Faces of Korvosa

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Now that the hardcover edition of Curse of the Crimson Throne is out, countless groups of adventures are going to have the chance to meet the vast cast of NPCs featured in this campaign. The images in this blog post serve to highlight several, but not all, of the individuals you will be encountering or at least hearing a bout during the Adventure Path. For the player, consider the following information as common knowledge to anyone who's spent a few years living in Korvosa, while for the GM, the accompanying illustrations are great play aids to show during the game when the PCs are interacting with the NPC in question!

Those familiar with Curse of the Crimson Throne will doubtless note that certain key and important NPCs are missing from the following list, and that others might not have a significant role to play at all in the adventure—remember, this is a list of notable faces of Korvosa, and NPCs who only rise to prominence or arrive in the city after the campaign begins simply aren't logical choices to include here. Also, the presence of a few famous Korvosans on this list who don't play significant roles in the campaign should help to obscure for the new player exactly which NPCs have significant roles and are destined to play key parts! And of course, many of the NPCs presented below have secrets, hidden agendas, or surprises in store. In order to solve these mysteries, though, you'll need to play the game! (Or in the case of the GM, read the book—if you're having trouble finding an NPC in the text, don't forget the index of primary NPCs that appears on pages 438-439 of the book!)


King Eodred Arabasti II, ruler of Korvosa, is rumored to be in ill health.

Queen Ileosa Arabasti's popularity in Korvosa among the commonfolk has never been strong—many see her as a petulant spoiled young woman.

Ausio Carowyn is one of Korvosa's many nobles—an aristocracy increasingly out of touch with the commonfolk.

Boule is a successful businessman, but has long been rumored to be the leader of Korvosa's thieves' guild, the Cerulean Society.

Captain Cressida Kroft is the leader of the Korvosan Guard.

Archbanker Darb Tuttle is the leader of the faith of Abadar in Korvosa.

Darvayne Gios Amprei is one of many Chelish ambassadors who dwell in the city.

High priestess of the Cathedral of Pharasma, mysterious Keppira d'Bear is one of Korvosa's most powerful clerics.

Marcus Endrin is the leader of the Sable Company—Korvosa's elite hippogriff-mounted defenders.

Ruan Mirukova is a talented musician who finds his skills in rising demand for aristocratic galas.

Thousand Bones is a Shoanti shaman who has recently become a spokesperson for his people in Korvosa.

Toff Ornelos is the headmaster of Korvosa's world-renowned magical university, the Acadamae.

Trinia Sabor is a young but talented artist who's recent commission to paint the king's portrait has brought her increased fame.

Zellara Esmeranda is a talented Varisian fortune teller.

Arbiter Zenobia Zenderholm, known locally as the “Hanging Judge,” is well known among Korvosa's citizens for her harsh stance on criminal activity.

Illustrations by Kremena Chipilova, Julie Dillion, Andrew Hou, Irina Kuzmina, Nikolai Ostertag, and Imaginary Friends Studios

James Jacobs
Creative Director

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Tags: Andrew Hou Curse of the Crimson Throne Imaginary Friends Studios Irina Kuzmina Julie Dillion Kremena Chipilova Nikolai Ostertag Pathfinder Adventure Path

Great pics all, but Ileosa's portrait link has a typo and should be 1021 instead of 10210.

Looking forward to my copy arriving. :D

Grand Lodge

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Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

Huzzah, more sanctioned images for community use!


TriOmegaZero wrote:
Huzzah, more sanctioned images for community use!

BAH! Who needs that?!

Dark Archive

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I know that the Pathfinder Face Cards line is dead, but this would make a nice test balloon to bring it back in a different way (combined with quest cards).

I can also recommend the "Curse of the Crimson Throne Item cards" to anyone playing this - 52 important items from the campaign for the price of $3 sure is a bargain.


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"... one of many Chelish ambassadors who dwell in the city."

I take exception to the use of "ambassador" in the plural here. There should be only one Chelish ambassador in Korvosa (the one who presented his or her credentials to King Eodred). An embassy does not have more than one ambassador at a time.

On the other hand, there could be any number of other representatives, generic diplomats, etc. Or some other term if these people are not diplomats sent abroad by the Chelish government. Maybe members of the Chelish expat community in Korvosa?

But otherwise I'm exceedingly pleased with these portraits, particularly as Face Cards are no longer being made.

Silver Crusade

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Bellona wrote:

"... one of many Chelish ambassadors who dwell in the city."

I take exception to the use of "ambassador" in the plural here. There should be only one Chelish ambassador in Korvosa (the one who presented his or her credentials to King Eodred). An embassy does not have more than one ambassador at a time.

...only if Korvosa and Cheliax follow modern real-life diplomatic conventions.

Osirion explicitly has multiple people with the title "Grand Ambassador" in Absalom, and ranks like Paracount(ess) make it clear that their power structure doesn't map 1:1 with an early modern European one.


Obviously this is pretty pedantic, but if I recall Cressida's title is actually Field Marshal not Captain?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Helel13 wrote:
Obviously this is pretty pedantic, but if I recall Cressida's title is actually Field Marshal not Captain?

Correct, but to someone who doesn't know about the titles of the Korvosan Guard and comes to the blog as a new customer, the word "Captain" makes more sense.


Bellona wrote:

"... one of many Chelish ambassadors who dwell in the city."

I take exception to the use of "ambassador" in the plural here. There should be only one Chelish ambassador in Korvosa (the one who presented his or her credentials to King Eodred). An embassy does not have more than one ambassador at a time.

GM Lari wrote:


...only if Korvosa and Cheliax follow modern real-life diplomatic conventions.

Osirion explicitly has multiple people with the title "Grand Ambassador" in Absalom, and ranks like Paracount(ess) make it clear that their power structure doesn't map 1:1 with an early modern European one.

Yeah, multiple "Grand Ambassadors" is something else which makes my teeth grind. :(

Short comment on common embassy hierarchies for anyone who's interested:
The whole point of having a hierarchy with an ambassador in charge of in an embassy is to ensure a clear chain of command. Of course, positions like attachés and minister counsellors are often "sideways" to that structure, as they have been attached to the embassy by other factions/ministries than the equivalent of the Foreign Office/Ministry of Foreign Affairs.


James Jacobs wrote:
Helel13 wrote:
Obviously this is pretty pedantic, but if I recall Cressida's title is actually Field Marshal not Captain?
Correct, but to someone who doesn't know about the titles of the Korvosan Guard and comes to the blog as a new customer, the word "Captain" makes more sense.

Ah, yea that makes a lot more sense

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