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Pathfinder Adventure Path: Curse of the Crimson Throne (PFRPG)

New Adventures Against the Crimson Throne, Part 2

Oct 20, 2016, 01:30 pm

Last week, I started running down my favorite new additions to the hardcover edition of Curse of the Crimson Throne—and this week I'll be doing more of the same! This time, I look at some of my favorite new additions to the campaign that appear in the final two chapters of the Adventure Path, as well as explore the contents of the extensive appendix that rounds out the book.

New Adventures Against the Crimson Throne, Part 2

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Last week, I started running down my favorite new additions to the hardcover edition of Curse of the Crimson Throne—and this week I'll be doing more of the same! This time, I look at some of my favorite new additions to the campaign that appear in the final two chapters of the Adventure Path, as well as explore the contents of the extensive appendix that rounds out the book.

Chapter 5: Skeletons of Scarwall

Filling Up Scarwall

Scarwally is one of the largest dungeon crawls to ever appear in a Pathfinder Adventure Path. So large, in fact, that in its original incarnation I ended up having to cut several encounters and replace them with generic and uninteresting storerooms and kitchens and the like. When I started developing the text for the hardcover version, I went back to Greg's original turnover and found all sorts of old encounters that got cut for space. And so of COURSE I put them back in! Now, the saga of the undead orc chieftain Ukwar is there for your PCs to unravel, along with several other restored encounters. But even putting all of those encounters back in didn't do the trick; there were still empty rooms! And so I made up several brand-new encounters to spice things up even more, including a new category of haunt called a phantasm. I'm eager to see how folks react to phantasms, since they exist primarily to both fill in backstory and provide hints to solve the castle haunting, but also to mess with the players themselves, so they never no exactly what's going on. Phantasms generally ask that the GM have a specific player roll a skill check or saving throw or other die roll, but then advice the GM to make a show of noting the result without saying why. Other phantasms cause a PC to experience a vision that other PCs don't, but suggest the GM impart this information individual to players so the players themselves don't have the benefit of knowing the full picture of what's going on. It's a pretty meta way to handle haunts, and should help to infuse Scarwall with a sense of dread that will put even the most hardened players on edge.

As an example, here's a sample phantasm taken directly from the text:

Phantasm: The first PC who moves to investigate the strip of cloth must attempt a Will save. When you know the result, write it down and tell the player (regardless of the result) that his character feels a sudden panic at being caught in the arrow slit while trying to escape a murderous orc that's right behind him! Of course, there is no orc, and the Will save has no significance beyond being an attempt to unsettle the players.

(This particular phantasm is a haunt left behind by a castle servant who was indeed chased by an orc; when the servant tried to escape by squeezing throw an arrow slit, he got stuck and then murdered by the orc. In this way, the phantasm gives the players a brief glimpse into one of the numerous atrocities that occurred in Scarwall in the past, but also tinkers with their sense of safety and comfort by having a player roll a Will save that has no obvious immediate result.)

As noted early in the chapter, not all tables will be entertained by phantasms, and in fact I suspect some players will be more frustrated than entertained by them—and as such, you should feel free to omit them from your game if you see players reacting with frustration at their inclusion. They're meant to add to Scarwall's overall sense of haunting menace, but removing them won't cripple the plot at all.

Chapter 6: Crown of Fangs

Bolstering the Opposition

Unlike Castle Scarwall, Castle Korvosa was fully detailed in its original publication. It helped, of course, that Castle Korvosa wasn't intended to be a hyper-detailed dungeon crawl, but an active and occupied castle meant for several swift strikes rather than meticulous exploration. There's not a lot of new content in Castle Korvosa, as a result, but in the last part of the adventure I did add a few brand new encounters, both to mix things up a bit and to give Queen Ileosa more allies to call upon if things go bad. Among these additional threats in the Sunken Queen are two entities that have eldritch links to Runelord Sorshen—a scarlet walker (an extraplanar menace first detailed in the Anniversary Edition of Rise of the Runelords) and an immortal ichor that formed not from a god's blood but of seepage from the Everdawn Pool. And of course, there's one more monster at Ileosa's side in the final encounter!

Appendix

We've seven appendices in this book, each of which is intended to help the GM run her Crimson Throne game, or to expand it beyond the scope of the adventures as written.

Appendix 1: Continuing the Campaign

This short appendix suggests seven additional plots that can be expanded by you, the GM, to continue your Crimson Throne game, including one variant that sees Ileosa come back as a vampire! (And yes, of course we gave you art of vampire Ileosa!)

Appendix 2: Korvosa and Beyond

The adventures themselves present all the information about Korvosa you'll need to run encounters key to Crimson Throne's plot, but as in any urban game, your PCs will wander. This appendix presents a detailed gazetteer of Korvosa as it exists under Ileosa's rule, and serves as an expansion to the original Guide to Korvosa we published long ago. While owning that book will certainly help you run a Crimson Throne campaign, I strived to include enough information in this appendix that it's not necessary. In addition to all sorts of adventure hooks and location descriptions for the city, this appendix presents multiple city stat blocks for Korvosa as it undergoes numerous changes during the course of the campaign (from a healthy city to one on the edge of anarchy to one in the grips of a plague to one under martial law). Nearly three pages of rumor tables will help you drop hints to your players to foreshadow upcoming events, and advice on places where the PCs can rest and recuperate, shop for magic, or secure spellcasting services rounds the appendix out, along with some additional notes on the surrounding lands (including the Cinderlands themselves).

Appendix 3: The Harrow

The Harrow has always held a powerful role in Curse of the Crimson Throne, and this appendix not only provides you advice on how to use Harrow readings in your game and a mechanic for the PCs to use those harrow readings to influence fate, but also includes a list of what every single card in the Harrow deck symbolizes in the context of Curse of the Crimson Throne, so that when you pull a card during a reading, you'll know precisely what that card means for the PCs and their destiny.

Appendix 4: Blood and Pain

This short chapter is a sort of catch-all—here you've got rules for the plague that wracks Korvosa, but also rules for a kyton eidolon subtype. Why the subtype? Well, in the original version of the Adventure Path, we had an NPC named Shadowcount Sial, who had levels in a prestige class called "thaumaturgist"—a class that allowed a character to gain the services of an extraplanar minion. This prestige class, alas, was not one we updated into the Pathfinder rules, and while I initially toyed with doing so in this book, I settled on something better. I translated Shadowcount Sial into an unchained summoner, which gave me the perfect opportunity to give rules for kyton eidolons—something that there was no room to include in Pathfinder Unchained but which I know many folks have been asking for!

Appendix 5: Equipment and Magic

There's a few new items of equipment and many more new magic items to be found in this campaign—and they're all presented in this appendix. While some of these are updates from the original campaign (such as the third eye, Zellara's Harrow Deck, or the Crown of Fangs itself), others are brand new or have been quantified as items for the first time, including full details on the Everdawn Pool and rules for the strange poison known as "fool's leprosy" that Ileosa uses on her husband!

Appendix 6: NPC Codex

Curse of the Crimson Throne relies heavily on its NPCs, be they villains or allies. This appendix begins with an index that lists all of the significant NPCs in the adventure, along with their role and the page number you can find their stats on. But the meat of this appendix are the twelve significant NPCs presented in two-page formats. Here's where you'll find information on key NPCs like Laori Vaus, Blackjack, and Ileosa herself, along with a few newcomers—we've included statistics for Kazavon himself, for example, in case your PCs are unfortunate enough to let the mighty blue dragon come back to life! Many of these NPC entries include additional rules options utilized by these characters, such as new spells or feats—and if the PCs play their cards right, they'll be able to learn these new options from NPCs they encounter!

Appendix 7: Bestiary

Finally, we've got the bestiary. Here, we've provided several random encounter tables for you to roll up wandering monsters to spice up play, but have also presented full stat blocks for several new monsters: the soul-powered akaruzug, the tragic chained spirit, the malevolent danse macabre, the immense and alien havero, the plucky house drake, the pain-infused pharmakos, the lumbering red reaver, and two types of vermin that infest the city of Korvosa: drain spiders and dream spiders.

More Art!

And of course, I don't want to leave you without showing off some more of the new art we ordered for the hardcover edition. Check out these new interpretations of classic fights from the original adventures!

Illustrations by Caio Maciel Monteiro, Subroto Bhaumik, and Kent Hamilton

And that's enough for this week—tune in next week the last of our Crimson Throne blog previews, where I'll provide a player-friendly post that lists many of the faces of Korvosa—NPCs your characters can expect to encounter or at least hear about during the campaign. Of course, I'll leave it to your actual game play experience to find out which of these NPCs is your friend or foe!

James Jacobs
Creative Director

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Tags: Caio Maciel Monteiro Curse of the Crimson Throne Kent Hamilton Pathfinder Adventure Path Subroto Bhaumik

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A New Look for Classic Encounters

Sep 29, 2016, 12:00 pm

This week, on my preview for the hardcover edition of Curse of the Crimson Throne, I wanted to talk a little bit about the new art. When preparing this book, Sarah Robinson and I realized something pretty quickly—we were going to have to order a LOT of new art. First of all, for modern Adventure Paths, we've moved away from vertical half-page illustrations, so all of those we used for scenes the first time around were going to have to be re-ordered and recreated. Second of all, in those early days, we were still experimenting with what the "Pathfinder Look" was going to be for our art, and not all of the art styles we tried out in those early days are ones that we've stuck with, so that made for MORE art we had to re-order and recreate. And finally, we didn't want to reprint much art that we'd since used in hardcover books—a fair amount of the artwork from Curse of the Crimson Throne actually ended up in the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook, such as the fight against the giant devilfish (page 185 of the Core Rulebook), the Red Mantis Cinnabar (page 203), or Eva's first design for the Gray Maiden (not only on page 198, but on the back cover of the book).

A New Look for Classic Encounters

Thursday, September 29, 2016

This week, on my preview for the hardcover edition of Curse of the Crimson Throne, I wanted to talk a little bit about the new art. When preparing this book, Sarah Robinson and I realized something pretty quickly—we were going to have to order a LOT of new art. First of all, for modern Adventure Paths, we've moved away from vertical half-page illustrations, so all of those we used for scenes the first time around were going to have to be re-ordered and recreated. Second of all, in those early days, we were still experimenting with what the "Pathfinder Look" was going to be for our art, and not all of the art styles we tried out in those early days are ones that we've stuck with, so that made for MORE art we had to re-order and recreate. And finally, we didn't want to reprint much art that we'd since used in hardcover books—a fair amount of the artwork from Curse of the Crimson Throne actually ended up in the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook, such as the fight against the giant devilfish (page 185 of the Core Rulebook), the Red Mantis Cinnabar (page 203), or Eva's first design for the Gray Maiden (not only on page 198, but on the back cover of the book).

In short, we found it really easy to find excuses to add artwork to the new book.

Seelah and Harsk do some crowd control and Harsk learns how to dance.
Illustrations by Ben Wootten and Caio Maciel Monteiro

Turns out that this town is not big enough for these two! They ought to look to Seelah's diplomacy as she settles this local dispute.
Illustrations by Caio Maciel Monterio and Ben Wootten

Ezren and Seelah make new friends while Harsk prepares to make his point.
Illustrations by Roberto Pitturru and Richard Suwono

The amount of new artwork in the hardcover edition is enormous, with most of the significant NPCs now getting a full body illustration instead of a simple portrait, and with additional half-page illustrations for key encounters and scenes in the story. And it's those new half-page illustrations I'm going to show off today, without context (so as to minimize spoilers) and in some cases illustrating brand new encounters in this version of the Adventure Path. One thing I will say, though, is that each of these illustrations is taken from one of the six parts of the campaign. If you've played Curse of the Crimson Throne before, see if you can guess which illustrations come from what part! And if you've never played Curse of the Crimson Throne, consider these six images as teasers for the perils and excitement that await you!

James Jacobs
Creative Director

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Tags: Ben Wootten Caio Maciel Monteiro Curse of the Crimson Throne Pathfinder Adventure Path Richard Suwono Roberto Pitturru

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Pathfinder Adventure Path #110: The Thrushmoor Terror (Strange Aeons 2 of 6) (PFRPG)

The Stars Are Right

Aug 10, 2016, 04:00 pm

The light from Aldebaran and the songs from the Hyades fall upon our brittle planet, and I'm pleased to share with you that in the coming weeks the Strange Aeons Adventure Path will be slinking out of our warehouse and making its way into game stores, distributors' warehouses, and your homes. After much research and many an occult ritual, this Adventure Path steeped in the cosmic horror of the Elder Mythos has broken free from the Dreamlands and become a reality—a sentient thing, perhaps.

The Stars Are Right

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Dear Reader,

The light from Aldebaran and the songs from the Hyades fall upon our brittle planet, and I'm pleased to share with you that in the coming weeks the Strange Aeons Adventure Path will be slinking out of our warehouse and making its way into game stores, distributors' warehouses, and your homes. After much research and many an occult ritual, this Adventure Path steeped in the cosmic horror of the Elder Mythos has broken free from the Dreamlands and become a reality—a sentient thing, perhaps.

Now, this is no reason for concern. I assure you that the Strange Aeons Adventure Path is fairly benign. You will not go mad from reading it; the books won't flap themselves from your shelf and scuttle about your home in the stygian hours of the night while you slumber—dreaming of things far more horrific, no doubt. It will, however, provide hours and hours of creepy excitement for you and your friends.

Illustration by Caio Maciel Monteiro

While this Adventure Path is perfect for experts on the Lovecraft Mythos, don't feel like Strange Aeons isn't for you if you're not familiar with or well versed in the literature that provides the inspiration for this campaign. If you enjoy creepy cultists, bizarre monsters, forgotten lore, and accursed locations, Strange Aeons is a good fit for you.

I will, however, bestow upon you a small warning that this campaign starts off in an atypical way, perhaps our most non-standard Adventure Path opening to date. The characters wake up in an asylum with no memory of how they got there and only hazy recollections of who they are. This kind of start requires a fair amount of trust of the GM and of the Adventure Path. You can still create a character with a complete backstory, but know that some things happened in your character's past that are beyond his or her control. The upcoming Strange Aeons Player's Guide provides advice on how to make the best of this strange (but fun) situation.

If you are eager to play through or run the Strange Aeons and want to gather some associated materials to help spice up your campaign, consider checking out some of the following items. As this is a cosmic horror campaign, picking up the newly released Pathfinder RPG Horror Adventures is a great idea. In addition to great advice on running horror games, the book provides plenty of great character options for GMs and players both. I also advise using the new alternate fear rules included in this book, as I feel it will really help set the mood for the campaign. Similarly, grabbing a copy of Pathfinder RPG Occult Adventures provides plenty of character options and new rules that fit the tone and flavor of the Strange Aeons Adventure Path.

Illustration by Ramon Puasa Jr.

Strange Aeons kicks off with Pathfinder Adventure Path #109: In Search of Sanity by our own Editor-In-Chief F. Wesley Schneider, who puts his own brand of horror on the Adventure Path right out of the gate. I cornered him in his office and got him to jot down a few thoughts about his opening adventure.

"As soon as it was clear that we were returning to Ustalav, I was pretty vocal that I wanted in. Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Rule of Fear established Versex county as Lovecraft country, and Thrushmoor already had dozens of threads dangling for cosmic horror plots, so I was instantly stoked that Strange Aeons was going to be playing in that sandbox. The fact that the first adventure was set in an asylum was just icing on a really big pile of also icing (I might have written a couple of fictional asylums in past works).

Now, it's been nearly a year since I wrapped up work on In Search of Sanity. I wrote it on something of a binge after finishing my novel, Pathfinder Tales: Bloodbound (also set in Ustalav), and the first volume of Hell's Vengeance, "The Hellfire Compact." As a result, "In Search of Sanity" features as few subtle nods to both. I won't give away too much, but if you're interested in learning more about Ustalav's royal accusers or about the tribulations of Longacre's Lieklan family, the first Strange Aeons has more to say.

You'll also have the chance to join an asylum revolt, surf a blood tsunami and give a ghoul a shower.

I seem to remember that some Lovecrafty stuff happens too.

Y'all like bholes, right?"

If you're eager to get into the right feel for Strange Aeons and want to do some reading, I've compiled a brief reading list of some of the stories that capture the feel of and have inspired the Strange Aeons Adventure Path.

"The Shadow Out of Time," by H. P. Lovecraft

"The Dunwich Horror," by H. P. Lovecraft

"At the Mountains of Madness," by H. P. Lovecraft

"The Call of Cthulhu," by H. P. Lovecraft

"Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath," by H. P. Lovecraft

"The Doom that Came to Sarnath," by H. P. Lovecraft

"The Repairer of Reputations," by Robert Chambers

"The Yellow Sign," by Robert Chambers

"The Great God Pan," by Arthur Machen

"The Wendigo," by Algernon Blackwood

"The Willows," by Algernon Blackwood

"The House on the Borderland," by William Hope Hodgson

In a few short weeks the ritual to properly summon the Strange Aeons Adventure Path will be complete! Keep your eyes on this blog for the Strange Aeons Player's Guide, which you will see soon enough.

Adam Daigle
Developer

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Tags: Caio Maciel Monteiro Pathfinder Adventure Path Ramon Puasa Jr. Strange Aeons

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Pathfinder Adventure Path #109: In Search of Sanity (Strange Aeons 1 of 6) (PFRPG)

Look Into the Unknown

Aug 5, 2016, 03:30 pm

While our compliment of awesome Gen Con-bound comrades are steering the Paizo booth, running games, and working various panels, the Paizo skeleton-crew is continuing to assist customers, get packages out the door, and bringing you new content on paizo.com.

Look Into the Unknown

Friday, August 5, 2016

While our compliment of awesome Gen Con-bound comrades are steering the Paizo booth, running games, and working various panels, the Paizo skeleton-crew is continuing to assist customers, get packages out the door, and bringing you new content on paizo.com.

But, before everyone hopped on a plane, Adam Daigle sent over a few Pathfinder Adventure Path previews that I get to share with you all! In just a short time, the Strange Aeons Adventure Path will release. Until we get into the finer details that will be featured later this month on the blog, here's a sampling of art that is featured in the first volumes:

Illustrations by Michal Ivan and Damien Mammoliti

Illustrations by Damien Mammoliti, Crystal Sully, Caio Maciel Monteiro, Ramon Puasa Jr., and Kremena Chipilova

If you've been tracking #paizoatgencon, or following us on social media, you might have caught that we unveiled some pretty awesome images of the upcoming Curse of the Crimson Throne hardcover (and the limited edition version—details to come after Gen Con). Check 'em out!

Adam also just announced the Adventure Path following the Ironfang Invasion in this afternoon's Adventure Path panel. Look out for the Ruins of Azlant Adventure Path starting next summer! In Ruins of Azlant, PCs join an expedition to the shattered remains of old Azlant, explore its mysteries and dangers, and face a veiled master who wants to get its tentacles on an Azlanti doomsday device. Titles include (but are subject to change before release):
Spoilers!

Pathfinder Adventure Path #121: The Lost Outpost by Jim Groves

Pathfinder Adventure Path #122: Into the Shattered Continent by Robert Brookes

Pathfinder Adventure Path #123: The Flooded Cathedral by Mikko Kallio

Pathfinder Adventure Path #124: City in the Deep by Amber E. Scott

Pathfinder Adventure Path #125: Tower of the Drowned Dead by Ron Lundeen

Pathfinder Adventure Path #126: Beyond the Veiled Past by Thurston Hillman

More information about Strange Aeons, the Curse of the Crimson Throne hardcover, and Ruins of Azlant to come as we get closer to their release dates!

Chris Lambertz
Community & Digital Content Director

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Tags: Caio Maciel Monteiro Crystal Sully Curse of the Crimson Throne Damien Mammoliti Kremena Chipilova Michal Ivan Pathfinder Adventure Path Ramon Puasa Jr. Ruins of Azlant Strange Aeons

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Horror Adventures

Got Those Summertime, Those Summertime Adventures

Jun 30, 2016, 04:00 pm

Summer has arrived, convention season is at full-tilt, and in just a few short weeks Paizo staffers and gamers from all over will be heading to Gen Con 2016 in sunny Indianapolis! The show is always highly anticipated both because it's a great opportunity to get to see masses of gamers all together in one place to celebrate their hobby, and because new and exciting Paizo releases tend to drop at the show. But before we load up the trucks and ship off, let's take a look at what's coming out and what we've announced since last time we spoke.

More Paizo Blog.

Tags: Caio Maciel Monteiro Chris Knight Dave Allsop Gen Con Gen Con 2016 Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Rudy Siswanto Tomasz Chistowski

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Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Path of the Hellknight (PFRPG)

Expanding the Ranks of Hell

Jun 17, 2016, 03:30 pm

Beyond the seven well-known orders of Hellknight—Chain, Gate, Godclaw, Nail, Pyre, Rack, and Scourge—there are several minor orders. Among these are the vicious Order of the Coil, revenge-obsessed Sargavan interlopers, the Order of the Pike, a band of renowned monster hunters, and the Order of the Glyph, who you might already know from the Hell's Rebels Adventure Path. Some of these fringe groups number among the most heroic and villainous of the Hellknight orders, but heretofore little has been said about them. The Lesser Orders section of Path of the Hellknight changes that. While these orders hold a great deal of interest and potential, especially with some of their niche focuses, they have less of a footprint in the Inner Sea Region, and, appropriately, in this book. But I didn't want to leave readers gravitating toward these orders adrift. As a result, each of these orders references which major Hellknight order it's most similar to. This guidepost points readers toward an analogous major order with options to crib from. It's a quick fix, but it opens the door to a variety of options for Hellknights of these minor orders. Beyond this, you'll find plenty of new details, histories, and options for these orders. To show off a bit of that, here's a few snippets from one, the Order of the Wall.

Expanding the Ranks of Hell

Friday, June 17, 2016

Illustration by Leonardo Borazio

Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Path of the Hellknight hits this month! Ready to learn more about the legions you'll be joining or commanding once you've picked up the definitive guide to this deadly order?

This time around let's focus on the Hellknights' lesser-known orders, small but driven organizations ready to accept new members or that might come to oppose your wild adventuring.

Lesser Hellknight Orders

Beyond the seven well-known orders of Hellknight—Chain, Gate, Godclaw, Nail, Pyre, Rack, and Scourge—there are several minor orders. Among these are the vicious Order of the Coil, revenge-obsessed Sargavan interlopers, the Order of the Pike, a band of renowned monster hunters, and the Order of the Glyph, who you might already know from the Hell's Vengeance Adventure Path. Some of these fringe groups number among the most heroic and villainous of the Hellknight orders, but heretofore little has been said about them. The Lesser Orders section of Path of the Hellknight changes that. While these orders hold a great deal of interest and potential, especially with some of their niche focuses, they have less of a footprint in the Inner Sea Region, and, appropriately, in this book. But I didn't want to leave readers gravitating toward these orders adrift. As a result, each of these orders references which major Hellknight order it's most similar to. This guidepost points readers toward an analogous major order with options to crib from. It's a quick fix, but it opens the door to a variety of options for Hellknights of these minor orders. Beyond this, you'll find plenty of new details, histories, and options for these orders. To show off a bit of that, here's a few snippets from one, the Order of the Wall.

Illustration by Damien Mammoliti

Order of the Wall

Symbol crenellated skull

Headquarters the Gnashing Wall, south of Khari

Leader Master of Blades Atlan Essebar (LN male human fighter 8/Hellknight^ISWG 5)

Members Chelaxians born in Rahadoum, soldiers

Armor Features angular mantle, cylindrical, castlelike helm

Favored Weapon lucerne hammer (Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Equipment 19)

Reckoning repeatedly strike bricks or stone

Analogous Order Rack

Today, the order has grown from 50 members to nearer a hundred, most of whom are lawful neutral. Technically subordinate to the Order of the Chain, the Order of the Wall has no lictor, as master of blades is its highest title. In practice, though, the order functions with near autonomy. The order's mandate to defend Chelish fronts south of the Arch of Aroden has broadened over the years. Now, members stand watch at several borders—not just Chelish ones—defending civilization's frontiers. Despite the order's Chelish origins, Garundi—and specifically Rahadoumi—soldiers comprise most of the order's Hellknights. While their defense of the Gnashing Wall remains an almost religious duty, many travel across northern Garund, serving as guardians of all sorts.

So that's a bit of what you can expect in the chapter on lesser Hellknight orders. But to get back to the major orders, here are glimpses of what you can expect from the fanatical Order of the Godclaw and the frontier scouring Order of the Nail.

Illustration by Damien Mammoliti

Order of the Godclaw

Symbol five-pointed iron star

Headquarters Citadel Dinyar, in the Aspodell Mountains

Leader Lictor Resarc Ountor (LN male fighter 4/cleric 2/Hellknight^ISWG 6)

Members crusaders, religious zealots

Armor Features breastplate with clawlike vambraces, clawlike helm

Favored Weapon morningstar

Reckoning Flagellate yourself with a five-tailed lash. Whenever you are the target of a lawful divine caster's spell that heals hit point damage, you heal 1 additional point per die rolled. Additionally, if you cast divine spells, you can use the holy symbols of Abadar, Asmodeus, Iomedae, Irori, and Torag interchangeably.

Not content with seeking divine approval for their knighthood's righteous path, the Order of the Godclaw's members have sculpted their beliefs from the harshest, most exacting philosophies of five lawful deities: Abadar, Asmodeus, Iomedae, Irori, and Torag. Remade as five stern, armored paragons, the deities of this pantheon are known collectively as the Godclaw. The Hellknights follow revised doctrines to stamp out disorder, particularly its divine embodiments and beings of absolute chaos, with religious zeal. Rather than targeting the faiths of prominent religions, the order sets its eyes on supporting lawful crusades (such as the wars fought by Molthune and Mendev) and being at the vanguard of battles against the forces of chaos. No land is beyond the lawfulness provided by Hellknights—a fact the Order of the Godclaw endlessly seeks to prove.

Members of the Order of the Godclaw can also expect to learn much more about the formation of their unique order, their pentamic faith, their holdouts (and escape routes) near Citadel Dinyar, and a new Godclaw oracle mystery—for your most devout, polytheistic signifers.

Illustration by Damien Mammoliti

Order of the Nail

Symbol thick nails forming a sunburst

Headquarters Citadel Vraid, near Korvosa

Leader Lictor Severs "Boneclaw" DiViri (LE male fighter 4/rogue 2/Hellknight^ISWG 4)

Members frontiersmen, settlers, victims of barbarian and monster attacks

Armor Features breastplate emblazoned with a fiendish face, horned helm

Favored Weapon lance or halberd

Reckoning Pierce your flesh with sharp metal. Gain a +4 bonus on Knowledge (geography) checks. Additionally, if you are trained in Knowledge (geography), you automatically succeed at attempts to use that skill to identify a creature's ethnicity or accent, as long as you are familiar with that ethnicity or accent.

To certain dogmatic, rigid-minded individuals, civilization seems under siege. Beyond the bulwarks of cities and national borders lies an endless expanse of wilderness populated by those who, all too often, shun the rules of settled, lawful societies and follow their own callings. To the Order of the Nail, these beings enviously prey upon the children of the law, seeking to draw civilization into a regressive mire. The Order of the Nail stands staunchly against what it views as barbarity.

Illustrations by Caio Maciel Monteiro and Maichol Quinto

Those who throw in with the Order of the Nail can also expect to learn more about the order's harsh ideals, their tri-part citadel, a number of famous Hellknights, the circuit judge cavalier archetype, and an array of deadly magical brands. There's also a pretty neat little glimpse of the Order of the Nail's Mistress of Blades, Maidrayne Vox, slipped into the illustration of Citadel Vraid.

That's it for today's peek into Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Path of the Hellknight, but our final preview is coming soon. Keep your eyes peeled!

F. Wesley Schneider
Editor-in-Chief

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Tags: Caio Maciel Monteiro Damien Mammoliti Hellknights Leonardo Borazio Maichol Quinto Pathfinder Campaign Setting

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Pathfinder Adventure Path #97: In Hell's Bright Shadow (Hell's Rebels 1 of 6) (PFRPG)

Behind the Art of Hell's Rebels

Aug 27, 2015, 03:00 pm

The launch of the Hell's Rebels Adventure Path is special for a number of reasons. Most significant, of course, is that this series will include the long-awaited issue number 100! It's taken a lot of hard work from many talented people to get Pathfinder this far, and I am extremely grateful to have been here to see issue 100 take shape.

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Tags: Caio Maciel Monteiro Ekaterina Burmak Hell's Rebels Kiki Moch Rizky Paizo Pathfinder Adventure Path Will O'Brien

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You Must Don a Costume That Strikes Fear into Them...

Aug 5, 2015, 12:00 pm

Our newst Pathfinder Adventure Path is about to drop this month, and Hell's Rebels has two things Paizo fans love: fightin' against authority and swear words in the title! It also has daring adventure, a huge variety of encounters from roleplay and puzzles to devil-slaying and sabotage, along with a diverse cast of memorable NPCs—both helpful and vile—scads of unique magic items, and a whole new system for managing a secret society. But, we know what our readers really love: swear words.

You Must Don a Costume That Strikes Fear into Them...

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Cave raptors are sated; it's time to blog!

Our newst Pathfinder Adventure Path is about to drop this month, and Hell's Rebels has two things Paizo fans love: fightin' against authority and swear words in the title! It also has daring adventure, a huge variety of encounters from roleplay and puzzles to devil-slaying and sabotage, along with a diverse cast of memorable NPCs—both helpful and vile—scads of unique magic items, and a whole new system for managing a secret society. But, we know what our readers really love: swear words.

Hell's Rebels kicks off this month with "In Hell's Bright Shadow", which takes PCs from their humble roots as loud but ineffectual rabble-rousers to leading a true rebellion against Cheliax's rule over the city-state of Kintargo and it's vile new lord-mayor, Barzillai Thrune!

And not only does Barzillai have a haircut like he hugs feral lawnmowers, not only does he dress like a recent convert to the church of self-laceration, he doesn't even like mint! In his first week in office, he issues not one but SEVEN proclamations, and sure some of them infringe on basic personal rights and freedoms, but c'mon, who doesn't like mint?!

I mean, seriously! What about him doesn't scream evil?!
Illustration by Shen Fei.

Proclamation the Seventh: The odor and flavor of mint is an abomination to the refined palate. Be not the cretin! Mint use in candies, drinks, and all manner of confections is hereby proscribed.

Who voted for this guy? I didn't! Did you? I don't even remember there being an election! Someone has got to stop this madman!

Just look at that jerk up there, lord-mayoring it over us. I'll bet that's mint wine.
Illustration by Caio Maciel Monteiro.

Kintargo used to have heroes once! But sadly, most of them inexplicably burned down just before the new lord-mayor arrived (because heroes have rotten timing and are, apparently, highly flammable). Who will save the city from the iron fist of the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune? What kind of maniacs would throw their lives away challenging a scion of Cheliax's ruling house, backed by an army of hellspawned goons (another swear word there for you; you're welcome)?! Only Kintargo's stupidest bravest souls would dare try!

Crystal Frasier
Contributing Author and Paizo Assistant Developer

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Tags: Caio Maciel Monteiro Cheliax Hell's Rebels Pathfinder Adventure Path Shen Fei

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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Occult Adventures (OGL)

Occult of Indy

Jul 24, 2015, 12:00 pm

Many of us are heading out to Indy next week for Gen Con 2015. In the Paizo booth there will be a huge display made from Pathfinder RPG books, and the latest of them's going to be Occult Adventures. Here's a last preview at the fantastic art before it officially releases on July 29! See you in Indy!

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Tags: Caio Maciel Monteiro Estra Federico Musetti Iconics Igor Grechanyi Investigators Mariusz Gandzel Mavaro Meligaster Merisiel Mesmerists Occultists Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Quinn Rogues Spiritualists Subroto Bhaumik Wallpapers Wayne Reynolds

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Of the Occult and Psychic Obscura!

May 28, 2015, 12:30 pm

The content we showed off from July's Occult Adventures hardcover at the PaizoCon Preview Banquet whetted some appetites for a few more details. I know many of you are looking forward to sinking your teeth into the book even more, especially after we previewed all of the art of the new iconics—and don't worry, you'll be seeing more of them soon! But for enjoy, enjoy this curated selection of art from Occult Adventures!

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Tags: Caio Maciel Monteiro Emiliano Petrozzi Nickolai Ostertag Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Roberto Pitturru Suzanne Helmigh Tomasz Chistowski

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Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Belkzen, Hold of the Orc Hordes (PFRPG)

Let Slip the Orcs of War!

Feb 11, 2015, 12:00 pm

It seems like forever ago we sent Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Belkzen, Hold of the Orc Hordes off to the printer. So long ago did we ship it, in fact, that I was caught woefully unaware when those little digital orcs we sent across the sea to be printed returned, all grown up and hungry for my blood. I managed to divert their attack to the warehouse, whose border abuts my office, avoiding the worst of the onslaught. I understand they've successfully divided the horde into small, easy-to-defeat single members and sent them off to our noble subscriber allies. To aid you in your orc-slaying efforts, I present a glimpse at some of the horrors that await you. Study them well, and always check your mail with sword drawn until the Belkzen threat has been quelled.

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Tags: Brynn Metheney Caio Maciel Monteiro Orcs Pathfinder Campaign Setting Wayne England

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Ships Ahoy!

Oct 9, 2014, 03:30 pm

One book I've wanted to put out for as long as I've worked at Paizo has been a gazetteer of different ships one could find in the Inner Sea region. Because ships are mobile, a ship of any type can be found in just about any port, opening up nearly endless options for Game Masters.

Illustration by Caio Maciel Monteiro

Ships Ahoy!

Thursday, October 9, 2014

One book I've wanted to put out for as long as I've worked at Paizo has been a gazetteer of different ships one could find in the Inner Sea region. Because ships are mobile, a ship of any type can be found in just about any port, opening up nearly endless options for Game Masters.

When Ships of the Inner Sea finally made it onto the production schedule instead of my wish list, I wanted to make sure that the book could serve GMs in a number of ways. The included ships, of which there are seven, range in challenge rating from foes appropriate for parties of levels ranging from 4 to 15, and are thus useful additions to all sorts of adventures. For those running the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path or otherwise using the ship-to-ship combat system presented in the Skull & Shackles Player's Guide, each ship includes statistics compatible with the system, allowing all seven vessels to be potential prey for pirate PCs prowling the Fever Sea. Each ship is fully mapped (and gorgeously so, by Jared Blando) for tactical combat and can be used as a potential PC or enemy vessel. While the crew compliment of each vessel is enough to fill a book by itself, each ship's chapter includes full statistics for its captain, one prominent crewmember, and a generic sailor or passenger stat block.

To provide more useful and general tools for GMs running nautical campaigns, we also included a chapter on sailing the Inner Sea. This includes a glossary of nautical terms, definitions of several different ship classes, and details on the region's most traveled trade routes and the hazards that make them full of adventure potential.

Three of the authors who worked on the book live or have lived on functioning boats, including naval vessels. Their knowledge of nautical terms, ship layouts and life at sea really shows in their writing, and I was very lucky to be able to get them all together for the project. It's the same reason we had Sutter write about space aliens and Wes write about Infernal contracts; you're best at writing what you know.

Illustrations by Caio Maciel Monteiro, Eric Belisle, and Yama Ocre

What I'm most excited about in this book, however, is the art. This is one beautiful book. It was really tough to pick a few pieces to show off and whet everyone's appetites, so I decided to share one piece per type: a half-page introduction, a ship portrait, and a full-body illustration. And another half-pager simply because, holy cow, is it amazing!

Mark Moreland
Developer

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Tags: Caio Maciel Monteiro Eric Belisle Pathfinder Campaign Setting Yama Ocre

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Honor the Hold!

Sep 18, 2014, 12:00 pm

The treacherous Hold of Belkzen is a savage place for outsiders as well as its own residents. We've said a lot about the region, but a lot of this information is scattered throughout different books and product lines. For those who are new to Belkzen or who just can't get enough of the orc nation, here's a brief breakdown of some of the most interesting aspects of this savage region as well as links to where you can find more information on these topics.

Honor the Hold!

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Illustration by Caio Maciel Monteiro

The treacherous Hold of Belkzen is a savage place for outsiders as well as its own residents. We've said a lot about the region, but a lot of this information is scattered throughout different books and product lines. For those who are new to Belkzen or who just can't get enough of the orc nation, here's a brief breakdown of some of the most interesting aspects of this savage region as well as links to where you can find more information on these topics.

Illustration by Roberto Pitturru

Beasts: Orc rangers and beastmasters have "domesticated" many animals and monstrous beasts native to the valleys of the Tusk and Kodar Mountains, though in most cases this simply means caging wild animals until they're to be released on the field of battle. From dire wolves to the strange and tempestuous gorthek, orc tribes rear a number of different monsters to serve as their mounts or hounds. Beyond these brutes, even fiercer beasts lurk in the hills around the Hold of Belkzen (including a number of all-new Belkzen animals detailed in the forthcoming Giantslayer Adventure Path bestiaries).

Half-Orcs: The progeny of orcs and humans are treated somewhat paradoxically among the orcs of Belkzen. On one hand, orcs treat their half-blooded brethren as weak, and bully or abuse them to prove their inferiority. On the other hand, talented half-orcs (especially spellcasters) can achieve statuses among their tribe as seers or witch doctors. Many half-orcs consider themselves prisoners in their own homelands, and wrestle with the inherent savagery that flows through their blood. Others flee the Hold as soon as they are able, becoming storied adventurers or even founders of peaceful settlements that they can fearlessly call home.

Atrocities: The horrors of war are not solely restricted to the orc side of Belkzen's borders, and the human knights and soldiers who clash with these monsters sometimes inherit more of the orcs' savagery than any would care to admit. Servants of Zon-Kuthon often go to the ravaged battlefields of Belkzen to commemorate the unfathomable acts of savagery that transpired there, and rumors persist of orcs being held prisoner and brutally interrogated in such Lastwall border strongholds as Castle Everstand.

With a slew of orc-related products coming out this winter—including Pathfinder Adventure Path #91: Battle of Bloodmarch Hill (written by yours truly), the much-anticipated Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Belkzen, Hold of the Orc Hordes, and Pathfinder Module: Daughters of Fury (written by Viktoria Jaczko, winner of the 2014 RPG Superstar contest)—you can be sure we're going to be posting a lot of Belkzen banter on the blog in the coming months.

Patrick Renie
Developer

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Tags: Caio Maciel Monteiro Orcs Pathfinder Adventure Path Pathfinder Campaign Setting Pathfinder Modules Roberto Pitturru

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The Literary Origins of Science Fiction in Fantasy Settings

Sep 4, 2014, 03:11 pm

With the release of Pathfinder Adventure Path #85: "The Fires of Creation",the first adventure in the Iron Gods Adventure Path, I thought it was worth taking a moment to talk about the literary origins of mixing science-fiction elements into fantasy settings.

The Literary Origins of Science Fiction in Fantasy Settings

Thursday, September 4, 2014

"Do you know about other worlds? Don't you believe the stars are only huge jewels?"
—The Swords of Lankhmar, Fritz Leiber
Illustration by Caio Maciel Monteiro

With the release of Pathfinder Adventure Path #85: "The Fires of Creation", the first adventure in the Iron Gods Adventure Path, I thought it was worth taking a moment to talk about the literary origins of mixing science-fiction elements into fantasy settings.

Illustration by Ian Llanas

The origins of the Iron Gods Adventure Path itself are pretty clear. The seeds of advanced technology in Golarion go back to its inception, and descriptions of Numeria, Alkenstar, the Red Redoubt of Karamoss, and the Ruins of Kho have always included a level of technology much different than most of the rest of the Inner Sea. Golarion is a world where scraps of ancient lost technology exist in limited quantities, and it makes sense that at least one adventure path explore that aspect of the world. This follows a long tradition of mixing science fiction and fantasy elements in roleplaying games, dating back to near the beginning of the hobby.

The RPG hobby is in turn built on a long tradition of genre-blurring stories, dating back to at least the early 1700s. Earlier speculative fiction didn't mostly bother to define a difference between science fiction and fantasy. Jonathan Swift's 1726 novel Gulliver's Travels was written as a satire, but it is also arguably an early work of mixed science fiction and fantasy. Beyond the well-known fantasy races of Lilliputians and Brobdingnagians, protagonist Gulliver encounters many other places including both the flying city of Laputa (a city of pure scientific thought and clear antecedent of Kho), and a land of magicians (Glubbdubdrib) where magic largely replaces technology.

Although not the same as most modern fantasy, another common category of early speculative fiction that often blends advanced technology and magic is the "lost world" genre, where a modern character discovers a fantastic land unknown to the rest of civilization. In some lost world books the discovery is the result of an exploratory expedition (such as is the case for Jules Verne's 1864 novel Journey to the Center of the Earth, an early example of the genre), while in other cases the discovery is entirely accidental (as in Edward Bulwer-Lyrtton's 1871 novel Vril, the Power of the Coming Race).

Similar is the planetary romance genre, where the foreign land is generally on other planets. One can argue that Edgar Rice Burrough's Barsoom (from A Princess of Mars, and a series of novels that follow) is pure science fiction, with its airships and radium pistols, but the fact that most conflict is handled through swordplay reveals its fantasy roots. The blending of science and magic is even clearer in related stories by Burroughs, the most obvious example being "The Wizard of Venus," where planetary explorer Carson Napier learns extraordinary powers from the titular Venusian wizard.

Many novels of the 1930s-1970s combined fantasy and science fiction in one setting, often inspired by the tradition of Barsoom and the planetary romances. The fiction of Michael Moorcock is one of the original influences for fantasy RPG settings, and includes multiple cases of high science elements. Most extensively, the adventures of Hawkmoon (who, as an incarnation of the Eternal Champion, is connected to the better-known Elric of Melniboné,) take place in a world that appears to be a post-apocalyptic version of Europe. Magic is commonplace, but sorcerer-scientists also often have access to ancient advanced technology, including the Black Jewel, which is implanted into Hawkmoon by his enemies to monitor his movements. Ursula K. Le Guin's 1966 novel Rocannon's World has fewer directly magic elements, but does describe the travels of a scientist with advanced knowledge through an alien land of castes and swordsmen. Poul Anderson's 1961 novel Three Hearts and Three Lions presents a protagonist from the modern "real" world who ends up in a parallel world where magic and trolls are real.

Instances where science fiction elements enter an existing, established pure-fantasy setting are less common but far from unknown. Robert E. Howard's fantasy character Conan encounters an alien in the 1933 short story "The Tower of the Elephant." Fritz Leiber's quintessential rogue and barbarian team Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser run into a time traveler in his 1968 novel The Swords of Lankhmar. Time travel and planetary travel both come into play in C.L. Moore and Henry Kuttner's 1937 story "Quest of the Starstone," in which fantasy swordswoman Jirel of Joiry must deal with Northwest Smith, a smuggler and scoundrel hired from a tavern on Mars in her own far-flung future. (Those interest in seeing how that particular situation is resolved can read the story in Black God's Kiss, still available from paizo.com.)

The existence of fantasy tales that added a dash of high science is no reason for groups that dislike blending the two ideas to feel they must change their minds, but it is one of the reasons other groups love having the option to through a little more sci-fi into their fantasy games.

Owen K.C. Stephens
Developer

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Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Numeria, Land of Fallen Stars (PFRPG)

The Stars Are Falling Soon!

Jun 13, 2014, 01:10 pm

The latest volume of the Pathfinder Campaign Setting line has started shipping out to subscribers, and it's one that I know a lot of players and Game Masters are very excited to get their hands on—Numeria, Land of Fallen Stars I asked one of the book's co-authors, Jim Groves, to write a few words about his own excitement surrounding the book, and what a few of his favorite elements of it are. Here's what he has to say (as well as a few pieces of preview art I generously appended to his text).

The Stars Are Falling Soon!

Friday, June 13, 2014

Illustration by Patrick Reinemann

The latest volume of the Pathfinder Campaign Setting line has started shipping out to subscribers, and it's one that I know a lot of players and Game Masters are very excited to get their hands on—Numeria, Land of Fallen Stars I asked one of the book's co-authors, Jim Groves, to write a few words about his own excitement surrounding the book, and what a few of his favorite elements of it are. Here's what he has to say (as well as a few pieces of preview art I generously appended to his text).

Like many fans, I was at home during Gen Con 2013. My personal situation required me to live vicariously through the Twitter feeds and messageboard posts of fans who generously kept me informed. When I read James Jacobs had announced the Iron Gods Adventure Path, I wasted no time e-mailing him, right then and there, while he was still on the convention floor. A few days later, I received a very friendly and gracious reply. James already had a list of authors in mind, and it is vital for the health of the product line to add new authors and vary the cast up from AP to AP. So I understood James's reasoning perfectly, but when Mark Moreland contacted me a few weeks later to work on Numeria, Land of the Fallen Stars, I was overjoyed.

When writing for Numeria, I felt it was important to honor the theme of otherworldly super-science, but not to absolute exclusion. There are a number of elements, like the Plain of Ten Thousand Swords and the Battle of Grasyhot, which are all about traditional barbaric adventure. I was also very aware throughout the entire process that Ustalav, the Worldwound, and the River Kingdoms were right across a borderline—a division many adventurers and barbarians do not honor. My hope is fans gain insight into how Numeria fits and interacts with the world around it.

Among my favorite plots is the Chapel of Rent Flesh, dedicated to kyton activities on Golarion. The origin and history of the kytons is wonderfully mysterious and provocative. They demonstrate an aspect of the campaign setting which does not conform to a tidy and artificially organized cosmology. The Chapel doesn't upend what we know about the universe, but it asks some interesting questions. I also love Hajoth Hakados and Chitterhome. These communities allow a GM to introduce unusual player characters and NPCs, not just for a Numeria campaign but for all of Golarion, without feeling they're "fighting the campaign setting." GMs should never feel that way, but I think we help with a liberal sprinkling of rationale and context. I hope the book inspires and supports people to develop their own incredible and original campaigns.

Illustrations by Caio Maciel Monteiro

As I said above, Numeria, Land of Fallen Stars is already on its way to subscribers and will be available in game stores, bookstores, and for PDF download to the general public on June 25! The book is a vital source of setting information for Game Masters running the Iron Gods Adventure Path or anyone looking for more highly-anticipated information on one of the Inner Sea region's most exotic locales.

Mark Moreland
Developer

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Tags: Caio Maciel Monteiro Iron Gods Pathfinder Adventure Path Pathfinder Campaign Setting Patrick Reinemann

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