More Pathfinder Content on Fantasy Grounds

Saturday, March 24, 2018

Bestiary 3 is now available for Fantasy Grounds! It contains all 300+ monsters from Bestiary 3, with tokens, stats, images and full descriptions available for reference and use within the Fantasy Grounds virtual tabletop. Special abilities and spells have been embedded within each monster to keep everything at your fingertips and to keep the focus on the combat and roleplaying that your players love. Since several of the races include details for playable races, we've included a separate Bestiary 3 Player Version that you can share with your players to allow them to build monstrous characters like the canny ratfolk, genie-blooded sulis and more.

We've also released the fifth and sixth volumes of the Mummy's Mask Adventure Path. This completes one of the 6 separate Adventure Path volumes from Paizo that are converted and ready to play on Fantasy Grounds. Check the Fantasy Grounds website for a full list of available Paizo products for both Pathfinder and Starfinder.

Be sure to sync your Paizo and Fantasy Grounds accounts to get the PDF added to your Paizo account as part of the purchase or to get the entire cost of the PDF as a discount on your purchase at fantasygrounds.com!

Doug Davison
President, SmiteWorks

Meet Reepazo, Your New Buggy Buddy

Thursday, May 11, 2017

You probably have guessed that we like goblin promo characters. To date, we've issued three of these rotters: Ranzak, Ekkie, and Tup. If goblins could read, they'd tell you to collect the set!

Today, we're just giddy about introducing you to your new best friend. Her name's Reepazo, and she's the new Free RPG Day promo character for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Mummy's Mask Adventure Path. You'll be able to pick up a copy at participating hobby retailers, or you can preorder her on paizo.com. She comes with a character card, a role card, a token card, and most importantly, LOTS OF BUGS. (Don't worry—postal regulations prevent us from shipping most of the poisonous ones.)

Best earring.

Reepazo is a Goblin Bugzapper. No, really. She combines two elements that surprisingly rarely coincide in the Pathfinder universe: she can turn herself into a bug, and she can turn you into a bug. Basically, everybody's a bug. It's Free BUG Day!

No, actually, it's Free RPG Day, on Saturday, June 17. Reepazo will be there. Will you?

(If you can't be there, don't worry: Reepazo will be for sale right here on paizo.com starting July 1.)

Mike Selinker
Adventure Card Game Lead Designer

The Embrace of Darkness

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Before we conclude Pathfinder Adventure Card Game designer Liz Spain's "romance novel" previews of the Mummy's Mask set with a look at Adventure Deck 6: Pyramid of the Sky Pharaoh—spoiler alert: it's going to end in tears—we have an announcement to make: Complete card sets for Season of the Righteous, Season of the Runelords, and Season of the Goblins are now available for sale at DriveThruCards!

Torchlight glimmered a pleasing peridot color through the alchemical soup that ran through the tunnels of the Crypt of Water. The queen's husband, Hakotep, took great pleasure in the elaborately cruel designs that protected his great flying tomb. Richly painted in scenes of the River Sphinx and guarded by mighty hydrodaemon marble statues, the crypt was a stately home to rest one's soul for eternity.

The queen resents your weapons and armors. A lot.

Queen Neferuset glided along the passages in a glass barge, disabling the many traps without a thought. A thousand times she had made this journey; her hands moved of their own accord with practiced grace. Ingenious in their design, the hidden traps that lined the opulent tomb had been their creators' last. A short career was the price of eternal honor in the service of the pharaoh. Behind, her sister's mournful wails echoed and shrieked with the sound of a human soul breaking. The queen had insisted her sister's souls be captured within his pyramid. The pharaoh assumed it some form of punishment for Nailah's betrayal and attempted coup. But no. The banshee was necessary to serve the weaving of the Dark Tapestry.

Visits to Nailah were always painful. Her sister's wails summoned forth festering memories of family and sunshine. But the queen's gods demanded pain in sacrifice. Death and thousands of years within this tomb had left Neferuset hollow. She fed them what scraps of soul she could scrape together. Her gods were hungry.

Seelah, meet Sehela. Seleha, meet... wait, where did you go?

The glass barge bumped against a wall as it entered the vast limestone Hall of the Crocodile Kings. Sehela, the engineer who designed the pyramid's vast propulsion mechanisms, stood there waiting, silent and ethereal. Tracks of ghostly tears shimmered on the old woman's face, her brow knit with a pained scowl.

The queen took her time gracefully stepping out of the glass barge. Sehela would wait to be acknowledged before speaking. What had once been decorum had been replaced by a habit of fear. Sehela remained silent and stared. With a word, the withered, ectoplasmic remains of the old engineer's heart could be sacrificed to the Void. As long as Sehela was useful, she would remain in bondage, cursed to watch over the machine of destruction she had given her life to build.

Queen Neferuset passed by the old ghost, gesturing her to follow with a wave of her cobra-headed staff. The gesture was small, but the authority the staff represented was deeply threatening; the ghost shuffled dutifully behind through many twisting passages, overseen by the ancient lords bedecked in their sacrificial wrappings. The curtain of chill and darkness that hung within the entry to the shrine stunned Sehela, causing her to stumble backward, her ethereal form wavering uncontrollably. The queen caught Sehela's wrist in a cold, hard grip that pulsed with overwhelming necromantic power.

We did not forget to include a mummy wearing a mask.

The ghost shook with terror as the queen dragged her, helpless before the altar. Neferuset's chanting echoed with a deep malice that made the black stone of the altar quiver. One by one, the necromancer poured out the still-juicy contents of canopic jars: a victim of the queen's nastier spells.

As the viscera slid across the stone's surface, whispered voices joined the queen's from the dark corners of the room. The hushed rain of language hovered at the edge of comprehension. Utterly alien, yet familiar in a way that made Sehela's soul yearn for release, yearn to join them in the darkness. So long the work. So long the journey through the skies. So long.

And then, the ritual was over. The queen turned to the silent ghost and raised a withered, inquisitive eyebrow. "It's all over," Sehela sighed. "The word of Ra is spoken. The elemental channels are shut off. The pyramid is falling."

Tears streamed down the engineer's face anew. The admission that her life and death's work was now over was too much to bear. Queen Neferuset produced a small glass bottle engraved with the symbol of death from her elegant sleeve, uncorked it, and caught the tears that hung from the ghost's chin. "And with this," the queen grinned wickedly, "we shall prepare for new sacrifices to come to us."

We did warn you about the tears.

Outside, as the fabled Sky Pyramid sank from its heavenly perch, the citizens of Wati looked up at the ever-burning sun. We must honor the departed, they said under their exhausted breaths. We must deem every slave's hut a memorial, they said. And above all, they said, we must remember how this came to pass.

Liz Spain
Adventure Card Game Designer

Precisely the Right Way to Play Mummy's Mask

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Like scourges, triggers, and traders, precision is one of the subthemes of the Mummy's Mask Adventure Path for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game. This topic doesn't get as much attention because it's not quite as flashy, but we like it because it's a different type of challenge. In this blog, I'll let you know where the idea came from and how it ended up.

Early on, Lone Shark designers Gaby, Paul, and Liz locked in on a key feature of the Pathfinder RPG version of the Mummy's Mask Adventure Path. Right at the start of the the first volume, you participate in a lottery to win the right to explore and effectively loot tombs in the Osirian city of Wati. The priests of the Grand Mausoleum have a set of three rules that restrict how much collateral damage your adventuring can inflict.

"Remember How This Came to Pass" is a reminder that the necropolis remains a holy place. "Every Slave's Hut Is a Memorial" instructs explorers that willful and unnecessary destruction of tombs will not be tolerated. "Honor the Departed" requires that the dead be treated with respect. These rules are enforced by a militant group within the church of Pharasma known as the Voices of the Spire.

We modeled that in a simple mechanic: If you achieve too high a number in your roll to defeat a bane or acquire a boon, you break something you shouldn't. This makes the Voices of the Spire angry, and they wail on your heads for it.

You break it, you buy it.

There are places you should also tread carefully. The Scorched Obelisk is a jittery lightning magnet. The Alchemical Laboratory is filled with fragile flasks of acid, so watch where you swing that greatclub. And Ptah knows how you're supposed to guarantee threading the needle in the pottery-littered Sculptors' Lair.

Even your allies don't let you get away with bashing about unchecked. The Stained Glass Elemental shatters at a moment's notice, taking the top card of the blessings deck with it.

Good news! If you close the unstable Sculptors' Lair, you can get an equally unstable Stained Glass Elemental.

We've offered up several banes that care about the number you roll. The Shasalqu will freeze you with cold if you hit it too hard. The Thriae Soldier will sting you with poison. The Shocking Chest will zort you with electricity. The Yellow Jelly will scorch you with acid. We expect you will fall prey to all those elements at one point or another.

The barrier Collapsing Scaffolding has an even trickier challenge. You must attempt two Dexterity, Acrobatics, or Perception checks, but if the result of your first check exceeds the result of the second, you get smashed by the scaffolding. You'll be tempted to shortchange the first check, even though you only need to hit a 4, maybe by trying that Perception check you never make. And then when you fail that check...

I admit I am not sure how to pronounce "Shasalqu."

Henchmen and villains get in on this act. If you overroll, the henchman Neqet won't bother damaging you himself; instead, he'll call a zombie buddy to rough you up. In Adventure Deck 4, the villain Half-Fiend Sphinx and the henchmen Userib and Cultist of Areshkagal damage you if you are too overbearing.

The Mining Construct goes the other way, offering you an item if you defeat it by 5 or less. The henchmen in the delightfully named scenario Tomb Raiders Gone Rogue are particularly touchy. Most raiders let you attempt to close your location only when you defeat them by less than 5; otherwise, you've got a lot more exploring to do. But if you do hit under their threshold, you can get a bunch of boons, so moderating your thuggery can pay off in the tombs.

The lamia villain Jamirah also gives you something for hitting a narrow window above what you need to defeat her. (Actually, you get to draw the card even if you roll too low to defeat her, but intentionally losing to a villain is not something we recommend.)

Hmmm. I wonder if she's related to the Wrath of the Righteous villain Shamira?

Debuting in Adventure Deck 6 is the Glass Boat, the first and only instance of a new type of support card called a barge. When you're in the boat (and the scenario Crypt of Water will make you want to be), being very precise can get you a free Alchemical or Liquid item. Being a lumbering ox means no potion for you.

We're gonna need a bigger boat.

Fear not, though! We've provided several new ways to get those numbers where you want them. Obviously, there are lots of ways to add static numbers to your checks. Reducing the number of dice you roll while increasing the static number you add will stabilize your roll, giving you some control over your result.

You can't beat the ability to adjust your number after you roll. We highly recommend shifting your object of worship to the law deity Maat. A Feather of Maat is a Luckstone that runs both ways, and the later Effigy of Maat gives you even more versatility. The Blessing of Maat not only allows you to add or subtract 3, but even change all your dice to d8s if that's what you need.

Who ever thought that you'd like seeing the word "subtract" on a card? Maat did.

You melee types might want to pick up the Scorpion Whip. Any spellcaster can pick up the Symbol of Fortune, which will add or subtract 3 after the roll. The loot item Tablet of Languages Lost is good for adding to or subtracting from your Charisma check, especially if you're playing a Sorcerer blasting your way through the catacombs; so's the Silken Ceremonial Armor.

The item Jet of Anubis can either add or remove a whole die. Trust me, you haven't lived till you remove the 12 you rolled on your d12. Similarly, the Blessing of the Lady of Graves lets you roll your Wisdom die and subtract it from your result.

I can't play Symbol of Fortune without imitating a game show audience.

Your friends can also help. The Cleric of Nethys can add or subtract 2 from your roll, while the half-orc ally Magha Threefingers adds 3 or subtracts 2. The banshee Ausetitha can add or subtract 5. (Fun fact: The designers are still snickering about Magha's power.)

Meanwhile, the promo ally Miau Pakhet lets anyone at your location reroll a die, which is quite useful when you need to be precise. Plus that second power is nothing to flick your tail at.

Dude, you have weird friends.

Then there are the more unhinged decisions you can make. If your party has a Remove Curse spell (or if you're Alahazra), you could even pick up a Curse of Withering. Replacing all your dice with lower-size dice can keep those high numbers under control.

If you're in the Garden of Ossumentals, consider adding the Bludgeoning or Fire trait—or both! The first can add a die, and the second can remove one.

You might consider trying to get all your dice to be small. A Wand of Scorching Ray might not seem great to you Arcane casters, except when not rolling that Arcane d12 is what you want. Suddenly just rolling 4d6 is interesting. Especially if you're playing in The Dragon's Garden...

You can even add two numbers to the roll in the Garden, if you roll two different doubles.

Hey, speaking of dragons, there's our favorite—and what might be your least favorite—use of precision in the whole game. Just like the villain Tef-Naju giving you his Trove only if you roll 35 or less to defeat him, the dragon trader Shardizhad is not impressed easily. She will only trade with you if the result of your check to acquire a boon is exactly equal to the difficulty of acquiring it. Yup, it must be bang-on. If you don't do it, you might be tempted to lose the scenario to get that ability to trade for Melee weapons.

You're about to find out how hard is it to NOT display 3 Elegiac Compasses.

Those are the precise ways you can handle the precision mechanic. Good luck with that, and we hope you enjoy the epic conclusion of Mummy's Mask, which we'll preview next week!

Mike Selinker
Adventure Card Game Lead Designer

Season of the Plundered Tombs, The Story So Far

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

We are officially halfway through the Season of Plundered Tombs!

Brave Pathfinder Agents have investigated lost tombs, translated hidden runes, smashed undead guardians, and dispersed elementals, all in service to the Pathfinder Society. There may have been some amount of plundering also happening, based on the fine historic artifacts exhibited by those agents, but that is clearly secondary to the far more altruistic pursuit of knowledge.

BEWARE: Spoilers Ahead. You were warned.

Adventure 1: Serpents in the Deep

First, you earned the appreciation of many local merchants by ridding the world of a tribe of Gnoll bandits. You then snuck into the Aspis Consortium's dig site to appropriate their research. Unfortunately, you weren't the only person with this idea. You were soon hot in pursuit of a Taldan spy. That pursuit led you to dive into the underwater ruin of Shotep-Kara. There, a doru div turned the city's constructs and elemental wards against you. Eventually, you overcame all obstacles, defeated the Taldan (twice!), and recovered a set of ancient tablets. The tablets proved to be a map to an ancient pyramid capable of flight. Possession of such a sky pyramid could greatly assist the Pathfinder Society. It slipping into the wrong hands might give enough power to terrorize thousands and destabilize nations.

Fantastic archaeological wonder or best Pathfinder Lodge ever?

Adventure 2: Secrets Below the Sands

Outnumbered and outmaneuvered by the Aspis Consortium, you had no choice but to work with them on locating the pyramid. You put together an expedition, despite the best efforts of a number of thieves, and set out into the desert. There, you were not so gently greeted by quicksand and pairaka divs. You then rescued elementals from enslavement by undead and used their help to excavate the buried pyramid. Inside the pyramid, you carefully worked past its traps and defenders to discover its secrets. Alas, your alliance with the Aspis Consortium then came to a crashing end and you were forced to flee the pyramid.

The Aspis sure were useful when they weren't trying to kill you...

Adventure 3: In Search of a Sage

With the pyramid seized by the traitorous Aspis Consortium, you realized you were going to need some assistance—specifically, the kind of assistance only an ancient Jeweled Sage can give. You searched the forgotten (and very trapped) stacks of the sages' stronghold and set out on the trail of the Spinel Sage, Mnesoset. In Katapesh, you ran into and promptly removed some more gnoll brigands, then bargained with Grandmaster Torch, an infamous information broker. With his advice, you allied with the alchemists of the Hidden Flame to follow the sage's trail past lamias and summoned sandstorms to a Thriae Hive. At the hive, you made a fateful decision to assist either your new alchemist friends or their thriae victims.

Those sandstorms sure packed a punch.

Adventure 4: Tomb of the Godless Host

Now, the fourth adventure in this path kicks off at full speed, with a PACG chase to escape the Rahadoum Pure Legion. From there, you'll get to tangle with divs (yet again) and Jistkan constructs of all kinds in your quest to find the Spinel Sage.

Those Jistkans really made some amazing golems. I'm sure this one's friendly, too.

Plus, you might finally learn something about that Mythopoeic Sphinx you've been wondering about. Maybe not everything, but something.

After that, it's just a hop, skip, and a jump to reclaiming the flying pyramid the Aspis Consortium stole from you. Smooth sailing from here on out. Yep.

Keith Richmond
Adventure Card Game Developer

Heart of Stone

Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Designer Liz Spain continues her sun-scorched preview of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Mummy's Mask set, here bathing in the mystery of Adventure Deck 5: The Slave Trenches of Hakotep. To the dunes!

Tef-Naju stirred within the walls of his great marble prison. It was day, not that it mattered in this subterranean place, but he could feel the element of fire heating the sands above. He did not sleep, not in the way that human men had described the pastime as such. But his mind had been wandering, dreamlike, through eon-old memories of the plane of earth and other shaitan he had once known. He reached out to rouse Aiveria, but the stone maiden was not beside him. She was practicing the motions of her kata. Over a thousand years it had become a dance of strength and deadly grace that had once made him weep to see. So, he waited and listened.

Movement sixteen—the swoosh of her sword cutting the air, then the soft tinkling of the coins that dangled from her hem as she placed her foot for the swift, jaw-smashing kick. She had come to his bastion to save the once-legendary shaitan from his eternal servitude and, finding the task impossible, chose to stay. In many ways, she had saved him. He had found peace and companionship with her. Their routine had become timeless, and the anger he once felt toward his captor had chipped away to a tiny flint in his heart.

Yes, you can lose to Tef-Naju and still be rewarded with his trove. Keep that in mind.

Above, the sands skittered with the rhythmic marching of feet. Not animals. These moved with the cadence of creatures of hurried purpose. Not shaitan or oread, either. The footsteps were too light, too fast. Humans, then. His suspicions were confirmed as the Elemental Trenches above crackled to life. Suddenly, the vast tunnels below the trenches hummed anew—arteries carrying vast elemental power, technology of the lost Shory people built to be turned against them. Built by a pharaoh who thought himself a god. A pharaoh who enslaved countless elementals and guarded his works with their corpses. The genie had thought the pharaoh would die like other men. This way, Tef-Naju assumed the contract would wither. And yet, still he had to protect this place. A genie could no more break a contract than a cricket could pull down the sun.

And so Tef-Naju whispered through the sandstone floor to awaken the hanshepsu nearest the entrance. Aiveria had taken it upon herself to repaint the guardian constructs a century or two ago. The iridescent black-beetle wings of their heads glimmered with a realism that would surely please Khepri, the craftsman god they honored. Moreover, the hanshepsu were tough. With a little luck, the uninvited guests would be stopped and he could join Aiveria on the balcony for conversation and sculpting, as they so often spent their pleasant days.

The Trenches can empty your hand and make you happy about it.

But alas, the shaitan groaned as he felt a sand elemental, not one of his own, envelop the hanshepsu, immobilizing it.

The smaller of the interlopers set a chest upon the ground and drew a weapon—an artifact of an ancient war between gods and elementals. The large stone rod animated and, unhinging its massive jaw, swallowed the hanshepsu whole. The stone maiden who had worked so lovingly to paint it would be unhappy. He would have to tell her later.

The largest of the guests, an orc-blooded that wore the crest of the tax-collector god walked through the massive doors to the tunnels and gathered power around himself. Locks and traps would not stop a Gatekeeper, the shaitan thought, his slate forehead cracking as it furrowed. He would have to slip by Aiveria to take care of them himself. Surrounded by tombs of his master's many other victims, Tef-Naju had lost the taste for death. And surely his lovely consort would rage upon discovering a favorite sculpture lost.

Pro tip: Nothing says you can't have multiple cards on the Chest, or that you ever need to draw them.

The spell coalesced around the half-orc cleric, its power released to quickly race through the tunnels. But it was a clumsy spell, the vision cracking a delicate seal upon one of the nastier curses stored amongst canopic jars. The cleric clutched his eyes, screamed, and sank his teeth into his armor, attempting to tear pieces away as his teeth chipped then broke.

The smaller guest fumbled with her mighty rod, startled as Tef-Naju rose from the floor.

"You are not welcome in the machines of Hakotep. I am sworn to protect this place until such time that Hakotep's wish is fulfilled," boomed the genie, crossing his arms in an intimidating gesture.

Be very, very careful with that spell.

"And what if we kill the Forgotten Pharaoh? What then?" The staff-wielder was clever, it seemed.

"Then I would be free," Tef-Naju replied. The word felt hard on his tongue. "But I am obliged to thwart you. I cannot let you pass."

She set her jaw as they willed power around themselves. Another magus, the genie thought. He had crushed a thousand elemental magi in his training a hundred lifetimes ago. He would have to be careful. Flesh was so weak compared to stone. He dodged and struck, the hard lines of the contract stopping him from pulling back too much. Nevertheless, she persisted. The law was satisfied and he could relent.

"I have no tea or water," he said, helping her panting form up from the painted stone floor. "But I can show you a lovely view of the sand waterfall and I'm sure my companion would be pleased to have someone else to discuss her sculptures. Come to my trove. I have a gift for you, such that your soft flesh might not tear when you stand before the pharaoh Hakotep."

Four is not a small number of boons. But it's worth it.

Bewildered at the sudden turn of hospitality, Ahmotep stood as best she could and braced herself for an afternoon of congenial company.

Liz Spain
Adventure Card Game Designer

In the Shadow of His Wings

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Designer Liz Spain continues her sirocco-swept preview of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Mummy's Mask set, here summoning the intrigue of Adventure Deck 4: Secrets of the Sphinx. Read on!

Through the distant heat shimmer, the small oasis appeared abandoned, though greenery peeked over its walls. Even if the well were dry, it looked like a place Channa Ti could find respite in. The cooling shade of the limestone structure could perhaps will together enough moisture to fill a canteen or two. As the water druid's camel plodded wearily closer, Channa noticed a pair of sphinx statues standing sentinel on either side of the gate. The male one turned his head toward her and she caught the glint of gold in the sunlight. Not statues, no. Winged leonine humanoids. Wearing jewelry. Their swords were long and polished to a mirror gleam. Proud then, Channa thought, and dangerous.

Maftets and sphinxes are all about recharging and resetting your hand, which can be great… sometimes.

The camel grunted in complaint as Channa pulled back gently on the reins. A wiser traveler might avoid this place altogether, but she was curious about the sphinxlike people. Mysterious creatures are rarely hospitable. Approaching slowly was the least she could do. With a flash of swift grace and golden feathered wings, the male guardian leapt from the wall, swooping down and then rising the moment his bare chest kissed the sand. Channa's breath caught in her throat at the stunt. Four heartbeats later, she still had not taken a breath when the leonine man landed in front of her.

"State your business here," he boomed with a growl from his deep chest.

She stuttered a moment. "Ah, I don't know where I'm going." The maftet scowled at her, raised an eyebrow. "That is," she reassured him, "I'm looking for the Sightless Sphinx." And with that, he took to the air. He landed next to the other guardian at the wall. They spoke. She could not hear what they said, but when the male guard jumped down behind the wall, the female nodded and turned to watch Channa warily.

Channa waited, biting her lip, while the sun reached its zenith. The heat of the day bit into her skin, and the camel chomped at the bit, restless. Yet she waited. The guard on the wall had not moved so much as a tail flick the entire time. Her armor was beautiful. Crafted from the brilliant feathers of the steel ibis, it made it seem that her skin glowed with reflections of scattered sunlight. "Drop your weapons," she barked suddenly. Channa froze, confused. Nature was her weapon. Then she remembered the blade the Pharasmins had gifted her was tied to her belt. It was a ceremonial thing: used to sever the connection between mother and child to mark the entrance of a new life into the world, for preparing the dead, and for dispatching the undead. Setting the blade on the sand, Channa watched as the weapon was consumed in a small torrent of dust. The heavy wooden gate creaked open. The male guard appeared in the entrance, gesturing her forward.

That cost, "shuffle into your location deck," shows up elsewhere in this adventure, in a big way.

Channa tutted the camel forward. With the promise of fresh water, it charged, kicking up clouds of sand in its wake. She stumbled though the dust and felt something rigid and hot beneath her foot. Lightning fast, there was a sickening metallic twang and searing, sharp pain as a blade hit her leg. Blood and toxic ichor soaked through her leg wrappings, darkening the cloth. She felt the pathways of the lifeblood running through her leg, sensed the incursion of poison. It was a simple matter to separate the deadly fluid from her veins, but it took all her concentration to cast the protective spell. The steel scorpion had her trapped, unable to move. Her eyes darted back and forth, desperately seeking someone to help. She found no one. Instead, the sands below a scrub tree shook away from a huge arachnid thing. Black metal legs skittered toward her, drawn by the smell of blood.

What if basically everything was made of fire and steel?

Panic swelled in her chest and her breath became erratic. A hot gust hit her back and she felt strong hands encircle her thigh. It was the male guard from before. Her heart skipped a beat as the mechanical arachnid reared back. Channa tightened her grip on her staff, holding steady the protective spell around them both. The bilious venom that sprayed from the construct's mouthparts pattered gently like raindrops on their skin. The maftet wrenched the tail of the steel scorpion from her flesh. Her leg numb, she collapsed into his arms as he stretched his powerful wings, launching them both into the air, away from danger.

∗ ∗ ∗

The air inside the tent was cool and musky with the scent of fur. The voice of the silver-haired maftet tribe elder was gentle. But his eyes shined with suspicion and, if Channa was not mistaken, sadness. He would not tell her where the Sightless Sphinx could be found.

"Too dangerous," he said with a voice edged in regret. Outside the tent, a roar of alarm pierced the lazy rattle of cicadas. "The janni must be back. Stay here with the children," the elder urged, worry creasing his eyes. Instead, Channa threw her bag over her shoulder and followed the elder out of the tent. Scaling the oasis wall, she could see a small army of earth elementals were moments from reaching the gate. At the head of the horde were two imposing janni, one horned and wreathed in fire, the other flint-sharp with footsteps that cracked the earth beneath her.

You knew we would get around to Defensive Stance eventually, right?

Channa Ti raised her hands, ready to bathe the attackers in ice.

"As you wish, magic one," the elder's voice growled behind her. "Help defend us, and I may be able to help you find the Sphinx after all."

Liz Spain
Adventure Card Game Designer

Avoiding Scourges Like the Plague

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

It's plague season! And that means the flu is whipping through your friendly game design community like a desert sirocco. But I'm still upright, so I'm going to talk to you about the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game's manifestations of the plagues of Osirion in Mummy's Mask: scourges.

Foiled again.

Like traders, scourges are a new type of support (ha!) card in Mummy's Mask. (Importantly, they're not the last new type of support card we'll introduce in this set, but that'll be the subject of another column.) Scourges borrow some of the tech we built for the haunts in Rise of the Runelords and the curses in Skull & Shackles and Wrath of the Righteous.

I hope you didn't just eat breakfast.

All those cards display themselves by your deck, but they're not the kinds of things you want by your deck. But here's the thing about those: They're henchmen and monsters. They're only going to show up if you do something foolish, like explore your location.

Scourges aren't banes at all. They're just penalties for failing to do what the game expects you to do. They're given out like candy in all sorts of splendiferous ways. You can get them for not convincing a head in cage to do your bidding, or not burying an ally when closing a plaza full of ghouls, or getting one of those regular curses we talked about earlier.

*You* get a scourge! And *you* get a scourge!

We like giving them out so much in Mummy's Mask, we had to invent a new action for it: "suffer." When you suffer a specifically named scourge, you display that scourge next to your deck. But if a card just says "suffer a scourge," you'll roll the scourge die specified on the adventure card and see if you're happy with your result on this delightful table.

Are you happy with your result? (No, you're not. You'll be stone dead in a moment.)

About that scourge die: It just gets bigger. The Base Set's Adventure Card tells you the scourge die is 1d4. By adventure 4, we're up to 1d8. And the names you're seeing aren't exactly getting friendlier as the numbers get higher. If you're not looking forward to a card called Curse of Blindness... well, trust me, you're not looking forward to it.

Getting a random scourge from the scourge table is so fun, Alahazra can even do it to herself to evade an encounter. Her Recursor role power "You may evade your encounter with a bane; if you do, suffer a scourge" is a real PACG player's power: If you're all about controlling your game, you'll want to check that box and rely on the Recursor's powers to get rid of curses. Go ahead, I dare you.

"Stop whining. I got this."

Other than "being Alahazra," there are precious few ways to get rid of scourges. The most common is the spell Remove Curse, but carrying that around means one less Chain Lightning. If you're willing to stock up, here are some boons that might help alleviate that scourge burden.

We hope you like scarabs, because there's more coming.

There are other ways too. You could close the Hall of Blessed Rebirth, or blow away both heads of a wannabe Cerberus, or examine some sort of arm thing, or explore after Gaunt Cadaver gives you a Curse of Withering. But that's about it. Once you get a scourge, it's yours to keep.

See, Gaunt Cadaver is his name, not his... wait, is one of the only scourge-banishing cards Basic?

Scourges will likely change your strategies a lot. Just like the Trigger trait make you less interested in examining everything so you don't get killed, scourges make you more interested in examining everything so you don't get killed. Quite the riddle of the Sphinx, that one.

Mike Selinker
Adventure Card Game Lead Designer

Down in the Darkest Stacks: A Librarian's Tale

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Designer Liz Spain continues her breathless romance-novel previews of Mummy's Mask, here showing off the bounties in Adventure Deck 3: Shifting Sands.

Stepping through the heavy marble doors, Alahazra felt the jeers and laughter of the crowd ringing in her ears. Next to her, the surly elf breathed heavily with exertion. The air wafting past him took on the heavy salt note of sweat below the sharp metallic tang of the potions he carried. The camel race had been more difficult and dangerous than expected and, worst of all, had been deeply embarrassing. But empires are built on the vulgarities of those in power. Muminofrah, who had the ear of the Ruby Prince himself, was exceptionally petty. Still, camel spit and grimacing flattery were the price for their prize: a piece of serpentine—a stamp carved with a name better than any key. Well, when it came to dealing with Osirion bureaucrats, anyway.

Shh!

Dark and quiet, the twisting chambers of the Great Library of Tephu echoed with the footsteps of curators and the hush of papyrus turned by diligent students. Alahazra remembered the sound from a sunny afternoon long ago—before the gods struck her eyes—spent with her tutor learning ancient script. Sometimes she missed reading. This vast repository was only the public face of the library, the oracle knew. Below the stacks that held dull histories, philosophies, and trade records lay a trove of terrible secrets. More than a thousand years of renovation had pushed these chambers deep underground, where the human librarians dared not tread.

Footsteps approached. They held the certainty of a library curator. "We have the permission of Muminofrah herself to enter the Vault of Hidden Wisdom," Alahazra said as she held up the stamp of favor, her low, soft voice husky with dust from the chariot race. The curator coughed, "You need Governor An-Keret for that. No one enters those chambers without her approval."

"Couldn't you show us the way?" Alahazra purred, reaching out to stroke the cheek of the nervous librarian. The curator's skin was soft, unweathered, and suddenly warm as she blushed. "Follow me," she whispered. Past several creaking doors and down an uncountable number of marble stairs, the curator's feet stopped. "The Head Librarian went back here. We will have to wait."

The Symbol of Fear inscribed upon the door hummed with arcane malfeasance. Damiel set his bag on the ground with a clatter. "I have something for this," he mumbled, more to himself than anyone. "So do I," Alahazra replied, stretching sensuously as her limbs lengthened into cloudlike tendrils. A heartbeat later, the door clicked open as if unlocked from behind.

We said you had to be quiet, not intangible.

The lack of light in the deeper rooms of the library didn't bother Alahazra, but her companions stumbled and kicked loose rocks as they navigated through the labyrinthine shelving. The hard sound of claws on stone stopped her in her tracks. "Shhh," she snapped. But it was too late. The undead thing, home among the dark, and hungry for knowledge itself, had found them. Its massive leonine form wrapped in immaculate linen, Alahazra could hear the bones of the mummified sphinx creak as it approached.

The little librarian scampered to safety as the oracle and the alchemist prepared their attack. They would have to be careful: any destruction of the library would bring down its protectors upon their heads.

We used to say "Never trust a trader till you can look her in the eye," but this time we'll make an exception.

As the last bits of the necromantic abomination fizzled away in holy light, another set of footsteps approached from the furthest corner of the room, followed by the soft slither of scaly things. "You were not looking for my friend there, I take it." The medusa's voice was filled with gravel, and without mercy. "I can show you tomes. Secret things. For a price." Her forked tongue glided over her teeth.

Behind Alahazra, the little curator clutched her robes and squeaked, "She's real." The elf stood back; diplomacy was not his forte. The burns from the last time he attempted to impress someone were yet healing.

"Deka An-Keret—we need to see her," Alahazra boomed with authority.

"Come," the medusa hissed, leading them even deeper into secrets so dark the parchment had never seen the light of day.

Liz Spain
Adventure Card Game Designer

Such a Deal—A Tour of Traders in Mummy's Mask

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

In the spirit of the holidays, it's time to go shopping! Designer Paul Peterson can be found hawking his wares below, describing the trader mechanic in Mummy's Mask. You ain't never had a friend like Paul.

Ah, gentle travelers. To what noble purpose may an unworthy guide such as myself be put for you on a morning so clearly blessed by Ra himself?

Shopping, you say? Perhaps the blessing of generous Wadjet would be more appropriate for those seeking new objects of wonder and delight. There are many fine traders in and around the most wonderful city of Wati, noble souls. Gaze upon our most voluminous bazaar!

Your access to more exclusive shops comes as your reputation grows. Just like life.

But now that I look more closely at you, I perceive that you must be adventurers, here to participate in the lottery! It is most fortuitous that we have met today, for I may be able to guide your way with what meager wisdom I possess.

It is said that every party that comes back from a successful journey in this world may exchange the prizes they discover for those that a trader can provide. If you have lost your way on this road, there will be no trading in your future. And as with all things, there are rules that must be obeyed.

Before any of you begin trading, you must settle the record of your accomplishments. If your adventuring has given you rewards, gather those together with all the rest of your possessions before you arrive. Then you are ready to bargain!

And there is so little time and so much to see in the markets! The haggling alone all but ensures that each of you will only be able to visit one stall when you come.

Also, many of the places you may visit will not wish to deal with money. There are unfortunate taxes to any monetary transactions that can be... avoided, if participants simply exchange objects. So after you have chosen the undeserving merchant you wish to bargain with, trade amongst yourselves to ensure that each person has what they want to give away for clearly more magnificent treasures. However, these are not charity booths. The merchants are masters at bargaining and will be willing to trade only objects of roughly comparable quality. But cheating adventurers can shorten a trader's lifespan, so you can be fairly sure that you are getting value for your trades as well.

Equal value? Close enough.

We could begin in the Sunburst Market. The selection there is unparalleled, and you will have your pick of anything you desire... so long as what you desire is a common gewgaw. However, the merchants there are so simple that they will take almost anything you have about your person in trade.

For all your Basic needs.

Oh, peerless explorers, how could I have believed that such trash would satisfy the appetites of such as you?! Let us speak of it no more. The treasures you surely seek are more likely found with more specialized shopkeepers. Each tends to carry a very specific type of good, so if you find the right one, you are much more likely find your needs fulfilled.

It is a funny thing about these merchants, though: If you approach them by yourself, then no matter how many objects you see displayed, you will only find exactly two that are of any interest to you whatsoever. However, if you bring others with you, the seller will miraculously find another object for each of them. Then you will all be free to decide amongst yourselves which object each of you will take, with the leftovers being consigned to the dusty part of the tent forever. If you have trouble doing so, I'm sure a quick dice throw could sort out who gets to choose first.

Open 24 hours a day.

As I said, each trader has their own specialty. The Smiths of Wati hammer away at their forges, crafting the weapons all the lottery winners need. But Falsin Deek over here does not like to deal in objects of war such as weapons, armors, and spells. He instead carries a fine selection of more utilitarian fare: potions and books, rings and amulets—these can all be found within his walls.

But if unlocking the mysteries of the arcane or divine is more to your liking, just next door you will find Hadden Hoppert, perhaps the finest scribe in all of Osirion. He is only too happy to share his secrets for just a couple of similarly powerful boons.

While these three are happy to meet with any and all adventurers, other traders are more selective. They often only contact you after you have done some great service to their shining selves or to the city as a whole.

Be careful or you may rot in the belly of a sand kraken for 1000 years.

If I may also offer more humble knowledge, do not think that such simple shopkeeps as you see here are all that you will find in glorious Osirion. Many more exotic traders may be willing to barter what they have for what they want if you are brave enough to seek them out. But beware that the more specialized the goods, the dearer the cost.

For example, you might find some troublingly large footprints over by that glassblower's shop. I expect that you'll be able to trade a few glittery curios for the weapons of the fools who decided to follow them.

What happened to "never make a deal with a dragon?"

I pray to Wadjet the most divine that my paltry knowledge is of some minor benefit to your glorious selves. It is always an honor to help those who are so clearly the chosen of the gods. Perhaps you shall even choose to reward my efforts, if they please you, but we can deal with such matters later.

For now the question is... What do you seek?

Paul Peterson
Adventure Card Game Designer

That One Time I Lied About My Best Character Ever (Spoiler: It's Really Mavaro)

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Hello again, everyone! Last time I got the chance to write a blog for Paizo, I said that Alahazra was my favorite character. However, I have a confession to make: I lied. At the time I wrote that blog, Alahazra was no longer my favorite character. You see, I was one of the lucky few to get in on early playtesting of Mummy's Mask, and the first time I ran through the scenarios, I played as Mavaro, the Occultist from the Mummy's Mask Character Add-On Deck. And Mavaro, my friends, is truly the Best. Character. Ever.

Just look at that extremely regal man!

Mavaro is the most versatile character ever made for the game—even more so than Rise of the Runelords Lini, and she was majorly versatile. At any given moment, Mavaro can potentially have any skill in the game, and that skill will be equal to his highest base skill, his Intelligence. This is thanks to the amazing power that allows him to display a boon from his hand and gain all of the skills listed in that boon's check to acquire section equal to his Intelligence, and that effect lasts until the end of the turn. So, right from the start of the game, Mavaro can have a d10 for every base skill as long as he has a Blessing of the Elements to display. He can also use (almost) any weapon in the game with his Intelligence as his base die: reveal it to use your Strength (for Melee weapons) or your Dexterity (for Ranged weapons) skill and then display that same weapon to gain that skill equal to his Intelligence.

Take a look at those skills. They can ALL be yours!

This extreme versatility also bleeds over into his deck composition. Mavaro's deck list starts off with no weapons, spells, or armors in it. However, he can treat all three of these card types as if they were items, and he gets nine of those to start. This means that you can tailor his deck to your liking at the end of any scenario. Do you know that the next scenario has a lot of golems in it, which are notoriously immune to spells? Drop all your attack spells and pick up a few extra weapons. Are there a lot of locations coming up that require Wisdom checks to close? Pick up a few items that can give you a good Wisdom skill.

Did you notice that he can still gain 1 card feat each for weapon, spell, and armor? This may come in handy...

The only "static" cards in Mavaro's beginning deck are allies and blessings, so it's important to choose them wisely. Every card that you put in Mavaro's deck should have the ability to grant him a skill that he either doesn't have at all, or is not very good at. Diversity is key, since you want him to have a card somewhere in his deck for every situation imaginable. This also means that Mavaro is a huge fan of examining cards in his location deck. Even though the Trigger trait might make this a bit of a gamble sometimes, it's important to know what is coming next so that you can make sure you will have the card in hand to grant you a needed skill.

All of these cards are excellent choices because of their myriad of skills to acquire.

I could go on for pages and pages about the best cards to pick for Mavaro as you move up through the adventure decks, but we should probably talk about Mavaro's role card a bit. His roles are Acquisitor and Channeler. The Acquisitor, as you might expect, is really good at acquiring new cards. Without any power feats, Mavaro can discard a card to add a die to his checks to acquire. Using a power feat, he can give that benefit to other characters at his location. And in the Acquisitor role, he can take a power feat to reduce the cost of that power from discarding a card to merely recharging a card. One of the best feats in this role, however, is the ability to set aside items from your hand before you reset your hand, effectively increasing your hand size significantly if you've got several items in hand—and you could potentially have as many as 8.The Channeler role focuses strongly on casting spells, gaining the Arcane and Divine skills. Additionally, like his RPG equivalent, Mavaro can channel magic from objects into spells. In the PACG, this takes the form of recharging a weapon, and armor, or an item to summon and play a random spell that has the Attack trait, which is pretty amazing. Each of Mavaro's roles also offers a power feat that lets you affect your Intelligence checks after the roll. The Acquisitor's version lets you bury a card to add or subtract 3, while the Channeler lets you discard an item to reroll the dice! These are both really excellent powers for Mavaro, though it's important to remember that not all of your checks are going to be based on Intelligence... His first power lets him gain skills equal to his Intelligence, but doesn't actually use his Intelligence, which is an important distinction.

I honestly have trouble choosing between these two roles... They're both amazing!

Finally, I'd like to talk a little bit about the Pathfinder Society Adventure Card Guild organized play program and how Mavaro can be used there. Though Mavaro doesn't have his own Occultist Class Deck, Mavaro can be unlocked for PFSACG play by completing the final adventure of Season of the Runelords. You'll use the Inquisitor Class Deck with him, which is a great deck of cards overall but does have some pitfalls when it comes to Mavaro. First, like many Class Decks, the Basic blessings are Blessings of the Gods, and that card is one of relatively few in the game which has no check to acquire. This makes all four of his starting blessings useless for his best power. You will quickly want to replace them with blessings that have at least Divine as an acquire option, which you can then display to make use of several excellent Divine spells in the deck, including Weapon of Awe and Divine Favor. You can also grab a Grave Tender as an early B ally upgrade. This deck is also a bit sparse with items for an Occultist, though Archer's Bracers and Blood Periapt are solid choices from the start, and picking up the Manual of War is almost essential.

I've heard whispers of other decks unlocking for Mavaro in the future, so stay tuned...

That's it for today, my friends. I hope that you can forgive my falsehood in my first blog, as I wasn't allowed to talk about Mavaro at that point, and Alahazra is an amazing character in all of her versions. But when it comes to the best character ever, I am going to have to definitively say that it is Mavaro... at least until Lone Shark Games come up with an even more amazing character! Until next time!

Tyler Beck (Cartmanbeck)
Freelance Writer and Genetic Sorcerer

Desires Unmasked and Unbound

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Designer Liz Spain continues her breathless romance-novel previews of Mummy's Mask, here showing off the bounties in Adventure Deck 2: Empty Graves. The desert awaits.

Far from home as it was, the city of Wati was comforting, familiar somehow to Estra. Though her old ears struggled to understand the exotic tongues the local merchants spoke, the shopkeepers were always excessively polite. This was a city that embraced death, lived next door to death. Respecting the elderly was etched into the bones of Osirion culture.

The young man managing the auction offered Estra a well-muscled arm and led her to a soft cushion to rest. "May I?" he asked, unfurling the small carpet she kept tucked under her arm. His voice was rich and warm as he comforted, "Ask for Ptemenib if you desire for anything else, Honored Grandmother." She didn't need the seat; she felt as spry as a woman half her age.

Of course you do.

But this vantage point allowed her to watch the stevedores fill the Canny Jackal's storeroom with treasures scavenged this morning from the necropolis. Grave goods crafted in a dozen different dynasties shuffled through the doors, glittering gold and lapis in the light of the oil lamps. Occasionally, pieces of the dead carefully wrapped in blessed linen joined the gaudy trinkets on the storeroom shelves. She spotted what appeared to be a severed hand and gasped. "No worries, Love," the gruff voice at the back of her mind reassured, "he deserved it."

A cleric of Nethys appeared from the shadows. He was looking for someone.

Don't hands usually come in pairs?

She was about to admonish Honaire with her favorite line from the parable of Pharasma and Forgiveness when the exuberant shouting of the auction broke into screams. A crash-tumble of precious objects clattered to the floor as the mummified remains crawled off the shelves. A falcon-headed canopic jar rolled into the bidding room, cracking against a stone column. The abomination that spilled forth was malevolent and... juicy.

"There!" Honaire spotted movement through the window. A golden-masked figure dashed into an alleyway, the cleric of Nethys in close pursuit.

Outside, merchants hunched over their wares. It was all they could do to protect them from the panicked customers desperate to escape the vanth stalking above.

Psychopomp is totally a real word.

All around Estra, young wills broke and they ran for safety. There was danger, sure. Estra had seen the chaos of death many times before. In the withering gasps of a sick child in her arms, in the bewilderment of restless battlefield shades, as the light faded from the eyes of her own Honaire, death marked the beginning of a new journey. In this hot and sandy place, on this journey through ancient graves, she carried the wisdom of Pharasma. A powerful ill will was causing the dead to rise. She could help, but only one at a time.

The screams pouring in from the street broke as the crowd passed. In its wake, a woman in mourning garb glared daggers at all who passed. With kohl-rimmed eyes streaked by tears, she was quite young to be widowed. Cold, dark energy coalesced about her arms, ready to defend the figure still wearing his funerary shroud shuffling behind her. This poor woman reminded Estra of her younger self. She remembered the black well of loss, her desperate screams into the oblivion that claimed her beloved. Her old heart cracked, then broke. Her love poured forth in a plume of vivid ectoplasm that took shape around her.

The good spells have names like "deathgrip" in this set.

"I'll protect you while you talk to the sorceress, Love," Honaire reassured. Though always together in a way, his physical presence blanketed her with a comforting armor. Called to act, she clenched her jaw and wrapped her fingers around the tassels of the carpet as it rose. This night would have hard lessons for the young, lessons Estra knew well: Death is not the enemy, and love is not enough.

Liz Spain
Adventure Card Game Designer

'Tis the Season of Plundered Tombs

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Illustration by Maichol Quinto
Look, these tombs aren't just going to plunder themselves.

The Season of Plundered Tombs is upon us! Season 3 of the Pathfinder Society Adventure Card Guild just kicked off last week, so it's a good time to discuss the many horrible fun things we have planned for it!

To integrate the Adventure Card Guild with the Roleplaying Guild as part of the overall Pathfinder Society, the ACG players are now Pathfinder agents, as explained in the introduction the season, authored by John Compton:

Among the region's most influential archaeological operations is the Pathfinder Society, an international league of explorers and adventurers dedicated to discovering and chronicling the world's mysteries. You recently completed your training as a Pathfinder agent in Absalom and set out for Osirion, dreaming of the ancient secrets buried beneath the sands and stone.

The archaeological wealth of all Osirion will be yours to explore. What you uncover might not just change your fortunes; it could change the world!

You're going to get a chance to interact with many groups and characters familiar to the Pathfinder Society. First among these is the Aspis Consortium, a mercantile organization known for its ability to sniff out amazing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities without all the burden of scrupulous practices. The Mummy's Mask Base Set includes several cards that have the Aspis trait, so you'll get a chance to take full advantage of these extremely useful (and sometimes costly) allies.

PFS players might recognize these Aspis agents from Destiny of the Sands.

Relatively early in the season, you'll interact with the Aspis trader Falsin Deek. Traders have a special role in Adventure Card Guild scenarios:

We like you so much, we wrote the trader rules TWICE.

This change is great for the Adventure Card Guild because it lets you start each scenario with a card that's not in your class deck, and helps you bring the flavor of Mummy's Mask to your Class Deck. This is particularly important given the curses, the triggers, and the scads of elemental damage—all things for which your deck might not be entirely ready.

There are a couple other interesting ways we get to play with mechanics from Mummy's Mask. For example, have you wondered about that Defensive Stance card in the Base Set box? It will be a while yet before you'll use it in the Mummy's Mask Adventure Path, but you'll get to use it early in Adventure 2 of Season of Plundered Tombs. Are you getting used to defending against poison damage in Mummy's Mask? Well, the enemies in Season of Plundered Tombs are a little more chaotic and destructive, so are ready to use all kinds of damage types to trigger nasty scourges.

One of the most contentious tasks for the Pathfinder Society and Adventure Card Game teams in development of this season was in choosing a name. Initially, we assumed it'd be "Season of the Mummy," to match up with the name of the box set. But it turns out the story we wanted to tell, while full of Osirion goodies, wasn't really about mummies in particular. We also want to move away from one-word season names—we certainly don't want any more season names to be abbreviated "SotR" after Season of the Righteous and Season of the Runelords! (Always helpful, Mike suggested "Season of Thundered Rooms.")

We went back and forth on a number of names, but the decision eventually came down to simple planning for the future. We want to make a lot more seasons, so switching to two-word season names gives us a lot more room for expansion. Also, the extremely wise guys at Lone Shark Games immediately stumbled onto "PluTo" as a useful shortening of Plundered Tombs, which lets us be happy with it as an endearing animated pet and once-planet.

Honestly, Liz Spain, Paul Peterson, and Gaby Weidling are a lot more inventive (read: crazy) than I am, so I'm not sure I'll be able to measure up to the zany and bewildering antics of some of their scenarios such as [REDACTED], [REDACTED], and [REDACTED] from Adventure Deck 3: Shifting Sands, but gosh darn it, I'm going to try! Thankfully, Organized Play Coordinator Tonya Woldridge conscripted a crack crew of legendary Paizo writers to help generate crazy ideas and write the tasty story bits, in the form of John Compton, Amanda Hamon Kunz, Mark Seifter, and Linda Zayas-Palmer.

Season of Plundered Tombs contains six adventures with five scenarios each. Adventure titles and expected release dates follow:

1. Serpents in the Deep
2. Secrets below the Sands
3. In Search of a Sage
4. Tomb of the Godless Host
5. The Sepulcher Soars Anew
6. Destruction Descending

As with earlier seasons, scenarios will be released weekly to retailers participating in the Pathfinder Adventure Card Guild program, as well as to Pathfinder Society Venture-Officers, before becoming available for general sale as compiled adventures.

Here are the planned Venture-Officer and retailer early release dates for each scenario:

11/9/16: Scenario 3-1C
11/16/16: Scenario 3-1D
11/23/16: Scenario 3-1E

11/30/16: Scenario 3-2A
12/7/16: Scenario 3-2B
12/14/16: Scenario 3-2C
12/21/16: Scenario 3-2D, 3-2E

12/28/16: (Holiday)

1/4/17: Scenario 3-3A
1/11/17: Scenario 3-3B
1/18/17: Scenario 3-3C
1/25/17: Scenario 3-3D
2/1/17: Scenario 3-3E

2/8/17: Scenario 3-4A
2/15/17: Scenario 3-4B
2/22/17: Scenario 3-4C
3/1/17: Scenario 3-4D
3/8/17: Scenario 3-4E

3/15/17: Scenario 3-5A
3/22/17: Scenario 3-5B
3/29/17: Scenario 3-5C
4/5/17: Scenario 3-5D
4/12/17: Scenario 3-5E

4/19/17: Scenario 3-6A
4/26/17: Scenario 3-6B
5/3/17: Scenario 3-6C
5/10/17: Scenario 3-6D
5/17/17: Scenario 3-6E

Here are the planned dates for when each Adventure will be available for purchase from paizo.com for everyone:

11/30/16: Adventure 3-1
1/4/17: Adventure 3-2
2/8/17: Adventure 3-3
3/15/17: Adventure 3-4
4/19/17: Adventure 3-5
5/24/17: Adventure 3-6

Enjoy the tomb plundering!

Keith Richmond
Adventure Card Game Designer

The Wonderful Thing About Triggers

Wendesday, November 2, 2016

The unique mechanics in Mummy's Mask include a whole bunch of things you've never seen before. One of my favorites is the Trigger trait, which turns the most basic of activities—reading cards—on its head, maybe forever.

The general theme of this Adventure Path (at least early on) is that you're exploring a magically protected tomb that's built for adventurers to ransack, but not without danger. We wanted there to be lots of tricks and traps, the kind of things you want to know about before they go off. Many of our players pick characters with examination powers—Alahazra, Estra, and Zadim in this set—to scout out those surprises. Lots of boons get you help along those lines. Even some banes.

Three very different ways to examine cards.

With all that examining going on, we don't want examiners to be invulnerable to our surprises. Hence, we needed a way to nail them too. So we came up with powers on cards that go off when you peek at them. We first seeded a version of this into Wrath of the Righteous Adventure Deck 4: The Midnight Isles, on the card Blasphemy Demon.

Everyone's favorite Wrath card!

It worked well there, so Liz, Paul, and Gaby built it out in full in Mummy's Mask. To make sure you don't miss these powers, we've given these cards the Trigger trait, and because we want you to know it's there the second you look at the card, we've put it at the top of the list and highlighted it in red. When you examine such a card, you'll find that the first power begins "When you examine this card," and quite often, the words after that are meant to cause you pain.

Here are some examples of that sort of pain.

Fun fact: We didn't make up the word "bonecrusher." It's a real type of hyena!

Those are all horrible. I mean, in a good way. Okay, mostly in a horrible way. It's not all bad, though! Plenty of cards have a Trigger that you might like! Or at least might not hate so much.

I dunno, she still looks pretty wrapped to me.

And do you think we'd send you into that blender alone? Nah, we've got some cards that can take the sting off the Trigger trait for you.

I like to dream...

So what's really going on here? Is the goal of the set to stop you from examining cards? No! We give you lots of ways to examine cards before you explore, and we expect you'll want to use them. But we just want to put a little fear of the gods into you before you do so.

All of that examine-and-encounter might also seem frightening, but wait! That's a free exploration. It's not a free exploration you can control, mind you, but any port in a sandstorm, right?

As you can see, it's a balance. As you'll see in later blogs in this series, just about everything in Mummy's Mask is a balance. After all, if you're walking around a tomb full of traps and treasures, it's best not to get too overconfident.

Mike Selinker
Adventure Card Game Lead Designer

Treasures That Lie Behind Closed Doors

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Liz continues her romance-novel preview of Mummy's Mask, here showing off the Character Add-On Deck and Adventure Deck 1: The Half-Dead City, which comes in the Mummy's Mask Base Set.

The land shifted from soft sand dunes to rocky hills that battered the feet of the caravaneers. With rhythmic plodding punctuated by errant grunts, the camels trudged at a lumbering pace and did not seem affected by the terrain. Though the morning breeze still held a breath of cool night air that kissed their necks, the cicadas danced in anticipation of the climbing sun.

Waving grasses sprung like soft hair from the verdant earth as the road descended toward the river. It would be hours yet before the weary travelers could rest, sponge away days of dried sweat, and luxuriate into silk cushions at the Tooth & Hookah. But now they could see the Half-City before them, darkly nestled between the legs of the Crook and Asp rivers. Morning light glistened through the linen-draped towers of the Sunburst Market, a brilliant sunrise of color, promising secrets behind the rainbow shadows cast. And carried on the wind, the chimes of the Pharasmin temple, luring treasure hunters to consign their fates to the lottery.

Spoiler: You win the lottery.

As the markets closed upon the hour of twilight, smoke from tall lamps of perfumed oil lazily swayed through the courtyard filled with an impatient throng. Travelers from every corner of Golarion jostled and joked in a dozen languages, stealing glances toward the yet-closed temple doors. Some were sun-touched and rough, apparent rogues and mercenaries experienced in the art of Osirion tomb-raiding.

The Quicksand Bunyip doesn't figure in Liz's story, but we couldn't help ourselves.

Others, such as a gracefully dressed woman—presumably a local by the fact she carried nothing but her heavy staff—seemed to be searching the crowd, seeking the fate-spark of companionship.

Her gaze landed on an unlikely target, a heavy man laden with a curiosity shop's worth of goods, his beard black as onyx. Their eyes met across the courtyard and, with a pounding of her staff, the sea of miscreants briefly parted, naturally, as if the perfect moment had been plucked from time. The conversation that followed was hushed, for the weight of the stories they carried was heavy and not easily shared. Mavaro, his name rolling with mystery of far-off places, made bold claims, but made them quietly. He promised her that he could do anything, given the right tools. This was the treasure he sought: not gold nor fame, but a wealth of memory.

Mavaro has an... interesting deck list.

He seemed so unlike her. Perhaps that is why she felt so intrigued, and caught herself licking her lips at his words. As his accoutrements were a jumble of worn hand-me-downs and stolen grave goods, deciphering the man beneath would be a challenge. "I can be anything you need—whatever you want me to be," he divulged with a low voice.

To demonstrate, he delicately untied a rusted khopesh strapped to his side. With a featherweight grace, he swung the blade, the bright steel edge glimmering with blue frost. "May I?" he gestured toward her elaborately-carved staff. His fingers brushed hers as he grasped it and the chill of the khopesh jolted up her spine. The sensation rushed upon her as if she were the sword itself, wrapped in a frigid enchantment. He glanced down and mumbled an apology.

As he held the staff, Mavaro's demeanor shifted, became aggressive. Waves of arcane power hummed from the staff as the world around them became somehow pliant to his whim. "Is it only weapons?" she chided. "A person can wield only so many." In answer, he returned her staff and pulled a scroll from a bag she hadn't noticed before beneath his coat. As the icon of Thoth unfurled, the uncertainty and fidgeting fell from his posture. His eyes grew old and cold with lifetimes of knowledge. Ahmotep could see the judgement of the dead upon his face. It reminded her of the Pharasmins.

The desert demands many different weapons.

As if called, the crowd fell silent and pressed close as the temple doors swung open, heavy with sculpted reliefs of birth and death in honor of Pharasma. The black-robed Pharasmin clerics poured out in two lines, followed by a large, simply decorated urn. The head priestess's face was a mask as she called out in a bell-like voice, "Attention. The first lottery begins now. Once all names are drawn, the gates to the necropolis will be opened." She paused for effect. "Heed well the laws, and remember how this came to pass."

There are three Laws. Don't break them.

The adventurers had found each other, and Ahmotep sensed soon there might be others. As the priest's hand descended into the urn to draw the first name, a palpable excitement buzzed between the two. Where would the will of The Lady of Graves take them? Ahmotep gritted her teeth and clenched her staff, ready to pull fate in her direction.

Liz Spain
Adventure Card Game Designer

From the Raging Heart of a Swirling Sandstorm Comes... the Mummy's Mask Preview

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

I have said in other blogs that each Pathfinder Adventure Card Game set takes on the personality of one of Lone Shark's designers. With its sun-parched sense of derring-do among the pyramids, the Mummy's Mask Base Set coalesced around Liz Spain's pith-helmeted madness. For today's preview, Liz has been presented with the challenge of writing this preview in the style of a desert-blown romance novel—a challenged that was embraced. Enjoy!
     —Mike Selinker, Adventure Card Game Lead Designer

Osirion! Land of ten thousand years of love and loss! What mysteries will you unveil under the light of the burning orb? Reveal to your fair traveler that which beats beneath a cover of blistering sand!

The wind howled in protest as the traveler strode out alone into the storm, heeding only the call of her own desires. The dust threatened to steal her breath, but she grasped at the cowl of her cape to protect her face.

The desert can swallow you whole.

Designed to withstand the dangers of exposure in the desert, the dense weave of the sensuously smooth cloth danced across her skin. The wind breathed her name, a name born of wind itself: Simoun.

Masters of elements—air, fire, and steel.

The weight of her old armor gone, she felt more free despite the danger that lay in wait. Here in Osirion, trappings of metal and leather were not what they seemed. Though her precious vestments would do little against steel, they were a comfort beneath the elemental electricity that danced above.

In Mummy's Mask, armors and weapons don't do what you expect anymore.

In this place of cultures more ancient than humanity, Osirion has not lost its teeth with age. Here, Pathfinders are survivors who know the secrets of the elements. To the rhythm of her drumming heartbeat, Simoun prayed the lords of lightning would spare her another night.

In the desert, staying alive is challenging. You'll need resources.

The dry storm raged on, cracking the dark sky with brilliant flashes of lightning, illuminating the rolling dunes. The caravan was not far away. Simoun hoped to find succor from friends there, or at least enemies of enemies, but until then she took cover in the night.

You never know who you'll meet in the desert, or what they serve.

She set her jaw, determined to find her prey first, somehow, amid the blinding dust. Her boots slid swiftly over the shifting dunes, as shapes of dead things emerged and were buried just as quickly by waves of sand.

Barriers do strange things in this set.

Tomorrow, life would move on, driven by the sound of footfalls proceeding ever westward, punctuated by the sighs of discontented camels. But tonight, she was the huntress. She heard his call carried on the wind. Despite the ravages of the poisons and hungers within her veins, she pressed on.

These scourges will plague you till the end of days.

And then, she froze. A bolt of blue electricity revealed him, hovering over her, huge and powerful, his wrappings in tatters. They would dance, blade and bone, her will against his. Steel and song swirled amid sand in the storm. The air was his domain, but so was it hers. She would tear him apart, even if it took her all night.

With the Trigger trait and monsters doling out scourges, it's hot times in the desert.

As the dawn light gilded the calming sky, she threw off her dust-caked cape to approach the caravan. An Aspis Consortium trader was there, awaiting successful adventurers seeking to exchange goods unearthed from the ruins. Busily coaxing the camels to wakefulness, the merchant noticed her wicked smile.

"Interesting night?" Falsin Deek grinned.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." The young Djinn coyly asked, "Trade for dragon teeth?"

His grin widened to reach both ears.

When you return from adventures, you can now trade your goods at the markets.

As they concluded their dealings, the rest of the caravan grumbled to its feet. With the sun at their back, they marched toward the River Sphinx over sands that held ten thousand years of history. A new adventure awaited them all.

Liz Spain
Adventure Card Game Designer

Mummy's Mask and PAX West

Tuesday, August 22, 2016

We are wrapping up the very final stages of Mummy's Mask—probably the coolest set we've done yet, I don't mind saying—and it's gotten kind of crazy toward the end. The stuff we've gone back and forth with Vic on... well, let me tell you, when he says "I have no idea how to do that" more than once in a day, you know you're blazing some new ground.

This past week, we found that in Adventure 3 alone, there were no less than three scenarios which functioned like nothing else we've ever made. We rebuilt each of them multiple times, watching cards hop from place to place in manners they've never hopped before. We had to build new tech just for reading cards.

But those are done, and now we're debating the finer points of Adventures 4 through 6. Those adventures use a brand new type of support card called Defensive Stance that required us to actually pull it off the printing press because we found a new wrinkle in it. When we turn the light off on the set in a few weeks, we'll know we've left something great for you to play with. Liz Spain will get you an adventuresome preview next month.

Illustrations by Roberto Gatto and Mark Madej
The art from Camel Race Finish Line and Cameltrops, my favorite VILLAINS in the set.

A lot of folks at Gen Con got a first look at some of Mummy's Mask's subtler aspects, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. So we'll be bringing it to our biggest hometown convention, Seattle's PAX West, on September 2 through 5. In rooms 201 and 203 of the Washington State Convention Center, Organized Play Coordinator Tonya Woldridge's Adventure Card Guild team will lead folks through Season of the Runelords and Season of the Goblin as well. We might even have a new Class Deck or two to show off.

If you want to hang with the PACG design crew, you'll find all of us on the 6th floor in the Lone Shark booth, #7505. We'll be running some of our new games, signing PACG cards, and drinking the iced lattes that you bring us. Wait, did I say that out loud?

If you're really into finding out what the Lone Shark crew thinks, drop in on a developer conference I help run called PAX Dev, which is on Wednesday and Thursday before PAX West. I'll be giving a talk on Creating a Game Genre, which will unsurprisingly focus on PACG and the other games in that vein. Liz will run a discussion on dog (and gamer) psychology, Paul will talk about designing for other people's properties, and I'll deconstruct Kickstarters with Kickstarter's Luke Crane. You might also enjoy our head-to-head PAX West panel called Mike and Luke Nuke the Apocalypse, where Luke will take the "anti-apocalypse" side and I will take the "pro-apocalypse" side. (Protip: It is never smart to take the "pro-apocalypse" side in any argument.)

So it'll be a full week for the Lone Shark and Paizo crews at the PAXes. Come play with us!

Mike Selinker
Adventure Card Game Lead Designer

Meet the Geeks

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

This week's blog is a quick one, because a heaping handful of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game design team will be traveling to the fabulous Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport for five days of board games and Texas-sized eating opportunities. It's time for BGG.Con!

This year, Lone Shark Games and Paizo are teaming up in the exhibit hall (in the inaptly named Made in Texas room) to show off a variety of Lone Shark's works in progress, as well as our collaborative work-in-progress, the Mummy's Mask Adventure Path.

Maybe "time in the sun" wasn't the best choice of words...
Illustration by Francesco Graziani

Designers Liz Spain and Paul Peterson will be on hand to run a Mummy's Mask preview, sign stuff, and chat. Designer Chad Brown and I will likely be roaming around causing trouble as well—you may want to check the signup sheets each day to see if there's anything of interest over there. And though Selinker has no plans to attend, you could still consult a higher authority. Who? Perhaps you'll find answers in this set of spoilers...

What manner of Occlumens are you?

That's all for this week. Next week, Obsidian Entertainment producer Nathan Davis will be in this space with a tasty treat to add to your (American) Thanksgiving bounty. In the meantime, go make some cards!

Tanis O'Connor
Adventure Card Game Designer

Pathfinder Legends Unearths the Treasures of the Dead

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Last spring, four heroes arrived in the sleepy coastal town of Sandpoint, were attacked by goblins, and embarked on a journey to stop the awakening of a legendary runelord in the first Pathfinder Legends series, Rise of the Runelords. Since this first audio adventure adaptation of Paizo's Pathfinder Adventure Paths, the interest and feedback from fans of the series have been fantastic. But what's coming next?

Today, we're happy to announce that starting this September Ezren, Harsk, Merisiel, and Valeros will be trekking to the pyramid-laden realm of Osirion in Mummy's Mask: The Half-Dead City, the first of six new Pathfinder Legends releases. This new series will follow the story of the Mummy's Mask Adventure Path, beginning in the city of Wati, where our heroes unearth a plot that could lead to the resurrection fo the ancient and feared Sky Pharaoh Hakotep. Will these iconic characters be able to succeed and defend the city, or will they be unable to stop the rule of this undead mummy from Osirion's distant past?

Illustration by Chris Seaman

Not familiar with Big Finish or Pathfinder Legends? Big Finish produces hundreds of audio titles based on popular titles like Doctor Who, Dark Shadows, Stargate, Highlander, and more. For Rise of the Runelords we worked closely with their team to determine the cast of characters, fine tuning the Adventure Path story to this new format, and pairing voices with the vivid characters featured. James Jacobs detailed this process last year on the Paizo blog.

With Mummy's Mask the Pathfinder Legends format is changing up! Each release is now double the length (running at about 2 hours) and will be provided as both a double CD set and digital download. Each Mummy's Mask episode will be released monthly as well.

Don't want to miss any of the action in Mummy's Mask? Starting today, Paizo is now offering the Pathfinder Legends ongoing subscription! By subscribing to Pathfinder Legends, you'll get:

• 20% off of the list price of each double CD set
• A free digital download version of each double CD set

The first installment in this subscription, Mummy's Mask: The Half-Dead City, will begin to ship with September's new releases. If you want to get all six episodes of the next Pathfinder Legends audio adventure as they release, sign up now!

Chris Lambertz
Community & Digital Content Director

Wrapping Up the Mummy's Mask

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

I know what you're thinking. "Another Mummy's Mask blog? We're totally in Iron Gods mode now! Show me robots, darn it!" And you're right. We released the final chapter of the Mummy's Mask Adventure Path a few months ago now, and this month are releasing the second chapter in its follow-up AP, Iron Gods. That's why now is the perfect time to release a bunch of art from Mummy's Mask. We now have the entire AP to go through in search of the best pieces of art to release to the public, either as potential desktop backgrounds, or to use in a publication or on a website using the Community Use Policy.

Here are some of my favorite images from Mummy's Mask (and a couple from People of the Sands). I have it on good authority that the holy symbols of all the gods in the Ancient Osirian pantheon will soon be added to the Community Use Package, otherwise I'd have included them here. So enjoy one last trip through the sands of Osirion!

Illustrations by Ekaterina Burmak and Florian Stitz

Illustrations by Johan Grenier, Vicky Yarova, and Damon Westenhofer

Illustrations by Johan Grenier and Jared Blando

Mark Moreland
Developer

Close Deeper into the Desert

Monday, September 8, 2014

Illustration by Ekaterina Burmak

Several months ago we sanctioned the first two volumes of the Mummy's Mask Adventure Path for Pathfinder Society Organized Play. To honor the final days of summer, the remaining four volumes are now sanctioned for organized play, including Pathfinder Adventure Path #81: "Shifting Sands", the source of this depiction of the Osirian city Tephu. Excited? Go fight some mummies—spoiler alert!

The updated sanctioning document and chronicle sheets can be found on the individual product pages for the Mummy's Mask AP volumes and on the Additional Resources page.

Other sanctioning projects are still in progress, including the recently released Iron Gods Adventure Path as well as several adventures yet to be sanctioned like Pathfinder Module: Wardens of the Reborn Forge and the Serpent's Skull Adventure Path.

John Compton
Developer

More Sanctioned Adventures

Monday, May 19, 2014

Convention deadlines love to monopolize my time, but I can't ignore some of the other great adventures published over the past several months. It's high time we sanction another Pathfinder Adventure Path and Pathfinder Module!

Mummy's Mask opens with "The Half-Dead City," in which the heroes explore numerous abandoned sites in a sealed Osirian necropolis. It's a classic task for Pathfinders, and as a result, I made sure to sanction this as a Tier 1–2 adventure that players can enjoy again and again. Of course, one cannot expect the disturbed dead to remain quiet, and they strike back in "Empty Graves," sanctioned for levels 4–6.

Illustration by Francesco Graziani

Of course, Osirion doesn't have a monopoly on intrigue and adventure. "Tears at Bitter Manor" begins in Cassomir on Taldor's coast and travels deep into the countryside. You may find some similarities to "The Dragon's Demand" in how it is sanctioned, such as the multiple Chronicle sheets that each grant 3 XP and 4 Prestige Points; however, this time the entire module is sanctioned for play—not just a large part of it. “Campaign mode" is still an option, of course, and there's a little something extra for players who are willing to go the extra mile when they play through the whole adventure. You may find the module's campaign cards particularly useful in that regard.

What? No, don't peek! Go play it! You can find the Chronicle sheets on the Additional Resources page or on the respective product pages.

While we're on the topic of sanctioning adventures, let me give you an update on other projects. "Wardens of the Reborn Forge" has gone through several revisions and is almost done, and we'll add that to the Additional Resources page soon. More of Mummy's Mask will also be appearing between now and Gen Con. When these update, we'll post an update on the Additional Resources Updates thread. Also, we wouldn't forget about "Risen from the Sands," which is this year's Free RPG Day module set to debut on June 21, 2014.

What about that Emerald Spire Superdungeon? Yep, the plan is to sanction it, though I'm still in the earlier stages of that process. There's too much dungeon delve goodness for us not to share this with the Pathfinder Society Organized Play campaign.

Finally, I'd like to thank Nathan King for his hard work behind the scenes to help me sanction these and other adventures. Nathan's been a volunteer author of numerous boons dating back to Gen Con 2013, and he's also contributed to numerous other sanctioning projects. Much appreciated, Nathan!

Happy gaming!

John Compton
Developer

A Visitor's Guide to Osirion

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

"Welcome, travelers, to the ancient land of Osirion, where the countless ages are preserved beneath the sand, awaiting your exploration. Please use the following promotional illustrations as a reference when deciding to brave our welcoming and accommodating land."

— Sekmekh Binwari's Most Reputable and Honest Truthful Guide to Osirion

Sothis, the Stormhaven of Osirion, is the finest metropolis in all of the Inner Sea, with a history more storied even than that of Absalom.
Illustration by Yong Yi Lee

Though they may look intimidating, the crocodiles of the Rivers Sphinx, Asp, and Crook really just want a hug.
Illustration by Lindsey Wakefield

The gnolls of the southern desert are decidedly less friendly than their reptilian counterparts, but rumor has it they enjoy rare meat and painfully witty puns.
Illustration by Tim Kings-Lynne

The Khopeshman of Sothis may take his name from his favorite weapon, but he's actually taken a vow to never use his sword against a living creature. Have no fear breaking the law in his presence.
Illustration by Bryan Sola

The Ruby Prince is cursed and can never wear a shirt.
Illustration by Tim Kings-Lynne

Mark Moreland
Developer

The Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Osirion

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Since the Age of Destiny, the people of Osirion have worshiped their own local gods, in addition to those deities venerated throughout the Inner Sea region. The popularity of these Ancient Osirian gods has waxed and waned over the centuries, but they remain a part of the history of Osirion’s land and people, and with the restoration of native Osirian rule, interest in these ancient divinities has been rekindled.

Full details on the 20 major gods of the Ancient Osirian pantheon appear in Pathfinder Adventure Path #80: Empty Graves, but for those who might want to play a follower or worshiper of one of these deities in the Mummy’s Mask campaign, here’s a preview of the gods, their areas of concern, domains, and favored weapons. Plus, enjoy a sneak peek at three of the gods appearing in the article!

Deities of Ancient Osirion

Deity	AL	Areas of Concern	Domains	Favored Weapon
Anubis	LN	Burial, the dead, funeral rites, mummification, tombs	Death, Earth, Law, Protection, Repose	Flail
Apep	CE	Chaos, darkness, destruction, snakes	Chaos, Darkness, Destruction, Evil, Scalykind	Dagger
Bastet	CN	Cats, pleasure, secrets	Animal, Chaos, Charm, Protection, Trickery	Cat’s claws (tekko-kagi)
Bes	NG	Households, luck, marriage, protection	Community, Earth, Good, Luck, Protection	Hunga munga
Hathor	CG	Dance, joy, love, music, the sky	Air, Chaos, Charm, Good, Travel	Short sword
Horus	LN	Rulership, the sky, the sun	Air, Animal, Law, Nobility, Sun	Khopesh
Isis	NG	Fertility, magic, motherhood, rebirth	Charm, Community, Good, Healing, Magic	Quarterstaff
Khepri	NG	Freedom, the rising sun, work	Artifice, Good, Liberation, Sun, Trickery	Sling
Maat	LN	Justice, law, order, truth	Knowledge, Law, Protection, Void, Weather	Starknife
Neith	NG	Hunting, war, weaving	Animal, Artifice, Good, War, Water	Shortbow
Nephthys	CN	Mourning, night, protection of the dead	Chaos, Charm, Community, Darkness, Protection	Light mace
Osiris	LG	Afterlife, fertility, rebirth, resurrection	Good, Healing, Law, Plant, Repose	Flail
Ptah	N	Architecture, craftsmanship, creation, metalworking	Artifice, Earth, Fire, Knowledge, Travel	Quarterstaff
Ra	LN	Creation, rulership, the sun	Fire, Glory, Law, Nobility, Sun	Spear
Sekhmet	CN	Fire, healing, vengeance, war	Chaos, Destruction, Fire, Healing, War	Battleaxe
Selket	CG	Embalming, healing, scorpions	Chaos, Good, Healing, Protection, Repose	Scorpion whip
Set	NE	Darkness, deserts, murder, storms	Darkness, Death, Evil, Madness, Weather	Spear
Sobek	CN	Crocodiles, fertility, military prowess, rivers	Chaos, Scalykind, Strength, War, Water	Falchion
Thoth	LN	Magic, the moon, wisdom, writing	Darkness, Knowledge, Law, Magic, Rune	Sickle
Wadjet	LG	Good serpents, the River Sphinx, wisdom	Good, Law, Protection, Travel, Water	Light mace

Illustrations by Ekaterina Burmak and Johan Grenier

Rob McCreary
Senior Developer

Mummy's Mask Player's Guide

Thursday, March 6, 2014

In short time, brave postal carriers and miles of copper wire will be bringing the first volume of the Mummy's Mask Adventure Path to subscribers (and later—the world!) While your GM waits for Pathfinder Adventure Path #79: The Half-Dead City the first volume and you wait to start your campaign, check out the Mummy's Mask Player's Guide and start getting some ideas about the characters you and your fellow players want to play. This guide talks about ways to get the party together, and provides players with some background on Osirion, especially the city of Wati where the adventure begins. The guide also gives some tips and advice on the best class and race options for your characters in this campaign. Of course, no Adventure Path Player's Guide would be complete without an array of exciting campaign traits. (For those that are devoted, make sure to tune in to this blog a week from today to get a sneak peek of the gods of Ancient Osirion.)

Download the free Mummy's Mask Player's Guide now! Those tombs aren't going to raid themselves, so suit up and head out to the desert.

Adam Daigle
Developer

The Mum(my) Also Rises

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Illustration by Tyler Jacobson. Widescreen version here.

March kicks off the new Pathfinder Adventure Path: Mummy's Mask! Mummify your desktop with these spiffy new wallpapers, courtesy of your Paizo art department.