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Foreign invaders - how exciting! This volume sounds like a special treat; the wait for this one’s gonna be tough. The Holomog guide at the back is enough to convince me to grab this one.
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Holomog!
HOLO-MOG! HOLO-MOG! HOLO-MOG!
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Can't wait to see this field!I hear it has statuesque maidens in it.
Eh, that's just a rumour.
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Holomog!
man I hope so, I’ve want d to see more about the place for years!
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Isn't it the place where Asmodeus is a LN goddess ?
I believe that’s gone the way of the Cult of the Dawnflower.
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I'm excited to learn more about Holomog!
I hear it has statuesque maidens in it.
Just don't go placing them on pedestals.
WOW Mod 3 is going to be rockin, might there be some type of mass combat subsystem as well?? (PLEASE!!)
Tom
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I'm really hoping we can sneak a peak at who Holomog's other neighbors are. A map would make me jump for joy.
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...Thinking back to Hell's Vengeance, another evil AP where I wanted to play as the antagonists waaay more than I wanted to play the actual AP :(
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...Thinking back to Hell's Vengeance, another evil AP where I wanted to play as the antagonists waaay more than I wanted to play the actual AP :(
This AP is giving you info on Holomog and on all sorts of nasty folks aligned with the state of Geb - it might not be all assembled for you, but Blood Lords definitely should give you a lot of tools you’d need to tell a story about Holomog beating up on those nasty undead.
Holomog is kind of interesting in that, while not evil, is a nation suggested to be filled with political intrigue, expansionist warmongering, chaos cults, and a millenia long exposure to the Outer Planes (likely the Maelstrom) that has effected the nation as a whole. What's interesting is that it kind of falls back on the recent topic of "is chaos evil". Again, while not maybe necessarily the case here, Holomog's suggested proclivity towards chaos defiently seems destructive and anti-productive to neighboring nations. Geb, for its part, isn't actively committing atrocities. It's literally a nation attempting to give a place to undead. And while this does include evil acts, Geb and its people aren't attempting to attack any nations or force their agenda outside of their borders; not unlike a certain Whispering Tyrant. And Holmog, for its part, isn't encroaching upon Geb because they see undeath as a scourge needing to be destroyed (at least, there is not indi ation of such ideals); they are seemingly doing so simply because they want to take Gebs land for themselves. So it's kind of a situation of the (mostly) "passive evil" of Geb and the "active chaos" or Holomog; which is a fascinating conundrum indeed.
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Geb, for its part, isn't actively committing atrocities.
This is false. Anuli, the city closest to Geb is also in recovery after Geb randomly magically exploded half of the city.
they are seemingly doing so simply because they want to take Gebs land for themselves.
This is false. Holomog is literally stated in Distant Shores to have a maximum size as per the celestial contract that formed it. It, by divine mandate, CANNOT take more land for itself.
And despite that, this is all mischaracterization of nation as being all like Anuli, the capital of a region repeatedly described as the most unruly and militant, specifically because it has a hostile border with Geb.
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Was the explosion in Anuli confirmed to be Geb’s fault? I thought that was just a leading theory, but that it was unsolved.
EDIT: Peeking at Distant Shores, Geb’s involvement in the Paroxsys is always presented as a hypothetical, one that folk think is the likely answer, but it’s not official or definitive. Part of me wonders if it might not have been a a false flag by agents of Nex; they’d certainly have the requisite knowhow.
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Was the explosion in Anuli confirmed to be Geb’s fault? I thought that was just a leading theory, but that it was unsolved.
EDIT: Peeking at Distant Shores, Geb’s involvement in the Paroxsys is always presented as a hypothetical, one that folk think is the likely answer, but it’s not official or definitive. Part of me wonders if it might not have been a a false flag by agents of Nex; they’d certainly have the requisite knowhow.
A fair point! I had misremembered that detail. Thank you.
That is fair enough. But my point is that Holomog is actively gearing toward an invasion of Geb, while Geb as a nation (generally) is just kind of trying to exist. From that stand point, it will be interesting dynamic here between the two nations; because under the circumstances, Holomog certainly doesn't strike me as being the "good guys" here.
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That is fair enough. But my point is that Holomog is actively gearing toward an invasion of Geb, while Geb as a nation (generally) is just kind of trying to exist. From that stand point, it will be interesting dynamic here between the two nations; because under the circumstances, Holomog certainly doesn't strike me as being the "good guys" here.
I mean, Geb’s most pleasant status quo still involves keeping massive larders of sentient humanoids as food without any rights - just because they aren’t being belligerent currently doesn’t mean they’re squeaky-clean.
Until we have this book (and the details it’ll give), there’s not much point arguing over how justified any Holomog-based aggression might be.
EDIT: Heck, the baddies in this one might not even be acting with official sanction!
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Either way, I hope the Petrified Maidens from the get stats here.
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Isn't it the place where Asmodeus is a LN goddess ?I believe that’s gone the way of the Cult of the Dawnflower.More like the way of the Asmodean paladin; never existed.
The Cult of the Dawnflower is in canon, it's just disbanded by Sarenrae herself.
I believe this /is/ the place where the Asmodean Paladins popped up; the idea was that Asmodeus has helped write the contract with the celestials, and so had a more benevolent place in the local mythology.
I actually liked it a lot, but I know it drove some of the writing team crazy.
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Isn't it the place where Asmodeus is a LN goddess ?I believe that’s gone the way of the Cult of the Dawnflower.More like the way of the Asmodean paladin; never existed.
The Cult of the Dawnflower is in canon, it's just disbanded by Sarenrae herself.
I believe this /is/ the place where the Asmodean Paladins popped up; the idea was that Asmodeus has helped write the contract with the celestials, and so had a more benevolent place in the local mythology.
I actually liked it a lot, but I know it drove some of the writing team crazy.
Distant Shores did include the faith trait Pact Servant, which did let you play a LG worshipper of Asmodeus, but the idea of a paladin follower of Asmodeus appeared in the Asmodeus article of Mother of Flies, the fifth book of the Council of Thieves AP, published in 2010.
Before my time, but it seemed like a flawed idea. Really diminished the Evil part of Asmodeus' Lawful Evil.
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I’m personally very fond of settings where gods are seen as multifaceted and their faiths very between regions and cultures, but it seems like the folks steering the Pathfinder ship prefer their gods as immutable monoliths - they are what they are, until they completely change.
It’s not my preference, but it’s how they seem to want it.
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For Asmodeus, I always liked the idea that he had champions who called themselves paladins -- but mechanically, of course, they were anything but that.
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From getting into the first book of this AP, Geb is definitely an EVIL nation. You can approach this from a campy light-hearted direction if you want (I probably will) but there should be no mistaking anything about Geb as a nation or a leader that leads towards "refuge for the poor, misunderstood undead." I am guessing, if anything, the potential incursion of Holomog armies will be factions within Holomog pushing for war while others still sue for an unease and uncomfortable peace.
From getting into the first book of this AP, Geb is definitely an EVIL nation. You can approach this from a campy light-hearted direction if you want (I probably will) but there should be no mistaking anything about Geb as a nation or a leader that leads towards "refuge for the poor, misunderstood undead." I am guessing, if anything, the potential incursion of Holomog armies will be factions within Holomog pushing for war while others still sue for an unease and uncomfortable peace.
My uninformed guess at this is that it's a radical faction from Holomog acting without official sanction, likely orchestrated by Gebbite conspirators. From what we know of the Holoma, they aren't the crusading type.
I'm still convinced the big explosion in Anuli was a false flag done by Nexian mages.
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From getting into the first book of this AP, Geb is definitely an EVIL nation. You can approach this from a campy light-hearted direction if you want (I probably will) but there should be no mistaking anything about Geb as a nation or a leader that leads towards "refuge for the poor, misunderstood undead." I am guessing, if anything, the potential incursion of Holomog armies will be factions within Holomog pushing for war while others still sue for an unease and uncomfortable peace.My uninformed guess at this is that it's a radical faction from Holomog acting without official sanction, likely orchestrated by Gebbite conspirators. From what we know of the Holoma, they aren't the crusading type.
I'm still convinced the big explosion in Anuli was a false flag done by Nexian mages.
From what I can gather,
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Giddy that this one is coming along so soon! Fingers crossed for a map that shows us the full extent of Holomog - and if we're really lucky, their neighbors.
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Giddy that this one is coming along so soon! Fingers crossed for a map that shows us the full extent of Holomog - and if we're really lucky, their neighbors.
There is indeed a map!
Also, this book is referencing Impossible Lands for statblocks on an enemy type. Don't usually run APs until I have all the issues anyway, but good to know.
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Giddy that this one is coming along so soon! Fingers crossed for a map that shows us the full extent of Holomog - and if we're really lucky, their neighbors.There is indeed a map! ** spoiler omitted **
*Stares at the Spoilers and starts vibrating*
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Giddy that this one is coming along so soon! Fingers crossed for a map that shows us the full extent of Holomog - and if we're really lucky, their neighbors.There is indeed a map! ** spoiler omitted **
I mean, player's guide said that in this campaign "common" is actually Osirion, so presumably that language?
Sidenote, so is this the book where you fight good aligned foes or just more neutral and evil folks? :O
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Sidenote, so is this the book where you fight good aligned foes or just more neutral and evil folks? :OGiddy that this one is coming along so soon! Fingers crossed for a map that shows us the full extent of Holomog - and if we're really lucky, their neighbors.There is indeed a map! ** spoiler omitted **
Mostly the latter.
Always curious to hear about new spells in the toolkit!
Any standouts? General theme?
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Hmm I guess since this isn't officially evil ap like hell's vengeance was, there aren't lot of if any straight up good aligned foes
Yeah, I think this is why the developers said it was possible to play a lawful good character in this AP. At the core of Blood Lords, you’re still stopping bad people from doing bad things, very different from Hell’s Vengeance. It’s just that you’re working in service of an evil nation.
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Hmm I guess since this isn't officially evil ap like hell's vengeance was, there aren't lot of if any straight up good aligned foes
Always curious to hear about new spells in the toolkit!
Any standouts? General theme?
Creative Director
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On page 32 there is a somewhat important monster who's stats are in Lost Omens: Impossible Lands (a book not released yet), and not anywhere in this book. Am I missing something or is that a accidental oversight?
Oops... not sure how that slipped through. Normally when we do this, we'll include the full stat block for something like this. Sorry about that!
I'll ask around here to find out if there's a way we can get these stats posted, or if it's just an unfortunate case of having to wait for the book to come out.
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Creative Director
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Okay, the easiest way to make up for this error is to just copy/paste the stats from the upcoming Impossible Lands book here. Sorry for the error, all! Normally we don't do short stat blocks for monsters not from hardcover books we know are out and available. This one happened as a result of a miscommunication. ANYWAY. Here's the stats, spoilered to prevent PCs from being all cheaty! ;-)
RARE; N; MEDIUM; UNDEAD
Perception +11, darkvision
Languages Celestial, Drooni (can’t speak)
Skills Athletics+17, Deception+14, Intimidation+14, Stealth +12
Str +5, Dex +2, Con +2, Int +0, Wis +1, Cha +4
Items scimitar
AC 24; Fort +17, Ref +11, Will +11
HP 75, negative healing, reconstitution, stone flesh; Immunities death effects, disease, paralyzed, poison, unconscious; Resistances physical 5 (except adamantine)
Reconstitution Until Geb’s curse is broken, any stone sister who’s destroyed gradually reforms in her original shape. A stone sister who’s reduced to 0 Hit Points will reform after 24 hours, while one reduced to rubble or dust might take a year or more to reform. Stone sisters who are removed from the Field of Maidens always attempt to return to it when they reconstitute.
Stone Flesh A stone sister is made of a bizarre stone that never stops bleeding from numerous cracks along her skin. She reacts to certain spells in unique ways, as listed below.
• Spells that alter earth, such as shape stone, either deal 3d10 points of damage or heal 3d10 Hit Points, as decided by the caster. If the spell is specifically harmful or beneficial to earth and stone, the GM might decide it can only harm the stone sister, or only heal her.
• Stone to flesh doesn’t revert a stone sister to flesh and blood but instead weakens her. She loses her resistance to physical damage for 1 minute. If she’s reduced to 0 Hit Points during this time, she’s permanently destroyed and can’t reform.
Attack of Opportunity [reaction]
Speed 25 feet
Melee [one-action] scimitar +17 (earth, forceful, sweep), Damage 1d6+8 slashing plus 1d6 bludgeoning and curse of stone
Melee [one-action] fist +17 (agile, earth), Damage 2d6+8 bludgeoning plus curse of stone
Curse of Stone (curse) The creature must succeed at a DC 21 Fortitude save or become clumsy 2 (clumsy 3 on a critical failure) and gain a +1 status bonus to AC as their skin hardens to stone. The clumsy condition can be temporarily relieved for 24 hours by casting stone to flesh on the cursed creature but can’t be removed or reduced by any other means short of removing the curse; during this time, the cursed creature also no longer receives the status bonus to AC.
Statue [one-action] (concentrate) Until the next time she acts, the stone sister appears to be a statue. She has an automatic result of 34 on Deception checks and DCs to pass as a statue. Since the Field of Maidens is filled with thousands of statues just like her, most of which aren’t stone sisters, it’s incredibly difficult to recognize her true nature.
You’re a real one, James!
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Hmm I guess since this isn't officially evil ap like hell's vengeance was, there aren't lot of if any straight up good aligned foes** spoiler omitted **
** spoiler omitted **Always curious to hear about new spells in the toolkit!
Any standouts? General theme?
Wow, some very fun sounding additions. Thanks for sharing!
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The Holomog stuff rocks. I'm smitten.
So nice to see Good get to be interesting and weird for once.
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I like that art of an Archon Wheel on page 74. BE NOT AFRAID!