New Adventures Against the Crimson Throne, Part 1

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Now that copies of the hardcover edition of Curse of the Crimson Throne are shipping out and we've provided the players with a mini player's guide to help create their characters, it's time to turn the attention to the new content in this version of the classic Adventure Path. All of you who are intending to play in this campaign, be warned, there be spoilers below!

Those GMs who ran Curse of the Crimson Throne in its first incarnation will find a lot of new content in the hardcover edition, but most of this content is relatively well-integrated into the text of the adventure. In some cases, this new content is simply material that we had to cut from publication the first time around, due to space limitations. But in others, it's brand new material that I created during the project's development—new content that may have been suggested by customer feedback, or may have simply been something that I was inspired to include to make the campaign more exciting, fresh, and memorable. One such addition was revealed last week—the Betrayed campaign trait gives players an option for characters who might be a bit less reputable than the classic campaign traits assume. But of course, that's only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Here's a sampling of my favorite new additions to the first four chapters of Curse of the Crimson Throne!

Chapter 1: Edge of Anarchy

The Lamm Legacy

Folks were disappointed the first time around that the villain built up by the Campaign Traits, Gaedren Lamm, didn't have a stronger presence in the campaign overall. While the hardcover edition doesn't expand Gaedren's role significantly (he was never meant to be a recurring villain, but a convenient foil to help bring the party together in the first place), it does give him a son—Rolth, the vile necromancer the PCs first learn about later in this chapter and first encounter in Chapter 2. By making Rolth Gaedren's son, this villain has a built-in reason to hate the PCs—he may not have loved his father, but he can certainly ache for revenge against those who bring him to justice! Further increasing Rolth's role in Korovsa, I decided to make him into the notorious Key-Lock Killer, a murderer only barely mentioned in the "Guide to Korvosa" as being the city's most prolific serial killer. The PCs will be able to find clues to Rolth's connection to Gaedren, as well as to his secret life as a serial killer, among the various treasures they can loot in Gaedren's den.

Chapter 2: Seven Days to the Grave

A Chance at Redemption

In addition to expanding on Rolth's role in the campaign, in this chapter I was able to expand a bit more on the role of the crazy elf Jolistina. In the original, she wasn't much more than a lunatic for the PCs to fight, but this time around, the PCs can do much more than just fight her. If they're careful or caring, they might be able to get Jolistina on their side and perhaps even help her along a path of redemption!

Chapter 3: Escape from Old Korvosa

More Rakshasas

In the previous edition of Curse of the Crimson Throne, the rakshasa had something of a glass jaw, and as such we were able to use a large number of them in the adventure without worrying about overwhelming the PCs. But with the publication of the Pathfinder Bestiary, we updated the basic rakshasa so that it more properly filled its role as a CR 10 monster. Which was good for the rakshasa, but not so good for Arkona Palace, which had a large number of these foes spread throughout the manor. My solution wasn't to remove rakshasas, but to swap some out for less powerful but still frightening marai rakshasas. Not only does this keep the dungeon's original themes in place, but it gives it more variety in the foes your players will face.

Chapter 4: A History Of Ashes

Deathhead Vault

While the additions to the previous chapters were largely in the realm of bits and pieces here and there to add flavor or clarify, we reach our first significant amount of new content in chapter 4. Not only did I rebuild the format of the original adventure to be less linear and more of a sandbox (without that distracting "Shoanti going to war" subplot that ended up going nowhere), but I added an entire new section. In large part spurred by customer feedback that players were disappointed to leave Korvosa for two whole adventures, but also because I was never satisfied with how the Gray Maiden's stronghold was handled "off camera," I added a whole new set of encounters as a third part to A History Of Ashes. Here, the PCs return to Korvosa after their allies are contacted by Boule, the guildmaster of Korvosa's thieves' guild, who has information on how the PCs can infiltrate the stronghold of the Red Mantis assassins AND the Gray Maidens. Doing so will not only allow the PCs to rescue Marcus Endrin from his fate, but explains exactly why the Gray Maidens and Red Mantis assassins mysteriously relocate their headquarters to Castle Korvosa in the campaign's climax. Of course, there's a lot more going on in Deathhead Vault, the underground complex the assassins and maidens use as their headquarters—pet catoblepases, creepy outsiders, and an undead arbiter are only a few of the dangerous foes the PCs get to face off against in this significant addition to the campaign!

More Art!

And of course, I don't want to leave you without showing off some more of the new art we ordered for the hardcover edition. Check out these new interpretations of classic fights from the original adventures!

Illustrations by Bryan Sola, Richard Suwono, and Subroto Bhaumik

And that's enough for this week—tune in next week for a preview of the new content in the last two chapters and the extensive appendix for the hardcover edition of Curse of the Crimson Throne!

James Jacobs
Creative Director

A New Look for Classic Encounters

Thursday, September 29, 2016

This week, on my preview for the hardcover edition of Curse of the Crimson Throne, I wanted to talk a little bit about the new art. When preparing this book, Sarah Robinson and I realized something pretty quickly—we were going to have to order a LOT of new art. First of all, for modern Adventure Paths, we've moved away from vertical half-page illustrations, so all of those we used for scenes the first time around were going to have to be re-ordered and recreated. Second of all, in those early days, we were still experimenting with what the "Pathfinder Look" was going to be for our art, and not all of the art styles we tried out in those early days are ones that we've stuck with, so that made for MORE art we had to re-order and recreate. And finally, we didn't want to reprint much art that we'd since used in hardcover books—a fair amount of the artwork from Curse of the Crimson Throne actually ended up in the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook, such as the fight against the giant devilfish (page 185 of the Core Rulebook), the Red Mantis Cinnabar (page 203), or Eva's first design for the Gray Maiden (not only on page 198, but on the back cover of the book).

In short, we found it really easy to find excuses to add artwork to the new book.

Seelah and Harsk do some crowd control and Harsk learns how to dance.
Illustrations by Ben Wootten and Caio Maciel Monteiro

Turns out that this town is not big enough for these two! They ought to look to Seelah's diplomacy as she settles this local dispute.
Illustrations by Caio Maciel Monterio and Ben Wootten

Ezren and Seelah make new friends while Harsk prepares to make his point.
Illustrations by Roberto Pitturru and Richard Suwono

The amount of new artwork in the hardcover edition is enormous, with most of the significant NPCs now getting a full body illustration instead of a simple portrait, and with additional half-page illustrations for key encounters and scenes in the story. And it's those new half-page illustrations I'm going to show off today, without context (so as to minimize spoilers) and in some cases illustrating brand new encounters in this version of the Adventure Path. One thing I will say, though, is that each of these illustrations is taken from one of the six parts of the campaign. If you've played Curse of the Crimson Throne before, see if you can guess which illustrations come from what part! And if you've never played Curse of the Crimson Throne, consider these six images as teasers for the perils and excitement that await you!

James Jacobs
Creative Director

Prepare to Raise Hell

Friday, June 24, 2016

In this final preview of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Path of the Hellknight, I figured I'd touch on the Hellknight arsenal—rules-wise the book's meatiest chapter—and wrap things up with glimpses of the remaining three major Hellknight orders. So let's dive right in!

Hellknight Arsenal

The most rules dense section of Path of the Hellknight comes at the very end. While there's certainly plenty of content in here for GMs planning to pit their PCs against Hellknight foes, in truth, this section is designed to give players a ton of new options for their Hellknight characters. A host of new traits, feats, spells, and equipment provide a spectrum of new ways to make your character feel more like a driven and entrenched Hellknight, while details on existing cavalier orders and inquisitor inquisitions recast existing options to further the Hellknights' agendas. You'll also find new options for those taking the Hellknight prestige class, the Order of the Ennead Star cavalier order, and more. There is a ton of super cool content in this chapter worth showing off...

So, moving right along to our final three major Hellknight orders!

Illustrations by Damien Mammoliti and Richard Suwono

Order of the Pyre

Symbol tower rising from flames

Headquarters Citadel Krane, near Ostenso

Leader Lictor Rouen Stought (LN female human ranger 6/Hellknight^ISWG 4)

Members atheists, former cultists, members of mainstream religions, victims of dangerous radicals

Armor Features bladed armor, horned and skull-like helm

Favored Weapon glaive

Reckoning Burn yourself over an open flame. Once per day as an immediate action, you can gain fire resistance 10 for 10 minutes. This does not stack with resist energy or any other abilities that provide fire resistance and overlaps with protection from energy.

Whether unhealthy beliefs take root in the minds of religious fanatics, practitioners of strange mystical arts, or students of radical philosophies, the Order of the Pyre strives to stamp out all outlandish convictions. This philosophy has given these Hellknights a well-earned reputation as cultist hunters who are intolerant of religion. Yet the Order of the Pyre also seeks to thwart philosophical revolutions and the insidious spread of dangerous ways of thinking. The order uses the faiths and mores of Chelish society as the standard of acceptable beliefs. The Inner Sea region's most common deities are acceptable to them, as are orderly philosophies such as diabolism and the Prophecies of Kalistrade. However, the order views whatever doesn't mesh with Chelish thinking or doesn't have an existing role within society as dangerous.

Followers of the Pyre can expect to learn more about the group's witch-hunting methods, their costal citadel and black armored fleet of ships, and a variety of feats and magic items perfect for hunting down practitioners of dark faiths an traditions.

Illustrations by Damien Mammoliti and Richard Suwono

Order of the Rack

Symbol a spiked wheel

Headquarters Citadel Rivad, near Westcrown

Leader Lictor Darcyne Wrens (LN female human sorcerer 10/Hellknight^ISWG 1)

Members denigrators of art and poetry, patriots, technology-haters, traditionalists

Armor Features muscular design, sleek helm, flayed cloak

Favored Weapon longsword or whip

Reckoning Endure internal burns. Gain a +4 bonus on Fortitude saving throws to resist poison. This increases to +6 against ingested poisons.

The Order of the Rack numbers among the Hellknight orders that the public most loathes. The order has a reputation for raiding the homes of those who speak out against the status quo, and for breaking up groups of malcontents before they become guilds, unions, or revolutionaries. They are the enemies of foreign ideals and innovations, not because they lack merit, but because they detract from what these Hellknights perceive to be the traditional values of southern Avistan. Art and technology are viewed as wasteful or dangerous, especially when they meet in union. None can say how many valuable printing presses Hellknights of the Rack have destroyed, or how many thousands of pages of unique stories, songs, and philosophies they have burned in the shadow of Citadel Rivad. All of this is summarized in the Order of the Rack's symbol, the torturer's wheel, which the order sees as the embodiment of wayward thinking and the suffering manifested by those permitted to indulge their ideas.

Those seeking to join the Order of the Rack can expect to learn more about this groups strict hierarchy, their hazing traditions, technologies and texts targeted for destruction, the Hellknight's first citadel, dozens of character options, a new poison, and a variety of crippling feats. Developments within the order also see the rise of a new commander, Lictor Darcyne Wrens, and the full story associated with that power shift.

Illustration by Damien Mammoliti

Order of the Scourge

Symbol star of bleeding lashes

Headquarters Citadel Demain, near Egorian

Leader Lictor Toulon Vidoc (LN male human rogue 2/fighter 4/Hellknight^ISWG 10)

Members constables, informants, the poor, victims of organized crime

Armor Features serrated breastplate, horned helm

Favored Weapon heavy mace, scourge (see page 48), or whip

Reckoning Lash yourself with a scourge or whip. Take 1 fewer point of bleed damage per round when you are affected by an ability or effect that causes bleed damage and gain a +4 bonus on Heal checks to stop bleeding.

The oldest organization of Hellknights, the Order of the Scourge seeks to root out corruption in any form. Its members hunt for political manipulation and abuses of power, but their efforts also include an endless war against organized crime. At the fringes of its influence, the Order of the Scourge might hunt gangs of burglars or cutpurses, but in the heart of Cheliax these Hellknights crusade against faceless guilds of thieves, sprawling criminal organizations, and nobles for whom crime has become a family business. This regularly pits the Order of the Scourge against some of the most dangerous powers in Cheliax, including members of the nation's government.

Illustration by Mariusz Gandzel

Members of the Order of the Scourge can also expect much more on their particularly urban group's methods, Citadel Demain—the de facto headquarters of all Hellknight orders—tenets, characters options, the new faceless enforcer vigilante archetype, and more!

That's it for glimpses into Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Path of the Hellknight! Look for it on your local game store's shelves soon or snag it right now here on paizo.com. I'm already looking forward to hearing about all the new Hellknight characters the book spawns, not to mention how all these merciless tools finally let you stamp out the forces of chaos in your campaign.

Best of luck lawbringers!

F. Wesley Schneider
Editor-in-Chief