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I need advice and suggestions for choosing a prize to award my player characters in the "Fists of the Ruby Phoenix" adventure path after they win The Ruby Phoenix Tournament of 4721 AR.

Besides the famous Hao Jin Tapestry, has Paizo ever documented, or suggested, the magic items, wealth, and treasure that may be found in the Hoard of Hao Jin, the Ruby Phoenix. The hardcover adventure path "Fists of the Ruby Phoenix" makes no suggestions of the prizes that the player characters may select for winning the Ruby Phoenix Tournament. The book just suggests that the Dungeon Master give the player characters what they WANT as a prize. No references to the "Pathfinder Gamemastery Guide", "Treasure Vault", or any other Second Edition book for suggested magic items, wealth, or treasures that would be sufficient prizes to be found in the Hoard of Hao Jin.

Knowing my players, they will need a lot of help choosing a prize and given the choice cold they will just draw a blank. What did you offer your players as a prize or what did your players choose as a prize? Do you have any thoughts or or suggestions of treasures equal to the Hao Jin Tapestry that could be used as a desirable prize? What would Hao Jin give the players?

If it would help with your suggestions, I am requiring that all my player characters be 11th-Level members of the Pathfinder Society assigned to the Pathfinder Society Lodge in Goka reporting to Venture-Captain Amari Li. The intent is to bring the prize to the Grand Lodge in Absalom

The method to my madness is that I want to start my campaign with the Hao Jin Tapestry scenarios from Pathfinder Society at Level 1 and work up to the start of "Fists of the Ruby Phoenix" at 11th Level.

Thoughts? Suggestions?

Has anyone continued a "Crown of the Kobold King" mini-campaign past 6th level? Any recommendations for Paizo, d20 Systems, OSR, or Dungeons & Dragons scenarios and adventures that are a good fit thematically to continue the campaign in Falcon's Hollow, Darkmoon Vale, Arthfell Forest, and/or the Five Kings Mountains? Thoughts?

Have you, or someone you know, created a character concept that has worked especially well in the "Extinction Curse" Adventure Path? Have you successfully integrated the circus theme and performance with an adventuring character? Have you successfully used circus weapons such as the juggling club, poi, fire poi, throwing knife, scorpion whip, bladed diablo, and/or bladed hoop? Have you successfully used the new archetypes introduced in the "Extinction Curse" Adventure Path--Juggler, Staff Acrobat, Animal Trainer, Golem Grafter, or Turpin Rowe Lumberjack? Has an ancestry worked especially well in the adventure path, such as the Pug-faced Shoony? Please share your characters and concepts that you found to be fun and successful.

Did you need to re-name the "Snow White" adventure by AAW Games for your players? Did you use the Aventyr campaign setting or did you relocate it to Golarion? If you relocated it to Golarion, where did you relocate it to? The River Kingdoms? Ustalav? Ioboria? Did your players figure out they were playing an adventure based on the "Snow White" fairy tale too soon? Was it fun for your players?

Can Oreads take the Dwarf Blooded (Oread) feat and be considered members of the Dwarf race for purposes or racial specific archetypes? Specifically, can a Dwarf Blooded (Oread) use the Stone Lord archetype?

The PaizoCon hotel room reservation block appears to be sold it. Have there been cancellations or will a block of more rooms be made available?

Has any one thought of adapting the new Dungeons & Dragons hard cover adventure Princes of the Apocalypse to Pathfinder? As for relocating the adventure, which nation on Golarion looks best? Katapesh? Around the Obari Ocean? Any other thoughts on conversion?

I am starting a "Rise of the Runelords" campaign at 2nd level with a half-elf Cartomancer (Witch). My question is should I keep the standard Adaptability: Skill Focus Trait currently assigned to Sleight of Hand or should I use the alternate racial trait from "Bastards of Golarion" of "Spireborn":

"Spireborn characters may select the following racial trait
instead of standard half-elf racial traits.
Mordant Envoy: Spireborn add +1 to the caster level
of any transmutation spells they cast. Spireborn with a
Charisma score of 11 or higher also gain the following
spell-like abilities: 1/day—comprehend languages, detect
secret doors, erase, read magic. The caster level for these
effects is equal to the user’s character level. This racial
trait replaces the adaptability racial trait.
Languages: All Spireborn begin play speaking Azlanti
and Elven. These replace the default half-elf languages."

Thoughts?

I just joined a "Rise of the Runelords" campaign at second level. To allow my character to enter the campaign seamlessly, my character is the daughter of Madame Mvashti--Koya Mvashti. Due to the character's age, I decided to make her half-elf rather than the canon human and created a new backstory for the character. Character was built with the 20 point build.

STR: 7
DEX: 16
CON: 12
INT: 18
WIS: 7
CHA: 8

Alignment: CG
Deity: Desna
Faction: Harrowed Society

Languages: Aquan, Common, Dwarven, Elven, Goblin, Shoanti, Thassilonian, Varisian

Hex: Evil Eye
Patron: Ancestors

Feats:
Ability Focus (Evil Eye)
Deadly Dealer
Simple Weapons Proficiency - All
Skill Focus - Sleight of Hand

Traits:
Harrow Chosen
Scholar of the Ancients

Magic:

+1 Ring of Protection

Weapons:

Heavy Mace
Masterwork Heavy Crossbow

I would like this character to have a day job as a Harrow fortune teller and purchase a shop per "The Harrow Handbook"/"Ultimate Campaign."

Thoughts? Suggestions for Ability score optimization, spells to add to the Spell Deck? Must I take Harrowed in Feats right away? Do I need to increase Charisma ability to be a successful Harrower? Skills suggestions? The intent is to make this character a combat controller and buffer or de-buffer.

Do the Kaiju in Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 4 also originate from the Pit of Gormuz like the Spawn of Rovagug? Or do the Kaiju have different origins on Golarion? I've noticed that Kaiju are larger and have a chaotic neutral alignment rather the chaotic evil alignment of the Spawn of Rovagug.

Does the Church of Zon-Kuthon inflict misery and pain only amongst its members? Are sacrifices to Zon-Kuthon in The Joy Making or The Eternal Kiss always members of the Church of Zon-Kuthon? Or does the Church of Zon-Kuthon also resort to kidnapping and then inflicts pain and misery on these unwilling subjects?

According to Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 2, kytons are "evil fiends who feed on the fear and suffering of mortals through painful supernatural means." Has it ever been established how kytons feed on the fear and suffering of mortals through supernatural means? Do kytons only feed on their chosen prey on the Plane of Shadows? Or can, or do, kytons feed on the Prime Material plane? To feed, do kytons have to be in physical contact with their prey or do kytons use the "supernatural means" to feed on mortals from a distance? If kytons can feed from a distance, how far can their prey be? Could kytons feed on the fear and suffering of mortals in the path of wars, famines, or natural disaster(s) or feed on the sorrow of survivors from these or other tragedies on the Prime Material plane? Hopefully, Wes Schneider, if he is available, the creator of kytons might give some insight into the care and feeding of kytons. :-)

To give the Skull & Shackles campaign more flavor, have GMs or PCs used Caribbean English when playing NPCs or PCs?

Caribbean English

What be ye character's pyrate nickname to spread yer infamy across the Fever Sea? Be it based on John "Calico Jack" Rackham, Edward "Blackbeard" Teach, Bartholomew "Black Bart" Roberts, or another? Share it.

Did ye scourges of the nine seas create your own Jolly Roger? Post a link to it here or describe it.

Does anyone know where the Riptide Tavern is located in Port Peril. Like the Formidably Maid, the Riptide Tavern does not appear in the Port Peril Gazetteer in Tempest Rising. Did anyone replace the The Cup and Rudder or the Mermaid's Bucket for the Riptide Tavern or the Formidably Maid?

The Skull & Shackles Player's Guide states:

Characters of almost any race or class can be found in the

melting pot of the Shackles, so long as they have a reason
to embrace a life of piracy.

Obviously, pirate PCs can be one of the Core Races: Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Half-Elf, Half-Orc, Halfling, and Human.

Isles of the Shackles mentions the Tengu. Grinning Jalad, a Vanara pirate, is mentioned in Tempest Rising. Holaux the Gaunt is a vampire pirate mentioned in Isles of the Shackles, so does that mean there are Dhampir pirates? Undine?

The question is which Featured and Uncommon Races are encountered in the Shackles who can be pirate characters or are credible sea-going races.

Since Skull & Shackles was published, Paizo introduced the Kasatha, Trox, Wyrwood, and Wyvaran races for PCs.

Which races have you permitted your players to chose when making pirate characters and which have you forbidden?

So it looks like we have the following PC character races so far:

Dhampir(?), Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Half-Elf, Half-Orc, Halfling, Human, Tengu, Undine(?), Vanara

Do the NPCs that constitute the crew of the PC's ship stay at the same level that they joined the ship through the entirety of the adventure path? For example, if Rosie Cuswell survives the entire adventure path she is still a first level Fighter during the events of From Hell's Heart? Should the NPCs be awarded XP for the actions in which they participate?

Is it worthwhile to create NPC characters out of new/replacement crew members who join the PC's ship such as names, personalities, and biographies? Or is the generic "Shipmate" from Game Mastery Guide sufficient?

Did anyone continue the Skull & Shackles adventure path after the events of From Hell's Heart? What story threads did you develop to continue the campaign? "Vault of the First Hurricane King"? "Secret of the Smoker"? The Blood Queen? Aashaq the Annihilator? Moxix the Drinker of Human Hopes? Lusca? The next Chelish invasion? The Cult of the Eye? The Sargavan re-negotiation? Leng ships? Challenge to the Hurricane crown?

How do the attendees of the Skeleton Ball held on the new moon of Neth in Port Peril disguise themselves as skeletons? Do they use magic? masks? body paint? Do members of the Pirate Council and pirate lords of the Shackles attend the ball along with the wealthy citizens of Port Peril?

Is Geryon uninterested in the success or failure of the Chelish invasion of the Shackles? Is he only interested in his payment of the soul of Ezaliah or Druvilia Thrune? Is he interested in the PCs slayings of the Magaavs and Drowning Devils? "Continuing the Campaign" makes no mention of Geryon or the devils who were slain by the PCs. Does the "illegal" infernal pact cause issues between Geryon and Asmodeus or between other members of the House Thrune?

Did the Chelish Armada of 47 ships constitute most of the Chelish fleet? Was most of the Chelish Navy destroyed at the Battle of Abendego in From Hell's Heart? Has the size of the Chelish Navy ever been established?

I was just reading on House of Names that the last name Thrune is derived from the Old English and Old Norse name for thorn. Was the name chosen as a homage to The Omen films?

Were the black-skinned people of the reed boat culture in Minata intended to be a Polynesian-like or Māori-like people? Does the name Taumata come from the name Taumata­whakatangihanga­koauau­o­tamatea­turi­pukakapiki­maunga­horo­nuku­p okai­whenua­kitanatahu, a hill close to Porangahau, south of Waipukurau in southern Hawke's Bay, New Zealand?

Has the size of the Cheliax colonies of Canorus and Anchor's End ever been established? Are they small cities? Or are the colonies large administrative regions that contain several settlements like a province? Thoughts?

I'm trying to figure out a location to place Frog God Games' Razor Coast adventures on Golarion. While the The Shackles can adequately handle the Carribean-flavor of the setting, I also want to retain the Polynesian flavor of the Tulita and Menehune. Does placing the adventures in Minata or Sarusan make any sense? Somewhere along the Valashmai Sea? Is there shipping that comes out of the continent of Tian Xia to Casmaron, Avistan, or Garund that would warrant the interest of pirates?

I've seen Arcadia used, but this solution loses the Polynesian flavor of the setting.

Are the Hellknights and Inquisitors the only law enforcement to be found within Cheliax? Or does Cheliax also have reeves: high reeve, town reeve, port reeve, shire reeve aka sherriff, reeve of the hundred, manor reeve? Or does the Cheliax military also perform police duties among the civilian population? Similar to the Gendarmie in France or Carabinieri in Italy or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police?

Conceptually, are the Hellknights similar to the Street Judges in the 2000 AD/Judge Dredd comics in that they combine the roles of police officer, judge, jury, and executioner based on the Measure? Or are courts held within Hellknight Citadels that resemble trials? Does the accused plea? Or is guilt presumed and the Hellknights go straight to punishment the punishment phase?

Does each Hellknight Order have its own The Measure with content unique to that order? Or is the content of The Measure the same and shared amongst the Hellknight Orders? Do the Council of Lictors amend The Measure? Or does each Hellknight Order amend and create its own The Measure? For example, The Measure of the Order of the Rack has a unique set of laws amended by members of the Order of the Rack.

Is Ustalav the best location to relocate the 3.5 mega adventure Expedition to Castle Ravenloft on Golarion?

Not the Xenomorph kind from the Alien franchise if that is what you were thinking. I was wondering if any of the alive and mortal occupants of "Silver Mount" survived the impact with Golarion during Starfall? Or did they all perish during the crash. Will the AP address this question of whether there were survivors? Or is the Technic League just reverse engineering an alien derelict? We know that the Gearsman originated from "Silver Mount", is this also the case for Androids?

I am trying to get my head around the idea of why Tieflings are considered second-class citizens in Cheliax and sub-ordinate to humans. That they are rarely seen in public, appear mainly as unusual slaves, or involved in criminal enterprises.

Is this because of the belief that Asmodeus and Hell serve Cheliax? Do human Cheliaxians believe themselves to be superior to all other races? Do they believe in racial hygiene/racial purity? Perhaps even eugenics?

Although Cheliax suffers from extreme diabolism, are there human and devil unions in Cheliax and the creation of half-fiends? Or are such unions discouraged by the Church of Asmodeus?

Is there a southernmost continent on Golarion that is the equivalent to Earth's Antartica?

Has anyone developed rules for adding the loa, or spirits, of Vodou, aka Voodoo, Vodun, or Vodoun, to into the Pathfinder Campaign Setting, D20, or compatible? Could these be the spirits summoned by Mwangi shamans? Spirits such as Baron Samedi, Erzulie Fréda, Met Kalfu etc. Are there Vodou altars/shrines throughout Sargava constructed by Mwangi slaves, principally Zenj?

Are the wendo evil loa worshiped by the Bekyar?

What is the best place to locate the "Shackled City" on Golarion? I presume that it would be somewhere in, or near, the Mwangi Expanse. The Bandu Hills north of Eleder? In the Terwa Uplands near the Shackles? Thoughts?

Do the Chelaxian-descended colonists in Sargava use the Mwangi tribesmen, which includes the Zenj, Bonuwat, Mauxi and Bekyar, as forced labor on the pineapple plantations and the mines? Is the situation similar to the Belgian Congo? Do the Chelaxian-descended colonists hold the Mwangi as slaves? Does a system of apartheid exist between the Chelaxian-descended colonists and the Mwangi tribesmen? Is there a mulatto class, offspring of a Chelaxian-descended colonist and Mwangi tribesmen otherwise known as as mixed-ancestry or bi-racial people today, between Chelaxian-descended colonists and the Mwangi in Sargavan society?

Do the colonists utilized criminals from the Chelaxian Empire as forced labor, slaves, or indentured servants?

Has the treatment of the native Mwangi by the Chelaxian-descended colonists attracted the attention of Andoran?

Thoughts?

NOTE: My post is not intended to cause offense to anyone. I am just curious how close Chelaxian colonialism is to European colonialism, a period of racism, exploitation, and intolerance that would be considered morally reprehensible to our 21st-century values.

Has anyone introduced elements from the Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 supplemental sourcebook"Stormwrack" into their "Skull & Shackles" campaign? Has anyone introduced Darfellan or Hadozee as player characters or NPCs? Spells and magic items? Monsters? Thoughts?

The "Skull & Shackles" adventure path mentions rum and grog, but not the sources of sugar cane juice or molasses that is used to make this rum. Are there sugar plantations located somewhere in the Shackles? Or is sugar cane grown on plantations located in Sargava, the former jewel in the crown of the Empire of Cheliax?

Historically, pirates also consumed bumbo--a drink make from rum, water, sugar, and nutmeg. Sometimes also flavored with cinnamon.

Are the Free Captains of the Shackles also paid for their protection in agricultural commodities produced on the plantations of Sargava?

It doesn't make much sense that Sargava produces pineapple, but not sugar cane, coffee, rice, cotton, tobacco, and indigo.