Part 4 because Datch doesn’t put up a fight at all.  Instead, it’s the leaving afterwards that’s hard, as Datch (alive or dead) has arranged for a sort of doomsday contingency to go into effect.  Puzzle- and trap-oriented players will enjoy this section, though the effects of the traps (various curses that have no immediate effect) are underwhelming.  We meet a mysterious NPC named Iroiveth who I imagine must tie into Season Three in some way.

The Conclusion has a really nice epilogue as we see Ehu Hadif assume the role of First Speaker and promise to launch the Society in a new direction.

All in all, it’s an enjoyable Special, and a satisfying conclusion to the Season Two storyline.

Pathfinder Cards: "Curse of the Crimson Throne Item Deck" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

This deck contains 54 item cards designed for Curse of the Crimson Throne.  I should say at the outset that I’ve never really seen the point of item cards—in any Pathfinder campaign, the PCs will accumulate treasure at such a rate that it would be pretty much impossible to have every item in their possession symbolised by a card.  And if every item in their possession isn’t symbolised by a card, the remainder has to be kept on a list, and why not just dispense with the cards and keep the list?  But I’ll set all that aside and assume I must just be missing something, as a lot of gamers must enjoy item cards like these since they’re still being made.

I’ve used these cards throughout my running of the AP  to add some visual flavour to some of the memorable or important items the PCs might encounter.  On the front of each card is the name of the item, a symbol denoting the type of item it is (potion, scroll, etc.), artwork of the item, a symbol at the lower left denoting what deck it’s from (a little red tower for this deck), and a cool border.  The back of each card has a little written description of the item and a large space where handwritten notes about it could be added.  So for example, the “Heavy Crossbow” card features a drawing of a heavy crossbow (naturally), a little sword symbol indicating it’s a weapon, and a description on the back: “Sturdy steel mechanisms abound on the hardened oak stock of this heavy crossbow.”  The vast majority of cards are like this, and suitable for use in any campaign.  With some exceptions discussed below, I didn’t find they added particular flavour to Curse of the Crimson Throne.  A GM shouldn’t feel that they’re depriving the players of anything if they run the adventure path without them.

SPOILERS!

The tricky part about using these cards is that for some of the cards, the artwork clearly does represent something specific from Curse of the Crimson Throne but without the card title indicating it as such.  For example, one of the “Full Plate” cards is clearly of Gray Maiden armor, the “Dress” is Ileosa’s beautiful green dress, the “Figurine” is the magic jade elephant in Arkona Palace, and (perhaps most importantly) the “Crown” is the Crown of Fangs.  Neither the title nor the description on the back explain any of this, which I guess aids in the cards being reusable in different campaigns but limits how much value they have within the AP.  As I said, I have tried to use them to depict unique items in the game and I think the players like it when I can, but they’re certainly not essential.

Pathfinder Player Companion: "Dragon Empires Primer" [RPG]

 The Dragon Empires Primer is an impressive player-focussed companion to the GM-focussed Dragon Empires Gazetteer.  Although not a lot of published Pathfinder adventures are set in Tian Xia (the fantasy Asian counterpart to the fantasy European countries of much of the Inner Sea), Paizo has done an impressive job providing groups with enough detail to get started.  This 32 page book provides a flavourful overview of the region with some new “crunch” (class options, etc.) in the final quarter.  Some players will be disappointed with that distribution of lore to crunch, but I didn’t mind as I’m a setting-oriented gamer.

 
Love that cover art—that could be a poster.  It’s reprinted as the inside back cover minus the text.  The inside front cover is a surprisingly detailed map of Tian Xia.  The book itself is divided into six sections: The Dragon Empires, Archetypes, Combat, Faith, Magic, and Social.
 
“The Dragon Empires” (20 pages) provides players with an introduction to adventuring in Tian Xia.  A useful sidebar reminds readers of the difference between a loose analogue and a direct translation.  Importantly, the section grounds several fantasy races into the setting: kitsune, nagaji, samsarans, tengus, and wayangs all receive some focus, as do the various human ethnicities grouped as Tians.  The rest of the section is then devoted to several pages of nation overviews (each covered in half a page).  Each nation gets a couple of regional traits, and I liked the colourful banners included for each one.  The traits aren’t super original, but they’re flavoured well (I do need to call out “wayang spellhunter” as I recall it has proven very problematic in play).  The nation descriptions are really interesting, readable capsules—good inspirations for players choosing a background for their character.  I never knew there was a nation of aasimars, a kraken-ruled nation, a Taldan colony, and a communist nation in Tian Xia.  Likewise, even the Darklands under Tian Xia are very different than that under the Inner Sea. 
 
“Archetypes” (2 pages) introduces four new ones.  Bards get the “lotus geisha”—essentially it makes bardic performance a little better, but it only benefits one character instead of a group.  “Sword saints” for samurais could be a fun, first-strike build.  The “white-haired witch” for (naturally) witches is pretty neat, though I could see it as repetitive in actual play.  I’m not really sure about the “yokai hunter” for rangers—it’s a special kind of undead hunter.
 
“Combat” (2 pages) consists of several new martial arts-flavoured feats.  Monks are the class most likely to benefit from this section.  I really liked a couple of them like “Hold the Blade” and “Quivering Palm Versatility”, but there are some high prerequisites for some of them.
 
“Faith” (2 pages) lists the major deities of Tian Xia.  It’s mostly flavour and lore, but interesting and potentially useful for character backgrounds.
 
“Magic” (2 pages) introduces a new oni bloodline for sorcerers—it looks pretty good.  There’s also a new elemental school, void, for wizards—the “real weakness” power is *really* good considering there’s no save against it.
 
“Social” (2 pages) introduces a new rules sub-system, Honor Points.  I like the idea of an honour-tracking system, but I haven’t used this one and I’m always a little sceptical.  I’d be willing to try it, though.
 
And that’s the book.  All in all, I really enjoyed it, but I do understand how players hoping to see page after page of new feats, equipment, etc. (especially back in 2011 when there wasn’t as much Pathfinder material out there) would be disappointed by a Player Companion book that probably would be better suited to the Campaign Setting line.  But if you go in with your expectations suitably managed, you’ll surely find something valuable for adventuring in the Dragon Empires.

Pathfinder Granite Art: "Goblins" [RPG]

According to the completely-unfalsifiable cardstock certificate of authenticity, I am one of only 250 people in the whole galaxy to own Pathfinder Granite Art: Goblins.  Too bad so sad, would-be # 251!  You can't have my hand-sized granite plaque of the iconic Wayne Reynolds art of goblins on a rampage from the cover of the first issue of Rise of the Runelords!  You'll never touch the two little plastic display stands that work perfectly fine to display the plaque!  You'll never read the back of the box (it says "Shutter the windows.  Bolt the doors.  Lock up the hounds.  For the goblins are on the hunt tonight, dogslicers at the ready, and the streets of Sandpoint are not safe for man nor beast.").  You'll never feel its heft or see the sticker on the back indicating it was made in China.  And I plan to be cremated with it, so you might as well try one of the other 249 owners* of this limited edition treasure, because you'll never get mine!

* A decade after this product was released, they are still available for purchase on the Paizo website.

Pathfinder Module: "Beyond the Vault of Souls" [RPG]

 NO SPOILERS

I ran (part of) Beyond the Vault of Souls in my "Roots of Golarion" campaign that integrated a bunch of 3.5-era adventures.  The group only made it through the first couple parts before the campaign went on hiatus, and we decided to pick back up with something else.  That shouldn't be seen as a criticism of the module itself.  Reading through it carefully for the purposes of this review, I can say I really like how it fleshes out some interesting locations that could be reused for future adventures.  The overall plot is interesting, but the problem is akin to that identified by Amy Farrah Fowler about the first Indiana Jones movie: the story would end in exactly the same way with if Indy (or here, the PCs) never participated at all.  There's also a sort of metaphysical/philosophical complaint I have with how the module (or perhaps, by extension, the setting) treats atheists, which I'll get to in the spoilers section.  And a last general note is that this is not an easy adventure to run--a GM should set aside a lot of prep time, as there are a lot of NPCs and the story can unfold in some different ways (which is a good thing, of course).

In terms of aesthetics, the cover art is pretty cool, and you can't go wrong with a giant demon crumpling Valeros' sword like it was made out of tin.  The interior maps are really attractive, but for the purposes of encounters, a GM would need a *lot* of grid space--just an FYI for the old-fashioned tabletop gamers among us.  The interior artwork is a real mixed bag, with the artwork for locations pretty good and atmospheric, but the artwork for NPCs very far from current Paizo standards.

SPOILERS!

Beyond the Vault of Souls is one of those adventures that really ups the stakes.  Not only are the PCs fighting to save a town, or even a country, or even all of Golarion, but to save the entire multiverse!  (I guess the writer had a "go big or go home" mentality.)  The premise of the adventure is that in Pharasma's Vault of Souls sits the hardened and crystalline souls of mortal atheists awaiting oblivion.  These souls are ironically crucial to repelling the skeleton moon of Groetus from crashing into the Spire of the Boneyard, the event that will end all of existence.  But someone has been stealing these soul gems, and if they're not returned soon, the entire multiverse could be destroyed!  A couple of problems immediately present themselves to me with this premise.  First, the adventure doesn't seem to really understand atheists, and how their beliefs would carry over into a fantasy setting where it's pretty obvious that magic, the supernatural, and other planes exist.  They very well might believe that super powerful beings called "gods" exist, but that that doesn't make them worthy of worship.  Second, an adventure writer has to always envision what happens if the PCs fail.  In a novel or movie, the stakes can be as high as the author wants, because they control the outcome--but in an adventure, the stakes can't be so high that the entire campaign (and campaign setting!) is erased on a failure.  Even the six-part adventure paths never have stakes that high.  Unfortunately, the way the module deals with that problem is by making the PCs' actions irrelevant--everything turns out just fine whether the the PCs fail, succeed, or never turn up at all.

The module starts with the PCs in the Cheliaxian city of Westcrown.  Why exactly they're in that specific city is something the GM will have to figure out, as the module doesn't provide any hooks beyond the most generic "maybe they're there to meet someone or researching something" advice.  The PCs are contacted by Taibhill the Mystic, a cleric of Pharasma, who explains he's received a vision from his goddess that instructed him to contact the PCs specifically to help retrieve the stolen soul gems (though he doesn't explain why they're important).  He does offer them a pretty good incentive: a free resurrection in the future.  Taibhill points the PCs in the direction of a local Westcrown wizard named Khandescus Leroung.  Khandescus has got his hands on three of the soul gems and is researching them in his tower.  The PCs can persuad Khandescus to hand over the gems, but he explains he'll need to remove several magical wards he's set up to guard them, and that will take some time.  He instructs the group to wait in a nearby tavern while he does so.  In a very dramatic scene, the PCs see several masked wizards assaulting Khandescus' tower before there's a huge explosion.  Rushing to the scene, they find a badly-wounded Khandescus who says the attackers set off his wards, which scattered the gems to various locations in the Outer Sphere.  He conveniently opens a portal for the group to Axis, saying someone there named Torleinn will help them.  Frankly, I'd be surprised if most groups actually go wait patiently in the inn as instructed so that the cut-scene can take place as planned. Most GMs will need to improvise here.

In Axis, the PCs meet Torleinn (an exiled Chelish wizard) in Norgorber's domain.  She explains that the PCs need to head to Pharasma's domain to speak with the Keepers of the Vault (the ones charged with securing the soul gems from theft) because they're frantic to get the stolen soul gems back.  There, a Keeper provides the group with a magical map that shows the location of the three gems across the multiverse (the Abyss, Abaddon, and a location that's initially unclear) and says that by touching the location, the PCs will be magically teleported there.  It's ad hoc and suspiciously convenient magic, but I won't quibble.  Neither the Keeper nor anyone else will have told the PCs why getting the missing  soul gems back is so important.  Another thing the PCs initially don't know is that another group is also pursuing the gems.  The Children of the Reborn Glory believe that each gem contains a fragment of Aroden's soul, and that if they're all brought to particular place and a particular ritual is performed, the dead god will live again.  The PCs will encounter the Children at multiple points in the adventure (and in the climax), and they can be enemies or allies.

When the PCs head to the Abyss, it may be different than they're expecting.  Instead of a terrible wasteland, they'll arrive at a demon town called Taste of Anguish.    It's actually a safer place than one might think, as I guess the demons want to encourage trade (!) and so visitors are welcome. I have to admit I never thought demons would have things like settlements, but the location is well-described and interesting, and it's a place GMs could use in the future.  The soul gem is being guarded by an enhanced vrock named Tarigwydin the Upstart.  Getting this gem should be relatively straightforward and easy.  As an aside, I can't help pointing out there's a CR 30 vrock-like demon in the town! This fellow, Aahtsil, is apparently a historian of the demonic race.  I've never seen Aahtsil referred to in any other Pathfinder product, but I wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley when he's in a bad mood.

The search for the soul gem on Abaddon is likely to be longer and move involved.  The PCs appear at a sort of fortress/laboratory called The Cauldron.  Again, some really nice flavour has been provided for it.  This is a fifteen-room, multi-level dungeon crawl with foes like hydrodaemons, wraiths, and water elementals.  The gem-holder here is a soul-gem-enhanced "meladaemon" (a new creature given a full write-up in an appendix).  This is a hard encounter, and there's a lot the PCs need to contend with beside the "boss"--a machine oozing a nasty disease, a potentially deadly scythe trap, and worst of all, a "soul-fed golem" that, if it kills a PC, there's a 50% chance even a wish or miracle couldn't bring them back (and there are no retries if the attempt fails)!  However, the PCs might not be on their own, as there are several opportunities to free prisoners held in the Cauldron, and they might join in the fight.  It's likely to be a complicated sequence with so many moving parts, so a GM really needs to prepare well for it.  

After the first two missing soul gems are recovered, the location of the third one becomes clear: it's back on Axis!  The final part of the adventure has the PCs presumably interrupting a ceremony by the Children of the Reborn Glory to use soul gems to bring Aroden back.  The complication here is that the Children are split into three different factions, each with a fully-statted NPC leader and several underlings, and the factions will inevitably try to betray one another during the ceremony.  How this all plays out is very open-ended.  The PCs may discover the cause of it all: a keketar protean named Song of Poison who first spread the idea of using the soul gems as a source of power so that they'd be stolen and order would unravel.  Unfortunately for Song of Poison, he got it wrong and even if all the soul gems are destroyed in the ritual, the resulting portal to the Maelstrom is easily sealed by some axiomite soldiers.  So, in retrospect, there was never really any danger to begin with, and Pharasma shouldn't have wasted her time giving the visions to Taibhill the Mystic, who shouldn't have wasted his time  enlisting the PCs' aid, who shouldn't have wasted their time plane-hopping to get the soul gems back.  As an existentialist, I'm all for the absurdity of existence and the ultimate futility of any endeavour, but I don't think that's the theme the author was trying to go for here.

All in all, Beyond the Vault of Souls is a mixed bag.  The plot doesn't hold up well to scrutiny and it's a real bear to prepare.  On the other hand, I do like the flavourful descriptions of several places in the Outer Realms and it provides a manageable way to get the PCs out on some planar adventures.  I'm going to mix the highs with the lows and settle on average.