Pathfinder Module J5: Beyond the Vault of Souls (OGL)

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Pathfinder Module J5: Beyond the Vault of Souls (OGL)
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A journey-based adventure for 9th-level characters

Magical soul gems have been stolen from the secret vault of the goddess of death and scattered across the planes. Some want these gems to unlock the secrets of the multiverse. Others want them for personal power. Still others want them to resurrect a fallen deity. As the god of oblivion looms near, can the PCs retrieve the gems from their new owners in time to save their world?

Beyond the Vault of Souls is a planar adventure for 9th-level characters, compatible with the 3.5 edition of the world's oldest roleplaying game. Within you'll visit the Eternal City of Axis, brave the dangers of the Abyss, and match wits with the torturer daemons of Abaddon.

This adventure is set in the Outer Sphere of the Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting, but can easily be placed in the strange planes and dimensions of any game world. It can be used on its own or enhanced with information from Pathfinder Chronicles: The Great Beyond—A Guide to the Multiverse.

Written by Colin McComb.

Pathfinder Modules are 32-page, high-quality, full-color, OGL-compatible adventures for use with the 3.5 Edition of the world's most popular fantasy RPG. All Pathfinder Modules include four pre-made characters so players can jump right into the action, and full-color maps to enhance play.

ISBN 13: 978-1-60125-174-9

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Even Without Indy, the Ark's Still in the Warehouse

3/5

NO SPOILERS

I ran (part of) Beyond the Vault of Souls in my "Roots of Golarion" campaign that integrated a bunch of 3.5-era adventures. The group only made it through the first couple parts before the campaign went on hiatus, and we decided to pick back up with something else. That shouldn't be seen as a criticism of the module itself. Reading through it carefully for the purposes of this review, I can say I really like how it fleshes out some interesting locations that could be reused for future adventures. The overall plot is interesting, but the problem is akin to that identified by Amy Farrah Fowler about the first Indiana Jones movie: the story would end in exactly the same way with if Indy (or here, the PCs) never participated at all. There's also a sort of metaphysical/philosophical complaint I have with how the module (or perhaps, by extension, the setting) treats atheists, which I'll get to in the spoilers section. And a last general note is that this is not an easy adventure to run--a GM should set aside a lot of prep time, as there are a lot of NPCs and the story can unfold in some different ways (which is a good thing, of course).

In terms of aesthetics, the cover art is pretty cool, and you can't go wrong with a giant demon crumpling Valeros' sword like it was made out of tin. The interior maps are really attractive, but for the purposes of encounters, a GM would need a *lot* of grid space--just an FYI for the old-fashioned tabletop gamers among us. The interior artwork is a real mixed bag, with the artwork for locations pretty good and atmospheric, but the artwork for NPCs very far from current Paizo standards.

SPOILERS!:

Beyond the Vault of Souls is one of those adventures that really ups the stakes. Not only are the PCs fighting to save a town, or even a country, or even all of Golarion, but to save the entire multiverse! (I guess the writer had a "go big or go home" mentality.) The premise of the adventure is that in Pharasma's Vault of Souls sits the hardened and crystalline souls of mortal atheists awaiting oblivion. These souls are ironically crucial to repelling the skeleton moon of Groetus from crashing into the Spire of the Boneyard, the event that will end all of existence. But someone has been stealing these soul gems, and if they're not returned soon, the entire multiverse could be destroyed! A couple of problems immediately present themselves to me with this premise. First, the adventure doesn't seem to really understand atheists, and how their beliefs would carry over into a fantasy setting where it's pretty obvious that magic, the supernatural, and other planes exist. They very well might believe that super powerful beings called "gods" exist, but that that doesn't make them worthy of worship. Second, an adventure writer has to always envision what happens if the PCs fail. In a novel or movie, the stakes can be as high as the author wants, because they control the outcome--but in an adventure, the stakes can't be so high that the entire campaign (and campaign setting!) is erased on a failure. Even the six-part adventure paths never have stakes that high. Unfortunately, the way the module deals with that problem is by making the PCs' actions irrelevant--everything turns out just fine whether the the PCs fail, succeed, or never turn up at all.

The module starts with the PCs in the Cheliaxian city of Westcrown. Why exactly they're in that specific city is something the GM will have to figure out, as the module doesn't provide any hooks beyond the most generic "maybe they're there to meet someone or researching something" advice. The PCs are contacted by Taibhill the Mystic, a cleric of Pharasma, who explains he's received a vision from his goddess that instructed him to contact the PCs specifically to help retrieve the stolen soul gems (though he doesn't explain why they're important). He does offer them a pretty good incentive: a free resurrection in the future. Taibhill points the PCs in the direction of a local Westcrown wizard named Khandescus Leroung. Khandescus has got his hands on three of the soul gems and is researching them in his tower. The PCs can persuad Khandescus to hand over the gems, but he explains he'll need to remove several magical wards he's set up to guard them, and that will take some time. He instructs the group to wait in a nearby tavern while he does so. In a very dramatic scene, the PCs see several masked wizards assaulting Khandescus' tower before there's a huge explosion. Rushing to the scene, they find a badly-wounded Khandescus who says the attackers set off his wards, which scattered the gems to various locations in the Outer Sphere. He conveniently opens a portal for the group to Axis, saying someone there named Torleinn will help them. Frankly, I'd be surprised if most groups actually go wait patiently in the inn as instructed so that the cut-scene can take place as planned. Most GMs will need to improvise here.

In Axis, the PCs meet Torleinn (an exiled Chelish wizard) in Norgorber's domain. She explains that the PCs need to head to Pharasma's domain to speak with the Keepers of the Vault (the ones charged with securing the soul gems from theft) because they're frantic to get the stolen soul gems back. There, a Keeper provides the group with a magical map that shows the location of the three gems across the multiverse (the Abyss, Abaddon, and a location that's initially unclear) and says that by touching the location, the PCs will be magically teleported there. It's ad hoc and suspiciously convenient magic, but I won't quibble. Neither the Keeper nor anyone else will have told the PCs why getting the missing soul gems back is so important. Another thing the PCs initially don't know is that another group is also pursuing the gems. The Children of the Reborn Glory believe that each gem contains a fragment of Aroden's soul, and that if they're all brought to particular place and a particular ritual is performed, the dead god will live again. The PCs will encounter the Children at multiple points in the adventure (and in the climax), and they can be enemies or allies.

When the PCs head to the Abyss, it may be different than they're expecting. Instead of a terrible wasteland, they'll arrive at a demon town called Taste of Anguish. It's actually a safer place than one might think, as I guess the demons want to encourage trade (!) and so visitors are welcome. I have to admit I never thought demons would have things like settlements, but the location is well-described and interesting, and it's a place GMs could use in the future. The soul gem is being guarded by an enhanced vrock named Tarigwydin the Upstart. Getting this gem should be relatively straightforward and easy. As an aside, I can't help pointing out there's a CR 30 vrock-like demon in the town! This fellow, Aahtsil, is apparently a historian of the demonic race. I've never seen Aahtsil referred to in any other Pathfinder product, but I wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley when he's in a bad mood.

The search for the soul gem on Abaddon is likely to be longer and move involved. The PCs appear at a sort of fortress/laboratory called The Cauldron. Again, some really nice flavour has been provided for it. This is a fifteen-room, multi-level dungeon crawl with foes like hydrodaemons, wraiths, and water elementals. The gem-holder here is a soul-gem-enhanced "meladaemon" (a new creature given a full write-up in an appendix). This is a hard encounter, and there's a lot the PCs need to contend with beside the "boss"--a machine oozing a nasty disease, a potentially deadly scythe trap, and worst of all, a "soul-fed golem" that, if it kills a PC, there's a 50% chance even a wish or miracle couldn't bring them back (and there are no retries if the attempt fails)! However, the PCs might not be on their own, as there are several opportunities to free prisoners held in the Cauldron, and they might join in the fight. It's likely to be a complicated sequence with so many moving parts, so a GM really needs to prepare well for it.

After the first two missing soul gems are recovered, the location of the third one becomes clear: it's back on Axis! The final part of the adventure has the PCs presumably interrupting a ceremony by the Children of the Reborn Glory to use soul gems to bring Aroden back. The complication here is that the Children are split into three different factions, each with a fully-statted NPC leader and several underlings, and the factions will inevitably try to betray one another during the ceremony. How this all plays out is very open-ended. The PCs may discover the cause of it all: a keketar protean named Song of Poison who first spread the idea of using the soul gems as a source of power so that they'd be stolen and order would unravel. Unfortunately for Song of Poison, he got it wrong and even if all the soul gems are destroyed in the ritual, the resulting portal to the Maelstrom is easily sealed by some axiomite soldiers. So, in retrospect, there was never really any danger to begin with, and Pharasma shouldn't have wasted her time giving the visions to Taibhill the Mystic, who shouldn't have wasted his time enlisting the PCs' aid, who shouldn't have wasted their time plane-hopping to get the soul gems back. As an existentialist, I'm all for the absurdity of existence and the ultimate futility of any endeavour, but I don't think that's the theme the author was trying to go for here.

All in all, Beyond the Vault of Souls is a mixed bag. The plot doesn't hold up well to scrutiny and it's a real bear to prepare. On the other hand, I do like the flavourful descriptions of several places in the Outer Realms and it provides a manageable way to get the PCs out on some planar adventures. I'm going to mix the highs with the lows and settle on average.


Great ideas, sketchy execution

2/5

There are a lot of big, neat concepts here; it may be worth buying as an idea source. Some good description, too. But it reads more like an outline than a worked-out adventure. This is especially problematic in part I where I almost have the impression that the PCs are supposed to sit on their hands rather than attempting to complete their mission.

The only part that is really worked out is the large multi-faction battle at the end, which would be excruciatingly difficult to run; and even here, if you approach it as a political problem, there's not enough material on the factions. (If you approach it as a fight, frankly, it's probably best for the PCs if they nuke all three factions indiscriminately, at which point the complex situation hardly matters.)

The module also indulges itself in a lot of heavy-handed NPC pushing of the PCs. It is not really a good idea to say "This NPC is too powerful for the PCs to fight, therefore they won't even try, therefore no stats are needed." Players don't tend to like this, and sometimes the hapless GM *will* need some stats. While you could argue that the PCs should be more careful, frankly if I were a careful PC I would refuse this assignment, as it seems well above the pay grade of the 9th-10th level PCs it is supposed to be for. So the PCs must be bold enough to do this, but lose that boldness at key moments--a difficult line to walk for both players and GMs.

I'm not entirely sorry I bought it, but I can't run it. Parts II and III might work tucked into some other adventure, if I ever need a short scenario set on those planes.


Not as good as I hoped

2/5

The two big planar trips are quite similar and the cool new planar stuff the players get to mess with only makes the "boss" stronger. Not fun! Also the final battle is a nightmare to run. Finally there are a lot of monsters you will need to sub out unless you have Tome of Horrors as the stat blocks are not complete, giving only HP, CR and a page reference.

There is a lot of nice ideas to expand the scope of the adventure though - kudos for this!


We need more Planar stuff!!!

5/5

Amazing adventure. 32-pages of 3-4 session gaming. Planescape author with just as much psycodellic planar stuff as you remember from the good old days. A little effort on the DM side to make it run smoothly. Oh, for sake, just grab it.

Paizo! We want more planar stuff!!! Keep em coming!


A great Planescape module :)

5/5

Written by one of the authors of the Planescape setting line, this module is the first planar adventure in the Paizo lineup.

"Beyond the Vault of Souls" features everything that made Planescape unique and vibrant, with dimensional travel, dead gods, daemons, demons, philosophy and strange answers to weird questions.

It's not a dungeon crawl and it's not an urban intrigue. There's a strong feel of other-worldiness and mystery. The are no philosophy clubs here, only philosophers with clubs. No Modrons sadly, curse you Sorcerers at the Bay !

All in all, if you are a Planescape fan and/or you are looking for an unique adventure, this one is a keeper. Not up everyone's alley, but certainly up mine. Excuse me, there is a keketar protean in my garden and he sings his song of ten thousands poisons. Ohhh yes, Planescape is back.

SERIOUS NOTE (really): This module pretty much expects the DM to have access to Paizo's The Great Beyond and Necromancer Games' Tome of Horrors Revised. Which is okay, as both books are all kinds of awesome.


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Dark Archive

Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber
Sean K Reynolds wrote:
By the way, Colin realized about halfway through designing this that he was going to be WAY over if he included a chapter about Elysium, so we decided to cut it. Now he's finishing it up and he and I are going to self-publish it as an inexpensive tie-in PDF encounter site. :)

How inexpensive is inexpensive?


Todd Stewart wrote:
Shame the thanodaemon working for Charon couldn't make it in either.

NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

DAEMON!!!!!!

*salty apocalyptic tears*

What daemons ARE in this module, I'm saving pennies to get it and I'd like to know what daemonic goodness(badness) I get for my buck!

Contributor

vagrant-poet wrote:
Todd Stewart wrote:
Shame the thanodaemon working for Charon couldn't make it in either.

NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

DAEMON!!!!!!

*salty apocalyptic tears*

What daemons ARE in this module, I'm saving pennies to get it and I'd like to know what daemonic goodness(badness) I get for my buck!

As far as new ones, you get a full bestiary entry on the meladaemon.

Contributor

How inexpensive is inexpensive?

Not sure. I think his rough text estimation was 7,000 words, which would be about 10 pages, which is 1/3 of a 32-page adventure. PDFs usually sell for about half of the print cost, so probably about $2.


I would definitely buy the cut chapter on Elysium. I wish this had been a larger module, but the line is fixed at 32 page adventures so I'm out of luck. Well, until I get that next 10 pp ;-)

Love the title on the cover; very pulp-like in its Weird Tales way. Glanced through the module to get the general idea. Flavor text is off the charts cool. I did have a few crunch questions, though.

References are made to Hydrodaemons et al. from Tome of Horrors Revised and so not statted up. But I don't own that book. Can I hope to see these creatures in the PF Bestiary? Otherwise, how do we stat them up?

The Meladaemon is one nasty critter; Todd would be proud. But the references to Slimy Doom as a special attack are not explained. Is this some sort of poison or disease statted up in the upcoming PFRPG?

Thanks.

Contributor

BenS wrote:
The Meladaemon is one nasty critter; Todd would be proud. But the references to Slimy Doom as a special attack are not explained.

I am proud of it, I wrote the bestiary entry. ;)

And Slimy Doom is a disease that was in the 3e/3.5 DMG. We'll see if it's in the PFRPG. I would assume so.

Contributor

BenS wrote:
References are made to Hydrodaemons et al. from Tome of Horrors Revised and so not statted up. But I don't own that book. Can I hope to see these creatures in the PF Bestiary? Otherwise, how do we stat them up?

TOHR is one of those books we assume most people have because it has SO many monsters from the previous editions.

Fortunately, there is also an OGL Book of Daemons with those writeups here: http://www.traykon.com/pdf/book_of_daemons.pdf

BenS wrote:
But the references to Slimy Doom as a special attack are not explained. Is this some sort of poison or disease statted up in the upcoming PFRPG?

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#slimyDoom

Silver Crusade

Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
BenS wrote:


References are made to Hydrodaemons et al. from Tome of Horrors Revised and so not statted up. But I don't own that book. Can I hope to see these creatures in the PF Bestiary? Otherwise, how do we stat them up?

Do yourself a treat and get the ToHR HERE. It's cheap and cool, and it is used often in Paizo products.


Sean K Reynolds wrote:
BenS wrote:
References are made to Hydrodaemons et al. from Tome of Horrors Revised and so not statted up. But I don't own that book. Can I hope to see these creatures in the PF Bestiary? Otherwise, how do we stat them up?

TOHR is one of those books we assume most people have because it has SO many monsters from the previous editions.

Fortunately, there is also an OGL Book of Daemons with those writeups here: http://www.traykon.com/pdf/book_of_daemons.pdf

BenS wrote:
But the references to Slimy Doom as a special attack are not explained. Is this some sort of poison or disease statted up in the upcoming PFRPG?
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#slimyDoom

Unfortunately, I think that is a mistaken assumption. I know a couple of dozen people that play, and none of us have the ToHR. :(

Contributor

Turin the Mad wrote:
Unfortunately, I think that is a mistaken assumption. I know a couple of dozen people that play, and none of us have the ToHR. :(

I'll admit, I don't have a copy.

Silver Crusade

Trust me, it's totally worth it. It's a cornucopia of awesome, crazy and wtf.

It introduced me to one of my new favorite fey, the Forlarren. Basically hits that same small niche as the Witch from Left4Dead. You know: "Aww, she just needs a hugOH GOD SHE JUST PUNCHED OUT ALL MY BLOODaww she's crying again..."

Sovereign Court

Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber
Gorbacz wrote:
Do yourself a treat and get the ToHR HERE. It's cheap and cool, and it is used often in Paizo products.

pdf is tempting, but I want it hardback and I want it Pathfinder! That right, I want a revised revised edition!


Sean K Reynolds wrote:
BenS wrote:
References are made to Hydrodaemons et al. from Tome of Horrors Revised and so not statted up. But I don't own that book. Can I hope to see these creatures in the PF Bestiary? Otherwise, how do we stat them up?

TOHR is one of those books we assume most people have because it has SO many monsters from the previous editions.

Fortunately, there is also an OGL Book of Daemons with those writeups here: http://www.traykon.com/pdf/book_of_daemons.pdf

BenS wrote:
But the references to Slimy Doom as a special attack are not explained. Is this some sort of poison or disease statted up in the upcoming PFRPG?
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#slimyDoom

Well, I don't have the TOHR, but for half price I'll probably get the pdf linked elsewhere here. I don't want to use the book of daemons pdf b/c it's all 3.0 stats, but I appreciate the gesture.

I found the slimy doom in the 3.5 DMG; it's been a long time since I looked at diseases.

And Todd, sorry for the missed credit on that totally sick Meladaemon!

Now I just need to hold out for the PF version of TOHR.

Sovereign Court

Colin McComb wrote:

(...) We'll see my reaction when Sean's done "developing" it - we might also say he'll be "taking a chainsaw" to it.

(...)
-Colin

What about a continuation in the J series?

I am very much in favour of a series of "planescapish" J series modules and the thread reads as if there were some more people very enthusiastic about follow ups... :-)

Kr,
Günther

Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8

Mosaic wrote:
Gorbacz wrote:
Do yourself a treat and get the ToHR HERE. It's cheap and cool, and it is used often in Paizo products.
pdf is tempting, but I want it hardback and I want it Pathfinder! That right, I want a revised revised edition!

I understand, but the PDF is a good buy.

The Exchange

I gotta say this, and it pains me to say it, I am disappointed in this product for one major reason.....
No stat blocks for a non-core set of creatures. Just a listing of HPs, where the creatures are found in the Tome of Horrors Revised and tactics. Hydrodaemons? If the stats were included I would have a clue what they are but with me not having the TOHR to reference they may as well be rapid demonic weasels for all I know. I thought the standard practice was to print stats of creatures not from the core set of D&D or OGL.
Disappointing. A lot of my disappointment is in not having a clue what makes these creatures different or interesting in relation to the module, which leaves me with a flat impression of the product despite it's good points.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Although Sean's right that the Tome of Horrors IS a pretty valuable aid in gaming, and if I were to pick only one book that I would include as an addition to the core rules we assume folks have it would be that book...

Omitting the full stat blocks for the hydrodaemons was an error; we should have either cut them from the adventure or cut enough other material from the adventure to make room for a full stat block for them. There's also a mention of derghodaemons on a wandering monster table; this isn't as much of an error since a GM can simply "reroll" that result and use stat blocks for something that he/she DOES have... but it would still have probably been better to use a different creature.

Daemons are not going to appear in the Bestiary, but if we do a Bestiary II product (there is, of course, a VERY high likelihood of this occurring) I'll certainly be pushing to include daemons in it (along with proteans, inevitables, and the other planar races that we didn't have room for in the first Bestiary).

Hydrodaemons are, basically, aquatic neutral evil fiends that live in the River Styx. They're kinda like frog monsters, similar in some ways to hezrou demons. They're CR 8 monsters, so they're a bit less scary than hezrous, though. The derghodaemons are a bit tougher; they're CR 10 beetle-like monsters with multiple arms that can clack their mandibles together to feeblemind foes, among other powers.

If you don't have access to Tome of Horrors, you can use the SRD or the MM to create some pretty close approximations of these monsters by using the half-fiend template.

You can create a replacement hydrodaemon by putting the half-fiend template on a sahuagin or skum and then giving that monster 6 levels of fighter or 10 levels of rogue. You can create a replacement derghodaemon by putting the half-fiend template on a 7th or 8th level cleric or sorcerer drider (or if you wish, a half-fiend 10 HD umber hulk works perfect too, although the umber hulk isn't in the SRD so you'll need to use the actual MM for that one).

Alternately, you could replace the derghodaemon with a 4th-level xill fighter, I suppose.

In any case, sorry we didn't put full stat blocks for these creatueres in the adventure. That's something that we normally try to do for non-core creatures, and we'll certainly be trying to do so in the future.

Would folks be interested in a web enhancement that basically provides the full stat blocks for the derghodaemon and the hydrodaemon? This would basically just amount to us reprinting the stat bocks right out of the Tome of Horrors with no flavor text or art (but with the OGL reprinted along with them of course). I'm not sure if something like this would be more useful or not; the versions Sean links to above work just as well...

The Exchange

James Jacobs wrote:

In any case, sorry we didn't put full stat blocks for these creatueres in the adventure. That's something that we normally try to do for non-core creatures, and we'll certainly be trying to do so in the future.

Would folks be interested in a web enhancement that basically provides the full stat blocks for the derghodaemon and the hydrodaemon? This would basically just amount to us reprinting the stat bocks right out of the Tome of Horrors with no flavor text or art (but with the OGL reprinted along with them of course). I'm not sure if something like this would be more useful or not; the versions Sean links to above work just as well...

Thanks for the reply and the good advice for creating an alternate thing-a-ma-whatzit. I'm glad it seems to be an oversight instead of a "you must have the TOHR" type of issue.

I would really appreciate a web enhancement that gives the omitted info, that way I could print it, put it in the module, and toss it on the ever-growing shelves of P-Finder stuff and not have to worry about finding it in a couple years online.
Thanks JJ.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Fake Healer wrote:

Thanks for the reply and the good advice for creating an alternate thing-a-ma-whatzit. I'm glad it seems to be an oversight instead of a "you must have the TOHR" type of issue.

I would really appreciate a web enhancement that gives the omitted info, that way I could print it, put it in the module, and toss it on the ever-growing shelves of P-Finder stuff and not have to worry about finding it in a couple years online.
Thanks JJ.

I'll see if we can get a PDF whipped up then... but no guarantees on WHEN it'll be available. This is, after all, more or less the busiest time of the year in the busiest year Paizo's had to date! :P

(AND: In a couple years, as I said above, we'll likely have these monsters appearing in a Bestiary anyway so no worries there on the long term side of things.)

Contributor

James Jacobs wrote:
but if we do a Bestiary II product (there is, of course, a VERY high likelihood of this occurring) I'll certainly be pushing to include daemons in it (along with proteans, inevitables, and the other planar races that we didn't have room for in the first Bestiary).

Dude. Awesome.

And if anyone is looking for another source of derghodaemon stats, they're also in the Wandering Monster piece in the final issue of Dungeon magazine (as the dergholoth).

Sovereign Court

I was pretty taken by surprise by this.

Fortunately I have a pdf of Tome of Horrors Revised but I often read through Adventure Paths and Modules with a Monster Manual next to me and was surprised by the Tome of Horrors Revised content.

I think it would fit with previous statements and the clear intent of the Paizo team to give out these stat blocks.

Can we put this down to PFRPG and Bestiary chaos?

If these stats are OGL, could I just sling the stats and a copy of the OGL on a thread post here? It'd take two seconds...

Contributor

James Jacobs wrote:
Omitting the full stat blocks for the hydrodaemons was an error; we should have either cut them from the adventure or cut enough other material from the adventure to make room for a full stat block for them.

IIRC, haven't we done the "here's the page reference" thing before in the Pathfinder AP?

And as for cutting stuff from that book, I had already cut more than I wanted to make it all fit. :( I think a certain EIC has been enjoying the freedom of 40-50 page adventures for far too long, and has forgotten what it's like to be a peon such as myself and have a 32-page limitation (including 2 pages for a new monster and 1 for the sample PCs) for a complete adventure....

;)

James Jacobs wrote:
Would folks be interested in a web enhancement that basically provides the full stat blocks for the derghodaemon and the hydrodaemon?

The link I posted above already has them as a free download: http://www.traykon.com/pdf/book_of_daemons.pdf

Also: Be nice to me, I just had heart surgery! (Ha, I wonder how long I can get away with that....)

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Sean K Reynolds wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Omitting the full stat blocks for the hydrodaemons was an error; we should have either cut them from the adventure or cut enough other material from the adventure to make room for a full stat block for them.

IIRC, haven't we done the "here's the page reference" thing before in the Pathfinder AP?

And as for cutting stuff from that book, I had already cut more than I wanted to make it all fit. :( I think a certain EIC has been enjoying the freedom of 40-50 page adventures for far too long, and has forgotten what it's like to be a peon such as myself and have a 32-page limitation (including 2 pages for a new monster and 1 for the sample PCs) for a complete adventure....

;)

James Jacobs wrote:
Would folks be interested in a web enhancement that basically provides the full stat blocks for the derghodaemon and the hydrodaemon?

The link I posted above already has them as a free download: http://www.traykon.com/pdf/book_of_daemons.pdf

Also: Be nice to me, I just had heart surgery! (Ha, I wonder how long I can get away with that....)

Sean,

It's been done with Monster Manual and SRD creatures, but this is the first time I can recall it being done with creatures from other sources. Even 'indispensable' ones like the Tome of Horrors.

EDIT: Was that nice enough? Hope you recover properly from the op soon.

Contributor

Paul Watson wrote:
It's been done with Monster Manual and SRD creatures, but this is the first time I can recall it being done with creatures from other sources. Even 'indispensable' ones like the Tome of Horrors.

Well... crap! My bad!

Paul Watson wrote:
EDIT: Was that nice enough?

/cry

Paul Watson wrote:
Hope you recover properly from the op soon.

Thanks. :)

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Sean K Reynolds wrote:


Paul Watson wrote:
Hope you recover properly from the op soon.
Thanks. :)

Well, there's no point haranguing you when you're not well, is there? ;-)

Paizo Employee Creative Director

GeraintElberion wrote:
If these stats are OGL, could I just sling the stats and a copy of the OGL on a thread post here? It'd take two seconds...

Technically... I don't think you can. or if you DID, you'd have to include the OGL with the post or something weird like that...

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Sean K Reynolds wrote:
Also: Be nice to me, I just had heart surgery! (Ha, I wonder how long I can get away with that....)

I would ride that excuse for YEARS if it were me. Also, I wouldn't have been nearly as grown up about the whole thing... there would have been much tears and panix! You're a hero!

Dark Archive

Fortunately I have the ToHr (I even have the hardcover ToH). And, as so many posters already pointed out: I think that this is a must buy for DMs!

But I well understand that it annoys people who do not have this book to not be able to use the Daemons in the encounter.
So I guess a Web enhancement is the perfect idea.

Furthermore I really, really like it, that the APs and modules also use monsters from the ToHs in Encounter Tables. It enriches the setting. And those DMs who do not have the Books can just re-roll on the table.

And lastly, with all the free time Clark has at the moment he hould really pick the best monsters of the three ToHs and update them to PRPG. Maybe even add some Golarion content (ie. where these critters can be found etc.). This could bridge the gap between PF Bestiary I and PF Bestiary II.

Sovereign Court RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32, 2010 Top 8

Sean K Reynolds wrote:
Also: Be nice to me, I just had heart surgery! (Ha, I wonder how long I can get away with that....)

They installed a heart?

Liberty's Edge

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Matthew Morris wrote:
Sean K Reynolds wrote:
Also: Be nice to me, I just had heart surgery! (Ha, I wonder how long I can get away with that....)
They installed a heart?

No, that's what the surgery was for. one was regrowing, so it had to be dealt with.

Dark Archive

Here's an upcoming cool addition to the adventure:

The Elysium Gem by Colin McComb


joela wrote:

Here's an upcoming cool addition to the adventure:

The Elysium Gem by Colin McComb

Sweet, thanks for the heads up.


Beyond the Vault of Souls, p. 4 wrote:
The thieving wizard, Khandescus, lives in the southeastern part of the city in one of the great old noble towers.

Is this southeastern Parego Regicona or southeastern Parego Spera?


joela wrote:

Here's an upcoming cool addition to the adventure:

The Elysium Gem by Colin McComb

Very cool.. I'm happy to see this still coming about...

Contributor

tbug wrote:
Beyond the Vault of Souls, p. 4 wrote:
The thieving wizard, Khandescus, lives in the southeastern part of the city in one of the great old noble towers.
Is this southeastern Parego Regicona or southeastern Parego Spera?

Either of them is quite appropriate. :)


joela wrote:

Here's an upcoming cool addition to the adventure:

The Elysium Gem by Colin McComb

Mr Reynolds, sir, may we please have a revised ETA?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

tbug wrote:
Beyond the Vault of Souls, p. 4 wrote:
The thieving wizard, Khandescus, lives in the southeastern part of the city in one of the great old noble towers.
Is this southeastern Parego Regicona or southeastern Parego Spera?

I'd place it in Parego Regicona... in Rego Laina in fact.


James Jacobs wrote:
tbug wrote:
Beyond the Vault of Souls, p. 4 wrote:
The thieving wizard, Khandescus, lives in the southeastern part of the city in one of the great old noble towers.
Is this southeastern Parego Regicona or southeastern Parego Spera?
I'd place it in Parego Regicona... in Rego Laina in fact.

Thank-you, sir! My players are headed there tomorrow afternoon, so this is most timely. :)

Contributor

tbug wrote:
joela wrote:

Here's an upcoming cool addition to the adventure:

The Elysium Gem by Colin McComb

Mr Reynolds, sir, may we please have a revised ETA?

Colin has been distracted by work on a big book for Mr. Schneider, but once that is done I will kick his butt into Elysium gear again. :)

Liberty's Edge

Sean K Reynolds wrote:
Colin has been distracted by work on a big book for Mr. Schneider, but once that is done I will kick his butt into Elysium gear again. :)

I'm about to run this and came across this thread. Any update on The Elysium Gem? That would be super.

Lantern Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

I just purchased this module in print, and I don't have access to some of the ToH creatures - not to mention this should all be revised/updated to PF mechanics IMHO. Can this be expected, or can this be considered my interest in doing so? So long as I have CR/HD precedents, updates needed (and unwritten), and basic OGL content with which to work, I can brew up a stat block in a day or two of honest work for creatures up to about 12 HD (and after that could take longer) - and sometimes a variant in a day or the same timeline as the other.

Killer Bunny - a request from a PFS gaming friend - took two days updating from 3.5 and converting to new stats and formatting.
-will

Paizo Employee Creative Director

1 person marked this as a favorite.
xidoraven wrote:
I just purchased this module in print, and I don't have access to some of the ToH creatures - not to mention this should all be revised/updated to PF mechanics IMHO. Can this be expected, or can this be considered my interest in doing so? So long as I have CR/HD precedents, updates needed (and unwritten), and basic OGL content with which to work, I can brew up a stat block in a day or two of honest work for creatures up to about 12 HD (and after that could take longer) - and sometimes a variant in a day or the same timeline as the other.

The ToH creatures in this book will be updated to the Pathfinder Rules in Bestiary 2, due out this Christmas season.

Sovereign Court

xidoraven wrote:
I just purchased this module in print, and I don't have access to some of the ToH creatures - not to mention this should all be revised/updated to PF mechanics IMHO.

This link is from up thread. It has the 3.5 stats for those creatures. It was a one-off error and the post fixed it for online GMs.

The folks at Paizo have said that they do not have the resources to work on projects that make little or no money. That would include updating old 3.5 modules to PFRPG.
I usually just convert on the fly as we are playing, that can make some critters a little weaker but it tends to work out okay.

Liberty's Edge

Sean K Reynolds wrote:

Here's an upcoming cool addition to the adventure:

The Elysium Gem by Colin McComb

Any word? I'm about to run Beyond the Vault of Souls, and would like to throw the players in a "Good" plane, to both add some variety and dispel any notion that "Good" = "Easy".

Contributor

I've just sent an email to Colin leaning on him to finish this. In addition to his work on the Rival Guide, Undead Revisited, and another Paizo book. ;)

Liberty's Edge

Sean K Reynolds wrote:
In addition to his work on the Rival Guide, Undead Revisited, and another Paizo book. ;)

Busy, busy, busy! Thanks!


I was wondering if I could get the stats for an Axiomite. I know that they appear in the The Great Beyond, a Guide to the Multiverse, but I do not have the book. I panicked a little after buying this module and finding that most of the daemon monsters were not in a book I owned, kudos GeraintElberion.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

Dr. Guns-For-Hands wrote:
I was wondering if I could get the stats for an Axiomite. I know that they appear in the The Great Beyond, a Guide to the Multiverse, but I do not have the book. I panicked a little after buying this module and finding that most of the daemon monsters were not in a book I owned, kudos GeraintElberion.

Well... the stats for all of those "missing" stats are all now in Bestiary 2, including the Axiomite and the hydrodaemon.


Just picked this up and was wondering if there was ever any progress on The Elysium Gem by Colin McComb??

Would be great if there was.


A month later, I'm asking the same question. :)

Also, could we expect to have a campaign setting or a companion book filled with planar crunch one day ?

I am a big fan of stuff like the Planar Handbook, the Book of Exalted Deeds or the Manual of the Planes. Pathfinderized planar archetypes will be great.

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