Harry Potter and the Curse of the Crimson Throne [Modified AP / SPOILERS]

[Justin Riddler]

When it is time to start a new adventure, I tend to have lots of ideas on games I’m interested in GMing, and pitch those ideas to my players to let them decide which one they want to pursue. The pitch my players have currently selected is for the Curse of the Crimson Throne adventure path.

The AP is mostly set in Korvosa, and I’ve always loved the details about the Acadamae in that city. I also wanted to incorporate the Academy of Secrets module into the adventure. I like the idea of having the PCs be students at the Academae, and so I have dubbed this modification: “Harry Potter and the Curse of the Crimson Throne”

I will be using this thread as kind of a development diary & campaign journal - this first post is long and explains my set-up, but I’ll come back every few weeks with a new comment summarizing the most recent session.
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Initial Concept Pitch to the Players:

All is not well in the Varisian city of Korvosa and its Acadamae of Arcane Arts; your first day as an incoming freshman has been marked by the death of the king, and riots in the streets! While the school traditionally only takes Wizards, they have been forced to expand enrollment due to the high student-mortality rate and dwindling finances; PCs should be some casting class, or find ways to fake it. Can you survive the oncoming rise of tyranny *and* prepare for your potions final?

Expanded Concept:

Welcome to the Korvosan Acadamae for Arcane Arts and Sciences!

To some surprise, you have recently been accepted as a new student to the Acadamae, a university for arcane study in the heart of the city-state of Korvosa, in southern Varisia. Traditionally, the school only accepts wizards who have passed rigorous magical tests, but for one reason or another, these tests have been waived for you and no one has checked to see if you really are a wizard!

Perhaps you just never thought of yourself as powerful enough to get into the Acadamae, or were pressured to apply by overbearing family members out of a sense of tradition. You could have faked your application, bribed a university official, or even had someone else apply on your behalf with embellished stories. Maybe you appealed to a sense of magical diversity, were a part of a legacy admission, or are from a culture or family that the Acadamae wants to make a good impression with. You may not even have any magical talent at all, and were accepted in error, bullied and cheated your way in, or were contracted to have diabolic power forced upon you to correct the deficiency.

The details of your application process and background are up to you, but now that you are accepted the challenge is to avoid expulsion. Students at the Acadamae are pledged as a resource to the university for a period of at least ten years—students either graduate by that time, or die in the process. Failing students are put into dangerous situations to force success as the prevailing teaching philosophy is “diamonds must be forged under heat and pressure.”

Your arrival at the Acadamae is peppered with despair. The Acadamae’s finances are stretched thin, and the student mortality rate is at an all-time high. Your workload and expectations look insurmountable, and each student appears to be focused on advancement in their craft at the expense of all others. Finally, Korvosa’s king, Eodred Arabasti II, has taken ill, resulting in unrest in the streets and a cloud of foul disposition to grip its people.

The kings and queens of Korvosa have long ruled under the shadow of the Curse of the Crimson Throne—an infamous superstition claiming that no monarch of the city of Korvosa shall ever die of old age or produce an heir. Whether or not there is any truth to the legend of the curse, King Arabasti II is poised to be the latest victim to succumb to this foul legacy. Now, the metropolis teeters on the edge of anarchy, and it will fall to a band of new heroes to save Korvosa from the greatest threat it has ever known!

Can you save Korvosa from the oncoming doom and still pass conjuration class?

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Beyond the Curse of the Crimson Throne AP, I’ll be layering in material from these sources:

Academy of Secrets (module)

Beginner Box Adventures 1 & 2

Pathfinder Comics: Runescar #1-#5, encounters section

Borrowing NPCs from novels, webfiction, and some PFS player characters, that all have ties to the Acadamae

Before the game began, each player received a “New Student Packet” from the school which included:

A player’s guide formatted and themed as a New Student Guide

A freshman house assignment (they were all House Drake, but I mocked-up one for House Imp too)

A letter of acceptance

A letter from their academic advisor

And a harrow card with a mysterious message on the back ;-)

A picture of the materials is on Know Direction’s facebook page.
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The Prologue
I try to find creative ways to provide exposition to my players and set-the-scene for an AP, and I’ve recently found that doing a prologue chapter helps me to accomplish this. In the prologue, the PCs will spend 3 semesters (9 months) attending classes at the Acadamae. This gives the PCs a period of time in which they can get to know each other as both players out-of-game, and characters in-game. The prologue is also meant to give context to the adventure, world-build, and foreshadow NPCs that will play larger roles later in the AP.

I foresaw this playing out as little vignettes of RP, similar to the “scenes in the classrooms” montage in the Harry Potter movies helps to show the kids learning and bonding. Each vignette will introduce 1-3 NPCs that the PCs should vaguely know about, drop a piece of information about Korvosa or the Pathfinder universe, and let the PCs RP out how they generally respond to that NPC and/or ask questions about them.

This also give the PCs room to be creative and come-up with their own situations they feel their characters would get into while at a wizarding boarding school, and RP out how the other PCs would have joined-in or responded to the situation.

Each semester will also have an “electives” course where a PC can ask the GM to detail out a question as it relates to the game world, and I’ll provide them a short paragraph answer summarizing what stuck with them the most from that class.

I’m not going to be super restrictive about time-versus-information in this chapter either, to avoid constantly returning to every NPC. The character may spend 100% of their time at the school, but the game is only taking-up maybe 2% of the player’s time. So there will be times when I say something to the effect of: “over the course of the semester you will discover that this NPC has X, Y, and Z social traits and quirks.” It may not be the most immersive means, but it is effective on making an impression with the PCs such that they remember that individual.

There are some very-low combats planned so the PCs can get to know how each responds to combat, and some skill challenges planned as part of “course-work” so that party can tell who is good at covering which skills. They can also adjust their 1st level builds as needed during the prologue.

As a reward for completing the prologue, the PCs will be level 2 before the actual story of the AP kicks-in.

[Justin Riddler]

The Great NPC Shuffling
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Major Ties back to the AP
I mentioned foreshadowing NPCs, so here is a list of some of the major NPCs from later in the adventure that I am teasing during the prologue. The PCs have a feeling that the BBEG is being teased in the prologue, which to some extent that is true, and made me happy that I pulled in so many red-herrings (see next sections).
WARNING - STRONG SPOILERS AHEAD!

King Eodred, Queen Ileosa, & Seneschal Neolandus:

- The King is meant to attend the prologue Breaching Festival in the PCs 3rd semester, but his health prevents him from attending - sending the Queen and Seneschal in his stead. Which lets the PCs know that Eodred’s health is failing, and highlights a rivalry between Ileosa and Neolandus. PCs may see both of them mingling with other individuals as the festival carries on.

Glorio Arkona:

- attends the graduation ceremony of Vavana Dhatri; will reappear during Escape from Old Korvosa

Janeska Hount:

- The players see her graduate in the same ceremony as Vavana Dhatri, but when she is not offered a position amongst the faculty, she leave the Acadmae very upset. She will go on to fail out of the entrance exam for the Order of the Nail, and cause havoc on the streets during Crown of Fangs as part of an encounter from the Runescar comics.

Maganrad:

- A student teacher at the Acadamae, Maganrad will compete alongside the PCs during the 2nd time the Breaching Festival occurs as part of Academy of Secrets.

Majenko:

- This house drake adopts the PCs on their first nite in the dorms, and will serve the party as if he were a familiar with the Mascot archetype. He gets kidnapped during the PCs 3rd semester, but they have a chance to rescue him from Eel’s End during Edge of Anarchy.

Meliya Arkona:

- attends the graduation ceremony of Vavana Dhatri, and PCs may see her flirting with Verik Vancaskerkin (who is working security at that event). She does not make any further “appearances” in the AP, but it may help the PCs connect Verik’s actions during Edge of Anarchy to the Arkonas, providing a foreshadow of the family flexing their political muscles and playing the long-game.

Rolth Lamm:

- A very creepy upperclassman at the Acadamae. The PCs will be integral in uncovering that Rolth has been killing students and stealing their bodies to try and build a corpse golem; even though that project was rejected by the staff. This results in Rolth being expelled from the Acadamae. PCs encounter more of his deeds during Edge of Anarchy, and can confront him directly during Seven Days to the Grave.

Terentius:

- Speaking of the Breaching Festival, the wizard Terentius will be used as a mentor and friend to the party during their first 3-ish semesters. The PC’s 3rd semester includes their first look at the Breaching Festival as they assist in setting-up and running the festival. Sadly, Terentius will disappear while attempting the Breaching, but the PCs will get a chance to rescue him the next year when the attempt it as part of the Academy of Secrets module.

Toff Ornelos:

- The Headmaster of the Acadamae welcomes the PCs as new freshmen, explains local political situations (as he sits on the Peerage Review), but also has to dish out discipline actions as needed. The PCs may see Toff conversing with Volshyenek at nite in House Ornelos if they sneak out at nite, and Toff is responsible for some other NPCs knowing each other. Ultimately, he will ask the PCs for help with the Breaching Festival as I insert the Academy of Secrets module into the mid-late game.

Togomor:

- This bloatmage is one of the faculty members of the school, working to dig-up dirt on Toff Ornelos. During Seven Days to the Grave, he will leave the school to become the new Seneschal until the PCs confront him during Crown of Fangs.

Vavana Dhatri:

- The players will see her graduate, and become a faculty member at the instance of Toff Ornelos. During the prologue Breaching Festival, she will get in the good graces with Queen Ileosa, and leave the school to work on the founding of the Gray Maidens.

Yzahnum:

- the efreeti is called and bound during a conjuration group project / occult ritual, i’ll even let the PCs determine an item that is the binding focus and then place that item within Ileosa’s chambers in Crown of Fangs, which is when they will face-off against the efreeti. It also means that he can better personally taunt the PCs in his other persona.

Zellara Esmeranda:

- Traditionally Zellara sparks the start of the AP. In the prologue, she is the current Dean of Divination, and is the PCs academic advisor. She has foreseen the “Doom of Korvosa” and has surreptitiously pulled strings to get the PCs admitted to the Acadamae so she can prepare them for their fate as saviors.

Zenobia Zenderholm:

- as a noble, she attends the prologue Breaching Festival. She also comes to the Acadamae to scold Toff Ornelos for expelling Rolth Lamm rather than having him hang for his crimes. She disappears from public view during Edge of Anarchy, returning at the end of Seven Days to the Grave to exonerate and publicly back the queen. The PCs confront her during Crown of Fangs.

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Minor Tie-ins
The following are NPCs who will also appear in the prologue as part of world-building but don’t play major roles in the AP. They are NPCs that the PCs will meet directly and serve to deliver bits of info, facts, and rumors about Korvosa and things that may happen down the line. They are also red-herrings to keep the PCs from recognizing the major NPCs from above. These are all NPCs from preliferal Paizo materials.
WARNING - MILD SPOILERS AHEAD!

Cheh:

- the mimic spy and assassin of Gorbic Salmore (ala Beginner Box: Tome)

Doctor Orontius:

- Prof of Illusion, fills the role of the hippy professor who bucks authority but is generally laid-back and lazy. Also works for the Cerulean Society as a positive connection the PCs could have with that organization. Character is borrowed from from the Theives’ Vinegar webfiction, and repurposed.

Elgin Remorri:

- Dean of Transmutation

Gasta Weagra:

- owner of the Golden Orrey, the Acadamae bookstore and supply store.

Gorbic Salmore:

- Prof of Transmutation, he fills the stereotype of the research professor who can’t be bothered by students and is annoyed by them. He is overly patriotic and plots the assassination of Linna Montrovale using a mimic servitor (ala Beginner Box: Tome). His zealotry is an indicator of the general political temperment of the faculty, which should build-up overtime to make the party eager to change things by late-AP.

Hazelindra:

- Prof of Necromancy & Occult - borrowed from Beginner Box: Tomb

Heresta Tarlan:

- Dean of Enchantment, she networks Vavana to Queen Ileosa.

Jandar Lilswin:

- student and Toff’s administrative assistant; borrowed and repurposed from the tour-guide student in the beginning of Academy of Secrets.

Julaei Cangi:

- Dean of Abjuration, her feud with Toff Ornelos leads to the Breaching being overly dangerous, and is one of the reasons Toff agrees to let the entire party participate.

Linna Montrovale:

- Prof of Conjuration, she fills the stereotype of the super-political liberal teacher who is trying to change the institute by infusing students with a desire to summon chaotic and good aligned outsiders. During the prologue, there is an attempt on her life by a zealous and traditionalist teacher that the PCs foil (ala Beginner Box: Tome). After the brush with death she decides it is time to leave - she could be an additional contact for the PCs in Kaer Maga during A History of Ashes.

Messida Vost:

- Dean of Conjuration, she accepts the contracts from the Queen for binding the 4 deamons that appear during Seven Days to the Grave, and the binding of the efreet Yzahnum who appears during Crown of Fangs.

Nazari:

- a doppelganger pretending to be a student so they can rob the Acadamae; PCs catch them late in the prologue. Borrowed from Beginner Box 2: Masks.

Nella Cailean:

- Freshman, and a bad-influence on others. Character is borrowed from from the Theives’ Vinegar webfiction, and repurposed.

Norva Allesain:

- Prof of Divnation, she ascends to Dean after Zellara’s death - being in the right place at the right time

Oriana Delmore:

- Dean of Necromancy, she makes the final decision that Rolth should be expelled but argues against his killing as he is a prodigy. She becomes depressed at Terentius’ supposed death, but is overly grateful if he is returned.

Rombastle Falgeringer:

- Dean of Illusion

Sagitar Tiguan, Basha, Phaedron Skoda, & Jope Chantsmo:

- merchants that frequently commission or purchase magical items from the campus crafting classes. Borrowed from the Guide to Korvosa and the Winter Witch novel.

Salgar Irevotnin:

- Dean of Evocation

Seskar Imintar:

- a freshman Enchantment major who is the stereotypical flirty gossip; she conveys several rumors to the PCs which help inform them of other students and faculty early-on. When the PCs return to campus for Academy of Secrets, she is the student who accidentally summons a Retreiver while trying to impress a student she has a crush on.

Varian Jeggare:

- The character from the Dave Gross series of Pathfinder novels makes a stop on campus as a distinguished alumni, and signs copies of Pathfinder chronicles at the Golden Orrey. He knows how infernal the Acadamae can be, but the great training it can provide. He’s like a celebrity guest appearance, or campus event speaker. Throw in some snide remarks about the Magistrate of Tourism using his likeness on brochures for the Acadamae against his wishes, and the PCs discover Varian’s true reason for the visit - a deal on getting those brochures discontinued.

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Purely Filler Characters
I needed to round off some things, so these are characters that only exist in my mind (or are PFS characters of mine or my husband). They fill-out missing gaps in knowledge or coverage in the vignettes. Their stories are entirely confined to the prologue, and serve as additional red-herrings.

Azure Blackros:

- Prof of Abjuration, a wizard who is at-odds with Dean Cagni’s teaching style

Blargh:

- Head of the campus guard, and a professor in PE; yup, make those freshman run laps! Gives the PCs a non-wizard as head of security that they could go to; a not-so-bright muscle-rogue.

Damien Leroung:

- Freshman student, a bully who directs many of the pranks and hazing against the PCs. Over the prologue the PCs find he is a good person with really bad influences around him (like an imp familiar assigned to him by his family). He has a crush on Illcaster but only knows how to express his interest through trying to target him with pranks.

Illcaster Jeggare:

- Freshman student, usually oblivious, serves as a sounding-board that the PCs can recap their adventures to since he is always out of the loop.

Jeldanara:

- student worker, first encountered performing menial labor on campus, but then found student teaching the next semester. She is an elf who is taking her sweet-sweet time with her studies by falling delinquent on her tuition every few years. Serves to highlight what happens if the PCs don’t pay their tuition.

Julia:

- Freshman student, failing grades push her to the point of accepting to be the subject of a risky ritual binding a devil to her body and turning her into a Possessed Oracle. Highlights the depths and risks that students are willing to go to so they can pass classes. After prologue, she is accepted by the Order of the Nail, which adds more insult to Janeska Hount, and give the PCs a friendly person in that order they can reach-out to if needed.

Nindrick:

- Freshman student, dies accidentally to a deadly prank early-on in the prologue. Serves to illustrate the high-mortality rate of students.

Voska Volvetos:

- Prof of Evocation, a sorcerer who is pretending to be a wizard, a slight touch of CG among the faculty

[Justin Riddler]

Session 0 - Oct 23rd, 2019
I refer to the first meeting of the players as Session 0. This is where they can talk over character concepts, ask questions of the GM, and pull my aside if need-be. I also talk to the players about consent in gaming, go over player resources, and explain how the prologue will work. It is a light-hearted session with no pressure to actually begin the AP.

For this AP, I put together a Google Sites website to be a place to store NPCs and handouts. We discussed how Korvosa’s city stat-block impacts the players, started talking about Korvosan slang, and it’s government structure. I have some new players to the Pathfinder setting, so we also talked about some of the core deities and the legend of Aroden’s death. We also cover that the Acadamae takes 10 years to graduate, and you are a freshman your first 3 years (unless you advance fast academically).

The PCs:

Fullbright Fordyce:

(Human Unchained Monk 1) A person of no magical talent, his family spent the last of their wealth bribing him into the Acadamae as a legacy-submission. PC plans to take Rogue levels and fake being a wizard with Minor/Major magic talents and a strong Bluff.

Enrika Cadavra:

(Half-Orc Inquisitor 1) A witch-hunter of Pharasma who applied as a joke, but is now eager to learn how to better fight against arcane-casters by being trained like one. PC’s “spellbook” is their prayer book.

AJ “Will come up with a name later”:

(Half-elf Unchained Summoner 1) PC’s eidolon is a corgi-shaped agathion. Applied to honestly get a better education.

Varian “needs a last name”:

(Elf Wizard 1) A Nidalese conjurer who does not remember applying, but was told by a government official to accept. PC is an alienist interested in researching the Dark Tapestry.

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Some special rules for the AP which the players know about from the player’s guide I put together for them, that I will summarize here:

I have blended the Harrow Point subsystem with the Hero Point subsystem.

Item creation feats are not needed so long as you craft on Acadamae grounds; they have special equipment for that so the students can learn - but they have to use a variant of the Dynamic Magic Item creation system when they do.

PCs get +2 skills per level that must be spent on the Lore (Int) skill, symbolizing recreational academic pursuits.

Prestige and Fame subsystem from Inner Sea Magic is in effect and tracks a student’s progress towards graduation.

Occult Rituals exist, and the Acadamae uses them so an entire class can learn the magic behind the spells the ritual replicates.
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From there it was time to start the Prologue:

The PCs begin moving onto campus on Starday, Rova 7th, 4719 AR. They are met by Terentius who gives them a brief tour of campus before they report to Ornelos Hall to complete their paperwork. Here they meet Jandar Lilswin and see he is drunk on bureaucratic power. Enrika catches on this and calls out Jandar for abusing his power - their argument calls Toff Ornelos down from upstairs.

Toff chastises Jandar, volunteering the student to finish the PCs paperwork. Toff introduces himself to the PCs and emphasizes the campus rules. He explains all the PCs are going to freshman House Drake (the other dorm being House Imp), to help balance a population discrepancy between the dorms. AJ asked for details about the discrepancy, and Toff explained that a freshman last year was practicing unsanctioned magic in the middle of the night and conjured a Cloud Kill spell that sank through the dorm as many of its young wizards slept. (high student mortality rate indeed!)

After a small conversation about Toff’s responsibilities as both Headmaster and a member of the Peerage Review, Toff sends the PCs to their dorm with Terentius. Along their walk, Terentius confides he was once a House Drake freshman himself, and the tragedy moved him to want to be a mentor during his final year.

At the dorm, the party meets their House Lead, Seskar Imintar, who takes over from Terentius in getting the PCs settled in. She introduces and gossips-about the other NPC freshman, including why these specific students missed the Cloud Kill tragedy. Varian asks if his bunk bed smells like corpses, and Seskar explains all the students were donated to the Hall of Whispers (School of Necromancy). Seskar also explains the point system between the 2 freshman dorms, and how it impacts campus chores.

As the PCs settle in for the night, the house drake Majenko comes down from the rafters to engage the PCs in some icebreaker activities. They learn the tiny dragon lost his master to the Cloud Kill incident, and he would like to adopt the party - in a dorm-mother sense. The conversations continue until each of the PCs falls asleep.

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End of Session 0

[The Shifty Mongoose]

Dotting, with interest. I'd like to see how this turns out.