There's some interesting stuff there--and for $2 a pop I'm contemplating buying all of them just as background material. Certainly they seem to be interesting snapshots of parts of the Pathfinder world we haven't seen yet. But first things first, I am wanting to make sure this stuff has actually been adopted into the Golarion setting. I mean I'm pretty sure it is, since the whole idea was to build the setting around the existing GameMastery line of products. It's just, well there's a lot revealed in these encounters that we haven't seen yet--hitherto unknown princes of unknown lands, kingdoms ruled by liches, planes-wandering serial killers, Golarion drow and NINJAS.
Yeah, I'm so getting this...
Creative Director
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Some of them are used as "proto-canon," and some of them aren't yet. The Whispering Tyrant is pretty huge in Golarion, for example, but the actual name and stats for him are different. Likewise the Gorilla King, who in Golarion is much higher level than the version in the Compleat Encounters. Those two are the only two who are yet part of Golarion officially.
So no ninjas? Awww...
I kinda' have to imagine that everything in GameMastery will eventually be included in some form. I still see it as a kind of sneak preview of what's to come. I mean Golarion was BASED on the GameMastery games in the first place. It just seems weird that they'd base the setting on the adventures and then huck the adventures as noncanon. Now whether it's any part of the world we'll see anytime soon doesn't matter to me as much--so long as it belongs somewhere in the Pathfinder setting's enough for me.
The ninja just have to be from Minkai...they just gotta.
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Creative Director
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There are ninjas. Never fear.
But keep in mind that we did the Complete Encounters long before we even started to really work on Golarion, so while most of them will figure into the world somehow... there'll doubtless be changes to the flavor to make them work with what we now know about Golarion, and with where we want to go with the world.
Ninjas = yes.
Kupo...will there be Moogles? And Ninja? What about Moogle Ninja?
Ninjas = yes.
Is there going to be some kind of OGl ninja class, or are they just black-clad folks with rogue levels and neat items?
Is there going to be some kind of OGl ninja class, or are they just black-clad folks with rogue levels and neat items?Ninjas = yes.
It would be really nice to see what kind of Ninja class that Mike could come up with wouldn't it? I have liked, for various different reasons, the varied Ninja classes that have popped up in 3rd edition so far. The Nina presented in the Rokugan Campaign Setting doesn't get much exposure, but is very nice. Its just scary to see a full BAB on a class that gets Sneak Attack damage.
The Comp Adv. Ninja has all the fun Ki powers that make it interesting...Hmm...Thread idea...now being made.
Contributor
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Is there going to be some kind of OGl ninja class, or are they just black-clad folks with rogue levels and neat items?
That depends on two things:
1) What the 4e rogue looks like.
2) Whether or not we switch to 4e.
If we do switch and the 4e rogue isn't ninja enough for my liking, I'll create a ninja class.
If we don't switch I'll create a ninja class.
:)
The Whispering Tyrant is pretty huge in Golarion, for example, but the actual name and stats for him are different.
I thought Tar-Baphon was a fairly cool name. Any reasons you're not sticking with it? Seems a minor reason to break with established continuity.
Anyhow more than ninjas (which really aren't such a big deal) I'm really interested in the whole Seeker in Shadow thing. I don't know a heck of a lot about it (though I will soon enough--it's on its way, Woo-Hoo!) but the name got me thinking. There's this X-Files episode where a guy discovers he can slip back and forth between our Earth and a parallel world--and there becomes a notorious serial killer, acting out his sick fantasies and then escaping back to his "real" world before he can be caught. Made me think about the whole "alternate Golarion" concept for the Shadow Plane. It'd make for an interesting possible insight into the origins of the Chamber of Pain.
More than that though, I just like the idea of a Golarion adventure that spans the cosmology a bit (one of the reasons also, why I'm such a fan of Entombed with the Pharaohs as well.)
Yeah. Got the pack in the mail; Terror in the Chamber of Pain. A bit disappointing to tell the truth. I was hoping for a planes roaming cosmic serial killer and really, without giving anything away, I really really wasn't. In fact the real nature of the Seeker in Shadows turned out to be weak sauce. I'm hoping to pick up a few more this weekend. Hopefully they're a little more satisfying.
I do have to ask about Astanoth, the god of Beauty and Truth. I imagine that's going to get retconned to be Shelyn? Seems from the adventure like it's a deity that's still around and would reward the PC's for...stuff *erhem*. But likewise also a deity worshipped "many ages ago". Honestly I'd love this to be another minor god from the setting, so that way I've at least discovered that much, but it seems like policy to stick to the core pantheon of Pathfinder unless it's a fringe monster deity. Oh well.
It does make me wonder though why all the needless retcon? It seems like keeping the old names and information from the modules would increase their value. Certainly it makes me more interested in them, that therein I might catch some peice of the puzzle that might increase my understanding of the setting. The thought that a lot of them are going to get heavily modified or just chucked is a little disheartening.
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Although only considered Proto-Canon I made a referance list of the unique things found in the Complete Encounters mini-adventures.
Warning - Reading this list can cause some spoiling, just so you know.
Proto-Canon
Treasure
Spider Idol Eye Gem (value = 1000gp) – Dark Elf Sanctum, card 3
Garnet (value = 350gp) – Throne of the Gorilla King, card 2
Quickberry Juice (value = 150gp) Throne of the Gorilla King, card 10
Gold Necklace with Jade Teardrops (value = 3400gp) – Grove of the Mad Druid, card 3
Mithral Spyglass (value = 2500gp) – Grove of the Mad Druid, card 3
Gold Ring (value = 50gp) – Terror in the Chamber of Pain, card 2
Ruby (value = 250gp) – Terror in the Chamber of Pain, card 2
Small Diamond (value = 100gp) – Terror in the Chamber of Pain, card 3
Elaborately Decorated Silver Framed Mirror (value = 300gp) – Terror in the Chamber of Pain, card 3
Ruby (value = 235gp) – Terror in the Chamber of Pain, card 4
Tar-Baphon’s Books and Historical Records (value = 2000gp) – The Vault of the Whispering Tyrant, card 3
Tar-Baphon’s Spell Notes (value = 2000gp) – The Vault of the Whispering Tyrant, card 4
Silver Statuette of the Death God (value = 2000gp) – Death Shrine of the Ninja Cult, card 3
Emerald (value = 200gp) – Death Shrine of the Ninja Cult, card 3
Magic Items
Dagger of Veils – Dark Elf Sanctum, card 10
Dread Portal of the Maw – Dark Elf Sanctum, card 10
Totem of Angazhan – Throne of the Gorilla King, card 10
Bracers of Law – The Liberation of Prince Thorgrim, card 6
Staff of Decay – Grove of the Mad Druid, card 10
Rack of Ruin – Terror in the Chamber of Pain, card 10
Soulstone – The Vault of the Whispering Tyrant, card 10
Traps
Deathblade Arrow Trap – The Liberation of Prince Thorgrim, card 3
Snare – Grove of the Mad Druid, card 2
Spiked Pit – Grove of the Mad Druid, card 2
Snake Pit – Grove of the Mad Druid, card 2
Poison-Spiked Branch – Grove of the Mad Druid, card 2
Deadfall – Grove of the Mad Druid, card 2
Poisoned Arrow Trap – Terror in the Chamber of Pain, card 3
Mass Suggestion Trap – The Vault of the Whispering Tyrant, card 3
Crushing Room Trap – The Vault of the Whispering Tyrant, card 3
Screaming Scythe Trap – Death Shrine of the Ninja Cult, card 2
Poison
Deathblade Poison – The Liberation of Prince Thorgrim, card 3
Giant Wasp Venom – Grove of the Mad Druid, card 2
Carrion Crawler Brain Juice – Grove of the Mad Druid, card 2
Putrid Liquid – Terror in the Chamber of Pain, card 2
Purple Worm Poison – Terror in the Chamber of Pain, card 3
Bestiary
Horned Demon – Dark Elf Sanctum, card 8
Charau-Ka Angazhan – Throne of the Gorilla King, card 8
Condor – Grove of the Mad Druid, card 6
Carrion Golem – Grove of the Mad Druid, card 8
Spells
Spiritual Menhir – Grove of the Mad Druid, card 10
Weapons/Armor
Assassin’s Blade – Death Shrine of the Ninja Cult, card 6
Named Persons
Sarthessa Zyltaris – Dark Elf Sanctum, card 6
Prince Tekawhan – Throne of the Gorilla King, card 2-3, 8
Angazhan, the Gorilla Demon, the Monkey God – see Throne of the Gorilla King
Ruthazek the Gorilla King – Throne of the Gorilla King, card 6
Sheriff Sirris Cramzan – The Liberation of Prince Thorgrim, card 6
Mott, the Jailer – The Liberation of Prince Thorgrim, card 8
Prince Thorgrim – The Liberation of Prince Thorgrim, card 10
Grasker, the Mad Druid – Grove of the Mad Druid, card 6
Astanoth, God of Truth and Beauty – Terror in the Chamber of Pain, card 1
Utharna, wife of Uztaren – Terror in the Chamber of Pain, card 3
Uztaren Neth, the Seeker in Shadow – Terror in the Chamber of Pain, card 5
Kruak – Terror in the Chamber of Pain, card 8
Tar-Baphon, Lich King – The Vault of the Whispering Tyrant, card 6
Lar-Tasha, Mummy Queen – The Vault of the Whispering Tyrant, card 8
Eselda Nightstar – Death Shrine of the Ninja Cult, card 6
Feldren Thull – Death Shrine of the Ninja Cult, card 8
Kelzerin Thoughtstealer – Death Shrine of the Ninja Cult, card 10
Groups
Circle of the Pine – Grove of the Mad Druid, card 1
The Ninja Cult – Death Shrine of the Ninja Cult, card 1
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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Yeah. Got the pack in the mail; Terror in the Chamber of Pain. A bit disappointing to tell the truth. I was hoping for a planes roaming cosmic serial killer and really, without giving anything away, I really really wasn't. In fact the real nature of the Seeker in Shadows turned out to be weak sauce. I'm hoping to pick up a few more this weekend. Hopefully they're a little more satisfying.
** spoiler omitted **
I do have to ask about Astanoth, the god of Beauty and Truth. I imagine that's going to get retconned to be Shelyn?
That one was written by Keith Strohm, who no longer works here, and was the last in the series. Consequently, we'd all sort of forgotten about it/didn't read it in the first place, so we forgot about that god. We'll weave it in somehow, I'm sure.
The only other thing that we're likely to change is the origin story of the Gorilla King, which never really turned out the way I/we wanted. Everything else is pretty solid, including the Whispering Tyrant, who is a fairly major character in Golarion akin in influence to Iuz the Evil in Greyhawk. Only he's currently trapped under a haunted tower called Gallowspire.
Currently.
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Let me guess:
Description of a GameMastery Module...
The crumbling ruins of the Tower of the Last Baron stand at the edge of civilized lands, lost and forgotten. But now, an evil stirs from within its depths that threatens all of the surrounding countryside. To stop the growing evil, the heroes must venture into the tower and brave the deadly dungeons that lie below.
That tower is named Gallowspire?
That one was written by Keith Strohm, who no longer works here, and was the last in the series. Consequently, we'd all sort of forgotten about it/didn't read it in the first place, so we forgot about that god. We'll weave it in somehow, I'm sure. The only other thing that we're likely to change is the origin story of the Gorilla King, which never really turned out the way I/we wanted. Everything else is pretty solid, including the Whispering Tyrant, who is a fairly major character in Golarion akin in influence to Iuz the Evil in Greyhawk. Only he's currently trapped under a haunted tower called Gallowspire.
See. I love this sort of stuff. Makes me happy to see all this stuff is going to be woven into the background fabric of Golarion. Makes me happy that one way or another these little snippets of lore give little forshadowings of the future. Know how happy? Happy enough to be buying out the whole lot--right now! That's how happy.
You guys are awesome. I love your stuff. Golarion's awesome and I'm happy to be a part of it.