When Erik Mona asked me if I'd be interested in writing additional content for the Pathfinder comic, I nearly giggled with joy—this would be an excellent place for me to finally get some of the information about the Sandpoint hinterlands out there that I've been building up over the years. I've managed to get some more Sandpoint goodness into the Adventure Path line now and then, most significantly recently with the first installment of Jade Regent and the two goblin-themed Free RPG Day adventures (make sure to check out the upcoming We Be Goblins Too! coming soon to a friendly local game store near you!), but I've always got more to say about my favorite town on Golarion and the region surrounding it.
One way I've been scratching that itch was to set my in-house campaign in Sandpoint. For several years, I ran my "Shadow Under Sandpoint" game for nine (whew!) fellow Paizonians, and during that campaign they began to learn about the sinister machinations of the Red Bishop, the local ghoul population, secrets hidden in certain Sandpoint mansions, the truth behind the serial killer known as Chopper and the mysterious Sandpoint Devil, and more.
But now, that group's split into two groups, and both of them have moved on to Osirion to fight against the rising cult of the Scorpion God Rovagug, leaving Sandpoint behind.
Which brings me back to the Pathfinder comic.
In each issue of the comic, I've been able to present more information about the hinterlands surrounding Sandpoint. Compared to the Inner Sea region, the Sandpoint hinterlands are really quite small, but as I've proven to the rest of Paizo, they're more than large enough to run an entire campaign from 1st to 11th level or so. I drew upon several of the plot threads I developed for that campaign when I was writing content for the comics, but also took the chance to get into print some other ideas and concepts I'd been toying with in the back of my head about the hinterlands over the past several years.
So! If you're looking for more adventures for your characters to have in and near Sandpoint (perhaps as supplementary encounters in your Rise of the Runelords campaign), or if you simply want to know more about one of the first locations we ever developed for the Pathfinder campaign setting... look no further than the Pathfinder comic! Below, I've built a handy table of contents for the first six issues of the comic, and since not every issue is out for sale yet, this doubles as a sneak preview!
Pathfinder Issue #1: The first issue kicks off with a gazetteer of the town of Sandpoint—if you don't have Rise of the Runelords, this is a great place to pick up information about Sandpoint a new PC might want to know. For the GMs, there are three pages of Adventure Hooks, including more information about the Sandpoint Devil, the serial killer Chopper, and the ruins of the Old Light. Full stat blocks for Sheriff Belor Hemlock and Father Abstalar Zantus, as well as for the stars of the comic—Seoni, Valeros, Ezren, and Merisiel—round things out.
Oh! I almost forgot! Each issue of the comic comes with a short encounter area supported by a foldout 10" x 16" battle mat! In this issue, the encounter takes place on Sandpoint's Junk Beach, where a band of goblins are up to no good...
Pathfinder Issue #2: In the second issue, the attention turns away from Sandpoint into the Hinterlands, settling fully on the small forest known as Shank's Wood. A two-page gazetteer of the region begins the section, followed by an encounter in a creepy building the local goblins have taken to calling the "Shankshack," since one of their enemies, a man named Shank, dared to move in. Of course, as visitors to the Shankshack quickly learn, an enemy of goblins isn't necessarily a friend to you! Stats for the last two stars of the comic, Kyra and Harsk, finish this installment off, and the battle mat depicts the creepy Shankshack and surrounding forest in all its glory.
Pathfinder Issue #3: This time around, I dig into my notes from my old "Shadow Under Sandpoint" campaign and pull the curtain back on Paupers' Graves, a lonely, not-so-abandoned graveyard found on the Lost Coast not far from Sandpoint. As far as graveyards go, Paupers' Graves isn't all that great at keeping its dead in the ground, and the included battle mat and encounter present the domain of Jediah Kheln, the region's ghoulish master. As a bonus, you'll find stats for some undead dogs I've been calling "ghoul hounds" for several years. I've been trying to get them into a bestiary for a while, but they kept getting cut, so I just threw them in here. I'm happy to report that they managed to paralyze the characters of some of the folks who shall remain unnamed who saw fit to cut them in the first place. Ahhh... sweet revenge.
Pathfinder Issue #4: Now we head on over to Mosswood, at the very eastern edge of the Sandpoint hinterlands. This issue features a gazetteer of these goblin- (and worse) infested woods, focusing on four significant encounter areas within. One of these, a lost shrine to Gozreh known today as the Spider Stones, is featured in this issue's encounter. I'll give you one guess as to what kind of monsters you can expect to fight at the SPIDER Stones. As a bonus, our iconic druid Lini and her faithful snow leopard Droogami get stat blocks too!
Pathfinder Issue #5: This time around, a shocking plot twist in the comic gives me a chance to go back to "Burnt Offerings" and expand upon something that I didn't have time to fully explore in that first adventure—the evil and mutation-causing waters of Lamashtu. Rules for what happens when you drink too much of this stuff are presented, and then we have a four-page encounter with the Bloodfang Goblins of Mosswood, including stats for their commander, Big Chief Wortus, a cleric of Lamashtu who might just have some plans for those evil waters of Lamashtu.
Pathfinder Issue #6: The first story arc comes to a close in Issue #6, and since Lamashtu's cult has played such an important part in the comic (and indeed in "Burnt Offerings" as well), I'm taking this opportunity to explore something I've been hinting at in print for years—the reason the demon lords Lamashtu and Pazuzu are so interested in the Lost Coast. Also included is an encounter area for a shrine of Lamashtu—a shrine that happens to be the personal temple to one of the most powerful clerics of the Mother of Monsters in Varisia!
The first six issues of the Pathfinder Comic will be available in graphic novel format, in stores April 2013!
James Jacobs
Creative Director
