Tag: Paizo

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-06: Brastlewark at War Part 1: The Gnome Defection

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Product– Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-06: Brastlewark at War Part 1: The Gnome Defection

System- Pathfinder 2nd ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– $8.99 here https://store.paizo.com/pathfinder-society-scenario-7-06/  

TL; DR-Go save gnomes!  95%

Basics– Let’s explore…. no wait, OFF TO SAVE THE GNOMES!  This adventure takes place on the border of Cheliax, and your job is to enter, get the gnomes, and get out!  Can you do it without opening up the mouth of hell itself?

Mechanics or Crunch– This adventure has some solid skill challenges, combat, and social, but there isn’t much exploration for an outdoor adventure.  The skill challenges are fun and are a fun part of running in the woods.  The social is another solid addition that helps the players learn about the world around them.  Combat is good, but maybe a bit too easy.  The nature navigation is pretty low key here.  I’d almost like a map and a bit of a hex crawl for outdoor fun in this one.  But, what’s here is a solid.  4.5/5

Theme or Fluff–  The adventure moves the world forward in fun ways. The story of the war with Cheliax gets an interesting point of view as gnomes take center stage.  Halflings and slavery are a common enough staple of Cheliax adventures, but I haven’t seen as much about the gnomes.  If the players want to dig in, they can get some insights and have a fun time along side killing a bunch of hellknights and woodland monsters.  Solid fun!  5/5

Execution– This adventure is a bit of a mix of the old adventure style and the new.  There are pictures in the back of most of the monsters and pictures in the back giving their stats.  Most of the time. Some monsters get the treatment of “see another book”.  That’s annoying.  Print it here and just be done with it.  Don’t make GMs hunt down other things online.  But the rest reads fast and is easy to understand.  It’s good, but bring more into the book itself.  4.75/5

Summary–  This is a fun, light adventure.  You get to be good guys with no real moral quandaries aside from deciding what happens to something at the end.  And even that’s not a major bad choice. Go save those gnomes, and have a blast doing it.  95 %

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-02: Shipyard Sabotage

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Product– Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-02: Shipyard Sabotage

System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– $8.99  here https://store.paizo.com/pathfinder-society-scenario-7-02-shipyard-sabotage/ 

TL; DR-Solid, if a little short 97%

Basics– Let’s buy a boat!  The Pathfinders want to take to the seas, and you are sent to help buy a boat.  Time to navigate the interest of a used boat salesman, but that won’t be the most dangerous thing to happen on the docks that day!

Mechanics or Crunch– This adventure has a solid mix of social and combat.  The social is a long series of events to first buy a boat, then save the dock.  Then the fight shifts to the seas for the final fight.  There is also fun in this adventure where social challenges can be used to end fights early.  It’s an interesting mix that makes this a fun adventure. 5/5

Theme or Fluff– The adventure has a fun story, and it expands on the world and the story of the Pathfinder Society.  Choices can be made in this adventure if a player wants to learn to solve problems creatively or with care for the human element.  It’s something I think more Pathfinder Society events need.  5/5

Execution– I love what’s here, but what’s missing is the only problem.  The adventure is a solid layout and execution.  It’s got the Paizo polish I think is amazing.  But, I think the adventure is just too short.  This is a 2 to 3 hour adventure that needs a bit more fight in it to really push it to the 4 hour mark. 4.5/5Summary– I do love this adventure, even if it’s short.  I like to see new approaches to things.  Also the fact that this adventure emphasizes the human aspect of combat like just getting people to surrender as opposed to just killing everyone, and negotiating a cheap price for a boat!  It’s a fun adventure that is well done.  But if the worst thing I can say is I want more, then it’s a solid adventure. 97%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder Adventure Path #184: The Ghouls Hunger (Blood Lords 4 of 6)

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Product– Pathfinder Adventure Path #184: The Ghouls Hunger (Blood Lords 4 of 6)

System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– $26.99  here https://store.paizo.com/pathfinder-adventure-path-184-the-ghouls-hunger-blood-lords-4-of-6-p2/ 

TL; DR– Another good step in the Blood Lord’s Path!  97%

Basics– YOU’RE A BLOOD LORD HARRY!  You finally become blood lords, and now the plot is really heating up.  Someone is attempting to poison the food supply and you… you get to play honor guard to the ghouls from the underdark.  All in a day’s work for the lowest ranked, most powerful people in the kingdom.  

Mechanics or Crunch–  The mechanics of this adventure are solid, but there is one thing that bothers me.  The crunch works here.  There is investigation, combat, exploration, and event influence all baked in.  Multiple different skills are used, so no one feels left out.  The last dungeon is a bit of a big jump in terms of difficulty, but overall the mechanics are solid. My one major issue is the groups.  You earn points with each group that runs the country, but I still don’t have a solid grasp of why.  You earn points, but there is not a direct explanation of what to do with those groups.  And this adventure has you get more downtime abilities to use those factions and build up more intrigue.  Why should I do that? I need a bit more, and then I would feel like that’s a good use of my gaming time.  4.5/5

Theme or Fluff–   This story is fun here.  Usually just having necromancers is enough to make a problem.  But in this one, the story is that someone is messing with the money.  It’s destabilizing the country and making the nearby ghoul kingdom angry.  Your job is to fix relations and stop that little problem.  It’s a solid story that draws the players into the world. It’s not only “kill the bad people”, but stop the geopolitical problems before they begin!  Also this book introduces a whole new religion, so if you want a ghoul character who’s extra special, this is the book for them as well.  5/5

Execution– Paizo makes good books.  I love what’s here. I love layout, the sections, and the worldbuilding.  It’s another solid book from Paizo.  5/5

Summary–  I liked this adventure.  It’s got a fun story, and the difficulty builds up to challenge the players. The story builds.  The small start and low levels are paying off as big powers are coming to play and the players are becoming big power houses too!  The book is solidly constructed, and full of the Paizo polish I come to expect.  The one issue I have is the factions.  I still don’t honestly know why my players and I should care.  Beyond that, this is a fun next step in the Blood Lords adventure. 97%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Starfinder Society Scenario 1-08: Compliance Protocol

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Product– Starfinder Society Scenario 1-08: Compliance Protocol

System- Starfinder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– $8.99  here https://store.paizo.com/starfinder-society-scenario-1-08-compliance-protocol/

TL; DR– Man this is short!  73%

Basics–  You hear that? A mysterious sound is emerging from the Wreck of the Returned, and you’re going to go keep the friends of the Starfinder society safe!  Can you stop whoever might want to cause the robots to go crazy?

Mechanics or Crunch–  Holy cow this is short.  There is a chase scene and a fight.  That’s it.  The mechanics are ok, but they are just too short.  A team that doesn’t roleplay will complete this in an hour.  If the team is min/maxed, I’d say 45 minutes.  There just isn’t much meat on the bones here.  3/5

Theme or Fluff–  The story works.  You meet fun new characters, you find new lore, and you see parts of the world that normally characters wouldn’t enter.  The story expands on the wreck of the returned, and that’s always welcome.  5/5

Execution–  This is too short.  I don’t hate the layout choices, but I miss having pictures of creatures to show, even if they are one shot bad guys.  If you have them, put them in a box without words around them.  Make it easier for me to show them off.  But the major issue is the same here.  It’s an 8 buck adventure for 1 hour of play.  That’s too short.  3/5

Summary– Paizo is changing the organized play adventures, and short is the goal.  This adventure hits the short goal maybe a bit too well.  Honestly, I want more to this.  The goal is 3 hours.  Most groups will complete it in an hour and a half, and that’s if you mess around.  A dedicated professional group who doesn’t want that will be done in under an hour.  That’s not bad, but this is a quest.  Those are being phased out, but this needs more.  Add a combat before the players enter the area with some random monsters in the desert.  Add another social after the big fight to learn more about the robots.  Add those and you get a solid experience.  As it stands this isn’t bad, but it’s too little for the price.  73%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-02: Shipyard Sabotage

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Product– Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-02: Shipyard Sabotage

System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– $ 8.99 here https://paizo.com/products/btq0cn3c?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-702-Shipyard-Sabotage 

TL; DR-Good but skill check heavy 90%

Basics–  Let’s buy a boat!  Hellknights are raiding, so the Pathfinders need boats to fight back!  Let’s go get some from a quick-talking halfling.  What could go wrong?

Mechanics or Crunch– This is an interesting adventure, but it has a lot of skills and skill scenes. That’s not bad, but those can lose people and some unlucky rolls can just tank a day.  Not bad, but it can lead to less fun. There are fights, so the combat people will have fun.  If you keep in mind the skill check scenes and give enough ways to mitigate it, it will be a fun day.  4.5/5

Theme or Fluff– This is an interesting adventure, but one where the players don’t drive as much.  The basic flow is look at boats, an attack, a skill check to find the bad guy, fight, skill check end.  It’s not bad, but it’s very reactionary, and a bad skill check scene can tank a story.  Those hurt flow in some cases, but it works if you can tangle enough threads to make the story happen. 4.5/5

Execution– This is a good adventure, but I need a bit more to work.  As above, the combat works and the boat buying works, but the skill obstacle checks need more fluff built in to make the adventure flow.  Give the GM things to say that the characters do to help.  The rest is good, with adventure set up with pictures and maps for the combat people and to set up the major characters.  It’s good, but I need more story to help GMs who can’t work on the fly. 4.5/5

Summary– I like this one, but obstacle scenes are not my favorite.  I like them, but they need help when Paizo writes them.  Also, that’s the bulk of this adventure.  That’s not bad, but it’s something that must be built out.  The combats are fun and the players will affect the world at the end.  This is a fun adventure, but make sure you know what you are getting into. 90%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Starfinder Society Scenario #1-01: Invasion’s Edge

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Product– Starfinder Society Scenario #1-01: Invasion’s Edge

System- Starfinder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– $5.99 here https://paizo.com/products/btq0cn3f?Starfinder-Society-Scenario-101-Invasions-Edge 

TL; DR– A change I can belive in.  100%

Basics–  What did they do?  Starfinders!  The society calls, and so did those who call!  And SOMEONE answered!  Your job is to help set up the base, explore around it, and then explore an unknown starship.  Who did the crazy robots call last season?

Mechanics or Crunch– FIRST THINGS FIRST!  This is a level 1 adventure and an intro adventure for a season.  The formula is pretty simple.  You do a skill check, a second skill check that turns into combat, and then this one does a short dungeon exploration.  And that’s a lot.  It covers lots of things in three hours, and it does it well.  5/5

Theme or Fluff– This one has a lot going on, but it balances it well.  The story is fun.  I enjoyed it a bunch.  My players and I enjoyed the world building in this one. Now we can get onto the next steps of what else is happening this season with a bit more information.   5/5

Execution–   I don’t like what Paizo has done, but they have made it up in a few ways. The monsters are inline or just referred to somewhere else.  Not my favorite, but now there is only exactly one level band.  Players can elect to play up or play down for a challenge. I love that. I prefer the players saying I want more or less challenge today.  Some days I want crunchy  DnD and other days I want a story.  Paizo is now doing both in the same adventure, so I’m happy there.  Monsters have pictures I have to clean up, so I don’t love that. But, the kicker is the price. This adventure is three hours long.  That’s a change.  But the price is much lower.  I like that. You want less play time and more, shorter adventures.  Ok,  but you adjusted the price to reflect that. You are not greedy.  Good job paizo. 5/5

Summary– I wasn’t sure I would like the changes that Paizo said they would do.  But I am a bit of a believer now.  I like the choice of challenge.  I like short play times.  I’m old.  I LOVE 12 hour multitable battle interactives.  But I spend my Saturdays mowing the lawn now and working on my hunny do list (I’ve worked on it now to the point where my wife schedules dates because if it’s not on the list I forgot!).  The point is, I’m older.  And I think the target audience is too.  A solid three hours of games is a great way to spend an afternoon.  And if you get an hour every four to go to the bathroom and grab a snack at Gencon, then it’s even better.  I would prefer if pictures were provided clean, but I can work with that.  It’s a change, but not a bad one.  100%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder Society Intro to the Year of Battle’s Spark—Enough is Enough

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Product– Pathfinder Society Intro to the Year of Battle’s Spark—Enough is Enough

System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– $8.99 here https://paizo.com/products/btq0cn39?Pathfinder-Society-Intro-to-the-Year-of-Battle-s-Spark-Enough-is-Enough 

TL; DR– A time of change. 97%

Basics–  WAR!  Breachill is under attack.  Your job is to save who you can.  Search the no man’s land to save civilians and maybe even learn secrets of more attacks!

Mechanics or Crunch–  Paizo knows the math of their system.  This adventure has a strong mix of social and combat.  There isn’t much exploration, but that’s not the goal of the adventure.  The math that’s on display is solid and makes this a pretty balanced adventure.  5/5

Theme or Fluff–  This is a fun story.  The adventure starts with the players choosing three of five different locations and finding people there to save.  After enough saving people, the adventure switches to running from the ravages of war.  Finally, some the people you save tell the players about goblins being sacrificed and the players are off to save them. It’s a solid story that is fun to run and play.  5/5

Execution–  This adventure worries me.  We are seeing more of the mix of the old and new styles of book.  Some of the monsters were given pictures, but not all.  Some of the stat blocks are in the adventure, but not all.  I don’t like the reliance on external resources.  I know this is more of an indication of what is to come.  4.5/5

Summary– The adventure is solid, but Paizo adventures are at a time of change.  The story and crunch is fun.  The execution is changing, and it’s into something I don’t love.  The price is not changing, but there will be less in the book.  However, if you want to jump into the fray and save who you can, this is a fun adventure! 97%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder One-Shot #2: Dinner at Lionlodge

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Product– Pathfinder One-Shot #2: Dinner at Lionlodge

System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– $9.99 here https://paizo.com/products/btq029vx?Pathfinder-OneShot-2-Dinner-at-Lionlodge 

TL; DR– Not the high point of dinner.  77%

Basics–  Dinner time!  Dinner at Lionlodge is a stand alone adventure where the players are invited to meet with a mysterious benefactor.  Does he only want to give us money?

Mechanics or Crunch– This adventure has a few too many things that confound the player.  There are lots of enemies that either can shake off damage or might be a bit too high a level for it to be fun.  It works, but players may not want the hard entry of crunch into this one.  4/5

Theme or Fluff– This adventure works, but it feels a bit too random.  The random invitation is too good to be true, but why the heroes?  That seems off.  Also, there is background in the adventure that is surprising and kind of comes out of left field.  It’s not bad, but there is too much randomness that doesn’t involve the player.  3/5

Execution– This book has lots of extras that help, but is missing one key piece.  There are maps, pictures, and even character sheets.  What it’s missing is ties between the characters and the adventure.  Others of these have nice pieces that indicate relationships and messages to tie them to the story.  That’s not in here.  It’s an absence that is felt.  4.5/5

Summary– I didn’t have as much fun with this one.  It’s not bad.  But I was hoping for a quick one shot to get some crazy story.  That said, it did play, but my players didn’t enjoy it as much, as bad rolls combined with rough resistances led to a bad day.  The story was a bit fragmented, and the usual Paizo polish missed a bit here.  I don’t hate it, but it’s not the best of the one shots.  77%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder Bounty #15: Treasure off the Coast

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Product– Pathfinder Bounty #15: Treasure off the Coast

System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed

Producer– Paizo

Price– $24.99 here https://paizo.com/products/btq02akz?Pathfinder-Bounty-15-Treasure-off-the-Coast 

TL; DR– A solid intro. 100%

Basics– Why not make money!  It’s time to speed run an adventure!  You meet a quest giver in a bar, and she offers you money to get some treasure.  How could this go wrong?  

Mechanics or Crunch– This is a basic paint by number adventure, and that’s not a bad thing.  You have some social interaction, then some skill challenges, and lastly some fighting.  It’s not the deepest interaction, but if you want a quick con demo, this is my go-to.   5/5

Theme or Fluff–  We got devil worshipers, boats, and water goblins.  There is enough story and fluff here to draw you in for the hour.  Again, don’t expect crazy levels of detail, but there is enough to have fun for an hour-long game.  5/5

Execution– It’s a Paizo one-hour, one-shot.  Decent story, decent pictures, and a simple map.  I get out of this exactly what I expected.  5/5

Summary– I do a lot of evangelizing for PFS, and when I’m at cons where people just don’t know what RPGs are, this is the adventure I’ve landed on bringing with me.  Bar, quest giver, boat, skill test, fight, wrap up.  This is exactly what I expect from a bounty, and I love this one.  100%

Ring Side Report- RPG review of Pathfinder Society Scenario #5-17: Stranded on Yesterday’s Tide

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Originally posted at www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea every day! 

Product- Pathfinder Society Scenario #5-17: Stranded on Yesterday’s Tide

System- Pathfinder 2nd Ed

Producer- Paizo

Price- $8.99 here  https://paizo.com/products/btq03tyu?Pathfinder-Society-Scenario-517-Stranded-on-Yesterdays-Tide 

TL; DR- Solid story with a divisive 1st act.  93%

Basics-  TIME LOOP!  When the god died, time ran in a circle.  What happens to those stuck in it?  Can you get them out?

Mechanics or Crunch- The adventure is a good one, but influence is a dividing factor.  Influence encounters are something that divides players.  It’s a mechanical way to make social encounters work, but some players absolutely hate them.  This starts with one.  That will either make you love this adventure or start off weak.  From there it gets better and enters surprising levels of Cthulhu mythos.  And that’s always fun. 4/5

Theme or Fluff-  Mystery, into combat, and then Cthulhu.  That’s the ingredients of a solid four hours of fun. I love the story and enjoy everything it has to offer.5/5

Execution-  It’s Paizo.  They know this.  they know how to lay out an adventure.  5/5

Summary-  I enjoyed this one but not everyone will.  The influence-focused encounters will make some players mad, but others will find their stride. Then it’s combat and skills to win the day.  Those are always fun, so all players will enjoy everything after the first act.  Fun, but something to keep in mind.  93%