Need help replacing a Boss Monster with a creature from the Dark Tapestry


Hell's Rebels

Liberty's Edge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Okay, lemme explain. I have a new player in the group, a Dual-Cursed Oracle with the Dark Tapestry Mystery, a reflavoured Aboleth Curse and the Haunted Curse. She plays her character as a partial amnesiac- an Aasimar orphaned during childhood who looked to the stars, only for the stars to look back. For her whole life, she's been tampered with by forces she can't understand- blanking out for days on end with zero recollection of what she's done, as well as short term memory problems and invasions of her mind while she's sleeping, etc etc. Basically, she's set it up for this backstory to be involved in the plot, but as written, I'm not sure there's much opportunity for an encounter with whatever's manipulating her.

As such, I'm wondering if there are any boss monsters I could replace with some sort of entity from the Dark Tapestry? Preferably, it should be something plot significant; I'm talking maybe even Rivozair or at least giving it the aberration subtype if nothing better comes up. Heck, maybe Rivozair's just a creature which looks suspiciously like a dragon, but isn't quite. If anyone has any suggestions as to what I could do, other things I could put in, or even just ideas for a way to include this without changing the plot, I'm all ears!


I think the Aboleth in book 3 is a great opportunity for you. The fact that he’s summoning a Sea Bonze is enough of a potential threat to Golarion and Kintargo that her calling would be justified.

As a GM, I hesitate to integrate the PCs too directly with integral AP plots. Instead, I prefer using the peripheral elements of the story often because they’re wrapped up sooner and who doesn’t like having a sense of accomplishment? By the time they’re wrapped up, the PCs should be heavily invested in the story.

In my game, I have a halfling Oracle with the haunted curse. He was the sole surviving individual on one of the bellflower network’s freedom ships that sank. I haven’t eluded to his past at all yet, but as soon as he hears the name Menotheguro he will begin having nightmares regarding fishlike creatures and a shadowy form rising from the sea.

In my perspective, what this does is make the world bigger.


Forgive any typos or inconsistencies. I just copied this and pasted it directly from my notes which tend to be unfinished and erratic at times.

Chet’s Nightmare

These dreams don’t start until after Chet hears the name Menotheguro. These dreams Foreshadow the Sea Bonze. The souls that haunt him do so for a reason: to prevent its rise, allow their rest, and warn of the Aboleth.

1.
A giddy halfling girl no older than 7 drenched in water wakes Chet. “You come with me. It’s not too late. Come....” She heads out into the street. “We need you. You’re the one and I found you. I found you!” She grabs Chet’s hand leads him out into the street at night amid a downpour on a cloudless night. They run through the puddles formed by the massive downpour. The puddles grow larger as the make their way south and west. “The stars! Look at the stars! See it’s almost here!” A collection of stars looms above them. (DC 20 Wisdom check to remember the stars formed a constellation) Chet lags behind sticking in the muddy water. (DC 20 Wisdom check to remember the sludge was not mud but mucous) She loses her grip and the dark puddles rise to consume her “No. no wait! I found him!” Screams the girl as she disappears into the puddle. (DC 20 Wisdom check to remember the waters that rose were of humanoid shape)
“Chet.....Chet!” Calls Laria from behind him. “It’s the middle of the night! What are you doing?!” Chet stands in the rain on the steps of the Coffeehouse. Facing the direction the young halfling was headed.
2.
Chet wakes from bed coughing. Laria (or whoever) frantically comforts him. He begins choking up copious amounts of water. The one consoling him turns into an old bald halfling man. “We found you. Find us.” His eyes and skin swollen and pale blue. Chet coughs up clear filmy mucous. Then a solid phlegm like mass hits the floor: a small writhing slug-like mucous covered fish. (DC 18 Wisdom check to remember the fish was scaleless and amphibious) The fish opens its mouth to breathe and lets out a faint diminutive infantile wail. Painlessly, it writhes and oozes black goo from it’s pores. (DC 18 wisdom check to remember the black goo moved with a sentience)
3.
Water seeps up through the floorboards of an inn or room Chet is sleeping in. Whatever door or window he opens reveals a clear sky with a starscape (DC 18 Wisdom check to remember the constellation). The sky swirls and releases a rush of water which expedites the flooding and frames a silhouette of darkness. (DC 16 Wisdom Check to remember the darkness consisting of the bodies of the dead) The room floods and a man sized amphibious swims about the room caressing Chet. Each time it touched Chet, he grows heavier and heavier. (DC 16 Wisdom check to remember the fish having long tentacles and three central vertical eyes)
4.
Several halflings silently stand before Chet drenched in water and wearing tattered clothes. The puddles they form reveal a night sky with the beautiful constellation. (DC 16 to remember the constellation) They rock back and forth in unison as if trying to maintain their balance. Any interaction does nothing. Except for touching them. If one is touched they all turn to water splashing on the ground. The waters darken form a dark deep circle in the center of the room. Tentacles lash out from the deep water searching to grasp anything it can. (DC 14 Wisdom check to remember the tentacles coming from an other worldly shark-like being.) The waters gather and rise in the form of a black being with glowing eyes. (DC 14 Wisdom check to remember the silhouettes description)


Two side modules to look at are From Sea to Shore (very Lovecraftian use of Skum) and No Response from Deepmar, which has dueregar.


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The above suggestions from BornofHate and roguerouge would definitely be on my list to look at. On top of that, there are maybe a few other potential hooks I can think of:

Tiarize Izoni: This woman has a track record of fiddling with the boundaries between dimensions already, so there are numerous ways you could tie in the character with her prior schemes and the Dark Tapestry in general.

Aluceda Zhol: Given Zon Kuthon's relationship with the outer realms, there's a clear relation that could be drawn here, though you might need to make up some content to make that relationship relevant. Both fortunately and unfortunately the AP has a lot of unused content you could use for that purpose, most notably the Nidalese Embassy.

Terapasillion: This location ties in directly with both Desna and the Shadow Plane (Shadow Plane =/= Dark Tapestry of course, but there's a lot of potential for overlap given Zon Kuthon's influence). Ithanothaur's an erudite regarding religion, but you can tweak his interest from religions in general to instead better reflect this particular character's situation.

Soul Anchor: This one is perhaps the least related to the Dark Tapestry, but given the amnesiac angle there's potential for a good hook there, and considering the significance of the Soul Anchor to the overall plot of the later portions of the AP I'd at least consider it as a way to hint at the idea (because sometimes the AP is a little coy about that particular detail). Because people affected by the Soul Anchor have weird stuff happen to their souls upon death, it could be very plausible that one such victim is directly responsible for the character's condition. Perhaps it's the lingering spirit of a significant character or historical figure (such as a former Silver Raven, Mangvhune, Natsiel, Menotheguro, Nasperiah, or a victim of any of the later four) Why the Dark Tapestry would be involved in such an instance is a bit trickier, but you can always say that the spirit involved had some connection to the tapestry (this can be a positive or a negative relationship; a Desnan that spent their time fighting the Great Beyond could fit there) and their soul is still drawn to it. If you and the player are willing to be a bit more lax about it being the Dark Tapestry specifically (you could use the Dark Tapestry mechanically, but reflavour it), you have a bit more flexibility to tie it more into the Soul Anchor itself (an acceptable compromise to fit with a major campaign reveal in my opinion, but your mileage may vary).

As an aside, that character of theirs sounds like they would have been a shoe-in for Strange Aeons.

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