Pathfinder Society Scenario # 4-12: "The Refuge of Time" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

I played through The Refuge of Time via play-by-post, and did not have a good experience.  Part of that was a poor GM (which isn't the scenario's fault), but now that I've read the scenario I'm still not impressed.  It's a short, simplistic scenario with extremely challenging combats and a problematic reward at the end.  Unless you're set on playing through all the Season Four meta-plot scenarios, I would skip this one.

SPOILERS

The Refuge of Time ostensibly starts in Kaer Maga, but the PCs are only there long enough to get a letter and promptly leave.  The letter, from Venture-Captain Sheila Heidmarch down in Magnimar, tells the PCs that a cult is planning to bring back one of the Thassilonian Runelords.  In order to do this, the cultists need to find "refuge tokens" which (when broken after speaking the correct command word) will teleport them to where the Runelord is interred in a state of suspended animation.  A storehouse of these refuge tokens has been discovered in the Wyvern Mountains about 100 miles away from Kaer Maga, but the cultists have a two-day head start.  The PCs need to get a move on!  This scenario builds off of other ones in Season Four.

The journey from Kaer Maga to the ancient storehouse in the mountains is completely handwaved, so for all intents and purposes, this scenario is a pure dungeon crawl.  Getting into the storehouse is the first obstacle because it's guarded by, of all things, an angel!  The leader of the cultists used a planar binding spell to force the angel into his service and thus bar entrance to all non-worshippers of Lissala (an evil deity worshipped in Thassilon).  The PCs effectively have two options here.  First, they can fight a Lawful Good creature who is literally from Heaven itself.  Second, with a DC 34 (!) Diplomacy check they can remove all of their magical items and persuade the angel that they're not lying about having pure reasons for entering the storehouse.  When I played this adventure, my paladin certainly wasn't going to fight an angel, and was happy to take off his gear to be tested.  But other members of the group were extremely reluctant to do this (there's nothing some players hate more than risking their PC's gear), so the scenario was brought to a standstill almost right off the bat as we went back and forth on what to do.  From one perspective, the encounter is an original and interesting one.  However, there's no information on exactly the extent of the angel's knowledge of what it's protecting and the exact scope of its orders, nor on what it would take for the PCs to free it from the binding spell.  Unfortunately, it comes across more like "you know what the PCs never fight? Angels!  Let's toss one in and see what happens!".

Assuming the PCs make it inside, there are five rooms for them to examine in the storehouse.  The first has them encounter some random travellers magically charmed by the cult to help dig out the site.  There's some role-playing possibilities here, but mostly these individuals are here to help fulfil several of the faction mission objectives.  The second room is a simple battle against a very deadly undead--either a greater shadow or a bhuta, depending on tier.  The third room contains a magically-trapped statue that, depending on a die roll, may give an effect that is beneficial or harmful.  The fourth room is an ancient chapel dedicated to Lissala and has a battle against a graveknight with several fighter class levels.  This is an extremely challenging encounter--3 to 4 CR above the average party level.  The final room has the cult leader (a conjuror) and a handful of sinspawn.  It's also 3-4 CR above average party level.  Suffice it to say, this scenario is a good example of the view that Season Four is filled with deadly scenarios!

After defeating the foes, the PCs can find the refuge tokens they need.  In addition, they'll come across an evil-aligned ioun stone.  This ties into probably the most overpowered (and potentially problematic) Chronicle boon I've seen in PFS: it gives you a free feat!  Using the ioun stone is an evil act, but (at least how my GM handled it) you could deal with that by simply getting an atonement.  I think guidance needs to be given whether one can "atone" for something and continue to do it to receive benefits.  I've seen a *lot* of boons in PFS, and most range from ridiculously niche to handy to have in a pinch, but I've never seen anything like this one.  (actually, now that I think of it, there was another Season Four scenario that gave a permanent +2 profane bonus to an ability score--maybe it was a theme!)

I guess the good thing I can say about The Refuge of Time is that it is a very short and straightforward scenario to run.  A GM has very little prep to do, the layout of the dungeon is exceedingly simple, and the plot is extremely manageable.  The combats are very challenging, but depending on how strong the PCs are, this could also be a very fast scenario to complete if time is a factor.  Still, I think the scenario is underwritten, potentially unfair, and has a very problematic reward.  Although that my views may be coloured by my personal experience in the session, I still wouldn't recommend this one.