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.