A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for 7th- through 10th-level characters.
After following the signal from a magical key to a remote estate in Ustalav, the Pathfinder Society made contact with a truly unusual being as well as the mysterious Ardis Scholars. Yet the scholars are now in dire straits--thanks to the machinations of a long-time foe of the Society, most of their members have been imprisoned in a flying castle tucked away in the Shadow Plane! It's up to a group of veteran Pathfinder agents to mount a daring rescue. But those agents must tread carefully, or the bizarre castle, infused with nightmares and otherworldly technology, will become their eternal prison.
Castle is an epic high-level scenario with several combats and skill checks.
I thought the way Castle was laid out was well done. Everything from moving around the abstract location, to choices, NPCs, to powerful enemies.
You could definitely feel a vast power difference in this scenario compared to lower tier scenarios. Several lower tier scenarios, felt too easy. This scenario does not play around, I thought we were going to wipe, a few times, and the players were really good. In general I’m not sure if this is a good scenario for “the average player”, but I enjoyed it.
I thought the first encounter was a little over tuned and no one likes to be CCed, but as long as the encounter is properly explained to the players (ours wasn’t), it should be OK.
Overall: An epic mission and destination with tough fights, which you would expect from high level play (8/10)
Really good use of limited time in a hostile location.
Cool location, memorable NPCs. Great custom exploration activity, although would have preferred if whole party didn't have to do it so that characters that relied on exploration activities weren't just completely knocked out.
Also too much content, scenario is going to run long.
I ran this one twice, high tier both times (30 & 32 CPs). I enjoyed the second more than the first.
The fights are challenging enough, with some unusual creatures. The atmosphere is great and provides some good role play opportunities. The overall mechanics is nicely done (with one exception, below).
Two things however need to be kept in mind:
- the complexity of preparation work is higher than usual, to keep track of time, and game conditions, etc.
- the exception to the mechanics: one hazard is really frustrating, and can turn into a slug. One group had a relatively easy time with it but the other not, and players got really angry and annoyed. I suggest that GMs prepare to decide when to call this one a day in case things start dragging on for too long. Would have given 5-stars otherwise.
Lastly, one thing really got both my tables going and cheering (you will know when you read it).
Played this in high tier with an excellent GM who put emphasis on the plot rather than trying to bug us down with minutiae.
This is a direct continuation of 4-06, which at this point is well known for its hard-to-keep-track list of npcs and occasional combat that is decoupled from the actual map.
I was also wary because of the connection of this scenario to infamous 3-14 by commonality of the author.
I admit my concerns were mostly unfounded on both accounts:
The scenario has a very manageable roster of npcs, with some very interesting interactions. The plot is engaging, and the encounters were quite manageable (granted, we had a very balanced party composition).
I am looking forward to continuation of the overall plot.
P.S.: Minus one star for an encounter map that completely doesn't match the description. Granted, maps are expensive but the scenario uses a very elaborate map with no encounter whatsoever too! Perhaps switching them would be a good idea.
I was surprised by how much I loved the first scenario, so I’ll definitely be grabbing this one! Always glad to see the weirder elements of Golarion get the spotlight.
Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
A word of warning for any GMs running this, especially if you rely on digital tools: There are a lot of weird differences with this scenario. Be careful with just using the elite and weak template (several of the elite templates have weak modifications to things like AC, saves, and HP), and watch out as one of the hazards has 24 HP but a BT of 22 instead of 12. One of the 8th level casters casts 8th level cantrips - 8th level telekinetic projectile can be quite lethal - and their spell list that is referenced to an AP has a change in the PFS scenario.
Since PFS is required to be run as written these all matter.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Maps, Rulebook, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Society Subscriber
In my personal opinion, as a 5 Glyph GM, this should have the Glyph tag. There are many moving parts and a lot for a GM to keep track of. This scenario was much more difficult to GM than others that have the Glyph tag.
While it was a well-written scenario, and a lot of fun to run, it is challenging. GMs, make sure you have ample time to prep this one.
