Pathfinder Adventure Path #190: The Choosing (Stolen Fate 1 of 3)

3.70/5 (based on 9 ratings)
Pathfinder Adventure Path #190: The Choosing (Stolen Fate 1 of 3)

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A vision of a strange shop in the Grand Bazaar of Absalom accompanies the unexpected arrival of powerful magic cards that mysteriously manifest in the possession of a band of adventurers. But when an investigation of this vision reveals murder, treachery, and fiendish machinations, the adventurers are thrown into a race to control the very future of all things to come, tied to the ubiquitous fortune-telling cards known as the Harrow! Who has chosen your characters for this deadly quest, and what might become of your destinies should you fail?

The Choosing is a Pathfinder adventure for four 11th-level characters. This adventure begins the Stolen Fate Adventure Path, a three-part monthly campaign in which a group of adventurers race against time to gather the scattered parts of a powerful deck of magical fortune-telling cards. This adventure also includes a detailed look at a brand new demiplane tied to the Harrow deck, new rules options to explore these magical cards, and several new monsters ready to test your characters' mettle!

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.

Written by: Ron Lundeen

ISBN-13: 978-1-64078-511-3

The Stolen Fate Adventure Path is sanctioned for use in Pathfinder Society Organized Play. The rules for running this Adventure Path and Chronicle Sheets are available as a free download (774 KB PDF).

Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:

Fantasy Grounds Virtual Tabletop
Foundry Virtual Tabletop
Pathfinder Nexus on Demiplane
Roll20 Virtual Tabletop
Archives of Nethys

Note: This product is part of the Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscription.

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5/5


2/5

Impressions before running the adventure which may still take several months to get to. Consider it a WIP review

Background. There was a lot of inconsistencies trying to explain the factions and the characters. The Band of Blades faction was not mentioned in the campaign background and only dropped in Chapter 1 without context. It was a very frustrating experience to ctrl+f throughout the .pdf, going back and forth to piece together what the heck is going on.

Chapter 1. I like the idea of the investigation, but do not like the influence subsystem at all. It seems to grind gameplay to a halt, and I hate systems that feel like rolling dice for the sake of rolling dice and this was one of them. It makes little narrative sense to halt all progress and action for conversational dice rolls where you could potentially spend hours or days harassing three NPC's for information you need. I probably would go with a node-based design to obtain the three clues needed to solve the mystery.

Chapter 2. I love the idea of portal fantasies like Kingdom Hearts and Tsubasa Chronicles where you get sent to different worlds, it is peak adventure. However, in many of the Harrowing Realm adventures it feels like the players are participating in very minor parts to larger narratives. I hated reading "this is beyond the scope of this adventure", or some quests even invalidating the players' efforts like certain NPC's not needing the key that the players were sent to retrieve. I also disliked how the adventures do not reflect the deeper meaning of the Harrow cards, some being only superficially related to the card’s imagery. Too many things are hand-waved for my liking, especially with how willing some NPC’s part with the Harrow Cards that saved their lives.

I love the concept of the adventure path, but I feel like I may have to majorly rip this apart to get something more cohesive and have more narrative significance.

Chapter 3. There is a pretty significant NPC where their fate is left up to the GM and PCs without any suggestions on what role they could serve in assisting the PCs if they remain an ally. Despite being a pretty significant character, they're completely dropped never to be seen in the next two books. The final encounter feels strange, as the boss hasn't been very much directly involved nor do any of the other NPC's talk about him much. The build up seems to come almost exclusively in background note for the GM, with very little, if at all, present in the actual content the players will see.




5/5




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Paizo Employee Sales & eCommerce Assistant

1 person marked this as a favorite.

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


Very excited for the later volumes of this one! And the Nagaji on the temporary cover is exciting…


Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, Starfinder Society Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

I'm pretty exited for this one


Starfinder Superscriber

Was this Ron Lundeen's last work for Paizo?

Paizo Employee Director of Game Development

7 people marked this as a favorite.

This is the most recent adventure he's written.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Is this gonna go to 20? Cause defining fate seems like a 20-level threat.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Sweet. Looking forward to the new harrow deck!

Paizo Employee Contributor-Subscriber-Venture Lieutenant

2 people marked this as a favorite.

Woot! Cards!


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Fingers crossed for a Harrower archetype at some point in the AP!


Question here:
Is hallower archetype available at level 6 or before?
If so, can primal caster get one?

And will AP have Harrow deck aid or just replacement rule?

Grand Archive

Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

HUZZAH!
I'm really excited for this! :D


Evan Tarlton wrote:
Fingers crossed for a Harrower archetype at some point in the AP!

Huh? Was that said by Ron Lundeen?

But if complete bonus is Harrower archetype... that's okay.


3 people marked this as a favorite.
VerBeeker wrote:
Is this gonna go to 20? Cause defining fate seems like a 20-level threat.

It’s an 11-20 three volume, like Fists of the Ruby Phoenix, as announced at Gen Con. Paizo seems to have settled into a pattern of 2 three volume APs in the front half of the year and a six volume one in the back half, given that they’ve followed that mold for three years straight now.


Laclale♪ wrote:

Question here:

Is hallower archetype available at level 6 or before?
If so, can primal caster get one?

And will AP have Harrow deck aid or just replacement rule?

I believe they mentioned a new physical Harrow deck for April at Gen Con. No word of any Harrower archetype.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

32 people marked this as a favorite.

I'm still working out the details, so NO PROMISES, but if all goes according to plan... the Harrower archetype will appear in Stolen Fate's Player's Guide. As an archetype, it makes sense that a Harrow-themed PC would have taken the Harrower Dedication feat several levels before 11th, when Stolen Fate begins, so having this as an option for players to look over and consider in the context of character creation makes sense to me. There'll also be some rules to help GMs utilize the Harrow deck in a sort of variant Hero Point mechanic that I've used for several home games over the past decade that I'm eager to share with the world.

(There's no room in the adventure itself for the archetype, alas; these three adventures are BURSTING AT THE SEAMS already with content!)

At least, that's my hope for the Stolen Fate Player's Guide at this point!

And yes, this Adventure Path will go to 20th level, and it's going to have some pretty over the top final stuff going on by the end! This is the first Adventure Path I've developed since Age of Ashes, so I'm really excited to get back into "modern Pathfinder" and start guiding some storylines forward!

Paizo Employee Creative Director

13 people marked this as a favorite.
Laclale♪ wrote:

Question here:

Is hallower archetype available at level 6 or before?
If so, can primal caster get one?

And will AP have Harrow deck aid or just replacement rule?

As it currently stands, and as I hope to keep it, the Harrower Devotion feat is a Level 2 feat. It's mostly aimed at Occultism, but its magic stuff works fine with any of the magical traditions—arcane, divine, occult, or primal.

The Harrow deck is going to be an integral part of this campaign, more so than any other Harrow-themed adventure or adventure path we've ever done.


James Jacobs wrote:

I'm still working out the details, so NO PROMISES, but if all goes according to plan... the Harrower archetype will appear in Stolen Fate's Player's Guide. *snip* There'll also be some rules to help GMs utilize the Harrow deck in a sort of variant Hero Point mechanic that I've used for several home games over the past decade that I'm eager to share with the world.

(There's no room in the adventure itself for the archetype, alas; these three adventures are BURSTING AT THE SEAMS already with content!)

At least, that's my hope for the Stolen Fate Player's Guide at this point!

Better if in Player's Guide! And for sort of variant Hero Point mechanic, still use Hero point token or card replaces token?


5 people marked this as a favorite.
James Jacobs wrote:
And yes, this Adventure Path will go to 20th level, and it's going to have some pretty over the top final stuff going on by the end! This is the first Adventure Path I've developed since Age of Ashes, so I'm really excited to get back into "modern Pathfinder" and start guiding some storylines forward!

Welcome back - and congrats on Kingmaker 2e crossing the finish line this week! I’m super stoked to see another 11-20 AP, and one that pairs so nicely with the one coming out right before it. The hints given for Stolen Fate at Gen Con have me very excited for where this one goes.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

5 people marked this as a favorite.
Laclale♪ wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:

I'm still working out the details, so NO PROMISES, but if all goes according to plan... the Harrower archetype will appear in Stolen Fate's Player's Guide. *snip* There'll also be some rules to help GMs utilize the Harrow deck in a sort of variant Hero Point mechanic that I've used for several home games over the past decade that I'm eager to share with the world.

(There's no room in the adventure itself for the archetype, alas; these three adventures are BURSTING AT THE SEAMS already with content!)

At least, that's my hope for the Stolen Fate Player's Guide at this point!

Better if in Player's Guide! And for sort of variant Hero Point mechanic, still use Hero point token or card replaces token?

If you use this optional Harrow point mechanic, it's additive. It doesn't replace the built-in-to-the-rules Hero Points.

Liberty's Edge

2 people marked this as a favorite.

Are those Norn on the cover? It's probably still placeholder art, but that's very interesting nonetheless. Looking forward to both this and Gatewalkers a great deal - and having the Harrower archetype in the Player's Guide sounds awesome!


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:

I'm still working out the details, so NO PROMISES, but if all goes according to plan... the Harrower archetype will appear in Stolen Fate's Player's Guide. As an archetype, it makes sense that a Harrow-themed PC would have taken the Harrower Dedication feat several levels before 11th, when Stolen Fate begins, so having this as an option for players to look over and consider in the context of character creation makes sense to me. There'll also be some rules to help GMs utilize the Harrow deck in a sort of variant Hero Point mechanic that I've used for several home games over the past decade that I'm eager to share with the world.

(There's no room in the adventure itself for the archetype, alas; these three adventures are BURSTING AT THE SEAMS already with content!)

At least, that's my hope for the Stolen Fate Player's Guide at this point!

And yes, this Adventure Path will go to 20th level, and it's going to have some pretty over the top final stuff going on by the end! This is the first Adventure Path I've developed since Age of Ashes, so I'm really excited to get back into "modern Pathfinder" and start guiding some storylines forward!

This sounds so freaking cool.


2 people marked this as a favorite.

I'm so glad to see another high level adventure. Ruby Phoenix is great, and one of the reasons is that since you get to start at 11, you're already big important people and you can do absolutely any wild backstory you can think of.

With the Harrow worked in here too, it sounds really interesting.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

10 people marked this as a favorite.
Arcaian wrote:
Are those Norn on the cover? It's probably still placeholder art, but that's very interesting nonetheless. Looking forward to both this and Gatewalkers a great deal - and having the Harrower archetype in the Player's Guide sounds awesome!

It's for absolute sure placeholder art. There ARE norns in this Adventure Path, but they don't get their actual cover shout until the third book.

Second Seekers (Jadnura)

2 people marked this as a favorite.

This Lundeen guy sure does write a lot of adventures!

Dark Archive

4 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Its really nice to have second 3 part 11-20 ap :3 I was bit worried that fist of ruby phoenix would be only one and rest of 3 parts would be 1-10. (ideally to me even if ratio of 1-10 is higher, 11-20 at even pace would be nice. One 11-20 for every two 1-10 would be pretty nice pace I admit :3)

Anyway, my fascination with high levels aside, I LOVE harrow themed stuff :3 Glad to see it coming back along with interesting story concept


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Absolutely excited for this! Been wanting some new content for harrow for PF2e, especially a harrower archetype.


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Quote:
This adventure also includes a detailed look at a brand new demiplane tied to the Harrow deck...

I am quite intrigued by this.


4 people marked this as a favorite.
GM Numbat wrote:
Quote:
This adventure also includes a detailed look at a brand new demiplane tied to the Harrow deck...
I am quite intrigued by this.

It was talked about some in Gen Con panels:

Spoiler:
the Harrow Court is a demiplane that the PCs customize with magic Harrow cards (the main focus of the AP) they can find, meant to act as a home base for them.
Grand Lodge

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure, Adventure Path, LO Special Edition, Pathfinder Accessories, PF Special Edition, Starfinder Accessories, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Seems like this might make a good follow up to Abomination Vaults? It might be nice to discuss how forshadow this AP in early low level AP. What hints to drop or items to give out. Maybe a blog post or soemthing in the first volume?

RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16

1 person marked this as a favorite.

Hoping for cardslinging, Card Caster, and Cartomancer options!


3 people marked this as a favorite.
Cyrad wrote:
Hoping for cardslinging, Card Caster, and Cartomancer options!

You might like this Feat in the meantime.


6 people marked this as a favorite.
keftiu wrote:
Cyrad wrote:
Hoping for cardslinging, Card Caster, and Cartomancer options!
You might like this Feat in the meantime.

Actually, hear me out:

Fane's Fourberie (the Feat above) lets you treat Harrow cards as darts while in its Stance.

Irez is a deity of runes and inscribed knowledge, with a fondness for fortune-telling and Harrow... and her Favored Weapon is darts.

It would involve some messy combination of Rogue or Swashbuckler and Cleric multiclassing for a flavorful-but-admittedly-weak payoff, but you could absolutely make a character who is getting Deadly Simplicity to beef up your Harrow cards a little. Is it any good? Not really, but you get the joy of being a shifty devotee of the tarot goddess who fights people with your holy deck, and that's priceless.


keftiu wrote:
keftiu wrote:
Cyrad wrote:
Hoping for cardslinging, Card Caster, and Cartomancer options!
You might like this Feat in the meantime.

Actually, hear me out:

Fane's Fourberie (the Feat above) lets you treat Harrow cards as darts while in its Stance.

Irez is a deity of runes and inscribed knowledge, with a fondness for fortune-telling and Harrow... and her Favored Weapon is darts.

It would involve some messy combination of Rogue or Swashbuckler and Cleric multiclassing for a flavorful-but-admittedly-weak payoff, but you could absolutely make a character who is getting Deadly Simplicity to beef up your Harrow cards a little. Is it any good? Not really, but you get the joy of being a shifty devotee of the tarot goddess who fights people with your holy deck, and that's priceless.

I did create a very jank with Wit Swashbuckler build to get both two level 1 feats (Flying Blade and One For All), Fane's Fourbier and a multiclass which involved an Ancient Elf that takes Adopted Ancestry: Human at 3 and then Natural Ambition at level 5. Champion is also another option for the multiclass but getting both Strength and Charisma is slightly harder to fit.


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
This is the first Adventure Path I've developed since Age of Ashes, so I'm really excited to get back into "modern Pathfinder" and start guiding some storylines forward!

You posted in the Age of Ashes forum a few years ago that as Creative Director, you'd no longer be developing Adventure Paths. Has that situation changed? Because I'm very excited if that's the case.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

16 people marked this as a favorite.
willfromamerica wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
This is the first Adventure Path I've developed since Age of Ashes, so I'm really excited to get back into "modern Pathfinder" and start guiding some storylines forward!
You posted in the Age of Ashes forum a few years ago that as Creative Director, you'd no longer be developing Adventure Paths. Has that situation changed? Because I'm very excited if that's the case.

The situation has changed. Developing Adventure Paths and standalone adventures is the primary thing I've been doing over the past year or two, starting with Kingmaker, then moving on to Shadows At Sundown, Crown of the Kobold King, Stolen Fate, and one that's not yet been announced but that I'll be starting to develop in about a month.

Dark Archive

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

That is super cool to hear! :3


I'm VERY interested in GMing this, all my player groups at the moment, remains to be seem, I am betting it will be a 50/50 split in the groups.

Tom


will be perfect when I end AV AP. Will this also be available in a foundry module?

Grand Archive

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
Pinktiger wrote:
will be perfect when I end AV AP. Will this also be available in a foundry module?

If nothing change until then, yes. The last word on foundry modules is "All new AP books as they are released, all other content will be as a case by case basis." (Paraphrased)


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Looking through Grand Bazaar for something unrelated, and can't help but notice some very interesting characters noted to be interested in Harrow cards - I'm thinking specifically of Ramius, a "terrifyingly powerful" gnome with centuries-old cards who the book describes as an "ancient power."

With this AP starting in Absalom and centering on a potent Harrow deck, I can't help but wonder if we might meet Ramius! And if not, she certainly seems easy to work into things.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
keftiu wrote:

Looking through Grand Bazaar for something unrelated, and can't help but notice some very interesting characters noted to be interested in Harrow cards - I'm thinking specifically of Ramius, a "terrifyingly powerful" gnome with centuries-old cards who the book describes as an "ancient power."

With this AP starting in Absalom and centering on a potent Harrow deck, I can't help but wonder if we might meet Ramius! And if not, she certainly seems easy to work into things.

Not to say its impossible but 'ramius' and the whole section they are in is an elaborate joke about Yu-Gi-Oh


Pathfinder LO Special Edition, Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, PF Special Edition Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Superscriber

Hm. “Ramius” is one of the names of Roger, Emperor of Man (full name Roger Ramius Sergei Chiang McClintock), also known as “Roger the Mad”. :-)

Verdant Wheel

2 people marked this as a favorite.

Will there be the Cardcaptor archetype?


5 people marked this as a favorite.
Draco Bahamut wrote:
Will there be the Cardcaptor archetype?

I believe they've mentioned a Harrower Archetype slated for the Player's Guide!


oooh!


1 person marked this as a favorite.

I realize that the answer is probably "it'll be out when it'll be out", but doesn't hurt to ask - any word on when the player guide will be out? :)

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
keftiu wrote:
GM Numbat wrote:
Quote:
This adventure also includes a detailed look at a brand new demiplane tied to the Harrow deck...
I am quite intrigued by this.
It was talked about some in Gen Con panels: ** spoiler omitted **

I'm hooked!

Grand Archive

Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
MaxHK wrote:
I realize that the answer is probably "it'll be out when it'll be out", but doesn't hurt to ask - any word on when the player guide will be out? :)

Usually, it's a couple weeks before it starts shipping, so between early April and middle of April would be my guess.

Director of Marketing

3 people marked this as a favorite.
Elfteiroh wrote:
MaxHK wrote:
I realize that the answer is probably "it'll be out when it'll be out", but doesn't hurt to ask - any word on when the player guide will be out? :)
Usually, it's a couple weeks before it starts shipping, so between early April and middle of April would be my guess.

We aim for about 30 days prior to release.


When Hallower devotee archetype comes in player guide?

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