TEXT: The 
  Brinewall 
  Legacy
  By James Jacobs
  
  Goblins have lived along the Lost Coast 
  for as long as anyone can remember, 
  but that certainly doesn’t mean they’re 
  welcome. Viewed as pests by most and 
  monsters by all, goblins’ reliance on the 
  garbage of greater societies has ensured 
  their simpering, cavorting proximity 
  to better civilizations since the start. 
  Goblins are naturally craven, gleefully 
  foolish, and ever eager to visit atrocity 
  and pain upon those they encounter, 
  a combination that one might think 
  would have led to their eradication by 
  their betters long ago. But goblins are 
  fecund and stubborn if nothing else. 
  Much to the distress of the rest of us, 
  goblins are here to stay.
  They say it’s bad luck to see the 
  Sandpoint Devil—that it’s the son of 
  a widow who brokered a deal with a 
  devil to gain a child, and that it stalks 
  children and snatches them from their 
  beds through windows left foolishly 
  open. They say the beast is so hideous 
  that even drawings and pictures of the 
  fiend are prone to bursting into flame. 
  That the Sandpoint Devil actually exists 
  is not debated—it’s been sighted by too 
  many reputable folk, and savaged too 
  many innocent victims to be compeltely 
  a myth. Rumors abound as to its lair and 
  its genesis, but the Devil itself is very 
  much a real creature—flesh and blood 
  and smoke and fire and all. 
  Goblins
  Sandpoint Devil
  
  The 
  Brinewall 
  legacy
  ADVENTURE PATH • PART 1 of 6
  ®
  M
  
  crediTs
  Creative Director • James Jacobs
  Senior Art Director • Sarah E. Robinson
  Managing Editor • F. Wesley Schneider
  Development Lead • Rob McCreary
  Editing • Judy Bauer, Christopher Carey, Liz Courts, Christopher Self, and James L. Sutter
  Editorial Assistance • Jason Bulmahn, Mark Moreland  
  Stephen Radney-MacFarland, and Sean K Reynolds
  Editorial Intern • Michael Kenway
  Graphic Designer • Andrew Vallas
  Production Specialist • Crystal Frasier
  Publisher • Erik Mona
  Cover Artist
  Wayne Reynolds
  Cartographer
  Jared Blando
  Contributing Artists
  Mariusz Gandzel, Andrew Hou, Sung Yoon Ko, Jim Nelson, Sara Otterstätter, 
  Miroslav Petrov, Doug Stambaugh, and Christer Sveen
  Contributing Authors
  Dave Gross, James Jacobs, Tim Nightengale, and Mike Shel
  Paizo CEO • Lisa Stevens
  Vice President of Operations • Jeffrey Alvarez
  Director of Sales • Pierce Watters
  Finance Manager • Christopher Self
  Staff Accountant • Kunji Sedo
  Technical Director • Vic Wertz
  Marketing Director • Hyrum Savage
  Special Thanks
  The Paizo Customer Service, Warehouse, and Website Teams
  “The Brinewall Legacy” is a Pathfinder Adventure Path scenario designed for four 1st-level characters.  
   By the end of this adventure, characters should reach 4th level. 
  This product makes use of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Advanced Player’s Guide, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game 
  GameMastery Guide, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 2, and Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Combat. These rules can be 
  found online as part of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Reference Document at paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd.
  This adventure is compliant with the Open Game License (OGL) and is suitable for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game or the 3.5 edition of the world’s 
  oldest fantasy roleplaying game. The OGL can be found on page 92 of this product. 
  Product Identity: The following items are hereby identified as Product Identity, as defined in the Open Game License version 1.0a, Section 1(e), and are not 
  Open Content: All trademarks, registered trademarks, proper names (characters, deities, etc.), dialogue, plots, storylines, locations, characters, artwork, and 
  trade dress. (Elements that have previously been designated as Open Game Content or are in the public domain are not included in this declaration.)
  Open Content: Except for material designated as Product Identity (see above), the game mechanics of this Paizo Publishing game product are Open Game 
  Content, as defined in the Open Game License version 1.0a Section 1(d). No portion of this work other than the material designated as Open Game Content 
  may be reproduced in any form without written permission.
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  Redmond, WA 98052-0577
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  Pathfinder Adventure Path #49: The Brinewall Legacy © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
  Paizo Publishing, LLC, the golem logo, Pathfinder, and GameMastery are registered trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC;  
  Pathfinder Adventure Path, Pathfinder Campaign Setting, Pathfinder Module, Pathfinder Player Companion,  
  Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Pathfinder Society, Pathfinder Tales, and Titanic Games are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC.
  Printed in China.
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  TaBle of conTenTs
  Foreword 
  4
  The Brinewall Legacy 
  6
  by James Jacobs
  NPC Gallery 
  52
  by James Jacobs
  Jade Regent Treasures 
  60
  by James Jacobs
  Sandpoint Hinterlands 
  62
  by James Jacobs
  Ecology of the Oni 
  68
  by Mike Shel
  Pathfinder’s Journal: Husks, 1 of 6 
  74
  by Dave Gross
  Bestiary 
  80
  by James Jacobs and Tim Nightengale
  Campaign Outline 
  90
  Preview 
  92
  
  4
  I
  ’ve wanted to do the Jade Regent Adventure Path from 
  the beginning.
  You can see the initial groundwork for this, the 
  ninth Pathfinder Adventure Path, hidden away in the 
  adventure that launched the very first Adventure Path. 
  In that adventure, “Burnt Offerings,” I introduced a 
  character named Ameiko Kaijitsu. Lovely Ameiko was 
  far more than me sneaking one of my PCs into print 
  (although I admit that sneaking PCs into print so you can 
  get artists like Wayne Reynolds to illustrate them is one 
  of the more delightful perks of being Creative Director 
  here at Paizo)—she was intended to be the star of an 
  upcoming Adventure Path from the start. Hints of the 
  Kaijitsu family’s history with Minkai and their links to 
  that nation’s royalty can be seen in “Burnt Offerings” if 
  you know where to look.
  Originally, Jade Regent was to be the fourth Adventure 
  Path, but then we went and decided to launch our own 
  version of the game with the Pathfinder RPG, and 
  publishing a campaign that crawled from one end of the 
  world to the other and would require a lot of supplementary 
  material beyond the Adventure Path’s support articles 
  seemed like a poor idea at the time.
  So Jade Regent got pushed back a year and a half, 
  and was going to be the seventh Adventure Path. I even 
  previewed the attack on the Licktoad village as a special 
  “Adventure Path Preview” at Paizocon II, and went as far 
  as to announce “Jade Regent” as the next Adventure Path. 
  Then, when we realized that we wouldn’t have the resources 
  to pull off a trip across the world in time, I had to do a bit 
  of backpedaling. Serpent’s Skull took Jade Regent’s place, 
  and Jade Regent got pushed back another year.
  And so here we are. Finally. And you know what? Looking 
  at what our authors and artists have already started 
  brewing up for the volumes to come, and seeing the rules 
  our rulebook line has in Ultimate Combat for samurai, 
  ninja, martial arts, and Asian weaponry of all sorts, I think 
  it’s worth the wait.
  years in The Making
  
  5
  Foreword
  caMpaign conTinuiTy
  Jade Regent functions as a sequel of sorts to the Rise of 
  the Runelords Adventure Path. Not so much in story, 
  since this campaign won’t stay in Varisia for long and 
  has nothing to do with Runelords at all, but certainly 
  in spirit—we assume that the events portrayed in Rise 
  of the Runelords (and to a lesser extent those in Second 
  Darkness) have taken place, as two characters who played 
  roles in those campaigns, Ameiko Kaijitsu and Shalelu 
  Andosana, have important roles in Jade Regent.
  As such, a few spoilers for those campaigns are present 
  in this volume’s adventure, although we’ve taken pains to 
  minimize the spoilers as much as possible. If you wish to 
  avoid many of these spoilers, skip the rest of this section 
  and continue down to the next one, A Fresh Start, which 
  provides a few bits of advice on how to run Jade Regent 
  without assuming any previous Adventure Paths have 
  taken place.
  Lonjiku’s Fate: Lonjiku, Ameiko’s father, is assumed 
  to have died at some point, likely murdered by Tsuto as 
  detailed in the events of “Burnt Offerings.” If he somehow 
  survived that adventure, you’ll need to orchestrate his 
  death just before the events of this campaign’s start, as the 
  Jade Regent Adventure Path requires Ameiko Kaijitsu to be 
  the eldest surviving member of the Amatatsu family line, 
  since she’s supposed to be the next in line to inherit rule of 
  Minkai and claim its Jade Throne.
  Tsuto’s Fate: Like his father, Tsuto is assumed to be dead 
  as this adventure begins. Unlike his father, though, Tsuto 
  has no legitimate claim to the Jade Throne in Minkai, and 
  if he somehow survived the events of Rise of the Runelords, 
  he can play any role you wish (perhaps as an antagonist who 
  follows the PCs’ caravan with a small group of mercenaries 
  eager to try to steal Ameiko’s birthright).
  Ameiko’s Fate: Ameiko is assumed to have survived the 
  events of Rise of the Runelords—if this isn’t the case, and 
  you aren’t interested in retconning her survival, then replace 
  Ameiko in this campaign with her half-sister Amaya, newly 
  arrived in Sandpoint from Westcrown. Although Amaya 
  was born from Lonjiko’s scandalous affair with a Chelish 
  noblewoman in 4680, she inherits the Rusty Dragon and 
  several other Kaijitsu holdings upon Ameiko’s death and 
  comes to town to investigate her inheritance. Charmed with 
  the town, she decides to take up the role of proprietor of the 
  Rusty Dragon. If you use this plot, Amaya only truly becomes 
  a legitimate heir to the Jade Throne when the PCs manage 
  to recover the Amatatsu Seal at the end of this adventure, 
  and just as the seal invests the PCs with the divine right to 
  rule, it does the same for her (see page 60 for more details). 
  Note that Amaya is first mentioned in Pathfinder Adventure 
  Path #25—if for some reason she perished during Council 
  of Thieves, you can simply substitute a third heretofore 
  unknown Kaijitsu scion into Ameiko’s role.
  Shalelu’s Fate: Jade Regent actually marks Shalelu’s 
  third appearance in a Paizo Adventure Path—if, in your 
  continuity, she has already perished, you can simply 
  replace her in this campaign with some other elf.
  Rebuilding Sandpoint: Sandpoint suffered much during 
  Rise of the Runelords. In the years since those events, most 
  if not all of this damage has been repaired, and with the 
  exception of scarred memories and perhaps a few town 
  memorials, little remains in the town today to show the 
  aftermath of these attacks.
  Previous Player Characters: Characters who made it to 
  the end of Rise of the Runelords are likely close to 17th or 
  18th level, and if they haven’t retired, can be assumed to be 
  on suitably legendary adventures elsewhere on Golarion 
  or even out in the Great Beyond. You should avoid having 
  them be present in Sandpoint during this adventure, in 
  any event, since “The Brinewall Legacy” is intended to give 
  a new batch of heroes a chance to rise to the occasion.
  a fresh sTarT
  If you haven’t run Rise of the Runelords, then you need not 
  worry about fitting a previous Adventure Path’s continuity 
  into your game. Note that if you wish to run Rise of the 
  Runelords later, you’ll probably need to find a replacement 
  for the Kaijitsus in “Burnt Offerings.” Since things 
  like ancient birthrights don’t really matter in “Burnt 
  Offerings,” replacing the Kaijitsus with similarly minded 
  but different characters won’t really affect the adventure’s 
  plot at all. Heck, go ahead and replace Ameiko with one of 
  your own PCs from a game you played a long time ago. It 
  worked for me, after all!
  on The cover
  Wayne Reynolds makes his triumphant return to the cover 
  of Pathfinder Adventure Path, perfectly capturing Ameiko 
  Kaijitu’s charming swagger and personality as Sandpoint’s 
  least-likely aristocrat. She’s destined to become the new 
  empress of Minkai—if she and her friends can defeat the 
  Jade Regent—but you’ll have to wait until the last cover in 
  this Adventure Path to see how she “cleans up” in the role 
  of a much more powerful noble!
  James Jacobs
  Creative Director
  james.jacobs@paizo.com
  
  6
  AdvAncement trAck
  PArt three: ruins of BrinewAll
  PArt one: fires over BrinestumP
  PArt two: the legAcy’s lure
  In search of fireworks-wielding goblins, the PCs venture into 
  Brinestump Marsh, where they learn of a close friend’s family legacy 
  that has lain hidden in the swamp for decades.
  Gathering their resources, the PCs and their friend Ameiko Kaijitsu 
  join a Varisian caravan traveling north to the ruined town of 
  Brinewall in search of Ameiko’s lost heritage. 
  To find the Kaijitsu family legacy, the PCs must face the monstrous 
  inhabitants of the haunted and cursed ruins of Brinewall Castle, 
  under the command of a strange creature from Tian Xia.
  PAge 8
  PAge 23
  PAge 24
  the BrinewAll legAcy
  “The Brinewall Legacy” uses
  the medium XP track. 
  The PCs should be 4th level by 
  the adventure’s end.
  The PCs begin this 
  adventure at 1st level.
  1
  By the time the PCs 
  have finished with 
  Brinestump Marsh, they 
  should be well into 2nd level.
  2
  The PCs should reach 
  3rd level before they 
  make a serious attempt to 
  explore Brinewall Castle.
  3
  
  7
  The Brinewall legacy
  Adventure BAckground
  Hundreds of years ago in the distant land of Minkai, a 
  powerful cabal of evil spirits known as oni emerged from 
  the mysterious Forest of Spirits. Intent on seizing control 
  of a land they felt they deserved to rule, these oni, known 
  as the Five Storms, began a covert war against the five royal 
  families of Minkai, for by obscure but nonetheless binding 
  divine laws, only once all five families had been wiped 
  out or controlled could the Five Storms take control. By 
  4652 ar, the Five Storms had come close to their goal. Yet 
  when the oni turned their attention to this last family of 
  nobles, the Amatatsus, they discovered that the family had 
  fled Minkai over the Crown of the World, the inhospitable 
  northern continent at Golarion’s north pole.
  When the exiled Amatatsus emerged from the Crown of 
  the World and staggered into the Linnorm Kingdom city 
  of Kalsgard, their numbers had been reduced to a small 
  fraction of a once-grand dynasty. Led by the youngest 
  and only surviving son, Amatatsu Tsutoku, the exiles 
  sold their legendary family sword Suishen to finance a 
  stealthy integration into an alien society. In order to 
  finalize their hidden exile and throw off further pursuit 
  from the Five Storms, the Amatatsus changed their family 
  name to Kaijitsu, and the exiled royals chose new names 
  and switched their order to match Avistan’s naming 
  conventions. Thus did Amatatsu Tsutoku became Rokuro 
  Kaijitsu. Using some of the money they’d received from the 
  sale of Suishen, the Kaijitsus secured a home in the small 
  town of Brinewall and paid to have the only remaining 
  proof of their royal lineage, a minor artifact called the 
  Amatatsu Seal, held in a magical warding box that blocked 
  divination magic in a secure vault under Brinewall 
  Keep. The Kaijitsus became merchants and glassblowers, 
  hoping that the very idea of a royal family changing its 
  name and working as common merchants would be all but 
  unthinkable to the Five Storms. For several years, it looked 
  as if these drastic steps would work.
  Eventually, the Kaijitsus’ artistry and skill at glassblowing 
  attracted the attention of several merchant nobles in 
  Magnimar, who offered the family a small villa if they would 
  relocate to the larger city and join Magnimar’s growing 
  aristocracy. Rokuro Kaijitsu accepted the offer, reasoning 
  that belonging to Varisian nobility could only further hide 
  the truth of his family’s legacy from the Five Storms. Rokuro 
  left most of the family servants and business concerns 
  (including the Amatatsu Seal) safe and secure in Brinewall, 
  but moved himself and his wife to Magnimar. Over the 
  next several years, the Kaijitsus had a son named Lonjiku, 
  helped found the town of Sandpoint, and saw their fortunes 
  as minor nobles in a frontier town rise.
  It wasn’t until Rokuro turned 60 in 4687 that he finally 
  allowed himself to believe that the Five Storms had given up 
  on chasing him. With most of his business concerns now 
  focused in Magnimar and the recently founded town of 
  Sandpoint, he decided to return to Brinewall and recover 
  the Amatatsu Seal. He also brought his son Lonjiku with 
  him, finally ready to reveal to him the family legacy. As 
  father and son arrived in Brinewall, a series of powerful 
  storm hit the Varisian coast. Rokuro loaded his extended 
  family, servants, and all his belongings onto three 
  ships, but the storms prevented their immediate return 
  to Magnimar. Stranded in Brinewall for days, Rokuro 
  agonized on how best to reveal the family legacy to his 
  son, and this hesitation soon stretched Lonjiku’s patience 
  beyond its limits.
  Long frustrated at his father’s silence regarding his 
  ancestry, Lonjiku took matters into his own hands and 
  opened the warding box containing the Amatatsu Seal—
  and in so doing, exposed the seal to magical observation. 
  Horrified that this act might have alerted the Five Storms 
  and that oni agents would soon come to Brinewall to 
  finish things off, Rokuro ordered his bodyguard Tsutamu 
  to organize the return to Magnimar with his family and 
  belongings, then to prepare for a new relocation farther 
  south. Once he could be sure that the Five Storms had not 
  noticed the opening of the seal’s case, Rokuro would follow 
  later. As the three ships sailed south into the storms, 
  Rokuro returned the Amatatsu Seal to its warding box in 
  the secure and hidden vaults below Brinewall and alerted 
  Brinewall’s commander, a man named Andril Kortun, 
  that dangerous foes might soon strike. But Rokuro never 
  learned of the loss of his ships in the storms off Varisia’s 
  Lost Coast, or of his despondent wife’s suicide not long 
  after, for the Five Storms struck far more quickly than even 
  he had anticipated.
  The Five Storms had lost track of the Amatatsus in 
  Kalsgard many years before, but they left a small group 
  of oni and ninja there to keep an eye out for any sign of 
  the missing family. When Five Storm seers back in Minkai 
  noticed the Amatatsu Seal’s brief flash of power, they sent 
  orders to the Kalsgard group, now known as the Frozen 
  Shadows, to mobilize and investigate. The Frozen Shadows 
  swept into Brinewall, using the storms still pounding the 
  town to great advantage. They devastated the town, setting 
  its buildings on fire, and by the time the castle’s troops were 
  organized to launch a counterattack, the Frozen Shadows 
  were already inside the castle walls. They murdered the 
  entire population of Brinewall in less than an hour, so 
  quickly that they didn’t discover the hidden vault that 
  held the Amatatsu Seal. Rokuro was killed in the battle, 
  but learning that he had sent his family and belongings 
  into the storms to Magnimar, the Frozen Shadows moved 
  farther south in pursuit, leaving Brinewall empty.
  But while the Frozen Shadows were numerous enough 
  to overrun Brinewall, they could not do the same to the 
  much larger city of Magnimar. Instead, they infiltrated 
  
  8
  goBlins of BrinestumP
  The story of the Licktoad goblins and their attempts to 
  acquire fireworks forms the plot of Pathfinder Module: 
  We Be Goblins!, available in print or as a free PDF at 
  paizo.com. That adventure serves as a prequel for the 
  events in “The Brinewall Legacy” and the rest of the Jade 
  Regent Adventure Path. In addition, Pathfinder Player 
  Companion: Goblins of Golarion provides plenty of extra 
  information on goblin society and tactics, including new 
  goblin feats and magic items, if you really want to make 
  the Licktoad goblins come to life!
  Magnimar in disguise and learned that Rokuro’s wife 
  had committed suicide upon learning of the loss of her 
  husband’s three ships at sea. Assuming that the Amatatsu 
  Seal was on board when the ships sank, the Frozen Shadows 
  returned to Kalsgard with news that the family had finally 
  been wiped out. The Five Storms could finally begin the 
  last stages of their plot to seize control of Minkai. But 
  here, through the whims of fate, the Five Storms made a 
  critical error. For not all of the Kaijitsus perished in the 
  storms—Lonjiku Kaijitsu survived after spending several 
  weeks adrift in the Varisian Gulf, and eventually returned 
  to Sandpoint to rebuild his family.
  These events transpired almost 25 years ago, and the 
  Five Storms have finally reached their plot’s end game. 
  Following the secret assassination of the Minkai emperor 
  just a few years ago, one of the Five Storms now rules 
  Minkai in all but name as the empire’s Jade Regent. When 
  the proper time of mourning has passed, and no true 
  contenders step forth to claim the throne, rule of Minkai 
  will pass to the oni of the Five Storms. But Lonjiku Kaijitsu’s 
  legitimate heir, Ameiko, still lives in Sandpoint, and 
  though she remains unaware of her family’s true heritage, 
  she is the only person who can challenge the Jade Regent.
  Adventure summAry
  When goblins armed with fireworks begin raiding merchant 
  caravans on Varisia’s Lost Coast, the PCs enter the trackless 
  swamps of Brinestump Marsh to put a stop to them. But 
  there are greater dangers growing in the marsh—after 
  defeating the goblins, the PCs learn of a rising undead threat 
  in a nearby cave. Investigating, they defeat the undead and 
  discover a document that indicates a great Kaijitsu family 
  legacy lies hidden to the north in Brinewall.
  Upon learning of this, the PCs’ good friend Ameiko 
  Kaijitsu gathers her resources, and with the PCs’ help, she 
  and several others travel north with a caravan of Varisian 
  wanderers to Brinewall, where a supernatural malaise 
  afflicts Ameiko, rendering her comatose. Speaking in 
  cryptic clues from her tortured sleep, Ameiko encourages 
  the PCs to seek her family’s legacy in Brinewall. When 
  the PCs do, they find the ruined castle itself firmly in the 
  control of monstrous foes commanded by the turncoat 
  oni Kikonu. By defeating him and discovering the hidden 
  vault below, not only can the PCs solve one of Varisia’s 
  greatest recent mysteries, but they can also learn that 
  Ameiko Kaijitsu is destined to rule Minkai.
  PArt one: fires over BrinestumP
  This adventure begins in the town of Sandpoint with 
  reports that the Licktoad goblins of Brinestump Marsh 
  have grown unusually aggressive. The reason for this 
  uncharacteristic bravery seems clear—the goblins have 
  somehow managed to arm themselves with what appears 
  to be a considerable supply of fireworks. The problem 
  stems not so much from the additional “firepower” 
  these fireworks provide as from the inflated sense of ego 
  and power that the devices have given the goblins—the 
  fireworks have made them dangerously brave.
  Several merchant caravans and travelers have been 
  attacked so far, and according to the victims, the damage 
  caused by horses panicking at the sight and sound of 
  exploding pyrotechnics is almost as destructive as the 
  goblin attacks themselves. With the last few attacks 
  resulting in severe injuries to three unfortunate travelers, 
  the problem has escalated from an annoyance to a threat. 
  However, as none of the attacks have yet inconvenienced 
  Magnimar (only Sandpointers and other Lost Coasters 
  have been hit so far), the city has been slow to react. 
  Unwilling to idly sit by and wait for the goblin problem to 
  escalate to actual deaths on the Lost Coast Road in order to 
  attract Magnimar’s attention, Sandpoint’s leaders have put 
  out the call for goblin exterminators.
  But after a time of upheaval a few years back involving 
  goblins, giants, and even a dragon, Sandpoint has since 
  returned to being a relatively sleepy town. It doesn’t take 
  long for life to settle down once things return to normal, 
  and with Varisia’s adventurers now more eager to try their 
  luck at finding their fortunes in legendary Xin-Shalast, 
  there simply aren’t a lot of volunteers to fight goblins 
  around. Always running at a lean enrollment, Sandpoint’s 
  city watch can’t afford to send patrols into the trackless 
  expanse of Brinestump, although they have stepped up 
  their presence along the Lost Coast Road itself. The task 
  of wading into the notorious local wetland falls instead to 
  adventurers—be they concerned locals honestly eager to aid 
  the town or greedy mercenaries looking to make relatively 
  easy coin. A few adventurers have already made the attempt, 
  but nothing has been heard of them in the 3 days since they 
  entered Brinestump Marsh, and just last night, another 
  round of colorful explosions burst over the wetlands south of 
  Sandpoint. The goblins are doubtless readying a new attack!
  
  9
  The Brinewall legacy
  stArting the Adventure
  To deal with the goblin threat, Sheriff Belor Hemlock 
  has restored Sandpoint’s old “goblin bounty” after several 
  years of inactivity—it was suspended when a group of 
  eager but too-young adventurers were swept out to sea 
  while in pursuit of goblin ears. The town of Sandpoint will 
  pay 10 gp for every relatively fresh goblin ear delivered to 
  the town hall—with an additional reward of 300 gp for the 
  group who can bring in the head of the Licktoads’ leader, 
  Chief Gutwad.
  If your players are using the Jade Regent Player’s Guide as 
  an aid to get started in this Adventure Path, they’ll start 
  play with established ties not only to Sandpoint, but to 
  each other as well. Since all the PCs should also have ties 
  to Ameiko Kaijitsu and the Rusty Dragon, the old cliché of 
  starting the adventure in a tavern seems strangely apt—
  perhaps they’ve come to the Rusty Dragon to figure out 
  their plan of attack for dealing with the Licktoad goblins. 
  A complete gazetteer of the town of Sandpoint can be 
  found in Pathfinder Adventure Path #1, though that write-
  up is not necessary to run this adventure. In addition, the 
  “Sandpoint Hinterlands” article that begins on page 62 
  of this book not only provides some basic information on 
  Sandpoint, but also numerous rumors that can help get 
  the PCs started.
  Before the PCs begin, though, they should be given 
  a warning and a bit of advice. Brinestump Marsh may 
  not be as large as the Mushfens farther to the south, 
  but the swamp is dense and tangled. It’s easy to get 
  lost in the place. No one’s made a really detailed map 
  of Brinestump—there’s been no need, since there’s not 
  much of value within. But if anyone knows his way around 
  in the marsh, it’d be that old eccentric halfling Walthus 
  Proudstump, the self-appointed “warden” of the swamp. 
  A fishing trail leads from the Lost Coast Road directly to 
  Walthus’s shack in the swamp. If the PCs wish to explore 
  the marsh, they could do a lot worse than following that 
  trail to seek out the halfling’s advice.
  into the mArsh
  Brinestump Marsh is a relatively small region, but it’s 
  fantastically overgrown with vegetation. Given the frequent 
  stretches of muddy bogs and snaking waterways, moving 
  through the marsh is a tiring and frustrating procedure. 
  The marsh itself is bounded on its southern edge by a cliff 
  that rises an average of 40 feet from the wetlands below to 
  the moors above—characters who take the time to scout 
  out this southern approach can get a relatively good view 
  of the marsh and its major waterways, but spotting details 
  (such as individual buildings) is quite difficult, because of 
  the height of the trees that grow so thickly in the wetland.
  Brinestump Marsh extends just over 2 miles at its widest 
  point (measuring from the southwest to the northeast). 
  The wetland is a tangle of nettles, reeds, and other swamp 
  plants often supplemented by larger vegetation—cypress, 
  eucalyptus, oak, and willow trees mostly. Movement 
  along trails is at 3/4 speed, while movement through the 
  undergrowth is at 1/4 speed. The aptly named Soggy River 
  is the primary waterway that flows through Brinestump. 
  The river averages 20 feet deep, while its smaller creeks 
  average 5 feet deep. A DC 10 Swim check is required to 
  navigate these placid waters.
  As the PCs explore, you should take pains to present the 
  swamp as a frightening, oppressive place. Though small 
  on a geographic scale, the marsh is fecund and spooky. Fog 
  often shrouds the place, particularly at dawn and dusk, 
  and animal calls that might be soothing elsewhere take on 
  a strange, almost menacing tone in the dripping wetland. 
  Sudden movement in the underbrush or in the tree canopy 
  above, the splashing of something large wading through 
  the swamp just out of sight, and eerie low growls and 
  bellows from deeper in the swamp should help to keep the 
  PCs on their toes.
  One way to keep the PCs nervous is the Soggy River 
  Monster (see area F). You can have the PCs periodically 
  make Perception checks for no reason, but now and then 
  they might find a strangely mutilated animal on the trail, 
  a soggy three-toed footprint slowly filling with water as if 
  whatever made the print only recently passed by, or even 
  a brief glimpse of a pale, human-shaped figure watching 
  from a distant gap in the undergrowth that vanishes 
  before anyone else can see it. If the PCs are brave enough to 
  camp in the open wilds of Brinestump, you can even have 
  the Soggy River Monster attack their camp at night in an 
  attempt to drag one of the characters off to its lair to eat.
  A. new fish trAil
  Despite Brinestump’s reputation, many local fishermen 
  swear by the fine fishing in the swamp, using this trail to 
  access the marsh’s best fishing holes. This trail also leads 
  to self-appointed swamp “warden” Walthus Proudstump’s 
  shack (area G).
  B. old fish trAil
  Decades ago, locals used this trail for fishing in 
  Brinestump—the trail once led all the way to the shore, but 
  now stops at the Licktoad village (area H). Since the goblins 
  moved in, use of the trail has dropped off, and the fishermen 
  now use the New Fish Trail to the north (area A).
  c. hidden PAth
  Actually the southern extent of the Old Fish Trail, this 
  path becomes difficult to see as it approaches the 40-foot-
  high cliff bordering the swamp. A faint trail leads from the 
  swamp up along the cliff—it takes a DC 12 Perception check 
  to notice the trail, and a DC 5 Climb check to navigate it.
  
  10
  Sog’s Bay
  L
  os
  t 
  C
  o
  ast
   Roa
  d
  S
  o
  g
  gy
   
  R
  i
  v
  er
  d. witch’s wAlk
  This trail is mostly worn away, and bears a somewhat dark 
  stigma—locals believe it leads directly to the dismal home 
  of Old Megus the Swamp Witch (area J). Those rumors are 
  correct, but Old Megus has been dead for many months. 
  Anyone who has traveled one of the other trails can make 
  a DC 15 Survival check to note that this trail is more 
  overgrown and hasn’t been used for about half a year.
  e. Bridges
  Several swamp bridges cross rivers and creeks along the 
  various trails. These bridges are all soggy wooden affairs 
  with mossy surfaces and a few missing planks. Although 
  they look treacherous, they are safe to cross, but they’re 
  also popular places for predators to lurk. Each time the PCs 
  cross a bridge, there’s a 20% chance of a random encounter 
  (only check for a random encounter once per day, however). 
  This encounter rate drops to 10% on the New Fish Trail 
  (area A). If an encounter occurs, choose one of the following 
  encounters: 1d6 goblins (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 156), a 
  giant leech (Bestiary 187), a constrictor snake (Bestiary 255), 
  the Soggy River Monster (see page 11), or another creature 
  of your choice. Be careful of encounters above CR 2 early in 
  the adventure, though—you don’t want to kill off the party 
  in their first fight as the result of a random die roll!
  f. the soggy river monster (cr 2)
  A ten-foot-high mound of branches, logs, and reeds lies amid the 
  trees here, nestled in a narrow, muddy clearing. Flies buzz and 
  swarm around the foul-smelling mound of rotting vegetation.
  For the past 3 years, fishermen and farmers have told 
  stories of a pale monster with legs that bend like a dog’s, that 
  dresses in rags, and that hunts along the shores of the Soggy 
  River. Sightings of the so-called “Soggy River Monster” are 
  most common near Brinestump Marsh, causing most to 
  believe the creature dwells somewhere in the swamp. The 
  creature has been blamed for at least five disappearances 
  over the past year, although Sandpoint’s militia suspects 
  these disappearances are, in fact, simply bored sons and 
  daughters running away from home to seek an exciting life 
  in Magnimar.
  The PCs can come across this site as a result of tracking 
  the Soggy River Monster after they spot it elsewhere in 
  the swamp, or they can simply stumble across it while 
  exploring this region of the marsh. The monster’s crude 
  lair is crafted out of fallen logs, branches, and mud. From 
  the outside, the lair looks like a mound of vegetation heaped 
  by floodwaters, but a DC 15 Knowledge (nature) or Survival 
  check is enough to note that it is artificial in construction. 
  A
  B
  C
  D
  E
  E
  E
  E
  E
  E
  F
  G
  H
  I
  J
  K
  
  11
  The Brinewall legacy
  Alternatively, a DC 15 Perception check notes the large pile 
  of animal bones heaped among the undergrowth to the 
  south side of the mound, near the mound’s entrance.
  A narrow opening along the southern side of the 10-foot-
  diameter mound allows entrance into its cramped, dripping 
  interior. The walls of the place are decorated with nearly 
  two dozen articles of shredded and bloodstained clothing, 
  from smallclothes to jackets—all trophies collected by the 
  sinspawn from its victims. These unfortunates number 
  11 in all: the five missing locals and six other travelers and 
  indigents who disappeared along the banks of the Soggy 
  River or the Lost Coast Road without anyone noticing 
  over the past few years. The monster’s lair also contains a 
  filthy bed of mud and reeds and brown grass, as well as a 
  strange mound of what looks like a stack of nearly a dozen 
  muddy spheres. These are the poorly preserved heads of 
  the monster’s 11 victims, packed in mud in a grisly attempt 
  by the thing to preserve the heads as trophies. Although 
  little but bone and scraps of hair remain, these skulls, 
  in combination with the tattered clothes, are enough to 
  provide closure to the poor families who’ve had sons and 
  daughters go missing.
  Creature: The Soggy River Monster is, in fact, a sinspawn 
  that recently escaped from the ancient catacombs below 
  Sandpoint. The monster made its way down the coast, and 
  eventually settled here in Brinestump Marsh. The Soggy 
  River Monster is roughly humanoid in shape, although 
  its legs bend backward like those of a dog, its pallid skin 
  is crisscrossed by a network of visible veins, and its jaws 
  split down the middle into tiny grasping claws. If the PCs 
  haven’t caught glimpses of the Soggy River Monster yet, 
  then the lair should be empty the first time the PCs stumble 
  across it. If they’ve spotted the Soggy River Monster, or if 
  it’s attacked and perhaps fled from their camp, then the 
  monster can be encountered here, either rearranging its 
  grisly trophies or messily eating a large wild pig it recently 
  killed. If confronted in its lair, the Soggy River Monster 
  fights to the death.
  Soggy River Monster 
  CR 2
  XP 600
  Sinspawn (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 246)
  hp 19
  g. wArden’s shAck (cr 2)
  A muddy trail leads up to a swampy lagoon. The open ocean is 
  visible just beyond these shallow waters, while an old two-story 
  building, its walls soggy with moss and its roof sagging with 
  age, sits on the lagoon’s eastern shore.
  Walthus Proudstump, halfling ranger and self-avowed 
  snake wrangler, has lived in the Sandpoint hinterlands 
  for nearly 5 years, but none in Sandpoint can rightfully 
  claim to know the near-hermit. Walthus likes to think of 
  himself as retired after a short but excessively dangerous 
  adventuring career in which he and several other halfling 
  slaves abandoned a sinking Chelish merchant ship bound 
  for Nisroch. Walthus chose to flee north along the coast 
  on his own, and by the time he reached Sandpoint he’d 
  had quite enough of adventure. He’d also had enough of 
  city life, and spent nearly all of the money he’d made on 
  his adventurous trek north to purchase an old building, 
  sight unseen, in Brinestump Marsh. The scam artist who 
  sold Walthus the old building walked away from the deal 
  thinking he’d gotten the better of the halfling, but in fact, 
  Walthus knew exactly what he was paying for—isolation 
  and a place to hide from any Chelaxians who come north 
  looking for escaped slaves.
  Walthus spends most of his time fishing, patrolling 
  the relatively small “island” his home is located on, and 
  tending to his collection of snakes. The latter factor, more 
  than his reclusive lifestyle or lack of personal hygiene, 
  is the primary reason so few come to visit the halfling. 
  Walthus understands this, and sees it as a welcome side 
  rooms in wAlthus’s house
  Walthus’s home consists of the following areas (see the 
  map on page 14).
  G1. Main Room: This living room features a settle and 
  several somewhat damaged potted plants.
  G2. Dining Room: A wooden table with a single chair 
  decorates this dining room along with a simple wood-
  burning stove.
  G3. Pantry: Food and water are stored here.
  G4. Storage: Several wicker cages containing sparrows, 
  mice, and other live food for the snakes in area G5 are 
  kept here.
  G5. Snake Garden: This garden is open to the sky and 
  walled in with a 10-foot-high brick wall (DC 10 Climb 
  check to scale). Walthus’s three remaining snakes live here 
  (see Creatures, below).
  G6. Supply Room: This room contains tools, hunting 
  supplies, and spare weapons, including three handaxes, a 
  longbow, 40 arrows, and two Small suits of leather armor.
  G7. Guest Room: Sheets cover the furniture in this 
  usually unused guest room.
  G8. Walthus’s Room: This bedroom looks well lived in.
  G9. Saferoom: The locked, wooden secret door to this 
  room can be found with a DC 25 Perception check (DC 
  25 Disable Device check to open). Walthus Proudstump 
  is currently holed up in this chamber. The room contains 
  enough food and water to last for several days.
  
  12
  effect of his love of serpents. But he never anticipated that 
  his beloved snakes would one day save his life.
  Creatures: A day before the PCs first visit this location, 
  Walthus’s luck in avoiding Brinestump’s more dangerous 
  inhabitants ran out when his home was invaded by a faceless 
  stalker. Originally created by ancient aboleths to serve as 
  surface-dwelling spies, today these rugose shapechangers 
  live in small tribal societies, their old links to their aquatic 
  masters all but forgotten. For many decades, a tribe of 
  faceless stalkers has lived in Brinestump, but a combination 
  of inbreeding and malnutrition has seen the tribe all but 
  die out. Only a few undersized specimens 
  remain in the marsh today, like the one 
  that recently stumbled across Walthus’s 
  home—a runt named Volorog.
  Volorog attacked Walthus while the 
  halfling was tending to his snakes in the 
  garden (area G5). The resulting battle was 
  difficult on both sides—while Walthus 
  managed to severely wound Volorog with 
  poison both from his weapons and his 
  pet snakes, the stalker managed to pin 
  the poor halfling and nearly killed 
  him with its blood drain ability 
  before Walthus managed to break 
  away, fleeing upstairs to hide in his 
  saferoom (area G9). Since then, both 
  combatants have spent the last 16 hours 
  in great pain, slowly recovering from the 
  wounds they inflicted on each other.
  When the PCs first arrive at the shack, the real Walthus 
  has passed out from the pain in his saferoom, which Volorog 
  hasn’t yet found. Volorog thinks Walthus fled into the 
  swamp, and has been watching for his return for the past 
  several hours, afraid to even sleep for fear the halfling will 
  find him helpless and finish him off. The thought of simply 
  abandoning the home has not crossed Volorog’s mind—he 
  fought too hard to claim the home as his own, after all, and 
  doesn’t want to give it up. The faceless stalker is exhausted, 
  both from being awake for so long and from the poison of 
  Walthus’s snakes. Yet if he sees the PCs, he quickly greets 
  them in the guise of Walthus, though his exhaustion and 
  wounds remain apparent even in that form.
  Volorog has assumed Walthus’s shape, but doesn’t really 
  know much about the halfling’s personality. He tries to be 
  pleasant with visitors, but tells them that his home is a mess 
  and is thus in no shape to accept visitors. If the PCs press, 
  Volorog relents and invites them into the dining room (area 
  G2). He goes through the motions of fixing them a meal, 
  all the while doing what he can to urge the PCs to move 
  on. If the PCs ask about the goblins, their fireworks, or the 
  swamp, Volorog tries to encourage the PCs to seek out the 
  goblins rather than stay here. The faceless stalker doesn’t 
  know that much about the Licktoads, but he does know that 
  their village is to the southeast, and that it can be reached via 
  the Old Fish Trail (area B). He even makes up stories about 
  how he suspects the goblins are getting ready for an all-out 
  attack on the humans of the area in hopes of instilling a 
  sense of urgency in the PCs so they will leave him alone. If 
  the PCs ask about why he seems to be in pain or is so tired, 
  Volorog claims to have recently run a giant snake off his 
  land, and that he’s still suffering a bit from its poison. If he 
  thinks the PCs can help him with his poisoning, he might 
  even try to get them to do so.
  During the conversation, have Volorog make 
  a Bluff check. If the PCs seem suspicious 
  of the disguised faceless stalker, they 
  can make Sense Motive checks against 
  Volorog’s Bluff checks to get hints that 
  the “halfling” is hiding something. 
  After the conversation with Volorog 
  continues for a few minutes, make 
  a Disguise check for the faceless 
  stalker and have all of the PCs make 
  Perception checks—anyone who exceeds 
  Volorog’s Disguise check notices a strange 
  rippling effect that seems to slither over 
  “Walthus’s” face or hand.
  Volorog knows he’s not really in any 
  sort of shape to fight, but if it seems 
  apparent that his guests are about to 
  see through his ruse, he feels he has 
  no choice and attacks, hoping to surprise his enemies. 
  Volorog attacks if a PC draws a weapon or casts a spell, if a 
  PC starts searching the house or wanders off on her own 
  even after Volorog firmly asks them to leave his things 
  alone, or if the PCs call him out on the weird rippling effect 
  or for not knowing something Walthus would know. In the 
  unlikely event that the PCs heal him and cure his poison, 
  he cackles in delight and attacks as soon as he’s fully healed.
  When Volorog attacks, he reverts to his true form (a 
  wrinkled, hunch-backed humanoid creature with mottled 
  brown-and-red flesh and a spherical head with no true 
  face—only a crooked slit from which a rasplike tongue 
  periodically lashes and licks) as a swift action, gaining a +2 
  morale bonus on attack rolls, damage rolls, skill checks, 
  and saving throws for that round (whether it’s a surprise 
  round or a normal round). As he changes, have him 
  make a Bluff check and a Disguise check—the PCs can 
  oppose these with Sense Motive and Perception checks, 
  respectively. Any PC who beats one of Volorog’s rolls can 
  act in the surprise round.
  Note that while Walthus’s snakes are relatively timid 
  and unlikely to attack anyone who doesn’t attack them 
  first, three of his pet swamp vipers (the only ones Volorog 
  hasn’t yet killed) dwell in the underbrush of area G5.
  Walthus Proudstump
  
  13
  The Brinewall legacy
  Swamp Vipers (3) 
  CR 1/2
  XP 200 each
  Variant viper (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 133)
  hp 3 each
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Poison (Ex) Bite—injury; save Fort DC 9; frequency 1/round for 
  6 rounds; effect 1d2 Dex; cure 1 save
  Volorog 
  CR 2
  XP 600
  Undersized faceless stalker (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 122)
  CE Small aberration (shapechanger)
  Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +9
  DEFENSE
  AC 15, touch 9, flat-footed 15 (+2 armor, –2 Dex, +4 natural, 
  +1 size)
  hp 18 (5d8+15; normally 37 hp)
  Fort +4, Ref –1, Will +6
  DR 5/piercing or slashing
  Weakness fatigued
  OFFENSE
  Speed 20 ft.
  Melee slam +5 (1d4+1 plus grab)
  Special Attacks blood drain (1 Con), sneak attack +2d6
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 5th; concentration +8)
  Constant—tongues
  TACTICS
  During Combat Volorog attacks flat-footed foes in the first 
  round of combat in order to maximize his sneak attack 
  damage. After combat is fully under way, the faceless 
  stalker moves to fight adjacent to walls to prevent foes 
  from flanking him.
  Morale If reduced to fewer than 6 hit points, Volorog 
  attempts to flee into the swamp. He won’t pursue foes 
  into area G5, and if faced with a foe who uses poison or 
  snakes, he attempts to flee immediately, regardless of how 
  many hit points he has.
  STATISTICS
  Str 12 (normally 14), Dex 7 (normally 19), Con 16, Int 13, Wis 15, 
  Cha 16
  Base Atk +3; CMB +3 (+7 grapple); CMD 11
  Feats Combat Reflexes, Deceitful, Improved Initiative
  Skills Bluff +10, Disguise +14 (+24 when using change shape), 
  Escape Artist +10, Perception +9, Sleight of Hand +3, 
  Stealth +10
  Languages Aquan, Common; tongues
  SQ change shape (Small humanoid, alter self ), compression, 
  faceless
  Gear leather armor
  Walthus Proudstump 
  CR 2
  XP 600
  Male halfling ranger 3
  CG Small humanoid (halfling)
  Init +3; Senses Perception +9
  DEFENSE
  AC 17, touch 15, flat-footed 13 (+2 armor, +3 Dex, +1 dodge, 
  +1 size)
  hp 15 (3d10+9; normally 30 hp)
  Fort +2, Ref +8, Will +4; +2 vs. fear
  OFFENSE
  Speed 20 ft.
  Melee handaxe +4 (1d4/×3)
  Ranged mwk longbow +8 (1d6/×3)
  Special Attacks favored enemy (goblinoids +2)
  STATISTICS
  Str 11, Dex 17, Con 5 (usually 14), Int 10, Wis 12, Cha 10
  Base Atk +3; CMB +2; CMD 16
  Feats Dodge, Endurance, Point-Blank Shot, Rapid Shot
  Skills Acrobatics +5, Climb +2, Handle Animal +6, Heal +7, 
  Knowledge (nature) +6, Perception +9, Stealth +13, Swim +6
  Languages Common, Halfling
  SQ favored terrain (swamp +2), track +1, wild empathy +3
  Gear leather armor, handaxe, masterwork longbow with 20 
  arrows, cloak of resistance +1, 43 gp
  Development: If the PCs fight the faceless stalker, the 
  noise of the combat eventually wakes Walthus in area 
  G9. He listens to the fight, and once it’s over, he risks 
  investigating by opening the secret door and calling out. 
  If he hears anyone other than Volorog reply, he begins 
  sobbing in relief. The halfling can describe to the PCs 
  what happened, and thanks them profusely for saving 
  his life and driving “that monster” off. He even offers the 
  PCs his magical cloak of resistance +1 as a reward for their 
  services. In addition, Walthus invites the PCs to stay the 
  night in his home—he’ll cook them a meal and will answer 
  any questions they might have. He also offers the use of his 
  home as a safe place, where the PCs can retreat to and rest 
  while they explore the swamp.
  Walthus can certainly confirm that the Licktoad goblins 
  have been acting a bit braver than normal of late. He’s not 
  sure where they got their fireworks, but he can confirm 
  to the PCs that the Old Fish Trail (area B) leads to their 
  village. If you think the PCs could use an ally and ask for 
  his help, Walthus even agrees to accompany them on their 
  exploration of Brinestump.
  If the PCs don’t uncover what’s really going on here and 
  come back later, there’s a chance that Walthus is dead. 
  Every day that Volorog is allowed to live here after the 
  PCs’ first visit, there’s a cumulative 10% chance that the 
  faceless stalker finds and kills Walthus, then buries his 
  body in the swamp. At this point, Volorog continues living 
  as “Walthus” until the truth is found out.
  Story Award: If the PCs manage to save Walthus, award 
  them 600 XP, as if they had defeated him in combat.
  
  14
  h. licktoAd villAge (cr vAries)
  A filthy village-fort surrounded by a crude wooden palisade sits 
  atop a low hummock of solid ground here. A wooden gate in 
  the north wall of the palisade lies in shambles on the ground. 
  Nearby, a large, algae-filled pool on the northeastern side breaks 
  the palisade and allows a clearer view into the village’s interior, 
  which consists of a collection of ramshackle huts connected by 
  wooden walkways, all built on thick wooden stilts.
  This crude village is the home of the Licktoad goblins, 
  the smallest of the numerous goblin tribes in the Sandpoint 
  hinterlands. Historically, the tribe’s small size has kept 
  them from joining in the time-honored pursuit of raids 
  on human settlements—the majority of the Licktoads’ 
  triumphs have normally come from scavenging from the 
  swamp itself, a pursuit that is as dangerous for goblins as 
  for most other explorers of the treacherous wetland.
  Recently the Licktoads discovered that one of their own, 
  a goblin named Scribbleface, was engaging in the taboo act 
  of writing. Scandalized, they drove Scribbleface out into the 
  swamp and tore down his home, but in doing so discovered 
  that Scribbleface had been stockpiling fireworks he’d 
  recovered from a site deeper in the swamp. Intrigued, the 
  Licktoad chieftain, a portly creature named Rendwattle 
  Gutwad, sent four of his best goblins out on a mission to 
  retrace Scribbleface’s path and bring back more fireworks. 
  Those goblins succeeded beyond Rendwattle’s wildest 
  dreams, returning from the wreck of the Kaijitsu Star (area 
  I) with a chest filled with fireworks and with an ivory fan 
  on which a map of Brinestump Marsh had been scrawled. 
  Rendwattle sent his goblin heroes out to explore the sites 
  indicated on this new map—another old shipwreck (area K) 
  and a heretofore-unknown cave (area L). Several days later, 
  the goblin “heroes” returned with several crates of treasure 
  looted from the cave and even more fireworks. So armed 
  with plenty of explosives, the goblins immediately made 
  plans to use the fireworks to start raiding travelers along 
  the Lost Coast Road.
  Unfortunately for the Licktoads, though, a bejeweled 
  scroll tube containing an ancient secret lay hidden among 
  the fireworks, and its theft woke an ancient, relentless spirit. 
  Just a few days ago, the undead guardians of the treasures 
  the goblins had looted arrived at the village—a small army 
  of human skeletons led by an undead commander. Chief 
  Gutwad’s goblin heroes met the skeletons in battle at the 
  pond at area H2 but were swiftly cut down. Panic spread 
  through the village as the relentless skeletons surged into 
  G2
  G1
  G4
  G9
  G8
  G7
  G6
  G5
  G3
  H1
  H2
  H3
  H4
  H4
  H4
  H5
  H5
  H5
  H5
  H5
  H5
  H6
  H7
  H8
  H9
  H10
  H11
  H12
  J1
  J2
  J3
  J4
  J5
  a
  b
  L1
  L2
  L3
  L4
  L5
  L6
  
  15
  The Brinewall legacy
  the village and marched from door to door, killing goblins 
  in their search for the stolen treasures. It wasn’t until 
  Chief Gutwad realized what the skeletons were looking for 
  and ordered his bodyguards to push what remained of all 
  the stolen treasure out of his home and onto the ground 
  below that the skeletons finally stopped their attack. They 
  gathered up the treasures and returned to the cave, leaving 
  the Licktoads devastated and fearful of the night ever since.
  When the PCs come to the Licktoad village, they find 
  it in a state of disrepair. The skeleton assault on the 
  village was devastating, but the panicked goblins did 
  more damage to their homes in trying to escape than the 
  skeletons did in their search for the stolen treasures. The 
  surviving goblins threw the bones of the few skeletons they 
  managed to destroy into the pool at area H2 and burned 
  the bodies of their dead in the pit in area H3, and have 
  huddled frightened in their homes ever since. 
  The Licktoad Village consists of the following areas (see 
  the map on page 14). You can use these brief descriptions to 
  flesh out the PCs’ exploration of the village as appropriate. 
  Each of the village’s buildings (and the wooden walkways 
  connecting them) stands 5 feet above the muddy ground 
  on wooden stilts.
  H1. Palisade: The front gate lies in shambles after several 
  panicked goblins bashed it down in their efforts to flee the 
  village when the skeletons attacked. The remaining goblins 
  haven’t bothered to repair it yet. Elsewhere, climbing over 
  the 10-foot-tall palisade requires a DC 10 Climb check.
  H2. Pool: Used mostly as a source of water by the 
  goblins, this algae-filled pool is 10 feet deep at its deepest 
  point. A rickety wooden pier projects a few feet into the 
  pool. Although an effective barrier for most enemies, the 
  skeletons that attacked a few nights ago simply walked 
  through it to invade the village.
  H3. Pig Pen: Until recently, this pit contained one of the 
  Licktoads’ mascots, a hyperactive piglet named Squealy 
  Nord, who finally managed to escape this muddy pit 
  during the skeleton attack and fled into the surrounding 
  swamp. His fate remains unknown. All that remains here 
  now are the mostly cremated bodies of a dozen goblins.
  H4. Guard Posts: These three 10-foot-square huts serve 
  as watchtowers. Each has numerous windows affording 
  excellent views of the surrounding area.
  H5. Goblin Huts: These six huts each serve as homes for the 
  tribe’s goblins. At one point, each of these buildings housed 
  up to half a dozen goblins each, but after the devastating 
  attack by the skeletons, these rooms are mostly empty.
  H6. Storage: This large room stores tools, food, and 
  other supplies. The Licktoads being poor organizers, the 
  room’s contents look more like a junkyard heap to non-
  goblins. Nothing of value can be found here.
  H7. Slorb’s House: This building was once the home 
  of Slorb, a pompous goblin who served as Chief Gutwad’s 
  advisor. Slorb died when the chief pushed him off the 
  walkway during the skeleton attack (Gutwad hoped that 
  offering up Slorb would appease the skeletons—it did, but 
  only for as long as it took the skeletons to kill Slorb). A DC 
  15 Perception check made while searching this building 
  finds a hidden stash of 23 gp and three skyrocket fireworks 
  (see page 60).
  H8. Ruined Building: This charred and demolished 
  building was once the home of the goblin traitor 
  Scribbleface. There is nothing of interest left here.
  H9. Chief Gutwad’s Throne Room: The double doors to 
  this room are barred from the inside—they can be smashed 
  down with a DC 22 Strength check, or a cunning character 
  can lift the bar from the outside with a sword blade or other 
  narrow tool inserted into the door gap and a DC 12 Disable 
  Device check. The walls of the throne room are decorated 
  with numerous poorly preserved horse and dog heads, 
  along with other trophies like broken weapons, brine-
  pickled bodies of brutally slaughtered furry animals, and 
  other bits of grisly ephemera. Chief Gutwad’s throne—a 
  rickety, 5-foot-tall wooden chair with a ladder built into the 
  side that the goblins call the “Teeter Chair”—sits against 
  the southern wall.
  H10. Gutwad’s Bedroom: The chieftain’s bed is little 
  more than a big, nasty pile of ratty blankets, moss, and 
  foul-smelling animal furs. The walls of this room are 
  decorated in similar motifs to the throne room.
  H11. Licktoad Treasury: This room once contained the 
  Licktoads’ accumulated treasures, but today the chamber 
  is nearly empty. What little remains is detailed under 
  Treasure on page 17.
  H12. Secret Escape Route: The secret doors leading here 
  can be found with DC 20 Perception checks. Of course, 
  the presence of a ladder leading up to the outer door from 
  the ground below serves as an unintentional clue—any 
  creature who climbs up this ladder gains a +8 circumstance 
  bonus on Perception checks made to discover the southern 
  secret door.
  Creatures: Before the skeleton attack, the Licktoad tribe 
  numbered over three dozen goblins in all. Today, with over 
  half their number dead or fled, only 16 goblins (including 
  Chief Gutwad) remain in the village, and they’re terrified 
  that the skeletons might come back at any moment. When 
  the PCs first arrive at the village, they may think the goblin 
  village is deserted—the goblins stay in hiding until the PCs 
  first enter a building containing goblins. At this time, Chief 
  Gutwad’s followers have split into five groups of three goblins 
  each. Each of these cowering groups is a CR 1 encounter, but 
  taken overall, a group of 15 goblins led by their chief would 
  constitute a CR 6 encounter. You should thus not inflict 
  all of the goblins on the PCs at once. Instead, let the PCs 
  explore the village for a bit at first—impress on them the 
  eerie “ghost town” feel of the place, and let tensions build. 
  
  16
  As they explore, give the PCs a chance to notice a lone goblin 
  peeking at them through a window in one of the huts, who 
  quickly ducks out of view if spotted.
  One of the five groups of goblins hides with Chief 
  Gutwad in area H9—place the other four groups in various 
  buildings as you see fit. When the PCs enter one of these 
  buildings, the goblins within shriek and howl, then attack 
  in a blind panic. The first goblins the PCs encounter are 
  shaken for the duration of the fight, but this same panic 
  blinds them to their danger, and they fight to the death.
  Once the initial fight is over, the remaining 
  goblins in the village quickly rise to the 
  defense of their homes, 
  howling and shrieking 
  in rage—they’ve finally 
  realized that the PCs 
  aren’t undead, and are 
  preparing to attack. Only 
  1 round after the first fight, 
  the three goblins in the nearest 
  building to the PCs burst out of 
  their hut and charge forth to attack 
  the PCs. As this fight commences, 
  feel free to have other goblin groups 
  emerge from their houses to join 
  the melee as well, depending on how 
  difficult the PCs are finding the fight. 
  Only the goblins in area H9 refuse to 
  leave their building.
  The Licktoad goblins are all 
  armed with dogslicers (treat as 
  a short sword, but it gains the 
  broken condition on a natural 
  1 on an attack roll). In addition, 
  each group of three goblins possesses 
  a single Desnan candle firework (see 
  page 60)—the only ranged weapons the 
  goblins have (with the exception of Chief 
  Gutwad, who owns a bow). When a group 
  of goblins first attacks, the one with the 
  Desnan candle lights it and 
  begins firing pyrotechnics 
  at the PCs—his companions 
  hang back to watch the show 
  until the candle expires or 
  the PCs attack them.
  As with all goblins, the 
  Licktoads should be presented 
  in combat with equal amounts 
  of foolish bravery and sadistic 
  comedy. If the PCs manage to 
  critically hit a goblin, other 
  goblins might spend their 
  turn cackling or shrieking at the gory results rather than 
  attacking. A goblin might try a particularly impressive but ill-
  advised acrobatic tactic, such as attempting to run between 
  a PC’s legs to get at someone on the other side (Acrobatics 
  check to move through an occupied square), trying to climb 
  up onto a roof to jump down from above (DC 10 Climb check 
  on the first round to get up on the roof, followed by a DC 15 
  Acrobatics check to leap down onto 
  a PC—if this Acrobatics check is 
  successful, treat it as a charge attack 
  that leaves the goblin prone at the 
  end of the round), or attempting to 
  grapple, disarm, or trip PCs.
  Once the PCs defeat at least seven 
  of the goblins, the surviving 
  goblins panic and flee toward 
  area H9, attempting to clamber up 
  to the double doors and hammering 
  on them to be let in. Chief Gutwad 
  won’t open the doors under any circumstance, 
  and after 1d4 rounds of hammering, the goblins 
  outside flee into the surrounding swamp unless 
  stopped by the PCs.
  Chief Gutwad won’t emerge to attack until 
  the food stores inside his home run out—and 
  he’s got enough food to last him 
  for a week. It’s unlikely that such 
  a siege will come to pass, however, 
  since getting into his “fortress” is 
  a relatively simple task—setting the 
  building on fire is an excellent way to 
  force the chieftain out, for example. 
  Once the PCs finally confront Gutwad, 
  however, the chieftain’s cowardice 
  vanishes. The portly goblin shrieks, 
  orders his three goblin guards to 
  attack, then joins the fray himself. 
  If Chief Gutwad is slain, all 
  the remaining Licktoads 
  flee the village to take their 
  chances in the swamp.
  Goblins (15) 
  CR 1/2
  XP 135 each
  hp 6 each (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 156)
  Chief Rendwattle Gutwad CR 2
  XP 600
  Male goblin ranger 3
  CE Small humanoid (goblinoid)
  Init +4; Senses 
  darkvision 60 ft.; 
  Perception +7
  Chief Rendwattle Gutwad
  
  17
  The Brinewall legacy
  DEFENSE
  AC 20, touch 16, flat-footed 15 (+4 armor, +4 Dex, +1 dodge, 
  +1 size)
  hp 27 (3d10+6)
  Fort +4, Ref +7, Will +2
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee spear +5 (1d6+1)
  Ranged mwk composite longbow +9 (1d6+1/×3)
  Special Attacks favored enemy (humans +2)
  TACTICS
  During Combat Chief Gutwad hangs back for the first few 
  rounds of a fight, using his skyrockets and arrows to attack. 
  He only has six normal arrows left, and even in his frantic 
  state he won’t use his precious animal bane arrows except 
  against animal companions the PCs may have. Once out 
  of arrows, he continues the fight with his spear. The chief 
  drinks a potion of cure light wounds if he’s reduced to fewer 
  than 15 hit points.
  Morale Chief Gutwad hates humans only a little more than he 
  hates those who associate with humans. He fights to the 
  death as long as he’s faced with human foes (or those he 
  suspects of being human sympathizers).
  STATISTICS
  Str 13, Dex 18, Con 13, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 8
  Base Atk +3; CMB +3; CMD 18
  Feats Dodge, Endurance, Point-Blank Shot, Rapid Shot
  Skills Handle Animal +5, Intimidate +5, Perception +7, Ride +13, 
  Stealth +17
  Languages Goblin
  SQ favored terrain (swamp +2), track +1, wild empathy +2
  Combat Gear +1 animal bane arrows (5), potions of cure light 
  wounds (2), skyrocket fireworks (2; see page 60); Other Gear 
  masterwork chain shirt, masterwork composite longbow 
  with 6 arrows, spear, 32 gp
  Treasure: Although Chief Gutwad sacrificed all of the 
  treasure his minions looted from the cave along with 
  a fair amount of other valuables, a fraction of treasure 
  remains still in area H11, inside a single beautiful red 
  chest. This chest, looted several weeks ago from the wreck 
  of the Kaijitsu Star (see area I), is itself a work of art—if the 
  mud and filth that encrust its lacquered sides and velvet 
  interior are cleaned off, the chest is worth 150 gp. A DC 15 
  Knowledge (geography) check is enough to recognize the 
  chest and its delicate etchings of cranes and frogs playing 
  along a beach as being of Minkai manufacture.
  Inside the chest lies the remaining treasure of the 
  Licktoad tribe: six masterwork shuriken, 329 sp and 112 gp 
  in loose coins, a long hairpin with a red pearl at one end 
  worth 150 gp, and a gold-and-ivory fan depicting a gecko 
  walking amid cherry blossoms. The fan is worth 80 gp, but 
  a crude map has been painted on the reverse side. The map 
  is messy, but a DC 15 Knowledge (local) check is enough 
  to decipher it. The map depicts Brinestump Marsh, along 
  with the locations of two shipwrecks and a cave. These are 
  located at areas I, K, and L respectively. It was this crude 
  map, originally drawn by the goblin cannibal Vorka, that 
  led the Licktoads to investigate the Brinestump Caverns, 
  and it can easily do the same for the PCs.
  Development: After the goblins are defeated, a closer 
  investigation can reveal clues as to recent events in the 
  village. A DC 15 Perception check and 10 minutes of 
  investigation confirm that a deadly and violent battle 
  recently took place in the village. If the PCs manage to 
  capture any of the goblins alive and interrogate them, 
  the goblins are only too eager to recount the harrowing 
  skeleton attack, along with the events that led up to the 
  attack. The goblins believe (correctly, as it happens) that 
  the skeletons owned the treasures the goblins liberated 
  from the cave to the southwest, and wish that they’d never 
  messed with the cursed treasure in the first place—they’re 
  eager for the PCs to let them go, and they hope that wild 
  tales of all the treasure the skeletons took back with them 
  will convince the PCs to do just that.
  After the goBlins...
  The secrets contained in the Brinestump Caverns have lain 
  quiet for many years, and unless the PCs explore the cave, 
  they’ll lie there for many more. As a result, this adventure’s 
  plot hinges heavily at the start on the PCs’ curiosity and 
  greed. There are several hints in this part of the adventure 
  that should eventually encourage the PCs to seek out the 
  Brinestump Caverns at area L, but if you find that your 
  players aren’t taking the bait, you can use friendly NPCs to 
  encourage them onward. Perhaps Walthus wants the PCs 
  to accompany him to explore the site so he can satisfy his 
  own curiosity at a heretofore unknown cave. Alternatively, 
  Sandpoint’s sheriff or mayor could ask the PCs to continue 
  exploring the swamp—after these latest events, the time 
  has finally come for the swamp to be properly mapped. 
  The mayor or sheriff can offer a payment of 1,000 gp to 
  the PCs for a map of the region and a fair assessment of 
  the threats contained within.
  Finally, if no other lures work, you can have the undead 
  who’ve recently awoken in the Brinestump Caverns become 
  more and more disruptive. After years of lying quiet, the 
  goblins have woken them by stealing their treasure, and 
  now that these skeletons are awake, the evil that compels 
  them to life after death can drive them to start attacking 
  travelers along the Lost Coast Road. In this event, the PCs 
  may be called upon to enter the swamp again, this time to 
  stop an undead menace rather than a tribe of goblins.
  
  18
  Further clues can be found just south of the village, for 
  the amount of treasure the skeletons took with them back to 
  the cave was significant. They left a relatively obvious trail 
  as they returned—while the trail disappears where it crosses 
  waterways, a DC 12 Survival check is good enough to pick it 
  up on the opposite side. Note that every day that passes after 
  this adventure begins increases the DC to follow this trail 
  by 1. The trail is indicated by the dotted line on the map of 
  Brinestump Marsh on page 10—PCs who wish to follow the 
  trail must make a new Survival check every 1,200 feet. If the 
  trail is lost, an hour of searching is required to find it again.
  Story Award: If the PCs break up the Licktoad tribe 
  by defeating Chief Gutwad and causing any surviving 
  goblins to flee into the swamp, award them 800 XP, along 
  with full XP awards for any goblins who escaped and then 
  fled into Brinestump.
  i. kAijitsu stAr
  This is the location of one of the two Kaijitsu ships that 
  wrecked on the shore during the storm 24 years ago. The 
  Kaijitsu Star was the smallest ship in the fleet, and having 
  been driven into the swamp by the storm surge, it has better 
  endured the elements. For a time, this shipwreck served as 
  the home of a notorious goblin cannibal named Vorka; this 
  avid explorer of Brinestump had found clues in the wreck 
  indicating the possibility that other ships with similar 
  treasures could be found elsewhere in the swamp.
  The Kaijitsu Star is the primary adventure site of Pathfinder 
  Module: We Be Goblins!, which you can use to fill in details 
  for this shipwreck if you wish. However, this adventure 
  assumes that the goblins have already looted the Kaijitsu 
  Star, killed Vorka, and set the wreck on fire. If you’re not 
  expanding this site into an additional encounter area for 
  your game, describe this site merely as a recently burnt-out 
  hulk of a shipwreck, with nothing of interest remaining 
  save for fragments bearing its name: Kaijitsu Star.
  j. old megus’s shAck (cr 3)
  A sagging one-story shack sits in this clearing, its walls dingy 
  with age and encrusted with lichen and fungus. A partially 
  collapsed shed sits just to the northeast, while small pouches, 
  twisted knots of feathers, and dangling wind chimes made of 
  bones hang from branches and roof edge alike.
  Rumors of an old swamp witch living in Brinestump 
  Marsh have existed for decades—since the foundation of 
  Sandpoint itself. And the rumors were true until a few years 
  ago, when Brinestump’s so-called “Swamp Witch,” Old 
  Megus, finally fell victim to her own magic. During her 
  long life, Megus only rarely left her home in the swamps. 
  Whispers of her sinister experiments were mostly wild 
  conjecture, based on her rare visits to Sandpoint for certain 
  supplies she couldn’t procure from the wild. The nature of 
  the supplies she purchased—glass flasks, strange alchemical 
  reagents, and disturbing books delivered to Sandpoint from 
  faraway places as strange as Nex and Irrisen—did little to 
  soften her reputation as a fearful witch, nor did periodic 
  glimpses of the strange ratlike creature she kept hidden in 
  the folds of her robes. Far from a kindly soul, Old Megus 
  was fascinated by creatures that transform during their 
  lives—tadpoles to frogs, caterpillars to butterflies, and so 
  on. Much of her life was spent attempting to trigger such 
  transformations in other creatures, and in the end, it was an 
  attempt to transform herself that spelled her doom.
  Today, Megus’s home is well on its way to being reclaimed 
  by the swamp. All of the doors are swollen shut with moisture, 
  requiring DC 14 Strength checks to force open. Nothing 
  larger than a cat has been inside the building for months, 
  and the floorboards are already starting to warp and decay, 
  eaten away by the fungus and the damp. Simply moving 
  through the shack causes alarming creaks and groans. Each 
  round that a creature of Small or larger size takes violent 
  action in here (such as attempting an Acrobatics check, 
  trying to break open a door, or attacking a foe), there’s a 20% 
  chance the floorboards give way, causing the creature to fall 
  prone unless it makes a DC 12 Reflex save.
  At your discretion, once the PCs have broken a total 
  of 10 parts of the shack (such as by bashing down doors, 
  breaking through the floor, or smashing holes in walls), 
  the entire building begins to collapse. Large bits of wall 
  plaster and portions of the roof begin falling for 1d4+1 
  rounds, after which the entire building crumbles. Any 
  creatures still inside must make a DC 15 Reflex save to 
  avoid taking 2d6 points of damage from the crumbling, 
  soggy timbers and becoming partially buried (requiring 
  3d6 rounds of struggle to eventually escape).
  A 50-foot-long trail winds from the back of the house 
  (at area J3b) down to the water, where a rickety pier still 
  harbors a well-made rowboat that can seat four. This 
  rowboat remains seaworthy, and can be used to navigate 
  the swamp’s waterways with ease.
  As the PCs explore Old Megus’s shack, allow them to 
  make DC 15 Perception checks to note what seems like a 
  large number of rat tracks in the dirt and mold on the floor. 
  Whoever gets the highest result on the Perception check 
  notices something disturbing—many of the so-called “rat 
  tracks” look just like tiny little human handprints.
  Creatures: Apart from the three dire rats dwelling in the 
  storage shed (area J1), only one creature now lives in Old 
  Megus’s shack: Skitterfoot, a hideous creature known as a 
  ratling and the witch’s onetime familiar. With the face and 
  front hands of a wrinkled old man but the body of a rat, 
  Skitterfoot has lived alone in the shack since his mistress’s 
  death. He doesn’t miss Megus at all—the woman was a 
  cruel mistress, after all.
  
  19
  The Brinewall legacy
  Skitterfoot now thinks of the shack as his home. The 
  ratling does not suffer intruders, and once he notices the 
  PCs (automatically within 1d3 rounds of their entering 
  the shack, unless they’ve taken steps to be particularly 
  stealthy), Skitterfoot scurries out to the storage shed (area 
  J1) to speak with the dire rats that live there. The dire rats 
  fear Skitterfoot, and quickly obey his commands to go into 
  the main building to attack the PCs. While the PCs fight 
  the dire rats, Skitterfoot goes to area J5, seeks out the stash 
  of scrolls there, and casts false life on himself. He then seeks 
  the PCs out, using his spell-like abilities to attack.
  Skitterfoot hides inside the house’s walls, and can move 
  throughout the shack with great speed, traversing the walls 
  quickly and efficiently. While moving inside a wall (including 
  beneath the floorboards or in the rafters), the ratling has 
  total cover and total concealment from attacks, and uses his 
  burrow speed to move about. The ratling must come out of 
  the house’s structure to attack, of course, but does so with 
  hit-and-run tactics, waiting for an unsuspecting PC to come 
  within 5 feet before stealthily emerging to make a sneak 
  attack. If reduced to fewer than 6 hit points, Skitterfoot 
  retreats to area J5 to use one of the healing scrolls, but 
  otherwise he fights to the death to defend his home.
  Dire Rats (3) 
  CR 1/3
  XP 135 each
  hp 5 each (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 232)
  Skitterfoot 
  CR 2
  XP 600
  Male ratling (see page 86)
  hp 31 (19 without false life)
  Treasure: While neglect has ruined most of Old Megus’s 
  treasure, Skitterfoot has stashed away a few of the witch’s 
  magical supplies in a relatively dry nook in the laboratory 
  (area J5) that can be discovered with a DC 20 Perception 
  check. The stash contains 33 gp, a masterwork dagger in a 
  steel scabbard worth 15 gp, and a scroll tube containing two 
  scrolls of cure light wounds, two scrolls of false life, and a scroll of 
  water walk (all of these scrolls function at caster level 7th).
  In addition, this stash of treasure contains perhaps an 
  even greater boon for the PCs: a detailed map of Brinestump 
  Marsh. Having lived there for so many years, Old Megus 
  was perhaps the greatest living expert on the swamplands. 
  The map is curled with the scrolls in the tube, and shows 
  every significant location in the marsh, with the exception 
  of the lair of the Soggy River Monster (area F). The map even 
  indicates the hidden path at area C and the shipwrecks at 
  areas I and K. The cave network at area L is shown merely 
  as a cave entrance, and bear a skull-shaped rune of warning 
  and a note indicating that Megus hadn’t explored the 
  caverns because she didn’t think it was worth the risk.
  k. kAijitsu’s Blossom (cr 1)
  What appears at first to be a strange tangle of branches is in 
  fact the moss-covered ribs of a wrecked ship. The ruined ship 
  lies on its side, split down the middle and mostly sunken into 
  the mud and murky water.
  Little remains of this once-large ship today, but a 
  search of the wreck reveals it to be of a similar style to the 
  wrecked ship at area I. A successful DC 15 Perception check 
  discovers a verdigris-encrusted nameplate that reads 
  Kaijitsu’s Blossom. The ship is in even worse shape than her 
  sister ship, the Kaijitsu Star, but the Kaijitsu’s Blossom was 
  the larger and more important of the two ships.
  Creatures: While most of the survivors of the Kaijitsu’s 
  Blossom fled to the cave to the south (area L), seeking 
  shelter from the storm that wrecked the ship, some were 
  rooms in megus’s shAck
  Old Megus’s shack consists of the following areas (see the 
  map on page 14).
  J1. Storage Shed: Once used to store supplies, this 
  building has mostly collapsed. Three dire rats nest here 
  now—they are aggressive and attack any who enter their 
  lair (see Creatures below).
  J2. Entry: Sheets of fungus grow along the walls and 
  floor of this room, and on the numerous gourds, twigs, 
  and bones hanging from the ceiling on sinew and string. 
  The door to the north leads to a small closet.
  J3. Living Room: More fungus and mold grows on the 
  sagging benches, broken table, and narrow cupboards 
  here. An old brick stove sits against the west wall. Area J3a 
  is a lavatory, while area J3b leads to a back door.
  J4. Bedroom: A large bed, its sheets thick with mold 
  and puddles of water from the leaky roof, slumps in the 
  corner of this room. Numerous ruined books lie stacked 
  nearby, their contents destroyed by the damp.
  J5. Laboratory: Once an alchemical laboratory, the 
  equipment in this room has fallen into decay. Ancient 
  chemical spills create weird stains and colorful crystalline 
  growths amid the partially collapsed workbenches. Old 
  Megus’s skeleton, still dressed in tattered clothes, also lies 
  among the workbenches. An examination of the witch’s 
  remains quickly reveals that some hideous transformation 
  or deformity has disfigured her skeleton—the skull seems 
  half melted and weirdly elongated in the face, one arm 
  looks more like a bird’s talon, and the ribs have grown 
  long spurs of bone that protrude both into and out of the 
  rib cage. It was this last deformity, brought on by Megus’s 
  final experiment, that killed her.
  
  20
  abandoned here to their fate. Three skeletons rise from 
  the swampy murk soon after the PCs begin exploring the 
  wreck—if possible, just after the ship’s corroded nameplate 
  is found. As the undead skeletons rise from the mud, they 
  draw rusty but still quite functional wakizashi (Pathfinder 
  RPG Ultimate Combat 134; treat as short swords if you don’t 
  have access to that book) from their rib cages with a rattle, 
  and attack, fighting until destroyed.
  Human Skeletons (3) 
  CR 1/3
  XP 135 each
  hp 4 each (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 250)
  l. BrinestumP cAverns (cr vAries)
  A fifty-foot-high cliff rises along the marsh’s southern border, 
  its face a thick tangle of jutting rocks and bright green vines and 
  nettles. A curtain of these thick nettle vines partially conceals a 
  cave opening at the base of the cliff.
  When the Kaijitsu fleet ran into trouble on their hasty 
  return from Brinewall 24 years ago, two of the ships were 
  driven toward shore while the third was swept out to sea. The 
  crew of the two ships that ran aground (the Kaijitsu’s Blossom 
  and Kaijitsu Star) sheltered in their wrecked, half-flooded 
  ships for several hours before meeting very different fates. 
  As the storm worsened, those who had survived the wreck 
  of the smaller Kaijitsu Star drowned. Recognizing this exact 
  danger, the survivors of the Kaijitsu’s Blossom decided to 
  gather the greatest treasures from their ship’s hold and risk 
  an overland flight. Staggering away from the shore through 
  the storm-lashed swamp, they came to this cave entrance. 
  The leader of this group, a grizzled samurai who had 
  accompanied the royal family over the Crown of the World 
  and had changed his name to Tsutamu to hide his link to 
  the Amatatsus, initially saw the cave as a lifesaver. Yet soon 
  after his people took shelter within, they discovered to their 
  horror that the cave was the lair of a tribe of faceless stalkers. 
  The crew was devastated by the faceless stalkers’ attack, but 
  Tsutamu was overcome by a righteous anger. Even as the 
  rest of the survivors were slain, he managed to kill all of the 
  faceless stalkers. Yet, as the fight ended and his rage gave way 
  to shame at having so failed his employer and his comrades, 
  Tsutamu took his own life in the dark cave, and his corpse 
  and restless spirit have remained within for decades.
  When a group of goblins came to the cave just a few 
  weeks ago, they found several human skeletons along with 
  several crates of incredible treasures. The looting of these 
  treasures drove Tsutamu’s wrathful spirit to return to his 
  corpse, and he rose not long after as a skeletal champion. 
  Such was his anger at this final desecration and shame 
  that the remains of the slaughtered soldiers rose as well, a 
  skeletal army bound to his anger.
  Today, these caverns serve as the lair of the fallen samurai 
  and his undead soldiers—compelled only by their shame 
  and anger, they remember little of their lives before. They 
  want only to guard their treasures until destroyed. If left 
  to fester for much longer, the wrath fueling Tsutamu and 
  his soldiers will eventually compel the skeletons to begin 
  stalking larger and larger surrounding areas, eventually 
  making them a threat to the Lost Coast Road and, if not 
  stopped, a danger to Sandpoint as well.
  The Brinestump Caverns are presented in abbreviated 
  format below (see the map on page 14). The small cave 
  complex extends well over a hundred feet beneath the cliff. 
  The caverns sit mostly level, just 10 feet or so above sea level. 
  With the exception of a few verminous denizens, the primary 
  dangers in the caverns are the undead guardians, but the 
  PCs won’t rouse the skeletons’ wrath until they press too far 
  into the caverns. Present the exploration of these caverns 
  as a creepy, claustrophobic event—the ceilings rarely rise 
  more than 7 feet in height, and moisture constantly drips 
  down from above to make slippery puddles and rivulets 
  in the floor. While movement through the caverns isn’t 
  particularly difficult, the slippery floor does increase the 
  DC of all Acrobatics checks made inside by +2.
  L1. Entrance: The curtain of nettles that partially obscures 
  the cave entrance can be dangerous if touched. If the PCs 
  don’t take steps to hack down or burn away the hanging 
  vines before they enter (or take care to push the vines aside 
  with a DC 12 Reflex save), they suffer painful stings from 
  the nettles. Anyone who touches the nettles must make a DC 
  12 Fortitude save or be sickened for 24 hours.
  L2. Spider Nest (CR 1): This cavern is the den of a 
  giant wolf spider—the hairy, red-backed creature is busy 
  feeding on the carcass of a giant gecko it dragged back into 
  the cave, but it immediately leaps to attack if its meal is 
  interrupted by intruders.
  Giant Spider 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  hp 16 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 258)
  L3. Cavern Pool: These brackish waters remain behind 
  from periodic storms and floods, slowly seeping into the 
  rock. The water here is 3 feet deep at its deepest point, but 
  the rock floor beneath the water is slippery. Crossing the 
  pool or wading in it requires a DC 14 Acrobatics check to 
  avoid falling prone.
  L4. Island Lure (CR 1): A number of glittering crystals 
  protrude from an island surrounded by a 5-foot-deep 
  pool of dark water here. The crystals are just rock crystals 
  (worth 20 gp total if harvested), but a giant amoeba lurks 
  beneath the waters. The watery-looking ooze surges up 
  from the water to attack anyone who approaches within 5 
  feet of the pool’s edge.
  
  21
  The Brinewall legacy
  Giant Amoeba 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  hp 15 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 24)
  L5. Cavern of Shame (CR 3): Six human skeletons lie on 
  the ground, scattered throughout this large cavern (two of 
  them lie underwater, where they can only be spotted with 
  a DC 15 Perception check before they rise). The skeletons 
  remain quiet as long as the PCs simply explore the cave. 
  A PC can attempt to destroy one of these skeletons by 
  delivering a coup de grace while it lies on the ground, but 
  the remaining skeletons immediately animate and rise 
  to attack after the attempt. These skeletons 
  are unarmed, attacking with just their 
  claws. If Tsutamu (see area L6) is 
  destroyed, these skeletons are 
  immediately destroyed as well. 
  The skeletons’ broken armor can 
  be identified as Tian in style with 
  a DC 15 Knowledge (geography) 
  or Knowledge (local) check.
  Human Skeletons (6) 
  CR 1/3
  XP 135 each
  hp 4 each (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 250)
  L6. Treasury (CR 3): The 
  skeletal champion samurai 
  Tsutamu sits motionless atop 
  a large jade and cherry wood chest 
  here. He does not move, even to assist 
  his skeletal minions in area L5, until the 
  PCs approach within 10 feet of the center 
  of this area, at which point he animates 
  and attacks. If the skeletons in area L5 
  have not yet risen, they also do so at this 
  time. This combat should be resolved not 
  as one huge fight, but as a series of smaller 
  fights against the lesser skeletons, finally 
  culminating in a fight against Tsutamu 
  himself. Tsutamu is a samurai, an 
  alternate class for the cavalier base class. 
  The cavalier is presented in the Pathfinder 
  RPG Advanced Player’s Guide.
  Tsutamu 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  Male human variant skeletal champion 
  samurai 2 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 
  252, Pathfinder RPG Ultimate 
  Combat 18)
  LE Medium undead
  Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +7
  DEFENSE
  AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 15 (+3 armor, +2 Dex, +2 natural)
  hp 30 (4 HD; 2d8+2d10+10)
  Fort +5, Ref +2, Will +5
  Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, self reliant; DR 5/
  bludgeoning; Immune cold, undead traits
  OFFENSE
  Speed 20 ft.
  Melee Whispering Shrike +8 (1d6+5/18–20), claw +2 (1d4+2)
  Special Attacks challenge (+2 damage, 1/day), command 
  skeletons
  TACTICS
  During Combat When Tsutamu attacks, he issues a challenge 
  to one of his foes (preferably another samurai or cavalier) as 
  a swift action, allowing his melee attacks to deal +2 points 
  of damage to that foe for as long as the foe lives. While 
  challenging a foe, Tsutamu takes a –2 penalty to his Armor 
  Class against opponents other than his challenged target. 
  Faced with multiple enemies, Tsutamu commands 
  his skeletons to attack opponents other than his 
  target.
  Morale Tsutamu fights until destroyed.
  STATISTICS
  Str 19, Dex 14, Con —, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 14
  Base Atk +3; CMB +7; CMD 19
  Feats Cleave, Improved Initiative, Iron 
  Will, Power Attack
  Skills Diplomacy +9, Intimidate +9, 
  Perception +7, Sense Motive +5
  Languages Common, Tien
  SQ mount (currently none), order 
  (ronin), resolve 1/day
  Gear broken masterwork chainmail, 
  Whispering Shrike (+1 wakizashi; see 
  page 61), bronze key on necklace (opens 
  chest in area L6)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Command Skeletons (Su) Tsutamu has a 
  unique bond to the skeletons found 
  in Brinestump Marsh. He can 
  command their actions as a 
  free action via telepathy as long 
  as they’re within line of sight. If 
  Tsutamu is destroyed, the other 
  skeletons immediately collapse to the 
  ground as well, for it is the samurai’s will 
  that keeps them animated.
  Order (Ex) Tsutamu’s order is ronin. Whenever 
  Tsutamu is the target of a challenge 
  by another samurai or cavalier and he 
  issues a challenge against that character 
  in return, he receives a +1 bonus on attack rolls made against 
  the target of his challenge and a +1 dodge bonus to AC 
  Tsutamu
  
  22
  against attacks made by the target of his challenge.
  Resolve (Ex) Once per day, whenever Tsutamu is required to make 
  a Fortitude or Will save, he can take an immediate action to 
  roll twice and take the better result. He must decide to use this 
  ability before he rolls the saving throw.
  Self Reliant (Ex) Whenever Tsutamu fails a Will save against an 
  effect with a duration greater than 1 round, he can attempt 
  another saving throw at the end of the second round of the 
  effect. If he makes this saving throw, it has the same effect as if 
  he had made the original save.
  Treasure: The skeletons have stored the whole cause of their 
  obsession in this cavern, locked away inside a large jade and 
  cherry wood chest. The chest weighs just over 50 pounds with 
  all of its contents, and is worth 250 gp if undamaged. It can be 
  unlocked with a DC 30 Disable Device check or with the key that 
  hangs on Tsutamu’s neck. 
  Once the chest is opened, it’s obvious that many objects 
  (mostly fireworks and potions) have been removed from 
  numerous slots in the chest’s velvet-lined interior—
  the handiwork of the Licktoad goblins. However, the 
  chest still holds five potions of cure light wounds, two 
  potions of cure moderate wounds, three potions of lesser 
  restoration, a ring of climbing, a wand of identify 
  with 19 charges, a masterwork chain shirt, a 
  masterwork cold iron wakizashi, 11 Desnan 
  candles, and four skyrockets (see page 60), 
  in addition to 3,820 sp, 421 gp, and various 
  pieces of fine jewelry worth 560 gp total.
  Yet perhaps the most important piece of treasure in the 
  entire cavern is hidden in a secret compartment in the pommel 
  of Tsutamu’s sword, Whispering Shrike, which can be found with 
  a DC 20 Perception check. A miniature mithral scroll tube 
  worth 100 gp rests inside. While this scroll tube is too small to 
  store a magical scroll, it does hold a letter—Rokuro Kaijitsu’s 
  last letter to his son Lonjiku—that indicates a powerful 
  Kaijitsu secret might still lie hidden in the ruins of Brinewall.
  rokuro’s letter
  Written on fine paper in black ink, the words of this letter are 
  inscribed in Tien. If none of the PCs can read Tien, they know 
  that their friend Ameiko Kaijitsu can certainly translate the 
  letter. A translation of the note is reproduced on page 23. Even 
  if the PCs can’t immediately read the letter, a DC 15 Perception 
  check is enough to note a faint watermark on the paper that 
  bears the image of a castle and the word “Brinewall.” A DC 20 
  Knowledge (history or local) check confirms that the paper 
  itself was likely made in the now-deserted settlement of 
  Brinewall, far to the north.
  After reading the letter, several clues can be explained 
  further with successful Knowledge checks—those checks 
  marked with an asterisk can be automatically explained by 
  Ameiko.
  Brinewall: A DC 14 Knowledge (history) check recalls 
  that an unknown scourge destroyed the colony of Brinewall 
  on the first day of Sarenith in 4687, just a few days after the 
  date on the letter.
  Kortun: A DC 18 Knowledge (history) check reveals that 
  Brinewall’s last commander at the time the colony was 
  destroyed was a man named Andril Kortun.
  Rokuro Kaijitsu*: A DC 15 Knowledge (nobility) check 
  is enough to know that Rokuro Kaijitsu was Ameiko’s 
  grandfather, which would make the letter’s unnamed 
  and intended recipient her father, the now-deceased 
  Lonjiku Kaijitsu.
  Tsutamu*: A DC 25 Knowledge (nobility) 
  check reveals that Tsutamu was Rokuro 
  Kaijitsu’s devoted bodyguard.
  concluding PArt one
  While the PCs can continue exploring 
  Brinestump 
  Marsh 
  and 
  the 
  Sandpoint 
  Hinterlands if they wish (see the article on page 
  62 for further details), Part One concludes as 
  soon as they discover the letter hidden in the hilt 
  of Whispering Shrike, the wakizashi wielded by 
  the undead Tsutamu. The rest of this adventure 
  assumes that the PCs find Rokuro’s letter. If it doesn’t 
  look like the PCs will discover the note, whomever they hire 
  to repair the sword’s hilt finds the note and returns it to 
  them. If the PCs sell the sword, the buyer finds the note 
  and gives it back to them. Only if the PCs completely ignore 
  the valuable treasure should you alter things—perhaps 
  allowing them to find the note in some other spot among 
  the treasures. In a worst-case scenario, someone is certain 
  to find the note at some point, be it in a week or a month, 
  and passes the note along to Ameiko—destiny, in this 
  event, should have a way of working things out so that she 
  eventually ends up with the letter her father never received.
  Technically, the scroll belongs to the Kaijitsu family, 
  as does all of the treasure in the chest found in the 
  Brinestump Caverns, but if the PCs give the letter to their 
  friend and ally, Ameiko, she graciously allows them to 
  keep all of the contents of the treasure chest save the scroll 
  itself. Once Ameiko gains the scroll, proceed to Part Two. 
  Because of the PCs’ links with Ameiko (see the Jade Regent 
  Player’s Guide), they will likely feel compelled to inform 
  Ameiko of their discovery, but there’s always a chance that 
  they won’t, for whatever reason. In this case, you should 
  try to encourage them to inform Ameiko anyway—but if 
  the PCs instead wish to travel to Brinewall on their own to 
  solve the mystery without telling her, let them. Be aware 
  that such an undertaking will be all the more dangerous 
  without the support of a caravan nearby, though!
  Story Award: Award the PCs 1,200 XP for giving the 
  scroll to Ameiko.
  
  23
  The Brinewall legacy
  PArt two: the legAcy’s lure
  Once Ameiko reads Rokuro’s letter, she becomes fascinated 
  to the point of obsession over it. She never had what one 
  could call a “stable” relationship with her father, but the 
  revelation that members of her family may have once lived in 
  Brinewall—and might even have been there when whatever 
  doom came to that colony struck—is almost as intriguing 
  to her as the wonder of what strange legacy might be hidden 
  in the “warding box” mentioned in the note.
  The opportunity to track down a family secret and go 
  on an adventure is too much for Ameiko to ignore, but 
  after her previous experiences as an adventurer, she 
  knows better than to go it alone. Impressed with how her 
  friends, the PCs, managed to recover the treasure from 
  the swamp in the first place, she all but begs them to 
  accompany her north to Brinewall to seek this hidden 
  family legacy.
  How much work Ameiko needs to do to convince the PCs 
  to accompany her depends on your players, of course, but 
  if they’re using the Jade Regent Player’s Guide, they should 
  have several built-in reasons to accompany her—especially 
  upon learning that she plans on recruiting three more 
  allies to join her—the elf ranger Shalelu Andosana, the 
  Varisian caravan master Sandru Vhiski, and Koya Mvashti, 
  the Varisian cleric of Desna. By recruiting Sandru and his 
  caravan, Ameiko hopes to find safety in numbers—a trip 
  to Brinewall isn’t an idle journey, after all. All three of 
  these NPCs eagerly accept Ameiko’s offer to join her on the 
  adventure—something that should further encourage the 
  PCs to come along.
  If the PCs are still hesitant, though, have Ameiko (or 
  whichever of the four NPCs the PCs are closest to) encourage 
  them with tales of treasure, fame, and excitement. If the PCs 
  still refuse, Ameiko sadly leaves them behind. A few weeks 
  later, word that the caravan has apparently gone missing 
  should compel the PCs to travel north to investigate, in 
  which case they can rescue Ameiko and her allies from the 
  Brinewall dungeons (see area V8 on page 45).
  orgAnizing the cArAvAn
  At this point in the campaign, four NPCs become key 
  members of the storyline. Make sure you’re familiar 
  with these four NPCs before proceeding—Ameiko, Koya, 
  Sandru, and Shalelu are presented in detail on pages 52–
  59. The PCs should already know these four characters—
  indeed, they should be close allies, depending upon the 
  Player Handout
  
  24
  nature of the Campaign Traits they chose from the Jade 
  Regent Player’s Guide.
  Before Sandru’s caravan leaves Sandpoint, though, a few 
  last-minute bits of preparation are required. Provisions 
  and supplies must be purchased, and additional travelers 
  such as guards, drivers, cooks, wainwrights, and the like 
  need to be hired. The PCs can certainly fill some of these 
  roles, but if the caravan is to be successful, numerous 
  improvements to the three wagons Sandru already owns 
  should be addressed. If the PCs suggest taking a boat to 
  Brinewall instead, Ameiko points out that not only would 
  that be more expensive (considering she’s already got allies 
  who own a caravan), but they’re unlikely to find anyone 
  willing to set sail for the notorious ruin anyway.
  Rules for building, maintaining, and adventuring with 
  caravans can be found in the Jade Regent Player’s Guide. In 
  large part, you can leave the decisions as to how to prepare 
  for the journey up to the PCs. To prepare for the journey, 
  Ameiko offers 2,000 gp in financing to purchase supplies, 
  new wagons, and enhancements to wagons, and to pay for 
  additional traveler wages. Anything the PCs wish to donate 
  to the cause is welcome, but is not required to ensure their 
  positions on the journey.
  If you’re not using the Jade Regent Player’s Guide or the 
  caravan rules presented therein, you can simply assume 
  that the PCs’ journey north to Brinewall occurs without 
  incident and proceed with Part Three of the adventure.
  the journey north
  Once Sandru’s caravan is prepared and ready to go, Ameiko 
  leaves her manor in southern Sandpoint in the care of her 
  house staff and makes sure that her employees are ready to 
  handle running business at the Rusty Dragon. The other 
  three NPCs have no real responsibilities in town, but the 
  PCs might. They should see to them before they leave, for 
  the journey may well take weeks to resolve, especially since 
  so little is known about the current state of affairs in the 
  ruins of Brinewall.
  The journey to Brinewall takes the caravan from 
  Sandpoint up along the Lost Coast Road, passes through 
  the villages of Galduria and Wolf’s Ear, cuts through 
  the northeastern reach of Churlwood, and eventually 
  reaches the northern town of Roderic’s Cove. Unless the 
  PCs pressure him to choose otherwise, Sandru prefers to 
  avoid Riddleport entirely, following an old track north of 
  Roderic’s Cove that skirts the southern Stony Mountains, 
  then winds up into the Velashu Uplands, following the 
  river northwest to a low pass in the mountains and then 
  due north into the Nolands and, eventually, to Brinewall.
  The farther north this route goes, the more disused the 
  roads become. By the time the caravan winds through the 
  Velashu Uplands, the road is little more than a track. With 
  the loss of Brinewall as a viable port, most trade between 
  Varisia and the Lands of the Linnorm Kings has been 
  via the sea route, but the trail the caravan follows isn’t 
  completely abandoned. Sandru is quick to point out that 
  several Varisian caravans take the route yearly, although 
  he does admit that they generally make a wide detour 
  around Brinewall, which is believed by most to be haunted, 
  cursed, or both. Overall, the journey from Sandpoint to 
  Brinewall covers about 500 miles—unless the PCs upgrade 
  Sandru’s caravan, it’ll take them about 16 days to reach 
  their destination. If the caravan remains on the roads and 
  tracks, its travel speed is not impacted at all by the terrain 
  it travels through. See page 81 for possible encounters the 
  PCs can run into while traveling to Brinewall.
  PArt three: ruins of BrinewAll
  The colony of Brinewall was founded over 250 years ago 
  in 4442. Construction on Brinewall Castle began soon 
  thereafter, but funding problems and several disasters 
  along the way slowed construction to a crawl. The worst 
  disaster to strike occurred when the castle’s partially 
  completed eastern wall collapsed into a cavern network 
  below. Hideous demon-worshiping creatures known 
  as dire corbies emerged from the now-exposed cavern 
  complex to attack the colony, and final construction on 
  castle was not completed until 4469.
  After Magnimar was founded in 4608, Brinewall 
  finally began to come into its own—trade picked up, and 
  several important and powerful merchants, among them 
  the Kaijitsus, took an interest in helping the town grow. 
  But Brinewall never saw the success that visited Korvosa, 
  Magnimar, and Riddleport, and finally fell to an enemy 
  more swift and efficient in dealing death than the dire 
  corbies, Nolanders, and Linnorm Kingdoms raiders 
  combined. The oni of the Five Storms, working with allied 
  ninja of the Frozen Shadows guild, swept in and slaughtered 
  the entire population of the small village during a terrible 
  storm. They then overran the castle itself and finished 
  the task of slaying every resident within. The final battles 
  took place in the castle donjon, where both commander 
  Andril Kortun and Rokuro Kaijitsu were among the last to 
  fall. The oni chose to make examples of these two, using 
  dark magic to transform them into undead before they left 
  Brinewall to its fate.
  Today, the Five Storms and the Frozen Shadows have 
  all but forgotten Brinewall, and believe that their swift 
  attack and the storm that apparently destroyed the 
  remaining Amatatsu fleet had finished the job. They 
  returned to Kalsgard in the Lands of the Linnorm Kings 
  to continue their watch there. Only one of their number 
  stayed behind in Brinewall—a yamabushi tengu named 
  Kikonu. Intrigued by the strange birdlike men that he 
  found dwelling in caverns under Brinewall castle, Kikonu 
  left the Five Storms and moved into the depopulated castle 
  
  25
  The Brinewall legacy
  to become a leader of sorts over the dire corbies. Over time, 
  other violent creatures have come to Brinewall, and while 
  they don’t always work well together, Kikonu has accepted 
  them all as new members of his extended family. That 
  Kikonu’s presence has somewhat ameliorated the dire 
  corbies’ natural xenophobia is impressive, for while the 
  dire corbies generally avoid interactions with the ettercap, 
  harpy, troglodytes, ogrekin, and other creatures they share 
  their home with, neither do they seek conflict with them. 
  The oni enjoys his role as ruler of this small “kingdom” of 
  monsters, but also knows that until his it is large enough to 
  defend itself from an invading army, his greatest defense is 
  secrecy. His minions dwell within the castle walls, under 
  orders to avoid the ruined village down the hill save for 
  periodic foraging trips or stealthy patrols. Kikonu keeps 
  an eye on all intruders, and does his best to maintain the 
  myth that Brinewall is haunted or cursed using illusions 
  and other tools at his disposal, but should anyone attempt 
  to infiltrate his domain atop the hill—Brinewall Castle—
  he and his minions rise up in a righteous fury to defend 
  their home.
  Ameiko’s comA
  When Lonjiku Kaijitsu opened the warding box that kept 
  the Amatatsu Seal hidden so many years ago, a portion 
  of the family’s ancient spirit—a kami—escaped from 
  confinement. This kami serves as the guardian spirit of 
  the Amatatsu Seal itself, but when Lonjiku’s father closed 
  the warding box, the kami was prevented from returning to 
  the seal. Cut off from the seal, the kami could not form a 
  physical body of its own, and was helpless to do anything 
  but watch as the oni overran Brinewall. The kami did 
  what it could to influence events to prevent the oni from 
  discovering the secret vault wherein the Amatatsu Seal was 
  hidden, and while its powers were limited, it was these 
  influences that likely prevented the Five Storms from 
  not only finding the seal, but from further pursuing the 
  Kaijitsu family as well.
  For the next 24 years, the kami waited hopefully for a 
  member of the Amatatsu family to return to the region, 
  but being separated from the object it was supposed to 
  guard took its toll on the kami’s mind. Today, the spirit is 
  a chaotic fragment of what it once was, and until it can be 
  
  26
  returned to the Amatatsu Seal it is little more than a potent 
  force of spiritual energy. But with Ameiko’s arrival in the 
  region, the kami sees a chance to return the Amatatsu Seal 
  to its rightful owners. 
  As the PCs’ caravan approaches Brinewall, impress upon 
  them the oppressive feeling of the place. The track they’ve 
  been following all this time passes about half a mile east of 
  Brinewall, continuing north and crossing the Steam River 
  into the Nolands over a weathered wood-and-stone bridge. 
  An old signpost about a hundred yards south of this bridge 
  reads “To Brinewall,” and points down an overgrown trail 
  that winds through a forest. This track quickly fades 
  away entirely into the undergrowth, and further progress 
  toward the ruined village must be made on foot.
  Unfortunately for Ameiko, however, exploration of 
  Brinewall is not in the cards. As the PCs near Brinewall, 
  Ameiko grows more and more listless and sickly. She tries 
  to hide her condition, figuring she’s simply exhausted 
  from the long journey or that she ate something that 
  disagrees with her, but as the PCs reach the end of the road 
  and prepare to explore Brinewall, a DC 15 Perception check 
  allows a PC to note how pale and shaky she looks. A few 
  moments later, she collapses to the ground, unconscious.
  Ameiko’s growing listlessness is a physical reaction 
  to the kami’s initial attempts to communicate with her. 
  Increasingly frustrated, the kami finally breaks several 
  ancient divine laws prohibiting the merging of kami 
  with sentient creatures and attempts to possess Ameiko, 
  but the result is only partially successful. Unsure of how 
  to function in a human body, the kami becomes trapped 
  in Ameiko, causing her to fall into a coma. As long as the 
  kami remains inside her, Ameiko remains unconscious. 
  The spirit protects her from further harm during this 
  time (she doesn’t starve, grow thirsty, or even age), but 
  it doesn’t let her wake. So desperate is the kami to get 
  Ameiko reunited with the Amatatsu Seal that if she’s taken 
  farther away from Brinewall, her body begins shaking as 
  if undergoing a fit. Eventually she begins screaming in 
  her sleep and thrashing with increasing violence. These 
  fits immediately cease if Ameiko is allowed to remain 
  motionless and isn’t taken farther away from Brinewall.
  The magic required to expel the kami from Ameiko 
  (such as dispel law) is likely beyond the PCs’ reach at this 
  point. A DC 20 Heal check is enough to diagnose that 
  Ameiko is in some sort of magically induced coma, while 
  an examination with detect law reveals that some potent 
  lawful spiritual force has invaded her—a DC 25 Knowledge 
  (planes) check identifies the spirit as a kami, a spirit 
  normally associated with the protection of an animal, 
  object, or location. Why it merged with a living human is a 
  question that no Knowledge check can reveal.
  Regardless of what the PCs learn, Sandru, Koya, and 
  Shalelu agree that whatever is causing Ameiko’s coma 
  likely has something to do with the Kaijitsu legacy hidden 
  somewhere in Brinewall. Although she’s unconscious, 
  Ameiko seems to be sleeping peacefully. For now, the three 
  other NPCs are content to remain at the caravan to guard 
  and protect Ameiko while the PCs head into Brinewall 
  to attempt to solve the mystery of what’s afflicting their 
  friend. The NPCs won’t want to leave Ameiko behind, but 
  if you feel that the PCs could use a bit of help exploring 
  Brinewall, one of the NPCs could accompany them as you 
  see fit.
  While in Ameiko’s body, the kami can periodically 
  communicate with the PCs, and does so to encourage them 
  to seek out the Amatatsu Seal. The kami communicates 
  by making Ameiko talk in her sleep. The first time this 
  occurs, she speaks in Tien. If no one can understand her, 
  future communication attempts are in Common. Exactly 
  what “Ameiko” whispers in her sleep is up to you, but it 
  should be brief, cryptic hints and phrases rather than 
  exact directions. The kami possessing her is somewhat 
  insane from its long separation from the seal, after all. 
  Some possible hints could include the following:
  “One treasure beyond two seals in the third vault...”
  “Beware the birds who wish to fly but cannot...”
  “A key you seek lies in the grip of the ten-handed one—his fear 
  is your greatest ally...”
  “Beware the cuckolded cuckoo—it is in his shattered silent love 
  you should seek aid...”
  “Grandfather waits in the dark, but he knows not who he was...”
  BrinewAll villAge
  With the exception of the lagoon (area O), the cemetery 
  (area Q), and the ruined lighthouse (area R), Brinewall 
  Village itself is largely deserted—yet the PCs shouldn’t 
  know this when they first explore the place. The woodlands 
  surrounding the village are particularly dense with 
  undergrowth—these areas are treated as difficult terrain 
  for creatures moving through them. Descriptions of the 
  village’s primary locations follow below (see the map on 
  page 27).
  M. Waterfront: A naturally deep harbor has formed 
  where the waters of the Steam River flow into Bunyip Bay 
  to the west. Two ruined piers extend into the only relatively 
  shallow portion of the harbor here, and once served 
  all of Brinewall as moorings for visiting ships. While 
  both piers are now mostly collapsed, the westernmost 
  one has what appears to be a relatively recent visitor: 
  a Linnorm Kingdoms longship is tied to the pier. The 
  longship seems relatively new, but the vessel is partially 
  destroyed and half-sunken. A search of the ship reveals 
  significant damage to the ship in the form of tremendous 
  claw marks and what appear to be scorch marks from a 
  powerful electrical attack. The longship belonged to a 
  group of raiders who came to Brinewall 2 weeks ago to 
  
  27
  The Brinewall legacy
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  ve
  r
  loot the place, but a sea drake that had been dwelling 
  in the harbor attacked them as they disembarked. The 
  drake slew all but one of the raiders, who finally managed 
  to kill the beast in the lagoon after it emerged from the 
  water and flew after her. The sole survivor is a stubborn 
  woman named Kelda Oxgutter. Even after the terrible 
  fight against the sea drake, she continued to explore the 
  area, only to be captured by the denizens of Brinewall 
  Castle. She can be found now in area V8.
  N. Ruined Buildings: Among the ruined buildings 
  that once composed Brinewall Village, the PCs can find 
  barracks, a smithy, several homes, a glassworks (with 
  several architectural designs similar to those of the larger 
  glassworks in Sandpoint owned by Ameiko Kaijitsu), a 
  trading post, and a stable. The two largest ruins are located 
  in the eastern part of town, and consist of a town hall to 
  the north and an almost completely collapsed temple of 
  Desna to the south, near the entrance to the cemetery.
  O. Lagoon (CR 3): Once used mostly for fishing, this 
  algae-choked lagoon is only 10 feet deep at its deepest 
  point. On the lagoon’s northwestern shore, the rotting 
  carcass of a sea drake lies half submerged in the water. 
  Larger than a horse, this bright green aquatic reptile has 
  finned, winglike arms and a draconic visage—no Heal 
  check is necessary to determine it was slain by several 
  violent strikes with an edged weapon. While no clues 
  await discovery here, two reefclaws dwelling in the lagoon 
  periodically feed upon the drake’s carcass. These aquatic 
  aberrations attack any creatures attempting to search the 
  dead drake, fighting to the death. They pursue fleeing 
  foes, even onto land, for 1d3 rounds before returning to 
  feed on the carcass.
  Reefclaws (2) 
  CR 1
  XP 400 each
  hp 13 each (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 234)
  P. Cemetery Gates: A rickety wooden fence surrounds 
  the clearing beyond, but the gates here are made of iron 
  and flanked on either side by statues of a beautiful woman 
  with butterfly wings. A DC 10 Knowledge (religion) check 
  identifies the statues as depicting the goddess Desna.
  Q. Cemetery: This clearing consists of a low hill 
  containing nearly two dozen graves. A stone crypt sits 
  atop the hill to the east. The entire graveyard is unusually 
  well tended—the grass appears to be weeded and the 
  gravestones are quite clean. The crypt contains only one 
  body, that of Admiral Mercatio Kiameleu, Brinewall’s 
  founder. What appears to be a gravestone set apart from 
  the rest of the graves near the northern edge of the 
  M
  N
  N
  N
  O
  P
  Q
  R
  S1
  S2
  T
  
  28
  cemetery is in fact a small, well-tended shrine to Desna 
  that consists of a marble statue of the deity holding aloft 
  a small copper bowl. Although worth 25 gp, as long as the 
  bowl is left in place, any water poured into it automatically 
  becomes holy water. The bowl can perform this minor 
  miracle once per day. When the PCs first arrive, the 
  rainwater in the bowl has already been blessed in this 
  manner. The bowl can hold 3 flasks’ worth of holy water 
  at a time, and is currently full. The lyrakien Spivey (see 
  below) lives in this graveyard.
  R. Lighthouse: This stone lighthouse is now little more 
  than an empty shell after its roof caved in many years ago. 
  A DC 15 Perception check made while searching the rubble 
  around the structure locates a partially crushed strongbox 
  containing 93 gp and a single rusty key. Left behind by 
  the long-dead lighthouse tender, this is a skeleton key that 
  can open all of the locks on the ground and upper floors 
  of Brinewall Castle. Unless repaired with a make whole or 
  mending spell, though, the key breaks after opening 1d6 
  locked doors.
  S. Hidden Entrances: Two secret entrances to the tunnels 
  under Brinewall Castle lie hidden outside the castle. 
  Locating either entrance from the outside requires a DC 
  22 Perception check made by anyone searching within 20 
  feet of the area. Winding tunnels beyond each secret door 
  lead through several empty caverns before joining the 
  tunnels under the castle. The entrance marked S1 on the 
  cliff below the castle leads to area V6, while the entrance at 
  S2 in the woods to the east leads to area V10a.
  T. Brinewall Castle: The large castle that once protected 
  Brinewall Village is described in more detail on page 29.
  sPivey
  Brinewall’s oldest resident—a tiny, butterfly-winged 
  azata—came to the region nearly 10 years ago and has 
  been lurking in the area ever since. This azata is a lyrakien 
  cleric of Desna named Spivey, long stranded on the 
  Material Plane after her mistress was slain by a “hungry 
  plant” (actually a giant flytrap). After several months of 
  aimless wandering, Spivey came upon the ruins of the 
  church of Desna here and took it as a sign. She originally 
  tried to rebuild the temple, but gave up when she started 
  attracting the wrong kind of attention from the denizens 
  of the castle. Instead, she’s taken to living in the cemetery, 
  where she does her best to keep the graveyard clean and 
  free of undead and other desecrations. The inhabitants of 
  the castle aren’t really sure what Spivey is—she’s quick to 
  stay hidden when they come looking for her—but many 
  of them have tasted her magic, and thinking she’s a ghost 
  haunting the graveyard, they leave her alone.
  The PCs are the first friendly faces Spivey’s seen in a 
  long, long time, but she’s not naive. She won’t immediately 
  reveal herself to the PCs. Where and how she first notices 
  the PCs is left up to you, but it most likely happens either 
  when they explore the cemetery or after they get in a fight 
  with the reefclaws in the lagoon. Spivey hides as she watches 
  and follows the PCs. Since she can’t use magic to hide, you 
  should periodically give the PCs chances to notice the tiny 
  cleric watching them from the undergrowth, but her size 
  and skill at hiding make spotting her unlikely. Only once 
  she’s sure the PCs could be friends (likely after she sees 
  them returning from Brinewall Castle after several fights 
  there, or as soon as she notices any clerics or worshipers of 
  Desna among them) does she decide to approach them, but 
  even then she hesitates, waiting until the PCs obviously 
  need her help. You can have Spivey swoop in to provide 
  emergency healing or perhaps cast a key spell to defeat or 
  distract an enemy, as needed.
  Once Spivey contacts the PCs, she’s eager to find out 
  what they’re doing in Brinewall. She encourages the 
  PCs to try to clean out the castle, and while she won’t 
  accompany them (unless you think they could use the 
  help), she does explain how the holy water font in the 
  cemetery works, and offers them use of the cemetery as a 
  place to rest in between forays into the castle, promising 
  them free healing whenever they need it. Spivey is 
  reluctant to abandon the area as long as the dire corbies 
  and other monsters dwell in Brinewall Castle, but if the 
  PCs clean the place out and manage to convince her with 
  a DC 20 Diplomacy check, she’ll accompany them on 
  their journey (giving her the phylactery of faithfulness from 
  the despoiled shrine in area U15 automatically befriends 
  her in this manner). In this case, Spivey can fill the role 
  of guard, healer, or spellcaster in the caravan, but doesn’t 
  count against the traveler total, nor does she increase the 
  caravan’s consumption score.
  Spivey 
  CR 5
  XP 1,600
  Female lyrakien cleric of Desna 3 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 38)
  CG Tiny outsider (azata, chaotic, extraplanar, good)
  Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., detect evil, detect magic, low-
  light vision; Perception +14
  DEFENSE
  AC 20, touch 17, flat-footed 15 (+3 armor, +5 Dex, +2 size)
  hp 41 (6 HD; 3d10+3d8+12)
  Fort +6, Ref +9, Will +11
  DR 5/evil; Immune electricity, petrification; Resist cold 10, 
  fire 10
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft., fly 80 ft. (perfect)
  Melee mwk starknife +11 (1d2–1/×3) and mwk starknife +11 
  (1d2–1/×3) or
  mwk starknife +13 (1d2–1/×3)
  Ranged mwk starknife +13 (1d2–1/×3)
  Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
  
  29
  The Brinewall legacy
  Special Attacks channel positive energy  
  8/day (DC 16, 2d6), starlight blast
  Cleric Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3rd; 
  concentration +8)
  8/day—liberty’s blessing*
  Lyrakien Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3rd; 
  concentration +8)
  Constant—detect evil, detect magic, freedom 
  of movement
  At will—dancing lights, daze (DC 15), summon 
  instrument, ventriloquism (DC 16)
  1/day—cure light wounds, lesser confusion (DC 16), 
  silent image (DC 16)
  1/week—commune (6 questions, CL 12th)
  Spells Prepared (CL 3rd; concentration +8)
  2nd—lesser restoration, remove paralysisD, spiritual 
  weapon
  1st—command (DC 16), divine favor, magic stone, 
  remove fear, sanctuaryD (DC 16)
  0 (at will)—detect magic, mending, read magic, stabilize
  D Domain spell; Domains Liberation (Freedom 
  subdomain*), Travel
  TACTICS
  During Combat Spivey avoids melee combat if she can, 
  preferring to stay at the edge of a battle and use command, 
  daze, lesser confusion, magic stone, and spiritual weapon. She 
  casts sanctuary to come help heal allies in melee if it looks 
  like they are in trouble, and resorts to hurling her starknives 
  only as a last resort.
  Morale Spivey flees any combat if she’s reduced to fewer 
  than 8 hit points, unless a fellow worshiper of Desna is 
  still in danger, in which case she stays behind to help her 
  ally at all costs.
  STATISTICS
  Str 9, Dex 20, Con 15, Int 12, Wis 20, Cha 20
  Base Atk +5; CMB +8; CMD 17
  Feats Scribe Scroll, Two-Weapon Fighting, Weapon Finesse
  Skills Fly +26, Heal +11, Knowledge (religion) +10, Perception 
  +14, Spellcraft +10, Stealth +22
  Languages Celestial, Draconic; truespeech
  SQ agile feet (8/day), traveler’s friend
  Combat Gear scrolls of cure moderate wounds (2), scrolls of 
  lesser restoration (3), scroll of remove disease; Other Gear 
  masterwork studded leather, masterwork starknives (3)
  * See the Advanced Player’s Guide.
  Story Award: If the PCs manage to recruit Spivey into 
  their caravan, award them 1,600 XP as if they had defeated 
  her in combat.
  BrinewAll cAstle
  Brinewall Castle is a large and intimidating structure. 
  Although only two stories tall (with the exception of one 
  three-story tower and the dungeons beneath it), the squat 
  castle looks all the larger for its position atop the bluff west 
  of the village, looming over the surrounding region with 
  a commanding presence. The castle is built of gray stone, 
  though close inspection reveals numerous different types 
  of stone were used in its construction (as parts of the castle 
  were rebuilt several times).
  Brinewall Castle is divided into four different areas: 
  the ground floor (area T), the upper floors (area U), the 
  dungeon (area V), and the vaults beneath the castle (area 
  W). The castle’s curtain wall is 15 feet high—it’s a DC 20 
  Climb check to scale it (or any other exterior wall). The 
  numerous arrowslits can be squeezed through with a DC 
  30 Escape Artist check (Small creatures gain a +8 bonus 
  on this check). While the castle walls allow its denizens 
  a commanding view of the castle approach, no creatures 
  guard the walls when the PCs first come to the castle. 
  Inside, ceiling height averages 10 feet, and rooms are unlit 
  Spivey
  
  30
  unless otherwise indicated (although arrowslits provide 
  dim light in those rooms that feature them). Doors in the 
  castle are of good wooden construction (hardness 5, hp 15) 
  and are unlocked, unless otherwise noted.
  Solving the Brinewall Mystery: In seven areas in the 
  castle, clues to the mystery of what happened to Brinewall 
  can be discovered, presented in the text as “Brinewall 
  Clues.” If the PCs uncover all of these clues, they’ll gather 
  enough information to piece together a relatively accurate 
  description of Brinewall’s doom. When the PCs achieve 
  this task, award them 1,600 XP for unraveling one of 
  Varisia’s most talked-about recent mysteries.
  BrinewAll’s schedule
  Most of Brinewall Castle’s residents tend to stay in the 
  areas they’re detailed as inhabiting in the following 
  descriptions, but this doesn’t hold true for the castle’s 
  most numerous denizens: the dire corbies. There are 12 
  of these monsters living in Brinewall in all, not counting 
  their priestess Nevakali, who is always encountered in 
  the shrine at area U15. Originally dwelling in the caverns 
  below, these creatures now live fully on the aboveground 
  levels, leaving the dungeons to a small band of troglodytes 
  and other monsters. The following encounter areas present 
  the dire corbies as they’re normally spread throughout 
  the castle, but at certain times, these monsters gather for 
  dinner or go out into the woods to hunt.
  Hunting Parties: Once every other day, the two dire 
  corbies from area T1 and a third from area U1 leave their 
  posts at noon to go hunt in the southern woods. They return 
  at dusk with large burlap bags filled with slaughtered 
  forest creatures to feed their kin for the next 2 days. 
  Dinnertime: Every evening at sunset, all 12 dire corbies 
  gather in the feasting hall (area U8) to eat. These feasts last 
  for an hour.
  Bedtime: After their evening meal, the dire corbies 
  retire to their sleeping quarters (area U14a), unless the PCs 
  have invaded the castle in the past 4 days. In this event, the 
  dire corbies sleep in shifts at night—six of them sleep in 
  area U14a while the other six patrol the walls.
  t1. gAtehouse (cr 3)
  This stone structure has a floor of packed dirt and numerous 
  wooden support beams for the stone ceiling above. Two rusted 
  iron gates allow access through the gatehouse, while to the 
  north, a pair of wooden ladders climb to the roof above.
  Both of the gates are kept closed and locked at all times. 
  The levers that unlock and open the gates are inside the 
  T1
  T2
  T2
  T2
  T2
  T2
  T2
  T2
  T3
  T4
  T5
  T6
  T7
  T8
  T9
  T10
  T11
  T12
  T13
  T14
  T14
  T15
  T16
  T17
  T18
  T19
  
  31
  The Brinewall legacy
  gatehouse, but the gates themselves are in poor condition 
  after years of no maintenance (hardness 10, hp 30, Break 
  DC 22).
  Creatures: Two dire corbies stand guard in this 
  chamber. These hideous creatures look like muscular 
  humanoids with ravenlike heads and covered with black 
  feathers. They do not wear armor or wield weapons, 
  for their thick muscles, talons, and sharp beaks are 
  armor and weapons enough. These two dire corbies are 
  supposedly watching the approach and are in charge of 
  opening and closing the gates when patrols come and go 
  from the castle, but when the PCs first approach, there’s 
  a 50% chance that the creatures are sleeping instead. If 
  they notice the PCs approaching, the dire corbies begin 
  making deep, raspy cries of alarm, but don’t attack 
  unless the PCs manage to break into the gatehouse (in 
  which case they fight to the death).
  Dire Corbies (2) 
  CR 1
  XP 400 each
  NE Medium monstrous humanoid (Misfit Monsters Redeemed 21)
  Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +6
  DEFENSE
  AC 13, touch 11, flat-footed 12 (+1 Dex, +2 natural)
  hp 15 each (2d10+4)
  Fort +2, Ref +4, Will +3
  Defensive Abilities ferocity
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
  Melee 2 claws +3 (1d4+1)
  Special Attacks leap, rend (2 claws, 1d4+1)
  STATISTICS
  Str 13, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 7, Wis 10, Cha 8
  Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 14
  Feats Blind-Fight
  Skills Acrobatics +10, Climb +13, Perception +6, Stealth +5
  Languages Aklo
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Leap (Ex) A dire corby can perform a special kind of pounce 
  attack by jumping into combat. When a dire corby charges, 
  it can make a DC 20 Acrobatics check to jump into the air 
  and land next to its enemies. If it makes the Acrobatics 
  check, it can make a full attack against foes in reach.
  t2. tower guArdPost
  This cramped room contains several old crates and barrels 
  covered with thick layers of dust.
  Once used to store arrows, torches, and other supplies, 
  these cramped rooms are all abandoned now. Ladders and 
  trap doors in the ceiling of each tower lead up to the guard 
  towers above (area U2).
  Brinewall Clue: A DC 15 Perception check made while 
  searching any of these areas reveals ancient clues like 
  spilled arrows, old bloodstains, dropped (and long since 
  ruined) longbows, and the like, indicating that some 
  massive battle took place here long ago.
  t3. courtyArd
  This barren courtyard of hard-packed earth contains clumps of 
  tough-looking weeds, furrows in the ground as if made by taloned 
  feet, and chalky white mounds of dung the size of human heads.
  The castle’s central courtyard is quite open. Anyone 
  passing through it is automatically noticed by the three 
  dire corbies on the gatehouse roof or castle walls (area U1) 
  unless extreme measures like invisibility (or sneaking along 
  the walls with Stealth checks after dark) are employed. 
  The dire corbies sound the alarm but don’t immediately 
  descend to attack, instead watching with glee as the 
  inhabitant of area T4 opens the stable doors to let his pet 
  out to feed. As this battle begins, they quickly run from the 
  gatehouse roof to area U3 to try to get the old catapult ready 
  to attack the PCs—see that area’s description for details 
  on how this works out for all involved. The secret door 
  leading into the main keep can be discovered with a DC 25 
  Perception check.
  t4. stABle (cr 4)
  The walls of this wooden stable are gray with age and sag 
  ominously, yet the building seems relatively sound. An old forge 
  sits to the south, while five empty horse stalls stand to the north.
  Creatures: This building is now the home of a 
  particularly emaciated ettercap named Flatbelly and his 
  pet giant hunting spider. Flatbelly has a loose alliance 
  with the dire corbies—they provide him with periodic 
  offerings of deer or other creatures caught in the woods 
  in return for the promise to guard the courtyard. If 
  the alarm is raised, Flatbelly sends his giant spider out 
  to attack intruders. If the spider is slain, the ettercap 
  shrieks in rage and scuttles out to attack the murderers. 
  If confronted inside, however, Flatbelly and his spider 
  attack together.
  Flatbelly 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  Male ettercap (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 129)
  hp 30 
  Giant Hunting Spider 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  hp 16 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 258)
  
  32
  t5. cloister (cr 3)
  This smaller courtyard contains what may have once been a 
  fine garden, but neglect has seen the death of the flowers that 
  once grew here. Several broken benches complete the sense of 
  loss. An area in the middle of the old cloister has been cleared 
  of debris, and is marred by numerous bloodstains.
  The secret door to the north, leading to area T13, can be 
  found with a DC 20 Perception check.
  Creatures: Two malformed humanoids are 
  currently wrestling in the circular area 
  they’ve cleared in the middle of this 
  cloister. Each is a towering specimen, 
  a muscular humanlike figure nearly 
  7 feet tall and riddled with deformities 
  as well as numerous bruises and 
  wounds. These are the ogrekin 
  brothers of the brute Muthildah 
  in area T11, and distant cousins 
  of the ogre Slugwort in area V8. When 
  the PCs first arrive, these two are in the 
  middle of a violent but (in theory) nonlethal 
  wrestling match. The ogrekin enjoy these 
  matches perhaps a bit too much—they’re both 
  wounded and fatigued from their exertions. 
  If a fight breaks out in the courtyard (area 
  T3), the ogrekin come to watch, but they don’t intervene—
  they’re frightened by giant spiders, alive or dead. If the 
  PCs attempt to enter their cloister, though, they attack at 
  once. As soon as one is slain, the other retreats to area T11, 
  jabbering and hollering for help from his older sister.
  Wounded Ogrekin (2) 
  CR 1
  XP 400 each
  hp 12 each (normally 25; Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 204)
  Weaknesses fatigued
  Development: If the ogrekin are not defeated when the 
  PCs first explore this area, they’re rested and perhaps 
  healed the next time the PCs visit, and return to being CR 
  2 menaces.
  t6. throne room (cr 7)
  Rotting, faded banners hang from the walls of this long hall, 
  depicting a stylized castle sitting on a seaside cliff. Thick stone 
  pillars support the ceiling, while at the far end of the hall sits an 
  old wooden throne, its back carved to resemble the towers of a 
  castle wrapped in the coils of a serpentine dragon.
  The door to the north leading to area T17 is locked and 
  made of iron (hardness 10, hp 60, Break DC 28, Disable 
  Device DC 30). None of the castle’s current inhabitants have 
  been able to get through this door, so they enter the donjon 
  beyond via the upper floor when necessary. The stairs to 
  the east lead up to area U8. The secret door to the northwest 
  into area T8 can be found with a DC 20 Perception check.
  Creatures: During the day, the self-styled lord of 
  Brinewall, a yamabushi tengu named Kikonu, can be 
  found in this room. Once a member of the Five Storms, 
  Kikonu abandoned his allegiance to that group almost a 
  quarter of a century ago in order to become the ruler 
  of the strangely intriguing birdmen he found 
  living here. Kikonu has long had an affinity 
  for tengus, but the dire corbies are new to 
  him, and he has yet to grow tired of ruling 
  them. He doesn’t share the dire corbies’ 
  religious beliefs or their bloodlust, but 
  is amused by both and keeps a group of 
  four dire corbies at his side at all times 
  for his entertainment.
  Although Kikonu and the four dire 
  corbies constitute a CR 7 encounter, 
  his overconfidence and twisted sense 
  of humor are a significant advantage for the 
  PCs, for it will take some time for the oni to even 
  consider the PCs a threat. The first time the 
  PCs come to the castle, Kikonu is enjoying 
  his power by directing four dire corbies to 
  perform a play he wrote about a flock of ravens who woke 
  up one day to discover they were trapped in flightless 
  human bodies. The dire corbies aren’t very good at acting, 
  however, but Kikonu finds that more delightful than 
  anything else. When he hears the alarms, he doesn’t bother 
  calling an end to the play—instead, he keeps things going 
  until the PCs enter.
  Kikonu is in his humanoid form—appearing as 
  a wild eyed Tian man with a bristly goatee, deep red 
  skin, and a prodigious nose. He idly toys with a strange 
  weapon—a combination sickle and weighted chain called a 
  kusarigama—and when the PCs enter he cackles in delight 
  and invites them to be seated as his “latest masterpiece” 
  concludes. Whether or not the PCs comply, Kikonu orders 
  the four dire corbies to attack the PCs, then capers and dances 
  and cackles in glee as the battle progresses. Kikonu himself 
  doesn’t attack at first, beyond using ventriloquism to make 
  the dire corbies appear to spout strange lines like, “You took 
  my wings, you flying things!” or “Bring me their eyes and 
  sorrowful sighs!” A few rounds after combat begins, Kikonu 
  shifts into his true form, but once the four dire corbies are 
  slain or the PCs attack him, he shrieks, “That’s not in the 
  play! You’re ruining it all, you hideous apes!” He then uses 
  dimension door to flee the room, traveling up to area U7 to 
  rage and curse about the interruption to his play—see that 
  area for his further actions.
  Kikonu
  
  33
  The Brinewall legacy
  Dire Corbies (4) 
  CR 1
  XP 400 each
  hp 15 each (see page 31)
  Kikonu 
  CR 5
  XP 1,600
  Male yamabushi tengu (see page 88)
  hp 1,600
  Treasure: Kikonu wields a unique magical kusarigama 
  named Dancing Wasp (see page 60). In addition, the oni 
  carries a small leather pouch at his side containing several 
  vials of ink, five shiny pearls worth 100 gp each, and a 
  darkwood-and-silver disc decorated with an intricate 
  etching of Brinewall under the noonday sun. This disc 
  radiates faint transmutation magic, and unknown to 
  Kikonu, is one of two crests required to access Brinewall 
  Castle’s subterranean vaults (area W1).
  t7. Briefing room (cr 3)
  A large table lies in shambles in the middle of this room, while 
  crumbled suits of armor bearing decorations of dragons twisting 
  around castle towers lie in heaps along the walls. A flight of stairs 
  winds up along a curved wall to the north. The air in this room 
  feels stuffy and carries an eye-watering reptilian stink.
  The stairs to the north lead up to area U13, while a door to 
  the south opens onto a stairway leading down to area V1.
  Creatures: Once used as a briefing room for the castle’s 
  guards, this room and others nearby serve as dens for a 
  small squad of troglodytes that came up through the caverns 
  below via the tunnel at area V6. The troglodytes here are 
  supposed to be guarding the stairs leading down to their 
  den, but they’re distracted by squabbles over their latest 
  meal—a blood-gorged and not-long-dead giant tick. The 
  troglodytes have a –5 penalty on Perception checks to notice 
  the PCs enter, but once they see the PCs, the troglodytes 
  howl and attack. The din of the troglodytes fighting with 
  the PCs doesn’t sound much different than the troglodytes 
  fighting over a delicious giant tick, so the two troglodytes 
  sleeping in the next room (area T8) don’t wake and come 
  investigate unless the battle here lasts more than 4 rounds.
  Troglodytes (2) 
  CR 1
  XP 400 each
  hp 13 each (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 267)
  Brinewall Clue: Although the room is in disarray, a DC 
  20 Perception check is enough to recognize a number of 
  documents, maps, and troop lists that date back to the 
  night Brinewall was attacked. This room has sheltered 
  the documents somewhat, but they’re still damaged. All 
  that can be pieced together from the documents here is the 
  fact that the guards believed that the citizens of the village 
  below were rioting, and that several of the buildings 
  had caught on fire. They were preparing to mount an 
  expedition to investigate and bring order, but there is no 
  indication of their success or failure.
  t8. eAst BArrAcks (cr 3)
  Several ruined beds lie in various states of disrepair in this 
  room, their moldy mattresses piled into a filthy heap against 
  the northern wall.
  The secret door to the northeast, leading into area T6, 
  can be found with a DC 20 Perception check.
  Creatures: A second pair of lazy troglodytes are sleeping 
  here in the lap of luxury—on stolen, half rotted, 24-year-
  old mattresses. They wake if a fight in area T7 takes more 
  than 4 rounds, or soon after the PCs enter the room.
  Troglodytes (2) 
  CR 1
  XP 400 each
  hp 13 each (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 267)
  Treasure: The troglodytes have stashed their greatest 
  treasure, a bejeweled silk gown set with pearls worth 
  450 gp that is in remarkably clean condition, under their 
  almost-as-precious mattresses. 
  t9. west BArrAcks (cr 2)
  A large number of ruined bunks have been heaped into a nest-
  shaped mound in the center of this room.
  Creature: The troglodytes’ pet, an enormous cave lizard, 
  lives in this chamber. The lizard is relatively foul tempered as 
  it’s halfway through shedding its skin. The loose skin hanging 
  from its face not only makes the thing look particularly 
  ferocious, but also obscures its vision. The lizard is not 
  quite blind, but all creatures it faces effectively gain partial 
  concealment, so the lizard suffers a 20% miss chance on its 
  attacks. This doesn’t stop it from attacking foes that stumble 
  into the room—troglodyte, human, or anything else.
  Monitor Lizard 
  CR 2
  XP 600
  hp 22 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 194)
  t10. wAshroom
  This room was used as a washroom and latrine for the keep. 
  The denizens of the castle have not discovered the secret 
  door just outside this room that leads out to the courtyard. 
  It can be located with a DC 25 Perception check.
  
  34
  t11. kennel (cr 3)
  Four stone pillars support the roof of this large hall. What appear 
  to have once been wooden cages lie in shambles throughout 
  the room. A heap of rags and furs in the middle of the room 
  seems to be some sort of makeshift bed, while a large heap 
  of partially eaten birds, squirrels, and wild turnips mounded 
  nearby reeks with the stink of compost.
  Creature: This chamber once served the castle as a 
  kennel, but today the only animals here are dead ones, 
  brought by the two ogrekin in area T5 eager to keep their 
  perpetually hungry big sister well fed. Muthildah came 
  to Brinewall nearly a decade ago, followed by her slow-
  witted brothers, after she was driven out of her shack by 
  thugs from Riddleport. When she arrived, Muthildah 
  offered the dire corbies a bag of gold as “rent.” The offer 
  caught the monsters off guard, and they accepted. Kikonu 
  has since made it clear that the dire corbies aren’t allowed 
  to rent out rooms in the castle, but the oni decided to let 
  the ogrekin stay once he realized how strong these allies 
  would be.
  Muthildah eats constantly, but she remains lanky and 
  gangling. Her legs bend in three joints like a dog’s legs, 
  giving her increased speed. Her large milky eyes are 
  particularly sensitive to light, and she prefers not to leave 
  this dimly lit room as a result. She attacks anyone other 
  than her brothers who disturbs her.
  Muthildah 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  Female human ogrekin ranger 3 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 204)
  CE Medium humanoid (giant)
  Init +2; Senses low-light vision; Perception +7
  DEFENSE
  AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 15 (+2 armor, +2 Dex, +3 natural)
  hp 36 (3d10+15)
  Fort +7, Ref +5, Will +4
  Weaknesses light sensitivity
  OFFENSE
  Speed 40 ft.
  Melee +1 flail +6 (1d8+6) and spiked gauntlet +4 (1d4+2)
  Special Attacks favored enemy (elves +2)
  TACTICS
  During Combat Muthildah shrieks in anger if anyone other 
  than her brothers disrupts her nearly constant banquet—
  especially if she sees any particularly delicious elves. 
  Muthildah likes elf ears in particular, and attacks elves in 
  preference to all other foes.
  Morale Muthildah fights to the death.
  STATISTICS
  Str 20, Dex 15, Con 19, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 6
  Base Atk +3; CMB +8; CMD 20
  Feats Endurance, Improved Iron Will, Iron Will, Two-Weapon 
  Fighting, Weapon Focus (flail)
  Skills Climb +11, Handle Animal +4, Intimidate +4, Perception +7, 
  Stealth +8, Survival +7
  Languages Common
  SQ deformities (doglegs [+10 base speed], light sensitive), 
  favored terrain (underground +2), track +1, wild empathy +1
  Gear leather armor, +1 flail, spiked gauntlet, 77 gp
  t12. BAllroom
  This large circular room features a ring of pillars that support 
  a balcony just over fifteen feet above. A flight of stairs winds 
  up to the balcony along the southern wall. Faded paintings of 
  dancing elves decorate the walls, spattered here and there with 
  ancient bloodstains.
  The stairs along the south wall lead to the ballroom 
  balcony above (area U7), while the stairway behind the door 
  to the west leads down to area V4.
  Development: If the PCs come here after encountering 
  Kikonu in area T6, the yamabushi tengu is likely up on 
  the balcony above the ballroom. See area U7 for Kikonu’s 
  actions if the PCs encounter him here.
  Brinewall Clue: A DC 15 Perception check made while 
  searching this ballroom reveals not only that a terrible 
  battle took place here long ago, but also that at least 
  one of the aggressors in the fight possessed prodigious 
  strength, judging from the deep gouges in the walls 
  near the largest bloodstains (the gouges appear to have 
  been created by an enormous axe or similar weapon in 
  several places).
  t13. vestiBule
  This short hallway connects the castle to the guard post to 
  the east. The secret doors in the north and south walls can 
  be found with DC 20 Perception checks.
  t14. storerooms
  Treasure: These two rooms were used as storerooms 
  during Brinewall’s heyday. The northern storeroom is 
  unremarkable, but a DC 20 Perception check made while 
  searching the southern storeroom reveals a case of 20 
  masterwork cold iron arrows and a single +1 flaming burst 
  arrow wrapped in red silk.
  t15. ButtersniPs’s PArlor (cr 3)
  It’s impossible to tell what this room may have originally been 
  used for, as the walls and floor are decorated with countless 
  preserved animals and creatures, ranging from small birds and 
  forest creatures to fearsome predators. Several of the displays 
  look uncomfortably fresh or humanoid in shape.
  
  35
  The Brinewall legacy
  Creature: Once a watchpost, this chamber is now the 
  lair of one of Kikonu’s favorite allies—a 2-1/2-foot-tall 
  horror named Buttersnips. Appearing as a dainty elflike 
  creature with long twitching antennae and wearing a 
  brightly colored dress made from butterfly wings and 
  preserved wildflower petals, Buttersnips is a quickling. 
  While she might not appear to be a sadist, she is—most 
  of the taxidermic trophies she’s decorated her home with 
  were alive throughout most of the preservation process. 
  Indeed, the demented quickling is rather proud of how 
  long she can keep her subjects alive before they expire—
  she almost sees this as a service to them, so her victims get 
  a chance to see how wonderful they’ll be on display before 
  they expire. Her great hope is to someday stitch a pair of 
  humans together, face to face, to create what she wistfully 
  refers to as her “great unrealized reflective masterpiece.”
  Buttersnips moved into this building not long after the 
  Five Storms depopulated the castle. The quickling has since 
  become one of Kikonu’s most valued allies, if only because 
  the oni doesn’t want to become the maniacal quickling’s 
  enemy. Buttersnips carries 5 doses of Medium spider venom 
  and prefers to poison a single target (preferably the most 
  attractive target possible) with multiple hits, then attempts 
  to kill off any of that target’s allies so that by the time the 
  poison does its job and renders her victim helpless, she can 
  begin her taxidermy without interruptions.
  Buttersnips 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  Female quickling (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 227)
  hp 18
  Treasure: In addition to her five vials of poison, 
  Buttersnips has further decorated several of her elf and 
  human taxidermic displays with jewelry—rings, necklaces, 
  anklets, and bracelets worth 220 gp in all.
  t16. inner courtyArd (cr 3)
  This courtyard may have once been a delightful garden, but 
  now it’s a tangle of weeds surrounding a pool of water choked 
  with thick, slimy green algae.
  The secret door to the south, leading to area T13, can be 
  found with a DC 20 Perception check.
  Creature: This 10-foot-deep pond has become the home 
  of a giant toe-biter. The enormous aquatic insect would 
  have died of starvation not long after its birth, but Kikonu 
  has taken a liking to it and makes sure that the dire corbies 
  keep the thing well-fed with creatures caught in the woods 
  and thrown into the pond every few days. If any of the PCs 
  are captured, being thrown into this pond after being 
  stripped of their gear is a very real possibility.
  Giant Toe-Biter 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  Belostomatid (see page 82)
  hp 800 
  t17. hAunted donjon (cr 4)
  Old tapestries depicting a seaside castle hang askew on the walls 
  of this circular room and a thick layer of dust cakes the floor. The 
  air is musty and weirdly cold. Old bloodstains splatter the walls, 
  along with numerous brutal gashes and slashes to the stone 
  itself. Two doors hang askew on hinges in a passageway to the 
  south, while to the north, a third door lies in fragments on the 
  floor, opening onto a flight of stairs leading down into darkness. 
  A second staircase leads upward against the north wall.
  The last few defenders of Brinewall made their stand 
  here—the final two survivors fled to the vault below, but 
  were eventually slain as well. The stairs up lead to area 
  U16, while the other stairs lead down to Brinewall’s vaults 
  (area W1). Any significant noise in this chamber brings the 
  denizen of area T19 to investigate in 1d3 rounds.
  Haunt: This room still carries echoes of the final horrific 
  moments and overwhelming despair of the soldiers who 
  fell here. The slaughtered spirits remain as a haunt, a 
  traplike manifestation of despair and horror. This haunt 
  is particularly focused near the stairs leading down to the 
  vault, where the last few soldiers died. Haunts are presented 
  in detail in the Pathfinder RPG GameMastery Guide.
  Slaughtered Soldiers 
  CR 4
  XP 1,200
  NE persistent haunt (10-foot-radius around entrance to stairs 
  leading down to area W1)
  Caster Level 4th
  Notice Perception DC 15 (to notice the bloodstains on the 
  walls growing fresh and runny)
  hp 18; Trigger touch (any attempt to enter stairwell leading 
  down); Reset 1 hour
  Effect Ghostly soldiers seemingly made of blood emerge 
  shrieking from the bloody swaths on the walls in the 
  haunt’s area of effect, only to be hewn apart by unseen 
  blows, spattering all creatures in the area with the blood. 
  All creatures in this area take 1d6 points of negative energy 
  damage and become frightened for 1 round. A DC 13 Will 
  save reduces the negative energy damage to 1 point and 
  negates the fear effect, but a new save must be made each 
  round that a victim remains in the haunt’s area of effect for 
  as long as the haunt persists. Creatures fleeing this haunt in 
  fear cannot flee downstairs; they must flee upstairs or out 
  of the donjon if possible.
  Destruction The death of Kikonu, the sole remaining oni from 
  the slaughter, puts this haunt to rest.
  
  36
  t18. cAPtAin’s office
  The officer’s desk and the chairs that once decorated this 
  room lie in shambles on the floor. A flight of stairs leads up to 
  the southeast. The battered door to this room hangs askew, 
  revealing a short hallway beyond.
  The stairs lead up to the narrow hallway leading to 
  the secret exit at area U6. Any significant noise in this 
  chamber brings the denizen of area T19 to investigate in 
  1d3 rounds.
  Brinewall Clue: A DC 15 Perception check reveals several 
  scattered and hastily written notes among the desk’s 
  shambles, one of which is part of a letter mentioning an 
  attack on Brinewall Castle. The letter describes the attack 
  as a night assault by men dressed in dark robes. The letter 
  is unfinished and contains no further information.
  t19. cAPtAin’s QuArters (cr 3)
  Trophy displays for armor and weapons, along with a large bed, 
  an ornate writing desk, and a leather chair, lie in shambles in 
  this chamber, smashed to ruins. A thick layer of dust clings to 
  everything in the room.
  Creature: After he was slaughtered, the onetime 
  commander of the garrison, Andril Kortun, was one of two 
  victims animated by the oni to serve as an undead mockery 
  and guardian—the other was Rokuro Kaijitsu himself (see 
  area W1 below). In a grim parody of his duties while he was 
  alive, Andril was placed on guard in this chamber by the 
  oni, ready to defend the donjon from intruders.
  Andril is now a wight—a nearly skeletal mockery of 
  the commander he was in life. He wears a dragon helm 
  and the bloodstained remnants of a destroyed suit of 
  half-plate (the ruined armor neither increases his Armor 
  Class nor impedes his movement), and while his sword 
  hangs at his belt, he does not draw the weapon in battle, 
  seeking instead to claw and gouge flesh with his terrible, 
  blackened claws. Andril fights until destroyed. He 
  pursues foes throughout the donjon area but not into the 
  castle beyond.
  Andril Kortun 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  Male wight (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 276)
  hp 26
  Treasure: Andril’s dragon helm is a work of art worth 
  250 gp, and can be identified with a DC 20 Knowledge 
  (history) check as the traditional helm worn by Brinewall’s 
  commanding officer. The sword that hangs at his belt is a 
  +1 longsword.
  u1. gAtehouse roof (cr 4)
  The top of the gatehouse roof is a large open area of flat stone 
  surrounded by low stone battlements.
  The small towers to the north contain trap doors in the 
  floors leading to the gatehouse below (area T1).
  Creatures: Three dire corbies stand guard here—at any 
  one time, two of the creatures are walking lazy patrols 
  along the walls to areas U3 and U5. Very little approaches 
  Andril Kortun
  
  37
  The Brinewall legacy
  the castle these days, so the first time the PCs approach, the 
  dire corbies aren’t being very attentive and take a –5 penalty 
  on Perception checks to notice intruders. The dire corbies 
  have no ranged weapons, and when they see intruders, they 
  quickly relocate to area U3, eager to try out the old catapult 
  on anyone who makes it into the courtyard below. If attacked 
  with ranged weapons, the creatures take full cover behind 
  the battlements and slowly make their way down to the 
  gatehouse below, joining the dire corbies there and opening 
  the southern gate to storm out and attack the PCs.
  Dire Corbies (3) 
  CR 1
  XP 400 each
  hp 15 each (see page 31)
  Development: After the first time the PCs visit the 
  castle, the dire corbies stationed here are each armed 
  with a heavy crossbow and 10 bolts taken from the armory 
  (area V2).
  u2. guArd towers
  Each of these guard towers features a trap door in the floor 
  that leads down to the corresponding tower guardpost 
  below (area T2).
  u3. cAtAPult stAtion
  An ancient-looking catapult sits atop the stone roof of this flat-
  topped building. Moss grows on the catapult’s ropes and on 
  the four round boulders sitting nearby.
  The strong wooden doors into the keep to the east are 
  kept locked (hardness 5, hp 20, Break DC 25, Disable Device 
  DC 30).
  Development: The catapult here is about as sound as it 
  looks, but this doesn’t keep the dire corbies from racing to 
  try it out if the PCs manage to get into the courtyard. It’s 
  easiest to assume that the dire corbies reach the catapult, get 
  it loaded, and are ready to fire it as soon as the PCs finish 
  fighting against Flatbelly and his spider (see area T4).
  When the dire corbies actually fire the catapult, however, 
  things don’t go quite as planned. The combination of the 
  catapult’s poor condition and the zeal with which they crank 
  it causes the arm to smash through the catapult’s guard. The 
  boulder loaded into the catapult has a 50% chance of simply 
  flying off harmlessly into the woods to the south; otherwise, 
  it slams into the ground near one randomly determined PC. 
  That PC must make a DC 14 Reflex save or take 2d6 points 
  of damage from the glancing blow. At the same time, the 
  U1
  U2
  U2
  U2
  U2
  U2
  U2
  U2
  U3
  U4
  U4
  U5
  U6
  U7
  U8
  U9
  U10
  U11
  U12
  U13
  U14
  a
  a
  a
  a
  a
  b
  U15
  U15a
  U16
  a
  a
  U17
  a
  
  38
  catapult tears itself apart in an explosion of snapping ropes 
  and wooden splinters deal 2d4 points of damage to all of 
  the dire corbies. Dissuaded by their failure, the dire corbies 
  clamber down the wall to finish their attack on the PCs the 
  old fashioned corby way—with beaks and talons.
  u4. locked doors
  The strong wooden double doors at these locations are 
  kept locked (hardness 5, hp 20, Break DC 25, Disable 
  Device DC 30).
  u5. solArium (cr 3)
  This chamber may have once had a beautiful roof of glass, but 
  little remains today save for a few precariously leaning wooden 
  timbers hanging above a swath of crumbled stone and ruined 
  furniture. The roof covering the southern half of the room has 
  been crudely repaired with thick sheets of canvas and furs that 
  have been stretched and fastened over the frames, creating a 
  dark, almost cavelike, nesting area.
  Creature: The dire corbies created the jury-rigged 
  covered area at their priestess Nevakali’s command, as a 
  nest for her mobat ally. During the day, the horse-sized 
  black bat sleeps here, hanging upside down from the 
  wooden frame, but it quickly rouses to attack any 
  non-dire corby traversing this part of the wall. 
  The mobat is intelligent, and while 
  it cannot speak, it understands 
  Aklo and treats Nevakali as a good 
  friend. At night, the mobat flies out to hunt in the 
  woods surrounding the castle.
  Mobat 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  hp 34 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 42)
  u6. secret exit
  The secret doors located here allowed for easy escape 
  from the donjon—except in the case of the final attack on 
  Brinewall, when the invaders came from this floor and 
  worked their way downward. The secret doors are difficult 
  to find, requiring a DC 30 Perception check to locate, but 
  no mechanism for opening them exists on the outside. A 
  DC 30 Disable Device check is needed to open them from 
  the castle wall. Inside, the doors can be opened normally 
  to exit the donjon. Beyond the doors, stairs lead down to 
  area T19.
  u7. BAllroom BAlcony
  A ten-foot wide balcony winds around an ancient 
  ballroom below. A rickety-looking railing runs along 
  the balcony’s edge.
  The railing is as untrustworthy as it looks; anyone 
  leaning against it crashes through, falling 15 feet into the 
  ballroom below. The stairs along the southern wall 
  lead down to area T12.
  Creature: If Kikonu retreats to this area after 
  the PCs disrupt the performance of his latest play in 
  area T6, the unhinged oni spends 1d6 minutes stomping 
  around the balcony here, shrieking and cursing the PCs 
  for interrupting the performance. If the PCs encounter 
  Kikonu
  
  39
  The Brinewall legacy
  him here or in the ballroom below before he calms down, 
  he shrieks in rage and scuttles around the edge of the 
  balcony, firing rays of enfeeblement and scorching rays down 
  at them for 1d4 rounds until he curses again. At this point 
  (or after he cools down on his own) he retreats to area V1 
  (via dimension door if the PCs are attacking him) and rouses 
  the troglodytes there to hunt down the PCs. Kikonu’s next 
  round of tactics is detailed in that room.
  Kikonu 
  CR 5
  XP 1,600
  Male yamabushi tengu (see page 88)
  hp 1,600
  u8. feAsting hAll (cr 4 or 8)
  This chamber reeks of rotten food and bird droppings. A long 
  dining table sits in the middle of the room, heaped with partially 
  eaten animal carcasses and several thick eggshells.
  The stairs to the southeast lead down to area T6.
  Creatures: Although dire corbies aren’t particularly 
  interested in cleanliness, their lord Kikonu is. Every day, 
  three dire corbies must scour the castle of filth, keeping the 
  place relatively clean. While this duty rankles the dire corbies, 
  they’ve learned that the alternative to cleaning—being sent 
  to “play” with Buttersnips in area T15—is even worse. This 
  room is traditionally the filthiest, so the three dire corbies 
  assigned to cleaning for the day are likely to be found here, 
  but the PCs can encounter them anywhere else in the castle 
  if you wish, save for areas where other creatures dwell or the 
  donjon itself (where the dire corbies fear to tread).
  Dire Corbies (3) 
  CR 1
  XP 400 each
  hp 15 each (see page 31)
  Development: All of the dire corbies gather in this room 
  to feed every evening at sunset—squabbling and bickering 
  over the choicest cuts of wild animals the day’s hunt 
  produced (supplemented by any eggs the females among 
  them have laid—the dire corbies are disturbingly fond 
  of their own eggs). If the PCs enter this room within an 
  hour of sunset, they’ll find all of the dire corbies in the 
  castle (save for Nevakali, their priestess) gathered here. 
  At full strength, these 12 dire corbies constitute a CR 8 
  encounter—fortunately for the PCs, however, the creatures 
  are noisy and distracted by their hideous meal, and take a 
  –10 penalty on Perception checks to notice intruders.
  u9. wAshroom
  This small chamber serves as both a washroom and a 
  lavatory for the castle’s upper floor—although since 
  the dire corbies are relatively filthy creatures and tend 
  to relieve themselves wherever they wish, this room is 
  unusually clean.
  u10. servAnts’ QuArters
  The door to this room is stuck shut. It hasn’t been opened in 
  years, but a DC 16 Strength check is enough to bash it open.
  Filaments of white, fibrous mold grow all along the walls and 
  across the bunk beds in this room, giving the room a foul, 
  musty stink. Here and there, thicker mounds of fungus grow 
  in nauseating colors.
  The fungus in this room has been growing since 
  Brinewall fell. Fortunately, the fungus is harmless (if 
  nasty looking). The three large mounds of fungus cover 
  the soggy bones of long-dead servants.
  Brinewall Clue: The fungus-covered corpses of the 
  servants here are among the few existing remains of the 
  castle’s original doomed inhabitants. Although only a few 
  bones are left, an investigation of them (once the mold’s 
  cleared away) reveals limbs and heads severed by sharp 
  slashing weapons, and no sign of skulls (these were taken 
  as trophies).
  u11. servAnts’ QuArters
  Several bunk beds lean precariously against the walls in this 
  cramped chamber.
  Treasure: Unlike area U10, there are neither fungi nor 
  mortal remains to be found in this room. Nevertheless, a 
  DC 20 Perception check reveals a cleverly hidden niche in 
  the eastern wall behind a loose brick, where a servant long 
  ago stashed several stolen pieces of fine silverware. The 
  silverware hidden here is are worth 100 gp in all.
  u12. storeroom (cr 4)
  The denizens of Brinewall avoid this room, and the door 
  is stuck closed, requiring DC 16 Strength check to smash 
  open. If an attempt to break open the door fails, a DC 
  12 Perception check hears the sounds of a young child 
  sobbing in the room beyond.
  Although this storeroom may have once been well organized, 
  the fallen crates and broken barrels that fill the room now 
  present a tangle of debris.
  Creature: When the Five Storms attacked Brinewall, 
  most of the castle’s inhabitants, young and old alike, rose 
  to its defense. In the case of a young boy named Tolo, 
  however, fate had another doom in store. When the attack 
  came, Tolo’s parents tried to escape the castle only to be cut 
  
  40
  down by ninja. Terrified, Tolo fled into this storeroom to 
  hide, but as he clambered into the room, his panic brought 
  a stack of old braziers and firewood down onto him. The 
  child was buried under the falling logs and died a horrible, 
  lonely death while listening to the murders of Brinewall’s 
  residents all around him.
  Several months later, Tolo’s spirit rose as a tragic undead 
  creature: an attic whisperer. The undead child remains 
  bound to this chamber, content to play with several “toys” 
  crafted from his body’s bones and bits of wood and rubble 
  gathered from the room itself, but anytime a creature 
  attempts to enter, he breaks down into mournful sobbing. 
  The supernatural power of the attic whisperer’s aura of 
  sobs frightens the dire corbies terribly, and they stay clear 
  of this room as a result.
  If the PCs enter the room, the attic whisperer’s distress 
  turns to cold, cruel vengeance as it attacks the intruders, 
  manifesting as a skeletal human child with a wolf’s skull 
  for a head. The distressing undead creature fights until 
  destroyed, but does not pursue foes beyond the boundaries 
  of this room.
  Attic Whisperer 
  CR 4
  XP 1,200
  hp 45 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 34)
  Brinewall Clue: A DC 12 Perception check is all that’s 
  required to find poor Tolo’s skeleton, still pinned to the 
  floor beneath a stack of old firewood and a heavy iron 
  brazier. The child had tried to distract himself from the 
  sounds of battle outside by scribbling drawings on the wall 
  with charcoal—these images depict crude representations 
  of ninja with throwing stars, frightening bird-headed 
  men, and lumbering magical ogres wielding axes—images 
  made all the more frightening by their childlike quality.
  u13. study
  This chamber’s furniture—couches, drawing tables, and empty 
  bookshelves—lie in disarray, with the exception of one writing 
  desk and chair in the center of the room, its surface heaped 
  with pages of parchment and paper.
  Kikonu spends most of his evenings in this chamber, 
  scribbling new pages for his endlessly evolving dramatic 
  masterpiece. The pages on the desk are covered with dense 
  scribblings and revisions in messy Tien writing—a DC 
  25 Linguistics check made by someone able to read that 
  language is enough to reveal that the pages seem to be for 
  a nonsensical play about a family of crows that turn into 
  bitter, insane humans.
  The stairs along the north wall lead down to area T7, 
  while a similar stairway to the south leads up to area U17.
  Development: After dark, there’s a 75% chance of 
  encountering Kikonu in this chamber—otherwise, he can 
  be found in his bedroom (area U14b). If he’s encountered 
  here, the oni is enraged at the distraction but spends only 
  a single round in combat before using dimension door to 
  relocate to area U7 to collect his thoughts and plan his next 
  step against the intruders.
  u14. Bedroom wing
  This wing of the castle contains several chambers once 
  used as bedrooms and guest quarters—most of these 
  rooms are in relatively good repair, as the dire corbies 
  nest in them. During the day, these rooms remain empty. 
  At night, the dozen dire corbies in the castle spread out 
  among the rooms labeled U14a, while the castle’s master 
  bedroom, area U14b, is reserved for Kikonu himself. The 
  yamabushi tengu is only present in this room at night 25% 
  of the time—if he’s not here, he can be found in area U13.
  u15. desPoiled shrine (cr 4)
  Dozens of paintings of a towering humanoid figure with four 
  wings, a bird’s head, and a scorpion’s tail decorate the walls of 
  this room, seemingly painted in blood. Old pews sit in a line 
  facing the eastern wall, where a hideously defaced statue of a 
  winged woman stands.
  This room was once a shrine to Desna, but the dire 
  corbies’ priest, a cultist of Pazuzu named Nevakali, has 
  done her best to redecorate the room as an appropriate 
  temple to her demonic patron. The statue of Desna has 
  been particularly despoiled—her wings hacked down the 
  middle to give the impression of having four wings instead 
  of two, her head removed and replaced with a crude carving 
  of a leering bird’s head, and a long, barbed tail made of 
  braided dried nettles hanging from her posterior.
  Creature: Nevakali dresses in filthy robes caked with 
  blood—filth that often mats her feathers and smears her 
  beak and talons as well. She rarely leaves this chamber. 
  While the dire corbies themselves respect her, they 
  also fear her. They only enter this room when they need 
  healing, but if they’re having particular trouble against 
  the PCs, they may come here to beg Nevakali for help. The 
  violent priestess is likely to murder the dire corby asking 
  for help, but she’ll seek out the PCs thereafter.
  Nevakali 
  CR 4
  XP 1,200
  Female dire corby cleric of Pazuzu 3 (see page 31)
  CE Medium monstrous humanoid 
  Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +12
  DEFENSE
  AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 15 (+3 armor, +2 Dex, +2 natural)
  
  41
  The Brinewall legacy
  hp 42 (5 HD; 2d10+3d8+18)
  Fort +5, Ref +6, Will +8
  Defensive Abilities ferocity
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
  Melee mwk longsword +6 (1d8/19–20), claw –1 (1d4)
  Special Attacks channel negative energy 3/day (DC 11, 2d6), 
  leap, rend (2 claws, 1d4)
  Domain Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3rd; concentration +5)
  5/day—copycat (3 rounds), lightning arc (1d6+1 electricity)
  Spells Prepared (CL 3rd; concentration +5)
  2nd—darkness, invisibilityD, sound burst (DC 14)
  1st—cause fear (DC 13), cure light wounds, magic stone, 
  obscuring mistD
  0 (at will)—detect magic, guidance, mending, resistance
  D Domain spell; Domains Air, Trickery
  TACTICS
  During Combat Nevakali begins combat by casting sound 
  burst to try to stun the PCs, then casts darkness to give 
  herself an area to lurk in while she casts magic stone or uses 
  other ranged spells on the PCs. If reduced to fewer than 20 
  hit points, she casts invisibility on herself and flees to area 
  U5 to recruit the aid of her mobat ally, returning to this 
  room with the giant bat to finish the fight after she uses her 
  scrolls and spells to heal herself back to full hit points.
  Morale Nevakali fights to the death.
  STATISTICS
  Str 10, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 15, Cha 10
  Base Atk +4; CMB +4; CMD 16
  Feats Combat Casting, Toughness, Weapon Focus (longsword)
  Skills Acrobatics +14, Climb +11, Knowledge (religion) +4, 
  Linguistics +5, Perception +12
  Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Common
  Combat Gear scrolls of cure moderate wounds (2), scroll of dispel 
  magic, wand of inflict moderate wounds (12 charges); Other 
  Gear studded leather, masterwork longsword, silver unholy 
  symbol of Pazuzu worth 100 gp
  Treasure: Nevakali did an excellent job despoiling the 
  temple, but not a thorough one. Area U15a is a small cell 
  once used by the priest who tended the shrine, and the dire 
  corby didn’t bother to defile this small room. As a result, 
  she never found the footlocker tucked under the cramped 
  room’s bed, but the PCs can find it with a DC 20 Perception 
  check. The locker contains a small stash of magic that has 
  lain here forgotten for 24 years, including four +2 evil outsider 
  bane arrows, a scroll of cure moderate wounds, a scroll of remove 
  disease, a scroll of restoration, and a phylactery of faithfulness.
  u16. hAunted guArd Post (cr 2)
  Judging from the blood and gouges marring the walls, a terrific 
  battle once took place in this guard room.
  The two side rooms (areas U16a) were once armories, 
  but these chambers now stand empty. The stairs to the 
  north lead down to area T17.
  Haunt: As with the donjon below, this chamber is infused 
  with the tormented spiritual energy of the soldiers who 
  fought and died here—although the haunt here is somewhat 
  less dangerous than the one on the floor below.
  Shrieking Walls 
  CR 2
  XP 600
  NE haunt (10-foot-radius in center of room)
  Caster Level 2nd
  Notice Perception DC 15 (to notice the bloodstains on the 
  walls growing fresh and runny)
  hp 4; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 day
  Effect When this haunt is triggered, ghostly faces suddenly 
  animate on the walls, unleashing nerve-wracking shrieks 
  Nevakali
  
  42
  of terror and horror. All creatures in the area of the haunt are 
  affected as if by a scare spell (save DC 13).
  Destruction The death of Kikonu, the sole remaining oni from 
  the slaughter, puts this haunt to rest.
  u17. tower liBrAry (cr 5)
  The walls of this semicircular room are lined with bookshelves, 
  although the majority of the books lie in disorganized piles on 
  the floor. A large, filthy nest of grass, branches, and strips of 
  cloth is tucked in the northeastern corner of the room, while 
  a wooden door sits in the wall to the northwest and a flight of 
  stairs leads down to the south.
  The northern door is unlocked and ajar so that it can be 
  moved through as a move action. The balcony out front (area 
  U17a) overlooks the cliffs beneath the castle—a character 
  who falls from this edge can land on a narrow ledge 20 feet 
  below with a DC 15 Reflex save; otherwise it’s a 70-foot fall 
  into the deep water below. The stairs lead down to area U13.
  Creature: Once the castle library, this chamber is now 
  the home of an unusual harpy named Zaiobe. As long as 
  she can remember, Zaiobe has been mute. She has vague 
  memories of a demonic wind snatching her voice away 
  after she found a strange statue of a four-winged demon 
  in a high cave in the western Kodar Mountains 2 years 
  ago, and no memories at all before then. Since that time, 
  Zaiobe has been developing strange new magical powers, 
  and has followed a twisted urge to fly south, to seek out 
  other statues and sites sacred to the four-winged demon. 
  She knows now that this demon is Pazuzu, and she’s come 
  to believe he stole her voice to compel her to accomplish 
  a mission, but she’s still unclear on what that mission is. 
  Upon finding the small cult of Pazuzu at Brinewall several 
  months ago, however, she offered her services—although 
  mute, she was able to speak with Kikonu via a limited form 
  of telepathy—and secured a place among his followers.
  It wasn’t long before she and Kikonu became lovers, 
  and not long after that before they had the first of many 
  powerful arguments and disagreements. Their latest 
  spat threatens to be their greatest yet, for when Kikonu 
  discovered that he could speak in Zaiobe’s voice when he 
  used his steal voice ability on her, the harpy grew enraged 
  and shot Kikonu through the arm with a flaming arrow. 
  Kikonu took the shot in stride, so amused was he at being 
  able to use her voice when she could not. The two haven’t 
  communicated since. Zaiobe’s nearly made the decision to 
  leave Brinewall and continue her journey south to seek out 
  an even stronger vision of her demonic ally, a being called 
  the Red Bishop (see page 66), but for now the combination 
  of depression and inertia has kept her here.
  When she first meets the PCs, Zaiobe sees them as tools 
  she can use to get her revenge on Kikonu. She initially 
  adopts as nonthreatening a stance as she can, and tries to 
  convince one of the PCs (preferably one who looks shifty, 
  not one who looks like a champion of law or good) to let 
  her touch him so she can communicate telepathically. If a 
  PC allows this, she explains that she wants the PCs’ aid in 
  killing her lover; in return, she’ll leave the PCs alone and 
  won’t contest their presence in Brinewall. If the PCs agree, 
  Zaiobe can be a handy ally—she’ll even consent to casting 
  a few healing spells on the PCs if asked. She suggests the 
  PCs pick a place in the castle (preferably outside) where 
  they can lay an ambush for Kikonu. When the PCs are in 
  position, she’ll telepathically contact him, claiming to want 
  to patch things up and reestablish their romance. In this 
  case, Kikonu automatically believes her and comes into the 
  ambush, where Zaiobe and the PCs can join forces to attack 
  him. Faced with this betrayal, Kikonu focuses his attacks 
  on Zaiobe and fights to the death as long as she lives. No 
  matter which of the two wins the battle, the survivor turns 
  on the PCs once the other is dead—Kikonu out of wrath, 
  and Zaiobe out of greed (she hopes to kill them and claim 
  all their delightful-looking gear).
  If, on the other hand, the PCs don’t wish to ally with 
  Zaiobe, she shrugs and exits the library onto the balcony, 
  taking to the air to attack the PCs.
  Zaiobe 
  CR 5
  XP 1,600
  Female harpy oracle 2 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 172, Pathfinder 
  RPG Advanced Player’s Guide 42)
  CE Medium monstrous humanoid 
  Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +12
  DEFENSE
  AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 15 (+4 armor, +3 Dex, +1 natural)
  hp 58 (9 HD; 7d10+2d8+11)
  Fort +3, Ref +8, Will +8
  Resist electricity 5
  OFFENSE
  Speed 20 ft., fly 80 ft. (average)
  Melee 2 talons +9 (1d6+1)
  Ranged +1 composite longbow +12/+7 (1d8+2/×3)
  Oracle Spells Known (CL 2nd; concentration +7)
  1st (6/day)—alter winds*, cause fear (DC 16), cure light 
  wounds, entropic shield
  0 (at will)—detect magic, guidance, mending, spark*, stabilize
  Mystery wind
  TACTICS
  During Combat Zaiobe avoids melee combat, casting entropic 
  shield on herself on the first round of combat after using 
  flight to put some distance between herself and her 
  enemies. She saves cause fear to drive away anyone who 
  manages to stay in melee with her, relying primarily on her 
  longbow to take down foes. She’s saving her flaming arrows 
  for Kikonu—she suspects the next time they interact, he’ll 
  
  43
  The Brinewall legacy
  push her over the edge, after all—but 
  if brought below 25 hit points, she uses 
  the arrows on her most dangerous foe 
  at that time instead. She casts cure light 
  wounds on herself whenever she drops below 
  20 hit points.
  Morale Zaiobe fights to the death, confident that 
  her mysterious connection to Pazuzu will protect 
  her until proven otherwise.
  STATISTICS
  Str 12, Dex 17, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 21
  Base Atk +8; CMB +9; CMD 22
  Feats Deadly Aim, Improved Initiative, Martial Weapon 
  Proficiency (longbow), Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot
  Skills Acrobatics +12 (+8 jump), Fly +13, Knowledge (religion) +4, 
  Perception +12, Stealth +13
  Languages Common (cannot speak); telepathy (touch), 
  telepathic bond (with Kikonu)
  SQ oracle’s curse (mute), revelation (spark skin)
  Combat Gear +1 flaming arrows (5), potions of cure moderate 
  wounds (2); Other Gear chain shirt, +1 composite longbow 
  with 20 arrows
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Mute (Ex) Zaiobe’s oracle curse renders her mute—she can’t 
  speak, use verbal spell components, or use her captivating 
  song as a result. This same curse, though, grants her the 
  ability to cast all spells as if using the Silent Spell metamagic 
  feat without modifying that spell’s actual level. In addition, 
  Zaiobe can communicate telepathically with any creature she 
  is in physical contact with. She can also maintain a telepathic 
  bond with one specific creature at a time by taking a full-round 
  action to link her mind to that creature during telepathic 
  communication. Currently, she shares this link with Kikonu, 
  even though, ironically, the two are not speaking. Zaiobe can 
  change the target of her telepathic link once per day.
  * See the Advanced Player’s Guide.
  Development: If hard pressed, Kikonu attempts to make 
  amends with Zaiobe via the telepathic link they share—see 
  Development in area V1 for details on how this could work 
  out for the oni.
  v1. mess hAll (cr 4)
  Long benches in various states of disrepair and several battered 
  and filthy wooden tables stand between stone pillars in this 
  room. The air here stinks of reptiles.
  The door in the northwest wall opens onto a stairway 
  leading up to area T7.
  Creatures: Once the mess hall for the castle’s guards, 
  this room is now the home of several troglodytes who came 
  to Brinewall several years ago. At first, the troglodytes and 
  the dire corbies didn’t get along, but Kikonu eventually 
  convinced the two to begrudgingly accept each other 
  through a masterful mix of diplomacy and intimidation. 
  Four troglodytes are currently in the room, guarding the 
  armory (area V2) and killing time until either Kikonu or 
  their commander in area V3 has a task for them. Upon 
  seeing intruders, the troglodytes begin a semiorganized 
  retreat to area V3 so they can fight alongside their boss.
  Troglodytes (4) 
  CR 1
  XP 400 each
  hp 13 each (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 267)
  Zaiobe
  
  44
  Development: Depending upon developments in the 
  castle above, the yamabushi tengu Kikonu may end up 
  retreating to this room. In this case, Kikonu sends one 
  troglodyte to fetch their commander from area V3, and 
  once all the troglodytes are gathered, Kikonu charges 
  them with the task of heading upstairs to hunt down and 
  slay the PCs. The troglodytes fear Kikonu’s magic and 
  make haste to obey—how and where the PCs encounter 
  the troglodyte death squad is up to you (with their 
  leader, they’re a CR 6 encounter), but the troglodytes 
  aren’t subtle—the PCs should have at least a few rounds 
  to prepare when they hear (or smell) the troglodytes 
  approaching. As the troglodytes head off, Kikonu finally 
  attempts to contact his estranged harpy lover Zaiobe (in 
  area U17) via their telepathic link, asking her to seek out 
  the PCs as well and promising her all sorts of rewards in 
  return. Zaiobe agrees, and asks Kikonu to meet her at the 
  catapult station on the roof (area U3). In fact, she goes to 
  find the PCs to recruit them to help her kill her lover, as 
  detailed in area U17.
  v2. Armory
  This room appears to be an armory, yet the majority of the 
  armor stands, weapons racks, and shelves stand empty.
  Treasure: Most of the weapons stored here were used (or 
  lost, or destroyed) during the final battle for Brinewall 24 
  years ago, but a few items remain here, including a suit 
  of half-plate armor, a masterwork heavy steel shield, four 
  heavy crossbows, 40 crossbow bolts, and a case containing 
  10 flasks of alchemist’s fire.
  v3. ArenA (cr 4)
  The fifteen-foot-high ceiling of this hexagonal room is supported 
  by four stone pillars. The middle of the room sags in a bowl-
  like depression, leaving a five-foot-wide ring of level ground 
  around the room’s perimeter. Remnants of a low wooden 
  railing mark the edge of the depression, but most of the fence 
  has collapsed. A large chair sits in the center of the room next to 
  a table heaped with doubtful-looking cuts of rancid meat.
  Creatures: This room was used as a sort of arena for 
  sparring matches and sport fighting among the castle 
  guards, who enjoyed boxing and wrestling as both a 
  training exercise and entertainment. Since the troglodytes 
  took over this wing of the dungeon, though, they’ve given 
  this room over to their leader, a particularly muscular 
  troglodyte named Orbakhag. This monster spends much 
  of his time lounging on the homemade throne his subjects 
  V1
  V2
  V3
  V4
  V5
  V6
  V7
  V8
  V9
  V10a
  V10
  V10b
  W1
  W2
  
  45
  The Brinewall legacy
  have provided him, feasting on the choicest cuts of meat 
  and dallying with his latest consorts or watching the two 
  fight for his amusement, as he is currently doing when the 
  PCs enter the room. When confronted, Orbakhag and his 
  two consorts attack at once, fighting to the death. While his 
  consorts are typical troglodytes, Orbakhag is an advanced 
  specimen who fights with a +1 cold iron morningstar.
  Orbakhag 
  CR 2
  XP 600
  Advanced troglodyte (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 267, 294)
  hp 17
  Melee +1 cold iron morningstar +5 (1d8+4), claw –1 (1d4+1), 
  bite –1 (1d4+1)
  Troglodytes (2) 
  CR 1
  XP 400 each
  hp 13 each (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 267)
  Treasure: In addition to his magical morningstar, 
  Orbakhag carries 2 potions of cure light wounds.
  v4. kitchen
  Stone pillars support the ceiling over this large kitchen—
  although the fire pits, tables, and pantries here look like they 
  haven’t been used in decades. Thick layers of dust cover 
  everything in the room.
  The current denizens of Brinewall have little interest 
  in cooked food, and thus this chamber, once one of the 
  castle’s busiest rooms, has lain dormant since the castle’s 
  fall. The room serves as little more than a crossroads now, 
  as the paths of dire corby and troglodyte prints between 
  areas V1, V6, and V7 attest.
  The strong wooden door in the east wall is locked 
  (hardness 5, hp 20, Break DC 25, Disable Device DC 30). It 
  was via the tunnel beyond this door that the initial dire 
  corby invasion of the castle occurred during Brinewall’s 
  earliest days. The single door to the south opens onto a 
  stairway leading up to area T12.
  v5. lAundry (cr 4)
  The door leading into this long-disused laundry room 
  is swollen shut (hardness 5, hp 15, Break DC 16). If 
  successfully broken open, the door gives way with sudden 
  ease. The character who bashed in the door must make a 
  DC 15 Reflex save to avoid falling prone in the 5-foot square 
  directly inside the room.
  This foul-smelling chamber drips with moisture—it runs down 
  the walls in rivulets amid thick tangles of nasty-looking fungus. 
  Three washing bins in the walls are completely clogged with 
  heaps of even more repulsive molds and mushrooms, some of 
  which have grown to prodigious size, like the large mound of 
  green mold sprouting dozens of purple-capped mushrooms in 
  the center of the room.
  Creature: Most of the fungus growing in this room 
  is harmless, but the mound in the center of the room is 
  more dangerous—this patch is actually a deadly fungus 
  called a phycomid. A combination of sickly green mold and 
  purple-capped mushrooms, this fungus reacts quickly to 
  intruders by firing pellets of acid from its stalks. If the 
  door is broken open, this ravenous fungus pursues foes 
  (albeit slowly) throughout the dungeon. Canny PCs can 
  take advantage of this to lure the fungus into attacking 
  other creatures in the castle.
  Phycomid 
  CR 4
  XP 1,200
  hp 39 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 210)
  v6. escAPe cAvern
  A tangle of stalactites and stalagmites fills this low-ceilinged 
  cavern, with only a five-foot-wide path running along the 
  southern wall being clear of obstruction.
  The floor of the cavern beyond the clear path along the 
  south wall is considered difficult terrain. The path itself 
  ends at a locked secret door (hardness 8, hp 60, Break DC 
  28, Disable Device DC 30) that can be discovered with a DC 
  20 Perception check. Beyond the door, a passageway winds 
  down through the rock until it ends at a second, equally 
  difficult to locate and equally locked secret door. Past this 
  second door is a cavern that’s partially flooded at high tide 
  but that leads out to a narrow beach at the base of the cliffs 
  60 feet below the castle (area S1).
  v7. cistern
  A pool of dark water lies in the center of this domed room, 
  surrounded by four stone pillars.
  This room contains the castle’s primary water supply, 
  although the water itself tastes a bit brackish. It is 
  otherwise empty. 
  v8. dungeon (cr 4)
  Not quite a torture chamber, this dungeon features three cells 
  made of iron bars—one to the north and two to the south. A 
  filthy, nestlike bed lies in the middle of the room, heaped around 
  a central stone pillar next to what can only be a half-eaten giant 
  centipede the size of a horse.
  
  46
  The iron doors to the three cells are kept locked 
  (hardness 10, hp 60, Break DC 28, Disable Device DC 30). 
  The secret door in the east wall can be discovered with a 
  DC 25 Perception check.
  Creatures: This dungeon is the home of a particularly 
  muscular but relatively dim-witted ogre named Slugwort, 
  a distant relative of the ogrekin who live in the castle above 
  and now a loyal (if somewhat simpleminded) minion of 
  Kikonu, whom Slugwort calls “little birdface,” much to 
  Kikonu’s delight.
  Slugwort killed his brothers and father over an argument 
  about the outcome of a game of skulltuck gone wrong. But 
  after a night alone in the family cave, Slugwort came to believe 
  his home was haunted and left to seek out kin elsewhere. All 
  he had to go on was his father’s claim that his “better looking 
  kids” all went to live at Brinewall. He was overjoyed to find 
  the ogrekin here, even if Muthildah and her brothers were 
  less than delighted to see him. Kikonu took to Slugwort 
  immediately, though, and offered him a job as a jailer—until 
  then, the yamabushi tengu had left dire corbies in charge of 
  the prison whenever he caught victims, but an ogre seemed 
  to be a much more intimidating jailor to the oni. Slugwort 
  agreed, and takes his role as the oni’s turnkey very seriously. 
  As much as temptation might prod him, he’s yet to harm any 
  of the prisoners kept here without Kikonu’s permission.
  Currently, Slugwort has only one prisoner, a feisty 
  and stubborn Ulfen woman named Kelda Oxgutter (see 
  Development, below). If any of the PCs (or any of the NPCs 
  accompanying the caravan) have been captured, they are 
  held in the cells here as well.
  Slugwort reacts with dull shock when the PCs enter. 
  It takes him a round to process the fact that they’re not 
  supposed to be here, making him flat-footed for the first 
  round of combat. He yells phrases like “You’s not allowed 
  in here. ’Cept if you’re here for to be going in a cage? You 
  want in cage?” Unless the PCs let Slugwort lock them up 
  and confiscate their gear, the ogre fights to the death.
  Slugwort 
  CR 4
  XP 1,200
  Advanced ogre (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 220, 294)
  hp 38
  Treasure: Slugwort carries little treasure—his greatclub 
  (an uprooted sapling whose roots are caked with numerous 
  layers of gravel and tar) is his favorite possession. He 
  carries a small, ratty pouch made out of a cow’s stomach 
  in which he keeps his collection of shiny river rocks, a few 
  dead turtles for munching, the key to the three cells, 77 gp, 
  a filthy masterwork dagger for pimple care, and his lucky 
  rock (which is, unknown to Slugwort, an earth elemental 
  gem). The southwestern cage holds a small pile of armor 
  and weapons—Kelda’s gear.
  Development: Kelda Oxgutter is the only survivor of a 
  raiding party that came to loot Brinewall of its treasures. 
  She remained convinced of her chances for success even 
  after her shield-brothers died in a battle against a sea 
  drake because she’d come across a partial and early plan 
  for Brinewall castle that showed the location of a secret 
  entrance. She hoped to use this entrance as a direct route to 
  Brinewall’s treasury, but unfortunately for her, the entrance 
  led instead to the lair of the most dangerous creature 
  dwelling in the caverns below the castle. She was quickly 
  captured and turned over to Kikonu by the denizen of area 
  V10. The oni has imprisoned her in the northern cage here 
  while he decides what to do with her.
  Kelda is ashamed of having been captured. If the PCs 
  defeat Slugwort, she stands in her cell, dressed in rags but 
  silently defiant as she glowers at the PCs. She won’t ask to 
  be let out, but if the PCs offer, she nods to them in thanks. 
  Normally a woman of few words, she’s particularly close-
  mouthed about how and why she became imprisoned. If the 
  PCs can befriend her with a DC 20 Diplomacy check (they 
  get a +8 bonus on this check if they return her gear to her), 
  she explains why she came to Brinewall and how she got 
  caught. She’s lost interest in Brinewall’s treasure, and wants 
  only to leave. If the PCs tell her about their caravan and offer 
  her a place there to recover from her ordeal, she agrees to 
  serve them as a driver, guard, or scout for a few months, free 
  of charge. Eventually, Kelda wants to return to the Lands of 
  the Linnorm Kings, and tells the PCs that if they wish to 
  accompany her back to her home in Kalsgard, she’ll see that 
  they’re properly rewarded for their service to her. Details on 
  this reward can be found in the next adventure in the Jade 
  Regent Adventure Path, “Night of Frozen Shadows.”
  Once she’s reequipped, Kelda’s stats (while raging) are 
  as follows.
  Kelda Oxgutter 
  CR 2
  XP 600
  Female human barbarian 3
  CN Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +1; Senses Perception +7
  DEFENSE
  AC 17, touch 9, flat-footed 16 (+6 armor, +1 Dex, –2 rage, +2 shield)
  hp 3 (normally 40; HD 3d12+15)
  Fort +8, Ref +4, Will +4
  Defensive Abilities trap sense +1, uncanny dodge
  OFFENSE
  Speed 45 ft.
  Melee mwk longsword +8 (1d8+4/19–20)
  Ranged javelin +4 (1d6+4)
  Special Attacks rage (11 rounds/day), rage powers (swift foot 
  +5 feet)
  TACTICS
  Base Statistics When not raging, Kelda’s statistics are AC 19, 
  
  47
  The Brinewall legacy
  touch 11, flat-footed 18; hp 34; Fort +6, Will +2; Speed 40 
  ft.; Melee mwk longsword +6 (1d8+2/19–20); Ranged javelin 
  +4 (1d6+2); Str 15, Con 16; CMB +5.
  STATISTICS
  Str 19, Dex 13, Con 20, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 10
  Base Atk +3; CMB +7; CMD 16
  Feats Cleave, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack
  Skills Handle Animal +6, Intimidate +6, Perception +7, 
  Profession (sailor) +4, Survival +7
  Languages Common, Skald
  SQ fast movement
  Gear +1 scale mail, heavy steel shield, javelins (4), masterwork 
  longsword, 97 gp
  Story Award: If the PCs rescue Kelda, award them 800 XP.
  v9. cryPt
  An intricate iron screen blocks further progress into 
  this large chamber, although a wooden door 
  painted with the image of a tall, beautiful 
  blue-skinned woman sitting 
  on a throne stands in 
  the middle of the screen. 
  Beyond, the room stretches 
  dozens of feet to the east, supported by 
  stone pillars and with deep funerary 
  alcoves to the north and south. 
  The far end of the room seems 
  to have partially collapsed into 
  a large cavern in which faintly 
  glowing motes of light swirl 
  and dance in the air.
  The door through 
  the iron screen is 
  locked (hardness 5, hp 
  15, Break DC 18, Disable 
  Device DC 30). A DC 10 Knowledge 
  (religion) check identifies the blue 
  woman painted on the door 
  as a representation of the 
  goddess Pharasma.
  The crypt beyond 
  once contained the 
  dead bodies of most 
  of the previous 
  commanders 
  of 
  Brinewall (although 
  its first is buried in 
  the cemetery at area 
  Q), but the oni stole 
  all of the bodies and their 
  treasure from the crypt long ago, leaving nothing but 
  empty, despoiled sarcophagi in the niches. Development: 
  If the PCs are particularly noisy or obvious as they approach 
  this area, they attract the attention of the creature in area 
  V10, who reacts by using its ability to create minor images 
  to cause an image of Pharasma, surrounded by a nimbus 
  of faint blue light, to manifest at the far edge of the room, 
  floating in the air just above the first drop-off into area V10. 
  Speaking Varisian, Nindinzego claims to be a manifestation 
  of Pharasma, telling the PCs that if they discard their 
  weapons and enter the crypt peacefully, she will reward 
  them with potent boons. Of course, if the PCs fall for 
  this ruse, the half-fiend decapus simply waits for 
  them to near the illusion before rising up into view 
  and attacking.
  v10. PAzuzu’s sAnctum (cr 6)
  The floor of this vast cavern descends in two 
  twenty-foot drops into a large, eerie grotto. 
  The walls drip with moisture and bear strange 
  and disturbing cave paintings of towering 
  four-winged humanoid shapes. Tiny 
  motes of glowing light drift and 
  bob in the air, giving the place 
  an almost nauseating feeling, as 
  if the cavern is viewed through a 
  dreamlike haze.
  The glowing motes of light 
  are small airborne clusters 
  of 
  phosphorescent 
  spores—
  they’re eerie but harmless, and 
  fill the cave with dim light. A 
  DC 15 Climb check is required to 
  navigate any of the 20-foot-high 
  ledges that descend into the cavern itself. 
  The tunnels to the north at area V10a 
  wind through a number of old 
  caverns and chambers that once 
  served as the main nest for the 
  dire corbies. Deeper tunnels once 
  led into the Darklands, but they 
  have long since collapsed, and 
  the only way out of this network 
  now is via the secret exit to the 
  east of Brinewall Castle (area S2).
  Creature: Although the dire corby priest 
  Nevakali might appear to be the unholy 
  spiritual leader of the Pazuzu-worshiping 
  monsters, this is not the case. The true power behind 
  the small cult is an ancient monstrosity that, for many 
  long years, lay imprisoned in this cavern inside a strange 
  Kelda Oxgutter
  
  48
  leathery egg sac. When the dire corbies discovered the egg, 
  they tried to tear it open and eat the delicious goo within. 
  What emerged from the egg, though, was a hideous Abyssal 
  nightmare: a half-fiend decapus. With a slimy mollusklike 
  body complete with 10 tentacles (two of which ended in 
  savage claws), a monstrous face, and large leathery wings, 
  this creature was one of dozens of an otherwise extinct 
  brood of abominations that once dwelt in the ancient 
  Thassilonian realm of Cyrusian. Specially bred as weapons 
  of war to be used against the elven nation of Celwynvian, 
  this last strange scion of Pazuzu knows nothing of its 
  heritage, only that the strange whispers and visions its 
  unseen master grants it are impossible to ignore.
  Named Nindinzego, this monster spared no time in 
  oppressing the dire corbies—it ate a dozen of their kind 
  before they became little more than slaves to its desires. 
  By the time the builders of Brinewall broke into the dire 
  corby caverns, Nindinzego had ruled the tribe for nearly 
  5 decades. It was Nindinzego who urged the dire corbies 
  to attack the castle, and years later when the oni Kikonu 
  came, it was Nindinzego who commanded the dire corbies 
  to move up into the castle—for strange visions granted to 
  it by its demonic sire have shown it that what strengthens 
  Kikonu’s goals strengthens Pazuzu’s plans for Varisia. 
  What those plans are, not even Nindinzego can say.
  Nindinzego’s plans rarely extend farther than seeking 
  to fulfill his previous round of demonic visions, and these 
  latest visions have warned it of a band of humanoids that 
  will appear before it and perhaps slay it. The half-fiend 
  is both distressed about the nature of these visions and 
  eager to prove them false, so when the PCs appear in its 
  den, it becomes nearly overwhelmed with a combination 
  of grim fatalism and violent conviction. Nindinzego uses 
  its illusion abilities to distract and baffle the PCs first (as 
  detailed in area V9), but once it has a chance, it launches its 
  attack, bellowing in a strange voice that seems almost to be 
  composed of a dozen different voices in Abyssal, shouting 
  vile epithets and eager challenges at the creatures its 
  visions have shown it might just be its doom.
  Nindinzego 
  CR 6
  XP 2,400
  Advanced half-fiend decapus (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 171, 
  Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 77)
  CE Medium outsider (native)
  Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +16
  DEFENSE
  AC 19, touch 13, flat-footed 16 (+3 Dex, +6 natural)
  hp 76 (8d8+40)
  Fort +6, Ref +5, Will +9; –4 vs. fear effects
  DR 5/magic; Immune poison; Resist acid 10, cold 10, 
  electricity 10, fire 10; SR 17
  Weaknesses sense of doom
  OFFENSE
  Speed 10 ft., climb 30 ft., fly 20 ft. (good)
  Melee bite +10 (1d6+4), 2 claws +10 (1d4+4), tentacles +10 
  (2d4+4 plus grab)
  Special Attacks constrict (2d4+6), smite good 1/day
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 8th; concentration +10)
  Constant—minor image (DC 14)
  3/day—darkness, poison (DC 16)
  1/day—desecrate, unholy blight (DC 16)
  TACTICS
  During Combat Nindinzego is a powerful melee combatant, 
  but its sense of doom prevents it from immediately 
  swooping in to fight foes in melee. Instead, it hovers 
  near the ceiling so it can use unholy blight and its wand of 
  scorching ray for the first few rounds of combat, flying in 
  to cast poison on the most heavily-armored foe. It retreats 
  into the air to use its wand for 1d3 rounds after each time its 
  sense of doom activates.
  Morale If reduced to 7 or fewer hit points, Nindinzego 
  spends its next turn shrieking into the air, “Father! Help! 
  Faaaathhhherrrr! Pazuzu!” If the creature survives this 
  round, it continues to fight thereafter to the death.
  STATISTICS
  Str 18, Dex 17, Con 19, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 14
  Base Atk +6; CMB +10 (+14 grapple); CMD 23 (can’t be tripped)
  Feats Combat Casting, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Toughness
  Skills Acrobatics +14, Bluff +13, Climb +23, Fly +18, 
  Knowledge (religion) +13, Perception +16, Stealth +14, 
  Use Magic Device +13
  Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Varisian
  SQ sound mimicry (voices), tentacles
  Combat Gear wand of scorching ray (30 charges); Other Gear 
  circlet of persuasion
  SPECIAL ABILITY
  Sense of Doom (Ex) The sense of doom that fills Nindinzego’s 
  alien mind causes it to take a –4 penalty on saving throws 
  against fear effects. In addition, each time it rolls a natural 
  1 on an attack roll or saving throw, and each time it takes 
  a critical hit, it becomes shaken for the following round, 
  taking a –2 penalty on all d20 rolls for that duration.
  Treasure: Nindinzego spent most of the last 10,000 
  years or so in a state of stasis inside of an eldritch egg 
  in the small cavern to the south (area V10b). Remnants 
  of that leathery time capsule lie strewn across the floor 
  there, still weirdly moist and pulsing. But a small hoard of 
  treasure consisting of offerings to the fiend from its loyal 
  dire corby followers sits on a flat rock at the far end of the 
  room. This hoard consists of a +1 light fortification light steel 
  shield bearing the image of Castle Brinewall, a +1 returning 
  starknife, a pearl of power (1st level), a ring of the ram with 10 
  charges remaining, a wayfinder (Inner Sea World Guide 299), 
  1,320 gp, and 800 gp in jewelry and gems.
  
  49
  The Brinewall legacy
  Two additional items of interest lie amid these treasures 
  as well. The first of these is a darkwood-and-silver disc 
  decorated with an intricate etching of Brinewall under the 
  midnight moon. This disc radiates faint transmutation 
  magic and is one of two crests needed to access Brinewall 
  Castle’s vaults (area W1). Kikonu gave Nindinzego this disc 
  as proof of his friendship, telling the fiend that it was one 
  of two keys needed to access the vault.
  The second item is a stone statuette of Pazuzu depicting 
  the demon lord as a bird-headed, four winged humanoid 
  with his right arm raised. The statuette 
  is an insidious cursed item. When 
  carried by a worshiper of Pazuzu, it fills 
  its owner with confidence and grants a 
  +4 enhancement bonus to the carrier’s 
  Charisma score. When carried by 
  any other creature, however, the 
  statuette functions as a stone of 
  weight that also bars the character 
  from being able to use fly speeds, 
  even those magically granted. Worse, 
  every night, there’s a 10% chance that the 
  stone fills its owner’s dreams with terrible 
  nightmares of being eaten alive by birds. 
  These nightmares prevent the user from 
  gaining the benefits of a full night of rest 
  and deal 1 point of Wisdom damage.
  w1. BrinewAll vAult (cr 5)
  The stairs from area T17 lead down to an iron 
  portcullis (hardness 10, hp 60, Break DC 28) 
  barring passage into the room beyond—
  the bars themselves are sunken deep into 
  the floor and ceiling, with no obvious 
  method of passing into the chamber beyond. A DC 20 
  Perception check is enough to note two 5-inch-diameter 
  circular depressions in the walls to the left and right of the 
  portcullis, faintly inscribed with an image of the sun (to the 
  left) and the moon (to the right). Placing the two Brinewall 
  crests (found in areas T6 and V10b) into the proper slots 
  causes the iron bars of the portcullis to slowly grind down 
  into the ground. The bars remain retracted until the crests 
  are removed and placed in the opposing slots.
  Once the PCs have opened the portcullis, read or 
  paraphrase the following.
  The walls of this room are of smooth stone, spattered with 
  ancient bloodstains and deep, violent gouges. Deep drifts of 
  dust lie on the floor, while immense stone doors hang open to 
  the southwest, revealing empty vaults beyond.
  During Brinewall Castle’s height, the two vaults to the 
  southwest were filled with treasure, but after the Five 
  Storms slew Brinewall’s last two defenders here, they 
  looted the place. It was only through sheer fortune that 
  the oni, perhaps blinded by bloodlust and greed, failed 
  to notice the cleverly hidden secret door to the east. The 
  PCs can discover this door (as well as the second one 5 feet 
  beyond the first) with a DC 30 Perception check.
  Creature: While the oni took Brinewall’s commander, 
  Andril Kortun, back upstairs to area T19 and transformed 
  him into a wight, they chose to despoil their greatest enemy 
  here where he fell. Rokuro Kaijitsu’s body 
  is long gone, but his spirit remains 
  bound to this vault in the form of an 
  insane and enraged wraith. When the 
  PCs lower the portcullis into this room, 
  the dust on the floor swirls into the air, 
  coalescing into an ominous shadowy 
  form that takes on the ghostly image of 
  an old but handsome Tian man. The spirit 
  adopts a defensive pose, his katana held before 
  him menacingly, but does not attack until 
  anyone enters the room or attacks him 
  first. At this point, he howls in rage, 
  raises his sword, and flies through the 
  air to attack in turn. Although Rokuro’s 
  wraith attacks with a sword, this attack 
  resolves as a wraith’s typical incorporeal 
  touch, save that it drains Charisma from 
  those it strikes, not Constitution.
  When Rokuro’s wraith first manifests, 
  have every character who can see it and 
  who knows Ameiko Kaijitsu make a DC 
  25 Perception check. PCs who have visited 
  Ameiko’s home may have actually seen 
  portraits of old Rokuro in her home—these 
  characters receive a +8 bonus on their Perception checks. If 
  you’re using the Jade Regent Player’s Guide, you can assume 
  that any PC who chose Ameiko as the associated NPC for 
  their Campaign Trait gains this +8 bonus. On a successful 
  check, a character recognizes the family resemblance—
  and if they’ve seen Rokuro’s portrait (or have read his letter 
  from area L6 and make the leap of logic), they recognize 
  this tormented spirit for who he really is.
  If anyone calls out to the spirit and uses any of the 
  following words in his presence: “Rokuro,” “Kaijitsu,” 
  “Lonjiku,” or “Amatatsu,” the wraith’s eyes bulge and 
  he freezes motionless. He lowers his sword, then says 
  in a mournful voice in Common: “I... know... this... 
  naaaaaammmmmeeeeee...” A moment later, he raises 
  his arms and cries out in anguish, then turns to face the 
  PCs, tears of dust running down his incorporeal cheeks. 
  He says, “Take the Seal away from here—take it to my 
  child—it is no longer safe—and I am no longer worthy of 
  guarding it...” The wraith points toward the hidden secret 
  Statuette of Pazuzu
  
  50
  door to area W2 as it does this, then with another agonized 
  cry, flies apart into dust and is destroyed.
  Once Rokuro points out the location of the secret 
  door, Perception checks made to locate it gain a +10 
  circumstance bonus.
  Rokuro Kaijitsu 
  CR 5
  XP 1,600
  Variant wraith (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 281)
  hp 47
  Melee incorporeal touch +6 (1d6 negative energy plus 1d6 
  Cha drain)
  Story Award: If the PCs defeat Rokuro by making him 
  remember a name, award them XP as if they had defeated 
  him in combat.
  w2. secret vAult
  This chamber appears to be only half-excavated—the eastern 
  portion of the room remains a rough cavern wall. Three 
  identical darkwood chests bound with bronze sit against the 
  base of this rough wall.
  Treasure: This chamber contains the final goal the PCs 
  seek, the treasure that not only do they need to wake their 
  friend Ameiko, but also that is destined to send them across 
  the world to seek their true destiny in a distant land.
  The three darkwood chests are locked, and the keys are 
  long lost. A DC 30 Disable Device check is required to open 
  the left and right chests, but destiny, fate, or perhaps the 
  echoes of the kami who once guarded what lies within 
  cause the central chest to pop open at the first touch.
  The central chest contains the Amatatsu Seal, still sitting 
  safely inside its warding box (see page 61 for details on these 
  two items). The contents of the other two chests are left to 
  you to customize. The treasures within should be magical 
  items, not monetary objects—these magic items were 
  stored in this secret vault by long-dead allies of Brinewall’s 
  commander, just as Rokuro paid to store the Amatatsu Seal 
  here. These magic items should cost no more than 9,000 
  gp—unless, that is, you’re feeling particularly generous! 
  Note that the PCs should feel almost like they were destined 
  to find this treasure. Destiny, as a theme, plays a strong role 
  in the Jade Regent Adventure Path, and you want the PCs 
  thinking that they’re on the right track when they recover 
  the Amatatsu Seal! Then again, if you feel the PCs have found 
  enough magic, then the other chests can just be empty.
  visions of jAde
  The Amatatsu Seal is a potent artifact, one capable of altering 
  destiny and changing the course of nations. When the PCs 
  first open the warding box that contains it, the Amatatsu 
  Seal immediately marks each character as an agent of the 
  family, turning them into Amatatsu scions, as detailed on 
  page 60. In addition, the PCs momentarily black out and 
  experience a rapid series of visions.
  In the visions, the PCs see an army of terrible fiends—with 
  burning skin, glaring eyes, and sharp tusks, wearing strange 
  armor and wielding exotic weapons—emerge in a storm 
  from a vast forest, then descend upon a nation populated 
  by Tian people. This vision is swiftly followed by another: 
  a young man dressed in royal robes stands over a simple 
  well, a friend at his side. Suddenly, the friend grows nearly 
  three times in size and is sheathed in a frightening suit 
  of jade armor. The jade warrior draws a sword and strikes 
  down his royal friend, then holds the bloody sword aloft in 
  triumph. A third vision follows, this time of a young Tian 
  man handing a beautiful sword to a richly dressed Ulfen 
  man in exchange for a bag of gold. Finally, this vision fades, 
  and the PCs see their friend Ameiko waking from her deep 
  sleep, but she is dressed in the finery of an empress. She 
  rises from sleep not in a humble Varisian caravan, but from 
  a resting spot within the arms of a jade throne.
  These visions pass in the span of a few heartbeats, and 
  after they do, they impart knowledge to the PCs’ minds. 
  The PCs know that the land they saw invaded by fiends 
  All in the fAmily
  It’s possible that one of the PCs is playing one of Ameiko’s 
  younger siblings, depending on the Campaign Trait they 
  chose. In this case, Rokuro makes a DC 20 Perception check 
  each round. If he’s successful, he recognizes that PC as his 
  grandchild. This triggers his destruction as if a PC had used 
  a name to remind him of his past, only instead of saying, “I 
  know this name,” his first words are directed at the PC in 
  question: “I know you, my grandson/granddaughter...”
  nPc relAtionshiPs
  If you’re using the relationship rules presented in the Jade 
  Regent Player’s Guide, the PCs have the opportunity during 
  this adventure to further increase their Relationship Scores 
  with the significant NPCs traveling with them. The PCs 
  can increase their Relationship Scores with the following 
  NPCs by the listed amount for taking the following actions 
  or completing the following tasks:
  Ameiko Kaijitsu: giving Ameiko Rokuro’s letter (area 
  L6): +1; giving Ameiko the Amatatsu Seal (area W2): +1
  Koya Mvashti: cleansing Desna’s shrine (area U15): +2
  Sandru Vhiski: adding at least two wagons to Sandru’s 
  caravan: +1
  Shalelu Andosana: killing at least 10 goblins: +1
  
  51
  The Brinewall legacy
  was Minkai, that the man they saw murdered by the jade 
  warrior was Emperor Shigure of Minkai. They know that 
  Ameiko Kaijitsu’s true family name is Amatatsu, one of the 
  five royal families of Minkai—indeed, the last surviving 
  royal family. The PCs recognize the young Tian man 
  with the sword as Ameiko’s grandfather, Rokuro Kaijitsu, 
  formerly Amatatsu Tsutoku, selling the family’s legendary 
  sword Suishen to the Ulfen merchant Fynn Snaevald in the 
  city of Kalsgard to finance his family’s flight and exile. 
  They also know that Suishen is intelligent, and can impart 
  much more knowledge of the Amatatsu family’s legacy if 
  recovered. Further, they know that Ameiko herself is the 
  heir of her line. Finally, the PCs know all of the powers and 
  abilities of both the Amatatsu Seal and its warding box—
  including the danger of leaving the warding box open, 
  which would allow the oni of the Five Storms to once more 
  track the Amatatsu Seal. 
  Back at the caravan, Ameiko experiences these same 
  visions, and as they pass, she wakes with a gasp as the kami 
  possessing her returns in a flash back to the Amatatsu Seal. 
  She quickly recovers from the ordeal, and like the PCs, may 
  be a bit overwhelmed at what the visions revealed, but by 
  the time “Night of Frozen Shadows” begins, she is eager to 
  travel to Minkai to seize her birthright and save an empire.
  concluding the Adventure
  Although this adventure’s plot is technically concluded as 
  soon as the PCs claim the Amatatsu Seal, they are free to 
  continue exploring Brinewall Castle as they wish. Once 
  Ameiko is restored, she and some of the other NPCs can even 
  accompany the PCs to aid in “mopping up” the remaining 
  encounters in the castle.
  The visions granted by the Amatatsu Seal should leave 
  the PCs with a very clear indication of where they should 
  go next—the city of Kalsgard, in the Lands of the Linnorm 
  Kings, to recover the Amatatsu family heirloom Suishen. 
  Unfortunately, though, the PCs have played their hand, 
  even if unintentionally. With the activation of the Amatatsu 
  Seal, the oni of the Five Storms know that their old enemies 
  are rising again, and it won’t be long before the PCs face 
  powerful new enemies from the distant land that they and 
  their allies are destined to one day rule!
  
  52
  Ameiko Kaijitsu 
  CR 4
  XP 1,200
  Female human aristocrat 1/bard 3/rogue (rake) 1 (Advanced 
  Player’s Guide 134)
  CG Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +2; Senses Perception +7
  DEFENSE
  AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 14 (+3 armor, +1 deflection, +2 Dex, 
  +1 dodge)
  hp 26 (5d8+5)
  Fort +2, Ref +7, Will +6; +4 vs. bardic performance, language-
  dependent, and sonic
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee +1 mithral rapier +5 (1d6+2/18–20)
  Ranged dagger +4 (1d4+1/19–20)
  Special Attacks bardic performance 12 rounds/day 
  (countersong, distraction, fascinate, inspire competence +2, 
  inspire courage +1), bravado’s blade*, sneak attack +1d6
  Bard Spells Known (CL 3rd; concentration +7)
  1st (4/day)—charm person (DC 15), cure light wounds, feather 
  step*, unseen servant
  0 (at will)—detect magic, light, mage hand, prestidigitation, 
  summon instrument, unwitting ally* (DC 14)
  TACTICS
  Before Combat Ameiko casts unseen servant every morning.
  During Combat When able to strike first in a combat, Ameiko 
  uses bravado’s blade to intimidate foes instead of dealing 
  sneak attack damage. Ameiko begins combat by activating 
  her bardic performance. She always uses Arcane Strike in 
  battle (these bonuses are included in her stats above). 
  Morale Ameiko is loyal to her friends, and never abandons an 
  ally in combat. Alone, her bravery isn’t as great. When she 
  is faced with a dangerous foe and has no allies in peril, she 
  prefers to flee if reduced below 15 hit points.
  STATISTICS
  Str 10, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 8, Cha 18
  Base Atk +2; CMB +2; CMD 16
  Feats Arcane Strike, Dodge, Iron Will, Weapon Finesse
  Skills Acrobatics +10, Bluff +12, Diplomacy +12, Intimidate +12, 
  Knowledge (arcana) +6, Knowledge (local) +8, Knowledge 
  (nobility) +6, Knowledge (religion) +6, Perception +7, 
  Perform (sing) +12, Perform (string) +12 (+14 with mwk 
  AMEIKO KAIJITSU
  AlThOUgh ShE’S TEchnIcAlly ThE hEAd Of OnE Of SAndpOInT’S nOblE fAMIlIES, AMEIKO 
  KAIJITSU IS MOrE AT hOME rUnnIng ThIngS AT hEr TAvErn, ThE rUSTy drAgOn, ThAn 
  ShE IS AMOng ThE SMAll TOwn’S ArISTOcrAcy.
  samisen), Profession (tavern keeper) +4, Spellcraft +9, 
  Stealth +10
  Languages Common, Tien, Varisian
  SQ bardic knowledge +1, PC gear, versatile performance (string)
  Combat Gear potion of remove disease, wand of cure moderate 
  wounds (25 charges), wand of identify (40 charges); Other 
  Gear +1 leather armor, +1 mithral rapier, daggers (3), ring of 
  protection +1, belt pouch, gold signet ring worth 100 gp, 
  masterwork samisen, silver holy symbol of Shelyn, spell 
  component pouch, 18 pp, 3 gp
  * See the Advanced Player’s Guide.
  Ameiko is a beautiful but somewhat irreverent woman of 
  Tian descent who runs Sandpoint’s Rusty Dragon tavern 
  and happens to be a member of one of Sandpoint’s founding 
  families. Her parents and older siblings have met unfortunate 
  ends over the past several years, leaving the young woman 
  as the sole remaining Kaijitsu in town. Ameiko may be 
  among the town’s nobility, but she’s never really cared for 
  the aristocracy—she’s always had an urge to explore, and 
  loves hearing stories of adventures and daring deeds. While 
  she has a lot of friends and admirers in town, Ameiko has 
  never accepted anyone as anything more than a friend, 
  diplomatically avoiding personal questions and proposals of 
  romance, much to the frustration of several eager suitors in 
  Sandpoint. She’s a talented singer and samisen player, and 
  if she wanted, Ameiko could probably lead a comfortable 
  life in Sandpoint, but she’s growing increasingly bored and 
  impatient with having a “safe life” in a “safe town.” If the 
  chance to go on a grand adventure presents itself, she’d sell 
  the Rusty Dragon in a heartbeat to seek her fortune.
  hISTOry
  Ameiko was born in 4689 ar to Lonjiku and Atsuii Kaijitsu. 
  Although she’s not Atsuii’s or Lonjiku’s first child, she was 
  the first legitimate child from that marriage. Ameiko had 
  a lonely childhood. Her father strictly controlled who she 
  could keep as friends, and filled her days with lessons in 
  music, diplomacy, magic, and academic subjects. He kept 
  a close eye on her, but Ameiko still managed to sneak into 
  town to play with friends, explore old buildings, and visit 
  her half-elven half-brother Tsuto at Sandpoint’s Turandarok 
  Academy every chance she could.
  
  53
  NPC Gallery
  When she was 13, Ameiko tried to reconcile the bad 
  blood between her brother and father, but the attempt 
  backfired. Tsuto struck her in a fit of rage, and Ameiko 
  was so betrayed and distraught by this that she ran away 
  from home to Magnimar for several months. When she 
  learned of her mother’s death in a fall from the cliffs near 
  her house, though, Ameiko returned home to Sandpoint. 
  She found life at home more unpleasant than ever, but 
  when another family argument broke out at her mother’s 
  funeral and Tsuto left town, Ameiko resigned herself to 
  staying in Sandpoint to care for her father.
  Ameiko left home for the second time at age 16 after life 
  in the house alone with her father and the help grew too 
  depressing to bear. She joined an adventuring group, and 
  became particularly good friends with the group’s priest 
  of Shelyn, a handsome young Varisian man named Alder 
  Vhiski. But in 4706, the group was captured by a degenerate 
  family of backwoods cannibals living in an old mine in 
  the southern Fogscar Mountains. The group was within 
  a hair’s breadth of being eaten, abused, and worse by 
  the degenerates, but Alder led a heroic attempt to 
  escape. The resulting flight from the mine was 
  nightmarish, as members of the group were picked 
  off one by one by the pursuing cannibals, who 
  were led by a spry druid who favored snakes 
  as his pets. As the group neared the exit, 
  only Ameiko, Alder, and Alder’s brother 
  Sandru remained alive, but as they prepared 
  to scramble into a rickety rowboat that would 
  take them to safety, Ameiko was attacked by the 
  druid’s animal companion, a viper of 
  prodigious size. Bitten twice, Ameiko 
  would have died had Alder not pulled 
  her to safety, and in so doing Alder 
  was himself bitten. Already weakened 
  from the fight, the snake’s venom 
  killed him. The last Ameiko saw of 
  Alder, he was being torn apart by 
  the degenerates. With Sandru’s help, 
  the two survivors eventually made 
  it back to Sandpoint, but they never 
  spoke of what they had endured in 
  that old mine. Some months later, 
  Ameiko got a tattoo of a snake on 
  her left arm and shoulder as a sort of 
  memorial to Alder, then cashed in most 
  of her earnings from her adventures 
  and purchased an old tavern in 
  downtown Sandpoint called the 
  Rusty Dragon. Since then, 
  she’s run the Rusty Dragon 
  as a place for adventurers to 
  gather and relax.
  The last few years have been hard on Ameiko, with the 
  death of both her father and her half-brother during a 
  series of violent goblin attacks on Sandpoint. While she 
  now runs both the Rusty Dragon and the Sandpoint 
  Glassworks, and she still has pride in what she’s 
  accomplished in town, her hopes to leave Sandpoint and 
  its bitter memories behind for a grand new adventure 
  grow with each day.
  cAMpAIgn rOlE
  Although she doesn’t realize this at the start of the Adventure 
  Path, Ameiko is legitimate heir of the Amatatsu family, with 
  the divine right to rule the empire of Minkai. Once the PCs 
  recover the Amatatsu Seal, they become scions of the line as 
  well—“insurance” of a sort, should Ameiko not survive to 
  the end of the campaign. As the central significant NPC in 
  the Jade Regent Adventure Path, Ameiko’s 
  campaign role is complex, and as a result, 
  each volume will contain notes and 
  advice on how to handle her role as the 
  campaign progresses.
  The following section outlines possible 
  roles for Ameiko in the PCs’ caravan, as well 
  as things that can affect the PCs’ relationship 
  with Ameiko. See the Jade Regent Player’s Guide 
  for details on caravans and relationships with 
  significant NPCs in the campaign.
  Caravan Jobs: Ameiko can perform the 
  following caravan jobs: cook, 
  entertainer, fortune-teller, 
  guard, passenger, spellcaster, 
  or trader.
  Preferred Gifts: bard-
  themed magic items, exotic 
  or beautiful works of art, 
  exciting adventure stories
  Hated Insults: blasphemy 
  against Shelyn, misogyny, 
  racist comments
  Devotion Boon: Once 
  per game session, you may gain 
  the benefits of Ameiko’s inspire 
  courage or inspire competence 
  bardic performance as a swift action, 
  regardless of the distance between 
  you and Ameiko. Once activated, this 
  effect persists for a number of rounds 
  equal to your Relationship Score with 
  Ameiko divided by 10 (rounded down).
  Enmity Boon: Gain a +4 bonus on 
  saving throws against sonic and mind-
  affecting attacks.
  Romance Score: 40
  
  54
  Koya Mvashti 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  Female old human cleric of Desna 4
  CG Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +0; Senses Perception +4
  DEFENSE
  AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 14 (+3 armor, +1 deflection)
  hp 25 (4d8+4)
  Fort +5, Ref +1, Will +8
  OFFENSE
  Speed 40 ft. 
  Melee mwk starknife +1 (1d4–3/×3)
  Ranged mwk starknife +4 (1d4–3/×3)
  Special Attacks channel positive energy 7/day (DC 14, 2d6)
  Domain Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th; concentration +8)
  7/day—bit of luck
  Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 4th; concentration +8)
  2nd—aidD, augury, lesser restoration, make whole
  1st—bless, comprehend languages, longstriderD, obscuring 
  mist, sanctuary (DC 15)
  0 (at will)—create water, detect magic, light, mending
  D Domain spell; Domains Luck, Travel
  TACTICS
  During Combat Koya avoids combat if possible, preferring 
  instead to cast sanctuary and then move among the 
  battlefield casting healing magic on her allies. If faced with 
  a situation where she can’t avoid healing enemies with 
  her channel energy ability, Koya always chooses to use the 
  ability anyway if an ally is wounded and she has no other 
  options. If confronted on her own, she uses sanctuary to aid 
  in her escape after casting longstrider to increase her speed.
  Morale Koya flees from any combat where she has no allies, 
  but if even one ally remains alive, she remains to try to keep 
  him alive as long as she can.
  STATISTICS
  Str 5, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 12, Wis 19, Cha 14
  Base Atk +3; CMB +0; CMD 11
  Feats Brew Potion, Extra Channel, Fortune Teller*
  Skills Heal +11, Knowledge (religion) +8, Profession (fortune-
  teller) +11, Sense Motive +11, Spellcraft +8 
  Languages Common, Varisian
  SQ agile feet (7/day), PC gear
  Combat Gear scrolls of cure moderate wounds (5), scroll 
  KOyA MvAShTI
  whIlE MOST pEOplE MIghT ThInK KOyA’S lIvEd A fUll lIfE, ShE AchES TO MAKE OnE 
  grAnd JOUrnEy wOrThy Of bEIng rETOld AS A lEgEnd bEfOrE ShE grOwS TOO Old 
  TO TrAvEl.
  of remove curse, scroll of remove disease, wand of cure 
  light wounds (28 charges); Other Gear +1 leather armor, 
  masterwork starknives (2), ring of protection +1, amethyst 
  ring worth 100 gp, harrow deck, silver holy symbol of 
  Desna, silver necklace worth 30 gp, 17 gp
  * See the Inner Sea World Guide.
  Until she passed away from natural causes just a few 
  months ago, Madame Niska Mvashti was the oldest 
  person in Sandpoint. No one quite knows exactly how 
  old the Varisian seer actually was when she died (she 
  was already old when Sandpoint was founded over 40 
  years ago)—but the fact that her only daughter Koya is 
  herself an old woman is a telling fact. Koya has spent a 
  fair amount of her life traveling Varisia with a number 
  of caravans, serving as a healer when she was younger 
  and more recently as a fortune-teller. For the past several 
  years, she’s in the company of her adopted son Sandru 
  Vhiski as they travel on a regular caravan route between 
  Riddleport, Magnimar, and Korvosa two or three times 
  a year. Their caravan spends most of its time relatively 
  close to Sandpoint, though, and that has suited Koya fine, 
  since it gave her more time to care for her aged mother.
  Now that old Niska has finally died, though, Koya’s 
  mourning has transitioned into a sort of morose 
  melancholy. A life-long worshiper of Desna, she’s come to 
  realize that while she’s traveled extensively throughout 
  the Varisian lowlands, she’s never been beyond the 
  region’s borders. Tales of other Desnan explorers have 
  long delighted Koya’s sense of wonder—even her own 
  mother reputedly took part in several extensive caravans 
  that traveled as far as the Lands of the Linnorm Kings and 
  even down to Qadira. Koya’s having something of a late-
  life crisis as a result—a growing sense of disappointment 
  that she’s never made a long caravan trek. With her 
  mother dead, Koya has little reason to stay in Varisia, and 
  she’s been pressuring Sandru to take a long journey soon: 
  “The sooner the better, ’cause I won’t be around for long!” 
  Koya’s in remarkably good shape, physically, for a woman 
  well over 60 years in age—obviously, longevity runs in 
  her family—but with each year that passes, the chance 
  of her getting to experience a truly epic journey like the 
  ones in her favorite stories grows narrower.
  
  55
  NPC Gallery
  hISTOry
  Koya has wanted to travel to the far corners of Golarion 
  since she was a child and first saw a map of the world in an 
  old history book she came across while sneaking through 
  her mother’s impressive collection of notes, trophies, and 
  keepsakes from her extensive travels. Although Koya has 
  since come to learn that the old map was rather inaccurate, 
  she’s never lost the sense of wonder she gained from the 
  simple notion that the world she’d thought she’d known 
  was so much larger than she’d ever imagined. Likewise, 
  a childhood trip to Korvosa impressed upon her how 
  different the world can be as you travel from plains to 
  forests to swamps to mountains to large urban centers. 
  The idea that one could make journeys 10 or even 
  100 times as long as the caravan route running 
  from Sandpoint to Korvosa has long been a point 
  of fascination and wonder for Koya.
  But Koya never went on that long journey. 
  She always assumed there would be the chance 
  for an adventure in the near future, but the 
  present always seemed to have a knack for 
  getting in the way. Responsibilities to her 
  family caravan, her several tempestuous love 
  affairs as a young woman, the task of caring 
  for unfortunate children who had no mother 
  of their own (most notably Sandru Vhiski, 
  and perhaps one of the PCs if the character 
  selected the correct Campaign Trait from 
  the Jade Regent Player’s Guide), and most 
  recently caring for her elderly, but not 
  quite completely infirm, mother all 
  worked to keep her at home. Just 
  as one phase of her life seemed 
  ready to close, the next began, and 
  before she knew it, the unwelcome 
  kiss of old age had crept into her 
  aching bones and wrinkled face.
  With her mother now dead, Koya 
  is eager to seize what she thinks 
  might be her last chance for that 
  great, world-spanning journey. 
  Lately she’s been traveling with 
  her adopted son Sandru in his 
  caravan, serving as a fortune-
  teller, and she hopes that her 
  frequent attempts to convince 
  him to make a long journey 
  will bear fruit soon. Koya 
  longs to travel beyond the 
  borders of Varisia, whether 
  south to Cheliax and beyond or 
  north to the Lands of the Linnorm 
  Kings and the Crown of the World. 
  Koya would love to visit another continent as well, if the 
  opportunity presented itself, so she could leave her own 
  “found-mark” in distant lands.
  cAMpAIgn rOlE
  Koya serves as the spiritual core of the caravan. As the 
  most likely candidate for the caravan’s fortune-teller job, 
  she serves as an advisor for most of the travelers in the 
  caravan, and Koya’s stories, fortune-telling, and sense of 
  humor should be a staple of all nights spent on the road. 
  The longer the journey progresses and the more miles 
  the caravan piles on, the more energetic and excited Koya 
  seems to become, almost as if the journey is invigorating 
  her rather than exhausting her, as one might expect from 
  such a long journey.
  The following section outlines possible roles for 
  Koya in the PCs’ caravan, as well as things that can 
  affect the PCs’ relationship with Koya. See 
  the Jade Regent Player’s Guide for details on 
  caravans and relationships with significant 
  NPCs in the campaign.
  Caravan Jobs: Koya can perform 
  the 
  following 
  caravan 
  jobs: 
  fortune-teller, 
  guard, 
  healer, 
  passenger, or spellcaster.
  Preferred Gifts: brightly colored 
  clothes, detailed maps (the older, the 
  better), fortune-telling tools
  Hated 
  Insults: 
  blasphemy 
  against Desna, crass comments 
  about her advanced age, jokes about 
  being a homebody or having never 
  traveled outside of Varisia
  Devotion Boon: Koya makes potions for 
  free for you. Every game session, Koya 
  gives you a number of new potions of your 
  choice with a total gp value equal to your 
  Relationship Score × 10. You must visit 
  her to claim these potions. In addition, 
  if you can create potions yourself, 
  Koya’s aid allows you to save 10% of the 
  gp cost in crafting potions.
  Enmity Boon: Your luck seems 
  worse than ever, and you suspect 
  it’s because Koya has put some sort 
  of weird, subtle Varisian curse 
  on you. As a result, you’re more 
  suspicious than normal, and gain 
  a +4 bonus on all saving throws 
  against illusions and on all Sense 
  Motive checks to see through 
  deceptions from Bluff attempts.
  Romance Score: 32
  
  56
  Sandru Vhiski 
  CR 4
  XP 1,200
  Male human rogue (swashbuckler) 4 (Advanced Player’s Guide 135)
  NG Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +6; Senses Perception +7
  DEFENSE
  AC 19, touch 12, flat-footed 17 (+5 armor, +2 Dex, +2 shield)
  hp 29 (4d8+8)
  Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +3; +1 vs. fear
  Defensive Abilities evasion, uncanny dodge
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee +1 scimitar +8 (1d6+4/18–20)
  Ranged mwk shortbow +6 (1d6/×3)
  Special Attacks sneak attack +2d6
  TACTICS
  During Combat Sandru stays mobile in combat, using 
  Acrobatics to avoid attacks of opportunity as he flanks foes 
  and to prevent enemies from taking full-attack actions on 
  him. He uses Power Attack in all fights, but does so with a 
  relatively unique style that makes him seem more graceful 
  than brutal in nature.
  Morale Sandru is stubbornly brave and has a hard time 
  envisioning his own demise. As a result of this attitude, he 
  fights to the death.
  STATISTICS
  Str 16, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 13
  Base Atk +3; CMB +6; CMD 18
  Feats Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Power Attack, Toughness, 
  Weapon Focus (scimitar)
  Skills Acrobatics +9, Appraise +7, Bluff +8, Craft (carpentry) +7, 
  Diplomacy +8, Disable Device +8, Handle Animal +5,  
  Knowledge (history) +4, Perception +7, Profession 
  (merchant) +7
  Languages Common, Varisian
  SQ daring*, martial training*, PC gear, rogue talents (combat 
  trick, weapon training)
  Combat Gear potions of cure light wounds (3), potion of cure 
  moderate wounds; Other Gear +1 chain shirt, +1 buckler, +1 
  scimitar, mwk shortbow with 20 arrows, belt pouch, bottle of 
  fine brandy worth 50 gp (4), everburning torch, masterwork 
  thieves’ tools, trail rations (4 days), wineskin, 76 gp
  * See the Advanced Player’s Guide.
  SAndrU vhISKI
  SAndrU vhISKI nEvEr TOOK ThE EASy pATh In lIfE—MOSTly bEcAUSE lIfE’S EASIEST pATh 
  cOUld hAvE bEEn TO fOllOw hIS brOThEr InTO A lIfE Of crIME AMOng ThE SczArnI, A 
  pATh SAndrU prIdES hIMSElf fOr hAvIng nEvEr SET A SInglE fOOT UpOn.
  Only a few years from middle age, Sandru Vhiski is a 
  charming man, handsome and irreverent in precisely the 
  ways that could have made him a highly successful Sczarni 
  con artist, even before one takes into account in the fact that 
  his older brother, Jubrayl, is Sandpoint’s local Sczarni leader. 
  Sandru doesn’t live in Sandpoint, although he considers 
  himself one of the town’s citizens nevertheless. He’s only in 
  town a few days out of every month, for his caravan is one 
  of the region’s busier examples. Traveling with his adopted 
  mother Koya Mvashti and a pair of Varisian brothers named 
  Bevelek and Vankor Dalmuvian, Sandru makes the trip 
  from Riddleport to Magnimar to Korvosa several times 
  a year. While he makes enough money on these journeys 
  from trade, money isn’t Sandru’s primary motivation—he 
  loves the road, and he loves the tradition. It doesn’t take 
  much to get Sandru talking about Varisian history, dance 
  traditions, scarves, fortune-telling, horses and wagons, 
  landmarks and legends. In the off-seasons, when weather 
  makes travel too dangerous or too uncomfortable, Sandru 
  prefers to stay in Magnimar, where he helps other Varisians 
  with his carpentry skills and flirts with the political scene 
  in that town. He’s not yet had the conviction to fully become 
  a representative of his people in Magnimar, though, since 
  he knows the call of the road will pull him from any local 
  responsibilities as soon as the rains clear each spring.
  hISTOry
  The Vhiski family has been involved with the Sczarni for as 
  many generations as anyone cares to look back upon. Not 
  every Vhiski throws in with the gang, but enough do that 
  when one comes along who has no interest in the Sczarni 
  life, it’s difficult for him to prove his disinterest in crime 
  to outsiders. Sandru’s early childhood schools were back 
  alleys and waterfront taverns, and training in the art of the 
  con, dirty fighting, sabotage, and picking locks replaced 
  lessons in numbers, arts, and literature. From an early 
  age, though, Sandru’s sense of fairness and compassion 
  hampered his advancement in the ranks of the Sczarni, 
  and the mockery and derision his hesitance earned him 
  only strengthened his convictions.
  When a violent storm struck the Varisian coast in 4687 
  ar, Sandru’s parents were among those slain by the floods 
  and winds that tore the Lost Coast apart. Sandru and his 
  
  57
  NPC Gallery
  brothers Alder and Jubrayl emerged from that catastrophic 
  event as orphans. Yet while tragic, this event was ironically 
  just the thing to save Sandru from a life of crime. While 
  Jubrayl was old enough at that point to strike out on his 
  own (and thus fell in completely with the family’s criminal 
  traditions), Sandru was still a young child of 7 and his 
  younger brother Alder barely 2. His care fell to Koya 
  Mvashti, a family friend and practically an aunt to the 
  young Sandru. Under her guidance and support, Sandru 
  managed to avoid falling in with the Sczarni, and when 
  he grew of age, he sought employment as a caravan guard.
  For several years, Sandru avoided Sandpoint, but after 
  he lost his job, he joined up with a group of adventurers 
  eager to explore western Varisia. As fate would have it, 
  Ameiko Kaijitsu was also in the group. Sandru and 
  Ameiko hit it off at once and became close friends. 
  Indeed, Sandru was quite taken with the lovely young 
  woman, but their age difference (he was 26, while 
  she was only 17) and Sandru’s sense of honor kept 
  him from pursuing a romantic relationship 
  with her. Instead, he watched enviously 
  (yet graciously) as Ameiko and his 
  younger brother Alder began to fall 
  in love.
  The trio’s brief adventuring 
  career was quite successful, 
  but as recounted in Ameiko’s 
  history, ended in tragedy. 
  For many years after Alder 
  rescued Ameiko and lost his life 
  to the cannibals, Sandru couldn’t 
  stand to be around the young 
  Tian—she reminded him of lost 
  opportunities and lost family. So while 
  Ameiko invested her adventuring spoils 
  in Sandpoint, Sandru invested his in 
  the road, throwing himself into a much 
  more honorable Varisian occupation, 
  that of caravan owner. For the next 
  several years, Sandru’s life was the road. 
  He’s since mostly recovered from the bad 
  times, and now visits Sandpoint and 
  Ameiko often. He thinks of her now as 
  a younger sister, and often worries that her 
  capricious and often rebellious nature will 
  someday force her to choose between the 
  life she wants and the life she’s inherited 
  as one of Sandpoint’s nobles.
  cAMpAIgn rOlE
  Sandru is the owner and primary 
  driver of the caravan destined to take the PCs over the 
  Crown of the World and into Minkai. Just as he plays the 
  role of surrogate older brother to Ameiko, he should start 
  to fill that role for most, if not all, of the PCs. Sandru’s led 
  a relatively lonely life, though, and most of those who have 
  shown romantic interest in him have been associated with 
  the Sczarni, while those to whom he is attracted tend to 
  see him either as a brother or are already in relationships. 
  While Sandru knows he could woo a paramour away 
  from his or her lover if he put his mind and his charms 
  to the task, he also knows he could never stay long with 
  a lover who wasn’t faithful or devoted enough to stick 
  with whoever came before him. Caught in this complex 
  tangle of emotions and honor, Sandru has started to think 
  of himself as a life-long bachelor, and with each passing 
  year consigns himself to the growing certainty that he’ll 
  remain alone until his final days. As a result, while 
  he’s a friendly and personable character, he tends 
  to miss such social cues or avoid romantic 
  approaches entirely.
  The following section outlines possible 
  roles for Sandru in the PCs’ caravan, 
  as well as things that can affect the 
  PCs’ relationship with Sandru. See the 
  Jade Regent Player’s Guide for details 
  on caravans and relationships 
  with significant NPCs in the 
  campaign.
  Caravan Jobs: Sandru can 
  perform the following caravan 
  jobs: driver, guard, passenger, 
  trader, or wainwright.
  Preferred Gifts: art objects and jewelry 
  in Varisian traditions, fine foodstuffs 
  (particularly 
  shellfish 
  and 
  brandy), 
  swashbuckler-themed magic items
  Hated 
  Insults: 
  anti-Varisian 
  slurs or comments, implications of 
  criminal ties (especially with the 
  Sczarni), slander against Ameiko
  Devotion 
  Boon: 
  Sandru’s 
  graceful and almost dancelike 
  combat style has worn off on 
  you. Whenever you move at 
  least 10 feet in combat, you 
  gain a +1 dodge bonus to 
  your Armor Class.
  Enmity Boon: You’ve come to enjoy 
  anything that gets Sandru angry, and as 
  a result, you’ve inadvertently absorbed 
  quite a bit of lore about the Sczarni—
  particularly the art of striking first 
  in a fight. You gain a +4 bonus on 
  Initiative checks.
  Romance Score: 38
  
  58
  Shalelu Andosana 
  CR 5
  XP 1,600
  Female elf fighter 2/ranger 4
  CG Medium humanoid (elf)
  Init +3; Senses low-light vision; Perception +12
  DEFENSE
  AC 19, touch 14, flat-footed 15 (+4 armor, +3 Dex, +1 dodge, 
  +1 natural)
  hp 53 (6d10+16)
  Fort +10, Ref +8, Will +3; +2 vs. enchantments, +1 vs. fear
  Defensive Abilities bravery +1
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee mwk short sword +8/+3 (1d6+1/19–20)
  Ranged +1 composite longbow +11/+6 (1d8+1/×3)
  Special Attacks favored enemy (goblinoids +2)
  Ranger Spells Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +2)
  1st—resist energy
  TACTICS
  During Combat Shalelu prefers to fight with her bow, 
  resorting to melee only when truly desperate or when an 
  ally seems in dire need of healing from her wand.
  Morale Shalelu is loyal to her friends, and as long as even one 
  of them remains in danger she won’t abandon them. That 
  said, if she feels she can escape, get help, and return in time 
  to save anyone captured by enemies before it’s too late, she 
  might try to do so.
  STATISTICS
  Str 12, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 8
  Base Atk +6; CMB +7; CMD 21
  Feats Dodge, Endurance, Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, 
  Rapid Shot, Skill Focus (Acrobatics), Weapon Focus 
  (composite longbow)
  Skills Acrobatics +12, Knowledge (nature) +8, Perception +12, 
  Stealth +15, Survival +10, Swim +10
  Languages Common, Elven, Goblin
  SQ elven magic, favored terrain (forest +2), hunter’s bond 
  (companions), PC gear, track +2, weapon familiarity, wild 
  empathy +3
  Combat Gear sleep arrows (10), potion of delay poison, potions 
  of lesser restoration (2), wand of cure light wounds (25 
  charges), antitoxin (2); Other Gear +1 studded leather, +1 
  composite longbow with 20 arrows, masterwork short sword, 
  ShAlElU AndOSAnA
  ShAlElU IS OldEr ThAn ThE TOwn Of SAndpOInT, yET ShE’S cOME TO ThInK Of IT AS 
  hEr hOMETOwn—A TOwn ThAT hAS fInAlly grOwn Up EnOUgh TO SUrvIvE On ITS Own 
  wIThOUT hEr wATchIng OvEr IT frOM ThE wIld.
  amulet of natural armor +1, campfire bead*, cloak of resistance 
  +1, backpack, bedroll, climber’s kit, flint and steel, manacles, 
  silk rope (50 ft.), sunrods (3), trail rations (4 days), waterskin, 
  winter blanket, wooden holy symbol of Desna, 8 pp, 2 gp
  * See the Advanced Player’s Guide.
  Although Shalelu Andosana is something of a mystery in 
  Sandpoint, she’s certainly one of the town’s most admired 
  defenders. Like Sandru Vhiski, she doesn’t actually 
  live in town, but she sometimes spends the night at the 
  Rusty Dragon free of charge, thanks to her friendship 
  with Ameiko Kaijitsu. Everyone in town knows that 
  Shalelu is something of a loner and prefers to spend her 
  time wandering and exploring the wilderness around 
  Sandpoint. She periodically vanishes from the region for 
  weeks or even months at a time to visit friends elsewhere 
  in Varisia, but she never fails to return to Sandpoint. No 
  one quite understands why she keeps coming back. When 
  asked why, she merely says, “Someone’s got to keep an 
  eye on you all.” Her reports of goblin activity have helped 
  save folk from ambushes or warned the militia of possible 
  attacks on the town or its farmlands numerous times. Yet in 
  recent days, Sheriff Hemlock has taken a more active role in 
  watching over the surrounding land. His militia is better 
  trained than ever before, and Shalelu’s aid in keeping an eye 
  on the hinterlands is growing less and less necessary. She 
  actually seems relatively pleased with this, as if she’s proud 
  that Sandpoint is finally starting to look after itself. She’s 
  even hinted that she’s thinking of taking a long journey 
  away from town sometime in the future, but when pressed 
  for details, she just shrugs and changes the topic.
  hISTOry
  Shalelu is still relatively young at 130 years of age, but she 
  can remember when the Lost Coast was truly lost, when 
  only goblin lairs and Thassilonian ruins could be found 
  along its length. Yet for much of her life, Shalelu’s visits 
  to southern Varisia were not nearly as common. Born and 
  raised in the small village of Crying Leaf, Shalelu is an 
  only child whose father was slain not long after she was 
  born by a particularly brutal bugbear assassin, exposing 
  Shalelu to far more goblinoid cruelty than most elves her 
  age dream of in their worst nightmares.
  
  59
  NPC Gallery
  It took Shalelu’s mother Seanthia nearly a hundred 
  years to find a new love, and when she did, she chose a 
  human mercenary, scandalizing much of Crying Leaf. As 
  shocking as the choice may have been, Shalelu saw how 
  happy this man Jakardos made her mother, and she loved 
  him as a father for that kindness. But when her mother 
  died in a fight a green dragon a few years later, Jakardos 
  left without saying goodbye, shattering Shalelu’s opinion 
  of him. The loss of her mother and stepfather sent Shalelu 
  into a terrible depression, and she left Crying Leaf to seek 
  out a new home.
  Shalelu came to Sandpoint, where she found a burgeoning 
  human village that was growing rapidly into a town, but 
  that was plagued by goblins. Shalelu took Sandpoint under 
  her wing, and for many years she protected it from goblins, 
  bugbears, ghouls, and worse. Recently, Shalelu sought 
  out Jakardos at his new home in central Varisia, and her 
  reconciliation with her aging stepfather finally helped 
  her come to terms with the violent attack that killed her 
  mother. And when Shalelu returned to Crying Leaf to aid 
  in dealing with the drow problem in the nearby Mierani 
  Forest, she was able to help kill the same green dragon 
  responsible for her mother’s death.
  Shalelu is now in one of the happiest times of her life, 
  and has been seized with a restless wanderlust. In 
  recent years, Shalelu has built a strong 
  friendship with Ameiko Kaijitsu as well, 
  and sees her as a younger sister. Shalelu 
  knows that Ameiko is haunted by tragedies, and in 
  some ways sees a reflection of her own sad history 
  in Ameiko. Shalelu hopes to find some way soon of 
  helping her friend overcome her melancholia—perhaps 
  a nice long trip will fit the bill.
  cAMpAIgn rOlE
  Shalelu is the highest-level significant NPC that 
  accompanies the PCs in this adventure, and while the PCs 
  will eventually eclipse her power, for now she should act 
  as a protective guardian. She’s always ready to step in and 
  save friends, but she also believes that coddling allies robs 
  them of the opportunity to improve themselves. She won’t 
  fight the PCs’ battles for them, but she’ll do what she can 
  to ensure they survive long enough to find their own way.
  The following section outlines possible roles for Shalelu 
  in the PCs’ caravan, as well as things that can affect the PCs’ 
  relationship with Shalelu. See the Jade Regent Player’s Guide 
  for details on caravans and relationships with significant 
  NPCs in the campaign.
  Caravan Jobs: Shalelu can perform the following 
  caravan jobs: guard, passenger, and scout.
  Preferred Gifts: archery equipment (particularly magic 
  equipment), nature-themed works of art, survivalist gear 
  and tools
  Hated Insults: anti-elf jokes (particularly about ear 
  length), implications that she’s frigid or incapable of love, 
  pro-goblin comments
  Devotion Boon: Shalelu’s love of the natural world 
  has opened your eyes to the same beauty. When you’re in 
  wilderness areas, you gain a +1 morale bonus on all saving 
  throws—in forests, this bonus increases to +3.
  Enmity Boon: You don’t get along well with Shalelu, but 
  you have to admit that she knows how to hold a grudge. 
  Choose one creature type from the list of ranger favored 
  enemies. You gain a +2 bonus on all attack rolls and 
  weapon damage rolls against those creatures.
  Romance Score: 35
  
  60
  fIrEwOrKS
  Tian fireworks come in many forms, some of which can 
  be found in “The Brinewall Legacy.”
  Desnan Candle: When lit, this foot-long wooden tube 
  launches a flaming pyrotechnic “candle” every round for 4 
  rounds. Each projectile deals 1 point of nonlethal damage and 
  1 point of fire damage if it hits; on a critical hit, the target is 
  also blinded for 1 round. The projectiles shed light as candles 
  for 1 round and have a range increment of 5 feet. Attacking 
  with a Desnan candle is a ranged touch attack and always has 
  a –4 nonproficiency penalty. A Desnan candle costs 5 gp.
  Skyrocket: When lit, this foot-long wooden tube begins to 
  shake and emit a handful of white sparks, shedding light as a 
  torch. One round later it takes flight, moving in a straight line 
  with a fly speed of 90 for 1d6 rounds before loudly exploding 
  in an burst of light and sound, and dealing 2d6 points of fire 
  damage in a 10-foot burst (DC 15 Reflex save for half). If a 
  skyrocket impacts a solid surface or a creature before reaching 
  its maximum range, it detonates prematurely at the point 
  of impact. Anyone who takes damage from the explosion 
  is either blinded or deafened (a 50% chance of either) for 1 
  round. A skyrocket costs 50 gp and weighs 1 pound.
  Starfountain: This tree-stump-sized bundle of tubes 
  immediately begins to emit arcs of multicolored sparks 
  when lit. Starting 1d6 rounds after lighting, it loudly 
  releases brightly colored streaks of tiny flaming particles 
  for 4 full rounds. Outdoors, these particles soar far up into 
  the sky before dispersing. Indoors or in a closed area, the 
  ricocheting fireworks deal 1d6 points of fire damage each 
  round in a 20-foot spread (DC 15 Reflex save for half). 
  Creatures who fail their saves are blinded for 1d4 rounds 
  and deafened for 1 hour. A starfountain costs 500 gp and 
  weighs 100 pounds.
  MAgIc ITEMS
  Several key items from the adventure are described below.
  Amatatsu Seal (Minor Artifact)
  Aura strong (all schools); CL 20th
  Slot none; Weight —
  DESCRIPTION
  This stone statuette of a dragon is one of five royal seals of 
  Minkai, and represents the Amatatsu family’s divine right to 
  rule the empire of Minkai. Should no Amatatsus of pure blood 
  JAdE rEgEnT TrEASUrES
  ThE fOllOwIng UnIqUE TrEASUrES cAn bE fOUnd In “ThE brInEwAll lEgAcy.” plAyEr-
  ApprOprIATE hAndOUTS AppEAr In ThE gAMEMASTEry JAdE rEgEnT ITEM cArd SET.
  be able to take up that charge, however, the Amatatsu Seal can 
  invest the right to rule as an Amatatsu in any number of living 
  humanoid hosts. These Amatatsu scions often experience a series 
  of visions of the past, present, and possible future.
  The Amatatsu Seal has a daily allotment of 5 charges that it 
  can use to cast the following spells on an Amatatsu scion: cure 
  serious wounds, remove curse, remove disease, or restoration. 
  Each casting uses up 1 daily charge. Alternatively, the seal 
  can cast heal on an Amatatsu scion, but doing so expends all 
  5 charges. Finally, and only at the seal’s discretion, it can cast 
  resurrection on an Amatatsu scion, but doing so renders its 
  spellcasting powers useless for a month.
  The Amatatsu Seal itself radiates strong magic, and those 
  with the proper resources can sense this magic across oceans 
  and continents, allowing it to be tracked across any distance. 
  Originally meant to allow its rightful owners the ability to track 
  it if stolen, this feature makes it dangerous to remove the seal 
  from its warding box, for as long as the warding box is open, the 
  oni of the Five Storms can track it. The repercussions of this are 
  detailed in later adventures in the Jade Regent Adventure Path.
  One final ward exists on the Amatatsu Seal, confounding 
  attempts to whisk it quickly away from its homeland but also 
  making returning a stolen seal home an arduous task. The 
  Amatatsu Seal can never be transported by teleportation magic 
  or dimensional travel. It cannot be taken from the Material Plane 
  save via special portals blessed by the gods, and characters who 
  carry the seal cannot cast or otherwise use teleportation effects.
  DESTRUCTION
  To destroy the Amatatsu Seal, rightful scions of each of the 
  five royal families of Minkai must, of their own free will, cast 
  their families’ seals together into the Well of Demons in the 
  Imperial Shrine in Kasai Harbor.
  Dancing Wasp
  Aura moderate conjuration; CL 7th
  Slot none; Price 12,392 gp; Weight 3 lbs.
  DESCRIPTION
  This +1 kusarigama (Ultimate Combat 132) makes a shrill 
  whistling sound whenever it is used in combat. Once per day 
  as a standard action, the wielder of Dancing Wasp can whirl the 
  weapon above his head as a full-round action to summon a 
  giant wasp (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 275). The wasp appears in 
  the air above the wielder’s head and follows the wielder’s mental 
  commands to the best of its ability as long as the user continues 
  
  61
  JAdE rEgEnT TrEASUrES
  to twirl the weapon (requiring a standard action each round), to 
  a maximum of 5 rounds, after which the wasp vanishes.
  CONSTRUCTION
  Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, summon 
  monster IV or summon nature’s ally IV; Cost 6,352 gp
  Warding Box (Minor Artifact)
  Aura Strong abjuration; CL 20th
  Slot none; Weight 5 lbs.
  DESCRIPTION
  A warding box is a powerful magical container built to obscure 
  and confound any attempt to locate objects kept inside. The 
  box can hold one object no larger than 8 inches × 8 inches  × 3 
  inches (or up to 25 pounds) in each of its three compartments 
  at any one time. The box’s lid and additional compartments 
  are sealed, but the box can be opened or closed as a full-round 
  action. While the lid is closed, the warding box and all objects 
  inside it are protected from all divination spells. In this state, 
  no divination spell save for those employed by the gods can 
  detect the warding box or its contents.
  DESTRUCTION
  A warding box can be destroyed by placing a portable hole inside it, 
  closing the lid, and then placing the box inside a second portable 
  hole. This second portable hole must be closed, and then a wish 
  must be used to switch the two portable holes. Doing so destroys 
  both portable holes and the warding box along with them.
  Whispering Shrike
  Aura faint abjuration; CL 5th
  Slot none; Price 5,940 gp; Weight 2 lbs.
  DESCRIPTION
  Whispering Shrike is a +1 wakizashi (Ultimate Combat 134) of 
  incredibly beautiful design. The sword is etched with images of 
  seven shrikes perched on a coiling branch that runs the length 
  of the blade. Once per day, Whispering Shrike can be used to 
  cast shield other on any creature touched by the blade while you 
  wield it. The blade’s tsuka (hilt) has not weathered the passage of 
  time as well as the blade itself, and until the pommel is repaired 
  (a process requiring 600 gp, a day’s work, and a DC 20 Craft 
  [weapons] check), attacks with the weapon take a –2 penalty 
  due to the loose grip. A DC 20 Perception check (an automatic 
  success once repair is underway) reveals a secret compartment 
  in the hilt just large enough to hold a small item such as a flask 
  or rolled piece of paper. This compartment currently holds an 
  important letter—see page 22 for details on this find.
  CONSTRUCTION
  Requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, shield other; 
  Cost 3,140 gp
  dAncIng wASp
  AMATATSU SEAl
  wArdIng bOx
  fIrEwOrKS
  whISpErIng
  ShrIKE
  
  62
  Sandpoint HinterlandS
  The Lost Coast numbers among the most picturesque of a thousand 
  enchanting Varisian backdrops. Misty woodlands ornament a 
  land of supple fields and mysterious cliffs like the fluttering 
  scarves of native dancers. Swamps and rugged tors hold secrets 
  known only to this ancient land’s lost peoples, daring explorers 
  to peel back the ages and discover epics only guessed at by poets. 
  Waves of emerald lap the wild coast, dancing before a ghostly 
  chain of island mountains hidden even on clear days to all but 
  the keen-eyed and lucky. This is truly a place of wonders. But as 
  with any true treasure, its marvels do not go unguarded.
  —Cevil “Redwing” Charms, Esq., Eidolon
  
  63
  Sandpoint HinterlandS
  W
  hile the region known today as Varisia has 
  long been inhabited (all the way back to 
  the Age of Legend, when powerful wizards 
  known as runelords ruled the region as the Empire of 
  Thassilon), it wasn’t until relatively recently that it came 
  to the attention of the nations of the Inner Sea. Cheliax 
  made an aggressive attempt to colonize Varisia, but 
  conflict with its native peoples and the remote location 
  made such attempts difficult. By the time of Aroden’s 
  death and the Chelish Civil War, Cheliax’s colonies in 
  Varisia had already become independent.
  While the inland highlands of Varisia remain wild and 
  untamed, a fair amount of its coastal lowlands are now 
  civilized. Three cities in particular—Korvosa, Magnimar, 
  and Riddleport—represent civilization’s three greatest 
  modern triumphs in the region. Each of these cities has 
  a number of smaller villages in its outlying reaches, and 
  of these smaller settlements, the town of Sandpoint is 
  among the largest and most successful—the perfect spot 
  for fledgling heroes to start careers of adventure.
  Sandpoint
  Founded in 4666 ar along the Lost Coast, just a day’s ride 
  north of Magnimar, Sandpoint has grown into a rustic 
  and prosperous town of just over 1,200 citizens. The town 
  has dealt with a number of disasters in the past 5 decades, 
  including several powerful storms, goblin uprisings, 
  trouble with dragons, devastating fires, and deranged 
  serial killers. Yet Sandpoint weathered these trials and 
  emerged stronger after each one. Today, the town hosts 
  several thriving industries (including lumber, fishing, 
  farming, and glassblowing) as well as a number of unique 
  businesses and entertainment venues. The town seems 
  comfortable in its transitory position between rural 
  charm and urban convenience, and is a healthy and vibrant 
  settlement despite its slow growth.
  While Sandpoint itself doesn’t play a huge role in “The 
  Brinewall Legacy” (beyond being the likely home of the 
  PCs and the starting point for the adventure), the following 
  information should be enough to cover the basics. More 
  information on the town can be found in Pathfinder 
  Adventure Path #1.
  Sandpoint
  NG small town
  Corruption +0; Crime +0; Economy +1; Law +0; Lore +2;  
  Society +0
  Qualities Prosperous, Rumormongering Citizens
  Danger +0
  DEMOGRAPHICS
  Government autocracy (mayor)
  Population 1,240 (1,116 humans, 37 halflings, 25 elves, 24 
  dwarves, 13 gnomes, 13 half-elves, 12 half-orcs)
  Notable NPCs
  Mayor Kendra Deverin (NG female human aristocrat 4/
  expert 3)
  Sheriff Belor Hemlock (CG human male fighter 4)
  Town Priest Abstalar Zantus (CG male human cleric of 
  Desna 4)
  Nobleman Titus Scarnetti (LN male human aristocrat 6)
  Nobleman Ethram Valdemar (NG male human aristocrat 5/
  expert 2)
  Noblewoman Ameiko Kaijitsu (CG female human aristocrat 
  1/bard 3/rogue 1)
  MARKETPLACE
  Base Value 1,300 gp; Purchase Limit 7,500 gp; Spellcasting 4th
  Minor Items 3d4*; Medium Items 1d6*; Major Items —
  * The Resources section lists specific items for sale in 
  Sandpoint at the start of this adventure. Every month, roll 
  3d4 to see how many new minor items are for sale, and 1d6 
  to see how many new medium items are for sale. Healing 
  items that might be offered by the Sandpoint Cathedral or 
  other individuals do not count against these limits.
  reSourceS
  Although Sandpoint is a relatively small town with citizens 
  prone to living relaxed and unexciting lives, the town’s 
  hinterlands hold numerous opportunities for adventure. As 
  such, many of Sandpoint’s businesses cater to adventurers. 
  The following locations and services offered in Sandpoint 
  should be of particular interest to adventuring PCs.
  Sandpoint Cathedral: Tended by Father Abstalar Zantus, 
  a cleric of Desna, the Sandpoint Cathedral is a pantheistic 
  temple that contains shrines to Abadar, Desna, Erastil, 
  Gozreh, Sarenrae, and Shelyn. Zantus and his four 1st-level 
  acolytes can provide a limited amount of healing every day.
  Magic Items for Sale: Beyond the numerous healing items 
  available at the Sandpoint Cathedral, several other shops in 
  Sandpoint periodically offer magic items for sale as well. At 
  the start of the Jade Regent Adventure Path, the following 
  specific items are for sale at the listed shops (these items are 
  in addition to Sandpoint’s normal base gp value).
  Magic iteMS for Sale
  Item 
  For Sale at 
  Price
  +2 dagger 
  Savah’s Armory 
  8,302 gp
  +2 spell resistance (13)  
  Savah’s Armory 
  16,175 gp 
  studded leather armor 
  periapt of health 
  The Feathered Serpent 7,400 gp
  potion of protection  
  Pillbug’s Pantry 
  50 gp 
  from chaos 
  potion of levitate 
  Pillbug’s Pantry 
  300 gp
  ring of feather falling 
  The Feathered Serpent 2,200 gp
  scroll of mirror image 
  The Curious Goblin 
  150 gp
  wand of magic vestment  The Feathered Serpent 6,075 gp 
  (27 charges) 
  
  64
  Places to Relax: Sandpoint offers several places to relax 
  and spend the night, including taverns, inns, and even 
  a brothel. The White Deer and the Rusty Dragon are 
  Sandpoint’s two inns—their prices are comparable, but 
  the Rusty Dragon specifically caters to adventurers, and its 
  owner, Ameiko Kaijitsu, has been known to offer discount 
  rates to adventurers in return for entertaining tales of their 
  escapades. For taverns and eateries, visitors can choose 
  between Cracktooth’s Tavern (specializing in amateur 
  entertainments, ale, and crunchy snacks), Fatman’s Feedbag 
  (specializing in enormous servings of mediocre food, 
  rum, and bar fights), the Hagfish (specializing in seafood, 
  gambling, and boasting), Risa’s Place (specializing in potato 
  dishes, cider, and stories; particularly valued by the locals 
  since this place isn’t well known by visitors), and the Rusty 
  Dragon (specializing in spicy and exotic dishes, mead, and 
  adventurers). The Pixie’s Kitten is Sandpoint’s only brothel, 
  but its sense of style and panache belies the rural environs.
  ruMorS
  Sandpoint’s citizens are fond of gossip. You can use the 
  following table to randomly determine a bit of scuttlebutt 
  to reward PCs who ask around town for information. If you 
  want to limit rumors the PCs hear to ones that have direct 
  links to “The Brinewall Legacy,” roll a d4 instead of a d8.
  Sandpoint ruMorS
  Roll Rumor
  1 
  The Soggy River Monster was seen again, this time 
  by a fisherman on the New Fish Trail. He said it stood 
  taller than a man, had white skin, and had a mouth 
  that opened up all the way down its neck. It was eating 
  what looked like a goblin on the far side of the river, 
  which is why the farmer managed to escape. (True—
  the Soggy River Monster is detailed on page 10.)
  2 
  The Licktoad Goblins have never been much of a 
  problem before, but now that they’ve found all those 
  fireworks, they seem braver, that’s for sure. Some folks 
  say that they’ve even learned how to make them, and 
  that they’re getting ready set Sandpoint on fire! (True 
  and false—although the goblins have found a lot of 
  fireworks, they haven’t learned how to make them yet.)
  3 
  It’s been a long time since Old Megus came to town. 
  My neighbor says it’s because she used witch magic to 
  turn into some sort of swamp zombie and now she’s 
  stalking Brinestump looking for people to eat! (False—
  Old Megus’s actual fate is detailed on page 18.)
  4 
  That weird halfling who lives at the end of the New Fish 
  Trail in Brinestump Marsh raises snakes as pets. I kid 
  you not! He coddles them like my niece coddles her 
  pet rabbit, Mr. Nibbles! Takes a special kind of weirdo 
  to keep snakes as pets! (True—the self-appointed 
  “warden” of the swamp is detailed on page 11.)
  5 
  Farmers around Egan’s Wood say that there’s been 
  muddy hoofprints appearing on their roofs lately. 
  Sounds like the Sandpoint Devil’s looking for 
  someone ’round those parts to carry off for a meal! 
  (False—the farmers faked the footprints and are just 
  looking for attention.)
  6 
  Some travelers coming from up coast say they saw a 
  dragon—a big black one—flying around above central 
  Mosswood. Hope they were drunk or something. We 
  don’t need dragons living that close to town! (True—
  see Dragon’s Punchbowl on page 65.)
  7 
  A couple of weird holes have shown up in the fields 
  around Pauper’s Graves, and the old tree in the 
  cemetery seems to be leaning funny, almost like 
  something’s been digging around in there. Hope it’s 
  not ghouls! (True—see Pauper’s Graves on page 67.)
  8 
  A lot of the fishermen been talking about some sort 
  of red seagull they been seeing lately. Thing is, the 
  seagull always seems to show up just before some sort 
  of accident or other bit of bad luck happens. They’ve 
  been calling the thing the “Stoot Bird” of late, saying 
  it’s soaked in blood or something and that the bird’s 
  possessed by that maniac Stoot’s ghost. (True—this 
  eerie red gull is in fact the disguised Red Bishop. See 
  Grubber’s Hermitage on page 66.)
  tHe HinterlandS
  This volume’s adventure focuses on Brinestump Marsh, 
  only one of the numerous adventure sites located within a 
  few hours’ walk of the town of Sandpoint. Yet several other 
  intriguing sites exist in the Sandpoint hinterlands—areas 
  ripe for new adventurers to test their mettle. Some of 
  these sites are relatively safe to explore, but others could 
  well contain challenges for parties of 7th level or higher. 
  The following gazetteer briefly describes several different 
  locations in the Sandpoint hinterlands beyond Brinestump 
  Marsh where adventures could take place—each location 
  is listed with a suggested CR so that you can build level-
  appropriate challenges for that area. In the case of an area 
  listing a range of numbers for its CR, that site features 
  multiple encounter areas suitable for longer-term exploration 
  in a multilevel complex or ruin. Entries without CRs listed 
  are generally safe and have few indigenous dangers.
  Ashen Rise (CR 1): The smaller of the two limestone 
  escarpments in the area is the so-called Ashen Rise. Unlike 
  Devil’s Platter, Ashen Rise is relatively safe—the only peril 
  explorers are likely to face up here are flocks of stirges or 
  uncommonly aggressive ravens and crows.
  Biston’s Pond (CR 2): Named after an eccentric Varisian 
  druid who lived his whole life on the western shore, this 
  pond gathers at the convergence of Weasel Creek and the 
  larger Turandarok River. Goblins from Mosswood often 
  fish along the eastern shore, and the dilapidated shack 
  
  65
  Sandpoint HinterlandS
  that once served as Biston’s home still sits on the western 
  shore, supposedly haunted by the old druid’s spirit. These 
  stories are lent credence by the unusually hostile attitude 
  of the coyotes, wolves, boars, and other wild animals who 
  dwell in the area. The pond itself is relatively shallow and 
  well-stocked with trout and freshwater flounders.
  Brinestump Marsh (CR 1): This tangled, overgrown 
  swampland is presented in detail in Part One of this 
  volume’s adventure.
  Devil’s Platter (CR 3): The edges of Devil’s Platter are 
  known haunts for the Birdcrunchers—a small tribe of 
  relatively nonaggressive goblins that dwells in numerous 
  caverns along the Platter’s western edge. Deeper in, it’s 
  rumored that the place is controlled by devil-worshiping 
  bugbears who avoid the light of day but emerge at night 
  from caves to light their fires. Numerous clefts, cracks, and 
  caverns lie scattered throughout the bleak, desolate expanse 
  of this limestone escarpment. Routes up the sheer sides are 
  few, and are often sites of goblin or bugbear ambushes.
  Dragon’s Punchbowl (CR 8–11): This bowl-shaped island 
  is little more than a series of stony ridges surrounding 
  a small lake. Wyverns roost in caves here, and rumors 
  hold that a dragon visits the place once or twice a year 
  for unknown reasons. In fact, until recently, two black 
  dragons lived in the partially flooded caverns accessible 
  from the punchbowl’s lake. The eldest of these is the black 
  dragon Scarhorn, a brutish creature with a missing horn 
  who recently kicked her younger sibling out of their lair 
  (see the Tors on page 67). Scarhorn spends much of her 
  time scouring the farther islands of the Varisian Gulf for 
  treasure, particularly in the ruins of Xin-Bakrakhan on 
  the lower slopes of Rivenrake Island.
  Egan’s Wood (CR 2): This small copse of trees grows along 
  the lee of Ashen Rise, a thick tangle of pine trees once owned 
  by a local eccentric named Egan who forbade any clearing of 
  the land for farming. His shack lies hidden somewhere in 
  the woods. Although Egan died long ago, the giant spiders 
  that infest his beloved woods remain very much alive. 
  They rarely emerge from the woods, which is fine with the 
  farmers who toil in the surrounding flatlands.
  Farmlands (CR 1): The farmlands south of Sandpoint are 
  relatively safe, but farmers are always getting into trouble 
  with local wildlife or various local dangers—particularly 
  goblins or mites. At any given time, at least two or three 
  farms need help in running off predators or mischief-
  seeking troublemakers.
  Foxglove Manor (CR 4–5): This old seaside manor 
  house was built in 4624, but a series of tragedies saw the 
  
  66
  place abandoned for many years. Known today as “The 
  Misgivings,” the place is reputedly haunted. Foxglove Manor 
  is presented in detail in Pathfinder Adventure Path #2.
  Grubber’s Hermitage (CR 6–9): A notorious generator of 
  shipwrecks, Grubber’s Hermitage is a small, isolated island 
  containing a thorp of a dozen fishing families—insular folk 
  that generally don’t welcome visitors. Sandpoint citizens 
  theorize that lepers, ghosts, or worse infest the island. Of 
  late, little has been heard from the Hermitage—with no 
  love lost between this thorp and Sandpoint, no one has 
  gone to investigate the silence as of yet. In fact, the people 
  of Grubber’s Hermitage have recently been devastated by a 
  supernatural and deadly entity known as the Red Bishop, 
  a mothman cleric of Pazuzu whose strange obsession 
  with Sandpoint brought it to the region. The Red Bishop 
  played a key role in the corruption of Jervas Stoot into a 
  maniacal serial killer several years ago, and this was but 
  the first in several manipulations of events in the region 
  toward a devastating endgame known only to it. The 
  slaughter and subjugation of Grubber’s Hermitage is 
  the latest atrocity engineered by the Red Bishop, who 
  now dwells on the island and manipulates the town’s 
  few remaining survivors from the safety of a corrupted 
  monastery of Gozreh that looms above the town.
  Habe’s Sanatorium (CR 1): A wealthy alienist named Erin 
  Habe owns and runs this three-story brick hospice, more 
  properly known as “The Saintly Haven of Respite.” Some 
  folk whisper that the asylum is less a place of healing 
  and more a place for its reclusive owner to perform strange 
  experiments on the desperate souls in his care. Habe’s 
  Sanatorium is detailed in Pathfinder Adventure Path #2.
  Hag’s Plummet: Old Varisian tales recount the tragic 
  tale of young Bevanaka, who found a gray hair and sought 
  out an old witch for an elixir of beauty. The witch gave 
  her the potion, but warned her that the effects would 
  last only as long as she didn’t fall in love. For many years, 
  Bevanaka lived as a lonely but beautiful woman, until the 
  day her loneliness grew too great and she fell in love with 
  a young man. Bevanaka grew old in the blink of an eye, 
  but hoped her true love would still love her. Alas, she was 
  wrong. Horrified by her sudden age, he spurned her. In a fit 
  of despair, Bevanaka threw herself from the cliffs at Hag’s 
  Plummet. Since then, these cliffs have been a popular place 
  both for young lovers to sneak away and profess their love 
  and for suicides. 
  The Moors (CR 2): The three moors that stretch through 
  much of the hinterlands consist of poor-quality soil and 
  stony ground. The northernmost is Ashen Moor, a stretch 
  of low-lying land that slopes gradually to the west toward 
  Hag’s Plummet. On the far side of Brinestump Marsh from 
  Ashen Moor lies Bleaklow Moor, a higher-altitude swath of 
  land said to be infested by ghouls below its barren expanse. 
  Whisperwood Moor, the largest of the three moors, lies to 
  the southeast and is often shrouded in fog well into the day. 
  Goblin dogs, wolves, worgs, and worse hunt here, often coming 
  north to prey on the livestock of outlying farmlands.
  Mosswood (CR 3): One of two significantly sized 
  woodlands to the east of Sandpoint, Mosswood is the less 
  tangled, less dangerous of the two, yet the forest is far from 
  safe. Mosswood’s primary inhabitants are goblins, and 
  the Mosswood tribe remains the largest of the Sandpoint 
  goblin tribes today. Part of the Mosswood goblins’ 
  tenacity doubtlessly comes from the tribe’s chieftain, Big 
  Gugmut, who claims to be the son of a hobgoblin and a 
  wild boar. Mosswood’s trees tend to be larger, mostly 
  redwood, resulting in much more open forest floor than 
  undergrowth-heavy Nettlewood to the north.
  Nettlewood (CR 3): North of Mosswood lies Nettlewood, 
  a frustratingly tangled forest. Whereas the trees of 
  Mosswood grow tall and stately, those north of the Lost 
  Coast Road in Nettlewood are lower and share much of 
  The Red Bishop
  
  67
  Sandpoint HinterlandS
  their growing space with snarls of nettles and thorny 
  underbrush. Nettlewood’s dense undergrowth makes it 
  one of the least-explored regions of the hinterlands.
  Pauper’s Graves (CR 3–4): Before Sandpoint was settled, 
  Varisians often visited the coastline here, one of many 
  traditional graveyard sites used by the travelers in the 
  region. When Sandpoint began construction, a large influx 
  of poor and desperate laborers from Magnimar came to 
  the region, hoping to be rewarded for helping build a new 
  town by being given a place in it, and were buried here. 
  Today, these bodies are gone, devoured by the ghouls now 
  inhabiting the twisting warrens beneath the area.
  The Pit (CR 2–7): The most notorious site on Devil’s 
  Platter is a dark, circular pit hidden somewhere near the 
  escarpment’s center. From above, the Pit is only accessible by 
  flight or via a winding network of mazelike furrows in the 
  Platter’s surface, while from below the numerous caves that 
  branch off of the Pit’s walls connect to underground lairs 
  throughout the hinterlands. In this way, the Pit forms the 
  nexus of a “mini-Darklands” below the region. Something 
  like a sinkhole, the circular shaft stretches nearly a hundred 
  feet across, its inner walls crisscrossed with ledges and rope 
  ladders leading deeper into the mist-shrouded depths. 
  Numerous cave entrances along these ledges lead into 
  complexes within the escarpment itself—goblin tribes, 
  infestations of gremlins, sinister lairs inhabited by derros 
  and dark folk, and troglodyte warrens are among the 
  dangers one faces in these numerous caverns. The deepest 
  reaches of the pit share an ancient temple devoted to Kabriri 
  (the demon lord of ghouls) and the lair of the infamous 
  Sandpoint Devil. The connection between the denizens of 
  this temple of Kabriri and the ghoul activity in the region 
  seems obvious, but what unholy link the ghouls and their 
  cult leaders might have to the Sandpoint Devil is unclear.
  The Pyre: The ancient Varisians of the region used 
  this promontory for many rituals, including their yearly 
  Swallowtail Festival, but the Pyre hasn’t been so used since 
  Sandpoint’s founding.
  Ravenroost: This ragged range of broken hills is 
  decorated here and there by isolated copses of eucalyptus 
  and pines. Not a lot lives here apart from relatively harmless 
  wild animals, although of late, the ravens that give the 
  hills their name seem unusually loud and aggressive.
  Shank’s Wood (CR 2): This small pine and eucalyptus 
  forest is relatively small. The goblins of the Seven Tooth 
  tribe claim this forest as their territory, and often sneak 
  west to raid Sandpoint’s junkyard for “treasure.”
  Sog’s Bay (CR 2): This shallow bay has a notorious 
  reputation for being a shipwrecker. Dozens of sandbars and 
  hidden perils fill the area, and the masts of unfortunate 
  ships protrude from the shallows in multiple spots. Ships 
  take pains to not approach the shore too closely here, so 
  gradual is the change from sea to swamp. The waters of the 
  bay are thick with reefclaws, giant crabs, giant urchins, 
  and other tidal predators and scavengers.
  Thistletop (CR 3–4): Perhaps the most aggressive goblin 
  tribe in the region, the Thistletop goblins and their 
  unusual lair are presented in great detail in Pathfinder 
  Adventure Path #1.
  The Three Cormorants (CR 5): Three towering sea stacks 
  protrude from the waves here, their crowns supporting 
  miniature forests of eucalyptus and cypress trees. A small 
  group of harpies dwells amid these trees, but apart from 
  periodically tormenting goblins, the monsters don’t 
  meddle with mainland concerns.
  Tickwood (CR 2): Although giant ticks are known in this 
  wood, the primary denizens of this long, narrow forest of 
  pines, firs, and redwoods are boars. As a result, the wood is 
  a popular hunting ground among the wealthier residents 
  of Sandpoint.
  The Tors (CR 1–7): Situated to the east of Devil’s Platter, 
  these three groups of stony hills are known collectively 
  as the Tors. Named after three adventurers who explored 
  many of the nooks, caverns, and old Varisian tombs here 
  before Sandpoint was founded, the Tors hide many new 
  secrets and small hidden complexes that await discovery. 
  In addition, the black dragon Scarhorn’s bitter and surly 
  younger brother Black Fang has recently settled in an old 
  tomb in the Tors, where he makes plans to gain enough 
  resources and strength to return to Dragon’s Punchbowl 
  and reclaim the home he sees as rightfully his own. 
  Traditionally, neither dragon has bothered Sandpoint 
  much, since they have little desire to rile up would-be 
  dragonslayers so close to home, but the recent upset 
  in their living situation could well drive Black Fang to 
  extreme measures.
  Whisperwood (CR 2–4): Only the northern tip of this 
  large forest intrudes into the Sandpoint hinterlands. 
  Whisperwood runs along much of the Lost Coast, its 
  towering redwoods a humbling testimony to the grace of 
  nature. Solitary bugbear stalkers lurk in these woods, along 
  with a few Sczarni hideouts. Tales of hidden Thassilonian 
  ruins from both Shalast and Bakrakhan often lure 
  adventurers into these woods, but most fall prey to the 
  wolves, bugbears, and thugs who lie in wait for intruders.
  Wisher’s Well (CR 4–8): One of the lesser-known 
  Thassilonian ruins in the region, this landmark consists 
  of a circular stone tower only 30 feet high from the outside 
  that drops away into a 100-foot-deep shaft ending in a 
  deep pool of water on the inside. Of course, all manner 
  of monsters dwell in the flooded caverns below the well, 
  including a small tribe of skum and a slightly larger tribe of 
  faceless stalkers. Both tribes are ruled by an albino aboleth 
  named Vorimorath, who came to the region via submerged 
  tunnels deep below, likely drawn by the promise of strange 
  Thassilonian treasures in the flooded depths.
  
  68
  Ecology of thE oni
  “I spit on you all! You who have always known physical form, 
  you have no real understanding of what it means to truly 
  consume life! We oni embrace the world, grasp at it with a 
  passion you fools can never approach. Golarion is wasted 
  on you creatures. One day, oni shall possess all! We shall 
  see, hear, smell, taste, and touch everything. You are mere 
  pedestrians in this life! We detest you and your timidity. We 
  oni devour, we suck the very marrow out of every experience 
  while you nibble at the edges like toothless old women!”
  —From the interrogation of Temen Nuju, a kuwa oni captured
  by Eagle Knights north of Augustana, 4699 ar
  
  69
  Ice Yai
  Ecology of thE oni
  T
  he oni are a diverse group of evil spirits who take 
  on the form of humanoid creatures so that they 
  can enjoy the pleasures and vices of the flesh. The 
  most widespread of the oni are the creatures known across 
  the world as ogre mages. They are but one variety of these 
  evil spirits. More common in Tian Xia than other parts of 
  the world, oni clothe themselves in a variety of humanoid 
  bodies—often in lumbering forms with monstrous 
  features, distortions of given humanoid breeds. When an oni 
  first takes humanoid shape, it remains bound to that shape 
  for the rest of its life. Its features may be oversized (large 
  fangs or huge malformed ears), misshapen (hunched back 
  or twisted arms), or appear in grotesque abundance (three 
  or more eyes or six-fingered hands). While their powers are 
  nearly as varied as their forms, all oni are shapechangers, 
  though the shapes they assume are generally similar to 
  their true forms. In some cases, particularly among the less 
  powerful oni, some of their monstrous features can be seen 
  even in these alternate forms.
  history of thE oni
  Minkai has long been a battleground between otherworldly 
  spirits. These spirits are known as kami (KAH-mee) and oni 
  (OH-nee), and the metaphysical clash between these spirits 
  has long bled over into the Material Plane. Originally, the 
  gods fashioned the kami to protect those parts of the world 
  incapable of self-awareness, such as plants, stones, rivers, 
  and even whole lands. Kami must abide by a complex series 
  of rules put in place by the gods—rules that proscribe how 
  they may interact with sentient creatures or manipulate 
  events in the world. These rules are known as the Laws 
  of Golden Perfection, and all kami must abide by their 
  complex constraints, lest they be punished.
  When a kami fails to carry out its duties 
  due to negligence, it can be cast out and lose its 
  status as a kami. Most kami sadly accept this judgment, 
  becoming aimless spirits who have no purpose or means 
  of interacting with the Material Plane. However, when a 
  kami resents this fate (a common reaction of kami turned 
  to evil), or wanders the Great Beyond long enough to 
  become corrupted by its despair, it transforms into 
  an oni. There have also been documented cases of 
  humanoid beings transformed into oni through 
  powerful curses or as punishment for dreadful 
  transgressions against the gods, although these are 
  much rarer incidents.
  Unlike kami, oni loathe their spiritual forms and wish 
  only to exist as physical beings. They no longer feel a special 
  bond with unintelligent or inanimate objects, instead 
  gravitating toward humanoids, forming bodies 
  that mimic mortals. Being evil and corrupt, their 
  forms are distorted and unsettling, although 
  many oni have the ability to hide this ugliness by 
  magical means. Once in physical form, an oni is free to 
  enjoy the pleasures of the flesh (food, drink, sex, violence, 
  power—whatever its particular obsessions might be), and 
  often does so by subjugating humanoids or other nearby 
  creatures, using them as slaves or dupes to indulge its 
  material cravings.
  Oni and kami are diametrically opposed to one 
  another. Kami see oni as being derelict in their duty and 
  disconcerting threats to the natural order. However, kami 
  are also ashamed of oni and secretly fear that they may one 
  day fail and become oni themselves. Oni are filled with 
  utter hatred and contempt for kami, seeing them as pathetic 
  creatures who lack the courage to enjoy what physical life 
  offers, naive meddlers, and fools. While the malicious 
  cunning of oni serves them well, kami are clearly favored 
  by the gods and this makes for a relatively equal balance 
  between the two forces. Because both kami and oni are 
  bound by rules greater than themselves, they can’t effectively 
  oppose one another in direct ways. When they do clash, 
  
  70
  Fire Yai
  they tend to do so via proxies—physical creatures—and in 
  so doing threaten the delicate balance. Kami often seek the 
  assistance of mortals. Oni, by their very nature deceptive 
  and cruel, seek to trick humanoids into aiding their causes, 
  or bend mortal wills to their nefarious purposes through 
  artifice, intimidation, or violence.
  oni Physiology
  When a kami (or rarely, a humanoid’s soul) is transformed 
  into an oni, the evil spirit is initially nothing more than 
  that—a disembodied, incorporeal spirit. Most mortals are 
  more familiar with oni once they emerge onto the Material 
  Plane. The methods by which an oni can manifest its body 
  on the Material Plane vary, but generally occur in places 
  already despoiled by sin, tragedy, or cruelty. The type 
  of oni a spirit transforms into is influenced by a wide 
  variety of variables, ranging from the nature of what the 
  oni spirit was before to the location into which it is born 
  into the world of flesh and blood. Once an oni manifests 
  its physical body, it remains bound to that body for life. 
  With the exception of the most powerful of their kind, oni 
  cannot revert to their original incorporeal forms. Still, it 
  is the oni’s mystical connection to the spirit realm which 
  accounts for their ability to regenerate—in essence, this 
  connection serves to reinvigorate damaged tissue, in a 
  sense recreating it unless the damage incurred is inflicted 
  by acid or fire. For this reason, oni are generally not 
  distressed by sensations of physical pain; some even seek 
  out such experiences, knowing that most physical damage 
  is brief and temporary. It is treated as simply one more 
  way to indulge the flesh. This can make oni seem fearless 
  in physical confrontations, grinning madly in response to 
  even the most terrible of wounds.
  In order to understand oni, it is important to consider 
  that these beings were once bodiless spirits tasked with 
  protecting a material realm they now believe is undeserving 
  of such care and concern—indeed, the physical world is to be 
  dominated and consumed. They arrive in physical existence 
  starved for sensory experience, and devour it ravenously. 
  In fact, it is difficult for anyone but those who have been 
  afflicted by an addiction to appreciate the oni obsession 
  with indulging the senses. It is not uncommon for oni to 
  become pathologically fixated on one specific experience 
  and repeat it compulsively—the taste of a cherry, the feel 
  of a feather brushed against the cheek, the visual contrast 
  of two juxtaposed colors, the sound of a particular wind 
  chime, the sensation of a knife’s edge penetrating flesh, the 
  smell of fat burning in a fire, any sensation can become an 
  oni’s obcession. It is also important to understand that oni 
  immoderation is also affected by their corrupted and evil 
  natures—that is, no pleasure is more enjoyable as when it 
  deprives or wounds another.
  oni sociEty
  Oni enter the physical world hungering for experience, 
  but they are also filled with an angry conceit, believing 
  that the material world has been wasted on mortals. This 
  creates a desire to engage physical existence “correctly” 
  (from the depraved perspective of the oni) and to punish 
  and abuse mortals for their perceived failures to do so. The 
  vast majority of oni scorn the worship of deities. Although 
  they fear the gods, they give these higher beings 
  no more than begrudging acknowledgment—
  the oni know that the gods smile on the hated 
  kami rather than their own kind. Instead, oni 
  universally embrace what could be called the 
  three pillars of oni philosophy: maekaga (achieving 
  
  71
  Ecology of thE oni
  dominance), kaedakaga (punishing the undeserving), and 
  tezukaga (living hedonistically). While different breeds of 
  oni may define these concepts in different ways, they are 
  the central tenets of every oni’s physical existence.
  If oni have any core philosophy at all, it is tezukaga. More 
  sophisticated oni call their indulgent orgies of physical 
  experience “sacred delights,” each tied to one of the five 
  senses: the Delight of Flesh (touch, physical sensation), 
  the Delight of Scent, the Delight of Sight, the Delight of 
  Sound, and the Delight of Taste. While some oni are drawn 
  to one delight more than others, many seek experiences 
  that engage as many of the senses at one time as possible.
  Oni tend not to congregate together, seeking instead to 
  infiltrate or subjugate humanoid groups that most closely 
  match their true forms and true appetites. While two or 
  three oni may team up for a time to achieve some end, such 
  alliances are relationships of convenience and typically 
  short-lived—oni do not abide rivals for power and fierce 
  enmity between two oni is extremely common. In some 
  ways these conflicts are predictable: one can expect to 
  witness breathtakingly petty insults and injuries, jaw-
  dropping treachery, and melodramatic confrontations 
  that invariably involve one or more disembowelments, 
  and may the gods have mercy on those mortals caught up 
  in these histrionic debacles. The only exception to this 
  general rule is when lesser oni are in the service of one of 
  the most powerful of their kind, the varied yai oni. Only 
  yai can effectively maintain control over large groups of 
  oni for long periods of time, making these types of oni the 
  most dangerous of their kind.
  Most oni seek to achieve and maintain positions of 
  authority and influence in humanoid societies so that 
  they may indulge themselves while taking their rightful 
  place in the order of things, which of course involves 
  putting mortals in their proper place—beneath the boot 
  of the oni. Methods for accomplishing these goals differ 
  between varieties of oni, but they often involve subterfuge, 
  sorcery, fraud, intimidation, and naked aggression. Oni 
  who choose to remain solitary still find ways to cause as 
  much misery to mortals as possible, while gratifying every 
  whim of their infinite sensory appetites.
  It is said that no humanoid has ever read the Laws of 
  Golden Perfection in their voluminous entirety, and both 
  kami and oni contend that these tenets are largely beyond 
  the comprehension of mere mortals. These rules bind 
  both oni and kami as surely as iron shackles, preventing 
  even the most chaotic oni from defying their most sacred 
  strictures. Among the greatest of these is that which 
  prevents open warfare between the kami and oni, driving 
  oni to instead cajole, manipulate, or fool humanoids into 
  serving as their surrogates. Likewise, they are forbidden to 
  engage in specific acts that would have profound impact 
  on the existing order of things, such as the outright 
  destruction of the works of man or the crushing of royal 
  lineages. It is these laws that most confound the oni, for 
  such destruction is what they most often desire. As such, 
  oni are meticulous in the crafting of their long-term plans, 
  and are masters at slipping through the gray areas in the 
  laws. While an oni is forbidden from killing a king and 
  taking his place as the ruler of a nation, no laws prevent 
  the oni from employing non-oni agents in subverting 
  the king’s rule, arranging his assassination, and then 
  replacing him after deluding the nation that the oni (in 
  its humanoid form) should rule in the dead king’s place. 
  Ironically, these methods often result in oni having much 
  stronger holds over the humanoid societies they invade 
  than did the original rulers.
  thE tayagama
  The Improbable Saga of Jinsen Tayago and His Astonishing War 
  with the Oni, or more simply, The Tayagama, is a myth cycle 
  of 100 poems preserved by Minkai artists and scholars for 
  millennia. Parts of this ancient folktale have been converted 
  into popular songs and plays, its episodes are frequent 
  subjects of Minkai artwork, and many pithy bits of wisdom 
  are actually drawn directly from this enchanting, if fanciful, 
  legend. It tells the tale of a whimsical and work-shy farm boy 
  in the fantastical empire of Mun (a thinly veiled stand-in for 
  Minkai), who is recruited by a kami to battle the hated oni 
  who, having conquered seven of the eight kingdoms of Mun, 
  are intent on ruling the eighth as well. Tayago nearly always 
  prevails through humor, perseverance, and happy accident. 
  The poetic cycle abounds with wit and high adventure, 
  much of it obvious artistic and comic exaggeration. For 
  instance, in the opening lines of the first poem, the kami so 
  startles Tayago that he runs across a pond on lily pads, his 
  oni and Kami in thE 
  rEal World
  The oni and kami found in the Pathfinder campaign setting 
  draw heavily upon the folklore and religion of real-world 
  Japan. Considerable care has been paid to make sure the 
  spirit of these creatures and the ancient legends detailing 
  them are handled with respect. That said, creatures like 
  oni have existed in roleplaying games for decades and 
  have developed their own roles in various fantasy worlds. 
  Thus, we’ve attempted to strike a stance supporting 
  these creatures’ place in past roleplaying games that does 
  homage to the faith and respect paid these beings in the 
  real world, and integrates them as mystically inhabitants of 
  Golarion. Readers seeking more details on these creatures 
  are encouraged to explore the vast and fascinating body of 
  work on Japanese folklore and the Shinto religion.
  
  72
  feet never touching the water. However, many facts about the 
  cruel and insidious oni and their weaknesses are revealed or 
  at least hinted at in the epic’s lines. The final episodes of 
  the saga involve the beloved hero’s confrontation with four 
  separate yai oni, culminating in his defeat by Uwa Suwo, 
  an odious wind yai. However, the gods have come to have 
  such affection for Tayago that they strike down the wind 
  yai and cast the farm boy’s body up into the sky, where he 
  is transformed into a star. Every Minkai bard worth his salt 
  has memorized the Tayagama, and can draw liberally from 
  its rich tapestry to enlighten his art. 
  How much of the ancient poem cycle is drawn from 
  actual history is unknown, though more than one con artist 
  has made a fair living selling “Tayago’s Matchless Katana,” 
  his “Fan of Masquerade,” or one of his “Floating Stones” to 
  eager dupes. Regardless, the epic certainly provides a vivid 
  window on Minkai customs and social practice, and reveals 
  many values of peasant culture (such as the importance of 
  hard work, family, humor, and kindness) and its lasting 
  archetypes: the haughty samurai, the weeping courtesan, 
  the overbearing mother-in-law, the greedy merchant, and 
  more. The nobility of Minkai are also enamored with the 
  Tayagama, and some of the most treasured possessions of 
  the wealthy are lavishly illuminated scrolls or codices of 
  the lengthy saga. 
  The following epithets and phrases spoken by the common 
  folk are all derived from the epic, tragicomic Tayagama:
  May your luck exceed that of Tayago: A kind farewell.
  As busy as a shrine kami: A reference to how hard 
  Tayago’s guardian kami works to keep the careless boy safe 
  from harm; applied to an extremely busy person or one 
  engaged in an endless, hopeless, or thankless task.
  White Yai: Refers to an ice yai villain in the Tayagama; 
  an epithet used to denote a particularly emotionless or 
  unkind person with power or authority.
  Besemon approaches: A reference to a fire yai in the 
  Tayagama; applied to a person about to lose his temper in 
  an extravagant or self-destructive way.
  Tree kami watch you: A reference to the fact that Tayago 
  is often aided by friendly tree kami; a phrase for wishing 
  someone a safe journey.
  Kami Kazu: The name of a flighty and unreliable ally 
  of Tayago; appellation for a person lacking in wisdom or 
  something of dubious value.
  Desai Su Kami: Butterfly kami whose aid to Tayago is 
  always useless or nonsensical; epithet hurled at a foolish 
  or ineffectual person.
  Ruko’s storm: Reference to an episode of the poem in 
  which a storm erupts suddenly and causes a flash flood, 
  saving Tayago from an angry cohort of samurai led by 
  the oni Seibu Ruko; employed to describe a particularly 
  sudden development which foils someone’s scheme or 
  changes an outcome, usually for the better.
  tyPEs of oni
  Theoretically, as many types of oni exist as there are types 
  of humanoid, although the majority of oni are among one 
  of the following races. All oni are native outsiders who 
  share similar traits—the ability to regenerate and change 
  their shape (as detailed on page 221 of the Pathfinder 
  RPG Bestiary). Listed below are brief descriptions (and 
  their altered humanoid forms) of 12 common oni. Game 
  statistics for the ogre mage can be found in the Pathfinder 
  RPG Bestiary, and statistics for the fire yai, kuwa oni, spirit 
  oni, void yai, and water yai can be found in the upcoming 
  Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 3. The yamabushi tengu is presented 
  on page 88 of this volume, while the remaining five types 
  of oni will be presented in upcoming installments of the 
  Jade Regent Adventure Path.
  Atamahuta (ettin): These filthy, two-headed oni most 
  resemble ettins, though they tend to be covered by soiled 
  patches of matted fur, and their left heads always possess 
  three or more eyes. An atamahuta oni fights with weapons 
  traditional to the ettin, but simultaneously employs spell-
  like powers. An atamahuta always communicates with its 
  right head; the left head mutters and drools constantly, but 
  is the source of the oni’s magical abilities.
  Ja Noi (hobgoblin): In their true form, ja noi oni look like 
  hobgoblins with reddish skin, coal-black eyes, and heavy-
  boned brows. Ja noi adore carnage and are perhaps the 
  most warlike of the oni, seeking out every opportunity to 
  shed blood. Unlike most of their oni kin, it is not unusual 
  for ja noi to band together, seeking to outdo one another in 
  audacious acts of martial brutality.
  Kuwa (human): Oni who take human form are known 
  as kuwa oni. Perhaps the most insidious of all oni, kuwa 
  are notorious for their ability to cleverly infiltrate human 
  societies at every level. Their natural appearance is less 
  noticeably monstrous than other oni: perhaps they have 
  blackened or pointed teeth, exaggerated eyebrows, modest 
  horns, or other such qualities that are easy to conceal, though 
  clearly alien and menacing when exposed. While other oni 
  tend to seek positions of ultimate authority, kuwa more often 
  work their way into positions where they might manipulate 
  the flow of events and other creatures, orchestrating complex 
  plots intended to cause maximum harm.
  Nogitsune (kitsune): The true form of these demonic 
  creatures resembles that of the foxlike humanoids known 
  as kitsune. Nogitsune oni have one or more foxlike tails 
  which they tend to conceal, as the number is often a clue to a 
  nogitsune’s power—the nine-tailed nogitsune, for instance, 
  is rumored to be the most deadly of the breed. Mysterious 
  and secretive, nogitsune are almost always solitary. 
  Nogitsune possess magical abilities that aid their natural 
  stealth and trickery, and they often take up residence in the 
  seedier haunts of large urban centers, commonly assuming 
  the role of hired assassins. Persons employing them should 
  
  73
  Ecology of thE oni
  be wary lest they too become victims of the nogitsune’s 
  almost limitless appetite for bloodshed.
  Ogre Mage (ogre): The breed of oni best known to 
  dwellers of the Inner Sea region of Golarion is the ogre 
  mage. Ogre mages wear ogre flesh and either come to 
  lead tribes of ogres through brutality and cunning, or 
  live as lone bandits terrorizing isolated villages or poorly 
  patrolled highways.
  Spirit Oni: Before an oni takes on a physical form, it 
  exists as a disembodied spirit. These spirit oni are the 
  least of all oni, despite the fact that their incorporeal 
  forms afford them significant protection. A spirit oni 
  has no physical body, but it can manifest a demonic 
  face to interact with or attack creatures on the Material 
  Plane. Powerful spellcasters sometimes choose spirit oni 
  as familiars. As long as a spirit oni is bound to a mortal 
  spellcaster in such a manner, it cannot manifest into a 
  more powerful oni form.
  Yai: The natural form of a yai oni is that of a demonic 
  giant with multiple eyes, protuberant fangs, unusually 
  colored skin, or other monstrous features. These terrifying 
  beings elicit one of two responses from most other oni: 
  terrified awe or slavish obedience. The most common 
  breeds of yai are listed below.
  Fire Yai (fire giant): These oni resemble fire giants with 
  bright red skin and black or yellow fangs. Fire yai are filled 
  with fury and are the most impulsive of the breed—several 
  Minkai tales tell of clever heroes taunting fire yai to act 
  rashly.
  Ice Yai (frost giant): These oni resemble 18-foot-tall 
  frost giants with red-rimmed yellow eyes that contrast 
  strikingly with their ice-blue skins. Fanged ivory teeth 
  protrude awkwardly from their mouths, ice crystals rime 
  their frosty hair and beards, and a gelid mist constantly 
  enshrouds their frigid forms.
  Void Yai (varies): The most powerful of oni are known as 
  void yai—tremendous creatures of brutal strength and fierce 
  magical power. Alone among the oni, void yai seem to arise 
  from giants of great power or even lesser yai. They can shift 
  between a physical and incorporeal form, making them even 
  more dangerous than others of their kind.  
  Water Yai (storm giant): These oni take the form 
  of storm giants with milky green or blue skin 
  (reflecting their kinship to salt or fresh water 
  respectively) clad in elaborate multicolored kimonos 
  of silk. These yai are the variety most given to luxury 
  and can seem distracted or even playful, prone to acts of 
  unexpected frivolity.
  Wind Yai (cloud giant): These oni take the form of 20-foot-
  tall cloud giants with long, windblown hair that always 
  seems to be dancing in a strong breeze. Their gray skin is 
  the color of storm clouds,  and they wear rough furs and 
  ragged leathers. Their eyes are yellow and their mouths 
  are filled with yellow-white fangs. A wind yai never seems 
  to touch the ground, striding on the very air.
  Yamabushi Tengu (tengu): Yamabushi tengu are 
  exceptionally wily oni who can shift their forms between 
  that of a winged tengu-like creature and a human with a 
  long, beak-like nose. These foul creatures tend to skulk in 
  the shadows, most often acting as murderers and thieves 
  who prey on the weakest and most vulnerable, for the last 
  thing a yamabushi tengu wants is a fair fight.
  Other: Besides the 12 common oni detailed here, other 
  breeds of oni are rumored to exist, with forms as varied 
  as those of bugbears, great cyclopes, stone giants, trolls, 
  and more. 
  Water Yai
  
  74
  The Flayed Man
  PaThFinder’s Journal: husks 1 oF 6
  M
  y first look at the other side of the world was of 
  a girl kneeling beside a corpse.
  They were just outside the conjuring circle 
  we’d appeared inside. The boss and I turned back to back, 
  scanning the room for movement as our eyes adjusted 
  after the white flash of teleportation. The boss drew his 
  sword. The big knife was already in my hand. Beside us, 
  Arnisant tensed but remained silent. In just a few months, 
  the boss had him trained well. Better than me, he liked to 
  say. Funny guy, the boss.
  A closed sliding panel door was the only exit. Except 
  for the flicker of light from huge candles in each corner, 
  nothing stirred.
  The boss went to the corpse. I went to the girl.
  That’s pretty much the difference between us.
  The dead guy had to be our host, a Pathfinder named 
  Yamana Hisao. I figured the girl for his daughter or a 
  servant. 
  “Come here, kid.” She looked up, and I realized she was 
  not a child but a tiny young woman. When she saw my face, 
  she said a few quick foreign words.
  “Help me out here, boss.”
  “Hm?” One of his hands came away bloody from the 
  corpse. “Of course.”
  He plucked a riffle scroll from one of the little holsters 
  on his belt and thumbed a spell at me. My nose tickled. I 
  suppressed a sneeze until the feeling passed.
  “You all right, miss?”
  “I 
  am 
  unharmed.” 
  Her 
  words 
  were 
  perfectly 
  understandable with the spell on my tongue. 
  
  75
  The Flayed Man
  “What’s your name?”
  She glanced back down at the corpse until I took her 
  hands and pulled her up. In this light I should have passed 
  for human, but she shuddered at my touch. “I am Kazuko, 
  Yamana’s housekeeper.”
  Her eyes and hair were black. Her skin was the color of 
  seashells except for her flushed cheeks. The top of her head 
  barely reached my chin, which made her tiny compared to 
  Chelish women.
  “Well, Kazuko, you’re safe now. I’m Radovan. This is the 
  count. He’s good at sorting out this sort of thing.”
  “What sort of thing?”
  “Mysteries.”
  Count Varian Jeggare was half a head taller than me 
  and slim as a rapier. Like me, he was not fully human, but 
  his half-elven ancestry made the girls flutter, not flinch. 
  If he had half my charm and rugged good looks, he’d be 
  a lady-killer.
  The boss returned the corpse to its original position, 
  slumped facedown over its left arm. He tugged a 
  handkerchief out of his breast pocket and wiped the blood 
  from his fingers.
  “Is there anyone else in the house?” he asked Kazuko. 
  He didn’t need a spell to communicate. The boss collected 
  languages the way he collected books. 
  “No, honorable sir.” 
  “Wait here,” he said. “Come, Arnisant.” The hound 
  took his place just behind his master’s left heel. The boss 
  plucked another riffle scroll from his belt and stepped out 
  of the room.
  I showed Kazuko the little smile. “How long you been 
  keeping house for Yamana?”
  She kept her eyes on the floor. “Almost ten months. I 
  assisted his former housekeeper while she was with child. 
  Since she gave birth, I have worked alone.”
  “You live here?”
  “No,” she said. “Usually I am home at this hour, but 
  tonight Master Yamana asked me to attend his guests.”
  “That’d be us. He good to work for?”
  “Yamana was kind and generous to all of his servants.”
  “You can’t think of anyone who’d want to hurt him?”
  Kazuko considered the question. “Yamana had no 
  enemies.”
  She seemed more shy than evasive, but her eyes told me 
  she understood I was interrogating her. 
  “What do you know about Pathfinders?”
  “Yamana was one, but he no longer traveled. Sometimes 
  he provided information for colleagues visiting Oda. He 
  bought this house from a fellow conjurer and maintained 
  this room as a place where Pathfinders could transport 
  their colleagues from distant lands.”
  That information jibed with what little I knew of 
  Yamana and our reason for being here. We’d left Absalom 
  in a hurry after the Decemvirate, the boss’s bosses, had 
  summoned him to some secret meeting. Whatever they’d 
  discussed, it made him mad as hell. When he’s irritated, 
  he complains for hours. When he’s furious, his lips turn 
  white and he speaks in ordinary sentences instead of his 
  usual floral arrangements. 
  The boss had sent me to fetch supplies before returning 
  to the Pathfinder headquarters in Absalom. It was all high 
  ceilings and arches until we arrived at the summoning 
  chamber, a hollow granite cube. There, a tall masked 
  man—at least, I think it was a man under all those robes—
  stared daggers at the boss until a portly woman arrived to 
  cast the spell that sent us here.
  Loud voices outside interrupted my reverie. The law 
  had arrived.
  Kazuko led me through a few chambers of wooden 
  frames and paper windows. The boss and Arnisant joined 
  us at the front door, and together we stepped out into a 
  garden lit only by the waxing moon. The Decemvirate’s 
  conjurer had teleported us from Absalom in the middle 
  of the afternoon, but here on the other side of the world 
  it was past midnight. Thinking how far we’d traveled and 
  whether we’d gone across Golarion, through it, or neither 
  made me dizzy. I put it out of my mind. 
  Outside the gate stood three men, two tidy guards and 
  their shabby-looking commander. The tallest of them was 
  still an inch or two shorter than me. The guards stiffened 
  at the sight of Arnisant. 
  The commander made a short bow. His men bowed a 
  couple inches deeper.
  The boss murmured in Taldane, “Return the gesture. 
  Lower than the leader, but higher than his men.”
  I did that, but the boss himself barely nodded. The 
  commander noticed the pecking order and accepted it as 
  his cue.
  “Takeda Yoshio of the eleventh precinct of Oda city, 
  inspector second class.”
  “Count Varian Jeggare of Imperial Cheliax, venture-
  captain of the Pathfinder Society, and invited guest of my 
  late colleague, the honorable Yamana Hisao.”
  Takeda bowed again, this time slightly lower. His men 
  did the same, but their eyes flicked between Arnisant 
  and me. I tipped them a wink to give them something to 
  think about.
  Kazuko led us back into the house. At the threshold, one 
  of Takeda’s men pulled a face as the hound followed. All 
  three constables looked at me like I should do something 
  about it. The boss noticed the exchange and gave me a 
  discreet Pathfinder hand sign. I showed Arnisant an 
  obvious signal for “stay,” and he did.
  The wolfhound was born in Ustalav, where the people 
  love dogs, even giving them the run of the streets in some 
  towns. In Greengold we couldn’t bring him inside a tavern, 
  
  76
  and in Absalom we tried four inns before we found one where 
  the hound could sleep at the foot of the boss’s bed. When 
  we presented ourselves to the Decemvirate, the boss told me 
  that Arnisant had to appear to be my dog rather than his, lest 
  someone among the Decemvirate consider the count unclean. 
  They paused at the entrance to take off their shoes. 
  Kazuko’s were a pair of wooden clogs that looked 
  uncomfortable, while the men’s were thick-soled slippers. 
  I looked to the boss. He removed his fancy buckled shoes. I 
  took off my black leather kickers.
  At the scene of the crime, Takeda took one look at the 
  summoning circle and a longer one at me. He didn’t like 
  the hint of Hell in my eyes.
  He didn’t make such a good first impression 
  either. Even from a few feet away, Takeda smelled 
  like a man who hadn’t been home for a couple of 
  days. He’d shaved the top of his head and tied his hair 
  back in a sloppy queue. His robe needed mending 
  here and there. The zinnia leaves printed on its 
  fabric had faded. Unlike his men, who wore two 
  swords in their sashes, he had only a single 
  short blade.
  The boss stayed back as Takeda examined 
  the body. Kazuko stood two 
  steps behind the count, meek 
  as a mouse. Despite her timid 
  demeanor, she didn’t look away as 
  the constables turned over the 
  body and peeled away the bloody 
  robes.
  Someone had skinned Yamana’s 
  left arm with a sharp knife. The edges 
  were perfect at shoulder and wrist. 
  There were no other obvious wounds, 
  but Yamana’s face was all twisted up. His 
  open eyes peered down and to the left. I 
  got the idea that those who’d flayed him 
  made him watch.
  Takeda stepped back and pinched his lower lip. 
  I caught one of his men smiling at the other. They’d 
  seen that reaction before. The smile vanished the 
  moment the man saw me looking.
  “Please do me the honor of answering a 
  few questions,” said Takeda. He asked the 
  obvious things.
  The boss didn’t go into detail about our mission in Oda. 
  When he admitted that he had touched Yamana’s body, 
  Takeda asked why.
  “To ascertain whether his life was beyond saving,” said the 
  count. “And to uncover any clues the killers left behind.”
  “You say ‘killers,’” said Takeda. His tone wasn’t sly, but I 
  figured it was a trap. The boss didn’t step into it.
  “There were at least three assailants. No fewer than two to 
  restrain Yamana, and one to flay the tattoo from his arm.”
  “What makes you think he had a tattoo?”
  “Look here.” He turned one of his rings around and 
  cupped his palm. He stroked the diamond with his thumb, 
  triggering a bright light. He shone it on Yamana’s face.
  “Observe the marks on either side of the mouth 
  and these thread fragments in the teeth. They 
  indicate that Yamana was gagged with a red 
  cloth. Finding no such cloth here, I postulate 
  that the killers took it away. Also note this 
  ligature around the throat. It trends upward 
  across the outer jawbone. At this angle, the 
  garrote would not have caused asphyxiation. 
  Thus it is probable that Yamana was not 
  strangled but constrained by someone 
  standing behind him. That person stands 
  five or six inches taller than Yamana, 
  whose height I estimate as five feet five 
  inches.”
  I watched the faces of the locals while 
  the boss did his thing. Their skepticism 
  gradually relaxed as the boss listed a 
  dozen details they had overlooked. 
  It had been a long time since I’d heard 
  him go at it with such confidence, but he was 
  back in fighting trim after our expedition in 
  Ustalav. All it took was some distance from 
  court, from his peers—and, most of all, from 
  his wine cellar.
  “Here at the wrist you will note a ligature 
  similar to the one around the neck. The bruise 
  on the back of the hand indicates a knot in the 
  cloth. I expect a man, another strong one, held 
  Yamana’s arm stretched out from his body—a 
  position consistent with the copious blood 
  spatter on the floor—as a third party cut away 
  the tattoo.”
  “But how, honorable count, do you know there 
  was a tattoo?” Takeda’s polite tone kept the 
  question just short of an accusation.
  The boss has a knack for keeping a straight 
  face when he’s showing off. “The presence of 
  a tattoo is suggested by the particular course of 
  the flaying implement. See here in the exposed 
  muscles the deeper incision along the inner arm? It 
  “Kazuko is cute as a bug, but that 
  won’t protect her if the killers decide 
  to take out the only witness.”
  
  77
  The Flayed Man
  is an irregular but not random path, suggesting that those 
  removing the skin wished to cut around the borders of a 
  pattern, in this case a sinuous line. Perhaps Yamana had a 
  snake or dragon tattooed on his arm.”
  Takeda rubbed the back of his neck and smiled. “Your 
  observations are most keen, honorable count.”
  “How many previous victims have you found?”
  Takeda blinked.
  The count was too polite to explain what I’d already 
  sussed out: the inspector had obviously been without a 
  bath for days, too busy on the case to go home. 
  “Yamana is the third such victim.”
  “Since you are the investigating official, may I assume all 
  of the murders have occurred within the eleventh precinct?
  “The second victim was found within the twelfth, but I 
  retain jurisdiction.”
  “When did they begin?”
  “We found the first victim two nights ago, another last 
  night.”
  “And the others were flayed in areas other than the left 
  arm, yes?”
  Takeda smiled his appreciation. Back in Cheliax, the 
  boss had trouble with officials afraid he was out to steal 
  their glory. This guy seemed more concerned about getting 
  the job done. “Right and left legs.
  “And the subjects of the missing tattoos?”
  “A tengu and a yeti.”
  “Miss Kazuko, can you tell us what your master had 
  tattooed on his arm?”
  I was looking at her when the count asked the question, 
  so I saw her shock at the question. “I was my master’s 
  housekeeper only.”
  “Did he have a wife?”
  “My master’s wife died seven years ago.”
  “A concubine?”
  “No.”
  “A body servant?”
  She shook her head.
  The count returned his attention to the inspector. “Have 
  you compiled a list of the city’s tattoo artists?”
  Takeda gestured, and one of his men presented a scroll.
  “There are more than one hundred such persons in 
  Oda,” said Takeda. “With our meager resources already 
  stretched thin, we have only begun to inquire.”
  “You may find it useful to prioritize the interrogations 
  by neighborhood,” said the boss. He scanned the list of 
  names. “If I may be so bold as to offer a suggestion...”
  “Please, honorable count, be so bold.”
  “First question those tattoo artists who work in proximity 
  to the victims. It will be helpful to annotate a map.”
  Takeda dispatched one of his men to summon a stretcher 
  for Yamana and to return with a map. The other he set to 
  guarding the gate. When they were gone, he straightened 
  his robes and bowed low toward the count.
  “How else would you advise me, honorable Count 
  Jeggare?”
  The boss returned the bow, lower than before, but still not 
  as low as Takeda. “Forgive my manner, Inspector Takeda. I 
  mean no disrespect to the efforts you and your men have 
  undertaken. It is all too easy for an armchair investigator 
  like me to dispense opinion after the hard work of dutiful 
  men.”
  Yamana accepted the compliment with a bow. They did it 
  again. I’d never seen so much bowing before, and I’m from 
  Cheliax.
  “You are too kind, honorable count.”
  They compared bows again, so I sidled over to whisper 
  to Kazuko.
  “What’s a tengu?”
  “A bird spirit,” she said. “Half man, half raven. They are 
  thieves and cutthroats.”
  “Shapeshifters, is it? We’ve dealt with their kind before.” 
  Kazuko shot me a skeptical look. “You have never been to 
  Minkai, have you?”
  I shrugged.
  “Tengus do not change shape. They are always half men, 
  like—” She covered her mouth, but I saw the smile.
  Go on, I thought. Say, “Half men like you and your boss.”
  She didn’t. The boss and Takeda weren’t the only polite 
  ones in the room. I’d heard enough about tengus.
  “What’s a yeti?”
  Half an hour later, more guards arrived to remove Yamada’s 
  body. As they departed, I caught the names of the first two 
  men, Shiro and Osamu. They followed Takeda and the boss 
  as they inspected the grounds and house. I followed them, 
  just in case my Hell-touched vision picked up something 
  the boss’s elven eyes missed. No chance of that with the 
  moon all fat and bright. In the dark, I’m the one you want 
  searching for that coin you dropped. In the moonlight, the 
  boss is your man.
  We left Arnisant to stand sentinel in the yard. If anything 
  bigger than a squirrel put its head over the wall, he’d let us 
  know. I sat in the kitchen with Kazuko as she boiled water 
  for tea. It was ready by the time the other men returned. 
  They accepted the porcelain cups without looking at her. 
  When it was my turn—last, of course—I nodded over the 
  cup to thank Kazuko. She blushed and looked away. She’d 
  come around.
  The boss and Takeda consulted the list of tattoo artists, 
  marking their locations on the map. Comparing them with 
  the sites of the murders, they narrowed the list to nine.
  “It is possible that the murdered men went to an artist 
  outside of their district,” said Takeda. “That is assuming they 
  
  78
  received their tattoos from the same source.” His voice was 
  weary, like he was all too used to running down dead leads.
  “Indeed,” said the count. “Yet when time is of the essence, 
  we must explore the probable before the merely possible.”
  Takeda nodded agreement. “Here.” He pointed to one of 
  the marks indicating a tattoo shop. “This is the Felicitous 
  Moon. Its owner is known throughout the city for the 
  quality of his work.”
  “Is his price high?”
  Takeda nodded.
  “Yamada was a man of substantial means. What of the 
  other victims?”
  “Both were wealthy.”
  “And yet there was no evidence of theft at any of the 
  murder scenes?”
  Takeda shook his head. “The absence of other robbery 
  convinced me the thieves are after the tattoos alone.”
  “The people of Oda are fortunate to have such a man as 
  you investigating this crime.”
  Takeda bowed. “If you and your man do not have 
  pressing business elsewhere, perhaps you would be so 
  good as to accompany me to the Felicitous Moon. I would 
  be grateful if you would offer your advice as we proceed 
  with the investigation.”
  They weren’t fooling me with this little pantomime, but 
  Takeda’s men looked impressed. They stood a little straighter, 
  proud in the reflected glory of the boss’s compliment. I’d 
  have bet a fat purse that the boss and Takeda arranged this 
  mummery while the guards were busy elsewhere. Or maybe 
  guys like them just knew when to put on the show.
  While the boss protested that we would only be in 
  the way—a ruse even Shiro and Osamu saw through—I 
  watched Kazuko. She had become still once she saw that 
  we were about to leave her there alone.
  “Want me to walk her home?” I asked the boss. Only 
  then did I realize the problem: I didn’t know the way to 
  this tattoo shop. It would have to be one of Takeda’s men.
  He considered the question for a moment before addressing 
  Takeda. “Were there witnesses to the previous murders?”
  Takeda pinched his lower lip. “I take your meaning.” He 
  looked at his men, and I could see each of them trying to 
  make himself less conspicuous than his partner. “I need at 
  least one of my men to maintain this site.”
  “Please do not trouble yourselves,” said Kazuko. 
  “No,” said Takeda. “It is best you remain with us until I 
  can assign protectors to watch over you.”
  Kazuko accepted his decision by lowering her gaze.
  “We shall await you outside the gate,” said the boss. 
  Beyond Yamada’s garden was a narrow lane bordered 
  on one side by high brick walls, on the other by a row of 
  single-story houses. The moonlight turned the roof tiles 
  blue, but I could barely see past the flared edges. I looked 
  straight up, and Desna smiled on me. There was her Stair 
  of Stars. My gaze climbed it to Cynosure, the pole star, and 
  I got my bearings.
  To the north the alley disappeared into darkness, 
  although I could make out a cat prowling east to west at 
  the end. To the south was a wider street full of narrow 
  townhouses.
  “Questions?” asked the boss. He likes to quiz me during 
  a case, to see how well I’m keeping up.
  “I’m good,” I said. “You want to know what a yeti is?”
  He started to answer before realizing I was having a joke.
  “This is not the time for levity,” he said. “Our only contact 
  is dead, and there is no sign of the pearl in his house.”
  “The pearl?”
   “It is the pleasure of my... superiors,” he nearly choked 
  on the word, “that we recover a rare magical pearl. Or 
  rather, the husk of a pearl that once held a powerful magic, 
  now expended.”
  “What for?”
  “It was deemed unnecessary to supply us with the details.”
  “Huh,” I said. “I guess you pissed off some high mucky-
  muck in your little club.”
  He glowered. “Not the time for levity.”
  “Got it.”
  “What is your impression of Takeda?”
  “I like him. He doesn’t seem too crafty, but he’s smart. 
  He’s tired, but it doesn’t make him irritable. His men look 
  to him.”
  The boss nodded. He often already knows my opinion, 
  but he likes to hear it all the same. He grew up in a high 
  tower, me in the gutter. We see things from different 
  angles, and he likes to compare the difference when there 
  is one. He calls it “triangulating.”
  “Did you notice his wakizashi?”
  The spell that let me understand the local lingo also let 
  me know that word meant the shorter of the two blades 
  the other men wore. “Yeah, he doesn’t have the long one. 
  Maybe he lost it in a bet.”
  “No, the katana is not only a weapon but a sign of station. 
  Takeda and his men are samurai, knights.”
  “Knights lose at dice.”
  “Samurai do not lose their katanas.”
   “Maybe he likes fighting close-up.” That’s another 
  difference between the boss and me. He fights at the end 
  of a long blade. I like the personal touch.
  “What of the housekeeper?”
  “Kazuko? She’s cute as a bug. I think she likes me.”
  He sighed. “I mean, what is your impression of her 
  testimony?”
  I knew what he meant. “She seems straight enough. 
  Scared, but not so much that I figure she’s putting it on.”
  “She left the house to summon the constabulary,” said 
  the boss. “Upon finding her employer dead, she could have 
  removed the pearl to a hiding place.”
  
  79
  The Flayed Man
  “In that case, why did she come back?”
  He shot me a disappointed look, but I got it. “Sure, sure, 
  to throw us off the scent. But what would a servant girl 
  need with some magic—or formerly magic—pearl? You’d 
  expect her to steal something she could use or fence.”
  The boss, like his peers, tends to suspect the servants 
  first.
  A sound on the nearest roof alerted me to the intruder. 
  The boss heard it too, but before his hand could touch his 
  sword, I whipped him around against the wall, under the 
  sheltering eaves.
  That move made me his shield against the second 
  attacker, the one we hadn’t heard. Metal struck divots in 
  the bricks to either side of me. Three solid blows hit me 
  in the neck and shoulder. I glimpsed one of them out 
  of the corner of my vision.
  It was a throwing star the size of a biscuit.
  Arnisant barked to wake the moon.
  The boss dipped low and stepped to his right. A 
  riffle scroll in his hand came alive, shooting 
  a beam of white flame under my arm 
  and across the alley. It struck a figure 
  crouching on the opposite wall. The fire 
  lit up his black clothes and washed over 
  his leather mask.
  There was something eerie about 
  that mask. Its surface was irregular 
  but all black. I couldn’t make out 
  the details. 
  His target marked, Arnisant 
  leaped at our attacker. The 
  wolfhound was big enough to put 
  his paws on my shoulders and look 
  down at me. His jaws snapped at the 
  man’s hands. Startled, the masked 
  man fell back behind the wall, 
  slapping at the flames.
  The big knife was in my hand, 
  a pair of throwing knives in the 
  other. I turned my back on the 
  boss and scanned the wall 
  for any other movement. 
  Seeing none, I whirled 
  diagonally away to 
  have a look at the 
  roof. 
  Two 
  more 
  figures knelt there.
  One fired a little bow. I swept 
  out my arm to deflect an arrow, but 
  instead a hard lead ball deadened my 
  wrist. I lost the big knife.
  The second figure flung more stars. One 
  tugged at my jacket as it passed through the leather.
  “Ninja!” yelled Shiro. Through the boss’s spell, I 
  understood the word to mean “spy,” “assassin,” and 
  something more than either of those words. Shiro and 
  Osamu rushed out of Yamada’s yard, each drawing his 
  katana. Behind them, Takeda pushed Kazuko behind the 
  shelter of the gate and raised his wakizashi over his head. 
  His sword drawn and a riffle scroll in his other hand, 
  the boss moved toward me, but I waved him back. 
  I flicked my knives at the archer. One hit, but I saw 
  the other wink in the moonlight as it flew past. The hit 
  didn’t drop the man, but it spoiled his aim. Shiro cursed 
  as another lead shot cracked off the pavement at his feet.
  Osamu fumbled with a whistle he wore on a string 
  around his neck, but by the time the shrill note 
  woke the neighborhood, the assassins were gone. 
  We withdrew to Yamada’s yard and stood near the 
  gate. Arnisant followed close behind. He coughed 
  up a pair of black-gloved fingers. I kicked them 
  away before he could gobble them up again.
  The boss opened my jacket and eased 
  a ragged dart out of my neck. It hurt 
  worse coming out than it had going 
  in. He examined the star and took 
  a whiff of it.
  “Not 
  poisoned,” 
  he 
  said, 
  sniffing again. “Probably.”
  “Terrific.”
  More 
  constables’ 
  whistles 
  answered Shiro’s call. Judging 
  from the sound, they were close.
  I shrugged off my jacket to let 
  the boss remove the other 
  darts 
  without 
  spoiling 
  the leather. Kazuko tore 
  strips off her hem to 
  bandage me.
  “You don’t have to,” I said, but it was 
  too late. And it was a good thing she’d 
  done it, because my bleeding was, as the 
  boss might say, copious. 
  The count gave me a crystal flask 
  the size of my thumb. It was one of 
  the healing potions he’d had me 
  buy in Absalom.
  “You sure?” I knew how much 
  they’d cost.
  “Drink it,” he said. “And pray we do 
  not need them all before this night is 
  through.”
  “Takeda clearly has the respect of 
  his men—and for good reason.”
  
  80
  Bestiary
  Even crude beasts and parasites take on monstrous shapes in 
  the swampy rivers and boggy forests of the Varisian frontier—
  if “frontier” and “civilization” can truly be distinguished in 
  such a crude land. In my first week upon the Yondabakari I 
  saw five of my porters consumed. But not by firepelt, or giant 
  lizard, or titanic serpent—no, their deaths weren’t meant for 
  such creatures of passable dignity. Those men lost their lives 
  to water bugs. I can imagine few more pathetic deaths, yet daily 
  this accursed land confounds me with whole dimensions of 
  indignities no gentleman has ever sunk so low as to imagine.
  —Darvayne Gios Amprei, Merciless: Abendego,
  Belkzen, Varisia, and Other Hells
  
  81
  Bestiary
  D
  angers from the Varisian wilds fill out this 
  month’s entry into the Pathfinder Bestiary, 
  along with the fiendish masters of storms 
  and scavengers. Cued to the themes and settings of 
  this month’s adventure, “The Brinewall Legacy,” any of 
  these creatures would make fine optional encounters 
  as the characters journey across some of Varisia’s most 
  dangerous hinterlands.
  Caravan enCounters
  In this month’s adventure the player characters have the 
  opportunity to join and customize their own caravan, 
  launching into a journey across Varisia. But their trek is far 
  from safe. Dangerous weather, unscrupulous criminals, 
  and savage monsters all conspire to put an end to the PCs’ 
  fledgling adventuring career. As the caravan travels north, 
  there’s a 10% chance of an encounter each day. Encounters 
  indicated with an asterisk have a 50% chance of occurring 
  at night while the caravan is camped. All other encounters 
  occur while the caravan is on the move. Encounters don’t 
  occur if the caravan camps at a settlement. If an encounter 
  occurs, roll on the following table to see what the PCs have 
  encountered. Note that all of the following encounters 
  are caravan encounters and use the caravan combat rules 
  found online in the free Jade Regent Player’s Guide.
  Bad Weather: Fog, rain, high winds, or some other form 
  of bad weather slows the caravan, reducing its overall 
  speed by half for the day unless the caravan makes a DC 
  12 Security check.
  Bandit Ambush (CR 2): The caravan must make a DC 
  15 Security check to notice this ambush in time to react; 
  if this check fails, the caravan takes a –2 penalty to its 
  Armor Class and on attack rolls for the first round of 
  combat. The ambushers could be a group of bandits, a 
  gang of highwaymen, or even a small tribe of Nolander 
  barbarians. Regardless of their makeup, the ambushers’ 
  stats and aggression are identical (AC 14; hp 20; Attack 
  +4; Damage 2d6+3). They fight to the death. If defeated, 1 
  cargo unit of treasure worth 250 gp can be recovered.
  Goblin Raiders (CR 1/2): A shrieking band of goblins 
  wielding dogslicers and broken branches attacks the 
  caravan (AC 11; hp 10; Attack +1; Damage 1d8). If the 
  PCs have a horse train, the goblins are more timid than 
  normal and take a –2 penalty on attack rolls. If defeated, 
  a search of the goblins reveals a single cargo unit of 
  treasure worth 125 gp. 
  Ogre Assault (CR 3): A small band of ogres lumbers out 
  of the surrounding foliage to attack the caravan (AC 15; hp 
  30; Attack +6; Damage 3d4+6). The ogres flee if reduced 
  below 10 hit points. If they’re slain, looting produces 2 
  cargo units of treasure worth 400 gp each.
  Treacherous Road: The road conditions become 
  hazardous. They might be muddy, partially flooded, or 
  even blocked by a fallen tree. The caravan must make a 
  DC 14 Security check or lose 2d6 miles of progress for the 
  day as the situation is dealt with.
  Varisian Caravan: The PCs encounter another Varisian 
  caravan heading in the opposite direction. With a DC 12 
  Resolve check, the PCs can befriend the other caravan. If 
  this encounter occurs during the day, the caravan can give 
  the PCs advice as to what lies ahead, reducing the chance 
  of an encounter to 5% per day for the next 1d6 days. If the 
  encounter occurs during the evening, the caravan agrees 
  to share their camp, allowing the PCs to trade with them. 
  The caravan can purchase up to 2,000 gp in objects, and 
  can offer anything worth 600 gp or less for sale.
  Creating additional 
  Caravan enCounters
  You can use the caravan encounters presented here as 
  guides for creating additional encounters of your own 
  design. Use the following guidelines.
  Combat Encounter: Designing stats for a combat 
  encounter is relatively easy—simply pick a CR, then use 
  Table 1–1 from page 291 of the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary to 
  set the encounter’s AC and hit points. Its attack should 
  equal the high attack roll, while its average damage should 
  equal that CR’s high average damage (you can assign 
  different dice and different modifiers as needed to hit the 
  total). Some more dangerous combat encounters might 
  utilize special attacks, but you should avoid this additional 
  level of complexity for now. See the third adventure in this 
  campaign, “The Hungry Storm,” for advice on how to build 
  combat encounters that utilize special attacks.
  Non-Combat Encounter: Non-combat encounters can 
  grant temporary bonuses or penalties to caravan rolls or 
  speed, can grant or take away supplies, and can even give 
  the caravan a chance to hire new travelers. If you wish to 
  assign a Stability or a Resolve check to an encounter, a DC 
  equal to 10 + the caravan’s level is considered an average 
  challenge. Add or subtract from this DC to make the roll 
  as simple or tough as you wish.
  varisia Caravan enCounters
  d% Roll 
  Encounter
  01–15 
  Bad Weather
  16–30 
  Bandit Ambush
  31–50 
  Goblin Raiders
  51–55 
  Ogre Assault
  56–65 
  Treacherous Road
  66–100 
  Varisian Caravan
  
  82
  flattened, oval-shaped body measuring 12 feet long, and 
  four rear, oarlike legs, which it uses to thrust through the 
  water. The belostomatid’s front two legs are thick and end in 
  sharp, single-tipped claws, which it uses to slay its prey. Two 
  large black eyes are mounted on each side of the creature’s 
  rostrum, and it uses its 2-foot-long, beaklike proboscis to 
  inject its deadly acidic enzymes into its victims. 
  Belostomatids are ambush predators. They hide amid 
  floating snags and piles of debris in still and slow-moving 
  waters, seamlessly blending in with their surroundings 
  despite their size. With a powerful surge forward, a 
  belostomatid grabs its prey, thrusts its rostrum deep 
  into the prey’s body, and begins pumping a paralyzing 
  digestive enzyme into its prey, dissolving it from the 
  inside out.
  Water strider sWarm
  Countless thousands of long-legged water bugs glide soundlessly 
  over the surface of the water, skimming over it in a wave of 
  twitching bodies.
  Water Strider Swarm 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  N Diminutive vermin (swarm)
  Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 30 ft.; 
  Perception +6
  DEFENSE
  AC 18, touch 18, flat-footed 14 (+4 Dex, +4 size)
  hp 9 (2d8)
  Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +0
  Defensive Abilities swarm traits; Immune mind-affecting 
  effects, weapon damage
  Weaknesses swarm traits
  OFFENSE
  Speed 10 ft., swim 20 ft., water walk 30 ft.
  Melee swarm (1d6 plus blood drain and distraction) 
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
  Special Attacks blood drain (1d2 Constitution), distraction (DC 11)
  STATISTICS
  Str 1 Dex 18, Con 10, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 2
  Base Atk +1; CMB —; CMD —
  Skills Acrobatics +6 (+12 jump), Perception +6, Swim +3; Racial 
  Modifiers Acrobatics (+6 jump), +4 Perception 
  SQ water walking
  ECOLOGY
  Environment temperate lakes, rivers, or swamps
  Organization solitary or pair
  Treasure none
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Water Walking (Ex) Water striders are covered with water-
  repellent hairs that prevent them from sinking beneath the 
  water’s surface. The swarm’s movement speed across water 
  is 30 feet.
  aquatiC inseCts
  In swift-flowing rivers and mysterious lakes dwell the 
  immature forms of many strange insects, numbering in the 
  hundreds in a mere 1-square-foot area. Normally, aquatic 
  insects are tiny, measuring in fractions of an inch, but in 
  some areas of Golarion, monstrous versions of terrifying 
  sizes roam free and seek livelier meals than mere algae.
  Belostomatid
  Six powerful legs, each ending in a hooked claw, jut from the 
  shieldlike body of this massive insect.
  Belostomatid 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  N Large vermin 
  Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., tremorsense 60 ft.; 
  Perception +0
  Aura stench (DC 15, 3 rounds)
  DEFENSE
  AC 18, touch 10, flat-footed 17 (+1 Dex, +8 natural. –1 size)
  hp 30 (4d8+12)
  Fort +7, Ref +2, Will +1
  Immune mind-affecting effects
  OFFENSE
  Speed 20 ft., fly 20 ft. (poor), swim 40 ft.
  Melee 2 claws +6 (1d4+3 plus grab), bite +6 (1d8+4 plus 
  digestive enzymes) 
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
  Special Attacks digestive enzyme
  STATISTICS
  Str 19 Dex 13, Con 16, Int —, Wis 11, Cha 2
  Base Atk +3; CMB +8 (+12 grapple); CMD 19 (27 vs. trip)
  Skills Fly +1, Stealth +0 (+8 in water), Swim +14; Racial 
  Modifiers +8 on Stealth in water
  SQ hold breath
  ECOLOGY
  Environment temperate lakes, rivers, or swamps
  Organization solitary
  Treasure none
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Digestive Enzymes (Ex) A belostomatid injects a corrosive 
  enzyme into its prey that both paralyzes and liquefies flesh. 
  A creature struck by the belostomatid’s piercing bite must 
  succeed at a DC 15 Fortitude save or be paralyzed for 1d4 
  rounds. For every round the creature is paralyzed it takes 
  1d2 points of Constitution damage.
  Hold Breath (Ex) A belostomatid can hold its breath for a 
  number of rounds equal to 4 times its Constitution score 
  before it risks drowning.
  The belostomatid is the monstrous form of its diminutive 
  counterpart, a 5-inch-long “giant” water bug commonly 
  known as a “toe-biter.” A monstrous belostomatid has a 
  
  83
  Bestiary
  Water striders are aquatic insects that skate across the 
  surface of still water. Their bodies are long and narrow, with 
  an individual measuring less than 1 inch in length. The 
  body and legs of a water strider are covered with a layer of 
  water-repelling hairs, making it possible for the strider to 
  resist the surface tension of the water. The insect stands on 
  its front and rear legs, and pushes against the water surface 
  with its middle legs to propel itself forward. Water striders 
  are also excellent jumpers, launching themselves distances 
  of up to 5 feet. Any movement on land is limited to jumping. 
  Swarms of particularly vicious water striders commonly 
  gather at the edges of bodies of water, attacking anything 
  that disturbs the surface of their pools.
  giant Hellgrammite
  More than a dozen segmented black legs propel this giant, 
  caterpillar-like insect, its thick head dominated by a pair of 
  powerful, gnashing pincers.
  Giant Hellgrammite 
  CR 5
  XP 1,600
  N Large vermin (aquatic)
  Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Perception +5
  DEFENSE
  AC 16, touch 9, flat-footed 16 (+7 natural, –1 size)
  hp 52 (7d8+21)
  Fort +8, Ref +2, Will +1
  Immune mind-affecting effects
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft., swim 20 ft.
  Melee bite +8 (2d8+4 plus grab), tail slap +3 (1d8+2)
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
  Special Attacks death grip, constrict (2d8+4)
  STATISTICS
  Str 19 Dex 11, Con 16, Int —, Wis 9, Cha 2
  Base Atk +5; CMB +10 (+14 grapple); CMD 20 (28 vs. trip)
  Skills Climb +8, Perception +5 (+9 in water), Stealth +1 (+9 
  in water), Swim +7; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception (+8 in 
  water), +8 Stealth in water
  SQ amphibious
  ECOLOGY
  Environment temperate rivers or streams
  Organization solitary or pair
  Treasure none
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Death Grip (Ex) Upon its death, a 
  hellgrammite’s massive jaws close tightly and 
  lock. Any creature or object that is grappled at the 
  time of the hellgrammite’s death takes an additional 
  1d8+2 points of damage per round unless it makes a 
  DC 22 Escape Artist check, makes a DC 20 Strength 
  check, or deals an additional 10 points of damage 
  to the hellgrammite’s corpse to escape.
  Giant hellgrammites are the fierce and predacious larvae 
  of dobsonflies of terrifying size. While their diminutive 
  brethren measure several inches long, the monstrous 
  variety measure 10 feet long and weigh up to 800 pounds. 
  The body of the giant hellgrammite is long and flattened, 
  and generally ranges from dark brown to reddish in color. 
  The front third of its body consists of a well-armored head 
  and thoracic segments, with stout, segmented legs. The 
  head possesses a fearsome set of jaws, small antennae, and a 
  set of clustered eye spots on either side. The posterior two-
  thirds of the hellgrammite consist of nine densely haired 
  abdominal segments, each with a pair of lateral filaments 
  and gill tufts underneath for underwater breathing. The 
  hellgrammite’s abdomen ends in pair of terminal prolegs, 
  each with a pair of hooks, which aid the creature in 
  climbing or anchoring itself in fast-moving currents, and 
  can be used in a tail slap to slash at its enemies.
  The giant hellgrammite is a simple but ferocious 
  predator. It latches onto its prey with its deadly jaws and 
  proceeds to crush the life from it, feeding on the body after 
  its victim can no longer struggle. The hellgrammite often 
  attempts to drag the prey back to a protected area between 
  or behind stream boulders, or down to the bottom of a 
  deep side-pool. The strength of a hellgrammite’s jaws is 
  so great that, even in death, they clench tightly and do not 
  relinquish their grip. 
  
  84
  DEFENSE
  AC 18, touch 14, flat-footed 14 (+4 Dex, +4 natural)
  hp 37 (5d10+10)
  Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +1
  Defensive Abilities vengeful wind
  DR 10/cold iron or good; Immune electricity, poison
  Resist acid 10, cold 10, fire 10; SR 15
  Weaknesses enemy of dragons and eagles
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (perfect)
  Melee 2 claws +9 (1d4+3), bite +9 (1d6+3) 
  Special Attacks hailstorm
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 5th; concentration +7)
  At will—alter winds (DC 13)
  3/day— gust of wind (DC 14), river of wind* (DC 16)
  1/day—control winds (DC 17), summon (level 3, 1 hala 40%) 
  * See the Advanced Player’s Guide.
  STATISTICS
  Str 16, Dex 19, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 11, Cha 15
  Base Atk +5; CMB +8; CMD 22
  Feats Flyby Attack, Hover, Weapon FinesseB, Wingover
  Skills Acrobatics +12, Escape Artist +12, Fly +20, 
  Intimidate +10, Knowledge (planes) +9, Perception 
  +8, Stealth +12
  Languages Abyssal, Celestial, Draconic, telepathy 100 ft.
  ECOLOGY
  Environment any (Abyss)
  Organization solitary
  Treasure standard
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Enemy of Dragons and Eagles (Ex) Halas are 
  hated enemies of dragons and eagles. Those 
  creatures gain a +2 bonus on attack and damage 
  rolls against hala demons.
  Hailstorm (Su) A hala can call down hailstones 
  from surrounding clouds once every 1d4 rounds as a 
  standard action. These hailstones deal 1d6 points of 
  bludgeoning damage and 1d6 points of cold damage 
  to all creatures within a 20-foot radius that have 
  no overhead cover. A DC 14 Reflex save halves this 
  damage. The save DC is Constitution-based. To use 
  this ability, the hala must be outside and there must be 
  clouds in the sky.
  Stormwind Aura (Su) Halas surround themselves with a 
  buffeting shroud of supernatural, windstorm-force winds. 
  These winds shield a hala from any other wind effects 
  and form a shell of breathable air around it, allowing the 
  hala to breathe underwater. Ranged weapons and gases 
  directed toward a hala are affected as the spell wind wall. 
  Vengeful Wind (Su) Anytime a hala takes damage from a 
  critical hit, a powerful blast of wind explodes forth in 
  the direction of the attacker. This blast takes the form 
  of a 60-foot-long gale, treated as a gust of wind spell, 
  demon, Hala
  Skin the color of thunderheads and wings made for soaring 
  through the most violent winds mark this lean, cyclopic being 
  as a master of terrible storms. The sound of shrieking wind 
  emanates from its mouth full of needle-sharp teeth.
  Hala 
  CR 4
  XP 1,200
  CE Medium outsider (air, chaotic, demon, evil, extraplanar)
  Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +8
  Aura stormwind aura
  
  85
  Bestiary
  directed from the hala toward the opponent that scored 
  the critical hit against it (if that creature is more than 60 
  feet away, the wind is aimed in its direction but doesn’t 
  come close enough to affect it). This wind is also charged 
  with electricity. Any creature in or that enters the area of 
  effect must make a DC 14 Reflex save or take 3d6 points of 
  electricity damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.
  Hala demons are commonly known as storm demons. 
  Bound to service by Pazuzu, these demons ride the winds 
  across the Abyssal skies, lurk within dark and turbulent 
  clouds, and act as his scouts and spies. Halas have a single, 
  blood-red eye, an enormous mouth lined with razor-sharp 
  teeth, and lengthy horns growing from their heads. 
  A typical hala stands 7 feet tall, weighs 200 pounds, 
  and possesses large wings that span 20 feet across. 
  eCology
  Hala demons form from covetous souls, those who 
  desired the possessions of others so much so that they 
  indulged in such acts as murder, theft, or blackmail. The 
  more persons harmed by these desires, the more likely 
  the soul is to become a hala in the Abyss.
  Halas are masters of the winds, harnessing the power 
  of storms, redirecting and amplifying that energy to 
  cause the most damage and chaos possible. They relish 
  the destructive forces of their storms, and can manipulate 
  a storm’s energy to rain down hailstones to pelt the area. 
  Their command of the winds also aids them in flight. 
  They are never impeded by storm winds, but instead 
  ride them, often achieving top speeds by accelerating the 
  wind currents around them.
  Due to the nature of their origin, halas are highly 
  possessive. A hala will often refer to the storm clouds 
  they marshal as “my storm.” A hala is predisposed to grab 
  any item it finds particularly desirable, and will actively 
  pillage regions that its storm passes over. The desire to 
  take from others remains so prevalent in the hala’s nature 
  that it often carries large sacks in which to place all the 
  items it takes during its flights. Bags of holding or handy 
  haversacks are highly prized possessions to a hala, as it 
  allows it to pillage even more items. Halas are voracious, 
  with large mouths that open nearly ear-to-ear. Edible 
  items they find in their pillaging are often consumed 
  immediately. This includes a particular appetite for 
  children and other Small humanoids.
  HaBitat & soCiety
  Halas can be seen throughout the Abyss, roaming the skies 
  in servitude to Pazuzu as his dedicated scout force. Their 
  heaviest concentration, however, exists in High M’Vania, as 
  all hala demons are required to return to Pazuzu’s realm 
  once a century to report all that they have observed. Despite 
  the duty to return to High M’Vania, halas are solitary 
  demons, distrusting all others, especially other hala 
  demons, fearing that they will attempt to take their pillaged 
  possessions. Therefore, most halas live in isolated, remote 
  areas where they maintain their hoards of ill-gotten gains.
  Pazuzu values his hala minions not only for the 
  intelligence they gather on the activities of his enemies in 
  the Abyss, but also for the chaos and destruction they bring 
  on the winds. He is especially fond of sending halas to the 
  Material Plane to ravage the countryside with storms and 
  hail. As in the Abyss, halas on the Material Plane prefer to 
  reside in remote areas. The lair of a hala is often located 
  in a hidden cave in an isolated mountain range, or in the 
  hollow of a giant, ancient tree deep in a forest or swamp.
  While hala demons have a general dislike for or distrust 
  of nearly all creatures, they have an especially strong fear 
  and hatred of two creatures: eagles and dragons. Eagles 
  have an innate response to attack and drive a hala from 
  the skies, possibly due to the threat the hala represents 
  to the eagle’s territory and offspring. Dragons—of any 
  breed—largely view the storm demons as a danger to 
  their own hoards of treasure, for if a hala discovers the 
  dragon’s lair, it will stop at nothing to possess all that 
  lies within it.
  Halas in mytHology
  The “hala” or “ala” is a creature exclusive to the folklore 
  of Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Serbia. Halas are considered 
  the demons of bad weather, leading severe thunderstorms 
  and hail over fields, vineyards, and orchards with the sole 
  purpose of destroying the crops or pillaging them. It was 
  believed that halas would “drink the crops,” or steal the 
  crops and give them to another village, thus explaining 
  why some villages were more prosperous than others. 
  Another common belief was that the voracity of halas 
  was so extreme that they often tried to eat the sun or the 
  moon, causing eclipses.
  The hala’s general appearance in folklore is quite 
  diverse, and ranges from a large, indistinct form of black 
  winds and clouds to a serpentine demon with huge wings 
  and a sword-like tail. Tales also credit halas with a range of 
  abilities, such as causing those who see them to go mad, 
  blind, deaf, or lame. A hala could also possess humans, 
  overwhelming them with insatiable hunger.
  The Serbians believed that dragons and eagles were 
  the chief enemies of the hala. Dragons were seen as the 
  guardians of the fields and harvest, who wielded lightning 
  against the hala; hence, lightning and thunder represented 
  a fight in the clouds between dragons and halas.
  
  86
  qualities in the ratling’s saliva, are capable of inflicting 
  particularly dangerous, bleeding wounds.
  A ratling is just over 2 feet long (although half that 
  length is its long, ratty tail) and weighs 10 pounds.
  eCology
  Ratlings are carnivores. While they can subsist on prey 
  less able to defend itself, such as grubs, other rodents, and 
  carrion, they much prefer the warm flesh of living food. 
  Children are their preferred meals, not only because such 
  targets are easier to catch and generally safe to chase, but 
  also because the sadistic ratling enjoys the purer sense 
  of fear a screaming child might offer as dinnertime 
  entertainment. The elderly and infirm are also common 
  targets, both because of their lessened ability to defend 
  themselves and simply because older victims are often in 
  high supply in the places ratlings prefer to dwell.
  A ratling can (and often does) mate with normal 
  rats. If the ratling parent is male, the products of such 
  disturbing unions are large and particularly aggressive 
  rats (often with vestigial humanlike features or other 
  sickening deformities). If the ratling parent is female, 
  she will spawn a litter of a dozen or so young, including 
  one infant ratling, with the remainder being horribly 
  deformed rats. The stronger and deadlier infant ratling 
  generally feeds upon its brothers and sisters. At the 
  very least, it dismembers them and arranges the torn 
  limbs and entrails in strange patterns, as its not-yet-
  fully-developed sense of the occult and more heinous 
  magical traditions compels it to enact proto-rituals out 
  of necromantic curiosity.
  Ratlings understand that most larger creatures present 
  a significant danger. In combat, they generally do not 
  remain around long enough for most fights to last more 
  than a round or two. A ratling’s preferred tactic is to 
  become invisible, scuttle out to bite a target to gain the 
  advantage of its sneak attack, then scurry away to a safe 
  vantage point so it can, hopefully, watch its bitten victim 
  bleed to death from its wounds.
  HaBitat & soCiety
  Ratlings are far smarter than typical rats. On average, 
  their intellect exceeds that of a typical human. As such, 
  ratlings prefer to dwell in areas where their constant thirst 
  for knowledge and boundless curiosity can continuously 
  be quenched. Universities, wizards’ guilds, libraries, and 
  the like are the favorite haunts of ratlings. Old manors 
  of families with long traditions of scholastic pursuit are 
  even greater catches, for here, ratlings do not have to 
  contest with increased levels of traffic or interruption. 
  They often pilfer scrolls and books to quench their thirst 
  for knowledge, just as they chase children to quench their 
  thirst for blood.
  ratling
  This ratlike creature has tiny human hands in place of its front 
  paws, and an unnerving human face with a toothy mouth.
  Ratling 
  CR 2
  XP 600
  CE Tiny magical beast 
  Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +6
  DEFENSE
  AC 16, touch 15, flat-footed 13 (+2 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 natural, 
  +2 size)
  hp 19 (3d10+3)
  Fort +4, Ref +5, Will +1
  Defensive Abilities evasion; Immune disease, poison
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft., burrow 10 ft., climb 20 ft., swim 30 ft.
  Melee bite +3 (1d3–2 plus bleed)
  Special Attacks bleed (1), sneak attack +1d6
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th; concentration +7)
  Constant—detect magic, read magic, speak with animals 
  (rodents only), spider climb, tongues
  3/day—cause fear (DC 12), dimension door, invisibility (self only)
  1/day—summon swarm (rat swarm only)
  1/week—commune (only when serving as a familiar; 6 
  questions, CL 12th)
  STATISTICS
  Str 6, Dex 15, Con 13, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 13
  Base Atk +3; CMB +3; CMD 12 (16 vs. trip)
  Feats Dodge, Mobility
  Skills Climb +6, Knowledge (planes) +4, Perception +6, 
  Stealth +16, Swim +6
  Languages Aklo; tongues
  SQ scroll use
  ECOLOGY
  Environment any urban
  Organization solitary or conclave (2–20 ratlings with 2–12 dire 
  rats and 1–4 rat swarms)
  Treasure standard
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Scroll Use (Ex) A ratling can cast spells from any magic scroll 
  as if it possessed the spell on its spell list.
  The rats that dwell in the walls of old edifices or amid 
  the dripping tunnels of crumbling sewers are not always 
  simple animals. At times, the hidden scrabbling of tiny 
  paws comes from sources altogether more sinister and 
  vile. The ratling is a hideous amalgamation of rat and 
  human: a long-haired rodent with front paws that are 
  more accurately called hands, and a face reminiscent of 
  a leering old man. Within the ratling’s humanoid mouth 
  can be found long, yellow incisors more akin to those one 
  might find in the jaws of a rat. These teeth are remarkably 
  sharp, and when combined with the blood-thinning 
  
  87
  Bestiary
  A ratling generally enjoys the company of normal 
  rats. In most cases, the creature is a loner among its own 
  kind, but ratling conclaves are well-documented in the 
  basements and attics of certain particularly old and large 
  repositories of knowledge. These gatherings of ratlings 
  often ape the structure of a typical university, with a group 
  led by the most knowledgeable among the conclave, who 
  serves to direct the “studies” of the younger members of 
  the group. These elder ratlings often demand forays into 
  the structure itself, scavenging missions to gather up 
  books and scrolls for further study, but the conclaves are 
  always careful to limit these stolen texts to ones that they 
  observe as having been forgotten or generally unused. 
  Ratlings know that humanoids are dangerous foes, and 
  the longer a ratling conclave can hide its presence in an 
  active building, the better.
  Ratling elders often advance as clerics, oracles,  witches, 
  or wizards; they rarely gain levels as non-spellcasting 
  classes (although some have been known to take on rogue 
  levels—particularly those who dwell alongside thieves’ 
  guilds or among wererats). Ratlings who take witch 
  or wizard levels and have a familiar most often choose 
  rats—an association that often brings with it more than 
  mere supernatural companionship. Although ratlings 
  are capable of gaining improved familiars, they can never 
  select another ratling as a familiar.
  ratlings as Familiars
  While many creatures might balk at the concept of 
  becoming a familiar, ratlings quite enjoy the role. Not 
  only does being a spellcaster’s familiar give a ratling 
  the security of having a powerful guardian who 
  seeks to keep it safe, but also the ratling familiar 
  has all but guaranteed access to texts and 
  scrolls to read and study. Most spellcasters 
  who take on ratlings as familiars also allow 
  the ratlings to sup on their blood, giving 
  their familiars an even greater reason to 
  remain loyal and devoted to their masters 
  or mistresses. A ratling who serves as a 
  familiar gains the ability to use commune 
  once per week as a spell-like ability.
  A 
  ratling 
  can 
  serve 
  a 
  spellcaster as a familiar if the 
  spellcaster has the Improved 
  Familiar feat. In order to 
  gain a ratling familiar, the 
  spellcaster must be chaotic evil 
  and at least 7th level. A spellcaster 
  with a ratling familiar typically 
  carries numerous scrolls on 
  his person for the ratling to 
  access during combat.
  BroWn Jenkin
  The ratling is inspired by a character from H. P. Lovecraft’s 
  story “Dreams in the Witch House.” In this story, an eerie 
  witch named Keziah Mason has a singularly disturbing 
  familiar—a ratlike thing named Brown Jenkin. As 
  described in the story:
  “Witnesses said it had long hair and the shape of a 
  rat, but that its sharp-toothed, bearded face was evilly 
  human while its paws were like tiny human hands. It 
  took messages betwixt old Keziah and the devil, and 
  was nursed on the witch’s blood—which it sucked like a 
  vampire. Its voice was a kind of loathsome titter, and it 
  could speak all languages...”
  In designing the ratling for use as a monster in the 
  Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Brown Jenkin served as 
  both an inspiration and a model. The end result isn’t 
  quite identical to the creature that serves Keziah Mason 
  in the story, but it’s close enough that players familiar 
  with this classic story will certainly get a kick out of 
  encountering ratlings in your game!
  
  88
  SR 16
  Weaknesses susceptible to patterns
  OFFENSE
  Speed 30 ft., fly 30 ft. (average)
  Melee +1 kusarigama +10/+5 (1d6+4/×3), bite +3 (1d4+1)
  Ranged composite longbow +10/+5 (1d8+2/×3)
  Special Attacks steal voice
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 5th; concentration +8)
  Constant—see invisibility, ventriloquism (DC 14)
  3/day—dimension door, hideous laughter (DC 15), ray of 
  enfeeblement (DC 14), scorching ray
  1/day—blur, glitterdust (DC 15)
  STATISTICS
  Str 15, Dex 19, Con 18, Int 12, Wis 15, Cha 16
  Base Atk +6; CMB +8; CMD 22
  Feats Combat Casting, Combat Reflexes, Improved Initiative
  Skills Acrobatics +13, Bluff +12, Disguise +12, Fly +13, 
  Knowledge (planes) +10, Perception +15, Stealth +13; Racial 
  Modifiers +4 Perception
  Languages Common, Tengu, Tien
  SQ change shape (Medium humanoid, alter self ), yamabushi 
  weapons
  Gear leather armor
  ECOLOGY
  Environment temperate mountains
  Organization solitary, pair, or patrol (1–2 plus 3–8 tengus or 
  dire corbies)
  Treasure double (leather armor, +1 kusarigama, composite 
  longbow [+2 Str] with 20 arrows, other treasure)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Yamabushi Weapons (Ex) A yamabushi tengu is proficient 
  with all monk weapons and all swordlike weapons (including 
  katanas and wakizashi), and gains a +1 bonus on attack rolls 
  and damage rolls with such weapons. Yamabushi tengus 
  who do not use swords favor the kusarigama.
  Steal Voice (Su) Up to three times per day, but no more than 
  once per target, a yamabushi tengu can attempt to steal a 
  victim’s voice as part of its bite attack. When it does so, 
  the creature bitten must make a DC 16 Will 
  save or lose the ability to speak aloud. This 
  prevents the use of any spell with verbal 
  components and the use of command-
  word-activated magic items, among other 
  difficulties. The yamabushi tengu’s voice changes to match 
  the one stolen. The victim’s voice remains stolen until the 
  oni steals another voice, until the oni agrees to give the 
  stolen voice back (a standard action requiring the oni to 
  touch the victim), or until the next sunrise. Any effect that 
  removes curses (such as remove curse or break enchantment) 
  can restore a stolen voice (DC for success equals the save 
  DC of the steal voice ability—DC 16 for most yamabushi 
  tengu), as does the death of the oni who stole the voice in 
  the first place. The save DC is Charisma-based.
  oni, yamaBusHi tengu
  This humanoid creature has a fearsome mien, with a cruel red face, 
  glaring yellow eyes, a prodigious nose, and large ravenlike wings.
  Yamabushi Tengu 
  CR 5
  XP 1,600
  LE Medium outsider (native, oni, shapechanger, tengu)
  Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, see 
  invisibility; Perception +15
  DEFENSE
  AC 18, touch 14, flat-footed 14 (+2 armor, +4 Dex, +2 natural)
  hp 57 (6d10+24); regeneration 2 (fire or acid)
  Fort +9, Ref +9, Will +4; –2 vs. illusion (pattern) spells
  
  89
  Bestiary
  Susceptible to Patterns (Ex) A yamabushi tengu takes a –2 
  penalty on all saving throws against illusion spells of the 
  pattern subschool. For 1 round after a yamabushi tengu 
  either makes a successful save against a pattern or recovers 
  from the effects of a pattern, it is dazzled.
  Yamabushi tengus are oni with a predilection toward 
  thievery and trickery, wearing the flesh of wicked, fiendish 
  tengus. When a yamabushi tengu first appears, its first 
  course of action is invariably to seek out a well-hidden nest or 
  other nook to serve as a lair. Despite their ability to fly, most 
  yamabushi tengus are nervous in open areas, since it’s easy 
  to be seen in such environs. A yamabushi tengu is more at 
  home indoors or at night, where it can skulk in the shadows 
  when it’s unsure of its surroundings.
  A yamabushi tengu is 5 feet tall and weighs 120 pounds.
  eCology
  While most yamabushi tengus look like normal tengus, 
  they can actually manifest in a number of humanoid bird 
  shapes. Ravens and crows are the most common model 
  which these creatures take their appearance from, yet tales 
  exist of yamabushi tengus with features more akin to cranes, 
  eagles, peacocks, gulls, vultures, and even pelicans. Only 
  the features of ducks and other billed avians (like geese) are 
  notably absent from yamabushi tengus. In fact, yamabushi 
  tengus have a strange loathing for ducks—they find these 
  birds to be a mix of comic tragedy and pitiful hideousness, 
  from the blunt shape of their bills to their distinctive gait 
  and their warbling quacks. The presence of a duck can often 
  provoke even the most restrained and crafty yamabushi 
  tengu into making poor choices: faced with choosing 
  between attacking a truly dangerous foe or using their 
  weapons and magic against a nearby duck, most yamabushi 
  tengus make the choice to kill the duck, even if such an act 
  might compromise their position to their actual enemy.
  HaBitat & soCiety
  Yamabushi tengus are driven by greed, particularly for 
  shiny treasures like coins, jewels, gems, and polished 
  weapons. Many extend this obsession to clothing (favoring 
  brightly colored silks) and armor (preferring light armor 
  over medium or heavy armor). Most of what a yamabushi 
  tengu plots or plans can be traced to a desire to gather as 
  much shiny treasure as possible, but they are also especially 
  entranced and intrigued by avian humanoids—particularly 
  tengus, dire corbies (see Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Misfit 
  Monsters Redeemed) and garudas (see Pathfinder Module: 
  Cult of the Ebon Destroyers). Yamabushi tengus share the 
  most in common with tengus, of course, for it is from 
  these creatures that the oni take their forms. Dire corbies 
  and garudas, being non-humanoid monsters (monstrous 
  humanoids and outsiders respectively) are in strange ways 
  tengus and 
  yamaBusHi tengus
  In presenting the yamabushi tengu, we have an unusual 
  situation. In traditional Japanese folklore, these oni are 
  much more akin to the mythological creatures known 
  as tengus. In the Pathfinder RPG, though, tengus are a 
  specific race of birdlike humanoids who have very little to 
  do with the supernatural or spiritual world.
  As a result, we’ve created the yamabushi tengu as a 
  replacement of sorts for the traditional tengu. If you 
  prefer to have tengus in your campaign that cleave more 
  closely to real-world mythology, you should instead call 
  these creatures tengus and then find an alternative name 
  for the humanoids of the same name detailed in the 
  Pathfinder RPG Bestiary.
  both similar and quite different from tengus, and as such 
  yamabushi tengus find them endlessly fascinating. In the 
  case of dire corbies, the creatures’ feral natures, xenophobic 
  personalities, and overall lack of civilization make them 
  ideal groups for a yamabushi tengu to infiltrate and take 
  control of—although in most cases, a yamabushi tengu who 
  infiltrates a dire corby flock eventually grows tired of the 
  crude creatures and moves on. Garudas are more difficult 
  for yamabushi tengus to interact with, for these outsiders 
  are generally good. Encounters between garudas and 
  yamabushi tengus almost always end in combat, typically 
  with the more powerful garuda the victor. As a result, when 
  confronted by a garuda, most yamabushi tengus choose 
  subtlety over direct confrontation. In a best-case scenario, 
  a yamabushi tengu’s minions or allies capture and restrain 
  the garuda, giving the yamabushi tengu ample opportunity 
  to interrogate or even vivisect the garuda prisoner.
  Most yamabushi tengus, though, find greatest comfort 
  dwelling among thieves’ guilds—particularly among those 
  populated by tengus, in which case a yamabushi tengu appears 
  in its natural form, using its wings as an obvious badge of 
  superiority over its flightless tengu kin. Among thieves of 
  other races (such as humans), a yamabushi tengu prefers 
  to stay in its humanoid form. However, when a yamabushi 
  tengu assumes the form of anything other than a tengu, 
  its true nature is difficult for it to hide, for invariably the 
  shapechanged oni’s nose remains quite prodigious, usually 
  to an almost comical degree. Strangely enough, however, 
  yamabushi tengus generally don’t think of their unusual 
  noses as flaws in their magical disguises. A yamabushi tengu 
  can also retain its wings when using its change shape ability, 
  and these pinions, as well as its beaklike nose, are a sure way 
  to tell a disguised yamabushi tengu apart from others.
  
  90
  The PaTh of DesTiny
  N
  orth of Minkai, the land is dominated by 
  expansive and mysterious woodlands known as 
  the Forest of Spirits. It was here, long ago, that 
  the gods created the protector spirits known as kami.
  Kami were not the only inhabitants of the Forest of 
  Spirits, however. A powerful group of oni known as the 
  Five Storms (symbolizing the five elements sacred to 
  oni—fire, water, air, earth, and void) dwelt deep in the 
  forest. The Five Storms did not want to stay in the forest, 
  for just as they wore humanoid flesh, so to did they lust for 
  humanoid triumphs—they wanted the nation of Minkai 
  as their own. 
  Numerous rules set in place by the gods prevented the oni 
  from taking direct action to seize control of Minkai. When 
  the collapse of the vast empire of Lung Wa on mainland Tian 
  Xia threw the continent into chaos at the beginning of the 
  Age of Lost Omens, the Five Storms saw their opportunity. 
  With Minkai distracted, focusing its attention on aggression 
  from beyond its borders, the Five Storms infiltrated the 
  ranks of dozens of organizations, from the imperial army to 
  powerful merchant guilds and ninja clans.
  Over the century that followed, the oni, patient and 
  deliberate, worked to gain power. Yet the greatest threat to 
  their plan was the fact that as long as anyone of the divine 
  line of emperors existed, there would always be someone 
  capable of removing any pretender to the throne. The oni 
  decided to prune the royal family trees to stumps. Over the 
  course of several generations, they murdered, corrupted, 
  and disposed of any who could trace their lineage to one of 
  the five families to whom the gods had, in Minkai’s ancient 
  past, granted the right to rule. In the case of most of these 
  families, the task was relatively simple. Rule in Minkai had 
  for several generations rested with the Higashiyama clan, 
  and the other four families either had fallen into obscurity 
  or were otherwise unprepared for what the oni had planned 
  for them. The Five Storms managed to destroy three of 
  those five families, taking possession of the families’ 
  royal seals (minor artifacts capable of investing the divine 
  right to rule in new families in the event that a previous 
  family line dies out) and locking the royal seals away in a 
  vault. The current ruling clan, the Higashiyamas, were so 
  thoroughly infiltrated and corrupted by the oni that they 
  were no longer a threat.
  By 4652 ar, only one family remained as a viable 
  contender for the Jade Throne—the Amatatsus. Yet the 
  oni underestimated the Amatatsus’ ability to react and 
  interpret world events. When the Amatatsus realized what 
  was happening, the family patriarch made a scandalous 
  choice—he decided to abandon his homeland. He took 
  his family and fled north over the Crown of the World, 
  following the trade route known as the Path of Aganhei 
  all the way to the Lands of the Linnorm Kings. The oni 
  discovered the plan too late, but sent agents after the 
  Amatatsus, hoping to slay them to the last child and claim 
  the Amatatsu Seal as their own. Complicating this was 
  the fact that as long as a royal seal remained unused in 
  its magical warding box, it could not be magically tracked 
  or located—effectively serving to obscure those around it 
  from divination, making it the perfect cloak to hide under 
  as the Amatatsus fled north.
  When they reached Kalsgard, the Amatatsus went into 
  hiding. They changed their name to Kaijitsu and took up 
  the role of merchants and glassblowers to hide from their 
  pursuers. Today, the legitimate heir of the Kaijitsu line is 
  Ameiko Kaijitsu. After her father’s death during a recent 
  attack on her home town of Sandpoint at the hands of a 
  group of goblins allied to her estranged half-brother (also 
  deceased at this time), she became the heir to the Kaijitsu 
  fortune. As an available noble, she’s had no end of would-
  be suitors, but she’s rebuffed them all. She has no idea 
  what destiny has in store for her.
  The Brinewall legacy
  By James Jacobs
  Pathfinder Adventure Path #49, Levels 1–3
  When the Licktoad Goblins discover a cache of fireworks  
  and start menacing travelers on the Lost Coast Road, a group 
  of heroes delve into Brinestump Marsh to put a stop to 
  them. But defeating the goblins only reveals a more sinister 
  threat, for the goblins have angered a group of undead that 
  must be put to rest. Amid the remains of these skeletons, the 
  PCs find a curious letter—a missive from Ameiko Kaijitsu’s 
  grandfather indicating that a great Kaijitsu treasure and 
  legacy lies hidden in the ruins of Brinewall.
  With Ameiko’s aid, the PCs organize a caravan and travel 
  to Brinewall to investigate, only to have their companion 
  fall into a magical coma as they near the mysterious ruined 
  village. The PCs search Brinewall for the cure for Ameiko’s 
  coma, yet soon discover the ruins are under the rule of 
  sadistic dire corby cultists of Pazuzu led by a strange foreign 
  fiend. They defeat Brinewall’s new denizens and recover 
  the Kaijitsu legacy—a royal seal that reveals a startling 
  truth even as it wakens Ameiko. The Kaijitsus are the last 
  surviving royal family of Minkai, and if Ameiko doesn’t 
  
  91
  Campaign Outline
  travel to Minkai, her ancestral homeland, it will fall to the 
  rule of a powerful warlord known as the Jade Regent.
  nighT of frozen shaDows 
  By Greg A. Vaughan
  Pathfinder Adventure Path #50, Levels 4–6
  Acting on visions granted by the royal seal, the PCs travel 
  to the Lands of the Linnorm Kings as they begin to retrace 
  in reverse the route taken so many years ago by Ameiko’s 
  ancestors as they fled Minkai. The PCs’ attempts to 
  recover the Kaijitsu ancestral sword Suishen as well as to 
  secure the aid of a guide named Ulf Gormundr to help lead 
  their caravan over the Crown of the World are complicated 
  as they run afoul of a mysterious group of thieves and 
  assassins known as the Frozen Shadows.
  It soon becomes apparent that the Five Storms, the oni 
  who would rule Minkai and thus seek to end the Kaijitsu 
  line, have long had a presence in the Linnorm Kingdoms. 
  Caught between blood-feuding barbarians and the ninja of 
  the Frozen Shadows, the PCs must recover Suishen, rescue 
  Ulf, and defeat the ogre mage Kimandatsu (leader of the 
  Frozen Shadows and agent of the Five Storms) if they hope 
  to survive the journey over the Crown of the World and 
  into Minkai.
  The hungry sTorm 
  By Jason Nelson
  Pathfinder Adventure Path #51, Levels 7–9
  This adventure begins as the PCs leave Kalsgard and set 
  off on a journey that will take them across the Path of 
  Aganhei through the Crown of the World, the continental 
  mass that sits at Golarion’s north pole. As they venture 
  into the frozen north with their caravan, any safety that 
  the PCs might have gained by defeating the western agents 
  of the Five Storms fades as they become increasingly aware 
  that a sinister entity is growing in power. This entity is a 
  half-fiend sylph named Katiyana, a priestess of the nascent 
  demon lord of blizzards who has found a way to control 
  and direct the so-called morozkos—“hungry storms”—
  that periodically scour the Crown of the World. Left to her 
  own devices, Katiyana hopes to send these hungry storms 
  south into both Avistan and Tian Xia to spread the power 
  of her patron. After confronting and defeating Katiyana in 
  her eerie northern fortress, though, the PCs must face her 
  vengeful ghost in an underground pass through the final 
  mountains if they are to escape alive.
  foresT of sPiriTs 
  By Richard Pett
  Pathfinder Adventure Path #52, Levels 10–11
  The PCs emerge from the Crown of the World and follow 
  the Path of Aganhei down to the landlocked trade city of 
  Ordu-Aganhei, where they once again must face agents of 
  the Five Storms. But not everyone wants them dead—they 
  meet a mysterious kitsune woman named Miyaro who 
  promises to lead them to allies deep in the Forest of Spirits. 
  The PCs learn from the forest’s kami protectors that their 
  shared enemies, the oni of the Five Storms, once dwelt in 
  a fortress deep in the forest. There, within the walls of 
  the House of Withered Blossoms, the PCs can learn much 
  about the enemies waiting for them in Minkai and their 
  weaknesses. Of course, the Five Storms didn’t completely 
  abandon their old fortress, and what remains behind in the 
  House of Withered Blossoms will test the PCs’ strengths 
  like nothing they’ve yet encountered.
  TiDe of honor 
  By Tito Leati
  Pathfinder Adventure Path #53, Levels 12–13
  After successfully discovering the secrets and weaknesses 
  of the Five Storms and their mortal agent, the warlord 
  known as the Jade Regent, the PCs finally arrive in Minkai 
  only to find the empire on the verge of chaos. Before 
  they can risk confronting the Jade Regent at the nation’s 
  capital, though, the PCs must first earn the respect and 
  support of Minkai’s people. After teaming up with a band 
  of ronin led by an honorable but frustrated soldier named 
  Jiro, the PCs seek out ancient monasteries, ninja clans, 
  merchants, geishas, and samurai armies for support, all 
  the while trying to remain undercover and invisible to the 
  ever-growing paranoia and anger of the Jade Regent.
  The emPTy Throne 
  By Neil Spicer
  Pathfinder Adventure Path #54, Levels 14–15
  Now that they’ve gained the support of Minkai’s citizens, the 
  PCs must earn the respect and blessings of the ancestors. 
  They travel to the Imperial Shrine, a mystic necropolis on 
  an island in the capital city of Kasai’s harbor, where they 
  discover proof of the actual fate of the previous emperor—
  he was assassinated by the Jade Regent and his body thrown 
  into the Well of Demons. By recovering the previous 
  emperor’s body, the PCs gain the ancestors’ blessings for 
  Ameiko to take the throne—all that remains is to travel to 
  the Imperial Palace, defeat the Five Storms, and confront 
  the Jade Regent and his powerful allies in a final conflict, 
  with the empire of Minkai as the prize!
  sPoiler warning!
  Presented here is the background and outline for the 
  Jade Regent Adventure Path. If you intend to play in this 
  campaign, be warned! These pages spoil the upcoming 
  adventures as thoroughly as possible.
  
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  Open Game License v 1.0a © 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  System Reference Document. © 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc; Authors: Jonathan Tweet, 
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  “You” or “Your” means the licensee in terms of this agreement.
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  Content You are copying, modifying or distributing, and You must add the title, the 
  Night of frozeN ShadowS
  By Greg A. Vaughan
  The first stage of the expedition from Varisia to distant 
  Minkai begins with a journey into the Lands of the Linnorm 
  Kings, where the heroes must prepare for the coming ordeal 
  in which they must traverse the frozen northern continent 
  known as the Crown of the World. The trade route that links 
  the Linnorm Kingdoms to Tian Xia is fraught with peril, 
  and those who know its dangers are much in demand from 
  merchant houses. In order to secure the all-important guide 
  for this stage of the journey—and recover an ancient weapon 
  that will help the PCs and their allies face the Jade Regent—
  the PCs must match blades with the mysterious assassins’ 
  guild known only as the Frozen Shadows, an order of silent 
  killers who strike swiftly in the darkness and rarely leave 
  witnesses to their deeds.
  KalSgard
  A bastion against the cold and the wild creatures of the 
  north, Kalsgard stands as the greatest city and capital of 
  the savage Lands of the Linnorm Kings. Discover marvels 
  from across the viking homeland, the hearty people who 
  live their lives upon the freezing plains, and the intrigues 
  of a city where strength is law.
  ShelyN
  Experience the wonders of Shelyn, goddess of art, beauty, 
  and love, and learn the secrets of her faithful, luminaries 
  who aren’t afraid to fight in the name of their art.
  aNd More!
  A rash of mysterious killings and stolen tattoos abound 
  in Dave Gross’s next entry into the Pathfinder’s Journal. 
  Also, denizens of Tian Xia and the frozen north face off in 
  the Pathfinder Bestiary.
  SubScribe to PathfiNder adveNture Path!
  The Jade Regent Adventure Path has begun! Don’t miss 
  a single volume—venture over to paizo.com/pathfinder 
  and subscribe today! Have each Pathfinder Adventure 
  Path, Pathfinder Campaign Setting, Pathfinder Player 
  Companion, Pathfinder Module, and GameMastery product 
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  92
  Next MoNth
  
  I
  n the foreboding north, the demonic hordes of the magic-twisted hellscape known as the 
  Worldwound encroach upon the southern kingdoms of Golarion. Their latest escalation 
  embroils a preternaturally handsome and coolly charismatic swindler named Gad, who 
  decides to assemble a team of thieves, cutthroats, and con artists to take the fi ght into the 
  demon lands and strike directly at the fi endish leader responsible for the latest raids—the 
  demon Yath, the Shimmering Putrescence. Can Gad hold his team together long enough to 
  pull off  the ultimate con, or will trouble from within his own organization lead to an untimely 
  end for them all?
  From gaming legend and popular author Robin D. Laws comes a fantastic new adventure of 
  swords and sorcery, set in the award-winning world of the Pathfi nder Roleplaying Game.
  paizo.com
  Paizo Publishing, LLC, the golem logo, and Pathfi nder are registered trademarks 
  of Paizo Publishing, LLC  Pathfi nder Tales and Pathfi nder Roleplaying Game are 
  trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC  © 2011, Paizo Publishing, LLC
  ISBN–13: 978-1-60125-327-9   Paperback $9.99
  O
  n a mysterious errand for the Pathfi nder 
  Society, Count Varian Jeggare and his 
  hellspawn bodyguard Radovan journey to the 
  distant land of Tian Xia. When disaster forces him 
  to take shelter in a warrior monastery, “Brother” 
  Jeggare fi nds himself competing with the monks 
  of the Dragon Temple as he unravels a royal 
  mystery. Meanwhile, Radovan—trapped in the 
  body of a devil—must serve a twisted master by 
  defeating the land’s deadliest champions and 
  learning the secret of slaying an immortal foe. 
  Together with an unlikely army of spirits, the two 
  companions must take the lead in an ancient 
  conﬂ ict that will carry them all the way to the 
  Gates of Heaven and Hell.
  From fan-favorite author Dave Gross comes a new 
  fantastical adventure set in the award-winning 
  world of the Pathfi nder Roleplaying Game.
  ISBN–13: 978-1-60125-357-6   Paperback $9.99
  ®
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  Amazing Stories Set in the 
  Pathﬁ nder Campaign Setting
  Explore New Horizons
  
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  Paizo Publishing  LLC  he Paizo golem logo  and Pa hﬁ nder are regis ered rademarks of Paizo Publishing  LLC  
  and he Pa hﬁ nder Roleplaying Game is a rademark of Paizo Publishing  LLC  © 2011 Paizo Publishing  LLC
  S
  eize the initiative and chop your foes to pieces with this exhaustive 
  guide to the art of martial combat—an exciting new rulebook 
  for the smash-hit Pathﬁ nder Roleplaying Game, suitable for players 
  and Game Masters alike! This comprehensive 256-page hardcover 
  reference reveals the martial secrets of the Pathﬁ nder RPG rules like 
  never before and also introduces three new classes: the ninja, samurai, 
  and gunslinger! All this plus tons of new armor and weapons, a 
  complete treatment of ﬁ rearms in the Pathﬁ nder RPG, a vast array of 
  martial arts, ﬁ nishing moves, vehicle combat, duels, and new combat-
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  All trademarks are property of Paizo Publishing®, LLC © 2011 Paizo Publishing.  
  Permission granted to photocopy this page.
  Pathfinder Adventure Path is your monthly Pathfinder campaign resource. Each volume explores new locations, unveils new monsters unique to Golarion, 
  and gives Game Masters another entry in a complete campaign. Adventures, wealth, and fame await within!
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  Paizo Publishing  LLC  he Paizo golem logo  and Pa hﬁ nder are regis ered rademarks of Paizo Publishing  LLC  
  and he Pa hﬁ nder Roleplaying Game is a rademark of Paizo Publishing  LLC  © 2011 Paizo Publishing  LLC
  The perfect world guide for Pathﬁ nder RPG players 
  and Game Masters alike, this deﬁ nitive 320-page 
  full-color hardcover volume contains expanded 
  coverage of more than 40 nations; details on gods, 
  religions, and factions; new character options; 
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  Pathﬁ nder campaign with a beautiful poster map 
  that reveals the lands of the Inner Sea region in all 
  their treacherous glory!  
  The perfect world guide for Pathﬁ nder RPG players 
  
  Many are the terrors that dwell in the 
  watery deeps of the Varisian Gulf. 
  Hungry reefclaws, ravenous  bunyips, 
  and foul-blooded devilfish are well-
  known horrors to the fisherfolk of the 
  region, yet the dreaded sea drake is 
  perhaps the most ferocious of the Gulf’s 
  regular predators. As with the other 
  terrors, these monsters prefer to dwell 
  near coastlines, where they can prey 
  upon their favored meals—fishermen 
  and sailors. Their lightning breath and 
  uncanny knack for capsizing boats to 
  better get to the juicy morsels within 
  have earned sea drakes a special place 
  in the hearts of those who travel the 
  Gulf—a place of fear and hatred.
  They are not common among the cities 
  and villages of Varisia, but the people 
  of this land know well the stories of 
  the tengus. Far to the south, the pirates 
  of the Shackles believe them capable 
  of absorbing bad luck, and keep tengu 
  “mascots” on their ships to combat 
  fate, while to the north in the Linnorm 
  Kingdoms, the crow folk dwell in 
  ghettos and earn rightful reputations as 
  scoundrels and sneaks. To the Varisians, 
  a tengu is at once a curriosity and 
  perhaps something to be wary of, for the 
  region has long been plagued by myths 
  of demons who take the shapes of birds 
  and seek to pluck the eyes and tongues 
  of those who ask too many questions.
  Sea Drakes
  Tengus
  
  W
  hen a trove of fireworks falls into the hands of the goblins of 
  Brinestump Marsh, the people of Sandpoint fear an explosive 
  invasion. But there’s more afoot in the soggy wilderness than 
  goblin hijinks and dangerous pyrotechnics. An investigation reveals mysteries 
  and menaces aplenty, but also a treasure holding the answer to not just one of 
  Varisia’s greatest mysteries, but a conspiracy spanning continents and empires. 
  Can the adventurers piece together a puzzle that links the owner of a sleepy 
  village tavern to the unsolved destruction of a fortress-settlement? And can 
  they withstand the ancient forces and secret destiny that have waited for them 
  for decades? 
  This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path launches the Jade Regent Adventure 
  Path and includes:
  • “The Brinewall Legacy,” a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 1st-level characters, 
  by James Jacobs.
  • An exploration of the hinterlands surrounding the town of Sandpoint, a 
  region that’s anything but peaceful, by James Jacobs. 
  • A look into the mysteries of the oni, cunning fiends that can assume 
  humanoid forms, by Mike Shel.
  • Murder in a distant land in the Pathfinder’s Journal, by Dave Gross.
  • Four new monsters by James Jacobs and Tim Nightengale.
  The Path of Destiny
  Printed in China. PZO9049
  paizo.com/pathfinder
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Pathfinder/1st Edition/Adventure Paths/PF49-54 Jade Regent/Jade Regent - 01 - The Brinewall Legacy.pdf