Pathfinder Society Scenario #4-10: Arclord's Abode

Abode had a silly puzzle that didn't seem solvable by players (perhaps it was presented poorly by the GM), but it was basically skipped by a skill check and didn't ruin the scenario.

Authors should know that if puzzles are too complex or not easy to solve, they will likely be skipped or bypassed when the scenario is run.

Besides the puzzle, the exploration was OK.

I ran this scenario twice for Paizocon, and found it to be a lot of fun! The skill challenges are unique and well-paced, and the difficulty feels right on target (aside from the last encounter feeling a bit short depending on the scaling). I felt the narrative flowed better than 4-05, and players seemed to find it more gratifying as well.

My one gripe (spoilers for conclusion of the scenario):

Creative obstacles.

Good/proper use use of low DCs when many checks are required.

Really nice variety in encounters/challenges which is needed when their are 8 pieces to collect.

Complete lack of time pressure in what feels like should be a tense race against a foe with a significant lead limits it to 4 stars.

Still lots of fun.

I just played this one with a good GM, and players I already like, so my opinion is rather good right now.

Seems like a good fit, for new players, and could rise to 5 stars, but I really need to read it first to give useful and fair feedback.

I think running 4-01 (optional), 4-05, and 4-10 in quick succession is likely the best way to experience the story. Personally, I might try to schedule them on the same weekend, not sure.

In retrospect and after talking to the GM, I would have liked some way for the final encounter to last a bit longer. This is something I have been seeing a lot recently, the final encounter or BBEG sometimes struggles to last long enough for the GM to show of all/most of their features.
This is less of an issue in higher-level adventures, and admittedly our table played at the upper end of low tier, which in my experience tends to result in encounters with a lot of somewhat lackluster (just talking about combat difficulty) enemies.
It would be lovely for the scaling to be a mix of adding more enemies and buffing the existing baseline enemies somewhat.

This might be a PF2 issue, at least at the low levels, and of course, org play has rather large level bands and mixed character levels, which makes scaling substantially harder than in other adventures.

Ran this one with 30 CPs and really had good fun.
In itself, not the most memorable of scenarios, but can be played without being too serious.
Encounters are not particularly challenging.