Pathfinder Adventure Path #172: Secrets of the Temple-City (Strength of Thousands 4 of 6)

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

oooooh! Nice! Going against Walkena! That will be harsh!

Walkena was CR 16 so level 16 creature as boss in this part of adventure makes sense :O

Beyond excited for this!! Considering playing an Old Sun God worshipping refugee from Mzali in this campaign, having have to return home and confront the evil at the heart of it will be cathartic haha

A comprehensive look at Walkena, the evil child mummy-god
of Mzali! Sweet! I can't wait!

I really hope the “diplomatic” part of this holds true; would love to see more support for nonviolent play!

I take "diplomatic" as do not start an open war with Walkena. And I think he is there for a long time. No sense in getting rid of a villain that has so much potential for further stories.

Much like Cheliax IMO. Too good to waste.

I take "diplomatic" as do not start an open war with Walkena. And I think he is there for a long time. No sense in getting rid of a villain that has so much potential for further stories.

Much like Cheliax IMO. Too good to waste.

Bringing back the old gods would be a fun AP. Mwangi Hell’s Rebels, kinda!

Given that LO: Mwangi Expanse has Walkena as an actual, fully-divine god, I'm not convinced "punch Walkena in the face" is even going to be on the table for this adventure.

Given that LO: Mwangi Expanse has Walkena as an actual, fully-divine god, I'm not convinced "punch Walkena in the face" is even going to be on the table for this adventure.

I mean he was both fully divine god in 1e and CR 16 creature.

Those two aren't mutually exclusive xD

it would be interesting for sure but I feel like an "overthrow Walkena" adventure is also prime material for an entire adventure path, there's lots of potential there and if he was CR 16 in 1e that means he might still be possible to defeat in 2e

If he's possible for PCs to defeat, he's not "fully divine".

If he's possible for PCs to defeat, he's not "fully divine".

All form of gods are "divine" whether they are quasi gods or demi gods or whatever. The 1e mythic characters with ability to give cleric spells ARE gods no matter how you categorize them.

"Fully divine" has nothing to do with state of how hard something is to defeat, do note that gods can die.

I think there's a confusion about what exactly "fully divine" means. It could mean "True godhood", which is the state where a being does not have stats that can be meaningfully comprehended by by a mortal being, or it could mean "has the ability to grant spells", in which case any being as low as level 15 could theoretically become a quasidiety and grant spells. Either way, as far as can tell walkena's "divine rank" is not stated in the Mwangi Expanse.

I just read the Mzali chapter of the LO Mwangi Expanse book.

Is it possible for non-Mwangi characters to even play a part in this scenario, considering the extreme xenophobia of Mzali's powers that be and their laws against foreigners ?

If not, it would have been better to just ban PCs of non-Mwangi origins in the AP Player's Guide.

Yes, non-Mwangi characters will be permitted to enter Mzali during this adventure.

I just read the Mzali chapter of the LO Mwangi Expanse book.

Is it possible for non-Mwangi characters to even play a part in this scenario, considering the extreme xenophobia of Mzali's powers that be and their laws against foreigners ?

If not, it would have been better to just ban PCs of non-Mwangi origins in the AP Player's Guide.

Or they could approach the situation maintaining a disguise? Or perhaps approach more as an infiltration type mission?

Yes, non-Mwangi characters will be permitted to enter Mzali during this adventure.

THANK YOU SO MUCH !!!

I have really become enamored of my stupid concept of a foreign exchange student who is a LE Druid of the Uskwood and a faithful (bordering on fanatic) Kuthist. I think things will be extremely interesting.

Worth remembering that this is a /diplomatic/ mission - if Walkena is willing to talk, then things are already outside the norm.

Oh my gods, the cover artwork is so wonderful, the arboreal looks to be delivering one hell of a lecture

Oh my gods, the cover artwork is so wonderful, the arboreal looks to be delivering one hell of a lecture

“Back in my day a forest was full of real trees, not these newfangled saplings with their backward facing baseball caps”

Weird, I'm still seeing the old cover.

Click to view the full sized (and new) cover, if that doesn't work try clearing cookies.

Mzali and Walkena are the big draws here, of course, but it also sounds like we might get some answers about Osibu?

Surely the arboreal and the description of what lies within the village are mere coincidences ;-)

If anyone has this… how is it? I’m super curious about the diplomacy stuff and new character options, but I’m most eager to learn what the Mzali/Walkena part of this volume looks like!

Walkena is beginning to establish relationships with various Mwangi powers, including the city of Kibwe and the the Magaambya. At this point in the adventure, Oyamba decides to send a diplomatic mission to Mzali, and that mission includes all of the PCs. Diplomacy is conducted using a modified form of the influence subsystem on pages 151-153 of the Gamemastery Guide, with numerous downtime activities detailed. Many pages of this AP module are devoted to this diplomacy.

Back in volume 1 of this AP, we were informed that Esi Djana was the daughter of a female Tempest-Sun Mage. Until I saw this volume, I was convinced that Esi's mother was Tahenkot -- but I was wrong about that, wasn't I? That would mean that Esi's mother remains unidentified.

Any Archetypes in this one?

Any Archetypes in this one?

Kind of! There's an expansion to a previously-released archetype from a Lost Omens book that only had a couple of feats in it, gaining a handful more.

Also, vis a vis the diplomacy/Mzali section of the volume, it's pretty neat; basically running around trying to make nice with the Evil rulers of the city so as to help build the foundation for future change. I don't know if I exactly agree with the ideal of incremental, stable change presented as the ultimate goal for the Magaambyan delegation here, but I accept that there's already an active revolutionary group fighting for change in Mzali and it's not us, at least at the moment.

keftiu wrote:

Any Archetypes in this one?

Kind of! There's an expansion to a previously-released archetype from a Lost Omens book that only had a couple of feats in it, gaining a handful more.

** spoiler omitted **

Also, vis a vis the diplomacy/Mzali section of the volume, it's pretty neat; basically running around trying to make nice with the Evil rulers of the city so as to help build the foundation for future change. I don't know if I exactly agree with the ideal of incremental, stable change presented as the ultimate goal for the Magaambyan delegation here, but I accept that there's already an active revolutionary group fighting for change in Mzali and it's not us, at least at the moment.

Hell yeah!

One step closer to a proper Bright Lions adventure/AP someday

obfuscatingDeity wrote:

keftiu wrote:

Any Archetypes in this one?

Kind of! There's an expansion to a previously-released archetype from a Lost Omens book that only had a couple of feats in it, gaining a handful more.

** spoiler omitted **

Also, vis a vis the diplomacy/Mzali section of the volume, it's pretty neat; basically running around trying to make nice with the Evil rulers of the city so as to help build the foundation for future change. I don't know if I exactly agree with the ideal of incremental, stable change presented as the ultimate goal for the Magaambyan delegation here, but I accept that there's already an active revolutionary group fighting for change in Mzali and it's not us, at least at the moment.

Hell yeah!

One step closer to a proper Bright Lions adventure/AP someday

I just did a quick skim of the adventure and... oh, yeah. It isn't promised, but it is implied. I would even say strongly implied.

Well, I'm vibrating now. Thanks for the replies!

Well, I'm vibrating now. Thanks for the replies!

** spoiler omitted **

This depends on how good the Magaambya delegation is at politicking:

keftiu wrote:

Well, I'm vibrating now. Thanks for the replies!

** spoiler omitted **

This depends on how good the Magaambya delegation is at politicking:

** spoiler omitted **

Ok, now that sounds amazing! This adventure path keeps getting better and better.

Looking over a friend’s copy now and I am seriously impressed. I’m only in the first chapter so far, but this seems like one of the strongest AP volumes I’ve ever read. The diplomatic focus is SO fresh; I hope we can see more of it. The art is all killer.

I’m also loving the hints that Mzali definitely has more stories to tell after this.

Looking over a friend’s copy now and I am seriously impressed. I’m only in the first chapter so far, but this seems like one of the strongest AP volumes I’ve ever read. The diplomatic focus is SO fresh; I hope we can see more of it. The art is all killer.

I’m also loving the hints that Mzali definitely has more stories to tell after this.

All I have to say is: please keep reading. I think you will be very pleased with what you might find.

keftiu wrote:

Looking over a friend’s copy now and I am seriously impressed. I’m only in the first chapter so far, but this seems like one of the strongest AP volumes I’ve ever read. The diplomatic focus is SO fresh; I hope we can see more of it. The art is all killer.

I’m also loving the hints that Mzali definitely has more stories to tell after this.

All I have to say is: please keep reading. I think you will be very pleased with what you might find.

Oh, wow.

Wow.

Having finished my read-through: this is my favorite Paizo AP volume, and barring anything catastrophic in books 5 or 6 (which I don't expect), this might be my favorite AP.

This book contains some pretty remarkable shakeups to the setting that I'm really pleased with.

With the union recognized, I have now bought this and left it the glowing review it deserves.

If we do get that Bright Lions AP, I really want one of the titles to be

Anyone else seeing the word Golpogo on the creature art on page 80 of their PDF? Looks like it was copied from the previous volume somehow.

Anyone else seeing the word Golpogo on the creature art on page 80 of their PDF? Looks like it was copied from the previous volume somehow.

Are there errors or omissions in this product information? Got corrections? Let us know at store@paizo.com.

Anyone else seeing the word Golpogo on the creature art on page 80 of their PDF? Looks like it was copied from the previous volume somehow.

Yes, I have the same thing in both my PDF and printed copy. Doesn't bug me, since I extract out the images anyway so it won't have that label, but interesting error.

Will there be additional waves of print copies available? Currently books 3 and 4 are out of stock it looks like, but I've already got 1-2 and would like to buy the rest.

Will there be additional waves of print copies available? Currently books 3 and 4 are out of stock it looks like, but I've already got 1-2 and would like to buy the rest.

We have not initiated any reprints at this time. We typically don't with Adventures Paths. We are reprinting the popular Abomination Vaults as a hardcover compilation. I'll share what we are doing with this AP when I know.