Letters from the main villain

[Loki_Thief]

So, in the intro to book 6, F. Wes Schneider suggests amping up the main bad guy's presence throughout the campaign. When I started running Carrion Crown, I decided to run with this idea, and had the villain correspond with the PCs via magically delivered letters. When I mentioned this on Twitter, Mr. Schneider himself expressed interest in them, so I'm posting them here for him, and anyone else who's interested.

First Letter, End of Book 1:

To whom it may concern,

If you are reading this, then congratulations. The ghosts of Harrowstone have been banished, and you are in all likelihood the ones responsible. I am impressed by your victory; enough so to nearly eclipse the fact that I would much have preferred your quest to fail. Please don't be offended by this; I have nothing against you personally, but I was rather looking forward to observing the unleashing of Harrowstone's spirits, and the resulting effects on Ravengro.
I suppose I should explain a few things. Firstly, as you may have already surmised, the previous visitors to Harrowstone, the ones whose actions precipitated the threat to Ravengro, were there at my behest. That being said, however, the endangerment of the town was in no way my, or their, intention. The mission they were there on was not of your concern; suffice it to say they accomplished their goals and departed, unaware of the potential consequences to the prison's ghostly inhabitants. It was only while reviewing their actions that I realized the opportunity which they had accidentally unlocked-- the chance to witness firsthand the spectral multitudes being freed of their shackles and, more than likely, claiming Ravengro as a literal ghost town. I thought it unlikely that any of Ravengro's inhabitants posessed the intellect to discern what was going on, or the skill to prevent it; yet knew that outside interference might still prevent the release of the spirits, hence this letter.
I want you to know that, had this spectral emancipation been my primary intent, I would have been most angry with you, and felt obligated to destroy you for your interference. Fortunately for you, my lost opportunity was an unlooked-for one, and hence my only emotion at its loss is mild disappointment. Therefore, I bear you no ill will, and indeed hope that, should our paths cross again, that our interests might be more aligned to each other. Your triumph in Harrowstone marks you as a cut above the verminous rabble who largely populate this world, and I would much prefer to know those of such potential as allies rather than foes. Still who can say what the future holds?

Best wishes,

A.A.

Second Letter, End of Book 2:

My old acquaintences:

How unexpectedly delightful to see you again! In the aftermath of my servants' visit to Lepidstadt, I fully expected that some band of adventurers would seek to penetrate the Schloss, but I wouldn't have dared hope that the band would be the same one from Ravengro. I must apologize for the difficulties you faced within the castle; the leader of my servants, one Auren Vrood, became incensed when his lover fell to one of Caromarc's defenses, and took it upon himself, after concluding his business here, to augment those defenses in hopes of inflicting similar tragedy on those who would surely come later. Still, you overcame both Caromarc's and Vrood's safeguards in marvelous fashion, and your triumph over the Aberrant Promethean was truly impressive. For a second time I find myself congratulating you for your efficiency in dealing with the aftermath of a visitation from Vrood.
After examining the possibilities, I don't believe that this second crossing of our paths was deliberate on your part. If I am correct (as I always am) then I urge you not to seek me out, but continue upon your own path until fate once again brings us into contact. Thus far, your actions have not hindered my plans or the activities of my servants; should that fact change, I'm afraid our relationship might become somewhat adversarial. Also, should you catch up to Vrood, it is highly likely that you would end up in conflict with him, thus depriving me either of a most useful servant or a most entertaining band of adventurers. Perhaps later, once my plans have borne fruit, we shall meet each other face to face. Until then, I remain:

AA

I'll add the one from the end of Book 3 soon (I had it written once, but my word processor ate it), and additional ones whenever the campaign gets to appropriate points. Let me know what you think!

[F. Wesley Schneider]

Nice!

Very early on in outlining this AP I knew I wanted a Dorian Gray, like character to be a major villain. That's where the idea for Adivian Adrissant evolved from, a genius born bored with the world, endlessly beyond surprise, hoping for just a bit of stimulation. I also wanted this character to be endlessly, almost compulsively polite, because that's what is expected of the aristocracy and he is a master of civilized society and all its games.

I love that you've taken the angle that he's left these behind for whomever might follow, if anyone--that heroes were a predictable ingredient that might affect his concoction, but never a threat worth factoring. I suspect that changes a bit by letter four or five.

Let me make one suggestion: his "signature." Were I writing these out, I'd sign it simply "A." First, it leaves the question of whether he's signing his first or last name--it doesn't really matter to him, it's economical and could mean either or both. Additionally, something as trifling as a full name and the station that it implies doesn't really matter to him--he's more than his family name. But ultimately, when Dracula signs his note to Harker or Lecter signs his letter to Clarice, it's signed with only one letter. The writer know the person who revives it already knows who it's from or will find out soon enough, so why leave details for those it's not meant for.

This also TOTALLY has nothing to do with the reason why I sign most of my correspondence: ~W

Again, nicely done man! Looking forward to seeing the rest!

[Loki_Thief]

I like just going with A. I mostly did A.A. so the players could have the "Aha!" moment when they first heard the name, but that might actually have been too much of a giveaway. Oh well.
I tried to make him very smart and arrogant, like he's just writing this to see what will happen. And yes, the tone will shift in future letters as he realizes, "These guys might actually be a threat to me!" Still arrogant, but less amused and more directly threatening.
Glad you approve of my efforts!

[Ekeli]

I think I'll have him actually predicting everything the adventurers do, thus allowing him to leave one of these letters with somebody they know, to be given to them when they finish their work for that chapter of course.

It may work for the first two at the least.

[d@ncingNumfar]

I've been taking a similar approach with letters to the PC's. Adivion first took note of them during Trial of the Beast when my brother's ranger cast Residual Tracking and found out what he looks like. That was such a fun hook to use! By the time they finished Broken Moon he'd left a letter with Vrood for the PC's and periodically been sending feather tokens with new messages. After one of them was slain by vampires in Caliphas he sent the party a diamond (conveniently worth 5,000gp) as a twisted condolence and to goad them on into pursuing him.

[Loki_Thief]

Okay, finally got the third letter written up!

Third Letter, End of Book 3:

To Vrood's slayers;

I congratulate you on your success. You've made it through the Shudderwood, to Feldgrau, and dispatched my lieutenant, Auren Vrood. The man behind the defilement of Harrowstone, the invasion of Schloss Caromarc, and the stirring up of the werewolves is no more. You might expect me to be angry at the loss of Vrood, and to a certain extent, I am-- he was a talented servant, and the undead army he was seeking to raise in Feldgrau would have been of great utility to me. However, any anger I might feel regarding his loss is tempered by the fact that I, quite frankly, anticipated that loss from the start. Given the disruptions he had to cause as part of his tasks, the involvement of adventurers was a foreseeable consequence. Indeed, part of the reason I instructed him to remain in Feldgrau was so that his confrontation with you would occur there, to prevent you from simply dogging his steps all the way back to me. So, while I'm disappointed to lose Vrood as a servant, you need not fear my seeking you out to exact vengeance on his behalf.
Therefore, I suggest you take some time to enjoy yourselves, and reflect upon your successes. You've prevented a ghostly uprising, defended a wrongfully-accused golem, returned stability to the werewolf tribes and thwarted the designs of a vile necromancer. That's more than most adventurers can claim to have accomplished, and you've certainly earned some relaxation. If one or two loose ends haven't been completely tied up, then what of it? Surely that's the nature of adventuring, and noone can fault you for it.
But let me make one thing clear, in the event that you're not content to rest on your laurels. I've taken steps to limit what information you might gain in Feldgrau regarding my future plans. But you've already proven yourselves to be resourceful, and I'm not arrogant enough to think it impossible for you to follow my trail further. Should you be willing and able to do so, know that I will no longer hold back. You performed impressively while cleaning up Vrood's messes, but ultimately did nothing to interfere with my long-term plans. You've gotten closer and closer to doing so however, and if you continue to pursue me, I will not hesitate to destroy you rather than risk that occurring.
So that is the choice you have. Quit while you're ahead, and live a life of leisure, or continue to oppose me, and ensure an early death. You seem to be moderately intelligent people; I hope you are sensible enough to choose correctly.

Sincerely,

A

(Incidentally, he's pretty sure the PCs aren't going to take his suggestion to retire and leave him alone, but if they did, he'd send assassins after them anyway. They know too much to be allowed to live.)

Next letter may happen during Book 4, rather than waiting until the end. I'll post it when my group gets to it.

[selunatic2397]

Neat! You have given me some ideas to pester my players with...thanks!

[Ekeli]

A further reason for just A: Vrood's first name is Adrian. So when the players meet him they may think this is the big bad.

[Loki_Thief]

Good point. Also, it's worth noting that one of the notes the PCs can find in Book 3 mentions the name 'Adivion Adrissant'. If you've been signing the letters A.A., the PCs are very likely to assume this is the same person. With just A, it's less clear cut.
Also, in the unlikely event that the characters seem to be seriously considering abandoning the chase as the third letter suggests, remember that they likely know a fair bit about the Whispering Way, due to the research they've done in Books 1 & 3. Feel free to flat-out tell them, "The Whispering Way is a bunch of evil necromancers who value secrecy, and A is clearly not a total moron, so there's no way he'd actually let you live with everything you know". Not likely to be a concern with most players, I know, but just in case.

A

[Yossarin]

I used letters from Adivion in my campaign as well, and it worked out nicely I think. He was aware but indifferent to their approach through much of the campaign, up until the end of the fourth book/beginning of the fifth, mostly due to the party being some of the only sane survivors of an Illmarsh driven mad by the very brief manifestation of a towering, gibbering monstrosity. At this point, he could no longer ignore them...

...but my characterization of Adivion had him respecting the PCs who were pursuing him. One of them in particular, who was a Chelaxian necromancer. The first letter he sent was addressed specifically to her and delivered to them at their hotel in Caliphas, although it did address the entire party as well. He professed admiration at the efforts they had put in thus far just to thwart his own designs. He was genuinely appreciative that after so many years of being "the smartest guy in the room" he had finally found someone not only willing but also able to best him. Though I can no longer find the copy of the letter I used, I recall him making such statements as, "When first I embarked upon this mission of mercy for mankind, I was simply doing it by rote. Going through the motions as I had designed them with little to no variation. Your intervention has sparked a sensation I have not felt in my work for years - passion. And for that, I am eternally grateful, no matter which of us succeeds in our ambitions. All of my work and all of the sacrifices I have made are justified by your valiant pursuit. Know that, should I best you, I will not let your sacrifices be in vain. You are all hereby guaranteed a place in a newer, quieter, more peaceful world, one where death can never touch you. Should you best me, know that I will die content in the knowledge that I have already made my mark upon the world. Through you."

I designed this and other letters with a set Linguistics DC that functioned as a Sense Motive check. Succeeding at the high Linguistics DC allowed the PCs to pick apart bits and pieces of Adivion's letters - basically, to psychoanalyze him through his writing - to uncover things about his personality that would help them in the final showdown with him.

The necromancer PC was disturbed to discover that Adivion was not being snarky and did in fact truly admire her and the rest of the party for their accomplishments. Everything he said was genuine. Thus, he was not the "evil villain" they had been expecting, but rather a bored and very unsanguine scholar who had finally found something to get his blood moving...and was refusing to let it go. In conjunction with asking key PCs in the campaigns about Adivion from his letters (Aubren Chalest, Galdana, even Kendra Lorrimore and Judge Daramid), they were able to uncover who Adivion was and who he has become. It allowed me to actually make something of this villain who had until then been out of the picture. (There are some other threads in this forum with awesome examples of how to incorporate him even more fluidly from the very beginning.)

It also raised the hair on the backs of my players' necks when they realized that his promise to turn them into undead was not intended as a threat to get them to back off, but rather literally a promise made by a man who genuinely believes that they would be better as undead.

The high Linguistics DCs revealed some holes in Adivion's beliefs, though. I incorporated certain sentences that implied an apprehension of the Whispering Way, suggesting that he might not be a member of the cult but simply using them (and they him) to accomplish a similar goal, thus further suggesting that he isn't fully committed to undeath...at least for himself. That he was actually afraid of dying in spite of his tough talk. He seemed to realize that it is safest to be "just left of limelight", but his letters reveal that that conventional wisdom is increasingly at odds with the passion born from his ambition...a passion sparked by the PCs themselves, so that the players realize their efforts are actually cracking the boiled egg that is A.A.

I adapted the final confrontation to fit this string of letters, where the PCs encountered Adivion with Galdana held in his clutches, a readied action to administer the potion. Their choices were to shoot and kill Galdana, thus forcing Adivion to drink it himself...or delay long enough for Galdana to escape and fling himself from the top of the tower, realizing that his own life would spell doom for Ustalav...or to capitalize upon what they learned of Adivion to their advantage.

The necromancer played it beautifully. She told Adivion that while Galdana might be the descendant of Tar Baphon, he was not the most deserving heir - Adivion was. (Diplomacy, which she succeded at.) She also had the option add that in her estimation, although the elixir was designed for Galdana, that a simple ritual transubstantiation after the consumption of the elixir would guarantee that Adivion not only left his mark upon the world, but became the new Whispering Tyrant, and would have untold powers. (Bluff) Or that even if Galdana became the Tar Baphon reborn, that Adivion as a living magician would simply be discarded even in spite of all of his great work. (Diplomacy or Intimidate, whichever was higher).

She succeeded in making him throw Galdana down and drink the elixir himself, thus resulting in the final showdown in the campaign. Yes, there are some serious holes with doing that because your players might scream they have readied actions to do stuff to stop it all from happening and this is ultimately why in the adventure Adivion has consumed it before the showdown, but I thought this was a more dramatic (maybe overdramatic, but that's my style) final encounter.

[Ekeli]

I think I'll have Adivion show up in the funeral and introduce himself as Vrood.
It'll add even more confusion, at least until the end of book 3.

[Loki_Thief]

At the session last night, I mixed it up a bit. After the assassination attempt, as the PCs were searching the stable, they got a sending from "A".

Sending, Start of Book 4:

"Pardon me. Could you comment on the assassin's effectiveness? I'm considering reanimating him, and I'd like to know if it would be worth the expense."

This was the villain's attempt to reassert his superiority over the PCs-- his last letter kind of admitted that they could be a problem for him, and he doesn't want them to feel too confident. I also made sure that the sending used exactly 25 words, without sounding awkward, since A is quite intelligent.

The funniest thing about the situation is that, when the sending triggered, one of the PCs (a Sanguine-bloodline Sorcerer) was already in the process of raising the assassin as a skeleton of his own. As a result, their response back was basically, "Too late". (They have no way of knowing right now, but A found this quite amusing.)

They may not hear from A again until the end of book 4 (due to circumstances, it's hard for A to monitor what's going on with the PCs during that book), but when they do, I'll update you!

[Sitrein]

I'm getting ready to start running HoHS this Thursday with full intentions of completing all 6 parts of CC. However, I have not yet read beyond HoHS. Is there a significance to the "exactly 25 words?"

Thanks for these, by the way. They're pretty excellent =) I've heard that the hardest part with running this AP is making the BBEG actually feel intimidating in a horror type way. I'm told this should be done by giving them an over-arching, ever-present, growing (from minor curiosity to nigh smothering by the end) presence. I think these letters should help with that considerably.

[Yossarin]

The Sending spell allows for a communication of not more than 25 words.

[Loki_Thief]

Right. Using all 25 allowed words without sounding awkward is just a minor way of showing off. If the PCs' reply had gotten cut off by the word limit, or sounded 'off' due to it, A would have lowered his opinion of them somewhat. Conversely, had they elegantly used all 25 words, his evaluation of them would have improved. As is, their answer met neither criteria, but still scored the PCs points with A for cheekiness. (I'm paying attention to what kind of impression the PCs make on him with the intention that it might affect things later in the Adventure Path. For one thing, A may make some subtle overtures to the Sanguine Sorcerer, who clearly doesn't object to undead as a matter of principle.)

[Ekeli]

Quite amusing that bit where your party raised the assassin before he could.

[Joey Virtue]

These are great I cant wait till they are all done

Im hoping to run this with my new group after we get through Dragon Demand

Thanks for this great asset

[dungeonmaster heathy]

On my pbp,.....

one of the characters had a backstory that his wife was dead, and every year on the anniversary of her death he'd have a glass of their favorite wine.

So, anyway I had this guy who I image linked to have look like Lou Cypher from Angelheart
invite him for a private drink, with that exact "favorite wine" and then kinda summon her ghost up for an anniversary gift.

[dungeonmaster heathy]

I think I had him eat an egg too; IDK nsfw swearing

[Ermehtar]

These are great letters! I love a couple of your turns of phrase and hope you don't mind if I borrow a few ideas for my own CC campaign!

I, too, have used letters to make the main bad guy a more vital part of the campagin. I have him writing under the name "Death's Herald" to avoid any complications or name drops. I've also developed him into a long-time friend of Lorrimor's, someone Kendra thinks of as a surrogate uncle, and a member in good standing of the Palatine Eye before he went bad. This has allowed me to have him drop in on the campaign off and on, seemingly as an ally, and keep tabs on what the PCs are up to. He doesn't see them as a threat - yet - and he really does want to recruit such able people to his cause.

[Rubber Ducky guy]

I love these letters. I'm still at least 3 months away from starting CC, but little ideas like these make me impatient to start

[Loki_Thief]

Thanks for all the kind words. Still going to be a while until the next letter (my group is heading into Undiomede House tonight), but A hasn't been idle.
The PCs have each received a minor boon of some sort near the start of book 4, based on their individual backstories. For the sorcerer who reanimated the assassin, that boon (an unusual magic rod which will appear in his gear following a dream) is actually a gift from 'A'. The rod has minor, but useful, magic powers, but is also intelligent and will eventually begin to communicate with him. It's going to give him (good) advice, with a long-term goal of persuading the sorcerer to switch sides. Of course, it's not going to out-and-out suggest this for a while, until after it's laid the groundwork. 'A' is hoping that this might win him a powerful new ally, one who will be perfectly positioned for a devastating betrayal of his former friends. For now, though, the rod will simply try to win its wielder's trust by being as helpful as possible.
Also, I've been thinking about the role of Raven's Head in the Carrion Crown formula. The adventure implies that it's intended to be an ingredient, but the formula is apparently completed in book six, without the Way recovering the mace in the interim.
My solution is that Raven's Head is *not* actually a necessary ingredient of the Carrion Crown. The cryptic mention in the poem is actually warning that the mace will reappear to oppose the Carrion Crown's creation and use. The Whispering Way wants the mace to keep it out of the hands of those who would try to stop them. This adds some nice irony, in the fact that the Way's attempts to secure Raven's Head are what end up leading to its recovery by the PCs. It also ensures that the PCs don't relax in their pursuit because they think the Way needs the mace to complete their scheme.
So that's where we're at. I'll keep you posted!

[Loki_Thief]

Something else I forgot to mention that is highly relevant to A's attempted recruitment of the party Sorcerer-- it's possible it might succeed. Under normal circumstances I wouldn't treat this as a realistic possibility, but as it happens, life circumstances may result in the sorcerer's player moving away in the semi-near future. If he ends up having to leave before the campaign is over, I may work with him to see if he's up for having his character exit the party by switching sides. It would certainly be more interesting than having his character retire after taking an arrow to the knee.
So like I said, it's unknown whether he'll actually be moving, so this may all come to nothing. But if it does happen, I've planted the seeds for something potentially awesome.

[Joey Virtue]

So have you made anymore of these great letters?

[scadgrad]

I took the liberty of making a player handout as a simple web image. I can do the others in a similar fashion if Loki_Thief wishes me to do so.

Image stored on Photobucket

[Joey Virtue]

That is sweet I would love to see them all done that way

[scadgrad]

Joey, I can do so, but I'd rather wait and get the OK from Loki_Thief before I proceed.

[Joey Virtue]

That is a good idea he hasnt posted on here for a while so hope he is not MIA

[Helaman]

Dotting - this is good stuff.

[scadgrad]

Just noticed a message from Loki_Thief who approves of the player handout idea. I'll finish them up and post them here in the next 24 hours or so.

[Joey Virtue]

Sweet I want more of these letters
I'm a horrible writer so I can't really make them

[Redneckdevil]

Wow those are very well done. I cannot wait for more letters as well.

[scadgrad]

I reset the type on these to get rid of the hyphens and changed the double dashes to en dashes (where I found them, if I missed any, LMK and I'll fix them). I'll keep an eye on this thread in case any other letters are added. Note that these are low res jpgs that should be fine for simple ink jet usage or showing on a tablet. If someone needs higher quality pdfs, ask nicely. ;) Nice work again Loki_Thief.

Letters from the Main Villain Player Handouts
the links below will take you to Photobucket

Letter One

Letter Two

Letter Three

[Loki_Thief]

Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. ;-) My players just started Book 5, and I should have an appropriate letter done fairly shortly. My intent is for them to find it...

Early Book 5 spoiler:

...in the abandoned Whispering Way safehouse early in the adventure.

Look for it in a few days, unless I get struck by a meteor or something.

A

[Helaman]

Looking forward to the letters for Part 4... and Scadgrad, many thanks for those letters, well done. Have you got the non jpg versions you can post in case ppl want to do some edits that you can post?

[scadgrad]

I can make the Photoshop files available, but the font is not something that people would commonly have on hand, so you'd probably have to deal with font substitution issues.

[mempter]

scadgrad wrote:

...the font is not something that people would commonly have on hand, so you'd probably have to deal with font substitution issues.

What's the name of the font?

[Helaman]

Throw it out there if you can... Ppl can manually change or download the font

[Wildebob]

dot

[Loki_Thief]

...and here it is, the letter from near the start of book 5.

Fourth Letter, start of Book 5:

To my pursuers,

I apologize for not being in touch sooner. The conditions in Illmarsh made monitoring the situation there problematic, and I was unable to be certain where you might be contacted. Indeed, I almost dared hope that you would fail to survive the events transpiring in that town-- I would have considered that more than a fair trade for failing to obtain the Raven's Head. Yet, when the figurative smoke cleared, I was disappointed to discover that you had not only emerged from the chaos intact, but were bearing the very relic I had sought for myself. Your subsequent victory over my dullahan and discovery of the Caliphas safehouse I greeted less with anger than with resignation-- at this point I'm well past being surprised by your resourcefulness. Since you seem determined to pursue me, we have two issues to be resolved.
First, the Raven's Head. I know now that, as a group, your resolve to come after me is unshakeable. But should any of you harbor private doubts as to the rightness of your cause, know this: if you are able to dispose of the mace, you will not find me ungrateful. I would prefer that you arrange its delivery to my hands, but its destruction would also be acceptable, as would sequestering it where it will be safely out of meddling hands. I understand if you doubt my sincerity, but I assure you, my admiration for your accomplishments is genuine. Should one or more of you prove yourselves an ally rather than an obstacle to me, I would be a fool to destroy such a useful asset-- and I hope you know by now that I am no fool.
Second, your next steps. As you might expect, I have seen to the destruction of all pertinent records in the safehouse, along with anything else that might point you further along the trail. At this point, however, I no longer have any illusions that this will prevent you from making progress. You will certainly discover the actions of my agents in Caliphas, and will very likely destroy them and put an end to their plans. Once that is done, you will undoubtedly scrape together enough information to end your pursuit and strike against my plans directly. A confrontation between you and I is almost inevitable. The only question is whether you can reach that point before or after my plans bear fruit. I confess that I almost hope it's the former, as I would be very disappointed if I was able to effect your destruction too easily.
So, continue your pursuit, and take pride in your successes, but know that your true test is not whether you can defeat those who stand in your way, but rather whether you can do so in time reach me while you still have any hope of victory. I have been quite impressed with your skills thus far; I hope you will continue to live up to my expectations.
Yours,

A

[Loki_Thief]

And scadgrad, those look awesome! I may have to print them out myself, so my players have a more awesome-looking version of the letters to look at. Very cool.

[Loki_Thief]

As I was printing off the latest letter to hand to my players, I noticed a couple minor details that were less than perfect. Obviously, this was unacceptable :-) , so here's a revised version of the fourth letter:

Letter four, version 2:

To my pursuers,

I apologize for not being in touch sooner. The conditions in Illmarsh made monitoring the situation there problematic, and I was unable to be certain where you might be contacted. Indeed, I almost dared hope that you would fail to survive the events transpiring in that town-- I would have considered that more than a fair trade for failing to obtain the Raven's Head. Yet, when the figurative smoke cleared, I was disappointed to discover that you had not only emerged from the chaos intact, but were bearing the very relic I had sought for myself. Your subsequent victory over my dullahan and discovery of the Caliphas safehouse I greeted less with anger than with resignation-- at this point I'm well past being surprised by your resourcefulness. Since you seem determined to pursue me, we have two issues to be resolved.
First, the Raven's Head. I know now that, as a group, your resolve to come after me is unshakeable. But should any of you harbor private doubts as to the rightness of your cause, know this: if you are able to dispose of the mace, you will not find me ungrateful. I would prefer that you arrange its delivery to my hands, but its destruction would also be acceptable, as would sequestering it where it will be safely out of reach. I understand if you doubt my sincerity, but I assure you, my admiration for your accomplishments is genuine. Should one or more of you prove yourselves an ally rather than an obstacle to me, I would be a fool to destroy such a useful asset-- and I hope you know by now that I am no fool.
Second, your next steps. As you might expect, I have seen to the destruction of all pertinent records in the safehouse, along with anything else that might point you further along the trail. At this point, however, I no longer have any illusions that this will prevent you from making progress. You will certainly discover the actions of my agents in Caliphas, and will very likely destroy them and put an end to their plans. Once that is done, you will undoubtedly scrape together enough information to end your pursuit and strike against me directly. A confrontation between you and I is almost inevitable. The only question is whether you can reach that point before or after my plans bear fruit. I confess that I almost hope it's the former, as I would be very disappointed if I was able to effect your destruction too easily.
So, continue your pursuit, and take pride in your successes, but know that your true test is not whether you can defeat those who stand in your way, but rather whether you can do so in time reach me while you still have any hope of victory. I have been quite impressed with your skills thus far; I hope you will continue to live up to my expectations.
Yours,
A

[Loki_Thief]

Funny, I'm usually pretty good at proofreading myself. Just pretend that the second-to-last sentence says, "...in time to reach me...". The minions responsible for the error have been... dealt with.

A

[Redneckdevil]

As usually fantastic job with these.

[Bart Vervaet]

These are awesome, Loki_Thief. I'll be sure to use them in my own campaign that I just started. Thank you very much for sharing.

[Mister Game Person Fellow]

Yes, I agree, thanks for posting them--but I have one (fairly basic) question: how does Adivian get these letters to the players without them being able to trace the letters back to the big evil villain?

I assume I can just kind of hand wave the details of the letter origin--after all, it's not like there's an official, standardized Ustalav postal service which requires a return address. (At least, I would assume so. I am unfortunately not that well versed in the pathfinder universe)

But, hand-waving aside, I'd like to know what you guys did to get the letters to the PCs consistently and mysteriously. Is there... is there a spell, like sending, that will do the trick? This will be my first time running a game in several years, and I am ashamed to admit I need to review the core rulebook first.

[Orthos]

Animal messenger should do the trick.

[Loki_Thief]

Yeah, there are spells that can work (and even if A can't cast them himself, he has minions who can). I don't stress the details, because my players are fairly tolerant of that sort of hand-waving. If you want more detail, charmed messengers (or disguised, unintelligent undead) can easily explain direct deliveries.
I also like the idea of A being smart enough to anticipate where the PCs will be next, and leaving letters there ahead of time. That's what I did with the most recent letter-- the characters found it waiting for them in the empty safehouse. High Intelligence isn't the same as precognition, but they can look a lot alike from a distance.
An even more hilarious idea (suggested by F Wesley Schneider in the same editorial that inspired these letters) is that A pre-writes the letters and gives them, sealed, to his minions, so that the PCs find them while looting the bodies. Helps maintain his illusion (and it *is* an illusion) that the PCs' successes against his minions are all accounted for in his plans. I used this tactic with the letter at the end of Book 3-- the characters found it on Vrood's corpse. (And if Vrood had escaped, or defeated the PCs, well, no harm done, A would just reclaim the letter. Since noone else knew what was in it, his facade of omniscience is preserved.)
As for how A knows what the PCs have been up to, the right spells can simplify this, too. Directly scrying on the PCs is chancy-- they might make the save, or worse, have detect scrying up. (Remember that Divination specialist wizards get constant detect scrying at 8th level, too!) But scrying on his own minions, or innocent bystanders, can indirectly learn of the characters' actions, and other divinations can also fill in the blanks. In my game, he has access to a variant of the spirit planchettes described in Book 1, which lets him interrogate the souls of his fallen minions to learn about the party. Something similar should work well for most campaigns, since it's entirely reasonable for the head of the Whispering Way to have access to powerful necromantic magic that isn't widely known.
Ultimately, you only need as much detail as your players demand. But even if they're sticklers, it's all workable while still playing fair.

[Mister Game Person Fellow]

Great! All of those are great ideas. I look forward to any final letters you might have for book 6! (I have no idea if they're even applicable to it. I haven't bought anything but book 1, yet.)

[Thazar]

These are awesome and I want to say thanks to Loki for making them and tp Scardrad for doing the nice little handouts. Keep them coming folks! :)