Call of Cthulhu Adventure: Alone Against the Flames [Cthulhu] [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

In my first night in my new place in a new city, I dug out my Call of Cthulhu Starter Set and played the included solo adventure, Alone Against the Flames.  The adventure is also sold separately, but it's a great choice for a starter set adventure because character generation is embedded through the early stages of the adventure.  There are several solo adventures available for the game (I'm playing Alone Against the Dark at the moment), and they work like a Choose Your Own Adventure book but with the RPG game mechanics tied in--a really smart idea.  Anyway, my character for Alone Against the Flames was Hiram Goldberg, a young would-be journalist leaving small town Broken Bow, Nebraska, for a new job at the Arkham Gazette in Massachusetts.  Alas, things did not go exactly as planned for young Hiram (see below), but I definitely enjoyed the experience.

SPOILERS

In Alone Against the Flames, your character is headed for a job in the city (the precise nature of which changes depending on your choice of occupation) by taking a long bus journey.  At one point, though, you're the only person on the bus when the driver reports engine trouble and pulls over.  A small village named Emberhead is nearby, and as you find lodging for the night (hoping the bus is repaired by the morning), you learn that there's a big festival planned for the village in just a couple of days.  Well, long story short, the "festival" is marked by a ritual sacrificial immolation by the cult-oriented villagers, and *you're* about to get burnt at the stake!  As a journalist looking for a big story, I role-played Hiram's increasing suspicions about what was going on as leading him *toward* the danger rather than trying to run away from it.  I managed to uncover the truth, but still found myself bound to the pyre.  Thanks to befriending a local (who loosed the bounds slightly), my adventure all came down to one chance to break free by bursting the bonds with a Strength check.  I had coincidentally made Strength one of my highest stats and had a 70% chance of success.  But, this being Call of Cthulhu, the stars (and dice) decreed: failure!  Alas, poor Hiram Goldberg became just another in a long line of sacrifices, and the secret of Emberhead remained hidden.

Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 87 [RPG]

[Sunday, 9 Arodus 4708 A.R. continued]

 

Poised on the top of Castle Scarwall’s War Tower, a trio of brave explorers are preparing to magically fly across to the keep’s central tower.  But before they can depart, a cry rings out from below in the unmistakeably shrill voice of Eldritch, Anorak’s familiar: “My master, my master awakens!”  The vast, echoing corridors of the castle make it difficult for those on top of the tower to pinpoint the source of the shouting, but eventually they locate Eldritch on the opposite side of the smashed entrance to the castle’s donjon.  Anorak is there, and no longer stone!

But there’s no time for explanations: The Reckoner is in a hurry to track down and destroy another spirit anchor before his protective magics wear off, and he shouts for the dwarf and his reptilian/birdlike familiar to hurry up.  The two know that leaving the donjon will subject them to a protective ward designed to keep all but the purest of souls trapped within, but there seems to be no choice and they brave the doorway.  The pain is intense for Anorak, but the dwarf survives.  Unfortunately, Eldritch’s frail frame is wracked by an intense burst of magical energy and he’s killed instantly, falling to the ground, his body a smoking corpse.  Anorak screams and goes white.  But in a world of magic, death is not always the end, and so the dwarf wraps Eldritch’s body in spare clothes and places it on a newly-summoned floating disk of magical force.

Leading the group on toward the War Tower again, The Reckoner explains to Anorak what happened while the dwarf was turned to stone from the curse of Zev Ravenka.  The vigilante says they’re about to fly over to the castle’s central tower where they think the devil referred to in the Sun Shaman’s song must dwell.  Anorak worries that his reserves of magical energy are low, and says he should rest to regain his strength.  The Reckoner replies that dozens in Korvosa are dying everyday due to dark blood magic, and that if they don’t hurry, the demilich they just destroyed could reform.

Once at the top of the War Tower, Lorien’s key role becomes apparent.  With a brief prayer to Cayden Cailean, the war-priest grips the strand of prayer beads rescued from the unholy altar in the shrine of Zon-Kuthon below.  Suddenly, he, The Reckoner, and Yraelzin begin to float into the air, their bodies becoming as insubstantial as mist.  Anorak, preferring a more traditional flying spell, launches into the air to keep pace with them as the group start to float across the hundred feet and more that separate the two towers.

But then, disaster strikes!  Emerging from a cupola partway up the tower, a ghostly elven woman, her face contorted with rage, points a spectral finger at Lorien and flies out to attack!  Immediately recognising the foe as a banshee of a nature similar to the one that gave him a near-death experience in the Black Tower in Korvosa, The Reckoner prepares to swing his hammer before realising something even worse: in his insubstantial state, there’s no way for him to fight!  He calls for a retreat and begins to fly back to the War Tower to begin the process of transitioning from immaterial to physical form.  Meanwhile, the banshee must have a particular hatred for orcs and half-orcs, or perhaps worshippers of goodly gods, and it initially focuses all of its anger on Lorien.  Fortunately, the warrior-priest had the foresight to put up a protective ward against attacks from certain undead creatures, and the banshee is unable to harm him.  Nonetheless, Lorien also can’t fight or cast spells, and flies away in the hopes of escaping.  Yraelzin does the same.

That leaves Anorak as the sole combatant to face down the dreadful foe, and the dwarf goes to it with relish, combining his dwarven waraxe with a powerful burst of electricity to weaken the banshee.  But when the undead plunges its hand into the dwarf’s chest, he’s not protected by the same abjuration as Lorien and finds his very lifeforce draining away!  The dwarf fights on valiantly, but what he told The Reckoner earlier seals his fate: he has little magic left to combat such a dire threat!  Supernatural fear overcomes Anorak and he drops his axe in terror before instinctively trying to flee.  But the banshee’s rage is not appeased by mere fear—she seeks death, and finds it by plunging another ghostly hand into Anorak’s heart.  Killed instantly, the dwarf’s body plummets to the ground, crashing into the roof of the guest wing far below.

Regrouping inside the War Tower, the stunned survivors decide to recover Anorak’s body and see if they can find a way to the base of the central tower from inside the keep so as to avoid the banshee’s wrath.  By staying low and in the shadows of the ever-present gloom, the survivors are able to recover Anorak’s body.  They retreat to an inner chamber near the War Tower where they’ve often camped during their time in Scarwall and place Anorak’s body respectfully on a table.  With few options other than to press on and complete the task of breaking the link between Scarwall and Ileosa’s crown as quickly as possible, the survivors set out to find the lower entrance to the central tower.

 

The Reckoner’s keen insight into architectural design allows him to traverse the maze of passageways and chambers of Scarwall relatively quickly in order to get near where the entrance to the central tower should be.  A careful search of nearby areas finds multiple balconies, a portrait room that fills The Reckoner with sudden anger so that he destroys all of them, a damp old library, and more.  When The Reckoner puts his ear to a door and hears movement on the other side, suspicion that the group is getting closer to their target grows.  Bursting into the room, the survivors see a sparsely furnished guardroom with a bonze gong hanging above the table.  A pair of devilish creatures, bristling with barbs, are surprised by the attack and quickly fall before The Reckoner’s hammer.

 

The way forward now seems clear, and Hell itself might tremble at the vengeance of the Harrowed Heroes!

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

GM Commentary

One of the things I've talked a lot about in these recaps is not forgetting about giving personalities to animal companions and familiars.  I had a lot of fun role-playing Eldritch's paranoid homicidal tendencies.  Alas, the forbiddance/repulsion effect just inflicted too much damage for the familiar--a risk of a lot of area effect/field type spells that GMs often forget about in higher level play.

Windwalk is one of those spells that seems super awesome until you stop and read the details carefully.  The time it takes to transition between the gaseous state (where you can be hurt but can't fight effectively) and a solid state is a real vulnerability, as the PCs found out in this session.

The sense of the rest of us at the table was that Anorak's death was essentially self-inflicted, as he had plenty of opportunities to escape and fought (uncharacteristically) to the death.  It happens sometimes that a player wants to introduce a new PC and effective has their current PC commit suicide, but I hate to see it as I think it undermines character progression and the import of genuine loss that should accompany the death of a PC.

Pathfinder Society Scenario # 1-07 (Scenario # 35): 'Voice in the Void' [RPG]

 NO SPOILERS

I played Voice in the Void with my Oracle of Groetus in a live tabletop game.  He got killed and the rest of the party sensibly ran away!  In other words, it's a tough scenario.  I will say, however, that it contains an excellent backstory and makes great use of setting lore.  It's also a scenario that continues and furthers the excellent Pathfinder Society plot thread involving the Blakros Museum.  I'd recommend people play it, but with PCs leaning into the combat-capable side of things.

SPOILERS

The scenario starts with a briefing by Venture-Captrain Adril Hestram at the Grand Lodge in Absalom.  It seems the curator of the Blakros Museum, Nigel Aldain, has reported that Imrizade Blakros (daughter of the patron family) disappeared while doing work in the museum's basement.  Since several watchmen sent to find her have also disappeared, it seems like a job for Pathfinders to find her!  Hestram explains that the Society is willing to take the job because Imrizade's a successful fortune-hunter who had just returned from Osirion carrying a mysterious artifact: an odd metal cylinder covered in hieroglyphs.  So, the field agents are being sent to find Imrizade not out of the goodness of the PFS' heart, but so they can either get the artifact or some information about it.  All in all, a solid story hook.

After the briefing, the PCs presumably travel to the museum, where they're met by Nigel Aldain.  He shows them the secret ramp down into the basement, and that's where the rest of the scenario takes place.  So, in one sense, this is a classic dungeon crawl.  But as I said above, there's a ton of careful setting lore, atmosphere, and backstory integrated into each room and encounter to make for a compelling adventure (i.e., this is *not* a "one orc stands in a 10x10 room guarding a treasure chest" style of dungeon crawl).  Dangers include caryatid columns, animated dinosaur skeletons, oozes, fungal molds, and (in their first Pathfinder appearance), cerebric fungi.  It all builds up to a really cool finale, where the PCs discover Imrizade standing in front of the Gate of Beyond, a portal to the Dark Tapestry, with fleshy fungoid umbilicals attaching the Gate to her body!

The backstory lore is extensive and interesting.  Before being turned into a museum, the building was originally the manor of Ralzeros the Overwatched, a mad astrologer and wizard obsessed with the distant worlds beyond Golarion's skies, who built on the site because he had discovered the Gate of Beyond buried there.  Thousands of years later, Imrizade Blakros had discovered the gate while playing in the basement archives as a child, and later ("recently") as an adult adventurer, discovered a strange metal cylinder in Osirion that turned out to contain the ghostly consciousness of an aberrant sorcerer named Kubburum Ishmedagan that took over Imrizade's body.  Returning to the museum, the possessed Imrizade is working to reactivate the Gate of Beyond and open a portal to the Dark Tapestry--thus attracting all sorts of bizarre and dangerous creatures from Aucturn and beyond.  For those keeping track, we also get a reference to the Aucurn Enigma!

My description and summary probably hasn't done the scenario justice, but those interested in the lore of Golarion and the excellent interweaving of Blakros family drama into PFS scenarios should definitely experience Voice in the Void.  It may kill you, but that's what Prestige Points are for!

Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 86 [RPG]

Recap # 86

While most of the Harrowed Heroes brave the gloomy depths of Castle Scarwall, a fourth member of the group continues on an equally important mission: cementing an alliance of Varisian city-states to repel a Runelord-led giant army.  In Ilsurian, Sheriff Feldane gives Goldcape an update on the situation.  It seems the delegates to the summit refuse to sign the alliance agreement until they’re sure one of their own isn’t responsible for placing the demon-summoning pentagram under the bargaining table.  Feldane explains that the true culprit needs to be found, immediately.  She introduces Goldcape to two private “troubleshooters” she’s hired to assist with the investigation—a pale half-elf named Seltyiel and a professional investigator named Quinn.  Quinn reports that he’s already made some progress: the pentagram could only have been placed by an experienced specialist in things arcane, not merely copied by an amateur or a dupe.  Seltyiel adds that the summit delegates and their security staff check out—it probably wasn’t an inside job. 

 

Before releasing the trio to continue the investigation, Feldane adds one last, startling thing: a masked man calling himself Blackjack apparently claimed responsibility for the pentagram last night at the Two Waters Tavern!  She hands over a dagger recovered from the tavern that has a crude “B” etched in the pommel.  Quinn smells a hint of brimstone on the dagger, which might indeed tie it to whomever placed the pentagram in the meeting room. Goldcape, herself having taken over the mantle of Blackjack from Vencarlo Orisini, knows immediately that the dagger is a fake—but she can’t share how she knows with the others!

 

Leaving Sheriff Feldane to continue overseeing security for the delegates, the three investigators start with the only real lead they have: the Two Waters Tavern.  There, the owner of the establishment, Noria Arephion, excitedly relates the dramatic tale of what happened the previous night.  It was late in the evening, she says, and the call for last orders had just gone round, when suddenly a man clad in all black crashed through a window and landed on a table!  He hurled a dagger into the bar and proclaimed something about how he sabotaged the summit to keep the secret cabalists there from suppressing everyone’s freedom.  He then, she says, jumped back out the window and disappeared into the night.  The investigators express sympathy for the destruction of the window, but Nora waves their concerns away, saying it’s sure to result in a surge of business for weeks as customers recount the tale and hope for more excitement in the future.  Before leaving, Quinn examines the window frame and finds some long, golden hairs.  He looks at Goldcape with some suspicion before the vanara sniffs them and pronounces them to be lion hairs.  Quinn and Seltyiel know immediately that lion hairs could only come from one place in Ilsurian: the circus that arrived a few days ago!

On the outskirts of Ilsurian, the investigators enter the Umbra Carnival, a travelling circus and festival that has been visiting towns across Varisia for the last few years. Goldcape (who brought Rocky along for the visit) can’t help but be lured into the archery range.  She confidently proclaims her skill, but the carnie running the game (in which silver is paid out for landing a bullseye) only nods knowingly and hands her a bow and three arrows.  Goldcape realizes that with a deformed bow and intentionally un-aerodynamic arrows, the game is rigged for failure.  She berates the carnie, who summons the circus strongman to intervene.  Quinn and Seltyiel manage to pull Goldcape away just before violence breaks out.

The trio decide to split up, with Goldcape investigating the circus’ travelling menagerie of exotic animals and Quinn and Seltyiel looking around the Bigtop.  Goldcape walks past a “baby dragon” (a monitor lizard), a small elephant, an empty cage labelled “The Lair of the Sphinx”, and then reaches a cage where there are indeed a pair of lions.  Just as she starts looking around for clues, a blast of burning hair nearly singes her fur.  Turning around, she realises that, somehow, a massive hellhound has appeared right in the middle of the zoo and is attacking her!  It seems that while she’s been hunting the summoner, the summoner may have noticed her.  Goldcape backpedals as Rocky flies in to attack with beak and claws.  Soon, Seltyiel and Quinn hear the disturbance and come running as well, though the battle is nearly over by the time they arrive: with a final lunge, Rocky bites down hard on the hellhound’s neck and it disappears in a pungent cloud of sulphur.

But although Quinn wasn’t able to contribute much to the fight, his keen eyes do spot something important: almost everyone attending this area of the zoo fled when the hellhound appeared, but one man stayed and watched with interest.  Quinn points out this fact to Goldcape, and when she looks at the man, she knows instantly who it is: Rolth Lamm, a notorious necromancer and serial killer from Korvosa!  Lamm grins evilly at his old foe and, with a few uttered arcane words, seems to transform into Blackjack before racing away.  The three investigators give chase as Lamm, obviously enhanced by magic, dashes and leaps around the carnival.  Finally, Goldcape manages to cut him off and Seltyiel and Quinn close quickly from behind.  Rolth dispenses with his Blackjack disguise and cackles “Ileosa gives her regards, and a reminder that no one besides her speaks for Korvosa!”  He promptly conjures undead guardians to defend him as Goldcape attacks, but the ever-wily Rolth has another trick up his sleeve.  Seltyiel suddenly turns, draws his bow, and shoots Quinn in the back!  “Nothing personal,” says the half-elf with a shrug.  “He pays better than Feldane.”  But even with an ally, Rolth knows there’s no way he can stand up to Goldcape and Rocky for long.  He uses a scroll to teleport away, escaping justice once again.  Frustrated, Goldcape takes out her aggression on Seltyiel and, with Quinn’s help, they dispatch the mercenary.

Later that night, the real Blackjack makes another appearance in Ilsurian, announces that the culprit for the attack on the summit has fled the city, and that the people of Korvosa support the military alliance.  After a difficult few days, it seems like there may be hope for a united Varisia after all.

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

GM Commentary

This was a fun "meanwhile" session to provide the players with a break from the endless dungeon crawling of Scarwall and for the Chapter Five Assistant GM to get to run Goldcape again.  The other players were given PFS Iconics to run.  I again made use of Ilsurian (the home city of my long-running Magic Mirror/Roots of Golarion campaign), and also integrated the Umbra Carnival from the Murder's Mark module.

I thought it only natural that Ileosa would learn of the summit and send someone to remind the delegates that *she's* the leader of Korvosa.  The chance to bring back Rolth Lamm was enticing, and I also wanted to give Goldcape a chance to use her new persona as Blackjack, so I went with the classic comics plot of a villain pretending to be the hero while doing nefarious things!

The scenes at the carnival were fun, and (if I remember right) I had a custom Chase set up to use all the various attractions and booths there.  The big twist of Seltyiel being a double-agent worked well and was fitting if you know his character (he's Chaotic Neutral, after all!).  In sum, a fun session and a nice break before getting back to the main story thread in the next session.

Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 85 [RPG]

[Starday, 8 Arodus 4708 continued]

 

With a second spirit anchor destroyed, the intrepid explorers of Castle Scarwall are just on the stairs to the second floor of the donjon when the prophetic words of the demilich Zev Ravenka come to pass: a curse falls on the group!  Anorak finds his feet stuck to the stone steps, and as he watches in horror, his very skin turns to stone, starting from his toes all the way up to the hair on his head!  In a flash of instants, he’s no longer flesh and blood but an immobile stone statue!  As Eldritch squawks about betrayal, Yraelzin and Lorien work to reverse the effects but are forced to admit the problem is beyond their ability to solve at the moment.  The others reluctantly leave Anorak and Eldritch behind, with a promise to return.

 

The survivors decide to follow a clue from the Sun Shaman’s song:

 

A second foe, infernal soul

Waits high in tower cold.

 

Speculating that the foe must be a devil and could be at the top of the castle’s War Tower, the group return to the northeast part of the castle where they encountered hellhounds in what was only days ago but seems like months.  The Reckoner and Lorien lead the way up the stairs, only to hear Yraelzin shouting at someone behind them to go away.  The unearthly floating apparition of an ancient Azlanti aristocrat has returned!  Encouraged by the others to interact with it, Yraelzin has a brief conversation.  He sighs as he explains to his allies that the apparition continues to berate him for “failing his destiny” and “rejecting his birthright”.  He adds that the apparition has proclaimed the group’s doom, for a dragon has its lair on the first floor and has already slain one intruder, while the devil at the top of the stairs is cunning and spiteful.  The apparition soon melts into wet snow, leaving Yraelzin again angry and frustrated about his perception that everyone sees him as a failure.

 

With seeming confirmation that one of the spirit anchors is at the top of the War Tower, the Harrowed Heroes gird themselves for battle and advance.  Their progress is halted by an assault of spectres which, though quickly destroyed, manage to sap some of Lorien’s strength.  With The Reckoner still vulnerable from the battle against the demilich, the trio decide they need to rest and regain their strength.  They decide to sleep on the roof of the guest wing.  Lorien consecrates their sleeping area, and it seems to do the trick: the group is neither attacked nor the victim of the nightmares that plagued them on previous nights in Scarwall.  Yraelzin magically contacts Goldcape and hears about the progress of the summit, while Bishop d'Bear contacts The Reckoner with news of progress: “Cleared opposition from city streets, advancing toward Castle Korvosa.  Scores of civilians dying every day from blood magic.  Is your mission still viable?”  The Reckoner responds that their task is almost complete, but he asks for magical aid to be waiting for him to address his ongoing weakness after the battle with the demilich.

 

[Sunday, 9 Arodus 4708 A.R.]

 

Well-rested and primed for battle, The Reckoner, Lorien, and Yraelzin ascend the steps of the War Tower ready to do battle with a spirit anchor.  After making short work of a lone spectre, they reach the top of the tower and are treated to a stunning view of the crater lake below.  But there’s clearly no devil present.  “We’ve been tricked!” laments Yraelzin, speculating that his spectral ancestor lured them up here because it would be tempting to give up on the quest and depart the castle.  But there’s not much time for recriminations, as another pack of brutish four-armed gargoyles launch themselves into the air from distant minarets to attack!  With Yraelzin’s magic slowing the creatures down and The Reckoner’s myriad magical protections, the foes are defeated with little difficulty.

 

In the distance, a tall tower in the center of the keep is visible—could that be the one spoken of in the Sun Shaman’s song?  But if so, the challenge lies in getting there across hundreds of feet of open air or difficult backtracking through the heart of the castle below.  But Lorien has the answer!  Pulling out the strand of prayer beads found in the shrine to Zon-Kuthon, he says: “With these, we could fly like the wind!”

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

GM Commentary

I always try to come up with a unique and interesting explanation of what happens to a PC to effectively remove them from player when a player can't make a session, so that's why Anorak suffered a "curse" and turned slowly to stone.  I normally of course would not do such a thing by pure GM fiat, and sometimes I have to gently steer players away from having their characters expend precious resources trying to "solve" a problem that can only be "fixed" when the player returns the following session.

We some more development of Yraelzin this session, following the theme I've talked about in past commentaries of him always feeling a bit out of place and unappreciated.

Having the PCs reach the roof of a tower then created the challenging situation I've mentioned before of me as the GM, without a 3D model, trying to figure out and describe what they can and can't see from their new vantage point.

Starfinder Society Scenario # 2-14: "Data Purge" [RPG]

 NO SPOILERS

 

I ran Data Purge at Subtier 9-10 via play-by-post.  Starfinder’s one of those games where PCs are effectively immortal (SP+HP+RP), but I still appreciated there were some fairly hard encounters and I like how the mission is one that genuinely seems to warrant high-level field agents getting involved.  It’s an important scenario for the Season 2 metaplot and also reveals some interesting lore about the Starfinder Society and its past.  Although mostly combat-oriented, there is one solid role-playing opportunity.  I can’t think of any real complaints about it, which is unusual for a nit-picky reviewer like me!  I’d certainly recommend it.

 

SPOILERS!

 

Data Purge has a plot that would make an excellent Starfinder movie or novel.  The head of the Dataphiles faction, Celita, has realised that the entire computer system of the Starfinder Society’s headquarters (the Lorespire Complex) has been compromised.  An outside party has wormed its way in through an advanced computer virus and established deep and intrusive access to pretty much everything.  Celita develops a counter that can purge the virus, but getting it into the network requires physically connecting a datapad containing the anti-virus into a mainframe computer in Guidance’s central core.  Not knowing who she can trust besides Luwazi Elsebo, the two handpick a group of elite field agents (the PCs) and send them on what turns out to be a fake mission to repair an antenna on an uninhabited shepherd moon around Liavara.  There, the two reveal the *real* mission: they need the PCs to sneak into the Lorespire Complex through some old waste and maintenance tunnels (maps provided in paper form by Royo—a nice touch!), subdue without killing any Starfinder guards that spot them, and insert the datapad to fix Guidance without revealing to anyone their real mission.  Like I said, a solid movie!

 

Once back on Absalom Station, the PCs make their way into the tunnels.  The first encounter takes place in a massive waste disposal chamber that has a neat combination of effects: massive mounds of garbage, guardians (rat spawn) left behind by the party responsible for the computer takeover, an automated magnetic crane (on a pre-set track), and an “atomizer crucible”.  Basically, as the PCs are navigating the garbage and fighting giant rat monsters, anyone with metal on them is at risk of getting caught by the magnet and dropped into very nasty atomizer!  It all made for a legitimately tough battle and a couple of scary moments even for jaded players.

 

The tunnels lead into the Adamantine Prison (where the Society’s most dangerous villains are incarcerated—I wouldn’t think the Society would have the authority to incarcerate people like Stewards can).  Allies of the SFS who are effectively in protective custody or just need a place of real refuge occupy some of the outer cells, and it’s in one of these that the PCs meet a philosopher-worm named Uko.  Uko answers questions, but for every question he answers he asks one himself, and his questions are excellent prompts for players to think a bit more deeply about their character than just species and class.  The premise of the need for interaction is that Uko threatens to call the guards unless the PCs can interest him, but the only thing really at sake is some credits if the PCs fail the (open-ended) skill checks.

 

A classic but also fairly nasty corridor laser net trap is next.  I saw a PC use a neat trick involving wormholes to help his party escape, and appreciated seeing a clever solution for a classic dilemma.

 

The next major encounter is probably the oddest of the bunch, as the tunnels the PCs are following leads them into a holographic training simulator that happens to be the site of a Starfinder live fire exercise.  On an old Pathfinder forest fire flip-mat, the PCs find themselves in a replica wooden cabin as several drones (playing the part of evil mercenaries) battle flesh-and-blood Starfinder agents.  The scenario presents a variety of options for the PCs, which I like: they can try to hide and wait out the exercise, pretend to be drones and play dead, make a run for it (and risk alerting the facility that intruders are present), or take down the Starfinders quickly (and nonlethally).  Noticing that the flip-mat has a large source of water on it, one of my players hit on the idea of having their PC hide underwater, and the others followed suit.  It was again a clever idea and I couldn’t really argue with it.  It does remind me that I think the original developers of Starfinder made a mistake by having armor “environmental protections” be so universal and powerful in the game—they take the fun out of a lot of classic science-fiction predicaments like toxic atmospheres, vacuums, nerve gases, and so forth.

 

When the PCs reach Guidance’s central server room, Guidance perceives them as threats and generates hardlight holograms of past First Seekers to battle them.  This was done in a pretty cool way, as each time the PCs inflict a certain threshold of damage, the hologram changes to a different past First Seeker and gains a different associated power.  It was a smart way to show off a bit of SFS history and keep the boss battle constantly changing.

 

Assuming the PCs are successful, they’ll know the party responsible for the intrusion: Datch!  Data Purge is the first time the leadership of the Society realises just who they’re up against, making it an important part of the season meta-plot.  But even as a standalone scenario, I think high-level PCs will find the scenario an enjoyable and challenging (in the context of Starfinder) adventure.

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.