Pathfinder Adventure Path #96: Shadow of the Storm Tyrant (Giantslayer 6 of 6)

Announced! Product image and description are not final.

A Storm is Coming.

Cool an article about Gigas.

An assault on another flying fortress? Sweet.

Though an underwater base would've been cool, as well!

I wonder if this is connected to Pathfinder Module: Curse of the Riven Sky?

There's too much storming going on here.

I wonder if this is connected to Pathfinder Module: Curse of the Riven Sky?

It is not. They're both about giants, and both have a flying cloud castle, but the similarities end there. The biggest difference, of course, is that Shadow of the Storm Tyrant is the capstone to and entire Adventure Path focused on giants, and is therefore designed for PCs of significantly higher levels.

Whoa, Tito Leati! That's awesome!

Marco Massoudi wrote:

I wonder if this is connected to Pathfinder Module: Curse of the Riven Sky?

It is not. They're both about giants, and both have a flying cloud castle, but the similarities end there. The biggest difference, of course, is that Shadow of the Storm Tyrant is the capstone to and entire Adventure Path focused on giants, and is therefore designed for PCs of significantly higher levels.

Thank you for clarifying that Rob.

There seem to be at least 2 cloud castles in the skies over Avistan... ;-)

There seem to be at least 2 cloud castles in the skies over Avistan... ;-)

There are likely many more than that. Just as we don't map every goblin settlement or lizardfolk village or ogre enclave, we just haven't defined where all the cloud giants in the Inner Sea region live.

Marco Massoudi wrote:

There seem to be at least 2 cloud castles in the skies over Avistan... ;-)

There are likely many more than that. Just as we don't map every goblin settlement or lizardfolk village or ogre enclave, we just haven't defined where all the cloud giants in the Inner Sea region live.

I don´t want to be a jackass but i doubt it very much that are that many more.

These are legendary artifacts and the entry for cloud giants says:

"Good cloud giants build roads from their settlements to connect with other humanoid roads in order to foster trade. It's not uncommon to see a good cloud giant walking among humans, for example, in a human city near a tall mountain range. Evil cloud giants tend not to bother with permanent settlements and instead live on high peaks in crude shelters, only coming down to raid villages for whatever they might need."

"Legends abound of magical cloud giant cities nestled in the very clouds themselves that float with the winds and circumnavigate the world. While most cloud giants recognize this as a fantasy, there are some who not only claim to have seen them but have dedicated the entirety of their long lives to finding them again."

Also i wonder if "Skyborne Keep: A floating cloud castle ruled by a malevolent storm giant, who uses it as a vessel to plunder various merchant ships and trade caravans." from Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Castles of the Inner Sea is the same as the one in this adventure... ;-)

Also i wonder if "Skyborne Keep: A floating cloud castle ruled by a malevolent storm giant, who uses it as a vessel to plunder various merchant ships and trade caravans." from Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Castles of the Inner Sea is the same as the one in this adventure... ;-)

From the Office of Expectation Management: It's not Skyborne Keep.

Marco Massoudi wrote:

Also i wonder if "Skyborne Keep: A floating cloud castle ruled by a malevolent storm giant, who uses it as a vessel to plunder various merchant ships and trade caravans." from Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Castles of the Inner Sea is the same as the one in this adventure... ;-)

From the Office of Expectation Management: It's not Skyborne Keep.

Thanx again Andy!

Wow you guys have an office for everything. ;-)

Try to avoid the attention of the Office for Cosmo's Lost Bodyparts, though.

What's next for the Adventure Path Line? Are we going to see Arcadia, more of Casmaron, Vudra, Sarusan in furture APs? Perhaps a AP set in Azlant's zenith or during the time of the Jistka Imperium(with time travel possiblies)?

What's next for the Adventure Path Line? Are we going to see Arcadia, more of Casmaron, Vudra, Sarusan in furture APs? Perhaps a AP set in Azlant's zenith or during the time of the Jistka Imperium(with time travel possiblies)?

Hell's Rebels. We'll have a product page up here in the next few weeks, I suspect. :)

Out of curiosity, what level should PCs have achieved prior to this AP's end-game? If it starts at 15, is the plan for them be 16 or 17 before the climax of the AP?

Out of curiosity, what level should PCs have achieved prior to this AP's end-game? If it starts at 15, is the plan for them be 16 or 17 before the climax of the AP?

Currently, it's planned that the PCs reach 17th level by the end of the AP.

Is that character level 17 for active adventuring in the final part of the this AP installment, or just a case of: "your L 16 characters beat the BBEG and his pals, won/stopped the disaster, and can now retire as L 17"?

Is that character level 17 for active adventuring in the final part of the this AP installment, or just a case of: "your L 16 characters beat the BBEG and his pals, won/stopped the disaster, and can now retire as L 17"?

For The Divnity Drive, it was both: "The PCs should be 17th level before (starting the last part of the adventure)" followed by "The PCs should be 17th level by the end of the adventure."

This looks awesome.

Bellona wrote:

Is that character level 17 for active adventuring in the final part of the this AP installment, or just a case of: "your L 16 characters beat the BBEG and his pals, won/stopped the disaster, and can now retire as L 17"?

For The Divnity Drive, it was both: "The PCs should be 17th level before (starting the last part of the adventure)" followed by "The PCs should be 17th level by the end of the adventure."

This is more or less what we try to strive for in our APs, but the variations on how many words it takes to hand out XP and the like means that in some cases we might fall short, and in others you might actually hit 18th level (as was, I believe, the case for Shattered Star).

Loving the cover. Guess I will be converting a Reaper storm giant to have a falcata (that will be fun : )).

Updated with final text and product image!

Awesome, more info on Gigas, and also nice cover.

I would one day like to see an AP that doesn't feature the Runelords themselves, but rather a Rune Giant overlord building a massive force, dominating giants, etc.

Ooh, Gigases. I've been hoping to get more info on those.

I would one day like to see an AP that doesn't feature the Runelords themselves, but rather a Rune Giant overlord building a massive force, dominating giants, etc.

It's not an AP, but a rune giant fighter by the name of Graithzog Ebonrunes is doing just that in the Xin-Shalast chapter of Lost Cities of Golarion. He's essentially picking up the pieces after

So I don't usually comment on art, but am I the only one who thinks the giant on the cover is... I don't know, a little feminine? Maybe even delicate? Not at all the face, but the way he's standing, his narrow frame, the oddly revealing armor, the spindly fingers? Hmm.

I took the posture as being 'floating' and from extension that his lower body and non-sword-arm were slightly atrophied from non-use. Sort of like the giant-equivalent to an accomplished mage, imperious and powerful, but focused more on non-physical attributes.

He has the exposed hips and side that a lot of pathfinder women have. Though if he's the start of a trend it would just indicate that Golarion spellcasters in general need to expose dem hips. If not for spellcasting, for fashion.

He's also wearing a, uh. Hmm. A skirt. I mean I guess you could say that's a kilt, if kilts were breezy and diaphanous.

I actually like the art. It's just absolutely not what I was expecting - which is not a negative by any means. Also didn't expect the guy to use what looks like a falcata.

I kind of did. The art for storm giants basically looks like they wield 2 handed falcatas anyway.

I love that cover art. This AP has some of the best cover pieces of all the APs in my opinion, the giant looks great. I think he looks correctly proportioned and I like the idea of the falcatta, and what I assume is the orb of dragon kind. I assume he's flying, hovering in readiness to use his hopefully awesome Magus powers! Kind of makes me wish they make miniatures of the cover Giants, I know I'd but them if only for the foremost giant death knight, fire giant and this one.

I assume he's flying, hovering in readiness to use his hopefully awesome Magus powers!

What makes you think magus? Was that mentioned somewhere? If you're just guessing, then I could definitely see you being right - I could also see him being a sorcerer/eldritch knight, or even a non-spellcasting class like fighter. His floating stance could be thanks to a magic item or custom ability.

Here's a fun Thassilon spoiler unrelated to the adventure itself:

Cat-thulhu wrote:

I assume he's flying, hovering in readiness to use his hopefully awesome Magus powers!

What makes you think magus? Was that mentioned somewhere? If you're just guessing, then I could definitely see you being right - I could also see him being a sorcerer/eldritch knight, or even a non-spellcasting class like fighter. His floating stance could be thanks to a magic item or custom ability.

Wishful thinking. I'm just hoping that's what he is.

Generic Villain wrote:

Cat-thulhu wrote:

I assume he's flying, hovering in readiness to use his hopefully awesome Magus powers!

What makes you think magus? Was that mentioned somewhere? If you're just guessing, then I could definitely see you being right - I could also see him being a sorcerer/eldritch knight, or even a non-spellcasting class like fighter. His floating stance could be thanks to a magic item or custom ability.

Wishful thinking. I'm just hoping that's what he is.

While magus would be cool (and thematically fitting), eldritch knight might be easier as storm giants have the martial prerequisites down racially, and might get more mileage out of spellcasting that way.

Ungarato being mythic rank 4 essentially makes me wonder if he's really dead and his essence is trapped within the sword of sin. Now I'm thinking that maybe it's not his essence within the blade at all. That would be interesting, he's still around and kicking 10 millennia later, guarding his third of the gluttonous tome and wielding the sleeping blade.

Ungarato being mythic rank 4 essentially makes me wonder if he's really dead and his essence is trapped within the sword of sin. Now I'm thinking that maybe it's not his essence within the blade at all. That would be interesting, he's still around and kicking 10 millennia later, guarding his third of the gluttonous tome and wielding the sleeping blade.

The article is intentionally vague on Ungarato's current condition, noting only that he might have been defeated or even destroyed in the past. He also might still be "alive" and kicking, holding both his Sword of Sin and one-third of Zutha's booklactery.

This possibility would contradict the Seven Swords of Sin entry in Artifacts and Legends, which is much more firm about Ungarato (the person) falling and being absorbed by Ungarato (the sword).

Aaaand you know I just realized I meant to post the Ungarato thing in the Product Discussion of Ice Tomb of the Giant Queen. The one with the graveknight article and all. Woops.

Aaaand you know I just realized I meant to post the Ungarato thing in the Product Discussion of Ice Tomb of the Giant Queen. The one with the graveknight article and all. Woops.

Its alright. ;)

We appreciate the enthusiasm.

Well, the way I would play him is similar to the sword Ovinrbane in kingmaker. Fail a test and Ungarato is reborn, fully restored.

Do you get the keep the cloud island at the end of the module?

So what are the new monsters in this one?

^Whoa, didn't realize both were coming at the same time!

No one has the monsters yet?

If you have please share them with us poor folk who still have to wait! :-p

I like the monsters from Part 5 much better than part 6... None of these looks like it will interest me.

But maybe when I see them with my own eyes I will like them.

Can't go wrong with more Daemons and Gigas. The storm auroch sounds cool.