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?
Part of a Numerian relic once thought scattered to the winds has found its way back to the savage land of super-science, and the Pathfinder Society must track down the component if they are to unlock the device’s secrets. Clues point to the economic hub Chesed, where only the descendants of a shattered clan can share where their revered ancestor buried the strange artifact. Can the PCs brave the troubled city, evade the vigilant agents of the Technic League, and survive a trip into the Numerian wastes? Content in “Returned to Sky” contributes directly to the Year of the Sky Key metaplot as well as the ongoing storyline of the Exchange, Liberty’s Edge, and Silver Crusade factions.
The black clouds of war are gathering, and evil flocks to their thundering call! While seeking the legendary expertise of a cloud giant skymage, the PCs interrupt an attack on his lair by well-armed and magically augmented hill giants. To obtain the cloud giant's arcane knowledge, the PCs must seek out and eliminate the source of the hill giant threat, yet the brutes have little information other than the name of their employer—a mysterious giant calling herself the Storm Queen, whose anger and hatred have transformed over the course of years into a murderous plan that could cost hundreds of innocent lives.
Following the opening of its necropolis, the city of Wati is overrun by hordes of the unquiet dead. The heroes must once more brave the abandoned streets and dusty tombs of Wati’s necropolis in search of the powerful artifact called the Mask of the Forgotten Pharaoh, as well as the necromancer who is using it to create the undead uprising. But mysterious masked cultists also seek the artifact so they can bring a pharaoh from the ancient past back to life. Can the heroes defeat the evil necromancer and return the deceased to their graves, or will Wati truly become a city of the dead?
The deserts of Osirion—land of pharaohs and ancient tombs—hide not just untold wonders, but also unspeakable dangers. When the vast sand dunes part to reveal the ancient pyramid of the legendary Pharaoh of Sphinxes, glory seekers from across many nations race toward it, each fighting to be the first to claim its wonders. But the storied pharaoh doesn't rest quietly within this monument, and his tomb was designed to slaughter any who would dare trespass.
Up here in the mountains, the sun sets fast. The path has narrowed yet again as it diverts into this small slot valley. A gentle stream parallels the path; it’s pretty, but the smell of rotting vegetation dissuades from lingering long. In the lengthening shadows, birdsong seems oddly muted. As the forest clears a bit up ahead, a small manor upon a little pond comes into view. The birds have gone completely still. K1: Night at Fausen’s Manor is an investigative adventure designed for player characters around 3rd level. The players have been invited by the reclusive Lord Fausen to dine with him and discuss a job; Fausen is troubled by odd bumps and sounds in the night, something has been interfering with his mail, and recently his butler, Grimly, has disappeared. The players investigate during a night at the manor, where dark secrets lurk around every corner. Published by Coldlight Press
The town of Sandpoint, Varisia, Inner Sea Region has put out a bounty on the nearby tribe of Licktoad Goblins in retribution for the goblins raiding traders and travelers near the quiet town. The party takes up the bounty and ventures into the swamp; eventually finding the goblin village in ruins and it's inhabitants scared in it's burned huts. The party finds out; either through investigation of the ruins or the goblins themselves; that a group of skeletons with eastern arms and armor had ransacked the village and took a stash of fireworks that the goblins stole from an old shipwreck. The party then makes it to this cave and finds it empty except for a half dozen skeletons. Further in past the skeletons is their leader, a skeletal samurai who fights the party in an attempt to defend his treasure. The treasure turns out to be a letter that reveals that secrets of the Kaijitsu family; the same family their good friend Ameiko who runs the Rusty Dragon inn belongs to; that lies in wait in the abandoned town of Brinewall to the northern boarder of Varisia. Ameiko along with several other important NPCs with a caravan north. It's recommended that GMs create encounters for the caravan trip north as it's essentially 3 weeks of travel with nothing in it. It's also recommended that GMs completely ignore caravan rules; they're not flushed out and they're not fun to run. The party and the caravan reaches the abandoned town of Brinewall where their friend Ameiko becomes possessed and is thrown into a coma; where the other NPCs agree to take care of her while the party explores the town and castle. The castle is a three floor behemoth of a dungeon populated by Dire Corbies, Troglodytes, and various other monsters all under the leadership of Kikonu, an Yamabushi Tengu Oni. The goal of exploring Brinewall Castle is to find the two keys to the vault; one of which is on the Yamabushi Tengu while the other is on a Half-Fiend Decapus that lives in the basement of Brinewall. Once the PCs enter the vault they find the Amatatsu Seal; one of the seals that cement authority to one of the ruling houses in Minkai of Tian Xia; as well as several visions that show that Ameiko Kaijitsu is the rightful heir to be ruler of Minkai and that they'll need to travel north to do so. Such ends the first book of six.
More than a hundred years ago, Delbera Axebringer—a mighty warrior and dwarven leader—slew the necromancer Audalot Karexin, but spared his young apprentice Zohir. In the ensuing decades, the bitter survivor brooded and plotted her revenge. Now, descendants of the Axebringer clan are vanishing, dragged screaming into the darkness by the animated bodies of their fallen kin. The Axebringers and their hometown of Davarn need heroes to break this family curse. What mysteries lie sealed within Delbera Axebringer’s ancient abandoned fortress? And what challenges lurk along the Blighted Path winding through the Darklands beneath Golarion’s surface? Down the Blighted Path is a deluxe adventure for 5th-level characters, and includes 64 action-packed pages of exciting battles, supernatural mysteries, and monstrous foes, plus a gorgeous double-sided poster map featuring an overview of the dwarven trading post of Davarn and a miniatures-scale battlemap! The author of this adventure, Monica Marlowe, was the winner of the 2015 RPG Superstar contest, in which hundreds of unpublished authors competed or the chance to write a Pathfinder Module. In addition to her adventure, this book contains a host of new monsters and magic items designed by the contest’s runners-up. Players can expect to reach 7th level upon completion of this adventure—if they can survive its deadly haunts, Darklands horrors, and furious villains both living and undead!
Now bound to Queen Abrogail by infernal contracts, the villainous adventurers are tasked with destroying the Glorious Reclamation's headquarters in the former citadel of the Hellknight Order of the Godclaw, where they face a gold dragon ally of Iomedae herself! Only if they can survive the terrible onslaught of this fearsome foe and secure the citadel from the revolutionaries can the vile characters succeed at their quest—to perform an evil ritual, using the dragon's head to craft a legendary weapon capable of defeating the Glorious Reclamation's army of valorous knights once and for all.
A Pathfinder Roleplaying Game adventure for 1st-level characters, this volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path kicks off the highly anticipated Kingmaker Adventure Path, in which the heroes win and defend a small kingdom from threats foreign and domestic. PCs should advance to 4th level by the end of this adventure. This volume also includes a gazetteer of Brevoy and extensive rules for exploring, taming, and holding wildlands in preparation for founding a new nation. The Pathfinder Bestiary section introduces five all-new monsters perfect for Kingmaker adventuring. James L. Sutter brings a lighter side to the Pathfinder Adventure Path with the first installment of a new fiction arc for the Pathfinder's Journal. The adventure begins with the PCs, each bearing a charter from the Lord Mayor of Restov granting license to explore and map the section of the Stolen Lands known as the Greenbelt, arriving at a small, remote trading post at the southern edge of rural Rostland. There, the PCs help defend the post from bandits before setting out to survey the wilderness.The rate at which the PCs explore the Greenbelt, and the paths they take, are up to them—many wonders and dangers await discovery, and as their explorations take them deeper into the Narlmarches and the Kamelands, the PCs begin to learn that the bandits in the region are far more organized than anyone thought—and find that they even have a leader, a mysterious figure called the “Stag Lord.” If allowed to continue building his army of bandits, the Stag Lord could well become a great danger to Rostland—that, and the reward on his head for his capture or death, should be all the new adventurers need to spur them onward.
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 witch queens of Irrisen must abdicate their thrones every 100 years when their mother, Baba Yaga, places a new daughter on the throne. But one queen was unwilling to relinquish her rule, and led a doomed rebellion against the Mother of Witches. Afterward, Baba Yaga entombed her wayward daughter in an icy necropolis known as the Veil of Frozen Tears, along with a powerful artifact called the Torc of Kostchtchie, hiding them both far from mortal eyes. Now, almost 500 years later, the tomb has been found, and the race is on to plunder its treasures.
The PCs are called on to assist in retrieving the legendary Scrolls of Thoth on behalf of Khemet III, the Ruby Prince of Osirion. Along the way, they discover the ultimate fate of the ancient Song Pharoah -- and potentially assist her in her journey through the Duat, the final series of tests that a Pharaoh must face in the afterlife. It was designed as a one-shot lasting approximately 5-6 hours, but could be run as a side-quest in the Mummy's Mask adventure path. See the site for notes on adjustments to make if you are using it in that way. It includes maps, handouts, stat blocks for all of the NPCs, and Hero Lab files for Hero Lab users. Because the adventure is born digital, the page count is a rough estimate based on print previewing the pages in the site. There is no source of a printed copy other than printing one yourself (which you are welcome to do). This adventure has not been published, and is made available under the terms of the Paizo Community Use License.
Sometimes its better not to know... Citizens are turning up in the city in catatonic states, alive but devoid of personality. Are they the victims of an illness or disease, or is there something more sinister at work? Encountering one of these poor souls, the characters are drawn into an investigation of politics and treachery, seedy underworld dealings and rooftop chases, culminating in a fiery conclusion. Can they discover the cause of this epidemic before it’s too late?
The Licktoad goblins of Brinestump Marsh have stumbled upon a great treasure—fireworks! Yet unfortunately for them, the tribe member responsible for the discovery has already been exiled for the abhorrent crime of writing (which every goblin knows steals words from your head). To remedy this situation, the Licktoads’ leader, His Mighty Girthness Chief Rendwattle Gutwad, has declared that the greatest heroes of the tribe must venture forth to retrieve the rest of the fireworks from a derelict ship stranded in the marsh. The PCs play as a group of freaking goblins! What more do you need to know? Part 1 of the We Be Goblins series.
Sehvain Malual is renowned for his work in necromancy, using the dark art to destroy the undead pestilence polluting the world. However every warrior must hang his proverbial sword and retiring from adventuring life, the wizened elf settled down in a nearby town purchasing a small townhouse. Here, he would finally find the peace he so craved, or such he hoped before he found The Black Lexicon. What dark intent consumes Sehvain’s time is anyone’s guess, but only the PC can uncover the Legacy of Darkness.
Hubrimort is a small, respectable town whose only claim to fame is a local governmental position bestowed by five of the king’s chosen officials, known as the Cavaliers. The position is given to the head of one of four noble families once each decade. While competition for the mysterious position is always fierce, this year there are rumors of underhanded deals with criminals, rigged tournaments, and a nasty case of blackmail. Which of the ancient families deserves ten years of power and privilege? Only the Sixth Cavalier can help the five officials make the right choice!
Varisian fortune-tellers from across Golarion use the mystic harrow deck to read fate and predict the future, but few have ever mastered the mysterious harrow to such a degree as Sonnorae, a long-dead bard from the Age of Darkness. Fearing her collection of stories would be lost when she died, she created a demiplane within her own harrow deck to contain them. Over time, these stories took on lives of their own, and melded with the images on the cards themselves. But not all stories have happy endings, and the storykin who inhabit the Harrowed Realm have their own motivations and plots for power or even escape into the real world.
A silent threat grows in Freeports streets. One of the pirate city's own leaders brings Freeport ever closet to war, lining his pockets eve as he plans for eventual invasion by the foreign power Mazin.
For millennia, a complex plot has brewed in a demonic jungle on the surface of the moon—a plan by the patient and sinister succubi of the Moonscar to kidnap and brainwash the people of Golarion. Now a long-dormant portal linking the moon to Golarion has returned to life, accelerating the demon queen’s designs. Only the brave PCs can venture to the surface of the moon, navigate the treacherous Abyssal jungle called the Moonscar, and delve into the depths of the Insatiable Queen’s subterranean palace of torture, seduction, and depravity.