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Don't get me wrong, it's great to finally get some news but I'm afraid the name Age of Ashes doesn't really tell me anything, other than I'll need a respirator mask, and there's apparently a hill chock full of Hellknights.
So, I'm curious if a general plot has been announced and I'm just missing it or if they're doing it to cultivate mystique.
It all sounds fun, just curious. :-)
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Apparently the AP will be about stopping some super dooper fire-breathing dragon who, if not stopped, will convert matter to ash at a rapid pace, thus leading to an age of, erm, ashes.
I sincerely hope it's about Mengkare losing his peanuts after a latest failed batch of "candidates" and deciding TO END THIS WORLD IF HE CAN'T FIX IT.
Oh well, I was hoping for something a bit more... Exciting.
At least it's not giants.
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Oh well, I was hoping for something a bit more... Exciting.
At least it's not giants.
As was discussed recently on the playtest boards, it stands to reason that the first AP is going to be a fairly classic adventure style. Having familiarity with the narrative structure of the adventure will help people adjust to the new mechanics.
I don't expect to get a full ap rundown until Paizocon. Maybe see part 2, but I doubt the other 4 to 5 parts be named until the Adventure Path panel at paizocon
If the adventure takes place in Isger, then the Hellknights are most likely the Order of the Godclaw.
Edit: I was wrong -- It's Order of the Nail, as their Citadel is the one mentioned elsewhere.
Creative Director
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We're still working out the best way to do a proper, full on Age of Ashes reveal/announcement. For prior Adventure Paths, of course, we did an hour long seminar at PaizoCon or Gen Con to introduce them and then do a Question/Answer session.
We'll certainly have a seminar about the Age of Ashes Adventure Path at PaizoCon, but I'm hoping to be able to chat a bit more about it somehow, somewhere, someday before then. At this point, my best guess is that it'll be on a stream on a Friday... but I only suggest topics for those streams. I don't make the final decisions about them.
I HAVE revealed that it focuses on the now-abandoned Citadel Altaerein in Isger, so it's the Order of the Nail's original (and much smaller than their bigger citadel in Varisia) castle that features in Hellknight Hill.
We pretty much told the story we want to tell about the Godclaw already as part of Hell's Vengeance.
I can also say that while Hellknight history and stuff does serve as a theme in the first adventure, they are not the primary focus of the whole Adventure Path.
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I suspect it's about all the ashtrays that everyone had in the '70s and how they were successfully driven away by a band of heroes.
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Apparently the AP will be about stopping some super dooper fire-breathing dragon who, if not stopped, will convert matter to ash at a rapid pace, thus leading to an age of, erm, ashes.
So Dark Souls then...*sigh* Better get my Estus Flasks.
An epidemic of Dragon Cold.
Apparently the AP will be about stopping some super dooper fire-breathing dragon who, if not stopped, will convert matter to ash at a rapid pace, thus leading to an age of, erm, ashes.So Dark Souls then...*sigh* Better get my Estus Flasks.
Hey, it could always be a meta-game shift like adventures of edition changes past. (See time of troubles, fate of istus and the the general insanity that wrapped around the 4e forgotten realms)
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Hey, it could always be a meta-game shift like adventures of edition changes past. (See time of troubles, fate of istus and the the general insanity that wrapped around the 4e forgotten realms)Apparently the AP will be about stopping some super dooper fire-breathing dragon who, if not stopped, will convert matter to ash at a rapid pace, thus leading to an age of, erm, ashes.So Dark Souls then...*sigh* Better get my Estus Flasks.
No, they already said they're not doing the cataclism edition change trope.
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Since this is a thread about the AP I guess it's not necessary with spoiler-tags.
From the Friday chat with Erik Mona:
Starts out at 1st level, PCs will probably be mostly natives of Isger. If you draw a straight line from where the Whispering Tyrant is to Absalom, that would run straight through Isger (relevance to the AP is uncertain or if it's just a bit of background on Isger).
The heroes start in a small town close to the Hellknight fortress and they go explore it. In the basement they find a network of ancient portals that will take them to various spots all throughout the "new" campaign setting, including places off the map that we've not gone to before, ever, but that people are asking for constantly.
In the course of doing that the players uncover a sort of conspiracy that is geared towards unleashing a flight of dragons to devastate the Inner Sea area.
So, it's a "Draconic conspiracy", it's a wide ranging adventure path that in some ways will make a perfect introduction to some of the goings on in the "new" campaign setting.
The ultimate villain is a character that people who have been paying attention to Pathfinder for a while have definitely heard of (but Erik, of course, didn't reveal who exactly). He thinks it's going to be really interesting and probably very surprising.
While they said they're not doing the cataclysmic edition change thing, they did say there will be AP changes to the setting. And I'm getting the impression more and more that The Whispering Tyrant isn't going to be destroyed at the end of Tyrant's Grasp, and will probably be ruling the Vyrlich region of Ustalav and possibly much of what is currently Lastwall (likely in a diminished form and not full power, but a presence in the world). Not quite a Time of Troubles, but in line with some of the changes from previous APs. The straight line from Gallowspire to Absalom thing, I suspect is a reference to him leaving a trail of destruction, accidentally setting off whatever happens in Age of Ashes.
This could get awful spoilery in a hurry, best to use spoiler tags if we're going down that road.
As for locations. I'd bet that one of them is going to be Arcadia. There was mention of going to multiple locations, including some off the map that people have wanted to see for a long time. Arcadia is clearly the top there. But maybe something like Vudra too.
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I think Arcadia is less likely because
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Hm... I'm not sure it'll be an Orb of Dragonkind either, at least not as the main thing, because we already had an AP where the main villain used one.
I think "powerful dragon marshaling army of similar dragons" is much more likely.
Places we haven't visited yet that would be interesting to drop into: Geb, Nex, Alkenstar, Nidal, Galt, Hermea, Vudra, Sarusan (I hope we don't go to Sarusan.)
Good point about Arcadia. In which case I think Vudra might be the most likely candidate after that for an off-map location. I'm pretty sure they've said that they're not going to do anything on Sarusan. Leaving it as kind of a GM playground that won't be contradicted by canon. There's also Southern Garund and Casmaron.
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Creative Director
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I can say this—for Age of Ashes, we're not going "off map." The entire Adventure Path takes place in areas that show up on the map on page 7 of the Inner Sea World Guide (although some of those locations are brand new areas we've never talked about before, like the small town of Breachill in Isger, where the Adventure Path begins).
I can say this—for Age of Ashes, we're not going "off map." The entire Adventure Path takes place in areas that show up on the map on page 7 of the Inner Sea World Guide (although some of those locations are brand new areas we've never talked about before, like the small town of Breachill in Isger, where the Adventure Path begins).
I also took Erik's "off map" comment to mean areas that hadn't been detailed before, but were within the scope of the world as had been revealed so far.
I can say this—for Age of Ashes, we're not going "off map." The entire Adventure Path takes place in areas that show up on the map on page 7 of the Inner Sea World Guide (although some of those locations are brand new areas we've never talked about before, like the small town of Breachill in Isger, where the Adventure Path begins).
Ah ok. So still in the Inner Sea region. There are quite a few places that haven't been explored, so that's still good. Hermea would be a fun stop, especially because dragons, and because It's been so closed off and unseen. Galt maybe. Druma? Jalmeray would be cool.
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When someone mentions an extremely powerful dragon my first thought is
But that's probably just wishful thinking on my part.
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Apparently the AP will be about stopping some super dooper fire-breathing dragon who, if not stopped, will convert matter to ash at a rapid pace, thus leading to an age of, erm, ashes.
I sincerely hope it's about Mengkare losing his peanuts after a latest failed batch of "candidates" and deciding TO END THIS WORLD IF HE CAN'T FIX IT.
The Age of Ashes is about Damiel creating his own Army of Darkness Ashness consisting solely of Evil Ash Williamses to loot, pillage, run amok, snark, and groove-ily conquer Cheliax from Queen Abri Normal and her gang of Looney Thrunes.
It'll span multiple continents (revealed by Erik in the Game Trade Media Twitch stream from GAMA - Q&A after the game run by Jason).
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It'll span multiple continents (revealed by Erik in the Game Trade Media Twitch stream from GAMA - Q&A after the game run by Jason).
This is slightly misleading. It's true, but the continents in question are Avistan and Garund (ie: he immediately followed up by saying it all occurs in the Inner Sea area).
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When someone mentions an extremely powerful dragon my first thought is
** spoiler omitted **But that's probably just wishful thinking on my part.
They did just release a video game set near there, and they are planning on advancing the timeline and describing how changes from each AP success shows up in world. I think this is a likely choice!
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I highly doubt it will be Choral, because a number of people (myself including) will have already killed Choral off via that same continuing the campaign section.
My players remember Choral and his army of fire giants as one of the most epic victories they ever had, and I doubt Paizo would risk decanonizing stories like that by using him in another AP.
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I sincerely hope it's about Mengkare losing his peanuts after a latest failed batch of "candidates" and deciding TO END THIS WORLD IF HE CAN'T FIX IT.
Still my favorite theory, especially after Erik's comment on last week's Twitch stream (timestamped link):
And the last thing I'll say about it is the ultimate villain is a character that people who have been paying attention to Pathfinder for a while have definitely heard of, and I cannot wait to reveal it. It's gonna be really interesting, I think in some ways it's gonna be very surprising, and it's gonna be rad.
Mengkare is the suggestion I've seen so far that most seems to fit with "really interesting ... in some ways very surprising."
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Someone very well known for quite some time but who might have enjoyed lesser exposure recently, likely because they were chosen to be this BBEG ?
And both interesting (as in allows to explore new kinds of stories, I would guess), and very surprising, as in someone we would not expect to be a BBEG, maybe because of apparent alignment or power.
I do not believe Mengkare fits the bill though. He is not that well-known by people, even in years past, and many are already quite suspicious about him so it would not be that surprising.
It might be Razmir, though I think such a story would be too close to that of the Whispering Tyrant.
At first I thought of someone like that kindly Cleric in Sandpoint whose name eludes me. But not sure he is that well-known if you have not played in Sandpoint.
I thought of Seltyiel too. Or Durvin Gest.
Arggh. Just thought of someone else who was a potential candidate and the thought escaped me and I cannot find it again. Surely it was them
I confess, I know who Mengkare is and what he's about but could not tell you the first thing about Durvin Gest or Seltyiel.
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I confess, I know who Mengkare is and what he's about but could not tell you the first thing about Durvin Gest or Seltyiel.
Surely you're having a brain-fart!?
He's an ICONIC !
;p
I'm curious if that Ghost Dragon in Rahadoum shows up.
Seems like could be potential ally who knows the dirt on the ones behind this plot.
Rahadoum also has been less explored AFAIK, so would be reasonable locale to visit...
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Creative Director
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I can say this for sure: Iconics pretty much NEVER show up in our adventures or Adventure Paths–they're meant to be stand-ins for your PCs. The only time we've used an iconic as a character in anything we've published (other than as sample pregenerated characters) is in Return of the Runelords, where they served as proxies for whoever played the prior adventures (Rise of the Runelords or Shattered Star) at your table.
AKA: The BBG of Age of Ashes is not Seltyiel. Or any iconic, for that matter.
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I can say this for sure: Iconics pretty much NEVER show up in our adventures or Adventure Paths–they're meant to be stand-ins for your PCs. The only time we've used an iconic as a character in anything we've published (other than as sample pregenerated characters) is in Return of the Runelords, where they served as proxies for whoever played the prior adventures (Rise of the Runelords or Shattered Star) at your table.
AKA: The BBG of Age of Ashes is not Seltyiel. Or any iconic, for that matter.
It’s Alain’s horsie isn’t it?
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Durvin Gest on other hand is just the most famous Pathfinder in existence :p
It feels like if you play APs (making your own characters) but never PFS you hear very little about the iconics (though you probably know what they look like from the art) or the Pathfinder Society.
Like in all the games of Pathfinder I have been part of I've probably been to more haunted or abandoned Pathfinder Lodges than met living Pathfinders.
I can say this for sure: Iconics pretty much NEVER show up in our adventures or Adventure Paths–they're meant to be stand-ins for your PCs. The only time we've used an iconic as a character in anything we've published (other than as sample pregenerated characters) is in Return of the Runelords, where they served as proxies for whoever played the prior adventures (Rise of the Runelords or Shattered Star) at your table.
AKA: The BBG of Age of Ashes is not Seltyiel. Or any iconic, for that matter.
It's Damiel, isn't it? His experiments turned him into a dragon-like creature and since he's no longer an iconic, replaced by Fumbus, he'd make the obvious, non-obvious villain!
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I'm still betting on Reincarnated Goblin Aroden turned Evil... Good guy act has to get boring eventually.
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I do admit that Durvin Gest is HISTORICAL pathfinder :D Just has his statue around Grand Lodge and all.(and famous for random deeds like throwing one lens into bottomless well iirc)
Anyhoo, I'm in "I hope its actual dragon" since monster bbegs are actually kinda rare in APs :D