A while back, I shared a playlist of stuff I was listening to when I was working on Enmity Cycle, and I'm here to do the same for Shades of Blood. However this time there's two.

Here's the Shades of Blood developer's playlist, composed of stuff I was listening to while working on the Adventure Path that had a good thematic fit.*

Here's the ambient Shades of Blood playlist, composed of things that you can play at the table.

* Thumbnail for this one is a sketch I did when plotting the outline

Yes, travel time is fairly trivial here. Someone could easily walk from tip to tip in half a day, possibly even walk the beach around the island in a long day.

Wait, when did Augustana became Andoran's capital? Or is this an error in Player's Guide? I'm pretty sure Almas is the capital of Andoran.

Just a brainswaptypo (too many "A" names in that nation, if you ask me.). You'll see that it's accurate in the following paragraph.

Interesting to see the comment suggesting avoiding picking aquatic ancestries because the presumed focus of water in the campaign is incorrect! That makes me more interested in this one :)

I included that part because I was worried that anyone who read or played Ruins of Azlant might think that since this was in the same region that it'd be a swimmy undersea Adventure Path like that one. Now, there's nothing preventing someone playing an aquatic ancestry character, and there's a sizeable population of athamarus in town, but there's also nothing in this Adventure Path that makes playing an aquatic ancestry particularly shine.

I have an answer, but it's a boring one that doesn't generally satisfy people. The answer:

Talk to your GM!

Playing in this Adventure Path as an undead character is not the assumed baseline. There's nothing specific to the set up for the adventure or the assumed entry point for new characters that suggests playing as undead. There's not an undead population in Talmandor's Bounty and it's unlikely that an undead character would be chosen to work as a research assistant, selected from the Andoren population, for an astronomer. So, with it being a corner case, it's best handled as a conversation with your GM. Maybe the undead character you want to play had someone vouch for them in the selection process or maybe it was done under the table? Maybe there is some lone undead character living in the jungles of Ancorato that makes their way to town in this time of need? These are all things that the GM will have to adapt for, so having the conversation with them will help ensure that things work best for you, the GM, and the rest of the party.

I'm a big fan of the anthology format. I used that format for Troubles in Otari and then Vanessa (who got this one started) used it here in a more dynamic way than we did in Troubles. I like anthologies for all the reasons mentioned here like being able to slot it into ongoing campaigns or to pick up a quick one shot, but one of my favorite parts about this anthology in particular is that it tells parts of the story from different perspectives in a way that I think a straightforward adventure wouldn't be able to do as well.

As long as readers and players keep enjoying these anthologies, I plan on making them more frequently.

Harumph!

Make me more likable!?

How about those pesky players open their teensy minds a little, huh?

Pffft!

I 'spose you could always bribe them. Seems like basic mortals will do anything for a little gold and power.

Will this just shot up my must play list. I am a bit disappointed that James and Adam didn't think to tell me directly about this one. :D

I wanted your excitement to bubble up organically. :)

So, is this another megadungeon? It looks like all three books take place in this Azlanti prison.

It is and it does.

Adventure Paths are huge endeavors, perhaps some of the most complicated things we publish, so I'll be hopping into the mix from time to time to help relieve some pressure on the team from having to knock these out back to back.

Nope. That is unrelated to this story. That's way more epic than this AP can handle.

Tasfarel wrote:

Balthesar wrote:

I'm a bit confused about how the seedborne corruption should work on npcs. My group is travelling with a cohort and Kaklatath, and they are about to camp in the city. So if these two fail the will and fort save, are they waking up seeded and trying to attack the group? I dont see any rules about how quick the progression is.

Just take a look at the stat block seeded creatures on page 91. Seedborn consumption has a onset of one month.

But remember that the PC´s are carrier of this disease as well - they are just imune to it. So the cohort and kaklathat might be infectet the moment, they first get in contact with the pc`s

The stat block of Xamen dor states that there is a 1% chance per year to be targeted by his nightmare dream ability if you know the name of the god and are understanding his nature.

If you are affected by this ability you must do a safe or you are affected with seedborn consumption with no onset. This is stated on page 86/87

Does a paladins' immunity to disease work against the seedborne consumption? I don't see anything that says otherwise. And can a paladin's 'remove disease' mercy work against it? (or the 'remove disease' spell cast by other characters?)

I'm especially worried for Kaklathat's frail elderly body. Does the adventure assumes she is somewhat immune to this for the same reasons the PCs are? (i.e. 'due to exposure to XD's influence during previous ordeals and dreams')

It's been years since my head was in this space (the AP and 1st ed), but seedborne consumption is referred to as a disease, but it's supernatural. Good thing divine health works on supernatural diseases. As for how mercy would affect things, mercy only removes a condition, and since seedborne consumption doesn't impart any conditions (just damage) mercy wouldn't be much help.

As for Kaklatath (and I'm assuming you're talking about the hijacked human body and not the messed up yithian one), I don't think it specifically says one way or the other, but my assumption is that she would be in the same somewhat immune camp as the PCs.

The best way to make things okay for her would be, primarily, destroying the husk.

No, there's not an associated Flip-Mat for Claws of the Tyrant.

For a while, we were doing a Flip-Mat that was associated with each standalone adventure, but they didn't do as well as a general location Flip-Mat so we stopped doing those for every adventure. We may still in the future do these Flip-Mat/adventure pairings.

It sure is!

(Thanks, Mika!)

Mika Hawkins wrote:

Announced for March 2024! Product image and description are NOT final and may be subject to change.

Are we going to be getting a FoundryVTT for this?

There is one. Here you go!

Adam Daigle wrote:

SOLDIER-1st wrote:

So is this a sequel/follow-up to Ruins of Azlant?

Not a sequel or follow up. It just happens to use the town as a base of operations since it is a familiar (to some) touchstone.

So, will we get to see the colony ten years on? I'm excited for all of these upcoming adventure paths. They all sound great.

Yep! There is a gazetteer of Talmandor's Bounty in this book, written by Jim Groves who fleshed out the settlement for Ruins of Azlant. I'm glad he was available too! I really wanted to give him the first shot at updating the place.

Also, for full disclosure, there's not a lot of focus on Talmandor's Bounty beyond the first volume, but there should be enough in the gazetteer for a GM to spice things up for their players when their characters come back to town to rest.

Think of it as telling parts of a story from different perspectives to get a richer look at the whole event. This kind of narrative can be found in novels and films (or even comics) where there is more than one point of view or as a way to show a variety of experiences or reactions to a singular event.

So is this a sequel/follow-up to Ruins of Azlant?

Not a sequel or follow up. It just happens to use the town as a base of operations since it is a familiar (to some) touchstone.

From the Office of Expectation Management: It's not going to happen this week, but next week is looking favorable.

Huge props to everyone behind not only this particular volume of Wayfinder, but every single one of them that's come out over the last 15 years! Every volume has been a huge accomplishment and an excellent example of dedication from those responsible for putting them out—writers, artists, graphic designers, editors, and of course Tim's steady hand on the wheel.

Well done and much love to all!

Adam Daigle wrote:

If conspirator dragons were an option when I came up with Deyrubrujan I would have totally made her one rather than the blue I had available at the time.

Hi Adam. You are the one who created Deyrubrujan in Dragons Unleashed? If so, I wish to ask this: How should I pronounce Deyrubrujan and Mierusildas?

day-ROO-broo-zjahn

Adam Daigle wrote:

YlothofMerab wrote:

The Raven Black wrote:

Awesome.

Something of an OGL Blue Dragon feel but with weird aspects I like.

New is good.

I'm using the multiple blue dragons that live in Thuvia as some big bads in my current game, so I'm glad we have a new version to utilize.

If conspirator dragons were an option when I came up with Deyrubrujan I would have totally made her one rather than the blue I had available at the time.

Is there anything stopping her from having a blue dragon suit?

I wouldn't put anything past her.

The Raven Black wrote:

Awesome.

Something of an OGL Blue Dragon feel but with weird aspects I like.

New is good.

I'm using the multiple blue dragons that live in Thuvia as some big bads in my current game, so I'm glad we have a new version to utilize.

If conspirator dragons were an option when I came up with Deyrubrujan I would have totally made her one rather than the blue I had available at the time.

Truth about Adam's maps! They're amazing. I've never gotten to play on one, but I am the proud caretaker of Adam's Briarstone Asylum map from their Strange Aeons Experiment marathon. :)

This is the cover.

Has it been delayed again? Why does the preorder say August now?

There was a manufacturing issue with the box that has delayed production.

Bug report: The city of Aspenthar appears to not have the correct settlement level. I assume missing the second digit.

Expected: As a metropolis, seems like it should have a pretty decent settlement level. Maybe 10 or higher.

Actual: The settlement level is 1.

Correct!

Aspenthar should be level 10.

That zero escaped the line! Get it!

Wow, this snuck up on me! I’m really keen to see that Thuvia gazetteer.

I wonder if we’ll see yet more friendly Maftets here; they’ve been popping up all over recent materials.

From the Office of Expectation Management:

Adam Daigle wrote:

We're still like three months out. :)

It's May now!

Oh, right! Okay, so here's the playlist of stuff I was listening to while developing this adventure. Most of this is purely instrumental pieces, because lyrics can distract me when developing. Some of these might fit for background music while running the adventure.

The Enmity Cycle developer's playlist

Terrific cover-art ! Who is the artist?

The artist who did the cover is Loïc Canavaggia.

What happened between vetalarana and vetala vampires?

They're the same thing. The psychic vampires are now called vetalarana. The concept got tightened up and got a name change for second edition.

Harumph. Whippersnapper upstarts.

We're still like three months out. :)

I don't think it's too much of a spoiler but just in case...

Adam Daigle wrote:

I'm not super familiar with the lupin, but anthropomophic canines are a pretty generic idea. The rougarou we did for PF1e was more or less supposed to fill the role of anthropomorphic canines AND something werewolf-lite. Rougarou is a critter from southern Louisiana Cajun folklore which is essentially a werewolf (the word being adapted from the French loup-garou). I don't necessarily like how it was implemented, and if we use that word again I'd like to see it work better with the folklore.

do you know who wrote the rougarou up? htd and i are trying to settle the matter because the dnd lupin also had a pack-based culture with a hatred for werewolves and forming anti-werewolf hunting parties as part of their culture

also, what were conrasu based on?

I did. :) That was like over six years ago, but... I think my thinking at time was that the werewolf enmity was about them getting annoyed about mistaken identity since they're not generally bad guys like werewolves tend to be.

As for the conrasu, Luis or Eleanor would have a better idea of that. I think the idea first appeared in print in a piece written by James Sutter. He is great at sprinkling seeds of ideas, particularly naming creatures as part of gazetteers that later get picked up as creatures or ancestries. I believe that was the case with the conrasu, and I'm pretty sure someone other than Sutter actually gave life to the conrasu.

Heck, I'll give you a better, yet still annoyingly obtuse, answer. If given the choice to "save" one bit of WotC IP, I'd pick whatever would make the most people's lives easier or more enjoyable.

If you were teleported into the WotC IP Vault and had the chance to take exactly one thing and smuggle it out to the OGL, what would it be?

I honestly don't know. Nostalgia's a powerful drug, but it's one that I try to abstain from. I much prefer new stuff.

Was the rougarou directly based on the old school D&D lupin?

I'm not super familiar with the lupin, but anthropomophic canines are a pretty generic idea. The rougarou we did for PF1e was more or less supposed to fill the role of anthropomorphic canines AND something werewolf-lite. Rougarou is a critter from southern Louisiana Cajun folklore which is essentially a werewolf (the word being adapted from the French loup-garou). I don't necessarily like how it was implemented, and if we use that word again I'd like to see it work better with the folklore.

When it gets closer to release date, remind me to share a playlist of stuff I was listening to while developing this adventure.

Hmm, that's a little tough, because I'm bad at favorites and almost always play humans (for all reasons good and ill). I'd like to try out a sprite or a skeleton or a poppet and I love spiders, so anadi would be rad. It really depends on the campaign and what fits and what is needed.

This is the most recent adventure he's written.

Never fear! We have a Cajun on the case.

Great work, Donald! I've been wanting to set an adventure in Kaer Maga and revisit the strange city for a while. This certainly inspires!

I might be misunderstanding what you're looking for, but there is a Location Master List that starts on page 80, a Location Type Index starting on page 83, and a Temple Index on page 85.

The locations are tagged by number on the full-page map of that district in the district chapters (pages 92, 108, 122, 134, 150, 162, 180, 192, 204, 214, 228). These locations are tagged on the City of Lost Omens Poster Map Folio and the locations are listed in numerical order inside the wrap for the posters.

I’m curious as to which of the three authors wrote which of the three adventures in this book? Is it the same order they are listed in on the cover?

Lyz wrote Fishing for Adventure, Ron wrote The Leadbuster Lads, and Jason wrote Under the Three-Eyed Gaze.

A nit to pick: No. 148 The Northman’s Woodworks Galleria, is not actually on the map! The number is missing from both the map in the book and the map folio. Any ideas where the Galleria is located in the Ivy District?

**eye twitch**

Dangit! I coulda sworn I checked those tags like a dozen times.

Northman's Woodworks Galleria should be that large building in the middle of the block just north of Embrey's Armory on the same street right across from that park.

A nit to pick: No. 148 The Northman’s Woodworks Galleria, is not actually on the map! The number is missing from both the map in the book and the map folio. Any ideas where the Galleria is located in the Ivy District?

**eye twitch**

Dangit! I coulda sworn I checked those tags like a dozen times.

Northman's Woodworks Galleria should be that large building in the middle of the block just north of Embrey's Armory on the same street right across from that park.

Designing this map is one of the things I'm most proud of doing in the last couple of years. I love that I got to put in every single building in the city and make it look like a real lived-in place considering the scale and population. Matthais did a wonderful job illustrating the map and working with him was great. It was like he knew exactly what I was going for in so many places, adding details that I intended but didn't explicitly ask for. I know it's not for everyone, but I think map nerds are going to love it.

Our developers are the best in the biz and are easily among the most creative people I've met.

Naurgul wrote:

zergtitan wrote:

What are the 8 Deities outside the core 20 with temples?

The gods that have temples or temple-like places are the following (taken from the so-called temple index):

Abadar, Apsu, Aroden, Asmodeus, Besmara, Brigh, Calistria, Cayden Cailean, Desna, Erastil, Gorum, Gozreh, Hei-Feng, Irori, Lamashtu, The Muted God, Nethys, Norgorber, Pharasma, Rovagug, Sarenrae, Shelyn, Sivanah, Torag, Urgathoa, Zon-Kuthon.

Hmm... In the list above, I count 7 outside of the core 20. (Actually only 19 of the core 20 are listed: Iomedae is missing)

Who is the 8th?

Please & thank you.

Carry on,

--C.

There's a shrine of Kazutal.