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 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 cracking!
Scenario #9-18: Scourge of the Farheavens is a Tier 1-5 adventure written by Jason Owen Black which takes place in Iobaria. For those of you who don’t know, Iobaria is located northeast of Brevoy, just off the map of the Inner Sea. It’s a place they’ve rarely focused on for Pathfinder products. As far as I know the only other adventure that takes place there is Pathfinder Adventure Path 69: Maiden, Mother, Crone (Reign of Winter Part 3 of 6), while Pathfinder Adventure Path 33: The Varnhold Vanishing (Kingmaker Part 3 of 6) features a gazetteer on the region. If you’re curious, check out this nifty map of Iobaria! But, if you want the short, short summary: Iobaria’s cold, sparsely populated, generally ‘uncivilized,’ and prone to devastating plagues. It was once home to a Cyclopian nation, as well as an Ulfen one, and some of its people have ties to old Sarkoris. Sounds fun, right? Right! More specifically, this scenario takes places in an independent city-state called Mishkar, as well as a ruined village in the Norinor Forest. It features creatures from Bestiary 3 and Bestiary 4 (although all of the necessary stat blocks are included within the scenario) and utilizes the Pathfinder Flip-Mat: Bigger Forest, and Pathfinder Map Pack: Ruined Village.
The Pathfinder Society has recently gained access to some old Sarkorian ruins, and wants to get the assistance of Sarkorians (or their descendants) to help them interpret the ruins and culture, before it is lost forever. To that end, the PCs are sent to Mishkar to meet with a refugee by the name of Nelket, whom the Society hopes to ally with. It’s a delightfully fun romp, that has a wide variety of social encounters (some of which could be quite challenging). It gives you a bit of a glimpse into Iobarian culture, but Mishkar didn’t feel very different to me, which is a shame. That minor nitpick aside, I thought it was a great scenario. Now, I ADORE adventures where you get to explore exotic locales, ruins and cultures. So, it should come as no surprise that I loved this scenario. Admittedly, I might be biased. Haha. I give this scenario five out of five stars.
Dolok Darkfur from Pathfinder Society Scenario #9-18: Scourge of the Farheavens. Illustration by Sebastian Rodriguez.Scenario #9-21: In the Grandmaster’s Name, by Jenny Jarzabski
Scenario #9-21: In the Grandmaster’s Name is a Tier 3-7 scenario written by Jenny Jarzabski. It takes place in Druma, and is of particular importance to members of the Grand Lodge Faction. It features enemies from Bestiary 2, Bestiary 4, and the NPC Codex, and uses a single custom map. It features subterfuge, reconnaissance, infiltration, and trickery, so be sure to choose your PC wisely!
Now, it should be noted, that Grandmaster Torch does not appear in this scenario. (I found this very disappointing! Haha.) Instead, the PCs are tasked with impersonating some of his couriers. They must deliver a message to another courier, this one serving two one-time allies turned enemies: Ex-Venture-Captain Thurl, and Pasha Muhlia al-Jakri. If the PCs are successful, the message will (hopefully) cause Thurl and Muhlia to leave their defensible hide-out and move on to a new location, giving the Pathfinder Society the perfect opportunity to strike against them! If you’ve got characters kicking around who have met these characters before, now is definitely the time to bring them out to play! No idea who those two are? Thurl can be found in Scenarios: #2-08: Sarkorian Prophesy, #5-09: The Traitor’s Lodge, #5-24: Assault on the Wound, #5-25: Vengeance at the Sundered Crag, #7-17: Thralls of the Shattered God, #9-06: Shores of Heaven, and the Special: Siege of the Diamond City. As for Muhlia? As the old leader of the Qadiran Faction, she’s been mentioned and featured in a ton of early scenarios, but most notably #2-21: The Dalsine Affair, #6-05: Slave Ships of Absalom, and #6-11: Slave Master’s Mirror. But enough about the past! What’s up with this scenario? In an effort to prevent too many spoilers, I won’t go into detail, but I will mention that it involves Kalistocrats and Blackjackets! Exciting! Finally, the events in this scenario directly lead to another upcoming scenario, #9-25: Betrayal in the Bones, which is a Seeker level mission. All that excitement aside, I found that this scenario fell short of what I expected. In the end, I’m only giving it three out of five stars.
Thanks for joining us today! We’ll see you again soon, when we take a look at the two newest Starfinder Society Scenarios!
Jessica
Kristoff Valicho from #9-21: In the Grandmasters Name. Illustrated by Sebastian Gomez.
Nayeli Rullus from #9-21: In the Grandmasters Name. Illustrated by Sebastian Gomez.
Today we’re going to take a look at one of the most recent Pathfinder Society Scenarios that are currently available for purchase, as well as it’s prequel, and let you know what 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 without further ado, let’s get started!
The sigil of the Liberty’s Edge Faction.
Today, both of our scenarios focus on the Liberty’s Edge faction of the Pathfinder Society. This group is run by Major Colson Maldris, and many members are willing to bend and break laws in order to promote freedom throughout Golarion. They tend to utilize diplomacy, sabotage, proselytizing, and trickery to their advantage, and in addition to battling slavers and fighting oppression, they seek to spread hope among the downtrodden, and to inspire others to fight. There’s plenty of Liberty’s Edge related missions out there, but today we’re going to take a look at the brand new Scenario #9-20: Fury of the Final Blade, as well as it’s prequel, Scenario #9-02: A Case of Missing Persons.
As the title so clearly points out, A Case of Missing Persons tasks the PCs with investigating the abduction of a group of missing people. I won’t give away much more about the investigation, as following the clues yourself is one of the best parts of a good mystery, but what I will say is that it involves members of Andoran’s Free People’s Council, and the Grey Gardeners of Galt! This missions requires discretion, intelligence, cunning and inventiveness, so choose your PCs carefully! In addition, the amount of time that passes matters, which always ups the ante a bit. Occasionally this can be a source of distraction, but I found it both well handled and integral to the plot line, so I enjoyed it. The investigation itself was enjoyable. It has plenty of threads to pull at and clues to tie together. I was certainly surprised at certain points, which was fun to see! But, my favourite part of the scenario? The DELIGHTFUL fey encounters. SO GOOD! Overall, I give this scenario four out of five stars.
Scenario #9-20: Fury of the Final Blade is a Tier 7-11 adventure which picks up a few weeks after the end of #9-02: A Case of Missing Persons. The difference in tier means that if you want to play them in close succession you’ll want to start as a level six or seven character. This scenario takes place in Rosehaven and Isarn, both of which are located in the nation of Galt, and tasks the PCs with recusing the missing persons from the previous scenario, as well as the leader of the Liberty’s Edge Faction, Major Colson Maldris himself! This means you’ll have to track down the locations of the prisoners, face of against the Grey Gardeners and enact a daring prison break, all before the prisoners lose their heads to the notorious, soul-stealing guillotines: the Final Blades. Once again, time is of the essence, as the PCs must race against the clock if they’re to have any chance of saving the prisoners. The stakes are very high in this adventure, and failure could mean the beginning of an international incident, and war. In addition, the life of Major Colson Maldris is literally in your hands! Whether he lives or dies is entirely up to your players.
Colson Maldris from #9-20: Fury of the Final Blade. Illustrated by Marko Horvatin.
This scenario features some fun investigation elements, which are adaptable enough to allow all of the different members of the party a chance to shine. The infiltration segment is well created, allowing different groups to use different methods for accessing, and progressing through the location. It also has some very unexpected enemies. But, in my opinion, this scenario’s greatest strength is in it’s dynamic battles. Overall, I really enjoyed this scenario, and give it four out of five stars.
Thanks for joining us today on our foray into the recent events of the Liberty’s Edge Faction! I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about them as much as I have! Tune in later this week for our sneak peek of the other most recent Pathfinder Society Scenario, and both of the brand new Starfinder Society Scenarios!
Despite their wounds, Nix had insisted on digging through the piles of debris for useful parts and scrap. She was an impulsive woman. Impatient, and reckless, but she was also brilliant. The bits of wire and metal she might find in the blocked passageways could become something wonderful with a bit of tinkering in her workshop. Like the massive metal arm that she wore. Built from scrap salvaged from the junkyard, it was a fine replacement for her missing one, which had been torn off by a piece of malfunctioning machinery a few years ago.
Haji had watched with exhausted fascination. His one remaining eye piercing the darkness with ease. The second eye socket was filled with a glittering gemstone, and surrounded by a strange triangular rune that had been branded into his flesh by his one-time master. The same master who had taken his eye.
Perched on his shoulder, a hideously ugly rat with strange rocky protrusions jutting from his flesh hissed in impatience. The rat was Haji’s keeper, and the source of his magical powers.
Haji eyed his rat-master and shook his head.
“I’m not leaving her behind.”
The rat hissed again and nipped Haji on the ear, clearly disappointed in his decision.
In the skulk caverns, Sef had eyed them with ill intent. It was clear she was contemplating taking advantage of their weakened state to murder them, but apparently thought better of it. She bit her tongue and let them pass. For now, their alliance still stood.
The swim through the Weeping Pond was the worst. It’s toxic waters stung their wounds, and made their eyes water. Although Rothmhar was unwounded, neither Haji nor Nix had much strength left in their limbs. Swimming while weighed by scrap and scavenged equipment took forever, and in the end they ended up walking along the bottom of the lake for the better part of an hour. Finally they clambered up onto shore wet, exhausted, with their wounds seeping puss. Unsurprisingly, this meant their first stop would be the Temple of Brigh.
The Temple was crowded with worshippers all praying that the Torch would reignite. Without it, many of them would starve and the town would sputter and die. The old high priest, Joram Kyte, was in the middle of leading a sermon, so Haji, Nix, and Rothmhar plopped down at the back of the chapel, bleeding all over the pews and stinking the place up with the toxic fumes of the lake. To say they made a disturbance was an understatement.
In time the sermon drew to a close, and the worshippers moved on to pray privately, either in the chapel, or by creating a useful device in the holy workshops nearby. Joram strode over to them with a pleasant smile on his face.
“I see the caverns proved a challenge today. Lucky for you, Brigh blesses all who beseech her for aid.” He gestured at a nearby donation box made of elaborate clockwork parts.
“You cheap bastard,” Nix cursed.
Haji dug a pile of money out of his belt pouch and dropped it into the box. With a clicking and a whirr, the box began to move. Sprouting metal protrusions It formed and created a golden mask—the holy symbol of Brigh, goddess of invention and clockworks. The mechanical face bowed it’s little head, then clinked and clanked its way back into its constituent pieces and withdrew itself inside.
“A fine blessing, indeed!” Joram remarked with a wide grin. “Now, let’s see what we can do about those wounds?”
It took more than a few castings, prayers, and a heavy dose of antiseptic cream before Haji and Nix were feeling more like themselves. Haji was grateful to the clerics, but Nix grumbled and complained the entire time that she could just brew her own potions at home. To drown her out, Haji explained to Joram what they had seen.
“The behaviour of these skeletons it strange,” Joram admitted. “Can you describe their behaviour in detail? And their bodies… Is there any chance they were particularly rotten zombies? I… have heard tell of something similar sounding…”
After further conversation, Joram sighed. “I believe that this red light is a sign that the skeletons are being controlled by another. By an intelligent undead, capable of forming a mental link with the skeletons, and bending them to his will. Unfortunately, if I am correct, then there’s a high probability that these unquiet skeletons will reform daily.”
Haji scowled. “Reform?”
“But, we just destroyed them!” Nix exclaimed. She crossed her arms in an angry pout.
“And you’ll need to destroy them again tomorrow,” The preacher added with a stern look.
“So how do we stop their rejuvenation?” Haji asked.
“You’ll either need to destroy their controller, or bring their spirits peace. I’m afraid I can’t tell you more without witnessing them personally.”
“Bring them peace?” Nix scoffed. “Pretty hard to do when they’re shoving their claws into your chest! Ass.”
Joram ignored the insult and shrugged. “If I’m wrong, you’ll soon find out. But, if I’m right… Well, it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared. Have I mentioned that we sell holy water? Brigh protects all who show her the proper respect.”
Haji nodded quickly, before Nix could insult the old priest further.
With their holy water in hand, and their purses significantly lighter, Nix and Haji left the chapel and entered the streets of Torch. Wide, well-worn dirt roads stood empty. The forges and bellows lining the roads were quiet and dark. Doors were shut. Windows shuttered. Shops closed.
Torch was dying.
Eventually they came to the home of Val Baine. Val was a child, barely twelve, but she had promised to feed Haji, Nix and Rothmhar. Not indefinitely, of course. Only while they were exploring the caverns under Torch. Val’s father, the town councillor Khonnir Baine, had gone missing in those same caverns, and Val was hopeful that Haji and Nix would bring him home.
At the sight of them, Val smiled. “You’re back! Did you find my father?”
Haji shook his head no, while Nix ignored her and held her stomach dramatically.
“I’m starving.”
“I see,” Val sighed sadly. But a moment later she smiled. “I’m sure it won’t be much longer now! You’ll bring him home, soon.” She led them into the nearby bar that was her father’s. “We’re having roast crow for dinner. Come on.”
The bar was large and empty, having been closed by Val until the day her father returned.
Val was a decent cook for a kid. Better than Haji and Nix, anyway. Of course, that wasn’t saying much, as Haji had been known to eat garbage and rotten meat on occasion, while Nix often cooked out of the same pot she brewed alchemical concoctions from. Standards were not high.
They stuffed themselves, and then Haji stuffed himself even more. Food had been scarce growing up, so he had a habit of gorging himself to bursting whenever possible.
Eventually they left and made their way to the market. They had goods to sell, and Nix was intent on discerning the uses of the strange devices she had discovered. The market was pretty empty, with only a few stalls in operation, but they were lucky. They met a man by the name of Sanvil Trett who was an expert in the advanced technology that littered Numeria. He was a friendly fellow, who chatted away happily with Nix and explained how all of her scavenged goods worked—for a fee, of course.
Haji didn’t like the man. He smiled entirely too pleasantly at Nix and flirted with her while they talked. After Haji wrapped his arm around Nix and gave the man a growl he backed off a bit, and the conversation turned professional. Turns out Sanvil was pretty helpful. They learned that the silverdisks they regularly used as currency were batteries capable of charging up advanced technology. Most of the ones that they had were spent, and had no purpose other than money, but others had a visible lattice of metal lines on one side that shimmered in the light like a rainbow. These possessed the power to recharge advanced devices. The strange pen-like stick Nix had found a while back was a zipstick. When charged it would send a minor electrical current into something. Although not powerful on its own, a zipstick could be used with ion tape and some other advanced devices. Ion tape was pliable and sticky, but solidifies when electrified, becoming solid and smooth. Another shock caused it to revert to its original form. The smooth rectangular disks they had turned out to be a strange kind of key, which would open doors within metal ruins—presuming the ruins still had power. Nix also picked up an e-pick—a set of tools that would help her pick electronic locks—and some of that splendid ion tape!
After a bit more ooh-ing and aah-ing over the devices Sanvil had for sale, Haji and Nix wandered off to sell some of their more mundane loot. Afterwards they would head back to Nix’s house to rest, recover, and brew a heaping pile of potions for the next day.
On the way they came upon a messenger.
“Miss Nix! Mr. Haji!”
Nix turned with a raised eyebrow to find a scrawny messenger holding out an envelope.
“What?” Haji growled.
The messenger stuttered nervously. “P-p-please come and visit the illustrious Silverdisk Hall! My master bids you welcome!”
Haji glowered at the messenger with his one good eye, while Rothmhar hissed at him.
Nix raised an eyebrow. “Your master? Seriously? Garmen Ullreth just suddenly decided to offer us an invite to spend our coin at his casino?” She scoffed. “How generous of him.”
Haji snatched the envelope out of the messengers hands and opened it. Inside was a fancy invitation and a writ for 100 gold worth of credit at the casino. Sure enough, it was addressed to them personally, and signed: Garmen Ullreth.
“M-my master has heard of the good you are doing for the town of Torch, and wanted to honour you for your efforts. The c-c-credit is good on our games, beverages, and food.”
“Food?” Haji’s frown transformed into a bright smile.
“Uh, yes, sir!” The man stammered.
Nix let out a laugh. “We’ll be there.” She told the messenger. “Now, get.”
The messenger scurried off, while Haji and Nix went back to the business at hand: selling their loot and buying supplies for Nix’s crafting. By the time they got back to Nix’s crowded home/workshop it was late afternoon. Nix only had a few hours to tinker and brew before they left for Silverdisk Hall.
The casino was swanky! Staffed by scantily clad workers, and filled with the finest furniture in town, Silverdisk Hall was like another world. Tables of card and dice games filled the main hall, while a bar and restaurant at the back served food. Impeccably clean servers wound through the crowds of grungy townsfolk, carrying trays of alcohol and drugs for sale. And everywhere they looked: siverdisks. Haji and Nix found their way past the half-naked greeters and over to the cash counter. A burly looking fellow with bulging muscles and a sleazy smile gave Nix a wink before cashing in their voucher for ten shiny silverdisks.
“All games and services are paid for by silverdisks here. When you’re ready to cash out, just come on back. Enjoy yourselves, now!”
Haji growled in response.
Nix snatched up the silverdisks and discovered one had a tell-tale shine to it. She pulled out her zipstick and pressed it against the silverdisk, like Sanvil had taught her. The shine on the circuitry faded. Nix clicked the button on the side of the zipstick and a small jolt of electricity shot sparked at its tip.
“Ah!” She exclaimed happily. She waved the zipstick around for Haji to see and smiled brightly. “Did you see?” After testing it a few more times, and wasting half the charges provided by the battery, Nix finally put the stick away and returned her attention to her surroundings.
“Care to waste our coin on gambling?” She asked.
Haj shook his head. “No. But I will waste it on food.”
Nix laughed. “Honey, food is never a waste.”
There was a chuckle from behind them, and a hand fell on Nix’s shoulder. “Oh, my dear, this is delightful!”
Nix and Haji turned to find the infamous Garmen Ullreth smiling at them. He was clean and handsome. Dressed in gleaming sutdded leather armour, and with a rapier on his hip, the man was clearly well off, and not to be trifled with.
Haji growled, but refrained from threatening the overly wealthy (and politically powerful) man.
“Oh, Miss Nix! You must have a brilliant mind to forge such a wonderful device! Your arm is exquisite! And you, Mr. Haji! I was told you were a terrifying sight, but I must say, I’m impressed. That gaze alone could send a trained warrior crying back to his mother’s skirts.”
With a bow, Garmen introduced himself. “My name is Garmen. I’m the owner of this fine establishment, and I’m so happy you could join me.”
Haji grunted, but Nix smiled. “Thanks for the invite.”
“Oh, it’s the least I could do for the saviours of Torch! Now, go on. Enjoy yourselves. It’s on me, tonight.”
Garmen gave Haji a bow, kissed Nix’s good hand in farewell, and was gone as fast as he had appeared.
“Well, that was weird.” Nix remarked.
Haji only grunted. “Let’s eat.”
Wandering through the tables, the duo made their way to the bar at the back of the hall. They sat down to eat, only to discovered Sanvil Trett already there.
“Hey! Happy to see you two again!” Sanvil greeted them. “I didn’t peg you for the gambling type.”
“We’re hungry.” Haji remarked.
“Hungry? But the food here is horribly over priced!”
Nix laughed. “Figures.”
Haji shrugged. “We’re eating free tonight. So why are you here, then?”
Sanvil smiled. “Why, didn’t you hear? They only deal in silverdisks.” Leaning over conspiratorially he whispered, “They don’t know the difference between a charged disk and a spent one. I cash in my sales from a day to disks, and often end up with one or two that are charged. That’s a ton of profit! I just hang onto those at the end of the night, and trade in spent ones. It’s great turnaround!”
Nix let out a laugh. “That’s genius!”
Sanvil grinned. “Let’s keep it our little secret, dear.”
Haji narrowed his eye at Sanvil, and growled.
“Miss. Nix.” Sanvil corrected. “And Mister Haji, of course. And now, if you’ll excuse me, It’s time for me to cash out.”
Sanvil excused himself and left, while Nix and Haji ordered—horrendously overpriced—food.
Deeper in the bar there was a disturbance. Some drunk loser at the other end of the bar was making a fool of himself.
“Figures.” Nix scoffed. Turning to Haji she added, “You eat. I’ll check on him.”
While Nix settled down her father, Haji watched the gaming hall. He saw some strange things, but nothing particularly weird. There was a lot of cheating by the dealers. And a lot of guys walking around had ropes wrapped around their forearms and fists. He had seen people like that around Torch, but had no idea who they were. A gang, maybe? Some weird fashion trend? Fist-fighters? He didn’t know and, frankly didn’t care. There was a suspicious woman slinking around the tables. Foolish girl was going to get herself killed. And a surprising number of customer altercations. The rope-fisted fellows were prone to picking fights with other patrons, only to have the dealers take advantage of the commotion to cheat for the house.
Haji shook his head. He didn’t understand gambling.
The silverdisk’s didn’t go far. A few drinks each and a couple of helpings of food, and suddenly they were broke. The place was a money pit.
Haji and Nix left the Silverdisk Hall not long after arriving, no richer than they went in. On the plus side, they were full, and drunk. They stumbled home happily, their earlier brush with death temporarily forgotten. They spent the night wrapped in each others arms, with Rothmhar hissing at them angrily.
They had survived one hell of a day! But, with another battle against the strange skeletons looming on the horizon, they might not be so lucky next time…
Thanks for checking out d20 Diaries today! Haji and Nix’s adventures playing Iron Gods Book 1: Fires of Creation, will continue soon, in their sixth instalment: Master of Skulls. We hope you’ll join us again!
Art that inspired Nix. Discovered on Pinterest. If you know the artist or the source let me know, so proper credit can be given!
As Nix, Haji and Rothmhar stepped into the metal ruins for the first time, their footsteps echoed down the corridor loudly. The walls, floors and ceiling were made of smooth, dark grey metal–glaucite–while panels of lighter material ran along the ceiling eight feet above. To their left and right, the tunnel was blocked by piles of rubble, but ahead it continued through an open doorway.
Nix stepped forward to sift through the rubble with excitement. She was an impulsive woman. Impatient, and reckless, but she was also brilliant. The bits of wire and metal she might find in the blocked passageways could become something wonderful with a bit of tinkering in her workshop. Like the massive metal arm that she wore. Built from scrap salvaged from the junkyard, it was a fine replacement for her missing one, which had been torn off by a piece of malfunctioning machinery a few years ago.
‘Wait!” Haji hissed. A far more cautious creature than Nix, Haji was often the voice of reason in their relationship.
With a roll of her golden eyes, Nix paused.
Haji peered into the darkness with his one remaining eye. The second eye socket was filled with a glittering gemstone, and surrounded by a strange triangular rune that had been branded into his flesh by his one-time master. The same master who had taken his eye.
Haji spotted a figure down the tunnel… It was still and silent. Unmoving. Looking closer he realized it had three spider-like legs, two metallic arms, and a single red lens in the centre of its head. It was a robot–the same kind they had fought outside Val Baine‘s home (see Iron Gods: Part One: Into the Weeping Pond for more details). This one looked to be in much better condition, though. It’s outer shell was solid, it’s arms looked to be all in joint, and its legs looked even and well-oiled. Recognizing the threat it could pose, Haji approached the robot with his falchion.
Nothing.
Slowly, he poked it.
Nothing.
With a shrug, Nix began to dig around in the debris.
The robot in front of Haji whirred to life. It’s lens lit up, bathing Haji in bright red light.
“It’s awake!” Haji exclaimed, swinging at the robot with his falchion.
Parts of the robot’s chassis split open under the assault, but its didn’t slow. It swung its metal arms at Haji, knocking the breath out of him.
The stones and gems braided into Haji’s hair and beard jingled as he was knocked around by the blow. On his shoulder, Rothmhar hissed at the robot.
Turning to see a robot bludgeoning her boyfriend, Nix stalked forward. With a big downward swing she yelled, “Hey! Leave him alone!”
Her morningstar smashed parts of the robot apart, but a moment later, a strange flickering occurred around the damage, and the metal bits started repairing themselves.
“Well, shit!” Nix swore.
The battle continued, but the robot didn’t stand a chance. Already aware of its weaknesses, Haji and Nix made short work of the metallic monster–though its ability to quickly repair itself did draw out the battle.
As it collapsed to the floor in pieces, Nix leapt upon the robot’s body, pulling parts and pieces out for her own use. Soon it was nothing but scrap, and its repairing capabilities no longer functioned.
Further down the hall they came upon another entry hatch that led into a room filled with a tangle of broken cages.
“Was this a… prison?” Nix asked.
Holding up a few bits of ancient bones, Haji shook his head. “No. Animals were kept in these cages. Or… aberrations, maybe. Creatures not of this world.”
There were two other doors leading out of the ancient menagerie. One was open while the other was sealed shut. Nix tried to break her way into the sealed door using her wide array of tools, but had no luck. In another pile of rubble they discovered a few strange technological objects. Nix was thrilled, but Haji insisted she wait until they were home safely before fiddling with them.
In time they came to a room with a pair of machines protruding from opposite walls. They were covered with coils of metal tubes and nozzles, which were aimed at the room’s interior.
“What’s does this thing do?” Haji asked Nix.
Nix smiled widely and examined the weird machines. “I… I don’t know, but they don’t seem to be working.”
With a shrug they continued on through the room. Past another door, they found themselves in a tunnel of rough stone.
“What?” Nix complained. “That’s it?”
“No…” Haji mused. “I… There’s something strange with this rock. It’s not… Real.”
“The rock’s not real? What are you talking about?”
“It’s… artificial rock, I guess. It was formed this way, into this tunnel.”
“What the heck for?”
Haji shrugged. “I don’t know.”
With their weapons drawn they proceeded down the tunnel and came across a large rock formation that looked a bit like petrified coral.
As they approached, something deep inside the stone formation moved and a mass of long, tentacle like protuberances reached out from the centre of the rock formation and lashed at the duo.
Haji growled and slashed at it with his falchion, slicing some of the rubbery tentacles apart.
The tentacles recoiled, hiding inside the rock formation like it was a shell.
“What the hell?” Nix asked. “Should we kill it?”
Rothmhar hissed and bobbed his head. A moment later, Haji grunted. “Yes.”
The strange beast attacked from within its stone carapace, lashing with its tentacles and spitting a sticky substance. The tentacles tore into Nix’s flesh, causing deep, bleeding wounds. Haji struggled against the goop’s entangling tendrils, but the little rat on his shoulder hissed and began to gnaw right through it. With a growl, Haji strained and struggled, and burst his bonds. He swung his falchion and severed some of the strange creature’s tentacles, while Nix smashed through the stone-like exterior with her morningstar. As stone shattered, revealing a pulsing purple mound, Haji drove his blade right into the centre of the mass. A strange, viscous liquid exploded out of the beast’s wounds, splattering Haji and Nix.
Nix stumbled over to the side of the cave and wiped the goo out of her face. She was heavily wounded during the fight, although Haji came out unharmed. Nix activated one of her gadgets, causing a metallic beetle to scurry over her body and spray a healing foam into her nastiest wounds. As it crumbled to pieces she activated a second one, then scooped the parts back into her backpack.
“Well, that was fun.” Nix groaned sarcastically.
Haji looked her over with worry, while Rothmhar hissed in his ear. With an annoyed look at the rat, Haji grumbled, “Yeah, I’m going.”
Then he looked back at his girlfriend. “You alright?”
“Shiny.” she replied, though she clearly wasn’t. “Come on, then, before that rat bites your ear off.”
Rothmhar hissed at Nix, then tossed its nose up in the air.
With Haji and Rothmhar leading the way, they continued down the tunnel. After a few twists and turns it opened into a large cavern. The floor was red sand, and the cavern walls behind them were steep but smooth. Difficult to climb, they disappeared out of sight in all direction–left, right and up. Nix’s sunrod barely pierced the gloom.
“Can you see the other side?” Nix asked.
Haji shook his head. “No. And not the ceiling or side walls, either. This cavern is… vast.”
Nix let out a short “Huh.”
It was eerily quiet in the cavern, with no sign of the pervasive damp of the previous caverns they had been in, and no distant echoes. The sand at their feet looked natural, but bore no dunes or gentle curves as it would on the surface. It was flat and still. Unnaturally so.
A shiver ran up Haji’s spine. He couldn’t shake the sudden feeling of unease that overcame him. But Nix hobbled off a few steps into the sand, apparently unconcerned.
“We need to stay together,” Haji warned. “It would be easy to get lost in here…”
“Lost? It’s so quiet in here you could hear my footsteps from a mile away.” She chuckled, but then stopped. “Speaking of footprints… I found some. Looks like a few pairs. What do you think?”
Haji moved over to check them out. Sure enough there were a few sets. “Looks like a group of people traipsed through here, and headed off ahead. One of ’em was wounded. Khonnir’s group, maybe. Some time later another few tracks came through. And it looks like… one pair managed to leave again.”
“Leave?” Nix asked. “Oh! Yeah!” she exclaimed with a clank of her metal fingers–it would have been a snap had she used her good hand. “That guy we found in the cold mold! That naked freak said he had stumbled out of here like a madman.”
Haji nodded absently. “Gerrol Sondor. He was a friend of Khonnir’s. And the woman’s name was Sef. She said nothing of the sort, by the way.”
“Same difference.” Nix replied. “Should we follow them?”
Haji nodded and drew his falchion. “Yes.”
They set off following the tracks through the sand. After a short time they could see none of the cavern walls at all. They were adrift in an endless expanse of motionless sand.
Suddenly, Haji stopped. “Did you hear that?”
“What?” Nix asked.
Rothmhar sniffed at the air.
Suddenly there was a shifting of sand. Footsteps. Then more.
“Who’s there?” Nix called out. “Show yourself!”
At the edge of Haji’s vision he saw a figure. Skeletal and tall with a massively elongated cranium and four arms, the creature stalked through the sands. And there, to his left! Another. And another from behind.
“We’re surrounded…” Haji told Nix.
“Shit! I can’t see them. Where are they?”
“They’ll be in your light soon. Looks like they’re slow, though. And stupid.”
Suddenly, the eyes of one of the skeletons glowed red. That skeleton cocked its head, looked right at Haji and met his eyes. Then it charged him, bounding across the sand in an instant.
“BAH!” Haji exclaimed in surprise.
The skeleton tore into him with a clawed hand, ripping flesh with its ancient bones.
“Slow, my ass!” Nix exclaimed.
Rothmhar hissed at the skeleton while Nix hurried over to Haji. She swung her morningstar at the skeleton and smashed a gaping hole in its skull. The skeleton turned on her, it’s red, baleful eyes focusing on her with hate.
“I thought you said it was stupid!” Nix exclaimed.
The skeleton launched itself at her and tore gaping wounds in her arms and neck with its claws. Suddenly, the light in its eyes faded. The other skeletons traipsed mindlessly closer, when suddenly another’s eye-sockets lit up in a red light. It looked right at Nix, and charged at her, zipping past Haji in order to swing a claw at her back.
Haji roared in anger. He raised his sword and brought it down on the skeleton that had so heavily hurt Nix. As his blade struck bone it sent a jarring vibration up his arms, but he powered through, tearing through the skeletons ribcage and spinal column with his oversized sword. The skeleton fell to pieces, but around them, others moved closer.
Nix quickly swung her morningstar, taking the red-eyed skeleton out at the knees, and sending it toppling to the ground. But, even as it fell, the red light transferred to another skeleton, and in the distance, they heard more footsteps. And more… And more…
The red light was moving faster now, jumping from skeleton to skeleton and imbuing each with intelligence before moving on. As the skeletons all surged forward, swinging their claws at Nix, and trying to tear her weapon from her hand, Haji roared.
“Run!” He bellowed. “RUN!”
Heavily wounded, Nix took off after the trail of footprints, dripping blood across the sand. Haji took another swipe at the skeletons before following her. As the ran they could hear more skeletons shuffling out there in the distance. Nix quickly activated another of her gadgets, causing a clockwork beetle to scurry it’s way from her belt over to the bleeding wounds across her chest. It sprayed a magical antiseptic foam across her open wounds, causing them to heal–partly. After healing her, the beetle crumbled into tiny pieces. This time she didn’t spare the time to retrieve them.
As she hobbled across the desert, pouring blood, Nix hissed at Haji, “I’m out of healing.”
Haji raced after her. “I’ve got some left, but it’ll only slow us down.”
Quickly, he shoved his hand into one of his belt pouches and let out a quick prayer to Rothmhar. His words were strange and unintelligible, but they had a dark and foul sound. As he muttered the brand around his eye surged with power, Rothmhar let out a fierce hiss, and the trio of rocks inside the pouch began to magically glow. Haji pulled out one of the rocks, which struck one of the skeletons in the chest and caused its ribcage to explode. It stumbled on for a few steps before tumbling to the ground in pieces.
The path led Nix to a rock formation that jutted up out of the sand like a miniature mountain. As they raced along it’s edge Haji threw his other two stones, both of which smashed into skeletons. As the bones fell lifeless to the dirt, Haji let out a whoop.
Atop the rocks to Nix’s left, there was a sudden pair of glowing red lights–another skeleton. It eyed Nix, but let her run right past. Instead, it focused on Haji and his magical stones. It leapt off the crags and landed upon Haji, knocking him over into the sand.
Haji let out a growl of pain and lashed out at the skeleton. He managed to get to his feet, but the skeleton gave a deep gash across his arm for the trouble. He gripped his falchion in his hands and faced off against the red eyed skeleton, just as the other skeletons caught up to him. Surrounded, he let out a growl. From the sand beside his foot, little Rothmhar hissed menacingly.
“Don’t stop!” Haji yelled to Nix. “Get out of here!”
At his words, Nix spared a glance behind her. Seeing Haji surrounded, she growled. “Like hell!”
Haji swung his falchion at the most damaged of the skeletons around him and forced his blade through the bones, causing it to shatter to pieces. “Come and get me, you freaks!”
The red eyed skeleton attacked with all four arms, tear and scratching at Haji’s exposed skin.
Haji grunted in pain and spat a glob of blood on the ground. “That all you got?”
As the red light left the skeleton’s eye sockets and entered another’s, Haji knew he was done for. The second skeleton attacked him with its many sharp claws, then the third… He howled in pain and fell to his knees. He tried to swing his sword, but it was too heavy… His hands weren’t working right…. And his vision… Why was everything so blurry? Soaked with blood, and moments from death, Haji lost his grip on his sword, and toppled over, bleeding in the red sand.
Rothmhar hissed and nipped at the skeleton who had taken down his friend, but his teeth did nothing to the monster’s ancient bones.
One of the skeletons raised its claws in the air, ready to drive them down into Haji’s chest. There was a shuffling of sand and an explosion of bone, as Nix smashed her morningstar through its skull. She let out a strangled cry–half sob and half scream–and stood over Haji’s body.
Waving her morningstar menacingly at the last two skeletons, she smiled like a mad woman. “Over my dead body, bitches.”
The skeletons turned their attention to Nix, tearing and cutting her flesh with their bony, clawed hands. She screamed in pain, and fought back. Howling in rage and frustration.
She wouldn’t let Haji die here. Not alone.
Bloody and near death herself, Nix fought.
Meanwhile, Rothmhar had buried himself into Haji’s belt pouch. He grabbed a vial in his mouth and scurried back out of the sack. He dragged it across Haji’s chest and perched his hideous body right up beside Haji’s open mouth. He worked at the vial’s cork, gnawing it out with his teeth until the vial opened with a pop. Then he nudged the vial over, into Haji’s gaping mouth. Slowly, the healing potion trickled into Haji’s throat.
Above them, Nix had smashed one of the skeletons, but her wounds were great. The last wounded skeleton dugs his four hands into her chest and tore, yanking great hunks of skin off and sending her tumbling to the ground. She landed with a dull thump, tangled in a heap just inches from Haji.
Haji opened his eye just in time to see Nix fall beside him like a lifeless doll. Blood covered her and she was missing massive hunks of flesh. As her head smashed into the sand she caught sight of him just for a moment, before her eyes looked past him–dull and unfocused.
Haji let out a howl of anger and launched himself at the skeleton, pounding it with his fists… his head… a nearby rock. Anything he could grab hold of. He vented his anger and pain on the creature, slowly smashing in its skull with blind rage. Finally, the red light left its eyes.
With bloodied hands, and broken knuckles, Haji heaved in gulps of air, panting with exertion and anger. He screamed, then crawled across the sand to Nix’s side.
She didn’t look good. She was pale and bloody, bruised and broken. She looked dead.
He pressed his hand against her, and prayed loudly to Rothmhar. The rat hissed at him in anger, clearly thinking Nix wasn’t worth it. But, Haji didn’t let up. He snarled his prayers over and over. Beneath his hands, Nix didn’t draw breath. Her heart didn’t beat.
Haji glared at Rothmhar and continued to chant in the foul tongue, forcing his prayers upon the hideously ugly rat. Rothmhar let out a rather human sigh. Finally, the brand around Haji’s eye burned with power, and a surge of healing energy poured from Haji’s hands and down into Nix’s chest. Some of her wounds healed, and he felt a single beat of her heart under his palms. Haji continued to chant, funnelling more and more of Rothmhar’s magic into his dying girlfriend. Eventually she drew in a shuddering, weak gasp of breath. Her eyes refocused. She blinked, and groaned.
“You’re not dead,” she rasped. Her bloody lips turned up into a smile.
A wide grin broke out across Haji’s face. “Neither are you.”
Nix chuckled, but then hissed in pain.
“Don’t move,” Haji ordered her. “You’re too wounded, and I’ve got no healing spells left.”
She groaned and dug a few vials out of her pockets. “Drink,” she told him, “You look like shit.”
But instead of drinking them himself, Haji fed them to Nix.
Bloody and wounded, but alive, they both struggled to their feet.
“Ugh, this place sucks.” Nix groaned.
Haji nodded. He put an arm over Nix’s shoulders and pulled her close. “Let’s go home.”
Rothmhar chittered angrily up at the duo, clearly displeased that despite saving their lives he was given so little attention.
Together, they limped their way back to through the metal ruins, on their way back home.
Thanks for checking out d20 Diaries today! Haji and Nix’s adventures playing Iron Gods Book 1: Fires of Creation, will continue soon, in their fifth instalment: High Times in Torch! We hope you’ll join us again!
But, I’ve been getting a lot of compliments lately and, as my husband so eloquently said: “You should write about that.” So here we are.
Compliments. That’s not a weird thing, I know. People get compliments all the time, right?
Fair.
But, when your father’s compliments are sweet, pleasant gems like: “You look good. That’s new.” and “Did you lose weight? You’re not as fat as you usually are.” you understand why some nice, no-strings-attached compliments from someone other than my wonderful husband, and adorable children, is a big deal.
So as I was sifting through my personal messages on the Paizo website the other day, I read one that included the words, “I was taking a look through your Paizo profile…and just noticed who you are!”
Huh? I thought. Do I know this person from real life? Have I horribly offended them in the past in some way?
Nope!
He knew me from something I’d created.
This is new for me.
On occasion, Paizo announces design competitions on their blog. These are short, miniature competitions where fans are asked to create a stat block on a theme, or something similar. I’ve entered nearly all of them, and done quite well. The most recent one involved creating Eleven, from the wonderful television show Stranger Things, as a Pathfinder character. Any level, any class… Your choice. Make her. It was a ton of fun! There were a lot of great entries, with a few class variations. In an effort to duplicate her many abilities, most of the entries placed her between CR 6 and CR 11, with a few brave souls aiming for lower CR ranges. I put in a version of El that made her a young telekineticist 7/psychic 4 (click the Spoiler button beside meloriel!). My brother (Theron Pearroc) put in a version that made her a young psychic bloodline sorcerer 9/loremaster 5 that made great use of the technology guide and the lassitude spellblight.
The first design competition I entered, challenged the entrants to recreate the final villain from Book Five of the Reign of Winter Adventure Path: Rasputin Must Die! using the rules from Occult Adventures. As a huge fan of that adventure path, and all things occult, I had an absolute blast with that challenge, although the stat blocks high CR and the many new rules meant that it was quite challenging! I ended up making him a CR 17 occultist, but if you’ve never played Reign of Winter, be forewarned! Reading my entry (or any entry) will definitely cause you to go “WHAT?!?” and have one of the many great surprises of that Adventure Path spoiled! Beware the spoilers! I earned an honourable mention in that competition, which made me literally jump for joy. Yes, literally, literally. I got at least an inch of air (which is big for me. I don’t jump…)
Happily, this is how my friendly GM knew me. He liked my entry, and not only remembered it, but USED IT. As far as compliments from total strangers go, I don’t think there’s a nicer one than that. Something I made for a d20 game, USED. By someone other than me?! Gasp! Haha. (And there was much rejoicing!)
But, it’s the second design competition I entered which made me happiest. In it, we had to recreate one of Pathfinder’s many iconic characters, and make them evil. Delightfully, deliciously, evil. It was really enjoyable to participate, and in the end I made a cruel version of Lini, the gnome druid. And I won. Not only did I win some store credit that I used to purchase some awesome Pathfinder Society Scenarios (the shipping and duty fees are too high to make buying physical books from their website manageable for me), but I also won a custom avatar which I rock on the messageboards all the time. It was a blast.
Now, that’s not the only delightful compliment I’ve received regarding one of my creations lately. I’ve also received a lot in regards to a character I’ve made. Who? My first (and greatest) Starfinder Society character, Julakesh Starfist. Julakesh is a bold vesk solarian who’s strong, proud, and entirely full of herself. She’s prone to accidentally insulted her companions with her generous compliments, getting herself into fights too dangerous to pound with her fists, and generally making people laugh. She’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer. In fact, in that analogy she’s more of a spoon than a knife. But I love her. She’s among my most fun characters to play. Ever. And that’s saying something.
She’s has been called “hilarious,” “great fun,” and “absurd.” More than a few people have mentioned that they love her, with the sweetest being “<3 Julakesh all the time always!” (Here’s looking at you, ElektraDawns! You made my day! Haha.) She’s received personal invitations to join games, and people seem to be pleased to get to play with her a second time. Her recent acceptance of an invitation to a game included excited squealing and the ever-eloquent (and very flattering) exclamation: “Yayy!” But the best compliments I could have possibly gotten?
“On so many levels she is my favorite vesk character I’ve ever seen!”
“…one of the finest vesk characters I’ve seen played since Starfinder was published.”
Seriously. If either of you are reading this, you’re SO NICE.
Now, I’m not saying Julakesh is everyone’s cup of tea. She’s not. I’m sure some poor person she’s played alongside has wanted to tape her mouth shut, and break my fingers to prevent me from typing. But, I am saying, she’s brought some joy to people–myself included–and I hope she continues to do so as her Starfinder career continues.
Julakesh Starfist is a fierce looking vesk with horns circling the top of her head like a spiked crown. Her scales are mottled black that never reflects light and bright white that almost seems to glow. She is well muscled and just under seven feet tall. Clearly a warrior! Curiously she bears only one weapon: a small azimuth laser pistol holstered on her hip. A glowing orb of bright white light hovers around her, following her wherever she goes. During battle she grasps the ball of light and it energizes her fists, making them surrounded by a blazing, bright white light.
Julakesh is brave, bold and adventurous. Like most of her kind she revels in the glory of combat and competition. She loves exploring new planets and—most especially—being off planet. She’s most at home in the depths of space and enjoys floating around with her jetpack outside the ship whenever it is stopped.
Before becoming a Starfinder, Julakesh was a vesk soldier. She spent most of her time policing residents and putting down rebellious behaviour among the barbarous feline humanoids on Vesk-6. She treated her charges with respect but revelled in the opportunity for glorious combat, or competition among her fellow soldiers. As she rose through the ranks her chances for combat increased, and eventually she was given the opportunity to join a combat vessel bound for a fierce battlefield on another planet. She accepted the honour with great enthusiam and left Vesk-6 for the first time since she joined the military.
Unfortunately, a solar flare and the subsequent coronal mass ejection struck their ship, causing most of the systems to fail and the nearly all of the crew to die. Of those few crew remaining, all of them were left changed—three suffered slow radiation poisoning, one’s scales turned a sickly brown, one lost more than half his muscle mass and two suffered terrible mutations. The energy from the corona bonded with Julakesh in a moment of intense pain, leaving her capable of using the very elements of the universe as a weapon—the power of gravity and the power of the stars. She was no longer Vesk, she was something other. Something greater.
Through luck and determination, Julakesh and her fellow ailing soldiers managed to steer the ship back to Vesk-6 where they were taken care of by the military doctors. Julakesh was cleared for active duty, but found the next few years of work unfulfilling. Although she enjoyed combat as much as she always had, her gaze was constantly drawn heavenward, she knew in her heart she belonged among the stars.
Eventually she left behind her promising military career and set out into the unknown on a passenger ship travelling to Absalom station. As they took off into the beautiful void of space, Julakesh finally felt at peace. This was where she belonged.
Want to join the Starfinder Society? Download the Starfinder Roleplaying Guild Guide for more information. It’s a free download on Paizo’s website. )
Her travels have taken her far and wide since then, but as much as she loves discovering and exploring new planets and stars, she’s always happiest in the void of space, surrounded by silence and stars. She has recently joined the Starfinders, in the Wayfinders, and is excited to push new boundaries and travel the unknown depths of space.
Her love of glory and battle shines through no matter the circumstances, not only from her bright exuberant smiles, but also from her loudly exclaiming her joy for all to hear. She’s easily confused by long words, and has absolutely no understanding of advanced technology. She hacks ‘puters’ with a fist, and never lies. She’s a happy, energetic soul, quick to laugh and often smiling. She doesn’t have much of a verbal filter, and her well-meaning compliments tend to insult her fellow Starfinders.
She offers pleasant and friendly greetings…
“Greetings, companions! The honour is YOURS!”
“You look at least half-competent! Wonderful! If you’re a quarter as capable as I am we’ll be a formidable team!”
“Hail, friend-bug! We shall soon break bread and bones together!”
She provides compliments and encouragement…
“You are not as feeble as I expected!”
She’s always ready for a good time…
“Ah! Yes! Let us hope there are terrifying beasts and dangerous traps within this ‘mainframe’ they spoke of! THAT WOULD BE GREAT FUN!”
She’s always willing to lend a helping hand…
“Yes! You are very meek and pathetic! Be happy we are here to make you a winner!”
“After my mission and befriending your many soft people, I will pound you into the dirt many times! This will make you stronger! You will know how to use your weapons, then!” She thumps her chest and smiles. “If you are lucky, you will then be as strong as a child among my people! A great accomplishment! You will see! You will be proud! Bring honour to your name!”
She’s understanding…
“Ah, yes! Puters! I know these! When they make noises I don’t like I punch them dead! Many of my fellows do not like this. They caress the puters instead, with fingers and some invisible force called coding. You are one of them, yes? A lover to puters?”
And she’s always ready for a fight…
“BRING YOUR FACE TO MY FISTS!”
“TO BATTLE, FRIENDS! IT IS TIME TO EARN OUR HONOUR! AHAHAHAHAAA!”
All in all, she’s one colourful character, and I hope you’ve enjoyed hearing about her as much as I enjoyed sharing her with you today. If you’re one of the delightful people who have given me kind words about Julkaesh, thank you so much for the feedback! It means a lot. To read more about Julakesh, you can check out some of her previous play-by-post games, including The Commencement, and Yesteryear’s Truth. Or, pop in and check out her current misadventures, in The Dire GM’s Solar Sortie.
Until next time,
I wish you honour and glory (and more than a few laughs)!
Well, another month has come and gone, which means there’s a whole bunch of new and awesome products coming out from Paizo. But first, it should be noted that today’s your last day to pre-order physical copies of the Pathfinder Playtest Rulebook, Pathfinder Playtest Adventure: Doomsday Dawn, and the Flip-mat multipack. If you intend to pick up a copy of any of them, now’s your last chance. Free copies of the PDF will be available in late August.
The Pathfinder Society’s Glyph of the Open Road
Two new Pathfinder Society Scenarios were recently released, Scenario #9-18: Scourge of the Farheavens is a tier 1-5 scenario that sends the players all the way to Iobaria, which promises to be a blast. This is definitely the scenario I’m most excited for, and I hope to pick it up soon. The second PFS release is Scenario #9-19: Clash in the Kaimuko Wood, is a tier 5-9 scenario that takes place on the border of Kwanlai and Tianjing in Tian Xia. Involving abyssal corruption, this adventure continues events in Scenario #9-12: Shrine of the Sacred Tempest, and directly contributes to the ongoing storyline of the Silver Crusades.
Near the end of May there’ll be two more scenarios for us to sink our teeth into. Scenario #9-20: Fury of the Final Blade is a tier 7-11 scenario that sees the Liberty’s Edge faction leader, Colson Maldris, up to some shifty underhanded shenanigans, involving Andoran’s corrupt elite, the Grey Gardeners of Galt, and the soul-trapping guillotines they’re known for. Turning to the Pathfinders for aid Maldris set out to lay the groundwork for a rescue plan–only to end up captured himself. This awesome-sounding scenario leaves the fate of Colson Maldris in your players hands, and directly affects the Liberty’s Edge faction’s ongoing plot. Finally, we have Scenario #9-21: In the Grandmaster’s Name, which is a tier 3-7 adventure that lets your players pose as intercepted agents of Grandmaster Torch, and perform some underhanded espionage in Druma. I don’t know about you, but I’m super excited for this mission, as my whole family loves the Grandmaster (or rather, some love him, and some love to hate him!).
While last month brought us the delightfully dark Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Nidal, Land of Shadows, this month brings us a Player Companion that looks like it’s handy for everyone. Pathfinder Player Companion: Blood of the Ancients, looks like it’s going to focus on both unlocking the powers of your own ancestry, and on the remnants of ancient civilizations. I’m particularly curious about the Azlanti ioun kineticist archetype, and the Jistkan artificers. But, we’ll have to wait to find out more.
But, the most exciting new release? The Jungle of Despair pre-painted plastic minis! Like the rest of the randomized Pathfinder Battles minis, they come in four-figure boosters (with one large and three medium minis inside). You can also buy a brick (which is eight booster boxes) or a case (which contains four bricks).
Whatever you’re interested in, there’s a lot of neat stuff coming out this month. Far more than I could indulge in, that’s for sure! It’s the two pawn collections that I’m most interested in getting my hands on. That and the Scourge of the Farheavens PFS scenario. What about you? What are you most excited for from Paizo’s upcoming products? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Today we’re going to take a look at the two most recent Starfinder 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 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!
Scenario # 1-12: Ashes of Discovery is a Tier 1-4 adventure which takes place on an abandoned outpost in Near Space. It has the repeatable tag and features starship combat. As a repeatable scenario, this adventure can be played once with every character (as opposed to once per player), which is AWESOME and makes it easier to get some much needed experience for low level characters. In addition, it features randomized mechanical and story elements, which means that each time you play it will be slightly (or very) different. These randomized elements include what special abilities the enemies have, the atmosphere of the planet, attitudes and cultural quirks of the locals, what corporation the colony once belonged to, and much, much more. I was super impressed with how completely these randomized elements could change the scenario. I fully intend to play this one through with every character I ever make for SFS play. The only difficulty? With a scenario this randomized it’s really up to the GM to sell the environments, characters, and atmosphere. With a GM not willing to put their all into running this delightful scenario, it could fall flat.
So what’s this scenario about? Recently a corporation discovered records of a long abandoned outpost they haven’t had contact with in centuries. They’ve hired to Starfinders to head on down to the planet–cleverly named Colony-753–and have a look see. Your Starfinder will get to explore an unknown planet, deal with hazards and wildlife, befriend the locals and survive a bit of wild weather. Basically, this scenario is a wonderful example of what being a Starfinder is all about! It features Guidance, an AI created from the memories and knowledge of previous Starfinders. Unlike the other repeatable scenario (#1-01: The Commencement, which also happens to be Guidance’s first appearance), this one really lived up to my expectations. It was wonderful. Overall, I highly recommend Ashes of Discovery. I give it five out of five stars.
Besmaran whelp from SFS #1-12: Ashes of Discovery. Art courtesy of Paizo Inc.
Scenario #1-13: On the Trail of History is a Tier 3-6 adventure which takes place on an unchartered planet in the Vast known as Icefront, or Izalraan to the natives. It has the Faction (Second Seekers [Luwazi Elsebo] scenario tag and features starship combat. In addition to being of great importance to the Second Seekers (Luwazi Elsebo) faction, this scenario also contributes to the ongoing year of the Scoured Stars storyline. Following a lead discovered in Scenario #1-11: In Pursuit of the Scoured Past, First Seeker Elsebo sends the Starfinders on an expedition to a planet that could have a connection to the Scoured Stars incident. Tasked with finding out whatever they can about the planet, and a relic believed to have landed there, the group must deal with a strange environment, and dangerous locals. Unlike similar scenarios, this adventure features a whole lot more than you’d expect, the mysterious introduction of what’s sure to be an important part of the Scoured Stars plot line, and some delightful moral dilemmas. Those of you who have played through #1-05: The First Mandate, will find that one of your boons might earn you an extra hint or two. Overall, this was an awesome scenario, that was very different from those that have come before. I give it five out of five stars.
A mysterious ship… Art courtesy of Paizo Inc.A Starfinder Society Agent from the Starfinder Society Guild Guide. Art Courtesy of Paizo Inc.
And that’s all for today! Thanks for joining us on our exploration of the wonderful new scenario’s available this month. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about them as much as I have. Both scenarios look like a ton of fun, and I can’t wait until I have a chance to run them for my family, or play them myself. My son’s been super curious about the mystery of the Scoured Stars incident, so I can’t wait to tell him about what’s waiting for him down the line.
This past week my brother and sister-in-law came over for our weekly game night–an event which hasn’t occurred in weeks! Can you say ‘thrilled’? So while all of our kids settled in for a late night of Scooby-Doo cartoons, the adults dusted off our Mummy’s Mask characters and settled in to play!
The Mummy’s Mask Adventure Path is a six part campaign which begins with Book 1: The Half-Dead City, and continues with Book 2: Empty Graves, both of which take place in the town of Wati. The Mummy’s Mask Player’s Guide is a free download on Paizo’s website, available here. If you intend to GM the Mummy’s Mask Adventure Path, I highly recommend picking up the Mummy’s Mask Pawn Collection, which has over a hundred awesome and unique minis to go with the campaign. You’ll also get a TON of use from the Mummy’s Mask Poster Map Folio. Trust me, by the end of Empty Graves your map of Wati will have had one hell of a workout. Mine’s already covered in a ton of numbers and labels I’ve added in permanent marker, to help my players keep track of the many locations in this quirky city. Mummy’s Mask is also the subject of many other neat (but not necessary) game supplements, including Mummy’s Mask Face Cards, Mummy’s Mask Item Cards, and a gorgeous Mummy’s Mask Dice Set by Q-Workshop, which I’d love to get my hands on. Heck, you can even play Mummy’s Mask as a card game (Pathfinder Card Game Mummy’s Mask Base Set), or listen to it as an audio adventure (Beginning with Pathfinder Legends Audio Adventures: The Mummy’s Mask: The Half Dead City). Seriously! There’s a ton of Mummy’s Mask supplements out there, and if that doesn’t tell you Mummy’s Mask is a fun, popular adventure path, I don’t know what does. Other than, you know, me. Haha.
We last left of our adventures in Wati with a cliff-hanger. My group’s characters had just finished participating in a wonderfully fun auction at the Canny Jackal. They had finalized their purchases, selected some choice buys to wear immediately, and scheduled delivery for the other items at their inn, the Tooth and Hookah. They spent a bit of time worrying over Salal, the ancient slave girl they witnessed sold, and a bit more time socializing and hob-nobbing with the many colourful characters in attendance alongside them at the auction.
Artwork by Onionholk discovered on Pinterest which inspired Arc Goodstorm’s appearance.
Arc Goodstorm, my husbands awkward, plant-obsessed witch, chatted with a local coffee plantation owner, Basif Iosep, while Arc’s guest at the auction, a pregnant gold-digger by the name of Pahetti he had only met that morning, tried her best to flirt with the other eligible bachelors in attendance. Arc hadn’t bothered to dress up for the auction at all, although his date did convince him to purchase her new clothes, jewelry and perfume for the evening’s festivities, in addition to purchasing her an object or two during the auction itself. On his back, Arc carries a deep, heavy basket filled with soil and luscious plants, which he tends with care. His rabbit familiar, Mischa, lives inside the basket, and a sarcastic silvanshee named Kal follows him around most of the time, mocking him and his friends. And his dates. And everything, really. Except the rabbit. The silvanshee LOVES his rabbit. So while Arc chatted, Pahetti flirted, and his rabbit twitched its nose, Kal heckled the surrounding nobles, and cast irritating cantrips at them when no one was looking.
Artwork similar in appearance to Nazim Salahadine.
In another part of the room, Nazim Salahadine, my brother’s undead-hating catfolk cleric of Pharasma, chatted with Menya the Whip, a local, up-and-coming armoursmith who Nazim had decided to sponsor. Nazim looked like an overgrown persian cat, and was dressed in some of the finest attire one could purchase in Wati. Bedecked in silks, gems and expensive perfumes, he cut an interesting figure!
Kasmet, my sister-in-law’s catfolk rogue, was similarly attired in the finest ancient Osiriani-inspired fashions. With her revealing white linen dress, collar of gold and blue beads, and her bracelets, anklets, and armbands, Kasmet looked like Bastet herself, pulled through time to the Canny Jackal. Kasmet chatted with her date–well, the date she and Nazim shared–a pregnant peasant woman named Manat whom they had met that morning at the Insula Mater. Manat quickly won them over with her down-to earth attitude and complete lack of shame. While she and Kasmet spoke, Manat stuffed her face with the finest food she had ever tasted, while wearing the finest clothes she would ever worn. The clothes had been a gift, from Kasmet and Nazim to Manat, which Manat only accepted on the condition that she be allowed to sell the clothes afterwards, which would feed, clothe and educate her family for months to come.
Thus arrayed around the room, there was a sudden knocking at the front door. Ahteb and Hamapetra, the most eye-catching of the Canny Jackal’s many servants, moved to open the door–only to have it smashed in by six zombies. With the servants pinned to the ground and dying under the heavy doors, the zombies poured into the Canny Jackal… And we had stopped.
You see why we were so excited to get back into the game!
We picked up this week with the zombies pouring into the Canny Jackal, spreading out to attack the various nobles and adventurers that my players had grown to love over the past few game sessions. Some nobles were prepared to fight back, of course, like Teos Okhenti, a bastard of House Okhenti who moved immediately to protect Yuya Mahfre, who openly hated him despite his many shameless attempts to flirt with her. Most panicked and screamed. Luckily, there were a few other capable combatants in the room at the time, including Sigrun Firehair and her mysterious companions known only as The Twins, all of whom were members of the Daughters of the Desert adventuring group.
My players leapt into action to protect their pregnant guests and help those in need around the room. Ah, but this battle wasn’t so simple! Crawling hands, shifting crowds, panicking guests and collapsing scaffolding all worked to complicate this fun, dynamic encounter. My personal favourite part? Their pregnant guest Manat stood unworried at the back of the room, filling a massive bowl with as much left overs as she could carry.
In the midst of this battle, the group could hear cries of “More!” and screams of alarm from outside in the Sunburst Market, and deeper into the showrooms of the Canny Jackal, so at its conclusion they took a moment to heal themselves, and ensure their guests were safe, before hurrying on to the next nearest sounds of panic.
In the showroom warehouse they discovered the owner of the Canny Jackal, Minnothet, being attacked by a zombie, while the coffee merchant Basif Iosep protected his mistress, Lady Nubumshaset, from another. Splitting up to better protect the nobles worked well–for a time. Unfortunately a nearby sarcophagus burst open a few moments later, revealing the mummy of Amadjawat the Many Veiled to them in all her undead, angry glory! Luckily, only Kasmet and the nobles suffered under her fear aura, leaving Nazim to shout his ululating battle cry and hurry into battle, with Arc following close behind with his magical lighting spear in hand.
Throughout this rolling series of encounters, the Fateway Five, as our trio of heroes is known, saved other nobles from zombies and rescued the ancient slave-girl Sallal from being abducted. After ensuring the Canny Jackal was safe and looked after, they headed out into the city of Wati–only to see MORE undead terrorizing the populace.
Nearby a terrified man hurried to unlock his door while two zombies closed in on him. Nervously he fiddled and fussed… and dropped his keys. Further away, the familiar sight of Mila Ansretti, a travelling merchant who they had befriended during our first play session and who had been a recurring character since, stood in the market surrounded by four zombies, with only a pair of market stalls and her wits to protect her. The many severed hands of thieves tied to the Pillar of Second Thoughts twitched with unlife, while in the distance they could see The Abadaran Sanctum of Silver and Gold, and the Nethysian Temple of Arcana Unbound both under assault. The other way they could see the holy, white crocodiles being devoured by zombies–their keeper apparently having decided to leave them to their fate. And further away? They could hear the screams of the terrified residents of Wati. The dead had risen!
The rest of the session turned out to be a fun, dynamic series of battles, where our heroes saved familiar faces, made new friends, and brought the dead back into undead. When they had finally cleared the Sunburst Market of dangers they spoke with the nearby churches in order to coordinate a plan to save Wati, and investigated a nearby wagon accident. There they discovered wagons had been smuggling corpses from the Necropolis into Wati, when the dead had suddenly burst out of the wagons and killed the drivers and camels. Although this showed them where some of the undead had come from, it didn’t explain how they had animated, or where all the other undead had come from. Unfortunately, as they were investigating the wagons, the corpses of the wagon drivers stood up, and the broken pinned down bodies of the camels twitched to life. Or, more accurately, unlife. Fighting off the zombies and dodging zombie camel bites was a ton of fun, and when it was over my players were left with an imposing sense of doom.
Something had made the dead rise. And then, right before their eyes, the freshly killed had risen again.
By then it was late, and the time had come to wrap up for the day. So we tidied up, collected our children, and said goodbye.
They have some time to think on their plans before we play again this week, and I can’t wait to see where they decide to visit next!
See you next time!
Jessica
And remember, if the dead come knocking, don’t open the door!
Today we’re going to take a look at the two most recent Starfinder 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 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 enter the Drift!
Scenario #1-10: The Half-Alive Streets, a Tier 1-4 scenario for the Starfinder Society.
Scenario #1-10: The Half-Alive Streets is a Tier 1-4 adventure which takes place in Absalom Station. It has no scenario tags and does not feature starship combat. This lovely little scenario sends the PCs on a hunt throughout Absalom’s Freemarkets to track down the creator of a new series of biotech augmentations which the Pathfinder Society would like to make accessible to its agents. Unfortunately, the creator is unknown, and the only lead comes from a shady contact of the Society’s, Julzakama, a vesk pawnbroker first introduced in Quests: Into the Unknown. In addition to the wonderful recurrence of Julzakama, this scenario also involves AbadarCorp, and the shirrin Philt, so anyone who has played through Scenario #1-02: Fugitive on the Red Planet and earned the AbadarCorp Respect boon, will want to slot it for this scenario. There’s plenty of wonderful new faces in this scenario as well, including a ysoki pawnbroker named Dot, a vesk ‘barber’ who specializes in scale and horn detailing named Katazoa, a burly medicinals saleswoman named Isidre, a verthani technomancer named Chryson, and a halfling family in need of your player’s help. This tidy little mystery is great fun, and a has a bit of a horror vibe to it. However, its got a bit of a horror vibe to it. It would definitely freak my kids out. Overall, I give this scenario four out of five stars.
Scenario #1-11: In Pursuit of the Scoured Past, a Tier 3-6 scenario for the Starfinder Society.
Scenario #1-11: In Pursuit of the Scoured Past is a Tier 3-6 adventure which takes place on the library planet of Athaeum which constantly teleports throughout the galaxy. It is of utmost importance to the Second Seeker’s Faction (Luwazi Elsebo), and is strongly tied to the Year of Scoured Stars metaplot. In addition to Luwazi herself, this scenario also includes Royo (a ysoki who dislikes digital records) and Iteration-177 (and android member of the Apis Consortium), both of which are characters introduced in Scenario #1-05: The First Mandate. Anyone who’s earned the boon High Society Influence (Royo) should definitely slot it. New characters and organizations introduced include the axiomite Curators of Athaeum, and the Hellknight Order of the Pyre! Rife with wonderful roleplaying opportunities and a delightful cast of characters, this scenario is a blast! How can it go wrong? Right?! All in all it was a fun scenario, and certainly unique. The major downside is that it’s a relatively high-minded plot in this one, so if you’re just after a fun romp, or you’re playing alongside children, I would recommend a different scenario. Overall, I give this scenario three out of five stars. If you’re particularly interested in the Scoured Stars Incident, or a big fan of roleplaying (like I am) I’d increase the rating to four out of five stars. It should also be noted that there is a Mission Faction Note missing at the end of this scenario. This line has been copied from the Paizo website and is shared below:
“If the PCs succeeded at their primary mission, they further goals of Luwazi Elsebo in uncovering the truth behind the Scoured Stars incident. Each PC earns 1 additional Reputation with the Second Seekers (Luwazi Elsebo) faction, in addition to any other Reputation earned as a result of completing this scenario.”
Thanks for joining us today on our exploration of the new scenario’s available this month. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading about them as much as I have. Now it’s time to go out, join a game, and get playing!
Jessica
Maija from SFS #1-10 The Half-Alive Streets. Illustrated by Priscilla Kim. Art courtesy of Paizo Inc.
Loomarch from SFS #1-11 In Pursuit of the Scoured Past. Illustrated by Priscilla Kim. Art courtesy of Paizo Inc.
The Glyph of the Open Road, Sigil of the Pathfinder Society.
Another week has passed, and another of our OutPost games has come to an end. It was an oldie, but a goodie, from way back in Season 0. Scenario #06: Black Waters was an absolute delight. Put on by GM Shieldbug, the best GM I’ve ever had the opportunity to play alongside, my kids, my husband and I all had a ton of fun! Black Waters is designed for 1st to 5th level characters, and was written by Tim and Eileen Connors. In it, the Pathfinder Society sends its agents to the Tri-Towers Yard, an elite academy for the children of Absalom which was destroyed and flooded by an earth quake a decade ago. During the quake the school collapsed into an undiscovered necropolis, and the Pathfinders have been itching to get at the ruins ever since. Kept out of the mass graves by the (understandable) sentimentality of the influential parents whose children died in the tragedy, the Pathfinders have bided their time. Now known as the Drownyard, the Pathfinders are finally granted a chance! Sent to retrieve a magical ring, this scenario is more than just a dungeon delve. It’s got a surprisingly wide cast of entertaining characters to interact with, from influential noblewoman Lady Dacilane, to a gardener who is more than he appears, and the spirits of the dead themselves. I highly recommend this one!
Five lucky Pathfinders were chosen for the job, including my husband’s character: Enzo Jeggare, a Chelaxian occultist with a splendid moustache and a habit of summoning a dog to battle on his behalf. My daughter played Bunny Paras, a two-tailed kitsune druid with a fondness for dinosaurs and rabbits. Bunny Paras owns a rabbit breeding farm and is a vegetarian. In addition to her many pet rabbits, she has a pet parasaurolophus named Paras, who loves to dance and toot out rocking tunes. My son was paying Senton, an Ulfen ranger better known as Mr. Ice who fled south to escape the continual cold of his homeland: unfortunately, he’s still freezing anyway. I played my wood kineticist, Everbloom, a kitsune who grew up alone in the wilds and views life and death as just another fascinating part of existence. More than a little aloof and uncaring, Everbloom comes off as way nicer than she actually is. The final character was Tera Fosham, a veiled ifrit oracle with clouded vision whose healing touch and blessings were invaluable on this adventure. For more information on Enzo Jeggare, Bunny Paras, Paras and Mr. Ice, check out the following blog posts (Joining the Pathfinder Society and Signs in Senghor: Part One and Part Two) where I talked about their backgrounds, creation, and their first adventure playing Scenario #9-10: Signs in Senghor. To read about our adventures playing Black Waters, check out the gameplay thread, here.
Sigil of the Scarab Sages, a faction of the Pathfinder Society.
After wrapping up that wonderful game, my kids wanted to immediately begin another one, but my husband had other plans. Knowing he was only one adventure shy of a reaching level two, my husband suggested I GM them through another scenario this weekend, and my kids agreed. I spent some time thinking about what my kids love best about playing Pathfinder. Fulfilling faction goals, of course, which means missions that have importance to the Scarab Sages and the Dark Archives. My daughter loves adventures that contain animals and cute things. Definitely nothing with lycanthropes. My son loves missions where he gets to interact with colourful characters, and make friends. Also? Turns out he loved messing with the Aspis Consortium, which he saved his good pal Gideon Wren from. And my husband? Something he’s never done before. And surprisingly, he showed interest in missions regarding the Shadow Lodge. Awesome! So after a ton of sifting, reading and sorting through the scenarios I own, I made an absurdly long list of potential scenarios we could play, and set to work reading. In the end, I decided to run us through an old scenario from Season 0 intended for Tiers 1-7: Scenario #14: The Many Fortunes of Grandmaster Torch. Why, you might ask, did you choose to run that old thing? Well, for starters, Grandmaster Torch is an important character to both the Shadow Lodge and the Scarab Sages, so I definitely wanted to ensure my family got to meet him before we played later scenarios which might involve or mention him. Second, this scenario takes place in Qadira and involves the illegal smuggling of Osirian artifacts, a topic which would interest both my son and daughter’s characters, as they are members of the Scarab Sages. Third, it involves retrieving the stolen relics, all of which have magical properties, and turn out to be more dangerous than originally thought–aspects which could interest my husband’s character, who is a member of the Dark Archives faction. Fourth? This scenario has a lot of roleplaying opportunities, not just with your venture captains and Grandmaster Torch, but also with the people around each of the relics, and the people who possess them. And lastly, although this scenario might seem to be pretty straightforward, there’s actually a lot of ways that players who think outside the box could shake up or alter how the encounters are supposed to take place. And if there’s one thing my family’s good at, its coming up with crazy plans and ideas that no one’s accounted for. In short, I thought they’d have a blast.
And I was right!
The sigil of the Dark Archives, a faction of the Pathfinder Society.
We began our adventure with a short introduction to it’s setting: Qadira and the city of Sedeq, followed by our mission briefing with Venture-Captain Yasmin Kal’al (complete with pictures, of course!). From there we set out into the city, to track down the smuggler Matzal Chaim and determine who he sold the relics to. Bunny Paras and Mr. Ice were also interested in who his inside contact was within the Osirian Cultural Ministry, without whom the relics would have remained out of his hands. They found Chaim, and came up with a good plan to corner him, but he noticed them and fled into a bathhouse. While our Iconic filler character and Mr. Ice watched the outside entrances an exits, Enzo and Bunny Paras chased him into the bathhouse, and cracked out a bunch of wonderful skill checks to avoid slipping on wet tiles, pushing past crowds of bathers, jumping over baths, and seeing through stream. Enzo nearly slipped and fell on the tiles, while Bunny Paras was thrown off guard when she had to slip past a group of naked bathers who fled from Paras in a panic. In the end they caught up to their target, but they were too late. He had run into a private bath and was cut down by the guards–guards working for the notorious information broker, Grandmaster Torch. Lucky for them, Torch had the information they were looking for and was willing to part with it–for a price.
My kids had a blast interacting with the ever-creepy Grandmaster. My daughter immediately began trying to purchase other, non-related, frivolous objects from his associates for her rabbit farm (a giant rabbit statue and planter, anyone?), while my son offered Torch a whopping two dollars for the information. Hearing the price was 3,000 gold pieces, Mr. Ice sure was surprised! He bargained for the information by offering favours and was rewarded with four names–one for each person who had purchased one of the stolen statuettes. Mr. Ice promptly asked for more information on them, in exchange for another favour each. Grandmaster Torch was more than happy to oblige. With that information, my son set out to learn more by offering MORE favours, but was interrupted by Enzo Jeggare, who had to drag his companions out of the bathhouse before they agreed to any more favours and absurdities. Clearly, his companions had never dealt with anyone unscrupulous before! Not trusting the Grandmaster, Enzo himself led the group through the streets of Sedeq to find each of their targets.
Although it’s expected that the PCs will have to engage in four or five combat encounters during this scenario–some groups might manage three or four–my family managed to use quick thinking, cunning plans, distractions, summoned creatures and childish optimism to complete three of those encounters non-violently. That left only two battle encounters for the entire scenario. A real feat! The battles all went well, but weren’t particularly difficult for them. But in this scenario it was the interactions and roleplaying that really shined. Everyone had a BLAST.
After completing their mission and some minor interactions with their venture captain, the group was given an invitation to have dinner with Grandmaster Torch–an event which Enzo accepted with some trepidation, Bunny Paras was happy for, and Mr. Ice was over the moon. Seriously. He was SUPREMELY excited. In the end he decided that Grandmaster Torch was his second favourite NPC, and he wanted to make him his best friend–alongside Gideon Wren, of course! Mr. Ice invited Grandmaster Torch to his upcoming birthday party, and the group bid him farewell.
And so our scenario came to an end. As their third scenario, they got to spend some time levelling up their characters to level two, and purchasing gear. And which adventure will they go on next time?
I’m thinking… Scenario #7-10: The Consortium Compact! It’s a low level, repeatable scenario involving the Aspis Consortium that I think my kids will rally have a ball with!
, and is featured in the Eyes of the Ten Pathfinder Scenarios (Scenarios 
, is written by Neil Spicer, and is intended to bring characters from levels one to four. The Iron Gods Player’s Guide is a free download on Paizo’s website, 
, which has a ton of unique pawns for use in the campaign.
using the rules from Occult Adventures. As a huge fan of that adventure path, and all things occult, I had an absolute blast with that challenge, although the stat blocks high CR and the many new rules meant that it was quite challenging! I ended up making him a 
, 
, 
, 
, 
and 
). The second is the 
, 
, and 
. We’ve talked plenty on d20diaries about the War for the Crown, so if you’d like to learn more, click away: 
, this month brings us a Player Companion that looks like it’s handy for everyone. 
, looks like it’s going to focus on both unlocking the powers of your own ancestry, and on the remnants of ancient civilizations. I’m particularly curious about the Azlanti ioun kineticist archetype, and the Jistkan artificers. But, we’ll have to wait to find out more.
and 
; and a whopping four play-mats. Two of the Play-mats are brand new: 
, 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 
!
, both of which take place in the town of Wati. The Mummy’s Mask Player’s Guide is a free download on Paizo’s website, available 
, which has over a hundred awesome and unique minis to go with the campaign. You’ll also get a TON of use from the 
. Trust me, by the end of Empty Graves your map of Wati will have had one hell of a workout. Mine’s already covered in a ton of numbers and labels I’ve added in permanent marker, to help my players keep track of the many locations in this quirky city. Mummy’s Mask is also the subject of many other neat (but not necessary) game supplements, including 
, 
, and a gorgeous 
, which I’d love to get my hands on. Heck, you can even play Mummy’s Mask as a card game (
), or listen to it as an audio adventure (Beginning with 
). Seriously! There’s a ton of Mummy’s Mask supplements out there, and if that doesn’t tell you Mummy’s Mask is a fun, popular adventure path, I don’t know what does. Other than, you know, me. Haha.
and 
and 
d20 Diaries 