Pathfinder Society Scenario # 2-23: "Shadow's Last Stand, Part I: At Shadow's Door" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

I played At Shadow's Door via play-by-post with my chaotic, randomly-generated PC, Jilla!.  I'm a little bit of two minds about the scenario.  The background plot has some big holes in it.  But, the actual writing and premise of the scenario is interesting, and some of the encounters are more than meets the eye.  I think I'm going to give it a tick of approval, even if I wish the Season 2 metaplot (which this is a part of) had been held for later years in PFS1, when writers were able to better make use of deeper and more sophisticated storylines.

SPOILERS!

If you know anything about the early seasons of PFS1, the title of this scenario alone is probably a giveaway that it will involve the Shadow Lodge.  I really love the idea of the Shadow Lodge--a "group within the group" that wants wants to move it out of the control of the Decemvirate and improve the treatment of field agents and then . . . well, that last bit seems to vary dramatically between different members of the Shadow Lodge.  I think maybe around Year 8 or 9, this would have been a fantastic storyline to explore the morality of the Pathfinder Society and the effects it has had on various places in Golarion.  Here, unfortunately, it all becomes too black and white, with the Shadow Lodge portrayed as obvious villains and the PCs having to stop them.

Anyway, At Shadow's Door takes place in Almas (capital of Andoran) and involves a plot by a member of the Shadow Lodge named Spider who has a big plan involving the capture of the PFS lodge (including Venture-Captain Brackett) in the city so she can "weaken" the Society and then . . . something.  I couldn't really grasp what the Spider thought would happen next to help her achieve her ulterior motives (which isn't the destruction of the Society per se). The Spider has allied with a hobgoblin general Hagla to pull off the capture of the Almas lodge, but unbeknownst to her, Hagla has a plan of her own: the hobgoblin plans to ring the building's bells (it's an old cathedral to Aroden) to signal an invasion of the city!  I'm similarly not persuaded that a hobgoblin army could sneak into  Almas, poised to attack, without folks noticing.  But all my plot nit-picking aside, it does make for big stakes, which can be a nice change of pace from the usual goal of "retrieve this magical item that you'll never hear about again".

The briefing is held aboard the Hornet's Nest in Almas' harbor.  The rarely-seen Venture-Captain Hamshanks explains that, during a big gala at the Lodge, kidnappers dressed as servants attacked from the inside.  Some are dead and some have been held hostage, and the only individual to escape and bring word of what happened is Fillian, a young apprentice of the Lodge's resident wizard/librarian Wystorn Telfyr.  The dialogue for Fillian is really funny (a nice touch for briefings, which can often be fairly dry), and he explains that the only way to sneak into the cathedral is the same way he snuck out: through the belfry!  Having recently prepped # 2-16, The Flesh Collector, which starts in the Almas lodge and features Brackett and Telfyr, I really enjoyed the continuity displayed in this scenario (down to Telfyr's interest in homunculi).  The scenario here provides an excellent and thorough description of the cathedral, something an enterprising GM could use in the future for adventures whether formally PFS or not.

Trying to get into the building from the top down is a fun twist, and my favourite part is a context-dependent trap that makes perfect sense.  After hearing Fillian's escape from the belfry, the hostage-takers have rigged the cathedral's bells with a tripwire.  In the (very likely) event the PCs set off the trap, the bells ring loud and long for everyone in the whole building to hear and prepare for intruders.  For each of the bad guys, tactics are provided for whether they're on alert or not.  Alas, when I played, the GM gave all the PCs automatic Perception checks to notice the trap (as if we all had the coveted Trapspotting ability!), rendering the clever idea essentially moot.

The first combat encounter takes place under the cathedral's main dome and is against some air elementals.  They can make good use of fly-by attack and whirlwind abilities in such a large space, and so may be harder than they first appear.  There's some very interesting lore about Aroden on the walls of the dome for those (like me) who love to see such things.

Next up is a battle against an animated stained glass window!  Also much tougher than one might think, as we struggled to get past its hardness and immunity to magic.

There's then an optional (time dependent) encounter with Wystorn Telfyr's homunculi.  This can be handled diplomatically as well as through combat means, which is a good option to see once in a while.

An ambush by a couple of hobgoblin rogues follows, but I imagine pretty much any group of PFS PCs should be able to handle them with little difficulty.

And then it's on to the chapel for the big finish.  If the PCs did set off the bell trap, this is a pretty confronting scene as the hobgoblin general Hagla has Brackett and Telfyr strung up on a makeshift gallows and threatens to hang them unless allowed to escape unharmed!  She's serious too, which could very well lead to an encounter of trying to defeat her while simultaneously keeping NPCs from strangling in the nooses.

As the scenario wraps up, the PCs will learn the true identity of The Spider and be in a good position to tackle Part II.

Thinking it through, apart from some plot holes which probably won't be noticed by players, the scenario has some creative twists and should provide an exciting session of adventuring.  I'm looking forward to trying out the sequel.

Pathfinder Society Scenario # 4-15: "The Cyphermage Dilemma" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

 

The Cypermage Dilemma is one of the very, very few Pathfinder adventures I’ve ever run (most of) twice.  It first came to my attention when I was preparing to run the Second Darkness adventure path, which starts in Riddleport (home of the Cyphermages).  Then, since I already had so much of the scenario ready for that, I went ahead and ran it in proper Pathfinder Society via play-by-post.  After re-reading it for the purpose of this review, my conclusion is that, although it has a couple of memorable NPCs, the story and timelines don’t hold together very well.  It’s certainly playable and reasonably fun as long as no one thinks too hard about the plot.

 

SPOILERS!

 

The story background is a little convoluted, but I’ll try to summarise it concisely.  In the port city of Riddleport, one of the city’s eight major crimelords is a wizard named Elias Tammerhawk.  Tammerhawk is the leader of the Order of the Cyphers, a group of arcanists devoted to studying the mysterious monument called the Cyphergate.  As progress in understanding the Cyphergate has been very slow, Tammerhawk has started to recruit scholars from far and wide to assist.  However, a Vudrani vishkanya pirate by the name of Alejia Netrav has been trying to bolster her support in Riddleport by undermining support for the existing crimelords—particularly, Tammerhawk.  In order to discredit him as a competent leader, Alejia has used her skills at piracy (and disguise) to raid ships and kidnap scholars bound for the city on Tammerhawk’s invitation.  The fate of the scholars and who’s behind it is known to Tammerhawk when the scenario begins, but (and this doesn’t really hold together as an explanation), he thinks dealing with Alejia himself would be “admitting his vulnerability in the eyes of rival crime lords.”  One would think dealing with a threat quickly and severely himself would only raise his esteem with the other crimelords, but I digress.  Tammerhawk instead calls in help from Sheila Heidmarch, the Pathfinder Society’s Venture-Captain in Magnimar.  She’s willing to help out both to cement an alliance with Tammerhawk and because one of the scholars currently bound to Riddleport (from Minkai) is a former Pathfinder named Hirako Gurukaza.  Heidmarch enlists the PCs to travel to Riddleport, find Alejia, and stop her before Gurukaza and any other scholars are kidnapped.

 

Just from that description, there’s a lot about the plot that just doesn’t make sense.  I’ve mentioned already that if the # 2 crimelord in Riddleport can’t deal with an upstart without calling in outsiders, he’s got larger problems.  Tammerhawk is actually a diviner of all things, and since he already knows Alejia is behind the kidnappings, you’d think he’d be able to magically deduce her whereabouts (she takes no precautions along these lines).  Nor do we get any explanation as to why Alejia thinks kidnapping a few scholars will substantially undermine Tammerhawk’s position, or how she knows specifically what ship they’ll be travelling on.  When the scenario starts, Heidmarch tells the PCs that Gurukaza will be arriving in Riddleport in “a few days” and urges them to stop an abduction attempt at sea, but Magnimar and Riddleport are far more than a few days away from each other (weeks apart, in fact)!  (I have to imagine the writer never used the scale on the map of the Inner Sea) Wouldn’t a far more sensible plan be to have a scholar from Magnimar serve as bait, hide the PCs aboard the vessel, and then trap Alejia when she attacks?  There are more discrepancies and timeline problems along these lines, but I think I’ve made my point.  Poor plotting creates problems, and I do remember running this and having trouble understanding where the different NPCs were supposed to be because of the strained timelines.

 

Anyway, after the briefing and a handwaved sea voyage to Riddleport, the PCs find themselves in the docks.  Witnesses will point out a suspicious warehouse.  I personally imagine that Riddleport, a true hive of scum, villainy, and smuggling, must be chock full of “suspicious warehouses”, but again I’m quibbling.  Inside, several of Alejia’s crew have a kidnapped scholar (an Andoren theologian).  The battle uses the classic Warehouse flip-mat, and one bit I do like is that the pirates try to tip crates over on the PCs.

 

After leaving the warehouse, the PCs are then accosted (due to a mix-up) by two half-orc thugs and their dog working for another crimelord, Boss Croat.  I have no issue with the encounter in principle, though I would think even Boss Croat’s boys aren’t dim enough to use saps and sling when outnumbered against a full party of 4-6 heavily armed PCs.  It’ll be a slaughter.

 

From the warehouse, the PCs will have a lead to a ship anchored in the harbor called the Lionfish.  The PCs can pay someone to row them out there, and they may be able to sneak aboard (failing that, they’ll have to fight their way aboard).  I always like a good ship boarding scene, but the best part of this scenario is a grippli alchemist/pirate named Mumbuckle.  Through completely organic means, he eventually became a fixture in my Second Darkness campaign and I hold a special affection for him.

 

Clues aboard the captured ship indicate that Alejia has already struck the ship that had Gurukaza on it, and that she’s hiding out on a small island called Viper Cove.  The PCs need to sail (or hire someone to do so) the Lionfish out to Viper Cove.  Here, they confront Alejia, some more of her crew, and some rabid dogs.  There’s a nice bit here where Alejia holds a blade to Gurukaza’s throat and demands she be allowed to leave or she’ll kill him, and she actually will do a coup de grace if the PCs refuse!  Some groups never take hostage situations seriously, so I’m glad the scenario does.  She’s also visually a pretty cool bad guy.

 

And that’s pretty much it.  My likes are the villains (Mumbuckle and Alejia), a couple of new details about Riddleport (e.g., “harbor gut”), and some fun pirate action.  My dislikes are the bad plotting.  In practice though, most players probably won’t notice, as the scenario proceeds directly from encounter to encounter with little need for thought.  So, make of that what you will.