First look at Release 3

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Alpha release #2 of the Pathfinder RPG has already been released as a free download, and playtesters are posting up a ton of feedback on our forums. In the next few weeks we will be posting up release 3, the final release before the Beta version of the game this August.

This past weekend saw the debut of some of the rules at Paizocon, a convention just north of our offices. Attendees got to meet with the staff and play some games. Those who sat down at my table got a chance to play with some of the new rules, including a preview version of the bard. It should be noted that all of these characters were horribly cursed, and Oglam here is no exception. His drums cause those who hear his music to bleed from the ears unless he makes a DC 20 Will save every time he begins playing. Of course, being a NE bard, dedicated to Rovagug, meant that he did not care much about the pain of others.

Here are a couple of quick notes when taking a look at Oglam. Song of Doom allows him to cause enemies who hear his playing to become shaken. Distraction works similar to countersong, but it works on visual patterns and figments instead of sonic effects. Well-versed gives Oglam a bonus on saves against the bardic music of others and on sonic and language dependent effects. Finally, bardic knowledge gives Oglam a bonus of +4 to all Knowledge checks, and allows him to make such checks untrained.

There are many more secrets here, waiting to be discovered. For the full details, make sure to download release 3 of the Pathfinder RPG available in just a few weeks.

Oglam Death-Drum
Male half-orc bard 8
NE Medium humanoid
Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +2
Defense
AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 17
(+5 armor, +2 deflection)
hp 55 (8d8+16)
Fort +5, Ref +7, Will +9
Defensive Abilities well-versed
Offense
Spd 30 ft.
Melee +2 falchion +11/+6 (2d4+6/18–20)
Special Attacks bardic music (8/day), countersong, distraction, fascinate, inspire competence, inspire courage +2, song of doom, suggestion
Spells Known (CL 8th):
3rd (3/day)—charm monster (DC 16), haste, slow (DC 16)
2nd (5/day)—blur, heroism, invisibility, mirror image
1st (5/day)—charm person (DC 14), cure light wounds, hideous laughter (DC 14), lesser confusion (DC 14), silent image (DC 14)
0 (5/day)—detect magic, ghost sound, mage hand, mending, message, open/close
Statistics
Str 16, Dex 10, Con 14, Int 6, Wis 14, Cha 16
Base Atk +6; Cmb +9
Feats Cleave, Improved Initiative, Power Attack, Toughness
Skills Knowledge (arcane) +13, Knowledge (history) +7, Knowledge (local) +7, Knowledge (nature) +7, Perform (oratory) +12, Perform (percussion) +14, Spellcraft +7, Stealth +9
Languages Common, Orc
Combat Gear necklace of fireballs (type IV), wand of cure moderate wounds (8 charges); Other Gear backpack, +1 chain shirt, cloak of resistance +1, dead rats (6), dirt (3 lb.), drums of doom, +2 falchion, filthy rags, ring of protection +2

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

Playing Favorites

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

For me, trying to pick a favorite author in the Planet Stories line is like trying to pick my favorite child: impolite, but still totally doable. (At least, I presume that's what the expression means—I don't have kids.) And while each of my literary children is a unique and beautiful snowflake, for me, the favorite is Leigh Brackett.

It's not just because she was a master of many genres, writing everything from westerns to sword and planet to hard-boiled detective stories like the screenplay for the noir classic The Big Sleep, which she co-wrote with William Faulkner. Nor is it because she was a woman writing during the pulp era, a time when females in the SF world were darn-near unheard of. (Even though I'm probably wrong, I still imagine her and C. L. Moore with sleeves rolled up, Rosie-the-Riveter-style, banging away at their typewriters as they ushered in a horde of young female authors-to-be.) Nor is it even because she wrote the original script to The Empire Strikes Back, possibly the finest space opera ever filmed, and easily the most satisfying installment of a groundbreaking trilogy. (Being too young to remember it first-hand, I can only imagine the shock those first audiences must have felt when the film ended with Han trapped in carbonite and Luke minus a hand. Coming on the heels of a traditional fairy-tale plot like A New Hope, think of what guts it must have taken to write that kind of dark, brooding cliff-hanger ending!)

No, the reason Leigh Brackett is my favorite Planet Stories author to date is simple: her words. While Catherine Moore may have beat her to the punch by a few years, and has a definite florid charm of her own, Brackett stands out with just how modern her work feels. In reading The Ginger Star, the first of Brackett's Eric John Stark books set on the planet Skaith, I'm constantly struck by the smooth flow of her prose, the way it slips cleanly through your mind and leaves nothing behind but an image. There's a school of thought that says the best sort of writing is invisible, work in which the author herself disappears and you're left with only the story. Brackett obviously understood that. And what ideas she presents! The intentionally mutated Children of the Sea and Children of Skaith-Our-Mother, humans who sought to avoid their planet's apocalypse by returning to the embrace of the sea and the subterranean realms. The Corn King and his masked men of the northern towers, who worship only hunger and cold. Even the psychic wolves that guard the citadel of the Lords Protector, who kill by projecting paralyzing fear into the minds of their prey. Ideas like these flow fast and furious in her books, and it was these flights of fancy that ultimately inspired so many.

And if my own reasons aren't enough to convince you that The Ginger Star is worth checking out, consider this: Many years ago, at the height of her career, Ms. Brackett was sought out by a young author named Ray Bradbury in search of a mentor, and was taken on as her protégé. He's said himself that he learned much about the craft of writing at the feet of her and her husband, Edmond Hamilton. Which leads me to ask: who are we to argue with Ray's taste?

James Sutter
Planet Stories Editor

He Who Walks In Blood

Monday, April 28, 2008

In Golarion, the gods are immortal. They can die, but the methods of their deaths must be divine as well. A mortal cannot kill a god. However—the same cannot be said of demigods! None of the core 20 deities of Golarion are demigods, but we've introduced several along the way who could be called such. A demigod can be killed by mortals—they possess stat blocks, in other words.

Last Monday, I introduced you to one of Golarion's most infamous organizations, the assassins known as the Red Mantis. Today, let me introduce you to their God, Achaekek, the Mantis God, He Who Walks In Blood. The Mantis God serves as an assassin, a tool used by the gods to smite those who deserve smiting. Yet the Mantis God is not a true god—he is a demigod, and as I mentioned above, that means he also gets a stat block. A stat block you'll get to see in Pathfinder #9.

The Mantis God is easily the toughest monster to grace our Bestiary yet. I don't want to spoil all of the surprises here, but check out these fun Mantis God facts!

• It is CR 30.
• Its Tumble check is +50.
• It can create gates by tearing open reality once per minute as a move action.
• It is so poisonous that even things that are immune to poison can be poisoned by him.
• Assuming he gets in a rend attack, the Mantis God's average damage on a full round attack is about 181. That's assuming no critical hits. And since he threatens a crit on a 15 or above, 180 points of damage is a pretty low estimate.

Needless to say, the Mantis God won't be making a direct appearance in Curse of the Crimson Throne. Unless, of course, your PCs are complaining that nothing they encounter is challenging enough for them!

James Jacobs
Pathfinder Editor-in-Chief

The Red Raven, Revealed!

Friday, April 25th, 2008

Time again for the blogging! This time it is my pleasure to reveal, with all due fanfare, the One True Cover for our upcoming module W3: Flight of the Red Raven!

Jacob Burgess
Online Retail Coordinator

Map Pack: Slums

Thursday, April 24, 2008

They've delved Dungeon Chambers, braved Haunted Mansions, explored Cities and the Countryside, but nothing has prepared Map Packs for the their latest venture: a look into the dark underbelly of urban life in the Slums. Presenting what is likely the highest rat-to-map-grid ratio of any GameMastery Map Pack, Slums is already available in stores and paizo.com.

Mike McArtor
Editor

Meet the Red Raven

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Last year, we ran a contest to determine who would write for us the module W3: Flight of the Red Raven. We received more than 150 entries. The eventual winner, frequent Dragon-contributor David Schwartz, handed over a great adventure. We look forward to working with David again in the future.

Presented here is the Red Raven as he appears in the module, which will be available in May!

Mike McArtor
Editor

The Yetisburg Address

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

A few appropriate remarks, spoken by President Abraham Lincoln, November 19, 1863, after a two-hour fusillade of yowling by the Right Abominable Statesman, Senator Everett OrYARRadoogOOch'ook!ook!:

Four score and seven yetis ago, our fathers discovered on the northern fringes of this continent a new breed of soldier, conceived in the Belly of Hell, and dedicated to the proposition that not only men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a rarely civil war, testing whether those yetis, or any yetis, so ill-conceived and so odiferous, can long be endured. We are met on a great charnel house of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that those yetis might be once again returned to Canada. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this, for they do us no good at all here.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not even find—this ground. The brave yetis, living and dead, who struggled here, have pretty much torn it to ribbons, far above our poor power to reconstruct. The yetis will little note, nor long remember what we say here, as they have the attention span of a chamberpot. It is for us the humans, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished collection of random soldiers' body parts, which they who fought here have gnawed down to the bone. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they ran screaming from the field, those that could walk, anyway—that we here highly resolve that these dead should not have died in pain, oh such horrible pain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new resolve to solve its own damn problems—and that government of the people, by the people, and specifically only for the people, shall not rest until every last man-ape is driven from its shores. Really, what in thunderation were we thinking?

The Red Mantis

Monday, April 21, 2008

In Pathfinder #9, we officially introduce one of Golarion's most sinister villains—the order of assassins known as the Red Mantis. Clad in signature red and black armor, wielding serrated blades, and wearing magical mantis masks to enhance their sight and to strike fear into the hearts of their victims, the Red Mantis have long stalked the nights and nightmares of their prey. Dutiful and discreet, professional and deadly effective, these killers' blades cull commoners and counts with equal ease, with no spell, secret safe house, or army of guardians comforting those taken as a mantis's mark. And for those with the gold and guile to attract the attentions of the Red Mantis, their coin buys the assassins' promise that those slain by their sawtoothed sabers do not just die, but will never rise again.

James Jacobs
Pathfinder Editor-in-Chief

Last Gobby Down, Wins

Friday, April 18, 2008

We are still working on it, but we wanted to give you a look at a couple of cards from Titanic Games' upcoming remake of the popular card game, Falling. Falling was an incredibly fun game and, unfortunately, isn't in print anymore. We thought it'd be fun to re-imagine it and, once again, enjoy the downright frenetic game play. So, we set the Golems to work! Here is a taste of the juice from the fruits of their labors. Do you have what it takes to be the last to kiss the ground?

Jacob Burgess
Online Retail Coordinator

A Return to Adventure (Gear)!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

The original Adventure Gear proved to be both well-received and successful. By popular demand we have now released Adventure Gear 2. Check out some of the new things you can expect to find in the set!

Mike McArtor
Editor

First Peek: Guide to Darkmoon Vale

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

It's still in development, but check out this awesome art from the upcoming Guide to Darkmoon Vale.

Mike McArtor
Editor

Wizard's Duel, Gygax-style

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

In my last blog post, I mentioned that by far my favorite part of all the Gygax fiction I've read is his interpretation of that most classic of fantasy tropes: the wizard's duel. While we got a taste of such things in The Anubis Murders, the original Dungeon Master takes the art to new heights in The Samarkand Solution, showing us the sort of arcane power and creativity Magister Setne Inhetep is capable of when pushed to the limit by an another wizard-priest as adept as himself. To see what I mean, check out the following excerpt from The Samarkand Solution, in which the magister and Inspector Tuhorus fight for their lives in the Blood Temple of the Serpent God, Aapep:

In the meantime, the conjured snake came at Inhetep, rose, and as a fiery redness split its jaws, the iron length lashed forward. Livid crimson venom spurted forth in a thick jet. It struck a shining disc which had appeared in an instant, splattering into burning droplets, and hissed into nothingness as the molten stuff shot into a harmless spray before the magister. But then the iron head of the cobra hit the silvery shield, and the disc split into metallic shards, which fell chiming to the stone and disappeared.

"Useless!" cried the gloating voice of Aapep's servant.

"Melodious!" countered the magister, and as he spoke the chiming sounds of the falling bits of silvery disc continued, were drawn out, and their tinkling became deeper. A plangent three-note sequence grew from that, and it resonated in rhythmic waves which filled the cavernous temple. "You pet cobra seems charmed!" he called out, for the iron monster was now swaying before him as if it were some strange metronome. Left, right, back and forth it went, but never quite in time with the three sounds which now rolled and pulsed throughout the grim underground temple. Faster and faster went the unnatural snake as the waves of sound peaked and sank and charged. The reverberations were renewed, restated, and repeated, so that ever-closer notes formed an impossible mesh around the dark priest-mage's metal monster of death.

Knowing that his magick was failing, the man was about to try and withdraw the iron snake, or send it in a destructive rush to overwhelm his foe, when he caught a glimpse of Tuhorus out of the corner of his eye. Letting go of his mental link with the cobra, the evil kheri-heb spun and flung a shower of fiery darts in the direction of the policeman. Then he continued turning and ran, disappearing down one of the tunnels beside the wall of Aapep.

Inspector Tuhorus used his blade to bat aside the pair of flaming darts which knifed toward his face. Another seared his chest as it hissed past. His shirt burst into flames where the fiery missile had touched it, and his short cape was likewise set ablaze by another dart which passed through its cloth. Then he was struck in the body and limbs by yet more of the things. He fell to the floor, writhing in pain, rolling to extinguish the fire which now played over him with greedy, searing tongues.

The storm of sound engendered by Inhetep's counter-heka reached a crescendo, and those ringing notes shook the iron snake; it flew suddenly in ten thousand pieces, each a tiny meteor that burned hellishly for a split second, then winked into nothingness. After the massive pyrotechnic display, the waves of metallic sound ceased, and the red light was replaced once again by the faint wash of moonlike glow from beyond. The magister had seen the attack upon Tuhorus, for his casting needed no concentration to sustain its effect. Setne was hurrying to help the policeman when something else distracted him. The six stone statues began to move with ponderous steps, and the sinuous depiction of the serpent-dragon started to come alive....

James Sutter
Planet Stories Editor

Meet the Iconics: Lini

Monday, April 14, 2008

In her many explorations and journeys, Lini encountered numerous large animal predators, with whom she seemed to possess a certain affinity. More than once, Lini's traveling companions or enclave came under threat from some great bear or razor-clawed cat, but with a series of soothing noises and precise motions Lini always tamed the beast and sent it on its way.

Lini's success at calming animals came to an end one day when a snow leopard bound out of the trees and pinned her to the ground before she could react. Her friends scattered, leaving Lini alone to face the beast. Although fascinated by the cat's power and speed, and appreciative of the animal's beauty, Lini trembled under her massive paw and tears leaked from her eyes. She knew she faced her doom, and she found it cruelly ironic how death came to claim her.

Yet the leopard did not strike.

"Your friends have abandoned you," a calm feminine voice intoned out of Lini's sight. "Despite the times you saved them, they left you to die." Although Lini could not see the woman, Lini knew of the Norn of the forest and suspected she was one of them.

"Please help me," Lini whispered, her chest struggling to rise under the great cat's crushing paw.

"You do not need my help, little one. You need hers."

Lini looked at the snow leopard, deep into her eyes. She saw neither hunger or malice. Still struggling just to breathe, Lini stared into the great cat's eyes and asked, "Will you help me?"

Inexplicably, the snow leopard lifted her paw from Lini's chest. A coughing fit then overcame the small gnome, and when she finally recovered she looked around her. The snow leopard was gone and Lini saw no sign of the Norn. She looked around frantically, suddenly alone and scared. A small gnome in a large world.

"Come back," Lini cried. "Don't go! Please don't go. Don't leave me alone." She sank to her knees, tears afresh on her face, until she heard the sound of approaching footsteps.

The snow leopard had returned. With the delicateness of a mother tending to her cubs, the great cat licked gently at Lini's face, whisking away her tears. Lini threw her arms around the leopard's neck. "You are my friend, aren't you? I will call you Droogami. That is what we call good friends."

Lini looked down then and picked up a stick from the forest floor before clambering up the cat's side to perch on its back.

"Let us go, then, Droogami. We have no need for this place."

In the years since her departure from the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, Lini has collected more than a dozen sticks—one from each forest or wood she visits. In her resting time after long days of travel, she sits at Droogami's side and peels the bark from the sticks, smoothing and polishing them incessantly.

Lini debuts as a pregenerated character in volume 13 of Pathfinder.

Mike McArtor
Editor

Quarantine!

Friday, April 11, 2008

Queen Ileosa quarantines Old Korvosa! Bridges destroyed! People separated from their families! The shipments of supplies grind to a halt! Chaos ensues! Check out the great art that tracks the quarantine of Old Korvosa, from Pathfinder #9.

Mike McArtor
Editor

Andoran

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Andoran, the home of Darkmoon Vale and, by extension, Falcon's Hollow, was once a holding of Imperial Cheliax. With the death of Aroden and rise of Infernal Cheliax, Andoran broke away and became its own nation—one based on the rule of the people. The following information, pulled from the Pathfinder Chronicles Gazetteer, gives just a little look into Avistan's most powerful republic.

Today, Andoran owes its power to a consortium of political radicals, wealthy merchant lords, and sympathetic aristocrats who seek to spread the political philosophy of Common Rule and open new markets throughout the world. Much of the nation's impressive wealth comes from precious antiquities raided from distant, unmapped lands such as Arcadia and the Mwangi Expanse. Competition for these resources grows fiercer by the year, and exotic locales like the ruin-laden deserts of interior Osirion or slivers of ancient Azlant have hosted proxy wars between agents of Andoran and enemy powers like Cheliax and Taldor.

Andorens seek not just to transform their homeland, but to export their cultural, philosophical, and mercantile beliefs to the world. Years ago, the heroes of Andoran emptied the nation's prisons and freed all its slaves in an attempt to bolster the strength of the Revolt, and its people have henceforth subscribed to a militant abolitionism. Agents provocateurs dispatched from the capital city of Almas actively seek to undermine the Inner Sea slave trade and those nations that support it, which is nearly all of them. The world thus views Andorens as troublemakers and unwanted ideological imperialists.
—Pathfinder Chronicles Gazetteer

Mike McArtor
Editor

Pathfinder RPG Alpha Release 2 Preview

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

The second release of the Alpha playtest version of Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is rapidly approaching completion. Up this point, thousands of gamers have downloaded release 1 and the feedback has been pouring in. If you enjoyed the changes you saw in that release, wait until you see what we have in store for you in release 2. In anticipation, here is a look at the new barbarian. Bask in her new abilities, including the versatile rage powers.

Amiri
Female human barbarian 6
CN Medium humanoid
Init +1; Senses Perception +7
Defense
AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14
(+4 armor, +2 Dex)
hp 62 (6d12+18)
Fort +8, Ref +3, Will +2
Defensive Abilities improved uncanny dodge, trap sense +2
Offense
Spd 30 ft.
Melee +1 greatsword +12/+7 (2d6+7/19–20)
Ranged spear +7/+2 (1d8+4/x3)
Special Attacks rage (32 rage points)
Rage Powers eagle foot (3–9 points), hunter's cry (6 points), strength surge (3 points)
Statistics
Str 18, Dex 13, Con 16, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 12
Base Atk +6; Cmb +10
Feats Cleave, Intimidating Prowess, Power Attack, Weapon Focus (greatsword)
Skills Acrobatics +4, Climb +7, Intimidate +12, Perception +9, Stealth +1, Survival +7
Languages Common
Combat Gear potion of cure serious wounds (2), talisman of transformation (beast shape II); Other Gear belt of constitution +2, boots of the winterlands, +1 greatsword, +1 hide armor, mwk handaxe, mwk spear (2), 175 gp

While I am not going to spill all the beans here, here are few tidbits on the rage powers. Eagle foot allows Amiri to move at faster than her normal speed. Hunter's cry intimidates a nearby foe as a free action. Finally, strength surge allows Amiri to smash down doors as if her Strength was an impressive 24. There are a few other interesting tidbits hidden in there, but I'll let you discover them on your own. Enjoy.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

A Letter from the Front

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Dearest Clarabelle,

It's been passing long since last we embraced. After months of fighting in this damnable battle between the states, I fear I shall never hold you in my arms again. It's the Yetis, Clarabelle—they've torn off my arms at the shoulders. I write this hasty note to you with pen firmly in mouth. I trust my tears shall not disrupt the ink and that our love will carry me through the challenging months to come.

In the weeks after the traitorous Secession, the shaggy beasts came from the darkened forests of the Canadian north. My grandfather remembered tales of the hulking monsters serving in the front lines of the enemy in 1812, but this time, the generals claimed, they would battle on the side of the righteous Union.

Believe me, Clarabelle, these Yetis fight on no side but their own. In the first few battles their razor claws and savage maws tore great bloody holes in the ranks of the enemy, but bullets in a territory of war know no difference betwixt friend and foe. This Wednesday last I had occasion to misfire my carbine into the back of one of the shaggy white beasts, and he turned on me with the fury of a savage beast. It was all the doctors could do to save my life that wretched day, and the worst of it is that my wedding band now rests with my festering fingers in the belly of that overgrown, odiferous meat-monkey.

I write with trembling lips that Johnny Reb has Yetis of his own, disgusting hair-patched beasts they purchased from the distant North. I am no longer certain of the future of our Union, but I can say with confidence that war breeds greater and greater weapons of destruction, and now that the Yetis have joined the field on both sides, there can be no assurances as to the eventual victor of this conflict.

May God above save us from the wretched Yetis. May God above save the Union!

Yrs with great love and admiration,

Private Enoch Umberhaur
1st Regiment, Minnesota Volunteer Infantry
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
July 2, 1863

Who's up for a game of BLOOD PIG?

Monday, April 7, 2008

We've introduced several Varisian pastimes in the pages of Pathfinder, ranging from the goblin favorite of Killgull to the dockside fun of Knivesies. Well, in Pathfinder #9 we've got a new game for your characters to play: Blood Pig!

The basic idea of Blood Pig is pretty simple. Two teams face off against each other. Each team controls a goal and a pig. The object of the game is to get the other team's pig, then run it back across the field to place the pig in your goal. Of course, things are a bit more complicated than that, especially when the other team consists of a gang of crazed maniacs, the pig's a panicked squirming menace, and there are starving wolverines lurking in the pits that serve each team as a goal. And since the game itself was designed by one of Korvosa's more unstable and insane new crimelords, well, let's just say that a game that passes without a fair amount of bloodshed is something of a fluke. The rules, such as they are, certainly encourage violent tactics...

But don't let that scare you! After all, by this time your PCs will have faced riots and undead and all manner of peril, right? How much trouble could a pig really cause?

James Jacobs
Pathfinder Editor-in-Chief

Across the Cinderlands

Friday, April 4, 2008

In Pathfinder #10: "A History of Ashes" the players leave the city of Korvosa for the first time and set out into the wilds of Varisia. Check out the monsters, foes, and encounters you'll face when traveling the wilds of the fabled Cinderlands!

Joshua J. Frost
Director of Sales & Marketing

The Proud Chelaxians

Thursday, April 3, 2008

The Pathfinder Chronicles Gazetteer contains all the common races you're used to—dwarves, elves, gnomes, halflings, the half-breeds, and humans. It also contains, however, numerous human ethnicities that exist across the Inner Sea region of Golarion. Among the most numerous of these ethnicities are the Chelaxians, a group descended from the ancient Azlanti themselves. The following quote appears in the Pathfinder Chronicles Gazetteer, in a sidebar dedicated to this elegant and haughty ethnicity.

"The distant, bastard descendants of Azlanti refugees spread throughout southern Avistan as if entitled to the land by the gods themselves. Sharp-featured with dark hair, dark eyes, and pale skin, Chelaxians differ from their duskier Taldan cousins due to widespread intermixing with pale-skinned Ulfen raider-merchants in the distant past (from whom they also gained the legendary Chelaxian wrath).

"Chelaxians are best known for their pride and ambition, possessing a sense of entitlement that has followed them through history. They tend to sneer upon savagery and respect strong authority. Quick to be offended and slow to forgive, Chelaxians hold grudges longer than most other humans. They are most common in the current and former holdings of the once-vast Empire of Cheliax, including Andoran, Galt, Nirmathas, Molthune, and the southern reaches of Varisia. Most speak Taldane."
—Pathfinder Chronicles Gazetteer

Mike McArtor
Editor

The Birth of Bugbears

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

What horrors and fearsome bogeymen await in Classic Monsters Revisited? Among the creatures presented in that savage-filled volume are the cunning and fear-mongering bugbears. And what spawned these foul creatures? Read on, gentle readers, and quake in fear!

"Bugbears are the loners of goblinkind. One creation myth claims the first bugbears were born to goblin parents, but emerged from the womb covered in shaggy fur. They soon proved far different from their kin, delighting in terrorizing other children and eventually murdering several members of the tribe, until they were cast out to wander aimlessly forever alone. Some skulked in the shadows surrounding their parents' communities and preyed on their own, savoring the fear. On occasion, adventurers discover goblinoid settlements reduced to ghost towns. Some whisper that such places are laid to waste when a family in the tribe birthed a bugbear and it hunted them to the last."
—Classic Monsters Revisited

Mike McArtor
Editor

Don't Mess with the Wizard-Priest

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

He's back! After taking several months to introduce you to some of the other legendary authorsin our Planet Stories line, we've come back around to the source and released The Samarkand Solution, Gary Gygax's successor to The Anubis Murders. Though the book stands alone (and indeed, all of the Gygax novels we're publishing can be read in any order), this adventure once more follows the adventures of Ægyptian Magister Setne Inhetep, wizard-priest to Pharaoh himself.

Temporarily bereft of his bewitching bodyguard, Rachelle, Setne heads down to the city of On for some rest and relaxation, only to run across the path of a notorious assassin. As the nobles around him begin dropping like flies, Setne is quickly drawn into a web of intrigue that finds him working both with and against the local government and the evil church of Set. In a city where seemingly everyone is guilty of something, a treasonous conspiracy is forming that could shake Ægypt all the way to the halls of Pharaoh's palace. But can Setne get to the bottom of things before he himself becomes the next victim?

For those who enjoyed The Anubis Murders, I think it's safe to say that you'll enjoy The Samarkand Solution even more. Gygax truly hits his stride in this book, and the biggest selling point for me is the introduction of Inspector Tuhorus, the hard-bitten city cop assigned to work with Setne. The only thing better than one quick-witted protagonist is two of them, and it's fun to see someone make the ever-confident Setne a straight man against his will. If The Anubis Murders broke some molds by presenting an honest-to-goodness mystery in a fantasy setting, The Samarkand Solution pushes the envelope even farther by adding an element of the classic "buddy cop" film. Toss in Setne's desperate attempts to avoid the attentions of the—*ahem*—affectionate and beautiful Lady Xonaapi, and the novel ends up somewhat racier than its predecessor as well. But really, for me, reading a Gygax novel is all about the magic, and Samarkand certainly doesn't disappoint on that count, as can be seen in the following excerpt:

A gigantic mass of living flames shifted, hot-violet spots fixing themselves upon the magister as if they were eyes. In fact they were eyes, and red-orange fires parted and a mouth spoke. "You come to your death, fool! Run away, little man, or I shall sear your flesh and boil your blood ere I consume you!"

"If you thought you could do that, efreet, you'd act, not boast," Inhetep shouted back. "Return now to your infernal realm, or it is I who will quench you!" Although the magister had expected to encounter some form of creature from the Spheres of Fire, this near-demoniac in its most potent form came as a surprise, but he didn't allow the monster to have an inkling of that. Even as he spoke, the ur-kheri-heb made preparations to carry out his threat.

The towering creature of hellfire form reached out to grab its antagonist, then withdrew its fiery arm with a shrieking howl as it contacted the freezing water. Its cry hurt Inhetep's ears, and the hemisphere trembled, bulging in where the efreet had struck it, then restored itself to smoothness again. It was noticeably smaller. "Son of a newt!" the fire being roared. "I'll soon have you out of that bubble and fry you slowly for your presumptuousness!"

With that, the flame-limbs struck down upon the shielding water, pounding upon it again and again. The monstrous thing howled in pain as it sought to destroy Inhetep's protection, but it was enraged and determined. Inside his watery shell, Inhetep worked desperately. He had to both maintain his defense and mount an offense against the efreet. No mere defense could prevail for long in such conditions as these. He worked with precision even as the water which protected him hissed and wavered and shrank to little more than a few inches of liquid but a foot above his sweating head. There was a sudden eruption of steam, and as vapors of superheated stuff rose round Setne, the priest-wizard called out, "Now, thing of perdition, you are doomed!"

James Sutter
Planet Stories Editor