Gozreh

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1,317 posts. Alias of Robert Brookes (RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4).



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Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

Hey folks! Thanks for many lovely years of content and customer service! Effective with the ending of Tyrant's Grasp/the release of the Druma book, please cancel all of my ongoing Pathfinder subscriptions.

Thanks, and happy trails <3

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

It might just be my being obtuse, but I can't seem to change my default payment methods for my two subscription lines.

I have a temporarily assigned payment method for order 7816027 that I would like to make default, but I can't seem to unassign my old card from those subscriptions in the Payment Method section of my account. Can you fine folks assist with that?

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

2 people marked this as a favorite.

From the makers of who is really a veiled master comes a new tinfoil hat discussion thread:

SECRETS OF THE STARSTONE CATHEDRAL

To get everyone on the same page, let's talk about what the Starstone Cathedral is.

Pathfinderwiki wrote:


Arguably the holiest location in all the world, the Starstone Cathedral is a monument to divinity. The massive structure was created by Aroden when he raised the Starstone from the depths of the Inner Sea in 1 AR, and the relic is believed to rest within to this day.

So, here's the big takeaways. It was created by Aroden when he raised the fabled Starstone from the sea, houses the Starstone, and people who enter and pass a series of supernatural ordeals ascend.

Now, who's ascended?

Arguably, Aroden. Absolutely Iomedae, Cayden Cailean, and Norgorber. So, four.

There were four bridges leading to the Starstone cathedral, one for each ascended god. Aroden's bridge collapsed following an earthquake after his death.

But who built these bridges?

Crossing the chasm into the Starstone cathedral is a task that leads to the test. Did the city of Absalom commission these bridges? Dis a construction crew risk proximity to the cathedral to build these? Why didn't they repair Aroden's bridge?

But that isn't even the greatest mystery. To get onto that topic, we have to revisit two pieces of official art of the Starstone.

The first piece, from the Guide to Absalom

The second piece, from Champions of Purity

In both of these pieces, zoom in and look at the framework around the primary entrance. You'll see there are six circular recessions flanking the door with a larger, thirteenth recession above the entrance. You'll note that three of these circles are filled with engraved symbols: Iomedae on the left, not at the top or in a particular order. On the right, you'll see Cayden Cailean's symbol followed by the mask of Norgorber.

If these were made by mundane hands, why are they in erratic places instead of from top to bottom or in order of ascension? Why is Aroden's symbol not present? If they aren't handmade, what divine force crafted them?

Why is there a finite number of spaces?

The position of the symbols isn't by alignment as there are only 9 alignments.

Is it by month of ascension? Did Iomedae ascend in Calistril?

If this is the case, does that mean there can only be 12 (possibly 13) ascended deities?

What happens when they all ascend?

WHAT ISN'T THE CHURCH TELLING US?

WHAT DID ARODEN KNOW?

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Hey folks, I just wanted to share some variant horror-themed rules I put together in time for Halloween. I wasn't ever really satisfied with what Horror Adventures did for the fear rules (the levels are a little too kludgey) and the "madness" stuff is kind of tasteless and tacky.

So, what I've done is hacked up those fear rules, incorporated elements from Sword & Sorcery's Ravenloft core book, a little of the stress mechanic from Blades in the Dark, and some of the stress/trauma analog from Darkest Dungeon.

Hope you find it fun!

Variant Horror Rules

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

22 people marked this as a favorite.

It's the end of an era. I'm going to miss your Pathfinder work so much, Crystal. You remain one of the best and brightest designers in the whole industry.

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

I placed this order in my sidecart without realizing this month's subscription shipment had already gone out. Could you please move the order from the sidecart to ship independently?

Thanks!

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

So, this might be a weird niche, but I've been looking for a good system to use for managing a single settlement (such as when a PC is the mayor of a city, or something of the sort). They don't have to build the settlement from the ground up, so the Kingdom Building rules need to kind of come in half way.

Now, what I tried to do was build the extant settlement in the Kingdom Building portion of Hero Lab. Except, the city is a metropolis (Westcrown), and to get the population right you have to add nearly 40 districts. However, each time I added a district it added a +1 to every single settlement stat, resulting in base state like Law and Crime at +44 or other ridiculous numbers.

I'm beginning to think the Kingdom Building rules aren't right for this (or Hero Lab is wrong in adding a +1 with every district, which I can't find confirmation for anywhere).

Do folks have any suggestions on how they'd run such a thing? Scale down further to the downtime/teams/buildings rules?

I really want to focus on how hard it is to steer a city as massive and corrupt as Westcrown, while the PCs try to enact positive change.

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

Sound off if you got into this! I'm excited to see who'll be playing and what you'll be bringing to the table (and if you're played this scenario before!)

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

So happy to see this on the store blog!

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

2 people marked this as FAQ candidate.

The Ancestors shaman spirit introduced in Cohorts & Companions grants vision as a bonus spell at 16th level. Vision is a 7th-level spell on the shaman spell list. Shaman gain access to 7th-level spells at 13th.

This can either be read as:

1) The shaman gets vision as a bonus 7th-level spell at 16th level, 3 levels after they gain access to 7th-level spells.

or

2) The shaman gets vision as a bonus 8th-level spell at 16th level, when they gain access to 8th-level spells.

Both of these are, admittedly, weird. They're also clearly an artifact of the ancestors spirit spell list being a direct cut and paste of the oracle mystery of the same name (oracles, notably, do not normally have access to vision.)

What, exactly, is the correct interpretation? Should this spirit grant a different bonus spell at 16th?

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

2 people marked this as FAQ candidate.

As the thread title notes, what do you think the multiclassing results from taking the havocker witch archetype and kineticist are?

Would the kinetic blast levels stack, or would you have two totally different (but identical element) blasts?

What if you took an archetype like overwhelming soul with kineticist? Would one blast run off of Charisma and another Constitution? The same goes for Elemental Annihilator, would it be separate base attack bonuses for the blasts?

I'm leaning towards the above interpretations and I'm curious what other people think.

And before anyone chimes in with it, I agree that the havocker isn't an ideal archetype to take for really any reason.

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

3 people marked this as a favorite.

So this is basically the rantings of a madman. Strap in!

As far as long-standing Golarion mysteries go, the identity of Norgorber is one of the least explored. Over the last few months I've spent some time thinking about the nature of Norgorber and some of the oldest Inner Sea concepts and ideas, specifically ones that came from James Jacobs' original homebrew campaign setting. That said, I think I might've found the inspiration for Norgorber, which in turn could go well to explain who or what he is in Golarion context.

To explain the idea, there's a few points of info that need to be understood:


  • Norgorber was created by James Jacobs
  • Norgorber came from James' homebrew campaign setting
  • James' homebrew setting was created in the 1980s

Now, I'm going to change gears a little and talk about He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. This might not seem related, but it absolutely is.

So, back in the early to mid 1980's He-Man was one of the biggest toy and television properties in America. Alongside the toy line, Mattel released a series of miniature comic books that explored the backstories of each of the characters in the Masters of the Universe setting. In those comics, it was hinted that the iconic villain Skeletor had a "secret that would undo him" if anyone learned of it. Sounds familiar!

So in 1986 this topic was touched upon again in the comic The Search for Keldor in which it is heavily implied (and later confirmed in the 2002 Masters of the Universe reboot) that Skeletor was once known as Keldor, and was the brother of the true king of their world, Eternia.

As many of you likely experienced, your favorite childhood toys, movies, games, and tv shows often inspire your earliest homebrew work when developing a campaign setting. You draw on the things you love, the things you want to experience and share with others. In that regard, I think that the Skeletor/Keldor story inspired or played a hand in James' creation of Norgorber (and unless he confirms or denies it, we'll never know for sure).

If we assume that the above is true, then it raises the distinct possibility that Norgorber's secret is a familial one, and I'm putting money on the Reaper of Reputations being the brother of Aroden, or some other extremely famous Inner Sea personality.

tl;dr Norgorber is Skeletor

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

Hey there! I just started my Adventure Path and Campaign Setting subscriptions back up yesterday. However it lookalike I'm being double-billed for them and getting two copies of each sub. I'm not sure if there was a hiccup in processing and the subscriptions went through twice. I don't see anything in the "manage my subscriptions" section that indicates how it's happening.

If you could reduce the number of items I receive to 1 from each sub that would be wonderful! I know one is already shipping/paid for and that's fine (these things happen!)

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

3 people marked this as a favorite.

In the spacefaring Aethera Campaign Setting the cantor wields powerful divine magic and sings the song that wove the very fabric of the universe into being. Delve into the new content created by veteran Pathfinder RPG author David Ross and newcomer Andrew Fields in the cantor open playtest. You'll explore the power of hymns, verses, and divine songs to empower your allies and crush your enemies into stardust.

Due to release in 2016, the Aethera Campaign Setting includes a new class for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: the cantor. By participating in this playtest you can help sculpt the core content of this class and be a part of the creative process for this exciting, retro-futuristic space opera campaign setting.

Starting today, Kickstarter backers you can download a playtest version of the cantor and a public release of the playtest will be available soon from Paizo.com (we'll have a link made available when it goes live!) Build a cantor, use it in your games, and then let us know in this thread what you think. Tell us what works, what you think doesn't, and why. Share your stories of using the powers of the cantor in your home games.

This playtest will remain open until Saturday, February 27th, 2016. Although the playtest will eventually come to a close, we will continue to allow free downloads of the cantor playtest PDF until the release of the official Aethera Campaign Setting.

We at the Aethera team are incredibly excited to hear your feedback and see what you think about this new class. If you haven't heard about Aethera yet and want to find out more, check out our Facebook page for concept art, news, and more!

Robert Brookes
Lead Developer

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

Good evening customer-service folks! Could you please put a hold on all of my subscriptions for the time being? I will let you know in the near future when I am ready to reinstate them.

Thank you!

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

Good morning!

I noticed today that the expiration date on my card had lapsed and was t updated on my account. I think this disrupted my subscriptions, I don't see my December AP release in my history or pending orders. I've updated the payment info, could you look into the omitted subscription content?

Thanks!

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

Hey there folks!

After successfully funding the huge 400-page science-fantasy Aethera Campaign Setting, we're now in the market for freelance artists who are interested in contract commission work. Hop on over to our website and Facebook page to see some of our past art direction. If you're interested in getting your work in print, we're paying competitive industry rates for your work!

Send a portfolio sample to robert.brookes@aetherarpg.com and we'll get in touch with you!

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

12 people marked this as a favorite.

The Aethera Campaign Setting brings space opera to the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. You'll be able to experience the unique biomes of six totally new alien worlds, each with their own highly detailed histories, cultures, conflicts, and threats. Aethera is being designed with a distinct 1920s-1930s retro-futuristic art style, tempered by the presence of magic. Its diesel-punk meets magical technology, meets elements of traditional fantasy. You'll have paladins, sorcerers, and wizards working as a team to explore asteroid dungeons where they'll encounter lost technology from before the collapse of stellar civilization. Or maybe you'd like to explore the tense post-war political environment of the human mega-city arcologies on the barren world of Akasaat, where you'll stalk the shadows of mile-high cities uncovering a vast conspiracy surrounding an ancient prophetic song broadcast by one of the Aethera system's dying stars.

In the Aethera Campaign Setting, you'll soar to asteroid outposts and ancient high-tech ruins on a ship powered by crystallized magic, journey to worlds populated by intelligent plant bio-engineers, musically prophetic technocrats, human-souled robotic war veterans, and alien shamans, all suddenly threatened by interstellar raiders. Aethera is a Pathfinder RPG compatible science -fantasy setting.

In the Aethera Campaign Setting you can battle kytons that live in the shadowy spaces-between-spaces, live in terror of raids by the enigmatic taur: spacefaring minotaur in planetoid-sized maze ships, survive in the lightless realm of the Darkwild deep below the canopy of the forest world of Kir-Sharaat, brave the icy tundra of the dust-shrouded world of Orbis-Aurea and unearth mysteries of the long-lost Progenitors, or race into the heart of the Amrita Asteroid Belt to run a smuggling operation with the other scoundrels and rabble rousers living beyond the reach of the Hierarchy!

There's so much to see and experience in the Aethera Campaign Setting that we have to create a whopping 400-page hardcover in order to contain it all!

The Aethera Campaign Setting will include the following content:

Chapter 1: Races 14 pages of content for Aethera's core races; human, erahthi (plant-like creatures), phalanx (bio-mechanical constructs), okanta (giant-blooded), and the infused (victims of magical experimentation with latent telekinetic powers) as well as information on how other races fit into the Aethera Campaign Setting.

Chapter 2: Classes 100 pages of content! We introduce the cantor, a divine spellcasting bard-like class. We also discuss how the core, base, hybrid, and occult classes fit into the setting. Then we provide you with 4 pages of new archetypes for the cantor, and 65 pages of new archetypes for nearly every existing class!

Chapter 3: Cosmology 128 pages of setting lore about the six worlds of the Aethera Campaign Setting, from its twin stars Ashra and Aethera, to the human homeworld of Akasaat, the forest world of Kir-Sharaat, the lawless Amrita Asteroid Belt, the ruin-shrouded gas giant Seraos, the frozen wastes of Orbis Aurea, and a detailed look at Aethera's outer planes.

Chapter 4: Feats & Skills 32 pages of new skill unlocks that enhance the new aethership combat rules and other unique aspects of the Aethera Campaign Setting. 15 pages of feats bring new ideas and concepts to the table, like growing plant symbiotes or crafting automata prosthetics!

Chapter 5: Gear & Magic 76 pages of new mundane and magic items, a new classification of item called aethertech (technology fueled by crystallized magic), aetherships (magic-technology hybrid starships) and the rules for aethership combat in space and in-atmosphere, artifacts, and new spells including the warping subschool of transmutation!

Chapter 6: Bestiary 45 pages of the most unusual, horrific, and fascinating monsters that inhabit the Aethera Campaign Setting. From the cannibal taur, to the psychic flesh-warping Azaka, to the terrifying kytons of the Machine Choir, and much, much more!

The Aethera Campaign Setting is being designed by industry professionals with a standard you've come to expect from top-of-the-line publishers. Take a look at some samples of the art and layout quality you can expect to see in the Aethera Campaign Setting!

Check out the Aethera Campaign Setting Kickstarter to make this book a reality!

You can also check us out at AetheraRPG.com, and on Facebook, and Twitter!

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

Hey there customer service genies!

So a while back I ordered "It came from the stars" by zombie sky press. Probably around the time I booked my Paizocon stuff. The shipment that it was supposed to come in arrived, but It Came From the Stars never showed up. I forgot all about it until today!

Looking at the order number in the subject line it looks like it's missing a shipping confirmation icon (if that's what the green C is.) I'm not sure if I screwed something up or what, but it's be cool if I could have it sent along with one of my upcoming shipments.

Thanks in advance!

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

I searched but couldn't find a definitive answer for this question. The ruling on Unchained Summoner indicates that the class is compatible with archetypes that do not modify type or base form.

Does this rule out the Story Summoner? Their 8th level ability appears to break the ruling, but its use is optional.

Thoughts?

RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16 , Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8

20 people marked this as a favorite.

It is as if a thousand carefully prepared wondrous items cried out in horror and were suddenly discarded.

The plot twists come early this season. Well played, Paizo.

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

Good morning,

According to my order history part 2 of Iron Gods shipped and was completed on Sept 16th. I have not yet received the shipment and this is well outside typical delivery times. Are you aware of any delays that may have occurred on your end?

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

So I'm not sure how I broke this or if I actually did or not. I just finished my first time GMing for PFS with aon online table of The Confirmation. I reported the scenario via the online reporting module and clicked "save and exit" and noticed that the event didn't... go away or anything. So I clicked report again and was surprised to see the fields empty. I filled them out again and clicked "save and exit" again. Then I noticed it's saying I have 2 tables of credit.

I didn't intend to report that particular table twice and now I'm not sure how to undo that unintentional damage. The event is # 45,667.

If anyone could be of assistance I'd be really grateful. I'm admittedly a little overwhelmed by the reporting process and not wanting to break things (or do it wrong) and managed to anyway!

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

2 people marked this as FAQ candidate.

Carried over from the additional resources thread:

How should we adjudicate the Harrow Handbook options that require a harrow deck when used in online play? I own a delux harrow deck, but the rules at present expressly prohibit using substitutions for the deck, which makes those options unable to be utilized online.

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

Discussion thread is live.

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

It is only by light of the moon that the duskblossom—nymphaea noctis blooms. Perched cross-legged atop a mossy rock, a young halfling woman—Janira Gavix—observes a field of these water-born flowers floating atop the shallow pools of brackish water from where the nearby river meets the sea shore. The lapping waves of a receding tide crash nearby, though far enough that Janira cannot smell the sea-spray. As the moon comes into view from behind dark clouds, Janira keenly watches the duskblossoms begin to move, one-by-one unfolding their petals to reveal luminous stamen within that glitter with starlight pollen. She sketches their form in the moleskin journal set out across her lap, but finds herself unable to effectively capture their otherworldly beauty.

A sudden splashing and sloshing sound coming from the shore causes Janira to sit upright, her focus immediately moves from the flowers to the rocky shoreline. Her brerath hitches in the back of her throat when she hears another deliberate splash-slosh, this time noticeably closer. SLipping one leg out from under herself, Janira levers herself off the rock and crouches down beside it at the edge of the tidal pool, clutching her journal to her chest as the sounds of something emerging from the water draws closer.

Peering over the top of the rock, Janira watches something rise up out of the river; a dark, though vaguely humanoid, silhouette in the night. Swallowing tensely, Janira creeps a bit further around the rock, watching this creature move. It's body glistens in the moonlight, draped in a woven cloak of purplish fabric and kelp-green plant matter that clings tightly to its frame. The creature's flesh is dark gray in coloration, and as it surveys the riverbank, Janira gets a clear look at its faintly luminous violet eyes.

A gillman, Janira realizes as some of her fear subsides, replaced by curiosity. Watching the aquatic man slink away, Janira scrambles towards another cluster of rocks, keeping behind the cover to observe in silence. The waterlogged figure moves a few more paces, then holds aloft both hands to the moon.

"અને હવે મારી જાગરણ શરૂ થાય છે," the gillman utters in a wet, sibilant verse that is strangely tone-deaf. Then, anointing itself with water from the river, the gillman continues to follow the riverbank inland. All the while, Janira keeps her distance, having forgotten her backpack and other gear entirely back by the water.

After following the gillman for nearly a mile, the wooden riverside opens into a grassy clearing at a rocky butte that breaks up the hilly land. The river snakes around the butte, and the gillman seems most interested in this geological formation, approaching its side that is cast in shadow by the moon. As Janira watches from the foliage, she finds herself transfixed on the figure's motions.

Then, as the gillman approaches the shadowed cliff face, he simply disappears into the darkness, as if the night swallowed him whole. Janira's breath hitches again in a staunched gasp, quickly followed by a hasty approach from the treeline. Her little, bare feet carry her across the grassy floor of the clearing to the cliff. Though once she steps into the shadow of the butte, the truth becomes clear to her. For cut in the side of the rock face is a narrow keyhole cave, from which a cool, damp breeze blows.

Cautiously approaching the cave mouth, Janira holds one hand out to feel the air blowing against her palm, then uses her hand to feel the cave wall as a guide until she is wholly submerged in darkness. Don't be an idiot, she warns herself, before anxiously backing out of the cave.

Standing there, one hand still in the darkness, Janira's lips curl into a delighted smile.

A mystery!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
            Pathfinder Society: Year of the Demon
         T H E   C O N F I R M A T I O N
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The invitation delivered last night through the Grand Lodge of Absalom was remarkably simple, especially given the importance of the occasion: “Start where it all began. Meet us at the Pig’s Paunch one hour before dawn.

The Pig’s Paunch is an inauspicious run-down building in the shadow of much less storied structures in Absalom, with a faded sign of a large pig standing on its hind legs, arms folded above a corpulent belly. Inside, the air is thick with the scents of human sweat, stale tobacco, and leftover food. Tables are filled with all manner of travelers from the lower rung of society; a greasy-haired half-orc sits at a table with four Varisian men engaged in a game of cards, while a pair of halflings sit at the bar sharing a pint of dark ale with a blonde-haired halfling woman. Flies buzz around from table to table, shooed off by both patron and barmaid alike.

In the center of the tavern floor, surrounded by inebriates sleeping off their revelries, a familiar elven man stands high upon top of a large round table. His blonde hair flows down over his shoulders, dark eyes reflecting the lantern-light like tiny blue-black marbles.

Welcome! Welcome, my students!" He greets at the arrival of the fellow Pathfinders-in-training. "Please, have a seat!” With that, Kreighton Shaine, the Pathfinder Society’s Master of Scrolls, nimbly drops down to sit cross-legged on the table before looking about the tavern with a sense of reverent wonder. “Can you believe it? It all started here years ago—well, over four hundred of them at least. Under this very roof the Pathfinder Society was born."

As the group coming in to the Pig's Paunch make their way over to the table, Kreighton offers each of them a wry smile as he drums his fingertips on the table's surface, gesturing to the chairs not occupied by the unconscious revelers from the night prior.

Today you will begin your Confirmation! Master Farabellus, Master Zey, and I all agree you each have shown your worth and dedication to the Society, so there’s no better time to see if you can handle becoming full field operatives. Allow me to introduce you to Janira Gavix,” he says as he motions for an excitable halfling woman to approach from where she was at the bar. As she approaches, Janira slings a large backpack over her shoulder laden with all manner of tools, from small lanterns to shovels, pots and pans. Pouches and scroll cases hang around her waist, and a distinctive blue-violet flower with jet black stamen is pinned in her hair.

Shaine continues, saying, “Janira here will be going with you on your Confirmation. She was one of my brightest pupils and will no doubt be an invaluable resource on your journey, for she discovered the caves you are about to explore during her own Confirmation.

Janira waits for the Pathfinders to settle themselves, then speaks up in an enthusiastic and cheerful voice, “Greetings, aspiring Pathfinders! Six months ago, while I was mapping cave entrances in the foothills of the Kortos Mounts, I witnessed a lone gillman entering a concealed cave. I thought little of it at the time, but I saw another one enter the cave again a month later as my Confirmation stretched on. A few days later, after I completed my assigned task of cataloging plants, I entered the cave system, but was unable to find the gillmen...

Master Shaine hops to his feet. “Initiates, for your Confirmation, you will travel to these caves to explore and document its many passages. Additionally, and most importantly, you are to learn what the gillmen are up to in there. Oh, and you really do need to come back alive as well.” With these parting words, the Master of Scrolls jumps off the table and ambles a few feet away, hands folded behind his back as he observes each of the Pathfinders one by one.

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

Discussion thread is live.

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

It is only by light of the moon that the duskblossom—nymphaea noctis—blooms. Perched cross-legged atop a mossy rock, a young halfling woman—Janira Gavix—observes a field of these water-born flowers floating atop the shallow pools of brackish water from where the nearby river meets the sea shore. The lapping waves of a receding tide crash nearby, though far enough that Janira cannot smell the sea-spray. As the moon comes into view from behind dark clouds, Janira keenly watches the duskblossoms begin to move, one-by-one unfolding their petals to reveal luminous stamen within that glitter with starlight pollen. She sketches their form in the moleskin journal set out across her lap, but finds herself unable to effectively capture their otherworldly beauty.

A sudden splashing and sloshing sound coming from the shore causes Janira to sit upright, her focus immediately moves from the flowers to the rocky shoreline. Her breath hitches in the back of her throat when she hears another deliberate splash-slosh, this time noticeably closer. Slipping one leg out from under herself, Janira levers herself off the rock and crouches down beside it at the edge of the tidal pool, clutching her journal to her chest as the sounds of something emerging from the water draws closer.

Peering over the top of the rock, Janira watches something rise up out of the river; a dark, though vaguely humanoid, silhouette in the night. Swallowing tensely, Janira creeps a bit further around the rock, watching this creature move. It's body glistens in the moonlight, draped in a woven cloak of purplish fabric and kelp-green plant matter that clings tightly to its frame. The creature's flesh is dark gray in coloration, and as it surveys the riverbank, Janira gets a clear look at its faintly luminous violet eyes.

A gillman, Janira realizes as some of her fear subsides, replaced by curiosity. Watching the aquatic man slink away, Janira scrambles towards another cluster of rocks, keeping behind the cover to observe in silence. The waterlogged figure moves a few more paces, then holds aloft both hands to the moon.

"અને તેથી મારા જાગરણ શરૂ થાય છે.," the gillman utters in a wet, sibilant verse that is strangely tone-deaf. Then, anointing itself with water from the river, the gillman continues to follow the riverbank inland. All the while, Janira keeps her distance, having forgotten her backpack and other gear entirely back by the water.

After following the gillman for nearly a mile, the wooden riverside opens into a grassy clearing at a rocky butte that breaks up the hilly land. The river snakes around the butte, and the gillman seems most interested in this geological formation, approaching its side that is cast in shadow by the moon. As Janira watches from the foliage, she finds herself transfixed on the figure's motions.

Then, as the gillman approaches the shadowed cliff face, he simply disappears into the darkness, as if the night swallowed him whole. Janira's breath hitches again in a staunched gasp, quickly followed by a hasty approach from the treeline. Her little, bare feet carry her across the grassy floor of the clearing to the cliff. Though once she steps into the shadow of the butte, the truth becomes clear to her. For cut in the side of the rock face is a narrow keyhole cave, from which a cool, damp breeze blows.

Cautiously approaching the cave mouth, Janira holds one hand out to feel the air blowing against her palm, then uses her hand to feel the cave wall as a guide until she is wholly submerged in darkness. Don't be an idiot, she warns herself, before anxiously backing out of the cave.

Standing there, one hand still in the darkness, Janira's lips curl into a delighted smile.

A mystery!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                Pathfinder Society: Year of the Demon
             T H E   C O N F I R M A T I O N
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The invitation delivered last night through the Grand Lodge of Absalom was remarkably simple, especially given the importance of the occasion: “Start where it all began. Meet us at the Pig’s Paunch one hour before dawn.

The Pig’s Paunch is an inauspicious run-down building in the shadow of much less storied structures in Absalom, with a faded sign of a large pig standing on its hind legs, arms folded above a corpulent belly. Inside, the air is thick with the scents of human sweat, stale tobacco, and leftover food. Tables are filled with all manner of travelers from the lower rung of society; a greasy-haired half-orc sits at a table with four Varisian men engaged in a game of cards, while a pair of halflings sit at the bar sharing a pint of dark ale with a blonde-haired halfling woman. Flies buzz around from table to table, shooed off by both patron and barmaid alike.

In the center of the tavern floor, surrounded by inebriates sleeping off their revelries, a familiar elven man stands high upon top of a large round table. His blonde hair flows down over his shoulders, dark eyes reflecting the lantern-light like tiny blue-black marbles.

Welcome! Welcome, my students!" He greets at the arrival of the fellow Pathfinders-in-training. "Please, have a seat!” With that, Kreighton Shaine, the Pathfinder Society’s Master of Scrolls, nimbly drops down to sit cross-legged on the table before looking about the tavern with a sense of reverent wonder. “Can you believe it? It all started here years ago—well, over four hundred of them at least. Under this very roof the Pathfinder Society was born."

As the group coming in to the Pig's Paunch make their way over to the table, Kreighton offers each of them a wry smile as he drums his fingertips on the table's surface, gesturing to the chairs not occupied by the unconscious revelers from the night prior.

Today you will begin your Confirmation! Master Farabellus, Master Zey, and I all agree you each have shown your worth and dedication to the Society, so there’s no better time to see if you can handle becoming full field operatives. Allow me to introduce you to Janira Gavix,” he says as he motions for an excitable halfling woman to approach from where she was at the bar. As she approaches, Janira slings a large backpack over her shoulder laden with all manner of tools, from small lanterns to shovels, pots and pans. Pouches and scroll cases hang around her waist, and a distinctive blue-violet flower with jet black stamen is pinned in her hair.

Shaine continues, saying, “Janira here will be going with you on your Confirmation. She was one of my brightest pupils and will no doubt be an invaluable resource on your journey, for she discovered the caves you are about to explore during her own Confirmation.

Janira waits for the Pathfinders to settle themselves, then speaks up in an enthusiastic and cheerful voice, “Greetings, aspiring Pathfinders! Six months ago, while I was mapping cave entrances in the foothills of the Kortos Mounts, I witnessed a lone gillman entering a concealed cave. I thought little of it at the time, but I saw another one enter the cave again a month later as my Confirmation stretched on. A few days later, after I completed my assigned task of cataloging plants, I entered the cave system, but was unable to find the gillmen...

Master Shaine hops to his feet. “Initiates, for your Confirmation, you will travel to these caves to explore and document its many passages. Additionally, and most importantly, you are to learn what the gillmen are up to in there. Oh, and you really do need to come back alive as well.” With these parting words, the Master of Scrolls jumps off the table and ambles a few feet away, hands folded behind his back as he observes each of the Pathfinders one by one.

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Crossposting from its original thread for maximum volume:

#5–08: The Confirmation PbP Recruitment Thread

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Almost all Pathfinders undergo extensive training for three or more years to learn the tricks of the trade, and their last test before graduating from the ranks of the initiates to the status of a full Pathfinder agent is the Confirmation, a special research project that involves considerable fieldwork and is designed to simulate the initiates' future work as a Pathfinder. Even the noteworthy field commissioned agents sometimes participate in such trials as a way to familiarize themselves with the Pathfinder Society’s rules and expectations. Although Confirmation is typically an individual affair, the society recently discovered a site on the Isle of Kortos that would be perfect for initiates but perhaps too dangerous to handle alone. Successfully uncovering this site’s secrets will not only contribute to the society’s body of knowledge but shape the exciting careers ahead for each of the prospective agents.

            
   
   
Hey everyone! Some of you may remember me from the Ruins of Pathfinder series of adventures run here on the Paizo boards. While I had to step away from the long campaigns due to time-constraints, I've discovered that I have enough free time to run the occasional Pathfinder Society game. This is my first foray into PFS as a GM and I'm eager to get things started with The Confirmation.

 

             Recruitment Requirements
  

1) A PFS legal character of 1st or 2nd level.
2) Full character stats in profile.
3) Ability to post once or twice daily.
  

             Gameplay Rules
 
 
1) Combat will be adjudicated via a shared GoogleDrive map for an example, check out this map from my Reign of Winter campaign.. PCs will declare what grid-square they are moving into on their turn and the map will be updated at the end of the round.
2) Outside of combat I will move the scenario ahead if no one has posted for 24 hours.
3) In combat you have 12 hours to take your turn. If you do not take your turn within 12 hours you will be considered to have delayed your turn.
 

             Other Information
 
 
I will be accepting characters on a first come, first serve basis.

The game will begin when we have reached six players (or on Saturday, June 28th if we have 4+ players but have not filled the table yet.)

If you have any questions at all (or if I forgot to mention anything), do not hesitate to ask!

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When you take the adopted trait, does it also grant you a free trait from your adoptive parentage?

So, if I would normally have two traits, what could I have at first level:

1: Adopted (Human; Harrow Chosen)
2: Defender of the Society

Or

1: Adopted (Human)
2: Harrow Chosen

I can't interpret which way the trait is meant to be used.

Thanks!

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Hey there Pathfinder Modules fans! I just thought you'd like to know that over at The Encounter Table we've got a brand new interview with Owen K. C. Stephens, lead developer of the Pathfinder Modules line! Owen talks with us about Rogue Genius Games (his 3rd party publishing company), how to break into the industry as a freelancer, and dishes about a dream project of his!

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Hey guys! It looks like a store glitch may have happened. If you check my order history it appears I've been charged twice for Munmy's Mask. One shipped on the 14th and the other is scheduled to ship this week.

I mean, it's a great AP volume, but I think I only need one ;)

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On Free RPG day's Facebook they gave a preview of the cover of the 2014 free RPG day module from Paizo. It looks like our first glimpse of the iconic half-elf swashbuckler and the half-orc Warpriest!

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ON FERTILE GROUND
 
Revolution! Twice have high ideals and the fires of rebellion turned the remote city of Pezzack in western Cheliax to ashes. Twice have the people spilled their blood for liberation from the clutches of House Thrune. With the revolution reduced to embers, new blood comes to stoke those old flames and inspire the people of Pezzack to shake off their Chelish yoke. Yet the transformation the Knights of the Bleeding Rose offer the people of Pezzack may not be the one they have been yearning for, and if the truth behind this new revolt is not discovered, what rises from Pezzack's ashes will be a living nightmare.

On Fertile Ground is a Pathfinder adventure module for four or more 3rd-level characters. The PCs will travel to the remote Chelaxian city of Pezzack during a time of civil uprising, encountering revolutionaries, the Chelish navy, Hellknights, the mysterious strix, and battle shadowy adversaries from the ancient past in order to prevent a twisted evil from being unleashed. By the adventure's conclusion, a party on the medium advancement track could reach 7th level.

Introduction

Over eight thousand years ago, the Jistkan Imperium was at the height of its power. In this age a Jistkan philosopher and naturalist named Savradamas studied the evolution of the natural world. Savradamas’ belief that the will of humanity to advance and empower themselves in their comparatively short lifetime was evidence of an evolutionary superiority . She believed that by pushing humans through great suffering, to the brink of its capacity to endure, a perfection of form could be attained. Ridiculed by her peers and eventually ousted from Jistkan academies for proposals of inhumane experimentation, Savradamas receded from public view.

In isolation Savradamas discovered the entities known as kytons — seekers of perfection much like herself — and saw in these former residents of Hell a kinship. Inspiration struck Savradamas on how to forward her own agenda of evolutionary progress and she commissioned a containment device — a great interdimensional laboratory called the Crux — constructed in the Jistkan city of Rachikan (what is now south-western Cheliax.) Savradamas deceived the creators of this engineering marvel as to her intentions, and on the eve of the Crux's completion conjured a group of kytons, using them to capture the Crux's creators and drag them inside her nondimensional refuge. Here the mad philosopher sealed the architects and herself in with the kytons.

Discovering the aftermath of Savradamas' handiwork, the Jistkans feared that she and the creatures within might one day escape, and buried the Crux far from their land in the hopes that her insanity would be forgotten. The Jistkans appointed the native strix as wardens of this forbidden place in exchange for a promise to leave their lands alone.

Thousands of years after the fall of the Jistkan Imperium, much of its history lays forgotten and buried under ruins of conquest. The strix continued to watch the burial site of the Crux, even as settlers pushed them out, founded a city, and nearly unearthed the Crux twice over. Each time the strix would burn Pezzack to the ground in attempt to honor their pact.

Two years ago, rumors of a Jistkan ruin somewhere below the remote city of Pezzack reached the Pathfinder society, and a pair of agents — Paeri Alarcus and Sofriel DeMare — were dispatched to discover the truth in the hopes of beating Cheliax to the prize. The few Avistani ruins of Jistka detail a patchwork history of their culture and the society has been eager to unearth them at any opportunity.

Pezzack, while not officially under the rule of house Thrune following a civil uprising in 4710, is none the less sealed behind a blockade of Cheliaxian naval vessels. Smuggling themselves into the city with the help of Pezzacki rebels, Paeri and Sofriel followed the rumors of the Jistkan ruins to their source and eventually made contact with the spirit of the last person to unearth the ruins, Indageous Vonor, a rabble-rousing playwright who died during the night of Second Ashes. With his spirit's knowledge, the Pathfinders discovered the Crux.

Too hasty to discover the secrets contained within the Crux, the Pathfinders unwittingly released the kytons sealed within. Paeri barely escaped with his life, but Sofriel was dragged inside the Crux by the kytons. Driven mad by what he had seen, Paeri returned to his safehouse in Pezzack and committed suicide out of fear that the kytons would return for him. With none the wiser of their release, the kytons began systematically kidnapping the homeless living in Pezzack's sewers, dragging them to the Crux where a transformed Savradamas experimented on their still-living flesh, transfiguring them into broken souls (Bestiary 4) under her command.

Over the span of five months Savradamas learned, via her captives, the state of the outside world. Plotting to turn all of Pezzack into her own private laboratory, she and her kyton allies plotted to bring the whole of Pezzack to the deepest depths of mental and physical torment, using the hope of revolution to fuel the desire for change, only to make the path a twisting one that leads not to freedom, but transformation.

Those warped by Savradamas donned ancient Jistkan armor retrieved from the ruins to cover their mutilated bodies and block their baleful gaze. Taking the name Knights of the Bleeding Rose from an ancient Jistkan military order, the servants of Savradamas appeared in Pezzack one month ago and were mistaken for agents of the goddess of revolution, Milani, and have aided the rebels in organizing a resistance. Heralded as champions of a free Pezzack, the local rebels were woefully unaware of their saviors' true machinations.

Getting Involved

There are several possible hooks to get players involved in On Fertile Ground. The characters could be hired by the Pathfinder society to discover the fate of Paeri and Sofriel after they failed to report back their findings. Alternately, the PCs could be hired by a trader seeking to establish business with the people of Pezzack, or a smuggler looking to slip goods into the city. The PCs could also be looking to assist the rebels of Pezzack in liberating their city, or inversely be allied with the Hellknights, acting as spies to root out rabble-rousers like the Knights of the Bleeding Rose.

Sidebar: On Fertile Ground in Council of Thieves:

For GMs looking to expand the middle chapters of the Council of Thieves Adventure Path, On Fertile Ground could be set in as a side-quest following the conclusion of The Bastards of Erebus, where Arael sends the PCs out of Westcrown to Pezzack to make an alliance with the rebels in the city. On Fertile Ground touches on many thematic elements present in Council of Thieves, and the kytons here could be used to reinforce the presence and themes of shadow plane denizens encountered later on in the adventure path.

 
 
Act I: Remember the Embers
 
 
The adventure begins with the PCs outside of Pezzack on the open water. Depending on the nature of their business in the city, they will have options to either discuss passage into Pezzack aboard the Chelish vessel Reprisal with Military Governor Vedra Swandannac or smuggle themselves into the city, disabling or sneaking past sentries in order to do so. PCs who successfully deal with Vedra might also be offered a sidequest to root out subversive rebels.

The PCs follow up their leads in a sandbox fashion: If they are searching for missing Pathfinders, they can canvas the city and attempt to track down where Peri and Sophiel were last seen. If they are working on behalf of a merchant or smuggler they can introduce themselves to “mayor” Brucks of Docktown. PCs interested in assisting the rebellion can find a rebel contact. These actions generate sidequests to grant the PCs additional rewards.

During their investigation the PCs come across a group of Hellknights dragging citizens from their homes, searching for the Knights of the Bleeding Rose. In this encounter the Hellknights are ambushed by insurgents. The PCs are free to choose a side in the conflict, or attempt to mediate between the two sides.

The PCs may be offered to meet with either the Hellknights (led by Paralictor Ordell) at their garrison or the Pezzacki rebels (led by Amalia Wraxton) at a safehouse. Both the Hellknights and the rebels have information on the Pathfinders' fate, if they are searching for them, and both are willing to share it provided the PCs assist them. Furthermore, these factions can aid in establishing a way through the blockade for merchant vessels if that is part of the PCs' motivation. Each faction asks the PCs to spy on the other in return for this aid, resulting in the PCs needing to infiltrate one of the factions' headquarters.

In the Hellknight garrison the PCs can discover information regarding a Hellknight that disappeared in the city, and learn that the Hellknights do not know where the Knights of the Bleeding Rose came from or how they snuck into the city. However, the missing Hellknight was researching the Bleeding Rose and the rebellion would want to find him and discover what he knows.

In the rebel safehouse information shows that the rebels do not know where the Bleeding Rose’s base of operations is either, or where they came from. However, the rebels know the missing Hellknight’s last known location.
 
 
Act II: A Rose's Thorns
 
 
The PCs travel to the entrance to the Guts — the tunnel network below Pezzack — searching the area for the missing Hellknight and discover that the strix were in the area when the Hellknight disappeared. Ultimately, this leads the PCs on a search to find where the strix live, and on finding that information they journey beyond Pezzack to Devil's Perch to get answers.

The journey to Devil's Perch is a perilous one, fraught with natural hazards and wilderness encounters. The PCs are ultimately confronted by a group of strix near their settlement and must negotiate for information with their representative, Shassak. The PCs learn that the Knights of the Bleeding Rose ambushed the Hellknight and dragged him into the sewers. The strix also share an oral story passed down by their people of the first "wingless" settlers — the Jistkans — who dug a great wound in the land and buried a strange metal and glass box within. The ancient strix swore a covenant with the Jistkans to protect this site and prevent anything or anyone from unearthing what was buried in return for being left alone. Each time the strix have burned Pezzack down it was out of obligation to this pact, as they feared the ruins uncovered.

The strix repeatedly warned Vedra about this pact, but she dismissed their concerns. Furthermore, the strix believe that Pathfinders recently unearthed the ruins and swear to burn Pezzack to the ground a third time. The PCs can try to negotiate peaceful resolution with the strix or otherwise violently deal with them.

When the PCs return to Pezzack and report their findings (to whatever faction they are working with) they discover that the situation has deteriorated. Vedra decided that the current state of affairs cannot continue, and is planning a full-scale invasion of the city to quell the rebellion. While word of the PCs discovery from the strix is taken under advisement, it may not be enough to stop the looming confrontation set in motion. The PCs can attempt to negotiate with the city’s factions for a delay in hostilities so they can uncover the truth of what is happening.

Optional Location: Driserak:

Driserak is a small, walled fortress residing on the plane of shadow where Pezzack is on the material. Serving as an embassy for Nidal in Cheliax its ruler, Lord Dzorshas Salvuriel (LE elf oracle [shadow] 9), was placed here as punishment for political failures in Nidal. The residents of Driserak are interested in Pezzack's fate, but remain spectators. A GM looking to expand the scope of the adventure could bring the PCs to Driserak to investigate whether Nidal is somehow involved in the recent events.

 
 
Act III: Into the Crux
 
 
The PCs use information gained in Act I (or begin their search now) for Paeri and Sofriel, leading them to a meeting with Brucks in Docktown. Brucks knew the Pathfinders were in Pezzack, but was uncertain of how best to deal with them. He knows the location of the safehouse they were using that hasn’t seen activity in months, believing that they may have left the city.

At the safehouse the PCs discover Paeri's suicide and confront his tormented spirit, now an allip accompanied by malevolent haunts. Journal entries detail Paeri's descent into madness and describe horrors he witnessed below the city. Entries from Paeri's initial research details how the Pathfinders found the ruins and leads the PCs to the remains of the Glass on the Hill to speak with the spirit there.

On the way to the Glass on the Hill the PCs are ambushed by members of the Knights of the Bleeding Rose who have learned of their investigation and try to capture them. When the knights are defeated, they are revealed to be hideous broken souls.

Arriving at the playhouse, the PCs use information from Paeri's journal to recite lines from Abrogail I, a play that indirectly caused the deaths in this haunted site. These outlawed verses spouted once more arouse the vengeful spirits of the former mayor of Pezzack and his Hellknights who were slain in the massacre years prior, now risen as an advanced poltergeist guarded by phantom armor (Bestiary 4) hellknights. The PCs are aided in this encounter by a beneficial haunt of Indageous’ spirit. Once these creatures are put to rest, the PCs speak to Indageous’ ghost, who shares the location of the Jistkan ruins and treasure including a litany of bravery. The players are also presented with a sidequest that can put his soul to rest by ensuring that the seditious play his student Amalia wrote, Abrogail II, is printed.

Unique Treasure: Litany of Bravery:

Litanies are one-use wondrous items, similar to scrolls, activated by a Perform check that emulate bardic performances. A litany of bravery acts as the inspire courage bardic performance.

From here, the PCs venture below Pezzack and navigate dangerous sewers and the ancient Jistkan ruin-come-fortress of the Knights of the Bleeding Rose. If the PCs didn’t broker a cessation of violence between the Chelaxians and the rebels before entering the sewers, an all-out conflict erupts in the streets above. When they reach the inner sanctum of the Bleeding Rose, the PCs confront a transformed Sofriel DeMare and other broken souls.

The PCs discover the location of the Crux and retrieve Sofriel's notes from the ruins and discover the terrible fact that the Crux can only be shut and locked from within. If the PCs have made a strong alliance with the Hellknights they are joined by Paralictor Ordell who has come to their aid. If they have made strong alliance with the Pezzacki rebels, they are instead joined by Amalia Wraxton. PCs who have been able to negotiate a truce between both sides could be aided by both NPCs inside the Crux.

Venturing into the Crux, the PCs find themselves in an otherworldly realm of sadism and torture. The kytons present are unusually inquisitive, with many just as likely to converse with the PCs are they are try to flay them alive.

Clever PCs can converse with Pahdamal, a pellicior kyton who has been trapped in the Crux for thousands of years, gladly entertaining the PCs and willing to discuss the nature of his kind. Pahdamal also explains the layout of the Crux as well as how to find Savradamas, and the architects of the Crux who are imprisoned here.

If the PCs seek out the architects they discover their insane forms locked away within dark, dungeon chambers. The architects can tell the PCs how to lock the Crux, a process requiring a willing sacrifice to stay behind and seal the structure from within. Observant PCs can uncover a secret scrawled by the architects on the interior walls of the Crux as they went mad and by way of a Linguistics check or similar means, piece together their true meaning: a method to destroy the Crux once and for all.

Finally, the PCs must reach the heart of the Crux and confront Savradamas (LE human broken soul alchemist [vivisectionist] 10) and her kyton allies in a gruesome surgery theater. Savradamas is a great threat, but this battle is one that must merely be survived long enough for the Crux to be sealed or destroyed. Truly powerful PCs who have completed every sidequest and gained allies could potentially defeat Savradamas and greatly increase their chances of everyone escaping the Crux alive.

New Monster: Pellicior Kyton:

The pellicior is a new, seductive kyton that tempts with gifts of power at the cost of self-mutilation. Pelliciors possess an ability called Flensing Boon that, when used on a willing target, allows them to take ability damage to one of their physical ability scores (represented by horrific mutilation) in exchange for an increase in one other physical ability score and one mental ability score. Pelliciors entice mortals down a path of self-mutilation and discovery.

New Monster: (Template) Ascetic Outsider:

Ascetic outsiders are reclusive, monastic versions of their kind that dwelled on the material plane for so long they changed forever. Some are contemplatives, others exiles, and all ascetic outsiders gain the native subtype and lose the extraplanar subtype. Ascetics chose a specific site on the material plane (such as a cathedral or a monastery) and gain bonus spell-like and supernatural abilities while in or near that location (similar to a kami's ward [Bestiary 2] ). Ascetic outsiders that move too far beyond their bonded site or have it destroyed suffer debilitating damage that can kill them.

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Impact Site
==========

The city of Karcau, located in the wilderness of Sinaria in Ustalav, is seen by its people as a beacon of light in otherwise dark land. Not far from Karcau, across lake Prophyria, lies the barbarian kingdom of Numeria. Millennia ago the night's sky was lit by a celestial event known as Starfall, an event that resulted in a damaged starship from beyond Golarion's solar system crashing amidst the Kellid tribes, forming what is now known as the Silver Mount.

Not all of the starship crashed down to Golarion that day; fragments of the vessel drift within the lightless reaches of the dark tapestry, suspended in orbit. During the capital ship's final moments before entering Golarion's atmosphere, the vessel ploughed through a field of meteorites just beyond the moon. These metorites were in fact the dormant cocoons of a deadly race of creatures called akata. Punching through the hull of the ship, these cocoons hatched, unleashing the akata on the vessel as its inhabitants rushed towards escape pods. A human crewman along with his android companions entered their escape pods, unaware that some of the android soldiers carried an infestation brought on by the akata's bite.

When automatic systems jettisoned the pod clusters, warning beacons activated in the hopes of rescue that—ultimately—never came. All of the occupants died in their sleep when reserve power was depleted and life support systems shut down. These unfortunate souls succumbed to the "void death" of an akata's bite and reanimated as void zombies. The sole human occupant unexpectedly awoke from his hypersleep when the systems began to fail. Trapped in the suffocating darkness and weightlessness of the void, the terror and isolation experienced at the time of his death denied his soul rest and passage to the afterlife, transforming him into a hateful, undead creature called an immured. These lost souls remained trapped in the dark tapestry for millennia, until their orbit finally decayed...

Remnants of a Fallen Star CR 6
==========

The sedate atmosphere of a drizzling rainstorm over Karcau is shattered by the sudden appearance of a streak of light in the sky, trailing fire and smoke. This falling star smashes through the bell tower of the nearby cathedral of Pharasma with a shower of debris. A moment later the ball of fire strikes the ground just a block away, sending out a thunderous shockwave on impact that shatters windows and throws people off their feet. Screams of panic and confusion fill the air, and a column of smoke billows skyward.

Shouts from across the city indicate alarm, though no immediate presence of city watch can be seen. The impact site is a block away from the PCs. When they arrive only a handful of people are moving towards the impact site, while the majority flee from the direction of the smoke.

The first view of the impact site is little more than a glowing orange blot within clouds of fog and smoke. Closing in on the scene, a devastated manor house behind a high iron fence comes into view. Dazed citizens caked with dust and blood stand around the building, while others sit on the ground in shock. A woman covered in cuts and scrapes emerges from the demolished front entrance, turning to look back at the structure while calling out in panic, "Marcam! Marcam!"

The woman exiting the manor is Taletha Aubran (noble scion, GameMastery Guide 288), the manor's matron. Her panicked cries are for her husband who still resides within the building. If the PCs approach Taletha, she pleads with them go to into the building and rescue him.

Taletha is unable to think clearly due to trauma (she is currently at 2 hp) and responds to any questions with panicked pleas for the PCs to rescue her husband. PCs who succeed on a DC 15 Diplomacy check can calm Taletha down enough to ask her questions. If she is healed by one of the PCs grant them an additional +2 bonus on their check. Once calmed, Taletha explains that her servants and husband Marcam are still somewhere inside. She believes Marcan is in the library at the manor's center. His bodyguard, an elven warrior named Annunael may be with him there.

The Manor

Much of the single-story manor is destroyed and flames spread from the center of the structure where the bulk of the wreckage landed. Area A1 is the library and area A2 is the basement. The stasis pods in the basement remain sealed, while the ones located upstairs (except for the immured's) have been broken open. Stasis pod doors have a hardness of 5, 20 hp, and a break DC of 25. PCs may unlock the stasis pods with a successful DC 30 Disable Device check.

When the PCs enter Area A1 read aloud or paraphrase the following:

This ruined library is littered with scorched and rain-soaked books amid splinters of wood and broken glass. Rain pours in from the hole in the ceiling, its pitter-patter on the ground mixing with the crackling pop of burning wreckage. Smoke is still churning from a partly concealed mass of twisted metal and glass that smashed all the way through to the basement. A strange, glass-lidded sarcophagus rests against one of the burning walls.

If the PCs enter Area A2, read aloud or paraphrase the following:

The basement is filled with choking, black smoke and littered with debris from the house above. Dominating the demolished space is an enormous, metallic structure wreathed in roaring flames, containing a row of glass-windowed capsules large enough to contain a single person.

Creatures: Marcam (squire NPC Codex 251) and Annunael (skilled sniper NPC Codex 145) are pinned under a beam in Area A1 at the X on the map and cannot move. Lifting the beam requires a Strength check (DC 15). Marcam is at 5 hp and Annunael is stabilized at -4, neither have weapons. The void zombies remain idle unless the PCs get within 15 feet, attack them, or otherwise make loud noise. Freeing Marcam and Annunael generates enough noise to attract attention, as does triggering the collapsing floor trap. The immured remains within his stasis pod until later in the encounter.

Android Void Zombie CR 1/2* (8)
XP 200 each
Android void zombie (Bestiary 289, Bestiary 2 23, Inner Sea Bestiary 3)
NE Medium undead (android)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +0
---- DEFENSE ----
AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 natural, +2 Dex)
hp 6* (2d8+3)
Fort +0, Ref +4, Will +3
Defensive Abilities constructed; Immune undead traits
---- OFFENSE ----
Speed 40 ft.
Melee 2 slams +4 (1d6+4)
Special Attacks nanite surge, blood drain, quick strikes
---- STATISTICS ----
Str 17, Dex 15, Con —, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 6
Base Atk +1; CMB +4; CMD 16
Feats ToughnessB
---- SPECIAL ABILITIES ----
Quick Strikes (Ex): Whenever a void zombie takes a full-attack action, it can make one additional slam attack at its highest base attack bonus.
Blood Drain (Ex): If a void zombie hits a living creature with its tongue attack, it drains blood, dealing 2 points of Strength damage before the tongue detaches.
Nanite Surge (Ex): An android void zombie's body is infused with nanites. Once per day as an immediate action, an android can cause his nanites to surge, granting a bonus equal to 3 + the android's character level on any one d20 roll; this ability must be activated before the roll is made. When an android uses this power, his circuitry-tattoos glow with light equivalent to that of a torch in illumination for 1 round.
* CR lowered to 1/2 from reduced hp due to being injured in the crash.

Immured CR 3
XP 800
hp 26 (R2)
Tactics: The immured attacks the nearest living creature relentlessly and attempts to drag them back into its capsule.

Development: If Annunael is healed he guides Marcam out of the house. Both fight defensively if armed; their goal, retreat. After one of the void zombies is slain, the remaining four in area A2 break free and enter combat via the stairs to the basement and the immured contained in the stasis pod in area A1 joins the encounter using its breach ability. After 5 rounds of combat a member of the Karcau city watch (guard GameMastery Guide 260) enters the manor from the street to lend aid.

Hazard: Area A2 and any squares adjacent to the hole in the floor in area A1 are filled with smoke and PCs entering this area suffer from smoke effects. PCs entering burning squares risk catching on fire. (Core Rulebook 444).

Traps: The squares around the hole to the basement in area A1 act as collapsing floor traps. Once one is triggered the entire marked area collapses.

Collapsing Floor CR 1/2
XP 400
Type mechanical; Perception DC 15; Disable Device DC 15
---- EFFECTS ----
Trigger location; Reset none

Effect 10-foot fall into basement (1d6); multiple targets; DC 15 Reflex save avoids.

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 32

It started simply enough.

After departing the primary group of settlers, Dakun, Rogath, Quint, and Doctor Logem set out to follow the trail of the duergar mining wagon back to its source. Having broken off from the settlers in the late afternoon, they had several hours of daylight left even though the sun already was threatening to duck behind the lofty mountains in the west. Unrestricted in movement thanks to not traveling at the speed of the settlers, the four made quick progress across the hills, though within two hours they were already further than the first expedition into the hills had gone.

Neither Dakun nor Rogath recognize the terrain they're headed into, though they are able to maintain the trail of the wagon carved into the ground. Four hours out, just after sundown bathes the new world in a blanket of darkness, the four dwarves discover deeper ruts in the ground that the wagon they were following seems to have broken off from — It's a road.

This dirt road leads northwest in one direction, and directly south in another. The wagon they'd been following looks to have veered off here for reasons unknown, though it looks as though it is frequently traveled by wagons and carts, judging from the amount of wear in the earth. This discovery alone warrants further investigation, and gives the team a better means by which to follow the wagon trail.
 
 
 
 
      << The Unexplored Hills | Cloudy, Light Breeze, Cool | Night | Wealday, Arodus 11th, 4714 AR >>
 
 
 
 
 
They've been traveling four hours since departing from the settlers, and four hours more earlier in the day. By now they're starting to feel weary, but this discovery has given a new sense of intrigue and mystery.

They are not alone.

________________
Rogath, Quint, Logem, and Dakun; please report in and let me know what you plan on doing. You're four hours out from where you started (on the southern edge of the the hex 1 north of the shaded green base hex) and have discovered a road. You can assess that the wagon you are following came from the northwest yet further, but you are uncertain as to how much further. You could force march some, try to get some more distance, or you could perhaps camp nearby for the night.
 
Let me know your plan.

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This spectral woman floats midair with an unearthly grace and demanding presence.

Disir CR 4
XP 1,200
LN Medium Outsider (incorporeal, kami, native)
Init +7; Senses Darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +11
Aura fate (20 ft.)

----- Defense -----
AC 17, touch 17, flat-footed 14 (+4 deflection, +3 Dex)
hp 37 (5d10+10); fast healing 2
Fort +3, Ref +7, Will +7
Defensive Abilities incorporeal; Resist acid 10, cold 10, electricity 10, fire 10

----- Offense -----
Speed fly 30 ft. (perfect)
Melee incorporeal touch +8 (2d8 cold damage plus cursed fate)
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 5th; concentration +9)
At will—mage hand

----- Statistics -----
Str —, Dex 16, Con 14,Int 13, Wis 17, Cha 18
Base Atk +5; CMB +8 CMD 18
Feats Combat Reflexes, Flyby Attack, Improved Initiative
Skills Diplomacy +12, Intimidate +12, Fly +19, Knowledge (local) +9, Perception +11, Sense Motive +11, Stealth +11
Languages Common, Skald; Telepathy 100 ft.
SQ merge with ward, ward (house)

----- Ecology -----
Environment Urban
Organization Solitary or entourage (1 disir plus 1d4 domovoi house spirits)
Treasure Standard

----- Special Abilities -----

Aura of Fate (Su) A disir within or nearby to its ward radiates an aura of fate to a radius of 20 feet. Enemies within the aura forced to roll two d20s whenever a situation calls for a d20 roll (such as an attack roll, a skill check, or a saving throw) and must use the lower of the two results generated. Allies designated by the disir in this aura are instead blessed with good fate, and likewise roll two d20s whenever a situation calls for a d20 roll, but may take the higher result instead. This is a mind-affecting morale effect that does not work on fey or other kami. A disir may suppress this aura at will as a free action.

Cursed Fate (Su) Any creature touched by a disir must succeed at a Will save (DC 16) or become cursed. Cursed creatures treat a roll of 20 on a d20 as a roll of 1 and may not take a 10 or a 20 on skill checks. This curse lasts for 24 hours and the save DC is Charisma based.

Disir are kami native to the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, formed from the spirits of devoted family members or servants thereof. The first disir originated from families that settled in Kalsgard after crossing the path of Aganhei over the Crown of the World from Tian Xia. These kami serve as guardians of family homes, acting as watchful protectors of both the families that live within them and the structures themselves.

A disir prefers to remain anonymous, going about its activity when family members are not present. They occasionally benefit the family by means of their fate aura or more mundane tasks; tidying up the house, locking doors, or shutting windows left open in cold months.

Most disir continue to protect the home of the family they were a member of in life, or otherwise were strongly devoted to, moving with them from one ward home to another as the family moves. When a family line guarded by a disir is wiped out, the disir falls into a bleak depression and remains fixated on their last place of residence, becoming a vengeful and spiteful spirit that forcibly attempts to evict any other family that tries to take up residence or otherwise trespass in its ward.

Disir have a fond regard for house spirits, particularly domovoi, whom on occasion form bonds of cooperation to better the home and family they are bonded to.

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

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Hey there!

I thought, given some of the warm reception I've received since the blog's founding, that I'd share a link to The Encounter Table with the boards. This Pathfinder RPG blog showcases a number of weekly articles containing OGL monsters, archetypes, rules subsystems, and more! All the game mechanic content found on the Encounter Table is 100% OGL and I welcome all 3rd-party publishers to use it as they see fit.

This week happens to coincide with a desert-themed series of articles to celebrate the upcoming release of Paizo's The Mummy's Mask and People of the Sands.

I hope you all enjoy!

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Spirit Window
Aura moderate divination; CL 8th
Slot none; Price 8,500 gp; Weight 1lb.

Description
This hand mirror has a two-way glass lens set in its frame and is activated by speaking a command word . A spirit window allows its bearer to see ethereal creatures out to a range of 60 feet, revealing their location but granting no additional ability to affect them. Ethereal creatures can see the bearer of the window clearly while it is activated, as if they existed on the same plane, though this grants ethereal creatures no additional ability to affect the bearer.

As a free action, the bearer may choose to view a corpse or an undead creature through the window and see them as they appeared in life, just prior to their death. Additionally, the spirit window can be used to view the source of a haunt within range, indicating the area affected by the haunt and making it visible to the bearer. The general appearance of a haunt's manifestation should vary by the haunt's theme and the appearance is left up to the GM, but should give a visual clue as to the haunt's nature. The bearer of a spirit window may study an undead creature or haunt within 60 feet as a move action, gaining a +2 insight bonus on their Knowledge (religion) check made to identify the haunt or creature.

A spirit window may be active for up to 20 rounds per day, and these rounds need not be consecutive.

Construction
Requirements Craft wondrous item, see invisibility, restore corpse; Cost 4,250 gp

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

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The upcoming Kaiju rules in Bestiary 4 are going to cover this a little bit, but I thought I'd share my own slightly more robust rules for climbing large enemies.

_____

Combat Climb

You may can climb on the back or other parts of a creature at least two size categories larger than you. You gain a +2 on attack rolls against the creature being climbed and the creature is considered flat-footed against your attacks.

Initiating a Combat Climb
Initiating a climbing attack on a creature is a special full-round action. In order to perform this maneuver, a you enter a creature’s square (potentially provoking an attack of opportunity for the movement, unless the character makes a successful Acrobatics check). Once the movement has been made, you then make a climb check against the target's Combat Maneuver Defense. Characters with a climb speed gain a +10 bonus on this check. At the end of this full-round action you may make one melee or ranged attack at your highest attack bonus. Clibming requires at least one free hand used to maintain the climb, so attacks with weapons that use two hands are not usually possible.

Maintaining the Climbing Attack
Each round you remain on the creature, you must make an Acrobatics or Climb check (your choice) as a move action against the creature's CMD to remain atop. A creature may spend a full-round action on its turn trying to shake you off, forcing you to immediately make an Acrobatics or Climb check as if you began the round on the creature. If you are knocked off, you fall prone in an adjacent square (use the grenade-like weapons table to determine the direction you fall in) and take falling damage accordingly.

Related Feats

The Bigger They Are (Combat)
Prerequisite Climb 2 or Acrobatics 2
Benefit The targets of your combat climb no do not get their size bonus to their combat maneuver defense. When performing a combat climb, you may maintain the maneuver as a swift action. Furthermore, you gain a bonus on all Climb or crobatics checks made to climb a creature equal to their size modifier.

The Harder They Fall (Combat)
Prerequisite The Bigger They Are, Base Attack Bonus +12
Benefit When performing a combat climb on a creature, you automatically confirm any critical threats with attacks made against them while climbing.

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

Welcome to The Mysterium Compact! Please take some time to go over your character sheets and double-check that you are satisfied with the mechanical choices you have made. You will have up until your first in-game post to alter any decisions you made in character creation.

While it is not yet applicable, please review the unique summoner archetypes available to players in the Mysterium Compact. If you are interested in taking one of these unique archetypes and wish to adjust your character to better suit it, please do so now and let me know what adjustments you are making.

Furthermore, head over to the Ruins of Pathfinder wiki to see the Campaign page, which will be updated with pertinent information and rules documentation as the story progresses.

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                          Ruins of Pathfinder
     T H E   M Y S T E R I U M   C O M P A C T
                       Prologue I - The Twin
 
 
 
 

"Valeaforadan!" A sudden crack of electricity flows in an arc through the air, striking the metal rod at the end of the stone corridor. The charge dissipates through the engraved iron, flickers down through the floor and becomes unseen. The young woman thirty feet away curls her fingers towards her palm, a static charge still tingling in her fingertips. She turns to look up at her instructor, a stern looking half-elven man with copper-colored hair whose true demeanor is betrayed by an easy smile.

The girl's pride and happiness seems infectious.
 
 
 
 
 
       << Akrabahadran, the College of Shadows | Some Time Ago... >> 
 
 
 
 
 
"Excellent work," he praises, stepping over to lay a hand on her small shoulder. "But you still need to work on your defensive form," comes a moment after, and the instructor places his hands on the girl's wrists, drawing her hands closer to her chest. "Like this," he explains, glancing down at her before looking to the lightning rod. "Don't leave yourself so open, an attacker would put a sword right between your ribs while you're distracted trying to pick a target. Always be ready to deflect an incoming attack."

"Thank you, Master Arnon." The young woman offers a small, weary smile and looks down at her palms as Master Arnon leans away. Eventually, she looks up from her hands to the long, stone corridor and to the lightning rod sticking up from the engraved rings of eldritch writing on the floor. Arnon can tell a question is brewing before she turns to ask it. "Master?"

Arnon crosses his arms and lets his head tilts to the side, regarding the greem-eyed girl looking up at him. One brow raises, a wordless agreement to hear her question. The girl shifts her feet awkwardly, then wrings her hands together and furrows her brows. "Hokuto?" Arnon urges her to speak up, offering a reassuring smile.

"Will I have to fight?" The question causes Arnon to tense up and avert his eyes to the floor for just long enough that Hokuto can tell he's uninterested in answering her honestly. They both know the futility in that.

"We live in dangerous times," is Arnon's vague answer, "I hope none of my students are forced into battle, but ours is a world of conflicts great and small. You've been blessed with a gift that can be used however you wish. But, at its core, the gift you've been given is one that would find use in warfare. People will seek to exploit that."

Hokuto's teeth worry at her lower hip, and the girl crosses her arms and looks back to the lightning rod. "Will Seishi have to fight?" Arnon makes a noise in the back of his throat at that question, stepping beside Hokuto and ruffling a hand through her short, messy hair.

"That will be her choice," Arnon explains softly, "and yours. But right now all you have to worry about is hitting that target, and keeping your stance guarded." Arnon's hand sweeps down to cup Hokuto's cheek and his head shakes slowly, smile a bit more wry than it was a moment ago.

"Is this about what happened to Liasha?" Arnon's question is delivered carefully, delicately, the way in which grief is uncomfortably handled in its rawest form. Hokuto's expression scrunches up and her brows furrow, eyes watering up as she looks down to the floor. Arnon hates himself for even bringing it up, but her reaction shows necessity in his inquisition.

Moving his hand to one shoulder, Arnon guides Hokuto away from the practice floor and towards a wood and stone bench near the door. She sits, reluctantly, hands on her knees and shoulders slouched forward, head bowed and bangs hiding her eyes. Arnon takes a knee in front of her, quiet for a moment after hearing the tiniest of sobs escape his student.

Bringing a hand to her chin, Arnon tilts her chin up so that she's lookig at him and not the floor between her sandled feet. "Everyone misses Liasha," comes with the unmasked grief like that of a parent trying to cope with the loss of a child. "She was the best and brightest of us all, and-- Hokuto-- it was an accident, what happened to her." Arnon's thumb brushes a streak of tears across her cheek.

Hokuto nods once, but the noise in the back of her throat that she makes indicates that she doesn't entirely believe him. Arnon isn't sure he believes himself either. "As a teacher here, I'm the one who is ultimately responsible for the well-being of the students. The Headmaster had the diviners look into what happened, and..." and he knows a technical explanation of what happened isn't reaching her. Instead, Arnon leans in and draws Hokuto into an embrace, letting her head come to rest on his shoulder. Small arms reciprocate the gesture, and she just cries into the coarse fabric of his robe, fingers curling desperately tight to the same material.

Resting a reassuring hand at the back of her head, Arnon stares at the wall behind Hokuto, but his mind is further away than that. "Liasha wouldn't want you to fall apart," are words that escape Arnon's mouth with awkward cadence restraining difficult emotions. Hokuto nods a few times, sucking back a wet sob before pulling her head away from his shoulder, drying her eyes with the long, white sleeves of her robe.

Arnon brushes Hokuto's hair from her brow, then slowly rises to stand up straight, offering a hand out for his student. "She'd want you to graduate," is a firm reminder of where she is, "she'd want you to show everyone how much you've learned, and remember how much she wanted all of you to succeed."

Once she's collected herself and calmed fitful breaths, Hokuto looks up to the offered hand and the stylized eye tattoo on the back of the palm. Her lips curl up into a faint smile, a weary and damaged one, before taking the far larger hand in hers and getting up off of the bench. She knows Arnor is right, knows what she has to do to prove it.

"Okay," Hokuto offers with a whisper of confidence, turning to look back at the lightning rod. After a moment of staring at the target, Hokuto cupping her hands together she and draws them close to her chest. Arnon takes a step back as tiny bolts of electricity begin gathering between the young girl's fingers, larger bolts arcing between her palms. Hokuto draws in a slow, contemplative breath and clasps her palms together, a buzzing electrical noise reverberating through her bones. All her anger has a direction.

"Valeaforadan!"

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“Nothing is yet in its true form.”

                                      -C.S. Lewis
 
 
 
 

RUINS OF PATHFINDER: THE MYSTERIUM COMPACT (MYTHIC)
 
 
Welcome, one and all, to the recruitment for The Mysterium Compact, a Pathfinder adventure set in the post-apocalyptic Ruins of Pathfinder alternate reality. In this variant of the Pathfinder setting, numerous apocalyptic events have ocurred due to the failure of heroes to stave off disaster as presented in Pathfinder's published adventure paths, up to (but not including) Shattered Star.

For full information on the Ruins of Pathfinder alternate reality, please view the "regional changes" section at this link and also check out our work-in-progress wiki at The Ruins of Pathfinder.

The Mysterium Compact is a story about an ancient school hidden away in the deserts of Rahadoum, the Kingdom of Man. Here, wayward youths with the potential to become summoners are shepherded by a mysterious fortune-teller to their destiny at Akrabahadran, the College of Shadows where they will be tutored by the best and brightest summoners in all of Golarion on how to utilize their unique gifts. But a sinister secret lies buried deep within Akrabahadran, the College of Shadows, one that demands to be discovered...

You are among a group of potential students recruited from all across the world by the mysterious Tian-min fortune-teller Hokuto Ichihara, who travels Golarion in search of potential summoners to bring back to Akrabahadran, the College of Shadows for training. You have been promised a new start, a new life, and training in a power that you will one day mature into, a power that could change the face of the world itself.
 
 

WHERE IN THE APOCALYPSE ARE WE?

Those familiar with the Ruins of Pathfinder alternate reality from previous campaigns will know that it is currently 4715 AR, two years ahead of the date established Pathfinder Campaign Setting, and the world is falling into an ice age as the events of Reign of Winter play out. Global temperatures have dropped, it snows as far south as Osirion and foot shortages are becomming commonplace. For more details, please visit.

Please pay close attention to the character creation guidelines below.
 
 
 
CHARACTER CREATION

Your character in the Mysterium Compact will be one of a handful of special children brought to the country of Rahadoum by way of caravan or ship, collected by a mysterious Tian-min fortune-teller named Hokuto Ichihara. From Azir, the capitol of Rahadoum, you were escorted via a wagon caravan across the ancient Rahadoumi desert to where Hokuto promises a new future awaits. Your past lives, your history, all will be forgiven or forgotten in the Akrabahadran, the College of Shadows.

This campaign will begin during the last leg of the long journey across the desert.

Characters in Ruins of Pathfinder come from a harder, more cut-throat world than normal. However, characters in the Mysterium Company are children and as such have different strengths and weaknesses than adult characters in this world. Character creation options help outline this:
 
 

Starting Level: PCs will start at 1st level.
Starting Class: PCs begin play as 1st-level commoners. Later on, Summoner only.
Alignment: Any, though extreme alignment choices (Lawful Good, Chaotic Good, Lawful Evil or Chaotic Evil) will take exceptional justification to explain this rigid way of thinking so young in life. Alignment may change over the course of the campaign.
Starting Age: Maximum young age for commoners, as detailed here.
Ability Scores: 15 point-buy (with additional ability score increases along the way during gameplay)

More on Ability Scores:
In the same way an adult character gains adjustments to her ability scores as she reaches middle, old, and venerable age, a young character occupies a new pre-adulthood age category, and therefore has altered physical ability scores, though the vigor of youth does grant some benefit. a young character has a +2 bonus to Dexterity and a –2 penalty to Strength, Constitution, and Wisdom. (A young character's potential inexperience and awkwardness are represented by having only the skill ranks of a 1st-level character rather than taking a penalty to Intelligence or Charisma.)

HP: Max HP rolls at 1st and 2nd level. Players will roll for HP from level 3 onward.
Traits: 1 trait at start (you will gain access to additional traits later)
Base Starting Money: One free starting outfit and no personal wealth.
Races: Any.
 

When you create a submission, please create a character alias and include your character information in the form of a bestiary stat block like Liette's profile.

 
Also, include the following information in your profile:

1) Physical Appearance
 Remember that your character is young and should reflect that. You will also be evolving this description as the campaign goes on and your character matures (or in the case of extremely long-lived races, stays youthful).
2) Personality
 This is one of the most important parts of your background. The personality if a pre-teen character is formed by only a handful of life experiences in the case of beings of human-like age, or decades in the case of elven or other children of long-lived races. Please reflect this!
3) Background
 The absolute most important part of the character background. As a child-character your history should be no less detailed than another character in any other campaign. These children are exceptional, interesting and special. Perhaps they hail from unique backgrounds, tragic circumstances, or other interesting scenarios. Your characters are being taken away from your past life to train at a secret academy. Your characters' families (if they are even alive) would not be given any detail of this, save that your character is being taken to a "special school" in an undisclosed location to be "trained to their full potential" and will not be allowed to leave until completion. As this is such an important part of character generation, please ask questions if you are unsure of details.
 
 

GROWING UP
 
While the campaign's onset features the PCs as children, you will grow up over the course of the story's six year timeline. Characters will begin at the maximum age for their race to still be considered "young" as detailed here.

While you will begin the campaign as 1st-level commoners, you will learn to become summoners early on in the first adventure and gain access to your Eidolon. However, the rules for determinign the base form and abilities of your eidolon will differ from the traditional summoner class and you will recieve more options and the ultimate final form of your eidolon will differ depending on in-game choices you make. There will be more detail on this as the campaign goes on.
 
 

CAMPAIGN THEME
 
The Mysterium Compact is a heavy roleplaying/dungeon exploration/mystery investigation campaign. The entire campaign will be set within the grounds of the College of Shadows and will span a period of six years while your characters are students of the academy. If the words Harry Potter meets Shin Megami Tensei: Persona excite you, this is the campaign for you!
 
 
 
POSTING CONSIDERATIONS

When the campaign begins you will be expected to post at least once every 48 hours. If you are going on a vacation, very busy, or otherwise unable to post just let me know and I will consider you on "standby" for the amount of time specified.

If anyone disappears for 7 straight days without posting or leaving notice you will be moved off camera and may not be invited back, depending on the circumstances. This is extremely generous in terms of time span, so please don't let it get to that level of uninvolvement.
 
 
 
HARROWING
Once you have completed your character, please consult the harrow deck and pick a card that you feel represents your character, be it who they are deep down inside or perhaps what you feel their destiny could be. The card should have a very personal meaning to the character, whether they realize it yet or not.

This choice of card is very important.
 
 
 
MYTHIC?
At a point in the Mysterium Compact you will take use fo the new Mythic pathfinder rules. However, there will be a twist to this use of mythic rules that will be revealed as the story progresses.
 
 
 
SUBMISSION
When you have completed all of the requested information and built your alias, please make a post here with the following format (so I can ctrl+f submissions easily):

Quote:
I, <character name>, hereby submit myself to the College of Shadows under the sign of <harrow card name>.

 

 
 
SELECTION

I will be selecting 6 students from the submitted characters to seek out the answers to the Mysterium Compact. Recruitment ends on October 11th at 11:00pm (-5GMT). Late submissions will not be considered.
 
 
 
You are not alone.

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

Would it be possible to have Wardens of the Reborn Forge broken out of this order? When I originally packaged these together I feel like Wardens' release date was sooner than November, and I don't want to delay my delivery of the other books associated with this order until November.

Also, if possible, could Wardens of the Reborn Forge be rolled into Order # 2668000 which contains the Inner Sea NPC Codex?

I feel like there's a way to rearrange the order on my own, but I can't for the life of me find it.

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

Hello all!

I'm reaching out here today because I am currently in the late stages of developing a planar-themed supplement for publishing and have had a run of bad luck. One of my artists I'd hired to produce the book's cover and a few pieces of interior art has had some bad cards dealt to him in life and is unable to fulfill his commitment. As such, I'm left in dire need of an artist (or artists) willing to do at least one large paid comission (and possibly more, smaller pieces if willing/able).

I can provide more details to any interested parties. The project is a labor of love for me, and has a fiction contribution from Todd Stewart (author of The Great Beyond) that I would love to have illustrated as well if the stars align.

Anyone interested, please feel free to email me at ro.brookes@gmail.com or just PM me here on the boards and include a link to samples of your work.

Thanks so much for reading this and I hope to hear back from some of this community's talented artists.

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

 
 
            Ruins of Pathfinder
    THE QUEST FOR ARCADIA
            Discussion Thread
 
 
 
 
 
 
Welcome to the Quest for Arcadia campaign, set in the dark future setting Ruins of Pathfinder. The Quest for Arcadia Play-by-Post will incorporate fan-speculation regarding the mysterious land of Arcadia alongside officially cited information regarding Arcadia. New monsters, magic, races and exciting encounters await you in this structured sandbox campaign!

POSTING

So that all players are on the same page, I have included a guide as to what is expected to appear in the discussion thread, and what is expected to appear in the gameplay thread. These expectations include the content of the posts, frequency of posting, and what will occur in the event of player abandonment or absences.

DISCUSSION THREAD

The discussion thread should include any and all OOC chat and conversations between players and GM that does not involve a present situation in the gameplay thread. Plans for future character builds, feat suggestions, announcement of absences, plot speculation and the like all belong here.

GAMEPLAY THREAD

The gameplay thread should include all in-character interactions, gameplay actions and questions regarding immediate situations. For example: if the party was in a desert ruin, all new ooc discussion in the gameplay thread should be pertinent to the exploration of the ruin or what has been happening in it, not previous locations/events. This is largely to keep the gameplay thread from being cluttered and making it easy for people to miss content or posts.

FORMATTING

Posts in the gameplay thread should be formatted as follows when possible:

Quote:


In Character Content, descriptions of actions, dialogue, etc.
_____________
ooc commentary
Move Action: Move to E23
Swift Action: Smite evil @ zombie kitten in square C23
Standard Action: Attack zombie kitten in square C23
Attack Roll @ C23 Zombie Kitten: 1d20 ⇒ 12
>> Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12
End Location: E23

Note that in the above, the dice rolls are clearly detailed with what you're rolling for. You can do this by typing [ dice=Description ] instead of just [ dice ]. Outlining your actions line by line makes it easy for me to see who is doing what, that way nothing gets missed or overlooked. In combat you should always be sure to include what square you are ending your turn in at the bottom of your post.

GMING STYLE

You'll be able to see from my posts that I do a lot of heavy description. Posts will err on the long-ish side and may require more than one read-through just to be sure you got all the pertinent details. This is one of the reasons why I have a 48-hour posting window, to accommodate people who may need to take time to read what's been written and consider their actions.

I will also be making some autonomous rolls for you as well. If presented with a creature/situation/etc that you could make a knowledge check for, I will make the roll automatically for you and supply you wish a spoiler-tagged block of text showing your roll and what your character would know after the check. If you have an exhaustible ability to improve rolls or otherwise modify these results, you may opt to use them even after I have automatically made the check for you. Doing these automatic rolls is designed to expedite play.

If I forget to make a knowledge check for you automatically, or if you feel you would like to make one for any reason, please feel free to make the check yourself and I will provide the result.

INITIATIVE

I will automatically roll initiative for the entire party at the start of combat. The same rule applies that if you have something that allows you to re-roll or otherwise modify your initiative (that isn't always active) you can use it after I make the roll for you, regardless of whether or not you'd normally be allowed to use it after a roll is made.

There is a level of GM/Player transparency that I uphold as well. Any check an NPC or creature takes in secret will be contained behind a spoiler tag marked as "private rolls." I do this in the event that something outrageous happens, like a hidden sniper gets a critical hit that kills a player. I want there to be transparency to ensure everyone that those sorts of things aren't done arbitrarily and rolls aren't fudged.

MISCELANEOUS

I ask that if you play a prepared spellcaster, you list what spells you are preparing at the start of each day (and any spell slots you are leaving open) in the discussion thread. If we're doing a long stretch of overland travel and you plan on keeping the same spells, feel free to list a range of days you have the available spells for.

Player spell research is allowed and you will have the time/availability to do such things. On the same token, player magic item creation will also be available and there will be sufficient downtime to allow for this.

We can discuss spell research/crafting as it comes up.

We are using the medium experience path, and PCs may level up their characters as soon as they gain enough experience to reach the next level. If you could make a post in the discussion thread with what class you are leveling in, your HP roll, and any elective feats taken, spells learned, etc it would be appreciated. Any other static scores (like BAB or Saves) increasing don't need to be listed.

DEATH AND DISAPPEARANCE

Bad things happen to good dwarves. In the event of character death without feasible possibility of resurrection, you will not be given an opportunity to create a new character. If the party drops below 4 PCs, I will choose a character from the recruitment thread and see if they would like to join the campaign, already in progress.

If you go 48 hours (2 full days) without posting, I will take control of your character to keep the game moving along until you return. If you go 96 hours (4 days) I reserve the right to remove your character due to inactivity. Characters removed for inactivity will be replaced in the same manner as dead characters.

Players who need to have absences (vacations, busy work, lots of life stuff happening) just need to let me know as soon as they can. Give me an estimate of how long you'll be gone for, and we'll work things out! Life happens, and as long as you aren't just bailing without any word, I'll totally do my best to accommodate as long as you need.

QUESTIONS

If at any time you ever have questions for me, don't hesitate to ask (in a thread or in a PM), I'm usually always available!

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

1 person marked this as FAQ candidate.

In Bestiary 2 both the Arbiter Inevitable and the Lyrakien Azata have commune as a spell-like ability, listing their caster levels as 12 and the number of questions they can answer as 6. However, per the description of commune the spell provides an answer to one question per caster level.

Which factors are incorrect?
1) The CL of these spell-like abilities
2) The number of answers provided in the stat block
3) The wording of the commune spell

Lantern Lodge RPG Superstar 2014 Top 4

"Doo yáʼáshǫ́ǫ da!"

A voice cries out in the dark, heard over the sounds of snapping branches and feverish breaths; foreign tongue. From the edge of the wood, two dozen men draped in heavy furs and chain armor stand at the ready. Torches behind them cast off the shroud of night in irregular blotches of illumination, gleaming fiery hues off of the edges of raised axes and swords. Plumes of steam gout from each warrior's chapped mouth, and their shoulders rise and fall with the heaviness of each breath. They can hear someone running, a single soul, scrambling through the darkest of the hillside thickets, screaming with all his worth as if it would save him.

"Ulfen brødre, heve dine våpen og stå høyt!" One of the warriors calls out, hoisting his sword high above his head as he bellows a war cry that joins with the distant figure's less couragerous screams. Each of the men standing shoulder to shoulder in the line let loose a raucous warcry and slam their blades against their shields and raise them aloft. A few look back, behind their line, to the distant glow of torchlight beyond and the jagged pallisades of their home. Some long for it, others know that Valenhall is not far off, and whatever emerges from this forest will mean a journey begins -- one way or another.

The screaming finally draws near, and as tension spreads like wildfire through the line of Ulfen warriors these brothers in arms lower their blades and raise their shields, ready to face what they expect; a raiding party of Skraelings from out of the wood. They have weathered their attacks time and again, and the walls of their distant home will not budge. But they mistake the frantic cries of one skraeling as warcries, as the yips and hoots of a charge leader.

Through the treeline a single man emerges, dusky skinned and covered in blood, eyes wide in fear. His arms are covered in ribbons of uncurled flesh, and the moment he emerges into the torchlight of the Ulfen warriors, their thunderous cries drown out whatever he tries to speak, and the whiff of a fusilade of arrows being launched from the village pallisades silences his screaming as a half dozen arrows punch through his body, sending him crumpling to the ground in a bloodies mess. The ulfen let loose a cheer, a brief celebratory howl, before six sinuous lengths of rubbery mauve flesh ending in hooked talons lash out from the darkness like fishing lines. Two snatch the corpse of the skraeling man and haul him back into the darkness and the remaining tendrils latch onto ulfen warriors and yank them off of their feet, dragging them screaming through the air into the darkness.

It takes a full moment of silence and labored breathing for the ulfen to even realize what just happened, and as their wide-eyed stares focused on the blood stains on the snowy ground ahead of them, the forest before them explodes in a mass of shattered timbers before a wall of undulating flesh and bulging eyes as a hooked mass of lashing tentacles and gaping mouths the size of a longhouse fills their vision.

And becomes the last thing they ever see.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                    R U I N S  OF  P A T H F I N D E R
      T H E   Q U E S T   F O R   A R C A D I A
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

"Highhelm, old below sky, hearth and shield of our endless days!"

Within the vaulted ceilings of the meadhall of Drun-Morogh of clan Skuldafn, a granite statue of Grundinnar -- dwarven god of friendship and loyalty -- oversees a mass of celebrating dwarven men and women proudly drinking to the honor of the fallen. Such voices raised in song and celebration would seem incongruent to a human observer, were one present, but the chorus of "mourners" here in this great hall have come to celebrate the life of Hraggir Skuldafn, eldest son of the Skuldafn line and master of coin for all of Highhelm. Thousands attended his funeral, and now hundreds of those celebrants have come to sing and drink and praise his name under the watchful eyes of Grundinnar.

"We, thy sons and daughters all, our loyal voices raise!"

Amount the celebrant mourners is Vigar Skuldafn, a bronze-haired son of Hraggir and renowned Stonelord of Torag. Dressed in the finest ironshale stoneplate armor, he sits at the head of the meadhall in the chair his father once sat in. Weary-eyed despite his relative youth, Vigar watches the drinking, story-telling and singing with dedication but waning investment. It is not out of disrespect or sadness that Vigar remains so sullen, but rather out of a sense of something far deeper than either; duty.

"The hours we spent at thy Father knee and drank of wisdom's store!"

Thousands of miles away, the sky citadel of Janderhoff has gone silent, and with the armies of the runelord Karzoug the Claimer to the west Vigar is troubled that the sky citadel has fallen to the runelord's grasp. The High King of Highhelm has refused to send aid, as the city has seen its own troubles bubbling up from the depths of the darklands in recent years, and too many subterranean levels of Highhelm have already been lost to drow incursions. Dragging fingers through his thick beard, Vigar stares out at the crowd of well-wishers, friends and family without confidence in his heart that they will all be here for another year. Without confidence that Highhelm will be here another year. The world threatens to collapse and yet the dwarven people -- ever resiliant -- think themselves the mountain that will endure the storm. Vigar is not as convinced.

"Shall e'er in mem'ry treasured be, tho' we roam the whole world o'er!"

Among the celebrants, a lone dwarven man will come to assuage Vigar's concerns in the coming days. But for now, the dark-haired and stony-eyed Halsiig Halfhammer sits among the wealthy elite. Clad entirely in white and gold, Halsiig represents the incursion of foreign ideals into dwarven society, from the cut of his clothing to the cadence of his speech taking on a cosmopolitan Taldane accent. The white gloves he wears are signs to some of his allegiances, and the symbol hanging around his neck bearing two concentric circles penetrated by a larger triangle proof positive that he is a kalistocrat of the Prophecies of Kalistrade, an invasive Druman religion finding root within the wealthy of the Five Kings Mountains.

"Then forward ever, dear Highhelm, o'er our hearts unrivaled reign!"

Halsiig sings the old songs, though, he remembers them by heart. While influences from the outside have turned him towards the Prophecies, Halsiig still bears below those robes of white the iron heart of the dwarf. Mid-song, he rises from his long table and ambles towards the steps leading to Vigar's chair, stooping in perfunctory manner as a hasty bow. Vigar knows him, well enough to allow him to join his select table on the dais, and Halsiig knows Vigar's worries enough to need to speak with him this night at the time of his father's honoring. The Prophecies wait for no one, not even the dead.

"Onward ever, old Highhelm! All hail to thee, the quest for sky!"
 
 
 
 
 
 
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