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Pathfinder Adventure: Troubles in Otari

3.80/5 (based on 5 ratings)
Pathfinder Adventure: Troubles in Otari
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Onward to adventure! This exciting adventure anthology expands the realm beyond the hometown introduced in the Pathfinder Beginner Box and brings thrilling new dangers to the heroes' doorstep! Designed for use with the rules in the Pathfinder Beginner Box and the perfect bridge to the exciting options of the full Pathfinder Core Rulebook, these adventures take your heroes to 4th level and beyond as they venture further into the nearby wilderness and face fearsome foes lurking all too close to home!

The anthology's three adventures introduce a number of play styles, including clearing out an abandoned fish camp, a sandbox romp to get to the bottom of sabotage, and a classic puzzle-filled dungeon crawl.

Troubles in Otari's three adventures, written by Jason Keeley, Lyz Liddell, and Ron Lundeen, start at 2nd level and take your heroes to 4th level and beyond as they venture further into the nearby wilderness and face fearsome foes lurking all too close to home!

This adventure can be used with the Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Troubles in Otari.

ISBN: 978-1-64078-286-0



"Troubles in Otari" is sanctioned for use in Pathfinder Society Organized Play. The rules for running this Adventure and Chronicle sheet are available as a free download (778 kb zip/PDF).

Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:

Fantasy Grounds Virtual Tabletop
Pathfinder Nexus on Demiplane
Roll20 Virtual Tabletop
Archives of Nethys

Note: This product is part of the Pathfinder Adventure Subscription.

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3.80/5 (based on 5 ratings)

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just here to offset the guy 1-starring all the PF2E products

5/5 —

A Decent low level Intro

4/5 —

Fun to play, a smattering of light roleplay amongst reasonably balanced combats. OK plot. A good starting place.

1/5 —

A worthy sequel to Beginner Box

5/5 —

I GMed this for my group.
The adventure is on the combat heavy side and the chapters are barely connected. But the challenge level is on the easy side, as it should be for newcomers to PF2 (APL+1 is the highest enemy you will face).
Overall, I think it's a good alternative to the BB if you don't want pregens and want to run in Campaign Mode.

Expands the Stage They're All But Players On

4/5 —

Topline Summary: A great on the rails (by and large) set of adventures for GMs to explore the area around Otari as seen in the Beginner Box, giving the party some bases of operation, important contacts in the community, and some somewhat disjointed adventures. Unfortunately by the end there is little to build off if you want to continue your group’s adventures, though read my conclusion for ideas.

Chapter 1: A straightforward continuation of the Beginner Box adventure. Tamily's reasons for disposing of the property are non existent, she outright gives the title to the PCs after they clear it of its current residents when in reality it makes more sense for her to simply pay them, and then sell it, or at least offer them the property in exchange for whatever the group salvages from the land. It's particularly perplexing in that the party is likely going to secure the deed to a keep in Chapter 2. Narratively, there isn't much that connects Under Otari to this starting point and it shows. GM's should have her comment on their aid, and hopefully have read this before running the beginner box. She would certainly mention that she has other properties that need an adventurer's touch when she pays the players at the end of Under Otari.

What you do get in Part 1 isan interesting NPC in Scalliwing, which gives a GM enough to play with and a minder of the shop for the party when they’re away, and a smattering of uninspiring combat encounters. Some of the fights are intentionally under powered via the tactics put in place by the author of this part, but it's unclear why. There are indications that the enemy is supposed to be cunning surprise attacker, but they somehow think a party of four humanoids will be no match for their two minions? It simply rings hollow.

The friendly enough ghost was a missed opportunity to hook parts 1 and 2 of the adventure together. They’re written as having been a descendant of a Pathfinder who hoped one day to become an adventurer, and yet they make no mention of the town or their friends they used to dream of adventuring with (friends who are presumably are now much older and greyer now). A clever GM would do well to have the Ghost put the PCs on a path towards the friend, who can then be used to introduce the wider town to this new set of problem solvers, and provides a useful connection to just how the Quest Giver of part 2 hears about the party.
Overall, the setting doesn’t feel as lived in as it otherwise could given the extensive Gazette about the town in the beginner box.

Chapter 2:The most well laid out part of the module is found in the middle. While the PCs are given an overall goal, how they set about doing it, and the clues they can follow up on allow for enough player agency to make this a satisfying section to play and GM. One thing that could’ve been a bit better would have been to include details for following the tracks of a monster (Ch2.P1.A) which would’ve short circuited a lot of the clue gathering. In fact there’s no mention of this possibility which could flummox inexperienced GMs and it’s an obvious thing players would do given the uniqueness of the monster and the implication of how it’d come to be in town. A recent rainstorm washing away all tracks, or indicating that the tracks lead to the flume would’ve been warranted, or simply there were no tracks to follow.

In terms of, encounter construction, brand new players will need to be prompted to make recall knowledge checks should one of them fail some saves and be turned into a statue (Part B). Likely taken out for a space, a reminder to new GMs about this option would’ve been helpful as otherwise the party is looking at a permanently lost member if they dally too long. Otherwise the encounters continue to expose both the players and the GM to new concepts, which is valuable longer term, but doesn't make for overly connected adversaries thematically.

Chapter 3: While there are hints leading to this Chapter towards the end of Chapter 2, the section would’ve been better served by introducing the idea of Gathering information. Instead the NPCs just magically happen to bring the knowledge the PCs need straight to them. It’s quite hamfisted and doesn’t make a lot of sense unless the GM prompts their players to ask around town. While it seems as if the party is going to face some trouble trying to find the last set of encounters, the DCs are actually quite low for a group of level 5 PCs. Additionally, there seems to be no penalty for failure written in. GMs will have to adjudicate for themselves what it means on a failed Sense Direction check, or even worse a failed Investigate (Nature) check to remember that a particular natural terrain feature is nearby. A failure here would imply that the group would be unable to find the location until they spent X more days looking or been exhausted when they find the encounter with some orcs outside the final area etc, but there’s no such guidance for inexperienced GMs.

The final encounters include classic dungeon traps, and enough variety to make things interesting. A GM looking to break the monotony should use some of the terrain features (pits) to their advantage and try to get the party separated. While the CRB doesn’t have rules for repositioning grabbed creatures a GM should feel free to allow their monsters to do so.

The named monsters in the dungeon have rich enough backstories that should they escape they would make for useful future villains or recurring enemies. New GMs or GMs who have new players and wish to continue the parties adventures would be wise to use Bomela the troll in this way. Once downed she could potentially recover if the party leaves her for dead rather than ensuring her demise. New GMs might find themselves struggling using the final boss. The two bodyguards are relatively weak, and won’t give the leader of the cult much time to act. Of note the author doesn’t seem to understand that the spell Charm will not allow the enemy to get the PCs to attack their friends even if friendly, also note at this point the players will be level 4 and the Charm spell has the incapacitate trait meaning the PCs results will be one degree of success higher (no crit fails). The boss is better off casting Paralyze after using their eye on an enemy, and then using their eye and going into melee. If there is a fighter in the group, or a champion they should use hideous laughter on that PC so they can’t use reactions once seen. Wrapping up this chapter is as simple as recovering the McGuffin and heading back to town. Very strangely, the map has a secret room, but nothing in the text of the module mentions this.

Toolbox Content:Antivenom potion is a potent common item, whose inclusion in a module is odd. Given that antitoxin exists in the CRB and does not allow for a new check against an ongoing poison effect, but the antivenom potion dose for only 3gp more gives you a DC 10 flat check to END any persistent poison damage expect this item to find its way onto a PCs wishlist. Given than poisons in the CRB do not simply do persistent poison, but are conditions its more niche than it would appear on first blush.

The sparkblade is similarly a common magical sword, and seems to function as electric arc once per day (single action!) but the designer of the item neglected to mention if the second creature must be within 30 feet of YOU or of the first creature you had chosen. Whoops.

Maps and Art: The maps are well done and are easy to interpret. They use standard Pathfinder map doors, unlike the beginner box which used larger doors more visible on VTTs. A big thank you to the cartographer or layout editor whichever of you took the composite image for Chapter 2's many smaller maps and made the grids align between them. That alone is worth it's own special rating star, and those little things speak to your professionalism.

Splash page art is gorgeous and evocative, but its funny to see Valeros be both a teenager and a grizzled veteran in the same module. Item and Creature art remains top notch.

Conclusion: If you’re a new GM looking for content having just run the beginner box, this will scratch the itch for your players who want to continue their new adventuring life. For experienced GMs who have read ahead thru the plot, and made their own ways of connecting the plotlines, the story is serviceable. The middle chapter of the module is memorable, as are the unique NPCs in Chapter 1. However, the final Chapter doesn’t give GMs much room to work with unless they plan ahead, or wish to invent the story (see the Troll in Chapter 3). While the over-arching threat from chapter 2 to the town’s economy still looms, it seems like a distant threat that has little to do with the party’s interests, which may be itching for more immediate challenges. Having run many different PFS scenarios over the years, these adventures seem like three scenarios got smushed together in an anthology about the same town. The threads that connect the stories are weak, and NPCs do not re-appear; though they certainly can in any campaign you design around the town.

So as a launching off point for said campaign, the Troubles in Otari module provides you with a possible neutral evil Troll druid and a rival company trying to ruin the economy of your beloved Otari but little else. That said, the beginner box already gave players numerous tools to continue their adventures in the darklands fighting against dark elves (drow) and evil slaving dwarves (dueregar), and frankly its surprising that there wasn’t a tie in to the obvious plot hook of “Here be Dragons” of a tunnel that continues deep underground. So, if you’re enterprising and want to stay in Otari you might jigger a way for the evil slaving dwarves to be working with the Kortos Consortium in some way all as part of a plot by an adult dragon pulling some Drow strings. I mean, dragon eggs must have Dragon mothers somewhere right?

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Paizo Employee Webstore Coordinator
2 people marked this as a favorite.

Announced for November! Product image and description are not final and may be subject to change.
1 person marked this as a favorite.

Wait whaat, is this adventure for 4th level or to 4th level?
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
Syri wrote:
Wait whaat, is this adventure for 4th level or to 4th level?

To 4th lv and beyond makes it sound like possiby a bit beyond 4th lv. But of bigger note....

BEGINNER BOX!!!!!

Also nice to see that the box and this are taking place on Korots... more lv for the Starstone Isle
Paizo Employee Managing Developer
14 people marked this as a favorite.

I guess I could have worded the level part a little better. One of the assumptions with this module is that the players have played through the Beginner Box adventure, which would put the characters at 2nd level. The first adventure in this anthology is for 2nd level, the second one is for 3rd level, and the third one is for 4th level and should get the PCs to 5th by the end.

This and the Beginner Box are a great combination. And level 2/3/4 adventures to follow the Box...!
2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path Subscriber

What happened to Dead God's Hand? It seems to have disappeared.
1 person marked this as a favorite.

Where can we see the intro on the beginner's box?
Silver Crusade
3 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
John Warren wrote:
What happened to Dead God's Hand? It seems to have disappeared.

It's alive, but delayed to November. And that delay was before COVID-19, so I'd be careful with my hopes for that date.

RPG Superstar 2014 Top 32

Will this be useful for people who don't buy the Beginner Box?
It says it is designed w/ B-Box rules, which I assume are some sort of simplified version of PF2.
And it says it expands upon a town that I will have no info about if it is only in the B-Box.
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Grumpus wrote:

Will this be useful for people who don't buy the Beginner Box?

It says it is designed w/ B-Box rules, which I assume are some sort of simplified version of PF2.
And it says it expands upon a town that I will have no info about if it is only in the B-Box.

Otari is also in a Pathfinder Society Scenario (though there is next to no information about the town itself in that scenario, more "you start in this town and then head out on a mission").

As such, I would guess Otari will be like Etran's Folly or Kassen or, for that matter, Sandpoint or Falcon's Hollow the first time we met them: a town no one's ever heard of before where an adventure is now being set. I don't believe Paizo requires you to own Burnt Offerings or Hollow's Last Hope to run any of the later adventures set in the same towns; they've reprinted the information you need for the module.

It's also not clear yet whether the Beginner Box rules will be simplified or just include limited 1st-level options from the CRB for a limited list of classes and ancestries. I don't think P2e requires training wheels as much as 3.x did, but we'll see.
1 person marked this as a favorite.

I like that there are some higher level modules being produced.
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

At PaizoCon Online it was stated that the rules in the Beginner Box are not simplified. It will probably not have all the classes and options, but the rules will be the same.

Is it understood that the Beginner Box is necessary to play this?
Terevalis Unctio of House Mysti wrote:
Is it understood that the Beginner Box is necessary to play this?

No. Merely that it was built with the beginner box scenario in mind as a very connected prologue. It should be very playable for any table, albeit it probably won't be the beastliest or wildest adventure around.

Do the stories connect?
Terevalis Unctio of House Mysti wrote:
Do the stories connect?

Specifics aren't really available yet. I think it's just "more adventures around Otari." I'm not even sure if this product is one story or a few microadventures strung together.

That is fair.
Pathfinder Adventure, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

What does it mean for this to be a "deluxe" adventure?
8 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber
caps wrote:
What does it mean for this to be a "deluxe" adventure?

Comes with cheese and a basket of fries.

caps wrote:
What does it mean for this to be a "deluxe" adventure?

I believe it refers to modules which include three separate-but-related adventures, instead of just one. I think they started using the term when the module line expanded from 32 to 64 pages with The Dragon's Demand (though that one is just one longer adventure).

Sovereign Court
Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Fish camp!
Paizo Employee Webstore Coordinator
2 people marked this as a favorite.

Update: This product has been moved to a December release.
Sovereign Court

Will this be sanctioned for society play?
2 people marked this as a favorite.
John Mangrum wrote:
caps wrote:
What does it mean for this to be a "deluxe" adventure?
Comes with cheese and a basket of fries.

How do we use the Basket of Fries in game? I'm having trouble with the errata. If I equip the Basket into my pockets etc, can I eat the fries and draw them to consome in the same action? What if I have the skill feat Battle Snack?

Grand Archive
4 people marked this as a favorite.
Charlatan wrote:
John Mangrum wrote:
caps wrote:
What does it mean for this to be a "deluxe" adventure?
Comes with cheese and a basket of fries.
How do we use the Basket of Fries in game? I'm having trouble with the errata. If I equip the Basket into my pockets etc, can I eat the fries and draw them to consome in the same action? What if I have the skill feat Battle Snack?

The basket of Fries takes 2 hands to wield. (One to hold the basket, the other, free hand, to eat the fries.)

If the basket is worn, you need only need one free hand to eat the fries, but it takes up one of the 2 bulk of worn tools you can have.

I recommend taking "Dip Fries" feat, as it lets you draw a cup of ketchup or mustard and dip your fries in it as a single action, instead of having to draw the cup, and then spend 2 actions dipping your fries.
2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Jared Thaler - Personal Opinion wrote:
Charlatan wrote:
John Mangrum wrote:
caps wrote:
What does it mean for this to be a "deluxe" adventure?
Comes with cheese and a basket of fries.
How do we use the Basket of Fries in game? I'm having trouble with the errata. If I equip the Basket into my pockets etc, can I eat the fries and draw them to consome in the same action? What if I have the skill feat Battle Snack?

The basket of Fries takes 2 hands to wield. (One to hold the basket, the other, free hand, to eat the fries.)

If the basket is worn, you need only need one free hand to eat the fries, but it takes up one of the 2 bulk of worn tools you can have.

I recommend taking "Dip Fries" feat, as it lets you draw a cup of ketchup or mustard and dip your fries in it as a single action, instead of having to draw the cup, and then spend 2 actions dipping your fries.

My Wild Druid will violate his anathema if he takes this Basket of Fries. No way he wont come to rely on these conveniences.

Paizo Employee Marketing & Media Manager
1 person marked this as a favorite.
John Warren wrote:
What happened to Dead God's Hand? It seems to have disappeared.

It will return when we have an estimated completion date.

Dark Archive
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Liking the updated cover! Three-eyed barghest of Lamashtu? :o

Halfway through the BB adventure and looking forward to running this for them and their characters as well, nice to have this a continuation from BB!!

Tom

Can we expect any more details about this module before it ships? Maybe a blog preview or something?
Paizo Employee Marketing & Media Manager
wally.west wrote:
Can we expect any more details about this module before it ships? Maybe a blog preview or something?

I don't have one scheduled. What would you be interested in knowing?

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Aaron Shanks wrote:
wally.west wrote:
Can we expect any more details about this module before it ships? Maybe a blog preview or something?
I don't have one scheduled. What would you be interested in knowing?

I was hoping to find out it there are additional details about Otari to expand upon what is in the beginner box. Does it add monsters not found in the beginner box? Is there maybe a new background or two? Basically does it add content to the beginner box or does it use only material in the beginner box? Does content within this book have any overlap with the upcoming Ruins of Gauntlight?

I ask because I know that usually adventure path sized books, which this seems to be, tend to add some extra game material such as lore, monsters, archetypes, spells, etc.
Liberty's Edge
5 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

My PDF has arrived. Haven't had time to read through the adventure yet, but, to slake the excitement.

Adventure Toolbox Contents:
Level four rules: Options for Cleric, Fighter, Rogue and Wizard for level four if you're coming to this from the Beginner Box.

Four new Items:

Spoiler:

  • Antivenom Potion: Lvl 2 magic item. Gives a flat check to end persistent poison damage and a bonus to Fort savs vs poison for a minute.
  • Capsaicin Tonic: Uncommon Lvl 4 alchemical item. Gives you the ability to breathe a cloud of burning gas three times before being exhausted.
  • Sparkblade: Lvl3 magic item. Cold iron shortsword. 1/day lightning bolt at one target that can leap to a second target.
  • Sun Wheel: Rare Lvl5 magic item. Cast extra tough Shield spell. Can exhaust until next dawn to deal fire damage when shield blocks damage.

Three new Monsters:

Spoiler:

  • Kurnugian Jackal: Uncommon Lvl 6 beast. Three-eyed jackal infused with the power of LAmashtu to confuse memory.
  • Scalliwing: uncommon lvl 3 beast. A housecat-sized mischievous couatl.
  • Stinkweed Shambler: Lvl 2 plant. Humanoid plant growth infused by the decay of destroyed undead. Has stench.

Paul Watson wrote:

My PDF has arrived. Haven't had time to read through the adventure yet, but, to slake the excitement.

Adventure Toolbox Contents:
Level four rules: Options for Cleric, Fighter, Rogue and Wizard for level four if you're coming to this from the Beginner Box.

Four new Items:
** spoiler omitted **

Three new Monsters:
** spoiler omitted **

Thank you :)

Paul Watson wrote:

My PDF has arrived. Haven't had time to read through the adventure yet, but, to slake the excitement.

Adventure Toolbox Contents:
Level four rules: Options for Cleric, Fighter, Rogue and Wizard for level four if you're coming to this from the Beginner Box.

Four new Items:
** spoiler omitted **

Three new Monsters:
** spoiler omitted **

Thank you for posting. It looks like we will have to wait for the new adventure path to get more details on Otari. I am happy to see that it does give details for advancing to fourth level though.

Dark Archive
Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Wait is one of those a coatl coatl? :O Mostly wondering since it would kinda break coatl theme naming iirc xD
Paizo Employee Marketing & Media Manager
3 people marked this as a favorite.
Paul Watson wrote:

My PDF has arrived. Haven't had time to read through the adventure yet, but, to slake the excitement.

Adventure Toolbox Contents:
Level four rules: Options for Cleric, Fighter, Rogue and Wizard for level four if you're coming to this from the Beginner Box.

Four new Items:
** spoiler omitted **

Three new Monsters:
** spoiler omitted **

Hi Paul. I think you received the PDF when our Black Friday Sale went live and made Troubles in Otari adventure briefly available for purchase in error. I believe you are the only one. Thank you for using spoiler tags. As Marketing Manger I don't mind your preview at all. Kindly keep the rest to yourself until December 9th please. Thank you.

Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path Subscriber

I'm a bit surprised no one else has reported receiving theirs.

They only just ran my credit card today, so I won't get my stuff till Monday or Tuesday by the looks of it. I am saddened.

I got mine a few days ago :)
Grand Lodge

Do the physical copies start shipping the same day as the PDF availability?
Phalimar wrote:
Do the physical copies start shipping the same day as the PDF availability?

They usually finish shipping subscription copies by street date. I got my physical copy yesterday. I believe non-subscription pre-orders ship in the same window, but I'm not sure if they've finished shipping all of them yet this month.

Grand Lodge

Thanks Joana, good to know. I'm not on a subscription for those but I placed my order on Nov 19th and wasn't sure if I should have been getting nervous or not. :-) It's not the end of the "Expected to ship" window for my order yet so I'll just be patient.
Paizo Employee Marketing & Media Manager
2 people marked this as a favorite.

The rules found in the Pathfinder Beginner Box aren’t that different from those in the Core Rulebook, so some GMs might want to run Troubles in Otari using the full rules. They can and the adventure includes a guide.

I am running this module on a virtual tabletop, but the PDF has room numbers on all the maps. Is there a "clean" version that I can use for the virtual tabletop, without the room numbers? I'm accustomed to AP volumes having a separate "Interactive Map" PDF, but there is no such thing here.
1 person marked this as a favorite.
The Rot Grub wrote:
I am running this module on a virtual tabletop, but the PDF has room numbers on all the maps. Is there a "clean" version that I can use for the virtual tabletop, without the room numbers? I'm accustomed to AP volumes having a separate "Interactive Map" PDF, but there is no such thing here.

If you open the PDF in Adobe Reader, right-click the map, and select Copy Image, you will extract an image with no room numbers that you can paste into image-editing software and save as a "clean" map. (Though I will note that the Fish Camp map I just tried this on to make sure it works copies over with the squares noticeably squashed into rectangles. Not sure what's up with that. If you resize the image horizontally at 70% and keep the vertical at 100%, you get squares again.)

2 people marked this as a favorite.

Will this adventure be available in Roll20?

When will the be ready for Roll20?
Paizo Employee Marketing & Media Manager

We have no timeline from Roll20. The choice is theirs. If I hear one, I will tell you.

Edit: Sorry, I pled ignorance too soon. Our Director of Licensing knows what they are working on. AP's are high on their list, understandably. Their services are in high demand during the pandemic. So they have to "pick their battles." Politely communicating to them your interest in Troubles in Otari may be effective. *wink*
Liberty's Edge
Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

What tags does this scenario have, if run for society?
Sovereign Court

Is this module sanctioned for society play?
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