Introducing the Spore War Player’s Guide

It's here!!!

Kinda surprised it takes place in 4725 and not 4724, but that's chill.

Huzzah!

It's here!!!

Kinda surprised it takes place in 4725 and not 4724, but that's chill.

I'm curious to know why that's a surprise, but that said... in 2nd edition, we've pretty much fully adopted a stance of setting the Adventure Paths in the same corresponding year to the one in which they are published. How LONG the events take to play out we generally don't encode, but there are sometimes exceptiosn (such as Season of Ghosts, which is designed to take a year in-world to play out).

I really how Kyonin (and elven culture broadly!) are characterized here - no more snooty high elves!

It's here!!!

Kinda surprised it takes place in 4725 and not 4724, but that's chill.

The first volume releases in 2025, so it matches that :)

It's here!!!

Kinda surprised it takes place in 4725 and not 4724, but that's chill.

The AP officially releases January 8th, 2025, so that makes sense.

On another note - I like how this Player's Guide added suggestions on how to link previous level 1 to 10 adventures.

Looking forward to this.

Page 15: OMG SHE'S BACK! :D Hey girl, I've missed you! Loving the new sword and fancy bow, great touch by the artist.

mortalheraldnyx wrote:

It's here!!!

Kinda surprised it takes place in 4725 and not 4724, but that's chill.

I'm curious to know why that's a surprise, but that said... in 2nd edition, we've pretty much fully adopted a stance of setting the Adventure Paths in the same corresponding year to the one in which they are published. How LONG the events take to play out we generally don't encode, but there are sometimes exceptiosn (such as Season of Ghosts, which is designed to take a year in-world to play out).

Oh, I see! I’m pretty new to Pathfinder so I didn’t actually notice that before. I just thought it was surprising because Triumph of the Tusk was said to start in late spring of 4724 and it felt more like a large jump in time to me than it actually is.

Page 15: OMG SHE'S BACK! :D Hey girl, I've missed you! Loving the new sword and fancy bow, great touch by the artist.

She's spent a long time in Tian-Xia and is personal friends with the ruler of Minkai, so ... it made sense she'd have a katana now. And the fancy new bow is just a side effect of her being a lot higher level now than she was in previous illustrations. As to what she's doing in this Adventure Path... that's something that you'll have to play (or read in prep of running) to find out!

But also, the reason she's in here in the first place is thanks to these forums.

James Jacobs wrote:

mortalheraldnyx wrote:

It's here!!!

Kinda surprised it takes place in 4725 and not 4724, but that's chill.

I'm curious to know why that's a surprise, but that said... in 2nd edition, we've pretty much fully adopted a stance of setting the Adventure Paths in the same corresponding year to the one in which they are published. How LONG the events take to play out we generally don't encode, but there are sometimes exceptiosn (such as Season of Ghosts, which is designed to take a year in-world to play out).

Oh, I see! I’m pretty new to Pathfinder so I didn’t actually notice that before. I just thought it was surprising because Triumph of the Tusk was said to start in late spring of 4724 and it felt more like a large jump in time to me than it actually is.

Ah, gotcha.

Yup, we key each Adventure Path to the corresponding year, but not necessarilly to the corresponding month. For the aforementioned Season of Ghosts, for example, we set the first volume in summer, despite the fact that the volume itself was published in October.

I'm intrigued that the commander and guardian both made the list of highly recommended classes despite not yet being published.

I have been looking forward to this one, I'm excited and reading now!

I'm intrigued that the commander and guardian both made the list of highly recommended classes despite not yet being published.

Yup. We started work on Spore War before Battlecry! did, quite a bit ago, but by the time we were done, it seemed weird to NOT include a nod toward the big "war" rulebook in an Adventure Path that uses the word "war" in its title.

Loved it! Elven Society topic it's amazing!
I think the map needs an A11 loc :p

Currently playing Kyras my Elf Wizard(Elementalist) level 10. We are currently in Greengold.

He serves as an Emissary to the Queen.

So this is the perfect start for Spore Wars.

I appreciate the "What came before" section, giving players and GMs suggestions on how to smoothly transition into this adventure from previously completed ones.

Yup, this is what happens when you let a Demon Lord (even a Nascent one) fester in one spot on the Material Plane for too long. He either builds up a MASSIVE army, starts to get exceptionally CLEVER, or BOTH! Usually it's BOTH! Time for the Elves to shine as heroes (with some help from other other species of Golarion that is). ;)

I hope future adventure path players guides include advice for classes in upcoming releases. Aside from the clear marketing synergy, I know players are often excited to play the shiny new class and having that advice ready for them can only help GMs and Players create more cohesive stories together :)

I hope future adventure path players guides include advice for classes in upcoming releases. Aside from the clear marketing synergy, I know players are often excited to play the shiny new class and having that advice ready for them can only help GMs and Players create more cohesive stories together :)

We'll do our best, but won't be doing so until we're confident that the rules for those upcoming classes are locked in. Playtest versions of classes are NOT locked in enough for us to be able to responsibly include them, really.

So what exactly is Skirmishing? Isn't this the first we've seen of this mechanic, or was it in the Battlecry playtest?

DM_aka_Dudemeister wrote:

I hope future adventure path players guides include advice for classes in upcoming releases. Aside from the clear marketing synergy, I know players are often excited to play the shiny new class and having that advice ready for them can only help GMs and Players create more cohesive stories together :)

We'll do our best, but won't be doing so until we're confident that the rules for those upcoming classes are locked in. Playtest versions of classes are NOT locked in enough for us to be able to responsibly include them, really.

Very reasonable :)

So what exactly is Skirmishing? Isn't this the first we've seen of this mechanic, or was it in the Battlecry playtest?

Since it's not a part of Spore War, this isn't the right time or place to go into it. You'll have to be patient for a few more months for more details.

Ooooh if my PCs are able to construct a new aiudara in this AP I am going to be very happy

Also, thank you James for bringing her back, you should've seen the smile on my face when I saw her art :-D

Ooooh if my PCs are able to construct a new aiudara in this AP I am going to be very happy

Also, thank you James for bringing her back, you should've seen the smile on my face when I saw her art :-D

From the office of expectation management:

But also, it's a delight hearing how positive Shalelu's presence is being taken! She's one of my favoritest NPCs I created, all the way back in "Burnt Offerings," and she's not even based on a previous PC I played! :-P

Calcryx666 wrote:

Ooooh if my PCs are able to construct a new aiudara in this AP I am going to be very happy

Also, thank you James for bringing her back, you should've seen the smile on my face when I saw her art :-D

From the office of expectation management:

** spoiler omitted **

But also, it's a delight hearing how positive Shalelu's presence is being taken! She's one of my favoritest NPCs I created, all the way back in "Burnt Offerings," and she's not even based on a previous PC I played! :-P

Thanks for clarifying, I got a bit excited reading the Portal Scholar background clearly.

Just well written and a plain old likeable elf

Wondering if Halcyon Speaker would be a good archetype to run with this adventure path?

I've enjoyed how each background is linked to a legendary elven figure, quite an aspiration for an AP going up to level 20

Also; I'm glad we managed to get the "Subsystems" entry in there at the last minute! This was an idea that struck me literally in the final days of approvals for this and I want to thank the editors for being super flexible in letting me get this into the Player's Guide.

We make a lot of use of the various GM Core subsystems in Adventure Paths, and it struck me that maybe one of the reasons that some groups struggle with them is that these rules are in the GM Core and NOT in the Player Core. It'd be like putting the rules for combat in the GM Core. Players should be familiar with rules like these, I think, so that when they do show up in adventures, play doesn't grind to a halt while folks have to start to figure out a new set of rules.

Hopefully including this section will help players prepare for subsystems in adventures and will encourage GMs to let players check those rules out even though they're in the book that says they're for GMs! :-)

This is a long time coming! I look forward to it. I spent over a decade compiling an offline encyclopedia about Kyonin. But there's just one thing still missing.....Lethaquel. Will we finally get to know what lies there?

The Greengold map is sincerely appreciated.

mortalheraldnyx wrote:

It's here!!!

Kinda surprised it takes place in 4725 and not 4724, but that's chill.

I'm curious to know why that's a surprise, but that said... in 2nd edition, we've pretty much fully adopted a stance of setting the Adventure Paths in the same corresponding year to the one in which they are published. How LONG the events take to play out we generally don't encode, but there are sometimes exceptiosn (such as Season of Ghosts, which is designed to take a year in-world to play out).

another exception is TotT, which happens both the spring after WoI (which happens in summer 4724), and in 4724 (probably the latter is a mistake and it's supposed to happen in 4725!)

Gisher wrote:

I'm intrigued that the commander and guardian both made the list of highly recommended classes despite not yet being published.

Yup. We started work on Spore War before Battlecry! did, quite a bit ago, but by the time we were done, it seemed weird to NOT include a nod toward the big "war" rulebook in an Adventure Path that uses the word "war" in its title.

That makes sense. And Commander is a class that I'm very much looking forward to playing.

In fact, I've got a really strong urge to play a fungus leshy commander/wizard MC for this AP.

I like the vibes of a "good fungus versus evil fungi" theme. :)

First off, Shalelu being back I could not possibly be more excited for. <3 <3 <3

Lore question though:

While this campaign is exceptionally well suited to a party that consists entirely of elven characters, Kyonin is welcoming of all ancestries.

I thought I had vague memories of Greengold being a melting pot but outsiders being less welcome in the rest of Kyonin - am I misremembering or is that something that was changed over time as the setting became more developed?

I am holding out hope for this one. Please no final boss that relies on influence or a named NPC to kill steal from the players. I can understand the subsystems warning for players to prepare themselves, but I still don't want that to be the better part of a chapter or the player experience in the adventure, it really grinds things to a halt in the narrative when used in excess.

So what exactly is Skirmishing? Isn't this the first we've seen of this mechanic, or was it in the Battlecry playtest?

Player's guide implies its mechanic where pcs command their own troops.

Anyhoo, I wonder if Shalelu will be post Jade Regent high level xD

Interesting how it sorta slightly encourages playing non Elves with the bonus for non humans and non elves in Greengold

I'm on team Shalelu, so glad to see her back. Although in our game she didn't make it out of second darkness alive, I can't remember how she became a vampire, but its always nice to have the tie back on key NPCs who are more "people" and who grow with the world, and are not just static near god level NPCs.

Now, I do have a question, will the cartography in this AP be like Second Darkness, where 90% of all the maps have circular/oval rooms that were a PIA to draw. We have a running gag about elven architecture at our table just because of that. It reached a point of being so frustrating, I just switched to hexes instead of squares for those maps.

Yeah... I'm not even a PF2 player, but this one might get me to take another look (or convert it to PF1 for my group). Spore War looks really cool. Great job y'all!

But also, it's a delight hearing how positive Shalelu's presence is being taken! She's one of my favoritest NPCs I created, all the way back in "Burnt Offerings," and she's not even based on a previous PC I played! :-P

Consider this another huzzah for the re-appearance of Shalelu. Haven't had any success getting her to... you know, really matter to my PCs unfortunately, but still have personally always enjoyed seeing her show up in things since her debut in "Burnt Offerings."

Anyhoo, I wonder if Shalelu will be post Jade Regent high level xD

She is and will be.

Now, I do have a question, will the cartography in this AP be like Second Darkness, where 90% of all the maps have circular/oval rooms that were a PIA to draw. We have a running gag about elven architecture at our table just because of that. It reached a point of being so frustrating, I just switched to hexes instead of squares for those maps.

Some will be, but not all will be. Hopefully in the time since then your drawing skills have improved with practice OR the advanced technology of today versus yesterday makes it easier to use the published maps at your table.

Swithcing to hexes works as well if that's something you're more comfortable with.

Ah, the PCs are diplomats representing Kyonin, not diplomats representing other powers to Kyonin. Makes for a fairly simple lead-in from Triumph of the Tusk, since the PCs could have first represented Kyonin to Ardax's conference and then moved on from that assignment to this congress of Lake Encarthan powers. Speaking of which, speculation about who'll be in attendance!

The following powers have coasts on Lake Encarthan (going clockwise):
Razmiran (Broken Lands);
Kyonin (Shining Kingdoms);
Druma (Shining Kingdoms);
Molthune (Eye of Dread);
Nirmathas (Eye of Dread); and
Ustalav (Eye of Dread).

The Gravelands are an anarchic wasteland, but the Knights of Lastwall may put in an appearance as a non-state interested party. Andoran and Taldor may send delegates given their preexisting alliances with Kyonin; Galt, despite also having one, is probably too distant and preoccupied with internal affairs to bother. Cheliax wants to present itself as a good helpmate to have against Tar-Baphon, and may gate-crash even if they aren't invited.

Loving the Players Guide. This AP is generating more excitement than usual for my groups. I know I've been dying for this exact AP concept for a few years now and I'm pretty stoked to see it here.

I want to add on praise for the flavorful and interesting backgrounds in the guide. They all provide good "hooks" for characters and the "extras" over the standard backgrounds look pretty juicy.

The Blight Survivor, Story Collector, and especially the Fiendbreaking Pilgrim are open for just about any character concept, which reduces the pressure that a PC "needs" to be straightjacketed into a certain "role."

Also, I'm loving how the Student of Archery fits with my kitsune/aiuvarin (Foxfire) rogue (ruffian) with the duelist archetype. Allowing the use of a splithead bow in the form of a daikyu instead of a longbow helps provide a strong long-range option... :D

I'll add my voice to the chorus of folks who loved these juiced-up Backgrounds!

I am SO CURIOUS about the "work with your GM to find weapon stuff that will work without being a spoiler" stuff; I want to know HOW that kind of thing would be relevant. ...That sounds like a rhetorical question meaning "I don't believe it could be relevant", but I mean it completely literally; I trust that it IS relevant, I just can't trace WHAT would lead to that.

I am SO CURIOUS about the "work with your GM to find weapon stuff that will work without being a spoiler" stuff; I want to know HOW that kind of thing would be relevant. ...That sounds like a rhetorical question meaning "I don't believe it could be relevant", but I mean it completely literally; I trust that it IS relevant, I just can't trace WHAT would lead to that.

Well... We do know Treerazer's main weapon, so of course, if there was an opportunity to steal that weapon, telling the fighter "totally choose axe! *wink wink*" could be spoilerish. xD

{. . .}

A4. Shoreline Road: This road follows Kyonin’s shoreline all the way east and south to Druma.

Looks to me like it goes west.

And whose mega-mansion is that inn the southwest corner of the map? It has no location label.

Player's Guide wrote:

{. . .}

A4. Shoreline Road: This road follows Kyonin’s shoreline all the way east and south to Druma.

Looks to me like it goes west.

That's deceptive, it loops around east to an Aiudara that empties out in Druma :V

(But seriously, yeah, pretty clearly a scrivener's error. And unlike other shore-following roads in the setting which should be obviated by boats, roads following the shores of Lake Encarthan make sense. For trade, the Whispering Tyrant (and before his return, lingering minions of his) is a bigger threat than, say, pirates. For military purposes, states would want to be able to quickly deploy forces from the interior to any given point on the coast. For Kyonin's erstwhile Winter Council government specifically, keeping travelers away from the interior would have also been a benefit; the current legitimist government inherited the infrastructure and has no compelling reason to change it.)

so how much of Razmiran do you guys think we will see?

At most, its embassy/consulate in Greengold.

Extremely hyped for this one. I'd been fretting recently over what i'm gonna do when the Abomination Vaults are finished. Now I don't have to worry about it!~