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Hello All,
I wanted to write a campaign journal for a game I am GMing of the Wrath of the Righteous Campaign. While I have been playing and GMing RPGs for a very long time, and reading the Paizo forums for many years, I have never posted anything before, so am not sure if I am doing this correctly or not.
Please bear with me as I figure this out.
My group started playing the campaign a few months ago and we are in the middle of the second section of the second book (about to assault Drezen).
I have made some interesting modifications to the campaign to deal with the issues around the mythic rules as well as to tighten the narrative and make up for the portion of the AP that are quite weak (books 3 & 4).
Hopefully someone out there will enjoy this...
Let me begin with a few notes about my style and the style of my group.
I am a rules light GM. I love the complexity of the PF system and the depth it brings.I frequently make use of the crunch in the rules set as I have a couple of players for whom this is very important; however, in the middle of an encounter I will sacrifice fidelity to the rule set for keeping the action moving, and in this campaign journal I will avoid a lot of discussion of the intricacies of the rule set.
I intend to post a lot of the content changes that I have used in my run of the campaign. Some of these are original, some are not, and some of this content is somewhere in between (I collected content from many places and further modified it for my game). I am not claiming ownership of any of this content (even the stuff I wrote, and if I am using custom content that you think I am not properly attributing please let me know and I will make the necessary changes).
One last note before I jump in...this thread will be full of spoilers. Like...really full of spoilers...so if that is a bad idea for you please do not read any further.
Hope you Enjoy.
I have made slight changes to the background of Golarion and to the adventure path. Essentially, the wild magics of the Pathfinder Universe is relatively new to the world.
The World of the Wrath of the Righteous
The larger world remains largely undefined. What is known is this:
There were many pantheons of gods worshiped by the citizens of the world. People argued, philosophized, fought and died, and built great monuments to their chosen deities. But largely, the gods didn’t seem to notice. The heavens and the hells, to those who looked upon them honestly, were largely silent and people muddled through. Some, perhaps many, (and some suspected most), did not really believe in the stories of the priests and prophets, and so when the shrill voices of the temples, churches and chantries began to speak of a great event soon to unfold most dismissed it as yet another fanciful prophecy designed to aggrandize the messengers.
The nature of the event varied from nation to nation and took on a flavor to reflect the local customs, culture and circumstance. In central Avistan it was said the Aroden the Father would manifest within the world itself and end all misery and strife, that those of this world would be reunited with those lost to the next. That a millennial Kingdom would be brought forth where hunger, death, envy and want would be banished and justice would reign.
To the disappointment of all, the prophecy turned out to be false. Instead of leading the faithful into a golden age the priests of Aroden fell into despair and claimed that the Father no longer spoke to them. For most, the dread of the priests was of little consequence. The gods were already distant and so the end of the faint whispering to the few mattered not.
That is until 4606 AR when the Worldwound ripped open the earth and the demons of the Abyss begin to pour forth. Word spread slowly at first but eventually the news traveled across the face Golarion. The previously doubting masses began to throng to the churches, temples and chantries seeking salvation and answers to their prayers. The church of Aroden, deprived of the guidance from the Father began to unravel just as it was needed the most. Other churches of the gods of the various pantheons stepped in to fill the void, some providing real assistance and guidance, while others preyed upon the desperation and confusion to forward the often sinister intentions of their masters.
Wild magics, previously dormant upon Golarion sparked back to life. Strange creatures, long believed to be nothing more than fairy tales from a previous age suddenly stalked the countryside. Sinister creatures whispered poison into the ears of once proud and just rulers, and the world sat upon the edge of chaos’ doom. It was 4620 AR when the scattered and demoralized remnants of the church of Aroden began to regroup. The leaders of the church began to hear a new voice from the beyond that spoke to them, gave them comfort, and provided them with the means to resist the foul creatures of the Abyss. Iomedae, long portrayed as the shield maiden of Aroden, now manifested as The Inheritor of the Father and her priests, clerics and the soldiers who swore their allegiance to her began to reorganize. In just two short years they launched the First Crusade and together with the followers of the other lawful deities turned back the demons of the Abyss.
The once distant Gods have returned to Avistan, their magic, and the magic from many other sources, once again empowers their followers in the struggle between order and chaos.
Now, more than a century later, we stand upon the horizon of a Fifth Crusade, one that the champions of law have spent two decades planning and one that they are convinced will win the war. Unknown to them, the enemy has also been at work, and the best laid plans of each side are about to come into direct conflict upon Celebration of Armasse.
A quick review of the characters in the game. There are four Player Characters:
Al-Sayad
An aasimar Divine Hunter Paladin of Iomedea
Not a lot of background established.
Caliburn Durihan
An aasimar Paladin of Iomedea
Cal is a classic hero who lived his early life as a star athlete and was the quarterback of his high school (fantasy)football team.
Kala
An aasimar demon slayer Bloodrager
The second daughter of a Sarkoran chieftain from a tribe that has held out against the demonic corruption that has overcome their homeland.
Tobia Kirchhammer
An aasimar War Priest of Iomedea
Tobias was raised by monks who encouraged his priestly education but tried to steer him a away from the violent tendencies of this warrior side. They were unsuccessful, and when the Proctor of the Fifth Crusade showed up they were only too happy to rid of their troublesome ward.
They are all aasimars for a reason that makes sense within the context of the story (more on that later). In our Golarion no one has ever hear of an aasimar before. Everybody, including them, believe them to be humans who are a bit 'off'.
Prologue
Each player is assigned a guide from the Order of the Silver Dragon who has travelled across the face of Golarian to locate the characters and bring them back to Mendev. Terendelev intends that the selected heroes will become leading members of a new fifth Crusade that will forever close the world wound. This is a vision that came to her in a dream state as a prophecy from Iomadea.
The purpose of this prologue is to make the players believe that the adventure path has kicked off with one particular path in mind…that they will be trained by their guides and become the founding members of the fifth crusade…
They are even given their first mission, which will be to accompany the member of the Order of the Silver Dragon north to scout the fallen stronghold of Drezen. They will be given their silver dragon scale amulets at a private ceremony that happens in the moments before the opening events of the adventure path.
The events of the adventure path will intervene however…
Guide 1: ELIAS BRAUN, Male Human Cavalier (LVL 6)
• Fate (Killed in the opening attack…instantaneous meaningless death at the hands of a demon)
• Generous and friendly. Is in love with the silver dragon.
Guide 2: REENA BECK, Female Human Cavalier (LVL 6)
• Fate(Killed in the opening attack…sacrifices self to save the heroes from certain death from a demon)
• Serious and grim. Dedicated to creation of the Fifth Crusade.
Guide 3: MALCOM VESTILUS , Male Human Cavalier (LVL 8)
• Fate(survives the initial attack, but dies (a death scene?) in the fall down the crevice created in the opening attack.
• Is the leader of the Order of the Silver Dragon
Guide 4: MARCO VESTILUS Male Human Cavalier (LVL 4)
• Fate (survives the initial attack and reappears at the Siege of the Grey Garrison (or before to lead the character back to the Inn)
• Is the only son of Malcom Vestilus. He seems young and lighthearted but is actually very committed his tasks and his order. Is light hearted to start.
• He is a ranged attack paladin.
Armasse Eve (15 Arodus, 4713 in the Age of Lost Omens)
FOUNDING OF THE Order of the Silver Dragon.
Terendelev in human form is present as are several other Novitiates and their Proctors as well as Hulrun and his honor guard.
You stand among the assembled ranks of Initiates and Proctors, perhaps 200 strong in the central Sanctuary of the Cathedral of Saint Clydwell. Beams of sunlight stream in though the large stained glass windows bathing the central altar in a kaleidoscope of colors. As you look around you notice that while the Proctors are of varying ages the Initiates are uniformly young and like you, exceptional in appearance in some way. As the pleasant odour of incense permeated the large expanse of the cathedral, a woman of extraordinary grace and charisma steps upon the Altar and a hush falls over the crowd. Near you an Initiates breath out an exclamation, “Terendelev”, before he receives a none-too-gentle nudge from his Proctor. The woman crosses the altar, ascends the dais and stands behind the large pulpit. As she speaks the colours in the room brighten and the air lightens considerably.
Terendelev] “I am not fond of long speeches as it is actions that speak to character rather than words, but on this occasion I will take a few moments to address all of those assembled. It is my great honor to act as the Patron of the Silver Order…we are the First Order of the Last Crusade. I say the Last Crusade and not the fifth, because in the months and years to come we will not simply stand our ground, we will not be the rocks upon which the raging tides of the Abyss breaks, but we will advance to the very edge of the Pit and drive the demon lords that have plagued the world back to their cages.
Many of us assembled here have worked for decades and endured significant risk to realize this day, but all of those hardships are nothing but the foundations for our victory for we will all remain true to our purpose, true to ourselves and most importantly true to another. Today we declare the Order Of the Silver Dragon, we do this in the presence of Saint Clydwell and in the presence of the Inheritor herself.
(Applause and cheers resound through the cathedral)
O what a disgrace if the despised race known as demons, should conquer a people which has the faith of Iomedae and is made glorious with the names of our righteous ancestors! With what reproaches will the Gods of Law overwhelm us if you do not aid those who, with us, profess to stand in defense of the defenseless! Let those who have been accustomed unjustly to wage private warfare against the faithful now go against the demon host and end the with war with victory. Let those who have been robbers, now become knights. Let those who have been fighting against their brothers fight in a proper way against the Spawn of the Abyss. Let those who have been serving as mercenaries for small pay now obtain the eternal reward. Let those who have been wearing themselves out in both body and soul now work for a double honor. Let those will serve not put off the journey, but on the morrow at the High Armasse take and renew the Vow of the Righteous; then let them eagerly set out on the way with Iomedea as their guide.
You stand here as the fulfillment of a strategy launched decades ago and so it is with profound confidence that I tell you that on the morrow, when the oaths have been spoken, that the final battle of this century long war will begin. Go now in peace on this final night, for tomorrow you will be transformed into the instruments of Righteous WAR!”
With this the assembled ranks burst with enthusiasm and you hear (and potentially join) the refrain of “First of the Last! First of the Last”
The PC’s meet with their Proctors and are told that they have until sun down to explore the city on their own but that they should be prepared to leave Kenebres immediately after the Oath Ceremony at the end of Armasse as they have been given their first mission which is to scout the fortress of Drezen deep behind enemy lines.
Armasse (16 Arodus, 4713 in the Age of Lost Omens)
It is noon and Armasse has finally begun. The courtyard in front of the cathedral of Saint Clydwell is filled with festivities. Scholars, priests and soldiers alike join together in discussions and light hearted military-themed games and competitions. A couple of hours into the afternoon smaller ceremonies are held where new priests are ordained and knights select squires for service.
After these ceremonies are complete a herald steps forth and invites all of those in attendance to move to the jousting arena. When the competitors are asked to move to either end of the lists Marco unexpectantly steps away from the group, gives a courteous bow and with a big smile asks you all to wish him fair fortune.
{If the PCs want to participate in the joust it should be handled very quickly and without the formality of the combat rules}
The jousting competition progresses to completion; Marco makes it to the final round but is finally unhorsed by a Knight of the Eagle Watch. After being knocked from his horse he slowly stumbles to his feet…removed his helmet and lifts his hand to indicate the he is okay…then drops to one knee in a sign of yielding…then falls over unconscious. (He is going to be fine but is taken from the field to receive medical attention).
After the jousting the mood becomes more serious and all of those assembled are asked to make their way to the front of the courtyard at the steps of the Cathedral of Saint Clydwell. As the sun reaches its zenith on this beautiful late summer day in mid Arodus, Lord Hulrun himself, ruler of Kenabres walks out upon a prepared altar. Hulrun is well past his middle years, but the seasoned inquisitor has a keen gaze, as well as strength and purpose to his movements that belie his advancing age. Clad in resplendent full plate, he is every inch the soldier as he takes the stage to address the crowd gathered in Clydwell Plaza. The lord of Kenabres simply raises his hand and a hush spreads across the mass of onlookers.
He addresses the crowd saying, “I have stood watch over this Cathedral and the city of Kenebres for more than thirty years. It is the city of Kenebres and you its stalwart defenders that have, more than any other, held back the demons that threaten to overwhelm all of the civilized nations of Golarion. It is a task that we take up as a sacred duty, and today I ask you to join me in renewing that duty through speaking the oath that binds us, our flesh, our will and our immortal spirits to this great crusade.”
At this final word, all of the knights assembled in the plaza draw their blades as one and kneel. Holding their swords in front of them they recite the pledge. {PC should be encouraged to do the same}
“I do so swear under the Light, by the Sword and Scales of Truth and all the fires of heaven, to undertake this holy Crusade. I pledge to guard heart, spirit, body, and mind from the corruption of this Wound upon the World. I furthermore promise and declare that I shall wage relentless war against the Spawn of the Pit and their manifold legions, as directed by those with charge of this Crusade.
We are light .
We are mercy.
We are justice.
We are unbent, unbroken and Resolute. We stand as one.”
With this final phrase all of those in attendance stand as One and turn to those around them and upon shaking their hands say…
“I will guard the honor of my fellows, both thought and deed, and will have faith in them”
{PC’s roll a perception check…those who pass notice a slight tremor and have 1 round to act).
A wave of uncertainty passes through the crowd and then there is a second tremor…much stronger than the last and the assembled crowd starts to break apart. As you look around you see that Hulrun and his guard have drawn their swords.
{1 round to act}.
From the direction of the Kite a light brighter than the sun casts the shadow of Hulrun in stark relief against the walls of the Cathedral and an instant later the sound of a thunderous explosion assaults your ears as you are hurtled in to the people around and a shock wave tears through the city.
{one Refex save to remain standing and a second to avoid damage from the exploding stone of the Kite (1d4+1 damage)}.
To the west, the fortress known as the Kite, the location of the Kenebres Wardstone, is nowhere to be seen, and in its place is a terrifying pillar of demon fire, lightening and smoke that stretches up to the heavens. From the altar you see Hulrun struggle to his feet calling out “Remember your oath, crusaders. We are unbent, unbroken…stand as one.” At this moment his words are drowned out by a deafening roar and all heads turn as one to behold its source. The wings of the Balor Kormanzeddah rise from the pillar of ash and smoke where the Wardstone once stood. Despair moves through the assembled crusaders like a knife.{PC’s make a Will save versus fear or be paralyzed for 1d4 rounds}, but upon the altar Hulrun appears unaffected as you see him trying to rally those around him. {Let 1 rounds pass in which the non-affected PCs can act}
As those in the assembled ranks appear ready to break from the sudden appearance of a Balor a most welcome sight bolsters morale. A tall slender woman in shining silver armour strides forward through the press and as you watch she triples in height and continues to grow. Terendelev glances in your direction and you filled with courage.
{PCs who failed their previous will save automatically recover}.
Silver wings unfurl from her back and her neck elongates as she takes flight over the plaza, no longer a woman but now a majestic silver dragon.
{PCs have a round to act}.
Of course, hers are not the only wings rising into the air at that moment. From the ruins of the Kite another form streaks across the sky, as nightmarish as the dragon is breathtaking. A humanoid shape three times the size of the largest man, his powerful frame wrapped in crimson flesh and wreathed in unholy fire and lightening grips a flaming sword and whip. As his gaze sweeps across the plaza all hell breaks loose.
{Perception check (DC 10) to notice that many around them are breaking from the fear but ever since Terendelev’s glance they remain calm}.
Screaming citizens, soldiers and others bolt in every direction and you find yourself hard pressed to avoid being trampled.
{PCs make strength or agility checks to remain standing…those with the largest bonus’ go first and if they are successful they can automatically aid the next player(add +2 to the die roll). A failure results in the PC being dragged along by the crowd in a random direction by 10 feet.}
Demon and Dragon meet in a titanic midair collision; Gouts of super-chilled water flash to steam as they meet the Balor-Lord’s fiery hide, and the flaming sword tears at the dragon’s breast, leaving blackened gashes where gleaming silver scales used to be. To your left and at ground level you see a wizard hurl a spell at an advancing group of demons that have leapt from the ruins of the Kite and are now rampaging among the defenders. One of the demons is temporarily slowed by the spell but another reaches out with a fiery whip that catches the wizard full in face and you see him go down.
{1 round to act}.
The ground continues to shake and a massive chasm spreads through the streets and across the plaza disgorging a horde of demons into the streets of Kenebres. No one is safe from the onslaught and you watch in horror as civilians and soldiers alike are shredded by rending claws and gnashing teeth.
{A second round of strength and agility checks to stay together}.
A world-breaking demon 25 feet tall with four arms and great bony wings tears up through the pavement near your feet.
{High agility checks to remain standing}
Suddenly your proctors are all about you, Elias and Reena, their swords and armour already covered in the gore of countless enemies, begin to hammer the demon with blows. It turns its attention from you to its assailants.
Malcom strides across the courtyard batting a small flying demon out the air as he approaches you. “The Wardstone is fallen…we have to get you out of here before you are all killed.” With that you hear a shriek of pain from where the large demon burst through the ground and looking up you see the corpse of Proctor Beck rend in two and thrown across the plaza, her sword lands at your feet with a clatter.
Malcolm yells at you, “Move all of you, now”
{1 round to act but the characters cannot fully get out of the plaza}
Above you Terendelev and Khormazaddah continue to be locked in a titanic battle. For a moment it appears that Terendelev will be victorious as she has a claw wrapped around the Balor’s throat, but just at that moment a mighty swing from the Balor’s sword cripples the dragon’s left wing and both combatants hurtle to the earth and through the façade of the Cathedral. Great plumes of dust and stones are thrown across the entire length of the courtyard and for a moment all of the individual battles come to halt and there is the briefest moment of silence.
{Reflex saves to avoid damage…Malcolm critically fails and is struck in the side of the head by particularly large piece of stone work.}
Suddenly a massive quake, seemingly right below your feet, shakes the earth to its core. As you struggle to remain standing (or to stand) the ground begins to actually shift beneath you. At this moment, with your head turned in the direction of the former Cathedral you hear an ear splitting roar and see the Storm King step from the rubble, the apparently lifeless body of the silver dragon held aloft in his mighty hand. He bellows a howl of victory and throws the dragon’s body in your direction. You turn to run, but the ground falls away beneath your feet, angling away back into the black chasm below.
Even as you slip below the heaving earth, your gaze meets that of the mortally wounded dragon, her life's blood pouring out upon the plaza of the Cathedral of St. Clydwell. Whether by some intelligent design beyond comprehension, or as a random act of mercy in her dying moments, she is compelled to intervene in the only way she is able; to save what few souls she can from the madness of the day’s events. Her blood-soaked talon stretches in your direction and suddenly your fall slows. Your bodies floated into the chasm as if feathers wafting on a light breeze. Yet there was nothing you can do to prevent yourselves from drifting downward, nor can you stop the falling rubble and torn corpses from buffeting you against the chasm walls, and as you drift down into the depths, the last thing you see is the Storm King standing before your savior's broken body, bellowing triumphantly as his sword tears fully through her throat. As her severed head falls, the rift above you slams shut, and the light of the world is gone.
PART 1: The Trek Below Kenebres
Notes: I didn't like many of the encounters in this section as it seemed anti-climactic to have an epic opening followed by killing a couple of big insects so I made some changes. Many of these encounters were far more fun to play as there was more opportunity for interactions than there would have been with bugs. I will list some of the changes below but will skip most of the hardcore rules stuff as it is available elsewhere (you can look up dretch is you want to). After each section I will leave a few quick notes on the outcome of the encounter.
[Encounter 1]
The Cowardly Dretch
This dretch got lost when it wandered off from a work party that it was trying to avoid. The work party had been toiling down in the caverns to weaken the areas under the plaza by undermining the structure. Once the work was completed the party teleported away but this dretch managed to escape. It has been sleeping for the past week but was here when larger demons, now wreaking havoc above began to teleport into prepare for the attack. It escaped notice and really wants nothing more than to go back to sleeping. The dretch will attempt to avoid contact with the party if it can, but it is not particularly clever. It has decided that things are just too noisy in this area and so it will try to follow the party at a distance and attack at a later date if an opportunity presents itself.
Outcome: As the first demon that the party really had a chance to combat they asked very few questions. The dretch was hunted down and dispatched very quickly.
[Encounter 2]
Injured Quasit (Glitchzz)
Glitchzz was the Quasit familiar of a wizard secretly in league with the Abyss. Her master was visiting the city and posing as an academic researching at the library of the Riftwardens, but was actually gathering information on the library itself and the strength of its defenders. Alas, her master was too low level to have been included in the details of the attack and was caught off guard just like everyone else, In the attack on Kenebres, her master was injured first by a Nabasu, and then met her end when the chasm below the Plaza opened up. She died in the fall. The Quasit was injured because she was shackled to her master (she now trails a fine chain still attached to the severed arm of her master) and so could avoid the fall. For this reason she cannot effectively fly during this encounter. She is also frustrated that even when she turns invisible the arm to which she is shacked is still visible and that her polymorph ability is not functioning due to a rune her master placed on her to prevent her from making mischief. She is now fatigued due the effort she has exerted to move away from the site of the cave-in where the party began. (she managed to sneak away initially). When her master died she tried to manifest back in the Abyss but failed and is now trapped on Golarion.
Outcome: Glitchzz was a lot of fun to play. Despite being a demon she managed to convince the party not to kill her and to let her follow them out of the dungeon. She later escaped to the surface. Initially they spotted her because after returning to an area of the cave that they had just been in they saw an severed arm laying the path that had not been there before.
[Encounter 2]
Millorn’s Tormentor
Sleeben the Dark Creeper is an encounter I added to help explain Millorns's background and insanity in way that I thought was easier to play in the game. I find much of the backgrounds as written are difficult to fit into the actual play period as they are usually no action elements to prompt the reveal of the exposition.
Sleeben is a creature who began his life as Mongrelman but was exiled early after the second crusade for crimes long lost to history. Banishment from the tribe in those days meant almost certain death due to the harsh conditions and lack of food, but Sleeben’s particular mutation made it possible for him to subsist on the normally poisonous Black Smear Mushroom. While the Fungi did not kill him it has mutated his body and twisted his mind. He came across Millorn some time ago and when the Dwarf first entered the cavern system in search of the rumored Mongrelmen and he began slowly poisoning Millorn and tormenting him eventually leading to the Dwarfs current insane state.
Sleeben is a devious adversary who will prefer to track the characters from a distance and he will assume that they cannot see well in the dark unless they are of obviously of a race with darkvision. He will be outnumbered and so his preferred approach is ambush while the characters are sleeping or he may attempt to befriend the PC’s. If he manages this he will try to stick with them for as long as possible but will be secretly attempting to poison their food with the extract of Black Smear Mushroom .If Sleeben is still with the PC’s when they encounter the Dark Mantles he may choose to attack if the party becomes the subject of Deeper Darkness and they are obviously impaired. Millorn is furious with Sleeben as his mental illness has now manifested as paranoia and he is convinced that the Dark Creeper has poisoned him (he is correct in this, but this is totally coincidental as he has no rational evidence to back this up).
Outcome: The addition of Sleeben made the Millorn encounter far more interesting and allowed me to justify Millorns reckless aggression against an obviously superior foe. He had originally befriended the PCs and they initially tried to make peace with Millorn. The encounter itself was far more challenging than I thought (due to Millorns invisibility) and essentially ended with the PC's escaping down a tunnel and leaving Millorn behind in a state of murderous rage. Soon afterward (and before the PCs reached the Mongrelman settlement), Sleeben snuck off so he could go back to continue torturing Millorn.