Illustration by Dave Rapoza. Widescreen version here.
The Stars Are Wrong!
Friday, June 17, 2011
Wake of the Watcher, the fourth installment of the Carrion Crown Adventure Path, is on its way out of the warehouse and to retailers and subscribers the world over. In this chapter, the PCs venture to Illmarsh, an ugly town amid the nastiest stretch of swamp in Ustalav. On the trail of the Whispering Way, the PCs find themselves caught up between beings from beneath the seas and invaders from the darkest corners of the cosmos. Can the heroes save Illmarsh from its tradition of terror? Or will they be the next victims of the horror from beyond the stars? While you wait to find out, enjoy this wallpaper featuring a corpulent cthuloid and poor Merisiel caught up in the tentacles of some nightmarish spawn of a Great Old One.
In Bestiary 2 we introduced a new race of neutral outsiders, the aeons. But we weren't satisfied with only one race of neutral outsiders—especially since aeons don't fit perfectly into the Boneyard, Golarion's true neutral Outer Plane. With the article on Pharasma in the second volume of Carrion Crown, we revealed a second race of neutral outsiders—ones that specifically serve Pharasma and dwell in the Boneyard itself. The psychopomps.
In Pathfinder Adventure Path #47, we'll present full stat blocks for two psychopomps—both of which are illustrated here in this blog post: the fearsome skeletal vanth and the cute little four-winged nosoi. We'll be presenting more of these creatures in the future, but I'm already quite pleased with how they're turning out. To the extent that I wouldn't mind having a nosoi pet. Those guys are so cute!
Illustration by Kieran Yanner
Illustration by Lake Hurwitz
Anyway, while I'm not quite ready to reveal any full stat blocks yet for psychopomps, I can do the next best thing—here are the rules for psychopomp traits!
Psychopomp Traits
The gears of the multiverse turn through the constant motion of mortal souls. Although Pharasma is the ultimate judge over the dead, a grand bureaucracy serves her and overflows with able record-keepers, prosecutors, investigators, and guardians. They are psychopomps, the right hand of death. Psychopomps, also known as reapers in some circles, are neutral outsiders who serve death and ensure the steady flow of souls into the cosmic cycle. Few care for the concept of balance so much as for duty and the rightful progression of life to death and beyond by any and all means necessary. As enforcers of mortality and the cosmic cycle, psychopomps universally loathe undead. Although they vary widely in appearance, all psychopomps bear an elaborate funerary mask as a mark of their place in the cycle of life and death.
Psychopomp Traits: A psychopomp possesses the following traits.
Darkvision 60 feet and low-light vision.
Immunity to death effects, disease, and poison.
Resistance to cold 10 and electricity 10
Except where otherwise noted, psychopomps speak Abyssal, Celestial, and Infernal.
A psychopomp's natural weapons, as well as any weapon it wields, are treated as though they had the ghost touch weapon special ability.
Spiritsense (Su) A psychopomp notices, locates, and can distinguish between living and undead creatures within 60 feet, just as if it possessed the blindsight ability.
Illustration by Dave Rapoza. Wallpaper design by Crystal Frasier. Widescreen version here.
Invasion of the Body Stitchers!
Friday, April 15, 2011
Burghers of Paizo, rejoice! The Beast of Lepidstadt has been captured! Next week we'll begin shipping the second installment of the Carrion Crown Adventure Path, and the Trial of the Beast will begin. The Punishing Man rises in the square outside the courthouse! The logs have been stacked against his flanks and the oil has seeped into his veins. The Punishing Man waits to take his passenger to the depths of Hell! And soon, he shall have his feast. Until then though, enjoy this wallpaper!
Hyrum Savage
Marketing and Organized Play Manager/Town Crier
So, I was out sick yesterday, and as a result missed out seeing Pathfinder #46 get sent off to the printer. Which is pretty exciting, since that volume's got more Lovecraftian awesomeness in it than anything we've done to date? The proof is in these out-of-context illustrations by Scott Purdy that are sure to get everyone thinking that the Carrion Crown Adventure Path will be taking some pretty drastic and unexpected turns! (Fans of Carrion Crown's Ustalav locations can breathe easy, though, since these pictures are from the foreword and the bestiary of the book, and thus don't actually depict events that occur in this volume's adventure.)
With the Carrion Crown Adventure Path finally unleashed, this seems like a perfect time to give folks bold enough to venture into Pathfinder's most frightening campaign just a hint of what's in store.
To start off, let's take a look at the volume that kick-starts the terror: Pathfinder Adventure Path #43: The Haunting of Harrowstone. Of course, you have Mike Kortes's foray into dread with the adventure itself, wherein the PCs are all that prevent a spectral prison riot from spilling out from the fire-scarred ruins of Harrowstone Prison and overwhelming the sleepy Ustalavic village of Ravengro.
Beyond the adventure, Kortes takes us onto the shadowed streets and into the clustered homes of Ravengro, as peaceful and quiet a community as you're likely to find in the Ustalavic county of Canterwall's rural countryside (which you learn all the secrets of in Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Rule of Fear). This gazetteer gives GMs everything they'll need to bring the adventure's setting to life, with all the details and insights necessary to bring dread into the homes and hearts of the PCs and their newest allies.
Next up is Brandon Hodge's treatise on the horrifying traps-meet-the-supernatural threats known as haunts. Originally introduced all the way back in Pathfinder Adventure Path #2: The Skinsaw Murders and refined in the GameMastery Guide, this has been our first opportunity to give sadistic GMs a whole library of some of fiction's and film's most horrifying unnatural effects. Fact is, Brandon gave us WAY more menace than a single article could contain... but I'll get back to that in a few.
In a new series in the Pathfinder's Journal I get to explore my favorite corner of Golarion from a different vantage. This time around, Laurel Cylphra, a wastrel on the streets of Ustalav's decomposing former capital, gets dragged into a tale of revenge, wronged spirits, and terrors that could drive even a Pathfinder into retirement.
Finally, Adam Daigle and intern-turned-author Patrick Renie unleash denizens of dread with the first in a horrific series of Pathfinder Bestiaries, with creatures of classic terror like Spring-Heeled Jack, old monsters given terrifying twists, new rules for haunted animated objects, an option for accursed characters with the changeling, and others like the beheaded and ectoplasmic templates that still leave me with a sinister smirk—I can't wait to use some of these guys!
So, that's what's in store if you haven't already checked out Pathfinder Adventure Path #43: The Haunting of Harrowstone. Now, for those of you who were patient enough to stick with me this far, check out what's below. Like I said, Brandon's article on haunts ran over the space we had allotted for it, but rather than trash that awesome content, I've kept it safe and plan to dole out new haunts as each volume of the Carrion Crown releases. So, for those of you looking for more menace to throw into Harrowstone, here are a couple of new low-level haunts.
Fool's Flare (CR 2)
Many spirits resent the intrusion of lights brought by the living into their dark domains, and exert a supernatural influence on torches and lanterns to show their objections to the trespass of torchbearers.
Fool's Flare CR 2
XP 600
CE haunt (10-ft. radius) Caster Level 2nd Notice Perception DC 15 (to feel a cold, unearthly draft) hp 4; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 day Effect This haunt triggers a pyrotechnics spell on torches or lanterns brought into its area. In some instances, torches flare brightly with a blinding light before plunging the area into darkness, as per the fireworks effect, but in others the light sputters and dies, the extinguished source giving off a smoke cloud effect (save DC 13 versus secondary effects). Destruction A daylight spell cast in the area permanently drives out the haunt.
Rolling Fire (CR 4)
Also known as a faeu boulanger, rolling fire is a trapped soul that was lost in a tragic fire fatality. The haunt manifests as a spectral sphere of ectoplasmic fire that seeks to scorch and burn the living in a grisly reenactment of the conflagration that created it.
Rolling Fire CR 4 XP 1,200
CE persistent haunt (30-ft.-radius open area or marshland) Caster Level 4th Notice Perception DC 15 (to smell burning flesh) hp 18; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 day Effect The haunt appears as a large ball of spiritual flame emitting agonizing screams. The haunt attacks the first creature that enters its area as a flaming sphere spell (save DC 13). Destruction Turning one's coat inside out confuses the faeu boulanger and prevents attack. A knife must then be stuck blade-up in the ground of the haunt's area; when the roaming spectre rolls over the blade, it impales itself and is destroyed.
Watch this spot in the coming weeks for more haunts and other Carrion Crown previews. But if you're still craving more info on the new campaign, be sure to check out the free Carrion Crown Player's Guide and the discussions constantly going on in the Carrion Crown Messageboards. There's already a ton of great stuff in those threads for folks who want to make this campaign as horrifying as possible, and for those less interested in turning up the terror in their adventures. But you won't know until you take the first step, so knot up your courage and click any of the links above to learn all about our newest terror... if you dare.
Last Friday, Managing Editor extraordinaire Wes Schneider spoke a little about the upcoming Carrion Crown Adventure Path. This amazing AP starts with Pathfinder Adventure Path #43: "The Haunting of Harrowstone" and a stellar cover by Dave Rapoza. In honor of the upcoming AP, and as a new feature on the Paizo blog, we're proud to offer the first of many new wallpapers. Just download the image below and in no time you'll be able to gaze at Feiya and Merisiel kicking the snot out of skeletons to your heart's content, all from the comfort of your office chair. This might be the first new wallpaper in a while, but it definitely isn't the last, so keep an eye on the blog for more in the coming weeks.
In a flurry of crunched stat blocks and flung pages, the last two weeks have seen us send two volumes of Pathfinder Adventure Path off to the printer, Pathfinder Adventure Path #42: "Sanctum of the Serpent God" and, right on its heels, Pathfinder Adventure Path #43: "The Haunting of Harrowstone". While the former brings the Serpent Skull Adventure Path to its climactic close, the latter marks a total shift, taking us from the wild jungles and hidden ruins of the Mwangi Expanse to the foggy moors and haunted ruins of Ustalav, the seat of gothic horror in Golarion. Longtime readers know that every new campaign gives us the opportunity to not just explore new themes, lands, and menaces, but to also reinvent Pathfinder's look for a new series.
And Carrion Crown looks incredible. Beyond Dave Rapoza's fantastic cover and the work of numerous talented interior illustrators, art director Sarah Robinson and graphic designer Andrew Vallas have put together something really amazing that perfectly captures the brooding menace of this grim campaign.
I'm probably more than a little biased, though, as besides the fact that gothic horror is my preferred cup of tea, the campaign is taking place in Ustalav, one of my favorite corners of Golarion. While Carrion Crown continues our long tradition of sword-swinging, spell-slinging high adventure, its inspirations come more from the pens of Bram Stoker, Mary Shelly, M. R. James, Shirley Jackson, and H. P. Lovecraft than J. R. R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, and Jack Vance. Think of it as a campaign set in Transylvania rather than Camelot or the Hyborian Age.
In the weeks before the Carrion Crown Adventure Path begins, check back here for more previews on what to expect from the campaign. Things kick off in the coming months with "The Haunting of Harrowstone," a ghost story that sets the tone for the series perfectly. That same volume also includes details on the sleepy town of Ravengro, new rules and examples that vastly expand the haunts presented in the GameMastery Guide, a creepy new series in the Pathfinder's Journal (by yours truly), an outline of the entire campaign, monthly details on the legends and superstitions of Ustalav, and something a little bit different added to the campaign's Bestiary to increase your toolbox of classic horrors. We've also built a ton of support for the campaign into our Pathfinder Campaign Setting and GameMastery lines, but I'll show off some of that awesome insanity a bit later.
So get ready to start wrapping up those Serpent Skull campaigns, as the Carrion Crown Adventure Path kicks off 2011 with terror.
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