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He is the embodiment of Apsu and Iomedae 's alliance. He wasn't born from their love, but rather from their vow to support each other if ever needed.

You can't find it in the books, but that was the answer I got when I asked the same question to the developers, although I can't remember exactly who answered me.

That is simultaneously admirable, adorable, and a lot better than my initial mental image. Thank you for immediately correcting/purifying it.

Still, you could always have him claim that he was adopted by Iomedae, or that she loved him like family.

Interesting, I've always pronounced it CZAR-knee.

Yeah, that's what I thought. Guess I have to tell my PCs I was wrong.

Ah yes, The Goblinblood Wars was my favourite AP. I still have fond memories of me & my group, back in 1999, when we saved Isger for the first time.

Seriously, though, if you wonder why your previous PCs aren't on the lookout for more ancient evil so they can Scry & Fry it, they probably retired to endless opulence in their timeless demiplanes, or fought each other over misunderstandings, or are trying to keep Sorshen under surveillance 'cause she's gotta be up to something, right?

Or whatever you/your GM can figure out, so as not to steal the upcoming thunder of your new PCs.

Actually, I'd want to be a barbarian and lift many things. Or that act where you spit alcohol over a torch. Maybe I'd claim I came from Sarusan and had to throw dinosaurs at other dinosaurs to survive!

66. Flithy the Sarenite

ABC: Goblin (maybe acolyte) Paladin (Champion?) of Sarenrae

Weapon: Scimitar, fire, piousness, determination to protect everyone from the symbol of all hypocrisy in the world.

Goblin Song:

Flithy always tried to pray/
and then got blessed by Sarenrae/
So now she shines the light of day/
on horses that she has to slay!!

Yes, that's what's keeping them there, and angry as well.

I mean, I was one of the people who like the idea of dual shields. Attack with one, defend with the other?

I mean, I had PCs who couldn't stand each other, kicking each other for non-lethal damage to wake up whichever one was sleeping.

Also, those same PCs (both of them Chaotically aligned) gave everyone consent to blast everyone in an AoE if they were surrounded by foes. If one of them had resistance to/protection from the incoming energy, so much the better.

2) "Tell my wife that I'll return within the month, the recent loss of face mended. Also - I apologize, I really should learn the better spell - your teeth have fallen out and your trousers are gone."

(My NE wizard wanted to send a message back home, but only had the Nightmare spell. He figured his manor's gardener was the sturdiest of his staff)

D'aww, being tempted by goodness is the best alignment shift ever.

36) The druid Earth Glides through the floor via wild shape, and deposits some slime all over the mill's saws/basket weaving tools. It might be dangerous green slime, or it might just be leftover cud. Either way, it's still gross.

37) Wild shape/wild empathy-led pigeon or seagull bombing run. Look at your precious statues now, and weep!

Has Karzoug been scrying on your PC? If he's certain the incoming nuisance is going to secure a Sihedron Ring, that narrows down the list of options. So I'd say he could be content to wait, send Khalib or someone to inform Sihedron Ring-wearers that someone's coming to kill them, and take this opportunity to determine which skulks are of sufficient loyalty, and which ones are treacherous turncoats who've betrayed their Claimer, and Greed itself.
Edit: later, in the Pinnacle of Avarice, one of the Karzoug holograms could thank your PC for showing him which skulks were worthless, and which weren't.

Not only did I do that, I also gave him the Serpent-Fire Adept archetype, describing his kundalini as pale green instead of vibrant orange.
I gave him flying kick & headbutt, considering his body was tightly bound. Unfortunately, I ended up describing him as floating face-down, then twirling rapidly through the air to attack. I also made the serpent-fire breath attack do a sort of cone-shaped enervation.

I don't have the statblock on hand, but he basically nearly caused a TPK until he ran out of kundalini qi and couldn't fly any more. Then everyone bum-rushed him.

From a few posts up there: yeah, I'd figure you'd have to be suicidal to even consider landing on Azathoth in the first place.
Speaking of, I recently ran a module (the Dragon's Demand) where one of the PCs was a CN cultist of Azathoth. The townsfolk were bewlidered at someone who'd openly pray to the blind idiot god, especially preferring to heal than anything else. Eventually, we agreed that the healing spells looked like, "You intone a prayer, then hork a mouthful of enzymes on the wound, which feels better immediately. I'm sure there won't be any long-term complications at all."
The Baroness offered knighthoods to everyone who won at the end, "On the condition that you don't convert anyone."

I do admit I like the idea of them, but I don't know enough real-world ones to twist to suit stand-in nations. Plus, what would work for ones like Rahadoum or Druma?

(Though I do have one guy whose failed Perform checks take the form of, "He tries to belt out the Andoren national anthem, but is too drunk to remember most of the words")

I always thought he picked a souped-up version of the Immortality arcane discovery, and went with that.

I still want to make a feral gnasher goblin with +1 dancing adamantine dentures. Magical wind-up chattering teeth!

That would lead to a lot of amazing plot hooks:
"That isn't blood! It's paint!"
"...That's strange, I never commissioned a group portrait."
Maybe rub garlic powder on the painting, and it couldn't jump back in?

The way I explain it, There's Religious Magic you get from religion, Nature Magic from a connection with nature, fancy, pompous wizardry & sorcery, which involves figuring out how to exert your will upon the world and its forces, and occult magic as "Mind Magic". Since bards can affect people's minds with their words and dance without spells, it seems fitting.

Yeah, I've been frustrated by this sort of thing as well.
Kingmaker, Mummy's Mask, and Skull & Shackles fell apart after the first book; for that last one, I tried to GM it twice.

Fortunately, I managed to finish Jade Regent as well as Council of Thieves. I'm going to finish GMing Rise, though only two of the PCs were there from the beginning. I joke that the near-entirety of one PC's Leadership feat comes from former PCs who gave up.

I like the idea that, once his capital city was built, Nex built those two golems out of bits and pieces of the entire city itself. So he didn't need elementals to power them; they run entirely on Quantium's dependence upon them. Sustainable, and cruelty-free!

I once saw a PC run into frustrating helplessness thanks to a magic trap that had this spell on it.
He was invisible, then ran away due to a fear affect from an undead foe. Having identified the magic trap previously, he ran to it, activated it, then intentionally failed his saving throw.
...Unfortunately, he was invisible, which required a violent action - which he was now too ambivalent to perform - to stop. Since his undead foes had no way of seeing him, he was forced to watch the rest of the fight. It didn't occur to him to ask one of his allies to try to slap where he was, but I probably should've given him new saves while he watched violence happen to his allies.

I wonder, is there going to be any sort of homage to Age of Worms?

It'd probably be better to have it as cosmetic, since gold is so soft it deals less damage when you use it as a weapon. When you have enough money, though, you could always upgrade to mithril dentures. Counts as silver, doesn't take -1 to damage rolls, and then you could always make them Thundering or Dancing or something.

Uh, you could always be a sorcerer, with the Razmiran Priest archetype? Or a bard who claims to be an inquisitor of Razmir, but that probably isn't what you want.

There's always the Chained Summoner, whose eidolon doesn't have to be of the same alignment. Be a Sarkorian God-Caller, who tries very hard to follow the ways of their eidolon, who's somehow losing their infinite well of patience.

Or, yeah, you could always be an oracle, or shaman, or witch, who's heard of a misunderstood version of this one faith or just really wants to be a part of it someday.

About Khalib, you can use divination spells while within the field, as long as their targets are also within the field. He could always cross the field's threshhold, Teleport somewhere else, then do that again to go back after doing his divinations to see where the PCs are.

Also, I feel like it's implied that the protection the Sihedron objects give in relation to the occluding field relates to being inside it, instead of divining/conjuring through it. Though I'd say, if a PC manages to Detect Scrying, and successfully make that caster level check, feel free to take that player aside and tell them they get a mental image of Karzoug offering a round of sarcastic applause.

Name of PC: Erin Damascus, Human

Class/ Level: Inquisitor of Cayden Cailean 4
Adventure: Burnt Offerings
Catalyst: Nat 1 on a fear effect
Story: The entire party except for the inquisitor of the god of courage made saving throws against the Yeth Hounds. Erin wound up running into a trap which killed him on the spot with a failed massive damage save. The druid then fed his corpse to the tentamort in an attempt to befriend it.

Yikes. I hope there were no angry players after that.

Also,

Name of PC: Briarios Silvasi, Human

Class/Level: Bard 1, Fighter 4, Rogue 2, Sorcerer 3

I really want to know why the quadruple-class.

My take? Err on the side of not doing it.
When the PCs have access to revification, one of them dying won't necessarily mean Game Over. If they collectively had a bad idea, and didn't take any hint to avoid it, then avoiding consequences will only teach them bad behaviour.
However, if a fresh-faced player brings out their shiny new level 1 character with a backstory full of intrigue you've planned out together, only to take a triple crit from an arrow on the first attack of the game, before even getting their first fighting action, that player might either just write a "The Second" on their character sheet, or leave in frustration.
So basically, don't fudge dice unless the group's continued enthusiasm is at stake. Also, something that tends to get overlooked in these debates: don't fudge the dice if you want a PC dead. If they're causing such a reaction from you, it's most likely a problem with the player & you, and unfairly telling them that, shut up, their character just died, will only breed more resentment.

4. At that moment, the tarrasque becomes aware of the caster's presence. It may not be awake or in the vicinity, but it knows, at that moment, the caster was there.

I wonder if you could make it work like in that PFS season: fiddle with the corruption so that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, but make it semi-obvious that it'll give Tar-Baphon an easier time of mind-controlling you, or doing a swift-action Explode Head once he locks on to those obols. Sure, you'll be better at killing people... but not the one guy you've been trying to stop this whole time.

"Sorshen? Oh, she isn't evil anymore. But there are some still-evil goblins over in Seven Tooth territory! A rollicking adventure for levels 1-3!"

Some of the things I did was include the Sin Swords, introduce them to Sheila & Canaven in case they needed to do any research on anything, and made Xaliasa (the Scribbler) a traitor, loyal to Alaznist, who sabotaged the Eye of Avarice so that it wouldn't work properly before fleeing to his hiding spot.
I also foreshadowed Mhar a few times, giving hints of the possible Bad Ending. If it does occur in my game, that'll make the potential sequels extra-interesting...

If the rest of the iconics were planning on chartering a boat ride out of Absalom, this would play right into the fears of the "Core Goblin PCs Will Ruin Everything" bunch.
Though things do tend to end up this way for most alchemists in general, and I haven't heard any complaints about them being Core. So, carry on!

As for the above, yeah, that's what I meant. Still, it'd be fun to watch Sorshen roll up her newfound sleeves and try to figure out modern Golarion geo-politics without trying to brainwash anyone.
Since Eurythnia was basically Thassilon's foreign quarter, I guess she'd already be well-versed in imports/exports. My wonder is how Edasseril's going to function, being a damaged, out-of-the-loop bureaucratic center with no rest-of-the-empire around it.

Tales of Lost Omens is my favourite JRPG. In all seriousness, lumping together nations into regions sounds like a useful shorthand. I can't wait to read more of that stuff you'll be writing.

Yay, and congrats! Smite those typos!

Personally, I didn't notice the whole "who-gets-redemption" issue until it was brought up here, but on the whole, I'm happy that a bunch of canonical evil people can stop being evil, and for the ones who refuse it, that's where the PCs step in. So they don't have to fight everyone.

Also: when I GM Return, I will include a bit where Sorshen makes public apologies (probably abstaining from using a Magic Mouth or Mage's Decree for them) for all the evil stuff she did, and will sentence herself to ten thousand years' of solitary confinement, followed by community service.

...Then Belimarius will issue proclamations of, "No, she's still evil, you all see it, so why isn't anyone killing her? I'm pretty enough for redemption, where are all my accolades!?"

Does this mean there'll be a return of the Shadow Lodge?

I've always wanted to play as an ifrit who feels like they have to keep reminding people that they aren't a tiefling, and that picture fits what I had in mind.
Also, as much as the sylph looks all fun and whimsical, it also looks like she's slipping on a wet floor.

You can also have the villain throw accusations at the PCs, getting them involved to talk back rather than initiate violence. Like those scenes in JRPGs where all the main characters re-affirm their reasons for refusing to give up.
Just remember to include plenty of social constructivism if your villain is irredeemable: mandatory pronouncements of inevitability, demanding the PCs account for all the bodies of Evil Minions they've stepped over while dismissing the villain's own innocent death toll, maybe even telling the PCs that they're the true Evil for foiling the villain's perfect plan.
If you do it right and get the PCs involved, you can build it up to the point where you've given them all the information you wanted, then a player will shout, "That's it, I'm attacking!" or you can just end it with something like, "If you will not surrender, I will be forced to defend myself! Have at you!" and either way, give a call for initiative.

Oh, and also, it might be handy to figure out with the PCs ahead of time whether or not public speaking counts for spell durations. Either PCs will be okay with letting buff timers run out, or they'll prefer to just fight so as not to lose any of theirs.

While you may not be crazy, that kobold trap ship sounds just crazy enough to work! Also, I like the other ones too.

Cheers to you and your group! Did they win? Did they wipe? Any highlights, or did you put those elsewhere?

Bellona - there is a story about incautious use of such glamping spells. So, unless they end up using one of them right under Khalib's nose, they should be okay.
But yeah, spells that let PCs ignore dangerous environments tend to make things easier on the GM as well. I just wish one of my PCs would pick up Life Bubble.

Which references need more explanation? Baba Yaga shows up here, implying a victorious Reign of Winter; also, a major character is a worshipper of a CN Nocticula, making reference to a Best Ending Wrath of the Righteous. I was being ambiguous mainly to avoid putting in direct spoilers for potentially every other AP.

Also, I couldn't find any mention of anyone from the Shackles, nor political unrest in Taldor. If there was a reference to Ruins of Azlant or Giantslayer, I must have missed them since I have neither AP.

Another thing to consider: how will the PCs get the plot hook about Fort Rannick? If they never go to the office of the Lord-Mayor, and don't read Lucrecia's letter, what will nudge them in that direction?
They could always track down Xanesha, but that might send them in the wrong direction, and add even more of a delay on the AP. They could encounter her in a bipedal disguise, either so she can safely meet the interlopers who killed her useful idiots, or to plan a way to get the jump on them. Or possibly to send them off to Turtleback Ferry herself, in the hopes that she'll get to save face when they go after her sister.

Firstly, you'd (well, I'd) have to homebrew a PC-playable gerudo. Medium size, floating +2, maybe +2 to Stealth/Perception/saves against heatstroke or electricity?

For Ganondorf, there are a few ways you could go. Two-weapon anti-paladin of Demise, maybe a shifter, or if you're thinking of Super Smash Bros. how about a hexcrafter magus? He hits you with a Slumber hex, so to all the world he grabs you and you fall down asleep at his feet. Don't forget to Spellstrike a Force Punch with an actual unarmed strike!
Though he'd have a hard time doing Spell Combat with a greatsword...

As for the Triforce of Power, it could give him Power Attack as a bonus feat, count as a slotless Amulet of Mighty Fists, and most likely give him DR 15/Good, so naturally you'd need a Holy Longsword to break through it.

I was actually thinking of homebrewing a LoZ adventure, and put thought into a PC Ganondorf allying with Link, Zelda, and maybe Impa or Groose against a different incarnation of Ganon.

Personally, I'm going to change the wig to a moustache, partially because that gets repeatedly mentioned, and for the opportunity to say, "Then the statue's moustache flies off and tries to kill you."

In one AP, our group was an oread druid who just wanted to Elemental Shape (fire) all day and never look back; a tiefling monk who later picked up levels of rogue and kept charging everyone (and was the only Good one in the group); a human Wrath evoker (the only Lawful one in the group) who was the sole voice of reason but never really did much because we were already "the fightiest group with no full BAB". By the time it was her turn, things were usually well in hand, though she eventually got trigger-happy with the Head Explodey spell; and the group's healer, weirdly beloved by all (even those he didn't magically brainwash), the CE inquisitor of Razmir (actually a magician bard). We accidentally managed to save Westcrown, lie to the Hellknights, and bring Razmirism to the downtrodden.

Now we're doing Serpent's Skull, only this time, the druid's a vanara who loves grapes and storms, the monk/rogue's a yellow kobold who's determined to punch cultists, the wizard's built around buffing his combat familiar while he hides and builds things, and the bard's the rapping ratfolk who's oddly good at intimidation, and we have an alchemist whose homonculus is her stuffed moth. Only this time, nobody's evil, everyone's been befriending most of the people in the AP, and when a fight does break out, one of us solos whoever it is we're fighting.

In both APs, the GM has been flabbergasted on a regular basis.

Yeah, I can sympathize. How it turned out for my group?

We had already found out about the token, and my character (CG abjurer wizard) warned everyone not to touch it, as he'd safely scoop it into the Warding Box. The NE Irorist alchemist/fighter, always on the lookout for ways to perfect himself (I.E. make himself deadlier) picked it up via Sleight of Hand and used its newfound power to hide its presence.
Of course he botched his Will save and shifted to Chaotic. Of course, when we were planning an attack on a villain, he blew another save and decided to harm his friends. After successfully deafening none of his enemies and both of his caster allies (purely by accident), we encountered our target, he clearly used one of the token's abilities, and tried to solo a samurai with his poisoned dagger.

Fortunately, the enemy samurai killed him, then was, himself, dispatched. The cleric suggested revifying him, but we had to leave quickly, my wizard couldn't teleport that much dead weight, we all expected he'd still be CE when raised, we told him not to touch the thing, and the GM had already told the player aloud, "No more Evil characters."

So I disintegrated his corpse, prestidigitated the dust into his cloak, scooped the token into the Warding Box, and teleported us away. The player was understandably peeved at me, but later on, we did manage to find a sovereign dragon who willingly ate (and destroyed!) the Shinobi Fuhonsen. The player was given a retrained Ameiko, who managed to restore the throne while still finding herself and some of her descendants damned to Abaddon due to her willing decision.

So while the artifact itself presented a tricky new challenge to overcome, the problem was that it ended up in the wrong hands.

Oh good, I like all the explanations that've been forthcoming. Can't wait to see the story about him.