TEXT: ®
  TM
  By Michael Kortes
  The Haunting of
  Harrowstone
  
  The Starving Spectre
  Jains Cobermain feared nothing more than 
  being buried alive. The startlingly 
  corpulent grave tender even 
  designed his own coffin, complete 
  with devices to warn those above 
  should he be mistakenly interred. Yet 
  when he passed on, his miserly brother 
  buried him on the cheap in a plain pine 
  box. None can say whether Cobermain 
  was truly dead when he was buried, but 
  his hungry spirit now roams Ardagh’s 
  Lanternwatch Cemetery, a horrifying spectre 
  clad in the fleshy tatters of one who slowly 
  starved within the grave.  
  The Saffron House
  Few know the tale of this abandoned 
  manor, but all who rediscover the 
  residence soon recognize its lingering 
  wrongness. Some blame their uneasiness 
  on the claustrophobic layout, the moldy 
  furniture covers, or the skittering in the 
  walls. But others claim something sinister 
  haunts the hidden wreck, a foulness 
  embodied by the nauseating shade of 
  yellow staining every surface, inspiring 
  both repulsion and obsession. Does some 
  evil evidence linger in that malarial hue, 
  or could it be a glimpse of something 
  greater—something that hungers?
  
  The Haunting of
  Harrowstone
  ADVENTURE PATH • PART 1 of 6
  ®
  TM
  
  credits
  Creative Director • James Jacobs
  Senior Art Director • Sarah E. Robinson
  Managing Editor • F. Wesley Schneider
  Development Leads • James Jacobs and Rob McCreary
  Editing • Judy Bauer, Christopher Carey, and James L. Sutter
  Editorial Assistance • Jason Bulmahn, Erik Mona, Mark Moreland,  
  Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Sean K Reynolds, and Vic Wertz
  Editorial Intern • Michael Kenway
  Graphic Designer • Andrew Vallas
  Production Specialist • Crystal Frasier
  Publisher • Erik Mona
  Cover Artist
  Dave Rapoza
  Cartographer
  Jared Blando
  Contributing Artists
  Emile Denis, Steve Ellis, Damien Mammoliti, Ryan Portillo, 
  Jean-Baptiste Reynaud, Craig J Spearing, Tyler Walpole, and Kieran Yanner 
  Contributing Authors
  Adam Daigle, Brandon Hodge, Michael Kortes, Patrick Renie, and F. Wesley Schneider
  Paizo CEO • Lisa Stevens
  Vice President of Operations • Jeffrey Alvarez
  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 Haunting of Harrowstone” 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 
  Bestiary, and Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary 2. 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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  Paizo Publishing, LLC, the golem logo, Pathfinder, and GameMastery are registered trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC;  
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  table of contents
  Foreword	
  4
  The	Haunting	of	Harrowstone	
  6
  by	Michael	Kortes
  Ravengro	
  56
  by	Michael	Kortes
  Haunts:	The	Unquiet	Dead		
  64
  by	Brandon	Hodge
  Pathfinder’s	Journal:	Guilty	Blood,	1	of	6	
  70
  by	F.	Wesley	Schneider
  Bestiary	
  76
  by	Adam	Daigle	and	Patrick	Renie
  Campaign	Outline	
  90
  Preview	
  92
  
  Welcome to Your Doom
  I 
  hope you’re ready for something a little darker 
  than you might be used to seeing in these pages, 
  as this time around we risk the shadows of Ustalav 
  with our first horror-themed campaign, the Carrion 
  Crown Adventure Path. But what does that mean? Well, 
  in the same way that Legacy of Fire was inspired by the 
  mythology of the Middle East and Serpent’s Skull sought 
  to invoke the wild, ruin-exploring adventures of Tarzan, 
  Indiana Jones, and the like, Carrion Crown draws its 
  inspiration from the yellowed pages of gothic horror 
  literature and film. From this tradition of Dracula and 
  Frankenstein, werewolves and zombies, undead wizards 
  and cosmic horror, we’ve devised a campaign fraught 
  with lurking dread and nefarious villains, crafted to test 
  characters’ bravery, wits, and skill.
  But is it Pathfinder? As soon as we started talking 
  about Carrion Crown, a lot of people started likening it 
  to the stories of other roleplaying games and campaign 
  settings with a tradition of frightening storytelling—and 
  rightly so. In fact, several of these worlds and modules 
  are the reason this campaign exists, not just because of 
  the wide popularity of such games, but also because of 
  our fond memories of such frightful adventures. But 
  does that mean you have to change your gaming style to 
  run Carrion Crown? Absolutely not. Carrion Crown is a 
  Pathfinder RPG Adventure Path and just as ready to run 
  as any of our past campaigns. Characters are assumed to 
  be Pathfinder characters, capable of standing against the 
  terrors they encounter rather than fleeing at the sight of 
  the first ghoul or ghost. The PCs aren’t being set up as 
  4
  
  Kilar, Wojciech : Bram Stoker’s Dracula
  Navarrete, Javier: Mirrors, Pan’s Labyrinth
  Söderqvist, Johan: Let the Right One In
  Yamane, Michiru: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
  Zimmer, Hans: Hannibal
  Ghosts
  Carlos, Wendy & Elkind-Tourre, Rachel: The Shining
  Carpenter, John: The Fog
  Giacchino, Michael: Let Me In
  Henifin, Steve: Eternal Darkness
  Midnight Syndicate: Gates of Delirium, et al.
  Newman, David: Serenity
  Revell, Graeme: Below
  Yamaoka, Akira: Silent Hill, et al.
  Young, Christopher: Drag Me to Hell, The Exorcism of Emily Rose
  Zimmer, Hans: The Ring
  For those of you looking for more suggestions, we 
  put together a pretty significant list of recommended 
  music in the back of the Pathfinder RPG GameMastery 
  Guide. This is hardly a user’s guide to employing music 
  in your gaming, but if you’ve never tried before, check 
  out the messageboards at paizo.com for suggestions 
  and techniques on how to make a little extra moodiness 
  work for you. Or, if you’re already using music in your 
  game, jump on the boards and expand upon the lists 
  presented here—I’m always looking for a theme for my 
  next major villain or the perfect overture to really creep 
  my players out!
  dupes strung along in a series of unsettling events, but 
  rather heroes thrown against terrors their resolve alone 
  might best. So is it Pathfinder? Absolutely.
  That said, for GMs who like a bit of extra moodiness in 
  their game, who like making extra props, turning down 
  the lights, and doing all they can to try to unnerve their 
  players, Carrion Crown gives you plenty of opportunities 
  to do just that.
  So whether you’re eager to see how your PCs fare against 
  foes like Doctor Frankenstein, the Headless Horseman, 
  Carmilla, and mad beings from beyond the stars, or you’re 
  preparing a campaign of horror to unsettle players and 
  characters alike, the Carrion Crown Adventure Path 
  starts off this month with one of the most fundamental 
  types of terror tale: a ghost story. So read on, if you dare.
  Music for the Macabre
  It’s definitely a matter of taste, and most GMs likely aren’t 
  looking for one more thing to juggle during their game 
  sessions, but I’m a huge advocate of using background 
  music during roleplaying games to help create a mood. I 
  could wax pretentious about how cool it is when a focusing 
  environment really gets everyone into the game, but that’s a 
  long, dull diatribe. Instead, just take this advice: if you’re not 
  using background music during your sessions, try it out. It 
  won’t work for every group, but for GMs looking to reinforce 
  the moods of their stories, a thematically appropriate and 
  subdued soundtrack can do amazing things. 
  Whether you’re already experienced at using music 
  during your gaming sessions, or it just sounds like it 
  might be something neat to try, for each foreword in the 
  Carrion Crown Adventure Path I’ll be including a brief 
  list of suggestions for music appropriate to the moods 
  and plots of the volume’s adventure. This time around 
  I’ll actually set you up with two. The first is music 
  that’s great for driving home the general creepiness that 
  pervades this entire campaign, with plenty of themes 
  for musty crypts, fog-shrouded nights, and lurking 
  dread. The second is much more what you can expect 
  to see through the rest of this series, with suggested 
  background music specifically meant to be evocative of 
  ghosts, hauntings, and the unquiet dead. In the cases of 
  complete soundtracks or artists’ entire bodies of work, I 
  can’t say that every song will perfectly fit the encounters 
  in Carrion Crown, but they’ll be worth previewing to see 
  if they fit your tastes and the needs of your game. 
  General
  Beal, Jeff: Carnivale
  Dead Can Dance: The Serpent’s Egg, et al.
  Elfman, Danny: Red Dragon
  Haslinger, Paul: Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
  Julyan, David: The Descent, The Prestige
  on the cover
  What lingers of the once-lovely Vesorianna graces the 
  cover of this month’s ghost story. Vesorianna had a hand 
  in the ruin of Harrowstone Prison, but recent events bring 
  her spirit to the crossroads between annihilation and—
  with the PCs’ help—a decades-late redemption.
  Foreword
  5
  F. Wesley Schneider
  Managing Editor
  wes@paizo.com
  
  The Haunting of
  Harrowstone
  Y
  ou are hereby sentenced to live the remainder of your short life in 
  Harrowstone, which, I hasten to add, is a blessing compared to the extent 
  of your crimes and the suffering of your victims. There you will reside in 
  the misery of your thoughts until such time as you are drawn, hanged, and 
  quartered. May the gods have no mercy on your blighted soul.
  —The final sentencing of Vance Saetressle (“The Lopper”) in 4661 ar
  by Jurisdeclaris Axenris the Third.
  6
  
  the central prison. In their panic, the guards had left the 
  main entrance to the prison unlocked, so Vesorianna was 
  able to enter the prison with ease, only to find it strangely 
  empty. Following the sound of shouting, she came to the 
  training room where the remaining guards were gathered 
  near the lift shaft to the dungeon.
  When Vesorianna learned from the increasingly frantic 
  guards that her husband was trapped with the madmen 
  below, she pleaded with the guards on the ground level to 
  remove the deadfall and stage a rescue. When they repeatedly 
  refused, she went into hysterics. She managed to dodge the 
  guards, run to the lift’s winch, and throw the release, causing 
  the heavy wooden platform to plummet into the dungeon 
  below in the hope that her husband could leap onto it and be 
  pulled to safety. In actuality, the lift crushed several guards 
  and a few prisoners who had been standing directly below 
  it—the horrified Vesorianna was convinced her husband was 
  among them. Taking advantage of her shock, several guards 
  managed to finally apprehend her and swiftly bustled her 
  off to the prison workshop at the other end of Harrowstone, 
  locking her inside for her own safety.
  The remaining guards worked frantically to keep the 
  prisoners from escaping—with the lift below swiftly 
  filling with eager prisoners, they couldn’t simply pull 
  it back up. And as other prisoners began climbing the 
  chains that connected the fallen lift to the upper level, the 
  guards grew desperate. Knowing that they were about to be 
  outnumbered by lunatics, they made a fateful decision—
  they began rolling barrels of lamp oil from the nearby 
  storeroom into the hole, hoping to dislodge prisoners from 
  the lift and dissuade them from climbing. But when one of 
  Harrowstone’s most notorious prisoners, the spellcasting 
  murderer known as the Splatter Man, stepped into view 
  and began using his magic against the guards, desperation 
  gave way to blind panic and one of the guards threw a lit 
  torch into the oil-soaked depths, figuring that if the lift 
  were burned, order would be restored.
  Adventure BAckground
  Some small towns grow up around a university, their 
  shops and other offerings catering to a scholastic clientele. 
  Others boast famous festivals or specialized industries that 
  draw skilled artisans and craftsmen. But in the sad case of 
  Ravengro, the town’s claim to fame is a prison. And not 
  just any prison, for Ravengro supported one of Ustalav’s 
  most notorious jails—Harrowstone. Twice a year, a prison 
  convoy rounded up the worst of the worst from smaller, 
  less secure jails across the principality and transferred 
  them to Harrowstone, often to await death by hanging, but 
  always to live out the rest of their lives as prisoners.
  Already the home of dozens of notorious criminals, the 
  mid-year prisoner convoy of 4661 ar brought a particularly 
  horrendous batch of criminals all at once. Among them 
  were five particularly notorious convicts: the Lopper, 
  the Piper of Illmarsh, Father Charlatan, the Mosswater 
  Marauder, and even the infamous Splatter Man. Not even 
  Harrowstone was adequately equipped to handle these 
  criminals, and as their execution dates drew near, the 
  Lopper and the Splatter Man, working together, picked 
  their moment and staged a desperate attempt to seize 
  control of the prison and, perhaps, escape.
  Yet while they managed to turn the tables on 
  Harrowstone’s guards and, for a few minutes, held 
  control of the prison, they did not anticipate an act of 
  self-sacrifice by Harrowstone’s head warden, Lyvar 
  Hawkran. Only a few minutes after the prisoners seized 
  control of Harrowstone’s lower level, Warden Hawkran 
  triggered an emergency deadfall that sealed the dungeon 
  and trapped everyone (including himself and most of the 
  prison guards) within the prison’s dungeon, leaving the 
  only way out a supply lift that couldn’t be activated from 
  the dungeon level. 
  It was via this lift that the Warden and other trapped 
  guards initially thought to escape, but before they could 
  make it to safety, they were overpowered by the rioting 
  prisoners and taken hostage. The prisoners attempted to 
  use their hostages to force the few guards who remained 
  on the floor above to lower the lift, but the guards were 
  too well trained. Even with their warden and most of 
  their friends trapped below, they continually refused to 
  lower the lift—further, they set guards around the lift’s 
  shaft above so that any prisoner who attempted the nearly 
  impossible climb would have to contend with crossbow 
  bolts raining down from above. Eager to avoid sparking 
  a panic in Ravengro, the guards holed up and did a 
  masterful job keeping the truth of the riot contained 
  while they desperately tried to work out a plan.
  Yet several hours later, after Lyvar failed to return 
  home for his customary dinner, the warden’s wife 
  Vesorianna crossed the prison grounds from her home to 
  AdvAncement trAck
  “The Haunting of Harrowstone” assumes the medium 
  experience point track, detailed on page 30 of the 
  Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. Characters should be 1st 
  level when they begin the adventure. The PCs should be 
  nearing 2nd level before they attempt to venture into 
  Harrowstone itself, achieving 3rd level before they delve 
  too far into the dungeons below Harrowstone. By the 
  adventure’s conclusion, when they exit the prison, the PCs 
  should have reached 4th level.
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  7
  
  Unfortunately, the resulting conflagration was much 
  bigger than anyone could have expected. The huge oil 
  slick below caught fire and spread throughout the lower 
  cellblock. The ensuing flames incinerated both the 
  screaming prisoners and surviving guards below, while 
  thick plumes of smoke swiftly worked to suffocate those 
  above. The remaining guards on the ground level fled, 
  only realizing much later to their horror that no one 
  had bothered to release Vesorianna Hawkran from the 
  workshop. The town of Ravengro mobilized to extinguish 
  the fire before it spread, but the damage had been done. 
  One of Ustalav’s most notorious prisons was no more.
  In the 50 years that followed the Harrowstone Fire, the 
  town of Ravengro moved on to become a pleasant (and 
  perhaps even boring) farming community. Yet the town’s 
  old-timers remember well the eerie prison caravans that 
  carried monsters through the town. And none in Ravengro 
  can ignore the brooding, dark ruin of the old prison that 
  looms on the hill overlooking the town. Tales of the prison 
  being haunted are traded by Ravengro’s youths, and on 
  certain dark nights they taunt each other to touch the 
  rusting bars on the prison windows. Dares to spend the 
  night in the edifice are routinely posed and never accepted. 
  And for good cause, for the rumors that Harrowstone is 
  haunted are all too true.
  Yet Ravengro’s citizens do not realize how precarious 
  their situation truly is, for the ghosts in Harrowstone are 
  contained, as they were in life, not only by the prison walls 
  but by the overwhelming presence of Warden Hawkran’s 
  spirit. For the past several decades, even after his own men 
  sacrificed his life to protect themselves, the warden’s ghost 
  has continued to act as Ravengro’s jailer. His ghost patrols 
  Harrowstone, ensuring that the evil spirits of the prison 
  remained locked up tight within the ruins and that the 
  living do not grow too curious about the dangerous spirits 
  confined within the building’s halls and cells.
  And so things would have remained, were it not for the 
  machinations of the cult of the Whispering Way, a secret 
  faction of necromancers that reveres transcendence into 
  undeath. For the last several months, the cult has secretly 
  embarked on a hunt to further a disturbing undertaking—
  they are gathering rare and potent ingredients to create 
  the Carrion Crown, a foul elixir they believe will be able 
  to reconstitute the powers of the Whispering Tyrant, one 
  of history’s most feared despots. It is this nefarious plot 
  that provides the greater backdrop of the Carrion Crown 
  Adventure Path, but this early in the game, only one 
  element of this greater plot is important—namely, that 
  the Whispering Way found in the ghostly spirit of Warden 
  Hawkran an ectoplasmic element they require.
  Just a few weeks ago, a group of cowled cultists of the 
  Whispering Way approached the ruins of Harrowstone 
  under the cover of darkness and storm. The cultists set 
  up a camp, and over the course of several days of eldritch 
  rituals and inscribing magical runes along the prison’s 
  foundation, were able to seize the warden’s ghostly soul. On 
  the last night of the ritual, they were forced to murder an 
  interloper—one Professor Petros Lorrimor. After making it 
  seem that the professor died of misadventure while poking 
  around the ruins, the Whispering Way finished their work. 
  They departed before dawn and traveled to a set of standing 
  stones near the city of Lepidstadt known as the Spiral 
  Cromlech to meet with others of their cult. Following the 
  trail of the Whispering Way forms the foundation of the 
  next few adventures in this campaign, but for now, it is the 
  haunting of Harrowstone that should concern the PCs. 
  For in removing the warden’s ghost, the Whispering Way 
  removed the strongest barrier keeping a prison’s worth of 
  undead murderers and spectral maniacs at bay. 
  Now only weakly restrained, the restless undead 
  inmates of Harrowstone are slowly gaining in strength 
  and extending their influence out of the prison’s walls. 
  In particular, five of the most dangerous among the 
  condemned are growing in power at a rapid pace. Already, 
  their unholy influence is beginning to impact the dreams 
  and emotions of certain citizens in the town of Ravengro, 
  and their intentions are far from good. For the ghosts of 
  Harrowstone see Ravengro as the reason they burned, and 
  until the town itself is ashes, they do not rest quietly.
  Adventure SummAry
  The PCs come to Ravengro to attend the funeral of an 
  old friend, Professor Petros Lorrimor, only to become 
  embroiled in the village’s problems—the ghosts of the 
  haunted prison on the hill are spreading down into the 
  town. After researching the pasts of the town and prison 
  and handling several local haunts (perhaps even recovering 
  a stash of old ghost-hunting gear from the cemetery), the 
  PCs head up the hill to investigate Harrowstone. There, 
  they find evidence that the Whispering Way has been up 
  to something, and that the cult’s tinkering has upset the 
  balance of things. In order to prevent the souls within the 
  prison from escaping, the PCs must ally with the ghost of 
  the prison warden’s wife to defeat the five most dangerous 
  spirits active within and below Harrowstone’s walls.
  PArt one: the LASt WiLL And 
  teStAment of PetroS Lorrimor
  “The Haunting of Harrowstone” assumes that the PCs have 
  personal ties to recently deceased Professor Petros Lorrimor. 
  This provides a reason for Lorrimor’s daughter, Kendra, 
  to invite the PCs to her father’s funeral, and also explains 
  why the PCs appear in the professor’s will. The Carrion 
  Crown Player’s Guide (a free PDF available at paizo.com) 
  8
  
  informs players about everything they need to know to play 
  characters that will fit in well with the country of Ustalav 
  and the Carrion Crown Adventure Path. Included in this 
  player’s guide are a number of campaign traits that players 
  can choose for their characters—in addition to providing 
  minor benefits, each of these campaign traits gives the 
  PCs reasons to come to Ravengro to pay their respects to 
  Professor Petros Lorrimor. If you’re not using the Carrion 
  Crown Player’s Guide, you should ask your players to come up 
  with their own links to Professor Lorrimor.  The town of 
  Ravengro is detailed in the article beginning on page 56.
  kendrA Lorrimor
  Although he was getting on in years, Petros’s death was 
  rather sudden and his daughter Kendra, a 25- year-old 
  woman who has lived in Ravengro for nearly 15 years 
  (having moved here with her family as a child from 
  Lepidstadt after her father retired from teaching), 
  is still in mourning. Her eyes are red and puffy 
  and she dresses in dark, conservative clothes. Trim 
  and attractive, Kendra greets the PCs with a mixture 
  of curiosity, sadness, and relief—no one else has 
  come to pay their respects to her father, and “with 
  things the way they are in town these days,” very 
  few folks from Ravengro have come out for the 
  funeral as well. Kendra waves off questions for 
  now, promising the PCs that after her father 
  is buried and they return to her house, she’ll 
  answer any questions they have—both about 
  her father’s death and about his will.
  Kendra’s role in this adventure is to serve 
  as the PCs’ initial champion and supporter 
  in town—the citizens of Ravengro are 
  slow to extend trust to outsiders, but with 
  Kendra vouching for them, they’ll at least 
  have some initial support to help them 
  gain trust among the townsfolk. She also 
  offers to let the PCs stay in her house, free of 
  charge, and even agrees to cast spells for them 
  or identify magic items as needed—her job 
  (and your job as GM) is to try to make the PCs 
  feel welcome in Ravengro. There will be plenty 
  of reasons in the events to come for the PCs to 
  want to simply abandon the town to its fate, 
  but if you develop Kendra as a likable ally, or 
  even possibly as a romantic interest for a PC, 
  the party will have one more reason to stay 
  in town and see to it that the haunting of 
  Harrowstone is put to an end.
  Kendra Lorrimor 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  Female human diviner 2
  NG Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +1; Senses Perception +1
  DefenSe
  AC 10, touch 10, flat-footed 10
  hp 11 (2d6++2)
  fort +1, Ref +0, Will +6
  OffenSe
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee dagger +0 (1d4–1/19–20)
  Ranged light crossbow +1 (1d8/19–20)
  Arcane School Spell-Like Abilities (CL 2nd; concentration +5)
  6/day—diviner’s fortune (+1)
  Diviner Spells Prepared (CL 2nd; concentration +5)
  1st—comprehend languages, identify, mage armor
  0 (at will)—acid splash, detect magic, disrupt undead, read magic
  Opposition Schools Evocation, Illusion
  TACTICS
  During Combat Kendra prefers to use her 
  diviner’s fortune on her allies or employ the aid 
  another action. When applicable, she keeps her 
  wits about her and uses her Knowledge skills to 
  try to determine her opponents’ strengths 
  and weaknesses, communicating this 
  information to her allies. If needed, she uses 
  her bonded amulet to spontaneously cast 
  protection from evil, true strike, sleep, feather 
  fall, or the other spells in her spellbook.
  Morale Kendra flees from a battle if she’s on her 
  own and is brought below 5 hit points, but if she’s 
  with allies, she fights to the death to protect them.
  STATISTICS
  Str 8, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 13, Cha 15
  Base Atk +1; CMB +0; CMD 10
  feats Improved Iron Will, Iron Will, Scribe Scroll
  Skills Craft (alchemy) +8, Diplomacy +4, 
  Knowledge (arcana) +8, Knowledge (history) 
  +8, Linguistics +8, Spellcraft +8, Use Magic 
  Device +4
  Languages Aklo, Ancient Osiriani, Azlanti, 
  Common, Celestial, Draconic, Varisian
  SQ arcane bond (amulet), forewarned
  Combat Gear potion of cure light 
  wounds, scroll of protection from 
  evil, silversheen, alchemist’s fire, 3 
  alchemical silver bolts, antitoxin, 3 cold 
  iron bolts, holy water, smokestick; 
  Other Gear light crossbow with 10 
  bolts, dagger, journal, magnifying 
  glass, scroll case, spellbook 
  (contains all prepared spells 
  plus feather fall, protection 
  from evil, sleep, and true 
  strike), sun rod, 23 gp
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  9
  Kendra Lorrimor
  
  X
  The False
  CrypT
  X
  peTros
  lorrimor’s
  Grave
  anCesTor’s Walk
  The
   ev
  ers
  le
  ep
  The Bl
  aCk
   p
  a
  T
  h
  T
  h
  e
   
  D
  ream
  W
  a
  k
  e
  trouBLe on the dreAmWAke (cr 1)
  Once the pallbearers have been chosen, Kendra, as the 
  deceased’s closest living relative, has the job of leading 
  the somber procession along the Dreamwake—a gravel 
  pathway that winds through the cemetery. Characters 
  serving as pallbearers are considered to have both hands 
  full as they carry the heavy coffin up the road. 
  As the procession reaches the halfway point along the 
  Dreamwake, rounding a corner onto a path called the 
  Eversleep, they’ll see that the way ahead is blocked by a 
  group of a dozen surly looking locals. The tallest of these 
  toughs is an elderly but wiry retired soldier named Gibs 
  Hephenus. He speaks out as soon as the group is noticed—
  use the following dialogue to present this confrontation, 
  but let the PCs step in at any point, pausing between each 
  line to give them the opportunity. If you get to the end of 
  the dialogue, Kendra’s final line about the thugs being 
  ignorant is enough to spark a fight.
  “That’s far enough. We been talking, and we don’t want Lorrimor 
  buried in the Restlands. You can take him upriver and bury him 
  there if you want, but he ain’t goin’ in the ground here!”
  Kendra is swift to respond, her sadness swiftly transforming into 
  anger. “What are you talking about?” she cries out. “I arranged it 
  Burying the ProfeSSor
  In the adventure’s opening scene, the PCs have gathered at 
  the entrance to the Restlands with Kendra Lorrimor and 
  a fine coffin containing the body of her father (preserved 
  with gentle repose), the PCs’ onetime friend and ally Petros 
  Lorrimor. Ask the PCs which of them would like to serve as 
  pallbearers—there’s room on the coffin to accommodate 
  six people, with a minimum of four. As the PCs have likely 
  just arrived after a long trip, you can assume that they’re 
  outfitted with weapons, armor, and their starting gear.
  Father Grimburrow and a pair of gravediggers are 
  already waiting at the site of the professor’s burial—
  as part of local tradition, they do not accompany the 
  pallbearers from the gate to the grave. Besides the PCs, 
  only a small handful of villagers are attending the 
  funeral procession. Old friends of Lorrimar, they too 
  have come to pay their respects. These NPCs consist of 
  Councilman Vashian Hearthmount, Councilman Gharen 
  Muricar, tavernkeeper Zokar Elkarid and his 13-year-
  old son Pevrin, and Jominda Fallenbridge (Ravengro’s 
  apothecary and one of the professor’s good friends)—for 
  more information on these characters, consult the article 
  on Ravengro beginning on page 56. All of these NPCs are 
  somber and have little to say to the PCs at this time.
  10
  
  with Father Grimburrow. He’s waiting for us! The grave’s already 
  been...”
  “You don’t get it, woman. We won’t have a necromancer buried 
  in the same place as our kin. I suggest you move out while you still 
  can. Folks are pretty upset about this right now.”
  “Necromancy!? Are you really that ignorant?”
  If the PCs step in and try to negotiate with the thugs, 
  have the first PC to speak make a Diplomacy check. Any 
  other PC who also speaks up can aid another on the first 
  PC’s Diplomacy check. It’s a DC 20 Diplomacy check to 
  calm the thugs down enough that they sullenly disperse, 
  shooting venomous glances at the PCs and Kendra, but 
  leaving the cemetery nevertheless and allowing the 
  procession to continue. Any hostile act (such as drawing 
  a weapon or casting a spell) is enough to incite the thugs 
  to fight, as is a failed Diplomacy check or allowing the 
  dialogue above to play out to the end.
  Creatures: There are a dozen men in all in this group—
  all of them are laborers at local farms or fishermen. None 
  of them seek to kill the PCs, but they do hope to force 
  the PCs to flee the cemetery. Of course, there’s something 
  more at work here as well—the seeping supernatural 
  influence of Harrowstone has spread into Ravengro. As 
  this adventure proceeds, this influence grows, but for 
  now it does little more than to give some of the more 
  reactionary or superstitious locals the courage and anger 
  they need to act out on their impulses. 
  Although there are a dozen men in the group, not all 
  of them move toward the PCs—half the group threatens 
  the others in the funeral party or hangs back to shout 
  insults or give encouragement to their allies. Six of the 
  mob attack the PCs with their improvised weapons, 
  striking not to kill but to subdue. The mob’s leader, the 
  elderly Gibs, does not take part in the attack, and flees 
  the Restlands as soon as it becomes apparent that the PCs 
  are more than a match for the thugs.
  Most of the others in the procession are not brave 
  enough to enter the fight, either being too old, too 
  cowardly, or too protective of their friends and family to 
  risk battle. They shriek and cower behind the PCs, and 
  f lee back to town as soon as any of them are attacked 
  (regardless of whether the attack hits). Only Kendra 
  stands up to the thugs, her stubborn anger compelling 
  her to join the PCs in the fight.
  One complication in this confrontation, of course, is 
  the fact that many of the PCs are pallbearers. All of the 
  pallbearers must take a full-round action to lower the 
  coffin—if the PCs wish to do this during the dialogue 
  above, they may do so, but this allows enough time for 
  the dialogue to play out, resulting in a fight. Each time a 
  character lets go of the coffin early, there’s a cumulative 
  40% chance that the coffin is dropped and poor Petros’s 
  body spills out onto the muddy gravel. If three PCs 
  release the coffin, it automatically falls. If the PCs drop 
  the coffin, they lose 1 Trust point.
  Ravengro Thugs (6) 
  CR 1/4
  XP 100 each
  Male commoner 1
  N Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +0; Senses Perception +4
  DefenSe
  AC 10, touch 10, flat-footed 10
  hp 4 each (1d6+1) 
  fort +2, Ref +0, Will +0
  OffenSe
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee farm tool –3 (1d6+1 nonlethal)
  TACTICS
  During Combat Although these thugs are proficient in using 
  their farming tools (a mix of rakes, hoes, sickles, pitchforks, 
  and hammers), they attack to deal nonlethal damage and 
  thus take a –4 penalty on attack rolls (this penalty is figured 
  into their melee attack above). The thugs hope to run 
  off the PCs and the others, forcing them to abandon the 
  coffin so they can haul it and the body downriver to the 
  Harrowstone memorial (area O, see page 63), where they 
  burn the coffin and the body in the hope of dispersing the 
  “curse” on the town.
  Morale As soon as a thug takes any damage, he drops his 
  weapon and flees (or drops to his knees and begs for mercy 
  if flight is impossible or too dangerous).
  STATISTICS
  Str 13, Dex 11, Con 11, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 10
  Base Atk +0; CMB +1; CMD 11
  feats Endurance, Great Fortitude
  Skills Knowledge (local) +4, Perception +4, Profession (farmer) +4
  Languages Common
  BuiLding truSt in rAvengro
  Trust is an important factor in this adventure. Actions 
  the PCs take during the course of their stay in Ravengro 
  can increase or decrease the amount of trust the town’s 
  citizens have for them. The PCs start with a Trust score of 
  20; at 0, the locals rise up in an angry mob and run them 
  out of town, but at higher Trust scores, the PCs receive 
  benefits like discounts on purchases, free healing, and 
  other forms of aid. The mechanics for Trust are presented 
  in the Ravengro article on page 58—make sure you’re 
  familiar with them before running this adventure.
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  11
  
  Development: If the thugs manage to run off or knock 
  out all of the PCs and Kendra, they make off with the 
  coffin to burn it at the Harrowstone memorial. Father 
  Grimburrow and the two gravediggers hear the fight break 
  out and come to help, but they won’t arrive on the scene 
  until after the PCs have been defeated. The father uses his 
  ability to channel energy to heal the fallen PCs of 4d6 points 
  of damage, and then (with the PCs in tow or not) hurries 
  back to the entrance to the graveyard to confront the 
  thugs—burdened by the coffin, they have 
  not yet made it far from the scene of the 
  crime. Upon seeing the priest coming 
  for them, the thugs panic, drop the 
  coffin (this does not cost the PCs 
  a point of Trust), and flee. Father 
  Grimburrow has the gravediggers 
  load Petros’s body back into the coffin 
  and apologizes for the thugs’ behavior, 
  promising (if other members of the 
  procession have not already done so) to report 
  their actions to the sheriff as soon as possible 
  after the funeral. While none of the thugs are 
  put in jail, they (particularly the ringleader, 
  Gibs) receive scathing rounds of scolding and 
  warnings from the town sheriff.
  Story Award: If the PCs talk the mob out 
  of a fight, award them 1 Trust point and 
  experience as if they had defeated six of 
  the thugs in combat. Although the angry 
  thugs are aggressive, they’re still locals—any of them 
  who die in this fight cost the PCs 1 Trust point (or 6 Trust 
  points if that thug was obviously slain by a PC).
  the BuriAL
  Once the PCs have dealt with Hephenus and his gang, 
  Kendra thanks the PCs profusely and apologizes for the 
  assault. The attending councilors profess shock at the 
  attack and indicate that they recognized the thugs as “local 
  farmhands, all of low character.” Their stance is that the 
  beating the PCs administered to the thugs is punishment 
  enough—if the PCs insist on further punishment, 
  Councilman Hearthmount sighs, but promises to seek 
  out the town’s sheriff to report the crime.
  In any event, Father Grimburrow hears the fight and 
  arrives a few moments later. Shocked by the audacity of 
  the attack, he still channels energy to heal the PCs and 
  any fallen thugs (thus possibly preventing the PCs from 
  losing trust from having a thug bleed out in the dirt). Any 
  thugs healed back to consciousness have the fight taken 
  out of them, replaced by shame—Father Grimburrow’s 
  stern glare and the threat of angry PCs is more than 
  enough to convince the thugs to seek out the sheriff and 
  turn themselves in.
  The assault now past, the procession continues up to 
  the plot Kendra purchased for her father. No further 
  complications prevent the lowering of his coffin into the 
  open grave by the gravediggers. Father Grimburrow gives 
  a short sermon, then invites Kendra to say a few words 
  about her father. Kendra fights back tears and briefly 
  recounts a few of her father’s more courageous or selfless 
  moments, thanking everyone once again for coming. 
  She then invites anyone else to share a few stories or 
  remembrances. At this point, you should let each 
  PC make up stories regarding his association 
  with Lorrimor as he sees fit. If at least one 
  PC manages to make his remarks 
  particularly moving or uplifting with 
  a DC 15 Diplomacy or Perform check, 
  the group’s words impress the attendees 
  enough to gain 1 Trust point.
  Lorrimor’S WiLL
  After the funeral is over and Kendra has said 
  her goodbyes to the other guests, she invites 
  the PCs back to her home (so recently 
  her father’s) for a drink and to hear 
  his last will and testament. The 
  Lorrimor residence is a modest 
  home (area N on the Ravengro map) 
  with crowded bookshelves in every 
  room. The reading of the professor’s 
  will requires the presence of Councilman 
  Vashian Hearthmount (the closest thing Ravengro 
  has to a solicitor), and he has some other matters to 
  attend to after the funeral, so he doesn’t arrive for about 
  an hour. If the PCs do not already know each other, this 
  is a great opportunity for the PCs to introduce each other 
  and to describe themselves and their connections to the 
  Lorrimors if they haven’t already at the funeral.
  Vashian arrives precisely on time, in any event. No 
  Sense Motive check is necessary to note that he doesn’t 
  completely approve of strangers being involved in local 
  matters, but he keeps his comments to himself, focusing 
  his involvement entirely on the reading of Petros’s will. 
  Kendra isn’t sure what’s contained in the will, since part of 
  its stipulation was that all of the PCs must be present for 
  its reading. Councilman Vashian produces a scroll case, 
  shows that the professor’s personal seal is unbroken, then 
  breaks the wax and opens the case. As he does, a small iron 
  key falls out of the tube, clattering noisily onto the table. 
  Undaunted by the key, the councilman begins to read, 
  eager to be done with the business and to get back home.
  The date at the end of the will is left blank so you can 
  synchronize this handout with your campaign’s timeline. 
  See Chapter 4 of the Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea 
  World Guide for details on time and dates on Golarion.
  12
  Father Grimburrow
  
  “I, Petros Lorrimor, being of sound mind, do hereby commit to this 
  parchment my last will and testament. Let it be known that, with 
  the exception of the specific details below, I leave my home and 
  personal belongings entire to my daughter Kendra. Use them or 
  sell them as you see fit, my child.
  “Yet beyond the bequeathing of my personal effects, this 
  document must serve other needs. I have arranged for the reading 
  of this document to be delayed until all principals can be in 
  attendance, for I have more than mere inheritance to apportion. I 
  have two final favors to ask.
  “To my old friends, I hate to impose upon you all, but there are 
  few others who are capable of appreciating the true significance of 
  what it is I have to ask. As some of you know, I have devoted many 
  of my studies to all manner of evil, that I might know the enemy and 
  inform those better positioned to stand against it. For knowledge 
  of one’s enemy is the surest path to victory over its plans.
  “And so, over the course of my lifetime, I have seen fit to acquire 
  a significant collection of valuable but dangerous tomes, any one 
  of which in the wrong circumstances could have led to an awkward 
  legal situation. While the majority of these tomes remain safe under 
  lock and key at the Lepidstadt University, I fear that a few I have 
  borrowed remain in a trunk in my Ravengro home. While invaluable 
  for my work in life, in death, I would prefer not to burden my 
  daughter with the darker side of my profession, or worse still, the 
  danger of possessing these tomes herself. As such, I am entrusting 
  my chest of tomes to you, posthumously. I ask that you please deliver 
  the collection to my colleagues at the University of Lepidstadt, who 
  will put them to good use for the betterment of the cause. 
  “Yet before you leave for Lepidstadt, there is the matter of 
  another favor—please delay your journey one month and spend 
  that period of time here in Ravengro to ensure that my daughter is 
  safe and sound. She has no one to count on now that I am gone, 
  and if you would aid her in setting things in order for whatever she 
  desires over the course of this month, you would have my eternal 
  gratitude. From my savings, I have also willed to each of you a sum 
  of one hundred platinum coins. For safekeeping, I have left these 
  funds with Embreth Daramid, one of my most trusted friends in 
  Lepidstadt—she has been instructed to issue this payment upon 
  the safe delivery of the borrowed tomes no sooner than one month 
  after the date of the reading of this will.
  “I, Petros Lorrimor, hereby sign this will in Ravengro on this 
  first day of Calistril, in the year _____.”
  PetroS’S tomeS
  Once the will is read, Councilman Vashian looks to 
  Kendra, who thanks him and dismisses him. Putting on 
  a brave face, Kendra thanks the PCs again for coming, 
  and informs them that she’ll need at least a few weeks 
  to decide if she wants to sell her family home or remain 
  here in Ravengro—in the meantime, as stipulated by the 
  will, she asks the PCs to remain as well. She offers rooms 
  in her spacious house for the PCs, promising them free 
  room and board for the month the will requests them to 
  remain in town, and then excuses herself to go fetch the 
  chest mentioned in the will.
  The chest itself is a relatively small object of oak and 
  iron. Kendra, nervous about the contents, offers the key 
  to the PCs to give them the honor of opening the chest. 
  The key fits the lock perfectly, and within are several 
  old tomes and one relatively new one. The newest tome 
  sits on the top and bears the phrase “Read me now!” 
  scratched into the leather cover. This book is Petros 
  Lorrimor’s journal and is detailed in the next section. 
  The other tomes comprise the books of dangerous lore 
  mentioned in his will—three of these have notes tucked 
  into them indicating that they should be delivered 
  to one Montagnie Crowl, a professor of antiquities at 
  Lepidstadt University. The fourth, Manual of the Order 
  of the Palatine Eye, has a note indicating it should be 
  delivered to Embreth Daramid, a judge at the Lepidstadt 
  Courthouse (although the note asks for this delivery in 
  particular to be handled discreetly, and includes the 
  address of Embreth’s home so that the PCs can deliver it 
  there). These books are summarized below.
  •	 Manual of the Order of the Palatine Eye: The rich purple 
  cover contains a brass scarab set with a single eye in 
  its center. While the PCs have limited ability to make 
  such a determination at this early stage, this book is 
  one of the principal works of the Esoteric Order of the 
  Palatine Eye, a secretive sect that plays a larger role in 
  hoW did the ProfeSSor die?
  Seventeen days before this adventure begins, Petros 
  caught agents of the Whispering Way, led by the 
  necromancer Auren Vrood, at Harrowstone. Petros 
  put up very little fight, succumbing to one of Vrood’s 
  phantasmal killer spells and perishing on the spot. The 
  Whispering Way cultists were able to finish their work in 
  peace after Petros’s death, capturing the spirit of Warden 
  Hawkran and moving north to Leipidstadt to see to 
  securing the second of the mysterious ingredients they 
  need to complete the Carrion Crown. Before leaving, they 
  arranged Lorrimor’s body so that it lay on its back near 
  one of Harrowstone’s walls and knocked the stone face 
  from a leering gargoyle from the roof above so that the 
  heavy block crushed the professor’s face and neck, both to 
  make it appear that a tragic accident killed the professor 
  and to prevent speak with dead from allowing the body to 
  reveal any secrets.
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  13
  
  future installments of the Carrion Crown Adventure 
  Path. The book’s covers are rimmed in polished steel 
  and clasped with a small but intricate lock, the keyhole 
  of which appears to be for a key with a strange, 
  triangular shaft. The key is nowhere to be found, but 
  the lock can be picked with a DC 30 Disable Device 
  check. The lock can also be destroyed (hardness 10, 
  hp 5) or forced open (DC 23 Strength check), but doing 
  so damages the book so it can no longer be properly 
  closed. The book’s contents are written in code in 
  Varisian—a DC 25 Linguistics check and 8 hours of 
  work breaks the code, as does comprehend languages. 
  The book’s contents seem strangely out of place 
  compared to the other texts, for while it contains 
  detailed descriptions of a number of ancient 
  ceremonies, both magical and mundane, they 
  are more concerned with purely arcane or 
  mathematical topics and have very little 
  sinister about them at all. It’s a DC 25 
  Knowledge (arcana, history, or local) 
  check to recognize the book for what 
  it is, and that the Esoteric Order 
  of the Palatine Eye is a secret 
  society whose members have deep 
  interests in all things political 
  and arcane. Additional information 
  about this order can be found in the next 
  volume of this Adventure Path.
  •	 On Verified Madness: This jet-black book 
  is a treatise on aberrations and other 
  entities found on Golarion that possess 
  remote ties to the Dark Tapestry, the name given to the 
  dark places between the stars in the night sky.
  •	 Serving Your Hunger: This text is a copy of one of 
  several unholy books sacred to the goddess Urgathoa. 
  Lorrimor’s notations liberally sprinkle the margins.
  •	 The Umbral Leaves: This lexicon is a translation into 
  Common of the unholy book of Zon-Kuthon.
  the ProfeSSor’S JournAL
  The professor’s will does not mention his journal—it 
  is not one of the dangerous tomes he wants delivered 
  to Lepidstadt. It does, however, contain clues that cast 
  doubts upon the nature of his death—the professor knew 
  that he was delving into dangerous territory in his final 
  days, and since he didn’t have a chance to amend his 
  will with a warning, he did so in his journal, leaving it 
  in his chest in hopes that the PCs or his daughter would 
  find it should his investigations take a tragic turn. The 
  majority of the entries are relatively bland, accounting 
  for day-to-day activities in a small town. The professor 
  has circled several entries in the book with red ink, 
  though, and it is these entries he wanted the PCs to pay 
  particular attention to. The final entry, dated 17 days 
  ago, was written on the same day the Professor’s body 
  was found.
  The entries are reproduced on the following page as 
  Player Handout #1.
  PArt tWo: crimeS not 
  forgotten
  Once the PCs have buried Professor Lorrimor, heard 
  his will, and looked through the strange books he left 
  behind, they are free to do whatever they please in 
  Ravengro—the stipulation in the will 
  that they remain in town for a month 
  might seem, at first, to be either too 
  restrictive or a welcome vacation. In 
  any event, there’s plenty in Ravengro 
  to keep a group of new adventurers 
  intrigued and busy, for the growing 
  influence of the ghosts of Harrowstone 
  quickly makes Ravengro a dangerous 
  place. Part Three of this adventure 
  presents a number of events you can use, 
  in any order, to establish the growing 
  sense of the haunting of Harrowstone 
  seeping into the village.
  Lorrimor’s will, among other things, 
  requires that the PCs remain in town for 
  at least a month to ensure his daughter 
  lands on her feet after his death. Yet not 
  only are the strange events that are destined to unfold in 
  Ravengro likely to capture PC curiosity, but the strange 
  contents of Lorrimor’s journal should be too much for 
  most PCs to ignore. At some point, the PCs should come 
  to the conclusion that there’s something strange going 
  on in Ravengro, and that they need to know more about 
  Harrowstone and how it came to burn down.
  rumorS And reSeArch
  The following sections cover the topics of research that 
  the PCs are most likely to pursue over the course of this 
  adventure, either after learning about a topic from a local 
  or from the professor’s journal, after experiencing some 
  of the haunting events in town, or simply as a result of 
  curiosity. Each topic is followed by a series of skill check 
  DCs—these checks can either be Diplomacy checks to 
  gather information from the locals or Knowledge checks 
  made while researching the topic.
  Gathering Information: The citizens of Ravengro enjoy 
  spreading their rumors, but they don’t actually have 
  much useful information about either Harrowstone or 
  the Whispering Way. A Diplomacy check made to gather 
  14
  Manual of the Order 
  of the Palatine Eye
  
  Player Handout #1
  information about Harrowstone or the Five Prisoners 
  can only reveal results of DC 20 or lower, while checks 
  made to gather information about the Whispering Way 
  are limited to results of DC 15 or lower.
  Research: Using a Knowledge check to research a topic 
  allows the PCs two options—simply making the check to 
  see what a character knows about the topic (this is a free 
  action, but can only be attempted once per character), or 
  spending a day looking through references, books, and 
  other materials (this check can be attempted multiple 
  times, but no more than once per day). There are four 
  locations in Ravengro that can be used to research—
  Kendra suggests all four, but warns the PCs that the locals 
  might need some convincing before they allow strangers 
  to use their libraries. Using any of these sites to research 
  information about Harrowstone or the Whispering Way 
  allows a character to make Knowledge checks untrained 
  (although doing so negates any bonus on skill checks the 
  research site might provide).
  The Lorrimor Place: Kendra offers to let the PCs use 
  her father’s personal library to research, free of charge 
  and regardless of the PCs’ current Trust point total. 
  Lorrimor’s library provides a +2 bonus on all Knowledge 
  checks made to research the Whispering Way.
  Ravengro Town Hall: The records kept at the town 
  hall provide a +2 bonus on all Knowledge checks made 
  to research Harrowstone or the Five Prisoners, but the 
  town council normally does not allow visitors to use 
  the building at all. A DC 25 Diplomacy check is enough 
  to convince the council to let one PC use the site. Once 
  circLed entrieS in the ProfeSSor’S JournAL
  Ten Years Ago:
  The Whispering Way is more than just a cabal of necromancers. I see that now. Undeath is their 
  fountain of youth. Uncovering their motivation does not place me at ease as I thought it might. 
  Their desire to be eternal simply makes them more dangerous.
  Two Months Ago:
  It is as I had feared. The Way is interested in something here in Ravengro. But what could it be?
  One Month Ago:
  Whatever the Way seeks, I am now convinced their goal is connected to Harrowstone. In retrospect, 
  I suppose it all makes sense—the stories they tell about the ruins in town are certainly chilling 
  enough. It may be time to investigate the ruins, but with everyone in town already being so worked 
  up about them, I’d rather not let the others know about my curiosity—there’s plenty of folks 
  hereabouts who already think I’m a demonologist or a witch or something. Ignorant fools.
  Twenty Days Ago:
  It is confirmed. The Way seems quite interested in something—no, strike that—someone who was 
  held in Harrowstone. But who, specifically, is the Way after? I need a list of everyone who died 
  the night of the fire. Everyone. The Temple of Pharasma must have such a list.
  eighteen Days Ago:
  I see now just how ill prepared I was when I last set out for the Harrowstone. I am lucky 
  to have returned at all. The ghosts, if indeed they were ghosts (for I did not find it prudent to 
  investigate further) prevented me from transcribing the strange symbols I found etched along the 
  foundation—hopefully on my next visit I will be more prepared. Thankfully, the necessary tools to 
  defend against spirits are already here in Ravengro. I know that the church of Pharasma used to 
  store them in a false crypt in the Restlands at the intersection between Eversleep and the Black 
  Path. I am not certain if the current clergy even know of what their predecessors have hidden down 
  below. If my luck holds, I should be able to slip in and out with a few borrowed items.
  Seventeen Days Ago:
  Tomorrow evening I return to the prison. It is imperative the Way does not finish. My caution 
  has already cost me too much time. I am not sure what will happen if I am too late, but if my 
  theory is right, the entire town could be at risk. I don’t have time to update my will, so I’ll 
  leave this in the chest where it’ll be sure to be found, should the worst come to pass.
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  15
  
  the PCs accumulate at least 31 Trust points, though, the 
  council lets the entire party use the site for research.
  Temple of Pharasma: The temple of Pharasma has 
  extensive notes on the town’s history, and is perhaps the 
  best site for research. Using the temple’s records grants 
  a +4 bonus on all Knowledge checks made to research 
  Harrowstone, the Five Prisoners, or the Whispering Way, 
  but securing permission to use this site for research 
  requires a DC 25 Diplomacy check or a Trust score of 30.
  The Unfurling Scroll: This building is a combination 
  schoolhouse and magic item shop run by one Alendru 
  Ghoroven; using its small library provides a +2 bonus 
  on all Knowledge checks made to research Harrowstone. 
  It cannot be used to research the Whispering Way at all. 
  Alendru asks for a 10 gp payment for each day that he 
  allows anyone to use his school’s resources, unless the PCs 
  reach a Trust point total of 27, at which point he waives 
  the fee and allows PCs to use the library free of charge.
  XP Awards: Conducting research into the town’s 
  history also brings experience awards, as listed for each 
  DC result below. Award these XP rewards only once—the 
  first time these pieces of information are learned.
  reSeArch toPic: hArroWStone
  Knowledge (history) and Knowledge (local) can be used to 
  research Harrowstone.
  DC 10 (50 XP): Harrowstone is a ruined prison—
  partially destroyed by a fire in 4661, the building has 
  stood vacant ever since. The locals suspect that it’s 
  haunted, and don’t enjoy speaking of the place.
  DC 15 (100 XP): Harrowstone was built in 4594. Ravengro 
  was founded at the same time as a place where guards and 
  their families could live and that would produce food and 
  other supplies used by the prison. The fire that killed all 
  of the prisoners and most of the guards destroyed a large 
  portion of the prison’s underground eastern wing, but 
  left most of the stone structure above relatively intact. 
  The prison’s warden perished in the fire, along with his 
  wife, although no one knows why she was in the prison 
  when the fire occurred. A statue commemorating the 
  warden and the guards who lost their lives was built in 
  the months after the tragedy—that statue still stands on 
  the riverbank just outside of town. 
  DC 20 (200 XP): Most of the hardened criminals sent 
  to Harrowstone spent only a few months imprisoned, for 
  it was here that most of Ustalav’s executions during that 
  era were carried out. The fire that caused the tragedy was, 
  in fact, a blessing in disguise, for the prisoners had rioted 
  and gained control of the prison’s dungeons immediately 
  prior to the conflagration. It was only through the self-
  sacrifice of Warden Hawkran and 23 of his guards that 
  the prisoners were prevented from escaping—the guards 
  gave their lives to save the town of Ravengro.
  DC 25 (400 XP): At the time Harrowstone burned, five 
  particularly notorious criminals had recently arrived at 
  the prison. While the commonly held belief is that the 
  tragic fire began accidentally after the riot began, in fact 
  the prisoners had already seized control of the dungeon 
  and had been in command of the lower level for several 
  hours before the fire. Warden Hawkran triggered a 
  deadfall to seal the rioting prisoners in the lower level, 
  but in so doing trapped himself and nearly two dozen 
  guards. The prisoners were in the process of escaping 
  when the panicked guards accidentally started the fire in 
  a desperate attempt to end the riot.
  reSeArch toPic: WhiSPering WAy
  Knowledge (arcana) and Knowledge (religion) can be used 
  to research the Whispering Way.
  DC 10 (50 XP): The Whispering Way is a sinister 
  organization of necromancers that has been active in the 
  Inner Sea region for thousands of years.
  DC 15 (100 XP): Agents of the Whispering Way often 
  seek alliances with undead creatures, or are themselves 
  undead. The Whispering Way’s most notorious member 
  was Tar-Baphon, the Whispering Tyrant, although the 
  society itself has existed much longer than even that 
  mighty necromancer.
  DC 20 (200 XP): The Whispering Way itself is a series of 
  philosophies that can only be transferred via whispers—
  the philosophies are never written or spoken of loudly, 
  making the exact goals and nature of the secretive 
  philosophy difficult for outsiders to learn much about.
  DC 25 (400 XP): Exact details on the society are difficult 
  to discern, but chief among the Whispering Way’s goals are 
  discovering formulae for creating liches and engineering 
  the release of the Whispering Tyrant. Agents often travel 
  to remote sites or areas plagued by notorious haunts 
  or undead menaces to perform field research or even to 
  capture unique monsters. Their symbol is a gagged skull, 
  and those who learn too many of the Way’s secrets are 
  often murdered, and their mouths mutilated to prevent 
  their bodies from divulging secrets via speak with dead.
  reSeArch toPic: the five PriSonerS
  Although the PCs might not initially realize the 
  significance of the five prisoners central to the haunting 
  of Harrowstone, as they research the prison, experience 
  haunts and weird occurrences, or start to explore the old 
  ruin, they’ll begin to realize that these five criminals 
  played an important role during the prison’s final days. 
  Knowledge (history) and Knowledge (local) checks can 
  be used to research the Five Prisoners.
  DC 15 (100 XP): Originally, Harrowstone housed only 
  local criminals, but as the prison’s fame spread, other 
  counties and distant lands began paying to have more 
  16
  
  dangerous criminals housed within this prison’s walls. 
  At the time of the great Harrowstone Fire, the number of 
  particularly violent or dangerous criminals imprisoned 
  within the dungeons below was at an all-time high.
  DC 20 (200 XP): The five most notorious prisoners 
  in Harrowstone at the time of the great fire were Father 
  Charlatan, the Lopper, the Mosswater Marauder, the 
  Piper of Illlmarsh, and the Splatter Man.
  DC 25: There are actually five separate DC 25 checks to 
  be made—each of the five prisoners represents a different 
  Knowledge check. The information gained depends on 
  the prisoner being researched.
  Father Charlatan (Sefick Corvin; 400 XP): Of the 
  five notorious prisoners, only Father Charlatan was 
  not technically a murderer, yet his crimes were so 
  blasphemous that several churches demanded he be 
  punished to the full extent of Ustalavic law. Although he 
  claimed to be an ordained priest of any number of faiths, 
  Father Corvin was in fact a traveling con artist who used 
  faith as a mask and a means to bilk the faithful out of 
  money in payment for false miracles or cures. He became 
  known as Father Charlatan after his scheme was exposed 
  and his Sczarni accomplices murdered a half-dozen city 
  guards in an attempt to make good the group’s escape.
  The Lopper (Vance Saetressle; 400 XP): When the Lopper 
  stalked prey, he would hide in the most unlikely of places, 
  sometimes for days upon end with only a few supplies to 
  keep him going while he waited for the exact right moment 
  to strike. Once his target was alone, the Lopper would 
  emerge to savagely behead his victim with a handaxe.
  The Mosswater Marauder (Ispin Onyxcudgel; 400 
  XP): Only 5 years before his hometown of Mosswater was 
  destined to be overrun and ruined by monsters from the 
  nearby river, Ispin Onyxcudgel was a well-liked artisan 
  and a doting husband. When he discovered his wife’s 
  infidelity, he flew into a jealous rage and struck her dead 
  with his hammer, shattering her skull and his sanity with 
  one murderous blow. Wracked with shame and guilt, Ispin 
  became convinced that if he could rebuild his wife’s skull 
  she would come back to life—but unfortunately, he could 
  not find the last blade-shaped fragment from the murder 
  site. So instead, Ispin became the Mosswater Marauder. 
  Over the course of several weeks, the cunning dwarf 
  stalked and murdered nearly 20 people while searching for 
  just the right skull fragment. He was captured just before 
  murdering the daughter of a visiting nobleman from Varno, 
  and was carted off to Harrowstone that same night.
  The Piper of Illmarsh (real name unknown; 400 XP): 
  Before he snatched his victims, the Piper taunted his 
  targets with a mournful dirge on his flute. He preferred 
  to paralyze lone victims by dosing their meals with lich 
  dust and then allowed his pet stirges to drink the victims 
  dry of blood.
  The Splatter Man (Hean Feramin; 400 XP): Professor 
  Feramin was a celebrated scholar of Anthroponomastics 
  (the study of personal names and their origins) at the 
  Quartrefaux Archives in Caliphas. Yet an accidental 
  association with a succubus twisted and warped his 
  study, turning it into an obsession. Feramin became 
  obsessed with the power of a name and how he could use 
  it to terrify and control. Soon enough, his reputation 
  was ruined, he’d lost his tenure, and he’d developed an 
  uncontrollable obsession with an imaginary link between 
  a person’s name and what happens to that name when the 
  person dies. Every few days, he would secretly arrange for 
  his victim to find a letter from her name written in blood, 
  perhaps smeared on a wall or spelled out with carefully 
  arranged entrails. Once he had spelled his victim’s name, 
  he would at last come for her, killing her in a gory mess 
  using a complex trap or series of rigged events meant to 
  look like an accident.
  return to the reStLAndS
  There are two likely reasons for the PCs to return to the 
  cemetery—they may wish to exhume Professor Lorrimor’s 
  body to examine the remains more closely to determine 
  whether he was in fact slain by falling statuary, and they 
  might wish to follow up on the clue in the professor’s 
  journal that references the hidden cache of “tools to 
  defend against spirits” placed by the Pharasmin church 
  at the intersection of the Eversleep and the Black Path.
  Exhuming the professor’s body may sound like a 
  good idea, but it’s not. He was slain by a phantasmal killer 
  spell—a murder method that leaves no obvious marks 
  on the body. Any possible clues in the form of a face 
  frozen in abject horror have long been obliterated by the 
  falling statue the Whispering Way used to remove the 
  opportunity to use speak with dead on the corpse. Only if 
  the PCs carry out the ill-advised exhumation in secret 
  can they avoid losing a point of Trust from rumors of 
  necromancy and grave-robbing—even if they secure 
  Kendra’s permission to examine her father’s grave 
  (permission she reluctantly grants as long as the PCs 
  aren’t disrespectful when they ask).
  If the PCs speak to the Church of Pharasma about the 
  hidden cache, the priests are skeptical but not completely 
  dismissive—it’s certainly plausible that members of a 
  previous hierarchy in the church hid several resources in a 
  tomb, but there are no records of such a cache. How the 
  church feels about the PCs investigating the cache and 
  claiming the weapons depends on how much trust the 
  PCs have built up. If the PCs have achieved 31 Trust points, 
  the church allows them to seek out the cache—they trust 
  that the PCs will put the items hidden there to good use. 
  If the PCs have 26–30 points, the church will allow the 
  PCs to investigate, but they’ll send a pair of acolytes (both 
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  17
  
  1st level clerics) to supervise the investigation. If the PCs 
  have 25 Trust points or fewer, the church won’t allow them 
  to investigate—in this case, the church sends out a few 
  acolytes to look into the cache, but they fail to find any 
  evidence of a stash. If the PCs reach a higher level of trust 
  at a later point and ask again for permission, the church 
  grants it as appropriate. Alternatively, a DC 27 Diplomacy 
  check allows the PCs to secure permission to investigate 
  the site on their own.
  If the PCs decide to bypass the church entirely and seek 
  out the false crypt in the Restlands on their own, they may 
  be observed if they investigate by day. Unless everyone 
  in the expedition makes a DC 15 Stealth check, there’s a 
  flat 50% chance that other villagers visiting the Restlands 
  or Restlands gravediggers on patrol observe the PCs and 
  report their activity to the church. Agents of the church 
  seek out the PCs soon thereafter to ask them what they 
  were doing—a DC 20 Bluff check (or the above-mentioned 
  DC 27 Diplomacy check) can satisfy the church that the PCs 
  were not engaged in some nefarious activity—otherwise 
  the PCs lose 2 points of Trust. This increases to a loss of 5 
  points of Trust if the church learns that the PCs effectively 
  stole church property from the false crypt (even though 
  the church had no idea that the cache existed).
  the fALSe cryPt (cr 1)
  The false crypt mentioned in the professor’s journal is 
  located in the northeast corner of the Restlands, near 
  the junction of the paths known as the Eversleep and 
  the Black Path. The crypt itself is a freestanding granite 
  mausoleum, the roof of which is decorated with a pair of 
  leering gargoyle statues. A single stone door with a rusty-
  looking lock sits in the mausoleum’s south facade, but an 
  examination of the lock (DC 12 Perception check) reveals 
  that the lock is broken, its clasp melted by acid and then 
  put back into place so that to casual observation the lock 
  appears intact. (Professor Lorrimor used a few vials of 
  acid to disable the lock several weeks ago, then arranged 
  it upon his exit to look like it had never been broken.)
  Within, a flight of stone steps leads down into the 
  cold earth to a large crypt lined with empty niches—no 
  dead are interred here, though Church records report 
  that the crypt was one of the first filled in Ravengro’s 
  early days. No one but professor Lorrimor has been into 
  this chamber for several decades, and his tracks remain 
  obvious in the dust and dirt of the floor to anyone who 
  makes a DC 15 Perception check. A DC 18 Survival check 
  allows a character to follow the faint line of tracks to a 
  single large sarcophagus that sits in the deepest part of 
  18
  
  the crypt. It is within this sarcophagus that the hidden 
  cache the professor wrote about is located.
  Creatures: The crypt has been the den of a group of 
  giant centipedes for many months. The vermin come and 
  go via narrow cracks in the walls—when the professor 
  visited, he had the good fortune to arrive at a point where 
  the creatures were elsewhere, but when the PCs arrive, 
  the two giant centipedes are due to return at any moment. 
  Have the vermin scuttle into the room via some of the 
  narrow cracks at a point where you feel the tension of the 
  moment is at its greatest—it’s best if the centipedes enter 
  a part of the false crypt currently unoccupied by 
  the PCs so they can attempt to sneak down to 
  attack with surprise. A giant centipede that is 
  damaged immediately tries to flee the area 
  back through the same crack by which it 
  entered the crypt.
  Giant Centipedes (2) 
  CR 1/2
  XP 200 each
  hp 5 each (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 43)
  Treasure: Although Professor Lorrimor has 
  already raided the cache, he didn’t take all of the 
  tools kept here—a fair amount of useful material 
  remains, including a dozen silver arrows, four sun 
  rods, six flasks of holy water, 10 +1 arrows, five +1 ghost 
  touch arrows, two +1 undead bane arrows, five potions 
  of cure light wounds, two potions of lesser 
  restoration, a scroll of detect undead, two scrolls 
  of hide from undead, a scroll of protection from 
  evil, and a thin darkwood case decorated 
  with an image of a scarab with a single eye glaring from 
  its back—the same design that appears on the cover of the 
  Manual of the Order of the Palatine Eye among the books in 
  the professor’s collection. The darkwood case is worth 50 
  gp, and contains three objects of interest—a spirit board 
  with a brass spirit planchette, and four iron and glass vials 
  containing tiny, churning clouds of vapor. The vials sit 
  in velvet-lined indentations to the left of the spirit board 
  and planchette, along with six empty indentions—the 
  professor made off with most of the vials but left these four 
  behind. The six vials are all valuable magic items called 
  haunt siphons.
  Haunt Siphon
  Aura faint necromancy; CL 3rd
  Slot none; Price 400 gp; Weight 1 lb.
  DeSCRIPTIOn
  These glass vials are held within stylized cold-iron casings 
  etched with strange runes, necromantic designs, or other 
  eldritch markings. Within the vial roils a small wisp of white 
  vapor, churning as if caught in a miniature vortex of air.
  To capture a haunt’s energies within a haunt siphon, you need 
  only twist the metal casing to open the vial in the same round that 
  the haunt manifests (a standard action)—this can be before or 
  after the haunt has acted. You must be within the haunt’s area of 
  influence to use a haunt siphon. When you activate a haunt siphon, 
  it deals 3d6 points of positive energy damage to a single haunt. 
  If it deals enough damage to the haunt to reduce the haunt’s hit 
  points to 0, the mist inside the haunt siphon glows green—if it 
  does not reduce the haunt to 0 hit points, the haunt siphon is still 
  expended and becomes nonmagical. It may take multiple haunt 
  siphons to destroy powerful haunts. A haunt that is neutralized 
  by a haunt siphon takes a –5 penalty on its caster level check to 
  manifest again after its reset time passes.
  A haunt siphon that neutralizes a haunt can no longer be used 
  to harm haunts, but it can be used as a grenadelike splash 
  weapon that deals 1d6 points of negative energy damage 
  with a direct hit. Every creature within 5 feet of the point 
  where the haunt siphon hits takes 1 point of negative 
  energy damage from the splash.
  COnSTRuCTIOn
  Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, cure moderate 
  wounds, gentle repose; Cost 200 gp
  Spirit Planchette
  Aura moderate divination; CL 9th
  Slot none; Price 4,000 gp (brass planchette), 
  10,000 gp (cold iron planchette), 18,000 gp 
  (silver planchette); Weight 5 lbs.
  DeSCRIPTIOn
  A spirit planchette is typically found in a 
  wooden case along with a thin wooden 
  board printed with numerous letters and 
  numbers. Nonmagical versions of these divination tools 
  can be purchased in curiosity shops (typically costing 25 gp); 
  while these items can be used as alternative components 
  for augury spells, only magical spirit planchettes allow users 
  to communicate with the other side. Three types of spirit 
  planchettes exist—brass, cold iron, and silver. Each in turn 
  allows an increasingly potent form of divination effect to be 
  utilized. A spirit planchette requires a board to move upon, 
  but this “board” can be made up of letters scribed upon any 
  smooth surface—it need not be a prepared board for a spirit 
  planchette to work.
  To use a spirit planchette, you must rest your fingers 
  lightly upon the planchette’s surface and then concentrate 
  on the planchette (as if maintaining a spell with a duration of 
  concentration) for 2d6 rounds while the planchette attunes 
  itself to the ambient spirits of the area. After this time, the 
  planchette begins to slowly slide in random patterns across the 
  board—at this point, questions may be asked of the spirits by 
  any of the individuals involved in the séance. The consequences 
  of each question asked of the spirits depends upon what type of 
  planchette is used for the divination, as summarized on the table 
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  19
  Haunt Siphon
  
  below. The spirits reply in a language understood by the character 
  who asked the question, but resent such contact and give only 
  brief answers to the questions. All questions are answered with 
  “yes,” “no,” or “maybe,” or by spelling out a single word from the 
  letters arranged on the board. The spirits answer each question 
  either in the same round the question is asked (in the case of a 
  yes, no, or maybe answer) or at a rate of one letter per round (in 
  the case of a single word being spelled out). A spirit planchette 
  may be used once per day—the maximum number of questions 
  you can ask with it depends on the type of planchette being used 
  (as detailed on the table below).
  Communication with spirits can be a dangerous task, for 
  many spirits are jealous or hateful of the 
  living. Every time a spirit planchette 
  is used, the user must succeed on a 
  Will save to avoid being temporarily 
  possessed and harmed by the angry 
  spirits. In some areas where the spirits 
  are particularly violent or hateful (such as 
  in Harrowstone), this Will save takes a –2 
  penalty. The DC of this save depends on the 
  type of spirit planchette being used. Anyone who 
  fails the Will save becomes confused for a number 
  of rounds (depending on the type of planchette 
  being used), and no answer is received. The 
  spirits in the area are not omniscient—the GM 
  should decide whether or not the spirits would 
  actually know the answer to the question asked, and if they do 
  not, the answer granted is automatically “maybe.” If the GM 
  determines that the spirits are knowledgeable about the answer, 
  roll d% to determine whether the spirits speak truthfully or 
  whether they lie.
  SPirit PLAnchetteS
  Planchette Questions Will save Confusion 
  True
  Type 
  per use 
  DC 
  Duration Answer 
  Lie
  Brass 
  1 
  11 
  1 round 
  01–60 61–100
  Cold Iron 
  3 
  15 
  2 rounds 
  01–75 76–100
  Silver 
  5 
  19 
  3 rounds 01–90 91–100
  COnSTRuCTIOn
  Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, contact other plane, speak 
  with dead; Cost 2,000 gp (brass spirit planchette), 5,000 gp 
  (cold iron spirit planchette), 9,000 gp (silver spirit planchette)
  PArt three: StrAnge dAyS in 
  rAvengro
  During the PCs’ stay in Ravengro, the magnitude and 
  severity of these haunt-influenced events upon the people 
  of the town increase. Left unopposed, the haunts of 
  Harrowstone eventually consume the sanity of everyone 
  in Ravengro, and the town descends into a nightmare of 
  murder, suicide, and violence that could transform the 
  settlement, quite literally, into a ghost town.
  event 1: monumentAL deSecrAtionS 
  (cr 2)
  This event occurs on the first night of the adventure, 
  then repeats every 1d4+2 nights thereafter.
  After the Harrowstone fire in 4661, the town of Ravengro 
  built a stone memorial in honor of the guards who gave 
  their lives preventing the prisoners from escaping and 
  thus saved the village from a night of even worse violence. 
  After the Whispering Way captured the ghost of 
  Warden Hawkran and removed the greatest barrier 
  preventing the unquiet spirits of Harrowstone 
  from extending their influence beyond the 
  prison grounds, this monument is among 
  the first targets of the haunts, for the 
  spirits’ combined hatred of the 
  warden and his guards remains 
  all but overwhelming.
  As a result, the strongest of 
  the spirits (the ghost of the Splatter 
  Man) turns its attentions to this memorial 
  as soon as it can reach past the prison walls 
  to influence the world beyond. The initial 
  victim of this attention is none other than 
  Gibs Hephenus, the man responsible for rousing an angry 
  mob to try to prevent the burial of Professor Lorrimor. 
  After this failed attempt and some chastisement by the 
  sheriff, Gibs skulked back to his shack on the southern 
  edge of town—which just happens to be one of the closest 
  buildings to the old prison grounds. He is the first human 
  who succumbs to the Splatter Man’s dream whisper (see 
  page 53), becoming the ghost’s mortal agent that very 
  night.
  At 1:00 a.m., when Gibs’s dreaming mind is at its most 
  vulnerable, the Splatter Man plants a complex suggestion 
  in the retired farmer’s mind, forcing him to rise from his 
  slumber and perform a number of vile tasks. The first of 
  these is to sneak into a nearby farm, slaughter an animal, 
  and collect its blood in a wineskin—on the first night, 
  Gibs catches and kills a large rat, but as the adventure 
  progresses and he repeats this ritual, feel free to have him 
  “upgrade” to a cat, a dog, a pig, or even a cow or horse. 
  Once the blood is gathered, he marches up the hill to the 
  Harrowstone Memorial at area O (page 63), where he uses 
  the blood to write a “V” at the statue’s base. He then uses 
  the leftover blood to splatter the rest of the statue and the 
  surrounding area, after which the ghost marches Gibs 
  back to his home and lets him go back to sleep.
  Gibs awakens feeling strangely exhausted after such a 
  night, but retains no memories of his actions. He won’t find 
  20
  Spirit Planchette
  
  the bloodstained war razor or waterskin hidden outside 
  behind his shack (area Q, page 63) under a pile of firewood 
  anytime soon, and his reaction of shock to the news of 
  the memorial’s desecration is legitimate. Characters who 
  search his shack for clues can find the hidden waterskin 
  and razor with a DC 22 Perception check.
  As the nights wear on, Gibs makes additional trips to 
  desecrate the memorial, scrawling a new letter in blood 
  at the statue’s base at the rate of one per event, gradually 
  spelling out the name “VESORIANNA” by the end of 
  the tenth visit. The Splatter Man knows that the spirit 
  of Vesorianna Hawkran, once the warden’s wife, is the 
  only thing remaining in Harrowstone that prevents the 
  prison’s evil spirits from escaping completely, and has thus 
  made the destruction of Vesorianna’s ghost his primary 
  goal. Following his method of murder and terror from 
  life, the Splatter Man intends to spell out Vesorianna’s 
  name on the memorial—with each letter, his power over 
  the other ghost grows. If he manages to spell her name 
  completely, the Splatter Man can use his gathered power 
  to strike at Vesorianna directly, and in so doing he defeats 
  the last barrier at Harrowstone containing the evil within. 
  Although the PCs are unlikely to realize it, this puts the 
  adventure on a very real time limit—that Vesorianna’s 
  name is, fortunately, a long one, and that the Splatter Man 
  can only possess Gibs once every 1d4+2 days gives them, at 
  minimum, 30 days to prevent this doom from occurring.
  Although his trips to the monument occur after random 
  intervals, it should become apparent soon enough that the 
  desecrations are not isolated events—that they’ll keep 
  occurring unless someone steps in to intervene. While 
  influenced by the Splatter Man, Gibs takes care to try to 
  hide his tracks and won’t desecrate the monument if he 
  sees guards watching over it—instead, he’ll shift the target 
  of his desecration to one of several other sites—the main 
  entrance to the Restlands, the gazebo in the town square, 
  the town hall, or the home of one of the four town council 
  members. It’s a DC 25 Survival check to follow Gibs’s trail 
  from the site of a desecration back to his shack.
  If the PCs don’t intervene, one of Sheriff Caeller’s 
  deputies confronts Gibs on the seventh night as the 
  possessed man is scribing his seventh letter—a fight 
  ensues, and while Gibs is wounded, he manages to 
  slaughter the sheriff and both deputies. The next morning, 
  the deputies’ bodies are found at the monument, causing 
  the PCs to lose 3 points of Trust. Tracking Gibs back to 
  his home after this event is easier now because Gibs bled 
  most of the way home—it’s only a DC 18 Survival check to 
  track him to his home after this turn of events.
  Creature: While it’s possible for the PCs to encounter 
  Gibs on one of his nightly excursions simply by chance, 
  it’s more likely for the PCs to encounter him if they lie 
  in wait at that night’s target for desecration. As Gibs 
  approaches the site, allow him to make a Perception check 
  against the PCs’ Stealth checks—if he notices any of the 
  PCs lying in wait, he diverts to an alternative site for that 
  night. Likewise, as he approaches, allow the PCs to notice 
  him with their own Perception checks against his Stealth 
  check. If they notice Gibs (or manage to ambush him), the 
  old man roars in a shockingly deep and powerful voice, 
  “You shall not prevent our escape! The woman will die 
  again!” before attacking the PCs.
  Gibs Hephenus 
  CR 2
  XP 600
  Male old human warrior 4
  NE Medium humanoid (human)
  Init +1; Senses Perception +5
  DefenSe
  AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+1 Dex, +1 dodge)
  hp 34 (4d10+8)
  fort +4, Ref +2, Will +2
  OffenSe
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee war razor +5 (1d4+1/18–20) or
  unarmed strike +5 (1d3+1)
  TACTICS
  During Combat Whether he’s being influenced by the Splatter 
  Man or not, Gibs fights tenaciously, slashing at foes with his 
  war razor or punching if unarmed. Somewhat of a misogynist, 
  he focuses his attacks on women first, particularly those who 
  seem to him to be attempting to “be men” (heavily armored 
  women or those wielding two-handed weapons).
  Morale While under the Splatter Man’s influence, Gibs fights 
  to the death; otherwise he flees or surrenders if reduced to 
  fewer than 12 hit points.
  STATISTICS
  Str 12, Dex 13, Con 11, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 10
  Base Atk +4; CMB +5; CMD 17
  feats Dodge, Improved Unarmed Strike, Toughness
  Skills Intimidate +7, Knowledge (local) +9, Perception +5, 
  Sense Motive +5, Stealth +5
  Languages Common, Dwarven, Varisian
  Gear war razor, waterskin
  Development: The PCs can significantly delay the 
  Splatter Man’s plan to destroy Vesorianna’s ghost by 
  taking Gibs from him. Killing Gibs is the most obvious 
  solution (although this could allow Gibs to be animated 
  as a zombie later, during Event 4), but isn’t the only 
  solution. If the PCs manage to defeat Gibs without killing 
  him, or if they discover that he’s behind the desecrations 
  while the old man isn’t under the ghost’s control (such 
  as by tracking him back to his shack and finding the 
  bloody razor and waterskin), he can be imprisoned in the 
  Ravengro Jail. The next night he falls under the Splatter 
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  21
  
  Man’s influence, he shrieks and roars and thrashes 
  ineffectually against the bars for 2d6 rounds before he 
  collapses back into a fitful sleep. Relocating Gibs to more 
  than 5 miles from Harrowstone also puts him out of reach 
  of the Splatter Man, as does protecting him with a long-
  term protection from evil effect.
  Once the Splatter Man is denied access to Gibs, the 
  ghost seeks out another victim. Every 1d4+2 days, he 
  attempts to use his dream whisper to gain control over 
  a new victim (if you don’t want to roll out the series of 
  saves, you can assume that it takes him only 2d4+4 days 
  to secure a new minion). Once he manages to claim a new 
  host, he can immediately pick up spelling Vesorianna’s 
  name where he left off.
  If the PCs fail to prevent Gibs from scribing 
  Vesorianna’s full name on the last day of the ritual, see 
  Concluding the Adventure for what happens if the spirits 
  of Harrowstone escape.
  Story Award: If the PCs manage to stop the desecrations 
  without killing Gibs, award them an additional 1,200 
  XP above and beyond what they earned for defeating 
  him in combat. In addition, stopping the desecrations 
  without killing Gibs earns the PCs 2 Trust points—if 
  Gibs is killed, the PCs do not take a penalty to their 
  Trust points for the death of a local as long as they can 
  prove he was a madman.
  event 2: the SkiPPing Song
  This event can occur at any time in town when the PCs 
  might reasonably pass by a small group of children 
  playing, such as in the town square (area A), or outside 
  the Unfurling Scroll (area L).
  A group of five little Varisian girls dressed in shawls 
  and dresses are playing a skipping rope game at the side 
  of the road. Each of the girls takes turns jumping in the 
  rope while singing two lines of a rather disturbing song, 
  then skips out of the rope to let the next girl take up the 
  next two lines. The way in which the girls switch from 
  skipping to passing the ends of the rope to each other to 
  keep the whole thing going is strikingly well timed and 
  well choreographed—and the verse itself, which the girls 
  sing in Varisian, is rather disturbing. The five repeating 
  verses are as follows:
  Put her body on the bed.
  Take a knife and lop her head.
  Watch the blood come out the pipe.
  Feeds the stirge, so nice and ripe.
  Drops of red so sparkly bright.
  Splatters spell her name just right.
  With a hammer killed his wife.
  Now he wants to claim your life.
  Tricksy father tells a lie.
  Listen close or you will die.
  If the PCs interrupt the children, they 
  immediately stop playing and stand quietly 
  and nervously—they’ve been well schooled 
  by their parents to avoid talking to strangers. 
  A DC 15 Diplomacy check gets the kids to 
  relax—if the PCs are particularly convincing 
  (or perhaps allow a halfling or other non-
  intimidating character to do the bulk of the 
  talking), you can give them a +2 or +4 bonus 
  on this check. If this check fails by 5 or 
  more, the children shriek and flee from the 
  PCs, running home.
  If the PCs get the children to talk, they 
  unfortunately have little to say about the 
  rhyme they were singing—it’s just something 
  the children in Ravengro have sung “forever.” In 
  truth, the song came to popularity a few decades 
  ago—the rhymes refer to five infamous killers who 
  died in the Harrowstone Fire, but it’s unlikely that the 
  22
  Gibs Hephenus
  
  PCs will make this connection until after they start to 
  investigate the prison’s history.
  Story Award: Befriending the children earns the 
  PCs 1 Trust point. Frightening them off costs them 1 
  Trust point. Award 100 XP to the party whenever they 
  connect the five verses of this poem to the five killers 
  in Harrowstone (the Lopper, the Piper of Ilmarsh, the 
  Splatter Man, the Mosswater Marauder, and Father 
  Charlatan respectively).
  event 3: hungry StirgeS (cr 1)
  This strange event can occur anytime the PCs are 
  near a group of musicians, such as in a tavern or while 
  shopping in the town square near the central gazebo. 
  Alternatively, you can have this event occur at any point 
  when one of the player characters makes a Perform 
  check or uses a bardic performance.
  Creatures: The Piper of Illmarsh poisoned his victims 
  and then fed them to his pet stirges. As this adventure 
  progresses and the spirits trapped in Harrowstone grow 
  stronger, the Piper’s influence reaches out to “infect” a 
  pair of stirges that dwells in the deeper woods nearby. 
  These blood-drinking pests buzz into town, but do not 
  attack—they remain hidden in the eaves of roofs until 
  they hear music, at which point they swoop down to 
  attack, mistaking the sound of song for the Piper’s call.
  The stirges do not attack the source of the music, for 
  they interpret that to be the Piper. Instead, they attack 
  nearby targets—the PCs. The two creatures seem strangely 
  manic and eager to attack, and gain a +4 bonus on their 
  Initiative checks as a result. During the fight, a PC who 
  makes a DC 15 Perform check notes that the creature’s 
  wings and motions seem weirdly choreographed to 
  the music, as if they were moving to the rhythm. Once 
  the music stops (if the source is from NPCs, they cease 
  playing music at the end of the first round of combat after 
  noticing the stirges and flee in panic), the stirges become 
  confused for 1 round, after which they continue to attack 
  normally, fighting to the death (or until full).
  Stirges (2) 
  CR 1/2
  XP 200 each
  hp 5 each (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 260)
  event 4: reStLeSS deAd (cr 1/3 to 1)
  This event can occur at any time after the PCs have 
  encountered at least two other events. This event can 
  occur multiple times. If possible, stage this first event to 
  occur when the PCs are in the Restlands.
  Creatures: As the power of the Harrowstone haunts 
  grows, the eldritch energy begins to seep into the Restlands, 
  awakening the dead and compelling them to seek out 
  living victims. These undead are mindless but eager to 
  kill—each time you run this event, it consists of either 1d3 
  human skeletons or 1d2 human zombies, caked with grave 
  dirt and worms. If the PCs don’t see the undead emerge 
  from a grave, it’s only a DC 12 Survival check to follow the 
  undead monsters’ tracks back to their empty graves.
  You can run this event multiple times, as long as 
  bodies remain in the Restlands to animate. Extreme 
  reactions by the PCs (such as exhuming every body in the 
  graveyard and burning the remains) can halt this event 
  from occurring, but such a grisly solution will cost the 
  PCs 5 Trust points. 
  How you stage these events is up to you, but you should 
  strive to present them in frightening, unique ways. Some 
  examples are listed below.
  First Rising: The PCs are in the Restlands when whoever 
  makes the highest Perception check notices a grave 
  suddenly bulge, just before its undead occupant emerges 
  from the dirt.
  Not so Drunk: A PC sees what appears to be a drunk or 
  sick man huddled in an alleyway. If he goes to help, allow 
  the PC a DC 15 Perception check to notice the stench in 
  time; otherwise the zombie gets a free attack on the PC in 
  a surprise round as soon as the PC attempts to offer aid.
  The Professor’s Return: While at Kendra’s home, a slow 
  knock on the door summons either her or a PC. Standing 
  upon the front stoop is none other than Professor 
  Lorrimor, now animated as a zombie and eager to murder 
  his once-loved daughter.
  Human Skeleton 
  CR 1/3
  XP 135
  hp 4 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 250)
  Human Zombie 
  CR 1/2
  XP 200
  hp 12 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 288)
  event 5. SmoLdering revenge (cr 2)
  As the magnitude of eerie events in Ravengro grows, 
  the town’s citizens begin growing increasingly nervous 
  and frightened. The town council calls for a meeting at 
  the town hall to discuss the citizens’ fears and address 
  possible solutions, hoping that such a display of authority 
  will calm everyone down and buy some time—perhaps 
  enough for a messenger to reach one of the larger 
  neighboring cities for help. Unfortunately, the large 
  gathering attracts the attention of the ghostly inmates, 
  and they focus all of their growing power on the town 
  hall. The spirits sense an opportunity for revenge on 
  the villagers, using the same tactics that their ancestors 
  employed 50 years ago.
  If the PCs have reached 26 Trust points, they are invited to 
  the meeting. If the PCs have reached 31 Trust points, then 
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  23
  
  they become the town council’s solution—the councilors 
  hope to present the PCs as heroes they’ve hired to solve 
  the town’s problems. Even if the PCs aren’t invited to the 
  meeting, they should learn of it from someone they’ve 
  befriended in the city—at the very least, Kendra can tell 
  them of the meeting and encourages them to attend.
  When the meeting begins at sunset, the town hall is 
  packed to standing room only, with over 60 villagers inside 
  the building’s central meeting room and many more 
  gathered in the hall outside. Everyone demands solutions 
  and shares reports of their own eerie encounters until the 
  councilors enter the room and move up to the podium to 
  address the crowd (bringing the PCs to stand with them 
  if they’ve decided to use the PCs as their solution). The 
  mob grows quiet as Councilman Hearthmount begins 
  to speak, assuring the citizens that they are looking into 
  solutions. If they haven’t already offered the PCs as that 
  solution, this is a great chance for the PCs to step in and 
  volunteer to solve the problem—with a DC 15 Diplomacy 
  check, the council agrees. Of course, the townsfolk have 
  questions of their own. Even if the PCs have managed 
  to become trusted in town, many citizens worry that 
  the events are more than strangers can handle. As the 
  meeting goes on, the townsfolk should grow more and 
  more vocal as their panic begins to creep back in.
  It’s at this point that things go particularly badly, for 
  the gathering of townsfolk proves too succulent a target 
  for the growing influence of Harrowstone. The eldritch 
  energies reach down into the town and seep into the 
  numerous lanterns that light the hall, causing them to 
  suddenly explode into bursts of burning oil that douses 
  the surrounding walls, lighting the room on fire and 
  causing the townsfolk to truly panic.
  The best way to handle this event is to draw out the 
  meeting room and have the players place their characters 
  where they wish—if the council plans on using them as 
  the solution, they should be standing upon the northern 
  stage—otherwise, they’re somewhere in the auditorium. 
  Once the PCs have been placed, use markers or miniatures 
  to place the four council members on the stage, another 
  to place Sheriff Caeller near the doors to the room, and 
  then a number of markers to represent the townsfolk 
  24
  
  themselves (the total number placed is up to you, but 
  keep in mind that the more villagers you place, the more 
  dangerous the encounter becomes).
  When the fire begins, it starts at the five locations 
  marked on the map (see page 18)—each of these locations 
  represents an oil lamp that one of the five primary spirits 
  of Harrowstone targets to start the fire. Any character 
  standing in this square must make a DC 15 Reflex save to 
  avoid taking 1d6 points of fire damage. Any townsfolk in 
  a fire square are automatically reduced to –1 hit points, 
  and at the end of a second round spent in a fire square, 
  they die. For the sake of ease, assume that any townsfolk 
  pulled from a burning square before this point are 
  automatically stabilized and saved from death.
  Have the PCs make initiative checks. At the start 
  of each round, all five fires grow by 1 square, each 
  spreading into 1 adjacent square—fires that merge 
  are thereafter treated as one fire for the purposes of 
  this spread. Determine the square into which the fire 
  spreads randomly among the available squares. At the 
  end of each round, all of the villagers move 3 squares 
  toward the exit, away from the fires, but only one villager 
  marker can be in a square at a time. No villagers attempt 
  to pull burning kin from the fires, but available council 
  members or the sheriff will do so when the villagers 
  move, if they can.
  The PCs have several options in this event—the most 
  likely options are listed below.
  Flee: A PC can simply flee the fire, moving through 
  crowded squares at half speed.
  Fight Fires: A PC can fight a fire in an adjacent square 
  by beating the fire with a cloak or tapestry (such as the 
  tapestries that hang on the walls of the room) by making 
  a DC 12 combat maneuver check. Using magic to fight the 
  fire (such as by casting create water or enlisting the aid of 
  an unseen servant) grants a +4 bonus on this check. With a 
  successful check, the fire in that square is extinguished, but 
  the square can still catch on fire as normal in a later round.
  Direct the Crowd: By making a DC 15 Diplomacy check 
  (full-round action) or a DC 20 Intimidate check, a PC 
  can direct the panicked crowd to the exit, allowing the 
  villagers to move 6 squares per round toward the exit.
  Save the Townsfolk: As long as she is an adjacent square, 
  a PC can save a townsperson from a fire square by picking 
  the victim up as a standard action. A single PC can only 
  carry (or drag) one townsperson at a time, but once the 
  PC does so, that townsperson automatically stabilizes 
  and is not in danger of dying from the fire unless the PC 
  carrying him falls unconscious or unless the townsperson 
  is dropped in or left in a burning square.
  These rules are an abbreviated version of the burning 
  building rules presented in Pathfinder Adventure Path 
  #30—you can use those rules instead if you’d rather 
  have a more detailed system for the fire that includes 
  additional rules on smoke inhalation, the spread of the 
  flames, and fighting the fires. Keep in mind that adding 
  additional dangers (like smoke inhalation) may make 
  this encounter too much for low-level characters—you 
  know your players and their skill level, so make sure you 
  adjust things as appropriate for your game.
  Creatures: As if dealing with a burning building 
  weren’t already dangerous enough, a few rounds after 
  this event begins, the windows along the northern wall 
  shatter as a pair of flying, flaming human skulls shriek 
  into the chamber. Compelled to make their way down 
  from area S18 of Harrowstone by the prison’s haunts, 
  these two undead skulls attack the closest target every 
  round, fighting until destroyed.
  flaming Skulls (2) 
  CR 1/2
  XP 200 each
  hp 5 each (see page 82)
  Development: After this event, the townsfolk of 
  Ravengro go from merely being nervous to being 
  downright frightened. At this point, the town council 
  seeks to hire the PCs to solve Ravengro’s problems—they 
  offer a reward of 500 gp per character if the PCs can do 
  the job before the town is completely overwhelmed.
  Story Award: If the PCs manage to extinguish all of 
  the fire squares, they save the town hall from burning 
  to the ground—award them 3 Trust points and 800 XP. 
  If the PCs manage to direct the crowd or save at least 
  one townsperson during this event, award them 1 Trust 
  point and 400 XP. Each townsperson who dies in the fire 
  costs the PCs 1 Trust point. If the town hall burns to the 
  ground, the PCs lose 2 Trust points, and lose the town 
  hall as a possible research location.
  PArt four: hArroWStone
  The exploration of Harrowstone and the confrontation 
  with the spirits and creatures that dwell within take up 
  the remainder of this adventure. Allow the PCs to set 
  their own pace when they explore this haunted prison—
  there are plenty of dangers to endure within the prison 
  grounds, after all, and as low-level as they are, the PCs 
  shouldn’t feel pressured into completing their duties in 
  Harrowstone on a single trip.
  hArroWStone feAtureS
  Harrowstone is located on a barren hill south of the city of 
  Ravengro, the stark, sagging roof of its central structure 
  visible through a large gap in the surrounding wall. A 
  partially overgrown track leads from the southern edge of 
  town, winding around the base of the hill and then back 
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  25
  
  up along its southern slope to the prison itself. The prison 
  consists of four distinct areas, each with its own features.
  Prison Grounds: Harrowstone’s grounds are contained 
  within a crumbling stone wall, the eastern portion of which 
  has fallen away into a huge sinkhole that formed when the 
  extensive eastern wing of the prison dungeon collapsed 
  after the dreadful fire of 4661—this collapse took with it 
  the prison graveyard, which now lies in ruins at the bottom 
  of the murky pond that filled the sinkhole.
  Ground Floor: The fire didn’t do much damage to 
  most of the ground floor, save in the northeastern corner, 
  but over the last 50 years of neglect, the prison has grown 
  quite moldy and filthy. The walls are stone, and while the 
  majority of the wooden supports are rotten, the building 
  remains relatively sound. Unless otherwise specified, 
  all ceilings are 12 feet high. Doors on this level (unless 
  specifically mentioned to be otherwise) are made of wood, 
  and hang rotten on their hinges. Opening a door requires 
  a DC 13 Strength check made as a standard action, with 
  success causing the old door to fall from its hinges.
  Upper Floor: The upper floor can be entered via the 
  stairs at area S10, or by climbing up an exterior wall (DC 
  20 Climb check) to clamber through one of the many 
  holes in the roof above. Unless otherwise specified, all 
  ceilings are 12 feet in height. Wooden doors hang askew 
  here as on the ground floor unless otherwise noted.
  Dungeon: Harrowstone’s dungeon has brick-lined 
  walls supported by a combination of wooden and 
  stone infrastructure. These supports burned away in 
  the dungeon’s eastern wing back in 4661, resulting in 
  the collapse of the eastern cellblock. The chambers 
  that remain were used primarily to house the most 
  dangerous criminals. Ceiling height averages 8 feet, 
  and there is no natural illumination save in area H20 
  during the day. All of the surviving doors on this level 
  are metal or stone, but the ever-present damp has left 
  the metal elements badly rusted—breaking down doors 
  on this level is possible with a DC 20 Strength check 
  unless otherwise noted.
  r1. courtyArd toWer doorS
  A sagging wood and metal gate set between a pair of stone 
  guard towers once barred entrance into Harrowstone, but the 
  gates now hang negligently open, creaking softly in what wind 
  touches the ruined bars.
  The stone wall that surrounds most of the prison 
  grounds is covered with creeping ivy, and the blocks 
  beneath that growth are eroded. Climbing the walls 
  requires a DC 10 Climb check. The walls themselves are 20 
  feet high. The first PC to enter the Harrowstone grounds 
  has a sudden rush of claustrophobia and the split-second 
  sensation that her skin is on fire. This sensation causes 
  the character to become shaken for 2d4 minutes if she 
  fails a DC 12 Will save. This is a mind-affecting fear 
  effect that only occurs once.
  r2. oBServAtion toWerS (cr 2)
  An old stone tower, its wooden roof collapsed and its crumbling 
  walls thick with ivy, extends a further ten feet above the twenty-
  foot-high wall here.
  Creature: While the southernmost tower is empty, the 
  westernmost one is infested by a swarm of particularly 
  large rats. Even a casual observation of the tower from 
  afar reveals a dozen or so of the filthy creatures watching 
  from nooks and crannies in the stones; their fur is 
  matted and filthy, their eyes dark and hungry. If anyone 
  approaches within 15 feet of the tower, the rats begin 
  reacting, chittering and squeaking ominously as more 
  and more clamber into view. They attack anyone who 
  comes within 5 feet of the tower, but do not pursue foes 
  into the prison grounds.
  Rat Swarm 
  CR 2
  XP 600
  hp 16 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 232)
  r3. WArden’S houSe
  This small brick manor house is overgrown with thick sheets 
  of gray-green ivy. The roof sags ominously, and the front door 
  hangs askew.
  Once the home of Warden Lyvar Hawkran and his wife 
  Vesorianna, this building was spared damage from the fire 
  of 4661, but time has not been kind to it. Looters have long 
  since pilfered the place of its valuables, so all that remains 
  is a house nearly ready to collapse. A DC 15 Knowledge 
  (engineering) check or a DC 20 Perception check reveals 
  that the house is unstable. An attempt to explore it fully 
  would take 10 minutes—each minute, there is a cumulative 
  10% chance of the activity within the building triggering 
  a partial collapse of falling timbers or bricks. Each time 
  this occurs, 1d3 of the PCs within the structure or in an 
  adjacent square must make a DC 15 Reflex save to avoid 
  taking 1d6 points of damage from falling debris.
  r4. hArroWStone fAcAde
  A two-story stone building looms in the center of the prison 
  grounds. Ivy and moss cling tenaciously to the walls, while 
  above the wooden shingles of the roof are often missing 
  entirely, exposing the wooden rafters of the upper structure 
  26
  
  r8
  r6
  r5
  r7
  r10
  r9
  r4
  r3
  r5
  r2
  r2
  r1
  to the sky. Here and there, leering stone gargoyles perch on 
  the eaves, once functioning as drainspouts and decorations but 
  now seeming almost to serve a more ominous role of sentinels. 
  Many of these stone decorations have crumbled away and lie 
  in ruined piles on the soggy ground below. Windows in the 
  building’s facade are narrow and blocked by grills of rusty iron 
  bars. Stone columns support a slumping wooden balcony over 
  the building’s wooden front doors, both of which hang askew 
  and reveal dark glimpses of chambers within.
  The front entrance to Harrowstone is detailed at area 
  S1. The balcony above is unsound, as a DC 15 Knowledge 
  (engineering) or a DC 20 Perception check reveals. Every 
  round a Medium creature (or two Small creatures) stand 
  on the balcony, there’s a 25% chance the wood gives way. 
  In this case, any creature on the balcony or in area S1 
  must make a DC 15 Reflex save to avoid taking 1d6 points 
  of damage from the fall or from falling rubble.
  r5. the WhiSPering runeS
  A DC 15 Perception check made by anyone who wanders 
  the perimeter of the central building (or a DC 5 Perception 
  check made by anyone who investigates the building’s 
  foundation) reveals something curious. The ivy and grass 
  have been cleared along the edge where the foundation 
  meets the ground, and along this edge a series of sinuous 
  runes has been etched and then smeared with blood. The 
  runes go around the entire building’s foundation save 
  for the northeast corner, where part of the building has 
  flooded and the foundation has crumbled away.
  These runes are all that remains of the Whispering 
  Way’s ritual to capture and imprison Warden Hawkran’s 
  ghost. The fact that a portion of the ruins was unsuitable 
  for holding runes made the task particularly difficult, 
  but they managed the feat anyway, trapping the ghost in a 
  special container and leaving the area all but unprotected 
  from the malignant spirits within. Since that time, the 
  haunting has grown more and more dangerous.
  The runes themselves are written in Varisian, and 
  among numerous magical incantations, repeat the name 
  Lyvar Hawkran dozens of times. Although the runes 
  no longer radiate magic, a DC 20 Knowledge (arcana or 
  religion) check is enough to determine that they seem 
  to have been part of a larger ritual that involved both 
  abjuration and necromantic magic. Determining that 
  the runes were used to capture and imprison Warden 
  Hawkran’s ghost requires a DC 30 Knowledge (arcana) 
  check—likely beyond the capabilities of the PCs for now, 
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  27
  
  but if they take notes on the runes (a task that requires 
  an hour of work by someone who can speak Varisian) or 
  come back here at a later date, they can determine this 
  whenever they gain enough ranks in that skill and make 
  a successful check at some point in the future.
  r6. WeSt BALcony (cr 2)
  A large, rectangular block of stone rests on this weather-beaten 
  stone balcony, while ruined wooden benches line the eastern 
  wall under a row of tiny, barred windows above. A stout wooden 
  door sits in the wall near the northern end of the balcony.
  Fifty years ago, this balcony is where the majority 
  of the prison’s executions took place, in full view of 
  the westernmost cells in area T4 above. Harrowstone’s 
  traditional method of execution was by the scythe, 
  rather than the standard axe—although the result of 
  such executions (decapitation) was the same. The use 
  of a scythe for executions was a notorious aspect of 
  Harrowstone, one of the many that contributed to the 
  prison’s infamy.
  The door in the wall leads to area T4b, but is quite 
  stout and locked (hardness 5, hp 20, Break DC 25, Disable 
  Device 30).
  Creature: Even before the fire, the west balcony 
  had built something of a reputation of being 
  haunted. Today, the balcony resonates with the 
  hopelessness of hundreds of executed prisoners—
  it is not the headsman’s ghost that haunts this place 
  (he was among the many guards who perished in the 
  dungeons below during the fire), but the vengeful spirits 
  of those he beheaded over the years. These spirits are 
  swift to manifest as soon as any living creature intrudes 
  upon the balcony, appearing as a ghostly set of skeletal 
  arms wielding a rusty scythe—the same scythe once used 
  by the headsman himself. The animated scythe fights 
  to the death, pursuing foes throughout the Harrowstone 
  grounds but not beyond its walls.
  Headsman’s Scythe 
  CR 2
  XP 600
  Animated object (see page 80)
  N Small construct
  Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception –5
  DefenSe
  AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 17 (+1 Dex, +6 natural, +1 size)
  hp 21 (2d10+10)
  fort +0, Ref +1, Will –5
  Defensive Abilities hardness 10; Immune construct traits
  Weaknesses haunted
  OffenSe
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee scythe +3 (2d4/×4)
  STATISTICS
  Str 10, Dex 12, Con —, Int —, Wis 1, Cha 1
  Base Atk +2; CMB +1; CMD 12
  SQ construction points (haunted, metal)
  r7. eASt BALcony (cr 1/2)
  The northern portion of this balcony has crumbled away into a 
  pile of rubble amid the gently rippling waters of a dark pool of 
  water. Ivy hangs down from the walls in thick, matted lengths, 
  while dense tangles of vines decorated with deep red and violet 
  flowers adorn the balcony’s edges above.
  The stairs that once led up to this balcony, originally 
  used as a guard post, long ago crumbled into the pond. 
  Access to the balcony requires a DC 10 Climb check to 
  climb the 15-foot-high wall—the crumbled section of wall 
  to the northeast leads to area S19 on the ground floor. 
  Area T2 on the second floor is accessible from the balcony, 
  although reaching area T2 from the balcony requires 
  a DC 10 Jump or Acrobatics check to move across the 
  crumbling ledges that connect the two areas.
  Creature: The “ivy” growing along the east edge of the 
  balcony is anything but—a dangerous flowering plant 
  28
  Headsman’s Scythe
  
  known as a xtabay grows amid the innocuous ivy here, 
  its vibrant flowers a colorful lure. Anyone attempting 
  to climb the wall under the carnivorous plant triggers 
  the release of the plant’s soporific pollen upon coming 
  within 10 feet—the good news for those who 
  succumb while climbing is that they fall away from 
  the plant’s devouring reach.
  Xtabay 
  CR 1/2
  XP 200
  hp 8 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 289)
  Treasure: Amid the tangle of ivy against the east wall 
  lies a gnome’s skeleton—a long-dead would-be looter 
  who fell victim to the xtabay years ago. Discovering the 
  overgrown bones requires a DC 15 Perception check. 
  Amid the bones and strips of rotten leather armor and 
  rusted weapons lie the remnants of a leather pouch—
  along with 24 gp, 3 pp, and a single citrine worth 50 gp.
  r8. uPPer BALcony (cr 2)
  The wooden floor of this walkway seems intact, although here 
  and there the moldy, sodden timbers sag ominously. An empty 
  doorway to the south opens into a rubble-filled room below a 
  tower at the southern end of the walkway.
  This balcony is 20 feet off the ground—it’s a DC 15 
  Climb check to scale the walls and rooftops to this 
  balcony from outside. Alternatively, the wooden door 
  opens into a circular area under the central tower. The 
  upper guard post has collapsed, filling this area with 
  stone and wood rubble and burying the trap door that 
  once led to area T4a. The trap door can be found with a 
  DC 25 Perception check and 20 minutes of work clearing 
  the rubble away.
  Creature: The rubble-strewn chamber is the lair of a 
  single stirge of prodigious size—bloated to nearly the 
  size of a halfling. Drawn to the region by the lure of the 
  haunted chamber below (see area T4), the stirge has grown 
  large on a combination of blood and ghostly influence. 
  Giant Stirge 
  CR 2
  XP 600
  Advanced stirge (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 260)
  N Small magical beast 
  Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +1
  DefenSe
  AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 11 (+3 Dex, +1 size)
  hp 22 (4d10)
  fort +4, Ref +7, Will +2
  OffenSe
  Speed 10 ft., fly 40 ft. (average)
  Melee bite +8 (1d4–1 plus grab)
  Special Attacks blood drain
  TACTICS
  During Combat The giant stirge quickly crawls out of its 
  nest to buzz hungrily at intruders, attacking anyone who 
  enters this room or whom it hears on the outer balcony. 
  If the stirge hears any form of music (such as that created 
  by certain bardic performances or a Perform skill check), 
  it ceases its attacks and swoops down to land next to the 
  musician. As long as the bardic performance continues, 
  or as long as the musician can continue to make DC 15 
  Perform checks (or as long as no one else attacks it), the 
  giant stirge remains docile.
  Morale The giant stirge fights to the death.
  STATISTICS
  Str 8, Dex 17, Con 10, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 6
  Base Atk +4; CMB +2 (+6 grapple); CMD 15 (23 vs. trip)
  feats Improved Initiative, Weapon Finesse
  Skills Fly +10, Stealth +12
  SQ diseased
  SPeCIAL ABILITIeS
  Blood Drain (ex) A giant stirge drains blood at the end of its 
  turn if it grapples a foe, dealing 1 point of Constitution 
  damage. A giant stirge continues to drain blood until it has 
  dealt 8 points of Constitution damage, then drops its prey 
  to return to its lair to digest its meal.
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  29
  Giant Stirge
  
  T4b
  T4a
  T4
  T1
  T7
  T6
  T5
  T1a
  T2
  T3
  S18
  S19
  S16
  S17
  S15
  S14
  S13
  S12
  S11
  S10
  S9
  S8
  S7
  S6
  S5
  S4
  S3
  S2
  S1
  U1
  U2
  U3
  U4
  U5
  U7
  U6
  U8
  U9
  U10
  U11
  30
  
  r9. ceSSPit
  This open pit appears to have once been a receptacle for the 
  prison’s waste. Even now, with the right wind, the pit still emits 
  a foul stench.
  The prison’s refuse was dumped here, though bodies 
  were not. Although it appears ominous, apart from the 
  occasional rat, the cesspit is uninhabited.
  r10. murky Pond (cr 1)
  This large pond of dark, muddy water spreads out along the 
  eastern section of the prison grounds. Here and there, bits of 
  ruined wall protrude from the water, and thick tangles of reeds 
  and cattails grow along the muddy shores.
  Once the location of the prison’s graveyard, this area 
  gave way into an immense sinkhole when the fire of 4661 
  caused the dungeons below to collapse. Over the decades, 
  this sinkhole has filled with water from the region’s 
  regular rainstorms. The pond’s muddy waters are only 20 
  feet deep at the deepest point, but they are murky enough 
  that vision is reduced to 10 feet. Over the years, dozens of 
  prisoners were buried here, all in unmarked graves. Today, 
  their bones lie in a tangle of stone and wooden rubble 
  along the bottom of the pond, covered over by a thin layer 
  of mud and mixed with fresher bones—bones of prisoners 
  who died in the fire.
  Creatures: The bones of the prisoners who died in 
  the fire do not rest quietly—but as long as they remain 
  undisturbed, they are content to lie at the bottom of the 
  pool. Any Small or larger living creature that enters the 
  pool causes the haunted bones to stir—within 1d6 rounds, 
  three human skeletons rise from the mud and make their 
  way toward the intruders. The skeletons cannot swim well, 
  but they stagger toward the shore and, once they emerge, 
  muddy and dripping, they are swift to attack any other 
  obvious living targets. The skeletons fight to the death.
  Once any of these skeletons emerge from the water, 
  their bones begin to blacken and smolder. Skeletons that 
  haven’t been destroyed within 3 rounds of emerging from 
  the water ignite into burning skeletons (see page 251 of 
  the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary).
  Human Skeletons (3) 
  CR 1/3
  XP 135 each
  hp 4 each (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 250)
  S1. entrAnce foyer
  This was once a wide hall flanked by a pair of waiting rooms, 
  but the foyer to Harrowstone now lies in ruins. With little left to 
  hold up the ceiling, the wooden beams above sag dramatically. 
  The wall to the north contains a large pair of oaken doors.
  Even a casual observation of the roof here is enough to 
  reveal that the balcony above is unstable. If the balcony 
  collapses (see area R4), this entrance to Harrowstone does 
  not become buried, but does count as difficult terrain.
  S2. hAunted foyer (cr 1)
  Streaks of mold stain the walls of this foyer, and the floor below 
  is a thick, gray carpet of fungal growth. Sturdy wooden doors 
  beckon from every wall.
  This room contains what is likely to be the first of 
  numerous haunts the PCs will face in Harrowstone. Rules 
  for haunts are presented on page 242 of the Pathfinder RPG 
  GameMastery Guide, but are also expanded with numerous 
  examples beginning on page 64 of this volume.
  Haunt: The oaken doors on the walls here, unlike 
  all other doors on the upper floors of Harrowstone, are 
  quite sturdy—this is because they are infused with the 
  structure’s unholy haunting presence. One round after 
  any character opens a door in the north, east, or west wall 
  of this room, the badly-burnt faces of shrieking criminals 
  rush out of all of the doors before causing each door to 
  slam violently shut. These haunts are all slamming portal 
  haunts, but they’re also linked—while technically each 
  door is a separate haunt, they all share the same reset 
  trigger, and destroying one haunt destroys them all.
  Slamming Portal 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  hp 2 (see page 65)
  S3. officeS
  These small offices were each dedicated to handling one 
  of several key aspects of the prison’s operations, such 
  as prisoner files, income, supplies, scheduling, repair 
  requests, and so on. With 2d4 hours of work, the surviving 
  paperwork in these offices can be organized into a central 
  repository that can be used to research Harrowstone or the 
  five prisoners (although, obviously, no information from 
  after the fire can be found here). If used for research, the 
  collected papers grant a +4 bonus on Knowledge checks. 
  See Part Two for rules on research.
  S4. WArden’S office
  This spacious room smells of mildew and rot. A long desk and 
  chair sit to the south, while to the northwest a narrow alcove 
  contains a closed safe. Thick layers of dust cover everything 
  in sight.
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  31
  
  Once the warden’s office, this room has remained 
  quiet since the fire. Out of a lingering fear of the 
  warden’s role in the prison hierarchy, the evil spirits do 
  not extend into this room. As a result, this is the one 
  room in Harrowstone that is safe to rest in.
  Treasure: The key to the safe in the wall can be found in 
  area U8, or it can be opened with a DC 30 Disable Device 
  check made to pick locks. Bashing the safe open (hardness 
  10, hp 30, Break DC 28) ruins the potions inside.
  Within the safe are kept numerous (now out-of-date) 
  legal documents, along with 500 gp (the prison’s payroll and 
  petty cash fund) and a wooden rack on which sit emergency 
  supplies (four potions of cure moderate wounds, three potions 
  of lesser restoration, and two potions of remove disease).
  S5. guArdS’ WAShroom
  This room was used as a washroom by the guards—the 
  smaller chamber to the west was a privy. There’s nothing 
  of interest here today.
  S6. BrAnding room (cr 2)
  This stark room contains a low stone bench against the north 
  wall and a ruined desk to the west that sits under three narrow, 
  barred windows. An old brass brazier lies on its side to the 
  south, surrounded by several rusty branding irons.
  Part of Harrowstone’s processing procedure for new 
  prisoners included branding—before a new prisoner was 
  taken to his cell, he was brought to this room and given 
  his brand. These brands were placed either on the right 
  forearm or the back of the neck, and consisted of a letter 
  and a number combination. The rods scattered around 
  the brazier are these selfsame branding irons.
  Haunt: As the brands were among the first elements of 
  humiliation and pain that new prisoners suffered upon 
  arriving at Harrowstone, they have become a focus of the 
  haunted prison’s spiritual anger. The brands themselves 
  are now haunted, posing a startling threat to anyone who 
  lingers in this room.
  Ghostly Brands 
  CR 2
  XP 600
  CE haunt (area S6)
  Caster Level 2nd
  notice Perception DC 15 (to notice the rising scent of 
  burning flesh)
  hp 4; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 day
  Weaknesses susceptible to cold damage and positive energy
  effect The four branding irons rise up into the air as their tips 
  grow red-hot. When the haunt strikes, these irons lance 
  through the air at any targets in the haunt’s area, striking 
  as +1 flaming arrows. The haunt has a +2 attack roll, with 
  each brand dealing 2d6+1 points of damage on a hit. No 
  more than one brand attacks a single target—if there are 
  more brands than targets, those brands do not attack at 
  all. At the end of the round, the branding irons return to 
  their original locations on the ground, once again cold and 
  dark, as if they had never made their eerie attack at all—yet 
  any brands and damage dealt to PCs remains. The brands 
  themselves remain as scars until this haunt is destroyed (at 
  the GM’s option, powerful magic such as restoration, break 
  enchantment, or regeneration can also remove the brands).
  Destruction This haunt is destroyed if all five of the primary 
  spirits that haunt Harrowstone are destroyed.
  S7. induction chAmBer (cr 1)
  This chamber is in a shambles—old wooden benches lie in 
  ruins along the walls, while rusty chains and bits of rotten rope 
  lie scattered on the floor
  The guards used this large room as a holding pen 
  whenever new prisoners arrived at Harrowstone. Here, 
  the guards searched the prisoners for hidden items and 
  dressed them in their new clothes, all while a guard 
  sergeant carefully explained Harrowstone’s rules to 
  the new “guests.” Once this procedure was complete, 
  the guards led the prisoners one by one to area S6 to be 
  branded, and thence on to their cells.
  Creature: Psychic echoes of shame and anger fill this 
  room—as the PCs enter, have them make Perception 
  checks. Whoever rolls the highest hears a faint sobbing 
  and the clanking rattle of chains, while at the same time 
  being filled with a momentary sensation of hopelessness 
  and the strange feeling of heavy manacles clamping over 
  her wrists. These sensations pass quickly, but as soon as 
  they do, the spirits of the prison cause a set of manacle 
  chains to rise up, animate, and attack. Although there are 
  several sets of old manacles scattered through this room, 
  only one set rises as an animated object.
  Animated Manacles 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  hp 5 (see page 80)
  S8. chAPeL (cr 2)
  The door to this room has fallen from its hinges. The rectangular 
  chamber beyond seems to have once been a chapel, but now 
  thick sheets of what appear to be cobwebs drape everything 
  within in gossamer threads.
  Creatures: Once a chapel dedicated to Pharasma and 
  tended by the church in Ravengro, this chapel is now the 
  lair of three giant spiders that have crept into the prison. 
  32
  
  Giant Crab Spiders (3) 
  CR 1/2
  XP 200 each
  N Small vermin (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 258; variant giant 
  hunting spider)
  Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4
  DefenSe
  AC 16, touch 15, flat-footed 12 (+4 Dex, +1 natural, +1 size)
  hp 9 each (2d8)
  fort +3, Ref +4, Will +0
  Immune mind-affecting effects
  OffenSe
  Speed 40 ft., climb 30 ft.
  Melee bite +0 (1d4–2 plus poison)
  TACTICS
  During Combat Undaunted by the haunts and feeding mostly 
  on smaller vermin, the spiders quickly move to attack 
  anyone who enters this room or even just walks by the open 
  doorway—they pursue foes as long as they can.
  Morale The giant crab spiders fight to the death.
  STATISTICS
  Str 7, Dex 19, Con 10, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 2
  Base Atk +1; CMB –2; CMD 12 (24 vs. trip)
  Skills Acrobatics +12 (+16 jump), Climb +22, Perception +4, 
  Stealth +12
  SPeCIAL ABILITIeS
  Poison (ex) Bite—injury; save Fort DC 13; frequency 1/round 
  for 4 rounds; effect 1 Strength damage; cure 1 save.
  Treasure: A cabinet covered with webs (DC 15 
  Perception to notice) in the northwest wall still 
  contains a few religious supplies, including 
  five vials of holy water, a scroll of lesser 
  restoration, and a wand of cure light wounds 
  (15 charges).
  S9. coLLAPSed StAirWAy
  This flight of stairs once led down toward 
  what must be a lower level, but it’s now 
  filled with a mess of large stone blocks and 
  shattered timbers.
  A DC 15 Knowledge (engineering) or DC 
  20 Perception check reveals that the rubble 
  filling this stairwell did not result from a 
  ceiling collapse—rather, it’s the result of a manually 
  triggered deadfall that swiftly filled the stairs and 
  blocked them off. It was this deadfall that the warden 
  triggered so long ago when the prison riot threatened 
  to escape the dungeons below. Clearing the rubble 
  would require several days of work with the proper 
  tools or magic spells. If the stairs are cleared, they 
  lead down to area U2.
  S10. StAirWAy
  This flight of stairs leads up to area T1a.
  S11. WorkShoP (cr 4)
  The door to this room is locked and the key is long 
  gone, but as the door itself is relatively rotten from 
  years of neglect, it’s no more difficult than any other in 
  Harrowstone to bash down.
  Tangled mounds of moth-eaten fabric sit on several wooden 
  tables, each surrounded by workbenches. Various sewing tools—
  shears, needles, rolls of thread, boxes of chalk, and other objects 
  lie scattered over the floor, while the arm of what appears to be a 
  skeleton protrudes from a stained heap of fabric to the west.
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  33
  
  A DC 20 Perception check is enough to discover the 
  secret door that connects this room directly to area S12.
  Creature: The skeletal arm protruding from the tangle 
  of fabric belongs to the dead body of the warden’s wife, 
  Vesorianna Hawkran. As recounted in the Adventure 
  Background, Vesorianna came to Harrowstone to find out 
  why her husband was late for dinner and ended up being 
  locked into this workshop and dying of smoke inhalation 
  once the fire in the dungeon got out of control. And as 
  with the deaths elsewhere in the prison, Vesorianna’s 
  unfortunate death resulted in something more—in this 
  case, an actual ghost.
  In her ghostly afterlife, Vesorianna has been forced 
  to remain separated from her husband. For the decades 
  since the tragedy, she could always sense his proximity, 
  and at times fancied she could even hear his sobbing 
  in the dark chambers below, but just as she was unable 
  to leave this room in the last moments of her life, she 
  cannot leave the room in death. Her semi-regular cries of 
  anguish are one of the primary reasons the locals know 
  Harrowstone to be haunted.
  Yet now, with the Whispering Way’s abduction of her 
  husband’s ghost, Vesorianna’s despair has turned to 
  determination. Before, she could sense her husband’s 
  spirit somewhere nearby, and her sadness was magnified 
  by its proximity. Yet now that he is gone, all she can 
  feel around her is the combined and growing wrath 
  and cruelty of Harrowstone’s other ghosts. Without her 
  husband’s proximity to temper her, she has changed from 
  a passive element in the supernatural substructure of the 
  prison to a powerful figure indeed—she has effectively 
  stepped in to replace her husband as the ruin’s ghostly 
  barrier. Her presence is the only thing preventing the 
  evil spirits of Harrowstone from boiling out into the 
  surrounding countryside and nearby Ravengro—yet she 
  is not as potent a blockade as her husband was. She knows 
  that the ghosts of Harrowstone have begun to influence 
  Ravengro, and that one of them in particular, the Splatter 
  Man, is building his energy to destroy her. Every time he 
  defaces the monument at area O and adds another of her 
  name’s letters, she feels his power growing and her own 
  waning. She knows it’s only a matter of days before she 
  fails to maintain her husband’s legacy and the ghosts of 
  Harrowstone are released. As such, she does not react to 
  the presence of the living with the usual negativity that 
  most undead do.
  When the PCs enter this room, Vesorianna manifests 
  immediately before them, rising from the mound of 
  moldering fabric that serves as her tomb. She appears 
  as a beautiful young woman dressed in a tattered but 
  lovely blue dress. In fact, much about the ghost is blue, 
  including her hair, the tears that run from her pale 
  blue eyes, and the clouds of smoke that drift from her 
  lips when she speaks. Her death and undeath have been 
  hard on her, but while she clings to the assumption 
  that the PCs are the “new guards” sent from the town 
  to replace the cowards who locked her in the workshop, 
  she has a relatively good idea about what’s going on in 
  Harrowstone and knows what must be done in order to 
  prevent the release of its haunts.
  Strive to present Vesorianna as a desperate, grieving 
  widow who views her death and rise as a ghost more as an 
  inconvenience than a tragedy—her obsession and driving 
  goal, once to be reunited with her husband, is now to see 
  that the ghosts of Harrowstone are defeated, to ensure 
  that the criminals her husband gave his life to keep 
  imprisoned are prevented from escaping. Still unable to 
  leave the confines of the room in which she died (even if 
  her mortal remains are destroyed or buried), she does not 
  attack the PCs. She wants an apology and closure for her 
  husband’s death, not a massacre. Yet if the PCs attack her, 
  she fights back as described in her stat block.
  If the PCs speak with her, Vesorianna first asks them 
  what their intentions are. If the PCs don’t tell her that 
  they’ve come to Harrowstone to cleanse it of its ghosts, 
  she does her best to convince the PCs that this is what they 
  should be doing. She can describe the events that led up 
  to the tragic fire of 4661 in some detail. Furthermore, she 
  can explain that until recently, the spirit of her husband, 
  trapped so near yet so far in the dungeons below, had 
  contained the ghosts. Yet unsettling visitors—“men and 
  women in dark robes who spoke only in whispers”—came 
  to Harrowstone not long ago and began to work strange 
  magic around the building’s foundations. Unable to leave 
  this room, she was nonetheless able to observe through the 
  walls to the northwest as these strange people inscribed 
  runes along the ground. She also witnessed the sad end 
  of Professor Lorrimor, slain by foul magic wielded by the 
  leader of the black-robed villains (if the PCs ask, she can 
  describe this man—a thin, gray-skinned human who 
  wore a bone breastplate and carried a black staff capped 
  with a skull gagged by a black cloth—but knows nothing 
  more about him; the PCs will have a chance to confront 
  this wizard, Auren Vrood, at the end of the third Carrion 
  Crown adventure). She can even tell the PCs of how the 
  cultists bashed in the dead man’s head and face with a 
  fragment of gargoyle from a roof above in an attempt, 
  she surmises, to make the man’s death seem more like 
  an accident.
  Later that night, after they murdered the man, the 
  black-robed cultists finished their ritual. Whatever they 
  did, they did so out of sight of Vesorianna’s view through 
  the walls, but she felt the repercussions immediately. 
  It felt like a horrific storm, yet one with no wind that 
  chilled the flesh. This windstorm chilled the soul—it 
  felt to Vesorianna as if her very being was being pulled 
  34
  
  apart. Yet the horrific sensation passed in an instant... 
  and when it had, the presence of her husband’s spirit was 
  gone. She can only assume that the black-robed cultists 
  somehow managed to abduct her husband’s spirit, for 
  since that hateful day she’s felt no sign of either her 
  husband or the black-robed cultists.
  What she does know is that every day 
  since that event, the spirits of the 
  murderers and sadists trapped 
  within the walls of Harrowstone 
  have grown more and more 
  powerful. She knows now that 
  her husband’s presence kept 
  the other haunts in line, and 
  that with his ghost gone, they 
  would have escaped to wreak 
  unimaginable havoc, had she 
  not stepped in to do the job her 
  husband, until recently, had done 
  so well.
  While she doesn’t know much about 
  the exact nature of the prisoners, their 
  ghosts, or the dangers to be found 
  elsewhere in Harrowstone, she can feel 
  among the hateful dead five distinct and 
  powerful personalities. She suspects that 
  these correspond to the five most dangerous 
  criminals who were imprisoned in Harrowstone at the 
  time of the fire. She knows the names of these five and 
  can inform the PCs of them (as if the PCs achieved a DC 20 
  Knowledge check while researching the five prisoners—
  see page 16), and also knows that if the PCs can confront 
  and defeat the unquiet spirits of the five key prisoners 
  (be they haunt or undead), she’ll be able to contain them 
  and keep them from manifesting again. If the PCs can 
  defeat all five of the prisoners, and if they can bring to 
  her a symbol of her husband’s office over the prison (his 
  badge of office would work best—Vesorianna suspects 
  it’s hidden somewhere in the dungeons below, along with 
  his mortal remains), she will be able to banish the haunts 
  from Harrowstone entirely. Doing so will release her from 
  this world as well, and will effectively end the haunting of 
  Harrowstone for good.
  If the PCs ask for further aid, she apologizes and 
  explains she cannot leave this room. She can, on the 
  other hand, tell the PCs that if they find objects of value 
  that once belonged to the five spirits, they can use those 
  objects against the five souls. She suggests checking 
  the prison’s property room to the southeast, but warns 
  the PCs before they go that while these objects will aid 
  in defeating the deathless inmates, they are likely also 
  cursed by the unholy link to the long-dead criminals, 
  and that care should be taken when using the objects.
  Finally, Vesorianna can explain to the PCs how one 
  of the Five Prisoners, the Splatter Man, is slowly eating 
  away at her resolve. If the PCs explain how her name is 
  slowly being spelled out in blood (see Event 1), 
  she nods grimly, knowing instinctively 
  that once her name is spelled out 
  completely, the Splatter Man will 
  destroy her.
  Vesorianna Hawkran 
  CR 4
  XP 1,200
  Female human ghost aristocrat 
  4 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 144)
  CG Medium undead (human, 
  incorporeal)
  Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 
  ft.; Perception +12
  DefenSe
  AC 16, touch 16, flat-footed 15 (+5 
  deflection, +1 Dex)
  hp 41 (4d8+20)
  fort +6, Ref +2, Will +4
  Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, 
  incorporeal, rejuvenation; Immune undead traits
  OffenSe
  Speed fly 30 ft. (perfect)
  Melee corrupting touch +4 (4d6; DC 17)
  TACTICS
  During Combat Vesorianna hopes the PCs will aid her, and 
  only attacks in self-defense—if the PCs do attack her, she 
  mistakenly sees them as the same guards who locked her in 
  this room 50 years ago. Shrieking in rage and reverting back 
  to the hours before her death, she claws and bites at the PCs, 
  inadvertently assaulting them with her corrupting touch.
  Morale Vesorianna cannot pursue foes beyond the confines of 
  this room, but fights until destroyed otherwise. If the PCs 
  leave and return later, she has forgotten their previous attack 
  and attempts again to establish peaceful contact with them.
  STATISTICS
  Str —, Dex 12, Con —, Int 11, Wis 10, Cha 20
  Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 19
  feats Alertness, Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Perception)
  Skills Diplomacy +12, Fly +9, Knowledge (local) +7, Knowledge 
  (nobility) +7, Perception +12, Perform (sing) +12, Sense 
  Motive +9, Stealth +4
  Languages Common, Varisian
  SPeCIAL ABILITIeS
  Rejuvenation Permanently putting Vesorianna to rest requires 
  the defeat of the five key spirits in Harrowstone—only then 
  does she feel it is safe to abandon her post, for by this point 
  she has accepted the fact that her husband’s spirit has left 
  Harrowstone for good. If she is destroyed by the Splatter 
  Man, she returns in 2d4 days as normal, but at that point 
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  35
  Vesorianna
  
  she is the only haunt left in Harrowstone, and the only way 
  to bring her peace at this point is to bring peace to her 
  husband’s ghost by defeating the Whispering Way’s plot to 
  craft a Carrion Crown (a task that the PCs can accomplish at 
  the end of this campaign).
  Story Award: If the PCs make peaceful contact with 
  Vesorianna and learn more about the history and secrets 
  of Harrowstone from her, award them XP as if they had 
  defeated her in combat.
  S12. LAundry (cr 3)
  Several rusty iron tubs sit in this room, along with washboards, 
  metal buckets, and heaps of moldy clothing.
  Harrowstone’s guards occasionally released low-risk 
  prisoners from their cells on the second floor long 
  enough for them to work a shift in this prison 
  laundry under guard. Most prisoners considered 
  the chance to work in a larger space a reward for 
  good behavior. A tin chute exits the north wall 
  of this room, permitting dirty water to be 
  flushed into the cesspit behind the prison.
  Creature: While the moldy clothing contains 
  nothing of value, it is far from safe. A few 
  rounds after the PCs enter this room, have them 
  all make Perception checks—whoever rolls the 
  highest notices a shape struggling within 
  the mound of clothing, as if a small child 
  or animal were buried within. In fact, one 
  of the items in the mound, a strong leather 
  straitjacket, has become the focus of a spiritual haunt—
  the straitjacket flies into unholy life as soon as anyone 
  approaches the clothing, attacking the nearest living 
  soul and fighting until destroyed. It does not pursue 
  foes from this room—if no living targets remain, it 
  flutters lifeless to the ground, animating once again as 
  soon as a living creature enters.
  Animated Straitjacket 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  hp 36 (see page 80)
  S13. Privy
  This is an empty privy once used by the guards. 
  Nothing of interest remains within today.
  S14. infirmAry
  Several moldy cots lay strewn around this room, while 
  doors to smaller, more private sleeping cells hang askew 
  to the west. Judging from the rest of this room’s decor, 
  this must have once been the prison’s infirmary.
  Creature: While the prison infirmary did what it could 
  to soothe the pains of wounded prisoners, an enormous 
  amount of pain was suffered over the years in this chamber, 
  and many of those wounded in prison fights, accidents, or 
  other violence survived only just long enough to reach this 
  room. With the power of the haunts growing elsewhere in 
  Harrowstone, these pains and agonies have coalesced into 
  a dangerous and angry spirit—a poltergeist.
  Naturally invisible, the poltergeist waits for at least 
  three people to enter the infirmary before rising up in 
  the center of the room, becoming visible as a twisted, 
  nearly skeletal ghost of a broken prisoner, using its 
  frightener ability to attempt to drive the intruders from 
  the room. Any who remain are attacked via its telekinesis 
  36
  Poltergeist
  
  power—there are plenty of dangerous, sharp objects 
  lying about in the room that the poltergeist can make 
  attacks with, all of which do 1d4 points of damage on a 
  successful hit. The poltergeist pursues foes throughout 
  the first floor of the prison, but will not chase people to 
  other floors or into the prison grounds, returning to the 
  infirmary in such an event to await its next victims.
  This poltergeist rejuvenates automatically 2d4 days after 
  it is destroyed—putting it to rest permanently requires the 
  destruction of the five key spirits haunting Harrowstone.
  Poltergeist 
  CR 2
  XP 600
  hp 16 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 211)
  Treasure: A search of this cluttered room reveals 
  a number of valuable objects—a pair of fully stocked 
  healer’s kits, 3 vials of antitoxin, 2 vials of antiplague, 3 
  doses of bloodblock, 3 doses of smelling salts, 2 vials of 
  soothe syrup, and 4 potions of cure light wounds (several of 
  these alchemical items can be found in Chapter 4 of the 
  Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player’s Guide). Every round that 
  the poltergeist is active in this room, there’s a 10% chance 
  its telekinetic violence destroys one of these items.
  S15. Auditorium (cr 3)
  Several rows of wooden benches, all spotted with mold and 
  sagging with neglect, face a stage walled off from the rest of 
  the room by a wall of iron bars.
  This chamber once fulfilled many functions. The guards 
  met here for morning instructions, but it was also used as a 
  makeshift courtroom.
  Haunt: Many prisoners had their death sentences set in 
  stone in this room, including most of those who died in the 
  fire below while still waiting for their scheduled execution 
  to take place. A 15-foot-radius area just north of the southern 
  podium and south of the central row of pews (the very spot on 
  which the condemned stood and received their judgments) is 
  the focus of a cold spot haunt that activates as soon as anyone 
  enters the room. This cold spot may be destroyed by putting 
  to rest at least three of the five primary haunts in the prison.
  Cold Spot 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  hp 13 (see page 66)
  S16. ProPerty room
  The metal door to this room remains quite sound 
  (hardness 10, hp 60, Break DC 28)—in addition, it is 
  locked (the key to the door can be found in area U8). The 
  lock can be picked with a DC 30 Disable Device check.
  A bizarre collection of antique goods rests upon wooden shelves 
  that line the room. Several of the items contain tiny tags with 
  labels written in a careful script. 
  A DC 20 Perception check is enough to notice the secret 
  door in the east wall.
  Treasure: Although much of the remaining property 
  is junk, a few items remain that may be of interest, 
  including a set of masterwork thieves’ tools, a bronze war 
  medallion from the Shining Crusade (worth 40 gp), an 
  unframed Taldan painting of Stavian I (worth 100 gp), 
  a set of a noblewoman’s silver hair clips (worth 35 gp), 
  a masterwork punching dagger, a pouch containing a 
  dozen masterwork shurikens, a masterwork silver war 
  razor, and a wand of lesser restoration (12 charges).
  S17. hidden vAuLt
  This small vault was used to store the more valuable or 
  notorious belongings of the various prisoners. Currently, 
  the vault contains only five objects, each one of which 
  once belonged to one of the five prisoners whose spirits 
  are now the primary denizens of Harrowstone.
  Treasure: All five of the items stored here are tagged with 
  information as to their former owners. The items found 
  here are listed below. Possession of these items can aid in 
  confronting the five key spirits, although each of the items 
  bears a curse due to its spiritual connection to one of the 
  five prisoners. These curses remain active until the object’s 
  previous owner is destroyed. The unique effects these 
  items have upon their respective haunts cannot be learned 
  via typical item examination, but using a spirit planchette to 
  communicate with the spirit in the item can reveal its use. 
  At the GM’s discretion, other methods of communicating 
  with spirits could also function similarly.
  Bloodstained Handaxe: This +1 handaxe was the Lopper’s 
  favorite murder weapon. No amount of cleaning can 
  remove the bloodstains on the blade or handle as long 
  as the Lopper’s spirit continues to haunt Harrowstone. 
  This weapon deals +1d6 points of damage on a hit against 
  flaming skulls and other beheaded (see page 82), as well as 
  against the Lopper or any creatures directly associated with 
  his hauntings. Against the Lopper, this weapon further 
  functions as a +1 ghost touch handaxe. Once successfully 
  wielded in combat, the handaxe’s curse manifests, after 
  which point the wielder cannot relinquish the axe unless the 
  curse is removed—as long as the curse persists, the axe’s 
  wielder must make a DC 13 Will save every day at dawn 
  to avoid taking 1 point of Constitution damage as terrific 
  pains lance through her neck.
  Collection of Holy Symbols: These holy symbols were 
  used by Father Charlatan, who would select one from the 
  collection that would match the faith of his victims as proof 
  of his good intentions. There are a dozen holy symbols 
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  37
  
  on fine silver chains—the collection as a whole is worth 
  300 gp. The exact holy symbols in the collection are up to 
  you, but all of the faiths of the PCs in the party should be 
  represented. The silver chains that attach the holy symbols 
  cannot be untangled, and the 12 symbols themselves are 
  stuck together until Father Charlatan’s spirit is put to rest. 
  While carried, this collection of holy symbols causes any 
  divine spell cast by the one who carries it to suffer a 10% 
  spell failure chance, as if she were casting arcane spells 
  while wearing armor. In addition, the carrier of these 
  symbols takes a –1 penalty on all saving throws against 
  divine spells. Perhaps more importantly, however, all 
  haunts in Harrowstone are less likely to harm the person 
  carrying these symbols, as a significant portion of Father 
  Charlatan’s trickery infuses them—they grant a +2 luck 
  bonus to the carrier’s AC and on all saving throws made 
  against attacks or effects from haunts in Harrowstone. 
  Once Father Charlatan is put to rest, all 12 chains slither 
  apart with ease—they no longer have any magical effects, 
  but can function as typical holy symbols.
  Moldy Spellbook: The covers and pages of this thick, 
  leather-bound spellbook have become caked with mold 
  over the years, but some of the contents remain legible. 
  This book once belonged to Professor Hean Feramin, 
  the man who would eventually achieve fame not through 
  academia but through murder. Known in his final days 
  as the Splatter Man, he was delt a hideous blow to his 
  morale and sanity by the loss of his spellbook. The 
  book, like the other objects in this room, now bears a 
  curse—anyone who looks through the book finds her 
  name scribbled in blood on the margins of the book. 
  Worse, as long as the book is carried, that person receives 
  periodic visions of her name partially spelled in blood in 
  unexpected areas—on the back of a door, on a gravestone, 
  on a magical scroll, or anywhere else. No one else can see 
  these scribblings, and when the victim blinks or glances 
  away, the words are no longer there upon a second look. 
  The cumulative effect of these frightening visions is to 
  impart a –2 penalty on all saving throws against fear-
  based effects. If the person carrying the book can cast 
  arcane spells, she also develops a fear of losing her ability 
  to cast spells and hoards her prepared spells or available 
  spell slots with an almost miserly greed. Whenever she 
  attempts to cast an arcane spell, she must make a DC 
  14 Will save to resist deciding at the last minute to not 
  cast the spell, effectively losing that action for the round 
  (although not the spell or spell slot). This effect persists 
  for 1d6 days after the person carrying the book sets it 
  down. Possession of this spellbook grants a significant 
  advantage over the Splatter Man—he can sense the book’s 
  proximity, and will not attack or otherwise directly harm 
  the person carrying that book unless that person attacks 
  him first, at which point he can attack the book’s carrier 
  but with a –2 penalty on all attack rolls and a –2 penalty 
  to the save DCs of any spells he casts on that target. In 
  addition, by ripping pages that contain spells out of the 
  book while within 30 feet of the Splatter Man’s ghost, 
  the book’s carrier can actually damage the ghost. It’s a 
  standard action to rip pages from the book—the carrier 
  must pick which pages (and thus which spells) he wishes 
  to destroy. Each time he does so, the Splatter Man’s ghost 
  takes 1d6 points of damage + 1 additional point per spell 
  destroyed. Ripping all of the pages out at once is possible 
  for a larger overall damage bonus on that action, but 
  ripping spells out one at a time will do more damage to 
  the Splatter Man in the long run. As mentioned above, 
  mold has destroyed most of the book’s contents, but nine 
  spells do remain viable: comprehend languages, dispel magic, 
  false life, gust of wind, illusory script, levitate, mage armor, 
  magic missile, and summon monster IV. Once the curse on 
  the book is lifted, it’s worth 1,265 gp (assuming all of 
  its remaining spells are intact—if spells are destroyed, 
  reduce the cost by half those spells’ cost in scroll form).
  Smith’s Hammer: This masterwork smith’s hammer 
  grants a +2 competence bonus on all Craft (armorsmith, 
  blacksmith, and weaponsmith) checks. If used in battle, 
  the hammer functions as a masterwork light hammer. 
  The hammer’s presence is enough to cause the spirit of the 
  Mosswater Marauder to suffer powerful pangs of shame, 
  guilt, and horror—as long as the hammer is within 20 
  feet of the Mosswater Marauder’s haunt, all save DCs 
  from that haunt are reduced by 2, and any ectoplasmic 
  manifestations of the Mosswater Marauder’s spirit 
  takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls, saving throws, skill 
  checks, and weapon damage. Unfortunately, each round 
  a haunt is so affected, the person carrying this hammer 
  must make a DC 13 Will save to resist the compulsion to 
  attack the nearest living creature with the hammer.
  Tarnished Silver Flute: This 300 gp masterwork flute 
  was once owned by the man known only as the Piper of 
  Illmarsh. If someone plays even a single note on the flute, 
  she must make a DC 13 Will save to be seized with a fit of 
  performance and immediately begin playing an impressive 
  but dolorous dirge on the flute. Every round she plays the 
  flute, she must make a DC 13 Fortitude save to avoid taking 
  1d4 points of damage as blood begins running from her 
  eyes and ears and fingertips. If she makes the save, she 
  takes only 1 point of damage. She cannot voluntarily cease 
  playing the flute, but if reduced to negative hit points, 
  she drops the flute as she slumps into unconsciousness. 
  Another character can attempt to snatch the flute away 
  by making a successful combat maneuver to effectively 
  disarm the character of the flute—alternatively, any 
  physical restraint (such as a successful grapple or a hold 
  person spell) causes the flutist to cease playing and emerge 
  from her fugue. The music created by this flute affects 
  38
  
  the giant stirge at area R8 and the skeletons at area T4 if 
  the flutist is within 10 feet, causing those creatures to be 
  staggered by the music as long as it persists. In addition, 
  each round the music persists while in the area of effect of 
  the Piper’s haunt at area T4, the music deals 1d6 points of 
  damage to the haunt.
  Story Award: Award the PCs 400 XP if they discover 
  these five cursed (but still quite useful) items.
  S18. trAining room (cr 2)
  The northeast wall of this room has partially fallen, revealing 
  the dark, murky waters of the pond outside. Moldering training 
  dummies and other similar equipment hint that this room may 
  have once been a training area for the guards. In the northeast 
  part of the room, the floor around a dark, jagged hole is 
  surrounded by black scorch marks.
  This room was where the fire that doomed Harrowstone 
  began, as detailed in the Adventure Background. The 
  fire burned so hot that much of the eastern wing of 
  the dungeon below collapsed once its wooden supports 
  failed. The jagged, soot-caked hole in the floor was once 
  the location of the lift that connected the two floors—
  the machinery that powered the lift tumbled into the 
  dungeon below during the fire. It’s a 20-foot drop to area 
  U1 from this point—the edges of the hole may appear 
  dangerous but the unstable portions have long since 
  fallen away, leaving the remaining rim solid enough to 
  support the weight of numerous creatures. Climbing 
  down into the room below requires at least two separate 
  Climb checks—the first a DC 30 check to navigate the 
  overhang and ceiling of area U1, and then a number of 
  DC 10 Climb checks to navigate the ruined stone and 
  timber wall down to the ground 20 feet below. The PCs 
  can climb down much more safely by first tying a knotted 
  rope to a nearby wall or fallen timber and then throwing 
  the rope into the hole (DC 10 Climb check), while hauling 
  a 20-foot-long ladder up from Ravengro may be an even 
  safer (although more time-consuming) solution.
  Creatures: The fires that consumed the chambers below 
  continue to burn in the skulls of several undead guardians 
  here—three flaming skulls lie inert among the rubble 
  near the pit to area U1 until any living creatures approach 
  within 20 feet, at which point the skulls shriek and rise up to 
  attack, fighting to the death. The three skulls encountered 
  here are in addition to those that take part in the burning 
  of the town hall—if that event has not yet occurred, those 
  additional skulls are not encountered here.
  flaming Skulls (3) 
  CR 1/2
  XP 200 each
  hp 5 each (see page 82)
  S19. furnAce room (cr 3)
  A huge stone furnace dominates this room, large enough for a 
  child to climb inside. An ancient fire has burned away the entire 
  east wall the room, providing a panoramic, if eerie, view of the 
  lake beyond. That same lake has gradually expanded into the 
  room, flooding its eastern half.
  The enormous furnace in this chamber once heated 
  Harrowstone. A soot-caked copper plaque over the furnace 
  entrance reads “Ember Maw.” Although the guards often 
  tormented prisoners by threatening that they would 
  one day cremate the prisoners alive inside Old Ember 
  Maw, only one prisoner was so executed—a particularly 
  troublesome lifer named Benjen Ereska.
  Haunt: Old Ember Maw is more than an ominous piece 
  of machinery. It has become infused with the evil spirits 
  of the place—linked to the fire that claimed so may lives, 
  partially due to the fear of being burned alive that some 
  of the prisoners developed over the years, but mostly 
  from the lingering horror and anger of the one prisoner 
  who was executed by the guards here.
  Old ember Maw 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  CE persistent haunt (5-ft.-by-15-ft. strip in front of the furnace)
  Caster Level 3rd
  notice Perception DC 15 (to notice the face of the furnace 
  beginning to animate and to scent the sudden rising stink 
  of burning flesh)
  hp 13; Weakness susceptible to cold damage; Trigger 
  proximity; Reset 1 day
  effect When this haunt is triggered, the face of Old Ember 
  Maw seems to animate into a leering skull-like visage 
  made of metal and bars. It roars, then a fiery tongue 
  lashes out from its maw to strike at one target within 30 
  feet, attacking as a scorching ray (+3 ranged touch attack, 
  4d6 fire damage). The haunt continues to attack each 
  round as long as targets remain within the room. This 
  haunt takes damage from cold as well as from positive 
  energy effects.
  Destruction Benjen’s bones, or what’s left of them (parts of a 
  skull, some ribs, and a few finger bones) must be sifted out 
  of the ashes deep in the furnace (DC 20 Perception check 
  to locate them). The bones feel hot to the touch—hurling 
  them into any large body of water staunches Benjen’s wrath 
  and destroys the haunt.
  t1. guArd PoSt
  This guard area is blocked from the cellblock by an arc of iron 
  bars. Within sits an old wooden table and a few chairs.
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  39
  
  Guard duty here was considered a comfortable 
  assignment compared to assignment in the dungeon below, 
  and Harrowstone’s guards would frequently wager their 
  shifts, hoping to win future shifts here in order to keep 
  themselves out of the more depressing cellblocks below.
  The stairs at area T1a lead down to area S10.
  t2. meSS hALL (cr 2)
  Wooden benches once lined this large hall, but several are 
  now stacked in a jumble and others are overturned in disarray. 
  Weakened by fire, the entire east wall has collapsed away, 
  creating an unintended entryway to a wooden deck beyond. 
  The view of the lake beyond would be beautiful if the silence 
  were not so eerie.
  Creatures: Although this area is technically beyond the 
  notice and reach of the piper’s haunt (see area T4), three 
  of his beloved pets dwell here nevertheless. These stirges 
  attack anyone who enters the area—if the PCs can defeat 
  these three stirges before they attempt to explore the cells 
  of the western cellblock itself (area T4), they’ll have an easier 
  fight on their hands. If the stirges have already responded 
  to a fight in area T4, they are not encountered here.
  Stirges (3) 
  CR 1/2
  XP 200 each
  hp 5 each (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 260)
  t3. Privy
  This is an empty privy once used by the guards. Nothing 
  of interest remains within today.
  t4. the WeStern ceLLBLock (cr 5)
  Row upon row of ten-foot-square prison cells line the walls, 
  each separated from the passing hallway by a series of iron 
  bars fitted with a narrow iron door. Skeletons slump in many of 
  the cells, the bones scattered where they lie and coated with a 
  mixed layer of ancient ashes and fresh mold.
  Harrowstone’s less dangerous criminals were kept 
  in this cellblock, yet despite the “luxury” of being 
  imprisoned aboveground, life in these cells was hardly 
  comfortable. When the fire struck, the thick smoke 
  wafted up into this block slowly but inexorably. None of 
  these cells feature windows, and asphyxiation by smoke 
  inhalation eventually killed every one of the prisoners.
  Area T4a is not a cell—it once provided access to the 
  highest balcony above (area R8). While the wood and iron 
  ladder leading up to the trap door above remains sound, 
  the rubble above prevents the trap door from being opened 
  without a DC 22 Strength check. If the door is opened, a 
  cascade of rubble pours down—all creatures directly under 
  the door must make a DC 15 Reflex save to avoid taking 
  1d6 points of damage (a creature on the ladder receives no 
  save to avoid this damage). If the giant stirge in R8 has not 
  yet been defeated, the creature quickly follows the rubble, 
  eager to attack whatever is coming up from below.
  Area T4b is a short hallway ending in a reinforced iron 
  and wood door—unlike the other doors in Harrowstone, 
  this particular door remains quite stout and locked 
  (hardness 5, hp 20, Break DC 25, Disable Device 30). It 
  leads out to the southwest balcony (area R6).
  Most of the iron cell doors are rusted shut and difficult 
  to open (hardness 10, hp 30, Break DC 26). Those marked 
  with an “X” hang open, having fallen away over the years.
  Creatures: Although his body was burnt to ashes in 
  the fire in the dungeon below in a cellblock called the 
  Reaper’s Hold, the ghostly spirit of the Piper of Illmarsh 
  has since gravitated up into this floor, where he can see 
  the moorlands outside and feel the periodic breeze of 
  cold air wafting through empty windows. Here the Piper 
  bides his time, playing with spectral versions of the 
  stirges he once raised in life while his strength slowly 
  increases as Vesorianna’s hold over the prison dwindles. 
  Over the years, the Piper’s presence here has attracted 
  numerous stirges (see areas R8 and T2), but in addition, 
  his presence has augmented the spirits of the prisoners 
  who died on this floor.
  Only 1d4 rounds after the first intruder wanders into 
  the Western Cellblock, the Piper’s spirit begins to waken, 
  activating a dreadful haunt (see Haunt, below). At the 
  same time, the angry spirits of the prisoners here waken 
  as well, animating their skeletons into undead. Each cell 
  here contains a single skeleton, but fortunately for the PCs, 
  most of the cells remain closed and locked—skeletons 
  within cells cannot exit, although they can try to claw at 
  anyone adjacent to their door (doing so grants the victim 
  a +4 bonus to his AC from cover, though). Several of the 
  cells, however, are open, and from these cells four skeletons 
  emerge to attack the PCs. You can adjust the difficulty 
  of this fight by allowing more skeletons to break out of 
  their cells, but you should only award experience points 
  to the PCs for skeletons that are actually slain outside of 
  their cells—those unable to escape do not pose enough of 
  a threat to the PCs to warrant XP awards. The skeletons 
  pursue foes throughout this floor, but do not chase foes 
  downstairs or outside of the building.
  Human Skeletons (4) 
  CR 1/3
  XP 135 each
  hp 4 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 250)
  Haunt: The Piper of Illmarsh is a dangerous haunt, 
  one whose power allows it to suffuse a larger area than 
  40
  
  normal. While unable to directly harm creatures, when 
  coupled with other monsters (such as skeletons or stirges), 
  the Piper’s haunt can be dangerous indeed.
  The Piper of Illmarsh 
  CR 4
  XP 1,200
  CE persistent haunt (area T4)
  Caster Level 4th
  notice Perception DC 15 (to notice the faint sound of 
  mournful flute music and the eerie flapping of tiny 
  leathery wings)
  hp 18; Trigger proximity; Reset none (see below)
  effect Once active, the Piper of Illmarsh manifests 
  as a disembodied, mournful dirge played upon 
  a flute. The dirge can be heard throughout this 
  floor of Harrowstone, but can only physically affect 
  those within the western cellblock itself—the halls 
  facing one of the cells in the western portion of 
  this floor. Each round, all living creatures (except for 
  stirges) within this area must make a DC 14 Will save 
  at the start of their turn to avoid being shaken by the 
  effect. Once per round on the Piper’s turn, one randomly 
  chosen humanoid in the area is also targeted by a hold 
  person effect (DC 14 Will negates)—those who fail this 
  save not only stand motionless, entranced by the music, 
  but also experience a vision of the ghostly Piper himself 
  as he approaches, attended by a flock of stirges. Once 
  a victim escapes this hold person effect, the cumulative 
  effect of the fear caused by the Piper’s slow, inexorable 
  approach forces the victim to immediately make a DC 14 
  Will save to avoid taking 1d6 points of damage as blood 
  momentarily flows from a dozen tiny punctures that 
  spontaneously open along his arms and neck. The Piper’s 
  haunt may only target a specific creature once per day 
  with this hold person effect.
  Destruction Once the Piper’s haunt has been reduced 
  to 0 hit points, Vesorianna’s ghost prevents it from 
  manifesting again.
  t5. kitchen
  Once a kitchen, this room is now nothing more than charred, 
  blackened remains.
  Once used to prepare the prisoners’ daily gruel, this 
  room now contains little of note. An adjoining pantry 
  once contained an abundance of foodstuffs, but it was 
  picked clean by rats and squirrels long ago.
  t6. eAStern ceLLBLock
  While each of these cells (save for area T7) contains a prisoner’s 
  skeleton, the Piper’s influence does not extend this far. All of 
  the bones in these cells are, as a result, not undead.
  t7. fAther chArLAtAn’S ceLL (cr 5)
  Although this cell is rather spacious, it contains no concessions 
  to comfort. A skeletal body dressed in the rotting remains of a 
  prisoner’s robe lies slumped against the eastern wall, wrapped 
  in numerous chains on which are affixed numerous weights 
  emblazoned with several different holy symbols.
  This corner cell was Father Charlatan’s final home 
  before his death from smoke inhalation. Of the five 
  key prisoners, Father Charlatan’s crimes were the least 
  heinous, and thus he was imprisoned not in the dungeons 
  below but here, in this relatively spacious cell. Yet the 
  power of the churches he blasphemed against was strong, 
  and as a concession toward that power, Father Charlatan 
  was bound in heavy chains decorated with the symbols of 
  the faiths he sinned against.
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  41
  The Piper of Illmarsh
  
  Haunt: Father Charlatan’s lingering spirit still lurks 
  in this cell, and is one of the five key spirits that plague 
  Harrowstone. Of the five, this one is perhaps the most 
  insidious, and it is likely the PCs won’t realize they’ve 
  triggered this haunt immediately.
  father Charlatan 
  CR 5
  XP 1,600
  CE persistent haunt (area T6)
  Caster Level 5th
  notice Perception DC 20 (to notice the soft jingling of chains 
  being jostled)
  hp 22; Trigger special (see below); Reset none (see below)
  effect Father Charlatan’s haunt is subtle and unusual—when 
  it manifests, it requires a bit of trickery on your part. 
  Initially, the haunt targets a single person (either the 
  first person to touch Father Charlatan’s journal 
  or his remains, or the last person to attempt 
  to leave the cell), automatically haunting that 
  person but having no other immediate effect. 
  Detect chaos, detect evil, or detect undead 
  reveals the presence of the haunt on this 
  person (such observation reveals the 
  haunt as the Father’s ghost standing immediately behind 
  the haunted PC, his hand upon that PC’s shoulder). The 
  haunt remains inactive until the next time the haunted 
  PC is damaged by a trap or a creature, at which point the 
  haunted PC must make a DC 15 Will save or immediately 
  fall unconscious. Success prevents this effect, but the PC 
  must continue to make DC 15 Will saves each time that he is 
  damaged thereafter to avoid falling unconscious.
  When a PC succumbs to this haunt, grimly inform that 
  player that the damage dealt by the attack was enough to kill 
  her, then ask the player to come with you to another room 
  where the rest of the players can’t observe you. Once that 
  player has been separated, inform her that her character 
  “wakes up” some time later in a coffin with a pleasant-
  looking, red-haired priest of that PC’s faith standing over 
  her. The priest informs the PC that she has been resurrected 
  after her body was recovered from Harrowstone, but that 
  several months have passed and the PCs’ companions have 
  long ago moved on. Allow the player to 
  tell you what her character wishes to 
  do, but regardless of the action she 
  takes (be it to query the priest, to 
  flee, to attack, to cast a spell, to 
  attempt to disbelieve an illusion, 
  or whatever), have her attempt a 
  DC 15 Will save. Success indicates 
  that her action is successful and 
  causes 1d6 points of damage to the 
  haunt, while failure indicates it is not 
  and that she takes 1d6 points of damage as horrific 
  pains shoot through her body. Be creative in how 
  you describe the results of the Will save—the point 
  is to leave the player a bit confused as to why she’s 
  making Will saves but that, obviously, successful 
  saves are good while failures are bad.
  After each Will save, regardless of its success or not, 
  return to the main group and inform them that their 
  companion is not, in fact, dead, but that the PC has 
  dropped to the ground and has become wrapped in 
  ghostly chains decorated with numerous holy symbols. 
  The chains are slowly tightening about the PC’s body, 
  causing her to thrash about in great pain and distress. 
  Run through a round of combat with the PCs, allowing 
  them to take their actions normally (either continuing the 
  combat in which the haunted PC succumbed to the haunt, 
  or attempting to damage the haunt itself) for that round. At 
  the end of that round, return to the player of the haunted 
  PC and ask for another round of actions and another DC 
  15 Will save to determine whether the player takes 
  damage or the haunt does. Continue this back and 
  forth until either the haunted PC dies (in which case 
  Father Charlatan’s haunt returns to area T6 to await 
  another victim) or the haunt itself is reduced to 0 hit 
  42
  Father Charlatan
  
  points, at which point the ghostly chains around the haunted 
  PC fade and that PC awakens (although she still takes any 
  damage that was dealt by the haunt).
  Obviously, this haunt’s impact on the party can vary—if 
  it occurs during a combat, it can be quite dangerous, but 
  if it occurs as a result of the haunted PC simply taking 
  damage from a trap or accident, the PCs will be able to 
  focus entirely on the problem at hand rather than on any 
  distracting battles also going on. If the PCs notice the haunt 
  before it activates (perhaps by using a divination spell, as 
  detailed above), they can attempt to damage it normally.
  Weakness In addition to taking damage normally from 
  positive energy, this haunt can be damaged by certain spells 
  cast upon the haunted PC. Protection from chaos, protection 
  from evil, aid, or remove fear each deal 1d6 points of damage 
  per casting—at your discretion, similar spells could have 
  this effect as well.
  Destruction Once Father Charlatan’s haunt has been reduced 
  to 0 hit points, Vesorianna’s ghost prevents it from 
  manifesting again.
  Development This haunt is particularly unusual, and 
  against parties who have no way to damage a haunt (either 
  because they lack resources or any ability to deal positive 
  energy damage), it can be particularly frustrating for the 
  non-haunted players. In such a case, you should consider 
  allowing the non-haunted players to aid another on the 
  haunted PC’s Will saves by taking actions such as Heal 
  checks to attempt to revive the unconscious PC, Knowledge 
  (religion) checks to pray for help, or even Intimidate checks 
  to try to shock the unconscious PC back to wakefulness. 
  These checks can grant the haunted PC a +2 bonus on his 
  Will save each round with a DC 10 success. Alternatively, 
  a DC 15 Knowledge (religion) check can reveal that the 
  stricken PC has become haunted by a spirit, and could 
  suggest that casting spells like protection from evil or similar 
  spells upon the haunted PC might help.
  u1. heLL’S BASement (cr 3)
  This cavernous chamber may have once been an underground 
  cellblock, but it has long since collapsed. The crumbled walls 
  are thick with mold and stained with soot, and heaps of fallen 
  stones and charred wooden beams line the area. Water drips 
  and seeps along the walls, collecting in a dark, murky pool in 
  the middle of the room. To the north, the twisted remains of a 
  wood and iron lift lie in a heap in a shallow portion of the pool. 
  A jagged hole in the roof yawns twenty feet above this ruin. To 
  the west, a partially blocked opening seems to open up after 
  several feet into a dark but stable tunnel.
  This cellblock was once known as “Hell’s Basement” for 
  its location below the Harrowstone graveyard. Once the 
  largest wing of the dungeon, the fire caused this wing to 
  collapse, leaving this room partially open but destroying 
  all of the chambers east of this point. The lift shaft is 
  still the only route to and from the remaining dungeons 
  below Harrowstone.
  The hole in the roof leads up to area S18. A search of the 
  pool and the rubble along the edges reveals a large number 
  of shattered bones mixed in with the debris—dozens of 
  guards and prisoners perished here, either from the fire, 
  smoke inhalation, or as a result of being crushed by the 
  dungeon’s collapse. Nothing of value remains.
  The floor in this room, and indeed the floor throughout 
  this dungeon, is unusually free of dust—the result of regular 
  wanderings by the gray ooze that dwells in area U9.
  Creatures: Warden Hawkran’s ghost once haunted 
  this room, but now that his spirit has been taken away 
  by the Whispering Way, the unquiet spirits of the 
  prisoners themselves hold sway here. The first time the 
  PCs enter this area, their presence is enough to cause a 
  dramatic reaction among the unquiet spirits. As soon 
  as the first PC sets foot in this chamber, the room fills 
  with a cacophonous roar of screams and howls, echoes 
  of the cries of those who burned to death in this room. 
  This unsettling manifestation causes no harm, but an 
  instant later, the surface of the dark pool of water begins 
  rippling around the ruined lift as two ectoplasmic 
  spirits rise up, dripping and horrible, to attack. These 
  ectoplasmic human spirits fight to the death, pursuing 
  foes throughout the dungeon but not up into area S18—
  if intruders flee via this route, the ectoplasmic humans 
  slump away into nothingness as soon as no more targets 
  are available.
  ectoplasmic Humans (2) 
  CR 1
  XP 400 each
  hp 9 each (see page 86)
  u2. centrAL dungeon chAmBer (cr 4)
  Four dark hallways exit from this large empty chamber, each 
  striking out in one of the four directions of the compass, and 
  each decorated with a soot-caked brass nameplate affixed to the 
  ceiling just above the entrance. A rubble-choked stairway leads 
  up in the middle of the room, while eight skeletons dressed in 
  scorched prisoners’ robes lie on the ground.
  The stairway here once led up to area S9 above, but the 
  deadfall has rendered it impassable. A DC 12 Perception 
  check reveals scratches along the rubble and stone 
  blocks—testimony to the prisoners’ futile attempts to dig 
  out the deadfall from below.
  The brass nameplates that hang above each of the four 
  hallways leading out of this room identify the cellblocks that 
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  43
  
  Gurtis Vortch
  lie beyond, although the soot must be wiped away to reveal 
  these names. To the north lies “The Oubliette.” To the west 
  lies “Reaper’s Hold.” To the south lies “The Nevermore.” 
  And to the east once stretched “Hell’s Basement.”
  Creatures: The eight skeletons on the ground here 
  are the remains of prisoners who were caught in the 
  fire to the east; they managed to make it this far before 
  collapsing from their burns or choking on the smoke. 
  The spirits of the dead prisoners haunt this place still, 
  and 1 round after the PCs enter this area, the eight bodies 
  begin to rattle into life. Give the PCs a surprise round 
  to take actions before the skeletons fully animate, at 
  which point the undead attack and fight to the death. As 
  the combat progresses, the skeletons begin to 
  smolder—any skeletons still active after 
  3 rounds ignite into burning skeletons (see page 251 of the 
  Pathfinder RPG Bestiary).
  Human Skeletons (8) 
  CR 1/3
  XP 135 each
  hp 4 each (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 250)
  u3. the heAdLeSS guArd (cr 4)
  The door to this guard room hangs slightly ajar. Within stands 
  a table surrounded by a few rickety chairs, along with a pair of 
  moldy but serviceable cots.
  This and the other guard rooms (areas U5, U6, and 
  U10) were used as staging areas, break rooms, and posts 
  by guards during Harrowstone’s day—at any one time, 
  each of these rooms contained at least three additional 
  guards to complement those on patrol in the dungeon 
  halls or working above. The guards themselves lived in 
  Ravengro, but at times when they had to stay at the prison 
  overnight and weren’t on duty, the cots in these rooms 
  gave them a place to catch a nap.
  A winch affixed to the north wall raises and lowers 
  the portcullis that allows entrance into area U4. The 
  portcullis can be locked from the closed position, but 
  is currently raised.
  Creature: The first victim of the Harrowstone riot 
  was the captain of the guards, a cruel man named 
  Gurtis Vortch who wasn’t much better than the prisoners 
  he enjoyed torturing and tormenting. He was the first 
  casualty during the riot, murdered by the Lopper with 
  his own stolen sword.
  In death, Gurtis Vortch’s soul, unshackled from 
  society’s tenuous hold, became one with the ambient 
  cruelty of the place. Like the prisoners, he now lives on as 
  an undead remnant—in this case, as a burning, headless 
  skeletal champion. Blind and deaf, Vortch is trapped 
  within his own insanity for much of the time—yet his 
  ability to sense living, intelligent intruders is enough to 
  rouse the headless undead back into “active duty” as soon 
  as anyone comes within 30 feet of this room.
  Gurtis Vortch 
  CR 4
  XP 1,200
  Male human burning skeletal champion fighter 3 (Pathfinder 
  RPG Bestiary 251, 252)
  LE Medium undead
  Init +3; Senses deathwatch; Perception +3
  Aura fiery aura
  DefenSe
  AC 11, touch 9, flat-footed 10 (–2 blind, +1 dodge, +2 natural)
  hp 33 (5 HD; 2d8+3d10+8)
  fort +4, Ref +4, Will +4
  44
  
  Defensive Abilities bravery +1, channel resistance +4; DR 5/
  bludgeoning; Immune fire, undead traits
  Weaknesses headless, vulnerable to cold
  OffenSe
  Speed 15 ft.
  Melee handaxe +6 (1d6+9/×3 plus 1d6 fire), claw +0 (1d4+5 plus 
  1d6 fire)
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 5th; concentration +6)
  Constant—deathwatch
  TACTICS
  During Combat Vortch always uses Power Attack—these 
  modifiers are included in his stats above. Although he can 
  pinpoint targets with his deathwatch ability, he still suffers 
  a 50% miss chance for blindness (a disadvantage his Blind-
  Fight feat helps lessen).
  Morale Vortch fights to the death as long as he can sense 
  living creatures in range of his deathwatch ability; 
  otherwise, he staggers back to this room, relying upon his 
  memories to retrace his route.
  STATISTICS
  Str 17, Dex 16, Con —, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 12
  Base Atk +4; CMB +7; CMD 21
  feats Blind-Fight, Dodge, Improved InitiativeB, Mobility, 
  Power Attack, Weapon Focus (handaxe), Weapon 
  Specialization (handaxe)
  Skills Climb +6, Intimidate +8, Perception +3
  Languages Common (cannot speak or hear)
  SQ armor training 1, fiery death (2d6, DC 13)
  Gear handaxe
  SPeCIAL ABILITIeS
  Headless (ex) Vortch is both blind and deaf, but his ability to 
  use deathwatch helps to lessen the penalties he takes from 
  this condition. These penalties are included as appropriate 
  in the stats above, including a –4 penalty to initiative, a –4 
  penalty on opposed Perception checks, a –4 penalty on 
  Strength- and Dexterity-based skill checks, and his reduced 
  speed (if he wants to move at 30 ft., he must make a DC 10 
  Acrobatics check or fall prone).
  u4. the ouBLiette (cr 5)
  The portcullis leading into this room is raised.
  Several iron doors line the walls of this large, empty room. In 
  the middle of the room, a hinged ten-foot-square metal grating 
  lies over a dark pit in the floor. A thick rope has been tied to the 
  grating and dangles into the pit below.
  This block of cells was once used to house the most 
  violent murderers in Harrowstone—killers who couldn’t 
  be trusted alongside even other prisoners. The grating in 
  the middle of the room was once kept locked with lengths 
  of chain, but today the grating is unlocked. The pit below 
  drops 30 feet into a deep oubliette—a cell from which its 
  occupant’s release was never intended. The walls of the 
  oubliette are polished smooth with very few handholds—
  it’s a DC 30 Climb check to navigate the oubliette’s walls. 
  The rope hanging into the pit is only a few feet long, 
  terminating at a frayed end—the remainder of the rope 
  lies at the bottom of the pit, coiled around the mortal 
  remains of the oubliette’s final prisoner.
  Creature: The last occupant of this oubliette was the 
  serial killer known as the Lopper. Despite the indisputably 
  violent nature of his crimes, a number of bureaucratic 
  complications kept pushing back his expected date of 
  execution—unable to proceed with what he felt was a 
  simple judgment, the warden instead had the Lopper 
  dropped into this pit. With both of his legs broken, the 
  Lopper malingered in these depths for months before 
  salvation came in the shape of a potion of levitation smuggled 
  into his cell as part of the Splatter Man’s complex plan to 
  engineer his escape from Harrowstone (see area U11 for 
  full details on how the Splatter Man engineered the riot 
  that led to the great fire of 4661). The Lopper waited until 
  just before his daily feeding before he drank the potion. 
  He floated up to the edge of his oubliette above, and when 
  Gurtis Vortch came to dump the day’s food into the pit, 
  the Lopper was there to ambush him. He grabbed Vortch 
  through the bars of his oubliette’s grating and pulled him 
  prone, then deftly disarmed the guard of his sword and, 
  with a few expert cuts, decapitated him. After fishing the 
  keys to the oubliette’s lid out of the still twitching body’s 
  beltpouch, the Lopper was free. He quickly released the 
  other prisoners from the nearby cells, and the growing 
  distraction was enough to allow the Splatter Man to stage 
  a similar coup to the south. The riot spread quickly after 
  that, ending only after 7 hours of violence in fire and 
  PriSon ceLLS
  Three wings of the Harrowstone dungeon survive, and 
  found within all three are numerous prison cells. Regardless 
  of their wing, these cells are all relatively similar in shape 
  and size. Each contains a mound of ancient straw, two 
  wooden buckets (one for food, the other for waste), and a 
  tattered blanket. The iron doors for all of these cells hang 
  open, for the Splatter Man was quick to have the cells 
  unlocked and the prisoners released as soon as he seized 
  control of the prison that fateful night 50-some years 
  ago. None of the unmarked cells on the map contain any 
  dangers, although fights from nearby areas can certainly 
  spill over into these otherwise unremarkable rooms.
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  45
  
  The Lopper
  ruin. Faced with death by fire or asphyxiation, the Lopper 
  fled back to this oubliette, hoping to wait out the disaster 
  in the depths below. Yet while the Lopper’s theory was 
  sound and the smoke never did reach into the oubliette’s 
  depths, the rope he used to lower himself into the pit had 
  been damaged in the fire. When, several hours after the 
  fire burnt out, he tried to climb to safety and escape, the 
  rope broke, dropping him back into the pit, breaking his 
  legs anew, and consigning him to a lingering death from 
  thirst. Of the prisoners of Harrowstone, the Lopper may 
  have lived the longest after the fire, yet in the end, he 
  perished as well.
  Today, the Lopper lives on as an undead monstrosity. 
  His spirit, mixing with the decay of his body and the 
  filthy condensation on the oubliette’s walls, has become 
  a wraith. Although incorporeal, the Lopper appears 
  similar to the way he did in life, save that his arms are 
  unusually elongated. Content to spend most of his time 
  lurking in the depths of the oubliette, the Lopper is swift 
  to react to the approach of living creatures, rising up from 
  his oubliette with a soul-chilling shriek. Not quite a full-
  fledged ghost, the Lopper is a variant, unique wraith—not 
  quite as outright deadly as a standard wraith, yet perhaps 
  more horrific to face. He makes his incorporeal touch 
  attacks with his ghostly axe.
  The Lopper 
  CR 5
  XP 1,600
  Male variant wraith (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 281)
  NE Medium undead (incorporeal)
  Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft., lifesense; Perception +11
  Aura unnatural aura (30 ft.)
  DefenSe
  AC 18, touch 18, flat-footed 15 (+5 deflection, +3 Dex)
  hp 57 (6d8+30)
  fort +7, Ref +7, Will +7
  Defensive Abilities blood siphoning, channel resistance +2, 
  incorporeal; Immune undead traits
  Weaknesses fear of fire, sunlight powerlessness
  OffenSe
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee incorporeal touch +7 (1d6 negative energy plus 1d6 bleed)
  Special Attacks create spawn, decapitation
  TACTICS
  During Combat The Lopper moves with a calm grace, never 
  staying still and drifting from target to target each round, 
  using Acrobatics to avoid attacks of opportunity. He 
  attempts to keep as many victims wounded and bleeding 
  as possible, since he can only gain 1d6 points of healing per 
  bleeding victim.
  Morale The Lopper fights to the death, pursuing foes as far as 
  Harrowstone’s boundaries if necessary (although he won’t 
  pursue fleeing PCs outside during the day).
  STATISTICS
  Str —, Dex 16, Con —, Int 14, Wis 14, Cha 21
  Base Atk +4; CMB +7; CMD 22
  feats Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Step Up
  Skills Acrobatics +9, Fly +12, Intimidate +14, Perception +11, 
  Sense Motive +11, Stealth +12
  Languages Common
  SPeCIAL ABILITIeS
  Blood Siphoning (Su) The Lopper’s incorporeal touch attacks 
  deal negative energy damage, but the wounds thus created 
  manifest as deep, bloody cuts, as if dealt by a razor-sharp 
  hatchet. These wounds cause 1d6 bleed—any damage 
  46
  
  caused by this bleed effect heals the Lopper of an equal 
  amount of damage as the blood running from the wound 
  turns to smoke and drifts over to the Lopper’s body to 
  merge with his form, provided that the bleeding victim is 
  within 30 feet of the Lopper. Hit points gained in excess of 
  his maximum are lost.
  Create Spawn (Su) Creatures slain by the Lopper become 
  ectoplasmic undead 1d4 rounds after death, with draining 
  blood forming the bulk of the new undead’s body. 
  Ectoplasmic undead created in this manner are under 
  the Lopper’s command; if the Lopper is destroyed, the 
  ectoplasmic undead become free-willed.
  Decapitation (Su) A creature slain by the Lopper’s incorporeal 
  touch is always decapitated. The resulting gout of blood 
  created by this grisly triumph heals the Lopper of 2d6 
  points of damage.
  fear of fire (ex) Although the Lopper is normally immune to 
  fear effects as a result of his undead state, he remembers the 
  terror of the great fire vividly. If he is successfully damaged 
  by any fire-based attack, he is staggered for 1 round.
  Treasure: The Lopper’s remains lie in a heap at the 
  bottom of the oubliette, along with about 30 feet of 
  old rope. In addition, a fair amount of gear and other 
  treasures looted from murdered guards or stolen from 
  guard rooms lies among the Lopper’s bones (and Gurtis 
  Vortch’s decapitated skull). These objects consist of 120 
  gp, a broken masterwork heavy crossbow, a masterwork 
  longsword, a +1 heavy mace, a stone of alarm, and a ring of 
  keys (these once belonged to Gurtis Vortch, and can be 
  used to unlock any of the doors or cells in the dungeon—
  including the secret doors in areas U6 and U9).
  u5. WeStern guArd room
  This guard room is decorated similarly to the others, 
  with a table, a few chairs, and a pair of cots, yet unlike the 
  others, no undead or haunts lurk within. A winch affixed 
  to the western wall raises and lowers the portcullis that 
  allows access into area U7. The portcullis is currently 
  lowered and locked in place. The winch here can be 
  used to release that lock (a move action) and to raise the 
  portcullis (a full-round action).
  u6. cAPtAin’S office (cr 4)
  This guardroom contains a single large table with two chairs 
  astride it and a single sagging cot pushed up against the eastern 
  wall. Several battered cabinets line the northern wall, with a few 
  arrows and bits of chainmail lying scattered on the floor nearby, 
  yet the most eerie sight are the three fractured skulls sitting on 
  the table next to a heavy hammer. It looks as if someone has 
  arranged the fragments of the skulls in some sort of pattern, as 
  if an attempt had been made to construct a fourth skull from 
  the broken fragments of the trio on the table. The leathery body 
  of a long-dead dwarf, his wiry red hair and beard still strangely 
  vibrant in death, lies slumped on the ground behind the table.
  Once the office of Gurtis Vortch, the dungeon’s captain 
  of the guards, this room was also extensively used by 
  Warden Hawkran. When the riot occurred, the prisoners 
  tore this room apart, looting it of the armor and gear 
  stored here—although they didn’t find the secret alcove 
  to the south. The door into this alcove can be discovered 
  with a DC 20 Perception check.
  Creatures: Once the riot got into full swing, not all 
  of the prisoners were swept up into the violence and 
  excitement. The mad dwarf known as the Mosswater 
  Marauder had little interest in rioting or, indeed, in 
  escaping Harrowstone. Once he was freed from his cell 
  in the northern wing, he overpowered two guards and 
  a prisoner and holed up in this room after the other 
  prisoners had looted everything usable from the place. 
  The Mosswater Marauder killed his victims, extracted 
  their skulls, then proceeded to pick up his grisly goal 
  where he left off—attempting to find the correctly 
  shaped fragment among the skull shards to finally repair 
  his wife’s fracture. Of course, just as with all of his other 
  attempts, the Mosswater Marauder failed, finally dying 
  from asphyxiation from smoke inhalation.
  Today, the Mosswater Marauder’s spirit haunts this 
  place (see below), yet that is not the only danger present. 
  A few seconds after a living creature enters this room, the 
  three shattered skulls rattle about, then rise up and reform 
  into three solid skulls as they transform into severed 
  heads with the screaming ability. The three undead 
  skulls immediately attack, fighting until destroyed and 
  pursuing foes throughout the dungeon level.
  Screaming Severed Heads (3) 
  CR 1/3
  XP 135 each
  hp 4 each (see page 82–83)
  Haunt: The Mosswater Marauder’s spirit is not only the 
  animating source behind the three beheaded, but also a 
  debilitating haunt that manifests as soon as this room is 
  entered and the screaming skulls rise up to attack.
  The Mosswater Marauder 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  CE persistent haunt (area u6)
  Caster Level 3rd
  notice Perception DC 15 (to feel a sudden splitting headache 
  while at the same time noticing the fragments of skull on 
  the table begin rattling and shaking)
  hp 13; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 day
  effect When this haunt manifests, the Mosswater 
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  47
  
  Marauder’s spirit seems to rise up from his bones, 
  appearing as a sobbing dwarf wielding a ghostly hammer. 
  A ghostly skull (identifiable as the skull of a female dwarf 
  with a DC 20 Heal check) floats in the air nearby, its 
  cranium laced with cracks and missing a knife-shaped 
  shard of bone along the side. Every round on the haunt’s 
  turn, the sobbing dwarf swoops toward a randomly 
  determined target and attempts to strike that target on 
  the head with the hammer (+3 melee touch attack). If it 
  hits, the target suffers a horrific headache as if his skull 
  had been struck by a hammer—he takes 1d6 points of 
  damage and is staggered by the pain as what appears 
  to be a ghostly fragment of his own skull flies out of 
  his head, attempts to fit into the ghostly skull near the 
  marauder, then fades away into nothingness. Every round 
  thereafter, the victim may make a DC 13 Will save at the 
  start of his turn to recover from the staggered effect; 
  otherwise that effect persists for an additional round.
  Weakness The Mosswater Marauder takes 1d6 points of 
  damage each time one of the screaming skulls is destroyed.
  Destruction Once the Mosswater Marauder’s haunt has been 
  reduced to 0 hit points, Vesorianna’s ghost prevents this 
  haunt from manifesting again.
  Treasure: The secret alcove to the south is where the 
  guards kept supplies for use in case of emergencies—
  ironically, when the riot took place, events proceeded so 
  quickly that none of the guards were able to reach these 
  supplies in time to avert the horrific doom that awaited 
  them all.
  The stone secret door (hardness 8, hp 60, Break DC 28) 
  remains locked to this day—it can be unlocked with a DC 
  30 Disable Device check, or with the key from the bottom 
  of the oubliette in area U4. The alcove itself contains 
  several armor stands, weapon racks, and a wooden chest, 
  all of which still hold dust-caked but perfectly functional 
  suits of armor and weapons, and a few magic items.
  In all, there are six suits of masterwork chainmail 
  and six suits of masterwork studded leather armor, 
  four masterwork longswords, four masterwork heavy 
  maces, two masterwork heavy crossbows, 120 crossbow 
  bolts, a case of 10 +1 crossbow bolts, a wand of hold person 
  (11 charges), 4 potions of cure moderate wounds, and a rope of 
  climbing (perhaps the most ironic item in the room, 
  for it was kept here to ensure that the guards 
  would have a way to exit the dungeon via 
  the lift shaft if the stairwell deadfall 
  was triggered).
  u7. reAPer’S hoLd
  The portcullis into this area is lowered 
  and locked in place—it can be unlocked 
  and raised via the winch in area U5; 
  otherwise, it must be bypassed with 
  magic or force (hardness 10, hp 60, 
  Lift DC 25 if unlocked, Break DC 28).
  A brass nameplate, its face caked with soot, 
  hangs above a portcullis leading into a large 
  cellblock. Many of the iron doors along the 
  walls within the cellblock hang open, revealing empty 
  cells within.
  Harrowstone’s 
  second 
  largest 
  cellblock 
  became its largest when the eastern wing 
  collapsed. Reaper’s Hold was used to 
  house any prisoners for whom torture 
  was required—this generally included 
  captured spies, traitors, or any criminals 
  48
  The Mosswater Marauder
  
  believed to be in possession of important information 
  but unwilling to give that information up.
  u8. torture chAmBer (cr 5)
  Numerous grisly tools of torment decorate the room, from 
  cages to hanging chains along the walls to a stretching rack, a 
  large wooden tank, and a fire pit in the middle of the room. To 
  the east stands a grim iron maiden, the lid closed and presenting 
  a stern decoration of a tormented woman upon its face. The 
  broken, twisted skeleton of a human dressed in a tattered 
  guard’s uniform lies upon the stretching rack in the middle of 
  the room; the body is surrounded by several discarded knives, 
  branding irons, and pliers. A large, bloodstained wicker basket 
  sits at the head of the rack.
  The body on the rack belongs to Warden Hawkran. 
  Although his wife’s ghost is still haunted by the conviction 
  that her act of releasing the lift caused her husband’s 
  death, he was already dead several hours before the fire 
  began—a truth the prisoners were careful to hide from 
  the guards above while they thought the promise of his 
  safe return still had a chance of buying their escape. The 
  warden’s last moments of life were hardly pleasant—he 
  was tortured to death by the Splatter Man, the Lopper, 
  the Piper of Illmarsh, and several other prisoners. A DC 
  15 Heal check while examining his body reveals the grisly 
  truth of his demise, which includes broken bones, severed 
  hands, dislocated hips and shoulders, a shattered jaw, and 
  numerous long, thin needles that have been driven into 
  his ears, eye sockets, elbows, hips, and knees.
  The secret door in the east wall can be discovered with 
  a DC 20 Perception check.
  Creature: Although the warden’s ghost has been taken 
  from this dungeon, this torture chamber is not free of 
  undeath. The bloodstained basket near the stretching rack 
  was used as a repository for the warden’s severed hands. 
  After the fire did its work and the prison became infused 
  with the souls of the unquiet dead, these severed hands 
  animated into murderous undead as well. That they were 
  once hands belonging to a good man makes no difference—
  almost mindless in their need for revenge against the living, 
  the hands writhe into hideous animation as soon as the lid 
  to the basket is opened, or as soon as the haunt in the room 
  triggers. Once active, the two crawling hands quickly climb 
  out of the basket and scurry over the floor like spiders to 
  attack the nearest living targets. The hands pursue foes 
  throughout the dungeon, even up to the floors above if 
  there’s a way to climb out to take advantage of in area U1.
  Crawling Hands (2) 
  CR 1/2
  XP 200 each
  hp 9 each (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 59)
  Haunt: The ambient horror of this room has gathered 
  into a particularly unnerving haunt. As soon as someone 
  approaches within 15 feet of the iron maiden, it activates.
  Mourning Maiden 
  CR 4
  XP 1,200
  CE haunt (15-foot-radius area around the iron maiden)
  Caster Level 3rd
  notice Perception DC 15 (to notice the lid to the iron maiden 
  creaking open)
  hp 8; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 day
  effect The closest victim to the mourning maiden when 
  this haunt activates must make a DC 14 Will save. Failure 
  indicates that he sees the iron maiden swing open to reveal 
  a bound loved one within (Kendra Lorrimor if there’s no 
  other obvious option), eyes wide with terror—the sight is 
  enough at this point to compel the victim to rush up to the 
  iron maiden in an attempt to free the bound figure within, as 
  if from a suggestion spell. Once the victim enters the square 
  occupied by the iron maiden, it immediately slams shut, 
  trapping the victim inside. At this point, the victim realizes 
  that the image of a loved one was an illusion, but at the same 
  time her body is wracked with pain, as if it were being pierced 
  in dozens of places by iron spikes. Although the actual spikes 
  within the iron maiden are missing, these phantom spikes 
  might be more destructive, for when the victim feels the 
  spikes, she must make a second DC 14 Will save—failure 
  indicates that she becomes cursed by the haunted iron 
  maiden and has her Constitution reduced by 6 points (to a 
  minimum score of 1). While enduring this curse, the victim’s 
  body appears to bear dozens of deep, bloodless punctures.
  Destruction This haunt can be put to rest permanently only by 
  destroying every single torture device in this room—simply 
  removing the objects from the room is not enough.
  Treasure: The warden’s skeleton still wears tatters of 
  his chainmail uniform. While the chainmail is ruined 
  and his weapons were taken (they can be found in area U11 
  now), the prisoners had no real use for his keys—by the 
  time they got to him, they’d used Gurtis Vortch’s keys to 
  unlock all the doors and cells they needed. Instead, they 
  used the warden’s keys, symbols of his control over the 
  prisoners, as torture implements on the man. The keys 
  (which include ones that can unlock the safe in area S4 
  and the door to area S16) sit inside of the skeleton’s pelvis. 
  The warden’s badge also gave the prisoners an impromptu 
  torture device—the metal disk has been wedged into his 
  jaw, and is obviously the object that was used to shatter 
  that part of his face. If returned to Vesorianna in area 
  S11, the symbolic transfer of power is enough to allow her 
  to banish the haunts from Harrowstone for good (as soon 
  as all five key prisoners have been defeated by the PCs), as 
  well as allowing her to find her final rest.
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  49
  
  u9. Secret PASSAgeWAy (cr 4)
  The rough stone walls of this natural cavern drip with moisture, 
  leaving stagnant pools of water on the uneven floor.
  When Harrowstone was first constructed, much 
  of the dungeon was expanded from a small existing 
  cavern network. The architects left this length of cavern 
  unfinished and hid both entrances behind secret doors 
  (both of which can be discovered with a DC 20 Perception 
  check)—the secret tunnel provided a way to easily 
  transport prisoners between the torture chamber (area 
  U8) and Nevermore (area U11).
  Creature: Today, this cave is the den of a single gray 
  ooze. The slimy predator slithered into the Harrowstone 
  dungeon many months ago, dropping in through the hole 
  from area S18 while pursuing prey—and lacking the ability 
  to climb walls, it has remained stuck in the dungeon ever 
  since. It has nothing to fear from haunts (being immune 
  to fear effects) and is relatively stealthy, and can slither 
  around the dungeon with relative ease, hunting rats, mice, 
  slugs, and other small animals for food—yet the ooze is 
  quite hungry. While the gray ooze is nonintelligent, the 
  spiritual energy suffusing the haunts and the undead in 
  the dungeon “scrambles” its instinctive drives, leading 
  the creature to avoid the most spirit-infused parts of the 
  dungeon. This avoidance also prevents it from attempting 
  to feed on the undead and encourages its periodic return to 
  this chamber, for here the psychic vibrations of the haunts 
  are lower than elsewhere. In any event, the ooze ravenously 
  attacks any living creatures it notices, pursuing them as 
  relentlessly as it is able.
  Gray Ooze 
  CR 4
  XP 1,200
  hp 50 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 166)
  u10. the Southern guArdroom
  As with areas U3 and U5, this room once served 
  as a guardroom. Unlike in those other areas, 
  though, the fire spread down this hall and 
  into this room, partially as a result of several 
  burning prisoners fleeing to the south. The fire 
  didn’t do enough damage to cause a total collapse 
  of this wing, but it did burn the winch controls to 
  the portcullis to area U11 enough to cause the iron 
  gate to drop and become stuck in place. The winch 
  controls are almost hopelessly ruined as a result—
  they’re too heavy for mending to fix, but make whole can 
  restore them, as can several hours of work supplemented 
  by an appropriate Craft check and several new gears and 
  other parts. If the winch is fixed, it can be used to raise 
  the portcullis, allowing entry into area U11.
  u11. the nevermore (cr 6)
  The portcullis allowing entry into this room is down and 
  jammed in place (hardness 10, hp 60, Lift or Break DC 28). 
  Repairing the winch in area U10 allows the portcullis to 
  be raised—otherwise, force may be necessary to enter this 
  room unless the PCs use the secret tunnel at area U9.
  Several iron doors line the walls of this partially ruined 
  cellblock—the doors themselves hang askew on 
  their hinges, revealing empty cells beyond. Partially 
  burnt wooden support timbers still function to the 
  north, while to the south they’ve collapsed and caused 
  50
  Mourning Maiden
  
  cell walls to crumble as well. Rivulets of water drip down the 
  southwestern wall to create a shallow pool in this ruined 
  portion of the room, with overflow filling an oubliette hole in 
  the middle of the room nearly to the rim.
  Sometimes, in the case of truly heinous crimes, 
  executions were considered too merciful. In these rare 
  cases, prisoners sent to Harrowstone were consigned to 
  this cellblock, aptly named the “Nevermore,” with the 
  knowledge that those who were imprisoned in a cell here 
  would never again see the light of day, with their only 
  trips out of the block being short journeys through a 
  secret passageway to the torture room for grisly, recurrent 
  punishments. These sentences were relatively rare, and as 
  a result, this cellblock was often quite underpopulated. At 
  the time of the fire, the only inhabitant of Nevermore was 
  Professor Hean Feramin, the so-called Splatter Man.
  The northwestern “cell” in this area is not actually a cell, 
  but rather a staging area for the transport of prisoners to 
  the torture chamber. Rusty manacles hang from pegs on 
  the wall here—the secret door can be discovered with a 
  DC 20 Perception check.
  The oubliette itself is 30 feet deep, but over the years 
  has become f looded with water seeping in from the 
  pond above.
  This prison block is the final resting place of Hean 
  Feramin, the Splatter Man. In life, Professor Feramin was 
  a brilliant man, even after his corruption and descent into 
  madness. His intellect served him well in devising brutal 
  and sadistic ways to murder people, and while it wasn’t 
  enough to prevent his eventual capture, it aided him 
  once he was imprisoned in Harrowstone. The loss of his 
  spellbook was a significant setback for the insane wizard, 
  but he hid from the guards the fact that, thanks to his 
  Spell Mastery feat, he could still prepare a few spells each 
  day. While some of these spells (specifically magic missile) 
  could have given him the chance to do a fair amount of 
  damage to the guards, Hean was smart enough to know 
  that once he revealed his ability to still cast a few spells, 
  the element of surprise would be lost. He refrained from 
  using his spellcasting directly as a result, and the guards, 
  thinking his lost spellbook rendered him nearly helpless, 
  didn’t monitor his activity as closely as they should have. 
  Using his vastly reduced spell selection and good old-
  fashioned trickery and diplomacy, he scrounged together 
  enough spell components and resources to put into action 
  a daring escape plan by recruiting the aid of the prison’s 
  strongest and most violent murderer—the man known 
  as the Lopper. Working with components and resources 
  smuggled in to him with his food and taking advantage of 
  the near total solitude that imprisonment in Nevermore 
  afforded, the professor was eventually able (after much 
  trial and error) to concoct a single potion of levitation at 
  the bottom of his oubliette. Trusting the Lopper to act 
  according to his nature, Feramin summoned a small air 
  elemental late one night and instructed it to ferry the 
  potion to the north, passing through the two portcullises 
  and avoiding detection by the guards by flying slowly and 
  quietly near the ceiling, eventually delivering the potion 
  down into the northern oubliette and into the Lopper’s 
  hands. After that, it was only a matter of time before the 
  Lopper secured his own escape and began releasing the 
  other prisoners.
  When the fire came, the Splatter Man was in the thick 
  of the mayhem. Soaked with oil and burning to the bone, 
  he fled in searing pain back south and managed to return 
  to his prison, but in his blind agony he stumbled into 
  his still-open oubliette and died from the fall. Soon 
  thereafter, he made the transition from physical prisoner 
  to spiritual prisoner, with his frustrated and evil soul 
  rising as a ghost.
  Just as in life, the Splatter Man in undeath is the 
  primary organizational force in Harrowstone—of the 
  haunts and undead, he can be seen to be the “leader.” Yet 
  until both the warden and Vesorianna’s influence over 
  the region is removed, he cannot leave this chamber—
  which forces him to instead manipulate and influence 
  things from afar. His greatest triumph—one that would 
  have been impossible while the warden’s ghost guarded 
  the dungeon, and that even today takes much of the 
  Splatter Man’s will to effect, is the remote possession of 
  one of Ravengro’s most weak-willed citizens—old Gibs 
  Hephenus. Through Gibs, the Splatter Man is slowly 
  eroding widow Vesorianna’s will by waging a campaign 
  of spiritual terror, spelling her name out in blood in 
  the same way he tormented his living victims before his 
  capture. The fact that the Splatter Man can only effect 
  his long-range possession of Gibs once every few days 
  has slowed his progress with this plan to a crawl, but the 
  ghost is nothing if not patient—he has his conviction of 
  his plan’s potency to encourage him, after all. If the PCs 
  have managed to delay this plan by neutralizing Gibs, 
  the Splatter Man continues as he can with new hosts 
  (see Event 1, page 20), but grows more and more obsessed 
  with destroying the PCs as well. When they arrive in this 
  chamber, he is finally given the chance to do just that.
  The encounter with the Splatter Man in this chamber 
  is in fact a two-stage encounter—one with a haunt, and 
  then one with the ghost himself. This final two-part 
  encounter is easily the most dangerous one the PCs face, 
  not only because both stages are CR 6, but because they 
  happen back to back.
  Haunt: The first stage of confrontation with the 
  Splatter Man consists of an eerie, debilitating haunt that 
  exists more to trick the PCs into causing their own doom 
  than to slay them outright.
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  51
  
  Blood-Writ names 
  CR 6
  XP 2,400
  CE persistent haunt (area u11)
  Caster Level 6th
  notice Perception DC 20 (to notice drops of blood welling up 
  along the walls)
  hp 27; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 hour
  effect Every round, a living creature within area u11 must make 
  a DC 16 Will save. Failure indicates that a letter in his name 
  (starting at the beginning and working in order to the end) 
  suddenly appears on a wall near to that character, written 
  in fresh blood, and the character takes 2 points of Wisdom 
  damage. Each round, each character in the room must make 
  another DC 16 Will save to avoid having the next letter in his 
  name appear on the wall and to avoid taking another 2 points 
  of Wisdom damage. As this continues, anyone whose name 
  is partially written on the wall is seized with the idea that his 
  soul or sanity is being “stolen” by having his name appear 
  on the wall, and that by destroying the bloody words, he can 
  regain his lost Wisdom. Once a character’s name is spelled 
  completely, the haunt merely starts writing his name over 
  again, continuing until the character is rendered unconscious 
  from the Wisdom damage or the haunt is destroyed.
  Weakness This haunt can be damaged by physical attacks 
  directed against the letters forming on the walls. Any attack 
  that deals at least 1 point of damage destroys a letter—at the 
  GM’s option, area of effect attacks can destroy multiple letters. 
  Keep track of damage dealt to this haunt in this manner, for 
  when the haunt’s hit points are reduced to 0, the physical 
  damage caused can have an additional effect on the room (see 
  Destruction, below). A character who destroys a letter from his 
  own name immediately heals the associated points of Wisdom 
  damage he took from the letter’s formation.
  Destruction When the blood-writ names haunt is reduced to 
  0 hit points, all of the bloody words immediately fade away, 
  but at the same point, the spiritual energy that was helping to 
  hold the walls of this place together fades as well. At this point, 
  make a Fortitude save for the walls (the walls have a bonus of 
  +0), with the DC equaling the total amount of physical damage 
  that the walls took in the process of ending the haunt. On 
  a successful save, nothing happens and the haunt remains 
  inert for an hour before it can attempt to reset. On a failed 
  save, timbers and stones from the walls and ceiling collapse 
  in the chamber. This doesn’t cause a complete collapse, but it 
  does deal 3d6 points of damage to everyone in the room (DC 
  16 Reflex save halves the damage caused) and turns all of the 
  ground in this room into difficult terrain. Once this partial 
  collapse happens, the blood-writ names haunt itself is utterly 
  destroyed and can no longer manifest in this room.
  Creature: Just as in life, the Splatter Man hopes to 
  trick the PCs into bringing about their own deaths 
  via the blood-writ names haunt. If the PCs survive the 
  haunt, the Splatter Man grows enraged as his frustration 
  finally becomes more than he can bear. At this point, the 
  ghost rises up from the dark waters of his oubliette and 
  confronts the PCs directly with a hideous shriek.
  In life, the Splatter Man was a relatively powerful 
  wizard. Had he died with his full resources and become 
  a ghost, he would have manifested as a much more 
  powerful foe—yet even without full access to his spells and 
  resources, the ghostly Splatter Man is without a doubt the 
  most dangerous foe the PCs face in this adventure. If the 
  PCs prove unable to defeat him, the fact that the Splatter 
  Man cannot leave this chamber to pursue foes may be their 
  salvation—if the PCs are forced to retreat, they have as 
  long as it takes the Splatter Man to complete the spelling 
  of Vesorianna’s name (see Event 1) to regroup, resupply, 
  and attempt additional confrontations with the ghost.
  Although the Splatter Man is an 8th level wizard in 
  addition to being a ghost, his CR is lower than it normally 
  is because of his limited resources. If his plan to destroy 
  Vesorianna is successful and he escapes from the prison’s 
  bounds, he regains his full spellcasting ability, as well 
  as Eschew Materials as a bonus feat. This raises him to 
  CR 9 and makes him a much more dangerous foe—one 
  that the PCs would be well advised to confront only after 
  they’ve gained a few more levels.
  The Splatter Man 
  CR 6
  XP 2,400
  Male old ghost wizard 8 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 144)
  CE Medium undead (augmented human, incorporeal)
  Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +10
  DefenSe
  AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 13 (+3 deflection, +1 Dex)
  hp 62 (8d6+32)
  fort +5, Ref +3, Will +8
  Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, incorporeal, 
  rejuvenation; Immune undead traits
  OffenSe
  Speed fly 30 ft. (perfect)
  Melee corrupting touch +5 (6d6; Fort DC 17 half)
  Special Attacks dream whisper, hand of the apprentice (8/day), 
  metamagic mastery (1/day)
  Wizard Spells Prepared (CL 8th; concentration +13)
  4th—maximized magic missile (2), empowered summon 
  monster II
  3rd—dispel magic, empowered magic missile (2)
  2nd—summon monster II (4)
  1st—magic missile (6)
  0 (at will)—detect magic, light, mage hand, read magic
  TACTICS
  During Combat While the Splatter Man was careful to not 
  reveal the true scope of his limited but not insignificant 
  spellcasting when he was a living prisoner, he does not 
  52
  
  need to abide by those limitations as a ghost. He begins 
  combat by attempting to maintain ranged superiority, 
  moving through the various walls of the cells to force the 
  PCs to constantly be on the move to keep up with him. 
  He starts by casting his empowered summon monster II 
  spell to summon 1d3+1 dire rats to serve as distractions, 
  then follows that up with magic missiles (working down 
  from maximized to empowered to normal versions of the 
  spell)—he’ll generally split up his magic missiles among 
  different targets rather than focusing fire on one foe, in a 
  cruel attempt to prolong and distribute the suffering. Once 
  his summoned rats are gone, he’ll use summon monster II 
  to begin summoning giant spiders or octopuses to vex the 
  PCs as appropriate. The Splatter Man’s corrupting touch 
  is one of his most powerful attacks, but he saves it to use 
  against foes who seem to be able to significantly damage 
  him—while he’s a ghost, old habits die hard, and he tends 
  to try to avoid getting into melee confrontations. The 
  Splatter Man is bound to this room—he cannot leave area 
  u11 to pursue foes, but he certainly attempts to use his 
  dream whisper ability on the PCs later if they flee a battle 
  against him, for now that he has firsthand knowledge of the 
  PCs, they gain no bonuses to resist that ability.
  Morale The Splatter Man fights until destroyed.
  STATISTICS
  Str —, Dex 13, Con —, Int 20, Wis 14, Cha 17
  Base Atk +4; CMB +5; CMD 18
  feats Brew Potion, Combat Casting, Empower Spell, 
  Maximize Spell, Scribe Scroll, Skill Focus (Linguistics), Spell 
  Mastery (comprehend languages, dispel magic, levitate, magic 
  missile, summon monster II)
  Skills Bluff +11, Diplomacy +11, Fly +9, Intimidate +14, Knowledge 
  (arcana) +16, Knowledge (planes) +16, Linguistics +19, 
  Perception +10, Sense Motive +13, Spellcraft +16, Stealth +12
  Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Auran, Azlanti, Common, 
  Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Halfling, Orc, Osiriani, 
  Thassilonian, Varisian
  SQ arcane bond (familiar—none currently)
  SPeCIAL ABILITIeS
  Dream Whisper (Su) The Splatter Man cannot physically leave 
  area u11, but he can extend his consciousness outside of 
  this area to touch the dreams of sleeping mortals once 
  every 1d4+2 nights. This allows the Splatter Man to send 
  visions and hideous dreams to a single sleeping creature 
  within a mile. The target can resist these dreams with a DC 
  17 Will save; otherwise, the target is affected by the dreams 
  as if by a nightmare spell (the victim gains the same Will 
  save modifiers as afforded to those who are targeted by an 
  actual nightmare, meaning that once the Splatter Man has 
  firsthand knowledge of a creature after it fails the Will save, 
  he tends to stick to that target on successive nights). The 
  second time a target fails to resist the effects of the Splatter 
  Man’s dream whisper, the Splatter Man can, instead of 
  causing 1d10 points of damage with the nightmare effect, 
  implant a suggestion in the dreaming creature’s mind. If 
  the suggestion is successful, the creature immediately rises 
  in a somnambulistic state to carry out the commands of 
  the suggestion, which must be something the victim can 
  accomplish before sunrise, at which point the sleepwaking 
  victim wakens with no memory of the dream or his actions 
  while under the influence. If the Splatter Man manages 
  to escape Harrowstone, this ability increases in power, 
  becoming a full-fledged ghostly malevolence ability.
  Treasure: The Splatter Man confiscated Warden 
  Hawkran’s magical gear when the prisoners seized control 
  of the prison, hurling the items into the oubliette for safe 
  keeping (and to torment Hawkran, of course). These items 
  remain at the bottom of the flooded oubliette still, under 
  30 feet of water with the corporeal remains of the Splatter 
  Man himself. These objects were technically unclaimed as 
  belongings by the Splatter Man when he died, and as a result 
  he didn’t form a strong enough spiritual and emotional 
  attachment to them to be able to manifest ghostly duplicates 
  of the gear for him to use. Still, if he expends all of his spells, 
  using his hand of the apprentice ability with some of the 
  items could make an excellent last-ditch tactic.
  The items themselves consist of a +1 keen longsword, a +1 
  mithral dagger, and a ring of protection +1.
  concLuding the Adventure
  The order in which the PCs confront and defeat the 
  five key spirits haunting Harrowstone doesn’t matter—
  neither does the time it takes to accomplish this goal, as 
  long as they can stay ahead of the Splatter Man’s schedule 
  by keeping his possessed victims from being able to 
  complete the spelling of Vesorianna’s name. If the PCs 
  fail to cleanse Harrowstone of its haunts in time, then 
  as the last letter of the ghost widow’s name is completed, 
  eerie cold blue light erupts out of every window, door, 
  pit, and crack of Harrowstone as the spirits of dozens of 
  violent criminals escape, transforming into full-fledged 
  ghosts. In this event, many of the ghosts sweep down 
  into Ravengro—how this plays out is left to you, but you 
  should have the PCs confronted by both a fair number 
  of possessed townsfolk, minor prisoner ghosts (most of 
  whom were 1st-level fighters or rogues in life), and at least 
  one of the five key spirits that they haven’t yet defeated. 
  The Splatter Man in particular might pay them a visit. The 
  goal here shouldn’t be to kill off the party with endless 
  waves of vengeful ghosts, but to impress upon them the 
  repercussions of their failure and, perhaps, force them to 
  flee Ravengro. Certainly most of the town’s inhabitants 
  are slain that night—those who survive flee, leaving 
  behind a literal ghost town. Harrowstone itself retains a 
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  53
  
  number of haunts after this development. Although they 
  are no longer maintained or organized by undead spirits, 
  the ruin becomes a haven for other undead creatures who 
  are drawn to its unholy site like a beacon.
  If, on the other hand, the PCs defeat all five of the 
  key ghosts, they have saved Ravengro. In this event, 
  Vesorianna’s ghost remains behind to serve as the 
  prison’s new warden—the ruins remain truly haunted 
  in this event, but unless Vesorianna is removed from 
  the site as was her husband, Ravengro has nothing to 
  fear from these ghosts and evil spirits. For this level of 
  success, award the PCs 1,200 XP.
  True victory requires not only defeating these five evil 
  spirits but delivering the warden’s badge of office to his 
  widow’s ghost. If the PCs do this, Vesorianna is able to use 
  her newfound symbolic authority to actually cleanse the 
  ruin entirely, stripping it of both haunts and the five key 
  spirits. As she does so, she sighs in thanks to the PCs as she 
  fades away as well, the warden’s badge settling softly to the 
  ground as she vanishes. The badge continues to glow softly 
  from then on, and functions as a rod of lesser ectoplasmic 
  metamagic (this item is detailed in the Pathfinder RPG 
  Advanced Player’s Guide—if you don’t use this item in your 
  game, the badge instead functions as a rod of lesser extend 
  metamagic. Harrowstone’s reputation as a haunted building 
  persists, but over the course of a few more generations, this 
  reputation might fade as the truth of the new developments 
  eventually settles in to Ravengro’s rumor mill. For this level 
  of success, award the PCs 2,400 XP.
  If the PCs manage to exorcise the haunts, or at the very 
  least restore control of the haunts to the widow’s ghost, 
  Ravengro’s citizens notice the change the very next night 
  as the strange events and eerie happenings that have been 
  plaguing the town cease. The next day, the town’s citizens 
  gather and pool an amount of money to gift to the PCs as 
  a reward. The amount of the reward is equal to the PCs’ 
  final Trust score multiplied by 10.
  In any case, whether the PCs leave Ravengro in triumph 
  or defeat, it is time for them to honor Professor Lorrimor’s 
  final wish and make the delivery of his books to Lepidstadt 
  (and to collect the promised stipend!). Yet agents of the 
  Whispering Way have been at work in Lepidstadt as well, 
  and it won’t be long before the PCs are once again thrown 
  up against the ramifications of the cult’s machinations.
  APPendix: oPtionAL eventS
  If you’re looking for a few additional spooky events to 
  have occur in Ravengro while the PCs are doing research 
  or recovering from their latest foray into Harrowstone, 
  the following optional events give the PCs a few more 
  opportunities to learn and experience more of the 
  haunted prison’s legacy.
  A houSe on fire
  This event can occur at any time, at any inn or tavern 
  where customers play cards, such as the Outward Inn or 
  the Laughing Demon.
  A few locals are playing a game of Towers with a Harrow 
  deck nearby when one of them cries out triumphantly as 
  he lays a winning hand down on the table. As he does so, 
  the five cards suddenly burst into flames that flare up 
  to a height of nearly 2 feet and send all the nearby locals 
  staggering to their feet in a momentary panic. All within 
  10 feet of the sudden flare (including at least 1 PC) must 
  make a DC 12 Fortitude save to avoid being blinded for 1d4 
  rounds. A blinded character can make a DC 15 Perception 
  check—success indicates that he hears the faint, muffled 
  sound of numerous people screaming below, as if there 
  were burning victims in a basement. When the flare 
  ends, the cards remains on the table, unscorched, but the 
  smell of smoke lingers in the air for several minutes. An 
  investigation of the cards reveals that the card the player 
  used that “triggered” the flames was The Uprising—a card 
  that shows a small army of enraged peasants marching 
  amid a field of flames. This card symbolizes both the 
  burning of Harrowstone (during the uprising of its 
  prisoners) and the upcoming mayhem awaiting Ravengro 
  if the PCs fail to cleanse the prison of haunts.
  reSt in PeAce
  This event should occur at some point when the PCs are 
  visiting the Restlands after the professor’s burial.
  The PCs come across a cluster of weather-beaten 
  tombstones. Have the PCs make Perception checks. The 
  PC who gets the highest result (whatever that roll might be) 
  notices something disturbing—one of the graves bears the 
  name of another PC in the group and an inscription that 
  reads, “Come to my world, and be as I; as I am now, soon 
  you will be; embrace your end and witness me.” A smaller 
  inscription below the inscription reads, “Died 4661 ar”—
  the same year as the Harrowstone Fire. As soon as the PC 
  draws the attention of others to the grave, the inscription 
  upon a second glance appears to be weathered away, as if 
  the eerie inscription were never there in the first place. The 
  fell influences of Harrowstone sent this as both a warning 
  and an invitation, almost as if they’ve taken note of the PCs 
  and are daring them to venture into the prison.
  Story Award: Award 100 XP to the PCs if they connect the 
  date on the gravestone to the year Harrowstone burned.
  vAniShing trAckS
  This event can occur at any time a PC is alone on a road. 
  A set of silent ghostly tracks starts to form, making 
  its way past one of the PCs, headed in the direction of 
  Harrowstone. A PC who succeeds at a DC 10 Survival check 
  determines from the shape and depth of the tracks that 
  54
  
  the tracks seem to be created by a wagon being drawn by 
  a team of horses. The tracks vanish before the PC who 
  witnessed them can draw anyone else’s attention to the 
  strange occurrence.
  A viSion of imPriSonment
  This adventure can occur at any time during the night, 
  after the PCs have encountered at least two events.
  Choose one of the PCs who has not yet been the focus of 
  a haunt or weird happening. While that PC is preparing 
  for sleep, a glance to the window reveals an unnerving 
  development—the window is now barred! As the character 
  looks around the room, describe how pieces of furniture 
  that were there just a moment before are now missing, 
  or perhaps replaced by something one might find in a 
  prison cell. For example, if the character gets out of bed 
  to approach the window, then looks back at his bed, he’ll 
  see that the bed is now a pile of moldy straw. A plate of 
  leftover food sitting on a rug by the door might turn into 
  a bowl of wormy gruel sitting on a stone floor. A glance 
  out the now-barred window reveals an entirely different 
  view from what the PC might expect, for now, the view 
  looks out over a mist-shrouded hill, in the distance of 
  which can be seen the flickering lights of a town. A DC 
  15 Knowledge (geography or local) check identifies that 
  town as Ravengro as seen from a high vantage point from 
  the south of town—the direction of Harrowstone.
  Cries for help bring no response, and no amount of 
  hammering on doors or bars budges them. As the PC 
  grows more and more desperate, he notices his name 
  slowly appearing on the wall above where his bed used 
  to be, one letter at a time written in dripping blood. Just 
  before the final letter appears, the PC should waken in 
  his bed, as if from a bad dream, yet if he looks back on the 
  wall where the words were appearing, the bloody message 
  remains in full view. The blood itself is nonmagical and 
  remains on the wall until cleaned away. The PCs should 
  eventually recognize this manifestation as linked to the 
  Splatter Man, who was said to spell out the names of his 
  victims in blood before he killed them.
  Story Award: Award 200 XP to the PCs once they realize 
  the connection to the Splatter Man.
  The Haunting of Harrowstone
  55
  
  Ravengro
  N
  umerous small towns dot the fog-shrouded landscape of Ustalav. 
  At first glance, these towns might all seem kindred spirits—cozy 
  collections of quaint buildings surrounded by farmland, their skylines 
  decorated by the steeples of Pharasmin churches or the steep rooflines 
  of colorful taverns. Yet in Ustalav, appearances are often deceiving, and 
  many of the nation’s towns and villages harbor sinister secrets. Such is the 
  case in idyllic Ravengro, a town built originally to provide support for the 
  notorious prison known as Harrowstone, but which today endures as a self-
  sufficient farming community with more than its fair share of secrets.
  56
  
  known as Canterwall). Count Eigen Lorres, one of the last 
  counts to rule Tamrivena before the county switched 
  to its current government, was not a well-liked ruler. 
  In an attempt both to bolster his failing reputation and 
  bring money into Tamrivena’s coffers, he announced the 
  construction of Harrowstone, a prison that would not only 
  house all of the county’s prisoners (thus removing them 
  from being incarcerated locally), but that for a price, would 
  house dangerous prisoners from all over Ustalav. Count 
  Lorres’s plan worked perfectly—not only was the transfer 
  of criminals out of local jails seen as a boon throughout 
  the county, but other counties also responded well to the 
  invitation, sending caravans of payments to Tamrivena and 
  caravans of prisoners to Ravengro. The town of Ravengro 
  itself was always intended to be little more than support 
  for the prison. Not only would Ravengro provide a place 
  for the prison’s employees to live, but it would also provide 
  all of the supplies needed by the prison—food, water, tools, 
  weapons for the guards, and anything else necessary.
  Historians often point to Harrowstone’s unfortunate 
  destruction in the fire of 4661 as one of the trigger 
  events that eventually led to the entire region’s bloodless 
  uprising in 4670—the prison’s loss, combined with the 
  government’s inability to rebuild the site (or, more likely, 
  its lack of interest in doing so), certainly disenfranchised 
  the citizens of Ravengro, who by the time the region was 
  ready to abandon hereditary rule were all too eager to accept 
  the new democracy. Since that time, while Harrowstone 
  has remained a constant reminder of darker times, the 
  town of Ravengro has recovered remarkably. Today, the 
  town is a quite healthy farming community blessed with 
  fertile fields and orchards. The town’s chief products are 
  wheat, barley, and corn. Because the town is close to the 
  shore of Lake Lias (“The Great Blue Dot”), Ravengrians 
  can supplement their food stores with fish, but fishing is 
  not sustainable as a commercial enterprise.
  Despite their success, Ravengro’s citizens are the 
  town’s greatest hindrances to expansion. Insular, they take 
  some time to warm to strangers and often damage new 
  opportunities for trade with their standoffish attitudes. 
  Yet as hesitant as the townsfolk are to talk to strangers, they 
  are all too eager to talk about them. Rumormongering and 
  gossiping are traditional pastimes among the townsfolk, 
  especially when it comes to strangers. Without a steady 
  supply of unusual visitors to town, they’d be limited to 
  whispers about illicit affairs, unwanted pregnancies, and 
  speculations upon their neighbors’ prosperity—the arrival 
  of strangers in town puts folk in an awkward state, in which 
  their desire to avoid contact with possible troublemakers 
  comes into direct conflict with their curiosity about new 
  faces. As a result, visitors who make plain their intention 
  to stay in town for more than a day typically receive the 
  bulk of Ravengro’s hesitant curiosity.
  T
  he following explores the town of Ravengro and its 
  secrets, presenting the settlement in great detail so 
  that you’ll have plenty of resources and inspiration to 
  call upon during the course of “The Haunting of Harrowstone.” 
  Not all of the subplots and characters detailed in this article 
  have roles to play in the course of the adventure, but that isn’t 
  to say they’ll have no roles to play in your campaign. Ravengro 
  is intended to be a place that the PCs explore as they go. Let 
  them do so organically, coming to the shops as they need 
  supplies, to the inn as they need rest, and to other locations 
  as curiosity and need compel them. The adventure in this 
  volume sends the PCs to some of these locations, but should 
  they seek out more, allow them. Ravengro is a living, organic 
  place—one haunted as surely as the prison that looms on 
  the distant hill.
  Ravengro
  NG small town
  Corruption +0; Crime –1; Economy +0; Law +1; Lore +0; 
  Society +0
  Qualities insular, rumormongering citizens
  Disadvantages cursed (haunted, –4 Society)
  Danger +0
  DEmogRaphiCS
  government council
  population 311 (281 humans, 12 halflings, 8 elves, 7 dwarves, 3 
  half-elves)
  Notable NpCs
  Councilman Vashian hearthmount (LN male human 
  aristocrat 1/cavalier 1)
  Councilman gharen muricar (N old male human expert 3)
  Councilwoman mirta Straelock (NG female human 
  commoner 4)
  Councilwoman Shanda Faravan (LG female human expert 3)
  Sheriff Benjan Caeller (NG middle-aged male human 
  ranger 2)
  Vauran grimburrow (N male human cleric of Pharasma 7)
  professor petros Lorrimor (NG old male human wizard 7; 
  deceased)
  maRkEtpLaCE
  Base Value 1,000 gp; purchase Limit 5,000 gp; Spellcasting 4th
  minor items masterwork full plate, +1 light steel shield, +1 
  silver morningstar, +1 rapier, incense of meditation, dusty rose 
  prism ioun stone, ring of feather falling, wand of cat’s grace 
  (13 charges), wand of cure moderate wounds (19 charges); 
  medium items flesh golem manual, scroll of restoration, 
  wand of slow (6 charges)
  RavengRo at a glance
  Ravengro was founded in 4594 ar to support Harrowstone, 
  a prison built to answer the growing need for a centralized 
  repository for criminals in the county of Tamrivena (now 
  Ravengro
  57
  
  Building tRust
  In “The Haunting of Harrowstone,” the PCs spend quite 
  a bit of time in the town of Ravengro. Unfortunately, as 
  strangers to the town during a particularly bad time, they 
  aren’t initially trusted. Yet as the days roll by, they are 
  faced with numerous opportunities to build upon the 
  town’s trust and, eventually, become well liked by the 
  citizens, earning discounts on purchases, free room 
  and board, or perhaps even greater rewards for 
  their good deeds.
  Ravengro’s overall trust in the PCs is 
  expressed by a numerical value—a Trust 
  score. This score is shared by the entire 
  party—acts of individual members can 
  affect this total just as surely as acts 
  the entire group takes part in. When 
  the adventure begins, the PCs have a 
  Trust score of 20. They can raise 
  their Trust score by doing good 
  deeds, respecting the townsfolk, or 
  completing quests—both this article 
  and “The Haunting of Harrowstone” 
  present numerous Trust awards for 
  completing quests.
  losing tRust
  In addition to certain events in the 
  adventure, there are three general ways the PCs can lose 
  Trust points.
  Harrowstone Influence: Each day until the haunting 
  of Harrowstone is defeated, the PCs lose 1 point of Trust 
  at sundown.
  Obvious Crime: While rumors and whispers of PCs 
  committing crimes are not enough to lower their Trust 
  score (their delight at the opportunity to spread such 
  rumors somewhat offsets this for the locals), every time 
  a PC openly commits a crime in town, the group loses 3 
  points of Trust. If the crime is particularly violent, the 
  point loss is doubled.
  Townsfolk Deaths: Each time a Ravengro citizen dies, the 
  PCs lose 1 Trust point. If the PCs are obviously and directly 
  responsible for the death, they lose 6 Trust points.
  effects of tRust
  The table below summarizes the effects of Trust as the 
  PCs accumulate or lose points.
  Trust Score: This value indicates the party’s current 
  Trust score.
  Purchase Price: This lists the surcharge (if a positive 
  value) or discount (if a negative value) the PCs get to all 
  purchases in excess of 10 gp made within Ravengro. 
  Diplomacy Modifier: This lists the penalty  
  or bonus that the PCs gain on all Diplomacy 
  checks made in Ravengro when interacting 
  with citizens.
  Reaction: This column lists a specific 
  reaction or reward that the town grants to 
  the PCs upon reaching that level of Trust. 
  With the exception of “Angry Mob” (which 
  only occurs at the lowest level of Trust, 
  and goes away as soon as the PCs 
  work their way out of this level of 
  distrust), reactions are cumulative. 
  A party that gains the maximum 
  Trust possible gains the benefit of all 
  the positive reactions.
  XP Reward: Award this to the party the 
  first time they reach this level of Trust.
  Angry Mob: If the PCs’ Trust score drops 
  to 0, they become hated in Ravengro—
  unless they accomplish a great deed (such as defeating 
  the haunting in Harrowstone) or completely disguise 
  themselves, they can no longer gain Trust points in 
  Ravengro. No one in town will sell anything to them, and 
  all Diplomacy checks involving citizens automatically 
  fail. Worse, if the PCs don’t quickly leave town, an angry 
  mob is bound to form soon with the intent to capture 
  and imprison the PCs. In a best-case scenario, the mob 
  simply runs the hated PCs out of town, but at the GM’s 
  whim, the mob might march the PCs up to Harrowstone 
  and force them to jump, one by one, into the sinkhole at 
  Harrowstone that leads into the dungeon—or the mob 
  might simply cut to the chase and lynch them all. Use the 
  stats for the Ravengro thugs that appear on page 11 of this 
  book for mob members as necessary.
  tRust in RavengRo
  trust Score 
  purchase price 
  Diplomacy modifier 
  Reaction 
  Xp Reward
  0 (Hated) 
  Not applicable 
  Not applicable 
  Angry Mob 
  —
  1–15 (Loathed) 
  +20% 
  –4 
  — 
  —
  16–20 (Disliked) 
  +10% 
  –2 
  — 
  —
  21–25 (Neutral) 
  — 
  +0 
  — 
  —
  26–30 (Liked) 
  –5% 
  +2 
  Friendly locals 
  400
  31–35 (Trusted) 
  –10% 
  +4 
  Free healing 
  800
  36 or higher (Admired) 
  –20% 
  +6 
  Cohort 
  1,200
  58
  Councilman Hearthmount
  
  Friendly Locals: Most locals smile and greet the PCs 
  by name when they cross paths on the street. Children 
  are often seen pretending to be heroes similar to the PCs, 
  while the PCs themselves might find villagers willing to 
  buy them a drink at the tavern, invite them to dinner, or 
  even steal them away for a romantic encounter. If the PCs 
  don’t wish to stay in the Lorrimors’ house, the Outward 
  Inn allows the PCs to stay free of charge as long as they 
  can maintain this level of trust.
  Free Healing: At this point, Vauran Grimburrow, the 
  town’s head priest, offers the PCs healing free of charge 
  as long as they’re in town—he’ll only charge for expensive 
  material components for any spells he casts for them.
  Cohort: At the highest level of trust, the PCs can gain 
  the direct aid of some of the town’s more powerful NPCs. 
  Sheriff Caeller might agree to accompany them into 
  Harrowstone, for example. Exactly how this benefit plays 
  out is up to the GM. In this case, you’ll need to either 
  build stats for these NPCs or use similar stats presented 
  here or in another Pathfinder product—Chapter 9 of the 
  Pathfinder RPG GameMastery Guide provides dozens of 
  NPC stat blocks for just such occasions.
  RumoRs
  If Ravengro is good for anything, it’s rumors. Yet the 
  locals aren’t automatically willing to share their hard-
  earned local lore with just anyone. It generally takes a DC 
  10 Diplomacy check and 1d4 hours of interacting with 
  locals at the market, in taverns, or elsewhere to earn a 
  rumor, but at the GM’s whim, an NPC might offer up a 
  random (or even specific) rumor at any point during the 
  adventure. Whenever the PCs learn a rumor, roll 1d10 and 
  consult the following table to determine what they learn. 
  (Alternatively, you can select the most logical rumor for 
  the NPC in question). The rumors are labeled according to 
  their veracity, but even false rumors may encourage PCs 
  to seek out parts of town or the environs where adventure 
  or trouble awaits. You can use these rumors as templates 
  for building additional rumors of your own design.
  RavengRo gazetteeR
  Below are details on several locations in the town of 
  Ravengro. Each location is given a letter—sub-locations 
  that play a greater role in the adventure are given 
  additional number tags (A1, A2, A3 and so forth).
  a. town squaRe
  A simple wooden gazebo at the center of a grassy circular 
  plaza serves as the hub for Ravengro’s major festivals and 
  gatherings. The town council also uses the gazebo as a 
  platform for major announcements. When their labor 
  allows it, farmers who have musical talent often converge 
  here, forming impromptu bands. The town square is also 
  where the local farmer’s market gathers every Wealday.
  The town square is the most likely place to encounter 
  Old River, the town dog. Old River has been ownerless for 
  more than a decade, but the citizens of Ravengro have taken 
  to looking after it—the dog has become something of a 
  beloved town mascot. Old River is particularly protective 
  of the town’s children, following the smaller ones if it spots 
  them running off alone. The dog almost always spends its 
  evenings sleeping under the gazebo steps.
  B. the Posting Poles
  The best sources for local news in Ravengro are the posting 
  poles located throughout the town. Here one can find 
  dozens of messages tacked to one of the five huge posts 
  jutting out of the ground—generally, all five posting 
  poles have identical notices, but periodically one or two 
  RumoRs in RavengRo
  d10 Roll Rumor
  1–2 
  The food at the Laughing Demon isn’t all fun and 
  games—and it’s no coincidence that Zokar serves 
  more corpse chowder after unpopular merchants 
  “leave town,” never to be seen again. If Zokar 
  invites you into the Demon’s back room for a 
  complimentary taste of that evening’s chowder, 
  watch out! (False)
  3–4 
  Jominda Fallenbridge does more than brew 
  potions—she brews drugs and poisons as well 
  and sells them through agents in other towns. 
  Why else would the sheriff be so interested in 
  her business? (Partly true)
  5–6 
  Now and then, if you visit Harrowstone near 
  sundown, you can hear the ghost of the warden’s 
  wife wailing and sobbing from somewhere within 
  the ruins. She haunts the prison now, forever 
  mourning her husband and attempting to frighten 
  anyone who intrudes on the prison. (Partly true)
  7–8 
  They say that Harrowstone’s executioner still 
  guards the execution balcony on the western side 
  of the prison, and that on some nights, his scythe 
  can be seen patrolling the balcony on its own, as if 
  carried by an invisible spirit. (True)
  9–10 
  Stories that Harrowstone is haunted are just 
  that—stories. The ruins are still dangerous, but 
  what folks think are ghosts are only the nasty 
  vermin that live there. (Partly true)
  Ravengro
  59
  
  R
  M2
  M1
  A
  B
  C
  B
  B
  P
  M4
  M3
  E
  L
  B
  H
  I
  F
  K
  D
  J
  G
  N
  Q
  O
  B
  60
  
  messages might be missing from one of the poles. Pevrin 
  Elkarid (NG young male human, commoner 1), the oldest son 
  of the owner of the Laughing Demon, has taken the role 
  of Post Boy for the last 3 years, charging 1 cp to transcribe 
  five copies of a post and then ensuring that the copies are 
  posted for at least a week. It is at the Posting Poles that the 
  locals leave news of nuptials, job postings for farmhands, 
  or notices of missing pets. The most popular regular 
  item at the Posting Poles, however, is the “Wealday 
  Parchment”—a weekly posting written by 
  elderly councilman Gharen Muricar that 
  summarizes Ravengro’s current politics. 
  Occasionally, it even carries news of 
  events beyond Ravengro’s borders. The 
  “Wealday Parchment” is the closest 
  thing Ravengro has to a weekly paper.
  c. the laughing demon
  Zokar Elkarid (NG male human 
  expert 3) holds the philosophy that 
  the best way to meet the horrors 
  of the world is with a jest, for if one 
  can laugh at the worst life has to offer, 
  there remains little to fear. His warm and 
  friendly tavern does its best to live up to this 
  admirable philosophy, down to the menu. 
  Zokar takes pains to come up with humorous names for 
  his drinks and meals, with offerings like vampire steaks 
  (cuts of beef skewered on thick wooden spikes), wolf balls 
  (lamb meatballs served on plates painted to look like the 
  face of the full moon), corpse chowder (a thick stew with 
  red broth and chunks of meat), and liquid ghosts (a sweet 
  pale ale that glows faintly with a greenish tint). Zokar 
  and his regulars enjoy telling visitors tall tales about 
  what’s really in the food served here.
  d. RavengRo town hall
  In classic small-town style, the people of Ravengro 
  use this all-purpose facility for virtually everything, 
  including council meetings, wedding receptions, and, 
  when it rains, even the annual cook-off. Town council 
  meetings are generally scheduled on the first Oathday 
  of the month, and often last well into the night.
  e. temPle of PhaRasma
  This temple is devoted to Pharasma, the Lady of Graves. 
  Ravengro’s only religious structure, the temple is also the 
  town’s most elaborate building. Its eastern facade displays 
  an intricate stained-glass mural depicting a stern Pharasma 
  judging Count Andachi, one of Tamrivena’s most infamous 
  previous rulers. Vauran Grimburrow is officially in charge 
  of the temple, but the day-to-day tending of the flock and 
  maintenance of the temple and the Restlands (see area P) 
  are largely seen to by a dozen acolytes (all 1st- to 3rd-level 
  clerics). The sale of minor magic items (particularly potions 
  of cure light wounds, potions of lesser restoration, and holy water) 
  is also the acolytes’ responsibility. Among their current 
  offerings for sale are a single dose of incense of meditation, a +1 
  silver morningstar, a wand of cure moderate wounds (19 charges), 
  and a scroll of restoration—these four items are kept locked in 
  the temple vault, and only Vauran carries the key. The 
  clerics do not offer these four items for sale until 
  the PCs reach a Trust score of 28 or higher.
  f. RavengRo geneRal stoRe
  Goods of all kinds can be procured here, 
  especially tools and everyday items such 
  as pots and pans. Luthko and Marta 
  Avanaki (NG male and female human 
  commoners 2) run the store with their 
  five girls. While the store caters to 
  local needs, the Avanakis keep in 
  stock most of the adventuring gear, 
  tools, and skill kits listed in the Core 
  Rulebook. While they do not normally 
  carry weapons, armor, or magic items, the 
  Avanakis might agree to sell a display suit of 
  masterwork full plate (an inheritance from 
  Marta’s mother) that stands guard in the 
  back of the store if the PCs can make a DC 20 Diplomacy 
  check (or have reached a Trust score of at least 26).
  g. RavengRo foRge
  Jorfa (LN middle-aged female dwarf fighter 2/expert 3) is 
  one of Ravengro’s most jealously guarded assets, for her 
  skill at the forge is out of keeping with what one would 
  expect to find in such a small town. Jorfa never speaks to 
  her neighbors about her past—she’s lived in Ravengro for 
  so long that locals see her as more of an institution than 
  a neighbor. In truth, Jorfa had a promising career in the 
  Five Kings Mountains as a soldier, but on one patrol she 
  panicked and abandoned her platoon during an attack 
  on an enclave of duergars. She didn’t stop running until 
  she reached western Ustalav, where she heard a call for 
  skilled crafters to aid in the foundation of a new town—
  Ravengro. Jorfa arrived only a month after Harrowstone 
  was finished, and has lived in Ravengro ever since. Now 
  approaching old age, she’s taken on a few promising 
  apprentices but remains tight-lipped about her life 
  before she fled her kin—she still worries that she’s being 
  hunted for deserting her platoon.
  Jorfa isn’t the oldest person in town, but she’s certainly 
  lived in Ravengro longer than anyone else. She’s kept to 
  herself for the past century or so, though, and despite 
  her long life has relatively little insight into the inner 
  workings of Harrowstone. While the majority of her work 
  Ravengro
  61
  Zokar Elkarid
  
  for Ravengro consists of tools for farmers and fisherfolk, 
  she often forges weapons and armor as well. Most of these 
  works she sells to visiting collectors, but she keeps a 
  good selection of weapons and armor on hand (including 
  several masterwork weapons and suits of armor). If the 
  PCs have a Trust score of 28 (or they manage to befriend 
  Jorfa with a DC 19 Diplomacy check), she reveals that she 
  has a small collection of magical arms and armor for sale, 
  including a +1 light steel shield and a +1 rapier.
  h. Jominda’s aPothecaRy
  Jominda Fallenbridge (N female human alchemist 2) 
  keeps a well-stocked supply of pharmacological 
  provisions, both herbal and alchemical. 
  Here the PCs can find all of the special 
  substances and items listed in Table 6–9 of 
  the Core Rulebook as well as most 
  common material components 
  for spells and a good selection 
  of magic potions—although she 
  won’t agree to sell these to anyone but 
  those whom she trusts (Trust score of 29 
  or higher). Rumors that Jominda crafts 
  and sells dangerous alchemical items 
  like poisons or drugs stem primarily 
  from the fact that Sheriff Caeller is 
  often seen speaking to her or patrolling 
  near her shop. In truth, Sheriff Caeller 
  has a soft spot for Jominda, and while she 
  is constantly frustrated and befuddled by 
  his visits and veiled questions about illegal 
  substances, not even she suspects that the 
  sheriff is in fact infatuated with her and 
  worried about her shop’s security.
  i. RavengRo Jail
  Ravengro itself has never been a crime-ridden town 
  (despite—or perhaps because of—the presence of 
  Harrowstone), and its relatively small jail has always 
  been more than enough to handle the town’s criminals 
  (mostly public drunkards, vandals, or other minor thugs 
  who rarely spend more than a few days in a cell). Indeed, 
  the cells are typically empty, which is fine with the town’s 
  sheriff, Benjan Caeller. Yet despite the town’s dearth of 
  criminal activity, the sheriff likes to keep a tight lid on 
  things by employing four part-time deputies: Leromar, 
  Riff, Trestleblade, and Vrodish (all NG male or female 
  human warrior 1). Each of these deputies spends a few 
  days per week working as farmhands on one or more of 
  the outlying homesteads. Most of the policework involves 
  keeping order at the town taverns and making sure 
  everyone stays calm and honest when the tax collectors 
  from Caliphas ride through town.
  J. the silk PuRse
  Farming is a tough business. Drought, pests, and floods 
  can make a year’s hard work vanish in an instant. To keep 
  one’s farm afloat, those lucky enough to own land will often 
  pledge it to a moneylender for credit. Others must pledge 
  a percentage of the gross income from their next season of 
  labor. Fortunately for Ravengro’s farmers, the Silk Purse is 
  always ready to provide loans. Two moneylenders work out 
  of this building, Luramin Taigh and Quess Yearburn (LN 
  male and female human experts 4, respectively)—security 
  is provided by a small group of eight loyal mercenaries (all 
  LN male or female human warrior 4) who live in barracks 
  on-site. At any one time, the Silk Purse has a few thousand 
  gold pieces’ worth of coin on hand for loans and a few 
  thousand more gold pieces’ worth of collateral in the 
  safe room. The Silk Purse also sells old collateral 
  (mostly gems and jewelry) that farmers were 
  unable to buy back after the terms of 
  their loans expired. One of these 
  pieces of jewelry is a ring of feather 
  falling, and one of the gems is a dusty 
  rose ioun stone. The moneylenders know 
  full well what the ring is and what 
  it’s worth, but neither has learned 
  that the ioun stone is magical, so 
  they offer it for sale as a “smoky 
  quartz” for a mere 500 gp. If the PCs 
  learn of the ioun stone’s true value and 
  alert the moneylenders that they should be 
  charging a lot more for it, the selfless act goes 
  a long way to earn trust in town—award the 
  PCs 4 points of Trust for this act.
  k. the outwaRd inn
  The board and breakfast provided by Sarianna Vai (NG 
  female human expert 2) come highly recommended. The 
  inn has 10 rooms, though it is rare for more than four to be 
  occupied at any one time. Local musicians and storytellers 
  often visit the main floor and basement tavern in the 
  evenings, performing for coppers at the smaller, more 
  intimate gatherings. Only if the place is really jumping can 
  Sarianna be cajoled into performing herself. Although now 
  retired, she was once a singer of some repute in Caliphas, 
  and her voice remains strong and beautiful to hear.
  l. the unfuRling scRoll
  When their parents can afford to spare them from the 
  farms, a few “lucky” children are sent to study under 
  Alendru Ghoroven (N old male human expert 1/wizard 
  5), a retired wizard-turned-teacher. Alendru teaches 
  reading, history, and math, as well as beginning magical 
  theory. He seeks to elevate “the commoners,” though few 
  of his pupils enjoy the strictness of his classes.
  62
  Benjan Caeller
  
  In addition to teaching, Alendru supplements his 
  income by buying and selling minor magic items 
  (primarily scrolls) that he’s purchased or created. He 
  offers many 1st- through 3rd-level scrolls for sale (you 
  can generate a list of a dozen, or simply allow the town’s 
  base value of 1,000 gp to determine what scrolls are 
  for sale), along with a fair number of low-priced magic 
  items. A wand of cat’s grace (13 charges) and a wand of 
  slow (6 charges) are two of his current highest-priced 
  offerings, but he also recently came into the possession 
  of a flesh golem manual as well; this book is the property 
  of one Montagnie Crowl of Lepidstadt—Alendru 
  purchased it from one of his shadier contacts, 
  and while he doesn’t know for sure, he suspects 
  that the book was stolen. If the PCs manage to 
  get their hands on this book, returning it to 
  Montagnie in the next adventure can net 
  them a payment of 6,000 gp as a reward 
  rather than the 4,000 gp they’d get selling 
  it on the open market.
  m. council memBeR’s home
  There are four members of the Ravengro  
  town council. Most live in generously-sized 
  houses on the outskirts of town.
  M1: Vashian Hearthmount and 
  his family dwell here. Hearthmount 
  is a retired military commander 
  who settled in Ravengro and took 
  up the mantle of leadership largely so 
  he could retain a sense of self-importance 
  in his old age. He is the most experienced 
  councilman—the other three look to him 
  for guidance more often than not.
  M2: Councilwoman Mirta Straelock was born and 
  raised in Ravengro. She was the original owner of the 
  town’s tavern, but sold it many years ago just before she 
  took up public office. Popular and earthy, she is the most 
  public face on the council.
  M3: Councilwoman Shanda Faravan is a native-born 
  local who served abroad as a royal accuser. She returned 
  home after a scandal involving a prisoner she thought was 
  innocent but who instead played her for a fool. She doesn’t 
  speak much about her time as a royal accuser as a result.
  M4: Councilman Gharen Muricar is just a few years 
  junior to his lifelong friend Vashian Hearthmount, but 
  acts like a man half his age. He’s the most up to date on 
  matters outside of Ravengro, keeping the council abreast 
  of national events, and also serves as the city’s unofficial 
  historian. His reputation as something of a rake has 
  not diminished much in his old age—but he’s such an 
  institution in the town that most of the citizens take his 
  lechery in stride, regarding it as “mostly harmless.”
  n. the loRRimoR Place
  This modest home was, until recently, the home of 
  Professor Petros Lorrimor and his daughter Kendra. 
  With the professor’s recent death, Kendra has been left 
  the house as her inheritance—whether or not she chooses 
  to stay in Ravengro is an unanswered question, though, 
  for she yearns to see more of the world. This building and 
  Kendra herself are presented in greater detail in “The 
  Haunting of Harrowstone.”
  o. haRRowstone memoRial
  Other than the looming ruins of Harrowstone on 
  a nearby hill, Ravengro’s most distinctive 
  landmark is a 25-foot-tall, moss-covered 
  stone statue that overlooks the river. The 
  statue depicts a proud, muscular human 
  man dressed in leathers and wielding 
  a truncheon—a depiction of Warden 
  Hawkran. A total of 25 names—the 
  guards who died in the fire of 4661, as 
  well as the warden’s wife, Vesorianna—
  are chiseled into the statue’s stone base. 
  The memorial is a popular meeting spot 
  for late-night trysts among Ravengro’s young 
  lovers, for it has just the right mix of tragic 
  romance and spooky ambience without 
  actually being on Harrowstone’s supposedly 
  haunted grounds.
  P. the Restlands
  Behind the Funebrial is a large stretch of 
  moorland reserved for interring Ravengro’s 
  dead. Thanks to the Pharasmin church’s 
  influence in town, Ravengro’s graveyard is large and well 
  tended. Tradition dictates that whenever one passes by (or 
  through) the Restlands, one must always first draw a spiral 
  on her heart as a sign of respect. The sign wards against 
  the risk that the traveler’s passage will disturb the sleep 
  of the departed.
  The Restlands are further detailed in “The Haunting 
  of Harrowstone.”
  q. giBs hePhenus’s shack
  This ramshackle building is home to one of Ravengro’s 
  most foul-tempered retired farmers—Gibs Hephenus 
  (CN old male human commoner 2). Gibs plays a key role 
  in “The Haunting of Harrowstone.”
  R. haRRowstone
  This reminder of Ravengro’s original purpose looms 
  over the town from atop its bleak hilltop, a constant 
  inspiration for tall tales and bad dreams. Harrowstone is 
  presented in detail in this volume’s adventure.
  Ravengro
  63
  Shanda Faravan
  
  Haunts:
  The Unquiet Dead
  W
  ith the knockings of restless spirits erupting around us, I raised my 
  hand and snapped my fingers thrice, loudly. The raps paused, then 
  responded back in unison. As we called out questions to the dead lord 
  of Montalov Manor, the knocks responded, and we began to unravel the 
  mystery of Arno Montalov’s murder. Suddenly the temperature dropped to 
  a deadly chill, and a pair of spectral hands seized my throat in an iron grip, 
  just as they had seized the estate’s lord some eighty years before.
  —Joseffy Cagliosamo, retired ghost finder
  64
  
  Effect When triggered, a chorus of agitated raps and 
  blows rings out from nearby hard surfaces as unquiet 
  spirits convey their unrest to the living. All who hear the 
  supernatural knocks suffer a cause fear effect (save DC 11).  
  Destruction Depending on their alignment, rapping spirits 
  typically ask for their mortal remains to be laid to rest or 
  for the PCs to seek revenge for their deaths. Fulfilling these 
  requests dismisses the haunts.
  Slamming Portal (Cr 1)
  Mysteriously locked or slamming doors usually indicate 
  a supernatural presence protesting intrusion, and serve 
  as stern reminders that explorers are unwelcome in the 
  realm of haunts. These frivolous spirits are fond of not 
  only locking the living out of rooms, but also locking 
  them in, usually with deadly dungeon denizens. 
  B
  orn of anguish and despair, haunts are a versatile 
  means of invoking atmospheric encounters and 
  creepy occurrences at the game table. Crossing 
  foul undead presences with traps, haunts can serve 
  as frustrating foils for the players’ explorations or as 
  terrifying storytelling devices. With the publication of the 
  Pathfinder RPG GameMastery Guide, rules for constructing 
  and presenting these enigmatic spirits are now available 
  to GMs, allowing them to unleash their own malevolent 
  horrors upon unsuspecting players. 
  While decrepit asylums and rotting ancestral estates 
  are the most obvious places for haunts, folklore is filled 
  with ghostly encounters along lonely country roads and 
  fog-shrouded moors, and even thriving inns and taverns 
  are reliable receptacles for supernatural presences. In 
  short, any location where unjust death, murder, and deceit 
  have taken place is fair game for unquiet spirits.  From 
  classic ghostly manifestations such as glowing orbs and 
  cold spots, to more mystical and terrifying spectres such 
  as gjengangers and shrouded ladies, the 15 classic haunts 
  that follow feature a wide range of challenge ratings and 
  effects to frighten PCs and keep players squirming in 
  their seats. Let the adventurer beware.  
  ClaSSiC HauntS
  While each of the following haunts presents an encounter 
  with a specific theme, GMs should feel free to customize 
  these manifestations as they please. Regardless of the 
  default description, the better customized a haunt is to the 
  setting in which it’s found or the more personalized it is to 
  those it’s meant to spook, the more effective it will be.
  raPPing SPirit (Cr 1)
  The most common haunts are rapping spirits: unquiet 
  dead with just enough substance to produce cacophonous 
  knocking and loud bumps in the night. Adventurers may 
  attempt communication with these intelligent spirits by 
  working out codes to form cryptic messages at the rate of 
  1d10 words per minute with a successful Linguistics check 
  (DC varies—see sidebar). Neutralized haunts of all types 
  may revert to this residual state during their reset period 
  (see sidebar), allowing communication and discovery of 
  their means of destruction. 
  Rapping Spirit 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  Alignment varies persistent haunt (5-ft. radius)
  Caster Level 1st
  Notice Perception DC 10 (to hear faint knockings on walls, 
  floor, and furniture)
  hp 4; Weakness tricked by hide from undead; Trigger proximity; 
  Reset 1 day
  inveStigating HauntS
  Whether in the employ of the frightened owners of a 
  haunted estate or simply seeking to exorcise unquiet 
  spirits, PCs may attempt communication with haunts to 
  discover the actions necessary to bring final rest.
  The GM may elect to treat all neutralized haunts (those 
  reduced to 0 hp) as CR 1 rapping spirits while they reset. 
  Using this option, haunts retain enough ectoplasmic 
  fortitude to linger in the area, where they attempt to convey 
  their needs to the living. While these knockings are still 
  potentially frightening, communication with these feeble 
  spirits can be established by working out a series of codes 
  (such as one rap for “yes” and two for “no”) or by calling 
  out words, numbers, and letters for selection by the spirits. 
  Such messages can be formed at the rate of 1d10 words 
  for each minute a character makes a successful Linguistics 
  check, with a DC equal to 15 + the original haunt’s CR. 
  Such communications are typically unreliable and 
  cryptic, never conveying knowledge beyond what the 
  spirit knew in life. While the spectre always behaves 
  according to the original haunt’s alignment, only the 
  most malevolent spirits would deny themselves a 
  chance at final rest. Some mediums carry flat, lettered 
  boards known as “talking boards,” or planchettes—
  small, wheeled boards with chalk or charcoal extending 
  below—to better facilitate communication with spirits. 
  Such tools increase the efficiency of messages received 
  to 3d6 words per minute of communication, and grant 
  the user a +4 bonus on Linguistics checks to decipher the 
  cryptic messages of haunts.  
  Haunts
  65
  
  Slamming Portal  
  CR 1
  XP 400
  LE haunt (doors or shutters in 5-ft. radius)
  Caster Level 1st
  Notice Perception DC 10 (to see a portal closing)
  hp 2; Weakness tricked by hide from undead; Trigger proximity; 
  Reset 1 minute
  Effect The haunted door or window slams shut abruptly when 
  triggered, held fast by supernatural resistance as if affected 
  by a hold portal spell. Once triggered, the phantom’s hold 
  on the door persists for 1 minute, although neutralizing the 
  haunt releases the portal. 
  Destruction A flask of holy water sprinkled in the infested area 
  permanently dismisses troublesome haunts that incessantly 
  slam shutters and gates. 
  orbS (Cr 2)
  Common signs of ghostly infestation, these sentient 
  spirits manifest as a lazily drifting cloud of translucent, 
  glowing orbs. Scholars speculate that they represent 
  minor animal spirits, ghosts who have faded into the 
  ether with time, or even the souls of children.  
  Orbs  
  CR 2
  XP 600
  CE haunt (10-ft.-by-20-ft. room or hallway)
  Caster Level 2nd
  Notice Perception DC 10 (to notice pulsating, glowing orbs)
  hp 4; Weakness slow; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 minute
  Effect This swarm of drifting motes typically consists of 6d6 
  glowing orbs ranging from the size of tiny peas to that of 
  large melons. Witnesses of the manifestation are subject 
  to the effects of a scare spell (save DC 13) as the curious 
  phantasms ominously threaten invaders. 
  Destruction Orbs are too minor to be afforded the purposeful 
  rest sought by other haunts. Instead, the number of orbs 
  found in a given area is reduced by one die each time the 
  haunt is neutralized until they stop appearing altogether.  
  Cold SPot (Cr 3)
  Cold spots occur at the sites of the traumatic deaths of 
  creatures that lack the psychic fortitude to persist as 
  true ghosts. These common supernatural indicators are 
  known to roam within large complexes, continuously 
  seeking relief from the chill of death by drawing warmth 
  from the living. 
  Cold Spot  
  CR 3
  XP 800
  NE persistent haunt (15-ft. radius)
  Caster Level 3rd
  Notice Perception DC 10 (to notice a sudden temperature drop)
  hp 13; Trigger proximity; Weakness damaged by fire; Reset 1 hour
  Effect When the area of a cold spot is entered, the temperature 
  immediately drops to freezing as the minor spirit draws 
  warmth from living creatures. This action duplicates the 
  effects of a chill touch spell (save DC 11), automatically 
  affecting all creatures in the area for each round they remain. 
  Destruction An unattended metal object must be subjected 
  to heat metal while the cold spot manifests. The warm 
  object will absorb the entity, and must be quickly buried in 
  hallowed ground.
  CHoking HandS (Cr 4)
  Whether lingering embodiments of lynched serial 
  stranglers or the traumatic psychic manifestation of a 
  hysterical public, these dangerous spectres lurk in dark 
  alleyways seeking vengeance on the living.  
  Choking Hands  
  CR 4
  XP 1,200
  CE persistent haunt (15-ft.-by-30-ft. alleyway)
  Caster Level 4th
  Notice Perception DC 20 (to see coalescing vapor)
  hp 18; Weakness tricked by hide from undead; Trigger 
  proximity; Reset 1 day
  Effect This spirit manifests as a pair of spectral skeletal hands 
  that latches around the throats of its victims. This +4 touch 
  attack duplicates a vampiric touch spell each round, and the 
  temporary hit points gained feed the haunt’s own hit points, 
  making the entity harder to dismiss the longer it strangles.
  Destruction Manacles enchanted with bless weapon that 
  are brought into the haunted area capture the haunt’s 
  essence; they must then be thrown into moving water to 
  permanently dismiss the murderous spirit.
  mad monk (Cr 5)
  Often found haunting ruined monasteries, apparitions of 
  monks are among the most commonly reported haunts. 
  Stories of the enigmatic spirits are conflicted, as some 
  report offers of chalices of healing elixir, while others 
  tell of poisonous betrayal from the seemingly benevolent 
  ghost’s gift.
  Mad Monk  
  CR 5
  XP 1,600
  CN haunt (25-ft.-radius churchyard)
  Caster Level 5th
  Notice Perception DC 20 (to hear the sound of pouring liquid)
  hp 10; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 day
  Effect When triggered, a robed monk materializes and offers a 
  gold chalice to the nearest wounded creature. Sometimes 
  the ethereal liquid is beneficial, acting as a cure critical 
  wounds spell if consumed. Other times the monk is deceitful, 
  and imbibers suffer the effects of a poison spell (save DC 16) 
  as the monk dissolves into a cackling pile of ghostly bones. 
  66
  
  Destruction If the spirit intends to help, the gift offered must 
  be turned down by one of good alignment who is truly in 
  need. Otherwise, the peals of church bells will also dismiss 
  the treacherous monk permanently. 
  baleful aPParition (Cr 6)
  Bile seeps up from floorboards while horrific images of 
  bloody claws or the gasping faces of drowned victims fade 
  into view and back out again. Such are the haunts that 
  infest torture chambers, ruined castles, and secluded, 
  swampy groves. 
  Baleful Apparition  
  CR 6
  XP 2,400
  CE haunt (30-ft.-by-30-ft. chamber)
  Caster Level 6th
  Notice Perception DC 18 (to feel an ominous presence)
  hp 12; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 hour
  Effect Victims of this haunt are subject to disturbing 
  supernatural images. Mirrors reflect bloody visages, shadows 
  coalesce into terrifying monstrosities, horrifying spectres 
  wail, or decaying maidens plead for help. The unnatural 
  happening targets all witnesses with a fear spell (save DC 16). 
  Destruction The resonance of lingering psychic trauma, 
  these images are usually the result of ethereal residue 
  rather than a specific restless spirit, and can be dismissed 
  with a hallow spell. 
  reStleSS SPirit (Cr 7) 
  Mysteriously moving furniture, flying objects, and 
  invisible attacks are common indications of haunts in 
  noble villas and dank dungeons alike. Restless spirits 
  typically manifest to protest the intrusion of mortals 
  onto forgotten gravesites or the sacred grounds of a lost 
  indigenous people. 
  Restless Spirit 
  CR 7
  XP 3,200 
  CE persistent haunt (up to 35-ft. radius within building)
  Caster Level 7th
  Notice Perception DC 20 (to see mysterious movements)
  hp 31; Weakness tricked by hide from undead; Trigger 
  proximity; Reset 1 hour
  Effect Powerful spirits capable of violent kinetic outbursts, 
  restless spirits are able to violently throw furniture and even 
  tousle invaders with a persistent telekinesis effect (save DC 17).  
  Restless spirits are known to use all three versions of this 
  spell to harass the living and show their anger toward the 
  offending household. 
  Destruction Barring the removal of the imposing structure 
  from sacred grounds, these haunts are difficult to destroy. 
  A forbiddance spell bars their entrance into the area, driving 
  them away. 
  gHaStly WHiSPerS  (Cr 8)
  Those driven insane by delving into dark and terrible 
  secrets, as well as the ghosts of mad wizards who journeyed 
  too deeply into the black essence of the Dark Tapestry, often 
  manifest such haunts after departing the mortal realm.  
  Ghastly Whispers  
  CR 8
  XP 4,800
  CE haunt (up to 40-ft. radius)
  Caster Level 8th
  Notice Perception DC 20 (to hear crescendoing whispers)
  hp 16; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 day
  Effect When this haunt is triggered, all within the affected 
  area discern a faint, feathery whispering. As the whispers 
  crescendo, all intruders are subject to the maddening 
  disorientation of an insanity spell (save DC 20). The 
  condition is permanent, but can be cured normally.
  Destruction Holy smite cast in the area permanently destroys 
  this raving haunt. 
  Haunts
  67
  Mad Monk
  
  eCtoPlaSmiC miaSma (Cr 9)
  Swirling clouds of spirits congealed into a single ethereal 
  mass often haunt the scenes of particularly gruesome 
  slaughters. Bound together in death, these confused souls 
  know nothing more than to strike out at the living, their 
  faces stretched into silent howls and mad shrieks.  
  Ectoplasmic Miasma  
  CR 9
  XP 6,400
  CE persistent haunt (30-ft.-radius ethereal cloud)
  Caster Level 9th
  Notice Perception DC 15 (to see congealing mist)
  hp 40; Weakness tricked by hide from undead; Trigger 
  proximity; Reset 1 day
  Effect Dozens of spectral visages coagulate in a swirling 
  miasma of mangled limbs and twisted, howling faces. The 
  congealed apparitions swiftly pass through the bodies of 
  those within the area, duplicating the effects of both solid 
  fog and acid fog (save DC 17), but dealing untyped damage. 
  Destruction If the name of each murdered victim among the 
  dozens is discovered and called out while the haunt resets, 
  their souls separate and find peace.
  HeadleSS HorSeman (Cr 10)
  Whether spectral cavaliers from distant lands who 
  lost their heads in battle or jilted equestrians 
  decapitated by jealous rivals, headless horsemen 
  are dangerous and deadly pursuers known to 
  haunt dark roadways and abandoned bridges in 
  the late hours of the night.  
  Headless Horseman  
  CR 10
  XP 9,600
  CE persistent haunt (10-ft.-by-50-ft. roadway or bridge)
  Caster Level 10th
  Notice Perception DC 20 (to hear the galloping of a 
  phantom horse)
  hp 45; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 day
  Effect This haunt materializes as a headless, 
  horse-bound spectre. Wearing ancient 
  armor, its decapitated head hanging from 
  the saddle of a rotting, ghostly equine, the 
  spirit swiftly gallops across the roadway, 
  attacking each round with a terrible, 
  ethereal blade as the mage’s sword spell 
  with a +16 attack bonus. Some roving 
  specimens are known to continue pursuit far 
  beyond their original area.
  Destruction A holy weapon must be buried 
  in the roadway, and then the haunt must be 
  provoked during a full moon. The headless 
  horseman is destroyed when it charges over 
  the holy weapon.
  SPeCtral Carriage (Cr 11)
  Many superstitions maintain that these 
  translucent horse-drawn carriages transport 
  souls into the hereafter, while scholars insist 
  they are perpetually replaying manifestations 
  of tragic accidents. Whatever the case, the spectral 
  teamsters driving these ethereal carriages have no love 
  for the living, and appear in abandoned streets and 
  crowded boulevards alike to run down pedestrians with 
  cackling glee.  
  68
  Headless Horseman
  
  Spectral Carriage 
  CR 11
  XP 12,800
  CE haunt (15-ft.-by-60-ft. roadway)
  Caster Level 11th
  Notice Perception DC 22 (to hear galloping horse hooves)
  hp 22; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 hour
  Effect Once manifested, a translucent horse-drawn carriage 
  carrying laughing ghosts in rotting finery careens wildly 
  over the roadway, swerving madly to run down all in its 
  path. Those caught within the area are subject to the effects 
  of a clenched fist spell (+25 attack). 
  Destruction Those wishing to destroy these dangerous and 
  wild spirits must bring a mare to the haunt’s location. Using 
  plane shift, the living horse must be sent to the Ethereal 
  Plane, where the carriage’s spectral stallions give chase and 
  become forever lost.
  SHrouded lady (Cr 12)
  Those once the toast of the ball soon age into ragged 
  spinsters, their beauty little more than a memory, their 
  youths wasted. The women who carry their resentment 
  at this affront into death do not often rest easy, and 
  sometimes seek to steal the youth of the living.
  Shrouded Lady  
  CR 12
  XP 19,200 
  NE haunt (10-ft.-by-20-ft. staircase)
  Caster Level 12th
  Notice Perception DC 26 (to hear creaking of old bones)
  hp 24; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 hour
  Effect The incorporeal form of a white-shrouded, desiccated 
  crone materializes when triggered, affecting all witnesses 
  within range with horrid wilting (save DC 22). As the victims 
  of this haunt wither and age, the shrouded lady seems 
  to return to youth and vigor before fading again into 
  nothingness with a satisfied sigh. 
  Destruction A mirror must be carried into the haunt’s area 
  during the manifestation of the withered spectre. The sight 
  of its true state banishes the spirit. 
  gjenganger (Cr 13)
  Vengeful suicides, or gjengangers, might manifest in 
  the mortal realm as twisted corporeal copies of those 
  who trespass on their territory, attacking with violent 
  malevolence. These entities also spread disease, and victims 
  of their attacks often display the telltale blue, sunken 
  marks that indicate the spirit’s “dead man’s pinch,” or 
  dødningeknip. Survivors of the gjenganger’s initial assault 
  usually succumb to a virulent illness as their bodies 
  slowly waste away from the haunt’s debilitating curse.
  Gjenganger  
   
  CR 13
  XP 25,600
  CE persistent haunt (up to 65-ft. radius)
  Caster Level 13th
  Notice Perception DC 28 (to see corporeal formation)
  hp 58; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 day
  Effect A gjenganger manifests corporeally, and assumes the 
  stunted, twisted form of a selected intruder as if created 
  by the simulacrum spell. Regardless of the creature it 
  duplicates, the gjenganger always has hit points equal to its 
  haunt hit points. These entities rely on their “dead man’s 
  pinch.” This +13 touch attack causes a sunken blue wound 
  that duplicates the contagion spell (save DC 16), manifesting 
  as bubonic plague. This disease persists even after the 
  haunt is neutralized, but can be cured normally. This haunt 
  can only manifest one duplicate at a time. Creating a new 
  duplicate causes the one in existence to vanish. 
  Destruction While placing the holy symbol of a lawful good 
  deity painted in tar in the haunt’s territory prevents it from 
  manifesting, gjengangers are notoriously difficult to lay to 
  rest. Their remains must be located, exhumed, and carried 
  around the church of a lawful good deity three times before 
  being passed over the churchyard walls for reburial.
  fall of tHe HouSe of HauntS (Cr 14)
  Sometimes an estate is so infested with haunts that 
  the house itself rebels, a final desperate act typically 
  spelling the end for adventurers prying too deeply into 
  the troubled history of the haunted home. In these rare 
  circumstances, the vengeful forces within heave forth in 
  a final cataclysmic effort to destroy those who discover 
  their unsettling secrets. 
  Fall of the House of Haunts  
   
  CR 14
  XP 38,400
  CE persistent haunt (70-ft. radius enclosing 1 estate)
  Caster Level 14th
  Notice Perception DC 21 (to feel the growing vibrations and 
  hear the structure creaking)
  hp 63; Trigger proximity; Reset none
  Effect Typically triggered by traumatic revelations within 
  ancient mansions troubled by unquiet spirits, the haunted 
  estate undergoes a terrible act of self-destruction. The 
  weather around the estate immediately shifts to intense, 
  torrential storms, as per control weather, as the house 
  itself begins to tremble and crack from the effects of an 
  earthquake spell (save DC 22), bringing a cataclysmic end 
  to its horrific history. Most structures are immediately 
  destroyed, but both effects continue until the entire estate 
  is swallowed up by the earth.
  Destruction Such acts of final desperation are self-
  destructive, and the circumstances surrounding these 
  events typically release the unquiet spirits in a tumultuous 
  finale. What spirits do linger on the ruined grounds can be 
  made quiet with a hallow spell. 
  Haunts
  69
  
  Guilty Blood: 1 of 6
  Common Ashes
  I
  ’m starting this after the matter, as that’s what they say 
  we’re supposed to do. I used to think these little diaries 
  were all about fame and letting us insignificant folk 
  know there were bigger things in the world beyond our gray 
  streets and propped-up walls. I suppose I know better now. 
  At some point I realized they’re warnings. So if some night 
  the blasted thing takes me, I’ll still be able to explain how I 
  met my end and maybe prevent it from happening again. 
  It’s here as I write this, the red glint betraying its hunger. 
  Not for food, or drink, or blood, or anything half-sane like 
  that—it’s far beyond those things. You might need to 
  know that, especially if I’m past giving warnings.
  It didn’t start like one of her novels, no matter what she 
  might say now that it’s all over. The evening had brought me 
  around to the Old Horn, the oldest public house in Ardis, 
  a mangy den the owner claimed was constructed in an age 
  when all men were kings and all geese shat gold. How the 
  wreck of sagging beams and cracked mortar looked mangy 
  was something of a wonder, but a wonder the taproom 
  brought off nightly with its threadbare wall hangings, 
  tattered hawthorn wreathes, and dusty bear pelt splayed 
  above its narrow fireplace. The cluttered decor, along with a 
  years-old haze of cheap spice cigar smoke, unintentionally 
  but effectively baffled noise in the narrow pub, making 
  70
  
  to a whine. “It’d be just like them, too. Don’t care who 
  they roll over so long as their coffers are full and they can 
  waddle out of this cesspit whenever they please.”
  There was a moment’s silence, as if the speakers waited 
  for the third to chime in with his volley of news and curses, 
  but it didn’t come.
  “You’re taking this well, Garmand,” the anvil rumbled. 
  “He was your boss.” Only a pointed silence answered.
  “If he’d been anything to me, I’d do something,” the girl 
  boasted with a shrill arrogance, inviting challenge. “You 
  wouldn’t see me in here dripping tears in my—”
  “Is that what I’m doing?” The scruffy student interrupted 
  with surprising steel in his voice. “And would it unman me 
  if I did shed a tear or two? I worked alongside that old man 
  for nearly eight years, fed both of us with coin from his 
  purse, and have nearly enough hidden away to get out of 
  this place thanks to him. Doesn’t his death—his murder—
  maybe warrant a tear or two? Or, in all your experience, 
  are you past regret?”
  I could hear the girl bristle and sniff loudly, probably 
  unused to holding her tongue, but doing so all the same.
  “Anyway,” Garmand continued, his voice taking on a 
  thoughtful distance, “you’re not wrong. Something like 
  this calls for more than tears and words. I was there when 
  the guard peeled Mister Parrigd off the street—even saw 
  where the coach’s wheels rolled out his blood for five paces 
  before fading off. They all said it was one of the countess’s 
  coaches. Even the watchmen did, as if that ended the 
  matter. Parrigd might as well have been a crow picking in 
  the gutter, just a bump and not worth a moment of guilt. 
  He didn’t have any people either. So who knows what’ll 
  happen to his body. The Watch is more likely to just roll 
  him into the river than give him over to the church for a 
  proper burn.”
  “So what’s for it, then?” the girl accused after a space, 
  trying to recover pride from his slight. 
  “Not much, sadly. Less than Mr. Parrigd deserves, but 
  I think I might have something in mind. I need to talk to 
  some fellows if there’s any chance of making it work. And 
  we might need Sayn’s boat.”
  “I’ll take you anywhere you need, long as it’s after dusk,” 
  said the big one, apparently the boatman Sayn. “But I can’t 
  say it’s much for getting out of town. I can’t take it off the 
  Tears and side streams.”
  “We won’t need to wait long or go far, I hope,” Garmand 
  said. “I want to take care of this tonight, while my nerve’s 
  up. I’m just waiting for the right sort to come in. There’s a 
  ratty guy I’ve heard about, and I’ve seen him in here before. 
  I think we could make a deal with him. But I still need to 
  think it out.”
  The students’ little drama devolved into mumbles of 
  plots, what-ifs, and curses against the Venacdahlia name. 
  It seemed like the three had been though a bad patch today, 
  it a favorite den for those with the contradictory needs to 
  converse and not be heard.
  I hadn’t thought of it then, but the setting did seem 
  like something she’d come up with; a heroine, daring 
  the city’s underbelly to track a moon-mad rake, vengeful 
  corpse, or some such. But while Kindler’s heroes always 
  had a pack full of tricks and talismans suited to their 
  noble intentions, my evening’s agenda seemed to match 
  what little rattled in my tired satchel: a few coins pinched 
  earlier that day, a few useful splinters of metal, a chipped 
  wharfman’s knife, and a battered book—its embossed 
  cover still holding a bit of color upon the words Her Wounds 
  Never Bled and Ailson Kindler. I remember nabbing the book 
  from my mother’s library the night I made my escape—it 
  being one of those everyday ironies that seem all the more 
  prophetic in retrospect. Regardless, it was nothing to me 
  at that moment, and my thoughts were on more pressing 
  and less romantic topics. 
  You had to buy at least one drink or else the hatchet-
  faced barkeep would get wise and have you tossed out in 
  the street. Sidling up to the bar, I ignored his scrutiny of 
  my freshly pinched coins and took in the night’s crowd. 
  Slim pickings.
  Nothing but a pair of clerks in patched coats, a pesh 
  dealer trying to hide his own shakes, some over-painted 
  wharf wives with bleary-eyed beaus, and a conclave of 
  students leaning so close they might be trying to read 
  each other’s thoughts—two fellows and a sliver of a girl. 
  The sure coin was with the clerks, who were practically 
  flashing their coppers with a second round of drinks. But 
  the easy coin hung off the scruffiest student’s belt in an 
  old-fashioned hip pouch. The purse looked malnourished, 
  but there was easily enough to cover the price of my drink 
  and, Desna willing, a meal before the last peddler closed 
  up for the night.
  Suspiciously accepting my under-filled mug of water 
  and ale suds, I sought out a bench with its back to the 
  students and took a seat. No reason to rush my drink, as 
  they didn’t look to be headed anywhere anytime soon.
  Through the smoke and lazy murmur of the room’s 
  muffled conversations, I could just make out the whispers 
  behind me. Chalk it up to what my father always called 
  my “elf ears,” harking to some probably imaginary ancestor 
  in our family tree. 
  “—and bowled him right over, just in front of him. If 
  he’d left the counting house a moment earlier, he said 
  it’d been him lying face down in the street instead of ol’ 
  Parrigd,” said the biggest of the students—or perhaps a 
  laborer’s apprentice, judging from his anvil-like frame.
  “I’d heard it was the countess’s daughter… the one with 
  the piggy eyes. Opaline, I think. That half-heifer, looking 
  out the coach window and laughing behind them fat, pie-
  poking fingers.” The sharp-nosed girl needled every vowel 
  Common Ashes
  71
  
  and I thought about turning my eye toward the clerks across 
  the taproom ordering up their third round. But their talk 
  of making deals made me imagine silver instead of copper 
  weighing down Garmand’s exposed pouch. Though I had 
  sympathy for their hard times, their story wasn’t anything 
  novel in Ardis these days. If I wasn’t the one who made 
  their day worse, it would just be someone else. So why deny 
  myself a meal? I made my move.
  I feigning checking my boots and coughed to mask any 
  sound. My dagger flashed, and the coins were in my hands 
  with hardly a rustle. My fingers had danced this dance 
  often enough that it was an easily rushed routine, sliding 
  the coppers—damn—into the lip of my boot, replacing my 
  blade, and straightening nonchalantly as though nothing 
  had happened, all in that half a moment. I casually 
  finished my drink, and after another moment, stood 
  to leave, careful to keep any hint of a smirk off my face, 
  wearing instead the typical downtrodden stare the pub’s 
  patrons would expect and ignore. Stepping lightly to avoid 
  jostling the coins sliding beneath my heel, I reflected on 
  what a fine stop this had been and considered adding it to 
  my weekly rounds.
  That’s when a grip like a pair of smith’s tongs clasped 
  my wrist.
  I should have stuck to my weekly rounds.
   “Ho there, missy,” came the boatman’s gritty voice. I 
  turned, trying to disguise nerves with outrage at the rough 
  hand on my arm. All three at the table were looking at me, the 
  girl sneering, Sayn half standing, his hairy hand locked 
  on mine. “Not as sly as you thought, huh? I think you 
  owe us a round with those coins you’re stinking up.”
  I knew I couldn’t pull away. Maybe I could scream like 
  he was accosting me, but no one around looked the hero 
  type. Maybe if I—
  “No, they’re hers,” Garmand said calmly, interrupting 
  my escape plans and surprising his companions, who 
  turned on him as though he’d gone mad. He produced 
  his pouch and fingered the extra opening I’d just added. 
  “Have a seat, miss. If you’re as talented as you just 
  demonstrated, you might be even better than the one I 
  was waiting for.”
  He gestured to the unoccupied fourth seat. “At the 
  very least, hear me out. I’ve got an idea that could buy us 
  each our way out of the city, avenge a friend, and slap the 
  aristocracy across the face—all of which must sound better 
  than getting hauled off to the Watch. But tell me, does 
  your skill end at cutting purses?”
  The skiff didn’t run aground. It ran a-grave.
  A tombstone jutting out of the water halted our journey 
  and we pulled the sad little boat ashore, rubbing away 
  handfuls of flaking white paint with every tug. The black 
  water lapping against half-submerged tombstones sounded 
  like the lake was trying to hush us, as though it didn’t want 
  us to wake the untended dead it had crept upon. In morbid 
  curiosity, I peered into the languid waves, wondering if I 
  could make out an unearthed coffin or a drowned skull, 
  but the cloudy night helped the lake keep its secrets.
  Looking inland hardly helped calm my imagination. 
  Evercrown Cemetery. Here Garmand sought his revenge 
  on the living by way of the dead.
  The cemetery rose upon a low hill, where naked 
  autumn trees grasped heavenward, their curled finger 
  bones doing little to hide dozens of small structures 
  “This is going to be 
  simple: corpses for a 
  corpse.”
  72
  
  scattered randomly between them, as if tossed by some 
  gargantuan hand. Thousands of discrepant silhouettes 
  vied to be more ominous then their neighbors, holding 
  aloft ornamental wings, urns, or obelisks, while larger 
  shapes hulked like ghoulish giants collecting bones in 
  the dark. The trees and wild grasses rustled in the chilly 
  breeze, their roots seeming to draw up the smell of the 
  dead, their haze of motion disguising anything that 
  might lurk amid the graves. I could make out the nearest 
  of these tombstones, their memorials lost in shadow, but 
  each seeming to bear ominous promises for trespassers.
  Hoping not to excite my imagination too much with 
  my first step upon the burial grounds, I looked back 
  the way we’d come. The few lights of the sleeping city 
  flickered across the lake called the Tears, so named for 
  the elaborate burial processions that crossed it to reach 
  the city’s mausoleums. Only royalty and nobles were 
  buried here, those who could afford the honor of such 
  costly rites. All others were burned to ashes. Such was a 
  pauper’s fate, but one nearly everyone in Ardis expected. 
  Such was also the crux of Garmand’s scheme.
  Gathering us a few strides away from the shore, a cask 
  of oil and two crowbars under his arm, Garmand spoke 
  hurriedly and in hushed tones.
  “This is going to be simple: corpses for a corpse. We 
  find the Venacdahlia mausoleum, break in, and burn 
  everything we find. We keep it small. We’re not trying to 
  start a blaze that will have the Watch running. If there’s 
  time, we gather up the ashes and put together a fine little 
  memento for the countess. We clear?” It was exactly as 
  we’d agreed after leaving the Old Horn.
  “And tomorrow we wake up rich men with big houses 
  and fat wives. That’s how this all ends, right?” Sayn’s tone 
  was arch. Garmand frowned. His sister, Liscena, cursed.
  “No,” Garmand replied. “Tomorrow we wake up just 
  like we always do. The countess, her daughters, and half 
  the inbred nobles in town, though—they wake to find 
  their forefathers going back a dozen centuries gone, the 
  ones who gave them that noble blood nothing but ashes. 
  All burned up, just like we’re going to be when we pass 
  on.” His tone took on an optimistic enthusiasm. “And 
  maybe, like you’d expect from folk with no sense, the 
  nobles gussy up their dead like they’re headed off to the 
  opera. So we help ourselves to a little of that, hock a few 
  trinkets, and finally get out of this place on their coin. 
  Seems like justice to me.”
  He nodded at me. “All that, but only if you’re as good 
  as I hope you are.”
  “I like my turnout better!” the burly boatman chuckled.
  Liscena rolled her head. “Can we get on with this?”
  It took nearly an hour to find the resting place of the 
  county’s rulers, the Venacdahlia mausoleum. We searched 
  without light, fearing the attention it might attract on 
  the exposed hill. Broken flagstone paths, twisted roots, 
  and spidery ground creepers hid among the shadows 
  of tombstones, making the cemetery so treacherous to 
  traverse that in places we had to crawl amid the ornamental 
  mourners and deathly effigies. We found our aim near 
  the end of a walk that wound up from the eastern gate, 
  squatting near the hill’s summit, commanding a lordly 
  view of the Tears and the city beyond.
  Angels prayed at the tomb’s corners, years of grime 
  giving them the wings of crows. Artfully twisted pillars 
  circled the small, temple-like structure, and the dead eye 
  of a shattered, stained-glass pediment window stared 
  down. A tarnished bronze door barred the way inside, its 
  surface etched with a flight of surprised-looking green 
  cherubs in mottled armor, a large keyhole piercing one’s 
  breast like a spear wound.
  Not waiting for a cue from my evening’s employers, I 
  found my makeshift picks and kneeled at the door, trying 
  to avoid making eye contact with any of the angelic 
  mourners. The Venacdahlias earned their reputations 
  as skinflints that night—two twists of the metal slivers 
  and the tumblers gave way. I fumbled with the lock for 
  several moments more, underscoring the worth of my 
  participation. Eventually I stood and, with a casual hand, 
  swung the mausoleum door wide.
  Although the burial chamber was open and lofty, the 
  air within was close, with the thick smell of dust and 
  old rot. I’d expected that. I’d even expected the hairy 
  black spiders and other less distinct shadows that fled 
  our intrusion. But I hadn’t expected the foreboding, the 
  feeling of blasphemy that rained down from the vaulting, 
  the accusations of eyeless sockets glaring through the 
  lids of dozens of burial alcoves. We were trespassing in 
  the home of the dead, and though they couldn’t physically 
  stop us, their indignation loomed even past death’s veil.
  We had hardly paused to take in the dilapidated 
  monument for a moment before Garmand moved to the 
  bier at the chamber’s center and set down the crowbars 
  and cask of oil. 
  “Start with the high alcoves and pull down what’s inside. 
  We’ll burn them in piles.” His instructions were matter 
  of fact, though his shifting eyes belied his disquiet. “If 
  you find anything valuable, it’s yours to keep.”
  I helped them, and—being the easiest to lift—even 
  tugged down the remnants of some of Ardis’s historic 
  rulers myself. I didn’t make any friends among the 
  historians that night—to say nothing of the country’s 
  nobility. It had fortunately been some time since any 
  Venacdahlia had been buried here, so we were mostly 
  contending with dry remains, and what we were tossing 
  down looked inhuman enough that we could fool our 
  consciences for the time being. Within minutes Garmand 
  Common Ashes
  73
  
  was pouring on the oil and we had a modest blaze going, 
  the smoke of old rulers wafting up through the broken 
  window and invisibly out into the night. The lurid light 
  flickering through crackling skulls did little to lessen the 
  foreboding weighing in the pit of my stomach. Somehow 
  the hellish light seemed ominously prophetic.
  Here and there we’d find something worth pocketing—a 
  brooch, a pair of earrings, a gold-capped walking stick—
  but it was Liscena who first laid eyes upon the dagger.
  “Whoa,” came her flat interjection, escaping with such 
  dumb surprise that we all turned in curiosity. She had 
  just wrested the lid off a low alcove, not far from the fire. 
  Inside, something caught the light and danced like a 
  serpent’s tongue in the corpse-fueled flames.
  “It’s mine!” Liscena snapped as we crowded close, 
  doubtlessly not even sure what “it” was. Cautiously, her 
  brother reached into the alcove and tugged forth a corpse 
  unlike any we’d defiled that night.
  On the dusty marble of the mausoleum floor lay a 
  withered form in a grim military uniform, its chest 
  seemingly crushed under the medals weighing upon it. Its 
  high-collared coat shone with gold thread, broad epaulets, 
  and silver clasps. At its hip, a gilded saber jutted from 
  an elegant ebony scabbard. But although the corpse was 
  interred with the honors of a leader, it was obvious it didn’t 
  receive such esteem in life’s final moments. Four vicious 
  wounds marred the body, the open buttons of the jacket 
  and shirt revealing a ragged path from the face, neck, and 
  collar to the center breast, which rot had deflated like an 
  emptied wineskin. There, from the sternum, as though 
  the murderer had tired mid-crime, jutted the handle of a 
  silver-bladed dagger. Yet more remarkable than the fact of 
  the apparent murder weapon being interred along with 
  the victim was the dagger itself.
  Although the blade hid within its morbid sheath, 
  what was visible bore an exotic elegance reminiscent of 
  treasure-laden Katapeshi palaces. Delicate flourishes 
  adorned the hilt, but the handle appeared to be carved 
  from a single miraculous crimson stone imprisoned 
  within a web of delicate gold filigree. Proud and deadly, 
  it was the weapon of royalty—and, apparently, the slayers 
  of royalty.
  An impulsive girl, Liscena already had her hand around 
  the pommel, yanking before anyone else made a move. 
  Thinking back, I’m not sure whether it was the girl or the 
  corpse who screamed first. 
  The dagger didn’t come away cleanly, but rather burst 
  from the corpse like a secured stopper, spilling the thief 
  backward. A geyser of something like luminescent entrails 
  erupted forth from the unplugged wound, an ephemeral 
  burst of upward-roiling ethereal humors. Gushing from 
  the dead man, the torrent of nether fluids refused to rain 
  back down, accumulating and writhing in the air above 
  the corpse, hanging there in defiance of gravity and sanity. 
  And with the glowing viscera exploded a terrible sound, a 
  depthless intonation from an indistinct distance. A noise 
  that grew evenly in volume, as if it falling up into the crypt 
  from the pit of the world. 
  A moment later, a grotesque apparition hung above the 
  empty carcass, a knot of churning, unnatural organ-stuff 
  glowing the unsteady green of a flickering altar votive. 
  With revolting deliberateness the mass churned and took 
  shape, as if worked by the hands of some invisible fiend. 
  Limbs, garments, a withered visage rent by slashes—each 
  took shape until the thing floating there was a spectral 
  copy of the husk below. And all the while the sound came, 
  issuing from the form like a scream heard through a 
  shattered window, the horror-stricken source hidden at 
  some unworldly remove.
  When the phantasmal form moved, the four slashes 
  marking its disfigured body stared like a vertical row of 
  empty sockets, taking us in even as they unleashed that 
  terrible, voiceless howl. 
  I can’t say who made the first move, but terror gripped 
  us each in unique ways.
  Garmand was at his sister’s side in a blur, shouting 
  something as she gaped dumbly, brandishing the long, 
  silver blade of her prize. For my part, I realized I was 
  backpedaling as the crypt’s doorframe came into view, 
  managing to halt myself before my shuddering limbs 
  carried me further. Sayn’s terror took the boldest route. 
  Hardly stepping back from the phantom, he hefted a 
  discarded crowbar and, with a bellow, sent it spinning 
  end over end toward the thing. 
  Were the vaporous corpse a creature of bone and flesh, 
  surely it would have shattered from the wild gusto of the 
  blow alone. As it was, the bar clanged upon the vault’s far 
  wall and skittered into the dark.
  Like a blind thing, the ethereal carcass’s head snapped 
  to where the tool had cracked the aged mausoleum stone. 
  In a series of jerks, it turned its neck in the direction of 
  Sayn’s bellow, directing its own howl toward the big man, 
  the slash across the thing’s face connecting its empty eye 
  sockets in a single cyclopean hollow. Awkwardly, like a 
  thing unused to moving, the spectre wrenched forth the 
  saber of faintly glowing ghost steel at its hip. Slashing 
  a weird gyre before it, the dead thing propelled itself, 
  blade and body, toward Sayn.
  The boatman stumbled backward in the face of the 
  armed shade, obviously rethinking the impulse not to 
  flee as a swipe of the spectral blade transfixed him. The 
  ephemeral saber emerged bloodlessly from his chest, 
  seemingly nothing more than an illusion. Looking 
  down upon his unwounded body, Sayn’s face reflected 
  his surprise and the beginning of a smirk in the instant 
  before he collapsed.
  74
  
  A gasp from Liscena drew the deadly wraith’s attention. 
  Garmand yanked his sister off the ground bodily, 
  intending to flee, but halted as the spectre came to hover 
  a step between them and the door. Valiantly, he moved 
  between the thing and his sister. As he did, the howling 
  reached a hollow crescendo.
  “Ferendri,” a name echoed in the moan, the sounds 
  stretched long in accusation, filling with the loathing of 
  bitter years.
  Garmand’s eyes went wide with confused recognition, 
  and the shade’s saber fell upon his brow in a slow stroke, 
  as if knighting him with some grievous authority. The 
  young man fell backward into his sister’s arms, the light 
  in his eyes guttering.
  As the sounds of Liscena’s despair filled the vault, 
  the spectre’s howl faded. Somehow the moan seemed to 
  pull back into the thing, revivifying its vaporous shape. 
  Its withered frame straightened, filling the tatters of its 
  uniform with a tall, lean body. Long legs, now booted and 
  unfurled, drew together in military posture. Gnarled 
  hands worked with new dexterity, one tightening upon 
  the grip of the saber—now appearing freshly polished—
  the other flexing as if stretching vaporous muscles. Its 
  impacted face healed, reforming in the memory of a 
  sharp chin, stern mouth, angular cheeks, and steely eyes, 
  the imperious features of a lord in his prime. When it 
  was done, the thing was no longer a corpse, but a severe, 
  knifelike man, now with only three deep gashes marring 
  his neck and chest. His eyes immediately fixed upon 
  Liscena, now looking very small with her face buried in 
  her dead brother’s locks. Nothing more than a child, but 
  a child holding his murder weapon.
  I didn’t realize I’d made a sound, but that’s when the 
  phantom turned his eyes upon me. 
  “Madam.” 
  That was all the dead man said as he nodded genteelly, 
  the slow word echoing in a voice incongruously civil 
  considering the dead lips from which they issued and the 
  corpses cooling upon the marble. It was mundane and 
  matter of fact, an everyday courtesy made terrifying by 
  the voice of death.
  With that, my horror-stricken mind lost control on my 
  straining limbs which, unfettered, spirited me away into 
  the dark.
  I’d strolled past the tall, lime-colored townhome and 
  its hedge-garbed fence countless times, often craning 
  to catch a glimpse of the famous resident. I’d never had 
  any reason to enter, though. Yet when my screaming legs 
  brought me to the gate that night, things were terribly 
  different.
   I easily surmounted the spiked iron barricade and, 
  hardly treading upon the dewy grass, was up the lion-
  flanked stairs and upon the creaking, whitewashed porch 
  in an instant. My knocks seemed to echo within the 
  heavy oaken door, and I noticed for the first time that my 
  knuckles were bleeding.
  No answer.
  I banged again, harder this time. Faster. As if my 
  urgency might influence fate on whether or not the 
  antique townhouse’s resident was at home.
  No answer still, but maybe the creak of a floorboard 
  within. The words came rushing out all at once. 
  “Ma’am! Hello? I need your help. I’m Laurel 
  Cylphra—I’m looking for Ailson Kindler. We’ve done 
  something terrible.”
  “Proud and deadly, it was 
  the weapon of royalty—
  and, apparently, the 
  slayers of royalty.”
  Common Ashes
  75
  
  Bestiary
  S
  ure she’s a wonder—you’ve never seen nothing so big move with 
  such ease. Just look inside: you’ve got all shapes and sizes of cogs, 
  weights, axles, and whatnots. They get big in there, especially toward the 
  top—and strong, too. Those high gears could pulp a man into something 
  you’d never recognize, or one of those levers could take your head right 
  off when they get spinning. And you can bet they have. I’m not the first 
  to take this job, but I don’t know a one who had it before me. Just saying, 
  there’re days I’m sure the shrieks that come with the bridge’s raising and 
  lowering don’t all come from rusty chains.”
  —Valmor Vagergaid, Tender of the Giant’s Lock, Lepidstadt
  76
  
  There are a lot of neat ideas in both of those, but there’s 
  not a lot of space for stat blocks you can just pull and 
  use on the f ly—even for something as basic as the 
  bloody skeleton in the hardcover Bestiary. In the coming 
  months, we’ll be condensing much of this information 
  here in Pathfinder Adventure Path and expanding it with 
  new rules and ready-to-use stat blocks for a variety 
  of classic creatures, adapting them as challenges for 
  a range of CRs and offering toolboxes full of specific 
  creature information to supplement the basics already 
  included in the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary. It’s something 
  a little different, but we’re only trying this out with 
  one creature a month, so keep on expecting plenty of 
  entirely new creatures in this section even as we test our 
  mad experiment. And, as always, be sure to tell us what 
  you think on our messageboards at paizo.com.
  Harrowing Harrowstone
  In the course of this month’s adventure, “The Haunting 
  of Harrowstone,” the PCs explore a lethally haunted 
  prison, rife with lurking vermin and the restless dead. 
  As they explore those halls, they might encounter more 
  than merely the denizens and hauntings scripted in the 
  adventure. Should the GM choose to add new dangers to 
  the adventure, she might consider those presented in the 
  Encounters in Harrowstone table. Along with the standard 
  fare of wandering monsters, this table also draws upon 
  some of the haunts presented in the “Haunts: The Unquiet 
  Dead” article found earlier in this volume. GMs might 
  work in such phantasms and free-roaming vapors just as 
  though they were any other wandering monsters.
  T
  he Pathfinder Bestiary takes a turn for the macabre 
  this month with a host of accursed creatures and 
  denizens of dread. Drawing from classic horror 
  tales, new undead like the beheaded and the ectoplasmic 
  creature template open paths for encounters with low-
  level undead, adding new shocks to the territory typically 
  considered the exclusive demesne of skeletons and 
  zombies. Parasitic oozes also combine the grotesquery of 
  slimes with the danger of swarms, creating a maddening 
  fusion that seeks to feast upon its victims’ vital humors. 
  Legendary creatures like changelings and Spring-Heeled 
  Jack come straight from frightful folktales, drawing upon 
  centuries of shuddersome stories to terrorize audiences 
  anew. And with animated objects, we try something 
  completely different…
  room for review
  In each volume of the Carrion Crown Adventure Path, 
  we’re trying something we’ve never tried before. Among 
  the numerous new beasties, you’ll also find something 
  familiar—animated objects in this instance. “But animated 
  objects are already in the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary,” one 
  might note, “so what’s the point of presenting them here 
  again?” Well, we’re not presenting them again; we’re 
  expanding upon ground ripe for further development. 
  Sure, the version of the animated object presented in the 
  hardcover gives you the basics and tons of options to create 
  your own moving baubles and dancing furniture, but the 
  restrictions of condensing all of that information into 
  one page means that GMs must either use the single CR 3 
  animated object presented, or dig into the rules and create 
  their own. While that’s not a huge problem for many GMs, 
  sometimes it’s nice to have the work handled for you. When 
  you want an animated set of manacles or a murderous 
  straightjacket, isn’t it easier to have the stats there, ready 
  to use? That’s what we’ve included here. But a few more 
  specific stat blocks isn’t all: In Pathfinder Adventure Path, 
  we have the space to expand on topics deserving of greater 
  treatment. In the case of animated objects, rather than just 
  cobbling together a few new stats, we’ve also expanded the 
  rules and options for construction points. This seems like 
  the perfect place to do so, as we’re unlikely to dedicate just 
  one more page to animated objects in a future hardcover 
  bestiary, and a monster book that features constructs 
  (Constructs Revisited?) isn’t likely to make it’s way onto our 
  Pathfinder Campaign Setting release schedule within 
  the next few years. Here we have the space to expand such 
  classic creatures while at the same time utilizing  them in 
  the month’s adventure. It comes together nicely.
  But this isn’t a trick to scatter more interrelated rules 
  elements in more places. Information on creatures like 
  skeletons can be found in the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 
  and Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Classic Horrors Revisited. 
  encounters in Harrowstone
  d% roll Result 
  Avg. CR Source
  1–8 
  1d4 giant crab spiders 
  1 
  see page 33
  9–18 
  rapping spirit haunt 
  1 
  see page 65
  19–25 
  1 skull swarm 
  1 
  see page 82
  26–33 
  1 cockroach swarm 
  2 
  Bestiary 2 58
  34–42 
  1d6 ectoplasmic humans 
  2 
  see page 86
  43–55 
  orbs haunt 
  2 
  see page 66
  56–65 
  2d4 skeletons 
  2 
  Bestiary 250
  66–74 
  1d4 animated manacles 
  3 
  see page 80
  75–83 
  1d8 flaming skulls 
  3 
  see page 82
  84–90 
  1d8 stirges 
  3 
  Bestiary 260
  91–97 
  1 animated straight jacket 
  4 
  see page 80
  98–100 1 gray ooze 
  4 
  Bestiary 166
  Bestiary
  77
  
  alcHemical ooze swarms
  Dozens of tiny globs of slime move on their own, acting as one 
  being, alternately clinging to each other and separating in a riot 
  of oozing momentum.
  Sanguine Ooze Swarm 
  CR 1/3
  XP 135
  N Tiny ooze (swarm)
  Init –5; Senses blindsight 60 ft.; Perception –5
  DefenSe
  AC 7, touch 7, flat-footed 7 (–5 Dex, +2 size)
  hp 7 (1d8+3)
  fort +3, Ref –5, Will –5
  Immune ooze traits, swarm traits; Resist fire 5
  Weaknesses vulnerability to cold
  OffenSe
  Speed 10 ft., climb 10 ft., swim 10 ft.
  Melee swarm (1 plus viscous)
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
  Special Attacks distraction (DC 13), euphoric slime, viscous 
  (DC 13)
  StAtIStICS
  Str 12, Dex 1, Con 16, Int —, Wis 1, Cha 1
  Base Atk +0; CMB –7; CMD 4 (16 vs. grapple, see text; can’t  
  be tripped)
  eCOlOgy
  environment any underground
  Organization solitary, pair, or coagulum (3–5)
  treasure none
  SPeCIAl ABIlItIeS
  euphoric Slime (ex) Sanguine oozes are composed of 
  congealed euphoric toxins. Any living creature that begins 
  its turn affected by the swarm’s viscous ability must make a 
  DC 13 Fortitude save or erupt into uncontrollable laughter 
  and be effectively staggered for that round. This is a mind-
  affecting effect. Creatures immune to poison are immune 
  to this effect.
  Viscous (ex) Whenever an alchemical ooze swarm makes a 
  swarm attack on a creature of Small size or larger, that 
  creature must make a DC 13 Reflex save or be covered 
  in patches of sticky ooze globules. Those who fail are 
  entangled until the patches of ooze are removed. The ooze 
  can be removed by spending a full-round action to fling off 
  the globules—though this action might be impeded by the 
  ooze’s effects. If a creature affected by this ability takes any 
  amount of cold damage, the ooze patches are immediately 
  destroyed. The save DC is Constitution-based. 
  Phlegmatic Ooze Swarm 
  CR 1/2
  XP 200
  N Tiny ooze (swarm)
  Init –5; Senses blindsight 60 ft.; Perception –5
  DefenSe
  AC 7, touch 7, flat-footed 7 (–5 Dex, +2 size)
  hp 8 (1d8+4)
  fort +4, Ref –5, Will –5
  Immune ooze traits, swarm traits; Resist cold 5
  Weaknesses vulnerability to fire
  OffenSe
  Speed 10 ft.
  Melee swarm (1 plus viscous)
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
  Special Attacks distraction (DC 14), maddening slime, viscous 
  (DC 14)
  StAtIStICS
  Str 10, Dex 1, Con 18, Int —, Wis 1, Cha 1
  Base Atk +0; CMB –7; CMD 4 (can’t be tripped)
  eCOlOgy
  environment any underground
  Organization solitary, pair, sputum (3–6), or jelly (3–5 
  phlegmatic ooze swarms and 1–3 sanguine ooze swarms)
  treasure none
  78
  
  SPeCIAl ABIlItIeS
  Maddening Slime (ex) Phlegmatic oozes are composed of 
  volatile, mind-altering secretions. Any living creature that 
  begins its turn affected by the phlegmatic ooze’s viscous 
  ability must make a DC 14 Fortitude save or be confused for 
  1 round. This is a mind-affecting effect. Creatures immune 
  to poison are immune to this effect.
  Viscous (ex) As described in the sanguine ooze swarm’s special 
  abilities, except the Reflex save DC is 14 and the patches are 
  destroyed if the victim takes any amount of fire damage. 
  Melancholic Ooze Swarm 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  N Tiny ooze (swarm)
  Init –5; Senses blindsight 60 ft.; Perception –5
  DefenSe
  AC 7, touch 7, flat-footed 7 (–5 Dex, +2 size)
  hp 17 (2d8+8)
  fort +4, Ref –5, Will –5
  Immune ooze traits, swarm traits; Resist electricity 5
  Weaknesses vulnerability to acid
  OffenSe
  Speed 10 ft.
  Melee swarm (1 plus viscous)
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
  Special Attacks distraction (DC 15), paralyzing slime, viscous 
  (DC 15)
  StAtIStICS
  Str 14, Dex 1, Con 18, Int —, Wis 1, Cha 1
  Base Atk +1; CMB –6; CMD 6 (can’t be tripped)
  eCOlOgy
  environment any underground
  Organization solitary, pair, or glob (3–4)
  treasure none
  SPeCIAl AttACkS
  Paralyzing Slime (ex) Melancholic oozes are composed of 
  chemical depressants. Any living creature that begins its turn 
  affected by the swarm’s viscous ability must make a DC 15 
  Fortitude save or be paralyzed for 1 round. This is a mind-
  affecting effect. Creatures immune to poison are immune to 
  this effect.
  Viscous (ex) As described in the sanguine ooze swarm’s special 
  abilities, except that the Reflex save DC is 15 and the patches 
  are destroyed if the victim takes any amount of acid damage.
  Choleric Ooze Swarm 
  CR 2
  XP 600
  N Tiny ooze (swarm)
  Init –5; Senses blindsight 60 ft.; Perception –5
  DefenSe
  AC 7, touch 7, flat-footed 7 (–5 Dex, +2 size)
  hp 25 (3d8+12)
  fort +5, Ref –4, Will –4
  Immune ooze traits, swarm traits; Resist acid 5
  Weaknesses vulnerability to electricity
  OffenSe
  Speed 10 ft.
  Melee swarm (1 plus 1d4 acid and viscous)
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
  Special Attacks corrosion, distraction (DC 15), viscous (DC 15)
  StAtIStICS
  Str 16, Dex 1, Con 19, Int —, Wis 1, Cha 1
  Base Atk +2; CMB –5; CMD 8
  eCOlOgy
  environment any underground
  Organization solitary, pair, mass (3–7), or sludge (3–5 
  melancholic ooze swarms and 2–4 choleric ooze swarms)
  treasure none
  SPeCIAl ABIlItIeS
  Acid (ex) A wooden or metal weapon that strikes a choleric 
  ooze swarm takes 1 point of acid damage unless the 
  weapon’s wielder succeeds on a DC 15 Reflex save. The 
  ooze’s touch deals 8 points of acid damage per round to 
  wooden or metal objects, but the ooze must remain in 
  contact with the material for 1 full round in order to deal 
  this damage. The save DC is Constitution-based.
  Corrosive Slime (ex) Choleric oozes are composed of caustic 
  chemicals. Any living creature that begins its turn affected by 
  the swarm’s viscous ability takes 1d4 points of acid damage. 
  Armor or clothing worn by the creature takes the same 
  amount of acid damage unless the wearer succeeds on a DC 
  15 Reflex saving throw. The save DC is Constitution-based.
  Viscous (ex) As described in the sanguine ooze swarm’s 
  special abilities, except that the Reflex save DC is 15 and 
  the patches are destroyed if the victim takes any amount of 
  electricity damage.
  Formed from accumulations of runoff from arcane 
  laboratories and regions of magical calamity, alchemical 
  oozes are fist-sized blobs of volatile chemicals. Although 
  composed of unpredictable compounds and toxins, these 
  mobile oozes pose little threat individually, but in polluted 
  quagmires and tainted sewers can collect in numbers 
  great enough to threaten creatures many times their size. 
  Swarms of the slimes linger in such contaminated areas 
  and seek new accretions of vital solutions, like those 
  found within the bodies of higher life forms, to fuel their 
  erratic life cycles. Found in numerous varieties with a 
  host of differing abilities, these weird, clinging oozes 
  have been differentiated by likening them to the humors 
  said to compose the bodies of living beings. 
  Appearing at first to be a collection of tiny blobs of 
  viscous, translucent fluid, alchemical oozes become far 
  more terrifying once their hungry nature becomes apparent. 
  Each swarm is composed of several hundred palm-sized 
  balls of ooze that all scuttle along as a single unit. 
  Bestiary
  79
  
  animated object
  Leaping from its place, this mundane object takes on an unnatural 
  life of its own, moving as though it were a wild animal provoked 
  into attacking. 
  Animated Manacles 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  N Tiny construct
  Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception –5
  DefenSe
  AC 16, touch 14, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +2 natural, +2 size)
  hp 5 (1d10)
  fort +0, Ref +2, Will –5
  Defensive Abilities hardness 10; Immune construct traits
  Weaknesses vulnerability to cold
  OffenSe
  Speed 15 ft., fly 15 ft. (clumsy)
  Melee slam +1 (1d3–2 plus grab)
  Special Attacks shackle
  StAtIStICS
  Str 6, Dex 14, Con —, Int —, Wis 1, Cha 1
  Base Atk +1; CMB –1 (+3 grapple); CMD 11
  SQ construction points (additional movement [fly], grab, 
  metal), flaws (brittle)
  eCOlOgy
  environment any
  Organization solitary or pair
  treasure none
  Animated Jack-O’-lantern 
  CR 2
  XP 600
  N Small construct
  Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception –5
  DefenSe
  AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 11 (+1 Dex, +1 size)
  hp 21 (2d10+10)
  fort +0, Ref +1, Will –5
  Defensive Abilities hardness 5; Immune construct traits
  Weaknesses vulnerability to cold
  OffenSe
  Speed 20 ft.
  Melee bite (1d6 plus burn), slam +2 (1d4)
  Special Attacks burn (1d6, DC 11)
  StAtIStICS
  Str 10, Dex 12, Con —, Int —, Wis 1, Cha 1
  Base Atk +2; CMB +2; CMD 13
  SQ construction points (additional natural attack [bite], burn), 
  flaws (brittle)
  eCOlOgy
  environment any
  Organization solitary, pair, or patch (3–8)
  treasure none
  Animated Straitjacket 
  CR 4
  XP 1,200
  N Medium construct
  Init –1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception –5
  DefenSe
  AC 9, touch 9, flat-footed 10 (–1 Dex)
  hp 36 (3d10+20)
  fort +1, Ref +0, Will –4
  Immune construct traits
  OffenSe
  Speed 30 ft., fly 40 ft. (clumsy)
  Melee 2 slams +5 (1d6+2 plus grab)
  Special Attacks constrict (1d6)
  StAtIStICS
  Str 14, Dex 10, Con —, Int —, Wis 1, Cha 1
  Base Atk +2; CMB +2; CMD 11
  SQ construction points (additional attack, additional 
  movement [fly], faster [fly], grab, constrict), flaws (cloth)
  eCOlOgy
  environment any
  Organization solitary, pair, or ward (3–6)
  treasure none
  Animated objects come in many sizes and forms, often to 
  the dismay of careless adventurers. Magically brought to 
  pseudo-life, these items follow the will of their masters 
  and are often created as guards or sentries in dungeons 
  or castles. Animated objects appear on page 14 of the 
  Pathfinder RPG Bestiary. These rules offer a variety of 
  additional options to make these adaptable constructs 
  even more versatile.
  construction Points
  Animated objects have a number of Construction Points 
  (CP) used to purchase abilities and defenses in addition 
  to those presented above. A Medium animated object has 
  2 CP; differently sized objects have CP totals as detailed 
  on the size chart on this page. If an animated object 
  spends more CP than its size category would allow, its CR 
  increases by 1 (minimum of +1) for every 2 additional CP 
  spent. Many of these abilities (like burn, construct, and 
  pull) are universal monster rules detailed starting on page 
  297 of the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary.
  Additional Attack (Ex, 1 CP): The object gains an 
  additional slam attack. 
  Additional Movement (Ex, 1 CP): The object gains a 
  new mode of movement (burrow, climb, fly [clumsy], or 
  swim) at a speed equal to its base speed.
  Additional Natural Attack (Ex, 1 CP): The object gains 
  an additional natural attack. The object must have an 
  appropriate appendage or part for the natural attack (e.g., 
  an animated warthog head trophy would be able to take 
  the gore attack, but an animated vase would not).
  80
  
  Burn (Ex, 1 CP): The object gains burn (1d6) with its slam 
  attacks. This can be applied multiple times. Its effects stack.
  Constrict (Ex, 1 CP): The object gains constrict with its 
  slam attacks (the object must have grab before it can take 
  this ability).
  Faster (Ex, 1 CP): One of the object’s movement modes 
  increases by +10 ft.
  Grab (Ex, 1 CP): The object gains a grab special attack 
  with slam attacks.
  Metal (Ex, 2 CP): The object is made of some type of 
  metal. An object of common iron has its hardness 
  increased to 10, and gains a +2 increase to its natural 
  armor bonus. Mithral objects cost 4 CP, and gain 
  hardness 15 plus a +4 increase to natural armor. 
  Adamantine objects cost 6 CP, gain hardness 20, 
  and receive a +6 increase to natural armor.
  Pull (Ex, 1 CP): The object gains a pull (5 feet) 
  special attack with slam attacks (the object must 
  have grab before it can take this ability).
  Ranged Attack (Ex, 1 CP): The object gains a ranged 
  attack. The object must have an appropriate firing or 
  throwing appendage and a stock of projectiles.
  Resistance (Ex, 2 CP): The object gains 
  resistance 5 to one type of damage (acid, cold, 
  electricity, or fire) chosen at the time of the 
  object’s creation. This effect can be applied 
  multiple times. Its effects do not stack; each time it 
  is applied, it applies to a different type of damage.
  Stone (Ex, 1 CP): The object is made of stone or 
  crystal. Its hardness increases to 8 and its natural 
  armor bonus increases by +1.
  Trample (Ex, 2 CP): The object gains the trample 
  special attack (see page 305 of the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 
  for damage and save DC).
  flaws
  Animated objects can gain more CP by applying flaws, 
  which hamper the object but provide additional CP to 
  spend on beneficial abilities. If the CP gained in this way 
  is not spent on beneficial abilities, its CR decreases by 1 
  for every 2 CP conserved.
  Brittle (Ex, +1 CP): The object gains vulnerability to cold.
  Cloth (Ex, +1 CP): The object is made of thick cloth. Its 
  hardness decreases to 0.
  Clunky (Ex, +1 CP): Treat the object as though it had the 
  staggered special quality (Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook 568).
  Flammable (Ex, +1 CP): The object gains vulnerability 
  to fire.
  Haunted (Ex, +1 CP): The object is haunted by a malevolent 
  spirit. It takes damage from positive energy as if it were 
  an undead creature and can be detect by detect undead.
  Slower (Ex, +1 CP): One of the object’s movement 
  modes decreases by  –10 ft.
  construction
  Magic-users can create permanent animated objects in 
  one of two ways, either by using the animate objects spell 
  in conjunction with permanency, or by making use of 
  the Craft Construct feat. Using the Craft Construct feat 
  requires the creator to construct or purchase the object he 
  wishes to animate. He must then spend an amount of gold 
  on reagents—to determine the amount, add the animated 
  object’s HD to its CP, and multiple the total by 1,000. The 
  creator must be of a caster level equal to or higher than the 
  animated object’s Hit Dice.
  Animated Object
  Cl varies (equal to the animated object’s HD); Price varies 
  (cost of object + [(animated object’s HD + CP) × 1,000])
  COnStRuCtIOn
  Requirements Craft Construct, animate objects; Skill optional 
  (determined by object being created; crafting the object 
  reduces its cost); Cost varies (1/2 price)
  Bestiary
  81
  
  beHeaded
  This humanoid head floats silently and 
  ominously, bits of flesh still hanging from its face 
  and graying teeth clattering slightly as it bobs in the air.
  Severed Head 
  CR 1/3
  XP 135
  NE Tiny undead 
  Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +0
  DefenSe
  AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +2 size)
  hp 4 (1d8)
  fort +0, Ref +2, Will +2
  Immune undead traits
  OffenSe
  Speed fly 40 ft. (perfect)
  Melee slam +1 (1d2)
  StAtIStICS
  Str 11, Dex 15, Con —, Int —, Wis 11, Cha 10
  Base Atk +0; CMB –1; CMD 11 (can’t be tripped)
  eCOlOgy
  environment any
  Organization solitary, pair, or patrol (3–6)
  treasure none
  flaming Skull 
  CR 1/2
  XP 200
  NE Tiny undead 
  Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +0
  DefenSe
  AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+1 Dex, +2 size)
  hp 5 (1d8+1)
  fort +1, Ref +1, Will +2
  Immune fire, undead traits
  OffenSe
  Speed fly 40 ft. (perfect)
  Melee slam (1d2–1 plus 1d6 fire)
  StAtIStICS
  Str 9, Dex 12, Con —, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 13
  Base Atk +0; CMB –3; CMD 8 (can’t be tripped)
  Skills Fly +9 
  eCOlOgy
  environment any
  Organization solitary, pair, or patrol (3–6)
  treasure none
  Skull Swarm 
  CR 1
  XP 400
  NE Tiny undead (swarm)
  Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +0
  DefenSe
  AC 14, touch 14, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +2 size)
  hp 9 (2d8)
  fort +0, Ref +2, Will +3
  Defensive Abilities swarm traits; Immune undead traits, 
  weapon damage
  OffenSe
  Speed fly 40 ft. (perfect)
  Melee swarm (1d6)
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
  Special Attacks distraction (DC 11)
  StAtIStICS
  Str 5, Dex 15, Con —, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 10
  Base Atk +1; CMB +1; CMD 8 (can’t be tripped)
  Skills Fly +6 
  eCOlOgy
  environment any
  Organization solitary, pair, or mass (3–5)
  treasure none
  giant Beheaded 
  CR 2
  XP 600
  NE Large undead 
  Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception –1
  DefenSe
  AC 13, touch 10, flat-footed 12 (+1 Dex, +3 natural, –1 size)
  hp 19 (3d8+6)
  fort +3, Ref +2, Will +2
  82
  
  Immune undead traits
  OffenSe
  Speed fly 30 ft. (perfect)
  Melee slams +4 (1d8+3)
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft.
  StAtIStICS
  Str 16, Dex 13, Con —, Int —, Wis 9, Cha 15
  Base Atk +2; CMB +6; CMD 17 (can’t be tripped)
  Skills Fly –3 
  eCOlOgy
  environment any
  Organization solitary
  treasure none
  Medusa Head 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  NE Small undead 
  Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +0
  DefenSe
  AC 15, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+1 Dex, +3 natural, +1 size)
  hp 30 (4d8+12)
  fort +3, Ref +2, Will +4
  Immune undead traits
  OffenSe
  Speed fly 40 ft. (perfect)
  Melee bite +6 (1d4+2 plus petrifying bite)
  StAtIStICS
  Str 14, Dex 12, Con —, Int —, Wis 11, Cha 15
  Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 15 (can’t be tripped)
  feats Flyby AttackB
  languages Common
  eCOlOgy
  environment any
  Organization solitary, pair, or trio
  treasure none
  SPeCIAl ABIlItIeS
  Petrifying Bite (Su) Creatures bitten by a medusa head must 
  make a DC 14 Fortitude save or turn to stone for 1d4 
  rounds. Targets immune to poison are immune to this 
  effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.
  Beheaded are floating skulls or severed heads whose 
  bodies have long since abandoned them, either in the 
  moment of death or long after. Reanimated via dark 
  magic, these horrors are usually created as mindless 
  sentinels for dungeons or lairs. Beheaded silently hover 
  at about eye-level, often making them the last thing a 
  casual wanderer or careless villager in an infested area 
  ever sees. 
  creating beHeaded
  Spellcasters might create and employ beheaded in 
  multiple ways.
  Animating Beheaded: A magic-user can create any form 
  of beheaded from a severed head of the appropriate size 
  or creature. The spellcaster must cast the spell animate 
  dead using an onyx gem worth at least 100 gp, followed 
  by the spell fly on the head to be animated. The creator 
  can only create a number of Hit Dice of beheaded equal 
  to the amount allowed by animate dead. Beheaded with 
  the variant abilities below can also be created, though for 
  the purposes of how many can be created, they are treated 
  as if they had one additional Hit Die for each additional 
  ability. Beheaded count against the number of Hit Dice 
  of skeletons or zombies that can be created using animate 
  dead and vise versa.
  Beheaded Familiars: Using the Improved Familiar feat, a 
  spellcaster can gain an obedient severed head as a familiar. 
  The character must be at least caster level 3rd to acquire the 
  severed head. This creature is always neutral evil. Although 
  any type of magic-user with the proper requisites can take 
  a severed head as a familiar, necromancers and undead 
  wizards employ them most frequently. 
  variant beHeaded
  The following are variant abilities that a beheaded 
  might possess. These traits can be mixed and matched 
  in any way and applied to any of the beheaded listed 
  above. Each ability increases the CR of the beheaded by 
  the listed amount.
  Belching (+1 CR): A belching beheaded gains the ability 
  to spew raw energy from its mouth, giving it a ranged 
  touch attack that does 1d6 damage of a specific type 
  (acid, cold, electric, or fire) chosen at the time of the 
  beheaded’s animation.
  Burning (+1 CR): This beheaded is similar to the 
  flaming skull; however, the fire not only surrounds the 
  skull, but can pass on to those it attacks. The fire that 
  consumes the head can be any color the animator chooses, 
  though blue is one of the most common. A burning skull 
  gains the burn (1d6) special ability when using its slam 
  attack, where the Reflex save DC is 10 + 1/2 the burning 
  skull’s racial HD + the burning skull’s Cha modifier.
  Grabbing (+0 CR): This type of beheaded has long 
  tendrils of ragged hair. It gains the grab special ability 
  when using its slam attack, and can attempt to grapple 
  any creature of Medium size or smaller in this way
  Screaming (+0 CR): Once every 1d4 rounds, a screaming 
  beheaded can open its jaw and emit a bone-chilling 
  scream. All creatures within 30 feet must make a Will 
  save or be shaken for 1d4 rounds. The save DC is equal to 
  10 + 1/2 the screaming skull’s racial HD + the screaming 
  skull’s Cha modifier. This is a sonic mind-affecting fear 
  effect. Whether or not the save is successful, an affected 
  creature is immune to the same beheaded’s scream for 
  24 hours.
  Bestiary
  83
  
  cHangeling
  This young woman has a slender frame and a beautiful face, yet 
  there’s something vaguely unnerving about her appearance. Her 
  skin is unnaturally pale, her hair is dark, and each of her eyes 
  is a different color.
  Changeling 
  CR 1/2
  XP 200
  Changeling witch 1
  LN Medium humanoid 
  Init –1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +0
  DefenSe
  AC 10, touch 9, flat-footed 10 (–1 Dex, +1 natural)
  hp 5 (1d6+2)
  fort +1, Ref –1, Will +2
  OffenSe
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee quarterstaff (1d6) or 
  2 claws (1d4)
  Special Attacks hexes (cauldron)
  Witch Spells Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +4)
  1st—hypnotism (DC 14), sleep (DC 14)
  0 (at will)—daze (DC 13), light, touch of fatigue (DC 13)
  Patron Transformation
  StAtIStICS
  Str 10, Dex 9, Con 12, Int 17, Wis 10, Cha 13
  Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 9
  feats Brew Potion, Combat Casting
  Skills Craft (alchemy) +11, Heal +4, Knowledge (arcana) +7, 
  Spellcraft +7, Use Magic Device +5
  languages Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven
  SQ hag trait (green widow), witch’s familiar (spider)
  gear quarterstaff
  eCOlOgy
  environment any
  Organization solitary
  treasure standard (quarterstaff, other treasure)
  Born of mysterious origins and raised by unknowing 
  foster parents, changelings are the children of hags and 
  their tricked lovers. Most do not know of their monstrous 
  origins, but there comes a time in every changeling’s life 
  when these roots begin to call out to their host, urging the 
  confused girl toward some end she cannot identify. 
  Changelings are always female, tall, and slender. 
  A changeling’s hair is typically dark and her skin 
  abnormally pale, but she otherwise looks for all practical 
  purposes like a member of her father’s race. A frequent but 
  not universal trait of changelings is their mismatched, 
  different-colored eyes. Upon reaching puberty and 
  adulthood, the average changeling stands approximately 
  5-1/2 feet tall and weighs about 110 pounds.
  ecology
  When a hag of any sort conceives a child with a man, the 
  result is a changeling. The male parent is usually eaten or 
  killed by his partner before he can see the offspring, or else 
  flees the area in shame upon discovering the true nature of 
  his lover, and the hag herself interacts with the child just 
  long enough to set it on the stoop of some unsuspecting 
  family or temple. Depending on the race of her father, a 
  changeling can resemble any type of humanoid, including 
  dwarves, gnomes, and even orcs and goblins. 
  A changeling and her new family are never aware 
  of the strange child’s true parents, but in most cases 
  everyone involved is keenly aware that there is something 
  odd about the frail child with the ghostly pallor. Even 
  the young girl herself can easily see that she possesses 
  abilities others do not—powers that are subtle at younger 
  ages and only truly begin to manifest themselves when 
  she reaches adolescence. It is around puberty that the 
  changeling begins to hear what hags refer to as “the call,” 
  a hypnotic, spiritual voice that only she can hear and that 
  beckons her to travel. To where, the changeling does not 
  know, but the underlying prospect of finding out her true 
  origins is often enough to drive the girl to seek out the 
  source of this mystical voice.
  The voice is in fact that of the changeling’s birth 
  mother, who forms a coven with two others hags in order 
  to summon her child back to her, now that she is old 
  enough to fully transform into a hag. This transformative 
  ritual is a barbaric one that only the most determined 
  changelings willingly go through; upon arriving at the 
  coven, it is usually too late to turn back for changelings 
  who were merely drawn to the voice by curiosity. Those who 
  seek power, however, identify with the hags, and happily 
  go through the ordeal in order to unlock their dormant 
  abilities. Regardless of her desires, though, a changeling 
  who has undergone the transformation cannot go back; 
  once she becomes a hag, she remains a hag, and her mind 
  turns as wicked as her form has turned hideous.
  Changelings who ignore the call eventually cease to hear 
  it. In this case, a hag mother sometimes disguises herself 
  and ventures into civilization, seeking out her daughter. 
  If she finds her, she lures the girl back to the coven, 
  where she can perform the ritual of transformation. The 
  process of performing the call or physically retrieving 
  the changeling is taxing, though, and many hags find it 
  easier to simply lure in another mate and birth another 
  changeling in hopes that this one will heed the ever-
  tantalizing call.
  Habitat & society
  Raised wherever she will be accepted, a changeling has 
  no real say in the habitat she grows up in. Families who 
  inadvertently raise changelings often react in one of two 
  84
  
  ways toward the strange child’s development of supernatural 
  powers: they either embrace the girl, nurturing her and her 
  gift, or they disown her as an abomination, casting her out 
  into a world of loneliness and resentment. Of course, this 
  reaction to her power often has a huge influence over the 
  changeling’s course of action as a young adult. Changelings 
  who are accepted by their adopted society often don’t see 
  the need to follow their mothers’ voices, instead using their 
  powers for their own ends, whereas shunned individuals 
  almost always answer the call and become treacherous hags 
  with embittered hearts and shattered souls.
  Hags usually prefer to mate with the prevalent and 
  fecund humans of Golarion, producing changelings 
  that resemble humans. Changelings of other races do 
  occur, but their attitude and outlook are much more 
  dependent on the attitudes of their adoptive parents 
  than on their racial background.
  Changelings rarely band together with 
  other changelings, as hags only seldom 
  allow their unions to result in 
  offspring, and changelings 
  encountering others of their 
  type may never recognize 
  their shared origins. Thus, 
  the abandoned offspring 
  graft themselves into whatever 
  society will accept them, adapting 
  to new roles with remarkable ease. If 
  a changeling chooses to heed the 
  call that beckons her as a young 
  woman, she quickly finds herself 
  in an entirely different sort 
  of society: hags, though 
  accepting of their own brood, 
  are quite unlike any other 
  creatures, and their 
  form of culture is so 
  primitive and evil 
  that it can hardly 
  be called culture 
  at all. A changeling-
  turned-hag follows the 
  same patterns as her mother 
  and other brethren, eventually 
  charming an unwitting suitor and 
  creating a changeling offspring of her 
  own, repeating the vicious cycle.
  Having no innate predisposition toward 
  evil, a changeling’s values are solely a product of 
  her environment, and any given individual is 
  just as likely to perform evil as she is to act 
  righteously. Often, though, a changeling’s 
  slightly unusual appearance marks her as the 
  target for harassment, potentially leading her toward a 
  vengeful path. Any means of releasing innate magical 
  energy is good enough for the changeling,  and  many 
  become witches. 
  cHangeling cHaracters
  Changelings are defined by their class levels—they do 
  not possess racial Hit Dice. All changelings have the 
  following racial traits.
  –2 Constitution, +2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma: Changelings 
  are frail, but possess a sharp wit and unnatural beauty.
  Hag Trait: A changeling possesses one of the following 
  traits, depending on the type of hag her mother is.
  Hulking Changeling: A changeling who was 
  born of an annis hag is much more physically 
  formidable than other changelings. You 
  receive a +1 trait bonus on any damage you 
  inflict with a melee attack.
  Green Widow: A changeling of green hag descent is 
  naturally able to lure in potential mates and effectively 
  trick them into pursuing her. You gain a +2 trait 
  bonus on Bluff checks made against characters 
  that might be sexually attracted to you.
  Sea Lungs: A changeling with a sea hag 
  mother can survive underwater 
  for longer than usual. You gain 
  the ability to hold your breath 
  for a number of rounds 
  equal to three times your 
  Constitution score instead 
  of two.
  Claws: 
  A 
  changeling’s 
  hands and fingernails tend to 
  harden and become sharp as she 
  reaches adolescence. This gives 
  her the claw (1d4) natural attack.
  Natural Armor: Hags and their 
  offspring have uncommonly tough 
  skin. A changeling begins play with 
  a natural armor bonus of +1.
  Darkvision: 
  Changelings 
  can see in the dark up to 
  60 feet.
  Languages: Changelings 
  begin play speaking the 
  primary language of their 
  host society and Common. 
  Changelings who have high 
  Intelligence scores can choose 
  from among the following bonus 
  languages: 
  Aklo, 
  Draconic, 
  Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Gnoll, 
  Goblin, and Orc.
  Bestiary
  85
  
  ectoPlasmic creature
  This slimy, shifting mass has the shape of a humanoid, but is 
  made out of what appears to be some form of sticky rope or cloth. 
  Its body lurches jerkily, struggling to maintain its horrid form.
  ectoplasmic Human 
  CR 1/2
  XP 200
  N Medium undead
  Init +0; Senses Perception –1
  DefenSe
  AC 12, touch 10, flat-footed 12 (+2 natural)
  hp 9 (1d8+2)
  fort +0, Ref +0, Will +1
  DR 5/slashing; Immune undead traits
  OffenSe
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee slam +3 (1d4+3 plus horrifying ooze)
  Spell-like Abilities (CL 1st)
  Constant—air walk
  StAtIStICS
  Str 16, Dex 11, Con —, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 10
  Base Atk +0; CMB +3; CMD 13
  Special Qualities phase lurch
  eCOlOgy
  environment any
  Organization solitary, pair, or haunt (3–6)
  treasure none
  Drawn from energies of the Ethereal Plane, ectoplasm is 
  a thick, vile substance that shapes itself into the form of 
  an undead creature, creating a host for a soul unfortunate 
  enough to be confined within it. The existence of an 
  ectoplasmic being is a cruel one, and few souls willingly 
  choose this fate of painful undeath. Ectoplasm resembles 
  thick tangles of slimy linen or dripping goo, and is as 
  grotesque to touch as it is to gaze upon.
  An ectoplasmic creature is approximately the same size 
  as whatever body it inhabited in life, though it weighs 
  nearly twice as much, the ropes of undead matter that 
  compose its body being significantly heavier 
  than most flesh.
  ecology
  Though generally considered a fable by all 
  but those who have had the misfortune of witnessing 
  its horrid form, ectoplasm is as real as it is accursed. 
  Even more so than most undead beings, creatures born 
  of ectoplasm live hateful existences filled with a lust for 
  destruction and suffering. They have no bodily needs 
  and require no sustenance; the only thing an ectoplasmic 
  creature feeds upon is its own hatred for the living.
  Once a spirit has passed to the afterlife, it seldom wishes 
  to return at all, let alone in a disfigured ectoplasmic 
  body. Spirits that are not powerful enough to come back 
  as ghosts or spectres sometimes enter the Material Plane 
  as ectoplasmic monsters, particularly when there are 
  no remains of the creature’s original body for its soul to 
  inhabit so as to become a skeleton or zombie. Sometimes, 
  ghosts and other strong undead purposefully draw upon 
  ectoplasm from the ethereal realm, yearning for even 
  more power in their ectoplasmic hosts.
  Those who suffer this unfortunate fate, either 
  by misfortune or choice, are usually stuck in their 
  ectoplasmic prison until death once again takes hold of 
  them. The transition from death to ectoplasmic undeath 
  is a torturous ordeal, as is retaining the horrid form into 
  which the creature is reborn. Often, this persistent agony 
  drives ectoplasmic beings mad, creating within them 
  an insatiable rage akin to that experienced by frustrated 
  ghosts and other haunted souls.
  86
  
  An ectoplasmic creature’s burning desperation and 
  embitterment often push it toward violence, and most 
  such beings fling themselves into battle willingly, killing 
  to satiate their natural hunger for others’ suffering while 
  simultaneously hoping to be killed so as to end their own.
  Ectoplasmic creatures leave a trail of a silvery substance 
  that resembles a slug’s mucus, a trait almost exclusive to 
  these undead. This slippery secretion has the consistency 
  of jelly, and is easily distinguishable to the trained 
  eye. The residue dries quickly, however, so its presence is 
  extremely foreboding for those who can identify it.
  Habitat & society
  Ectoplasmic beings can inhabit virtually any location, 
  regardless of environment or climate. The horrors tend 
  to prowl the areas in which they died and rarely venture 
  outside these often confined spaces.
  Ectoplasmic creatures are sometimes found in groups, 
  and when they are it is because they were allies or partners 
  in life and have chosen to come back for some joined 
  purpose, only to be locked in the excruciating form of 
  ectoplasmic horrors.
  While of average intelligence, ectoplasmic beings rarely 
  coordinate complicated actions with their brethren, 
  only strategizing when it benefits them to attack victims 
  stealthily. Their unnatural strength makes ectoplasmic 
  creatures formidable combatants, and thus all the more 
  frightening when undetected. Fortunately for the wary, the 
  sticky ectoplasm that trails behind these undead monsters 
  is a clear indicator of their presence, and experienced 
  clerics can often identify the substance at a glance.
  creating an ectoPlasmic creature
  “Ectoplasmic” is an acquired template that can be added 
  to any corporeal creature (other than an undead), referred 
  to hereafter as the base creature.
  Challenge Rating: Same as the base creature + 1.
  Alignment: Usually chaotic evil.
  Type: The creature’s type changes to undead. It retains 
  any subtype except for alignment subtypes (such as good) 
  and subtypes that indicate kind (such as giant). It does not 
  gain the augmented subtype. It uses all the base creature’s 
  statistics and special abilities except as noted here.
  Armor Class: Natural armor bonus changes as follows:
  ectoplasm Size 
  natural Armor Bonus
  Tiny or smaller 
  +0
  Small 
  +1
  Medium 
  +2
  Large 
  +3
  Huge 
  +4
  Gargantuan 
  +6
  Colossal 
  +8
  Hit Dice: Drop HD gained from class levels (minimum 1) 
  and change racial Hit Dice to d8s. Ectoplasmic creatures 
  use their Charisma modifiers to determine bonus hit 
  points (instead of Constitution).
  Saves: Base save bonuses for racial Hit Dice are Fort 
  +1/3 HD, Ref +1/3 HD, and Will +1/2 HD + 2.
  Defensive Abilities: An ectoplasmic creature loses 
  the base creature’s defensive abilities and gains DR 5/
  slashing as well as all of the standard immunities and 
  traits possessed by undead creatures.
  Speed: Winged ectoplasmic creatures can still fly, but 
  their maneuverability drops to poor if initially any better. 
  If the base creature flew magically, so can the ectoplasmic 
  creature. Retain all other movement types.
  Attacks: An ectoplasmic creature retains all natural 
  weapons of the base creature. It gains a slam attack that 
  deals damage based on the ectoplasmic creature’s size.
  Special Attacks: An ectoplasmic creature retains all of 
  the special attacks of the base creature. In addition, an 
  ectoplasmic creature gains the following special attack.
  Horrifying Ooze (Su): Any creature that is struck by an 
  ectoplasmic creature’s slam attack must make a Will save 
  with a DC equal to 10 + 1/2 the ectoplasmic creature’s Hit 
  Dice or become shaken for 1d4 rounds. The save DC is 
  Charisma-based.
  Abilities: +2 Str, +2 Cha. An ectoplasmic creature has 
  no Con or Int score, and its Wis and Cha become 10.
  BAB: An ectoplasmic creature’s base attack bonus is 
  equal to 3/4 of its Hit Dice.
  Skills: An ectoplasmic creature always treats Acrobatics, 
  Climb, Perception, and Stealth as class skills. Otherwise, 
  skills are the same as the base creature.
  Feats: An ectoplasmic creature loses all feats possessed 
  by the base creature and gains Toughness as a bonus feat.
  Special Abilities: An ectoplasmic creature loses most 
  special qualities of the base creature. It retains any 
  extraordinary special qualities that improve its melee or 
  ranged attacks. An ectoplasmic creature gains the ability 
  to traverse the air as per the air walk spell as a constant 
  effect, as well as the following special ability:
  Phase Lurch (Su): An ectoplasmic creature has the ability 
  to pass through walls or material obstacles. In order to 
  use this ability, the ectoplasmic creature must begin 
  and end its turn outside of whatever wall or obstacle it is 
  moving through. An ectoplasmic creature cannot move 
  through corporeal creatures with this ability, and its 
  movement speed is halved while moving through a wall 
  or obstacle. Slimy mucus that lingers for 1 minute marks 
  the spot on a wall where an ectoplasmic creature entered 
  and exited it.
  Treasure: Ectoplasmic creatures generally have no 
  treasure, unless the creature retains some material relics 
  it cherished in life.
  Bestiary
  87
  
  sPring-Heeled jack
  With jet-black skin and a small but menacing pair of horns, this 
  goateed, impish creature wields a bloody knife and a wicked grin.
  Spring-Heeled Jack 
  CR 3
  XP 800
  CE Small fey 
  Init +5; Senses low-light vision; Perception +7
  DefenSe
  AC 16, touch 16, flat-footed 11 (+5 Dex, +1 size)
  hp 26 (4d6+12)
  fort +3, Ref +9, Will +4
  OffenSe
  Speed 40 ft. 
  Melee mwk dagger +9 (1d3+2/19–20)
  Special Attacks breath weapon (15-foot cone, once every 2d4 
  rounds, 2d6 fire damage, Reflex DC 14 for half), scare, 
  sneak attack (1d6), vault
  Spell-like Abilities (CL 4th)
  Constant—feather fall, pass without trace
  1/day—passwall
  StAtIStICS
  Str 15, Dex 21, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 13
  Base Atk +2; CMB +3; CMD 18
  feats Toughness, Weapon Finesse
  Skills Acrobatics +12 (+20 jump), Bluff +6, Climb +9, Escape 
  Artist +12, Perception +7, Sleight of Hand +10, Stealth +16
  languages Common, Sylvan
  eCOlOgy
  environment any
  Organization solitary
  treasure double (masterwork dagger, other treasure)
  SPeCIAl ABIlItIeS
  frightening gaze (Su) Panicked for 1d6 rounds, 10 feet, Will 
  save DC 13 negates. The save DC is Charisma-based.
  Vault (Su) Spring-Heeled Jack is capable of leaping great 
  heights and distances. In addition to receiving a +8 bonus 
  on Acrobatics checks made for jumping, Spring-Heeled Jack 
  possesses the ability to spring up to 20 feet vertically as a 
  move action without provoking an attack of opportunity. 
  This acts exactly as the levitate spell, except Spring-Heeled 
  Jack can also move horizontally as long as the cumulative 
  distance moved is equal to or less than 20 feet. This ability 
  cannot be used again until Spring-Heeled Jack lands on a 
  stable surface, but may be used twice in the same round if 
  he lands between move actions.
  Half fable, half truth, Spring-Heeled Jack is the subject of 
  popular gossip as well as mythic folklore. Often said to be 
  a fiend of unknown origins, the cruel-eyed night terror is 
  infamous for his love of trickery and spontaneous bursts 
  of violence. Those who have seen his visage and lived to 
  tell their story often have scars to prove the authenticity 
  of their account, as Spring-Heeled Jack’s menacing knife 
  is almost as famous as he is.
  By all accounts, Spring-Heeled Jack is a small and 
  roguish-looking man with horns, garbed in a tattered 
  vest, cape, and trousers. However odd his clothing may be, 
  it is generally agreed that the sight of his dreadful cape or 
  even the shadow of his hideously quick movements chills 
  the hearts of men.
  Spring-Heeled Jack stands about 4 feet tall and weighs 
  about 80 pounds.
  ecology
  Spring-Heeled Jack is a cruel being with a mysterious 
  past; the stories of his origin vary wildly, though it is 
  widely thought that he was at one point human, and 
  through some twist of fate or evil transaction lost his 
  humanity in exchange for fiendish powers.
  The truth, however, is far different. Spring-Heeled 
  Jack is a fey creature—or perhaps a single name given to 
  a whole race of fey creatures related to the quickling—
  and native to the ever-shifting First World. Tired of the 
  realm’s inconsistent reality and inherently unflappable 
  victims, who simply manifest again after death, Jack is 
  fond of traveling to the Material Plane, where his mayhem 
  is more appreciated and the results more permanent.
  On his forays into the Material Plane, Spring-Heeled 
  Jack quickly takes to the night and earns a reputation for 
  his gruesome killing sprees and tendency to flee the crime 
  scene by leaping onto buildings, thus giving him his name. 
  His heinous crimes usually render him one of the most 
  loathed criminals in a particular area, and communities 
  where he is seen act swiftly and with urgency to capture him. 
  Knowing precisely how far he can push the local populace, 
  Spring-Heeled Jack often disappears for several weeks after 
  a particularly violent crime before revealing himself again.
  Spring-Heeled Jack subsists primarily on the flesh of 
  raw animals, finding the meat of humans too stringy for 
  his liking. His tastes are versatile, though, and he’s just as 
  prone to eat a deer as he is to consume a common house 
  rat or beetle. The impish creature goes about most of his 
  activities in a quirky, grotesque fashion, enamored with 
  odd and often disturbing items and as quick to imitate 
  the creatures he observes as he is to kill them.
  Habitat & society
  Reports of Spring-Heeled Jack always place him in a large 
  city or the outskirts of one during the night, though even 
  the best trackers have trouble explaining where he goes 
  during the day or during the weeks when there is not so 
  much as a trace of him. 
  During those periods when he goes to ground, Spring-
  Heeled Jack often lurks in the wilds, either resting in 
  88
  
  secluded forests or observing the animals and other 
  creatures native to such environs. His innate fascination 
  with the Material Plane is an odd contrast to his love of 
  causing others pain; the only thing he enjoys more than 
  witnessing nature is destroying it. Hunters occasionally 
  come across desecrated animal carcasses, returning to 
  the tavern and proposing tales of some huge and horribly 
  strong creature in the wilds. No one would ever guess 
  that the gory mess of flesh and bone was caused by a tiny 
  man with a jagged knife.
  Spring-Heeled Jack’s knife is often his only company, 
  and years of self-inflicted solitude drive him to consider 
  the blade his best and only friend. The wicked knife—
  which he refers to as “Love” all too frequently, according to 
  survivors of his attacks—possesses no special properties, 
  but is finely wrought and clearly of otherworldly origin. 
  Stained with the blood of hundreds of victims, Spring-
  Heeled Jack’s weapon leaves strange scars that are 
  impossible to reproduce. Brash drunkards in taverns can 
  be found lifting their shirts and displaying old wounds, 
  claiming they come from Spring-Heeled Jack’s beloved 
  blade, while honest victims need not point out their true 
  scars, which always speak for themselves.
  Chaotic and spontaneous, Spring-Heeled Jack sometimes 
  tires of simply killing victims, and instead decides  
  to let his prey live to tell the tale. While he does not commit 
  his heinous crimes for popularity, the fey revels in 
  the reputation he has earned and the fear that 
  registers in people’s eyes as he pounces upon 
  them, and often spies on people simply to hear 
  the far-fetched rumors surrounding himself. 
  He frequently plays up these 
  odd rumors and accounts,  
  even whispering pre-scripted 
  lines to his victims before 
  he kills them, fancying 
  himself a poet reciting to a 
  very select audience. 
  Beyond brief encounters 
  with terrified victims and his strange 
  relationship with his weapon, Spring-
  Heeled Jack is alone in his endeavors. 
  Society holds no place for him, but that’s 
  fine by the sociopathic fey. His high esteem for 
  misfortune, trickery, and deceit are matched by few, and 
  he cannot be bought off, persuaded, or convinced. 
  The only thing that could possibly distract him in 
  the middle of pursuing a victim is the possibility 
  of some other, more exciting challenge elsewhere. 
  When Spring-Heeled Jack encounters a foe he deems 
  too powerful, he takes to the roofs as soon as he realizes 
  his situation, often to the frustration of bounty hunters 
  and law enforcement alike. 
  sPring-Heeled jack in real life
  In 19th-century England, the myth of Spring-Heeled 
  Jack pervaded society for several decades, spawned by 
  numerous sightings and reports of a mysterious jumping 
  figure in a black cape and tight clothes. Reports say that 
  the cloaked troublemaker harassed helpless citizens either 
  by ravaging them with his dreadful claws and brutish 
  strength or simply frightening them with his horrid 
  appearance and startling magic.
  Accounts of Spring-Heeled Jack’s appearance differed 
  between witnesses, though certain elements—such as 
  dark clothes and a lithe, gangly body—remained consistent 
  in all tales, as did his supernatural powers, which included 
  jumping to extraordinary heights, spitting blue fire, and 
  scaring victims senseless with his hideous visage.
  After being officially recognized by many publications 
  nationwide and following several high-profile attacks, 
  sightings of Spring-Heeled Jack dwindled and essentially 
  ceased near the end of the 1800s. Every few decades, 
  however, people in various parts of the world still report 
  mysterious men with the ability to perform incredible leaps, 
  leading many to wonder if the story of 
  Spring-Heeled Jack is truly over.
  Bestiary
  89
  
  Formula for Terror
  C 
  ursed and haunted, Ustalav rests upon the bones of the 
  foul empire of the legendary lich-archmage known 
  as the Whispering Tyrant. In the centuries since the 
  undead conqueror’s defeat, the land has been resettled, but 
  superstition and horror still lurk in the country’s shadows.
  The greatest evil sleeps in the ruin of Gallowspire. 
  There, below the former court of the necromancer-king, 
  lies the undying remains of the Whispering Tyrant himself, 
  locked away by the magic of heroes and deities. Although 
  bound within his prison-tomb, the lich-lord’s dreams still 
  seep into the land, tainting minds and inspiring fanatics 
  like the necromancer cult known as the Whispering Way.
  Years ago, a dark idea consumed the brilliant scholar 
  Adivion Adrissant. Bored with the paltry challenges of 
  his peers, Adrissant convinced himself that the only 
  mind to rival his own was that of the Whispering 
  Tyrant, who he idealized as the pinnacle of mortal 
  achievement. Although his research led him to 
  doubt his ability to free the wizard-king, he 
  came to believe that the Tyrant might be 
  restored in another manner. Were one 
  of proper lineage made to face the same 
  experiences as the Whispering Tyrant, 
  subjected to the same magic in proximity to the lich himself, 
  might not the result be a copy of the great wizard? Adrissant 
  thought it possible, and moved to test his theory.
  Adrissant courted contacts within the nefarious 
  Whispering Way and delved into the secrets of lichdom, 
  taking the unheard-of route of researching not his own path 
  to undeath, but another’s. After years of investigation, his 
  delving bore strange fruit: a procedure similar to that Tar-
  Baphon utilized to transform himself into a lich. Adrissant 
  dubbed the formula the Carrion Crown.
  With objectives gleaned through an age of research and 
  grim allies to enact his will, Adivion Adrissant set in motion 
  a plot to create an heir to the Whispering Tyrant himself, 
  and through the might of the archlich reborn, to remake the 
  world into a place worthy of his intellect and ambitions.
  Against these foul machinations, dark fortune guides 
  the PCs into the path the Whispering Way and Adrissant’s 
  ingenious insanity, with the death of a friend leading them 
  to pit their courage against the vilest horrors of Ustalav.
  GMs can find more information and tools in Pathfinder 
  Campaign Setting: Rule of Fear (a guide to Ustalav), the Carrion 
  Crown Item Cards, the Carrion Crown Poster Map Folio (which 
  includes a player-friendly map of all of Ustalav), and the 
  Carrion Crown Player’s Guide (available for free at paizo.com). 
  The haunTing of harrowsTone
  By Michael Kortes
  Pathfinder Adventure Path #43, Levels 1–4
  Professor Petros Lorrimor—renowned explorer, lecturer, 
  and teacher—has died. The campaign begins with the PCs 
  attending the doctor’s funeral in the sleepy community of 
  Ravengro, where they meet his daughter, 
  Kendra, and inherit a profitable 
  obligation. But soon mysterious events 
  begin afflicting the townsfolk, and the 
  spirits said to roam the fire-scarred 
  ruins of Harrowstone Prison begin 
  reaching forth. To save Ravengro, the PCs 
  must uncover Harrowstone’s tragic history 
  and put down the ghostly riot threatening to 
  overrun the village. Yet their search also hints 
  at a sinister plot perpetrated by the death-obsessed 
  cultists of the Whispering Way.
  Trial of The BeasT
  By Richard Pett
  Pathfinder Adventure Path #44, Levels 4–7
  Fulfilling Professor Lorrimor’s final request, the PCs 
  journey to the city of Lepidstadt. They find the city wild 
  with outrage as the notorious Beast of Lepidstadt has been 
  captured. A foul amalgam of stitched brutes and murderers, 
  the flesh golem awaits his fate in the city jail, but Lepidstadt’s 
  enlightened council refuses to put the sentient creature to 
  death without a trial. Working with Judge Daramid, the PCs 
  discover more is afoot in Lepidstadt than the wild rampages 
  of a madman’s creation. Aside from revealing a pair of body 
  snatchers using fear of the Beast to cover their crimes, the 
  PCs also find evidence that the supposedly free-willed 
  golem’s capture might have been a cover for the theft of an 
  ancient item known as the Seasage Effigy. The PCs must 
  thus choose to either exonerate the monster or leave the 
  unnatural thing to its fate.
  The trial’s outcome provokes further upheaval in 
  Lepidstadt, leading PCs to the castle of the region’s former 
  ruler and the Beast’s secret creator, Alpon Caromarc. 
  There the PCs find a fortress besieged by the experiments 
  of a mad scientist, unleashed by Whispering Way cultists 
  who sought the means to control the Beast of Lepidstadt. 
  The PCs’ exploration unlocks more of the mystery 
  surrounding the Whispering Way and potentially unites 
  them with a secret society, the Esoteric Order of the 
  Palatine Eye, acting in opposition to the necromancers.
  90
  
  a mysterious alchemist once in the necromancers’ employ. 
  This strange researcher, Ramoska Arkminos, claims to know 
  much of the necromancers, and offers the PCs insights into 
  their nature if the PCs uncover the identity of the city’s serial 
  killer, who proves to be hunting only vampires. More than 
  a vigilante, this killer is upsetting the balance between the 
  city’s vampire population and claiming something from his 
  kills that suggests a insidious agenda.
  The PCs scour the city and its depths, learning much 
  of the vampires, their powerful leader, and conspiracies 
  among the secret undead aristocracy. Tracking the killings 
  uncovers a web involving vampire rebels, witches serving 
  an immortality-obsessed noble, and the Whispering Way. 
  Invading the vampires’ retreat and the witches’ laboratory 
  returns peace to Caliphas, but also gives the Whispering 
  Way’s agents an opportunity to abduct the final goal of their 
  plot, a noble from the highest echelons of power.
  shadows of gallowspire
  By Brandon Hodge and Jason Bulmahn
  Pathfinder Adventure Path #48, Levels 13–15
  The Whispering Way flees Caliphas for their society’s 
  fortress of Renchurch. There Adivion Adrissant prepares 
  the collected reagents to create an incomplete but still 
  theoretically potent potion of lichdom. The PCs pursue the 
  cult across the necromancy-scoured mountains of Virlych, 
  facing agents of the cult and horrors from the age of the 
  Whispering Tyrant. Invading Renchurch, the PCs face the 
  greatest horrors of the Whispering Way and free the Carrion 
  Crown’s intended victim, but lose Adrissant and the potion.
  The leader of the Whispering Way escapes to the haunted 
  tower of Gallowspire, the throne-turned-prison of the 
  Whispering Tyrant. Hoping to be aided by the proximity 
  of his imprisoned master, Adrissant scales the spire and 
  commences the rite to transform himself into the undead 
  inheritor of the Whispering Tyrant’s empire. The PCs 
  pursue him, facing ancient traps and guardians prepared by 
  the greatest necromancer Golarion has ever known. At the 
  tower’s summit, they must face Adrissant, mad with magic 
  and the power of the Carrion Crown, in a battle to prevent the 
  realm of the Whispering Tyrant from being born anew!
  Broken Moon
  By Tim Hitchcock
  Pathfinder Adventure Path #45, Levels 7–9
  The PCs track the Whispering Way through the notorious 
  Shudderwood to the secluded hunter’s retreat known 
  as the Ascanor Lodge. There they discover hints of the 
  Whispering Way not just meddling in the lodge’s affairs, 
  but also disrupting the balance between the forest’s violent 
  werewolf tribes. Leaderless and in the midst of a savage war, 
  the werewolves seek the stolen heart of their former leader. 
  To pursue the Whispering Way, the PCs must help settle the 
  affairs of the forest’s beasts and keep the zealous hunters 
  of the Ascanor Lodge from being consumed, by either 
  lycanthropes or suspicion of who might be a werewolf. 
  By diplomacy or steel, the PCs gain access to an ancient 
  meeting place of the Shudderwood’s werewolves and learn 
  of the Whispering Way’s machinations and destination.
  The PCs must then chase the cult and murderous 
  werewolves to the trench-scarred wasteland of the Furrows. 
  There the PCs face a leader of the Whispering Way as he seeks 
  to raise an undead army from the bones of an age-old war. 
  In doing so, however, they discover that the Whispering Way 
  has greater plots than merely building an army of the dead.
  wake of The waTcher
  By Greg A. Vaughan
  Pathfinder Adventure Path #46, Levels 9–11
  Following the stolen Seasage Effigy, the PCs end up in the 
  cursed town of Illmarsh and find hints as to the identity of 
  Whispering Way’s emissary. But as the PCs search for their 
  quarry, they learn of strange crimes plaguing the town and 
  deaths tied to the rites of another ancient cult. Pursuing 
  these slayings reveals a strange murderer whose end comes 
  when a tentacular manipulator erupts from his skull.
  Thus the intrusion in Illmarsh is revealed, with a foul 
  cult of Dagon fallen victim to an invasion of alien beings. 
  A new evil now corrupts the village, experimenting upon 
  strangers and the populace as it paves the way for its dark 
  master’s coming. In a structure hidden beneath the black 
  waves, the PCs discover the agent of the Whispering Way 
  betrayed, and a congregation of eldritch things readying to 
  unleash its foul lord, Shub-Niggurath, into the world—only 
  the PCs can prevent the emergence of the alien god.
  ashes aT dawn
  By Neil Spicer
  Pathfinder Adventure Path #47, Levels 11–13
  The path of the Whispering Way leads to Caliphas, Ustalav’s 
  capital. As the PCs search the city for the Whispering Way, 
  they gain aid from the local Esoteric Order of the Palatine 
  Eye, hear of a strange series of serial killings afflicting the 
  city, and learn of the cult’s sanctum nearby. Investigating the 
  Whispering Way’s hideout, they find it abandoned except for 
  spoiler warning!
  What follows is the background and outline for the 
  Carrion Crown Adventure Path. If you intend to play in 
  this campaign, be warned! These pages spoil the plots of 
  the upcoming adventures as thoroughly as possible.
  Campaign Outline
  91
  
  Trial of The BeasT
  by Richard Pett
  The Beast of Lepidstadt, a murderous flesh golem, has 
  been captured and awaits his fate in the Lepidstadt jail. 
  But the city council refuses to simply put the creature 
  to death, insisting on holding a trial for the monstrous 
  captive. As the PCs’ responsibilities guide them to 
  Lepidstadt, they become embroiled in the creature’s fate 
  and the questions surrounding his culpability. Yet more 
  is afoot in Lepidstadt than merely a monster’s trial, as 
  evidence of grave robbers, secret societies, crazed cultists, 
  and the experiments of an imprisoned mad scientist drag 
  the PCs into a plot that threatens all of Ustalav.
  The order of The PalaTine eye
  Hidden behind the rulers of Ustalav, far from the eyes of 
  the common people, a conspiracy of tradition, mysticism, 
  and privilege shapes the fate of nations. Discover the 
  Esoteric Order of the Palatine Eye, a mysterious society 
  whose members are sworn to guard their homeland, 
  ancient traditions, and secrecy—whatever the cost.
  Pharasma
  Delve into the mysteries of Pharasma, Golarion’s 
  goddess of death, prophecy, and fate. Learn of her stoic 
  philosophies and those who dedicate their lives to the 
  service of death.
  and more!
  The spectre of a forgotten murder rises once more in a new 
  adventure in the Pathfinder’s Journal. Also, creatures from 
  the haunted countryside of Ustalav shamble forth in the 
  Pathfinder Bestiary.
  suBscriBe To PaThfinder  
  advenTure PaTh!
  The Carrion Crown Adventure Path has begun! Don’t miss 
  out on a single volume—venture to paizo.com/pathfinder 
  and subscribe today! Have each Pathfinder Adventure 
  Path, Pathfinder Campaign Setting, Pathfinder Player 
  Companion, Pathfinder Module, and GameMastery 
  product delivered to your door! Also, watch online for the 
  free Carrion Crown Player’s Guide, available soon!
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  Howard Andrew Jones
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  From the Creators of the BEST-SELLING 
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  This is the story of Ellasif, a barbarian shield maiden who will stop at 
  nothing to recover her missing sister, a child born possessed who was 
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  Together with Declan, a young ne’er-do-well spellcaster-turned-forger who 
  wants only to prove himself to the woman he loves, Ellasif will face monsters, 
  magic, and the fury of her own cold-hearted warriors in their quest to rescue the lost 
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  ISBN–13: 978-1-60125-286-9   Paperback $9.99
  The race is on to free Lord Stelan from the grip of a wasting curse, 
  and only Elyana, his old elven adventuring companion and 
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  When the villain turns out to be another of their former 
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  must set out on a perilous race across the revolution-
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  the key to Stelan’s salvation in a lost valley 
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  From sword and sorcery icon Howard 
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  ISBN–13: 978-1-60125-291-3   Paperback $9.99
  
  New magus base class
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  Death’s Messenger
  According to some Ustalavic tales, 
  Pharasma’s servants make their way through 
  the world on the wings of whippoorwills. 
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  unsettling calls, these small birds are the source 
  of innumerable ominous superstitions. The most 
  common legends say whippoorwills linger near 
  the dying, can snap up spirits like small bugs, and 
  can cause the death of any who look into their 
  lightless eyes. But the most unsettling tales pertain 
  to those who slay such a bird, as they are said to 
  inherit its morbid charge, spreading pestilence and 
  sorrow wherever they go and ever being followed 
  by the song of whippoorwills.
  A Mortal Price
  Across Golarion, numerous cultures bury their 
  dead with treasures and offerings, providing for 
  the deceased’s needs in the afterlife or paying 
  death’s guardians to convey loved ones to their 
  proper rewards. In Ustalav, most remains are 
  burned, but those interred traditionally have coins 
  laid within their eye sockets, skulls, or wounds. 
  Yet in this nation, such wealth isn’t buried as 
  a sacrifice to the powers of death, 
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  guarantee that death’s bonds are 
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  souls are not released to trouble those 
  they’ve left behind.
  
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  Dead Man Walking
  W
  hen Harrowstone Prison burned to the ground, 
  prisoners, guards, and a host of vicious madmen met 
  a terrifying end. In the years since, the nearby town of 
  Ravengro has shunned the fire-scarred ruins, telling tales 
  of unquiet spirits that wander abandoned cellblocks. But 
  when a mysterious evil disturbs Harrowstone’s tenuous 
  spiritual balance, a ghostly prison riot commences that 
  threatens to consume the nearby village in madness and 
  flames. Can the adventurers discover the secrets of 
  Harrowstone and quell a rebellion of the dead? Or will 
  they be the spirit-prison’s next inmates?
  This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path launches the 
  Carrion Crown Adventure Path and includes: 
  •	 “The	Haunting	of	Harrowstone,”	a	Pathfinder	RPG	
  adventure for 1st-level characters, by Michael Kortes.
  •	 A	tour	of	Ravengro,	village	of	mystery	and	suspicion,	by	
  Michael Kortes.
  •	 Expanded	rules	for	creating	and	running	horrific	haunts,	
  by Brandon Hodge. 
  •	 An	ancient	revenge	is	reborn	in	the	Pathfinder’s	
  Journal, by F. Wesley Schneider.
  •	 Six	new	monsters,	by	Adam	Daigle	and	Patrick	Renie.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Pathfinder/1st Edition/Adventure Paths/PF43-48 Carrion Crown/Carrion Crown - 01 - Haunting Of Harrowstone.pdf