Pathfinder Adventure Path #103: The Hellfire Compact (Hell's Vengeance 1 of 6) (PFRPG)

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Pathfinder Adventure Path #103: The Hellfire Compact (Hell's Vengeance 1 of 6) (PFRPG)
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All Hell Breaks Loose!

The Hell's Vengeance Adventure Path begins with "The Hellfire Compact," an exciting new adventure in which the players take the roles of evil characters in the diabolical empire of Cheliax! A paladin of Iomedae and knight-errant of the Glorious Reclamation comes to the town of Longacre, inspiring the citizens to join the uprising against the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune. First as amoral mercenaries, then as retainers of the wicked archbaron of Longacre, the evil adventurers must move quickly to put down the insurgency and keep the town from falling to the knight's rebellion.

This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path launches the Hell's Vengeance Adventure Path and includes:

  • "The Hellfire Compact," a Pathfinder adventure for 1st-level characters, by F. Wesley Schneider.
  • A gazetteer of Longacre, the small town in Cheliax that serves as the setting for this adventure, by F. Wesley Schneider.
  • Details on the Glorious Reclamation, a knightly order dedicated to Iomedae that sparks the events of this campaign, by Rob McCreary.
  • Magical mayhem and ill tidings from afar in the Pathfinder's Journal, by Josh Vogt.
  • A bestiary of frightful new monsters, by Paris Crenshaw, Mikko Kallio, and Jason Keeley.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-818-2

Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:

Hero Lab Online
Archives of Nethys

Note: This product is part of the Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscription.

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Worst Start to an AP I've Ever Seen is Right

2/5

As of writing this review, Book 1 of Hell's Vengeance has the lowest average review score of any Book 1 for Pathfinder 1st Edition APs. This isn't by chance or by a particular subset of players bandwagoning to drop its score. The adventure fundamentally has some issues that make it not very fun to play.

Spoilers for the Adventure:
  • The opening scene of this adventure is not directly hinted by the player's guide and assumes that PCs are willing to be common thugs sent to rough someone up for their overdue taxes. It starts in medias res and can annoy players who have to struggle to reconcile their character's personality with this job.
  • The remainder of the first book assumes that the PCs are willing to act as LAWFUL (but not necessarily evil) sheriffs. Take orders from above. Execute orders. The Rebellion Points system incentivizes a peaceful resolution to every problem that appears. Despite having evil PCs, it really wants PCs that are LESS bloodthirsty than your typical heroic bunch, not MORE bloodthirsty. This is very likely to be contradictory to people's expectations.
  • The only motivations allowed are either purely mercenary (I want that Cheliax gold), or for personal advancement (I want to climb the political ladder). Any other characters will struggle to reconcile personal motivations with humdrum servitude toward a tyrannical figure.
  • If the PCs take initiative into their own hands, meting out their dark justice, the book actively has the antagonists' side seem to grow stronger - essentially, players quickly feel they are being punished for having fun. On the flip side, if they do everything by the book, the rebellion STILL HAPPENS and it can feel like there was no point to any of the things they did.
  • The "schedule" that the rebellion runs on denies PCs of all agency. The PCs are given no clear overarching goal that they're allowed to actually work toward. Instead, they're left playing the part of bad cops, dealing with small incidents and scenes as they happen. If they decide they want to try to behead the brewing rebellion before it happens, there is absolutely nothing written in the text to help GMs work out how that might play out.
  • If you run this adventure and want it to take off, you will almost definitely need to do a lot of legwork to get it working and working well. You need to set crystal clear expectations for the players. If I were to run it, I'd consider keeping only the town and its characters and entirely rebuilding it from the ground up so that the PCs have more agency to defeat the rebellion BEFORE it becomes a problem.


    The Worst Start to an AP I've Ever Seen

    1/5

    I was a player in this, so I can't comment about things behind the screen.

    In our group, we like to make meaningful characters with genuine motives for what they do. As a long-time GM, I'm pretty used to playing villains who are also real people. Most people do not need help with this concept. Putting an NPC in to basically 'show the PCs the ropes' of being villainous was so patronizing I don't even have words for it.

    Also, starting the PCs mid-crime and just telling them to roll with it? Awful, abysmal idea. Who on earth thought this would be good?

    Just because you're playing evil characters it doesn't mean you suddenly don't need a reason for being an a#$%&&#. As someone who attempted to make a character with a halfway nuanced backstory (and a lawful one, mind) I was honestly blown away that this setpiece was the price of entry into this AP. Just go along with it or don't bother! Delightful.

    No other major problems with the town, setting, motives, villains. But Paizo's lack of experience in evil campaigns really shone here (and would continue to do so for the rest of the AP)


    But I want to be evil my way! ... No you can't. We're LAWFUL evil here

    3/5

    What I like is the nice and detailed town of Longacre with all the characters that populate it.

    The NPCs are nicely fleshed out with their motivations and background.

    The history of the Glorious Reclamation opposing the Thrice Damned House of Thrune gives an interesting context.

    The art is wonderful as it is in most of the paizo books.

    But the first and foremost advice about playing the adventure - as written in the adventure - is: Don't be a jerk! Well, I thought being a jerk is an essential part of being evil. Killing your companions might be a tad too much, but people who can't differentiate between their player friend who they like and his in game character, who steals from their character for the fun of it, should stay with heroic APs. Just my 2cent worth.

    But it doesn't stop there. If you take Rise of the Runelord for example, you start with a fair and one page later you are leaving a trail of blood and dead bodies all through the book. As good heroes.

    Here, as evil characters, we got through half the book without killing anyone, because we're not supposed to. Every NPC quest giver whines about only roughing them up.

    When I think about playing evil I think of Bonnie&Clyde. This is not it. Here you are at the lowest end of a LE Kingdom and have to adhere to the whims of those ordering you around. It's like it was written by a paladin who wanted to rub it in, that being evil is no fun at all.

    Or maybe I'm not evil enough to understand that I shouldn't care about what the adventure wants and should go marauding and killing through town anyway... muhahahaha.


    Real bad AP start, get's better.

    3/5

    GOOD:
    maps, enemies and Starting town are great.

    BAD:
    No motivation to start the first mission beyond money and "just do it!".

    UGLY:
    Only easily playable for lawful evil characters.
    Chaotic and neutral evil characters may have a hard time cooperating.

    All in all the worst AP start of all.
    Way of the Wicked is far superior.


    Pretty good, but...

    3/5

    ... the opening is a bit of a jolt, and also presumes a great deal about the motivation of your collection of scumbag ne'er-do-wells. For a scratch group, I wouldn't mind, but considering the way the campaign traits work, motivating the PCs for

    Spoiler:
    a grubby little heist that may not even pay as much as trait choices start you with
    can involve a fair bit of GM editing.

    But if you're fired up to play the bad guys, things rapidly get more nuanced. There's a rebellion to crush for the Evil Empire, and you're just the guys to do it!

    However, the conclusion can be a bit jarring if the essentially awful nature of life in Cheliax is glossed over, and some of the NPC interactions feel a mite... forced.

    Worth a go if you want to try your hand at being evil, but be prepared for some extra work on the sidelines.

    While marketed as "any kind of evil," in practice, only the more subtle forms of Chaotic Evil seem likely to do terribly well- there's some room for flexing it, but a solid bank of Lawful Evil or a few Neutral Evil opportunists seems the best fit.


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    Dark Archive

    Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber
    DeciusNero wrote:
    Thomas Seitz wrote:
    I'd also like to know (like many others) about the Bestiary in this book.
    Wonder if there'll be more celestials?

    Bestiary:

    Kuribu Angel, CR 3, poses as a small-sized statue to guard sacred places

    Centianima, CR 4 Undead, a nightmare of two glowing-eyed skulls on either end of a centipede made up of stolen bones. Comes with 7 different variant options, too!

    Fiend-Bred Animals, the CR 2 Chellish Hell-Bred Dog, the CR 2 Stygian Hot-Bred Horse, and the CR 1 Quillcat. Basically, half-blooded hellhounds, nightmares, and howlers.

    Typhillipede, CR 2 centipede-ish outsider that can eat light, and is a favorite Improved Familiar of Duergar.


    Kvantum wrote:
    DeciusNero wrote:
    Thomas Seitz wrote:
    I'd also like to know (like many others) about the Bestiary in this book.
    Wonder if there'll be more celestials?
    ** spoiler omitted **

    Wow. That second monster seems pretty awesome to me. I can't wait to see it with my own eyes, especially the variants.


    Anyone else have a chance to look at their PDF?

    Liberty's Edge

    Browsed through it. Can't answer your question about unique visual style as I don't know what the default visual style is.

    Dark Archive

    Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber

    Axial,

    Spoiler:

    The knight-errant is actually a her, an orphan of the streets, turned reluctant servant of Zon-Kuthon, turned really reluctant denatsate beggar (removed her own nose and lips in twisted Kuthonite rite), saved by Iomedans who took pity on the disfigured young woman. She wears a silver helm completely covering the remnants of her face.

    The Glorious Reclamation tends to wear white with red insignia or decorations, at least by the artwork.

    After the Order of the Godclaw found Iomedae's long-lost sword from her mortal life, they refused to return it to her followers, saying their discovery of it proved the righteousness of their Order. One paladin decided to turn her back on the Hellknights and raised an army of devout servants of the Inheritor to reclaim the sword. After they took Citadel Dinyar, reclaiming the sword wasn't enough for their leader Alexara Cansellarion, so now they have set their sights on Westcrown, the city where her family originally hailed from, until they lost their title and lands in the Chelish Civil War.


    Kvantum wrote:

    Axial,

    ** spoiler omitted **

    yay! Ultra cool magic sword! :D

    Liberty's Edge

    While looking at the last spread where the entire AP summary is, it strikes me that Hell's Vengeance is an #allmalepanel. Even all the sub-articles in book 1 (gazetteer, fiction, bestiary et al.) are all-male.

    Next issue looks like it's going to at least have an article on the House of Thrune by Linda Zayas-Palmer.

    Paizo Employee Creative Director

    3 people marked this as a favorite.
    Samy wrote:

    While looking at the last spread where the entire AP summary is, it strikes me that Hell's Vengeance is an #allmalepanel. Even all the sub-articles in book 1 (gazetteer, fiction, bestiary et al.) are all-male.

    Next issue looks like it's going to at least have an article on the House of Thrune by Linda Zayas-Palmer.

    That happens. And if it's surprising, then I guess that's a good thing because it means folks expect a wider spread of male/female writers in any one volume of Pathifnder these days.

    Liberty's Edge

    Having given the adventure a brief browse, I'm intrigued by what I could possibly salvage from it. As has been mentioned many times by the department of expectation management, there's practically no way to run the adventure near as written for a Good group, and I agree with that. But the situation and NPCs are interesting, and I'm interested in seeing the Good guys win, so I'm throwing around in my head how things might be in a mirror universe.


    4 people marked this as a favorite.

    Xailehc, Empire of Azatas.

    RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16

    Just got my shipping order. I'm excited as I have a trip planned next week, so this'll give me some good reading material.

    (That said, shouldn't there be a player's guide?)

    Liberty's Edge

    Slightly concerned by something in the next books that has implications on character free will.

    Spoiler:
    In book 3, the PCs become "Thrune Trusted Agents in a ritual that binds their minds to Abrogail II and prohibits them from betraying House Thrune". Further, in book 4, the PCs "bind their souls to Queen Abrogail, becoming Thrune Bound Agents, the highest level within the Thrune organization". If this is a permanent, non-circumventable geas, I can see some Chaotic types having a real issue with the development, so much so that it would probably be best for players to know this when making their characters, so that they will know not to make a fiercely independendent character. I guess we'll see in a few months what sort of loopholes there are, if any.


    Tammy's still waiting for hers, however if it's one thing villains are great at, it's waiting for their circuitous plans to finally come to fruition.

    Tammy's patient, after all.

    Liberty's Edge

    In case anyone is curious about artwork, here's the full-body single figure artworks:

    Spoiler:
    p. 10 Jabral Louslik, human male tanner with crossbow
    p. 26 Razelago, accuser devil
    p. 31 Bolgart Caggan, male wereboar
    p. 33 Loran Allamar, human male cleric of Iomedae with mace
    p. 40 Tileavia Allamar, human female cleric of Iomedae with sword and shield
    p. 42 Rhona Staelish, human female ranger with dual axes and longbow
    p. 44 Jexxi Six Splinters, halfling female rogue with shortbow and spear
    p. 48 Jask Coalimber, kind of undead looking but human male with shortbow
    p. 50 Siova Stormhilt, female changeling with axe and spell
    p. 52 Losoni, male dryad with club and longbow
    p. 57 Cimri Staelish, female human rogue with kukri
    p. 59 Lencia Visserene, rather unique and I'm not going to spoil any more
    p. 61 Lazzero Dalvera, we've already seen this picture
    p. 70 Glorious Reclamation Squire, human female with sword and shield
    p. 72 Glorious Reclamation Chaplain, human male with mace and holy symbol

    My favorites are the changeling (new changeling art is always good!!) and seeing a male dryad, which was weird.

    There's some more bust illustrations too but those are the full-figure ones. Plus the bestiary ones of course.


    Kvantum wrote:

    Axial,

    ** spoiler omitted **

    spoiler:

    She sounds interesting. Is there art of her mutilated face, or just the silver helmet?

    It's a shame, since Thrune, Chelaxian, and Asmodean people seem to prefer red as their color, and it would make sense for the GR to have a more visually opposed style.

    So Alexara is probably the final boss...is it just me, or does she seem a bit seflish? Like, I WANT TO OWN IOMEDAE'S SWORD, or I WANT TO GET MY FAMILY'S LANDS BACK. Her goals seem kind of personal. But I suppose she is fighting to reclaim Cheliax. Maybe it's foreshadowing and she's not actually good-aligned?


    Samy wrote:

    Slightly concerned by something in the next books that has implications on character free will.

    ** spoiler omitted **

    spoiler:

    It seems almost like an "evil PC control mechanism". In the intro to Way of the Wicked, Gary McBride more or less says that evil PCs need an external force controlling them or the campaign will devolve into a mindless kill-fest. WoTW sort of has that in the form of Cardinal Thorn. Hopefully, the game offers some kind of escape hatch to prevent the PCs from becoming total Thrune slaves.

    [spoiler=Regarding the artworks...

    Spoiler:

    Is Lencia the Paladin who you need to kill, or is it someone totally different?

    Liberty's Edge

    1 person marked this as a favorite.

    Reply to Axial:
    Lencia Visserene is a paladin and the end boss of book 1. I found the back story interesting and the visual design is very distinctive. There is no art of her mutilated face; one full-body illustration where she is wearing her helmet, and one head shot of just the helmet. One of those horror movie principles, where your imagination can come up with something much worse, while anything they draw just runs the risk of not being enough.

    By the illustrations in this book, I don't think the Glorious Reclamation has a uniform look. Perhaps that changes further in, but right now, Lencia the paladin, the generic squire and the generic chaplain all look quite different. If I would say anything is their dominant color, it would be metal/silver. All other NPCs in this adventure fighting for the Glorious Reclamation are just Longacre residents wearing what I guess are their normal outfits -- they haven't gotten any sort of headquarters-designed clothing shipments.

    I did not get a selfish vibe from Alexeara, more just a fundie vibe. Like "Jesus was born in Nazareth, so it being in the hands of infidels is an affront to him" sort of thing.

    Liberty's Edge

    1 person marked this as a favorite.

    This adventure makes me wonder how I should run it as a GM. Should I play up children who are orphaned by the PCs' actions, people who are killed or their livelihoods ruined. Should I emphasize the pain and anguish they are creating. Is that part of the point of an evil AP? Or should I want to make the players feel good about what they're doing, that they're cool and badasses and whatever. Yeah yeah I know, table variation and talk to your specific players about their expectations, that's basic stuff. But I would like to hear peoples' opinions in general. When your *characters* murder a rescue puppy, should the DM make the *players* feel good or bad? Should I play up the puppy's sad eyes as the light leaves them, or describe what a cool arc through the air its head makes?

    Liberty's Edge

    1 person marked this as a favorite.
    Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

    Yay I got my subscription PDF!


    1 person marked this as a favorite.
    Samy wrote:
    This adventure makes me wonder how I should run it as a GM. Should I play up children who are orphaned by the PCs' actions, people who are killed or their livelihoods ruined. Should I emphasize the pain and anguish they are creating. Is that part of the point of an evil AP? Or should I want to make the players feel good about what they're doing, that they're cool and badasses and whatever. Yeah yeah I know, table variation and talk to your specific players about their expectations, that's basic stuff. But I would like to hear peoples' opinions in general. When your *characters* murder a rescue puppy, should the DM make the *players* feel good or bad? Should I play up the puppy's sad eyes as the light leaves them, or describe what a cool arc through the air its head makes?

    I think this is as much a matter of the "shades of evil" as it is character expectation. So, for example: I think a character can be "evil" without being "indifferent". A villain could love puppies, but love himself more. He kills the puppy because it benefits him in a way he feels nescessary, but he may be conflicted in doing it.

    In the same way that a good character may be conflicted when called to do something less than good, an evil character may do something evil and regret that it was "nescessary". If that's the case, make the player feel that angst. If they're committed to playing the role, they'll appreciate it.

    On the other hand, turbo murder hobo? They'll revel in the gore.

    Editor-in-Chief

    11 people marked this as a favorite.
    Samy wrote:
    Should I emphasize the pain and anguish they are creating. Is that part of the point of an evil AP?

    That entirely comes down to the game you and your group want to play.

    With any game—but especially with ones that don't conform to common fantasy RPG expectations—before you start playing you and your players should discuss what you all want to get out of the game. That discussion should form the foundation of the experience you, as GM, seek to provide.

    In the case of an evil Adventure Path, you should pose exactly the question you just asked to your group.

    Maybe your players want the experience of being juggernauts of evil, fighting and crushing monsters they don't usually get to and indulging '50s comic book villain expressions of evil. If so, great! Go for it. Cackle along as the PCs burn every orphanage of wicker lesheys they encounter.

    Maybe your players want an exploration into what it means to be evil, with all the ramifications and hurt laid bare, pitting their characters' angst and dark pasts against a world that scarred them. If so, great! Let them lash out, let them feel bad, let them push the boundaries of what they can bring themselves to do and see if their characters weep when finally their humanity breaks.

    Maybe your players want something in between, 'cause there's quite a gulf there.

    In any case, it's for you and your group to figure out what's right for all of you.

    Along with that, you should CERTAINLY set some ground rules for what is and isn't too far. Evil games do NOT mean that everyone's filter gets switched off and every imaginable expression of id is suddenly okay. Talk with your group about what they do want to see in the game and what they certainly don't. Having these guidelines will help you run a game everyone enjoys and will serve you in defining what is too far.

    There's a lengthy discussion about exactly this in our upcoming Pathfinder RPG Horror Adventures book, and it makes sense that this comes up here—an evil game and a horror game have many similarities.

    But ultimately, if you're going to try and make the players feel something negative—fear, discomfort, sorrow, etc—you should have that conversation upfront, let them know what they're in for, and let them make the fully informed call on whether or not they want to play.

    Evil can be fun, but evil can also be unsettling, and that's entirely in your and your groups' hands. Make sure you're all on the same page about the story you're going to tell/play so everyone can have the best possible time.

    Editor-in-Chief

    1 person marked this as a favorite.
    Samy wrote:

    In case anyone is curious about artwork, here's the full-body single figure artworks:

    ** spoiler omitted **

    On dryads:

    For interested parties, Losoni is Pathfinder's second canonically male dryad. The first was encountered by Harsk and Lini over in Pathfinder Origins #5.

    You can read my thinking on, as Mark Moreland termed them, guyads, right here.

    Liberty's Edge

    While I have you here, Wes, any chance of some input regarding swearing the Hellfire Compact:

    Spoiler:
    What if a character flat out refuses to swear the Hellfire Compact? With the knowledge I currently hold, I would allow Fex to let the character refuse to swear fealty, but consequently he would keep a much closer and more suspicious eye on the character. Perhaps the character would not be on the payroll unlike the other PCs, and would not receive the weekly wage, though he could still aid them as a party member.

    Editor-in-Chief

    4 people marked this as a favorite.
    Samy wrote:

    While I have you here, Wes, any chance of some input regarding swearing the Hellfire Compact:

    ** spoiler omitted **

    Answer one: Strongly encourage them to.

    Answer two: Kill them.

    Bad guys don't @#$% around. ;)

    Liberty's Edge

    1 person marked this as a favorite.

    I think I'll just take my solution over the TPK. ;) I don't see that it breaks anything.


    F. Wesley Schneider wrote:
    Samy wrote:

    While I have you here, Wes, any chance of some input regarding swearing the Hellfire Compact:

    ** spoiler omitted **

    Answer one: Strongly encourage them to.

    Answer two: Kill them.

    Bad guys don't @#$% around. ;)

    That's how Tammy rolls.

    Liberty's Edge

    Swearing the Hellfire Compact:
    So in the adventure there's this part where you have to swear allegiance to Fex, the archbaron of Longacre. He claims that it's only legally binding, with no spiritual ramifications. The entire litany of the Compact is, “I swear my absolute allegiance to Archbaron Darellus Fex, Her Infernal Majestrix Queen Abrogail II of the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune, and the Empire of Cheliax.” You say those words, touch this thing, and that's it.

    It is interesting that such a situation is glossed over particularly in a Cheliax-focused adventure. You would expect a whole lot of details and stipulations and so on, in the devil-focused country. For instance, there's no cancellation terms, so theoretically, you could walk out the door and cancel the deal like a cellphone plan or a Pathfinder subscription. "I no longer swear my absolute allegiance to those guys." There doesn't appear to be any sort of penalty involved. Nor is any sort of penalty given for breach of contract. You could just work against those guys, and the Compact doesn't state that you would have to pay any remunerations or anything. So it seems like at face value, the Compact is rather toothless.

    My theory is that Fex actually tricks the characters into unwittingly signing on to something, like anybody who touches this stone will be unable to harm him in the future, which might play out in the third book where you apparently go up against him.


    Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

    When is the player's guide due to drop? I hadn't seen any mention of one on the blog.

    Silver Crusade

    Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

    It's running late. It should drop by the street date (22-Feb) I think.

    Liberty's Edge

    Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

    Sucks that, as a subscriber and GM, that the Player's Guide is running late. I do appreciate their communication about the matter though.


    1 person marked this as a favorite.

    Tammy wants to look as much as the next person, but the number one rule of villainy is patience.

    Tammy will find a patsy to run it for her.


    In the bestiary opener artwork, does it still show regular iconics, or does it show the evil iconics with one of the new monsters?

    Contributor

    It's the standard iconics.


    donato wrote:
    It's the standard iconics.

    Thank you.

    Dark Archive

    2 people marked this as a favorite.
    F. Wesley Schneider wrote:
    Brilliant summation of how to run an Evil AP.

    Which naturally of course can but put to song.

    Sovereign Court Senior Developer

    Samy wrote:
    ** spoiler omitted **

    The sort of "details and stipulations" that you mention come a little later. The starting PCs are still lower-level mooks; they need to prove themselves first before they're offered better things (and before they sign away better things).

    Dark Archive

    4 people marked this as a favorite.
    F. Wesley Schneider wrote:

    Answer two: Kill them.

    Bad guys don't @#$% around. ;)

    For this is War.

    Liberty's Edge

    Rob McCreary wrote:
    The sort of "details and stipulations" that you mention come a little later. The starting PCs are still lower-level mooks; they need to prove themselves first before they're offered better things (and before they sign away better things).

    But as written, they sign away *nothing*, which is what I don't get. The scene appears to have no meaning. I guess what I'm saying is that I could use some more information when my players start asking questions. If there's one thing I expect to have a problem with in this installment, it's that

    Spoiler:
    players are pretty paranoid about devil-worshipping guys asking them to sign vague deals while touching arcane objects.
    This is going to be a significant issue for certain types of players, especially with Chaotic characters, and some help would be useful, if only a statement that "it won't break anything in future adventures if the players don't do it".
    Grand Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4, RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32

    donato wrote:
    It's the standard iconics.

    Which of the monsters is featured in the opener, by the way?


    Cupid statue angel, forgot what it's called... Tom Cruise!

    Liberty's Edge

    Answers to Serpent and Captain Yesterday:
    Seltyiel is in the Bestiary opener, and the cupid statue is the kuribu angel.

    Sovereign Court Senior Developer

    1 person marked this as a favorite.

    Some clarifications about swearing the Hellfire Compact here. I think the GM Reference thread is a better place for such discussions.


    Some of the interior artwork from this volume has been posted on Tumblr for anyone who wants to see it. Upper right is my favorite.

    Question: is the tabard style of the Glorious Reclamation based on the Knights Templar?

    Something about white tabard, red holy symbol....

    Editor-in-Chief

    1 person marked this as a favorite.
    Rob McCreary wrote:
    Some clarifications about swearing the Hellfire Compact here. I think the GM Reference thread is a better place for such discussions.

    Summarizing what Rob says over there:

    "Kill them all."

    Thanks, Rob. You're hardcore.

    Silver Crusade

    3 people marked this as a favorite.
    Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

    My favorite part is:

    Spoiler:
    When the old people throw poop at the player characters. I'm glad people took my feedback in book 1 of Shattered Star seriously.


    Hi,

    I'm relatively knew to the world of Golarion (my 1st Adventure Path was Giantslayer) and wanted to know if the Council of Thieves AP somewhat sets a back story for Hell's Rebels and Hell's Vengeance and if i should purchase/read/DM to my group it prior to the 2 Hell's AP. Note I do intent the same group to run both on different characters.

    Thanks in advance!

    Contributor

    Lokifrid wrote:

    Hi,

    I'm relatively knew to the world of Golarion (my 1st Adventure Path was Giantslayer) and wanted to know if the Council of Thieves AP somewhat sets a back story for Hell's Rebels and Hell's Vengeance and if i should purchase/read/DM to my group it prior to the 2 Hell's AP. Note I do intent the same group to run both on different characters.

    Thanks in advance!

    It isn't necessary. Council of Thieves would serve you well to help you understand how Cheliax "works" as a nation and to inform you on the city of Westcrown, which is featured in Hell's Vengeance.


    I just wanted to say, I absolutely love the inside front and back covers, the map of Cheliax is one of your best maps, and the old timey mythical creature portrait look of the back is simply marvelous.

    Great job!


    This looks great! I wanted to play me some Way of the Wicked as a player but couldn't find anyone to run it near me sadly, so I ran it myself for a year. We got into Book 2 and had a blast but the group fizzled just before we got into the real fun stuff in book too. Tis a shame.

    Anywho, if any of you guys/gals plan to run this over the internet like with Fantasy grounds 2 or similar, and are looking for players let me know! I'd love to get in on this. :D

    If so you can reach me at rye oo kin @ hotm ail . com (just remove the spaces).

    Note: I've dm'd an evil campaign and know how to play them constructively (read LE and the party works together, not trying to kill each other etc). As a player I look to contribute to the groups collective enjoyment of a game, not to take from it. As for character types, I kind of prefer the smart evil genius type. Hmm, maybe I could bring along my WotW character concept (the character I never got to play). I can dream anyway.. can't I? ;)

    "All hail Asmodeus!" >:)

    Silver Crusade

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    KILL BURN MAIM RA...*smiles*...ZE DEFENSTRATE DESPOIL DEVASTATE

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