Those who travel north along the rocky coastline from the Varisian city of Magnimar soon find themselves in peculiar country. Fog drapes the rolling landscape, floating spectrally along damp and lonely moors. Small woodlands grace the region, their tangled depths redolent of nettles and pepperwood and pine sap, while farther inland, river valleys lined by majestic redwoods wind between ragged tors and limestone escarpments. The region’s vastness and sense of isolation have earned it its local name—the Lost Coast.
As one approaches the town of Sandpoint, the footprint of civilization upon the Lost Coast grows clearer. Farmlands grow more numerous in outlying moors and valleys, and the blue‑green waves of the Varisian Gulf bear ever more fishing vessels. Creeks and rivers are increasingly crossed by wooden bridges rather than fords, and the Lost Coast Road grows wider and is better kept. The first glimpses of Sandpoint are hidden from either approach (south or east) by the large upthrust limestone pavements known as the Devil’s Platter and the arc of rocky outcroppings and lightly forested hilltops that rise up just east of town. As the final bend is rounded, Sandpoint’s smoking chimneys and bustling streets greet the traveler with open arms and the promise of warm beds, a welcome sight indeed for those who have spent the last few days alone on the Lost Coast Road.
From the south, a wooden bridge governs entrance to Sandpoint, while from the north, a stone wall offers the town a bit of protection. Visitors who arrive at the gates soon notice a quirky sign and mirror hanging from a bent nail at both the gatehouse and the southern bridge. Painted on each sign is a message: “Welcome to Sandpoint! Please stop to see yourself as we see you!”
Unfortunately, the appearance of safety and warmth that Sandpoint seems to offer is a facade. Because the town of Sandpoint is worse than doomed.
For decades, this small settlement has endured one potential disaster after the other, but each time, a hero or group of adventurers stepped up to save the day. Yet now, seven separate dooms have come together, converging on the region in a way that, if not defeated in time, could well bring ruin seven times over to the so-called Light of the Lost Coast...
Seven Dooms for Sandpoint
Chapter 1: Bones and Ashes
The four of you grew up in Sandpoint. Over the years, you have become known in town as adventurers, even if you haven't quite yet accomplished something to secure your place in history. But thanks to your burgeoning reputation, you have received an invitation from Abstalar Zantus, the high priest of the Sadnpoint Cathedral.
Easily the largest building in Sandpoint, the impressive cathedral is not dedicated to the worship of a single deity. Rather, it gathers under its eaves the six most commonly worshiped deities in the region: Abadar, Desna, Erastil, Gozreh, Sarenrae, and Shelyn. The building provides chapels for all of these deities in a communal forum—in a way, Sandpoint Cathedral is six different churches under one impressive roof.
The core of the cathedral is an open-air courtyard surrounding a set of seven 9-foot-tall standing stones, which themselves surround a circular stone altar. These stones served the Varisians for centuries as a place of worship. Abstalar awaits you here, standing before a table with a large lunch spread set upon it. Abstalar greets you with a smile and open arms.
"Welcome, friends. May Desna smile upon you! Come, have a seat and enjoy the fine weather and fine food with me."
Those who travel north along the rocky coastline from the Varisian city of Magnimar soon find themselves in peculiar country. Fog drapes the rolling landscape, floating spectrally along damp and lonely moors. Small woodlands grace the region, their tangled depths redolent of nettles and pepperwood and pine sap, while farther inland, river valleys lined by majestic redwoods wind between ragged tors and limestone escarpments. The region’s vastness and sense of isolation have earned it its local name—the Lost Coast.
As one approaches the town of Sandpoint, the footprint of civilization upon the Lost Coast grows clearer. Farmlands grow more numerous in outlying moors and valleys, and the blue‑green waves of the Varisian Gulf bear ever more fishing vessels. Creeks and rivers are increasingly crossed by wooden bridges rather than fords, and the Lost Coast Road grows wider and is better kept. The first glimpses of Sandpoint are hidden from either approach (south or east) by the large upthrust limestone pavements known as the Devil’s Platter and the arc of rocky outcroppings and lightly forested hilltops that rise up just east of town. As the final bend is rounded, Sandpoint’s smoking chimneys and bustling streets greet the traveler with open arms and the promise of warm beds, a welcome sight indeed for those who have spent the last few days alone on the Lost Coast Road.
From the south, a wooden bridge governs entrance to Sandpoint, while from the north, a stone wall offers the town a bit of protection. Visitors who arrive at the gates soon notice a quirky sign and mirror hanging from a bent nail at both the gatehouse and the southern bridge. Painted on each sign is a message: “Welcome to Sandpoint! Please stop to see yourself as we see you!”
Unfortunately, the appearance of safety and warmth that Sandpoint seems to offer is a facade. Because the town of Sandpoint is worse than doomed.
For decades, this small settlement has endured one potential disaster after the other, but each time, a hero or group of adventurers stepped up to save the day. Yet now, seven separate dooms have come together, converging on the region in a way that, if not defeated in time, could well bring ruin seven times over to the so-called Light of the Lost Coast...
Seven Dooms for Sandpoint
Chapter 1: Bones and Ashes
The four of you grew up in Sandpoint. Over the years, you have become known in town as adventurers, even if you haven't quite yet accomplished something to secure your place in history. But thanks to your burgeoning reputation, you have received an invitation from Abstalar Zantus, the high priest of the Sadnpoint Cathedral.
Easily the largest building in Sandpoint, the impressive cathedral is not dedicated to the worship of a single deity. Rather, it gathers under its eaves the six most commonly worshiped deities in the region: Abadar, Desna, Erastil, Gozreh, Sarenrae, and Shelyn. The building provides chapels for all of these deities in a communal forum—in a way, Sandpoint Cathedral is six different churches under one impressive roof.
The core of the cathedral is an open-air courtyard surrounding a set of seven 9-foot-tall standing stones, which themselves surround a circular stone altar. These stones served the Varisians for centuries as a place of worship. Abstalar awaits you here, standing before a table with a large lunch spread set upon it. Abstalar greets you with a smile and open arms.
"Welcome, friends. May Desna smile upon you! Come, have a seat and enjoy the fine weather and fine food with me."
Hello there. We are currently seeking a replacement player for the 2E adventure path "Season of Ghosts." We are looking for a reliable player who can post daily or every other day.
The characters are in the second section of the first book and are level 2. We are using the free archetype rules. The current roster includes:
Hooli, kitsune rogue
Kwan Tai, hobgoblin fighter
Lie Jie Qiang, nagaji alchemist
Recruitment will be open until next Wednesday, January 24th. I'm looking forward to seeing your submissions.
Hello there. We are currently seeking a replacement player for the 2E adventure path "Stolen Fate." We are looking for a reliable player who can post daily or every other day.
The characters are in the final section of the first book and are level 13. We are using the free archetype rules. The current roster includes:
Last night, a storm lashed the Kindred Coast, and the citizens of Osprey Cove spent the evening sheltering indoors with hot drinks, cozy companionship, and tale-telling, as has been the tradition for years during such events. However, an unusual surprise came to town the next morning. On an early dawn walk to appraise the storm damage, Elder Johedia found a dying man sprawled at the edge of town. Suffering from exposure, two infected crossbow bolt wounds, and a strange sickness that left rust-red splotches all over his body, the man gasped out an unsettling warning before he died: “Iron Harbor... rust... ship... all dead... before... too late... ”
The man was dressed in rusted armor and clutched an equally rusted religious symbol of Gorum in one hand. This, and his final words, suggested something dreadful had happened in the nearby village of Iron Harbor. Osprey Cove’s youngest leader, Elder Ordwi, quickly organized an expedition to travel the daylong trip east to Iron Harbor, both to offer help as needed, but also to extend overtures of peace, to bring an end to the yearslong feud that has kept the only two villages of the Kindred Coast at odds. Whether you volunteered or were recruited, your group is now well on their way along the Old Coast Road as Elder Ordwi’s escorts. What might await your arrival at Iron Harbor this evening?
Elder Ordwi:
As a devout follower and priest of Cayden Cailean, Elder Ordwi believes that the freedoms of the village of Osprey Cove will be stifled if Xin-Edasseril ever decides to rule them directly instead of simply taxing them in the almost absent-minded way they have for the past few years. She runs the only pub in town, which has a single guest room in case of travelers or patrons who are too inebriated to find their way home. While she’s on this journey, she has left the pub open for the villagers to use as they wish, trusting in the honor system—a system that works quite well among the trustworthy citizens of Osprey Cove.
Welcome to the game! To begin, create a 1st level character using the standard rules. Your characters will be villagers from Osprey Cove on a journey with one of your elders to the nearby village of Iron Harbor. You are encouraged to choose one of the following custom backgrounds to tie your character into the adventure and give you a reason for getting involved.
Here is a history of the two villages that your characters would be aware of:
Regional History:
Rusthenge is set in western New Thassilon, on Chakikoth Isle. In particular, the adventure focuses on a stretch along the isle’s southern shores—a region known as the Kindred Coast. This area is about a 20-hour trek south of the dangerous ruins of Old Xin-Edasseril, the one-time capital of Runelord Belimarius’s nation. For ages, Chakikoth Isle was one of several unclaimed islands in the Ironbound Archipelago, a region sandwiched between the Lands of the Linnorm Kings and the frontier of Varisia. The archipelago’s position beyond the borders of any nation’s rule made it an appealing destination for pioneers and settlers to set out for and establish new homes. Life in the Ironbound Archipelago was not easy, but to those who welcomed the challenge, the freedom to live as they wished was too great a draw to resist.
In the year 4606 AR, at the dawn of the Age of Lost Omens, a series of frightening storms scoured many parts of the world, and the pirate city of Riddleport in Varisia was no exception. Weeks after the storms cleared, two siblings, Dartanious and Santwi, took advantage of the chaos and disarray to flee their servitude at the hands of Riddleport’s crime lords. The military-minded Dartanious had been working on a plan to escape and was waiting for an appropriate diversion to put his plan into action. Meanwhile, Santwi had inspired their fellow captives, helping them to feel brave enough to attempt an escape in the chaos the storms left in their wake.
Sailing in two ships they stole from the harbor, the siblings and their combined crews of nearly a hundred followers made their way north across the Shining Sea, eventually making landfall on the southern shore of Chakikoth Isle. Here, far from the cruelties of their hometown, the siblings and their crews started new lives. They founded a village called Osprey Cove, named after the birds that populated the shoreline. For nearly a year, things went well, but by the end of that time, the siblings’ bickering had resulted in a schism. Santwi, a worshipper of Cayden Cailean, wanted to continue developing Osprey Cove into a gentle, commune-style society of fishers and farmers, but Dartanious was a worshipper of Gorum. He increasingly focused on plans to train a navy so that, one day, he could return to Riddleport to strike back at its crime lords. Before the two siblings and their followers came to blows, Dartanious gathered his followers and abandoned Osprey Cove. They traveled up the coast to establish a second village and named it Iron Harbor.
For years, the two villages grew and prospered, slowly augmenting their populations with a trickle of newcomers searching for a place to start new lives. Each town’s leaders were gifted and charismatic, and their villagers were hardworking and loyal, but they rarely mixed. They established their own trade with villages on other islands in the archipelago, secured their own defenses and stores, and when they did think of each other, those thoughts were tainted with bitterness and suspicion. A sort of cold war escalated between the two settlements, a long-lasting feud that would outlive both siblings. Today, Dartanious and Santwi are long dead, but the villages of Osprey Cove and Iron Harbor live on. In honor of their founders, the locals refer to this stretch of Chakikoth’s shoreline as the Kindred Coast, yet their cooperation ends there.
But with the rise of New Thassilon, life has changed for the people of the Kindred Coast. Thankfully, the new ruler of this region, Runelord Belimarius, is more concerned with her disputes with rival Queen Sorshen, power grabs against the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, and opposition from Varisia to the south. So far, she and her armies have not paid much mind to the smaller settlements that already existed in the Ironbound Archipelago when she returned to power in the region. The villagers realize this is mostly because Runelord Belimarius considers these villages to already be part of her domain. And this is how the people of Osprey Cove like it. When Runelord Belimarius and her agents turn their attention to Chakikoth Isle, it is invariably to the notorious ruins of Old Xin-Edasseril at the isle’s heart—a place the citizens of the Kindred Coast have long avoided.
But once a year, a tax collector visits the Kindred Coast to gather dues for the capital of New Xin- Edasseril, located four islands to the northeast. The tithes they demand are light, and while the villagers still rankle at having to pay taxes to anyone, they also realize that the less attention they draw from Runelord Belimarius, the better. To their relief, the tax collectors always seem eager to conduct their business quickly and never even stay the night in town, and so far they have left Osprey Cove and Iron Harbor alone to conduct business as usual.
Still, the leaders of Osprey Cove fear that they’re living on borrowed time, and talk about abandoning the Kindred Coast to seek a new home further abroad has been circulating in town. Until the town can reach a decision, though, the villagers do their best to lie low and not cause a scene, so that they will continue to be beneath the notice of their land’s ancient overlord. Unfortunately, something that has festered for a long time in the hinterlands of the Kindred Coast is about to threaten that status quo...
The Season of Ghosts is a period in Shenmen that takes place in the first few weeks of summer, when the woodlands see an increase in hauntings, spirits, and undead. While the cause of this increased haunting is uncertain, these ghosts often lure people to their deaths.
In Willowshore, a massive feast and festival takes place on the last day of spring. Called the “Reenactment Festival,” this gala is meant not only to celebrate the end of spring, but to trick the evil spirits and ghosts believed to come out of the woods during the first few weeks of summer. As the festival’s feast concludes, the town reenacts victims being snatched away by “ghosts” (played by townsfolk in paper masks). Those not involved in the faux abduction pretend to plunge into collective panic as designated wailers mourn loudly while others play out a search and rescue effort. This farce is believed to trick real ghosts into thinking that someone has already haunted the settlement, and thus trick them into seeking a happier village to inflict misery upon once the season of ghosts begins the next day on the first day of summer.
You have been chosen this year to play the role of the town's abductees. Your "captors" rolled you up in straw mats and carried you off into a forest clearing on the town's outskirts, where you were expected to stay the night. While it often rains during the summer, you lucked out and spent a relatively comfortable night out under the stars.
Now, as morning draws near, you wonder just what this coming summer season has in store for you...
The Season of Ghosts is a period in Shenmen that takes place in the first few weeks of summer, when the woodlands see an increase in hauntings, spirits, and undead. While the cause of this increased haunting is uncertain, these ghosts often lure people to their deaths.
In Willowshore, a massive feast and festival takes place on the last day of spring. Called the “Reenactment Festival,” this gala is meant not only to celebrate the end of spring, but to trick the evil spirits and ghosts believed to come out of the woods during the first few weeks of summer. As the festival’s feast concludes, the town reenacts victims being snatched away by “ghosts” (played by townsfolk in paper masks). Those not involved in the faux abduction pretend to plunge into collective panic as designated wailers mourn loudly while others play out a search and rescue effort. This farce is believed to trick real ghosts into thinking that someone has already haunted the settlement, and thus trick them into seeking a happier village to inflict misery upon once the season of ghosts begins the next day on the first day of summer.
You have been chosen this year to play the role of the town's abductees. Your "captors" rolled you up in straw mats and carried you off into a forest clearing on the town's outskirts, where you were expected to stay the night. While it often rains during the summer, you lucked out and spent a relatively comfortable night out under the stars.
Now, as morning draws near, you wonder just what this coming summer season has in store for you...
Welcome! I've opened the discussion thread a bit early to help coordinate character creation with Oceanshieldwolf. Here is what has been proposed so far:
Shadowlord: Sakura Yuzuki, human fighter
Matt Morris: investigator
Solicitor: divine sorcerer
JohnG: alchemist
Oceanshieldwolf: monk, thaumaturge multiclass
Memories of your past, realities of your present, and fears and hopes for your future suddenly overwhelm you with a torrent of emotion. So many choices you’ve made! So many more to go! Do they even matter? Are your choices yours, or are they always what you’d choose? Do you have a fate that’s set in stone, or do you get to decide your future? Suddenly, you’re standing on a street corner—one you somehow know is in the Grand Bazaar within the city of Absalom. Before you is a wooden building flanked by a flower shop and an open-air meat vendor. A sign above the building’s door reads “Three Moves Ahead,” and déjà vu washes over you. You’ve never been here... or have you? Will you? Should you? A blood-curdling scream shatters the building and, after a brief sense of pain and loss, the vision fades. As your senses return, you realize that clutched in your hand is something new. A single beautifully illustrated harrow card. You don’t remember finding it, but you instinctively know it has always been yours. Though you only now hold it, your fate has been tied to it for a long time...
Stolen Fate
Part 1: The Choosing
Chapter 1: Luck of the Draw
Absalom! The City at the Center of the World! It has stood at the geographic and metaphorical fulcrum of Inner Sea intrigue for 5 millennia. Indeed, Absalom’s continual influence has shaped not only the face of the planet but the very nature of the cosmos. In Absalom, a person can be whatever and whoever they want, and for the right price, it is said, they can procure anything in its grand markets.
You have traveled to reach the city, following the strange vision in the hopes of learning more about it and the strange Harrow card that suddenly appeared in your possession one day not too long ago.
The Starstone is the heart of Absalom, but commerce is its blood. Nowhere does that blood flow more freely than in the Coins. Carts full of goods, busy vendors, and merchants dressed in their finest clothes crowd the district from daybreak until well after dark, and the sights, sounds, and smells of the Coins can be overwhelming to out-of-town visitors. The Grand Bazaar in the center of the district draws shoppers from throughout the Inner Sea region in search of surprising bargains, one-of-a-kind services, and rare commodities.
This massive plaza at the heart of the Coins is one of the largest open markets in the Inner Sea region. The Grand Bazaar is a microcosm of the economic diversity of the Coins as a whole, with rag vendors’ carts parked rows away from pavilions dealing in Minkaian silks. The crowded booths, ramshackle shops, and fragrant stalls of the market are constantly changing, but you follow the directions imparted to you by the vision, and soon enough, you find yourself at your destination.
The wooden building, flanked by a flower shop and an open-air meat vendor, is caught between smells both floral and savory. A sign above the door reads “Three Moves Ahead,” with images of dice and game pawns. The shop appears to be closed.
You look around at the three other individuals who have gathered outside the shop. Three individuals, you instinctually realize, whose destinies are intertwined with your own...
Hello! I am running a game of Dungeon Crawl Classics, but we have had a few players who have chosen to bow out, so we are in need of some new recruits! The PCs are just about to level up to level 2, so new characters would come in at that level. We are looking for 2-3 players who can post reliably at least once per day and are familiar with the rules. Chime in here if you are interested!
If enemies at the border of their Darklands home of Nar-Voth wasn’t enough, tension and uncertainty had led the dwarven clans to infighting rather than unity. In this time of trouble for the dwarves, the priests delivered a prophecy from Torag, god of dwarves and Father of Creation: When the earth trembles around you and your people, you must lead them upward. Find the surface and salvation will come.
Above, a destructive bombardment from the depths of space came crashing down upon Golarion. The dwarves felt the rumble of this impact deep within the earth, and the clans came together. They would follow the command of their god and embark on a Quest for Sky.
It was a long and difficult endeavor filled with danger and relentless conflict, but a strong and fair general among them united the clans, and the dwarves crowned General Taargick their king and named their new kingdom in his name: Tar Taargadth.
But as he felt the end of his life approaching, he politely declined the magnificent tomb his people had built for him. He departed alone to carve his own tomb, hidden in the depths of the Darklands. The location of the tomb has been lost in the intervening millenia.
But it will soon be found again...
SKY KING'S TOMB
Part 1: Mantle of Gold
Chapter 1: Highhelm Heroes
Tradition shapes dwarven culture, and no family in Highhelm embraces their cultural heritage quite like Clan Tolorr. Considered the historians of the Five Kings Mountains, Clan Tolorr preserves and studies the past with an eye for how it comes alive in the present. Clan performers recreate legends through puppetry shows and immortalize prior ages’ artifacts in public museums as well as share resources with non-dwarven societies. Members regularly sponsor scholars, ancient beings, and anyone hoping to uncover their lost heritage.
You are some of these sponsored guests, whether you're studying the clan’s museum techniques, presenting your own historical traditions, learning about the Darklands’ legends, understanding you own past to make amends, or pursuing some other cultural insight. You might already be Highhelm residents, and some of you might even be members of Clan Tolorr who have yet to prove yourselves through word and deed. Whatever the case, each of you has a contact or sponsor who has invited you to the clan’s upcoming Family Festival, a celebration for strengthening bonds between one’s family—both of blood and of choice.
You have arrived earlier than expected, however. The Family Festival is scheduled several weeks from now, and your sponsors are busy enough with their typical obligations and festival preparations that they can’t begin their collaborations ahead of schedule. Thus, you find yourselves lodging at Zelgin's, a venerable inn in the King's Heart district. You've all checked in within the past day or two, and this morning, you all sit together at the breakfast table as the innkeeper Epna serves you a hearty meal...
They came to colonize the Red Planet. Little did they know that something else was there first...
TERRORFORMING MARS
The titles fade away, replaced by the planet Mars herself. Her two moons, Phobos and Deimos, orbit around the crimson world. Eerie music plays as the camera zooms past the planet, moving closer and closer to Phobos. As it draws near, we see the spaceship Hectariate approaching the moon...
The Not-Too-Distant Future: The Year 2085 AD
The ship has launched from Earth's first colony on Mars. The crew is on a scouting mission to the dark side of Phobos. They will not be prepared for what they are about to find...
Please take a moment to introduce your characters as the audience gets the first look at them. Our lead actor should also describe his spaceship. Is it small and fast or big and slow? Are there other crew members on board or is it just the three of you?
For as long as you can remember, you've believed you were destined for something much greater than your mundane existence. Yet you've found no way to escape the droll repetition of your provincial lives.
Then the dreams began. An alluring woman dressed in blue finery, her face shrouded in shadows, appeared to you. She confirmed what you've believed your whole life -- your true destiny has been snatched away by sinister forces!
“Become my ally,” she intoned in a ghostly tapestry of indistinct voices, “and your enemies shall become my enemies, and together we shall take back the life that was promised to you by the stars. Come and find me at the cliff.”
As the dreams continued, you became more and more detached from your lives. You started to ignore your work. You had an increasingly difficult time engaging with your old family and friends, seeing each as a jailer in the prison of your life. Finally the dreams become a mandate, and you left home and followed the visions of your dreams, hoping to discover the mysterious cliff your saw the woman standing before.
You traveled dazedly, as if in a fever dream, your path dictated by strange omens and portents. Eventually, these now waking visions lead you to your destination.
You arrive, exhausted and confused, at the cliff overlooking the ocean. Looking around, you see numerous other people showing up at exactly the same time as you. The scene is exactly as it appeared in your dreams, and you are suddenly grateful as this must mean that you are not insane. There at the edge of the cliff is the woman who has haunted your dreams for months, standing behind a long table, incongruously set for a banquet here in this wild place. The woman is nearly seven foot tall, wearing tattered finery of deepest blue, and for the first time you see her face – somehow her head is that of a statue of a woman. Her features are inanimate and softened, as if rain and wind had eroded the statue head over time. In her left hand she holds two severed human heads by the hair. In her right hand she holds three.
As you approach she holds all five up as if to great you with their dead faces. Then those dead eyes open, and the five heads speak to you in unison, each in their own voice. “Welcome, brave friends. I know you have many questions, but let them wait for now. I know you must be exhausted from your journey. Sit, eat and rest. All of your questions shall be answered this day.” You notice that one of the heads, a pale-skinned outlander with bright red hair, speaks in a foreign tongue.
The feast is laid out before you – meat, bread, cheese, vegetables, and wine. Of every ten dishes, eight are fresh and delicious but two are visibly rotted or otherwise despoiled – for example, a plate of mutton crawls with maggots, a bowl of berries is green with fungus.
Welcome to the game! There's little preamble needed so go ahead and make those 4 0-level characters to see who will survive the funnel! You can use this online generator, or roll here using the rules in the Core Rulebook or the Quickstart Rules. When you're ready, you can start posting in the gameplay thread!
Of course the world ends. It happens quickly, faster than anyone could predict. The Red Plague hits a world already on the brink of collapse. Extreme climate change, global economic crisis, increasing conflict between old and new superpowers. When the pandemic comes, the last thin veneer of stability crumbles.
One billion people die in the first year. Utter panic reigns supreme, solidarity between nations is non-existent. Wars break out over the last, dwindling resources of the world. For the first time since 1945 nuclear weapons are used in armed conflict. Mushroom clouds rise from east to west. Everyone tries to save themselves. The rich and powerful start monumental projects to escape the surface of the dying Earth: going deep underground, to the bottom of the oceans, into the cold darkness of space. The seats in these final lifeboats for mankind are desperately few. For most of the world’s inhabitants, there is no way out.
Once it’s all over, Earth is still. Nature invades ruined cities. Winds sweep through empty streets turned into graveyards. Time gnaws the windows off skyscrapers, panes falling to the ground in a slow rain of glass.
Yet life remains. Slivers of humanity survive the Apocalypse. In the Ark, a small settlement at the edge of a dead city, the People live. You are the spawn of humanity, but not quite human. You are twisted funhouse images, mutated freaks. Your bodies and minds have incredible powers, but you are unstable. Fragile. None of the People are over 30 years old.
Except the Elder. Your leader, but not like you. One of the Ancients. For decades he has warned you: be on your guard, don’t leave the Ark. Stay here, or the Rot will get you. Or something even worse. So far, you have obeyed his commands. Lived off rations from the Old Age. Chased off every stranger who came close to the Ark. Few dared to go out into the Zone. That is what the Elder calls the outside world.
But the safe days are over. Food is running scarce, and the fight for what’s left is turning violent. You starve. Factions are forming, bosses on top and grunts at the bottom. In the middle, fixers who try to turn a profit from anyone and everyone. And the Elder can’t stand up on his own anymore. They say he can’t even take a piss without help. You’re on your own now.
It’s time to venture out. To explore the Zone, to search for artifacts and knowledge. Build, grow the land, seek out others, create a new civilization on the ruins of the old one. Seek your origin. No children are born to the People – if you do nothing, you will perish. Maybe, one day, you will find the Eden of legend, the Ancients’ haven from the encroaching hellscape. That’s where salvation and truth await, the stories say.
Maybe it’s all fairy tales. It doesn’t matter. You have no choice. This is the beginning.
This is Year Zero.
***
Mutant: Year Zero
Session 1: The People at the End of Time
***
The Bosses have called the People together in the Ark's assembly room. Rows and rows of worn and threadbare chairs face a large stage of warped and rotting wood upon which the Bosses stand. The Elder says this room used to be a "theater," a place where the Ancients would put on shows to entertain one another. Such frivolity seems laughable compared to the perils of day-to-day life in the Dawnworld.
The Ark has three bosses. There's Boss Marlotte, who most of you are on good terms with. She genuinely seems interested in the well-being of the People. Boss Johammed is a drunken a@%#### whose occasional flashes of brilliant insight allow him to keep his power. And Boss Oscartian is a bureaucrat, a low-key leader who preaches maintaining the status quo by following the rules of the commandments of the Elder.
The food supply of the Ark is decent enough. Starvation still isn’t far away, but the People have enough grub to cover their day to day needs – as long as the harvest or the hunt isn’t threatened. However, the People are severely lacking in cultural expression and the understanding of technology, and the Ark itself is totally defenseless against enemies from the outside.
After outlining these points, the Bosses open up discussion to the gathered Assembly as the People decide which projects to work on...
Please refer to the Assembly section of the Core Rulebook beginning on page 103. Each of you can nominate a project you think should be undertaken by the People. The players don’t need to agree on one project, but projects will be completed much faster if they do.
Welcome to the game! I am looking forward to giving this system a go to see if it plays as well as it reads.
You can go ahead and start working on your characters. For the NPCs you hate and wish to protect, feel free to use some of the examples listed or create some of your own. We can flesh them out in more detail as we go. Once everybody has made their character, you can work out your connections with the other PCs. From there, we'll create the Ark and make decisions related to that.
I'll be using one of the example Zones in the book, The Dead Apple (ruins of New York City), to make things easy. Let me know if you have any questions!
I do have a Discord server for my games. If you are interested in creating a discussion channel for this game on the server, let me know your Discord IDs and I'll send you an invite.
I've been reading through the core rulebook for "Mutant: Year Zero" and it looks like it is a very fun game. I am considering potentially running a campaign if there is enough interest. Is anybody interested in playing in such a campaign?
Memories of your past, realities of your present, and fears and hopes for your future suddenly overwhelm you with a torrent of emotion. So many choices you’ve made! So many more to go! Do they even matter? Are your choices yours, or are they always what you’d choose? Do you have a fate that’s set in stone, or do you get to decide your future? Suddenly, you’re standing on a street corner—one you somehow know is in the Grand Bazaar within the city of Absalom. Before you is a wooden building flanked by a flower shop and an open-air meat vendor. A sign above the building’s door reads “Three Moves Ahead,” and déjà vu washes over you. You’ve never been here... or have you? Will you? Should you? A blood-curdling scream shatters the building and, after a brief sense of pain and loss, the vision fades. As your senses return, you realize that clutched in your hand is something new. A single beautifully illustrated harrow card. You don’t remember finding it, but you instinctively know it has always been yours. Though you only now hold it, your fate has been tied to it for a long time...
Stolen Fate
Part 1: The Choosing
Chapter 1: Luck of the Draw
Absalom! The City at the Center of the World! It has stood at the geographic and metaphorical fulcrum of Inner Sea intrigue for 5 millennia. Indeed, Absalom’s continual influence has shaped not only the face of the planet but the very nature of the cosmos. In Absalom, a person can be whatever and whoever they want, and for the right price, it is said, they can procure anything in its grand markets.
You have traveled from far and wide to reach the city, following the strange vision in the hopes of learning more about it and the strange Harrow card that suddenly appeared in your possession one day not too long ago.
The Starstone is the heart of Absalom, but commerce is its blood. Nowhere does that blood flow more freely than in the Coins. Carts full of goods, busy vendors, and merchants dressed in their finest clothes crowd the district from daybreak until well after dark, and the sights, sounds, and smells of the Coins can be overwhelming to out-of-town visitors. The Grand Bazaar in the center of the district draws shoppers from throughout the Inner Sea region in search of surprising bargains, one-of-a-kind services, and rare commodities.
This massive plaza at the heart of the Coins is one of the largest open markets in the Inner Sea region. The Grand Bazaar is a microcosm of the economic diversity of the Coins as a whole, with rag vendors’ carts parked rows away from pavilions dealing in Minkan silks. The crowded booths, ramshackle shops, and fragrant stalls of the market are constantly changing, but you follow the directions imparted to you by the vision, and soon enough, you find yourself at your destination.
The wooden builidng, flanked by a flower shop and an open-air meat vendor, is caught between smells both floral and savory. A sign above the door reads “Three Moves Ahead,” with images of dice and game pawns. The shop appears to be closed.
But as you arrive, you realize you are not here alone. Three other individuals are emerging from the crowd at the same time as you. Three others, you instinctually realize, whose destinies are now intertwined with your own...
Memories of your past, realities of your present, and fears and hopes for your future suddenly overwhelm you with a torrent of emotion. So many choices you’ve made! So many more to go! Do they even matter? Are your choices yours, or are they always what you’d choose? Do you have a fate that’s set in stone, or do you get to decide your future? Suddenly, you’re standing on a street corner—one you somehow know is in the Grand Bazaar within the city of Absalom. Before you is a wooden building flanked by a flower shop and an open-air meat vendor. A sign above the building’s door reads “Three Moves Ahead,” and déjà vu washes over you. You’ve never been here... or have you? Will you? Should you? A blood-curdling scream shatters the building and, after a brief sense of pain and loss, the vision fades. As your senses return, you realize that clutched in your hand is something new. A single beautifully illustrated harrow card. You don’t remember finding it, but you instinctively know it has always been yours. Though you only now hold it, your fate has been tied to it for a long time...
Stolen Fate
Part 1: The Choosing
Chapter 1: Luck of the Draw
Absalom! The City at the Center of the World! It has stood at the geographic and metaphorical fulcrum of Inner Sea intrigue for 5 millennia. Indeed, Absalom’s continual influence has shaped not only the face of the planet but the very nature of the cosmos. In Absalom, a person can be whatever and whoever they want, and for the right price, it is said, they can procure anything in its grand markets.
You have traveled from far and wide to reach the city, following the strange vision in the hopes of learning more about it and the strange Harrow card that suddenly appeared in your possession one day not too long ago.
The Starstone is the heart of Absalom, but commerce is its blood. Nowhere does that blood flow more freely than in the Coins. Carts full of goods, busy vendors, and merchants dressed in their finest clothes crowd the district from daybreak until well after dark, and the sights, sounds, and smells of the Coins can be overwhelming to out-of-town visitors. The Grand Bazaar in the center of the district draws shoppers from throughout the Inner Sea region in search of surprising bargains, one-of-a-kind services, and rare commodities.
This massive plaza at the heart of the Coins is one of the largest open markets in the Inner Sea region. The Grand Bazaar is a microcosm of the economic diversity of the Coins as a whole, with rag vendors’ carts parked rows away from pavilions dealing in Minkan silks. The crowded booths, ramshackle shops, and fragrant stalls of the market are constantly changing, but you follow the directions imparted to you by the vision, and soon enough, you find yourself at your destination.
The wooden builidng, flanked by a flower shop and an open-air meat vendor, is caught between smells both floral and savory. A sign above the door reads “Three Moves Ahead,” with images of dice and game pawns. The shop appears to be closed.
But as you arrive, you realize you are not here alone. Three other individuals are emerging from the crowd at the same time as you. Three others, you instinctually realize, whose destinies are now intertwined with your own...
Six months ago, a rash of strange paranormal phenomena occurred around the world. Chief among the incidents reported were countless instances of aiudara—elven teleportation portals, also called elf gates—suddenly overflowing with tremendous white light. As aiudara are often located in remote locations, witnesses were relatively rare. But those onlookers who were nearby and who gazed into the light saw something within the blinding portal: a loved one, a lost homeland, a glorious treasure. The specifics varied in each account, but in every case the witness saw whatever person, place, or thing they most desired. Few could resist the impulse to walk toward the light in the hopes of grasping the apparent object of their obsession. Many never returned. Those who did were forever changed.
The crisp summer evening on which this event occurred became known as the night of the Missing Moment.
No one who walked through an aiudara during the Missing Moment remembers what happened next—their memories of whatever transpired on the other side of the white gate were totally and irretrievably wiped. So far as they’re aware, one moment each traveler was stepping into the door, and the next they were stepping back out, only to discover that they had, in fact, been gone for minutes, hours, or in some cases even days.
In your case? You were gone for three months. Many others never returned at all.
In time, the individuals who took this journey would come to be called gatewalkers. Though some gatewalkers bore obvious signs of their travails on the other side of the aiudara—unfamiliar scars, for example, or a strange new hue to their hair—others returned with practically nothing to show for their trip, save for one: all returning gatewalkers now bare a similar brand somewhere on their flesh, most often on the back of their neck. This brand, made of thick lines set into the skin like a tattoo, seems to depict a mountaintop archway limned with four stars. This “sign of the gatewalker” quickly became an obvious marker of those touched by the paranormal.
The months since the night of the Missing Moment haven’t been quiet. In the wake of their strange experience, gatewalkers the world over have manifested unexplainable supernatural powers such as telekinesis, levitation, and regeneration. In the Ustalavic town of Lepidstadt, a consortium of gatewalkers has gathered under the leadership of the venerable scientist and fellow gatewalker Etward Ritalson. Dr. Ritalson hopes to orchestrate his cadre of fellow paranormalists to solve the mystery of what happened on that fated summer night.
Dr. Ritalson's funding and leads are your best chance at not only recovering your lost memories, but also of better understanding (and perhaps advancing) your new deviant powers. Dr. Ritalson has explained that his skills and interests are better suited toward the laboratory than the open road, so he’s gathered your group together to conduct field research in his stead. Your first mission for the Doctor's Illuminatd Consortium of Epopts is about to begin...
Part 1: The Seventh Arch
Chapter 1: Mighty Oaks Do Fall
After a long journey from Ustalav, you find yourselves in Sevenarches, a heavily forested realm in the River Kingdoms of northeastern Avistan. Long ago, elves dwelled in the verdant forests of Sevenarches, and it’s believed they built the stone arches that give the region and its eponymous capital city their name. Now, Sevenarches is overseen by the Oakstewards—enigmatic druids who prohibit elves from even entering the kingdom’s borders. This ostensibly has to do with the obnubilate curse, a mysterious affliction that kills any elf who dares go near one of the Seven Arches. In the wake of the Missing Moment, however, rumor has it that the curse has been lifted.
Your carriage stops at the border gate to Sevenarches--a low bridge across a stream just beyond a bustling caravanserai. Sighing, Dr. Ritalson uses a black handkerchief to mop the sweat from his age-spotted forehead. “I fear this is as far as I accompany you,” he says. “I have matters to attend to farther east.” He smiles fondly. “I’ve no doubt that you can handle this investigation yourselves. Of all my field researchers, you show the greatest promise for uncovering the secrets of the hidden world.
“I need not remind you of the importance of your mission.” He points to the mysterious rune emblazoned across his throat—the same mark that brought you together, the one you all share. “Three months ago, we embarked upon a mystery. All across the world, elven teleportation gates—aiudara—burst with light and lured people like us in with visions of our greatest desires. A subset of we so-called ‘gatewalkers’ returned from the sojourn—some, like you, bearing fascinating new abilities. We all, however, remain ignorant of what befell us on the other side of our doorway, how we came to be marked with this unknown sign, or what may have happened to those who did not return.”
He chuckles ruefully. “In every university and seminary, scholars are ransacking their libraries to understand this ‘Missing Moment.’ Yet I believe that we—that you—will succeed where they all fail. For our quest into the paranormal is not merely academic, but personal.
“Toward that end, I’ve given you my most promising lead: Sevenarches. For centuries, any elf who approached the city’s infamous Seven Arches has been subject to a terrible curse. Yet, on the night of the Missing Moment, the curse was somehow lifted. We need to know why. The city’s famed aiudara no doubt hold some of the answers we seek, and moreover represent a prime research opportunity to study the portals in person. That’s where you come in.
“To help, I’ve arranged for you to meet with an old associate of mine. Fianara Caralestri claims to have crucial information about the arches. Ah, and there she is now!”
An elven woman wearing traveling leathers and a backpack overflowing with scrolls waves from the caravanserai's porch.
"Do you have any questions for me before I depart?"
Chapter 1: Shards of Sin
Part 1: A Game Afoot in Magnimar
For much of the past millenia, the entire legacy of the empire of Thassilon remained an obscure footnote in the history texts. Even in recent years, as southern nations began to colonize Varisia, the monolithic remnants of Thassilon remained more a curiosity than a true source of scholastic pursuit. As the Pathfinder Society grew more and more interested in the region, though, Varisia’s reputation for hidden mysteries and Thassilon’s seductive call to investigation grew, but it took the near rise of one of the seven runelords, Karzoug the Claimer, to truly bring Thassilon’s legacy to full light.
With Karzoug’s defeat at the hands of resourceful adventurers, Varisia narrowly avoided a true disaster. Had Karzoug managed to rebuild his forces in Xin-Shalast, armies of giants, lamia-kin, dragons, and ancient wizards would have quickly conquered Varisia. His near return was a wake-up call. The threat of one runelord rising from slumber was bad enough, but six more remained hidden in secret places. Varisia’s numerous contentious factions and governments see that this is one peril they all share in common, and a race to prepare for the rising of another runelord (or, perish the thought, the rising of all six) has been quietly growing—and chief among those who seek to prepare Varisia for such an event is a single woman...
Greetings, fellow seeker of adventure!
I am Sheila Heidmarch, Venture Captain of the newest Pathfinder Society lodge—and the only such lodge in Varisia at this time. You have come to my attention as someone who possesses a certain amount of skills and interests that make you an excellent addition to a highly specialized team I’m putting together for a matter of grave import, not only to the Society, but to Varisia as a whole. Please report an hour before noon to Heidmarch Manor—you will be compensated for your visit, but that reward will pale in light of the riches that await you should we come to an agreement on my proposition to you. I look forward to meeting you soon!
—Sheila Heidmarch
Each of you received this brief but compelling invitation this morning. As the city of Magnimar wakes for the day, you prepare to head to the lodge and find out just what the Venture Captain has in mind for you...
In the eastern lowlands of Varisia, the city of Korvosa is by far the largest settlement. The city has proudly clung to the traditions of its Chelish founders, but those traditions were challenged recently when Queen Ileosa Arabasti gained control after the sudden death of her husband. At first, the people of Korvosa worried that she was ill-equipped to rule, but soon they learned quite the opposite: Ileosa was filled with ambition equaled only by her cruelty, and she proved to be a deadly tyrant indeed. Her rule was relatively short and ended violently, but her time in control has changed Korvosa forever. Thousands died during her regime—many to the ravages of a disease known as blood veil, a disease Ileosa helped to spread—and her one-time guards, the Gray Maidens, fractured into competing mercenary bands after her defeat.
Fourteen years have passed since Ileosa's defeat, but the city of Korvosa still fears the evil tyrant's legacy. And now, a need for new heroes arises...
Shadows at Sundown
Part 1: Death Walks the Streets
The citizens of Korvosa have been reeling the past few days. Two weeks ago, phantasmal visions of the dead queen Ileosa began appearing around the city, causing rumors to spread of the evil queen's imminent return from death. On top of that, only four days ago, Keppira d'Bear, Korvosa's bishop of Pharasma, passed away. As the city gears up for a grand funeral ceremony, and as manifestations of Ileosa’s “ghost” continue to appear, the citizens edge toward panic.
Each of you has received a summons from Queen Nicoleta Radacan, inviting you to Castle Korvosa to address the alarming mystery and growing fear. The missive makes it clear that she is aware of your reputations and intends to generously reward your assistance in your choice of coin or magic.
Castle Korvosa’s long shadow looms over the city as a terrifying testament to the power of whatever mighty overlord ruled this land thousands of years ago. A magnificent achievement of architecture, the castle walls and spires rise high into the sky above. The entire structure looms even higher because of its ancient foundation—a Thassilonian monument in the shape of an immense flat-topped pyramid. Although one corner of this impressive foundation has fallen into ruin, the additions built onto the sides by eager and talented Korvosan masons have created one of the most recognizable landmarks in all of Varisia.
You approach the castle from a broad ramp, reaching a public courtyard. There, you wait for your turn to speak to the guards and inform them of your appointment with the queen..
You have arrived at the manor of Lady Jamandi Aldori, a wealthy and influential swordlord of the city of Restov in southern Brevoy. A cobblestone path, bordered by regal oak trees and well-manicured hedges, winds its way up the hill for nearly a mile, past a two-story guard barracks, the stables, and a dozen thatched-roof cottages that house the families of the manor’s servants and retainers. The manor itself is a sprawling, three-story structure constructed of light gray mortared stone, surrounded by hedge-lined rose gardens and ancient oak trees.
Others have answered Lady Jamandi's call for heroes, and the four of you are in the rear of the line as you await your turn to be led into the Great Hall. The sky above is gloomy, and distant thunder suggests a storm is imminent...
You have arrived at the manor of Lady Jamandi Aldori, a wealthy and influential swordlord of the city of Restov in southern Brevoy. A cobblestone path, bordered by regal oak trees and well-manicured hedges, winds its way up the hill for nearly a mile, past a two-story guard barracks, the stables, and a dozen thatched-roof cottages that house the families of the manor’s servants and retainers. The manor itself is a sprawling, three-story structure constructed of light gray mortared stone, surrounded by hedge-lined rose gardens and ancient oak trees.
Others have answered Lady Jamandi's call for heroes, and the four of you are in the rear of the line as you await your turn to be led into the Great Hall. The sky above is gloomy, and distant thunder suggests a storm is imminent...
Welcome to the game! Feel free to start making existing connections between your characters if you so desire. I'll have the gameplay thread up later today.
Before the future rulers of the Stolen Lands even set foot in those wild regions, they’re merely individuals in the southern reaches of Brevoy in or near the city of Restov, each with their own history and goals. As this Adventure Path begins, the PCs and others have caught the eye of one of the nobles of the city of Restov—Lady Jamandi Aldori.
Lady Jamandi, a wealthy and influential swordlord of the city of Restov in southern Brevoy, has come up with a bold and somewhat unusual plan to officially lay claim to the so-called Stolen Lands, an enormous swath of wilderness wedged between Brevoy and the River Kingdoms that has long resisted attempts at settlement. Her “call for heroes” promises a great and perilous opportunity to claim an equally heroic reward. As this chapter begins, the PCs have answered Lady Jamandi’s “call for heroes” and arrived at her impressive hilltop manor.
Welcome to the game! Feel free to start making existing connections between your characters if you so desire. I'll have the gameplay thread up later today.
Before the future rulers of the Stolen Lands even set foot in those wild regions, they’re merely individuals in the southern reaches of Brevoy in or near the city of Restov, each with their own history and goals. As this Adventure Path begins, the PCs and others have caught the eye of one of the nobles of the city of Restov—Lady Jamandi Aldori.
Lady Jamandi, a wealthy and influential swordlord of the city of Restov in southern Brevoy, has come up with a bold and somewhat unusual plan to officially lay claim to the so-called Stolen Lands, an enormous swath of wilderness wedged between Brevoy and the River Kingdoms that has long resisted attempts at settlement. Her “call for heroes” promises a great and perilous opportunity to claim an equally heroic reward. As this chapter begins, the PCs have answered Lady Jamandi’s “call for heroes” and arrived at her impressive hilltop manor.
I am gearing up to run the 2nd edition version of the Kingmaker Adventure Path, and I am looking for brave heroes willing to venture into the Stolen Lands! Interested individuals should submit a 1st-level character following the standard rules. All ancestries and classes are welcome to apply. You may choose a generic background or a campaign-specific background from the list below. Recruitment will be open until Monday, September 26th at 5 AM ET. Good luck!
As a side note, I have a Discord server where I usually foster discussion for my campaigns and share images and maps. It is not required for you to join the server, but a willingness to do so is strongly encouraged.
KINGMAKER BACKGROUNDS:
The following rare backgrounds are specifically tailored to fit the themes of the Kingmaker Adventure Path.
BORDERLANDS PIONEER
You have long lived along the southern border of Brevoy, in the shadow of the wilderness known as the Stolen Lands. Life has been hard, but through hunting, trapping, trading, and coaxing crops from the ground, you’ve learned how to survive on the rugged frontier. Whether because of your personal expertise and familiarity with the borderlands or in order to reclaim your family’s land, you’ve joined the expedition into the Stolen Lands.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Strength or Wisdom, and one is a free ability boost.
You’re trained in the Nature skill and a Lore skill associated with a particular type of wilderness (choose from forest, hills, mountains, plains, rivers, or swamp). You gain the Train Animal skill feat.
BREVIC NOBLE
You claim a tangential but legitimate connection to one of Brevoy’s noble families. If you aren’t human, you were adopted by one of Brevoy’s nobles or were perhaps a favored servant or even a childhood friend of a noble scion. Whatever the case, you’ve had a comfortable life, though still a far cry from the one your distant cousins or close associates know. An expedition into the storied Stolen Lands seems like just the test to see if you really are worthy of the “noble” title.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Constitution or Wisdom, and one is a free ability boost.
Choose one of the Brevic lineages below.
Garess: Family ties to the Golushkin Mountain dwarves left its mark. Your family motto is “Strong as the Mountains.” You’re trained in the Crafting skill and the Architecture Lore skill. You gain the Specialty Crafting skill feat.
Lebeda: Your family’s history of trading along the shores of Lake Reykal pervades your blood. Your family motto is “Success through Grace.” You’re trained in the Society skill and the Mercantile Lore skill. You gain the Multilingual skill feat.
Lodovka: Your family has made a living off the coasts of the Lake of Mists and Veils since before Brevoy existed. Your family motto is “The Waters, Our Fields.” You’re trained in the Athletics skill and the Fishing Lore skill. You gain the Underwater Marauder skill feat.
Medvyed: Your family has a deep respect for the wilderness and is skilled at hunting and surviving off the land. Your family motto is “Endurance Overcomes All.” You’re trained in the Survival skill and the Hunting Lore skill. You gain the Terrain Expertise skill feat (choose your terrain from aquatic, forest, mountain, plains, or swamp).
Orlovsky: Your family has a reputation for avoiding conflicts. Your family motto is “High Above.” You’re trained in the Diplomacy skill and the Brevoy Lore skill. You gain the Group Impression skill feat.
Surtova: Your family is well known for their political agility and scheming nature. Your family motto is “Ours Is the Right.” You’re trained in the Deception skill and the Politics Lore skill. You gain the Charming Liar skill feat.
BREVIC OUTCAST
One of your parents was a member of one of the great families of Brevoy, perhaps even of the line of Rogarvia itself. Yet you have no substantive proof of your nobility, and you’ve learned that claiming such without evidence is a fool’s game. Whether a recent attempt to prove your heritage brought down the wrath of a noble family or you seek to prove the worth of the blood in your veins, you’ve joined an expedition into the Stolen Lands, hoping to make a name all your own.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Charisma or Constitution, and one is a free ability boost.
You’re trained in the Politics Lore skill. You take a –1 penalty on all Charisma-based skill checks attempted when dealing with members of the nobility, but gain the Haughty Obstinacy human ancestry feat, even if you aren’t a human. If you manage to establish yourself as a true noble or secure a leadership role in a kingdom, you no longer take the penalty to Charisma-based checks.
ISSIAN PATRIOT
You grew up in northern Brevoy, but the call for heroes willing to help take back your country’s rightful holdings in the Stolen Lands has inflamed your dreams of profit and possibilities, and you have joined an expedition journeying south.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Dexterity or Intelligence, and one is a free ability boost.
You’re trained in the Society skill and the Legal Lore skill. You gain the Streetwise skill feat.
LOCAL BRIGAND
You hail from the River Kingdoms or the more lawless reaches of Brevoy. Your life has been hard. You know how to ambush travelers, bully traders, avoid the law, and camp where no one can find you. Recently, you’ve run into some trouble, either with the law or with other bandits, and you’re looking to get away to somewhere no one would ever think to look for you. An expedition into the rugged wilderness seems like a perfect way to lie low until the trouble blows over.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Strength or Constitution, and one is a free ability boost.
You’re trained in the Intimidation skill and the Banditry Lore skill. You gain the Group Coercion skill feat.
ROSTLANDER
You were raised in the south of Brevoy, a land of dense forests and rolling plains, of crystalline rivers and endless sapphire skies. You come from hardy stock and were raised with simple sensibilities—that hard work earns well-deserved gains, the importance of charity and compassion, and the value of personal and familial honor. Yours is the country of the Aldori swordlords and the heroes who refused to bend before the armies of a violent conqueror. You care little for matters of politics and nobles or of deception and schemes. You are thoroughly Brevic, and the call for champions willing to expand your land’s influence into the Stolen Lands has inflamed your sense of patriotism and honor, and so you have joined an expedition to journey southward and build a kingdom.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Strength or Constitution, and one is a free ability boost.
You’re trained in the Athletics skill and the Farming Lore skill. You gain the Hefty Hauler skill feat.
SWORD SCION
You have lived all your life in and around the city of Restov, growing up on tales of Baron Sirian Aldori and the exploits of your home’s heroic and legendary swordlords. Joining an expedition into the Stolen Lands seems like a perfect way to improve your skills and begin crafting a legend worthy of Baron Aldori.
Choose two ability boosts. One must be to Dexterity or Charisma, and one is a free ability boost.
You’re trained in the Warfare Lore skill. You gain access to Aldori dueling swords and can purchase one as part of your starting equipment. You treat Aldori dueling swords as martial weapons rather than advanced weapons for the purpose of proficiency.
The undead-populated nation of Geb is the principal food exporter to many nations throughout the Inner Sea. Few foreigners hold the undead nation or its melancholic ghost king with anything other than distaste, but they’ve come to rely on Geb’s cheap, zombie-raised food.
Geb, the infamous necromancer, founded the nation millennia ago. After his earth-scorching war with the archmage Nex ground to a halt, Geb found no passion for ruling and no meaning without his rivalry, so he ended his life, but arose as a ghost. No more interested in rulership as a ghost than he had as a living man, Geb mostly retreated from public view and entrusted control of the country to his 60 apprentices, the Blood Lords.
Geb has recently become more active, shaken from his melancholy by rumors that his old rival Nex might soon return to the world. He began gearing up his nation for war, which demands maintaining its role as an economic powerhouse. These are interesting times. Times rife for opportunity for several up-and-coming troubleshooters in the city of Graydirge. For while they each have come from humble beginnings, their ambitions are lofty, indeed. For these individuals desire to rise through the ranks of Geb's political landscape and one day become--
Blood Lords!
Chapter 1: Zombie Feast
Bone-shrouded Graydirge is a remote city located in the eastern foothills of the Shattered Range. Ancient and grim, the city has remained free of significant invasions or disasters for thousands of years, despite its distance from larger fortified cities like Mechitar and Yled. This is largely due to the city’s impressive fortifications of bone and stone, sizable population of ghouls and necromancers, and the zombie-tilled fields that surround it for miles in every direction, providing a natural—or unnatural—barrier to any would-be invaders.
Graydirge once served as a remote military outpost positioned to intercept troops invading Geb along the eastern edge of the Shattered Range. The war between Geb and its rival Nex caused it to expand rapidly. The city’s architects first decided to use bones to construct the city’s buildings and fortifications simply because the material was so plentiful and provided an unmistakably disconcerting appearance. What began as a convenience quickly evolved into a tradition, then a respected architectural style.
Blood Lords visiting Graydirge were impressed by the intimidating edifices and began another grim tradition: punishing those who refused to serve Geb in undeath by sending them to Graydirge, where their flesh would be violently stripped from their skeletons to produce both building materials and food for Geb’s ghoul population. History tells of at least one wealthy aristocrat who provided the exorbitant funds to have the dead resurrected before putting them through the excruciating rendering process, ensuring the punishment wasn’t easily avoided.
Graydirge has changed little in the intervening centuries since the Nex-Geb War ground to a halt. Far removed from politics (both international affairs and the internecine strife between the Blood Lords in Mechitar), the city has had little reason to expand or adapt. The most significant change has been the steady expansion of the zombie-worked farms surrounding the city, coinciding with the nation’s increasing dependence on food exports as a significant source of income. Otherwise, those in power have been content to remain in power, while those living under the heel of their oppressive undead overlords have no voice in the city’s future. Only very recently, with Geb’s return to the public eye, have the Great Factions’ machinations begun to reach as far as Graydirge.
The only Blood Lord in Graydirge is Berline Haldoli, a halfling necromance who is affiliated with the Reanimators factoin and who oversees Graydirge’s zombie-run farms. Always on the lookout for opportunities to bring up-and-coming individuals under her wing in the endless scheming of Geb’s undead rulers, Berline has called upon each of you to attend a feast at her manor tonight to discuss a matter that she needs help with. You have agreed to meet with each other at a tavern called Deathknell to get acquainted with one another before attending the feast together...
We didn’t trust each other at first, but that changed. How? Why?
Well someone crashing down out of the sky like a meteor is not necessarily trust inducing - especially in the middle of a battle with aliens in battlesuits, but when the newcomer started blasting alien ships out of the sky with concentrated burst of light it became clear that he/it was at least on your side.
And how could you not trust someone that handsome?
We totally broke some major rules to win the fight. What rules did we break? Whose rules were they?
Now, there's usually a 'no-killing' rule when it comes to battles between supes and baddies, but those rules get thrown out the window when it comes to murderous aliens. When they shoot to kill, you can't pull your punches. Besides, their blood's green, not red, so you can show it in a PG-13 movie without getting into trouble! You gotta do what you gotta do when your life's on the line.
We destroyed our surroundings in the fight. Where was it? What did we destroy?
We have sworn to never speak of the SouthSide Sunrise Galleria Mall again. More specifically, Taco Bell will never be mentioned in public.
...
'But my sister loved going there.'
...
We will never speak of it again!
All things considered, we did well and impressed an established hero. Who was it?
When there is a massive alien invasion, it tends to bring out the big guns. Even though it is across the country, that kind of distance doesn’t matter when it’s Captain Stalwart you are talking about. Even so, by the time he arrived, the four new heroes seemed to have it all under control.
Halcyon City. They say there’s no place like it, anywhere else on Earth.
Well. The people of Bay City would beg to differ. It may not be a bustling megalopolis, but the city stakes its claim as the second largest hub of superheroes and villains in the world. And it is here that a new generation of heroes has begun to rise. These are their stories...
West Coast Masks - The Solar Squad!
Issue #1
At the start of every session, the GM adds 1 Team to the pool.
It's been almost two months since the incursion from the Darkstar Collective, a band of alien warriors intent on conquest. Though the vast majority of the invaders had been defeated, a few stragglers escaped the battle. Nothing had been heard from them--until today!
The appearance of a hulking, armored alien outside of Bay City Hall quickly triggered the alarm! Fortunately, the city has a team of fledgling heroes on standby, the very same heroes who were instrumental in defeating the Collective when they first met.
The Darkstar warrior roars a challenge and raises its weapon as the Solar Squad arrives on the scene!
You are about to enter battle against a dangerous foe as a team, so we will add 2 Team to the pool. The leader has Influence on every teammate, so we add another Team. I assume everyone has the same purpose in this fight, so we will add one more Team. I don't believe any member of the Team mistrusts the leader, and you are neither ill-prepared nor off-balance, so we will not remove any Team. The Team pool is at 5!
Feel free to describe how each of your characters enters the scene, then tell me what you do!
Halcyon City. They say theyre’s no place like it, anywhere else on Earth.
Well. The people of Bay City would beg to differ. It may not be a bustling megalopolis, but the city stakes its claim as the second largest hub of superheroes and villains in the world. And it is here that a new generation of heroes has begun to rise. These are their stories...
West Coast Masks!
Issue #1!
At the start of every session, the GM adds 1 Team to the pool.
The waterfront district of Bay City is a popular tourist destination. People flock to the restaurants, shops, and museums along the docks, and to take a cruise around the bay or watch the fishermen at work.
But today, the sounds of laughter and merriment have been replaced by panicked screams! And mingled with those screams, loud and aggressive barking. Crowds of terrified people flee from Pier 42, normally the premiere location to see the herds of native sea lions that congregate there. It would seem that the normally docile creatures have taken a turn for the savage, as they leap onto the pier, snapping their jaws savagely as they flop and waddle in pursuit of the hapless folks who had only hoped to take some cute pictures!
Amidst the dozens of vicious mammals stands a man in an armored wetsuit. An odd-looking voice modulator is clamped around his neck, translating his words to grunts and barks that the sea lions seem to understand! He commands the creatures onward, delighting in the chaos he is causing.
"Yes! Yes! For too long have these beautiful creatures languished in the bay that once belonged to them. Today, they reclaim their home! And it's all thanks to me, the Pinniped Piper!"
The man cackles maniacally, but he stops abruptly and squints at the end of the pier, where several figures have begun to assemble. "Huh? And just who are you supposed to be?" he asks...
Feel free to describe how each of your characters enters the scene. Once everybody has posted, we will proceed! You are about to enter battle against a dangerous foe as a team, so I will add 2 Team to the pool, for a total of 3. The leader does not have Influence on every teammate, and you are neither ill-prepared nor off-balance. If everyone has the same purpose in this fight, we will add 1 Team. If any team mmeber mistrusts the leader of the team, we will remove 1 Team. The leader of the team can mark a condition to avoid removing a Team from the pool.
As the nearly endless arcane wars between the nations of Nex and Geb devastated the very land itself, magic became unreliable within the realm of the wizards’ conflict. It became a vast, ravaged desert named the Mana Wastes. Few now tread there on purpose, for the creatures that have survived in the wasteland are bizarre and powerful. Yet amid this dusty cradle, a settlement of inventors, alchemists, and survivalists constructed a haven for their unorthodox ideas and creations. They developed technology to rival the most powerful spellcasters by harnessing clockwork, primordial steam engines, black powder, and the secrets of alchemy.
Now, in the soot-covered city of Alkenstar, the largest settlement in the Mana Wastes, industry and innovation continue to abound. The wealthy citizens of Skyside harness the erratic but potent magical energies all around them to create colossal constructs, mighty horrors of wood and iron, and weapons of dire portent. Meanwhile, in the smog-shrouded neighborhoods of Smokeside, gunsmiths forge firearms of exquisite beauty, toxic ammunition that defies logic, and armor capable of withstanding the gruesome armaments. Throughout the entire city, inspiration and innovation fuel a vast industry of thunderous technology, explosive discoveries, and cataclysmic powers.
The race for finding the strongest weapon creates fierce competition between factions both legitimate and illicit. Power shifts to whomever claims control over the newest innovation, and patrons are willing to pay top dollar for inventors able to produce results. Occasionally, an inventor or alchemist devises something so dangerous and volatile, it threatens to topple the balance of power completely.
This is one of those moments.
DM Brainiac Presents:
Outlaws of Alkenstar
Chapter 1: Punks in a Powder Keg
27 Gozran, 4722 AR
“Draw.” Bang! A crack of thunder fills the air. The smoking gun, held by a powerfully built orc man wearing leather chaps, vest, and a shiny sheriff’s badge, holds everyone’s attention. The orc slowly lowers the firearm, stowing it back in his holster. He carefully and deliberately walks up to a bloody dwarf, surveying his handiwork.
“I’m sorry it had to go down this way, brother. You picked the wrong side and that I can’t abide.” He removes his pinched-front hat, holding it over his heart. After a moment, he lowers his head.
The entire saloon erupts in applause as the pianist begins to play. The orc bows deeply, then helps the dwarf to his feet, who also bows to the attending patrons. The two walk to the bar, arm in arm, and order a bottle of whiskey.
“Thank you! Thank you!” A female dwarf stands on the bar top, addressing the patrons in a loud voice. “Whiskey is only two silver for the next hour, and that includes top shelf. Come back next week for the conclusion of Hearts at High Noon and our after-party! Now, enjoy yourselves!”
She hops off the bar to the sawdust-covered floor and catches your eyes, gesturing for you all to follow her to a back room, where a round table and private bar await. She props one foot up on a stool, leans forward on her knee, and casts a suspicious eye around the room. “Now that the show is over, let’s talk business. I'm Foebe Dunsmith, for those of you who don't know me. I brought you all here because we share some common enemies. With your help, I can make them pay—and get you rich in the process. But first, I want you to tell me why you deserve a job that could pay your weight in gold.”
As the nearly endless arcane wars between the nations of Nex and Geb devastated the very land itself, magic became unreliable within the realm of the wizards’ conflict. It became a vast, ravaged desert named the Mana Wastes. Few now tread there on purpose, for the creatures that have survived in the wasteland are bizarre and powerful. Yet amid this dusty cradle, a settlement of inventors, alchemists, and survivalists constructed a haven for their unorthodox ideas and creations. They developed technology to rival the most powerful spellcasters by harnessing clockwork, primordial steam engines, black powder, and the secrets of alchemy.
Now, in the soot-covered city of Alkenstar, the largest settlement in the Mana Wastes, industry and innovation continue to abound. The wealthy citizens of Skyside harness the erratic but potent magical energies all around them to create colossal constructs, mighty horrors of wood and iron, and weapons of dire portent. Meanwhile, in the smog-shrouded neighborhoods of Smokeside, gunsmiths forge firearms of exquisite beauty, toxic ammunition that defies logic, and armor capable of withstanding the gruesome armaments. Throughout the entire city, inspiration and innovation fuel a vast industry of thunderous technology, explosive discoveries, and cataclysmic powers.
The race for finding the strongest weapon creates fierce competition between factions both legitimate and illicit. Power shifts to whomever claims control over the newest innovation, and patrons are willing to pay top dollar for inventors able to produce results. Occasionally, an inventor or alchemist devises something so dangerous and volatile, it threatens to topple the balance of power completely.
This is one of those moments.
DM Brainiac Presents:
Outlaws of Alkenstar
Chapter 1: Punks in a Powder Keg
27 Gozran, 4722 AR
“Draw.” Bang! A crack of thunder fills the air. The smoking gun, held by a powerfully built orc man wearing leather chaps, vest, and a shiny sheriff’s badge, holds everyone’s attention. The orc slowly lowers the firearm, stowing it back in his holster. He carefully and deliberately walks up to a bloody dwarf, surveying his handiwork.
“I’m sorry it had to go down this way, brother. You picked the wrong side and that I can’t abide.” He removes his pinched-front hat, holding it over his heart. After a moment, he lowers his head.
The entire saloon erupts in applause as the pianist begins to play. The orc bows deeply, then helps the dwarf to his feet, who also bows to the attending patrons. The two walk to the bar, arm in arm, and order a bottle of whiskey.
“Thank you! Thank you!” A female dwarf stands on the bar top, addressing the patrons in a loud voice. “Whiskey is only two silver for the next hour, and that includes top shelf. Come back next week for the conclusion of Hearts at High Noon and our after-party! Now, enjoy yourselves!”
She hops off the bar to the sawdust-covered floor and catches your eyes, gesturing for you all to follow her to a back room, where a round table and private bar await. She props one foot up on a stool, leans forward on her knee, and casts a suspicious eye around the room. “Now that the show is over, let’s talk business. I'm Foebe Dunsmith, for those of you who don't know me. I brought you all here because we share some common enemies. With your help, I can make them pay—and get you rich in the process. But first, I want you to tell me why you deserve a job that could pay your weight in gold.”
As the nearly endless arcane wars between the nations of Nex and Geb devastated the very land itself, magic became unreliable within the realm of the wizards’ conflict. It became a vast, ravaged desert named the Mana Wastes. Few now tread there on purpose, for the creatures that have survived in the wasteland are bizarre and powerful. Yet amid this dusty cradle, a settlement of inventors, alchemists, and survivalists constructed a haven for their unorthodox ideas and creations. They developed technology to rival the most powerful spellcasters by harnessing clockwork, primordial steam engines, black powder, and the secrets of alchemy.
Now, in the soot-covered city of Alkenstar, the largest settlement in the Mana Wastes, industry and innovation continue to abound. The wealthy citizens of Skyside harness the erratic but potent magical energies all around them to create colossal constructs, mighty horrors of wood and iron, and weapons of dire portent. Meanwhile, in the smog-shrouded neighborhoods of Smokeside, gunsmiths forge firearms of exquisite beauty, toxic ammunition that defies logic, and armor capable of withstanding the gruesome armaments. Throughout the entire city, inspiration and innovation fuel a vast industry of thunderous technology, explosive discoveries, and cataclysmic powers.
The race for finding the strongest weapon creates fierce competition between factions both legitimate and illicit. Power shifts to whomever claims control over the newest innovation, and patrons are willing to pay top dollar for inventors able to produce results. Occasionally, an inventor or alchemist devises something so dangerous and volatile, it threatens to topple the balance of power completely.
This is one of those moments.
DM Brainiac Presents:
Outlaws of Alkenstar
Chapter 1: Punks in a Powder Keg
27 Gozran, 4722 AR
“Draw.”Bang! A crack of thunder fills the air. The smoking gun, held by a powerfully built orc man wearing leather chaps, vest, and a shiny sheriff’s badge, holds everyone’s attention. The orc slowly lowers the firearm, stowing it back in his holster. He carefully and deliberately walks up to a bloody dwarf, surveying his handiwork.
“I’m sorry it had to go down this way, brother. You picked the wrong side and that I can’t abide.” He removes his pinched-front hat, holding it over his heart. After a moment, he lowers his head.
The entire saloon erupts in applause as the pianist begins to play. The orc bows deeply, then helps the dwarf to his feet, who also bows to the attending patrons. The two walk to the bar, arm in arm, and order a bottle of whiskey.
“Thank you! Thank you!” A female dwarf stands on the bar top, addressing the patrons in a loud voice. “Whiskey is only two silver for the next hour, and that includes top shelf. Come back next week for the conclusion of Hearts at High Noon and our after-party! And now, for your entertainment, our lovely little dancer, please give it up for Staccato!”
The devastation of Earthfall resulted in the slaughter of billions, and the widespread destruction of most civilization erased much of humanity’s knowledge. The man credited with bringing magic back to humanity was Old‐Mage Jatembe, a folk hero and a myth to the people of the Mwangi Expanse. During the Age of Anguish that followed Earthfall, Old‐Mage Jatembe and his students, the Ten Magic Warriors, traveled the Mwangi Expanse and beyond to deliver lore, and with it, hope. Perhaps the greatest and most long‐lasting of Jatembe’s achievements was founding the oldest (and arguably greatest) magic school in the world, the Magaambya.
To this day the Magaambya strives to spread the same knowledge and hope that Old‐Mage Jatembe and the Ten Magic Warriors did long ago. Teaching a blend of arcane and primal traditions, the Magaambya aims to do more than educate wizards and druids; it hopes to act in service to the whole of Golarion.
Now, it is your turn to join this prestigious organization...
Strength of Thousands
Chapter 1: Kindled Magic
The people of Kibwe have grown tired of your magical mischief! Ever since you found that genie that granted you your deepest wishes, you've found yourselves possessed of burgeoning magical abilities. Unfortunately, the genie failed to instill within you the means to control these abilities. After one too many mishaps, the city leaders voted to sponsor your education at the Magaambya, both to help you master your magic and to get you out of their hair!
When you arrived on campus, Teacher Takulu Ot greeted you and performed the entrance interview. Then, you were assigned to quarters in Spire Dormitory. Your dormmates are an eclectic mix of students from each of the Magaambya's five branches, and during your first week, you performed various service projects as part of your Perquisite period. After finishing your fifth and final task, Teacher Ot has asked to meet him at an outdoor ceremony stage erected on the grounds at dawn the next morning.
Teacher Ot didn’t say why, but your dormmates are pretty sure it’s for your Introduction Ceremony. The Introduction Ceremony is something all new initiates go through; it’s where the teacher who admitted them to the school (in this case, Teacher Ot) presents them to other Magaambyan teachers. Your friends suggest you dress nicely for the ceremony!
You have the rest of today, though, to wander campus or interact with your fellow students or each other.
Every year for nearly six generations, the Broken Tusks have followed mammoth herds in a circular migration pattern spanning most of the western Realm of the Mammoth Lords. The people follow traditions handed down from time immemorial, including the art of survival in a harsh land and rituals which were already old when the world was young.
But things have changed. The warm seasons are shorter, the winters longer, and the game sparser. In spite of these difficulties, the Broken Tusks maintain what traditions they can, largely in denial to the realities of the changing world around them. At present, they’ve temporarily settled in their familiar stomping grounds, the once-verdant Gornok Plain, for the spring thaw and to observe the following’s ancient vernal ceremony, the Night of the Green Moon. Their elders, including the centenarian Grandfather Eiwa, have put on brave faces for the sake of their following’s youngest generation, many of whom are coming of age in a world still reeling from demonic warfare.
Though spring should be a time of cheer and renewal, a sense of dread hangs in the air around the Broken Tusk camp. The elders stubbornly believe the best way to address the chronic food shortage is to maintain the path they’ve walked for the past century. Yet many of the youngest generation believe that exploration might be the group’s best hope for survival. With their leaders paralyzed by indecision, it will fall to the Broken Tusk’s newest band of scouts to reignite their people’s nascent spirit of adventure and, with any luck, guide the following toward a new era of prosperity...
DM Brainiac Presents:
Quest for the Frozen Flame
Chapter 1: Broken Tusk Moon
16 Pharast, 4722 AR
Grandfather Eiwa's request was clear: hunt down and bring back a meal worthy of the upcoming Night of the Green Moon. Head scout Wipa has instructed you to prepare for the day's hunt, the heavily pregnant half-elf strapping on her own weapons and tools. Your fellow scout-in-training, Pakano, grins as he sharpens his spear. "This is going to be fun!" he laughs haughtily.
Cursed and haunted, Ustalav rests upon the bones of the foul empire of the legendary lich-archmage known as the Whispering Tyrant. In the centuries since the undead conqueror’s defeat, the land has been resettled, but superstition and horror still lurk in the country’s shadows.
The greatest evil sleeps in the ruin of Gallowspire. There, below the former court of the necromancer-king, lies the undying remains of the Whispering Tyrant himself, locked away by the magic of heroes and deities. Although bound within his prison-tomb, the lich-lord’s dreams still seep into the land, tainting minds and inspiring fanatics like the necromancer cult known as the Whispering Way.
Two heroes make their way to the small town of Ravengro to attend the funeral of an old firend. Little do they realize that dark fortune guides them into the path of the Whispering Way, and that soon they will pit their courage against the vilest horrors of Ustalav...
Carrion Crown
Chapter 1: The Haunting of Harrowstone
Numerous small towns dot the fog-shrouded landscape of Ustalav. At first glance, these towns might all seem kindred spirits—cozy collections of quaint buildings surrounded by farmland, their skylines decorated by the steeples of Pharasmin churches or the steep rooflines of colorful taverns. Yet in Ustalav, appearances are often deceiving, and many of the nation’s towns and villages harbor sinister secrets. Such is likely the case in idyllic Ravengro, a town built originally to provide support for the notorious prison known as Harrowstone, but which today endures as a self-sufficient farming community.
North of the town itself is a stretch of moorlands called the Restlands, used for the interring of the dead. You have just arrived at the entrance to this cemetery after a long journey, in order to pay your respects to your departed friend, Professor Petros Lorrimor. A small handful of villagers stand by the professor's finely crafted coffin, chief among them Petros's daughter, Kendra. The twenty-five-year-old woman is trim and attractive, but her eyes are red and puffy from sorrow. Still, she manages a faint smile when she sees the two of you approaching.
"I am glad you were able to make it in time," Kendra says. "I reached out to some of my father's other old friends, but no one else has come to pay their respects. With things the way they are in town these days, very few locals have come out, either. I'm sure you have lots of questions, and I promise to answer all of them, but for now, let us see to my father's burial." She gestures to the coffin. "Would you do the honors and help to bear Petros to his final rest?"
Today is the autumnal equinox, the day of the Swallowtail Festival! The sun, while still very low in the sky at this hour, is shining brightly and the air is unseasonably warm around the town ofSandpoint along Varisia's Lost Coast.
At dawn, the proud new cathedral bells echo throughout the streets of Sandpoint to start the day of its own consecration. The warm breeze lazily flaps the streamers and colorful bunting hangs throughout the tidy and especially clean streets.
There are many citizens already out of bed at dawn this morning, and the main square of the town has an early-morning bustle of different traders preparing their wares for today’s festival and consecration. The square before the church quickly becomes crowded as locals and travelers arrive, and several merchant tents featuring food, clothes, local crafts, and souvenirs are there to meet them.
Three different women wander the crowd, taking in the sights and sounds as the town's officials prepare to give their opening speeches and officially kick off the Swallowtail Festival. Little do these women know that this will be the day that changes their destinies...
