Pathfinder Society Scenario # 10-00: "The Hao Jin Cataclysm" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

The Hao Jin Cataclysm is the big kick-off to the tenth and final season of PF1 organised play.  I played through it with my mid-level half-orc paladin at PaizoCon AP in 2018, and then later purchased the scenario for this review.  As a multi-table special, it's fair to expect some big plot developments and lots of fireworks.  I think for the most part The Hao Jin Cataclysm delivers.  It does a great job incorporating elements from older PFS scenarios (as far back as Season Three) and continues the epic tale of the Hao Jin tapestry.  The weaknesses it has are weaknesses common to specials: a frantic pace, an emphasis on combat and skill checks over role-playing, and the likelihood that only some of the overall story will get filtered down to each table and player.  I've only played a few multi-table specials, and I thought this one was about average.

SPOILERS

The Hao Jin Cataclysm is an imposing package to read through, weighing in at a whopping 88 pages!  But actually, only 37 pages of that is the adventure, and then there's 40 pages of bestiary followed by a dozen or so pages of handouts and checklists.  The adventure is divided into three parts, with Part One consisting of the mustering and briefing, Part Two consisting of a series of short vignettes and encounters, and Part Three as the big finale.  The elements that players will probably have encountered in other multi-table specials, such as an intermission, boons for a certain number of successes, and the aid token mechanism (something I've always found too complicated to really work well) are all here as well.

Part One (15 minutes) starts with mustering and a sort of pre-briefing by Master of Spells Sorrina Westyr.  She gives the PCs (who have assembled in the Grand Lodge) a brief history of the Hao Jin Tapestry and an explanation of the problem: it's coming apart at the seams!  While waiting for other players to get seated at the table, there's a nice array of things that PCs who are ready can do, such as assessing the damage to the tapestry, checking supplies, interrogating members of the Aspis Consortium, and more.  Each of these actions is intended to take just a couple of minutes of role-playing and a skill check, but the results can provide some pretty useful boons for either the PC or the whole table.  It's a good way for tables that fire early to have some fun before the main event, even though, in my experience, it's hard to incorporate the skill checks organically and rare for the players to remember the special bonuses they've earned.

The main briefing is delivered by Aram Zey.  Zey says the entire tapestry demiplane will collapse in just two days.  Tears in the tapestry seem to be centered around six sites of past Pathfinder Society activities, and there are incursions from the astral plane and spontaneously spawning undead wreaking further havoc.  Thus, the Pathfinders' first task is to secure and stabilize these six sites so that special (off-screen) groups can repair the damage.

Part Two (140 minutes) is where the PCs complete as many of these six missions as they can in the time they have available.  Players are given a handout with a brief summary of each mission, and the tables can choose which ones to tackle in which order.  If the PCs restore order at a location, a success is reported to the Overseer, and after a certain number of successes, that mission is closed to other tables (and everyone earns a boon).  Once they've entered the tapestry, the PCs can't return to Absalom without sitting out the rest of Part Two.  However, I don't think the encounters are so difficult that the pace is really worrisome for most groups (and there's built-in healing and, later, resurrection in the scenario).

In Mission # 1, the PCs need to help the Muckmouth lizardfolk tribe.  The Muckmouths are facing a dried-up water supply and constant attacks from undead, so the PCs need to explore an ancient Serpentfolk ruin to set things right.  This requires dispatching a mixed group of undead (with the precise composition depending on sub-tier) and then by-passing three magical wards using skill checks.  The Muckmouths were the subject of a Season 3 scenario, and there's a really nice reward here for PCs who took part in that adventure.

In Mission # 2, the PCs visit Round Mountain.  The location isn't described very well in the scenario, but apparently it's a wobbly or constantly-spinning sort of artificial mountain that contains a tribe of ratfolk (also from scenarios in Season 3).  During an encounter with various creatures from the Darklands (like darkmantles or ropers), there's a risk of falling prone due to the spinning--though there are also a host of skill checks to stop the spinning.  I thought it was all rather vaguely described.

In Mission # 3, the PCs visit the location from yet another Season 3 scenario: the Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment.  The leader of the temple has had his mind invaded by evil spirits caused by the tapestry's unravelling.  The PCs can enter the leader's mind through a ritual and set things right by overcoming (through skill checks) six different nightmarish obstacles.  This mission looks pretty easy, but is there is a chance that, if the PCs fail to overcome the obstacles, the evil spirits manifest as actual demons.

In Mission # 4, the PCs return to Slave Mountain (from a Season 6 scenario) and fight duergar who are sending the souls of sacrifices to the evil night hag Aslynn.  Unlike the other missions, a fun twist here is that PCs who played through the previous scenario don't get a special advantage; instead, they're remembered by the duergar and become special targets!

In Mission # 5, the PCs interact with three groups encountered in a Season 6 scenario that featured the Aspis Consortium invading the tapestry.  The three groups--warriors of Lung Wa, owl-headed syrinxes from Arcadia, and wyvarans--are all sceptical of the PCs.  At least two of the three groups have to be won over to the Pathfinder side.  A wide variety of skill checks can be used, but many seem especially forced (something only really good GMs can fix).  There's also a seemingly random battle against some bugbears.

In Mission # 6, the PCs need to help some kappas (turtle-backed humanoids) who have been deprived of water through the unintentional actions of a sovereign dragon.  The PCs can negotiate with the dragon or fight it, and I appreciate the reminder in the text to encourage the players to role-play rather than just rolling dice for Diplomacy.

I can only speak to my own experience, but I only vaguely remember these encounters.  There's a ton happening in a relatively short period of time, and tables of strangers are understandably focussed on quickly figuring out the problem and (usually) killing it.  I wish there was a way to get better role-playing and character interaction in the multi-table specials, but I'm not sure if there is.  Anyway, for  groups who complete the missions quickly or just want to spend some extra time at a location, there are additional encounters provided against ghouls, boggards, and magical beasts.  These are essentially random encounters, but winning one does count as a success.

Part Three (100-120 minutes) starts with all of the Pathfinders back in the Grand Lodge, thinking they've been successful in stabilizing the Hao Jin Tapestry.  Alas, just as Aram Zey is thanking everyone for their efforts, a massive tear appears in the tapestry (partially the doing of the night hag Alynn)!  Undead and invaders from the astral plane invade the demiplane, so the PCs must once more sally forth unto the breach!  Tables can choose weather to focus on undead or the "astral invaders" (a weird way to describe what are groups of either giants, pirates, or drow).  Each encounter that's won is a success reported to the overseer, and once enough successes are reached, the big finale starts.  I'm a bit fuzzy on exactly what's happening here (despite having played through it and read it), but apparently residual magic from the tapestry in its death throes conjures huge phoenixes.  The PCs need to destroy these phoenixes, with each success resulting in a phoenix feather.  The feathers can be used to either resurrect any party members who have died or to repair one rent in the tapestry.  Once enough of the tapestry has been fixed, the tapestry is (semi?) permanently repaired.  The conclusion has Aram Zey merging with the tapestry as a sort of special guardian, and I think that's a plot point that plays out throughout the rest of Season Ten.

I imagine The Hao Jin Cataclysm would be a very rewarding scenario for players who started PFS several years ago and remember the multiple scenarios it has callbacks to.  Similarly, the plotline of the tapestry has been going on for several years now.  As a relatively recent newcomer to PFS, neither meant a lot to me personally, but I still recognise the value in storytelling progression and continuity.  As for the encounters, I found them pretty run-of-the-mill and uninspired; but that's doubtless the side-effect of having to prepare something for several different sub-tiers.  Overall, I feel that this multi-table special was fine, even if it wasn't particularly  . . . special.