Product– Pathfinder Society Scenario #4-05: The Arclord Who Never Was
System- Pathfinder
Producer– Paizo
Price– $6 here https://paizo.com/products/btq02dw7?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-405-The-Arclord-Who-Never-Was
TL; DR-Good overall story, but small issues in the middle beats. 83%
Basics– Who is the skull? You find a talking skull…what the heck is up with that? Find out who the skull is and continue the mystery of the fey who want it!
Mechanics or Crunch– The math is all balanced for this adventure, but the progression of it is a bit skewed. This adventure is basically several skill tests, a potential fight, skill test/fight, plot, skill tests, then end fight. Players who are combat monsters will be a bit bored as the goal of most damage will not be a major time sink for the game. It is all balanced for the numbers and skills used, but the game is moving to much more explore, report, corporate and less destroy all things. 4/5
Theme or Fluff– The overall story of this adventure is great, but the beat by beat is a bit off. The basics are to learn about the skull. Characters are introduced in throw away lines and given full pictures, but I don’t honestly know who they are and how they fit into the flow. This leads to players asking questions that I honestly can’t answer. It’s nice to have, but it feels off. One example is a NPC who talked to the skull as a person, but that person is mentioned exactly four times. All four times are either in the paragraph saying he talked to her or his pictures. NO real description of who he is and why we care. The major pieces are fun and the second half of the adventure comes together well. The first half has good things that just don’t fit true. 3.5/5
Execution– PDF? Yep. Hyperlinked? Yep. Solid Art? Yep. Good layout? Yep! This is what I expect from a Paizo adventure. I complained that there are TOO many pictures. That’s a good problem to have. 5/5
Summary– I like the metaplot between the starter adventure, this adventure, and the last of the trilogy about this magic talking skull. The crunch is good, but not even. If you just want to beat things, this is not your adventure. If you want to explore a magic town, this is a blast. As a GM, some pieces don’t quite work. I want more background on some characters. Help me use the NPCs and their pictures to fill out the social bits of the adventure. It’s physically well done, and the big story is a blast. I just need more flow in the middle. 83%
Throat Punch Games 