One of the earliest steps I took in designing the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Summoner Class Deck was to look at Summoner archetypes to complement the iconic Balazar and his death-chicken Padrig. Alase would become our God Caller and Zetha our Shadow Caller. But there was one character I worked on that we pretty quickly had to drop.
Orcs have blood gods, ’cause a mere god isn’t bloody enough.
Blood God Disciples are half-orc summoners who believe their eidolon is an avatar of one of the orc blood gods. So, we created Thargrap the summoner and his nightmare-wolf eidolon that he totally thinks is an avatar of Nulgreth, the orc deity of bloodlust and fighting. Unfortunately, when coming up with the list of boons to fill out the deck, I realized that we had three summoners who didn’t care about weapons and one that did. We also knew we needed three summoners, not four. So… swiftly away he went, forgotten into the annals of our playtest forums. Until today.
Sometimes it’s not clear who’s in charge. Not so when you think your eidolon is a god.
Now, this is not how Thargrap looked way back then. We’ve learned a few things in the last four or five years, so we’ve updated him to fit the game design philosophy we’ve embraced in the Core Set and Curse of the Crimson Throne. He’s a lot more “local friendly” than he used to be. We’re also experimenting with adding cohort feats, in the same way that we have supporter feats.
Like all summoners, Thargrap has a higher skill ceiling than many characters; he’s not really a first-pick for the faint of heart. I had to make sure he was tested by one of our most rash and reckless testers to verify how well his engine—which sends all of his cards inexorably toward banishment in exchange for more card draws and explorations—works. (Those of you who know our testers and venture-officers might well have a good guess to whom I refer.) So, let me ask our Venture-Captain for Online PACS, Tyler “Cartmanbeck” Beck: Hey Tyler, what do you think of Thargrap?
I have been playtesting Thargrap every chance I’ve gotten to do so for a few months now, and at no time have I stopped loving this character. In fact, I’ve started calling Thargrap my favorite character ever (once again proving that I lied to you in this blog... and this one...).
I remember Thargrap from the long-ago playtesting of the Summoner Class Deck, and even then, I was very excited about a Blood God Summoner character, and very disappointed when he was cut from the deck. He has mutated a bit since that initial playtest, but only for the better!
Thargrap is probably the character that best fits my PACG playstyle, which is generally “explore as much as possible, get really close to dying, then beg for healing from someone else in the party.” Thargrap achieves this through a combination of several different powers, despite having a very small starting hand size.
Thargrap’s cohort, Nulgreth, has the ability to “eat” (banish) a card from Thargrap’s buried pile to boost his attack, or to allow him to draw a card. Since Thargrap can bury monsters defeated locally by any character, he can quickly fill his buried pile with monsters during other players’ turns, and then on his own turn he can banish as many as he needs to in order to draw a huge hand and have a massive turn full of explores, all while simultaneously allowing you to cull unnecessary cards from your deck, which I know will appeal to many players! When you combine this with Thargrap’s strong Melee skill and his ability to also pick up Arcane spells, he’s a beast that can rip through locations like no other.
Mo’ buries, mo’ power.
Thargrap likes some pretty different cards than the other summoners. Infernal Healing is solid for culling your discards into your bury pile while healing back your more important cards. The Curse ally Priest of Asmodeus is fantastically themed and fun for Thargrap. Rovagug’s Destruction is great for a character who can turn most monster encounters into extra explores. (All of these cards being vaguely themed around evil, death, and destruction is surely a coincidence.)
Here are some initial deck suggestions for Thargrap.
Using Core Set cards only:
Weapon: Warhammer, 1 other
Spell: Enchant Weapon, Enhance, 2 others
Item: Token of Remembrance
Ally: Soldier, 1 other
Blessing: Prayer, 4 othersIf you’re also using Curse of the Crimson Throne, consider:
Weapon: Scythe
Spell: False Life, Infernal Healing
Armor: Armored Coat
Ally: PigIf you’re also using the Summoner Class Deck, consider:
Weapon: Quarterstaff of Vaulting
Spell: Black Spot, Eloquence, Evolution Surge
Ally: Blackwing Librarian
Blessing: Blessing of Pharasma
You have to have blood, but do you eat it yourself or re-gift it?
When Thargrap gains his role, you have a choice to make: share the gifts of the Blood God, or share the results of the gifts of the Blood God. Either way, Nulgreth demands blood! As a Bloodgifter, Thargrap learns to share the power of “his” eidolon with other nearby characters, allowing them to move, removing scourges, and even imbuing them with your skills. This is the party-friendly choice, based on the Bloody Gift power of the Pathfinder 1E Blood God Disciple archetype, and while it won’t help Thargrap stand out less at a gala or dinner party, it might help his fellows get invited in the first place.
On the other (bloody) hand, you can choose the Lord of the Blood Feast role, strengthening your ties to the practices and powers of the Blood God, even to the point of reflecting some of Nulgreth’s when your cohort isn’t necessarily present. The Lord of the Blood Feast can be more self-sufficient, but he definitely enjoys the company of others, especially when they assist you in your devotions.
Thargrap would make a great character for the Pathfinder Adventure Card Society’s new season 7, Year of Reborn Strife. You’ll find yourself in the city of Kaer Maga, arguably the most accepting and least racist city in Golarion. In the City of Strangers, Thargrap’s orcish heritage and habit of eating his foes barely stands out, as long as he doesn’t do it to the city residents (too much).
On the other (still bloody) hand, Thargrap is oddly not a great fit for the Summoner Class Deck. As mentioned above, he cares about weapons in a way that none of the characters from that deck do, and he likes several boons that they, generally speaking, do not. Since this character is relatively untested, we’d like you to try him out and provide your feedback. For play at home, test him with whatever Adventure Path, Class Decks, or Adventurer’s Packs you like, and let us know what works (both well and poorly).
For Organized Play, you may use the Magus, Goblins Burn!, or Hell’s Vengeance 2 Class Decks as your class deck. We suggest adding the Arcane and Smash Adventurer’s Packs.
Thanks to everyone who has already tested out Thargrap and Nulgreth, and to all of you who try them out now. I hope to have other characters to present in future blogs. It turns out that we’ve cut several characters over the years; I’m sure some of those lost characters might also be interesting.
Keith Richmond
Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Designer
