You've been waiting for it, and part three of "Way of the Wicked" is now available here at Paizo!
Thanks, Liz!
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games
*yoink*
Grab! Rub hands together. Evil laugh.
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Thanks, Liz!
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games
Is this out on DriveThruRPG too? I made sure to get the subscription.
Is this out on DriveThruRPG too? I made sure to get the subscription.Thanks, Liz!
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games
It is submitted and ... waiting for them to get back to me. And soon as they approve it, I will add it to all the subscriptions.
So real soon.
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games
When's the print coming online? I'm sorely tempted and can just barely keep my fingers from hitting the purchase-button - After all, I actually bought Knot of Thorns twice - once pdf only and once in the bundle...
EZ,
Thank you very much for supporting a small start-up and buying our first product twice. Those first few sales were really important to me convincing investors to take a chance on us. So, there is more Way of the Wicked because of people like you.
That said, there is no reason to buy this one twice. The print version is already submitted and as soon as I see the proof copy and all is well, it will be available.
There is much that is out of my hands so all I can say right now is soon. I will post here immediately as it is available.
And thank you.
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games
Azmyth,
Hmmm....scotch. You know, its funny, before too long I have a Fire Mountain Games announcement that is scotch related.
Gary "If you meet me and I don't have scotch, you met someone else" McBride
And I am so looking forward to getting the print bundle! Yay for more madcap evil escapades in poor doomed Talingarde.
And I just ordered Blood of Fiends too so I can get some Pitborn devilspawn in on everything.
And hmm, does anyone else notice4 the oddness of this book/PDF coming out on Walpurgisnacht, of all nights?
I did, Eric! It's the reason I'm still awake. :D
I did, Eric! It's the reason I'm still awake. :D
If you go and dance on the Brocken, say Hi to the ladies for me. ;)
Coming out on Walpurgisnacht is completely an accident of scheduling. Being done with "Way of the Wicked" by Halloween, that was done more or less on purpose.
Regardless, enjoy some sample art. This is the phoenix who dwells in the Vale of Valtaerna.
It is difficult to kill that which cannot die, but I'm sure you'll manage.
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games
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Coming out on Walpurgisnacht is completely an accident of scheduling. Being done with "Way of the Wicked" by Halloween, that was done more or less on purpose.
Regardless, enjoy some sample art. This is the phoenix who dwells in the Vale of Valtaerna.
It is difficult to kill that which cannot die, but I'm sure you'll manage.
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games
Oh, it can die. It just takes multiple times to do it, and the right kind of spell casters in the party. I can't help but wonder how quickly my PCs will take this down, or if they'll actually have trouble against it. Two of them will be immune to fire by the time they get to this point. It's going to be interesting to see.
Got this! Loving it so far.
Got it, read it, love it!
Thanks for the positive feedback.
More is on the way.
We are deep into work on Book 4 which should be out by the end of June.
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games
Coming out on Walpurgisnacht is completely an accident of scheduling. Being done with "Way of the Wicked" by Halloween, that was done more or less on purpose.
Regardless, enjoy some sample art. This is the phoenix who dwells in the Vale of Valtaerna.
It is difficult to kill that which cannot die, but I'm sure you'll manage.
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games
Looking at it reminds me of the insane and evil phoenix from Paizo's Mythic Monsters Revisited, which went mad when one of its resurrections was corrupted by hellfire.
Hmmm! I'm getting an idea...
DSRMT,
Glad you are enjoying that particular plot arc through the course of the adventure path. It features prominently throughout.
No need to worry, there is plenty of time to traverse your own Wicked Way. "Tears" will be there when you need it.
Now, on to Book Four. You've broken Balentyne. You've held the Horn. You've even vandalized Valtaerna. But can you deal with the dragon?
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games
Purchased!!!
I absolutely love the attention to background detail you are giving, by the way. Learning that...
** spoiler omitted **
... is just priceless
Sadly, my group is still in book one, so it will be some time before I get to play at this level. I expect they will have some fun running a dungeon though
Well, of course he has a heart. He keeps it in a jar on his table.
Gary I can't wait for the print edition. I wish it were available here but at least it is available (soon).
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Gary, just skimmed over it and all I can say is that the Way of the Wicked keeps running on the epic side of amazement.
The whole concept of the
is the stuff of legends. Nothing less.
I love the phoenix part, easily one of the most cinematic scenes ever.
Can't wait for an evening of reading.
Luca
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Got my copy. Thanks Gary.
Already got to the part of the side quests...
Also, already found something that needs to be errated. Aasimars are native outsiders, not humanoids.
I loooooove this AP... but there are some formating and orthographic errors, the blink dog sorcerer stat block has a weird heading and I think there shouldn't be references to vampire PCs because the only vampire they may know can't make true vampires until they end this adventure and give him the magical chalice. Other than that, I like it very, very much.
Amaranthine Witch,
I am glad you are enjoying "Way of the Wicked".
Please send me any errors you find and we will correct them in the errata.
I'll review Sirius' stat block as soon as I get a chance.
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games
I cannot say enough good things about this series, or the guys responsible for it. This may be one of the best Third Party Products I've ever seen, for any game system.
Kthulhu,
We take this very seriously. I have a call into One Book Shelf and as a stop gap measure have sent you a complimentary copy. Let me know if you have any further difficulties.
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games
Incredibelly,
Your wish is our command. More is on the way.
Antimony,
Thank you for the kind words and for supporting "Way of the Wicked".
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games
I have a question about reactions to the NPC our villains encounter in Act 2, Event 4.
How would Thorn and Tiadora react if the players are foolish enough to tell them, or they otherwise find out such as if the Nessian Warhounds come up in conversation. I can't imagine them being comfortable knowing that another of Hell's agents is visiting their minions without permission, the Pact with the players notwithstanding.
How would Thorn react to Asmodeus transforming his brother's armor to show the characters his pleasure? I can see him being happy with the sign, but would it also disquiet him? Especially after the 7th Knot turns on him?
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Tobias,
I really love these sort of deep background questions. They show real interest in the material.
Regardless...
Thorn knows of Dessiter's presence on the island and right now (as of Book 3) thinks of him as a servant of HIM. He will be surprised that Dessiter acted without orders and sought out the Ninth Knot.
Thorn will probably act nonchalant about it. "Ah, I've see you've met Dessiter. A whiny little braggart and a liar. Be wary of him."
But what he's thinking is... "Crap! What else do they know that I've missed?" Thorn is paranoid. Always always paranoid and by the end of book three, he's beginning to become afraid of his Ninth Knot. They aren't merely doing his bidding anymore. They're building their own army. And now, Dessiter is having private conversations with them?
Things are going off the rails for Thorn.
This is only going to get worse in Book 4.
Hope that helps,
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games
What can Dessiter contract with the PCs for? They're already going to Hell so many times over that they make the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune look like pikers.
Thanks for the quick response Gary. It helps that the material is so good that you just can't help but try to connect some extra dots.
What can Dessiter contract with the PCs for? They're already going to Hell so many times over that they make the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune look like pikers.
Infernal contracts don't have to be for souls. He can contract them for Specific Performance.
So he gives them Nessian Warhounds, they get rid of the angel. He also finds it far easier to watch them and judge their abilities for himself.
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Evil Midnight Lurker,
I think the right answer has already been written here, but let me just reiterate it and maybe clarify.
Dessiter acts like he's here to ensure that Ara Mathra is destroyed and indeed he wants the angel destroyed so he's not lying.
But really, he could less about Ara Mathra. He's confident that the PCs are already going to try to kill the angel. So, why is he here?
If he gets them under an incredibly generous contract, he gets to scry on them all day long. And that's what he's really after.
What he really wants to know -- are these the guys I need to take down Thorn? After the battle of Saintsbridge, killing a phoenix and slaying Ara Mathra, he'll have his answer. He's found Thorn's replacements.
And so, he'll pick the right moment to return in Book Four.
Hope that helps,
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games
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I am really enjoying the third book after picking it up last night. As usual, the story is top notch, with epic encounters and a real build on the PC's villainous path.
While production values are good in that the layout is nice and the artwork fantastic, quality control seems to have suffered. There are a lot of grammatical mistakes and the bookmark to Mitra: Lord of Light is broken for me. Of course, the great thing about the electronic format is those things can be fixed.
An example of an important mistake:
Page 91, under Priests of Mitra both the Shining Lord and the Fire Undying are listed as LG alignment.
I'm not saying anyone needs to stay away from this book, but it appears you guys are having a harder time keeping up, and it's bleeding through some. I'm just glad book 3 still stands strong, despite those.
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Darn it Fire Mountain Games, just take my money! Take it all!
Zape,
First and foremost, thanks for supporting "Way of the Wicked". I'm glad you are enjoying the read.
We spend a lot of time editing and playtesting the adventure and do our absolute best to deliver to you the best product we can. That said, we're only human.
However, to comment on one thing -- The Fire Undying being LG is not a mistake. I'll admit I vassilated. LG or LN? But in the end, I decided that while the Shining Lord is lawful GOOD, the inquisitors of the Fire Undying are LAWFUL good (though many of them slip and in their zealotry become LAWFUL neutral).
Mitra's divine law is all that matters. Burn out evil and anything that opposes that divine law. That is the code of the Undying Fire. It may seem callous and but it is a code -- hence Lawful. And they do it because they believe it is for the greater good.
You know, if you want to change it to Lawful Neutral, it wouldn't hurt my feelings. But in a world where infernal forces actively fight to destroy Talingarde, its difficult to say that Undying Fire isn't right to resort to any means necessary to defeat those forces.
Regardless, if you have a moment please email any errors you find to me at gary|at|firemountaingames|dot|com. We will review them and see about including them in the next errata release which will probably be out later this month.
And thanks again for your interest and support in Fire Mountain Games and "Way of the Wicked".
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games
Alzrius,
Glad you are enjoying the book and I look forward to your review.
That's a good suggestion for inquisitions. Perhaps I'll manage to wedge it in somewhere.
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games
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Doug,
Thanks for buying and supporting "Way of the Wicked"! I'm glad you've enjoyed it and I'm glad you want to run it.
Obviously I've done a bad job of explaining this plot point so let me first try to make it a little clearer and then suggest an alternative if you still don't like it.
Secrecy is not important. Everyone will soon know about the slaughter at Valtaerna. What is important to keep secret is that Asmodeans are behind it. Yes, the higher ups have already figured this out, intuitively if nothing else. The King as much as says so in the little scene at the end of the adventure. We suggest a "let's hunt Asmodeans" craze in Ghastenhall started by the duke. And so forth.
But the people -- the common clay -- they aren't so sure. The Darian regime has always been quick to blame Asmodeus for every trouble (see the Asmodean purges of Markadian IV) but where's the proof? The real villain that everyone knows about is Sakkarot Fire-Axe.
The Fire-Axe has already done what no bugbear has ever done. He's sacked two fortresses of the Watch Wall, raids unopposed in the north and even threatens the third largest city in Talingarde. The fact that the Fire-Axe was clever enough to strike against and destroy Valtaerna...I think the people of Talingarde will buy that.
This plot point is important in Book VI when an army of Asmodeans "saves" Talingarde from the Fire-Axe and wins the hearts and minds of the people. That is why Thorn wants to keep evidence of their involvement to a minimum. Who cares what a paladin, king or priests of Mitra think. Of course they think Asmodeus is behind it. They think Asmodeus is behind everything. Hopefully soon, they'll all be dead. Thorn is concerned with the common people.
Can the vale go offline for three months? In the dead of winter -- yes. Virtually no one visits in winter. It is an isolated mountain vale far from the front of the war. Still, every once and a while someone desperate does visit. We cover that in the section entitled "Manning the Watchtower". But powerful spellcasters? No. There are few of those in Talingarde and people do not randomly "wind walk" around. Actually, having a "hardy ranger" or two visit over the mountains is a good idea for an encounter. The PCs have to deal with these interlopers fast or their true nature will be revealed.
No, the celestials will not leave (save for the ghaele Taranea as mentioned in her description and she only leaves when she's sure things are lost). All the celestials if you read their descriptions are tasked to defend this vale and in its darkest hour they will not abandon it. Many of them like the peri actually can't abandon it. It mentions in her description how is she bound to the phoenix's mount. She longs to aid the army at Saintsbridge but cannot.
The Storm Giant Anteus is a creature from the clouds. He leads an assualt upon the vale in fulfillment of an ancient pact. He knows nothing of Talirean politics and frankly couldn't care less. If he isn't defeated, then yes, he will likely raise the alarm. And the rocs and hippogriffs are beasts (Int 2). They cannot raise the alarm.
Ara Mathra is doing his absolute best to summon aid. But he will not abandon the Cathedral of Mitra Made Manifest. If he abandons the Cathedral he abandons the Flame Undying and I hope the book makes clear why that is a Very Bad Thing.
So, its important the PCs keep Asmodean involvement in the raid a secret and it is difficult (but not impossible) for them to do so. That is one of the objectives for this adventure.
Wow, this has gotten long. Next post I will talk about alternatives.
Regardless, thanks for taking the time to read this adventure and comment on it.
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games
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Doug,
And part two...
And if you still don't like secrecy being important, I say "ditch it." Seriously, just have Thorn not mention that objective.
At the end of the day, even if the people of Talingarde do think the Asmodeans are behind it, what does that matter?
So the Asmodeans and the Mitran are fighting? They always fight. What matters in the end is who saved their lives. Thorn works diligently right now to ensure that the answer is "The servants of Asmodeus". His plan will likely outlive him.
And I do apologize for not fully detailing what happens after winter. The adventure does end on something of a cliffhanger.
There simply was not room in this adventure (we were already two pages over our target of one hundred). This adventure is about slaying the celestials that guard Valtaerna and it ends with their defeat. It doesn't fully detail all the reprecussions of that defeat. Not quite yet. But all that is coming.
We do discuss how to end the adventure if it's run as a stand-alone or if you make this the end of a shortened campaign, so I think we cover everyone.
We start up in Book IV detailing what happens come spring...
Anyways, I hope that helps and again I really want to emphasize -- thanks for supporting "Way of the Wicked". I really do appreciate such honest, heart-felt criticism from someone who has obviously read the book and thought a lot about it.
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games