Every year the Acadamae—Korvosa’s prestigious school of the arcane arts—opens its gates to the city to host the Breaching Festival, where the most skilled infiltrators are invited to enter the magically guarded Hall of Wards or die trying. Testing their luck against the university’s strongest defenses, the competitors pull out all the stops as they vie for a chance at a fortune in gold and magical treasure. This year, the school’s headmaster has invited the heroes to participate, against the contest’s longstanding traditions.
The Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path begins here, in the small coastal town of Sandpoint. Five years after a tragic fire and spate of brutal murders, the people of Sandpoint eagerly anticipate the Swallowtail Festival to commemorate the consecration of the town's new temple. At the height of the ceremony, disaster strikes! In the days that follow, a sinister shadow settles over Sandpoint. Rumors of goblin armies and wrathful monsters in forgotten ruins have set the populace on edge. As Sandpoint's newest heroes, the PCs must deal with treachery, goblins, and the rising threat of a forgotten empire whose cruel and despotic rulers might not be as dead as history records.
The Wormwood Mutiny is the first in the Skull and Shackles Adventure Path by Paizo. The adventurers wake to find themselves press-ganged into the crew of the pirate ship Wormwood, the vessel of the nefarious Captain Barnabus Harrigan. They'll have to learn how to survive as pirates if they're to have any hope of weathering rough waves, brutal crew members, enemy pirates, ravenous beasts, and worse. But when fortune turns to their favor, it's up to the new crew to decide whether they'll remain the pirate's swabs or seize control and set sail for adventures all their own.
The young heroes of the town of Kassen are ready for their coming-of-age ceremony, an old tradition in which they retrieve a piece of the eternal flame burning in the tomb of the town's founder. Yet when they arrive there, they find only the corpses of their fellow townsfolk, dead bandits, and mysterious animated skeletons. The novice heroes must brave the traps and perils of the Crypt of the Everflame, discover the source of the corruption that has awakened an ancient evil, and defeat a menace that seeks vengeance against Kassen and its people. Part One of Price of Immortality.
The Free City: a shining gem in the crown of cultured civilization. Beneath the surface of this bustling metropolis is a rot, festering in the darkness, manipulating the lives of those unaware of its presence. Now a small adventuring band from out of town may be in over their heads. Their actions in Diamond Lake have attracted the wrath of one of the city’s hidden masters. A gang of infiltrators and an enigmatic mastermind plot their destruction, and only tracing the rot to the root can stop the onslaught. "The Hall of Harsh Reflections" is the fourth installment of the Age of Worms Adventure Path, a complete campaign consisting of 12 adventures, several "Backdrop" articles to help Dungeon masters run the series, and a handful of poster maps of key locations. For additional aid in running this campaign, check out Dragon's monthly "Worm Food" articles, a series that provides additional materials to help players survive this campaign. Check out issue #336 of Dragon for five attractions to tempt your PCs to spend some of their hard-earned loot. This issue of Dragon also features an Ecology of the Spawn of Kyuss, one of the central creatures featured in this campaign. Pgs. 34-60
The Beastlord Malar has had enough of the people of the Silver Marches trying to "civilize" the Northlands. Now, with the help of a powerful new weapon, his followers are set to cleanse the stain of Silverymoon from the land. Faerun’s Northlands have always been a dangerous frontier. The frozen woods and treacherous mountains are home to orcs, trolls, lycanthropes, and worse. When the Lady Alustriel brought the northern nations together, the Beastlord Malar could no longer watch as his wilderness was slowly civilized. The god chose his most worthy follower, anth-Malar, suffused him with divine essence, and tasked him with bringing devastation and chaos to all who defiled the wilderness. This adventure is a sequel to "Forest of Blood" which originally appeared in Dungeon #103. Pgs. 70-88
When an ill-favored orb drops from the sky and devastates the countryside, only the PCs stand between an ambitious wizard, a cult of dragons, and a dark ambition that could bring an army of fiendish wyrms into your campaign world! "The screams became overpowered by the sound of the terrible falling star--a black orb of malign energy hurled from the firmament in the dead of night. In that instant, the village of Rhale was utterly destroyed, reduced to a hollow crater of flaming decay. Now, frightened talk of a dark presence descended from above has taken root, though none can put name to the faceless fear that might reside within this terrible orb." While traveling the countryside, the player characters witness an explosive event - the falling of a meteor into a distant hillside. Soon thereafter, they encounter several mercenaries menacing some refugees. From them, the PCs can learn, that a group of dragon worshippers called the Black Covenant are in the area and intend to use the fallen star for their own nefarious purposes. Upon arriving at the crater, the PCs find that the falling star is in fact a massive sphere of iron with an opening in its side. They enter the sphere to find a small complex of rooms protected by numerous traps and guardians. They also battle several members of the Black Covenant, until they make their way to the heart of the complex, where they discover the source of the Covenant's interest in the Black Egg, they try to use it to create a half-fiend red dragon. The PCs must succeed if they wish to prevent the creation of an army of fiendish dragons. Lot's of monstrous NPCs with class levels and templates for enemies (half-black dragon orc warriors level 7, for example) are used in this adventure. Pgs. 57-78
When the son of a famous Pathfinder gains control of his father's holdings in Taldor, the Pathfinder Society decides to build a new lodge there as a base to explore the many ruins of that crumbling empire. Unfortunately, the Taldan Phalanx has its eye on the holdings and an ancient curse has turned many of the residents into the walking dead. Can you survive the tangled web of Taldor's politics and fight off the echoes of the past or will you, too, see your glory decline?
When the Pathfinder-obsessed daughter of one Qadira's most powerful trade princes goes missing trying to impress the Society, her father angrily demands the Pathfinders track her down or face expulsion from Katheer. Tracking the missing princess leads you to an underground complex filled with traps, tricks, and a creature so powerful, she's lived for a thousand years. Can you save the princess and uncover the power of the Eternal Obelisk?
A top the crown of the Isle of Dread, a hateful monster broods. Spawned by the Price of Demons, the architect of the shadow pearls dwells deep under the ruins of ancient Thanaclan. As long as this vile monster lives, the threat of the savage tide remains, looming dark on the horizon. "City of Broken Idols" is the seventh chapter of the Savage Tides Adventure Path, a complete campaign consisting of 12 adventures appearing in Dungeon magazine. For additional aid in running this campaign, check out Dragon magazine's monthly "Savage Tidings" articles, a series that helps players and DMs prepare for and expand upon the campaign. Issue #354 of Dragon magazine features the totemic demonslayer, a new prestige class that focuses on fighting and defeating demons, be they at the heart of the Isle of Dread or encountered in the depths of the Abyss itself. The central mesa of the Isle of Dread is taboo to the locals, a place shrouded in mystery and cloaked in rumor. The time has come to confront the evil that dwells atop the island’s savage crown. Pgs. 54-84
The brilliant (if somewhat eccentric) detective Viktor Saint-Demain has put more criminal masterminds behind bars than any three other inqusitives. But when the master sleuth fails to get the recogintion he deserves, he sets out to prove to Sharn that they can’t live without him. Pgs. 16-34
Can two kings truly trust one another? King Irovetti, ruler of Pitax and potential rival to the leaders of the eastern Stolen Lands, opens his gates and hospitality to the lords of that realm. Within his city of shallow indulgences and crude decadence, he hosts a tournament ostensibly meant to foster friendship and peace, but fraught with dangers all its own. Is the King of Pitax’s good will sincere, or does he harbor a more sinister goal? And are the PCs fated to gain an opponent who commands not only a nation, but allies from a deadly other realm?
In the center of Lake Encarthan looms the dreaded Isle of Terror, accursed land of mystery and treachery. Hidden within the island's negative energy storms, the secret treasure city of the wizard-king Tar-Baphon has lain sealed for centuries. Now masked cultists have opened the golden city of Xin-Grafar to claim the wealth of the legendary city for the Living God Razmir. Can the PCs track the cultists through the poisoned swamps and blasted wastelands of the Isle of Terror to the City of Golden Death itself? And what forgotten dangers will oppose them as they struggle to prevent a dark faith from spreading across the world? Part 3 of the Price of Immortality trilogy.
A mad plot to unleash the greatest necromancer the world has ever known draws to its sinister end. As the murderous cultists of the Whispering Way retreat to their profane sanctuary, the powers of death align to resurrect their fallen champion. Bold adventurers pursue these villains, but can their bravery survive the haunted wasteland of Virlych, the accursed cathedral of Renchurch, and ultimately the towering crypt of Gallowspire? And will their boldness be enough to stop the Whispering Tyrant, the infamous lich-king locked away beneath Ustalav’s deadliest ruin, from being reborn upon a defenseless world? The heroes must test their courage against the servants of death itself in this, the climactic final chapter of the Carrion Crown Adventure Path. This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path includes: “Shadows of Gallowspire,” a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 13th-level characters, by Brandon Hodge Nefarious plots and macabre menaces to prolong the terrors of your Carrion Crown campaign, by F. Wesley Schneider An investigation into the most infamous liches plotting dooms across the Inner Sea region, by Adam Daigle Laurel Cylphra’s attempt to save a soul in the Pathfinder’s Journal, by F. Wesley Schneider Five new monsters by Adam Daigle, Crystal Frasier, and F. Wesley Schneider
Everyone in the fishing town of Ilsurian is excited when the legendary Umbra Carnival rolls into town—even if the show is run by members of the much-maligned Varisian ethnic group. With strange and exotic beasts, scandalous performances, games of chance, and all the other fun of a traveling fair, who could resist such an opportunity for entertainment?
A Pathfinder Society Scenario designed for 7th to 11th level characters (Tiers: 7–8 and 10–11). The fabled ruined city of Dokeran, deep inside the heart of the Mwangi Expanse, has been found and it's your job as a Pathfinder to explore it and discover how it fell. After fighting through fiends, enslaved warriors, and the damned spirits of Dokeran's dead, you find that the ruined city has a dark secret—one you might not survive.
When the mysterious Gauntlight, an eerie lighthouse located inland from Otari, glows with baleful light, the people of Otari suspect trouble. The town’s newest heroes must venture into the ruins around the lighthouse—and delve into the dungeon levels far beneath it—to discover the evil that Gauntlight holds. Hideous monsters, deadly traps, and mysterious ghosts await the heroes who dare to enter the sprawling megadungeon called the Abomination Vaults! Content Warning: Does contain themes of suicide.
Death stalks the streets! The Curse of the Crimson Throne Adventure Path continues, bringing the blistering red hand of death to Korvosa. What starts as an isolated outbreak swiftly turns into a full-fledged epidemic and soon no one is safe. The city’s resources quickly overwhelmed, a desperate queen takes harsh measures to stem the rising death toll. As bodies fill the streets it falls to the PCs to seek allies among the city’s desperate guardians, curb the tide of panic, and save who they can. But with the fates of thousands in their hands, can the PCs reveal the mastermind behind the unnatural plague before Korvosa becomes a single mass grave? This volume of Pathfinder includes: ► “Seven Days to the Grave,” an adventure for 4th-level characters, by F. Wesley Schneider. ► An investigation of diseases, plagues, pestilence, and their effects on fantasy worlds, by Rick Miller and Edward P. Healy ► The commandments of Abadar, the god of cities, wealth, and law, laid bare by Sean K Reynolds. ► Eando Kline dares the anarchic, monster infested ruin of Urglin in the Pathfinder’s Journal, by James Jacobs. ► Six new monsters by F. Wesley Schneider.
Most adventurers like to think that when their number is finally up, their colleagues will bring them home, either to be raised or at least returned to their families for a proper burial. But how far will the PCs go in order to do right by a fallen adventurer? And will they draw the line at hauling his coffin out of the Underdark? Pgs. 20-40
A bad of settlers awaits certain death upon the vicious blades of massing gnoll hordes. Can the PCs distract the ravenous army of savage humanoids long enough for reinforcements to arrive? A D&D adventure for 3rd-level characters.