Pathfinder Flip-Mat: "Desert Ruins" [RPG]

 I got a chance recently to use the Desert Ruins flip-mat.  The "front" of the mat fits the theme well, depicting the crumbling remnants of an ancient structure, complete with broken statuary, fallen pillars, and heiroglyph-style carvings on floor tiles.  It's detailed and impressive, and the features are generic enough you could reuse it without difficulty.  The "back" is 95% devoted to a winding path between rocky canyon walls, and only in the very last row of squares do you notice there are doors carved into a rock wall.  It doesn't fit the them particularly well, though it could be good if you wanted to set an ambush where the attackers are on the top of the rocky outcroppings.

Pathfinder Flip-Mat: "Desert" [RPG]

 I got the opportunity to use the Desert flip-mat recently while running The Pact Stone Pyramid, and I think it's a mixed bag.  The sand texture is done well and the map is attractive overall.  The main issue is that both sides feature an oasis, which leaves a GM scratching his head for how to have a desert encounter where water is *not* present.  In addition, one side has a big sphinx with stairs leading into it, meaning that that side can only be used a limited number of times before players wonder why the desert has so many sphinxes! (Not to mention, a GM then has to figure out what's inside each sphinx) I think often the designers of these flip-mats think first of visual impact, and last about replayability, when it's usually replayability that makes a good flip-mat for me.

Starfinder Society Scenario # 3-15: "Frozen Ambitions: The Preluria Connection" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

As the title indicates, Frozen Ambitions: The Preluria Connection continues the "Frozen Ambitions" mini story arc within Season 3.  I've only played one previous scenario in the storyline (# 3-09, "Freeing the Herd"), so I can't opine on how well it fits into a the larger tale.  I also played it through PBP, which has many advantages but can sometimes make other gameplay elements fall a little flat.  My initial response was that the scenario was fine but forgettable, but I think much of that reaction may have just been the random vagaries of a particular character, group, GM, and play method.  Reading the scenario for the purposes of this review, it looks to be put together well with a little something for everyone (and some great artwork!).  I'm going to rate it as "Average" while acknowledging that could be too low.

SPOILERS!

Concisely summarising the backstory to The Preluria Connection is no easy task as it involves both the overall "Frozen Ambitions" storyline and then multiple complications leading up to the scenario itself.  But I'll try!  High Despot Jularaz, ruler of Vesk-8, is still trying to find profitable uses for the mineral shimmerstone (the major resource on the planet).  One of his ideas is to outsource drug trials using shimmerstone, and a lab on one of the planet Preluria's orbitals (the "Vault of Vorlath") has succeeded in turning shimmerstone into an awesome combat-enhancer called shimmersheen.  But a member of the mysterious sect known as the Xystrian Brotherhood (which pretends to be pacifist ascetics but are secretly information brokers and hired saboteurs) found out about the experiments.  After this member, Firiz, went missing, the Xystrian Brotherhood decided (implausibly in my opinion) that they needed to bring in a third-party to investigate.  To that end, they've contacted the Starfinder Society and invited a team (a.k.a. the PCs) to visit their homeworld, Xys, another planetoid that orbits Preluria.  Ostensibly, the invitation is for a "get to know one another" tour as a predicate to future negotiations for exploration, but the Brotherhood hopes to use the goodwill generated by the invitation to persuade the Society to investigate Firiz's disappearance on the Vault of Vorlath.  See, complicated!  And that doesn't even cover who's running the lab or what happened to Firiz.

The five-day-tour of Xys itself is hand-waved, which is a little unfortunate in my opinion, as both Xys and the Brotherhood seem really interesting.  The adventure really gets going when the PCs arrive at Firiz's last known location, a dive cantina on the Vault of Vorlath named The Crooked Doshko.  There are several named NPCs that can be interacted with to learn about what happened the night Firiz disappeared.  For whatever reason, my group really struggled with this part of the scenario and it seemingly took us ages to piece together that he left his comm unit with a dancer named Domakayo (love the shimmering bodysuit!) for safekeeping.  As soon as Domakayo is persuaded to hand over the comm unit, however, a group of ijtikri mercenaries spring an attack.  The mercs have (implausibly) come from the scientist Nraal's lab on Zrulik-3 (from "Freeing the Herd") and are also looking for the lab on the Vault of Vorlath and just so happened (I guess) to be in the right place at the right time to eavesdrop on the PCs.

Anyway, a hack of Firiz's comm unit uncovers coordinates leading to an abandoned industrial building several miles into the desert.  This would normally be the set-up to a traditional Starfinder dungeon (hi-tech complex) crawl, but there's actually only a few rooms to explore here with one encounter (against shobhad mercenaries) and one trap.  What's going on is that the lab's main scientist, Sorah Ka (fantastic art!) has somehow realised trouble is closing in and has decided to destroy all the evidence and scoot while the scooting is good.  I'm honestly not sure what Sorah Ka is afraid of--there doesn't seem to be anything inherently evil about experimenting with shimmerstone, and even if there were, the experiments are taking place on a planetoid ruled by mercenaries who would presumably love to buy some combat enhancement serums (and further, we're in Near Space, not the Pact Worlds, so it's not like the Stewards are going to show up).

Sorah Ka flees in a battered delivery van, and the PCs need to give chase in another van!  Vehicle chases have a special rules subset in the Core Rulebook, so some preparation by the GM (and patience by the players) is necessary to make them work.  Assuming the PCs succeed on the chase, they can fight Sora Ka and more shobhad bodyguards face-to-face.  Unfortunately, Firiz is discovered to have been murdered "more than a day ago."  Maybe the Xystrian Brotherhood shouldn't have wasted 3d6 days for the Starfinders to arrive through the Drift and another 5 days giving them a tour!  But the Xystrian Brotherhood is happy with the PCs' effort, as is the Starfinder Society, and investigation of the origins of the shimmersheen will continue.

I liked how the scenario had some intelligent trade-offs: PCs might spend credits for a ride to the remote complex or walk there themselves, taking some damage from the heat.  If they don't succeed in disabling an alarm trap, guards get a bonus to their Initiative.  Etc.  Oddly, this didn't carry over to the consequences of what happens if the PCs lose any of their battles--the scenario explicitly mentions a couple of times that the PCs just wake up later, and it also provides them with an alternate way to continue the story.  Losing the vehicle chase also doesn't have any particular consequences.  It's *really* hard to fail a scenario in Starfinder Society!

Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 31 [RPG]

 

[Fireday, 29 Desnus, 4708 A.R. continued]

The Harrowed Heroes have destroyed a band of fungus-covered skeletons under Arkona Palace.  But the victory comes at a cost: Katash, severely weakened by the creatures’ poison, recalls a strange dream he had weeks ago and had forgotten.  In the dream, a Varisian fortune-teller performed a reading for him and turned over the cards of Death and The Lost.  She interpreted it to foretell that if Katash entered a maze, he would surely die!  Shaken from the memory, Katash announces he can’t go any further.  He’s going back to the streets of Old Korvosa and help to restore peace to those living in the aftermath of the rioting and plague.

After his departure, the remaining members of the group spread out and look around, confirming they’re on an upper ledge overlooking the sloshing waters of a sea cave far below.  A series of rope bridges lead to consecutively lower bridges.  As there seems to be nothing of interest (and no secret doors) on the upper ledge, Goldcape carefully tests one of the rope bridges and finds it sturdy enough to lead the group to another ledge that’s about fifty feet above the water.  A wooden door has been built into the back wall of the ledge, and a set of large brass doors can be seen inset into a wall near the base of the sea cave.  The Reckoner examines the area carefully from above, noticing a wooden pier jutting out into the water.  Suddenly, he shouts that there’s a creature submerged in the water!  Eager to show off the virtues of his special underwater crossbow, Yraelzin fires a bolt.  Although he misses, he comes close enough that the submerged creature surfaces and reveals itself as the largest reefclaw that anyone in the group has ever seen! At the Reckoner’s behest, Goldcape and Yraelzin begin shooting at it from above, but do only minor damage to it before it sinks below the surging waters and vanishes.

The nearby wooden door is opened to reveal a small chamber with nothing more than a simple bed, shelves carved into the walls, and several small animal figurines.  Some of the figurines are crude, but others are exquisite and made from valuable materials like coral, redwood, and gold.  Unlike the representations of fauna native to Vudra in the palace above, these figurines look to be from creatures common in the wilds of Varisia—geckos, firepelt cougars, and flame drakes.

With nothing else to explore on this ledge, and intent on destroying the reefclaw, The Reckoner ties off his rope so he can descend to the lowest ledge that is only a foot or two above the water.  He’s not surprised when the reefclaw clambers out of the water like a predator that has just found prey, but he isn’t prepared for how quickly it moves!  It catches him in a powerful claw and starts trying to crush the life out of him!  Goldcape sends Rocky to fly down and help, providing just enough of a distraction for The Reckoner to slip free of the enormous reefclaw’s grip.  With arrows and spells raining down from above and The Reckoner and Rocky smashing and tearing at it, the creature is badly wounded and tries to swim away.  Rocky swims out over the water and delivers a killing blow, but in its death throes, the reefclaw tears into the roc, leaving it badly hurt.

After some magical healing from rapidly-diminishing wands, the group decide to press onwards.  The Reckoner puts an ear to the seam in the brass double-doors and hears hissing and a muted voice on the other side.  Suspecting they may have found the lair of the darksphinx, he douses his battle-maul with blessed oil and throws open the doors.  Four lit braziers illuminate the vast chamber on the other side, a cathedral-like space made all the more immense by its lack of benches or other concessions to comfort.  The floor is polished tan marble, with the walls rising up to form a domed ceiling sixty feet above.  Alcoves line the walls of the chamber, six in all, inside of which stand human-sized statues of a tiger-headed man.  At the far end, a few steps lead up to a pulpit-like area with three more statues of the same figure—the central one being twice as tall and holding out before him two lances from which hang flags of Korvosa and the Arkona coat of arms.  But this shrine to House Arkona has not been left unguarded!  Two, truly enormous 18’ long immense snakes are here, one of them having recently shed its skin.  And feeding on the shed skin is a powerful-looking, tiger headed beast-man!

The giant snakes surge forward after a mere nod from their trainer, and prove to be fearsome not just in size, but also from their deadly venom!  Goldcape finds herself weakening with every second and almost at the point of collapsing before she remembers her mystical nature magic can neutralise the poison.  She saves herself just in time, and uses the same magic to help The Reckoner, who also finds himself on the wrong end of a cobra’s fangs.  The snakes are dispatched relatively quickly, but the beast-man is another matter entirely.  Spells of lightning and slowness have absolutely no effect, and the nimble foe darts quickly from target to target leaving everyone—even Yraelzin—wounded.  Finally, Yraelzin manages to break one of the beast-man’s defensive enchantments, Goldcape magically manifests spears of ice to wound him, and The Reckoner gets him cornered and starts wailing away with his battle-maul.  Although somehow incredibly resistant to harm, he’s eventually defeated.  Yraelzin is left bleeding from a jagged kukri slash, Goldcape is limping from a severed tendon, and even The Reckoner shows multiple wounds. 

The group patch up their injuries as best they can, search the shrine thoroughly, and then decide to take the risk of resting in the small chamber off the middle ledge.  The wooden door is barricaded and, not trusting Yraelzin to keep watch, Goldcape and The Reckoner decide to take turns standing guard.

Although much blood has been shed, there’s as yet no labyrinth and no sign of Vencarlo Orisini or Neolandus Kalepopolis.  Have the Harrowed Heroes fallen for a ruse, or have they missed the only path forward?

-----------------------------

GM's Commentary

Katash's player, who was only dropping in for a few sessions, went back to college, so I had to come up with an excuse for the character to depart.

I found the ledges and rope-bridges a bit confusing to map here.  I'm not sure if I got them 100% correct, but we muddled through.

There wasn't really any need to kill the reefclaw.  Sometimes The Reckoner just gets bloodthirsty!

The tiger-headed creature was a rakshasa.  Interestingly, I don't think the group has ever really made the connection between House Arkona, Vudra, and rakshasas!

Starfinder: "Pride Pin -- Skittermander" [RPG]

This cute little pin features a skittermander head colored in Pride rainbow flag colours.  It's cool that a good chunk of the purchase price goes directly to Tabletop Gaymers to help LGBTQIA+ players feel included and visible in the RPG scene.  A good cause and a good collectible--can't go wrong there!

Pathfinder: "MiniMates Promo Figure: Konkrud" [RPG]

 MiniMates figures are about twice the size of a Lego figure, and although they have a lot more articulation, are not configurable.  This MiniMate of a goblin named Konkrud was a promotional figure given away at GenCon 2014 and now available for sale on the Paizo website.  I honestly don't know who Konkrud is--if he appears in an adventure somewhere or was just given a name for this purpose (Googling only turns up references to the figure).  Anyway, the figure comes enclosed in a little baggy with a dogslicer and a dagger, and looks pretty much like you'd expect a Pathfinder goblin to look.  There's not really a lot more to say--I guess if you collect MiniMates or goblin merch, $ 2 is a good deal (or use them as a stocking stuffer).

Anarky # 1-4 (Ltd. 1997) (DC Comics) [COMICS]

 I was reading the Batman line when Anarky first appeared, and I was blown away by the character.  A brilliant teen libertarian/anarchist, Anarky really highlighted just how fascist and regressive Batman's brand of vigilantism could be.  I actually found myself rooting for the underdog even though I knew, of course, he'd ultimately be defeated--it was Batman's comic, after all.

I wasn't the only fan of Anarky, as the character went on to a four-issue limited series (discussed here) and then a short-lived ongoing.  Writer Alan Grant packs this limited series with deep dives into radically revisionist histories and accounts of social psychology, capitalism, and the state.  I like to think of myself as well-read, but there are some fascinating ideas in this little comic that I'd never considered before!  Honestly, I think many of the ideas here are more thought-provoking than we get in an ostensibly deep Vertigo comic.  Of course, Anarky is a mainstream ad-supported super-hero comic, so the interesting philosophy has to be fit into a story with brawls, demons, and Darkseid!  But that also means Norm frikkin' Breyfogle doing the art--nice!

Issue # 1 (re-)introduces us to Lonnie: 15 years old, rich, presumed dead, and obsessed with saving the world from its present slide into stupidity, oligarchy, and exploitation.  One might say the themes are even more relevant today than they may have been in the more-optimistic 1990s.  Lonnie/Anarky decides the best way to cure evil is to learn the cause of it.  To that end, he summons a demon named Blasfemy so he can ask some questions.  This attracts Etrigan's attention, and there's a battle and stuff.  Anarky ends up taking Blasfemy as a mindless servant.  I'm not convinced that this was an ideal context for Anarky to start.

In Issue # 2, a homemade teleportation device allows Anarky (and Blasfemy) to reach Apokolips so the former can witness true evil.  Darkseid could crush Anarky like a bug, but is intrigued by the mortal's ingenuity, and humors him--even going so far as to give him a class on the differences between Plato and Aristotle!  Anarky is allowed to leave Apokolips, and even has the temerity to steal some of Darkseid's powers.  Again, I really like the character, but I don't think the character works well in these more fantastical settings.

Issue # 3 has to feature Batman.  Realising that Anarky is alive and having him watched, Batman tries to turn the tables on Anarky but ends up captured.  Anarky's plan is to broadcast a signal that will affect everyone in Gotham to . . . I'm not sure--make them not evil anymore?  I'm fuzzy on that bit, though I have to admit Anarky makes a persuasive case that the status quo in Gotham is about as bad as it gets so there's not much to lose.  In a nice twist, although Batman breaks free, the signal is broadcasted.

What a great cover to Issue # 4!  The issue inside though is pretty weak.  Apparently, Anarky's device makes everyone tell the truth and makes them renounce violence.  But Scarface is immune, and somehow Gotham descends into cannibalism and concentration camps?  It doesn't make a lot of sense, and is then revealed to be only a dream.  Anarky realises he was wrong to try to force things.  Kind of a cliched (and defeatist) ending, and everything seemed very rushed.  A potentially interesting concept, but one that would need a lot more room to work.

Come for the interesting character and a cool bibliography, but don't have high hopes for the story.

Starfinder One-Shot # 1: "Band on the Run" [RPG]

 NO SPOILERS

Band on the Run is the first in a new series of "One-Shot" adventures for Starfinder.  Designed to be played in one sitting, they're essentially Starfinder Society scenarios without the shared premise that everyone's a Starfinder.  Using the provided pre-gens, this opens up the story possibilities in a fun way.  I got to play this adventure via play-by-post and had an amazing GM that made it a real blast.  I could see something like this as a good way to get new players into the game, especially since they wouldn't have to deal with the paperwork and explanations of Organized Play.  The one downside of this idea is that Band on the Run, at least, really requires a GM and group that are into the role-playing.  A group that takes a long time to warm up (or just wants to roll dice and kill stuff) probably won't get much out of it.  I should mention the artwork, which is excellent.

SPOILERS!

The premise of Band on the Run (that song is going to be stuck in my head for ages now) is that the 4th Level PCs are members of a rock band named Neon & Noqual that's looking for its big break.  When another act drops out of the Out of the Nest festival at Songbird Station, Neon & Noqual is hired for the slot--but they've gotta make it there in time!  Unfortunately, the band's starship clunks out on them in the Diaspora, and they've gotta find a ride or repairs quickly or lose their chance at the bigtime.  

The scenario starts with the PCs and their ship on a small asteroid that features little more than a diner.  (Obviously, Starfinder is far from embracing hard SF!)  Once inside, the PCs need to talk someone into helping them, but the staff and diners are completely uninterested.  Although it doesn't necessarily appear to be on the surface (and I didn't notice it while playing), this is a total railroad because the only way forward is for the band to supplant a malfunctioning jukebox and play a live gig to impress the locals.  There are some skill checks involved, but as is unfortunately common in Starfinder, it doesn't really matter whether the PCs succeed or fail--the plot moves forward all the same as they're offered a ride to Songbird Station by a vesk named Kardyn.

Kardyn is a sneaky fellow and when he announces he "just needs to make one quick stop", the reason for his willingness to help out becomes clear.  He needs backup for a dicey criminal deal.  The resulting encounter against some forgettable thugs takes place in a Zero-G setting, which unfortunately really bogged down a really fun adventure to that point.  Once the PCs help Kardyn escape the battle, the getaway ship is chased by a flotilla of gangsters.  Kardyn pulls another double-cross by using an escape pod to strand the PCs aboard a damaged vessel.  There's a cinematic bit where the PCs need to make some skill checks to get the ship moving and avoid the gangsters (and a massive "diaspora wyrm"), though again success or failure on the checks still gets the PCs to the same place: Songbird Station!

Here, the group need to persuade, bully, or physically subdue a rival band named Snowfall Renaissance that plans to take Neon & Noqual's slot.  I like that there are a lot of different ways to resolve this conflict.  Afterwards, it's time for the big show!  Depending on some more skill checks, the PCs might launch the band to stardom or get booed off the stage (memorialized forever on "total fail" playlists on the infosphere--that bit made me laugh).  

The strength of Band on the Run is that it has a really fun, original premise.  Although the core gameplay is only average, good role-players can really make it come alive--the group I was in sprinkled in all sorts of homage song titles and lyrics.  It was definitely different than a standard Starfinder Society scenario, and I'd love to see more of Neon & Noqual.

Pathfinder Society Scenario # 7-13: "Captive in Crystal" [RPG]

 NO SPOILERS

Although I've only played a few of the season's scenarios, I think the Year of the Serpent (Season 7) of PFS1 may be one of the best.  The scenarios are set in interesting and original locales, have strong plotting, and feature memorable NPCs.  I played Captive in Crystal via play-by-post, and while I didn't catch all of the story elements as a player (more my fault than the scenario's), reading it for the purposes of this review I can see how it's put together well.  It's not a perfect scenario, but it is really good and definitely worth playing.

SPOILERS!

Captive in Crystal has a classic premise: follow in the footsteps of a lost adventuring party, and discover what happened to them.  The premise is well-styled to integrate Pathfinder Society lore by having the lost party led by a former Master of Spells (Sorrina Westyr). With Aram Zey missing, recovering Sorrina Westyr has taken on added importance.  However, Westyr and her team have been missing for over a decade (!) and disappeared while using a unique magical item called the wayfinder of many paths, a device which opens a portal to different destination depending on which type of ioun stone is placed within it.  Westyr was experimenting with it when she and her team disappeared, so the PCs have to be prepared for pretty much anything if they're going to go after her to a location that could be (quite literally) anywhere on (or in!) Golarion.  I thought it a great touch that the PFS had everything from horses to cold weather gear to underwater magic on stand-by depending on what the portal revealed when it opened.

It turns out, however, that the portal opens to a place deep underground.  More specifically, The Crystal Womb, one of the Orvian Vaults deep in the Darklands.  The PCs may find the body of one of the lost explorers almost immediately, and another one not long after.  It would have been good for the adventure to provide some Heal checks or other means to determine what killed them (PCs like to play CSI), though some other exposition later on explains things.  

The first encounter in the game is against a group of scorpion-like earth elemental creatures called chrysmals.  I remember this being a fairly difficult encounter.  Importantly, there's a surprise intervention by a third-party: a shaitan (a sort of earth genie from the Plane of Earth) named Reyshal ik Jalman.  Jalman aids the PCs in the battle, and is a crucial NPC because he knows exactly what happened to Westyr.  After the battle, there's an involved role-playing scene (with multiple skill checks) to strike a bargain with Jalman for information.  Assuming the negotiations are successful (and the adventure smartly explains what happens if they're not), Jalman says Westyr went to an esoteric Orvian library nearby called the Lucent Archive.  She went there because Jalman struck a deal with her: he would provide her a wish to return to the Grand Lodge if she found information exonerating his family from false accusations they committed a crime.  However, Jalman is unable to enter the library (it's warded against earth-type creatures) and has no idea what happened to Westyr or why she never emerged.  There's a lot more backstory for Jalman, and he's a well-rounded NPC (with cool artwork).

When the PCs enter the Lucent Archive, they quickly find Westyr--only to learn she's been turned into an oread through extensive exposure to the place's magic!  Moving initially at almost geological speed, she's lost all track of time.  She explains that the area with the knowledge needed to satisfy Jalman is called the Sapphire Stacks, but it's guarded by several sentinels.  First, the PCs will need to overcome several kineticist (!) pechs.  The battle here takes place on a map that needs more going on, as it's almost abstract.  Then, in a plot element I thought was a bit forced, the PCs also have to deal with an intruder into the Lucent Archive, a "thunder wisp" that has been emanating a destructive soundwave that threatens to shatter the crystal records of the Lucent Archive.  It's a bit of a stretch to think that the Lucent Archive has been here for millennia and the PCs just so happen to arrive at the exact same time that the place is about to collapse.  Anyway, the battle with the pechs was a good challenge (though learning kineticist rules probably isn't fun for a GM), while the wisp wasn't very tough.

Once the PCs get what they need from the Lucent Archive, Jalman keeps his promise and returns the PCs and Westyr to the Grand Lodge.  There's a loose end about another missing member of the original adventuring company (a Shoanti named Grave Treader) that I assume is followed up in a later scenario.  The Chronicle has a neat (at the time) boon allowing a player to be an oread.  Oh, and there's a cool little bonus for characters who use gem or mineral-related skills when they do their Day Job checks at the end.

Overall, Captive in Crystal is a fun, well-written, and relatively straightforward adventure.