There are no major product releases for Dungeons and Dragons this month (as far as I know).
Minis available in D&D Icons of the Realms: Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage. Image property of Wizards of the Coast
D&D Icons of the Realms: Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage. Image property of Wizards of the Coast.
Halaster’s Lab. A special miniatures collection from D&D Icons of the Realms: Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage. Image property of Wizards of the Coast.
Eulogy for Roslar’s Coffer (Tyrant’s Grasp 2 of 6)
April will see the release of two Pathfinder books. Pathfinder Adventure Path 141: Last Watch by Larry Wilhelm continues the ongoing Tyrant’s Grasp Adventure Path. Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Concordance of Rivals takes an in depth look at monitors — neutral outsiders — including aeons, proteons, and psychopomps. In addition to details on a variety of monitor demigods, this book also contains occult rituals, details on monitor sects, a prestige class, and a bestiary.
Last Watch (Tyrant’s Grasp 3 of 6)
Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Concordance of Rivals
The most exciting Pathfinder release of April is Pathfinder Battles: Ruins of Lastwall! This brand new set of pre-painted miniatures comes in blind booster boxes that contain four minis each — one large figure and three small or medium figures. In addition to buying a single standard booster box you can order a brick of boosters (which contains eight boosters) or a case of boosters (four bricks for a total of 32 boosters). Anyone who orders an entire case of boosters may also order Pathfinder Battles: Ruins of Lastwall: Cemetery of the Fallen Set which is a collection of graveyard themed set dressing.
There have been a lot of wonderful renderings of this product’s miniatures released over the past month or so. Far too many to share here. Be on the lookout for further details on Pathfinder Battles: Ruins of Lastwall in a future blog post!
NOTE: According to WizKids, Pathfinder Battles: Ruins of Lastwall will be available in MAY, not April. The release date seems to have been pushed back a month.
Pathfinder Battles – Ruins of Lastwall Miniatures
Pathfinder Battles – Ruins of Lastwall Booster Box
Pathfinder Battles – Ruins of Lastwall – Cemetery of the Fallen Set
Pathfinder Battles – Ruins of Lastwall – Set Dressing
Pathfinder Battles – Ruins of Lastwall – Cemetery of the Fallen Set
Today we’re going to take a look at the most recent Pathfinder Society Scenarios that are available for purchase, and let you know we thought. Although you’ll find references to events in each that I liked or disliked, and comments about specific characters, these scenarios are not explored in detail. It’s not my intention to spoil the events in these scenarios, or give summaries and full reviews, but to share my opinions and provide recommendations. That said, if you want to avoid even minor spoilers then I recommend clicking on a different article. Whether you intend to use them in home games of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, sanctioned scenarios for use with the Pathfinder Society Organized Play, or just want to read a nifty new adventure, we’ve got you covered! So let’s get started!
Pathfinder Society Scenario #10-16: What the Helm’s Hide is a Tier 1-5 repayable scenario that consists of four short one-hour long quests. “Collection,” “Autumn,” “Dust,” and “Witness.” “Collection” should always be played first, “Autumn” and “Dust” may be played in any order, and “Witness” is the thrilling finale. Each quest is penned by a different author, including Calder CaDavid, Lysle Kapp, Kendra Leigh Speedling, and Nate Wright. While Speedling and Wright have written for Paizo before, this will be the first Paizo writing credit going to CaDavid and Kapp. Each quest also comes with its own player handout, which is always nice. Also, this scenario has a lot of great artwork in it!
The first quest, “Collection,” is written by Lysle Kapp and takes place in Korvosa’s Jeggare Museum. Here PCs will need to inspect relics discovered by the famous Pathfinder Helven Leroung and uncover clues about her history and character. You also get to delve into Helven’s relationship with the famous Montlarion Jeggare, for whom the museum (and much more!) is named. His descendant, Mercival Jeggare is curator of the museum and willing to lend you a hand. There’s a lot of information you can learn here, although groups are unlikely to get all of it, which I rather enjoyed. For more information on Korvosa you can check out Pathfinder Chronicles: Guide to Korvosa.
“Autumn” is written by Calder Cadavid and takes places in Andoran’s Arthfell Forest. PCs investigate a sliver of the history of the Pathfinder Zaul Blystone. It has amazing art for an NPC, Adelyn Rhinon, which is my favourite art in the scenario. This is a fun quest although I do have one minor complaint. I feel like one of the characters gives up a bit too easily. For more information on Andoran check out Andoran, Birthplace of Freedom.
A member of the Decemvirate. Illustration by Ernanda Souza. Art courtesy of Paizo Inc.
“Dust” by Nate Wright takes place in underground Dwarven ruins on the edge of Highhelm. There players get to dig a little deeper into the history of Veldrid Goldborough. I enjoyed the NPCs in this one and adore the art for Helga Silverbrew. She’s got such a great facial expression. I like enemies in this one a lot, and the… source of information. For further details on the Five Kings Mountains check out the The Inner Sea.
The finale, “Witness,” is written by Kendra Leigh Speedling and was an absolute delight! It takes place in the Grand Lodge of Absalom and involves the PCs enacting a sort of ritual to activate a secret cache hidden by the gnome Pathfinder Eylysia. As Master of Scrolls Kreighton Shaine and two members of the Decemvirate watch on your players get to experience an important event from Eylysia’s past. I won’t say any more to prevent too many spoilers, but I will say it was awesome. I loved the final battle and the revelations it uncovered. And Eylysia’s final line! So good. For more information on the Grand Lodge check out Pathfinder Chronicles: Seekers of Secrets and Pathfinder Society Field Guide.
What the Helms Hide is a really great series of Quests. So great, in fact, that it’s my favourite series of PFS Quests. All of it’s component Quests were enjoyable, but its the finale that really ties it all together and makes it exceptional. Really well done from the whole team of writers. Each Quest has a chance for battle, a social encounter, and to uncover clues regarding their respective mini mysteries. Overall I really enjoyed this scenario. I give it four out of five stars.
Captain Sevenfingers. Illustration by Josef Kucera. Art courtesy of Paizo Inc.
Like the three scenarios before it, On Sevenfingers’s Sails features Venture-Captain Calisro Benarry, a half-orc Pathfinder who has sent plenty of Pathfinders into the depths of the Gloomspires. It also features Benarry’s quartermaster Kakikko, and Hrethnar from Pathfinder Society Scenario #8-15: Hrethnar’s Throne. New NPCs introduced include the very disturbing Thael Shivers, Vashthrexa, Nightdrinker, and Sempet Sevenfingers himself. PCs will need to enter the terrifying tomb, contend with Captain Sevenfingers, and plunder everything they can. Of course, there’s some complications in this mission, and PCs will have to contend with far more than expected. This scenario features an optional Hard Mode for all those players out there who relish a challenge.
The scenario is wonderfully creepy, morbid, and ominous, although that sort of content is not for everyone. Players who have issues with body horror will want to give this scenario a pass. It’s definitely not an scenario for kids. Any characters who played the previous Gloomspires adventures are going to get a bit more satisfaction out of this scenario than their compatriots who haven’t, and will find they get a few extra bonuses along the way. This scenario is packed full of atmospheric environments, memorable characters, and foul villains. The battles are challenging and take place in dynamic locations. I particularly enjoyed the final encounter. Really well done! Overall I think this is a really great scenario that won’t be for everyone. It’s creepy, gory, and a great high level challenge. I give it five out of five stars!
Today we’re going to take a look at the two most recent Starfinder Society Scenarios that are available for purchase, and let you know we thought. Although you’ll find references to events in each that I liked or disliked, and comments about specific characters, these scenarios are not explored in detail. It’s not my intention to spoil the events in these scenarios, or give summaries and full reviews, but to share my opinions and provide recommendations. That said, if you want to avoid even minor spoilers I recommend you check out a different article. Whether you intend to use them in home games of the Starfinder Roleplaying Game, sanctioned scenarios for use with the Starfinder Society Organized Play, or just want to read a nifty new adventure, we’ve got you covered! So sit back, and get ready to explore the Pact Worlds!
Starfinder Society Scenario #1-34: Heart of the Foe is a Tier 3-6 adventure written by Nicholas Wasko. It takes place on Rax, an inhospitable planet the jinsul are known to visit on occasion. There you will explore a ruined city that shows signs of life for any information you can scrounge up on the jinsul and their society. This scenario features the Faction (Second Seekers [Jadnura]) and Faction (Second Seekers [Luwazi Elsebo]) tags making it the first mission to prominently feature both First Seekers. This scenario continues the ongoing Scoured Stars storyline (#1-05: The First Mandate, #1-11: In Pursuit of the Scoured Past, #1-13: On the Trail of History, #1-17: Reclaiming the Time-Lost Tear, #1-99: The Scoured Stars Invasion, #1-23: Return to Sender, #1-29: Honorbound Emissaries, and #1-31: Treading History’s Folly). As such you’ll want to bring along characters who have an interest in the Scoured Stars Trinary System or storyline, who have interacted with the jinsul, or are working on collecting the ‘Journey to Scoured Stars’ boons. I also recommend bringing a character who does not have a Personal Boon permanently slotted. This scenario does NOT involve starship combat, but it MIGHT feature a vehicle chase (more on that shortly). It makes use of Pathfinder: Map Pack: Frozen Sites, Pathfinder: Flip Mat: Tech Dungeon, and an awesome full page custom map that has a very ‘Borderlands‘ feel to it. This scenario features content from Starfinder Core Rulebook, Alien Archive, and Armory. All of the necessary stat blocks are included in the scenario itself. However, GMs will definitely need the Core Rulebook for this one. Although this scenario doesn’t include a vehicle chase (but it could) it does use modified vehicle chase rules, which most players do not have internalized (in my experience). GMs will likely need to brush up on the vehicle chase rules and be prepared to teach it to their players as needed. Be aware that this is a rather dense scenario, so groups that are unfamiliar with chases could cause it to run long.
Heart of the Foe begins when both First Seeker Luwazi Elsebo and First Seeker Jadnura task the PCs with travelling to a planet the jinsul are known to occassionally visit in order to discover actionable intel and information about the jinsul themselves. For those of you who don’t know, the jinsul are a violent race of aliens that conquered the Scoured Stars Trinary system while the Starfinder Society rescued their comrades during the #1-99: The Scoured Stars Invasion. The jinsul have been a thorn in the side of the Starfinder Society ever since and the First Seekers are worried at the threat they pose to the Pact Worlds. Your PCs will need to travel to the mysterious planet — alongside both First Seekers and three other Starfinder teams — investigate a few sites that show signs of life, and uncover what they can about the jinsul and their society. Neither the Starfinder Society nor the players know a whole lot about these insectile fellows, so I was thrilled to dig a little deeper into the history of the jinsul themselves. Exciting stuff! Throughout the course of this scenario PCs will get to learn about jinsul anatomy, culture, history, religious beliefs, and — oh yeah — fight a whole lot of jinsul! It’s an action packed, exciting scenario that’s going to be a lot of fun. The battles all serve a purpose, the chase scene is both exciting and complex, and the world itself is very atmospheric. The finale is exciting and challenging, with a lot of moving parts. It’s chaotic and really well done. Dare I say… epic? Yeah, I do. Haha. There’s only one real social encounter, but the character you get to interact with is really… enjoyable so it strikes a nice balance. I love their demeanour and attitude towards the PCs. So good!
Ekkerah, illustrated by Bryan Syme. Art courtesy of Paizo Inc.
But, it’s not all sunshine and roses radiation and bullets. I do have a few minor complaints with this one. First off, it’s tough to run. Now, this isn’t really a complaint. It’s an observation and potential warning. This is not the kind of scenario an inexperienced GM should attempt. There’s vehicle chase rules, modifications to the vehicle chase rules, environmental conditions, a whole lot of dice rolling during travel scenes, plenty of hopping around between pages for potential clues and intel, and complex battles with lots of enemies and allies to track. Not easy. Second, it has a bit of a slow start. Not the immediate start, but the… well let’s call it the travel scene. There’s a lot of dice rolling done every hour, which runs the risk of becoming a boring sort of routine if not handled right (particularly when you take into account the flipping between pages that might have to occur). That said, I do like the information your group could uncover about the jinsul along the way. Third, environmental protections. Chances are your characters have them. They protect us from a lot, but there’s also things it won’t protect you from. Fair. But in this one it feels like you get penalized for using them. You either use them and suffer X or don’t use them and suffer Y. Which is unfortunate. The scenario refers to snow clinging to your environmental protections’ helmet — when many armour’s environmental protections use a force field instead of helmets — and even if you are wearing armour that has a helmet, couldn’t you just wipe it off? And if you are wearing armour that has an environmental forcefield for it’s environmental protections, can it seriously not handle a bit of clingy snow? Sounds like that armour has a pretty big design flaw to me. I hope my Starfinder kept their receipt. Haha. It felt sort of arbitrary to me. I’m totally cool with some environmental hazards going through your protections, but this snow thing just wasn’t one of them. Contrariwise, if they wanted the snow to hamper visibility, I’m totally fine with that. I am no stranger to snow and yeah, it’s hard to see sometimes. And finally…. I love that baby jinsul on the cover! Except it’s not a baby jinsul at all. It’s a jinsul’s pet. I 100% thought it was a baby jinsul and was thrilled by it’s oddly adorable appearance. Jokes on me, I guess. Haha. Seriously though, I really like the creature, it’s stats, and it’s tactics. Overall, I thought this was a really great, exciting scenario that’s going to be a challenge to run — but well worth it! I give it 5 out of 5 stars.
Rasheen’s Riches sounds at first like a classic treasure hunt — in space! Which is only partly true. Radaszam recently discovered a treasure map said to lead to one of the last places the infamous space explorer Jelev Rasheen explored before disappearing. Presumed to house a treasure trove of unimaginable proportions, Radaszam’s taking a more measured approach. Although he doesn’t believe it’s actually the final resting place of Rasheen or her fabulous riches, he does hope that there you’ll find a claim beacon that she placed on planets she discovered but never fully explored. This beacon should be able to lead you to the next place Rasheen went. But, that’s another mission… Rasheen’s Riches is more accurately described as a treasure hunt where you’re aiming to find another piece of the treasure map. As long as this is clear to your players by the end of the mission briefing (which it should be) you won’t have a problem with any players feeling let down. However, if players think they’re off to find unimaginable riches they might be a little disappointed. I know my kids would say “That’s it? But where’s the treasure?!” Be sure to adjust those expectations a little. Haha. I enjoyed this scenario. It’s got some environmental challenges to overcome, an interesting investigation, illuminating player handouts, and a battle against some tragic enemies. It’s got the air of a mystery about it, which I liked. I absolutely adored the descriptions of this moon. The entire atmosphere of it — and the creatures that you encounter there — worked really well together. Definitely a highlight of the scenario for me. The starship combat was straightforward but enjoyable. I like the social encounter it begins with and the artwork of the ship! It looks like some kind of skeletal Batplane! Seriously cool. Overall I thought this was a really solid scenario that will — hopefully — lead to further adventures on the hunt for Rasheen’s riches! I give it four out of five stars.
Glaciomonitor, illustrated by William Martin. Art courtesy of Paizo Inc.
Thanks for joining us today! Be sure to tune it again soon to check out our reviews on the newest Pathfinder Society Scenarios!
Today we’re taking a peek between the covers of Pathfinder Player Companion: Wilderness Origins! If you’ve been reading d20diaries since its beginning you’ll know that my family and I adore Ultimate Wilderness. My kids love the races introduced — particularly the adorable vine leshys — and my entire family enjoys the shifter class. In fact, each of us have at least two shifters. Needless to say we were excited to get our hands on Wilderness Origins. My husband was hoping for more shifter options, my kids were hoping for more vine leshy options, and I was… Well, I was just hoping someone in my family would find something inside the book that they’d make use of right away.
We were not disappointed.
Pathfinder Player Companion: Wilderness Origins is a soft cover book that is 32 pages in length. As a book in the Player Companion line, it’s aimed at players, which means that you won’t find a ton of world lore or secrets inside. You’ll find archetypes, feats, traits, spells, and more! Wilderness Origins features amazing cover art by David Alvarez, which showcases the iconic shifter, Zova, engaged in battle against an earth elemental.
The inside front over of Wilderness Origins.
The front inside cover features brief information on a few plants described in the book alongside some sketches. The entire page is presented as if they were entries in a scholar’s journal, which is a nice touch. Although no important information is contained here that can’t be found later in the book, it’s nicely showcased. Plants depicted include ambrosial lotus, cleanthistle, ghostblossom, and a ghoran seed. There’s also art of a gathlain’s wing and a leaf leshy.
After this is the table of contents, the rules index, and the introduction which contains eight new regional traits themed around different terrains. Each trait is printed alongside an example background for each terrain, that emphasize how you can embrace nature and your environment. Guerilla tactics and surefooted ascent are sure to be popular, but fruit merchant and strong stomach turned out to be my favourites. Environments covered by these traits include the desert, road, forest, jungle, mountain, swamp, tundra, and coast.
Moving on from the introduction we come to six pages of new shifter options. It features a whopping nine new shifter aspects, all of which are pretty cool. The new shifter aspects are boar, crocodile, dolphin, dragonfly, electric eel, mantis, octopus, scorpion, and spider. Electric eel is my favourite, but my son LOVES the boar aspect. He immediately made a gnomish boar shifter for Pathfinder Society Organized Play and was super excited to give it a shot. Unfortunately, we suffered a TPK that weekend and poor Sid’s career was cut short. Still, my son loved the character and made a ton of use out of the boar’s minor aspect, which gives you diehard as a bonus feat.
A half-orc feyform shifter from Wilderness Origins.
After the shifter aspects are three new archetypes, dragonblood shifter, feyform shifter, and swarm shifter. They’re all pretty self-explanatory, with the dragonblood shifter allowing you to take on the aspects and forms of a variety of dragons, feyform shifter granting you some tricky defences and the ability to transform into fey beings, and swarm shifter allowing you to turn into a swarm of bugs. They’re all really cool, but dragonblood shifter turned out to be my favourite. My husband’s a big fan of the swarm shifter, though, and he’s not going to be the only one. It’s a really useful archetype which is sure to see a lot of play.
Also in the shifter chapter are thirteen new favoured class options, seven new feats (be sure to check out chimeric aspect, greater weapon shift, and raking claws), and my favourite new option for shifters: alternate natural attacks. Each shifter aspect currently released (new and old) has a list of alternate attack forms they can select in place of claw attacks. Bears have a bite attack, for example, while boars have a gore and a hoof. Any time you activate your shifter claws you can choose to take an alternate natural attack from your animal aspect options in place of one of your claw attacks. This changes the damage type and the way your natural attacks look, but otherwise functions as the shifter’s regular claw attacks. It’s a really nice option I’m happy to see available.
Up next are two pages on each of the races introduced in Ultimate Wilderness — gathlain, ghoran, and vine leshy. The new gathlain options include five alternate race traits (arborealvitality, feyresilience, and whimsicaloutlook are my favourites), seven new feats (mighty boughs and strength of wood are my favourites), and one new archetype. Sworn of the Eldest is a Charisma-based inquisitor archetype that I really enjoyed. Particularly the magic of the Eldest ability, which swaps out teamwork feats for some extra spells and spells per day.
Ghoran options include four alternate race traits (check out intoxicating aroma and magicalabsorption), three feats (I love spell mirror), two new spells (pinecone bomb and woodland rune), and the new ninja archetype petal ninja, which lets you transform into a cloud of flower petals.
Vine leshy verdivant. Illustration by Nathanael James. Art courtesy of Paizo Inc.
Vine Leshy options include four alternate race traits (lashvine and writhing eye are awesome!), four new feats (we like bounteous body best), and the cavalier archetype verdivant. This turned out to be both my kids’ favourite archetype — which came as no surprise since they both love vine leshys. The verdivant archetype lets you to have a plant mount, and enables you create effloresces, which are explosive plant growths that can be used a number of times per day and have some cool effects. While one might form a wall of vines to prevent attacks of opportunity, others can make you walk on air, or even give you and your allies fast healing. Effloresce replaces the cavalier’s banner and tactician abilities.
Up next in Wilderness Origins are two pages themed around flowers. It starts by introducing four new magical plants, ambrosial lotus, cleanthistle, ghostblossom, and gravebane petals. All four are surprisingly useful, but I think I like the cleanthistle best. It’s a great plant to add into my family game of Iron Gods. There’s also five awesome new witch hexes. I honestly had a hard time picking my favourite. My daughter loves leshy summoning, my son loves verdant familiar, and heralding bloom is going to be really useful for some characters. In the end its the floating lotus and iceplant hexes I’m most likely to use. Floating lotus conjures a flower that you can stand on to walk over water or gain a bonus on jump checks while Iceplant makes the witch and her familiar’s flesh harden, granting them a natural armour bonus and and the effects of endure elements. Finally, there’s a new alchemist archetype in this section: perfumer. This alchemist creates atomized perfumes in place of potions, an can distill pheromones that augment your Charisma, diplomacy, and bluff checks in place of mutagens. Very cool!
The next two pages are entitled Wardens of the Wild and involve kami. There’s a new kami eidolon subtype for unchained summoners, ward aspects for hunters to make use of, and the new spiritualist archetype ward spiritualist. This archetype allows a spiritualist to purposesly seek out a kami to bond with, and grants them a ward implement which can either be an object or their own body. With their ward implement they can gain occultist focus powers. They can also merge their kami with their implement to empower their implement in battle. I’m a huge fan of both spiritualists and occultists, so I’m totally biased to love this archetype. Haha.
Scorpion familiar. Illustration by Beatrice Pelagatti. Art courtesy of Paizo Inc.
The next four pages are packed full of options for our animalistic pals — animal companions, familiars, and mounts. It starts with two animal companion archetypes: apex species (which gives your companion benefits in certain terrains) and unexpected intellectual (which makes a vermin companion more intelligent). Then there’s three familiar archetypes: occult messenger, the super creepy parasite, and arcane amplifier (my personal favourite) which grants your familiar the ability to use some metamagic feats on touch spells they deliver. Following these are seven feats which can be taken by animal companions, familiars, and their owners. Three are relevant to familiars, three to animal companions, and one is relevant to both. I really like the animal companion feats curious companion and friendly face, but it was two familiar feats that turned out to be my favourite. Changeling familiar gives any familiar capable of changing shape the ability to transform into a child or teenager of their master’s race, while spark of the uncanny gives your familiar the ability to speak. Awesome! (My kids are absurdly excited for this one!) A few levels later you can swap it out for improved familiar. Next up are descriptions of five breeds of mounts along with a trait for each of them (these traits count towards their master’s total number of traits). Finally, there’s an expanded companion list for cavaliers paladins, and rangers.
The following two pages talk about the totem spirits of the Shoanti, with nine new totem rage powers geared at members of the Lyrune-Quah (moon clan), Shundar-Quah (spire clan), and any ancestor-revering character. There’s also a new shaman spirit, tribe.
Wilderness Magic is up next, with five new arcanist exploits, three disaster themed spells, and the psychic archetype Magaambyan telepath, which blends druidic magic and wilderness themed powers with the psychic. Wild stride and wooden flesh are my favourite arcanist exploits, while flash flood — a sixth level spell on the druid, shaman, and sorcerer/wizard spell list — is my favourite spell.
The iconic kineticist Yoon riding a fire steed.
Similar to magic, the following two pages are all about elemental power — specifically fire. First up is the flame steed spell, which conjures a mount made of fire. Continuing this theme is a new archetype, the cinderlands adept, a fire-based kineticist that gains a loyal mount and is based on the Burn Riders of the Sklar-Quah (sun clan). Finally, there are eight new kineticist talents — one form infusion (elemental trap) and seven utility talents. My favourites included fire corridor and the fire steed tree. I’m a huge fan of both the Shoanti and kineticists, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover these new options.
By now there’s only a few pages left. Two pages of character options themed around the sea and sky. It starts with two more archetypes — a very interesting paladin archetype called champion of the cascade and esoteric starseeker, a psychic archetype based around Golarion’s constellations. Following this are two very cool (and disconcerting) oracle curses that have to do with decay: putrid and scourge. Finally, there’s three new ki powers: floating breath, racing current, and zephyr blow.
And that’s it! The end of Pathfinder Player Companion: Wilderness Origins! My whole family loves this player companion. It contains a lot of fun options for all our favourite parts of Ultimate Wilderness — shifters, gathlain, ghoran, and vine leshys — and pays some loving attention to the many different pets you can acquire. It’s rare that we get to make in-game use of a d20 book right after reading it, but this one immediately inspired us to create something new. It was well worth the investment for my family.
Thanks for joining us today! I hope you enjoyed taking a peek behind the covers of Wilderness Origins.
A new series of Dungeons and Dragons books aimed at children is scheduled to launch this summer! The D&D Young Adventurer’s Guide series is written by Jim Zub, Stacy King, and Andrew Wheeler, and published by Ten Speed Press (a part of the Crown Publishing Group). The series begins with two simultaneous releases on July 16th, 2019: ‘Monsters and Creatures‘ and ‘Warriors and Weapons,’ both of which are already available for pre-order. There are two more books in development that are scheduled to be released in Fall 2019 (Dungeons & Tombs and Wizards & Spells) and, if they’re popular enough, there may be more beyond that in the future. The D&D Young Adventurer’s Guide series are intended for middle-grade readers (ages 8-12) and meant to inspire these young readers to read, write, create, imagine, and of course, play D&D.
Monsters and Creatures: A Young Adventurer’s Guide is an illustrated guide to the many beasts of Dungeons and Dragons. Featuring one-of-a-kind entries for some of its most memorable monsters, and over 60 brand new illustrations, this book is sure to ignite the imagination of young readers (my kids can’t wait!). Creatures are sorted by the regions they call home, beginning with underground creatures, moving up onto the surface with aquatic, field, graveyard, forest, and mountain dwelling creatures, and finally ending with airborne monsters. Each monster profile contains information on the size of each beast, its danger level, and tips for how to survive an encounter with one. This book also features “introductory ‘Encounter’ stories so readers can practice the problem-solving skills they’ll need to fight these monsters when they play a D&D adventure of their own.” Awesome!
Warriors and Weapons: A Young Adventurer’s Guide is an illustrated introductory guide to the many kinds of warriors you can create in Dungeons and Dragons, along with the weapons, armour, and adventuring gear that they’ll make use of. Featuring one-of-a-kind content and over sixty new illustrations, this book gives young adventurers the information and inspiration they need to create their own characters. It includes “sample profiles, a flowchart to help you decide what type of warrior to be, and brainstorming challenges to start you thinking like an adventurer whether on your own or in the midst of an exciting quest with friends and fellow players.” It’s important to note that this book is NOT a replacement for the D&D Player’s Handbookand does NOT contain game mechanics or rules. It lays out the major concepts in a way that easy to understand, approachable, and engaging. It’s meant to inspire creativity, without overwhelming readers with rules.
“These books have beautiful art, concepts, and stories to engage readers and get them thinking first and foremost about their character and the places they’re going to adventure in without any rules for them to worry about. It’s a creative toolkit focused on character and story,” Jim Zub was quoted as posting on twitter. “Give these books to a new player, get them excited about the possibilities, and then bring them to the gaming table to show them how those concepts and ideas flourish with a roll of the dice. […] We really hope that experienced Dungeon Masters will embrace these books as a way to introduce D&D to their kids or their friends and that schools/libraries will see them as a fun and engaging way to encourage creative writing!”
My kids are thrilled with this news. (Yet another reason for them to look forward to the summer! Haha!). I can’t wait to see what they look like up close.
March is here, and with a bunch of new Pathfinder and Starfinder products. Considering the awesome releases last month — including the launch of two new Adventure Paths with Starfinder’s Firestarters (Dawn of Flame 1 of 6) and Pathfinder’s final first edition Adventure Path: The Dead Roads (Tyrant’s Grasp 1 of 6) — this month has a lot of live up to!
Pathfinder Society Scenarios released at the end of this month include #10-16: What the Helms Hide (a set of four quests for Tier 1-5 written by Calder CaDavid, Lysle Kapp, Kendra Leigh Speedling, and Nate Wright) and #10-17: On Sevefinger’s Sails (a Tier 7-11 scenario that takes place in the Gloomspires and is written by Tom Phillips).
Starfinder Society Scenarios released at the end of this month include #1-34: Heart of the Foe (a Tier 3-6 scenario written by Nicholas Wasko which continues the Scoured Stars storyline and involves the history of the menacing jinsil) and #1-35: Rasheen’s Riches (a Tier 5-8 scenario written by Mara Lynn Butler that has the Faction (Acquisitives) tag).
One final thing to mention, last month marked the release of the massive Mists of Akuma campaign: Trade War. You can expect to see a review of this political-Eastern Fantasy–noir-steampunk adventure for 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons in the coming week.
Paizo Inc. has announced the launch of the second edition of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game on August 1st, 2019! With over nine releases in August and more to come the following month, Pathfinder Second Edition is scheduled to launch with a BANG!
“The launch slate provides everything you need to set out on a world of limitless fantasy adventure,” said Paizo Publisher Erik Mona. “With more than 20 years of active development and playtest feedback from more than 125,000 gamers, the new Pathfinder rules are easy to learn and exciting to master. We can’t wait to see the diverse and deeply customized characters the RPG community will create!”
Pathfinder Second Edition is releasing three major hardcover rulebooks right from the start: Core Rulebook, Bestiary, and Lost Omens World Guide. The Core Rulebook is THE BOOK. The one you need no matter who you are and what role you take at a gaming table. Packed full of all the rules players and Game Masters need to play Pathfinder Second Edition, create characters, and run games, the Core Rulebook is a must have. Said to contain streamlined rules and intuitive presentation, Pathfinder Second Edition features the same deep character customizations we all love, allowing for unique characters and boundless creativity. Weighing in at an impressive 640 pages, the Core Rulebook contains game rules, advice, characters options, treasure, and more. There’s six ancestries to choose from (elf, dwarf, gnome, goblin, halfling, and human, as well as the variant human half-elf and half-orc), twelve classes (alchemist, barbarian, bard, champion, cleric, druid, fighter, monk, ranger, rogue, sorcerer, and wizard), thirty backgrounds (such as apprentice, bartender, and soldier), and hundred of spells, feats, and other character options. The hardcover will sell for $59.99 American, while the deluxe hardcover (bound in faux leather with metallic deboss cover elements and a bound-in ribbon bookmark) will sell for $79.99 American.
Bestiary is packed with around 400 monsters spread over 360 pages. This means that not every monster will get its own page and artwork, although there’s said to be full-colour illustrations on nearly every page. While statistics will fill the pages, sidebars are going to contain lore. In Bestiary you’ll also find the always handy Universal Monster Rules, guidelines for awarding treasure, and a variety of monster lists sorted by different qualities (like level, type, and rarity). Many of the creatures in the Bestiary will be familiar, but new creatures are also included (like the “living-nightmare nilith and the three-headed mutoli”). The hardcover Bestiary will sell for $49.99 while the Deluxe Hardcover will sell for $69.99 (bound in faux leather with metallic deboss cover elements and a bound-in ribbon bookmark).
Lost Omens World Guide is basically the new Inner Sea World Guide, with ‘Lost Omens’ being the new name for the Golarion campaign setting. This 136-page hardcover book sorts the Inner Sea into ten regions, and talks about each one. ‘The Saga Lands,’ for example, is a region which encompasses the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, Varisia, New Thassilon, Irrisen, and the Realm of the Mammoth Lords. Each region also contains backgrounds and archetypes thematically tied to the region. Finally, the Lost Omens World Guide contains a giant, two-sided, fully-detailed, poster map of Golarion. Let me repeat that: of Golarion, not the Inner Sea. Awesome! Want to know more about Tian Xia, Casmaron, and other areas outside the Inner Sea? You’ll have to wait — but hopefully not for too long. Lost Omens World Guide is the first book in the Pathfinder World Guide line, which will continue to release region specific books (like those currently in the Pathfinder Campaign Setting line) in a larger, hardcover format, to allow for greater exploration of the world of Golarion. Lost Omens World Guide is $36.99.
In addition to important rulebooks, Paizo is releasing two print adventures: Hellknight Hill, and The Fall of Plaguestone.
Age of Ashes is a six-part, monthly adventure path that begins with book one: Hellknight Hill. Said to contain “continent-spanning conflict against cultists, slavers, and a fiery draconic devastation that could unleash an Age of Ashes upon the world,” this is sure to be an exciting campaign! Set in Isger, Hellknight Hill begins when your PCs investigate mysterious fires which burn atop “the towers of a nearby citadel long ago abandoned by an order of Hellknights.” Written by Amanda Hamon for first level characters, Hellknight Hill will also contain a gazetteer on the town of Breechill (the starting location for this campaign), a GM guide Age of Ashes, new magic items, and over six new monsters. Hellknight Hill (and presumably all the follow-up adventure path volumes) will sell for $24.99.
The Fall of Plaguestone is a 64-page standalone adventure for first-level characters written by Paizo Director of Game Design Jason Bulmahn. Beginning with the PCs attempting to solve the murder of a friend, this adventure soon spirals out of control with the “discovery of forbidden alchemy, mutant animals, and a nearby forest rotting away due to a mysterious blight.” Ominous! The Fall of Plaguestone features wilderness exploration, dungeon encounters, and urban mystery. In addition to the adventure itself, The Fall of Plaguestone (and every Pathfinder Adventure to follow) includes new monsters, treasures, and player options. The Fall of Plaguestone is $24.99. Launching alongside this adventure is Pathfinder Flip-Mat: The Fall of Plaguestone which depicts the “hillside hideout of an evil alchemist.” The Flip-Mat measures 24″ x 30″ unfolded, 8″ x 10″ folded, and can handle dry erase, wet erase, and permanent marker. It costs $14.99.
Paizo is partnering with the awesome folks over at Dwarven Forge to release a deluxe set of pieces which will allow you to create encounter areas from The Fall of Plaguestone! Which is amazing, by the way. If you haven’t seen any of the Dwarven Forge terrain you should definitely check it out. They make gorgeous 3D terrain and map components, although be warned: it’s expensive!
Finally, Paizo is releasing five other accessories for Second Edition. First up? A GM screen! Featuring beautiful artwork on one side and handy charts, tables, and information on the other side, these high-quality screens are really useful. Available in a landscape style with art by Ekaterina Burmak, or in a portrait style with art of the Iconics by Wayne Reynolds, GM Screens are $19.99.
Up next? Pathfinder Combat Pad, which is basically a double-sided, magnetic, dry and wet erase board that functions as an initiative tracker. It comes with two sheets of magnets, which break down into 13 blue player character magnets, 13 red enemy magnets, 9 green NPC magnets, two round arrows, two turn arrows, and two next round magnets. Pathfinder Combat Pad sells for $24.99.
Pathfinder Character Sheet Pack is a set of class-specific, double sided, black and white character sheets. This set contains one character sheet for each of the twelve classes, as well as extra sheets for equipment and spells. The character sheets come in a folder and costs $14.99.
Pathfinder Combat Pad
Pathfinder Character Sheet Pack
Pathfinder Condition Card Deck
Finally, my favourite of the accessories, Pathfinder Condition Card Deck! I adore condition cards. I use them all the time in both Pathfinder and Starfinder, so I’m thrilled that they’re releasing a set for Pathfinder Second Edition right out of the gate. This 110 card deck of full-colour cards contains details and rules on the many Conditions in Pathfinder Second Edition, with the most common conditions having multiple cards. Pathfinder Condition Card Deck costs $22.99.
In addition to these awesome products, the Pathfinder Society Organized Play program will release two scenarios and a short quest every month!
For more information on Pathfinder Second Edition, it’s products, and to preorder, head over to PathfinderSecondEdition.com
I can’t wait to see how Pathfinder Second Edition turns out! (Now, if only I had the funds to buy some of it…). What are you most excited for about Pathfinder Second Edition? Let me know in the comments.
Jessica
UPDATE: Pathfinder Second Edition is now out! Click here for more information!
Today we’re going to take a look at two of the most recent Pathfinder Society Scenarios that are currently available for purchase, and let you know we thought. Although you’ll find references to events in each that I liked or disliked, and comments about specific characters, these scenarios are not explored in detail. It’s not my intention to spoil the events in these scenarios, or give summaries and full reviews, but to share my opinions and provide recommendations. That said, if you want to avoid even minor spoilers I recommend you check out a different article. Whether you intend to use them in home games of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, sanctioned scenarios for use with the Pathfinder Society Organized Play, or just want to read a nifty new adventure, we’ve got you covered! So let’s get cracking!
Recently the Shoanti people of the Storval Plateau were angered by the actions of the Pathfinder Society, when an over-enthusiastic Pathfinder raided and destroyed an important Shoanti burial ground — and then passed it off as Thassilonian. Angered (with reason) at the actions of this Pathfinder many Shoanti are calling for the expulsion of the Pathfinder Society from their lands (or worse!). This adventure tasks the PCs with attending a Shoanti council where they will need to return the grave goods taken from the site, and attempt to salvage what they can of the relationship between the Pathfinder Society and the representatives from the various Shoanti Quahs. More specifically, their goal is to earn a chance to fix the damage that has been done to the ancient Shoanti sepulchre, and make what reparations they can. This scenario doesn’t continue any ongoing storylines and isn’t connected to any factions. If you’ve got any characters who have played a PFS scenario involving the Shoanti people (such as #4-06: The Green Market, #8-22: Wrath of the Fleshwarped Queen, or #8-23: Graves of Crystalmaw Pass), now is a good time to play them. In addition, characters with other connections to the Shoanti, characters who have a respect for foreign cultures and history, and characters who are diplomatic, will all find something to be excited about in this scenario. Reckless, destructive, and rude characters are not going to excel in this adventure.
Kemchet Flame Stoker, chosen representative of the Sklar-Quah (Sun Clan). Illustrated by Michele Giorgi. Art courtesy of Paizo Inc.
First off: I love the premise of this scenario! As a student (once upon a time) of anthropology and archaeology, I adore any adventure that goes out of its way to add some semblance of reality to Pathfinder excavations. So, cleaning up after some shoddy treasure hunter? Sign me up! In addition, the Shoanti are one of my very favourite ethnic groups in the world of Golarion, so getting both in one adventure had me more than a little excited. Putting aside my biases, this is a really fun adventure. It has some useful handouts, lots of nice art, and an interesting cast of NPCs. Influencing the clans at the council meeting was both enjoyable and rewarding, but could be difficult for some GMs to run. It features seven important NPCs (Payah Against the Winds, Cousin to All, Kemchet Flame Stoker, Lake at Dawn, Memory Tender, Rollicks in Waves, and Togimal in Shadow), each of whom has their own personality, values, and pet peeves. This could get confusing for GMs and players alike. However, with some prep work (or great improv) this scene is going to be tense and exciting — a lot’s riding on it, after all! Repairing the tomb and the devastation wreaked there was very enjoyable for me, and the more… talkative inhabitant of the sepulchre was a really nice touch! The final encounter is quite a challenge, both for the participants synergy and for the encounter context. This battle is likely to cause some PCs to hesitate or stress, which leads to one of my only issues with this scenario. However, my relatively vague comments on it are heavier on the spoilers than I typically share, so if that makes you nervous skip the next paragraph.
If something is meant to be in a tomb that you’re restoring, but that something is hazardous to you, should you preserve it or destroy it? A nice dilemma! Unfortunately, this scenario doesn’t embrace that conundrum and has no notes on what should be done if PCs attempt to circumvent it instead of using more destructive methods. A bit of a missed opportunity, I think. Now, most groups will have no such qualms and leap into the encounter without issue, but for those groups who do show professional restraint, their hesitation could prove their undoing, and cause this nice challenging encounter to be too difficult. I’m curious to hear how this shakes out in play!
Overall, I really enjoyed the topic, content, and execution of this adventure. It’s right up my alley, and I can’t wait to play it. I give it four out of five stars.
This adventure tasks the PCs with travelling to Axis, finding the legendary sorceress Hao Jin, and attaining her help in repairing the Hao Jin tapestry, a powerful artifact and demiplane used by the Pathfinder Society for a whopping seven seasons of play. This scenario continues the ongoing saga of the Hao Jin Tapestry, and any characters who have interacted with the Hao Jin Tapestry — particularly those who helped attain, defend, or protect it — will have ample reason to get involved in this scenario. It’s also a direct continuation of events from Pathfinder Society Scenario Special #10-00: Hao Jin Cataclysm, and Scenarios #10-11: The Hao Jin Hierophant and #10-13: Fragments of Antiquity. Although I won’t get into the reasons why (to avoid spoilers), characters who were involved in any of the following scenarios will find a familiar face/event or two seen/mentioned: #4-16: The Fabric of Reality, #5-09: The Traitor’s Lodge, #6-98: Serpent’s Rise,#7-09: The Blakros Connection, and #7-23: Abducted in Aether. I highly recommend you bring along such characters (although not necessarily more than those who have an interest in Hao Jin and her tapestry). Finally, any worshippers of Abadar, Brigh, Chaldira Zuzaristan, and Pharasma will have a chance to visit or glimpse their god’s domain throughout the course of this scenario, which can be an awesome and fulfilling character moment.
The Maker, an eccentric kolyarut from #10-15: Tapestry’s Trial. Illustrated by Leonardo Santanna. Art courtesy of Paizo Inc.
Planar adventures are tricky. Players need to feel like they’re someplace totally different — a whole other world — but not so much that it hinders play. NPCs need to be extra memorable, locations need to be extra unique, and through it all you need to try to distill a whole planar environment into a short amount of time and a few encounters. Players want to experience a plane — after all, it’s likely they’ll only go there once! This scenario does an awesome job of showcasing Axis. The place is at once understandable and completely alien, with cool environments, and a lot of fun NPCs. And by a lot, I mean a lot! There’s a whopping nine new NPCs to interact with. I really enjoyed the various social interactions, particularly the entire final sequence of events. Many of these social interactions and encounters have unexpected effects and consequences, some of which will even have effect past the end of this scenario (which is always a treat!). Of the various locations you can visit I particularly enjoyed The Floating Library, not only for its contents and librarian, but also for the view. PCs can literally see a few domains of the gods from this vantage point, which is a really nice moment. Although social encounters and big decisions are the major focus of this scenario, it’s not without its combats. Chaotic and unlucky groups could have as many as four combat encounters (or more if they continue to attract the ‘law enforcement’ of Axis), while other groups will have as few as one combat encounter. The battles that are included are enjoyable, and all have extra considerations and complications for player’s take into account, which is a really nice touch. Overall, I love this scenario. I think it’s going to be a satisfying, exciting experience, that has a lot of cool moments, and ramifications for further scenarios. I give it five out of five stars.
Thanks for joining us today. Tune in later this week for a look at this month’s new d20 releases!
Paizo announces a brand new liveplay campaign that will feature the new Pathfinder Second Edition ruleset! Launching on April 4th and featuring Paizo staff members, this liveplay will be our first glimpse at the newly updated Pathfinder Second Edition rules. Exciting stuff!
GMed by Paizo’s Director of Game Design, Jason Bulmahn, the liveplay is called Oblivion Oath and will air live on Paizo’s twitch stream every Thursday at Noon Pacific for one hour. Episodes will go up on Paizo’s Youtube channel a few days later. Each week between now and launch players will take to the stream to describe their characters and answer questions, culminating in the premiere episode on April 4th. Oblivion Oath will continue for an indetermined length of time.
Jason Bulmahn will be joined by four lucky Paizo Staffers, Gabe Waluconis (Paizo’s Project Manager), Katina Davis (from Paizo’s Customer Service Team), Sara Marie (Customer Service and Community Manager), and Owen K.C. Stephens (Starfinder Design Lead). Unlike the previous Doomsday Dawn livestream, Oblivion Oath is meant to be a character driven liveplay that features the same players and characters week after week. Although it is sure to feature spoilers about the upcoming Second Edition rules, it’s not intended to teach viewers how to play Second Edition. It’s about story, and the characters helping to drive it.
Oblivion Oath takes place in Golarion in the year 4719, which makes it concurrent with the events of the final Pathfinder First Edition Adventure Path: Tyrant’s Grasp. Oblivion’s Oath is said to feature a glimpse at that AP, but not spoilers. Instead, it will be it’s own story. Oblivion’s Oath is set in the port city of Vellumis in Lastwall and begins with our (as yet unknown) PCs determined to gain passage on a barge out of the city. The barge in question, Sleepy Seacat, is scheduled to make it’s way clockwise around Lake Encarthan, heading for Caliphas (and skipping Razmiran).
And from there?
We’ll have to wait and see.
For more information on the Oblivion Oath Liveplay tune in to Paizo’s Twitch Stream weekly on Thursdays at Noon Pacific! We’ll see you there!
Today we’re taking a look the Tyrant’s Grasp Adventure Path, a six-part survival horror campaign for the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game that is currently available for pre-order. This campaign pits the players against the return of the Whispering Tyrant, the lich-king Tar-Baphon, who was defeated and sealed away long ago. Tyrant’s Grasp will be the final Pathfinder 1st Edition Adventure Path released, before the switch is made over to Pathfinder 2nd Edition in August.
A wonderful Player’s Guide for Tyrant’s Grasp was recently released, which is a free download on Paizo’s website here. The Player’s Guide gives players a relatively spoiler-free way to properly prepare for and integrate their characters into the Tyrant’s Grasp Adventure Path. It explains that this is a campaign where terrible tragedies will occur, and you won’t always be able to prevent them. Often you’ll be in dire situations with limited resources, so players will need to be resourceful to survive. In addition, the Tyrant’s Grasp Player’s Guide offers suggestions for thematic archetypes, prestige classes, bloodlines, mysteries, patrons, favoured enemies, and favoured terrains. It points out useful feats, skills, traits, and languages. It lists local animals that could make good choices for familiars and animal companions. It touches on each of the major races and religions in the area and where they fit into Lastwall’s society. Finally there’s a list of unique campaign traits that player’s can select for this campaign, and a short primer on Lastwall, the country where this adventure path is (partly) located.
The Tyrant’s Grasp Adventure Path begins with Pathfinder Adventure Path: The Dead Roads (Tyrant’s Grasp 1 of 6). Written by Ron Lundeen, The Dead Roads is an adventure intended for first level characters, which should bring PCs up to level four by its conclusion. This adventure begins when the PCs awaken already defeated in the Boneyard, a land where the dead go to be judged. There’s just one problem… They’re not dead. Trapped inside a tomb that doesn’t belong to them, they’ll need to escape, figure out what happened to them, and find a way to return home. But, how could one possibly escape the land of the dead?
PCs will get to interact with psychopomps, a type of outsider native to the Boneyard who work to ensure that the processing of souls is done accurately and efficiently. Typically functioning as guides for the souls of the deceased, the psychopomps are confused over what to do about the mysterious PCs. Players will need to maneuver their way through psychopomp politics and travel the Dead Roads, a secret path that connects the Boneyard to the land of the living. If they can, they just might make it home.
In addition to The Dead Roads adventure, this volume contains a few articles and a bestiary of new creatures. Matt Morris shares “tips, tools, and tricks drawn from the Boneyard and its grim denizens,” Mikhail Rekun discussing four races with connections to death, dusk walkers, mortice, shabtis, and my personal favourites, dhampir. Finally, Crystal Frasier wrote a timeline for the events leading up to the Tyrant’s Grasp Adventure Path, which will be invaluable for GMs. New monsters in this book all have ties to death and the Boneyard, and are written by Ron Lundeen, Kyle T. Raes, and Mike Welham.
Pathfinder Adventure Path: Eulogy for Roslar’s Coffer (Tyrant’s Grasp 2 of 6) is written by Jason Keeley and is intended for fifth-level characters. Having returned to the land of the living, the PCs find themselves in the ruins of Roslar’s Coffer, which was destroyed by a super-weapon known as Radiant Fire. Here the dead walk, creatures are corrupted, the very air is a toxic fog, and cultists of the Whispering Way stalk the streets. You’ll need to escape the town and warn the rest of Lastwall about the events that have occurred!
In addition to the adventure itself, this book contains articles on Arazni the Red Queen (written by Lyz Liddell), mercantile groups in the Lake Encarthan region (written by Eleanor Ferron), and the Whispering Way (by Crystal Malarsky). New creatures in the bestiary are written by Sarah E. Hood, Luis Loza, Jen McTeague, and Mikhail Rekun.
Pathfinder Adventure Path #141: Last Watch (Tyrant’s Grasp 3 of 6) is written by Larry Wilhelm and is intended for 8th-level characters. PCs will need to travel to Vigil, capital of Lastwall, to tell the Knights of Ozem about the terrible events that occurred in Roslar’s Coffer. Unfortunately, no one believes your crazy tales. But, Vigil’s got its own problems, and if you can unravel them you just might be able to prove to them that the threat posed by the Whispering Tyrant and his agents is real.
Further content in this volume include articles on the threats of the Negative Energy Plane (written by Patchen Mortimer), the Seal-Breakers (written by Greg A. Vaughan), and relics from the Shining Crusade (written by Alexander Augunas). New creatures in the bestiary are fearsome monsters and undead hordes, written by Mike Headley, Isabelle Lee, Meagan Maricle, Kendra Lee Speedling, and Larry Wilhelm.
Gardens of Gallowspire
Pathfinder Adventure Path #142: Gardens of Gallowspire (Tyrant’s Grasp 4 of 6) is written by Crystal Frasier and intended for 11th-level characters. In it the players will enter the haunted lands of Virlych to confront the Whispering Tyrant before he can escape Gallowspire, regain his former power, and lay waste to the world. Extra content in this volume include articles on extra missions that can be accomplished in Lastwall, the ecology of carnivorous plants, and witchgates. Although new creatures will be included in the bestiary, further details have not yet been announced.
Borne by the Sun’s Grace
Pathfinder Adventure Path # 143: Borne by the Sun’s Grace is written by Luis Loza and is intended for 14th-level characters. Saved from doom by Arazni, the Red Queen, the PCs find themselves in Arcadia where they’ll get to examine the legacy left behind by both Tar-Baphon the Whispering Tyrant and Aroden the deceased god of humanity. Here there are new alliances to forge, secrets to uncover, and new lands to explore. Additional content in this volume includes an extra large article on the region of Arcadia where Borne by the Sun’s Grace occurs, an article on a psychopomp usher, and new monsters.
Midwives to Death
Pathfinder Adventure Path #144: Midwives to Death (Tyrant’s Grasp 6 of 6) is the epic conclusion to the Tyrant’s Grasp Adventure Path. Written by John Compton, this adventure is intended for 16th-level characters. Your PCs return to the Inner Sea only to discover that the Whispering Tyrant is leading his armies against Absalom, in an effort to seize the Starstone for himself and become a god! They’ll have to battle his allies, turn his super-weapon against him, and destroy him for good! The events of this Adventure Path are world-shaping, said to bring about “dramatic changes to Golarion.” Additional content in this volume include an article “showcasing the final material written by Paizo’s developers for the first edition of the Pathfinder RPG.”
Its going to be epic!
An Ending
And with that we come to the end of the Tyrant’s Grasp Adventure Path, and the end of Pathfinder 1st Edition. Or rather, we come to the beginning. At the end of this month the first volume of Tyrant’s Grasp will be in our hands and we’ll get to create characters that can embark on this epic adventure to save Golarion. With the conclusion of this adventure path, we’ll transition to a new edition of the game. A new way to play in the world that we all know and love.
“Times they are a-changin,’ ” and I can’t wait to see how this adventure path leads us into the future.
Jessica
The Dead Roads (Tyrant’s Grasp 1 of 6)
Eulogy for Roslar’s Coffer (Tyrant’s Grasp 2 of 6)
Last Watch (Tyrant’s Grasp 3 of 6)
EDIT: Be sure to check out the Tyrant’s Grasp trailer!
(although all of the necessary stat blocks are included within the scenario). It contains content from 
(although all the content needed from Champions of Corruption is included in the scenario itself). It utilizes the 
and 
and for more information on Leng check out 
or 
Ready to get wild?
is a soft cover book that is 32 pages in length. As a book in the Player Companion line, it’s aimed at players, which means that you won’t find a ton of world lore or secrets inside. You’ll find archetypes, feats, traits, spells, and more! Wilderness Origins features amazing cover art by David Alvarez, which showcases the iconic shifter, Zova, engaged in battle against an earth elemental.
— shifters, gathlain, ghoran, and vine leshys — and pays some loving attention to the many different pets you can acquire. It’s rare that we get to make in-game use of a d20 book right after reading it, but this one immediately inspired us to create something new. It was well worth the investment for my family.
and does NOT contain game mechanics or rules. It lays out the major concepts in a way that easy to understand, approachable, and engaging. It’s meant to inspire creativity, without overwhelming readers with rules.
and Pathfinder’s final first edition Adventure Path: 
— this month has a lot of live up to!
is a 64-page standalone adventure for first-level characters written by Paizo Director of Game Design Jason Bulmahn. Beginning with the PCs attempting to solve the murder of a friend, this adventure soon spirals out of control with the “discovery of forbidden alchemy, mutant animals, and a nearby forest rotting away due to a mysterious blight.” Ominous! The Fall of Plaguestone features wilderness exploration, dungeon encounters, and urban mystery. In addition to the adventure itself, The Fall of Plaguestone (and every Pathfinder Adventure to follow) includes new monsters, treasures, and player options. The Fall of Plaguestone is $24.99. Launching alongside this adventure is Pathfinder Flip-Mat: The Fall of Plaguestone which depicts the “hillside hideout of an evil alchemist.” The Flip-Mat measures 24″ x 30″ unfolded, 8″ x 10″ folded, and can handle dry erase, wet erase, and permanent marker. It costs $14.99.
, and 
(although all of the necessary stat blocks are included within the scenario). In addition to the 
it utilizes content from the 
and 
(although Heroes of Golarion is not needed to run this scenario). This mission is not directly related to any Pathfinder Society factions, although thematically it aligns well with members of the Grand Lodge and Dark Archives.
d20 Diaries 