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Hey fellow GM's. I'm getting ready to run Ruins of Azlant with a group that's 50% players I've played with before, and 50% players who are completely new to pathfinder. So, I was planning on doing a session 0, preferably something the party could do before reaching Ancorato and after setting sail that would help the new players get their bearings and help everyone get to know each other and the other colonists.

Does anyone have any ideas or recommendations?

On page 67 of Into the Shattered Continent, it reads:

If you keep reading, from that point forward, it says a little more about it, but not much. I would say there are no other islands east of the map shown, and probably no other islands between here and either the alabaster trident or telesantri (given that these islands were once mountain peaks). However, I would fully support adding more cartographic islands to the west, as well a ways north and south. The islands would likely follow ancient ridgelines, so they could/should be clustered together and run along curved rows. Also, there is the lost Sun Temple Colony a large distance to the north which has a map provided, and I also intend to include that in my campaign, but I haven't seen a direct map of the Arcadian Ocean anywhere else.

FYI, I also intend to play with magnetic north (as described in Aquatic Adventures, remaining Azlanti magic messes with magnetic north and that plus the almost magically-shifting currents makes mapping and navigating the area difficult), so we'll see how that goes. My guess is there's intentionally no map of the area yet, but that, plus the shifting area, means we have a great deal of creative latitude that probably wont conflict with any future maps or updates (our players cold have just been confused while drawing the maps).

Posting for a friend, this wasn't my game.

Name: Party Wipe (5 players)
Adventure: Into the Shattered Continent
Location: Eshani Reef
Catalyst: Overconfident Gorilla
The Gory Details: The (very experienced) party of adventurers had come to rely on the druids animal companion (a gorilla) as the front liner and tank. By this point in the adventure, the party would buff the gorilla, arm it with the best equipment, and send it in to destroy the enemy, with the rest of the party casting spells, shooting crossbow bolts, using the gorilla to flank (in the rogue's case), or just watching the gorilla tear all of their enemies apart. They had just cleared the shipwreck of the Sahuagin and were planning to head back, without anyone in the party really using any resources or being injured. So, the GM released the Elder Maw. Two rounds of highly damaging hits on the gorilla followed by a back-to-back crit on the third round killed the gorilla outright. The Elder Maw then chased the party as they scattered and fled, being eaten one by one by the enormous magical shark...

I'm making it possible to befriend the tribe of ghosthater goblins. Since the voyage is 6 weeks each way, I'm not giving my players a resupply ship until the end of book 2, so I've been expanding on the communities the PC's can trade with. I'm following suggestions left by Adam on the Lost Outpost GM Forum in making them rivals to the grindillows, and I made them initially unfriendly instead of hostile, allowing the PC's to try to make inroads if they wish. I set their tribe's base value at 200gp and the maximum purchase limit at 800gp, but their tribe will grow (like the colony) over time. I'm planning to make the major-growth events when the PC's eliminate one of their rivals - starting with the grindillows, and including the other four monkey goblin tribes on the neighboring islands (as detailed in the appendix of book 2), until they are the ruling goblin tribe in the tri-isle area!

My players failed to identify it, which made one of them hateful/fearful of the thing, three players a combination of curious and fearful, and one player very protective of it which happened to be the fighter with the most combat prowess out of everyone in the party. He picked it up and held it through much of the Palace of Birdsong, flicking at it when it would bite him and rocking it when it didn't until it generally stopped (though it kept trying every ten minutes or so). He lost his voice, but never tried to tell the party and was just fine taking the penalties for carrying it and losing a hand in combat since his AC was really high and he just fought defensively to offset not using a shield. He planned to keep it forever, and while one player figured out it was undead, they also knew it was at least semi-intelligent and didn't want to utterly destroy it (especially not with the fighter protecting it). This led to one of the players calling it the party's "Cubone" and it seemed like they were going to adopt it.

Then...

When the fighter stepped up to fight the training dummy upstairs and was badly wounded, the party witch/stargazer used her combo of scar and heavens leap to teleport him to safety (AKA, jesters jaunt). This left Carr between the party and the training dummy with its turn being next, something no one had considered before the training dummy attacked and promptly destroyed the challenger closest to it.

My party wanted to keep it and were stunned when it was destroyed. I don't know how they've come to feel about it, as they kinda ended up needing to move on. With the exception of the fighter, they've all just kinda shrugged it off... the fighter, on the other hand, hasn't really seemed initially crushed but seemed to just accept it as "probably for the best"

My players keep bringing up a good point (they're using it to sow discontent against Bartleby Lotheed so I'm not discouraging them):

Why has no one done anything about County Meratt being such a wretched hive of scum and villainy? Gul Guisarne is supposed to be an inquisitor of Abadar who strikes fear into the hearts of men and can magically sense lies... yet...

1. Wanted criminals with LARGE prices on their heads manage to exist for years under his nose in the Beggarwood

2. A local Baron is transformed into an arachnid monstrosity who feeds on human beings for A DECADE and nothing is done

3. The servants of said Baron ply their trade as outlaws to sate his lust for tribute and flesh for A DECADE and nothing is done

4. A local pilgrimage site to GUL GUISARNE'S OWN DEITY is a lethal death-pit with a shattered bridge and a massive beast and... you get where I'm going.

The point is, it's hard to sell the Seneschal (and chief of secret police) or the Count Lotheed as threats to the players (or anyone) when neither of those men seem to have the power to deal with even a handful of low-level bandits whom the PCs cowed in six seconds of combat. I get that for Story Reasons, the PCs need to be the ones to solve Meratt's problems, but some of those problems have been going on for so long it strains plausibility that no one in the County (let alone the party's supposedly fearsome and powerful adversaries) has done anything about it.

Anyone else run into this problem? Suggestions? Thoughts?

- Sorry for the long post. I ended up writting more than I thought I would, mostly because writting helped me think out my answers. -

I also think these are some great points, that I haven't poured a terrible amount of thought into until you brought these up. My thoughts loop back to Martella's mention in her initial briefing to the players (should they think to ask about the county) "the county is perhaps not as well maintained as the locals would prefer, but Father was a competent administrator if nothing else.” This line always made me think that the county used to be better but is still relatively nice, especially considering this is a world of monsters and magic. We know that many other "safe" areas, counties, ect. have monsters also, though most people don't go traipsing through the wilderness looking for adventure.

That said, in my game, I put it down to money and resources. We already know that Gul stays on as senechal out of a strange loyalty to the family and to Bartelby's father. I just assume that Bartelby has been much less prudent with county funds, diverting much of it to reinforcing the palace of birdsong, throwing parties, and conducting magical research. One example of this is his solution to the Swan Maiden - he stops funding offerings (though some citizens still leave their own) and instead leaves an ooze behind to take care of things, despite that short-sided "solution" threatening to cause its own batch of problems. This leads to my direct answers.

1) Bartelby is probably the person who put these bounties on the criminal's heads, as he is the one to whom the bounty is redeemed. My guess is that with all the people in beggarwood (that they can't lawfully just murder), whenever Gul and his men come to the forest, the people hide the four hoods. We even see mention of Gul conducting raids. Also, since their stat-blocks are based on the merry-men, their robin-hood like mystic put Bartelby/Gul in the fairy-tale role of the Sherrif of Nottingham in my game (giving me plenty to draw on). Bartelby just isn't willing to try to commit the resources to purge the woods or to fund the rebuilding of Jambis or a humanitarian building project for new towne, stachys, and pensaris to be able to take in all these homeless/refugee's. His hope instead is that some of the poor in beggarwood will instead turn them in for the comparatively-low price on their heads, though this hasn't happened because they love the hoods. In my game, I actually added the night swan as the leader of the four hoods, mechanically to make the encounter more level-appropriate, and thematically to make her seem more like a hero of the people (whom my players tried to capture alive and delivered to Martella after taking the Palace. Now, she's in prison constantly spouting Galtean rhetoric and anti-monarchy sentiments. What happens to her in the future is left mostly to the PC's efforts or lack thereof to develop her).

2,3,4) With the above being about costs, it's easy to extend that further. Jambis is too expensive to reclaim, and with no noble clamoring for it to be done, Bartelby sees no reason to spend the time, money, and risk to his resources to solve the issue. Similarly, the bridge is very, very expensive to rebuild, and traffic through Lotheedar is unimpeded. If anything, it improves traffic through Lotheedar, as it is now the only highway route through the county from Cassomir to Oppara, with a canal and full facilities there. It makes little financial sense to spend hard-earned county money on a public works project that doesn't directly improve the lives of most of the county, with the only people truly affected being stachys, new towne, and jambis, all of whom have very little value or political clout (with Onora Piscum attending things like the Tanager Jubilee to make sure Stachys isn't completely forgotten about). Also, the canyon is an unofficial pilgrimage site, and the bridge doesn't aid in the pilgrimage, as pilgrims still climb down into the ravine.

With this, I mentally paint the poor-maintenance in the county as a result of bartelby's apathy and unwillingness to dedicate funds he could use personally for things he doesn't see as cost-effective, which does kinda go in line with some of abadar's teachings. Perhaps Gul vies this as some measure of prudence, and while he may disagree with some of his patron's decisions, it is not his place or station to raise his voice in protest. Also, with all of the Lotheed family secrets being kept at the palace, in my game, I made it Gul's top priority to guard the tower and keep all the secrets from wandering out into town. He oversees this personally as much as possible, though he places guards there when he leaves, guards that occasionally fail (and possibly die) which explains how the duchess veleto lotheed escapes both during the jubilee and later in the book. If you manage a secret police and guard monsters locked in the tower, rumors of one of the reclusive barons turning into a monster or some of his men turned bandits seem like relatively-low priorities, especially on a budget, and that easily seems like the thing most in demand of attention.

I hope some of the ideas seemed useful at least. Most of the activities under the "Side" category are already cheap or free. You could also use some of them as jumping off points. Mine was a county fair, not just a stachys festival, so I wanted it to feel lived in, too big to do everything, and filled with rewarding activities. One of my players actually refuses to track anything less than gp, feeling it's below his station and a waste of weight, so when things cost less than 1gp, he just tells them to keep the change.

While your absolutely right that peasants won't have gp to throw around at a festival, the stuff I included were aimed at the wealthier merchantile, adventurous, and noble class in an effort to earn money, especially since that's what the economy of Meratt was originally built on back when it was a luxurious stop on the road from Cassomir to Oppara. Mechanically, this was just an excuse to put in high enough costing things that I could offer potential rewards good enough to entice my players. If the prizes were all worth approximately or less than 1gp, then they would have quickly been bored by the festival, which I'd intended to take one full session.

That being said, we both have different goals. If I had 1 hour only to design a festival and had already done this legwork, and I wanted the festival to be primarily for people of Stachys, I would probably just divide the entry costs by 100 (turning 1gp to 1cp) and lower the prizes by a proportionate amount (a golden horseshoe becomes a set of new horseshoes, a warhorse becomes a mule or a toy horse, a set of ornately designed arrows becomes a set of durable arrows, etc.). Or many of the games could become free with no prizes, just fun, though I don't know why peasants would work booths at a festival if they weren't earning money. Still, a lot of the activities can be quick-and-dirtied into solid filler, if that's all your looking for.

Separately, my current group consists of American Military members stationed overseas, and when I wrote the festival we were all missing the summertime county-fairs from home. This was a way to have a great big, fun, county-fair, that felt appropriate for the time period but also had fun things from home. Through role-playing, it was a great way to bring joy to a bunch of semi-homesick airmen, and I think it turned out phenomenally on our end.

A couple of questions about the Senate Badges.

One -- Malphene has a badge. So does her father. Malphene is poofed to the safe room when the chaos begins, but her father is not, even though he is attacked (Malphene sees him killed). Why isn't he poofed?

Two -- Martella has a badge. Why is she not poofed to the safe room? She defends against the attackers, so she would have been in danger great enough to trigger the badge.

On page 25 in the development section, explaining why they are teleported, it says, "Unknown to Martella Lotheed, each badge was enchanted with a contingency spell centuries ago, programmed to teleport Senator Voritas’s staff to a safe room hidden far below the senate in the event of violence. A similar spell once protected Senator Voritas’s master senator badge as well, but was expended a century ago during riots, leaving Martella Lotheed behind in the chaos."

My guess is that during the riots, Senator Voritas, along with the other original safe house constructors, may have been in a meeting during the riots and all ended up teleported. Thinking the badges had done their job, they probably waited down there for a while before returning to the surface, which is how the badges wound up around again. Since that time, some senators may have thought the contingency too expensive and unnecessary, thinking the chaos was not all that dangerous and a waste of an expensive spell, or else they were killed before they could get the contingency cast again, perhaps during those same riots. Since then, the place was sealed up and forgotten about. This would explain why their aide's badges weren't used up, as they are less likely to go to a meeting between disaster-prepping senators than an actual senate meeting.

How the context works out in your game is up to you, but that seems like a reasonable answer to both questions.

Name: Bai Hat Ingoma
Classes: Bard 4 Vivisection Alchemist 1
Adventure: Scion, Songbird, Saboteur
Location: Lake Pensaris
Catalyst: Conscripted by the General
The Gory Details: After hearing tale of the general, the party paladin, Emily Tiberan, decided to fish him up and take him as a trophy. Spending a few days tracking it down, they found one of the generals favorite fishing spots and decided to attempt to fish him up. After a few hours without success, and with everyone else in the party trying, Bai Hat decided to help despite her fears (Her player has been grappled and eaten by sea monsters twice in previous campaigns.) A natural twenty brought the curious general from its depts, and rolling highest on initiative, bit and grappled the fearful Bai Hat. While the others tried to help her, and tried and failed to use liberating command to free herself, she was quickly swallowed whole and eaten by the big fish.

The paladin kept channeling to keep her alive, healing the general in the proses, until the general swallowed Emily too, who found that Bai Hat had already died in the belly of the beast. Emily took it upon herself to kill the general from the inside and rescue her body before the General could drag them to the depths.

Name: Finn
Classes: Bloodrager 4
Adventure: Scion, Songbird, Saboteur
Location: Random Encounter in the Jumblewood
Catalyst: Hungry Fog

Name: Wilbur Post
Classes: Cavalier of the Order of the Beast 4
Adventure: Scion, Songbird, Saboteur
Location: Random Encounter in the Jumblewood
Catalyst: Hungry Fog

The Gory Details: After learning of Baron Telus' affliction and curse at the hand of witches, the party decided to explore the nearby jumblewood to seek them out, hoping to cure the Baron. While exploring they met a few creatures, like giant skunks and depressed ents, before eventually stumbling across a strange fog. Deciding to explore it up close, Finn was quickly devoured by the hungry thing, and though it was slow, the team was hampered by the difficult terrain. Wilbur Post decided to try and lure the fog away from the rest, trusting his horse, Mr. Ed, to outrun the fog, but while he did save the party, Mr. Ed was burdened with heavy armor and the difficult terrain slowed him so that the fog eventually caught up to the cavalier and his steed.

They've not been seen since.

Does anybody have any suggestions of things that I can add to a Stachys harvest festival? (Yes, my group went there too.) I feel acutely aware that even though they have made a point of inviting Okerra and a couple of others, this is mainly going to be populated by the locals, so things that require more that coppers or silvers to be involved in are going to need to be in the minority.

If course, in the middle of typing this I've realized that I can have Titus crash the event... }:)

I don't know if its too late, but I made a different thread about a harvest festival. I'm also happy to share the word document (which may have some notes written on it) which can be viewed here in my google drive. The festival went fanominaly well, though if I were to do it again, I would've added a guide-booth station to each area, where a map of the fairgrounds might be purchased for either everything or just that section for a small amount, like 5gp. The silent auction items I just rolled a percentile and a d20 to figure out what percentage of the items value the highest bidder would bid and ended up with some good results. My players loved the festival overall and felt like it was a real lived-in festival and experience, where there was something for everyone, but too many things for them to do everything (or win at almost anything. They ended up winning a few games and prizes, but nothing game breaking).

If you don't want to view my drive document, you can check out the other, slightly older, thread.

These are some side activity ideas to help flesh out the festival, scattered throughout the event at various locations:

Art Gallery – Open air showcase of local talent. Best painting is worth a display trophy costing 30gp, will be worth 1200gp at the start of book 3 when the artist makes it big. Spot with appraise DC22. Can attempt to sell art here at full value (50% chance of purchase).
Climbing Wall – A fun climbing wall made from timber with DC’s of 10, 15, 20, and 25. 1sp to climb, carve name on top of wall if you make it.

Craft Fair – Open air showcase of local talent. Best craft here is a fine homespun dress died blue and decorated with swan motifs costing 30gp, counts as a noble’s outfit without the jewelry. Spot with appraise DC22. Can attempt to sell crafts here at full value (50% chance of purchase).

Cup Game – Gamble up to 10gp per game, with a perception DC15+2xgp of bet vs the con artist’s sleight of hand.

Dancing – Dance to the live music alone or with a partner. Perform dance opportunity.

Drinking Game – Drink another under the table, bet on constitution, drink when someone says something grammatically incorrect, incoherent rules explanations.

Druid Companion – An old druid (flanked by a pair of acolytes) offers to help people bond more with their animal companions. For 10gp, they cast a specialized speak with animals on the customer and one animal to allow five minutes of conversation. They also offer Awaken to be cast on one animal (no one’s stepped up for that yet) if seen during the first day or night. Finally, They sell druid scrolls of: 1st Shield Companion, Speak with Animals; 2nd Animal Purpose Training, Carry Companion, Harmless Form, Reduce Animal, Scamper; 3rd Apport Animal, Companion Mind Link, Pup Shape; 5th Raise Animal

Drunken Arguments – Verbal duel with a drunkard (own audience), win or engage in bar fight.

Escape Room – Pay 1gp to try, get ten minutes to attempt escape the cage (pass 3 2-minute long DC20 Escape Artist Checks)! Escape within the time to win an “escape box” (metal 1ft3 box, dc15 disable device to “open from inside” weight 1lb worth 2gp) containing 3d4gp.

Face Painting – Get your face painted! Decorate with swans, tanagers, owls, falcons, eagles, or dragons. 1sp for per animal. Can also paint arms or legs. Disguise skill opportunity.

Firework Show – Be mesmerized by the fireworks. Can join in with pyrotechnics or similar spells.

Galluvix Game – Can spot the Galluvix in the crowd of Hens? 1gp to play, 1d8 chance or Sense Motive DC30. Win a wooden egg as a trophy with the name and date carved in. Kids play free.

Guess the Weight – Several buckets of grain seed, a sealed keg of mead the size of a man, a jar of tiny wrapped chocolates (count), and a horse-and-cart. Bid 1, 2, 5, and 15 gp per entry. Highest appraise at end wins the item (NPC’s get 22, 24, 26, and 28 respectively).

Harrowing – Have your fortune read for 1gp. For 150gp have control over your fortune for the next week. Deal out harrow cards.

Hedge Maze – Try to navigate the maze. 1sp or 1gp to play. Make two successive DC18 survival checks to get to the maze’s center or accidentally find a way out. GP players can exchange their pay token for a potted lily “from among the thorns.”

Hide in the Haystack – Game for children, though sometimes adults play. Hide in the haystacks and try not to be spotted. Last to be found (highest stealth) wins.
Juggling and Japes – Performers juggle and jape. Perform juggle opportunity.

Live Music – Free live music performances, though tips are nice. Perform wind/string/sing/percussion opportunity.

Mage-Off – Defeat another mage in a battle of wits. Bet up to 25gp. Use mirrors and mage hand to solve your puzzle first (spellcraft and disable device DC20s, 5 successes). NPC wins in 5 turns + 1 for every 5gp under 25 (loses on tie).

Magic Aura Game – Can you spot the real one? 1gp to attempt, spot the correct magical shoe, belt, gloves, hat, and coat to win a magically attuned magnifying glass (50gp, 1lb, +2 circumstance to spellcraft to identify magical items). Requires successive DC15, 18, 20, 22, and 25 spellcraft or correct lucky guess (1/2-1/6 chance).

Petting Zoo – Come pet a wide variety of herd animals. Feed cost 1sp per handful. For 1gp can meet a galluvix, atomie, and baby treant (not even 15 years old, still medium sized).
Pottery Barn - Open air showcase of local talent. Best craft here is an excellent glass carafe which acts as half the components for making a decanter of endless water and costs 30gp. Spot with appraise DC22. Can attempt to sell crafts here at full value (50% chance of purchase).

Poetry Contest – Listen to or receipt your own poetry. Perform oratory opportunity.

Puzzle’s – Pay 1gp to try to solve a complex puzzle with a DC 15 Disable Device check. If successful, the stimulation grants the ability to roll twice and take the better result on one disable device, knowledge, or sense motive skill check in the next 24 hours. Only 1 bonus at a time. Also selling Books of Puzzles.

Rap Battle – Competitive verbal duel with a crowd (bias towards baiting and against rhetoric). 1gp to play. Beat 3 opponents to win a black champion disk trophy with the competitor's name on the label.

Silent Auction – The silent auction has is divided intro three sections, animals in pens, seeds and foods in stalls, and luxury goods indoors. The outside auctions are primarily for the common folk and are filled with various assorted goods (that players can bid on optionally), while the luxury goods are for the wealthy and nobles and will be listed specifically. Players can use appraise to try and figure out the actual value of the item, while bidding blindly into a box on a slip of paper. Should bid highest, at the end of the festival their winnings will be delivered, and money collected. Contents are titled and described, with an appraise DC for actual value, and the highest bid placed upon it by NPC’s. For the luxury goods, an attendant guards the box and keeps track of the highest bid, checking every hour, and can inform returning bidders if they do or do not have the highest bid.
• “A small portable library for referencing the empire’s wonders.” Bundle of 10 adventurer’s chronicles (one for each major knowledge), along with a footprints book, and a heritage book (Taldan), in a carrying handbag. DC18 (600gp), bid (144gp), weight 17lbs.
• “This castors glove has five empty slots, with one slot containing a pearl.” A decorative glove with one pearl of power (1st level). DC21 (1,050gp), bid (536gp), weight 1lb.
• “An old bureaucrats’ referendum on counties and cities of Taldor.” A large set of file folders acting as a Book of Letters for every county and major city in Taldor. DC21 (1,500gp), bid (405gp), weight 90lbs.
• “This spellbook is for teaching beginner illusionists.” A single spellbook containing every PFS legal 0-2nd level wizard illusion spells unencoded. DC22 (1,650gp) bid (858gp), weight 3lbs.
• “This silver compass was used in the Shinning Crusade.” A Shinning Wayfinder with a single Ioun slot with static assignment. Currently holds a cracked dusty rose prism ioun stone. DC22 (2,500gp), bid (450gp), weight 1lb.
• “This fashionable five-piece outfit is perfect for living rough or living in style.” Contains a wig (hat) of disguise, a pair of sleeves of many garments, a nobles outfit (base cloth), a 225gp amethyst neckless, and a cloak of resistance +1. DC24 (3,300gp), bid (2,013gp) weight 14lbs.
• “This lions-head helm has a golden mane and is fearsome to look upon.” Act’s as a Stag’s Helm, attuned to Aroden. DC24 (3,500gp) bid (2,800gp), weight 3lbs.
• “A book of knowledge supposedly written by the hand of an Aeon, this book is filled with complex pictures and diagrams.” Occult ritual book containing information to learn and acts as focus for the Multiversal Knowledge Occult Ritual. DC28 (5,000gp), bid (4,500gp), weight 3lbs.
• “This former-champions armor is emblazoned with lions and made from fine mithril.” This is a +1 mithril agile breastplate. DC26 (5,400gp) bid (4,968gp) weight 12.5lbs
• “This set, called ‘The Floating Champion’ is demoed with a dummy wearing swan-decorated armor, lance, and shield atop a wooden horse floating above the ground. Dummy and horse not included.” A set of horseshoes of the Zephyr, darkleaf studded leather armor, a heavy darkwood shield, and a darkwood lance. DC (7,417gp), bid (4,896gp), weight 24lbs.

Stable Showcase – Open air showcase of local animals for sale. Best in show here is a heavy horse being sold as a farm horse but with the soul and training of a warhorse (belonged to a soldier turned farmer, now passed away). Spot with handle animal DC22. Can attempt to sell animals here at full value (50% chance of purchase).

Strong Man Bell – Ring the bell to win a prize! 1gp to play, 3 attempts, DC Strength 24. Prize is an engraved “Victory” bell, counts as masterwork bell instrument.

Tattoo Station – Get tattoos professionally applied.

Toss Games – Play fun games of cornhole, horseshoes, racquetball, and basketball against teammates or competitors. Free to play, bets optional, courts available to the public but requiring waiting in lines (x2 time).

Treasure Hunt – Buy a map for 1gp. Linguistics DC15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25 to solve the clues pointing to the next station (requires completing the previous station to attempt). Must visit the correct station with the map and the coded answer to receive the stamp and clue-word for next station. Stations to visit are: Strong Man Bell, Dryad Kissing Booth, Harrowing, Silent Auction, and Lauchlein Lakeside stone circle. Present map with final codeword at the last station to receive a commemorative shambleman straw doll for the festival (worth 5gp).

Trivia Corner – 10gp to play, competitive trivia against all present in a random knowledge category (DC20) asking questions until one player gets 3 right and wins an Adventurer’s Chronicle to the associated knowledge. Assume an NPC gets it in 5 rounds, losing on a tie.

The new Lord also challenged Titus Cassava-Lotheed...

In mine, they briefly met Titus at the Exaltation Galla during crownfall while he was drunk and hitting on one of the players, following her around until she was able to shake him off. When they spotted him again during the tanager jubilee when a player faced off against him during the joust, both parties rolled a natural 1 on their attack roll, so I had them accidentally closeline each other with their lances, knocking both of them off their horses. They then dueled with swords to "yield or unconscious" to see who won the bout, following the rules of etiquette to go for non-lethal strikes only. After the player was disarmed repeatedly, it turned into a grapple-brawl, wherein Titus was eventually beaten unconscious.

Titus has neither forgiven nor forgotten them, and the two sides have a deep cold enmity brewing between them.

Quibblemuch

I think GM PDK's spreadsheet will be more useful to you, but I made a github webpage for my players that shows them the current state of their game, the people they know, and what they've learned about them so-far. Your welcome to use any resources from there in your own games if youd like, or if you happen to be a web-developer, your welcome to use my git code as a baseline.

The web page can be accessed here

I keep being surprised by how everyone's groups seem to get everyone to helpful so quickly, but then I remember the adjustments I made to balance the influence system, as recommended on the forum boards here.

First, I force them to make discovery checks to learn HOW they can influence a target, with successes giving one skill and subsequent successes/beating them by 5 giving them the next skill, always starting with the hardest and moving to the easiest method of influence. They can't just roll for diplomacy and assume they'll make it. This makes sense, because the point of the discovery checks is to learn more about the person, and no matter how charming you are, it's better to know what to talk about. This method has really helped stretch my group and make them spend time with the characters. This worked exceptionally well in crownfall (forcing them to need to choose whom to work with) and very well so far in this AP.

Second, I included the Faces of the Senate from the appendix of Crownfall in this campaign, both at the gala, and some of them were also at the tanager jubilee (the one's whose geography made sense, like Count Orlundo Zespire and Marquess Tanasha Starborne. These extra people made the PC's need to choose whom to work with and how.

Third, I ran Honors Echo as a day-zero pre-campaign, and several of the characters have become recurring characters throughout their campaign, adding more faces and lore to their world in much the same way as the Faces of the Senate.

My group got Baron Okerra and Count Zespire to helpful and count bartelby and dame crabbe to friendly. They had also managed to get the Marquess to helpful, but she left after the hafling race and was so appalled that the pc's participated that she dropped down to helpful again. They've since managed to move dame crabbe up to helpful and baroness voinum to neutral, but they've lost their relationship with the count and are creating problems themselves with Remaio Alcasti (from Honor's Echo) who is trying to figure out their secret.

Overall, the change and populating the world has made the influence system a really enjoyable part for my group.

This is amusingly similar to what I've done - except the PCs have been the ones to organize their "Stachys Summer Festival." They've gotten heavily invested in event planning and deciding which of their neighbors to invite - and it has all the benefits you describe.

Furthermore, I ran Birthright Betrayed as a "Session Zero" before we began Crownfall, and Earl Vernisant has been established as an enemy of the party all along. He has had them followed, placing a spy in Stachys to watch them. I've written in some attempts by this spy to sabotage events at the festival, in the spirit of the beehive attack in the Senate Gala and the crossbow assassination attempt in the Jubilee.

I used Honor's Echo as our session zero, helping the party to get to know the world and lore and to seed other characters. This helped with Vernisant, but has done nothing to fill them in on Duke Panivar Lotheed, which I'm trying to sprinkle in slightly earlier than just finding his stuff around the palace in part three. In the festival, I'm also including several other NPC's both from Faces of the Senate and from Honor's Echo that have been throughout the campaign (Like Ramaio Alcasti, who in my universe, was made a baron as a result of the PC's actions in Honors Echo and he moved into Ralthorn Manor, attempting to take over the Telus Barony since Araig's disappearance and transmutation, though he's been an antagonistic force allying with the four hoods and demanding taxation and assistance from the "Betony Heirs" he knows to be imposters). I did not include notes on these NPC's (Other than Marquess Tanasha Starborne, since her presence is relatively dominant in the harvest festival), as I don't know how other GM's might be utilizing these characters currently.

I decided to make a harvest festival at about the halfway point in part 2 of Scion Songbird Saboteur for a few reasons:

1) The party absolutely loved the Tanager Jubilee and I wanted to give them something similar.
2) It feels thematically appropriate for there to be a harvest festival right after the harvest and tax collecting portion, as it is what feudal and medieval systems did to appease the peasantry after the taxman came around to levy the harvests.
3) It gives an opportunity to sprinkle in the nobility again, as while there were plenty of opportunities during the Tanager Jubilee, my party at least has tended to visit one noble until they got their attitude to friendly, and then ignore them afterward. This means in our specific case, my party made fast friends with Baron Okerra and haven't seen him again, and meanwhile, they haven't even spoken to Bartleby Lotheed and only spoke with Baroness Voinum once.
4) It creates an opportunity for further foreshadowing by introducing nobles and gossip from future content.

For simplicity, I’m bracketing these within spoiler tags.

Festival Games - Each game costs 1gp per attempt, max one prize per person, CR1 for grand prize:

Contests - Must register during the first day, each attempt is 1gp (except the joust, which is nobles only and 25gp). In all contests, magic of any kind is prohibited and will result in disqualification. The champions also gain a cumulative +1 on influence checks for the rest of the festival for each victory. If a player wins at least one contest, they also gain one point of heroism for their persona. The contests themselves take place during day 2 in the following order:

Name: Gene
Classes: Sorcerer 4
Adventure: Scion, Songbird, Saboteur
Location: Forgotten Archives
Catalyst: Trapped with the Iron Lash's Spiked Tail
The Gory Details: After a wonderful first day at the tanager jubilee followed by a restful night (for all but the party's alchemist), the party got ready for the morning hunt. After meeting their quarry (a human who sold "spoiled milk" to Count Bartleby and was dressed as a buck), the party was quite confident the hunt would be a piece of cake, especially if all the other nobles were hunting also. They schemed as to how they might track down their quarry quickly and then hunt down Titus' prey and set off into the wood with a plan. When they found their quarry fleeing the Iron Lash, the fighter charged in its direction while the bard shot it with a bolt. The Iron lash surprised them by taking flight and moving to the center of the hunting party and lashing out with its tail. The witch put it to sleep, but it awoke from the falling damage, so as the party scrambled to arrange themselves, the witch used web to trap the Iron lash in place. While the web kept it from moving about too much, the sorcerer was still in range of its tail and it hit him hard. While the rest of the party attempted to use ranged attacks, the sorcerer couldn't escape the web and the Iron Lash's tail struck again, bringing him from conscious to dead.

Name: Entire Party
Classes: Witch 2, Sorcerer 2, Bard 2, Fighter 2
Adventure: Crownfall
Location: Forgotten Archives
Catalyst: Swarms
The Gory Details: Having reached the circular halls of an old senatorial chamber where committees could debate and students could learn, the party heard the voice of the self-proclaimed Dagio the Great. Not finding him, they attempted to leave and were set upon by swarms of rats. Panicking, the casters were too distracted to successfully cast spells and were quickly devoured by the rats, leaving only the fighter standing with his sword. He swung again and again but was quickly downed by a combination of the swarms' numbers and Dagio's Acid Arrow.

This time, I blooped them back to just as they walked into the room, with the witch receiving another vision from her patron of the party being devoured by a swarm of angry circles. Warning her team, they made a dash for the exit only to find the door locked as Dagio the Great announced himself and sent the swarms charging in. Things looked bleak as the witch was immediately downed and the others were injured, but this time, the casters were no too panicked by the rats and through a combination of sleep and color spray were able to keep the swarms at bay before focusing on the swarms with their spells and the fighter's sword. With just Dagio remaining, they engaged in a duel of magic and bows until only the fighter remained standing and, through the use of potions, he was able to return his unconscious team to their feet.

Name: Entire Party
Classes: Witch 2, Sorcerer 2, Bard 2, Fighter 2
Adventure: Crownfall
Location: Forgotten Archives
Catalyst: Telling Imistos to stand watch.
The Gory Details: After delving for a while into the forgotten archives, the party decided they needed to rest to regain spells. They figured their best option was to return to the safe-house they teleported into earlier, bring the nobles with them, and use the provided beds. The nobles didn't like the idea of resting and complained, preventing the party from getting any rest, so the party Witch used her slumber hex to put them all into a magical sleep, except the halfling Imistos, who they trusted instead to guard them while they slept... He took his time and quietly coup-de-grace'd each of them in their sleep, one by one, with none of them making the DC0 perception check any of the times to hear open combat with their -10 penalty of being asleep.

I don't mind killing characters (and actually killed two before the campaign start as I ran Honor's Echo as an introduction to the campaign), but party wipes end the story, so I usually allow a rollback during wipes so things can continue. In this case, I rolled it back to just as the first one of them was being coup-de-graced and gave the witch a nightmare of being stabbed in her sleep, and let her get a new perception check (she had a +8 bonus and didn't roll a 1 this time) to hear open combat. She awoke and screamed loudly, rousing the party, before stabilizing their dying friend. She decided she had her patron to thank for this vision of the possibly grizzly future, which came in handy later that session...

I made an alternative to the jousting rules as presented in Scion, Songbird, Sabateur, which worked very well in out session, based more heavily upon historical jousting.

Weapons - Both sides are using practice lances which are blunted and deal non-lethal damage only and do not deal x2 damage on a charge unless they hit their opponent in the head.

Both competitors ride to opposite ends of the tilt, turn, salute, and charge. They then must:
1) Make opposing ride checks - The one with the higher ride check gains the +2 charge bonus on their attack roll and a +2 circumstance bonus on their damage roll.
2) Both sides choose to aim for the body (Normal AC) or the head (AC+5, as per called shot rules) of their opponent.
3) Both sides make their attack rolls, with anything less than the AC of their opponent glancing off, and hits shattering the lance and dealing damage as normal.
4) Any character struck must make a ride check with a DC equal to the amount of damage received or be knocked from their horse.
5) They repeat until they have done this a total of three times or the match is ended early by one competitor being unhorsed, or one competitor withdrawing.

Scoring: 1 point for breaking a lance against the targets chest, 2 points for hitting the head (harder target) and three points for unhorsing your opponent. If a competitor is knocked unconscious or killed, they automatically fall from their horse. If a competitor rolls a natural 1, they become tangled in their equipment and fall during the charge. If both competitors are unseated on the same charge (regardless of reason) they then continue the fight on foot dealing non-lethal blows only (taking the -4 penalty if they don't have a blunted weapon with them) until one side is knocked unconscious or surrenders.

If you unhorse your opponent (and aren't unhorsed at the same time), you can choose to claim their horse as a prize or leave it with your competitor. If you choose to take their horse, your competitor has the option of paying fair-market value in ransom instead.

Matches are bracket-style elimination, with draws being determined between gentlemen as to whom will withdraw, or by charging again until one side scores. There is time given between facing each opponent for competitors to rest up and have all non-lethal damage healed.

Did anyone else notice a fairy-tale feel to a lot of these characters? I caught it when my players started comparing Dame Crabbe to the Queen of Hearts while they were playing Trucco, and later, when they played Last Azlant together (I broke out real Harrow Cards during this part). Looking deeper (to stuff my players haven't seen yet), she's a bombastic gossip, wears pink, has a tangled hedge maze in her otherwise lush gardens, she pushes people around, and she even has a quiet Sespina in blue as her opposite, lost all the time (Alice). It's not an exact copy, but it pays out very well.

Looking more, we see robin hood (one of the rumors even mentions "robs from the rich and gives to the poor"), swan princess, and beauty and the beast (Baron Telus, with no beauty to save him). Baron Okerra also reminds me of the uncle from A Sword in the Stone (or really the book The Once and Future King), trying to find a tutor for his daughter. The depictions are a mix of modern and classic takes on these tales, always with a wonderful twist, and I like the Idea of playing some of these similarities up.

It helps all the more that the Tandak Plains and the county of Merat were once within the border of the Verduran Forest, AKA the Enchanted Forest, and there's plenty of opportunity for fey interactions (both as part of the main story and given in the encounters). Plus, this is a Princess story, trying to retake the palace (one player already compared it's description to snow whites summer palace, I've no idea why).

Now, my biggest problem is - I have no idea who Baroness Voinum might be...

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REMAIO ALCASTI
N male human bard 3
Background A decendent of the Countess Honaria Alcasti, Remaio is here in a bid to restore his ancestors honor and titles, and conveniently restore him to nobility as well.
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DESCRIPTION
Appearance Curly hair, trimed beard, plucked eyebrows, and manacured nails, Remaio looks every bit like the son of a Noble. Dressed in fine livery sporting his family colors, and wearing an ancient signet ring, you'd think he was a noble if you didn't know better.
Personality Prideful and corrupt, Remaio is leveraging several fotunes on this "investment" of restoring his ancestors titles and honor. While he already leverages a fair amount of influence,his power will be greatly expanded upon should he become a nobleman, receiving the priviledges he believes he deserves. Should he become a noble, he is likely to continue expanding his criminal activities and may be a stain on his family name, but should his bid fail, he's likely to seek vengeance on those that stoped him.
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DISCOVERY
Weakness N/A
INFLUENCE
Special: If the PCs work leads to him receiving an Earldom, they have his favor. Alternatively, should he fail in his bid, he will blame them and seek vengeance.
REWARDS
Benefit: While his actions are far from laudible, he leverages a fair amount of influence, though this tends to manifest as extra "jobs" for the PC's to clean up after.
Special: If he fails to become an earl, he leverages what influence he can to make the lives of the PC's miserable, albeit only half as much as he would if he was "helping" them as an earl.

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VISCOUNT THEON CENABRI
NG male human aristocrat 6
Background Adistant descendant of Italice Cenabri, this particular viscount is remarkable in that while he has done little more than coast on his family name, he has done nothing scandelous to harm his family name, and he treats his servants better than most.
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DESCRIPTION
Appearance Dressed in mutted colors and lacking ostentatious jewelry, Viscount Theon Cenabri stands out in this particular crowd as the only noble not wearing flashy jewels. He might be mistaken for a servant were in not for his expensive and well-recognized signet ring and frequent apearance at state events.
Personality Calm and reserved, Theon is perfectly polite at all times, and is excellent, albeit passionless, at making small talk with nobles and courtiers of all ranks. He does not much play the great game, and while he's kept his family name clean, he's not advancing it either. The only thing he seems passionate about is his ancestry, and he is in attendence primarily to fight against Honaria's reinstatement on general principle, though he has very little influence to bring to bear on the issue.
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DISCOVERY
Weakness (K:History/K:Local DC 16)
Caring for the preservation of his family history, he appreciates anyone demonstrating a similar knowledge of their heritage as well as anyone who holds a deep respect for tradition and bloodlines.
INFLUENCE
Influence Checks (K:Nobility/Sense Motive DC 15) Diplomacy, Knowledge (history), or Bluff DC 15
Successes Needed: 1 checks
Special: If the PCs left Italice's remains behind, he cannot be influenced. Alternatively, if they promise to tell her story at the court proceedings, they automatically earn his favor..
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REWARDS
Benefit: The influence of Viscount Theon is limited, but his passion at the trial can surprise the court. He provides a +5 bonus to the PC's if they choose to withold Honaria's title, or a +2 if they chose to restore her title but not restore Remaio to nobility.
Special: If the PCs tell Italice's story or don't earn Theon's favor, they take a -2 penalty at the court procedings to restore Honaria's and Remaio's honor.

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JUDGE SOLOMON MEANDER
CG male human aristocrat 6
Background An ageing judge, off duty this particular evening, who is preparing to make a presentation to the senate ahead of the vote concerning primogeniture. Some wisper he's uncovered scandelous evidence regarding the princess, and has been sitting on it until just before the vote.
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DESCRIPTION
Appearance Well dressed in a worn three piece suit, Solomon Meanders indulgience in pipe tobacco has left his breath and clothes stained with its smell. Over-the-hill, the frown lines creasing his face and forehead make him look far older than his still colored hair suggests.
Personality A bitter and overworked bureaucrat, Solomon is jaded with his fellow nobles and senators and wants to watch them suffer. He's uncovered scandelous letters regarding the princess that he's been looking forward to revealing at a time like this just to make as many nobles as possible squirm uncomfortably. Keeping a close ear to investigations and political machinations, Solomon would actually make an excellent spy, if he chose to help himself (or even others) with the information he's uncovered, rather than only using it to sow chaos and discord. An excellent judge, he's made enemies a few times, but never to a degree where real retaliation was waranted.
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DISCOVERY
Weakness (K:History/P:Barrister DC 15)
It's practically a well-known fact at this point that Judge Solomon wants to make the nobility as uncomfortable as possible. Complaining about the nobility is a sure way to earn his attention, and hes often willing to trade dirt on a noble for dirt on another.
INFLUENCE
Influence Checks (K:Local/Sense Motive DC 16) Perform (oratory), Diplomacy, or Knowledge (history) DC 15
Successes Needed: 2 checks
Special: Mocking or embarissing a noble in front of him counts as one success.
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REWARDS
Benefit: Once his favor is earned, he lets slip that he has scandelous letters from princess eutropia that will cast doubt on her just before the vote. He also offers to trade a secret about Remaio Alcasti in exchange for humiliating another noble in front of him, or giving him proof of their future humiliation (during this evening). Once acomplished, he warns the PCs that Remaio has been paying for his lifestyle and quest to restore his family name with illicit financial tactics and ill-gotten-gold. Supporting will likely turn into more of a liability than a benefit, as if he becomes a noble, he will only expand his illicit deals and his reputation will taint their own. He suggests that they abbandon the endevour, or find a way to clear his families name without restoring his title.
Special: Stealing the letters (DC15 Sleight of Hand) and delivering them to Martella causes her to reward the PC's an extra 200gp for their initiative and prevents the judge from throwing shade on the princess before the vote.

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CAPTAIN SEFERI
CG female human rogue 6
Background A Zimar Corsair, little is known about Captain Sefari for certain, though a few like to tell fanciful stories.

DESCRIPTION
Appearance Dressed in her corsair blacks, Captain Sefari sticks out like a sore thumb (and the 12 inch peacock feather in her hat doesn't help matters). Scowling, she moves about anxiously, and the faint smell of rum wafts about her.
Personality Bulying and blackmailing her way into the galla, Captain Seferi is headstrong and usually self-assured, but today shes extreamly nervous. She hides it, and her insecurities, but shes come to support Princess Eurtopia, wanting to see the anticipated success of her bid for the repeal of primogeniture in person, and hoping to find some way to curry her favor and approval.

DISCOVERY
Weaknesses (K:Nobility or Sense Motive DC 16) Despite her seemingly rough demeanor, Captain Seferi just want to earn the approval of Princess Eutropia, and has no idea how to do it. Giving her advice on how to dress or act encourages her, and a gift of a proper set of clothing to wear or a good gift to offer the Princess after the vote can help her find the confidence uses as she faces the rest of the world.
INFLUENCE
Influence Checks (K:Local/P:Soldier DC16) Diplomacy, Proffesion (soldier), or Knowledge (nobility) DC 14
Successes Needed: 2 checks
Special: A good gift to offer the princess or a proper set of clothing to wear automatically curries her favor.
Benefit: Helping prepare her for whats ahead earns her trust. She gives the PC's a token of the Zimar Corsairs, a cleaver coin-shaped piece of metal that other corsairs will easily recognize. Showing the token to a corsair shows them your one of them and you have the trust of a captain, making securing the corsairs aid much easier. She also offers the use of her ship, should they ever need to sail to Qadira, but she is slain defending the princess during the massacre and is unable to keep this promise.
Story Award: If the PCs successfully influence Captain Seferi, award them 600 XP.

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FATHER BASRI
LG male half-elf ex-cleric 12
Background Father Basri maintains the Basilica of the Last Man as a tourist attraction, keeping Aroden at least somewhat alive and remembered. As an Archbishop, Father Basri has a permanent invitation to state celebrations, and uses the opportunity to raise donations for his dwindling church.

DESCRIPTION
Appearance Incredibly old and with a broken spirit Father Basri shambles to and fro, reminding the Taldor traditionalists of their old deific patron, the Last Azlanti. The sadness of his patron’s death and the years since have weighed heavily on his shoulders, and he walks with a stooped back, leaning heavily on a cane.
Personality The last Archbishop of Aroden left on Golarion, the incredibly old half-elf Father Basri can still remember a time when Aroden personally spoke to him through prayer. Lately, he's been telling people that he believes Aroden will return in their lifetime, but many see this as mere wistful ramblings of an old man.

DISCOVERY
Weakness (K:History/K:Religion DC 18) Father Basri dedicated his life to Aroden over a century ago, and he remembers fondly the times before the commencement of the Age of Lost Omens. Those who use Arodenite aphorisms in their speech can quickly coax a warm smile from Father Basri.
INFLUENCE
Influence Checks (K:Local/Sense Motive DC 16) Diplomacy, Knowledge (religion), or Knowledge (history) DC 15
Successes Needed: 1 checks
Special: If the PCs returned the relics, they have already earned his favor. If they kept the relics, he is actively petitioning against them and the PC's cannot earn his favor.Benefit: Benefit: The thanks of an Archbishop to a dead god isn't worth much these days, but making the old man smile warms the hearts of some people in attendance. This grants a +1 to influence checks against good-aligned characters during the galla and during the trial for Honaria.
Special: If the PCs kepts the relics, he petitions for their return and slandars the PC's, imposing a -2 penalty on all influence checks during the Galla or until the PCs return the relics.

These NPC are from Honors Echo, which mesh quite nicely if played as a prequal to the events at the Senate.
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LORD DOMINICUS RELL
N male human bard 3/ rogue 3/ lion blade 3
Background A close advisor of the Grand Prince of Taldor, Dominicus Rell is also the head of the Lion Blade's hidden Shadow Schools, and the only man alive who knows all of their locations. While technically palace staff, Dominicus Rell is one of the few atending guests outside of the Grand Prince's personal attache who lives at the Imperial Palace.

DESCRIPTION
Appearance Lord Dominicus Rell is an imposing man of Azlanti ancestry, and the cold stare of his multi-colored eyes has been known to freeze people in their tracks. Lean but strong, he keeps his movements precise and deliberate.
Personality While Dominicus Rell happily talks with anyone who approaches him, he tends to turn conversations into opportunities to probe those around him for useful information, while seeing through the unreliable gossip-mongers and keeping conversations with them short and pointed. He is here to protect the crown, and by extension his position, while being idly antagonistic to Princess Eutropia's cause, seeing her as naive and a danger to the kingdoms stability.

DISCOVERY
Weakness N/A
INFLUENCE
Influence Checks (K:Local/Sense Motive DC 15)Knowledge (history) DC 15
Successes Needed: 3 checks
Benefit: Benefit: Successfully influencing Dominicus Rell at this point reveals that his loyalties are to the crown more than to the Grand Prince himself. Uncovering this information is so profound for a PC with the discovery mission, that it makes up for not getting one of their assigned targets. Further, his favor makes admitance into the Lion Blades significantly easier for any PC's looking to pursue that prestige class.
Story Award: If the PCs successfully influence Lord Dominicus Rell, award them 800 XP.

Knight Karina Deckland is an assosciate of Earl Calhadion Vernisant and is within the Exaltation Galla in the PFS Scenario Lion's Justice.
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KNIGHT KARINA DECKLAND
LE female human fighter 6
Background A guest of Earl Calhadion Vernisant and the now-eldest daughter of a small family of Chelish Nobles, Karina rose to prominance after her half-sisters murder by Pathfinder agents several years ago. She mkes no secret of her distaste for the society or other "murder hobos".

DESCRIPTION
Appearance Katrina's most striking feature is easily her singular red eye, rumored by many as a sign of a pact with infernal powers. With long, wispy black hair and a tendency to lock eyes for just a little too long, she seems to thrive on unnerving those around her.
Personality Knight Karina Deckland is highly intelligent and utterly un-charismatic, she would be a jewel of Chelish courtly politics if she wasn't so hot tempered and crass in her treatment of others, especially her betters. Tactical and hardy, she spends her free time training her body and mind, relying on combat as her proving ground and relishing any chance she has to deliver a killing blow. She fantasises about getting vengeance on the Pathfinder Society for killing her half-sister, and though she's had little opportunity, she loves to find a reason for executing adventurers that would have otherwise been taken prisoner.

DISCOVERY
Weakness Weakness (K:History/Sense Motive DC 18) Her hatred of the Pathfinder Society is apparent and easy to play on. If someone expreses a similar distast for the society, adventurers, explorers, and their like, without revealing that they themselves are adventurers, they can easily find a fast (if false) friend in Karina.
INFLUENCE
Influence Checks (K:Geography/Sense Motive DC 16) Diplomacy, Knowledge (geography), or Profession (soldier) DC 18
Successes Needed: 2 checks
Benefit: Successfully influencing Karina grants two benefits. First, she offers to introduce the PCs to High Strategos Maxillar Pythareus if they haven’t already met him. This introduction occurs immediately after Karina is influenced, allowing any PCs present a “free” social round to influence the high strategos with a +2 circumstance bonus due to Karina’s glowing praise. Second, she will pass on her opinion of the PC's to her sponsor, Earl Calhadion Vernisant, which counts as one sucessful influence check on the Earl (if his favor hasn't already been won).

Story Award: If the PCs successfully influence Knight Karina Deckland, award them 600 XP.

I generated the stats of Lord Titus Lotheed-Casava, whom the PC's will meet in book two and who is supposed to recognize the Pcs from the Exaltatiuon Gala, as a combination opposotion and foreshadowing. I think including him will make meeting him (again) in book two and eventually fighting him even better, as well as providing an active opponent at the gala, albeit a small one.

LORD TITUS LOTHEED-CASAVA
LE male human fighter 6

Background A distant cousin of Martella's by marriage, Titus is a poiled bully with an intimidating reputation as an accomplished duelist. Oppara's given him everything he's wanted out of life, and hes not yet faced any real threats to his lifestyle.

DESCRIPTION
Appearance Young and proud, Titus' ornate dueling sword accents his green tunic proudly. The smell of his cologn is overpowering, but while it covers his breath, his glassy, drooping eyes and irregular speech make it obvious he's been drinking.
Personality Titus is a braggart, a bully, a slacker, and a lush. He takes an immediate dislike to the PC's and sees through their political machinations, but with nothing but his reputation as a parasite, Titus has little sway. Most of his energy is spent chasing skirts and skutton, or else harrasing and insulting those around him.
Special: Taking an immediate dislike to the PC's, he follows around and insults the first PC that interacts with him. This imposes a -4 on all tasks and checks until he is shaken off and prevents the PC from influencing a room. If he witnesses the PC's comit a crime, he calls the guards.

DISCOVERY
Weakness (Apraise/Sense Motive DC 15): Surpisingly discerning for an alchoholic, Titus is easy to distract with gifts of alchohol woth at least 10gp more than what is otherwise available to him at the moment. Pouring elven wine into him is an especially good way to distact him or get him off your back, for a moment anyway.
INFLUENCE
Influence Checks (K:Local/Sense Motive DC 18) Intimidate, Perform (comedy), Craft (alchemy), or Profession (brewer) DC 15
Successes Needed: 3 checks
Benefit: PCs successfully influencing Titus manage to shake him loose, causing him to set off towards the kitchens declaring a need for stronger stuff. He stops harrasing the PC's during this adventure.

I'm about to start running War for the Crown, and while I have nothing (yet) to add to this, I do want to ask that others do! Especially RiverOcean, as your Intro as Martella is perfect, and I would love it if you could record Martella's other lines throughout the campaign.

Name: Ezrid the Uncrushable
Race: Half-Orc
Classes/levels: Archer (fighter) 12
Adventure: Infernal Syndrome
Location: The Statue of Aroden
Catalist: Walking a Razors Edge
The Gory Details: Confronting Chamamndy and Eccardian, the group fought them while standing on the angled sword Aroden held aloft, high over his head. The archer used the range to her advantage to unleash a hail of arrows as the barbarians charged in and the rogue and warpriests moved in formation. One of them successfully bull-rushed Chamandy off the sword and gleefully watched her plummet to the earth below, only to see her reach for a snapleaf and vanish.

They focused on Eccardian, as he was still atop the sword, and didn't notice when Chamandy snuck up behind the archer and got in a great sneak attack. She debilitated and paralyzed her, and unable to balance any longer, Ezrid plummeted to the Earth Below, shattering against the pile of treasure accumulated at the bottom as the stiff Scrouge-McDuck hit the reality of diving into a pile of treasure in an uncontrolled fall.

Out of mercy, as it was the last fight at the end of the campaign, and our last session together, we decided that she didn't slip, but instead froze in a posture of perfectly maintained balance, and she instead watched helplessly as the warpriests tried to save her... which they did! They forced themselves between Ezrid and Chammandy and created an impenetrable wall, keeping her safe while the group dispatched the two Usurpers of the Council.

Name: Cyrus
Race: Sylph
Classes/levels: Sorcerer 10
Adventure: The Twice-Dammned Prince
Location: The Sewers Below the Cuicci Family Home
Catalist: Grab (EX)
The Gory Details: Searching out the secret area beneath the wine cellar in the Suicci home for answers to the secrets surrounding them, they came upon a vast cistern filled with truly-disgusting smelling water. They had been safely walking across the ledge when one of the warpriest brothers slipped and fell in. Much to the horror of the group, Darim said he thought there was something in the water. The rogue barely had enough time to say, "I've got a bad feeling about this," before a tentacle wrapped itself around Darim and pulled him under.

Seeking to help, the party positioned themselves around the cistern, trying to see through the grime for any sign of the creature below or for Darim to surface, and the flying sylph sorcerer floated close to the waters edge. Darim (surprising everyone) broke the surface and cried out for help. Cyrus was just planning to cast Freedom of Movement on him, when a tentacle hit and grabbed both Darim and him out of the sky. Knowing any attempt to escape would be futile, Cyrus chose to try and electrocute the creature, and successfully cast his stilled and silent shocking grasp. The creature was none to please, and chose to maintain his grip on Cyrus (forcing him to release) Darim. On the good end of things, this did end up saving Darim's life, but as the tentacles wrapped tightly around Cyrus, the monster succeeded in squeezing the last of his life out of him before happily eating him, clothes and all.

His death caused so many flash-backs to the death of Saib, that the party rallied and murdered the beast, though it was a near thing that they didn't lose both brothers in the process.

Name: Pandora
Race: Catfolk
Classes/levels: Conjurer 8
Adventure: Infernal Syndrome
Location: Entryway to Avernus
Catalist: Carried Off by Birds
The Gory Details: After traveling through a stained-glass window and finding a spiraling staircase deep underground, the party found a massive cavern underground, filled with devils leading the souls of the damned off to hell. Unsure whether it was another illusion or if they had actually found hell's entrance (they are in Cheliax after all), the party marched off into the desert, attempting as best they could to avoid the demons and the lines of souls.

They were, however, unable to avoid the giant ostridge-like birds, however, that came pouring out of a nest of metallic cactuses. They quickly attacked the party with their foul smoke-breath, obscuring their vision and forcing them to split up as they fled its acrid burn. As they fled, the birds drove a wedge between them, continuing to breath smoke upon them and keeping them from noticing the cat-wizard, whom had been with them since the beginning, babbling incoherently on the ground amidst the smog. Two of the birds began pecking at her until she finally ceased babbling in her attempt to resist, and carried her off quickly to their nest to finish her off.

Her body was never found.

Name: Cormac the Liberator
Race: Human
Classes/levels: Paladin of Iomedae 7
Adventure: Infernal Syndrome
Location: The Succubus Lair
Catalist: Barbarians and their Low Will Saves
The Gory Details: After the loss of their hired assassin, the group was quite surprised to find a Paladin taking refuge in the Shrine to Iomedae. He had had a vision from Iomedae months prior, and traveled far to reach westcrown to try and kill a pair of siblings, close like twin's, who had a plan to doom Westcrown. Arriving in time to see an explosion and a pillar of fire, he fought devils in the streets until exhausted and sought sanctuary.

Here, he met the Lights of Westcrown, and learned about the existence of a Pit Fiend, named Liebdaga the Twin, and wondered if this was the target he had been searching out. Joining the group, he helped them clear several areas within the Nessian Spiral, but they lacked a needed key (or dexterous skill) to shut down the cooling chambers. Consulting some of the surviving tiefling workers, he learned that it may be down the corridor the group refused to traverse, and with faith guiding him, he led the group within.

Failing at diplomacy against the paladin, the succubus tried vainly to escape or find mercy from the angry paladin, and so she turned to Rizzardo for help. Rizzardo, captivated by her beauty, quickly positioned himself behind the paladin who was wailing on his heart-crush, and wailed on him with his spiked chains, killing him quickly after only a single flurry of blows.

The party didn't blame him, but Rizzardo lived in absolute fear of his mind being dominated again from that moment onward. He knew he was weak willed, and he could still remember the look on the face of his fast-friend Cormac when he, caught by surprise by his friend, was beaten to death. This further deepened Rizzardo's distain for magic, as well as his superstitious nature.

Name: [Redacted]
Race: Fetchling
Classes/levels: Rogue 3, Sorcerer 3
Adventure: Infernal Syndrome
Location: The Succubus Lair
Catalist: Scouting Ahead
The Gory Details: With the explosion of the mayoral house, and the success the Lights of Westcrown guild had in hiring some warpriest mercenaries to clear out Delvehaven's Vampires (A pair of brothers by the name of Barim and Darim), the guild brought on two more into their standard group of dungeon-crawlers. The first was Rizzardo, picked up as a cohort by Mordai, the existing party rogue. The second was a magical rogue assassin who was hired to assist them in their exploration. This character refused to share his name, as he was there first and foremost for the coin, but he was helpful in successfully infiltrating the Nessian Spiral.

After coming across a group of starving tieflings, however, the group couldn't decide upon which direction to go. The unnamed sneak decided to scout ahead along the narrow corridor, and open the door. Much to his surprise, the love of his life was waiting for him on a soft bed, and asked for an embrace, a kiss, and a cuddly way to pass the time. Feeling his life ebb away, he almost shook his mind free of the succubus' mind control, but he was too weak willed and happily gave in to a few moments of passion before withering to a husk of his former self.

After waiting an hour, and the scout never returning, the group decided that only death must be down that tunnel, and turned away, leaving him behind.

Name: Kraztar
Race: Gnome
Classes/levels: Alchemist (saboteur) 4
Adventure: What Lies in Dust
Location: Delvehaven Entryway
Catalist: "He who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day"
The Gory Details: Ostengo, was never fought in the Bastards of Erebus module. Not only was he left alive, but the party never encountered him, due to going in through the escape tunnels and never actually entering the crypt. They did find his brother,though, whom they killed. Ostengo swore vengeance. He trained, growing his spells as he practiced with a monk teacher to get revenge on the monk that killed his brother, along with his allies. Eventually, he was directed by the council to meet them in a dark alleyway, where a quick bite turned him towards vampirism.

Hiding in delvehaven, waiting to pounce on the lights of westcrown, he carefully waited in a dark corner as the hours passed him by before they came to him. He let them explore, let them search through bookshelves and puzzle over the ruined paintings, before striking once they were all spread out. Surprising a gnome fellow, he quickly subdued him with his grapple check. Not long later, though they tried to help their friend, Ostengo sucked enough blood from the gnomes veins to leave him a withired husk, and to heal any damage he'd taken. He then turned to feast on the next ember of the party, a rogue who had helped kill his brother, only to watch her and the rest of her friends flee back out the doors and into the sunlight.

He waits for them even now, wondering if they'll come back better prepared.

They're just picture frames, probably scenescape paintings, or depictions of adventures. These would've been stolen and sold by the Thune agents when they occupied Delvehaven, or else stolen and kept if they were particularly nice, or destroyed so the agents wouldn't have to look at them day in and day out while they occupied the lodge.

Name: Saib
Race: Human
Classes/levels: Monk 4
Adventure: The Sixfold Trial
Location: The Treasure Chamber
Catalyst: Emulating Drax from Guardians of the Galaxy while attempting to emulate K from MiB
The Gory Details: Combining acrobatics with their brand new rope of climbing, they had the rope brace itself on two torch sconces of the far side, and a torch sconce and banister on the near side of yet another filthy lake, to avoid what they assumed, was another water elemental. They were quite surprised when the outcast king grappled Mordai (Rogue) right off the ropes, along with Grindolfeld (cleric) from the nearby banister as part of its full attack. Mordai escapes and drops into the pool, Geoff (Grindolfeld's Skeleton Butler) jumps in to save his master, and the cleric struggles and fails against the outcast kings CMD, who uses his turn to painfully constrict and stab the helpless cleric. Saib jumps into the frey and attempts to free the cleric, only to get grappled and eviscerated by the outcast king, while the party struggled to deal any real damage because of its DR. About to be shoved into its beard for the second time, Saib has a realization.

"The beast's hide is to thick to be pierced from the outside! I must cut through it from the inside." Saib shout's to his comrades before turning to face the creature, already bringing him close to its mouth, despite a chorus of no's from his friends. Speaking in Infernal, he continues, "Hey! Hey, bug, wait a minute, I'm talking to you. Do you know how many of your kind I've swatted with these hands? Your nothing but a smear on a speed bag to me, you slimy, gut sucking, intestinal parasite. Eat me. Eat Me!" He taunts as the Outcast King shoves him down its throat and attempts to swallow him whole.

Surviving a round of intense constriction damage, Saib flurry's from within its throat, which would've bypassed DR, except for the player comments, "That makes no sense! It's hide would have the same level of thickness on the inside as it does on the outside." As the party wailed on the Outcast King, it finished Saib off, chewing before swallowing the rest of him, but I allowed him one more natural attack as "death throws." Scoring a crit, he dealt just enough damage that the outcast king choked on his body on its way down, suffocated, and died.

Cutting the body open, they found Saibs head and three of his limbs, along with his jeweled haircomb, some of his equipment, and intestines. Not having enough remains to raise him, they paid for a simple funeral service, after which the Sisters of Eiseth took the remains for cremation while the party held a wake at their tavern, where they paid for all the drinks of all the patrons. They were quite upset when they came to the Sisters of Eiseth later to ask for Coriana's ashes, only to notice that the one answering the door was wearing his haircomb in her hair.

Name: Calseinica (NPC)
Race: Human
Classes/levels: Aristocrat 2, Bard 1
Adventure: The Sixfold Trial
Location: The Lake of Refuse in the Asmodean Knott
Catalyst: Splitting the Party

===

Name: Pandora
Race: Catfolk
Classes/levels: Wizard 4
Adventure: The Sixfold Trial
Location: The Lake of Refuse in the Asmodean Knott
Catalyst: Splitting the Party

The Gory Details: The lights of westcrown had been having a great day, enjoying a lavish party (with real food for the players), recruiting Calseinica to their cause, and making it through the early parts of the Asmodean Knott with little struggle, thanks to the clerics butler, an undead skeleton named Geoff, though they became very familiar with the drowning rules as Drowned Jabe nearly destroyed the then-paralyzed Mordai (rogue), who was saved at the last moment when Geoff and Saib (monk) grabbed her and kept her head above water. Things event went (surprisingly) very well when an invisible Sian sneak attacked the Mordai in her sleep while the party rested and recovered after "curing their insanity," thanks to a hold person spell that Sian was unable to recover from. They arrested her, tied her up, and took her stuff, planning to take her out with them.

Things changed when the Mordai slipped and fell into the maze, closing the door behind him. After figuring the maze's mechanics out, an learning that he couldn't force the door open between him and the party, he instead set off through the maze, opening doors as needed, until he found his way out on the other side, which he was unfortunately able to do without reopening that first door. The party was now split into two parts.

Never Split the Party

Mordai then proceeded to explore on his own, and managed (amazingly) to solo the mummy guarding the storeroom, though he wisely decided no to enter the final treasure chamber alone, as he was sure it was viciously guarded by something. He then waited for the party to come and find him.

Meanwhile, the party banged and screamed on the immutable stone wall that blocked the entrance to the maze. After waiting for an hour for the door to open, and exhausting their magical ideas, they sought a way around. They still didn't dare try to pass the spinning ball of death with its wriggling chains and dead prisoner, so they set off in the other direction: down into the depths.

Grindolfeld (cleric) used levitate to reach the island in the middle of the lake of refuse with ease, unchallenged. Skeleton Geoff walked through the water uncontested. Between them and Saib (monk) who was waiting at the top of the slippery tunnel, they had strung a series of rope to guide the rest of the party down safely, with no risk of sliding. It was here, at the edge of a disgusting lake of filth, that Pandora and Calseinica halted. Pandora refused to go in the water and get wet, let alone wet and gross, and Calseinica couldn't get passed her. After some arguing, Grindolfeld used his end of the rope to pull Pandora in, not caring for her feelings. The water elemental lurking within did not approve of the living disturbing his waters, though, and rose up to attack. Since he happened to have greater cleave, he hit both Calseinica and Pandora, knocking them unconscious. The unconscious characters then slid down into the water, where they were doomed to drown on the following round. Saib was too far to do anything, and Grindolfeld had few options. He sent Geoff to hold Pandora aloft, only to find out that she had been in a medium load and skeleton Geoff didn't have the strength to lift her up. Panicking, Grindolfeld channeled energy to heal, bringing only Calseinica back to consciousness. Calseinica awoke at the bottom of that lake without air in her lungs, and let out a panicked gasp as her lungs filled with filth and she drowned. Pandora followed suit, though less dramatically.

The water elemental then used whirlpool to drag the 3 dead creatures (Geoff already being dead) to the island, where the cleric recovered Pandoras body and traveleed weightlessly to the other side. They then eventually figured out the maze and rendevoud first with Saib and then with Mordai, reviving Pandora after they escaped the Knott, though completely forgetting Calseinica's body.

Name: Grindolfeld
Race: Human
Classes/levels: Asmodean Cleric 2
Adventure: The Bastards of Erebus
Location: The Shoemakers House
Catalyst: Doing Anything for a Sneak Attack
The Gory Details: The Lights of Westcrown have tracked down the Bastards of Erebus, and are hoping to turn in proof of their death for a reward from the city. They have them surrounded and trapped in the church, and they've been systematically clearing the nearby buildings, cutting off escape routes and keeping themselves from getting flanked by reinforcements.

Thus, when they broke into the shoemakers house, they presumed the dead body to be the shoemaker and sent Grindolfeld (the cleric) in to check if he was still alive. While performing his heal check, the Giant Rot Grub burst from its chest at latched on to him, dealing a crippling 4 points of Con damage. Grindolfeld only had 8 Con to begin with, and panicking screamed for help. Saib (the monk) attempted a grapple check to pull it off him, but failed. Grindolfeld struggled to get it off, but failed. Then Mordai (the new tiefling rogue after the last session) decided his best bet was to stab the thing. She needed to deal as much damage as possible to have any hope of saving the cleric, but because of their positioning, she couldn't get flanking... unless..

"Can I flank it with Saib if I stab through Grindolfeld?" the player asks the stunned group.

"Umm... Yes, that would work. It would definitely be a sneaky attack..." I admit, "But you might kill him too you know."

"Worth!" The player shouts as they roll their attack. Natural 20. Roll to Confirm? Natural 20. Roll to Confirm? Natural 20. Roll for Damage? Max. In a swift moment without a hint of hesitation, the rogue skewers the Giant Rot Grub by stabbing Grindolfeld through the heart. His eyes go wide, but Mordai holds him up as he watches the monster wriggle on the end of his short sword. When the twitching stops, he pulls his sword free and allows the two lifeless masses to collapse onto the corpse pile.

Mordai ended up selling Grindolfelds belongings, and using their combined remaining money, along with a minor loan, to pay for a casting of raise dead on the poor cleric, whose spirit had begun haunting the campaign and insisted upon being revived.

(b)Name:(/b) Mordred
Race: Human
Classes/levels: Rogue 2
Adventure: The Bastards of Erebus
Location: The Sewers
Catalyst: Fickle Acrobatics Checks
The Gory Details: While hunting for the so-called goblin king, "Whitechin," the party tracked down the nearest sewer entrance and found a single door nearby. Instead of going in, they searched the surrounding, finding two small tunnels (goblin sized) around the nearby wall. Correctly deducing that these might be escape tunnels, they assumed this would be a great back entrance into the goblin lair. After a bit of (rather loud) arguing as to whom should go in first, the party decided that Saib (the monk) would go in the second tunnel, while Mordred would go in the first. They would be followed by Pandora (the wizard) and Grindolfeld (Amodean cleric) respectively.

Based on the tunnel being sized for smaller creatures, the DC was set at two DC15's to move into, through, and out of the tunnel, with a DC20 moving the character all the way through in a single round, and a DC10 being enough to get in but not move in any way. As expected, the rogue rolled a natural 20 and moved swiftly through their tunnel to the other side, where goblins had been waiting, listening to the party argue. Unfortunately, the rogue brought no light sources with her, and was plunged into combat against unseen opponents. With the monk following immediately, he got a 17 acrobatics and moved halfway through his tunnel. What followed was 6 rounds of no one successfully making a DC10 acrobatics, followed by the monk getting another 17 and reaching the other side, only to realize that he too, had no light sources. He chose to remain in the tunnel until the cleric brought the light. 8 rounds later, the cleric emerges from the tunnel, only to discover that not only had the rogue been quickly knocked unconscious, but that she had been partially feasted upon by the goblins... who then fled out the nearby door. If only they had gone in through the door instead of trying to crawl through a tunnel designed for 3ft. ankle biters.