Black Dragon

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Also, an updated cast list as some of their memories return and new faces appear

Cast
Abigal Hawthorne: A Lawful Neutral Witch Hunter of Iomadae, hailing from the lands of Irrisen. An Aasimar who believes that magic in the hands of the unworthy causes suffering and vows to stop it where she can.

Maria Lowls II: An Alchemist, with a darker past than she suspects. Headstrong and prone to doing the right thing, she finds herself plagued with a deep sense of guilt she cannot determine. The youngest of the party alongside Alten.

Lady Edwyna of House Calder: An incredibly smug, Lawful Neutral Changeling who revels in a good riddle. Whether traps or wordplay, if there is a riddle to be solved? It won't take but a moment. Wields a special kind of mace in the stylized shape of a Question Mark.

Bhar Gowdar: A Lawful Neutral Human Inquisitor of Phasmara who has no idea what's going on anymore. The shadows seem threatening, his mind is blank and he has an itchy trigger finger. With strange knowledge of the monsters they face and a stalwart heart, he puts his trust on his current companions and seeks to discover his past with a dogged persistent air.

Xavier: A Chaotic Neutral Human Sorcerer of the Draconic Bloodline and brother of the deceased Theodore, who had perished in the adventure. Keeps his cards close to his chest, flirts with every handsome male he sees. Has a penchant for bluffing. Shows up later with Kalliope Rines.

Kalliope Rines: A Lawful Good Lamia Oracle, working with the Royal Accusers of Ustalav alongside Xavier. While still unsure how she and him ended up in the padded cells, Kalliope is a devout pacifist and has yet to harm anyone. Her healing skills and spells have proven a life saver more than once thus far.

Lucifer Tepes: A Lawful Good Damphir Vampire Hunter with a skill for dagger throwing. Clad in classic Ustalivic fashion with a wide-brim hat and traveling longcoat, the emblem of Iomadae around his neck lays at odds with the symbol of Norborger upon his inner wrist. Has proven protective of the party.

Alten Hoarfrost: A teenage Chaotic Neutral human Beastkin Pugalist Barbarian who ranks below Maria for youngest of the party. With ogre blood visible in his features and a hulking build, such a look belays the more loquacious personality he has. Well-spoken to a fault, his intellect is matched by his fury in battle as enemies have discovered.


So a little bit of background as to what happened between the entries. During the night when they arrived at the agency, Abigail for whatever reason decided to explore Thrushmoor by night...Alone. After an encounter table roll and a stubborn refusal to back down, she was captured by the cultists. Normally they'd sacrifice her flat out. Here to give a chance, I gave a time limit. By midnight tomorrow, unless the party found her she'd die.

I thought it a good compromise. So to her player, I gave an NPC Slayer build and sent them off...Which kind of did not go as I expected. Needless to say the party discovered not enough and the NPC and Maria decided to investigate the manor alone...Where they got their asses kicked by the shrubbery due to some bad rolls, bad tactics but thankfully they survived by running.

So at this point in the IC journal, the remainder of the party meets Sara(Slayer NPC) and Maria as Kalliope heals them up.

Which brings us to the most recent entry.

From the Journal of Lucifer Tepes

After healing Sara and Maria, we decided we'd infiltrate the manor. Unfortunately our enemy appears not only to be informed(more on this later) but also prone to preparation. For example, when we attempted to make use of the hole in the hedge the two found, we discovered it blocked up and preventing as easy an entry as before. Which meant unless we wanted to simply cut a new hole through, it was best to use the gatehouse.

That had also been subjected to new security measures. The cult behind it has been tacitly confirmed to be that of the Yellow Sign. For when we presented the holy symbol found at the crime scene in addition to Edwyna and her bluff, it was accepted. Had we gone through then, things may have gone well...And then Bhar asked why the new measures.

When told about an unusual group their spies had seen, he got a good look at us all and panicked, recognizing us for what we are.

As I said. Very well informed though to be fair, most of us stick out in a crowd. Now here we are, trying our level best to kill each other.


From the Journal of Lucifer Tepes.

There is something rotten in Thrushmoor. In more ways than one, seemingly from our first impressions. The locals knew us from our past lives and not a single bit was good-killers, enforcers...Such were the titles we seem to have accumulated though while they had ample reason, a majority of it seemed to have been borne from fear. A fact confirmed when we encountered the Sleepless Agency and their leader, one Cesadia Wrentz who invited us, if coldly enough to quarter in her agency for the duration. A fact borne I fear as much out of a need to keep an eye on us as well as on behalf of those she does welcome- Xavier and Kalliope in particular.

It was then sometime during these talks that we discovered a few more things. That there was a kidnapping ring in this town...That the fortress nominally responsible for policing the streets had withdrawn its troops, the constable turning away everyone who came... As she painted a grim tale, Abigail left into the night-for what, we do not know but she ran afoul of the kidnapping ring. I still have her hat, lost on the ground as well as what looks like a holy symbol from her kidnapper, sliced off in the fight. A golden, twisted thing identical to the one Kalliope drew on the ground back in the asylum- The Yellow Sign.

I- I cannot say more. My mind feels aflame, wanting to rip this town from the bedrock up in my search. Unfortunately, we may not have time...Though we discovered more information.

There are charcoal drawings of that twisted city from our collective dreams. They're on seemingly every wall and used as anchors apparently to teleport through...The trail Alten followed led to it. There is also a small rock off in the lake, a small island where strange lights have flashed. And due to the actions of Sara-a whip wielding agent of the Sleepless Agency and Maria, we know the manor is well protected. Somewhere in this town, our friend is missing.

By all that is holy, we will find her. I can't bear the thought of any otherwise happening.[/b]


From the Journal of Lucifer Tepes

It had been a while since I laid my pen to these pages. But so much has happened, I scarce know where to begin though I suppose the end of our tribulations in Briarstone is a start. We defeated the Tatterman in a mind-warping, field of battle and escaped that awful place. The sunlight was a beautiful thing to behold, faint as it was-the breeze, the most delicious thing to me in that moment. Winter left us, taking the refugees to Caliphas but imparted some information she had concealed prior.

She knew of us in part from the beginning and showed no recognition for fear of what we may have been-nothing good I wont, but well...Considering a theory that Abigail brought up, it can't have been all bad. What little we gleaned however was worse... Bhar was some witch hunter, with ambitions...Alten was his pet monster and I? I was a killer of sorts...My brand of the God of Secrets could not have been coincidence and for a moment I despaired, though my friends came to support me.

To lose my memories and my old life in exchange for the bonds I have now doesn't seem so bad. At any rate, we were led to know several things in our search for answers. One was the fact that Omari had last been seen in Thrushmoor, a little town very close as it stands....The other, was that Thrushmoor was the town from which Count Lowls ruled from his ancestral manor. The self-same man who started the asylum horror and sent us all brain dead back. If ever an answer to our past existed? It would be in Thrushmoor.


From the Journal of Lucifer Tepes

I doubt anyone would or could forget the sheer feeling of being surrounded by Ghouls, though the worse of them was the Ghast that led them. A massive fellow with his own claw hanging around his neck, secure and smug in his domain. After some negotiation, Xavier managed to play on his ego and we secured safe passage to examine the tower...Unfortunately, it was guarded. A massive beast of bone and corruption erupted from its cage, seeking our death and together we killed it with Edwyna laying the final blow. Upstairs, we discovered another one of those things, but...Refined. Whatever process had turned the administrator into one of these things was rough, this was the finished product as it should have been. Its insides were removed and there was of all things, a portal to the dreamlands within it from whence the fog came. With it gone, the clouds lightened and our path was clear....And then the party decided to fulfill the bargain with Klades.

Klades, who claimed to wish to devour the apostles as a whole. Such a treacherous beast however acted as his wont and the moment his forces attacked the apostles, he sent a portion of his people to the chapel.

Luckily, we had already been heading there and though we were delayed by Aggra and the Apostles with her, we managed to make it nevertheless in time to prepare. There's little else really to say. They came, we fought with Klades falling beneath the jaws of Alten after being targeted by us all. And then...Something happened. Ulver himself appeared, after a vision of that little girl in the nameless city...Who is she? Why does she feel so important to me, in the way that Alten and Abigal do when I see them?

Why did Ulver say he killed us when we're here and alive? I don't know....I suppose we'll find out.


From the journal of Bhar Gowder

Dear Lady of Graves,

It felt like days since I've woken up and I still feel like I have been planted straight into a furnace. But we did make progress; our party finally found the dreaded cult that has been plaguing us. And along the way, we found a new face in a... snake person? I'm not sure what she is but she felt nice enough.

Anyways, our first trip... was a disaster to say the least. We felt uncoordinated, from Abigail going off on her own to Maria failing to get the message about our bluffing. Worst of all, I tried my own hand on the matter and nearly got the lot of us killed. It felt like what my older counterpart would have done.

Lucifer gave all of us a proper berating afterwards, which was deserved. Some times, I do wish we had a more heroic figure to guide us. Then again, such a character wouldn't be among us. Either way, it would be up to us unsightly crew to get out of here.

Oh, and we discovered the fate of poor Theo. May his soul find rest in the Boneyard. And may our fates not end up othe same way... not that we likely have a say in that... but... anywho, I have no intention of ending up like him.


[GM recap.]

Last time, the party had been involved in nothing less than a major clusterf&$@ though they managed to evade without any casualties. Though not for lack of trying on the part of the Cultists. With new disguises, the party could once more enter the Apostles encampment where they were told of a potential hotspot in which to weaken the Apostles. A tower, located in the West where Ulver Zandalas had secreted one of his most loyal subjects seemed to be producing the mist that surrounded the asylum. Though it seemed to be thinner now, it was still a major obstacle. The only problem was where it was situated...In the territory of the third strongest faction in Briarstone. The Ghouls- The undead corpse eaters and flesh hunters.

Among the Apostles, another sort of awakening would occur. One of their number, about to be claimed in a vision by the Tatterman would be rescued by a child with purple eyes. Urging him to seek out the Witch Hunter and the Secret Keeper, she fell away into shadow and prompted Alten Hoarfrost awake. Making his wishes known, Lucifer himself came to meet him and after a civil conversation the two would return with Lucifer somewhat curious why he trusted this apostle off the bat.

Into the courtyard, the party would confront a Unicorn-a haunt produced by a victim of the Apostles, overcoming it and setting the spirit to be at peace after Bhar confirmed last rites. In their approach to the tower, they would be ambushed by Ghouls who took them to see their leader...Now, in the charnel-covered throne room the party face eighteen ghouls and Klades the Ghast, as the latter proclaims to his court the 'answer' to the Apostles before them.


Hello again. So quite a bit happened since...Some days got skipped due to scheduling, etc. Nevertheless, here is a catch up...With the POV mostly from the eyes of the player characters.

From the journal of Edwyna Nygmah:

The doctor (such that he may be) shared with us quite a rant on the state of affairs in the asylum. He told us of Ulver Zandalus, the ringleader of this whole cult. How he's got a personal cadre of guards and some 'personal monster' at his service. Apparently he's convinced a lot of the patients that he can get them into the Dreamlands, and they are falling for it – through his charisma, or some dark power. I'm betting it's a little of both.

He also mentions that due to the food situation, they have fallen into cannibalism, and don't even really need the cook – though she's saved her life by the promise of cookies – Ingenious, that, stating that they “butcher their own meat.”

We ask if everyone here is part of the cadre, and he affirmed that they are not all deemed worthy to be in his cadre called the Apostles of the Orpiment. He told us that only he and the cook would be considered “allies” of our group, however.

Then we were interrupted by some chant of “Meat, Meat, Meat.” And to our party's horror, one of our own was dragged out, bound tightly with rope. It was Abigail.

Lucifer, being the compulsive rescuer that he is, hauled off and slugged the cultist dragging her about. I began to formulate a plan...

Trouble is, so did everyone else. And we didn't exactly consult each other on them nor back off of our individual ideas – so they all happened pretty much in a rapid series. Starting with Bhar, who apparently didn't catch the fact that the cook would not be involved in the “preparing” of meat for the cultists and thought we could bluff our way into taking Abigail to the cook ourselves.

I began working the room, drawing on my knowledge of the Dreamlands, spinning it to seem like Abigail would “poison their souls” if they ate her, only to be interrupted by Maria... who offered herself up as a meal, instead.

Then, Bhar opened his mouth again and treachery fell out of it, as he singled out Lucifer the Dhampir as some sort of traitor and threat to the cultists. My mind was still reeling from the sheer absurdity of it all when that was followed by an immediate escalation into a confused melee with the cultists.

That had scarcely begun when I heard another set of “Meat” chants from the hallway – our one real exit that wasn't from pot into flame – which I later discovered to be a ventriloquism trick from our resident pacifist Lamia.

I tried my best to salvage the situation, but it was chaos. Honestly it was a real maesltrom of idiocy, but somehow Lucifer made it into the hallway – but of course people had been lured there by the meat chanting – and he was nearly dead when I came upon him.

I bluffed like I've never bluffed before then, convincing the cultists that they'd poison themselves to death if they ate the Dhampir and got most of them to back off – then turned the remaining one into the new Sacrifice.

I was about to leave the area, trusting the others to get out on their own or die to their idiocy, when Maria staggered into the hallway, to be swiftly downed by one of the cultists there.
I impressed myself with my story then, being the regal villainess the cultists then thought me to be, dragging her away with them thinking I was going to dine on her myself.

In the chaos, Bhar, Kalliope and Abigail rejoined us. Apparently Bhar recovered Abigail's sword, which was the only thing I think he did right other than survive that day.

We were now left with a conundrum. When we go back, and we must, two of us are both targets for them, and both according to my stories, dead. I taught Lucifer some basic Aklo, intending to tell the cultists that he's my pet bodyguard now, and brushed up on my disguise skills so we can disguise Maria when we go back. Apparently Abigail can assume an alternate form, which is one saving grace from this whole mess.

I had to lean back and marvel at the tirade that Lucifer leveled on the rest of our erstwhile troupe, agreeing with much of it. I did put in my two coppers, and was sympathetic toward the death sentence that Bhar nearly gave Lucifer, in the effort to save his own skin, apparently.

One thing that is a positive about this entire day was that we're becoming more clear on letting those who are best suited for certain tasks take care of those, and not encroach upon the others.

I however, remain skeptical that some of the more foolhardy of our group will be able to contain themselves when the pressure is on again.

One can only hope.

[More to follow.[/b]


Welcome back true believers. So this is more a combination of two sessions rather then the weekly one I attempted to give. Mostly because one of our players had a weird schedule at the time, so we were forced to cut it short. That said, oh boy...Where do I begin with this particular tale?

So it's been a day of rest at the cathedral and the party voted to continue on to the center, instead of trying to find an escape through the mist outside the asylum. Everyone wanted to find the administrator and get some answers about who they were, with a few exceptions who just wanted a way out. And so they went on, avoiding the random encounters with caution and stealth.

Coming to a door past the place where they experienced the taxidermy haunt, they open it and are immediately exposed to the following. A hallway festered with webs, medium sized bundles dangling from the ceiling as some spider monstrosity feasts on one. When they took a closer look, they saw that it wasn’t a spider at all...With the body of one and the head of a man, it ate messily and immediately Maria charged forward to throw a firebomb at it...Missing.

Taking only a few points of fire damage, it screeched and the other Spidrens hiding among the ceiling descended and attacked. Cue a grim, no holds barred encounter of poison and blade and bad rolls, though they ended up triumphant. Lucifer was also revealed to be a damphir in that struggle, when affected by the positive energy channel of Kalliope, which surprised her and Bhar both. One of the Spidrens managed to get away in the chaos which I’m sure will not come back to bite them.

Finally, they managed to find the library and here encountered the Ratlings for the first time. Bhar, able to speak Aklo managed to diplomatically open and managed to glean strange information. Mostly about the asylum and the strange creatures about, including something the Ratling referred to as a ‘flap-flap’ that guarded a certain courtyard.

Meanwhile, Edwyna and Lucifer shared a quiet moment, bonding over their similarities- Hag and Vampire born, before searching among the books for anything that might help. Finding a scroll of cure light wounds, they moved on with mild trepidation.

This proved to be a good thing, as a well placed perception and survival check from Lucifer managed to glean from the site of a battle another of the monstrosities lurking in the asylum. Though they hadn’t yet encountered them, the ghoul tooth he presented to the rest made for a grim sight and consequently the perception checks and stealth increased as they moved on.

They came to the courtyard finally, facing off against its guardian- the dreaded Night Gaunt that almost slew Maria as it caught her and dropped her from forty feet high. With a few well placed critical hits from Lucifer, some Judgement from Bhar and a final strike from Abigal, the party managed to slay the beast and move on...To the office of the administrator herself.

Currently now, they rest there and examine what evidence they could find. Though none could draw exact conclusions yet, it's clear that something is going on that they’re just now realizing is bigger than the sum of themselves. As they rest and doze, Kalliope is visited in a dream by a child who smiles absently and gives her an ominous warning.

“Beware the Yellow Sign.”

Tune in next time, hopefully more on time on this GM’s part as we continue….The Search for Sanity!


Theodore(Human Sorcerer)

Book: Search for Sanity

Cause of Death: Having been left behind after fainting, he ended up with the cultists and was taken to their camp. While happy with him at first, when he tried to leave and failed his bluffs, they realized they were hungry. Cue him fleeing and getting brained by a broken bottle that took him out. When he woke up, it was to being slow roasted over a fire as the doctor he had flirted with gave him a quick death by slitting his throat.

Thankfully, his twin brother with the exact same everything was around!


Gather round true believers as I share the third session(technically, three and a half) of Search for Sanity.

Winter, cleric of the Maiden Choir shared some details to the party regarding their current position. She mentioned her role offhand as being connected to the Royal Accusers and shared some eyewitness information to a few of the hazards. Bhar immediately volunteered them to do what they could to help, something more or less repeated by the rest of the party. Informing them of their best bet for finding out more(seeking out the record room and the administrator), Winter bestowed upon them some scrolls of Cure Light Wound, one of Sanctuary and a wand of lesser restoration. With the understanding that they would likely need it.

With few questions, the party moved on.

Now earlier due to Abigal's player having finals, to help her catch up I gave her a one-on-one interaction. In a strange dream, Abigal woke up in a house-a domesticated one at that, bearing items of interest as well as those of someone else. She was also not alone, as a little girl calling her 'mother' drew her into a game of hide and seek. In doing so, Abigal discovered a coded message that when cracked, read simply 'Beware the Dark'. She also discovered a picture of the city in her dream, signed by the artist though she failed to get the significant of it.

I had left a few clues in some of the other pictures, but she was intent on getting that picture into the attic. So she went upstairs...Looked out the window, saw a random looking village that she had no idea what it was. This will be important later and upstairs...In the attic, she would end up attacked by a strange monster that wailed and wept upon a rocking chair. Almost perishing, she was saved in the nick of time by her husband.

Lucifer, the Vampire Hunter.

Confused, Abigal wondered aloud if this was real or if the asylum was. Lucifer responded in turn that didn't she know? It was her past that was the sacrifice.

And reaching out, he began to choke her as he held her underwater, in a strange oasis as she woke up. With some degree of trepidation, she turned her holy symbol around and stared at the name on it.

Lucifer Tepes.

Now back to the current time. The party bypassed the Argus Wall Haunt easily, Edwyna using the mirror to let it view itself and wither away. As they explored further, they came to a random encounter where an obscured figure with claws wept and shook the corpse of an orderly holding a key. With a sleight of hand and stealth, they managed to retrieve the key and sneak away without it any the wiser.

And so they come to the laundry section of the asylum. With three figures chained, they got their first glimpse of the Cult Winter had mentioned. Seeing them when Maria failed her stealth check, he began to scream aloud 'Zandalus’s sees! Zandalus’s sees!' While Bhar and Maria attacked the ghoul, Lucifer attempted to knock out the screaming cultist. But failed a will save instead as he used lethal force. Horrified at the automatic way his body reacted to kill, he tore off his holy symbol and walked away. Edwyna and Abigal got into an altercation, the former disliking the latter's cold nature towards the situation. Theodore in the meanwhile, picked up the holy symbol and confused, went to hand it over to Abigal, claiming that it belonged to her since it had her name on it.

The party then came to the lair of the last doppleganger in the asylum, the nefarious Doctor Oathsday. Hearing the screams of her would-be-test subject, she prepared an ambush with a minor illusion and some good stealth rolls. Managing to ambush Maria, the fight began in earnest and with strange aspects to it all.

Theodore fell to the ground, his power churning inside him and preventing him from acting(due to his player having not updated his sheet to level 2) and Doctor Oathsday pulled no punches. She critted on Maria and fiented against Bhar and Edwyna. To Bhar, she took the form of a familiar child to Abigal, begging 'uncle Bhar' to save her and stabbed him in his moment of hesitation.

In an attempt to do the same on Edwyna, she transformed into a man with question mark scars and brands and missing fingers. Yelling that she deserved death, Doctor Oathsday attempted to strike but was repelled by Edwyna who would have none of it. And then Lucifer killed her with a final, well struck dagger. Thus perished Doctor Oathsday and the party moved on, leaving Theodore 'behind.'

Now I had intended that his fit would end the moment the fight did, so he could accompany the rest and finish then. And as the party investigated further elsewhere and he spoke of 'waking up alone', I figured why not? And so the random encounter die was rolled and Theodore woke up to four cultists of Zandalus. All of them clad in yellow robes and with a strange sign on their foreheads. With a successful Bluff and name drop of their leader, they embraced him as a brother and led him away. Theodore dared not split away for fear of attracting their ire and decided to trust to his Bluff and hope it would see him through.

Meanwhile, elsewhere the rest of the party would discover the remains of other victims of the cult. A number of bodies, beaten to a pulp and their heads sealed with bags would remind Edwyna of a case, some time back. Bhar would identify the wounds as having been inflicted with bare hands, somewhat wary now. A fact not aided by the other room, containing the corpses of the Cult and the strange birdsong. Abigal meanwhile attempted to talk to Lucifer, to return his holy symbol and confess what she had seen. As Abigal described the child and her suspicion they were married, she added she had no idea what to think nor interest.

This was a hurtful thing to Lucifer, whose past on his side seemed to indicate something darker and yearned to find something to show himself he was a good man. With some faint bitterness, he informed Abigal that she need not worry and left to see Bhar and Maria finish dispelling the taxidermy bird haunt.

And in doing so, obscure the tattoo on his under wrist that was most definitely not Iomadae from his party and Abigal in particular.

It was then they realized Theodore was missing.

Meanwhile, Theodore found himself escorted direct to the campsite of the Apostles and would meet(and flirt) with their healer, a doctor who informed him of some of the particulars. He told him off on the side, watched by the wary folks about how the Tatterman was controlled by Zandalus as well as some of his spiels. As well as the fact that if they decided to storm the chapel, it would be a bloodbath which was why he stuck around to talk them out of it. And to continue doing so, till a solution came. Promising to come back for him, Theodore went to attempt to Bluff the guards to let him out.

And failed. Arousing their suspicions, they led him into the middle of the camp and asked what color hair did Zandalus have(as he name dropped him having given him orders). When he failed that one, the Apostles immediately swarmed him and soon enough, for the first time in ages would enjoy fresh meat.

And so we had our first character death. Lucifer in the meanwhile had Bhar take the rest to the chapel, while he backtracked and sought out Theodores whereabouts. Unknown to him, Maria followed stealthily and was in time to see Lucifer meet two other folks, found in padded cells with the memories of how they got there obscured.

The Lamia Oracle, Kalliope Rines and Theodores Twin Brother, Xavier. Both vowed to aide in every way they could and together, they begin the long traverse back with Maria hidden in the wings to the Chapel. At the least, Kalliope and Xavier remember one thing.

Someone named Omari was counting on them.

And so ended the session of the Search for Sanity. Tune in next week, as we see what happens next!


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Paizo writers if ye be reading this, give us a food splat book please.

You've whetted our appetite in APs like War of the Crown, Council of Thieves and Hells Vengeance and made us salivate in the Tavern collection.

But an actual, Cultural based cookbook with dedicated feats, archetypes and more would be incredibly awesome. Not to mention hilarious in the characters it'd inspire.

Rangers who hunt only the most succulent prey, Alchemists seeking that very, special blend of spices, Bard's who perform with cooking displays and clerics who literally heal with comfort food.

The possibilities are endless.

Also, for my own contribution?

Goblin Bites.

Take leeches, make them feed on pig blood then pan-fry the whole thing after patting them in flour. Add garlic and other seasoning to taste. A popular peasant dish in the more swampy regions.


Ustalav or Nidal, hands down.


Winter Klackza is a Changeling and in Ustalav, as with Damphir and Half-Orcs that's synonymous with 'monster.' Found as an orphan on the steps of the Maiden Choir, she was raised with the other foundlings. But there was no hiding what she was, with her claws and mismatched eyes. She had few friends among the children, with their cruel words and the adults were little different. They saw not a child who needed guidance, but rather a person who would grow up to be evil, if they weren't stern enough.

Sinner. Creature. Starved for attention and bitter, she might have gone a different path had it not been the most unlikely of friends. Another failure in the eyes of most of her peers. A healer whose demure features was savaged by a branded, reverse symbol of Phasmara over her eye. All for the crime of associating with a Damphir, a Royal Accuser who'd come now and then, requesting the healers aide.

From her, she found a role model and when the whispers came for her in the night, she made her choice.

And when her teacher, sister-figure hugged her and whispered how proud she was, Winter felt more alive than she ever had.

Following in her footsteps in adulthood, Winter joins the retinue of a Royal Accuser on her first adventure and little suspects how it will change her life...

I'm a big fan of the little details and expanding on the world lore. The Healer and the Damphir are actually from the Pathfinder Tales novel 'Bloodbound'. The description reads as thus.

Larsa is a dhampir—half vampire, half human. In the gritty streets and haunted peaks of Ustalav, she's an agent for the royal spymaster, keeping peace between the capital's secret vampire population and its huddled human masses. Meanwhile, in the cathedral of Maiden's Choir, Jadain is a young priestess of the death goddess, in trouble with her superiors for being too soft on the living. When a noblewoman's entire house is massacred by vampiric invaders, the unlikely pair is drawn into a deadly mystery that will reveal far more about both of them than they ever wanted to know.

It's a favorite of mine and considering they're from the same place, I could see Jadain acting like this. And in turn, inspiring Winter to follow in her footsteps as healer and Inquisitor helper. The best part too is that Jadains holy symbol is made of wood. So with permission, I'd like to take that idea of it being Winters too. From teacher to student.


So because I enjoy this part highly, I'm adding a few unique monsters for this. Something else aside from just ghouls and doppelgangers, to add onto the whole Asylum bit. Hence I present the following- The Rotted Witch!

Rotted Witch
Female Undead Human
NE Medium Undead humanoid (human)
Init +1; Senses Perception +3
DEFENSE
AC 13(Natural Armor+2, Dex+1), touch 11, flat-footed 12(-1 dex)
hp 18 each (2d6+6)
Fort +0, Ref +3, Will +2
OFFENSE
Speed 30 ft.
Melee 2 Claws +4(1d6+4/x2)

TACTICS
A Rotted Witch fights wildly with full intent to kill, using power attack on all her strikes.

Morale Rotted Witches fight to the death, when confronted with the living.

STATISTICS
Str 14, Dex 13, Con -, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 16
Base Atk +2, CMB +4; CMD 15
Feats Power Attack, Weapon Focus(Claw)
Skills Acrobatic +6, Climb +7, Stealth +6, Perception +3
Languages Common

Maggot Flesh(ex): A rotted witch gains a layer of vermin in its flesh, which acts as a buffer to weapons. This provides a +2 natural armor bonus.

Profile: Rotted Witches emerge from the corpses of those who feel dead inside. People who live without accomplishing their dreams, those who feel apathetic and people who feel nothing in regards to their fellow beings. In death, there is a chance that they rise to become Rotted Witches as they manifest what had plagued them in life in death.

From the inside out, maggots infest and devour the vessel as the undead emerges to plague the living. Drawn towards the places of which they have missed their chances in life(whether the home of an unrequited crush, an office where they had performed the bare minimum or the like), the weeping of a Rotted Witch is heart-rending to hear for those who understand.

A Rotted Witch despises its appearance and takes pains to cloak themselves in whatever they can find to hide themselves. They also have a habit of self-mutilation, often targeting their features out of sheer, self-hate. Most of all, they hate people who see them. And when disturbed, oft the last thing a person sees in their well-meaning attempt to help that crying, blanket-wrapped figure is a maggot infested face devoid of skin and with eyes full of rage, as claws rip into their body until nothing is left. Nothing, but a mess of gore for others to find as the faint sound of weeping comes from the distance...


And so we come to the second entry, of our intrepid group and their struggles within Briarstone Asylum. In their urban safari, the party came upon a boiler room and opted to explore. Within, they discovered the corpse of an orderly clutching a broken mirror and with his eye and a portion of his flesh sliced away, in a perfect square. Though it made them uneasy, it didn't get too bad until they found the suicide letter in his pocket.

I cannot get out. I cannot get out. It stalks me in dreams, it turns what we are inside on the outside. I have avoided what horror it may show me, but no more. A clean death is better than what fate has befallen the others.

Around this point, the Zoog and it's Dire Rats attacked. In the subsequent fight, Maria accidentally hit Bhar with her grenade and then fell as she accidentally stabbed herself in the foot, trying to attack a dire rat. She would be brought back to health with her abilities and the aid of her party. Edwyna herself would find two sunrods, taking them as they left that area.

Coming to the storage rooms, the party met their second challenge. As Lucifer stood guard outside, the party opted to search for any supplies they might need. As they did, Maria would notice the sheer, unusual number of roaches before they suddenly transformed into a swarm. And then into the shape of the Tatterman, that attempted to attack them. With quick thinking, Bhar activated a sunrod and sent the roach scattering, dispelling the haunt as he did so. And so, finding sundries the party moved on.

Here in what was once the office areas, through a collapsed wall the party would find amidst the wreckage three doppleganger bodies. Two would be riddled with crossbow bolts, the last was slashed to bits and matched the one the party had first met, back in the cells. All the corpses, doppelganger and human alike would have missing strips of flesh from them. Around this point, a lonesome voice cried for help, revealed to be an old orderly wounded and under a desk. Maria instantly went to help, alongside Bhar though the latter suddenly remembered there were doppelgangers here. And after an amazing sense motive roll and successful will save against detect thoughts, Doctor Latchke shifted back for a fight.

He was then subsequently ganged up on and killed on the first round. A reason determined when the corpse was examined, the doppelganger actually wounded before the fight...Could something be hunting these things as well? And if so, could they be next? It was a question for another time, as all of them opted to return with the bodies and gain entry into the chapel.

Here, the party met Winter Klackza: Cleric of Phasmara and leader of the survivors of the chapel. After healing them, she thanked them grimly and asked that they help work around the chapel to ensure their survival together. Upon which, she would be happy to talk more. Agreeing to this, everyone of them split off to aid in the way they best determined they could.

Edwyna used her silver tongue to sooth Loic Ulsohnen to take his medicine. Though not before he confided that his dead sister screams constantly about a monster stalking her in a very familiar sounding city. Bhar went to help Airwynn Savoia and Bates Yopchick, successfully applying first aid to both with the help of Mura as his assistant. Maria and Theodore managed to break even on the cooking, working together and Lucifer produced an excess of firewood. All in all, it was a suitable end together for the day...And now having done all this, Winter extends her trust as next time, she fills in on any questions the party may have for....The Search for Sanity.

For this session also, some things of note. Abigals player had finals and so she'll be getting a 1×1 to catch her up on xp. And Bhar gained a last name! Bhar Gowdar!

Tune in next time for more tales of Strange Aeons!


YogoZuno wrote:

Lucifer might be a little disappointed at

** spoiler omitted **

I told him unlike Carrion Crown, this will be more cosmic horror focused but he seemed fine with that.

And it's not the Kinslayer archetype, it's actually called Vampire Hunter. It's a Paizo official and basically is a fighter with an undead hunting bent, combined with vampiric abilities you can use. Like a strength boost that empowers weapons to bypass DR, things like that.

Looks pretty cool, though Carrion Crown would be better suited for it.


So I'm running Strange Aeons for the first time after having it requested by my group. Having lurked a long time here, I've decided to record my players antics and some of the changes I've implemented to accommodate back stories or just to reflect playstyle. So for those who are going to play this, here there be spoilers. Those who are curious, enjoy and may my groups antics give you enjoyment as they do me.

Gather round ye children and we shall weave a tale, of what came before.

In a carriage ride in Ustalav, a number of adventurers did come to a nameless village from parts unknown. The Cunning Edwyna, Changeling Investigator. The Cagey Bhar, Human Inquisitor. The Driven Maria, Human Alchemist. And finally, the Penitent Lucifer, Damphir Vampire Hunter. Together, the group opted to investigate a case of missing children lost and taken by strange things in the night. Approaching the standing stones however, the party would be ambushed by ghouls and nearly slain, had not another adventurer appeared!

The Stoic Abigal, Aasimar Inquisitor emerged from the shadows though suspicion for her sudden appearance did pervade at first. A notion quieted when the party realized they seemed familiar with one another, though their memories were blank. The standing stones were examined and the ghoul remains as well, the latter leaving behind motes of light that inflicted visions even as it healed them.

Upon each of the standing stones, the emblems of their individual gods or personal marks were seen, as a sickly mist began to creep. Black poppies, symbols of death and dreaming gave way to the theory that this was a shared dreamscape. More so, when it was noticed that the moon for all this time, did not move. So to retrace their steps, the party left and encountered an undead wolf, which likewise left behind a vision.

The visions in question were all different and strange in their individual state. Lucifer experienced a sensation of drowning, as hands around his neck kept him down in the water. Edwyna found herself strapped to a chair, taunted with koans and puzzles she could not solve as she lost fingers for every wrong question. Maria managed to pierce the dream veil, seeing a scene instead where two people discussed their incarceration and cure. Though the lack of records for their stay seemed to put one ill at ease, the property of what the other referred to as 'The chain of nights' seemed to quiet her fears.

All around, the mist continued to come for them. And with a well done perception check, Maria felt eyes upon her from somewhere in the forest though the rest saw naught but empty night. And then the party discovered a cemetery gate, where the gravedigger seemed appalled at how they weren't on the list. When asked further, he revealed he had some information with their names on it and allowed them entry to his workplace. At the rotting cabin, five coffins(with a space indicating a missing one) laid there against the wall and on a table, the papers themselves. Encrypted with a devious code, Edwyna sat to examine them as Bhar approached the coffins and out sprung three skeletons clad in what was once fine clothing. They attacked the party and were held off.

The papers meanwhile, held information of a different sort. Detailing a number of missions that edged into the pale ranging from a hit list to an itinerary for kidnapped children and academics, the skeletons remains adding to that theory. More so, with one identified as coming from an academic family and missing three fingers. The plot had thickened and as one, they settled in for the night as the fog rolled in.

When the fog cleared, they found themselves in a twisted city, with alien structures and a feeling of deep fear as the sounds of pursuit came for them. Lucifer died first, charging to attack after fleeing blindly from the party. Next was Theodore, a Sorcerer who was suddenly with the group as he was dragged into the fog, clawing at the ground before a sound of rending flesh echoed out. Maria and Bhar attempted to fight head on as a team, only to be killed by the creature from the mist. Edwyna strove to hide, but to no avail as even in the dark places the monster was there. As each member died, their blood splattered in a way to spell the following as the last one alive, Abigal read the words.... 'Wake up! Save me!'

As the monster emerged from the fog for her, she woke up with a bleeding nose and sickened....But alive. All of them were alive, though imprisoned in cells. In the darkness, an orderly would be tortured by a sadist doctor who used a number of differing blades to slice into flesh. Bhar attempted to reason with her, but received naught but scorn as she merely said how he and the others would follow.

Edwyna, finding a bit of scrap picked her lock as Lucifer smashed his cell door open, the both of them managing to work together to drive off the doctor after the latter picked up a kitchen knife and slashed her throat. It had less of an impact then normal however, as she transformed into a spider-human hybrid and fled. The others would be freed with Bhar identifying her as a doppelganger, as they stabilized the orderly who identified himself as Lenweigh and their location as Briarstone Asylum.

Emerging from the cells, the asylum seemed to have seen better days. An earthquake had devastated the area, and the signs of pitched battle were everywhere. More disquieting was the strange storm engulfing the place and the yellow mist of the dreamlands in the waking world, which bode ill for those who remembered it. With Lenweigh and his memory of the place, they came to the asylum chapel-now barricaded and guarded by paranoid guards. The party managed to open talks however, and it was agreed that they'd fetch three doppelganger bodies for them to prove they were not shapeshifters.

And so the party moves through the asylum, hunting and being hunted as they strive to survive.....The Search for Sanity.

Cue Title Drop

And thus was the first session done, or actually the first two. The Sorcerer is a new tabletop player and I had originally ran the beginning bit before the city, specifically to help him get acclimated. Unfortunately he couldn't make it and so he ended up in the deep end. Lucky, everyone else is there to help. On the cast in question, the following.

Abigal Hawthorne: A Lawful Neutral Witch Hunter of Iomadae, hailing from the lands of Irrisen. An Aasimar who believes that magic in the hands of the unworthy causes suffering and vows to stop it where she can. Was described to me as and I quote 'Ciri, but dressed like Maria from Bloodborne.' I dug it and so she was approved.

Maria of the River Kingdoms: A Chaotic Good street rat of an Alchemist, who earned her knowledge through whatever she could steal, discover or wheedle teachings out of. Headstrong and prone to doing the right thing, she finds herself plagued with a deep sense of guilt she cannot determine. A trait shared with the Vampire Hunter. The youngest of the party.

Lady Edwyna of House Calder: An incredibly smug, Lawful Neutral Changeling who revels in a good riddle. Whether traps or wordplay, if there is a riddle to be solved? It won't take but a moment. Wields a special kind of mace the player and I worked out earlier, with the head shaped into a question mark.

Bhar of Vudra: A Lawful Neutral Human Inquisitor of Phasmara who has no idea what's going on anymore. The shadows seem threatening, his mind is blank and he has an itchy trigger finger. With strange knowledge of the monsters they face and a stalwart heart, he puts his trust on his current companions and seeks to discover his past with a dogged persistent air.

Theodore: A Chaotic Neutral Human Sorcerer of the Draconic Bloodline. Backstory pretty much nil. This is my newbie player and while I'd normally be more forgiving, part of his characterization is being bipolar so I'm giving this a side eye. He has played him well so far though. My favorite bit being when he tried to distract the Doppleganger by flirting with it.

It was in the middle of combat and it failed, but it's the thought that counts.

Lucifer Tepes: The Lawful Good Damphir Vampire Hunter. Also a worshipper of Iomadae. Is going for apparently a mix between Shirou Emiya and his fatalistic heroic streak and the fighting style of Kotomine. Looks like a mix between a Wild Western Preacher and a Gunslinger but with knives.