What I Read (2018)

BOOK LOG 2018

January 3: The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde. “Great fun. Clever, original, not to be missed.”

January 7: The 13-Storey Treehouse by Andy Griffiths. “Kids book. I thought it was lazy and poorly written, but my son loved it.”

January 20: Pet Sematary by Stephen King. “Classic and still holds up well.”

January 20: The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester. “Interesting history about how an asylum inmate was a key contributor to the OED.”

March 3, 2018: Talisman by Stephen King and Peter Straub. “Nice try, but just doesn’t work.”

March 10, 2018: Queen of Thorns by Dave Gross. “Varian and Radovan in Kyonin. Awesome first 3/4, then average finale.”

March 22, 2018: Guide to the River Kingdoms by Various. “Eclectic collection of kingdoms in a part of the Pathfinder world.”

April 1, 2018: Darwin edited by Philip Appleman. “Norton edition.”

April 2, 2018: Kitty Raises Hell by Carrie Vaughn. “An ifrit demon menaces Kitty. The cast keeps expanding, but it’s still solid if unspectacular genre fiction.”

April 3, 2018: Night Swimming by Steph Bowe. “Fantastic book set in a small-town with two girls in love. Upbeat, avoids cliches, and sweet.”

April 4, 2018: It Devours! by Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor. “Second Welcome to Nightvale book. Good, but not as good as the first one.”

April 6, 2018: A Darkling Plain by Philip Reeve. “A fitting and beautiful end to the Mortal Engines quartet.”

April 8, 2018: Tin Heart by Shivaun Plozza. “Great YA novel about a girl who’s received a heart transplant trying to fit back into a normal life.”

April 2018: Jimmy Cook Discovers Third Grade by Kate and Jol Temple. “Kids book that’s hilarious for adults too.”

April 27, 2018: Towns of the Inner Sea by Various. “Six towns are given full maps and write-ups. Really well-done, with serving as great campaign bases.”

May 3, 2018: In the Earth Abides the Flame by Russell Kirkpatrick. “Second long novel in trilogy. Okay, but not great.”

May 12, 2018: Scythe by Neal Shusterman. “Really interesting novel about a utopian future where death has to be inflicted intentionally by a chosen group.”

May 15, 2018: Anatomy of a Seance: A History of Spirit Communication in Central Canada by Stan McMullin. “Limited but useful.”

May 21, 2018: Starfinder Core Rulebook by Various. “Solid RPG adapting Pathfinder system for space-fantasy.”

May 23, 2018: Called to Darkness by Richard Lee Byers. “Pathfinder book featuring a descent into the Underdark. Patchy, but ultimately worth reading.”

June 13, 2018: Lost Kingdoms by Various. “Details of six ancient empires in Golarion. Great!”

June 15, 2018: Les optimistes meurent en premier by Susin Nielsen.  “Fantastic YA book on love, guilt, and moving on.”

June 16, 2018: In the Dark Spaces by Cally Black. “YA SF book about family and community. Really good.”

June 20, 2018: Spiritualism and British society between the wars by Jenny Hazelgrove. “Thought-provoking.”

June 26, 2018: Ghosts of Futures Past: Spiritualism and the Cultural Politics of Nineteenth-Century America by Molly McGarry. “Essays on gender, sexuality, and more.”

July 29, 2018: Legend of Drizzt Anthology by R.A. Salvatore. “Short stories. Author’s introductions are nice.”

June 30, 2018: On Liberty by John Stuart Mill. “So formative in my life.”

July 2, 2018: Dance of the Damned by Alan Bligh. “Fantastic first book in an Arkham Horror trilogy—captures the feel perfectly!”

July 2, 2018: The Woman Who Died a Lot by Jasper Fforde. “Clever continuation of the series.”

July 7, 2018: Utopia by Thomas More.  “Interesting picture of a perfect society.”

July 12, 2018: Adnan’s Story by Rabia Chaudry. “Of Serial fame. After trial is most interesting bits.”

September 1, 2018: A Banquet of Consequences by Elizabeth George. “Poisoner gets tracked down with a wrongful arrest! Solid novel.”

September 11, 2018: Tyrant’s Test by Michael Kube-McDowell. “Third book in Black Fleet trilogy. Hurried ending to war.”

September 29, 2018: Liar’s Blade by Tim Pratt. “Really fun Pathfinder novel about a conman and his intelligent sword.”

September 30, 2018: The Lies of Solace by John French. “Arkam Horror novel. Pretty average frankly.”

October 4, 2018: Paper Towns by John Green. “Part mystery, part high school coming of age tale, part meditation on life. So funny it made me cry twice.”

October 5, 2018: Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines. “Surprisingly fun, clever genre SF book about wizard who can pull items out of books. Will read sequel.”

October 15, 2018: GameMastery Guide by Various. “Surprisingly useful in so many ways!”

October 21, 2018: Thinner by Stephen King. “Barebones plot but still a good read.”

November 3, 2018: The Punishment She Deserves by Elizabeth George. “Latest Lynley novel. Solid. And for the first time ever, I’m up to date!”

November 19, 2018: Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. “Clever premise, but not deep or insightful enough to be satisfying.”

November 20, 2018: The Hungering God by Alan Bligh and John French. “Conclusion to an Arkham Horror trilogy. Okay.”

November 21, 2018: The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius. “Clear, readable, classic summary of “everything happens for a reason’ bullshit.”

November 23, 2018: The Autobiography of FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper by Mark Frost. “No huge revelations, but does add some depth to the character.”

November 24, 2018: Nexo Knights: Graduation Day by Tracey West. “Fun kids book.”

26 November 2018: Looking for Alaska by John Green. “Sort of coming of age tale that is candid about teenage life.”

27 November 2018: Briarpatch by Tim Pratt. “Great standalone urban fantasy.”

November 28, 2018: Almuric by Robert E. Howard. “Hits all the beats of classic sword and sorcery.”

December 3, 2018: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. “Norton edition. History of Congo very interesting, and lots of critical essays with contrasting interpretations of the story.”

December 8, 2018: True Crime Addict: How I Lost Myself in the Mysterious Disappearance of Maura Murray by James Renner “Intriguing mystery, good narrative.”

December 12, 2018: Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Robert Maturin. “Gothic novel with annoying structure, turgid plot, and memorable protagonist.”

December 15, 2018: The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman. “Fantastic novel—I have to see if there are sequels.”

December 16, 2018: Justice in Political Philosophy Volume 1, edited by Will Kymlick. “Huge collection of essays and book chapters, with a lot on or by Locke, Rawls, etc.”

December 18, 2018: Alien Archive by various. “Starfinder bestiary. Great artwork and lots of description, though book is fairly thin.”

December 18, 2018: Pirate’s Honour by Chris A. Jackson. “Great Pathfinder novel about a pirate crew. Real nautical knowledge on display and fully-realised characters.”

December 26, 2018: Inner Sea World Guide by Various. “Pathfinder campaign setting book. Really useful encyclopaedia.”

December 28, 2018: Ben Jonson and the Cavalier Poets edited by Hugh Maclean. “Norton edition. Rough reading for poetry-avoiders like me.”

Captain Atom (DC 1987-1991) # 31-40 [COMICS]

Continuing my reading of Captain Atom.  In this post, we get Rocket Red (yay!), the Black Racer (boo!), and the Atomic Skull getting his brains ripped out (cool!).

In Issue # 31, Nathaniel Adam's hippy girlfriend Sally is upset that he's rejoined the Air Force.  After giving Eiling a briefing on the new Justice League Europe that he's leading, Captain Atom gets a call from Rocket Red (Dmitri) involving a plot thread from, of all books, the New Guardians!  But don't worry, they don't appear.  It turns out that Russia's other Rocket Reds have been mind-controlled into acts of terrorism, and have even kidnapped Dmitri's family.  It's a very exciting, well-written issue, and Dmitri's hilarious accent is handled perfectly.  It's rare to see Dmitri get the spotlight (even over in Justice League), so this issue is a highlight of his career and a good issue of Captain Atom to boot.

The cover to Issue # 32 is overwrought:  "There is pain and there is fear . . . and there is the question--'What am I?'"  The issue starts a major plotline for the next several issues that ties into Captain Atom's origin.  The mysterious alien artifact codenamed Silver Shield (metal from which was used in the experiments to create both himself and Major Force) has to be moved from a decommissioned military base to a new, safe location.  But moving the artifacts causes both Captain Atom and Major Force to become sick, and then to lose their powers entirely!  There's then an abrupt shift to Captain Atom joining a mission (despite his lack of powers) to rescue his son Randy from some Bialyan terrorists.  The artwork in this one is really amateurish.

A team-up no one was expecting in Issue # 33: Captain Atom and Batman!  (My guess: sales were flagging, and desperate measures were called for).  The premise is that Captain Atom, sans powers, wants to make a go of it as a non-powered hero like Batman.  To that end, C.A. dresses up in his hoax-costume (i.e., his garish yellow and red original costume from the 1960s) and heads to Gotham City to get lessons from the Dark Knight.  Together, they tackle Scarecrow, and Bats, although skeptical, gives C.A. his seal of approval to keep leading the J.L.E.  Meanwhile, in subplot-land, Peggy breaks up with Jeff--it turns out she's leaving Washington and all it represents.  It's a bit of an odd issue for Captain Atom, but actually works somehow.

Horrible artwork permeates Issue # 34.  In the aftermath of the JLE's first mission, everyone's talking about Captain Atom's lack of powers.  Emery, the crook who pretended to be Dr. Spectro to carry out the government's hoax origin, needs some cash and decides to kidnap the JLE's French liason, Catherine Colbert for ransom!  However, even without his powers, C.A. has no trouble kicking the crap out of Dr. Spectro.  And, it seems his powers may be coming back, with an explanation promised next issue.  One of my favourite parts of re-reading these issues continues to be editor Denny O'Neill's columns on the letters pages.

In Issue # 35, everyone involved in the Captain Atom project is working hard on Silver Shield to try to understand what's going on.  Babylon, Dr. Megala's long-time assistant, has flashbacks to his joining the project years earlier.  Silver Shield ups and flies away, forcing Captain Atom and Major Force to fly to Nevada to try to find it as it sends psychic messages to another project member, scientist Anton Sarrok.  It turns out . . . Silver Shield is alive!

There's a nice cover to Issue # 36, depicting Silver Shield (in humanoid form) tussling with Captain Atom in outer space.  The issue itself features Silver Shield explaining its origin as a being from the quantum world.  Intrigued by humanity, it takes interest and delight in the quotidian activities of human beings (much like the Beyonder did during Secret Wars II).  We get a full origin for the first time of everyone involved in the Captain Atom project, including Megala, Babylon, Sarrok, etc.  The issue ends with Captain Atom and Major Force tricking Eiling into thinking Silver Shield has left Earth forever, when in fact it's holed up in an apartment watching television!  It made me smile.

Issue # 37 is mostly a slugfest between Captain Atom and a super-villain called the Atomic Skull.  C.A. wins in awesome fashion by ripping the Skull's helmet off and yanking out the radium in his head that gives him powers!  Ouch!

The terminally goofy Black Racer appears in Issue # 38.  The Black Racer is essentially a grim reaper figure in the DC mythos, except he flies through the universe on skis (and has ski poles to boot!).  But although the Black Racer lurks around Captain Atom, it turns out it hasn't come for him, but for the wife of a friend (Chester King) of C.A.  Super heroic intervention is enough to dissuade the Black Racer for some reason but (unfortunately) he'll reappear soon in future issues.  Meanwhile,we have three new developing subplots starting in this issue: Red Tornado appears and asks C.A.'s help in stabilizing his new elemental form so that he can regain his (more or less for an android) humanity; in a new romantic direction, C.A. kisses Catherine Colbert; and finally, the Faceless One (the Ghost) starts to rally support for an evil army!

Issue # 39 is sort of a taking stock/review issue, which is actually pretty helpful since there are a *lot* of minor and supporting characters in the title at this point.  This review takes the form of a report by a mole working for the Ghost on everyone involved in Eiling's government project to oversee Captain Atom.  In further developments on the Red Tornado front, Captain Atom asks Dr. Megala to help him make a robot body for his friend, which Megala does in exchange for help in curing his body's radiation sickness.

The Ghost launches phase one of his evil plan in Issue # 40 by getting the Cambodian (the samurai-like warlord of some earlier issues) to kidnap Babylon, while other agents kidnap Eiling's subordinate Martin Allard and Cap's friend Jeff Gosling.  The Ghost himself breaks another super-villain, Kobra,  out of jail so that everyone will think the latter is behind the kidnappings.

As the title moves into its third year, it's clear that more traditional super hero fare has replaced the earlier "government intrigue" focus.  I think it's unfortunate, as the more conventional stories are forgettable and blend into so much similar material published at the same time.  But Bates' writing is still solid.  If there's one real weak link with the book, it's the artwork which is inconsistent and sometimes downright bad (and I say that as someone who doesn't usually care that much about art).

Pathfinder Comics: "Goblins!"

NO SPOILERS

The hardcover edition of Pathfinder: Goblins! collects the complete limited series of the title (issues # 1-5) along with some bonus content such as variant covers, bonus entries of RPG content (such as new magic items and stat blocks for some of the characters in the comic), a new 8-page bookend story, and a removable poster map.

The comic has grown on me *slightly*.  The first time I read it, I thought it was insipid drivel, the worst stuff that Paizo staff had ever been involved with.  The second time I read it, for the purposes of this review, I found a couple of the stories (there are twelve spread across the five issues) mildly amusing.  Still overall, the issues contain poor artwork, lazy plots, and feeble jokes.  It's definitely the worst of the Pathfinder comics, and hasn't convinced me at all that goblins make good story protagonists or should be a core race.  I would recommend skipping this one unless you're a completist like me.

SPOILERS

A short, four-page prologue of goblins sitting around a campfire telling stories serves as a framing sequence for the tales that follow.  The goblins in the prologue are entertaining, brutal, and perfect examples of why goblins should not be player characters!  Apparently this framing sequence was added exclusively for the collection edition.

"The One-Eyed Goblin is King":  The collection starts off well, with this tale about a group of beat-up, worn-down adventurers leaving a dungeon after an exhausting delve to recover an artifact: a lich's eye (in the shape of a d20!).  The poor adventurers are set upon by goblins led by Mighty Warchief Guchkk, murdered, and eaten. The rest of the tale is about how the victorious goblins then turned on each other, one by one, for the power that the eye brings.  There's an almost cartoonish level of violence here (popping out eyes, lopping off heads, and other gruesome displays) before the lich returns to get his eye back!  It's funny, albeit on the silly side, and the artwork is solid.

"Prize Pupil": An interesting, albeit weird story set in Korvosa.  A goblin named Gribbet has been taken on as a servant at a noble's house in Korvosa because it's the trendy thing to do.  Alas, after biting the nobleman's daughter's hand off, Gribbet is imprisoned.  But the nobleman was desirous of launching on a new business venture with his "reformarium" plan to train goblin servants.  The rest of the tale is about how Gribbet steals a magical monocle that makes him more intelligent and able to read, and how he gets his fellow goblin trainees to join him in stealing intelligence-boosting elixirs so they all become smart.  Gribbet ends up making a deal with the nobleman to work together to place goblin servants for theft and blackmail in various other noble houses in the city.  It's a clever concept, though I don't really buy the premise that a single magic item and some elixirs are going to dramatically change goblin behavior.  The cover to the first issue precedes this story, and it's awful.

"The Glorious Demise of Gurgle and Deep": Here we're introduced to members of the Longlungs tribe, pirate goblins who can hold their breath for a long time in order to dive deep in search of sunken treasure.  The Longlungs make a deal with the Squidwhistlers to attack a passing ship, knowing that it'll actually end up sunk and they can recover it later.  The plan seems to work, but the Longlungs don't realize the ship is carrying crates of alchemist supplies, and it explodes just when they reach it.  It's a lot of work for one feeble joke.

"Magic Pig"  A dumb story about a goblin chieftan who captures a huge pig that's pretty tough, so they consider it magical.  The goblins kill a passing bard, and one takes his cloak of invisibility and begins doing hijinks with it.  But when he tries to steal the "magic pig", it escapes and the goblin gets captured and penned in instead.

"To Read or Not to Read":  A goblin finds a book and teaches himself to read and write! (if only it were so easy in real life).  The goblin gets better and better at it, gradually improving until he can produce what are effectively spoofs of Shakespeare.  But his stage production goes awry when a fire breaks out that burns him to death (and destroys his book).  It's a cheap, dumb story that also features more people-eating!  Really, there's a reason goblins have the reputation they have.

"The Way of the Goblin":  Kupmuk, the smartest goblin of his tribe, tries to teach his fellows some basic combat strategy such as flanking.  But when they attack a band of adventurers, the goblins all get slaughtered, with only Kupmuk lives to try again with another goblin horde.  It's short and forgettable.

"The Gobbling Goblin":  The legend of Kronkshaft, a fat goblin who eats anything and everything.  There's a little twist at the end of the story, but my notes sum up the tale with "bad art, few words, hurried and lazy."

"Horsechopper": The cover art to issue # 4 precedes this story, and it's pretty cool, I have to admit.  The story itself is one of the better ones in the collection, as a goblin tells his tribe about an epic battle against the Sandpoint Devil.  The classic trick of mixing the goblin's words with pictures about what really happened (fleeing in terror from an ordinary horse) worked well.  It's dumb-funny, but I'm okay with that.

"Ballad of Ak": Ak, a goblin who doesn't seem to be good at anything, ends up as his chief's errand-boy and punching bag.  When the chief dies accidentally, Ak seizes control for about 10 seconds before the other goblins of the tribe try to kill him.  The theme of the story is that Ak actually does have one talent: surviving.  He escapes the tribe and several other dangers with his unerring skill to avoid getting himself killed.  It's a pretty good little story.  FYI, there's another people-eating scene: this time, the chieftan chomping down on a human infant!

"Legendary":  The final tale is about an old goblin named Muttonchomp telling about his time in the Goblinblood Wars.  Again, his narration of bravery and success is belied by images of what really happened.

The framing sequence ends with Valeros interrupting the campfire tales and driving the goblins off.

BONUS MATERIALS

Variant covers are included, featuring a mix of pretty good and really bad art.  There's nothing particularly remarkable or memorable.

Several two-page entries are included:

* "Gribbet's Guide to Getting Smarter": A description of the reformarium (from "Prize Pupil" above) and several new magic items.  All of the items would be far too pricey to imagine goblins actually using.

* "Gribbet":  Description and stat block.  I think he'd make a good NPC informant in a campaign like Curse of the Crimson Throne.

* "What's in a Goblin Hoard and "Traveling Ted's Pack of Wonders":  Two d100 tables of random crap or random magic items.

* "Chief Korgamorg": Description and stat block of a goblin chief (CR 4).  His origin is pretty cute.

* "Goblin Stories": Three goblin fairy tales.

* "Flork Fumblepot":  Description and stat block for a goblin who developed a taste for literature and eventually becomes a secret playwright.  It's not a bad model for how a goblin could become a PC and (eventually) accepted into polite society.

* "Wormbelly Manor, a Goblin Haunting": A weird but interesting structure in Mosswood, with stat blocks for a couple of haunts.  This would make a good side encounter for someone running one of the We Be Goblins modules.

* "Xoff, Sandpoint Devil Hunter": Description and stat block for a goblin ranger (CR 2) who has become his tribe's accepted expert on spooky things after his (fabricated) tales of encountering the Sandpoint Devil.  Could make a good NPC.  The writing in the entry is really funny (better than the comics themselves!).

* "The Art of War": Discussion of tactics that hobgoblins or bugbears use with their goblin troops in wartime.  Mildly interesting.

* "Chief Ak": Stat block and description for Ak, the protagonist of the "Ballad of Ak" story (above).

Last, the collection edition comes with a pull out map of the location of goblin tribes around the Inner Sea.  The map is the same one that appears in the Goblins of Golarion Player Companion, and having it as a pull-out doesn't add much value as it's not the sort of map that needs to be passed around the table or consulted frequently.

To sum up, there's a mildly amusing bit here and an interesting piece of back-matter there, but overall this a collection of badly written, badly drawn comics.  There are a lot better options to spend your comics or Pathfinder money on.

Rise of the Runelords Recap # 58 [RPG]

[31 Kuthona 4707 continued]

Having read the mammoth-hide message disclosing a planned attack on Sandpoint on the first new moon of the new year (the 17^th of Abadius), the adventurers start to discuss the fastest way to get to Sandpoint.  Salma says he can simply teleport everyone there.  Saan explains she would like to stay at the Kreeg Clanhold for now in order to converse with the spirits that will surely appear in the evening.  So, rather suddenly, Salma grabs the hands of Ava, Kang, and Jinkatsyu and magically transports them hundreds of miles in an instant!

A simple, relatively peaceful town with all the color and common oddities one expects from a tightly-knit community, Sandpoint sits at a point on the Lost Coast halfway between Magnimar and Windsong Abbey. Wood buildings and cluttered docks line the town’s natural harbor, while farms and the manors of wealthy citizens dot the surrounding countryside. During the day, fishing, farming, lumbering, glassmaking, and shipbuilding occupy most of the townsfolk, who commonly retire to their homes by way of Sandpoint’s many taverns. A playhouse and would-be museum make unusual attractions in such a small community, but Sandpoint’s true landmark is the Old Light, a lighthouse of ancient origins that lies in ruins.

Kendra Deverin became mayor in a landslide win over 

Titus Scarnetti (something the latter has never forgiven).

Through Salma’s spell, the foursome appear outside of Cracktooth’s Tavern near the center of the town.  This early in the morning, the establishment is closed.  Kang announces that the first order of business is to alert the mayor about the impending attack, and fortunately the Town Hall is just down the street.  Inside, the newcomers see labourers raising a banner proclaiming the “Goblin Day Festival!”  A clerk recognizes Kang and treats him as a hero, saying that everyone knows he was one of the heroes who stopped the “scarecrow” invasion several weeks ago.  The clerk happily leads the group to the second floor office of Mayor Kendra Deverin, a woman with short brown hair in her early thirties.  Kang again enjoys the unusual (for him) phenomenon of being greeted warmly despite his “Hell-touched” appearance.  Deverin is introduced to the other adventurers, and told the story about the discovery of a planned attack on Sandpoint.  She’s interested but not alarmed at the news, saying that she’s can’t imagine why an army of ogres or giants from central Varisia would come all the way to the Lost Coast to attack a small town like Sandpoint.  She suggests the adventurers may have fallen for a ruse, but says she’ll keep an open mind if they come up with any more proof.  In the meantime, she explains, the town is celebrating the last day of the year and the defeat of the temporarily-united goblin tribes at Thistletop by holding a festival in the town square.  She asks the adventurers to keep word of another potential attack on Sandpoint quiet so as not to alarm the festival-goers.

Intrigued by something Deverin mentioned about a mysterious stranger washing up on the beach some weeks ago, the adventurers’ curiosity gets the better of them.  They walk to the town square, now starting to fill up with stalls and wagons, and toward the Cathedral, where the stranger is supposed to be staying.  The building is the largest in Sandpoint, a brand-new building of stone and glass that contains interior shrines to six different faiths as well as ancient standing stones in the center.  On the front steps of the building, the adventurers see one of the local acolytes, the muddle-headed Sister Guilia, speaking with a tall, black-haired elf woman.  After introducing themselves, the adventurers quickly learn that the elf, Nerissa, is the stranger that Mayor Deverin spoke about.  Nerissa explains that she has no memory of who she is, what happened to her, or why her own journal is written in a code she can’t decipher!

A vendor approaches to sell the group berries but suddenly whispers to Nerissa “You may forget, but you will never escape!” and produces a dagger!  Before anyone can react, the “vendor” stabs her and tries to make a run for it.  The cut, although shallow, seems to sap Nerissa’s strength: the dagger was poisoned!  As the elf staggers inside, the others try to apprehend the would-be murderer who has fled out of sight.  Fortunately, Salma spots him trying to squeeze through a narrow alley.  Kang rushes to one end and Jinkatsyu rushes to the other, seemingly blocking escape.  “If I fall, others will come in my wake—the traitor will die!” the assassin shouts, and then climbs a wall of the alleyway and onto a rooftop!  Salma hurls a massive fireball that rocks the town with its echo, but the assassin leaps for cover behind a stone chimney and escapes the blast.  Kang unfurls his dragonfly wings and hovers adjacent to the rooftop to hurl bombs as Salma encircles the fugitive with a translucent ring of magical energy.  Jinkatsyu reaches the rooftop and darts forth to stab the assassin, not realizing the ring is a wall of blindness spell!  But even with the kitsune’s sudden loss of vision in mid-stroke, his rapier stabs the assassin in the heart!  Despite efforts to save the man’s life for interrogation, he bleeds to death seconds later.

Sister Guilia is a priestess of Gozreh,
a revered and feared god of nature.

Salma is able to dismiss her spell and end Jinkatsyu’s blindness.  It’s not long before the Town Watch arrives.  Sheriff Hemlock isn’t pleased to see Kang back in Sandpoint along with a band of adventurers, and notes that they’ve barely arrived before a body has turned up!  As Hemlock goes into the Cathedral to question the target of the attack, Kang speaks to part-time Watch member Jodar Provolost and manages to persuade the man that it’d be in his own best interest if Kang were to investigate any strange vials found on the body.  Indeed, several contain poison.  Back in the Cathedral, a frightened and weakened Nerissa has been taken to one of the sick beds and looked after by Sister Giulia and Ava.  Nerissa explains to Sheriff Hemlock that she knows nothing of the attacker or why she was the target.  Sheriff Hemlock is not pleased to have a mysterious corpse on his hands along with the mysterious Nerissa, and departs with a warning to the adventurers to stay out of trouble.  When Kang and the others go to check on Nerissa, Kang gets a hunch that perhaps Sister Giulia knows more about Nerissa than she’s letting on, but he can’t figure out a way to get the airy acolyte to reveal any secrets.

Leaving Nerissa to rest, the adventurers head to a local inn called the Rusty Dragon.  Its namesake is clearly visible in the form of a skeletal rusty metal dragon that serves as both advertisement and lightning rod.  Inside, the tavern is busy as local farmers and merchants have come for the Goblin Day Festival and stopped in for a light repast before it starts.  Ava talks to an aged but spry halfling maid named Bethana Corwin and gets a large room (one of the few left) for everyone to stay in, while Kang talks to the tavern’s owner, a beautiful young woman with a white streak in her hair named Ameiko Kaijitsu.  Ameiko recognizes Kang and tells him that Cyrdak Drokkus has been doing a wonderful impersonation of him in his one-man show about “local heroes.” 

Cyrdak Drokkus has turned the Sandpoint Theatre into
the best center of performing arts north of Magnimar.

In their two-bedroom suite on the second floor, the adventurers discuss what to do next.  Salma is keen to teleport back to Hook Mountain to obtain the mammoth hide message to help prove the threat of invasion is real, but Kang says the group is still injured and weary and it would be too risky.  Salma reluctantly agrees and begins committing the interior of the room to memory.  While Ava prays to her deity in shame for not being able to help stop the poison that weakened Nerissa, Jinkatsyu and Kang decide to check out the festival  in the town square.  They find a wide variety of games, trinket stalls, and homemade food and craft vendors.  The only thing that catches Kang’s eyes are some dolls of straw and rag meant to represent the “Heroes of Sandpoint.”  He buys two of them before hearing word that Cyrdak Drokkus’ show is about to start at an outdoor stage built near the popular Sandpoint Theatre.  Cyrdak’s show incorporates a heavily-fictionalized retelling of recent events and proves enormously popular.  Afterwards, Kang gains a private audience with the multi-talented performer and asks who in town would traffic in poison of the type discovered on the body of the assassin.  The tiefling emerges with two leads: Jubrayl Vhiski and “Pillbug” Podiker.

The adventurers’ first morning in Sandpoint has proven an eventful one, as already they’ve met a potential ally and done battle in the streets.  But as the townsfolk are busy with the festival and the local constabulary seems suspicious of them, will they succeed in preparing the town for an invasion force that may already be on its way?

-----------------------------------------------

Director's Commentary (23/12/18)

This session kicked off Chapter Four, and was also our first session back after several weeks off for the holidays.  Because two of the players had never seen Sandpoint (having started at the beginning of Chapter Three), I made a real effort to reintroduce the town and some of its major NPCs in this session (and in the recap).  Sessions in town always lend themselves to much more improv, and I'm never quite sure what'll happen.

The player who had introduced Saan in the last session of the previous chapter decided over the break that she didn't like the character, and so this session sees the introduction of Nerissa.  Nerissa was a ninja with a mysterious past that I tried to draw on for some action and intrigue in this session.

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Pathfinder Pawns: "Bestiary Box" [RPG]

I'm finding it hard to figure out what to say when reviewing the Pathfinder pawn boxes.  The product details are listed on the back of the packaging, so for the Bestiary Box you'll know you're getting 256 different creature pawns, with some of them coming in multiples for a final count of over 300.  The pawns are thick, sturdy cardboard and have held up well through months and years of play.  They slot neatly into little round plastic bases, and the box comes with 21 small/medium bases, 10 large bases, and 5 huge ones.  Although there might be an omission here or there (I haven't cross-checked), almost every creature that appears in the Bestiary will have a corresponding pawn in this set.  The only consistent exceptions are any creatures larger than Huge, as Paizo has refused to come out with any pawns that big.  The artwork is full-colour and matches the creature pictures in the book, the pawns are titled and numbered to match the list on the back of the box for easy sorting, and there are little set indicators so you don't get the pawns from this box mixed up with pawns from other boxes.  If I had any criticisms of Bestiary Box specifically, it's that it's not always intuitive why they chose some creatures to have multiple pawns and others to only have one: for example, there are two "Bralani Azatas" (I'm not exactly sure what that is), but only one Shadow and only one Wraith, etc.  Still, quibbles aside, this is an excellent set, and having these pawns sure beats checkers, coins, random minis ("Gandalf is the hyena"), and the various other things GMs sometimes have to put on the table.  From one point of view, I can see why it sounds ridiculous to spend $ 44.99 USD on little pieces of cardboard.  But . . . somehow it's worth it!

Pathfinder Legends--Rise of the Runelords # 4: Fortress of the Stone Giants [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

In pretty much every respect, the fourth volume of this series shares the pros and cons of earlier volumes.  On the negative side of the balance sheet, it's expensive, has a short run time, and has action scenes that are difficult to follow in the mind's eye because there's not enough narration.  On the plus side, the voice acting and sound effects are really good, it's clear that the writer has paid close attention to the background and details of the story, and it's a fun, fresh way to see how the four Iconics (Harsk, Valeros, Merisiel, and Ezren) fared.  Even when you've GM'd the chapter and are intimately familiar with the plot, the audio adaptation manages to surprise in what it has left out, what it has changed, and what it has added.  More on that below.

SPOILERS

The story picks up with the heroes arriving at Sandpoint just as the stone giants are making their assault.  The giants are given oafish, almost Cockney voices, which I'm not sure I like, but there are some really funny lines of dialogue by Harsk and Valeros.  Valeros gets kidnapped by Longtooth and taken all the way to Jorgenfist, forcing the others to follow (once Ameiko, in a nice touch, charms a giant prison to learn about the base).  In Jorgenfist, a subplot develops of a rivalry between Mokmurian and Longtooth, with Valeros temporarily turned over to the suitably creepy harpies for safekeeping.  This chapter of the adaptation has some narration by Ezren, and it's really helpful when it's there.  As an aside, the listener gets a much better explanation of why the giants attacked Sandpoint than players of the AP are likely to get!

Once Valeros' companions reach Jorgenfist, they're almost entranced by the harpies but are rescued by Longtooth in an exciting twist.  There's a great battle between Longtooth and Mokmurian, with the former getting the wrong end of a disintegrate spell!  Conna, the stone giant elder who wants Mokmurian overthrown, aids the adventurers in penetrating to the library for the final big battle.  The possession of Mokmurian's body by Karzoug is done quite well, and the chapter ends on a foreboding note.

"It was good, I enjoyed it" say my notes, and I can't disagree with myself.  These adaptations are what they are, but if your expectations aren't too high I think most listeners will get something good out of them.

Pathfinder Society Scenario # 10-04: "Reaver's Roar" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

I ran Reaver's Roar at low tier using the four-player adjustment, with each player running a pre-gen.  The session turned out better than I thought it would from my first read-through, as this is one that could get off the rails very quickly if the players make the "wrong" decision  On the other hand, after such a big build up, the combats turned out to be far too easy.  I do appreciate the incorporation of interesting setting lore, the inclusion of a puzzle (something we don't see often in PFS scenarios) and some opportunities for role-playing.

SPOILERS

Reaver's Roar takes place in the nation of Lastwall, the final stop for crusaders working to contain the evils of the Whispering Tyrant's undead hordes.  When the Inner Sea World Guide was published several years ago, a small town in Lastwall named Roslar's Coffer received a capsule description about how it had become the territory of a red reaver: a huge, monstrous demonic beast attracted to things of beauty.  In this case, that thing of beauty was a temple to Sarenrae located near the village.  In a nice bid to continuity (and preparation for the setting to be updated in the game's second edition), this scenario involves the PCs rousting the red reaver from Roslar's Coffer and recovering some holy artifacts in the temple.

The scenario begins with a joint briefing from Venture-Captain Shevar Besnik and the leader of the Silver Crusade, Ollysta Zadrian.  The mission the PCs are given is fairly straightforward: travel to Roslar's Coffer, find the temple known as the Bastion of Light, and figure out a way to banish or kill the red reaver.  A lot of references are made to how the red reaver has somehow become incredibly strong and that perhaps things within the temple could be useful in defeating it, and GMs better hope that their players take the hint for reasons detailed shortly.

The journey to Roslar's Coffer is uneventful.  The writer does a good job describing the place, and how the villagers have gradually withdrawn, leaving abandoned homes and stores, within about a 1 mile radius of the temple.  A local dwarf historian can provide the PCs with directions and the layout of the temple, but the rest is up to them.

Here's where things get dicey.  As the PCs approach the temple, they'll see the red reaver chowing down on some orcs that are also trying to get into the temple.  But this is no ordinary red reaver: it's been given mythic levels and other templates to make it, at both subtiers, a CR 17/MR 2 creature!  The idea here is that the PCs are supposed to see this beast and be so intimidated by it that they run for the safety of the temple using the Chase mechanics.   The two potential problems with this set-up occur if the PCs don't take the hint and try to fight the red reaver (after all, PCs are warned about terrible monsters by villagers every day).  The first possibility, of course, is that they could all get killed in a battle that is highly unfair; a TPK just an hour into a session isn't exactly fair.  The second possibility is that they could kill the red reaver and win the scenario right away--despite the creature's appearance, it doesn't really deal out that much damage and I know there are some PFS groups with super-optimized characters (hold monster with a high DC and a coup de grace can kill a lot of things!).  Either way, it's a risky gambit for a scenario.  Fortunately, the group I ran it for went with the Chase option.

The Chase itself is fine, though I still find it hard as a GM to incorporate the skill checks in a natural and organic way so that it doesn't feel too "gamey." I didn't like how the success conditions of the Chase were implemented: basically, they just give the PCs more or less time inside the temple before the red reaver breaks through the (off-camera) barricades the PCs are assumed to put up.  My suspension of disbelief was broken in having to imagine that a mythic red reaver with a Strength of 32 couldn't break through some hastily-barricaded wooden doors and windows.    In addition, even if they somehow do terrible on the Chase, the PCs are still given plenty of time to do everything they need to do in the temple.  Finally, it wasn't clear to me how to convey to the players, using in-game language, how much time their characters thought they had left.  It all felt very forced to me.

Once inside the Bastion of Light, the PCs have to deal with a few things while searching for the holy item they've been sent to recover.  First, there are fungal spore pods that can sap PCs' Constitution.  Second, the red reaver can make a single attack through the floorboards or a window (mechanically this is treated as a trap).  This was interesting because there's a "Gruesome Mangling" special effect that can result in a character losing a limb!  Third, there are bands of evil orcs from the Twisted Nail tribe rummaging through some rooms.  In an interesting move that I've never seen in PFS before, some of these threats are placed normally in particular rooms but the GM is given an optional "bank" of traps and orcs to place in whatever rooms they want in order to keep up the tension.  I'm a bit torn by the idea, because I like empowering GMs to customise the scenario for how the session is running, but it could result in some GMs making things easier or harder than others and thus violating the PFS principle that GMs can never add, remove, or alter encounters.

A good role-playing opportunity within the temple is a severely injured orc warpriest of Sarenrae named Uirch.  The PCs can fight him, of course, but if they offer him enough healing he'll help the PCs with information or (with the four-player adjustment) even help them fight.  The thing that's a bit odd, as pointed out in the forums, is that Uirch is described as terribly injured and the GM is told that the PCs need to give him 35 hit points worth of healing to gain his trust, but Uirch has the warpriest spells prepared to completely heal himself.  And, to boot, he's sitting right next to a magical healing font that could put him to right.

Above, I mentioned that there is a puzzle was included in the scenario.  Puzzles are hard to do well, but I have to give the writer credit for this one.  It involves finding and placing a series of symbols in the right order within an ankh.  Figuring out the placement of the symbols requires understanding their relevance to the religious doctrines of Sarenrae, and some real depth and attention to the setting lore is displayed (or developed) here.  And for the "we hate puzzles" crowd, an option is given to just brute-force the thing and take a time penalty (I think the time penalty should be longer given how much time the PCs have in the temple to begin with, but that's a minor quibble).

At some point, the red reaver busts into the temple for the big final showdown.  This was disappointing when I ran it.  There are so many buffs available within the temple, and so many magical ways to weaken the red reaver, that the battle became laughably easy.   In my session, the creature got killed in two rounds and never even scratched a PC--and that's with everyone playing pre-gens!  PCs who do everything right within the temple to buff themselves and weaken the red reaver should be rewarded with an easier battle, but not a trivial one.

To wrap up this review, I think Reaver's Roar is a real mixed bag.  I like how it picks up a hook from a sourcebook and runs with it, the puzzle was done well, and the general premise of "PCs under siege" was fairly original.  On the other hand, the red reaver could either be way too hard or way too easy and much of the scenario felt forced and unrealistic.  The germ of something really good is here, but just hasn't quite ripened.

Starfinder Society Scenario # 1-21: "Yesteryear's Sorrow" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

I ran this at low subtier using the four-player adjustment.  Overall, I found it rather average and unremarkable.  For reasons discussed below, I came in with high expectations and came away somewhat disappointed.  There's nothing particularly wrong with Yesteryear's Sorrow: it's a straightforward scenario that will lead to a satisfying session's worth of game play.  But it's not going to win any awards, either.

SPOILERS

I don't think it's a huge secret that Yesteryear's Sorrow is a sequel to one of the best SFS scenarios ever, # 1-03: Yesteryear's Truth.  In that instant classic, the Starfinder Society landed on the planet Elytrio on a first-contact mission with the native Ghibrani.  They found that, millennia earlier, the planet had been devastated by nuclear war and that the survivors had gradually split into two distinct sub-species.  One sub-species stayed in the protected cities, while the other pursued the prophecies of their new deity and struggled to live in the barren wastelands.  The climax of Yesteryear's Truth was that the outcasts' new religion was based on an intentional ruse by the city-dwellers to free up resources!  The PCs had to make a difficult moral decision on whether or not to reveal the secret.

In Yesteryear's Sorrow, we find out that the "official" outcome was for the Starfinder Society to keep secret what they learned.  Zigvigix starts the briefing in a funny bit, immersed in a video game, before explaining to the PCs that they're headed back to Elytrio.  Given the threats in the Scoured Star system, the SFS has decided it needs to beef up its armament and self-defense capabilities.  An abandoned underground bunker at a ruined military base on Elytrio might just do the trick.  The PCs are given several "locator disks" to mark any caches of weapons they find in the base for later pick-up, and are promised a local guide will meet them near the base.

The journey to Elytrio is punctuated by a minor incident that foreshadows the Against the Aeon Throne adventure path.  I like these little cross-connections, though I do think care needs to be given that they don't tempt PCs to try to immediately investigate and solve problems that the scenario can't give them any resolution on.  Once on Elytrio, the PCs will meet their guide, which, in a nice touch, could be one of two different NPCs depending on whether any players went through Yesteryear's Truth.  The guide stays with the PCs for the entire rest of the scenario, and proves most useful as a translator.

When the PCs reach the rubble of the military base, they're accosted by a weather-related hazard: a "soarnettle squall" of razor-sharp thorns carried on the wind!  They have to race to find the entrance to the underground bunker before they get torn to shreds, and have a few different options on how to proceed.  I thought this encounter was structured well and was very exciting, as the longer the PCs took to find the hatch and remove the rubble that was blocking it, the more injured they're going to become.  I also liked that just when they think they're set, they realize additional work has to be done to repair the hatch to get it to open!  Hazards of continuing duration that require PCs to achieve particular goals in order to survive are far better than the "one saving throw and it's done" type.

The bunker is a shaft that descends deep underground.  By following winding ramps downward, the PCs will come across several levels that bear investigation.

Level 2 has a weapons vault protected by some vermin called "Mutated Nighthoppers."  The artwork is very cool and I liked their "leaping attack" ability.  They're not hard to defeat.  The level is guarded by an interesting trap that potentially infects the PCs' weapons with a virus that makes it slightly inaccurate; I like the concept, but removing the virus is too easy since there are no consequences for failed skill checks.

Level 6 has a good challenge: a room with several weapon prototypes that is flooded with radiation.  Basically, one or more PCs has to race into the room, try to find the valuable ones and retrieve them (some are quite bulky) before the radiation overpowers them.  It's a good teamwork encounter.

Level 10 has another nice trap, an area of collapsed rubble that can potentially be squeezed through; but if the PC fails the Acrobatics check, they take damage and can get stuck, with efforts to free them potentially hurting them more.

Throughout the earlier levels, the PCs have constantly come across strange fungal growths on the walls and floors of some rooms.  In addition, the various computer consoles they come across contain excerpts from the audio log of the base's commander (revealed to the PCs as handouts) that reveal his growing madness and paranoia.  Slowly, the PCs will realize that it was this facility that launched the first missile strike in what became Elytrio's apocalyptic war.  I like the concept, but I think it falls rather flat--"listening" to a series of conveniently-found log entries doesn't give the PCs any sort of personal investment in what happened because there's nothing to do but shrug and move on with the exploration.  A plot that required them to pierce together the narrative in order to be successful, or use the logs to solve some sort of puzzle or mystery, would have engaged the players much more.

Level 13 is the final level of the base.  Here the PCs will engage Skorusko, a cruel fey creature called a "fear eater."  Skorusko may not have caused the missile launch, but he did exacerbate the commander's paranoia to such a degree that he released a gas to kill everyone in the facility.  As a combatant, Skorusko has some spelllike abilities to cause fear in his opponents--a very useful power, though it very well may result in a PC fleeing for the rest of the scenario's climactic encounter which is a bummer for that player.  In addition, he has some confusion and hold person abilities.  Still, he falls prey to the action-economy inferiority problem that consistently plagues PFS/SFS scenarios, and shouldn't be much of a challenge.  He might delay or frustrate the PCs, but he's not going to come close to winning.

Assuming the PCs have marked enough of the weapon caches, they'll have successful completed the scenario and receive a very useful boon on the Chronicle: the ability to outfit their starship with a limited number of nuclear missile launchers!

Overall, I have to admit I was disappointed by Yesteryear's Sorrow.  My expectations may have been too high, but I was hoping for another scenario with some really interesting world-building and the potential for great role-playing that comes from posing PCs with major moral decisions that have no obvious answer.  Instead, this scenario blends into my mind with the several other "explore an abandoned complex on an alien planet" type of mission that we've seen already.  The revelations about the war's origin held potential, but weren't used in an engaging way.  What might have redeemed the scenario to some degree would be making the PCs think, hard, about whether they want to arm SFS vessels with the very same weapons that caused the destruction of an entire planet.  Is there ever a point where a weapon becomes too destructive to use, even in self-defense?  I know that not every scenario can be a philosophy debate club, but I was hoping that this scenario would continue its predecessor's ability to inject some more depth into the game.