Numeria's capital city of Starfall sprawls in the shadow of the region's most infamous ruin, Silver Mount. Here, the sadistic Technic League and the Black Sovereign rule the land and control access to incredible and dangerous technological wonders, including the mysterious Silver Mount itself. Somewhere deep within that ruined starship, the greatest of the Iron Gods is rising to power. But before the heroes of Numeria can oppose it, they must contend with the Technic League and the Black Sovereign, for these oppressive rulers control access to the legendary site. Will the technological wonders gathered from across Numeria and the clues gleaned from an ancient android oracle be enough for the heroes to prevail, or will they be crushed under the Technic League's metal boot?
"Palace of Fallen Stars," a Pathfinder adventure for 13th-level characters, by Tim Hitchcock.
A look behind the walls of Starfall, Numeria's dangerous capital city, by Tim Hitchcock.
A study of the nihilistic faith of Zyphus, god of accidental death, by Sean K Reynolds.
Devotion and danger in the Pathfinder's Journal, by Amber E. Scott.
Four new monsters, by Benjamin Bruck, Tim Hitchcock, Sean K Reynolds, and Larry Wilhelm
Each monthly full-color softcover Pathfinder Adventure Path volume contains an in-depth adventure scenario, stats for several new monsters, and support articles meant to give Game Masters additional material to expand their campaign. Pathfinder Adventure Path volumes use the Open Game License and work with both the Pathfinder RPG and the world's oldest fantasy RPG.
ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-711-6
"Palace of Fallen Stars" is sanctioned for use in Pathfinder Society Organized Play. The rules for running this Adventure Path and Chronicle sheet are available as a free download (874 KB zip/PDF).
Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:
Like Lords of Rust and Valley of the Brain Collectors before it, Palace of Fallen Stars is very much a sandbox adventure. How things play out is almost entirely dependent on the actions of the PCs, from the order of events, to their results, to which NPCs live and which die. It's even technically possible to bypass this adventure and jump to the sixth one before coming back and completing this one (albeit, that way would likely be considerably deadlier). The text does a good job of accounting for the many different possibilities and for how NPCs might react, while never forcing any particular path. All in all, it makes for a very good adventure, one that's going to be very different for every group that plays it.
This book is good. You get to Starfall, you get to do stuff in Starfall, and then you do stuff in a building in Starfall which is totally not named on the cover of the book. This is quality stuff. I just wish they'd taken that first bit, the stuff in Starfall, and made it its own book, cutting either Scrapwall or the Valley or, better yet, all the filler crap in both. Starfall is where the action is, it's where we want to be, and we just don't get to spend enough time in it. :(
This adventure was a long time coming for some of my players. Those with grudges against the Technic League will finally get their chance to strike back in the heart of Numeria's corruptions and depredations.
Starfall offers some truly titanic foes to overcome, but you aren't without friends to make!
This is an excellently made adventure for mid level characters, and offers some cathartic moments for enemies of the League or the Black Sovereign.
Short Version: Fight the Technic League at its source.
There's something magical about AP issues that tackle major elements of the setting. The Black Sovereign, the Technic League, and the city of Starfall are things we've known about for a long time, so including them in this playground is really cool.
As someone who cares less about Golarion, this might slip to a 4, but it's still an interesting open adventure with a lot of ways to reach your goals and some great opportunities for roleplaying to take the front seat.
If you've been playing this AP since part one I hope you haven't gotten sick of robots because there are a ton of them in here. There is a lot to see and do in Starfall but you will see a lot of weirdness as well. Not as much alien as you encountered with the Dominion but things are not getting to normal any time soon if it ever does.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber
Nezzmith wrote:
I am so jealous, my order is still pending!
What kinds of new items are featured?
Whats the Zyphus Obedience?
Items...
Azonite Pellets (give bonus to saves vs. Radiation & if you take five at once they cure all Strength damage from Radiation)
Beam Cannon (kind of a Bazooka version of previous energy rifles)
Implant Mesh (if you add an implant mesh to a cybernetic augmentation before implanting the augmentation, the augmentation doesn't count against the number you can have in a particular location. It does count for other purposes however.)
Memory Facets (three more of these, one improves Intelligence & gives a few other bonuses, one improves Charisma & gives other bonuses & one improves the ability to deal with deception & trickery.)
Starfall Spade (another tech/magic weapon, similar to the Null blade found in the Technology Guide. On a successful melee attack it adds a small amount of plasma damage to the normal weapon damage dealt.)
Zyphus Obedience...:
Obedience: Spend an hour sitting on the grave of someone who suffered an accidental death. You must reflect on how chance has wronged you and vocally reject the influence of any deity associated with these wrongs. If no suitable grave exists, spend an hour telling strangers how their religious beliefs and hopes for a just afterlife are folly and of no consequence. Alternatively, you can write this screed and post it in a public place within a settlement. If you’re away from civilization, you can instead spend an hour sabotaging a path, bridge, tool, or other device so that it’s dangerous for the next person who uses it. You gain a +4 profane bonus on Craft (traps) or Disable Device checks, chosen when you complete the obedience.
Juggernaut Robot - CR15, gargantuan, 2 integrated laser rifles, "Atomizer" eye ray attack (1/3 rnds), can charge its fists to make electricity slam attacks, can emit an EMP 1/day that damages robots/electronics, has a force field, can see invisible.
This adventure? It looks incredible. I've only skimmed through it, but it kind of blew me away. In short...
Spoiler:
It looks like the PCs get to bust down the palace doors and kick Kevoth-Kul right in his Little Sovereigns, then murder every last Technic Leaguer except for one who's kinda-sorta not evil.
So, any awesome melee weapons in this one? Kevoth-Kul got a magic or techno weapon?
What about Ozmyn Zydow?
Spoiler:
Kevoth-Kul carries a +3 adamantine furious greatsword and a +1 returning throwing axe.
Ozmyn Zaidow uses a null blade.
There's also a weapon called a starfall spade, which is a +1/+1 monk's spade. It holds 10 charges and consumes 1 charge to deal plasma damage (1 fire, 1 electricity) on a hit. The user can also spend all 10 charges to fire a 40' ranged touch plasma beam (4d6 damage, half fire/half electricity).
So, how exactly is the Black Soveirgn himself dealt with? Is he a straight antagonist, can he ally with the PC's, or at least be persuaded out of fighting, etc..?
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Blackfingers wrote:
So, how exactly is the Black Soveirgn himself dealt with? Is he a straight antagonist, can he ally with the PC's, or at least be persuaded out of fighting, etc..?
There are options.
Spoiler:
He is world weary, and unhappy with his current lot, to the point where he would welcome death if he loses a fair fight. You can beat him in a mass battle, or you can have someone face him one on one (either a PC or his consort), or you can cure him of his addiction. That is the most difficult option, but the most rewarding as it makes him an ally against the Technic League.
This AP sounds like the area is more than a little like the old Dr. Who episode "The Face of Evil." Not everything, but the tribe and technicians, crashed ship, etc.
I have not purchased or read this AP. Am I totally off the mark?
If it's a case of primitives messing with advanced technology, then yes. Granted, some of those primitives are way ahead of the others in understanding the tech, and there are AIs around to help/hinder the party. And some of the tech is so old that it's wearing out.
Known inspiration sources: Expedition to the Barrier Peaks (1e module), Thunder Cats cartoon series, and He-Man/Masters of the Universe cartoon series, Gamma World (/Metamorphosis Alpha) game. And a lot more.
Discipline- Promotes disciplined, orderly behavior and thought. It gives +2 INT and lets the AI bolster nearby robots, boosting attack, damage, and Will saves.
Entropy- Gives the AI heightened understanding of chaos theory and probability. It gives +2 CHA and gives it a 3/day roll-twice-and-take-either.
Guile- It makes the AI better at being deceptive. It gives +3 Bluff, lets it roll twice on Sense Motive, and gives it Improved and Greater Improved Feint.
Am I missing something, or do they not give any info on what to do with Cassandalee. VotBC said that this book would give options for the PCs to help stabilize her mind and determine her path, but I can't find information on that at all.
While I'm sure it won't, but will future deity write-ups include the Obediences found in Inner Gods?
Would love some for Zyphus!
Yes. We're including all that info for the deities in the articles going forward, starting with Brigh in the 2nd Iron Gods installment.
Good news! I hope we get some info on Kurgess (God of Competition) soon, I'm fond of the idea of playing a Brawler who becomes an Evangelist of Kurgess.
For that matter, just what can be revealed here of the secrets of Zyphus that we get in this book?
Am I missing something, or do they not give any info on what to do with Cassandalee. VotBC said that this book would give options for the PCs to help stabilize her mind and determine her path, but I can't find information on that at all.
Alas... that had to go away, on account of the adventure itself almost bursting its bonds on what it was trying to cover. I thought I'd cut that mention about stabilizing her mind in Brain Collectors, but one apparently slipped through. Sorry about that! There's nothing more to post or reveal about it, in any event, since I never actually created the stabilization rules since it became apparent in part 5 that there wasn't going to be room for them.
I'm writing this post a little too late but i need to say that the beam canon is one of the most awsome technological weapon you have created up to date!!! I LOVE IT!!!
I'm writing this post a little too late but i need to say that the beam canon is one of the most awsome technological weapon you have created up to date!!! I LOVE IT!!!
Thanks! It was originally gonna be in the Tech Guide; it's part of the pistol/rifle/canon arc for all those weapons, after all, but I had to cut it for word count. It (and several others) are things that I was able to sneak into the new item section for the various adventures, so I'm glad folks like it!
I'm preparing to run Iron Gods for my group, and I was reading the Rumor tables in the forward, and it looks like you guys should have an editor at least give a cursory glance to them, since you skipped some numbers on the rumor tables. Table 2 skips from 80 to 86, while table 3, for the technic league, goes from 25 to 41.
Are GMs encouraged to come up with their own rumors for these sections, if it comes up?
I'm preparing to run Iron Gods for my group, and I was reading the Rumor tables in the forward, and it looks like you guys should have an editor at least give a cursory glance to them, since you skipped some numbers on the rumor tables. Table 2 skips from 80 to 86, while table 3, for the technic league, goes from 25 to 41.
Are GMs encouraged to come up with their own rumors for these sections, if it comes up?
Do what works best for your own game. Either make up new rumors, reroll, or just take the rumor that you rolled closest to. Your players will never know the difference.
And yes, as it turns out, we do have editors give "at least a cursory glance" to the words we publish, but mistakes slip through now and then.