Pathfinder Adventure Path #166: Despair on Danger Island (Fists of the Ruby Phoenix 1 of 3)

Announced for April! Product image and description are not final and may be subject to change.

Yay!

--C.

Sweet! I was hoping to see this today! Looks awesome!

Test your might!

Wait, Hao Jin has returned? Well, that should throw things for a loop.

I hope Ameiko attends the tournament as a visiting dignitary. ^^

Tian Xia? Sold :D

Wait, Hao Jin has returned? Well, that should throw things for a loop.

I hope Ameiko attends the tournament as a visiting dignitary. ^^

Well, she is currently visiting Absalom for the Radiant Festival, so she isn't adverse to that sort of thing...

Ooooh, I think I gotta re-read the Agents of Edgewatch modules released, if she's there. :)

Imagine if someday someone actually make a fighting game out of this ?
And after that make huge sucess, there is a crossover game ? Marvel vs Capcom vs Paizo ? *-*

Ooooh, I think I gotta re-read the Agents of Edgewatch modules released, if she's there. :)

It's in the Radiant Festival section of the first module. The section on "Notable Guests." You can't miss her, she's the first one listed! :)

"This adventure also includes new rules to help the Game Master create an entire roster of rival fighting teams"

I was under the impression that the stats for these would already be in the book?

I liked "The Ruby Phoenix Tournament" adventure module for Pathfinder 1E very much, that one included all the stats of the fighters which the PCs were going up against.

I don´t think that 11th level characters should have to qualify for the Tournament, though.

This adventure should be like the original Dragonball anime and introduce lots of colorful characters early on.
It would probably be fun for the players to attend/play other tournaments.

Sold on rules rivals teams.

"This adventure also includes new rules to help the Game Master create an entire roster of rival fighting teams"

I was under the impression that the stats for these would already be in the book?

Yes, the adventure includes all of the stats required for running the featured opponents. The "team builder" is there to help GMs who wish to add teams of their own design to Despair on Danger Island or to their own adventures.

Marco Massoudi wrote:

"This adventure also includes new rules to help the Game Master create an entire roster of rival fighting teams"

I was under the impression that the stats for these would already be in the book?

Yes, the adventure includes all of the stats required for running the featured opponents. The "team builder" is there to help GMs who wish to add teams of their own design to Despair on Danger Island or to their own adventures.

Gotta say... hell yeah.

If the original module came out in January 2012 and the tournament happens every 10 years, aren't we a little bit early?

Eh, just a few months.

Perhaps Golarion has a skip year every 9 years. It’s like rolling an hour ahead for daylight savings, but 365bdays instead.

Or maybe the unexpected return of the Ruby Phoenix herself threw things off a bit?

magnuskn wrote:

Ooooh, I think I gotta re-read the Agents of Edgewatch modules released, if she's there. :)

It's in the Radiant Festival section of the first module. The section on "Notable Guests." You can't miss her, she's the first one listed! :)

Thanks for the info! Alright, if I ever run the AP (gotta convert it back to 1E first...), I'll be very tempted to let the players meet her and Anastasia, probably Eutropia as well, since I'll surely have run War for the Crown before that. It'd be nice for them to see that their adventures brought some positive change.

Since this is for 11th level characters, it looks like people could either start it with PCs generated at level 11, or play onward from Abomination Vaults.

Does this AP include level ups between or enough XP to get them there because if not it would be really fun to include as a sort of filler in between books of other AP's a little "Now for something completely different"

magnuskn wrote:

Ooooh, I think I gotta re-read the Agents of Edgewatch modules released, if she's there. :)

It's in the Radiant Festival section of the first module. The section on "Notable Guests." You can't miss her, she's the first one listed! :)

"A is for Ameiko". :-)

Does this AP include level ups between or enough XP to get them there because if not it would be really fun to include as a sort of filler in between books of other AP's a little "Now for something completely different"

It must, since part 2 is level 15 & part 3 is level 18. Wether part 1 has level up times will be harder to guess, though I still expect so. Part 2 could have a level up after each round/tier in the competition if the competition is set up quarter-finals, semi-finals, finals, etc..

Of course with the build-opposing-teams rules, it sounds easily adaptable to your intermezzi idea. :)

I’m looking forward to the Player’s Guide release, I’m guessing that will be next month?

It could be as late as April, since that is when this first volume is released.

The Player's Guide will be ready in late March or early April.

Will there be advise on how to set it up for a party from AV I am thinking in this?

Thanks

Tom

If the original module came out in January 2012 and the tournament happens every 10 years, aren't we a little bit early?

Or it will be just about 10 years when it sanctioned for PFS :)

So excited for this! Also very curious what the colour scheme will be for these books.

So excited for this! Also very curious what the colour scheme will be for these books.

We shared a preview of this book's cover on Paizo Live last month. You can check it out here! (Links to 32:45 in the video)

The Painted Oryx wrote:

So excited for this! Also very curious what the colour scheme will be for these books.

We shared a preview of this book's cover on Paizo Live last month. You can check it out here! (Links to 32:45 in the video)

Oh wow!! That looks amazing!! Can't wait to get my hands on it!

Does this meld with the previous AP? If so, how would the Campaign Guide work?

No, they've said previously that the two APs are not at all written to merge together. The job of transitioning PCs from AV to FotRF is left entirely to the GM.

Holy heck, LOVING that cover color!

I just hope the player's guide for this one DOES have player backgrounds for characters being created just for this :3

So this is the first AP not to begin at 1st level?

So this is the first AP not to begin at 1st level?

Yes it is.

No, they've said previously that the two APs are not at all written to merge together. The job of transitioning PCs from AV to FotRF is left entirely to the GM.

As I recall, the premise is that you begin this adventure path with 11th level adventurers who have proven themselves in their prior adventures. The Abomination Vaults adventure path is just the only way to get there using only published adventures. Any home campaign that has reached 11th level would surely also qualify.

Of course, this does mean that suggested backgrounds and other character building information would be inappropriate unless the adventure path begins with some sort of opening that provides some minor retraining.

KaiBlob1 wrote:

No, they've said previously that the two APs are not at all written to merge together. The job of transitioning PCs from AV to FotRF is left entirely to the GM.

As I recall, the premise is that you begin this adventure path with 11th level adventurers who have proven themselves in their prior adventures. The Abomination Vaults adventure path is just the only way to get there using only published adventures. Any home campaign that has reached 11th level would surely also qualify.

Of course, this does mean that suggested backgrounds and other character building information would be inappropriate unless the adventure path begins with some sort of opening that provides some minor retraining.

Indeed - my intent is to run Abomination Vaults first, and then have the PCs be selected by the Pathfinder Society to represent them in this year's Tournament. They will have a training montage to retrain their characters for this new AP.

My plan is to have my players build multiple characters each. Then I will tell them which they can play (& not tell them the others will be trying to kill them later. >:) ).

My plan is to have my players build multiple characters each. Then I will tell them which they can play (& not tell them the others will be trying to kill them later. >:) ).

Wow that is so devious but so fun. Although it might give them an edge because they would know the character's strengths and weaknesses. If I was a player I would definitely enjoy this as it could be a big "oh s$+& moment" when they meet them for the first time.

I hope we get the players guide for this soon! Do we havy any word on when that will be?

Curaigh wrote:

My plan is to have my players build multiple characters each. Then I will tell them which they can play (& not tell them the others will be trying to kill them later. >:) ).

Wow that is so devious but so fun. Although it might give them an edge because they would know the character's strengths and weaknesses. If I was a player I would definitely enjoy this as it could be a big "oh s#+# moment" when they meet them for the first time.

That is a part of my hope. Player A tells player B, "use fire". Player B tells C, watch out for the bull rush... It could create a real RP moment, either in terms of party cohesion (eg Avengers Age of Ultron) or the opposite where each character fights their own battle (eg The Avengers).*

@silversarcasm, Aaron's post from above.

The Player's Guide will be ready in late March or early April.

Marco Massoudi wrote:

"This adventure also includes new rules to help the Game Master create an entire roster of rival fighting teams"

I was under the impression that the stats for these would already be in the book?

Yes, the adventure includes all of the stats required for running the featured opponents. The "team builder" is there to help GMs who wish to add teams of their own design to Despair on Danger Island or to their own adventures.

Are there special rules for enemy teams who have synchronized poses?

I just found out about this.

Is it explained why it's a phoenix and not a firebird (fenghuang)?

I just found out about this.

Is it explained why it's a phoenix and not a firebird (fenghuang)?

Probably because this is Golarion and not China.

Dr A Gon wrote:

I just found out about this.

Is it explained why it's a phoenix and not a firebird (fenghuang)?

Probably because this is Golarion and not China.

And the sorceress Hao Jin was called the Ruby Phoenix due to her hair, which turned bright red, whenever she arose from the dead.

Or maybe the unexpected return of the Ruby Phoenix herself threw things off a bit?

Honestly, I don't think it would, but I'm biased because I wrote Hao Jin's entry in Lost Omens: Legends. Hao Jin's kind of unique among the Lost Omens: Legends in that she had more words devoted to her than almost any other character in that book simply because she's intrinsically tied to her tapestry. When I wrote Hao Jin's article, I had to read through about a half-dozen scenarios, the Ruby Phoenix Tournament module, and a few articles scattered throughout a bunch of different Campaign Setting Guides, Player Companions, and so on.

When I finished all my research (especially her content in Season 10), I came to this realization: Hao Jin only really established the tournament as a way to ensure she had a positive legacy, but when she returned to Golarion she realized that hosting a Dragonball Z-style match wasn't really enough to undo the fact that she effectively stole cultural treasures and locked them away in her own private museum for over 300 years. So a lot of what you see Hao Jin doing is like a form of repentance, giving back things she took and working to actually build herself a newer, better legacy.

I personally think that keeping the tradition of the Ruby Phoenix Tournament, which is now over 300 years old, makes perfect sense for her from this regard. First, why would she want to rob Goka of a time-honored tradition if returning traditions to people is sort of her motivating operation now, and second, what better way to build your legacy than to preside over the fighting tournament that bares your name?

I suppose we'll see soon enough whether or not I'm right, though. ;)

The Player’s Guide should be any day now, right?

I imagine it got pushed out a week or two, to make it closer to when things start getting shipped out.