Starfinder Bounty # 6: "Songbird Rescue" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

 

Songbird Rescue is the first of the Starfinder Bounties (short, 60-90 minute adventures) that I’ve been able to play in person.  I really like the premise for the story, and there’s strong artwork and clever use of one of the flip-mats.  There’s actually a fair amount packed into the Bounty, including combat, traps, lots of opportunities for skills, and some role-playing.  Given all this, and that it’s designed for Level 1 PCs, it would make an excellent adventure to introduce new players to Starfinder.

 

SPOILERS!

 

I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of dead or forgotten gods.  It’s amazing to think that there could be a time when a god has thousands or even millions of followers, but that over time, cultural shifts, and new religions, worship in that god could dwindle to the point where few if anyone remembers them.  And it’s not unrealistic, as plenty of examples can be found in the real world (there’s a memorable H.R. Mencken quote about it).  All that leads into why I find the premise behind Songbird Rescue really interesting.  The bulk of the adventure is set on Yashu-Indiri, an airless moon around Bretheda, that is littered with shrines to dead and forgotten deities.  An android named Sharaphine is part of an order of mystics that maintain some of the shrines when she suffers a terrible accident when one collapses on her.  After spending three days digging herself out, she finds herself emerging at the base of a shrine to Zyphus, the god of accidental death, disasters, and tragedy!  Epiphany strikes, and Sharaphine finds a new patron.  Immediately, she engineers “accidents” to kill the others in her order and then hatches an even crazier plan: she assembles a device (a “calamitter”) to foul the navigational landing systems of ships approaching Yashu-Indiri to create “accidental” crashes!  It’s a pretty cool backstory to the adventure.

 

The Bounty starts with the PCs aboard Songbird Station (a performance venue/school/temple to Shelyn) in the Diaspora.  There, they’re hired by a kobold cleric of Shelyn named Kivi to set out on a rescue mission to Yashu-Indiri.  It seems that a Shelynite named Nairon Shalorrh piloted her shuttle on her usual bimonthly visit to the moon, sent out a transmission when she was approaching it, and then hasn’t been heard from since!  The PCs are given a rainbow-coloured vessel named Vivacity and promised a couple of hundreds of credits each when they return.

 

Sharaphine’s “calamitter” wreaks havoc on the Vivacity’s nav systems as it approaches Yashu-Indiri, forcing a crash landing.  This takes the form of a multi-round skill challenge.  A good GM can make this pretty exciting, even if the worst consequences (failing every round of the challenge) is only a couple of dice of damage and the fatigued condition.  (Then again, at Level 1, that could be a big impact). 

 

After surviving the crash, the PCs find their way to Kivi’s nearby shuttle—a scene perfectly presented by the Crashed Starship flip-mat.  Here they encounter Sharaphine and her posse of anacite wingbots.  The artwork for Sharaphine is excellent.  After (presumably) defeating her, the PCs can begin excavating the shuttle, and that’s where they may meet the most dangerous thing in the Bounty: an electrical trap that could do 3d6 damage—it’s not likely to actually kill any PCs (Resolve Points in Starfinder make that practically impossible), but it could certainly knock one out.  The missing cleric, Kivi, is badly hurt but still alive.  The PCs need to tread carefully here, as skill check mishaps here could very well kill her.  There is where there’s a chance for some role-playing.

 

Having hopefully rescued Kivi, the PCs need to locate the “calamitter” and disable it before repairing their ship and setting off back to Songbird Station.  This only takes a couple of skill checks (that can be repeated without failure), so shouldn’t be too hard.

 

I can’t think of anything to complain about with Songbird Rescue—so that must mean it’s pretty good!

Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 65 [RPG]

 [Wealday, 29 Erastus 4708 A.R.]

 

For Ralph Blackfeather and Anorak, dawn brings not just a new day but the sound of screams!  Changing quickly into his guise as The Reckoner, Ralph has Plate make him invisible as he investigates.  A woman on the street is obviously the source of the screams, but she’s unable to do anything but point in the direction of the house across the street from The Reckoner’s safehouse.  Inside, a body has been torn to shreds, blood is everywhere, and the place has been thoroughly ransacked.  Anorak follows The Reckoner inside, and they realise they’re looking at the work of xills! 

 

Both come to the immediate conclusion that the xills must still be after the mysterious box given to Anorak by the unnerving “baker” Mortimont.  The Reckoner wonders aloud how the xill could have tracked the box, as his safehouse has robust protections against divination spells.  He says keeping it in the safehouse is too dangerous, even if the xill can only sense its approximate location, and that they should get rid of it by taking it somewhere with windwalk.  Anorak’s mind turns in a more devious direction, as he suggests putting it somewhere they wouldn’t mind the xill attacking—like Castle Korvosa!  But The Reckoner says that could make things worse if Ileosa got her hands on it.  The two discuss why a passage to the Ethereal Plane could be so valuable (if that is indeed what the box contains), but neither knows enough about the Ethereal Plane to say.

 

Once back outside, the two see that neighbours have come out from nearby buildings—seemingly wanting to help, but scared now that there’s little in the way of law enforcement in Korvosa.  The Reckoner offers his condolences and some money to help the woman who found the body, and Anorak tries to gently ask her some questions, but she’s in too much shock to be of any help.

The two return to the safehouse, where Anorak begins memorising spells for the day ahead and The Reckoner doffs his guise to become Ralph Blackfeather once again.  Ralph walks to the Burnt Honey Inn, just down the street, and, over breakfast, tells Goldcape what just happened.  She says they have to get rid of the box, and suggests putting it in a bag of holding and filling the bag up with rocks until it explodes.  As they’re talking, the magical silver raven she sent to Harse recently returns with a message: “Our shared friend thought it safer for me not to know where he was going. But he promised to be ready when the time comes.”  Goldcape is not satisfied with the answer—she wants to know where Vencarlo is.  She asks Ralph if he could arrange a meeting with Kroft to find out, but Ralph explains about the Black Ship and how difficult it is to reach.  Goldcape tries to send Kroft a note using the silver raven, but the raven soon returns, having been unable to deliver the message.

Anorak soon arrives.  The three spend the morning trying to find a map of the Hold of Belkzen.  First, they try Bookmaker.  The squeakily-voiced proprietor, Costa Serimus, explains that he doesn’t have a map, but he does have a rare scholarly work on the area.  Goldcape is allowed to look at the index, and sees there’s even an entry for Scarwall.  The problem is that the book is quite costly—almost a thousand gold pieces!  Goldcape and Anorak argue about whether the dwarf should contribute to buying the book (since the vanara didn’t contribute to purchasing the magical contract to bind their dandasuka spy), until Goldcape has had enough and buys the book herself.  Still without a map of the area, the trio reluctantly walk south to Eodred’s Walk and enter Basha’s, a small map shop whose proprietor Ralph believes is selling fraudulent “treasure maps.”  When he raises this suspicion with Basha, the cranky old man is (or feigns to be) outraged, and refuses to sell anything to the group until Ralph promises not to spread the “scurrilous rumor” any further.  Basha claims to have a map of the Hold of Belkzen (“made by a Pathfinder!”), and, although Ralph is dubious of its provenance, the group ends up buying it.

 

As they’re in the shop, Goldcape receives a sudden mental message from Yraelzin.  “How close are you?  Lots of orcs.  Made deal with Kuthites—we’re ready to go in when you arrive.  They’re an interesting bunch!”  Goldcape sends as long a response as the spell allows: “Leaving soon, bringing maps.  Where are you? We windwalk.  Where meet? What Kuthites? Anorak don’t want deal.  Arrive soon.”  The trio discuss their travel plans, and settle on leaving tomorrow from Trail’s End and starting with a teleport to Janderhoff.  Complications ensue regarding the power of Anorak’s magic to take only a limited number of creatures.  When Rocky, Anorak’s new familiar, and The Reckoner’s horse are factored in, the spell simply won’t work.  The solution seems to be to ferry everyone to Janderhoff (and beyond) by Anorak casting the spell multiple times, which will leave him dangerously low on his most powerful types of magic.

 

The trio split up and spend the afternoon making their final preparations for departure.  The Reckoner returns to Old Korvosa, finds Xoza, explains that he’ll be gone for several weeks, and tells the spy to spend some time investigating Trifaccia, some time on learning Glorio’s plans and weaknesses, and, if time allows, more about the Commander of the Gray Maidens.  Goldcape makes arrangements with Sergeant Clenkins to continue training the members of her resistance cell; Clenkins promises the troops will be ready when called upon.  Anorak visits The Reckoner’s safehouse, collects the mysterious box and The Reckoner’s horse, and magically travels to Trail’s End.  Soon, Goldcape and The Reckoner are there as well.  The largely-Varisian village is now nearly empty, with most of the residents having departed for more promising destinations.

It’s late afternoon when Anorak explains to the others that he thinks the best way to keep the box from being detected by the xill is to place it within a magical bag of holding.  Acknowledging it could be dangerous (since the box itself could contain an extradimensional pocket), he says he could do it himself, out of range of the others or any civilians.  The snag is that Anorak doesn’t want to use his own magical bag, deeming it too valuable.  Instead, he wants to use Goldcape’s magical bag which is less-powerfully enchanted and cheaper to replace if something goes wrong.  Goldcape initially refuses, but Anorak promises that if the box destroys the bag, he’ll lend her his own magical bag and pay for the full cost of replacing her original one.  Goldcape eventually, and reluctantly, goes along with the plan, and removes everything from her magical bag.  Anorak then removes everything he’s wearing (except his armor), chains himself to a stout tree, has the others move to a safe distance, and places the mysterious box in Goldcape’s magical bag.

The results are immediate, and cataclysmic.  The bag and the box seem to implode, and in their place stands a massive tower of purest black marble!  The tower somehow casts an uncanny shadow a full mile’s radius around it.  But of more immediate danger are the hordes of gibbering, toothy insects that pour forth, straight for Anorak!  They swarm all over the dwarf, somehow chewing holes even in his mithral armor, before Goldcape recognises what they are and how to stop them.  The vanara calls upon her mastery of nature magic to send several freezing spears of ice at the creatures, freezing them in their tracks.  Apart from his damaged armor, Anorak is largely unharmed.  Goldcape raises a curious question after recognising the insects as daemonic swarms from the Abyss—what would creatures from such a place be doing in a tower said to be linked to the Ethereal Plane?

Answers may lie past the heavy stone door located in an odd-shaped recess in the exterior of the tower.  But at what further cost will those answers come?

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

GM Commentary

We had a lot of fun with Basha and his map shop.  There's only a line or two in the Guide to Korvosa about him, but I took the reference to treasure maps and really hammed up the premise that he sold dubious and outright-forged work.  He was a memorable NPC, and makes some return appearances during Chapter Six.

As I've often mentioned, the story continues even if the PCs dawdle.  Having Yraelzin make an off-screen deal with the Brotherhood of Bone is part of this idea, and we'll soon see the group's reaction when they finally arrive in Scarwall.

That journey was fated to take longer because the PCs had a panoply of mounts, animal companions, and familiars with them.  I always enforce the limits of magic carefully, as it helps players see that the larger their ranks become, the more complications can ensue.  (In other words, getting a new familiar or a guard dog might seem cool, but if it means the group can't teleport or wind walk somewhere, the trade-offs become apparent)

Long before the campaign started, I had entertained my son with the tale of the players in Rise of the Runelords stuffing a bag of holding full of thousands and thousands of silver coins (from a dragon's hoard) until they exceeded its weight limitation and it exploded, swallowing up a good deal of the party's stored treasure!  Thus, he was very aware of the dangers of magical bags and very reluctant to let Anorak use Goldcape's bag for his experiment.  As was unfortunately too often the case, the adults in the group automatically thought their ideas were better than the kid's, and was often the case, they were wrong.  Opening the box normally would have conjured the tower (which provided a passage to the Ethereal Plane, which is why the xill were set on having it) and then closing the box would have vanished the tower.  But placing the extradimensionally-linked box into the bag of holding resulted in the destruction of both the box and the bag, with the tower now permanently fixed in Trail's End!  To this day, if players in any of my campaigns go to Korvosa, they'll see the mile-wide supernatural shadow cast by a strange black tower just outside the city . . .

Starfinder One-Shot # 3: "System Takedown"

 NO SPOILERS

 

System Takedown is the third of the “Starfinder One-Shot” series of short adventures designed to be ran in a single session.  Although sanctioned for Starfinder Society play, the one-shots come with pre-gen characters and the story doesn’t involve the Starfinder Society.  I ran System Takedown live for my kid’s birthday and thought it was a solid adventure with a couple of really fun elements. The Level 5 pre-gens have nice artwork and connections to the other party members to draw upon for role-playing, though I do find the earlier style of Iconic character sheets (with brief descriptions of how their class abilities, feats, and equipment work) much more useful in actual gameplay.  I also think the listed playtime of 3-4 hours is probably optimistic, though of course, every group is different.

 

SPOILERS!

 

System Takedown is set on the pahtra homeworld of Pulonis, known to the occupying Veskarium empire as Vesk-6.  The PCs take on the role of rebels on a mission to bring down a corrupt and particularly brutal Veskarium regional consul named Shethris Nazriar.  Although they’ve obtained evidence of his numerous crimes, the rebels know that anything they put on the planetary infosphere will be quickly scrubbed.  Thus, the only way to get it out is to infiltrate a military communications facility in a remote jungle and use its emergency planetary broadcast system to send it directly to everyone!  In other words, it’s a bit of a combination of Han Solo’s mission on Endor to capture the remote shield generator facility in Return of the Jedi and the crew’s mission to broadcast the Alliance’s crimes in Serenity (Can’t Stop the Signal!).  In a fun twist, the entire mission is being live-streamed by the resistance and the GM is given scripted comments from the stream’s “audience” to share at particular points in the story; the PCs get minor bonuses if they follow the (randomly determined) suggestions of the audience.  I didn’t do a great job with it, and it might be an idea that actually works better over a virtual tabletop or play-by-post, but I really liked the idea. 

 

The adventure starts with the PCs approaching the outpost through the jungle and having to figure out a way to get inside.  The approach is guarded by roving patrols of Vesk guards and automated defence turrets.  A patient group can study the defences and learn the overlapping routes of the guards and area of coverage of the defence turrets, and sneak through the gaps to reach the entrance door.  Or, they can do what my players did, and just attack!  Either way, once at the door, there’s a challenging hack.  In another nice addition, the PCs on the ground are supported by a remote communications/computer specialist who can aid with advice or even hacking (though it takes longer).  Overall, it’s a detailed and well put together encounter.

 

The interior of the base consists of seven rooms.  There’s the usual fight against robot guards (first “Incapacitator Robots” and later the much more common observer-class security robots), a trap (spinning force blades), a non-hostile NPC for a bit of role-playing, and an (optional based on time) fight against a shadow mastiff.  The main encounter has a good premise: in the communications room, the PCs face an entire system shutdown and have to quickly achieve a certain number of Computers checks in a set timeframe while simultaneously battling the robots.  I’m a big fan of time-sensitive encounters that combine combat and non-combat challenges and force the party to make strategic (and sometimes hard) decisions on where to focus their efforts.  In another fun addition, Consul Nazriar has learned of the group’s intrusion and sends them mocking messages throughout their time in the facility (though the messages get more and more panicked as the PCs make progress).

 

The climax is great and foreshadowed well through the “livestream chat”.  Having realised his career is over, Consul Nazriar steals a freaking mech and tromps down to the base to confront the PCs as they emerge!  A Huge-sized mech is a memorable boss fight, and Nazriar is given enough of a personality that there’s plenty to work with in terms of threatening banter.  Despite its threatening appearance, the mech actually isn’t that tough, but it does have some cinematic abilities like firing volleys of missiles or grabbing creatures and hurling them into the air.

 

The epilogue is written well: the rebels still have a long way to go, but have improved things in one area of the planet.  I’m also happy the PCs got to be rebels, after some of those Starfinder Society adventures where the PCs are expected to take the Veskarium’s side!  Anyway, I thought System Takedown was a well-written adventure and would provide a good experience to new and experience players alike.

Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 64 [RPG]

 [Moonday, 27 Erastus 4708 A.R.]

This summer has proven to be a rainy, windy one in Korvosa.  Ralph and Goldcape brave the elements to talk to Xoza, their dandasuka spy.  Xoza says he asked around about Trifaccia, as requested, and heard there was a (probably staged) altercation in the Shingles the night before.  The little gnome-like rakshasa says working as a double agent is a lot more fun than watching Anorak craft all day, and that he wishes “that dwarf” would do something really exciting like open the mysterious box!  Ralph asks Xoza how he’s been getting across to the main part of the city from Endrin’s Isle since the only bridge is blockaded, a question that’s answered by the dandasuka transforming into a gillman (and then back) with a snap of his fingers!  Xoza is sent to see if he can find out anything else about Trifaccia.

Goldcape and Ralph decide to visit Hedge Wizardry.  Ralph, as The Reckoner, uses his usual trick of having Plate turn them invisible and then quickly scaling the barrier on the lone bridge out of Old Korvosa.  Goldcape, however, first tries flying Rocky on a long circuitous route to come into the city from the south.  She sees the massive statue of Queen Ileosa built on Jeggare Isle, and notices that, perhaps oddly, it’s facing about 285 degrees to the northwest.  The sight of a few Gray Maidens guarding the southern gate and walls of Korvosa lead the vanara to believe that it’d be too risky to come into the city from that direction.  She makes the long circuitous trip back to Trail’s End, leaves Rocky with one of the ever-dwindling Varisians there, and then swims across the Jeggare, using her nature magic to draw upon the mystical aspect of the frog!  When Goldcape and (a disguised) Ralph finally meet up, several hours have passed.  Goldcape purchases several magical scrolls from Phaeton that will allow her to turn Rocky into a handheld statue and back.  At Goldcape’s suggestion, the two then hurry to the University of Korvosa in the hopes of doing some research, but find, with it operating under summer hours, the Jeggare Library has already closed for the day.

Trying to make the most of their remaining time in the city as they wait for Anorak to finish his days-long magical ritual, the pair decide to see if they can talk with Grau Soldado.  Ascending to the Shingles, they find a community celebrating its freedom—no Gray Maiden patrol has dared set foot in the sprawling rooftop shantytown for days.  The Reckoner discreetly asks if anyone knows the whereabouts of the “Burned Man”, and ends up talking to the aptly named “Skeevy Jay.”  Skeevy Jay, knowing The Reckoner’s reputation for keeping his promises (and utter fearlessness when it comes to fighting the Gray Maidens guarding the bridges and gates around the city), asks the vigilante if he could arrange safe passage out of Korvosa.  Skeevy Jay is frank that he and his pals (“Hal Five-Coins” and “Mr. Forget-Me-Not”) have been stealing from nobles and are on the run from the Cerulean Society for “unauthorised theft.”  The Reckoner replies that he’ll think about it, but first he wants to meet with the Burned Man.

As the sun sets, Grau makes an appearance.  A completely-changed man from the drunken sad-sack he was when they first met him, Grau’s grim, battle-scarred demeanour has earned him a place as leader of the resistance in the Shingles.  He talks with Goldcape and The Reckoner about Trifaccia, acknowledging that the new vigilante is likely a fake working for the Queen—but that his deceptions have been effective in stirring up discontent against the rebels.  When asked to throw his support behind Kroft, Grau is dismissive, saying the former leader of the Korvosan Guard is too cautious and careful—people are dying in the streets!  He compliments his visitors on their raids on High Bridge and North Bridge, saying that striking fear in the Queen’s minions is one sure way to get them to loosen their grip on the city, just like he did in the Shingles.  Grau asks again for the Harrowed Heroes to throw their support behind him instead of Kroft, saying “Who do you want at your side? Someone who gets the job done, or someone who looks pretty in a skirt?”  Realising that it’s unlikely they’ll persuade Grau to join up with Kroft anytime soon, the two steer the conversation to how dangerous Glorio Arkona is.  After explaining that Glorio is really a rakshasa, The Reckoner manages to convince Grau not to ally himself with the aristocrat, despite whatever semblance of order he’s managed to bring to Old Korvosa.  Before Grau leaves, Goldcape asks him where he got the burn scars that cover part of his face.  He explains that in the last battle for control of the Shingles, the Queen’s new “seneschal” teleported in, and the bloatmage unleashed some terrible fire magic.  It was fortunate, Grau explains, that after he was blasted off a catwalk, he was found and hidden in the Temple of Sarenrae to recover.

The Reckoner finds Skeevy Jay and his friends, and they negotiate a price for safe passage out of the city.  Hal Five-Coins hints that he’d happily throw in with “Goldcape’s Gang” over in Old Korvosa, but the vanara flatly refuses.  The thieves are told to wait nearby, and The Reckoner returns to his safehouse to talk a plan over with Anorak.  The dwarf says he could simply teleport them out of the city, but they’d have to wait until tomorrow.  The prospect of a magical escape from the city sounds ideal to the thieves, and they quickly agree.

[Toilday, 28 Erastus 4708 A.R.]

In the morning, Anorak tries to teleport the thieves to Kaer Maga, but they end up in the workshop of a very-surprised cobbler in Janderhoff!  Fortunately, no harm was done.  A second casting works as intended, as the group appear in Kaer Maga in the dimly-lit, cluttered shop of esoterica run by a vampire!  The undead proprietor doesn’t blink as the group’s sudden arrival, and remembers Anorak perfectly.  As the thieves slip away into the City of Strangers, Anorak politely refuses an untoward proposition from the vampire and teleports back to Korvosa in order to get back to work on his mysterious magical ritual.

Meanwhile, Goldcape and Ralph Blackfeather spend the morning in the Jeggare Library, finding it largely empty of students and patrons.  The librarian looks extremely nervous when Goldcape asks if the library has any blueprints of Castle Korvosa, and explains that they were all removed some months ago.  But Ralph has a hunch she’s keeping something back, and he and Goldcape look through the stacks just in case.  There, in a collection of books on local Korvosan history, Goldcape finds a dusty tome containing sketches of the castle’s layout!  She tries to copy the sketches onto a sheet of papyrus, but the results are nearly incomprehensible.  Ralph suggests either stealing or hiding the book.  Goldcape utters a simple spell that reveals abjuration magic on the windows and doors of the library, leading her to suspect that an attempt to steal a book could set off some sort of alarm.  The two agree to hide the book on an out-of-the-way shelf (“Fungi of the Mwangi Expanse”) so they can look at it again later.  As they leave the library, the idea of seeing if Bookmaker’s would have maps for sale comes to them.  The proprietor does indeed have some hidden away, but only for a dear cost: 900 gold pieces.  Unable to come up with the money on the spot, Goldcape and Ralph offer 200 gold pieces as a deposit.

On a lunchtime break from his lengthy ritual, Anorak heads down to Eodred’s Walk and sees one of the shops is a smouldering ruin.  He soon learns the location was Trapper’s Hole, bowyer and fletcher Jope Chantsmo’s shop.  Jope is sitting behind the wreckage, staring despondently, his livelihood destroyed in the space of minutes.  Anorak is able to glean that the shop burned sometime in the middle of the night, and was surely arson—probably from the scattered rioting that has erupted now that the Gray Maidens have lost day-to-day control over the city’s streets.  Anorak tries to console Jope and offers help, but the man only mumbles about it being time to start over elsewhere as he starts trudging toward High Bridge.  Anorak finds Phaeton Skoda and they commiserate over the tragedy.  Not long after, Goldcape hears what happened and also tries to comfort Jope.

Over supper in the Burnt Honey Inn, Goldcape, Ralph, and Anorak are surprised when a small creature flies through the window and lands on Anorak’s shoulder!  Looking like a cross between a bird and a reptile, the leathery-winged creature has needle-like teeth and a long tail ending in a diamond-shaped vane.  Anorak’s magical ritual was to gain a familiar!  But unlike Plate (The Reckoner’s excitable sapient armor), only Anorak can hear what his familiar is saying.  The dwarf magus names his new friend Eldritch, and quickly learns that the little creature has a foul mouth and homicidal tendencies!  Goldcape is outraged that this was what the group spent days waiting for when thousands of lives are suffering every day under Ileosa’s reign!  Everyone commits to leaving for Scarwall the very next day.

That night, The Reckoner and Blackjack (Goldcape) carry out a plan to appear together in the Shingles.  Their goals are twofold: first, to try and lure Trifaccia into attacking; second, to provide plausible evidence to House Arkona that The Reckoner is trying to persuade Blackjack into supporting it.  Trifaccia never shows up, but the residents of the Shingles are enthusiastic to see two of the city’s greatest heroes teaming up.

[Wealday, 29 Erastus 4708 A.R.]

In the early morning hours, just before dawn, Ralph and Anorak awaken to screaming outside The Reckoner’s safehouse!

 

If Cressida Kroft is correct, Ileosa’s recent reclusiveness is a sign she is planning something big.  But days have now passed since the Harrowed Heroes originally planned to depart for Scarwall.  Has the delay allowed for better preparation for the mission, or simply brought the people of Korvosa closer and closer to utter ruin?

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

GM Commentary

The building of the giant Ileosa statue is foreshadowing for some really fun stuff in Chapter Six.

I was happy with Grau's evolution, and how he presented a plausible alternative to Field Marshall Kroft (he could be Wolverine to her Cyclops!).  The role-playing also revealed more about the Queen's new bloatmage seneschal, Togomor. 

Goldcape's player was (I think justifiably) outraged that so much time had been spent (in terms of sessions and in-game days when the city is suffering) just for Anorak to get a familiar.  The delay had major consequences, and I don't remember the familiar being particularly valuable.  I did have some fun role-playing Eldritch and his desire to murder the other PCs.

Pathfinder Campaign Setting: "Book of the Damned, Volume 3: Horsemen of the Apocalypse" [RPG]

Todd Stewart has a well-deserved reputation as a gaming guru when it comes to material on other planes, and his work on Book of the Damned, Vol 3: Horsemen of the Apocalypse can only burnish that reputation.  The writing in this 64-page softcover book is stellar and it makes a fitting capstone to the trilogy of books that previously covered devils (Hell) and demons (the Abyss).  In this volume, daemons (residents of Abaddon) are the focus.  Pathfinder’s concept of daemons was new to me when I started playing Pathfinder a decade ago, but I’ve slowly gotten to appreciate them.  Whereas devils are lawful and enjoy tempting mortals through linguistic tricks and chicanery, and demons are classic chaotic evil “rip everything apart!”, daemons form the souls of sinful mortals and desire to consume souls in return—their purpose is literally to extinguish all life in the universe.  Led by the Four Horsemen—War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death—they fill an interesting niche in the Pathfinder cosmos.  I still don’t have my head around them completely, but this book certainly helps.

The cover, depicting Charon (the Horseman of Death) is excellent and sets up the flavour of the book perfectly.  The inside front cover gives a stylish summary of the four Horsemen, while the inside back cover lists the deities, demigods, and other powerful entities that reside in Abaddon (for each, it includes their areas of concern, clerical domains, and favored weapon).  If you need a cult devoted to maggots, accidental deaths, or sewers, this is the place to come!  The art design of the book fits the theme really well, though some of the art of particular daemons could be better.

The book starts with two pages on the “The First Daemons” and concisely explains what sets daemons apart from devils and demons.  Daemons seek the utter oblivion of all mortal souls, and they consume those souls entirely!  They’re not after order and hierarchy (like devils) or chaos and pain (like demons), they just want to feed and extinguish life.  In this way, they could be the most fearsome of all!

Chapter One (14 pages) provides a well-written overview of Abaddon.  It includes a sort of gazetteer, with locations that beg for dark campaigns to visit like The Menagerie, the ghastly Mere of Broken Angels, and the Oblivion Compass.  The chapter has two pages on each of the Four Horsemen.  The writing here is evocative puts the reader in the daemonic mood instantly.  There’s a dozen great ideas on every page—but this book is definitely not for kids!

Chapter Two (10 pages) has a good discussion of daemons in general, frequently contrasting them with devils and demons.  There’s a paragraph or so on each of the particular types, with clear distinctions in their roles and methods.  There’s also coverage of “daemonic harbingers” (elite, named daemons that have their own following).

Chapter Three (16 pages) has information of more direct relevance for GMs and players.  It talks about daemon cults form but how daemon worshippers are fundamentally deluded, because daemons never offer anything in return!  The discussion of the soul trade is very valuable (night hags have been part of more than one adventure I’ve seen) and it even lists going rates depending on the type of soul!  A new prestige class (Souldrinker) is introduced; it’s pretty cool, building off a spellcaster chassis with energy drain powers to spend “soul points” to activate special abilities.  There’s then some flavourful information on summoning daemons (easy to call but hard to contain!).  Several new spells are introduced, some of them filling needed mechanical niches when it comes to transferring souls into soul gems, etc.  Finally, there are some new magic items—cool, useful, and *very* evil!

Chapter Four (20 pages) is a great bestiary.  After a couple of pages on miscellaneous denizens of Abaddon (like divs and night hags), it goes on to feature two-page spreads on new daemons:  erodaemons (pose as family or lovers to cause heartbreak), lacridaemons (their sobs lure travellers into getting lost), obisidaemons (gargantuan genocide monsters), phasmadaemons (fear killers), sangudaemons (blood-drainers), suspiridaemons (suck oxygen out of the area), temerdaemons (personify accidental death), and venedaemons (death by magic).  There’s some great story hooks just from the concept of these daemons alone.

Overall, Horsemen of the Apocaplyse is an excellent book, and I really can’t think of a single bad thing to say about it.  If you have any inclination to use daemons in a game, it is worth seeking out.

Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 63 [RPG]

 [Sunday, 26 Erastus 4708 A.R.]

 

In Old Korvosa, The Reckoner and Goldcape cautiously approach Anorak’s workshop, where the majordomo of House Arkona waits outside patiently.  But much to their relief, he hasn’t come with news that their spy in House Arkona has already been discovered, but instead with an offer!  He wants them to deliver Blackjack—either his body, or his public proclamation that he supports House Arkona.  The majordomo adds that his master is prepared to pay handsomely for the former, and even more handsomely for the latter.  In response to a query from The Reckoner, the majordomo explains that Blackjack’s recent return has riled anti-aristocratic sentiment in Old Korvosa, and that the support of the city’s legendary “hero of the masses” would go a long way to cementing House Arkona’s efforts to restore order to the city.  The Reckoner and Goldcape confer, and then say they’ll need time to think about it and will return with an answer in 24 hours.

 

After the majordomo and his carriage depart, The Reckoner signals to his dandasuka spy, Xoza, who was waiting on the rooftop of the workshop.  Goldcape meets Xoza for the first time and expresses scepticism that recruiting a double-agent was a good idea.  The Reckoner asks Xoza what he’s learned so far about Glorio Arkona and his plans for the city, but the spy reveals little that the Harrowed Heroes don’t already know.  He says he needs more time, but The Reckoner has another task in mind for him: hunting down the mysterious new masked vigilante, Trifaccia.  Xoza’s sarcasm about the wisdom of the idea obviously brings himself delight, and he promises to see what he can do and return tomorrow.

 

Afterwards, The Reckoner and Goldcape discuss who they should support in leading the city after Ileosa is deposed.  They both agree that it can’t be Glorio Arkona, and with Grau Soldado often rash and unpredictable, the safest bet would be Cressida Kroft.  The Reckoner says they need to ensure that Grau ends up supporting Kroft, rather than the two becoming rivals.  The two discuss whether they should pretend to accept Glorio’s offer by faking Blackjack’s death, but that also seems risky.  The Reckoner suggests they simply say they tried to persuade Blackjack to support Glorio but failed.

 

The two return to Goldcape’s resistance cell safehouse and talk to Anorak.  The dwarf wants to take the strange box the xill have been hunting to The Reckoner’s safehouse where it will be mystically shielded from divination magic.  The three come up with a plan for Anorak to teleport across the river while Goldcape and The Reckoner drop Rocky off at Trail’s End and then disguise themselves before walking across the bridge, with everyone to meet at the Burnt Honey Inn.  Anorak makes his journey with no difficulty.  When Goldcape leaves Rocky with some friendly Varisians in Trail’s End, she notices several wagons being loaded—it seems that (given all of the city’s unrest) most of the travelling folk have decided to move on to greener pastures. 

 

After disguising themselves as unremarkable Chelish residents of Korvosa, Goldcape and Ralph Blackfeather stroll past a large patrol of Gray Maidens guarding North Bridge.  But then, the unthinkable happens: Goldcape’s tail slips free from its binding right in front of the patrol!  Happy to have an excuse to bash more Gray Maidens, The Reckoner calls on Plate for magical flight and swoops back and forth over the bridge, crushing skulls left and right.  Goldcape climbs up the side of a guardhouse and uses her nature magic to conjure swathes of nettles with sharp thorns to weaken the foes.  At first, it seems like this battle will be another easy victory like the previous day’s battle at High Bridge.  But as the rank-and-file Gray Maidens fight as hard as ever on the bridge, completely unaware of what is to come, their officers quickly retreat until they’re no longer standing on it.  Then, one of them lights a long fuse that snakes through the fracas of battle until it reaches some strategically placed barrels.  It’s a trap!  A massive explosion of alchemist’s fire and Tien firework powder rock the bridge, blasting a huge hole in the center and sending flaming rubble high into the sky!  The Reckoner, flying over the bridge, is almost blasted out of the air and loses a valuable magical cloak.  Goldcape faces even more danger, as she’s blasted into the turbulent waters below.  Fortunately, the vanara is a strong-enough swimmer that she’s able to reach shore safely.

Nearby residents pour out of their homes at the sound of the explosion.  An angry mob quickly gathers, blaming The Reckoner and the Gray Maidens alike for the destruction.  The Reckoner manages to mollify the mob somewhat by explaining that it was the Gray Maidens and not he who destroyed the bridge, but widespread discontent remains.  When, after changing into Ralph Blackfeather, he and Goldcape reach the Burnt Honey Inn, they discover the battle at the bridge is all anyone is talking about.  Accusations and blame flow freely, as do shouts favouring Glorio Arkona for bringing order to Old Korvosa and for Blackjack having allegedly returned.  Potter Minehan has a warm drink for the battered, bruised, and soaking wet Goldcape.  Anorak is there, somewhat inebriated, and uses magic to dry her off.  The two are led upstairs by Ralph so they can talk in his room about what happened.

 

Later, as darkness falls, Goldcape waits at the inn while Ralph leads a blind-folded Anorak to his secret safehouse.  Anorak hides the mysterious box in the rafters and then passes out, quite intoxicated.  Ralph returns to the inn and tells Goldcape that she can watch from a distance as he meets with Kroft, but that his instructions were clear to come alone.  The two head down to the docks and there, near midnight, The Reckoner steps onto the indicated pier as Goldcape watches from a hiding place atop a nearby warehouse.  Soon, the sounds of gently sloshing water can be heard, and a small, weathered rowboat emerges from the darkness.  The only inhabitant is a hooded figure who motions for The Reckoner to board.  The Reckoner does so and asks several questions before realising the figure is not only blind, but his lips have been sewn shut!  The silent boatman rows out into the middle of the river.  The Reckoner feels a moment of disorientation and notices that, somehow, a dense fog has arisen all around them, blocking the sights and sounds of the city completely.  Ahead, what is surely a derelict hulk floats on the river, its black, rotting wood looking as if it would crumble from the merest touch.

Beckoned aboard by another mutilated figure, The Reckoner is led to a hatch leading below decks.  There, in a corridor filled with grotesque stalls offering to sell everything from zombie slaves to poisons and illicit narcotics to a living unicorn, the vigilante realises where he is: the Black Ship!  A legendary underground market for the illegal, unsavoury, and just plain immoral, the Black Ship has always eluded Korvosa’s authorities.  The Reckoner is led to a cabin amidships, and as he approaches the door, he can hear the voice of Cressida Kroft shouting in anger at someone.  Once in the room, he sees the target of Kroft’s wroth: Boule, Grandmaster of the Cerulean Society.  In her diatribe, Kroft rails at Boule for having had to spend almost two weeks in a hiding space that was supposed to be just one night, but Boule is unapologetic, explaining that his other plans to hide her had fallen through.  Bishop Keppira d’Bear is present, and welcomes The Reckoner, while Boule immediately admonishes him for failing to attack Deathhead Vault on time despite being given nearly perfect intelligence on how to breach it.  The Reckoner growls back that no mention was made of the “guard dog” with the poisonous breath, and the two start to argue before Bishop d’Bear plays peacemaker by gently persuading Boule that she and he should leave Kroft and The Reckoner to speak alone. 

 

After the two depart, Kroft provides an update on the situation in the city.  She says the collection of blood from residents, ostensibly to help prepare antidotes against future plagues like blood veil, has concluded.  The Gray Maidens’ hold on the city is clearly slipping, and reports are that most have been redeployed to Castle Korvosa.  But most ominously, Kroft says, is that Ileosa hasn’t been seen in public since the unveiling of her statue on Jeggare Isle.  Kroft says that whatever Ileosa is doing or preparing surely bodes a disaster for the city that looms nearer with each passing day that she’s still in power.  Kroft asks if The Reckoner and his allies discovered anything valuable in Deathhead Vault, and hears that Marcus Endrin may still be alive.  Kroft says his release would certainly have helped the resistance, but more importantly, they’ll need to bring Neolandus Kalepopolis back to the city when the time comes. As the lawful seneschal of Castle Korvosa, his presence will add legitimacy to a movement that could otherwise be labelled seditious.  Kroft says she’s heard word from Vencarlo Orisini that he and Neolandus have had to flee Harse because agents of the Queen have been asking questions in the town.

 

The two discuss the situation in the city, and fears that if the Gray Maidens are retreating back to Castle Korvosa, there will be no other forces to keep order in the city: the Korvosan Guard and Sable Company have been disbanded, the Hellknights returned to Citadel Vraid months ago, and so far House Arkona is only exercising influence over Old Korvosa.  The Reckoner tells her that Glorio Arkona is a rakshasa, and wants to rule Korvosa after Ileosa is dethroned.  He adds that Grau may be positioning himself to lead the city as well.  Kroft says the last thing she wants is a civil war in the city.  It’s clear that just being in the Black Ship and hearing what transactions take place (with even worse occurring in the ship’s hold) is having a draining effect on her.  But she explains it’s still the safest place for her and d’Bear for now, as it’s impossible to find the place without being led to it by its ghastly mutilated “crew.”  Before departing, The Reckoner promises that he and his allies are almost ready to depart in search of the key to stripping Ileosa of her newfound magical invulnerability.

 

Once back on the docks, The Reckoner shares what he learned from Kroft.  Goldcape sends a magical silver raven to Jasan Adriel in Harse with a message asking for information about where Vencarlo went.

 

[Moonday, 27 Erastus 4708 A.R.]

 

Everyone assembles at the Burnt Honey Inn the next day.  Ralph fills Anorak in on the Black Ship and how uncomfortable Kroft must be there.  The three discuss the majordomo’s offer, with Anorak (not realising Goldcape is Blackjack) wondering why they don’t just kill the vigilante considering how much gold is being offered.  But Ralph replies that having Blackjack on their side could be important considering his legendary status in the city.

 

Ralph leads Anorak back to his safehouse so the dwarf can continue working on the ritual that has delayed their departure for Scarwall.  Then, he and Goldcape visit Eodred’s Walk and see that looters have been at work.  Fortunately, Hedge Wizardry remains untouched—perhaps due to its magical protections, or perhaps just plain luck.  Goldcape whispers that if they don’t hurry, they could have a new Old Korvosa on their hands.  After making some purchases, Ralph transforms into The Reckoner and heads across the city to keep his appointment with the majordomo of House Arkona, informing the man that he’ll try to speak with Blackjack but can’t make any promises.  Later that day, Anorak casts a spell to take him and Goldcape back to Old Korvosa as well.

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

GM Commentary

I forgot about the little subplot of House Arkona being interested in enlisting Blackjack's support (or at least ending his anti-aristocratic symbolism).  I don't think I did a lot more with it, probably because the group soon leaves the city for Chapter Five's main journey north.

I thought having most of the Varisians leaving Trail's End made sense.  They're a generally nomadic people, after all, and the city is in such dire straits that moving on would seem like a pretty attractive option.  (I also try to keep a dynamic gaming setting--just like real life, things don't always stay the same, and the PCs aren't the only ones who change)

From the description, I'm guess Goldcape got a natural 1 on that Disguise check when crossing the bridge.  There are a few skills that I roll on behalf of the players behind the GM screen so they don't know how successful they are.  The bridge battle was pretty exciting, especially with the explosive trap!  I had figured that by this point, the Gray Maidens knew they were outclassed by the Harrowed Heroes and were willing to take some pretty elaborate efforts to kill them.  The Reckoner rolled a natural 1 on his saving throw, which as per the Core Rulebook, means an item takes damage as well.

The Black Ship is something of my own creation.  I imagine it's an extradimensional place that can be accessed through the harbors of many major cities, but the means of access can change.  I've had it exist near Riddleport in Second Darkness, the AP I'm running now.  There's lots more I could say, but I have to be careful of certain readers!  It has a pretty dark, creepy vibe.

I liked the interaction with Boule.  I didn't get to do a lot with him in this campaign, but not every campaign can make full use of every NPC.

I think the PCs are starting to see how their continual delay is harming the city (Anorak was making a magical item of some kind, I think).  As I discussed in a recent post, outside of official Downtime, the "clock" keeps moving and consequences can rack up quickly if PCs delay too much.

Pathfinder Society Scenario # 0-27: "Our Lady of Silver" [RPG]

NO SPOILERS

I ran Our Lady of Silver at subtier 5-6 via play-by-post.  One of the nice things about it, compared to most Season Zero/Season One scenarios, is that it has a lot of role-playing opportunities.  These are pretty free-form, and there are a lot of NPCs that a good GM could really make come alive if time and circumstances permit.  The combat encounters were fine (and pretty easy for modern PCs).  I’d rank the overall story and use of setting lore a little above average, and I appreciated the connection to an earlier scenario.  There’s one twist that may appear a bit forced and that some players may bristle at.  Overall though, I’d rank this one as definitely playable.

SPOILERS!

Our Lady of Silver takes place in Katheer, the massive city that serves as the capital of Qadira.  After a briefing from the (hardly ever seen in PFS again) Venture-Captain Osretia Cassomiran, the PCs are sent to a wedding feast!  The leader of the important merchant family House of Silver (Bashir al-Mudaris) is overseeing the marriage of his daughter (Lujine, the Lady of Silver) to a foreign scholar and Pathfinder, Farendir Faireven.  It’s apparently quite a coup for the young man, and for the Society as well because al-Mudaris plans to donate several valuable relics to burnish his new son-in-law’s reputation with the organisation.  The PCs, then, are representatives of the Society at the wedding and simultaneously guards to make sure the relics are safely delivered afterward to Katheer’s Pathfinder Society Lodge afterward.

The scenario encourages role-playing at the wedding feast, and introduces multiple NPCs to facilitate this.  One of the NPCs, Al’Jahar abu-Targos, is the nephew of the deceased Venture-Captain Targos Min-Katheer and is grateful to the society for the return of his uncle’s remains in # 0-3, Murder on the Silken Caravan.  I love little connections like that, and the nephew returns again later in the scenario to provide a potentially valuable service.  Apart from perhaps faction missions, the role-playing here doesn’t have a set goal and is mostly free-form—so some groups and GMs may really get into it, and others not so much.  (I love RP, though I find it hard sometimes to figure out how much time to spend on it when it comes to play-by-post)

Of course, the wedding feast doesn’t go off without a hitch!  You see, a rejected suitor of Lujine, a merchant-sorcerer named Raamiz Ibn-Chadli, has hatched a revenge plan to discredit the Pathfinder Society and, by extension, Farendir Faireven.  He arranges for dervishes from the Fraternity of the Unforgiving Flame to sneak into the wedding and let wild animals loose (lions and elephants) to cause a distraction while they steal the gifts meant for the Society!  I like the little sidebar that was included of dramatic events that can happen during the ensuing chaos.

I guess it’s a fait accompli that the gifts are stolen, because the premise of the rest of the adventure is that the PCs are trying to recover them.  (though it would work just as well if their mission was to track down who was behind the attempted heist)  A lead will take the PCs to the Hall of Purifying Flame, the decrepit headquarters of the Fraternity.  The combats here are really easy, though I actually managed to land a flaming oil trap which was fun!  A search of the premise uncovers Ibn-Chadli’s role in the scheme, which naturally causes the PCs to seek him out at his villa.

The scenario provides a fair amount of text on the villa, but there are no maps or encounters there.  Instead, the PCs need to find their way out back to where there are slave huts.  There, disguised in heavy robes, is Qutirh the Prudent: Ibn-Chadli’s vizier and actually an Erinyes!  For an encounter where the monster’s tactics include teleportation and ranged attacks, the map here is *really* small (just one tile from a map pack).  Interrogation of Ibn-Chadli’s slaves or papers in his library will point to the merchant-sorcerer’s interest in the tomb of High Priest Ubaidah, and since that’s their only lead, that’s where they’ll likely head.

However, there’s a sudden turn of events when a company of three dozen mounted warriors along with several sorcerers appear to arrest the PCs!  They’ve been accused of murder, theft, and grave robbing, and are to be taken into custody to defend themselves in the Satrap’s court.  It’s a bit heavy-handed and sort of comes out of nowhere, and it doesn’t really lead to anything interesting as success in the ensuing role-playing opportunity is automatic.  (in later seasons, writers would get better with using skill challenges to represent situations like this)  In other words, it’s a bit of an interlude that throws off the pace of the adventure without adding much to it, apart from perhaps foreshadowing the idea that the PCs are being framed for crimes they didn’t commit.

The final encounter is at High Priest Ubaidah’s tomb outside Katheer.  Ibn-Chadli has used magic to disguise a couple of ogres as Pathfinders to help him with the grave robbing!  I did have fun having large-sized duplicates of a couple of the PCs’ tokens in the ensuring battle.  Ibn-Chadli went down like a punk, as one might expect when a sorcerer is forced into melee range in confined quarters.  Capturing or killing him clears the PCs of any lingering suspicion, and the return of the gifts allows the marriage festivities to continue.  All’s well that ends well!