TEXT: Second Darkness
  Second Darkness
  
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  This product is compliant with the Open Game License (OGL) and is suitable for use with the 3.5 edition of the world’s most popular fantasy roleplaying game. The OGL can be found on page 32 of this product.
  Product Identity: The following items are hereby identified as Product Identity, as defined in the Open Game License version 1.0a, Section 1(e), and are not Open Content: All trademarks, registered trademarks, proper 
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  Open Content: Except for material designated as Product Identity (see above), the contents of this Paizo Publishing game product are Open Game Content, as defined in the Open Gaming License version 1.0a Section 1(d). 
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  Paizo Publishing, LLC
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  Paizo Publishing and the golem logo are registered trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC. Pathfinder and Pathfinder Companion are trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC. © 2008, Paizo Publishing, LLC.
  All Rights Reserved. Printed in China.
  Editor-in-Chief • James Jacobs
  Art Director • Drew Pocza
  Managing Editor • Mike McArtor
  Editors • F. Wesley Schneider and James L. Sutter
  Copy Editor • Christopher Carey 
  Editorial Assistance • Jason Bulmahn and Vic Wertz
  Editorial Intern • Claudia Golden
  Graphic Design Assistance • Sarah E. Robinson
  Managing Art Director • James Davis
  Publisher • Erik Mona
  Contributing Authors
  James Jacobs, F. Wesley Schneider, Amber E. Scott, Greg A. Vaughan
  Cover Artist
  Vincent Dutrait
  Cartographer
  Rob Lazzaretti
  Contributing Artists
  Andrew Hou, Chuck Luckas, Liu Yang
  Paizo CEO • Lisa Stevens
  Vice President of Operations • Jeff Alvarez
  Director of Sales & Marketing • Joshua J. Frost
  Corporate Accountant • Dave Erickson
  Staff Accountant • Christopher Self
  Technical Director • Vic Wertz
  Online Retail Coordinator • Jacob Burgess
  Special Thanks
  The Paizo Customer Service and Warehouse Teams
  Table of Contents
  Introduction	
  2
  Second	Darkness	Player’s	Guide	
  4
  Welcome	to	Riddleport	
  16
  Combat	
  22
  Faith	
  24
  Magic	
  26
  Social	
  28
  Persona	
  30
  Preview	
  32
  Second Darkness Player’s Guide
  COMPANION
  
  2
  COMPANION
  Hello Goodbye
  Welcome, gentle reader! As you’ve undoubtedly noticed, 
  this product is not like the player’s guides we published for 
  Rise of the Runelords and Curse of the Crimson Throne. 
  With this, the Second Darkness Pathfinder Companion, we 
  not only launch a new Adventure Path, but we also launch a 
  whole new product line: Pathfinder Companion. 
  Each bi-monthly Pathfinder Companion focuses on 
  a particular topic tied to Golarion or the Pathfinder 
  Chronicles Campaign Setting and comes out on the 
  months opposite Pathfinder Modules. A Pathfinder 
  Companion is made up of three sections: an examination 
  of the main topic in roughly 10 pages, a close look at some 
  location important to the topic at hand (in the case of 
  companions that focus on a location, this will be a city 
  or other specific place within the covered area), and five 
  short treatments offering new rules elements for use with 
  the topic: a prominent NPC and four based on classic 
  character archetypes. Every third Pathfinder Companion 
  acts as the player’s guide to the Adventure Path launching 
  that same month. Even if you don’t play in that particular 
  Adventure Path, though, you are sure to find something 
  useful—just as with every companion. 
  The Pathfinder Companion comes out of multiple 
  requests from among our readers to provide more player-
  friendly information. With the Adventure Path products 
  and modules, we definitely had the GMs in our audience 
  covered. Our Pathfinder Chronicles line does a good job of 
  presenting information for both GMs and players, but in 
  most of those products there are sections that could spoil 
  certain plotlines for players. Not so with the Pathfinder 
  Companion. Nothing in here or future companions should 
  spoil any surprises for players, making these products 100% 
  safe for GMs to share with their groups. That isn’t to say 
  there’s nothing in here for GMs, though. On the contrary: 
  since everything available to players is also available to game 
  masters, every Pathfinder Companion presents 32 pages of 
  information you as the GM can use to make your campaigns 
  even more immersive. 
  
  3
  Introduction
  be Guided, ye Players
  For this particular Pathfinder Companion, the topic at 
  hand is the Second Darkness Adventure Path. In this 
  companion, we introduce a structured and expansive 
  traits section. We first introduced traits in the Curse of 
  the Crimson Throne Player’s Guide, but with this player’s 
  guide we set out more defined rules and a much greater 
  variety. Originally conceived by James Jacobs, I had the 
  opportunity to work from his excellent ideas to build the 
  framework of the traits system for the Pathfinder Chronicles 
  Campaign Setting (which also releases this month!). When 
  the system got cut from that book for space concerns, 
  we decided to add it to this player’s guide. We hope you 
  like the new traits system, because you’re likely to see a 
  lot of it. It’s our intent to add new traits to the system 
  in every Pathfinder Companion, expanding your options 
  every 2 months. 
  Because the Second Darkness Adventure Path begins 
  in the hive of scholars and villainy known as Riddleport, 
  this companion’s location piece examines that unique 
  City of Cyphers on Varisia’s northwestern coast. Following 
  the Riddleport section comes five discussions full of 
  useful mechanics from Amber Scott, including a Second 
  Darkness-themed prestige class, spells for Riddleport’s 
  cyphermages, a look at worshipers of Cayden Cailean, and 
  magic items useful in exploring underground realms. 
  Then, closing out the section, comes the NPC Lavender 
  Lil, a locally infamous worker of the oldest profession 
  intimately tied into the waning Vancaskerkin fortunes. 
  Hopefully all this will prepare your characters for what’s 
  coming up in Second Darkness.
  Fare THee Well, My Friends
  In 4-1/2 years of working at Paizo, I have only taken the 
  opportunity to directly address you, our gentle readers 
  (best in the world!), twice. Once in the Pathfinder Chronicles 
  Campaign Setting hardcover and once here. By a strange 
  series of coincidences and not-so-coincidences, both of 
  these forewords come out in the same month and both of 
  them represent the end of my stint at Paizo Publishing. 
  I started in November, 2003, as an assistant editor 
  on the beloved (and missed) Dragon magazine. Wesley 
  Schneider and I started at the same time, and together 
  we shepherded Dragon for 44 issues, from spy-filled 
  #316 through to the nostalgiatastic #359. With the end 
  of Dragon and Dungeon’s print incarnations and the rise 
  of Pathfinder, Wes and I stopped working on the same 
  team. He went on to work on the Pathfinder Adventure 
  Paths and I became editor of… well… everything. For 
  a while, everything Paizo put out went past my eyes, 
  making me quite knowledgeable about Golarion and 
  Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting continuity. 
  For that reason, as well as my organizational skills, I 
  was blessed with the lead position on the campaign 
  setting’s hardcover and with launching this whole new 
  line of products. As of writing this,I’ve assigned the next 
  two companions to some excellent writers. Pathfinder 
  Companion: Elves, coming out in a couple months, 
  is being written by industry veteran Jeff Quick and 
  frequent Dragon contributor (and RPG Superstar Top 
  16 finisher) Hal Maclean. The third companion, set in 
  wondrous Osirion, comes from the fertile imaginations 
  of designer Todd Stewart and RPG Superstar Top 4 
  finisher Jason Nelson. 
  My favorite part of this job is working with the writers, 
  some of whom have been in this industry since the heady 
  days of 1st edition in the late 70s. It has also been my great 
  pleasure to help novices become recognized names in the 
  industry, aiding in the careers of several reliable and 
  talented writers. 
   When I announced my resignation I feared Paizo 
  might not be able to find a replacement with the varied 
  yet narrow skill set I have developed in the past 4-1/2 
  years, that James, Wes, Jason, and Sutter would have to 
  train a proofreader to become an editor. Despair not, my 
  friends, for Paizo once again worked its magic to not only 
  replace me, but to find an upgrade! My replacement on 
  the Pathfinder Chronicles and Pathfinder Companion lines 
  is himself a master of gaming lore and an all-around nice 
  guy. I speak here of Sean K Reynolds, who, as it turns out, 
  helped me land my first freelance gig in the d20 industry 
  that ultimately landed me my job at Paizo. So while this 
  is the last (and first!) foreword I will be writing for you, 
  I promise you’re going to like what you’ll see from these 
  products in the future. 
  Lest you fear this is the last you’ll hear from me, take 
  heart: I plan to continue writing for Paizo as a freelancer 
  for as long as they want to give me projects to work on. 
  Now I just need to get Sean to assign me a Companion 
  once in a while. 
  Thanks for many great years!
  Mike McArtor
  Editor
  Pathfinder Companion
  
  4
  COMPANION
  Second Darkness: Player’s Guide
  A foul omen looms in the sky over the scoundrel city of 
  Riddleport, an ominous shadow that defies the light. Is 
  it a curse laid millennia ago by forgotten mages? Does it 
  forewarn against the return of some terrible foe? Or does 
  it portend a terrible new era, a second Age of Darkness?
  Welcome to the Second Darkness Adventure Path! 
  This campaign will take your character from the pirate’s 
  haven of Riddleport to lands unknown, far across—and 
  deep below—the continent of Avistan. What follows is 
  everything you’ll need to make a character specially suited 
  to the challenges and trials that await, and new rules to give 
  you the edge you’ll need to combat the dark. Also within 
  lies a description of Riddleport, the City of Cyphers, meant 
  to familiarize you with the campaign’s starting city and 
  quite possibly your character’s new home. Everything you 
  need to survive the coming dangers lies before you, so read 
  closely, choose wisely, and prepare for the darkness.
  RACES
  Humans dominate the majority of the cities along 
  Varisia’s coast, and Riddleport proves no different. Yet, 
  in this den of outcasts and brigands, races rarely seen 
  among the civilized lands of the south—such as half-
  elves, half-orcs, and tieflings—gather in significantly 
  greater numbers. Dwarf or elf, halfling or human, the 
  residents of Riddleport holds few qualms over whom or 
  what they’re willing to exploit.
  Humans
  As the dominant race in Riddleport, humans can be 
  found occupying almost every occupation in the City of 
  Cyphers, including most of the positions of power and 
  influence. Although Chelaxians and settled Varisians 
  make up the majority of Riddleport’s population, 
  
  5
  Second Darkness: Player’s Guide
  representatives of nearly every ethnicity in Avistan and 
  Garund find their way to the pirate port. Kellishite and 
  Garundi traders sail their sharp-sailed vessels beneath 
  the arch of the Cyphergate, bringing with them the 
  exotic garb, art, and weapons of their people. Proud Ulfen 
  warriors from the Land of the Linnorm Kings regularly 
  make grudging stops in Riddleport, trading the wares 
  of their homeland and the spoils of raids in the city’s 
  markets. Traders, pirates, and privateers of Chelish and 
  Taldan descent compete on the open seas, eager to steal 
  the greatest riches back to the ports of their homeland. 
  Many of Varisia’s natives also find their way to 
  Riddleport. Among them, wandering Varisians delight 
  in the city’s wild spirit and exotic sites, making the city a 
  favored spot even over Magnimar and Korvosa to the south. 
  The criminal Sczarni—families and gangs of Varisian 
  thieves—particularly 
  relish 
  Riddleport’s 
  anything-
  goes, lawless atmosphere, and take every opportunity to 
  bilk foreign travelers of their gold. Even the occasional 
  Shoanti makes his way to the City of Cyphers. While the 
  sea-faring barbarians of the Shadde-Quah occupy the 
  cliffs and sea vales of the nearby Calphiaks, they have 
  few dealings with Riddleport’s unruly populace, seeing 
  them—rightly so—as untrustworthy and dishonorable. 
  Occasionally, members of the Shriikirri-Quah journey 
  to the outskirts of the city to trade their famously well-
  bred horses, but rarely travel within the city walls. Those 
  Shoanti seen within the city are typically outcasts and 
  dishonored warriors, seeking a new life in their shame 
  and often becoming laborers, brawlers, or pit fighters.
  Aside from controlling many of Riddleport’s criminal 
  enterprises, humans make up the majority of the city’s 
  scholars and clergy. The increasingly influential Order of 
  Cyphers and the academics of the Windward District are 
  filled with both native-born and well-traveled intellectuals 
  seeking to unravel the mysteries of Varisia’s ancient past. 
  The city’s several temples also support primarily human 
  clergy and congregations—although locally several 
  tieflings extol Calistria’s tenents, and Cayden Cailean’s 
  following is particularly diverse.
  Dwarves
  Many of the dwarves of Janderhoff find Riddleport a 
  lawless place unfit for proper business and devoid of 
  interest in true craftsmanship—and they’re not wrong. 
  The promise of profit often overshadows such scruples, 
  though. Funded wholly by a faceless consortium of 
  investors from Janderhoff, Riddleport’s Gas Forges 
  employ a sizable number of dwarves, either as miners in 
  the deadly underground carbauxine mines or as smiths 
  in the complex forges above. Aside from those dwarves 
  committed or crazed enough to sacrifice years of their 
  lives working among the poisonous forges, opportunistic 
  dwarves sometimes migrate to the city. These usually 
  adventurous dwarves often hope to make names and 
  fortunes for themselves by bringing a degree of much 
  lacked skilled labor to the city, or simply to turn a profit 
  selling dwarven goods to travelers from afar. Those with 
  no interest or skill in mining or trading find Riddleport’s 
  air of constant change, danger, and wild opportunity a 
  liberating change from stifling dwarven traditions.
  Elves
  With little interest in so uncouth and dangerous a 
  community, especially one so nearby the splendor of the 
  Mierani Forest, elves rarely deign to walk the streets of 
  Riddleport. While on rare occasions a lone Mierani hunter 
  or desperate elven traveler might find himself forced to 
  take shelter among the city’s vagrants and thieves, such 
  visits prove rare. Mierani criminals, outcasts forced to 
  flee their wooded homeland, and those afflicted with 
  dangerous wanderlust, appear slightly more frequently. 
  Similarly, individuals from far-off lands are just as likely 
  to make their way to Riddleport as those of the nearby 
  forests. Thus, although still uncommon, wild elves from 
  the Mwangi Expanse and even the aloof elves of Kyonin 
  are not unknown.
  Gnomes
  Some daring gnomes eke out a dangerous life for 
  themselves in Riddleport. Freedom-loving folk, typically 
  possessing no notion of humanity’s concepts of morality, 
  many make profitable livings working as alchemists and 
  druggists for any one of the city’s criminal factions. With 
  their love of change and new experiences, gnomes delight 
  in wandering the docks and markets of Riddleport, as 
  foreign ships bring an endless pageant of exotic sights, 
  sounds, and smells to their very doors. Some also make 
  filthy livings plying the muck of the Velashu River, 
  unknowing but always eager to discover what—or whom—
  they might turn up amid the slime.
  Halflings 
  Wily gamblers, skilled sailors, and deft thieves, halflings 
  find great opportunity in Riddleport’s pervasive criminal 
  underworld. As in Korvosa to the south, many halflings 
  take work upon the sea, their size and nimbleness making 
  them especially well suited to life on sailing vessels. 
  Yet, for all the short-folks’ skill, thieves of other races 
  typically look down upon their diminutive peers, and slurs 
  regarding “scrawny slips” are bandied about frequently. 
  Many halflings take such prejudices as motivation to excel, 
  and they avenge themselves by outdoing their oversized 
  competition. A few more enlightened or greedy crime 
  bosses care little for the size of those in their employ, 
  especially when it comes to getting a job done.
  
  6
  COMPANION
  Half-Elves
  Many of Varisia’s half-elves naturally migrate to 
  Riddleport, finding few who care about their parentage 
  among the city’s jaded populace. Quick thinkers, deft 
  talkers, and able workers, half-elves find great opportunity 
  among the city’s sailors, gamblers, merchants, and 
  criminals. Yet, aside from more provincial occupations, 
  Riddleport offers half-elves a chance at respectability 
  such as they rarely find in other lands, whether as 
  business managers, ship captains, or, particularly, among 
  the city’s gendarmes. Their keen wits and free spirits also 
  attract many to the Order of Cyphers and the worship of 
  the unruly deities Calistria and Cayden Cailean.
  Half-Orcs
  Although unlikely to find acceptance even in a city of out-
  casts and scoundrels, half-orcs embracing their human 
  parentage find Riddleport the most 
  tolerant of Vari-
  sia’s cities. The greed and am-
  bition that drives so many 
  ventures in the pirate 
  port 
  blinds 
  many 
  employers to the 
  specifics of one’s 
  race, and the nat-
  ural brawn and 
  ferocity of half-
  orcs make them 
  coveted 
  body-
  guards, bouncers, 
  and brawlers. Aside 
  from those who make 
  their livings as profes-
  sional knee-breakers or 
  combatants in Zincher’s Arena, 
  some half-orcs enjoy an almost human 
  life, taking on everyday jobs often de-
  nied them in other lands, or ship-
  ping out to sea as either pirates 
  or legitimate traders. Enjoy-
  ing the goddess’s fickleness 
  and savagery, more than one 
  half-orc also dons the hemp 
  vest of Besmara, goddess of pirates, 
  strife, and sea monsters.
  Tieflings
  Enigmatic and fearful, a small 
  number of tieflings make their 
  home in Riddleport. Although 
  few of the fiend-blooded race can 
  hope to disguise their heritage 
  even among the port’s exotic 
  crowds, the city’s chaotic and underhanded nature appeals 
  to many. Taking to criminal ventures with ease, tieflings 
  participate in a wide variety of illicit plots from thieving to 
  merely lending their intimidating presences to unlawful 
  proceedings. Like other half-bloods, many tieflings come 
  to Riddleport seeking freedom from societies that scorn 
  and fear them. Others come to the city trying to escape 
  their own fiendish heritages, hoping to blaze new paths 
  in the service of foreign deities, among the crew of a far-
  ranging ship, or as masters of their own destinies.
  ClASSES
  As travelers from all walks of life flock to Riddleport, 
  those of numerous professions and with countless skills 
  flourish in the City of Cyphers. While Varisia’s more 
  civilized south shuns those of more exotic or eccentric 
  vocations, Riddleport’s residents covet and cultivate any 
  skills that might help turn a profit.
  Barbarians
  As the northernmost human-dominated settlement in 
  Varisia, Riddleport often receives visits from two wildly 
  different but equally volatile barbarian people. Within 
  the nearby Calphiak Mountains and Curchain 
  Hills live two groups of the land’s native 
  Shoanti, the Shadde-Quah and the Shriikirri-
  Quah, respectively. Aloof, proud, honor-
  obsessed people, the Shadde-Quah live 
  off the crashing waves and jagged 
  cliffs of the Varisian coast, where 
  they see themselves as defenders 
  of their homeland’s seas. They 
  distrust non-Shoanti outsiders, 
  attacking 
  most 
  on 
  sight. 
  The 
  more sociable but no less proud Shoanti of the 
  Shriikirri-Quah cultivate a spiritual connection 
  with the animals of their homeland, especially the 
  horses that carry them in their nomadic travels, 
  and they occasionally trade with the foreigners 
  of the coast. It’s not uncommon to see tattooed 
  Shoanti, disenchanted with the ways of their 
  people, attempting to start new lives in the City 
  of Cyphers. (See Pathfinder #10 for full details 
  on the Shoanti.)
  Aside from the Varisian natives, skilled 
  and feared Ulfen seafarers from the Land 
  of the Linnorm Kings sometimes venture 
  to Riddleport, typically to sell and trade 
  goods raided from any number of coastal 
  communities. Quick to anger, but also 
  quick to laugh, brag, and drink, the 
  Ulfen are better understood and 
  liked in Riddleport than the 
  
  7
  Second Darkness: Player’s Guide
  local Shoanti, despite their not-infrequent attacks on 
  Riddleport ships.
  As merchants and travelers from all over Avistan and 
  Garund venture to the City of Cyphers, strange beliefs 
  and barbarian cultures from across these lands trickle 
  into port. Thus, it’s not uncommon to see wanderers 
  from the northern Garundi deserts, savage Kellids from 
  Numeria, and even stoic tribesmen from the Mwangi 
  Expanse passing through or seeking work.
  Bards
  Along with ravenous appetites for gold and alcohol, 
  Riddleport has an insatiable need for entertainers. With 
  the city’s numerous bars, inns, gaming halls, brothels, 
  restaurants, clubs, and other venues, the talents of 
  skilled performers are constantly in demand. Wandering 
  songsmiths, local instrumentalists, exotic dancers, 
  traveling poets, long-winded scops, and entertainers 
  from a hundred different cities and courts throughout 
  the world demand high coin for their coveted services. 
  Riddleport crowds are fickle, though, and one day’s star 
  is the next day’s hack; though, conversely, yesterday’s 
  courtesan has a fair chance at being tomorrow’s starlet. 
  Thus, competition among entertainers proves fierce in the 
  City of Cyphers, with performers knowing that, in many 
  venues, a poor show might cost them much more than 
  just their jobs, Riddleport audiences being notoriously 
  physical in their disapproval. Unsurprisingly, especially 
  through the Wharf District, rowdy pub patrons demand 
  bawdy tunes and clever sea shanties in endless supply, an 
  art form adopted by several foul-mouthed artistes. 
  Clerics
  Faith is fickle in Riddleport, a city that places its reverence 
  in luck, trickery, debauchery, and the sea. Most of the 
  city’s residents find it wiser to place their faith in their 
  own cunning and hard work than in capricious deities, 
  but one also can’t enter a local gambling den without 
  hearing praises raised to Desna’s, Cayden Cailean’s, or 
  Calistria’s name.
  Despite the inconsistency of their flocks, Cayden 
  Cailean and Calistria both have well-attended temples in 
  the City of Cyphers—a fact that likely has less to do with 
  faith and more with the former being a boisterous tavern 
  and the latter a brothel. These two temples, the Publican’s 
  House and House of the Silken Veil, respectively, both 
  support priests and reach out to the communities at 
  large. The church of the goddess Besmara, a lesser deity 
  revered by pirates and seafarers, also keeps a small local 
  temple where sailors and privateers make blood offerings 
  in exchange for placid seas and rich hauls.
  Aside from these well-rooted faiths, several priests of the 
  goddess Desna and Gozreh tend to small congregations 
  throughout the city, praying for fortune and fair weather in 
  their followers’ dealings on land and at sea. Especially along 
  the docks, the faithful of dozens of other deities wander the 
  city, some simply bringing their gods with them as they 
  travel, others seeking to proselytize in a new land. As the 
  resident faiths tend to be accepting or uncaring regarding 
  other beliefs, Riddleport proves quite open to foreign 
  dogmas—so long as they don’t interfere with business.
  Druids
  With the city’s reliance on the sea, druids are more 
  welcomed in Riddleport than most other urban 
  centers. Although the city as a whole cares little for its 
  environment—as evidenced by the disgusting state of 
  the Velashu River, Riddleport harbor, and the marshy 
  Boneyard—the city does all it can to placate the wrath of 
  surly nature worshipers with coins and token offerings to 
  Gozreh and other natural faiths. Despite their distaste for 
  the city, druids often come to the coasts near Riddleport to 
  commune with the waves and the creatures of the ocean. 
  Many predict that it’s only a matter of time before the fury 
  of nature consumes the exploitive city, but some druids 
  take a less damning approach to their dealings with the 
  city. As such, several druids take up residence near the 
  city’s docks, hoping to minimize the city’s impact on 
  the nearby bay, while others even join the crews of ships, 
  offering their unique abilities over the elements for the 
  chance to experience the open ocean.
  Aside from those druids interested in the waves and forests 
  farther inland, some hermetic druids make their homes 
  deep within the Calphiaks. Among the rocks and beasts 
  of the mountains, these hard-souled nature worshipers 
  find a rugged kind of spirituality. Yet, some of these pious 
  explorers seek to connect not with boulders and mountain 
  summits, but with the very depths of the earth, delving into 
  the endless tunnels that thread their way through the heart 
  of the Calphiaks and, as some say, far beyond.
  Fighters
  Riddleport’s need for those with strong arms and sharp 
  weapons never declines, even as the city slowly slides 
  toward legitimacy. Although mercenaries and raiders can 
  always find work on any number of pirate ships, caravans, 
  and trading vessels, most of the city’s martial-minded 
  residents take jobs protecting the stakes of the city’s 
  numerous crime bosses. Whether as bouncers, toughs, hit 
  men, or racketeers, experienced and well-feared fighters 
  never lack for work among the gangs of the city’s extensive 
  underworld. Particularly bloodthirsty or brutal fighters 
  can also find work brawling and splitting skulls exclusively 
  among the city’s several outlets for blood sport, primarily 
  at Zincher’s Arena, where crowds pay for gory displays on 
  a nightly basis. 
  
  8
  COMPANION
  Yet, for all the grim and nefarious work opportunities 
  the city offers, those warriors who prefer not to be tied 
  directly to any of Riddleport’s several obviously criminal 
  enterprises have options as well. Numerous skilled 
  fighters find an air of questionable legitimacy among the 
  mercenaries that serve as the city’s gendarmes. Although 
  not a wholly noble organization, many these keepers of 
  Riddleport’s few laws and relative peace do actually strive 
  to aid the people of the city. 
  Monks
  While hardly a spot to find enlightenment and spiritual 
  wholeness, Riddleport is a place where both martial abilities 
  and deception are valued commodities. As such, the skills 
  of those who are most deadly when unarmed and whose 
  appearances disguise their prowess are held in high esteem. 
  Although few who hone their physical skills seek worldly 
  comforts, those who do can find great respect and endless 
  work serving the city’s various crime bosses. The crowds at 
  Zincher’s Arena also delight in rare displays of martial arts 
  and, therefore, such practitioners command high prices 
  for such exhibitions. In some underground arenas and 
  fighting clubs, inelegant brawlers and hulking boxers learn 
  techniques similar to those of foreign monks, cultivating 
  bare-fisted styles less artful but no less devastating.
  Aside from the rare well-trained Shoanti brawler or 
  wandering ascetic, few Riddleport locals adopt the path 
  of the monk. Rather, most such martial-masters travel 
  to the city from afar, either passing through as they seek 
  new experiences to test their skills or in search of rivals 
  to hone their abilities. Thus, it’s not unheard of to find 
  representatives of the whirling masters of Thuvia, the 
  stone-footed acrobats of Qadira, or the silent lamas of the 
  east exploring Riddleport’s docks.
  Paladins
  Although none of Riddleport’s prominent faiths support 
  paladins among their ranks, one occasionally encounters 
  such valorous warriors amid the city’s bustling crowds. 
  Some holy warriors take it as a divine challenge to bring 
  the word of their deity to the irreverent, especially those 
  clustered in cities of sin like Riddleport. Occasional 
  wandering paladins of Iomedae and Abadar come to the 
  city in the hopes of wresting a few souls from darkness 
  and combating the wickedness rampant in the city, 
  but most end up departing in frustration. More than 
  one such holy warrior has disappeared in Riddleport, 
  as crusades against the city’s potent crime lords rarely 
  last long or end well. Paladins of Erastil and Sarenrae 
  tend to have slightly more success in the city, taking 
  lighter approaches and ingraining themselves among 
  the people by providing education and healing to the 
  frontier city. Also, paladins of other faiths sometimes 
  pass through the City of Cyphers, hoping to cleanse the 
  city by ridding the still dangerous countryside of savages 
  and monstrous threats. In doing so, most hope to pave 
  the way for more decent folk to come to the region and 
  change the city over time. 
  Rangers
  As one of the northernmost true cities encountered 
  before entering the savage Land of the Linnorm Kings 
  and wildernesses beyond, Riddleport is a true frontier 
  town. As such, numerous skilled hunters, trackers, 
  and explorers make their home in and around the city, 
  ever ready for the next expedition. In the nearby wilds, 
  hunters patrol the mountains in search of exotic beasts 
  that prey upon farms along the Velashu River, such as 
  wolves, firepelt cougars, harpies, and even the occasional 
  roc or hill giant. 
  Within the city, some rangers take sail aboard local 
  ships, and more than one shark hunter or killer of sea 
  monsters—such as aberrant reefclaws or magical beasts 
  like devilfish—keep live-in trophy halls near the city’s 
  wharves. Those with swift mounts make fine livings as 
  couriers within the city and between Riddleport and its 
  holdings in Roderic’s Cove. Alternatively, hunters of men 
  find endless outlets for their talents as hit men for the 
  city’s endless criminal dealings.
  Recently, several local rangers have taken to exploring 
  the vast cave systems beneath the Calphiak Mountains. 
  Those 
  who 
  survive 
  such 
  dangerous 
  expeditions 
  sometimes return with strange fungi and evidence of 
  bizarre, pale-skinned beasts.
  Rogues
  In a city of scoundrels, the quick-witted flourish. Rogues of 
  every variety and specialty find ample use for their skills 
  serving the city’s various crime bosses, from pickpockets 
  and second-story men to con artists and smugglers. Nearly 
  every racket has its possibilities and place in Riddleport, 
  and it’s not uncommon to find the most skilled scoundrels 
  involved in multiple schemes at the same time. Those 
  rogues adverse to theft and deadly dealings often make 
  their ways as gamblers, merchants, prostitutes, private 
  investigators, and even among the city’s gendarme.
  Aside from those crooks in the direct employ of 
  Riddleport’s crime bosses, several other fledging gangs 
  and lone thieves seek to make names for themselves in 
  the City of Cyphers. Groups of Sczarni occasionally blow 
  into the city, running con games and quick rackets before 
  heading back on the road. And while crime bosses control 
  many of the criminal enterprises within the city, most 
  hold little sway outside the port’s walls. Thus, wandering 
  brigands and roadside thieves come from all across 
  Varisia to pawn their pilfered wares.
  
  9
  Second Darkness: Player’s Guide
  Sorcerers
  Many magic-users feel a special connection to the massive, 
  ancient monuments that mark the Varisian landscape, with 
  few feeling such lures more fundamentally than sorcerers. 
  In a land that seems to be suffused with magical wonders, 
  such spellcasters often seek to learn more of the mysteries 
  of their own blood and improve upon their innate talents. 
  Many sorcerers join the ranks of the Order of Cyphers, 
  some even claiming evidence of ancestries relating them 
  to the land’s lost civilizations. Others use their magical 
  skills for more direct monetary gain, aiding criminals, 
  performing their own magic-aided cons, or participating 
  in the occasional spell duel at Zincher’s Arena.
  Wizards
  Obsessed with the secrets of its infamous monuments, 
  wizards have flocked to Varisia for decades, hoping to 
  discover ancient magics and arcane secrets amid the 
  enigmatic monoliths. At the vanguard of research exploring 
  these gigantic artifacts, the Order of  Cyphers—a group 
  of scholars with a shared obsession—makes its home 
  in Riddleport. Growing in influence by the year, these 
  cyphermages study Varisian monuments—particularly 
  Riddleport’s 
  enigmatic 
  Cyphergate—in 
  exhaustive 
  detail. Although the Order exists to share discoveries 
  and research, many cyphermages prove dangerously 
  competitive, keeping their findings from one another and 
  even sabotaging the inquiries of their peers.
   
  Cyphermages are not alone in Riddleport, though. 
  The skills of talented magic users go far in both trade 
  and criminal enterprises. Some wizards make tidy profits 
  selling simple scrolls and potions, especially of spells that 
  prove particularly useful at sea. Others join the ranks of 
  the city’s underworld elite, their divinations and illusions 
  aiding rival crime bosses in spying and misleading one 
  another. Several of the city’s better-funded gambling dens 
  also keep house wizards on staff, using their magic to watch 
  for cheaters. Aboard the ships of pirates and privateers, 
  ship wizards are also highly respected and paid, their skills 
  proving invaluable in crippling the vessels of enemies and 
  defending against any number of sea-spawn threats.
  ChARACtER tRAitS
  Playing an Adventure Path is a different experience than 
  playing in a one-shot adventure. An Adventure Path 
  presents a long, ongoing campaign, but unlike a custom-
  created campaign built by a specific GM for a group of 
  players whose tastes and proclivities in character creation 
  are known quantities, we don’t know what kinds of choices 
  your players prefer when building their characters. As 
  a result, one of the driving philosophies of crafting an 
  Adventure Path is to include sections for all 11 of the core 
  classes, so that no one feels “left out” by the game.
  But what about the less tangible elements of game 
  play? If you’re rolling up a new character for a home-
  brew campaign, you can (hopefully) trust your GM 
  to tailor the campaign to include your character and 
  his history and personality. For an Adventure Path, 
  though, how is a player to know what choices and what 
  backgrounds might dovetail into the predetermined 
  story arc of the campaign he’s about to spend several 
  months playing, without spoiling key components of 
  the adventure’s plotline?
  That’s the question that the Adventure Path Player’s 
  Guides have attempted to address. In all of the Player’s 
  Guides, including this one, we attempt to provide not only 
  a gazetteer of the region in which the campaign begins, 
  but also a spoiler-free discussion on what choices might 
  be best to make when creating a dwarf, an elf, a sorcerer, 
  a ranger, and so on. Yet there’s another tool that’s been 
  evolving over the past year as well: the Character Trait.
  The first incarnation of this new element to your 
  character appeared in the Rise of the Runelords Player’s 
  Guide, disguised as six new feats that your new character 
  could take (we recommended that GMs allow players to 
  pick one of these six as a bonus feat). These new feats were 
  more than just additional tricks and powers, though; 
  they were crafted to infuse newly created characters with 
  built-in links to the then brand-new realm of Varisia.
  In the Curse of the Crimson Throne Player’s Guide, we 
  abandoned the bonus feat model and instead came up 
  with several traits from which new players could pick and 
  choose. Each trait granted one of two relatively minor 
  bonuses, but the majority of each trait consisted of flavor 
  and background information intended to prime your new 
  character for the start of the campaign.
  And that brings us here, to the Second Darkness Player’s 
  Guide and the finally solidified Character Trait mechanic.
  Character Trait Design Philosophy
  At its core, a Character Trait is approximately equal in 
  power to half a feat—in fact, at one point, we considered 
  calling them “Half Feats” but abandoned that idea when we 
  realized it implied a point-based system that didn’t really 
  exist (there’s no such thing, for example, as a “Double Feat”). 
  Yet a Character Trait isn’t just another kind of power you 
  can add on to your character—it’s a way to quantify (and 
  encourage) building a character background that fits into 
  the world of Golarion. Think of Character Traits as “story 
  seeds” for your background; after you pick your two traits, 
  you’ll have a point of inspiration from which to build your 
  character’s personality and history. Alternatively, if you’ve 
  already got a background in your head or written down for 
  your character, you can view picking his traits as a way to 
  quantify that background, just as picking race and class and 
  ability scores quantifies his strengths and weaknesses.
  
  10
  COMPANION
  One more thing: Character Traits are for PCs. If you 
  want an NPC to have traits, that NPC will need to “buy” 
  them with the Additional Traits feat. Player characters are 
  special; they’re the stars of the game, after all, and if they 
  have an advantage over the NPCs of the world in this way, 
  that kind of makes sense. The pregenerated characters 
  presented in Pathfinder and the modules will not have 
  bonus traits selected for them—we’re leaving those choices 
  to you if you wish to use one of them as a PC.
  Many traits grant a new type of bonus: a “trait” bonus. 
  Trait bonuses do not stack—they’re intended to give you a 
  slight edge over the non-PCs of the world, not a secret back-
  door way to focus all your traits on one type of bonus to gain 
  an unseemly advantage over the rules. It’s certainly possible, 
  for example, that somewhere down the line, a “Courageous” 
  trait might be on the list of Dwarf Racial Traits, but just 
  because this trait’s on the Dwarf Racial Traits list and the 
  Basic Combat Traits list doesn’t mean you’re any more brave 
  if you choose both than if you choose only one.
  Gaining Traits
  When you create your character for 
  Second Darkness, ask your GM how 
  many traits you can select. In most 
  cases, a new PC should gain two 
  traits, effectively gaining a bonus feat 
  at character creation. Some GMs may 
  wish to limit this somewhat, depending 
  upon their style of play; you may only 
  be able to pick one trait, or your GM 
  might allow three or more. Even if 
  your GM doesn’t allow bonus traits, 
  you should still be able to pick up 
  some with the Additional Traits 
  feat (see the sidebar on page 12).
  For Second Darkness, there are 
  two categories of traits to choose 
  from. One of your Traits must 
  be a Campaign trait chosen 
  from the list starting on 
  page 14—this trait ties 
  your character into the 
  Second Darkness storyline and 
  gives you a built-in reason to be-
  gin the first adventure, “Shadow 
  in the Sky.” Your other trait should 
  be chosen from one of the four types 
  of Basic Traits: Combat, Faith, Magic, or 
  Social. Note that each of these four categories 
  roughly equates to the four modes of adven-
  turing, but aren’t tied to specific classes. It’s 
  perfectly possible to have a religious rogue, for 
  example, or a magic-obsessed fighter.
  But we don’t intend on stopping there! With each new 
  Pathfinder Companion, you can look forward to us introducing 
  additional traits. These new traits will fall into one of three 
  categories: Racial, Regional, and Religion. If you’re creating 
  a Second Darkness character after additional Pathfinder 
  Companions have become available, you can certainly choose 
  to pick a Racial, Regional, or Religion Trait as your second 
  trait, but your initial trait should always be one selected 
  from the Second Darkness Campaign Traits list.
  Types of Traits
  There are five types of Character Traits to choose from, 
  although at the time of this book’s printing, only two (Basic 
  and Campaign) are available; these traits are described 
  on pages 11–15. The other three categories of traits are 
  listed below—expect to see traits from these categories in 
  future Pathfinder Companions!
  Racial Traits: Racial Traits 
  are keyed to specific races or 
  ethnicities. In order to select a 
  Racial Trait, your character must 
  be of the trait’s race or ethnicity. 
  If your race or ethnicity changes 
  at some later point (as could 
  be possible due to the result of 
  polymorph magic or a reincarnation 
  spell), the benefits gained by your 
  racial trait persist—only if your mind 
  and memories change as well do you 
  lose the benefits of a Racial Trait. Of 
  course, in such an event, you’re also 
  likely to lose skills, feats, and a 
  whole lot more!
  Regional Traits: Regional Traits 
  are keyed to specific regions, be they 
  large (such as a nation or geographic 
  region) or small (such as a city or a 
  specific mountain). In order to select 
  a Regional Trait, your PC must have 
  spent at least a year living in that 
  region. Note that at first level, you can 
  only select one Regional Trait (typically 
  the one tied to your character’s place of 
  birth or homeland), despite the number of 
  regions you might wish to write into your 
  character’s background.
  Religion Traits: Religion Traits indicate 
  that your character has an established faith 
  in a specific deity; you need not be a member 
  of a class that can wield divine magic to pick 
  a Religion Trait, but you do have to have a 
  patron deity and have some amount of religion 
  in your background to justify this trait.  
  
  11
  Second Darkness: Player’s Guide
  Unlike the other four categories of traits, Religion Traits 
  can go away if you abandon your religion, as detailed below 
  under Restrictions.
  Restrictions on Trait Selection
  There are a few rules governing trait selections. To begin 
  with, your GM controls how many bonus traits a PC begins 
  with; the default assumption is two traits. When selecting 
  traits, you may not select more than one from the same 
  list of traits. Certain types of traits may have additional 
  requirements, as detailed in the section above.
  Remember also that traits are intended to model events 
  that were formative in your character’s development, 
  either before he became an adventurer, or (in the case 
  of additional traits gained via the Additional Traits feat) 
  events that happened while adventuring. Even if you 
  become a hermit and abandon society, you’ll still retain 
  your legacy of growing up an aristocrat if you took a Social 
  Trait. The one exception to this is Religion Traits—since 
  these traits require continued faith in a specific deity, you 
  can indeed lose the benefits of these traits if you switch 
  religions. In this case, consult your GM for your options. 
  He may simply rule that you lose that trait, or he might 
  allow you to pick a new Religion Trait tied to your new 
  deity. Another option is that if you abandon a religion, 
  you lose the associated Religion Traits until you gain 
  an experience level, at which point you may replace lost 
  Religion Traits with Basic Faith Traits. 
  BASiC tRAitS
  These traits are broken down into four categories. 
  Combat Traits focus on martial and physical aspects 
  of your character’s background. Faith Traits focus on 
  his religious and philosophical leanings. Magic Traits 
  focus on any magical events or training he may have had 
  in his past. And Social Traits is both a catch-all category 
  and one that indicates what social class or upbringing 
  your PC had.
  Combat Traits
  These traits are associated with combat, battle, and 
  physical prowess; they give characters minor bonuses in 
  battle and represent conflicts and physical struggles in 
  the character’s backstory.
  1 Anatomist: You have studied the workings of anatomy, 
  either as a student at university or as an apprentice 
  mortician or necromancer. You know where to aim your 
  blows to strike vital organs and you gain a +1 trait bonus 
  on all rolls made to confirm critical hits.
  2 Armor Expert: You have worn armor as long as you can 
  remember, either as part of your training to become a 
  knight’s squire or simply because you were seeking to 
  emulate a hero. Your childhood armor wasn’t the real 
  thing as far as protection, but it did encumber you as 
  much as real armor would have, and you’ve grown used to 
  moving in such suits with relative grace. When you wear 
  armor of any sort, reduce that suit’s armor check penalty 
  by 1, to a minimum check penalty of 0.
  3 Bullied: You were bullied often as a child, and you are now 
  constantly ready to defend yourself with your fists when 
  an enemy comes near. You gain a +1 trait bonus on attacks 
  of opportunity attack rolls made with unarmed strikes. 
  Note that this trait does not grant the ability to make 
  attacks of opportunity with your unarmed strikes—you’ll 
  need to take a level of monk, the Improved Unarmed 
  Strike feat, or some other similar power to gain the use 
  of this Character Trait. However, that doesn’t prevent you 
  from selecting this trait. You’ll simply not be able to make 
  use of it until a later point if you do.
  4 Courageous: Your childhood was brutal, yet you persevered 
  primarily through force of will and the hope that no 
  matter how hard things might get, as long as you kept a 
  level head you’d make it through. You gain a +2 trait bonus 
  on saving throws against fear effects.
  5 Deft Dodger: Growing up in a rough neighborhood or a 
  dangerous environment has honed your senses. You gain 
  a +1 trait bonus on Reflex saves..
  6 Dirty Fighter: You wouldn’t have lived to make it out 
  of childhood without the aid of a sibling, friend, or 
  companion on whom you could always count to distract 
  your enemies long enough to do a little bit more damage 
  than normal. That companion may be another PC or 
  an NPC (who may even be recently departed from your 
  side). When you hit a foe you are flanking, you deal an 
  additional 1 point of damage (this damage is added to 
  your base damage, and is multiplied on a critical hit). This 
  additional damage is a trait bonus.
  7 Fencer: You trained long hours as a youth with blades, 
  either taking lessons in the genteel art of fencing from 
  tutors paid for by your parents or by being taken under 
  the wing of a disenfranchised fencer who may have turned 
  to a life of crime. You gain a +1 trait bonus on attacks of 
  opportunity made with daggers, swords, and similar 
  bladed weapons.
  8 Killer: You made your first kill at a very young age and 
  found the task of war or murder to your liking. You either 
  take particular pride in a well-placed blow, or vile pleasure 
  in such a strike as you twist the blade to maximize the 
  pain. You deal additional damage equal to your weapon’s 
  critical hit modifier when you score a successful critical 
  hit with a weapon; this additional damage is added to 
  the final total, and is not multiplied by the critical hit 
  multiple itself. This extra damage is a trait bonus.
  9 Reactionary: You were bullied often as a child, but 
  never quite developed an offensive response. Instead, 
  you became adept at anticipating sudden attacks and 
  
  12
  COMPANION
  reacting to danger quickly. You gain a +2 trait bonus to 
  Initiative checks.
  10 Resilient: Growing up in a violent neighborhood or in the 
  unforgiving wilds often forced you to subsist on food and 
  water from doubtful sources. You’ve built up your mettle 
  as a result, and gain a +1 trait bonus on Fortitude saves.
  Faith Traits
  These traits rely upon conviction of spirit, perception, 
  and religion, but are not directly tied to the worship of 
  a specific deity. You do not need a patron deity to gain 
  a Faith Trait, as these traits can represent conviction in 
  one’s self or philosophy just as easily as they can represent 
  dedication to a deity.
  1 Birthmark: You were born with a strange birthmark that 
  looks very similar to the holy symbol of the god you 
  chose to worship later in life. This birthmark can serve 
  you as a divine focus for casting spells, and, as a physical 
  manifestation of your faith, increases your devotion to 
  your god—you gain a +2 trait bonus on all saving throws 
  against charm and compulsion effects as a result.
  2 Caretaker: As the child of an herbalist or an assistant in 
  a temple infirmary, you often had to assist in tending to 
  the sick and wounded. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Heal 
  checks, and Heal is always a class skill for you. 
  3 Child of the Temple: You have long served at a temple 
  in a city, and not only did you pick up on many of the 
  nobility’s customs, you spent much time in the temple 
  libraries studying your faith. You gain a +1 trait bonus on 
  Knowledge (nobility and royalty) and Knowledge (religion) 
  checks, and one of these skills (your choice) is always a 
  class skill for you.
  4 Devotee of the Green: Your faith in the natural world or one 
  of the gods of nature makes it easy for you to pick up on 
  related concepts. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Knowledge 
  (geography) and Knowledge (nature) checks, and one of 
  these skills (your choice) is always a class skill for you.
  5 Ease of Faith: Your mentor, the person who invested your 
  faith in you from an early age, took steps to ensure that 
  you understood that what powers your divine magic is 
  no different than that which powers the magic of other 
  religions. This philosophy makes it easier for you to 
  interact with others who may not share your views. You 
  gain a +1 bonus on Diplomacy checks, and Diplomacy is 
  always a class skill for you.
  6 History of Heresy: You were raised with heretical views 
  that have made it not only difficult for you to accept most 
  religious beliefs, but you also have had to live with the fact 
  that you or those you love were often treated as pariahs. As 
  a result, you have turned your back on religious teachings, 
  and as long as you do not possess any levels in a class that 
  grants divine spellcasting power, you gain a +1 trait bonus 
  on all saving throws made against divine spells.
  7 Indomitable Faith: You were born in a region where 
  your faith was not popular, yet you never abandoned it. 
  Your constant struggle to maintain your own faith has 
  bolstered your drive; you gain a +1 trait bonus on Will 
  saves as a result.
  8 Sacred Conduit: Your birth was particularly painful and 
  difficult for your mother, who needed potent divine magic 
  to ensure you survived; your mother may or may not have 
  survived. In any event, the magic infused you from an 
  early age, and you now channel divine energy with greater 
  ease than most. Whenever you channel divine energy to 
  turn or rebuke undead, you gain a +2 trait bonus on the 
  Turn/Rebuke Undead check.
  9 Sacred Touch: You were exposed to a potent source of 
  positive energy as a child, perhaps by being born under the 
  right cosmic sign, or maybe because one of your parents was 
  a gifted healer. As a standard action, you may automatically 
  stabilize a dying creature merely by touching it.
  10 Scholar of the Great Beyond: Your great interests as a 
  child did not lie with current events or the mundane—
  you have always felt out of place, as if you were born in the 
  wrong era. You take to philosophical discussions of the 
  Great Beyond and of historical events with ease. You gain 
  a +1 trait bonus on Knowledge (history) and Knowledge 
  (the planes) checks, and one of these skills (your choice) is 
  always a class skill for you.
  Magic Traits
  These traits are associated with magic, and focus on 
  spellcasting and manipulating magic. You need not be a 
  spellcaster to take a Magic Trait (although several of these 
  traits aren’t as useful to non-spellcasters). Magic Traits 
  can represent a character’s early exposure to magical 
  effects or childhood studies of magic.
  1 Classically Schooled: Your apprenticeship or early education 
  was particularly focused on the direct application of magic. 
  You gain a +1 trait bonus on Spellcraft checks, and Spellcraft 
  is always a class skill for you.
  2 Dangerously Curious: You have always been intrigued by 
  magic, possibly because you were the child of a magician 
  or priest. You often snuck into your parent’s laboratory or 
  New Feat: 
  aDDitioNal 
  traitS
  You have more traits than normal.
  Benefit: You gain two Character Traits of your choice. 
  These traits must be chosen from different lists, and 
  cannot be chosen from lists from which you have already 
  selected a Character Trait. You must meet any additional 
  qualifications for the Character Traits you choose—this 
  feat cannot enable you to select a Dwarf Character Trait if 
  you are an elf, for example.
  
  13
  Second Darkness: Player’s Guide
  shrine to tinker with spell components and magic devices, 
  and often caused quite a bit of damage and headaches for 
  your parent as a result. You gain a +1 bonus on Use Magic 
  Device checks, and Use Magic Device is always a class skill 
  for you.
  3 Focused Mind: Your childhood was either dominated 
  by lessons of some sort (be they musical or academic) or 
  by a horrible home life that encouraged your ability to 
  block out distractions to focus on the immediate task at 
  hand. You gain a +1 bonus on Concentration checks, and 
  Concentration is always a class skill for you.
  4 Gifted Adept: Your interest in magic was inspired by 
  witnessing a spell being cast in a particularly dramatic 
  method, perhaps even one that affected you physically or 
  spiritually. This early exposure to magic has made it easier 
  for you to work similar magic on your own. Pick one spell 
  when you choose this trait—from this point on, whenever 
  you cast that spell, its effects manifest at +1 caster level. 
  5 Hedge Magician: You apprenticed for a time to a 
  craftsman who often built magic items, and he taught 
  you many handy shortcuts and cost-saving techniques. 
  Whenever you craft a magic item, you reduce the cost of 
  gp and XP required to make the item by 5%.
  6 Magical Knack: You were raised, either wholly or in part, by 
  a magical creature, either after it found you abandoned in 
  the woods or because your parents often left you in the care 
  of a magical minion. This constant exposure to magic has 
  made its mysteries easy for you to understand, even when 
  you turn your mind to other devotions and tasks. Pick a 
  class when you gain this trait—your caster level in that class 
  gains a +2 trait bonus as long as this bonus doesn’t increase 
  your caster level higher than your current Hit Dice.
  7 Magical Lineage: One of your parents was a gifted 
  spellcaster who not only used metamagic often, but 
  developed many magical items and perhaps even a new 
  spell or two—and you have inherited a fragment of this 
  greatness. Pick one spell when you choose this trait. 
  When you apply metamagic feats to this spell, treat its 
  actual level as 1 lower for determining the spell’s final 
  adjusted level.
  8 Magical Talent: Either from inborn talent, whimsy of 
  the gods, or obsessive study of strange tomes, you have 
  mastered the use of a cantrip. Choose a 0-level spell. You 
  may cast that spell once per day as a spell-like ability. This 
  spell-like ability is cast at your highest caster level gained; 
  if you have no caster level, it functions at CL 1st. The spell-
  like ability’s Save DC is Charisma-based.
  9 Mathematical Prodigy: Mathematics has always come 
  easily for you, and you have always been able to “see the 
  math” in the physical and magical world. You gain a +1 
  bonus on Knowledge (arcana) and Knowledge (architecture 
  and engineering) checks, and one of these skills (your 
  choice) is always a class skill for you.
  10 Skeptic: Growing up, you were always around magical 
  effects to the extent that you realized that much of it was 
  smoke and mirrors. You gain a +2 trait bonus on all saving 
  throws against illusions.
  Social Traits
  Social Traits are a sort of catch-all category—these traits 
  reflect the social upbringing of your character, your 
  background with high society or lack thereof, and your 
  history with parents, siblings, friends, competitors, and 
  enemies.
  1 Adopted: You were adopted and raised by someone not of 
  your actual race, and raised in a society not your own. As 
  a result, you picked up a Racial Trait from your adoptive 
  parents and society, and may immediately select a Racial 
  Trait from your adoptive parents’ race.
  2 Bully: You grew up in an environment where the meek 
  were ignored and you often had to resort to threats 
  or violence to be heard. You gain a +1 trait bonus on 
  Intimidate checks, and Intimidate is always a class skill 
  for you.
  3 Canter: You grew up among thieves and scoundrels, and 
  their unusual speech patterns and turns of phrase don’t 
  phase you in the slightest today as a result. Anyone who 
  attempts to use Bluff to deliver a secret message to you 
  gains a +5 bonus on his Bluff check. When you attempt to 
  intercept a secret message using Sense Motive, you gain a 
  +5 trait bonus on the attempt.
  4 Charming: Blessed with good looks, you’ve come to 
  depend on the fact that others find you attractive. You 
  gain a +1 trait bonus when you use Bluff or Diplomacy 
  on a character that is (or could be) sexually attracted to 
  you, and a +1 trait bonus to the save DC of any language-
  dependent spell you cast on such characters or creatures.
  5 Child of the Streets: You grew up on the streets of a large 
  city, and as a result you have developed a knack of knowing 
  where to go and who to talk to when you’re looking for 
  some information. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Gather 
  Information checks, and Gather Information is always a 
  class skill for you.
  6 Fast-Talker: You had a knack at getting yourself into 
  trouble as a child, and as a result developed a silver tongue 
  at an early age. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Bluff checks, 
  and Bluff is always a class skill for you.
  7 Natural-Born Leader: You’ve always found yourself 
  in positions where others look up to you as a leader, 
  and you can distinctly remember an event from your 
  early childhood where you led several other children to 
  accomplish a goal that each of you individually could not. 
  All cohorts, followers, or summoned creatures under your 
  leadership gain a +1 morale bonus on Will saves to avoid 
  mind-affecting effects. If you ever take the Leadership 
  feat, you gain a +1 trait bonus to your Leadership score.
  
  14
  COMPANION
  8 Poverty-Stricken: Your childhood was tough, and your 
  parents had to make every copper piece count. Hunger was 
  your constant companion, and you often had to live off the 
  land or sleep in the wild. You gain a +1 bonus to Survival 
  checks, and Survival is always a class skill for you.
  9 Rich Parents: You were born into a rich family, perhaps 
  even the nobility, and even though you turned to a life of 
  adventure anyway, you enjoyed a one-time benefit to your 
  initial finances and your starting cash increases to 900 gp.
  10 Suspicious: You discovered at an early age that someone 
  you trusted, perhaps an older sibling or a parent, had 
  lied to you, and often, about something you had taken 
  for granted, leaving you quick to question the claims of 
  others. You gain a +1 trait bonus on Sense Motive checks, 
  and Sense Motive is always a class skill for you.
  SECond dARknESS 
  CAmpAign tRAitS
  Campaign Traits are tailored 
  to a specific Adventure Path 
  and give your character a built-
  in reason to begin the first 
  adventure in the new campaign. 
  Some Campaign Traits also grant 
  teamwork benefits if you choose 
  to begin a campaign with your 
  character having a pre-
  existing relationship with 
  another PC.
  You’ll notice right away that Campaign Traits assume 
  a lot more about your character’s back story than Basic 
  Traits do, and that those assumptions are mostly about 
  very recent events in your history rather than formative 
  childhood events. You have a certain amount of leeway in 
  adjusting or changing a Campaign Trait’s expected back 
  story once you’ve selected which Trait is right for you, but 
  make sure to get your GM’s approval before you run with 
  a modified back story.
  All of the following traits revolve around one of two 
  current events in the city of Riddleport. The first is the 
  manifestation of the Blot, a strange and ominous shadow 
  in the sky that looks like nothing so much as a cloud of 
  darkness. The Blot captured the interest of Riddleport’s 
  citizens when it first manifested, but that was months 
  ago—now, after the strange cloud hasn’t done anything 
  particularly dramatic for so long, most folk have grown 
  accustomed to it. Most—but not all; some, such as the 
  Order of Cyphers, remain concerned by the strange 
  cloud, and worry that it may be the harbinger of 
  something worse.
  The other event is a gambling tournament 
  called “Cheat the Devil and Take His Gold.” 
  Held at the recently reopened Gold Goblin 
  Gambling Hall, talk of the tourney has spread 
  throughout the town of Riddleport and has 
  even reached some taverns in cities as far 
  as Magnimar or even Korvosa. Excitement 
  for the tournament has been building for 
  a month, and now that the day is finally here, 
  people from all over are flocking to take part. The 
  somewhat restrictive entrance fee ironically makes 
  it not possible for many of Riddleport’s own citizens to 
  attend, but in the case of each PC who takes a Second 
  Darkness Campaign Trait, that 1 gp entrance fee has been 
  paid, either by an interested party or by yourself (this 
  expense does not come from your starting cash).
  1 Fools for Friends: You don’t think of yourself as a gambler. 
  In fact, you rather detest the whole thing. Unfortunately, 
  one or more of your friends (pick one or more of the other 
  players’ characters) doesn’t think so, and you’ve recently 
  learned that friend—or friends—have decided to go to 
  the Gold Goblin’s “Cheat the Devil and Take his Gold” 
  tournament. Which pretty much means you have to go as 
  well, since if no one’s there to watch out for them, they’ll 
  lose all their money and respect. Again. Sometimes it’s 
  hard being the responsible one. Your devotion to your 
  friendships (even when said friends seem, at times, to 
  be trying to test that devotion) is a point of pride to you. 
  Whenever you take the Aid Another action to help an ally, 
  or whenever an ally aids you in this manner, a successful 
  check grants an additional +1 trait bonus to the check for 
  which aid was being rendered. Additionally, as long as one 
  
  15
  Second Darkness: Player’s Guide
  of your friends is within 30 feet, you gain a +1 trait bonus 
  on all saving throws against charm and compulsion 
  effects.
  2 Into Enemy Territory: The shadow in the sky is visible 
  from all around Riddleport, not just in town. It’s certainly 
  come to the attention of several druids, rangers, and other 
  rural folk who dwell in the nearby mountains, forests, 
  and swamps—among them, yourself. You’ve consulted 
  with several seers and Harrowers, and may even have 
  performed some simple auguries yourself, and all the 
  signs point the same way—something or someone in 
  Riddleport is connected to the blot, and it means bad 
  news for the region. You’ve avoided the sleazy, dirty town 
  for most of your life, traveling there only when absolutely 
  necessary, and although you don’t relish the prospect of 
  going there now, you see little other choice (especially if 
  one of your superiors is ordering you to go investigate). 
  Fortunately, an eccentric friend of yours (pick another PC) 
  is in town, and you’ve heard this friend will be taking part 
  in some gambling thing at a place called the Gold Goblin. 
  Your friend’s always had better luck interacting with the 
  cityfolk, so you’ve decided to accompany your friend to 
  this gambling tournament and plan on letting him find a 
  safe place for you to stay while you’re in town. Your long 
  life of self-sustenance has toughened you and made you 
  more resistant to hardship, in any event—pick one of the 
  three categories of saving throw. You gain a +1 trait bonus 
  on all saving throws of that type.
  3 Looking for Work: Although out of work, you aren’t 
  particularly keen on the prospect of gambling away your 
  last remaining coins simply for a chance at riches. That 
  said, if the Gold Goblin’s fortunes reverse after this big 
  gambling tournament, you’re relatively certain its owner, 
  Saul Vancaskerkin, will be needing to hire on some new 
  staff members. You’ve secured payment for the tournament, 
  and intend on attending mostly to check the place out, to 
  decide if it’s a place you’d want to work at (as a bouncer, 
  bartender, croupier, server, entertainer, spotter, or cook), 
  and hopefully get a chance to catch Saul’s eye and make an 
  impression. You’ve long worked at honing your skills, and 
  are quite accomplished and certain that you have something 
  to offer. Pick one of the following skills: Bluff, Craft (any), 
  Diplomacy, Intimidate, Perform (any), Profession (gambler), 
  or Spot. You gain a +1 trait bonus in that skill, and that skill 
  is always considered a class skill for you.
  4 Optimistic Gambler: You’ve always seemed to have trouble 
  keeping money. Worse, you always seem to have debts 
  looming over your head. When you heard about the “Cheat 
  the Devil and Take His Gold” gambling tournament, 
  you felt in your gut that your luck was about to change. 
  You’ve always been optimistic, in fact, and even though 
  right now is one of those rare times where you don’t 
  owe anyone any money (you just paid off a recent loan 
  from local moneylender Lymas Smeed), you know that’ll 
  change soon enough. Better to start amassing money now 
  when you’re at one of those rare windfall times! You’ve set 
  aside a gold coin for the entrance fee, and look forward to 
  making it big—you can feel it in your bones! This time’s 
  gonna be the big one! Your boundless optimism, even in 
  the face of crushing situations, has always bolstered your 
  spirit. Effects that grant you morale bonuses persist 1d4 
  rounds longer than they normally would as a result.
  5 Researching the Blot: You may or may not be seeking 
  membership into Riddleport’s most prestigious magical 
  guild, the Order of Cyphers, but you certainly have heard 
  their call for aid in determining the nature of the strange 
  shadow in the sky above Riddleport. You arrived in town 
  several days ago and had some issues with security and 
  safety at several inns before you finally settled on the Gold 
  Goblin; you’ve been staying there as a guest for several 
  days now, and the owner, Saul Vancaskerkin, seems like a 
  nice guy. He’s even given you a pass to attend the gambling 
  tournament he’s about to throw—you’re not sure how into 
  gambling you’ll be, but perhaps there’ll be some visitors 
  from out of town you can talk to about the strange shadow 
  in the sky. At the very least, you’re hoping someone at the 
  tourney will be into magic—there’s not really enough 
  folk in this town who seem all that interested in magic, 
  you’ve found. Your interest in magic dates back quite far, 
  and as a result, you’ve developed a knack for identifying 
  common magical items at a glance. You can use Spellcraft 
  to identify magic items in the same way you can use 
  Spellcraft to identify a potion. The DC to identify a magic 
  item is equal to 20 + the item’s caster level.
  6 Scouting for Fiends: You belong to an organization 
  (most likely a religion) that has definite views on the 
  menace posed by the lower planes. The willfulness with 
  which the city of Korvosa (they even allow a temple 
  of Asmodeus to operate in broad daylight!) tolerates 
  infernal influences is, to you and your organization, 
  the greatest symbol of what’s wrong with civilization 
  today. And now, in Riddleport, there’s news that a 
  gambling tournament is using devils and Hell as an idle 
  decoration. It’s likely that this is just an example of poor 
  taste, but there’s a chance that something sinister may 
  be lurking beneath the goings-on at the Gold Goblin. 
  You have been contacted by your organization (or may 
  have decided on your own) to travel to Riddleport (if 
  you don’t already live there) and attend this tournament 
  under the guise of a patron. Keep an eye on things there, 
  even after the tournament is over; if you can, get a job 
  working for the owner. Demons and devils can be subtle, 
  and it could take weeks or even months to find proof 
  of their involvement. Your near-obsessive hatred of all 
  things fiendish grants you a +1 trait bonus on all attack 
  rolls made against foes you know to be evil outsiders.
  
  16
  COMPANION
  Welcome to Riddleport
  The third largest city in all Varisia, Riddleport is also the 
  most notorious. Once a secret pirate haven, Riddleport has 
  grown over the last three centuries into a port city in its 
  own right. At first it served as a den of piracy, but over time 
  the city has expanded into a true settlement, the frontier’s 
  frontier, the northernmost outpost on the lonely strip 
  known as the Lost Coast. Yet while Riddleport has grown 
  into a proper city, it remains true to its roots—you can get 
  rich quick in Riddleport if you’ve got skill and a bit of luck. 
  Yet, for every Riddleport success story, there are a dozen 
  nameless bodies buried in potters’ fields or tossed to the 
  hungry denizens of the sea. 
  What follows is an overview of  Riddleport, the starting 
  city of the Second Darkness Adventure Path. Everything 
  here in is open to players and would be known by 
  characters who live or who have spent any considerable 
  amount of time in Varisia’s City of Cyphers.
  Riddleport
  Large City nonstandard (titular overlord with multiple crimelords); 
  AL CN
  GP Limit 40,000 gp; Assets 26,600,000 gp
  DemoGRAPhiCs
  Population 13,300
  Type mixed (77% human, 7% dwarf, 5% half-elf, 4% half-orc, 3% 
  tiefling, 2% halfling, 1% gnome, 1% other)
  AuthoRity FiGuRe
  Gaston Cromarcky, NE male human fighter 7/expert 5 (Overlord of 
  Riddleport)
  Riddleport at a Glance
  Most of Riddleport’s buildings are composed of wood—
  logs or planks—with multiple floors and steep, high-
  peaked roofs of wooden shingles. They are built in 
  close quarters, and in some cases their wooden upper 
  
  17
  Welcome to Riddleport
  floors sag and lean together from the constantly sodden 
  conditions. Stone fireplaces ward off the bitter winter 
  cold and the chill that lingers in the fog-laden streets for 
  much of the year, save for in high summer. During this 
  two-month period, warmer air currents from the south 
  bring a muggy, oppressive heat along with great black 
  mosquitoes that breed in the nearby marshes. Many burn 
  peat treated with incense in their hearths during these 
  months to ward off the vermin with their thick smoke.
  The major streets of Riddleport are cobbled, often 
  becoming rain-slick cataracts during the wet seasons. 
  Cobbles are often missing or crushed by the incessant 
  traffic, leaving gaping holes and ruts in even the most 
  well-tended thoroughfares. Side streets tend to be 
  relegated to muddy tracks that are swift to turn into 
  stinking morasses of sucking mud and filth. Riddleport 
  doesn’t have much of a sewage system, and relies mainly 
  on gutters along street edges to carry refuse to the river 
  and harbor. One feature unique to the major streets are 
  the frequent oil lamps mounted on iron poles that provide 
  beacons of light in the benighted mists. These are set in 
  sturdy hurricane lamps and burn thick, rancid-smelling 
  oil from barrel-shaped reservoirs at the lamppost base—a 
  byproduct and innovation of the Gas Works. These 
  wavering lights give off illumination equal to a torch in 
  even the foulest weather but are not well-tended; just over 
  a third of them are out on any given night, in need of 
  repairs or refueling.
  Life in Riddleport
  The titular head of the Riddleport government is the self-
  appointed Overlord of Riddleport, a position traditionally 
  held for life. Riddleport’s current overlord is a former 
  pirate captain named Gaston Cromarcky. Since the city’s 
  founding, Riddleport has been ruled by a series of pirate 
  lords, buccaneers, and other unsavory sailors in a bloody 
  cycle of betrayal and violent coups. Overlord Cromarcky 
  has maintained his rule over Riddleport for three decades 
  by entrenching himself in a wholly new manner. Rather 
  than rely on the loyalty of pirate crews and fellow captains, 
  Overlord Cromarcky opened the coffers of his deceased 
  predecessor and hired mercenaries and enforcers from 
  land-bound groups with no connection to piracy. Calling 
  this new breed of enforcers the Riddleport Gendarmes 
  (“gentlemen-at-arms”), he created a military force loyal 
  to his coin. 
  Under Cromarcky’s rule, life in Riddleport has 
  become more stable than ever before. Open street-
  warfare between rival gangs is a rarity now, and the 
  gendarmes have made it safe enough for brave or 
  desperate merchants from Magnimar to bring in trade. 
  By Overlord Cromarcky’s decree, any ship that flies the 
  flag of Riddleport at full mast is under his protection 
  and is not to be raided by any pirate who wishes to call 
  Riddleport home. That Cromarcky charges scandalously 
  high prices for this protection of visiting ships ensures 
  that there’s always enough ships plying the Lost Coast or 
  the southern waters for Riddleport’s traditional pirates 
  to prey upon to keep them happy. The stability and semi-
  regular influx of imported goods has begun to spoil the 
  citizens of Riddleport, but these days may be numbered. 
  Rumors abound that Cromarcky’s coffers may finally 
  be running low (despite his protection racket), and the 
  rise in power of Cromarcky’s most vocal public enemy, 
  Elias Tammerhawk, has many of Riddleport’s citizens 
  expecting a shift in leadership soon, an eventuality that 
  many Riddleport traditionalists would greet with relief.
  Despite the unheard-of political stability that the city of 
  Riddleport currently enjoys, only a longtime Riddleport 
  native would ever think of the city as truly civilized. The 
  overlord rules with a light touch and with the consent 
  RiddlepoRt 
  RumoRs
  In a city where everyone watches for new opportunities to turn 
  a profit, no news remains a secret for long. Here are but a few 
  of the rumors currently making the rounds in Riddleport.
  the shadow in the sky: A strange, persistent, dark cloud 
  recently appeared in the sky above the City of Cyphers. Some 
  people say it was caused by the Order of Cyphers meddling 
  with the Cyphergate, while others believe it’s a storm being 
  cooked up by Gozreh or some overly moral deity to wipe 
  Riddleport off the map. It’s the big news in town and everybody 
  seems to have their own explanation.
  Carnivore Carnage: Several Shadde-Quah wavecutters re-
  cently washed up on the rocks near the Riddleport Light, their 
  hulls covered in dozens of gashes from teeth and claws. Sail-
  ors fear some new predator in the Varisian Gulf or an unsea-
  sonable migration of local bunyips. 
  the Devil and his Gold: The washed-up crime boss Saul 
  Vancaskerkin recently renovated the Gold Goblin Gambling 
  Hall and has a massive gaming tournament planned called 
  “Cheat the Devil and Take His Gold.” While this might just be 
  a publicity stunt, some say the swindler sold his soul to some 
  fiend and is using the tournament as a way to raise the money 
  to buy it back.
  Lost Below: Milon Chath, a cleric of Desna, left to explore 
  several caverns in the nearby Calphiak Mountains more than 
  a week ago and has yet to return. Several Varisians fear the 
  priest has become lost in the labyrinthine caves said to riddle 
  the endless depths below the mountains.
  siren song: A band of smugglers recently tried to set up 
  a base at Devil’s Elbow, an island just south of Riddleport’s 
  harbor, but they’ve gone missing. Most blame Virashi, the 
  famed siren of the haunted island, for the disappearance.
  
  18
  COMPANION
  of several powerful individuals who likewise shape the 
  direction of Riddleport’s future. These individuals are 
  the various crime bosses who hold sway in the city. Pirates 
  may have founded the city, but many more bandits and 
  scoundrels soon saw the value of having a place to call 
  home, the wilds of Varisia hardly being a safe place to 
  camp. The crimelords each have their own particular 
  specialties and focus, and they play the role that noble 
  families do in most other cities: they are the movers and 
  shakers, the leaders whom the average citizen idolizes and 
  fears. When an overlord dies, the new overlord invariably 
  rises from the ranks of the city’s crimelords.
  Yet not everyone who comes to live in Riddleport is 
  attracted there by the promise of loose law and criminal 
  sanctuary. In increasing numbers, all manner of sages, 
  scholars, and wizardly types have been flocking to the 
  city, drawn by the presence of the Order of Cyphers. 
  This scholastic organization is dedicated to deciphering 
  the mysteries of ancient Thassilon’s monuments—in 
  particular, the vexing Cyphergate, whose function and 
  meaning have eluded illumination for so long. The locals 
  find the influx of philosophers and scholars aggravating, 
  and find their soft-spoken ways and general attitude to be 
  infuriating, but the Order of Cyphers does not interfere 
  with the day-to-day skullduggery of Riddleport’s citizens. 
  Furthermore, Overlord Cromarcky has openly welcomed 
  the order to Riddleport, likely because the addition of 
  many skilled wizards can only increase the city’s defensive 
  options. That the leader of the Order of Cyphers went on 
  to be Cromarcky’s most outspoken public foil no doubt 
  vexes the aging pirate lord, and many of the city’s citizens 
  have taken to betting among themselves on how may more 
  weeks will pass before Cromarcky and Tammerhawk come 
  to blows.
  City Districts
  Riddleport is divided into a total of nine separate districts 
  (although two of them, Lubbertown and the Boneyard, 
  technically lie outside of the overlord’s jurisdiction):
  Free-Coin District: Overlord Cromarcky’s three grand 
  gamehalls are located in this part of the city along the 
  northwestern shore of the Velahsu River.
  Leeward District: The city’s largest district, Leeward is 
  built into the protecting curve of the city’s eastern ridge, 
  where it is sheltered from the worst of the winter winds. 
  The majority of the city’s population resides in the tall 
  tenements of this district, and most buildings have a 
  shop at street level where standard goods and services 
  can be obtained.
  Lubbertown: Known derisively as Lubbertown for the fact 
  that most of its inhabitants arrive at the city by land rather 
  than by sea, this district is not patrolled by the gendarmes 
  and has developed its own social order, informal system of 
  laws, and distribution of goods and employment.
  River District: This section of town runs along the 
  banks of the Velashu River and consists primarily of 
  shops and mills. Riddleport’s atrophied trade items 
  are crafted in this district. The waste produced by the 
  district’s tanners and fishmongers and the fact that many 
  of the city’s sewage gutters converge here have earned the 
  place the unofficial name of “Reek District.”
  Rotgut District: The slums of Riddleport are a truly 
  depressing and dangerous place to be. Easily the poorest 
  section in the city proper, Rotgut also hosts the highest 
  crime rate and the most brothels and alehouses per capita. 
  It lies along the city’s eastern side against the ridge.
  The Boneyard: This deceptively named place actually 
  serves as the city’s dump and ship’s graveyard. Its name is 
  derived from the many old hulks and collections of ships’ 
  Flag 
  of
  Riddleport
  symbol of the
  Riddleport
  Gendarmes
  
  19
  Welcome to Riddleport
  ribs that protrude from the swampy ground. The whole 
  area is a partially flooded salt marsh that is generally 2 or 3 
  feet deep, although some hidden patches of quicksand are 
  much deeper. Monstrous cockroaches, swamp barracuda, 
  and (it is whispered) wererats infest this area.
  The Devil’s Fork: This small military district is 
  nestled near the north end of the city on an island 
  in the Velashu River. It serves above as barracks for 
  Riddleport’s 250 gendarmes, and below as a prison for 
  the city’s malcontents.
  Wharf District: This rough-and-tumble district lies 
  hard on the edge of the very docks of the city and is 
  where much of the city’s day-to-day action of commerce 
  and thievery occurs. Nearest the docks are a series of 
  warehouses and cheap grog houses where merchant and 
  pirate crews alike mingle in a haze of rum-soaked blood 
  and debauchery.
  Windward District: Built on the slopes of the city’s 
  western ridgeline, this is Riddleport’s affluent district; 
  the buildings here are generally quite tall and its streets 
  winding and steep. The majority of the city’s scholars and 
  sages dwell in this windy district.
  Important Sites
  Several of the more important locations in Riddleport are 
  described below.
  City Mortuary: This large, nondenominational chapel 
  is maintained by the churches of Cayden Cailean, 
  Calistria, and Besmara, and is used for funeral services 
  and burial rites. It features its own attached mausoleums 
  for those who can afford interment there rather than in 
  the common graves of the Burying Ground.
  Cypher Lodge: This lodge is the headquarters of the 
  vaunted Order of Cyphers, a society of skilled wizards and 
  sages who have dedicated themselves to unraveling the 
  secrets of ancient Thassilon—in particular, the purpose 
  of the Cyphergate. The lodge is open to all cyphermages 
  for a monthly room-and-board fee of 1 gp, a fee that 
  grants access to its extensive libraries as well as a host 
  of learned scholars on the subject. To non-cyphermages, 
  a day’s room and board (and access to the libraries) is a 
  much heftier 20 gp. Nevertheless, its guest rooms are 
  almost always full.
  Cyphergate: The enigmatic Cyphergate looms large 
  over Riddleport’s harbor, a constant reminder of the 
  transience of life and even civilization, since no record has 
  ever been found of who may have raised this architectural 
  wonder. The arch rises 350 feet above the water at high 
  tide, secured by the rocky crags on either side of the 
  harbor mouth—its diameter is exactly 700 feet. It is of 
  an unidentifiable stone of nearly supernatural hardness 
  that resists almost all efforts at defacing or marking, and 
  as with most Thassilonian monuments, it has weathered 
  the passage of years amazingly well. Most scholars 
  believe that the runes on the arch have no meaning, and 
  are decorative. Magical attempts to decipher the runes 
  have supported this theory, yet the Order of Cyphers 
  believes that this simply points to the runes’ mystic 
  nature, that even magic cannot decipher their meaning 
  or the Cyphergate’s true purpose. Cracking this code has 
  become the primary goal of the Order, yet they are no 
  closer to solving it today than they were when their order 
  was founded.
  deities 
  oF 
  RiddlepoRt
  Although not a particularly pious lot, the people of Riddleport 
  know better than to trust in luck alone. Thus, a number of 
  unruly congregations flourish in the City of Cyphers, the 
  largest being dedicated to deities sympathetic to sailors, 
  gamblers, criminals, and free spirits of all walks.
  Besmara: Although primarily worshiped among the Shackles 
  far to the south, the Pirate Queen is the goddess of pirates, 
  strife, and sea serpents. Thus, her faith suits the scallywags 
  and seafarers of Riddleport well. Her temple, derisively known 
  as the Fish Bowl, makes regular blood sacrifices to assure safe 
  and profitable voyages.
  Calistria: The fickle goddess of trickery, lust, and revenge 
  maintains a particularly healthy following in Riddleport. Her 
  temple, the House of the Silken Veil, encourages her flock’s 
  vendettas and oversees the city’s “hospitality” industry. 
  Several thugs and assassins are known for quoting Calistria’s 
  collection of holy poems, Blood for Wine, before setting about 
  their grim work.
  Cayden Cailean: From the raucous Publican’s House, the 
  clergy of Cayden Cailean, god of alcohol, bravery, and freedom, 
  welcome nearly all comers and hearten those who seek to live 
  lives free of laws and restrictions. The church of the Drunken 
  Hero is known for helping newcomers find homes within the 
  city and encouraging legitimate trade—especially the import 
  of exotic wines and brews.
  Desna: The most blessed and cursed deity in Riddleport, 
  the butterfly-winged goddess of travelers, luck, and the 
  stars watches over gamblers, navigators on ships, and those 
  seeking fortune and new beginnings. Although her faith does 
  not support an actual temple within the City of Cyphers, nearly 
  every gambling den in the city bears a statue in her image and 
  several wandering priests—particularly of Varisian descent—
  do her work.
  Gozreh: Although no temple in Riddleport bears the 
  symbol of the Wind and the Waves, few sailors don’t in some 
  way pay respects to the god of nature. Many docks bear small 
  shrines so departing seafarers can offer last-minute sacrifices, 
  and wandering clerics and druids of Gozreh sell blessings and 
  prayers for their god’s distraction.
  
  20
  COMPANION
  Gas Forges: This immense building, said to be built 
  over a large deposit of rare natural gas, is owned and 
  staffed by dwarves. The forges within are the only ones 
  in all Varisia that burn hot enough to smelt and forge 
  certain rare metals like adamantine.
  Gold Goblin Gambling Hall: Once a high profile venue 
  and shining diamond of the bustling Wharf District, this 
  run-down gambling hall has been recently rebuilt and is 
  the site for the upcoming “Cheat the Devil and Take His 
  Gold” gambling tournament.
  House of the Silken Veil: This octagonal pyramid is 
  the city’s temple of Calistria in addition to being a high-
  class brothel. Temple prostitutes work the streets and 
  squares of Leeward and send criers and samples down to 
  Wharf District to bring in the “pigeons.”
  Maskyr’s Island: Named for Cabriem Maskyr, the pirate 
  captain who became the first overlord of Riddleport, 
  this islet in the center of the Velashu River holds 
  the current overlord’s citadel and estate as well 
  as many of the city’s various administration 
  buildings. Several docks provide access to 
  the island, but all are heavily guarded by 
  gendarmes. Overlord Cromarcky does 
  not accept visitors lightly.
  Publican House: A sign bearing 
  the symbol of a dented ale mug 
  hangs above the door, and written 
  discreetly beneath it in gold letters 
  are the words “Publican House.” 
  This raucous place is actually a 
  temple to Cayden Cailean, god 
  of adventurers and drink, and 
  is a favorite among the ships’ 
  crews 
  and 
  travelers 
  that 
  visit Riddleport for its fair 
  prices and wide selection. 
  Cyphermages 
  are 
  not 
  welcome here.
  People of 
  Riddleport
  Over ten thousand souls 
  call Riddleport their home, 
  but very few of them actually 
  have any real positions of 
  power. Some of the city’s 
  more 
  notorious 
  folk 
  are 
  detailed below.
  Anton Mescher: Overlord 
  Cromarcky’s 
  right-hand 
  man, Anton oversees the 
  city’s fortress-prison and 
  leads the gendarmes.
  Arnando Rolf: Arnando is the high priest of the local 
  temple of Cayden Cailean, a bear of a man who is rarely 
  seen without a notched sword swinging at his hip.
  Avery Slyeg: The owner of a pricey inn called the River 
  Runner, Avery Slyeg’s true interests lie in smuggling and 
  other black-market operations; it’s said he has agents in 
  two dozen cities throughout the Inner Sea region.
  Boss Croat: Known for keeping entirely half-orc 
  minions, Boss Croat has his hand in much of Riddleport’s 
  drug trade and other contraband.
  Clegg Zincher: One of Riddleport’s more notorious 
  crimelords, Clegg runs the quite profitable Zincher’s Arena, 
  a place where anyone can pay to see desperate men fight 
  monsters (or, more commonly, each other).
  Elias Tammerhawk: Elias is the leader of the Order of 
  Cyphers, an accomplished wizard who has been elected 
  as speaker of the order for two consecutive eight-year 
  terms. Many whisper that Elias has his eye set on 
  the position of overlord, and Riddleport’s other 
  crimelords worry about the nature of the changes 
  to their beloved city should this event occur.
  Gebediah Krix: Gebediah, rumor holds, 
  consorts with fiends from the Outer Rifts. 
  He runs the Riddleport Light, and does so 
  responsibly enough that the overlord has 
  left well enough alone. Visitors are not 
  welcome here.
  Grimas Oltedler: Grimas runs the 
  Velashu Ferry, the only safe mode of 
  public transport over the river. He works 
  steadily through the evening and night 
  but must be summoned from his bed by 
  ringing the ferry bell if one is seeking 
  passage before midday. Prices range 
  from 2 to 6 copper per traveller, 
  depending on the length of the 
  journey up or downriver.
  Hyram Crooge: Hyram is a 
  reclusive man who dwells just out-
  side of town on a ledge overlooking the 
  Boneyard. He maintains a constant bon-
  fire for the burning of some trash and 
  dumps the rest over the cliff edge into 
  the marsh below.
  Lymas Smeed: This surly man is 
  one of Riddleport’s more notorious 
  moneylenders. Lymas Smeed (if the 
  streetside chatter is to be believed) 
  feeds parts of those who fail to pay 
  him back on time to his always-
  ravenous pet baboon.
  Ruben Carfay: A retired sea 
  captain, Ruben is the leader of 
  Riddleport
  Gendarme
  
  21
  Welcome to Riddleport
  poisons 
  oF 
  the 
  City 
  oF 
  CypheRs
  As might be expected in a city founded by pirates and ruled 
  by criminals, Riddleport’s poison trade is brisk and hearty. 
  It’s possible to find bargain prices on viper venom and 
  arsenic on most city street corners, but as often as not, the 
  wares of streetside poison merchants is diluted and hardly 
  worth the money saved. Those who seek poison would do 
  much better to visit one of the city’s many skilled and well-
  supplied alchemists. 
  In addition to all of the standard poisons listed in the 
  DMG, the following local poisons are quite popular among 
  many of Riddleport’s criminals.
  Riddleport 
  tea
  A mixture of dream spider venom and crushed flayleaf berries, 
  this deep violet liquid carries with it a potent bitter flavor. Yet 
  when mixed with spiderberry tea, the poison’s unpleasant 
  taste and aroma becomes negligible. The poison does not 
  inflict lasting damage, but those who drink it are immediately 
  beset upon by powerful hallucinations that drive them into a 
  frothing, unpredictible frenzy of violence and babbling. This 
  period is swiftly followed by deep fatigue. Since Riddleport 
  tea does no lasting damage, some among the church of 
  Cayden Cailean have even taken to taking the stuff voluntarily. 
  The church frowns upon this use, though, since those who 
  expose themselves to this poison are almost as likely to fly 
  into a murderous rage as they are to experience anything 
  approaching a legitimate vision from the gods.
  Riddleport tea: Ingested DC 15; initial Damage confusion 
  (as per the spell of the same name); secondary Damage 
  fatigue; Price 500 gp.
  indigo 
  dreams
  Favored by prostitutes who supplement their earnings by the 
  dangerous practice of robbing their customers, a dose of indigo 
  dreams incapacitates a person by inducing a pleasant lassitude 
  and mental fog. A dose of indigo dreams turns its victim’s eyes 
  purple for the duration of its effect. 
  indigo Dreams: Ingested DC 13; initial Damage 1d6 
  Wisdom; secondary Damage 2d6 Wisdom; Price 150 gp.
  an open-air temple dedicated to the 
  Pirate Queen Besmara.
  Saul Vancaskerkin: Just recently, 
  Saul recovered his footing in Riddle-
  port after several years of destitution 
  due to some sort of run-in with the other 
  crimelords of the city. He’s recently pur-
  chased and rebuilt the Gold Goblin Gam-
  bling Hall.
  Shorafa Pamodae: An alluring but danger-
  ous tiefling high priestess of the temple of 
  Calistria, Shorafa is also one of the city’s minor 
  crimelords and rules the hospitality industry, 
  from pimps to liquor sales.
  A 
  pRimeR 
  on 
  RiddlepoRt 
  slAnG
  Many of Riddleport’s citizens have their own 
  slang and jargon that they use in mixed company to 
  hold conversations in front of others while not revealing 
  what they’re actually talking about. Of course, in a city of 
  thieves, the Thieves’ Cant loses much of its use, and over 
  the years, the Cant has devolved into a wide collection of 
  regional slang words that most folk pepper liberally (and 
  without thinking) into everyday speech. Listed below are 
  several of the more common bits of Riddleport Slang.
  Abbess: A priestess or whore of Calistria
  Bridge Monkey: Someone from Magnimar
  Capp: A trusted lieutenant or henchman
  Cattle: A group of Varisians
  Cow: A Varisian
  Church Work: Any lengthy job that is slow to finish or 
  is otherwise drudgery
  Dog Biter: A large rat, small child, or halfling
  Earth Bath: An unmarked grave
  Easy Lad: A male prostitute
  Fancyboy/Fancygirl: A cyphermage (sometimes an elf)
  Gendarme: A city guard
  Grog-Blossom: A facial pimple, or an unsavory person
  Hushman: A hired killer, generally one kept on semi-
  permanent retainer
  Kiss: To stab someone—“Kissed the snickersnak” is a 
  phrase used to mean “Got murdered”
  Laced Mutton: A prostitute (gender neutral)
  Leaky: Someone who can’t keep a secret (“Don’t tell 
  him about the heist—he’s leaky!”)
  Lumber: A passenger on a ship (typically an unwanted 
  or unwelcome passenger)
  Pigeon: A person targeted by a criminal to be the victim 
  of a crime, or a person that visits a prostitute
  Pigmeat: A dead body, or someone who is about to 
  become dead
  Pump-Sucker: A dwarf (particularly one who works at 
  the Gas Forges)
  Quickwife: A female prostitute
  Rathole: The mouth (especially a mouth that belongs 
  to someone who is saying unwelcome things)
  Rotgut: Liquor (particularly foul-tasting liquor)
  Sideshow: A tiefling
  Snickersnak: A small knife that can be easily hidden 
  on a person’s body
  Soaker: A priest of Cayden Cailean
  Soggy Plum: A drunk
  Whisker: A wererat
  symbol 
  of 
  the
  Gas 
  Forges
  
  22
  COMBAT
  Prestige Class: 
  liberator
  Liberators fight to free the wrongfully imprisoned—be 
  they slaves, political prisoners, or princesses locked in 
  towers. They rely on physical strength—but also quick 
  wits—to overcome oppressors. Since charging blindly 
  into battle could result in a prisoner’s death, liberators 
  plan their rescues carefully.
  Liberators despise slavers above all others, particularly 
  races well known for these practices, such as the gnolls. 
  While some liberators operate solely in cities, most dwell 
  in or near territories held by known slaver organizations 
  or groups. Liberators typically strike under the cover of 
  darkness, and they usually seek to smuggle slaves to safety 
  without alerting any guards. As a result, liberators develop 
  many abilities related to navigating darkness and stealth.
  In large cities, the law typically views the actions of 
  liberators as dangerous, since they often show no respect 
  for traditional investigative procedures. These feelings of 
  distrust and disdain are shared by most liberators, who tend 
  to see the law as a lumbering, ineffective giant. Liberators 
  often operate in the shadows of society as a result, lest 
  they become prisoners themselves. Rarely, city officials 
  view liberators as expensive but effective mercenaries who 
  bring results the average guardsman cannot. Liberators 
  often find work in such cities, and in return gain cautious 
  but respectful accolades for their deeds.
  requirements
  To qualify to become a liberator, a character must fulfill 
  all the following criteria. 
  Alignment: Any nonlawful.
  Base Attack Bonus: +5.
  Skills: Escape Artist 6 ranks, Open Lock 6 ranks.
  Feats: Improved Sunder, Power Attack, Stealthy.
  Class Features
  The following are class features of the liberator.
  To the Rescue (Su): The sight of a liberator staging 
  a daring rescue proves inspirational to his allies. As a 
  standard action, the liberator can shout an encouraging 
  phrase or raise a rallying cry to bring hope to those 
  awaiting rescue. All allies within 30 feet of the liberator 
  gain a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls, a +4 morale bonus 
  on Escape Artist checks, and a +4 morale bonus on 
  saving throws made against fear effects. These bonuses 
  persist for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the liberator’s 
  Charisma modifier (minimum 1 round).
  Poison Resistance (Ex): Slavers often make liberal use 
  of poison and drugs to keep their captives lethargic and 
  under control. A liberator purposefully exposes himself 
  to a variety of venoms in order to build up a resistance 
  to such toxins, should he ever fall victim to those he 
  opposes. He gains a +2 bonus on saving throws made 
  against poisons. This bonus increases to +4 at 7th level.
  Lockbreaker (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, a liberator 
  receives a competence bonus equal to half his class level 
  on all Open Lock checks. He also gains this bonus on all 
  Escape Artist checks made to escape bindings, shackles, 
  and other restraints.
  Bonus Feat: At 3rd level, the liberator gains a bonus 
  feat. He must qualify for the feat, and it must be from 
  the following list: Blind-Fight, Iron Will, or Skill 
  Focus (any class skill).
  Silent Sunder (Ex): At 3rd level, a liberator learns 
  methods of applying force and striking objects in such 
  a way as to minimize noise. He can choose to make no 
  more noise than people talking when making a sunder 
  attack action or attempting to break an object with a 
  Strength check.
  Slaver’s Ruin (Ex): The sight of imprisonment and 
  slavery can drive a liberator into a righteous frenzy. A 
  liberator of at least 5th level can designate one creature 
  engaged in such acts as the target of his wrath. The 
  
  23
  Combat
  designated foe is considered flat-footed against the 
  liberator’s next attack. Opponents who cannot be caught 
  flat-footed (such as through improved uncanny dodge) 
  are immune to this effect.
  Greater Sunder (Ex): Beginning at 6th level, a liberator 
  ignores half of an object’s hardness when making a sunder 
  attack or attacking an object. He also gains a +2 morale bonus 
  on his opposed attack roll when making a sunder attempt 
  (but not when defending against a sunder attempt).
  Steely Resolve (Ex): A liberator fears magical domination 
  more than anything else, for the enslavement of the mind 
  is difficult to detect and remove. At 7th level, whenever a 
  liberator is targeted by a charm or compulsion effect and 
  fails his saving throw, he may attempt his saving throw 
  again 1 round later at the same DC to resist the effect. He 
  gets only this one extra chance to throw off any one effect.
  Darkvision (Su): At 8th level, a liberator has spent so much 
  time sneaking through the dark to free the victims of unjust 
  imprisonment that he develops darkvision with a range of 
  60 feet. If the liberator already possesses darkvision, the 
  range of his darkvision increases by 60 feet.
  Quick Pick (Ex): There’s not always time to properly 
  pick a lock, and sometimes liberators have to improvise. At 
  9th level, a liberator has perfected the art of lockpicking to 
  such an extent that he may attempt an Open Locks check 
  as a move action instead of a full-round action without any 
  additional penalties.
  Freedom of Movement (Su) At 10th level, the liberator’s 
  focus against slavery and restriction to mobility develops 
  into a potent resistance to restraint. He is now treated as if 
  under the effects of a freedom of movement spell at all times. 
  This ability cannot be dispelled. Once per day, he can also 
  use freedom of movement as a spell-like ability (caster level 
  equals his class level) to share this benefit with others.
  Liberator	
  Hit	
  Die:	
  D10
    
  Base
    
  Attack 
  Fort 
  Ref 
  Will 
  Level 
  Bonus 
  Save 
  Save 
  Save 
  Special
  1st 
  +1 
  +2 
  +0 
  +0 
  Poison resistance +2, to the rescue
  2nd 
  +2 
  +3 
  +0 
  +0 
  Lockbreaker +1
  3rd 
  +3 
  +3 
  +1 
  +1 
  Bonus feat, silent sunder
  4th 
  +4 
  +4 
  +1 
  +1 
  Lockbreaker +2
  5th 
  +5 
  +4 
  +1 
  +1 
  Slaver’s ruin
  6th 
  +6 
  +5 
  +2 
  +2 
  Greater sunder, lockbreaker +3
  7th 
  +7 
  +5 
  +2 
  +2 
  Poison resistance +4, steely resolve
  8th 
  +8 
  +6 
  +2 
  +2 
  Darkvision, lockbreaker +4
  9th 
  +9 
  +6 
  +3 
  +3 
  Quick pick
  10th 
  +10 
  +7 
  +3 
  +3 
  Freedom of movement, lockbreaker +5
  Skills (2 + Int bonus per level) Climb, Escape Artist, Gather Information, Hide, Intimidate, Knowledge (dungeoneering), Knowledge 
  (local), Open Lock, Search, Sense Motive, Survival, Use Rope.
  Liberators	
  in	
  riDDLeport
  Riddleport, a city known for its lawlessness and intrigue, 
  experiences more than its fair share of abductions. Crime 
  cartels often snatch innocents to hold hostage for ransom. 
  Some crime lords abduct the families of city officials to force 
  certain actions, such as the release of their own imprisoned 
  men, the passing of a particular law, or a cessation of patrols 
  in a specific area. Criminals themselves sometimes fall prey 
  to abduction plots staged by other gangs, as retaliation or 
  an intimidation tactic. Vigilantes, however well intentioned, 
  sometimes find themselves locked up and awaiting rescue. 
  Even unsuspecting travelers occasionally run afoul of corrupt 
  guards and end up wrongfully imprisoned. 
  As a result, liberators never experience a dearth of work in 
  Riddleport. Some prefer to work through official channels, 
  sanctioned by the city to retrieve political prisoners and 
  assist the gendarmes in rescuing kidnapping victims. Others 
  freelance, determining who deserves rescue based on their 
  personal philosophies. Crime cartels rarely employ liberators, 
  but large organizations whose members frequently wind up in 
  jail sometimes retain a liberator for emergency rescues.
  A well-known liberator by the name of Peveny Vall 
  operated for many years in Riddleport. Rumor held that 
  Peveny broke into various crimelords’ dwellings for daring 
  rescue missions no fewer than 20 times over the course of 
  2 years a decade ago. Her daring actions eventually united 
  the crimelords the way little else could, and shortly after her 
  20th daring misison, her body turned up in a gutter near the 
  river. The gendarmes confiscated her body as evidence, and 
  some believe to this day that it wasn’t Peveny’s body at all, 
  but the corpse of some unknown slaver that Peveny used to 
  cover her escape. 
  
  24
  FAITH
  Divine Trappings: 
  CayDen Cailean
  The straight-talking, freedom-loving clergy of Cayden 
  Cailean attracts many followers to the faith, especially 
  adventurers who often feel a strong draw toward the god’s 
  views on bravery and daring and regular pints of ale. 
  Presented here are several suggestions, common abilities, 
  and religion-specific magic items often employed by 
  those who follow the occasionally reckless path of the 
  ascended god of bravery, freedom, and alcohol.
  pious aDvenTurers 
  Even though an adventurer might not be a cleric and never 
  set foot in one of Cayden Cailean’s temple-taverns, many 
  still raise silent prayers to his name before venturing into 
  danger. Aside from priests of his faith, those of varying 
  classes and professions worship Cayden Cailean. Many 
  fighters and other martially skilled characters favor 
  the god’s dash-in, slay-the-monster, win-the-treasure 
  approach to adventuring. Among spellcasters, especially 
  sorcerers, the god’s on-the-fly resourcefulness is often 
  emulated. More skillful sorts also favor the Drunken 
  Hero’s noble roguishness and swashbuckling flair, 
  seeking to follow in his footsteps to fame, glory, and 
  legendary rewards.
  Aside from various classes’ general outlooks on the 
  god, players who seek to create characters in the service 
  of the Drunken Hero might consider any one of the 
  following character paths common to the 
  god’s faithful. 
  The Cult of Cayden: Although not an 
  actual cult or acknowledged faction 
  within the Drunken Hero’s church, 
  many adventurous worshipers seek to 
  model their lives after Cayden Cailean’s 
  experience as a mortal. It turned out 
  pretty good for him, so why not for 
  them, the thinking follows. As the deity’s 
  life as a mortal is well documented—and 
  embellished—many see a certain nobility in 
  selling their swords or other skills in the 
  pursuit of noble causes. This path proves 
  particularly popular in Absalom and 
  among those from the City at the Center 
  of the World, as the god lived many of 
  his mortal years there. The question 
  of how their deity would have acted in 
  their position lingers at the forefront 
  of these often multi-classed fighter/
  clerics’ minds, and they’re ever eager 
  to visit the same sites or perform 
  similar tasks as their deity. 
  Divine Drunk: Although members of Cayden Cailean’s 
  faith are often stereotyped as brawling drunkards, the 
  majority prove quite level-headed. Not all are in that 
  majority, though. Some take to drink with a religious 
  zeal, claiming that their deity guides their stumbles 
  and their loose words. Frequently, such drinkers receive 
  alcohol-induced visions—or at least  divinely suggested 
  misconceptions. Such inebriated clerics believe their god 
  communicates with the worthy, the brave, the beautiful, 
  the lucky, those whom he judges capable of completing 
  a particular task, or sometimes just random people via 
  such alcoholic hazes. Occasionally, even the most resilient 
  clerics claim a single drink got them drunk, the result 
  of which was a hallucination which started them on the 
  path of an important quest.
  Liberator: Those who oppose oppression, seek an end 
  to slavery of all kinds, and wish to make the world a better 
  place for good, simple people, feel particular kinship 
  with Cayden Cailean. Many heroes dedicate their lives to 
  uplifting the downtrodden, an occupation that often is as 
  depressing as it is dangerous. Faith in the god of freedom 
  helps bring a sense of nobility to such dark tasks and 
  eases the heart afterward, though. Adventurers who were 
  slaves themselves, who worked to free imprisoned loved 
  ones in the past, or who escaped oppressive societies often 
  worship Cayden Cailean openly. Many heroes embarking 
  on rescue missions bring a bottle or cask of brandy with 
  them to offer to the newly rescued as tribute to the god 
  of freedom. Cayden Cailean’s straightforward doctrine 
  draws all manner of followers to his cause. 
  Divine MagiC iTeMs
  As followers of a deity who was once a renowned 
  adventure seeker, Cayden Cailean’s clergy has a 
  reputation for coveting and creating magical items, 
  especially when such magic can be combined with their 
  preferance for unique and delicious libations. Temples 
  of Cayden Cailean often create and stock several useful 
  magic items meant to aid worshipers and those friendly 
  to the Drunken Hero’s church. Aside from the typical 
  healing magics, such collections usually contain a 
  number of simple magical items that enhance their 
  users’ appearance, increase their resilience or luck, 
  or prove especially versatile. As such, bags of tricks, 
  cloaks of resilience and cloaks of Charisma, gloves of 
  storing, necklaces of adaptation, eyes of charming, and 
  even the rare luckblade sometimes appear among 
  the reliquaries of the god’s temples and wielded 
  by the most pious, deserving, or downright lucky 
  of his faith.
  In addition, worshipers of Cayden Cailean 
  have created a number of magical items 
  unique to their faith.
  
  25
  FAITH
  Hero’s Brew
  Aura faint enchantment; CL 5th
  Slot none; Price 1,400 gp; Weight —
  DeSCriPtion
  Cayden Cailean’s faithful keep the secret of this sweet, spiced 
  liquor with magical properties closely guarded, but they freely 
  offer the libation for sale. This strong beverage often comes in 
  iridescent blue-green wine bottles, sometimes held in elegant 
  slings made of gold or silver chains.
  A dose of hero’s brew mimics the effect of a potion of 
  heroism, granting you a +2 morale bonus on attack rolls, 
  saves, and skill checks for 1 hour. Additionally, the 
  potent brew renders you moderately tipsy and impairs 
  your judgment somewhat, imposing a –2 Wisdom 
  penalty for its duration—a religious state for many of 
  the god’s worshipers.
  A cleric of Cayden Cailean who has Charm or 
  Strength as a chosen domain may use the domain 
  power of either domain one additional time per day 
  while under the effects of hero’s brew. This does not count 
  against your domain power’s uses per day limit, and it 
  immediately ends the effects of the hero’s brew. You can 
  only use hero’s brew to gain one additional use of a domain 
  power per day.
  ConStruCtion
  requirements Brew Potion, heroism, must have access to the 
  Charm or Strength domain; Cost 750 gp, 56 XP
  Luthier’s rapier
  Aura strong transmutation; CL 11th
  Slot none; Price 5,020 gp; Weight 2 lb.
  DeSCriPtion
  Many stories feature Luthier, Knight of the Vineyard, champion 
  of good and Cayden Cailean’s trusted ally. These legends often 
  mention Luthier’s elegant rapier, and while the original Luthier’s 
  rapier undoubtedly remains with its owner, copies surface from 
  time to time—usually when a faithful follower of Cayden Cailean 
  requires assistance.
  Rose-hued steel forms the length of the blade, and gold 
  flowers seem to blossom in the filigreed basket-hilt. A large ruby 
  glimmers at the hilt’s center. Luthier’s rapier is a +1 holy rapier. 
  Once per day, you can activate the power of the ruby embedded 
  in the rapier’s hilt to gain a +4 sacred bonus to Charisma and 
  a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against fear effects. These 
  bonuses last for 10 minutes.
  Also, once, you can command the gem to shatter in an 
  explosion of red light. Every creature except you within 30 feet 
  must make a DC 20 Will save or be dazed for 3 rounds. Once 
  you shatter the gem in this fashion, the rapier becomes just a 
  normal +1 rapier.
  ConStruCtion
  requirements Craft Magic Arms & Armor, bless weapon, eagle’s 
  splendor, creator must be chaotic good; Cost 2,510 gp, 200 XP
  ring of emancipation
  Aura faint transmutation and moderate evocation; CL 7th
  Slot ring; Price 2,100 gp; Weight —
  DeSCriPtion
  This single thick iron band makes for a rather ugly ring. Rust pits 
  the surface of the ring in places and the item seems on the brink 
  of falling apart. Occasionally, these rings bear a tiny chain link or 
  dented tankard symbol.
  While wearing a ring of emancipation, you gain a +2 
  competence bonus on all Open Lock and Escape Artist 
  checks, in addition to all attack rolls made to sunder. Also, the 
  ring has three charges, which can be expended at any time to 
  cast shatter as a spell-like ability with a caster level equal to 
  your character level. Each time a charge is expended, the ring 
  becomes more rusted and marred. Upon the third charge 
  being expended, the ring is destroyed.
  ConStruCtion
  requirements Forge Ring, cat’s grace, shatter; Cost 1,050 gp, 84 XP
  CAyden 
  CAIleAn’s 
  Followers 
  In 
  rIddleporT
  In a city as rife with evil and villainy as Riddleport, it’s no 
  surprise that Cayden Cailean’s clergy works actively in the 
  shadows. Sprees of kidnappings often overtake the city, 
  and small groups of Cayden Cailean’s faithful—sometimes 
  including official clerics, sometimes not—meet in dark 
  corners of taverns or in secluded wine cellars to discuss the 
  crimes and consider action. 
  In public, the rabble of Riddleport treats clerics of Cayden 
  Cailean with respect. Most criminals leave the clerics alone, and 
  some even treat a cleric’s known allies with some deference. 
  Truly hardened criminals might not treat a cleric of Cayden 
  Cailean any differently than his other victims, however, and 
  many show no special favor to a cleric’s allies.
  While criminals often show respect to Cayden Cailean’s 
  faithful on the street, few carry that devotion behind closed 
  doors. A cleric of Cayden Cailean caught infiltrating a thieves’ 
  guild or confronting a slaver undoubtedly faces violent 
  retribution. Bodies of Cayden Cailean’s faithful sometimes 
  appear on the doorsteps of taverns in Riddleport. Although 
  murderers might not balk at killing clerics, many consider it 
  bad luck to irreverently dispose of the corpses.
  
  26
  MAGIC
  SpellS Of The 
  CyphermageS
  Rarely seen far from the City of Cyphers, Riddleport’s 
  mysterious and misunderstood cyphermages dedicate 
  their careers to unlocking the ancient secrets of Varisia’s 
  famed monuments. The trappings of ancient cultures 
  fascinate these mages, from obscure runes and abandoned 
  languages to the spells and relics of cultures long forgotten. 
  From their headquarters in Riddleport, members of the 
  Order of Cyphers venture wherever they must to unravel 
  the secrets over which they obsess, traveling from the feet 
  of gargantuan monoliths to the ruins of ancient dungeons, 
  from the lecture halls of their organization to libraries half 
  a world away.
  Because cyphermages immerse 
  themselves in the lore and nu-
  ance of the ancients, they high-
  ly value precision  and com-
  plexity, going so far as to 
  develop spells dedicated to 
  uncovering new information 
  and protecting the discover-
  ies they’ve uncovered. 
  Although the four 
  spells presented here 
  originally evolved in the 
  libraries and lecture halls 
  of Riddleport’s Order of 
  Cyphers and are primar-
  ily used by cypherma-
  ges, their use has 
  spread to many of the  
  uninitiated throughout Golarion. Some particularly op-
  portunistic cyphermages even go so far as to use the secrets 
  of their order’s magic as bargaining chips when dealing 
  with other spellcasters who might hold the keys to unrav-
  eling ancient mysteries. Also, as many cyphermages never 
  return from their explorations, it’s not uncommon for ad-
  venturers in Varisia to stumble upon a lost cyphermage’s 
  body along with his scrolls and spellbooks. Deciphering a 
  cyphermage’s secrets from the works he carried with him 
  might be another matter entirely, though.
  Codespeak
  School transmutation; Level bard 2, sorcerer/wizard 2
  CaSting
  Casting time 1 standard action
  Components V, S, M
  EffECt
  Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
  target you plus one willing creature per two levels, no two of 
  which can be more than 30 ft. apart 
  Duration 10 min./level (D)
  Saving throw no; Spell Resistance no
  DESCRiption
  Upon casting this spell, all recipients gain the ability 
  to speak a new language. This language sounds like 
  random, babbling syllables to anyone not under the 
  influence of the spell, but the targets understand each 
  other perfectly.
  Anyone using codespeak can read and write in this new 
  language as well. Once the spell expires, however, any 
  coded writing suddenly appears as gibberish. If the same 
  individuals become the targets of a codespeak spell 
  again, cast by the same caster, they can once again 
  read any coded writings. 
  Comprehend languages does not enable a caster 
  to understand the language of another’s codespeak 
  spell, but it does reveal that the targets are 
  speaking a magical language. Tongues translates 
  codespeak normally.
  Material Component A complex rune inscribed 
  on a slip of paper that is then placed under 
  your tongue.
  Hidden Knowledge
  School transmutation; Level 
  sorcerer/wizard 2
  CaSting
  Casting time 1 round
  Components V, S, M (a drop of ink)
  EffECt
  Range personal
  target you
  Duration 1 day/level
  
  27
  MAGIC
  DESCRiption
  This subtle but useful spell allows the caster to safeguard 
  important knowledge—even from himself. While casting 
  this spell, you recite one piece of knowledge you possess (up 
  to a maximum of 50 words). Upon completion of the spell’s 
  casting, you transfer the knowledge from your mind to your 
  skin in the form of an intricate, runic tattoo placed anywhere 
  you choose on your body. The knowledge disappears utterly 
  from your mind, and you might not realize you forgot 
  something. The magic of the spell patches over gaps in your 
  memory with recollections from the past. Until the spell’s 
  duration ends, the knowledge is lost to you.
  Many cyphermages commission nonmagical tattoos to 
  disguise the effects of this spell. A detect magic spell or a 
  Decipher Script check (DC 15 + your Int modifier) reveals an 
  enchanted tattoo but not its contents. The effects of hidden 
  knowledge can be dispelled normally, in which case the 
  knowledge is completely lost.
  impede Speech
  School necromancy; Level bard 2, sorcerer/wizard 3
  CaSting
  Casting time 1 standard action
  Components V, S
  EffECt
  Range touch
  target creature touched
  Duration 10 min./level
  Saving throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes
  DESCRiption
  This minor curse interferes with the target’s ability to speak. 
  On a failed save, the target has difficulty stringing words 
  together. Only with great concentration can he communicate 
  intelligibly. Speaking in combat becomes a move-equivalent 
  action rather than a free action. If the target attempts to 
  cast a spell with a verbal component, he has a 50% chance 
  of making an error and losing the spell. Even if he can 
  successfully cast a spell, doing so takes 1 round if the spell’s 
  normal casting time is less than 1 round. If the spell’s casting 
  time is usually 1 round or longer, its casting time doubles 
  (up until the end of impede speech). Impede speech cannot be 
  dispelled, but break enchantment, limited wish, miracle, remove 
  curse, or wish can end it prematurely. 
  pattern Recognition
  School transmutation; Level sorcerer/wizard 1
  CaSting
  Casting time 1 standard action
  Components V, S
  EffECt
  Range personal
  target you
  Duration 10 min./level
  DESCRiption
  Pattern recognition allows you to notice unusual breaks in the 
  patterns of stones in a wall, boards in a floor, cracks in  glass, 
  trees in a forest, or similar interruptions. You gain an insight 
  bonus equal to one-half your caster level (minimum +1, 
  maximum +10) on Search checks. 
  You gain the same bonus on Survival checks made to follow 
  tracks. Pattern recognition does not grant you the Track feat, a 
  rogue’s trapfinding ability, or the ability to disable traps. You 
  can use it in conjunction with those abilities if you possess 
  them, though.
  WhAt 
  Is 
  A 
  CypherMAGe?
  Students of the lingering lore of Varisia’s ancient past, 
  cyphermages seek to understand the magic inherent in the 
  land’s ancient monuments and reveal the mysteries carved 
  into centuries-old stone. These students of the past vary in 
  arcane skill and interest, with bards, sorcerers, wizards, and 
  clerics of Irori and Nethys making up the majority of their 
  ranks, though even ingenious non-spellcasting scholars 
  are welcomed to join. Intrigued by all things Varisian, these 
  researchers often adopt the mysterious tattoos some of the 
  land’s native wanderers possess, seeking to find greater 
  understanding of and intimacy with the mysteries they 
  explore (see the Pathfinder Campaign Setting for more details 
  on Varisian Tattoos). Aside from imitating the traditions of 
  Varisia’s natives, cyphermages have learned much in their 
  investigations and widely share many of their most inspired 
  discoveries. The Order of Cyphers keeps its greatest secrets 
  for its most esteemed members, however.
  Cypher script
  Through researching endless ancient arcane script, you have 
  discovered a more efficient method to record spells.
  prerequisite: Int 12, Decipher Script 4 ranks.
  Benefit: Any spell you scribe in your spellbook costs half 
  as much and takes up only half the room it normally would. 
  In addition, it only takes you 12 hours to add a new spell to 
  your spellbook.
  Cypher Magic
  Your intimacy with runes and the mysteries of ancient arcana 
  has taught you secrets to draw greater power from a variety 
  of arcane writings.
  prerequisite: Int 14, Scribe Scroll.
  Benefit: You cast spells from scrolls at +1 caster level higher 
  than the level of the scroll’s creator. This benefit extends to 
  scrolls that you have created. 
  In addition, you gain a +2 bonus on caster level checks made to 
  activate a scroll with a higher caster level than your own.
  
  28
  SOCIAL
  A Spelunker’S 
  TreASury
  Be it the tangled network of smuggler’s tunnels below 
  the streets or the innumerable cave systems in the nearby 
  mountains, Riddleport adventurers are no strangers to the 
  fine art of cave exploration. In their case, superior exploration 
  equipment proves quite handy. The combination of poor 
  visibility, treacherous footing, extreme temperatures, and 
  enclosed spaces can turn a challenging situation into a 
  deadly one. For explorers bereft of strong combat abilities 
  or spells on which to fall back, any kind of edge can mean 
  the difference between life and death. The following magic 
  items can provide the needed edge to adventurers traveling 
  underground, particularly those who rely on their 
  skills to survive.
  Caver’s Hammock
  Aura faint illusion and transmutation; CL 5th
  Slot —; Price 1,200 gp; Weight 1 lb.
  DeSCriPtion
  This soft, billowy hammock weighs next 
  to nothing and folds up small enough 
  to fit into a pocket. Its magic renders 
  the hammock both lightweight and 
  incredibly strong, able to support up 
  to 500 pounds. With a command word, 
  the hammock affixes to any relatively 
  flat, overhead surface or any two 
  sturdy surfaces up to 10 feet apart. 
  The hammock refuses to adhere 
  to surfaces not strong enough to 
  support the hammock at 
  full capacity.
  Once affixed, a caver’s 
  hammock takes on a dark 
  gray, pebbly appearance like 
  that of a typical cavern wall. 
  Anyone attempting to spot the 
  hammock in an underground 
  or naturally rocky setting must 
  make a DC 30 Spot check. 
  Creatures with darkvision gain 
  no special bonus to notice a 
  caver’s hammock, but creatures 
  with blindsense or scent have 
  no additional difficulty in 
  noticing an occupant of a caver’s 
  hammock.
  ConStruCtion
  requirements Craft Wondrous Item, 
  silent image, spider climb; Cost 600 
  gp, 48 XP
  Mushroom Vest
  Aura faint abjuration; CL 5th
  Slot chest; Price 500 gp; Weight 3 lb.
  DeSCriPtion
  This spongy, mottled brown vest is several inches thick and 
  composed of woven strips of preserved fungus. The vest feels 
  soft to the touch and springs back into shape no matter how 
  badly compressed. Its magic keeps the vest fresh and whole 
  despite constant wear and abuse.
  A mushroom vest protects you from impact trauma. When 
  wearing the vest, you treat any fall as if it were 20 feet less 
  when calculating damage.
  ConStruCtion
  requirements Craft Wondrous Item, feather fall; Cost 250 gp, 
  20 XP
  Portable Stalactite
  Aura faint transmutation; CL 3rd
  Slot —; Price 800 gp; Weight 1 lb.
  DeSCriPtion
  This miniature stone stalactite measures 4 to 5 inches 
  long. As a standard action, you can toss a portable 
  stalactite up to any solid surface no more than 
  20 feet above, whereupon the portable stalactite  
  automatically affixes to the ceiling. If no 
  suitable ceiling exists, the portable stalactite 
  falls at your feet.
  Once affixed, the portable stalactite remains 
  in place until you call it back to your hand 
  (a standard action) or until a living creature 
  (except you) walks under it, at which point it 
  drops from the ceiling and makes a +10 
  attack roll aainst the target. If it hits, it deals 
  1d6+1 points of damage.
  You can affix as many portable stalactites 
  as you like to an area’s ceiling, but you 
  must leave at least 5 feet of space between 
  each. A portable stalactite can be detected 
  and disarmed as if it were a trap—it’s a 
  DC 20 Search check to discover, and a DC 15 
  Disarm Device check to safely detach one.
  ConStruCtion
  requirements Craft Wondrous Item, magic stone; Cost 
  400 gp, 32 XP
  ring of the Stone Sibling
  Aura moderate conjuration; CL 9th
  Slot ring; Price 7,400 gp; Weight —
  DeSCriPtion
  This gray ring looks like stone, but the material 
  is soft and flexible. Once per day, as a standard 
  action, you can touch a stone wall with your 
  hand to create a stone duplicate of yourself. 
  
  29
  social
  Immediately upon activating the ring of the stone sibling, 
  your double steps out of the wall. It appears to be a stone 
  statue carved in an exact likeness of you. The stone double 
  stands 10 feet away from you and mimics your movements, 
  as if reflected in a mirror. As a move-equivalent action, you 
  can mentally command the stone sibling to move to a new 
  location, but it must remain within 30 feet of you at all times.
  The stone sibling has hardness 8 and 50 hit points. It can 
  take no actions other than to aid you, which it does every 
  round on your turn. The stone sibling makes a +5 aid another 
  check each round, either to aid your attack rolls or your 
  Armor Class, as you command. It continues to render the 
  same aid indefinitely until you command it otherwise (which 
  requires a move action).
  The stone sibling lasts for 10 minutes, until it is destroyed, or 
  until you dismiss it (a standard action), whichever comes first. 
  ConStruCtion
  requirements Forge Ring, mirror image, stone shape; Cost 3,700 
  gp, 296 XP
  Salt Lamp
  Aura faint conjuration; CL 5th
  Slot  —; Price 350 gp; Weight 2 lb.
  DeSCriPtion
  A salt lamp appears as nothing more than a fist-sized chunk 
  of pink, white, or green quartz-like rock. In reality, the “rock” 
  is compressed salt mined from areas infused with strange 
  magical radiations. When you speak the command word, the 
  salt lamp lights up with a glow equivalent to a torch. The salt 
  lamp becomes warm, though never uncomfortably hot, to the 
  touch. The salt lamp glows for 1d4+1 hours before its light fades 
  out and it becomes ordinary salt.
  At any time while the salt lamp glows, you can hurl it at the 
  floor, causing it to explode into a cloud of glimmering salt 
  crystals that form a 10-foot radius cloud. The cloud continues 
  to shed light as a torch, as well as visibly outlining invisible 
  objects within the cloud. Shining salt particles cover anyone 
  within the area and adhere and glow for the remainder of 
  the lamp’s duration. The salt particles cannot be removed by 
  normal means, but they can be dispelled. Any creature within 
  the cloud, or covered with the salt particles, takes a –40 penalty 
  on Hide checks.
  ConStruCtion
  requirements Craft Wondrous Item, glitterdust, light; Cost 175 
  gp, 14 XP
  Sporeblade
  Aura moderate necromancy; CL 13th
  Slot weapon; Price 27,815 gp; Weight 1 lb.
  DeSCriPtion
  Bulbous fungal growths sprout from this short sword’s blade, 
  particularly around the hilt. The fungal growths constantly 
  swell, wither, and sprout again in a continuous cycle. The 
  growths appear bright blue, green, yellow, and purple. The 
  weapon’s blade is a dull gray that does not reflect light.
  The sporeblade is a +2 keen short sword. On a successful 
  critical hit, the sporeblade deals its normal critical damage and 
  also creates a puff of mottled spores. The victim of the critical 
  hit must make a DC 20 Fortitude save. On a failed save, the 
  victim takes 1d4 points of Constitution damage and becomes 
  fatigued for 1 hour as the spores take root in his flesh and 
  grow with unsettling speed into thick, fibrous tendrils. The 
  special critical hit ability of the sporeblade functions no more 
  than once per round.
  ConStruCtion
  requirements Craft Magic Arms and Armor, contagion; Cost 
  14,065 gp, 1,100 XP
  Spelunker’s Mail
  Aura faint conjuration and moderate transmutation; CL 10th
  Slot armor; Price 10,000 gp; Weight 10 lb.
  DeSCriPtion
  Spelunker’s mail allows a creature to more easily navigate narrow 
  underground tunnels by granting the wearer the option of 
  reducing his size when a passageway grows too narrow.
  Spelunker’s mail is a +1 slick chain shirt and has a dark, 
  lustrous sheen to its blue-black links. Ten times per day, by 
  speaking a command word, you can activate the armor’s 
  power to reduce your size. Your size category decreases by 
  one step and you gain the relevant bonuses and penalties of 
  your new size. Your abilities and speed remain unchanged, 
  and all equipment you wear or carry reduces appropriately 
  in size. This transformation lasts for up to a minute, and you 
  can dismiss its effects as a free action.
  ConStruCtion
  requirements Craft Magic Arms & Armor, grease, reduce person; 
  Cost 4,875 gp, 390 XP
  trackless Boots
  Aura faint transmutation; CL 9th
  Slot feet; Price 3,500 gp; Weight 2 lb.
  DeSCriPtion
  Leaving marks of your passage can alert predators that a 
  newcomer has entered their territory. Trackless boots help 
  prevent you from making too much noise as you creep along, 
  and they also mask traces of your passage through underground 
  caverns to prevent your enemies from finding you. These boots 
  are particularly valued by smugglers who work in patrolled areas.
  Trackless boots are soft, well-worn leather boots with thin 
  soles. The softness of the boots’ soles add a +4 competence 
  bonus on Move Silently checks. In addition, the boots conceal 
  your passage much like the pass without trace spell—you leave 
  no trail underground and cannot be tracked. 
  ConStruCtion
  requirements Craft Wondrous Item, pass without trace; Cost 
  1,750 gp, 140 XP
  
  30
  PERSONA
  Lavender LiL
  Like many of the city’s tieflings, Lil grew up an orphan in 
  Riddleport. She earned her coin by telling stories on street 
  corners, where her fantastical tales garnered just enough 
  copper for a bite to eat. Although a gifted storyteller, Lil’s 
  exotic good looks drew more attention than her tales, and 
  soon a local pimp forced her into his flock.
  As she matured, Lil’s sultry purple eyes and her love 
  for flowers earned her the nickname “Lavender.” Her 
  talent for storytelling matured alongside her looks, and 
  rumors circulated that her grandfather was Varisian and 
  her grandmother was a devil-woman. While Lil had no 
  strenuous objections to working as a prostitute, she missed 
  the freedom of life on the streets. Her dreams never grew 
  grand enough to imagine life as a noble 
  lady, a brave adventurer, or even a 
  wife or mother. All Lil wanted was 
  the freedom to claim her own life 
  and to manage it, for ill or good.
  After 2 years working as a 
  prostitute, Lil realized she was 
  changing in ways she’d never 
  anticipated. She woke with energy seeming to crackle 
  in her mind. The stories she told the other prostitutes 
  carried more weight than usual—sometimes enough 
  to influence thought and behavior. Lil hid these 
  developments, practicing in secret until she better 
  understood her power. When she felt she’d mastered her 
  new abilities, she used them to distract her pimp and 
  escape from his employ.
  A brief war ensued between Lil and her old master, who 
  sought to recapture and punish her as an example to the 
  other workers. Yet Lil had planned her escape well, though, 
  and after several unsuccessful assaults, her former pimp 
  finally found himself in the water with a particularly foul-
  tempered bunyip. After watching the vile man be eaten by 
  the creature, Lil was her own mistress once again.
  For the next few years, Lil continued to work as an 
  independent prostitute. Several other women of her 
  occupation used her as an inspiration and broke free of 
  their own shackles. Some tried to follow her, only to find 
  themselves gently but firmly rebuffed. Lil had no desire to 
  lead or to follow. She wished only to be left alone to conduct 
  her business. Her independence, her beauty, and her talent 
  left her with no dearth of clients, and the level-headed way 
  in which she conducted business left her living in 
  comfort with a tidy sum hidden away for emergencies.
  At the beginning of her independent career, Lil 
  purchased several love potions to ensure a core of 
  faithful clients. She soon abandoned that strategy, 
  though, when she found ensorcelled lovers too difficult 
  and time consuming to manage. She did, however, forge 
  a lasting relationship with Falk Zincher, the alchemist 
  who provided the potions. Lil used an array of poisons 
  and potions to ensure her security, and Falk acted as a 
  supplier and confidante. 
  Recently, one of Lil’s new clients, a mercenary named 
  Orik Vancaskerkin, fell under the charming tiefling’s 
  influence and grew madly infatuated with her. Desperate to 
  break through Lil’s businesslike reserve and into her heart, 
  Orik sought out an alchemist to brew him a love potion. As 
  luck had it, he found his way to Falk Zincher. 
  Falk quickly intuited the target of Orik’s affections from 
  the man’s lovesick ramblings, and he substituted some 
  cheap ale laced with lavender for a true love potion. Orik 
  returned to Lil’s boudoir and slipped the “potion” into her 
  drink. Lil noticed the scent of lavender in her cup and Orik’s 
  hungry stare, and deduced that Falk was somehow involved; 
  the alchemist often scented her purchases with lavender as 
  a subtle tribute to their friendship. She acted the part of an 
  infatuated paramour with Orik long enough to satisfy him, 
  then promised to meet him the next night and sent him on 
  his way. After a brief consultation with Falk, Lil decided to 
  play her lovestruck role long enough to make it worth her 
  while, and to punish Orik for trying such a trick. 
  
  31
  Persona
  For a week, Lil carried on her false romance with 
  Orik, and through subtle questions and bardic trickery, 
  she learned the location of Orik’s savings. While Lil 
  entertained Orik in her bedroom, Falk broke into Orik’s 
  lodgings and robbed him blind. When Orik returned 
  home and discovered the theft, he let out a yell loud 
  enough to wake the entire building. He rushed back to 
  Lil’s but found her door locked and bearing a note from 
  Lil ordering him to leave her alone.
  Unable to retaliate against Lil (despite her role in the 
  treachery, he couldn’t bring himself to hurt her), Orik instead 
  turned his rage on Falk. He confronted the alchemist, words 
  came to blows, and before he realized what had happened, 
  Falk lay dead on the floor of his own shop. Orik panicked, 
  knowing that Falk was the brother of a powerful local 
  crimelord, Clegg Zincher, and he fled Riddleport without 
  even taking the time to reclaim his money.
  When news of Falk’s murder reached Clegg’s ears, the 
  elder Zincher flew into a rage. He turned all his resources 
  to tracking down those responsible for the crime, and when 
  he hit a dead end with Orik, he turned his anger against 
  Orik’s father, Saul Vancaskerkin, and against the woman 
  he felt was responsible for the whole situation—Lil.
  After barely surviving an attack from a group of Clegg’s 
  thugs, Lil realized how desperate her situation was and did 
  something she’d hoped she’d never have to do: she turned 
  to another for protection. However, she sought asylum not 
  under a pimp, but within the walls of Riddleport’s church 
  of Calistria. High priestess Shorafa Pamodae took pity on 
  Lil (perhaps as a result of their shared heritage), and for the 
  past year she has protected Lil from Zincher’s retaliation. 
  In that year, Lil has become a rather devout follower of 
  Calistria, yet she has begun to chafe at having to disguise 
  herself before going out and hopes to some day soon settle 
  her ongoing conflict with Clegg Zincher.
  appearance
  Lil’s glimmering purple eyes are famous in Riddleport. 
  Although some find her exotic appearance frightening, 
  Lil possesses grace and personal magnetism uncommon 
  in those of fiendish ancestry. Her coal-black hair 
  contrasts sharply with her pale skin, and her heavy 
  curls overshadow her delicate features. Two small horns 
  curve from her temples. Lil favors the flower for which 
  she is named, and she usually wears a sprig of lavender 
  somewhere on her person.
  deveLopment
  Lil makes all her decisions with survival and independence 
  foremost in her mind. She frequently casts detect thoughts on 
  her clients, but never uses the information for blackmail. 
  If word got out that she used such tactics, she’d find herself 
  out of business. Instead, she hoards the information and 
  brings it out only to protect herself. Some who threaten Lil 
  find their own secrets threatened in return, and cut all ties 
  with the prostitute rather than risk exposure.
  Lavender Lil 
  CR 7
  Female tiefling bard 6
  CN Medium outsider (native)
  Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., Listen +1, Spot +1
  DefenSe
  AC 16, touch 13, flat-footed 14
  (+3 armor, +1 deflection, +2 Dex) 
  hp 35 (6d6+12)
  Resist cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5
  fort +4, Ref +7, Will +6
  OffenSe
  Speed 30 ft. (6 squares)
  Melee masterwork bladed scarf +7 (1d6–1/19–20) or 
  masterwork dagger +7 (1d4-1/19–20 plus poison)
  Spells Known (CL 6th, +6 ranged touch)
  2nd (3/day)—detect thoughts (DC 14), invisibility, sound burst (DC 14)
  1st (4/day)—animate rope, expeditious retreat, grease (DC 13), identify
  0 (3/day)—dancing lights, daze (DC 12), lullaby (DC 12), mending, 
  prestidigitation, resistance
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 6th)
  1/day—darkness
  Special Attacks bardic music 6/day (countersong, fascinate, inspire 
  courage +1, inspire competence, suggestion)
  TACTICS
  Before Combat Lil is by no means a seasoned fighter, and she 
  prefers to exit combats as quickly as possible. When in her 
  boudoir, she keeps a bladed scarf draped nearby in case of an 
  emergency. On the street, she carries a poisoned dagger. She 
  keeps a long scarf on her person and in her chamber so she can 
  utilize her animate rope spell.
  During Combat Lil relies heavily on poison in combat, knowing 
  that her skill rarely matches that of her enemies. She tries first 
  to flee, second to fight, and last to bargain, either with money 
  or her charms.
  STATISTICS
  Str 8, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 14
  Base Atk +4; Grp +3
  feats Exotic Weapon Proficiency (bladed scarf), Still Spell, 
  Weapon Finesse
  Skills Appraise +11, Bluff +13, Diplomacy +15, Gather Information 
  +13, Hide +4, Knowledge (local) +11, Perform (oratory) +11, 
  Sense Motive +10, Sleight of Hand +13
  Languages Common, Elven, Infernal, Varisian
  SQ bardic knowledge +8
  Combat Gear potion of cure moderate wounds, potion of delay 
  poison; Other Gear +1 glamered leather armor, masterwork 
  bladed scarf, masterwork dagger, ring of protection +1, vial of 
  small centipede poison (2), vial of Riddleport tea, vial of indigo 
  dreams (2)
  
  32
  COMPANION
  Kyonin
  by Jeff Quick
  Walk amid the eldritch boughs and crystalline spires of 
  Kyonin, the terrestrial homeland of the elves. From the 
  shimmering capital city of Iadara to the clawed depths of 
  Tanglebriar, the realm of the elves lies opened to the eyes 
  of strangers for the first time. Discover what wonders the 
  elves cherish deep within their ancient realm, and what 
  soul-shaking secrets they hide amid the shadows of their 
  primeval forests. 
  Paths of the elves
  by Hal Maclean
  Aloof and enchanting, masterful and mysterious, elven 
  heroes stand among the most honored and emulated in 
  history. Learn the skills of elven adventurers, take up 
  arms crafted by ancient artificers, and gain an audience 
  with Queen Telandia Edasseril, ruler of Kyonin, with 
  these insights from the lands of the elves.
  subscribe to adventure!
  Discover Golarion and take part in an entire world 
  of adventure! Head on over to paizo.com and set up a 
  subscription today! Have each Pathfinder, Pathfinder 
  Adventure, Pathfinder Companion, and Pathfinder Chronicles 
  product delivered to your door! Missed out on part of 
  the adventure? Pick up every volume of past Pathfinder 
  products online!
  coming next!
  Check out what lies in store for your 
  characters and campaign in just 
  two short months with Pathfinder 
  Companion: Elves!
  elves of golarion
  by Jeff Quick
  Learn the history and timeless ways 
  of one of Golarion’s most ancient and 
  mysterious races: the elves. From the 
  forests of Celwynvian to the Jungles 
  of Garund, from the briny towers of 
  the Mordant Spire to the majesty of 
  eldritch Kyonin, the mystical and 
  enigmatic elves straddle the ages, 
  bridging the gap beyond the secrets 
  of the past and the wonders of epics 
  to come. Learn the millennia-old 
  traditions of this mystifying people, 
  discover who they hold as allies and 
  swear as hated enemies, wonder 
  at the secrets of their secluded 
  communities and their otherworldly 
  homeland, and take up sword and 
  spell alongside a new generation 
  of elven adventurers who boldly 
  venture into the world of men. 
  grant the rights conveyed by this License.
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  13. Termination: This License will terminate automatically if You fail to comply with all terms herein 
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  15. COPYRIGHT NOTICE
  Open Game License v 1.0a Copyright 2000, Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
  System Reference Document. Copyright 2000. Wizards of the Coast, Inc; Authors Jonathan Tweet, 
  Monte Cook, Skip Williams, based on material by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
  Pathfinder Companion: Second Darkness Player’s Guide, Copyright 2008, Paizo Publishing, LLC; 
  Authors James Jacobs, F. Wesley Schneider, Amber Scott, Greg A. Vaughan.
  OPEN GAME LICENSE Version 1.0a
  The following text is the property of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. and is Copyright 2000 Wizards of the 
  Coast, Inc (“Wizards”). All Rights Reserved.
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  paizo.com/pathfinder
  Printed in China. PZO9401
  Dark Days in Riddleport
  The city of Riddleport is no place for the naive. Founded by pirates and ruled 
  by criminals, Varisia’s most lawless city chews up the weak and foolhardy. 
  In other words, it’s a perfect home for adventurers! Take the first step into 
  Riddleport, the starting city for Pathfinder’s Second Darkness Adventure 
  Path. The information contained herein gives players the edge they need 
  to face this deadly quest, with new rules, details on making campaign-
  specific characters, and background information no adventurer should 
  be without. Even if you aren’t playing the Second Darkness Adventure 
  Path, this booklet is filled with all new spells, magic items, and character 
  options perfect for any game.
  Inside this Pathfinder Companion, you’ll find:
  •	 Details	and	roles	for	every	character	race	and	
  class, specifically tied to Pathfinder’s Second 
  Darkness Adventure Path but usable in 
  any campaign!
  •	 Riddleport’s	 gazetteer,	 including	 everything	
  you need to know about its government, 
  prominent locations, important characters, 
  Riddleport slang, and more!
  •	 Character	 Traits	 and	 special	 features	 that	
  instantly tie characters into the campaign and 
  grant benefits to aid in adventures to come!
  •	 New	spells,	new	magic	items,	new	feats,	and	a		
  new prestige class!
  •	 Full-color	maps	of	Varisia	and	Riddleport,
  	 the	City	of	Cyphers!
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Pathfinder/Adventure Paths/Second Darkness/Player's Guide.pdf