The idea hit me near the end of "Night of Frozen Shadows" and I had a hard time shaking it. The following is a series of events that took place in our JR campaign that smoothed out a few issues and made for an exciting new twist on the AP.
(*Some Spoilers Included*)
So far, Ameiko had fallen into a coma during "The Brinewall Legacy" and had managed to get herself captured the very first time we left her with the caravan in Kalsgard. It got to the point that the characters were muttering to themselves about perhaps leaving Ameiko to her fate and looking for more lucrative adventure than that of Minkai's shaky destiny. (Some friends, huh?) As has been noted in other threads, Ameiko was becoming a liability and we feared she'd never live long enough to see the Jade Throne.
I was playing an elven Blackblade Magus who was making short work of most of the AP's encounters and the GM was questioning the classes balance within the campaign. Although my character was CG, the GM had decided that the blackblade was a LE ancestor that had been imprisoned within the blade due to his malicious hatred towards humans, and he was slowly taking over my character's mind.
It was evident that a change needed to take place to pave the way for the next chapter so I brainstormed with my GM and the results have been a fantastic and memorable addition to our game.
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Thus, my magus (Sindarin) was secretly possessed by his ancestor (Malcor Tahl) and the two of them traded places. Now Sindarin was trapped within his own blade and Malcor Tahl (who just so happens to be a powerful wizard) was free to invoke his plan. A plan that involved forming an alliance with the 5 Storms and betraying the heroes within the halls of Ravenscraeg. In return for his aid, Malcor Tahl wanted the 5 Storms to unleash their power on those human nations and cities that refused to relinquish ancestral elven lands. With the Amatatsu Scions all slain, Malcor Tahl and the 5 Storms could focus on new territories to conquer outside of the realm of Tian Xia.
When the heroes managed to sneak their way into Ravenscraeg, Malcor Tahl betrayed them to the guardians of the keep and fled to meet with Kimandatsu and offer his bid for allegiance (I handed my character sheet over and retired my Magus as a PC.) All hell broke loose and the heroes were attacked on all sides by the sudden assault!
Meanwhile, Ameiko became my new character, and with the help of Ulf and Skygni's frost breath, managed to break the brittle bars of her cell and escape. She met up with the heroes later on and joined them in the fight!
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As a PC, Ameiko is wielding Suishen and has replaced all of her previous levels with Samurai levels (we already have a rogue and bard). Essentially, Suishen has flooded her mind and body with the groundwork training and edicts of the samurai and continues to mentally train her as the days go by. At first he was physically controlling her body in combat, but Ameiko is slowly learning the way of the warrior through his strict instruction and discipline and he is relinquishing control to her.
With Ameiko as a PC, not only is she less of a liability in the AP, but she now has a real voice and a relevant and progressive hand in claiming the Jade Throne for herself.
Malcor Tahl has become a major recurring villain in the campaign and is racing the heroes to Minkai in hopes of gaining an alliance in exchange for his intimate knowledge of the Scions as well as his assistance in killing them off.
Also, the blackblade (with an audible and communicating Sindarin still inside) was found floating in Kimandatsu's koi pond. Malcor Tahl cast it aside as he does not fight with a blade and had no use for his previous prison. It is now being wielded by a fellow PC named Cadence, Sindarin's half-sister, and there is plenty of great humor and quotes that comes from her wielding her brother in battle!
All in all, for our group, it turned out to be a great twist on the story and for me it become a chance to breath some life into the AP's focus and one of my favorite NPCs in Golarion.
