Battlefield Bangkok

This Winter, the Cosmic Encounter universe will explode! New alien cultures are now racing towards the site of the conflict. They each want to carve out their own piece of the galaxy for themselves. Read More

Fantasy Flight Games is proud to present League Play for the Warhammer: Invasion Card Game. In this organized play format, players can compete in a friendly and casual environment at their Friendly Local Game Store for cool prizes and a chance to help contribute to the future of the Warhammer: Invasion metagame. Read More

The latest udates on the Pathfinder Adventure Paths including the newest path The Serpent’s Skull. Read up on the final three installments of the Kingmaker and this latest adventure path.  Read More

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We’ll be starting two new sessions of DnD , using the Pathfinder core rules. This campaign is aimed at people who are new to DnD and are interested in learning the system and experiencing a fantasy system.

There will be two seperate gaming groups

Group 1 : Will play on Sunday Afternoons from 1 PM to 5:30PM every Third Sunday
Group 2 : Will play on Either Thursday or Friday Evenings from 6:30 to 10:30 PM Every two weeks.

The first session will focus on character creation and some initial party introductions and encounters to get everyone ready to play

Then the next 4-5 sessions will run using the first stand alone Pathfinder RPG (PFRPG) module. This will give everyone a chance to learn the rules and their characters, as well as a chance to see how other characters work.

Once that module is finished we’ll allow everyone to make a new character or stick with their original character, and then we will start a fully fledged PFRGP Campaign Path. The Campaign paths are designed to take characters from Level 1 to level 20.

The game will be run in English, the gaming groups are expected to be mixed Expat and Thai.

Please ensure you register at the store to book a place and  make sure you say whether you want to play at the weekend (Sunday) or on a week day (Friday/Thursday)

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We’ll be kicking off a starter campaign(or two) for people interested in learning the Pathfinder 3.5 version of  Dungeons and Dragons. This will be focused on new players only and will be  mixed Expat / Thai sessions.  We will be starting off with a stand alone adventure and once everyone has got into the game, the rules and the style of the game, then we will move on to one of the fully fledged Pathfinder Adventure Path Campaigns! Register at the store to let us know you’re interested. Targeted times are presently Sunday from 1Pm to 5Pm and/or Thursday from 6PM to 10Pm

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Range of new stock arrived this weekend, big focus on Pathfinder books and some more Core books still to come.

Here’s what’s arrived

Zooloretto
Axis & allies D-Day
Middle Earth Quest
Age of Empires III
Vampire Dark Influence
Changeling Dice
Vampire Dice
VETS Keeper Traditions Starter Decks
God Dice
Do You Worship Cthulhu
Citadels
Munchkin Fu
Pathfinder Core Rulebook
Pathfinder Chronicles: Dragons Revisited
Pathfinder Chronicles: Dark Markets (A Guide to Katapesh)
Pathfinder Chronicles: The Great Beyond (A Guide to the Multiverse)
Pathfinder Chronicles: Dungeon Denizens Revisited
Pathfinder Chronicles Gazetteer
Pathfinder Chronicles Guide to Korvosa
Pathfinder Chronicles Guide to Darkmoon Vale
Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting (Hardcover)
Pathfinder Adventure Path: Howl of the Carrion King (Legacy of Fire 1 of 6)
Pathfinder Adventure Path: House of the Beast (Legacy of Fire 2 of 6)
Pathfinder Adventure Path: The Jackal’s Price (Legacy of Fire 3 of 6)
Pathfinder Adventure Path: The End of Eternity (Legacy of Fire 4 of 6)
Pathfinder Adventure Path: The Impossible Eye (Legacy of Fire 5 of 6)
Pathfinder Adventure Path: The Final Wish (Legacy of Fire 6 of 6)
Pathfinder Adventure Path: The Bastards of Erebus (Council of Thieves 1 of 6)
Pathfinder Companion: Legacy of Fire Player’s Guide
Pathfinder Companion: Taldor, Echoes of Glory
Pathfinder Companion: Qadira, Gateway to the East
Pathfinder Companion: Council of Thieves Player’s Guide
Pathfinder Chronicles: Gods & Magic
Pathfinder Chronicles: Into the Darklands
Pathfinder Chronicles: Guide to Absalom

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Nice update from Paizo today covering the planned release schedule for the August onward. Please let us know if you want any of these pre-ordered.

• GameMastery Item Cards: Council of Thieves 19-Aug-09
• GameMastery Map Pack: Town 19-Aug-09
• GameMastery Map Pack: Extradimension Spaces 28-Oct-09
• Pathfinder Adventure Path: The Final Wish (Legacy of Fire 6 of 6) 19-Aug-09
• Pathfinder Adventure Path: The Bastards of Erebus (Council of Thieves 1 of 6) 19-Aug-09
• Pathfinder Adventure Path: What Lies in Dust (Council of Thieves 3 of 6) 28-Oct-09
• Pathfinder Chronicles Map Folio: Legacy of Fire 19-Aug-09
• Pathfinder Chronicles: Cities of Golarion 28-Oct-09
• Pathfinder Chronicles: City Map Folio 28-Oct-09
• Pathfinder Companion: Council of Thieves Player’s Guide 19-Aug-09
• Pathfinder Companion: Dwarves of Golarion 28-Oct-09
• Pathfinder Module B1: Crypt of the Everflame 19-Aug-09
• Pathfinder Module: Carrion Hill 28-Oct-09

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The party has just stepped out of the Chum shop, dealing with the imposter Gaedrun Lamm, ready to consider their options.  Only to find the city burning.  Smoke piled up in the air, screams, shouts, sounds of battle, explosions, and streaks of magical energy.  It seems that the king died while the party was dealing with Lamm, and the unpopular queen took the throne, much to the consternation of the populace.  Over head a wing of Sable Company flew over, one member dripping blood all over the street, only to careen straight into a statue with a dull crunch.  They eventually made their way to the fallen body amid all the chaos, only to find it picked clean by looters.

As the group walked the streets they saw a huge half orc beset with an imp, flitting about just out of range of his greatclub.   Springing into action, the heroes ran down to assist, only to be ambushed by the imp’s friends.  Many blows and stabs were turned aside by the infernally imbued skin.  However, the barbarian seemed to do well with mighty, two handed, downward swings.

Full of poison and with Olgun on the ground, the battle seemed to slowly be turning to the party’s favour as Tusk slowly but methodically smashed the imps into the ground.  Half a minute after the skirmish broke out a flight of pseudo dragons flew in to lend a hand against the hated imps.  With a few parting shots the party watched the little devils flee at top speed with a group of pseudo dragons hot on their heels.

Introductions were made with the Half-orc.  “You have any shiny metal?”  It seemed the brute wanted to buy some slaves. No, wait, he wanted to buy a friend out of slavery. Well, that’s pretty noble, he’ll fit right in with this party.  Agreeing to stick together the group made their way to the church of Sheylyn to deliver a holy symbol they recovered from Lamm’s stash.

The entire church was converted into a field hospital, with wounded civilians lying all about the floor.  Even though they were a bit too busy to worry about a returned symbol, the priests appreciated the gesture. Young Justin, offered to cure the party of their ailments, and get their sluggish, gluey blood to run smoothly again.  The offer to stay overnight was gratefully accepted.

The bleak, gray dawn revealed a tense, quiet. The looting and rioting had abated somewhat, but smoke still lingered in the air, and pockets of fighting could still be heard sporadically.

The doors of Acadamae were shut tight, with a dome of energy extending above the walls.  Signs in all language brusquely told everyone to leave or face painful death.  A more profession message written in magic informed all students and faculty that they are locked out until “the flower showed the way.”

Turning away the group noticed a group of labourers hassling a young noble and his servant.  Watching from a short distance was a man in leather armour and bow.  With an arrow nocked and ready for any trouble that might spark. Perhaps to save the noble, or maybe to rob him?  In any case, Lazarus approached the cluster of thugs and convinced them that all Varisians needed to stick together at times like this and taking out their anger on a random noble wasn’t going to solve anything.  With grunts of accent the commoners skulked off.

Amin Jagger of House Jagger was very appreciative of the rescue, but only had a paltry few platinum to pay the party in recompense.  They were happy to do it and offered to escort him safely home.  A friendly contact in House Jagger might come in handy. At this point they talked with the watching archer, Zack, who seemed like an alright sort of person.  He was watching the noble from a distance, hoping to keep him safe.  Together they struck out for the far side of the city.

Not much farther they heard the deep, hollow reverberations of a Hell Knights speaking from within their fearsome helmets.  They were stopping an old woman and her teenage granddaughter, accusing them of stealing apples.  Without any regard to the Hell Knights’ capacity as law enforcers and with deep contempt Tusk charged the group and bashed a knight a little bit.

“Violater!” “criminal!”  The Hell Knights fell upon the barbarian and cut him up badly, nearly dropping him.  The rest of the party rushed in with liberal applications of grease and touch attacks. A long and deadly combat broke out.  The Hell Knight’s armour was frustrating, but ended up being a huge liability to the knights as they struggled to stand up in the puddles of grease that surrounded them.  Frustrated and desperate the knights couldn’t do much else than cry out their contempt, “law breaker!”  “Liberal!”  “Hippy!”

The group fought together like a well… greased… machine.  Olgun proved his worth, by keeping the knights on the ground with his grease spells.  Malthus managed to nickel and dime on knight to death by splattering him repeatedly with acid.  Lazarus made a few daring reaches to touch the knights with magical attacks.  Zach kept harrying the knights with his arrows, incurring their wrath, and keeping them too busy and pinned down to chase after the magic casters.  Tusk and Raphael played a curious game of yo-yo, with half-orc repeatedly dropping and getting healed up again.  His orc fury took an unusually potent form and sustained him throughout the battle instead of just once.

With a crushed skull, a face scarred with acid, and arrows through the back, three knights lay dead.  One was still breathing shallowly.  Raphael decided to do the right thing and stabilized him, refusing to finish him off, knowing that the knight would report them. Hopefully, someone else would come across his body and finish him off…  The party tried on the fancy full plate armour, but realized how foolhardy it would be to walk around in Hell Knight armour. Even a helmet or a shield would draw unwanted questions.

Turning around, they realized that the old lady and girl were long gone.  So was Amin Jagger.  Apparently, he didn’t have a desire to be affiliated with cop killers.  Somewhat dejected at losing their noble contact, the party headed off to the church of Callistria, which is sometimes mistook for a brothel.  They returned the succubi, ivory statuette that they recovered from Lamm.  Supermodel Gloria gratefully accepted the returned item and healed the party from the wounds and afflictions.  They also accrued some goodwill and were allowed to spend the night and partake in personal rites with a priestess of their liking.  It was a magical night, sexual and religious and unlike anything any of them experienced before.  Some party members gained insight and learned to better align their masculine and feminine selves to make themselves more persuasive with women.

In the morning Lazarus revealed that they killed some Hell Knights, at which point they were politely kicked out of the church.  But they were told to try some of  the nearby stores to sell their loot.  A polite knock on the door might get the shop owner to open up. After one or two unsuccessful attempts to assuage some suspicious shop owners, the party got a friendly reception with Otto.  His family was sitting around the table eating breakfast, with a distant relative of theirs, Elmo.  Unfortunately for everyone, Elmo was drunk and in a talkative mood.  He mistook Lazarus for his buddy from Sandpoint.  Through his barely coherent ramble about fencing, training, missing fingers and some teenage bitch Malthus finally placed the face: he was a popular Captain of the Guard. He’s liked for his evenhandedness and resistance to the encroachment of Hell Knights on various jurisdictions.

At one point, Tusk badly offended Otto and nearly got kicked out of his shop.  “How the Abyss should I know how much slaves cost, you dirty greeny?  Go back to your swamps and take your slaver ways with you, snaggle tooth!”  The rest of the party was able to explain Tusk’s noble task of freeing his friend from slavery.  Somewhat mollified, but still disbelieving Otto dealt with the party and gave them advice to sell their magic loot.

Coming and going between two shops, buying and selling magical goods and mundane, the party realized how much Elmo was imposing on Otto and his family.  And besides, this was no place for a Captain of the Guard.  He should be on duty at a time like this.  They reminded Elmo of this oaths and duties.  With a glint of intelligence piercing his sodden expression, he nodded dully, and got up with one more for the road, and headed off to report in.

At this point the party decided to try their hand, and return the amulet to the queen.  Perhaps the Palace Corps would let them in, they might as well try.  They made their way up the huge pyramid, on the Great Ramp.  At the door some Palace Corps challenged them.  They didn’t mention anything about any fallen Hell Knights, so far so good.  After showing the amulet they were eventually allowed entry.  They were briefed by Sabrina (the teenaged bitch) who was resplendent in gleaming full plate and long sword:  companion, advisor, bodyguard, and rumored lover of the queen.  Somewhat patronizingly she ushered them into the nearly empty throne room.

Thanking them for returning her pretty bauble at such distressing times the queen offered the reward of 12 ingots of gold inside a fancy silver box.  The party noticed that the ingots were all stamped with a likeness of the queen.  Although suspicious, some of the more wise characters realized that with two days and the assistance of magic, it was somewhat reasonable to expect new minting this early.  It could just be another way that the queen is trying to establish her control of the city, amidst the all the power plays that must surely be broiling beneath the surface.  In any case, the queen sensed the moral and upright character of the group of heroes and asked them to report to the local guard station to assist in maintaining order.

After being safely escorted to The Citadel, the party met with Field Marshal Lara Croft: A busty, woman with a long pony tail, shiny mithral armour and twin pistols at her hips.  Only citizens of Alkenstar have firearms, and even then, they don’t usually take them outside of that country.  Croft either obtained those guns above board, or under the table. Duel, theft, assassination, diplomatic gift, smuggling?  Regardless, it speaks volumes that she would brazenly display them.

Lara Croft tasked the heroes with tracking down Vince, a member of the guard who went rogue and pulled a few of his companions with him.  His desertion must be dealt with, hopefully with non-lethal means.  If it comes down to it, Croft understands if the party needs to defend themselves with deadly force. After all, Vince brought this down on his own head.

Stepping out of the Citadel’s door and heading out to All the World’s Meat, Malthus recalls something he heard lately while speaking with shopkeepers.  If you ask for ‘the night’s special cuts’ you can hire out the Cow Hammer Boys as thugs, to take care of your problems for you.  Interesting side businesses for ex-guards: butchery and hired muscle.

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Korvosa, the jeweled brooch on the wild gypsy cape that is Varisia, has always had trouble keeping anyone on the Crimson Throne for long.  Every ruler for the past 300 years has met his demise while sitting on the throne without an heir to carry on his name.  With Eodred II on his deathbed it looks like the curse is about to strike again, as his young, teenaged queen shows no signs of pregnancy. 

At a small, modest house adorned with traditional Varisian wind chimes a steady trickle of would-be heroes tentatively knock on the door before entering.  First, a young wizard apprentice from the presitigious Academae.  Second, young Halfling woman with a devil-may-care grin, toting her thrice notched short sword. 

A few minutes later a skeletal thin man with dark bags under his eyes and an oversized traveling cloak enters, shortly followed by a proud, tall man in gleaming white armour with red piping. A few minutes of watching doesn’t bring any more visitors.  Satisfied that he isn’t being followed, the thin man with dropping mustaches slinks from a shadowy corner across the street and slips in quietly.  Unbeknownst to the paranoid skulker, a second man was watching the door as well, from the rooftops. With a few nimble jumps he lands and enters the door, last of all. 

——————– 

Inside things are getting boisterous in the small, ill-lit room as the party members check each other out and grow just a little impatient.  Finally, the owner of the house Zellara, otherwise known as Madame Z enters the house and apologizes for her unconventional methods.  She explains how her son was murdered while retrieving her treasured Harrow deck from a group of pickpockets. 

The man responsible for this heinous crime is none other than, of course, Gaedrun Lamm.  She further explains that… Oh! 

A grumpy looking dwarf opens the door, looks about uncertainly and sits at an extra chair in the corner, giving a silent wave to everyone else. 

“Yez, I zee, of courze. I completely forgot I had invited you, mazta dwarf”  She regains her composure with an accent some might call over-the-top, but which is better known as True Varisian. 

It seems that Madame Z was able to locate the reprehensible Gaedrun Lamm, and tasked the heroes with exacting revenge on her fallen son.  To help in their trials she performs a Harrow reading for each of them. 

“Poppycock and superstition, I say!” Malthus Palantir III slams his feeble fist the table and scowls with crossed arms, as he fails to sway the others into seeing how ridiculous all this prophesying really is. 

• For the son of pain and anguish, his fires of vengeance will soon be quenched.
• For daughter of the waves, she will soon return to the sea she once called home.
• Scion of darkness will avoid entanglements and ensnarement that trap others.
•  Seed of the Dawnflower: Misplaced trust may lead others to be exhibition pieces
• The changeling must pit speed and judgment against the thrice destined one
•  Child of earth and magma, I see much ale and mead in your future

After a couple of quick additional Harrow readings with their own cards, the new group heads off to the Old Fishery. 

In the full light of day, the abandoned house looks far from creepy, and only holds an air of sad, depressed abandonment.  Yet, the front door is stoutly locked and the windows are opaque with grime. Surely, the fortune teller is right, this would be a perfect hideout for a thief’s organization.   

After a failed attempt to force a window open, which only resulted in a badly bruised elbow, bardic displays some presence of mind and decided to gather some information rather than bash down the front door.   A passing fisherman reveals that the building is an operating business which sells chum for Dockside Dumplings <shudder> 

The party goes around to the side to see a mean spirited gnome barking orders to some filthy children in loin clothes.  The poor souls are stepping on the chum in a huge, scum caked vat.  The unlucky ones are scooping up over spilt chum with their hands, dumping it back into the putrid tub. 

Meanwhile, what appears to be an old lady is leaning heavily on the front door, as if passed out, feebly crying out, “Chum!  I need your chum please!” 

“Yeah manga, you want some chum or what?”  The gnome sidles up to the Halfling, using the worst epithet available in Korvosa.  (Halflings have ridiculously large eyes, like a Japanese cartoon.  Imagine the most unsavory racial slurs in our world)  

“um, yeah, chum!  I’ll take two of your finest barrels!” Lorena chirps. “Don’t worry, this big guy over here will haul them out with us.” 

“Finest barrels, that’ a fine one”  Hookshanks mutters to himself as he walks back into the factory floor.  With a yell to hurry up, he boots the nearest child in the rear, sending him sprawling headfirst into a puddle what can only be described as mixed chum, vomit and dog turds.   

At this point Lorena sees red and charges the gnome.  Calling on her gods powers she fails to smite the little demon.  Acid arrows fly about, crossbow bolts whiz by, a rusty sickle is bandied about.  Giggling idiot-goons, fat-rolling bulldogs and amputated gnomes, inspired orphans and fleeing accountants best describe this melee.   

In the end, the opposition lies dead or bleeding except for the accountant, Yargin, who is kept for further interrogation. Most of the orphans run helter skelter into the city streets. A few remaining ones are given a number of options to seek succor, ranging from a church of good, a church of seduction, an orphanage and a pub. In the bargain the party learns that Gaedrun Lamm dwells one story below, accessible only by a well and a rope. 

With reckless abandon the party leaps into the water below, member after member. Inspired, no doubt, by Lorena apparently casual, headlong dive.  Beneath the waves the party battles with not only a crocodile named Chompy but also with a roving Jigsaw Shark that lives nearby.  One by one the party members crawl out of the pool to square up with Gaedrun, who has been shooting crossbow bolts at them the whole time.  In the process the leave the cleric by himself, to sink to the bottom of the pool. In a heroic bid to save his skin Lorena the Halfling launches herself onto the crocodile’s back.  She is soon torn to shreds. 

The Rogue successfully bluffs Gaedrun into thinking she’s on his side, while he slips on some Grease and bangs his ass hard.  A few more bolts and acid splashes leave him little choice but to crawl to his new ally and discuss options.  Just as he turns to ask a quick favor of her, she stands up, flinging her cowl off to reveal a young, redheaded woman crying, “Remember me Lamm!”  apparently not, as his puzzled face would attest. 

Without a chance to even stand up Ol’ Spicy Raphael grabs his face with both hands and forces him to gaze into his eyes.  With a girlish shriek rising to a banshee wail Gaedrun tries to pry himself free but he’s transfixed and soon his eyes film over and his skin become a sick gray.  Released, his body hits the floor and fine ice shards and flakes of snow shake off his head.  Victory! 

The party is puzzles why this doesn’t look at all like the Gaedrun Lamm they once knew.  They stabilize their fallen opponent to discover that he has merely taken Lamm’s name as a tool of the trade, while the real Lamm has moved onto bigger things and now demands tribute. In two weeks Hammer, dressed in baggy pirate pants and red bandana, is scheduled to come by for the next payment of trade dues. 

The party convinces the fake Lamm to reveal the magical properties of all his loot in exchange for a quick death.  A wand of magic missles with 23 charges,  Oil of Keen Edge, dose of Silversheen.  There are some mundane loot, which look quite valuable.  The thief is not certain where they were stolen from, but the party is intent on returning the stolen goods nonetheless.  It is obvious that the holy symbol of Shelyn and statue of naughty succubi should be returned to the churches of Shelyn and Calistria, respectively.  Frustrated by this turn of events the party rogue starts weighing options of penniless street life vs rich, if somewhat generous, adventurehood. 

A piece of magical treasure that is a little odd is a Harrow deck.  It is identical to the one that was used in Madame Z’s house when she gave all the party members, except for Malthus, a reading.  

Also, drawn by a lingering magical aura the party opens a hat box to reveal a human head, covered in flies, easily two weeks old.  With a gasp they realize that it’s the head of Madame Z.  Or her twin sister…? 

“No, eet eez no twin of mine.  Eet ees I, Madame Z.”  The fortune teller reveals that yes, she is indeed dead.  She can manifest near things that tie her to the material realm, such as her house, or her Harrow deck.  She apologizes for deceiving the party but she was unable to exact revenge on her own, being dead and all.   

Living in Korvosa all her life, her spirit is drawn to defend the city. And she will assist any brave heroes who opt to do so as well.  Her abilities to perceive mystic qualities has improved in death and every day she can identify 3 magical objects touched with her Harrow cards.  Also, she is able to perform powerful Harrow readings for the heroes of Korvosa, when the stars are aligned precisely. 

The last item of note is an expensive brooch with an imp and pseudo dragon curled around each other in a Yin Yang pattern.  The man who called himself Lamm discloses that he stole this from a silversmith’s shop after the queen’s handmaiden dropped it off for repair. He was holding on to it for a rainy day, as a “Get out of Jail Free card.”  The party realizes that it might be more valuable to curry some favour with the queen, than to pawn it off in a jewelry store. 

Exiting the chum shop the group is shocked to see pillars of smoke rising for nearby houses, shouting, screaming and cursing.  Explosion of magic and rays of light lance through the sky.  People cry out that the king is dead and the even more unpopular queen is now sitting on the throne.  Royalists fight it out with the malcontents, Hellknights pursue mobs of looters and Sable Company griffons crash into statues.  It is the Edge of Anarchy. 

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