Pathfinder Adventure Path #47: Ashes at Dawn (Carrion Crown 5 of 6) (PFRPG) (based on
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Chapter 5: "Ashes at Dawn"
by Neil Spicer
A killer stalks the streets of Caliphas, a murderer whose victims are already dead. Something is preying upon the ancient vampire clans of Ustalav’s capital, a mysterious foe who threatens the centuries-old truce tenuously held by generations of both the living and the undead. Into this madness enter the heroes, closing in on the death cultists of the Whispering Way. What role do the deadly necromancers have in the undead murders plaguing Caliphas? What secret grudge exists between the cult and the rulers of the night? And will the heroes be able to save the capital without sacrificing their very souls?
This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path includes:
“Ashes at Dawn,” a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 11th-level characters, by Neil Spicer
A gazetteer of fog-haunted Caliphas, the mysterious and deadly capital of Ustalav, by F. Wesley Schneider
A terrifying look into the blasphemous church of Urgathoa, goddess of gluttony, disease, and the undead, by Sean K Reynolds
Laurel Cylphra’s attempt to steal a soul stealer in the Pathfinder’s Journal, by F. Wesley Schneider
Six new monsters by Crystal Frasier, Patrick Renie, and Sean K Reynolds
Each monthly full-color softcover 96-page Pathfinder Adventure Path volume contains an in-depth adventure scenario, stats for several new monsters, and support articles meant to give Game Masters additional material to expand their campaign. Pathfinder Adventure Path volumes use the Open Game License and work with both the Pathfinder RPG and the standard 3.5 fantasy RPG rules set.
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"All he asks in return is that the adventurers put an end to the murderer terrorizing the city’s vampires."
Yeah... I think not. Ganking them sounds like the better option. My players will be clear and unequivocal about that.
"This leads the heroes into an underworld of endless night, where they must explore the vampires’ deadly society and indulge its blasphemous traditions..."
Meh. This sounds a little... goofy... for me. It reminds me of something, but I'm not sure what...
Paizo Charter Superscriber, Pathfinder Comics Deluxe Subscriber
Arnwyn wrote:
"This leads the heroes into an underworld of endless night, where they must explore the vampires’ deadly society and indulge its blasphemous traditions..."
Meh. This sounds a little... goofy... for me. It reminds me of something, but I'm not sure what...
Oh no, poor players. They will have to chose between black and grey, instead of the usual black and white.
Whatever will happen to their delicate, innocent moralities ? I think we should notify the National American Comittee For Moral Purity In Role-Playing Games about this.
Paizo Charter Superscriber, Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber, Pathfinder Comics Deluxe Subscriber
Gorbacz wrote:
Oh no, poor players. They will have to chose between black and grey, instead of the usual black and white.
Whatever will happen to their delicate, innocent moralities ? I think we should notify the National American Comittee For Moral Purity In Role-Playing Games about this.
Note that with the APs, having black and white choices appears to be in the minority.
The whole gritty shades of gray thing is not completely horrible, but it is nice to have a straightforward heroic AP instead of yet another one where the players are working hand in hand with beings that I, as a GM, would rather see them pounding into the ground.
However, Kingmaker seems to fit that bill quite nicely so far :)
Looks interesting so far but I am wondering if this is the kind of Ap Paldins may have trouble with?
Perhaps... but MOST of our APs have points where paladins will be faced with some tough decisions. That's a huge part of what being a paladin is—being faced with tough choices and managing to hold the faith and your honor anyway.
There's SOME "ally with the monster" elements in this AP, but when you get right down to it, that's EXACTLY the type of roleplay grist a paladin player should look forward to. Because if there's never a chance to test your faith and devotion... what's the point?
The whole gritty shades of gray thing is not completely horrible, but it is nice to have a straightforward heroic AP instead of yet another one where the players are working hand in hand with beings that I, as a GM, would rather see them pounding into the ground.
However, Kingmaker seems to fit that bill quite nicely so far :)
Rise of the Runelords, Curse of the CT, Legacy of Fire, Council of Thieves, Kingmaker, and (by the looks of it so far) Serpent's Skull: all are, as you say, straightforward heroic APs. So far, only Second Darkness and this seem to have much in the way of siding with the lesser of two evils.
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Generic Villain wrote:
gbonehead wrote:
The whole gritty shades of gray thing is not completely horrible, but it is nice to have a straightforward heroic AP instead of yet another one where the players are working hand in hand with beings that I, as a GM, would rather see them pounding into the ground.
However, Kingmaker seems to fit that bill quite nicely so far :)
Rise of the Runelords, Curse of the CT, Legacy of Fire, Council of Thieves, Kingmaker, and (by the looks of it so far) Serpent's Skull: all are, as you say, straightforward heroic APs. So far, only Second Darkness and this seem to have much in the way of siding with the lesser of two evils.
counter example spoilers:
Except for Mcmurrion's rival in the fortress, the Zonkuthonites in parts 3-5 of Curse, and the Mother of Flies/the redcap she sends in the eponymous chapter of Council of Thieves. From the descriptions of Serpents Skull, it also looks like you'll end up rubbing along with the other factions, if not working directly with them.
My main point was, that ultimately those APs were fairly black and white. Yes, they included some shades of gray, but if your party would be uncomfortable with that, it's easy to change. Make the Mother of Flies an agent of the Council of Thieves old guard, whom the PCs have to hunt down and grill for information. Make the priests of Zon-Kuthon worship Pharasma instead. It changes the story a bit, and would require some tweeking, but honestly not that much.
Even more importantly though, it seems that every AP so far has source material from which it draws. RotRL and SD are classic Greyhawk - "Against the Giants" and "Descent Into the Depths of the Earth" respectively. CotCT and CoT are thick with freedom fighter/crime drama themes like Zoro and the Godfather. LoF is Al Qadim, or more accurately, "1,001 Nights." Serpent's Skull is Indiana Jones plus "Dwellers of the Forbidden City." And Carrion Crown... well, it's as Ravenloft as you can get.
And one of the most important themes in Ravenloft (and the Gothic horror tales that inspired it) is moral ambiguity. Would Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" have been worth reading if the Monster was just a savage, evil killer with no redeeming qualities? Would werewolves be nearly as provocative if they didn't have innocent human sides? And while Dracula is certainly as evil as they come, he's also suave, sexy, charming, etc.
To make a Gothic Horror AP path without moral ambiguity would be to utterly deny its source material. Unfortunately, that source material isn't for everyone.
Rest assured, I'm keeping an eye on this thread. And I'm also having lengthy discussions with James and Wes about how we'll handle the vampire interactions in the adventure. I think everyone should know by now, if there's anything I enjoy about game design (and especially adventure design), it's taking people's assumptions about what's expected and then go beyond that to see what's possible. Therefore, I intend to find a way to give everyone their "cake" and still be able to have them eat and enjoy it, too. But we'll see...
My two-cents,
--Neil
P.S. In the meantime, I have another "fanged" adventure to finish up with Serpent's Skull. After that, it's on to vampires!
Rest assured, I'm keeping an eye on this thread. And I'm also having lengthy discussions with James and Wes about how we'll handle the vampire interactions in the adventure. I think everyone should know by now, if there's anything I enjoy about game design (and especially adventure design), it's taking people's assumptions about what's expected and then go beyond that to see what's possible. Therefore, I intend to find a way to give everyone their "cake" and still be able to have them eat and enjoy it, too. But we'll see...
Hey, if you're looking for input, then I'll put in my two-cents that there should be an option to become a vampire as part of this module. Obviously, this presents a host of mechanical challenges (I seem to recall that your CR shoots up by 8 and you become evil-aligned), but I think it's a challenge worth taking on.
That makes for an interesting and difficult roleplay descision. Yea, you might mess up what happens in the module that comes after yours, but I'm sure James can handle it.
Or maybe I'm just too influenced by the level of flexibility in the Elder Scrolls games.
You should also be able to kill them all. Make it a lot harder, or otherwise give an incentive to not do it, but the idea of getting out your shining sword and having yourself a good-old-fashioned vampire-genocide is quite an alluring prospect.
Gets really interesting if you allow both options, and the party splits in their descisions. Also makes it a beast to write for you.
If using spoiler tags, it is helpful to indicate what the spoilers are actually for, e.g. "Spoiler (CoT)".
Eh, I was trying to be cute. Didn't work I reckon... I'll repost the non-spoiler part of my argument:
Carrion Crown... well, it's as Ravenloft as you can get.
And one of the most important themes in Ravenloft (and the Gothic horror tales that inspired it) is moral ambiguity. Would Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" have been worth reading if the Monster was just a savage, evil killer with no redeeming qualities? Would werewolves be nearly as provocative if they didn't have innocent human sides? And while Dracula is certainly as evil as they come, he's also suave, sexy, charming, etc.
To make a Gothic Horror AP path without moral ambiguity would be to utterly deny its source material. Unfortunately, that source material isn't for everyone.
Hey, if you're looking for input, then I'll put in my two-cents...
I'm not so much looking for input as I'm just acknowledging I'm keeping an eye on the thread and weighing everything as I collaborate with Wes and James on the adventure.
Erik Freund wrote:
...there should be an option to become a vampire as part of this module.
It's funny you bring this up. That possibility already entered into our conversation. But no promises yet.
Erik Freund wrote:
You should also be able to kill them all.
By this, I assume you mean the vampires. As in, kill all the vampires. That's a bit less likely. But that doesn't mean you have to let them all live, either. The possibilities are quite complex. But I haven't even strung together an outline yet and had it approved by Wes and James. So, it's a bit premature to decide everything just now. I'm still working on the finale for Serpent's Skull. That needs to come first. Then, a bit of a break for my wife and family's sake. Then, I'll come back to Carrion Crown and start analyzing those vampires to make sure it's a memorable adventure. Those are my goals and priorities right now.
I can guarantee there will be no sparkling vampires in this adventure. None. Zilch. Nada.
That's too bad. I'd love to see some vampires sparkle in Pathfinder. I'm sure it would be under some very unexpected circumstances... ;-)
My favorite vampire sourcebook of all time is the GURPS: Blood Types book, which detailed vampires from the Ancient Greek to the Japanese and even an African insectoid creature that drained the life force of plants! A real study on the topic. I'm sure I can find something in there that sparkles in an unpleasant way!
Yeah, that's what elder vampires ought to look like.
And is it just me, or do all the monsters in this AP seem to be focusing on Seoni in the cover art?
Well, it's a known fact that horror monsters go after 'sexual' female characters first :D. Oh and here's the obligatory TVtropes link.
Thanks for the link.
And I was wondering less the obvious "the monsters like sexy women" and more the fct that the less armor an adventurer wears, typically the more ways they have of blasting you to kingdom come with a snap of the fingers. You'd think that even the dimmest beasts would eventually learn to avoid the sexy half-naked sorceress after she incinerates a few dozen of them.
I'm sure they totally had you in mind when they came up with the title, Dawn. ;-)
The name Dawn does come in handy sometimes. I get to claim all kinds of things, like Tempest's album Another Dawn. I just have to wear the shirt and point to the name significantly.
I want to see who they want dead more: my priestess of Sarenrae with the sun domain or the vampire serial killer. I'll give the vampires a moral dilemma.
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