Way of the Wicked—Book #4: Of Dragons and Princesses (PFRPG) PDF

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BECOME A MASTER OF DRAGONS!

The king of Talingarde must die! Your dread master commands you to carry out this errand of blood. Do you have what it takes to assassinate the king of the most noble, virtuous realm in all the world? Are you ready to seek out the most wicked and powerful of dragons and treat with him to destroy the king’s only heir—the fair princess Bellinda?

Welcome to the fourth chapter of the critically acclaimed, Ennie-nominated “Way of the Wicked” adventure path!

Inside you’ll find:

  • "Of Dragons and Princesses,” an adventure compatible with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game designed for 13th-level villains by Gary McBride
  • Full color art and maps by Michael Clarke
  • A gazetteer of the noble city of Matharyn, capital of Talingarde
  • Rules for playing vampire and lich PCs
  • Everything you need to run a city sacking sandbox
  • And More!

Sack a city! Terrorize a nation! Kill a king! Ride a dragon into a battle! All of this you must do if you are to walk the Way of the Wicked.

Who wants to be a hero, when it’s so much more fun to be the bad guy?

Product Availability

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Are there errors or omissions in this product information? Got corrections? Let us know at store@paizo.com.

FRM1004E


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4.00/5 (based on 7 ratings)

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Filler, Filler, Interesting Climax.

2/5

This book is filler. It's not *terrible* filler mechanically, but a good two thirds of it could be replaced by just about anything and be just as relevant to the plot.

Seriously, I don't have too much to say about it, positive or negative. There are two...

- Black dragons are notoriously anti-social, hating all intelligent life, even other black dragons. Why does saving his son allow the PCs an audience with a black wyrm?
- The king should be well aware of his daughter's power, since hit dice is a real, calculable thing in the world of Pathfinder. She's a sorcerer 19, three levels higher than he is; anything that threatens her isn't going to be meaningfully impacted by his presence.

Again, subtracted 1 star from my actual score due to the whole 'fraud' thing.


Fraud

1/5

I would love to give this product a higher rating but it has been written by a fraudster, Gary McBride, who tricked 315 people into giving him $40,000 through Kickstarter and refused to communicate with them for 4 years now. Despite multiple appeals from backers he has backed over 520 other kickstarters since then, logging in every week though seemingly unable to respond to his backers products. Shame on Paizo for selling the products of a con man and allowing him to continue profiting from rpg fans.

For details of the swindle and Gary McBride’s backing record see https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/730004812/throne-of-night-a-pathfinder -rpg-adventure-path/comments


Holy Guacamole

5/5

You're only half-way through and your group of terrors are already 13th level? Oh myyyy.

This chapter fully expects your villains to use the mighty magics and killing power at their disposal. Lacking access to 6th and 7th level cleric/wizard spells could severely hurt your ability to wreak havoc and unleash further mayhem.

One of the pleasant surprises during the later chapters of the Way of the Wicked is how long circle of death and similar spells remain viable offensive spells, which is a first in my experience with published 3e/3.5/Pathfinder campaigns.


Of Dragons and Princesses Review

5/5

Warning: Potential spoilers. Written from a GM's perspective. I ran this for 6 PCs.

This installment of Way of the Wicked was a pleasant surprise for me. After running through three great books, I shouldn't have been surprised when this one turned out to be a blast. However, on paper there were a few things that worried me about this book.

My first concern was the first act of the book. It is a sandbox style sacking of the city of Daveryn that is quite long and seemed like it would risk being stagnant. I still do believe that this is potential weak spot in the campaign. However, this weakness was easily navigated by cherry picking the sections that I thought would be interesting to my players and having Fire-Axe bring them up to the players. The rest of the events, I just held in reserve in case my players decided to explore. Personally, I ran the Duelist Academy event, because we had a Swashbuckler who loves challenging people to duels, the Baroness's encounter, because she is the cousin of one of the PCs and I merged the prison and the rebellion into one encounter, because I knew my PCs would love the opportunity to recruit prisoners and Ifran had useful information. I also ran the Duke's encounter via minion quest. All of these events seemed enjoyable for my players.

My second concern for this game was that the story seemed very reliant on the players making specific choices. I feared that players would decide not to bother with Chargammon or try to kill the princess. However, I did not face any issues with this. Thorn's plan offered enough intrigue for my players and Dessiter was a useful tool for persuading the players out of inadvisable plans, like trying to take Thorn out immediately.

In addition to the above areas, there were some other really great parts of this book. Eiramanthus in particular turned out to be a great boss battle. Spells like Mislead and Reverse Gravity made for a memorable and cinematic feel, while his melee prowess and anti-magic field had a reasonably optimized party of six fearing for their lives. The battle was so good that the happiest player at the table was the one who died, because she thought her death was epic.

The characters continue to be excellent. Chargammon was appropriately terrifying. Jeratheon is a fun addition. His dysfunctional relationship with his father opens up a lot of interesting RP opportunities that I think will continue to pay off after Chargammon's death. Also, even though Dessiter was introduced in the last book, I feel obliged to acknowledge him again, because he is such an excellent character. Every time he says something I can tell my players aren't sure whether to laugh, buy him a drink or punch him in the face.

Overall, this whole adventure path continues to be excellent and I have yet to find a good reason not to recommend it.


5/5

I've reviewed this book over on RPGGeek.com.


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Alzrius,

Thanks for another superlative review!

Eric,

Spoiler:

The three consorts of Eiramanthus are:
Setia Swims-the-Sea-of-Stars, a cetaceal agathion
Sakura Yoshimune of the Toshigami, a kami
Shakti Shobhana, a redeemed tataka rakshasa

The dragon loves his consorts very much and they love him. Now if only he could convince them to love each other.

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games


Fire Mountain Games wrote:

Alzrius,

Thanks for another superlative review!

Eric,

** spoiler omitted **

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games

Nice list of ladies there. Good to see someone remembering that the non-human races can have romantic relationships too!


Eric Hinkle wrote:
Nice list of ladies there. Good to see someone remembering that the non-human races can have romantic relationships too!

Spoiler:

Since Eiramanthus is a shapechanger, we even briefly discuss what forms he takes when he spends time with his various consorts.

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games

Grand Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Gary,

I'm going through book 4 slowly (I've found summers suck for free time), and I've made a list of a few things I'll e-mail you (when I'm done) that could be added to the errata. They're mostly small stuff.

At any rate, after reading over the Duke Martin, I've revised him a bit.

Revision notes:
Since I'm allowing flaws into my game, I'm going to be bringing back the 3.5 one just for this guy.

Coward
In dangerous circumstances, you are likely to run away.
Effect: You automatically fail all saves against fear effects. An ability that makes you immune to fear (such as becoming a 3rd-level paladin) instead grants you a saving throw, but at a -4 penalty on the save.
Source: Dragon Magazine #324 (Class Acts - Flaws For Bards)

In exchange, he'll also get the Run feat and Deft Dodger (+2 trait bonus to Initiative). If he's a coward, then he's gotta be good at getting away, and quickly. Also, thanks to Super Genius Games, I've removed Bravery all together. Instead, it's been replaced with "Into the Breach". Nothing else on the list really seemed to fit.

Into The Breach (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, the fighter adds half his class level to all Acrobatics checks made to jump or reduce the damage of a fall.

Just made sense to me. This way he could drop down from buildings, and take less damage while trying to get away. Even bugbears aren't stupid enough to jump off of a two-story building. A coward would chance it.

EDIT: BTW, what was the original plan for what the PCs are supposed to do with the slaves given to them?


kevin_video,

I would love to see any errata you find. Thanks for the effort!

Plan for slaves acquired through the campaign? There is no plan. They are strictly a roleplaying tool that can give the PCs a chance to flaunt their wickedness.

Or if your players find the subject distasteful, they can be safely ignored.

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games

Grand Lodge

Fire Mountain Games wrote:

Plan for slaves acquired through the campaign? There is no plan. They are strictly a roleplaying tool that can give the PCs a chance to flaunt their wickedness.

Or if your players find the subject distasteful, they can be safely ignored.

Fair enough. My players are indifferent towards slavery. Don't mind giving them a chance to serve them, whether as minions who go out out to do bad, or just regular servants.

Also, question on the Stormborn King. How did you build that?

Grand Lodge

Another question I just though of.

regarding dragon names:
When the PCs are talking to Eiramanthus, surely they'd tell of how they defeated Argossarian in Book 2. If only to try and intimidate the dragon into knowing that it's not the first time they've tangled with a dragon. Does that invoke anything? Do they know each other? Same questions go for Chargammon being told this. Kind of like "We've taken on a dragon before. Heard of this silver one? We defeated it." "Oh you have? Yes, I've heard of his defeat. Good. Then I know you shouldn't fail this errand."

BTW, how would one pronounce Chargammon's name?


Any idea when the print editions will be available?

Dark Archive

Is anybody running a Way of the Wicked game at Gen Con?


Just finished reading through this one myself, and overall it is very nice. Though I do get the feeling that when I run this in the new semester, someone in my group is going to inevitably mouth off to Chargammon. And then they will probably die, because if I know the rest of the people I play with, their first reaction will be to put boot to the wise-cracker's rear end and propel him forwards to his just reward...

Still, I do like the whole setup, and presumably a big part of the appeal here is that a sufficiently dangerous ally like Chargammon really does need to be approached carefully. If they've reached 13th level without learning not to antagonise the Black Wyrm in its lair, well, it's something of a dark miracle that the Way of the Wicked hasn't been destroyed by their incompetence already.

Personally, I'm working on a variation of the reveal that Barca was the Cainite Knot. Namely, building on that mention where Fireaxe leads the counter-charge. In my version, he'd likely end up coming face to face with Barca, who looks noble and valient and ready to face him in a contest of champions... before pulling out the seal and breaking it. Something like that. Of course, a lot of the dramatic impact might be lost since the PCs aren't there to see it personally. Hmm... a report from minions left behind, perhaps?


kevin_video wrote:
Also, question on the Stormborn King. How did you build that?

Spoiler:

The Stormborn King is a neutral good Thunderbird.

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games

Grand Lodge

Fire Mountain Games wrote:
kevin_video wrote:
Also, question on the Stormborn King. How did you build that?

** spoiler omitted **

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games

Aww. I have that book too. I feel ashamed now for not realizing that.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
kevin_video wrote:

Another question I just though of.

** spoiler omitted **

BTW, how would one pronounce Chargammon's name?

Spoiler:

HA! I can't believe I didn't mention Argossarian in Chargammon'a section. Yes, telling Chargammon you've slain the child of Antharia Regina pleases him greatly. Giving him a part of Argossarian -- scales, skull, a horn -- pleases him even more and might make him forgive a perceived insult or two. It definitely becomes a cherished part of the old wyrm's horde.

Eiramanthus and Argossarian have likely never met since Argossarian is only eighty years old and Eiramanthus has been either off-plane or holing up in his pleasure palace during that time. However, Eiramanthus and Argossarian's mom -- Antharia Regina -- have definitely met.

And as sociable, charming and randy as Eiramanthus is -- they've really MET. Telling him you've killed Argossarian is another way to get Eiramanthus to attack you more or less immediately.

They may be broken up (Antharia is just a little too LAWFUL for the Hugh Hefner of copper dragons) but he still cares for his old fling.

I pronounce Chargammon -- CHAR-gam-men (char as in charbroiled; gammon as in backgammon).

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games


PathfinderFan64 wrote:
Any idea when the print editions will be available?

I'm afraid I can't commit to definite date.

The proofs have been sent to me and if all is in order, the print edition on DriveThruRPG will be available within a week.

If there are any problems, there will be a delay until the book is corrected.

As far as here at Paizo.com, the answer is shortly after that.

Sorry for the uncertainty and thanks for supporting "Way of the Wicked".

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Dragodorn,

There are no official Fire Mountain Games events at Gencon. Next year, I will try to remedy that.

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games


1 person marked this as a favorite.

George,

Spoiler:

I've actually had several people discuss Chargammon's touchiness and here's how I would handle it.

First, when Tiadora discusses how touchy Chargammon is, really emphasize it. Give the PCs a reminder of her words just before they enter his dominion.

Second, when they actually enter his domain, describe how on edge the dragon is and emphasize once more his sneering, no-tolerance, could-attack-at-any-time posture.

And if they still don't get the hint ... well, they can always flee. He won't stay furious forever. Maybe if they bring him a gift, he'll actually talk the second time.

Oh, and I like your variation of Vastenus' reveal. Very cool indeed.

Hope that helps,
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games

Grand Lodge

Fire Mountain Games wrote:

I pronounce Chargammon -- CHAR-gam-men (char as in charbroiled; gammon as in backgammon).

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games

Okay. I was pronouncing it -- Char-gam-mon (as in Gargamel from Smurfs). Wanted to double check.

With using the silver dragon's name (and giving a piece of him), I was almost thinking that if the party took down him, and the copper dragon, then returned to the black dragon with the good news, he might be willing to use one of his ex-mate's scales and do a grafting on the character(s) that pleased him the most. Either way, it's good to note how it affects each dragon. Thank you.

EDIT: And apparently, if you type in Smurfs anywhere, your icon immediately changes to one. o_O


I have to say, of all the Way of the Wicked characters, I think Sakkaroth Fire-Axe is the most interesting. I really feel for the big lug - especially after learning about his fate in this volume. Hopefully there's a satisfying (if not happy) conclusion to his story.

Liberty's Edge

I posted this in the thread in the "Compatible Products" forum, but I don't think you're checking that one as often as you are this one, Gary, so I'll re-ask here if that's all right:

My group is considering starting the AP on this module, at higher level.

1) Is that feasible/possible plot-wise, or is it going to be weird?
2) What level is this module designed to start at, assuming a four-person party?

Many thanks,
Jeremy


Generic Villain wrote:
I have to say, of all the Way of the Wicked characters, I think Sakkaroth Fire-Axe is the most interesting. I really feel for the big lug - especially after learning about his fate in this volume. Hopefully there's a satisfying (if not happy) conclusion to his story.

Sakkaroth Fire-Axe is...

Spoiler:

...basically absent from Book Five (the PCs will hear about more of his victories after Fallingsbridge as he marches towards Matharyn). But the Fire-Axe is all over Book Six. In that book, the PCs get to destroy his horde and thus seemingly win their kingdom. And after that, his fate is in the PCs' hand.

And I'm so glad you enjoy his character. He is a character I have given a lot of though to.

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games


Jeremiziah,

Sorry if I missed a post. I very much try to answer every question posed to me but from time to time I do miss one.

To answer your questions:

1) Yes, it is possible. We actually discuss almost this very thing in the sidebar about running this adventure as a solo mission.

Spoiler:

The PCs are foreign assassins brought in by Thorn to kill the king. After they kill they king, they realize -- hey, we can take over. They kill Thorn and go on to conquer the kingdom in their own right.

Yes, you will have to make adjustments to the backstory and change some dialogue here and there, but otherwise it should work.

2) Book Four is designed for 13th level villains.

Hope that helps and thanks for your interest in "Way of the Wicked".

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games


Gary it will be mid september until I can comment on book 4. Today it got pushed back to the next monthly shipment. I would read the pdf but I hate doing that.

Liberty's Edge

Thanks, Gary!

Grand Lodge

Fire Mountain Games wrote:
I would love to see any errata you find. Thanks for the effort!

I'm still working on this. At pg 82-83 right now. The problem with having a bit of a mental handicap is things go slower than it would with a regular person. >_>


kevin_video,

Regardless I look forward to your comments.

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games


Ok, for a start, I'm completely loving DMing this AP and my players seem to love playing it.

Regarding what others have said regarding having a piece of Argossarian to placate Chargammon, If I know my players as well as I think I do then they will most likely have animated the rotting corpse of this Dragon before it hits the floor. Now assuming said Zombie hasn't been destroyed in one of the intervening battles, how would Chargammon react to the PC's parading round with the defiled corpse of this goodly Metallic?

Grand Lodge

Fire Mountain Games wrote:

kevin_video,

Regardless I look forward to your comments.

I definitely plan on continuing to work on it. Got about two pages worth of notes so far. Got a quick question regarding Notable NPCs though.

Sir Janus:
Are the PCs ever supposed to fight Sir Janus? Is he in a later book? Where would he be added? If not stated, would any pre-made NPC Captain of the Watch do? (I found a level 13 warrior that can easily be upgraded to a fighter with proper stats and additional feats/abilities).

Human Captain of the Watch from The War of the Goblin King.

Grand Lodge

kevin_video wrote:
Fire Mountain Games wrote:

kevin_video,

Regardless I look forward to your comments.

I definitely plan on continuing to work on it. Got about two pages worth of notes so far. Got a quick question regarding Notable NPCs though.

** spoiler omitted **

Dang it, it wouldn't let me edit it. Now I have to ask about the High Cardinal in a reply.

Possible side-quest:
It's mentioned that you could take down the High Cardinal if you want to, but I have to ask about the stats, etc, of the elite guard squad. I saw what he is (aristocrat/expert), and I'm sure I have to build him myself, and that's fine. He'll be human, have elite array, a longsword, be a few years short of old (-1 physical stats, +1 mental), etc. However, a question about the elite squad. Are we supposed to use the stats of the knights of the King's guards who are with the king? Or should we be using the "regular guards" (trusted knights) who are in the palace? It doesn't specify. That'll help determine the size of the "squad" the party has to face.

Grand Lodge

1 person marked this as a favorite.

And just because I didn't feel like sleeping. Here's the aasimar cleric that the PCs could face in the side quest. It's kind of rough, but anyone who wants to use it can clean it up however they like. Also, I gave him traits on purpose, of which I felt fit best for his race, his upbringing, and where he was raised.

The Angelic Bodyguard:

Roshan (Persian for bright, light)
CR 14
XP 38,400
Male aasimar cleric of Mitra the Shining Lord 15
LG Medium outsider (native)
Aura Good (Overwhelming)
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60; Perception +12
AC 20, touch 10, flat-footed 20 (+7 armour, +3 shield)
hp 100 (15d8+15+15)
Defensive Abilities Resist acid 5, cold 5, electricity 5, fire 10
Saves Fort +13, Ref +10, Will +17; +1 vs. charm and compulsion effects
Speed 30 ft. (20 ft. in armor)
Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
Special Attacks Channel Energy (7/day in 30 ft. burst, DC 22, 8d6), Sun's Blessing (channeling positive energy to harm undead add cleric level to damage; no channel resistance)
Attack melee +1 longsword +15/+10/+5 (1d8+3/17-20), or masterwork light crossbow +12 (1d8/19-20) [80 ft range]
Base Atk +11, CMB +13; CMD 23
Abilities Str 14 (+2), Dex 10 (+0), Con 12 (+1), Int 10 (+0), Wis 20 (+5), Cha 17 (+3)
Feats Alignment Channel (can heal or harm outsiders), Combat Casting, Improved Channel, Improved Critical (longsword), Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Selective Channelling, Weapon Focus (longsword)
Traits Adopted (human), Adrift, Scholar of Ruins (dungeoneering)
Skills Diplomacy +12, Heal +10, Knowledge (arcana) +4, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +4, Knowledge (geography) +1, Knowledge (history) +4, Knowledge (nobility) +6, Knowledge (religion) +8, Knowledge (the planes) +4, Perception +12, Sense Motive +13, Spellcraft +7
SQ Divine Presence (30 ft. aura, 15 rounds/day. All allies under Sanctuary, DC 22), Nimbus of Light (30 ft. radius 15 rounds. Acts as a Daylight spell), Touch of Glory (standard action gives bonus on a CHA based skill of Cleric level 8/day)
Spell-like Abilities (CL 15th; concentration +18, +22 defensively)
1/day—daylight
Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 15th; concentration +20, +24 defensively)
Level 0 (4)— DC 15: create water, detect magic, guidance, read magic
Level 1 (6)— DC 16: bless, bless weapon (D), detect evil, divine favor, protection from evil, shield of faith
Level 2 (6)— DC 17: align weapon, bull's strength, death knell, heat metal (D), lesser restoration, spiritual weapon
Level 3 (6)— DC 18: create food and water, dispel magic (2), magic vestment, remove disease, searing light (D)
Level 4 (6)— DC 19: air walk, divine power, freedom of movement, holy smite (D), greater magic weapon, tongues
Level 5 (5)— DC 20: breath of life, mass cure light wounds, flame strike (D), spell resistance, true seeing
Level 6 (4)— DC 21: blade barrier, greater dispel magic, fire seeds (D), heal
Level 7 (3)— DC 22: holy sword, greater restoration, sunbeam
Level 8 (2)— DC 23: fire storm, holy aura (D)
Domains Glory, Sun
Languages Celestial, Common
Possessions: phylactery of faithfulness, +1 ghost touch breastplate, cloak of resistance +3, headband of mental prowess +2 (Cha/Wis), pearl of power (2nd), +1 heavy steel shield of fire resistance 10, +1 conductive longsword (channel energy of a spell-like or supernatural ability has range of touch or ranged touch. Expends 2 uses of spell)


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kevin_video,

Spoiler:

Sir Janus is one of the Trusted Knights on pg. 71, left behind by Markadian V to ensure the safety of his daughter. I should have made that clear in the text.

The High Cardinal assassination is a sidequest left to the GM to develop. It certainly is not essential to the plot, but if the PCs are short on XP or have a personal grudge against the Mitran church, it is a fine way to give them extra experience points.

You would need three sets of stats to make a decent encounter:
The High Cardinal himself (male middle-aged human aristocrat 5/expert 10 with elite stats -- CR 14) and his bodyguard (male aasimar cleric 15 -- CR 14) would make a fine CR 16 encounter.

His guards (yes, the trusted knights would work fine here) could also make another.

I would probably make the crux of the side-quest non-combatant. The trick is getting the High Cardinal alone by deceiving in to having a private meeting. If not alone, he is literally surrounded by church security in Matharyn.

Your stat block for Roshan, by the way, at first glance looks cool.

Anyways, hope that helps.

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games

Grand Lodge

Fire Mountain Games wrote:

kevin_video,

** spoiler omitted **

Anyways, hope that helps.

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games

Yes, that helps immensely. Thanks.


Just a quick question: does the fact that the article on liches and vampires starts in this book mean that characters can't become undead before this adventure?

It might have been asked already, but I'm going to be a player in this campaign, so I don't want to read too much discussion about it :-)

Grand Lodge

poilbrun wrote:

Just a quick question: does the fact that the article on liches and vampires starts in this book mean that characters can't become undead before this adventure?

It might have been asked already, but I'm going to be a player in this campaign, so I don't want to read too much discussion about it :-)

I could see maybe a dhampir, but from what I can tell about how the people of Talingarde react to "evil", you wouldn't be beaten and dragged in chains to prison. You're not even close to human. You're a true monstrosity. Meaning that they'd destroy you as quickly as possible. There wouldn't even be a trial.


The presence or absence of a lich/vampire article shouldn't necessarily bar a group from having undead player characters, provided that the requirements/conditions are met for any house-rules or other included rule materials.

For example, you could have werewolf pcs in Way of the Wicked, but the absence of an article on lycanthrope character options shouldn't be taken as a reason to ban them.

As Kevin mentioned above, there are some hefty drawbacks to being evil in Talingarde as-written. But, even that wouldn't necessarily preclude the more monstrous PC options. Provided the GM agrees of course.

All that being said, it can be a bitter sweet twist of fate to see an article pop up in later volumes of an adventure path (by Paizo or anyone else for that matter) that stirs the creative soup in your head, making you go "OH MAN! I totally should have done that!" Such is the power of hindsight :-), and the risk that groups take for running an adventure path prior to every volume being available for scrutiny.

Grand Lodge

This is true. There's nothing saying you can't be a lycanthrope. Just means that the weapon the executioner's bringing will likely be magic and made of mithral.

My group's pretty much all monsters. I don't think I have a single core race in the mix. One's even a succubus so when they kill her, she won't actually die, she'll just get banished for 100 years.

As for hindsight, anyone see Gary's article in Wayfinder 7 about how you could make other adventure paths and modules into evil ones? Including Rise of the Runelords? That was awesome. Thankfully, I haven't run any of them yet so I can totally use that to my advantage.


Poilbrun,

No. It's difficult to say more without veering into spoiler territory.

Suffice to say that I have a player in my home campaign who is playing a sorcerer with the sanguine bloodline. "Way of the Wicked" in part is written to well accomodate that concept.

Hope that helps,
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games

Grand Lodge

Gary,

Confusion on Breuder's Promise:
Okay, reading this over, and I'm confused on multiple parts.
1) The priest. Good or evil?
2) What agreement could the priest have possibly made to trap the devil? If the priest was good, was it to Mitra to trap the devil in the church forever? If the priest was evil, was it to show Asmodeus's power was still around despite Mitra's religion being so rampant and he had to stay until the fall of Talingarde? Is he in some kind of forcecage? Is it a curse? Is it a written contract that needs to get revised?
3) It says "Anyone who can free him would be welcome to
take the relics to Asmodeus." "To" Asmodeus? Should that not say "of" Asmodeus? If you free him the devil will give you the relics and then send you directly to Asmodeus to give to him? What?
4) If you fail in releasing the devil, do you automatically die and Gethran gets to play with your soul to pass the time, or do you get trapped in the temple as well and the devil just decides to attack you and kill you, causing your soul to get trapped in the temple?

I get that we should be making it up if we need the XP for the players, and it's not a necessary adventure, but even still it's rather vague. The others are better explained. Minus Payback to the House of Richter, maybe, but that's fudgeable regardless.


And reviewed here, on DTRPG, posted about it on Lou Agresta's RPGaggression and sent it to GMS magazine. Also, this is my 800th review here on Paizo. O.o


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kevin_video,

Regarding the sidequest Breuder's Promise...

Spoiler:

The priest who bound Gethran here was an Asmodean priest when the church of Asmodeus was not completely illegal in Talingarde.

The priest probably bound the devil to defend the temple against all intruders and unbelievers. Now Gethran Hate is stuck "defending" an uninhabited and abandoned temple that no one has visited in decades. Exciting.

Yes it should read "relics OF Asmodeus". I would give them a couple of nice, evil themed magic items as their reward.

If you fail to release the devil, you don't automatically die, he just tries to kill you. Horned Devils are CR 16.

How do you free him? The exact puzzle is left up to you. That's why its a briefly described sidequest. I would imagine it would involve finding out the exact wording of his binding and finding a loophole that would free him.

Hope that helps,
Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games


EZG,

Thanks once more another great review!

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games


One off-topic question, if I may...

Do you already have a schedule for the two remaining books?


Book V (which I'm deep in production of as we speak) is aiming for end of august/middle of september.

And I am still pushing to get this adventure path done by Halloween.

We'll see.

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games


Important question: In the end of part 3 the army under the king manages to reach Valtaerna. Meanwhile Sakkaroth moves his army to Daveryn. Which way did the kings army take? I mean they must have met Sakkaroth. Because Valteaerna is farther north than Daveryn. Or did they take ships and came from the sea in winter? Have I missed some info in book 4?

If the king manages to get this fast to Valtaerna... why does it take him so long to reach Daveryn?


Fire Mountain Games wrote:

Book V (which I'm deep in production of as we speak) is aiming for end of august/middle of september.

And I am still pushing to get this adventure path done by Halloween.

We'll see.

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games

Any conclusion whats the next AP? If you write one there is no need for me to buy any Paizo Paths anymore für the next years! ;-)


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Patrick,

Spoiler:

Mostly this sort of deep background is not explicitly laid out since no PCs are present and honestly the king's army exact route is unlikely to matter. But you can infer it by looking at the map.

The King's army made it from Matharyn to Valtaerna in two and a half months through winter covering roughly 300 miles including traversing a small pass in the southern Ansgarian Mountain range. It took them so long because of snow and freezing rain. They only made it at all because of the sacred banner that led the army and granted protection from the elements to the men.

Presumably the army stops at Valtaerna to assess the damage and the king begins to realize just how much a threat his nation faces. The Paladin departs because...well, let's just say for now he has other things to do. His story gets a lot more time in Book V.

The army camps in the ruins of Valtaerna and wait for spring. It is during this month that Daveryn falls and the PCs get to do their sack (Book Four, Act One).

With the coming of spring, the King's army moves up the Ansgarian Mountain range north to the gap that leads into the Borderlands. Once in the Borderlands, the army actually turns south and easterly moving down to Daveryn. The cover approximately 200 miles in less than a month.

That's the month the PCs are infiltrating the Adarium and setting up the assassination of King Markadian.

Just before the attack on Daveryn, Markadian leaves and the events at the end of Book IV transpire.

It's a rough timeline of course and I suppose if the PCs are a little slow, you may have to say that spring rains turned the roads of the Borderlands to a sea of mud and greatly delayed the king's army.

Again, this all happens off screen. It's unlikely the PCs will in any way be involved with this directly. They have other matters to attend to...

And if the King's Army seems a little slow, remember that this is thousands of men who must forage and deal with new recruits who rally to their cause at every village.

Regardless, hope this clarifies events.

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games


Oh, I almost forgot ... the next Fire Mountain Games product.

An announcement will be coming soon. After Gencon at the earliest and maybe even a while after that. I hate to be so cryptic and vague, but we are only going to announce this when all our ducks are in a row.

Suffice to say that I'm already working on it...

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games


Gary,
Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was mention in the Way of the Wicked Book One discussion thread that we might see flipmaps and/or other things (maybe face cards can't remember exactly what was talked about) for Way of the Wicked after this AP was complete. Is anything planned for Way of the Wicked "support products" after you complete the AP (not sure what else to call them, but support products fits)? Thanks again for such a great AP.

Edited to add the quote I found on page 3 of the Knot of Thorns discussion:

Fire Mountain Games wrote:

Alzrius,

A map pack for the entire adventure path is a product we will be producing eventually. For now, our focus is getting the entire adventure path completed.

Book two is almost finished!

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games

Grand Lodge

douglasiv wrote:

Gary,

Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was mention in the Way of the Wicked Book One discussion thread that we might see flipmaps and/or other things (maybe face cards can't remember exactly what was talked about) for Way of the Wicked after this AP was complete. Is anything planned for Way of the Wicked "support products" after you complete the AP (not sure what else to call them, but support products fits)? Thanks again for such a great AP.

Edited to add the quote I found on page 3 of the Knot of Thorns discussion:

Fire Mountain Games wrote:

Alzrius,

A map pack for the entire adventure path is a product we will be producing eventually. For now, our focus is getting the entire adventure path completed.

Book two is almost finished!

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games

I'd definitely buy some, if not all, of it.


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Hey guys,

Fear not. I've not forgotten. I have ideas for a number of support materials for "Way of the Wicked" and a map pack definitely remains one of them.

I also once the main six are done want to publish MinionQuest (and maybe MinionQuest II).

But these are all projects that will have to wait until after Book VI is released.

The end is coming for Talingarde.

Gary McBride
Fire Mountain Games


Fire Mountain Games wrote:

Patrick,

** spoiler omitted **...

I still need more info before I sold you off this answer. Point 1: Just because it happens Offscreen it doesnt mean the players dont care about. Point 2: It makes no sense for me that Markadian leads his army over a mountain pass to a valley when the real enemy army strikes further into the right flank (with all meaningful cities if I see clearly). Its one of the biggest military failures I have seen. If I tried a rescue mission with an entire army I would make sure the people to be rescued are still alive. and to ignore the fire axe on the other side of the mointains... I dont think that an experienced and lawful good king would do this. First he cannot let them rampage his cities. second this is the main threat for the kingdom.

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