GM Kyshkumen's PFS 5-11: Library of the Lion Beta (Inactive)

Game Master Kyshkumen

Few societies have so vaunted a tradition of leading crusades as Taldor, yet the constant revisions to its history by scheming factions leaves the truth obscured by countless acts of political modifications. Even the lauded Kitharodian Academy’s texts are riddled with these changes, so when a secretive ally approaches the Pathfinder Society with information about a hidden archive that contains the unaltered histories, the Pathfinders plan a daring infiltration to recover the secrets of Taldor’s past victories so that Mendev might benefit from the discovery.

Content in "Library of the Lion" also contributes directly to the ongoing storylines of the Cheliax, Grand Lodge, and Taldor factions.

Grand Lodge Faction:

K-Y-V-W-K-C-E-C-O-O-M-I-M-E-C-F-G-C-Q-F-C

Rules for searching the library

As you make your way through the library you will be searching for useful information. You do this by first looking at the size of the room which I will include with the rooms description. The size of the room limits how many players can search it at a time. Below is a table for quick reference.

Room size limits

• Small 4 players max
• Medium 5 players max
• Large full party

Each room takes a set time to search based on how many are searching so more people means less time. The following skills can be used to search for information.

• Linguistics
• Knowledge History
• Text based craft/skill i.e. Librarian or book binder

Additional skills may be used but at a -2 or -5 penalty (ask me first). When you decide to search a room, eligible players searching make a roll using their desired skill. The highest result will be taken and any additional successes above the DC will automatically aid that result. For every 5 that the result exceeds the DC another clue will be rewarded. Rooms can be searched additional times and the party can choose to search again at half the original time, but can only find 1 more clue by doing so. I will let you know when you have exhausted a room of clues.

Clues

Some clues will be information you were sent to find. Others can aid you in additional searches. I will list all clues below for reference under spoiler tags. If you choose to use one of the clues to aid in your search I will delete that clues details but leave the spoiler tag for my reference.

Hand-written notes:

There are extensive notes scribbled in the margins of this book. These hand-written insights could be key to your next big discovery.

Clue: You may use this clue to gain a +3 bonus on a single skill check made to find texts.

Ruined book:

This book is a testament to why libraries should prohibit food and drink; someone spilled a beverage on it and sheepishly put it back on the shelf, where it has sat for several months at least.

Taldan Cipher 3:

This text contains an example of an encoded message that uses a common substitution cipher (in which each letter represents a different letter). It claims that "DQFIZ KPIED WZYWS QIVKO ZKXFW ZIMVT DQFXW CFPAF PDFZ VFTJF" translates to "The orcs of Tar-Baphon circle around the lake's western edge."

Taldan cipher 2:

According to this text, one common cipher involves changing each consonant into the letter that comes three places after it in the alphabet and changing each vowel into the letter that comes two places before. For example, D would become G, U would become S and Z would become C. (Since the vowels rotate backward and the consonants rotate forward, it's a particularly puzzling cipher to break).

An exciting read:

You have found several particularly engaging texts, and you find it particularly easy to concentrate on the reading.

Failed Prophecies:

This text gives a detailed analysis of hundreds of proclaimed "ironclad" prophecies that have failed since the disappearance of Aroden. The author speculates that any prophecy made by Arodenites should be viewed with considerable skepticism.

Encarthan Maps:

These maps depict Lake Encarthan, the Islae of Terror, and the nations that surround it. Of particular interest are the hundreds of hand-drawn notes and lines showing troop movements, preserving the changing plans of the brilliant generals who orchestrated the Shining Crusade.

Generals' logbooks:

These journals record the perspectives of Taldan generals that led various phases of the Shining Crusade. Collectively, they provide valuable insight into challenges the crusaders had to overcome.

A Silver Horn:

This text describes in detail an enchanted silver horn capable of granting courage in times of need, which Taldor used for the fifth Army of Exploration and much later during the Shining Crusade, when it was shattered into several pieces. A priest of Aroden propesied that even if re-forged, the instrument would never sound again, and it was given a hero's burial. The text mentioned nothing of the horn's present location.

Taldan cipher 1:

This text describes a cipher in which one must read the message backward, reading only every third letter; all the other letters are ignored. The example the book provides is "RMNEB SISWD IILPL OTRSES," which means "soldier."

Magical assistance:

Some of the bookshelves bear a minor enchantment that aids researchers, such as briefly granting the benefits of read languages or creating an unseen servant to aid in collection documents.

Clue: After the PCs roll skill checks to find documents, any of them may reroll the check before learning the result.

Cryptic References:

This text is a mess of esoteric poetry and obsure riddles. One of these entries describes a silver horn once used by Taldor, which seems to be hidden somewhere in southern Brevoy. Spending considerably more time analyzing the poem may reveal additional hints about this horn and its location.

Enemy Analysis:

This tattered, leather-bound book describes the tactical considerations that the generals of the Shining Crusade had to consider when fighting supernatural foes. It includes many ways for the rank-and-file soldiers to mitigate the damage dealt by powerful spellcasters.

Esoteric Alphabetization:

This library uses a strange system for organizing its texts: it alphabetizes its texts based on the progression of major musical scales instead of using the Taldan alphabet.

Clue: You use this clue to grant a +2 bonus on all checks made to find texts in a single room for the rest of the scenario.

Card Catalog:

This aging card catalog system notes where one might find various types of information. The reference is somewhat dated and inaccurate.

Clue: Use this clue to learn how many clues or texts remain in any two rooms.

Cross Reference:

A book references another promising text. If only you could find where that other text is...

Clue:You may use this clue to gain a +3 bonus on a single skill check made to find texts.

Prolific Author:

It appears that a long-dead historian wrote more than a dozen books on the topics you're researching. Perhaps you can find other insightful books by this author.

Clue:You may use this clue to gain a +3 bonus on a single skill check made to find texts.

Grave Consequences:

This is a thin journal that explores the origins of Tar-Baphon, studies the circumstances of his lichdom, and analyzes what the author knew of his necormantic techniques from the perspective of a scholar searching for the weak spot in the Whispering Tyrant's defenses.

Lines of Succession:

This long scroll details the rules of succession throughout the history of Taldor. It also highlights times when the nation chose an heir in a way that was an exception to the rules. This matches the description of what the Pathfinder Society is tasked to recover for Princess Eutropia.