Pathfinder Society Scenario # 0-15: "The Asmodeus Mirage" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

The Asmodeus Mirage is one of the notorious "retired" Pathfinder Society scenarios from Season Zero.  I played it "just for fun" with my summoner, Jakeric, and it's pretty easy to see why it was retired: the chance of a TPK (and need for a body recovery) is pretty bloody high!  The underlying premise is kinda neat, but the actual execution of the story is a let-down and there's not necessarily a lot the PCs can do to control their fate.  An enterprising GM might be able to steal an interesting idea or two for a homebrew game, but overall, there's not a lot to recommend the scenario.

SPOILERS!

The backstory to The Asmodeus Mirage is cool: when the gods battled Rovagug across the face of Golarion eons ago, the crystalline bone devil that served as the Herald of Asmodeus was struck down in what became Katapesh.  Ever since, for 24 hours every century, a pocket dimension opens up with the crystal skeleton at its center.  Anyone who ventures in and doesn't leave before those 24 hours are up risks being trapped there until it opens again 100 years later!  And, of course, the Pathfinder Society has managed to pinpoint the location and opening schedule of the so-called "Asmodeus Mirage" and wants to send a team in to investigate, with the goal of returning with the crystal skeleton before it disappears for another century.  Why exactly the PFs might select a group of Level 1-2 PCs for this mission is beyond me; maybe there was a mix-up in the cabinet containing lists of field agents?

After a briefing by Venture-Captain Rafmeln (only ever seen in this scenario; perhaps he was "retired" for sending agents on this mission?) in the Katapeshi Pathfinder Lodge,  the PCs have a chance to buy gear before an off-screen journey to the Asmodeus Mirage.  Once inside the pocket dimension, the 24-hour countdown clock starts.  The scenario is structured as a set of four encounters in the mirage that the GM selects randomly, with the journey between each encounter taking a random number of hours (that can be reduced with a good Survival check).  The pocket dimension is morphic in the sense that there's no reliable directions or fixed geographic points, meaning that depending on dice rolls, PCs might stumble into the same encounter multiple times (despite trying not to).  PCs also need to attempt Fortitude saves against the heat (it is the desert, after all), which makes perfect sense but can be quite draining for low-level characters (especially with any time spent resting counting against the 24-hour limit).

The encounters range from fairly pedestrian combat (like groups of illusory skeletons) to some with role-playing potential (like a peaceful gnoll village menaced by ankhegs) to intriguing mixed-bags (like an insane CR 19 brass dragon who wants the PCs to clear his lair of pesky vermin) to the main event (the crystalline skeleton, which will be guarded by different foes depending on subtier).  I imagine that at higher subtier (6-7), the encounters and environment would be far more manageable than the more swingy low subtier ones.  In any event, the main risk facing the PCs is becoming trapped in the pocket dimension and officially ruled dead.  The PCs can choose at any time before that to try to return "home", and so from the scenario's sidebar point of view, the chance of groups getting trapped should be low.  However, the scenario only gives the PCs a 25% chance of making it home with each attempt, and as each attempt takes 1d4 hours, a group that waits too close to the end of the 24 hours and has some bad dice luck could easily end up being trapped and effectively TPK'd (unless they have pieces of the crystalline skeleton, which shunts them out of the demiplane automatically when it closes).

There is a part of me that loves high stakes scenarios where genuinely bad things can happen to PCs--a game with no risk isn't nearly as much fun, after all.  But for The Asmodeus Mirage in particular, I think the stakes need to be better fitted to the level of the characters involved and with a little bit more transparency on just how heavy the odds are against them.  Not to mention, there's not really a lot of discoveries or mysteries to resolve once inside the mirage--it's just "get the skeleton and get out" with little opportunity for the PCs to understand the backstory.  I imagine more than one group ended up trapped in the mirage, and this probably fueled the push to retire the scenario.  I can't really argue against the decision.  Fortunately, with the demiplane having just appeared, no one needs to worry about it for another 100 years!

I have to append a coda to remark on a Chronicle boon from the scenario that is a classic, and hilarious, example of stingy rewards (or what we would, today, call trolling): PCs, after having somehow survived the risk of being trapped in another plane of existence for a century, receive a whole +1 to Diplomacy or Intimidate checks vs "western Katapesh gnolls"!  Talk about earning bonuses the hard way!

Pathfinder Map Pack: "Elven City" [RPG]

Sometimes I have map packs sit on my shelves for *years* before the right time comes along to pull them out.  Such was the case for Elven City, as my players visited the elven village of Crying Leaf in my Second Darkness campaign.  A visual representation of the village wasn't strictly necessary, but I thought these cards gave a good feel for what elven architecture is like: curved, flowing, in-tune with nature, and with few right angles or harsh lines.  The map pack includes several elven homes, an excellent meeting hall, a water feature/garden, and even what could stand in well for an elf gate.  The artwork is crisp and colorful.

To be frank, most campaigns won't call upon this map pack very often--but it's still a nice addition to a GM's library.

Starfinder Bounty # 5: "Echoes of Woe" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

 

I’m of two minds about Echoes of Woe, the fifth in the series of Starfinder “Bounties” (short adventures meant to be played in 60-90 minutes).  The premise is solid and at points it has a good feel, but I also think it’s overlong and a bit too “video-gamey” to really make the best use of that feel.  I ran it via play-by-post for Starfinder Society, but I think it would probably be best as a home game one-shot where the GM can customise it more and not feel rushed to finish in a certain time frame.

 

I think the cover is good, but the interior artwork doesn’t quite fit the bill.

 

SPOILERS!

 

Echoes of Woe is set in the growing town of Ysantro in the Qabarat region of Castrovel.  Because the city is expanding, a company named TeleWright wants to redevelop an old, abandoned hospital—but it can’t do that until the site receives a final inspection, and no one’s willing to go in it because of rumors that it’s haunted!  Thus, the PCs get hired for the job.  It’s a classic set-up (everyone loves creepy hospitals, asylums, and orphanages).

 

The backstory to the Bounty is good too.  Back when the hospital was in operation, the hospital’s head doctor, Sikooli, tried to cure her son, Ajanu, of a degenerative disease caused by exposure to sunlight.  Sikooli hit on the idea of combining particles from the Shadow Plane with nanites, but the resulting “venumbrites” drained the life of everyone inside the hospital, including Sikooli!  Today, Sikooli roams the hospital as a grieving ghost, while her son, Ajanu, is an undead borai who still lives in the hospital to care for her.

 

One of the issues in terms of duration is that the Hospital flip-mat has a *lot* of rooms (14), and players of this type of RPG are trained to cautiously explore each one.  Add in a bit of good role-playing and some combat, and 60-90 minutes isn’t realistic for most groups.  The atmosphere set up by the scenario is pretty good, and I especially liked a sidebar’s tips on how the GM can make it darker or lighten it up depending the group’s comfort level with horror.  Still, some of the hard-coded elements (like scouring the hospital for multiple pieces of a ritual to set things right, dealing with four different squoxes) seemed a bit repetitive and detracted from the feel.  And one of my common mechanical complaint—asking for skill checks to accomplish something but providing no penalties if they fail (so you just have endless retrying until success) definitely rears its ugly head here.

 

So my advice (noting that Halloween is just a few weeks away as I write this) is to draw upon the broad outlines of the scenario, dispense with all the squoxes but one (and make it a shadowy, venumbrite-affected one), and do the whole thing theatre-of-the-mind without even showing a flip-mat.  The game will be faster, spookier, and more fun.

 

 

Pathfinder Tales: "Beyond the Pool of Stars" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

Beyond the Pool of Stars is a fantastic trade paperback in the Pathfinder Tales line.  Set in Sargava (a jungle, coastal region in the Mwangi Expanse that has thrown off Chelish control), the novel follows the exploits of Mirian Raas, part-Pathfinder/part deep sea salvager.  I thought Howard Andrew Jones' previous novels in the Pathfinder Tales line were fine, but this one really impressed me.  It's full of heart, surprises, action, and makes great use of an interesting setting.  I definitely recommend it.

SPOILERS!

After her father dies in the course of running the family salvaging business, Pathfinder Mirian Raas returns to Sargava to (reluctantly) lend a hand.  She and her small crew of salvagers get involved with a trio of lizardfolk who wish to recover the contents of an ancestral vault deep in an area of the jungle now overrun by boggards.  A representative of the Sargavan government (and her son) join the expedition, as the salvaging business is deeply in debt to the government and it's counting on Raas finding a real score of gems to help pay the protection money it owes the pirates of the Shackles to help defend it from Cheliax.  However, Mirian's brother is in love with a secret Chelish agent who'll stop at nothing to sabotage the whole endeavour.  That's the barest brushstrokes of the plot, but Jones adds layers of flavour and detail to flesh everything out.  The action scenes are genuinely suspenseful, as no one is immune to danger from "plot armor".  Devotees of underwater combat will be impressed by the fidelity to Pathfinder rules and incorporation of magical gear, while readers interested in Sargava will find its portrayal rich in detail (the depictions of race and class issues in a post-colonial setting are skillful).  I've actually become a fan of lizardfolk because of the novel thanks to their description in the book.  I genuinely can't think of any criticisms (unusual for me!), so do yourself a favour and buy this book.

Starfinder Society Scenario # 4-16: "Hope for the Future" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

If, like me, you're not fortunate to have a regular group methodically playing through PFS or SFS scenarios in orders, there are occasional downsides to just signing up for what's available online.  For me, I didn't realise that Hope for the Future was the big capstone scenario to the Season 4 ("Year of the Data Scourge") metaplot.  Playing it not only spoiled me on some of the twists in the season's storyline, but it also fell fairly flat because I wasn't really aware/invested in what was happening.  The scenario itself is (almost) one long "boss battle" that might have been satisfying if I had played steadily through the season.  But them's the breaks!  As a scenario, it has more of the feel of a Special--high stakes, lots of combat, and limited role-playing.  Not my favourite style of game, but your tastes may vary.

Oh, but awesome cover!  The art design team has really picked things up in Season Four.

SPOILERS!

Hope for the Future takes place on (and technically around) Absalom Station.  Apparently, the Starfinder Society has learned that the mysterious Data Scourge virus was engineered by the revived Historia-Prime.  The Stewards have dispatched a fleet to the coordinates where the virus' "source location" is and expect to finally confront Historia-Prime in the process.  The PCs, and hundreds of other Starfinders, gather together in the Forum in the Lorespire Complex to learn (and grumble about) not getting to be part of the action.  There's a good opportunity for some role-playing before the drama actually starts, and I liked the premise of Royo and some of the Society's other tech-adverse NPCs starting a movement to limit the organisation's reliance on technology.

First Seeker Ehu Hadif has just started addressing the assembled crowd when suddenly Absalom Station comes under attack by a massive, ever-shifting, silvery fluid vessel!  The Armada tries to defend the station but isn't having much luck.  Ixthia the Unbreakable gathers together the PCs and rushes to their shuttle to be part of the action.  Curiously though, by the time the shuttle gets into space, the silvery vessel has transformed into a massive space-platform--a near-perfect copy of the Lorespire Complex floating in orbit around Absalom Station!  Apparently, Historia-Prime has pulled a sneaky trick and, instead of waiting around for the Stewards to arrive, has launched a sneak attack to take over Absalom Station.  As a player, I found all of this fairly confusing, but I can appreciate it as a cool image if the GM is able to really sell it.

From this point, we have a classic "space-dungeon crawl" as the shuttle lands on the surface of the complex and the PCs disembark to investigate.  (Ixthia the Unreliable conveniently stays behind to "harry the defences from the outside").  The PCs encounter artificial nanite-composed simulacra of Celita and jinsuls before encountering someone "real"--an android named Hope-01 (from SFS # 4-13).  The group better rescue him, because he says he can delete Historia-Prime's digital back-up copies so the PCs can defeat him once and for all.  Along the way there are "nanite mounds" which function both as traps and as a resource that PCs can manipulate for advantages (I don't think our group did much with them)

Most of the scenario is taken up by a three-phase combat versus different forms of Historia-Prime in a (admittedly cool) chamber called the Prime Core.  History-Prime does lots of classic villain monologuing during the battle, which helps to fill in some of the backstory, but in essence this is a long boss battle.  Once it's over, and assuming the PCs win, they face an interesting moral choice.  Hope-01 explains he still retains part of the memory and personality of Historia-Prime and could someday evolve into a threat, and should therefore be destroyed himself.  The scenario supports either course of action (though subtly rewards the "let him live" choice by providing additional Reputation).  There's also a whole thing about the artifact that apparently let Historia-Prime continue to clone his consciousness, but the scenario takes the lazy opt-out of providing no detail about it and saying it'll be locked in an SFS vault.  

Anyway, that's the end of the Year of the Data Scourge!  I wasn't particularly impressed by the finale, but, as I said, part of that may be me coming in without much background.

Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 79 [RPG]

[Fireday, 7 Arodus 4708 continued]

In Castle Scarwall, Anorak awakens to find concerned allies looking over him.  He has no recollection of what happened, so The Reckoner fills the dwarf in on his disappearance and subsequent rescue.  The Reckoner, Lorien, and Yraelzin agree to wait for the dwarf to consult his spellbook before continuing their exploration of the second level of the foreboding fortress.

With the aid of a recently-found keyring, The Reckoner is able to open a lock that stymied him before, gaining access to the castle’s armory!  Unfortunately, the weapons inside have rotted shafts and rusty, pitted blades, testament to just how long Castle Scarwall has been abandoned.  Curiously, an iron statue of an imposing man with long stair stands in the corner of the room.  The statue looks just like the figure in the paintings the group saw elsewhere in the tower.  As Anorak enters the room to search, the statue suddenly animates!  Huddled near the doorway, the Harrowed Heroes prepare to meet its charge, though they aren’t expecting it to breathe poisonous fumes!  Yraelzin finds himself overwhelmed and begins coughing and choking.  Lorien takes a staggering blow to the chin and is lucky to keep his feet (not to mention his head!), but The Reckoner is always prepared, and his adamantine war-maul makes short work of the construct.

Nearby, an investigation of what once must have been a lounge turns up one curious thing: an area where motes of dust seem to be gusting.  Suspecting the presence of spirits nearby, the group prepare for another attack—and their expectations are met as four disembodied phantoms with sharp-toothed maws covered by swirling robes soon arrive!  Anorak finds himself overcome by a terrible fear and he sprints away, but The Reckoner and Lorien’s enchanted weapons and extensive magical protections again overcome the foes quickly.  Yraelzin decides that with such powerful allies, simply staying out of the way might be his biggest contribution!

 
Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, the lone distaff member of the Harrowed Heroes participates in an assembly of leaders from across Varisia.  Gathered together in Ilsurian to determine whether the scattered city-states and independent towns of the vast wilderness can band together against the giant army of the north, the representatives attending this summit could decide the fate of thousands.  Sheriff Kyra Feldane, Ilsurian’s no-nonsense representative at the meeting, delivers a background and summary of the current crisis, using a hand-painted, wall-sized map to illustrate key points.

We gather here today to decide how to respond to the biggest threat Varisia has seen in living memory.  There have always been giants in the region’s vast interior wilderness.  Giants tend toward tribal cultures and are territorial, but they have never been expansionist beyond scattered raids.

 

But last year it became apparent the security situation had changed.  The giants were unifying under a single banner, that of a stone giant named Mokmurian.  Many smaller towns and villages held as outposts by the major city-states came under attack. For example, ogres and trolls destroyed a dam holding back the Storval Deep, flooding the entire valley to the south and completely destroying the village of Turtleback Ferry.

 

After a heavy raid on Magnimar’s holding of Sandpoint on the Lost Coast, a band of adventurers followed the giants back to their fortress in a place called Jorgenfist and managed to assassinate the giant leader Mokmurian.  But what these “Heroes of Sandpoint” discovered was that Mokmurian was merely a general acting on the behest of an extraordinarily powerful wizard from millennia past dating to the days of the empire of ancient Thassilon: a so-called “Runelord” named Karzoug.  Although Karzoug had been magically imprisoned at some point in the past, he was beginning to break free and influence events in Varisia.

 

The Heroes of Sandpoint travelled to the site of Karzoug’s imprisonment, the ruins of a Thassilonian city called Xin-Shalast, high in the freezing mountains.  There, they slew countless giants and lieutenants of Karzoug and approached the Pinnacle of Avarice, the fortress of Karzoug himself.  We know all of this because that is the point one member of the Heroes of Sandpoint lost her courage; this half-orc, “Morgiana”, was found days later by rangers loyal to Ilsurian.

We’ll never know exactly what happened to the other Heroes of Sandpoint, but one thing is perfectly clear: they failed in their quest to defeat the Runelord Karzoug, and now that wizard is free.  Although it has taken him months to regain strength, rebuild his army, and acclimate to our time, his dreams of conquering all of Varisia—and perhaps more—haven’t abated.

Many of you will have heard of the recent military thrust into the Cinderlands, aimed no doubt to capture Kaer Maga and seize the entire Storval Plateau.  Fortunately, and perhaps surprisingly from our point of view, this attack was broken during a siege of Urglin.  However, a disturbing new weapon was discovered: magical teleportation spikes capable of moving entire units hundreds of miles in a matter of minutes; word has filtered down that such spikes were used to launch a surprise attack on the Shoanti camp of Flameford; I believe we have one survivor of that battle in attendance—Goldcape.

 

The current situation we face is thus: our long-range reconnaissance patrols and divination magicks have detected that the attack on the Cinderlands was only exploratory; the bulk of Karzoug’s army of northern giants will soon march directly on Magnimar, splitting Varisia in half and capturing the region’s largest city-state.

 

I now leave it to you to determine whether and how we should respond.

 

The silence following Sheriff Feldane’s speech is broken by Lord-Mayor Haldmeer Grobaras, elected ruler of Magnimar—the largest city-state in Varisia and the apparent target of Karzoug’s next thrust.  Grobaras immediately calls for a full military alliance to repel the assault, but this meets with immediate opposition from Overlord Gaston Cromarky of Riddleport, who cites the enormous expense of fielding such a massive force.  When Cromarky is reminded that he has little in the way of ground forces to contribute (his “gendarmes” are little more than a group of thus and enforcers), he says his ships could play a crucial role in delivering grain and other supplies to Magnimar for the duration of the war—for a price!  Goldcape, there on behalf of the rebel factions in Korvosa, promises that the city will lend support once Queen Ileosa is overthrown.  The others scoff, and it seems the city’s reputation from past interactions have made the other leaders sceptical a new ruler would make a difference.  An elven general by the name of Kaerishiel Neirenar, representing the elves of the Mierani forests, reluctantly agrees to lend his people’s support as skirmishers since the giant army will surely savage the forests to help fuel their war.

 

The discussion is long and contentious, and full of personal insults.  The main sticking point seems to be how to fund a joint force and how to ensure that Korvosa pays its fair share.  Eventually, a breakthrough is reached when Grobaras proposes that if the city can’t send troops, the rebel leaders will have to commit to repaying the others’ expenses on a per-soldier basis.  Sheriff Feldane adds that Ilsurian will only lend its support if Korvosa’s rebels agree to an immediate and permanent non-aggression pact.  Goldcape thinks this is manageable, and agrees to discuss it with the rebel leaders.  She immediately sends a magical silver raven with a message to Glorio Arkona.  The assembled representatives agree to reconvene in a few days with the hope of finalising the details.

 

Twin efforts are simultaneously underway, one in Castle Scarwall and one in Ilsurian, to stop terrible threats that have emerged in the past year.  If either effort fails, thousands of innocents could pay the price . . .

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

GM Commentary

The first part of this session says the PCs tromping through encounters in Scarwall with little difficulty.  The Reckoner, at least, was a bit OP (and super-prepared), but that might have been a good thing considering Anorak and Lorien were run by first-time Pathfinder players.

I thought the summit was great and worked out even better than I had planned.  Sheriff Feldane's recounting of the events draws directly on what happened in Rise of the Runelords when I ran it before this campaign, even the bit with a PC (and player) dropping out right before the final push!  The summit was a great way to get Goldcape (whose player had otherwise transitioned to Assistant GM during this Chapter) some screentime, to show off some major Varisian NPCs (some I had had the opportunity to use in RotRL, such as Grobaras and others I would be previewing a presence in my next AP to run, Second Darkness, like Overlord Cromarky and Kaerishiel).  I actually had the other non-Goldcape players at the table run these NPCs, having secretly briefed each one before hand on what their goals and personalities were like.  I always say part of the fun of being a GM is not knowing what's going to happen, and that was certainly the case here--I had no idea whether a mutual defense pact would be reached for this major plot-point.

Starfinder Module: "The Liberation of Locus-1" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

 

The Liberation of Locus-1 is a 64-page entry in Starfinder’s adventure module series.  Designed to take characters from level 4 to 7, it can be run as a standalone adventure, a natural follow-up to Junker’s Delight, or as a replacement volume for an adventure path.  I played it with my fun characters Nixxer and Professor Kipe and thought it was a solid adventure even if those PCs didn’t quite fit what the story expected.  As the title indicates, the adventure centers around Locus-1, which is a scientific space station orbiting a mysterious “metastar” in a recently-discovered star system.

 

First up, let’s talk about art.  The cover is solid, and it’s nice to see the Sunset Maiden again, but it would have been even better to have Locus-1 depicted as part of the action.  That’s because, inside the book, there’s not really a good exterior shot of what the space station looks like!  I find this a common problem with Paizo books—minor NPCs get artwork, but key settings which are hard to describe in words are left to the imagination.  As for the interior art, it’s okay, though a bit cartoony and undetailed for my tastes compared to the hyper-realistic art in the Core Rulebook.  The interior maps are well-designed, but they are *large* in scale and a GM will need to prepare accordingly (more a concern for an actual tabletop game than for a virtual tabletop one).  It would be nice to have a visual representation of the Locus System to go along with the written description in the gazetteer.

 

Speaking of the gazetteer of Locus-1 and the Locus System, that’s the first piece of back matter.  In eight pages, we get a well-written history and overview of the star system and the space station built to investigate the mysterious metastar at its center.  There’s some particular good bits I like, such as a small Starfinder Society lodge and a bar called the Hard Stop that tries to present itself as a classic “seedy cantina/dive bar” but can’t pull it off because Locus-1 is just too civilised!  The setting has all the elements that would make it a great “home base” for the PCs: it has basic infrastructure, good NPCs, isn’t overwhelming by having information spread across a dozen books, and it supports some interesting adventure hooks.  In other words, it’s easy to envision a campaign set entirely in the Locus System.

 

The second piece of back matter is the “Adventure Toolbox” (6 pages).  This starts with a page of weaponry that utilise special Locus crystals that give a weapon a special property: Healing.  In short, blast someone with one of these, and they heal hit points instead of taking damage!  They’re limited use, of course, but still pretty neat in concept.  The section then moves on to an Alien Archive, with three new creatures.  There are two playable races whose homeworlds are in Azlanti space: gathols (hulking but frankly forgettable mountain-dwelling humanoids) and tromlins (dinosaur-humanoids that will surely meet a burning desire in some player’s hearts).  The third new creature is mindshroud rays, which can attach themselves and take over a humanoid’s body—they’re probably more a story aid then a direct threat.

 

Onto the adventure!

 

SPOILERS!

 

The adventure hooks for The Liberation of Locus-1 are a bit sketchy.  There are a few short ideas on reasons the PCs might have come to the station, but this is an area each GM will have to expand on their own because it doesn’t really matter from the adventure’s perspective.  Instead, this is one of those adventures where the PCs are in the wrong place at the wrong time and simply get drawn into a course of dramatic and dangerous events.

 

Part 1 (“Four Alarms”) starts with a bang, as the PCs are in a marketplace on Locus-1 when suddenly a dinosaur crashes through the area, goaded on by a pirate!  An exterior window gets shattered in the fracas, causing a hull breach and exposure to vacuum that threatens to suck nearby civilians outside!  The module divides the situation into four separate “Events” and explains how the order they’re ran can be rearranged depending on the PCs’ response.  This is smart because it keeps the action from becoming overly scripted and rail-roady.  The encounters are very detailed in terms of terrain, hazards, enemy tactics, and other special considerations, which helps give each one a special feel.  In other words, the writing was done carefully instead of lazily.  Various NPCs intervene in the encounters, which is important to establish Locus-1 as a “real” place instead of a cardboard background for the PCs to run rampant.  The overall goal of Part 1 is to introduce the PCs to Locus-1, some of its key NPCs (including its ruling Science Council), and to give the impression that life on board may be far from sedate.

 

Part 2 (“Chaos System”) consists of four mini-adventures that can be presented in any order (though there is a natural progression to them, it’s again good that the GM can be flexible depending on what the PCs do).  Before the adventures are described, several pages in this Part are devoted to helping the GM continue to introduce the setting, major plot points, and how key NPCs adjust their attitudes depending on the PCs’ interactions with them.  It’s an intelligent way of integrating a lot of material.  As for the missions, the first one is “Research Recovery” and has the PCs leave Locus-1 to travel to the planet Tyru, where magic is unstable and the weather is awful, to recover some data from a research station that was recently destroyed.  The second one is “Mining Camp 001”, and this is where the PCs may first learn that the Azlanti Star Empire is interested in the Locus System as well.  The action takes place on the planet Godrum, where the Azlanti are using android slaves to mine crystals.  There’s a lot of great detail to reward careful planning on the players’ part.  Alas, I think my group accidentally/on purpose blew this planet up!  The third mission is “Pirate Problems” and sees the PCs confront the pirate group responsible for the drama in Part 1.  They’ll have to repulse an ambush on the station (I like how civilians can accidentally be hit) and engage in a starship battle against the pirates’ flagship.  This leads naturally into the fourth mission (“Besmara’s Head”) which sees the PCs storming the pirates’ base in the Locus System, a floating asteroid in the shape of a skull!  This is the longest mission, as the base has several surface chambers and catacombs to explore and multiple encounters. In effect, it’s a big “space dungeon”, but one that’s done well and is interesting.

 

Part 3 (“Battle for Locus-1”) is something I can review only as it comes across on the page, because my group didn’t play through most of it.  The premise is that Locus-1 has become the target of the Glaive of Remulis, an Azlanti destroyer, and ordered to surrender.  Most members of the ruling Science Council are ready to capitulate, but one member thinks the attack can be repulsed if the station’s Locus array (some high magic/tech) can be activated.  It all looks very exciting, with the PCs expected to hold back waves of Azlanti troopers as they simultaneously work furiously to get the Locus array activated and then engage in battle with the Azlanti destroyer.  It also looks like a big GMing task, as there’s a *lot* to handle.  The reason my group ducked out of it was that we were playing mercenary types and this part of the adventure was designed for straight-out heroes.  Most adventures hedge their bets by offering some sort of reward, but this one didn’t, so our group thought fleeing for their cowardly lives was the most profitable outcome!  I know this disappointed the GM, but it really wasn’t his fault—we were having a blast but wanted to stay true to our characters’ motivations.

 

Anyway, that’s The Liberation of Locus-1.  I definitely recommend it for some of the best Starfinder adventure design the game has to offer.

Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 78 [RPG]

[Oathday, 6 Arodus 4708 A.R. continued]

 

There is no rest for the weary in Castle Scarwall—as soon as one wave of necromantic abominations are cut down, a second assaults the group’s campsite.  More skeletal monsters and rotting corpses are dispatched, but although Yraelzin calls out that the Castle has found them, the group decide to stay in the same place.  Before long, spectral apparitions glide through the walls and plunge icy hands into the Harrowed Heroes, sapping their lifeforce.  The battle is won, but Yraelzin looks like a parched old man when it’s over—and even worse, Anorak is missing!

 

[Fireday, 7 Arodus 4708 A.R. continued]

 

Somehow, after a long night of enduring Castle Scarwall’s vented fury at their trespass, three intruders live to see dawn.  Lorien expends several hundred gold pieces’ worth of diamond dust in a ritual to restore everyone’s drained life energies, while The Reckoner expends the last vestiges of magic in a healing wand to address their more obvious physical wounds.  Having prayed on the matter overnight, Lorien feels that if he can just glimpse the strange chained ghost again, he might be able to understand how to defeat it.  The trio hatch a plan involving giving a lit lantern to one of the walking dead they’ve managed to take magical control over, and having it advance toward the dais in the throne room to illuminate its bound resident for Lorien.  But although the plan starts well, Lorien’s inspiration deserts him at the crucial moment, and he remains unsure of what the spirit is or how to defeat it.

True illumination comes not from a lantern, but a much more bizarre source: the apparition from ancient Azlant that has repeatedly appeared to level its disapproving stare at Yraelzin!  Reluctantly translating from the Old Azlanti tongue, Yraelzin says his chastiser claims even a feebleminded street urchin would deduce that the ghost chained to the dais can only be permanently banished by first depriving it of its spiritual anchors—four creatures somewhere else in the castle that serve to bind the chained ghost to the Material Plane.  With a sigh, Yraelzin says the apparition claims he’s missed his destiny by abandoning a planned expedition to try to find the remnants of Azlant in the sea.

If the apparition that Yraelzin serves as interlocutor for is correct, there seems no alternative than to hunt down the chained spirit’s anchors one by one.  The trio of adventurers decide to explore one of the many chambers off the long, twisting corridor that runs through Castle Scarwall’s second floor.  The door opens to reveal a room with furnishings that leave no doubt as to its original purpose: racks, iron maidens, cages, and other implements of torture abound, all in fine working order.  A not-quite-human figure dressed in a long dark coat and tall hat exudes an almost palpable aura of horror as it looms over a table that contains an unconscious Anorak! “More toys!  How delightful!” chuckles the figure in a disturbing voice that sets everyone’s teeth on edge.  Controlling his fear, The Reckoner advances and quickly cuts down the monster before freeing Anorak.

Continued exploration on the second floor turns up a garderobe and a bedroom with rotted furniture.  Not long after extracting a keyring from under a decomposing writing desk, The Reckoner suddenly hears a now-familiar voice in his head: Bishop Keppira d’Bear, his connection with Cressida Kroft’s resistance band in Korvosa.  The message, constrained by the limitations of magic, is short:

 

“Good: Triffacia unmasked by Grau as efreeti working for Crimson Throne.  Bad: Dozens/hundreds of civilians dying spontaneously.  Dark blood magic.  Factions discussing Palace assault.”

 

As the Harrowed Heroes explore Castle Scarwall, the world outside isn’t standing still.  What will they find when they finally emerge?

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

GM Commentary

The idea that the spirit controlling Castle Scarwall had located the PCs and was targeting them wasn't exactly subtle, but the players were determined (or stubborn) to stand their ground and fight off the waves of attacks.  They all survived it, though it did drain a lot of healing and restorative resources.

The bit with Lorien and the lantern was because they wanted the PC to make a Knowledge (religion) check vs the chained spirit but (due to the the light levels in Scarwall) they needed him to get close enough to see it.  From the result, I'm guessing the player rolled a natural 1 or something similarly awful on the check.  Fortunately, Yraelzin's ancestral spirit was there (discussed in my previous commentary) because, mechanically, it allowed him some sort of free check or bonus on Knowledge attempts a limited number of times per day.

I'm guessing Anorak's player was either late or absent, thus the kidnapping by the monster (a boogeyman).

Having Grau defeat/unmask the "vigilante" Trifaccia (secretly an agent of Ileosa) was to further one of my guiding principles: don't make it seem like every NPC is helpless and the world just sits around waiting for the PCs to drive events forward.  Plus, I really wanted each of the three "rebel leaders" (Kroft, Grau, and Glorio Arkona) to have some successes and reasons for supporting them, so that the decision which to ultimately back would not be obvious.

Pathfinder Map Pack: "Cave Tunnels"

 So there I was, minutes until the session started.  I had a tenebrous worm ready to attack the PCs in some tunnels deep under a d'ziriak hive, and all the flip-mats and map-packs I looked at had traditional constructed dungeon corridors instead of the natural tunnels I needed.  And then I spotted Cave Tunnels unopened on my shelf, and knew it would be perfect!  There's nothing fancy about it, but it does exactly what you need it to do: natural rocky tunnels in dim light with plenty of branches.  Certainly something one could use for all sorts of quick random encounters underground.  The players might not have been happy about the resulting slaughter, but for a
harried GM, it was gold!

Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 77 [RPG]

 [Oathday, 6 Arodus 4708 A.R.]

 

The quest to break the curse of Castle Scarwall—and thus the source of Queen Ileosa’s invincibility through her mysterious crown—continues.  As their exploration of the myriad hallways and chambers of the second floor of the castle continue, the Harrowed Heroes decide to try a stealthy approach.  Anorak, taking the lead due to The Reckoner’s perceived vulnerability, turns himself invisible to scout ahead.  The dwarf soon finds himself on a balcony overlooking the courtyard the group trudged through previously.  He also discovers a lone skeletal minotaur, obviously a sentinel, in a watch station on the balcony.  Anorak quietly backtracks to the group and shares what he’s seen.  The decision is made for everyone to approach stealthily and try to subdue the guard.  Anorak, The Reckoner, and Goldcape move on tiptoe through the hallway, while Yraelzin stays around the corner with Eldritch.  Everything seems to be going well until Lorien’s armor begins squeaking, instantly drawing the sentinel’s attention!  It begins ringing a brass bell, surely alerting everyone and everything in the vicinity, before Anorak blasts it to fragments with an electricity spell.

 

In seconds, skeletons and zombies begin pouring forth into the hallway from multiple entry points.  Yraelzin and Eldritch are in dire straits, but Goldcape rushes over to protect them.  Rocky smashes three skeletons with as many strikes, while The Reckoner uses a magical wand to take control of a zombie left unscathed by the black tentacles Anorak conjures out of thin air.  The group decide to retreat out of concern that other defenders could be on their way.

 

In the chamber the group has used for multiple days as a makeshift campsite, The Reckoner asks Anorak to check his sapient armor, Plate, for curses.  The dwarf reports nothing awry with his creation.  For its part, Plate says it feels great and just wishes they could break the curse quickly to keep Ileosa from wreaking further havoc in Korvosa.  As the group converse, they realise drops of what looks like blood have started trickling down the wall, one by one.  The Reckoner calls out in alarm, readying the group to run, until the blood drops begin to form an image of perhaps the last person the Harrowed Heroes would expect to see: Glorio Arkona, patriarch of House Arkona, a wealthy aristocratic family that has become the de facto ruler of Old Korvosa, the Black Tower, and Trail’s End.

Glorio looks to be in high spirits as he addresses the explorers each by name, awaiting an introduction to Lorien that comes with little information.  When asked about how his image has manifested, Glorio says only that “the old magicks are the best magicks!”—though it’s clear from the bloody knife and the open wound in his palm that once his bleeding stops, so will the spell.  After some attempts at genial chit-chat that the Harrowed Heroes don’t reciprocate, Glorio sighs and gets to the point.  He says that although one prong of the invasion by the giant armies of the north was repulsed at Urglin (something that makes Yraelzin puff out his chest with pride), it’s clear the enemy has regrouped with a new plan: a knockout blow to take Magnimar (the region’s largest city), split the defenders of Varisia in half, and then easily mop up the rest.  Glorio says the alliance of Varisian city-states, their holdings, and the independent cities in the region are meeting in Ilsurian for a defence summit to plan a strategy to repel the expected invasion.  But Queen Ileosa has refused Korvosa’s participation in the alliance or even to send a representative to the summit, a choice that puts the whole region at risk of being conquered.  However, Glorio is excited to announce, the city’s three rebel factions (his own, Grau Soldado’s, and Cressida Kroft’s) have agreed to jointly send a representative to the summit, promising Korvosa’s aid as soon as Ileosa is overthrown.

The problem, Glorio explains, is that the rebel factions can’t agree on who to send.  None of the leaders are willing to risk leaving the city, and they don’t trust one another.  But then they hit upon a possible solution: send someone from a group they’ve all worked with in the past: the Harrowed Heroes!  Glorio says he championed his “Royal Craftsdwarf” Anorak (something that leads the dwarf to roll his eyes), while Kroft suggested sending The Reckoner.  Grau, it seems, didn’t have a preference.  Glorio concludes that that leaves only two possibilities that the rebel factions could agree on: Yraelzin and Goldcape.  Yraelzin reluctantly volunteers to go, but says he has no way of getting there quickly—he had to bribe a shaman in Urglin to provide him magical passage to Scarwall. Anorak suggests teleporting someone to Ilsurian, but without having been there before and the risk of whatever magical defenses Castle Scarwall may have, it doesn’t seem likely such an attempt would succeed.  Goldcape bravely offers herself as the rebels’ emissary: she can fly at great speeds on Rocky’s back, has a contact in Ilsurian already, and can stay in touch with the group through Yraelzin’s magical sending spells.  Goldcape gives Yraelzin a dagger marked with a stylized B as a symbol that she won’t let the group—or Korvosa—down.

After Goldcape and Rocky’s departure, the group’s spirits are subdued.  Nonetheless, they decide to press on.  Anorak and The Reckoner have come up with a new plan to permanently destroy the spectral skulls that seem to keep the strange, chain-covered ghost in Scarwall’s throne room from being permanently banished.  For a third time, the group burst into the throne room, but their plan has overlooked a key element—light!  The dais on which the chained spirit and the anchoring skulls sit is too far from the door to be seen, even with a dwarf’s darkvision.  But the spirit has no such limitation, as it’s able to sense the living from hundreds of feet away.  It springs forth to attack as Anorak and The Reckoner fumble with enchanting a coin to glow and then hurling it toward the dais.  Aided by the added light, Anorak casts a spell designed negate the magic of objects.  But it has no effect on the spectral skulls!  Everyone retreats, but the spirit’s ability to burst through walls without restraint means the group doesn’t make it out unscathed.

 

Back at their campsite, the group debrief.  Anorak confirms he cast the spell correctly, and that another attempt along the same lines isn’t likely to succeed either.  Lorien speculates that she could magically hide the group from the senses of undead, while Yraelzin argues that there’s no point in the group hitting its head against the wall since there’s no reason to think the throne room ghost is important.  Changing the subject entirely, Eldritch adds his speculation that the whole visit by Glorio was just a trick to weaken the party.

 

The magical camping spike is used to once again camouflage the group’s location as Anorak uses his newly-crafted wand to allow everyone to rest while still awake.  But several hours into the night, zombies and skeletons literally burst out of the ground at their feet!  Eldritch is wounded before flying high for safety, and the battle is prolonged by The Reckoner’s and Anorak’s insistence on trying to gain magical control of the creatures.  Just as the battle seems to be over, more undead arise!  It seems Castle Scarwall has been awakened, and it is not happy.

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

GM Commentary

At the beginning of the session, the group briefly try out scouting, and gain information about what lies ahead.  Smart!  They follow up with a group attempt at Stealth.  Dumb!  There are ways to deal with the "noisy group" problem (silence spells, special feats, etc.), but they take some planning.  Most groups just revert to the "we all move together and kick in every door" approach.

Several commentaries ago I referred to Goldcape's player leaving so he could become Assistant GM.  That shows my shoddy memory, as it actually happened this session.  We get to see some scenes at the summit in later sessions though.

A lot of zombies and skeletons appeared in this session--simply the result of random encounters.  At the PCs' level, such foes (even in large numbers) aren't really dangerous, but they do interrupt activities and drain resources.

Pathfinder Map Pack: "Lairs"

I pulled out Lairs recently when a random encounter with a harpy showed up and I needed a good place for it to be feasting on some travelers.  In four groups of four (and one group of two), the tiles form the following lairs:  a cool mini-dungeon with an arcane theme and visible victims of previous traps; a nice-looking farmhouse (maybe for a surprise encounter?), a small cave extending a few dozen feet into a hillside (perfect for my harpy), a forest/jungle clearing with some huts (good for a tribal monster encounter), and a really evocative ancient stone temple(?) with steps, a pool at the center, and loads of bodies.  There's plenty to work with here, and I guess the key is to keep the tiles organised by group so you know what you have available and can quickly pull them out when the time is right.  They're all nicely detailed.  I can definitely see using them again in the future.

Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 76 [RPG]

[Oathday, 6 Arodus 4708 A.R.]
 
The Harrowed Heroes’ room-by-room exploration of the massive Castle Scarwall continues.  One chamber, perhaps once a formal waiting room, now contains only ratty, ruined couches interspersed by small tables and shelves containing broken bottles of wine and serving trays covered with sheets of mold.  A search of the room turns up nothing of interest, but as Anorak goes to leave, he suddenly exclaims in fear and sadness as tears run down his face! He embraces The Reckoner, saying it’s time for him (Anorak) to go—that Kazavon will never provide mercy, so the only recourse is to throw himself from the castle’s walls!  Although the strange impulse quickly fades and Anorak realises the emotions he was feeling weren’t real, the lingering terror of the Lord of Scarwall remains.

Yraelzin reminds the group that Goldcape and Rocky are still missing.  The others remind Yraelzin that he has a way to magically communicate with allies, leading the former priest of Razmir to cast the spell.  He reports that Goldcape sounds strange, saying only that she’s in the “big room off the hallway with the double-doors”.  The group backtrack, trying to see if they’ve walked past anyplace that fits that description.  At one point, Lorien looks back to see something startling—a ghostly figure seems to be hovering right behind Yraelzin!  Dressed in archaic, overly formal clothing, the spectral human is looking down at Yraelzin with clear disapproval on its face.  “Who are you?” Lorien calls out.  The figure speaks in response, but no words can be heard.  By reading lips, The Reckoner is able to annunciate a few of its words, though the language is strange to everyone—everyone but Yraelzin.  Shaken by the apparition suddenly dissolving into a pile of wet snow, Yraelzin says the words are Old Azlanti and refer to him being a “failure” and a “disappointment”.  And even more strangely, continues Yraelzin, the man’s clothing marked him as from the time of Azlant—a continent lost to a worldwide cataclysm almost ten millennia ago, well before Scarwall was built!

Although the mystery lingers, the search for Goldcape must go on.  Before long, the group find a set of double-doors in the same hallway where they fought the nightmarish horse.  When the door is opened, the group is at first pleased to see that Goldcape and Rocky are indeed there—but happiness turns to concern when they seem to be in a deep trance.  Around them is a massive hall, its ceiling supported by thick wooden columns.  Between the columns, in the center of the room exactly where Goldcape and Rocky are hovering, is a large fire pit, its ashes long gone cold.  At the far end of the hall, difficult to see with the darkness and distance, is a wide dais.  A terrifying sight floats above one of the two chairs on the dais: a ghostly torso bound by lengths of writhing chains connected to misty skulls on the ground at its feet.  With the subtlest of nods from the ghostly figure, Goldcape and Rocky streak forward to attack!  The Reckoner backflips away, but not before Rocky gouges him with talon and beak.  With a prayer to Cayden Cailean, however, Lorien is able to dispel the evil enchantment that had clouded Goldcape’s mind and turned friend into foe.
 
But the danger is far from over.  Several spectres—the same type of creatures that nearly killed The Reckoner earlier—drift through walls and into the chamber.  Yraelzin hastily utters a new spell he learned especially for Scarwall—a spell to keep lesser undead completely at bay.  But although the spectres are barred from doing any harm (and soon incinerated by Anorak’s magic), the chained spirit on the dais hurtles itself forward, its merest touch leaving disfiguring wounds and shattered morale.  Strangely, the chains connecting the spirit to the skulls constantly snap it backwards to the dais like a taut bowstring being snapped.  The Harrowed Heroes decide to close the distance to the dais, putting themselves in harm’s way as the chains around the spirit lash out with more disfiguring attacks.  But The Reckoner’s enchanted hammer is unstoppable, and soon the chained spirit is completely dispersed.

Or so it seems.  The ghostly skulls remain on the dais, and barely a minute passes before the chains go taut and they pull the screaming spirit back from the Great Beyond for more torturous moments in the mortal realm!  Lorien’s magic conjures a silver-haired warrior from Elysium to aid in the struggle at the same time that Goldcape unleashes magical arrows, Anorak uses electrical spells, and The Reckoner continues swinging away.  Again, the chained spirit is dispersed.

But for how long?  The Harrowed Heroes try everything they can think of to destroy the four ghostly skulls remaining on the dais, but nothing seems to work.  Worried that the group can’t survive a third fight against the chained spirit, The Reckoner hurries everyone out of the room seconds before it reforms with an ear-splitting wail. 

 

The group retreat to the campsite, where, fortunately, Lorien has exactly the right spells prepared to help Goldcape and The Reckoner recover from the spiritual harms they suffered.  Yraelzin says they should just avoid the castle’s throne room—there’s no need to defeat every foe in the castle.  The Reckoner speculates that defeating the chained spirit could be part of lifting the curse.  Speaking of curses, The Reckoner and Anorak speculate that one or both of them may have been cursed, so they shed everything they’re wearing for a thorough magical inspection—but both turn up clean.  Afterwards, The Reckoner and Anorak debate whether to push on with exploring or rest for another 24 hours to regain their strength.  This time, Anorak’s argument wins the day, but with the proviso that he take the lead.

 

Sprawling Castle Scarwall holds many mysteries that test the strength and courage of all who would dare enter it.  One such mystery now seems prominent: how to defeat a foe bound to eternal battle?

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

GM's Commentary

The ghostly Azlanti figure following Yraelzin was my way of incorporating that he had the Vestige bloodline and had gained the Call Ancestor ability, which summons an ancestral spirit as a temporary ally.  Since Yraelzin was created, his bonded object was an otherwise non-magical ring with an inscription in Azlanti on it because I wanted to tie him into an adventure path I planned to play him in as an actual PC (Ruins of Azlant) before he quickly transitioned into being a GMPC here.  The idea of the spirit being disappointed relates to the fact that Yraelzin didn't fulfil his original destiny and connected to how (secretly) uncertain and self-doubting he was throughout much of the campaign.

This session is also notable for the first battle (of many!) against the chained spirit that rules Scarwall.  As the adventure provides, the spirit is attached to four "anchors"--other creatures--and cannot be permanently destroyed until those anchors are destroyed.  It's a fun concept and a good challenge for the players to figure out what's going on and what they need to do.  I also really liked the unique "yo-yo" movement style of the chained spirit (how it could charge forth a limited distance but at the end of its turn would automatically be yanked back to its starting point by the chains).

Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 75 [RPG]

 [Wealday, 5 Arodus 4708 A.R.]

In a relatively secure chamber somewhere on the second floor of Castle Scarwall, Anorak spends several hours crafting a magical wand that will allow the group to stay up all night, thus hopefully providing some solace against the constant nightmares that plague their sleep.  As he finishes the work, Goldcape and Rocky show just how dangerous sleeping in the haunted castle can be—neither can be awakened!  The best Anorak can tell is that they’re under some sort of necromantic curse.  While the dwarf is examining the pair, Yraelzin and The Reckoner hurry over to a nearby staircase from whence the sounds of slow, heavy footsteps can be heard rising toward them.  The mystery of Lorien’s whereabouts is solved, as the warrior returns, but with blood on his hands and a glazed look in his eyes.  He comes out of the trance gradually, but reports no memory of what happened to him!  Anorak pronounces the trance has had no lingering effects, but while everyone’s backs are turned, Goldcape and Rocky disappear!  Deciding it’s too risky to go looking for them without resting overnight, the group use Anorak’s new wand to keep a constant vigil until morning.

[Oathday, 6 Arodus 4708 A.R.]

 

In the morning, Lorien surprises the others by fortifying himself with a shot of whisky.  When their exploration of Scarwall resumes, they soon find themselves on a parapet looking out east over the crater lake below—the direction from which the group made their first, aborted attempt to approach Scarwall.  On the northeast corner of the parapet, a tall tower looms overhead.  The Reckoner pulls out a small case of rarely-used tools and (noisily) manages to unlock a well-preserved iron door leading to the tower.  The room on the other side contains multiple staircases and doors, but it’s clear the intruders’ approach has been detected.  From one doorway massive skeletal minotaurs like those encountered near the courtyard issue forth, greataxes at the ready.  But their attack is blocked by a more fearsome threat: a pair of massive hellhounds charging up from a staircase below!

Anorak is burned badly by the gouts of flame breathed by the hellhounds, and even Yraelzin, standing far to the rear, is scorched.  But flame is only one of their creatures’ weapons, as The Reckoner can attest when one of the creatures tears a chunk of flesh from his shoulder with a bite like a beartrap.  But The Reckoner recovers quickly from the blow and manages to dispatch the two creatures, opening the way for the assault from the skeletal minotaurs.  Lorien steps up to help fend off the attack and soon only piles of cracked bones are all that are left of the undead foes.

Deciding not to chance either the staircase up or the staircase down, the group instead explore the chambers on this level of the tower.  One chamber contains nearly a dozen paintings on the wall, all depicting historical battles, but all diverging, in a particular way: an arrogant, cruel human with black-hair is leading the victorious side.  Whether leading the vanguard of the dwarves in the Quest for the Sky, rallying troops in the Shining Crusade, or leading an army of warriors against a demonic host in a blighted land, the same figure appears in each of the paintings.  Lorien notices that all the paintings are signed “Zev Ravenka, Bishop of Scarwall.”  Outraged by the blasphemy of a human purportedly leading the dwarves in the sacred Quest for the Sky, Anorak destroys that painting and then all of the others.  Another chamber must have once been a finely-decorated meeting chamber before falling into disrepair—even a high-backed chair built from a tangle of bones has not stood the test of time.  Little appears to be of interest in the room apart from a pair of mithral candelabras, but as Anorak and Lorien are talking, they realise that The Reckoner is looking very odd indeed!  He spins around and points toward the chair, proclaiming that a misty shape is sitting on it, urging him to do wicked things!  Quickly, The Reckoner pulls out a magic wand to protect himself and his allies from evil, but no one else in the room sees or hears anything unusual—and even The Reckoner admits the chair is now empty.  The group hurry out of the tower and back onto the parapets.

 

Lorien calls upon his divine magic to examine the constant dread and spiritual darkness that pervades Castle Scarwall.  He reports that the curse on the castle is the most powerful he has ever seen, so powerful that no simple spell could remove it—there must be a special procedure or ritual involved, if lifting the curse is even possible to begin with.

 

Finding that the only other interesting thing on the parapet is a long-unused forge with a gleaming, surely magical warhammer, the group look for a way from this eastern section of the castle into the main portion—but can’t find one.  The Reckoner decides to make his own doorway with an adamantine maul, and soon the group find themselves in a winding hallway.  A miasma of smoke fills the air here, along with the stink of burning flesh.  The cause appears instantly: a nightmare!  Lorien bravely charges in to do battle but The Reckoner destroys the creature with a single swing of one of his many enchanted battle-mauls.

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

GM Commentary

This session was more general exploration of Castle Scarwall without anything particularly memorable about it.  Lorien's player was back but Goldcape's player was absent, so that's why there were some shenanigans at the beginning.

I liked the image of The Reckoner just smashing holes in walls with this adamantine maul to create his own doorways!