JamZilla's page

Arcaian wrote:

Jamie Trollope also has an absolutely wonderful series of NPC codices on their Pathfinder Infinite store, like these Warrior ones. If you have regular need for NPCs, I'd recommend them! :)

The blurb mentions both guidance on making your own NPC's and a lot of premade ones.

Could you say a bit about what sort of NPC's the premade ones are?

Are they specific ones (Commander Examplius Hellknight of the order of the for instance) with backstories and personalities and such or more general ones (like Dark Knight commander)?

I'd also be interested in what their philosophy with regards to how "PC-like" an NPC should be.

Hi, I'm Jamie, the author of these :)

The NPCs in NPC Index are all generic. They don't have names or backstories and so on.

I do have a product called NPC Index: Firebrands which is exactly this. It is a much smaller book but the NPCs in that are fully fleshed out with backstories, personality traits and plot hooks you can use to integrate them into your campaigns. As well as the full statblocks across multiple levels of course. All the NPCs in that book are class-based too, but have a pirate/naval/ocean theme. There is a Sea Shanty bard, a Gunslinger, an ocean druid and so on.

Back to the NPC Index, there are three books in that line so far and each contains 110 statblocks for class-based NPCs between levels 1 to 20.

Warriors (Barbarian, Fighter, Champion, Ranger)
Spellcasters (Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer, Wizard)
Specialists (Alchemist, Bard, Monk, Rogue)

The intention was always for these to be generic so GMs could just pick them up and put them in their games and flesh them out in a way that made sense for their campaigns. But if you need a level 17 cleric, there are four to choose from in Spellcasters. Or if you need a level 4 Barbarian, it is there for you in Warriors.

In terms of how PC-like, all of these were made using the numbers from the Gamemastery Guide and so should be balanced. They all get roughly the same amount of abilities as equivalent level NPCs or monsters and those abilities take the form of feats taken either directly from the class lists, tweaked to make sense for NPCs or just created by me.

Hey guys, I'm the author of the NPC Index line of books.

It's a large repository of pre-made statblocks of class-based enemies that you can drop into your games. We've covered Warriors (Fighter, Barbarian, Champion, Ranger) and Spellcasters (Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer and Wizard) so far and each book has 112 statblocks ready to go across levels 1 - 20.

They are built and balanced using the rules to build NPCs in the Gamemastery Guide and include a modular system of special abilities and curated spell lists for you to swap in and out if you don't want to use the statblocks exactly as they are.

Simplified ancestry templates means you can take the statblock and quickly make it a dwarf, elf, android, tengu (30 ancestry templates) so the creature your players face is distinct and memorable.

They also have Foundry support, so you can literally just drop them from the repository into your games if you use that VTT.

NPC Index: Specialists is in the works which will finish off the core classes and then we'll look at whether there's appetite for the rest of the released classes.

Amazing array of talented and wonderful people. I own products by just about all of them!

Derp.

NPC Index: Warriors

Hey guys, I have just published my first release on Pathfinder Infinite. It's a ruleset for running ship to ship combat encounters in a 2e ocean based campaign, but also includes ship roles, feats, abilities, treasure and lots more.

Check it out via this link (I hope you like it!)

This started as a homebrew doc as part of a 2e Skull and Shackles conversion and became something much bigger.

Alloura raises an eyebrow at the exchange. For a short time she had contemplated staying with this motley crew, thinking they were some merry band of misfits that had come together for a purpose greater than themselves.

But she had grown bored of that. They were ghastly. And disgusting. And ghastly once again.

With a yawn and not a single word of farewell, she spreads her magnificent wings and takes to flight, destined to grace some other part of the world with her beauty.

Hey guys, thanks for having me along for a little cameo. GM asked me to pop in to help push the star plot along and I said only if I could play a dragon that was really horrible to you all XD This looks like a fun group and maybe Alloura will have another cameo down the line, but for now I wish you all luck in your quest!

Any idea on this one or plans to implement them in future?

Hi, I know there has been some discussion on this and while I haven't gone through all of the threads, was there ever an official response as to why Starfinder APs don't have interactive maps available with them?

Well if it weren't for some divine intervention he probably would have gone insane. Which he may have anyway to some degree..

"You guys got yourselves in a whole heap of trouble without me." Ruben says, flashing that charming smile. "Figure I'd better see what I can do to help you out. Listen, it ain't that me leavin' and you dyin' would be on my conscience or anything, more that I don't want any of you hauntin' me. I hate it when that happens."

He shrugs.

"Plus I'm broke."

Hey guys! GM Rutseg reached out. If you haven't found a replacement player and still think you can squeeze me in, I'd be more than happy to rejoin! This is totally your game and I'm an outsider here so I don't want to shake things up or step on any toes. I'm here to answer the call if you want me :)

A silence falls over the workshop as Croon speaks. Till now you regarded the man as an eccentric inventor of curiosities but when he talks about the Watcher his old eyes light up with a sparkle of childhood imagination.

"Every bay town has a sea monster legend and the Watcher ain’t no different to that. ‘Cept I seen it. Only once back when I was a kid. Jasper Stane has taken to sacrificing animals on his boats as some kinda offerin’ to the Beast ‘cos he reckons he seen it too. But I’m betting what he saw weren’t the Watcher."

"When I was a boy my parents owned one of the big houses on the hill. It had two floors and a widow’s walk around the top. Oftentimes I would go up there and take my da’s shipglass to look out over the Bay and one night when the moon sat low in the sky, lightin’ up the Bay like a ship’s light, that’s when I saw it. That was more’n 60 years ago and it was like yesterday."

"It was hunren’ feet if it was an inch end to end. Thirty in diameter too, kind of tapered to one end that crawled with tentacles like a squid and must have extended that length to god-knows-what. It was like a barrel except there was bulging ridges in the middle instead of iron staves. In between these ridges were curious growths like combs or wings that must have folded up because it unfurled ‘em and spread ‘em out like fans... I dunno why such a creature would have had wings but the span musta been..." he just shakes his head, unable to speak on such a thing.

You notice beads of sweat begin to form on his brow and his hands tremble as he tells the tale. You begin to wonder if that sparkle in his eye is truly childhood reminiscing or the light of madness.

"But the worst was the head. An enormous arrangement like a five-pointed starfish, ridged with spines and teeth of innumerable amount and in the centre a single, staring eye. Somehow it looked like that eye watched me even over that great distance and when it rolled over white... I just about lost my water... then it was gone. It didn’t break the surface. It just... wasn’t."

"Ever since I wanted to know what was in the Bay. The Watcher an’ else besides."

"Why are you so interested in the Watcher? The Isinglass is just a ship but what I'm working on is much more than that. A reliable means of subaqueous travel and exploration, a craft capable of withstanding the tremendous depths at the bottom of the Bay and revealing all what may lie there. In my lifetime there have been no fewer than 42 shipwrecks in the ten miles along the coast from here to Thrushmoor. That's a lot of salvage...." he asks without looking up.

Sorry guys, had a job interview today and all my mental energy has been focused on prepping for that and then actually doing it so I'm shot right now.

Update tomorrow. Thanks for your patience.

Ton looks up from the EMP pistol.

"50 gold says I kill the son of a b*tch." the elf says, one eyebrow cocked wickedly.

It may be in poor taste, but he was a gambler through and through.

It doesnt occur to him in the moment that it is this level of insensitivity that cost him his family

This is a really strong group of rp'ers in my opinion.

Ton leans against the wall, eyeing the towering undead for a time.

In response to Jolga's question about his beliefs, the grizzled elf lights up yet another dog-eared cigarette - the one resource he seems to have an endless supply of - and draws deeply.

"Thing is Jolga, my people have all kinds of beliefs and rituals and magic practices going back ten thousand years or more. Fascinating if you're an historian or priest - kind of a headache if you ain't into it. My Mother was. She was about as stereotypically wood-elf as you can get. Wore flowers in her hair right up to the day she died."

"You wouldn't believe all the different crap I had to go through whenever we visited the Old Family outside the city. What a pain in the ass all that was." he shakes his head.

He takes another long drag on his cigarette.

"Over the years I seen an' done enough sh*t to myself and the people I loved most not to believe in much of anything. 'Cept Cayden, if I was on a lucky streak or I needed to bum liquor offa one of his priests - can't deny you a drink, it's one of their tenets." he adds knowingly as if sharing a secret.

He strolls casually up to the undead and feels the heat radiating off it, causing him to grimace somewhat.

"Listen, I ain't one to say that thing's evil. That's just a word anyway, mostly banded about by people who got a guilty conscious themselves in my experience. May as well say a sword is evil. Or a gun. But one thing I do know...."

He takes the cigarette and presses it against the thing's chest. It sizzles for a moment before stubbing out. The creature doesn't move an inch.

"....that's messed up. It's going to be a Hell of a thing in that arena, no denying that, but I don't want to head back to Torch with that thing or another like it in tow carrying all our gear." he is tall when he can be bothered to draw himself up and his leg isn't hurting like the Devil and he does that now, almost squaring up to the undead thing. The he shakes his head and gives Jolga a not unfriendly clap on the shoulder.

"You're full of surprises, Shaman, I'll give you that."

He heads back inside to grab the camera and talk Charles through it's use.

"Let's just stay here and take a breath." Ton says, already making himself comfortable. "We've been hitting it hard the whole time we've been here - and I blinded by a necromancer today - figure I've earned a day off."

Yeah, let's enjoy the hospitality here for an extra day and then see what we can do about this dish

Charles - same plan? Invisibility and recon? You can even take my camera if you like :D

Wulf, think of me as an older brother slapping you on the head for picking on our little sister (Ton). :D, :D

Wulf accidently pushes a button as he holds the camera in front of his face, and there is a bright flash of light! He steps back, dazzled momentarily. As he looks at the camera again, he sees a picture of an eye on the back!

It also does video!

Little brother at least... sheesh..!

Ton grabs the contraption from Wulf.

"Give me that, you big lug.." he looks down the glass barrel of the thing and fiddles about with it for moment. He holds it away from himself and flashes a grin, waiting for the burst of light as he presses a button on the top.

"There you go." he says, passing it back - now with a picture of himself displayed on the rear screen. "Think I'll call that an Elfie... see if it catches on." he shrugs.

"Tinker, I'll take all the batteries you've got." he says, handing over the gold.

"You sure there's anything actually worth buyin' in among all this crap, peddler?" Ton asks cynically as he peruses the scrap heap for anything that might resemble something magical or of value.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (13) + 11 = 24

"It is fixable, Ton. Get your head back in the job."

Ton raises the middle finger of his left hand vaguely in the direction of Charles' voice while the other deftly rolls a cigarette. A moment later, trembling slightly less now, he is sat in a haze of smoke, his nerves calming somewhat.

Yeah so as written, she wouldn't have been able to cast that on me.

But you know what, as both a player and GM I'm much more interested in telling a compelling, fun and collaborative story with you guys than strict adherence to the rules. And frankly stories are boring without any drama.

But I love this game and playing with you guys and what Paul has put together.

So I'm more than happy to leave Ton blind for now. Let the miserable sumb+~&& sit in the dark for a while. Maybe it'll teach him some humility........ maybe not :D

Happy New Year, fellow Heroes of Torch!

Ok, throwing my hat in the ring with my blind occultist, Nikolos Eisley.

Having been held in suspended animation during the crashlanding of the Divinity, Niko knows little of Golarion and was awoken by back-up systems kicking in. He was awake only long enough to stumble outside and see the bombs fall - an event that took his sight.

Now he is mastering his racial psychic powers to 'see' the history of objects he finds in the wilderness and is drawn by an aura that rises like mist on the horizon - from Prevail itself.

Any questions, please let me know. I didn't know whether to create an actual profile for this character if we are playing on discord

"...$$%&$@((!)D)!)**£&DJ@((&&!@)_+(^....." a stream of filthy curses spits from Ton's lips in amongst strings of saliva and bile.

Sterne clicks his fingers and, like a David Copperfield piece of close up magic, something appears in his hand. But it isn't a card or a rose, it is a 12 inch long steel rocket.

The soldier clicks the dry weapon and you have just enough time to see her collapse grabbing at her face before the jet rumbles on.

A dozen vehicles converge on the hangar now and as she attempts to pull the jet around toward the runway, Bobbi sees it is impossble and you would be shot to pieces before you even got up to speed.

Instead, she just punches the throttle and the jet bounces crazily over roads and sidewalks. You are vaguely aware of people diving this way and that and a huge roar of metal as one of the wings rips the top off a wooden guard post like a tin can.

She heads out toward the fence and there is clatter as she barrels over it and then an enormous sickening crunch as the jet lurches downwards, dropping several feet off the base guardwall and onto the open field beyond. But still she doesn't throttle back, she just hammers it forward and you can see the freeway coming up quickly ahead as the whole machine bucks and lurches. For a heartwrenching moment you think you are about to plow into dozens of vehicles that flash their headlights crazily at you but with a half scream and a half laugh Bobbi yanks back on the stick and suddenly you are climbing steeply into the night sky, your stomachs doing loop-de-loops inside you.

"You have won my trust, and I will not insist you wear blindfolds on the way out. Before you leave, a token of trust..."... she hands two batteries over to Ton'iel.

"You are welcome to stay here and rest at night times, at well. Thank you, and strike hard."

Her rats escort you out. You can see, on the way out, that their hideout is a dark warren of tunnels through trash. There are poor looking ratfolk on all sides of you sitting on blankets and old cots as you are escorted through. Wulf's head is only about an inch from hitting the ceiling.

And soon, you find yourself in daylight once more. It is about noon.

Someone can draw your next path on the map.

"My thanks, my lady." Ton says seriously. "Trust me, I'll put these to good use."

"Necromancy is a dark, but efficient style of magic. We're going to be dealing with undead for sure. This Marrow might try to reduce our strength, or frighten us. Just tryin' to make sure we're ready for what we might be up against here. Plus these Smilers show no mercy, right? So neither should we. No time to honor the dead Jolga, let's just honor ourselves."

You feel your stomachs drop at the vision.

How could that man, who was so polite and respectful, so helpful and accommodating be a part of this? Not least the architect of the whole affair. The man that Vaa knows and respects and befriended many years ago.

And yet...

And yet... you begin to remember things.

Now visions begin to appear in your own mind, connections and deductions being made as pieces fall into place like some crazy jigsaw puzzle.

But I had one in particular yesterday, a letter from a friend and colleague of my Father’s – Jon Derlith. He wished me well and offered his condolences on my Father’s passing. The two of them didn’t always see eye to eye and often I would hear them debating all manner of things into the small hours. It’s just a shame he couldn’t attend the funeral, but he’s tied up with some business in Lepistadt.

And now of course you know that business may well have been to orchestrate the theft of the Seasage Effigy, sending you on a path that would lead to the Trial of the Beast of Lepistadt and your first encounter with Auren Vrood.

Truly impressive. he compliments. Kendra had told me of your heroics in Ravengro but standing here in defence of that poor creature was both brave and noble. I can see why Professor Lorrimor entrusted you with so much and I just had to see you for myself. It was so interesting to observe you at work

My you really are impressive.

...

It was both an honour and a pleasure to observe.

Yours faithfully,

An interested observer

I remain,

Your most appreciative observer.

The tone of the letters... now that you think about them, now that the veil is lifted, were unmistakably him, painfully polite, seemingly genuinely appreciative of your efforts and yet with that almost unintentional air of superiority.

The professor’s death was… hard for me.

Of course it was! Knowing that Vrood had murdered him. If the vision and everything that Kendra told you were to be believed, Jon had a genuine affection for the professor. In many ways, he was as much Jon’s mentor as your own and you begin to wonder where your paths diverged to set him on the road to the Whispering Way when you were both so influenced by the same kind, instructive hand of Petros Lorrimor.

Despite his injury, the nobleman's grip is steady and his hair and clothing are still immaculate.

It's ok, I’m tougher than I look.

Everything is before you. Seek and you shall find.

We are a secret group, largely made up of Ustalav's Elite who, among other things, seek to protect this nation from threats both within and without. Our numbers include Justices, Deans, noblemen - even high ranking clergy - but all of us are committed to our philosophies and to the Order itself. Jon was also a member.
Jon knows the secrets of the Palatine Eye, their inner machinations and rituals, their codes and maxims.

He was telling you! Even in carrying out this most dangerous and audacious plan he was telling you that everything was before you, if you had but looked you could have ended it all right there!

He pulls a card at random from the fan. He holds it before him and sees that it depicts an elderly lady, a crown balanced precariously on her head.

Ze Queen Mother. Ivanja says. She hovers at ze brink of death, all thoughts of duty and honour but distant memories. Zere is von who vill betray you, who is not all zat zey seem.

You remember the reading well. Could she have been talking about Jon even then?

Then the final, horrific image forms.

It depicts a great battle with a decaying creature that blazes with arcane power, high atop a spire in dark, swirling clouds. The image of the creature flickers and falters as if it were resisting the display. And yet, somehow, though you cannot perceive why, the corpse-creature carries with it a desperate familiarity....

And finally... most starkly of all, you remember the vision granted to you by Desna. There was something about that terrible, undead creature. Everything told you to pierce that visage, to see without seeing at what truly lay there. But you just couldn’t see it... that the undead creature, it’s body almost torn apart by necromantic energy, was none other than Jon Derlith!

You know what Hazel, if you want to do some retraining take the opportunity to do so now thanks to that tiny butterfly that graced you with it's presence in Pharasma's eternal line of judgement.

:)

Vrood sought to use fear as a weapon.

The darkness looked upon the group and saw those things they feared and regretted the most and tried to turn them against the gathered heroes.

But he hadn't reckoned on the will of the Vala and Zed. And it did become a weapon. Zed and Vala took all that hate and rage and loss and channelled it, absorbed it. For if you accept those things that hurt the most how can they ever be turned on you?

With a great roar of defiance, he brings his tetsubo down. Vrood lifts his hands to shield himself but they are as the shell of an egg and the weapon smashes through them with similar ease. Hands mangled, never to cast a spell again, face broken, never to utter a word of power - a thousand thoughts running through his head though one overwhelming.

... the riders... got away. They must succeed, they MUST.

Lightning rips through the dark priest and his robes and hair set alight. The agony that washes over Vrood is enormous and immediate. They say that after a major trauma the body shuts down nerve endings to protect itself from the shock. It doesn't. A million nerve endings fire at once and each carries a message of agony.

At that moment the massive wolf rounds the corner, a snarling fury in it's eyes. As Vrood tries to back away Vermundr picks him up like a rag doll and with consummate ease and little mercy takes his shattered head in his hands and with a rapid twist snaps his neck.

Vrood, never to walk again, drops to the ground. He rolls over onto his now shattered back and looks up at those who have defeated him.

If... my life... is the price I... have to pay. I pay it gladly. he spits up at Zed who, without mercy, picks up Hazel's starknife and drives the blade through Vrood's black heart - now never to beat again.

The silence that falls over the tower is now only punctuated by the occasional scream and howl that calls outside.

Combat Over

Incidentally that means I rolled three 1s in a row

"Blabbs... tlgjf ldlkse okgsd."

Ton is relieved to see the Confusion spell had no discernible effect on Wulf.

O'Malley's - 108 Main street

It was almost a week since she had spared with Ebon at the SHIELD training facility. She was in good shape and the bruises were fading pretty quick. He had a hell of a swing, she'd give him that, but that bunch really didn't know their asses from their elbows as her Daddy would have said.

She and Sharon are sitting in a booth drinking pints of Guiness. The eyes of almost every guy in the bar are on the pair of knockout blondes in the corner but the women could not be giving off a clearer air of strength and confidence and sheer 'not-f*cking-now.'

Uhhhh.... Hill is really riding my ass this past week. Sharon grumbles. You know they still have my place bugged? It's been nearly 2 years since I last saw Steve, since anyone saw him, and they still have me under surveillance.

Bobbi snorts.

If she's dumb enough to think Captain America is just going to pick up the phone to you then all that Botox has seeped into her brain.

Sharon laughs and swigs back on the dark liquid in her glass.

She's ok. She got real up-tight after Fury got shot and she got put in charge. I don't blame her, SHIELD was in a real mess after the last of HYDRA was burnt out...

It was a g*ddamned sh*t-show... Bobbi agrees.

They drink in silence for a few minutes, just the sound of the Giants game coming from the TV out the back and the light buzz of conversation, punctuated by the occasional gale of laughter resonated. It was a comfortable silence. The two women had been friends for about 5 years, ever since Bobbi Morse had quit Biology and started flying planes again like she had back on her Dad's farm in Utah.

Hey Sharon, ask you a question? Bobbi says, setting down her pint glass.

Shoot.

Bobbi chews the inside of her mouth. You ever.... hear from Cap?

Sharon tilts her head to one side, a smirk on her face. It is a look that says; Really?

Hey I know you two were close before he went AWOL. So I'm just asking... ok let me ask you this instead. If he showed up again, or somehow got in touch, would you help him?

In a heartbeat. her answer is as fast as the sentiment.

Without question?

None needed.

Even if you thought it would cost you your career?

It would cost me my career. Hell, I'd probably do jail time. But I'd still do it. Wanna know why?

Bobbi nods.

"If I see a situation pointed South, I can't ignore it."

He say that?

Who else? Sharon laughs.

Yeah, figures. Bobbi laughs back, taking another swallow.

He's just a good guy. Like, an old-fashioned, straight-up, uncompromising good guy. He came from a time where the enemy was right in front of you, and it was pretty damned easy to tell right from wrong. Some people think he's naive. I think he's the best of us. If he asked me to do something I'd do it because sometimes doing the right thing is worth risking everything. Sharon says, finishing her pint.

Nice. That him too?

Nope, that one's 100% Carter.

Jesus, he rubbed off on you.

I wish! Son of a b*tch skipped town before all I'd got was a kiss!

The pair are rolling in their seats at that one. After a few minutes when they can finally compose themselves, Bobbi downs the rest of her drink and says;

Ok I'm done here. Thanks Sharon, this was fun but I got a call to make. she stands up and walks quickly away from the table, leaving Sharon with the bill.

As she walks she reaches into her bag and pulls out her phone, tapping a message quickly.

Ok Stringbean, I'm in. Fort Hamilton Army Base, Thursday night. I don't know how the Hell to get in there but if we do I can get us a SHIELD Jet.

Flexible time here

SHIELD

Days later, Bobbi sits at her desk, staring at the screen but not taking in what is displayed. It is footage from a security camera planted within a typical high rise apartment.

The feed plays through while the clock in the bottom right ticks along happily. Her coffee, long since cold, sits neglected to one side.

Someone is calling her name.

......Morse!

Huh...? she looks up. It's Agent Woosack - Agent Ballsack she called him - wearing his black suit and cornflower blue tie.

That's his Wednesday tie she thinks idly.

I said have you found anything yet.

There's 38 hours of footage here, sir. she replies about as coldly as her coffee.

Yeah but there has to be something in there that will help us bust Calhoun. Keep looking.

A data breach. That's all it was. Some hacker kid most likely snooping around looking for some celebrity nudes uploaded to iCloud but instead stumbling across some info about the vice president's proposed policy on climate change.

Sir, is this really a SHIELD matter? I don't understand how this is either Strategic nor about the Homeland.

Well, that's why you're sitting at a desk and not in a cockpit. Ballsack replies snidely. Maybe if you saw the bigger picture once in a while you wouldn't have pulled that dumb crap in Syria and wound up back here.

Another hour of staring at nothing ensues before she grabs her phone and texts Sharon Carter;

Hey, biatch (Affectionate as ever) Wanna go get drunk?

All my guys get that too right?

If I may speak out of turn?

Ton just about hears Charles whisper about the rats and he sighs:

"You clear out one rat and a bunch more turn up. This place.... Hey Wulf, want to make up for yesterday? I mean I'm not saying you wussed out but..... well I'm sure Val wouldn't be too impressed to hear you ran away, that's all. Big, strong guy that you are, ya know? Don't you have that swarm clasp thing? I'll even give you a helping hand if your damned skin decides not to go on the fritz..." the words are said half in jest, and the big man can see the look of mischief on Ton's face as he teases him about the fight yesterday.

Wulf can deal full damage to swarms. On his turn Ton will cast Bull's Strength on him before he rages so he can really lay the hammer down.

In Charles' world, everyone has a role. He's salty about us not being proactive on healing. We, as players, forget, I think. I know I did. I'm not upset, just to make sure everyone knows. Just Charles haha.

Just one more thing on this. We did mess up on healing after the last fight. I forgot, as did Wulf and I guess Sam/Charles did too. That's our fault though, it should be incumbent on our 'healers' to make sure we don't leave the scene of a battle injured. I'm going to take responsibility for that and make sure I don't forget again :)

After more than 5 years of playing on these boards we finally bring our Carrion Crown game to a finish.

It's needed a huge amount of commitment from both myself and the players but it was ultimately so worth it. As far as I know there are only a very few adventure paths to actually finish and it's easy to understand why so this is a little bit of blowing my own trumpet - I hope you'll forgive me that - I am just very proud that we achieved it.

Here is the gameplay thread if anyone is interested. It's a good read and full of great characters and memorable moments.

For anyone about to begin a game then I wish you luck, it's a great undertaking. For anyone who is part way through, stick with it!

Here's to another 5 year game starting soon.

First post 14th July 2013

Final post 27th September 2018

Total campaign length 1,901 days

Total posts 13,642

Mean number of posts per day 7.17

Number of campaigns on Paizo.com (at time of writing) 10,006

Number of adventure paths that have completed 4

That means only 0.03% of campaigns have actually finished making you a truly remarkable group of players. Once again you have my thanks and appreciation. It's been a genuine pleasure to run this for/with you and I wish you all the best with future games.

May all your rolls come up 20.

Of all of the heroes that had set upon this quest, perhaps Kendra had been affected most deeply.

She never, ever spoke of it and in fact only allowed herself to think of it on the coldest and darkest night where ill thoughts came unbidden. But she remembered the moment of her death. Kendra had loved Adivion a little, through years of respect and distant admiration. He was so charming, so aloof, so brilliant. But he had ultimately betrayed her.

She knew that she was dying, had known for years. It was the same sickness that took her mother but she had covered her dark eyes with make-up and hidden every bloody cough in a handkerchief once she had met her new friends. Her father was a wonderful man, but overprotective, and she saw some of that in them, especially Markus. She just wanted to be herself for a time until that time was done.

But Adivion had somehow come to know this and had come to kill her so that he could remake her. He had explained it so rationally. She remembered his cool blue eyes staring at her with a mixture of grief and apology. She remembered scrambling back from the table, fear rising as she desperately looked for a way out, for an escape. But then he raised his hand and the world turned black.

He had remade her though, hadn’t he? He had told her she had the blood of angels in her, but without their chains to divinity. She was evolving, becoming. She was already something more than human and was the epitome of Aroden’s vision for humanity - perfect but subservient. When he realised that his friend and colleague Tar-Baphon could use necromancy to give humanity the greatest parts of unlife - immunity to sickness and disease and power over death itself - he grew fearful. For what would He become without humanity to worship Him? They battled over the fate of mankind and both disappeared form the world - one imprisoned and the other who knew where.

But their vision endured through Adivion and through his brilliance had a chance to rise again.

Now, after taking a portion of the Tyrant’s power, she was that vision. She was unique and powerful. And lonelier than she had ever been in her life. Kendra was a creature of two worlds now and had a place in neither.

Returning to Lepistadt was little more than a pipedream. For years afterward she would walk the streets arm in arm with Markus, smiling and laughing at his jokes. But she would pretend not to notice the children stopping staring, and then being hurried away by concerned parents. She imagined there was some other reason for young, loving couples to cross the street when she approached and she chose to ignore the looks Father Grimburrow gave her. She felt his gaze on her as a devout Priest of Pharasma and one who abhorred undeath in all it’s forms.

She tried to make a life for herself again. In truth she had also tried to return to teaching at the University and had never told Markus that she was refused on the grounds that the students would be studying her more closely than the material. Instead she had told her great friend that she just wanted to retire to writing and a peaceful existence after all they had been through.

As the years past she began to wonder whether she would ever wither and fade or if she were destined to be like this forever, with no place and no home to speak of. Time wore on and she began wearing a veil to hide her sunken, alien eyes and shocking pale skin when she went on her walks with Markus. Eventually she began making excuses to go less and less frequently and ultimately stopped going altogether.

Ten years after the events of the Tower, a great plague struck Lepistadt. The illness caught hold and spread like a wildfire. People were dying in the streets and mass graves were dug in the farmland on the outskirts of town. All the while she remained unscathed as she knew she would. Kendra sent word to Markus and he came in a literal instant, greying at the temples now and lines of wisdom marking his face. She summoned the power within her and he prayed as hard as ever and between them they stemmed the illness, healing people as they could. Almost single-handedly they had staunched it.

The Churches of Abadar, Pharasma and Saranrae sent Priests and Paladins to the city to continue to contain the spread and the lines of sick spread for street upon street to their makeshift stations. For once Kendra felt good. She had truly achieved something here, saving lives and she felt elated. People no longer crossed the street away from her and she wept openly with joy when a small child that she had cured embraced her tightly around the legs. Was this what it felt like to have a home?

With the situation under control, Markus returned to his travels. The illness was still deadly, but the Churches had it contained now and it was only a matter of time until it was cured completely. Kendra waked the streets again, saying hello to passersby and stopping at the lines to talk with the sick and ease their suffering when she could. Late that night, she noticed an old man huddled in the shelter of an alleyway. When she approached she saw that he was coughing and spluttering, thick lines of sickly phlegm expelled from his throat.

Quickly! she said, stooping to help the man. We must get you to the Churches, they will help you.

No…. No point… he coughs. I… I already… been

What do you mean? she asked confused.

They seen me…. Said they couldn’t… help… I is old… and I is…. poor.

She picked the old man up and rushed to the stations. At the head of the line was a stout Cleric dressed in robes, the crossed key symbol of Abadar on his chest.

This man needs help. she urges. She could cure him but there was something about this situation that felt wrong.

We cannot help this man, I’m sorry. We have given him some herbs to help with the pain. the cleric replies apologetically.

Herbs!? Kendra shouts incredulously. He is dying. You must help him!

We have helped him as much as we are able and as we are bid. the man explains, trying to usher Kendra away from the crowd. He cannot tithe and so…

He cannot pay so you will not cure him!? she roars. Can’t you see his suffering?

The Cleric sighs. We can only cure so many in a day. We are only granted so much grace and so we prioritise the ones who are young and strong and those who can pay so that we can employ more Priests and continue to heal. That’s the best way we can help.

Kendra throws her hands up, her eyes blazing. Who are you to say who lives or dies? Aren’t all these people as equally deserving? You take their money to cure them, don’t you see that’s extortion, don’t you see you are playing God… she stops then, a look of resignation on her face but the man has descended in to a blind fury by then.

I will not be questioned by some freak! By some monster! My Priests and I are working all the hours our Gods send to contain this plague, is it too much to ask for a little gratitude?

But Kendra has stopped listening. She lays her hand on the shoulder of the old man and in an instant takes away his pain and suffering, burning the sickness from his blood.

Later that night she sits in the dark, lit only by a candle that dances and casts weird shadows on the walls of her townhouse. She is weeping in the dark, in sadness and frustration.

Playing God…. working all the hours our Gods send…. Only granted so much grace…

For hours the words play over and over in her mind until they rise from an incessant whisper to a scream and she realises they are no longer in her mind but she is in fact screaming them.

She stands so swiftly the chair is knocked out from beneath her and sent scattering to the wall. She strides to her study where a chest sits in one corner, locked and gathering dust. Not bothering with the key she just rips the lock from it’s housing and opens the chest. Inside is but one book - the Tome of the Esoteric Order of the Palatene Eye that she and Adivion had been reading on that fateful night.

It slam onto the table forcefully enough to blow out the candle. It matters not, she sees just as well in the dark and perhaps these are thoughts for darkness anyway. Opening the pages she skims to the centre where two scraps of paper lay, folded neatly. She carefully unfolded the first. It was an intricate schematic of a machine, almost every inch covered in Adivion’s small, neat notes about it’s construction and operation. She hadn’t understood what it was before. But after she became one with this machine atop the Tower, she knew now. A finger traces the words carefully. Studying them, considering them, absorbing them. Wiping tears away with the heel of her hand she sets it to one side. Next she unfolds the other piece of paper. On it are words that chill her to the heart - the words of the Carrion Crown poem….

Upon the ashen pathways tread
Softly, as the whispered dead.
As mortal flesh doth rot and fail
To leech and maggot, ebbing frail.
Unhallowed words cannot be spoken,
With whispered oath, death lies broken….

The wind whistles through Lepistadt that night and somewhere a dog howls. The smoke of the lone candle drifts into nothingness; it’s flame extinguished, it’s wick black and cold.

Campaign Over

Sorry guys. My other Carrion Crown game on these boards has actually completed - I am posting the final epilogue today and want to take some time to make it something really special. I'll update this tonight or tomorrow as time allows.

Five years after we started we have come to an end. Crazy.

You guys have the amazing second half to come :)

At the merest touch, a jolt of energy runs up Markus' arm from Kendra's body. It isn't painful, it is more like the static electricity you feel before a storm. But he looks down and sees the energy dance across his fingers for a moment.

She groans and slowly draws herself up. And for the second time, she is changed.

Her eyes are simply black pits, dotted with pin-prics of light like the night sky. Her pale skin is ashen and her hair has turned from black into bright white.

Oh... oh Markus! he pulls him into an embrace and the priest feels his heart race, the hair on his arms stand on end. He feels as close to the true divine as he has in any temple of Desna, and yet there is something... else. Something that he has learned to fear over the years - necromancy.

It's over. It's all finally.... over...? she says, uncertainly this time as she looks down at her hands, examining them carefully. Wh...what's happened to me..?

It dawns on you all.

She is the perfect mixture of divinity and necromancy. Instead of amplifying and broadcasting the energy across Golarion, she inadvertently channeled into herself.

She is Adivion's vision. If he was right then she will never age, never grow sick, epitomises divinity and deathlessness in the way that, according to Adivion at least, Aroden and Tar-Baphon envisioned. In his words, she will have no need for the Gods and is a living embodiment of what humanity could be.

She is utterly unique and possibly one of the most powerful creatures on the planet. She is a messiah and a heretic. A marvel and a monster.

It doesn't matter. Whatever the cost I am glad to pay it. Oh but Morbar.... Cara... tears begin to well in those infinite eyes. They were so brave, you were all so brave. she laughs then, an unusual sound in such surroundings. Oh I love them, I love you all! This was for you Father. she says, looking up to the sky where the storm clouds begin to part, crying and laughing and unable to control her emotions. This was all for you... I love you Daddy...

Sh*t. I completely forgot about us having aliases and I just gave this random old man my real name. Real life face palm here :D

"Yep." Ton nods sagely, his coat flapping gently out behind him in the breeze.

"Reckon you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."

Well I'm sure he won't mind me ruining his street cred with Val when I tell her about the time a spooky ghost jumped out and said BOO!

I think Wulf's hammer ignores hardness of less than 20 if that makes a difference?

Hopefully you get to keep this up because the utility of it while we are all getting our heads around the rules is awesome.

Great work.

Discord

This is a link to a Playtest Discord I'm part of.

Be great to talk to you all about it if you're interested in the playtest.

Are you running this next mini section Garfaulk? Man, I can't wait for all those +5 laser pistols Ulreth had hidden away...

Oh it's incredible. Yesterday we saw wild elephant, orangutans, proboscis monkeys and a variety of lizards, birds and insects.

We head downriver every day to primary rainforest where the diversity of wildlife is amazing.

Hey guys, just letting you know that on Saturday I will be flying out for a 3 week vacation trekking around the Malaysian jungle.

I am highly unlikely to be able to update much, if at all. We have a couple of days in civilisation at the start and end but otherwise we will very likely be off the grid. Pausing in Ardis while you rejuvenate and spend some hard earned cash seems sensible.

Constantin you do not detect any disease. That ability doesn't tell you if he was diseased. But I can tell you that he did in fact have lycanthropy and would have turned in the next full moon were it not for the wolfsbane. So good job.