TEXT: YEAR OF ROTTING RUINS—ADVENTURE 1
  STORYBOOK: CITY OF SAILS AND SHROUDS
  
  Read the Following Aloud:
  Lastwall is dying, and the Whispering Tyrant 
  has killed it. 
  A noble nation of paladins and knights, 
  Lastwall was created to watch over the 
  prison of the undead Whispering Tyrant. The 
  notorious lich was locked away 900 years 
  ago in the province of Virlych in neighboring 
  Ustalav. Ever vigilant for the lich’s return, 
  Lastwall also protected civilized lands from 
  orc hordes, roaming undead, and other evils. 
  Yet in his imprisonment, the Whispering 
  Tyrant planned for his freedom and his revenge. 
  Armed with a devastating superweapon of his 
  own design, the Whispering Tyrant obliterated 
  Lastwall’s capital of Vigil and blasted open his 
  prison. Now, the lich who tyrannized the Inner 
  Sea region a millennium ago has returned. 
  His undead minions and mortal cultists travel 
  freely through Lastwall, slaying its guardians 
  and shattering its castles. Lastwall’s final hope 
  is the white-walled city of Vellumis, a trading 
  port on Lake Encarthan. Lastwall’s remaining 
  bureaucrats organize fleets of evacuees from 
  Vellumis daily, shepherding people out of the 
  dying nation to safer lands.
  Yet hard times are times for heroes. The 
  Pathfinder Society, a world-spanning group of 
  treasure hunters and lore seekers, maintains a 
  presence in Lastwall. Few Pathfinders in Vigil 
  survived, and those who did rushed to Vellumis 
  to aid the evacuation efforts and rejoin with 
  Vellumis’s Pathfinders. From Vellumis, the 
  Pathfinders can coordinate rescue efforts in 
  the Lastwall countryside and take the fight 
  against evil into haunted Virlych itself.
  Some have given the dying nation of 
  Lastwall a new name: the Gravelands. Yet even 
  in the grim face of death, champions must rise.  
  Lastwall
  Ustalav
   • Vellumis
  INNER SEA
  Scenario Design • Keith Richmond
  Story • Ron Lundeen and Linda Zayas-Palmer
  Editors • Mike Selinker and Vic Wertz
  Graphic Designer • Sonja Morris
  Cover Artist • Joel Holtzman
  Interior Artists • Madeline Boni, Joel Holtzman, Kurt 
  Jakobi, Kekai Kotaki, and Wayne Reynolds
  Cartographer • Rob Lazzaretti
  Organized Play Manager • Tonya Woldridge
  PACS Coordinator • Linda Zayas-Palmer 
  PACG Development Team • Chad Brown, Tanis O’Connor, 
  Paul Peterson, Keith Richmond, Aviva Schecterson, 
  Mike Selinker, Liz Spain, Gaby Weidling, and Skylar 
  Woodies, based on a game concept by Rian Sand
  © 2019 Paizo Inc. Paizo, the Paizo golem logo, and Pathfinder are registered trademarks of Paizo Inc. Pathfinder Adventure Card Game, Pathfinder Adventure Card Society, and Curse of the 
  Crimson Throne are trademarks of Paizo Inc.
  
  COMPLETE THESE SCENARIOS IN ANY ORDER:
  Adventure Reward
  COMPLETE THESE SCENARIOS IN ANY ORDER:
  Adventure Reward
  Adventure 1—City of Sails and Shrouds
  Build the Vault: The vault should contain all level 0 and 1 cards from the Core Set and the Curse of the 
  Crimson Throne Adventure Path.
  DURING THIS ADVENTURE PATH:
  DURING THIS ADVENTURE PATH:
  ADVENTURE 1: CITY OF SAILS AND SHROUDS
  3
  
  Scenario 1A: Powder Keg
  Read the Following Aloud:
  You’ve been enjoying several days of downtime 
  in the city of Vellumis, a prosperous port city on 
  Lake Encarthan. Vellumis is part of Lastwall, but 
  the paladins and crusaders tend to rush north 
  to the front lines. Vellumis is primarily a city 
  of traders, diplomats, and foreign emissaries. 
  It’s a beautiful city, filled with whitewashed 
  buildings, colonnades, and impressive spires. 
  Yet the summer has been unbearably hot. Many 
  of the city’s buildings are now stained with soot 
  from fires, which have been breaking out so 
  frequently that many people doubt they could 
  all be accidental.
  You’re relaxing in the Uscalin Lodge in 
  Vellumis, having completed a minor job for the 
  Pathfinder Society, when the dire news arrives. 
  Vigil has been obliterated! The Whispering 
  Tyrant is free! Details are sparse, but multiple 
  riders from the north all bear the same 
  stories—Vigil is completely devastated, undead 
  monsters roam the countryside, and Lastwall is 
  leaderless.
  Uncertainly begets fear, and fear begets 
  violence. Rioting begins in the streets of 
  Vellumis, and anyone bearing news from the 
  north is interrogated—often forcefully—for 
  details. Accusations fly that the fires have been 
  the work of the Whispering Way, the cult of 
  nihilists and necromancers that serves the 
  Whispering Tyrant. Vigil is gone and Vellumis 
  is likely to be next.
  Someone needs to step in to restore order. 
  The bureaucracy of Vellumis is paralyzed, 
  awaiting orders from the capital that are 
  unlikely to ever come. The city’s few soldiers 
  are working to calm the mobs, but external 
  organizations—such 
  as 
  the 
  Magaambya 
  Academy and the Pathfinder Society—need to 
  lend a hand.
  With local Venture-Captain Shevar Besnik 
  away on business, the ranking Pathfinder at 
  the Uscalin Lodge is Viora Skedrin, a human 
  alchemist of no small skill. Viora has taken it 
  upon herself to dictate how the Pathfinders 
  should help, citing her knowledge of medicine. 
  “Riots are like a disease,” she opines, “and are 
  cured the same way. Target the sites of infection 
  and the body will recover.”
  Viora sends you to the city’s Laborer’s 
  Market, where a charred ruin of a tenement 
  still smolders from a blaze last week. Tensions 
  are high here. The locals feel like no one in the 
  city’s administration will help them, so they 
  must help themselves—and plenty of them are 
  helping themselves to goods in local shops and 
  warehouses.
  4
  
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  Development:
  “Order, of a sort, has been restored to 
  Vellumis,” Viora Skedrin announces. “And not 
  a moment too soon! Looters have been jailed 
  and a curfew enacted in the city.
  “This isn’t peace, though, not by any means. 
  Refugees are pouring into the city from across 
  Lastwall, looking to flee. The docks are under 
  martial law, and only vessels delivering vital 
  Setup
  Setup
  supplies or taking on evacuees are permitted. 
  A formal evacuation order is likely to come 
  within the next few days.
  “I’ve got some affairs to wrap up here, but 
  we need to think of the Pathfinder Society as a 
  whole. The group of you should get out of the 
  city as soon as you can. Head to the docks and 
  find a way out of this doomed nation.”
  5
  ADVENTURE 1: CITY OF SAILS AND SHROUDS
  
  Scenario 1B: Tangled Sails
  Read the Following Aloud:
  You’ve come to the docks of Vellumis to find 
  your way out of the city, but your aid is badly 
  needed. The docks are crowded with refugees. 
  The Lastwall Knights work to sort the refugees 
  into orderly lines, but everyone is eager to get 
  out of Lastwall as fast as possible. When the 
  prophetically named cargo ship Rolling Waves 
  became overloaded with clamoring passengers 
  and keeled over in the harbor, the Lastwall 
  Knights became far more insistent on strict 
  evacuation scheduling. Tempers are flaring, 
  and rumors of bribery and favoritism are 
  common—despite the scrupulous reputations 
  of the paladins overseeing the evacuation.
  “The riverboat captains aren’t helping,” one 
  of the Lastwall Knights confides in you as 
  you help sort another group of evacuees into 
  the whitewashed warehouses converted into 
  staging areas. “They know that every person 
  they can cram aboard their vessels means 
  more coin for them. I’ve seen crews come to 
  blows over prime mooring positions.”
  As though to prove the knight’s words, a 
  resounding crash echoes across the harbor. 
  Two riverboats collide while maneuvering into 
  the same spot on the dock. The ships lean into 
  each other, their sails hopelessly intertwined. 
  The crews leap to the decks, daggers and 
  belaying pins in hand, swinging at each other. 
  Other crews soon join in the brawl, heedless of 
  the danger to the evacuees lining the docks. 
  The panicked crowd does its best to flee the 
  violence, with refugees rushing back into the 
  city and leaping off boats to avoid the crew’s 
  weapons.
  “This has gotten out of hand,” cries the 
  knight, drawing a cudgel and rushing to 
  intervene. “Help break this up! We can’t get 
  anyone out of Vellumis with the riverboat 
  crews at each other’s throats!” 
  A few bruises are the least of your 
  problems; as a jostled refugee tumbles into 
  the water, a triangular fin slices through the 
  surf. The longer this brawl goes on, the better 
  the sharks will feed. While helping the sodden 
  man out of the water, you spy a grinning 
  imp lurking beneath the pier. The devil turns 
  invisible as soon as it notices you. Something 
  more wicked than a mere brawl is at work 
  here.
  6
  
  LOCATIONS
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  DURING THIS SCENARIO
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  Reward
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  STORY BANES
  Development:
  You’ve restored some measure of order to the 
  docks. During the commotion, several boats 
  slipped away with citizens who jumped the 
  lines and are likely, at this moment, paying 
  all their coin to greedy ship captains for 
  “exclusive passage.” 
  “We’re establishing a priority system for the 
  ships,” the knight explains to you. “Ships with 
  the largest capacity for evacuees get priority. 
  Other ships must wait their turns. It’s going to 
  be a lot slower to get the evacuees out, but we 
  shouldn’t get a brawl like the last one.”
  You can’t help but think a solution that 
  results in slower evacuations is a mistake. 
  Perhaps the dock fight was no coincidence, 
  but part of a larger scheme you don’t yet see. 
  You can’t leave yet; you’ve got to get to the 
  bottom of this mystery.
  7
  ADVENTURE 1: CITY OF SAILS AND SHROUDS
  
  Scenario 1C: To Seek the Devil’s Doorstep
  Read the Following Aloud:
  Viora Skedrin, the ranking leader in the 
  Pathfinder lodge in Vellumis, has strongly 
  suggested you evacuate the city. Yet you 
  spotted a devil provoking violence at the docks, 
  and you suspect there’s something more than 
  a malicious imp at work. You’ve heard that the 
  Whispering Way, an organization of cultists 
  who serve the Whispering Tyrant, might 
  be active in the city. Most members of this 
  secretive cult pose as townsfolk with careers 
  that put them in touch with the dead, but the 
  Whispering Way attracts evil scholars and 
  nihilists of all types. The city’s recent spate of 
  unexplained fires may well be their handiwork, 
  and you wouldn’t put devil-summoning past 
  them. If you follow the devils, you might find 
  the Whispering Way, or whoever else is behind 
  the flames. There are too many places to hide 
  in a city where ragged refugees are common 
  and locals evacuate the city in increasing 
  numbers each day.
  It takes a few days of running down 
  leads and researching rumors, but you’ve 
  determined that most of the devil sightings 
  are in the city’s academic district. There, 
  laboratories and academies are common, and 
  marble-clad manors overlook the city with 
  stately grace. So you prepare for a stakeout of 
  the academic district, where well-manicured 
  shrubberies and ornate plazas provide 
  ample places to loiter discreetly. 
  It’s a far cry from busting heads in the 
  Laborer’s Market, but your targets are 
  much slipperier than overeager looters.
  Late in the evening, you spy a 
  strange creature flitting from rooftop to 
  rooftop. It has the torso of a fat baby and 
  the lower body of an oversized housefly. 
  This is an accuser devil, of a kind frequently 
  summoned by mortals to serve as spies or 
  saboteurs. You’re on the right track. The devil 
  flits away from you, but you know its master 
  must be nearby. By questioning some locals 
  and keeping an eye out for evidence of devil 
  sightings, you should be able to pinpoint the 
  center of diabolic activity.
  At worst, you’ll have to capture and 
  interrogate a fanged devil-baby. Put that 
  way, though, you’d rather be back to catching 
  looters.
  8
  
  LOCATIONS
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  DURING THIS SCENARIO
  Reward
  Reward
  STORY BANES
  STORY BANES
  Development:
  The suspicious diabolical activity is centered 
  on a dignified manor house on one of the 
  better streets in the academic district. As 
  you consider how best to assault the cult 
  headquarters, the front door opens to reveal 
  Viora Skedrin. Her piercing gaze lands directly 
  upon you. “Trouble has come right to my 
  doorstep, I see,” she says, bemused. “Get 
  them.”
  Several burly cultists leap upon you, binding 
  your arms, covering your heads, and bustling 
  you into the manor. “The Whispering Way 
  doesn’t take kindly to nosy intruders,” one 
  hisses at you. “We’ll see what Mistress Viora 
  wants done with you, but it won’t be good for 
  you, I promise.” 
  You might be able to overcome these 
  cultists now, but a little patience might allow 
  you to learn a lot about Viora’s treachery. You 
  hope that she, like most villains, can’t resist an 
  opportunity for a monologue. You will be most 
  attentive if she does.
  Setup
  Setup
  9
  ADVENTURE 1: CITY OF SAILS AND SHROUDS
  
  Scenario 1D: Treating the Infection
  Read the Following Aloud:
  The cultists of the Whispering Way have 
  brought you before their leader, the chemist 
  and Pathfinder Viora Skedrin. She eyes you 
  critically from behind a desk covered with 
  alchemical apparatuses. 
  “I told you to get out of the city,” she chides 
  with mocking friendliness. “When the rioters 
  in the Laborer’s Market didn’t finish you off, I 
  tried to give you a way out that wouldn’t cost 
  your lives and wouldn’t cause me any further 
  trouble. Pity you don’t know how to listen.
  “I was right, you see, when I said the 
  best way to fight a disease is to target the 
  sites of infection. But perhaps we disagree 
  on the disease. The crusaders of Lastwall 
  are an affront to our master, the Whispering 
  Tyrant. They must be purged. If they seep 
  into other lands, like pus, they’ll only spread 
  their infection, inspiring more to take up arms 
  against us. My minions have been working to 
  stoke fear, slow the evacuations, and trigger 
  fights here in Vellumis. It’s almost too much for 
  the paladins to contain, and with a few simple 
  pushes—” She gently nudges a beaker of fluid 
  off the edge of her desk and it crashes to the 
  floor. “...They’ll be overwhelmed.” A rancid odor 
  rises from the fluid, quickly filling the air.
  “Take them to the cellars and lock them in. 
  After a few more preparations, we’ll be ready 
  to move. We can then burn this building to the 
  ground, and it won’t raise any suspicions at all 
  in a city already on the edge.”
  Hoods are strung tightly around your 
  heads. You’re muscled down several flights of 
  stairs and shoved into a stone room. You hear 
  the sounds of a door being shut and locked. 
  It doesn’t take long for you to slip out of your 
  hoods and bonds, but getting out of this cellar 
  will be another matter entirely. An old manor 
  like this is bound to have traps, guardians, 
  and other dangers. If the Whispering Way 
  has been active in Viora’s manor for a long 
  time, there might even be other prisoners to 
  rescue. In any event, you’ve got one clear goal 
  in front of you: stop Viora before she slips into 
  the chaos of Vellumis to advance her schemes 
  further.
  10
  
  DURING THIS SCENARIO
  DURING THIS SCENARIO
  Reward
  Reward
  STORY BANES
  STORY BANES
  Development:
  You’ve brought the traitorous cultist Viora 
  Skedrin to justice. She won’t be able to stoke 
  discontentment in Vellumis any longer, and 
  perhaps the diligent crusaders can oversee the 
  evacuations with fewer distractions. 
  Upon your return to Uscalin Lodge, you’re 
  surprised to encounter a gnome wearing a tall 
  hat and the colorful outfit of a fortune-teller. 
  After the dire news of Vigil’s destruction, 
  you’re surprised to see Evni Zongnoss, that 
  city’s Venture-Captain, alive and in Vellumis.
  “I understand you’ve been cleaning some 
  troublemakers out of our lodge here and 
  putting the city to rights. Excellent work! I’ve 
  got vital tasks needing skilled professionals, 
  and I think you’re just the agents I need.”
  LOCATIONS
  LOCATIONS
  Setup
  Setup
  11
  ADVENTURE 1: CITY OF SAILS AND SHROUDS
  
  KOBOLD 
  VETERAN
  KOBOLD 
  VETERAN
  HUMAN
  BARD
  HUMAN
  BARD
  Oh! I do think I read about 
  that recently. Now, was it 
  in the Bestiary of Garund 
  or that latest report from 
  Absalom...?
  Oh! I do think I read about 
  that recently. Now, was it 
  in the Bestiary of Garund 
  or that latest report from 
  Absalom...?
  PATHFINDER CHRONICLER SUPPORTER 0
  Illustration by Piotr Arendzikowski ©2019 Paizo Inc.
  POWERS
  Display. While displayed:
  • On any check against a barrier, a 
  spell, or an item, you may bury 
  to add 1d4+#.
  • □	You may bury to examine 
  the top 3 cards of any location.
  KOBOLD 
  VETERAN
  KOBOLD 
  VETERAN
  HUMAN
  FIGHTER
  HUMAN
  FIGHTER
  Pathfinders take all types. 
  Some read books, delve 
  tombs, or influence politics. I 
  get stabbed and bludgeoned.
  Pathfinders take all types. 
  Some read books, delve 
  tombs, or influence politics. I 
  get stabbed and bludgeoned.
  PATHFINDER BODYGUARD SUPPORTER 0
  Illustration by Thomas Wievegg ©2019 Paizo Inc.
  POWERS
  Display. While displayed:
  • When a local character suffers 
  damage, you may bury to reduce 
  it to 0.
  • □	To let any character avenge, 
  you may bury; during the 
  encounter, add 1d6 to all checks.
  12
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Pathfinder/2nd Edition/Adventure Card Game/Year of Rotting Ruins - Adventure 01 City of Sails & Shrouds.pdf