TEXT: 1
  Rite Publishing Presents
  October 2012 Issue #19
  Pathways
  Pathways
  
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  Pathways Magazine
  Coming January 2013!
  
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  Features
  Witchfire!
  Some dead hags just don’t stay 
  dead but are wreathed in fire.
  by Steven D. Russell
  The Black Shuck
  A black dog stalks people in the 
  middle of the Night.
  By Will Myers and Jonathan 
  Nelson
  Sages
  Knowledgeable NPCs for your 
  campaign.
  By Creighton Brighthurst
  More Vorawurms
  Yes, they still will make a meal of 
  you!
  by Mike Welham
  Black Magic
  That old black magic for your 
  Pathfinder game.
  by Will Myers
  Metagame Artifacts
  Powerful items for your game.
  by Will “Cheapy” McCardell
  Crossbows Reloaded
  All about crossbows and more for 
  your campaign.
  by Thomas Le Blanc.
  Pathways
  Editoral          5
  Interviews   32
  Reviews      
  40
  Editor
  Dave Paul
  Publisher
  Steven D. Russell
  Layout Artist
  Elton J. Robb
  Cover Artist
  Mark Hyzer
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  Compatibility with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game requires 
  the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game from Paizo Publishing, LLC. 
  See http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG for more information on 
  the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. Paizo Publishing, LLC does not 
  guarantee compatibility, and does not endorse this product.
  Pathways #19 © 2012 Steven D. Russell, Open Gaming License 
  Copyright © 2007 Wizards of the Coast. All rights reserved, 
  Pathfinder is a registered trademark of Paizo Publishing, LLC, and 
  the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and the Pathfinder Roleplaying 
  Game Compatibility Logo are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC, 
  and are used under the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Compatibility 
  License. See http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/compatibility for 
  more information on the compatibility license. 
  
  4
  Pathways Magazine
  The Ultimate Psionics Book 
  Needs Your Support!
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  Back the ultimate in psionic support today!
  Brought to you by Dreamscarred Press,
  the definitive source for psionics. 
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  The Ultimate Rulebook on 
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  Ultimate Psionics
  
  5
  I have been re-reading a lot of very old history and 
  philosophy lately. It’s a hazard of more than one of my many 
  jobs. Back in the day, I was running a campaign set in the 
  planes for my many veteran players when it occurred to 
  me that I could probably craft an entire campaign around 
  the philosophical works of a great many of Europe’s finest 
  thinkers. Back then, I was really focused on some of the 
  ancient thinkers and their works. Plato’s Republic, for 
  instance, gives us so many wonderful options. He writes of 
  several forms of governments and many classes of people. 
  What a marvelous thing for people to be divided into those 
  with souls of gold, silver, bronze or iron. Players’ characters 
  already have plenty of problems with their worlds and 
  governments, what with all the abysmal hierarchies, secular 
  or religious. How wonderful to cast these issues in such a 
  stark and confrontational way. With just the least addition, 
  perhaps in such a place everyone is required to carry 
  implements or wear emblems or tokens of their associated 
  metal.
  Lately though, I’ve been reading other works. Hobbes 
  had a number of things to say about ideal governments and 
  just what our roles are in relation to our governments. In 
  Leviathan, he suggested utter obedience on the part of the 
  subjects. Only by giving up some of their freedoms could 
  the subjects gain the benefits of civilized society. When 
  people are busy trying to exploit and take advantage of one 
  another, they’re prevented from working collaboratively to 
  do all the amazing things a culture can provide. On the other 
  hand, when people are busy working on massive projects 
  (cathedrals, enormous sailing vessels, great castles, etc.), 
  they’re too busy to be bothered with taking advantage of 
  one another.
  That Plato and Hobbes (and all the other philosophers) 
  were ultimately wrong about their conjectures regarding 
  the best ways for humans to live is not the point. There is 
  so much material in their pages from which gamers and 
  GMs can draw for inspiration. What’s not to love about 
  Hobbes’ idea of a society of people obliged to obey the 
  leader? We’ve seen this before, we’ll see it again. But, twist 
  it a bit. Consider the frontispiece of Leviathan. It shows 
  what looks like a giant, or perhaps a god, wearing a crown. 
  This giant is arising out of the ground, perhaps walking 
  into the foreground from somewhere far away. The being 
  is immense and overbearing. It wields a sword in its right 
  hand and a staff in the left. If you look closely, you see that 
  the upper body and arms of this being are composed of 
  hundreds of people, all of whom are facing toward the being 
  (so that you see the backs of their heads). How is this not the 
  coolest? Given a fantasy setting, this being might in fact be 
  the government. Those people making up its chest and arms 
  might in fact be its subjects. Perhaps, if things are going 
  horribly wrong, the being is an undead god and the people 
  are trapped souls. The opportunities here are tremendous.
  In addition I was considering the models of medicine 
  and science from the ancient days until the pre-Renaissance 
  period. What’s not to love about a system of understanding 
  human physical well being based on blood, bile and phlegm? 
  In this issue of Pathways, you’ll see in the interview some 
  comments about The Genius Guide to Mosaic Mage and 
  magic based on color. Someone could, I suppose, develop 
  a model of curative magic, perhaps for use in a system that 
  wanted divine spells to be something else, something not, 
  well, divine. Imagine a fantasy setting wherein there are 
  competing forms of magic, where healing and regeneration 
  and restorative magic functions, but where there are no gods. 
  The healers in this system rely more heavily upon alchemy 
  perhaps, and the skills of healing, but also have access to 
  magic based upon the four humors, upon the four elements, 
  and upon the contrasts between hot/cold and wet/dry. It 
  could be done. In such a system, of course, there could be 
  comparative benefits to certain classes or personalities. After 
  all, those same thinkers gave us the modern conceptions of 
  the words “sanguine” and “melancholy” and they derived 
  in large part from how they were used here. Someone with 
  a cold and dry disposition might very well have the right 
  virtues to serve as an icy cold defender; someone with a 
  hot and wet personality might be full of charm and rousing 
  cheer. Maybe fighters are more readily or more easily cured 
  by magic that heals the body, and mages are more easily 
  affected by curatives that affect the mind.
  You know, I might be on to something here….
  Editorial
  by Dave Paul
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  Pathways Magazine
  Just in time for Halloween!
  If you need some scary and terrifying 
  ideas to spice up your campaign, Rite 
  Publishing has what you need. 
  
  7
  “Witchfire” is an acquired template that can be added to 
  any living, intelligent, female creature (referred to hereafter 
  as the base creature).
  A witchfire uses all the base creature’s statistics and 
  special abilities except as noted here.
  CR: +3
  Alignment: Changes to any Evil.
  Size and Type: The creature’s type changes to undead with 
  the appropriate augmented subtype, plus the incorporeal 
  subtype if the base creature did not already have it. Do not 
  recalculate base attack bonuses, saves, or skill points. Size 
  is unchanged.
  Hit Dice: Change all racial Hit Dice to d8s, its hit points are 
  modified by its Cha modifier rather than its Con modifier.
  Armor Class: The base creature’s armor, shield, and 
  natural armor bonuses no longer apply, but the witchfire 
  gains a deflection bonus to armor class equal to its Charisma 
  bonus or +1, whichever is higher.
  Speed: A witchfire loses all the base creature’s speeds and 
  gains a fly speed equal to double the base creature’s highest 
  speed, with perfect maneuverability.
  Attack: The witchfire loses all the base creature’s natural 
  attacks, and its weapon and armor proficiencies. The 
  witchfire gains a primary incorporeal touch attack and a 
  witchflame bolt (see below). A witchfire uses its primary 
  incorporeal touch attack when making an attack action. 
  Because an incorporeal creature has no Strength score, its 
  Dexterity modifier, rather than its Strength modifier applies 
  to all its attack rolls. Both the witchfire’s incorporeal touch 
  attack and ranged bolt deal a number of d6 damage equal 
  to the witchfire’s challenge rating in fire damage (a CR 9 
  witchfire deals 9d6) plus its witchflame (see below). A bolt of 
  witchflame has a range of 60 feet with no range increment.
  Defenses/Qualities: Channel resistance +4, incorporeal, 
  undead traits; Immune fire
  Special Abilities: A witchfire creature retains all the 
  special abilities of the base creature, plus the special abilities 
  as described below:
  Command Will o’ Wisp (Su): A witchfire can 
  automatically command all normal will o’ wisps within 30 
  feet as a free action. This functions as a dominate monster 
  (DC 10 +1/2 the witchfire’s HD + its Cha modifier). Normal 
  will o’ wisps never attack a witchfire unless compelled.
  Witchflame (Su): Any creature damaged by the 
  incorporeal touch or ranged bolt attacks of a witchfire 
  must succeed on a Will save (DC 10 +1/2 the witchfire’s 
  HD + its Cha modifier) or become engulfed in sickly 
  green flames. While these eerie flames deal no additional 
  damage, the affected creature glows as per faerie fire and 
  gains the sickened condition. While under the effects of 
  the witchflame, the victim also gains vulnerability to fire 
  weakness (taking half again as much damage (+50%) 
  from fire attacks of any sort). This effect persists for 1 
  minute per HD of the witchfire. The supernatural flames 
  can only be extinguished before this duration expires by a 
  break enchantment, miracle, remove curse, or wish spell—
  the effective caster level of the witchflame is equal to the 
  witchfire’s HD. Any creature entering the same square as a 
  witchfire or striking it with a melee attack must succeed on a 
  Will save (same DC) or begin burning with witchflame, even 
  if it would not otherwise harm the witchfire because of its 
  incorporeal nature.
  Spell-Like Abilities: A witchfire with an Int or Wis 
  score of 8 or higher has a cumulative number of spell-like 
  abilities set by its HD. Unless otherwise noted, an ability is 
  usable at will. CL equals the creature’s HD (or the CL of the 
  base creature’s spell-like abilities, whichever is higher).
  Abilities: Adjust from the base creature as follows:
  Dex +8 (+4 to Ranged attack rolls; AC and touch AC, 
  Initiative, and Ref saves. +4 to Acrobatics, Disable Device, 
  Escape Artist, Fly, Ride, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth checks, 
  add +4 to any of the base creature’s Dexterity-based DCs), 
  Cha +10 (+5 to Bluff, diplomacy, Disguise, Handle Animal, 
  Intimidate, Perform, and Use Magic Device; attempts to 
  influence others, and Channel Energy DCs, +5 to any of the 
  base creature’s Charisma-based DCs). As an incorporeal 
  creature, a witchfire lacks a Strength score, and as an 
  undead creature, it has no Constitution score.
  Witchfire Creature Template
  By Steven D. Russell, Illustration by Mark Hyzer
  The fell powers of undeath rejoice when an exceptionally vile female monstrosity dies (especially hags and witches), 
  transforming these wicked crones into incorporeal undead known as witchfires. These ghostly creatures appear much as they 
  did in life, although the grotesque undead energy that births them allows them to appear young and attractive if they wish and 
  wreathes their insubstantial bodies in a powerful aura of sickly green flame, referred to as “witchflame” in local legends.
  Creating an Witchfire Creature
  HD
  Spell-like Abilities
  1–2
  disguise self
  3–4
  dancing lights 
  5-6
  ghost sound
  7-8
  ray of enfeeblement
  9-10
  pyrotechnics
  11-12
  invisibility
  13-14
  summon (level 4, 2 will-o’-wisps 50% 1/day)
  15-16
  non-detection (continuous)
  17-18
  screen
  19-20
  energy drain (3/day)
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  Pathways Magazine
  
  9
  Mabyn, T he Burning Silence         CR 14
  XP 38,400
  CE Medium undead (augmented [monstrous humanoid], 
  incorporeal, cold)
  Init +9; Senses blindsight 60 ft., scent; Perception +21
  Defense
  AC 28, touch 28, flat-footed 28 (+9 Dex, +9 deflection)
  hp 203 (14d8+126)
  Fort +8, Ref +18, Will +13
  Defensive Abilities: channel resistance +4, incorporeal, 
  witchflame (DC 26), undead traits; DR 10/cold iron and 
  magic; Immune acid, charm, cold, fear, fire, gaze attacks, 
  sleep; SR 22
  Offense
  Speed fly 60 ft. (perfect)
  Melee incorporeal touch +23 (14d6 fire plus witchflame) 
  Ranged witchflame bolt* +23 (14d6 fire plus witchflame)
  Special Attacks: command will o’ wisp (DC 26), shaping 
  touch, witchflame (DC 26)
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 14th; concentration +18)
  Constant—detect good, detect magic, detect thoughts 
  (DC 16)
  At will—contagion (DC 17), cure light wounds, dancing 
  lights, diminish plants, ghost sound (DC 19) inflict light 
  wounds (DC 15), invisibility, minor creation, poison (DC 
  17), pyrotechnics, ray of enfeeblement (DC 20)
  3/day—bestow curse (DC 17), blindness/deafness (DC 
  16), empowered cone of cold (DC 19), crushing despair (DC 
  17), silence (DC 16)
  1/day—control weather, summon (level 4, 2 will-o’-
  wisps 50% 1/day)
  Tactics
  Before Combat Mabyn is a patient opponent, using 
  guerrilla tactics. She prefers to attack from stealth 
  and use ranged sniper tactics in combination with her 
  invisibility, silence, and her ability to travel through objects 
  incorporeally. She often uses dancing lights and summoned 
  will o’ wisps to distract opponents.
  During Combat Mabyn attacks from a distance, wearing 
  her opponents down. If forced into combat, she always 
  combines her assault with a touch attack spell-like ability 
  and prefers to leave her opponents alive, disfigured, 
  diseased, poisoned, sickened, and cursed.
  Morale When outmatched, Mabyn flees via flight and 
  invisibility often taking advantage of her ability to fly into 
  objects.
  Statistics
  Str -, Dex 29, Con -, Int 20, Wis 19, Cha 28
  Base Atk +14; CMB +14; CMD 33
  Feats Alertness, Blind-Fight, Combat Casting, Empower 
  Spell-Like Ability (cone of cold), Great Fortitude, Persuasive, 
  Toughness
  Skills Bluff +19, Craft (leather) +16, Diplomacy +23, 
  Heal+12, Intimidate +26, Knowledge (arcana) +11, 
  Knowledge(history) +19, Knowledge (local) +11, Knowledge 
  (nature) +11, Perception +21, Sense Motive +18, Sleight of 
  Hand+16, Spellcraft +16, Stealth +23
  Languages Aklo, Common, Draconic, Giant, Goblin, 
  Sylvan (cannot speak)
  SQ blind and mute, change shape (any humanoid, alter self)
  Ecology
  Environment cold plains, forests, and marshes
  Organization solitary or coven (3 hags of any kind)
  Treasure standard
  Special Abilities
  Blind and Mute (Ex): Mute hags tear out their eyes 
  and tongues, leaving them blind to life’s joys and incapable 
  of sharing their sorrow. A mute hag is immune to gaze 
  attacks, and cannot use spell completion or command word 
  trigger magic items.
  Shaping Touch (Su): The touch of Mabyn twists 
  flesh like clay. As a full-round action that draws an attack 
  of opportunity, Mabyn may change the appearance of a 
  helpless victim. The effect acts as a permanent alter self 
  spell. Unwilling victims may resist the transformation with 
  a DC 26 Fortitude save. If she is allowed to work for 10 
  minutes, Mabyn may also increase a victim’s age category by 
  one step; doing so does not grant mental ability score boosts 
  but does inflict physical ability score penalties as normal. 
  Creatures that are affected by this power or successfully 
  save against it cannot be affected by Mabyn’s shaping touch 
  for one month. The DC is Charisma-based.
  Witchfire Hag Covens
  Witchfire Hags occasionally join or subjugate existing 
  hag covens. A hag coven that includes a witchfire hag gains 
  the following additional coven spell-like abilities: 3/day—
  blight, create undead, fire storm (DC 21), nightmare(DC 18), 
  waves of exhaustion (DC 20). All abilities function at CL 9, 
  and save DCs are based on a Charisma score of 16. The use of 
  these abilities functions identically to other coven abilities. 
  Such covens must have at least one living hag, as covens of 
  three witchfire hags gain no coven-related abilities.
   
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  Pathways Magazine
  On Sale Now!
  
  11
  Black Shuck
  By Will Myers and Jonathan Nelson
   of Adventureaweek.com; Illustrator Rick Hershey
  F
  or centuries, inhabitants of the Klavek Kingdom have 
  told tales of a large black dog with malevolent flaming 
  eyes. At times this creature (which Klavekians call Black 
  Shuck) has been recorded as appearing headless, and at 
  other times as floating on a carpet of mist. Eyewitness accounts 
  on the size of this beast seem to vary, but survivors of attacks all 
  agree: Black Shuck is the most terrifying creature they have ever 
  encountered.
  According to folklore, the specter haunts the coastlines, 
  graveyards, side roads, and dark forests of the Klavek 
  Kingdom. Some eyewitness accounts attest to the beast 
  appearing in small countryside churches terrorizing 
  gatherers in the middle of sermon.
  Sage Yuri Statel of Rybalka, in his book “Traveling the 
  Backroads in Eastern Klavek,” describes the monster as 
  follows:
  Black Shuck takes the form of a massive black dog and 
  prowls along dark lanes and lonesome graveyards. You 
  will know him when you hear his howl, which bites like the 
  chill wind of winter and makes your blood run cold. His 
  footfalls make no sound and his eyes burn like the fires of 
  Hell itself. It has been said that to meet him in your travels 
  is an omen of your own death.
  It was many centuries ago that Black Shuck came to 
  our world, brought on the tides of the Ancestor People of 
  the Vikmordere. The tales of his origins are as lost as the 
  beast itself, which wanders the land of the living, bringing 
  only fear and death to the countryside.
  Black Shuck  
  CR 9
  XP 6,400
  NE Medium undead (incorporeal)
  Init +10; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +18
  Defense
  AC 21, touch 15, flat-footed 15 (+5 deflection, +6 Dex)
  hp 126 (10d8+80)
  Fort +10, Ref +12, Will +8
  SQ Channel Resistance +4; Immune mind-affecting 
  effects, undead traits; incorporeal; rejuvenation
  Offense
  Speed fly 30 ft. (perfect)
  Special Attacks +16 corrupting touch (Fort DC 22), 
  frightful moan (Will DC 20), gaze of the damned (Will/Fort 
  DC 22)
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 10th; concentration +13
  Constant—air walk, aura of doom (Will DC 24)
  At will—fog cloud, invisibility, locate creature
  3/day—dimensional anchor, discern location, haste, 
  slow (DC 16)
  Statistics
  Str –, Dex 22, Con –, Int 16, Wis 21, Cha 20
  Base Atk +10; CMB +15 (cannot trip or grapple); CMD 20 
  (cannot be grappled or tripped)
  Feats Ability Focus (corrupting touch), Ability Focus 
  (gaze of the damned), Flyby Attack, Improved Initiative, 
  Toughness
  Skills Acrobatics +18 (+22 jump), Intimidate +16, 
  Knowledge (arcana) +16, Knowledge (geography) +13, 
  Knowledge (planes) +16, Perception +26, Sense Motive +18, 
  Stealth +26, Survival +18: Racial Bonus + 8 Perception, 
  +8 Stealth
  Languages telepathy 100 ft. (can understand, does not 
  speak)
  SQ incorporeal
  Special Abilities
  Corrupting Touch (Su): Black Shuck has an incorpo-
  real touch attack. By passing part of its incorporeal body 
  through a foe’s body as a standard action, Shuck inflicts 
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  Pathways Magazine
  9d6 damage. This damage is not negative energy—it 
  manifests in the form of physical wounds and aches from 
  supernatural aging. Creatures immune to magical aging 
  are immune to this damage, but otherwise the damage 
  bypasses all forms of damage reduction. A Fortitude save 
  halves the damage inflicted. The DC is Charisma-based.
  Frightful Moan (Su): Black Shuck can emit a frightful 
  moan as a standard action. All living creatures within a 30-
  ft. spread must succeed on a Will save or become panicked 
  for 2d4 rounds. This is a sonic mind-affecting fear effect. 
  A creature that successfully saves against the moan cannot 
  be affected by Black Shuck’s moan for 24 hours. The DC is 
  Charisma-based.
  Gaze of the Damned (Su): Once per round, as a full-
  round action, Black Shuck may target an opponent within 
  30 ft. with its gaze attack. Black Shuck must be visible to use 
  this attack. If the target fails a DC 22 Will save, the target is 
  cursed with The Withering. Once per day, starting the next 
  morning, the target must succeed on a DC 22 Fortitude save 
  or take 1d4 Constitution damage. This saving throw must 
  be made until either remove curse is cast on the target or 
  the target succeeds on the saving throw. When the target 
  succeeds on the Fortitude save, it is immune to this effect 
  for 24 hours, but must succeed on the saving throw again 
  the next day or take the Constitution damage. If the target 
  reaches 0 Constitution, it dies. Black Shuck may not use this 
  attack on a target already cursed by its gaze. If Black Shuck 
  is attacked and sustains damage while using this ability, it 
  must make a Concentration check (DC equal to the amount 
  of damage taken) or lose that use of the ability.
  Incorporeal (Ex): An incorporeal creature has no physical 
  body. It can be harmed only by other incorporeal creatures, 
  magic weapons or creatures that strike as magic weapons, 
  and spells, spell-like abilities, or supernatural abilities. It is 
  immune to all non-magical attack forms. Even when hit by 
  spells or magic weapons, it takes only half damage from a 
  corporeal source (except for channel energy). Although it 
  is not a magical attack, holy water can affect incorporeal 
  undead. Corporeal spells and effects that do not cause 
  damage only have a 50% chance of affecting an incorporeal 
  creature. Force spells and effects, such as from a magic 
  missile, affect an incorporeal creature normally.
  An incorporeal creature has no natural armor bonus but has 
  a deflection bonus equal to its Charisma bonus (minimum 
  +1, even if the creature’s Charisma score does not normally 
  provide a bonus).
  An incorporeal creature can enter or pass through solid 
  objects, but must remain adjacent to the object’s exterior, 
  and so cannot pass entirely through an object whose space 
  is larger than its own. It can sense the presence of creatures 
  or objects within a square adjacent to its current location, 
  but enemies have total concealment (50% miss chance) 
  from an incorporeal creature that is inside an object. In 
  order to see beyond the object it is in and attack normally, 
  the incorporeal creature must emerge. An incorporeal 
  creature inside an object has total cover, but when it attacks 
  a creature outside the object it only has cover, so a creature 
  outside with a readied action could strike at it as it attacks. 
  An incorporeal creature cannot pass through a force effect.
  An incorporeal creature’s attacks pass through (ignore) 
  natural armor, armor, and shields, although deflection 
  bonuses and force effects (such as mage armor) work 
  normally against it. Incorporeal creatures pass through 
  and operate in water as easily as they do in air. Incorporeal 
  creatures cannot fall or take falling damage. Incorporeal 
  creatures cannot make trip or grapple attacks, nor can they 
  be tripped or grappled. In fact, they cannot take any physical 
  action that would move or manipulate an opponent or its 
  equipment, nor are they subject to such actions. Incorporeal 
  creatures have no weight and do not set off traps that are 
  triggered by weight.
  An incorporeal creature moves silently and cannot be heard 
  with Perception checks if it doesn’t wish to be. It has no 
  Strength score, so its Dexterity modifier applies to its melee 
  attacks, ranged attacks, and CMB. Non-visual senses, such 
  as scent and blindsight, are either ineffective or only partly 
  effective with regard to incorporeal creatures. Incorporeal 
  creatures have an innate sense of direction and can move at 
  full speed even when they cannot see.
  Rejuvenation (Su): There is no way only way to 
  permanently destroy Black Shuck. If Black Shuck is “slain” 
  through simple combat, Shuck restores itself in 2d4 days. 
  Even the most powerful spells are usually only temporary 
  solutions. If Black Shuck is decapitated by a vorpal ghost 
  touch weapon, Shuck will restore itself in 1 month.
  
  13
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  WOULD YOU BELIEVE ... A MAGAZINE?
  What Treasures Lie Within 
  the Kobolds' Vaults, Guarded 
  by Fearsome Dire Weasels?
  
  14
  Pathways Magazine
  K
  nowledge is power, but often a group of 
  adventurers may lack the appropriate skills (or 
  spells) to secure vital information relating to their 
  quest or mission. Perhaps they need to know 
  the specific weaknesses of a red dragon, the location of a 
  legendary lost tomb or have found something – be it scroll 
  in an ancient, forgotten language or a unique magic item 
  – that they can’t identify. In such situations, adventurers 
  normally turn to the services of a sage to provide such 
  information, but so often in campaigns the GM glosses over 
  the exact details of the sage and simply provides the relevant 
  information (after the PCs have paid with their hard-earned 
  gold!).
  This article presents four sages ready for a GM to 
  drop into his home campaign. While the article does not 
  present full stat blocks for these individuals – a GM really 
  shouldn’t need those – it does present detailed roleplaying 
  information for each sage along with relevant skills and 
  even adventure hooks.
  Jaska Eerola
  This thin man has dark bags under his eyes. His skin 
  is pallid.
  N male human expert (sage) 2/wizard 1
  Skills Appraise +7, Knowledge (arcana) +9, Knowledge 
  (dungeoneering) 
  +6, 
  Knowledge 
  (engineering) 
  +9, 
  Knowledge (geography) +9, Knowledge (history) +9, 
  Knowledge (local) +9, Knowledge (nature) +9, Knowledge 
  (nobility) +5, Knowledge (planes) +4, Knowledge (religion) 
  +7, Linguistics +7, Profession (sage) +9, Spellcraft +9
  Languages Celestial, Common, Draconic, Dwarf, Elf, 
  Halfling, Infernal
  Jaska is a thin, nervous man with deep bags under his 
  eyes. Obsessed with books, Jaska often forgets to see clients 
  and as such is always in need of money. His clients, though, 
  must be very patient as he is easily distracted.
  Background: All but abandoned by his parents at an early 
  age, Jaska spent his days alone except for his books. Betrayed 
  by those who were supposed to love him more than anyone 
  else, he retreated into himself. Realising that his knowledge 
  would be with him always – that no one could take it away 
  from him – he began to obsessively search for new books.
  Personality: Jaska is obsessed with knowledge. Cursed 
  with an active and curious mind he reads any and all 
  books he can get his hands on. While this means he is very 
  knowledgeable on a variety of subjects, it has led him to 
  develop stunted social skills. He doesn’t like bright lights, 
  isn’t particularly comfortable outside and has a morbid fear 
  of fire.
  Mannerisms: Jaska’s search for knowledge consumes 
  him; he often stays up very late at night reading through 
  fascinating (to him) old manuscripts and consequently does 
  not get much sleep. He constantly yawns.
  Distinguishing Features: Jaska’s skin is very pale – a 
  legacy of spending virtually no time outside. He squints in 
  bright light.
  Hooks: Jaska loves books. Characters bringing him a tome 
  he has not yet read guarantee good service (particularly 
  if they withhold the book until he has answered their 
  questions!).
  Sages
  By Creighton Broadhurst of Raging Swan Press
  Illustrators: John Waterhouse, Cari Buziak, 
  Victor Vasnetsov
  
  15
  Dhoselean Natityrr
  This slender man has black hair and startlingly green 
  eyes. He wears worn leathers and a hawk perches on his 
  left shoulder.
  LN male half-elf druid 1/wizard 1
  Skills Heal +7, Knowledge (arcana) +6, Knowledge 
  (geography) +6, Knowledge (local) +6, Knowledge (nature) 
  +6, Knowledge (religion) +6, Profession (sage) +6, Spellcraft 
  +6
  Languages Common, Druidic, Elven, Sylvan
  Renowned for his knowledge of the natural world and his 
  healing skills, Dhoselean is often sought out by the common 
  folk who cannot afford the services of a cleric.
  Background: The only child of an elf ranger and a human 
  druid, Dhoselean has lived in the forest all his life. His 
  human mother is now dead, but his father occasionally 
  visits him and brings rare herbs and suchlike for his son.
  Personality: Dhoselean is recovering from a failed 
  romance with an elf maiden and consequently lapses into 
  periods of intense depression. The two had been wildly 
  in love for several decades, but eventually she tired of 
  Dhoselean’s rather basic lifestyle and left.
  He has a deep and abiding love of woods and forests and 
  would be miserable if ever forced to leave. He loves his hawk 
  animal companion, Swiftwing, and often tends injured 
  forest animals at his home.
  Mannerisms: Dhoselean is not particularly fit; even the 
  lightest physical activity sends him into coughs and laboured 
  breathing. When he is happy, he whistles birdsongs.
  Distinguishing Features: Intricate whirling patterns 
  decorate Dhoselean’s neck and right arm. The pattern 
  is meant to represent the wind blowing through a tree’s 
  branches but is not particularly well done.
  Hooks: Dhoselean lives alone several hours journey away 
  from the nearest village in secluded woodland. His home is 
  rather dilapidated; characters offering to perform certain 
  home repairs can secure his services for free.
  Saeth Isgar
  This voluptuous, attractive woman’s bright blue 
  curly hair stands out in contrast to her red gown.
  LG female human cleric 2/wizard 3
  Skills Knowledge (arcana) +12, Knowledge (history) +6, 
  Knowledge (local) +6, Knowledge (planes) +12, Knowledge 
  (religion) +12, Profession (sage) +7, Spellcraft +12
  Languages Celestial, Common, Draconic
  Far from the typical image of a sage, Saeith is vivacious, 
  outgoing and enjoys dancing. Characters encountering her 
  socially often have trouble reconciling her with the quiet, 
  studious sage dedicated to the god of knowledge.
  Background: Fascinated by knowledge from an early 
  age, Saeith could read from the age of three. Apprenticed 
  to an elderly wizard with ties to the local temple of the god 
  of knowledge, she quickly became interested in the religion 
  and converted several years later.
  Now, she dwells within the temple precincts and deals 
  with her clients in the temple proper.
  Personality: Kind, benevolent and utterly dedicated to 
  the god of knowledge, becoming a sage was the logical (and 
  only choice) for Saeith.
  Attractive, she is often sought out by male adventurers 
  who seek to woo her. Saeith is friendly, but endeavours to 
  keep her work and personal life separate. She maintains 
  polite interest in her customers, but does not socialise with 
  them. However, she is attracted to intelligent men and may 
  bend this rule for a young, learned wizard.
  Saeith is particularly interested in religion and the other 
  planes of existence. She has started large works on both, 
  collecting all relevant information she comes across into a 
  pair of gigantic encyclopaedias.  She never allows clients 
  into her personal chambers.
  15
  
  16
  Pathways Magazine
  Mannerisms: Saeith laughs often and takes care of her 
  appearance. She is very tactile and smells of rose water.
  Distinguishing Features: Saeith loves to dye her curly 
  hair and its colour often changes from week to week. She 
  is naturally a brunette, but she hates “boring” colours. She 
  particularly likes blue or red hair and often changes its 
  colour to match her outfits. Consequently, she stands out 
  in a crowd.
  The fingers on her right hand are often stained with ink.
  Hooks: Several adventuring clients of Saeith’s have 
  become obsessed with her. If the PCs are present when such 
  an individual attempts to force his interest on her, she is 
  grateful for any assistance the PCs offer.
  Gloridin Duerral
  This aged dwarf has a thick, greying beard and wears 
  dour, worn clothes.
  N male dwarf wizard (diviner) 6
  Skills Appraise +7 (+9 vs. metal and gems), Knowledge 
  (arcana) +13, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +13, Knowledge 
  (engineering) +13, Knowledge (geography) +11, Knowledge 
  (history) +10, Knowledge (local) +10, Knowledge (planes) 
  +10, Knowledge (religion) +7, Profession (sage) +10, 
  Spellcraft +13
  Languages Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Terran, 
  Undercommon
  Cantankerous, half-blind and flatulent, Gloridin is not 
  a popular choice for adventurers seeking a sage’s services. 
  However, his knowledge of the Ebon Realm and its denizens 
  and major sites ensures a steady trickle of adventurers seek 
  his services.
  Background: Born into the Duerral clan, Gloridin 
  was forced to flee his clanhold when it fell to marauding 
  troglodytes of the Black Scale tribe almost three centuries 
  ago. After the battle, the clan’s survivors scattered and 
  Gloridin ended up living among the short-lived humans. 
  Unsuited to physical labour, Gloridin became a sage more or 
  less by accident after successive bands of adventurers plied 
  him with drink in return for answering questions about the 
  nearby portions of the Ebon Realm. Realising he was selling 
  his knowledge short he established himself as a sage.
  Personality: Irritable, short-tempered and forceful in 
  speech, Gloridin does not have many friends. He enjoys 
  showing off his knowledge to his clients and his answers to 
  even the simplest question can often take half an hour as he 
  endeavours both to impress his client with this knowledge 
  and give value for money. Gloridin is scrupulously honest.
  He is particularly interested in speaking with adventurers 
  returning from the Ebon Realm.
  Mannerisms: Gloridin is wildly flatulent. Cursed with 
  several (undiagnosed) food allergies, his private quarters 
  are often odorous. Gloridin deals with his ailment by 
  ignoring it.
  Distinguishing Features: Gloridin speaks slowly in a 
  dispassionate tone.
  Hooks: Gloridin is lonely – particularly for the company of 
  a fellow dwarf. Characters spending time with Gloridin find 
  him pleasant if slightly boring. If the two forge a friendship, 
  Gloridin shares his impressive (and highly detailed) maps 
  of the Ebon Realm. Such maps could be a great help to 
  adventurers planning an expedition into that benighted 
  place.
  If he hears that adventurers have fought or plan to attack 
  the Black Scale tribe he offers them any assistance he can 
  reasonably provide.
  About T he Designer
  Creighton is a keen gamer who passionately believes in 
  the Open Gaming License and is dedicated to making his 
  games as fun and easy to enjoy as possible for all participants. 
  Reducing or removing entry barriers, simplifying pre-game 
  prep and easing the GM’s workload are the key underpinning 
  principles of the products he releases through Raging Swan 
  Press.
  Over the last 11 years, Creighton has worked with 
  Expeditious Press, Paizo and Wizards of the Coast. He now 
  releases his own products through Raging Swan Press. 
  You can read his thoughts on game design at raging-swan.
  livejournal.com.
  Creighton lives in Torquay, England where, apparently, 
  the palm trees are plastic and the weather is warm. He 
  shares a ramshackle old mansion with his two children 
  (“Genghis” and “Khan”) and his patient wife. Famed for his 
  unending love affair with booze and pizza, he is an enduring 
  GREYHAWK™ fan.
  
  17
  Available Now
  for Kindle and other e-readers
  at Amazon.com and Smashwords.com
  Available Now
  for Kindle and other e-readers
  at Amazon.com and Smashwords.com
  Artwork by Rowena Aitken
  
  18
  Pathways Magazine
  More Vorawurms
  You are still what they eat
  By Mike Welham;  Illustrators Peri Coleman and Mark Hyzer
  L
  esser vorawurms eat matter that they seek out or create through their varied means. Many adventurers will only encounter 
  specimens that eat wood, dead flesh or stone, for example. The palates of powerful vorawurms tend to be much more 
  esoteric; the creature included in this article eats written (and spoken) words.
  Stonewurm
  This large, gray worm bores up through solid rock, 
  leaving a gaping hole in its wake. Its powerful teeth gnash 
  on pieces of bedrock as it dives into the ground for more.
  Stonewurm 
     CR 9
  XP 6,400
  LE Small aberration (earth, elemental)
  Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +19
  Defense
  AC 22, touch 12, flat-footed 21 (+1 Dex, +10 natural, +1 size)
  hp 119 (14d8+56)
  Fort +10, Ref +5, Will +11
  Immune elemental traits
  Offense
  Speed 30 ft., burrow 20 ft.
  Melee bite +18 (4d6+9/19–20 plus poison)
  Special Attacks earthfoe, poison
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 14th; concentration +17)
  3/day—transmute mud to rock, transmute rock to mud 
  Statistics
  Str 22, Dex 12, Con 19, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 17
  Base Atk +10; CMB +15 (+19 sunder); CMD 26 (30 vs. 
  sunder)
  Feats Great Fortitude, Greater Sunder, Improved Critical 
  (bite), Improved Initiative, Improved Sunder, Power Attack, 
  Weapon Focus (bite)
  Skills Intimidate +20, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +18, 
  Perception +19, Stealth +22, Survival +19
  
  19
  Languages Common, Terran
  Ecology
  Environment any underground
  Organization solitary, pair, or burrow (3–6)
  Treasure incidental
  Special Abilities
  Earthfoe (Ex): A stonewurm ignores hardness less 
  than 10 when attacking objects made of earth or stone. 
  Additionally, it bypasses up to DR 10 when it attacks 
  elemental (earth) creatures.
  Poison (Ex): Bite—injury; save Fort DC 21; frequency 
  1/round for 10 rounds; initial effect turn to stone 
  permanently; secondary effect 1d8 Str and slowed; cure 2 
  consecutive saves. A creature reduced to 0 Strength by this 
  poison turns to stone. The save DC is Constitution-based.
  A stonewurm is a bane to all earth elementals and owners 
  of stone fortresses. Due to its ability to transform fleshy 
  victims to stone, many creatures have a healthy wariness 
  of a stonewurm. While a typical stonewurm measures three 
  feet in length, it weighs close to one ton.
  A stonewurm devours up to 500 pounds of earth and 
  stone in a week’s time, but it can eat its weight’s worth if 
  it finds a particularly appetizing meal. The creature is 
  sophisticated enough to negotiate with potential meals, 
  provided they lead it to a greater bounty. A stonewurm 
  especially delights in the taste of intelligent earth elemental 
  creatures, and it will attack those in preference to all other 
  creatures. Denizens of the Elemental Plane of Earth routinely 
  search for and destroy stonewurms and their eggs. Like all 
  vorawurms, a stonewurm possesses an ability it employs to 
  transform prey into its favored food; a stonewurm’s poison 
  acts to transform a victim to stone, either immediately upon 
  injection or as the poison courses through its victim’s body. 
  Fortunately, this eating machine’s metabolism renders it 
  inactive for ninety percent of the year as it digests all it has 
  consumed.
  The creature lives for nearly a thousand years and every 
  one hundred years it lays several eggs in a tunnel it carves 
  underground. The eggs blend in with their surroundings, 
  requiring a successful DC 30 Perception check to find, and 
  are incredibly durable (hardness 30 and 50 hp). After a 
  1-year gestation, new stonewurms emerge from their eggs 
  and feast on the surrounding stone.
  Runewurm
  A living ribbon of runes, symbols and words from 
  multiple languages seeming forms out of thin air.
  Runewurm 
  CR 14
  XP 38,400
  LN Medium aberration (incorporeal)
  Init +10; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +33
  Defense
  AC 27, touch 27, flat-footed 21 (+7 deflection, +6 Dex, +4 
  insight)
  hp 170 (20d8+80)
  Fort +10, Ref +14, Will +18
  Defensive Abilities incorporeal; SR 25
  Weaknesses erase vulnerability
  Offense
  Speed fly 60 ft. (perfect)
  Melee incorporeal touch +21 (2d6 plus forgetfulness curse 
  and runescribing)
  Special Attacks forgetfulness curse, runescribing, word 
  stealer
  Statistics
  Str —, Dex 22, Con 19, Int 25, Wis 18, Cha 25
  Base Atk +15; CMB +21; CMD 42
  Feats Flyby Attack, Improved Initiative, Improved Iron 
  Will, Improved Lightning Reflexes, Iron Will, Lightning 
  Reflexes, Skill Focus (Knowledge [arcana]), Skill Focus 
  (Perception), Skill Focus (Spellcraft), Skill Focus (Stealth)
  Skills Appraise +27, Disable Device +26, Fly +27, 
  Knowledge (arcana) +36, Knowledge (dungeoneering) 
  +17, Knowledge (engineering) +17, Knowledge (geography) 
  +17, Knowledge (history) +17, Knowledge (nature) +17, 
  Knowledge (nobility) +17, Knowledge (planes) +17, 
  Knowledge (religion) +17, Linguistics +17, Perception +33, 
  Sense Motive +14, Spellcraft +36, Stealth +25
  Languages Any
  Ecology
  Environment any
  Organization solitary, pair, library (3–8)
  Treasure none
  Special Abilities
  Erase Vulnerability (Su) A character who successfully 
  casts erase on a runewurm bypasses it spell resistance and 
  deals 2d6 damage to the creature.
  Forgetfulness Curse (Su) Incorporeal touch—contact; 
  save Will DC 27, frequency 1 day, effect lose 2d4 ranks from 
  Knowledge skill(s) or 1d4 Int drain. A runewurm’s touch 
  inflicts a horrific curse that steals the sum of its victim’s 
  experience, coalescing it into words. If the afflicted character 
  has any ranks in Knowledge skills, he loses those first; once 
  a character runs out of ranks in Knowledge skills, the curse 
  attacks his raw intellect. The victim loses any skill ranks he 
  19
  
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  Pathways Magazine
  spent on Knowledge skills, but a restoration spell (or more 
  powerful magic) returns 2d4 ranks, up to the number of 
  ranks the character possessed. The save DC for the curse is 
  Charisma-based.
  Runescribing (Su) A runewurm can inscribe a rune or 
  symbol on any surface it touches, up to a limit of 60 levels 
  worth per day. If the creature uses a full-round action, it can 
  inscribe runes or symbols up to 8th level; it can only inscribe 
  a maximum of 6th level with a standard action (including its 
  incorporeal touch attack). On a typical surface, the inscribed 
  rune acts in accordance with the spell it duplicates, but on a 
  creature, the rune triggers during the runewurm’s next turn. 
  Any applicable saving throws are equal to 10 + the rune or 
  symbol’s spell level + the runewurm’s Charisma modifier.
  Word Stealer (Su) If a character casts a spell with a vocal 
  component within 60 feet of a runewurm, he must succeed 
  at a concentration check (DC 20 + spell level) or lose the 
  spell. A spell lost in this way heals 1 hp per spell level to the 
  runewurm. Likewise, a runewurm in the presence of a rune 
  or symbol that succeeds at a Disable Device check erases it 
  and heals the runewurm.
  The most unusual of the common vorawurms, a runewurm 
  feeds on spoken and written language. The creature 
  typically appears as a thin ribbon of words about five feet in 
  length, but it can stretch itself out to as long as ten feet. As a 
  creature composed entirely of symbols and words, it weighs 
  nothing and is incorporeal.
  A runewurm is not as ravenous as other vorawurms species, 
  and it relishes a satisfying meal rather than a bunch of junk. 
  In its case, the creature seeks out works of art or magical 
  might in musty libraries and lost ruins. If it discovers a great 
  work, it spends its time absorbing the material within and 
  learning from it. While it derives no arcane might from its 
  feeding, it gains a great deal of knowledge. Adventurers 
  often make deals with a runewurm wherein they retrieve 
  a lost work in return for a portion of the creature’s 
  incredible lore. Only under the direst of circumstances 
  will a runewurm attack a sentient creature and inflict its 
  curse of forgetfulness on it. A victim of this curse steadily 
  leaks knowledge, manifesting in a cloud of jumbled words 
  that hangs in the air; a runewurm then finds these clouds 
  and feeds on them. A laired runewurm inscribes symbols 
  throughout its home to ward off those who might eject it 
  from its lair. If it must defend itself directly, it will inscribe 
  runes and symbols on opponents it touches; its favorite is 
  explosive runes.
  A typical runeworm lives for over a century. An aging 
  runewurm leaves a small portion of its word ribbon within 
  a particularly cherished book. The creature then leaves 
  to impart the sum total of its knowledge as it dies in an 
  unsuspecting target; in a fit of whimsy, the wurm chooses 
  someone whom others may regard as the “village idiot,” 
  who then spontaneously becomes a savant. Meanwhile, the 
  runewurm “child” consumes the book where its parent left it 
  and becomes a full-grown runewurm in a week’s time.
  
  21
  On Sale Now in Print and PDF!
  
  22
  Pathways Magazine
  These are a collection of black-themed spells created 
  by wizards from the Klavek Kingdom, Vikmordere, Obor 
  and Timaeus; and compiled within one volume by Lurov 
  Rasputin of the Black.
  Paint it Black
  School: Transmutation; Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 0
  Casting Time: 1 standard action
  Components: V, S, M (smear of black paint)
  Range: Touch
  Effect: One object up to 6 ft. high and 6 ft. wide changes 
  color and increases hardness
  Duration: 1 minute
  Saving Throw: None; Spell Resistance: No
  An object that is dabbed with the black paint changes 
  color to black and the hardness of the object increases by +1.
  Black Water
  School: Transmutation; Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 1
  Casting Time: 1 standard action
  Components: V, S, M (a small piece of black algae)
  Range: Touch
  Effect: Turns one waterskin of normal water into a bitter 
  but nourishing beverage
  Duration: Instantaneous
  Saving Throw: None; Spell Resistance: No
  By placing the algae into a full waterskin and performing 
  this spell, the caster creates a thick, bitter tasting beverage 
  that allows a character to recover three hit points per 
  character level with 8 hours of sleep. Characters under the 
  effect of this spell also gain a +4 alchemical bonus to Will 
  saves against fear for 24 hours. A character can only benefit 
  from this spell once per 24 hours, even if performed by 
  different spellcasters.
  Back in Black
  School: Conjuration (teleportation); Level: Sorcerer/
  Wizard 2
  Casting Time: 1 standard action
  Components: V, S, M (a black crystal hoop)
  Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
  Target: Self
  Effect: Transport caster to shadowy area
  Duration: Instantaneous
  This spell immediately teleports the caster to the 
  darkest area within the spell’s range and gives the caster full 
  concealment (50% miss chance) until the end of that round.
  Black Dog
  School: Conjuration (summoning); Level: Sorcerer/
  Wizard 3
  Casting Time: 1 standard action
  Components: V, S, M (a piece of black dog fur and an 
  animal heart)
  Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./ 2 levels)
  Effect: Summons a shadowy dog-shaped force that attacks 
  for you
  Duration: 1 round/level
  Saving 
  Throw: 
  Reflex 
  half 
  fire 
  damage; 
  Spell 
  Resistance: Yes
  When the fur is rubbed across the heart, a shadowy 
  canine form appears with a burning red heart in its chest. 
  This dog will attack on the caster’s next turn and use the 
  Black Magic
  by Will Myers of Adventureaweek.com; Illustrators: John Waterhouse,
  Spettro84 and Unknown
  “Black is the non-color, it is the void, the darkness, the nothingness. It is of mystery and solemnity; it is of the night. Black 
  is the darkness and that which lurks within. There are some on this earth that have known no else. They are the solemn, the 
  cursed, the soulless, and the wretched. They are neither here nor there, but when the light of the sun disappears behind the 
  mountains, they are everywhere.”
  -Lurov Rasputin of the Black
  
  23
  spellcaster’s base attack as its own, with a +4 bonus due to 
  Dexterity. The black dog has a single bite attack which deals 
  1d6 points of damage + 1d4 fire damage.
  Black or White
  School: Illusion (glamer); Level: 
  Sorcerer/Wizard 4
  Casting Time: 1 standard action
  Components: V, S, M (a small mirror 
  in a black frame, which is held facing 
  the enemy)
  Range: 10 ft.
  Effect: Caster appears as a friend to 
  the enemy
  Duration: 1 round/level
  Saving Throw: Will negates; Spell 
  Resistance: No
  For the duration of this spell, any 
  enemy that views the mirror and fails 
  the saving throw views you as a friend and will not attack 
  you. If you attack any enemy during the duration, the 
  illusion fails and those enemies that failed their saving 
  throw get an immediate reroll with a +4 bonus.
  Black Magic Woman
  School: Transmutation; Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 5
  Casting Time: 1 full-round action
  Components: V, S, M (a piece of black fabric from a 
  woman’s dress)
  Range: Self
  Effect: Blindness, but increases other senses
  Duration: 1 round/level
  When this spell is cast, a spectral woman appears behind the 
  caster and places her hands over his eyes. This effectively 
  blinds the spellcaster (-2 to AC) but adds the spellcaster’s 
  level to Perception checks based on senses other than 
  sight. The spellcaster also gains the Blind Fight feat for the 
  duration of the spell.
  T hat Old Black Magic
  School: Transmutation; Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 6
  Casting Time: 1 full-round action
  Components: V, S, M (a small object known by the caster 
  to be cursed)
  Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
  Effect: Possibility of adding a curse to damage
  Duration: 1 round
  Saving Throw: Will negates; Spell Resistance: Yes
  Once this spell has been cast, the next spell that deals 
  damage also affects the target as if it were targeted with 
  bestow curse. The exact nature of the curse is determined 
  when the caster prepares this spell. The saving throw for 
  this spell is separate from the saving throw of the damage-
  dealing spell.
  Black Sabbath
  School: Transmutation; Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 7
  Casting Time: 1 full round
  Components: V, S, M (a pyramid-shaped piece of quartz)
  Range: Unlimited
  Effect: Connects numerous people 
  for communication
  Duration: Concentration
  Saving 
  Throw: 
  None; 
  Spell 
  Resistance: Yes
  This spell allows the caster to attune 
  a number of quartz crystals equal to 1/2 
  his caster level so that when this spell 
  is cast again, those who possess one of 
  these crystals have audio and visual 
  communication with one another. The 
  users must face one of the flat sides 
  of the pyramid and the user can see 
  and hear everyone who is involved in 
  the communication. The sound of the communication is 
  audible up to 10 ft. away from the crystal’s user.
  Fade to Black
  School: Abjuration; Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 8
  Casting Time: 1 standard action
  Components: S, M (a black cloth to be wrapped around 
  the forearm)
  Range: 1 willing creature
  Effect: Creates a protective barrier
  Duration: 1 round/level or until dispelled
  This spell calls darkness from the Plane of Shadow that 
  surrounds the target, giving the target full concealment 
  (50% miss chance), a +4 to Armor Class, and opponents 
  take a -4 to Perception checks to see the target. The target 
  may move at 1/2 its normal movement rate and make one 
  attack per round while still retaining these bonuses. Moving 
  at full speed causes the field to collapse, dispelling the effect.
  Man in Black
  School: Conjuration (calling); Level: Sorcerer/Wizard 9
  Casting Time: 1 full-round action
  Components: V, S, M (a blackened skull and a black 
  wooden axe handle)
  Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
  Effect: Summons an axe-wielding figure that fights for you
  Duration: Instantaneous
  Saving Throw: None; Spell Resistance: No
  This spell calls a greataxe-wielding figure wrapped in 
  black cloth. The figure wields the greataxe using the caster 
  level of the spellcaster as its base attack bonus and the 
  spellcasting ability modifier as its damage bonus. This may 
  give the Man in Black multiple attacks. The Man in Black 
  has the same statistics as a storm giant, except that the Man 
  in Black is Neutral, does not have the storm giant’s spell-
  like abilities or rock catching, and wields a magical greataxe 
  (2d10+variable/18-20/x3).
  23
  
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  Pathways Magazine
  
  25
  M
  etagame 
  artifacts 
  have 
  recently 
  been 
  introduced into the Pathfinder RPG. They 
  stem from the idea some of the things 
  that players and GMs gloss over could be 
  incorporated into the game through a special kind of item. 
  For example, how is it that the dim-witted fighter almost 
  instinctively knows that he has to stake a vampire in the 
  heart to kill it? Or, do we really have to abstract away 
  magic item creation materials into a mere expenditure of 
  gold pieces? If a GM would like to retain these things (dim-
  witted fighters knowing instinctively the weakness of a 
  vampire, for instance), the metagame artifact serves as an 
  in-game device to explain how it is that such things are 
  explained. Note that this does, of course, transgress into the 
  metagame issue, and so not all players and GMs will find 
  them appropriate. Finally, many of these artifacts would be 
  prohibitively expensive if they were created using the magic 
  item creation guidelines. These artifacts are not meant to 
  be artifacts that even the greatest scholars of a GM’s world 
  know of, and it’s recommended that NPCs do not try to steal 
  these from the PCs.
  Artificer’s Friend
  Aura strong transmutation; CL 18th
  Slot none; Weight 2 lbs.
  Description
  A smooth black box embossed with hammers sits at the 
  end of this large-rimmed granite funnel. This object has 
  the curious property of allowing gold pieces (or other such 
  valuable items, like platinum pieces or gems) to be dropped 
  down into the funnel and have all the materials necessary 
  for the creation of an item that the holder desires dispensed 
  beneath the black box. When there are valuable goods being 
  funneled into the black box, the hammers animate, swinging 
  up and down. These created materials are only suitable for 
  crafting purposes.
  Campaign Use
  This artifact allows crafters in the party to literally turn 
  gold into the crafting materials necessary for the item they 
  wish to create and in many ways helps expedite adventuring 
  with crafters, as they no longer need to lug around the items 
  necessary to ply their craft.
  Birthmark of Perfect Normality
  Aura strong transmutation; CL 18th
  Slot none; Weight -
  Description
  Those born with this birthmark are almost always of 
  races that are highly uncommon (or even non-existent) 
  in the lands and continents in which they’ll spend pivotal 
  moments of their lives. When in such lands, those around 
  them can easily see what the bearer of the mark looks 
  like, but they think that the appearance of the individual 
  is nothing out of the ordinary, even if they would be 
  completely terrified of others of the bearer’s race. People 
  treat the bearer much as they would humans, or the other 
  dominant race in the area.
  Metagame Artifacts
  By: Will “Cheapy” McCardell;
  Illustrated by Leeal Verduin, and Jastrow
  25
  
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  Pathways Magazine
  Campaign Use
  This artifact can be used to hand-wave away the 
  interactions between PCs of unusual races and NPCs. If a 
  PC is playing a creature from a race of sentient oozes, for 
  example, the creature can have this birthmark (or perhaps 
  in this case, an odd discoloration of gunk) and while it 
  would normally be viewed with disgust, it is treated as any 
  other member of the group.
  Shards of Displaced Monster Knowledge
  Aura strong divination; CL 20th
  Slot none; Weight 0.5 lbs.
  Description
  These small shards of crystal possess a toothed edge 
  and their coloration reveals a constantly shifting gradient 
  of green and black. Those in possession of the shards are 
  filled with random tidbits of knowledge of how to overcome 
  certain monsters, as if by learning the myths and legends 
  of an entirely different magically-starved world. Those in 
  possession of the shards might come to know things like “A 
  vampire is killed by driving a stake through the heart,” or 
  “The Medusa, is renowned for her powers of petrification” 
  (and in this second case, note that the tidbit of knowledge 
  refers to “Medusa” as a unique being).
  Campaign Use
  These shards allow the players to use their real world 
  knowledge of myths and legends to their characters’ 
  advantage. Trolls and orcs are evil, vampires are staked 
  through the heart, werewolves fear silver, the hydra’s 
  heads regrow, etc. At the GM’s discretion, these can even 
  grant some knowledge of creatures from the history of a 
  Pathfinder campaign world or other roleplaying games. 
  Further, it should be noted that this information is not 
  always complete. While possessors may learn that trolls are 
  evil, they may not know of their weakness to fire or acid, and 
  may instead learn that trolls can be defeated by bringing 
  them into sunlight!
  Spellfinder
  Aura strong divination; CL 15th
  Slot none; Weight -
  Description
  The center of this hand-held, compass-shaped object 
  pulsates with a faint blue light and its casing is engraved 
  with an ever-shifting assortment of runes. Any spellcaster 
  who holds the device and stares into the light hears faint 
  whispers speaking the language of magic, akin to the sounds 
  of verbal components of many spells. By stating desires for 
  certain kinds of arcane power, the spellfinder will whisper 
  back the name of a spell that fits the description given by the 
  spellcaster, and indicates the general means for acquiring 
  it, whether that be from a scroll, from an ancient tablet, or 
  how the spellcaster can unlock the power from within. This 
  indication does not necessarily point to the closest such 
  location. Occasionally the spellfinder ceases to whisper after 
  a spellcaster describes a spell being sought after, indicating 
  that such a spell does not exist.
  Campaign Use
  This item allows casters to learn about new spells. This 
  gives an actual reason for the caster to know about a spell, 
  instead of there being no explanation for how a character 
  suddenly knows or is aware of a new spell.
  Statuette of Paraphernalia Inquiry
  Aura strong divination; CL 20th
  Slot none; Weight 3 lb.
  Description
  A small sculpture of a wise gnome reading over a ledger, 
  this curious artifact allows the possessor to query about 
  items, both mundane and magical, that would satisfy the 
  possessor’s wants and needs. Most often the gnome replies 
  in a whimsical voice that only the person holding it can 
  hear, but it sometimes refuses to respond or even responds 
  cryptically. For example, the possessor could ask about 
  swords that can extinguish flames, and the gnome would 
  reply with any such item, or type of item, that can extinguish 
  flames, such as a frost brand. The possessor could also ask 
  about armor that helped with being stealthy and the gnome 
  would respond with the shadow armor enhancement.
  Campaign Use
  This is essentially a version of the spellfinder, but for 
  equipment and magical items, and with much the same 
  uses.
  Custom Metagame Artifacts
   in your game
  Metagame artifacts provide a convenient in-game reason 
  for many of the things we players and GMs take for granted. 
  Some types of such artifacts are better than others for this 
  treatment though. In general, they should only be done for 
  things that the party already glosses over, like the above 
  examples or how the druid got his lion into the center of the 
  city. In addition, some types of items are better than others 
  for this treatment. Birthmarks, scars, skin discolorations, 
  hair patches, etc., are all excellent ways to have artifact-type 
  abilities on the player without having to resort to an item 
  that may or may not even make sense for what the artifact 
  is attempting to do. Originally, the birthmark of perfect 
  normality was designed to be a veil. But, this could clash 
  quite strongly with the aesthetics of a player’s choices, and 
  so it was made into a birthmark. While a dinosaur-man with 
  an odd coloration of scales wouldn’t clash too strongly with 
  the appearance a player wanted, a dinosaur-man with a veil 
  most certainly would.
  
  27
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
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  28
  Pathways Magazine
  Bullet Crossbow
  Gu Lu slowly entered the crypt after hearing a rustling 
  from within. The astrologers had warned the alignment of 
  the stars would cause the bones of unhappy ancestors to 
  rise and seek the gifts that had been denied them. Gu Lu 
  cursed his master’s miserly ways. Was a handful of rice too 
  much to offer to the honored ancestors that had brought 
  fortune to the family? He hoped the bullet crossbow he held 
  in his hand was not another of master’s irregular, cut-price 
  purchases. The stone bullet would make the chances of 
  him seeing light all the more likely if grandfather’s bones 
  decided to take a stroll...
  Bullet Crossbow, Heavy: A heavy stone crossbow 
  fires sling bullets using a barrel with a slot for the string. 
  This weapon functions identically to a heavy crossbow 
  except for the critical, damage type, and range values .
  Bullet Crossbow, Light: A light stone crossbow fires 
  sling bullets using two strings connected to a leather cup. 
  This weapon functions identically to a light crossbow except 
  for the critical, damage type, and range values .
  Repeating Heavy Bullet Crossbow: The heavy 
  stone crossbow holds a hopper containing 20 sling bullets. 
  Loading the hopper uses two hands and is a full-round 
  action that provokes attacks of opportunity. This weapon 
  functions identically to a repeating heavy crossbow except 
  for the critical, damage type, and range values .
  Chu Ko Nu
  The ronin Fi Liao arrogantly approached the group of 
  peasants demanding tribute. He saw that they held simple-
  looking crossbows made without any metal. His armor 
  would stop any bolts they fired easily. If any did manage to 
  hit him, they would not have the force to deal much damage. 
  At 14 paces he could see the nervousness in their faces as 
  they started firing, working the levers forward over top of 
  the crossbows and back again quickly. At 6 paces he could 
  see their nervous sweat as they ran out of arrows and he 
  could only feel a few stings. Two more paces and Fi Liao 
  collapsed dead at their feet, his wounds festering purple 
  from the few drops of poison each sting left. The priest 
  stepped forward and offered a benediction, “A tiny bee is 
  Crossbows Reloaded
  by Thomas LeBlanc; Illusrated by Tamás Baranya
  and Leonardo Da Vinci
  Here you will find some new crossbow options. A few are based on historical models (chu ko nu - Chinese 
  repeating crosswbow or bullet crossbow), while others are based on my imaging how they may have developed 
  without 1) the invention of firearms and 2) improved craftmanship.
  
  29
  just an inconvenience, but a swarm will slay the mightiest 
  of creatures.”
  Chu Ko Nu: This cheap and easy-to-fire repeating 
  crossbow accomplishes drawing, loading, and shooting by 
  moving a lever forward and back. A chu ko nu requires two 
  hands to fire: one hand to hold the crossbow steady and the 
  other hand to move the lever. You can fire a number of bolts 
  equal to your Dexterity modifier (minimum 1) per round as 
  a swift action. Rapid Reload reduces the reload time to a 
  free action.
  The chu ko nu holds 10 bolts in the case above the firing 
  groove. Unlike a repeating crossbow, the case is part of the 
  chu ko nu and takes 2 full-round actions to reload, using 
  two hands and provoking attacks of opportunity. Rapid 
  Reload does not reduce the time it takes to reload.
  Chu Ko Nu Bolts: A chu ko nu bolt used as a melee 
  weapon is treated as a one-handed improvised (-4 penalty 
  on attack rolls) weapon and deals damage as a dagger two 
  sizes smaller (critical multiplier x2). Chu Ko Nu bolts come 
  in a case or quiver that holds 20 bolts.
  Disc Crossbow
  “How could such a tiny disc be thrown with enough 
  force to decapitate someone?”
   
  - Anonymous medical report
  Disc: A disc used as a melee or thrown weapon is treated 
  as a light improvised weapon (-4 penalty on attack rolls and 
  range increment of 10 feet) that deals damage as a dagger of 
  its size (slashing damage and critical multiplier x2). When 
  using it, you must succeed at a DC 15 Reflex save or cut 
  yourself on the blade (half damage, no Strength modifier). 
  You do not need to make the save if you are wearing heavy 
  armor or gauntlets. Discs come in a small leather pouch that 
  holds 10 discs.
  Disc Crossbow: A disc crossbow fires a small metal 
  disc, similar in design to a chakram. The disc travels along a 
  trough, half of which is smooth and the other half roughened 
  up, to provide spin on the disc. This weapon functions 
  identically to a light crossbow except for the critical, damage 
  type, and range values .
  Great Crossbow
  A great crossbow is often created by re-purposing a 
  crossbow designed for a larger creature. A socket joint is 
  made to fasten the crossbow into the harness to allow for 
  aiming and a new trigger assembly is placed on the front. 
  The harness allows the weight to be distributed evenly and 
  prevent the kick from damaging the bearer.
  Great Crossbow: You draw a great crossbow back 
  using a small winch mounted under the front the crossbow. 
  The great crossbow uses larger bolts than normal. Two 
  hands are required to shoot and load the great crossbow. 
  Loading a great crossbow requires one full round and one 
  move action, each of which provokes attacks of opportunity. 
  Another creature may assist using a move action (which 
  itself provokes attacks of opportunity) to reduce loading 
  to one full-round action. Rapid Reload reduces the time 
  to reload, by yourself, to one full-round action, if another 
  creature uses a move action to assist you, your own action is 
  reduced to a move action.
  Great Crossbow Bolts: A great crossbow bolt used 
  as a melee weapon is treated as a one-handed improvised 
  (-4 penalty on attack rolls) weapon and deals damage as a 
  shortspear of its size (critical multiplier x2). Bolts come in 
  a quiver that holds 5 bolts. These bolts can only be used in 
  a great crossbow.
  Belted Repeating Heavy Crossbow
  This one is pure speculation. Is it possible? Yes. 
  Probable? Maybe not, especially if you are trying to run and 
  happen to trip on the belt...
  Repeating Heavy Crossbow Belt Case: The belt 
  case contains a belt loaded with repeating crossbow bolts. 
  The belt is made of a series of thin sleeves sewn together, 
  each one holding a single bolt. Each belt holds 25 bolts.
  Repeating Heavy Crossbow, Belt Fed: This heavy 
  crossbow has been modified to remove the bolt case and 
  instead loads bolts from a belt case attached to the side of the 
  crossbow. This weapon functions identically to a repeating 
  heavy crossbow except loading a new case. Loading a new 
  belt case uses two hands and requires two full-round actions 
  and provokes attacks of opportunity.
  New Crossbow Quality
  As you can plainly see your Highness, the new compound 
  bows we have acquired are devastating against armored 
  troops. The bolt is able to pierce through armor. The only 
  29
  
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  Pathways Magazine
  downfall is that only the strongest of your subjects are able 
  to draw it back. We have instituted a training program 
  to increase our crossbowmen’s prowess and fully take 
  advantage of this new technology.
  Compound: All compound crossbows are made with a 
  particular strength rating (that is, each requires a minimum 
  Strength modifier to use with proficiency). If your Strength 
  bonus is less than the strength rating of the compound 
  crossbow, you can’t reload it and you take a –2 penalty on 
  attacks with it. The default compound crossbow requires a 
  Strength modifier of +0 or higher to use with proficiency. A 
  compound crossbow can be made with a high strength rating 
  to take advantage of an above-average Strength score; this 
  feature allows your bolt to pierce the target’s armor within 
  the first range increment by a number equal to the bonus 
  (+1 bonus = -1 to target’s armor bonus, +2 = -2 to target’s 
  armor bonus, etc), up to the maximum bonus indicated for 
  the bow. Each point of Strength bonus granted by the bow 
  adds 200 gp to its cost.
  For purposes of Weapon Proficiency and similar feats, 
  a compound crossbow is treated as if it were a crossbow of 
  that type. The compound quality doesn’t affect the damage 
  or range of the crossbow. The chu ko nu and repeating 
  crossbows can’t have this quality.
  Feats
  Porcupine Prowess
  Brother Quan studied the humble porcupine and 
  learned its secret to warding off predators. He now travels 
  the countryside showing peasants how to defend themselves 
  from marauding bandits. “The secret is not in a single, well-
  aimed shot, but to spray, causing the bandits to seek less 
  prickly prey elsewhere,” he always says in a sly whisper.
  You have learned to use the chu ko nu in a similar way to 
  a porcupine launching its quills.
  Prerequisite: Proficient with the chu ko nu, Rapid 
  Reload, Rapid Shot
  Benefit: When making a full-attack action with a chu 
  ko nu, you can select to use the Porcupine Onslaught or 
  Porcupine Spray attack option.
  Porcupine Onslaught: You can make one attack 
  against a single target using your full BAB and then fire a 
  number of additional bolts up to your Dexterity modifier. 
  For each additional bolt after the first, increase your attack 
  modifier by +1. For every additional 2 bolts after the first, 
  increase the damage by +1.
  Porcupine Spray: You can fire at a number of different 
  targets, up to your Dexterity modifier. All of your attack rolls 
  are made using your full BAB with a –2 penalty.
  Giant’s Crossbow
  Shogun, it was not our fault! Who knew the little ones 
  could use our own weapons against us like that?
   
  - Last plea from an armsman forced to perform the 
  ritual of the long cut.
  You are able to wield a great crossbow one size category 
  larger than yourself.
  Prerequisite: Proficient with great crossbow, Strength 
  13
  Benefit: You may use a great crossbow that is one size 
  category larger than you are with a -2 penalty to attacks.
  Normal: You are unable to use ranged weapons created 
  for a creature larger than yourself.
  
  31
  On Sale Now!
  
  32
  Pathways Magazine
  1. 
  Could you tell us a little about yourself?
  I grew up a misfit in a great family, born in 1980, the 
  second of four boys. It was a very male house, with all of 
  us playing a sport every season, mostly football and hockey, 
  and at least one of every action figure line those years are 
  known for. We were a close family, even if I felt I never had 
  a place. Playing sports was just going with the flow, nothing 
  I was ever passionate about. My dad was always willing to 
  go to the park and play catch, but I was far more interested 
  in writing my picture books and reading, from Judy Blume 
  to Marvel comics.
  I had an over-active imagination as a kid, and it alienated 
  people. There was a point towards the end of elementary 
  school I can remember realizing I had no friends. I wasn’t 
  bullied or actively disliked, or overlooked, I had just 
  alienated people because I tended to make stuff up and pass 
  it off as real because it seemed more interesting than reality. 
  A friend of the family once spent a year scouring toy stores 
  for a Ninja Turtle I invented. By high school I was doing 
  better in the friend department, but still had a problem 
  passing things I imagined off as real. Thankfully, I was 
  introduced to a game in which that was an asset. While on a 
  whale-watching trip with my grade, my friend Geoff told me 
  about Dungeons & Dragons. The rest of the trip I hounded 
  him with questions. “So I can do X?” Yep. “And I can do Y?” 
  Yep. “What about-” Geoff offered to run a small game in the 
  hotel for me and a few other guys. No books, no miniatures, 
  not even a set of dice. Just cooperative storytelling in a 
  fantasy setting. It was everything I was missing in my life.
  With the discovery of roleplaying I found my first close 
  friends, friends who I shared an interest and passion with, 
  not just guys with different Transformers than me. When I 
  played, I played fighters. But mostly, I DMed. I got to work 
  every creative muscle, every storytelling instinct, and instead 
  of alienating people I was entertaining them. I was an asset, 
  not an outcast. As I got older, I realized how important the 
  game was to me. It is one of the most consistent parts of my 
  life, and will be for some time. I met my wife gaming, I have 
  forged great friendships gaming, and I have created great 
  experiences gaming.
  Gaming has also been fulfilling on a professional level. 
  Since those days in the third grade writing picture books, 
  I have wanted to be a writer. I studied Creative Arts in 
  college and Creative Writing in university. Along the way I 
  wrote a novel and screenplays in my spare time. My leisure 
  reading was books on the craft. I produced some plays and a 
  short film called Book of Wisdom, to which I owe my IMDB 
  credit. I wrote and published a series of children’s books. 
  It was satisfying hearing my words acted out and getting 
  positive feedback on my work, but what I wasn’t enjoying 
  was the production of my writing. I do not have a producer 
  gene, I do not have producer instincts, and the only reason I 
  produced and published my own material was because it was 
  easier than finding a producer, or a publisher, or an agent. 
  I basically paid to create every produced and published 
  credit I have until I interviewed Robert Thomson, owner of 
  4 Winds Fantasy Gaming. Robert agreed to buy the book 
  that would become Strategists & Tacticians. This is a book 
  I’d been toiling away at in my free time over several years. 
  Around the same time, Kobold Quarterly accepted my query 
  for “Flying Gnomish Contraptions.” Since then, through 
  contacts I’d made with my podcast and a greater instinct 
  for the gaming industry than the other writing industries I’d 
  tried to break into, I have been published by Super Genius 
  Games, Chronicles of the Void, and Paizo, with more credits 
  and more regular writing work every month.
  2. 
  What is your home game like?
  Up until the day after GenCon of this year, I was running 
  a homebrew campaign build around Paizo’s Plot Twist cards 
  from their Game Mastery line. The campaign started with the 
  group playing a party of 13th level heroes, who had to rescue 
  a godling (using Super Genius Games’ Genius Guide to the 
  Mystic Godling) from a crumbling city about to be crushed 
  by a skull-faced meteor. There were a bunch of questions 
  raised in this one shot adventure, like why the seemingly 
  idealistic city was built upon a dome encapsulating a ghost 
  city. Why were undead relentlessly rising, growing more 
  powerful the closer the Skullstone came to impact? And 
  why was this godling’s life apparently worth more than the 
  lives of these great heroes, who died saving her? The players 
  knew this was a meatgrinder, and that these characters were 
  playing out a historic moment in the campaign’s past. The 
  longer the party lasted, the more they would influence the 
  Twenty Questions with Ryan Costello, Jr
  By Steven D. Russell
  Photographs by Robyn Nixon
  
  33
  main campaign which would star another set of characters. 
  By lasting as long as they did, they allowed for survivors to 
  form factions by the time the campaign started twenty years 
  later.
  The campaign proper started with the party surviving 
  an undead apocalypse on a quarantined continent by 
  interacting with five factions: the Golden Oath (Neutral Evil), 
  the Ultimatum (Lawful Neutral), Heaven’s Order (Neutral 
  Good), the Tenants (Lawful Good), and an unnamed fifth 
  faction (Chaotic Neutral). With limited resources, the party 
  would have to do favors for all five factions, in ways that 
  did not compromise their own values. Or that was the plan. 
  Because of a vehemently orderly inquisitor in the party, the 
  faction intrigue portion of the campaign was pushed far 
  further into the background of the campaign than it was 
  intended to be. Instead, the party, with limited resources 
  and of low level, had few options other than to explore 
  the Deadlands, the undead infested bulk of the continent 
  that the survivors managed to isolate themselves from. In 
  these lands they met Ludicrous Stilz, a riddling quest giver 
  who could manipulate reality like he was sifting grains of 
  sand. Ludicrous Stilz, sole inhabitant of the First and Last 
  Library, gave the party items that allowed them to see 
  purple or green auras that represented the destiny of those 
  whose lives greatly impacted history, as well as tools to enter 
  these destinies, and potentially change history. In addition 
  to earning a Plot Twist card, after every history book they 
  extracted from these destined characters with a zen garden 
  rake, the party saw the undead influence reduced, and 
  the balance of power between the factions altered. This 
  brought them to the attention of Lady Jeverxon, matron of 
  a noble family with ties to the Ultimatum. As the campaign 
  progressed, Lady Jeverxon slowly revealed powers over 
  destiny comparable to Ludicrous Stilz, although she had 
  greater power over those of green destiny while he had 
  greater power over those of purple destiny. Eventually the 
  party had affected history to the point that Lady Jeverxon 
  took to the offensive, using Plot Twist cards of her own in 
  a combat that lasted three four-hour game sessions. It was 
  not the last combat of the campaign, but it certainly set the 
  end of the campaign into motion.
  After dispatching Lady Jeverxon, the party found 
  connections between her and the Skullstone that marked 
  the start of the undead uprising. Through investigation, 
  they were able to find someone whose destiny was tied to 
  the Skullstone’s point of impact, where the party reenacted 
  the first session’s meat grinder, as well as five other points 
  in history they found themselves jumping between every 
  minute. They could choose to spend a Plot Twist card to 
  control their destination, or leave it to chance. After some 
  intense roleplaying and high stakes combat, they realized 
  the godling their other characters saved was destined to 
  become Lady Jeverxon, and found all the answers about 
  the circumstances that brought the Skullstone, a calcified 
  manifestation of all the souls from the ghost town encased 
  below the city. I can honestly say by the conclusion of the 
  last session, this was the most satisfying campaign I have 
  ever run.
  With my homebrew concluded, that group is now 
  playing Carrion Crown, run by my 3.5 Private Sanctuary co-
  host Matt, while my other gaming group alternates between 
  Kingmaker and Skull & Shackles. This is the first time in my 
  gamer lifetime that I am not only not playing or running 
  in a homebrew, but that I am in multiple groups and I am 
  not running any of them. Luckily, I’ve been running a lot 
  of Pathfinder Society lately, which keeps my GMing skills 
  sharp and introduces me to dozens of different approaches 
  to adventure design.
  3. 
  What is your favorite Paizo product and 
  why?
  The Advanced Player’s Guide, for so many reasons. 
  First of all, it was the breakout Pathfinder RPG product. For 
  the game’s first year, Pathfinder could not shake the “3.75” 
  nickname. The Core Rulebook was basically the 3.5 Player’s 
  Handbook and Dungeon Master’s Guide, but updated. The 
  first Bestiary was basically the 3.5 Monster Manual, but 
  updated. The Game Mastery Guide had the most original 
  material of the Pathfinder RPG’s original offerings, but 
  it was advice, not game content. Up until the APG, the 
  Pathfinder RPG was 3.5, polished and put back into print 
  for the benefit of the campaign books. When the APG came 
  out, Pathfinder was a whole new game. The six new base 
  classes were crafted so meticulously, they put virtually every 
  non-core 3.5 base class to shame. Archetypes blindsided 
  everyone with how perfectly they updated the concept of 
  alternate class features. The first new combat maneuvers 
  since the 3.5 Player’s Handbook were introduced, an area of 
  the game that Jason Bulmahn already cleaned up brilliantly. 
  The rest, the new feats, new spells, new prestige classes, new 
  magic items were appreciated as well, which drives home 
  how impressive the new classes, archetypes, and the new 
  combat maneuvers were when that much content could be 
  considered just appreciated.
  4. 
  Your are currently doing a good deal of 
  work for Kobold Press/Open Design, how did 
  that start and how would you characterize your 
  relationship with the company today?
  I mentioned that Strategists & Tacticians was the first 
  RPG product I sold, but because of the turnaround time, 
  “Flying Gnomish Contraptions” in Kobold Quarterly #13 
  was my first published RPG credit. And everything about 
  its journey to print was kind of wrong. I queried like you’re 
  supposed to, but I just wrote until I thought the article 
  was done, I didn’t mention a word count in my pitch and 
  I didn’t adhere to one in my writing. I also didn’t pitch 
  during a great time in the publishing cycle. That’s why the 
  article is about these evocative flying machines but there is 
  no accompanying art. Wolfgang Baur didn’t have time to 
  commission art, and didn’t have place to put it. It’s funny 
  33
  
  34
  Pathways Magazine
  that later KQ issues featured a kobold wearing what looks 
  like the ratchet glider from the article. I’ve always assumed 
  that meant Wolfgang tried to get art for the article but the 
  art only arrived after the issue went to press.
  Since then I’ve been published in multiple issues of 
  Kobold Quarterly, and I’ve had queries rejected for many 
  more. Typically articles that provide new content have been 
  green lit, while articles on variant rules, like rules for a less 
  lethal game, get past query but do not get published. I’ve 
  learned from this trend and am focused on crunch-heavy 
  articles now, like my variant druids and my savant base 
  class.
  More recently, I wrote a series of specialized bestiaries 
  called Monsters of Sin. Each book in the seven part series 
  focuses on one of the seven deadly sins in one of two ways: 
  monsters that entice PCs to commit the sin, or monsters that 
  embody the sin. Every CR between 1 and 23 is represented at 
  least once in the series except, oddly, 7. This means people 
  who bought the whole series have options at any point in 
  a campaign to use the material, and GMs could design an 
  entire campaign of sin around the Monsters of Sin. If any 
  GMs reading this do run Monsters of Sin as a campaign, I 
  would love to hear about it.
  Monsters of Sin is a product I have had in mind basically 
  as long as I have been designing professionally. I even 
  pitched it to a few third party publishers, but it never came 
  to fruition. I let the idea lie dormant for a while, but then I 
  noticed I was going back to the idea a lot in my notebook, so 
  I sent Wolfgang Baur my pitch. I gave him multiple options, 
  such as running it as a series in Kobold Quarterly (a series, 
  he pointed out, which would take close to two years to fully 
  publish), a one-off product, or a series like Sigfried Trent’s 
  Advanced Feats. I knew Open Design didn’t publish many 
  one-off products or series, but I wanted to show I was 
  flexible and approach it like a product, not a piece of art 
  that could only exist one way. Wolfgang loved the idea of 
  Monsters of Sin as a series of PDFs with a possible printed 
  compilation if the series sold well enough. He even took 
  the time to compliment me on my pitch, which I’ll discuss 
  in further detail later. We discussed turnaround time, I 
  agreed to a new 3,000 word-manuscript every three weeks, 
  including a write-up about the sin, three monsters plus one 
  high-CR embodiment of sin, and a template. He requested a 
  small write-up about the sin in Midgard, which I agreed to. I 
  made all seven of my deadlines, some after a late night spent 
  thanking the time zones being three hours in my favor. In 
  retrospect, I wish I agreed to his offer of a more generous 
  four week turnaround time, especially when I realized how 
  tough it would be to write the later products in the series 
  while reviewing edits of the early manuscripts. It would have 
  also been nice to read the feedback of the first release before 
  the last manuscript was turned over. The series was more 
  uniform as a result, but applying some feedback would have 
  improved the later issues, especially when reviewers pretty 
  consistently wanted more from the templates.
  Wolfgang told me he was fully behind this line, and he 
  showed that by committing to great art. Originally he asked 
  for two art briefs per installment, but he found the way to 
  budget for four pieces of original black and white interior 
  art by Aaron J Riley, as well as gorgeous covers by Cory 
  Trego-Erdner. I really appreciate having the same artists 
  throughout the series, combined with Marc Radle’s graphic 
  design to create a consistent feel throughout the series.
  My relationship with Kobold Press/Open Design is 
  extremely healthy. They are the company I have worked for 
  most consistently in the three years since Flying Gnomish 
  Contraptions was published. I consider Wolfgang my 
  mentor in a lot of informal ways. He has taken the time to 
  give me feedback every step of the way, and went above and 
  beyond in the development of the Savant base class. He’s 
  mentioned that I was the first podcaster to interview him 
  and has heavily implied that left a mark on him. Or maybe 
  I’ve imagined this whole situation, Wolfgang treats me no 
  different from any other freelancer he has worked with, and 
  the podcast thing is just a footnote.
  5. 
  Which Pathfinder Compatible product you 
  worked on is your favorite and could you tell us a 
  little about it?
  I don’t think of things in terms of favorites, especially 
  my own work, but I’ll say The Genius Guide to Mosaic 
  Mage from Super Genius Games is a product I worked on 
  that stands out for me. Mosaic mage is an alternate wizard 
  class that replaces arcane school specialization with magical 
  powers and spell selection based on color. For example, 
  a red mage is associated with pain, life, and love, as well 
  as the fire energy type, gaining access to the following 
  
  35
  schools and subschools: Conjuration (Calling), Conjuration 
  (Healing), Enchantment (other than enchantment spells 
  with subschools), Evocation (other than evocation spells 
  with energy types), Evocation (Fire), Illusion (Figment). 
  Additionally, they can choose spectrum powers such 
  as boiling blood, which deals fire damage to attacking 
  creatures, or irresistible, which increases the caster level of 
  charm spells. The other spectrums are black, blue, white, 
  and yellow (the primary colors and two shades), with the 
  option to combine two spectrums to create secondary 
  spectrums: green (blue and yellow), gray (black and white), 
  rose (red and white), orange (red and yellow), and purple 
  (black and blue).
  6. 
  What was your best moment working on 
  that product?
  Speaking broadly, it was working with Super Genius 
  Games for the first time, in particular my developer Owen 
  K.C. Stephens. I’d only met Owen briefly at GenCon after 
  a panel on writing for Super Genius Games, he’d never 
  appeared on my podcasts, and I’d rarely heard or read his 
  interviews, but I definitely knew his name and his recent 
  credits. Owen was very reciprocal as a developer, he was 
  frank but considerate, and his development style was 
  extremely compatible with my design style. I enjoyed not 
  only the opportunity to work with him, but the process.
  7. 
  What do you feel was the most ingenious 
  part of that product?
  I think the best ideas are the ones looking everyone right 
  in the face but no one sees. Color-based magic is nothing 
  new, red mages, black mages, white mages, grey mages have 
  been thrown around different campaign settings and in 
  fantasy fiction forever, but rarely is the meaning of the color 
  significant. In some ways, that makes this idea completely 
  unoriginal, because anyone could have come up with it. But 
  I feel that is what makes it ingenious, that no one else did 
  put ink to page to create a supplement dedicated to the color 
  of magic.
  8. 
  What was the most challenging aspect of 
  working on it?
  The fact that I rarely play casters and have no background 
  in color theory. Honestly, when I was preparing my pitch 
  for Mosaic Mage, the only thing I was confident about 
  was the idea. After that was a steep climb. I brainstormed 
  anything I associated with a specific color, which I then had 
  to narrow down so that every color had the same number 
  of key words. After that, I broke down every school of 
  magic into subschools. For some schools of magic, their 
  entire catalogue of spells fits into one of their subschools, 
  like conjuration. For other schools, there are subschools 
  and then there are remainder spells that exist as part of 
  the home school, like illusion. I broke it all down into a 
  list of schools and subschools, making sure any school or 
  subschool actually had a worthwhile chunk of spells in it. 
  I also separated the five energy types (including sonic) as 
  though they were subschools of evocation. From there I 
  matched the schools and subschools up with the key words 
  I’d associated with each color. I wanted colors that were 
  complimentary on the color wheel to share two schools or 
  subschools, and I wanted every school and subschool to be 
  attached to exactly two colors each, except for energy-based 
  evocation schools which were each exclusive to a color.
  Just thinking about all the work that went into matching 
  magic with key words, I can’t believe I got it all to fit. Some 
  of the fits aren’t great—transmutation spells other than 
  transmutation spells with subschools are in yellow’s magic 
  spectrum pretty much just because—but of the six schools 
  and subschools contained within each color spectrum, I 
  can justify at least four for each color. I had some real A 
  Beautiful Mind moments figuring out this portion of the 
  mosaic mage, and I’m kind of shocked I actually pulled this 
  off.
  9. 
  Did you learn anything while working on it?
  You can’t please everybody. The main reason I went 
  to all the trouble of associating schools with colors is so 
  that every spell in the game published before and after the 
  release of The Genius Guide to the Mosaic Mage could be 
  assigned a color. Rite Publishing’s 1001 Spells? Every single 
  one of them has a color, unless they somehow don’t have 
  a school of magic or energy type. This was in response to 
  a common complaint about how WotC supported noncore 
  35
  
  36
  Pathways Magazine
  spellcasting classes in 3.5: they had a static spell list that 
  was ignored by all subsequent releases. There are only three 
  ways to handle supplementary spellcasters, really: the way 
  WotC did; the way Paizo handles them, including an entry 
  for every spellcasting class in every subsequent release; and 
  what I did. At the risk of sounding arrogant, I thought my 
  solution was the best option, because it didn’t require that 
  every spell designed be filtered through each class, at the 
  same time it did not forsake any spellcasters who happen 
  to be left off core. But, there was a major flaw to how the 
  mosaic mage spell list worked: spells are not categorized 
  anywhere by subschool. If you are a black mage and you 
  want to look over your spell list, the only way to find every 
  illusion (shadow) spell is to flip through every spell in every 
  book and note the illusion (shadow) spells. Suddenly having 
  access to every Pathfinder RPG compatible spell ever is a 
  major burden instead of the perk it was meant to be.
  10. 
  Other than your own work, what is the best 
  Pathfinder Roleplaying Game compatible product 
  out there?
  I’ve read a lot of Pathfinder RPG compatible products 
  and have used many in my games both as a GM and a player, 
  but I would never qualify something as the best. I will give 
  a shout out to the two Pathfinder RPG compatible products 
  I have used the most. The first is The Genius Guide to the 
  Time Thief from Super Genius Games. Class is the most 
  character-defining decision you make, so I had to weigh a 
  lot of options before forgoing all first party classes including 
  archetypes for my Kingmaker character. Ultimately, the 
  theme, uniqueness, and mechanics of the time thief won 
  me over, and the Baroness of Wynfree is a time thief named 
  Jeralyt Ciampini. Mechanically, I was attracted to the time 
  thief’s skillmonkeyness, with the added bonus that its 
  abilities are Charisma-based, making the class an especially 
  capable diplomat. Or it would be if Diplomacy was a class 
  skill for the time thief. Luckily, there are traits that helped 
  with that.
  The class features offer a lot of flexibility, allowing a 
  player to create either a roguish character with some or a 
  lot of supernatural prowess without actually having spells, 
  if that isn’t your bag. The cornerstone ability, mote of time, 
  is extremely useful. The ability to add 1d4 (or up to 3d4 
  at higher levels) to a check after the die roll is huge, and 
  perfectly fits the theme.
  The other third party product I use the most is Book 
  of the River Nations - Complete Player’s Reference for 
  Kingdom Building from Jon Brazer Enterprises. As 
  someone who has played through the Kingmaker kingdom 
  building rules twice, once using the rules as presented in 
  Pathfinder Adventure Path #31: Stolen Land, once using 
  BotRN – CPRfKB, the latter is the winner. There are other 
  variables (a different GM, a different group, and familiarity 
  with the rules), having this book sped up play and added 
  more options.
  11. 
  What in your opinion makes a good 
  Pathfinder Roleplaying Game compatible product?
  I define a good Pathfinder RPG compatible product as 
  one with sustainability. For a product to be sustainable, its 
  content has to fit the feel of the game, but not be something 
  that Paizo is likely to release their own version of. No matter 
  how great a third party product is, a similar first party 
  product trumps it. Heck, even a third party product with 
  the same name as first party material, like Super Genius 
  Games’ Magus, is redundant. Just looking at my own work, 
  Strategists & Tacticians from 4 Winds Fantasy Gaming 
  will always be a significant product for me because it was 
  my first published RPG work, but I have to admit a lot of 
  the material is redundant now that Paizo has released the 
  Advanced Player’s Guide and Ultimate Combat.
  The best example of a sustainable third party product is 
  Dreamscarred Press’ Psionics Unleashed. First of all, Paizo 
  has repeatedly said they are not interested in producing 
  psionic content, so Dreamscarred has the market cornered. 
  Second of all, their update of the 3.5 D&D psionic rules 
  was very similar to how Paizo updated 3.5 to Pathfinder, 
  right down to an open playtest. Third, psionics has a long 
  history in the game but with niche appeal. Fourth, the 
  guys behind Psionics Unleashed, Jeremy Smith primarily, 
  are passionate about their product with a great head for 
  how it works. And finally, they have shown with Psionics 
  Expanded: Advanced Psionics Guide that there is room to 
  expand on this set of rules they specialize in. They are doing 
  so much right with their line, it’s no wonder Paizo points 
  to Psionics Unleashed when fans ask for psionic content, 
  
  37
  and third party publishers are releasing material that is 
  compatible with Psionics Unleashed.
  12. 
  Who is your favorite designer of Pathfinder 
  Roleplaying Game compatible products?
  I have to say Owen K.C. Stephens. Workhorses aspire 
  to his level of quality and productivity. He either designs 
  or develops every product Super Genius Games releases, 
  which is close to 200 products at this point, released weekly 
  over the past 200 weeks. Plus he does freelance work for 
  other companies, including regular work for Paizo. And he 
  tweets original feats and spells and stuff for free. As if his 
  work ethic weren’t enough, he’s also good. He regularly finds 
  me angles to look at old ideas as well as new ideas to build 
  from the ground up. Look at Houserule Handbooks: Spell 
  Points. Spell points are not a new concept, but he chose not 
  to walk the well-tread path, instead creating a new system 
  that solves the problems of past spell point systems and 
  retains the uniqueness of each spellcasting class. And this is 
  someone who admits his company is supporting Pathfinder 
  because it’s where the market is. He’s this good with a 
  system that isn’t even his favorite or only game system.
  13. 
  What advice would you give to would-be-
  freelancers?
  When freelancers talk about how little money there is in 
  game design, there is more truth than humor in that. If you 
  work regularly, you will probably make your annual gaming 
  budget freelancing. You won’t pay for your house. You won’t 
  even pay for your car. You’ll probably pay for your bus pass. 
  So we are talking weeks or months conceptualizing and 
  pitching ideas to anyone that will listen that may be for 
  naught. And even if you sell a pitch, no one might read it. 
  There are over a hundred active third party publishers of 
  Pathfinder. There is a lot of competition. But, being good 
  usually pays off. Being persistent definitely pays off. Being a 
  good person and a reliable worker pays off.
  Do you go to GenCon or PaizoCon? If not, why not? If 
  you are serious about breaking in as a freelancer in any 
  capacity, you have to meet with the publishers face to face, 
  you have to listen–not just attend but really listen–to their 
  panels on freelancer rules and advice. If you don’t attend 
  at least one of these cons, or you attend but you don’t go to 
  the panels, why not? Whatever your answer is, that is your 
  actual priority. Maybe it’s family, maybe it’s school, maybe 
  it’s work, maybe it’s your team’s home-opener. Whatever 
  the reason, if you can’t find the time or the money to get 
  essentially a 1:1 interview with all the publishers you could 
  ever hope to work for, then RPG design isn’t your priority, 
  and it’s just too hard to get work if it isn’t your priority.
  14. 
  Who is your favorite Illustrator?
  If Wayne Reynolds counts, Wayne Reynolds. Other than 
  how his women look like the victims of baleful polymorph 
  effects in his action shots, there’s no denying that he has an 
  amazing brain for character design, with a great combination 
  of classic elements, often overlooked logic, and personality. 
  What illustration of a dwarf ranger is complete without a 
  kettle? All of them before Wayne drew Harsk. And all of 
  them other than Harsk. That is why that kettle is such an 
  important part of Harsk’s design. There’s even a scene in the 
  first issue of Dynamite’s Pathfinder comic where the heroes 
  are in overwatch and Harsk is drinking a hot beverage. 
  There’s a good chance that scene only exists because Wayne 
  Reynolds thought to include a kettle in Harsk’s design and 
  it inspired Jim Zub.
  If Wayne Reynolds doesn’t count, I’ll give the nod to 
  Hugo Solis. He has a similar sensibility as Wayne Reynolds 
  in that he can add a lot of detail and personality to a character 
  without weighing the character down. Also, Hugo has a 
  real talent for eyes. His eyes convey so much intelligence 
  and emotion, in particular for whimsical and mischievous 
  characters. It’s been great seeing Hugo’s art evolve over the 
  years, and the opportunities that he has earned as a result.
  15. 
  What has been your most memorable fan 
  response to your work?
  I’m often questioned for a decision in the design of my 
  sever limb combat maneuver in Strategists & Tacticians. 
  Specifically, why it doesn’t deal damage. There are a lot of 
  balance reasons and in playtest I felt it was the best way to 
  keep it a viable option without making it overpowered. Then 
  I chatted with someone who lost a finger. He assured me it 
  hurt like hell. My position on the matter turned 180°, and 
  verisimilitude has become a higher priority in my design.
  16. 
  Could you give us an exclusive hint or teaser 
  about an upcoming product you are working on?
  I am polishing off the Looking For Group Roleplaying 
  Game boxed set. One of the characters in the comic, Pella, is 
  a butt-kicking dwarf bard. Designing the war maestro bard 
  archetype was a lot of fun. Pella doesn’t use anything that 
  resembles a Pathfinder bardic performance, but she does use 
  music to inspire herself. So bardic performance is replaced 
  with war performance. It grants benefits like increased 
  speed, extra attacks, bonuses to hit and damage, etc. In 
  the playtest, Pella was whipping around the battlefield like 
  a cannonball squirrel, exactly like she is portrayed in the 
  comic, without overshadowing the capabilities of the other 
  characters.
  17. 
  Do you have any goals as a game designer 
  that you have yet to obtain?
  Plenty. This is technically my first Rite Publishing 
  writing credit. That won’t do. I’d like to get published by Rite 
  and Dreamscarred, I’d like to get articles in two consecutive 
  issues of Kobold Quarterly, I’d like to have something due 
  for Paizo every month. Another goal, one that is outside of 
  my control, is to see a monster I design translated into a 
  miniature. I have done two monsters for Paizo Adventure 
  Path Bestiaries, and it would be a huge thrill to have the 
  ship-in-a-bottle or the galvo made into a Pathfinder Battles 
  37
  
  38
  Pathways Magazine
  or Reaper Miniature.
  18. 
  Can you talk a bit about the Looking For 
  Group Roleplaying Game boxed set?
  The Looking For Group Roleplaying Game boxed set 
  is based on a popular fantasy webcomic (lfgcomic.com) 
  and fully compatible with the Pathfinder Roleplaying 
  Game. It features six new archetypes–war maestro (bard), 
  healer (cleric), soldier (fighter), weapon monk (monk), 
  righteous ranger (ranger), and warlock (sorcerer)–based 
  on the main cast of the first collected volume of the series. 
  There are new feats, new spells, new monsters, a canned 
  adventure that technically qualifies as the first Looking 
  For Group expanded universe material, paper miniatures, 
  pregenerated characters based on the cast, maps, everything 
  someone new to the game would need to run it and learn 
  the world while still all being useful to existing fans of both 
  Pathfinder and Looking For Group.
  19. 
  How have your podcasts contributed to 
  your freelance work?
  Immensely, and on multiple levels. Over the years on 3.5 
  Private Sanctuary and Know Direction I have interviewed 
  the owners of many third party publishers, which has both 
  given them an opportunity to get their product out there 
  and given me great insight into what’s on the market, what 
  has succeeded, what has failed. I’ve also talked to virtually 
  the entire Paizo design staff about their design philosophy 
  and what makes good design. I have asked the people that 
  hire freelance writers what they look for in a freelance 
  writer. I don’t cut any of this out of the interviews so I’m not 
  exclusively benefiting from this information, but having the 
  opportunity to get this information first hand has greatly 
  benefited me as a freelancer. It’s also a great ice breaker at 
  cons. Whereas someone meeting the Paizo staff for the first 
  time has to cold sell themselves, I can start by mentioning 
  the podcast, referencing past conversations we’ve had, 
  and easily steer the conversation to “are you looking for 
  someone to work on that?”
  20. 
  Is there anything else that folks should 
  know about you and/or your work?
  Only that every time I spell color without a ‘u’, I feel like 
  I’m selling out as a Canadian. Besides that, I am the co-
  host of 3.5 Private Sanctuary, the podcast for 3.5 loyalists 
  and Pathfinder enthusiasts, as well as co-host of Know 
  Direction, Pathfinder RPG news, reviews, and interviews 
  podcast. Both are twice monthly and can be found at 
  35privatesanctuary.com.
  
  39
  On Sale Now!
  
  40
  Pathways Magazine
  Reviews
  Dungeon Dressing: Altars
  by Raging Swan Press
  5 out of 5 stars
  by “Thilo Endzeitgeist” Graf
  The 
  latest 
  installment 
  of Raging Swan’s Dungeon 
  Dressing-line 
  is 
  13 
  pages 
  long, 1 page front cover, 1 
  page advertisement, 2 pages 
  of editorial, 1 page ToC/
  foreword, 1 page SRD and 
  1 page back cover, leaving 
  us with a total of 6 pages of 
  content for the information on altars!
  Following the format of the series, we first are introduced 
  to basic characteristics and appearances of altars, providing 
  5 base materials ranging from stone to bone including 
  base harness, hit points and break DCs, a list of common 
  protective spells and things that can be found on altars as 
  well as a summary of rules for e.g. higher ground when 
  jumping on the altars before getting 47 different entries for 
  basic appearances that include height, manacles and even 
  the inclusion of symbol-spells.
  After that, we’re on to a list of 100 different forms of 
  dressings and features, including luminescent fungus, 
  candles, ground bones, pentagram carvings, acid scars, 
  gongs and even a magically-induced cold/warm feeling.
  Of course, no good altar would come without some kind 
  of security/defense and thus, we are also introduced to 11 
  different and rather deadly spell traps alongside some more 
  conventional ones (3 to be precise) - in the broadest sense: 
  From a cool, multi-round crushing ceiling trap to a cursed 
  idol and even a battery of skulls emitting fire and enfeebling 
  death, the different traps are pure gold and make for a 
  fitting final element for this pdf.
  Conclusion
  Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn’t notice 
  any glitches. Layout adheres to RSP’S b/w-2-column 
  standard and the pdf comes in 2 versions, one for screen 
  use and one optimized to be printed out. Both pdfs come 
  fully bookmarked. Concisely presented with a lot of great 
  content, imaginative traps and some cool coverings, this 
  pdf can be considered not only a worthy addition to the 
  excellent Dungeon Dressing line, it is also one of my 
  favorites so far. Lacking any gripes and having enjoyed this 
  that much, my final verdict will clock in at an unsurprising 5 
  Are you ready for adventure?
  Adventure Quarterly has all the adventures you need to 
  fill your campaign.
  Challenging encounters?
  Yes.  We’ve got that. 
  Engaging plots?
  Yes.  We’ve got that.
  Scary Monsters?
  Yes, we have that! 
  
  41
  stars endzeitgeist seal of approval.
  Endzeitgeist out.
  Adventure Quarterly #2 
  By Rite Publishing
  4 out of 5 Stars
  by Thilo “Endzeitgeist” Graff 
   The second issue of Rite Publishing’s quarterly 
  adventure-magazine is 90 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 
  page editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD, 1 page blank inside 
  the back cover, 1 page back cover, leaving 84 pages of 
  content, so let’s check this out!
  This being a review of an adventure-based magazine, the 
  following contains SPOILERS. Potential players may wish 
  to jump to the conclusion.
  All right, still here? Excellent! The first module is 
  a slight blast from the past for me - we get the complete 
  first level of the Ruins Perilous by Jonathan McAnulty of 
  Kaidan and Coliseum Morpheuon-fame. Once a project 
  with an experimental funding system, the project has been 
  dormant for some time, which as a pity: The Ruins Perilous 
  are located next to Questhaven, Rite Publishing’s upcoming 
  magical renaissance city governed by adventurers and 
  the Ruins are not only a mega-dungeon, but also a kind 
  of proving ground: Cleared by the first adventurers of the 
  Questor’s Society, each level of the Ruins includes a Guild-
  Forge, where the emblematic rings that denote rank in the 
  society can be upgraded, making exploration of the dungeon 
  one of the ways to enhance your standing in the Questor’s 
  Society. 
  AQ #2 includes the complete first level, released for the 
  very first time in its entirety. With adventurers exploring 
  the place, it needs a care-taker to remain a challenge and 
  there indeed is one: Carcera, a dungeon dragon, takes care 
  that vanquished foes are replaced and also monitors and 
  modifies this artificially maintained dungeon environment 
  - but each replacement takes some time. And should 
  the PCs die, their corpses will be hauled back by Ciicul, 
  Stonewarden the cynical groundskeeper gargoyle for proper 
  burial. The first level of the Ruins Perilous turns out to thus 
  have a rather interesting feeling, being something different 
  in tone from your standard dungeon, which becomes readily 
  apparent when the first creatures they fight turn out to be 
  shivs, carnivorous green lizard that are quickly followed on 
  by encounters with the first traps, a lesser ghostly shadow, 
  giant porcupines, a junk elemental and an interesting, 
  mysterious set of fountains, the transcription of which 
  should elude the PCs due to the high DC, at least for now. 
  PCs also have a chance to be squashed by logs, combat a 
  mirror 
  assassin 
  and 
  meet a tribe of thievish 
  pilfer monkeys seeking 
  to 
  take 
  their 
  shiny 
  baubles, 
  equipment 
  etc. Among the more 
  far-out beings, once 
  can 
  encounter 
  a 
  2-headed 
  dire 
  shadow rat, skeletal 
  guardians 
  made 
  of 
  smoke 
  and 
  vermin like giant 
  ticks etc. Rather 
  disturbing, 
  the 
  PCs can also find 
  a rather nasty fungus that has 
  created some fungal spider zombies.
  In order to advance to level 2, though, they will first have 
  to defeat ratfolk sentinels spying for their allies on level two, 
  explore a garden of self-combusting flowers and a rather 
  unpleasant amount of poisonous blue cave frogs before 
  passing the guild forge and its guardian and venturing to 
  level 2, which I hope to see in the next installment of AQ!
  The module also features 3 new magic items, 6 new 
  monsters, the full stats of Ciicul and 4 different pregens, all 
  of which utilize some of the neat racial supplements by Rite 
  Publishing.
  The second module is T. H. Gulliver’s “Into the Land 
  of Tombs”, a tantalizing locale first featured in the stellar 
  “#30 Traps for Tombs”, which to this day remains the best 
  trap-book available for PFRPG. The once verdant land 
  was beset by a dread cataclysm that ensured the gradual 
  transformation of the land’s culture - now a wasteland 
  of tombs, people still shiver at the potential return of the 
  Necromancer-Pharao Nukramajin - a detailed background 
  along DCs etc. is provided for the PCs to unearth. When the 
  nephew of Ayser Ayman died, the funeral procession set off 
  towards the family crypt, guarded from the roaming undead 
  by a magical crypt key - only to be attacked and almost 
  wiped out by attackers, who took Hafa Ayman hostage. It 
  is here the PCs come in: They have to journey to the land 
  of tombs, without a crypt key, and return Ayser’s sister to 
  him. After a short interrogation of the surviving guard, the 
  PCs will be off towards the place of the ambush where the 
  bodies have recently been gnawed on and thus, the PCs can 
  immediately make themselves a picture on how cowardly 
  the guardsman truly is - as soon as a pack of sand ghasts 
  breaks loose from the desert to add the PCs to the festering 
  pile of bodies. 
  Now, after that, the awesomeness begins with a 
  undead gunslinger Askari harassing the PCs and making 
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  Pathways Magazine
  for a truly unsettling encounter -whether diplomatic or 
  combat-themed. After that, the PCs will sooner or later 
  stumble upon the now undead funeral procession of Ayser’s 
  deceased nephew and have a chance to rescue Hafa Ayman, 
  who has been locked up in the sarcophagus of her son. The 
  mastermind, though has gone ahead to the family’s crypt. 
  Bringing the remains there, they can encounter the wizard 
  Sekani Omari, who was after the crypt key to gain access to 
  the family tomb - to find the legendary tomb of Nukramajin. 
  He only got a cryptic prophecy, though, which might make 
  for an awesome future module. Better yet, if you need an 
  added complications in the show-down, you may add a new 
  creature, the so-called Red Jester, which can be considered 
  a truly deadly undead jester that was amused by the irony of 
  the undead procession.
  The high level module of this installment is Steven 
  D. Russell’s “Dungeon of No Return”, which could e 
  considered a nod towards the “Tomb Of Horrors”. If the 
  name was not ample clue: PCs will DIE here. In order to 
  resurrect a legendary hero of old, the PCs need to reclaim 
  a gem of power called the Quietus Starlight and are hired 
  to enter the dungeon of no return, to once again stop the 
  now reincarnated fey deity of autumn. The gem is a soul-
  prison, yes, but an insidious one - the hero of old doesn’t 
  want to leave it, for it is a true paradise and thus has created 
  an order of powerful beings to ensure he is never disturbed 
  - it is into this death-trap of a complex, against this hero’s 
  allies the PCs will have to march to rip the legend of old 
  from his self-chosen complacency. Much like “Down the 
  Rabbit Hole”, this is a five-room dungeon, with each room 
  containing some kind of deadly challenge the will not only 
  require good rolls and builds, but also wits on part of the 
  players to weather. And boy, does this module not pull any 
  punches: After teleporting to the first room (via a carpet, 
  probably), the PCs can imemdiately fall prey to a powerful 
  illusion of “Dawning of the Wildstar”, legendary blade 
  of Rualsnis the Wyrd-smith and not only have fun with a 
  deadly destruction spell, but also with a...balor. In room 1. 
  Yeah. Ouch. However, if the PCs “get” a respective room 
  and solve it without triggering its prohibition etc., they’ll be 
  rewarded quite generously in each of the rooms.
  Speaking of Ouch
  A rainbow wall looks bad. A path into a side-room 
  that turns out to be the path into the massive maw of a 
  petrified gigantean hero-killer remorhaz Raze-Ruse(CR 
  25), though? PAIN. Worse, the insides of the petrified 
  beast are dimensionally locked, making for easily very dead 
  PCs. Speaking of dead - room 3 houses a crucifixion spirit 
  as well as exemplar mudmen. How better, though to pass 
  teh time before the dragon’s lair than with a nice game of 
  wheel of fortune? Guarded by an adamantine cannon golem 
  that can practically not be defeated unless very specific 
  conditions are met and an ironborn luckbringer, the PCs get 
  a chance to play at the wheel-equivalent of a deck of many 
  things, with a whopping 100 different results. Though, 
  after an initial success, the luckbringer uses his powers to 
  foul the PC’s agenda and ensure the powerful curses befall 
  them. (Btw.: all rules to properly play the luckbringer are 
  depicted) In the final room, hidden by an illusion, waits the 
  perhaps deadliest beast of all - a rival adventurer group of 
  highest level, commanded by the hobgoblin brute Kraulog. 
  His allies include a goblin rogue, a drow cleric and a fighter/
  evoker that come, as most builds herein, with multiple feats, 
  magical item qualities, arcane discoveries or uncommon 
  spells.
  SPOILERS END
  The pdf also features a massive 100-entries table 
  of generic dungeon dressing features by Raging Swan 
  mastermind Creighton Broadhurst as well as a short 2-page 
  article I really enjoyed by Robert N. Emerson, as I use similar 
  house-rules in my own game: If you care to, as a DM you’ll 
  get the guidelines for creating easy-to-use morale-rules for 
  NPCs, re-introducing psychological warfare etc. in your 
  game. Nice way to end this issue. Among the supplemental 
  material, we find an extensive mixture of .png and .jpeg-
  versions of the maps - both with and without labels, making 
  them suitable to potentially be printed out and handed to 
  players while they explore - nice!
  Conclusion
  Editing and formatting are ok, though not perfect: I 
  encountered multiple little typos like a missing “s” in “She” 
  and the like, though nothing too grievous. Layout adheres 
  to RiP’s 2-column standard and the artworks are mostly 
  stock. The pdf comes with extensive nested bookmarks as 
  well as two separate zip-files, providing label-less versions 
  of the maps in .png-format as well as versions with labels 
  and keys in jpeg-format. Cartography is detailed and done 
  with dundjinni. 
  The second installment of Adventure Quarterly once 
  again provides us with a low, a mid- and a high-level 
  adventure, so how do they fare? I’m a fan of the whole 
  fresh “artificial, deadly proving ground”-idea of the Ruins 
  Perilous, so that one is right up my alley and I’m rather glad 
  we finally get to explore the complex’s whole first level! I 
  look forward to seeing the lower ones. My favorite, though, 
  would be T.H. Gulliver’s relatively short wilderness trek 
  into the land of tombs, though: The module breathes iconic, 
  dark Sword & Sorcery spirit and brims with some disturbing 
  ideas - If only there was more space devoted to it. 
  While the fluff is clearly beyond reproach and cements 
  my impression of T. H. Gulliver’s vast capacity for writing 
  a great adventure, the basic structure of the module is 
  rather simple and would have benefited greatly from some 
  additional hazards and haunts to complicate the quest 
  
  43
  of the PCs. I’d honestly would love to see a ~100+-page 
  sourcebook/sandbox adventure on the land of tombs. The 
  final module is a meat-grinder in the best sense of the word 
  - consciously deadly, entering the “Dungeon of No Return” 
  is not exactly a good way to plan for old age. This 5-room-
  dungeon lives up to its name, though I have one thing to 
  complain about that one: The background story is awesome, 
  but no epilogue or even stats are provided - I’d love to see an 
  incursion into the legendary prison that is the quest’s goal 
  or even some other form of resolution - as provided, that’s 
  the one flaw of an otherwise stellar high-level module.
  When all’s said and done, we get 2 good dungeons 
  and a wilderness trek that oozes style. Due to my minor 
  complaints mentioned earlier, I’ll settle on a final verdict of 
  a solid 4 stars for the second issue of Adventure Quarterly.
  Endzeitgeist out.
  Cerulean Seas: Waves of T hought
  by Alluria Publishing
  5 out of 5 Stars! 
  by Thilo “Endzeitgeist” Graf  
  This pdf is 98 pages long, 1 page front cover, 2 pages 
  editorial, 1 page ToC, 1 page SRD, 1 page list of thanks for 
  the Alluria kickstarter, 2 pages of Index, 1 page inside the 
  back cover and 1 page back cover, leaving us with a total of 
  88 pages of content, so let’s check this out!
  This is a pdf I honestly thought I’d never see - Alluria 
  Publishing has created THE definite book for underwater 
  adventuring with their massive, stellar quality Cerulean Seas 
  Campaign Setting. Unfortunately, after that, the company 
  got put on hold and now, like a phoenix from the ashes, has 
  risen to once again grace us with their material - but can the 
  psionic supplement, fully compatible with Dreamscarred 
  Press’ Psionics Unleashed material and made in association 
  with these masters of the mind stand up to the incredibly 
  high standard Alluria has set for themselves with the 
  Cerulean Seas Campaign Setting?
  Only one way to find out! This book kicks off with a 
  flavorful introduction about the cycles of divine might, 
  arcane power and psionic potential and then goes on about 
  how this product was made and a set of basic terms one 
  should understand when reading this book. Without any 
  significant further ado, we are then introduced to new 
  aquatic psionic races that might be added to a regular heavily 
  aquatic campaign or used with the Cerulean Seas Campaign 
  Setting. First in the array of new races would be the 
  Amphian, a subtype 
  of clownfish-like-
  looking 
  merfolk 
  that is renowned to 
  be a race of gifted 
  entertainers 
  and 
  scoundrels - they 
  get either the wild 
  talent psionc feat (if 
  non-psionic 
  class) 
  or the psionic talent 
  feat (if they choose a 
  psionic class) at first 
  level as well as fast swim 
  speed, 2 to Cha and Dex 
  and -2 to Str as well as 
  the favored class option 
  to get 1 
  power point when taking a 
  level in the wilder class and 
  a resistance to venoms. The Thalassic Asrai, a new type of 
  medium feykith, get either the wild talent psionc feat (if 
  non-psionic class) or the psionic talent feat (if they choose 
  a psionic class), are boneless and thus get 2 to acrobatics 
  and escape artist checks as well as 1 to CMD & CMB, 2 
  Dex and Wis, -2 Con, can get a power point instead of hp 
  or skills when classing in a psionic class, deal cold damage 
  with their natural attacks and swiftly die when brought out 
  of the water. They also gte 2 to checks to overcome psionic 
  resistance instead of feykith magic.
  The Melusine are an interesting race that sprang from 
  the nommo and can be considered a psionically changed 
  race that is heavily influenced by its rigid caste system and 
  the fact that beings from diverse castes produce offspring 
  belonging to certain caste combinations, enforcing a 
  complex structure that is interesting to explore in game. 
  Rules-wise, these beings get 2 Con and 2 Int, -2 Cha, are 
  of the merfolk subtype, get 40 ft swim speed, darkvision 
  60 ft., light sensitivity, suffocate out of the water, get a 2 to 
  Perception due to compound eyes, get either the wild talent 
  psionc feat (if non-psionic class) or the psionic talent feat 
  (if they choose a psionic class), can get a power point as a 
  favored class option when leveling in a psionic class. They 
  are also acclimated to extreme depths, meaning they suffer 
  at low depths of 300 ft. from being pressure sensitive and 
  can negate damage they receive as an immediate action by 
  burning power points, ignoring 2 points of damage for each 
  power point spent.
  Interesting Races
  Speaking of interesting races: The Merkoth, is a weird 
  merfolk indeed, ending in multiple, octopus-like tentacles. 
  They get 2 Dex and Int, but -2 Cha, have a normal swim 
  speed, get either the wild talent psionc feat (if non-psionic 
  class) or the psionic talent feat (if they choose a psionic class), 
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  Pathways Magazine
  can cast detect psionics and concealing amphora 1/day as 
  a psi-like ability - well, and they have tentacles, enabling 
  them to hold up to 4 items ready (but not use them) to be 
  retrieved as a swift action and also granting them 4 to CMB 
  when trying to grapple. Oh, and they have a unique peculiar 
  behavior as well: They hate their own race, trying their very 
  best to avoid each other as often as possible, even having 
  their young brought up by foster parents and actually get 
  sickened without a save when within 30 ft of another being 
  of their race. Now if that is not story-telling gold!
  The reptilian-headed Benthic Naga are next on the 
  list. They get 2 to Dex and Wis, -2 to Cha, belong to the 
  anthromorph subtype, get 1 natural armor to AC, get either 
  the wild talent psionc feat (if non-psionic class) or the psionic 
  talent feat (if they choose a psionic class), are immune to 
  mind-reading and get 2 to saves vs. enchantment and poison 
  as well as a mildly poisonous bite. The DC of latter scales 
  with the character’s level, ensuring prolonged usefulness. 
  The final new race is actually one you might recall from 
  another Alluria publication, namely the Remarkable Races 
  Compendium. The Zef, originally parasites that have taken 
  over the collectives of a form of snail-like humanoids and 
  guided them benevolently, granting them sentience. The 
  small snail-people are presented here in a psionc variant 
  that gets 2 Int, 2 Wis, -2 Str, 20 ft swim speed, can choose 
  a knowledge skill as a class skill at first level due to their 
  inborn knowledge and also feature a protective shell in 
  which they can retreat. If you remember the campaign 
  setting, you might recall the eclectic options to play half-
  breeds of a wide variety of races and here we also get seafolk/
  amphian, seafolk/melusine and seafolk/benthic naga 
  crossbreeds. It should also be mentioned that the chapter 
  includes tables that comprehensively list all racial modifiers 
  of the new races, tables to determine random height and 
  length, age-tables for starting age and age effects as well as 
  information on racial buoyancy and depth tolerance, both in 
  the respective racial entries and in the table - great service 
  and concise presentation there!
  Psionic Classes
  After that we are introduced to Alluria Publishing’s 
  take on the psionic classes released so far in the context 
  of underwater adventuring, providing easy to implement 
  conversion advice ranging from cosmetic remodeling to 
  some minor crunchy modifications before we delve into 
  the new base-class, the Aquanaut. The Aquanaut gets d10 
  HD, 4+Int skills per level, proficiency with simple and 
  martial weapons, light and medium armor, shields and all 
  natural weapons they have, but more on that one later. The 
  Aquanauts also gets full BAB, good fort and will-saves, up 
  to a total of 74 power points and can learn powers of up to 
  4th level. Sounds like a martial class? Yes and no, for the 
  Aquanaut is so much more than that! The Aquanaut starts 
  off with something called Phylum and gains an additional 
  phylum at fifth 
  level and every 4 
  levels thereafter, 
  gaining 
  an 
  empathy 
  with 
  c r e a t u r e s 
  associated with 
  her phylum - 
  examples would 
  be 
  Cnidarians, 
  C r u s t a c e a n s , 
  M a m m a l s 
  etc. Now, the 
  A q u a n a u t 
  f o r e g o e s 
  m e m b e r s h i p 
  of her original 
  race, becoming 
  essentially 
  a 
  race of her own she shares with other members of the 
  class (Aquanaut). She also becomes an inherently magical 
  being that increases her natural AC, makes her resistant to 
  pressure and means that she counts as magical for means 
  of attacks. Can you see where this is going? The Aquanaut 
  is actually evolving her own body, learning to change her 
  body with her very own brand of mutations, to which 
  quite some space is devoted: Starting by explaining the 
  basic [armor], [extra arm] and[shell]-descriptors of the 
  introduced mutations, we are then presented with phyla 
  and their associated mutations: 6 phylums are detailed, 
  each coming with a plethora of these new mutations - from 
  root-like tendrils, to anchor yourself, coral-style to surfaces 
  to extruding poisonous slime or growing a coral head, from 
  poisonous and shootable spines to fins to crab legs, chitin 
  skin, additional tentacles, lobster claws to an otter’s keen 
  sense of smell, a sonar, up to the option to change colors and 
  thus speak the cephalite language and gain a stealth bonus, 
  extrude octopus ink or being able to grow, puffer-fish style - 
  or grow a turtle or nautilus shell: Not only are the respective 
  options sheer genius in their iconicity, they also are so rock-.
  solid and balanced in their rules-implementation that I can 
  do naught but utter the utmost praise for this class: Even in 
  the reign of excellent PFRPG-classes, the Aquanaut stands 
  out and surpasses all regular Cerulean Seas-classes, being 
  on par with my favorite pathfinder-classes ever. The best 
  new base class I’ve read so far in 2012! Take heed, designers 
  - this is how it’s done!
  Underwater PRCs
  Next up are the regular psionic PrCs and how they can 
  be changed to fit in an undersea environment and goes 
  on to provide us with two new PrCs - the 10 level Current 
  Adept (d6, 2+Int skills, 1/2 BAB, 1/2 will-save, 8 levels of 
  power progression) are beings that can manipulate water 
  to work telekinetic style and gain vast speed enhancements 
  
  45
  as well as the option to create impassable water and change 
  water temperature - interesting casting battlefield control/
  mobility class. The second class, is the 5-level shark 
  incarnate, a feral melee PrC for psychic warriors that gets 
  d10, 4+Int skills per level, full BAB, good fort and ref-saves, 
  only gains an additional 9 power points and 3 levels of power 
  progression, but gets special enhancements options to make 
  truly devastating bites and can be considered a fearsome foe 
  indeed: The shark incarnate can add double the str-mod to 
  attacks when blood is in the water or an enemy is almost dead 
  and can get additional attacks to follow up on critical hits, 
  may reroll class levels saves and add his strength modifier 
  on the rerolls. Worse, once the shark has destroyed a foe, 
  he gets temporal life-force from cannibalizing. The capstone 
  is also cool, offering the option to treat power points as hit 
  points on a one-for-one-basis if the shark incarnate would 
  otherwise be dropped below 0 Hp. Both PrCs are absolutely 
  neat, though, unsurprisingly, they are “only” excellent, not 
  a class of its own like the Aquanaut base-class.
  The pdf also provides us with 23 new feats, including e.g. 
  the option to craft mystic starfish (!!!) to gaining ectoplasmic 
  ink to the option to gain a hypnotic angler-fish style gaze 
  or even turn to water to 1/day automatically escape a 
  grapple or change your naga venom to one that deals wis-
  damage that makes susceptible to your psionic attacks. You 
  could also form psionic quills of ectoplasm while focused, 
  granting you access to armor spikes in any armor or even 
  unarmored. Beyond that, we are also introduced to a variety 
  of psionic powers and the careful consideration towards 
  environmental factors we’ve seen in Cerulean Seas - e.g. the 
  fact that cold energy effects may result in ice-crystals, but 
  only up to a certain depths. It’s small bits and pieces that 
  make the difference between a good setting and a stellar 
  one - attention to detail and internally consistent logic. 
  We also get a complete powers-list for the new Aquanaut-
  class, including highlighted and altered aquanaut powers. 
  This care is extended towards the psion and wilder as well 
  as the psychic warrior class, before we delve right into the 
  selection of new powers. 
  Oh BOY! Aqueous Coalescence thickens the water around 
  you, halving enemy movement and hampering attacks and 
  damage as well as preventing ranged attacks. Better yet - 
  the power also effects buoyancy and can be dissipated by 
  currents. You’ll see powers like this more often in the chapter 
  than not - i.e. powers that not only offer interesting tactical 
  options, but also exhibit a true mastery of psionic rules (the 
  Dreamscarred press connection is evident) as well as taking 
  the stellar rules from the Cerulean Seas Campaign Setting 
  into account, merging both in an accomplishment of great 
  design. Whta I mean with this rather cryptic wording is that 
  these powers take three-dimensional fighting, buoyancy, 
  floating ice, etc. into account, create devastating vortexes, 
  use atomic agitation to create superheated blasts of water, 
  etc. into account. 
  Not even here does the pdf stop, though, and instead it 
  provides us with 2 new item classes, the mystic starfish and 
  the ioun bubble, as well as 6 new psionic items and a new 
  psionic material. If you’ve read the Cerulean Seas Campaign 
  Setting, you’ll distinctly remember the racial perspectives on 
  the setting’s history and the grand panoply their combined 
  perspective offers - just like the setting, this pdf provides a 
  chapter of fluff in this vein, containing famous members, 
  adventure hooks and myths galore, enough to fill a wide 
  variety of adventures and campaigns. It should be noted 
  that the perspectives on non-player races have not been 
  ignored - we also get to know at least a bit about the psionic 
  jellyfish called medusians and similar NPC-races.
  The final large chapter provides us with a bestiary in 
  true Alluria Publishing-style - i.e. with easily identifiable 
  creature-glyphs and gorgeous full-color artworks for every 
  creature. We are introduced to the golden-scaled Apsara 
  merfolk, the enigmatic Arichteuthian shapers, to calcified 
  skeletons and brain corals that kill their victims and make 
  them their calcified skeleton slaves, to tiny, yet deadly 
  brain crabs, the demonic and powerful Jormungandi, to a 
  new almost cthulhoid-looking species of song dragon, to 
  nightmare-inducing eels, frogs on whose backs brill grows 
  to the non-player castes of the Melusine to disturbing 
  mindshrimp swarms, to translucent, glowing deep sea 
  octopi and psionic slurgs, host creatures for the Zef and 
  their racial blood foes, the Zoh, - the bestiray is of a stunning 
  quality and many of the artworks herein would even stand 
  out in Alluria’s excellent oevre.
  In order to make navigation easier, we get an appendix 
  with aquatic psionic monsters released so far by CR, a 
  pronunciation guide, an index of tables, an index for art and 
  2 pages of cardstock minis.
  Conclusion
  Editing and formatting, I am happy to report, are up 
  to the stellar quality Alluria left off with - I did not notice 
  any glitches, top-notch! Layout is GORGEOUS and up to 
  the highest standards conceivable, using the same awe-
  inspiring full-color blue-tinged look as the campaign setting. 
  Alluria Publishing’s artwork was always stellar, but some 
  pieces herein, be it the monsters, the chapter-introducing 
  artworks or the Aquanaut blast the lids off of what to expect 
  from a 3pp artwork-wise. Only rarely does one see so 
  many awesome full-color artworks in one pdf. Impressive 
  indeed! The pdf also comes fully bookmarked, with nested 
  bookmarks, making navigation easy. The only formal point 
  I could nag about is the lack of a printer-friendly version. 
  Then again, if you do print this out, you’ll want it in full 
  color or even print from the get-go: The pdf is that pretty.
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  Pathways Magazine
  And best of all: The content is up to the visuals! Whether 
  it is crunch or fluff, this pdf leaves nothing to be desired - 
  much like the spell-adaption in Cerulean Seas, this pdf not 
  only goes the extra mile, it goes an extra marathon and then 
  some. Advertised as a psionic underseas sourcebook I at first 
  considered the publisher’s blurb speaking of “mastery of 
  Psionic Unleashed and the Cerulean Seas Setting” sounding 
  like hubris. It’s not. It’s the plain truth. I did not find one 
  piece of content I’d consider off, not one single piece. Better 
  yet, the pieces herein are not contend with working - they 
  strive to be iconic. 
  They ooze heart’s blood and passion. They provide 
  innovative synergies and take the peculiarities of undersea 
  adventuring into account. This pdf, much like the original 
  Cerulean Seas Campaign Setting, is not content with 
  being good, or very good - it strives to excel. And that 
  shows. In every page and every idea. Let me spell it out: 
  My expectations were insanely high. They were met and 
  surpassed. My expectations, when this high, are almost 
  universally disappointed. Instead, e.g. the Aquanaut should 
  be considered a compulsory addition to ANY campaign 
  featuring psionics and could, with some minor tweaking, 
  work in regular settings as well. I only have one thing to ask 
  for: Do we get Waves of Thought 2 with more support for the 
  Aquanaut and additional support for Psionics Expanded: 
  Advanced Psionics Guide? Please?
  I forgot my verdict. It should come as no surprise: This 
  book is a must for fans of psionics, of the Cerulean Seas 
  setting and all those who felt even remotely intrigued by what 
  I described here. This pdf is worth every cent of its asking 
  price and I hope there’ll be a print option. Final verdict: 5 
  stars endzeitgeist seal of approval. Congratulations for the 
  triumphant return -it comes with a bang!
  Endzeitgeist out.
  101 Special Materials and Power 
  Components 
  by Rite Publishing
  5 out of 5 Stars!
  by Thilo “Endzeitgeist” Graf  
  This pdf is 31 pages long, 1 page front cover, 1 page 
  editorial, 1 page SRD and 1 page advertisement, leaving us 
  with 37 pages of content, so let’s check these out!
  Mithril. Iridium. Orichalcum (even though irl, that one 
  is rather debunked). Adamantine. Alchemical Silver. Green 
  Steel. Read these and immediately, a variety of different 
  associations is opened in the reader’s mind - because we, 
  on a subconscious level, know that while the assumption 
  of magic is easily imaginable, special materials and alloys 
  feel a bit more 
  grounded 
  in 
  the reality of a 
  setting - they 
  are 
  iconic, 
  characters crave 
  them and we can 
  easily think of 
  one of multiple 
  reasons 
  why 
  weird 
  alloys 
  would exist on 
  worlds different 
  from our own.
  So what are 
  these 
  things 
  herein? 
  Well, 
  special materials 
  come with massive descriptions on how they look and 
  came to be as well as information on HP/inch and hardness 
  as well as information on how much it costs to make 
  ammunition of the material or craft weapons, armors and 
  shields from it. The respective materials also have some 
  inherent effects they add to their base-items, e.g. the option 
  to cause bleeding wounds (weapons) or deal damage to 
  attacks (armors shields)in the case of aberrant alloy.
  What are Power Components, then? These things can be 
  added to the casting of a given spell as material components, 
  enhancing its power in various ways. The component, of 
  course, is consumed by the casting. Power components 
  also can be applied to the effects of magic items, but are 
  consumed much the same way. They also come with 
  information on hardness, hp/inch and costs, though they 
  provide different costs: We get usually an entry for the value 
  of one cast, for a power component enhanced wand and one 
  for a power component enhanced continuous magic item. 
  Before you’re starting to fret, though, a concisely-written 
  box explains on how to handle introducing these rare 
  materials into your campaign while keeping the balance.
  Need an example? Take absolute ice, created from the 
  very coldest possible ice where negative energy plane and 
  elemental plane of ice meet: Adding a vial of absolute ice 
  to one cast forces enemies subjected to the spell to make a 
  fort-save to prevent being staggered temporarily in addition 
  to the spell’s regular effects. For all those ice-themed mages 
  out there: It also add the [cold]-descriptor to spells, works 
  better when used with such spells in the first place and 
  makes your breath billow forth as cold mist when speaking 
  the incantations.
  Now that you should have an overview of what the 
  two types of item-classes do, let’s take a look at some of 
  the more interesting examples: Akashic crystals should 
  remind aficionados of arcana evolved of something: These 
  
  47
  crystals taking from the d20-variant that is imho closer to 
  PFRPG than D&D 3.5 enable people to store memories and 
  information in them - great tools to deliver plot hooks, my 
  DM-friends! You could also add Amrita to your potions, 
  eliminating the debilitating effects of old age for one year at 
  the massive expense of 200 000GP: If you can’t see a way 
  on how to craft an adventure around the massive costs of 
  this immortality-addiction, I don’t know. Anamnesis alloy 
  is also rather interesting: Items made from it are first cold-
  forged into one form and then forged again into another, 
  being then able to change between both. Legendary Azoth 
  will be a boon for alchemists, while banesteel weapons carry 
  a dread curse - a sample curse is also part of the deal and 
  ouch, it hurts! Want flying stone stairs? Cavorite is what 
  you want! Always wanted a rothenium-polymere suit for 
  your assassin/rogue in a fantasy setting? Check out the 
  chameleon suit. Necromancers might wish to purchase 
  some fossilized undead ooze to enhance their spells, while 
  fans of “A Song of Fire and Ice” can now have dragonglass 
  weapons, should they so choose.
  We also get crystals to have minor wisps of energy cling 
  to those damaged by your energy-based attacks, wood 
  that is destructive against constructs, an essence that lets 
  you steal permanently a creature’s ability to sleep, sacred 
  jarnvidr wood, the ink of kraken, an alloy of mithril and cold 
  iron to a material that is as strong as the oath of its bearer, 
  the variety is nice indeed.
  Classics like dragon scales, afore-mentioned Orichalcum 
  , steel of star-children, primal iron and air go hand in hand 
  with items like the anti-hero-point Quintessence of Failure 
  (i.e. -20 on the next atk on a failed save) and iconic materials 
  like bottled voices.
  Conclusion
  Editing and formatting are very good - although I noticed 
  e.g. a superfluous asterisk and similar minor glitches, they 
  are few and far in-between and did not deter from my 
  enjoyment of the file. Layout adheres to RiP’s 2-column 
  standard and artwork is stock, but perfectly fitting. The pdf 
  is also fully bookmarked for your convenience.
  Once in a while, Steven D. Russell’s 101-series goes 
  beyond the rather high standard it has set for itself by 
  providing something different, something bold and 
  awesome. Take “101 New Skill Uses”, “101 Hazards & 
  Disasters” or “101 Not so Random Urban Encounters”. This 
  pdf, while not reaching the absolute apex of the series, is 
  another offering I’d wholeheartedly recommend to any DM 
  out there. How often have your PCs asked what happens 
  when they add material xyz to a cast? How often have they 
  asked, how a given material influences the final product in 
  crafting? In my home-game, I’ve essentially been house-
  ruling a vast arrays materials to do things that this pdf now 
  puts into concise, balanced rules: Add noble salamander 
  scales to fire-spells? More boom! Etc. This pdf brings magic 
  in Pathfinder with its materials and power components 
  much closer in line to our favorite representations of 
  magic from fiction: Adding strange ingredients and getting 
  improved results for your supernatural practices results 
  not only in a vast array of adventure hooks, stories and cool 
  ideas like “gold-rush”-style scenarios à la OD’s classic “Halls 
  of the Mountain King”, but also improves massively the 
  immersion of your players in the setting as they slowly get 
  to know all the weird materials and quest for supplies and 
  hoard their enhancing resources. This pdf is narrative gold 
  and marries this with great crunch - hence my final verdict 
  will clock in at a highly recommended 5 stars endzeitgeist 
  seal of approval.
  Endzeitgeist out.
  C1: Alagoran’s Gem
  by Adventureaweek.com, LLP
  5 out of 5 stars!
  by Thilo “Endzeitgeist” Graf   
  This module is 48 pages 
  long, 1 page front cover, 1 
  page editorial, 1 page ToC (& 
  recommended 
  reading 
  for 
  those not familiar with old-
  school style gaming) and 1 
  page SRD, leaving us with a 
  total of 44 pages of content, 
  so let’s take a look at the first 
  of 
  AdventureaWeek.com’s 
  C-series of classic modules in 
  the spirit of old-school gaming!
  This being an adventure review, the following contains 
  SPOILERS. Potential players may wish to jump to the 
  conclusion. All right, still here? Let’s take a look! Intended 
  for levels 3-5, the premise of the module is rather simple: 
  A wealthy merchant once named Alagoran sought a way to 
  keep his belongings safe after a burglary and thus invested 
  his fortune in a magnificent gem. Edged further on by his 
  paranoia, he had a deadly complex crafted to keep both him 
  and his prized possession safe. Alagoran has vanished. He 
  stopped showing up for rations and, while some time has 
  passed, none have yet returned or claimed the prize of the 
  magnificent gem. Enter the PCs, who should then feel like 
  a certain famous barbarian who was known to have pulled 
  off some deadly heists in his youth. Props if you got that 
  reference.
  So yeah, via 4 different, albeit simple sample hooks the 
  47
  
  48
  Pathways Magazine
  
  49
  PCs are recruited to test their mettle against the dungeon 
  paranoid Alagoran has crafted - but can they prevail? From 
  the very start, a sense of puzzles and antiquity sweeps the PCs, 
  as they get a chance to avoid a fight with a powerful undead 
  guardian by mentioning a correct name and mundane, yet 
  still sickening mildew, green slime and magic mouths that 
  taunt them. Oh, have I mentioned the traps and the twisted 
  ways in which they can actually be bypassed? Pit traps and 
  acid arrows are the least of the PC’s worries if they don’t take 
  care - especially if they activate a certain magical door and 
  get hit by a wave of energy that may not only pummel them 
  into a pit, it may also eliminate ALL 1-use magic items and 
  activate those that can be activated! Rod of fireball? BOOM. 
  Potions and scrolls? Ruined! OUCH! PCs hit by this one will 
  complain, but honestly - it can be avoided, it’s iconic and it 
  FEELS just right...so kudos for including this rather nasty 
  effect! Speaking of nasty: Even before they have went to the 
  inner rooms of the dungeon, the PCs can find a mushroom 
  forest including ogres, unhealthy puffball spores and be 
  infected with dysentery (Yes, not filth fever or slimy doom. 
  Seriously. I like it when not every damn dirty place features 
  the same two standard diseases everyone seems to use...) 
  even before they have to pass a gauntlet-style corridor full 
  of magic-imbued arrow traps. Also nice: a trolley-based 
  refuse-system leading to an otyugh’s nice home...
  Where the module starts to become interesting is with 
  a circular room, which can be considered a many-phased, 
  complex trap that has no easy way to solve and cannot 
  be simply deactivated by a successful disable device roll - 
  instead, the PCs will have to brave the danger with brawns 
  and use their brains to pass the trap - have I mentioned 
  that the trap features rancid boar’s blood, acid, the chance 
  to drown and a pack of starving ghouls? Speaking of acid: 
  Hanging, tilting platforms over a sea of acid can also be 
  found herein - guarding a nice bluff of a fake treasure room 
  that has the iconic three chests, of which, of course, all are 
  the wrong ones. The dungeon also features yet another 
  false gem guarded by an Indy trap as well as an alternate 
  entrance, an owlbear, an option to parlay with a tribe of 
  orcs, a carrion crawler and undead ignited by a gas leak that 
  may blow the PCs to smithereens. There is also a river of 
  lava including... *drums* a dead magic zone! Yes! We have 
  not nearly enough of those in most current modules and I’m 
  not ironic there - magic should never be too predictable and 
  challenges like this, where magical prowess alone does not 
  suffice, add to this sentiment. Before the end of the dungeon, 
  though, we have yet more lava, animated ropes (trip, trip, 
  trip the adventurers into the river of lava...), superheated, 
  unhealthy, sulfurous air and then, the final room, in which 
  the PCs have one more chance to use their wits - if they fail, 
  they will have to contend with a rather lethal array of traps 
  and might even be petrified (though that is reversible by 
  concluding the module). If they by now have a good grasp 
  of Alagoran’s personality, they might be able to avoid these 
  traps and even find the true, fabled gem - provided they can 
  defeat its final guardian.
  The module closes with stats in both 3.5 and PFRPG, 
  which include 4 ready-to go replacement PC-stats should 
  any perish in the module as well as a player-friendly key 
  AND trap/secret-door less version of the map -Bravo!
  Conclusion
  Editing and formatting are top-notch, I didn’t notice 
  any glitches. Layout adheres to a printer-friendly white 
  background and is otherwise the standard 2-column 
  standard we’ve come to expect from AaW, including color-
  coded boxes for rules, read-aloud text etc. The pdf comes 
  fully bookmarked with nested bookmarks and is scheduled 
  to get herolab files, but at the writing of this review, these 
  have not yet been added. The cartography of the dungeon 
  in full color is beautiful as I’ve come to expect from AaW-
  publications and the player-friendly map sans traps and 
  helps, secret doors and keys is awesome to have and should 
  be industry standard.
  I honestly didn’t expect much from this module, seeing 
  how often “old-school” is used as a synonym for “nothing 
  new/creative” here - that’s not the case here. Yes, the story 
  is simplistic, there is not a grand mini-game or some other 
  twist - but know what? The design-philosophy, much like in 
  the excellent modules by Frog God Games oozes this sense of 
  antiquity, of looming danger and death, of unpredictability 
  and the NEED, not the option, to use your brain in order 
  to survive. This is not dungeoneering for people who cry 
  when their character dies. This a module that oozes old-
  school flair, that evokes a sense of accomplishment when 
  completed and, while it is a harsh mistress, remains a fair 
  sojourn - this is no meat-grinder, it is a hard, challenging 
  module. Not Rappan Athuk-level hard, mind you, but hard. 
  And boy do I like it for that - the use of hazards, traps (that 
  are not disabled via 1 roll) and enemies make this not only a 
  blast from the past that evokes nostalgia via its themes and 
  design, it also makes this module a stellar first offering for 
  the C-series. I’m completely and fully recommending this 
  very cheap module and look forward to seeing how the rest 
  of the C-line will hold up to my scrutiny. If what I’ve written 
  here even remotely intrigues you and if you’re looking for 
  a well-written dungeon-exploration - here you go. My final 
  verdict? 5 stars, endzeitgeist seal of approval.
  Endzeitgeist out
  #30 Cursed Treasures
  by Rite Publishing
  4 out of 5 stars
  by Joshua “Ktfish7” Guillion
  #30 Cursed Treasures, the latest in the #30 series from 
  Rite weighs in at 23 pages, with 19 of those being the pages 
  49
  
  50
  Pathways Magazine
  containing new game material. Written by John Bennett and 
  featuring more of the amazing artwork Steven Russell has a 
  knack for finding (this time out treating us to pieces from 
  Arthur Rackham), this installment to the series continues 
  the dual column format, with the occasional embedded 
  piece of artwork, as well as the classic Rite publishing page 
  frame.
  Cursed Items are always an interesting thing to 
  incorporate into a game setting, as the idea of adding true 
  curses, those powerful afflictions that defy magical means 
  to rid oneself of, well...something has to bring a chuckle to 
  a GM from time to time...and nothing seems to work quite 
  like watching a playgroup scramble to rid themselves of a 
  cursed item that just won’t go away...
  Each item is given a price (as per its material value and 
  its collectable value), a physical description, a detailed 
  explanation of the trigger that sets off the curse, what the 
  effects of said curse are, the history of the item (great for 
  mining for immense amounts of story ideas, adventure 
  hooks, side quests...and of course the terms for removal of 
  the curse upon the bearer.
  As there are thirty of these items, I am going to limit 
  myself to a few choice items, beginning with Rexzor the 
  Red’s Dragon Tapestry. Rexzor was your atypical Red, big, 
  nasty, greedy and on a shortlist for hero’s to try and kill. And 
  when his day finally came, from his scales a tapestry was 
  made by one of the victors of Raxzor’s final battle. So, we’ve 
  got a back-story, we’ve got a cool item, I mean a tapestry 
  made of woven dragonscale?? That’s pretty cool...so what’s 
  the curse right? Simple, fire. The minute a new owner hangs 
  this unique wall art within his home, the clock is ticking for 
  the place to burn to the ground. A fairly specific method 
  for removal of the curse guarantees this item becoming an 
  adventure for a playgroup if they end up with it, as there is 
  only one way to be rid of the tapestry...and the minute you 
  touch it you want to take it home and hang it up...lol.
  Glutton’s Gold sent me to Google to verify a word, and 
  its meaning (lol), and before anyone out there not knowing 
  this word, or its meaning, I beg of you to learn it before 
  contacting Steven to yell at him, lol. Now, that out of the 
  way, what we have here is a hoard of shiny gold coins just 
  waiting to be found...only problem is they leave anyone who 
  possesses any of them with an appetite for actual gold, strong 
  enough that they will suffer if they do not eat enough, daily. 
  The Burnt Crown of the Wood Elf King is one of the most 
  bizarre items as far as its history goes that I think I have ever 
  come across. The crown of the elven king Eltee’ae, the crown 
  holds within it his extreme hatred of all animals...yeah, you 
  read that right, an elven king...hatred of all animals. The 
  hatred sprang from his being taken aback by human druids 
  using animals to attack his kingdom...so, an elven king sees 
  animals of his forest being used as weapons against him and 
  his, and blames 
  the 
  weapon, 
  not the people 
  steering them? 
  Sorry, this one 
  doesn’t 
  work 
  for me. Copper 
  Pennies 
  of 
  Apathion is the 
  classic 
  ancient 
  people sold their 
  souls to Charon, 
  and used these 
  coins to denote 
  other souls they 
  were sending in 
  their place type 
  of thing...hence 
  the whole placing 
  a coin on each eye of the dead.
  Cube of Zaz is an interesting concept for an item, as the 
  ramifications of introducing one to a divine caster who relies 
  upon prayer in your campaign could be long standing. The 
  cube “replaces” the character’s God/patron...whomever it is 
  that grants them spells for their prayers. The cube does not 
  provide as many spells, nor any domain spells or abilities...
  but unless the character can find a way around the cube to 
  contact their deity they would have no reason not to believe 
  they had simply upset their God and that was the reasoning 
  behind the lesser granted perks for prayers.
  OK, so final thoughts here...there are some pretty cool 
  items presented here, far more cool items than not. The 
  format of how they are presented is extremely cool as well, 
  giving a piece of history to each as well as the methods 
  of removal being far more than “cast this spell” standard 
  fare. However, the PDF is riddled with small editing issues, 
  mainly in grammar. Nothing to the point that you can’t 
  understand what you are reading, but certainly enough 
  that you notice it. Cursed items are a great way to add 
  some serious levels of danger to your game, but only if you 
  as a GM are willing to put in the effort to make them cool. 
  There are several here that could become part of some great 
  memories for your players, and for that I am going to give 
  this PDF a 4 star rating.
  
  51
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  15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
  Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  System Reference Document. Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; 
  Authors Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material by 
  E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
  Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. Copyright 2009, Paizo Publishing,
  LLC; Author: Jason Bulmahn, based on material by Jonathan Tweet,
  Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.
  The Book of Experimental Might. Copyright 2008, Monte J. Cook. All
  rights reserved.
  Tome of Horrors. Copyright 2002, Necromancer Games, Inc.;
  Authors: Scott Greene, with Clark Peterson, Erica Balsley, Kevin
  Baase, Casey Christofferson, Lance Hawvermale, Travis Hawvermale,
  Patrick Lawinger, and Bill Webb; Based on original content from
  TSR.
  Advanced Player’s Guide. Copyright 2010, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author:
  Jason Bulmahn.
  Pathfinder RPG Bestiary, © 2009, Paizo Publishing, LLC; Author: Jason
  Bulmahn, based on material by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip
  Williams.
  Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 2, © 2010, Paizo Publishing, LLC;
  Authors Wolfgang Baur, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, Graeme Davis,
  Crystal Frasier, Joshua J. Frost, Tim
  Hitchcock, Brandon Hodge, James Jacobs, Steve Kenson, Hal MacLean,
  Martin Mason, Rob McCreary, Erik Mona, Jason Nelson, Patrick Renie,
  Sean K Reynolds, F. Wesley Schneider, Owen K.C. Stephens, James L.
  Sutter, Russ Taylor, and Greg A. Vaughan, based on material by Jonathan
  Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.
  The Book of Fiends, © 2003, Green Ronin Publishing; Authors Aaron
  Loeb, Erik Mona, Chris Pramas, Robert J. Schwalb.
  Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 3, © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC;
  Authors Jesse Benner, Jason Bulmahn, Adam Daigle, James Jacobs,
  Michael Kenway, Rob McCreary, Patrick Renie, Chris Sims, F. Wesley
  Schneider, James L. Sutter, and Russ Taylor, based on material by
  Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams.
  Book of Templates: Deluxe Edition, © 2003, Silverthorne Games;
  Authors: Ian Johnston and Chris S. Sims.
  Pathways #19 Copyright 2012 Steven D. Russell;
  51
  
  52
  Pathways Magazine
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