Aerick Lim's page

Chapters One through Ten:

Luma’s sibling situation develops further, but unfortunely not better. It seems her success during In the Event of My Untimely Demise has already been forgotten, and Arrus is ready to jump on her whenever he gets a chance. It’s a bit difficult to tell what ratio of that is perfectionism and antagonism, but he veils either well by adding a playful element, albeit somewhat transparent, to his critique of her every move. But it’s good to see her starting to stand up for herself more.

The scene with her stepmother was a little more telling though. As with Arrus, it’s not easy to tell if Yandine's admission of neglecting Luma is genuine, but considering the family is about ti be in a state of flux due to Randred’s condition it could be an real attempt to make her family stronger even though she has no blood ties to Luma. The situation reminded me a little of Stelan and Lenelle from Plague of Shadows, as the latter was also the matriarch of an influential family with her husband at death’s door. My suspicions that Lenelle had something to do with Stelan's condition may have been wrong, but something about Yandine is similarly nagging at me. As a native to Korvosa, it’s safe to assume she was raised to despise Magnimar since birth, and I’m curious about the backstory about why she came here in the first place, because even though that was over 25 years ago, with the recent Korvosan activity at Grand Arch I don’t think it’s too far-fetched to suspect her to be involved in some way.

But what I really don’t understand, which I hope I will soon, is the whole Hendregan situation. It’s only been a few weeks, but I was so happy to see him again! When I was reading the description of his tattoos at No-Horn, I was thinking “Could it be?” and then when I turned the next page “It is!” actually came out of my mouth, haha. Then he blew up the bar. [Way to open strong, Hendo!] I have no real speculations as to what was he doing there, and I don’t see him as a suspect behind Khonderian’s murder considering he wasn’t charred remains. Maybe he’s the person who Luma has seen following her, but then again he’s never been one for sneaking around like Gad and the others.

That brings me back to Luma and some of her abilities. I’m starting to think maybe she’s learned more than just a thing or two from Ontor. She seems trained in Stealth, we just saw her use Sleight of Hand against a pickpocket on her way to Triodea, and in the encounter with Noole she could’ve been using Bluff to trade feints with him, which is usually paired with Sneak Attack. I must admit, I’m surprised at the lack of skill adjustments for the urban druid archetype. I wouldn’t think Luma’s a multiclassed rogue if, let’s say, the urban druid gained Knowledge (local), Knowledge (nobility), Sense Motive, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth as class skills instead of Handle Animal, Knowledge (geography), Knowledge (nature), Ride, and Survival. The other urban archetypes have similar substitutions, so why not urban druid? I don’t ever see Luma making use of the Nature Sense or Wild Empathy class features either. Those seem like missed opportunities to really make this archetype come to life, despite Luma doing a really good job of that in this story thus far.

(The Ironroot Deception)

These people are crazy.
Not just the Reclaimers, I mean Gad as well.

The Shudderwood is bad enough on the Ustalav side, but to go into the Worldwound side (apparently with no personal gear) intending on being captured by a xenophobic elven cult seems paramount to suicide. It was an insane gamble, but it's clear that Gad knows exactly what he's doing. The play with the dagger and the gems was genius, thanks to Vitta, but they got a little lucky with Dualal because if she was a little more sane she could've put up more of a fight in the end. Does anyone know what those plant creatures are? I thought they were shambling mounds at first, but something about their descriptions makes me think it's not that simple...

Anyhow, regardless of how psychotic the elves of the Reclamation were presented in this story, I did find it interesting that there are those who still feel strongly about humans in that way. I actually sympathize with them a little, and understand why there would still be a select few who would still harbored that much hatred for non-elves even after all these millennia from when when their ancestors left during the Retreat. I looked for some more information about the Reclaimers in the Inner Sea World Guide and Elves of Golarion, but couldn't find anything. Would they be somewhere in the Second Darkness AP maybe? Does anyone know where I can find them, or are they an original creation by Robin D. Laws?

I have to start by saying that I apologize for waiting a whole year to finally get to this novel. I have read every Elaine Cunningham novel from the Forgotten Realms, a campaign I never thought I would ever leave until 4th edition fast forwarded a century and essentially killed all of my characters, but I’m not bitter because that’s why I switched sides and went to Pathfinder! Anyway, just as she did with her Harpers novels, she has delivered again.

Like we had touched upon in Skinwalkers, the Ulfen culture really comes to life right away in this story. I loved the whole mental process Ellasif was going through with the birth of her sister amidst a terrible battle, especially the line about her father: “At the sight of his empty hands, Ellasif knew fear. Her father had left his place. He’d put aside his axe before battle’s end.” If that doesn’t define a warrior’s culture, I don’t know what does.

Then came the surprising fifteen year time shift that I wasn’t expecting at all! I was prepared for her to struggle rebuilding White Rook while having to raise her sister alone in a cold, unforgiving, hostile land trying to conceal the phenomenon surrounding her birth. But then we get yanked out of that scene like a bad dream and now we’re in…Korvosa? [From playing Rise of the Runelords (and other reasons) I’m on Team Magnimar, and as a sports fan I’m conditioned to hate my in-state rivals, so this whole Team Korvosa transition put a bad taste in my mouth at first, then Elaine sold me on the pseudodragon familiars and that all went away.]

Anyway, now we have a change in protagonist as well. Declan is definitely interesting and I’m curious as to where this is going, considering he’s basically the opposite of Ellasif. Gender aside, he’s a wizard and she’s a warrior, he’s from a bustling city and she’s from a remote village, he’s distanced from his family and she’s only concerned with hers. It’s a wholesale contrast, and an ambitious one trying to get them to fit in the same story together, although I have no doubt it’ll be brilliant. For the first few chapters I kept thinking to myself: what could these two completely different characters from completely different backgrounds possibly have in common that brings them together, but as I read on it became apparent, and I’m honestly not sure how I feel about it just yet. Clearly Ellasif didn’t travel all the way here just to make a friend, so she obviously has a motive for involving Declan in her plans, and it seems to be specifically him, not just any random wizard that she could’ve picked up in Korvosa. Perhaps they’re related in some way, as Declan mentioned his mother was from the north and that he knew little else about where she was from. But why would Ellasif know anything about that? I guess I just have to read more…

Mother Bears is set in the Ironbound Archipelago, which I'm not too familiar with (as far as I know there are no modules or adventure paths that take you there) so I was glad, once again, to be somewhere new. There's only so much time that I'm able to play Pathfinder, and I continue to find the Tales a great way to experience the richness of the many regions that I haven’t yet explored in the game.

Jendara is very likable, and as a protagonist I believe she's only the second mother that we've covered in the PTBC, going back to its inception with The Crusader Road. With Kran being an impaired child, Jendara has an extra edge which I like, and it’s clear she raised him well since he didn’t back down from a goblin dog and its rider, even when he was armed with only a dagger. That goes to show that there's no reason why a character with disabilities can't be as much of a hero as anyone else, and it's much more impressive when they do, considering Kran saved Jendara in the caves instead of the other way around, as she intended.

The goblin plan to draw the warriors out to the other settlement was pretty smart...perhaps too smart for goblins, so if I were Jendara I would be wary of another antagonist. I would've liked to see the battle against the goblins though, but the story wasn't really about that despite it being a real danger to everyone, focusing more on Jendara and Kran going about their daily routine and showing how they deal with adversity. It was actually refreshing to read about lower level characters without supernatural abilities or powerful spells and magic items for a change, and I hope that continues as we move forward.

(I wonder if the bear cub becomes an animal companion...)

Ah yes...I was wondering when we'd get to read about the aptly named Mwangi Expanse! It's absolutely huge on the map of Golarion and I'm excited to finally to start exploring at least a part of it, as the only thing I really know about it is from the Serpent's Skull player's guide. [I haven't had a chance to play that AP yet, but it's on the docket so I wonder if there will be any ties between that story and this one...]

As I was reading The Gem and enjoying the use of rare monsters that I was hoping to see here, I was taking the usual mental notes on the special abilities the characters have after Oza said that he and Jiri were shamans. From their encounter with the young grootslang and the powers they used, I initially thought that Oza and Jiri were a distinction between the two types of shaman in the game, with Oza being a druid with one of the shaman archetypes and Jiri as the next generation of shaman with the hybrid class of oracle and witch. However, on the back of Firesoul that seemed to be switched, as it refers to Oza as a shaman and Jiri as a jungle druid. In The Gem, we saw Oza use Wild Shape, Summon Nature's Ally, and Woodland Stride, which are not typically available to shamans as far as I know, then we heard Jiri refer to ancestors and spirits, and although she doesn't seem to have a spirit animal, the speaker for the past archetype doesn't have one so that could explain that, plus the flame spirit grants the Touch of Flame ability similar to what we saw her do. Of course for Oza, shaman could be a reference to one of the many shaman archetypes for druids instead of the hybrid class, and Jiri could actually be a jungle druid be using the Produce Flame spell, but she doesn't seem to be using any spell components, which also rules out her being a sorcerer because even they need verbal and somatic components. She could have the Eldritch Heritage feat with a fire elemental bloodline, but my best guess is she is a multiclassed pyrokineticist from Occult Adventures because they have no components and can use their supernatural abilities more often than bloodline powers. But I guess we'll just have to wait to narrow it down further after we start Firesoul...

The Price Paid was a clinic for writing in a game setting, in so many ways. Pathfinder Tales may just be fantasy novels to readers who have never played the game, but to me they transcend any other stories in this genre that aren’t backed by some kind of interactive medium, especially one as rich and vivid that we are fortunate enough to have in Golarion.

These four chapters played out just like a Pathfinder Society scenario. We start with characters who know nothing of each other, one traditional and one exotic, with different alignments and agendas, then throw them into a situation where both their strengths and weaknesses can play off each other. As gamers, we have all been at a table when two players with dominant presences try to pull the group in different directions, and often with disastrous results. One wants to roll a Bluff or Diplomacy check, the other wants to roll initiative. One doesn’t care about how much XP and GP they gain, the other cares for little else aside from that. Akina and Ondorum exemplify that facet of the game so well, and just like good players do, they somehow find a way to make it all work. Aside from their ethnic affinity for all things earth and stone, they couldn’t be more dissimilar. Their fighting styles are polar opposites – Akina is a rough and tumble thrasher who can dish out as much punishment as she can take, literally throwing herself headlong into a fray and smashing everything to bits, whereas Ondorum is calm and collected, preferring to avoid being hit before hitting back, and uses his head for more than bashing enemies in the face. Between the traps, the barghest, and the hobgoblins it really felt like a session was being documented, right down to the situation that comes up in almost every game when a player says something without really thinking about it, resulting in groans all around…

The hobgoblin leader snarled. "This is pointless. We're blamed for every mishap, and now we have an army of mercenaries set on us."

Ondorum showed the warband leader an open palm. "Not an army. Merely a dozen or so." He looked to Akina. "Unless you have reserves waiting at a distance?"
Akina stared back at him. "Anyone ever mention that you talk too much?"

Classic.

I can almost hear the metagaming going on at the table before that scene happens:

"Maybe we're supposed to talk here. Less chance of dying, we're low on healing."
"I think it's a trap. They're trying to get us to talk to buy time or something"
"If we deal with this peacefully we'll probably still get experience for them from a story award."
"But what about their items? Some could be magical, and we're just going to let them keep them?"
"My character doesn't care about items."
"Mine does! I say we kill them regardless, they're evil."
"Whatever, I'm trying anyway, my character says..."

We've all had that happen before, right? The interplay with Akina and Ondorum does the game justice, and it’s guaranteed that their dynamic will lead them into even more deep trouble in Forge of Ashes!

Once again, the pacing of this story is just right. I love how we waste no time whatsoever meeting the vast cast of characters and getting into the thick of the plot. But, of course it wouldn’t be like Elyana to not leave at least one loose end, such as the whole business with Onderan that they were on their way to investigate before the inciting incident. It’s turned darkly amusing to me now, but in this case the current situation absolutely warrants all hands on deck - Onderan can wait. The eidolon seems to be huge in size, thus putting the summoner at least 13th level, which as SO nasty! They already killed, what…five out of sixteen people and we still have as many chapters to go? Definitely one of the more powerful base classes, that’s a fact; Pathfinder Unchained tried to make them balanced, and barely succeeded. Good thing Elyana and Drelm vetted the volunteers and didn’t take a larger posse out, or there would be a lot more blood on the ground right now.

Now, about the structure – I like the change in points of view for this novel. Adding Drelm’s perspective was unexpected. (Looks like I was wrong about him and Elyana, haha.) However, it refreshing to see things from a different angle, because – how do I explain this – his is like a blunt instrument where Elyana is a precision tool, and he is devout and sentimental where Elyana is aloof and indifferent. I also liked how the conversations in Elven weren’t translated from his point of view, which made the interplay between Elyana and the other elves seem more natural, in a way, and obscured for the first time since we left her viewpoint. Then Lisette comes in with her own perspective and really throws things in for a loop! I was interesting to see Elyana and Drelm through the eyes of total outsider, and the scenes where she sized up Drelm actually revealed a lot about both of their characters. Drelm has really grown on me, as he obviously has on the Delgar locals, and he rightfully demands the respect he receives. He's solid. The whole situation with Lisette, on the other hand, begs so many questions: How does she fit into the dynamic of the group? When will her past come back to haunt her again? What will Elyana do since she knows about her? Do her former employers somehow associated with the summoner? Is she actually going to try to kill Drelm? Will she succeed?

I guess we shall see.

The Walkers from the Crypt ePub:

I've always been curious about Galt since I started reading about the Inner Sea, and although I haven't got to play there yet I'm looking forward to doing so, especially with Ultimate Intrigue on the way. Who knows, maybe an AP in Galt is in the works...anyway, I don't know if this series is going to stay there, but I hope it does.

I thought the characters made a good team - paladin, ranger, bard, wizard - decently balanced, a nice contrast of personalities as well. I tried to place how experienced they were, and they seem to be varied.

At first I thought Stelan was higher level, but he wasn't able to use remove disease on Vallyn, which puts him below 5th level, or has an archetype that substitute that ability. It could've actually been poison, as Elyana said, but I don't know of any undead dogs that have poisonous bite, so maybe she was just guessing? It's also possible Stelan isn't a paladin, perhaps just a fighter who worships Abadar, although that's unclear since we only saw him in action early on. I put Elyana at least an 8th level, casting two cure spells on Vallyn, who seems the least experienced of the group. Like Stelan, he was out of the story before long, so it's hard to say how capable he is, especially since most standard bard abilities are ineffectual against undead, as noted by Arcil, who I think is at least 5th, casting several fireball spells, or maybe even 7th level, or about to be, as he mentioned wanting to learn the black tentacles spell. Lastly, Mirelle...I'm not sure if is going to be a part of this group as, as rescuing her from Galt was their mission, and her skills - if any - weren't apparent, but maybe she'll stay on and we'll learn more about her later,

All in all, it was a good establishing story and I'm curious to see how the characters develop individually and as a group. Time to open up Plague of Shadows and find out...

The Walkers from the Crypt ePub:

I've always been curious about Galt since I started reading about the Inner Sea, and although I haven't got to play any games there, I'm looking forward to doing so, especially with Ultimate Intrigue on the way. Who knows, maybe an AP in Galt is in the works...anyway, I don't know if this series is going to stay there, but I hope it does.

I thought the characters make a good team - paladin, ranger, bard, wizard - decently balanced personalities, comparatively, as well as abilities. I tried to place how experienced they were, and they seem to be varied.

At first I thought Stelan was higher level, but he wasn't able to use remove disease on Vallyn, which puts him below 5th level, or has an archetype that substitute that ability. It could've actually been poison, as Elyana said, but I don't know of any undead dogs that have poisonous bite, so maybe she was just guessing? It's also possible Stelan isn't a paladin, perhaps just a fighter who worships Abadar, although that's unclear since we only saw him in action early on. I put Elyana at least an 8th level, casting two cure spells on Vallyn, who seems the least experienced of the group. Like Stelan, he was out of the story before long, so it's hard to say how capable he is, especially since most standard bard abilities are ineffectual against undead, as noted by Arcil, who I think is at least 5th, casting several fireball spells, or maybe even 7th level, or about to be, as he mentioned wanting to learn the black tentacles spell. Lastly, I'm not sure if Mirelle is going to be a part of this group as her skills weren't apparent, but maybe she'll stay on and we'll learn more about her.

All in all, it was a good establishing story and I'm curious to see how they develop individually and as a group. Time to open up Plague of Shadows...

Well...it looks like Alaeron got wiser and deadlier with age. Catapults? Really? Too bad, I would've liked to see one or two of those would-be assassins try to get past them.

Seems like Skiver made some life improvements as well. I'm curious if he did actually poison Ralen Vadim, or just let him handle one of the leukodaemon's relics from Kho and let its desired effect take its course. Either way, I was glad to seem him back in the sequel. On that note, for a brief moment I also thought Kormak was back too, but fortunately for Alaeron it wasn't his ghost, just another Kellid from the Technic League. Char is interesting. Incorporeal, but vulnerable to skymetal? That's a nice touch. I wonder what else we're going to find out about his "condition" and also whether or not he was the one who sold out Alaeron and Skiver to Shadowstalker.

Lastly, I appreciated how Redfang was incorporated into the story. For those of you who don't know, he's an NPC from the third module of Iron Gods who deals the PCs when they arrive in Iadenveigh. I also found it interesting that Khonnir Baine, an NPC from the first module, has a similar backstory to Alaeron, who also escaped the Technic League by hiding out in Iadenveigh. Anyway, now that we're finally in Numeria, I hope there will continue be more ties to Iron Gods...

Leading off with the "A Tomb of Winter's Plunder" ePub:

Finally, an alchemist! I got to play one about a year ago, it was a blast! [Sorry.] It might too early on to play the archetype guessing game but hopefully that'll happen soon in City of the Fallen Sky. The base alchemist class is great as it is, but are so many colorful archetypes to choose from that make the class really versatile.

I liked the interplay between Alaeron and Rodrick - a scientist and a scoundrel with comparable skill and cunning, but contrasting alignments and rightfully distrustful of one another, yet working together in a dangerous environment although one could be the larger threat to the other. As for the conclusion, I was really looking forward to an encounter with the linnorm, with Alaeron and/or Rodrick to showcase more of their respective abilities, but I guess we'll just have to wait for that...

On a final note, I've noticed that all of the protagonists that we've read about so far in the PTBC are human: Tyressa in The Crusader Road, Salim in Death's Heretic and The Redemption Engine, Isiem in Nightglass and Nightblade, Torius in Pirate's Honor and Pirate's Promise, and now we have Alaeron - all humans. Also, from playing two campaigns where we selected PCs from the iconic characters, I noticed that about 75% of them are also human. Given that there are so many races available to PCs, I wonder why that is...

So Vreva has actually been one of the "good guys" all along? Get out.
Her cover identity is indeed perfect for operating in the belly of the beast in the slaver world. Clearly, she's even braver - and more skilled - than she was in the last novel, because now she's actually sleeping with the enemy, and one with a special ability to detect lies, no less. She's certainly been clever enough to phrase her words so she doesn't have to lie, but eventually she may have no other choice and have to make a saving throw, or fail one...

Pirate's Honor...wow. I'm trying to find a way to communicate my first impressions, and I can't help but refer to Black Sails. (If anyone reading this hasn't watched it, they should.) My first thoughts about Captain Vin were that he has a Captain Flint quality to him that I really like. There's even a slight physical resemblance on the cover. At first I thought we were headed for another anti-hero story, but similar to Flint in Black Sails, Vin is actually a good guy in bad guy's clothing. I think he's a fantastic protagonist with a lot of potential, and with an equally engrossing supporting cast, including Celeste...a lunar naga as a navigator is just brilliant, no pun intended.

Two years ago I ran the Skull & Shackles AP (almost to completion, but the PCs only made it to part one of module six) which is what initially got me watching Black Sails, but it also paid off in helping me read this novel without having too look up all the sailor jargon. (I'm expecting a lot more yelling about focs'ls and tops'ls to come.) Naval combat aboard the Stargazer read just like many of the encounters went in the AP - I could almost sense the boarders being flat-footed, the use of archetypes from Pirates of the Inner Sea, crew members making Profession (siege engineer) checks to reload and aim the ballistae, etc.

I genuinely appreciate the author's intent on making that apparent, his foreword to the gamers really hit home as I was consistently able to notice the game mechanics behind his writing. Great stuff so far!

Nightblade opens in a way I didn't expect, with Isiem working with a full-fledged adventuring party. Not that he was necessarily a loner in Nightglass, but his previous company was either a Kuthite, a Chelaxian, a Strix...so going from that to the company of a paladin, then a cleric of the sun goddess, is quite a gamble given his past. I wonder how long it's going to take for in-party fighting to break out, especially with Aspis Agents also in the mix...

Before we begin discussion of Nightglass, Book One, I should point out a few comments people (including the author) have made regarding the following question: Who are the people of Nidal?

I somewhat agree with a few of the viewpoints in the thread about how the Nidalese may have deserved their own human ethnicity, but from their descriptions, they also resemble half-elves; well, at least the albino Nidalese with their white hair and pale skin. (This brings the iconic Seltyiel to mind, especially with his background from the Whisperwood in Cheliax that also has Varisian affiliations.) I wonder if this has anything to do with their patron deity Zon-Kuthon, formerly known as Dou-Bral, being the half-brother to Shelyn, who is commonly venerated by half-elves.

As for the fetchlings, the Shadowcallers in Book One are never referred to as such, although they could easily be interpreted as said outsiders. Looking back to the first printing date for both Nightglass and the Advanced Race Guide, they both actually share the same date: June 2012, which makes it difficult to know which version of the Shadowcallers came first - the association in this novel or the exclusive summoner archeype for fetchlings. This makes little difference int he story for me, I was just curious, as both depictions are exactly what I had envisioned them to be when I first built one shortly after the ARG was published. (Fetchling Shadowcallers are SOOO nasty...)

Boar and Rabbit ePub

Let me start by saying that I love Avistan - so much great writing and so many great adventures have come from the Inner Sea - but it's so refreshing to get to explore the other continents and their cultures. The Iridian Fold is fascinating, as is the idea of soulmates. I must admit it harkens to my experiences in real life, and although I have not yet found mine I have been very close several times and hope to one day have some semblance of one. Bors and Roshad fortunate to share something that so few people have, regardless of gender, ethnicity, religion, social class, or anything else people think matters, and it is similarly refreshing to see that bond shared between two characters in such intensity.

(Aside from their story, I would also like to see what you think about their characters in game terms, mainly classes/archetypes or anything else you want to discuss.)

As requested, this is the new Pathfinder Tales Book Club thread for Death's Heretic by James L. Sutter.

To begin in chronological order, we decided to start with the Faithful Servants short story, so let's start the discussion here...

Anyone interested in forming a book club?

Many great authors have greatly contributed to the development of Golarion that can be useful tools for GMs who want to make their campaign setting come to life, perhaps by reading descriptive passages of locales aloud to their players, or even adding NPCs to game play that will resonate with the players who have read the books. They are also useful tools for PCs, similar to Pathfinder Companions and Adventure Path Players Guides, which can help with embedding characters into the region where game play takes place, and make them feel more like they belong in the story.

Here are some topics that we could discuss in a forum based on the experience of each reader:

• Interpretations of character, plot, and structure
• Relativity to Pathfinder scenarios, modules, and adventure paths
• Geographical locations developed by the author

There will also be rules discussions that could result in building stat blocks for GM/PC game play:

• Analysis of character classes, archetypes, and special abilities.
• Use of skills, feats, spells, and magic items in the story.
• Identify creatures and interpret combat with game mechanics

For the first book, I would like to vote for The Crusader Road written by Michael A. Stackpole, designer of level 3 of The Emerald Spire Superdungeon! Having played the Emerald Spire over the summer (The Emerald Spire Project) and at one point watched helplessly (paralyzed by ghouls) as my character was killed while venturing through Echo Wood, I am curious as to what Mr. Stackpole has in store for his characters there. Maybe the Splinterden thieves from his Emerald Spire level will make a special guest appearance, hopefully we shall see...

Ideally, I would like to get started sometime around the holiday season, so to all of you who may be interested, please try to reply by the weekend of November 8th and include which Pathfinder Tales you might be interested in, then we will start reading them on a bi-monthly schedule based on popular vote, with one month to read followed by a few weeks of discussion, then voting for the next book to open.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Aerick
Order of the Amber Die

I'm working on a Bard (Sea Singer) 3/Gunslinger (Buccaneer) 6 and the SRD states that "familiars from two different sources stack", so the monkey familiar would be effectively 6th level (Sea Singer level plus 1/2 Buccaneer level), however the Buccaneer familar states "the exotic pet never gains the ability to deliver touch spells or share spells" so what happens if the familiar already has both abilities by the time the Buccaneer reaches 5th level? Does the familiar lose these abilities?