Bizarre Love Triangle Isn't Just a New Order Song Anymore

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Ahoy, me hearties! It seems like only yesterday that I wrote a blog for you, but here I am again. In actuality it was three weeks ago, but I have an incredibly bad concept of time that has passed so I had to check. And if you don't believe me, you can check here.

Anyway, we're nearly on to Pathfinder Adventure Card Game—Skull & Shackles Adventure Deck 3: Tempest Rising! We're zipping through these adventures faster than a flying fish on uppers. As usual, I'll be sharing some of my favorite cards and giving you the inside scoop on one of our scenarios. But first, I must apologize. If I seem a little distracted to you, it's because I am. Somehow, a gigantic fly has gotten into my house and is buzzing around me. Every time I get focused, this fly dive bombs me and I flail around trying to bat it out of the air like some sort of drunk cat. And sometimes I drop my laptop. Le sigh. But this is what I go through to get you some insider info on Skull & Shackles. You may be thinking that it would just be better for me to head to a coffee shop down the street but that would be LETTING THAT BUZZY LITTLE JERK WIN. And that, I simply can't stand.

On to a happier place... sharks.

OSS (Obligatory Shark Section)

Dun... dun.

Dun... dun.

Dun dun dundundun. That's right, you scallywags, we've got a great white shark.

It might be easier on everyone if you just gave up now. This won't be getting any easier.

It make look like some blood vapors are escaping his mouth but I think he's been smoking some sort of weird hookah with red smoke. It's definitely not blood. Because the Great White Shark would never hurt you. Unless you encounter him. Which you will because you can't evade him. Wah wah. It's hard to be you, isn't it?

Some Other Totally Rad Stuff

The Great White Shark is as great as his name says, but there are some cards whose names aren't quite so obvious.

Look at him in his stripey pants, Look at him! LOOK AT HIM!

You're in serious denial if you don't admit to loving this Werecrocodile. You best hope the moon isn't out or ol' stripeypants is gonna take a little bit more to defeat. But, seeing as how he's a reptile, he's a little sensitive to the cold, and adding that trait to your check will help you a bit. Unless somebody gets him some mittens and a hat. He'd look pretty great with those though, right?

Right.

This scenario also features a new type of card. We call it a Curse but you'll likely give it a different name. Probably a curse word. Aahahaha. But seriously. Don't get stuck with one of these. I'm not going to say more about it because I think it pretty much speaks for itself.

This is not really what you want.

Up until now, Structural damage has sort of been a thing but it's been pretty manageable, right? The days of manageable Structural damage are over. This adventure has a lot of particularly nasty barriers that are all about the Structural damage. Take for instance, the Cannonade.

KABOOM!

Yes, dear readers, you read that correctly. The Cannonade is a Veteran barrier and you're not getting away without taking at least 2 Structural damage. That's not all, though! There are several more barriers just as nasty as this one. And a couple are even henchmen so you know you'll get to see them a bunch! Huzzah!

I admit, rubbing your face in those barriers was a little mean. So, here. Take a look at this loot blessing.

Monkey in a scarf alert!!!

There's something funny about those traits... what is it though? Oh right, it's our first blessing without the Divine trait. That's pretty crazy! And you might be able to play a second blessing on the check you use this on! And just look at all those ways to recharge this thing! This blessing should rock your socks. And if you're not wearing socks, put some on so you can have your socks rocked. For reals.

Bizarre Love Triangle

It's a story as old as time. Boy goes to grocery store. Girl goes to grocery store. They do their shopping, almost bumping into each other multiple times, but always just missing until they both reach for the same sea cucumber. Meet cute. Boy and Girl fall in love. Boy and Girl get in a fight. Boy and Girl take a break. Boy meets Gal. Boy and Girl upgrade break to break up. Boy gets house. Boy and Gal are happy. Boy ditches Gal to pursue other interests. Girl hates Boy. Gal loves Boy. Boy is busy pursuing other interests.

I know, I know. Right now you're thinking, "You silly goose in the rigging, that doesn't really seem bizarre at all." You know what? You're right. Aside from the fact that Boy, Girl, and Gal are all water nagas and "pursuing other interests" actually means "killing any people that cross his path," that story is not bizarre in any way.

Sorry, Shonda Rimes, this crazy drama is already taken.

So. Let's get down to business. What actually happens in this scenario? Well, if you'll note on the scenario card, there aren't real henchmen in this scenario. We just have you shuffle some random monsters (even more chances for Stripeypants to be encountered!) so closing locations will be a bit more challenging than normal. Plus, you have to get these three crazy kids in the same place so they can sort out their issues. That's right, this scenario is an intervention.

I can hear you scoffing through the internet, "So what if we have to burn through all the cards in a location deck and there are three villains? We're rockstars at this game!" Scoff no more, dear readers. Did you catch the part on the scenario about how if the villain can't escape to an open location you shuffle it into a random location and open it? I mean, obviously there's a strategy on how to do that properly but that's up to you to figure out. There's also the part where if all three villains aren't in the same location deck, you haven't defeated the villain...no matter how good your roll was. Toodle-loo blessings deck! It was nice knowing you!

We’ve sort of been ignoring our three villains thus far and if there’s one thing I know about water nagas, it’s that they hate to be ignored. Let’s start with Boy, or as you will come to know him, Munarei. Munarei is probably smarter than you. He’s gonna deal you some Mental damage before you even act and after that you’ll have to try and outsmart him. I don’t know about you but I would rather punch Munarei rather than try to make an Intelligence or Knowledge 10 check. But wait, there’s more! If your check isn't at least a 7, the top card of your deck, you know, the one you’re just itching to draw, well, that gets buried. Oof. Maybe Girl and Gal will be nicer.

Girl, AKA Sarlis, is a little peeved with Munarei. The good news is, this means she’s sort of willing to accept your help to get back her lair. All it takes is a Charisma or Diplomacy 10 check! I mean, she’s still going to deal you some damage before you act (Force damage, to be accurate) and if you fail by 3 or more you’re going to be burying that tasty top card of your deck. Hell hath no fury like a water naga scorned.

And last, but not least, there’s Selissa, who we’ve called Gal up until now. She’s still completely enamored with Munarei for some reason. And you trying to fight her and herd her over to the same location as the others is only distracting her from mooning over Munarei. So yeah, she’s a little mad at you too. She’ll be slapping you with some Poison damage, and of course, the top card of your deck is still quite vulnerable. But, after a Wisdom or Survival 10 check, you’ll be sitting pretty (but not as pretty as Munarei!).

So, we've now given you a murdery, monster-filled soap opera to play through. At the end you'll get a card feat, though. And we all know how deliciousssss card featsss are. Umm, sorry. Been spending a little too much time trying to think like a water naga. At any rate, I think you've got a pretty decent look at what's heading your way in Adventure 3 and I only dropped my laptop twice! As always, thanks for reading and here's hoping to a mutiny-free month for you!

Gaby Weidling
Adventure Card Game Developer

Open Call Thoughts

Monday, October 20, 2014

As I noted earlier this month, about three weeks ago I began really diving into the Open Call submissions and getting back to authors with feedback about their work. I'm more than halfway through the pile now, and so far it's been really productive. It looks like we might see Open Call authors showing up on the front covers of scenarios in a matter of months! I gather many of you are working on submissions now, and I'd like to share a few recommendations and tips that have come up frequently.

Scope: A Quest is a quick, self-contained adventure that is restricted to 2,000 words or less. Keep this in mind when outlining and writing a Quest, for it can be really tempting to try to squeeze a full scenario- or module-worth of ideas into this short format. The most successful Quests typically have a combat encounter and a brief non-combat encounter, and some are able to manage two combat encounters with style. I find that when a Quest tries to fit in three combats, it often comes at the expense of the background, area descriptions, or some other important section.

It's certainly nice to have a definitive end to a Quest, not a "to be continued." Sometimes longer adventures have that type of cliffhanger, but I'd rather your submission leave the players high-fiving and knowing they won rather than looking worried and feeling like they barely scratched the surface of the story.

Organization: Be sure you're modeling the overall organization of your submission after other Paizo adventures. Ambush in Absalom is an excellent reference for making sure you have all of the important pieces in the right place, including the Summary, Getting Started, and Conclusion sections. Where does the "Creatures" header appear in an encounter? What types of information appear in the "Development" section rather than in the room description? The more of this that an author can internalize and demonstrate, the easier it is to develop and use that person's work.

Subtiers: Pathfinder Society scenarios use a system of tiers that enable play at two different level ranges (e.g. Subtiers 1-2 and 4-5). With the exception of several early scenarios, every such adventure's subtiers are three levels apart, so it's important that you design your encounters so that the difference in the two subtiers' challenge ratings is three as well. That means if the lower subtier is facing a CR 3 encounter, the higher subtier should be a CR 6 encounter (not a CR 5 or CR 7).

Remember the Players: Keep your audience and the game format in mind when creating your stories and encounters. A Pathfinder Quest should be approachable enough that a group of somewhat experienced players are likely to succeed, so I would avoid including really powerful combats that are likely to devastate the PCs in a round or two. This is especially true for Subtier 1-2, where it is possible to leverage the challenge rating system to make a very effective yet low-CR creature that deals an average of [an average PC's hit points] per swing. Table 1-1 on page 291 of the Bestiary is a great resource for judging whether your NPCs are a reasonable challenge.

On a related note, also remember that the players are agents in the story limited only by their creativity. Unlike in a video game that presents an uninterruptable cut scene, the PCs have the potential to interrupt monologues and intervene when the villain tries to do something dastardly. Writing cut scenes into an adventure rarely goes over well, and it shouldn't appear in your Quest.

Stylistic Notes and Trends: Paizo's adventures tend to avoid future tense, passive voice, and second person references. Exceptions show up in dialogue and in a few other circumstances. If you find yourself using "you" or realize you've written "will" without referring to inheritance documentation or a type of saving throw, it's probably better for you to revise it.

Review Your Submission: Remember that your submission is a reflection of your writing and adventure design abilities. Reading your work out loud or giving it to a friend to read can help pick out a lot of errors, making it easier to wow your reader with your creativity rather than distracting him with grammatical concerns.

Once again, I'm excited to see so many submissions, and I hope that the recommendations above can help many of you create even more engaging adventures. Keep them coming.

John Compton
Developer

Monster Mash

Thursday, October 16, 2014

If you have not heard yet, the newest addition to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is hitting subscribers and game stores now. The Monster Codex is a mighty tome, filled with some of the most iconic foes in the game. Each of the 20 monster types appearing in this book has an expanded ecology, new rules, and 7 pages of new stat blocks across a range of CRs. Each one gives you plenty of ideas and awesome crunch to make these monsters the feature of an entire adventure or even a portion of your campaign, while saving you the time it takes to come up with the mountain of stats needed to make it happen.

Illustrations by Damien Mammoliti and Jason Rainville

Monster Codex has 12 pages of exciting new content for each of the following monster types: boggards, bugbears, drow, duergar, fire giants, frost giants, ghouls, gnolls, goblins, hobgoblins, kobolds, lizardfolk, ogres, orcs, ratfolk, sahuagin, serpentfolk, troglodytes, trolls, and vampires!

Rather than show off a few of these stat blocks, I thought I might take this opportunity to highlight a part of the book you might miss on your first flip-through. The appendix for Monster Codex contains a new tool to help you make easily customized monsters of any type. These rules allow you to apply basic class features to a monster without having to recalculate all of its abilities and statistics. We call them simple class templates and we think they are going to see a lot of use at your game table!

Want proof? Check out the barbarian simple class template!

Barbarian Creature (CR +2 or +3)

A barbarian creature can fly into a rage, granting it numerous bonuses in combat. It also gains additional hit points and a few valuable defensive abilities. A barbarian creature’s CR increases by 3 if the creature has 10 or more HD. A barbarian creature must be chaotic.

Quick Rules: +2 on all rolls based on Str; can rage for a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + its HD + its Con modifier (this functions as greater rage if the creature has 10 or more HD); gains DR 1/- and uncanny dodge (DR 3/- and improved uncanny dodge if the creature has 10 or more HD).

Rebuild Rules: Defensive Abilities uncanny dodge (improved uncanny dodge if the creature has 10 or more HD; DR 1/- (3/- if the creature has 10 or more HD); Special Attacks rage (can be used a number of rounds per day equal to 4 + its HD + its Con modifier, functions as the greater rage class feature if the creature has 10 or more HD); Ability Scores +4 Strength.

So, if you really need a barbarian hill giant, now you can create one in about 5 minutes, instead of the 30 minutes it would take to add a bunch of class levels to the base stat block. Monster Codex includes simple class templates for all 11 of the base classes, from barbarian to wizard, allowing you to customize all of your monsters with ease.

Well, that about wraps up this preview. If you are a subscriber, you should find that Monster Codex is on its way to you now. For the rest, stop by your local game store to pick up a copy of this handy book.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer

A Knightly Mission

by Dylan Birtolo

Chapter Two: A Knight with a Cause

"Let me see if I understand you right."

Marra paused the work she was doing: attaching a new leather strap to the inside of the pauldron that wasn't frayed and was small enough to fit her arm. She looked at Eron through strands of dark hair that had managed to work free from the leather thong she used to tie it back. Sweat coated her face from the effort of working on the armor, but even though her muscles ached for relief, she couldn't keep the grin from her face.

"You find a dead body in the woods," Eron went on, "and discover that it's a knight of Lastwall, probably a few hours from the main road. So rather than do the sensible thing and bring the body back, or even ignore it completely, you decide to bring the armor back and steal it for yourself? Do you have any idea how disrespectful that is?"

"I buried the body." It was true. Marra felt like it was the least she could do considering the situation. It may not have been the best of graves, but at least the body wouldn't be picked at by scavengers. It seemed a waste to bury the man's equipment with him. Especially since it could be put to much better use.

"Oh, because that makes it all right? As long as you buried the body and said a simple blessing over the gravesite, you can steal his weapons and armor? If anyone finds out, there'll be hell to pay."

"Well then, I guess we'll have to make sure no one finds out."

Marra flashed him a smile and then bent back to the work of attaching the strap. She had never designed or used armor before, but the process was simple when she had a model to go on. And the armor did mostly fit her. She just needed to replace a few straps and a few pieces where the armor had been torn. After that, it would be a simple matter to change some etchings on the leather to alter the look.

Once she was satisfied that the rivet was sufficiently flattened, she lifted up the pauldron and put it on her shoulder. Eron came over with a sigh and checked the strap for her while she held it in place. He knew the drill by now. He took the strap and marked where it touched the buckle. After he finished that, Marra took the pauldron off and punched holes in the strap for the buckle, adding a few to each side of the marking just in case.

"What are you hoping to do with this, anyway?"

"I'm going to use it to deal with the Molthuni bandits."

Eron's mouth hung open as he stood in silence. It was entertaining to see the shock on his face. Even after all the years growing up together, Marra never got sick of causing that look. He shook his head from side to side before he managed to form words again.

"You can't be serious. You're going to ride out and try to track them down? Do you know how crazy you sound right now?"

Marra will do what it takes to help her people.

"You're the crazy one. I'm not stupid and I'm not going to try and chase down an entire bandit camp. That's even if they're here to begin with. They might be crossing over from Molthune every day and then running back home when they've finished harassing us."

"Then how is this going to help? It isn't like you'll be able to wear a suit of armor around town in case of another attack. Even if you could, too many people will ask questions."

Marra hesitated, trying to look like she was too focused on her work to respond immediately, even if it was just measuring and cutting a second strap for the other pauldron. The truth was that she didn't know how Eron would react to the details of her plan. She knew he would call her crazy again, and with good reason. Her idea might be more insane than attempting to find the bandits on her own. But, it was also something she knew she needed to try. If she was successful, she might just be able to convince Lastwall how much her people needed its support and military aid. It was a chance she had to take.

"Remember how I told you that the trail was covered with signs of a large group passing through? It looked like at least twenty horses, and a couple of wagons, too. The trail wasn't that old, so the knight had to have come from that party. Probably got injured, ran into the woods, and got lost. People get lost in Fangwood all the time. So there's probably a whole group of knights heading south. If I can join up with them, I can convince them that the Molthuni are to blame and it isn't just random bandits. And then once they know that, they'll have to report it back home, and Lastwall will have to support us."

"How are you going to get them to listen to you? You're just a tanner."

"Not if I come to them dressed as a knight of Lastwall."

Eron's eyes widened and he whipped his head around as if to make sure no one else was in the room.

"You can't be serious. Please tell me you aren't serious. You know what they'd do to you?"

Marra drew her lips into a tight line. Of course she knew the risk she was taking. But the potential reward of help from Lastwall more than outweighed the dangers of her plan.

"You know damn well that we can't survive if we have to keep dealing with the Molthuni raiding our homes. And who's to say how long until they decide to launch an all-out invasion and take our lands? If Lastwall won't help us, we're dead anyway."

"You're crazy. I can't help you with this. You're going to get killed and I won't be part of it. I can't have you riding off to your own funeral."

Eron pushed away from the table he was leaning against and walked to the door, shaking his head. He reached out and put his hand on the doorknob, but didn't turn it. Marra just watched him, confident that she knew the arguments running through his head. He had to know how important this was and that it might be their best chance to get Lastwall to do something other than make an empty statement of support. Eron's arm tensed, but the door didn't move. With a slight turn to his head he spoke over his shoulder.

"You're really going to do this, aren't you?"

Marra put down her tools and let the pauldron rest on her work bench. She crossed her arms in front of her but kept her voice gentle.

"I need to do this. I need to do something. I can't just sit here and pretend like nothing is wrong and keep burying myself in my work. And like you said, I can't just ride off and go fight the bandits. I'm not stupid. This seems like the best thing I can do to help. And if it means risking my life, I'm not doing any more than anyone else."

"I still say it's stupid and it's going to get you killed. But, I also know how stubborn you can be once you get an idea in your head. You'd make rocks back down."

Eron let his hand slide off the doorknob and turned back to face her. One side of his mouth turned up in a semblance of a grin. It was another look that Marra knew well. He would help her, even if he didn't agree with what she was doing. And she knew she could count on him to keep their secret from the rest of the village. The fewer who knew about her charade, the better.

It took them a few more hours of work, but by the time they were finished, Marra had a suit of armor that would fit her. Her first impression after putting it on was how heavy it felt and how much it slowed her movements. She didn't know if she would be able to wear it for an extended period, but she was committed to her course now. There was no turning back.

After wearing the suit for several minutes and seeing how it affected her movement, Marra took it off and packed it up in her saddlebags. When she brought it out to her horse, she discovered the armor was even harder to carry than it was to wear. She was only able to sling the cumbersome bag up behind her saddle with Eron's help. The sword was too large to fit in the bag, so Marra wrapped it in a cloak and attached it to the side of the saddle. Satisfied that her gear was properly stowed, she filled a smaller bag with some basic trail supplies that should last her for a few days.

Marra and Eron rode out of the village, following the trail that led to the main path skirting the Fangwood's western edge. Once they were out of sight, they pulled to a stop and dismounted. Eron helped her into her armor, attaching the pieces she couldn't reach. Again, once she was fully suited up, she moved around a bit, amazed at how much the metal and leather restricted her. She had expected that, but experiencing it was another matter.

"You sure you want to do this?"

Marra nodded, gripping her saddle as she put her foot in the stirrup. With a grunt and a heave, she pulled herself into the seat. The horse puffed as Marra dropped her heavier weight against his back. She untied the sword, fumbling with the weapon as she tried to slide it into her belt. When it rested there, it pressed up against the horse's back leg and he danced around, trying to move away from the pressure until she removed it.

"Try hanging it on your saddle. That's how I've seen other knights do it."

Marra took his advice, hanging the weapon off the front of her saddle on the left side. It was still within easy reach there, but didn't press up against the horse.

"Told you I need you."

"And I told you that I still think you're crazy for trying this. But please, come back to us. If you change your mind, no one needs to know."

"I'll be fine. I'll show them what's going on."

"And I'll watch the tannery while you're gone and tell anyone who asks that you took a trip to Tamran to work out some deal."

Marra gave him one final smile before turning to the south. She knew she could count on him. In fact, she didn't know what she would have been able to do without him. Especially considering how impossible it was to put the armor on by herself.

She squeezed her horse's sides and he jumped to a light canter. The sudden motion made her lurch before she could compensate for the additional weight. Even riding in armor was different. It took her several strides before she was able to find the rhythm. She was just glad that she hadn't fallen off in front of Eron. Otherwise, he might have physically dragged her back to the village and locked her in her own tannery.

Once she felt like she was able to ride without thinking about it too much, Marra tried to bring her attention to her surroundings. It was difficult, more than she realized. She wasn't prepared for how much noise the armor made when she rode. As she tried to listen for animals or other riders, all she could hear was the jingle of her chainmail. Between that and the pounding of her horse's hooves on the packed dirt, it was impossible to hear anything else. So she focused on keeping to the center of the path.

She brought her horse to a gentle trot and was just beginning to feel a little more comfortable riding in her new gear when a voice rang out from the woods.

"Halt or die!"

Coming Next Week: Peril in the Fangwood in Chapter Three of Dylan Birtolo's "A Knightly Mission."

Dylan Birtolo is the author of the Sheynan fantasy trilogy, as well as numerous short stories in anthologies such as Time Traveled Tales and Human for a Day. Find him online at dylanbirtolo.com.

Illustration by Jacob Walker.

Four Tales, Ten Heroes

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Last year the Pathfinder Society Organized Play campaign introduced a new system for sanctioning Pathfinder Tales novels. Rather than create a Chronicle sheet for each new book, we introduced the "Pathfinder Tales, Volume IV Chronicle sheet," so named because it represented the fourth distinct set of four Pathfinder Tales novels. This means a player only needs to print the Chronicle sheet once to enjoy the benefits of reading four books. As has always been the case, a player must bring a printed or digital (legally obtained and including a watermark indicating such) book to a sanctioned Pathfinder Society event to unlock a novel's Chronicle sheet boon.

It's my pleasure to announce that "Pathfinder Tales, Volume V" is now available for download. This Chronicle sheet sanctions Stalking the Beast, The Dagger of Trust, Skinwalkers, and, The Redemption Engine for the organized play campaign. As was the case for Volume IV, this most recent installment also grants one of your characters a permanent boon if you have all four novels. You can download it from the Additional Resources page or any of the product pages.

Illustrations by Eric Belisle

Of course, with Nightblade just about to hit shelves, we're only a few months away from needing "Pathfinder Tales, Volume VI." Best get reading!

Last week we also released the pregenerated characters for all 10 of the new Pathfinder RPG Advanced Class Guide iconic characters. Having first debuted at Gen Con Indy 2014, these characters are now available for use by everyone in the organized play campaign.

As always, let us know what you think about this newer format for the Pathfinder Tales Chronicle sheets and the new two-sided versions of these latest pregenerated characters.

Happy gaming!

John Compton
Developer

PS: The Adventure Card Guild blog won't be happening today, but will be returning next Tuesday with more exciting tidbits!

Friday Publisher Preview: Improving the Iconics

Friday, October 10, 2014

I'm writing today's blog from Times Square in New York City, where I'm staying while taking in New York Comic Con. NYCC is one of my favorite events of the year. For starters, the convention is the second largest event of its kind, bringing in more than 100,000 fans from all over the world. The show floor is like a marketplace out of a geek's dreams, filled with action figures old and new, original comic art, wandering nerd culture celebrities, back issues, original art, you name it. It's like four Gen Cons smooshed together, with an artist's alley off to the side that fills a room that could host most conventions. There aren't, alas, a lot of tabletop (or even video) game companies exhibiting at the show yet, but the fandoms are very, very similar and of course there's a ton of crossover with gamers. For me it's a chance to visit with East Coast business partners like Dynamite, publishers of the Pathfinder Comics range, as well as most of our book business distribution partners.

It's also among my favorites because it's the final convention of the year. For 2014 that makes it sixteen conventions or trade shows for me, and I have to admit I am exhausted. I always try to jam all of my business meetings into the first couple of days of the show, so I can enjoy wandering the floor as a fan myself. After focusing all of my convention attention on business from January until the end of October, it's important for me to spend a little while checking out all of the stuff that I geek out over. It's fun to get in touch with my own fannish soul, and at the very end of the convention season, just when I should be running out of gas, I find that New York Comic Con invigorates me, recharging my batteries for the year ahead.

NECA, the parent company of WizKids, have an awesome Pathfinder Battles display in their NYCC booth,
complete with some Lost Coast figures including the case incentive Shemhazian Demon!

Among the things that most tickle my nerdy fancy? Miniatures, of course! So let us turn our giggling, geeky hearts to three more paint masters for the upcoming Iconic Heroes Set #1!

Here we have Seelah, Human Paladin, our favorite champion of law and good. Seelah received one of the earliest representation of an iconic character in our regular Pathfinder Battles line, appearing in the very first set, Heroes & Monsters. That figure was fine—even impressive—for that early stage in the product line, but I never felt that it quite lived up to the early high standards set by the Beginner Box Heroes set, which predated Pathfinder Battles itself by a few months. It also had a bit of a scaling issue relative to other human figures, and came across as a bit small, not quite the imposing, powerful warrior we were hoping for.

I'm pleased to report that this new version of Seelah more than fits the bill. This version is considerably different from her original presentation, most notably in that the paladin wears her helm in this incarnation. That helm plays an important part in Seelah's origin story, so we thought it fitting to send the warrior into battle in her full regalia.

The shield appears white for now, but will soon get a tampo stamp with a crisp image of the holy symbol of Iomedae, Seelah's honorable goddess.

Sajan, Human Monk is another example, in my opinion, of improving a figure on the second attempt. The original Sajan figure looked pretty cool and didn't have any major flaws like scaling issues, but this new pose is so much better it automatically gives the newer model the edge. I love his battle-ready pose, and even his expression impresses.

While quality control at the production facility—something both WizKids and Paizo have repeatedly stressed for the Iconic Heroes line—will tell the tale when the final paint is applied, the new digital sculpting process allows for much finer and more interesting facial details than practical sculpts. From Valeros's smirk to Seelah's combat expression to Sajan's glare, these guys have real expression in their faces. It feels like a step forward for the line.

We last met Lini the druid's snow leopard, Droogami, in the Legends of Golarion set, where it was called simply Snow Leopard. Since then, we've given Lini's feline friend a sweet set of armor. We've also given it a somewhat realistic face—a first for the many great cats produced so far in the line, most of which seemed to end up with slightly comedic faces, like scary animals mixed with breakfast cereal mascots. I think this is a step up.

So there you have it. Three new figures, three improvements on their original appearances. I call that a win, and look forward to showing off the next set!

But before we can do THAT, we've got one matter of outstanding business for November's The Lost Coast set! I forgot to preview one last figure for the set. I'd held off because I didn't think the picture did the figure justice. Then I saw the replacement picture, which was blurry and even worse. Then I went back to the original picture.

Here she is:

This is the Elf Archer, who looks better in person than she does in our photo. She's based on one of my favorite pieces of art from the NPC Codex. She's a nice addition to our fairly limited ranks of elves in Pathfinder Battles so far. And if you're going to have an elf, it seems natural to make it an archer. The Elf Archer is a Medium, common figure.

And with that, I'm heading back to the convention! Enjoy your weekend, wherever you are, and we'll see you back here in a week for more exciting reveals!

Erik Mona
Publisher

Illustration by Caio Maciel Monteiro

Ships Ahoy!

Thursday, October 9, 2014

One book I've wanted to put out for as long as I've worked at Paizo has been a gazetteer of different ships one could find in the Inner Sea region. Because ships are mobile, a ship of any type can be found in just about any port, opening up nearly endless options for Game Masters.

When Ships of the Inner Sea finally made it onto the production schedule instead of my wish list, I wanted to make sure that the book could serve GMs in a number of ways. The included ships, of which there are seven, range in challenge rating from foes appropriate for parties of levels ranging from 4 to 15, and are thus useful additions to all sorts of adventures. For those running the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path or otherwise using the ship-to-ship combat system presented in the Skull & Shackles Player's Guide, each ship includes statistics compatible with the system, allowing all seven vessels to be potential prey for pirate PCs prowling the Fever Sea. Each ship is fully mapped (and gorgeously so, by Jared Blando) for tactical combat and can be used as a potential PC or enemy vessel. While the crew compliment of each vessel is enough to fill a book by itself, each ship's chapter includes full statistics for its captain, one prominent crewmember, and a generic sailor or passenger stat block.

To provide more useful and general tools for GMs running nautical campaigns, we also included a chapter on sailing the Inner Sea. This includes a glossary of nautical terms, definitions of several different ship classes, and details on the region's most traveled trade routes and the hazards that make them full of adventure potential.

Three of the authors who worked on the book live or have lived on functioning boats, including naval vessels. Their knowledge of nautical terms, ship layouts and life at sea really shows in their writing, and I was very lucky to be able to get them all together for the project. It's the same reason we had Sutter write about space aliens and Wes write about Infernal contracts; you're best at writing what you know.

Illustrations by Caio Maciel Monteiro, Eric Belisle, and Yama Ocre

What I'm most excited about in this book, however, is the art. This is one beautiful book. It was really tough to pick a few pieces to show off and whet everyone's appetites, so I decided to share one piece per type: a half-page introduction, a ship portrait, and a full-body illustration. And another half-pager simply because, holy cow, is it amazing!

Mark Moreland
Developer

A Knightly Mission

by Dylan Birtolo

Chapter One: The Man in the Woods

Marra crept forward, easing her weight from her heel onto the flat of her foot, making sure that no branches snapped underneath her weight and betrayed her presence. She held her bow at her side, an arrow nocked in place and locked under her forefinger. It was too early to bring the weapon to bear; the distance was too great. She needed to be closer to make an accurate shot. In front of her, an elk reached down to rip up some grass with his teeth, blissfully unaware of her presence. The animal snorted and jerked its head up.

Marra froze. If she stood still, he might not notice her. The elk looked around and sniffed at the air, its large nostrils flaring. Marra held her breath.

After a few seconds, the animal lowered its muzzle back to the ground and continued to graze. The tension in Marra's shoulders eased as she saw the elk go back to its routine. This was as close as she dared to get. Any closer and she would risk spooking the beast. It had been a long time since she had some fresh hide to tan and she couldn't afford to let this specimen get away. She was already deeper in the Fangwood than she had ever been, and these woods were far from safe, even before the bandits.

Marra pushed the thought from her mind. She didn't have time to worry about that now. She raised her bow and pointed the arrow at her target. In her mind's eye, she pictured the path the arrow would take and where it would sink deep into the elk's flesh. She breathed in deeply and eased the air out. Once she finished exhaling, she drew back to her cheek and loosed the arrow in one smooth motion.

The arrow whistled as it cut through the air and landed with a solid thunk deep in the elk's side just behind his left foreleg. The elk bolted, sprinting forward and crashing through the underbrush without even bothering to look for its attacker. Marra snatched another arrow from the quiver on her hip, but by the time the shaft was nocked, the elk was too deep in the brush for her to have a shot. She kept the arrow in place, but lowered the bow to her side as she walked forward.

Her steps were slow and measured as she followed the elk's obvious trail. There was no need to rush. The wound was deep and she was confident she had pierced the animal's lung. If so, the elk's run would be short and she'd soon be back on her way to her tannery. If not, there was no way she would catch a fleeing elk. Up ahead, the sounds of the animal's mad dash continued, spooking birds out of the trees with the sudden noise.

As she walked, Marra's thoughts fled back to the bandits. They'd been more active recently, even north of the Marideth River. She knew they were Molthuni. Everyone knew it was the Molthuni. But their strong and honorable allies to the north in Lastwall claimed that it was just a simple bandit problem internal to Nimrathas and did not require any intervention on their part. At least that was the story Marra heard the last time she had taken her leather to Tamran. The politics of the situation sickened her. She wished there was something that she could do to chase the Molthuni off, but she wasn't a politician or a noble, and there was little more a tanner could do than help to keep her own home and neighbors safe.

Marra grabbed a fallen piece of wood in her right hand and used it to hack at the branches around her as she walked. With each stroke she remembered the last time the bandits raided her village. She was working in the shop and heard the screams, rushing out still carrying her tongs and carving knife. Four men rode into the village with torches and swords, too well made to be the spoils of scavenging. They trampled anyone too slow to get out of their way. They didn't attempt to make demands; they attacked, threw their torches into whatever flammable roof or crop they could find, and fled. The villagers were lucky and managed to keep the fire from spreading and causing too much damage.

At heart, Marra Silvermoon is no simple tanner.

Up ahead, a loud crash followed by silence signaled the fall of the elk and jerked Marra back to the present. She dropped her stick and picked up her pace. It wasn't long before she came upon the animal collapsed in the dirt. The beast's chest rose and fell as it struggled to breathe, legs twitching across the ground. The arrow had broken off, but Marra could see the wound, the small hole still pouring out blood that bubbled as the elk exhaled. Marra took her knife from her belt and ended the elk's suffering.

She unslung her pack and took out the leather and cord inside. With practiced motions, she created a simple travois and laid it next to the elk corpse. Putting her bow aside, she knelt down next to the corpse and began cleaning it, cutting off large strips of skin to treat back at her workshop and large strips of meat for food. She wrapped the meat inside the skin to protect it before she laid it on the sled in pieces. There was no way she could drag the entire corpse. A lot of it would go to waste, but she would take back as much as she could drag.

Cleaning the animal was difficult work and it wasn't long before sweat beaded on her brow. She reached up and brushed the back of one arm across it, careful to make sure none of the blood dripped into her eyes. As she lowered her arm, she heard a low rumbling growl off to her left. Marra flicked her eyes in that direction, not wanting to make any sudden motions.

Between a few of the trunks she saw a group of three wolves stalking forward, the one in front growling as it peeled back its lips. Marra glanced back at her bow, useless on the ground a few feet away. Her fingers flexed on her carving knife. It wasn't much, but it was all she had. The wolves took a few more steps and then froze, the one in front looking bigger as its fur stood up. Yet it did not advance, and the others didn't circle around.

Wolves were something she knew, having watched them and dealt with them all her life. Marra's legs tensed in anticipation as she slowed her breathing, paying attention to the sounds around her while she unfocused her eyes from the wolves in front of her. They were not the real threat. They were the distraction, there to keep her from running away.

A snap from behind burst her into motion. She pivoted on her right foot, moving out of the way and leading with her knife in a vicious spin. The wolf that charged her from behind tried to spring back when she moved, but it wasn't fast enough. Her blade cut deep into the animal's shoulder, tearing through the flesh and making it yelp as it retreated from her attack.

Now that she was moving, Marra looked around and saw five wolves surrounding her, including the one she had just injured. It was the largest and she guessed it would be the leader. Despite its injury, it stalked back and forth in front of her, just out of her reach. Every few steps it would lunge forward and snap, but spring back before she had a chance to attack. The other wolves moved around to circle her and the fresh elk carcass.

Marra knew she needed to end this quickly. There was no way she'd stand for long against a pack of wolves. Her only hope was to deal with the alpha and hope the others fled. She took a step back, then another, turning to make sure she never left her back to one wolf for too long. Every time she turned away, one of them would snap forward, never close enough to connect but getting closer and bolder with each lunge. Out of the corner of her eye, Marra saw her bow resting on the ground next to her foot. She dug her boot into the soft ground, getting it underneath the bow.

Marra spun again, this time turning to face the alpha. She threw her knife at the beast, but it jumped to the side before the weapon came close. She hadn't expected to hit. Even before the wolf's feet touched the ground again, she kicked the bow up, catching it in her left hand. She whipped an arrow out of her quiver and nocked it, pulling back and letting fly in the space of a breath. The arrow slammed into the wolf's chest and the beast let out a sound that was both a howl of pain and yip of surprise. Marra spun, getting a second arrow ready and launching it at one of the wolves behind her. The missile streaked past the wolf, but was close enough to graze its skin as it passed. Marra didn't wait to see animal's reaction, spinning with a third arrow ready to face the next closest attacker.

The wolves turned and fled as Marra loosed her third arrow, striking a wolf in the backside. It ran faster, trying to catch up to its pack mates. Marra watched them run, ready to attack again if they turned, but having no interest in pursuing them. She already had her prize and it was more meat and pelt than she could carry back.

Once the wolves were gone, Marra reclaimed her dagger and rushed to finish the job of collecting as much as she could drag. She kept her bow close to her body and tried to stay alert to the forest around her. It wasn't long before she had the travois loaded as much as she dared. She cleaned off her blade before tucking it back into her belt and used the dirt and fallen leaves to clean her hands as best she could. Satisfied with her prize, Marra grunted as she picked up the front end of the travois and started the long trek back home.

It was slow going, bringing the meat and hide back through the woods. Marra took a different path, one that would bring her straight back rather than following the game trails like she did on her way in. Her path was not subtle or quiet, but she wasn't concerned about other predators. Most of them resided deeper in the woods and each step brought her close to safe territory.

So it shocked her into stillness when she heard a loud crash in front of her. Marra rushed to unhitch herself from the travois, trying to make sure she could fight or flee depending on the situation. She had just gotten out of the harness when a group of three elk cut across her path and then bounded away. That didn't make sense. They would have been able to smell the elk carcass and would never have run toward her, unless something scared them enough to override their innate precautions. Marra crept forward, curious to know what could have spooked them.

As she peered around a tree, she saw what had made the animals panic. A man in armor rested against the trunk of a tree, sprawled out as if he had fallen there. His chainmail shirt was torn in a few pieces, but the solid breastplate was still intact. He had engraved leather pauldrons and leather armor on his arms as well. A sword lay in the dirt near him, just a few inches from his hand. He did not appear to be breathing.

Marra walked up to him, looking around for any signs of what might have killed him, but the only thing she saw was the trail he carved getting to this place before collapsing. When she got next to his body, she reached down and held her hand in front of his face. He wasn't breathing.

When she rolled the man onto his back, she saw why—he had a large hole in his chainmail on his side just below his breastplate. The wound smelled of rotted flesh and Marra had to hold her breath to calm her churning stomach.

For several moments she knelt there, looking over the corpse. When her gaze fell upon his belt buckle, she gasped in surprise. It was engraved with the symbol of the knights of Lastwall.

Coming Soon: An unexpected knight in an all-new Pathfinder Tales serial by Dylan Birtolo.

Dylan Birtolo is the author of the Sheynan fantasy trilogy, as well as numerous short stories in anthologies such as Time Traveled Tales and Human for a Day. Find him online at dylanbirtolo.com.

Illustration by Jacob Walker.