Escape from Dangerous Realms

Monday, March 28, 2016

The spring equinox recently passed, marking the northern hemisphere's transition from dreary winter weather to warmer days. Of course in Seattle, winter's departure means that instead of raining every other day, it has been raining almost every day. Fortunately, there are two new scenarios that you can enjoy with pleasant company as we banish the wintry doldrums and help the Pathfinders' allies escape their own dangerous predicaments.

Venture-Captain Calisro Benarry and Tamrin Credence, heist-planner extraordinaire!

Like the Pacific Northwest, the Gloomspires off the west coast of Garund both see their fair share of precipitation and experience predictable periods of pleasantly navigable weather (okay, perhaps I'm being a little unfair, as Seattle is positively gorgeous in time for PaizoCon). A team of Pathfinders recently returned to the Gloomspires to explore Sevenfingers' tomb, but Venture-Captain Calisro Benarry—illustrated here for the first time—has heard nothing from them since. Fearing they are in need of aid, she has asks the PCs to mount a rescue in Pathfinder Society Scenario #7-19: "Labyrinth of Hungry Ghosts" by Tom Phillips. As in last season's visit to the Gloomspires, Tom has created an adventure rich in atmosphere and steeped in thematically wowing danger. One of my favorite elements of the Gloomspires is that they're Tom's creation, dating back to his 2012 RPG Superstar submission, meaning he has been able to take an especially active role in presenting the site and unveiling its secrets. Linda and I hope you have as much fun playing through them as much as we developing them.

I would also like to recognize Sean Macdonald, who has handled the majority of the Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild's custom maps for several years. He does great work overall, yet Linda and I were especially impressed with the visual impact of his cartography for this assignment.

Not all getaways need transpire in the nigh-inaccessible locales, as our third and final installment in the Faithless and Forgotten series shows: "The Infernal Inheritance". An ally of the Society has disappeared, and the Pathfinders have traced him to one of the cruelest facilities in Ostenso: a prison known as the Bloody Nail. Fortunately the Society has the local expertise of the halfling Tamrin Credence, an expert in planning heists and getting out alive. He can get the PCs into the facility, but from there its up to them to evade the security, find the captive, and escape one of Cheliax's most militarized cities. RPG Superstar 2015 finalist Christopher Wasko has composed a great heist with lots of options for a wide range of PCs—a fitting conclusion to this three-part series that contains several big secrets.

In parting, remember that Tonya and I are appearing on the Know Direction podcast on April 6th to answer questions about future campaign developments, including the upcoming seeker arc. We hope to see you there!

John Compton
Pathfinder Society Lead Developer