Wrath of the Righteous: The Midnight Isles (Getting There)

Wow!  I haven't updated Wrath of the Righteous for awhile.  So let's see if I can recap.  They obtained everything they needed and were pulled in to meet Queen Galfrey and the Herald of Iomedae in Nerosyan's Pathfinder Lodge.  There they were given their marching orders to assault Minagho's hideout, enter the Abyss, seal the rift behind them (with Queen Galfrey's assistance) and disrupt the Nahyndrian Crystal routes on the Abyssal side.

So they teleport to Minagho's hide out, well their teleportation goes awry so they need to spend some time journeying to it, and slowly slaughter the demonic inhabitants.  They do leave the cambion alive when he makes a deal for his life.  He is an alchemist whose worked on the Nahyndrian crystals, after all, so he seems useful to them.  He's also labouring under the delusion that they are Lawful Good (rather than Neutral Good and Chaotic Neutral) and that they'll obey their oaths to the letter (not truly understanding how lawful humans can adapt).

He gets charmed by Minagho (luckily they spot it and don’t figure it for a betrayal) and fights on her side until he's injured.  Then he spends his time using cure potions and staying out of it until fully healed, by which time Minagho and the others are all destroyed.  Then Queen Galfrey and her troops arrive and are disgusted by the sight of the cambion, but are willing to escort him to Drezen for interrogation.

Our heroes enter the abyssal rift while Queen Galfrey positions herself on the other side, and the two groups shove two pages from the Codex into the rift and chant it closed.

I skipped a few of the battles on the way through the caves as they weren't all that exciting compared to what was upcoming and wouldn't have proven a challenge anyway.  They reached the temple, correctly guessed the puzzle, and appeared in Alyshinyra. 

We then took a few weeks off as I had a bit of a think about what I'd like to do there.  After all, the book can't devote much space to describing it fully and truly and I didn't want it to feel like Cheliax for demonkind or only as strange as Kaer Maga.  I think I did a good job, in the end.  You can judge for yourself when I write it up next week!

Wrath of the Righteous: The Sarkorian Prophecy

The Sarkorian Prophecy is a Pathfinder Society adventure for level 11 characters which it set in the rather interesting city of Storasta.  I thought it might make for an interesting segue into the very special rift-closing book featured in the actual adventure path by dropping in a few of the bark pages of that mysterious volume that sat among the text itself, thus tying the whole thing together a little more smartly to the players' own actions.

Of course the monsters as written in that book are rather … dull … for a level 12 mythic tier 3 party which is fair considering that the book is written for an average level 11 non-mythic party.  Also there were far too many demons in it for my liking as Storasta's flair for me is the chance to get into some plant-kicking action.

Due to the teleportation muddle that occurs around Storasta, they set upon a slightly different plan.  Firstly they had Aravashniel teleport them to the nearest held city which was in Numeria (interesting fun times will happen there later but they didn't investigate so that'll make the Iron Gods campaign path even more fun) and then the rest of them team (Eliska the dhampyr oracle/rogue, Dantalion the half-succubus cleric/magus, Lex the umbral dragon/ninja disguised to look bronze, Alphy the tiefling monk/bard and Osprey the Pathfinder Druid who was along for the ride to show them the way) made the rest of the journey to Storasta using Wind Walk.  This allowed them to bypass all of the terrain obstacles but the abyssal tornado coming their way got them to hide all right.

So I had them face (yet another) night hag which was beaten rather simply since she had no means of hiding her alignment or changed shape.  Silly Pathfinder scenario.   The pair then decided to resurrect the paladin as a favour to Ollysta Zadrian (who had mentioned the loss of her paladin before they left).  They then sent the paladin back home with one of Dantalion's many spells.  They rested for a bit in the tunnels before setting off in Wind Walk some more down the weed-choked path through the vegetation that the tornado had hollowed.

Then they were attacked by two Ropers which gave them an interesting challenge and managed to last a few rounds.  When you're geared to fight demons, aberrations and plants suddenly become difficult.  Once in front of the Pathfinder lodge, I replaced the glabrezu (which they'd fought before) with two Baregara just to mix things up a bit.  Then they went into the Lodge and took out the various Shadow Pathfinders, though they figured out first that they weren't members of the Ivory Labyrinth when Dantalion strolled in with full half-succubus glory and demanded to know why they were late.  The reactions on the Shadow Pathfinders faces as they tried desperately to lie and pretend they were demonic subordinates rather than face them in battle was priceless.  They were subdued for later interrogation and Osprey kept an eye on them while they gave chase to the others.

They chased the main villain, who was both Shadow Pathfinder and cultist, through a tunnel that led out from the outskirts of Storasta into a wide open plain of cracked earth with lava peeking through the cracks.  I had the giant scorpion running alongside him as an assistant and surrounded him with swarms of a helpful CE version of hellwasps.  They were taken out pretty easily still, especially once the villain was surrounded by a blade barrier and attacked by flying PCs.  I added a sub-mission via Eliska Zadrian that they should capture his familiar as she'd guessed he was a witch (Oracles gotta be good for something and it felt like a neat little side-mission).  They succeeded in taking out the witch and saving the scorpion.

Weirdly enough I noticed the villain had Greater Teleport on his spell list….  I know that teleports go a bit off in this zone but surely he'd try it if in battle but it wasn't in his write off so I claimed to myself (and later, after the battle, to the PCs) that he'd already expended it that day.

We finished the session with the sight of a Crag Tarn flying toward them (CR 14).  They had time to escape but I put it on the table as a test to see just how potent they were.  So the next game they fled back to the tunnel entrance and then went all out on the Crag Tarn to take it down.  They were successful and managed to kill it before it could attack them (since it had been spotted quite a way off).

This makes me wonder if I can pull off having the Book 6 brothel occur earlier … such as a more interesting place to situate Minagho's rift but the CR 19 enemies in that book are probably a *little* too powerful for even my intrepid heroes.  Especially as there are so many of them.  So instead I might place it in one of the other interesting sites around and decorate it up.  Perhaps place the structure in the cradle of the Yathscar?  Or in the forest of burning dryads where they must fear the green dragon + succubus rider?  Not sure yet, but wherever it'll be, it shall be fun.

Tee hee … could always make them try all of the above in their search of it!  What do you think?

WoTR: Reaching Drezen

(Dragon Age: Inquisition)

I know I've posted up the various settlements surrounding Drezen before but now that Alphy has literally marched a bunch of people through it, I thought it would be worth lining up where the various NPCs following him ended up and how the various folks in these little towns will react to him and his companions.  If you're going to conquer the Worldwound and be all epic, you're going to want to feel epic and the best way to do that is to have the world around you react to your choices.  Yes, this is another article that belongs to an earlier point but I messed up the Scheduled Post arrangements so here we are.

WoTR: Trouble in Kenabres (earlier segment)

Well this will be totally out of chronological order, but it's worth posting up anyway as it might be of value to those dealing with any brief returns to Kenabres during the campaign.

Once they are successful, Alphy Hernaste likely won't be able to stop himself from gloating but the gathering is then attacked by individuals calling themselves the Children of Mendev.  This band of tieflings lack the power to be a credible threat but they are desperate to free themselves and people like them from the thread of the Third Crusade's deparations.  Little do they know but Prelate Hulrun (LN Inquisitor 13) has mellowed to the extent that he would only lock tieflings and suspected cultists into a ghetto rather than burn them alive without trial.

Still the attack causes his generals to reconsider their standing as there is no point in holding reprobates, at best, and cultists at worst - wasting their dwindling food supplies over winter.  If Alphy doesn't think of it himself, Nestrin Alodae will recommend that he takes the ghetto with him.  Prelate Hulrun declares at this that they cannot waste food on fools.  In truth his declaration here is more rooted in a desire to justify protecting Kenabres' own damaged stores of food for the right people rather than a desire to see Drezen wither and starve.  He has also written off Drezen as a lost cause due to its leadership.

A Sense Motive DC 25 check will reveal each individual's thoughts.  Nestrin Alodae feels that these are the last days of the world and wishes only to shepherd people into the light and fears losing their souls in senseless bloodshed against their own number.  Prelate Hulrun Shappock has vague fears that he never arrived in Iomedae's lands but that too many other souls will be consigned to the Abyss by his poor decision making -- he is torn by his indecision and his own shame causes him to throw his weight behind black and white thinking in the hopes of finding a rock to cling to.  General Dyre is uncertain whether Kenabres will survive the winter without resort to cannibalism if the stores aren't adequately protected.  General Marcovina is angry that resources are sent on a morale stunt like Drezen when they could be better used on Kenabres.  Eterrius Sunnestier is confident that all will be well with the world.

Side Quests in Mendev / Worldwound

Here's a few bits and bobs that I've run with my solo player with a different character to his Mythic Monk prior to the introduction of our second player.  It gives me a chance to play with grittier low level themes where there's no real expectation of levelling up to awesome ... basically, the typical state of affairs for your average NPC.  His level 3 Ranger is an ex-paladin who lost his faith after one too many brushes with the Worldwound (he completed several tours) prior to the Wardstone's collapse and has only returned to Mendev via the River Kingdoms because he believes the Wardstone collapse to be the end of the world and he wants to make his stand.

Thus far he's mainly followed one of the main Crusader Roads from Egede, recruiting a half dozen tieflings who'd been begging for a job from the side of the road (as the best way to avoid being killed by locals is joining a squad) and losing a few of his own mercenaries after their first taste of demonic behaviour.

Most of this was roleplaying with him dealing with his squad and seeing the signs of demonic attacks on villagers and even an army (three Vrocks teleported into the middle of them while Brimoraks provided some fireball support before all teleporting away).  It was all body bits and superstition and looting the dead.  He also saw some conmen trying to sell false cold iron weaponry and superstitious demon wards that didn't work (but which some of the sellers genuinely thought would be effective).

Later he met a Chelish "heal hex" witch who thought himself a paladin and who had way more loot than his level since he'd gutted his house financially, won back his soul through loopholes (ancestral contract) and tricked his evil relatives into getting themselves executed by accident.  Basically a brush with a saint whose personality was a little more ordinary than his triple-carts made him seem.  He hired on the ranger's squad for the distance from Egede to Kenabres and eventually gave him a holy merciful demonbane longsword that has turned the ranger from ordinary level three to a paper tiger.

Journeying with the fellow that is now referred to as the Chelish Saint since he can cure everyone once per day (and has been doing so) gave him a sterling reputation which he promptly sullied by telling a bunch of generals to go to hell, basically, when they invited him into their tent to win him over to their side.  He still wasn't pleased that they raised Lord Hulrun who had inspired so many witch burnings in his time.

Actual mini-quests he has accomplished / will accomplish include:

1. A Riddleport-style town cooped up within walls and full of shell shocked veterans and peasants too poor to leave the country and too scared to stay had a few of the insubordination demons called Thoxel demons were infiltrating brothels as prostitutes and bartenders to sow dissent.
2. The Pathfinder Society Adventure "Scars of the Third Crusade" where he is paid by Pathfinders to solve the murders before their own people hang.
3. The false conspiracy rumours in Bedis that turn out to be nothing.  A bit of a breather episode to contrast some of the things he's been dealing with and the rather ordinary lives of those in Bedis.
4. Brave Brak Gloomaxe of the Divine Beetles Squad hires him on for a short while in Valas' Gift for general guard duty.  Slowly he hears of a strange and bizarre culture and only later does he realise that it's, in fact, a Marid and not a succubi he needs to worry about.  Also mild intrigue between a Pharasmin cleric and an ex-lake pirate from Brevoy.  Also contrast this village with the previous one he'd visited before the slaughter that occurred during the wardstone collapse.
5. A week spent on Bridgepoint in Fort Portmanteau where he fills in for an ailing fighter and battles a few bored demons and must avoid being tempted to follow them into either the Death Woods or the Worldwound.
6. The ruined temple that once housed a half-Nabasu on the road to Drezen is now a one-storey watchtower temple dedicated to Shelyn but they are struggling against several Hala demons who are harassing the troops below and themselves at night.
7. Vilareth Ford is currently being held by only a few squads when he crosses here and perhaps spends a night or two.  He may aim to help clear out the crypts but will definitely be turned back partway through (another higher level party can clear it later).  He can leave with one of the squads escorting merchants down Canyon Road.
8. Keeper's Canyon involves an ambush on the troops in the main streets from a few Brimoraks eager to cause some damage followed by a single angry Vrock.  The point is to rout the protagonist into the ruins where he can meet the few people who are still living in this city and to take a look around the old ruins of the signs of death and terror that occasionally still lives within this place.  A good place for low level random encounters and general hauntings.
9. The Singing Stones Fort needs help taking out a few Hala demons and Quasits that like to lurk in the air and report back to their various commanders.  They offer wood coins for demon heads brought back to them that can be traded with the Army for services.

Wrath of the Righteous: Demon's Heresy Some More

During this week plenty happens with a new PC called Dantalian entering the field (and a new player) who is a Mythic CN Half-Succubus of Calistria Magus/Cleric who is the son of the CN succubus Arushalae (hence being CN himself).  Alphy Hernaste meets him when he assaults the Mythic Vrock who was attempting to perform a ritual to turn Dantalion into a full succubus (and some imprisoned paladins into demons as well). 

 

The battle with the Vrock goes down easily enough, but not too easily, and Dantalian's half-succubus status and benefits really lets him shine which is good because both player and character are totally new to the campaign and so the roleplay spotlight is more typically centred on Alphy (for now). 

Vorimeraak had a watcher, however.  Two Blackfire Adepts and none other than Xanthir Vang who covered his own retreat with a Mythic Cloud Kill that had even the poison immune Dantalian flying for cover.  It was their first brush with the Worm That Walks.

 

Alphy Hernaste has to convince the people of Drezen that this new half-succubus totally isn't evil ... which is difficult yet not impossible due to the presence of the half-invidiak boy.  Yes, I know the themes of the game are meant to be one of shock and awe that there's a neutral succubus but a) I've always figured Calistria's CN vengeance demons were redeemed succubi and b) I'm not comfortable with the idea that there's literally dozens of ways to turn a person evil against their will and banish their souls to hell with plenty of corrupted angels and the like in the various game lines yet only one redeemed demon.  Also I knew my players would love it.

 

They still loved dealing with Arushalae, though her interactions with her son are still pretty awkward.  Dantalian calls her "mother", though, which is cute.  They rescued her from the old Desnan temple during an Abyssal Storm of Vengeance (which I rolled on the weather table) and had to deal with a dozen Warped Ones at the same time.  This kept things interesting for them.  Quantity of enemies, and variety, seem to keep the battles exciting over single enemies which they take out very easily through concentrated fire.  They then contrived a way to bring the bell back to Drezen.  It was all very epic and dramatic and we enjoyed it immensely. 

 

Proximity to so much demonic energy causes Alphy Hernaste's eyes to glow yellow and his horns to enlarge as he becomes more clearly demonic, slowly shifting toward a half-demon of unknown type (player still doesn't know which demon he's twisting towards).  He gains a few extra abilities, though still doesn't match the half-succubus just yet.

 

Then they had returned Drezen only to reveal Arushalae (from Demon's Heresy).  They put Arushalae (publicly) through a series of trials to prove to the populace that she has truly repented.  This included having her bathe in holy water (a sight to behold), submit to various spells (including a Smite Evil) and questioning her under various truth spells.  While her arrival (and the half-fiend) did increase discontent, thus far his efforts have prevented a literal riot or uprising.

 

Then they head out to take down the woundwyrm, after a few failed teleports they locate it in its lair and proceed to slowly take it apart.  It was a fun battle, though reasonably easy, as I'd anticipated but just tricky enough to keep it from being a push over.  I maximised its hit die and that seemed to do the trick though next time I'd be tempted to double it and make them a mated pair as action economy really does matter in this game.

 

Dantalian is contacted through the Dream Spell by Jerribeth, servant of Baphomet, who lives in the Sanctum of the Ivory Labyrinth and is a Glabrezu in the disguise of a beautiful elven woman.  He's tempted but sure it's a trap so defers a response until their arrival.  Once they get to the temple they happen to go the right way and meet Jerribeth in the flesh.  After a little more questioning, they decide to attack her.  She goes down pretty quickly due to being grappled by a monk and thus unable to do very much, which was probably a good thing, because her full attacks are vicious.

(NOTE: As you may have noticed, a lot of the key moments are being placed in Dantalian's lap at this stage to help the new player gain some investment and enough limelight since Alphy already has deep ties to everything else without any need for effort on my part.)

 

They take out a few more bad guys and then find a note left on the door of the workshop from the Blackfire Adepts saying they will kindly stay out of the way of the adventurers if they aren't attacked.  The PCs want to barrel in and knock them out.  Aravashniel (NPC tagalong roleplayed by me and controlled in combat by Dantalian's player) wants them to kill the Blackfire Adepts.  Arushalae (NPC tagalong roleplayed by me and controlled by Alphy Hernaste's player) wants them to leave the room alone because if they spook them there's a good chance they'll teleport away -- likely to provide the Big Bad support if they're forced to choose a side.

Or at least that's what I thought would happen.  Instead Alphy kicked open the door and they managed to lay everyone out in the first round / counterspell the one effort to Dimension Door that was attempted.  So they now have four Blackfire Adept prisoners.  They did keep one under Arushalae's charm effect so that they could interrogate the person about the Sanctum.  Once they heard about the treasure room, they quickly knocked him out and went looking.  Alphy smashed in the wall and they quickly took out the daemon before retreating to use Mage Hand to bring out a few special items.

I can't remember where they found it -- here or elsewhere -- but they got their hand on a Necklace of Strangulation which they discerned to be an Amulet that allowed both water breathing and protection from gases.  Since they knew of Xanthir Vang's cloud kill, they decided to give it to Aravashniel.  Luckily Aravashniel didn't wear the necklace yet, as he already had a good amulet but kept it just in case.

Dantalian also found within the recess a deck of Harrow Cards and a Starknife from his mortal father -- a Riftwarden whom Xanthir Vang claimed to have killed.  In truth, he hadn't.  His father was the Desnan priest whose dreams Arushalae entered while he lay dying.  In penance, Arushalae aimed to infiltrate Xanthir Vang under the pretence of being a different demonic succubus.  This would be revealed later on.  For now, Xanthir Vang contacted Dantalian telepathically and goaded him into assaulting him in the foyer by claiming to have slain his father.

It worked.  The group headed toward the foyer and at the last moment, after ensuring they had a few buffs on them, Alphy ran out and to the left to strike at Xanthir Vang who seemed to stand alone with two Blackfire Adepts and four Templars of the Ivory Labrynth and ... ran into the invisible leg of a retriever.  The retriever attacked him and cast a ray at him, but Alphy nimbly dodged.  Then Dantalian attempted to back down a set of stairs to the right and ran into another demon.

 

I had basically had all of the other enemies in the Labyrinth meet in the foyer and had most of them placed into invisibility by Xanthir Vang using a basic spell.  The man they thought was Xanthir was merely covered in semi-sentient demonic worms and was a Blackfire Adept himself while Xanthir hung back in Greater Invisibility.  For Templars I used non-mythic versions of Staunton Vhane -- which gave Alphy's player a real moment of shocked joy as he easily pummelled a multitude of copies of the same character who had given him such pause earlier on.

 

The battle was fun and interesting and worked out much better than if I had Xanthir Vang stand alone.  Although none of the characters were at real risk (except for Aravashniel), the players felt the tension and pulled out all stops to win.  A single Disintegrate spell from Xanthir nearly took out Aravashniel, dealing massive damage, and he used one of his spells to dart closer to the entrance.  An invisible Xanthir Vang flew over in one round while everyone rushed about, and threatened to kill Aravashniel with a Cloud Kill should he attempt to act.

 

Aravashniel almost put on the Necklace of Strangulation to survive the Cloud Kill, but before he could act (in his turn), Dantalian struck him with a card which had a Word of Recall spell set on it which knocked him back to Drezen.  He arrived in Drezen, clutching the necklace, but like any good Mendevian crusader he put the object down because, let's face it, you never randomly put on any magical jewellery in the Worldwound without extensive study if you can help it.

 

I explained to the players what nearly happened, as Aravashniel would mention it later to their characters but the close call would resonate more if the revelation occurred in the same session.  The expressions on their faces was gratifying.  It was all the more satisfying that it didn't kill him, merely almost did.  It showed the dangers of the Worldwound without hampering it with frustration or loss.

 

They made short work of Xanthir Vang's allies, so Xanthir chased them with the Mythic Cloud Kill (slowly) through the labyrinth but they found a place where they could circle around it so he drew it back to the entrance to keep out the crusaders and disappeared.  He had no chance to succeed at this point, after all.  I'll keep having him plague them as time wears on but he doesn't stand a chance in combat against them.

 
 

WoTR: The Demon Within Module

Eager to get to the good stuff, I chose to make it relatively quiet in Kenabres for the couple days it takes for Queen Galfrey to organise the additional teleportation circle with Lady Darchana - using the Painted Man from Absalom to cast from the scroll to increase its chances for success.  I also chose to just have it work rather than make a roll for him as the plot potential of permanent teleportation links between Kenabres, Nerosyan and Absalom is too high to waste on a single roll.

The excitement is in Kenabres, at the moment, since the demons are too busy playing havoc in the Mendevian farmlands in preparation of winter.

So the non-humanoids wait in the Starrise Spire while the humanoids made us of their tents in a ruined square nearby.  Some of the ex-slaves and prisoners could make a break for it now as they have equipment and the right to leave but it's a little too threatening to do so.  Many of the stone walls are slowly being repaired by clerics and the whole place looks worse than the London East End in some of the nastier stages of the Blitz.

Once everything it settled, one of the circles is set in Nerosyan while the other is set in a repaired Clydwell Cathedral in Kenabres.  You see, the old Shelyn temple that repaired itself after being rescued in Demon's Heresy wasn't the only God-Touched temple in Mendev.  By triggering the self-repair (well, celestial repair) of one, he triggered the repair of the other one.

Mainly I just wanted to run "The Demon Within" and it's a little harder to do that without a cathedral.  Plus the chance to have Alphy walk into the cathedral from Kenabres only to be welcomed by the Prelate Hulrun Shappock who was responsible for many of the bonfire deaths of suspected cultists and tieflings should be pretty golden.  Prelate Hulrun had died during the main attack on Kenabres and was later seen worn as a suit by a Vermlek demon but why should PCs get all the resurrection fun?

.....

Been awhile since I drafted the first part, so I've now run the session and I can report that Alphy was pretty diplomatic and reasonable about it.  I'd pre-warned the player of Alphy, though, as he was getting a bit down on all the fantastic racism and lack of headway he felt he was making in terms of increasing solidarity.  Things will be better on the home front but I felt that by briefing this as a final obstacle, it should help the player cope with it ... and it did.

Prelate Hulrun demanded the right to invite all of the humanoids into the temple for a grand speech.  He would have put the half-orcs and tieflings to the back but as the teleportation circle was toward the front of the venue and there were enough people to fill the temple, there wasn't much chance of shifting them into a more "appropriate" mix.  General Alphy Hernaste and his chief companions are allowed to sit on the front bench.

Events unfolded not dissimilar to the Demon's Heresy module with an assault on the church.  I layered the attacks thick and fast, with the next encounter occurring two rounds later, which made the whole thing into a far more difficult uphill battle that ended in the first character death! 

Alphy Hernaste fell to the Glabrezu and my player had to run the NPCs to the end of the fight before we snapped over to see Alphy standing in line in Pharasma's world prior to his resurrection.  While normally he wouldn't get to remember such experiences, being Mythic I figured he would.  I basically described the location, his sighting of Groetus, and a glimpse of a creature creeping around the tombstones.  Once returned to life, he pulled Eliska to lay beside him and demanded five minutes peace, which concerned the head priest, Nestrin Alodae, who wanted to get them to clear out Clydwell Keep.

Basically Clydwell Keep fell to the demons a few weeks ago and they've been trying to clear it since to regain access to the Demonscope.  They're not sure why it fell, since it had been the last bastion to be protected by the wardstone effect (being as it doesn't actually contain a wardstone).  Kenabres has recently sent in some troops (who are the various victims found in the keep) but none have successfully rescued those few individuals who are known to be still alive and still attempting to defend its inner recesses. 

Nestrin Alodae, also resurrected, oversees the service at the temple which hasn't yet been fully repaired while Eterrius Sunnestier, demon-hunting priest, is the arrogant priest of the cathedral itself.   General Dyre and General Marcovina are busy at the moment dealing with their own problems and will later be found at loggerheads regarding the tiefling refugees streaming in from the countryside, but for now Alphy Hernaste only has the Demon Within module to worry about.

So yes, already with their resources dented, but fully restored via cleric spells himself, Alphy Hernaste leads the party onward.  He leaves a somewhat redeemed barbarian Jestak behind in favour of his paladin pal.  His party is therefore made up of himself (Mythic Rank 2, 10th level tiefling monk with the bardic performance rounds of his full level and the special abilities and spells granted to a fifth level bard), Ollysta Zadrian (11th level human paladin of Sarenrae with Mythic Rank 1 wielding Radiance) Eliska (10th level dhampyr oracle with five levels of rogue special abilities and Mythic Rank 2), and Lex (Very Young Umbral Dragon who initially had only one level in ninja but was upgraded to two since her lack of loot meant her ability to attack and deal decent damage was starting to fall behind).

This might seem like a pretty overkill type of party but they all run off one player's admittedly impressive processing power so it all balances out in the end.  Generally the battles are *reasonably* easy with occasional spikes of surprising hardness, which fits the epic feel we wanted for the game.  This module is the largest combat crawl he's done and it's time sensitive so he'll be trying to trounce it in one, maybe two, goes.  Be interesting to see if he can do it.  He also doesn't have access to any Mythic Spells, as yet, because I said so.  I may allow access to them later.

The little quasit got spotted immediately via Eliska's Blind Sense (finally her sightlessness became cool) and it got blasted out of the way quite rapidly.

Thus far I have also made a couple changes in the lower bailey area.  I got bored of babau (so many babau!) so I put three babau and four brimoraks, rather than six babau in the infirmary for some glorious fireball action.  When they were all blinded, they teleported away (well, the ones that hadn't been killed).  The three babau then appeared invisibly beside the three chatterer swarms that popped out of the horse in the stable, right when Eliska dropped a Holy Smite spell on the area, slaying them all as they were already injured.  My player loved it!  Since the chatterers don't have any ability to deal damage upon exiting an animal, I left the horse alive so now it can soon become Ollysta Zadrian's bonded animal since I don't want her bonding to Radiance as I'm hoping Yaniel gets resurrected.

The other change I made was to put three tiefling necromancers rather than one in the shadow hour glass area.  One necromancer just seemed too easy to kill!  I also gave them demonic wing and eye grafts, though the saves for the eye grafts was so low as to be pointless.  They took two of them hostage (monks and subdual) but the third one died.

Now I have to think about what happens when that hourglass of shadows meets the Purity Forge as that's Alphy's plan.  I'm thinking it might be usable to purify soil of Worldwound taint that'll last up to six months, maybe?  Not sure.

WoTR: Campaign Setting and Adventure Path books differ on Drezen

Now I noticed a very easy to justify difference between the Drezen in the Worldwound Campaign Setting book and the Drezen described in the Pathfinder Adventure Path.  The setting book states that Drezen has a population of 7,489 humanoids with roughly half as cultists and the other as prisoners and slaves.  The AP only has a several hundred tieflings and cultists - likely because the majority were slaughtered or marched down toward Nerosyan with the bulk of the demonic forces.

Still it does provide some food for thought for those hoping to expand the game even further.  Firstly think of their fates.  Were they butchered on the streets as a bit of fun before the demons left en masse?  Plenty of excuses for subsequent hauntings and occasional more powerful undead.  Marched out as meat shields?  Reports from afar describe them as such.  Pinned to the walls half-alive for the PCs to locate?  Driven to hide in the nearby Vescavor caverns or other more hidden cave structures?  Entombed in basements ready for the builders to accidentally unleash?  Infected with demon plague for similar purposes?

Hell I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that the initial inhabitants in Drezen were wiped out by abyssal contamination that drove them mad and made them kill each other.  If you like, you could have a bunch of Warped Ones still sealed up in an old ruin who could break out and cause some action at home if you like.

I'll have a bit of a think about how I'll introduce this little fact at this late(r) stage of the game and will put up a post with a few other mini-quests.

WoTR: Purchases & Slavers Row (322,700gp spent)

This article is more to show the joys that a few crazy people can have spending way too much money worrying about trivialities of running a city, creating a festival and gaining population in the Pathfinder settlement of Drezen in the Worldwound.  Give me a heads up in the comments box if you're likely to do the same kind of expenditure lists as I have below.

 

Wrath of the Righteous: New Encounter (Children of Drezen)

Story Summary
Yaniel was a bright-eyed paladin who made frequent forays into the worldwound atop her mighty steed and but for a few tumbles with an aasimar paladin she was focused on her work.  Her focus caused her to ignore certain signs of pregnancy until it was too late and she had been snatched by Abyssal forces and granted to the Invidiak in 4694.  He soon discovered her pregnancy and took great delight in wearing her while describing the symptoms of her pregnancy and the guarantee of her child's soon-to-be warped nature.

Although she knew that her child would be tainted, Yaniel could not help but call out to a gentler goddess for assistance in granting one wish.  She prayed to Shelyn to ensure that her child would know her love, no matter what would happen later, for the child was blameless in its affliction.  Shelyn could no more get involved in rescuing Yaniel and her child from their fate than Iomedae but this wish she could grant.

While Yaniel survived the birth, she did not survive long for soon after she was taken by another demoness and cocooned so that the demon could wear her likeness.  Her child, on the other hand, was passed into the communal nursery with all of the others.  There was some concern that he would consume the other children but none would deny the Invidiak's wishes (at least, none who would care).

The child's celestial blood would normally have been entirely extinguished but for the ever present love he felt from his mother.  Instead it interwove with the Abyssal infusion of essence just enough to allow the son a tiny crack, a mere sliver, of human conscience.  This was never enough to make him a good person, or even neutral, but it allowed him to have human attachments fostered by his understanding of a mother's love for her child.  This makes him redeemable with the same strength of chaotic evil alignment as would be found in tieflings on the nastier side of the band.

It is now 4713.  The child, Willem, is now seventeen, though he has aged more slowly and therefore has the mind, build and maturity of a thirteen-year-old.  Rather than being treated as impressive or special, he has lived his life much like any other tiefling - albeit one who was more dangerous to cross.  He is a 1st level expert who spent much of his life in the mines being treated as simple by the other humans who didn't realise that he was simply aging more slowly.

Introduction

Once the PCs' army finish taking apart Drezen's defences, Willem will approach them from the cover of the one of the buildings and offer information on the whereabouts of the two nursery and mine/school.  Willem doesn't fancy his chances out in the open with them, presuming he'll be destroyed, and will attempt to flee out the back window and fly away if they approach him. 

Any attempts to Sense Motive (DC 15) him will reveal that he isn't leading them into a trap, that he fears for his own safety and that he doesn't trust them an inch with his own life but believes that the children have a better chance with paladins (whom he assumes will execute them) than with the cultists (whom he assumes will ritually slaughter them in agonising rites of apology to their demonic masters). 

Attempts to Intimidate him into surrendering will automatically fail unless they can surround / trap him (which is hard to do with his incorporeal options, see "Half-Invidiak" template in Demons Revisited).  Attempts to Bluff him into giving further information as a distraction while others circle around behind him may work (his Sense Motive is +6) but only for 1d4+2 rounds (enough for a single question and answer).  Attempts to use Diplomacy into gathering his trust is particularly hard (DC 35 as he is hostile / terrified for his life).  It is easier to use Diplomacy on him once he is captured as by that point he will feel that there is no point fighting them.

If they attack him, they will likely immediately kill him with an attack or two so do give them a Sense Motive check to determine his motivations especially once they see what he truly looks like.  It's hard to confuse a half-demon with a tiefling, after all.

Capturing him alive will net them 1d6 goods and 1d4 potions as he tries to curry their favour.  He will remain with them for a single night before whisperings among the paladins spook him into trying to flee again.  He won't run if they win over Mr. Fiprac (located in the school) as he trusts the man as a sort of father figure.  Instead he will want a sword and the chance to join them in an attack against his father.  He won't survive a delve into the basement so it's best they leave him behind.

Deskari Nurseries

Due to the risks of raising children around surly, hostile and aggressive demons, the humanoid and tiefling armies have taken to hiding their children away within two underground nurseries built into basements -- halving the chance of a bored demon choosing to murder all of the cultists children at once.  The children's tiefling lineage is the only thing that protects them from rickets due to lack of sunlight and the clerics that look after them are harsh but not particularly abusive for fear of angering the various parents of such children.  After all, only the children of important cultists are raised in relative safety here rather than with their families.

1. Deskari Temple Entrance: Five lvl 3 clerics (see Scholar Priest, NPC Codex) kneel on red cushions around a bowl of haemophagic locusts placed before a carved idol of Deskari.  They frequently make offerings of blood from their own wrists to the swarm.  The locust swarm will remain in its bowl unless the intruders attack.  While diplomacy is an option, it will only work on a DC 30 roll.

2. Living Area: This area simply has a hearthfire, table and two bench seats capable of seating three people each.  There are cooking utensils and a small open scullery and pantry beside the hearthfire.  The pantry contains enough supplies to keep the toddlers and clerics fed for a week.  Should the PCs choose a genocidal answer to these children, they can gain 3 points of consumable food for their armies instead.

3. Bedroom: There are three bunk beds in this room as well as an elaborate stone altar to Deskari with a few old blood stains upon it.  Depending on your player's sensibilities (i.e. trigger warning), you might include a flip up lid revealing a chamber full of flesh eating beetles with a stack of oddly shaped babies' skulls and bones forming a decorative mural on one wall.  The clerics ritualistically murder children who have some visible disability.

4. Nursery: Thirteen tiefling babies lie in make-shift cots with a range of different tiefling aspects - including the odd qlippoth marking due to certain primal abyssal energies rather than bred heritage.  Three bottles of breast milk sit on the dresser.  These self-cleaning conjuration bottles can each provide sustenance to a baby seven times per day. 

5. Playroom: Eight toddlers play together with makeshift toys on dirty bedding.  There is a cage in this room for disobedient toddlers.   All are tieflings due to the contamination of the Worldwound.

NOTE: These tiefling babies and toddlers are all Chaotic Neutral though they are by no means easy to raise (i.e. babies are demanding, frequently cry for no real reason, rarely sleep through the night; toddlers are destructive, stubborn and throw more tantrums than normal).

Schoolyard Mine

These clerics are less considerate of their charges.  All but one fully enjoy inflicting unfair punishments for random irritations to keep the children on their toes as any claimed child would have been returned to their parents for training at this point.  Once a tiefling child turns approximately five years old they are sent to 'school'.  There is a miniature celebration for the new attendees who are fed cake and apple juice and allowed to play in the front room.  They're even allowed a night's stay in real beds (otherwise occupied by the cultist slave drivers). 

The following morning, though, the previous day's lies are ripped away and they are bullied mercilessly into the mines.  Once the kids hit puberty they are drafted into the army (if needed) or left to work the mines.  The half-invidiak, Willem, was an exception to this because he chose to remain in the mines despite the ill-treatment of others, finding safety and succor in the darkness.

Only one individual, Mr. Fiprac, has been good to the children.  Mr. Fiprac is a true neutral level 8 elf ranger (see Orc Slayer in NPC codex but amend favoured enemy to humans).  During a sortie into the wildlands, he was startled by a fiendish bear and fell into a crevasse during a sandstorm, breaking his leg.  Against all odds he managed to crawl / hobble back to Drezen but found the demons less than friendly, barely managing to hide in the school mine.

Although he is a capable ranger, Mr. Fiprac lacked friends among the cultists and therefore couldn't get his leg injury healed.  Since demons have little patience with those who show weakness around them, he knew that leaving the school for long would be a short route to death.  He managed to retain his position in the mine as a teacher, using his obvious patience and guile to successfully ensure the school made its quote of distance per day, even through bedrock.  This proved vital to the cultists as failure to meet requirements meant a cultist would lose a limb and two of the kids.

When the invasion happened, Mr. Fiprac faked the children's escape and instead hid them in the furthest section of the tunnel system.  They managed to roll two barrels of water with them when the fighting broke out but are now desperately hungry but too scared to leave in case the cultists sacrifice them to please Deskari. 

The cultists themselves retreated to the upper areas once it became obvious the city would fall.  Now they surround Priestess Halla, a vicious 8th level cleric of Deskari (base off the Death Priest in the NPC codex), who had been making a deal with some of the lower ranking clerics when the armies attacked.  Finding herself cut off from the rest of the battle above, she decided to wait below until the paladins were defeated.  She has summoned two Incubi to her side and is in the process of sacrificing her cultists so that they might arise more quickly from Abyssal larvae.

Front House: Entering the mines is relatively easy if you know where it is.  The house is one of many taken over by cultists and the door to the mines has a bracket where a heavy wooden bar would be slid into place each night to keep the children inside.  There is currently no bracket in place.

Cellar: The uppermost room within the mining complex was once a cellar that has been updated with a large table and benches, shelves along one wall containing various tools, a few barrels of food and ale, and a wardrobe full of tattered children's clothing and the sleeping mats they use at night.  The clerics themselves slept upstairs.  There is no light source in here.  The children are expected to live by their darkvision.  A long ladder leads down at a ramp-like angle for forty feet over a deep gap to a ledge-like protrusion.

Ledge: This thick six-foot-wide ledge contains down and around the edge of the hole, occasionally broken up and requiring another ramp, with a couple of passageways snaking off of it.  The hole is far deeper than this ledge (created by earth shifting magic) reaches.  The low intonement of prayers to Deskari can be heard in one of the side passageways.

Chanters Room: Halla believes that Deskari can be appeased by sacrificing one cultist a night for their cowardice.  She first carves the group's sins into the sacrifice's skin before bloodily butchering them upon an altar.  The sacrifice itself is pleased to be so anointed and chants alongside the rest.  There are no children in this room.  When Halla sees the PCs, she will attack as will her Incubi and five remaining cultists who have the same stats as those in the nursery.

Bolt Hole: This room is at the end of one of the abandoned passageways.  The cultists assumed there was no one here because they figured that the children would have gotten hungry and gone to find them.  Instead they all crouch in one small partial tunnel that branches off a long and winding one, using another such room as the latrine.  They are hungry and desperate.  Mr. Fiprac defends them with his life but if they clearly serve the paladin army or a good God, then he will throw himself at their mercy and hope that they may all be freed.  Since the PCs are likely to outright attack him, it's best to give them a Sense Motive DC 15 roll to identify his defensive and protective demeanour, otherwise they may slaughter him before realising their error.  There are 35 kids - all tieflings.