Pathfinder Society Scenario # 3-06: "Song of the Sea Witch" [RPG]

 NO SPOILERS

I played Song of the Sea Witch via virtual tabletop.  One of the other players in the group had a super over-powered PC who pretty much single-handedly took care of all the encounters, and there wasn’t much role-playing, so the experience wasn’t the best.  Reading the scenario afterwards, it looks like a solid but unspectacular adventure.  There’s nothing wrong with it, but it’s not fantastically original and memorable like some of the author’s other work.

SPOILERS

Song of the Sea Witch has quite an involved backstory, but to be fair much of it does come into focus later on for the players.  The gist of it is that Yargos Gill, a historian last seen in the very first PFS adventure, # 0-01 "The Silent Tide", has returned from Tian Xia with two magical books to study.  One of the books is the Infernal Incantatum (which Gill assumes is a book on how to battle and bind devils) and the other is the Celestial Song.  But on the return voyage to Absalom, one of Gill’s two apprentices was seduced by an evil cecaelia (octopus-man) into stealing the latter book.  Once back in Absalom,

Gill performed a ritual with the Infernal Incantatum which he thought would help the side of good, but turned out to simply summon an uncontrollable devil (the scenario emphasises the historian’s bumbling nature, which ties in nicely to his earlier appearance).  At around the same time, the “evil” apprentice arrived to try to steal that book as well, and violence and chaos erupted that left Gill unconscious and both apprentices dead.

This is where the scenario starts from the PCs’ perspective, as they receive a briefing from Venture-Captain Amara Li.  Li knows that the Infernal Incantatum is actually a prison for devils, and worries that Gill may get in over his head.  She asks the PCs to go to his estate to make sure he’s okay.  When the PCs arrive, they have to defeat the devil that was accidentally set free (a bearded or Erinyes depending on sub-tier).  They’ll learn from Gill what happened, and also figure out that the other book, the Celestial Song, has to be combined with the evil book to stop more denizens of Hell from escaping!  I liked the map pack chosen for the encounter.

Gill thinks Venture-Captain Ollysta Zadrian (a paladin) has been delivered the Celestial Song (not realising his traitorous apprentice took it elsewhere), and he gives the PCs directions to where she should be shopping in the markets of Gilltown (no relation to Gill!).  The PCs are ambushed by rogue thugs working for the cecaelia in a bid to recover the Infernal Incantatum, because the villain has classic villain plans to use the book to wreak havoc and such.  Even with surprise and sneak attack damage, the ambushers have little chance of success.

Once they find Ollysta Zadrian in the markets, she explains she never received the book.  But by asking some questions of the gillmen in the market, the PCs will learn that the thugs that attacked them have been using tunnels under Gilltown.  The GM can use an optional encounter against hell hounds if time permits, but otherwise it’s on to the last section of the adventure.

The tunnels lead to the cecaelia’s lair, but the lair itself can only be accessed by solving a fun puzzle that involves opening and closing certain gates to get water levels to a particular height (but not too high).  Puzzles are actually pretty rare in Paizo adventures, so I always appreciate them when they appear.  This one requires a bit of math and teamwork, and seems pretty reasonable in terms of difficulty.  The consequences for failure are pretty modest (setting off a trap that’s not likely to kill anyone).  I also have to give the map artist props for making a layout that looks like an octopus (even if it doesn’t really make sense on the premise that these are ancient tunnels recently taken over by the cecaelia).

The evil cecaelia, a dude named Na-Kraka, is known as the “Sea Witch” despite only have actual levels in Witch at the higher sub-tier.  I guess if he managed to drag a grappled opponent underwater he could be mildly dangerous, but the Pathfinder rules around holding one’s breath are pretty generous.  I really don’t imagine most groups having troubles defeating this guy.  Once they win, the PCs can retrieve the Celestial Song and combine it with the Infernal Incantatum to stop further devil escapes.

Some of the things I liked about Song of the Sea Witch include the reappearance of Yargos Gill (creating continuity and making recurring use of NPCs is great for storytelling), the use of faction missions (there’s a ton of little goals for different PCs—something I imagine must have been hard to write for), and the selection/creation of encounter maps.  But all that being said, as I stated in the opening, there’s not really a lot that jumps out here.  It’s a quality scenario, but not a top-tier one.

Rise of the Runelords Recap # 109 [RPG]

 
[3 Gozran 4708 continued]

The Heroes of Varisia have reached a bluff overlooking the legendary city of Xin-Shalast, but have not yet stepped foot on its gold-paved streets.  Twice, they’ve been intercepted by patrols of the vulture-men known as kuchrimas.  In the aftermath of the second battle, the adventurers discuss strategy.  After Ava discovers her teleportation abilities are unreliable due to the strange planar energies that surround the city, the group settles on the direct approach: a frontal assault on the guard fortress!  But there will be a small twist, as the adventurers hope they can lure the defenders out so the battle can take place around fortified bunkers and walls created through Ava’s rudimentary knowledge of stone-shaping magic.  Before they set the plan in motion, Ava extracts a promise from Morgiana to never split up again as she did in the previous battle.

When the attackers have completed their preparations, they approach the fortress and stop about a hundred yards from its gates.  Kang strides forward and signals that he wishes to talk, and, moments later, a kuchrima flies forward while her companions take to the skies in formation.  The kuchrima shouts a demand, in Thassilonian, that the intruders explain why they have come to Krak Naratha (the name of the fortress).  Kang replies that they’ve come at the behest of Karzoug, but the kuchrima states that entrance to the city is permitted only to those bearing tokens of passage.  Kang rejoins his allies and there’s whispered discussion of the group perhaps trying to bluff their way in using the Sihedron-marked coin found in Magnimar, but ultimately the idea is rejected.  Instead, Kang announces to the kuchrima that they are not followers of the Runelord, with predictable results.  The circling kuchrimas instantly let loose a volley of arrows, and first blood goes to the defenders of the city as Kang and Ava are struck.

The adventurers duck behind the stone barricades that Ava previously conjured in the middle of the grand highway and wait for the kuchrimas to draw closer so their advantage in ranged combat will be negated.  But instead, one of the kuchrimas shouts “Release the herd!” and there’s a thunderous explosion from somewhere within the fortress.  The gates are wrenched open, and dozens of mountain aurochs rush out, panicked and willing to trample anything in their path!  Realising they can’t stand against such an onslaught, the adventurers take to the sky through various means in order to get above the sheer mass of animal flesh.  The kuchrimas try to press their advantage, but they’re still no match for the sheer offensive power of Kang’s bombs and Jinkatsyu’s rapier.  In a matter of minutes, the defenders of Krak Naratha are slain, and the Heroes of Varisia stand astride the fortress walls.
From their new vantage point, they can see that the wide golden highway that brought them to Xin-Shalast continues through the city until it turns into a golden staircase and begins ascending toward the peak of Mhar Massif.  Not too far away, a large, seemingly temporary encampment of various types of giants can be spotted.  The group decide they need a place to hide while they plan their next move, and they settle on a, long-abandoned storeroom deep in the bowels of Krak Naratha.  Morgiana decides to put her newly-constructed bear trap to good use, and leaves it in the hallway outside of the storeroom covered in a fine coating of dust and debris.  Inconclusive discussion is had on whether the group should attack the giant camp, try to negotiate, or avoid it altogether by taking to the back streets and alleyways of the massive city.

The afternoon stretches on until ponderous footsteps can be heard coming from above.  The deep bass of the Giant tongue can be heard—it seems like a search of the fortress has been ordered!  At the same time, Kang realizes that he’s being scryed!  He decides to dart out of the storeroom so the others won’t be discovered, wandering through various dusty passageways until the nigh-invisible magical sensor finally disappears.  As he’s returning to the storeroom, however, he hears a rock skitter behind him and realises he’s being followed!  The tiefling begins to run until he hears a sharp metallic crack—

Morgiv could be just what the PCs
need--an ally in Xin-Shalast!

Morgiana’s bear trap has sprung!  And it has clamped down on the leg of a thin, unarmed humanoid with loose skin.  The being lets loose a mournful howl, and says in Undercommon “Morgiv hurts!  Morgiv hurts!”  Kang and the others carefully release the creature from the trap, and Ava casts some minor healing magic.  The stranger throws his arms around Kang in a tight, enthusiastic hug—“Morgiv find Chosen One!” he shouts.

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

Director's Commentary

PCs disguising themselves as followers of Karzoug to gain entry to the city was definitely a possibility the AP contemplated, but this group tended to pursue the more direct approach.

The massive stampede of aurochs was really fun to do, even if it didn't work.

I found running Xin-Shalash very challenging.  The AP did its best in providing as much information as possible about key events or locations, but there's just a ton of detail that GMs need to fill in themselves.  The fortress of Krak Naratha, for example, is not mapped or detailed at all, so I had to improvise.  We'll see the same phenomena in some later sessions when the PCs go to locations in which the AP gives only super brief coverage of matters that are actually quite labor-intensive to flesh out (like "swarming with a variety of spectral undead" and the like).

I liked the little twist ending.  PCs usually (understandably) expect the worst, so it can be a fun surprise when something good comes out of the blue.

Pathfinder Campaign Setting: "Misfit Monsters Redeemed" [RPG]

"Everyone deserves a second chance" is the tagline on the back cover of Misfit Monsters Redeemed.  D&D has decades of Monster Manuals and the like, filled with hundreds of creatures.  It's inevitable that some would land with a thud, and others would be unintentionally, hilariously bad.  The goal of this book is to provide a new take on some old duds and salvage them for use.  As the introduction explains, Paizo had had good luck with its ". . . Revisited" series of books that added fresh flavour to classic monsters, but this book arose from a dare on the forums to see if the company could take the worst creatures in fantasy RPG history and breathe new life into them.  Redemption is attempted for ten

monsters, each receiving six pages of coverage divided into the following sections: ecology, campaign role, variants, role on Golarion, stat block, and new artwork.  I'll give my verdict on each attempt at redemption below, but the short conclusion is that . . . some of these creatures really didn't deserve a second chance, and just couldn't be redeemed.  However, there are a few nice surprises.

Before getting into the content, I'll just mention the cover artwork (fairly poor, in my opinion) is reproduced in the inside back-cover sans logo, while the inside front cover is a funny "Hall of Shame" listing the monsters covered with a "before" and "after" to show what the book has tried to achieve.

*Adherers: Before, they were essentially sticky mummies that could trap weapons used against them; now they have damn creepy origin as essentially living livestock for phase spiders on the ethereal plane.  I think their CR is too low given the awesome build-up for them in the text.  Nonetheless, my verdict:  Redeemed.

*Delvers: Before, they were subterranean cave slugs that feast on ores, and filled a pretty bland role alongside things like xorns and earth elementals.  Now, they're intelligent, spiritual beings that could serve as guides for spelunkers.  My verdict: Redeemed.

*Dire Corbies: Before: evil crow-men.  Now: Xenophobic bipedal birdmen of the Darklands.  There's a lost opportunity to tie them into tengu somehow.  They're okay, but essentially just disposable random encounters for subterranean explorers.  My verdict: Guilty as Charged!

*Disenchanter: Before, blue camel-like creatures that can destroy magic items.  Now: Pretty much the same, with a bit of a better backstory.  I don't get their weird headband fetish, and they're truly goofy looking.  My verdict: Guilty as Charged!

*Flail Snail: Before, they were giant snails with maces on their faces.  I have to admit I was surprised they could be improved, but now they're long-lived, intelligent zen monks with magic reflecting shells.  My verdict: Redeemed.

*Flumphs: Before, they were weird floating jellyfish-like creatures.  Now, these lawful good creatures warn of horrors from other worlds, and good make for really good adventure hook vehicles.  My verdict: Redeemed.

*Lava Children: Before, they were a forgettable race of feral subterranean humanoids.  Now, they're the creations of shaitans meant to survive in the Elemental Planes of Fire and Earth.  I still don't get why metal passes through them, and despite the admittedly creepy artwork, I still don't see much of a role for them in a campaign.  My verdict: Guilty as Charged!

*Lurking Ray: Before, they were underground ambush predators.  Now, they have a really interesting, well-defined ecology with different niches for three variations.  Still, each variation is a subterranean ambush predator and they're nothing more than random encounter fodder.  In addition, Pathfinder's suffocation rules are such that they're not really dangerous.  My (reluctant) verdict: Guilty as Charged!

*Tojanida: Before, they were aquatic crustacean-like monsters.  Now, they're aquatic outsiders trapped ages ago in a bizarre shell form, and they can't remember why.  I just can't really get a read on these creatures and what role they're supposed to fill in a campaign.  My verdict: Guilty as Charged!

*Wolf-in-Sheep's Clothing: The only creature in the book I'd ever actually used, this forest predator (pictured on the cover) with a dumb name disguises itself as a tree stump with a small rabbit or squirrel on it before pouncing on any PC who gets too close.  Its ability to manipulate corpses is creepy, and the book provides some admittedly interesting ideas on how to use a surprise monster that will only ever work on players once.  It's a good try, but my verdict is still: Guilty as Charged!

By my count, the book successfully redeems four of the ten monsters it covers.  That's not bad considering what the writers had to work with.  That being said, I don't really see this book as being useful for anyone but real old-school gamers who would get a little kick out of seeing a modern updating on an old loser of a monster.  Everyone else could happily stick to the six Pathfinder bestiaries for all their monster needs.  To me, that makes Misfit Monsters Redeemed among the least essential books in the Campaign Setting line.

Dr. Fate (Ltd. 1987) (DC Comics) [COMICS]

Doctor Fate is one of DC's oldest and most important spellcasting characters.  Around since the Golden Age, the character has a long and involved history, though I think I really only knew him from the Super Powers cartoon and toys.  In 1987, J.M. DeMatteis launched a very different take on Doctor Fate with a four issue mini-series that was popular enough to spawn a subsequent regular series (more on that in future posts).  With pencils by Keith Giffen, the limited series introduces new characters in the role of Fate in a way that still remains controversial among some comics fans today.

Issue # 1 sets a dark, intriguing, and sometimes confusing tone for the series.  Nabu, the Lord of Order who originally bonded with a human named Kent Nelson to become Doctor Fate, is battling against Typhon, a Lord of Chaos, when he's recalled by the other Lords of Order.  They want Fate to stop fighting against chaos as the universe is cyclical and, although chaos will soon reign supreme, an age of order will follow thereafter.  It also seems that Kent Nelson is tired of having been Fate for decades and is ready to move on to what comes next--even if that's the afterlife.  But Nabu's not ready to give up and finds another mortal to be the next Doctor Fate: a long boy named Eric whom he magically ages into

adulthood.  Eric's step-mom, Linda, has a strange  . . . yearning for Eric, but Eric as Fate loses a battle against Typhon and is taken into an asylum run by a chaos-led psychiatrist named Stoner.  

In Issue # 2, we revisit the origin of Doctor Fate and see how complicated the morality of what Nabu did to Kent Nelson really was.  In the asylum, Nabu inhabits Eric's body to fight Typhon, who has taken over Stone's body.  Honestly, I'm not really sure what happened in the issue--sometimes the atmosphere is great, but the plot is hard to work out.  This is almost like an early Vertigo book (just before Vertigo was a thing).

With Giffen & DeMatteis in charge of my (favourite comic ever) Justice League International, it's no surprise that four Leaguers make guest appearances in Issue # 3.  Martian Manhunter, Mister Miracle, Guy Gardner, and Batman are summoned by the Phantom Stranger to help out as Stone has taken the power of Fate (I think) and is using it to cause chaos all around the world.  Indeed, this evil Fate defeats the Phantom Stranger, but Eric/Nabu come to confront him.  At least, I think that's what happens?

Issue # 4 reminds me that Giffen's artwork--especially his faces--is an acquired taste, and I haven't acquired it yet.  The famous big shocker here is that Eric and his step-mom Linda can merge together to form Fate in a way that kicks Nabu out.  Nabu, exiled form the Lords of Order, takes over a new body--that of Kent Nelson, who has died since he's no longer Fate.  The new status quo is then a trio of characters--Linda, Eric, and Nabu/Kent.  It's an interesting set-up, though I find the crucial character of Eric very much a cypher compared to Linda and Nabu.

There's a lot more to say about the trio, but I'll save that for my posts on the regular series--which has a very different tone than this limited series.

Rise of the Runelords Recap # 108 [RPG]

[31 Pharast 4708 continued]

 

The adventurers endure a long night, painful night of tedium and rumbling bellies.  Morgiana uses some bits of metal and gearwork to craft a homemade beartrap!

 

[1 Gozran 4708]

 

Through Ava’s magic, the adventurers turn into gossamer figures lighter than the winds and hurl themselves further north until they reach a point labelled on a few sages’ maps as “The Fen of the Icemists.”  The partially-frozen wetland is constantly swathed in damp fog, with the ground a treacherous landscape of bogs obscured by thin icy crusts.  The group choose poorly on where to return to their normal corporeal forms, and crack through the crust, sinking into the freezing cold muddy waters!  Jinkatsyu and Erik are able to climb out quickly, while Kang’s mosquito wings allow him to shoot out like a Tien firework.  But Morgiana plummets helplessly deeper and deeper, and only with Ava’s quick thinking and amazing magicks that bend time and space do both escape.

 

Once the adventurers find solid ground, they set up camp and wait hour after hour, starving from their self-imposed fast.  Then, sometime near the witching hour, everyone except Jinkatsyu notices something strange under the light of the full moon: a faintly sparkling, nearly transparent image of the River Avah continuing north from the icy fens. The ghostly river provides the adventurers a path to follow, and they travel until well past dawn—keen to see where it leads and concerned that if they sleep or eat, it may just disappear.  Erik manages to assuage their concerns, however, with the clever use of a spell invented by a knightly order: it allows him to stay awake and alert for several more hours with no ill effects.

 

[2 Gozran 4708]

 

The ghostly river doesn’t disappear from sight, and the group’s magically-sped pace allows them to move through mountainous terrain faster than a horse-drawn chariot on the smoothest plain.  Soon the adventurers reach a point where the phantom Avah overlaps with an ancient road paved with flat stones that have a faint sheen of gold on them—the road is a strict 100 feet wide, and looks surprisingly intact given its antiquity.  The Heroes of Varisia continue hurtling along the wind until, just after dusk, they crest a bluff and look down upon their goal: the legendary city of Xin-Shalast!

The tableau defies belief: a glacial valley extends north and then turns to the west at the base of a vast mountain at the far end.  Filling the valley is an ice-capped city of enormous proportions.  The near end is mostly blocked by a huge fortress of smooth black stone, with multiple towers rising from its high walls.  Beyond the fortress, a massive causeway of gold dominates the city as it travels down the center of the vale.  Enormous towers and spires of many-colored stone pack both sides of the central thoroughfare, rising to prodigious heights, giving the illusion that the road itself is a valley.  The eastern slope of the valley has been partially subsumed by an ancient volcanic flow—nearly a quarter of the city has been buried, and that section is now little more than a great mass of ice, with the jagged angles and peaks of ruined structures poking through the topmost layer here and there.  But where the valley curves slightly to the west, the structures, if anything, grow even larger—becoming truly gigantic as they climb up and over the rocky spur.  At the far end of the valley, the city abuts the lower slope of a truly massive peak, but the great causeway merely elevates at a steep angle and continues to climb the incline at a nearly straight line, transforming into an immense stairway.  Additional buildings cling precariously to the mountain face alongside the causeway, growing even larger and more impressive as they ascend.  The gigantic buildings finally give way a few thousand feet above, but the mighty road continues to wend its treacherous way to just below the mountain’s peak.  There, a spired citadel looms, its size and proportions truly magnificent: yet it too, fails to summit the mountain.  Instead, its topmost spires end just below the dominant face of a stern man carved into the peak of the mountain and surveying the city below.

Jinkatsyu wistfully tells the others he wishes Brodert and Veznutt were with them to take in such a breathtaking sight, but then notes he’s glad they’re safely out of the enormous danger the group is about to face.  Discussion is had about whether to proceed down into the city immediately or wait until

Mhar Massif, as seen from the lower city.

morning, and the latter view wins out.  The group retreats some distance along the gold-paved road and Ava conjures a stone bunker to provide shelter from the icy cold winds that continue to howl.  Thanks to her magical prowess, the members of the group barely notice the thin air at the elevation they’ve reached.

But despite the shelter, the adventurers’ rest is not a peaceful one.  During his turn to stand watch, Kang picks up whiffs of a terrible stench carried on the wind.  Seconds later, he discerns the cause: a foursome of vaguely humanoid creatures that have a vulture’s head, wings for arms, and wield enormous bows in their taloned feat.  “Kuchrimas!” Kang shouts, recognizing the creatures as the lowest order of lamia-kin, rarely seen since the fall of Thassilon.  The kuchrimas let loose with a volley of arrows and Kang is nearly knocked down, but he responds by lighting up the night with his explosive alchemical bombs!  With the aid of the others in the adventuring party, the battle is over quickly.  With little choice, the adventurers return to slumber, hoping the battle didn’t draw unwanted attention.

Kuchrimas served as foot-soldiers and 

disposable scouts in the days of Thassilon.

[3 Gozran 4708]

 

The adventurers return to their earlier vantage point, this time closely observing the fortress that seems to guard the approach to Xin-Shalast.  They can see small black specks circling, and know that it will be difficult to sneak in undetected.  The decision is made to scout the city while using Ava’s wind-walking magic.  But although the magic turns them into cloud-like figures, it doesn’t make them invisible—and soon, the group is spotted.  Several kuchrimas give chase, with Morgiana barely able to escape and rejoin the others at their stone bunker.  A second furious battle takes place, with the kuchrimas using their bowcraft to fire devastating volleys at great range.  The battle is long, difficult, and loud, but once again the adventurers prevail.

 

The adventurers have reached legendary Xin-Shalast, and found it all too real.  But the hardest question lays before them: where in its cyclopean structures is Karzoug, and what does he have in store for intruders?

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

Director's Commentary

I liked the AP's concept that starvation is the key to seeing the magical trail to Xin-Shalast.  It ties in nicely to several real-world spiritual traditions involving fasting as a method to gain insight.

Morgiana crafting beartraps was a bit of surprising fun.  Although extremely heavy, they actually did come in useful a time or two.

In the Fen of the Icemists, there's a nymph druid that can be a friend or foe.  But as written, she only appears if the PCs are being particularly loud or obnoxious or disrespecting her swamp, and that didn't happen.

I'm not sure if it's possible in an RPG to adequately describe the sheer wonder of seeing, for the first time, an enormous Shangri-La like lost city.  I used the AP's descriptive text, which is quite good, but it can't rise to the level of an immersive novel or poem.

The combat against the kuchrimas was a good challenge for the PCs.  It's actually relatively rare in published Pathfinder (and even Starfinder!) APs to have encounters where ranged weapons are crucial.  I always like it when tactics and builds that work fine in dungeon-crawling have to be reassessed in other encounters.

Pathfinder Society Scenario # 9-04: "The Unseen Inclusion" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

I played in The Unseen Inclusion with my Daggermark Poisoner character, Siegfried, via play-by-post.  I probably didn't bring the best PC for it, but I still found that the scenario was well-written and interesting.  It ties into a major plotline for one of the PFS factions, and has a good mix of combat and role-playing.  I can't say there's anything super memorable about it, but it's a solid adventure.

SPOILERS

The Unseen Inclusion takes place in the city of Merab in the country of Thuvia.  The scenario is a big part of the Scarab Sages' faction storyline in Season 9, as it continues with the plot concept that the sage jewels (ancient Osirion mystical stones that have been collected by a new generation of scholars) were contaminated with the spirit of a vile necromancer named Aryana Tahari.  That spirit is starting to revive and exert influence on the present wearers of the sage jewels.  When the Sapphire Sage, Amenopheus, senses something related to the jewels in ruins recently unearthed in Merab, he sends Pathfinders to investigate.  (Amenopheus can feel an evil influence, but doesn't know anything about Tahari)  The scenario itself starts with a briefing from a cool new Venture-Captain, Diya Akan.  She explains to the PCs that excavation in the city has uncovered an ancient complex, while also setting free some kind of evil spirit.  She asks the PCs to investigate the dig site and canvass the workers to learn more.

Interviewing the dig team provides a good, early opportunity for role-playing.  I especially like how one of the youthful workers makes up a story about having seen the monster emerge, and this story could give the PCs a very different sense of what to expect (a vargouille) than what was really set free.  A scholar named Obahar who is working at the site gives members of the Scarab Sages faction a sort of special mission--to learn what their senses (other than sight) can discern when they explore the complex.  I didn't play a PC from this faction, but I really like how the scenario calls them out for some special importance (and can lead to a special faction boon).

The ancient complex dates back to the Age of Destiny and was a secret outpost for Aryana Tahari, the necromancer whose spirit has corrupted the sage jewels.  Tahari used it as a laboratory to craft curses and diseases, using a trapped doru div named Veshtahz as her test subject.  The encounters in the complex are fairly mundane--skeletons and caryatid columns--but there's a ton of excellent "dungeon dressing" and flavourful lore to uncover.  With some careful investigation, the PCs should learn that the "evil spirit" or "monster" that escaped the complex was Veshtahz--still alive after being buried for millennia.

But finding Veshtahz's current whereabouts isn't easy--the PCs need to assemble several clues from different sites in Merab (a temple to Sarenrae, an alchemist's shop, a necropolis, and a scholar's study) in order to reach the right conclusion.  I found the "clues" pretty obscure and thought they could have been done better.  On the other hand, there is a surprise appearance by Zurnzal--a notorious Aspis Consortium assassin (who I got to play in a Special!)--who is now working for Grandmaster Torch.  Zurnzal is here as an ally, not a foe, but PCs' innate distrust of Torch may be enough that they refuse to work with him to their own detriment.  I love Zurnzal, though I'm not sure how much his appearance here is really necessary to the plot.

One way or another, the PCs likely do discover that Veshtahz is located at the "Dungeons of the Ever-Dying", another ancient outpost of Aryana Tahari.  The site has since been reclaimed by the Usij (cultists who are trying to hasten her re-awakening).  But in a good twist, Veshtahz hasn't come to help the cultists--he's come to murder them all as vengeance for what Tahari did to him!  The flip-mat chosen for this location, Asylum, is simply too large for the actual content in the scenario.  When I played, instead of the PCs getting to the only room where the action was, we spent ages investigating each of the over two dozen side chambers, occasionally finding a minor clue but nothing of any real importance.  The big showdown with Veshtahz (and the cultists he's mentally taken over) is solid, if unspectacular.

After the climax, the PCs will be able to recover the onyx sage jewel which Amenopheus can use to realise that it is Tahari's spirit that is reawakening.  It's an exciting ending that sets up nicely future scenarios in the storyline.

I could quibble that it seems awfully convenient that a construction crew in Merab would accidentally free Veshtahz, who has been trapped for millennia, at exactly the same time that Tahari is awakening.  But on the whole, I thought the scenario was put together pretty well and, if I were invested in the Scarab Sages, would be thrilled by.

Rise of the Runelords Recap # 107 [RPG]

[28 Pharast 4708]

 

Having ventured as far north as the Fen of the Icemists, the adventurers change their minds about camping.   They instead decide to make one final trip to Magnimar for provisions and magical armaments before proceeding to Xin-Shalast.  When they magically jump to the city, however, they find a strange tenseness in the citizenry.  Many shops have a “No Gold” sign, whilst here and there on the streets is a lifelike gold statue.  The adventurers see members of the city watch and priests of the church of Abadar examining the statues, and quickly discern that a terrible fright has gripped the city.  A small percentage of gold coins have been infected with a magical curse that turns anyone who touches them into a statue!  Learning that those coins are revealed to be stamped with Sihedrons, the adventurers can only surmise that Karzoug’s plans are accelerating: by making currency dangerous, the Runelord of Greed has weakened one of Varisia’s most important cities by bringing trade to a veritable halt!

 

Fortunately, for present purposes, the adventures have enough platinum coins and gems to make the purchases they’re most concerned about.  That night, after Morgiana’s dazzling displays of prowess scares away another attempting mugging by the Bloody Knuckles gang, the adventurers sit down at the Blasted Ferret and begin drinking heavily.  Conversation turns to what each member of the group will do once they’ve defeated Karzoug.  Kang announces his intention to settle down and set up a school for advanced alchemical studies, and Ava suggests she could attend so she could learn how to read!  Erik speculates about joining the Pathfinder Society and taking on evil tyrants, while Morgiana ruminates about visiting the City at the Center of the World (Absalom) someday and living in a place where hobgoblins like herself aren’t frowned upon.  For his part, Jinkatsyu says he still hasn’t forgiven or forgotten the hag who murdered his parents.

 

As the night wears on and the wine cups are emptied and refilled, the talk turns more maudlin.  What if they don’t survive the attack on Karzoug?  Ava says she’d like to be buried in Sandpoint, because that’s where she met all of her friends.  Morgiana asks to be cremated and buried on her family’s farm.  Instead of talking about the future, Kang reveals a secret he’s never shared before: born in the Darklands, he learned alchemy from his father before the man was executed by the so-called “dark elves” during a time of turmoil and war.  Kang admits to having dabbled in poisons and pesh, and, while enslaved by the “drow”, having conducted nefarious flesh-warping experiments on living creatures for them.

 

When the bartender announces last call, the Heroes of Varisia toast to hope.  In the morning they may be embarrassed by the intimacies they’ve shared, but they’ll have a stronger bond than ever before.

 

[29 Pharast 4708]

 

Kang distributes his disgusting but effective hangover cure.  The adventurers spend the day on errands.  Occasional plumes of smoke can be seen from distant parts of the city, and reports of isolated looting start to spread.

 

[30 Pharast 4708]

 

Having started fasting the night before (so as to meet the cryptic conditions in the Vekkers’ journal about finding the hidden path to Xin-Shalast), everyone wakes up hungry.  Rumours of a (failed) attempt on the Lord-Mayor’s life spread like wildfire, and soon after, soldiers from the Arvensoar place the city under martial law.  Gossip holds that Korvosa and Riddleport are suffering from problems of their own, leaving people to wonder what’s happening to Varisia.  The adventurers debate whether it’s safer to stay in Magnimar or spend time in the wilderness, and the latter view wins out.  After teleporting everyone back to the Kodars, Ava helps them withstand a blizzard by creating another stone bunker.

[31 Pharast 4708]

 

Another morning sees the adventurers suffering from extreme hunger pains.

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Director's Commentary

The cursed gold coins spreading throughout Magnimar were something I came up with to make the "shopping trip" more interesting.  I wanted to show that Karzoug's agents were accelerating their plans, and the theme seemed to fit the Runelord of Greed perfectly.

Some great role-playing in the tavern scenes.  I try to occasionally prompt topics that the players wouldn't perhaps naturally have their PCs discuss by saying something like "As you finish your meal, talk turns to what you'll do after Karzoug's defeat", etc.  It's not something that always works, but with some good role-players at the table, it can really add to character depth.