The Big Reveal: Demon's Heresy!

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Hi everyone! I'm just getting ready to tell you all about Pathfinder Adventure Card Game: Demon's Heresy Adventure Deck, but I want to make sure I have everything I need.

Copy of the adventure deck to refer to as I write? Check.

Supply of snacks? Check.

Mike locked in a closet so he can't interrupt me as I tell everyone about Adventure Deck 3? CHECK!

Mike: MRRPH! BANG! BANG!

MUHUHAHAHAHAHAHA! ALL RIGHT! The biggest surprise in all of Wrath of the Righteous set for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game is right here in Adventure Deck 3. It's going to BLOW YOUR MIND! You won't BELIEVE it!

Let's Get It Started

But first, let's talk about the adventure. Demon's Heresy takes place after the players have liberated the city of Drezen. This gives them a safe haven in the middle of the Worldwound from which to strike out against the demons. There is so much to be done that the players can pick and choose the order they attempt most of the scenarios before tackling the Ivory Sanctum at the end.


What is this Heresy?

If you're smart, you'll tackle the Demon's Redoubt first. (I'll get more into why later on.) It's a cheeky little scenario where the demon Arueshalae is trapped in a ruined castle. In each deck, there's an extra monster in the form of a Grimslake. And it should be easy to find, since it's right on top. Not too much to worry about. You just have to make a check or bury some cards from your deck. And if you fail, you can bury another card for good measure.


You shall doubt it a second time!

It's not all bad, though. After you close two of the locations, you get to add another one to the mix, with no henchmen or villains in it. Why would you want to do that? KEEP READING!

In the end, you must track down the hag Jaruunicka. She's pretty nasty. She requires a check to play attack spells, she can force you to discard blessings as damage, and she has the second-highest check to defeat of any villain in this deck. Plus, she has an odd little trick if you fail your check: you have to draw as many cards as you're dealt in damage and then recharge the same number. There's a small chance this will immediately kill you, but if it doesn't, you might get a better selection of cards.


What a hag!

The Demon's Dangers

This deck has some truly impressive monsters. Take the Dominion Scientists, for example. They are masters of learning your weaknesses. They deal 2 Force damage to you, and if you take it, they get tougher. Plus they are resistant to magic, which really tends to annoy the casters in the party.


To-o-o-o-oad Science! Ooh!

My favorite, though, is the Toad Demon. Its check to defeat is 28! That's at least 5 higher than any other monster in the deck, which makes sense, as you can reduce it by 5 if you don't go after it with a melee attack. Still, a very high check, and if you fail, it will ribbit all over everyone at your location.

There are four new Temptations in this deck, each with its own risk and reward. Take a gander at the Glimmer of Hope. Every turn, you can take a chance to stall the blessing deck. All you have to do is look at a random card from your deck. You can choose to bury it and the deck will advance normally, or you can banish it, which will prevent the blessing deck from advancing. Who needs all those cohorts, anyway?


Hope springs eternal.

Good Stuff!

As frightening as these dangers are, there are equally great rewards.

For the spells, there's Steal Soul. Play this spell after a character at your location defeats a monster that isn't immune to the Attack trait, and you'll gain a d4 on ALL of your checks for the rest of the scenario. It's hard to think of a bigger advantage than that for casting a single spell.


They weren't using it anyway.

The Unfettered Imp is one of the best allies we've ever created. It lets you acquire Corrupted blessings for FREE if they are on top of the blessings discard pile during your check. A Corrupted blessing is risky, and you have to play it immediately, but you get to keep it afterward.


Much better than the fettered imp.

And let us not forget the Tome of Mental Prowess. I'm amazed this card got printed. It's an item that lets you gain a FEAT. Yes, we've done cards that give you feats before. But this is the first time we've made one that is usable more than once. It does require a Knowledge 30 check to keep it from being removed from the game, but this is the mythic set. Twenty-sided dice are the characters' bread and butter.


Reuse or recycle.

OH MY GOD!

All of that is very cool. Really! But let's get down to it. No one is going to stop me this time.

Mike: MRRRO! MRRRO! MRRROOOOO!

As I said above, after the players close two locations in The Demon's Redoubt, they get to build the Tower of the Fourth Sphere. It's sort of an optional location to explore, as there's no villain or henchmen in it. But if you put in the time and effort to close the location, and you win the scenario, there is an amazing reward.

YOU GET TO PLAY ARUESHALAE!


She's a WHAT?!

For the first time, we've added a new character to the game after the base set. Any one player can choose to switch to playing her after you win this scenario, or a new player can jump right in and join your party. You will get the same number of feats as any other character, right there on the spot. Leave no character behind, I say.

And she's a SUCCUBUS! We're letting you play a DEMON! But it's okay. She's a good demon... for a demon. She delved a little too deeply into the idea of a soul, and Desna gave her one. Well, part of one, anyway. Now she must fight to become redeemed or risk falling back into her old ways.

There are a number of advantages to choosing to switch to Arueshalae. In addition to resistance to three types of damage and the ability to evade any encounter she doesn't like, she has a special cohort called Arueshalae's Gift that she can give to another character. He gets a bonus to all checks in one skill for as long as he has it. But what a demon gives, a demon can reclaim: Arueshalae can take her gift back (or not) on her turn to give it to another character or change which skill it affects.


Arueshalae giveth… and so does Desna.

There's another subtle benefit to being Arueshalae. The loot cards the players get at the end of this scenario all have the trait "Owner: Arueshalae," which means that she can fill out her deck with them if the party comes up short of cards of the same type at the end of a scenario. (She may want to help make sure that happens if she banishes one of them.)

When the time comes for a player to pick a role for the succubus, that player can either choose to fully redeem her or have her fall again.


Two sides of the same coin.

The Redeemed role doubles down on the character's ability to help others. She can gain the ability to get her Gift back at the start of ANY turn, which lets her basically give a bonus to any one skill for each other character on their turn. She can also heal and peek at her location deck.

The Fallen role turns the corruption mechanic in this set on its head. You can use Corrupted cards to heal yourself, but more importantly, you can ignore the Corrupted trait on any card so all of those penalties that others have to deal with just don't affect you. You can also gain the full benefits of the Corrupted blessings, even if the top card of the blessing discard pile isn't also Corrupted. Oh, and she's a succubus, so if anybody doesn't acquire an ally, she will.

Whew. It feels so good to get that off of my chest. I've been trying to tell you about her for so long now. She's so amazing, and now you can finally play with her!

Hey. Wait. I just realized there's nothing stopping me from telling you about the secrets for the next adventure deck, too!

In Adventure Deck 4 we have...

CRASH!

Mike: PETERSON!!!

Ah, never mind! I'd better go.

Paul Peterson
Adventure Card Game Designer

More Paizo Blog.
Tags: Pathfinder Adventure Card Game
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4 people marked this as a favorite.

She definitely wins the prize for biggest surprise ever when opening an adventure deck! Hmm...I wonder is she'll be Paul's best character ever too.

Grand Lodge

I was holding my breath for an ACG errata post.

More on topic.. that's cool about the new character in the middle of the adventure.


Whoah! This is very cool, and really showcasing some out of the box thinking. Good to see there are plenty of surprises in store...

Sovereign Court

Wow that's a really cool character, and definitely seems feasible to play as a regular character from the start of a path. That's a very cool cohort she's got too. The Redeemed feat to get it back every turn is very powerful. Just bounce it around to every character every turn, I know exactly what my first role feat will be if going Redeemed.

So... about that character sheet

I would definitely take Steal Soul on any caster I ever play. That tome!!!


These cards look interesting.

Too bad our 6-character party will never get to try them, being permanently stuck on the Siege of Drezen.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
MightyJim wrote:

These cards look interesting.

Too bad our 6-character party will never get to try them, being permanently stuck on the Siege of Drezen.

Why do you think they call it a siege? :p


Both with her cohort and the Leng Device from RotR, I think we are starting to get into the territory of making an Ultra Pro PACG Marker pack feasible!


1 person marked this as a favorite.
jones314 wrote:
MightyJim wrote:

These cards look interesting.

Too bad our 6-character party will never get to try them, being permanently stuck on the Siege of Drezen.

Why do you think they call it a siege? :p

Maybe that's the answer - we'll house rule that if we play it every day for a month, then the defenders will have run out of food and we can advance.

Silver Crusade RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Very cool stuff! She'll be an interesting addition to the game... and hugely difficult to make work in OCTGN, but that's my problem. LOL

Pathfinder ACG Developer

cartmanbeck wrote:

Very cool stuff! She'll be an interesting addition to the game... and hugely difficult to make work in OCTGN, but that's my problem. LOL

She is very focused on Wrath, particularly in her Fallen role.


Wow! I want to play her now!! (Only in AD1 at the moment)


I really want to add her to one of my groups. My only concern is that all of my groups contain 4 characters, and I'm worried about how difficult the game will become if I expand my party size to 5.


Ashram316 wrote:
I really want to add her to one of my groups. My only concern is that all of my groups contain 4 characters, and I'm worried about how difficult the game will become if I expand my party size to 5.

This...

I play on my iPad using CardWarden and 4 characters is really the maximum that I can handle. I'd have to drop my existing party down to three to add her in. Or I could go with 5 and just figure out how to make it work...


Hawkmoon269 wrote:
Both with her cohort and the Leng Device from RotR, I think we are starting to get into the territory of making an Ultra Pro PACG Marker pack feasible!

Add some nice translucent blue & white mythic charge tokens and I'm in!


And the Tome of Mental Prowess can't be used in Organized Play... :(

Hopefully OP will get something good too :)

Oh, S&S Shadow Merisiel automatically succeeds on her Knowledge check... :D who cares about d20s, automatic success!


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
zeroth_hour wrote:
Oh, S&S Shadow Merisiel automatically succeeds on her Knowledge check... :D who cares about d20s, automatic success!

Of course, she still has to acquire the darned thing; it doesn't have a Knowledge check to acquire. :)


I now find myself needing a Rue mini to go along with this.

Where is Myfly with his marketing ideas!?


NyteJKL wrote:

I now find myself needing a Rue mini to go along with this.

Where is Myfly with his marketing ideas!?

There is a nice Arueshala in the Pathfinder Battles line. I moved as soon as I read about her and ordered her. Unfortunately, most online stores list her as out of stock.


Darn, you are right no longer available here and my go to online stores.


NyteJKL wrote:
Darn, you are right no longer available here and my go to online stores.

A lot of places still have Wrath of the Righteous booster packs so you could try that and maybe get lucky ...

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

1 person marked this as a favorite.
jones314 wrote:
NyteJKL wrote:
Darn, you are right no longer available here and my go to online stores.
A lot of places still have Wrath of the Righteous booster packs so you could try that and maybe get lucky ...

Or, hey, every case is likely to contain one....

Sovereign Court

Vic Wertz wrote:
jones314 wrote:
NyteJKL wrote:
Darn, you are right no longer available here and my go to online stores.
A lot of places still have Wrath of the Righteous booster packs so you could try that and maybe get lucky ...
Or, hey, every case is likely to contain one....

Ever the salesman lol


What are the odds on getting her artwork added to the community use package?


MightyJim wrote:

These cards look interesting.

Too bad our 6-character party will never get to try them, being permanently stuck on the Siege of Drezen.

Just kill off one of your characters to make it easier and then pick up Arueshalae as a replacement character. Are any of your players about to go on vacation?


Wow, I did not see this coming. Picking which characters to play is a difficult choice as it is. Oh boy!

Question about her Fallen role:
When a player chooses not to attempt to acquire a card (Ally), is that considered as failing a check to acquire an an ally?

I imagine that's a no because if it were, everyone would just choose not to attempt just to secure that the party gets that ally.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

*fingers crossed for the vain hope that Arueshalae gets unlocked in OP.*

Funny anecdote... Instead of my token card, I use a mini that is thematically related to the base set that I'm playing at the time. For Skulls and Shackles, I used a Wereshark. For WotR so far, I've been using my Arueshalae mini. Now, hopefully, I'll be able to build an Arue deck to play with my Arue mini...


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
bbKabag wrote:


I imagine that's a no because if it were, everyone would just choose not to attempt just to secure that the party gets that ally.

Wouldn't the party get the ally either way?

If they make the check, they get the ally. If not, Arueshalae gets the ally.


bbKabag wrote:

Wow, I did not see this coming. Picking which characters to play is a difficult choice as it is. Oh boy!

Question about her Fallen role:
When a player chooses not to attempt to acquire a card (Ally), is that considered as failing a check to acquire an an ally?

I imagine that's a no because if it were, everyone would just choose not to attempt just to secure that the party gets that ally.

Not attempting is the same as failing the check. Still no reason not to attempt the check though - if you succeed you save Arushalae from spending a card, if you fail she gets it anyway.

Shadow Lodge

Please make her available to OP. That would be amazing!!!

Pathfinder ACG Developer

2 people marked this as a favorite.

Hmm, an entire group of Arue's, with a table's worth of gifts on every turn is a troubling proposition.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

It's a shame Steal Soul has the Attack trait; it means it's entirely unusable by Balazar (and banished by Damiel, but he's not in this set). Given that it can only be played on monsters not immune to the Attack trait after a combat, I wonder why it actually has the Attack trait.

On the other hand, if I was running Setyiel, I'd be pretty happy to have a utility attack spell in my deck, so there's that.

Shadow Lodge

Keith Richmond wrote:
Hmm, an entire group of Arue's, with a table's worth of gifts on every turn is a troubling proposition.

I'm sure that can be avoided using something like only 1 of her gifts per game similar to the loot rolls.


First World Bard wrote:
zeroth_hour wrote:
Oh, S&S Shadow Merisiel automatically succeeds on her Knowledge check... :D who cares about d20s, automatic success!
Of course, she still has to acquire the darned thing; it doesn't have a Knowledge check to acquire. :)

Someone else gets it, hands it off to her after the scenario. :)


Oooooh my goodness that Steal Soul spell looks SO GREAT. Imrijka wants that right NOW. And I can't wait to play as a SUCCUBUS.


bbKabag wrote:
I imagine that's a no because if it were, everyone would just choose not to attempt just to secure that the party gets that ally.

It still costs a card that she might not want to give up.

Pathfinder ACG Developer

bbKabag wrote:

Wow, I did not see this coming. Picking which characters to play is a difficult choice as it is. Oh boy!

Question about her Fallen role:
When a player chooses not to attempt to acquire a card (Ally), is that considered as failing a check to acquire an an ally?

I imagine that's a no because if it were, everyone would just choose not to attempt just to secure that the party gets that ally.

There's really no downside to attempting the check. If you succeed she doesn't have to spend a card!


Oh that's right. DOH! might as well attempt it.

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

Hawkmoon269 wrote:
What are the odds on getting her artwork added to the community use package?

I'll look into that.

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

Scripted wrote:
bbKabag wrote:

Wow, I did not see this coming. Picking which characters to play is a difficult choice as it is. Oh boy!

Question about her Fallen role:
When a player chooses not to attempt to acquire a card (Ally), is that considered as failing a check to acquire an an ally?

I imagine that's a no because if it were, everyone would just choose not to attempt just to secure that the party gets that ally.

Not attempting is the same as failing the check. Still no reason not to attempt the check though - if you succeed you save Arushalae from spending a card, if you fail she gets it anyway.

The rulebook says "If you choose not to acquire a boon, it counts as failing to acquire it."

That's not precisely the same as failing a *check* to acquire it, though. If you didn't attempt a check, you didn't fail a check.


Vic Wertz wrote:
Hawkmoon269 wrote:
What are the odds on getting her artwork added to the community use package?
I'll look into that.

Thanks. ThinKing about it more, even if her full artwork could just be in the blog that would cover using it to make pawns and stuff. No need to put it in the community use package as the only way to cover that. Thanks again Vic. Most appreciated.


I have a question on Steal Soul. In this post it makes it sound like the character who defeated the monster gets the bonus die but the card says the character who played Steal Soul gets the die. Which is the correct way? Just want to check if this needed errata.

Sovereign Court

yardswimmer wrote:
I have a question on Steal Soul. In this post it makes it sound like the character who defeated the monster gets the bonus die but the card says the character who played Steal Soul gets the die. Which is the correct way? Just want to check if this needed errata.

Mechanically I'd say the caster. They have the power to take a soul, not the gunslinger.


Yea that does make sense.


Wow, this set looks amazing. The banes are really ramping up in difficulty, and so are the powers of many Wrath characters.

I wonder what kind of effect the powerful banes will have on OP and how we'll keep pace? Playtesting AD 3 at Gencon could be really painful.

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

Andrew L Klein wrote:
yardswimmer wrote:
I have a question on Steal Soul. In this post it makes it sound like the character who defeated the monster gets the bonus die but the card says the character who played Steal Soul gets the die. Which is the correct way? Just want to check if this needed errata.
Mechanically I'd say the caster. They have the power to take a soul, not the gunslinger.

The card is correct—I adjusted the blog.

Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer

Hawkmoon269 wrote:
Vic Wertz wrote:
Hawkmoon269 wrote:
What are the odds on getting her artwork added to the community use package?
I'll look into that.
Thanks. ThinKing about it more, even if her full artwork could just be in the blog that would cover using it to make pawns and stuff. No need to put it in the community use package as the only way to cover that. Thanks again Vic. Most appreciated.

Adding her to the package is on the to-do list.


Vic Wertz wrote:
Hawkmoon269 wrote:
Vic Wertz wrote:
Hawkmoon269 wrote:
What are the odds on getting her artwork added to the community use package?
I'll look into that.
Thanks. ThinKing about it more, even if her full artwork could just be in the blog that would cover using it to make pawns and stuff. No need to put it in the community use package as the only way to cover that. Thanks again Vic. Most appreciated.
Adding her to the package is on the to-do list.

Awesome. Thanks Vic.


Vic Wertz wrote:
Andrew L Klein wrote:
yardswimmer wrote:
I have a question on Steal Soul. In this post it makes it sound like the character who defeated the monster gets the bonus die but the card says the character who played Steal Soul gets the die. Which is the correct way? Just want to check if this needed errata.
Mechanically I'd say the caster. They have the power to take a soul, not the gunslinger.
The card is correct—I adjusted the blog.

Thanks Vic!


Re: Soul Steal - can I assume it's OK to play it on a monster with the "Succeed at Check X or you can't play Attack spells..." ability?

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