Rise of the Runelords Recap # 37 [RPG]

[16 Neth 4707 continued]

The adventurers go over their plan for assaulting the Shadow Clock one last time, and settle on the idea of Kang ferrying his companions, one by one, onto exterior scaffolding one story below the roof, hoping that they can then advance en masse upwards to take Xanesha by surprise.  The plan goes surprisingly well at first, as a loud flock of birds masks the sounds of Kang setting his companions onto the creaking wooden scaffolding.  But Arnald, the last to ascend (as the two archers of Erastil he recruited have been instructed to wait below and secure the exit), lands with a heavy thud that alerts Xanesha that someone is nearby.  “I don’t know why you’ve come,” she hisses, peering down at the adventurers, “but you’ll rue the day you trespassed on my domain!”

Xanesha

Kang reacts to Xanesha’s appearance with lightning speed, hurling a pair of explosive concoctions onto the roof.  The first strikes to devastating effect, but the second is a dud, and the alchemist realizes some of his preparations have gone awry.  Bey and Arnald advance up the scaffolding to do battle with Xanesha, but the lamia matriarch’s wicked longspear jabs repeatedly into the axeman before he can close, and his attempt to entangle her in a net fails miserably.  The group’s other hardened warrior, Briza, is pinned down at the scaffolding by the appearance of a trio of Faceless Stalkers who emerge from the bell tower and climb up after her.  Artemis takes shelter just inside a room a level below the roof, waiting for an opportune moment to strike.  It comes when a section of the roof collapses under Xanesha’s weight, and she falls through into the hole, plugging it like a cork in a bottle!  Artemis begins releasing arrow after arrow into her lower half, with one such volley striking an artery!

But despite this early momentum, things quickly turn against the adventurers.  After cleaving one of the Faceless Stalkers in twain, Briza is knocked off the scaffolding by a lucky blow from another one and plummets 160’ to the muddy alleyway below!  Somehow, the hardy Shoanti warrior survives the fall, and even manages to stand up with the aid of the newly-recruited archers.  Back on the roof, Arnald is impaled again by Xanesha’s longspear and barely manages to stand upright.  All seems lost.  Believing that her long-prophesied fiery doom has come, Bey bursts into flame and tries to tackle Xanesha—as the two struggle, the ancient, partially wooden clock tower starts to burn!  Xanesha moans in outrage about being unable to free herself from the hole and promises a swift death to her enemies.  

Salvation arrives from above.  Kang lands on the roof just in time to drag Arnald out of the flames and then successfully mixes together another bomb to throw at Xanesha.  Although the throw misses his intended target and explodes on Bey’s chest (injuring her severely), the resulting concussive burst is large enough to finish off the burned and bleeding Xanesha!  The northwest section of the roof gives way, dropping her, Bey, and one of the Faceless Stalkers to the level below, where Artemis is standing.  The adventurers above still face the difficult task of escaping before the entire clock tower becomes a raging inferno!

Down at the base of the tower, unaware of her allies’ success or the fire above, Briza throws open the doors to the ground floor and charges in with the archers at her heels.  She reaches the staircase and starts climbing, but from out of one of the back rooms a hideous abomination sallies forth: a veritable giant of a “man” made from stitched together human, horse, and cow parts armed with a massive scythe and drooling obscenely.  With one mighty sweep of the scythe, one of the archers is killed outright.  Briza knows she can’t defeat such a beast in her severely injured condition and continues running up the stairs, with the surviving archer following.

"Scarecrow"

Back on the roof, Kang flies the grievously wounded Arnald down to street level, and, soon after, Bey appears having bent lent a magic ring of slow falling by Artemis.  For his part, Artemis is determined to recover at least some of the enormous wealth that Xanesha could have stashed away.  He pushes her body off the scaffolding so it drops to the ground far below, and then adroitly climbs up to the roof.  With only seconds to spare before the lamia matriarch’s nest of silk sheets and pillows begin to burn, he manages to knock three of the seven chests off the roof and then escape himself.  Kang acts as a one-man rescue operation, flying his allies safely to the ground below.

For the space of a few seconds, complete victory seems at hand.  But Arnald, ever unpredictable, can’t refrain from trying to sneak a peek at the scythe-wielding monstrosity that is still on the ground floor of the tower.  As he sees it, it sees him!  Arnald tries to run from it, but it catches up to him and with another single sweep of its flashing blade turns life into death.  The creature then searches for more prey and spots Briza, who is hurriedly gathering up the contents of the three chests that broke when they were pushed off the roof.  She also wisely makes a run for it, but, despite her greater speed, the creature knows the twisting alleyways of Underbridge better and manages to get her cornered.  Still, the swordswoman is resourceful and climbs up and out of the dead end, shouting for help.  Once again, Kang swoops in and lifts her to safety.  The surviving heroes of the dramatic battle on the burning Shadow Clock flee and manage to escape the relentless creature.

Arnald's Tombstone

Thus ends the second chapter of an epic tale.  Although not without cost, a murderous cult and its leaders have been soundly defeated.  Yet there are machinations at play in Varisia, and the tell-tale seven-pointed Sihedron of ancient Thassilon continues to manifest, bringing with it portents of doom . . .

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

Director's Commentary

This was the epic end of Chapter Two, and it really was epic, lasting the entire evening and with memorable twists throughout.  The PCs' excellent plan of flying to the top of the tower to surprise Xanesha was (partially) foiled by Arnald's terrible Stealth check--it seems like there's always one bad roll in a party  when it comes to Stealth.  The battle on top of the tower was exciting and could definitely have gone either way.  Xanesha falling partially through a hole in the roof was caused by a deft use of a plot twist card (I gave the players each one to use per chapter of the AP).  We were all amazed that Briza not only survived the 16d6 fall, but was able to get up and try to rejoin the fight!  I knew, going into the session, that it would be the last one for Bey's and Arnald's players, so I wasn't completely surprised when Arnald did something dumb and got himself killed.  Still, it was a fantastic session, and the best ending of the three chapters of the AP we've completed thus far.

Next Recap

Deadline (Ltd. 2002) (Marvel) [COMICS]

Deadline, a 2002 four-issue limited series, offered a modern take on the idea of super heroes as celebrities subject to the tabloid journalism era.  The series' main character, Kat Farrell, is a journalist for the Daily Bugle assigned to cover the trashy exploits of super heroes--only she really wishes to be a "legit" reporter assigned to an urban crime beat.

Issue # 1 is really strong, as Kat only has a week to impress her bosses in order to land an open position, and she gets an anonymous to tip to look into a missing judge named Michael Hart, whose fiancee was murdered.  Before she can investigate though, she learns that there's a serial killer preying on super-villains (one who's not the Scourge!); but the killer, a fellow in a black cloak and white mask, saves her life  The realistic cover art on all four issues (by Greg Horn) is fantastic (though the interior art is far more cartoony).

Issue # 2 sees Kat visit a Bar With No Name on the trail of Hart, and learns that The Tinkerer helped save his life after he was shot by a mysterious killer.  Two and two should come together, and lead to the conclusion that Hart is actually the serial killer of criminals known as the Judge.  There's a weird back-up feature with Jay Leno that is best avoided.

In Issue # 3, Kat finds out about Hart's backstory--it's a bit convoluted, and has something to do with a mystical amulet.  My notes aren't clear on the point, but, according to myself, there's an "odd twist!".  So that could be good . . .

There's a nice, satisfactory resolution to the mystery of who "murdered" Hart in Issue # 4.  Apart from an unnecessary subplot with a rival reporter, the series ends strongly, leaving the reader wanting more.  The depiction of Kat through all four issues is well-rounded, and she comes across as far more realistic than the "capes" she has to investigate.

All in all, a nice little mini-series that's worth picking up.  According to the Marvel Chronology Project, Kat Farrell recurs in several other comics in the past decade, which is pretty cool.

Rise of the Runelords Recap # 36 [RPG]

[15 Neth 4707]

A light drizzle falls over Magnimar on the morning after the celebration of Artemis’ promotion to Lieutenant.  At breakfast, Artemis tells the other adventurers about what he found in Underbridge the previous day: clues that the mysterious “Xanesha” can fly and might be frequenting an abandoned clock tower.  Although Briza, Bey, and Arnald are enthusiastic about visiting the clock tower immediately, Artemis says cautious investigation is the order of the day, given the group knows almost nothing about Xanesha’s abilities or the clock tower itself.  The party agrees to do some research and then come up with a plan before approaching the tower directly.

But first, Artemis follows through on a promise to lead Kang to a nearby martial arts dojo consecrated to the god of bodily purification and self-perfection, Irori.  Kang’s request that the dojo’s master provide him with the most sacred scriptures of the faith is rebuffed, but instead the tiefling receives an invitation to meditate and train.  Kang is somewhat reluctant, but perseveres and is invited to visit again.  Meanwhile, Artemis persuades one of the city watchman still trailing him while “undercover” to ask locals some questions about the old Underbridge clock tower.

After a brief visit to the Arvensoar, the adventurers are directed to a nearby museum to find historical records on the clock tower.  Perhaps the premiere repository of historical information in western Varisia, the publicly-funded Founder’s Archive contains the output of generations of scholars along with city records and personal journals of preeminent Magnimarians.  With help from his allies, Artemis has little difficulty finding out that the Underbridge clock tower has been abandoned for decades, that the crumbling wooden steps inside led to several deaths and the nickname “The Terrible Stairs,” and that the 180’ high tower is topped by the onyx statue of an angel whose crown nearly touches the bottom of the Irespan above.  When the guard that Artemis sent to gather gossip about the tower returns, he reports that locals in the area report seeing a shadowy bulk almost twice as big as a human lurking near the base of the tower!

Ol' Mam Grottle

The adventurers begin discussing possible assault plans, and the consensus is for Kang to drink an alchemical concoction to turn himself invisible and provide him with the ability to lift Arnald to the top of the tower armed with nets covered in alchemical glue to drop on Xanesha before she escapes.  The group travels to Dockway District in order to buy some nets and, while looking for a place where Kang can spend a couple of hours working with his flasks and beakers, stumble into an establishment Arnald has been in before.  Although the sellsword only barely remembers, he once did a great service to Ol’ Mam Grottle, proprietor of a barnacle-covered harborside tavern named The Old Fang, by returning the body of her husband and the corpse of the giant barracuda that killed him.  Grottle gives Arnald a warm welcome and provides him and his friends with a private table and drinks on the house.  As someone who hears almost all of the rumors going around Magnimar at one point or another, she’s even able to relate what some former patrons said about a serpentine shape seen slithering around the roof of the so-called “Shadow Clock” some nights ago.  Briza  ingeniously puts two and two together and reaches a startling conclusion:  Xanesha is a lamia matriarch, a snake-bodied queen of a hate-filled race cursed to display both human and animal characteristics!

The adventurers walk back to Deadeye Lodge, having decided that it would be too dangerous to assault the tower in the rain.  Although no one there has heard of lamias, Arnald manages to persuade two of the Erastil faithful (archers and members of a private street patrol) to accompany the group on the morrow’s planned mission.

[16 Neth 4707]

The Shadow Clock

In the morning, the adventurers gather their two new archer allies and proceed towards Underbridge District.  As they pass along the piers of Dockway, however, Briza, Kang, and one of the new recruits suddenly stop and turn towards the water.  Briza shouts “a child—he’s drowning!” and takes a flying leap off the dock only to land on what looks like a barely submerged mass of seaweed.  Kang, believing he’s seen a master alchemist known for concocting incredible formulae, rushes to the edge of the pier to speak with him.  And the new recruit, believing his wife is calling for him, runs in the same direction.  But all have been fooled by the hallucinogenic pheromones of a so-called sargassum fiend, a semi-intelligent aquatic plant creature known for luring entire ship’s crews to their deaths!  Before the others can react, the plant monster wraps tentacles around Briza and starts to crush her to death.  Briza struggles vainly as her ribs shatter and death seems certain, but Arnald’s greataxe is her salvation: with a mighty swing, he cleaves the writhing creature nearly in two!  It releases Briza and dives to the bottom of the harbor, barely alive itself.  Still, it was a close call and perhaps the nearest Briza has been to death since joining the adventurers in Sandpoint.  Bey’s healing conjurations and Kang’s revitalizing elixirs are enough to bring her back to fighting shape and, after some discussion, the group decides to press forward towards Underbridge.

Xanesha!

There, among the slums and blackened pilings supporting the massive Irespan above, the adventures cautiously survey the Shadow Clock from a distance.  The teetering, decrepit structure of weathered stone, wood, and rusted metal appears deserted.  The adventurers decide that Kang should scout first while flying and invisible.  Kang downs his magical elixirs and heads toward the structure and then ascends along its outer water.  Peeking through gaps in the worn façade, his innate ability to see in the dark reveals mounds of rubble and plaster on the ground floor along with several rooms obstructed by barely-hanging doors.  A rickety-looking wooden stairway climbs along the walls.  When Kang gets several dozen feet above ground level, he sees through another gap in the wall that the stairs lead to an area where a timber framework supports four massive bronze bells affixed to the timbers by rope.  But lurking near the bells are a trio of something Kang has become quite familiar with:  faceless stalkers.  Kang continues flying upwards, past ancient scaffolding, exterior stairs, and the frozen clock face until he reaches the top.  There, under the grimy features of the  angel statue, he sees a nest of cushions, silk sheets, and several small chests.  But what most catches his attention is the creature reclining in the nest: a lamia matriarch that could be none other than the mysterious mastermind behind the Skinsaw Cult:  Xanesha!

Kang silently flies back to his allies and tells them everything he’s seen.  Bey suggests collapsing the frail tower, but Artemis says that then Xanesha could just fly away and escape.  Another suggestion is to start the tower on fire (perhaps pinning Xanesha to the roof with an alchemical-glue soaked net), but Briza points out that such a fire could easily spread through the slums and claim innocent lives.  A third proposal is to try to knock the statue over on her, though it’s not clear how well-affixed it is to the roof.  The adventurers decide their original plan is best, with Kang to lift Artemis and Arnald to the top (one by one) so they can confront the lamia matriarch directly.

The murders of Banny Harker and Katrine Vinder in a Sandpoint lumber mill started the adventurers on a trail that led through Foxglove Manor, the sewers of Magnimar, a murderous cult’s headquarters, and now to an abandoned clock tower in the foreboding slums of the Shadow.  Will the adventurers triumph or falter in this climactic moment?

 -------------------------------------------------
Director's Commentary (18 February 2018)

This was very much a research and planning session, as the players figured out the location of the Shadow Clock and talked about how to launch their assault.  Sending Kang to scout, flying and invisibly, was pretty smart and, as we'll see next time, helped them avoid a lot of the obstacles that the Shadow Clock poses.

Arnald persuading some of the NPC archers of the church of Erastil to join them on the raid was pretty smart--players rarely take advantage of the opportunities they have to bolster their numbers (perhaps because they think they'll automatically get shut down)

The sargassum fiend was a random encounter that turned out quite well.  It was definitely something different (with the illusion angle) and quite exciting.

Next Recap

Rise of the Runelords Recap # 35 [RPG]

[13 Neth 4707 continued]

With the surrender of the last cultist fighting on the fourth floor of the Seven’s Sawmill, a scene previously filled with the sounds of clanging blades, mystical incantations, and explosions suddenly becomes silent.  Arnald collapses into unconsciousness from his wounds, while Bey begins to stare off into nothingness, seeing only images of the impending apocalypse.  Artemis starts to pull the hideous masks off the cultists, and is startled to realize that the cult’s leader was none other than Justice Ironbriar, the judge who sent him to Sandpoint with orders to report on Sheriff Hemlock’s investigation!  Artemis starts to pace nervously, unsure of how to handle the dramatic revelation.

Justice Ironbriar

 Kang explores an office adjacent to the main workshop where the battle took place, and sees that the walls of the room bear macabre decorations: human faces stretched flat over wooden frames by strips of black twine, each face grimacing in slightly different expression of pain.  Behind a desk and rocking chair, a wooden ladder leads to a trapdoor in the ceiling.  Kang opens the footlocker next to a low-slung cot and learns that it contains a variety of knickknacks and oddities probably collected from the cult’s victims over the years, but more valuable items are inside as well, such as an arcane spellbook marked with snakes, an old and beautifully filigreed tome titled The Syrpents Tane: Fairy Tales of the Eldest, and, perhaps most intriguing of all, a slim handwritten journal whose meaning is hidden beneath a complex code made of Draconic, Elven, and Infernal characters.  Fortunately, Kang reads all three languages and knows that with some days’ work, he should be able to decipher the code.

As he tries to make sense of the journal, Kang hears the creaking of footsteps above.  He alerts his companions and they take up defensive positions, waiting for the intruder to attack.  Seconds pass, and then they hear a loud thump on the side of the building!  Artemis bravely ascends the ladder and finds himself in a rookery.  A timber cabinet contains two ravens, while a nearby table holds a bucket of bird feed, a quill, a vial of ink, and several thin parchments weighted down by a polished rock.  But what gets the watchman’s attention is the rope tied to a support beam whose far end dangles off the side of the building.  Artemis hoists the rope up and discovers that someone, presumably a member of the cult, has hanged himself!  The adventurers place the newly-discovered body with the others and search the lot.  Artemis tries to get the cultist who surrendered to talk by threatening him with violence, but the sneering man laughs in his face, knowing that by reputation the watchman is too law-abiding to torture a prisoner.

The adventurers load the bodies, the prisoner, and the unconscious Arnald onto a nearby cart and take it to the Arvensoar.  The officer on duty almost panicks when told that a member of the Watch was involved in an altercation that has led to the decapitation of a member of the Justice Council.  He orders the adventurers detained in separate interrogation rooms and sends a messenger to wake up High Captain Acacia Uriana, the overall commander of the City Watch, and Lord-Mayor Haldemeer Grobaras.  With his notable tiefling features, Kang is treated with extreme suspicion by the guards, who openly speculate he could be a spy or assassin from Korvosa.  When the fiery Uriana arrives to question him, Kang raises her hackles by refusing to talk unless he has a chance to confer with Artemis first.  Uriana moves on to question Briza, and the Shoanti does a fair job of explaining the unusual sequence of events that led to a band of adventurers from Sandpoint getting wrapped up in a murder investigation in Magnimar.  Still, Uriana remains sceptical.  Artemis’ forthright manner, unblemished record for integrity, and corroboration of Briza’s tale is enough to temporarily mollify Uriana. 

[14 Neth 4707]

In the morning, Uriana gives orders to let Artemis and Briza go while the investigation continues, but Artemis’ superior office, Gibble Fank, has to tell him the unpleasant news that he’s been suspended from active duty until the full truth of what happened in the sawmill can be determined.  Kang remains in custody for several more hours and is interrogated  again about both the sawmill and his visit to Boria’s wine shop, as the venue has long been under surveillance on suspicions of criminal activity.  Kang sticks to his story that he was only there to sell wine, and the fortunate presence in his backpack of a bottle of ancient vintage (obtained from Foxglove Manor) and the lack of any other incriminating evidence on his person is enough to mollify his interrogator.  Kang is released with a warning to watch his step.

Lord-Mayor Grobaras

The adventurers walk back to Artemis’ house and notice a surprising sight outside:  a massive, opulent carriage attended by several footmen is parked on the street in front of the house.  Guards dressed in matching uniforms have cordoned off the house, while a trio of mages have erected a silver arch in front of the doorway.  Artemis recognizes the scene as standard protocol for when Lord-Mayor Grobaras ventures out into the public!  Artemis tells Briza and Kang to meet him later at Deadeye Lodge, as he needs to learn why the city’s executive has come to his house.  After passing through an elaborate security screening, Artemis is admitted into his own home to see his wife serving the Lord-Mayor tea.  Grobaras is all smiles and compliments, and once he and Artemis are alone he expresses his gratitude for “removing a thorn from my heel” in exposing Ironbriar’s crimes.  Grobaras goes on to say that Uriana has confirmed Artemis’ story, and that the watchman has earned a promotion for his service to the city.  He tells Artemis that he and his “Irregulars” are invited to a party at his residence, Defiant’s Garden, at the end of the month, and that he hopes the two can continue to be of mutual assistance to one another.

Meanwhile, Kang and Briza head to Deadeye Lodge, Magnimar’s temple to Erastil.  Father Fendus is pleased to offer the pair a reward for bringing him the evil-infused masks of the Skinsaw Cult to destroy, and explains that the cult must be affiliated with the god of murder, Norgorber.  While Fendus sets about destroying the masks, Kang whispers to Briza that he’s on the verge of a breakthrough in his quest to achieve eternal life!  He tells her he could use her assistance later that evening, but that the whole matter must be kept quiet lest others try to steal the secret from him.  Having finished their tasks, the two adventurers meet up with Artemis and, after some errands, return with him home to find that his wife, Miryana, is planning a party to celebrate “Artie’s” promotion.  Briza volunteers to help with the preparations, while an unconscious Arnald takes up space on the chaise and Bey continues to be lost in her mystery.  Kang decamps to the Green Lobster to have some peace and quiet to work on his alchemical research and on deciphering the coded book obtained from the Seven’s Sawmill; he obtains a sizable discount from the establishment since a bad case of food poisoning has cleared the inn of customers.

Miryana Lahs

Artemis continues his investigation into the mysterious name “Xanesha” and gets a lead from one of his street contacts that a pesh dealer in the Shadow named Zivix has mentioned the name before.  On his way there, Artemis takes time to give instructions on stealth to the members of the Watch who are supposed to be secretly tailing him.  Artemis finds Zivix disguising himself as a flute-playing busker and sees through the man’s firm avowal that Zivix is dead.  Although Artemis can’t persuade the man to talk, he does notice that whenever he invokes the name “Xanesha,” the man looks frightened and glances over at a rundown clock tower in the distance.  Although it’s not much of a lead, it’s the best the adventurers have found so far. 

Artemis hurries back home to find his house crowded with guests: the party has begun!  Kang draws Briza aside to tell her that he’s made an important advance in his research: a way for his body to regenerate itself when wounded!  Kang tells her a story about a mortal who became so perfect he ascended into godhood, and Artemis overhears this tale and connects it to Irori.  But before the conversation can become too serious, Artemis and his companions are drawn into the garden for dancing where, out of everyone, Kang shows a surprising amount of natural rhythm.

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

Director's Commentary (11/02/2018)

The revelation about Justice Ironbriar went about as well as it could have, considering most of the PCs didn't have any interaction with him (Artemis being the exception).  The group continued their trend at being better at battle than investigation, as I don't think Kang ever did get that journal decoded and the idea that the messenger-ravens could be used to track down Ironbriar's mysterious boss never occurred to them.  As for the hanged fellow, I assumed the PCs would rush in when they heard the noise and have a chance to save him--it was Tsuto (whose release was arranged by Ironbriar).  Another example (along with Nualia) of how I wasn't particularly successful at having old villains return for an impactful performance.

The interrogations by the City Watch was some spontaneous role-playing fun, and it was interesting to see how everyone stood up under pressure.  In retrospect, it might have been even more fun if I had made the other players leave the room during each "interrogation" so discrepancies would be more likely, but that's an idea for another day.

The scene with Grobaras was great.  I think Artemis was the most well-rounded and best fleshed out of the PCs because his backstory and connections to other NPCs (like his wife) were easy to tie into the plot.  I'm happy because I think I did a good job portraying a politician who is enormously popular with "the common man" but also manages to achieve his own ends.

The stuff with Kang and Irori near the end arose out of the player wanting to take a spell that was  reserved to worshippers of that deity.  Since the PC had never before shown any interest, I ruled it out unless the player started weaving a growing interest into his character arc.  I think it turned out pretty well and fleshed out Kang's motivations a little more.

Pathfinder Comics Volume 3: "City of Secrets"

NO SPOILERS

"City of Secrets" is Volume 3 of the Pathfinder comic series. It collects the eponymous limited series and includes dozens of pages of back matter, including variant covers, sample NPCs, encounters, and more.  If you liked the previous volumes in the series, you'll be happy with this one as well.  It's not spectacular, but it's solid fun.

SPOILERS

With the previous two volumes taking place in Sandpoint and its hinterlands, the action moves squarely to Magnimar for Volume 3.

Issue # 1 actually starts with the Iconics (Seoni, Valeros, Harsk, Ezren, Merisiel, and Kyra) on board a ship that's arriving in the so-called "City of Monuments."  There's a gorgeous two-page spread showing the city from their perspective, which is definitely something I'd steal the next time I had PCs arrive in Magnimar via ship.  The Iconics split up to go on various errands, with Ezren speaking to Venture-Captain Sheila Heidmarch in a bid to become a Pathfinder, while Harsk eventually finds his way to a public park in a funny scene.  Valeros gets his drink on alongside Seoni at the Old Fang tavern, while the main plot starts with Merisiel accompanying Kyra to an old shrine of Sarenrae after hearing rumors that followers of the goddess have been murdered on the streets.  It's a fun, fast-paced opening.

In Issue # 2, we see Merisiel offered membership in a criminal gang called the Gallowed--there's conflict between she and Kyra about it, and the event ties into the special issue that was included at the end of Volume 2.  Anyway, alongside Magnimar's City Guard, the Iconics plan an ambush for the killers stalking devotees of Sarenrae--it's another exciting issue.

The ambush plan fails spectacularly in Issue # 3, as the assassin uses silence spells to foil Kyra's and Seoni's plan, and a gargoyle aids in her escape attempt!  The best scenes, however, are Ezren being set upon my mysterious thugs and ending up captured.  The action scenes are really well done, and an improvement from earlier volumes.

In Issue # 4, the Iconics track the killers into the catacombs under Magnimar and are set upon by wights!  The killer is revealed to be an evil cleric of the demon lord Shax named Avalexi.  Meanwhile, Merisiel continues her flirtation with the Gallowed, but there's an excellent cliffhanger where her initiation test is to kill Ezren!

Issue # 5 starts with a big battle between Avalexi and her gargoyle versus four of the Iconics.  Seoni casts enlarge person on Valeros, which leads to some fun visuals.  Although the gargoyle is killed, Avalexi escapes to join some creepy dude named Thulgroon who is behind everything.  Meanwhile, Merisiel choosing Ezren over the Gallowed isn't exactly a surprise, but it's still a fun rescue scene.  The issue ends on another cliffhanger, as there's a doppelganger of Ezren trying to infiltrate the Pathfinder Society!

The volume concludes with Issue # 6, in which Ezren's doppelganger (faceless stalker, to be precise) tries to kill Sheila Heidmarch.  Fortunately, the real Ezren and the other Iconics arrive in time to safe her.  It turns out there's a conspiracy in Magnimar involving the Gallowed and others, led by this Thulgroon dude: who, in a fun twist, is a Veiled Master (a kind of super-aboleth that have been manipulating events on Golarion for millenia).

I may have overused the exclamation marks in my summary, as, according to my contemporaneous notes, the storyline is "average" and the comic is overall "okay."  Elements of the plot are closely based on a Free RPG Day module titled Dawn of the Scarlet Sun, so it may be familiar if you've read or played through that adventure.

On the artwork front, it's pretty good--easy to see who's who and what's happening, and the colouring continues to improve.  The only odd bit is that there are faint horizontal lines running throughout the art, almost like it was printed on a textured parchment--it's a bit weird and distracting.

On to the back matter.  The usual variant covers take up a lot of pages but are rather bland and forgettable compared to the hilarious homages found in previous volumes.  Of better quality and more interest are the series of 2-4 page entries on various encounters, NPCs, or places in Magnimar.  These include:

* A two-page overview of Magnimar, a page of which consists of a map of the city showing its various districts.  There won't be anything new here if you already have information on Magnimar from other sources, but, if you don't, it's worthwhile.

* A two-page overview of The Old Fang, a tavern in Magnimar's Dockway district that could serve as a home for PCs.  It includes a write-up of an NPC named Ol' Mam Grottle--I used her and the location briefly in my Rise of the Runelords game and they worked out fine.

* One-page entries (with stat blocks) of Lord Mayor Grobaras and Sabriyya Kalmeralm, the so-called "Princes of the Market."  These are very useful.

* An encounter set in Underbridge involving a warehouse full of dire rats and wererats--it's pretty generic stuff, and something that any GM could throw together in 5 minutes.  Not really necessary, with the only redeeming feature some intriguing ties to the Derro.

* Five pages on Serpent's Run, Magnimar's huge arena.  This was really well-done, as it goes over various events held there, including several that PCs could potentially participate in. In addition, it provides stats for the "Champion of the Arena" in case a gladiatorial match is to the players' liking.  Entries like this really make the comic worthwhile to me, as they help to flesh out locations and NPCs.

* An encounter against some faceless stalkers in Magnimar's sewers.  Not much interesting or imaginative here, even though I did work it into a session.

* A brief overview of various Sczarni gangs in Magnimar along with an encounter.  It's okay.

* A brief overview of the Summit district and an encounter set at a private garden party.  I appreciate that there are variations given for different CRs, but they all boil down to: "a monster attacks."

* A sort of spoof encounter, "Comic Store Invasion," in which the PCs have to protect a comic book store attacked by goblins.  There's a few chuckles to be had..

* Interspersed throughout the entries above are one-page NPCs sent in by readers.  It's a little like something you'd find in the NPC Codex.  The artwork and backstories (although brief) are nice, and it's always good to have some extra NPCs available.  I haven't seen this done for any other volumes of the comic, but I liked it.

Overall, Volume 3 is solid.  The storyline isn't amazing, but it is entertaining if you like the characters and the setting as much as I do.  The backstory is more hit or miss, but if you do plan to run games in Magnimar, there's some very useful material.

Pathfinder Society Scenario # 0-04: "The Frozen Fingers of Midnight" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

I ran this at low tier for a mixed group of Level 1 and 2 PCs.  It's not an overly-long scenario, which is advantageous for tight time-slots.  The action scenes are fairly run-of-the-mill, and, although the initial premise of the scenario is interesting, there are some rough patches in backstory and plotting that make for a less than satisfying experience.  I'd rate this one as average or even a notch below.  It's playable, but certainly not a high priority.

SPOILERS

The scenario starts a briefing by Adril Hestram, in the Grand Lodge in Absalom.  It seems that an old friend of Adril's, an Ulfen adventurer (and sometime Pathfinder) nicknamed Skelg the Ripper recently settled down in Absalom after an escapade in the north.  The problem is that Adril has received a cryptic letter from his old friend, hinting that he's in some kind of terrible trouble, and that a magical artifact may be to blame.  Adril promptly dispatches the Pathfinders to help Skelg and, if possible, recover the artifact for the Society.

It's a blazing hot summer's day in Absalom, which provides a nice counterpoint for what comes later in the scenario.  Once the PCs arrive at Skelg's nouveau-riche mansion, they realize that two Ulfen "guards" are actually jailers!  The warriors are wielding the good stuff (greataxes) that could drop an unfortunate Level 1 PC.  In the game I ran, however, they never actually hit and were dispatched without too much difficulty.  Still, it's a nice initial encounter that quickly clues the PCs in that something is very wrong.

Once inside the mansion, the PCs find Skelg on his bed in front of a roaring fire, literally freezing to death!  There's a lot of backstory to convey, and I found it hard to do well.  The short version is that Skelg raided the funerary ship of an Ulfen lord (set ablaze in "viking" fashion) to steal all the treasures it was laden with, and that, in the course of so doing, he set free the deceased's wife who was, according to northlander custom, to be burned (alive!) with the body of her husband.  One of the objects Skelg recovered was a lantern called the Beacon of the North, a powerful magical artifact capable of opening portals (some fist-sized, others large enough to sail ships through) to the frozen north.  The timeline gets a bit wonky here, but Skelg apparently decided to retire with his new riches to Absalom.  However, he was pursued by the deceased Ulfen's son (Bengeirr), who raided Skelg's vaults and used the Beacon of the North on him before escaping with it and the treasure.  The effect of the Beacon was that a small but permanent portal to the north opened up on Skelg's body.  No spell or remedy has been able to reverse the condition, and Skelg is surely but slowly freezing to death.  To this point, it's a fun and original problem.  The problem, as we'll discuss more later, is that a lot of the little details don't make a whole heck of a lot of sense.

The PCs can track Bengeirr either by interrogating the thugs he left to keep Skelg prisoner, or by the usual Gather Information checks (some quick NPCs are provided to help flesh out the latter route).  Bengeirr is hiding out in a dockside warehouse on a busy street, with a sentry posted out front.  The little touch here that I really liked is that, because the street is so busy, the PCs can't just start hacking and slashing the sentry without the city guard being called out to arrest everyone.  Instead, they need to resort to guile if they want to storm the warehouse without alerting either the sentry or the city guard.  It gives the opportunity for things like distractions, bluffs, disguises, skulking about rooftops, etc., and a potential chance for Rogue PCs to shine.

Inside the warehouse are Bengeirr and two more of his Ulfen warriors.  The map here is interesting and original, with a loft and a longship to provide some tactical choices.  One of the ways the whole "Beacon of the North" concept was useful is putting some fear into PCs once they got hit by it and were told they were permanently under the effects of a condition that couldn't be reversed through normal means!  The battle inside isn't really that hard, though it took a long time for my group because they hemmed and hawed for several rounds.

Assuming the PCs defeat Bengeirr and recover the lantern, they need to go back to Skelg's house and enter a portal in the basement.  After reading the scenario a few times, I'm still a bit fuzzy on how this all worked, but, in any event, the portal leads to the funeary longship that is now almost completely encased in ice.  The maps here are confusing and unclear, so I'd encourage GMs to go carefully through prepping this to make sure it all connects together.  Anyway, after battling through some "frozen zombies" and a (potentially deadly) ghoul, the crux of the final encounter is negotiating with or fighting Natalya, the widow of the deceased Ulfen.  The deal here, which I think is handled pretty well for one of the earlier and less sophisticated scenarios, is that Natalya wants three things: 1) Companionship (preferably with her liberator, Skelg); 2) The Beacon of the North; and 3) A return to Irrisen.  PCs who take the diplomatic route can get her to cave on some of these demands, but there's also the real potential of a battle starting.  The easy route is just to give her everything she wants (assuming the PCs can persuade Skelg), in which case she'll show the PCs how to use the lantern to open a new portal which closes all of the little portals (?) and thus saves Skelg (satisfying the primary success condition).  However, the secondary success condition requires the PCs to return the lantern to the Pathfinder Society, so the easy way is the le
ss rewarding way.  I thought it was a nice challenge.

Probably the biggest issue with the scenario is what I adverted to earlier: there are several little plot holes and confusing bits about how things works and why people are doing what they're doing in the scenario.  Sometimes these discrepancies go unnoticed by players, but this was one where the problems were noticeable and problematic.  How many months, for example, has Natalya just been hanging out on that frozen ship without food or fuel for the braziers?  If a portal opened by the lantern is effectively permanent, wouldn't that revolutionize trade between the north and (for example) Absalom?  Why wouldn't the PCs just call the city watch to raid the warehouse when they have proof that robbers with stolen goods are present inside?  Etc.

All in all, I would say the premise of the adventure is pretty cool, and there are some good bits (like getting past the sentry without violence and the negotiations with Natalya).  However, the combat encounters tend to be rather forgettable and the confusing aspects of the plot make it an inessential scenario overall.

Starfinder Society Scenario # 1-05: "The First Mandate" [RPG]

Note: I originally hand-wrote this review during a really boring meeting!  It's probably a bit rough, but the essential theme should be there.  I ran this scenario at low tier using the four-player adjustment.

NO SPOILERS

The First Mandate is a great scenario for Starfinder players who are looking for a role-play heavy experience.  It's perfect for skill monkeys, with combat taking a backseat.  There are some great, well-fleshed out NPCs, though admittedly the plot is pretty basic.  I'd recommend it as an opportunity for non-combat oriented characters to shine.

SPOILERS

The centrepiece of The First Mandate is a major gala at Starfinder Society headquarters.  First Seeker Luwazi Elsebo has invited several guests with powerful connections to hear a major announcement about the future direction of the organization.  The PCs are asked to persuade some of these major players to lend their support (both moral and financial) to the SFS.  In game terms, this takes the form of an RP-heavy skills challenge, where the PCs are given a set number of opportunities to influence five different NPCs.  Each of the NPCs has an interesting and memorable personality with their own interests and ways of being persuaded.  It's not all Diplomacy, as skills as diverse as Acrobatics to Medicine can be used to impress certain NPCs.  (I appreciated the full-colour artwork of the NPCs, and recommend GMs use the pictures to help the players remember who they're interacting with each round.)  I thought this "social encounter" was a really clever way to get everyone involved in the teamwork necessary for success, and it's always fun to role-play a fancy, formal gala when most PCs are going to be hulking vesks or carrying an armory's worth of weaponry.  The coolest thing is that the particular NPCs that are influenced take part in events later in the scenario.

After this RP-intensive encounter, the PCs are approached by Radaszam, head of the Acquisitives faction, with news that a potential assassin has been traced to a warehouse in the Sparks neighborhood of Absalom Station.  The PCs, of course, are sent to raid the warehouse.  They won't find an assassin, but (after probably setting off a nasty trap) will do battle against a pair of creatures called "electrovores" and then find clues that point to the assassin being a shapechanger who plans to set explosives to kill Luwazi Elsebo!  It's not the most creative encounter (the electrovores are kinda run-of-the-mill and are present more because combats are expected in scenarios), but it does advance the plot.

After the PCs rush back to the gala, a really fun and tense encounter begins.  The PCs can play it safe by having Radaszam's mercenary outfit take care of finding/defusing the bombs or the PCs can take the riskier (but more impressive to the dignitaries) strategy of handling both the bombs and the assassin at the same time.  It's a delicate balance, because one misstep leads to the assassin pressing that detonator button, and it would be quite easy for the PCs to fail magnificently.  The group I ran this for succeeded as much through luck as strategy.

Assuming the PCs are successful in stopping the bombs and the assassin, the end of the scenario is a bit of a let-down.  There's no explanation as to why Luwazi was targeted, whether the assassin was hired or acting alone, etc.  And more, Luwazi's big announcement (that she's going to try to solve the "Scoured Stars" problem and recover the lost Starfinders) isn't exactly a big surprise.  It comes off as anti-climactic given all the work put into supporting the effort and saving Luwazi's life.

All in all, though, I thought The First Mandate was a solid scenario.  It's a nice change of pace, with a great social encounter and an original encounter combining skills and combat.  It's not a scenario that will find great favour with the "combat combat combat" crowd, but for most others it should be a satisfying experience.