Generic Villain's page

Did anybody else get the idea to create a Pathfinder replacement for the infamous artifact The Eye of Vecna by statting out "The Eye of Zon-Kuthon"? Then again one might go from there to all of the other things he's apparently cut off or had removed over the years and that those pieces of divine flesh might still be out there, corrupting the innocent to the ways of pain... Hmmm.

I bet Z-K has an artifact Nipple Clamp of Exquisite Pain too. Oh if only I were just making that magical item up...

Generic Villain wrote:

This has been my favorite Pathfinder adventure so far, and that includes the Rise of the Runelords path. Why? Because of Castlevania.

I was interested in what others had been saying about this adventure and was tempted. You, Sir, have just earned Paizo another sale. :D I'll be adding this to my next order, after I've moved.

Peace,

tfad

Well dang, hopefully we have similar taste then. I'd hate to dissapoint by proxy.

It's a fine adventure though, so I doubt that'll happen. The castle's also huge, and only about 1/3 of its rooms have keyed, descriptive encounters, so it leaves a ton of possibility for custom stuff. Y'know, like a coliseum in the basement, a nice marble gallery, some alchemy labs, etc. etc. If I have the time I plan on doing just that before I run this.

Generic Villain wrote:

I could almost hear "Vampire Killer" playing as I started reading.

Dude, I've got the soundtracks to a half dozen Castlevania games on my iTunes and they'd be perfect fit for this. Someday (soon hopefully) we'll get the time to put together some soundtrack suggestions for the APs, and when we do, you'll totally see some "Bloody Tears" and "Gothic Vampire Slayer" action on that list! ^_~

Nice. Yeah, growing up as I did with the SNES, I've been through pretty much every game of that series. The music has always been great, even back to the cheasy 8-bit beats. If you're interested, there's a website (http://www.ocremix.org/) that has tons of video game music remixes on it, including all the Castlevanias. It's a fan site, all free, and there's some great stuff there.

Generic Villain wrote:

An advanced, gargantuan corpse orgy would make a perfect Granfaloon.

So something like... this?

Yup yup, that'd do just fine. I'd love to see the look on my player's faces if I described there enemy as a giant, flying corpse ball.

On a related note, if I ever have a daughter, I'll name her Alexandra. If I ever have a son though, I'll name him Corpse Orgy.

(Caution: post includes dorky video game references)

This has been my favorite Pathfinder adventure so far, and that includes the Rise of the Runelords path. Why? Because of Castlevania.

I absolutely love that video game series, and have always toyed with making a D&D adventure with Castlevania themes, but never got around to it. Greg Vaughn beat me to it, and I'm so okay with that. I could almost hear "Vampire Killer" playing as I started reading.

The first time I read the info on the Corpse Orgy monster, I immediately thought of Granfaloon from CV: Symphony of the Night. He's this tentacle-y ball thing that surrounds himself in a huge shell of zombies, which you slowly have to chip away at. An advanced, gargantuan corpse orgy would make a perfect Granfaloon.

I think when I run this adventure, I'll add some kind of unkillable Frankenstein's Monster-type bad guy that'll hunt the party throughout the castle. Maybe turn the juju zombie half-orc into a half-flesh golem that can only be permanently killed when the chain spirit is destroyed or something. Maybe give him a chainsaw...

OK I'm done. Heh.

Generic Villain wrote:

...Eh, really really sorry, but it was actually the Tome of Horrors 2. Definitely, really sorry about that. It's been awhile since I looked through those.

No worries. I already had ToH2, but forgot about the entry in the back. ToH3 is great, too. I just read the section in ToH2 on the N'Gathau. It definitely seems like there could be a connection between the two. The power Zon-Kuthon contacted that changed him into what he is now may be connected to The Twelve as described in the N'Gathau. I think it's entirely possible that ZK could have stumbled into the Plane of Agony and met with something even more powerful than the Quorum.

Glad my poor memory didn't cause too much trouble. I don't think the N'gathau are open content, but that doesn't mean *we* couldn't use them. I loved the idea of storing pain in receptacles, which reminded me a lot of Hellraiser's "Lament Configuration" rubix cubes, and that would make sense for Zon. Some bad guys trade in souls, he could trade in pain.

The artwork for the Twelve was good too. They could fit perfectly as Zon-Kuthon's cohorts/buddies.

Generic Villain wrote:

Hey for anyone that's interested, there's a Cenobite-y monster template in Tome of Horrors 3 called the N'Gathau.

GV, I just purchased ToH3 based on this recommendation (and on the other "Tome" volumes' reputation). I managed to get the full descriptions of some of the creatures from the Scarwall adventure, but I can't find the creature you're talking about. What page is it on?

...Eh, really really sorry, but it was actually the Tome of Horrors 2. Definitely, really sorry about that. It's been awhile since I looked through those.

Oh hey that reminds me; why was Zon-Kuthon's article so short? 5 pages compared to Abadar's 7, Lamashtu's 8, and Desna's 9. I really wanted some sick, twisted prestige class.

Hey for anyone that's interested, there's a Cenobite-y monster template in Tome of Horrors 3 called the N'Gathau. It's a shame that part isn't OGL, because they'd make awesome servants of Zon-Kuthon.

*Edit*

It's a shame Clive Barker decided to come out. That inner torment was so his muse. Same with Stephen King and the drugs. Hmm, I wonder what Nicholas Logue's muse is? (Shudder).

*Another, more important EDIT*

Tome of Horrors 2. The N'Gathau are in the Tome of Horrors 2. My bad.

Alright, well it looks like we'll be getting some info on Golarion's solar system with the 3rd AP, but I have to say, is one solar system enough? I mean Earth's solar system only has like, what, 20 planets or something right? I don't know if that's large enough for my super awesome campaign.

I think we deserve some concrete answers about Golarion's *universe*. Answers to questions such as...

-Roughly how many galaxies does it have?
-How close is the nearest star (not including Golarion's sun)?
-What is the real nature of dark matter/dark energy, or is all the universe's gravity accounted for by other means?
-If dark matter is a material substance, can my Fighter dual-wield two bastard swords made out of it?
-Is "time" an artifical concept that depends entirely on perception, or is it a concrete, measureable variable? In the latter case, is it the 4th dimension? Is time cyclical? If it is cyclical, how would you explain a timestop spell?
-Are there quark stars in Golarion's universe? Can my epic Wizard develop a spell that can shoot quark stars at his enemies, perhaps first uttering the mystic phrase "Kamehameha!"?

Also, I have a related question about Azatoth, HP Lovecraft's blind idiot god at the center of the universe. Since he has been confirmed to exist in Golarion in the Crucible of Chaos module, is it possible that Azatoth is really just an enormous flumph who has been flipped over for so long that he's just plain gone nuts? I think this is the most logical explanation.

Thanks in advance for answering all my questions in the form of a huge sourcebook with small type and no pictures.

...Nocticula is among them. It's a somewhat different incarnation of Nocticula from the one in The Book of Fiends (the flavor in that book isn't open content, so we can't really use that incarnation anyway); in Golarion, she actually IS the patron of succubi; she's also the patron of assassins and shadows.

Well, you gotta have at least one succubus queen. I just liked how, in Book of Fiends, they didn't just make Nocticula more of the same. She still had a decidedly female portfolio, but wasn't yet another seductress.

In any case, of the 30 or so I've got so far, I'd say roughly a third are familiar names to D&D fans (like Pazuzu, Baphomet, and Orcus)...

So Orcus will be in Golarion? I coulda sworn I read something about him not being around...

No! Think of the poor spamelopes!

Random question. What Demon Lords does Golarion use? Are Demogorgon, Grazz't, Baphomet, Yeenoghu, Zuggtmoy, etc. available, or are new ones being used?

'Cause I could go on for hours developing Demogorgon or Yeenoghu or Baphomet-worshipping Drow communities...

They won't be using Yeenoghu or Zuggtmoy, but the others are possible. And I read that Orcus also probably won't be used, because he's already playing a big part in 4th edition, as well as Necromancer Games' stuff, so they don't want him to be overused.

We know Pazuzu is around, thanks to the Lamashtu article. And James Jacobs was asking how people pronounce Kostchichie (sp), so you can count him in. Other than that I'd expect Paizo to make some of their own demon lords, and personally that excites me much more than their spin of "classic" ones.

One demon lord I'd definitely like to see is Nocticula. She's one of the few non-succubus-y females, and has a really interesting portfolio. I'm not sure if her name is public domain though. Oh well.

I like that the Golarion dark elves apparently worship demon lords instead of proper gods. After all, when first written, their "goddess" Lolth was really nothing of the sort. Just another demon lord. Heh, so maybe "what I love about the drow" is that we'll invariably be getting info on Golarion's demon lords in Second Darkness. Hmm, is that cheating?

The drow crossbow fetish is fun. Crossbows are sort of second-class citizens in the 3rd edition ranged weapon family, so maybe we could see some feats for them?

Drow eat faerie fire. That's the secret to their spell-like abilities and SR.

I like 4th for its simplicity, and I like 3rd for its complexity. They really are two very different games, which is fine by me. I'll play both as long as both are enjoyable.

F. Wesley Schneider wrote:

How about this. Wait till Pathfinder #14, and then ask this question again.

Mmmm... 4th adventure path will have "out of Golarion" modules? Don't you think it is too soon?

1st and 2nd are in Varisa
3rd goes out Varisia
4th goes out Golarion
5th goes out of ?????

Pathfinder #14 is the 2nd adventure in the *3rd* adventure path. If I had to wager, Second Darkness will involve other planets in Golarion's solar system. There are some tantalizing hints in the Pathfinder Chronicles Gazetteer; namely, rumors of a series of interplanetary gates that link all the worlds together. And considering that Second Darkness seems aberration-centric, this makes sense. Where better to find alien aberrations than on alien planets?

As for miniature giant space hamsters, I only have one thing to say: "Go for the eyes Boo! Go for the eyes! Raaawwwrrrr!"

Nope, definitely Vecna. Azalin was there too of course, and had some adventures of his own, but Vecna was the real super lich of Ravenloft. He was stuck on a cruddy island, and only ruled half of it; the other half was ruled by (surprise!) Kas.

Oh okay, my bad; I thought your party was the one that originally killed Malkith, like, 8,000 years ago. Guess that wouldn't have made much sense huh?

As for Venca, I loved him most as a Dark Lord of Ravenloft. Why? Well, when he was statted out he had straight 25s in all six attributes. I was quite a bit younger back then, and maybe sort of a munchkin, so Venca's awesomeness just floored me. Plus, in the (final) 2nd edition adventure Die Venca Die!, you get to invade his palace. And it's amazing. About a half-dozen full-strength liches, vampire prostitutes, a rack loaded with dozens of intelligent weapons, and enough Vecna relics to replace most of your body parts. Good times.

Well darnit Mr. Mona, Mr. Adhar didn't do a very good job. I mean for being redeemed, Malkith sure looks poised to resurrect and once again unleash all kinds of hurt on the poor souls of Ptolus.

Seriously though, as far as villains go, if you can make the Whispering Tyrant even half as cool as Eslathagos Malkith, that'll be a victory. Monte really captured the nihilistic, almost impotent nature of pure evil with him. Normally when I read something like "villain X is so evil, he makes demons look Chaotic Neutral", I just sigh and shake my head. But with Malkith, I really believed he could teach a balor a thing or two about being naughty.

Eh, but enough Monte-related gushing. As a villain connoisseur I'm already loving Tar-Baphon, and looking forward to the day when he might rear his head in print form.

Anyone here know of a certain uber-villain from Ptolus named Eslathagos Malkith?

(Spoilers for anyone planning a Ptolus campaign)

Him and Tar-Baphon have a lot in common. Malkith once ruled from his fortress of Jabel Shammar until he was defeated, then his remaining essence became trapped in said fortress. Same deal as Tar-Baphon and Gallowspire. Both are really high-level, evil liches (though Malkith was a cleric). Both ruled with an iron fist and an army of savages (orcs for Tar-Baphon, orcs and lots of other stuff for Malikth). Neither are "active" threats in their worlds. Instead, they are contained... at least for the moment.

Heh, but the funny thing is, that archetype actually fits a lot of past D&D villains: Zhengyi the Witch-King in Forgotten Realms (Castle Perilous, army of orcs and assassins, killed in 2nd edition), Azalin from Ravenloft (Castle Avernus, army of undead, sort-of killed once), and pre-divine Vecna from Greyhawk (Citadel Cavitius, armies of everything, died at least twice).

I guess every campaign setting needs a good boogeyman eh?

Cool, thanks for the tidbit James. When you put it that way, maybe the Oliphaunt is Golarion's answer to Cthulhu. That'd make sense, as I remember reading somewhere that Earthbound Lovecraft horrors like Cthulhu and Shudde M'ell wouldn't be making the Pathfinder crossover (...on account of being stuck on Earth).

Hmm, sorry to double post but I noticed something looking at the Oliphaunt's pic. He has the Rune of Wrath branded on his forehead, and whoever is summoning him is using the same rune. I know that the seven sins are an important theme in Golarion, so maybe each sin has its own super-monster? Just a thought.

Thanks yoda8myhead, that's a nice wiki. I forgot that everything has a wiki these days, heh. And alas I do not have the Classic Monsters book yet. I know I know, shame on me - it's on my short list of stuff to buy when I have money again.

As for the Oliphaunt, I'm fairly sure it isn't the tarrasque; the tarrasque is said to be the most powerful Spawn of Rovagug in the Pathfinder Chronicles Gazetteer. You can see a picture of the Oliphaunt on page 63 of Pathfinder 5 (among other places), though you can only make out its enormous head. I'll bet the Oliphaunt is similar to the Mantis God. Which is to say, Godzilla-esque is size, fairly dumb, and insanely strong with a really high CR. I'd love to see him statted out one day.

I love demigods. Maybe it's the underdog appeal, or maybe, as I suspect, they're more creative than the "core" gods. See, every campaign needs a death god. And a nature god. And a LG paladin god, a trickster god, a war god, and a smattering of evil gods. A few racial gods are important too. My point is, I think when it comes to designing the core gods, the designers are sort of creatively stymied. I mean I love what they did with Urgathoa for example, but in every evil death god is going to follow a simila archetype.

But minor gods, that's a whole different story. You can let all sorts of weirdness fly with these guys, and never have to justify that weirdness, because hey... they're just minor gods anyway. So I've decided to comb through the Paizo products I have and make a list of these unsung divinities. I don't own all the Paizo stuff though, so I'm sure I'm missing at least a few.

So now, in no particular order, are the minor gods of Golarion.

-Chamidu: Vudran goddess of beasts. Depicted as a six-armed, four-faced giant who rides a tiger with human hands for paws.
Source: Pathfinder 9, page 33

-Diomazul, Serpent of Eigthy Blades: Vudran god of ruthless fury and cruelty in battle. Depicted as a snake with dozens of arms, each wielding a blade.
Source: Pathfinder 9, page 54

-Achaekek, the Mantis God: LE demigod (sort of), he is the assassin of the gods.
Source: Pathfinder 9, page 81

-Ghlaunder: CE demigod of parasites and infection. Said to appear as a giant mosquito.
Source: Pathfinder 2, page 70

-Droskar: Evil dwarven god of toil.
Source: Hollow's Last Hope, page 9

-Apsu: LG god of dragons, glory, leadership, and peace. Sire of metallic dragons, and enemy/father of Dahak. His mate was once Tiamat.
Source: Pathfinder 4, page 62

-Dahak: CE god of destruction, dragons, evil, and treachery. Universally hated by all dragons.
Source: Source: Pathfinder 4, page 62

-Tiamat: Along with her mate Apsu, she may have created Golarion.
Source: Source: Pathfinder 4, page 61

-Fandarra: N goddess of birth, death, earth, and knowledge. Worshiped mostly by stone giants.
Source: Pathfinder 4, page 56

-Minderhal: LE god of creation, justice, giants, and strength. Now worshiped only by stone giants, but was once far more popular.
Source: Pathfinder 4, page 56

-Urazra and the Bear Cult: God of battle, brutality, and strength. A new faith, followed mostly by stone giants.
Source: Pathfinder 4, page 57

-Lissala: Former goddess of runes, fate, and reward of service. Her faith is now dead.
Source: Pathfiner 1, page 78

-The Peacock Spirit: Former god of the mind, body, and soul. This dead faith was intentionally shrouded in mystery.
Source: Pathfiner 1, page 78

Shadow essence is a type of poison (DMG page 297).

I have to say, while reading through the Vekker cabin, I was groaning the whole time. Not because I didn't like it (quite the contrary), but because I knew every page dedicated to the cabin was a page lost for Xin-Shalast. But it did help make the Kodar Mountains that much more foreboding. Plus, I love the new take on wendigos - I've always felt a little jipped by the Fiend Folio version.

And personally, I think I'm gonna have a blast expanding on the City of Greed with sidequests and such. Heck, if I really decide to go all out, I'll turn Xin-Shalast into a mini campaign all its own before the Karzoug finale.

When someone asks me what my favorite band/CD is, and I have to think of something to say other that "the soundrack to Okami (or other video game)", "Overclocked Remix", or "Nobuo Uematsu". So sad.

Thanks for the Greyhawk info infomatic. As an FR man myself, everything I've learned about GH has come from Dungeon/Dragon Magazine, Cannonfire, and messageboards like this.

But yeah, on second thought Y probably isn't Tharidzun. I remember reading Y described somewhere as "the Maure's demonic patron", and Tharidzun never struck me as demonic per se. On checking the Fiendish Codex I, the only listed demon lord who's name begins with Y is Yibyru, who is as I recall the idiot mother (daughter?) of Zuggmoy. I seriously doubt the Maures would devote themselved to a low-ranking demon lord that Uncle could probably bind with a spell or two. Maybe Y is one of those proto-demons that we've occasionally heard about? Or an Obyrith lord?

After looking back on the Eye of the Elders artifact, I got one other idea. I had read somewhere that the Suel archmages practiced something called "Power Magic", but I couldn't find any information on Power Magic. However, one of the Eye of the Elder's powers is a magic word that translates into Power, and gives an arcane caster huge benefits. Maybe this eye is the thing that taught the Suel their magical ways? Or maybe I'm connecting dots that aren't there. Either way, I've really enjoyed the mysteries of Maure Castle. I haven't been this interested in a dungeon since I first opened the Ruins of Undermountain.

Hey Rob, when you're all done with the Maure extravaganza, you should make a final adventure: "Maure Family Reunion". The Maures and all their friends would get together and have a barbecue on some out-of-the-way layer of the Abyss.

I can see it now: that old trickster Afelbain would cast animate dead on the burgers to freak out the chicks. There'd be plenty of reminiscing too. ("Hey Zenebar, remember that time when we were kids, and you broke my favorite doll? And to get back at you, I locked you in the Closet of Excruciating Torment and Mind-Shattering Horror for the whole afternoon! Those were the days"). Of course Yeenoghu would show up drunk, as usual. He'd make passes at Malcanthet, who would respond by playfully showing him what being flayed alive by a +5 shocking burst adamantine scourge feels like. And I figure by now Uncle is a little senile, but since he's a 26th-level wizard, all the junior Maures have to pretend like they care about his ramblings ("Did I ever tell you kids about the time I fell in love with a great wyrm prismatic dragon? Well it all began 4,547 years ago...). Yeah, that'd be a family reunion I'd actually want to go to.

Yup, my guess is Tharizdun. I figure I may as well go on with my little theory now. And on the off chance that I'm right...

******Spoilers Ahead******

So why T? I think I remember reading a post by Rob mentioning that Tharizdun might have a role in Maure Castle. And really, as the Maures are a bunch of psychopaths anyway, who better to be their patron than the King Psychopath?

Tharizdun's symbol is described as "A black triangle with an inverted yellow Y inscribed within". A "Y" you say? Maybe like the "Y" that all those wizards seem so interested in? I've always seen T's symbol as that chaotic swirly thing, but I guess that's actually the Elder Elemental Eye's symbol (which makes sense, as the EEE is Tharizdun's less-crazy alter ego).

Tharizdun is trapped in a prison demiplane. It's been pretty well established that he isn't going anywhere without some serious help. So who better to help bust him out than Dalt, "The Opener of Ways"? The kid is a divine lockpick.

As I recall though, Dalt is a neutral god. He'd never willingly unleash something as dangerous and evil as T. So if the Maures were to secure his aid, they'd have to deceive him. Hmmm... who do we know that likes to deceive? Here's a hint: he's a 15-foot-tall blue ape demon lord with wings.

Assuming I'm right, here's my interpretation of the four visions the characters see when touching Fraz's portrait:
1: Dalt arriving at the behest of the Maures.
2: Elluvia (the tall woman) is seducing Dalt into doing the Maure's will.
3: Dalt is preparing to enter T's prison and free him.
4: Elluvia is not Elluvia at all. Or rather, she had been possessed by Fraz-Urb'luu for the purpose of tricking Dalt.

For all their planning though, the Maures obviously failed. The way I see it, after realizing that her supposed allies allowed a demon lord to possess her, Eluvia became understandable angry. And there's a good chance that the Maures would just dispose of her when she had served her purpose, as she was always a black sheep anyway. But Elluvia (with the aid of Malcanthet) managed to somehow get the last laugh.

On an unrelated note, I think the staff refered to in Shad-Duan's portrait might be the Staff of Shadow Maiming from issue 112. It's a minor artifact obviously dedicated to Yeenoghu. Maybe if you stick that staff in the right place, Yeenoghu will show up and grant you three wishes or something?

Long time reader, first time poster. Anyway, I think I may have solved the "Y" riddle, but in the event that I'm right, I don't want to ruin the surprise. Here's where I got the idea for my little theory though: Monster Manual IV, page 7, bottom left corner, "symbol".