In Old Korvosa, nightmare-spawned horrors begin stalking the district's shiver addicts, sparking a manhunt to bring those responsible to justice. What role does the strange cult known as the Brotherhood of the Spider play in the mysterious deaths, and why is the veil between the dreaming and waking worlds so thin? To solve these mysteries and others, the heroes must walk the unseen paths of Bridgefront's occult underworld, and even enter the Dimension of Dreams itself to unravel the web of intrigue concealing the cult's deadly machinations. But what will happen when the heroes' own dreams turn against them, and what becomes of those who uncover esoteric secrets too terrible to know? Beset by dangers from their own minds, the heroes must race against time to save Korvosa—and their sanity.
The sleepy town of Karpad in shadow-haunted Nidal has long been overseen by the Boroi family, and until a few weeks ago, the citizens under Baron Stepan Boroi's rule have lived uneventful lives of relative peace. Recently, however, the outbreak of a virulent and fatal disease and a number of mysterious disappearances have left the people of Karpad paranoid and fearful. Even Baron Stepan has been acting strangely, and now the tenuous balance of racial tensions between Karpad's human and fetchling populations stands on the verge of collapsing into total anarchy.
For years, the knights of Mendev have held back the evil locked inside the Worldwound, a vast, demon-tainted landscape. Every few years, they anoint a new protector, a sacred guardian charged with pitting his will against the teeming hordes bent on devouring the very souls of the living. This year, something has gone horribly wrong, and now a bloodthirsty demonic army has overrun the ancient fortress, and threatens to pour into the surrounding countryside.
Book 5 in the Iron Gods campaign: Somewhere deep within Silver Mount, the greatest of the Iron Gods is rising to power. But before the heroes of Numeria can oppose it, they must f irst defeat the Technic League and the Black Sovereign, for the corrupt cabal controls access to the legendary site. Will the clues harvested from an ancient android oracle and the technological wonders gathered from strange ruins across Numeria be enough for the heroes to prevail? Or will they simply become the latest upstarts to be crushed under the Technic League’s metal boot?
Starvation looms for the people of the Wolf tribe! The elk have all but disappeared and the risky move of the tribe near the Bear clan territory has proved fruitless. An emergency council of the elders has declared that a single hearty warrior must make the dangerous journey deeper into Bear territory to find a source of food. The council has chosen you for this mission of great importance. It is your task to find out where the elk have gone and bring back food for the winter or at least enact Wolf people retribution against the source of the oncoming famine! Into The Forbidden Hills you must travel, heart full of hope and anger…
A free adventure for the Pathfinder RPG, focusing upon a city ravaged by a natural disaster and besieged on all sides. Party levels 4-5 will face off against a half-dragon, half-demon overlord known as Ymial, a demonic seductress, goblin warbands, and drow slavers beneath the ground all while trying to discover the secrets of the city of Fairhaven. Works well for players who are looking to visit a large town and face off in a high-stakes conflict even at low levels. Includes lots of details on the town, from rumors to residents.
While the lives of most Pathfinder Society field agents is brutal and short, some rise to prominence, drawing the attention of the Decemvirate. These lucky agents are invited to a little known siege castle outside Absalom where they are asked to test their mettle. Those who succeed get their choice of prestigious missions, whereas those who fail are rarely heard from again. The players are run through an arena-style dungeon, faced with monsters, traps, and puzzles.
The Legend of the Black Monastery Two centuries have passed since the terrible events associated with the hideous cult known as the Black Brotherhood. Only scholars and story-tellers remember now how the kingdom was nearly laid to waste and the Black Monastery rose to grandeur and fell into haunted ruins. The Brothers first appeared as an order of benevolent priests and humble monks in black robes who followed a creed of kindness to the poor and service to the kingdom. Their rules called for humility and self denial. Other religious orders had no quarrel with their theology or their behavior. Their ranks grew as many commoners and nobles were drawn to the order by its good reputation. The first headquarters for the order was a campsite, located in a forest near the edge of the realm. The Brothers said that their poverty and dedication to service allowed them no resources for more grand accommodations. Members of the Black Brotherhood built chapels in caves or constructed small temples on common land near villages. They said that these rustic shrines allowed them to be near the people they served. Services held by the Brothers at these locations attracted large numbers of common people, who supported the Black Brotherhood with alms. Within 50 years of their first appearance, the Black Brotherhood had a number of larger temples and abbeys around the kingdom. Wealthy patrons endowed them with lands and buildings in order to buy favor and further the work of the Brothers. The lands they gained were slowly expanded as the order’s influence grew. Many merchants willed part of their fortunes to the Black Brotherhood, allowing the order to expand their work even further. The Brothers became bankers, loaning money and becoming partners in trade throughout the kingdom. Within 200 years of their founding, the order was wealthy and influential, with chapters throughout the kingdom and spreading into nearby realms. With their order well-established, the Black Brotherhood received royal permission to build a grand monastery in the hill country north of the kingdom’s center. Their abbot, a cousin of the king, asked for the royal grant of a specific hilltop called the Hill of Mornay. This hill was already crowned by ancient ruins that the monks proposed to clear away. Because it was land not wanted for agriculture, the king was happy to grant the request. He even donated money to build the monastery and encouraged others to contribute. With funds from around the realm, the Brothers completed their new monastery within a decade. It was a grand, sprawling edifice built of black stone and called the Black Monastery. From the very beginning, there were some who said that the Black Brotherhood was not what it seemed. There were always hints of corruption and moral lapses among the Brothers, but no more than any other religious order. There were some who told stories of greed, gluttony and depravity among the monks, but these tales did not weaken the order’s reputation during their early years. All of that changed with the construction of the Black Monastery. Within two decades of the Black Monastery’s completion, locals began to speak of troubling events there. Sometimes, Brothers made strange demands. They began to cheat farmers of their crops. They loaned money at ruinous rates, taking the property of anyone who could not pay. They pressured or even threatened wealthy patrons, extorting money in larger and larger amounts. Everywhere, the Black Brotherhood grew stronger, prouder and more aggressive. And there was more… People began to disappear. The farmers who worked the monastery lands reported that some people who went out at night, or who went off by themselves, did not return. It started with individuals…people without influential families…but soon the terror and loss spread to even to noble households. Some said that the people who disappeared had been taken into the Black Monastery, and the place slowly gained an evil reputation. Tenant farmers began moving away from the region, seeking safety at the loss of their fields. Slowly, even the king began to sense that the night was full of new terrors. Across the kingdom, reports began to come in telling of hauntings and the depredations of monsters. Flocks of dead birds fell from clear skies, onto villages and city streets. Fish died by thousands in their streams. Citizens reported stillborn babies and monstrous births. Crops failed. Fields were full of stunted plants. Crimes of all types grew common as incidents of madness spread everywhere. Word spread that the center of these dark portents was the Black Monastery, where many said the brothers practiced necromancy and human sacrifice. It was feared that the Black Brotherhood no longer worshipped gods of light and had turned to the service of the Dark God. These terrors came to a head when the Black Brotherhood dared to threaten the king himself. Realizing his peril, the king moved to dispossess and disband the Black Brother hood. He ordered their shrines, abbeys and lands seized. He had Brothers arrested for real and imagined crimes. He also ordered investigations into the Black Monastery and the order’s highest ranking members. The Black Brotherhood did not go quietly. Conflict between the order and the crown broke into violence when the Brothers incited their followers to riot across the kingdom. There were disturbances everywhere, including several attempts to assassinate the king by blades and by dark sorcery. It became clear to everyone that the Black Brotherhood was far more than just another religious order. Once knives were drawn, the conflict grew into open war between the crown and the Brothers. The Black Brotherhood had exceeded their grasp. Their followers were crushed in the streets by mounted knights. Brothers were rounded up and arrested. Many of them were executed. Armed supporters of the Black Brotherhood, backed by arcane and divine magic, were defeated and slaughtered. The Brothers were driven back to their final hilltop fortress – the Black Monastery. They were besieged by the king’s army, trapped and waiting for the king’s forces to break in and end the war. The final assault on the Black Monastery ended in victory and disaster. The king’s army took the hilltop, driving the last of the black-robed monks into the monastery itself. The soldiers were met by more than just men. There were monsters and fiends defending the monastery. There was a terrible slaughter on both sides. In many places the dead rose up to fight again. The battle continued from afternoon into night, lit by flames and magical energy. The Black Monastery was never actually taken. The king’s forces drove the last of their foul enemies back inside the monastery gates. Battering rams and war machines were hauled up the hill to crush their way inside. But before the king’s men could take the final stronghold, the Black Brotherhood immolated themselves in magical fire. Green flames roared up from the monastery, engulfing many of the king’s men as well. As survivors watched, the Black Monastery burned away, stones, gates, towers and all. There was a lurid green flare that lit the countryside. There was a scream of torment from a thousand human voices. There was a roar of falling masonry and splitting wood. Smoke and dust obscured the hilltop. The Black Monastery collapsed in upon itself and disappeared. Only ashes drifted down where the great structure had stood. All that was left of the Black Monastery was its foundations and debris-choked dungeons cut into the stones beneath. The war was over. The Black Brotherhood was destroyed. But the Black Monastery was not gone forever. Over nearly two centuries since its destruction, the Black Monastery has returned from time to time to haunt the Hill of Mornay. Impossible as it seems, there have been at least five incidents in which witnesses have reported finding the Hill of Mornay once again crowned with black walls and slate-roofed towers. In every case, the manifestation of this revenant of the Black Monastery has been accompanied by widespread reports of madness, crime and social unrest in the kingdom. Sometimes, the monastery has appeared only for a night. The last two times, the monastery reappeared atop the hill for as long as three months…each appearance longer than the first. There are tales of adventurers daring to enter the Black Monastery. Some went to look for treasure. Others went to battle whatever evil still lived inside. There are stories of lucky and brave explorers who have survived the horrors, returning with riches from the fabled hordes of the Black Brotherhood. It is enough to drive men mad with greed – enough to lure more each time to dare to enter the Black Monastery.
The city of Westcrown is dying. Since being stripped of its station as the capital of Cheliax, the wealth and prestige of the city has gradually slipped away, leaving the desperate people to fend for themselves in a city beset by criminals, a corrupt nobility, and a shadowy curse. Can the PCs fight back against champions of both the law and the criminal world? This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path launches the Council of Thieves Adventure Path, and includes: - "The Bastards of Erebus," a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 1st-level characters, by Sean K Reynolds - A gazetteer of Westcrown, the shadow-haunted City of Twilight, by Steven Schend - An investigation into the lives of tieflings, along with hundreds of fiendish variations, by Amber Scott - A deadly mystery of nobility and intrigue for Pathfinder Varian Jeggare and his tiefling bodyguard Radovan in a new series of the Pathfinder's Jounal, by Dave Gross - Six terrifying new monsters by Mike Ferguson, Sean K Reynolds, and F. Wesley Schneider
In this adventure players are set first on a simple task, to solve the disappearance of the local witch before outside forces take an interest. But as the players get deeper, they will rapidly kind themselves on a quest for far more, as they range from an alchemist's lair on a crumbling tower down to a dark swamp full of mystery and danger, seeking a holy relic that might lead them to the outskirts of Hell itself. All in service of the sleepy Village Sujeira and the dusty souls within. 1452: Saving Sujeira’s Soul is an adventure set in northern Portugal on an alternate history Earth during the year 1452, in a world where history is much the same, but for the fact that the Rus are all hirsute dwarves, the hordes that poured out of central Asia were orcish (and half-orcs are mostly janissaries split among the Ottoman Empire’s demesnes), and elves are creatures of rumors and myth. Halflings live among the English and Portuguese in villages and farms, while goblins are pests best left for dead in the wilds between civilized countries. The Church arms its inquisitors with holy blessings, for witches are not mere milk-souring old women but vile devil-pacted souls, and wizards and sorcerers seek human and kine for sacrifices to fuel their darkling magics. There be dragons on the edges of the world, and ogres and sea serpents and giants, but the alchemists of this world know things beyond mortal ken and fight these horrors with science and canny concoctions. Published by Coldlight Press
Part 5 of the Carrion Crown Adventure Path takes place in Ustalav's capital Caliphas. The heroes are in the city to follow the trail of evidence left by the neromantic cult The Whispering Way and strengthen their bonds with the mysterious Order of the Palantine Eye. Whilst in the city, they uncover a string of murders. When they discover that all the victims were vampires, they descend into the underground vampire city and have the possibility to form a tentative alliance with the vampire clans. If they help solve the murders, the vampire lord promises to help them on their quest. What role do the deadly necromancers have in the undead murders plaguing Caliphas? What secret grudge exists between the cult and the rulers of the night? And will the heroes be able to save the capital without sacrificing their very souls? This book includes: - “Ashes at Dawn,” a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 11th-level characters, by Neil Spicer - A gazetteer of fog-haunted Caliphas, the mysterious and deadly capital of Ustalav, by F. Wesley Schneider - A terrifying look into the blasphemous church of Urgathoa, goddess of gluttony, disease, and the undead, by Sean K Reynolds - Laurel Cylphra’s attempt to steal a soul stealer in the Pathfinder’s Journal, by F. Wesley Schneider - Six new monsters by Crystal Frasier, Patrick Renie, and Sean K Reynolds
Deep in the forest, something is stirring. An evil fey sorcerer, cast out of the First World millennia ago by her own kin, has found a way to break through the ancient walls of her prison, and carries with her a vengeance too deep to be sated. For the quiet Andoren town of Bellis, busy celebrating a long-awaited marriage, it's a time for joy and laughter. Yet the forest that's always sheltered it is growing dark, and things are moving in the heart of the woods...
The strange city of Carrion Hill has long loomed over the surrounding swamps in eastern Ustalav, yet its rulers have shifted many times through the centuries. Often enough that only a few sinister scholars and curious minds know the true nature of the hill’s original inhabitants—vile and depraved cultists of the Old Gods. Yet this morning, a dreadful recrudescence rises from the depths of buried nightmare in the vaults below Carrion Hill. A monster stalks the twisted alleys of the city, spreading panic before it and leaving destruction in its wake. Can the Carrion Hill Horror be stopped?
Part 2 of the "The Devil We Know" campaign arc. Cassomir's Locker is a Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for 1st to 7th level characters (Tiers: 1–2, 3–4, and 6–7). The Pathfinder Society dispatches you to the catacombs called Cassomir's Locker to find the source of a rat cult breeding monstrous vermin. After clearing Cassomir's dank sewers and delving into the dirty dungeons below, will you find the artifact that powers Cassomir's Locker or bring about the destruction of Taldor's most important port?
A ruined monument to folly and ego, the Shadowed Keep stands atop an isolated bluff deep in a mist-wreathed forest. Sacked by marauding goblins decades ago the place was thought abandoned, but shadows now creep among the forest's great boles and footprints have appeared on the single, overgrown track leading to the keep. Travellers have begun to disappear with alarming regularity from the nearby road and the local folk fear some slumbering evil has claimed the ruin as its own. Dare you brave the terrors of the Shadowed Keep to crush that which lurks within or will darkness shroud the surrounding lands? Designed to be easily inserted into a GM's home campaign, Shadowed Keep on the Borderlands is an excellent starting locale to test the mettle of neophyte adventurers. Shadowed Keep on the Borderlands is designed for the medium advancement track. 1st-level PCs completing all the challenges of the place can expect to reach 3rd-level by the time they have exhausted all the keep has to offer.
The Giants are on the March! The Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path continues! Driven to battle by a maniacal warlord, the once-peaceful stone giants of the Storval Plateau threaten to destroy the sleepy town of Sandpoint. Will fast action and quick wits be enough to save the defenseless community? Yet, even if the giants' initial raid can be repelled, only by striking at the heart of their titanic war machine—the black-towered fortress of Jorgenfist—can the menace be quelled. But who knows what mysterious bloodlust spurs the usually peaceful giants to war, or what mysteries lie beneath their ancient fortress?
Deep in the heart of a forsaken and filthy mire, a great amphibious foe awaits. Led by an ancient evil from the world's history, can you stop thesummoning of the Demon Frog- God? If not, you may face the Devourer of Life! Also available as 5E and Swords & Wizardry.
In a small hamlet, things are strangely becoming tidy in the night. Far from being pleased, the citizens are alarmed by these events. A local painter has gone missing, as has a travelling scholar. What is going on here?
The mountainous lands of the Last Kingdom have long been home to dangerous oni and their foul servitors and kin, but the unification of the Saigoto under the enlightened rulership of the Five Truths has sent them scurrying back into darkness. For years since, they have kept the land shielded from harm. Yet even the great soldiers garrisoned across the Kingdom’s shores and roads cannot stop dissent from boiling up in the shadows. Not everyone embraces the edicts of the land—and while patient teachers, even the Five Truths have their limits. As growing numbers of lastfolk begin to question the traditions of the Last Kingdom, forces far more sinister, preying on the curiosities of mortals, have begun to emerge into the light... Can the PCs discover and end a treacherous plot that threatens to destroy the relative peace of the Last Kingdom?
Hidden in the remote southern range of the World’s Edge Mountains lies a mysterious necropolis known in legend as the Tomb of the Iron Medusa. When the last heir of the dungeon’s long-dead noble builders hires the PCs to explore the forlorn and deadly site in search of evidence that may clear his family name, the intrepid heroes soon find themselves in over their heads. For the Tomb of the Iron Medusa does not give up its secrets lightly, and the dangerous truths that lie within its ancient, trap-laden crypts may have been hidden for very good reasons indeed.