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NO SPOILERS
As of this writing, Spiral of Bones contains the last Pathfinder comics to be published. Fortunately, the series ends on a high note, with a really fun, funny, occasionally moving, and useful (to GMs) story. This review is formally of the “Paizo Exclusive” hardcover edition, which is exactly the same as the regular collected edition except for the cover art. The hardcover collects all five issues of Spiral of Bones and includes back matter like lore entries, variant covers, and a removable poster map. I’ll go through the back matter in this “No Spoilers” section, and then move on to the stories in the “Spoilers!” section below.
The first part of the back matter is a set of 12 issue
covers. I don’t find any of them as fun
as some of the spoof covers in previous collections, but the one chosen as the
cover to the Paizo Exclusive hardcover isn’t the best of the lot by far. As an aside, there’s one with Valeros and
Imrijka that’s pretty naughty!
Most of the back matter is taken up with a series of four-page-long
entries on something from Pathfinder lore, such as a location, a race, a type
of monster, etc. Each entry contains a
concise but interesting and informative summary about the topic, a half-page
encounter map and vaguely suggested adversaries (still much worse than the
true, fleshed-out encounters from previous series), and some sort of new
gameplay element like magic items, an archetype, etc. Here are the entries in order:
·
Kaer Maga: This entry covers the history,
districts, and factions of the City of Strangers (my personal choice for the
most original location in all of Golarion).
The map is of Augur’s Row, where prophetic trolls read the future in
their own entrails . . .
·
The Boneyard: This entry has a great little
explanation of how the afterlife works in Golarion, and then talks a bit about
priests of Pharasma. The map is of a
Waiting Hall in the Boneyard.
·
Caulborn: These are creepy thought-eaters living
under Kaer Maga, but they have a complex culture and are not necessarily
evil. Three new “Psychovore” style feats
are introduced for monks (but, frankly, they’re not that useful). The map is of an underground fungus garden.
·
Forlorn Elves: Good description of elves who
have chosen to live among the short-lived races, suffering the consequences of
seeing friends die over and over. Two
new archetypes are presented: the “elegist” (for skalds) is a sort of
spiritualist that gets a phantom instead of rage. I like it.
The other is the “sorrowblade” for maguses, but it has pretty minor effects. The map is of a subterranean stone bridge
crossing a chasm in the Halfling Path up to Kaer Maga.
·
The Soul Trade: Really interesting! Also includes four new magic items made from
fragments of soul gems, each themed to a different Horseman of the Apocalypse. The apollyon
clasp is really good. However, the
map of a Soul Market looks exactly like *any* mundane market.
The hardcover also includes a removable poster map. It’s worth noting that it’s a pretty small
poster (equivalent to two pages of the book).
On one side is artwork of Merisiel and Kyra fighting some kind of demon
(a bit odd since Kyra isn’t in the book), while the other side is a neat
vertical representation of the layers of caverns under Kaer Maga.
SPOILERS!
Issue # 1 starts off with a bang, with Valeros fighting one
of the troll augurs of Kaer Maga over a prophecy that didn’t happen as
promised. But the fight is broken up by
the sudden appearance of Imrijka (the Iconic Inquisitor), who turns out to be
an old friend (and lover) of Valeros!
She accompanies Valeros back to a local inn along with Seoni and
Merisiel (Kyra is off on a pilgrimage, apparently). Meanwhile, Ezren and Harsk are doing some
research nearby and one thing leads to another and they find themselves trapped
in a catacomb under the city.
Fortunately, those topside get a magical distress call from Ezren and
head down after them. But along the way,
Valeros spots a mysterious black orb, touches it, and . . . dies!
Issue # 2 starts with a flashback to Valeros’ life as a child,
and is revealing about why he grew up as the man he is today. In the Boneyard (the realm of the dead, where
all souls go to be judged by Pharasma or her agents), Valeros finds himself in
the hands of a night hag who plans to sell him at a soul market. But a psychopomp (a birdlike agent of
Pharasma) rescues him. But in a twist,
everyone in the Boneyard thinks that Valeros is an ancient warlord named
Zeladar the Animator, and it looks like Valeros is going to receive a final
destination that he doesn’t deserve!
It’s really funny.
Issue # 3 starts with Valeros being judged by a yamaraj(?)
called Yindaal. Back on Golarion, the
other adventurers are dealing with a “Valeros” whose body is inhabited by the
soul of Zeladar; they figure it out *just* as the real Valeros makes it back to
his body. It’s a comedy of errors, of
course, but handled well. There are also
some poignant moments with Merisiel knowing her time with her companions is a
lifetime to them but fleeting to her.
Issue # 4 has Valeros and Zeladar sharing a body as the
group continue the search for Harsk and Ezren.
The issue has some exciting battles against caulborn
In Issue # 5, Harsk and Ezren are rescued, and Valeros
figures out how to defeat Zeladar by getting really drunk (he’s more used to
holding to liquor than the warlord). The
book ends with a tender moment between Imrijka and Valeros that’s really sweet.
The dialogue in these issues is genuinely great, causing me
to laugh out loud multiple times. I
really love how a random bunch of pre-generated gaming characters have been
brought together into the comics and formed into a real group that you care
about. This particular run is also great
for anyone who wants to get a better feel for Kaer Maga or the Boneyard.
When I started reading the Pathfinder comics, I wasn’t very
impressed—poor artwork and mediocre stories.
But things have really improved since then, and I’m going to miss
reading stories about Varisia’s best. I
hope, somehow, we get some more stories in the future.
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