paizo.com Recent Blog Posts in Yan Kyoharapaizo.com Recent Blog Posts in Yan Kyohara2017-05-20T01:13:33Z2017-05-20T01:13:33ZIronfangs and Scumbag Dames!https://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5ljsk?Ironfangs-and-Scumbag-Dames2017-05-09T22:00:00Z<blockquote>
<br />
<h1 itemprop="headline">Ironfangs and Scumbag Dames!</h1>
<p class="date">Tuesday, May 9, 2017</p>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<p itemprop="description">With Thurston Hillman's <a href = "/products/btpy9pn4"><em>Pathfinder Adventure Path 118: Siege of Stone</em></a> about to hit subscribers, this is a great time to talk about themes and stereotypes and writing with intention. You often hear that people insist that their pop culture—their video games, their action movies, their roleplaying games—should be free of politics and "agendas," but the truth is that the personal is just politics on the small scale. Your own needs, opinions, and preferences become politics when shared or opposed by multiple people. As an author or a game developer, at some point you have to accept the responsibility that everything you create carries cultural weight, that you describe what is and isn't normal, what is and isn't moral, who is and isn't a protagonist or a villain or even a person. The orcs of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books were self-loathing and aggressive, without personal goals or culture, while elves are nuanced and individual and reflect a long and storied history—one of these groups is defined as "people" while the other are faceless opponents. Killing a hundred of one is the background noise of the trilogy; killing one of the other is a tragedy that Tolkien uses to dredge up emotion in his readers.</p>
<p>And yes, I realize the irony of this specific example as I talk about an Adventure Path built around conflict with and killing hundreds of members of a specific species.</p>
<p>These are fictional races, but every creative work paints a perspective of the world, and who does and doesn't fill what roles. Many creative repeat what we see in the world around us. Some of us try to depict idealized worlds we want our world to become. Still others exaggerate the evils of the real world into more dire or naked threats, washing away the shades grey to highlight change they feel the world needs. There's no one right way to wield the influence you have as a creative, except perhaps to remain ignorant of it.</p>
<p>One of the common themes in the way Paizo wields our power is to depict women and minorities as heroes. One of our big goals as a group is to paint a world where anyone can be the champion. And we've done that well; we've painted women as crusading nights, spellcasters of devastating power, freedom fighters, gladiatorial champions, and swashbuckling pirates with hearts of gold. Ironfang Invasion specifically kicks off with a female companion there to aid and train the PCs as they grow from nobodies into heroes. But sometimes that urge to champion a cause can push too far, and we end up putting a group on a pedestal. The elves from Tolkien feel flat to a lot of readers because they're TOO good and TOO nice and TOO enlightened; even at their worst, they feel like overbearing parents, rather than people who make mistakes, dirty their hands, or occasionally are just jerks.</p>
<p>The one thing Paizo rarely does is paint women as jerks.</p>
<p>That's not to say we never portray female villains. Queen Ileosa, Areelu Vorlesh, and Queen Abrogail Thrune are unabashedly wicked. The Inner Sea region in general overflows with evil women rulers. All of a certain type: politically powerful, charismatic, and conventionally attractive. Pathfinder has plenty of female villains.</p>
<p>Like I said: The one thing we rarely portray are female jerks. The scum. The bastards. The glorious panoply of disreputable antagonists. Women in Pathfinder or fiction in general are rarely allowed to be dirty and violent and unladylike. One of our goals in <a href = "/pathfinder/adventurePath/ironfangInvasion">Ironfang Invasion</a> was to portray a huge variety of female antagonists, from the traditional "sexy spellcaster" like Arlantia (you'll meet her next month), to masters of tactics and arms like Azersi and Kosseruk, to crazed cultists like Naphexi, to violently anti-social scum like Jang and the redcap Dearga Finlay. In <a href = "http://paizo.com/products/btpy9pn4"><em>Siege of Stone</em></a>, author Thurston Hillman gives us the small-potatoes gang leader in Origa, the lecherous bully in Chief Grax, the condescending intellectual in Zanathura, the greedy mercenary in Kisegar, and the scheming manipulator in Elacnida.</p>
<div class="blurbCenter"><a href="https://paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderAdventurePath/PZO90117-ChiefGrax.jpg"><img src="https//paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderAdventurePath/PZO90117-ChiefGrax_360.jpeg"></a>
<p>Chief Grax with one of her myriad mates.<br />
<i>Illustration by Yan Kyohara</i></p></div>
<p>We still have plenty of female allies and heroes—Aubrin, Gendowyn, Navah, the overeager treant Longfrond—but Ironfang Invasion is also packed full of women being every flavor of villainous and objectionable—an important facet of representation oft forgotten in our efforts to display a given group as varied, diverse, and fallible. Save your pedestals for statues, and let the women of the Ironfang Invasion scheme, belch, and stab their way into your hearts.</p>
<p>Crystal Frasier<br />
<i>Developer</i></p>
</div>
<!— tags: Pathfinder Adventure Path, Ironfang Invasion, Yan Kyohara —>
</blockquote><p><a href="https://paizo.comcommunity/blog/tags">Tags</a>: <a href="https://paizo.com/community/blog/tags/ironfangInvasion">Ironfang Invasion</a>, <a href="https://paizo.com/community/blog/tags/pathfinderAdventurePath">Pathfinder Adventure Path</a>, <a href="https://paizo.com/community/blog/tags/yanKyohara">Yan Kyohara</a></p><blockquote>
<br />
<h1 itemprop="headline">Ironfangs and Scumbag Dames!</h1>
<p class="date">Tuesday, May 9, 2017</p>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<p itemprop="description">With Thurston Hillman's <a href = "/products/btpy9pn4"><em>Pathfinder Adventure Path 118: Siege of Stone</em></a> about to hit subscribers, this is a great time to talk about themes and stereotypes and writing with intention. You often hear that people insist that their pop culture—their video games, their action movies, their roleplaying games—should be free of politics and "agendas," but the truth is that the personal is just politics on the small scale. Your own needs, opinions, and preferences become politics when shared or opposed by multiple people. As an author or a game developer, at some point you have to accept the responsibility that everything you create carries cultural weight, that you describe what is and isn't normal, what is and isn't moral, who is and isn't a protagonist or a villain or even a person. The orcs of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books were self-loathing and aggressive, without personal goals or culture, while elves are nuanced and individual and reflect a long and storied history—one of these groups is defined as "people" while the other are faceless opponents. Killing a hundred of one is the background noise of the trilogy; killing one of the other is a tragedy that Tolkien uses to dredge up emotion in his readers.</p>
<p>And yes, I realize the irony of this specific example as I talk about an Adventure Path built around conflict with and killing hundreds of members of a specific species.</p>
<p>These are fictional races, but every creative work paints a perspective of the world, and who does and doesn't fill what roles. Many creative repeat what we see in the world around us. Some of us try to depict idealized worlds we want our world to become. Still others exaggerate the evils of the real world into more dire or naked threats, washing away the shades grey to highlight change they feel the world needs. There's no one right way to wield the influence you have as a creative, except perhaps to remain ignorant of it.</p>
<p>One of the common themes in the way Paizo wields our power is to depict women and minorities as heroes. One of our big goals as a group is to paint a world where anyone can be the champion. And we've done that well; we've painted women as crusading nights, spellcasters of devastating power, freedom fighters, gladiatorial champions, and swashbuckling pirates with hearts of gold. Ironfang Invasion specifically kicks off with a female companion there to aid and train the PCs as they grow from nobodies into heroes. But sometimes that urge to champion a cause can push too far, and we end up putting a group on a pedestal. The elves from Tolkien feel flat to a lot of readers because they're TOO good and TOO nice and TOO enlightened; even at their worst, they feel like overbearing parents, rather than people who make mistakes, dirty their hands, or occasionally are just jerks.</p>
<p>The one thing Paizo rarely does is paint women as jerks.</p>
<p>That's not to say we never portray female villains. Queen Ileosa, Areelu Vorlesh, and Queen Abrogail Thrune are unabashedly wicked. The Inner Sea region in general overflows with evil women rulers. All of a certain type: politically powerful, charismatic, and conventionally attractive. Pathfinder has plenty of female villains.</p>
<p>Like I said: The one thing we rarely portray are female jerks. The scum. The bastards. The glorious panoply of disreputable antagonists. Women in Pathfinder or fiction in general are rarely allowed to be dirty and violent and unladylike. One of our goals in <a href = "/pathfinder/adventurePath/ironfangInvasion">Ironfang Invasion</a> was to portray a huge variety of female antagonists, from the traditional "sexy spellcaster" like Arlantia (you'll meet her next month), to masters of tactics and arms like Azersi and Kosseruk, to crazed cultists like Naphexi, to violently anti-social scum like Jang and the redcap Dearga Finlay. In <a href = "http://paizo.com/products/btpy9pn4"><em>Siege of Stone</em></a>, author Thurston Hillman gives us the small-potatoes gang leader in Origa, the lecherous bully in Chief Grax, the condescending intellectual in Zanathura, the greedy mercenary in Kisegar, and the scheming manipulator in Elacnida.</p>
<div class="blurbCenter"><a href="https://paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderAdventurePath/PZO90117-ChiefGrax.jpg"><img src="https//paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderAdventurePath/PZO90117-ChiefGrax_360.jpeg"></a>
<p>Chief Grax with one of her myriad mates.<br />
<i>Illustration by Yan Kyohara</i></p></div>
<p>We still have plenty of female allies and heroes—Aubrin, Gendowyn, Navah, the overeager treant Longfrond—but Ironfang Invasion is also packed full of women being every flavor of villainous and objectionable—an important facet of representation oft forgotten in our efforts to display a given group as varied, diverse, and fallible. Save your pedestals for statues, and let the women of the Ironfang Invasion scheme, belch, and stab their way into your hearts.</p>
<p>Crystal Frasier<br />
<i>Developer</i></p>
</div>
<!— tags: Pathfinder Adventure Path, Ironfang Invasion, Yan Kyohara —>
</blockquote><p><a href="https://paizo.comcommunity/blog/tags">Tags</a>: <a href="https://paizo.com/community/blog/tags/ironfangInvasion">Ironfang Invasion</a>, <a href="https://paizo.com/community/blog/tags/pathfinderAdventurePath">Pathfinder Adventure Path</a>, <a href="https://paizo.com/community/blog/tags/yanKyohara">Yan Kyohara</a></p>2017-05-09T22:00:00ZWild Thingshttps://paizo.com/community/blog/v5748dyo5lj87?Wild-Things2016-10-28T20:00:00Z<blockquote>
<br />
<h1 itemprop="headline">Wild Things</h1>
<p class="date">Friday, October 28, 2016</p>
<div itemprop="articlebody">
<div class = "blurb180"><a href = "//static2.paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-Renewer.jpg"><img src = "//static2.paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-Renewer_180.jpeg"></a><br />
<i>Illustration by Mark Molnar</i></div>
<p itemprop = "description">Last week we took a look at some magical foes from the pages of the upcoming <a href = "/products/btpy9oo7"><em>Villain Codex</em></a>, with an in-depth look at the Arcane Society. This week we're headed into the wilderness to explore some of the villains who operate on the fringes of society!</p>
<h2>Nature's Scourge</h2>
<p>No villain group embodies the wild as much as Nature's Scourge, a group founded by a druid known as the Blight Caller. I'll let the Renewer (their PR expert) explain it to you:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><i>"Civilization claims to value progress, but it inevitably seeks stagnation. Its people take their coins to the market and buy what they have no incentive to learn how to provide for themselves. Farmers and hunters rely the least on civilization, but they enable others to survive who would starve if left to their own devices. Artisans churn out hundreds of similar items, ready for those who could never replicate their work to acquire in seconds. Worst of all are the ones who wield the most power in civilization. I cannot imagine a more pathetic creature than a noble, swaddled in silk and gold, forcing others to attend to their every need like grotesquely oversized babies. Stagnation is not natural. A forest knows that it must sometimes burn to clear the debris on its floor and make way for new seeds. If civilization insists upon clinging to its detritus, then we will be the fire, and we will nurture new seeds in our wake. Always seek to learn, grow, and move forward. We are not immune to stagnation, and we will cleanse it from our own ranks when we must."</i></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Today we're going to take a look at the Blig... One moment please, technical difficulties!</p>
<p>OK, Nature's Scourge author Linda Zayas-Palmer has agreed to release me from the <i>entangle</i> spell in exchange for previewing the Blight Caller's trusted ally, the leshy known as the Wrathbringer.</p>
<blockquote>
<h3>Wrathbinger</h3>
<p class = "stat-block">The Blight Caller channeled a dying nature spirit into a patch of mushrooms to bring this fungus leshy to life.</p>
<p class = "stat-block-title">Wrathbringer <span class = "stat-block-cr">CR 8</span></p>
<p class = "stat-block-xp">XP 4,800</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1">Fungus leshy skald 7 (<em>Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide</em> 49, <em>Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 3</em> 177)</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1">NE Small plant (leshy, shapechanger)</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Init</b> +2; <b>Senses</b> darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; <b>Perception</b> +13</p>
<p class = "stat-block-breaker">Defense</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>AC</b> 19, touch 12, flat-footed 17 (+7 armor, +2 Dex, -1 rage, +1 size)</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>hp</b> 110 (9d8+70); fast healing 2</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Fort</b> +15, <b>Ref</b> +6, <b>Will</b> +8; +4 vs. bardic performance, language-dependent, and sonic, -1 vs. anger or rage</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Defensive Abilities</b> ferocity, uncanny dodge; Immune electricity, sonic, plant traits</p>
<p class = "stat-block-breaker">Offense</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Speed</b> 50 ft. (45 ft. in armor)</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Melee</b> bite +14 (2d6+7), 2 claws +14 (1d3+7)</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Ranged</b> puffball +10 (1 plus spores)</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Special Attacks</b> rage powers (atavistic totem†, lesser atavistic totem†), raging song 17 rounds/day (inspired rage, song of marching, song of strength), spell kenning 1/day, spores</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Spell-Like Abilities</b> (CL 4th; concentration +8)</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Constant</b>—<i>pass without trace</i></p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Skald Spells Known</b> (CL 7th; concentration +11)</p>
<p class = "stat-block-2">3rd (2/day)—<i>good hope, haste</i></p>
<p class = "stat-block-2">2nd (4/day)—<i>cure moderate wounds, gallant inspiration</i><sup>APG</sup> (DC 16), <i>glitterdust</i> (DC 16), <i>heroism</i></p>
<p class = "stat-block-2">1st (5/day)—<i>comprehend languages, expeditious retreat, hideous laughter</i> (DC 15), <i>remove fear, saving finale</i><sup>APG</sup></p>
<p class = "stat-block-2">0 (at will)—<i>dancing lights, know direction, mage hand, message, prestidigitation, summon instrument</i></p>
<p class = "stat-block-breaker">Tactics</p>
<div class="blurb360"><a href="https://paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-Wrathbringer.jpg"><img src="https//paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-Wrathbringer_360.jpeg"></a><br />
<i>Illustration by Yan Kyohara</i></div>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Before Combat</b> The Wrathbringer casts <i>good hope</i> and <i>expeditious retreat</i>.</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>During Combat</b> The Wrathbringer casts <i>haste</i>, uses raging song to inspire an atavistic fury in his allies, and then enters melee. He uses <i>gallant inspiration</i> and <i>saving finale</i> when his allies need assistance.</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Base Statistics</b> When the Wrathbringer is not using his inspired rage and isn't under the effects of <i>expeditious retreat</i> and <i>good hope</i>, his statistics are <b>AC</b> 20, touch 13, flat-footed 18 (+7 armor, +2 Dex, +1 size); <b>hp</b> 101 (8d8+61); no fast healing; <b>Fort</b> +12, <b>Ref</b> +4, <b>Will</b> +8; <b>Speed</b> 15 ft.; <b>Melee</b> bite +11 (1d8+4), 2 claws +11 (1d3+4); <b>Str</b> 18, <b>Con</b> 20; <b>CMB</b> +9; <b>Skills</b> Acrobatics +5 (+1 to jump), others all 2 lower.</p>
<p class = "stat-block-breaker">Statistics</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Str</b> 20, <b>Dex</b> 15, <b>Con</b> 22, <b>Int</b> 9, <b>Wis</b> 12, <b>Cha</b> 18</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Base Atk</b> +6; <b>CMB</b> +10; <b>CMD</b> 21</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Feats</b> Blind-Fight, Improved Natural Attack (bite), Nature's Wrath†, Scribe Scroll, Skald's Vigor<sup>ACG</sup>, Toughness</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Skills Acrobatics</b> +7 (+11 to jump), Perception +13, Perform (oratory) +12, Perform (percussion) +19, Stealth +9 (+13 in swamps and underground), Survival +4 (+8 in swamps and underground); <b>Racial Modifiers</b> +4 Stealth and Survival in swamps and underground</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Languages Druidic</b>, Sylvan; plantspeech (fungi)</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>SQ</b> bardic knowledge +3, change shape (Small fungus; <i>tree shape</i>), lore master 1/day, rage powers, verdant burst, versatile performances (oratory, percussion)</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Gear</b> <i>+1 black dragonhide breastplate, belt of giant strength +2, fungal slippers</i>†, mwk drums</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Blight Caller created the Wrathbringer several years ago. The unusual circumstances of this leshy's creation ritual imbued it with emotions that plant creatures can normally never experience. Centuries before the Blightcaller created him, a powerful druid bound the leshy's spirit to a sacred grove of fungi. By the time the Blightcaller arrived in the grove, the delicate fungi were dying, poisoned by waste that nearby settlements had dumped into the water. The Blightcaller managed to draw the leshy's spirit into a body before it died with the grove, but doing so required him to give a small piece of his own spirit as well. This sacrifice formed a connection between the druid and the leshy and imbued the leshy with the rage against civilization that burned so strongly in the druid's heart.</p>
<p>The Wrathbringer is surly and quick to anger. However, it is a dependable ally. The Blight Caller trusts it more than any other member of nature's scourge and has given it several valuable gifts, including a breastplate made from the hide of the same dragon as his own armor and a pair of slippers made from the magically preserved remnants of the leshy's former grove.</p>
<p>Oh my, what are Nature's Wrath and <i>fungal slippers</i>? Will either of those explain how this plant is benefiting from raging song?</p>
<h2>Merry Outlaws</h2>
<p>Some villains aren't evil, and at least according to the locals, the Merry Outlaws might be full-on good guys. They rob from the wealthy and are known to distribute wealth to the poor and downtrodden. But there are others, those on whom the Merry Outlaws have preyed, who claim that there are two sides to every tale. What is the truth about this Robin Hood-style bands of miscreants? What will the PCs decide to do if confronted with such a group? These questions make the Merry Outlaws perfect for a nuanced adventure with shades of grey.</p>
<h2>Ruthless Brigands</h2>
<p>The ruthless brigands are mercenaries, pure and simple. If you pay them, they might even defend your city from the savage marauders or protect your carriage from the Merry Outlaws, but their loyalty follows the coin. That's not to say they're all evil, in fact, the reluctant witty jury-rigger shown here is good-aligned, yearning for the old days when they would fight for noble causes and increasingly regretting his life decisions.</p>
<h2>Savage Marauders</h2>
<p>The savage marauders are a marauding barbarian tribe who pillage the soft civilized folk, kill or capture the adults, and indoctrinating the children to join the tribe. This gives them a slightly more multicultural make-up than other barbarian tribes. Everyone in the tribe must prove her strength (in fact, the Fiend-Born Rager may some day grow to challenge the Crimson Lord should he show any signs of weakness), so that badass marauder down there with the earthbreaker and the icicle fingers? Yeah, she's actually a sorcerer!</p>
<h2>Scandalous Pirates</h2>
<p>Not everywhere in the wilderness is on land, and the scandalous pirates are a scourge upon the seas. They're organized with several captains all under the auspices of the Vile Admiral, which allows you to use them as a squabbling but vaguely cohesive group or as individual pirates (if, say, you needed an extra captain quickly in a <i>Skull and Shackles</i> game).</p>
<div class = "blurbCenter"><a href = "//static2.paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-OutlawArcher.jpg"><img src = "//static2.paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-OutlawArcher_180.jpeg"></a>
<a href = "//static2.paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-WittyJuryRigger.jpg"><img src = "//static2.paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-WittyJuryRigger_120.jpeg"></a>
<a href = "//static2.paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-RageMage.jpg"><img src = "//static2.paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-RageMage_180.jpeg"></a>
<a href = "//static2.paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-SeaWitch.jpg"><img src = "//static2.paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-SeaWitch_180.jpeg"></a><br />
<i>Illustrations by Anastasia Ovchinnikova, Gintas Galvanauskas, and Shen Fei</i></div>
<p>Stay tuned next week as we return to civilized society and expose the villains who make their homes in plain sight!</p>
<p>Mark Seifter<br />
<i>Designer</i></p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<!— tags: Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Villain Codex, Anastasia Ovchinnikova, Gintas Galvanauskas, Mark Molnar, Shen Fei, Yan Kyohara —>
</blockquote><p><a href="https://paizo.comcommunity/blog/tags">Tags</a>: <a href="https://paizo.com/community/blog/tags/anastasiaOvchinnikova">Anastasia Ovchinnikova</a>, <a href="https://paizo.com/community/blog/tags/gintasGalvanauskas">Gintas Galvanauskas</a>, <a href="https://paizo.com/community/blog/tags/markMolnar">Mark Molnar</a>, <a href="https://paizo.com/community/blog/tags/pathfinderRoleplayingGame">Pathfinder Roleplaying Game</a>, <a href="https://paizo.com/community/blog/tags/shenFei">Shen Fei</a>, <a href="https://paizo.com/community/blog/tags/villainCodex">Villain Codex</a>, <a href="https://paizo.com/community/blog/tags/yanKyohara">Yan Kyohara</a></p><blockquote>
<br />
<h1 itemprop="headline">Wild Things</h1>
<p class="date">Friday, October 28, 2016</p>
<div itemprop="articlebody">
<div class = "blurb180"><a href = "//static2.paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-Renewer.jpg"><img src = "//static2.paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-Renewer_180.jpeg"></a><br />
<i>Illustration by Mark Molnar</i></div>
<p itemprop = "description">Last week we took a look at some magical foes from the pages of the upcoming <a href = "/products/btpy9oo7"><em>Villain Codex</em></a>, with an in-depth look at the Arcane Society. This week we're headed into the wilderness to explore some of the villains who operate on the fringes of society!</p>
<h2>Nature's Scourge</h2>
<p>No villain group embodies the wild as much as Nature's Scourge, a group founded by a druid known as the Blight Caller. I'll let the Renewer (their PR expert) explain it to you:</p>
<blockquote>
<p><i>"Civilization claims to value progress, but it inevitably seeks stagnation. Its people take their coins to the market and buy what they have no incentive to learn how to provide for themselves. Farmers and hunters rely the least on civilization, but they enable others to survive who would starve if left to their own devices. Artisans churn out hundreds of similar items, ready for those who could never replicate their work to acquire in seconds. Worst of all are the ones who wield the most power in civilization. I cannot imagine a more pathetic creature than a noble, swaddled in silk and gold, forcing others to attend to their every need like grotesquely oversized babies. Stagnation is not natural. A forest knows that it must sometimes burn to clear the debris on its floor and make way for new seeds. If civilization insists upon clinging to its detritus, then we will be the fire, and we will nurture new seeds in our wake. Always seek to learn, grow, and move forward. We are not immune to stagnation, and we will cleanse it from our own ranks when we must."</i></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Today we're going to take a look at the Blig... One moment please, technical difficulties!</p>
<p>OK, Nature's Scourge author Linda Zayas-Palmer has agreed to release me from the <i>entangle</i> spell in exchange for previewing the Blight Caller's trusted ally, the leshy known as the Wrathbringer.</p>
<blockquote>
<h3>Wrathbinger</h3>
<p class = "stat-block">The Blight Caller channeled a dying nature spirit into a patch of mushrooms to bring this fungus leshy to life.</p>
<p class = "stat-block-title">Wrathbringer <span class = "stat-block-cr">CR 8</span></p>
<p class = "stat-block-xp">XP 4,800</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1">Fungus leshy skald 7 (<em>Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide</em> 49, <em>Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 3</em> 177)</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1">NE Small plant (leshy, shapechanger)</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Init</b> +2; <b>Senses</b> darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; <b>Perception</b> +13</p>
<p class = "stat-block-breaker">Defense</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>AC</b> 19, touch 12, flat-footed 17 (+7 armor, +2 Dex, -1 rage, +1 size)</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>hp</b> 110 (9d8+70); fast healing 2</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Fort</b> +15, <b>Ref</b> +6, <b>Will</b> +8; +4 vs. bardic performance, language-dependent, and sonic, -1 vs. anger or rage</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Defensive Abilities</b> ferocity, uncanny dodge; Immune electricity, sonic, plant traits</p>
<p class = "stat-block-breaker">Offense</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Speed</b> 50 ft. (45 ft. in armor)</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Melee</b> bite +14 (2d6+7), 2 claws +14 (1d3+7)</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Ranged</b> puffball +10 (1 plus spores)</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Special Attacks</b> rage powers (atavistic totem†, lesser atavistic totem†), raging song 17 rounds/day (inspired rage, song of marching, song of strength), spell kenning 1/day, spores</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Spell-Like Abilities</b> (CL 4th; concentration +8)</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Constant</b>—<i>pass without trace</i></p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Skald Spells Known</b> (CL 7th; concentration +11)</p>
<p class = "stat-block-2">3rd (2/day)—<i>good hope, haste</i></p>
<p class = "stat-block-2">2nd (4/day)—<i>cure moderate wounds, gallant inspiration</i><sup>APG</sup> (DC 16), <i>glitterdust</i> (DC 16), <i>heroism</i></p>
<p class = "stat-block-2">1st (5/day)—<i>comprehend languages, expeditious retreat, hideous laughter</i> (DC 15), <i>remove fear, saving finale</i><sup>APG</sup></p>
<p class = "stat-block-2">0 (at will)—<i>dancing lights, know direction, mage hand, message, prestidigitation, summon instrument</i></p>
<p class = "stat-block-breaker">Tactics</p>
<div class="blurb360"><a href="https://paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-Wrathbringer.jpg"><img src="https//paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-Wrathbringer_360.jpeg"></a><br />
<i>Illustration by Yan Kyohara</i></div>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Before Combat</b> The Wrathbringer casts <i>good hope</i> and <i>expeditious retreat</i>.</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>During Combat</b> The Wrathbringer casts <i>haste</i>, uses raging song to inspire an atavistic fury in his allies, and then enters melee. He uses <i>gallant inspiration</i> and <i>saving finale</i> when his allies need assistance.</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Base Statistics</b> When the Wrathbringer is not using his inspired rage and isn't under the effects of <i>expeditious retreat</i> and <i>good hope</i>, his statistics are <b>AC</b> 20, touch 13, flat-footed 18 (+7 armor, +2 Dex, +1 size); <b>hp</b> 101 (8d8+61); no fast healing; <b>Fort</b> +12, <b>Ref</b> +4, <b>Will</b> +8; <b>Speed</b> 15 ft.; <b>Melee</b> bite +11 (1d8+4), 2 claws +11 (1d3+4); <b>Str</b> 18, <b>Con</b> 20; <b>CMB</b> +9; <b>Skills</b> Acrobatics +5 (+1 to jump), others all 2 lower.</p>
<p class = "stat-block-breaker">Statistics</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Str</b> 20, <b>Dex</b> 15, <b>Con</b> 22, <b>Int</b> 9, <b>Wis</b> 12, <b>Cha</b> 18</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Base Atk</b> +6; <b>CMB</b> +10; <b>CMD</b> 21</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Feats</b> Blind-Fight, Improved Natural Attack (bite), Nature's Wrath†, Scribe Scroll, Skald's Vigor<sup>ACG</sup>, Toughness</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Skills Acrobatics</b> +7 (+11 to jump), Perception +13, Perform (oratory) +12, Perform (percussion) +19, Stealth +9 (+13 in swamps and underground), Survival +4 (+8 in swamps and underground); <b>Racial Modifiers</b> +4 Stealth and Survival in swamps and underground</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Languages Druidic</b>, Sylvan; plantspeech (fungi)</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>SQ</b> bardic knowledge +3, change shape (Small fungus; <i>tree shape</i>), lore master 1/day, rage powers, verdant burst, versatile performances (oratory, percussion)</p>
<p class = "stat-block-1"><b>Gear</b> <i>+1 black dragonhide breastplate, belt of giant strength +2, fungal slippers</i>†, mwk drums</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Blight Caller created the Wrathbringer several years ago. The unusual circumstances of this leshy's creation ritual imbued it with emotions that plant creatures can normally never experience. Centuries before the Blightcaller created him, a powerful druid bound the leshy's spirit to a sacred grove of fungi. By the time the Blightcaller arrived in the grove, the delicate fungi were dying, poisoned by waste that nearby settlements had dumped into the water. The Blightcaller managed to draw the leshy's spirit into a body before it died with the grove, but doing so required him to give a small piece of his own spirit as well. This sacrifice formed a connection between the druid and the leshy and imbued the leshy with the rage against civilization that burned so strongly in the druid's heart.</p>
<p>The Wrathbringer is surly and quick to anger. However, it is a dependable ally. The Blight Caller trusts it more than any other member of nature's scourge and has given it several valuable gifts, including a breastplate made from the hide of the same dragon as his own armor and a pair of slippers made from the magically preserved remnants of the leshy's former grove.</p>
<p>Oh my, what are Nature's Wrath and <i>fungal slippers</i>? Will either of those explain how this plant is benefiting from raging song?</p>
<h2>Merry Outlaws</h2>
<p>Some villains aren't evil, and at least according to the locals, the Merry Outlaws might be full-on good guys. They rob from the wealthy and are known to distribute wealth to the poor and downtrodden. But there are others, those on whom the Merry Outlaws have preyed, who claim that there are two sides to every tale. What is the truth about this Robin Hood-style bands of miscreants? What will the PCs decide to do if confronted with such a group? These questions make the Merry Outlaws perfect for a nuanced adventure with shades of grey.</p>
<h2>Ruthless Brigands</h2>
<p>The ruthless brigands are mercenaries, pure and simple. If you pay them, they might even defend your city from the savage marauders or protect your carriage from the Merry Outlaws, but their loyalty follows the coin. That's not to say they're all evil, in fact, the reluctant witty jury-rigger shown here is good-aligned, yearning for the old days when they would fight for noble causes and increasingly regretting his life decisions.</p>
<h2>Savage Marauders</h2>
<p>The savage marauders are a marauding barbarian tribe who pillage the soft civilized folk, kill or capture the adults, and indoctrinating the children to join the tribe. This gives them a slightly more multicultural make-up than other barbarian tribes. Everyone in the tribe must prove her strength (in fact, the Fiend-Born Rager may some day grow to challenge the Crimson Lord should he show any signs of weakness), so that badass marauder down there with the earthbreaker and the icicle fingers? Yeah, she's actually a sorcerer!</p>
<h2>Scandalous Pirates</h2>
<p>Not everywhere in the wilderness is on land, and the scandalous pirates are a scourge upon the seas. They're organized with several captains all under the auspices of the Vile Admiral, which allows you to use them as a squabbling but vaguely cohesive group or as individual pirates (if, say, you needed an extra captain quickly in a <i>Skull and Shackles</i> game).</p>
<div class = "blurbCenter"><a href = "//static2.paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-OutlawArcher.jpg"><img src = "//static2.paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-OutlawArcher_180.jpeg"></a>
<a href = "//static2.paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-WittyJuryRigger.jpg"><img src = "//static2.paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-WittyJuryRigger_120.jpeg"></a>
<a href = "//static2.paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-RageMage.jpg"><img src = "//static2.paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-RageMage_180.jpeg"></a>
<a href = "//static2.paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-SeaWitch.jpg"><img src = "//static2.paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderRPG/PZO1136-SeaWitch_180.jpeg"></a><br />
<i>Illustrations by Anastasia Ovchinnikova, Gintas Galvanauskas, and Shen Fei</i></div>
<p>Stay tuned next week as we return to civilized society and expose the villains who make their homes in plain sight!</p>
<p>Mark Seifter<br />
<i>Designer</i></p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<!— tags: Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Villain Codex, Anastasia Ovchinnikova, Gintas Galvanauskas, Mark Molnar, Shen Fei, Yan Kyohara —>
</blockquote><p><a href="https://paizo.comcommunity/blog/tags">Tags</a>: <a href="https://paizo.com/community/blog/tags/anastasiaOvchinnikova">Anastasia Ovchinnikova</a>, <a href="https://paizo.com/community/blog/tags/gintasGalvanauskas">Gintas Galvanauskas</a>, <a href="https://paizo.com/community/blog/tags/markMolnar">Mark Molnar</a>, <a href="https://paizo.com/community/blog/tags/pathfinderRoleplayingGame">Pathfinder Roleplaying Game</a>, <a href="https://paizo.com/community/blog/tags/shenFei">Shen Fei</a>, <a href="https://paizo.com/community/blog/tags/villainCodex">Villain Codex</a>, <a href="https://paizo.com/community/blog/tags/yanKyohara">Yan Kyohara</a></p>2016-10-28T20:00:00Z