Pathfinder Tales: "The Dagger of Trust" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

If you like bards, you are going to love The Dagger of Trust.  The novel is full of bards--the singing kind, the storytelling kind, and even the puppet-show kind!  I'm pretty sure the characters reflect various Pathfinder class archetypes.  The book does an impressive job matching the game effects of bardic powers like inspire courage, and various spells like rope trick, into exciting and colourful descriptions that correspond.  With the strong use of world lore, this isn't one of those RPG tie-ins you read and think "no 'real' adventuring party could every do that!"  There are some sections of the book that are a bit repetitive, and the resolution of a mystery plot isn't 100% satisfying.  Overall though, this was an enjoyable read.

SPOILERS

The protagonist, Gideon Gull, and the other "good guy" main characters are students at a bardic school called the Rhapsodic College in the nation of Taldor.  But there's a secret "school within the school" there called the Shadow School which trains select students into becoming professional spies and assassins for the Lion Blades.  Gideon is one such student, and the book starts with a fun opening training sequence of his having to simultaneously take part in a public debate and stop a mock assassination without revealing himself.  Gideon soon gets wrapped up in a mystery involving appearances across Taldor and Andoran of a supernatural fog that seems to turn some normal people into crazed killers.  Unravelling the origins of the fog leads Gideon into a complicated intrigue plot that involves everything from druids to submarines (I know!) and beyond.  I honestly got a bit lost between all the twists and turns, and I thought the middle portion of the book was a bit slow and repetitive.  Still, the ending is really sweet and heartfelt--you care about the main characters and what happens to them.

I don't think the plot is necessarily top-notch, but I do recommend the book for its characters and expansion of setting flavour around Taldan-Andoren relations, the Wildwood Pact, and the Shadow School.  Perhaps with a little better editing and some selective trimming here and there, this could have been in the top ranks of the Pathfinder Tales books.

Angel: "The Summoned" [BUFFY]

The Summoned


Cameron Dokey (2001)

RATING: 2/5 Stakes

SETTING: Early Angel Season 1

T.V./MOVIE CHARACTER APPEARANCES: Angel, Doyle, Cordelia, Kate

MAJOR ORIGINAL CHARACTERS: Terri Miller (victim), Septimus Stephens (homeless man), Andy (cultist), Deirdre Arensen (Kate's friend), Detective Jackson Tucker (police officer), Feutoch (fire demon)

BACK OF THE BOOK SUMMARY:  "Doyle is in the supermarket when the latest vision hits.  Fear.  Fire.  Death.  And an ornately engraved ancient amulet.  As usual, the Powers That Be are none too specific.  When he comes to, he is being tended by an anxious young woman named Terri Miller.  A shy girl from a small town, Terri is new to L.A., and feeling like a wallflower in the bright lights of this big city.  Soon after her encounter with Doyle, who heads off without more than a perfunctory thank-you, a charismatic young man invites her to a meeting for a club to which he belongs.  Meanwhile, Angel and his gang have been turned on to a killer who burns his victims beyond recognition.  Several of the deceased have connections to Terri's newfound circle of friends, and Cordelia suddenly finds herself in possession of an amulet that looks awfully familiar . . ."

REVIEW

The Summoned starts out strong with a gripping opening sequence--a woman races to get a letter in the mailbox, knowing that, not matter what, she'll be dead at midnight!  The sequence leads into a story about a secret cult that gradually drags in a shy, lonely woman named Terri.  Doyle befriends Terri and tries to get her out of trouble, but things begin to escalate.  When the police get involved, one of Kate Lockley's old friends--a woman named Deirdre--has crucial information, as her father was murdered by the cult (though the police think it's just a serial killer).  It turns out the cult is working to summon a fire demon named Feutoch and bring on the end of the world, blah blah blah.  I find smaller stakes work much better in novels.

The dialogue and personality of the major characters is handled well, but things start to fall apart near the end, with one twist too many.  And although initially the premise seems tense and exciting (a mysterious coin that leads the bearer to a fiery death!), in the end it becomes just a pedestrian demon cult story--something we've seen more than enough times in Buffy and Angel stories.  Overall, that makes The Summoned eminently skippable.

Pathfinder Player Companion: "Occult Origins" [RPG]

Alright, let's jump into Occult Origins!  This 32-page, full-colour book in the Pathfinder Player Companion line was released around the time of the Occult Adventures hardcover book that introduced several new psychic-themed classes to the game.  The goal of Occult Origins is to supplement that book, ground it in the campaign setting of Golarion, and add some more options for psychic PCs.  Let's see if it achieves those ends.  I should flag that the only occult class I've placed is the Psychic, so the ins and outs of the new options presented here are often beyond me.

First up, cool cover!  The inside front-cover is a really useful summary of how the different planes connect to or fuel the various new occult classes.  For example, it explains how kineticists are linked to the elemental planes, how spiritualist phantoms come from the ethereal plane, and how the spirits that mediums draw upon aren't actual souls or ghosts from remnants left on the astral plane.  The inside back cover is just the front cover art sans text.  I'll go ahead and mention here, before I forget, that the interior artwork is uniformly excellent.

The first couple pages of the book are a summary of what's inside for each of the six occult classes and an index to the new rules options.  This is followed by a two-page introduction that's actually pretty important--it gives specific cultural links in Golarion for each of the six occult classes, turning what can be generic and abstract into a rich addition to the setting lore.  The whole concept of the occult in Pathfinder is now much more appealing to me.  And did you know that Erik Mona (Paizo publisher) has his own occult library?  That's pretty cool.

Next up are sections devoted to each of the six new occult classes.  Kineticists get four pages of material, while the other classes get two pages each.  Why the discrepancy?  I don't know!

* Kineticist:  Most people in Golarion wouldn't recognise a kineticist if they saw one, apparently.  This book introduces a couple of new elements.  The first is Void, which I don't really get it--it seems to be some sort of weird mixture of negative energy and gravity powers.  The second is Wood, which is really more of a general nature or even First World-themed power.  It does contain a lot of useful utility powers for wilderness (forest) adventures.

* Medium:  Some interesting setting lore here.  I didn't expect just how unpopular mediums would be in places like Ustalav and Mendev.  The book introduces a "Nexian Channeller" archetype which is very focussed on having a mystical third-eye.  There's also a new modified archmagi spirit that draws on Nex!  Very interesting and fits the setting well.

* Mesmerist: Mesmerists are apparently some of the most common occult practitioners in Golarion, as they skilfully use their powers to gain wealth and political influence.  This book introduces several new mesmerist tricks.  There's also a new Chelish-themed type of gaze, "Devilbane Gazes" which have extra effects against outsiders.  There's also three new spells, with fool's teleport my favourite (it looks like you've teleported away, but really you've just become invisible).

* Occultist:  Apparently Osirion is a place of particular strength for occultists, which makes sense.  This book introduces a new archetype, the "Reliquarian"--it makes use of religious relics and essentially makes the occultist into a divine caster with one cleric domain.  Several new sacred implements are also introduced, themed to particular Core20 deities.

* Psychic:  It makes sense that Vudra would have a higher concentration of psychics, but I like the idea that Numeria has several as well due to the influence of strange alien technology there.  This book introduces some new phrenic amplifications which look okay, and two new disciplines: enlightenment and rebirth.  Both are good, and I actually chose rebirth a long time ago when I made my psychic-monk, Arrius Vext.

* Spiritualist:  Spiritualists apparently have a very complicated reception on Golarion, with suspicion from the Church of Pharasma and fear (or disdain) from common folk.  There's a new archetype, the Fated Guide, which involves a phantom that Pharasma has sent back to Material Plane with very little memory.  I don't quite get it.  There's also a new emotional focus, Remorse, that has a great story theme (though I don't understand how it works in practice, having never played a spiritualist).

Next up, the book has four pages of occult-themed archetypes for non-occult classes.  There's a "Mind Sword" archetype for paladins (giving up lay on hands and channelling? I don't think so!), a "Serpent Fire" archetype for monks (all chakra-based), a weird "Supernaturalist" archetype for druids, a fairly-interesting "Harrowed Society Student" archetype for arcanists, an "Id Rager" archetype for bloodragers, and a "True Silvered Throne" archetype for shamans (it's themed to relate to the Esoteric Order of the Palantine Eye, but lacks any real flavour).

Feats are the subject of the next two pages.  Many of the concepts are fantastic, but their effects are unfortunately bland (a minor numerical bonus to a save or a skill).  Feats are more interesting when they allow you to do something you couldn't do before, not when they just provide a bump to a dice roll--there are enough of those in the game already.  Still, I love the idea of something like the Cranial Implantation feat, where you walk around with needles inserted into your brain!

Two pages are spent on Occult Rituals, and there are some really nicely-flavoured ones tying into lore elements like the Jistka, the Peacock Spirit, and the Sarkoris God-Callers.

Last up are four pages on new spells.  Some are available to traditional arcane or divine casters, while others are for psychic casters only.  I think my favourite is jealous rage, which makes a character murderously angry if someone is the recipient of a beneficial spell and they're not.  Other good spells include ectoplasmic hand and mind over matter, though I think subjective reality is overpowered with no saving throw.

And there we have it.  To my mind the greatest value in the book is how it helps to incorporate occult themes into the Golarion campaign setting.  The new rules elements will probably be more hit or miss depending on what you're looking for.  Still, it's a book I could definitely imagine using.

Pathfinder Flip-Mat Classics: "Arena" [RPG]

The main side of the Arena flip-mat is pretty much would you would expect: a large empty oval surrounded by seating for the audience.  The central oval isn't completely featureless: there are four platforms (perhaps the starting points for gladiators?) and some tiny details like scattered weapons and armor.  The audience stands actually have a lot of detail as well, like stained concrete, loose pieces of paper, and even tiny cracks.  The last prominent feature is box seats for the nobility (someone has to give the "thumbs down", after all!).  This side isn't amazing but fulfils its intended function.

The other side is the exact same scene except with the central oval filled with water.  I know mock naval combats were a thing, but I can't imagine using this side very often.  I would have far preferred if the flip-side were interior areas of the arena complex--perhaps cages where reticent gladiators and wild animals could be kept, for example, so one could tell an escape story.  Or, a different size or shape of arena to add some variety.

Overall, I'd have to rank this flip-mat about average--it's fine, but not particularly creative.

Pathfinder: "'Burnt Offerings' Messenger Bag" [RPG]

This product has an awkwardly long title, the Pathfinder Adventure Path—Rise of the Runelords: "Burnt Offerings" Messenger Bag, but fortunately that's the only bad thing I've found about it.  I became Paizo's favourite customer when I ordered several of these last year (a few to hand out to players when we finished RotRL, one for my kid, and one for myself).   The artwork comes from "Burnt Offerings", the first chapter in the RotRL AP.  The main flap is held secure by Velcro tabs.  There's then two small Velcro-fastened pockets, slots for pens and pencils, and a zippered mesh container for loose items like dice or miniatures.  The interior of the bag has two main compartments and is large enough to hold a handful of gaming books along with character sheets, etc.  There's an adjustable, padded shoulder strap.

I know these bags didn't sell that well, but I'm not sure why.  I haven't used mine that much because I rarely travel for gaming (I took it to a convention once), but my kid uses his extensively to hold all of his gaming stuff and lug it around the house.  If it can survive the wear and tear of an 8-year-old unharmed, it must be of solid construction. 

So overall all, I'm pleasantly surprised with the bag, especially considering the price.

Pathfinder Comics: "Worldscape, Volume 2"

NO SPOILERS

The second volume of Worldscape collects four one-shots featuring (in order) Tarzan, John Carter, Red Sonya, and Seltyiel (a Pathfinder Iconic character).  Following the issues, there are sixteen pages of back matter--variant covers, entries and stat blocks for new races or NPCs, and half-page encounter suggestions.  This is a much slighter package than previous collected editions, weighing in at just under 100 pages.  As a general matter, the interior artwork is really good.  The stories are also solid, with a couple of fantastic ones.  They serve as prequels to the main Worldscape storyline in Volume 1, and readers will likely get more out of reading Volume 2 first.  I definitely wouldn't consider this an essential buy, even for fans of the Pathfinder comics, but if you have some spare money it's not bad.

SPOILERS

The first issue is "Lord of the Jungle", obviously featuring Tarzan.  Tarzan, teleported to the Worldscape, immediately fights and kills several serpentfolk.  He then realises that La, Queen of Opar (respectively, a character and "lost city" from his own adventures in central Africa on earth) is in the Worldscape as well.  He has to rescue her from, of all people, the legendary founders of Rome: Remus and Romulus!  It's definitely strange, and moreso when it turns out that the brothers actually aren't evil but were acting under the influences of magical crowns (from Golarion) they had donned to give them better control of animals.  The action and artwork in the issue is strong, but the story is fairly slight.  Perhaps fans of Tarzan's own strip (or people who read the back matter first to understand who La and Opar are) would get more out of it.  As we'll see with all the issues here, the story serves as a loose prequel to the stories collected in Volume 1 of the Worldscape comics.

The second issue is "Warlord of Mars," featuring John Carter and his boon friend, the green martian Tars Tarkas.  The two are flying on a sort of air-sled through the skies of Barsoom when they suddenly realise they're somewhere else--the Worldscape, of course.  There's an awesome two page spread of them coming across a massive dragon.  The artwork is really gorgeous.  They manage to escape the dragon but their air vehicle is damaged in the process, and they crash-land.  Soon they come across enemies that (I assume) are from Carter's own adventures: an evil Confederate soldier named Zebulon "Cutthroat" Cassidy.  The bad guy has found allies in the Worldscape, and become an undead creature to boot!  Carter and Tars Tarkas prevail, of course.  I really liked the writing here--the banter between the two was a lot of fun.  I would read more comics with them.

The third issue is "Red Sonya"--but she's not alone, as Cave Girl and King Rex accompany her.  In this story, the three have been in the Worldscape for some time.  They're racing to an ancient temple to stop therns (degenerate white martians) from getting an unholy, undead-creating gem called the Eye of Issus.  The storyline ties in Empress Camilla's attempts to cement an alliance with the therns and conquer the Worldscape.  There's a pretty cool fight in the temple, and a strong tie-in to the position of Red Sonya in the main Worldscape stories.  King Rex is written in a really interesting way, with an emphasis on the fact that he's a legitimate king of his nation as opposed to all the self-styled royalty running around in pulp stories.

"King of the Goblins", the fourth and final issue, is perhaps my favourite.  It's an outlier in that it doesn't feature a classic pulp hero.  Instead, it centres around the Iconic Magus, Seltyiel, my favourite fairly evil and definitely foul-mouthed Pathfinder character.  Seltyiel is fighting off a goblin tribe called the Leechlegs when they all end up in the Worldscape.  The story takes a darker turn when Seltyiel (and his new servant goblins) seek refuge at a castle that just so happens to be the domain of two figures from earth legend: Prince Vlad Dracul and Countess Bathory!  It's bloody but fantastic, and I would love to see more stories in a similar (ahem) vein.  The writer, James Sutter, always delivers.

Now, onto the back matter.  There's a very short selection of alternative covers--just four.  I really wish the "King of the Goblins" alternative cover had been chosen for the cover of this collection--it's much better and more interesting than the actual cover art.  Each issue then receives four pages of back matter.  This section usually consisting of an extensive description of a prominent place, NPC, or race featured in the corresponding story along with a half-page map for an encounter inspired by it.  I don't like this new way of detailing encounters--there's only a sentence or two of suggested foes or set-up, and it's far less useful than in previous comics where you got a fully-fleshed scene.  Anyway, here's what's included:

* An entry detailing Tarzan's history with La and the Lost City of Opar.  It also includes stats for La and for a typical Oparian priest.  I don't see a lot of value in this for Pathfinder fans generally, but I guess if you were heavy into Tarzan you might get something out of it.

*  An extensive description and traits for a new playable race: Sea-Spawn.  As the name implies, these are monstrous humanoids that have various features or mutations drawn from sea creatures.  I don't see a lot of additional value compared to the existing options for aquatic races in Pathfinder, but they look okay and some of their special abilities are pretty cool.

* Another new playable race: the degenerate white martians known as therns.  These are obviously meant to be an option for evil characters (perhaps primarily NPCs), as one of their major special ability includes cannibalism!  I could see using them as a sort of cannon fodder enemy led by an evil ruler.

* A stat block and description for Vlad Dracul--aka, "Vlad the Impaler."  He's represented as a cavalier member of the Order of the Dragon here, and there's a write-up of the real-world Order of the Dragon--a fascinating bit of history I never knew about.

* Last up is a two-page pull-out poster.  One side has oddly-coloured artwork featuring the protagonists of the four stories within.  The other side is a gridded encounter scene for a "Forgotten Temple" altar room.  Admittedly, it looks pretty cool--though I'm not sure if it's taken from an existing Paizo flip-mat or not.

And that's it!  The package is much slighter than previous volumes collecting Pathfinder comics.  I've never been a particular fan of the pulp heroes featured in the Worldscape concept, but for the most part I really enjoyed the stories here.  The back matter is fine for what it is, but nothing particularly memorable.  Overall, I wouldn't put this high up on my list of Pathfinder comics, but I don't mind having it as part of my collection.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Haunted # 4 [COMICS]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Haunted # 4 (Dark Horse) (Limited Series, 2001)

Creators:  Jane Espenson (story), Cliff Richards (pencils), Julio Ferreira (inks), Jeromy Cox (colors), Clem Robins (letters)

Setting:  After Season Three

T.V./Movie Character Appearances:  The Mayor (ghost), Professor Walsh, Adam, Forrest, Graham, Willow, Giles, Buffy, Xander

Major Original Characters:  None

Summary:  In the Initiative, doctors do a physical dissection of the vampire body that The Mayor is inhabiting.  The Mayor decides to shift over to the body of a massive, one-eyed monster corpse, brings it to life, and lashes out!  Adam is mortally wounded, and The Mayor escapes.  Meanwhile, Willow begins to suspect that they've been fighting the same foe in multiple forms.  Buffy has another dream, and sleepwalks over to Faith's apartment--where The Mayor attacks!  Willow and Xander arrive, and they help Buffy perform a ritual to exorcise the spirit that is possessing the monster--not realising that it has been The Mayor all along.  In the epilogue, a determined Professor Walsh decides she'll ensure that Adam survives--whatever it takes.

Review

Another great issue.  It was enormously clever to have The Mayor's rampage throughout the halls of the Initiative be the cause of Adam's near-fatal injuries that then resulted in Walsh turning him into a cybernetic zombie-thing.  I love a good continuity full-in, and this one was handled skilfully.  The rest of the story is also good, as we further hints of the Scoobies starting to drift apart--a major theme in Season Four.  If someone is only sorta into comics but loves Buffy, this would be a good storyline to have them read.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Haunted # 3 [COMICS]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Haunted # 3 (Dark Horse) (Limited Series, 2001)

Creators: Jane Espenson (story), Cliff Richards (pencils), Julio Ferreira (inks), Jeromy Cox (colors), Clem Robins (letters)

Setting:  After Season Three

T.V./Movie Character Appearances:  Buffy, Giles, The Mayor (ghost), Willow, Oz, Xander, Adam (human), Maggie Walsh, Riley

Major Original Characters: None

Summary

Willow and Xander barely manage to get Oz locked up in a safe place before he transforms into a werewolf.  Xander shares his decision to go on the road for the summer.  The Mayor adopts the body of a new vampire and experiments with the form, surprising himself by drinking the body of one of his victims.  He even attacks Willow later that night, but she manages to cast a spell to escape.  Buffy is on patrol in a cemetery and tells a college student to take the long way around, but he doesn't listen to her and gets killed by a vampire (The Mayor) and, when Buffy discovers the body, she blames herself.  Agents of the Initiative, led by Adam (in his pre-cyborg human form), are also on patrol and they catch The Mayor's vampire body and take him to their underground complex.  Professor Walsh isn't particularly interested, however--to her, it's just another vampire.  Buffy continues to be tormented by Faith--and now, she's hallucinating even while awake!

Review

This was a really good issue.  I loved seeing the Initiative at work in the summer after Season Three and before Season Four, and everything ties in nicely.  Xander's decision to leave Sunnydale is handled in a poignant moment, as the reader can see Willow's disappointment that her best friend is leaving.  The Mayor continues to be a joy, even as a ghost.  I think I'd say this is one of the best short arcs or limited series of the Dark Horse run of Buffy.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Haunted # 2 [COMICS]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Haunted (Dark Horse) (Limited Series, 2001)

Creators: Jane Espenson (story), Cliff Richards (pencils), Julio Ferreira (inks), Jeromy Cox (colors), Clem Robins (letters)

Setting:  After Season Three

T.V./Movie Character Appearances:  Giles, Xander, Buffy, The Mayor (ghost), Faith, Willow, Oz, Forrest Gates

Major Original Characters: None
 

Summary

Giles and Xander are with Buffy on patrol in the cemetery when a vampire, possessed by the ghost of the Mayor, attacks.  Giles is knocked unconscious in the struggle (drink!) before Buffy stakes the vampire.  At the hospital, as Giles is being treated, Buffy tells Xander about her recent dreams and that she blames herself for Giles' injury.  Meanwhile, the Mayor has taken over the body of a crow and keeps Faith's comatose body company as he ruminates about the possibility of eternal unlife and his ability to terrorize Buffy over and over again.  Later, the Scoobies start to suspect that the vampire who attacked earlier was no regular vampire--and that something strange is going on.  That night, Buffy has another nightmare of fighting Faith--and this time, in the dream, Angel is there and attacks her as well.

Review

From one point of view, the plot doesn't advance much in this issue--the Mayor continues exploring his newfound ghostly powers, Buffy continues to have nightmares, etc.  But the subplots and small moments make this issue great: we see why Xander decided to go on a big "Kerouac road trip" over the summer, heavy foreshadowing of the Initiative (including a cameo by Forrest), and lots of other bits and pieces that help the transition from Season Three to Season Four.

Rise of the Runelords Recap # 84 [RPG]

[12 Calistril 4708 continued]

Following their battle against the mysterious masked figure who has come to be known as the Scribbler, the adventurers find their ranks temporarily thinned: Kang has run off while in a state of supernatural fear, and Yuzo has fallen into unconsciousness from his wounds.  Ava, Erik, and Jinkatsyu decide to continue their exploration but even more cautiously than before.  As they proceed through the tunnels (some of which distort perception), Erik’s ability to cast a minor array of spells comes in quite handy: he’s able to locate and translate particular Thassilonian stanzas of a poem related to Runeforge.  When all the stanzas are placed together, the poem reads:

If magic bright is your desire, to old Runeforge must you retire!

For only there does wizards’ art receive its due and proper start.

On eastern shores of steaming mirror, at end of day when dusk is nearer,

Where seven faces silent wait encircled guards at Runeforge gate.

Each stone the grace of seven lords, one part of key each ruler hoards;

If offered spells and proper prayer, take seven keys and climb the stair.

On frozen mountain Xin awaits, his regal voice the yawning gates

Eyes turn twice in Sihedron-occulted Runeforge waits within.

And now you’ve come and joined the forge upon rare lore your mind can gorge—

And when you slough the mortal way in Runeforge long your work shall stay.

Before long, the trio reach a door locked with powerful magicks.  Erik blasts through the lock with his pistol, revealing a corridor beyond.  But when they advance into it, a magical trap triggers and Erik and Jinkatsyu are suddenly convinced, separately, that the others are secretly worshippers of Lamashtu who plan to capture and sacrifice them!  Erik backs up and holds the door shut against Jinkatsyu’s pounding, while Ava sobs to see the two men angry and threatening violence against each other.  Drawing upon the powers granted her by Sinashakti, Ava is able to remove the delusions from Jinkatsyu’s mind.  But with Erik threatening to shoot if either of them come through the door, the two are forced to hatch a desperate scheme.  They dimension door right behind Erik and Ava magically removes his delusions just instants before he is able to open fire.  Ava collapses with relief, and Erik thanks her with a hug.

The trio realize there is likely another secret door at the far end of the corridor, but they decide they’ve faced enough danger this day.  They return to the surface, carrying Yuzo with them.  At the Rusty Dragon, acrid purple smoke can be seen pouring forth from Kang’s room, proof that the alchemist made his way back and is hard at work on another formula.  With Kang busy and Yuzo resting, the other three spend the rest of the afternoon running some errands in Sandpoint.  At one point, Ava realizes that her fellow gripplis are packing up their possessions as if preparing for a journey.  They explain that a note found under Elder Chief Cragpawmpum’s bed at The White Deer Inn instructed his people to leave the town upon his death.  Ava looks at the letter and is puzzled to see that it’s written in common household ink (rather than the more exotic concoctions favoured by swamp gripplis) and that it’s written in Taldan rather than the native grippli tongue.  She and the other adventurers suspect something strange is going on, and she asks her fellow tribe members to halt their departure until an investigation can be made.

When the trio are alone again, Jinkatsyu expresses his concern that perhaps the tribal elder didn’t die of natural causes!  Erik tells the others about seeing a lanky Varisian in the early morning hours just before the elder was found dead, and Ava says she bets the Scarnettis are behind it!  Sheriff Hemlock is brought in on the group’s suspicions, and he says that a routine investigation of Elder Chief Cragpawmpum’s death was conducted by Sir Jasper Korvaski.  A review of Korvaski’s report shows no obvious signs of a struggle or foul play; four empty glass vials were found under the bed, along with the grippli’s clothes and staff.  The trio decide that Kang should have a look at the vials to rule out poison, and head back to the Rusty Dragon to bring him into the picture.

Once again Ava’s quick thinking and skilful spellcasting have prevented the party from being torn asunder by threats both real and imagined.  But with the Scribbler below Sandpoint and a potential assassin loose on the streets above, can she continue to handle the stress?

----------------------------------------
Director's Commentary

Two of the players (running Kang and Yuzo) couldn't make it to this session, but my general rule is just to push forward with whoever can make it.  Too many campaigns fall apart when entire sessions are postponed just because someone can't make it.  Even with just three PCs, the group was still able to advance both the major plot (by assembling the poem about the location of Runeforge) and a subplot (by investigating the death of the grippli elder).

The best part of this session was when Jinkatsyu and Erik were fell prey to the Scribbler's magical suggestion trap.  The offensive capabilities of most PCs at this level is enormous, and if they turn that power against one another, death would happen very quickly.  It was a tense, exciting situation aided by excellent (and non-metagaming) role-playing by the players.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Haunted # 1 [COMICS]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Haunted (Dark Horse) (Limited Series, 2001)

Creators: Jane Espenson (story), Cliff Richards (pencils), Julio Ferreira (inks), Jeromy Cox (colors), Clem Robins (letters)

Setting:  After Season Three

T.V./Movie Character Appearances:  The Mayor (ghost), Buffy, Cordelia, Xander, Faith, Giles, Willow, Hogan Martin

Major Original Characters:  None


Summary

It's two weeks after the end of Season Three, and the graduates of Sunnydale High are still recovering from the apocalyptic battle that destroyed their school.  But although the Mayor's new body was destroyed, his spirit lingers on--and he realises he can inhabit and animate corpses!  Meanwhile, Buffy has nightmares in which Faith (comatose in the real world) kills her.  She worries it's some kind of prophecy.  Later, Cordelia says her farewell to the group, ostensibly taking a private fancy car to Los Angeles (for her movie career) but secretly taking a bus because it's all she can afford.  That night, Buffy comforts Hogan Martin, a traumatised classmate.  But the Mayor realises he can even take over the bodies of vampires, and he has a surprise planned for Buffy!

Review

I thought this was a fantastic issue and a great start to the limited series.  The setting is a great choice, as the weeks right after Graduation Day have never been explored.  Seeing the Scoobies deal with the fallout was really interesting, as was Cordelia's (optimistic) leaving for Los Angeles.  The artwork is really strong.  And having The Mayor as the issue's narrator was a stroke of brilliance--I'll never get enough of that guy.

Notes

* I had to look up who Hogan Martin was--he was a member of the Sunnydale High basketball team and appeared in the background of a couple of episodes.

Pathfinder Module: "We Be 5uper Goblins!" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

We Be 5uper Goblins was Paizo's 2018 entry for Free RPG Day.  It's a sixteen-page module that again casts the players in the role of goblins for a few hours' of silly adventure.  This time around, Chuffy, Mogmurch, Poog, and Reta Bigbad have reached sixth level.  Each gets a full-page entry in the back of the book along with a description and special abilities that are pretty funny in their own right.  The production values are up to Paizo's usual high standard, with a gorgeous cover and interior artwork; the only map is rather confusing, however, as it blends (without clear borders) an area map and specific location maps.  I think the module gets off to a really rough start, but then settles down and offers some fun and creative encounters.  I wouldn't rate it as highly as some of its predecessors, though.


SPOILERS

The module starts with the goblin PCs as chiefs of the Birdcruncher tribe.  Three younger members of the tribe have just done something they shouldn't (enter a haunted forbidden swamp) and returned with a prized magical artefact: the bag of eating everything real good.   The PCs are to decide whether to praise or punish the disobedient youths.  Regardless of what happens, that night, while everyone is asleep, the tribe's pig mascot (Squealy Nord) disappears into the bag, and the three youths go in after it and disappear as well.  In the morning, the module assumes the PCs will go in as well on some sort of rescue mission.  I found, both as a player and as a reader, that the beginning sequence is really poorly done.  There's very little information for the players to figure out what's going on, the railroading is extremely heavy (the disobedient goblins have to be free to go into the bag at night--whereas my group had devised a punishment that would make that impossible), and the module assumes that a bunch of evil goblins will want to go on a "rescue mission" into what, as far as anyone knows, is a bag of devouring.  The table I played at didn't roll along the rails so neatly, and the GM had a lot of trouble dealing with it.  Really, any adventure involving goblins shouldn't be written with a lot of required plot-points in order to work.

The bulk of the adventure takes place in a suitably bizarre setting that requires some explanation: it's a very small demiplane that, for most of its existence, was occupied only by a kid with some magical paints (magical pigments).  The kid, now grown into an adult because time passes differently with the demiplane, has used the magical paints to bring to life a sort of (Golarion) fairy tale representation of reality.  The PCs need to navigate this setting (and its threats) in order to find the three goblin youths, who are have split-up, as well as Squealy Nord.

Encounters include some familiar Pathfinder monsters (yeth hounds, a giant bat swarm, a pit trap) as well as some unique monsters like the "King of Hammers" and, my favourite, Squealy Nord who has been mutated into a "razorback dragon."  The latter serves as the big boss to the adventure and is actually pretty tough.  The adventure has a plot element of the PCs recovering two blades of golden shears and having the original resident of the demiplane fix them into scissors so everyone can cut their way back to the material plane.  Again, required plot elements are a poor idea with maniac goblins running around.  GMs that run this should be prepared for a lot of improv and just go with the flow.

I think maybe We Be 5uper Goblins! tried a bit too hard to be whimsical, but I also understand it was trying to offer something different and memorable.  It definitely succeeded in the latter.  Despite some flaws, chances are you'll still have a lot of fun seeing what happens at the table.

Pathfinder Society Scenario # 6-99: "True Dragons of Absalom" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

True Dragons of Absalom is a rare PFS scenario to be found offered for play, as it can only be run by 5-star GMs.  I was lucky enough to get a chance to play in a game at PaizoCon AP in 2019, and it was a memorable experience.  There's a couple of big things that sets the scenario apart.  First, it was written by Thurston Hillman, one of the best PFS writers in the stable.  Second, instead of regular PCs, everyone plays a pre-gen kobold!  The scenario has memorable NPCs, some really clever encounters, and makes good use of the setting.  I think a couple of the plot premises might be a bit shaky, but otherwise it's an all-around winner.  If you get a chance to play it, seize the opportunity--it might not come around again for a while!

SPOILERS

The PCs are members of Absalom's Sewer Dragon tribe of kobolds, a group that has a mutually-beneficial relationship with the Pathfinder Society.  The PCs are ordered to traverse the sewers and find Hats, a (hilarious) otyugh who says he has an important captive.  The "briefing" proper starts when the PCs meet Hats' prisoner--Venture-Captain Drandle Dreng!  Dreng explains that enemies of the Society known as the Onyx Alliance have been building a portal to the Shadow Plane in the sewers nearby.  Dreng says the Onyx Alliance will clear out all perceived threats in the sewers, including the Sewer Dragons, and that he needs their help to stop the portal before it's too late.  Dreng himself, however, was badly hurt in a battle against the Onyx Alliance, so it's up to the kobolds to save the day!  It's a fun, original concept for a briefing and one thing that's particularly cool is that with a sufficient bribe (one of the PC's magic hats) Hats will join the kobolds for the first half of the adventure.

Finding the portal isn't hard, but overcoming the defenders is far more challenging.  In addition to several fetchling rogues, there's a shadow mastiff whose baying can easily send some of the PCs fleeing in panic.  I remember it being a hard but fun encounter that made good use of sewer terrain to complicate things.

The next encounter is the most clever in the scenario, and makes excellent use of the fact that the PCs are kobolds.  The idea is that the PCs know that Onyx Alliance reinforcements are on their way so it's time to switch from offense to defence and build some traps!  There's a wide variety of traps that can be built (with successful skill checks) and there's a really fun, cooperative strategy element involved in figuring out how to best funnel the incoming waves of attackers and destroy (or at least soften them up) before they get into combat range.  I wish more scenarios could contrive this sort of "reverse dungeon crawl".  It was used perfectly here.

Soon after the portal is secured, it opens from the other side.  It turns out that the Sewer Dragons are going to have to venture forth to the Shadow Plane to figure out how to close it.  I thought it was a bit unrealistic that a handful of sewer kobolds would tackle a mission like this, but I placed that thought to one side and moved on.  The rest of the adventure takes place in Shadow Absalom, a dark and fascinating alternative version of the city.  The scenario does a great job making the place feel strange and somewhat creepy, and good GMs (and they better be good if they have 5 stars!) will be able to add to the atmosphere of the setting.  After some open-ended exploration and information-gathering, the PCs will be approached by a member of the Light-Weavers' Guild (an organisation opposed to the Onyx Alliance) who explains what needs to be done to permanently close the portal.  It turns out that the PCs need to take on an umbral wyrmling dragon!

The confrontation with the umbral dragon takes place, quite cinematically, at the top of a massive spire.  Getting to the spire holds some additional challenges (traps and potential encounters).  The wyrmling, Shadrixis (cool art!), can actually be negotiated with to give the PCs what they need to close the portal--but it's far more likely that a battle ensues.  It was a thrilling, difficult battle.  Afterwards, the PCs can close the portal after jumping through one last time.

The pre-gen kobolds all come with backstories and full-colour art, and they were fun and distinctive.  The scenario has a sidebar for GMs that gives some guidelines on how far is too far if players decide to go crazy with running PCs with an evil alignment.  There's a pretty cool boon for completion that allows you to play your kobold once the next time you need a 4th level pre-gen for a scenario--I'm saving mine for a special occasion.

I thought True Dragons of Absalom was a real treat.  It continued to advance the long-running storyline of the Onyx Alliance, had some original encounters, and provided a unique opportunity to see life from a kobold's perspective.  If I get another 100 or so tables under my belt someday, I'll return the favour and run it for another group!

Pathfinder Society Scenario # 10-98: "Siege of Gallowspire" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

Siege of Gallowspire is the conclusion to an eleven-year-long campaign, which is something incredible itself.  The scenario offers two modes of play: Soldier (slightly harder than a normal scenario) and Champion (much harder than a normal scenario).  There are also no four-player adjustments.  An interesting feature unique to the scenario is that each player can bring three other PCs along as Aid Characters--these PCs aren't run in the traditional way but (off-screen) contribute to the success of the mission by taking a supporting role.  However, Aid Characters can be put at risk and even die!  I think the idea was to allow players to have a final send off to more than just one PC, but I tend to find aid mechanisms in these specials a bit clunky and usually unnecessary.  Apart from that, the scenario is well-written and elegantly structured--even at 107 pages(!), it's easier to navigate than a lot of specials I've seen.

As the formal capstone adventure for Pathfinder First Edition, a lot of PCs are probably going to die (mine did--though he got better!).  However, it's not a pure meat grinder (at least at Soldier level)--which is a good thing, because I still see a lot of life in PFS1 and plan to keep playing until I've experienced all of it.  I got a chance to play Siege of Gallowspire with my half-orc paladin, Trokkus, at a Subtier 10-11 table at PaizoCon AP in 2019.  It was definitely a memorable experience.

SPOILERS

As the name implies, Siege of Gallowspire ties into the events of the Tyrant's Grasp adventure path.  The Whispering Tyrant (the legendary lich, Tar-Baphon) has finally escaped his fortress/prison at Gallowspire.  However, he left behind a potentially devastating collection of unholy servants who are now conducting a dark ritual to create an army of undead to serve their master and sweep over the Inner Sea.  Almost the entirety of the Pathfinder Society has been assembled to storm Gallowspire and stop this from happening.

In mechanical terms, the scenario is structured as having three substantive parts.  In each part, tables will face a "primary encounter" which, if they win, counts as one success reported to the overseer.  Once a certain number of successes are reported, the entire room moves on.  There is a (real-life) time limit to each part of the scenario and if this is reached, the game advances as well but there's an impact on Chronicle boon rewards at the end.  In addition to each part having a primary encounter, there are also two sets of optional encounters to be run at the discretion of the GM if their table is quickly mowing down the opposition.  Each of these optional encounters also contributes a success to the overall part.

Part 1 is the general briefing and mustering.  Unlike some specials which give the PCs some skill checks to do to accomplish minor tasks (and earn small advantages) while mustering, that time is taken up with filling out the Aid Characters sheets.  The briefing, delivered by Marcos Farabellus and Siege Lord Wynsal Starborn, is short and straightforward.  The stakes are clear.  I do find it interesting how much the Pathfinder Society has moved into a general "do-gooder" group from its much less idealistic Season Zero roots.  This seems to match the entire setting's gradual shift to a more black and white "good vs evil" morality from an original view that was much more cynical or realistic (depending on your point of view).  Anyway, the actual mission into Gallowspire will be led by Venture-Captain Shevar Besnik and Silver Crusade leader Ollysta Zadrian.

Part 2 covers the Pathfinders' difficult approach to the crater that now exists after the prison was destroyed during the Whispering Tyrant's escape.  Foul necromantic energies from the release have corrupted and altered the landscape and created a sort of unholy jungle.  The primary encounter for each subtier is versus some kind of plant monster that's a couple of CR above the subtier.  For my group, it was a tough battle that lasted longer than I expected and made clear to me that my poor paladin was outmatched!  After the primary encounter, there's a role-playing encounter with Sarenrae-aligned orcs of the Burning Sun tribe.

Part 3 is a long section of the scenario that sees the Pathfinders venturing into the catacombs underneath the crater.  There are a lot of advantages (and risks) to be gained by using the Aid Characters.  The primary encounter for each subtier is against either oozes or constructs (or both at the same time).  For example, my subtier 10-11 table fought an augmented alchemical golem and something called "gravesludge" at the same time.  After the primary encounter, there's a sort of skills-challenge to disable wards that Tar-Baphon had left that bar further descent into the heart of Gallowspire.  Successfully bypassing the wards allows entry into the Silent Shrine, which makes good use of the Arcane Library Flip-Mat.  There's a second primary encounter here versus monsters that aren't (as far as I can tell) really themed across sub-tiers.  There's some free-form exploration here and a chance for PCs to get some "Clue Successes" by figuring out more about the ritual that is being conducted while realising that there's also a powerful holy relic (a statue of Chaldira Zuzaristan) hidden somewhere below.

Part 4 has the cool idea of alternative pathways for the Soldier and Champion tables.  Soldier tables go with V-C Shevar Besnik to try to retrieve the relic, while Champion tables go with Ollysta Zadrian to disrupt the necromantic ritual.

The Soldier mission (which is what I played) was set in a cool underground canyon with cliffs overlooking a river of negative energy below.  This is the big climactic encounter of the special, and the encounter is both epic as a descriptive term and in mechanical terms: each subtier faces a monster at least 4 CR over their level.  At subtier 10-11, we fought a nasty advanced nightwing that made excellent use of its flying ability to make life hard for melee characters.  I learned (with the "aid" of a very snarky player) why every PC needs to have ranged weapon alternatives.  My poor paladin died in this battle, but in a suitably epic way, and fortunately I had just enough prestige to bring him back.  It was awesome.  

The Champion mission requires the destruction of a massive pillar that pulses harmful necromantic energies each round while lending particular advantages to its evil defenders (most significantly to stop cheese, the pillar makes the defenders immune to the dazing condition and makes their Touch AC the same as their regular AC--I wish there were more things that did in this in PF1!).  These encounters are 5-6 CR over subtier!  Champion tables at the highest subtier (15-16) get the choice to take on an even crazier challenge, which the GM is required to tell them goes beyond epic: and it turns out to be against the freaking CR22 Grim Reaper!  Whether your PC lived or died, that would be a pretty cool story to be able to tell as a player.

To add to the epic, cinematic feel of the final battle, both Shevar Besnik and Ollysta Zadrian are killed.  They had a fitting send-off, and I thought it was an effective story device.

After enough successes (or the time limit is reached), an earthquake starts to swallow the remnants of Gallowspire.  Players can volunteer to have their PCs die in a suitably cinematic way if they want them to have a heroic (though narratively delivered) ending here.  The conclusion text is short and sweet.

Overall, I really enjoyed Siege of Gallowspire.  I probably would have been even more impressed if I had been playing since the beginning of the organised play campaign (instead of just the past few years) and if I had more invested in the Whispering Tyrant storyline.  I guess one could say that the scenario essentially amounts to a dungeon crawl, with one scripted encounter after the other.  Sometimes that would bother me, but for something like this, it seemed appropriate.  I hope this scenario is something everyone who loves PFS gets to experience at some point.

Pathfinder Tales: "Killing Time" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

Featuring Varian Jeggare and Radovan, Killing Time is a four-part series of free web fiction available on the Paizo website here.  Canonically, it fits after the Master of Devils novel and before Queen of Thorns.  It's a fantastic, dark story, and one that bridges the gap between the two novels nicely.  If you like any of Dave Gross' Pathf
inder work, you'll almost certainly enjoy this story.

SPOILERS

Killing Time consists of two unrelated plot threads--one for Varian, and one for Radovan.

For Varian, we get to see a part of his life that isn't often dwelled on in the novels: his life as a Pathfinder.  Set in the Grand Lodge just after his return from Tian Xia, the story involves tons of intrigue.  We get a member of the Decemvirate as a character (!), references to notables like Eando Kline and Ollysta Zadrian, a tremendously exciting battle in a library, and the first appearance of Prince Kasiya--which helps King of Chaos make much more sense.  I really wish I had read this story before reading that novel.

Radovan is such a delight as a character.  His story takes place in a brothel.  I won't go into details, other than to say the scenes are hilarious and surprising.

I would happily have paid to read Killing Time, and Pathfinder (or fantasy fiction fans in general) are in receipt of a real treat since it's free.