Posts
NO SPOILERS
* "Faces of the Earthbound Evils: A Pathfinder's Guide to Rakshasas" (6 pages) is a really interesting, well-written overview of rakshasas. It covers their (in-game) history, anatomy, society, and weaknesses, along with some great art and a few adventure hooks. Rakshasas are essentially "earthbound fiends", the reincarnation of evil souls in mortal bodies, and their connection to real-world myth allows for some great lore to develop. I've never done much with rakshasas in prior campaigns, but I can certainly imagine doing more now.
* "The Red Mantis: Those Who Walk in Blood" (6 pages) covers Golarion's most notorious assassin cult. The "cult" part is important, as the Red Mantis aren't simply hired killers--they have a strict (evil) ethos, killing in the name of their god but refusing to harm reigning monarchs. I like their guarantee that when they kill someone, that person stays dead. The entry covers their philosophy, headquarters, and has a little on their leaders. It introduces a new (overpowered for the price) magic item, the mask of the mantis--one of the few "loot items" in the game that the PCs in my game actually used rather than sell. Importantly, there's also a Red Mantis Assassin prestige class that I quite like ( and that I think is followed pretty closely when later adopted for the Pathfinder rules in the poorly-named Adventurer's Guide).
* "Thin Air" (6 pages) is the next entry in the adventures of Eando Kline. Still with his guide Joskan, Kline is travelling through the Hold of Belkzen. The geography is well-described and useful to a GM setting an adventure in the locale (and there's a sidebar on Belkzen flora and fauna). The story here involves Kline and Joskan fleeing from predatory orcs and into the mouth of a bizarre stone dragon carved around the side of a mountain. The story is good, but the lack of a real overall plotline (Kline is just following this mysterious wayfinder) means it doesn't feel like it's really going anywhere.
* "Bestiary" (12 pages) starts with a random encounter table for Old Korvosa suitable for the range of PCs in the main adventure. We then get five two-page-long entries on new creatures. "Achaekek" is the mantis god that the Red Mantis worship, and I for one would not mess with this CR 30 creature that's immune to lethal damage and has unstoppable regeneration! I also like the role Achaekek plays in the pantheon of Pathfinder deities. A "beatific one" is a type of asura--a class of beings from Indian legend. The entry has a big sidebar on Vudrani weapons, which is something I don't think I've seen elsewhere in Pathfinder books. "Rajput Ambari" are essentially undead elephants--fine, but unremarkable. "Rakshasa maharajahs" are like the highest tier of rakshasa--CR 18 creatures, with extensive spell-like abilities and a very cool ability that allows them to act on two initiative counts each round. Probably my favourite entry is the "sikari macaque swarm", a horde of tiny monkeys infected with a disease that turns them into an unstoppable wave of killing machines! Even the picture creeps me out, and the idea of PCs catching the disease (rage + confusion) is delightful.
* "Characters" (2 pages)--Level 7 versions of Ezren, Seelah, Harsk, and Lem.
SPOILERS!
Into the adventure! Off-screen between last chapter and this one, some really significant events occurred in Korvosa. The Queen survived a point-blank crossbow bolt to the face during an assassination attempt, thus displaying some type of magical invulnerability. Old Korvosa is no longer plagued with blood veil, but has been effectively abandoned by the rest of the city. And the Queen's Gray Maidens are now everywhere (except, ironically, Old Korvosa). A good GM will help the PCs experience these changes organically before launching into the heart of the adventure in Chapter Three.
Part One is "Into the Dying City". The premise is that Cressida Kroft sends the PCs to sneak into still-quarantined Old Korvosa to find Vencarlo Orisini because, before his recent disappearance, he had sent her secret messages implying he knew something about Queen Ileosa's newfound invulnerability. Old Korvosa is the slum area of the city, and after blood veil, has become a completely lawless and anarchic place--perfect for adventuring! When the PCs find Vencarlo's home, they're ambushed by Red Mantis assassins (also looking for him, at the Queen's behest) that probably end up burning the house down. A lead will probably see the PCs head toward the home of an artist named Salvator Scream; Scream isn't there, but the PCs will meet a lot of players' favourite NPC, a surprisingly-cheerful cleric of Zon-Kuthon named Laori Vaus (her artwork gets much improved in the hardcover collection). My players didn't actually meet her then (and wouldn't until Chapter Five) because they bypassed Scream's house after learning his location through some other information gathering.
Part Two is "The Emperor of Old Korvosa", and it may just have one of the campaign's most memorable sequences. In this part of the adventure, the PCs should figure out (through one of various means; I always appreciate the open-ended way these early APs are written) that Salvator Scream has been taken by someone calling himself The Emperor of Old Korvosa. Getting to the guy isn't easy, as he's got a devoted mob of thugs and ruffians, but there are both violent and non-violent ways to gain access to his "palace"--a set of abandoned tenements with rickety rope-bridges connecting the roofs. The Emperor himself is a delight. A former playwright of hideous and grotesque tastes, he's disgusting, insane, and dangerous, and yet it's easy to see why the mobs love him (love the artwork, too). Now, the PCs could choose the boring route and launch an attack to free Salvator Scream, or they could be cool and participate in the The Emperor's favourite sport: "blood pig." As the ominous name suggests, a live pig is used as the "ball" in this sport as two teams try to get it in their opponent's goal--where a wolverine waits to devour it! I know it's cruel in concept (hey, vegetarian here!) but the description of the "rules" of the game and the various random things that can happen make it obvious just how hilarious it would be at the gaming table. Unfortunately, my group chose the boring option--their loss!
In Part Three, "Wrath of the Arkonas", a rescued Salvator Scream explains that Vencarlo did visit him, but went looking for the seneschal of Castle Korvosa at the palace of an aristocratic family, House Arkona, and never emerged. Assuming the PCs follow up, this is another example where the adventure supports a variety a ways the group can approach things. The patron of House Arkona, Glorio Arkona, is one of my favourite PCs to role-play in the campaign. The Arkonas are from Vudra (the Indian-themed area of Golarion) and the distinctive decor of the palace is presented really well. The twin secrets of the Arkona family is that 1) they're the patrons of the city's thieves guild; and 2) they're rakshasas! The seneschal (and Vencarlo Orisini) are being held captive in a high-concept dungeon under the palace. Named the Vivified Labyrinth, the conceit of the dungeon is that it's made of four separate disks each of which can be rotated independently through levers hidden throughout. That means there's sixteen possible configurations for the dungeon, and not all of the disks are accessible in each configuration. It's a really cool idea, though it took me some planning to make work on the tabletop (I went with cardboard disks held down by blu-tak). What makes this part of the adventure most interesting is that Glorio Arkona is locked in a rivalry with his sister, Meliya Arkona, and each is more than willing to use the PCs against the other. In my game, the PCs started by supporting Meliya in a battle against Glorio and then changed sides in the middle of the encounter (a fun surprise for me, but I got revenge by revealing the "silver dagger" they'd been carrying around since Chapter 1 was really a raktavarna!; and with Meliya fled, Glorio has become a *major* NPC in the campaign and might just win the throne!) Anyway, it is a dungeon-crawling part of the adventure, but I thought it was handled really well. The rescue of Vencarlo, and more important the seneschal, sets up Chapter Four.
I really enjoyed running Chapter Three. It's not as thematically strong as Chapter Two, but it still had plenty of opportunities for player creativity. It also features some great set-piece encounters and memorable NPCs. Combined with the excellent back matter, the result is an excellent package.
No comments:
Post a Comment