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Can I get a good summary of Master of Devils, please, especially parts that will help me fill in dots for Queen of Thorns?
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As a Pathfinder Tales charter subscriber I read Prince of Wolves when it came out and liked it enough that I was really hyped for the release, a few years ago, of Master of Devils (I really love Devils as adversaries in D&D.).
Unfortunately, when I finally found time to read Master of Devils I saw, to my great dismay, that it was an Oriental Adventures novel. I really don't like that flavor in my D&D. I tried to read it a few times over the next couple months, got maybe 80-90 pages in, but just couldn't stomach the oriental fluff.
This summer I have time to read Queen of Thorns and after reading about 90 pages (and really liking it) it's obvious that I'd get more out of it knowing the plot summary of Master of Devils.
There's a synopsis at the Pathfinder wiki.
The only things you need to know to enjoy Queen of Thorns are already mentioned in the text, but the main matters of significance are that Radovan picked up an extremely nice jacket in his travels to the East, along with a better understanding of his nature as devilspawn, while Varian got a better grasp on magic and also picked up a magic sword. And Arnisant has a fun adventure which is not revisited in Queen of Thorns.
I read and enjoyed both books, but if you can't get past the Asian setting, I don't know how to make it more enjoyable for you.
I am reading it and really liking Arni's adventures.
I'm keeping this vague because I really feel you should push through the asiany wuxia stuff you aren't a fan of in order to find out the great specifics on what happened to the characters. Seriously, the book is like a folklore epic, great stuff.
The Boys got split up very early.
Varian went ahead and picked up levels in "Badass" in a Shaolin-esque monastery, while proving the pen (or in his case, brush) is as mighty as any sword, except for the sword he DID get, which is beyond awesome. His turn for the love-interest, but instead of getting the girl, he got a replacement for his broken heart (literally), ALSO that sword I mentioned.
Radovan got forcibly conscripted to help with hardcore martial sorcerer's revenge fantasy scenario was forced into a super-devil-mode binge and basically had his full and got it out of his system. He's also got his fill of killing too, as during that super-devil time, he was forced to kill a bunch of decent folks that he still feels pretty not-great about. The alternative devil mode thing gets GREATLY explained in Queen of Thorns. While in super-devil mode, he picked up bunch of supernatural Monk wuxia abilities (like abundant step) but lost them all in the end when that alternative form got purged from his system. Basically Radovan lost more than he gained compared to where he started off in the book. He's picked up a sweet new jacket though in the final chapter/epilogue (I forget which as it's been a while since I read it).
Arnisant is one brave and loyal SOB. Any time I play a character with option of animal companion, I ONLY want a dog now. Dave Gross' Arnisant has ruined me of ever wanting to use anything else. It's like the adventures of Dug (from Pixar's "Up") roaming the country side and forests collecting supernatural allies in his quest to be reunited with his master and friend. It's practically Pathfinder's "Homeward Bound"! I'm sad that we probably won't see things from his POV in the future. OR MAYBE...?!? HINT HINT MR GROSS!