Pathfinder Sandpoint, Light of the Lost Coast - Flip eBook Pages 51-100 (2024)

Sandpoint 49 40. MERCANTILE LEAGUE TOWN CENTER Location 110 Market Street Inhabitants Jasper Korvaski, town planner (LG male human paladin 3/expert 1) Rumor “Jasper’s a great guy and all, but that business a few months back—where one of the caravan guards he hired ending up being in cahoots with roadside bandits—makes you wonder if Jasper’s really the right person to be responsible for safety on the Lost Coast Road. I mean, what if he’s actually working with those bandits too? How would any of us know?” (False; this is slander spread by the Scarnettis, who are among the only people in Sandpoint [and indeed among the faithful of Abadar] who have a problem with the idea of Abadarians in a same-sex relationship, and who would like nothing more than to see Jasper disgraced and run out of town.) Quest (3rd) The Lost Coast Road can be a dangerous route to travel, and the Mercantile League is always looking to hire new guards to accompany caravans north or south. Recently, though, Jasper discovered that one of the men he hired as a guard was in fact a bandit: a man named Melgur Skrunter, who helped organize the highway robberies of several merchants before he was exposed. Rumor holds that Melgur fled into the Whisperwood and has established his own gang of bandits. Jasper feels guilty that he didn’t figure out Melgur’s dark side before he did all this damage and wants the PCs to capture him and bring him back to Sandpoint alive, to stand justice. See Whisperwood on page 94 for more details about Melgur and his bandit gang. Wares Caravan passage, messenger service, property sales, shipping services Caravan Services rate varies Carriage Travel 3 cp per mile, plus any tolls Ship Travel 1 sp per mile (passage to Riddleport is 50 gp due to danger) Message Delivery 1 cp in town; 2 cp per mile otherwise This large building serves many purposes. One can arrange for shipments aboard vessels bound for other ports, arrange for caravans or carriages for overland travel, or send messages to folk in town or as far away as Korvosa or even Riddleport. Inquiries into land ownership, building construction, and establishing new businesses, both in Sandpoint proper and in the surrounding hinterlands, must begin their processes of official foundation here. Although ownership of the league remains split evenly between Sandpoint’s four noble families, few of them take part anymore in the actual day-to-day business, leaving such matters in the capable hands of Sir Jasper Korvaski. In his younger years, Jasper was an adventuring paladin of Abadar, and although he’s long since given up the more dangerous lifestyle of a crusader, he remains loyal and devout. For some time after he first took the position as town planner, his romance with Cyrdak Drokkus (area 23) was one of Sandpoint’s worst-kept secrets, but for the past decade the two have been open about their relationship, and they were finally married at the previous year’s Swallowtail Festival. The Scarnettis, easily Sandpoint’s most conservative and least open-minded family, find this relationship scandalous and offensive, but it’s unclear whether they’re more offended by the relationship itself or by the fact that the rest of Sandpoint’s populace is openly accepting of it. In any event, the Scarnettis have been doing their best to make things difficult for Jasper in a not-so-subtle attempt to convince him to move back to Magnimar. JASPER KORVASKI Male middle-aged human expert 1/paladin of Abadar 3 LG Medium humanoid (human) Init –1; Senses Perception +10 Aura courage (10 ft.) DEFENSE AC 17, touch 9, flat-footed 17 (+8 armor, –1 Dex) hp 33 (4 HD; 3d10+1d8+8) Fort +7, Ref +2, Will +8 Immune disease, fear OFFENSE Speed 20 ft. Melee mwk flail +6 (1d8+2) Ranged mwk light crossbow +4 (1d8/19–20) Special Attacks smite evil 1/day (+2 attack and AC, +3 damage) Paladin Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3rd; concentration +5) At will—detect evil STATISTICS Str 14, Dex 8, Con 15, Int 11, Wis 13, Cha 14 Base Atk +3; CMB +5; CMD 14 Feats Alertness, Deadly Aim, Weapon Focus (light crossbow) Skills Appraise +7, Knowledge (local) +5, Knowledge (religion) +4, Perception +10, Profession (merchant) +8, Sense Motive +10 Languages Common, Varisian SQ lay on hands 3/day (1d6), mercy (fatigued) Combat Gear potions of cure light wounds (3); Other Gear +1 banded mail, mwk flail, mwk light crossbow with 20 mwk bolts, holy symbol, 85 gp 41. SANDPOINT BOUTIQUE SECONDHAND SHOP Location 90 Market Street Inhabitants Hayliss Korvaski, proprietor (LN female human cleric 2/ expert 2)

50 Rumor “Hayliss’s dislike of the Scarnettis is pretty obvious, but that’s because Titus spurned her advances years ago and she’s never forgiven him for not giving her a good life.” (False; in fact, the opposite occurred. Hayliss isn’t interested in getting into a “he said/she said” argument though, and would rather spend her time with friends, work, and periodically badmouthing the Scarnettis; she doesn’t let these rumors bother her.) Quest (4th) Recently, Hayliss witnessed something shocking while she was out on one of her early morning constitutionals—none other than Shayliss Vinder creeping out of a secret door on the bank of the Turandarok early one morning. Hayliss never had a high opinion of the young woman, and now she suspects she’s involved in a smuggling ring. She worries that if word gets out, the news will finish off Ven Vinder for good, so she hopes to find a group of investigators to subtly look into the situation. (See Smugglers’ Tunnels on page 68.) Wares Equipment, clothing, weapons, tools, and art objects (all at standard prices); spellcasting services This large boutique and shop sells all manner of artwork, books, clothing, tools, toys, and weapons imported from throughout the world, although most of the wares here are Varisian in nature. The place is owned by Hayliss Korvaski, who is, like her brother Jasper, a devout worshiper of Abadar. Yet unlike her brother, her temper isn’t balanced by a desire to keep everyone happy. Hayliss isn’t afraid of making enemies and wears her disdain for the Scarnettis openly on her sleeve. She’s even gone as far as sometimes upcharging her goods for members of the Scarnetti family, in spite of Mayor Deverin’s repeated requests to keep the peace. HAYLISS KORVASKI Female human cleric of Abadar 2/expert 2 LN Medium humanoid (human) Init +1; Senses Perception +3 DEFENSE AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +1 Dex) hp 29 (4d8+8) Fort +6, Ref +2, Will +12 OFFENSE Speed 40 ft. Melee mwk heavy mace +5 (1d8+2) Ranged light crossbow +3 (1d8/19–20) Special Attacks channel positive energy 2/day (DC 10, 1d6) Cleric Spell-Like Abilities (CL 2nd; concentration +5) 6/day—resistant touch +1 Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 2nd; concentration +5) 1st—command (DC 14), detect chaos, protection from chaos, sanctuaryD (DC 14) 0 (at will)—create water, detect magic, light, mending D domain spell; Domains Protection, Travel STATISTICS Str 14, Dex 12, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 8 Base Atk +2; CMB +4; CMD 15 Feats Intimidating Prowess, Iron Will, Skill Focus (Intimidate) Skills Appraise +5, Intimidate +8, Knowledge (religion) +7, Profession (merchant) +10, Sense Motive +10, Spellcraft +7 Languages Common, Varisian SQ agile feet (6/day) Combat Gear wand of cure light wounds (42 charges), wand of remove disease (6 charges); Other Gear studded leather, mwk heavy mace, light crossbow with 10 bolts, 48 gp 42. FATMAN’S FEEDBAG TAVERN Location 10 Salmon Street Inhabitants Gressel Tenniwar, tavern keeper (CN male human rogue 2/expert 1) Jubrayl Vhiski, tavern owner and leader of the Bunyip Club (NE male human rogue 7) Rumor “Gressel Tenniwar’s certainly the fat man at the Feedbag, but he’s not the real owner—he’s just a front.” (True.) Quest (4th) The gang known as the Bunyip Club have long been troublemakers in town, but now that they’ve thrown in with Marley Jekkers, an unpredictably violent smuggler who seems as eager to smuggle out rare Thassilonian relics as make money, Jubrayl has decided it’s time to get out of the Thassilonian trade. If he feels anyone’s getting close to his gang, he feigns innocence and offers up Marley as the true culprit, saying that if she’s taken out, the violent smugglers operating in the region will be taken care of. (See Hag’s Plummet on page 84.) Wares standard food and drink, with the following specialties: Cheese Curd Soup Melted cheese, spices, and bits of meat sprinkled with curds (6 cp) Foamer’s Gulp Frothy ale served in an oversized mug (2 cp per mug) Lard Fries Strips of pork skins fried to a crisp in seasoned lard (2 cp) Old Murdermaw Black stout bitter beer (4 cp per mug) JASPER KORVASKI

Sandpoint 51 If the Hagfish is Sandpoint’s most popular tavern, Fatman’s Feedbag is its most notorious. The majority of the clientele here are Varisian scoundrels or lessthan-reputable sailors. Bar fights are common, and Sheriff Hemlock typically has to come down here two or three times a week to sort them out when they grow particularly violent or loud. Most believe that Fatman’s Feedbag is owned and operated by a rotund man named Gressel Tenniwar, but in fact the owner is a lanky thug named Jubrayl Vhiski, one of the Feedbag’s regulars. Jubrayl is also the leader of the local gang of Sczarni, a loosely organized group of thieves, marauders, con artists, grave robbers, and smugglers collectively known as the Bunyip Club. The Bunyip Club’s core numbers nearly two dozen, all cruel and self-serving men and women who take care to maintain respectable jobs as laborers, fisherfolk, and hunters, but who draw their true income taking part in various scams and stunts. Numerous other smugglers and criminals serve the Bunyip Club as mercenaries or thugs when needed, making it difficult for non-members to keep track of who is and isn’t officially a member of the gang. Sheriff Hemlock suspects that Jubrayl is the local leader and would like nothing more than to bring him in, but the Bunyip Club are experts at walking the line between legalities and taking the blame for their direct superiors or shifting it to their expendable and desperate hired help. So while Sheriff Hemlock has sent many of Jubrayl’s Sczarni to jail over the last several years, he’s never even come close to the ringleader himself, much to Jubrayl’s continued amusement. That said, Jubrayl worries that his latest venture, getting into the Thassilonian smuggling business, may be more than he bargained for, with his associate Marley Jekkers operating out of Hag’s Plummet proving to be more trouble than she’s worth. He’s ready to sell her out if push comes to shove. One of the primary reasons the Bunyip Club has chosen Fatman’s Feedbag as its aboveground gathering spot is the tavern’s connection to Sandpoint’s smugglers’ tunnels. The entrance to the tunnels is in the side of the 10-foot-high embankment under the boardwalk that runs along the tavern’s southwest side, and it’s well hidden from view by a secret door. A PC who succeeds at a DC 25 Perception check notices this entrance, although at high tide, the door is partially obscured and the PC suffers a –4 penalty to the check. (See Smugglers’ Tunnels on page 68.) GRESSEL TENNIWAR Male middle-aged human expert 1/rogue 2 CN Medium humanoid (human) Init +1; Senses Perception +5 DEFENSE AC 15, touch 11, flat-footed 14 (+3 armor, +1 Dex, +1 shield) hp 24 (3 HD; 2d8+1d8+8) Fort +1, Ref +4, Will +1 Defensive Abilities evasion OFFENSE Speed 30 ft. Melee mwk heavy mace +5 (1d8+3) Ranged mwk hand crossbow +3 (1d4/19–20) Special Attacks sneak attack +1d6 STATISTICS Str 16, Dex 12, Con 13, Int 13, Wis 9, Cha 11 Base Atk +1; CMB +4; CMD 15 Feats Intimidating Prowess, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Intimidate), Toughness Skills Appraise +6, Bluff +6, Intimidate +12, Knowledge (local) +7, Knowledge (nobility) +6, Perception +5, Profession (tavern keeper) +5, Sense Motive +5, Sleight of Hand +5, Swim +7 Languages Common, Shoanti, Varisian SQ rogue talents (combat trick), trapfinding +1 Combat Gear potions of cure light wounds (3), potion of lesser restoration, potion of invisibility; Other Gear studded leather, buckler, mwk heavy mace, mwk hand crossbow with 10 bolts, 148 gp JUBRAYL VHISKI Male human rogue 7 NE Medium humanoid (human) Init +3; Senses Perception +9 DEFENSE AC 20, touch 14, flat-footed 16 (+4 armor, +3 Dex, +1 dodge, +2 shield) hp 63 (7d8+28) Fort +4, Ref +8, Will +3 Defensive Abilities evasion, trap sense +2, uncanny dodge OFFENSE Speed 30 ft. Melee +1 rapier +9 (1d6+2/18–20) Ranged mwk hand crossbow +9 (1d4/19–20) Special Attacks sneak attack +4d6 STATISTICS Str 12, Dex 16, Con 15, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 14 Base Atk +5; CMB +6; CMD 20 Feats Dodge, Iron Will, Mobility, Shield Focus, Spring Attack, Toughness, Weapon Finesse Skills Acrobatics +12, Bluff +12, Intimidate +12, Knowledge (local) +10, Linguistics +10, Perception +9, Sense Motive +9, Sleight of Hand +12, Stealth +12 Languages Common, Varisian SQ rogue talents (combat trick, finesse rogue, surprise attack), trapfinding +3 Combat Gear potion of cure light wounds, potion of cure moderate wounds, potion of invisibility; Other Gear +1 studded leather, buckler, +1 rapier, hat of disguise, 40 gp

52 43. THE PIXIE’S KITTEN BROTHEL Location 60 Salmon Street Inhabitants Kaye Tesarani, proprietor (CG female middle-aged human rogue 3/sorcerer 1) Rumor “Kaye’s place isn’t what I’d call an inn, but apparently she sometimes rents rooms to people she thinks could use a place to hide out.” (True.) Quest (4th) Kaye had to fire her previous bouncers, but has recently learned they’re holding a grudge and are making sounds like they’re plotting some sort of vengeance against the Pixie’s Kitten. She’s not too worried about this, as she can handle them even without the sheriff’s aid, but she’d rather the problem just went away diplomatically. If she feels the PCs have level heads and are smooth talkers, she hires them to track down the leader of the three barbarians, Ludrik—last she heard, the trio was staying at an abandoned farmhouse somewhere to the southeast (see Farmlands on page 81). If the PCs can convince Ludrik to drop his grudge without resorting to violence, Kaye rewards the PCs with her wand of mage armor. Wares Companionship (1 gp to 50 gp); private rentals (2 gp/day or 10 gp/week) Proprietor Kaye Tesarani runs the town brothel with class and distinguished grace. She pays the men and women she employs quite well, and the establishment’s three unflappable Shoanti bouncers (CG human male warrior 3) are more than enough to handle troublemakers. (Kaye recently fired the last crew of barbarians that she had hired as bouncers, as those toughs turned out to be troublemakers themselves). Though sex work is legal in Sandpoint, the Scarnettis have long lobbied for it to be outlawed, publicly condemning the Kitten as a place where vice and criminal activity can take root. Behind closed doors, though, Jubrayl has tried for the several years to get in on the brothel business, but Kaye’s not-so-secret friendship (and romance) with the town’s sheriff make this a delicate, long-term goal for the Sczarni at best. The Pixie’s Kitten offers another service beyond companionship—to those who need a low-profile place to stay, she’ll rent one of the three basement rooms below the establishment. These chambers are damp and drafty, but each features a secret door into Razor Street or Hook Street to allow renters the luxury of coming and going without being observed. KAYE TESARANI Female middle-aged human rogue 3/sorcerer 1 CG Medium humanoid (human) Init +5; Senses Perception +8 DEFENSE AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +1 Dex) hp 19 (4 HD; 3d8+1d6–1) Fort +0, Ref +4, Will +4 Defensive Abilities evasion, trap sense +1 OFFENSE Speed 30 ft. Melee mwk dagger +2 (1d4–1/19–20) Special Attacks sneak attack +2d6 Sorcerer Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +5) 7/day—heavenly fire (1d4+1 divine energy) Sorcerer Spells Known (CL 1st; concentration +5) 1st (4/day)—charm person (DC 15), disguise self 0 (at will)—detect magic, dancing lights, message, touch of fatigue (DC 14) Bloodline celestial STATISTICS Str 9, Dex 13, Con 8, Int 14, Wis 13, Cha 18 Base Atk +2; CMB +1; CMD 12 Feats Arcane Armor Training, Combat Casting, Eschew Materials, Improved Initiative Skills Bluff +11, Diplomacy +11, Disguise +9, Heal +8, Knowledge (local) +9, Perception +8, Perform (sing) +11, Profession (madam) +8, Sense Motive +8, Sleight of Hand +8 Languages Common, Elven, Shoanti, Varisian SQ rogue talents (resiliency), trapfinding +1, bloodline arcana (summoned creatures gain DR 1/evil) Combat Gear wand of color spray (32 charges), wand of mage armor (10 charges), wand of scare (4 charges); Other Gear +1 leather armor, mwk dagger, 298 gp JUBRAYL VHISKI

Sandpoint 53 44. THE FEATHERED SERPENT CURIO SHOP Location 10 Rum Street Inhabitants Vorvashali Voon, proprietor (LN male human wizard 2/ rogue 2/expert 2) Rumor “Some of the contacts Vorvashali keeps aren’t strictly legal—especially a few from Riddleport. One of these days he’s gonna end up selling something stolen that someone dangerous wants back.” (False, but see Wares below.) Quest (1st–6th) Vorvashali recently came into the possession of a part of a clockwork songbird, the bird’s breast, sold to him by an adventurer who claimed to have found it in a goblin den. He’s grown obsessed with figuring out what the songbird might sound like once it’s been repaired, and suspects more fragments of the songbird might still be out there. Vorvashali will pay 500 gp for each songbird part the PCs find and bring to him. If the PCs start chasing these parts, there are 5 more to be found in the region: one wing in the Raven’s Watch dungeons in Ravenroost (see page 91), another wing in Valdemar Manor (see area 47), the tail and legs in the possession of Chertus Jheed in the smugglers’ tunnels (see page 68), the head in the hidden temple of Pazuzu on Chopper’s Isle (see area 51), and the winding mechanism at Habe’s Sanatorium (see page 83). In addition, there’s a chance that a part might appear for sale at the town market. If it does, this part replaces one of those elsewhere that the PCs haven’t yet discovered. Once the songbird’s parts are put together and it’s wound up, the song it sings is particularly charming and catchy—and can be used to open a Thassilonian vault hidden deep in the Pit (see page 88). Wares adventuring gear, curiosities and art objects (price varies from 10 gp to 100 gp), spellcasting services, windup toys (including Voon’s specialty: pocketsized music boxes for 10 gp each), and magic items (stock varies; see below): • Clockwork songbird body (not for sale) • Periapt of health made of amber with a strange, ten-legged crimson mantis trapped inside (4,500 gp) • Ring of feather falling made of jade and carved in a circle of feathers (2,200 gp) • Wand of magic vestment with 27 charges, made of iron and etched with a short prayer to Gorum: “Cowards Flee, Warriors Retreat” (6,075 gp) This cramped and cluttered shop smells of a strange mixture of incense, spice, and dust. Its sole proprietor, Vorvashali Voon, an exotic-looking man with bright blue eyes, long, red hair, and almost bronze-colored skin, is gregarious and excited about every customer. Not everything in his shop is for sale, rendering the shop’s eclectic collection of strange relics, statues, and monument fragments part museum, in addition to being Sandpoint’s most likely place to find a strange magic item for sale. Vorvashali’s stock changes constantly, as his dozens of contacts from Magnimar, Riddleport, and beyond come weekly to buy or trade. Adventurers seeking magic items and other tools of the trade can find what they’re looking for here more often than not. Of special note is the periapt of health he’s recently come into possession of. Vorvashali purchased it at a bargain price from one of his contacts in Riddleport—a smuggler named Darsus Lorgen—and has recently KAYE TESARANI

54 learned of that contact’s disappearance. Rumors that the periapt may have been stolen from an agent of the Red Mantis have made their way to the shopkeeper, and he’s eager to move this valuable item out of his stock and on to some lucky new owner; as a result, he’s slashed the price significantly. If a character asks Vorvashali why he’s offering the periapt at such a low price, he’ll spin a story about it being a gift from a grateful adventurer and he just wants to “pass on the savings” to the next customer. He’ll tell his real fears to any PC who he truly trusts, who brought him any songbird fragments, or who discovered the body of his missing Riddleport contact out on the Three Cormorants (see page 92). In fact, the periapt has no connection to the Red Mantis assassins. VORVASHALI VOON Male human expert 2/rogue 2/diviner 2 LN Medium humanoid (human) Init +2; Senses Perception +12 DEFENSE AC 14, touch 11, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +1 Dex) hp 24 (6 HD; 4d8+2d6–4) Fort –1, Ref +4, Will +9 Defensive Abilities evasion OFFENSE Speed 30 ft. Melee mwk dagger +4 (1d4/19–20) Special Attacks sneak attack +1d6 Diviner Spell-Like Abilities (CL 2nd; concentration +6) 7/day—diviner’s fortune (+1) Rogue Spell-Like Abilities (CL 2nd, concentration +6) 3/day—read magic Diviner Spells Prepared (CL 2nd; concentration +6) 1st—comprehend languages, identify, mage armor, unseen servant 0 (at will)—detect magic, light, mage hand, prestidigitation (DC 14) Opposition Schools enchantment, necromancy STATISTICS Str 10, Dex 13, Con 8, Int 18, Wis 12, Cha 14 Base Atk +3; CMB +3; CMD 14 Feats Alertness, Arcane Armor Training, Combat Expertise, Iron Will, Scribe Scroll Skills Appraise +13, Bluff +11, Craft (clockwork toys) +13, Diplomacy +11, Knowledge (arcana) +13, Knowledge (engineering) +9, Knowledge (history) +13, Knowledge (local) +9, Knowledge (nobility) +9, Linguistics +9, Perception +12, Sense Motive +12, Spellcraft +13 Languages Common, Draconic, Elven, Infernal, Keleshite, Necril, Shoanti, Varisian SQ arcane bond (dagger), forewarned, rogue talents (minor magic), trapfinding +1, Combat Gear scroll of legend lore, wand of detect thoughts (14 charges); Other Gear +1 leather armor, 130 gp 45. HANNAH’S HERBALIST AND MIDWIFE Location 30 Hook Street Inhabitants Hannah Velerin, proprietor (NG female elf cleric of Gozreh 3/expert 1) Rumor “Someone’s been harassing Hannah lately, throwing dead things at her house in the middle of the night. Someone should help her out by figuring out who’s causing trouble.” (True.) Quest (3rd) Hannah’s been receiving anonymous threats lately in the form of dead birds or rabbits thrown at her doorstep in the middle of the night. She suspects the Scarnettis and their notoriously conservative views, but she doesn’t have concrete proof and doesn’t want to go to the sheriff with nothing but rumors. In fact, the harassment’s coming from a vile cretin named Chertus Jheed, a Bunyip Club Sczarni whose girlfriend, Gilseah, left him a month back after Hannah helped her escape the relationship. Gilseah lives in Magnimar now, and with Hannah the only link to her, Chertus hopes to frighten the herbalist enough that when he’s built up the courage to confront her, she’ll tell him where Gilseah “ran off” to. (See Smugglers’ Tunnels on page 68 for more information on how the PCs can handle Chertus.) Wares Restorative and medicinal alchemical supplies; spellcasting services While Father Abstalar Zantus does his best to take care of Sandpoint’s truly sick and needy, he can’t help everyone. For minor aches, pains, and illnesses, most of Sandpoint’s citizens depend on Hannah Velerin. Hannah spends most of her mornings out in the surrounding wilds, gathering herbs or simply enjoying Gozreh’s bounty. In the afternoons, she returns to her shop and home here to prepare medicines and receive patients. Hannah’s the one to go to whether one wants to end a pregnancy or needs a midwife to aid in a birth. Though Hannah encourages all the women she sees to carry to term and advises the use of pinberry extract to young women as a way to prevent unwanted pregnancies from happening in the first place, in cases where there’s no alternative, her other services are discreet and confidential. VORVASHALI VOON

Sandpoint 55 HANNAH VELERIN Female elf cleric of Gozreh 3/expert 1 NG Medium humanoid (elf) Init +0; Senses low-light vision; Perception +5 DEFENSE AC 13, touch 10, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor) hp 25 (4d8+4) Fort +4, Ref +1, Will +8; +2 vs. enchantments Immune sleep OFFENSE Speed 30 ft. Melee sickle +2 (1d6) Ranged mwk longbow +3 (1d8/×3) Special Attacks channel positive energy 4/day (DC 12, 2d6), wooden fist (+1, 6 rounds/day) Cleric Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3rd; concentration +6) 6/day—storm burst (1d6+1 nonlethal) Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 3rd; concentration +6) 2nd—barkskinD , calm emotions (DC 15), lesser restoration 1st—endure elements, obscuring mistD , remove fear, sanctuary (DC 14) 0 (at will)—create water, detect poison, light, stabilize D domain spell; Domains Plant, Weather STATISTICS Str 10, Dex 10, Con 12, Int 14, Wis 16, Cha 13 Base Atk +2; CMB +2; CMD 12 Feats Brew Potion, Skill Focus (Bluff) Skills Bluff +11, Craft (alchemy) +8, Heal +10, Knowledge (nature) +9, Knowledge (religion) +7, Linguistics +7, Perception +5, Profession (herbalist) +10 Languages Common, Elven SQ elven magic Combat Gear potions of cure light wounds (3), potions of cure moderate wounds (3), potions of lesser restoration (3), potion of remove disease, potion of remove blindness/deafness, holy water (3); Other Gear studded leather, sickle, mwk longbow with 20 arrows, 44 gp 46. SANDPOINT SHIPYARD HARBOR Location 10 Hook Street Inhabitants Jhalevia Stensin, harbormaster (NG female human expert 3) Rumor “Jhalevia’s from Thuvia. You know. That place where they sell the elixir of eternal youth? I heard she smuggled a few doses of it out and is in hiding, waiting for the chance to sell to someone!” (False; while Jhalevia is indeed from Thuvia, she does not have any doses of Sun Orchid Elixir.) Quest (3rd) Jhalevia’s noticed an increase in potential smuggling shenanigans and suspects the Bunyip Club of being involved, but she doesn’t yet have evidence she can bring to Kendra and Sheriff Hemlock. She suspects they’re using the old smuggling tunnels below town, but if they are, she’s not yet spotted any illicit cargo going out; she’d like some adventurers to head down into the tunnels, quietly, and scope things out. (See Smugglers’ Tunnels on page 68.) Wares Ships and shipbuilding services at regular prices; ship passage to other ports as summarized below (costs are one way, per passenger rates): Magnimar 3 gp Roderic’s Cove 15 gp Riddleport 50 gp Korvosa, Palin’s Cove, or Veldraine 40 gp Ports beyond Varisia 1 sp per mile The southern facade of this long building is open to Sandpoint Harbor, allowing its small army of shipwrights, rope makers, and sail makers to work their trade in one of four dry docks right on the shore. The shipyard is owned by the Valdemars, but old Ethram’s eldest son Belven recently died of complications arising from a wound he suffered during the stone giant raid on Sandpoint. With the Valdemar presence in town all but vanished and the family focusing its attentions on their Magnimar holdings, the daily management of the shipyard has fallen to Jhalevia Stensin, a foul-mouthed but fair woman recently arrived from Merab in Thuvia. She enjoys her off-hours playing cards at the Hagfish but spends her days tending to the needs of the shipyard with great dedication. Jhalevia was given this job by Kendra Deverin soon after arriving in town. The mayor realized that the Magnimar Valdemars didn’t seem interested in hiring a replacement for Belven, so she secured permission from them to hire a harbormaster of her own choosing. Jhalevia impressed Kendra with her knowledge of shipbuilding and hopes to continue to impress the mayor, whom she’s developed something of a crushon. HANNAH VELERIN

56 47. VALDEMAR MANOR ABANDONED MANOR Location 30 Schooner Gulch Road Rumor “Valdemar Manor’s all boarded up now—has been for a few years since old Ethram’s death, but now and then people say they see lights shining between those boards on the windows. Maybe... maybe the Valdemars didn’t move out at all? Or maybe Ethram’s ghost is haunting the place? The Magnimar Valdemars certainly don’t seem to care about the place, that’s for sure!” (False, but there is indeed something going on in the manor!) Quest (1st) Valdemar Manor has been boarded up for several months, but rumors of it being haunted are gaining traction among Sandpoint’s youth. A new group of adventuring PCs could well hear these rumors and take it upon themselves to explore the supposedly haunted house, only to stumble upon the truth that hides within. Alternatively, the PCs may be moved to investigate the Manor after learning that missing local youth Zeek Wheen (see area 31) was last heard by his playmates bragging about his plan to spend the night alone in Valdemar Manor. Or perhaps the PCs are of a more criminal mind, and are intrigued by rumors that the Valdemar fortune remains hidden somewhere in the manor, leading them to sneak into the old house to search for a quick payday. Finally, the PCs might even be hired to investigate by none other than Jubrayl of the Bunyip Club (see area 42) after two of his people went missing on a trip up to the manor (“One I strongly suggested they abandon,” he adds). Jubrayl worries they’ve come to harm somewhere within the haunted house. This manor house commands a breathtaking view of the town of Sandpoint and the harbor below, as befits the home of the family once most connected to the town’s shipbuilding and fishing industries. Today, though, the manor remains empty (or so it is believed) after the death of Ethram Valdemar and the refocusing of the family on their holdings in Magnimar, but in truth, there is much still going on in old Valdemar Manor. The Valdemar family had long been local favorites, yet recent times have been tough. The family’s eldest son, Belven, perished during the stone giant raid a short while back, and more recently old Ethram Valdemar himself finally succumbed to the chronic illness that had long been plaguing him. Surviving son, Kaleb Valdemar— his interests in line with the family’s more lucrative Magnimar estate—chose to transfer the Sandpoint manor’s servants to Magnimar and boarded the place up. For the past several months, Valdemar interests in Sandpoint have been declining, with the Scarnettis increasingly moving in on the shipbuilding business while Valdemar Manor cultivates a reputation as being cursed, haunted, or both. Kaleb has been singularly unresponsive to Mayor Deverin’s inquiries about his plans for the manor, and so for now the building simply looms over town, a reminder of a brighter past and a constant target for gossips and young dares. Yet Valdemar Manor, and the family it once housed, harbors more secrets than anyone in town realizes! The Valdemar Doom Several years ago, Ethram Valdemar came across a book of poetry called Songs at Sun’s Ebb, penned by an eccentric alchemist named Vumeshki who vanished mysteriously from his home in Magnimar many years before. Within the book was the poem “Ilvarandin,” which described a hidden paradise whose citizens stayed forever young. Eager to defeat his own impending death, Ethram grew obsessed with Vumeshki’s work and became convinced that his disappearance was nothing more than a cover-up, and that Vumeshki had in fact found a way to Ilvarandin. Further, Ethram discovered that in Vumeshki’s final days, he performed an occult ritual to create a drug called “midnight milk” that, Ethram believed, served as a gateway to help Vumeshki find Ilvarandin. Realizing that the realm of alchemy and occult rituals was out of his league, Ethram secretly recruited the aid of his son Kaleb, an accomplished wizard, to aid in his research. Soon, Kaleb had a breakthrough—the first 16 lines of “Ilvarandin” were part of a spoken incantation—a key component of the ritual to generate midnight milk. The last four lines were not—Vumeshki included them to stymie others’ attempts to duplicate his ritual, but the Valdemars noticed flaws in the poem’s meter that allowed them to correctly deduce their true nature. Eager to defeat death, Ethram and Kaleb performed the ritual to create two doses of midnight milk. Worried that too much of the drug would shock his system and kill him before the effects manifested, Ethram diluted his dose and took it in small portions over several months (resulting in the drug’s failure to function other than to, ironically, speed his demise due to side effects caused by the drug’s diluted form). Kaleb, though, threw proverbial caution to the wind and downed his entire dose after retiring to his secret lab in the basement. It was then that Kaleb learned the awful truth— midnight milk did indeed open the way to Ilvarandin, but not for Kaleb. Instead, the drug allowed an intellect devourer named Tiluatchek to use its body theft ability across great distance, seizing control of Kaleb’s body, killing him, and replacing him, just as he had done years ago to Vumeshki. Midnight milk did indeed offer immortality—it was just that this immortality applied to the body only, not to the mind and soul, and only as long as the intellect devourers themselves saw fit to keep those bodies around.

Sandpoint 57 For the past few years, Tiluatchek, posing as Kaleb Valdemar, has spent his time at the Magnimar Valdemar estate, building up a secret society called the Midnight Dawn. (Additional information about this dangerous organization appears on pages 46–47 of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Magnimar, City of Monuments.) Tiluatchek as Kaleb has some plans for Sandpoint as well: Tiluatchek hopes to craft a variant of midnight milk to taint Magnimar’s water supply and thus provide the intellect devourers of Ilvarandin with an entire city’s worth of bodies to use in their war against the neothelids of Denebrum. To aid him in this endeavor, he’s recruited the assistance of a much more talented alchemist: a ghast named Kanker, who is coming closer than ever to perfecting a version of midnight milk that can mix well with water. Kanker has in turn secured the aid of local apothecary and poisoner Aliver Podiker in preparation for using Sandpoint as a testing ground for the diluted agent (see area 16 for more information). Inside the Manor Valdemar Manor has been closed up for just over a year— long enough for a tribe of mites led by a jinkin sorcerer named Murzle to move in with their wriggling stable of verminous minions. Cast out from a larger tribe of gremlins dwelling in the Pit (see page 88), Murzle came to Valdemar Manor via a long, underground tunnel created years ago by the intellect devourer Tiluatchek to secretly transport materials between the Pit and the manor. Under Murzle’s rule, the mites have done well to ensure their privacy in the house by making the place seem haunted, but a determined effort to explore the manor will quickly force the mites and their vermin minions to attack. The manor interior is dusty and damp after so many months of relative disuse. Signs of mite activity can be found here and there in the dust if the PCs are observant. The interior doors can be locked, but unless otherwise noted are unlocked. All windows have been boarded up from the outside—prying the boards loose in a single round requires a successful DC 18 Strength check; otherwise, 1d4+2 rounds of work can open up a window for entry. With the windows boarded up, the manor’s interior remains dimly illuminated at best. A quick reconnoiter of the manor is enough to note three ground-floor entrances to the house—a double front door and smaller service entrances to the dining hall and the servants’ quarters area. The front doors and the service door are both locked tight (Disable Device DC30), but the door to the servant’s quarters is damaged. A DC 20 Perception check made while examining it 1 SQUARE = 5 FEET VALDEMAR MANOR GROUND FLOOR UPPER FLOOR ATTIC BASEMENT

58 reveals evidence that someone forced the door open a few weeks ago and damaged the lock in the process. A successful DC 20 Disable Device check is required to pick this door’s lock; this was the route Jubrayl’s Bunyip Club burglars took when entering the manor. A PC who succeeds at a DC 15 Perception check while searching the north side of the manor notices that two of the boards that once blocked an upper floor window have fallen into the undergrowth, and that the glass of the window has been smashed. A branch from the nearby tree stretches close to the broken window. A PC who succeeds at a DC10 Climb check can climb the tree, and a successful DC 12 Acrobatics check is required to clamber out on the branch to reach the open window (a Small or smaller creature gains a +5 bonus on this check as the branch is less prone to bending under lighterweight). This is the route that young Zeek Wheen (see area 31) took to get into the manor. Any particularly noisy attempt to enter the house (including prying boards off windows or smashing down doors) automatically alerts the mites lurking within the house, and they prepare their tricks to try to scare off intruders. If the PCs manage to gain entry into the manor without making too much noise, the mites can be caught off guard. In all, there are twelve mites scattered throughout the house. With them they’ve brought several verminous allies, which the mites normally let lurk on their own in the attic and basement, including a particularly foultempered cave fisher that lurks in the basement amid jars of pickled asparagus and bottles of fine (and illegally imported) Chelish wine. Fond of using prestidigitation to augment their otherwise mechanical and handmanipulated false haunts to scare off intruders, the mites’ crowning achievement in “home defense” is a trap they rigged in the manor’s entrance hall. Here, a bulky shape covered with a sheet looms. This is a taxidermic owlbear—a trophy Ethram Valdemar bagged decades ago. Murzle has rigged the heavy trophy into a trap. If the owlbear is jostled, including if the sheet covering it is removed, the entire thing topples forward with a crash, possibly crushing anyone nearby. As the owlbear falls forward, an ominous moaning sound fills the room. This sound is created by the trap (an air-filled bladder that is compressed through a small horn hidden within the trophy as it falls), but unless the source is located with a DC 15 Perception check while searching the trophy, it certainly sounds like an unseen ghost’s disembodied voice. Murzle lurks in the depths of the house, inside a cave just beyond the basement’s walls. Here, she is always accompanied by a pair of mites mounted on giant spiders. If attacked, Murzle fights until she takes damage, at which point she tries to flee back to the Pit if possible. If she escapes, she can become a recurring foil pestering the PCs. If the PCs are looking for Zeek Wheen, they’ll need to head up to the attic. There, they’ll discover among numerous stored furniture, clothing, and other mundane tools and supplies, several disturbing taxidermy displays that look like deformed human babies crafted from leather and stuffed with straw. Some of them have little wings or hooves for feet or horns—all are unsettling. These were one of Kaleb Valdemar’s more secretive creations—taxidermic odds and ends he built for his own warped amusement. After a search of the attic, the PCs can find Zeek, malnourished and frightened out of his wits but alive, hiding behind a stack of crates. The child knows that the place isn’t haunted now, but the “giant bugs and little blue freaks are just as scary as ghosts!” Once the PCs TAXIDERMIC SANDPOINT DEVIL

Sandpoint 59 find him, he tearfully warns them of the “leather babies” that lurk in the attic and that he’s been hiding from for days. It’s at this point that one of the taxidermic babies leaps to life—a gross little homunculus created and left behind by Kaleb Valdemar not long before he succumbed to the midnight milk and was taken by the intellect devourer Tiluatchek. (Fortunately for lower-level PCs, this homunculus is a prototype of the more dangerous ones Kaleb perfected the creation of in Magnimar.) The missing Bunyip Club thugs can be found in the manor as well, although they didn’t fare as well as Zeek. They confronted the mites early enough and managed to kill a few, causing the rest to scatter in fear and leaving much of the manor open for their exploration. The two burglars headed down into the basement from the kitchen, avoiding the cave fisher that lurked in the northern wing of the basement and turning their attention instead to the western wall, where their research had indicated lay a hidden room. They found the secret door into the hidden Valdemar workshop, a place the mites themselves knew better than to play around in. It was in this secret lab that Kaleb Valdemar first used the midnight milk and fell victim to Tiluatchek. What remained in the room for the burglars wasn’t so much a hidden treasure—although several potions and a few other minor magic items remain within, including a wing of the clockwork songbird Vorvashali Voon is seeking (see area 44)—but a dangerous remnant left behind by Kaleb: an animated taxidermic creature. Built mostly from the body of a horse but incorporating a wolf ’s jaws and the wings of a giant bat, the two burglars died fully convinced the Sandpoint Devil was attacking them. The taxidermic Sandpoint Devil remains here, somewhat damaged from its fight against the burglars but ready to attack the PCs once they enter the secret alchemy lab. An investigation of the lab could reveal more than just the potions and other magic trinkets left behind—the PCs could also discover additional clues as you see fit to point them toward other quests or adventure opportunities involving the Midnight Dawn. FALLING OWLBEAR TRAP CR 1 XP 400 Type mechanical; Perception DC 15; Disable Device DC 22 EFFECTS Trigger touch; Reset manual Effect Atk +10 melee (1d6+3) MURZLE CR 2 XP 600 Female jinkin sorcerer 1 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 142) CE Tiny fey Init +5; Senses darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision; Perception +6 DEFENSE AC 18, touch 17, flat-footed 13 (+5 Dex, +1 natural, +2 size) hp 14 (2d6+8) Fort +2, Ref +7, Will +5 DR 5/cold iron; SR 12 OFFENSE Speed 40 ft. Melee short sword +7 (1d3–4/19–20), claw +2 (1d2–4) Space 2 1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft. Special Attacks sneak attack +1d6, tinker Jinkin Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +5) At will—prestidigitation 1/hour—dimension door (self plus 5 lbs. only) Sorcerer Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +5) 7/day—acidic ray (1d6+1 acid) Sorcerer Spells Known (CL 1st; concentration +5) 1st (4/day)—magic missile, silent image (DC 15) 0 (at will)—dancing lights, daze (DC 14), ghost sound (DC 14), open/close Bloodline aberrant STATISTICS Str 3, Dex 21, Con 15, Int 16, Wis 12, Cha 19 Base Atk +0; CMB +3; CMD 9 Feats Eschew Materials, Skill Focus (Stealth), Toughness, Weapon Finesse Skills Acrobatics +10 (+14 when jumping), Craft (traps) +12, Disable Device +11, Knowledge (arcana) +8, Perception +6, Spellcraft +8, Stealth +21 Languages Common, Undercommon SQ bloodline arcana (+50% duration on polymorphs) Combat Gear wand of invisibility (8 charges); Other Gear short sword, polished tiger’s eye worth 50 gp TAXIDERMIC SANDPOINT DEVIL CR 2 XP 600 Augmented taxidermic horse (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 177, Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 5 240) N Large construct Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +0 DEFENSE AC 13, touch 10, flat-footed 12 (+1 Dex, +3 natural, –1 size) hp 46 (currently 20) (3d10+31) Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +1 Immune construct traits Weaknesses defect (crude stitching), vulnerability to slashing damage OFFENSE Speed 40 ft. Melee bite +3 (1d6+2), 2 hooves –2 (1d4+1) Space 10 ft.; Reach 5 ft. STATISTICS Str 14, Dex 12, Con —, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 3 Base Atk +2; CMB +5; CMD 16 (20 vs. trip)

60 48. SCARNETTI MANOR MANOR Location 25 Schooner Gulch Road Inhabitants Titus Scarnetti, patriarch (LE male middle-aged human aristocrat 6) Delarah Scarnetti, matriarch (LN female middle-aged human aristocrat 3) Enid Scarnetti, Titus’s elderly aunt (LE female human aristocrat 2) Elisse, Charn, and Lianel Scarnetti, Titus and Delarah’s children (LN female and male human aristocrat 1) Adimar Scarnetti, Enid Scarnetti’s child (LE male human afflicted wererat rogue 2) Barisk and Vialota Whesterwill, servants (LN female and male human commoner 2) Rumor “There’s something funny with that Adimar Scarnetti. I’ve seen him creeping around at night once or twice a month like he’s up to no good.” (True.) Quest (1st) As the PCs gain fame in town, Titus Scarnetti takes stock of their actions and personalities. If he feels a PC might align with his interests, he may approach them with offers of support. In return for them pursuing roles of leadership in town and supporting the Scarnetti family as their influence grows, he promises to continue secretly funding his chosen PC with payments of 100 gp per month. The Scarnettis are Sandpoint’s most notorious noble family, as many of Sandpoint’s elderly Varisian locals still haven’t forgotten or forgiven Alamon Scarnetti’s assault on their people more than 40 years ago, even with Alamon 20 years in the ground at the Sandpoint Boneyard. The Scarnetti family, now headed by Alamon’s only surviving son, Titus, controls Sandpoint’s mills and lumber industry. Their control over the lumber that the Valdemars need for their enterprises is not lost on the Scarnettis, and they use this fact as often as possible to leverage Valdemar support. The Scarnettis are easily Sandpoint’s most traditional and conservative family, and cling to old Chelish values that are, in many cases, outdated today. When Scarnetti Manor was damaged during the recent giant raid on Sandpoint, the family spent several humiliating years rebuilding their reputation after evidence of collusion between the Scarnettis and the Bunyip Club almost came out. Only some quick thinking on Titus’s part prevented the damning evidence from falling into the wrong hands at the last minute, but enough evidence managed to leak out that Jubrayl Vhiski cut ties with the family and pulled strings of his own in order to ensure that the Scarnettis would be humiliated. As part of his plan to rebuild, Titus has secretly brokered a deal with agents in distant Korvosa who have interests in Magnimar, and he’s been sending reports every season about activities there and across the Lost Coast. Payments from his mysterious Korvosan benefactor have gone a long way toward helping Titus repair his manor and rebuild his fortunes, and the family’s riches once more approach nearly 7,000 gp in various caches scattered throughout the manor. Korvosa is not the only city that the Scarnettis have hidden ties to. A few months ago, Titus’s elderly aunt and nephew were forced to flee from Riddleport to evade reprisal from a “business deal” gone sour with the Gas Forges. Fortunately for elderly Enid Scarnetti and her son Adimar, the dwarves of the forges haven’t pursued them, but unknown to all, Adimar carried his own secret with him: he’d recently been inducted into a gang of wererats, but hadn’t yet undergone his first change when he was forced to move to Sandpoint. Since then, Adimar has kept his secret safe from everyone (or so he thinks), but he knows it’s only a matter of time before the truth comes out. He’s made his own contacts with the Bunyip Club again, reforming ties with the Sczarni, unbeknownst to his uncle. In return for keeping the Sczarni up to date on Scarnetti plots, they’ve promised Adimar a safe place to hide out should the need ever arise. As always, the Scarnettis maintain several shady plots and plans. While they’ve in large part abandoned any additional secret sponsorings of arson against local mills, they continue to maintain control over the industry. Poor Courrin Whesterwill still endures nearly slave wages to keep the Scarnetti Mill going, knowing that as long as he continues to toe the line, the Scarnettis won’t turn his parents out on the street. His parents stay loyal only because of an implication that, should they ever seek work elsewhere, Titus wouldn’t be able to ensure their son’s continued safety. And now that his control over the town’s council has slipped further with the loss of bullied allies in the Valdemars, Titus plans on meddling with the next election by hiring several forgers from Magnimar’s Night Scales thieves. All of these developments have run their toll on Titus, whose alignment has shifted to evil, although so far he’s managed to mask his increased bitterness and cruelty from the town at large. TITUS SCARNETTI Male middle-aged human aristocrat 6 LE Medium humanoid (human) Init –1; Senses Perception –1 DEFENSE AC 16, touch 9, flat-footed 16 (+6 armor, –1 Dex, +1 shield) hp 39 (6d8+12) Fort +3, Ref +1, Will +6

Sandpoint 61 OFFENSE Speed 20 ft. Melee +1 longsword +7 (1d8+3/19–20) Ranged mwk composite longbow +4 (1d8+2/×3) STATISTICS Str 14, Dex 8, Con 12, Int 11, Wis 9, Cha 12 Base Atk +4; CMB +6; CMD 15 Feats Intimidating Prowess, Iron Will, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Intimidate) Skills Appraise +7, Bluff +10, Intimidate +15, Knowledge (local) +6, Knowledge (nobility) +6, Linguistics +5, Sense Motive +8 Languages Common, Shoanti, Varisian Combat Gear potions of cure light wounds (2), potion of cure moderate wounds; Other Gear breastplate, light steel shield, +1 longsword, mwk composite longbow with 20 arrows, 126 gp 49. KAIJITSU MANOR MANOR Location 35 Schooner Gulch Road Inhabitants Velarie Neserin, steward (NG female human expert 3) Anyaia Neserin, groundskeeper (LG female human expert 2) Rumor “No one’s been actually living at Kaijitsu Manor. Ameiko’s the only one left after those tragic events during the Swallowtail raid. I’ve heard she’s thinking of maybe even selling the manor off!” (True.) Quest (1st) Now that she’s the last Kaijitsu in Sandpoint, Ameiko finds the manor’s a bit too big and filled with sad memories. She’s waiting for a new group of heroes to rise to prominence in the region to bequeath her manor to, hoping to pass the torch of Sandpoint’s aristocracy to likeminded adventurers. Before she’s convinced that one of the PCs is the right person for the job, though, they’ll need to prove themselves both a capable adventurer and a helpful sort—something that completing at least a dozen different quests for locals should cover. This manor is the smallest of the four noble houses overlooking Sandpoint, yet the Kaijitsus are perhaps the richest family in town. What this manor lacks in stature and size it more than makes up for in the exotic and impressive furnishings within. The late Lonjiku Kaijitsu carried on his father’s proud work as glassmaker after his family traveled across the Crown of the World from Minkai. The Kaijitsus initially settled in Magnimar before becoming one of Sandpoint’s founding families. Yet for all of his success at business, Lonjiku found the role of father to be one he was particularly ill suited for. His eldest son Tsuto (someone he already loathed as proof of his wife’s affair with an elven adventurer named Arinellus) eventually betrayed him. His eldest daughter Ameiko shamed him not only by becoming an adventurer, but also by opening and running a tavern and flophouse— THE SCARNETTI SECRETS If in your game, events in Rise of the Runelords played out differently for the Scarnettis and they were publicly humiliated and disgraced, then consider Titus took the fall for all of the recent crimes. He’s currently in jail in Magnimar, and management of the family’s holdings has shifted to his equally shrewd wife, Delarah. Only now, she’s hatching her own plans to have him broken out of jail to come back and live in hiding here in Sandpoint. At some point, either at your discretion or when the event is triggered as the result of rolling for a rumor, Shroud exposes one of Titus’s secrets. Shroud’s symbol, a “Y” inside a circle painted in yellow, appears on the front door to Scarnetti Manor, while a detailed post in the town market details Titus’s long-running affair with no fewer than five different Magnimarian merchants and aristocrats. The scandal shakes the Scarnettis, and will force Titus on the defensive in his new goal to find out who Shroud is and take the vigilante down. (See Shroud’s Shrine on page 74 for more on Shroud.) TITUS SCARNETTI

62 “hardly women’s work,” he was fond of telling anyone who’d listen. Of course, those who knew Lonjiku knew that his short temper was his real problem. Lonjiku eventually met a grisly end in his own glassworks not long after the Swallowtail goblin raid (see area 20). Today, the only surviving Kaijitsu is Ameiko, who’s taken to living at her cozier quarters at the Rusty Dragon. She’s had to let most of the manor servants go. A married couple, Velarie and Anyaia Neserin, remain on site, employed to air the mostly abandoned rooms of the manor weekly and tend to the manor grounds, but for the most part Kaijitsu Manor is now empty. 50. DEVERIN MANOR MANOR Location 40 Schooner Gulch Road Inhabitants Kendra Deverin, mayor of Sandpoint (NG female human aristocrat 4/expert 3) Aiver Deverin, Kendra’s brother (LN male human aristocrat 2) Vana Deverin, Kendra’s sister-in-law (CG female human aristocrat 2) Amos Junior, Barthus, Elmur, Merrun, and Vadd Deverin, Kendra’s nephews (N human aristocrat 1) Rumor “The Mayor was going to marry Casp Avertin, but when Chopper did him in she gave up on romance.” (True.) Quest (1st) Mayor Deverin is worried that Kaleb Valdemar was covering something up in his manor, but she has nothing more than her hunch to go on. Now that Kaleb’s passed away and his manor has been closed up, Kendra is quietly looking for a group of adventurers to investigate the manor for her. She impresses upon them the sensitive nature of the semi-illegal request she’s making of them, hoping they can quietly either put her worries to rest or uncover what Kaleb was up to and handle it before it becomes a problem for Sandpoint. (See area 47.) Living within the largest manor on Schooner Gulch Road, the Deverins have traditionally held leadership roles in Sandpoint. Old Amos Deverin served as the town’s first mayor for 23 years, and his son Fenchus served as its second. Both Deverins perished after unfortunate accidents (Amos was trampled by a runaway horse on Festival street and Fenchus was killed by a snakebite while on a boar hunt), leaving Amos’s daughter as the heir to the family fortune and a likely candidate for mayor. Kendra Deverin didn’t initially want the job, but after her close friend Casp Avertin nominated her for the position, she won the election by a landslide, something her primary opponent in the election, TitusScarnetti, has never quite come to terms with. For some time there was talk of her and Casp becoming wife and husband, but Casp’s death at Chopper’s hands cut that short. Kendra has recovered from the shock, but put aside all interest in romance, turning instead to politics. She shares this manor with her brother’s rather large family of rambunctious sons, and although her sisterin-law Vana constantly complains about needing even more space and luxuries, Kendra has done a saintly job so far in keeping her temper under control. KENDRA DEVERIN Female middle-aged human aristocrat 4/expert 3 NG Medium humanoid (human) Init –1; Senses Perception +13 DEFENSE AC 12, touch 9, flat-footed 12 (+3 armor, –1 Dex) hp 38 (7 HD; 4d8+3d8+7) Fort +2, Ref +1, Will +10 OFFENSE Speed 30 ft. Melee +1 rapier +5 (1d6/18–20) Ranged mwk longbow +5 (1d8/×3) STATISTICS Str 9, Dex 8, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 14 Base Atk +5; CMB +4; CMD 13 Feats Alertness, Iron Will, Persuasive, Skill Focus (Diplomacy), Toughness Skills Bluff +12, Diplomacy +17, Intimidate +8, Knowledge (local) +11, Knowledge (nobility) +11, Linguistics +6, Perception +13, Profession (brewer) +11, Sense Motive +13 Languages Common, Infernal, Shoanti, Varisian Combat Gear potions of cure light wounds (2), potions of cure moderate wounds (2), holy water (2); Other Gear +1 leather armor, +1 rapier, mwk longbow with 20 arrows, 44 gp 51. CHOPPER’S ISLE NOTORIOUS LOCATION Location No street address; located north of the Old Light Rumor “A strange visitor from Korvosa made several visits out to Chopper’s Isle a few months back. Yeah... the same visitor who ended up going missing from the Rusty Dragon and left behind a collection of books about repeat murderers. Who knows what he was up to out on that rock?” (True; the strange visitor was Rifza Dilatru. See Quest below.) Quest (6th) As one would expect, rumors of demons, haunts, monsters, and the like have shrouded Chopper’s Isle ever since its notorious inhabitant was revealed for what he was. The mysterious visitor from Korvosa was a scholar named Rifza Dilatru who had come to Sandpoint in pursuit of a theory on the nature of repeat murderers, or as he called them, “pattern killers.” The PCs can learn

Sandpoint 63 about Rifza by learning the above rumor, or possibly after asking around at the Rusty Dragon (area 37) where he’d been staying during his visit, or they might simply take it upon themselves to explore Chopper’s Isle on their own. Regardless, a dangerous mystery and menace lurks therein. Jervis Stoot garnered something of a reputation for eccentricity when he began his one-man crusade to carve depictions of birds on every building in town. Stoot never began work without first securing permission, but his incredible skill at woodcarving made it a given that, if Stoot picked your building as the site of his latest project, you seized the opportunity. “Sporting a Stoot” soon grew to be something of a bragging point, and Jervis eventually extended his gift to include ships and carriages. Those who asked or tried to pay him for his skill were rebuffed. Stoot told them, “There ain’t no birds in that wood for me t’set free,” and went on his way, often wandering the streets for days before noticing a hidden bird in a fence post, lintel, steeple, or doorframe, which he’d then secure permission to “release” with his trusty hatchets and carving knives. When Stoot made clear his intentions to build a home on the island just north of the Old Light, many worried that he’d break his neck climbing up and down the isle’s steep cliff. His excuse for the move seemed innocent enough. The place was a haven for local birdlife, and Stoot’s claim of “wantin’ ta be with th’ birds” seemed to make sense—so much so, in fact, that the guild of carpenters volunteered to build a staircase for Stoot along the southern cliff face, free of charge, so that the woodcarver could come and go from his new home without risking life and limb. Sandpoint was no stranger to crime, or even to murder. Once or twice in a year, passions flared, robberies went bad, jealousy grew too much to bear, or one too many drinks were drunk, and someone would end up dead. But when bodies began to mount in late 4702 ar, the town initially had no idea how to react. Sandpoint’s sheriff at the time was a no-nonsense man named Casp Avertin, a retired city watch officer from Magnimar. Yet even he was ill prepared for the pattern killer who came to be known as Chopper. Over the course of one long month, it seemed that every day brought a new victim to light. Each was found in the same terrible state: body bearing deep cuts to the neck and torso, hands and feet severed and stacked nearby, and the eyes and tongue missing entirely, having been plucked crudely from each head. Over the course of that month, Chopper claimed 25 victims. His uncanny knack at eluding traps and pursuit quickly wore on the town guard, taking a toll on Sheriff Avertin in particular, who increasingly took to drinking. Sheriff Avertin became Chopper’s last victim, slain upon catching the murderer in a narrow lane—known now as Chopper’s Alley—as he was mutilating a body. In the battle that followed, Avertin landed a telling blow against the killer. When a town guard named Belor Hemlock found both bodies (Avertin’s and the penultimate victim) several minutes later, he rallied the guards and they were able to follow the killer’s bloody trail. The trail led straight to the stairs of Stoot’s home. At first, the town guard refused to believe the implications, and feared that Chopper had come to claim poor Jervis Stoot as his 26th victim. Yet what the guards found in the modest home atop the isle and in the larger complex of rooms that had been carved into the bedrock below left no room for doubt. Jervis Stoot and Chopper were one and the same, for the eyes and tongues of all 25 victims were found upon a horrific altar to a vile demon lord whose name none dared speak aloud. Stoot was found dead at the base of the altar, having plucked his own eyes and tongue loose in a final offering. The guards collapsed the entrance to the lower chambers, burned Stoot’s house, tore down the stairs, and did their best to forget. The criminal was burned on the beach in a pyre below the Old Light, his ashes blessed and then scattered in an attempt to stave off an unholy return of his evil spirit. But the truth of what’s going on today on the tooth of rock that’s known now as Chopper’s Isle is something more than just a ghost. KENDRA DEVERIN

64 Patterns of Blood Rifza Dilatru was a history and philosophy student at the University of Korvosa when he became convinced that a supernatural link existed between all mass murderers. An optimist who believed in the inherent goodness of civilization, he theorized that the urge to murder another could not be an intrinsic quality of humanity. He was not worried about crimes of passion, vengeance slayings, or murders committed during the course of other crimes like robberies, for in most of these cases, Rifza found that the murderer eventually exhibited shame or regret for the act of violence. It was the acts of those murderers who killed purely out of need and exhibited no remorse that concerned him, and gave rise to his belief that a force external to all known intellect or faith called “the pattern” existed and compelled some men (for whatever reason, they nearly always seem to be men) to kill. Rifza’s research eventually drew his attention to not only the recent Skinsaw murders in Sandpoint, but to Chopper’s killing spree. In Jervis Stoot, Rifza grew increasingly convinced he’d found a classic example of a pattern killer, but knowing of small communities’ reticence to speak of atrocities, he kept his true purpose in town a secret. It wasn’t until Rifza vanished one night, leaving behind only a collection of notes and books in his room at the Rusty Dragon, that the people of Sandpoint realized why he was truly in town. Today, common opinion is that Stoot’s ghost killed Rifza and his body was lost at sea after tumbling from Chopper’s Isle. If the PCs speak with Ameiko Kaijitsu about this matter, she reveals that while Rifza’s books and notes have long since been returned to the University of Korvosa, she made a copy of several of his notes before doing so, suspecting that they would prove of use in time. Much of these notes concern his studies on other pattern killers, but several diagrams and descriptions categorize how his specialized equipment functioned—tools he used to measure psychic impressions and the presence of evil. Ameiko gives these notes to the PCs if they indicate an interest in investigating Chopper’s Isle or following up on Rifza’s investigation, but she warns them to take care. (A more complete account of these notes is presented on pages 2–3 of Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Horror Realms, but the notes can still grant those who take 8 hours to study them a +2 bonus on all checks made to notice haunts in the shrine of Pazuzu below Chopper’s Isle.) Pazuzu’s Influence Jervis Stoot’s desire to build a home atop what would eventually come to be known as Chopper’s Isle was not an idle decision, but the result of a singular find on Junk Beach. One day, while scavenging for a good piece of wood to carve after a violent winter storm had passed, Stoot found a strange statuette of a bird-faced winged man. This was, unbeknownst to Stoot, a statuette of the demon lord Pazuzu. The statuette had been buried atop the nearby isle and had tumbled down to the waters below to end up on the beach after a patch of the cliffside’s soil eroded away. Entranced by the statuette, Stoot kept it on his person and reveled in how it seemed to enhance his ability to see birds trapped in wood. It was this influence from beyond that compelled Stoot to build his home atop the isle, where thousands of years ago, a cult of Pazuzu worshipers held vigil over the Lost Coast, waiting for the day their lord would return to the region. The cult died out, leaving their small complex behind, forgotten within the solid bedrock of the isle. Stoot learned of the complex below his new home in a dream, and confirmed that dream when he woke one morning covered with dirt, having dug a hole in his floor to reveal a flight of stairs leading down into the rock below. He investigated. Stoot came upon a shrine to Pazuzu in the very first chamber. He whispered his new father’s name three times in awe. Pazuzu was pleased, and when Stoot emerged from that chamber an hour later, he had become Chopper. The Buried Shrine Although the people of Sandpoint tried their best by burning Stoot’s body, blessing his ashes, and then scattering them in the sea, his spirit had already exited his body when he took his own life atop the altar to Pazuzu under his home. His ghost remains in the buried shrine still, spending most of its hours there but on certain nights emerging into the overgrown surface of the isle above to gaze with hatred across the waves to Sandpoint. Chopper’s ghost is trapped in the shrine now, but in his transition from life to undeath he’s become more aware of the agents of Pazuzu at work in the region. He knows that the Red Bishop will need his aid when the time for Sandpoint’s reckoning is at hand, and is content—for now—to await the Bishop’s call. (See Grubber’s Hermitage on page 81 for more about the Red Bishop.) Before the PCs can explore the buried shrine to Pazuzu below Chopper’s Isle, they’ll need to dig out its entrance. The isle’s surface is completely overgrown with shrubbery and a few scraggly pine and manzanita trees, so it’ll take an hour of work and a successful DC 15 Survival check to locate the site of Chopper’s home (each additional attempt takes another hour and reduces the DC by 2). Once the site is located, it’ll take an additional day of work to clear the undergrowth and dig out the entrance to the shrine (the use of magic can speed this as you see fit). A map of the chambers below the Stoot home is presented on page 67. Chopper’s ghost is the most dangerous threat in the dungeon, and as such you should aim to fill the other areas with challenges appropriate for a

Sandpoint 65 6th level party. Chopper’s stats are presented at the end of this section, but a few suggested encounter themes to fill the rest of the dungeon are given below to spur creativity or to support other links to quests elsewhere in Sandpoint. Note that a central shaft connects the two levels. This pit descends over 150 feet so that the lower level is well below the water surrounding the isle. The ancient cultists used flight or levitation to navigate the shaft; climbing it is difficult and requires a successful DC 20 Climb check. Ancient Traps: Magical defenses were left behind by the original creators of the shrine, such as glyphs of warding that don’t trigger for chaotic evil foes. Bird-Themed Haunts: There should be at least a few haunts in the shrine, manifestations of those whose eyes and tongues were sacrificed to Pazuzu within, perhaps, or maybe echoes of Stoot’s own fury. These haunts should manifest with bird themes, and should do things like create blindness, rob speech, and deal physical damage in the form of spectral talons and beaks. Demons: The PCs should face a few demons in the dungeon. The PCs might encounter a few quasits on the upper level, while the lower level might hold a pair of abrikandilusB5. The most powerful demon is an invidiak—a shadow demon that once served as an advisor for the cult and who now takes delight in Stoot’s torment. The shadow demon is the second-most powerful foe the PCs meet—it prefers to attempt to possess a PC and remain unnoticed so that it can wreak havoc later, as it cannot leave the dungeon save for in the body of another. Rifza’s Remains: The PCs should encounter Rifza’s remains in the upper area, his body mutilated by Stoot’s ghost. The attack left him mortally wounded, but he lived long enough to write a warning on the wall in his own blood: “It exists, and it influences even those who would call themselves gods—the one who drove Stoot to kill was himself but a pawn of the Pattern!” Rifza was a 5th-level investigator, and his gear should remain as loot for the PCs to gather. Sinister Constructs: Graven guardiansB3 devoted to Pazuzu make excellent creatures to encounter in this small, long-sealed dungeon. Temple Treasury: One of the rooms on the lower level contains a large amount of treasure; this room should be where the bulk of the treasure the PCs earn comes from, to make up for the fact that most of the foes here are traps and creatures that have no need for gear. Among the treasure to be found here is the head of a clockwork songbird (one of the pieces desired by Vorvashali Voon at the Feathered Serpent; see area 44) and Chod Bevuk’s wedding ring, still adorning his now skeletal severed finger (see area 36). Undead Priests: Some of the original worshipers of Pazuzu exist still as blindsighted wights missing their eyes and tongues. Inner Sanctum: Stoot’s ghost should harry the PCs the whole time, taking advantage of its incorporeality to swoop in and out of walls to make single attacks before retreating again. The final encounter with the ghost should take place in the large inner sanctum on the lower level. Here, the PCs find the original statuette of Pazuzu that Stoot found, displayed ominously. While the link to Pazuzu expended itself in corrupting Stoot, the statuette remains cursed. It grants a +4 profane bonus to Charisma to whoever carries it, but also functions as a stone of weight. The statuette must be destroyed to put Stoot’s ghost to rest permanently. JERVIS STOOT CR 8 XP 4,800 Male human ghost rogue 7 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 144) CE Medium undead (augmented humanoid, human, incorporeal) Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +19 DEFENSE AC 18, touch 18, flat-footed 14 (+4 deflection, +3 Dex, +1 dodge) hp 77 (7d8+42) Fort +6, Ref +8, Will +3 Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, evasion, incorporeal, rejuvenation, trap sense +2, uncanny dodge; Immune undead traits OFFENSE Speed fly 30 ft. (perfect) Melee corrupting touch +8 (8d6) Special Attacks sneak attack +4d6 STATISTICS Str —, Dex 16, Con —, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 19 Base Atk +5; CMB +8; CMD 23 Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Martial Weapon Proficiency (handaxe), Toughness, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (handaxe) DUNGEON MAPS Maps of underground complexes have been included in this book to illustrate several of the more involved adventure sites scattered throughout the region, but these dungeons are not fully fleshed out. Locations like the smugglers’ tunnels, the Old Light’s Underflume, the shrine to Pazuzu under Chopper’s Isle, and the flooded reaches of Wisher’s Well are described in the text along with suggestions for monsters, hazards, and treasures to be found therein, but the exact details of how these dungeons should be populated for adventuring are left to you to enjoy. Use the maps as inspiration for building your own adventures under Sandpoint!

66 Skills Bluff +14, Climb +13, Craft (woodcarving) +9, Escape Artist +13, Fly +11, Knowledge (local) +11, Knowledge (nature) +8, Knowledge (religion) +11, Perception +19, Sense Motive +11, Stealth +21; Racial Modifiers +8 Perception, +8 Stealth Languages Abyssal, Common SQ rogue talents (fast stealth, surprise attacks, weapon training), trapfinding +3 SPECIAL ABILITIES Avian Mastery (Su) Stoot can command and influence all normal birds as per dominate animal at will. He can control any number of birds within a 60-foot radius in this manner. Once per day, he may cast summon swarm as a spell-like ability to summon a murder of crows (treat as a raven swarm—see page 240 of Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 6). Weakness to Avians (Ex) Damage dealt to Stoot from any avian’s natural attacks do not suffer a miss chance or halved damage from his incorporeal nature. 52. THE OLD LIGHT MYSTERIOUS RUINED TOWER Location No street address; located at the west end of Tower Street Rumor “Brodert Quink’s always claimed that the Old Light wasn’t originally a lighthouse but some sort of ancient magical weapon. With all this Thassilon stuff those adventurers are digging up, it makes me think that Quink might have been more right than we all thought. If he is right, I just hope the Old Light’s not functional enough that it’ll wake up some day!” (True.) Quest (12th) Brodert Quink (see area 8) theorizes that there may be unexplored Thassilonian chambers under the Old Light, but has never been able to discern a method of entry, or even proof that such chambers exist. He may well ask the PCs to see what they can do to find these theoretical rooms once they’re a bit more powerful. Alternatively, once the PCs are 12th level, Brodert might discover the buried entrance to the upper level of the Underflume in the ruins of the Old Light and ask the PCs to investigate further from that point. The Old Light is Sandpoint’s most significant landmark and also the oldest structure in town, for it was originally one of Runelord Alaznist’s Hellstorm Flumes during the final centuries of Thassilon, several thousand years ago. While the aboveground portion has mostly collapsed (obliterating the visible portion that once made its weaponized nature more apparent), the stone ruins that survive today still extend up 50 feet in height. Perched atop a 120-foothigh cliff, the sight of the ruined tower from the sea is impressiveindeed. While the aboveground portion of the ruin serves no other purpose other than a landmark, a place to tempt children eager to test their skills at climbing, and a site for young lovers to meet at under the cover of night, some in town (particularly Brodert Quink) theorize that there must exist additional chambers somewhere below the Old Light. Certainly, when Sandpoint was attacked some years back by stone giants sent by agents of Runelord Karzoug, they seemed particularly interested in harvesting stones from the Old Light’s foundation, hoping to use magic to determine the location of underground chambers in the region— even though the chambers Karzoug’s minions were searching for were not directly attached to the OldLight, but were instead the old shrine to Lamashtu located under the town. In fact, all of Alaznist’s Hellstorm Flumes sat above complexes of varying size and scope known as “Underflumes,” and the ruins here in Sandpoint are no exception. Once, a network of portals connected all of the Hellstorm Flumes to each other and to Hollow Mountain, but this network has mostly collapsed as a result of the damage caused by Earthfall. Those portals into the chambers below the Old Light have long since deactivated, but recently one of Sandpoint’s most dangerous and mysterious antagonists, the mothman cleric of Pazuzu known as the Red Bishop, has created a link between these chambers and his den on Grubber’s Hermitage (see page 81). The Sandpoint Underflume The hidden chambers under the Old Light represent the most dangerous underground dungeon below town (now that the only competition to that title, the shrine to Lamashtu below the Catacombs of Wrath, was cleared out by heroes during Rise of the Runelords), and as such you shouldn’t tempt the PCs to explore it until later in the campaign when they’re at least 12th level. Whether they enter the Underflume via magic like dimension door, from JERVIS STOOT

Sandpoint 67 the linked portal between the Underflume and Grubber’s Hermitage, or merely via the buried trap door, the dangers they face within should test them significantly. Underflume Upper Level Access to the upper level of the Underflume is via magic or the hidden trap door to the aboveground ruins. When opened, the trap door reveals a 5-foot-diameter shaft dropping into the darkness—a permanent levitate effect once allowed transport, but this effect has long since faded. It’s a 100-foot drop down to the central chamber of the Underflume’s upper level, located not far above sea level. The muffled sound of the pounding surf is audible throughout this level, particularly in the western half of the complex. The shaft continues downward to the lower level of the Underflume but is blocked by a permanent wall of force. This wall (along with most other existing magical effects in the Underflume save for traps, which vary in level) functions at caster level 20th. The upper level of the Underflume is broken into four separate wings. Northwest Wing: This wing of the Underflume held a small shrine to Yamasoth, the qlippoth lord Alaznist bargained and held various alliances with. Several of the inhabitants of the Underflume worshiped the qlippoth lord, and among the chambers here is a small shrine devoted to this foul demigod. A few gongorinan qlippothsB6, bound into the area via magic, still guard this wing, and the shrine’s one-time priest Verzazmian (CE male human worm that walksB2 cleric of Yamasoth 12) lives on, content to worship Yamasoth in private for another several thousand years—unless interrupted byadventurers. Northeast Wing: The most architecturally complex wing of this floor served as laboratories where spellcasters could perform fleshwarping experiments on soldiers captured from Shalast. Many of the rooms here provide constant magical sustenance, so that prisoners could be kept for extended periods without forcing their keepers to take up their valuable time feeding and watering them. The twisted, deformed results of these experiments live on here, a combination of sinspawnB2 with class levels and other deformed monsters. A tunnel once led east to connect up to the Hellstorm Flume focusing chambers below what is now the Sandpoint Cathedral, but the this tunnel collapsed thousands of years ago. Southwest Wing: The haunted southwest wing served as barracks for the Underflume’s magus guards. The barracks themselves were connected via a secret THE BURIED SHRINE OF PAZUZU UPPER FLOOR LOWER FLOOR 1 SQUARE = 5 FEET

68 tunnel that allowed the Underflume’s commander to periodically spy upon these guards. Other rooms include a few armories and a shared lounge area, which has a secret door in the east wall that opens to a shaft that then drops another 100 feet down to the lower level. The wing is infested with haunts and the undead magi themselves, two of which have become geistsB4, and the other four of which have become spectres. Southeast Wing: The entrance to the Underflume’s southwest wing is blocked by a double door made of magically strengthened iron, and still bears a powerful trap that lashes out with elemental blasts at those who attempt to pass through it. The one room beyond was once used as a lecture hall, a place where Alaznist or her subordinates would speak to the keepers of the Hellstorm Flume. A large stage overlooks the hall, which is cluttered with partially preserved benches, while a flight of stairs leads down at the far side of the stage to the Underflume’s lower level. A single guardian waits here—the demilichB3 Anizorah, once a wizard who once served as the commander of this flume (see the Lower Level below for more details on her history). Anizorah spent many thousand years after Earthfall in the Underflume, studying and preparing for Alaznist’s return, but eventually fell into a torpor here while she lectured a crowd of imaginary students. The Red Bishop has elected to leave the demilich in place, understanding that the powerful undead serves as a better guardian than anything he could install in the area. Underflume Lower Level The lower level of the Underflume is under the full control of the Red Bishop (see Grubber’s Hermitage on page 81); player characters should be at least 13th level before attempting to explore this location. This level was once the personal domain of Anizorah, a conjurer who defected from Haruka to offer her services to Alaznist in return for access to the runelord’s qlippoth allies. In her final years, she also served as the commander of the Hellstorm Flume. Anizorah, along with several other similar defectors from the realm of sloth, served Alaznist well in aiding her efforts to conjure demons, qlippoth, and other fiends to serve her, as the runelord herself could not wield conjuration magic. Today, Anizorah exists as a demilich in the lecture hall above, and this level, once her sole domain, has been claimed by the Red Bishop. This level originally served Anizorah as her personal quarters and research facilities but also as maintenance and power for the Hellstorm Flume. The power core for the Flume was within the pentagonal chamber in the level’s western reaches, but the Red Bishop has managed to rework the latent magical energies here into a portal to Grubber’s Hermitage, now that the magical engine no longer has a Hellstorm Flume above to power. Any who step into this pentagonal chamber are immediately transported to Grubber’s Hermitage. The Red Bishop has seen to the instillation of several demons and cultists of Pazuzu in this area, keeping them on hand to use against the cult of Lamashtu or adventurers as needed. Some of the rooms here remain sealed even from the Red Bishop, though, including several in the south-central part that once served Anizorah as her personal quarters. With walls protected by walls of force and other magic, the treasures and guardians the conjurer left in here can only be guessed at. SMUGGLERS’ TUNNELS Although many of the complexes under Sandpoint (the Underflume below the Old Light, the Catacombs of Wrath and its temple of Lamashtu under the western area of Uptown, the Shrine of Pazuzu under Chopper’s Isle, and the old catacombs below the Cathedral) existed long before the town was founded, several other areas below Sandpoint are of much more recent construction. These areas were originally built in the first decade of the town’s youth by a well-connected and productive group of smugglers called the KaspakarVeil (or simply the “Veil”). Using their skills at engineering and supported by a few earth elementalist wizards, the Veil managed to excavate a fair number of tunnels below Sandpoint. They had secret alliances with the Kaijitsus, the Scarnettis, and the Valdemars, all three of whom thought they were the only family in town to have hidden associations with the Veil. At one point, they accidentally broke into the Catacombs of Wrath, but after a frightening encounter with the quasit who ruled that dungeon, the smugglers instead bricked the tunnel over and left the catacombs alone. The Veil had agents in Riddleport and Magnimar as well and had plans to take over Sandpoint from within and use the town as their own secret base of operations—and they may have succeeded in their shadowy plan, had their leader not crossed a man named Iremiel, then high-priest of the temple of Calistria in Magnimar. Iremiel discovered the Veil’s presence in Sandpoint accidentally, during a visit with his secret lover, Vernah. She complained to Iremiel of an obnoxious man’s constant and unwelcome attempts to at first woo her and, after she spurned him, to buy her shop out from under her. When Iremiel investigated, he learned the man was an agent of the Veil, and that the smugglers’ base of operations was located directly under Vernah’s shop. Worse, he discovered the Veil would stop at nothing to gain control of the shop, as they wanted to take over ownership of all the buildings above

Sandpoint 69 THE OLD LIGHT 1 SQUARE = 5 FEET UNDERFLUME UPPER LEVEL UNDERFLUME LOWER LEVEL

70 their base of operations so as to have multiple hidden entrances and exits from their hideout. Since Vernah had stymied their attempts at seduction and monetary temptation, the Veil was planning on having Vernah meet with an unfortunate accident very soon. Iremiel started a one-man campaign against the Veil. Initially, his focus was on making the cost of doing business in town too much for the Veil to remain, but he underestimated their tenacity and stubbornness. When things escalated, Iremiel was forced to slaughter the Veil agents in Sandpoint, doing so under the cover of darkness during a particularly stormy night. This grisly ordeal culminated at a hidden shrine of Norgorber that the Veil had built under central Sandpoint, and it nearly cost Iremiel his life. Vernah didn’t question where Iremiel received his wounds when the elf appeared at her stoop, near death and exhausted. She took him in and kept him from succumbing to his wounds in those last few hours before dawn, when Iremiel recovered his healing capacity and was able to heal himself. Their daughter was conceived soon after, and as it became apparent that Vernah was pregnant, Iremiel finally told her the whole truth. She asked him to retire and come be a family, and he agreed. Iremiel spent the next nine months arranging for a replacement at the temple in Magnimar while secretly repurposing the old shrine to Norgorber once used by the Veil into a shrine of Calistria. His daughter, Rynshinn, was born a few days before he made his official public “retirement” from the church. Leaving the Magnimarian church in the capable hands of another elf, a woman named Ayamyra, Iremiel moved in with Vernah a few days after their daughter was born. Unfortunately for Iremiel, his official retirement from the church was his death sentence, for the sinister sponsor of the Kaspakar Veil had been watching and waiting. This was the Forever Man—guild master of Magnimar’s thieves and a very vengeful man. By waiting for Iremiel’s association with the church to publicly end before making his move, the Forever Man cunningly avoided escalating the cycle of vengeance even further. He assassinated Iremiel a week after he moved to Sandpoint, killing him in his own shrine to Calistria and leaving the body there, hidden away behind secret doors for years to come. Vernah never found out what happened to Iremiel, but she never gave up hope that he still lived (see Vernah’s Fine Clothing on page 38 for details on Vernah, and Shroud’s Shrine on page 74 for more on Iremiel’s legacy). For several years thereafter, the smugglers’ tunnels lay quiet and forgotten, but when Jubrayl Vhiski gathered a group of like-minded Sczarni thugs together and founded the Bunyip Club, the tunnels began to see use once again. At the opposite end of town from where the Bunyip Club were busy reclaiming the tunnels, a band of ghouls burrowed into the tunnels after expanding their warren below the Sandpoint Boneyard, inadvertently connecting the smugglers’ tunnels to the Hellstorm catacombs below the church. The tunnels also served Thistletop’s goblins as a hidden route into town during the events following the Swallowtail raid. Today, the smugglers’ tunnels feature a number of diverse and dangerous places for adventurers to explore. Recently, a group of goblins seeking a safe place to live have moved into a small, mostly forgotten hideout in the tunnels, and the shrine of Calistria—as well as Iremiel’s body—has been discovered by a woman who needed a new focus in life. The Catacombs of Wrath remain mostly empty after heroes cleared them (and the temple of Lamashtu below—see Rise of the Runelords for maps of these areas) out a few years back, but five other areas of note are detailed briefly below. Several secret doors exist in the tunnels; all require a successful DC 20 Perception check to discover. Bunyip Club Hideout The Bunyip Club has no direct tie to the Veil, yet they have inherited the mantle of the previous organization as Sandpoint’s smugglers. Comprised entirely of Sczarni women and men, the Bunyip Club’s members don’t limit their antics to smuggling alone—pickpocketing, forgery, coin shaving, petty burglary, and similar pursuits all lie in their wheelhouse, but under their leader Jubrayl Vhiski’s strict orders, assault, murder, and other violent crimes are forbidden in Sandpoint or its hinterlands. This rule has helped keep the Bunyip Club from becoming perceived as a significant threat, allowing them to continue to operate in the town’s shadows without significant opposition from its citizens. All according to Jubrayl’s plans, although lately, two of his “allies”—an associate named Marley Jekkers (see Hag’s Plummet on page 84) and one of his own, an unstable brute named Chertus Jheed (see page 72), increasingly threaten to compromise the Club’s integrity. Jubrayl knows he’ll need to make a decision of what to do with these two soon, before their actions bring the law or, worse, adventurers down on his head. If the PCs build up enough of a reputation, Jubrayl might even decide to get out ahead of the problem and hire the PCs to deal with the two troublemakers before they ruin everything he’s worked so hard to build in Sandpoint. The individual Bunyip Club members each keep their own homes throughout Sandpoint, but they also maintain a small complex below Downtown once used by the Veil as a staging area for their operations. This hideout includes a small armory, a treasury defended by nonlethal traps, a cross-shaped meeting room and private gambling den, and a set of rooms set aside for

Sandpoint 71 1 SQUARE = 5 FEET SMUGGLERS’ TUNNELS BUNYIP CLUB HIDEOUT HELLSTORM CATACOMBS GHOUL WARRENS SHROUD’S SHRINE CATACOMBS OF WRATH GOBLIN SANCTUARY GOBLIN SANCTUARY SHROUD’S SHRINE HELLSTORM CATACOMBS BUNYIP CLUB HIDEOUT

72 Jubrayl as a private retreat. The hideout also serves individual members of the club as a place to lie low after a crime, as needed. If you need statistics for typical members of the Bunyip Club, use cutpurses (Pathfinder RPG NPC Codex 144) for rank-and-file members and charlatans (Pathfinder RPG NPC Codex 115) for higherranking members. One member of the club, though, deserves special mention: Chertus Jheed. Chertus Jheed rose swiftly in the ranks among his brothers and sisters in the Bunyip Club, only to hit an unexpected ceiling when he realized Jubrayl wasn’t interested in making him the Club’s second-incommand. When Chertus approached Jubrayl for the title, the leader of the club laughed him down, saying “I don’t need anyone’s help leading you bunch, especially a hagfish like yourself, Jheed!” Chertus was stung by the rebuke, but swallowed his pride and internalized his shame. He’s now been slowly attempting to build his own inner circle of supporters in the Bunyip Club so as to make a bid for seizing control of it from Jubrayl, but he hasn’t quite yet built up the courage to make his move. The recent development of his girlfriend Gilseah leaving town has thrown an unexpected complication into Chertus’s plans, though, and he’s grown increasingly distracted by and obsessed with the woman who helped Gilseah escape Chertus’s control: Hannah Velerin. His attempts to bully Hannah into revealing where Gilseah ran off to have so far met with no more success than his attempts to earn Jubrayl’s approval, leaving the narrow-minded thug of a man increasingly frustrated and likely to make a rash move sometime soon. CHERTUS JHEED Male human brawler 4 (Advanced Class Guide 23) CE Medium humanoid (human) Init +1; Senses Perception +6 DEFENSE AC 17, touch 13, flat-footed 14 (+4 armor, +1 Dex, +2 dodge) hp 46 (4d10+20) Fort +7, Ref +5, Will +0 OFFENSE Speed 30 ft. Melee unarmed strike +8 (1d8+3) or unarmed strike flurry of blows +6/+6 (1d8+3) Special Attacks brawler’s flurry, knockout 1/day (DC 15), maneuver training (grapple +1), martial flexibility 5/day STATISTICS Str 16, Dex 13, Con 16, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 12 Base Atk +4; CMB +7 (+8 grapple); CMD 20 (21 vs. grapple) Feats Dodge, Improved Unarmed Strike, Skill Focus (Disable Device), Toughness, Weapon Focus (unarmed strike) Skills Disable Device +10, Intimidate +8, Perception +6, Sleight of Hand +5, Swim +10 Languages Common, Varisian SQ brawler’s cunning, martial training Other Gear +1 studded leather, burglar’s bracersUE, stolen jewelry worth 150 gp in all, lucky bird’s feet (in fact the feet and tail of the clockwork songbird sought by Vorvashali Voon; see area 44), 25 gp Ghoul Warrens Ghouls are a growing problem in the Sandpoint hinterlands, particularly in Paupers’ Graves (see page87), but a small band of burrowing undead have, over the course of the past several years, infested the ground below Sandpoint’s Boneyard. The ghouls are cunning diggers and, while their tunnels have crisscrossed back and forth, they take care to prevent subsidence and brace the tunnels with timbers and lumber scavenged from coffins and elsewhere. In all, a dozen ghouls dwell in these warrens, led by a ghast named Wolgur Wrabs, who has plans to some day gather up an army of his kind in an attempt to take control of Paupers’ Graves from the one who created him—Jeddiah Kheln. The ghouls burrowed into the catacombs below the church at one point, but now avoid the area, for the dangers within and the lack of food to be found are, together, more than enough to stymie ghoul curiosity. This entrance is the one the PCs will most likely discover into the catacombs, though, as what was once the primary entrance has not been used in thousands of years. Goblin Sanctuary Sandpoint has long had problems with goblins, but after the major raid on town a few years back (known today as the Swallowtail raid), goblins have laid low. The backlash from adventurers on local tribes, particularly on the Thistletop goblins, has cowed the creatures into a relative calm in the immediate vicinity, and while they may attack idle travelers along the Lost Coast Road, no goblins approach within 500 feet of Sandpoint these days, with the exception of a small and secretive group who has found a sanctuary in the smugglers’ tunnels in the center of town. Once a set of storage rooms used by the smugglers, these hidden chambers are now the domain of a tiny group of a half dozen goblins led by an unusually charismatic and forward-thinking goblin named Smink. After seeing the result of a full-on goblin raid, Smink has come to realize that goblins need to adapt and change if they’re going to live in close proximity to humanity. She and her followers moved into this complex soon after the Swallowtail raid, and have been sneaking out at night to lurk in alleys and on rooftops to quietly observe humans, hoping to learn from their society and actions in a way that they’ll one day, hopefully, be able to count

Sandpoint 73 them as friends. Smink knows that day is not here, and that the memories of the Swallowtail raid are still too fresh in many local minds, but if she learns about the PCs, she might approach them at some point to ask their aid in helping her and her five friends to find true sanctuary within Sandpoint. SMINK Female goblin bard 3 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 156) CG Small humanoid (goblinoid) Init +3; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +8 DEFENSE AC 17, touch 14, flat-footed 14 (+3 armor, +3 Dex, +1 size) hp 17 (3d8) Fort +0, Ref +6, Will +7; +4 vs. bardic performance, languagedependent, and sonic OFFENSE Speed 30 ft. Melee mwk dogslicer +3 (1d4–1/19–20) Ranged shortbow +6 (1d4–1/×3) Special Attacks bardic performance 9 rounds/day (countersong, distraction, fascinate [DC 12], inspire competence +2, inspire courage +1) Bard Spells Known (CL 3rd; concentration +4) 1st (4/day)—cure light wounds, grease (DC 12), hideous laughter (DC 12), vanishAPG 0 (at will)—dancing lights, daze (DC 11), flare (DC 11), ghost sound (DC 11), mage hand, open/close (DC 11) STATISTICS Str 8, Dex 16, Con 8, Int 13, Wis 14, Cha 13 Base Atk +2; CMB +0; CMD 13 Feats Iron Will, Stealthy Skills Acrobatics +9, Climb +5, Diplomacy +7, Escape Artist +11, Perception +8, Perform (sing) +7, Ride +7, Stealth +19 Languages Common, Goblin SQ bardic knowledge +1, versatile performance (sing) Combat Gear tanglefoot bag (2); Other Gear +1 leather armor, mwk dogslicer, shortbow, lucky shiny rocks (actually quartz crystals) worth 50 gp in all Hellstorm Catacombs While the chambers below the Old Light were once directly connected to the Hellstorm Flume, another, smaller complex was connected via an underground passage to the standing stones that once served as an external focus for the flume. Those stones have been unwittingly revered by Varisians in the centuries since, and are now integrated into the central courtyard of the Sandpoint Cathedral. The chambers hidden below the cathedral have been discovered by local ghouls, but so far, the priests and acolytes of the cathedral do not suspect the presence of these rooms below. The Hellstorm Catacombs are located 30 feet belowground. Had the foundation of the cathedral’s basement above been dug only a few feet deeper, these hidden chambers would have been discovered. The earth directly below the central courtyard has never been disturbed, and so the hidden shaft below the centermost stone still exists, unknown to the cathedral’s current occupants. The catacombs themselves served as a place for soldiers and wizards in Runelord Alaznist’s employ to stay, and the complex included a small armory and a nondenominational shrine to demon and qlippoth lords. Today, the catacombs are a dangerous place, littered with malfunctioning but still potent traps (averaging at CR 5 in power), several combustedB6 (undead remnants of soldiers who burned to death when the Hellstorm Flume backfired during Earthfall), some construct guardians (including caryatid columnsB3 carved in Alaznist’s likeness and graven guardiansB3 of Abraxas, Haagenti, or Yamasoth), and an agoraphobic advanced brimorak demonB6 named Azereza who thinks she can reactivate the flume if she prays hard enough (unfortunately, she can’t). A tunnel leading west from the catacombs comes to a dead end before long; this route once connected to the Underflume. Its downward-sloping path and direction might suggest a deeper connection to the Old Light if the PCs think about it. In a secret room in the southern part of the complex, some explorers might discover a minor treasury that contains (among other valuables) an ancient piece of Thassilonian parchment that holds instructions for raising and lowering the central stone of the complex above, giving the PCs easy access to the complex from the central chamber. Five red SMINK

74 stone pylons in that chamber bear lingering magic that no longer functions, but if a PC studies the area with detect magic and succeeds at a DC 25 Spellcraft check, he confirms that this chamber could once be used to focus a powerful magical effect originating from an undetermined source—in fact none other than the Hellstorm Flume’s fiery beam. Shroud’s Shrine Shayliss Vinder had always suspected her mother and father were ashamed of her and favored her older sister, Katrine, in all family matters. She increasingly went out of her way to seek their approval and attention, and when being helpful and kind didn’t work, she turned to tactics more scandalous and destructive. But it wasn’t until Katrine was murdered and her father fell into a blind fit of depression that Shayliss felt she knew the truth—with Katrine dead, her parents now considered themselves all but childless. Depressed, frustrated, and mourning, Shayliss found herself contemplating taking her own life on the banks of the Turandarok River late one night when she spotted something strange—an awkward, deformed little man standing on a nearby rock, waving at her. Initially startled, she took a step toward him and he vanished, only to reappear a few rocks away. In this way, the weird little man led Shayliss to a hidden door in the banks of the river that opened into the smugglers’ tunnels. The “little man” was none other than the reincarnated Iremiel in his quickling body, and he led Shayliss, whom he had identified as someone to carry on his Calistrian legacy, to the secret entrance to his long-forgotten temple of Calistria below town. Shayliss was astounded by the discovery and explored several of the rooms within the shrine. When she found Iremiel’s skeleton, still clad in his magic armor and cloak and still clutching his whip, she realized that this was the focus she’d been waiting for. Claiming the dead elf ’s gear as her own, Shayliss began to spend most of her time in the shrine’s chambers, studying its lore and growing more and more inspired by Calistria’s teachings, particularly those of vengeance—for here, Shayliss found the inspiration she needed to find a way to not only avenge her sister’s death, but to make sure none of Sandpoint’s men ignored their wives or daughters ever again. Shayliss now leads a double life. To the people of Sandpoint, she remains Ven and Solsta’s daughter, a quiet girl whose prior wild ways have been muted, people believe, by the shock of her sister’s violent death. Shayliss has taken advantage of the town’s (and her parents’) loss of interest in her to pursue a career of adventuring and exploration, focusing mostly on explorations of the southern Whisperwood rather than local spots where she might be recognized. In this life, she calls herself Shroud and plays the role of a male avenger of Calistria. Recently, Shroud has finally begun his work on Sandpoint, skulking about town after dark, listening at windows, watching and observing. As Shroud, his increasing focus is on men who don’t respect their families, and when he discovers proof that a man has been keeping secrets from his wife or children (whether due to an affair, a hidden stash of money, or any other cause), Shroud drafts up a list of the man’s indiscretions, posts the parchment in a public place (usually in one of the town squares), and then paints his mark on the front door to the house the man lives in. The mark takes the shape of yellow “Y” inscribed within a circle, and a PC who examines this mark and succeeds at a DC 20 Knowledge (religion) check immediately notes similarities in shape to the holy symbol of Calistria. If the PCs get involved in tracking Shroud down, how he reacts to them depends in large part on their intentions. Shroud has a soft spot in his heart for adventurers, particularly women, and he recognizes that the PCs might just be an excellent tool for him to use to help reform Sandpoint. Whether or not the PCs agree that Sandpoint needs reformation as much as Shroud believes remains to be seen. Alternatively, if they cross paths with him, they may soon learn that Shroud can be a dangerous and vexing foe, one who prefers to work from the shadows and undermine reputations and alliances rather than to face a foe in head-on combat. At the very least, if the PCs ally with Shroud, he might ask their aid (if he thinks they’re powerful enough) in investigating the western portion of the shrine. He’s not managed to access these chambers, for the defenses and locks Iremiel left in place are too cunning for Shroud to bypass. Within these chambers lie a few traps (average CR 7), but the primary danger within lies in a long, narrow inner sanctum, the end of which was once a shrine to Norgorber but that Iremiel had partially converted to Calistria’s faith. Over time, a dangerous agent of the god of thieves has been at work slowly undoing Iremiel’s work, and the statue of Calistria he crafted has half transformed into a depiction of Norgorber. This strange entity is a neutral evil egregoreB5 that calls itself Empty Soul. Normally created by the interaction of many psychic minds, Empty Soul was instead created by the Forever Man’s displaced frustration over the loss of a presence in Sandpoint. Appearing as a cloak draped over an invisible human frame, Empty Soul is a slowburning agent of the Reaper of Reputation who, despite its deliberate pace at corrupting the Calistrian shrine,

Sandpoint 75 reacts swiftly and violently to any intrusions into the area by infidels. Left to its own devices for too long, Empty Soul may start its own cult devoted to Norgorber, targeting the Bunyip Club as its first inductees. SHAYLISS VINDER, AKA SHROUD Female/male human vigilante (zealot) 6 (Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Intrigue 9, 62) CN/CG Medium humanoid (human) Init +3; Senses Perception +6 DEFENSE AC 21, touch 13, flat-footed 18 (+7 armor, +3 Dex, +1 shield) hp 42 (6d8+12) Fort +4, Ref +9, Will +7 Defensive Abilities unshakable (+6) OFFENSE Speed 30 ft. Melee Iremiel’s whip +9 (1d3+4 nonlethal) Space 5 ft.; Reach 5 ft. (10 ft. with +1 called whip) Special Attacks startling appearance Vigilante (Zealot) Spells Known (CL 6th; concentration +7) 2nd (3/day)—hold person (DC 13), invisibility, silence (DC 13), spiritual weapon 1st (5/day)—command (DC 12), cure light wounds, disguise self, shield of faith 0 (at will)—brandAPG (DC 11), detect magic, detect poison, disrupt undead, light, stabilize Domain Vengeance inquisitionUM STATISTICS Str 10, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 16 Base Atk +4; CMB +4 (+6 dirty trick); CMD 17 (19 vs. dirty trick) Feats Improved Dirty TrickAPG, Slashing GraceACG, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (whip), Whip Mastery (Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Combat 123) Skills Acrobatics +9, Bluff +10 (+14 when in her social identity), Diplomacy +9, Disguise +3 (+23 to appear as part of polite society while in her social identity), Knowledge (local) +3, Knowledge (religion) +3, Perception +6, Profession (merchant) +5, Sense Motive +7 (+11 when in her social identity), Stealth +8 Languages Common SQ divine retribution, dual identity, inquisition (vengeance inquisitionUM), social grace, social talents (many guisesUI, safe houseUI, social graceUI), vigilante talents (favored maneuverUI, zealot smite 2/day [+0 attack and AC, +6 damage]UI) Combat Gear elixir of hiding, potion of cure moderate wounds, potion of darkvision, potions of pass without trace (5), potions of sanctuary (3); Other Gear Iremiel’s armor, mwk buckler, Iremiel’s whip, cloak of resistance +1, silver holy symbol of Calistria, yellow silk scarf worth 50 gp, 68 gp IREMIEL’S LEGACY When Shayliss discovered Iremiel’s body, she claimed his cloak, his whip, and his armor for her own. The cloak is a typical cloak of protection +1, but the other items are unique. Iremiel’s armor is a suit of armor of the unquenchable fire (see Inner Sea Gods, page 250) made of mithral that is defiantUE against humans, while his whip is a +1 calledUE whip that becomes a +3 called whip when wielded against anyone that its wielder suspects has betrayed him. These three items, along with her yellow silk scarf (worn about her lower face) are what she wears when she adopts her guise as Shroud. SHROUD

76 This chapter presents information on numerous locations spread throughout the Sandpoint hinterlands (see the inside front cover for a map of the hinterlands). While a few of the following locations detail dangers, threats, wonders, and lore to be uncovered within, most are kept relatively short, often with stat blocks for important NPCs or monsters. In most cases, the exact details of a location’s layout, inhabitants, and rewards are only summarized. This allows you to adjust and expand the hinterlands as you see fit to make your Sandpoint campaign your own! RANDOM ENCOUNTERS As the PCs explore, there’s a chance they’ll either stumble across something dangerous. Check for encounters once per day, with an encounter occurring 10% of the time. If an encounter occurs, the chances of it taking place in the morning, afternoon, evening, or late night are equal. Bandits: This group of bandits could simply be looking for a bit of “road tax” (in which case, they’re likely members of the Bunyip Club) or could be more violent criminals. Patrol: This is an encounter with 1d4+1 soldiers mounted on horses. Usually these are members of the Sandpoint Watch, but they could be a patrol of soldiers from Magnimar, a band of mercenaries on their way to or from Sandpoint, and so on. Patrols won’t accost the PCs unless they’re obviously engaged in suspicious activity. Wild Animals: This is an encounter with one or more wild animals, such as coyotes, bears, boars, feral dogs, firepelt cougars (use statistics for a leopard), wolverines, or wolves, or even with harmless creatures like deer, wild horses, or birdlife. Wild animals normally avoid groups— if they attack, there should be a reason (the animal is diseased, perhaps, or maybe wounded, or even trained to violence by a brutal master). Special: A special encounter is just that—something unusual or unique. This could be a chance run-in with a named NPC from Sandpoint out on an errand, an encounter with something strange (a distant dragon’s roar, or a sinister red bird that flies away when spotted, or a set of hoofprints scorched into a rock, for example), or an encounter with a dangerous creature associated with the region in which the encounter takes place. For example, a special encounter in Egan’s Wood could be with a giant spider, an ettercap, or even the Mutterer itself. THE SANDPOINT HINTERLANDS

77 SHALELU ANDOSANA ASHEN RISE The smaller of the two limestone escarpments in the area is Ashen Rise. Unlike Devil’s Platter, Ashen Rise is relatively safe. The only perils explorers are likely to face up here are flocks of stirges or uncommonly aggressive ravens and crows. One significant reason for Ashen Rise’s safety is that it is relatively frequently patrolled by an elf who counts herself as Sandpoint’s unofficial guardian. Shalelu Andosana particularly loathes goblins, and when she’s not relaxing in town or in her comfortable but well-hidden campsite hut near the center of Ashen Rise, she’s on patrol elsewhere in the hinterlands, keeping an eye on the goblin tribes and their activity. If the PCs make a name for themselves, Shalelu seeks them out, hoping to get a read on their goals. She prefers to travel alone, and while she might agree to work with the PCs now and then, a better use for her is to have her “on hand” in case the PCs ever get in over their heads. In this case, you can have Shalelu appear to help out or rescue the party when things look bleak. SHALELU ANDOSANA Female elf fighter 2/ranger 4 CG Medium humanoid (elf) Init +3; Senses low-light vision; Perception +12 DEFENSE AC 19, touch 14, flat-footed 15 (+4 armor, +3 Dex, +1 dodge, +1 natural) hp 53 (6d10+16) Fort +10, Ref +8, Will +3; +2 vs. enchantments, +1 vs. fear Defensive Abilities bravery +1 OFFENSE Speed 30 ft. Melee mwk short sword +8/+3 (1d6+1/19–20) Ranged +1 composite longbow +11/+6 (1d8+1/×3) Special Attacks favored enemy (goblinoids +2) Ranger Spells Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +2) 1st—resist energy STATISTICS Str 12, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 13, Cha 8 Base Atk +6; CMB +7; CMD 21 Feats Dodge, Endurance, Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Skill Focus (Acrobatics), Weapon Focus (composite longbow) Skills Acrobatics +12, Knowledge (nature) +8, Perception +12, Stealth +15, Survival +10, Swim +10 Languages Common, Elven, Goblin SQ elven magic, favored terrain (forest +2), hunter’s bond (companions), track +2, weapon familiarity, wild empathy +3 Combat Gear sleep arrows (10), potion of delay poison, potions of lesser restoration (2), wand of cure light wounds (25 charges), antitoxin (2); Other Gear +1 studded leather, +1 composite longbow with 20 arrows, masterwork short sword, amulet of natural armor +1, campfire beadAPG, cloak of resistance +1, backpack, bedroll, climber’s kit, flint and steel, manacles, silk rope (50 ft.), sunrods (3), trail rations (4 days), waterskin, winter blanket, wooden holy symbol of Desna, 8 pp, 2 gp BISTON’S POND Named after an eccentric Varisian druid who lived here his whole life, this pond gathers at the convergence of Weasel Creek and the larger Turandarok River. Goblins often fish along the eastern shore, and the dilapidated shack that once served as Biston’s home still sits on the western shore, supposedly haunted by the old druid’s spirit. These stories are lent credence by the unusually hostile attitude of the coyotes, wolves, boars, and other wild animals that dwell in the area. The pond itself is relatively shallow and well stocked with trout and freshwater flounders. The stories of Biston’s home being haunted are entirely true. Biston’s ghost lingers in the area, and while he’s unlikely to immediately manifest when a group approaches, his presence can be felt in the way the local wildlife seems particularly hostile. Any wild animals encountered in this area will be much more likely to attack than flee, but they’ll generally start an encounter merely by growling or threatening intruders. Biston himself was well loved by the region’s wildlife, and it is his anguish and despair that are agitating the animals. If Biston’s ghost can be put to rest, the wildlife in the region will revert to normal behavior within a day. When he lived, Biston was something of a misanthrope, and his surly attitude helped to ensure that locals rarely visited him. If the PCs ask around town or if they attempt to recall knowledge they may have heard themselves, a successful DC 20 Diplomacy or Knowledge (local) check reveals that Biston had no friends in town, and that the last time anyone remembers seeing him alive on one of his rare visits to Sandpoint for supplies was 15 years ago. If the check’s result exceeds the target DC by 10, the PC hears or remembers in particular that Biston was eager to track down a magic item called a cauldron of brewingUE. Biston was murdered by one of Sandpoint’s more disreputable merchants—Aliver Podiker. When Biston Sandpoint

78 visited Aliver’s shop and asked for a cauldron of brewing, Aliver told him he had none in stock but that he could order one from Magnimar and have it delivered by the end of the week. Biston paid Aliver in platinum coins on the spot, and in so doing sealed his fate. Aliver figured that a man who paid for wares in platinum might have more wealth stashed away in his remote shack. When the cauldron arrived, Aliver coated it with dragon bile poison, and when he delivered it soon thereafter, Biston was swiftly incapacitated by the poison. Aliver finished the helpless druid off with his dagger and robbed him. Not wanting to arouse suspicion by trying to fence Biston’s very recognizable armor, he cut his losses there, weighed the corpse down with rocks, and sank body and armor alike into the nearby pond before returning home. He kept the cauldron of brewing for himself. Aliver’s crime was nearly perfect, and none suspect him of Biston’s death. But Biston himself remembers, and if the PCs investigate the region, it shouldn’t be long before he manifests before them. When he does so, he howls in rage, his throat slit open with red ectoplasm wafting out of the wound. He doesn’t attack on sight, but instead cries out, “My cauldron! He took my cauldron! The fat alchemist took my cauldron after he took my life!” Biston’s death has left his ghost traumatized and confused, and if the PCs don’t promise within 5 rounds to aid him by looking for his cauldron, he grows impatient and attacks. Depending on how the PCs interact with him, he might give additional clues. If anyone speaks Druidic to the ghost, he suddenly grows calm for a few rounds. His eyes fill with sadness, and he looks at the person who spoke to him in Druidic and says, “It was Podiker who slew me, and it is Podiker who must pay,” and then he fades away; the ghost won’t manifest again for 24 hours, and during that time the local wildlife remains calm. In order to put Biston to rest, the PCs must either bring Podiker to justice for the murder or return the promised cauldron of brewing to Biston’s body, which now lies in the center of the pond. Finding the skeleton in the mud and silt requires a successful DC 25 Perception check while near the center of the pond, where the water is at its deepest (a mere 15 feet deep). Detect magic can aid in this search, for the body still wears Biston’s very recognizable suit of +1 wild leather armor, the front emblazoned with the symbol of the Green Faith. BISTON CR 7 XP 3,200 Male old human ghost ex-druid of the Green Faith 7 CN Medium undead (human, incorporeal) Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +12 DEFENSE AC 13, touch 10, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +2 deflection, –2 Dex) hp 63 (7d8+28) Fort +7, Ref +0, Will +9 Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, incorporeal, rejuvenation; Immune undead traits OFFENSE Speed fly 30 ft. (perfect) Melee corrupting touch +5 (7d6 Fort. DC 15 half) Special Attacks telekinesis (DC 15) STATISTICS Str —, Dex 7, Con —, Int 14, Wis 18, Cha 14 Base Atk +5; CMB +3; CMD 15 Feats Combat Casting, Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Wand, Improved Initiative, Toughness Skills Bluff +9, Craft (alchemy) +12, Disguise +9, Fly +6, Handle Animal +12, Knowledge (nature) +14, Perception +12, Stealth +8, Survival +16 Languages Common, Druidic, Elven, Goblin, Varisian BRINESTUMP MARSH While Brinestump Marsh is a relatively small region, it is fantastically overgrown with vegetation. Given the HINTERLAND ENCOUNTERS Road/ Farmland Forest Swamp Hills/ Escarpment Result Average CR Source 01–10 01–15 — 01–10 Bandits Varies Varies 11–75 16–25 — — Patrol Varies Varies 76–90 26–50 01–20 11–40 Wild animals Varies Varies 91–92 51–65 21–40 41–55 1d6 goblins 1 Bestiary 156 — — 41–45 56–60 1 giant gecko 1 Bestiary 3 186 — — 46–55 61–65 1 goblin snake 1 Bestiary 3 132 — 66–68 56–65 — 1d4 ghouls 3 Bestiary 146 — 69–70 — 66–75 1 ogre 3 Bestiary 220 — 71–76 66–75 — 1d4 goblin dogs 3 Bestiary 157 — 77–80 — 76–80 1 harpy 4 Bestiary 172 — 81 76–80 81 1 will-o’-wisp 6 Bestiary 277 93–100 82–100 81–100 82–100 Special Varies Varies

79 frequent stretches of muddy bogs and snaking waterways, moving through the marsh is a tiring and frustrating process. As a result, it has never been fully explored, and very few of Sandpoint’s locals ever visit the place, apart from some fishers and herbalists who never venture far from New Fish Trail as it winds through the northern portion of the fen. The presence of monsters in the swamp, not the least of which is a tribe of goblins known as the Licktoads, only further wards off idle exploration. The swamp is also home to giant vermin (particularly spiders), reefclaws, and venomous snakes, but its three most notorious denizens are the mysterious Soggy River Monster (a sinspawn that escaped from the catacombs of wrath below Sandpoint), Old Megus the witch (who has been dead for many years), and Vorka (agoblin cannibal much feared by the Licktoads). DEVIL’S PLATTER The western edges of Devil’s Platter are known haunts for the Birdcrunchers—a small tribe of relatively nonaggressive goblins who dwell in numerous caverns along the Platter’s western edge. Deeper in, it’s rumored that the place is controlled by devil-worshiping bugbears who avoid the light of day but emerge at night from caves to light their fires. The bugbears have little interest in cooperating with each other, and in any event, their presence is overshadowed by one of the hinterlands’ most notorious sites: the Pit (see page 88). DRAGON’S PUNCHBOWL This bowl-shaped island is little more than a series of stony ridges surrounding a small lake. Wyverns roost in caves here, and rumors hold that a dragon visits the place once or twice a year for unknown reasons. In fact, until recently, two black dragons lived in the partially flooded caverns accessible from the punchbowl’s lake. The eldest of these is the black dragon Scarhorn, a brutish creature with a missing horn who recently kicked her younger sibling Black Fang out of their lair after a violent argument over treasure hoards. Black Fang settled into a new lair in the Tors only to be slaughtered by adventurers, much to Scarhorn’s amusement. Today, Scarhorn spends much of her time scouring the farther islands of the Varisian Gulf for treasure, particularly in the ruins of Xin-Bakrakhan on the lower slopes of Rivenrake Island, or (thanks to her ability to breathe water) in the depths of the Varisian Gulf. Scarhorn was, of course, not born with the name—her true name is Auhlzodrue, but others have long known her by her missing horn, an old wound she suffered in a fight against a group of dragonslayers who ended up being not quite as successful as those who slew Black Fang. The dragon’s hoard lies in the deepest of these submerged caverns, a chamber that doubles as her den. Heroes who manage to brave her lair’s defenses and defeat the dragon will be well rewarded, for her hoard consists of 60,000 cp, 11,000 sp, 1,300 gp, 500 pp, 10,000gp in assorted art objects and gemstones, a suit of +1 light fortification full plate bearing the Thassilonian symbol of wrath, a +2 bastard sword with a hilt carved to look like two coiled serpents, a shatterspike that glows with red light and bears the name “Bloodglutton” in Varisian, a staff of size alteration with 7 charges, a pair of gloves of swimming and climbing made of kraken hide (when underwater, these gloves grant a +2 bonus to the wearer’s grapple checks made to maintain a grapple), and a single ruby the size of a human eye worth 12,000 gp inside of a silver snuff box (itself worth 50 gp) etched with images of pixies dancing with mushrooms. SCARHORN (AUHLZODRUE) CR 14 XP 38,400 Female old black dragon (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 92) CE Huge dragon (water) Init +4; Senses blindsense 60 ft., darkvision 120 ft., dragon senses; Perception +25 Aura frightful presence (240 ft., DC 25) DEFENSE AC 32, touch 8, flat-footed 32 (+24 natural, –2 size) hp 225 (18d12+108) Fort +17, Ref +11, Will +15 DR 10/magic; Immune acid, paralysis, sleep; SR 25 OFFENSE Speed 60 ft., fly 200 ft. (poor), swim 60 ft. Melee bite +25 (2d8+13/19–20 plus 2d6 acid), 2 claws +25 (2d6+9), 2 wings +20 (1d8+4), tail slap +20 (2d6+13) Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft. Special Attacks acidic bite, breath weapon (100-ft. line, 16d6 acid, Reflex DC 25 for half, usable every 1d4 rounds), crush (2d8+13, DC 25) Spell-Like Abilities (CL 18th; concentration +21) Constant—speak with reptiles At will—darkness, plant growth 1/day—corrupt water Sorcerer Spells Known (CL 7th; concentration +10) 3rd (5)—beast shape I, dispel magic 2nd (7)—alter self, command undead (DC 15), locate object 1st (7)—alarm, charm person (DC 14), comprehend languages, shield, true strike 0 (at will)—dancing lights, detect magic, ghost sound (DC 13), mage hand, mending, prestidigitation, read magic STATISTICS Str 29, Dex 10, Con 23, Int 16, Wis 19, Cha 16 Base Atk +18; CMB +29; CMD 39 (43 vs. trip) Feats Combat Expertise, Critical Focus, Flyby Attack, Improved Critical (bite), Improved Initiative, Improved Vital Strike, Power Attack, Sickening Critical, Vital Strike Skills Appraise +24, Fly +13, Intimidate +24, Knowledge Sandpoint

80 SCARHORN (arcana) +24, Knowledge (geography) +21, Linguistics +9, Perception +25, Spellcraft +24, Stealth +13, Swim +38 Languages Aklo, Aquan, Common, Draconic, Giant, Thassilonian, Varisian SQ swamp stride, water breathing EGAN’S WOOD This small copse of trees grows along the lee of Ashen Rise, a thick tangle of pine trees once owned by a local eccentric named Egan who forbade any clearing of the land for farming. Although Egan died long ago, the giant spiders that infest his woods remain very much alive. The woods today are reputed to be the haunt of a mysterious monster that many of Sandpoint’s parents use to keep their children in line. Known as the Mutterer, this creature has grown in fame over the past 5 years, after a group of adventurers attempted to search for Egan’s (nonexistent) buried treasure. Only one adventurer survived, and his wild-eyed stories of being lost in the woods took hold in Sandpoint’s heart: While chasing the group, something muttered half-heard phrases of hunger as it snatched his fellow party members into the canopy above via cunningly placed nooses and traps. The adventurer has long since recovered from the ordeal and left Varisia entirely, while the Mutterer still lives within the forest. The creature is a particularly vocal ettercap whose talents at stalking prey and setting traps have more than earned him his reputation. Characters who search the woods might even find the Mutterer’s den, a horrific place where all of those he’s captured have been strung up like marionettes from lines of spider silk. Many of these bodies still clutch bits of gear and treasure that, if the PCs can survive the Mutterer’s attentions and those of the spiders he commands, could be well worth the risk. Among these treasures is a Tiny +2 cold iron returning dagger, clutched by an unfortunate thief ’s dead hands—this dagger was stolen from Savah’s Armory (see page 20), and she’ll reward well for its return. Today, some parents have taken to disciplining disobedient children with creepy bedtime rhymes about the Mutterer. The following morbid rhyme is among the more commonly repeated verses about this local fright. The Mutterer is on the roof, can’t you hear his groans? The Mutterer is in the walls, he wants to eat your bones! The Mutterer is in your room, he’ll be there through the night, The Mutterer is ’neath your bed, and soon you’ll feel his bite! So mind your mum and dad, young one: stay quiet as amouse, Or else they’ll leave the front door wide and let him in thehouse! THE MUTTERER CR 5 XP 1,600 Male ettercap rogue 2 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 129) NE Medium aberration Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +10 DEFENSE AC 17, touch 15, flat-footed 12 (+4 Dex, +1 dodge, +2 natural) hp 53 (6 HD; 4d8+2d8+26) Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +5 Defensive Abilities evasion

81 OFFENSE Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft. Melee bite +8 (1d6+4 plus poison), 2 claws +8 (1d4+4) Special Attacks sneak attack +1d6, poison (DC 16), traps, web (+8 ranged, DC 16, 4 hp) STATISTICS Str 18, Dex 19, Con 19, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 8 Base Atk +4; CMB +8; CMD 23 Feats Dodge, Improved Initiative, Skill Focus (Stealth) Skills Acrobatics +13, Appraise +7, Climb +21, Craft (traps) +15, Perception +10, Stealth +16 Languages Common SQ rogue talents (fast stealth), trapfinding +1 FARMLANDS The farmlands south of Sandpoint are relatively safe, but farmers are always getting into trouble with local wildlife or various local dangers—particularly goblins or mites. The hinterlands’ newest group of bandits has taken up residence in an abandoned farmhouse located on the southeasternmost fringe of the farmlands. This group formed when Kaye Tesarani, madam of the Pixie’s Kitten (see page 52), learned that a bouncer she employed at her brothel, a foul but charismatic man named Ludrik, had poisoned the thoughts of the other guards. All three men were already bitter exiles from the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, and Ludrik played upon his kin’s insecurities. When Kaye recently discovered that Ludrik had been growing more inappropriate and aggressive with the men and women who worked at the Kitten, she fired all four of the barbarians. Ludrik was about to start a fight when Kaye used her wand of scare to rattle the barbarians, so they opted instead to flee town. Ludrik and his kin haven’t yet made a move against Sandpoint or traffic on the Lost Coast Road, but they’ll do so soon. In the meantime, they’ve been hunting, tattooing their backs with grisly and crude images of exposed ribs, and plotting their revenge on not just the Pixie’s Kitten, but everyone in Sandpoint for various imagined slights to their fragile egos. The three barbarians who work for Ludrik are all 3rd level; Ludrik himself is detailed below. LUDRIK CR 4 XP 1,200 Male human barbarian (savage barbarianAPG) 5 CE Medium humanoid (human) Init +4; Senses Perception +7 DEFENSE AC 16, touch 16, flat-footed 10 (+4 Dex, +2 dodge) hp 48 (5d12+10) Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +2; +1 morale bonus vs. fear Defensive Abilities improved uncanny dodge, naked courage +1 OFFENSE Speed 40 ft. Melee +1 greatsword +8 (2d6+4/19–20) Special Attacks rage (13 rounds/day), rage powers (powerful blow +2, swift foot +5 ft.) STATISTICS Str 14, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 8, Cha 13 Base Atk +5; CMB +7; CMD 23 Feats Dodge, Intimidating Prowess, Iron Will, Power Attack Skills Acrobatics +4 (+8 to jump), Bluff +6, Intimidate +11, Perception +7, Stealth +9, Survival +7 Languages Common SQ fast movement Combat Gear potion of barkskin +2 (3), potion of cure light wounds (3), potion of enlarge person; Other Gear +1 greatsword, 4 pp, 10 gp FOXGLOVE BLUFF This bluff has held an old seaside manor house named Foxglove Manor since it was built in 4624 ar, but a series of tragedies saw the place abandoned for many years. Known today as “The Misgivings,” the place is reputedly haunted. The decrepit manor was recently explored by a group of heroes not long after the Swallowtail raid, during which they tracked down and cornered a ghast named the Skinsaw Man who had been plaguing the region. Since then, the house has been quiet—the heroes claim to have exorcised the unquiet spirits that once dwelled within, and ownership of the house has reverted to Magnimar, as no heir has been located to inherit the estate. Over the years, Magnimar has repeatedly lowered the asking price for the house, but no one wants to buy the place; it’s currently on the block for a mere 2,000 gp. (If the PCs purchase the building, whether the manor remains haunted is left to you to decide.) GRUBBER’S HERMITAGE A notorious generator of shipwrecks, Grubber’s Hermitage is a small, isolated island containing a thorp of a dozen fishing families—insular folk that generally don’t welcome visitors. Sandpoint citizens theorize that lepers, ghosts, or worse infest the island, but in fact, the people of Grubber’s Hermitage have been enslaved by a supernatural and deadly entity known as the Red Bishop, a mothman cleric of Pazuzu. The Red Bishop played a key role in the corruption of Jervis Stoot into a maniacal serial killer, but this was only the first of several manipulations of events in the region toward a devastating endgame—a massive loss of life the Red Bishop hopes will be enough to attract the attentions of the demon Uvaglor and transform the depths of the Pit, where Uvaglor was conceived eons ago, into a rift between this world and that demon’s realm in the Abyss. The slaughter and subjugation of Grubber’s Hermitage is but his latest atrocity. Sandpoint

82 Adventurers play a specific and special role in the Red Bishop’s plan, for the years of pain and suffering he has engineered in the region are only part of what he needs to open the depths of the Pit to Uvaglor’s realm. Before the Pit can become the portal the Red Bishop hopes to see opened, a potent ward left in the depths by Sazzleru, an ancient priestess of the empyreal lord Ashava, must be destroyed. Much to the Red Bishop’s frustration, wards prevent him or other forces of evil from doing so—only the acts of a group of nonevil and powerful mortals can undo Sazzleru’s ancient work. And so the Red Bishop hopes to cultivate a group of “heroes” in the region by encouraging and fostering mayhem. Once the Red Bishop feels the PCs are powerful enough, he appears before the group and informs them that they are his “children.” After all, it was because of the terrors he has fostered that the PCs gained experience and grew powerful. He likens himself to the party’s muse, their parents, and even their gods, and informs them that now they have grown powerful enough to withstand the terrors deep in the Pit. There they will find a powerful ward left by a long-dead priestess. If the PCs can destroy it, the Red Bishop promises that he and all of those who serve him will leave Sandpoint forever. If the PCs refuse, he informs them that he’ll raze the town to the bedrock— and will ensure that all who perish in this devastation know it was the heroes’ refusal to comply that brought this doom. Of course, if the PCs do as the Red Bishop desires, they’ll aid the demon Uvaglor by transforming the pit into a portal to his realm. True to his word, the RedBishop and his followers will leave Sandpoint alone, but those who serve Uvaglor will bring more ruin to the Lost Coast than a mere priest of Pazuzu ever could on his own. RED BISHOP CR 15 XP 51,200 Male mothman cleric of Pazuzu 11 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 194) CN Medium monstrous humanoid Init +11; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +28 DEFENSE AC 30, touch 18, flat-footed 22 (+6 armor, +7 Dex, +1 dodge, +6 natural) hp 229 (20 HD; 11d8+9d10+131) Fort +16, Ref +16, Will +23 Resist electricity 10; SR 17 OFFENSE Speed 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (good) Melee +3 unholy longsword +21/+16/+11/+6 (1d8+3/19–20 plus 2d6 vs. good) or 2 claws +19 (1d6) Special Attacks channel negative energy 9/day (DC 21, 6d6), mind-warping gaze Mothman Spell-Like Abilities (CL 12th; concentration +18) Constant—blur At will—detect thoughts (DC 18), ghost sound (DC 16), misdirection 3/day—greater invisibility, major image (DC 19), modify memory (DC 20), nightmare (DC 21), phantasmal killer (DC 20), shadow walk (DC 21), suggestion (DC 19) 1/day—agent of fate, false vision, mind fog (DC 21), mislead, project image (DC 22) Cleric Spell-Like Abilities (CL 11th; concentration +21) At will—master’s illusion (11 rounds/day) 13/day—copycat (11 rounds), lightning arc (1d6+5 electricity) Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 11th; concentration +21) 6th—chain lightningD (DC 26), geas/quest, heal, plague stormUM (DC 26) 5th—breath of life (DC 25), charnel houseHA (DC 25), false visionD, mark of justice, plane shift (DC 25) 4th—chaos hammer (DC 24), confusionD (DC 24), cure critical wounds (2), curse terrainHA, sending 3rd—cure serious wounds (2), dispel magic (2), gaseous formD, magic circle against good, speak with dead (DC 23) 2nd—cure moderate wounds (3), darkness, death knell (DC 22), hold person (DC 22), invisibilityD, silence (DC 22) 1st—cure light wounds (4), deathwatch, doom (DC 21), obscuring mistD, sanctuary (DC 21) 0 (at will)—bleed (DC 20), detect magic, light, mending D Domain spell; Domains Air, Trickery STATISTICS Str 10, Dex 24, Con 22, Int 17, Wis 30, Cha 22 Base Atk +17; CMB +24; CMD 35 Feats Agile Maneuvers, Blind-fight, Combat Expertise, Demonic Obedience, Dodge, Flyby Attack, Improved Initiative, Selective Channeling, Weapon Finesse, Weapon Focus (longsword) Skills Fly +28, Intimidate +19, Knowledge (engineering) +13, Knowledge (local) +13, Knowledge (planes) +16, Knowledge (religion) +16, Perception +28, Sense Motive +23, Spellcraft +26, Stealth +19 Languages Common, Sylvan, Undercommon (can’t speak); telepathy 100 ft. SQ change shape (red gull or hawk, beast shape II), chosen of Pazuzu, possession, true temptation Combat Gear ring of delayed doomAPG; Other Gear +3 unholy longsword, belt of physical might +2 (Dex, Con), bracers of armor +6, headband of inspired wisdom +6 SPECIAL ABILITIES Chosen of Pazuzu (Ex) As one of the chosen priests of Pazuzu, the Red Bishop carries a large amount of potent gear—his CR has been increased by 1 as a result. He can also change shape at will to assume the form of a red gull or hawk.

83 HABE’S SANATORIUM A wealthy alienist named Erin Habe owns and runs this three-story brick hospice, more properly known as the Saintly Haven of Respite. Recently, Erin fell under the influence of a smoothtalking necromancer, but when heroes brought the necromancer to justice, Erin repented and swore to keep his sanatorium focused on healing rather than taking advantage of its occupants. So far, he’s kept his word, and his patients today are well cared for. A recent arrival at the sanatorium is a particularly vexing young woman named Auberta Korantai (N female human ranger 3) who claims to hear voices whispering among the trees and swaying grass in the wind. Habe is particularly intrigued by Auberta’s claims, since they seem to match certain accounts of explorers in Sandpoint’s early days who sought the headwaters of the Turandarok River—the same region in which Auberta claims to have been lost for a month before staggering into town with her strange stories. Erin has come to believe that something strange does dwell far upriver, but he hasn’t the time to get away from his responsibilities here to investigate. In the meantime, he’s done his best to make Auberta comfortable. Whenever she gets too worked up, Erin calms her nerves by allowing the woman to fiddle with a strange little wind-up mechanism that makes muted, discordant tunes that soothe Auberta’s fears. A PC who sees this device and succeeds at a DC 20 Knowledge (arcana) check recognizes it as a winding mechanism for a small clockwork creature—it is, in truth, the winding core for the clockwork songbird that Vorvashali Voon seeks (see The Feathered Serpent on page 53). Erin isn’t eager to give the device to the PCs, claiming he found it for sale in a streetside booth in Magnimar years ago and bought it on a lark. If the PCs speak to Auberta, they’ll need to wait for one of the woman’s rare moments of lucidity. One day, she and her friend Aylen Rass decided to hike the Turandarok River and seek its headwaters. Auberta has no memories of the hike today—all she remembers after she and Aylen set out is staggering into Sandpoint many days later, covered with tiny little bloody wounds, clutching Aylen’s bloody shirt to her chest, and shrieking about the “faceless one behind the fog.” She grows distraught if anyone attempts to question her further, lapsing back into a semicatatonic state, mumbling short prayers to Desna over and over to keep her safe from the whispers in the blowing grass and rustling branches. Auberta is suffering from a combination of amnesia and schizophrenia brought on by her harrowing ordeal. If the PCs can cure her (this requires greater restoration or similar magic) or if they merely provide Erin with any commonplace wind-up musical toy (such as one of the pocket-sized music boxes for sale at the Feathered Serpent) Erin gives them the clockwork winding mechanism for free in gratitude. Even if cured, though, Auberta has no memories of what happened up the river. ERIN HABE Male human expert 4 LN Medium humanoid Init +1; Senses Perception +6 DEFENSE AC 13, touch 11, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor, +1 Dex) hp 25 (4d8+4) Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +5 OFFENSE Speed 30 ft. Melee mwk dagger +5 (1d4+1/19–20) STATISTICS Str 12, Dex 12, Con 10, Int 15, Wis 9, Cha 8 Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 15 Feats Iron Will, Skill Focus (Bluff), Skill Focus (Sense Motive) Skills Bluff +9, Craft (tailor) +9, Diplomacy +6, Heal +6, Knowledge (local) +9, Perception +6, Profession (alienist) +6, Sense Motive +9, Sleight of Hand +8 Languages Common, Shoanti, Varisian Combat Gear potions of cure light wounds (2); Other Gear +1 padded armor, masterwork dagger, masterwork manacles Sandpoint RED BISHOP

84 HAG’S PLUMMET Old Varisian tales recount the tragic tale of young Bevanaka, who found a gray hair on her scalp and sought out an old witch for an elixir of beauty. The witch gave her the potion, but warned her that the effects would last only as long as she didn’t fall in love. For many years, Bevanaka lived as a lonely but beautiful woman, until the day her loneliness grew too great and she fell in love with a young man. Bevanaka grew old in the blink of an eye but hoped her true love would still love her. Alas, she was wrong. Horrified by her sudden aging, the young man spurned her. In a fit of despair, Bevanaka threw herself from the cliffs that became known as Hag’s Plummet. Since then, these cliffs have been a popular place both for young lovers to sneak away and profess their love as well as for suicides. Today, a group of smugglers led by an illusionist named Marley Jekkers has taken up residence in the sea caves below Hag’s Plummet. Marley has taken on Bevanaka’s name, claiming to be the vengeful woman reincarnated into a new body. Marley’s smugglers have allied themselves with the Bunyip Club, but their relations have grown strained, and Bunyip Club leader Jubrayl Vhiski might just hire the PCs to head out to Hag’s Plummet to do what they can to convince Marley to move on from the region (see Bunyip Club Hideout on page 70). MARLEY “BEVANAKA” JEKKERS Female human illusionist 5 NE Medium humanoid (human) Init +2; Senses Perception –1 DEFENSE AC 16, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+4 armor, +2 Dex) hp 30 (5d6+10) Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +5 OFFENSE Speed 30 ft. Melee mwk dagger +3 (1d4/19–20) Illusionist Spell-Like Abilities (CL 5th; concentration +8) 6/day—blinding ray Illusionist Spells Prepared (CL 5th; concentration +8) 3rd—illusory script (DC 17), major image (DC 17), suggestion (DC 16) 2nd—acid arrow, invisibility (2), mirror image 1st—alarm, charm person (DC 14), color spray (DC 15), disguise self, mage armor 0 (at will)—acid splash, detect magic, ghost sound (DC 14), message Opposition Schools evocation, necromancy STATISTICS Str 10, Dex 14, Con 12, Int 17, Wis 8, Cha 14 Base Atk +2; CMB +2; CMD 14 Feats Combat Casting, Craft Wand, Iron Will, Scribe Scroll, Spell Focus (illusion), Toughness Skills Appraise +8, Bluff +7, Disable Device +7, Disguise +7, Knowledge (arcana) +8, Knowledge (local) +11, Linguistics +7, Profession (sailor) +7, Swim +5 Languages Aquan, Common, Goblin, Halfling, Shoanti, Varisian SQ arcane bond (dagger), extended illusions (+2 rounds) Combat Gear wand of displacement (10 charges), wand of magic missile (CL 5th, 22 charges), wand of silent image (27 charges); Other Gear dagger, lead-based ink for illusory script (3 at 50 gp each), 146 gp THE MOORS The moors that stretch through much of the hinterlands consist of poor-quality soil and stony ground. The northernmost of these is Ashen Moor, a stretch of low-lying land that slopes gradually to the west toward Hag’s Plummet. On the far side of Brinestump Marsh from Ashen Moor lies Bleaklow Moor, a higher-altitude swath of land said to be infested by ghouls below its barren expanse. Whisperwood Moor, the largest of the three moors, lies to the southeast and is often shrouded in fog well into the day. Goblin dogs, wolves, worgs, and worse hunt here, often coming north to prey on the livestock of outlying farmlands. MOSSWOOD Mosswood’s trees tend to be redwoods and pines, resulting in much more open forest floor than in undergrowth-heavy Nettlewood to the north. Mosswood’s primary inhabitants are goblins. These goblins are not a single tribe but a loose collection of extended goblin families who comprise the largest grouping of goblins in the Sandpoint hinterlands. Currently, the Mosswood goblins consist of 34 different families of various sizes. The smallest number only a few goblins (with the Slugtongues being the smallest of the small) up to the largest tribe: the notorious Gugmuts. Led by Big Gugmut himself, an unusually tall and muscular goblin who claims to have had a hobgoblin for a mother and a wild boar for a father, the Gugmut family MARLEY JEKKERS

85 ISSANDRA numbers nearly three dozen. Of course, only about a quarter of the Gugmuts are actually related to Big Gugmut, with the others consisting of other goblins “adopted” into the tribe after a rather grueling indoctrination ceremony involving blindfolded wild animals, bags of bees, clothing made from thorny vines, and special mushrooms cooked into rancid stew. Between the Slugtongues and the Gugmuts, the other Mosswood tribes bicker and vie among each other for power and territory. New families rise and old ones fall with some regularity, but among the Mosswoods stand a few stalwart clans that have endured for years. The Gugmuts are the most prominent, but others, like the infamous Bloodfangs, exist as well. One region of Mosswood is known as Hungry Hollow. The carnivorous plants that grow within this long and moist stretch in northeastern Mosswood are notorious among the goblins, for it is a place that, despite their better judgment, they have a hard time ignoring. All manner of meat-eating plant life dwells in this not-quite-swamp, including ravenous slime moldsB2, shambling mounds, giant sundewsB6 that exude the scent of rotting fish and pickles (a scent most goblins can’t resist), and immense crypt flowersB6. Deeper in the wood lie the Lost Tors, densely forested hills the goblins of Mosswood prefer to avoid. On certain nights when the fog is light and the moon dark, fires can be spied burning atop the lower of these tors, and figures capering and dancing atop them lend credence to goblin tales that werewolves dwell in the region. The true source of danger in the Lost Tors comes from the elven witchpriest Issandra. She tends a small shrine devoted to the worship of Lamashtu under one of the tallest of the Lost Tors. The witchpriest prefers to come and go via a portal in the shrine that links its inner sanctum to a distant shrine in Katapesh, where Issandra is all but worshiped by a slavering tribe of gnolls. Periodically, she brings groups of gnolls to the region to aid her in rituals (and it is these creatures, not werewolves, whose hilltop fires have worried goblins), but for now she’s merely keeping an eye on the region. She knows that the Red Bishop seeks to open a portal in the Pit to Uvaglor’s realm (see Grubber’s Hermitage on page 81), and if she determines the mothman is nearing his goal, she might step in to contact the PCs herself, explaining that, in this case, the enemy of an enemy is an ally. She has no desire to see proof of her goddess’s ancient dalliance with a base creature like Pazuzu gain footing in this world once again, and while she’s an evil sadist, her help might just be what a group desperate to oppose the Red Bishop’s machinations might need. ISSANDRA CR 14 XP 38,400 Female elf ranger 5/witch 10 (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player’s Guide 65) CE Medium humanoid (elf) Init +5; Senses low-light vision; Perception +22 DEFENSE AC 27, touch 17, flat-footed 21 (+7 armor, +1 deflection, +5 Dex, +1 dodge, +3 natural) hp 177 (15 HD; 5d10+10d6+110) Fort +12, Ref +12, Will +10; ; +2 vs. enchantments Defensive Abilities freedom of movement; Immune sleep OFFENSE Speed 30 ft. Melee +2 human bane khopesh +16/+16/+11 (1d8+11/18–20), +1 human bane light mace +15 (1d6+8) Special Attacks favored enemy (elves +2, humans +4), hexes (agony [10 rounds], blight [100 feet], charm [2 steps, 3 rounds], disguise [10 hours], flight [feather fall at will, levitate 1/day, fly 10 minutes/day], healing [cure moderate wounds]) Ranger Spells Prepared (CL 2nd; concentration +4) 1st—alarm, resist energy Witch Spells Prepared (CL 10th; concentration +13) 5th—baleful polymorph (DC 18), feeblemind (DC 18) 4th—black tentacles, divine power, dimension door 3rd—dispel magic, greater magic weapon, lightning bolt (DC 16), waters of Lamashtu (Pathfinder RPG Book of the Damned 186) 2nd—bull’s strength, cure moderate wounds, death knell (DC 15), hold person (DC 15), web (DC 15) 1st—command (DC 14), cure light wounds (2), ray of enfeeblement (DC 14), unseen servant 0 (at will)—bleed (DC 13), detect magic, message, touch of fatigue (DC 13) Patron strength STATISTICS Str 16, Dex 20, Con 20, Int 17, Wis 14, Cha 8 Base Atk +10; CMB +13; CMD 30 Feats Arcane Strike, Combat Expertise, Craft Magic Arms and Armor, Craft Wondrous Item, Dodge, Endurance, Exotic Weapon Proficiency (khopesh), Improved Familiar, Toughness, Two-Weapon Fighting Skills Disguise +14, Fly +23, Knowledge (arcana) +16, Knowledge (local) +13, Knowledge (religion) +18, Perception +22, Spellcraft +21, Swim +7 Sandpoint

86 Languages Abyssal, Common, Elven, Goblin, Varisian, SQ blessed by Lamashtu, elven magic, favored terrain (underground +2), hunter’s bond (companions), track +2, weapon familiarity, wild empathy +4, witch’s familiar (quasit named Yrogmak) Gear +3 glamered mithral chain shirt, +2 human bane khopesh, +1 human bane light mace, amulet of natural armor +3, belt of physical might +4 (Dex, Con), ring of protection +1, bone unholy symbol of Lamashtu SPECIAL ABILITIES Blessed by Lamashtu (Ex) Issandra has received a permanent +2 inherent bonus to her Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution as a result of her overindulgence of the waters of Lamashtu. NETTLEWOOD North of Mosswood lies Nettlewood, a frustratingly tangled forest whose heavy undergrowth is often host to dense patches of stinging nettles. Whereas the trees of Mosswood grow tall and stately, those north of the Lost Coast Road in Nettlewood are lower and share much of their growing space with snarls of nettles and thorny underbrush. Nettlewood’s dense undergrowth makes it one of the least explored regions in the Sandpoint hinterlands. Two locations of note in Nettlewood are actually sites found along the densely forested cliffs that overlook the Varisian Gulf—Thistletop and Tiruvinn’s Lair. Thistletop Once, during the height of Thassilon, several immense statues of Runelord Karzoug stood sentinel along his nation’s border. Today, these statues have all collapsed. One of the statue’s immense fallen heads came to rest here at the edge of Nettlewood. Visible from the sea but difficult to approach due to the treacherous rocks and reefs that run just offshore of the Lost Coast for many miles north of Sandpoint, the strange landmark known as Thistletop has long been the domain of a particularly violent tribe of goblins, the same tribe responsible (with the able aid of a bitter outcast named Nualia) for the devastating Swallowtail raid. The original Thistletop goblins were wiped out by heroes in response to that raid, leaving the site abandoned. Many other goblin tribes eagerly tried to settle in the location, as the dungeon and stockade on its crown were considered prime real estate for their kind, but time and time again, strange occurrences and spooky hauntings drove the goblins out. The source of these hauntings is none other than the unquiet spirit of Chief Ripnugget. Once the leader of the Thistletop goblins, Ripnugget was slaughtered by adventurers, yet he did not rest in death. In time, the goblin rose from the dead as a graveknight, fueled by latent abyssal energies left behind from the potent burnt offerings and sinister rituals his onetime ally Nualia performed within Thistletop’s underground shrine. As a graveknight, Ripnugget spent several years venting his rage in those dungeons, rising up from below to periodically butcher or at least scare off any goblins who dared settle above. But now Ripnugget’s wrath has cooled enough that he can finally turn his attentions outward once again. After a trip to Paupers’ Graves, where he seized control of a few ghouls, Ripnugget has slowly started to build his tribe again, using those ghouls to infect captured goblins. When these slavering minions succumb to ghoul fever, they rise even more ravenous than they were in life. Ripnugget is nearing the time when his goblin ghoul tribe is powerful enough that he feels confident on marching on Sandpoint once again— and this time he won’t stay home, he’ll lead the charge! RIPNUGGET CR 6 XP 2,400 Male goblin graveknight fighter 5 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 156, Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 3 138) NE Small undead Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +9 Aura sacrilegious aura (30 ft., DC 15) DEFENSE AC 24, touch 13, flat-footed 22 (+7 armor, +2 Dex, +4 natural, +1 size) hp 67 (5d10+35) Fort +9, Ref +5, Will +6 (+1 vs. fear) Defensive Abilities channel resistance +4, rejuvenation; DR 10/magic; Immune cold, electricity, fire, undead traits; SR 17 OFFENSE Speed 30 ft. Melee +1 dogslicer +15 (1d4+10/19–20 plus 1d6 fire) or slam +7 (1d3+4) Special Attacks channel destruction (1d6 fire), devastating blast (2d6 fire, DC 15, 3/day), undead mastery (25 HD, DC 15), weapon training (light blades +1) STATISTICS Str 18, Dex 14, Con —, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 17 Base Atk +5; CMB +8; CMD 20 Feats Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Mounted Combat, RideBy Attack, Spirited Charge, Toughness, Weapon Focus (dogslicer), Weapon Specialization (dogslicer) Skills Handle Animal +11, Heal +6, Intimidate +11, Perception +9, Ride +20, Stealth +16; Racial Modifiers +4 Ride, +4 Stealth Languages Abyssal, Common, Goblin SQ armor training 1, graveknight armor, phantom mount, ruinous revivification (fire) Other Gear +1 breastplate, +1 dogslicer (Pathfinder RPG Advanced Race Guide 118)

87 RIPNUGGET Tiruvinn’s Lair The black dragon Scarhorn is not the only dragon of note to dwell in the Sandpoint hinterlands, but if anything, the bronze dragon Tiruvinn is even more reclusive and secretive. Dwelling in a sea cave with no aboveground entrances, the underwater mouth of which lies below the cliffs at the northernmost edge of Nettlewood, Tiruvinn once engaged with the Varisian travelers more often than he does today. With the encroachment of civilization, particularly as represented by Sandpoint, Tiruvinn has taken pains to keep to the shadows. He knows of Scarhorn and suspects that, in time, the black dragon won’t be able to resist raiding Sandpoint, and it’s against such an event that Tiruvinn is waiting to reveal himself. In the meantime, he now and then makes contact with adventurers or other strange locals who catch his eye or attract his attention. Only one of Sandpoint’s citizens knows the truth about the dragon—Ameiko Kaijitsu, who met the dragon in his human form early in her adventuring career and impressed him by seeing through his disguise. The two became friends, and while they don’t often spend time together, Tiruvinn remains secretly amused and proud that his friend named her tavern after him, after a fashion. TIRUVINN CR 13 XP 25,600 Male adult bronze dragon (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 104) hp 184 PAUPERS’ GRAVES After Sandpoint was founded, many poor and desperate laborers from Magnimar came north to help build the town, following a promise that those who helped build would never want for a home. But raising a town from nothing on the Lost Coast was a dangerous prospect. Disease, accidents, poor judgment, and attacks by creatures both mundane and otherwise saw many deaths during those early years, and for several of those years, Sandpoint didn’t have a great solution for its dead. Those with coin could pay to have their bodies transported 50miles back south to be buried in Magnimar’s Cenotaph or other graveyards, but the poor and indignant who helped build the town had no such luxuries. Burial in unsanctified ground being a poor option at best for many of these superstitious folk, their best option was the small Varisian graveyard a mere 3-1/2 mile walk east from Sandpoint. The local Varisians welcomed the new dead into their graveyard, for to them (a few unfortunate rough false starts with some of the less tolerant settlers aside), the new townsfolk had quickly become friends. Moreover, the graveyard was certainly large enough to serve the town. As more and more of Sandpoint’s common folk came to make their final home there, the place became known by the name it is called today—Paupers’ Graves. With the consecration of the first Sandpoint Chapel and its attendant (and much more conveniently located) cemetery, Paupers’ Graves grew less and less used. With townsfolk increasingly electing to be buried closer to home, those who went to Paupers’ Graves were increasingly those whose bodies no one cared for or cared to remember. The homeless, the unfortunate, and the truly desperate became the true heritors of the graveyard. And after the priest of the Sandpoint Chapel opened the Sandpoint Boneyard to all, regardless of financial situation, even these doubtless dead dried up. For the next few years, Paupers’ Graves grew more and more abandoned and overgrown. Undergrowthencroached Sandpoint

88 and unscrupulous folk increasingly snatched stones from the graveyard walls for foundations under cover of night. But it wasn’t until after Jediah Kheln came to town that Paupers’ Graves truly died. Freshly broke after losing his wealth to treacherous kin and forced to flee Magnimar after a heist went horribly wrong, Jediah Kheln hoped to use Sandpoint as a base of operations to rebuild his wealth so as to someday return to Magnimar and get revenge on those who betrayed him. It was then that a strange and foul-smelling man came to Jediah, early one morning an hour before dawn. The man spoke of a graveyard a few miles east of town that held within its overgrown grounds a crumbling statue of a Varisian dancer. No one visited the graveyard anymore, according to the strange man, and so no one would miss the theft of the silver medallion hidden within a secret compartment in the statue’s chest. Desperation and greed compelled Kheln into accepting the challenge, and he set out for Paupers’ Graves that very evening. At the graveyard’s heart he found the statue, a depiction (unknown to him) of the empyreal lord Ashava, and hidden in her bosom he found the silver medallion—a potent charm that had, for centuries, warded the graveyard from the fell attentions of all manner of evil spirits. Kheln knew none of this, of course, and in removing the charm from the statue, he removed the graveyard’s protections. As he exited the graveyard, visions of handfuls of gold dancing in his head, the strange man met him, stepping out of the shadows with that strangely fluid chuckle. He pulled back his hood to reveal to Kheln the truth—the man was a ghast. Kheln attempted to flee, but the ghast leaped upon him and bit him in the throat—enough to paralyze and infect him with ghoul fever, but not enough to kill him. As Kheln lay helpless in the dirt, the ghast introduced himself as Kanker, priest of the demon lord of graves, Kabriri, and he thanked Kheln for doing what he could not—disarming the graveyard’s protection. Kheln’s payment, Kanker explained as he casually kicked the now-useless silver medallion over the side of the cliff into the surf below, was eternal life as a ghoul. Paupers’ Graves Today Since the fateful day when Jediah Kheln removed its magical protection, Paupers’ Graves has done more than slide into anonymity: it has become the focus of numerous whispers and fireside tales. Today, people say that Paupers’ Graves is no place for living souls, and travelers hold their breath as they hurry past the tangled, forsaken cemetery. By day, the graveyard is foreboding enough, but at night, as the cold fogs drift in from the Varisian Gulf, strange laughter and ominous rustlings echo from the not-so-abandoned graveyard. Those few who visit Paupers’ Graves do so for sinister gain, for the place has developed something of a reputation as being a place of power for dark rituals and vile ceremonies, yet even the idle cultist who comes to the graves hesitates to linger long after dark. Locals fear that someday soon, a more powerful cult might find a way to forge a terrible and lasting alliance with the ghouls they say dwell in Paupers’ Graves, but they don’t realize just how infested the place has become. No bodies remain today in Paupers’ Graves, and the ground below is a warren of ghoulish activity ruled by the man who brought undeath to the place; Jediah Kheln has, at long last, found a place to call home. JEDIAH KHELN CR 6 XP 2,400 Male ghoul rogue 5 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 146) CE Medium undead Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +13 DEFENSE AC 19, touch 14, flat-footed 15 (+2 armor, +3 Dex, +1 dodge, +3 natural) hp 64 (7d8+33) Fort +5, Ref +9, Will +7 Defensive Abilities channel resistance +2, evasion, trap sense +1, uncanny dodge; Immune undead traits OFFENSE Speed 30 ft. Melee bite +8 (1d6+4 plus disease, paralysis), 2 claws +8 (1d4+4 plus paralysis) Ranged alchemist’s fire +7 (1d6 fire) Special Attacks sneak attack +3d6, disease (DC 15), paralysis (1d4+1 rounds, DC 15) STATISTICS Str 18, Dex 17, Con —, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 18 Base Atk +4; CMB +8; CMD 22 Feats Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Skill Focus (Stealth) Skills Acrobatics +13, Bluff +14, Disable Device +13, Escape Artist +13, Knowledge (local) +10, Perception +13, Sleight of Hand +13, Stealth +16 Languages Common, Undercommon SQ rogue talents (combat trick, fast stealth), trapfinding +2 Combat Gear potions of inflict moderate wounds (4), alchemist’s fire (3), unholy water (2); Other Gear leather armor, amulet of natural armor +1, eversmoking bottle THE PIT In the ancient past, long before the rise of Azlant, during the near-mythical era known to scholars as the Age of Creation, Lamashtu and Pazuzu met for the first time and descended to a world in the Material Plane to enjoy a shortlived but violently ardent dalliance in the mortal realm. The result of this blasphemous union lay dormant in the world until it finally emerged during the Age of Anguish

89 to conquer the Varisians even as they were beginning to recover from their slavery under Thassilon’s rule and the devastation of Earthfall. This fiend was Uvaglor, a vrock who had a unique third eye in his brow that could see brief glimpses into the future, and the gaping rent it left on the landscape would become known as the Pit. Uvaglor was eventually defeated by a priestess of Ashava named Sazzleru and banished to a prison in the Maelstrom, but the Pit remained a blight. Knowing that leaving the Pit unwarded could result in a devastating wound between worlds, Sazzleru worked great magic to weave a ward into the Pit’s deepest reaches to contain the Abyssal infection left so long ago, ensuring that none who served that realm could undo her work. Yet even thus warded, the evil energies in the Pit would go on to influence things, drawing cultists and monsters of all types to its depths—the most notorious of which (but by no means the most powerful) would gain infamy as the Sandpoint Devil. The caves, complexes, and chambers built into the Pit’s walls over the centuries constitute the most complicated and sprawling dungeon in the Sandpoint hinterlands. This dungeon isn’t intended to be explored all in one run, but instead to be a place adventurers return to time and time again as they gain power. Near the Pit’s edge, the challenges are appropriate for lowerlevel parties, but as one climbs deeper into the depths, the dangers increase significantly. The Pit itself is roughly circular in shape, measuring 50 feet in diameter. Its edges are smooth and crisp, and have resisted ages of erosion. Even a cursory examination suggests that the Pit is no naturally occurring fissure. A permanent layer of fog roils 50 feet down, perpetually blocking sight of the Pit’s depths. Soundings have revealed that the Pit is 150 feet deep—an accurate measurement, although often if one drops a rope that long into the Pit, something unseen grabs it and tugs. A brave explorer could certainly levitate or fly down the Pit’s walls, but wiser adventurers take advantage of the crisscrossing ledges, stairways, and carved handholds that serve as ladders winding down along the pit’s inner walls. Here and there, cave entrances provide access to dungeon complexes that extend out from the Pit; there are 11 such entrances in all; only the top four are located above the mist line. The dungeons these caves open into are described briefly below. The upper four caverns are claimed by a goblin tribe, two bickering gatherings of dark folk, and a maze of mites and gremlins. Below the fog line, the denizens grow more dangerous, and include an exiled drider sorcerer named Ziondriel, a fungal realm ruled by Yizularun the fungus queenB6, a cabal of derros who have discovered an ancient Thassilonian cloning laboratory, and a tangle of wormlike monsters in the service of the neothelids of Denebrum. Yizularun’s domain is of particular note, for deep in these dungeons stands a magically locked door she’s never been able to open—a door carved with the Sihedron rune. This is the that door Ilsoari’s mysterious key can open (see Turandarok Academy on page 35), but what fabulous Thassilonian mysteries lie beyond are truly unknown. The ninth cave entrance is located a mere 30 feet from the Pit’s floor—a sprawling complex once used by Thassilonian construct builders, now claimed by a tribe of troglodytes led by a serpentfolk cleric of Ydersius named Vizmivool. Deep within these caves lie areas even Vizmivool hasn’t been able to explore, for here the clockwork constructs still rule. One deep chamber bears a complex door held shut by a magical lock that can be defeated by the song sung by the clockwork songbird Vorvashali Voon hopes to rebuild (see The Feathered Serpent on page 53). The final two cave entrances are at the pit’s floor. The first of these opens into a damp, mold-encrusted cavern that serves as the den of none other than the Sandpoint Devil (Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea World Guide 311), while the other opens into an ancient temple devoted to the demon lord Kabriri. This dungeon now serves as the domain of the ghast alchemist Kanker. This temple complex is the largest of the dungeons in the pit, yet even it is not the deepest danger. The pit’s floor bears an ancient, immense, complex carving placed there by the priestess Sazzleru to prevent the location from spawning a portal to the Abyss similar to the ones that created the Worldwound. This ward can be removed only by powerful mortals who themselves are not willing agents of the Abyss, but the exact method by which such a task could be performed is left to you. Certainly, such a feat should be avoided, lest the PCs feel they have no other choice after hearing the Red Bishop’s cruel ultimatums (see Grubber’s Hermitage on page 81). If the ward is removed, the pit itself will link to the Abyssal realm of the Misbegotten Prince Uvaglor, a powerful unique vrock whose attentions will bring great woe to the land. See Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Demons Revisited for full details on Uvaglor. KANKER CR 12 XP 19,200 Male ghast alchemist 10 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 146, Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player’s Guide 26) CE Medium undead Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +18 Aura stench (10 ft., DC 18, 1d6+4 minutes) DEFENSE AC 29, touch 18, flat-footed 24 (+5 armor, +3 deflection, +5 Dex, +6 natural) hp 175 (12d8+121) Sandpoint

90 Fort +18, Ref +18, Will +13 Defensive Abilities channel resistance +2, evasion; Immune undead traits OFFENSE Speed 30 ft. Melee +2 conductive light flail +14/+9 (1d8+6), bite +10 (1d6+2 plus paralysis and disease), claw +10 (1d6+2 plus paralysis) or bite +15 (1d6+2 plus paralysis and disease), 2 claws +15 (1d6+2 plus paralysis) Ranged bomb +16/+11 (5d6+5 fire) Special Attacks bomb 15/day (5d6+5 fire, DC 20), paralysis (1d4+1 rounds, DC 18) Alchemist Extracts Prepared (CL 10th; concentration +15) 4th—touch of slimeUM (DC 19), vitriolic mistUM 3rd—beast shape I, displacement, fly, haste 2nd—detect thoughts (DC 17), false life, invisibility, resist energy, see invisibility 1st—anticipate perilUM(DC 16), bomber’s eyeAPG, disguise self, expeditious retreat, identify, negate aromaAPG (DC 16), shield STATISTICS Str 19, Dex 25, Con —, Int 21, Wis 16, Cha 24 Base Atk +8; CMB +12 (+14 trip); CMD 32 (34 vs. trip) Feats Brew Potion, Combat Expertise, Improved Trip, Martial Weapon Proficiency (light flail), Throw Anything, Toughness, Vital Strike, Weapon Finesse Skills Acrobatics +19, Climb +9, Craft (alchemy) +20, Disguise +22, Intimidate +22, Knowledge (arcana and religion) +20, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +11, Perception +18, Spellcraft +20, Stealth +12, Swim +6 Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Common, Necril, Undercommon, Varisian SQ alchemy (alchemy crafting +10), discoveries (explosive bomb, fast bombs, precise bombs [5 squares], spontaneous healingUM, strafe bombUM), mutagen (+4/–2, +2 natural armor, 100 minutes), poison use, swift alchemy Gear +2 studded leather, +2 conductive light flailUE, cloak of resistance +4, ring of evasion, ring of protection +3, alchemist formula book, 517 gp THE PYRE The ancient Varisians of the region used this promontory for many rituals, including their yearly Swallowtail Festival, but the Pyre hasn’t been so used since Sandpoint’s founding. In recent months, a man who has become particularly notorious along the Lost Coast Road has taken up secret residence in a narrow cave halfway down the cliff side below the Pyre. This man dresses in audacious colors (he is particularly fond of reds and oranges) yet is incredibly stealthy. He targets groups that have affiliations with arcane spellcasters, ignoring money and art when magical items and spellbooks are to be had. Self-styled as the Crimson Cad, this unique robber has particularly vexed the town of Galduria, where the bounty for his capture recently crested 2,000 gold coins. In truth, Crimson Cad is a dhampir who fled from Ustalav after escaping prison in Caliphas. He has taken care to never rob anyone within a day’s travel of Sandpoint, and never wears his outlandish colors in town—so far, none have realized the bandit dwells here, but if he were worried that his secret was out, Crimson Cad would do his best to silence the leak as swiftly and as mercilessly as possible. KANKER

91 CRIMSON CAD CR 5 XP 1,600 Male dhampir magus 5/rogue 1 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 89, Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Magic 9) LE Medium humanoid (dhampir) Init +4; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +9 DEFENSE AC 18, touch 14, flat-footed 14 (+4 armor, +4 Dex) hp 41 (6d8+11) Fort +5, Ref +8, Will +4; +2 vs. disease and mind-affecting effects Defensive Abilities negative energy affinity; Resist undead resistance Weaknesses light sensitivity OFFENSE Speed 30 ft. Melee mwk rapier +4 (1d6/18–20) Special Attacks arcane pool (+2, 4 points), magus arcana (still magic), sneak attack +1d6, spell combat, spell recall, spellstrike Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st; concentration +3) 3/day—detect undead Magus Spells Prepared (CL 5th; concentration +7) 2nd—alter self, blur, glitterdust (DC 14) 1st—color spray (DC 13), expeditious retreat, grease (DC 13), jump, silent image (DC 13) 0 (at will)—arcane mark, dancing lights, mage hand, ray of frost STATISTICS Str 10, Dex 18, Con 11, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 14 Base Atk +3; CMB +3; CMD 17 Feats Arcane Strike, Deceitful, Persuasive, Toughness Skills Acrobatics +12, Bluff +10, Diplomacy +8, Disguise +10, Intimidate +8, Knowledge (local) +6, Perception +9, Sleight of Hand +12, Spellcraft +8, Stealth +12 Languages Common, Necril, Varisian SQ resist level drain, trapfinding +1 Combat Gear potions of inflict light wounds (3, each labeled “healing potion”); Other Gear mithral shirt, mwk rapier, hat of disguise, cloak of resistance +1, spellbook, colorful clothing worth 60 gp, 30 gp RAVENROOST This ragged range of broken hills is decorated here and there by isolated copses of eucalyptus and pines. Not a lot lives here apart from relatively harmless wild animals, although of late, the ravens that give the hills their name seem unusually loud and aggressive. A small tribe of goblins known as the Birdcrunchers is known to dwell in the southern reaches of Ravenroost that rise between the Lost Coast Road and Devil’s Platter, while the northern hills contain the notorious ruined tower known as Raven’s Watch. The tower was originally intended to serve as a prison, but construction on it ceased soon after Sandpoint was founded. The dungeons below the tower have hosted several criminals over the decades, the first of which were a band of Droskar-worshiping dwarves who expanded the dungeons below the tower before falling to madness after being exposed to strange influences from a purple crystal they dug up. Since then, many others have used Raven’s Watch as a home, most recently a vile priest named Thelsikar who was defeated by the same heroes who slew the dragon Black Fang. While no other criminal has yet claimed the site, the strange purple crystal at the heart of the dungeon’s second level still pulses, sending out its sinister call to lure in yet another cruel-minded person to work its evils. This crystal is in fact a shaitan genie named Aurzadni who has spent eons trapped in this immobile form, buried here by a now long-dead enemy who traveled far from Katapesh to ensure that Aurzadni would never be found by his allies. Thus entombed, Aurzadni remained conscious but unable to affect the world, and went mad long before he was finally brought to light by the digging of the duergar. Now, the trapped genie can lives vicariously through the criminal acts of those he influences. Should the PCs manage to discover and defeat the cursed shaitan, they’ll find ample treasure left in the nearby rooms from its past hosts—including a tiny little clockwork wing, another component of the songbird Voon hopes to reconstruct (see The Feathered Serpent on page 53). SHANK’S WOOD Stretching for just over a mile along the Lost Coast less than an hour’s walk east of the town of Sandpoint, Shank’s Wood is well known as the domain of the Seven Tooth goblins. But these woods are more than just the stomping grounds of an industrious tribe of goblins—wild animals, goblin dogs, and more than a few murderous bugbears live within the borders of this woodland. Composed primarily of pine and eucalyptus trees, Shank’s Wood is crisscrossed by dozens of intersecting game trails—or as many locals know them, “goblin trails”— often used by the Seven Tooth goblins. The wood itself was nameless until a mere decade ago, when a somewhat notorious Sczarni thug named Vyron “Shank” Jethezme fled to the woods from Sandpoint after he stabbed his sister’s lover to death in a back-alley brawl. Shank lived in the woods for several years, becoming something of a local legend among those who traveled the north Lost Coast Road and among the Seven Tooth goblins, for Shank was quite skilled at ambushing travelers and goblins alike, either for supplies or just for kicks. After 3 years, though, Shank’s ambushes tapered off, leading many to suspect he’d finally ambushed something that was a bit more capable of fighting back. Nevertheless, the name stuck, and to this day supposed “shank sightings” periodically pop up among the local hunters and trappers. Sandpoint

92 SOG’S BAY This shallow bay has a notorious reputation for being a shipwrecker. Dozens of sandbars and hidden perils fill the area, and the masts of unfortunate ships protrude from the shallows in multiple spots. Ships take pains to not approach the shore too closely here, so gradual is the change from sea to swamp. The waters of the bay are thick with reefclaws, giant crabs, giant urchins, and other tidal predators and scavengers. The most infamous of these predators is a massive fish the locals have long called “Old Murdermaw.” Many claim to have sighted this sea monster of a fish, but to date, none have survived a faceto-face encounter. OLD MURDERMAW CR 7 XP 3,200 Unique giant red snapper N Huge animal (aquatic) Init +6; Senses blindsense 30 ft., low-light vision; Perception +12 DEFENSE AC 20, touch 10, flat-footed 18 (+2 Dex, +10 natural, –2 size) hp 82 (11d8+33) Fort +10, Ref +11, Will +6 OFFENSE Speed swim 50 ft. Melee bite +15 (2d8+13 plus grab) Space 15 ft.; Reach 15 ft. Special Attacks fast swallow, swallow whole (2d6+12 bludgeoning damage, AC 15, 8 hp) STATISTICS Str 28, Dex 14, Con 17, Int 1, Wis 12, Cha 3 Base Atk +8; CMB +19; CMD 31 Feats Improved Initiative, Improved Lightning Reflexes, Iron Will, Lightning Reflexes, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Perception) Skills Perception +12, Swim +26 THE THREE CORMORANTS Three towering sea stacks protrude from the waves here, their crowns supporting miniature forests of eucalyptus and cypress trees. A small group of harpies dwells amid these trees, but apart from periodically tormenting goblins, the monsters don’t meddle with mainland concerns. The harpies are led by Seru, a soft-spoken but cruel creature who enjoys tormenting victims with false promises of escape if only they’ll entertain him with a story or joke he’s never heard before. Whether or not a victim’s tale is new to him, Seru inevitably informs them, “Sorry, love, but I’ve heard that one before” before he and his four sisters dig in and feed on the hapless victim. The harpies all keep their own nests atop the highest of the Three Cormorants, and it is here that proof of their cruelty can be found in the wide range of bodies strewn across the clearing between their treetop nests. Characters who investigate these bodies find that the harpies don’t bother stripping the dead of their treasure—after all, the corpses already lay strewn across their domain, so why bother? Among the dead are two bodies in particular that the PCs might find of particular interest. The first of these is the badly decayed corpse of a man named Darsus Lorgen, who can be identified by the leather ledger tucked into his handy haversack; this is Vorvashali Voon’s missing Riddleport contact (see The Feathered Serpent on page 53). The other is the corpse of poor Ardam Anker, the halfling merchant who was recently lured from his camp by Seru and whose companions have left word of a reward for information on his whereabouts at the White Deer (see page 12); despite his death, the halflings honor their promise and pay the reward if his body is returned to them. At your discretion, others who might go missing in the region could end up here as well. SERU CR 7 XP 3,200 Male harpy sorcerer 5 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 172) CE Medium monstrous humanoid Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +9 DEFENSE AC 20, touch 15, flat-footed 15 (+4 armor, +5 Dex, +1 natural) hp 84 (12 HD; 7d10+5d6+29) Fort +6, Ref +11, Will +9; +2 vs. poison Resist electricity 5 OFFENSE Speed 20 ft., fly 80 ft. (average) Melee +1 dagger +15/+10 (1d4+2/19–20), 2 talons +14 (1d4+1) Special Attacks captivating song, claws (1d6+1, treated as magic weapons, 8 rounds/day) Sorcerer Spells Known (CL 5th; concentration +10) 2nd (5/day)—alter self, bull’s strength, scorching ray 1st (8/day)—cause fear (DC 16), charm person (DC 16), mage armor, magic missile, summon monster I 0 (at will)—acid splash, daze (DC 15), flare (DC 15), ghost sound (DC 15), message, prestidigitation (DC 15) Bloodline abyssal STATISTICS Str 12, Dex 20, Con 12, Int 9, Wis 10, Cha 21 Base Atk +9; CMB +10; CMD 25 Feats Arcane Strike, Combat Casting, Eschew Materials, Great Fortitude, Improved Great Fortitude, Toughness, Weapon Finesse Skills Bluff +12, Disguise +9, Fly +12, Linguistics +2, Perception +9, Perform (sing) +10 Languages Auran, Common, Goblin, Varisian SQ bloodline arcana (summoned creatures gain DR 2/good) Combat Gear wand of lightning bolt (16 charges); Other Gear +1 dagger, 98 gp

93 THE TORS Situated to the east of Devil’s Platter, these three groups of stony hills are known collectively as the Tors. Named after three adventurers who explored many of the nooks, caverns, and old Varisian tombs here before Sandpoint was founded, the Tors hide many secrets and small hidden complexes that await discovery. Several other old Varisian tombs scattered through the Tors may still hold dangers and treasures of their own, but one significant treasure the PCs might track down is not located in a dungeon at all. Should the characters manage to decipher the treasure map owned by Veznutt Parooh (see The Way North on page 13), a day’s exploration and a successful DC 20 Survival check should be enough to figure out which of the Varisian cairns is the “Great Bear’s.” The PCs should encounter a wyvern or drake or other dangerous creature as they approach the site, but once that menace has been dealt with, it’s a matter of only a half hour of digging to unearth a large sea chest that wouldn’t look out of place on an Ulfen longship. The chest is cunningly locked with a clasp shaped like a coiled linnorm, and while the key can be purchased by lucky shoppers at the Sandpoint town market (see page42), the lock can be picked with a successful DC 35 Disable Device check. Within is a treasure stashed by an Ulfen raider who died many decades ago, before he was able to return to claim his hidden stash: 110 sp, 260gp, a set of tarnished silverware worth 140 gp, six gold wedding bands worth 100 gp each, and three items stolen from murdered raider companions: a +1 bashing light steel shield bearing an image of a rampant linnorm, a +1 troll bane battleaxe with a handle wrapped in mammoth fur and bearing the name “Trollgutter” in Hallit (this axe’s bane quality works against only trolls, and damage dealt by the axe suppresses trolls’ regeneration as the damage were fire damage), and a belt of mighty constitution +2 decorated with coiling patterns of wrestling linnorms. TICKWOOD Although giant ticks are known in this wood, the primary denizens of this long, narrow forest of pines, firs, and redwoods are boars. As a result, the wood is a popular hunting ground among the wealthier residents of Sandpoint. As in the Tors, a buried treasure awaits discovery in Tickwood, but the map to this treasure is more cleverly hidden than the other, being hidden within a book for sale at the Curious Goblin (see page 31). Following this treasure map to its destination takes 2d4 hours of maddening navigation of difficult-to-spot landmarks, requiring a successful DC 15 Survival check. The treasure itself was stashed here by one of Titus Scarnetti’s ancestors, a woman named Ezanna who was racked with guilt over the betrayal her uncle Alamon committed against the local Varisians. Within the buried chest lies a short note that apologizes to the reader for the atrocities committed by her uncle, as well as a deed—this deed serves as legal claim over one of the earliest buildings built in Sandpoint: the Scarnetti Mill (see page 39). While Titus will surely scoff and rage against this claim, it’ll take just a week for justices in Magnimar to verify the deed, and that its dying owner’s last wish to will ownership to a Varisian who finds the treasure should be honored. In addition to the note and the deed, Ezanna stashed 450 gp, a silver-and-pearl brooch containing her husband’s picture (this was one of the Scarnettis who perished during Alamon’s betrayal), and a ring of protection +2 inscribed with “Ezanna—My Love.” TURANDAROK RIVER The Turandarok River is far from the largest waterway in Varisia, and it’s nowhere near the heaviest traveled, but it is among the most mysterious. Though it is used by Sandpoint’s citizens as a water source, for its numerous fishing spots, and as a method to transport lumber from logging sites in Tickwood or the fringes of Mosswood, few today realize is that the farther upriver one goes, the stranger and more mysterious the Turandarok River gets. The regional Varisians understood this. The word “Turandarok” translates loosely into “Path from Nowhere,” for as well mapped as the river’s mouth and route through the Sandpoint hinterlands is, none can honestly say to have tracked the river to the source. (A more literal translation of the word might be “River without Beginning,” but most Sandpoint SERU

94 translators opt for the more poetic version mentioned above.) Among the oral histories of Varisians, a great mystery lies at the headwaters of the Turandarok, one that they have long learned to accept and ignore, for attempts to follow the route upstream are fraught with peril. The Turandarok flows along the southern boundary of Mosswood as it winds east from the Sandpoint hinterlands, then winds a lazy route through the vast eastern expanse of the eastern Whisperwood Moor. After about 50 miles as the crow flies (a distance closer to 100 along the river’s winding course), the Turandarok flows into the Shy Hills, a densely wooded region that covers 200 square miles. No other river flows through the Shy Hills, so the Turandarok’s source must lie somewhere within. When Sandpoint was founded, several groups of explorers sought the river’s source, much to the consternation of local Varisians. Some who made the attempt spoke of strange dreams, eerie visions, and disturbing sounds from the seemingly always foggy stretches through Whisperwood Moor. Attacks from willo’-wisps, strangely aggressive wildlife, and glimpses of long-departed friends and enemies further eroded the resolve of those who turned back before reaching the Shy Hills. Of those who managed to reach those woods, even fewer have returned, and those who do are close-mouthed about what they experienced there, united in the conviction that there is no need to find the river’s source after all. In time, interest in finding the source waned. After all, no real economic benefit could be gained, and the river’s course passes few locations bearing much interest. Now and then, an explorer or two gets the urge to try their hand; those who don’t simply vanish often return mentally scarred, amnesiac, or worse—Habe’s Sanatorium hosts the latest such victim (see page 83). The truth of what lurks in the Shy Hills is likely beyond the ability of even the hardiest of adventurers to untangle, for this remote stretch of wilderness has been the primeval domain of a powerful, mysterious, and evil fey creature called a whispererB6 for longer than humanity has dwelled in the region. It has little interest in expanding its domain beyond the hills, but those who dare enter the densely wooded reach should count themselves lucky for escaping with their bodies and minds intact. WHISPERWOOD Only the northern tip of this large forest intrudes into the Sandpoint hinterlands. Whisperwood runs along much of the Lost Coast, its towering redwoods a humbling testimony to the grace of nature. Tales of hidden Thassilonian ruins from both Shalast and Bakrakhan often lure adventurers into these woods, but most fall prey to the wolves, bugbears, and thugs who lie in wait for intruders. The closer one gets to Magnimar, the more the domain of these bandits falls into the much more organized Rushlight Society, a sort of highway bandits’ guild that masterminds many of the robberies and criminal activities along the Lost Coast Road. The Rushlight Society is led by a charming and duplicitous woman named Miior Duvanti, operating out of its hidden headquarters near the city of Magnimar. Korvosan sympathizers eager to support and even increase the dangers of robbery in western Varisia originally founded the society (one of many attempts by Korvosa to undermine the stability of its primary regional rival), and even the smaller local bandit groups don’t fully understand its goals. And as of late, the same can be said for its Korvosan supporters, as the Rushlight society increasingly seeks anonymity and independence to pursue its own goals without being manipulated or directed by the distant city’s interests. Here in the Sandpoint hinterlands, though, the most active of the current bandit groups is composed universally of dissatisfied and disheveled men known as Skrunter’s Boys. Led by the eponymous Melgur Skrunter, a woman who spent some time working for Jasper Korvaski at the Sandpoint Mercantile League, these bandits specialize in ambush tactics, rushing in fast and quick to startle and frighten merchants into giving up their wares before they can work up the bravery to fight back. Skrunter’s Boys, like Melgur herself, have a bark that’s worse than its proverbial bite, and if they face even semicompetent opposition they’ll scatter, only to nurse their wounded egos, gather anew, and plan their next heist or robbery. MELGUR SKRUNTER CR 3 XP 800 Female human ranger 2/rogue 2 CN Medium humanoid (human) Init +4; Senses Perception +5 DEFENSE AC 18, touch 14, flat-footed 14 (+4 armor, +4 Dex) hp 34 (4 HD; 2d8+2d10+10) Fort +5, Ref +10, Will +0 Defensive Abilities evasion OFFENSE Speed 30 ft. Melee longsword +4 (1d8+1/19–20) MELGUR SKRUNTER

95 Ranged mwk composite longbow +9 (1d8+1/×3) Special Attacks combat style (archery), favored enemy (humans +2), sneak attack +1d6 STATISTICS Str 12, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 13 Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 18 Feats Deceitful, Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Weapon Focus (longbow) Skills Acrobatics +9, Bluff +8, Climb +6, Diplomacy +6, Disguise +8, Handle Animal +6, Intimidate +6, Knowledge (local) +4, Knowledge (nature) +4, Perception +5, Sleight of Hand +9, Stealth +9, Survival +5, Swim +6 Languages Common SQ rogue talent (weapon training), track +1, trapfinding +1, wild empathy +3 Combat Gear potion of cure light wounds, potion of pass without trace (2); Other Gear +1 studded leather, longsword, mwk composite longbow (+1 Str) with 4 sleep arrows and 20 arrows, 32 gp WISHER’S WELL This landmark consists of a 30-foot-tall stone tower with an interior that drops away into a 100-foot-deep shaft ending in a deep pool of water. All manner of monsters dwell in the flooded chambers below, including a tribe of skum and a slightly larger tribe of faceless stalkers who have been surgically altered to breathe water. Both tribes are ruled by an albino aboleth named Vorimorath who came to the region via submerged tunnels, drawn by the promise of strange Thassilonian treasures in the flooded depths. Today, Vorimorath, known to its minions as the “Deep Ghost,” rules a tiny empire in the dungeon complex below Wisher’s Well. The entire place is flooded, and those who would seek to explore it must contend with this fact first and foremost. Vorimorath has recently finished studying the significant number of carvings and repositories of magically waterproofed lore in the complex, which was once a hidden underwater laboratory for a transmuter named Mazmiranna (who in time would abandon this complex to become the fifth Runelord of Greed). Eager to find new Thassilonian discoveries, Vorimorath has been sending its skum and faceless stalker agents out to other locations—the skum to sites in the Varisian Gulf, and the faceless stalkers on raids, disguised as humanoid adventures, to locations like the Pit. The complex below Wisher’s Well is a dangerous place to explore, for many of the chambers have had their ancient Thassilonian guardians and wards restored by Vorimorath, who prides itself in its skill and power in the ways of ancient runelord traditions. An underwater river connects the deepest cavern here to Sog’s Bay (see page 92), but Vorimorath is not above using its magic to exit the well via flight and transformation to explore the world on “human legs” now and then. VORIMORATH, THE DEEP GHOST CR 9 XP 6,400 Variant aboleth transmuter 7 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 8) LE Large aberration (aquatic) Init +7; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +18 Aura mucus cloud (5 ft., DC 17) DEFENSE AC 26, touch 14, flat-footed 23 (+4 armor, +2 deflection, +3 Dex, +8 natural, –1 size) hp 110 (13 HD; 6d8+7d6+59) Fort +8, Ref +9, Will +12 OFFENSE Speed 10 ft., swim 60 ft. Melee 4 tentacles +10 (1d6+4 plus slime) Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft. Aboleth Spell-Like Abilities (CL 16th; concentration +20) At will—hypnotic pattern (DC 16), illusory wall (DC 18), mirage arcana (DC 19), persistent image (DC 19), programmed image (DC 20), project image (DC 21), veil (DC 20) 3/day—dominate monster (DC 23), quickened hypnotic pattern (DC 16) Transmuter Spell-Like Abilities (CL 7th; concentration +12) 8/day—telekinetic fist (1d4+3 bludgeoning) Transmuter Spells Prepared (CL 7th; concentration +12) 4th—dimension door (2), extended fly (2) 3rd—extended alter self (2), dispel magic, lightning bolt (DC 18), slow (DC 18) 2nd—alter self (3), blindness/deafness (DC 17), disfiguring touchUM (DC 17), levitate 1st—mage armor, magic missile, ray of enfeeblement (DC 16), reduce person (2, DC 16), touch of gracelessnessAPG (2, DC 16), unseen servant 0 (at will)—detect magic, mage hand, message, open/ close, touch of fatigue (DC 15) Thassilonian Specialization transmutation; Opposition Schools enchantment, illusion STATISTICS Str 18, Dex 16, Con 18, Int 20, Wis 15, Cha 19 Base Atk +7; CMB +12; CMD 27 (can’t be tripped) Feats Arcane Strike, Combat Casting, Eschew Materials, Extend Spell, Improved Initiative, Improved Natural Attack (tentacles), Lightning Reflexes, Quicken Spell-Like Ability (hypnotic pattern), Scribe Scroll Skills Bluff +17, Knowledge (arcana) +21, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +21, Knowledge (history) +20, Perception +18, Sense Motive +15, Spellcraft +21, Swim +27 Languages Aklo, Aquan, Common, Undercommon, Aboleth, Thassilonian, Varisian SQ arcane bond (ring of protection +2), physical enhancement (+2 Str) Gear ring of protection +2, ring of mind shielding Sandpoint

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COPYRIGHT NOTICE Open Game License v 1.0a © 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc. System Reference Document © 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.; Authors: Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, and Skip Williams, based on material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. Bunyip from the Tome of Horrors Complete © 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author: Scott Greene, based on original material by Dermot Jackson. Caryatid Column from the Tome of Horrors Complete © 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author: Scott Greene, based on original material by Jean Wells. Cave Fisher from the Tome of Horrors Complete © 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author: Scott Greene, based on original material by Lawrence Schick. 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Tick, Giant from the Tome of Horrors Complete © 2011, Necromancer Games, Inc., published and distributed by Frog God Games; Author: Scott Greene, based on original material by Gary Gygax. Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Sandpoint, Light of the Lost Coast © 2018, Paizo Inc.; Author: James Jacobs. paizo.com Paizo, Paizo Inc., the Paizo golem logo, Pathfinder, and the Pathfinder logo are registered trademarks of Paizo Inc.; Pathfinder Adventure Path, Pathfinder Campaign Setting, Pathfinder Player Companion, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, and Pathfinder Tales are trademarks of Paizo Inc. © 2018 Paizo Inc. THE INNER SEA WORLD GUIDE Explore the lands outside Varisia with Pathfinder Campaign Setting: The Inner Sea World Guide. RISE OF THE RUNELORDS This is where it all started! Leap into the fray with the anniversary edition of the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path! MAGNIMAR Discover the city where Sandpoint’s settlers hail from in Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Magnimar, City of Monuments. ADVANCED PLAYER’S GUIDE Look in the Pathfinder RPG Advanced Player’s Guide for campaign traits for your Sandpoint game!

Sandpoint Hinterlands 0 2 1 Miles Farm Roads Lost Coast Road Mosswood The Pit Sandpoint The Old Light Pauper’s Graves Ravenroost Tickwood The Pyre Shank’s Wood Leb’s Tors Rigg’s Tors Task’s Tors Biston’s Pond Thistletop The Three Cormorants Hag’s Plummet Grubber’s Hermitage Dragon’s Punchbowl Habe’s Sanatorium Egan’s Wood Wisher’s Well Foxglove Bluff Nettlewood Whisperwood Devil’s Platter Whisperwood Moor Farmlands Ashen Rise Ashen Moor Sog’s Bay Brinestump Marsh Bleaklow Moor Turandarok R vi er Weasel Creek Lost Coa ts oR ad Thistle River Cougar Creek Foxgl ove River Soggy River N

The town of Sandpoint has been through a lot, whether it’s goblin raids, dragon attacks, or crazed killers stalking the night. In Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Sandpoint, Light of the Lost Coast, this fan-favorite town is presented in rich and vibrant detail, including full stat blocks for the region’s important NPCs, dozens of quests, and expanded information on every major location in the town and the hinterlands beyond. Sandpoint, Light of the Lost Coast also includes a double-sided, pull-out poster map of Sandpoint and the surrounding area, a region that has featured prominently in Pathfinder since the campaign setting’s birth in 2007, including in the best-selling Pathfinder RPG Beginner Box and iconic Adventure Paths like the Rise of the Runelords. This oversized, 96-page campaign setting book is a guide to creating your very own campaign in Pathfinder’s most popular town! Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Sandpoint, Light of the Lost Coast is intended for use with the Pathfinder campaign setting, but it can be easily adapted to any fantasy world. WELCOME TO SANDPOINT Printed in China. PZO92111 paizo.com/pathfinder