Ring Side Report- RPG review of Starfinder Playtest Scenario #1: Shards of the Glass Planet

Product– Starfinder Playtest Scenario #1: Shards of the Glass Planet

System- Starfinder 2nd Ed Playtest

Producer– Paizo

Price– 5.99 here https://paizo.com/products/btq067m5?Starfinder-Playtest-Scenario-1-Shards-of-the-Glass-Planet 

TL; DR-Dry but good intro. 90% 

Basics– Go to new places, meet new people, and… make friends?! The drift crisis has opened up a world held in a glass bubble.  This adventure gives a bit of world lore, a bit of mechanics, and a good chance to see how Starfinder 2nd Ed will work.

Mechanics or Crunch– This adventure works well mechanically.  It has the basic breakdown of being a few skill checks to learn about the world that has been opened up, then some stuff happens, combat, trap, and final combat.  It’s short, but all the DCs are within line of what to expect, and the combat is resonbably what I expected.  You can not do anything too crazy in a level 1, so while short, it is expected and fun. 5/5

Theme or Fluff– This is a fun adventure, but not the most involved.  As I said before, it’s skill checks, combat, trap, and final combat.  Short, but not that complex.  Then again, it’s level 1, so you can’t throw the PCs into too crazy an adventure. My players and I had fun, but be prepared to ham up roleplay. 4/5

Execution– I liked this adventure, but it’s missing a few pieces.  The standard layout of the PFS adventures with pictures at the end are not here.  It has a good layout and is easy to read, but the pictures help me show players the monsters and other creatures involved.  Also, I like the stat blocks to be separate.  These are small things, but it hurts the presentation a bit. 4.5/5Summary–  This is a fun adventure, but maybe not the best Paizo has put out.  It’s also a bit hard since it’s a level 1 adventure that is the same as a quest.  Don’t expect multiple hours of crazy adventure, but do expect a short, fun intro to Starfinder 2nd Ed.  It has a few faults, but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining.  90%

Daily Punch 9-6-24 Demand Success intimidation skill feat for Pathfinder 2nd Ed

DO IT!

Demand Success One Action Feat 2

General Skill
Prerequisites Expert in Intimidation
Range 30 feet; Targets 1 friendly creature
Duration until the start of your next turn


You don’t fail me! You yell at the target and they gain a +1 circumstance bonus to one attack roll, Perception check, saving throw, or skill check the target attempts before the duration ends. The target must decide to use the bonus before they roll. If they fail, they gain a -1 status penalty to all attacks, saves, and skill rolls taken until the duration ends.

Thoughts?

Daily Punch 8-28-24 Second Impression diplomacy skill feat for Pathfinder 2nd Ed

You can’t put a foot in you mouth!

Second Impression reaction Feat 15

General Skill
Prerequisites Legendary in diplomacy, failed a diplomacy check


You do get a second chance to make a first impression. When you fail a Diplomacy check, you can reroll the attempt taking the second result. You can not use this ability a second time a day on the same target or group.

Thoughts?

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder Adventure Path #182: Graveclaw (Blood Lords 2 of 6)

Product– Pathfinder Adventure Path #182: Graveclaw (Blood Lords 2 of 6)

System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– 26.99 here https://paizo.com/products/btq02asf?Pathfinder-Adventure-Path-182-Graveclaw 

TL; DR-Why fight undead when you can fight the fey?  95% 

Basics– Go to new places, meet new fey, and kill them!  Graveclaw continues the Blood Lords adventure path as our heroes begin to track down the people who are involved in the poisoning plot and THEY ARE ALL FEY!  Find the hags, kill them, and travel all around the land of Geb

Mechanics or Crunch– This adventure is a bit tougher for the players than most of what I’ve seen.  The players had fun, but they took some beating compared to most of my Pathfinder experience.  That’s not bad, but it can get discouraging as they have to keep fighting again and again to stay alive.  It’s a fun adventure, but something that might turn away some players with some slight balance issues.  Also, the faction system is broken.  I like the general idea, but right now I and my players still don’t know what the points do.  More guidance is needed to really bring this out for everyone.  4.75/5

Theme or Fluff– The story here is good, but disjointed.  The major plot of finding who is responsible for killing everything is fully on display.  That said, this adventure is more vignettes as the players learn where a hag is, go there, meet locals who hate her, go to her home, and kill her.  Repeat till four hags die.  It’s not bad, but a bit too disconnected for a full flowing story.  But when hanging out with a magic drugged up Vampire lord on a bender is on the itinerary, who cares? 4.5/5

Execution– Overall solid work from Paizo with one problem that I will dock because I am petty.  Solid lay out, eat to read, and good art all make this a great product.  Things that would make me happy are maps that fit into Roll20, but Paizo backed Foundry instead.  That’s understandable.  It’s hyperlinked, so it’s nice for my tablet.  The ONE thing that drove me up a wall was the last fight.  The final boss is listed in one place, when you go there, it then references a second area.  That annoyed me as the other creatures in the fight are listed in the first area.  So, I end up bouncing between three places in a book. DON’T DO THAT!  Aside from that one annoyance, Paizo makes a solid book. 4.95/5

Summary– Blood Lords continues to be some of the most fun I have had in Pathfinder that Paizo doesn’t like to admit too.  It’s most definitely not a a standard hero story as the players often are not great heroes but aspiring evil lords.  This particular part is good, but misses a few too many things to be amazing.  The adventure is brutal, but not bad. The story is a bit disjointed, but still flows.  The execution as always is good.  I will definitely be returning for the third part of this path!  95%