PaizoCon's one of our biggest events, particularly for new adventures. Not only do we finish all of the May adventures early to send out to GMs, but we add in a multi-table interactive special to boot! Phew! Thankfully, the first two waves (for PaizoCon and Origins)are done with the Gen Con adventures still ahead, so while we can breathe a brief sigh of relief, there's always a whole lot left to do. And if you're at PaizoCon, you'll be able to see all of us there. If you're at Origins, Thurston, John, and Tonya will be in attendance to kick off the new year of Starfinder Society content.
But let's focus on today's real stars: the new scenarios!
In Pathfinder Society Scenario #10-20: Countdown to Round Mountain, a Tier 7–11 adventure written by Jerall Toi, the PCs are part of a massive Pathfinder Society expedition into the Darklands beneath Tian Xia. They're tasked with obtaining any information they can from a cavern known as The Old Rat's Broken Heart, as well as evacuating anyone currently inhabiting the area, before the Hao Jin Tapestry ejects the geographic oddity known as Round Mountain and sends it crashing back to earth.
Illustration by Tadas Sidlauskas
This is no mere spelunking expedition, however, as the PCs have to exercise their archaeological and investigative skills while negotiating with the inhabitants of The Old Rat's Broken Heart. As though coordinating an archaeological expedition on a tight and deadly timeframe weren't enough, the PCs face additional complications in the form of dangerous threats like this fearsome metallic warrior.
For our next adventure, Pathfinder Society Scenario #10-21: Slaver's End, author Vanessa Hoskins takes us on a Tier 5–9 mission to track down traitorous former venture-captain Phlegos Dulm. For over a decade, Phlegos served as the Society's primary connection and coordinator in the markets of Katapesh and the barren wilds surrounding the city, often undermining the efforts of Katapesh's other two venture-captains, Wulessa Yuul and Aurora Steelbloom. Phlegos was ultimately driven from the city when an alliance of Katapeshi goblins, the Liberty's Edge faction, and the rest of their Pathfinder allies revealed the half-orc poisoner's perfidy and drove him from the city.
Illustration by Teresa Guido Sidlauskas
Karisa Starsight, a steward for the Liberty's Edge faction, has uncovered documents indicating that Phlegos's betrayals may have been even more profound than initially realized. As it turns out, several groups of Pathfinders reported missing in action under his purview may actually have been captured and sold as slaves in the slave markets of seedy Sedeq, located on Qadira's southern peninsula. Karisa calls upon the PCs to join her in Sedeq and help her track down Phlegos and the missing Pathfinders. Unbeknownst to Karisa, another old foe lurks in the shadows, using Phlegos's corruption to her own ends. Who is this dangerous corsair, and what dangers might her involvement portend?
Pathfinder Society Scenario #10-98: Siege of Gallowspire is the final interactive special for Pathfinder Society using the First Edition rules. It is a Tier 5–16 scenario, with Subtiers 5–6, 7–8, 10–11, 12–13, and 15–16.
From the earliest days of creating this adventure, we knew that we wanted it to have a grand scope, and to feature a way to include more than one PC per player in the story. We also wanted to be sure that the story was satisfying without being complicated, while still giving definite nods to the journeys the PCs have taken to get to this point. Finally, we wanted to offer a challenge for those wanting to dial it up to eleven!
In Siege of Gallowspire, the PCs confront the plots of one of Golarion's most infamous villains: the Whispering Tyrant. This ancient lich has begun a ritual that threatens to create new armies of undead to serve him, and it's up to the Pathfinder Society to stop the ritual before it's too late. The situation is serious enough that even the famously jolly Master of Swords Marcos Farabellus isn't smiling, illustrated below by Sebastian Gomez.
So how does this scenario include multiple PCs per player? Players bring one usual character, and they can also bring up to three of their other PCs to act as Aid Characters. Aid Characters are PCs of level 5–20 that have two roles. They create personalized Aid Tokens—special benefits that players can hand out to other tables after each encounter. Aid Characters can also participate in special Aid Missions during the scenario. Each Aid Mission is led by one of the Pathfinder Society's most famous venture-captains. These missions are dangerous, but they could have big payoffs! To use a PC as an Aid Character, you do not need all of their Chronicle sheets and papers. You just need the most recent Chronicle sheet that character has earned. If you don't have enough PCs to fill in your three Aid Character slots, that's OK too. You can use 4th-level pregenerated characters instead. They aren't as effective as your own PCs would be, but they can still participate in the story.
Illustration by Sebastian Gomez
When it comes to challenge, Siege of Gallowspire has two difficulty modes. The first, Soldier, is a little bit harder than a typical special, but players also have more resources than normal to help them out. The second, Champion, is akin to the Hard Mode option that has been offered in past scenarios, offering an additional challenge for tables of players who prefer to face stronger foes.
Check back this afternoon for a preview of May's Starfinder Society scenarios.
Michael Sayre
Developer
Linda Zayas-Palmer
Developer
