Cult of Lissala?


Shattered Star


Has anyone added in the cult of Lissala as a potential adversary for the party? If so, what have you had them do so far?

Silver Crusade

Planning on using them as one of the numerous factions in play throughout the AP, but they'll probably actually be very subtle and sneaky "allies" working towards the payoff in Book 6. They'll likely try to compromise Sheila Heidmarch and possibly some PCs, though it's unlikely they'll win any of them over as complete converts once their full true nature is revealed.

Grand Lodge Contributor

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I'm definitely planning on using them. I'll be taking the season 4 arc of PFS 'Lissala' modules and using them to wrap a larger story around.

I started the campaign with Sheila telling the PCs that they were the only ones she could confirm were not potential spies (the Aspis Consortium had been showing up at dig sites and mission locales ahead of her agents lately) which is why they get given the important task of finding the shards.

Later on, the spy has been revealed, but he managed to get away before the PCs were even on the scene (they were still in the Crow). While the PCs investigate part 2 of the AP, that spy is fleeing to a Lissalan 'safe house' (it was them that the Aspis Consortium were working for, and the Lissalan's want to squeeze every last bit of information from their spy - the safe house isn't going to be that safe after all).

Anyway, yeah. Ultimately, the Lissalans are trying to do what they're trying to do in the PFS modules, and are interested in recovering the Sihedron but it's not their prime focus. They'll cross paths with the PCs somewhat regularly after the Pathfinder agents have been sent to investigate the spy's last known wherabouts, which should lead them to the 'safe house' and one of many secret cult headquarters throughout Varisia.

Dark Archive

I know this is kind of an old thread, but I am just in the early stages of Shattered Star and I also looked at some of the Season 4 PFS scenarios and thought it would be a good tie-in to the Shattered Star AP. One major curveball I'm contemplating is having Sheila be a turncoat and have been the major villain at the head of the Lissala cult the entire time. I think it would make sense for her to send the PCs on the side quests of the PFS scenarios - by doing this she is attempting to send the shards into the hands of the Lissala cult agents. Her ultimate betrayal will occur at the Reforging ceremony. I'm giddy with how this will all play out.

Grand Lodge

Michael Cummings wrote:
I know this is kind of an old thread, but I am just in the early stages of Shattered Star and I also looked at some of the Season 4 PFS scenarios and thought it would be a good tie-in to the Shattered Star AP. One major curveball I'm contemplating is having Sheila be a turncoat and have been the major villain at the head of the Lissala cult the entire time. I think it would make sense for her to send the PCs on the side quests of the PFS scenarios - by doing this she is attempting to send the shards into the hands of the Lissala cult agents. Her ultimate betrayal will occur at the Reforging ceremony. I'm giddy with how this will all play out.

I am trying to decide how to incorporate the cult of Lissala into my game. One of the PCs is actually a follower of Lissala, although he follows the really old teachings like the 7 virtues. I would like the end result of the cult's plans to be reforging the Sihedron, which brings Lissala herself back to Golarion. I considered having Sheila be a Lissalan but that almost seems cliche. If anyone has any suggestions, I sure would appreciate it.


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I have many suggestions!

The cult of Lissala is an interesting concept that allows you to bound the many modules by adding a few recurrent characters from it. However, you need to clarify to yourself their role and motivations. When they pop up, and why.
I would suggest they come from Xin-Shalast and were involved in the events of Rise of the Runelords in a certain way that paints them in a certain light. This means the higher ups are like 10.000 years old lamias or similar beings and spell casters

The season 3 scenario and season 4 ones allow you to offer certain situation and present them as remains of Karzoug's attempts to infiltrate in Golarion society. At the same time, with the fall of Karzoug, the cult is now without a strong political motivator, and probably they are looking for one.
Surely the awakening of Krune could be placed in such scheme, with the shard of sloth being a pitoval element of such plan. At the same time, the Sihedron could be seen by them as an holy relic of the seven virtues that needs to be obtained.

So, how can this enter in your shattered star campaign?
On the first book, i see few chances outside of a sudden strike at Sheila's house by a group of lissalan followers allied with the Aspis consortium (see scenario 3.26) and the "chasing the shards" at the temple near Riddleport.
On the second, the dvamphir charmed is an agent from the lissalan cult of Palin Cove (maybe the son), send there to locate the shard of lust. If killed, the "lust energies" of the place will awaken his vampire blood enough to mak him a full vampire that will hunt the pcs to kill them, retrive the shards and carry it to his master. If he lives, he'll try to do the same but could become a pc ally if freed from the control of his parents.
On book three, you got feast of sigils - Pcs must go into a Lissalan city and possibly have "cordial" interations with the cult. Also, the feast may be part of a ritual necessary to "unlock" the secret level of Karzoug's laboratory.
On book four, it's difficult to find the correct timing unless you drastically change the backstory of characters. Maybe the best way is present the elf priest as a supposedly servant of Lissala that, in truth, has been seduced/brainwasted into what it is by Yamosoth, that aims to come return in the world and take control of Sin Magic to reshape Varisia as his plaything (since he's a Qlippoth lord that creates minions from sin).
On book five, there could be a twist: 1) there is a group of Lissalan already in the temple trying to "redeem" the Most High demilich lady, hoping she'll help them to retrieve the final shard. they have used sin magic to control the gigants outside and so attracted the attention of the Drow.
They could also succeed in their endevour, gaining the final shard before the pcs, which would lead to the events of scenario 4.26
On book six, the situation could escalate so much that, with Krune defeated or not, an army is needed to combat the thousands of gear soldier coming from the sea. This requires to go in the summoning towers descrived in a season 4 scenario and using the sihedrom to awake an entire army to face them, while the pcs attach directly Xin's tower.


That's actually a pretty good way of having the cult enter into the whole fray. I'd always loved the cult of Lissala in it's purest Xin form (7 virtues, loyalty, magic, etc) instead of the debased form it became in control of the Runelords (7 sins, flagellation, mortification, sacrifice, brutality, tyranny, etc).

Grand Lodge

Pnakotus Detsujin, I like some of the suggestions. I don't have time right now to look at your ideas for Books Two on but I will be referring back to them as this campaign moves forward. I do have a few questions and comments as well

I don't want to bring in RotR. I don't own any of that AP, I've never read it, and 4 of my 5 players are completely new to Pathfinder anyway, so they know very little of the game world.
I also think that the higher ups should be powerful spell casters. As noted in the article about Lissala in ItNR, towards the end of Thassilon's existence, most of her priests were arcane spellcasters. I think that would continue to hold true today. I may even use Kurshu the Undying, outside of the Pathfinder Society Scenario he's in.

Also, I had assumed that Karzoug was trying to re-establish a secular power base. Is there anything in RotR that indicates that Karzoug was also promoting the cult of Lissala or using the cult to further his own ends?

Lastly, I don't have the time to make massive changes here. Scenario 3.26 would need massive reworking to make it suitable for a lower level party. However, I do like the idea of a strike at the Pathfinder Lodge and had thought of something like that as well.

Silver Crusade Contributor

Karzoug has his own cult, not to Lissala (who is virtually absent from Rise), but to the ideal of Greed. Given how Golarion clerics function, it's mostly oracles.


Zagig wrote:

Pnakotus Detsujin, I like some of the suggestions. I don't have time right now to look at your ideas for Books Two on but I will be referring back to them as this campaign moves forward. I do have a few questions and comments as well

I don't want to bring in RotR. I don't own any of that AP, I've never read it, and 4 of my 5 players are completely new to Pathfinder anyway, so they know very little of the game world.
I also think that the higher ups should be powerful spell casters. As noted in the article about Lissala in ItNR, towards the end of Thassilon's existence, most of her priests were arcane spellcasters. I think that would continue to hold true today. I may even use Kurshu the Undying, outside of the Pathfinder Society Scenario he's in.

Also, I had assumed that Karzoug was trying to re-establish a secular power base. Is there anything in RotR that indicates that Karzoug was also promoting the cult of Lissala or using the cult to further his own ends?

Lastly, I don't have the time to make massive changes here. Scenario 3.26 would need massive reworking to make it suitable for a lower level party. However, I do like the idea of a strike at the Pathfinder Lodge and had thought of something like that as well.

It is my understanding that the "greed" phisolophy of Karzoug's lamias had to be derived from Lissala teachings, like a very estreme sect bound to worship a single aspect of the magic. Also, in ancient thassilon the equation magic = divine was very strong, so i can easily see lamia matriarch being considered priestesses (since are also snake like).

With that said, Karzoug had no interest in the teachings of Lissala, but was using their methodology (runewells, mass omicide, sacrificed). Think for a moment how would have been different if he adopted political strategies instead of crazy "go around, kill greedy people to empower my well". if in his city there were stll followers, surely them may have tried to gain an upper hand after the fall of the government. I bet those guy could be around, trying either to gain power like Karzoug wanted or to spread their philosophy in a more educate manner.

What level are your pcs?

Grand Lodge

Quote:

It is my understanding that the "greed" phisolophy of Karzoug's lamias had to be derived from Lissala teachings, like a very estreme sect bound to worship a single aspect of the magic. Also, in ancient thassilon the equation magic = divine was very strong, so i can easily see lamia matriarch being considered priestesses (since are also snake like).

With that said, Karzoug had no interest in the teachings of Lissala, but was using their methodology (runewells, mass omicide, sacrificed). Think for a moment how would have been different if he adopted political strategies instead of crazy "go around, kill greedy people to empower my well". if in his city there were stll followers, surely them may have tried to gain an upper hand after the fall of the government. I bet those guy could be around, trying either to gain power like Karzoug wanted or to spread their philosophy in a more educate manner.
What level are your pcs?

My PCs are close to leveling up to 3rd level. They just got past the siccatite doors last game session.

I liked the idea of a lamia priestess in the Season 3 Scenario. Plus, the article on Lissala specifically mentions lillends and nagas.

I was trying to come up with a way to use the Pathfinder Society material without destroying the level progression. One idea I had was to replace Asylum Stone with the Society Scenarios that deal with the cult. Has anyone tried this?


Zagig wrote:
Quote:

It is my understanding that the "greed" phisolophy of Karzoug's lamias had to be derived from Lissala teachings, like a very estreme sect bound to worship a single aspect of the magic. Also, in ancient thassilon the equation magic = divine was very strong, so i can easily see lamia matriarch being considered priestesses (since are also snake like).

With that said, Karzoug had no interest in the teachings of Lissala, but was using their methodology (runewells, mass omicide, sacrificed). Think for a moment how would have been different if he adopted political strategies instead of crazy "go around, kill greedy people to empower my well". if in his city there were stll followers, surely them may have tried to gain an upper hand after the fall of the government. I bet those guy could be around, trying either to gain power like Karzoug wanted or to spread their philosophy in a more educate manner.
What level are your pcs?

My PCs are close to leveling up to 3rd level. They just got past the siccatite doors last game session.

I liked the idea of a lamia priestess in the Season 3 Scenario. Plus, the article on Lissala specifically mentions lillends and nagas.

I was trying to come up with a way to use the Pathfinder Society material without destroying the level progression. One idea I had was to replace Asylum Stone with the Society Scenarios that deal with the cult. Has anyone tried this?

Do not let yourself be bound by level progression or XP. That is poisonous.

Grand Lodge

Well, I don't want to have them gain a bunch of XP through the Scenarios and then the regular parts of the AP are too easy.


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Zagig wrote:
Well, I don't want to have them gain a bunch of XP through the Scenarios and then the regular parts of the AP are too easy.

I'll be using PFS scenarios with my group. They already know that they'll be gaining no XP for them, but will be gaining the riches that come from them, which will effectively raise their WBL, which should be prize enough!

All my players have indicated they're fine with this arrangement. It's really the stories they enjoy. =)


The GM my group has run with in the past and for this one rarely cares if we get too high level simply because he just makes things even more difficult. At the same time I'd never really thought of adding pfs scenarios. Playing some of these scenarios and adding a runelord like krune and the cult of lissala to the mix would be relatively simple I think and definitely fun. It would make for a great sense of foreboding that something even more powerful is just on the horizon. For major battles like xin, if you're worried about the ease, just add hit die and mythic ranks, maybe allow him to control a greater number of constructs, things like that.

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