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A tiefling in the latest fashion slides into the room. Well now! The first to arrive. He saunters over to the table, pouring himself a goblet of wine. He smiles as he swallows the sweet nectar. A pedestrian vintage, but I've had worse. He quietly strolls around the room, ensuring the daggers on his enchanted belt don't make too much noise. He decides which chair looks to be the most comfortable and claims it for himself. Withing moments, he has reclined with his boots up on the table and a refilled goblet in easy reach. Well, let's see what the day has in store!
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A young wayang enters the room, making it seem like he was trying to do so without being noticed. His bulky armor and many weapons only clink when he wills it. He sees the place isn't empty and drops any pretense of stealth. "Izlin! It's been a bit, how have you been keeping? I haven't had the displeasure of fighting any mummies since the Tapestry, at least. But I haven't seen many assignments either."
Not far behind Arnold is a strange creature. A hulking wallaby, likewise clad in shining armor. It moves in comically small bounds to avoid crashing into important things.
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Izlin believes he is the first to arrive, but little does he know, tucked away in the corner is a bath tub. Submerged in the waters is a figure with silky gray hair and holds a trident. Every now and then, bubbles come out from his nose. It looks very much like whoever this stranger in the tub appears to be sleeping.
Within the tub, a second watery figure looms within and observes the newcomers. It appears to crawl out of the water on multiple tentacles, and has a body composed of purely water. Some sort of elemental that takes the form of an octopus comes out of the water, and then knocks the collapsible bathtub over. The sleeping figure inside wakes up, now that he is face down on the floor.
"Oh, huh... Wha? Ikarus, where are we again?" The Elven figure with gills, fins, and silky hair looks confused.
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"Blrblrblrblrblrblbrrrbbblrblrbl!" The octopus elemental seems to be shouting at the elf.
"Stop slackin, Tofu! The society needs us again. Wake up and get prepped!"
It then turns to face everyone else. "Blrblrblrblrbl!"
"Just give him a moment to understand he isn't dreaming anymore, then the trident's magic will start working and we can talk properly."
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Raising his goblet in recognition, "Ah! Master Perlstein and his fantastic mount! A pleasure to see you both in good health."
Seeing the forms crawl out from the tub, the tiefling mutters, "I could have sworn that was just a trough for animals, or dirty halflings." Realizing that has is being addressed. "Hello, I don't speak water. Know you anything else, or just that drippy tongue?" He offers the elemental a cloth towel. "Maybe your lord and master there can dry off a bit?"
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When you're used to drawing a lot of uncomfortable and critical attention to yourself where ever you go, how to you respond to walking into a room full of octopuseseses, wallabies, and men falling out of bath tubs. Seren paused at the door, leaned back entirely at the waist to make certain this wasn't the men's locker room, then straightened back up and scratched at the side of her head beneath the scarf there. "Oy... Um, I though' I ha' to come here for a mission... bu' this migh' be a ba' time. I coul' come by tomorrow?" She tilted her head slightly as if listening. "Zela says this is no place for a young girl, by the loo' of i'."
Seren is a gutter snipe that looks barely old enough to be working for the society. She is dressed as if she fell through every closet in the Grand Lodge, with mismatched attire meant for everyone from a scholar's frock and Kalkamedes' night cap to a knight's boot on one foot and a well-worn traveling shoe on the other.
The only consistency in her clothing are seven colorful scarves tied all over her body. She likewise carries a hodgepodge of equipment meant for every sort of adventurer, including more than one holy symbol and a pair of wakizashi at her waist that have clearly been tied to her belt incorrectly. Around her neck hangs a thick metal chain clasping an expensive looking amber jewel.
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Tofu eventually sits up from the water, and sits cross legged on the floor. Absentmindedly, he draws from his pouch a variety of tiny herbs, flowers, pine cones, acorns, seaweed and desert lily. "These little friends will cure psychosis and blindness." He says, mostly to himself. He begins to fiddle with the little plants in a gingerly way..
The Aquatic Elf suddenly gets splashed by his familiar.
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"BLRBLRBLRBLRBLRRRBLRBLRBL!"
"No one needs that right now! Forget it, I am taking over. Riverfang, aid me!"
"Blrbrlrbrrrblrblrbl."
Suddenly, the trident that the Aquatic Elf wields begins to hum, and speaks in a rather sing-song voice. The elf seems to be talking for the elemental, and then the trident is reverberating it for all to hear.
"Hello everyone. Never mind the water, we will get that cleaned up right away. I suppose everyone is here because the Society called them in to this team? I heard hundreds are being formed for this particular excursion."
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Former Master of Spells Aram Zey addresses the assembled Pathfinders as more agents stream into the Grand Lodge. “Pathfinders, an entire world is in danger! The Hao Jin Tapestry is on the brink of collapse. If we do not act now, all its wonders and its people will be lost to us forever. Find your assigned group, aid in our preparations to enter the demiplane however you can, and await further instructions.”
Countless Pathfinders stand ready in a large stone room deep beneath the Grand Lodge. A ragged tapestry covered in clashing colors and abstract symbols rests on an inclined slab in the center of the room, surrounded by scaffolds and ladders. Scholars frantically rush along the scaffolds, studying a flurry of rips appearing on the tapestry.
A harried oread woman approaches. “I am Master of Spells Sorrina Westyr. I won’t mince words—the situation is dire. This cloth is the famous Hao Jin Tapestry, an ancient relic the Pathfinder Society acquired in the Ruby Phoenix Tournament six years ago. It contains a vast wealth of locations, treasures, and peoples torn from Golarion by the sorceress Hao Jin. We have explored many regions of the tapestry, struggled to keep the Aspis Consortium from turning its populace against us, and devised a means to use the tapestry for fast travel across all of Golarion. But now, it has begun to unravel. We must act quickly to repair the tapestry—and that means sending agents into the demiplane itself. Our former Master of Spells, Aram Zey, knows more about the tapestry than anyone here. He is preparing a formal briefing. In the meantime, familiarize yourself with your team, discuss any previous experience you may have with the Hao Jin Tapestry, and gather what information and resources you can.
One more thing, and this is important: you will be able to retreat safely from the tapestry to Absalom. However, we cannot risk damaging the tapestry further by sending groups back and forth. Be sure that you gather everything you need before entering the tapestry, because once you return to Absalom, you will no longer be a part of this mission.
The PCs inspect the tapestry itself to help discern what might be happening to it.
The PCs interrogate a group of Aspis Consortium agents recently arrested in Absalom, attempting to discern if the Consortium is infiltrating the tapestry again. The agents insist that the Consortium is not involved.
The PCs recall or gather information about the Hao Jin Tapestry.
The PCs get a strange feeling of being watched and investigate to determine what is going on.
The PCs assess the repair team’s supplies, including climbing gear, traveling gear, food and drink, and supplies for magic rituals.
The PCs briefly swap tales of the Pathfinder Society’s previous adventures in the tapestry.
The PCs share tips for navigating and surviving a variety of terrains
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LeGuin is perhaps best known around the lodge as the slightly off Priest of Kurgess who will challenge anyone to anything; he is also known to bring his puppet show along to various competitions to entertain children, a common past time for priests of Kurgess – however his shows are usually terrible.
Assess the damage :
Interrogate the snakes:
Knowledge of the weave:
Something is watching :
Supply check :
Tales from the tapestry :
Travel Tips :
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Seren slides up next to LeGuin... or more than likely skitters and scuttles, her collecting of gear, trinkets, and junk clattering as she approaches. She leans in reeeaaaaal close and points at one of the puppets. "Oh! Can I have that? I'll trade ya an apple I go'! I like to collec' thin's." She gives him her best puppy dog eyes.
Assess the damage:
Interrogate the snakes:
Knowledge of the weave:
Something is watching:
Supply check:
Tales from the tapestry:
Travel Tips: NOTHING!
The PCs notice that the largest holes appear around six of the regions that Pathfinder agents visited in the past few years.
The PCs notice that the tapestry is radiating warmth.
The PCs notice that, despite the tapestry’s warmth, there are spots around the largest tears that are chill as a grave. Once during the adventure, when the group encounters one or more undead opponents, the group can activate this reward to grant the PCs a +4 bonus on their initiative checks for that encounter.
The PCs recall or learn that many regions in the tapestry are pulled directly from Golarion. However, most of its denizens have lived in the tapestry for their entire lives, and some can trace back many generations to ancestors who lived on the tapestry as well. Once during the adventure, one PC can reroll a failed Knowledge check and use the new result.
When using the reward above, the PC can instead reroll any one skill check.
When using the reward above, the PC can instead reroll any one d20 roll.
The PCs feel suddenly anxious, like they’ve just awoken from a nightmare, but the feeling is fleeting.
The PCs feel suddenly anxious and sense a malicious supernatural presence trying to enter their minds, but they manage to resist. Once during the adventure before rolling a Will save, one PC may add a +2 bonus.
The PCs feel suddenly anxious and detect a malicious presence.
Before fighting it off, they sense its intentions: to feed on the chaos and death in the tapestry. Once during this adventure before attempting a Will save, one PC can roll twice and choose the better result.
The repair team, grateful for the PCs’ aid, provides each PC with a potion of cure serious wounds.
The repair team also provides each PC with an additional potion of the PC’s choice that does not have an expensive material component. This is a 1st-, 2nd-, or 3rd-level potion
The PCs recall several stories of Pathfinder agents adventuring in the tapestry and dealing with all manner of different peoples and creatures, from ratfolk and lizardfolk to ancient mummies and manipulative demons. Each time the PCs attempt a Knowledge check to identify a creature in the tapestry, one PC can choose to gain a +2 bonus on the check.
Once during the scenario, each PC can roll twice and take the better result instead of gaining a +2 bonus.
Instead of rolling the Knowledge check twice to identify the creature (see above), the PC can treat their result as they had rolled a 20. Alternatively, the PC may gain the benefits of the Average result while treating the Knowledge skill as trained.
The PCs recall the various terrain types from the Pathfinder Society’s previous adventures in the tapestry: buildings, caves and tunnels, ancient ruins, mountains, and deserts. Many more are known to exist within the tapestry as well.
The PCs share advice for dealing with different terrains. Once during the adventure, one PC can choose to re-roll a failed skill check made as part of their movement (such as Acrobatics, Climb, or Fly).
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Aram Zey cries out in alarm as a massive rip appears in the Hao Jin Tapestry. A silvery void dances within the breach. “The rifts are widening—we’re running out of time! Quickly, Pathfinders. Finish your preparations and gather around the tapestry.”
Aram Zey’s gaze remains fixed on the tapestry as he addresses the crowd around him. He is harried and pale, with dark bags under his bloodshot eyes. His hands tremble slightly as he sets a mug of coffee down on a table already littered with empty cups. “Pathfinders, the Hao Jin Tapestry is falling to pieces. Both the physical object you see before you and the mystical realm it contains have been unraveling for several months, possibly even longer. My only hope is that there is still time to save the tapestry
and those who live inside.”
The former Master of Spells glares at the tapestry for a moment, and then a new rip catches his attention. He jabs a finger at the frayed fabric. “There! You see? The degradation is causing—or perhaps caused by—rifts to the Astral Plane that are appearing throughout the demiplane. Fixing these tears is not as simple as stitching fabric or performing a few rituals. We must enter the tapestry itself, find the rifts, and repair them as best we can. But the tapestry is in chaos—undead horrors are emerging throughout the demiplane, and we do not quite understand why. On top of that, the people and creatures of the tapestry are reacting to the chaos, and they are only making matters worse! That, Pathfinders, is where you come in.”
Aram Zey finally turns to face the crowd gathered around him. “The tapestry is a massive realm, and we have spent years exploring it and using it for travel. I fear that our activities are at least partly responsible for the degradation. I don’t think it’s a coincidence many of the six most damaged areas of the tapestry are sites of previous Pathfinder missions.” Zey’s face twists into a pained expression, “My efforts to repair the demiplane over the course of the last several days have met with nothing but failure. The decline continues to accelerate. I have no choice but to send you into the tapestry to deal with the chaos around these six sites. I’ll be sending in other teams to perform the laborious work of patching the rifts once you’ve established control of the situation. Then I can work on a permanent solution. Time is of the essence. By my estimates, in a little over two day’s time, the entire demiplane will collapse without your efforts. I don’t care what motivates you, whether you want to preserve powerful artifacts, save innocent lives, or be a good Pathfinder—get in there and get the job done.”
Aram Zey returns his gaze to the tapestry, raising his hand to his forehead and wincing in pain. In a low grumble, he adds, “You all are this demiplane’s last hope. Don’t let them down.”
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A dashing pirate approaches the group, a freshly new seeker's badge planted firmly on his lapel of his purple coat, He speaks to the group “As Aram Zey said, we have identified the six most damaged areas of the tapestry. Unfortunately, each of these areas is populated. In some of them, you’ll find allies who require aid, and in others long-time foes that would thwart our efforts. We must defeat these foes or win them over to our side. Choose your missions carefully! If you have visited the tapestry before, its people are likely to remember you, for good or ill.
“I do have one piece of good news—the tapestry’s attempts to repair itself have caused loose threads from these six locations to connect to each other. What that means for you is that traveling between those locations once you’re inside should be straightforward. Advance scouts tell us these connections look like bridges made of tattered fabric decorated to resemble the two locations in the tapestry that the bridge connects.
“As for getting back home, when you enter, you’ll leave a little blue portal behind you. It’s called an astral eddy, and it’s your personal connection to the Material Plane. Walk back into it, and you’ll reappear in Absalom. Once you’ve come home, though, we won’t be sending you back in.
“You have two days to complete as many missions as you can, but don’t be so hasty that you throw away your lives. Take the time to rest if you find a safe place.” With a tip of his tricorn hat, he jumps through the portal.
The Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment, crafted of white marble, rests atop a forested hill. Three aasimars stand guard before ornate double doors that bear an image of four spheres resting inside a lotus flower. Recognizing agents of the Pathfinder Society, the aasimars open the doors and lead the way to the temple’s garden courtyard.
The garden’s plants are brown and withered. A Tian man sits at the edge of a dried-up fountain, staring forlornly at the noble turtle in its center. The man has hazel eyes and a streak of white in his hair. Several temple acolytes are busy preparing incense, meditating, and inscribing symbols on the fountain.
One of the aasimar speaks. “This is Zhuang, our leader. After you Pathfinders defeated the demon, Dakang, and purged the temple of corruption, Zhuang was determined to set us on a better path. We now aid wayward travelers in the tapestry and spread Korada’s teachings. However, Dakang’s deceptions have always plagued Zhuang, and he is on the verge of abandoning the temple. He has been sitting like this for many days, and neither speaks nor eats. Will you help us with a ritual to bring peace to his mind?”
The acolytes can conduct a ritual that allows the PCs to enter Zhuang’s mind and see the temple as he does. This version of the temple is a desolate place, locked in perpetual dusk and filled with anguished screams and howling wind.
Crypt:Dozens of skeletal figures claw at one another, trying to crawl their way out of overflowing sarcophagi.
Library:Two young acolytes sit facing each other on the floor. They read aloud from unholy texts, and tears of blood drip onto the pages from their unblinking eyes.
Meditation Room: Several monks perform grotesque contortions and throw glass spheres to one another while reciting the mantra, “bind my soul to Sifkesh.” Countless worms carpet the floor and walls.
Chapel: A bloated corpse stands upon a balcony at the front of this vaulted chapel, preaching heresy and ugly truths to a crowd of rapt worshipers.
Refectory: A table covered in scorched dirt and vermin sits at the center of this dining room. Two dozen acolytes choke and gag as they feast on the roiling mess.
Kitchen : A halfling sits in the center of this room, weeping in anguish. He waves his fingerless left hand and screams, “Korada has forsaken us! Abandon all hope!”
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Before going into the ritual dream...
Knowing full well that the nightmare may be hazardous, Tofu prepares his magics. The elf and elemental take out the collapsible bathtub, and fill it with water swiftly. The witch then jumps in, drawing his lesser metamagic rods of extended magic.
: Tofu (Two more available for whoever needs heroism).
: Tofu.
: Tofu.
: (Two to people who need a speed boost).
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Seren will attempt to dance and twist her way through the rather disgusting Meditation room, all the while doing her best not to step on any squishy worms or get clocked in the head by a glass ball. "Hey! Ashava says you' souls nee' to go to their righ' home!"
And then will stumble out of there and right on over to the Chapel where she'll attempt to shove the bloated corpse off the balcony so she can begin her own rambling, nonsensical discussion about her last trip through Absalom's Ivy district. It did not go well, that trip.