Pathfinder Society Scenario # 1-07 (Scenario # 35): 'Voice in the Void' [RPG]

 NO SPOILERS

I played Voice in the Void with my Oracle of Groetus in a live tabletop game.  He got killed and the rest of the party sensibly ran away!  In other words, it's a tough scenario.  I will say, however, that it contains an excellent backstory and makes great use of setting lore.  It's also a scenario that continues and furthers the excellent Pathfinder Society plot thread involving the Blakros Museum.  I'd recommend people play it, but with PCs leaning into the combat-capable side of things.

SPOILERS

The scenario starts with a briefing by Venture-Captrain Adril Hestram at the Grand Lodge in Absalom.  It seems the curator of the Blakros Museum, Nigel Aldain, has reported that Imrizade Blakros (daughter of the patron family) disappeared while doing work in the museum's basement.  Since several watchmen sent to find her have also disappeared, it seems like a job for Pathfinders to find her!  Hestram explains that the Society is willing to take the job because Imrizade's a successful fortune-hunter who had just returned from Osirion carrying a mysterious artifact: an odd metal cylinder covered in hieroglyphs.  So, the field agents are being sent to find Imrizade not out of the goodness of the PFS' heart, but so they can either get the artifact or some information about it.  All in all, a solid story hook.

After the briefing, the PCs presumably travel to the museum, where they're met by Nigel Aldain.  He shows them the secret ramp down into the basement, and that's where the rest of the scenario takes place.  So, in one sense, this is a classic dungeon crawl.  But as I said above, there's a ton of careful setting lore, atmosphere, and backstory integrated into each room and encounter to make for a compelling adventure (i.e., this is *not* a "one orc stands in a 10x10 room guarding a treasure chest" style of dungeon crawl).  Dangers include caryatid columns, animated dinosaur skeletons, oozes, fungal molds, and (in their first Pathfinder appearance), cerebric fungi.  It all builds up to a really cool finale, where the PCs discover Imrizade standing in front of the Gate of Beyond, a portal to the Dark Tapestry, with fleshy fungoid umbilicals attaching the Gate to her body!

The backstory lore is extensive and interesting.  Before being turned into a museum, the building was originally the manor of Ralzeros the Overwatched, a mad astrologer and wizard obsessed with the distant worlds beyond Golarion's skies, who built on the site because he had discovered the Gate of Beyond buried there.  Thousands of years later, Imrizade Blakros had discovered the gate while playing in the basement archives as a child, and later ("recently") as an adult adventurer, discovered a strange metal cylinder in Osirion that turned out to contain the ghostly consciousness of an aberrant sorcerer named Kubburum Ishmedagan that took over Imrizade's body.  Returning to the museum, the possessed Imrizade is working to reactivate the Gate of Beyond and open a portal to the Dark Tapestry--thus attracting all sorts of bizarre and dangerous creatures from Aucturn and beyond.  For those keeping track, we also get a reference to the Aucurn Enigma!

My description and summary probably hasn't done the scenario justice, but those interested in the lore of Golarion and the excellent interweaving of Blakros family drama into PFS scenarios should definitely experience Voice in the Void.  It may kill you, but that's what Prestige Points are for!

Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 86 [RPG]

Recap # 86

While most of the Harrowed Heroes brave the gloomy depths of Castle Scarwall, a fourth member of the group continues on an equally important mission: cementing an alliance of Varisian city-states to repel a Runelord-led giant army.  In Ilsurian, Sheriff Feldane gives Goldcape an update on the situation.  It seems the delegates to the summit refuse to sign the alliance agreement until they’re sure one of their own isn’t responsible for placing the demon-summoning pentagram under the bargaining table.  Feldane explains that the true culprit needs to be found, immediately.  She introduces Goldcape to two private “troubleshooters” she’s hired to assist with the investigation—a pale half-elf named Seltyiel and a professional investigator named Quinn.  Quinn reports that he’s already made some progress: the pentagram could only have been placed by an experienced specialist in things arcane, not merely copied by an amateur or a dupe.  Seltyiel adds that the summit delegates and their security staff check out—it probably wasn’t an inside job. 

 

Before releasing the trio to continue the investigation, Feldane adds one last, startling thing: a masked man calling himself Blackjack apparently claimed responsibility for the pentagram last night at the Two Waters Tavern!  She hands over a dagger recovered from the tavern that has a crude “B” etched in the pommel.  Quinn smells a hint of brimstone on the dagger, which might indeed tie it to whomever placed the pentagram in the meeting room. Goldcape, herself having taken over the mantle of Blackjack from Vencarlo Orisini, knows immediately that the dagger is a fake—but she can’t share how she knows with the others!

 

Leaving Sheriff Feldane to continue overseeing security for the delegates, the three investigators start with the only real lead they have: the Two Waters Tavern.  There, the owner of the establishment, Noria Arephion, excitedly relates the dramatic tale of what happened the previous night.  It was late in the evening, she says, and the call for last orders had just gone round, when suddenly a man clad in all black crashed through a window and landed on a table!  He hurled a dagger into the bar and proclaimed something about how he sabotaged the summit to keep the secret cabalists there from suppressing everyone’s freedom.  He then, she says, jumped back out the window and disappeared into the night.  The investigators express sympathy for the destruction of the window, but Nora waves their concerns away, saying it’s sure to result in a surge of business for weeks as customers recount the tale and hope for more excitement in the future.  Before leaving, Quinn examines the window frame and finds some long, golden hairs.  He looks at Goldcape with some suspicion before the vanara sniffs them and pronounces them to be lion hairs.  Quinn and Seltyiel know immediately that lion hairs could only come from one place in Ilsurian: the circus that arrived a few days ago!

On the outskirts of Ilsurian, the investigators enter the Umbra Carnival, a travelling circus and festival that has been visiting towns across Varisia for the last few years. Goldcape (who brought Rocky along for the visit) can’t help but be lured into the archery range.  She confidently proclaims her skill, but the carnie running the game (in which silver is paid out for landing a bullseye) only nods knowingly and hands her a bow and three arrows.  Goldcape realizes that with a deformed bow and intentionally un-aerodynamic arrows, the game is rigged for failure.  She berates the carnie, who summons the circus strongman to intervene.  Quinn and Seltyiel manage to pull Goldcape away just before violence breaks out.

The trio decide to split up, with Goldcape investigating the circus’ travelling menagerie of exotic animals and Quinn and Seltyiel looking around the Bigtop.  Goldcape walks past a “baby dragon” (a monitor lizard), a small elephant, an empty cage labelled “The Lair of the Sphinx”, and then reaches a cage where there are indeed a pair of lions.  Just as she starts looking around for clues, a blast of burning hair nearly singes her fur.  Turning around, she realises that, somehow, a massive hellhound has appeared right in the middle of the zoo and is attacking her!  It seems that while she’s been hunting the summoner, the summoner may have noticed her.  Goldcape backpedals as Rocky flies in to attack with beak and claws.  Soon, Seltyiel and Quinn hear the disturbance and come running as well, though the battle is nearly over by the time they arrive: with a final lunge, Rocky bites down hard on the hellhound’s neck and it disappears in a pungent cloud of sulphur.

But although Quinn wasn’t able to contribute much to the fight, his keen eyes do spot something important: almost everyone attending this area of the zoo fled when the hellhound appeared, but one man stayed and watched with interest.  Quinn points out this fact to Goldcape, and when she looks at the man, she knows instantly who it is: Rolth Lamm, a notorious necromancer and serial killer from Korvosa!  Lamm grins evilly at his old foe and, with a few uttered arcane words, seems to transform into Blackjack before racing away.  The three investigators give chase as Lamm, obviously enhanced by magic, dashes and leaps around the carnival.  Finally, Goldcape manages to cut him off and Seltyiel and Quinn close quickly from behind.  Rolth dispenses with his Blackjack disguise and cackles “Ileosa gives her regards, and a reminder that no one besides her speaks for Korvosa!”  He promptly conjures undead guardians to defend him as Goldcape attacks, but the ever-wily Rolth has another trick up his sleeve.  Seltyiel suddenly turns, draws his bow, and shoots Quinn in the back!  “Nothing personal,” says the half-elf with a shrug.  “He pays better than Feldane.”  But even with an ally, Rolth knows there’s no way he can stand up to Goldcape and Rocky for long.  He uses a scroll to teleport away, escaping justice once again.  Frustrated, Goldcape takes out her aggression on Seltyiel and, with Quinn’s help, they dispatch the mercenary.

Later that night, the real Blackjack makes another appearance in Ilsurian, announces that the culprit for the attack on the summit has fled the city, and that the people of Korvosa support the military alliance.  After a difficult few days, it seems like there may be hope for a united Varisia after all.

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GM Commentary

This was a fun "meanwhile" session to provide the players with a break from the endless dungeon crawling of Scarwall and for the Chapter Five Assistant GM to get to run Goldcape again.  The other players were given PFS Iconics to run.  I again made use of Ilsurian (the home city of my long-running Magic Mirror/Roots of Golarion campaign), and also integrated the Umbra Carnival from the Murder's Mark module.

I thought it only natural that Ileosa would learn of the summit and send someone to remind the delegates that *she's* the leader of Korvosa.  The chance to bring back Rolth Lamm was enticing, and I also wanted to give Goldcape a chance to use her new persona as Blackjack, so I went with the classic comics plot of a villain pretending to be the hero while doing nefarious things!

The scenes at the carnival were fun, and (if I remember right) I had a custom Chase set up to use all the various attractions and booths there.  The big twist of Seltyiel being a double-agent worked well and was fitting if you know his character (he's Chaotic Neutral, after all!).  In sum, a fun session and a nice break before getting back to the main story thread in the next session.