Free Pathfinder Adventures for December #4: Ril’s Lesser Sanctum
A Pathfinder compatible adventure for 3rd-5th level characters.
Description
This adventure will be free on Amazon from 12/22/2012-12/26/2012! Merry Christmas!
This adventure is the second in the Rils’ series. It is preceded by the Tomb of Rils.
The brave adventurers travel to a desert land in search of the Lesser Sanctum of Rils. There, they will face the dangers of the desert before entering the sanctum. Within its dark chambers, they will face terrible monsters, cunning traps, and one of Rils’ failed students. Those strong enough to survive will leave the desert land laden with treasure and new knowledge. Those that fail shall leave their bones and flesh to the whims of the necromancer.
This adventure includes new monsters, new spells and new magic items.
Downloads
See paizo.com/pathfinderRPG for more information on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.
Pathfinder Adventure A7-1: Pit & Tower
A Pathfinder Role Playing Game compatible adventure for 1st-2nd level characters.
Description
Bekus’ Pit
“Well, I have never been to the Pit. I’m content to stay here where it is warm and safe…and ale is within easy reach. But people have told me tales of the place over the years. They say it is an unwholesome hole in the earth from which emanates a faint moaning. The Pit is easy enough to get into—just bring some stout rope. You can get some at Bessie’s store down the road. The Pit is pretty much a small series of caves, although a dwarf told me he thought some areas showed signs of having been worked at one time. It’s dark, so be sure to bring some torches. You can get them at Bessie’s as well. As far as how the pit got its name, well Bekus was a curious sort of man and he was the first one to find the Pit. The second one to find it…well the second man anyway, was the guy who found Bekus’ remains.”
Brekart’s Tower
Brekart began his adventuring career as many had done before him by cleaning out Bekus’ Pit. After that he undertook a series of adventures that enabled him to increase in power. Unfortunately for Brekart his ambition for power exceeded his abilities. Fifteen years ago, using enslaved goblins and orcs for labor, Brekart constructed a tower ten miles from Thusul and declared himself the lord of the region. He sent armed “tax collectors” into Thusul and set up toll booths along the area roads. Not surprisingly, it was not long before word of his activities reached the ears of the legitimate rulers.
As per tradition, an emissary was sent to Brekart demanding that he submit himself for trial and execution. After Brekart refused the demand a small force was sent against him. The force, consisting of loyal adventurers and a support group of soldiers and siege engineers, made short work of Brekart’s “tax collectors” and surrounded his tower.
The attacking force was somewhat concerned since Brekart occupied what appeared to be a stout and well-guarded tower. Unfortunately for Brekart, some of his goblin troops slipped away in the night only to be captured by the besiegers. In return for their freedom, the goblins revealed a rather important secret: the goblins, angry at being enslaved, had built several serious, but hidden, defects into the tower.
The next morning the besiegers lined up for the attack while Brekart gave a loud speech to the effect that his attackers would be gutted and fed the crows. Just as Brekart got to the part about his “unbreakable tower” one of the engineers let fly with a stone from a small catapult. The small stone struck the fatal weak point of the tower, causing the top section to collapse. Brekart survived the collapse, but found himself all alone at the feet of his enemies. With his surviving “loyal” followers running as fast as they could away from the debris, Brekart had no choice but to surrender.
In accord with tradition, Brekart’s goods were auctioned to repay the cost of the siege and to provide reparations. After the last item was sold, Brekart was beheaded. His head decorated a pike by the city gate until it was stolen by a very large raven.
The ruins of Brekart’s tower remain to this day. Over the years various creatures have found the ruins attractive and have set up residence there. Occasionally adventurers visit the ruins to slay any worthy opponents they might find there and to search for the treasure of “tax” money that is allegedly still hidden somewhere in the ruins.
Downloads
See paizo.com/pathfinderRPG for more information on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.
Dragon Hunt
A Pathfinder Role Playing Game compatible adventure for 8th-12th level characters.
Description
Long ago, in the small border village of Gremsel, lived two brothers who were masters of their respective crafts. Kertrun was a skilled blacksmith and Bertrun was a master bowyer. A chance visit to the town during a border skirmish by a knight in need of arms and armor for his conscripts led to fame for the two brothers. But, though they had many offers, they had little desire to leave their pleasant life for what they saw as the corruption and distraction of a large city. While they readily agreed to work for all who sought them out, they preferred their simple and peaceful lives in the town.
This peace came to an end when a dragon, taking advantage of the unrelenting border conflicts and hearing of the fame of the brothers, came to demand tribute from the village. Without anyone strong enough to face the dragon, the villagers had no choice but to give in to the dragon’s demand. Unfortunately for the villagers, their meager wealth was not enough to appease the dragon, who had expected that the brothers would have made a fortune selling their weapons and armor. However, the brothers asked but little for their work, taking pride in doing their best for the sake of being the best. The dragon expressed his disappointment by scorching the village and killing many of the inhabitants.
Though badly wounded, the brothers survived. They took a vow in the ruins of their shop to take revenge against the dragon and its ilk. The made weapons and armor for themselves and then set out to gain the skills they would need to gain their vengeance. They fought several dragons over the years and were aided by other adventures who were motivated by greed or vengeance. Finally, they found the dragon that had laid waste to their town and met him in terrible battle. Though the brothers were badly wounded and some of their fellows perished, they defeated the dragon. They used the dragon’s horde to restore their fallen comrades to life and to rebuild Gremsel. Satisfied with their vengeance, they retired from adventuring and lived out the remainder of their days in peace doing what they loved. When they died, they were placed within a tomb intended to honor their memory. While the very best of their weapons were passed on to companions, a fine sword and bow were placed in the tomb to be on hand should a dragon dare return to Gremsel.
Gremsel’s fortunes waxed and waned over the centuries but it always managed to survive. However, the secret of the brothers’ tomb was lost. Most importantly, the passwords needed to get past the guardians were lost. Eventually, even the location of the tomb was forgotten, though mention of it remained in certain old histories.
History has now repeated itself—A dragon has come to the town of Gremsel and the magistrate of the area is hiring brave adventurers to save the day.
Downloads
Dragon Hunt Map & Monsters PDF
See paizo.com/pathfinderRPG for more information on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.
Tower of Zakelana
A Pathfinder compatible adventure for 10th-12th level characters.
Description
Roughly three centuries ago the young Zakelana began her adventuring career as a wizard. She took to the profession naturally and met with great success throughout her career. In addition to her talent for magic, she also had two other gifts. The first was an amazing knack for getting into (and then out of) trouble. The second was a gift for one was for turning enemies into allies.
Zakelana took a rather aggressive approach to adventuring and had a rather broad definition of what counted as a legitimate target for adventuring operations. While most adventurers confined themselves to dank dungeons, Zakelana often adventured within the towers rival mages and the palaces of royalty. As might be imagined, this approach earned her the anger of many powerful people who had the ability to send powerful assassins and monsters to exact their vengeance. Whenever possible, Zakelana attempted to persuade any would be killer that survived her defenses to switch sides. Most of the time, the assassins showed commendable loyalty before being killed by Zakelana. However, she was able to win over many of the monsters. The best known example occurred when a rival mage send a creature to torment Zakelana in her dreams. According to the tale, Zakelana was able to win over the creature with the gift of a pony and the creature came to work for her.
In her later years, the incredibly powerful Zakelana retired from adventuring and worked on researching new magic. She is said to have excelled in mastering extra-dimensional spaces. It is said that she was able to move and entire tower into an extra-dimensional space. It is also said that one day she simply vanished. Some speculate that a final experiment failed and banished her to some other dimension eternally. Another tale relates how one of her many enemies finally caught up to her and defeated her. Other tales say that she grew tired of this world and moved on willingly to another. In any case, she vanished but left behind a tower-or at least a way to reach her tower. That is, Zakelana created a magical gateway to the space containing the tower. In addition to its most amazing ability, the gateway also possesses the power to shrink down to the size of a child’s toy. Wherever Zakelana went, she left the gateway behind anyone who possesses it can enter the dimension of the tower, provided that they are brave (or foolish enough).
Downloads
Tower of Zakelana Monsters & Map PDF
See paizo.com/pathfinderRPG for more information on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.
Rils’ Lesser Sanctum
A Pathfinder compatible adventure for 3rd-5th level characters.
Description
This adventure is the second in the Rils’ series. It is preceded by the Tomb of Rils.
The brave adventurers travel to a desert land in search of the Lesser Sanctum of Rils. There, they will face the dangers of the desert before entering the sanctum. Within its dark chambers, they will face terrible monsters, cunning traps, and one of Rils’ failed students. Those strong enough to survive will leave the desert land laden with treasure and new knowledge. Those that fail shall leave their bones and flesh to the whims of the necromancer.
This adventure includes new monsters, new spells and new magic items.
Downloads
See paizo.com/pathfinderRPG for more information on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.
Broken Mine
I’ve written yet another Pathfinder compatible adventure for the Kindle.
A Pathfinder compatible adventure for 4th-6th level characters.
Description
“Old stories tell of the wizard Kelsun, better known as Kelsun the Mad Prophet. According to these stories, Kelsun received a vision of a world shaking disaster and, the truth be told, it drove him mad. Fortunately, his madness was a benevolent one-he set out, in his odd way, to help ensure that items of power would be available to help rebuild civilization after the disaster of his visions. Unfortunately, his benevolent madness was…madness. He decided to hide the items he had gathered and created in strange and obscure places. He also chose to protect them with various guardians and traps. Finally, he left cryptic and even bizarre clues regarding the locations of his caches.
One set of clues was given to our ancestors. Since that time we have tried to figure out what the clues meant and met with failure after failure. However, as was also foretold by prophecy, one of our youngsters managed to pierce a very useful clue that yielded what we hope is the location of one of the hidden caches. Because of your known skill and courage, it is hoped that you will go there and unlock its secrets. Be warned, though, the place will no doubt be rather dangerous.
While Kelsun is said to have placed a silver chest or box full of treasure within this place, the elders are only interested in one item said to be in the chest, an ever living vine. As such, all that we request in return for the location of the cache is the vine. The rest of the treasure is yours.”
Downloads
Broken Mine Monsters & Maps PDF
See paizo.com/pathfinderRPG for more information on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.
Kelok’s Tomb
I have been revising some of my old AD&D and D&D adventures for the Pathfinder system. One of my favorite adventures is Kelok’s Tomb. The first time I ran it, the party was defeated and enslaved. After being betrayed by one of their own , they managed to overcome the monsters and win the day. The second time I ran it, the main villain escaped to plague the PCs until he was finally defeated and redeemed. Rumor has it that conservative pundits are not denying that they have said that these incidents are clear metaphors of the 2008 election and the redemption of Mitt “Weremitten” Romney from wereliberal to conservative. I am, not denying that there are not such rumors not being made. However, I can assure readers that this adventure was not written in Kenya.
Description
It is said that 150 years ago the wizard Kelok was interred in a tomb of his own design. As a wizard, Kelok did achieve some minor fame by developing original spells, some of which were said to have been extremely dangerous to the caster. While some members of his family have claimed that he developed some of the spells still used today, unbiased experts claim that his original spells have all been lost. His detractors claim that this is a good thing, at least for wizards who prefer not to be imploded by their own magic.
Because of his love of magical research and dangerous machines, it is perhaps fitting that the legends claim that he met his end whilst researching a new spell. Those friendly to his memory claim that he perished while nobly expanding the boundaries of magical knowledge. His detractors insist he perished while making his last and greatest mistake. Whatever the truth of the matter, nothing has been heard from Kelok in 150 years and it has long been accepted that he perished and was placed within the tomb of his own design.
Little is known of his tomb. According to legend, the tomb was located in the wilderness to keep unwanted grave robber and pilfering adventures away from his treasures. However, there are also stories that are not completely devoid of plausibility that tell how Kelok hired people to care for his tomb and that his friends regularly visited the tomb to utilize its well-stocked library. There are, of course, the usual myths and legends that accompany the tomb of any wizard of note, namely that it is packed with great wealth, fantastic items, as well as books full of unknown magic spells. Naturally, there are also the usual tales of the elaborate precautions, terrible traps, and vicious monsters that protect the tomb.
Downloads
Kelok’s Tomb Monsters & Maps PDF
See paizo.com/pathfinderRPG for more information on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.
Pathfinder is the Real D&D
- Image via Wikipedia
I first started playing Dungeons & Dragons when I was 15. My mother got me started with the D&D Basic Set and I soon progressed to Advanced D&D.
While I thought the D&D system was rather awful when compared to the elegant and realistic system of games like Runequest and Call of Cthulhu, AD&D had two main selling points. First, it was so simple that even a high school stoner could roll up a character in the same time it would take them to roll a joint. Second, it had a level system that people loved. The idea of getting more an more powerful while playing has a tremendous appeal and the level progression system has become an essential aspect of almost all RPGs (computer and traditional).
I did try the 2nd Edition of D&D, but did not like it very much. To be rather vague, it did not have that “D&D feel.” I did try to run a game or two, but the magic was just not there.
When D&D 3.0 came out, I ended up giving it a shot. While it was a different sort of game (that is, it had fairly coherent and rather playable rules) from AD&D, it had the D&D feel. When 3.5 came out, I upgraded to that. When I heard that 4.0 was coming out, I looked forward to it. However, when I read the books and heard stories of people playing, I decided that it was not really D&D. I’m not going to go into the details, but the gist was that D&D 4.0 seemed more like a video game made into a traditional RPG. Crudely put, it was a bit like trying to play WoW as a tabletop RPG. While some folks like that, 4.0 lacks that D&D feel that is important to me. Some folks love the system, and I have no more to say against them than I have to say against folks who like Windows Vista.
I had looked at the Pathfinder beta (put out by Paizo) when it first came out, and had mixed feelings about it. However, when I actually played a campaign based on the rules, I realized that I rather liked it. The folks at Paizo took the 3.5 rules and revised them to address various weak points in the game. For example, they retooled the grapple rules from a mess to a workable system. They also revised the core classes in a way that gave players reasons to stick with one class from level one to level twenty. Best of all, they kept the D&D feel alive.
Of course, Pathfinder is not legally D&D, but rather a D20 system released in accord with the Open Gaming License. D&D was first owned by TSR, then it was bought up and it now belongs to Wizards of the Coast. WoC is, of course, owned by Hasbro.
This, as I see it, shows once more the downside of corporate ownership of such iconic entities. Since D&D is owned by a company, they can do pretty much anything they please with it and it will still legally be the D&D game. Of course, the fact that a company owns D&D does not entail that they own the “essence” of what it is to be D&D or that they are even fit to keep that essential nature going. The same sort of thing happens with movies. For example, Alien and Predator started off as cool and awesome movies. But, the corporate masters degraded the franchises into horrific parodies of their original awesomeness.
Naturally, I am not claiming that 4th Edition D&D is a horrible degradation on par with the Aliens vs. Predator movie. However, I am saying that it is unfortunate that the 4th edition D&D is the legally official D&D simply because the company making it legally owns D&D.
While Pathfinder is not legally D&D, to me it is D&D. It is, as I see it, the true spiritual successor to the Basic Edition I played all those years ago. So, I still play D&D, only the book sitting on the table in front of me says “Pathfinder.”
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