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I’ve run a lot of 3.5-era Pathfinder modules in my
long-running “Roots of Golarion” campaign.
Sometimes it’s a challenge to integrate them, like forcing a jigsaw
puzzle piece into the wrong place with the help of some scissors and tape. The Demon Within, however,
slotted perfectly thanks to a happy coincidence with one of the campaign’s
PCs. We ended up having a great time, with
the events in the module creating a potential retirement opportunity when the
campaign is all over. Not every module
will work the same for every group, but all I can say is that it worked for
ours.
Some general points: the adventure is written for level 11
PCs, but it’s still pretty tough with a lot of encounters in a short space of
time (depending on how the PCs proceed).
The writing and detail are fantastically gruesome, which fits the
circumstances of the adventure perfectly but could offend some squeamish sensibilities. In terms of art, I love the front cover (its
thematically appropriate), but the interior art is mostly mediocre. Maps are very good, though very large (in
terms of 5’ scale) and may be a challenge to represent on the gaming table. One of my favourite things about these early
Paizo modules is the “Designer Sidebars” throughout, in which the writer
discusses potential snags and provides tips for the GM to overcome them. The adventure itself takes up 26 pages, with
the remaining six pages devoted to appendices that I’ll discuss in the next
section because they might be a bit spoilery.
SPOILERS!
The Demon Within is set in two locations in
the city of Kenabres in Mendev, a country adjacent to the demon-infested
Worldwound. Because countless
teleporting demons are impossible to fight and contain through normal means,
salvation for Mendev came in the form of the wardstones: a linked chain of
artifacts along the border between Mendev and the Worldwound that prevents
demons from teleporting across. I’m not
sure whether the concept of the wardstones first appears in The Demon
Within, but they certainly receive their earliest full development
here. The module goes into great
backstory detail about the heroic warriors of Iomedae, led by Saint Clydwell,
who discovered the wardstones and how they could be linked and empowered by a
powerful artifact from the Worldwound called The Demonscope However, keeping The Demonscope (and
thus wardstones) operational requires constant vigilance by a trio of the most
faithful and selfless of Iomedae’s knights: the Order of Holy Sentinels. Even if a GM doesn’t run the adventure, the
module is great for the amount of lore and depth it adds to Mendev and the
Church of Iomedae, and could probably (I’m guessing) be fitted into a side
adventure for Wrath of the Righteous.
The adventure’s premise is that a danger has arisen that no
one in Mendev realises: one of the Holy Sentinels has been corrupted! Plagued by doubt and constant fears of
failure, Sir Holton Albright, the newest Holy Sentinel, has been tricked by a
demon into removing one of the sacred relics that keeps The Demonscope
operational. And at the public ceremony
where he’ll be formally consecrated to the order, all hell (or, should I say,
the Abyss) breaks loose! This is where
the adventure starts for the PCs, as they’re guests during the consecration ceremony
when a massive glabrezu, disguised as Albright, transforms into its true form
and begins wreaking havoc, while mobs of dretches appear to attack the various
emissaries and guests, and a pair of vrocks crash through the temple’s stained-glass
windows. It should be a scene of utter
chaos (fitting for demons) as the PCs try to figure out where to go and what to
do first when pulled in so many directions.
In other words, an exciting start to the adventure! (Getting the PCs to the consecration ceremony
could be hard part; for my group, it was a snap, as one of the PCs is an inquisitor
of Iomedae.)
Following the battle, word spreads that Clydwell Keep, home
of The Demonscope, has fallen!
Kanebres’s official demonologist, Kutholiam Vuere, notices how (presumably)
well the PCs fought and says there’s a secret tunnel from the temple into the lower
levels of Clydwell Keep, and that perhaps it’s not too late. Vuere only appears in the adventure in this
section to give exposition—he has a lot of it and it’s important, but the PCs
may understandably feel pressure to take action instead of talking and miss
much of it. In any event, I imagine Vuere
could be a very useful NPC for other adventures set in Mendev.
There’s a cool scene in the escape tunnel when the PCs reach
the door that leads into the keep’s mausoleum.
A few paladins—wounded, fatigued, and almost overwhelmed--hold the door
from the PCs’ side. Something powerful
and massive must be on the other side and is slamming into the door—BOOM BOOM
BOOM! The PCs have three rounds to
prepare before the door crashes in and a massive balban demon appears with a
swarm of dretches underfoot. The
mausoleum itself is notable for three things: 1) Statues, with plaques, naming the various
holy warriors interred within—PCs who pay attention will gain a vital clue for
the adventure’s endgame; 2) A statue
that provides unlimited magical healing to any good-aligned creature
that touches it—making it a crucial place to rest and recover between forays
into the keep; and 3) An invisible quasit spy named Frqazzikal who secretly
follows the PCs, warning the demons in every chamber of their approach and
generally harassing them at the worst possible moment. Devious!
The PCs emerge from the mausoleum into a chapel on the
surface level of the keep. As an example
of the grisly writing I mentioned in the opening, there’s a demon-possessed
paladin to fight, and he’s nailed his own squire (who’s still alive!) to his
tower shield! Jeepers. A GM who wants a fast-paced adventure with
elements of horror has come to the right place with this module.
The grounds of Clydwell Keep are divided into an Upper and
Lower Bailey. Here, different groups
will make very different decisions. Some
will take it upon themselves to clear out every single building and tower, and
there are enough demons to provide a dozen or more encounters (and a ton of
XP). Other groups will keep their eye on
the prize (restoring The Demonscope to empower the wardstones before its
too late) and bypass most of the optional encounters. My group (I think smartly) chose the second
option.
To reach The Demonscope, the PCs need to breach the
keep proper and descend into the dungeons beneath it. Here they have to overcome paladins turned
into zombies, babaus, dretches, a demon-possessed Holy Sentinel, a new type of
monster called chatterer swarms (a great and memorable monster that should be
used again), a black pudding, succubi, a demon knight, a lesser nabasu, and
more! Saving civilisation from demon
hordes isn’t easy, but a group with a paladin, lawful good cleric, or (as in my
group) an inquisitor able to make their weapons into demon-bane ones will get
plenty of time in the spotlight.
The module does a really good job with Sir Holton Albright—he’s
actually a sympathetic figure as he’s now filled with remorse and disgust at
himself for being manipulated by the demon.
Once found, he’ll help the group understand the problem with The
Demonscope and how it can be fixed.
This involves locating and placing sacred relics in the correct location,
which is where the clues from the mausoleum come into play. Or, the PCs can try to brute force the
solution, which can work, but the longer it takes them to figure it out, the
more a CR15 balor demon emerges! The
balor has limited powers at this point, but it still filled me with joy to have
its massive arm appear and take some swipes at the PCs in a very climactic
ending. Fortunately, my PCs reactivated The
Demonscope and saved Mendev from becoming just another demon-infested wasteland
like the Worldwound. You’re welcome!
For back matter, the module contains three appendices. The first is a few paragraphs on Kenabres,
which really isn’t enough. Although the
module doesn’t give the PCs a chance to spend time in the city, a GM should see
if they can find more on it elsewhere in case they want to do some stuff there
before or after the adventure. The
second appendix contains two new monsters: the aforementioned chatterer swarms
and sons of perdition; both good additions to the game. Appendix 3 contains stats for The Demonscope
and some other magic items, our favourites of which were faith orbs
(holy hand grenades!) and water scorpions (squirt guns with endless
supply of holy water!).
I suppose if one wanted to quibble, there’s not a lot of
opportunity for role-playing or skill challenges in The Demon Within
and, from one point of view, it’s pretty much a hack-fest. But it’s a really good hack-fest, with a
great backstory and excellent use of the setting. I’d recommend it.
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