Pathfinder Map Pack: "Labyrinths" [RPG]

I took off the cling-wrap to Labyrinths last night and used it for the first time in a session.  The adventure I was running says there's a labyrinth full of traps and monsters the PCs have to navigate but provides little in the way of detail and no map of the labyrinth, so I thought it was a good opportunity to test out the map pack.  Essentially, the cards in the map pack are a bunch of narrow, one-square wide stone corridors branching off in multiple directions on each card.  Depending on how you configure them, you could have a path through to some goal or just a bunch of dead ends.  The corridors are fairly plain, with some occasional subtle details like an arrow or a cracked tile--nothing to write home about.  Honestly, I'm not really sure there's a lot of use for them apart from something a GM can slap down on the table when they need some narrow corridors and don't know what else to do.  I guess if a GM planned carefully and set them up ahead of time, they could construct a path through and have all the cards the PCs aren't currently on be face-down to help emphasize the "labyrinth" part of the cards.  So, mildly interesting but definitely inessential.

Pathfinder: "Paizo GenCon 2013 Pin Set" [RPG]

The Paizo GenCon 2013 Pin Set is a set of five round pins with the traditional "don't mess up or you'll blood" clasp on the back.  According to the website, the pins were released to celebrate Mythic Adventures, Season 5 of PFS, and the Wayne Reynolds' book Visions of WAR.  One of the pins depicts a goblin, one depicts classic Valeros, one depicts the PFS Season 5 "Year of the Demon" logo, and the other two are more Wayne Reynolds art.  I can't really foresee a use for these pins, but a collector's gotta collect, so in my display cabinet they'll stay!

Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 53 [RPG]

[Sunday, 12 Erastus 4708 A.R., continued]

The Battle of Flameford isn’t over yet!  The Reckoner persuades his allies to give chase to the Cinderlander, the feared Shoanti-killer, who had just disappeared over the side of the plateau.  After pausing briefly to heal and renew magical protections, the Harrowed Heroes rush to the cliff-side and search for their foe.  The Cinderlander is adept at hiding, as even The Reckoner’s perceptive eyes can’t spot him—but when Goldcape casts a spell to detect magical auras in the area, the Cinderlander strikes!  He emerges on a ledge just below the top of the plateau and shoots at Rocky, no doubt hoping to deprive his pursuers of their aerial advantage.  But this time, fate is against him, as his crossbow jams.  The Reckoner leaps down to the edge and begins doing what he does best and, realising there is no escape and preferring death over capture, the Cinderlander manoeuvres himself to the very edge of the cliff so that, with a final blow from The Reckoner, his body is swept off the plateau to fall to certain death.

The victorious trio make their way carefully down the cliff and see the devastation wrought upon Flameford from the giants’ hurled boulders.  They help with the wounded, pulling many victims out from under crushed yurts and shattered rock.  Soon, Thundercallers carry Krojun’s body down from the top of the plateau, and the camp takes on an even more mournful aspect than before.  Goldcape asks if she could assist with bringing Krojun back to life, but is told such an act is for the Sun Shaman to decide.  The Reckoner notes that battle was the closest he’s come to his own death in many battles.

Some hours later, the wind carries the Sun Shaman, Chief Ready-Klar, and their escorts back to Flameford.  Ready-Klar assesses the situation immediately, and begins gathering his people.  Meanwhile, the Sun Shaman tells the clan’s new allies that he is prepared to share the secrets they seek.  He takes them to his own yurt where the sacred flame of the Sklar-Quah burns without fuel.  This is the tale he relates:

“Many hundreds of years ago, a man named Mandraivus gathered a small group of heroes to fight a despotic blue dragon named Kazavon, and my ancestor was one who joined this crusade.  This ancestor, a shaman named Amarund, was gone for months.  When she finally returned she was not the same woman—her hands shook, her eyes carried a haunted stare, and she cried out in fear at night.  She spoke little of what she had experienced while fighting at Mandraivus’s side, but she did say that they were successful in defeating Kazavon and that the dragon’s fortress of Scarwall in Belkzen was now under Mandraivus’s control.”

“While Kazavon had been defeated, his will to live was so immense that even the remains of his body twitched.  The heroes attempted to destroy the remains, but key fragments of the dragon’s skeleton resisted even their most destructive spells.  Mandraivus tasked the seven surviving heroes, among them Amarund, with each claiming one of the bony relics of Kazavon’s body and taking them far from Scarwall.  None of the seven would communicate where they were going to the others or to Mandraivus in hopes of ensuring that their chosen relics would remain hidden and guarded for all time in order to prevent the dragon from returning to life.”

“Amarund told this story to her fellow shamans and revealed that her selected relics were the dragon’s fangs, which she called Midnight’s Teeth.  She and the other shamans chose the ancient pyramid on the shores of Conqueror’s Bay as the fangs’ reliquary.  After hiding them in a secret room deep inside the pyramid, Amarund and her descendants swore to ensure the fangs would remain safe.”

“For generations, they maintained their task—until Cheliax invaded and drove us off.  The few survivors who knew the secret of the fangs were forced to flee with their kin into the Cinderlands.  For the next three centuries the knowledge was passed from Sun Shaman to Sun Shaman, and we have watched with fearful eyes as the city of Korvosa has grown up around our ancient reliquary.”

“The fragments of Kazavon’s soul are like seeds—once they find soil in which to grow, they can bloom into a mighty tree.  Doubtless, this is the case with the Queen of Korvosa—her innate cruelty has been enhanced greatly by the Midnight’s Teeth.  Worse, she now possesses two souls—her own, and one grown from the fragment of Kazavon’s.  Having two souls in one body must grant her incredible power over her own mortality.”

“Yet, there is a way these souls can be weakened.  Kazavon’s soul is fuelled by the power of the spirits trapped within Castle Scarwall, a haunted place of dread since Mandraivus and his band invaded, slew the dragon, and dispersed.  If the curse can be lifted, Kazavon’s soul and Ileosa’s will no longer lend her body immortality.  But my people know little of Scarwall since Amarund fled with the Midnight’s Teeth.  I have spoken with Thousand Bones, and his people relate to me a song carried by mournful spirits on the wind.”

Fate of steel—Serithtial

Her cage for years sustained.

Four enthralled in lost Scarwall;

Undead to keep her chained.

A spirit first, red war his thirst

Still stands at post of old;

A second foe, infernal soul

Waits high in tower cold.

In kennel’s grime, third bides his time

Then vents his killing breath.

And on a stone ‘mid ash and bone,

The final dreams of death.

The spirits worn and battle torn

And locked in their damnation,

The chained one’s hold at last grows old

And ushers in salvation.

Yet hope remains amid the chains

When blade’s stone cage has crumbled,

Friends to dread and death of the dead,

Keys to Kazavon humbled.

“Those are the secrets of my people, and that is what I have to offer to the friends of the Sklar-Quah this day.”

The listeners thank him and express their hopes that if the information is used well, the Shoanti will benefit as well.  The Sun Shaman says he knows little of Scarwall as it stands now, only that legend says it is a haunted place, and neither the living nor the dead may depart once they enter within.  When asked about Krojun, the Sun Shaman says he was the mightiest and bravest warrior of the Sklar-Quah and died an honourable death.  His body will be taken to the Kallow Mounds, and if the shamans of the Skoan-Quah believe his spirit should be returned, then it will be so.  Anorak asks if a message containing his respect and promise to remember Krojun forever can be delivered as well.  Hearing Chief Ready-Klar’s voice fade away outside and knowing the time for talking has come to an end, the Sun Shaman anticipates his listeners’ request for aid in travelling to Korvosa quickly and says he can summon the wind spirits to hasten their journey.

Outside, it’s clear that Ready-Klar has made a fateful decision.  Flameford will be abandoned at dawn, and the Sklar-Quah will return to their nomadic ways.  The warriors will head to the north and drive the giants out of the Cinderlands, while those who cannot fight will shelter in caves out of harm’s way.  Goldcape suggests to him that the Sklar-Quah form an alliance with the other clans of the Cinderlands, and Ready-Klar nods that it may be time to put past differences aside for the sake of all Shoanti.  He nods his farewell to the Korvosans, and says they’ll be welcome to stay with the Sklar-Quah again should they return to the area.  Anorak seeks out the brave Thundercaller who joined in the battle on the plateau, and gifts the man his horse—a gift that carries with it much honour in the ways of the Sklar-Quah.

[Moonday, 13 Erastus 4708 A.R.]

At dawn, as the Sklar-Quah pack their mounts, the Harrowed Heroes make their final farewells and then experience the Sun Shaman’s mastery over the wind spirits first-hand.  Their bodies grow almost weightless as they rise into the air and, with but a thought, they can turn themselves nearly as transparent as the air itself!  The winds propel them in their desired direction at incredible speeds, allowing them to cover in an hour the same distance it would take three days to walk!

Their first destination is the strange, octagonal-walled city of Kaer Maga.  This time, the travellers are intent on getting in and out of the city quickly, before the Sun Shaman’s magic wears off.  They unload thousands and thousands of gold pieces of treasure found during their adventures in the Cinderlands.  In addition, knowing they’ll have an even longer trip in the future to Scarwall (in the orc-infested Hold of Belkzen), they seek out a place to purchase teleportation magic.  In a dimly-lit and cluttered shop, an obsequious figure—surely a vampire!—has what they’re looking for, even if the scrolls he sells them are covered in greenish slime and a book of spells for Anorak has “paper” made from human skin!  The shopkeeper offers to pay Goldcape for a small patch of her skin or a taste of her blood, but the vanara adamantly refuses. 

As the group is leaving the shop, two orcs rudely push their way in and Goldcape recognises their tribal markings as belonging to orcs of the One Eye tribe of the Blood Plains—from Belkzen!  Hearing this, The Reckoner tries to strike up a conversation but is mocked by the surly orcs until, in a misunderstanding, they take him to be a slave trader and offer to buy Goldcape and Anorak from him.  He declines, but in the course of the conversation is able to gather two potentially useful pieces of information: the giant army of the north has not pushed into Belkzen, and the area around Scarwall is the territory of a tiny orc tribe (the Deadwatchers) because no one else wants it.

Fortunately, unlike last time they visited the city, the travellers are able to leave Kaer Maga without bloodshed.  Anorak persuades the group to head to Janderhoff so he can warn the people of his birthplace about the giant army’s use of “portal spikes” to make surprise raids.  At the gates of the largely-subterranean city, they see security has in fact been tightened already, and every visitor is questioned and searched.  The gate guards disbelieve Anorak’s tale (deeming it too fantastical), but The Reckoner manages to persuade them to deliver the information to their superiors.  Anorak also has a message delivered to Kaptra Dorethain, the dwarf who aided them on their last visit to the city, explaining that they’re not able to accept the job of searching for her missing husband.

The group set off again.  Travelling a mile every minute (and with Goldcape’s keen sense of direction), the travellers finally see Korvosa on the horizon.  But in the bright light of the mid-afternoon sun, plumes of smoke are clearly visible: the city is in flames! 

After leaving Kovosa for weeks under the thrall of the cruel Queen Ileosa, will the Harrowed Heroes find there’s nothing of the city left to save?

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

GM Commentary

I always have some players who hate the critical fumble rules when they roll one, but when it's a bad guy like the Cinderlander suffering them, those complaints don't arise :)

The AP's scripted speech of the Sun Shaman was fantastic.  It's hard to convey so much exposition in a way that's interesting, and I thought the writing here was great.  I think I tinkered a little with the last bit, because I wanted to emphasise that lifting the curse on Scarwall was what was necessary to remove Ileosa's immortality, with Serithtial just a nice, optional bonus (the whole "need super enchanted magic weapon to defeat the bad guy" was both cliche and already done in Rise of the Runelords).

Anorak does some good role-playing bits here in relation to Janderhoff, something I should have given him more credit for at the time.

Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 52 [RPG]

 [Fireday, 10 Erastus 4708 A.R. continued]

 

One purple worm has been slain, but a second is rapidly approaching!  Goldcape struggles as poison courses through her body, turning her muscles into jelly—even her nature magic doesn’t seem able to overcome it.  Seconds later, crashing into the adventurers like a tidal wave, the other subterranean monster makes its appearance—and it’s even larger than the first one!  Anorak weakens it with a powerful fire spell, but when The Reckoner tries to close the distance, he takes a vicious smash from its tail and is sent flying backwards!  Anorak unleashes a second fireball and Rocky joins the fight, but the roc is impaled by the worm’s stinger and poisoned.  After a short but intense battle, the worm collapses, dead, after The Reckoner leaps into the air and finishes it with a powerful downward slam of his war-maul.

 

With both Goldcape and Rocky suffering from purple worm venom, the decision to escape the tunnels as soon as possible is an easy one.  Hours pass as the travellers, with Krojun still trailing behind, navigate the labyrinthine tunnels.  During their walking, two members of the group receive magical messages, but from quite different sources.  From Korvosa, Bishop Keppira d’Bear tells The Reckoner that the resistance operation is still going forward: “Kroft says can’t delay. Operation only works during Founding Festival.  Will proceed without you, but if can make it, meet at same place for briefing.”  The Reckoner replies he and the others will try their best.  Sometime later, Goldcape receives a series of sendings from Yraelzin, last seen heading north to try to slow the giant armies encircling Urglin before they can continue south: “Goldcape, you won’t believe who I ran into!  You remember those other tshamek the Moon Maidens spoke about?  It’s the Kodar Kneecappers & Trinia! I--”  “Stupid spell.  Important: We’re going to raid giant leader’s camp to stop siege on Urglin, but they’ve been practicing with magic portal spike that can—“ “Last one—have to save my energy!  The portal can take a dozen giants anywhere—Korvosa, Janderhoff, who knows! Be careful and talk soon.”  Goldcape replies that Yraelzin should hurry as the group need him, and she also reminds him of the resistance’s plan for an operation during the Founding Festival.

When the group reach the surface a couple of hours before dawn, they’re tired but decide to try to press on for Flameford as only a few days remain until the Founding Festival on 14 Erastus.  With Rocky incredibly fatigued from the purple worm poison, Goldcape decides to try something new.  After asking his permission, she draws a magical scroll from her bag and turns him into a small, hand-sized figurine!

But navigating the largely barren landscape of the Cinderlands is harder than it seems, a fact Krojun knows well as he watches silently.  After realising they’ve been heading in the wrong direction, and with the day’s heat rising, the group decide to find a shaded overhang to camp under.

[Starday, 11 Erastus 4708 A.R.]

After sleeping all day, the group finish their journey to Flameford as the sun sets.  Before leading the others through the maze of spike stones, Krojun hands his earthbreaker to Anorak, telling him to hold it for him to help him avoid temptation.  He then leads The Reckoner off to the side for a private conversation.  Krojun says it is abundantly clear that The Reckoner and his companions are adept warriors, and that as they have endured the Trial of the Totems, he will not stand in the way of them obtaining information from the Sun Shaman.  But, Krojun adds, he’s not fooled about the group’s motivations for coming to the Cinderlands.  Despite them being named tribal allies, Krojun says the group have simply come to take from the Sklar-Quah and will depart, never to return once they have what they want.  The Reckoner concedes his reason for coming is to help his own people in Korvosa, but that doesn’t mean he and the others will never return.  And, he adds, perhaps it is Krojun who will come to Korvosa for aid in the future.

Once in Flameford, Krojun confers privately with the Sun Shaman.  Afterwards, the Sun Shaman confirms that the visitors have earned the full respect of the Sklar-Quah and can be trusted with the secrets of the tribe.  He says he must consult with his ancestors by communing with them in the Kallow Mounds, but will return the next day.  With a whisper to the spirits of the land, a powerful wind lifts him, Chief Ready-Klar, and four of the tribe’s thundercallers into the air and towards the east.

Later that evening, as Krojun is carving a spear, The Reckoner talks to him about how he met the others and about how Queen Ileosa has brought so much suffering and cruelty to Korvosa.  He says Ileosa is a danger to the Shoanti as well, as she’ll never be satisfied with peace.  Krojun, however, reminds The Reckoner that the Sklar-Quah never endorsed the Skoan-Quah’s treaty embassy to Korvosa.  Indeed, Krojun muses, perhaps the time has finally come for a war that will reclaim the ancestral Shoanti lands taken from them when the invaders first laid claim to the land that became Korvosa.

Before turning in for the night, Goldcape gives The Reckoner a sredna loop as thanks for saving Rocky (now returned to normal form) from the purple worm that had swallowed him weeks earlier.

[Sunday, 12 Erastus, 4708 A.R.]

Early in the morning, as the camp is preparing for another day in the harsh environment around them, The Reckoner is out checking the camp’s defences when he notices a strange, purplish-green glow coming from the top of the eighty-feet-high cliffs that loom over the camp.  He’s not sure what to make of it, but brings it to the attention of Goldcape and Anorak—and each recognise it as some kind of teleportation magic.  Goldcape hops on Rocky’s back to check it out, and is stunned to see a strange glowing device that looks like a giant metal spike has been stuck into the top of the cliff, and behind it is a glowing circular doorway to another place!  Giants, each marked on the brow with a seven-pointed star, can be seen through the portal, lined up near an identical glowing spike.  Near the magical spike on the clifftop side of the portal, undoubtedly the one who activated it, is a rugged-looking human wielding a crossbow, seemingly guarded by a firepelt cougar—surely this must be the Cinderlander!  Goldcape yells “Giants!” and rouses the camp to battle.

While Anorak and The Reckoner spend precious seconds preparing themselves for the battle to come, Goldcape engages the enemy with magical hailstorms and a flurry of arrows.  But in return, she has to dodge a volley of crossbow bolts from the Cinderlander and rocks hurled by the giants.  Realising the camp has been alerted, the giants on the clifftop begin their assault by hurling boulders, crushing yurts and any Shoanti unlikely enough to be inside.  Krojun tries to rally his warriors to counterattack, but hurled spears barely reach the clifftop and scaling the steep side of the plateau will take time—and with every passing moment, more and more giants pass through the portal!  But then Anorak and The Reckoner are ready to get into the fight, and Anorak conjures a magical doorway to take himself, The Reckoner, Krojun, and a nearby Thundercaller to the clifftop.

The Reckoner decides he needs to stem the flow of enemy reinforcements, and heads straight for the magical portal spike.  As he starts smashing it with his enchanted war-maul, the enemy—hill giants, stone giants, and even their apparent leader, a cloud giant—converge to try to stop him.  Anorak is drawn into the fight, while Goldcape continues circling on Rocky’s back, wisely using spells and arrows to stay out of the giants’ reach.   Meanwhile, Krojun sees the Shoanti’s most hated enemy—the legendary Cinderlander—and charges in, rage fuelling his attacks!

The battle around the portal spike is one of the most intense the Harrowed Heroes have ever had.  The cloud giant—almost twenty feet tall—repeatedly slams his tree-trunk sized morningstar into The Reckoner.  Anorak manages to dispatch two of the weaker giants with carefully-placed fireball after fireball, finishing them off with his waraxe.   But concentrating on magic makes the dwarf lose concentration on defense, and he’s battered to the ground, unconscious.  The Reckoner, badly wounded, manages to shatter the portal spike with another mighty swing, and the portal fades away into nothingness.  Finally able to concentrate on the foes around them, he smashes the kneecap of the cloud giant and finishes him off once he crumbles to the ground.  But the others have lost sight of Krojun in the midst of the melee, and discover why the Cinderlander is so feared by the Shoanti—enchanted bolts tear gaping holes in the brave’s flesh before he can even reach the crossbowman, and a nearby hill giant delivers a final, killing blow, smashing Krojun’s spine!  Still, seeing the tide of battle turning and the portal closed, the Cinderlander picks up the body of his animal companion (slain by Krojun’s dying blows) and starts making for the side of the plateau to escape.

Goldcape uses some of her most powerful magic to heal Anorak’s wounds.  With a hide-clad hill giant looming over him, the dwarf cleverly rolls into another conjured magical doorway to reappear some distance away.  The Reckoner shouts for the others to stop the Cinderlander before he can escape, but confronting the Cinderlander is like playing with fire, and The Reckoner gets burned!  A crossbow bolt, enchanted to wreak havoc with human physiology, crunches into the costumed vigilante’s sternum, leaving him dying in the dirt.  Goldcape uses the last of her magic to get The Reckoner back into the fight, and he and Anorak manage to dispatch the last remaining giants on the plateau.  The Reckoner jumps on Rocky’s back to pursue the Cinderlander, but Goldcape offers the Shoanti-killer a truce.  The Cinderlander nods, drinks a potion, and disappears over the side of the cliff.

The giants’ raid on Flameford has been repelled, but not without cost: Krojun slain, much of Flameford in ruins, and two of the Harrowed Heroes near death.  But is the battle of Flameford truly over?

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

GM Commentary

The sending spells proved a great way to keep the PCs aware of off-screen things going on back in Korvosa, or with Yraelzin's mission to Urglin.  I think it's great for verisimilitude for the players to know that they're doing something important, but they're not the only ones trying to do important things.  And, it's always fun to see what the 25-word-limit allows depending on the caster's personality.

The PCs had some trouble getting out of the worm caves.  Survival is an underestimated skill!

As we near the end of Chapter Four in the recaps, one of the things I'm proudest of with my run of Curse of the Crimson Throne is how I ran this section.  I'm really happy with how my (and Paizo's!) portrayal of the Shoanti in the Cinderlands turned out.  It was respectful, avoided stereotypes, and provided insight into a really cool fictional culture.

The written adventure has an attack on Flameford, but it's with Red Mantis assassins carried there by gargoyles.  I really wanted to do something more interesting and continue to bring home the fact that there's a war going on (because of the failure to win Rise of the Runelords in my last campaign).  Having the Cinderlander bring a small army of giants to the top of the plateau overlooking the camp turned out to be pretty cool (in my humble opinion) and was certainly one of the most intense encounters in the campaign.  Anorak and The Reckoner spent several rounds buffing, leaving Goldcape and Rocky to hold the line alone!  Goldcape deserves more credit than she got for keeping party members alive, as The Reckoner would be well and truly dead if it wasn't for her.  I knew introducing the portal spikes into the campaign could have some pretty big consequences if the PCs got their hands on the pair, but the destruction of one took care of that.

It was sad to see Krojun die.  The Cinderlander's human bane bolts were pretty nasty.

Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 51 [RPG]

[Wealday, 8 Erastus 4708 A.R. continued]

 

The final stretch in the Trial of the Totems has begun!  Having endured 36 consecutive hours of keeping their totems upright, plus a sudden assault against a pack of hungry bulettes, the Harrowed Heroes know only a single night separates them from success.  With cloud cover keeping even moonlight from reaching them, the lonely mesa is plunged into almost total darkness but for Goldcape’s light spells.  The hours pass slowly, with both Goldcape and Anorak losing leverage over their totems at different points.  Giddy with exhaustion, The Reckoner improvises a song with lyrics about how boring the test is compared to slaying a purple worm.  It’s not much, but may be just enough to keep his allies’ flagging spirits going.

 

[Oathday, 9 Erastus 4708 A.R.]

 

As dawn breaks, the Sun Shaman leads the entire tribe to Bolt Rock.  He inspects each of the totems carefully, looking for signs of damage or trickery.  With a quick nod, he accepts The Reckoner’s totem.  He lingers longer at Anorak’s, and traces his fingers along the multiple cracks, but nods as well.  At Goldcape’s, he pauses for what seems like minutes.  The totem has deep cracks throughout, and is only barely in one piece.  At last, with a sigh, the Sun Shaman nods.  The Sklar-Quah erupt in cheers, as all three have passed the Trial of the Totems!  Before the jubilation gets out of hand, the Sun Shaman holds his hands up for silence.  He states formally that the three petitioners are tshamek no more, and welcomes them as allies to the Sklar-Quah with full permission to traverse and reside in the lands of the people.  Yet with a subtle acknowledgement of Krojun, the Sun Shaman continues.  He says the tribe’s new allies have not yet proven themselves worthy of the knowledge passed down from shaman to shaman from time out of mind.  One final test remains: they must prove they can survive travelling through the harshness of the Cinderlands on their own, without the aid of the Boneslayers or other Shoanti help.  And their judge will be Krojun!

Having passed one test only to learn of another, Goldcape, The Reckoner, and Anorak trudge back to Flameford and spend the day recovering from their ordeal in a guest yurt.  When they wake in the late afternoon, Goldcape dispatches a boy from the camp to deliver a message to the Boneslayers: with gratitude for their aid, they can return to the Kallow Mounds.  The trio discuss what to do for their final test—return to the House of the Moon to enlist the support of a Truthspeaker, follow the Harrower’s seeming direction to have Goldcape be swallowed by Cindermaw, or slay more enemies of the Sklar-Quah.  With Cressida Kroft’s mysterious resistance operation planned in just five days’ time, the trio decide to gamble on a short trip to the south, where they fought purple worms on their way into the Cinderlands, in the hopes they can quickly prove to Krojun their ability to survive in the wilderness and then return to Flameford for the Sun Shaman’s information about the source of Ileosa’s invincibility.

Still unable to endure the full rigors of the heat of the Cinderlands, the trio decide to leave immediately and travel at night.  The Reckoner removes the bulging saddlebags from their horses and leaves them safely in the yurt.  Krojun is waiting for them near one of the near-invisible paths through the spike stones that surround Flameford.  Arms crossed over his chest, he looks at the three with scepticism, and says he will provide no advice or assistance, even should their lives be in danger.  With Goldcape flying on Rocky’s back, Anorak and the Reckoner riding unencumbered mounts, and Krojun trying to keep pace on his own horse, the group set off in a generally southerly direction.

 

It’s a dark night, and soon it becomes obvious how futile it is to try to find purple worms tracks at night.  After hours of searching, Goldcape at least finds a rocky overhang that will provide them some shade against the day’s heat.  The Reckoner continues to tease Krojun, but he replies dismissively that they travel like Moon Maidens.

 

[Fireday, 10 Erastus 4708 A.R.]

 

After sleeping most of the day, the group continue moving slowly southward so Goldcape can try to find the signs of purple worms.  Just before dusk, she notices a wide, smooth line in the reddish sand and follows it to a pit.  Remembering how their Boneslayer escorts previously fell into just such a pit, the trio surmise it must lead to underground tunnels formed by the massive burrowing creatures.  Using a grappling hook, The Reckoner makes it easy for everyone to climb down—though they have to leave their horses at the top.  Knowing that purple worms can sense vibrations in the ground, the trio then start making lots of noise (and light) as they explore the labyrinthine tunnels.  Krojun rolls his eyes, but follows at a distance.

But in their attempt to lure a purple worm, the trio unwittingly stumble into an ambush by cave giants!  With bestial tusks jutting from their jaws and armor patched together from the bones and hides of previous victims, six of the hunched-over monsters appear from multiple side tunnels.  Anorak reacts quickly and conjures a magical doorway before grabbing The Reckoner’s arm and pulling him through—both reappear behind two of the startled giants!  But that leaves four for Goldcape and Rocky, as Krojun keeps his promise and stays out of the fighting.  Goldcape shouts in concern, but she’s far from helpless, conjuring ice spear after ice spear to devastate the giants!  She and Rocky then retreat, leaving no one in between the giants and Krojun.  Forced to fight (only somewhat reluctantly) he drops one of the giants with thundering smashes from his earthbreaker.  Once the giants closest to him are dispatched, The Reckoner rushes to fight the others, tumbling through a clumsy giant’s legs to attack it from behind.  In a matter of seconds, the battle is over, with Anorak stating giants aren’t nearly as tough as he expected.  The three tease Krojun about how the “observer” was forced to fight after all.

Exploration of the subterranean passages continues, with Anorak cleverly leaving magical marks behind so the group can find their way back.  Goldcape finds fresh markings and loose scales, and leads the group to a well-travelled section of the tunnel where multiple branches converge in a sort of crossroads.  The group decide to stay put and again make noise to try to draw out a purple worm, and this time they’re successful—but in drawing out two!  The Reckoner makes the smart tactical move of having the group retreat down one of the tunnels so only one of the worms can attack at a time.  As the first one surges down the tunnel, The Reckoner hammers away, killing it with startling ease.  However, Goldcape is scratched by the worm’s tail stinger, and feels her muscles weakening just as the sound of the second purple worm draws closer and closer!

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GM Commentary

This session was pretty much all improv by me.  I think maybe the PCs hadn't gained enough Respect Points to get the Sun Shaman's information yet, and thus the additional test to see if they could survive the Cinderlands on their own.  It also gave them some more opportunity to interact with Krojun.  Able to take on multiple cave giants and purple worms, the group is certainly not underpowered when it comes to combat!

Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 50 [RPG]

[Starday, 4 Erastus 4708 A.R., continued]
 
The Reckoner, Goldcape, and the Boneslayers can’t help but be impressed by Anorak’s display of pure magical might in the aftermath of his long-range incineration of the bulettes.  If the spectacle has drawn any unwanted attention to them, there’s no sign of it as they continue marching through the night toward Flameford.
 
[Sunday, 5 Erastus 4708 A.R.]
 
By sleeping all day and walking all night, the Harrowed Heroes continue to get closer to their destination.  With the Boneslayers helping them find sources of shade and avoid the myriad natural dangers of the Cinderlands, the group moves slowly but steadily.  Over a meal, Nalmid asks the Korvosans what their greatest battle was prior to coming to the Shoanti lands.  Anorak says it was against the Arkonas, shortly after he met the others.  The Reckoner says it was against Lady Andaisin’s Cult of Urgathoa in their hidden sanctuary under the Hospice of the Blessed Maiden.  Goldcape names a recurring foe, the necromancer Rolth Lamm.  Talk turns to Flameford, and a plan is made for the Boneslayers to camp some distance away from the Sklar-Quah’s settlement to avoid prejudicing them further against the tshamek.  Shadfrar, the Boneslayer who knows the Sklar-Quah the best, expresses concern that the visitors might meet outright violence.  He says it’s a shame that the group was unable to find a Truthspeaker to accompany them, as such a revered guest would put even the Sklar-Quah on their best behaviour.

[Moonday, 6 Erastus 4708 A.R.]

Following Hargev’s advice to detour around a rock formation that holds a roc’s nest, the group enter a region where long grasses poke above the red soil of the Cinderlands.  Here, in Sklar-Quah territory, herds of aurochs—a type of cattle—can roam and graze.  But the thundering sound of approaching hooves marks not an aurochs stampede, but a patrol of Sklar-Quah burn riders!  The riders spur their mounts to gallop in a tighter and tighter ring around the outsiders in a frightening display.  “Sharatok, tshamek,” says one of the riders as the ring slows.  “Storval dharanok ekbit roark Shoanti.”  Fortunately, both Goldcape and The Reckoner know enough Shoanti to realise they’ve received a formal (but cold) greeting, alongside a warning that the Sklar-Quah defend these lands against trespassers.  Goldcape, flying on Rocky above the tense encounter, begins a long explanation of the group’s quest.  But The Reckoner interrupts and says they’ve come to meet Krojun.  The burn riders roar with laughter and their leader responds: “If you wish to see Krojun Eats-What-He-Kills, then so be it!”  The Shoanti whoop as they race toward Flameford to bring word of visitors.  Ahalak says he and the other Boneslayers will camp nearby, and that the Korvosans should continue on their own.

It’s clear the Sklar-Quah had defence in mind when they pitched their yurts to establish Flameford.  Nestled against the edge of an almost-sheer 80’ high cliff on one side and surrounded by a maze of magically-grown spike stones, no enemy could approach Flameford on foot without great difficulty.  A boy is sent to guide the tshamek along the unmarked, zigzagging paths through the spike stones and into the camp itself: a collection of about two dozen yurts, a massive central fire pit, and a horse corral.  The clan’s imposing leader, Chief Ready-Klar, is waiting, as is the stoic Sun Shaman, an amused-looking Krojun, and several other members of the tribe.  When told imperiously by Chief Ready-Klar to state why they have intruded upon Sklar-Quah lands, The Reckoner replies with words that are perfectly pitched for his audience.  Still, it obviously comes as quite a surprise to many of the Shoanti assembled when Chief Ready-Klar doesn’t have them peremptorily ejected.  Instead, he tells the newcomers to wait while he confers with the Sun Shaman. 

 When the two return, the Sun Shaman speaks for the first time.  He says the visitors are still tshamek and not worthy of the sacred knowledge passed down amongst Sklar-Quah shamans since time out of mind.  But, he adds, there is a way for even tshamek to prove themselves as allies of the Sklar-Quah—they could petition to take a Trial.  Outraged at the mere suggestion, Krojun interjects and says these outsiders aren’t even worthy of that!  He says they’ve only survived the Cinderlands because Boneslayer guides have acted as nursemaids along every step they’ve taken.  The Sun Shaman looks on silently while Anorak, Goldcape, and The Reckoner make their case in a battle of words every bit as brutal as a game of sredna.  Finally, the Sun Shaman has made up his mind.  “It is decided,” he says.  “The petition is granted.  At dawn, they shall take the Trial.”  Krojun bellows into the sky, smashes a nearby stone with his bare hands, and summons his thundercallers to ride.

[Toilday, 7 Erastus 4708 A.R.]
 
An hour before dawn, the Sun Shaman enters the guest yurt where the petitioners are staying.  He leads them out through the maze of spike stones and east toward a small plateau that rises about 30 to 40 feet above the ground below.  Several clay columns, each almost ten feet tall, lay on their sides at the bottom of the mesa—the sides of each column are decorated with Shoanti sigils; curiously the top and bottom are rounded, making them obviously unable to stand upright for long on their own.  The Sun Shaman explains that he has chosen the Trial of the Totems.  To be deemed an ally of the Sklar-Quah, a petitioner must carry a totem on their own and, in less than an hour, place it upright on the lower mesa.  Then, that individual must keep their totem upright for a day. At the next sunrise, the petitioner must move their totem to a higher ledge and keep it upright in another depression for an additional day. When the sun rises on the third day, any totem still standing grants the seeker who kept it upright an enduring bond of friendship with the Sklar-Quah.  With the horizon beginning to show the first rays of light, the Sun Shaman says many eyes in Flameford will be turned eastward for the next two days, and then he departs.

 
The Reckoner gets to work immediately.  The clay columns are quite heavy, but he’s able to pick his up and, balancing carefully, take it on the path that leads up to the mesa before depositing it upright in a shallow depression there.  Goldcape and Anorak, however, cannot replicate such an impressive feat, and are reduced to slowly dragging their totems.  With great effort, they each manage to get their totems upright.  Keeping the totems upright seems easy at first, but as hour after hour in the hot sun passes, the merest lapse in concentration can be enough to send one plummeting to the ground.  It’s not long before everyone is completely exhausted, but at least the items discovered in the secret vault in the Acropolis of the Thrallkeepers ensures that food and water are in good supply.  Still, twice in this first day of the gruelling test, Goldcape’s column falls, each time gaining a visible crack in it.
 
[Wealday, 8 Erastus 4708 A.R.]
 
Somehow, minute after minute, hour after hour, the totems have been kept (mostly) upright for a full 24 hours.  As dawn starts on the second day, the petitioners decide to remove their armor and prepare to move the totems up to the mesa’s highest ledge.  In a rare stroke of luck for the Cinderlands, an overcast day takes some of the sting of the sun’s heat away.  Still, the hours of daylight pass slowly, interrupted only by a visit from Krojun!  He walks around the ledge, looking pleased that the Sun Shaman has chosen such a difficult challenge, before departing.
 
Somehow, dusk comes again, marking the final stretch of the laborious task.  But just as victory seems attainable, disaster looms: a full pack of six bulettes can be seen drawing nearer and nearer to the mesa!  While The Reckoner tries frantically to get a wand to work, Goldcape and Anorak casts spells of fire, lightning, and ice to weaken the predators.  But with a crouch, the bulettes are able to leap onto the mesa and pounce!  The Reckoner’s totem gets knocked to the ground, giving the wounded warrior the opportunity to strike back with his war-maul.  Goldcape takes her hand off her totem to help The Reckoner dispatch the attacker, and her totem somehow stays upright for the duration of the battle!  But Anorak finds himself sorely-pressed, with his totem knocked to the ground and a bulette looming over him.  He responds with intense bursts of electrical energy from his waraxe, sending the foe hurtling off the edge of the mesa.  And all the while, an ally silent during the trial proves his worth: Rocky!  The brave roc suffers a deep gash, but kills the remaining bulettes.
 
The Trial of the Totems has begun, and already cracks are appearing.  Can the Harrowed Heroes endure?
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GM's Commentary

I used the Pathfinder Social Combat deck of cards to represent the PCs and Krojun arguing before the Sun Shaman whether or not they should be allowed to take a test to become friends of the tribe.  I thought it worked really well, as the cards turn an important role-playing encounter into something that takes more than a single Diplomacy check to resolve.  Mechanically, it's a little like a Chase but with social skills instead of physical ones.

The Trial of the Totems was very memorable and evocative, and I think it really pushed the characters to their limits (fitting for a chapter devoted to Strength).  My only quibble as the GM is that the hardness of the stones was such that it'd be incredibly hard to actually break one no matter how many times you let it slip.  I kept that from the players though, as I always track hp secretly.

Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 49 [RPG]

[Wealday, 1 Erastus 4708 A.R. continued]
 
Having freed the House of the Moon from the red reaver which had taken it as a lair, the Harrowed Heroes discuss their next steps.  With the Truthspeaker not guaranteed to arrive until the night of the full moon—a full three days away—The Reckoner and Anorak overrule Goldcape’s suggestion of just waiting and instead decide the group should set out for Flameford at sundown the next night. 
 
Goldcape, however, notices Yraelzin speaking with one of the Moon Maidens and hears something about a journey to the north—away from Flameford.  When the vanara approaches, Yraelzin makes a stunning announcement: he’s leaving!  He explains that it’s become apparent to him that he’s no longer needed, now that Anorak has become so skilled at identifying magic items, The Reckoner prepares himself for every battle with magic boots and wands and armor, and Goldcape can handle the healing when the group’s rare injuries occur.  He’s not leaving permanently, he adds, seeing her look of dismay, but wants to go somewhere he’s really needed.  Yraelzin says that if it’s true the best chance of stopping the giant army’s advance is while they’re besieging Urglin, he may be able to help the orcs turn the tide—and there have been rumors that other tshamek adventurers might be in the area that he could link up with.  Yraelzin promises to check in, via magic, each week, and return to the group as soon as he can—plus, one of the Moon Maidens has agreed to escort him there. 
 

But it’s clear to keen observers that a deeper problem has been brewing within Yraelzin for quite some time: an identity crisis.  Having gradually ceased mentioning Razmir in recent weeks, Yraelzin now makes a symbolic break with his faith: he removes his mask, hands it to Goldcape, and asks her to destroy it for him!  He admits his foray into Harrow reading may have been a desperate attempt to find something else to give him meaning, and that it didn’t really work.  But hopefully, he adds, some time away will give him clarity—and besides, he adds, if someone has to stop the giants, why not “Yraelzin, Master of Magic!”  After the others say their farewells, the former Priest of the Third Step of the Living God departs.

 
Earlier, while Yraelzin was conversing with Goldcape, The Reckoner hatched a plan to lure the Cinderlander into a trap by disguising himself as a Lyrune-Quah Moon Maiden!  Although grateful for the group’s assistance, the real Moon Maidens think the plan too risky and can’t be persuaded to participate.  Nonetheless, The Reckoner walks for two hours into the desert, with Goldcape and Anorak flying some distance away on Rocky’s back.  But the Cinderlander doesn’t appear, and the Korvosans return to the House of the Moon before dawn for some much-needed rest on a day that has mixed joy and sadness.
 
[Oathday, 2 Erastus 4708 A.R.]
 
During a day spent camping in the shade of some rock outcroppings to escape the omnipresent heat, Goldcape calls forth a magical thunderstorm and brings down a bolt of lightning to shatter Yraelzin’s mask.  Once the sun finally starts to slip over the horizon, the travellers continue moving, aided as always by their escorts from the Kallow Mounds.  The Boneslayers don’t move quickly, but they do move cautiously, and help the city-dwellers avoid the many risks an unwary visitor to the Cinderlands might encounter.  A solid sixteen miles in the direction of Flameford are covered before the group set up camp just before dawn.

Dawn is also when the wyverns strike!  Fortunately, the warriors are still wearing their armor and have weapons nearby as the blue, sixteen-foot-long draconic beasts streak down from the sky.  Goldcape, her eyes accommodated to moonlight, sees them first and conjures more nature magic: a heavy hailstorm that batters one of the beasts.  Anorak and The Reckoner still can’t see them as they get ever closer, but then the dwarf’s eyes pick up the lead attacker and he launches a fireball that briefly lights up the night’s sky.  Goldcape conjures more hailstorms and the Boneslayers launch a volley of arrows, wounding the lead wyvern so severely that, when it lands, The Reckoner is able to finish it off.  But the other wyvern, apparently seeking dominance of the skies and irked by an intruder, dives for Rocky!  The roc’s lamellar barding blunts the wyvern’s talons, and the combined ferocity of Rocky’s slashing claws and Goldcape’s magic rapier fell the foul-mouthed attacker just as it decides to flee.

With spirits high from the fight, it takes some time before everyone is able to settle down to sleep.  Anorak and The Reckoner notice that the star markings they received on their palms in the Thrallkeeper’s Acropolis are beginning to fade.  They decide to test out the strange magical gift that accompany the mark, and each calls forth a being from another plane of existence!  The Reckoner summons a fierce-looking bralani from Elysium; the warrior, named Mercil, looks confused to learn there is no evil nearby to smite and fades away.  Anorak makes a very different choice: from the Ethereal Plane, he summons a creature that is completely invisible!  Speaking only in a harsh whisper, the creature (dubbed “Hunter” by the dwarf) promises to do whatever its “master” wishes if it were to be summoned again.
 
[Fireday, 3 Erastus 4708 A.R]
 
Waking again at dusk, the group make good time apart from a quick detour: Anorak is intent on renewing or adding to the magical power of the Thrallkeeper’s Mark by touching the globe in the Acropolis again!  However, nothing happens.  He and The Reckoner try to persuade Goldcape to touch her palm to the globe, but she refuses, saying the risk of being trapped in the globe forever isn’t worth it.
 
After travelling a few more hours, the group again set up camp just before dawn.  The Reckoner is fortunately a light sleeper, because he wakes when he hears a voice—a voice coming from inside his head!  Bishop Keppira d’Bear of Korvosa is sending him a magical communication: “Situation deteriorating.  Church of Abadar swore allegiance to Queen.  Korvosan Guard disbanded, Kroft in hiding.  Grau’s band growing—secret funding? Our plan still on track.”  The Reckoner uses his opportunity to ask whether the mission can be delayed a week, but no response is forthcoming.
 
[Starday, 4 Erastus 4708 A.R.]
 
Travelling by the light of the full moon, Anorak spots the distinctive fins of land-sharks heading to intercept the group.  The dwarf revels in the awesome power of his master of evocation, releasing wave after wave of fire on the predators until they’re utterly incinerated.
 
Criss-crossing the Cinderlands, the Harrowed Heroes have never failed to overcome any foe.  But are they losing the one challenge that perhaps matters most: the race against time?
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GM Commentary

One of the things I'm proudest of in my running of the campaign is Yraelzin.  Since we only had three players to start, I added him as a GM-PC to round the group out to four.  He really came alive during the course of the campaign, and I think his personal story arc evolved in an organic and compelling fashion.  I had him depart here for the rest of Chapter Four to illustrate the "reality" of the danger from the giant armies, and also because, just as he said, he wasn't really needed anymore.  Yraelzin's specialties were identifying magical items and buffing the group, and other PCs took those roles themselves.  Since combats were being won very easily, it seemed like a good time for a story development.

We have a house rule that low-light vision allows you to see normally in dim light.  That really came in handy for Goldcape in the battle against the wyverns, allowing him to see and fight them when the other party members couldn't.

I used the magical messages from Bishop d'Bear to keep up the time pressure in the Cinderlands and to remind the players that the situation in Korvosa wasn't static.