TEXT: ADVENTURE PATH       PART 1 OF 6
  by Sean K Reynolds
  The Bastards 
  of Erebus
  The Bastards 
  of Erebus
  Council of Thieves
  Council of Thieves
  ®
  
  Old Temple of Erastil
  Jacovo’s Stables
  Vizio’s Tavern
  Shrine of Aroden (safe house)
  
  ADVENTURE PATH PART 1 of 6
  The 
  Bastards
  of 
  Erebus
  ®
  Council of Thieves
  Council of Thieves
  
  ®
  “Bastards of Erebus” is a Pathfinder Adventure Path scenario designed for four 1st-level characters. By the end of this adventure, characters should reach 3rd level. This adventure is compliant with 
  the Open Game License (OGL) and is suitable for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game or the 3.5 edition of the world’s oldest fantasy roleplaying game. The OGL can be found on page 92 
  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 names (characters, deities, artifacts, places, etc.), dialogue, plots, storylines, locations, characters, artwork, and trade dress. Elements that have previously been 
  designated as Open Game Content are not included in this declaration.
  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). No portion of this work other than the material designated as Open Game Content may be reproduced in any form without written permission. To learn more 
  about the Open Game License and the d20 System License, please visit wizards.com/d20.
  Paizo Publishing, LLC
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  Printed in China.
  credits
  Editor-in-Chief • James Jacobs
  Art Director • Sarah E. Robinson
  Managing Editor • F. Wesley Schneider
  Editors • Christopher Carey and James L. Sutter
  Editorial Assistance • Jason Bulmahn, Sean K Reynolds, and Vic Wertz
  Editorial Interns • David Eitelbach and Hank Woon
  Managing Art Director • James Davis
  Publisher • Erik Mona
  Cover Artist
  Steve Prescott
  Cartographers
  Jared Blando and Rob Lazzaretti
  Contributing Artists
  David Bircham, Andrew Hou,Carlisle, Jim Pavelec, Grey Thornberry,  
  Tyler Walpole, Kevin Yan, and Kieran Yanner
  Contributing Authors
  Mike Ferguson, Dave Gross, Sean K Reynolds, F. Wesley Schneider,  
  Steven Schend, and Amber Scott
  Paizo CEO • Lisa Stevens
  Vice President of Operations • Jeffrey Alvarez
  Events Manager • Joshua J. Frost
  Corporate Accountant • Dave Erickson
  Sales Manager • Christopher Self
  Technical Director • Vic Wertz
  Special Thanks
  The Paizo Customer Service and Warehouse Teams
  
   
  Foreword 
  4
  Bastards of Erebus 
  6
  by Sean K Reynolds
  Westcrown 
  48
  by Steven Schend
  Tieflings of Golarion 
  60
  by Amber Scott
  Pathfinder’s Journal: Hell’s Pawns 1 of 6 
  68
  by Dave Gross
  Bestiary 
  74 
  by Mike Ferguson, Sean K Reynolds, and F. Wesley Schneider
  Council of Thieves Campaign Outline  
  88
  Pregenerated Characters 
  90
  Preview 
  92 
  table of contents
  
  4
  Council of Thieves
  What’s Old is New
  I
  t’s finally here! The first Adventure Path using the 
  Pathfinder Roleplaying Game rules is just one page 
  away. This month kicks off the Council of Thieves 
  Adventure Path, a fiendish new all-urban campaign poised 
  to expose the seedy underbelly of Westcrown, former 
  capital of the Chelish Empire and would-be throne city of 
  a dead god. But aside from starting off our newest intrigue, 
  I suspect this volume might be many readers’ first look 
  at the just-released Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. So look 
  around and see what you think! For the most part, things 
  should be quite familiar—it’s pretty much the same game 
  you’ve been playing for years after all, but with a few new 
  updates, patches, perks, and quirks. I’ll resist going into 
  about the differences between the Pathfinder RPG and 
  3.5 here again, but if you still have any questions, you can 
  get all the answers in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core 
  Rulebook, available at all finer game and book stores now. 
  Or, just hit us up directly at paizo.com, where there’s 
  already tons of details and you can even have us answer 
  your questions personally. 
  What does bear repeating, though, is that even though 
  we’ve changed rules systems, that doesn’t mean we’re 
  leaving you behind. Even if you’re not sold on all the 
  excitement about the new Pathfinder RPG quite yet, you’ve 
  got nothing to worry about. If you know how to play 3.5, you 
  know how to play the Pathfinder RPG, and all the rules, 
  characters, and stories are still just as useful. If you run 
  into anything you don’t have the rules for, conversion is 
  as simple as a quick swap here or a flip through the 3.5 PH 
  there. Of course, we’d love to have everyone check out the 
  Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook, but times are 
  tight and so we’ve worked really hard to make conversion 
  
  5
  Foreword
  a simple matter. And again, if you have any questions or 
  want to learn more about the Pathfinder RPG, just hit us 
  up online and we’ll tell you everything you need to know! 
  Things might have changed a bit around here, but it’s 
  still your game, so play what you love! We’ll keep putting 
  out adventures for you regardless of your game system, and 
  boy do we have a scheme for you this time around.
  An Offer He CAn’t refuse
  We knew for some time that our fifth Adventure Path was 
  going to have a rough birth, mainly because it needed to 
  be written using the Pathfinder RPG rules while those 
  rules were still, in many places, being developed. There 
  was a time when we were thinking that the campaign that 
  would become Council of Thieves might be an all Paizo 
  staff Adventure Path, written totally by us here in house. 
  That madness got shot down pretty quick, though, as it 
  turns out that we’re kind of our own worst enemies when it 
  comes to getting freelance work done on time. So instead, 
  we turned to a group of some of our best and most tested 
  freelancers, setting them loose initially with just copies of 
  the Pathfinder RPG Beta and our best wishes.
  But we still needed someone to start off the Adventure 
  Path, someone not just skilled with adventure design, 
  but who could handle the endless notes and addendums 
  to the still developing Pathfinder RPG. So we decided to 
  stick close to home after all, knowing that it’d be far less 
  stressful to have someone on hand to talk through the 
  changes with than to spend endless hours emailing or 
  revising. But who? Who would be blessed/cursed to get to 
  write one of our behemoth-sized adventures in the midst 
  of the busiest time in Pathfinder’s history? It all came 
  down to an impromptu meeting with Sean K Reynolds. I’d 
  like to say that it took a few hours with the thumbscrews 
  and James’s leech collection to make him take the job, but 
  the ever amenable Mr. Reynolds took up the burden like a 
  pro and set—mostly—right to work.
  A few months later we got our first look at Sean’s opus, 
  “Bastards of Erebus,” an adventure that proved not just 
  a great start to a new campaign, but served to highlight 
  the features and flexibility of the Pathfinder Roleplaying 
  Game. Not one to rest on the rules as written, though, Sean 
  tackled some of the more daunting challenges of RPG 
  design, presenting a new take on creating mazes and some 
  clever options for handling a daring rescue operation. The 
  adventure also does a fantastic job of setting the ground for 
  the plots running throughout the entire campaign, such 
  as the PCs involvement with the rebellious Children of 
  Westcrown, sorties with the Hellknights, and the growing 
  question of who or what is the Council of Thieves? Sean 
  kicks it all off here this month, but if you can’t wait to see 
  exactly where things are headed just check out the Council 
  of Thieves Outline at the end of this volume.
  WHAt else is neW?
  A new system, a new campaign, a new adventure, but what 
  else is there? 
  Something that’s obvious with every new campaign 
  but rarely gets much discussion is Pathfinder’s constantly 
  changing look. When we started Pathfinder, we never 
  intended to change the appearance with each series. 
  That insight came wholly from our invaluable and ever 
  astonishing art director Sarah Robinson. Every six 
  months, Sarah comes up with new ways to make our 
  words look incredible. From the bloody reds and elaborate 
  designs of Curse of the Crimson Throne to the exotic 
  styles and sandy colors of Legacy of Fire, she undertakes 
  the daunting task of creating a book that looks every 
  bit as exciting as the adventures within, and every time 
  we’re more and more impressed. This time around, she’s 
  taken a more worn look, implying much of the rugged 
  urban seediness coming up over the course of the next 
  six months. So just a thanks to Sarah, for her endlessly 
  awesome work!
  In addition to new layout embellishments, you can also 
  expect to see a number of new styles picked up directly 
  from the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook and 
  the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary. Statblocks have a few new 
  elements, but probably what’s most noticeable is the new 
  layout and icons in the Bestiary—just a few little additions 
  to help give you the gist of a creature at a glance. This 
  serves as something of a preview of the Pathfinder RPG 
  Bestiary, releasing next month, so take a look and see what 
  you think!
  Also, as the city of Westcrown serves as the setting of 
  every volume of Council of Thieves, we’ve got a ton of 
  details on the former capital of Cheliax—so much, in 
  fact, that we couldn’t fit it all into this one volume. Take a 
  quick jaunt over to paizo.com and you’ll find not just our 
  free Council of Thieves Player’s Guide, but also a wealth of 
  additional details about Westcrown and its environs from 
  the city’s foremost architect, Steven Schend.
  So lots of big changes! We know folks will have plenty 
  to say and probably lots of questions, so as always, catch us 
  on the Paizo message boards and tell us what you think. 
  Until then, though, there’s a conspiracy afoot in the city of 
  Westcrown and it starts one page flip away.
  F. Wesley Schneider
  Managing Editor
  wes@paizo.com
  
  6
  Council of Thieves Part 1 of 6
  E
  ven before Aroden’s death, the Council of Thieves had been an open 
  secret in Westcrown. The city’s first (and most successful) thieves’ 
  guild, the Council of Thieves was comprised of members from 
  influential and often noble families in Westcrown. Subtle and content to 
  rest upon the work of past generations, these rich and affluent criminals 
  grew wealthier off of all manner of smuggling, gambling, prostitution, and 
  more nefarious but increasingly white collar crimes. Yet now, insurrection 
  boils within the Council’s inner ranks, and if left to bloom, the resulting coup 
  could engulf all of Westcrown.
  The Bastards of Erebus
  
  7
  The Bastards of Erebus
  Adventure BAckground
  In 4606 ar, Aroden, god of humanity, innovation, and 
  history, died. No city in all of Golarion was wracked more 
  fundamentally by this catastrophic event than Westcrown. 
  The capital of Cheliax—an entire country sworn to the 
  god of humanity’s worship at the time—Westcrown was 
  the expected site of Aroden’s return and had spent decades 
  preparing for the event. A massive plaza known as the 
  Arodennama, complete with a towering statue of the god, 
  stood ready to receive the deity, yet after his death, it took 
  only a few short years for the church of Aroden to fall. The 
  Arodennama was abandoned, and the entire country found 
  itself in the grips of a civil war with fierce diabolists.
  The rise of the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune 
  saw Westcrown’s further descent. After a brutal 30-year 
  civil war, the diabolical House of Thrune seized control 
  of Cheliax. One of their first acts as the nation’s new 
  government was to move the capital and royal court north 
  to the city of Egorian, emptying Westcrown of much of 
  its affluence and prestige. Those nobles who remained 
  behind were largely old families rooted in their traditions 
  and their pride, content to rot in their declining home. 
  While still a vibrant and important port, the splendor 
  that had typified Westcrown for centuries swiftly waned, 
  and without the noble court many commoners and 
  merchants who had previously made a living pandering to 
  the country’s elite were forced to move on, leaving whole 
  blocks abandoned. Westcrown faded to a pale shadow of 
  its former glory and became a playground for vultures 
  eager to pick the royal carcass.
  the drovenge ShAme
  The Drovenges have always been the key family among 
  the Council of Thieves. An incredibly wealthy and 
  conservative family of moneylenders and property owners, 
  the Drovenges weathered the fall of Aroden and the rise of 
  the House of Thrune well. Led today by their patriarch, 
  Vassindio Drovenge, the family has endured much in the 
  years since Aroden’s death, but have kept a comfortable 
  grip on their underworld holdings. Though not all the 
  families that comprise the Council of Thieves can say 
  the same, the Drovenges managed to retain a significant 
  measure of their wealth, respect, and power.
  Yet that was called into question by Vassindio’s son, 
  Sidonai. Arrogant and manipulative, the Drovenge scion 
  was incensed upon the birth of his first offspring, a weak 
  girl-child her mother named Chammady. Sidonai had 
  wanted a son, a “true heir” to usher in a new era of power 
  and prosperity for his family. In the weeks following 
  Chammady’s birth, Sidonai schemed to sire a son with a 
  divine mandate to flourish and rule amid the diabolical 
  nobles of the country, who seemed only to respect their own. 
  Although tieflings in Cheliax face a harsh life as second-
  class citizens, Sidonai sought a way where he might sire a 
  son with one of the archdevils—despite Asmodeus’s eight 
  lieutenants being male—an infernal son whom the land’s 
  Hell-obsessed rulers would have no choice but to respect. 
  To this end, Sidonai bargained for the aid of a hag coven 
  living within the woods near Westcrown. These hags were 
  known as the Flies, and consisted of a Mother, a Sister, 
  and a Daughter. The Flies presented the nobleman with a 
  coin from the depths of Erebus, the realm of the archdevil 
  Mammon, telling Sidonai to swallow the gold piece before 
  he next bedded his wife. Pleased with the witches’ cultic 
  solution, he departed.
  Doing as he was told, Sidonai ingested the coin, not 
  realizing the truth of what the Flies had provided him. 
  Mammon, the Lord of the Third, is in fact all the treasure 
  that comes to lie within Hell’s vaults, being a creature of 
  no forms and of many, a profane genus loci, an animating 
  spirit. Thus, by swallowing the coin, Sidonai allowed 
  Mammon to temporarily possess him and impart his foul 
  immortal seed unto the criminal’s unsuspecting wife.
  Nine months passed, with Sidonai attempting to hide 
  his infernal plot and downplaying his wife’s growing 
  complications with her second pregnancy. The child 
  birthed was a boy, yet said birth left no question as to 
  the father’s true parentage. Disfigured with horns, 
  silver eyes, and golden skin, the half-fiend’s unholy 
  origin was obvious to all, particularly the babe’s 
  horrified mother and, soon enough, the furious family 
  patriarch. Vassindio Drovenge, believing his son’s wife 
  had cuckolded his heir and brought shame upon his 
  family, murdered the woman as she recovered from her 
  long and exhausting labor. The brazen murder drew 
  the whole story from a panicked Sidonai, who confessed 
  to his father what he had done. Disgusted by his son’s 
  insane plot, Vassindio ordered the death of all involved, 
  and by that evening the lives of Sidonai’s house staff, 
  his wife’s midwives, and even two of the hags his son 
  had consulted in the forest were all cut short. Only two 
  Advancement Track
  Council of Thieves assumes your group uses the Medium advancement track for experience points. Characters should be 1st 
  level when they begin “Bastards of Erebus,” and should reach 3rd level level by the adventure’s end. By the time the PCs are 
  moving against the Bastards themselves in Part Six, they should all be 2nd level.
  
  8
  Council of Thieves Part 1 of 6
  survived—the green hag known as the Mother of Flies 
  (who was apart from her sisters when the murderous 
  humans came), and Sidonai himself.
  Yet Sidonai did not escape unscathed. Furious, shamed, 
  and doubting his son’s sanity, Vassindio gathered a 
  generous stipend for his one-time heir and sent him to live 
  among family members in distant Oparra, the capital city 
  of Taldor. Enraged but fearful of his father’s recent display 
  of wrath, Sidonai departed for Taldor immediately, yet he 
  never arrived in Oppara and has not been seen since.
  Considering his son dead even before this disappearance, 
  Vassindio mourned for the cruel fate that had come upon 
  his family. No longer able to sire children of his own, 
  Vassindio took it upon himself to raise his son’s children. 
  Even though the tiefling baby embodied the shame Sidonai 
  had inflicted upon the family, he was now Vassindio’s only 
  male heir. After a long, dark night of the soul, Vassindio 
  decided to let the tiefling live and named him Ecarrdian.
  Chammady and Ecarrdian spent their youths together 
  among servants and cold luxury. Theirs was a family of 
  two, where each was parent and playmate to the other, and 
  the devotion they formed for one another grew strong. 
  Whereas Ecarrdian was all but ignored by the family, 
  Chammady had some contact with her grandfather, 
  receiving occasional gifts and boons from him that she 
  secretly shared with her brother. See also heard the jabs 
  and mockery the house staff heaped daily on her brother. 
  Fiercely defensive, the noble girl once cut one of her first 
  handmaids wirh a broken wine bottle when the servant 
  offered her brother but a playful insult, the incident 
  resulting in the handmaid’s all-too-willing dismissal. 
  Chammady grew resentful of the world and her grandfather 
  and sought only to escape with her brother, yet the bars 
  of their gilded cage proved far too thick, and the siblings 
  turned to each other for their only comfort.
  Ecarrdian’s childhood proved even more painful than 
  his sister’s, mocked by servants when they thought he 
  couldn’t hear, scolded by tutors for the slightest mistake, 
  and denied even the smallest overtures of familial love and 
  respect. He came to loathe his grandfather and his army 
  of servants—not just for their stuffy ways and slander, but 
  for their race, developing a burning hatred for all humans 
  save his beloved sister.
  Even upon entering into their majority, Chammady 
  and Ecarrdian found that escape from their family’s ways 
  would not prove as easy as expected. Their grandfather 
  proved watchful and domineering, assigning the pair 
  duties within his dusty mercantile and criminal empire. 
  Well into his eighties, the old man remained vigorous and 
  hateful, and the Drovenge scions began to believe that the 
  old man would never die and their freedom would never 
  come. The plot was simple and obvious, but Chammady 
  spoke it first. The siblings would kill their grandfather and 
  Ecarrdian would take control of the family. In fact, with 
  their grandfather’s power and prestige, why stop there? 
  Why not lop the head from the hateful corpse that was 
  Westcrown and claim the entire city as their own? Finally, 
  they would be the ones to be obeyed—their grandfather’s 
  empire, an entire city, and more would be theirs to rule.
  The siblings mulled the plot for years, but nothing 
  came of their dark fantasies. Finally, though, old Vassindio 
  decided to send Ecarrdian to Taldor to address the family’s 
  failing ventures there. The two Drovenge men argued, as 
  Ecarrdian had no wish to travel abroad and saw (rightfully) 
  the assignment to Taldor as forced exile, but the patriarch 
  would not be denied. In only a few months’ time the 
  tiefling would go to Taldor, to return when the family’s 
  holdings there were again secure—a sentence of years, if 
  not a lifetime.
  Chammady took the news hardest, but refused to 
  mourn, for now was their time to act. Vassindio would die, 
  Westcrown would be theirs, and if the pair had to shatter 
  the criminal underworld, throw the entire city into chaos, 
  and draw upon the power of Ecarrdian’s true father to 
  succeed, then so be it!
  the relicS of ShAdow And Sun
  In the months before Aroden’s death and the fall of the 
  Chelish way of life, two bedraggled Pathfinders returned 
  to Westcrown with a harrowing tale. Pathfinder Donatalus 
  Bisby and his erstwhile chronicler Ilnerik Sivanshin 
  returned from a grueling 3-year expedition to the Mwangi 
  Expanse, 2 years after the Pathfinders had given them up 
  as lost. With tales of cannibals, simian demons, jungle rot, 
  hideous monsters, and river madness, the pair’s account 
  of the grisly and varied fates of the other 45 porters, 
  servants, and explorers (including several other relatively 
  well-known Pathfinders) who had accompanied them into 
  the jungle was hushed up by the Society. All the lone two 
  survivors had to support their wild tales was a curious 
  relic they’d managed to salvage and bring back from a 
  strange and ancient jungle ruin. This relic consisted 
  of two interlocking components—a golden bird’s head 
  and an obsidian bat’s head. The bird head represented 
  an ancient sun deity, while the bat’s head depicted a foul 
  demon of the night. These two deities were the foundation 
  of the long-dead civilization whose ruins Donatalus and 
  Ilnerik had gone to the Mwangi Expanse to explore, and 
  the relic’s recovery was an incredibly important find, for 
  the Pathfinders had long sought more clues into the nature 
  of this ancient and mysterious society.
  Donatalus’s return was much celebrated, and the 
  Pathfinder’s glory and acceptance into the Chronicles 
  seemed assured, yet as Donatalus’s star rose, Ilnerik grew 
  increasingly jealous and bitter. Finally, consumed by this 
  jealousy, he broke apart the relic and fled Westcrown with 
  
  9
  The Bastards of Erebus
  the bat head component. He suspected that on the markets 
  of Nisroch in Nidal, the shadowy bat-head relic would fetch 
  a fair price, yet what he hadn’t known was that, together, 
  the two relics symbolized a single dualistic concept—the 
  balance of light and darkness. Separated from the sun 
  idol, the bat idol had no counterbalance, and with 
  each day of Ilnerik’s journey toward Nidal, he 
  grew more sickly—his flesh began to burn 
  in the sun, his hunger grew but 
  the thought of food nauseated 
  him, and he was unable to sleep at 
  night and barely able to function by 
  day. He crossed the border into Nidal on 
  the same day Aroden died and Cheliax 
  erupted into chaos, and by that 
  evening, Ilnerik had crawled into a 
  cave and died—only to rise with the 
  next moon as a vampire.
  Ilnerik spent the next century 
  in Nidal, becoming a master of the 
  shadows of the night and learning of 
  the true powers of the bat-head relic—such 
  as the fact that the relic was sacred to a now-dead demon 
  lord of bats and shadows named Vyriavaxus, and that it 
  granted its owner all manner of power over various beasts 
  of shadow, including the ability to call them up and bend 
  them to servitude. His standing in Nidal grew yearly, and 
  it was not without a delighted sense of irony that Ilnerik 
  returned to Westcrown after being secretly contacted by 
  the new government of Cheliax to provide a service—he 
  and his shadow beasts would serve in Westcrown as the 
  midnight guard, to ensure that after the fall of night, 
  the city’s citizens remained safely in doors, lest beasts of 
  shadow take them down. Today, Ilnerik’s allegiance has 
  shifted away from the Arvanxi family and to the Council 
  of Thieves—to Ecarrdian and Chammady Drovenge, in 
  fact, with whom he shares the desire to claim Westcrown 
  as his own.
  the StAge iS Set
  And so, with these three key figures in alliance—a 
  vampiric spellcaster, a manipulative thief, and the unholy 
  spawn of Mammon himself—control of Westcrown hangs 
  in the balance. Yet Ecarrdian and Chammady cannot move 
  against their grandfather and sieze control of the Council of 
  Thieves without preparation. Securing Ilnerik’s allegiance 
  and aid, and with him the support of the shadowbeasts 
  of the city’s night, was but an important first step. Now, 
  the scheming pair turn their attention to  the Mayor of 
  Westcrown—or more accurately, to his manor: Aberian’s 
  Folly. Imprisoned deep under this eccentric’s home is 
  nothing less than a pit fiend named Liebdaga the Twin—a 
  gift to the new leaders of Westcrown many decades ago 
  from the House of Thrune in return for allegiance and 
  promises to keep the city under control. Aberian’s Folly 
  uses the imprisoned pit fiend’s infernal energy and soul to 
  power many of the manor’s extravagances and decadances, 
  as sure a sign of all that is wrong with Cheliax today as 
  anything. Public knowledge of the imprisoned pit fiend 
  is scanty, little more than whispered rumor, but 
  Ecarrdian and Chammady know it to be fact. 
  In order to sieze control of Westcrown and 
  the Council of Thieves, they need powerful 
  allies, and what could be more powerful than 
  a pit fiend?
  The brother and sister hope to 
  infiltrate Aberian’s Folly and contact 
  Liebdaga so they can arrange for 
  a trade—the pit fiend’s freedom 
  in return for a few days of work 
  helping the two sieze control 
  of Westcrown. At the same 
  time, they plot the death of 
  their grandfather and set 
  in play many of their agents (not the least of which is 
  the vampire Ilnerik) so that when they strike, all the 
  components of their coup are set.
  As the time to begin the final steps of their plan arrives, 
  though, they know that any unexpected interference by the 
  city’s government could ruin it all. If they are to succeed, 
  the city, and in particular its mayor, must be distracted. 
  Several weeks before this adventure begins, Chammady 
  uses her influence in the Council of Thieves to finance 
  several groups of bandits and brigands. In return for 
  weapons and coin given by the council, these groups of 
  brigands agree to increase their own particular brands of 
  mayhem in the hinterlands. One group in particular, the 
  all-tiefling Bastards of Erebus, is of considerable use. Led 
  by a diabolic cleric named Palaveen, a man who already 
  fancied himself an ally of the Council of Theives, the 
  Bastards have a base of operations inside of Westcrown’s 
  walls. With banditry and crime on a sudden upswing 
  both in and out of the city walls, the government has its 
  hands full with other matters.
  Yet there’s one thing that Ecarrdian and Chammady 
  didn’t count on—that the sudden upsurge of banditry 
  would result in a parallel upsurge of heroics from the 
  city’s citizens. In short, by enabling the Bastards of 
  Erebus to strike against Westcrown, they’ve created an 
  even greater need for heroes to oppose them—heroes that 
  may just be destined to save the city from its doom.
  Adventure SummAry
  This adventure begins as the PCs are gathered by a woman 
  named Janiven who wants to invite them into a new and 
  secret group of concerned citizens of Westcrown who seek 
  PAlAveen
  
  10
  Council of Thieves Part 1 of 6
  to return the city to a place of safety, justice, and honor 
  after a century of strife and oppression. Their meeting is 
  interrupted by the arrival of Hellknights bent on capturing 
  the “rebels.” After a dangerous flight through the city 
  sewers, the PCs reach an old Shrine of Aroden that Janiven’s 
  group uses as a safe house, only to learn that Janiven’s 
  mentor and the group’s leader, a cleric of Iomedae named 
  Arael, has been captured by the Hellknights. The PCs take 
  part in a daring rescue, humiliating the Hellknights and 
  returning to Westcrown with Arael safe and sound.
  Arael reports that just before his capture, he’d discovered 
  the location of a secret hideout used by the Bastards of 
  Erebus, a violent gang of tiefling bandits who have recently 
  been raising hell in Westcrown. Using this information, 
  the PCs seek out the base and confront the Bastards of 
  Erebus—with the defeat of the bandits, the PCs and their 
  allies take the first step toward becoming heroes of the city, 
  and thus the first step toward Westcrown’s redemption. 
  Unfortunately, the defeat of the Bastards also reveals that 
  there may be a deeper problem facing Westcrown—the 
  legendary thieves’ guild known as the Council of Thieves 
  may be alive, well, and plotting something against the city.
  the council of thieveS PlAyer’S guide
  Before you begin this Adventure Path, have your players 
  head over to paizo.com/pathfinder and download the 
  Council of Thieves Player’s Guide. This free PDF contains a 
  player-friendly introduction to the city of Westcrown and 
  gives valuable advice on what kinds of characters the PCs 
  should think about creating for the campaign. In addition, 
  this Player’s Guide contains several campaign traits for 
  players to pick from. Character traits (of which campaign 
  traits are a subset) are an optional system you can use to 
  encourage players to build characters with more detailed 
  histories and backgrounds—full rules for character traits, 
  updated for use with the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook, can 
  also be downloaded at paizo.com/traits.
  Here, you’ll also find the Council of Thieves Gamemaster’s 
  Guide, a short PDF that provides additional advice 
  and adventure hooks for expanding the adventures 
  in Westcrown beyond the city’s walls and into the 
  surrounding nation of Cheliax.
  fAme PointS
  At various points in this Adventure Path, there are times 
  when the PCs’ exploits are significant enough to gain them 
  fame and admiration among the people of Westcrown. 
  Defeating a group of notorious bandits, saving a child 
  from a house fire, publicly slaying a rampaging monster, 
  completing a supposedly impossible play—all of these 
  things are worthy of Fame Points.
  As this Adventure Path progresses, certain encounters 
  will end in a “Fame Point Award” section that details 
  how many Fame Points to award to the PCs. While you 
  should certainly keep track of the party’s Fame Points, 
  you should not keep this total secret. Tell the PCs each 
  time their group earns a Fame Point so they know that 
  they’ve accomplished something important, and that 
  their reputation in Westcrown is growing. Fame Points 
  are merely an indication of the city’s growing awareness 
  of their accomplishments in most adventures—but in the 
  final adventure in this campaign, PCs will need to make 
  Fame Checks in many encounters. A Fame Check is a level 
  check modified by a character’s Charisma score and the 
  number of Fame Points the group has accumulated over 
  the course of the Adventure Path, and they’ll be used to 
  determine how effective the PCs are when it comes to 
  organizing the city’s defense against the events to come at 
  the campaign’s climax.
  PArt one: the weStcrown reBelS
  Council of Thieves begins in the town of Westcrown, and for 
  much of the campaign’s length, it never strays far from 
  this city’s walls. You should take time to familiarize yourself 
  with this large and complex city by studying “Westcrown: 
  City of Twilight,” which begins on page 48 of this volume. 
  Likewise, your players should be familiar with the city as 
  well—if they’re using the Council of Thieves Player’s Guide to 
  aid in generating their characters, this should already be 
  taken care of. If not, take a few minutes to summarize the 
  town and find out what each PC’s background and tie to 
  Westcrown is. You should certainly inform the PCs that 
  the majority of the campaign is set in this city, so that a 
  player won’t accidentally create a character who’s entire 
  life goal is to escape Westcrown and seek adventure 
  elsewhere! Preferably, all of the PCs should be natives or 
  citizens of the city, but visitors work perfectly fine as well, 
  provided they have no reason to want to leave the city any 
  time soon.
  One large assumption that Council of Thieves makes 
  about the PCs is that none of them should be particularly 
  fond of the way the government in Westcrown currently 
  operates. This isn’t to say that all PCs must be anarchists, 
  but a PC who blindly follows the unfair edicts of the 
  established government won’t really have a reason to 
  join the Westcrown Rebels. This could be a problem for 
  characters of lawful alignment or characters affiliated 
  with one of the Hellknight orders. Advice for how to 
  handle this requirement can be found in the Council of 
  Thieves Player’s Guide, but the short version is this—being 
  lawful doesn’t mean blindly accepting the current laws. 
  A lawful good paladin might be seeking a way to fight 
  against Cheliax’s evil without abandoning his devotion 
  to order, and such a conflict could send him seeking 
  
  11
  The Bastards of Erebus
  the aid of Westcrown’s more traditional (pre-Thrune) 
  values—values that exist today among the Westcrown 
  Rebels. A lawful neutral monk might feel that Cheliax’s 
  current laws (particularly the covert use of shadow beasts 
  to keep the streets “safe” at night) are too restrictive and 
  cruel, and would be interested in seeking out those of a 
  like mind who are looking for a better government. Even 
  a lawful evil cleric of Asmodeus might have reason to be 
  frustrated with the House of Thrune’s attitude toward the 
  infernal—for certainly while the church of Asmodeus is 
  the official state religion of Cheliax, many of Asmodeus’s 
  faithful feel stifled by the fact that Thrune sees Hell 
  not as a greater power but as a role model at best and a 
  resource at worst.
  The PCs don’t need to begin play already knowing each 
  other, since the first event in Council of Thieves is designed 
  to pull the group together in one place and quickly force 
  them to work together to survive. Once the players 
  understand the basics of Westcrown and its 
  corrupt government, go around the table and 
  ask each player for an example of how his or 
  her character has been stifled, annoyed, or 
  hindered by the government. If your players 
  are using the Council of Thieves Player’s Guide, 
  their campaign trait should give them 
  precisely this information. Once you’ve 
  established what each character’s 
  personal 
  complaint 
  with 
  the government is, each 
  character (or group of 
  characters who already 
  have existing ties to each 
  other) is approached by 
  an attractive woman who 
  calls herself Janiven.
  Janiven’s introduction to each 
  group of PCs differs depending 
  on the nature of that PC’s 
  campaign trait (and the PC’s 
  resulting complaint with 
  Westcrown’s government). 
  In truth, Janiven is the 
  second-in-command 
  of 
  a swiftly growing group 
  of concerned citizens who 
  want to make Westcrown a 
  safer place to live—a goal that 
  is somewhat at odds with the way the 
  House of Thrune governs the city from afar. 
  The group has only recently formed, and 
  as such doesn’t even have a name yet. 
  Founded by a charismatic half-elf 
  cleric of Iomedae named Arael, 
  the group’s goal is not to cause open rebellion or civil 
  unrest—they are all children of Westcrown, after all, and 
  a street war would only damage that which they hope to 
  protect. Instead, free-thinkers like Arael and Janiven hope 
  to organize a sort of “citizen’s watch” that will take steps to 
  protect the people of Westcrown and, some day, return the 
  city to the splendor and glory it possessed before Aroden’s 
  death and the rise of the House of Thrune.
  Yet although the group’s goals are idealistic, they’re 
  also the types of ideas that threaten the current Chelish 
  government. As a result, Arael and Janiven hoped to 
  keep the true nature of their organization a secret from 
  the government while building a strong relationship 
  with the city’s people, so that when the time comes to 
  publicly declare themselves, they’ll have the support of 
  the city’s citizens—something that surely the House of 
  Thrune must respect. Arael has given Janiven the honor 
  of organizing this first meeting while he organizes 
  a few links to sympathetic groups elsewhere in 
  the city, particularly with the Pathfinders 
  (who are operating in Westcrown via a 
  single undercover agent named Ailyn 
  Ghontasavos).
  Janiven and Arael have held meetings 
  of this type several times, and have 
  gathered a dozen or so followers already. 
  The PCs are the latest recruits—Janiven 
  has noted the way that the government 
  has wronged them, and more importantly, 
  she’s recognized in each PC the potential to 
  do great things in the future. A shrewd judge of 
  character, Janiven also knows that, especially 
  in Westcrown, it’s unreasonable to expect 
  trust in a stranger. She approaches each PC 
  differently, based on his own particular 
  personality and, more importantly, 
  his particular complaint. She wants 
  the PCs to join her group, and if 
  that means bribing them with 
  money, using flattery, or 
  appealing to a sense of duty 
  will get the job done, she’ll 
  do it. You should know a bit 
  about each PC’s personality 
  by now, and as such should 
  know 
  what 
  these 
  characters 
  want—don’t be afraid to use this “insider 
  knowledge” when roleplaying Janiven’s first 
  encounter with each PC in order to ensure the 
  PCs attend the meeting.
  Once Janiven has the PCs’ attention and 
  secures their interest in the meeting, she informs 
  them that they should meet her at a place called 
  JAniven
  
  12
  Council of Thieves Part 1 of 6
  Vizio’s Tavern that same afternoon for an early dinner 
  (customarily about 4 o’clock), at which point she promises 
  further information.
  Janiven doesn’t mention Arael’s name in these initial 
  interviews, but if a PC tries to find out more about 
  Janiven, a DC 10 Knowledge (local) check or Diplomacy 
  check made to gather information reveals that she’s not 
  unknown in Westcrown. She’s worked for several guilds 
  and mercantile interests, sometimes as a caravan guard 
  but more often as a city guide and bodyguard for visiting 
  merchants and business partners that the guilds want to 
  keep out of trouble with local thugs or the shadow beasts 
  that patrol the streets at night. Janiven has a reputation 
  of being a bit rash (for example, she recently dragged her 
  charge half-dressed out of a whorehouse when he refused 
  to head back to a safer part of town before sundown) but 
  quite trustworthy—everyone the PCs talk to has nothing 
  but praise for the woman.
  If the PCs investigate Vizio’s Tavern, a DC 10 Knowledge 
  (local) or Diplomacy check reveals it to be named for the 
  family that once ran the establishment. Vizio’s was a place 
  where merchant guards went to relax, gripe about their 
  employers, and look for more work. Several months ago, 
  however, the Vizio patriarch passed away, and the surviving 
  family moved out of Westcrown to go live with kin in 
  distant Corentyn. The tavern has stood empty since, but 
  a DC 15 Knowledge (local) or Diplomacy check is enough 
  to reveal that the place has new owners reputed to be a 
  half-elf man and a human woman—although they seem 
  to be taking their time getting the tavern off the ground 
  and open for business. If a PC asks Janiven about this, she 
  admits that she and a business partner recently purchased 
  the tavern, and as such it’s a perfect place for her and the 
  PCs to talk.
  Having lived her entire life in Westcrown’s oppressive 
  streets, Janiven was often depressed and moody, and 
  tended to avoid making long-term friendships—at least 
  until she met the half-elf Arael, a devotee of Iomedae who 
  came upon Janiven at a low point in her life and offered her 
  a long-term position at his side as a consultant and advisor. 
  Arael has grand plans to bring honor and tradition back 
  to Cheliax, and particularly to Westcrown. As a worshiper 
  of Iomedae, he has long regretted how Cheliax fell from 
  Aroden’s teachings to the infernal, and wants nothing 
  more than to see a reversal of that fate, but with Aroden’s 
  inheritor Iomedae installed as the city’s guardian and 
  patron deity instead. Arael recognized in Janiven the value 
  of having a native Wiscrani on his side—her knowledge of 
  the city’s layout made her an ideal choice for a “second-in-
  command” to aid him in his goal.
  Janiven is an attractive woman who downplays her 
  beauty by wearing rough clothing and armor and adopting 
  a generally stern and no-nonsense attitude. Yet when she 
  feels truly at ease with someone she calls a friend, her 
  smile, sense of humor, and quick wit reveal her to be quite 
  a charming and friendly woman. She’s known Arael for 
  almost a year now, and has come to think of him as an older 
  brother, and while she respects him greatly and approves 
  of his dream to see Cheliax fall under the guidance of 
  Iomedae, her own faith in Desna has often resulted in 
  lingering arguments about when it is appropriate to toss 
  aside the law of the land in order to ensure the freedom 
  and safety of the citizens. 
  Janiven 
   
  CR 2
  XP 600
  Female human ranger 3
  CG Medium humanoid
  Init +3 (+5 urban); Senses Perception +9 (+11 urban)
  DefenSeS
  AC 17, touch 13, flat-footed 14 (+4 armor, +2 Dex, +1 dodge)
  hp 24 (3d10+3)
  fort +4, Ref +5, Will +2
  OffenSe
  Speed 35 ft.
  Melee mwk longsword +4 (1d8/19–20)
  Ranged mwk longbow +7 (1d8/×3)
  Special Attacks favored enemy (human +2)
  TACTICS
  Before Combat Janiven tries to find a place to where she can 
  safely fire her bow at enemies, preferably somewhere with 
  cover or higher ground.
  During Combat Janiven prefers to fight at range and uses her 
  great speed to keep out of reach of melee opponents for as 
  long as she can, leading pursuers near her allies if possible.
  Morale Janiven surrenders at 4 hp if she believes her opponents 
  will spare her life, otherwise she flees.
  STATISTICS
  Str 10, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 13, Cha 14
  Base Atk +3; CMB +3; CMD 16
  feats Alertness, Dodge, Endurance, Fleet, Precise Shot
  Skills Diplomacy +3, Handle Animal +6, Heal +4, Intimidate +6, 
  Knowledge (history) +1, Knowledge (local) +3, Knowledge 
  (nature) +4, Perception +9 (+11 urban), Ride +5, Sense Motive 
  +8, Stealth +8 (+10 urban), Survival +7 (+11 urban), Swim +3
  Languages Common
  SQ favored terrain (urban +2), track +1, wild empathy +5
  Combat Gear potion of cure light wounds; Other Gear masterwork 
  chain shirt, masterwork longsword, masterwork longbow with 
  20 arrows, sunrod, 35 gp
  vizio’S tAvern
  Janiven spends the afternoon at Vizio’s Tavern, 
  preparing for her meeting with the PCs. If any of the PCs 
  arrives early, they find her going about the business of 
  preparing food and doing some minor repair work; she 
  
  13
  The Bastards of Erebus
  acknowledges their presence, invites them to be seated, 
  and offers them some ale to pass the time, but politely 
  refuses to answer any questions at that time until all of 
  the PCs have arrived. As the PCs gather, give each player 
  a chance to describe his character to the others. Dinner 
  is satisfactory but not exceptional. Janiven joins them in 
  the meal, during which she engages in idle chat with the 
  PCs or simply watches as they get to know each other. She 
  uses this time to evaluate the PCs again, for she plans to 
  reveal a dangerous secret to them and doesn’t want to risk 
  this information on someone she can’t trust. The PCs 
  can make a DC 15 Sense Motive check to recognize that 
  she’s worried about something, but seems forthright in 
  general, although she glances at the front window every 
  few minutes. 
  The source of Janiven’s nervousness is that her mentor 
  Arael, who was supposed to aid her in running this 
  meeting, has yet to arrive. Tardiness is unlike him, but 
  she doesn’t want to reveal that he’s late. Instead, if asked 
  about her nervousness and why she keeps looking to the 
  front of the tavern, she looks momentarily agitated, then 
  calms herself, explaining that “shadow beasts” stalk 
  the unlit streets after dark. While everyone in the city 
  has a different theory as to the nature and origin of the 
  mysterious shadow beasts, Janiven subscribes to a little-
  credited conspiracy theory which holds that they were put 
  into place by the House of Thrune to oppress the citizens 
  of Westcrown and consolidate their infernal power. While 
  she has no proof of this, she is in fact correct. The shadow 
  beasts attack anyone they find out after dark—the city 
  government keeps only a few key streets lit at night, and 
  these streets are safe to travel once the sun sets (for the 
  shadow beasts avoid the light). Other streets, including the 
  one on which Vizio’s Tavern is located, are kept dark—in 
  theory, to prevent criminal activity from taking advantage 
  of the streets after nightfall, since Westcrown’s city watch 
  isn’t large enough to defend against both criminals and 
  shadow beasts. She assures the PCs that the meeting will 
  not keep them at Vizio’s after dark, but should they wish 
  to stay the night here, she promises to make arrangements 
  as necessary.
  Once dinner is over, and with still a few hours to go 
  before sundown, Janiven locks the front door and shutters 
  the windows, then takes a deep breath and thanks the PCs 
  for attending the meeting. She again assures them that 
  they’ll be done in less than an hour, with plenty of time left 
  over for everyone to get home before sunset. Her speech is 
  short, but delivered with great passion.
  “Again, thank you for agreeing to meet with me here. I have 
  chosen each of you for a singular reason—everyone here, 
  myself included, has suffered, whether we realize it or not. 
  I have lived in Westcrown my whole life, and although I love 
  this city, I must admit, as must you, that despite our peace 
  and prosperity, we continue to suffer. Fear should not be 
  an expected part of life, and yet each night brings fear to 
  our doorsteps. Yes, Westcrown has been safe from war and 
  famine for nearly seventy years, and yes, our businesses has 
  prospered—but this safety and prosperity has been bought 
  in the coinage of fear and prayers to Hell. Other lands live 
  free from tyranny. Other cities do not fear the night. Other 
  governments do not cede the streets to monsters of the 
  infernal shadows. Westcrown was once such a place, and she 
  wants to be such a place again. Westcrown is not only her 
  buildings and canals and docks and history—she is also her 
  people. Westcrown is our friends and neighbors, our mothers 
  and fathers, our siblings and cousins, our sons and daughters! 
  With but a small group of supporters and dedicated brothers 
  and sisters, we can earn the trust and admiration of those 
  people. A Westcrown free of these shadowy beasts that stalk 
  our streets is one step closer to a Westcrown free of the devil 
  that is the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune!”
  Janiven’s words are, of course, treason—everyone in 
  Westcrown knows a friend of a friend of a friend who was 
  taken away by a Hellknight or executed after a swift trial 
  for speaking less treasonous words than what Janiven 
  has just uttered. Give the PCs the chance to react to her 
  speech—they’ll likely have plenty of questions and maybe 
  even a few choice words to say. Janiven is patient and 
  answers the questions as best she can, although Arael’s 
  continued absence increasingly disturbs her. She truly 
  believes that she and a small group of like-minded friends 
  can improve the lives of the people of Westcrown, but they 
  must take care not to appear as rebels or rioters. They must 
  form their own band of protectors, and must work to win 
  the admiration and support of the citizens by doing good 
  works and providing what aid they can. Key to this tactic 
  is the fact that Westcrown is largely ignored by the rulers 
  of Cheliax as a home-in-exile for the old nobility. As long 
  as they work to win the hearts of Westcrown’s citizens 
  by good deeds and avoid as many direct entanglements 
  with the government as they can, the House of Thrune 
  will continue to ignore what they’ll interpret as “petty 
  squabbling” in the old capital.
  flight from vizio’S tAvern
  At some point not long after Janiven’s speech, likely 
  before the PCs have had a chance to really start to absorb 
  the implications of what she’s set before them, a sudden 
  excited pounding at the front door disrupts the meeting. 
  Immediately adopting a defensive posture, Janiven peers 
  through a window at whoever’s knocking, then swiftly 
  moves to the door, unlocks it, and opens it. In stumbles 
  an out-of-breath and frightened-looking teenager named 
  Morosino (N male human child commoner 1). “They’ve got 
  
  14
  Council of Thieves Part 1 of 6
  Arael!” he calls out, then immediately doubles over in a 
  fit of coughing brought on by his long run. Janiven’s face 
  grows grim as she comforts Morosino and asks him to 
  explain himself; in a moment the lad recovers enough to 
  spurt out, “The dottari nabbed Arael, and the Hellknights 
  of the Rack are trying to get custody of him! There’s a 
  bunch of Hellknights on their way here now! I only just 
  made it in here; they’ve already surrounded us!”
  At that point, the sound of clanking armor advancing on 
  the tavern becomes apparent. Anyone who glances out the 
  window sees a large group of heavily armed and armored 
  Hellknights advancing down the street, yet Janiven 
  remains calm. She apologizes for involving the PCs in 
  this matter, and as the Hellknights start hammering on 
  the locked doors of the place and demanding in booming 
  voices for those within to come out and give themselves up, 
  she tells the PCs to follow her. She and Morosino swiftly 
  move behind the tavern’s decrepit bar, where they lift up a 
  heavy trap door in the floor. As the pounding on the door 
  increases, she breathlessly says that this shaft drops down 
  into the Westcrown sewers. By fleeing along this route, 
  they should be able to lose the Hellknights quickly.
  Whereas Westcrown’s city watch and government have little 
  interest in tracking all possible seeds of rebellion, the same 
  cannot be said of the Hellknight company known as the Order 
  of the Rack. The oldest of the Hellknight orders, their greatest 
  obsession is the prevention of rebellion, and while Janiven and 
  Arael have been relatively subtle in their actions, Arael’s known 
  affiliation with the church of Iomedae has unfortunately 
  attracted the attention of the dottari (Westcrown’s city guard). 
  They’ve been watching him with increasing vigilance, and 
  when Arael met with a suspected rebel in northern Westcrown 
  earlier this morning, they moved in and captured him. Arael 
  now languishes in a city jail while the Hellknights and the 
  city government argue over whose prisoner the half-elf really 
  is. Arael’s assistant, young Morosino, escaped capture—or 
  at least thought he did. In fact, the Hellknights let him flee, 
  hoping that he would lead them to Arael’s hideout and his 
  fellow conspirators. And unfortunately for Janiven and the 
  PCs, Morosino did just that.
  Yet Janiven, true to her kind soul, does not hold this 
  against the lad. Instead, she realizes that she, he, and 
  the PCs must flee the scene immediately. If Arael is to be 
  rescued from his capture, then she and her new allies must 
  evade the same.
  There are six Hellknights and a dozen armigers (new 
  inductees in the organization that serve the Hellknights 
  as squires and porters) in the streets surrounding Vizio’s 
  Tavern. They are numerous and heavily armed, and 
  further bolstered by a reputation for ruthlessness and 
  strict adherence to their own charter to strike down all 
  suspected rebels. The Hellknights are intent on capturing 
  everyone present in order to interrogate them, and if the 
  PCs seem to be making noises like they want to try to 
  explain things to the Hellknights (or worse, stay and fight), 
  Janiven’s eyes widen and she practically begs the PCs to 
  accompany her into the sewers, warning them that the 
  Hellknights are stubborn and single-minded, and have 
  obviously already formed their opinion about the party’s 
  guilt. As the Hellknights start bashing through doors and 
  opening windows, she makes one last attempt to convince 
  the PCs, but if they insist on staying, she flees into the 
  sewers with Morosino and leaves them to their fate.
  If the PCs decide to avoid allying with Janiven, and if 
  they aren’t simply killed by the overwhelming number 
  of Hellknights, they’ll be captured and taken away for 
  interrogation at the Hellknights’ fortress, Citadel Rivad. 
  This interrogation should be intimidating and scary, but 
  unless the PCs are deliberately antagonistic or confess to 
  crimes they didn’t really commit, the Hellknights find 
  (after 2d4 hours of questioning) that the PCs had little to 
  do with the suspected rebel movement, and are released 
  with a warning. Allow the PCs to return to their daily lives, 
  but since Janiven is still “at large” you can have her contact 
  the PCs again a few days later. In this case, she’ll ask them 
  once again to join her, this time to aid in rescuing Arael 
  (see Part Four). If the PCs still resist joining the movement, 
  you can still run Council of Thieves, but you’ll need to 
  make adjustments periodically along the way to account 
  for whatever group ends up being the PCs’ patron. The 
  Hellknight Order of the Scourge is an excellent choice; 
  this order often butts heads with the Order of the Rack, 
  and they might see in the PCs a great group to shape and 
  mold into an anti-organized-crime band. The Pathfinders 
  themselves could be another excellent choice for patrons, 
  as they want to recover much of the information hidden in 
  their lost lodge, and doing so will naturally put them in 
  conflict with the Council of Thieves as well.
  If the PCs follow Janiven, they find her opening a small 
  secret door in the back of a floor-level cupboard. Janiven directs 
  Morosino and the first PC to crawl through the door and down 
  the tunnel into the sewers, telling them that Morosino knows 
  the way; she then tries to delay the Hellknights by closing the 
  kitchen door, pulling down shelves to create obstacles, and 
  using a tanglefoot bag to further complicate things, following 
  the last PC through the secret tunnel. 
  Story Award: If the PCs choose to follow Janiven rather 
  than trying to fight the Hellknights, award the party 
  1,200 XP.
  PArt two: into the SewerS
  Westcrown’s sewer system is a marvel of ancient engineering, 
  designed by the same geniuses who built the Arch of Aroden 
  in Corentyn. Though Westcrown is barely above sea level, the 
  
  15
  The Bastards of Erebus
  cleverly designed sewer tunnels continue to carry Westcrown’s 
  filth away, and for the most part, citizens never think about 
  the sanitation process that keeps the city relatively free of 
  waste-borne illness. Individual tunnels are buttressed and 
  rarely more than 5 feet high, forcing taller characters to stoop 
  but not otherwise hindering most activity. Most tunnels 
  are 10 feet wide, with a 3-foot-deep trench for sewage and 
  water taking up half that width—even at peak flow the water 
  level is an inch or more below the level of the walking side 
  of the tunnel. Rainwater enters the sewers from tiny barred 
  grates in the streets, most so small that an adult halfling 
  couldn’t squeeze through, and travels through an angled 
  pipe that directs the runoff to the closest tunnel’s drainage 
  side, exiting about a foot above the peak flow-level of the 
  sewer channel. Tide-powered wheels on the northwest and 
  northeast coast draw water upward from the river and bay, 
  causing a slow trickle into the sewers and keeping solid matter 
  from building up over time, creating a slow current flowing 
  toward the southern part of the city. Three points along the 
  southern edge of the sewers bear similar tidewheels, each 
  connected to a mechanical screw that slowly pumps waste 
  downward into a mile-long underwater pipe that empties 
  downriver, its length protected by check valves to prevent 
  water from flowing upward into the sewage system. The 
  sewer mechanics require very little maintenance and have 
  hand-cranks for manual operation should an unforeseen 
  circumstance render the automatic devices inoperable. The 
  build of the sewers ensures that the tons of waste generated 
  by the city never risk contaminating it.
  Because the sewer is so efficient that law-abiding 
  citizens forget about it, it makes an excellent means of 
  moving about the city undetected, assuming the traveler 
  doesn’t mind smelling a little rank as a consequence. 
  Janiven and Arael explored part of the sewers months 
  ago and subtly marked the path to their secret lair on the 
  off chance that they would be discovered. Unfortunately, 
  since that time, some of their marks have succumbed to 
  water, subterranean flora, and vandalism by things living 
  in the sewers, and the route is no longer perfectly clear. 
  Worse, the sewers are hardly safe—criminals, dangerous 
  creatures and vermin, and worse lurk within the sewer 
  system. And if the PCs tarry overlong and remain in the 
  sewers after nightfall, the threat of encountering shadow 
  beasts makes things even more nerve-wracking. This 
  part of the adventure is a series of combat encounters, 
  the threat of Hellknights on the heels of the PCs, and 
  the sense of becoming lost as the PCs sometimes have to 
  guess the right direction when their guiding markers are 
  obscured or absent.
  Sewer trAPPingS
  In addition to the old, mortared-stone construction of the 
  sewers, in the past few hundred years many individuals 
  have made their own alterations to the tunnels—goblins 
  sneak into to the sewers and chisel out small side-tunnels 
  to use as lairs, smugglers dig and shore up compartments 
  for hiding contraband, and so on. Some of these side 
  rooms are part of the original construction, intended for 
  storing maintenance tools or used as living quarters for 
  workers and slaves, but the more recent additions stand 
  out as inferior construction and are prone to erosion and 
  collapse. “Doors” in these additions are often little more 
  than an old table propped over the opening or a tower 
  shield wedged over a goblin-sized crawlspace. While overall 
  the sewer should give a feeling of great age and durability, 
  these modern alterations should give the PCs the sense 
  that there are creatures living down here. The sewers have 
  no permanent lights—even during the day most have dim 
  illumination at best from light trickling in though the 
  drainage grates. This fading light as the sun begins to set 
  can further spur the PCs to get to the safe house Janiven’s 
  leading them to, but once night falls, unless all the PCs 
  have darkvision, they’re going to need a light source.
  The sewer ledges are made of stone—any square 
  that shares a sewage channel is also slippery (increase 
  Acrobatics DCs by 5 for anyone standing in or crossing the 
  channel as part of their movement) Though the runoff is 
  mostly water, there is sewage and garbage in it as well, and 
  anyone who drinks it or gets it in a wound, mouth, or eye 
  risks contracting filth fever (Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook). 
  The sewage is murky enough that a creature hiding in it 
  has concealment relative to any creature not in its square, 
  allowing it to make Stealth checks.
  Entrances to (and thus exits from) the sewers are 
  relatively rare. Since the sewers are so well engineered, the 
  need for cleaning and maintenance is lower than in most 
  cities. Entrances consist of rusted metal ladders leading 
  up from the sewer to rectangular iron trap doors 10 feet 
  above—unfortunately for the PCs, the city of Westcrown 
  keeps all sewer entrances securely locked in order to 
  prevent undesirables from using the sewers to move 
  through the city with ease. Each of these iron trap doors is 
  hardness 10 and has 60 hp and a Break DC of 28. The locks 
  can be picked with a DC 25 Disable Device check from 
  above, but from below the locks can’t be picked—it’s a DC 
  35 Disable Device check to disable the door enough to open 
  a locked one from below. Attempts to bash or hammer 
  through one of these doors is likely to take a long time—
  and unfortunately, it only takes 2d6 rounds for a group 
  of Hellknights or city guards to arrive above to prepare a 
  greeting for the PCs.
  finding the PAth
  The secret tunnel under Vizio’s Tavern is rough-hewn 
  and leads down along a 20-foot-long, 5-foot-wide hallway 
  to a simple wooden door. The opposite side of the door 
  
  16
  Council of Thieves Part 1 of 6
  has a wooden bar; as the PCs and their guides pass 
  through, Janiven bars the door to help slow the sure-to-
  be-following Hellknights. If the PCs need light, Janiven 
  lights her sunrod. On the other side of the door is a 
  sewer tunnel running to the left and right—Morosino 
  or Janiven quickly points out the mark they left on their 
  previous scouting of the tunnels, indicating they should 
  flee to the left. They tell the PCs to look for these marks 
  at every intersection, should they get separated from the 
  group—the sword always points in the direction of the 
  safe house.
  Before Janiven and the PCs begin their flight through 
  the sewers, she pushes aside a rock near the entrance to 
  reveal a small hollow in the wall and sighs in relief. “Good,” 
  she says, “They’re still here.” She stashed a small cache of 
  healing potions here a few weeks ago in the event of an 
  emergency just like this one. Janiven explains that they 
  won’t have time to stop and rest as long as the Hellknights 
  are after them, and splits the potions up among the PCs—
  there should be enough potions of cure light wounds so that 
  each PC gets three.
  While they walk, Janiven explains, “Arael and I made 
  these marks a few months ago when we explored the 
  sewers. We marked all the intersections so our people 
  could find their way through the sewers to our hideout.” 
  As they travel, the noise of the Hellknights back at Vizio’s 
  Tavern diminishes, but Janiven is sure they’ll follow. 
  “They might take a few minutes to search in the tavern, 
  but some are going to follow us down here after they 
  grab a lantern or make torches. They might even try to 
  infiltrate the sewers ahead of us if they can guess our 
  route. We need to keep moving.”
  Light is an important issue in the sewers, since if the 
  PCs are using light, the Hellknights have a greater chance 
  of noticing them in the long, dark sewer tunnels, and 
  Janiven wants to travel fast to get at least a couple of turns 
  and zig-zags between themselves and Vizio’s to prevent 
  this. Because she and Morosino can’t see in the dark, she’s 
  hesitant to rely on characters with darkvision to navigate 
  to a safer place (remember, characters without darkvision 
  can only travel at half speed in dark conditions and need to 
  remain in contact with the navigating character or follow 
  a guide rope to avoid falling into the sewer). The need for 
  light may also work in the PCs’ favor; a stealthy party or 
  one relying on darkvision may detect nearby Hellknights 
  and set up an ambush from a position of darkness, using 
  ranged attacks against their illuminated opponents and 
  retreating to force the Hellknights to charge forward or 
  shoot into dimly-lit areas.
  Janiven is against pauses to rest, even if the group is 
  able to hide in an abandoned room to do so—she wants 
  to get to the hideout as soon as possible, especially as she 
  doesn’t know if the rest of the rebels know that Arael has 
  been captured by the Hellknights or if the Hellknights 
  know anyone else involved. If the PCs insist on resting 
  overnight, Janiven takes Morosino with her and says she’ll 
  come looking for the PCs in the morning.
  Splitting Janiven from the group has three positive 
  effects: it keeps the PCs from relying on her, it puts the 
  PCs in charge of their situation rather than following her 
  orders, and it gives the GM the opportunity for her to show 
  up later in the sewers if the PCs are on the verge of defeat. 
  Because of these reasons, it is a good idea to get her away 
  from the PCs fairly early, once they are comfortable taking 
  a proactive role and able to recognize the sword-marks 
  showing the way to the hideout.
  This part of the adventure is a series of flexible 
  encounters and encounter sites. Use the threat of 
  Hellknight pursuit to push the PCs to move. Let them get 
  lost or have to make a hard choice because of a smudged 
  or missing rebel-symbol. The number of healing potions 
  made available to the PCs (through Janiven’s stash and 
  each Hellknight defeated) should help them to keep 
  going. The point of the sewer encounters is to challenge 
  the PCs and encourage them to move around, not force 
  them to slog through hard battles until they’re ready to 
  give up; reward their creativity and ingenuity in dealing 
  with the situation. If the PCs reach a point where they 
  simply can’t go on, that’s the point to let them reach the 
  exit and the safe house beyond.
  mAze mAPS don’t work
  While mazes have an element of mystery and excitement 
  and have been a tradition of storytelling going back at least 
  to the time of the ancient Greeks, in a tabletop setting they 
  aren’t nearly as effective. Certainly the PCs might get lost 
  in a maze due to their first-person perspective, limited 
  light, and repetitive environment, but if you use a battle 
  mat in your game, the players are able to look at the map 
  top-down and navigate the correct course faster than you 
  can describe the PCs getting lost.
  Yet mazes are still time-honored elements of the 
  genre. Fortunately, there are easier ways to model being 
  lost in a maze than painstakingly describing every twist 
  and turn to your players. When running this part of the 
  adventure, as the PCs and their NPC allies navigate the 
  countless tunnels of the Westcrown sewer, it’s easiest to 
  simply hand-wave the details of traveling and only map 
  critical points, such as the current encounter location or 
  place where the PCs have to choose a new direction of 
  travel. This gives you control over the adventure’s pace 
  as well. You can add or subtract encounters so the PCs 
  have an easier or harder time as you need without having 
  to worry about messing up a complex map. For example, 
  you may decide to challenge the party with only four of 
  the encounters presented later in this chapter, but if the 
  
  17
  The Bastards of Erebus
  PCs easily deal with the first three encounters (with big 
  critical hits by PCs or poor saving throws by the monsters) 
  and expend very few resources, you can easily add more 
  encounters between the PCs and the sewer exit, giving 
  them more opportunities for loot and XP. Conversely, a 
  costly encounter early on might leave the PCs grievously 
  injured after only two encounters instead of the originally 
  proposed four. In this case, you can have the PCs reach 
  the exit earlier than you intended. The players don’t need 
  to know if they are getting more or fewer encounters—as 
  long as they’re having fun, that helps set the pace. The 
  goal of this chapter, after all, isn’t to kill off the PCs—it’s 
  to give them some early battles, some treasure and XP, 
  and a chance to get to know the first two key NPCs they’ve 
  met in the Council of Thieves campaign.
  It may help to prepare a rough “lines-and-boxes” 
  references map that details the expected encounter maps 
  and their orientation. This way, if the PCs backtrack 
  to a previous encounter rather than continue to press 
  onward, you can refer to this map to describe what they 
  already covered. However, not using a reference map 
  can add to the sense confusion of a fast-paced sewer 
  chase; if the PCs return to what they thought was a 
  four-way intersection and you draw a T-intersection, 
  the best explanation is “maybe you 
  took a wrong turn.” Just because 
  the players know their characters 
  arrived from the GM’s side of the 
  table map doesn’t mean the PCs can’t 
  make a mistake choosing among four 
  nearly identical hallways, or that the 
  sewer tunnels line up nicely along 
  the four cardinal directions.
  Using this method, you don’t 
  need to track the distance the 
  PCs travel, only time, and 
  usually only for the purpose 
  of short-duration spell effects. 
  The second encounter might 
  be 5 minutes after the first, or 10 
  minutes, with zero, one, or many 
  stops along the way where the PCs 
  reached an intersection and had a clear 
  choice as to which way to go—the rebel 
  marker was visible and pointed the way, 
  they could hear the sound of Hellknight 
  boots faintly down one hallway but not 
  the other, and so on. The pacing of the PCs’ 
  travel (reinforced and encouraged by the threat 
  of a Hellknight encounter if they linger too long) 
  should make it difficult or even impossible for the 
  PCs to map the tunnels, so you are justified in keeping 
  the players in the dark as to actual directions.
  This adventure presents the Westcrown sewer in a 
  simplified, site-based set of encounters using six small 
  encounter maps. These maps are designed to be flexible 
  and expandable. For example, the PCs may have an 
  encounter at a four-way intersection with a small side 
  room inhabited by some sewer goblins (area A2); later they 
  may have an encounter at a similar site that doesn’t have 
  the side room. They may come to a T-intersection (area A3) 
  where the location is oriented as presented, and later find 
  another T-intersection (area A3 rotated 90 or 180 degrees, 
  with or without the collapsed side tunnel). The encounter 
  maps and the encounters themselves are designed to be 
  flexible; rotate them, add a room, subtract a room, seal 
  off a door, and so on, so the players don’t recognize the 
  repeating map elements.
  When the PCs enter the sewer, determine the party’s 
  speed—twice that distance (what the 
  group can cover with two move 
  actions—typically 60 feet) sets 
  the distance between 
  checks for sewer 
  order of the rAck hellknight
  
  18
  Council of Thieves Part 1 of 6
  Sewers of Westcrown 
  N
  One square = 5 feet
  c 
  A1
  A2
  A3
  A4
  A5
  A6
  Sewers of Westcrown 
  A1
  N
  One square = 5 feet
  c 
  A2
  A3
  A4
  A5
  A6
  
  19
  The Bastards of Erebus
  routes. You can make these die rolls during play if you want, 
  or you can generate a network of sewage tunnels beforehand 
  for the PCs to follow. These tunnels don’t account for 
  the numerous twists and turns the sewers make—just 
  because you go 60 feet without a junction doesn’t mean 
  that you travel that 60 feet in only one direction! It’s not 
  really necessary to track these movements, since the PCs 
  are unlikely to escape the sewers until they reach the safe 
  house. If the PCs do somehow manage to get out before 
  then, you can have them emerge anywhere that seems 
  logical to you into the city above.
  d% 
  Sewer feature
  01–20 
  No Change
  21–40 
  Junction
  41–60 
  Intersection
  61–80 
  Encounter
  81–90 
  Blockage
  91–100 
  Entrance (plus roll again, rerolling
    
  results of 91 or higher).
  No Change: The tunnel does not have any unusual 
  features along this length.
  Junction: A side tunnel branches off from the current 
  one—finding the waypoint marker requires a DC 12 
  Perception check. Randomly determine which of the exits 
  is the correct one indicated by the marker. There’s a 10% 
  chance the marker is partially missing (rubbed out by a 
  passerby or washed away)—in this case, a DC 20 Perception 
  check finds the marker. If the PCs take a wrong turn, there’s 
  a cumulative 1% chance per junction or intersection that 
  they reach of getting back on track and being able to find 
  a marker—if they backtrack to the previous location to 
  try to find the marker again, there’s a flat 20% chance of 
  encountering a band of pursuing Hellknights.
  Intersection: This is like a junction, save that there 
  are two or more additional choices of tunnels to take. 
  Roll 1d3+1 to determine how many additional tunnels are 
  available to choose from.
  Encounter: The PCs reach an encounter area. Roll on 
  the Sewer Encounter table on page 20 to determine which 
  encounter the PCs have (or choose one of your preference). 
  Each encounter is associated with one of the various sewer 
  encounter maps.
  Blockage: Only 30% of these blockages are dead 
  ends. The remainder are piles of rubble, refuse, or even 
  dead animals or bodies that must be cleared in order to 
  continue. Clearing rubble takes a minute of work. There’s 
  a cumulative 10% chance at each blockage of a Hellknight 
  patrol catching up to the PCs—this chance resets after 
  each Hellknight encounter. Additionally, returning to 
  a previous marker junction runs a flat 20% chance of 
  encountering Hellknights.
  Entrance: A single sewer entrance (locked and likely 
  impassible by the PCs) is located here. Of these entrances, 
  20% are actually outflows into the harbor or sea, and are 
  blocked by iron gratings that are effectively dead ends 
  unless the PCs can bash through the bars.
  The exit to the safe house is not something that can be 
  randomly rolled; you should place this exit once the PCs 
  have had enough encounters to reach 2nd level, or once 
  their resources have run so critically low that going on for 
  much longer becomes too difficult—when a PC is reduced 
  to negative hit points or is otherwise helpless is a great 
  point to have the exit be just around the corner. Since there 
  are very few landmarks along the way, and since their NPC 
  guides aren’t all that familiar with the sewer layout, they 
  depend completely upon their marks to retrace the route 
  to the safe house.
  Sewer locAtionS
  The following six locations are used whenever the PCs 
  have an encounter. When the PCs reach an encounter area, 
  you can determine the orientation of north by rolling 1d4, 
  rotating the map as needed to vary the area’s layout.
  A1) Cesspit: This large, oddly shaped room has four 
  exit tunnels and multiple sewer channels. One part of a 
  channel connects to a long cesspit. Several large wooden 
  planks form a simple bridge over another section of the 
  channel. The cesspit is only a few inches deeper than the 
  main channel, as a deep cesspit would become clogged 
  with waste and would have to be manually emptied; it 
  mainly serves as an emergency overflow for the channel in 
  times of heavy rain.
  A2) Intersection: This four-way intersection has two 
  small plank bridges allowing easy crossing of the sewer 
  channels. One corner of the intersection has a larger area 
  for the sewer channel with multiple pipes in the wall nearby. 
  A door stands near a drainange channel in the wall, leading 
  to a small side room that contains a cesspit similar to the 
  one in area A1. An archway connecting the main channel to 
  the cesspit is only 1 foot higher than the level of the walking 
  area—enough that a human could get through, but it would 
  require touching the sewage. A variant of this map might 
  have the entire room be a cesspit, partly collapsed, or have 
  several drainage pipes leading to the cesspit to encourage 
  the flow of waste outward into the main channel.
  A3) Door: The tunnel forms a T-intersection, with an 
  old wooden tabletop serving as an improvised bridge over 
  the sewer channel. A small, simple door nearby blocks a 
  brick-lined doorway. If the marker indicates that the PCs 
  must go through the door, they can use the small pile of 
  rubble in the dry tunnel beyond to barricade it. The dry 
  tunnel’s far end is blocked by another door that opens 
  into a randomly determined encounter area from areas 
  A3 or A5.
  
  20
  Council of Thieves Part 1 of 6
  A4) Storage Rooms: The tunnel makes a sharp turn, 
  forming a small room with a large, dry walkable area. 
  Each hallway leading out of the room has an old door set 
  in a stone archway. Areas like this one were used as places 
  for the workers to rest and eat during the construction 
  of the tunnels. The large room has the remnants of old 
  shelves, long since looted of their food stores and most of 
  their wood scavenged for cooking fires by the intelligent 
  inhabitants of the sewers. Both rooms and doors are from 
  the original construction of the sewers and make good 
  defensible positions for weary PCs—or lairs for creatures.
  A5) Den: The sewer tunnel makes a pair of alternating 
  turns near two small wooden doors set in well-built brick 
  frames. Most of these zigzags were created to avoid an 
  especially hard patch of stone (easier to circumvent than 
  dig through) or a soft area that might not be stable (perhaps 
  due to a large building overhead or flaws in the bedrock). 
  The larger room contains furniture in a combination of 
  desks, chairs, and sleeping pallets as you see fit; it may have 
  been used by a crazed loner who wanted privacy, a noble 
  family trying to escape the purges of the House of Thrune, 
  a criminal wanting a hideout, or a kidnapper wanting a safe 
  place to keep his victim (in which case the door is locked). A 
  sewer exit is located at the area indicated by a black circle with 
  a “C”; unless this is the final encounter area (in which case the 
  “C” leads to an alley near the safe house), this exit is locked.
  A6) Cistern Den: The tunnel opens into a large room. 
  Most of the floor is taken up by a cesspit. One of the walls 
  has a short door set in it. Similar to the cesspit on map A1, 
  this one is intended to handle overflow at peak times. The 
  large side room contains buckets, long-handled shovels, 
  picks, and other tools for building the tunnels or moving 
  waste from a clogged channel.
  weStcrown Sewer encounterS
  Every time the PCs reach an encounter area (or every time 
  you decide they need an encounter to liven things up), roll 
  d% and consult the table below to determine what sort of 
  encounter occurs. Each encounter is only roughly detailed, 
  since the denizens’ exact tactics depend on the nature of 
  the map used to support the encounter. Determine which 
  map is used by randomly rolling between the options 
  available to each encounter.
  d% 
  encounter 
  Map Options
  01–35 
  Hellknight Patrol 
  Any
  36–45 
  Ooze bugs 
  Any
  46–55 
  Goblin patrol 
  Area A1, A2, or A3
  56–60 
  Goblin lair 
  Area A4, A5, or A6
  61–75 
  Undead 
  Area A1 or A3
  76–85 
  Hazard 
  Area A1, A2, A3, or A5
  86–90 
  Cache 
  Area A2, A4, A5, or A6
  91–100 
  Special 
  Any
  
  21
  The Bastards of Erebus
  hellknight PAtrol (cr 1)
  The Hellknights of the Order of the Rack have leapt at the 
  chance to squash what they believe is a major rebellion in 
  the throes of its birth. In addition, with a new recruitment 
  of armigers in progress, command has decided to make 
  quelling this suspected nascent uprising a major element 
  of the training procedure. As a result, a large number 
  of devoted and idealistic Hellknight armigers are sent 
  out onto the streets of Westcrown to aid in finding and 
  punishing these rebels. When the PCs flee into the sewers, 
  several enthusiastic groups of these trainees decide to 
  enter the sewers as well, locking the entrances behind 
  them to prevent the rebels from escaping.
  Creatures: Each Hellknight patrol consists of three 
  armigers—the sense of competition among the trainees 
  keeps their groups tiny, and they’re hesitant to call 
  for help from competing groups, giving the PCs an 
  advantage in that they’ll be unlikely to face more than 
  a trio of Hellknight armigers at one time. When a patrol 
  is encountered, there’s a 25% chance that they’re busy 
  arguing among themselves about which way to go, and 
  as such suffer a –4 penalty on Perception checks to notice 
  the PCs’ approach.
  Note that while these Hellknights wear what appears 
  to be the intimidating armor of the Order of the Rack, 
  as armigers they have not yet earned the right to actually 
  wear plate armor. Instead, the “plates” of their armor are 
  actually boiled leather with chainmail reinforcements—
  the armor itself functions identically to chainmail.
  Hellknight Armigers (3) 
   
  CR 1/3
  XP 135 each
  Female or male human warrior 1
  LN Medium Humanoid (human)
  Init +0; Senses Perception +0
  DefenSeS
  AC 16, touch 10, flat-footed 16 (+6 armor)
  hp 9 (1d10+4)
  fort +3, Ref +0, Will –1
  OffenSe
  Speed 20 ft.
  Melee longsword +2 (1d8+1/19–20)
  Ranged light crossbow +1 (1d8/19–20)
  TACTICS
  During Combat Hellknight armigers compete not only with 
  other groups, but with each other. An armiger does not team 
  up with others to focus attacks on single foes as a result, and 
  if one drops a PC, he takes the next round to gloat and crow 
  over his triumph unless there are other foes immediately 
  adjacent to attack. He drinks a healing potion if reduced to 3 
  or fewer hit points.
  Morale Hellknight armigers do not flee or surrender.
  STATISTICS
  Str 13, Dex 11, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 9, Cha 8
  Base Atk +1; CMB +2; CMD 12
  feats Power Attack, Toughness
  Skills Climb +0, Intimidate +3, Perception +0
  Languages Common
  Combat Gear potion of cure light wounds; Other Gear chainmail, 
  longsword, light crossbow with 20 bolts
  ooze BugS (cr 1)
  Cheliax’s sewers are remarkably free of rats, but not because 
  there’s nothing for rats to eat—instead, the sewers are 
  infested with strange amorphous predators called ooze 
  bugs. Since these creatures are content to dwell in the sewers 
  and rarely venture up into the buildings above, and since 
  rats are their favored meal, they have become the unofficial 
  “mascot” of those who dwell in or work in the city sewers.
  Creatures: In sufficient numbers, ooze bugs see larger 
  creatures as prey. This encounter is with a small nest of 
  them—they react to the presence of the PCs with a sudden 
  attack, and fight until destroyed.
  Torbles (8) 
   
  CR 1/8
  XP 50 each
  hp 1 (page 84)
  
  22
  Council of Thieves Part 1 of 6
  goBlin PAtrol (cr 1/2)
  Creatures: Although the number of goblins that live in 
  Westcrown’s sewers is larger than most folk think, they 
  are still far too few to present any real threat to those who 
  live above. Content to scavenge and live among the junk 
  and refuse of humanity, the sewer goblins of Westcrown 
  lead a rough life, and as such are slightly more dangerous 
  than the standard goblin warrior. This encounter is with 
  a single goblin scout—if he notices the party approaching, 
  he attempts to hide (likely by hunkering under a piece 
  of refuse, mostly concealed by the sewage), only to pop 
  up and try to sneak attack the last person in line in the 
  group. Once he delivers his blow, the goblin panics and 
  flees down the tunnel. The sewer goblins of Westcrown 
  fight with fragile dogslicers that are effectively already 
  broken. A dogslicer is similar to a short sword, save that it 
  deals slashing damage—this martial weapon is detailed 
  in the Pathfinder Chronicles Campaign Setting.
  Sewer Goblin 
   
  CR 1/2
  XP 200
  Goblin rogue 1 (Bestiary 156)
  NE Small humanoid (goblinoid)
  Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception –1
  DefenSeS
  AC 16, touch 14, flat-footed 13 (+2 armor, +3 Dex, +1 size)
  hp 9 (1d8+1)
  fort +1, Ref +5, Will +1
  OffenSe
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee 2 broken dogslicers –6 (1d4–1)
  Special Attacks sneak attack +1d6
  STATISTICS
  Str 13, Dex 16, Con 13, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 8
  Base Atk +0; CMB +0; CMD 13
  feats Two-Weapon Fighting
  Skills Acrobatics +7, Bluff +3, Climb +5, Escape Artist +7, 
  Perception +5, Sleight of Hand +7, Stealth +15, Swim +5; Racial 
  Modifiers +4 Ride, +4 Stealth
  Languages Goblin
  SQ trapfinding
  Gear leather armor, two broken dogslicers
  goBlin lAir (cr 2)
  Creatures: The sewer goblins live in relatively small 
  groups, generally no more than three. Rumors of larger 
  tribes that claim entire remote sections of forgotten 
  sewers elsewhere under Westcrown persist, but in this 
  adventure, the PCs only encounter smaller dens of 
  goblins, each consisting of three of the craven menaces. 
  These three goblins live in the small side room in the 
  encounter—if they notice any PCs nearby, they rush out 
  of their lair to attack, enraged that humans have dared 
  intrude on their territory. Their rage turns to fear as soon 
  as any of the goblins drops below 5 hit points—a goblin 
  so wounded runs in fear.
  Sewer Goblins (3) 
   
  CR 1/2
  XP 200 each
  hp 9 each (see page 22)
  Treasure: The goblins have amassed a small cache of 
  treasure consisting of 20 gp in coins and clutter.
  undeAd (cr 1)
  Creatures: A less common but still very real threat in the 
  sewers is undead. These encounters are with a group of 
  skeletons 75% of the time, or a group of zombies the other 
  25% of the time. These undead are the remnants of an evil 
  cult that operated in a hidden temple elsewhere in the 
  sewers; after the cult was destroyed by adventurers, these 
  few skeletons and zombies “leaked out” into the sewers. 
  They now wander aimlessly, and attack the PCs on sight. 
  Each encounter (one with skeletons, one with zombies) can 
  occur only once—the second time you roll this encounter, 
  it’s automatically the other group (and they’ve just killed 
  a group of three Hellknights without taking any damage 
  in the fight—the Hellknights’ gear lies on their bodies, 
  ready for looting). If you roll it a third time, reroll until 
  you generate a different encounter.
  Human Skeletons (3) 
   
  CR 1/3
  XP 135 each
  hp 4 each (Bestiary 250)
  Human Zombies (2) 
   
  CR 1/2
  XP 200 each
  hp 12 each (Bestiary 288)
  hAzArd (cr vAriABle)
  Not all dangerous encounters in the sewers are with 
  monsters—patches of dangerous fungi grow in some areas 
  down here as well. The first time this encounter occurs, 
  it’s with a patch of three shriekers—if they start to shriek, 
  there’s a 40% chance a goblin patrol hears and comes to 
  investigate in 1d6 rounds, a 30% chance a Hellknight 
  patrol comes to investigate in 1d6 rounds, and a 30% 
  chance that both a goblin patrol and a Hellknight patrol 
  come to investigate.
  The second time this encounter occurs, there’s a patch 
  of brown mold growing amid the shriekers.
  If this encounter occurs more often than twice, all 
  additional encounters have a 35% chance to include 
  brown mold—otherwise, the hazard consists of just 
  shriekers.
  Shriekers and brown mold are detailed on page 416 of 
  the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook.
  
  23
  The Bastards of Erebus
  cAche
  Treasure: The sewers are a popular place for the desperate 
  and the criminal to hide stashes of loot. As the PCs pass 
  through this area, a DC 20 Perception check is enough to 
  notice a small chest hidden under some rubble against 
  a wall. The chest contains 4d6 gp and 1d4 tiny pieces of 
  jewelry worth 10 gp each, and has a 50% chance to contain 
  either a pair of sunrods or 1d3 potions of cure light wounds. 
  Feel free to alter the contents of these caches as you see fit 
  if more than one is discovered.
  SPeciAl
  A special encounter is with something out of the ordinary, 
  something the PCs probably can’t defeat at 1st or even 2nd 
  level. It’s here to give the PCs a reason to come back to the 
  sewer, whether in search of fame, to solve a mystery, or to 
  find what the creature is guarding. Special encounters are 
  reactive; if the creature is guarding something, it only 
  attacks if the PCs try to pass it or steal what it is guarding, 
  and doesn’t pursue the PCs beyond the range of its post. 
  Example special encounters include a mad hermit-priest 
  of Ghlaunder, a hungry otyugh the PCs could bribe with 
  any offer of nice food (an extremely subjective term for an 
  otyugh), a powerful shadow beast such as the shadowgarm 
  detailed on page 80, a pair of imps, or even an obvious 
  magical or mechanical trap barring progress down a 
  particular tunnel. The point of the special encounter is 
  not to humble or kill the PCs, but to make them realize 
  that there are things in the campaign they’re not ready to 
  find out just yet and to encourage them to follow up on old 
  leads, hints, and mysteries. Obviously deadly monsters or 
  traps should be located in side rooms or near passageways 
  that, if the PCs stick to the ones marked as leading to the 
  safe house, can be avoided.
  eScAPing the SewerS
  Eventually, the PCs should reach a variant of area A5, with 
  a marker pointing upward to the sewer entrance trap door. 
  This sewer access is located in an out-of-the-way alley 
  behind a condemned Shrine of Aroden that now serves 
  as a safe house. If Janiven is with the PCs, she explains 
  that they’ve reached the end of their flight; she knocks on 
  the door, and a few moments later it’s opened from the 
  opposite side by a nervous looking man with a lantern (this 
  is Ermolos, one of the rebels—see “Children of Westcrown 
  Roll Call” on page 24 for more details), who quickly ushers 
  the group out of the sewers and leads them into the safe 
  house through a back door that’s cleverly disguised as if 
  it were boarded up. If Janiven has split up from the PCs, 
  Morosino tells the PCs to knock on the door (if he’s gone 
  or dead, the PCs will need to figure this out on their own); 
  in this case, it is Janiven herself that opens the door and 
  escorts them to safety.
  Story Award: For running the sewer gauntlet and 
  making it to the safe house, award the PCs 1,200 XP.
  PArt three: the reBel hideout
  When Arael first came to Westcrown several years ago, he 
  was distraught at the condition of the city’s abandoned 
  shrines to Aroden. Nowhere else, he thought, had the 
  corruption and fall of the once proud empire of Cheliax 
  more blatantly exposed its shame than here. The 
  ascendancy of Asmodeus-worship (even if just lip service) 
  has discouraged many people from public worship of 
  other gods, leading to some temples closing as their 
  followers stopped attending, prayed at home, or changed 
  to other churches. This shrine to Aroden, like many others 
  throughout Westcrown, isn’t technically abandoned—it 
  belongs to the church of Iomedae now, but no one has 
  tended it for years. Westcrown’s government has no 
  interest in maintaining the building, and like so many 
  other ancient structures (especially those this close to the 
  ruined portions of the city) it is simply ignored.
  Arael decided to use this old shrine as a safe house for his 
  latest project for precisely these reasons. The combination 
  of it being a sacred place to his religion and being a building 
  the city government ignores makes it a perfect place to 
  serve as a headquarters. Furthermore, long-standing laws 
  that forbid secular groups from looting, rebuilding, or 
  otherwise harming houses of worship work well to prevent 
  too much Hellknight interest in the building. Yet just to be 
  safe, Arael is careful to hide all indications that the shrine 
  is now inhabited. Its facade is as old and filthy as it ever 
  was, and he’s covered all interior doors and windows with 
  dark curtains to block light sources from within. Very few 
  of Westcrown’s citizens know that Arael has cleaned up the 
  interior of the shrine—and most of those are now among 
  his growing group of followers.
  The shrine of Aroden is intended to serve as a base of 
  operations for the PCs for the duration of this campaign; 
  as long as they take care to not expose its location and 
  purpose to anyone not of the group, that secret stays safe. 
  It’s important for PCs to have somewhere they can feel safe, 
  and you shouldn’t use this shrine as a place to ambush 
  them or to force a siege—there’ll be enough of that type of 
  encounter throughout the rest of this Adventure Path. No 
  map of the shrine is provided, since combat is unlikely to 
  ever occur here, but if you find you need one, you should 
  take the time to draw one up. Flip-Mat: Cathedral (available 
  at paizo.com) works as the safe house as well.
  When the PCs arrive, Janiven and the other rebels 
  arrange to let them wash up, eat, and rest before making 
  formal introductions to the others of the group that are 
  present. Give the PCs time to get to know these other 
  
  24
  Council of Thieves Part 1 of 6
  NPCs, as they should recur throughout the Adventure 
  Path and might come in handy in the final adventure in 
  the campaign. The next section summarizes each of these 
  NPCs. When Janiven introduces the PCs, the other “rebels” 
  are in a heated argument about what they should call their 
  group. Some see themselves as rebels and freedom fighters 
  and push for names like “The Knights of Westcrown,” or 
  “The Scions of Aroden.” Others see the group as something 
  that should be gentler and more subtle in its attempt to 
  win the hearts of the citizens (this is Janiven and Arael’s 
  preference as well) and push for less antagonistic names 
  like, “Guardians of Cheliax” or “Children of Westcrown.” 
  This latter name is the one with the most traction, 
  currently. During the remainder of this adventure, as the 
  PCs interact with the others, feel free to have the NPCs ask 
  the PCs for suggestions for naming the organization. If a 
  player comes up with something that you and/or the other 
  players think is particularly exciting, that name ends up 
  winning over the rest—otherwise, as this adventure ends, 
  the group decides to identify itself as the “Children of 
  Westcrown.” The remainder of the Adventure Path refers 
  to the group by this name.
  Although none of the Children of Westcrown have 
  made any overt moves toward winning the public’s 
  heart, they do agree that when that time comes, they’ll 
  need to do two things: hide their identities and give 
  the public something by which to identify them—not 
  as individuals, but as members of a group. The current 
  plan is to wear hooded cloaks or full helms whenever 
  a member of the group is performing a public service, 
  but to also wear a red cloth armband on the right arm. 
  This way, unless one of them is caught, they can keep 
  their private lives (and in some cases, families) separate 
  from their work as the Children of Westcrown. As with 
  the name of their organization, the group looks to the 
  PCs for advice and suggestions. If they come up with 
  a better or more interesting idea, the group adopts 
  that “uniform” instead, but otherwise, the rest of this 
  Adventure Path assumes that the red armbands and 
  hoods/helms are the official uniform.
  If the PCs talk about their encounters in the sewers, 
  the other members of the Children of Westcrown are 
  fascinated and encouraged to have such brave and hardy 
  folk on their side—that is, assuming the PCs still want to 
  help them. None of the current members are what anyone 
  would call “heroes,” at least not yet; in time, any of them 
  could develop into a hero (or even a villain) depending 
  on PC intervention. For now, impress upon the players 
  how desperate the Children of Westcrown are. Janiven 
  is competent, and their leader Arael is a cleric of some 
  skill, but most of the dozen or so other rebels are young 
  and idealistic, with no training in subterfuge, magic, or 
  battle (they’re all 1st-level commoners or experts). While 
  some of them may have the potential to learn swordcraft, 
  stealth, or magic, most of them are just regular folk who 
  want better lives for themselves and the other people of 
  Westcrown; they’re in no shape to go charging into battle 
  with Hellknights, let alone eventually rally the common 
  people for a change of government. They’re willing to die 
  for their cause, but uncertain if that would accomplish 
  anything significant. They need the PCs’ help.
  children of weStcrown roll cAll
  In real-world terms, most of the members of the Children 
  of Westcrown are just like your rank-and-file college 
  student or wage slave. They don’t have the charisma or 
  know-how to inspire others, and don’t have the physical 
  power to fight effectively against authority. Arael is an 
  inspiring leader, but he and Janiven can’t do it alone. 
  With Arael in the custody of the Hellknights, Janiven 
  fears that she won’t be able to keep the group together, 
  and without him the rebels are doomed to failure. With 
  no leader, they’re just a mob; with a leader—and heroes 
  to inspire them—they can be a force to be reckoned 
  with. Janiven believes her group can make a difference 
  in Westcrown, and makes recruiting the PCs to the 
  cause her highest priority, appealing first to any good 
  religious characters (particularly those who worship 
  Cayden Cailean, Desna, Iomedae, or Sarenrae) if the 
  group as a whole seems reluctant.
  Currently the rebels consist of Arael (page 31), Janiven 
  (page 12), Morosino, and a core group of devoted young 
  men and women. Most of the NPCs listed are given a 
  potential character class—it is this class that is most 
  suited to the NPC in question, and that NPC should 
  gravitate to a PC of that class, possibly looking up to him 
  or her as a personal role model. A PC can encourage these 
  rebels to live up to their potential, perhaps serving as 
  mentors or even trainers as this campaign goes on. While 
  these rebels may never be great world-shaking heroes, 
  training them gives the group as a whole a better chance 
  of success.
  There are also anywhere from five to 10 other people 
  on the fringe of the group (mainly friends or close family 
  members of the following NPCs) who may or may not 
  know of the existence of the Children of Westcrown, and 
  who eventually might be convinced to join if the rebels 
  stay together, avoid the law, and start to make positive 
  changes in the city. For now, these non-member contacts 
  are willing to help them with minor assistance such as 
  lending items, relaying news, and other activities that 
  aren’t illegal and won’t arouse suspicion—these NPCs 
  are not listed below, but will appear now and then during 
  the course of this campaign.
  Amaya (CG female Tian human expert 1): Amaya is a 
  well-mannered glassblower and an incredibly beautiful 
  
  25
  The Bastards of Erebus
  woman who’s somewhat self-conscious about the effect her 
  appearance has on others—she dresses plainly as a result. 
  She hopes someday to visit her distant kin who still live in 
  Magnimar and Sandpoint. (Potential: bard.)
  Ermolos (NG male Chelish human expert 1): Ermolos 
  is incredibly muscular, a physique the result of a long 
  apprenticeship as a blacksmith. He walks with a slight 
  limp—a lingering effect of a childhood illness. His father, 
  Ermolos the Elder, was a relatively well-known adventurer 
  who vanished on an ill-fated journey to Thuvia several 
  years ago—Ermolos still clings to the hope to some day 
  travel across the Inner Sea to find his missing parent. 
  (Potential: fighter.)
  Fiosa (LG female halfling expert 1): Fiosa is a house 
  servant who is friends with many halfling slaves; she 
  takes advantage of her freedom to help her kin as best 
  she can. She has a very real respect for Janiven and Arael 
  after they helped her smuggle several halfing slaves out of 
  Westcrown (and out of a particularly heinous merchant’s 
  home), and her newfound faith in Iomedae is quite strong. 
  (Potential: cleric.)
  Gorvio (N male Chelish human expert 1): Gorvio works 
  for his uncle Jacovo, a horse trader, but has increasingly 
  grown curious about his ancestry—his vibrant amber 
  eyes (among hints he’s overheard from his uncle during 
  the man’s frequent drunken bouts) make him suspect that 
  somewhere in his past lurks the blood of a tiefling or two. 
  (Potential: sorcerer.)
  Larko (N male Garundi human commoner 1): Larko 
  lives a simple life as a dock worker, but daydreams of his 
  childhood in the hills east of Westcrown and hopes some 
  day to be able to afford to move out of the city and live a 
  hunter’s life. He’s the strong, silent type, rarely speaking 
  unless he has to. (Potential: ranger.)
  Mathalen (LN female Chelish human commoner 1): 
  Mathalen is a thin and wiry woman who worked as a porter 
  but found the job dreadfully dull. She got through her days 
  by making sure to take frequent breaks to meditate and 
  purge her mind of “the poisons of menial labor.” This 
  attitude struck her employer as lazy, and she was recently 
  fired from her job and thinks of the Children of Westcrown 
  as her new calling. (Potential: monk.)
  Rizzardo (CN male Varisian human commoner 1): After 
  stowing away on a Chelish ship, Rizzardo found himself 
  more or less stuck in Westcrown years ago. He earns his 
  keep working at odd jobs as an unskilled laborer, but has 
  to switch jobs frequently as a result of his temper and 
  impatience at following orders from one person for too 
  long. He only joined the Children of Westcrown because 
  of a powerful attraction to Janiven, but has since grown 
  to enjoy the company of the others, particularly Ermolos, 
  who he insists sounds like his little brother. (Potential: 
  barbarian.)
  Sclavo (LG male Garundi human expert 1): A soft-spoken 
  yet intractable (if secret) worshiper of Iomedae, Sclavo has 
  long worked as a scribe for one of Westcrown’s courts. He 
  longs for a day when the laws of Cheliax can be reformed, 
  and sees this group as a tool that, eventually, can be used 
  to do just that. (Potential: paladin.).
  Tarvi (CG female Chelish human commoner 1): Tarvi’s 
  parents own a prosperous jewelry store in Westcrown—
  the “Glitter Palace.” She’s worked there for years, but is 
  far too witty and intelligent to do the job well. In those 
  years she has engineered the failure of no less than a dozen 
  attempts by her parents to get her married into nobility. 
  Her true passion is studying magic—she has little time for 
  romance, and hopes some day to be able to create and sell 
  magical jewelry. (Potential: wizard.)
  Vitti (N male Chelish human expert 1): Vitti is a strange, 
  eccentric man who dyes his hair green and refuses to eat 
  any food he doesn’t grow or catch himself. A talented 
  woodcarver whose works earn him a modest income, he 
  prides himself on the fact that he only carves wood that’s 
  Hellknight PCs?
  This part of the adventure assumes that no PC has an 
  issue with rescuing a prisoner of the Order of the Rack. 
  In some cases, though, particularly if there’s a paladin, 
  a lawful cleric, or a PC who has a desire to join the 
  Hellknights, you might find the group hesitant to take 
  part in Arael’s rescue.
  To try to avoid this problem, you should take pains to 
  present the Order of the Rack in an unfavorable light—
  certainly, many of Westcrown’s citizens, nobles, and 
  politicians view the Order of the Rack Hellknights as too 
  zealous and extreme in their actions. Near Egorian, the 
  Order of the Rack might be more welcome and respected, 
  but in this region they are more often seen as part of the 
  reason things are so grim in Cheliax these days. Although 
  the Order of the Rack has no direct ties to the House of 
  Thrune, rumors to the contrary are common. Even other 
  Hellknight orders, particularly the Order of the Scourge, 
  sometimes find the Order of the Rack to be too extreme 
  and rigid in their methods. The Order of the Rack has time, 
  tradition, and the loyalty of its members on its side, but 
  they are arrogant as well—that they don’t see their poor 
  reputation in Westcrown as a problem may eventually be 
  their fatal flaw.
  So in the end, as long as you discourage your PCs from 
  having associations with the Order of the Rack (something 
  the Council of Thieves Player’s Guide makes clear), you 
  should be safe with presenting these non-evil but non-
  friendly Hellknights as villains and foes to be opposed.
  
  26
  Council of Thieves Part 1 of 6
  Road ambush site
  bRidge ambush site
  Road ambush site
  bRidge ambush site
  
  27
  The Bastards of Erebus
  been harvested from deadfalls and other trees that died of 
  natural causes. (Potential: druid.)
  Yakopulio (CN female gnome expert 1): Of all the 
  Children of Westcrown, noisy and irreverent Yakopulio 
  is the least religious—she wears her atheism proudly, 
  and her eagerness to contradict often sparks arguments 
  among the others in the group. She works as a bartender 
  (and moonlights as a pimp) at a tavern called the Bruised 
  Eel, and many of the others in the Children of Westcrown 
  don’t understand what Arael sees in the offensive gnome. 
  (Potential: rogue.)
  PArt four: A drAmAtic reScue
  The event that brought Morosino to Vizio’s Tavern was 
  the news that Arael had been captured. Regardless of 
  how much time has passed since this announcement (in 
  other words, the time it took the PCs to travel through 
  the sewers and get to the rebel hideout), shortly after 
  the PCs arrive at the shrine, meet the other Children of 
  Westcrown, and rest up, news comes in via the grapevine 
  that the Hellknights have finally secured control over 
  Arael, the bureaucratic complications of what jurisdiction 
  the prisoner fell into finally having been resolved in the 
  Order of the Rack’s favor. The Hellknights are preparing 
  to move Arael from the city jail to Citadel Rivad, the 
  order’s stronghold outside the city walls. Once he’s there, 
  he’s as good as lost—Janiven knows there’s no way she 
  and the other rebels can rescue him then, even with the 
  PCs’ help. Without Arael, the rebel group is likely to fall 
  apart—worse, she’s afraid that the Hellknights will use 
  magic or other extreme interrogation methods once they 
  get him into their custody in the citadel, using them to 
  extract the identities of all the Children of Westcrown.
  Janiven wants to rescue Arael while the Hellknights 
  are transporting him on the road outside of Westcrown; 
  there won’t be any witnesses to see them attacking the 
  Hellknights, nor any civilians around to get hurt, and 
  there will be fewer guards than at the prison or the 
  citadel. Even more importantly, by rescuing him beyond 
  Westcrown’s walls, they aren’t technically breaking city 
  laws. Many in Westcrown (including a significant portion 
  of the nobility) bristle at the Hellknights and see them 
  as little more than mercenaries, and won’t take issue if 
  they lose a prisoner on the way to the citadel. Best of all, 
  since Arael is now in Hellknight custody, Westcrown is 
  no longer interested in his supposed crimes, and if he 
  escapes, the city won’t be bound to turn him back over to 
  the Hellknights unless enough government officials want 
  to do the Order of the Rack a favor. Janiven knows such a 
  favor is unlikely to be granted, especially since handing 
  the prisoner over to the zealous Order of the Rack is 
  already just such a favor—she’s confident that if they can 
  get Arael back to Westcrown alive (preferably without the 
  death of any Hellknights), he’ll be safe.
  But she and her team of untrained rebels can’t pull off 
  his rescue alone.
  PlAnning the reScue
  Citadel Rivad lies northwest of the city of Westcrown—a 
  fortress and training ground for the Order of the Rack, 
  the oldest (and most zealous) of the Hellknight orders. It 
  is essentially impregnable, at least for PCs at this point 
  in their careers. The road to the citadel is an offshoot 
  from the main road that winds off to the southwest—the 
  land along the route to the citadel is mostly open plain, 
  with a few scattered groves of trees (some of which are 
  cut back every few years to make it harder for bandits 
  to hide) and one stone bridge crossing a stream. With 
  rare exceptions, the only people who use the road are 
  Hellknights or those providing services for them (food, 
  messages, and so on), and on a typical day only three or 
  four groups travel the road in either direction. Because 
  of the low traffic and the proximity to the Hellknights, 
  banditry is unheard of on this minor road, and while 
  the forces of Citadel Rivad aren’t careless about the 
  possibility of being attacked in this area, they certainly 
  don’t expect it. This all makes the road the best point to 
  attempt a rescue of the imprisoned half-elf.
  Another factor works to the advantage of the daring 
  plan—the Order of the Rack’s arrogance. This Hellknight 
  order is the oldest, and they’ve faced very few failures 
  over their long history. As a result, the escort for Arael’s 
  transport is relatively light. As the entire operation to 
  capture Arael was, basically, a training exercise (Janiven 
  bitterly comments on how the Children of Westcrown 
  should receive a payment from the Order of the Rack in 
  thanks for providing such a convenient opportunity), the 
  honor of escorting Arael back to Citadel Rivad has been 
  granted to the group of armigers most directly responsible 
  for his capture. Word on the street is that the other 
  armigers’ failure to catch any other supposed “rebels” has 
  resulted in quite a bit of shame and mockery, and much of 
  this current crop of trainees’ remaining pride rests solely 
  on Arael’s imminent imprisonment in Citadel Rivad.
  According to various reports, Arael’s trip to the Citadel 
  will be escorted by a total of 10 Hellknight armigers, led 
  by their sponsor, a young and gifted (but low-ranking) 
  Hellknight Signifier named Shanwen. Even given the 
  PCs’ successes in the sewers, this is probably too many 
  foes to handle at once—particularly since Janiven wants 
  to avoid any Hellknight fatalities if possible. The more 
  Hellknight armigers who live, the less brutal the Children 
  of Westcrown look and the more humiliation and shame 
  they inflict on the Order of the Rack.
  
  28
  Council of Thieves Part 1 of 6
  Janiven has a plan to even the odds even further. While 
  the PCs make the primary attack on the armored wagon 
  transporting Arael and mount his rescue, she’ll lead 
  several of the other Children of Westcrown in a feint-
  ambush against the Hellknights. Given the absence of 
  bandit attacks on that road, the Hellknights are sure 
  to interpret any attack as an attempt to rescue their 
  prisoner, and the likely response to sighting a group of 
  what appear to be bandits stepping into the road ahead 
  will be to split their forces, sending their mounted troops 
  forward to handle the supposed highwaymen while the 
  prisoner and his guards hang back and perhaps begin to 
  turn around to make a retreat back to Westcrown so they 
  don’t lose their prize. This would give the main force—
  meaning the PCs—fewer opponents to fight and making 
  it much easier to free Arael—especially if the mounted 
  Hellknights fall for the plan and ride their horses into 
  a section of the road the secondary group prepares with 
  caltrops.
  The real question is where to stage the ambush of 
  the transport. Janiven sketches a map of the road to the 
  citadel, pointing out the small stone bridge that crosses 
  the swift but relatively narrow stream called the Athua, 
  which might make a good place for an ambush. She also 
  indicates a few locations before and after the bridge 
  where there’s much more tree cover to allow a hit-and-
  run attack and to complicate pursuit via horseback. 
  The choice is up to the PCs, since they’ll be the ones 
  in greatest peril. Tactical maps for both locations are 
  provided.
  Of course, the PCs may have their own plan, but 
  Janiven refuses any proposal that requires the main force 
  of the rebels to battle the Hellknights head-to-head; 
  they’re neither trained nor equipped for it (and don’t 
  have time to get gear and move into position ahead of 
  the Hellknights). However, if the PCs want her to fight 
  alongside them (either as part of the double-ambush or 
  some other strategy of the PCs) she agrees; if the PCs like 
  the double-ambush plan, Janiven chooses Sclavo to lead 
  the faux-ambush in this case.
  Once the rebels hear about Arael being sent to the citadel, 
  time is of the essence. The heroes only have about an hour 
  to prepare before they must leave along the northwest road. 
  If the PCs don’t have horses and don’t want to buy their 
  own, Janiven arranges to have fellow rebel Gorvio talk to 
  his uncle Jacovo to lend them horses or ponies, with the 
  understanding that the horses aren’t hers and she really 
  needs them back in one piece.
  the AmBuSh (cr 4 or 7)
  Where this encounter plays out depends on how the PCs 
  want to set up the attack on the Hellknights. The map 
  depicts a long, straight piece of road through a wooded 
  area as well as a similar stretch with a bridge over a stream; 
  the knights approach the PCs on whatever map they decide 
  to set up their ambush. Regardless of what map is used, 
  the start of the encounter is essentially the same: the PCs 
  position themselves on the map, and the Hellknights 
  enter from the east side of the map and proceed westward. 
  This encounter assumes the PCs go with Janiven’s plan to 
  draw off some of the Hellknights and leave the PCs to deal 
  with the rest. If the PCs elect to attack the entire group of 
  nearly a dozen Hellknights (four of whom are mounted on 
  warhorses), the encounter’s CR jumps from 4 to 7—likely 
  an impossible fight for just the PCs, but perhaps less so 
  if they have Janiven and some of the braver Children of 
  Westcrown to aid them.
  The Prison Carriage: Arael is being transported in an 
  enclosed carriage built to hold and transport prisoners. The 
  carriage has a locked door (average lock, Disable Device DC 
  25 to pick) and is made of iron-reinforced wood (hardness 
  5, 40 hp). It is approximately 7 feet square and 5 feet high, 
  riding about 2 feet off the ground, with a running board 
  on the sides and rear for easy climbing to the roof and 
  interior. A team of two horses (hitched in series) pulls it, and 
  the driver sits on a small bench attached to the front of the 
  roof. The carriage hitch allows the horses to share a single 
  10-foot space, and they are strong enough to pull it at their 
  normal speed (50 feet), but it slows them enough that if they 
  use a run action they only move four times their normal 
  speed instead of five (for having the Run feat).
  Mounted on top of the carriage roof is a Large heavy 
  crossbow (essentially a small ballista); it can turn to fire 
  in all directions, but cannot fire at a target on or adjacent 
  to the wagon. The crossbow deals 2d8 damage on a hit, 
  but its size means that Medium creatures must use two 
  hands to fire it and they have a –2 attack penalty when 
  using it. Reloading the crossbow is a full-round action 
  that provokes attacks of opportunity; one bolt is kept 
  loaded in the crossbow during travel, and a quiver of 
  nine more bolts is affixed to its side. If expecting battle, 
  the knights bring an archer to control the ballista while 
  the driver steers the carriage; given the assumed safety 
  of the road to Citadel Rivad, this group has foregone 
  additional archers.
  The Battlefield: Moving through a square with a tree 
  stump counts as difficult terrain, and a stump is tall 
  enough (3 feet) that a creature standing on one gets the 
  benefit of higher terrain. A Small creature can crouch 
  behind a stump or a Medium one can lie prone and have 
  total concealment from creatures on the opposite side.
  Small boulders have the same game effect as the 
  tree stumps. The large boulders are 5 feet high, and 
  creatures cannot enter or pass through them without 
  climbing; Small creatures can easily hide behind them, 
  and Medium creatures can do so with a slight crouch. 
  
  29
  The Bastards of Erebus
  Most of the smaller stones near the bridge were used to 
  build the bridge or small cairns near the camping area 
  on the north side.
  The stream isn’t particularly cold, but it quickly reaches 
  a depth of 4 feet. The water flows fast; any swimming 
  creature not actively moving against the current travels 
  with it at a rate of 20 feet per round (wading creatures are 
  unaffected). Standing up from lying prone in the stream 
  is a standard action, or a full-round action if the creature 
  carries a heavy load.
  The bridge is made of mortared stone and is a single-
  arc span across the stream, cresting about 2 feet above 
  the water level at its highest point. It is quite sturdy and 
  counts as a masonry wall, with the top equivalent to a 
  flagstone floor. If the PCs talk of destroying the bridge 
  to aid their ambush plans, Janiven (if present) asks them 
  not to—the destruction of the bridge would only give the 
  Order of the Rack more leverage to sway the government 
  against the Children of Westcrown. However, the bridge 
  does make a nice choke-point for an attack on the prison 
  carriage, as the horses cannot ford the stream while 
  hitched to the carriage.
  Creatures: The initial team escorting Arael to the citadel 
  consists of 10 Hellknight armigers and their sponsor 
  Shanwen. Four of the Hellknights ride on warhorses, while 
  the other six ride on the carriage (one atop manning the 
  crossbow, two on each side clinging to the running boards, 
  and one in front with Shanwen, driving the carriage). None 
  of them are particularly skilled in riding (they make Ride 
  checks untrained) but the horses do not panic in battle, 
  allowing the Hellknights to pursue fleeing opponents, 
  though they dismount to dispatch foes on foot.
  The entire group of Hellknights is a CR 7 encounter. If 
  the PCs follow Janiven’s plan, though, the ambush goes 
  flawlessly. Once the PCs are in position, ready to ambush 
  the wagon, Janiven (or the NPC leading the second group 
  if the PCs convinced Janiven to fight with them) leads a 
  group of other rebels out of the tree cover a few hundred 
  yards west of the PCs’ actual ambush point, down the 
  road ahead of the Hellknights. This secondary group 
  has taken the time to prepare the road with caltrops; 
  they move into a position at the far side of the caltrops 
  and wave weapons in a threatening manner. As they do 
  so, the Hellknights immediately stop; mocking laughter 
  
  30
  Council of Thieves Part 1 of 6
  and shouts of delighted challenge reveal their arrogance 
  as the four mounted Hellknights gallop forward, leaving 
  only six of their fellows to guard the carriage. As the 
  riders hit the caltrops, two things happen at once: the 
  horses shriek in pain and stagger, breaking t he i r 
  charge and bucking their unskilled riders 
  from their saddles, and the secondary group of 
  rebels breaks for the trees and flees back to 
  Westcrown. Now is the time for the PCs to 
  strike—if they launch their attack, the four 
  armigers several hundred feet down the road 
  are likely unable to return to aid in the 
  battle before the fight is resolved.
  When things go bad for the mounted 
  Hellknights, those back at the 
  prison 
  carriage 
  begin 
  the 
  laborious task of turning the 
  carriage around—with the 
  road ahead suddenly unclear 
  and dangerous, Shanwen gives 
  the order to retreat back to 
  Westcrown for a “real” escort. 
  It’ll take a full minute for the 
  cumbersome carriage to effect its about-face, giving the 
  PCs a great chance to launch their portion of the ambush.
  Shanwen Shanwen                    
  CR 1/2
  XP 200
  Male human cleric of Asmodeus 1
  LE Medium humanoid 
  Init –1; Senses Perception +3
  DefenSeS
  AC 18, touch 9, flat-footed 18 (+9 armor, –1 Dex)
  hp 14 (1d8+6)
  fort +4, Ref –1, Will +4
  OffenSe
  Speed 20 ft.
  Melee heavy mace +1 (1d8+1) 
  Ranged Large heavy crossbow –3 (2d6/19–20) or fire bolt –1 (1d6 fire)
  Special Attacks channel negative energy 3/day (1d6, DC 10)
  Domain Spell-Like Abilities
  5/day—fire bolt, touch of law 
  Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 1st)
  1st—command (DC 13), cure light wounds, burning handsD (DC 13)
  0—light, mending, stabilize
  D domain spell (Fire, Law)
  TACTICS
  During Combat Shanwen clambers up to use the Large crossbow, 
  but if a PC makes it to his carriage, he uses burning hands 
  against the largest group of foes. He only channels negative 
  energy if he’s surrounded by enemies and no Hellknights are 
  in the area. 
  Morale Shanwen is too proud to surrender, and fights until defeated.
  STATISTICS
  Str 12, Dex 8, Con 14, Int 13, Wis 15, Cha 10
  Base Atk +0; CMB +1; CMD 10
  feats Heavy Armor Proficiency, Toughness
  Skills Heal +6, Knowledge (planes) +5, Knowledge (religion) +5, 
  Perception +3
  Languages Common, Infernal
  Combat Gear potion of cure light wounds; Other Gear 
  full plate, heavy mace, wooden holy symbol, prison 
  carriage key
  Hellknight Armigers (6)  
  CR 1/3
  XP 135 each
  hp 9 each (see page 21)
  TACTICS
  During Combat These armigers do their best to 
  defeat their attackers, clambering off the 
  carriage or firing crossbows at ranged 
  targets. They use the carriage as cover if 
  possible. 
  Morale Although they are arrogant, the 
  bravery of these Hellknights-in-training is 
  still in development. An armiger brought below 4 
  hit points panics and flees west toward Citadel Rivad, but 
  won’t surrender.
  Treasure: Other than what the Hellknights carry, there 
  is no additional “treasure” here, though Shanwen carries 
  a letter from mayor Aberian Arvanxi to the captain of the 
  guard of Citadel Rivad asking for help dealing with a group 
  of bandits called the “Bastards of Erebus.” Specifically, the 
  letter seems to be repeating the request, and asks for a 
  response to an earlier request for help in dealing with the 
  bandits. A storage compartment under the prisoner’s seat 
  holds a large woolen sack containing Arael’s gear.
  reScuing ArAel
  Once the Hellknights are dealt with, the PCs can free 
  Arael. The half-elf cleric is locked inside the carriage 
  and his wrists are manacled (average lock, Disable 
  Device DC 25). The keys to the carriage and his manacles 
  are carried by Shanwen. Arael has been beaten and is 
  currently at 1 hp; he was unconscious when the group 
  left town but wakes up shortly before the PCs ambush 
  the Hellknights. During the battle he may ask what’s 
  going on; if he believes the Hellknights are under attack, 
  he calls out for someone to free him.
  Arael is very thankful for the PCs’ help. If Janiven is 
  present, he is glad to see her; otherwise he asks the PCs 
  what motivated them to attack the Hellknights—this 
  gives the PCs the opportunity to say they’re helping the 
  rebels without Arael revealing the rebels exist or that he 
  is one of them. If over the course of this conversation 
  ShAnwen
  
  31
  The Bastards of Erebus
  Arael doesn’t learn that the PCs are helping the rebels, 
  he thanks them again, tells them his name, suggests 
  they leave before other Hellknights arrive, and bids the 
  PCs farewell, returning to the city by a different route. 
  If he does know the PCs are helping the rebels, he urges 
  them to head back to Westcrown and reunite with 
  the rest of the team.
  The trip back to the city is uneventful. 
  With any surviving Hellknights well on their 
  way back to the Citadel and likely shamed, it 
  will be at least an hour before news of the 
  ambush reaches the attention of the Order 
  of the Rack—plenty of time for the PCs and 
  their allies to return to Westcrown. Before 
  they enter the city, Arael pauses to find 
  some way to conceal his face with a large 
  hat or hooded cloak—though bruised, 
  he still may be recognizable, and he is not 
  sure if his description is known to the 
  Hellknights or the dottari.
  Arael is a handsome man whose 
  family has long lived in Westcrown. 
  He wants nothing more than to 
  see the House of Thrune toppled, 
  but knows that this is a long-term goal at best, and has 
  set his sights, for now, on what he feels is a much more 
  realistic goal—making Westcrown a nicer place to live. 
  His frustrations with the government of Westcrown 
  aren’t that they are pawns of the House of Thrune, but 
  that they don’t do more to make their city a better place to 
  live at the same time. He hopes that by founding a group 
  of do-gooders, if not outright “people’s heroes” (he’s loath 
  to actually use the word “rebel” since that has negative 
  connotations in his mind), he can show the city’s rulers 
  a better way.
  Arael 
   
   CR 2
  XP 600
  Male half-elf cleric of Iomedae 3
  LG Medium humanoid 
  Init +1; Senses low-light vision; Perception +4
  DefenSeS
  AC 17, touch 11, flat-footed 16 (+6 armor, +1 Dex)
  hp 20 (3d8+3)
  fort +4, Ref +2, Will +5
  OffenSe
  Speed 20 ft.
  Melee mwk longsword +3 (1d8/19–20)
  Ranged light crossbow +3 (1d8/19–20)
  Special Attacks channel positive energy 5/day (2d6, DC 13)
  Domain Spell-Like Abilities (CL 3rd)
  5/day—battle rage, touch of good
  Cleric Spells Prepared (CL 3rd)
  2nd—hold person (DC 14), sound burst (already cast), spiritual weaponD
  1st—bless (2), protection from evilD, shield of faith (already cast)
  0—guidance, light, stabilize, virtue
  D domain spell (Good, War)
  TACTICS
  Before Combat Arael casts guidance and virtue on 
  any unskilled rebels present and protection from 
  evil and shield of faith on anyone he believes is 
  especially vulnerable.
  During Combat Arael casts bless if he 
  has allies, uses sound burst in the hopes 
  of stunning multiple opponents, and hold 
  person to disable a dangerous adversary.
  Morale Arael surrenders when he reaches 
  5 hp if he believes his foe will accept a 
  surrender. He is willing to hold off an 
  enemy even at great risk to himself if it 
  gives his allies more time to succeed at 
  a task or escape, but prefers to make a 
  tactical retreat rather than dying 
  needlessly.
  STATISTICS
  Str 10, Dex 12, Con 13, Int 10, 
  Wis 15, Cha 14
  Base Atk +2; CMB +2; CMD 13
  feats Alignment Channel, Pick Alignment, Brew Potion, Skill 
  Focus (Knowledge [local])
  Skills Diplomacy +8, Heal +6, Knowledge (history) +4, Knowledge 
  (local) +4, Knowledge (planes) +4, Knowledge (religion) +4, 
  Sense Motive +6
  Languages Common, Elven
  SQ elf blood, elven immunities
  Combat Gear potion of cure light wounds, potion of bull’s strength; 
  Other Gear breastplate, masterwork longsword, dagger, light 
  crossbow, 20 bolts, 60 gp
  Story Award: 1,200 XP for freeing Arael from the 
  Hellknights.
  Fame Point Award: The PCs earn 1 Fame Point 
  for rescuing Arael. If they do so without killing any 
  Hellknights, they earn 1 additional Fame Point.
  PArt five: lying low
  Once reunited at the rebel hideout, the rebels formally 
  introduce Arael to the PCs, trade stories with the PCs 
  about the ambushes, and listen to Arael’s tale of being 
  captured. Fortunately, despite being beaten by his 
  Hellknight captors after they secured custody of him 
  from the Westcrown city watch, his will remained strong 
  and he did not reveal the location of the hideout or the 
  identities of anyone else in the group. He is very relieved, 
  ArAel
  
  32
  Council of Thieves Part 1 of 6
  however, that he won’t be imprisoned in Citadel Rivad, 
  and once again thanks the PCs for their help in rescuing 
  him. Before long, his ordeal takes its toll and he excuses 
  himself to rest.
  At this point, the PCs should be well on their way 
  into 2nd level. After the daring escape from the 
  Hellknights, both Arael and Janiven suggest 
  that all of the Children of Westcrown spend 
  the next several days lying low. The Order 
  of the Rack will doubtless be incensed at 
  the ambush, but there’s little they can do 
  now but file petitions with the city and 
  otherwise get entangled by bureaucracy—if 
  there’s one thing about Cheliax’s government 
  that can be depended upon, it’s bureaucracy. 
  Even if some of the Hellknights were 
  killed, the Order of the Rack finds 
  Westcrown hesitant to aid them in 
  tracking down the supposed 
  “rebels.” 
  The 
  government 
  points out that no actual 
  rebellious activity has occurred 
  in the city, and indeed, with the 
  Order of the Rack spending so much 
  effort chasing phantom rebels, actual banditry is on the 
  rise. The actions of the tiefling brigand group known as 
  the “Bastards of Erebus” are only the most recent of these 
  groups of thugs to make themselves known—perhaps 
  if the Order of the Rack were more diligent at handling 
  these highwaymen and thieves, the roads themselves 
  would be safer. The implication that the Hellknights 
  were ambushed and humiliated by brigands quickly gains 
  traction in Westcrown’s rumor mills, and before long the 
  Order of the Rack is forced (publicly, at least) to turn their 
  attentions to this greater problem of growing banditry.
  Yet while the Hellknights are publicly no longer hunting 
  them, the Children of Westcrown would do well to lie low 
  for a while to let things simmer down. During this time, 
  though, both Janiven and Arael remain in contact with the 
  PCs, as do several other members of the group. They are all 
  quite impressed with the characters’ heroics, after all, and 
  want to ensure they remain a part of their group.
  You should take advantage of this lull to let the PCs get to 
  know their new friends. In addition, you can run them on 
  additional encounters and minor adventures of your own 
  devising. One sample encounter is presented below—even 
  if you send the PCs on no other side quests, you should run 
  the “Horse Drama” encounter (or at least a variant of it), as 
  it foreshadows an important NPC in the next adventure.
  horSe drAmA
  If the PCs borrowed horses from Gorvio’s uncle Jacovo, 
  they’ll find that returning them isn’t quite the simple 
  matter they might expect. This encounter can take place 
  before or after the PCs return to the rebel hideout (though 
  if Janiven is present, she suggests doing it beforehand, as 
  multiple people on horseback arriving at the old Iomedaean 
  church is bound to draw unwanted attention). If the PCs 
  don’t do this before reaching the hideout, Gorvio asks 
  them to do so once the PCs arrive at the hideout. If 
  the PCs didn’t borrow horses, you can change 
  this encounter to take place whenever the PCs 
  go to a public location in Westcrown, adjusting 
  the encounter as necessary. The point is to 
  introduce the PCs to one of Westcrown’s rising 
  stars, the actor Thesing Umbero Ulvauno (CE 
  male Chelish human expert 3).
  When the PCs go to return the horses 
  at Jacovo’s stables near the city gate, 
  they find a handsome but arrogant-
  looking man berating Jacovo for 
  not having a certain kind of 
  horse available. This man is 
  Thesing Umbero Ulvauno, a 
  local actor and opera singer 
  of some repute who has let his 
  growing reputation feed his ego to a ridiculous 
  level. He’s a very melodramatic man with a habit of 
  cursing out anyone he sees as an underling, exaggerating 
  how important he is and implying that not immediately 
  acceding to his wishes is a personal affront intended to 
  threaten his career. As it turns out, the horses the PCs 
  borrowed are exactly the sort he needs for his impromptu 
  performance this evening of The Elopement of the Dowager 
  Princess, which features a scene wherein “the princess 
  and her handsome lover—played by me, of course—
  flee the city pursued by the king’s horsemen.” A DC 10 
  Knowledge (local) or Perform (act or sing) check lets a PC 
  recognize his name even if they’ve never attended one of 
  his performances.
  Ulvauno believes the PCs took the horses to vex him, 
  perhaps to aid a rival actor, and is only satisfied with 
  excessive apologies from the PCs and Jacovo. His initial 
  attitude toward Jacovo and the PCs is unfriendly. If the 
  PCs express ignorance as to his identity, he says, “Don’t 
  you know who I am? I am Thesing Umbero Ulvauno, one 
  of the greatest tenors in the city!” He grows angry and 
  abusive if the PCs ignore him or are unimpressed with who 
  he is, shifting his attitude to hostile. (Opera is a popular 
  art in Westcrown, and he truly is a minor celebrity, so 
  PCs who pretend not to know him are actually being very 
  rude, regardless of his attitude). If the PCs leave while he 
  is still hostile, he takes out his anger by verbally abusing 
  Jacovo (which gets back to Gorvio, who is unhappy that 
  the PCs left his uncle there to take the blame). Thesing 
  eventually finds out who the PCs are and plots petty acts 
  theSing umBero ulvAud
  
  33
  The Bastards of Erebus
  of vengeance such as sending them boxes of dead flowers, 
  offering free tickets to someone else’s performance of a 
  terrible opera, spreading rumors that one of the PCs is a 
  castrati, and so on.
  Fawning, praise, and flattery are the best way to 
  improve Thesing’s attitude; all other attempts have a –5 
  penalty to the Diplomacy check, though an especially 
  attractive female PC might be able to put him in a better 
  mood with some flirtatious words and complements on 
  his appearance and talent (no penalty to the check). He is 
  a conceited man who considers himself quite a ladykiller, 
  yet he only sees women as conquests or temporary trophies. 
  While he can be very charming, to an experienced eye 
  he is rather transparent in his lack of sincerity. He may 
  even resort to verbal or physical coercion to have his way 
  with a woman if nobody else is around. Appeals to his 
  ego; offers to provide alternate horses or attend his next 
  performance, and cheer especially loud (and perhaps boo 
  all the other male leads); or even aid him somehow with 
  magic may also work.
  If the PCs manage to shift his attitude to indifferent, 
  he accepts their apology and makes arrangements for 
  the groomed horses to be sent to one of the outdoor 
  theaters in town for his performance. If they shift his 
  attitude to friendly, he is arrogant but pleasantly so—
  offering minor complements that in retrospect are 
  condescending or insulting (“that shirt makes your 
  face seem more attractive”), comparing them to lovers 
  he’s discarded or servants he’s fired for minor failings, 
  and so on. If a female PCs is responsible for his friendly 
  attitude, he tries to seduce her; if she accepts, she’s just 
  “the latest distraction,” but if she refuses, she “should be 
  honored that a woman so unattractive gets any attention 
  at all.” Thesing is not a pleasant man, and gets what he 
  wants because of his talent (though he is not as good as 
  he claims to be) and ability to manipulate people with 
  his looks and charisma.
  Unfortunately, Thesing’s performance later that evening 
  doesn’t go as well as he’d hoped (one of the horses kicks one 
  of the other actors), and he blames the PCs, both for tiring 
  the horses beforehand and for forcing him to exert his 
  voice too much before the opera, causing a slight tremor 
  when he sings. (Though probably only a few people in 
  attendance could hear it, he knew it was there.) This shifts 
  his attitude one step toward hostile, and over time it just 
  gets worse. Ulvauno appears in later volumes of the Council 
  of Thieves Adventure Path and is a potential rival for the 
  PCs; he remembers their actions and behavior in this 
  encounter, perhaps even referring to them as “the horse 
  thieves” depending on the outcome of this encounter.
  Story Award: If the PCs leave Jacovo’s stables after 
  shifting Thesing to an indifferent attitude, award them 
  900 XP. If his attitude is friendly when they leave, award 
  them 1,200 XP. His later slide into hostility has no effect 
  on this XP award.
  more heroicS
  If the PCs need to practice a bit more before taking on the 
  Bastards of Erebus, or want to be productive while Janiven 
  and Arael plot the Children’s next move, here are some 
  other things the PCs can do to gain XP and fame points. 
  No matter how many additional heroics the PCs undertake 
  during this adventure, though, you shouldn’t award them 
  more than 3 additional Fame Points.
  Capture Bandits: The Bastards of Erebus are but one 
  of several groups of bandits that have been funded by 
  Ecarrdian Drovenge and his sister Chammady in order to 
  distract Westcrown’s defenses while they set their plans in 
  motion—the Bastards are merely the only bandits who ply 
  their mayhem inside the city walls. Other bandits hound 
  and harass travelers in the Westcrown hinterlands, and the 
  PCs could track down and eliminate any of these bands as 
  well if they wish. Though the mayor cannot give the PCs any 
  official reward for this extralegal service, he privately thanks 
  them and surreptitiously lets the guilds know the PCs dealt 
  with the problem, earning them 1 Fame Point the first (and 
  only) time they defeat a band of these highwaymen.
  Defeat Whitechin the Goblin King: A crafty white-
  bearded goblin named Whitechin living in the ruined 
  part of the city, near the north wall, has staked out a 
  small territory for himself and attracted a number of 
  followers. If left unchecked, his minions and their goblin 
  dogs could start raiding the city or harassing merchant 
  traffic. The goblin king may be a wererat or know of an 
  entrance to the city sewers that lets his people sneak about 
  undetected. Defeating Whitechin earns 1 Fame Point.
  Slay a Shadow Beast: Westcrown’s common folk now 
  fear going out at night, for everyone in the city has heard 
  the strange cries of—or lost a pet or loved one to—the 
  creatures of pure darkness that hunt the streets after 
  sundown. However, a masked woman calling herself 
  “Bluehood” offers a reward for any shadow beast killed if 
  the slayers drop its corpse on the garbage stoop outside the 
  tavern across from the old Leroung estate. Anyone doing 
  so finds a bag of 100 gp left for them at their home or inn, 
  and through the rumor mill the news gets out who was 
  responsible, earning the PCs 1 Fame Point. Additional 
  kills bring additional monetary awards, but for now, the 
  PCs earn their 1 Fame Point only for their first kill. See 
  “Westcrown: City of Twilight” for more information about 
  the shadow beasts, or the shadowgarm entry on page 80 for 
  a good low-level shadow beast.
  down with the BAStArdS!
  Eventually, Arael and Janiven ask the PCs to return to 
  the Shrine of Aroden to discuss an important matter. 
  
  34
  Council of Thieves Part 1 of 6
  After the PCs arrive, Arael and Janiven sit down to talk 
  with them alone. The priest explains that in the past 
  few weeks, a group of thieves calling themselves the 
  Bastards of Erebus have committed a spree of robberies 
  near the old city, with at least one incident resulting 
  in a double murder. The Bastards are reputed to be a 
  gang of tieflings living in the ruined part of the city; 
  their name implies a connection to Hell, though he 
  doesn’t know if the bandits are using it just to evoke 
  fear, if their tiefling heritage actually stems from a 
  fiend of Erebus, or if they have some greater connection. 
  Regardless, they always leave behind a wooden token 
  showing a devil’s head in profile, and have become more 
  brazen about their nighttime crimes. For whatever 
  reason (Arael suspects corruption and Janiven suspects 
  incompetence), the city guards have as of yet done little 
  about the Bastards—which is probably why the mayor 
  turned to the Hellknights for help. The people of the city 
  are growing worried; it’s bad enough that they can’t go 
  out at night except for a few key streets, but at least they 
  were safe in their homes during the dark hours. Now 
  even that safety seems to be vanishing. However, Arael 
  believes he has accurate information from a vagrant 
  living in the ruined part of town (a man who comes to 
  the active city to beg for copper coins, but sleeps in an 
  abandoned house across the wall) as to the location and 
  nature of the tieflings’ lair. In fact, it was after returning 
  from a visit to this contact that Arael was captured by 
  the dottari under suspicion of rebellion.
  Arael reiterates the goals of the Children of Westcrown: 
  to increase the quality of life of the people of Westcrown 
  and eventually inspire Cheliax to rid itself of House 
  Thrune and its evil taint. He believes that eliminating 
  the Bastards of Erebus will show Westcrown that there 
  are people who care about justice and protecting the 
  innocent—and if someone other than the Hellknights 
  does this, it shows the people that there is strength that 
  has nothing to do with Hell. As the PCs have already 
  established themselves as competent, not particularly 
  fond of the Hellknights, and willing to take risks to 
  protect others, he asks them if they would help defeat 
  this tiefling menace. He can promise them no reward but 
  justice, whatever loot the Bastards have on them, and the 
  gratitude of tens of thousands of Westcrown citizens. If 
  the PCs demand some kind of payment, Arael tells them 
  he has only a little money but has a knack for making 
  
  35
  The Bastards of Erebus
  potions, and promises them that for the next month he 
  will make them whatever potions he can if they provide 
  the necessary materials (this means they’re getting 
  potions at half the sale price).
  Assuming the PCs agree to help, Arael says that he 
  hasn’t had a chance to verify the beggar’s story because 
  he (Arael) was captured by the Hellknights less than an 
  hour after getting the information. He was going to ask 
  Janiven to sneak out and investigate the location the 
  Bastards are supposedly using as a headquarters (an old 
  temple of Erastil in the ruined part of the city) during 
  the daytime when the tieflings’ darkvision wouldn’t 
  stack the odds in their favor. Janiven has since agreed 
  to do so and has just returned from her mission with 
  confirmation—there are an awful lot of tieflings in the 
  area of the old church.
  Before the PCs rush off to fight the Bastards of Erebus, 
  Arael and Janiven have some more information to share 
  with them about the bandits. The PCs learn that the 
  bandits always attack at night. They never attack two 
  nights in a row, and most attacks are anywhere from 3 to 
  7 days apart (the last attack was the same night that the 
  PCs went into the sewers at the start of this adventure). 
  Eight attacks have taken place in the past 3 weeks—
  mostly places with small, portable valuables such as a 
  gemcutter, but one was a moneylender and another a 
  crafter of fine weapons. It was the weaponsmith who was 
  killed, presumably because he heard noises downstairs 
  and went to investigate; the tieflings killed him, then 
  went upstairs and killed his wife, probably so there 
  would be no witnesses. They always leave a wooden token 
  or coin with their mark in the shop they’ve robbed and 
  on the bodies of those they’ve killed, and twice they’ve 
  scrawled their name on the building’s front door with 
  a sharp object. Obviously they’re sneaky (and the way 
  Arael says this indicates he feels this way about most 
  tieflings) and skilled at picking locks, for none of the 
  robberies resulted in broken doors or windows, and 
  they even relock the door after leaving. Given the small 
  size of the shops, the number of tieflings involved in a 
  single break-in is probably very few—more than about 
  four and they wouldn’t have much room to move around 
  inside the place they were robbing. However, he suspects 
  it’s more than just a group of four tieflings involved, 
  though he has no evidence for this—“they just tend to 
  gather in large groups for protection when not working 
  for normal people” (again, showing a bit of his prejudice 
  against tieflings).
  Janiven’s 
  scouting 
  mission 
  brings 
  some 
  more 
  information to the table. She knows the Bastards keep 
  a lookout in the old church’s bell tower, but she didn’t 
  spot any patrols during the 3 hours she spent watching 
  the location (though a new tiefling eventually replaced 
  the one in the bell tower). Near the temple are a bunch 
  of two-story buildings, probably a shop of some kind on 
  the bottom with a small residence above. She didn’t risk 
  getting close enough to see what was in any of them, but 
  she did see that the one with windows on the ground level 
  had them boarded up. Other buildings farther out (on the 
  order of 200 feet or more) were either ransacked or had 
  sturdy, locked doors to thwart looters. She also noticed 
  a barn-like structure nearby, little more than a hitching 
  post with a roof, which had a lot of loose rock piled within 
  it, but she couldn’t figure out what the point of that was. 
  She can sketch out a map of the area and point out a path 
  by which even clumsy people can approach unseen to 
  within about 50 feet of the church; any closer and they 
  risk being spotted by the bell tower lookout.
  the AttAck PlAn
  The PCs have far more strength at their disposal than 
  Arael does, so he defers to how they want to manage 
  the fight. His only concerns are making sure all of the 
  Bastards of Erebus are eliminated, and that nobody on 
  his side (meaning the PCs and the rebels) gets killed. 
  The Bastards are dangerous foes, so Arael rejects any 
  plan that involves the unskilled members of his group 
  fighting directly against the tieflings; he’s willing to 
  bring them along to chase down any stragglers fleeing 
  the temple, but he doesn’t want them to be part of a 
  direct assault where a stray enemy spell could easily kill 
  one of them.
  Arael and Janiven are willing to accompany the PCs, 
  and some of the rebels will help if asked, particularly 
  if the PCs showed an interest in mentoring them and 
  if they can stay near Arael or Janiven. The leaders 
  may accompany the PCs into the lair, but that means 
  the rest of the rebels won’t be coming along. The PCs 
  may bring Arael or Janiven, with whichever leader isn’t 
  selected directing the semi-skilled rebels to watch the 
  temple for escaping tieflings—armed with crossbows, 
  even five commoners and experts should be able to take 
  out anyone trying to get away—or help kill a lookout 
  in a bell tower with a concerted attack, should someone 
  suggest it.
  What the PCs and rebels don’t know is the tieflings 
  have dug escape tunnels under the temple to four of the 
  nearby buildings, and these four buildings are guarded 
  either by a very bored tiefling or by two uncontrolled and 
  undead skeletal wolves. If the rebel leaders and any of the 
  semi-skilled rebels are sent to secure one of the nearby 
  buildings to watch for fleeing tieflings, the NPCs may 
  have a fight on their hands. However, if the NPCs defeat 
  the guard and the PCs poke their heads up through the 
  escape tunnel, that gives them all an opportunity to rest 
  a bit and update their tactics.
  
  36
  Council of Thieves Part 1 of 6
  Whether or not the PCs want him involved in the actual 
  attack, Arael has a stockpile of potions he gives to the 
  PCs before they leave. He withdraws a small chest from 
  a secret space under the floorboards of the Iomedaean 
  temple hideout and presents it to the PC with whom he 
  feels closest or most comfortable. The chest contains eight 
  potions of cure light wounds, a potion of cure moderate wounds, 
  and a potion of shield of faith. He doesn’t care which PC ends 
  up with which potion or if they have to use all of them to 
  defeat the Bastards of Erebus, he just wants to make sure 
  all the PCs come back alive.
  PArt Six: temPle of BAStArdS
  Once the PCs figure out their plan, they must enter the 
  ruined portion of the city. When they decide to make this 
  trip has its own share of hazards, whether day or night. 
  If the PCs decide to enter by day, they’re likely to attract 
  attention to themselves—after all, a large group of armed 
  folk isn’t exactly normal, and the Chelish people have 
  gotten used to the idea of reporting anything unusual to 
  the authorities. Bribes to the city watch of 50 gp per person 
  entering the ruins or disguises as porters (carrying large 
  bags containing their own adventuring gear) can work to 
  stem suspicion, and the PCs should hope to not run into 
  any Hellknights or city guards while acting suspiciously. 
  If the PCs opt to travel at night, they’re not going to have 
  to deal with nosy observers, but getting to the wall that 
  divides the old city from the inhabited part requires travel 
  on the darker streets, which means they risk encountering 
  a shadow beast on the prowl.
  Where the PCs decide to cross the wall also affects what 
  obstacles they face. While the wall is only 10 feet high in 
  most parts of the city, climbing the wall that’s intended 
  to be a barrier against vagrants, gangs, sewer goblins, and 
  (most recently) murderous tieflings tends to draw the eye. 
  There’s also a large gate that connects to the old city, but 
  it has been barred since the great fire; while the city watch 
  makes sure that nobody sets up tents or carts in front 
  of it (just in case they ever need the gate for official city 
  business), nobody actually uses the gate, and trying to open 
  it might start a panic. Fortunately, the PCs can make a DC 
  15 Knowledge (local) or Perception check to find a place 
  where an out-of-the-way alley meets the wall, giving them 
  privacy to scale it without being bothered. Alternatively, 
  they could find an abandoned two-story building that is 
  adjacent to the wall or shares its back wall with the city 
  wall; then it’s a matter of climbing out a second-story 
  window into the old city or taking the time and effort to 
  break a hole through the wall itself. The PCs may avoid 
  this issue entirely by exiting the city by the public gate, 
  then heading northeast along the city wall until they reach 
  a place where the wall is breached.
  APProAching the temPle
  The old church of Erastil (area B) is in what used to be a 
  lower-middle-class part of the city. The church served 
  the spiritual needs of the conservative folk who lived in 
  the neighborhood, most of whom lived within 
  a few hundred feet of the church and ran small 
  shops out of the bottom floor of their homes. 
  The places were long ago looted of anything of value, 
  and the Bastards have converted some of them to secret 
  entrances to their lair. The buildings that now function as 
  secret exits are all to the north of the temple and were once 
  owned by a chair-carpenter (area C), shoemaker (area D), 
  tailor (area E), and woodcarver (area F). The relationship of 
  these buildings and the church is indicated in the outlines 
  superimposed over the underground portion of the lair—
  the area between all five buildings consists of several 
  burnt-out ruins that hold nothing of interest.
  During the day, all doors in the area are secured with 
  simple locks (Disable Device DC 20 to pick). The Bastards 
  unlock the underground doors at night, and all doors 
  aboveground can be easily opened from the inside—if 
  a Bastard needs to enter a building from outside, he 
  tiefling thug
  
  37
  The Bastards of Erebus
  Bastards of Erebus Lair 
  One square = 5 feet
  F 
  F 
  F 
  N 
  S 
  G7
  F
  F
  E
  E
  D
  D
  C
  C
  B3c
  B3b
  B3a
  B2
  G3
  G1
  G2
  G4
  G10
  G9
  G5
  G6
  B1
  G11
  Bastards of Erebus Lair 
  One square = 5 feet
  F 
  F 
  F 
  F 
  F 
  S 
  N 
  G7
  F
  F
  E
  E
  D
  D
  C
  C
  B3c
  B3b
  B3a
  B2
  G3
  G1
  G2
  G4
  G10
  G9
  G5
  G6
  B1
  G11
  
  38
  Council of Thieves Part 1 of 6
  generally either knocks or uses Disable Device, since the 
  keys to these doors are all long gone.
  If the PCs approach during the day, half the tieflings 
  in areas G10–G11 are sleeping and only awaken early if 
  their allies, battle noise, or the alarm bell disturbs them. 
  In daylight, the bell tower lookout (see area 4) isn’t limited 
  by the range of his darkvision and may spot careless PCs 
  well before they’re within charging range of the temple. If 
  the PCs attack at night, all of the tieflings are awake, but 
  the bell tower lookout has a much harder time spotting 
  them, even with darkvision (as it has a limited range and 
  he is high off the ground).
  PAwnS of mAmmon
  The Bastards of Erebus are a recent addition to the various 
  problems that face Westcrown—only the latest in a long 
  string of petty, minor groups of brigands that use the 
  lightly patrolled surrounding wilds as convenient locations 
  for their secret hideouts. Westcrown’s corrupt city watch 
  doesn’t do much to oppose these bandit groups, and since 
  most of the bandits are generally lazy cowards who only 
  stage raids when forced to, the citizens of Westcrown have 
  more or less accepted their presence as yet another thing 
  that must simply be endured.
  The Bastards of Erebus are different, though, and their 
  brazen raids, combined with the fact that they’ve chosen the 
  ruined quarter itself as a lair, makes them more dangerous 
  than most of these groups. Worse, the tiefling who founded 
  the Bastards, a cleric named Palaveen who claims to be the 
  great-grandson of the arch-devil Mammon, has a tie to 
  Westcrown’s secretive and powerful Council of Thieves. As 
  Ecarrdian and Chammady Drovenge prepare for their coup 
  of the thieves’ guild, they’ve sent support in the form of 
  money and weapons out to several minor bandit groups like 
  the Bastards of Erebus, hoping to increase the general feel 
  of chaos and danger in Westcrown to create a smokescreen 
  that will give them time to set their plans in motion without 
  being noticed too early by both the city government and 
  their grandfather’s loyal agents. Palaveen himself had 
  petitioned to join the Council of Thieves just the previous 
  year, and while he was rejected, he views this as a new chance 
  to impress the group. That his over-exuberance might 
  backfire and draw undue attention to the group he hopes to 
  join has never crossed the tiefling’s mind.
  Each of the Bastards carries at least one wooden coin 
  carved with a devil’s face in profile. This is the symbol 
  of Mammon, lord of Erebus, and the Bastards have 
  adopted it as their own. The coins have no value, though 
  the Bastards like to leave one or more of them behind as 
  their “calling card” when they rob or murder someone. 
  If the PCs find the chest in area G11 containing several 
  dozen of these coins, it is sufficient proof to the people of 
  Westcrown that the PCs defeated the Bastards of Erebus.
  the temPle
  The old temple has a small bell tower jutting from the 
  southeast corner—the large (but very weathered) bow-
  and-arrow symbol on the bell tower clearly indicates that 
  this used to be a temple of Erastil. Windows are 4 feet off 
  the ground, 2 feet wide, and 4 feet tall, and are far too 
  grimy on the inside to look through. The bottom 3 feet of 
  the walls are mortared stone, the rest is old wood, with a 
  clay tile roof.
  It is possible to set the building on fire, but lawful and 
  good characters should be hesitant to burn down a temple 
  of Erastil, even one that’s been abandoned, and especially 
  when a fire could get out of control and spread throughout 
  the city’s ruins. If the PCs do resort to this tactic, the 
  Bastards retreat into the crypt level of the temple, make 
  their way through the tunnels to the outlying buildings, 
  come back to the surface, then surround and attack any 
  hostiles in the area.
  B1. front door
  This sturdy wooden door is carved with scenes of elk, hunters, 
  and farmhouses. It is in good condition except for a spot near 
  the center where a piece is chipped off, as if someone had 
  struck it with an axe. The door has a large keyhole.
  If the PCs make any noise outside, the tieflings and 
  guard dog in area B2 and the lookout in area B3 get to 
  make Perception checks to avoid being surprised when the 
  PCs open the door; those in area B2 treat the PCs’ Stealth 
  DC as +5 higher because of the door and walls.
  B2. gAmBling in church (cr 2)
  Two wooden tables set up for playing simple card and dice 
  games sit in this large room. Four chairs are set up near each 
  table. In the northeast corner is a stack of small wooden crates, 
  to the north is a pair of water barrels, and on the far west side 
  of the room is a small table. A hallway to the northwest turns 
  out of view, and the interior wall of the temple’s belltower takes 
  a corner out of the southeast part of the room. The place smells 
  of sweat, beer, and dog.
  This was once the temple’s main worship room, with 
  a wooden altar and podium in the southwest corner and 
  several rows of chairs, but the tieflings disassembled 
  the podium and altar to use the wood for various things 
  downstairs. The eight chairs are simply built and are 
  decorated with carvings of elk and hunters. The door to 
  area B3 is plain and propped open with a brick.
  Creatures: Four tiefling thugs are on guard in this 
  room at all times. Since the Bastards of Erebus are, to 
  a certain extent, protected from backlash from the city 
  
  39
  The Bastards of Erebus
  guard thanks to their ties to the Council of Thieves, they 
  have grown complacent. They certainly don’t expect an 
  attack in this part of town and leave most of the guard 
  work to the lookout in area 3 or the mangy one-eared 
  guard dog they keep here. The tieflings spend most of 
  their time here sleeping (during the day) or gambling 
  (at night when they’re not part of a burglary). The dog, a 
  foul-smelling cur named Scabby, prefers to sleep under 
  one of the two tables as often as possible, but perks up 
  angrily as soon as it notices intruders.
  Tiefling Thugs (4)  
   
  CR 1/3
  XP 135 each
  Tiefling expert 1
  NE Medium outsider (native)
  Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4
  DefenSeS
  AC 15, touch 12, flat-footed 13 (+3 armor, +2 Dex)
  hp 5 (1d8+1)
  fort +1, Ref +2, Will +2
  Resist cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5
  OffenSe
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee light mace +2 (1d6–1) 
  Ranged light crossbow +2 (1d8/19–20)
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st)
  1/day—darkness
  TACTICS
  Before Combat If the tieflings are aware of the PCs, they line up 
  far from the door and load their crossbows. If it is night and 
  they can see the intruders are bringing light, one of them uses 
  darkness on the west end of the room (this means that if the 
  PCs’ light source would normally provide dim light in that area, 
  it becomes darkness, which the tieflings can see through with 
  their darkvision).
  During Combat The tieflings fight at range for as long as possible, 
  then draw their maces and try to flank for the remainder of the 
  battle. They try to make as much noise as possible, hoping to 
  get the attention of the lookout in area B3c. If the PCs carry 
  light, one of the tieflings uses darkness to lower the light level 
  so they can make ranged attacks out of the darkness.
  Morale If two tieflings are killed, the other two try to head for the 
  northwest stairs to warn the others in area G2. They specifically 
  call out, “Get the mummies! We need help!”
  
  40
  Council of Thieves Part 1 of 6
  STATISTICS
  Str 8, Dex 15, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 10, Cha 7
  Base Atk +0; CMB –1; CMD 11
  feats Weapon Finesse
  Skills Acrobatics +5, Bluff +4, Disable Device +5, Escape Artist +5, 
  Perception +4, Sense Motive +4, Stealth +7
  Languages Common, Halfling, Infernal
  Gear studded leather armor, light mace, 20 bolts, dagger, simple 
  thieves’ tools (–2 penalty on checks), 20 gp
  Scabby 
   
  CR 1/3
  XP 135
  Guard dog
  hp 6 (Bestiary 87)
  TACTICS
  During Combat Scabby automatically attacks intruders who enter 
  the temple. He is trained to flank opponents fighting his tiefling 
  masters. Because he needs light to see, he moves into lighted 
  areas to fight, or relies on scent if the entire room is dark.
  Morale Scabby fights to the death as long as there are tieflings 
  present, but cowers and exposes his belly if he is the last one 
  standing.
  B3. the Bell tower (cr 1/3)
  A flight of wooden spiral stairs winds up to a belfry above that 
  still holds a large bronze bell.
  The door to the bell tower has no lock. Light filters in 
  from the large windows upstairs during the day, making 
  this area dimly lit, but otherwise it is dark. The stair 
  winds up to a mid-level landing 20 feet up (area B3b), and 
  then another 20 feet to the belfry itself (area B3c). The 
  large windows in the belfry are designed to let sound out, 
  not keep intruders out, and a Medium creature can pass 
  through them easily. They give an excellent view of the 
  nearby streets and buildings within 50 feet, including the 
  roofs of all buildings within 150 feet. The bell, when rung, 
  can be heard throughout the area—the Bastards use it 
  as an alarm, so if it rings, all of the tieflings (including 
  those downstairs) immediately prepare for battle.
  Creatures: One tiefling is on watch here at all times. If 
  he spots anything unusual, he rings the bell two or three 
  times, then yells down to his allies in area B2 what he’s seen. 
  If attacked from outside the tower, he ducks down (gaining 
  total cover against anyone on the ground or buildings 
  outside) and rings the bell. Because his darkvision has a 
  limited range and he is two stories above the ground, on 
  dark nights he can’t use his darkvision to see anything 
  more than about 30 feet from the temple and has to rely 
  on moonlight or starlight (or whatever lights the PCs are 
  using). If he hears fighting in area 2, he rings the bell if he 
  hasn’t done so already and heads downstairs to help.
  Tiefling Thug  
   
  CR 1/3
  XP 135
  hp 5 (see page 39)
  c. cArPenter’S houSe (cr 3)
  This two-story building is unusual for the miniature chairs 
  hanging above the doorway from large hooks; odds are good 
  this was a carpenter’s shop, probably one specializing in chairs. 
  The ground-floor window is boarded up, but the boards are of 
  quality wood and cut very evenly.
  The Bastards keep this door locked (simple lock, DC 
  20) to prevent easy access to their secret entrance, and 
  guard it with creatures that never sleep. The first floor has 
  a large table, scarred with many nail-holes, gouges from 
  carving tools, and similar wear. A small, square inverted 
  table is used to cover a hole chopped in the floorboards 
  that leads to area G6. Tiny nails, a finishing hammer, and 
  several incomplete wooden chairs clutter the corners. The 
  upstairs level has a well-crafted bed (slept in no later than 
  a month ago), chair, and small table.
  Creatures: To avoid the hassle of having tiefling guards 
  watching this entrance and changing shifts throughout 
  the day, their leader Palaveen placed two animated wolf 
  skeletons on the ground level of this building; he has since 
  relinquished control of them, and now they automatically 
  attack any creature they see. If the Bastards need to use 
  this exit, the cleric uses his Command Undead feat to 
  dominate them.
  Wolf Skeletons (2) 
  CR 1
  XP 400 each
  hp 9 each (Bestiary 251)
  d. ShoemAker’S houSe (cr 3)
  This two-story building is a typical example of Westcrown 
  architecture. The windows and door are boarded up tight, but 
  a small sign hanging above the door depicts a sturdy shoe and 
  a long needle and thread, indicating this once was a shoemaker 
  or cobbler’s place of business.
  On the ground floor inside is an overturned table, a 
  stairway leading to the second floor, and an old door on the 
  floor that covers a roughly sawed hole in the floorboards 
  above a tunnel leading to area G5 of the underground part 
  of the Bastards’ lair. 
  Creature: As the Bastards’ notoriety in Westcrown 
  grows, their leader Palaveen has grown more nervous 
  that, eventually, someone will come to challenge them—a 
  fear that his short-sighted Bastards don’t share yet (and 
  won’t until after the PCs come knocking on their doors). 
  
  41
  The Bastards of Erebus
  Recently, Palaveen decided that having five different 
  entrances into the complex was too much to manage—
  yet he didn’t want to completely close off an entrance by 
  destroying it. His solution was to use several dead dogs 
  to lure a giant grub thing from one of the ruins’ more 
  dangerous areas into this building. The Bastards boarded 
  up the house above and below, and now periodically feed 
  the creature within with carrion they find (or make) in 
  the ruins, dropping the dead flesh in through a hole in 
  the roof to area D1b. The monster is dangerous enough 
  to serve as an effective guardian for this entrance, but 
  dumb enough not to want to leave (or ask for payment) as 
  long as it’s kept fed. And it’s a lot cheaper than animating 
  skeletons. In any event, the giant grub hungrily attacks 
  anything that enters this building.
  Giant Rot Grub 
   
  CR 3
  XP 800
  hp 34 (page 78)
  Treasure: The Bastards didn’t make a thorough search 
  of the latest body they tossed into this room—the half-
  eaten unfortunate thief hid a small chipped emerald in his 
  left shoe, and it remains there still. It can be found with a 
  DC 20 Perception check, and is worth 350 gp.
  e. tAilor’S houSe (cr 1)
  The sign above the door of this shop depicts a shirt and a spool 
  of thread. Curtains or drapes hang in the upstairs windows.
  On the ground floor of this building, scraps of cloth 
  are pinned to a slab of cork on the wall with needles, and 
  tailoring items such as small scissors and spools of fine 
  thread are hidden under the dust. A tower shield bearing 
  the symbol of Cheliax covers a narrow set of stairs in the 
  floor that connects to area G7 below. Upstairs is a bed 
  with filthy linens, a small chair and sewing table, and 
  a closet containing a large bolt of linen cloth (partially 
  eaten by moths).
  Creatures: Unlike the shoemaker’s and carpenter’s 
  shops, the interior of this place is much more roomy and 
  comfortable, and the Bastards tend to leave a trio of tiefling 
  thugs on guard here around the clock rather than leaving 
  it to undead or trapped vermin. Generally, a tiefling 
  stands guard on each floor while a third rests in the bed, 
  but sometimes all three are awake at the same time on the 
  upper floor, gambling, arguing, or otherwise finding ways 
  to entertain themselves. 
  Tiefling Thugs (3)  
   
  CR1/3
  XP 135 each
  hp 5 (see page 39)
  f. woodcArver’S houSe 
  cr 1
  This door is finely made and built of a rich red-brown wood. 
  Carved onto the surface is a nearly full-size picture of a man 
  holding a piece of wood in one hand and a carving tool in the 
  other; the end of the piece of wood is starting to resemble the 
  front part of a horse. Also cut into the door is a young child 
  looking up eagerly at the emerging horse the man is carving.
  Like area E, the interior of this building is kept relatively 
  clean and livable. The ground floor has two large wooden 
  tables and two chairs. A hole in the floor is covered with 
  boards that have been pulled from the wall; the hole opens 
  into a narrow flight of stairs that leads down to area G9. 
  Upstairs is a chair, a table, and a bed with a headboard 
  carved with a spring scene (perhaps a wedding gift).
  Creatures: This building is occupied by a pair of 
  Bastard lieutenants—tiefling rogues who are responsible 
  for overseeing the security of the aboveground portion of 
  the lair. When the two were first posted here, back when 
  the Bastards first started making their raids, they were 
  quite diligent about patrolling the area and making sure 
  the various tiefling thugs were alert. Recently, though, the 
  two have become lovers, and they’re now more interested 
  in each other than patrolling the grounds—if the PCs hit 
  the complex but retreat without defeating these two, the 
  rogues return to their more diligent and shadowy patrols 
  of the area for a week.
  Tiefling Rogues (2) 
   
  CR 1/2
  XP 200 each
  hp 11 each (Bestiary 264)
  g1. cryPt entrAnce
  At the bottom of the stairs, the hallway turns left and ends in a 
  simple wooden door. A short message has been artfully carved 
  on the door, but someone seems to have marred the message 
  with slashes from a sharp instrument.
  The stairs leading down to this area are the last place 
  that any natural light from outside can reach; from 
  here on, the PCs must bring their own light or rely on 
  darkvision.
  The door carving reads, “Praise and thanks to those 
  who spent their lives in service to Erastil—their work 
  strengthens us all.” This underground level was originally 
  built as a storage cellar, then expanded for use as a crypt 
  for the priests who worked here (as well as the occasional 
  devout layperson). The Bastards have since dug out more 
  of this level and use it as their secret base.
  If none of the tieflings in area B2 escaped down here and 
  the lookout in area B3c never rang the bell, the rest of the 
  
  42
  Council of Thieves Part 1 of 6
  Bastards are unaware that the PCs are here and this door is 
  open. Otherwise, the door is closed (but not locked).
  g2. Ancient cryPt 
  cr 3
  Twelve brick-lined crypts take up most of the wall space in this 
  room, yet strangely, a number of large cushions are strewn 
  about the floor. A door on the north end is open.
  Each brick-lined crypt is narrow and deep—just large 
  enough to hold a stone sarcophagus capable of containing 
  an adult human body. Each of these in turn contains the 
  shrouded, desiccated corpse of an Erastilian priest buried 
  here decades ago. They are not undead and no valuables 
  are buried with them, as disposing of valuable items 
  that could help the community is an idea contrary to the 
  church of Erastil. Each body was wrapped in herb-soaked 
  linens before being bound in shrouds and placed here; the 
  resulting bodies look much like mummies under a broad 
  layer of linen. A brass plaque at the front of each crypt lists 
  the name and dates of birth and death for the deceased. If 
  any PCs are natives of Westcrown, there is a chance they 
  may be related to one of the people interred here (especially 
  if the PC worships Erastil), or recognize that one of the 
  bodies shares a name with one of the young rebels.
  Creatures: A group of four tieflings stands guard here; 
  the cushions on the floor are for their comfort, since these 
  relatively new recruits have yet to earn the right to sleep 
  in the main barracks. If the alarm’s been raised, these 
  tieflings are arrayed at the northern end of the room, 
  ready to attack via spells and ranged weapons any foes 
  who enter from the south. If somehow the PCs arrive here 
  undetected, the defenders are lounging on the cushions 
  and talking with each other.
  Note that any Bastards who managed to escape area B2 
  above have joined the ranks here to defend the lair.
  The tiefling thugs stationed here are led by one of the 
  Bastards’ two sorcerers—a cruel man named Ostengo. 
  He and his brother Vethamer both inherited a similar 
  fiendish taint—their skin appears withered and hard, 
  almost as if it had dried to a leathery-like shell after being 
  preserved in a tomb. The two sorcerers use this eerie trait 
  to their advantage for a bit of psychological warfare—they 
  dress in cloth wrappings and affect a jerky, shambling gait 
  in an attempt to trick foes into thinking they’re animated 
  mummies. So effective are these disguises that most of the 
  tiefling thugs actually believe that Ostengo and Vethamer 
  are mummies, and their fear and eagerness to follow their 
  orders is genuine.
  Ostengo 
   
  CR 1
  XP 400
  Male tiefling sorcerer 2
  NE Medium outsider (native)
  Init +1; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +2
  DefenSeS
  AC 15, touch 11, flat-footed 14 (+3 armor, +1 natural, +1 Dex)
  hp 15 (2d6+6)
  fort +2, Ref +1, Will +4
  Resist cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5
  OffenSe
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee dagger +0 (1d4–1/19–20)
  RAnGeD 
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 2nd)
  5/day—corrupting touch (melee touch +0, target shaken for 
  1 round)
  Spells Known (CL 2nd; 15% spell failure)
  1st (5/day)—charm person (DC 15), magic missile
  0—acid splash, bleed, daze (DC 12), mage hand, open/close
  Bloodline infernal
  TACTICS
  During Combat Ostengo does his best to play up his 
  disturbing appearance; if he can trick enemies into a panic 
  by convincing them they face a mummy, he’ll play the part. 
  Further, attempts to use fire against him are unlikely to do 
  much damage at this low level due to his resistance. He uses 
  charm person to take weak-willed creatures out of the fight 
  (suggesting that the charmed person go home for more 
  potions or try to convince his friends to stop fighting) and 
  magic missile to damage hard-to-hit targets. When he runs 
  out of 1st-level spells he relies on acid splash and daze in the 
  same manner, and uses bleed on fallen opponents that any 
  PC healers try to stabilize.
  Morale If reduced to 5 hp or fewer (or if only two of his thug 
  guards are still alive), Ostengo flees into area G4 and closes the 
  door behind him. On his next turn he uses a tanglefoot bag to 
  seal the door behind him for 2d4 rounds (it’s a DC 17 Strength 
  check to break open the sealed door) even if this means he 
  traps his allies on the same side of the door as the PCs. He 
  then flees to warn the other Bastards and join his brother in 
  defending the lair.
  STATISTICS
  Str 8, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 15, Wis 12, Cha 13
  Base Atk +1; CMB +0; CMD 11
  feats Eschew Materials, Skill Focus (Stealth)
  Skills Bluff +7, Diplomacy +5, Intimidate +5, Knowledge (arcana) 
  +6, Perception +2, Spellcraft +6, Stealth +8
  Languages Common, Halfling, Infernal
  SQ cantrips, infernal sorcery
  Combat Gear tanglefoot bag, potion of cure light wounds; Other 
  Gear masterwork studded leather armor, dagger, 50 gp
  SPeCIAL ABILITIeS
  Variant Tiefling Ability (ex) Ostengo has a +1 natural armor bonus 
  to his Armor Class. This replaces the normal tiefling darkness 
  spell-like ability.
  
  43
  The Bastards of Erebus
  Tiefling Thugs (3) 
   
  CR 1/3
  XP 135 each
  hp 5 (see page 39)
  TACTICS
  Before Combat If they have at least a round or two to prepare 
  for the PCs, one of the thugs uses darkness in the north part 
  of the room. All of them draw and load their crossbows and 
  (if possible) take readied actions to shoot the first PC who 
  comes into view.
  During Combat The thugs fire crossbows at 
  anyone not in melee, and use their maces if 
  forced into close combat. They take advantage 
  of their darkvision if at all possible.
  Melee Inspired by the presence of the “mummy,” 
  these tieflings fight to the death.
  g3. old cryPt (cr 5)
  This small, square room has six small, 
  brick-lined alcoves built into the walls.
  The door to this room is a simple 
  wooden door with no lock; it is kept closed 
  except when Palaveen, leader of the Bastards of Erebus, 
  needs to “tame” another skeleton wolf. The small crypts are 
  the same as those in area G2, but older by a few decades—
  this area was filled first, and the chambers in area G2 were 
  created once these started to fill up.
  Creatures: Four skeleton wolves linger in this room, all 
  that remain of several given to Palaveen by the Council 
  of Thieves to aid them in protecting their secret base. 
  The wolves are uncontrolled and attack anyone they 
  see, even tieflings. When Palaveen needs more undead 
  wolves, he comes down here, opens the door and uses his 
  Command Undead feat to control two of them, orders 
  the commanded ones out of the room, and closes the 
  door on the remaining (still hostile) ones. Thereafter he 
  can move his controlled undead to where he needs them, 
  then relinquishes control of them so they revert to their 
  default behavior of attacking whatever they see—useful 
  for guarding the shop-house entrances to the Bastards’ 
  lair when he doesn’t want to have some of his tieflings 
  on duty.
  Wolf Skeletons (2) 
   
   CR 1
  XP 400 each
  hp 9 each (Bestiary 251)
  g4. BAd dogS (cr 2)
  The mortared stone walls of this room give way to roughly 
  chiseled rock walls to the west, where a narrow corridor turns 
  to the north.
  The original builders of the temple had started to 
  expand the underground level here, but the project was 
  unfinished when Aroden died and Cheliax fell into chaos. 
  What survives of their original construction is the long 
  mortared stone wall separating this area from area G11 
  and a well-built secret door connecting the two rooms. 
  The rest has been hollowed out by Dravano, a 
  tiefling with incredibly strong claws that 
  allow him to burrow through 
  stone. The Bastards used his 
  ability to create a large, secret lair 
  for themselves, hiding the extra stone 
  in the nearby buildings. Anyone can 
  see that the walls and floor change 
  from carefully mortared stone to 
  roughly carved stone, but a DC 15 
  Craft (stonemasonry), Knowledge 
  (engineering), 
  Perception, 
  or 
  Profession 
  (miner) 
  check 
  reveals 
  that whatever carved these tunnels 
  was more like an animal’s claws than a 
  manufactured tool.
  Creatures: The Bastards have been feeding 
  their trained dogs a steady diet of tiefling blood and 
  sinister alchemical supplements provided to them 
  by the Council of Thieves. Several of these dogs have 
  already begun a slow transformation into hell hounds as 
  a result. These “Hell dogs” look like evil, rabid hounds 
  with glowing eyes and reddish fur. Now possessing 
  darkvision, the Hell dogs guard this hallway against 
  intruders and attack anyone not escorted by someone 
  they know.
  Hell Dogs (3) 
   
  CR 1/2
  XP 200 each
  Fiendish Riding Dog (Bestiary 87)
  hp 13 each
  TACTICS
  During Combat The Hell dogs concentrate on the same 
  opponent, trying to drag it to the ground with trip attacks and 
  then tear it apart.
  Morale The Hell dogs love the taste of blood and fight until slain.
  g5. BArricAded exit
  Steep stairs lead up to a crude door set loosely in a brick frame. 
  The door is boarded over with stout oak planks.
  Beyond this door, a hole in the ceiling leads up to area 
  D1a. Since luring a giant rot grub into the building above, 
  Palaveen has boarded over the door—the Bastards no 
  longer use this route into and out of their lair.
  hell dog
  
  44
  Council of Thieves Part 1 of 6
  g6. cArPenter’S entrAnce
  This narrow flight of stairs leads up to area C.
  g7. tAilor’S entrAnce
  This narrow flight of stairs leads up to area E.
  g8. BAStArd AmBuSh (cr 4)
  The wide hallway turns south and runs straight for a while 
  before swerving slightly east.
  Creatures: The Bastards use this wide passageway to 
  stage ambushes on intruders. If the complex is on alert, 
  the four tiefling rogues and the sorcerer Vethamer from 
  area G11 wait in the dark at the south end of this long 
  corridor, crossbows and magic ready to fire upon the PCs 
  as soon as they come into view. Because of the tieflings’ 
  darkvision, they can easily see all the way to the narrow 
  hallway leading to area G7.
  Tiefling Rogues (4) 
   
  CR 1/2
  XP 200 each
  Tiefling rogue 1
  hp 11 each (Bestiary 264)
  TACTICS
  Before Combat The rogues fire their crossbows as soon as they 
  can see the PCs. This means they are too far away to add sneak 
  attack damage to their shots, but they would rather strike early 
  than wait for the PCs to get closer.
  During Combat The tieflings fire crossbows until the PCs are in 
  melee range, then they switch to their short swords and try to 
  flank enemies to make sneak attacks. If any opponents remain 
  at range, one tiefling continues to fire at that target (as long as 
  he’s not in melee with another tiefling). If the tieflings are in 
  dim light from the PCs’ light source, one of them uses darkness 
  to reduce the light level by one step (to darkness) and allow 
  them to take advantage of their darkvision.
  Morale The tieflings realize that anyone who’s penetrated their 
  lair this far intends to kill them, and that it is time to make a 
  last stand; they fight to the death.
  Vethamer 
   
  CR 1
  XP 400
  hp 15 (see “Ostengo” on page 42)
  TACTICS
  During Combat Vethamer uses magic missile against enemies 
  in melee combat with his allies, daze to hinder weak-willed 
  characters, and charm person to convince opponents not 
  to attack him. He may use his tanglefoot bag to hold an 
  opponent in place and give his allies extra time to shoot 
  at range.
  Morale Vethamer isn’t quite as heroically fatalistic as 
  the rogues; if brought to 5 hp, he flees to area G10, 
  drinks his potion of cure light wounds, and then prepares a 
  last stand with the denizens there.
  g9. woodcArver’S entrAnce
  This narrow flight of stairs leads up to area F.
  g10. BAStArd BArrAckS (cr 3)
  This looks to be some kind of barracks; several simple bunk beds 
  take up space in the corners of the room. A wooden door similar 
  to the one outside the crypt stands shut on the west wall.
  This is the sleeping area for the main force of the 
  Bastards of Erebus, including several tiefling rogues and 
  a tiefling named Dravano whose claws carved most of the 
  new tunnels under the temple.
  Creatures: If the Bastards were alerted to the 
  presence of the PCs earlier, four of the tiefling 
  rogues and Vethamer prepare an ambush in 
  area G8, while the remaining three tieflings 
  drAvAno the digger
  
  45
  The Bastards of Erebus
  and Dravano wait in this room with a similar ambush 
  from darkness ready to go. If Ostengo escaped the PCs 
  earlier, he is also here. If the PCs somehow reached this 
  area undetected, they face a total of eight tiefling rogues, 
  Vethamer, and Dravano all at once—a CR 5 encounter, 
  and one that most 2nd-level parties will likely need to 
  flee from if they’re not lucky.
  Dravano the Digger 
   
  CR 1
  XP 400
  Male tiefling fighter 2
  NE Medium outsider (native)
  Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +2
  DefenSeS
  AC 18, touch 12, flat-footed 16 (+6 armor, +2 Dex)
  hp 24 (2d10+9)
  fort +5, Ref +2, Will +1;  +1 against fear
  Resist cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5
  OffenSe
  Speed 20 ft., burrow 5 ft.
  Melee 2 claws +5 (1d4+2)
  TACTICS
  During Combat Dravano likes to display his strength by tearing 
  apart his weakest opponent. If he cannot reach that target, he 
  challenges the strongest-looking enemy.
  Morale Dravano doesn’t want to be imprisoned or enslaved, and 
  fights to the death.
  STATISTICS
  Str 15, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 8
  Base Atk +2; CMB +4; CMD 16
  feats Improved Initiative, Toughness, Weapon Focus (claw)
  Skills Climb +3, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +5, Knowledge 
  (engineering) +5, Perception +2, Profession (miner) +5, 
  Stealth +2
  Languages Common, Infernal
  SQ bravery (+1)
  Combat Gear potion of cure moderate wounds; Other Gear 
  masterwork breastplate, 50 gp
  SPeCIAL ABILITIeS
  Variant Tiefling Ability (ex) Dravano has claws on both hands, 
  giving him two claw attacks each round. These claws afford 
  him a burrowing speed through soil, sand, and gravel—he can 
  dig through solid rock at a much reduced rate (about 5 feet per 
  hour). This replaces the normal tiefling darkness spell-like ability.
  Tiefling Rogues (3) 
   
  CR 1/2
  XP 200 each
  hp 11 each (Bestiary 264)
  g11. leAder’S room (cr 5)
  This large, open room has a bed, desk, and chair. Papers are 
  scattered across the desk, and a large chest sits against the wall 
  to the north. Two heavy chains are spiked to the wall in the 
  northwest corner.
  This is the bedroom and office of Palaveen, leader 
  of the Bastards of Erebus. The heavy chains are used 
  to restrain any skeletal wolves he keeps here—as he 
  can only control a limited number, when he has to 
  command the ones guarding the secret exits, he chains 
  up the controlled ones here, then relinquishes control of 
  them, and the chains keep them from attacking anyone 
  else. Palaveen sleeps on the bed around the corner to 
  the north, while the two tiefling sorcerers sleep on the 
  southwestern bunk bed.
  Creatures: Palaveen himself waits in this room, 
  expecting that his underlings will take care of any 
  problems. If there is a battle in area G8 or G10, he hears it 
  and prepares for combat. He keeps a pair of skeletal wolves 
  under his command here, and depending on the outcome 
  of the fights in the previous room, one or both of sorcerers 
  may be here as well; if they are injured and out of curing 
  potions, and there is time, Palaveen uses his wand of cure 
  light wounds to heal them.
  Palaveen’s tiefling heritage is more apparent than 
  most; his horns are large and branch from his brow, 
  and his ears are pointed—this, combined with his 
  facial hair, gives him a goatish look. His right foot is 
  a cloven hoof, and his orange blood glows and flickers 
  as if it were on fire. A scar in the shape of the symbol of 
  Asmodeus decorates his forehead. He alone among the 
  Bastards of Erebus knows much of anything about the 
  group’s link to the Council of Thieves—and even that 
  isn’t much more than the fact that he’s met several times 
  with shadowy figures in various parts of the city to 
  receive payments and advice—he doesn’t actually know 
  the identity of his contact, but acts as if he does in front 
  of his Bastards. They don’t all believe him, as Palaveen’s 
  not the most inspiring of leaders, but they certainly 
  respected his gold enough to become Bastards. All he 
  really knows is that the Council paid him handsomely 
  (including giving him a gift of the magic breastplate 
  he wears) to fund the establishment of his group of 
  brigands, and that despite his numerous efforts, they’ve 
  refused to meet with him again to talk about his desires 
  to officially join the organization.
  Palaveen 
   
  CR 3
  XP 800
  Male tiefling cleric of Asmodeus 4
  NE Medium outsider (native)
  Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +6
  DefenSeS
  AC 18, touch 11, flat-footed 17 (+7 armor, +1 Dex)
  hp 33 (4d8+12)
  
  46
  Council of Thieves Part 1 of 6
  fort +6, Ref +2, Will +7
  Resist cold 5, electricity 5, fire 5
  OffenSe
  Speed 20 ft.
  Melee +1 morningstar +4 (1d8+1)
  Special Attacks channel negative energy 2/day (2d6, DC 11)
  Domain Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th, +4 ranged touch)
  6/day—copycat, fire bolt
  Racial Spell-Like Abilities (CL 4th)
  1/day—darkness
  Spells Prepared (CL 4th)
  2nd—cure moderate wounds, hold person (DC 15), invisibilityD, 
  spiritual weapon
  1st—burning handsD (DC 14), cause fear (2, DC 14), cure light 
  wounds (2)
  0—bleed, detect magic, mending, stabilize
  D domain spell (Fire, Trickery)
  TACTICS
  Before Combat Palaveen casts invisibility on himself if he suspects 
  battle is about to start.
  During Combat While invisible, Palaveen casts spiritual 
  weapon and directs it to attack a lightly armored character. 
  He uses his wand to heal allies and casts stabilize on any 
  who fall beyond the range of his touch. If forced to attack 
  he uses burning hands on a group of enemies (even if he 
  catches another tiefling in the area, as he expects their fire 
  resistance will protect them), fire bolt at wounded targets, 
  and cause fear or hold person on weak-willed opponents. If 
  he is visible and has a spare turn, he uses copycat to confuse 
  opponents. If he wants reinforcements, he calls to the 
  Hell dog in area 16, or moves to that area if that is a better 
  tactical option.
  Morale If reduced to 10 hp and unable to heal himself, Palaveen 
  tries to escape, using copycat if possible and his potion of disguise 
  self to blend it with the human population of Westcrown. He 
  may surrender if he thinks the PCs won’t kill him.
  STATISTICS
  Str 10, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 15, Wis 16, Cha 8
  Base Atk +3; CMB +3; CMD 14
  feats Command Undead, Improved Initiative
  Skills Bluff +5, Diplomacy +3, Heal +8, Intimidate +1, Knowledge 
  (history) +6, Knowledge (nobility) +6, Knowledge (religion) +6, 
  Perception +6, Sense Motive +7, Spellcraft +6, Stealth +5
  Languages Abyssal, Common, Infernal
  Combat Gear potion of disguise self, wand of cure light wounds (11 
  charges); Other Gear +1 breastplate, +1 morningstar, iron unholy 
  symbol, treasure chest key, 330 gp
  Wolf Skeletons (2)  
   
  CR 1
  XP 400 each
  hp 9 each (Bestiary 251)
  Treasure: The large chest to the north is locked. Palaveen 
  carries the key, or it can be picked with a DC 30 Disable 
  Device check. The chest contains all of the non-coin 
  loot from the Bastards’ string of burglaries, along with 
  a leather sack that contains 50 of the wooden Mammon 
  coins the Bastards use to mark the places they’ve robbed 
  and people they’ve killed. The stolen treasures include 
  600 gp worth of small gems (including one 100 gp pearl), 
  jewelry worth 800 gp, a masterwork dagger, a masterwork 
  rapier, and a jeweled non-masterwork short sword worth 
  150 gp. The weapons were stolen from the weaponsmith, 
  who was murdered along with his family, and as he has 
  no heirs, the PCs can keep those items guilt-free, as there 
  is nobody to whom to return them.
  The notes on the table contain itemized lists of things 
  the Bastards have stolen as well as some cryptic notes 
  written in Infernal. Among these notes is a request for 
  more skeletal wolves to help protect their base and a 
  half-finished angry letter in which the writer seems to 
  be frustrated at not being granted further audience with 
  something called “the Council.”
  Palaveen’s latest rejection note from the Council lies 
  in a crumpled heap at the foot of his bed, where a DC 15 
  Perception check (automatic if a player says he’s searching 
  Palaveen’s bed) notices it. The letter is short and reproduced 
  as the nearby handout.
  Story Award: If the PCs take steps to return the stolen 
  goods (turning the loot over to the city watch is sufficient), 
  award them 1,200 XP. If they discover the connection 
  between the Bastards of Erebus and the Council of Thieves, 
  award them another 2,400 XP.
  Fame Points: Returning the stolen goods earns the PCs 
  1 Fame Point. Defeating the Bastards of Erebus earns an 
  additional 1 Fame Point.
  Palaveen — While we 
  appreciate the work 
  of your Bastards, the 
  Council never intended 
  this association to be 
  anything more than that. 
  We shouldn’t need to 
  remind you that if your 
  tiring applications continue, 
  we’ll need to solve this 
  problem in a manner 
  less concerned with your 
  continued good health.
  
  47
  The Bastards of Erebus
  concluding the Adventure
  The easiest way to defeat the Bastards of Erebus is to 
  slay Palaveen. If the PCs capture him alive, charm him, 
  or otherwise secure his compliance, he’s as good as dead 
  anyway—a Council assassin (perhaps Sian Daemodus from 
  the next adventure) attempts to engineer his execution (an 
  act borne more of vengeance and punishment than of a 
  desire to prevent him from telling secrets, since he really 
  doesn’t have many secrets to tell).
  As a thank-you for their invaluable work in helping the 
  rebels, Arael promises the PCs free spellcasting (such as 
  healing) whenever they need it, including spells like lesser 
  restoration that he can cast (although he may need help in 
  securing expensive components). Furthermore, he tells them 
  that if they provide the necessary materials, he will craft for 
  them any potion he can make, at no charge, for as long as he 
  lives (this reward still applies if he had to offer this service for 
  a limited time to encourage reluctant or greedy PCs).
  The PCs are unlikely to receive any official recognition 
  from the city of Westcrown for their work in defeating 
  the Bastards of Erebus. Yet in the eyes of Westcrown’s 
  citizens, the PCs have already started to build their 
  reputation as heroes of the city.
  The next adventure can begin immediately after this 
  one ends if you wish. Alternatively, you might want to 
  consider giving the PCs a chance to rest and recover from 
  their adventures. They can spend this time exploring 
  Westcrown, getting to know their new friends, or following 
  up on loose ends from this adventure. Weeks, months, 
  or even years can pass during this interlude, as you wish. 
  Since the PCs should be well into 3rd level when the next 
  adventure begins, you can use this time to send them on 
  additional side quests (perhaps some of those mentioned 
  on page 33) until they’ve amassed enough experience to 
  begin the next part of the campaign.
  When you’re ready to begin “The Sixfold Trial,” the PCs 
  should get a message from Janiven or Arael—an important 
  friend from a powerful organization has contacted them with 
  what might be a method to rid Westcrown of its shadow beasts. 
  This woman is Ailyn Ghontasavos, an undercover agent of the 
  Pathfinders who has a singularly unusual plan for the PCs—
  she wants to put them on a stage and make them stars!
  
  48
  Council of Thieves
  Westcrown: City of Twilight
  F
  or eight centuries, Westcrown was a bastion of 
  civilization and a symbol of national strength in 
  Chelish eyes. As the city served as the center of Aroden’s 
  faith, all Cheliax deemed the City of Nine Stars to be Aroden’s 
  next home in the mortal world. Westcrown rivaled Absalom as 
  a destination of pilgrimages during the Age of Enthronement. 
  Yet, with Aroden’s unexpected death, the once shining City of 
  Nine Stars became the City of Twilight as Chelish citizens 
  lost hope. Decades of bloody strife followed, and the only 
  direction out of the chaos seemed to be the orderly tenets 
  of diabolism. A city that once symbolized a people’s power 
  now projects a people’s disappointment and despair. Hope 
  has dimmed in the city, and shadow beasts walk the streets 
  instead of Aroden’s clergy. Westcrown remains influential in 
  its mercantile and military might, but also humbled by its 
  lost faith and tarnished reputation. 
  One of the most varied and sophisticated cities of the 
  Inner Sea, Westcrown is an enigma. By day, this city 
  reminds many of any city or country they know, either 
  because of the varied architecture or because people from 
  all across Avistan and Garund now call Westcrown home. 
  The many religious sites, whether active or debased, 
  continue to draw the pious, the curious, and the devious. 
  Even the ruins of the northern city draw interest among 
  those looking for less-than-legal materials or rare treasures 
  amid the dangerous rubble. But once the sun sets, only the 
  foolish walk out of doors in Westcrown, for the shadow 
  beasts prowl every darkened lane and waterway. 
  
  49
  Westcrown: City of Twilight
  Westcrown
  Metropolis nonstandard (titular mayor with multiple crime lords 
  [“Council of Thieves”]) AL LE
  GP Limit 16,000 gp
  DEMOGRAPHICS
  Population 114,700
  Type cosmopolitan (88% human, 7% halfling, 5% other races)
  AUTHORITY FIGURES
  Lictor Richemar Almansor, commander of Citadel Rivad and 
  leader of the Order of the Rack Hellknights (LE human male 
  fighter 7/hellknight 7); Lord Mayor Aberian Arvanxi, mayor 
  of Westcrown and House Arvanxi patriarch (NE human male 
  rogue 7); Vassindio Drovenge, House Drovenge patriarch 
  (LE human male aristocrat 14); Asad Grulios, House Grulios 
  patriarch (CG human male aristocrat 5/wizard 5); Ocatav 
  Julistarc, House Julistarc patriarch (LE human male aristocrat 
  3/rogue 3/cleric of Asmodeus 3); Bartolo Mezinas, House 
  Mezinas patriarch (LN human male monk 5); Duxotar Iltus 
  Mhartis, commander of Westcrown’s dottari (NE human 
  male aristocrat 3/rogue 3); Eirtein Oberigo, House Oberigo 
  patriarch (LE human male rogue 6); Marcus Phandros, House 
  Phandros patriarch (N human male aristocrat 3/bard 2); Kajen 
  Tilernos, House Tilernos patriarch (LG human male aristocrat 
  4/paladin of Iomedae 4); Casarus Vitallain, Harbormaster (LN 
  human male fighter 4); General Vourne, commander of the 
  Gemcrown Bay imperial fleets (LE human male aristocrat 5/
  fighter 10) 
  City GeoGraphy
  The City of Twilight carves itself up into three distinct 
  Paregos (“great regions”) used and understood by all the 
  city’s residents: the Regicona (“the Floating Palace”), or 
  Westcrown Island; the Spera (“Hope’s Altar”), the still-
  occupied sections of the city; and the Dospera (“Despair’s 
  Altar”), or the ruined northern regions of Westcrown. 
  When locals provide directions in the city, though, they 
  split it up into regos (regions or sectors). The five on the 
  western shores are Rego Cader, Rego Crua, Rego Scripa, 
  Rego Pena, and Rego Sacero. The three island sectors in 
  the river are Rego Corna, Rego Laina, and Rego Aerum. 
  Some folk add on two more sectors: Rego Funda (“Farm 
  Sector”) encompasses the hills and dales between the 
  city and the Adivian Bridge and includes the city’s farms 
  and food supplies. The Pripatra (or Rego Patra to the 
  sycophantic) generally covers all the manor houses and 
  noble estates bordering the Dhaenflow.
  Government, politiCs, & order
  There are broad layers of power, politics, and government 
  in Westcrown, and while many are obvious, many more 
  remain obscure until one runs afoul of them. In terms 
  of common knowledge, the powers of the city start with 
  the blades of its soldiers and flow upward into the vast 
  pockets of the mayor and local nobility, though the true 
  end lies with the shadowed coffers of the fabled Council 
  of Thieves.
  The Dottari
  The first forces of law and order encountered in Westcrown 
  are often the dottari, the city’s guards or wardens. 
  Regardless of where their posts lie, dottari all wear the city’s 
  mark—Aroden’s Eye—stenciled in black over a red field on 
  a shield or tabard. Dottari officers wear a reversed mark 
  (red on black field) on their left arms, their rank rising as 
  the mark moves from the shoulder (for lesser officers), to 
  the forearm, to a ring for the duxotar or warden-major in 
  command of the guards who answer only to the mayor. 
  Dottari, regardless of postings, always travel in squads of 
  seven—six soldiers and one lieutenant. Five squads report 
  to each captain and at least three captains report to each 
  major. There are at least two majors per rego or sector 
  reporting to each of the four durotasi, or “rank wardens.”
  On paper, the dottari are one singular order under 
  the control of the mayor’s appointed “high warden”—
  his young, oft-drunken nephew, Duxotar Iltus Mhartis 
  (NE human male aristocrat 3/rogue 3). As Iltus “prefers 
  Before the Age of Lost Omens, Westcrown dubbed itself “the shining light of Aroden’s civilization.” 
  Now, others taunt us and say, “You can find anything, civilized or not, in Westcrown—except for 
  Aroden.” Ignore outsiders—we know the truth. We did not fail Aroden—he failed us, though we 
  Wiscrani held the faith! We embraced that adversity and replaced his betrayal with strength and 
  order. The Hellknights paved our way and House Thrune walked it to greatness. I don’t blame them at 
  all for moving the capital—this place only reminds you of past failures. Besides, better for a Wiscrani 
  to make a living without so many priests or imperials around, and easier for those of us who deserve 
  it to ascend to higher stations without them in our way. 
  —Alcini Vitaron of Alcini’s Apothecary
  
  50
  Council of Thieves
  to apportion his command to focus on the broader 
  defenses of the city,” his subordinates more often 
  handle his abandoned responsibilities. Thus, personal 
  vendettas and politics divide the dottari into four nearly 
  independent forces. 
  Dottari: Durotas Saria Roccin (CG human female fighter 
  6) controls the common dottari who man the gates and 
  patrol the streets of the Spera, and she commands the most 
  troops of any civic leader in the city. Privately, Saria holds 
  the Hellknights in contempt, and only works with them as 
  much as necessary while not giving them reason to find her 
  guilty of any charges (as they did her aunt in her youth). 
  Condottari: With at least two adels and a sail barge 
  at official docks on each floating marina, Durotas 
  Scasi Bolvona (NE human male sorcerer 5) commands 
  the condottari, or “canal wardens,” who patrol the 
  Westchannel, the Dhaenflow, and the canals of the 
  Regicona. A passionate native of the city, Scasi has almost 
  as many friends and political connections as the duxotar, 
  and his ambition drives him to ever-bolder moves among 
  the nobles of the Regicona. His rise in influence has been 
  curtailed in the past 14 years, though, as he seeks to hide 
  the existence of his half-elven daughter Casisara, sent to 
  live with family in Ostenso.
  Rundottari: Based out of Keep Dotar in the northeastern 
  Rego Cader, the rundottari, or “ruin wardens,” operate 
  under the authority of Durotas Arik Tuornos (N human 
  male ranger 8). Arik is a cynical but fair man who assumed 
  this rank only to prevent Eccobar Drumanis (CE tiefling 
  male fighter 6), a long-time family enemy, from assuming 
  command and wasting the lives of friends or good soldiers. 
  Arik knows his command is a posting of low prestige and 
  social punishment, but he and his men take pride in their 
  responsibility to man the walls of Rego Cader and keep 
  the threats and dangers of the ruins contained and out 
  of the city.
  Regidottari: The regidottari (“palace wardens”) operate 
  under the authority of Durotas Lhiana Strikis (CE human 
  female fighter 3/wizard 2). Lhiana treats her troops like 
  her personal slaves, often berating them publicly for 
  minor offenses. She maintains control of her forces only 
  by offering higher pay than other dottari and the prestige 
  they gain both in working on the Regicondan Walls and in 
  their potential ability to craft alliances with the city’s rich 
  and powerful. Lhiana herself has been a pawn and lover 
  to at least three members of the city’s nobility since her 
  arrival in Westcrown more than 7 years ago, though she is 
  unaware she is considered a plaything rather than an asset 
  to those with influence among the Council of Thieves.
  The Mayor
  Under Chelish law and tradition, the Mayor of Westcrown 
  (or lord mayor, as its current officeholder insists upon) 
  controls the Dottari and the tax coffers that maintain city 
  stability (by fostering order, infrastructure, and payments 
  to extortionists). While the royal seat of power, Westcrown 
  had imperial forces ready to put down dissent, collect taxes, 
  and help build grand displays of wealth for the nobility’s 
  gratification. Over seven decades, three mayors watched 
  taxes dwindle to a fraction of their original sums, forcing 
  many cutbacks in services (and funding indulgences for 
  said mayors). When matters began impeding commerce, 
  other influences stepped in. 
  In 4689 ar, Aberian Arvanxi was made lord mayor of 
  Westcrown by Her Infernal Magestrix, Queen Abrogail 
  II. The appointment amounted to political exile from the 
  imperial court in Egorian for Arvanxi’s long history of 
  inexpert scheming and embarrassing dalliances. Even in 
  the face of his political embarrassment, Aberian Arvanxi’s 
  family name still proved influential among Wiscrani. He 
  finagled political support for himself while slandering 
  and undermining the allies of the former administration, 
  and many suggested he had a hand in the sudden death 
  of his deposed predecessor Mayor Arthan Challas. 
  While untrue, Aberian saw no reason to correct people’s 
  impressions, as fear helped keep many from speaking 
  against him in his early days before he solidified his 
  Westcrown Glossary
  Natives of Westcrown—along with several other major 
  Chelish cities—possess a wide vocabulary referring to 
  titles, places, and specifics relating to their home.
  Adel: A small, personal barge
  Dottari: The Chelish city guard
  Durotas: A captain of the city guard
  Duxotar: The commander of the city guard
  Haloran: A lantern-bearing staff
  Pyrahje: Man-sized torches that light major areas of 
  Westcrown by night
  Parego: “Great region,” one of the three major 
  districts of Westcrown
  Rego: A region or neighborhood of Westcrown
  Vaneo: A Chelish manor house
  Vira: A Chelish estate
  Wiscrani: A resident or something from Westcrown
  More Westcrown
  As an ancient and vibrant city, there’s more to Westcrown 
  than these pages can contain. While you can expect 
  to see more details and dozens of other locations 
  throughout the following volumes of Pathfinder, you can 
  find out about the history of Westcrown, its surrounding 
  region, and more in the Council of Thieves Player’s Guide, 
  available as a free download at paizo.com/pathfinder.
  
  51
  Westcrown: City of Twilight
  Lord Mayor Aberian Arvanxi
  grasp on power. In the years since, Lord Mayor Arvanxi’s 
  affectations for Chelish opera have seen him pump a large 
  amount of public money into maintaining and rebuilding 
  various opera houses and entertainment halls. He sees 
  this as “the betterment of public diversions to 
  raise the hearts and minds of all Wiscrani”; 
  most citizens (especially those who lack the 
  money to travel to the island opera houses 
  or enter the few in the Spera) see this as 
  the mayor using public funds for his own 
  enjoyment rather than the improvement of 
  Westcrown. Such likely proves the case, but 
  as these pastimes keep the spiteful and largely 
  incompetent mayor from meddling in the 
  affairs of most common Wiscrani, 
  the public quietly puts up with 
  such decadences.
  The Council of 
  Thieves
  Said to have assembled in 4286 ar as a 
  uniting of seven of the most powerful gangs 
  and thieves’ guilds in Westcrown, the Council of Thieves 
  has maintained dominance over the city’s underworld for 
  centuries. Created in the wake of a brutal criminal war, the 
  council’s founders grew rich off the spoils of the capital’s 
  criminal element, with many of the amalgamated guild’s 
  leaders becoming wealthy enough to purchase land and 
  noble titles. With wealth affording them the opportunity 
  to manage their concerns more as businessmen than 
  street thugs, the leaders of the Council of Thieves won a 
  measure of respectability as they gradually bartered and 
  blackmailed for influence within Westcrown.
  By 4340, rumor was that half of Westcrown’s noble 
  families held ties to the Council of Thieves, which had 
  become the only sizable criminal operation in the city. 
  In 4469, in the face of growing concerns over banditry, 
  kidnapping, and racketeering inside the capital, tales say 
  Queen Koradinnia herself parlayed with representatives 
  of the council, paying the thieves a hefty sum in return for 
  their increased subtlety. What followed was a largely staged 
  hunt for members of the guild and several overstated 
  executions of low-ranking criminals. In the end, the 
  dottari proclaimed the Council of Thieves eradicated, 
  while the thieves themselves refocused their efforts on 
  smuggling and weapons trafficking, loan sharking, and 
  similar illicit dealings, leaving more blatant crimes to be 
  conducted through puppet gangs outside the city. Thus, 
  the Council of Thieves became an open secret that slowly 
  faded into legend.
  In the centuries since, the Council of Thieves has 
  endured well, surviving waning and waxing fortunes, 
  internal coups, and national rebellion, with a reliance on 
  discretion and an honored tradition of gentlemanly crime. 
  Most Wiscrani know nothing of the council, believing 
  them to be bogeymen of the past and the ravings of poor 
  businessmen. In truth, the thieves largely ignore the 
  local citizenry, their targets trending toward 
  larger moneyed establishments, merchant 
  guilds, organized religions, and foreign 
  traders. They might even be considered 
  a benevolent element, as the thieves root 
  out all potential rivals, no matter how 
  paltry, going out of their way to crush any 
  upstart gangs or other criminal operations 
  that arise in Westcrown. The guild also 
  largely ignores the local aristocracy, 
  primarily because members of the 
  city’s most influential houses sit 
  on the council. These leaders 
  hold nearly all the reins in 
  Westcrown, 
  manipulating 
  matters behind every scene. 
  The council has only the most 
  nominal relationship with Lord Mayor 
  Arvanxi, giving him much leeway and more than enough 
  rope with which to hang himself, should he ever find the 
  temerity to cross them. For now, he seems a useful pawn 
  who keeps the dottari mostly out of the council’s way, and 
  they reward him for such favors.
  Nobles & the Politically Powerful
  The City of Twilight is not the shining city it once was. 
  A city formerly filled to bursting with pilgrims from 
  nearly every faith now hosts those more eager to worship 
  coins and wealth. Its shift to a trade-driven city has made 
  it a more cosmopolitan port, but many lament that it 
  has lost its soul. Aroden’s death stripped Westcrown of 
  much sacred significance, and the civil wars among the 
  noble houses nearly destroyed the city’s remaining will 
  to survive. House Thrune’s moving of the capital stole 
  political influence from Westcrown’s power players. Of 
  more than 50 dominant Wiscrani families in 4606 ar, more 
  than a third were destroyed financially or literally within 
  12 years of Aroden’s death. Over the following decades, 19 
  houses moved north to Egorian as House Thrune rose to 
  prominence and took control of Cheliax. Their Wiscrani 
  holdings remained in the hands of beholden families or 
  outcast lesser relatives whose presence would embarrass 
  the house in the eyes of House Thrune. Today, 12 major 
  noble houses remain as the powers-that-be in Westcrown, 
  retaining their power either openly in trade and commerce 
  or covertly through the Council of Thieves.
  The Wiscrani Noble Families sidebar lists each house 
  in order of true social and political prominence within 
  and around Westcrown. A house’s monetary worth and 
  
  52
  Council of Thieves
  liquid wealth varies with trade, the fortunes of allies and 
  friends, and any overt or covert criminal enterprises. Each 
  of the 12 major houses, regardless of cash flow, has more 
  wealth and influence than any family under their thumbs 
  (though often the major houses’ wealth depends upon 
  subsidiary fortunes within their sphere of influence). 
  WestCroWn by niGht
  It all began in Rova of 4676 ar. What started as stories of 
  strange creatures slinking through the shadows became 
  a citywide panic as Wiscrani began disappearing off the 
  darkened streets. Rumors spread quickly of a return 
  of the White Plague or a resurrection of the infamous 
  Council of Thieves, but these tales were soon replaced 
  by reports of a shadowy calamity at Delvehaven, the local 
  Pathfinder lodge, and sightings of dark and insubstantial 
  beings hunting the streets. After months of ignoring or 
  dismissing the problem, the government eventually 
  launched a campaign to seek out and put an end to what 
  they downplayed as an infestation of giant rats, goblins, 
  and goblin dogs. Yet the dottari proved ill equipped for 
  these midnight hunts, and the office of the mayor offered 
  only empty promises. Growing fear and anger led to 
  scapegoating and suspicions of insurrectionists from 
  Nidal, which culminated in a mob’s daylight burning 
  of twin Nidalese coasters. Finally, for the populace’s 
  protection, a curfew was enacted throughout the city while 
  a small army of dottari and experienced mercenaries 
  were commissioned to deal with the shadowy curse that 
  had afflicted the Wiscrani night. Numerous raids and 
  hunts were conducted in the Dospera and ancient city 
  sewers, only to result in the loss of many hunters with 
  little apparent gain. Thus, the nightly curfew remained 
  in effect for more than 30 years, with the unwary risking 
  their very lives.
  Today, with the dying of every day’s light, businesses 
  hurriedly close and respectable homes light lanterns 
  outside their doors. Members of the dotarri light 
  pyrahjes, man-sized torches, throughout the Parego 
  Regicona and in the major plazas of the Parego Spera, 
  patrolling between such islands of light in groups of 
  seven. Taverns, festhalls, and similar establishments 
  maintain sleeping rolls for those who stay after dark, 
  collecting a customary 2 sp fee for boarders soon 
  after twilight. Those forced onto the street after dark 
  typically carry halorans, 7-foot-tall hooked staves hung 
  with bright lanterns, made publicly available along the 
  city’s most traveled avenues. 
  Despite the city’s adaptation to the nightly scourge, 
  specifics of what the creatures are, where they came from, 
  and their intentions remain the stuff of rumors, with 
  every Wiscrani having his own wildly varying theory. 
  Most residents have accepted and adapted to the deadly 
  curfew, which is frequently broken in the Spera and even 
  more often on Westcrown Island, where few attacks take 
  place. Dottari who catch residents out after curfew can 
  enforce up to a 5 gp fine, but more commonly hurry such 
  scofflaws along their way. Weekly, though, new tales arise 
  of deadly attacks on curfew breakers, assuring that the 
  nightly ban is widely maintained. Several times a year 
  the lord mayor makes a show of decrying the plague of 
  mysterious hunters stalking the city’s streets, promising 
  renewed efforts to put an end to the menace, but little 
  has changed in the three decades since the creatures’ 
  mysterious appearance.
  WestCroWn at a GlanCe
  One’s location in Westcrown determines the size, height, 
  and opulence of the surrounding buildings. Every 
  building, however, begins with a stone foundation, most 
  often the light stone quarried from the surrounding 
  hills or along the Adivian River. The richer areas of 
  town contain all-stone construction, if not rarer or 
  more specialized materials. Most places add three or 
  more levels made from wood, either light varieties of 
  local trees or the dark barroak felled in the Barrowood 
  and brought downriver. Buildings lean upon each other 
  at the higher levels where necessary, with the sight of 
  freestanding buildings usually denoting the money and 
  influence of nobility. 
  Streets and walkways in Westcrown almost undulate 
  in places, evidence of the random nature of the building 
  spaces. Stone paves every surface within the city walls, 
  and while main avenues in richer areas have stone slabs, 
  mirror-slick in the rain, cobblestones fill other areas. All 
  runoff gets channeled to sewer grates or back toward the 
  Wiscrani Noble Families
  The following are the 12 most powerful families of the 
  Westcrown aristocracy, listed in order of influence and 
  wealth, along with those families they hold influence over. 
  House 
  Ethnicity 
  Beholden Families
  Drovenge 
  Taldan 
  Imvius, Lorialn, Xerysis
  Oberigo 
  Chelish 
  Aulamaxa, Ghival
  Salisfer 
  Chelish 
  Chillarth, Rustachas
  Grulios 
  Chelish 
  Mironeth, Ici 
  Arvanxi 
  Chelish 
  Mhartis, Ciucci, Rasdovain, 
  Julistarc 
  Taldan 
  Seidraith, Cemaine
  Dioso 
  Chelish 
  Jhaltero, Ucarlaar
  Tilernos 
  Taldan 
  Starnon, Etrovain
  Phandros 
  Chelish 
  Chard, Nolmon, 
  Khollarix 
  Chelish 
  Nymmis, Rufano
  Rosala 
  Taldan 
  Ulvauno, Atenaar
  Mezinas 
  Taldan 
  Vitaron, Missepe
  
  53
  Westcrown: City of Twilight
  Vassindio Drovenge
  river, and keeping grates clear of blockages becomes an 
  informal task for dottari during the rainy seasons. While 
  there are hire-sweeps to tend to the streets and keep them 
  clear of offal, few folks beyond the rich can afford them, 
  and garbage piles up in the alleys of poorer sections of 
  town until cleared by locals or benevolent priests. 
  The city’s pride and arrogance has dimmed over 
  the decades along with its lost influence as the 
  failed “Home of Aroden.” As a result, many 
  Wiscrani no longer take as much pride in 
  keeping their neighborhoods clean or in the 
  best repair. Structures exposed to the elements 
  remain unmended, garbage chokes some alleys, 
  and things change only by the influence 
  of dottari spears or coins. While the 
  faith of many people crumbled 
  with Aroden, his priests and 
  worshipers of his founders 
  (see page 59) continue to 
  watch out for Westcrown 
  and its people, shoring up 
  and repairing temples and 
  common buildings alike. 
  The city’s paregos, or “Great Sectors,” 
  provide the broad breakdown of the city, while its eight 
  subdivisions provide finer distinctions. The following 
  numbered locations correspond to the map on page 56. 
  The Upper Adivian/The Dhaenflow: Less than a mile 
  north of Westcrown’s northernmost wall, the Upper 
  Adivian branches off the main flow and wends its way 
  west among the hills. This waterway remains a strong, 
  defensible river beneath the Adivian Bridge but slowly 
  shrinks and splinters among the shallow creeks, pools, 
  and marshes of the Dhaenfens. The Dhaenflow is the 
  waterway’s local name, dubbed for a noble who deprived 
  his enemies of their spoils by fleeing into the swamps 
  with the last treasures of his failing house.
  The Westchannel: Within 200 yards of where the 
  Dhaenflow branches off the main course, the river splits 
  sharply again into the Westchannel. This is the main 
  waterway of Westcrown, where the current slows by the 
  natural shelter of the island and coastlands. Many once 
  believed Aroden blessed Westcrown, as garbage only 
  rarely flowed into the Westchannel or the island’s canals. 
  The dumps littering the eastern shores often formed 
  naturally with each spring flood, and Wiscrani used 
  those lands for the same purpose. Now, a century after 
  Aroden’s passing, more and more wood, ship wrack, and 
  other flotsam drifts into the Westchannel or the canals, 
  sometimes enough to damage or deter trade traffic until 
  it can be cleared by the harbormaster’s crews.
  The Southrun: The Southrun is the name for the South 
  Adivian as it continues past Westcrown, often depositing 
  flotsam and other waste against the eastern shores. Unlike 
  the placid currents of the Westchannel, the South Adivian 
  alongside Westcrown Island bears a stronger current that 
  drags any unmoored or uncontrolled boats against the 
  eastern shores or south to the bay. 
  pareGo reGiCona 
  Wiscrani 
  call 
  Westcrown 
  Island 
  Regicona. Encircling the 8 canal-
  riddled islands are the Regiconan 
  Walls, the Chained Arches spanning 
  each of the canals piercing them. 
  Most of the city’s population never 
  sees inside the walls built by their efforts 
  and coins, so rumors run rampant of what 
  happens within the Regicona. All they and 
  most city visitors see are the grandeur of the 
  tallest buildings rising above the walls, 
  like the former royal palaces and a 
  grand opera house. 
  Each of the 8 islands of the 
  Regicona holds no less than two 
  major 
  vaneos 
  (manor 
  houses) 
  or 
  full viras (estates) occupied by noble or 
  inf luential Wiscrani families. Socially, if not legally, 
  10 noble families each lay claim to “rulership” of the 
  island on which their vaneos lie, and their control can 
  often subsume that of the Regidottari by bribes if not 
  the blades of each family’s mercenary troops. Many 
  families have lost inf luence and lives by assuming 
  they had the Regidottari’s protection, only to find their 
  protectors already bought by their enemies. The oldest 
  adage taught to every child here is, “An island’s water 
  can defend or detain—only trust the tides.”
  While life on Westcrown’s shores has returned to one 
  of prosperity through trade, the Regicona clings to the 
  opulence of times past. Where modern-style buildings 
  replaced uninhabitable ruins on the mainland city, much 
  of the Regiconan architecture reflects older styles from 
  the imperial glory days of both Cheliax and Taldor, with 
  balustrade-lined tile roofs, needle-like towers for single 
  archers or vocari (“voice guards”), and smooth polished 
  archways. All paved with smooth stone, the roads are 
  flanked by gutters along the edges of buildings, allowing 
  water and waste to drain out from underfoot and into 
  sewer grates or the canals. 
  Regiconan Walls: These massive defensive walls encircle 
  the entirety of Westcrown Island, and are constantly 
  manned by the regidottari, with each tower or adjacent 
  section of wall billeting at least a score of soldiers. Every 
  tower acts as an armory and storehouse for food and 
  supplies. In general, each island has a complement of 30 
  regidottari per tower. 
  
  54
  Council of Thieves
  Chain Arches: Towers flanking a canal also connect via 
  the Chain Arches, massive stone arches containing the 
  winches for the chain gates. These massive curtains of 
  barbed chains descend into the canal at times of unrest 
  or emergency, or at the whims of the duxotar or Durotas 
  Bolvona. Most often, they lower the chains only enough to 
  display the latest traitors’ bodies impaled upon the barbs 
  as warnings to others. 
  Canals: The condottari control the canals, where 
  upon occasion they clash with nobles’ forces pursuing 
  vendettas. Like the regidottari, military troops in their 
  reinforced adels and skiffs can be bought. Canal walls 
  rise at least 10 feet above the waters of the canal, and the 
  last flood to overflow the canals and engulf the Regicona 
  happened more than 400 years ago. Seven-foot-wide stone 
  roads line the canals at the water’s common level, forming 
  foundations for 5-foot-square slab stairs that ascend to 
  street level. In drier seasons, these roads also serve as 
  free market space for those rising early enough to set up 
  here (though the areas submerge during spring and early 
  summer floods). Adels pull up to stairposts near the walls 
  and unload passengers onto the stairs or allow booms and 
  pulleys to remove goods (or noble-laden divans). The only 
  docks on the canals nestle beneath property lining the 
  canals. Once a craft broaches an entry arch, landowners 
  control all dock territory, not the condottari. 
  Canal Bridges: Drawbridges (one on each side) cross 
  each canal at least once every 200 feet, and slaves winch 
  them up when necessary to allow the passage of any craft 
  within a canal. Regidottari control the bridges, regardless 
  of who owns the land on which the abutment rests, 
  though many bribe them when they need to hamper foot 
  pursuit or prevent someone’s escape from a particular 
  isle. Regardless, all soldiers obey the River Edicts and 
  move bridges if they are impediments to watercraft.
  Rego Corna
  “Crown Sector” encompasses the former stronghold of 
  power in Cheliax—the Imperial Court of Cheliax and its 
  attendant holdings and homes. Once the most desired land 
  in the country, the islands of Impriax, Dlaratha, and Siraon 
  recovered only some prestige in the past three decades. 
  
  55
  Westcrown: City of Twilight
  1. The Korradath: Once the great royal castle and seat 
  of Imperial Cheliax, this massive fortified castle remains 
  an impressive sight marred only by poor upkeep. Today, 
  it is still used for offices, temporary lodgings, or neutral 
  meeting places for nobles, rich traders, and ambassadors 
  from far-off ports who need to be impressed or protected 
  from exposure to “the common rabble on shore.” Rumors 
  persist of secret, monster haunted dungeons below that 
  haven’t been fully explored since Aroden’s Fall.
  2. Vaneo Drovenge: While the main vira remains west 
  of the city along the Dhaenflow, Vaneo Drovenge still 
  represents the influence and wealth of the city’s most 
  powerful house. This massive three-storied manor, unlike 
  many buildings in Westcrown, gets scrubbed clean by its 
  slaves every Fireday, so its green marble arches and black 
  slate shingles glisten compared to its surroundings. 
  House Drovenge is the de facto social leader of Impriax. 
  3. Vira Oberigo: This walled estate has been the 
  primary holding of House Oberigo ever since the end of 
  the Four Families Siege. House Oberigo controls nearly 
  all activities of any stripe on Siraon. 
  4. Sostarlannex: This annex cuts into Siraon’s southern 
  edge where the Canal Wisxar meets the Canal Thrachi. 
  Its northern walls, while grime-covered and stained, 
  retain the friezes carved there by Sostarl more than two 
  centuries ago during the Great Drought. The four scenes 
  showcasing Chelish military strength pleased then-king 
  Vriilar, who commissioned Sostarl and his students to 
  sculpt the scores of statues and wall carvings that still dot 
  the streets and parks all over Westcrown. 
  5. The Dorjanala: This secondary palace of the Chelish 
  royal family had a three-story solaria—a massive wing 
  of the palace whose walls were made of metal-framed 
  glass. Built for Queen Dorjana in 4436 ar as a shrine to 
  Aroden, the solaria allowed her an unobstructed view 
  of the Arodennama (as her husband King Ariox II also 
  razed any obstructing buildings in her way). Locals say 
  the cries of Dorjana’s ghost cracked all the glass when 
  a servant spoke of Aroden’s death in the shrine. This 
  palace briefly fell victim to pillaging during the decades 
  of unrest after the deaths of King Gaspodar and his 
  family. When the court moved to Egorian, the faithful 
  of Iomedae claimed the Dorjanala, maintaining it as a 
  holy site to Aroden, Iomedae, and related founders. Their 
  first ceremony was to declare Dorjana a founder in the 
  Inheritor’s faith as well—and many say the glass walls 
  weep with her thankful tears every vernal equinox from 
  sunup to sundown. 
  6. Vira Julistarc: On Dlaratha, the Vira Julistarc is an 
  estate of multiple buildings under one massive roof of 
  gray stone shingles and crystalline skylights, a method 
  of Taldan defense from ancient times married with more 
  modern defensive walls around the perimeter. 
  Rego Laina
  Triam and Islatra comprise the large central pair of islands 
  in “Blade Sector.” These are the last of the original islands, 
  and none today remember the origins of their names. The 
  name of the sector stems from the many famous battles, 
  smithies, and armories situated therein. 
  7. Vira Grulios: This estate dominates the landscape of 
  western Triam, its red-capped towers looming more than 
  two stories over the Regiconan Walls. 
  8. Staviancara: This remains the oldest occupied 
  building in Westcrown, its walls built by Taldan slaves at 
  the order of Emperor Stavian I upon his conquering of the 
  city. Over the centuries since, its walls gained the carved 
  and plastered façade that makes this appear as a two-story 
  Taldan military tent. This building, with its well-hidden 
  tunnels leading to the nearest city wall, serves as the home 
  for the regidottari’s commander. 
  9. Vira Salisfer: This black-shingled and barbican-
  defended estate is the center of power for House Salisfer 
  and the social core of Islatra. 
  10. Trivardum: This large slate-shingled building, 
  as the seat of the Triumvirate, was the heart of power 
  for Westcrown until the coming of the Chelish Court. 
  Trivardum even served as the personal headquarters of 
  the Houses Oberigo, Drovenge, and Julistarc until they 
  built their viras or other estates. Merchants operate out 
  of the Trivardum’s former ground floor courtrooms and 
  administrative offices. The Tricalista (one of Westcrown’s 
  more popular inns for those with moderate coin) fills the 
  second floor with five common rooms (for sleeping), five 
  private apartments (for the staff or well-to-do renters), 
  and the three large taprooms. The third floor and its 
  roof gardens comprise the opulent penthouse residence 
  of Taldan ambassador Vors Kyniar of Oppara, a paladin 
  of Iomedae whose family wealth bought his position and 
  whose distaste for House Thrune kept him from moving 
  his residence to Egorian.
  11. Vaneo Dioso: The grandest building on Triam, 
  this vaneo became the home of the Dioso clan after their 
  eradication of its builders, House Krafanis. 
  12. Miratanza: “The Floating Market” allows island-
  bound servants to shop for food and goods for their noble 
  masters. Anchored in place, the numerous platforms 
  allow vendors to rent spaces or simply sell directly from 
  their own craft. The condottari keep all transactions and 
  business within the Miratanza, taking a commission on 
  all goods sold inside the four red-and-black marble arches 
  that vault over the canals leading to it. 
  Rego Aerum
  “Treasure Sector” is the home of true rarities for sale 
  in Westcrown. The youngest territory in the city, the 
  southern half of Westcrown Island only grew beyond 
  
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  57
  Westcrown: City of Twilight
  mud flats in the past millennium. The three islands of 
  Rego Aerum include Siar, Ghiam, and Karhal. The park 
  at the south end of Karhal formed due to the mysterious 
  inability of any building built there to be completed, due 
  to a long history of strange accidents. The lands became a 
  city park for the rich and idle in 4040 ar. 
  pareGo dospera 
  The Parego Dospera (“Despair’s Altar”) refers to the 
  abandoned ruins and downtrodden slums of the 
  northern shores of Westcrown. The roads are often 
  in disrepair, and running in the Dospera invites a 
  twisted ankle or a broken leg, leaving one fair game to 
  the many threats in its shadows. While the northern 
  sector is entirely a ruin, only kept in vague control by 
  the sureshots of the rundottari on the walls around it, 
  the southern rego acts as the buffer zone between it and 
  “civilized” Westcrown. 
  Rego Cader
  “Dead Sector” refers to the northern ruins, though older 
  Wiscrani can tell you this used to be Rego Plea (formerly 
  home to house slaves, servants, and lesser trades) before 
  Aroden’s Fall. Inside this sector are the “low trades” 
  the nobles wished not to see, including many forges or 
  smithies still useful, if not in good repair. The bulk of the 
  abandoned or ruined buildings were once taverns, inns, 
  rooming houses, and stables. Now, most are either squats 
  and partial homes for barbaric humans, dens of thieves, 
  or even the lairs of monsters from leucrotta to goblins 
  and tieflings strong enough to survive. There may even be 
  gargoyles still bound to guard areas that have long since 
  fallen to ruin around their perches.
  The Dusk Market: The ruins of Westcrown serve as 
  home of the infamous Dusk Market, a wandering bazzaar 
  that sets up within the shells of formerly opulent temples, 
  viras, theaters, and other grandiose ruins. Here the daring 
  and foolish might come to buy all manner of contraband, 
  often under the eyes of bribed rundottari. The Dusk Market 
  is a semi-secret marketplace, where drugs, exotic poisons, 
  strange creatures, kidnapped slaves, and nearly any other 
  vice one can imagine are traded freely. It takes its name 
  from the fact that it only operates in the two hours before 
  sundown. Nearly any ne’er-do-well or crooked rundottari 
  can tell would be visitors where the market is going to set 
  up on any given night—for a price.
  The Ramble Gardens: Without continuous tending, the 
  parks and gardens of former viras either died off or grew 
  out of control. While many are now weed-choked brambles, 
  some other now-wild plants draw folk into the Dospera. 
  These ruins shelter a number of herbs and plants quite 
  rare west of the Arthfell Forest, as well as several deadly 
  plants like assassin vines and even a few giant flytraps.
  Rego Crua
  “Blood Sector” once held all slave trade and a wide array 
  of low-end or less-desirable businesses, from tanneries to 
  slaughterhouses. As a result of the stench and filth, this 
  sector also contained the northern slums of Westcrown, 
  nestled up against the walls of Rego Cader (which sometimes 
  makes them safer due to the near-constant presence of 
  rundottari above them). The farther south one travels, the 
  more buildings rise in height and cleanliness until you 
  cross the eastern Pegasi Bridge into Parego Spera. 
  13. Obrigan Gate: Built in the early years of Westcrown, 
  House Oberigo sponsored the building of this gate (and 
  retained plans and hidden secrets about it), leading to 
  its griffon seals on the keystones and continued name. 
  The heavily reinforced gate stands more than three 
  stories tall and twice as deep as the walls it pierces 
  between Rego Crua and Rego Cader. Its four doors, 
  two portcullises, and obligatory squad of 12 rundottari 
  keep all threats out of the Dospera. The doors and 
  portcullises are opened only one at a time when dottari 
  receive orders to exile convicted prisoners into the ruins 
  or let fleeing rundottari retreat into the relative safety of 
  the gatehouse. 
  14. The Pleatra: One of the largest building complexes 
  in this sector, the Pleatra is a massive slave market 
  complete with sizable common cells for unsold slaves. 
  15. Walcourt: Once a center of worship for followers of 
  Founder Crucisal, the assembly lodge fell into disuse and 
  disrepair shortly after the death of Aroden. Since then 
  it has been deemed a haunted place, rife with stories of 
  shadowy figures and ghostly apparitions. Attempts to set 
  flophouses and orphanages on the grounds have ended 
  abruptly through the years, adding to tales of unquiet, 
  lingering residents.
  pareGo spera 
  The Spera (“Hope’s Altar”) contains the still-thriving 
  sections of the city, once looked down upon by the city’s 
  elite and now recognized as its money-making lifeblood. 
  The western city still holds many nobles, but unlike the 
  Regicona, trade and coin rule here more than politics. 
  The three sectors of the Spera are Rego Scripa (“Scribe 
  Sector”), the commercial hub and mercantile class sector 
  that was the site of the empire’s scribes and printers; Rego 
  Pena (“Coin Sector”), the fine trades, high-quality goods, 
  and “new money” class sector; and Rego Sacero (“Priest 
  Sector”), the temple and “old money” sector. 
  16. The Pegasi Bridges: Two great bridges remain of the 
  8 built during the time of Aroden, the others having been 
  destroyed or buried over time. Called the Pegasi Bridges 
  for the motif of winged horses carved on the sides and 
  undersides, each bridge also has its own name and design: 
  the Bladewing Bridge has pegasi with swords in place of 
  
  58
  Council of Thieves
  Paralictor Gonville Chard
  their wing feathers, many of which are etched with the 
  names of past Westcrani heroes; and the wings of the 
  pegasi on the easternmost span, known as the Truemount 
  (named for a holy pegasus that acted for a time as Aroden’s 
  mount), hide many Eyes of Aroden.
  17. Canaroden: This is the longest canal in 
  Westcrown and the least changed since its 
  creation. Running beneath the Pegasi Bridges 
  that arch more than 30 feet overhead, the 
  Canaroden is twice as deep as the canals of 
  the Regicona. Its walls on both sides of the 
  channel retain the great 15-foot-tall friezes 
  of Ulatir, the priest of Aroden who carved 
  them between 4291 and 4324. A line 
  of Aroden’s founders walks on 
  the southern walls, 20 figures 
  facing the canal, their holy 
  deeds shown behind them; 
  the northern wall holds the 
  12 guises of Aroden in which 
  he walked the mortal worlds 
  unrecognized, as beggar, thief, 
  fisherman, 
  hunter, 
  shepherd, 
  farmer, soldier, merchant, tailor, craftsman, 
  artist, and scholar. In the past century, individuals or 
  mobs defaced or marred the carvings at times, especially 
  during the Battle of a Thousand Kings and after the rise of 
  House Thrune, but much of the damage has mysteriously 
  vanished over time. 
  Rego Scripa
  “Scribe Sector” was once the center for the bureaucratic 
  work of the Chelish empire, the area dominated by 
  ink- and paper-makers, printers, binders, scribes, and 
  messengers. Now, precious few such businesses remain 
  beyond cartographers; trade warehouses and ship-related 
  businesses (rope- and sail-makers, navigators, and 
  shipwrights) now populate this sector.  
  18. Taranik House: The Order of the Rack rotates a 
  new complement of 12 Hellknights to the local Paralictor 
  here every other Fireday. Taranik House always retains 
  at least eight Hellknights on the premises and at least 
  15 Hellknights in Westcrown at all times. A liberal 
  philosopher and scholar, Misirnis Taranik built her 
  fortune with her scriptora and binding houses, though 
  she secretly spread the White Plague across Westcrown in 
  the 4570s through her cult of Sifkesh, the Path of Grace. 
  Her home and workhouse, along with herself and the last 
  of her cult, were put to the torch in 4577 by the first of the 
  Hellknights, Daidian Rhul. The discovery of Taranik’s 
  woodblock printing press motivated Rhul’s doctrine 
  of “low philosophy,” from which arose this Hellknight 
  faction, the Order of the Rack. Reconstructed from the 
  ruins of the Hellknight’s first conquest, Taranik House (its 
  name indelibly carved into the keystone of the main gate) 
  has served as the city’s garrison for Hellknights. If the city 
  experiences an outbreak of violence or disturbances beyond 
  the capability of the dottari to quell, the Hellknights 
  of Taranik House aid in quelling the lawlessness, 
  dispatching requests for aid from Citadel Rivad 
  if need be. The official commander of Taranik 
  House is Paralictor Gonville Chard (LN male 
  human ranger 7/hellknight 2), although his 
  corrupt arms-maralictor (armory commander, 
  and fifth in the command structure) Aritil 
  Sevarn (NE male human fighter 5) often 
  suborns Chard’s command through 
  his links to Lord Mayor Arvanxi 
  and House Drovenge. 
  Rego Pena
  “Coin Sector” houses the more 
  lucrative 
  trades 
  and 
  many 
  houses of dubious standing, 
  politically or monetarily. This 
  also acts as home to a rising class 
  of rich merchants who, by choice or fate, lack the 
  political clout or connections to gain noble status or the 
  notice of the Imperial Court. 
  19. Delvehaven: One of the only lodges of the 
  Pathfinder Society to remain openly active in Cheliax 
  after the ascension of House Thrune, this walled vira 
  was abandoned under mysterious circumstances in 4676 
  ar. Its gates permanently barred and chained by the 
  dottari, the manor molders under a pall of mystery and 
  rumor. None can say what brought such a curse down 
  upon the lodge, what happened to the Pathfinders who 
  once maintained the house or to the exotic treasures  
  that once lay within, but few believe Delvehaven’s fall and 
  the rise of the shadowy beasts that nightly stalk the streets  
  are unconnected.
  Rego Sacero
  “Priest Sector” contains more shrines and ecclesiastical 
  real estate (extant or ruined) than five other Chelish cities 
  combined. For centuries, priests and nobles alike kept all 
  land east of the Arodennama (on and beneath the Rise) 
  vacant for Aroden’s personal gardens. That land became 
  a flashpoint of land grabs and assassination among many 
  nobles, officials, and priesthoods after the Last Azlanti’s 
  death. By 4614, various faiths and houses had bought up 
  much of the land. 
  20. Sanqatada Cinqarda: The six-story “Cathedral of the 
  Five Founders” predates all Andoren and Chelish memory. 
  Like the Arodennama, the white marble building remains 
  unstained and shining despite centuries of attempted 
  
  59
  Westcrown: City of Twilight
  defacing or the soot of nearby chimneys. The 30-foot 
  limestone statues that flank each door, standing atop 
  two-story columns of Turanian greenstone, depict the 
  five founders of the cathedral: Founders Dotara, Palmor, 
  Rixana, Adel, and Crucisal. 
  21. Vaneo Arvanxi: The lord mayor’s manor has always 
  rested in Rego Sacero, though its current titleholder has 
  expanded the building considerably in terms of size and 
  defenses. Widely called Aberian’s Folly, both for the vast 
  sums the lord mayor has poured into his estate’s seemingly 
  endless renovation and for its uniquely lavish—some say 
  diabolical—amenities, the manor hosts frequent feasts 
  and balls for the diversion of the city’s elite. A local stink 
  was briefly raised in 4705 when Mayor Arvanxi openly 
  considered the usefulness of binding powerful fiends for 
  petty entertainments, but such was local outcry that he 
  seemingly abandoned that fancy. Nevertheless, rumors 
  that a powerful fiend imprisoned under the Folly is used to 
  provide a source of infernal energy to the manor persist.
  22. Aroden’s Rise: Priests, pious artisans, and the 
  hands and feet of countless pilgrims shaped this large 
  hill into the double plateau that rises more than 200 feet 
  above the rest of the surrounding city. Many in the city 
  refer to the uppermost plateau as the Vacant Throne, as 
  Cheliax’s former god never came to this home. The lower 
  plateau remains a trading area for ecclesiastical supplies, 
  religious icons, and various goods made in Wiscrani 
  temples. Up on the Vacant Throne, the derelict temples 
  around the feet of the statue are among the few obvious 
  remnants of Aroden’s worship in Westcrown.
  23. Uralt’s Walk: Alongside the long northern ramp 
  up Aroden’s Rise, priests long ago built a series of steps 
  specifically for pilgrims to ascend the hill both physically 
  and spiritually. Aroden’s winged eye appears twice on each 
  riser, flanking a single word. Pilgrims who climb the 166 
  steps and read aloud each word per step recite Founder 
  Uralt’s Dawn Liturgy to Aroden. 
  24. The Arodennama: Standing 90 feet tall from its base 
  atop Aroden’s Rise and shaped from massive blocks of white 
  marble, the statue predates any known Avistani history and 
  all other extant structures in Westcrown. Clergy in Absalom 
  claim 12 of Aroden’s founders built the Arodennama with 
  their prayers, their sweat, and their magic. The statue of 
  Aroden faces the river and the island, his chest oriented 
  to catch the rays of the rising and setting sun. Covering 
  his chest is a massive silver-inlaid winged-eye symbol, its 
  wings spreading across his draped sleeves and beneath 
  his arms. In the age since Westcrown’s founding, a variety 
  of shrines, pilgrim shelters, congregation halls, small 
  temples, and even a sizable amphitheater have grown up 
  around the statue in expectation of Aroden’s arrival. Most 
  now lie neglected, populated only by the downtrodden 
  and deluded. Despite the loss of the god of humanity and 
  the grime of a century’s neglect staining the statue’s feet 
  and lower legs, the Arodennama still inspires awe in all 
  who travel to see it. No birds, let alone vengeful wizards or 
  flying monsters, ever manage to stain the upper portions 
  of the statue, and no tarnish darkens the silver Eye of 
  Aroden gleaming upon its breast. 
  25. Qatada Nessudidia: The largest temple to Asmodeus 
  in Westcrown, this four-story cathedral dominates the 
  promontory as the tallest building east of the Arodennama. 
  House Thrune, House Jeggare, and their allies financed its 
  construction between 4639 and 4677 ar after the Faithless 
  Fires ended Houses Drovenge’s, Salisfer’s, and Julistarc’s 
  plans to replace the Sanqatada Cinqarda with a five-sided 
  cathedral to Asmodeus. The great crystalline skylight 
  glows a sinister red at all times, drawing the most attention 
  of all Westcrown’s holy (or unholy) sites at night. 
  26. The Imperial Marina: In 4641 ar, the Imperial Court 
  invoked a lien on the Vira Roalmo and its shipbuilding 
  fortunes, confiscating the lands and docks of the 
  traitorous house. By fiat, the majestrix then established 
  the Imperial Marina on the easternmost promontory on 
  the river, reinstating a strong imperial troop presence 
  within Westcrown for the first time since 4634.
  Founders of Aroden
  The river delta was once sacred and holy land for Aroden 
  and his allied priests and helpers, especially the founders 
  and demigods of his faith. Even though the Last Azlanti 
  died, his founders continue aiding their followers and 
  working to keep all those who once revered this city 
  from totally losing faith in it or themselves. Founders of 
  Aroden’s church have numerous individual or collective 
  temples all across Westcrown, though the largest and 
  best-preserved remains the Sanqatada Cinqarda. Most 
  faithful maintain personal shrines to their founders in 
  their homes or businesses, and not a few chapels or altars 
  exist below ground in hidden cellars, or the ruins of now-
  buried temples. The six most revered Aroden founders in 
  Westcrown are, in order of prominence:
  Founder Dotara, “She Who Watches and Waits;” spirit 
  of guardians; patron of the dottari
  Founder Palmor, spirit of rivers and renewal; patron of 
  fishermen and midwives
  Founder Rixana, spirit of the bounty of deep waters, 
  patron of pearl divers and shellfishermen 
  Founder Adel, spirit of woodcraft, patron of shipwrights 
  and boatbuilders
  Founder Crucisal, spirit of water travel and navigation; 
  patron of ferrymen and adeliers
  Founder Vadrus, spirit of crystals and artistry, patron of 
  glassmakers and artists
  
  60
  Council of Thieves
  Tieflings of Golarion
  D
  espised as half-breeds at best, hunted down as 
  irredeemable fiends at worst, tieflings bear the taint 
  of the Lower Planes and an unmistakable ancestry 
  of evil. The scions of polluted bloodlines, tieflings are as 
  much a curse as a race, not for any unified evil that their 
  blood compels them to, but for the corrupted forms that 
  forever set them apart from the rest of mortal kind, driving 
  them toward acts of desperation, viciousness, and despair. 
  The spawn of fiends and humans, tieflings are monsters 
  not by nature or by any possession of their heritage, but 
  by the hatred and prejudices of a fearful world. Theirs is 
  a corrupt existence, but not one without choice, and the 
  light that rises from darkness shines even stronger than 
  those that glow during the day. 
  Tieflings might hail from any region and innumerable 
  circumstances, and as such have little in the way of a 
  unified culture. Although their physical characteristics 
  and similarly tainted ancestry define them as a race, 
  they have no creation myth, no shared origin, no larger 
  identity, and no true sense of unity or companionship. 
  Yet what they do share is the scorn of others and lives that 
  both unify and separate them as a strange, unnatural race, 
  seemingly never intended for existence.
  What follows is an investigation into the origins, lives, 
  and experience of tieflings. Two massive tables also allow 
  PCs and GMs to customize their tiefling characters, 
  assuring that each of these fiend-blooded creatures prove 
  as varied and unusual as the lower planar realms that 
  spawned them.
  Tiefling HeriTage
  As descendants of mortals and evil outsiders, tieflings 
  have no unique racial origin. They come from all walks of 
  life, all geographical areas, and all shades of evil.
  
  61
  Tieflings of Golarion
  The commonly imagined origin of these half-breeds 
  involves a fundamentally evil creature fraternizing with a 
  depraved human. That scenario raises an important point, 
  though: why are tieflings ever born?
  This complex question has many answers. The simplest 
  reason is that a great many tieflings are born to women 
  expecting normal, human children. Fiends are masters 
  of deception, and don’t always appear to mortals in their 
  true form, and not every mortal carrying fiendish blood 
  is a tiefling. Just as two brunettes might occasionally 
  parent a redheaded child, fiendish blood can hide for 
  generations before revealing itself in the flesh, the result 
  of fiendish dalliances far back in the family tree.
  Women who suspect they might be carrying a 
  tiefling can have a difficult time determining the truth. 
  Divination magic is notoriously unreliable when it comes 
  to those who have not yet been born; results are cloudy 
  and indeterminate in the best of circumstances. In some 
  cases, divinations have even indicated the unborn child 
  is human, only to see the mother give birth to a tiefling 
  months later.
  Tiefling babes, even unborn, possess other resistances as 
  well. Traditional contraceptives seem less effective against 
  outsiders. Herbs and drugs used to induce miscarriages 
  often fail to work. Spells require an experienced and 
  powerful cleric in order to take effect, and many women 
  lack the resources to find such a caster. Expectant mothers 
  also rarely survive more drastic methods of inducing a 
  miscarriage when a tiefling is involved.
  Any preventive measure might prove moot if the 
  mortal parent is the father and the tiefling is born 
  to a fiendish mother who then drops the child on the 
  father’s doorstep. In truth, fiends have no more desire to 
  bear tiefling children than mortal women do. Gestation 
  periods tend to be quicker for fiends, however, and they 
  sometimes see the utility in having a tiefling child in 
  the mortal world to act as a spy and informant. As fiends 
  have little maternal instinct, they generally give birth 
  to tieflings and then send them to live with their human 
  parent—or any man willing to believe he might have 
  once lain with a fiend.
  Birthing a tiefling baby is unexpected for some women, 
  and traumatic for almost all. Soon after birth, however, 
  a mother realizes that bearing this child was the easiest 
  part. The real challenge lies ahead.
  Tiefling PHysiology 
  Tieflings lack even a common appearance to draw them 
  together as a race. It is said that no two tieflings look exactly 
  alike; like fingerprints, each tiefling’s unique appearance 
  marks him indelibly. 
  Most tieflings display all their unusual traits at birth, 
  but some are born resembling their mortal parents only 
  to develop their fiendish qualities months, even years, 
  “Some of my kind go years without realizing they are different.” Trezzen felt power radiating 
  off the summoning circle and from the feather-winged beauty standing within. He flexed one 
  taloned hand. “When I turned twelve my skin darkened and my claws came, and then there was 
  no hiding it. She told her friends she’d never suspected what I really was. I’d thought things were 
  bad before, but they got worse. No one would speak to me unless it was to order me around.” He 
  gazed steadily at the devil in the circle. “I’m tired of it. It’s time for me to claim my heritage. 
  Time to go to my real home.”
  For a minute, the erinyes stared at him wordlessly. Then she laughed—a low, malicious chuckle 
  that echoed in the room. “Oh, honey,” she whispered. “What makes you think we want you either?”
  —From A Murder in Hell, by Ciracina Dioso
  Half-Fiends and Tieflings
  Common wisdom has it that a fiend who mates with a mortal 
  produces a half-fiend, and a half-fiend who mates with a 
  mortal produces a tiefling. Tiefling conception is not quite so 
  rigid, however. “Tiefling” merely implies a creature bearing 
  less than half fiendish blood. This does not mean they are 
  all necessarily third generation fiends, though. While many 
  tieflings have half-fiend parents, their connection to the lower 
  planes might be hidden deeper in their heritage. Thus, a family 
  with a long-forgotten fiendish ancestor might occasionally 
  spawn a tiefling. Two tieflings also produce tiefling young, 
  though the pairing of a tiefling and a mortal is just as likely to 
  produce a human as another tiefling. Even a full fiend and a 
  mortal do not necessarily produce a half-fiend, as the fiend’s 
  dark seed may not fully take—the unfathomable and often 
  chaotic laws of the lower planes prove difficult to predict, and 
  nothing is ever certain where such magic is involved.
  
  62
  Council of Thieves
  after their births. In other sad cases, an unborn tiefling 
  develops characteristics so demanding on its developing 
  system that it dies in utero, or survives only a short, horrific 
  time after birth. In many regions, the appearance of a 
  fiend-tainted child is reason enough to put the creature 
  to death—and often the mother as well. In lands where 
  the origins of tieflngs are better understood, such births 
  are mourned but don’t always end in murder. Human 
  parents are not the only ones who shun tiefling children, 
  though, as even hopeful tieflings, daring to wish for 
  “normal” offspring, might condemn their newborns to 
  terrible fates—abandonment, sale into slavery, or worse. 
  The grim circumstances of tiefling births mean that 
  many, even most, tieflings don’t survive their earliest 
  days, a sorry condition that many pessimistic tieflings 
  consider a blessing.
  By the time they have grown to adolescence, all tieflings 
  display at least one physical reflection of their fiendish 
  ancestry. For the lucky, such traits prove so minor as 
  to allow the tiefling to pass as a human or member of 
  another exotic race. Most, though, are so clearly marked 
  it is impossible to hide their nature without the help 
  of elaborate disguises or magic. Fortunately, most 
  tieflings develop supernatural abilities to aid them 
  in their difficult lives. Many gain the ability to create 
  areas of darkness—as if the spheres themselves were 
  encouraging these beings to hide—but not all, with 
  others expressing powers as strange and unusual as their 
  nefarious ancestors. Once a tiefling develops his physical 
  and magical abilities, they remain static for life, and 
  tieflings never spontaneously develop new characteristics 
  later in life. The dramatic changes a tiefling undergoes 
  are almost secondary, however, to the mental stress such 
  a transformation brings.
  Tiefling PsycHology
  Tieflings are typically strangers within their families, 
  their cities, their societies—even their race, for many 
  tieflings never encounter another of their own kind. 
  Tiefling siblings are almost unheard of, as fiend-mortal 
  couplings tend to occur only once. When tieflings appear 
  in a family seemingly spontaneously, they are generally 
  the only child to do so in their generation. 
  As a result, tieflings suffer from intense bouts of 
  loneliness, self-loathing, and isolation. They are acutely 
  aware that there are no others just like them, even among 
  their own kind. Still, some seek out other tieflings, making 
  it their life’s purpose to establish that they are not unique 
  in the world. Even if such quests result in success, though, 
  they rarely have happy endings: tieflings do not naturally 
  bond. More aware than any others, perhaps, of just how 
  strange and twisted they can be, they are slow to trust their 
  own kind.
  Concealing Tiefling Traits
  Tieflings of all walks face prejudice on a regular basis, from 
  the scorn of passersby to the pitchforks of fearful mobs. 
  To protect themselves, many tieflings become quite adept 
  at hiding their fiendish racial features, though some find 
  it more difficult than others. With their racial penalty to 
  Charisma, tielfings already face difficulties when it comes 
  to disguising themselves. At the GM’s prerogative, a 
  tiefling with exceptionally outlandish traits—such as extra 
  or missing limbs, an inhuman face, or obviously fiendish 
  markings—might even take an additional –2 penalty on 
  Disguise checks (in addition to the standard –2 penalty on 
  disguising himself as a different race). Fortunately, tieflings 
  are exceptionally adept at hiding their accursed features. 
  Illusion magic proves perhaps the most reliable method, 
  especially alter self, with lesser magics like disguise self and 
  hats of disguise proving insufficient. Some might even go to 
  the extremes of performing self-surgery, filing down cruel 
  horns and claws, amputating tails and vestigial limbs, and 
  burning off stranger features—scars often being a small 
  price to pay for normalcy. Unfortunately, most tiefling traits 
  refuse to be suppressed, healing or even growing back with 
  frustrating speed.
  In the end, most tieflings without access to magical 
  alternatives who seek to pass as humans spend frustrating 
  amount of time and money on objects like disguise kits 
  or training to increase their skills in Disguise and Stealth, 
  ever hoping not to be revealed for what they truly are.
  Tieflings in Cheliax
  In Cheliax, tieflings are seen as the lowest of the low. 
  Devils epitomize a lawful, ordered society, and many of 
  Cheliax’s elite pay great sums to summon, bind, and control 
  devils to execute even their most fleeting plans. A tiefling, 
  however, represents a loss of that control—either in using 
  one’s power to satisfy pointless desires or an instance of 
  the slave becoming the master. Tieflings in Cheliax bear 
  the brunt of this societal snubbing. While tieflings are not 
  attacked or harassed out of fear or loathing, they encounter 
  obvious discrimination everywhere they go. Shopkeepers 
  raise prices for tiefling customers or refuse them service 
  altogether. Some taverns do not admit tieflings. Such 
  ostracization wounds even deeper as tieflings realize that 
  devils look down on them exactly the same way humans do. 
  Devils have no use for their tiefling offspring, except very 
  occasionally as pawns. Thus, tieflings in Cheliax live with 
  the knowledge that they are seen as worthless, shameful, 
  and expendable. To this end, most Chelish tieflings either 
  flee their homeland or seek work in the service of influential 
  groups or personages, relying on their position to grant 
  them the respect their heritage did not.
  
  63
  Tieflings of Golarion
  The isolation a tiefling feels grows as he realizes his 
  own family—assuming they remain part of his life—are 
  ashamed or even frightened of him. Some tieflings suffer 
  childhoods of horrific abuse, relegated to tiny rooms, 
  hidden completely from the outside world, bearing the 
  brunt of the anger and fear of their unprepared family. 
  Little wonder most view everyone but themselves with 
  intense mistrust.
  Some tieflings blame their dark nature on the difficulties 
  of their childhood. Even those rare few who grew up 
  relatively unscarred suspect an unpleasant fundamental 
  truth: that they naturally possess shadowed souls. A tiefling 
  might work her whole life to throw off the shame of her 
  heritage, yet still occasionally hear the seductive whisper of 
  the power that could be hers if she embraced the darkness. 
  While some might claim that all sentient beings face such 
  temptations, for tieflings, that prove almost a magnetic pull, 
  like the hungers of an addict ever reeling from the depths of 
  withdrawal. Even the most disciplined and virtuous tieflings 
  find evil acts easy, natural—even enjoyable. Consciously 
  embracing good proves difficult for tieflings, and no matter 
  how long they travel such a path, the darkness remains like 
  an infection they are unable to cure.
  The level of this darkness and the tieflings’ power 
  to control such whims seems to vary from individual 
  to individual. Some tieflings find it easy to ignore the 
  temptation of their fiendish blood, while others find 
  it nearly impossible. Many, of course, don’t even try, 
  becoming creatures more akin to fiends than mortals. 
  Such tieflings seem unable to go more than a few days 
  without engaging in evil behavior, drawing perverse 
  pleasure, even strength, from acts of deception, cruelty, 
  or violence, seeking out opportunities to indulge their 
  foul natures. For these depraved few, championing the 
  cause of good is not even an option.
  For those who prefer not to wantonly embrace 
  their fiendish nature, life is an endless struggle, 
  their internal world proving just as tumultuous as the 
  world without. 
  Tiefling socieTy
  To assume tieflings have a single society is misguided, 
  as most seek nothing more than to meld into the human 
  communities that surround yet typically shun them. In 
  the rare instances when groups of tieflings congregate, 
  they tend to adopt an unusual structure. Tieflings accept 
  that the most human-looking individuals among them 
  get the best treatment in cities and towns, and take it as 
  no surprise that shopkeepers and guards treat obviously 
  fiendish individuals with suspicion and hostility. Yet 
  what tieflings rarely admit is that even those 
  of their own kind treat “normal”-looking 
  tieflings better than freakish ones. 
  To a creature told time after time that his appearance is 
  his greatest drawback, it’s no wonder he would idolize a 
  more highly valued appearance. On a more practical note, 
  extremely conspicuous tieflings have a much harder life 
  than others, and such experiences can warp their natures. 
  Tieflings know that monstrous-looking tieflings quite 
  likely act monstrous, a sad development arising from the 
  way others treat them. Consequently, tieflings have an 
  unofficial pecking order based on appearance—especially 
  in civilized lands, where they often go to great lengths to 
  appear human.
  
  64
  Council of Thieves
  Due to their inherent mistrust of others, tieflings tend 
  to have trouble with romance. Many consider it a source of 
  personal pride to avoid entanglements of any sort; others 
  take advantage of their natural, taboo exoticism and bounce 
  from one superficial (and frequently abusive) relationship to 
  the next, futilely seeking affirmation and acceptance. When 
  tieflings do trust, they tend to do so with fierce loyalty. While 
  a committed tiefling lover can prove the world’s most faithful 
  companion, that devotion comes with a price, and tieflings 
  rarely take the end of a relationship well. Unreasonable 
  jealousy and feelings of betrayal boil quickly to the surface, 
  turning passionate love into seething resentment.
  cusTom Tieflings
  Spawned from innumerable types of fiends throughout the 
  Lower Planes, all tieflings bear the mark of the damned. 
  How their fiendish traits and abilities exhibit 
  themselves, however, varies wildly 
  from individual to individual, 
  based on the potency and origin 
  of their fiendish blood. 
  The 
  following 
  tables present traits 
  and abilities to aid 
  in the customization 
  of tieflings.
  Variant Tiefling Heritages
  Most tieflings possess a fixed variety of ability scores to 
  reflect their fiendish heritages, regardless of the actual 
  source of their foul traits. GMs might grant their tiefling 
  NPCs or players variant ability modifiers based on their 
  foul ancestries. At the GM’s choice, such heritages might 
  be determined deliberately or randomly, and may come 
  with their own distinctive abilities or traits selected from 
  the following charts. PCs who wish to have greater control 
  over these modifiers may take the Fiendish Heritage feat 
  (see page 66). 
  1d10 
  Heritage
  1 
  Asura-Spawn Tiefling: +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom, 
  –2 Intelligence. The scions of the exotic and 
  mysterious asuras are swift and wise, but often 
  favor traditional ways over cunning.
  2 
  Daemon-Spawn 
  Tiefling: 
  +2 
  Dexterity, 
  +2 
  Intelligence, –2 Wisdom. Daemon-blooded bringers 
  of devastation are shrewd and swift, but their plans 
  frequently exhibit exploitable flaws.
  3 
  Demodand-Spawn Tiefling: +2 Constitution, +2 
  Wisdom, –2 Intelligence. The burly spawn of the 
  demodand race possess bizarre cunning, but favor 
  brawn to planning.
  4 
  Demon-Spawn Tiefling: +2 Strength, +2 Charisma, 
  –2 Intelligence. Savage and monstrous, the 
  terrifying spawn of demons know the chaotic fury 
  of their Abyssal ancestors.
  5 
  Devil-Spawn 
  Tiefling: 
  +2 
  Constitution, 
  +2 
  Wisdom, –2 Charisma. Stalwart and conniving, 
  diabolical tieflings know the discipline and 
  might of Hell’s legions.
  6 
  Div-Spawn Tiefling: +2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, –2 
  Intelligence. Scouring life like a desert wind, these 
  tieflings possess the precision and exoticism of 
  their div ancestors.
  7 
  Kyton-Spawn 
  Tiefling: 
  +2 
  Constitution, 
  +2 
  Charisma, –2 Wisdom. The black-hearted spawn 
  of shadow and pain know the sadistic vices of their 
  suffering-obsessed forebearers.
  8 
  Oni-Spawn Tiefling: +2 Strength, +2 Wisdom, 
  –2 Charisma. The spawn of oni know the ways 
  of their ancestral fiends and master the arts of 
  trickery and cruelty.
  9 
  Qlippoth-Spawn Tiefling: +2 Strength, +2 Wisdom, 
  –2 Intelligence. Rare in the extreme, the warped 
  scions of the eldritch qlippoths retain the tenacity 
  and insidiousness of their horrific forbearers.
  10 
  Rakshasa-Spawn 
  Tiefling: 
  +2 
  Dexterity, 
  +2 
  Charisma, –2 Wisdom. Deft and charming, these 
  bestial tieflings inherit much of the subtlety and 
  guile of their proud rakshasa progenitors.
  
  65
  Tieflings of Golarion
  Variant Tiefling Abilities
  Some tieflings are blessed or cursed with unusual 
  abilities. A GM may customize his tiefling NPCs or allow 
  PCs to do so by rolling on the following chart. PCs who 
  wish to have greater control over these tiefling traits may 
  take the Fiendish Heritage feat (see page 66). 
  The abilities presented here replace a tiefling’s darkness 
  spell-like ability, with a caster level equals to its class level.
  d% 
  Ability
  1 
  You can animate a 1 HD skeleton, as per animate dead, once 
  per day as a spell-like ability.
  2 
  You possess some type of extra sensory organ, granting 
  you all-around vision.
  3 
  You enjoy being cut. The first time each day you take 
  slashing damage, you gain a +1 bonus on attack and 
  damage rolls for the following round. 
  4 
  You can use mage hand 3 times per day as a spell-like ability.
  5 
  Inherited memories grant you a +2 racial bonus on one 
  Knowledge skill of your choice.
  6 
  You can levitate yourself plus 10 pounds at will, as per the 
  spell levitate. This is a supernatural ability.
  7 
  You can eat and gain nourishment from ash, cinders, 
  dust, and sand.
  8 
  You gain a +1 bonus on all attack and damage rolls against 
  good-aligned outsiders.
  9 
  You gain an additional +2 racial bonus on your Charisma.
  10 
  You possess a bite that is treated as a natural weapon and 
  deals 1d4 damage.
  11 
  Once per day you can exhibit a burst of speed, moving as if 
  your base land speed were 50 for one move action. 
  12 
  You do not need to sleep. You are not immune to 
  sleep effects.
  13 
  You gain a +2 bonus on saving throws against disease.
  14 
  Your base land speed increases by 5 feet.
  15 
  You possess a fiendishly cunning tongue, granting you a +2 
  racial bonus on all Diplomacy checks.
  16 
  You have oversized limbs, allowing you to use Large 
  weapons without penalty.
  17 
  You possess claws that are treated as natural weapons and 
  deal 1d4 damage. 
  18 
  You gain DR 2/bludgeoning.
  19 
  You gain a Swim speed of 30 feet.
  20 
  You gain a +2 bonus on your CMB.
  21 
  You possess fiendish luck. Once per day you can reroll one 
  die. You must take the result of this second roll.
  22 
  You can detect evil, as per the spell, three times per day.
  23 
  You never need to drink to survive.
  24 
  You can produce a barb from your body once per day. This 
  barb is removable and is treated as a dagger.
  25 
  You gain acid resistance 5.
  26 
  Your body produces searing heat. Any creature that 
  grapples you takes 1d4 points of fire damage per round.
  27 
  You can speak two additional languages spoken by 
  extraplanar beings.
  28 
  Any evil creature you call via summon monster remains for 3 
  rounds longer than usual. 
  29 
  You gain a +1 bonus on all Reflex saving throws.
  30 
  You can alter your shadow to make it appear as any 
  creature or object of your size or smaller.
  31 
  You can burrow through dirt, sand, and loose ground at a 
  rate of 5 feet per round.
  32 
  You can sense weakness, granting you a +1 bonus on all 
  rolls to confirm critical hits.
  33 
  You gain DR 2/silver.
  34  
  You do not lose consciousness until you reach –5 hit points.
  35 
  You possess long limbs and a powerful grip, features that 
  grant you a +2 racial bonus on all Climb checks.
  36 
  You can communicate telepathically with any sentient 
  creature with which you are in contact.
  37 
  You can use death knell once per day as a spell-like ability.
  38 
  At will, you can spend a full-round action concentrating to 
  receive the benefits of tremorsense 60 feet for 1 round.
  39 
  Once per day you can benefit from a burst of speed, 
  moving at double your normal speed for 1 round.
  40 
  As a full-round action, you can bleed and collect 5 sp worth 
  of precious blood per day.
  41 
  You possess spell resistance equal to 10 + half your Hit Dice.
  42 
  The spell animate dead can return you to life as per the spell 
  raise dead 1d4 times. 
  43 
  Your fiendish sorcery ability treats your Charisma as if it 
  were 3 points higher.
  44 
  You are unusually short, granting you all the traits of a 
  Small creature.
  45 
  Your features are subtly malleable, granting you a +2 racial 
  bonus on all Disguise checks.
  46 
  You gain an additional +2 racial bonus on your Intelligence.
  47 
  You can use curse water 3 times per day as a spell-like ability.
  48 
  You are invisible to all unintelligent undead. This is a 
  supernatural ability.
  49 
  You are healed by both positive and negative energy.
  50 
  Your skin is unnaturally tough, granting you a +1 natural 
  bonus to your AC.
  51 
  You can speak to all birds.
  52 
  You gain a +2 bonus on saving throws against poison.
  53 
  You possess the scent special ability.
  54 
  You gain DR 2/piercing.
  55 
  You are unnaturally sly, granting you a +2 racial bonus on 
  all Sleight of Hands checks.
  56 
  Once per day you can spit acid. This glob deals 1d4 points 
  of acid damage and has a range increment of 5 feet.
  57 
  Your body exudes freezing cold. Any creature that grapples 
  you takes 1d4 points of cold damage per round.
  58 
  You heal double the normal amount of damage by resting.
  59 
  You gain a +1 bonus on all Will saving throws.
  60 
  You gain a +2 bonus to your initiative at night.
  
  66
  Council of Thieves
  61 
  You can manipulate any armor, gauntlets, or shield you 
  wield, causing them to grow spikes. These spikes last only 
  as long as you wear your armor.
  62 
  You can use deathwatch 3 times per day as a spell-like ability.
  63 
  You have some manner of inhuman sensory organ. You 
  gain a +2 bonus on saving throws against gaze attacks.
  64 
  Once per day, for 1 round, you may see through any 
  substance less than 5 feet thick—except for lead—as if it 
  were glass. This is a supernatural ability.
  65 
  Your strange physiology grants you a +2 racial bonus on all 
  Acrobatics checks.
  66 
  You can drink and gain nourishment from ash, cinders, 
  dust, and sand.
  67 
  Your eyes glow fiendishly and you possess the see in 
  darkness ability as if you were a devil.
  68 
  You gain damage reduction 2/cold iron.
  69 
  You can use fog cloud once per day as a spell-like ability.
  70 
  You are aware of and can choose the result of any attempt 
  to detect your alignment.
  71 
  You can spend a full-round action once per day eating from 
  a corpse to regain 1d6+1 hit points.
  72 
  You can communicate telepathically with any evil creature 
  within 50 feet.
  73 
  You can use minor image 3 times per day as a spell-like ability.
  74 
  Once per day, as a spell-like ability, you can animate a Small 
  or smaller object for a number of rounds equal to your 
  level. Treat this object as an animated object.
  75 
  You gain sonic resistance 5.
  76  
  You can hold your breath for 3 rounds longer than normal.
  77 
  You can speak to insects.
  78 
  Your skin is spiky. Any creature that attempts to grapple you 
  takes 1d4 points of damage.
  79 
  You receive a +1 bonus on all Fortitude saving throws.
  80 
  You gain a +2 bonus on your CMD.
  81 
  You can use rage on yourself once per day as a spell-
  like ability.
  82 
  You gain a +2 bonus on saving throws against mind-
  affecting effects.
  83 
  Once per day exposure to fire heals you 1d6 hit points. This 
  does not negate fire damage.
  84 
  You are immune to magic sleep and paralysis effects.
  85 
  Supernatural awareness grants you a +2 racial bonus on all 
  Perception checks.
  86 
  Your anatomy is slightly unusual, giving you a 15% chance 
  to ignore any critical hit.
  87 
  You can survive on one-quarter the amount of food and 
  water a human requires.
  88 
  Any damage you deal with a melee weapon is treated as evil 
  for the purposes of overcoming damage reduction.
  89 
  You can use inflict light wounds once per day as a spell-
  like ability.
  90 
  You gain an additional +2 racial bonus on your Wisdom.
  91 
  You gain damage reduction 2/slashing.
  92 
  You can see creatures on the Ethereal Plane.
  93 
  Once per day you may ask a corpse one yes-or-no question, 
  as per the spell speak with dead. This is a spell-like ability.
  94 
  You gain a +2 bonus on saving throws against nausea.
  95 
  You are flexible and slightly slimy, possessing a +2 racial 
  bonus on all Escape Artist checks.
  96 
  You can use ventriloquism at will as a spell-like ability.
  97 
  As a standard action, once per day, you may suppress your 
  unusual tiefling physical features for a number of minutes 
  equal to your Con modifier, thus appearing human.
  98 
  You receive +1 bonus hit point per level.
  99 
  Once per week you may mentally contact a fiendish 
  ancestor to gain information, as per the spell commune. This 
  is a spell-like ability.
  100 
  Roll on this table twice, ignoring any further rolls of 100.
  Tiefling Feats
  Tieflings might exhibit any number of unique qualities to 
  distinguish them further from others of their kind. These 
  feats present a variety of ways tieflings might benefit from 
  their Lower Planar ancestries.
  Fiendish Facade
  You are easily mistaken for a member of another race. Your 
  fiendish physical traits are normally hidden by clothing or 
  appear to be markings of another race.
  Prerequisites: Tiefling, must be taken at 1st level.
  Benefit: You get a +5 racial bonus on Disguise checks 
  when attempting to impersonate a particular race. You 
  must select the race you are able to impersonate when you 
  select this feat, and cannot change it thereafter. That race 
  must be Medium size.
  Monstrous Mask
  Your fiendish physical traits give you a twisted and 
  fearsome appearance that strikes fear into the hearts of 
  the unsuspecting.
  Prerequisites: Tiefling, must be taken at 1st level.
  Benefit: You get a +5 racial bonus on Intimidate checks 
  made against all creatures of the humanoid type.
  Fiendish Heritage
  You possess a strong tie to your fiendish ancestors, 
  granting you favorable abilities.
  Prerequisite: Tiefling, must be taken at 1st level.
  Benefit: Your fiendish bloodline proves particularly 
  strong, being tied to a specific race of fiends. Rather than 
  taking a tiefling’s usual racial ability modifiers, choose one 
  of the tiefling heritage modifiers presented on page 64. In 
  addition, you may roll on the Variant Tiefling Abilities table 
  three times and choose the most favorable ability.
  
  67
  Tieflings of Golarion
  Random Tiefling Features
  Presented here are dozens of features tieflings might 
  possess. None of the following features grant characters 
  any special powers in excess of their usual abilities.
  d% 
  Feature
  1  
  Arms: Elbow spurs 
  2  
  Arms: Oversized limb
  3  
  Arms: Stony forearms
  4  
  Arms: Tentacle-like
  5  
  Arms: Undersized limb
  6  
  Build: Emaciated
  7  
  Build: Hunchback
  8  
  Build: Obese
  9  
  Build: Unnaturally light
  10 
  Build: Unnaturally heavy
  11  
  Digits: Abnormally long
  12 
  Digits: Extra digits
  13  
  Digits: Extra joints
  14 
  Digits: No nails
  15  
  Digits: Odd number
  16 
  Ears: Bat-like
  17  
  Ears: Missing
  18 
  Ears: Pig-like
  19 
  Ears: Pointed
  20 
  Ears: Other
  21 
  Eyes: Cyclopic
  22 
  Eyes: Goat-like
  23 
  Eyes: Glowing
  24 
  Eyes: Smoking
  25 
  Eyes: Other
  26 
  Face: Canine muzzle
  27 
  Face: Insectile mandibles
  28 
  Face: Missing nose
  29 
  Face: Underdeveloped features
  30 
  Face: Other
  31  
  Hands: Backward-bending fingers
  32 
  Hands: Extra thumbs
  33 
  Hands: Pincers
  34 
  Hands: Suckered
  35  
  Hands: Other
  36 
  Head: Animalistic
  37  
  Head: Animate hair
  38 
  Head: Bald
  39 
  Head: Malformed
  40 
  Head: Other
  41 
  Horns: Draconic
  42 
  Horns: Metallic 
  43 
  Horns: Ram-like
  44 
  Horns: Vestigial
  45 
  Horns: Other
  46 
  Legs: Backward-bending
  47 
  Legs: Cloven feet
  48 
  Legs: Frog-like
  49 
  Legs: Bird-like
  50 
  Legs: Other
  51  
  Skin: Feathered
  52 
  Skin: Loose
  53  
  Skin: Patterned
  54 
  Skin: Rotting
  55  
  Skin: Scaled
  56 
  Skin: Slimy
  57  
  Skin: Strangely colored
  58 
  Skin: Translucent
  59 
  Skin: Variable color
  60 
  Skin: Other
  61 
  Tail: Aquatic
  62 
  Tail: Fiendish
  63 
  Tail: Mammalian
  64 
  Tail: Reptilian 
  65 
  Tail: Other
  66 
  Teeth: Blunt
  67 
  Teeth: Fanged
  68 
  Teeth: Metallic
  69 
  Teeth: Needle-like
  70 
  Teeth: Other
  71  
  Other: Forked tongue
  72 
  Other: Eyestalks
  73  
  Other: Vestigial limb
  74 
  Other: Extraneous nipple
  75  
  Other: Inhuman voice
  76 
  Other: Profane birthmark
  77  
  Other: Strange smell
  78 
  Other: Emits strange noises
  79 
  Other: Fungal/leafy growths
  80 
  Other: Incontrollable twitch
  81 
  Other: Bleeding pores
  82 
  Other: Androgynous
  83 
  Other: External organ
  84 
  Other: Whistling umbilicus
  85 
  Other: No shadow
  86 
  Other: Missing joint
  87 
  Other: Unnatural temperature
  88 
  Other: Avian snood
  89 
  Other: Infested
  90 
  Other: Bony ridges
  91 
  Other: Hermaphroditic
  92 
  Other: Spinneret
  93 
  Other: Antennae
  94 
  Other: Exoskeleton
  95 
  Other: Incongruous footprints
  96 
  Other: No reflection
  97 
  Other: Internal glow
  98 
  Other: Smoking breath
  99 
  Roll twice, ignore any result of 99 or higher.
  100 
  Roll three times, ignore any result of 99 or higher.
  
  68
  Hell’s Pawns Part 1 of 6
  The Plaza of Flowers
  T
  he boss says the Plaza of Flowers is an ironic name, 
  proving even he can be wrong.
  He tells me that a century ago blossoms spilled 
  over every windowsill, but now the black-and-crimson 
  banners of Asmodeus trail down from the upper balconies. 
  And where he remembers flowerbeds encircling a fountain, 
  eight viewing stands now surround a scaffold. Those 
  stands teem with the gowns of the merchant daughters 
  who hope to attract the eyes of the noble bachelors buzzing 
  just beyond the picket of house guards. Matrons and 
  spinsters clad in earthen tones sit to either side of each 
  blossom while their lords and brothers mingle with the 
  unmarried men, smoking cigars and nosing sachets to 
  smother the stench of so many commoners.
  A hawker shoves past me and cries, “Skewered pork, 
  sizzling hot!” I barely stop myself from giving him the 
  elbow before one of the other groundlings filling the 
  space between stands and scaffold beckons him away 
  before the smell can make me sick. I don’t understand 
  those who can eat on Judgment Day.
  The sun reaches its zenith, but the canvas drape still 
  conceals the central scaffold. The delay can mean only 
  the Palace wishes to view the proceeding, and I say a little 
  prayer of thanks to Desna—silently, of course. Waiting 
  for the Royal Carriage to arrive is a boon to the vendors, 
  and it gives the working class a little more time away from 
  their labors. The benefit to me is that the royal interest 
  reverses the usual order of events. Paralictor Ivo Elliendo 
  likes to build suspense, so the most spectacular event is 
  usually reserved for last. 
  On the scaffold, a knobby-kneed herald emerges 
  from behind the canvas. He looks to either side, 
  
  69
  The Plaza of Flowers
  shuddering with exaggerated fear when the guards eye 
  him up and down. The groundlings laugh, recognizing 
  him as one of the Fools of Thrune, a jester from House 
  Sarini sent out to amuse them while they wait. I lose 
  interest the moment he raises a trumpet to his lips and 
  blows out a length of crimson silk and a pair of sagging 
  pillows meant to suggest he’s blown his lungs out 
  through the horn.
  I see plenty of familiar mugs among the 
  groundlings: stevedores, stable hands, street sweepers, 
  barmaids, a seamstress I once gave a memorable night 
  on the Bunyip Dock. A pickpocket I know tips me 
  a wink as he pats a mark on the shoulder while his 
  adolescent accomplice dips his hand in on the other 
  side. A few others touch their chins or smile when they 
  see me. I nod back. 
  No one from the stands throws me a greeting, but 
  more than a few know me better than they’d admit. I 
  know several of them better than I’d like their husbands 
  to know, but to most I am only the silent bodyguard of 
  Count Varian Jeggare. The only one among them bold 
  enough to return my gaze is Ivo Elliendo.
  The Paralictor glides out of the stands where he has 
  been receiving the compliments of the ladies. His tall 
  figure stands out like a plow cutting through a garden. 
  The sharp red scourges on the ribs of his black leather 
  jack give him a gaunt silhouette.
  He squints when he spots me, and I can feel his scorn 
  hot on my face. What else can I do but shoot him my 
  toothiest smile? All around him, ladies who had followed 
  his gaze snap up their fans to shield themselves from 
  the sight of a mouth that I’m told looks like a drawer full 
  of knives. The commotion distracts Elliendo, and when 
  he sees he is surrounded by a halo of fluttering fans, his 
  lined face darkens.
  Elliendo stalks away from the stands and mounts the 
  stairs, followed as usual by two hulking Hellknights. I 
  begin to frame a prayer for rotting steps before deciding 
  that’s too much to ask, even on Judgment Day. On the 
  scaffold, Elliendo peers north at the approach of the 
  golden Royal Carriage down the Imperial Promenade. 
  He snaps his fingers, and the clown retreats behind the 
  canvas to a clatter of applause. Once the carriage halts and 
  the window shades rise just enough for the occupant—no 
  doubt some minor Palace official, rather than the Queen 
  herself—to peer out, the canvas on the scaffold falls away 
  to reveal the Instruments of Judgment.
  In the center is a blazing furnace in the shape of a 
  three-faced devil. From each of its gaping jaws juts a 
  bramble of iron implements: knives, spears, chains, rods, 
  brands, and most conspicuous of all the Tines of Cheliax. 
  Each is a two-pronged fork sized for a stone giant, and 
  today there are two of them.
  Arrayed between the furnaces are racks of torture 
  devices retrieved from every civilized nation on Golarion, 
  and several not so civilized. The spiked cages of Geb are 
  a crowd favorite, and two of them already hold prisoners. 
  One is a fat man who begins screaming the moment he 
  is revealed, while the other is pock-faced Gellius Bonner, 
  the Butcher of Merrow Lane.
  I fell into the Bonner case when the boss sent me 
  to nose around the tannery across the river. I was 
  supposed to catch a stable master selling the carcasses 
  of his lady’s mysteriously sickened horses. That went 
  nowhere, but I spied the tanner sneaking out of his 
  own home well past midnight. Curious, I followed him 
  into town, expecting to discover nothing more than a 
  mistress in some Cheapside flat. Instead, he led me to 
  Bonner’s shop, where he joined six men wearing crude 
  robes. Bonner greeted them with some fiendish phrase, 
  though I could understand only a few words before he 
  led them downstairs. I let myself in for a peek. When 
  I saw the yak-headed thing Bonner conjured and what 
  they intended to offer it, I ran to Greensteeples and beat 
  on the boss’s door until his sleepy halfling butler woke 
  him. With a few questions, Jeggare confirmed that the 
  cult was demonic, not diabolic, so he sent a message 
  directly to the Temple of Asmodeus, who in turn asked 
  the Hellknights to capture the cultists, minus a few who 
  resisted arrest. They even recovered two boys who had 
  not yet been devoured.
  The discovery broke the cases of more than a dozen 
  missing children, disappearances that Elliendo had 
  publicly sworn to solve. As he was not on duty that night, 
  he was surprised to hear the criers’ announcement of 
  another mystery solved by the celebrated Varian Jeggare. 
  If it were for the murders alone, Bonner might have 
  met his Judgment at the edge of an axe or, if it were only 
  one or two killings, in hard labor for a decade. The devil-
  worshiping lords of Cheliax, however, do not suffer the 
  denizens of the Abyss in the city. For consorting with 
  demons, Bonner earned his special voyage to Hell.
  While not an admirer of the spectacle, I make a point 
  of witnessing the Judgment of anyone convicted on one 
  of our cases. This time, the boss insisted that I bring 
  something to confirm it was Bonner and not some magic-
  masked substitute who did the dance of the Tines. He 
  sent me to the Plaza of Flowers with a couple of sakava 
  leaves plucked fresh from a plant in his greenhouse.
  Once the Instruments are unveiled, four proper 
  heralds stand on the corners of the scaffold and announce 
  the list of Judgments. Behind them, brawny shirtless men 
  in red hoods prepare the braces for the Tines.
  When a couple of the big men unlock Bonner’s cage, I 
  slip the sakava leaves from a sleeve pocket. The size of my 
  thumbs, they are thick green ovals with tiny white hairs 
  
  70
  Hell’s Pawns Part 1 of 6
  “ElliEndo isn’t Exactly 
  fond of mE. or anyonE.”
  glistening with oil. Just before I crush them, someone 
  calls my name.
  She is taller than me, which is not too uncommon, but 
  most of that height comes from a pair of legs snugged in 
  black calfskin trousers with tiny stars and suns cut out 
  along the outer seam to reveal bare skin. Her blouse hangs 
  loose except in just the right places to make a celibate 
  throw himself off the roof. Her big hazel eyes are too far 
  apart with heavy eyebrows, but they look fine above a long 
  nose pierced above one nostril with a tiny ruby. The stone 
  sets off a hint of late-summer red in her brown hair.
  I’m staring at her over the little 
  green leaves.
  “Are you Radovan?” she asks again. 
  I could listen to her say my name all 
  day, but then she ruins it by adding, 
  “Count Jeggare’s servant?”
  “His bodyguard.” Immediately I think of three 
  or four suave answers.
  “My messages to Greensteeples have gone 
  unanswered, and I require the count’s 
  assistance,” she says. “And naturally his 
  utmost discretion.”
  “Naturally,” I say, but before I can 
  give her the pitch, I feel a sharp 
  poke just below my shoulder blade.
  “Say goodbye to the girly, 
  copper-tongue,” reeks a voice 
  inches beneath my ear. I know who 
  it is from the stench of garlic and 
  boiled eggs.
  “Not now, Ursio.” I try to sound 
  casual, but the scratch he gave me starts 
  to itch. Out of the corners of my eyes I 
  see a couple of shapes that must be his 
  backup. “I’ll stay in this very public 
  place while you and your playmates go 
  climb your thumbs.”
   “These bolts are tipped with black 
  lotus venom,” says Ursio, and I know 
  it’s his treasured hand crossbow 
  with its steel “fangs” jammed into 
  my back. “You’ll be dead before 
  your body hits the street.”
  It seems unlikely that Ursio 
  has acquired the deadly and 
  expensive poison, but on the 
  scaffold I see the hooded men dragging 
  Bonner to a table, where a third man 
  awaits with a pair of curved knives held high for the 
  crowd’s acclaim.
  I crush the leaves and wipe their oily surfaces over 
  my eyes. It stings at first, and then my vision blurs 
  and snaps back to vivid clarity, better than my usual vision 
  but with an unreal heightening of every hue. Bonner looks 
  the same, although his fervid muttering breaks into a 
  panicked gobble. I’m not sure the sakava leaves have done 
  their magic, but then I notice a fiery halo around one of the 
  hooded men. Behind him, huge leathery wings twitch as 
  his fellows hold Bonner screaming to the table.
  “Now,” says Ursio. He shoves hard enough to make me 
  drop the leaves.
  “Zandros said to bring him back in one—” One of the 
  figures behind me has a boy’s voice with a country drawl, 
  cut off by a smart crack to the head.
  “Quiet,” says a third voice just 
  behind my elbow. He snuffles back 
  a load of phlegm, and I know it is 
  Rennie the Quick, a halfling notorious 
  for the instant conjuration of 
  makeshift blades.
  “My apologies,” I say to the woman. “My schedule is 
  busier than I thought.”
  “Wait,” she says. “Where will I meet you?”
  “You won’t,” says Ursio. He pulls my arm 
  and shoves his weapon into my back.
  Rennie grabs the other arm, and they 
  guide me away from the crowd. Behind 
  us, Bonner screams like a damned soul, 
  which soon won’t be a simile. I know 
  what the torturers are doing to him, 
  but I’m glad I don’t have to watch as 
  they slice open his skin to sew in 
  packets of writhing scarabs imported 
  from the dank crypts of Katapesh.
  Ursio and his henchmen guide 
  me into the narrow alley just north 
  of Mercy Street. We thread our way 
  through a platoon of cooks grilling 
  skewered meat over coals. Whenever 
  one notices the crossbow pressed 
  against my back, Ursio growls a threat 
  that stifles all curiosity.
  Eventually we turn off the main 
  alley into a cul-de-sac containing a 
  sewer grate. While I know Ursio has 
  gotten his hands wet for Zandros 
  more than once, I remember what 
  the boy said. No one knows the 
  sewers better than Rennie, so he 
  is the one usually sent to deliver 
  messages or escort those summoned to 
  the Goat Pen unseen.
  “What’s it to be, boys?” I take a couple of big steps 
  forward and turn around with my hands in clear 
  sight. I get a good look at them.
  
  71
  The Plaza of Flowers
  The boy is pale as harvest straw, and he weighs about 
  as much as two handfuls of the stuff. The way he keeps 
  glancing at Rennie and Ursio for direction, he must be a 
  raw recruit. He holds a broken chair leg close to his hip, 
  afraid someone will spot him with the weapon.
  Ursio looks the same as when I first met him, as if 
  someone had taken a proper dwarf and dragged him 
  through a garbage dump. The beads and fetishes tied 
  in his tangled beard look more like the detritus of last 
  week’s suppers, and he has more brown teeth than yellow. 
  The last two fingers of his right hand once fed a shark, or 
  a crocodile, or a bunyip, depending on which story you 
  hear. I like to think he lost them in a bet.
  Rennie, on the other hand, looks nothing like I 
  remember. The halfling’s always been known as “the 
  Quick” among the Goatherds, a gang so mean and ugly 
  that I had to leave on account of my good looks. Now I 
  see that “Ratface” would suit him better, because in the 
  weirdly sharp vision of the sakava leaves, I see his usually 
  pocked face smoothed over with brown-black fur, his 
  prominent nose elongated into the pointed snout of a 
  halfling-sized rodent.
  I gape at Rennie, maybe a little too obviously, but 
  the boy buys it and takes a step back. Ursio ignores my 
  mugging, but he spares Rennie a glance before fixing his 
  tiny black eyes on me. “Zandros wants a word.”
  Obviously they see a halfling, not a wererat.
  “They have no idea, do they, Rennie?”
  The halfling scowls, confused but with a dawning 
  realization hardening his jaw. 
  The boy takes another step back. Ursio jabs his 
  crossbow at me. “None of your tricks, Hell-spawn.”
  “The trick is on you,” I say. “Or have you always known 
  why Rennie knows the sewers so well?”
  “I’ll cut you,” hisses Rennie. A blade fashioned out of 
  a blacksmith’s rule appears in his furry grip. Even as I 
  tense for an attack, the sakava vision wavers, and I see 
  Rennie as the others do. The rat was cuter.
  “Those leaves I rubbed on my eyes show me things the 
  way they are,” I say. “You’re still ass-ugly, and the kid is 
  a kid, but Rennie here is one of those wererats Zandros 
  thought we wiped out last—”
  I leap back just in time to avoid a slash across the 
  belly, but Rennie nicks my favorite jacket. My back hits 
  the alley wall, and I kick Rennie in the chest, forcing 
  him back.
  “Stop it!” shouts Ursio. The point of his crossbow drifts 
  away from me, but I’m not close enough to make it work. 
  I stagger a few steps closer to him, pretending to move 
  away from Rennie.
  “He’s tricking you,” cries Rennie. He turns toward 
  Ursio, losing his halfling appearance along with his 
  temper. “You halfwit!”
  Ursio’s face twists up as he retreats. Rennie should 
  know better than to insult the sensitive dwarf.
  “Don’t you talk to me that way, you sniveling slip!” He 
  points his bow directly at Rennie, whose mutton-chop 
  whiskers have spread over half his elongating face.
  Rennie hisses, and the boy falls over himself trying to 
  get away. He knocks his head against a box of coals and 
  lies stunned on the street. The diversion is enough for me 
  to reach Ursio.
  I grab the crossbow just as he starts to turn it toward 
  me. He pulls the trigger, but the string snaps over my 
  hand, flipping the bolt harmlessly against the alley wall. 
  I kick him behind the knees and he falls, still gripping 
  his weapon. I bring my elbow down on his arm and hear a 
  satisfying crack as my spur splits the bone.
  Ursio screams as I spin away. Rennie is no fool. Seeing 
  Ursio crippled, he leaps toward me.
  His whole body transforms, claws tearing through 
  his soft leather shoes to let his black nails clatter on the 
  cobblestones. He is even bigger than before, swelled with 
  blood as he scrabbles toward me. I carry no weapon potent 
  enough to slay a lycanthrope, and Rennie knows it.
  Just then, a thunderous roar fills the alley. Rennie freezes, 
  his ruff standing out from his neck, whiskers twitching. The 
  roar becomes a rumbling growl moving closer to our sewer 
  niche. It is unmistakably the sound of a great cat.
  Rennie squeals and leaps past me, wrenching the 
  sewer grate away and vanishing into the stinking hole. I 
  consider following him, but then a shadow falls upon me.
  The woman from the plaza peers around the corner 
  cautiously, a thin scroll dangling from her hand. The 
  glittering mist from the expended magic trails off the 
  parchment. She glances at the sewer entrance, then down 
  the alley where I see Ursio staggering away, cradling his 
  broken arm. Not far away, the boy moans and clutches his 
  head. I offer him my hand.
  “You all right, kid?”
  He hesitates, eyes wide.
  “I’m not going to hurt you,” I say. “What’s your name?”
  He takes my hand and I pull him to his feet. “Gruck,” 
  he says.
  “What about you?” The woman touches my arm. “Are 
  you all right?”
  “Never better,” I tell her. “Thanks to your little trick.”
  “Oh, that was nothing,” she says. “Just a little exercise 
  I’d been copying.”
  She sees me looking past her shoulder and turns to see 
  Ivo Elliendo flanked by his Hellknights. Beside me, the 
  kid gulps, and I lay a heavy hand on his shoulder to keep 
  him calm and still.
  “What is this commotion?” demands Elliendo. His eyes 
  have already lit upon Ursio’s dropped crossbow, and he 
  idly smacks his folded gloves against his left palm.
  
  72
  Hell’s Pawns Part 1 of 6
  “My friend Gruck here was just delivering a piece of 
  evidence,” I say. “This crossbow might have been used in 
  some Cheapside robberies last year. Gruck found it in a 
  pawn shop and thought of me.”
  Elliendo steps closer, and his Hellknights step behind 
  us to cut off escape. They bring a whiff of brimstone into 
  the alley.
  “I heard a loud noise,” says Elliendo. He slaps my 
  hand away from Gruck’s shoulder with his gloves and 
  chucks the boy under the chin to get a good look at 
  his face. The scrapes are obvious. “Has this half-breed 
  assaulted you, boy?”
  The kid doesn’t even flick his eyes toward me as he 
  says, “No, I fell.”
  “Ah,” says Elliendo. “How did you fall, boy? What 
  precisely caused your fall?”
  “It was—I saw a rat run out at me. A big rat.”
  “Indeed,” says Elliendo. “That does not explain the sound.”
  “Biggest alley cat you ever saw,” I say, holding my hands 
  about three feet apart.
  “I asked the boy, tiefling. When I desire your—”
  “It’s true, Paralictor,” says the woman.
  Elliendo peers down at her. “And who might you be, 
  Miss…?”
  “Henderthane,” she says. “Pavanna Henderthane.”
  Elliendo’s stern countenance melts into a gentler 
  expression. “My condolences. Einmarch Henderthane 
  was a loyal servant of the crown.” He seems ready to say 
  something more, but he glances at me and the kid before 
  deciding against it. “I trust whatever business you have 
  with this person is nothing to do with—”
  “It is a personal matter, Paralictor,” she says. “I know 
  you understand.”
  His curt frown says he may understand, but he doesn’t 
  like it. “Very well,” he says. “I see no reason to delay you 
  further. Good day, Miss Henderthane.” Ignoring Gruck and 
  me, he clicks his heels and nods a bow toward her before 
  pivoting on his heel and striding away with his Hellknights 
  in tow. I like the way his half-cloak swirls when he does that. 
  He must spend hours in front of the mirror practicing.
  “Nice job, kid.” I turn toward Gruck, but he is already 
  trotting down the alley. I shrug and collect Ursio’s 
  crossbow and the misfired bolt. Sniffing it, I am relieved 
  to detect the stench of sewer moss, not a proper poison. 
  My scratch will itch for a while, but I won’t need to spend 
  my savings on a magical cure. I look at Pavanna and say, 
  “I owe you one.”
  “Then get me an interview with Count Jeggare.” She 
  smiles, as pleased by the game as by her success at it.
  “It doesn’t work like that,” I tell her. Before she can 
  protest, I add, “But I’ll see what I can do. Let’s discuss it 
  over a couple of ales.”
  “You’re buying,” she says. That’s all right by me.
  Three hours later I hop over the wall behind the boss’s 
  gardens, wave to the groundskeeper, and let myself in 
  through the kitchen door. Inside, I bump into Malla, a 
  plump human almost as short as her lone slip assistant. 
  The place smells of fresh rye, and I make a show of 
  craning my neck to spot a loaf to filch while snaking a 
  hand in to pinch her bottom. She shakes a rolling pin at 
  me. Our daily pantomime.
  “How is the weather upstairs?” I ask.
  “Gloomy,” she says. “His lordship was asking after you.”
  I wind my way through the labyrinth of the servants’ 
  area and up the stairs to the foyer, where I glance up. The 
  enormous portrait of Pontia Jeggare stares down with an 
  expression of stern benevolence. I never met the boss’s 
  mother, of course, but even eighty years after her funeral, 
  she remains the lady of the house. I tip her a wink, 
  because I think she’d have liked me.
  The butler intercepts me at the top of the steps. His 
  arms are full of parcels and letters, an overwhelming load 
  for a halfling. 
  “Make yourself useful,” he says, thrusting his burden 
  toward me. He nods in the direction of the library. 
  The boss still calls it the library even though the 
  two floors of ceiling-high bookshelves are hidden by 
  a calamity of bric-a-brac. On three long tables filling 
  half the lower floor is an array of stuffed and mounted 
  creatures. Among the dead menagerie are jars of dried 
  plants, bones, rocks, muddy fluids, and a few nasty-
  looking creatures preserved in dark liquids. There 
  are weapons and parts of weapons, costumes from far 
  countries, paintings and carvings, shards of pottery, 
  animal skins, nautical devices, dwarven measuring 
  tools, brushes, clamps, magnifying glasses, and 
  terrariums. The place looks like a warehouse full of  
  all the confiscated belongings of a legion of crackpots 
  and packrats.
  The other half of the room contains several globes of 
  the world, and models of the nearby worlds in a gnome-
  built contraption the boss calls an orrery. More than 
  anything else, on easels and tables and podiums, the boss 
  has maps. A few are the grand inked and illustrated maps 
  agreed upon by sages and ministers of states, but most are 
  hand-drawn, some of them so recently or so long ago that 
  charcoal dust rises from the parchment at a touch.
  The boss slumps in a stuffed leather chair by the fire, 
  one knee hooked over the arm. A fine crystal glass full of 
  a concoction he calls Faerie Fire dangles from his long 
  fingers. That’s a bad sign, because the potent liquor puts 
  him in a darker mood when he’s been brooding, as he has 
  ever since the Bonner case.
  “I know what will cheer you up,” I say, setting 
  the parcels down on another chair. “We have a new 
  challenge.” The boss doesn’t like “cases,” “jobs,” 
  
  73
  The Plaza of Flowers
  or “missions.” He likes “problems,” “puzzles,” and 
  “conundrums.”
  He sighs and runs a hand through his black hair, thick 
  and long as a horse’s tail. His dark violet eyes are half-
  lidded, and I would almost swear his tapered, half-elven 
  ears are drooping just before he leaps out of the chair.
  “They’re here!” He tears open one of the parcels and 
  sets aside a stack of journals. The second is a small crate 
  that he fumbles over for a moment before letting me pry 
  off the lid. He reaches in and from the packing straw 
  withdraws a mask of painted mahogany. It is the face of a 
  Mwangi spirit. This I know because of some of the boss’s 
  previous acquisitions, all of them sent by the so-called 
  Pathfinders who report their excursions to him.
  Realizing I’ve lost his attention until he has revealed 
  each of the new treasures and the accompanying 
  reports, I take a seat. When he isn’t looking, I 
  pour the remaining Faerie Fire into a potted 
  Qadiran olive tree. As he reads the letters from 
  his Pathfinders, I light one of those pungent 
  Taldan cigars he detests. At first he is 
  oblivious to the distraction, but then 
  one of my smoke rings passes between 
  his face and the vellum he is reading. 
  He carefully refolds the letter and 
  turns toward me, waving the fumes 
  away until I stub out the cigar on the 
  back of my hand and tuck the butt into 
  a sleeve pocket.
  “Out with it.”
  I tell him Pavanna’s story.
  “She believes her father was murdered 
  despite the ruling of natural death.”
  “Which it couldn’t have been,” I say, 
  “because the cleric she hired to contact her 
  father’s spirit can’t reach it.”
  “That does not prove murder,” says Jeggare, 
  “but it is an anomaly.”
  “The real puzzle is why her brother 
  would inherit the entire estate, after her father 
  announced publicly that his will included a 
  generous legacy for her.”
  “It is not unusual for disinherited nobles to 
  make such claims,” he says. “And the executor of 
  Henderthane’s estate is reputable.”
  “But there was no bad blood between father and daughter, 
  or even between brother and sister,” I say. “It’s a mystery.”
  “No,” says Jeggare. He spots his empty glass and shoots 
  me a suspicious glance. “It is a tedious family squabble.” 
  “What about the mother?” I say. “In the event of 
  his death, she was to have received an annuity. It is 
  common knowledge.”
  “Yes,” says Jeggare, “it is common, tawdry, and 
  completely devoid of gravity.”
  He is in a particularly foul mood, and I don’t want to 
  make it worse, but more than that I don’t want to tell 
  Pavanna that I can’t return her favor. 
  “I suppose you’re right, boss,” I say. “Elliendo said you’d 
  never take up this one.”
  Sometimes that ploy works, but not this time. 
  With a bored sigh, Jeggare turns back to pluck at his 
  Pathfinder reports. 
  “‘What could interest Jeggare about a 
  disinherited opera singer?’ he said.” I think I 
  capture Elliendo’s sneering tone, even if perfect 
  mimicry is not foremost among my talents. While 
  he hasn’t been to the opera for months, it is one 
  of Jeggare’s cyclical passions. “‘To him, the 
  disgrace of Drulia Henderthane is far too 
  sentimental an affair for him to risk his—’”
  “Drulia Henderthane?” says the boss. 
  “You neglected to mention that name.” 
  “She’s the mother.”
   “I was there the night she 
  performed.” His voice takes on a 
  wistful tone, and for a moment I 
  think I’m in for a story. Instead, he 
  stares across the library, forgetting 
  about the Pathfinder reports as his 
  mind drifts back in time. I know 
  better than to interrupt his reverie. It 
  means he is reaching a decision. I 
  thrust my thumbs between my middle fingers 
  for luck.
  “Very well,” he says, striding to the wall where 
  he pulls the cord to summon his butler. “I shall 
  send a message to House Henderthane. While 
  we await a reply, wash yourself. You smell of 
  sulfur and the sewers, and also of an expensive 
  Andoren perfume.”
  “It was strictly business, boss.”
  “Once you are clean, fetch your livery.”
  When I wear that ridiculous footman’s costume, 
  I feel I should be grinding one of those dwarven 
  music boxes and capering for coppers in the street. 
  “But boss—”
  “No arguments,” he says, and I know this is 
  only the beginning of his revenge.
  “thE boss is rElEntlEss in his 
  pursuit of justicE... whEn hE 
  fEEls likE it.”
  
  74
  Council of Thieves
  Aberration
  Animal
  Construct
  Dragon
  Fey
  Humanoid
  Magical Beasts
  Monstrous Humanoid
  Plant
  Ooze
  Outsider
  Undead
  Vermin
  Forest/Jungle
  Desert
  Hill
  Mountain
  Plain
  Ruins
  Swamp
  Sky
  Underground
  Urban
  Water
  Extraplanar 
  Temperate 
  Cold 
  Tropical
  Creature Type
  Environment
  Climate
  Bestiary symBols
  Bestiary
  Abandoned and wanting on that blackened shore I waited, 
  alone with my enemy, the vicious, patient sea. Eighty-
  four days of starvation and scorn, eighty-four days of 
  battling the unwearying beast. Here was my crucible, 
  here was my Hell—yet I refused to burn. My travail had 
  brought transformation, my rod become a crooked lance, 
  my salt-soaked hat a helm, the arms of a victory I would 
  not be refused. I lasted the death of a hundred thousand 
  waves. I gritted through the freezing breath that had 
  claimed so many men. No trick of this endless beast 
  would cow me, no death would force my defeat.
  But on the eighty-fifth, the harlot deep choked up her 
  spawn—her needle-teeth, her gibbering revenge—and 
  on saffron wings they stole my sanity away.
  —From The Madness of Lostmast, by Actino Manolin
  
  75
  Bestiary
  M
  enaces inhabiting the streets and sewers of 
  Westcrown, as well as beings haunting the 
  shadows of Cheliax, come together in this 
  installment of the Pathfinder Bestiary. Within the dark 
  and forgotten reaches of Westcrown creep the disgusting 
  torble, the amorphous shadowgarm, and countless forms 
  of repulsive parasites. The wild coasts of the infernal 
  empire also serve as the home and hunting ground of the 
  irritating gremlins known as hanivers and the sinister 
  winged strix of Devil’s Perch. The denizens of Hell also 
  begin their march this month, with the least of their 
  number, the blazing ukobach, bringing burning death 
  to all who would oppose the whims of the archdevils. 
  Cheliax is a dangerous place, and those who fall here 
  risk losing much more than just their lives.
  CounCil of monsters
  The Council of Thieves Adventure Path brings with it a 
  host of new monsters, both to supplement each volume’s 
  adventure and to aid GMs in exploring Cheliax and 
  Golarion far beyond the walls of Westcrown. Over the 
  course of this series, readers can expect a wide range of 
  beings tied to each month’s plots and themes. In addition, 
  as the infernal themes of Council of Thieves draw upon 
  many of the fiendish elements of the Pathfinder Chronicles 
  product Princes of Darkness: Book of the Damned Volume 1, 
  this and the next five Bestiaries each feature a new devil, 
  continuing that tome’s work of detailing and further 
  swelling the ranks of Hell.
  To aid in preparing GMs for what’s coming in 
  subsequent installments, here’s a sneak peak at the 
  monsters lurking just around the corner.
  Pathfinder #25: Denizens of Cheliax, a host of beasts 
  from Westcrown and elsewhere in the infernal empire.
  Pathfinder #26: Terrors of Nobility, creatures of 
  assassination, honor, and ambition.
  Pathfinder #27: Monsters of Treasure and Antiquity, 
  exotic beasts and the bane of explorers.
  Pathfinder #28: Hellspawn, Hellish natives beyond the 
  infernal.
  Pathfinder #29: Beings Beyond Shadow, the dooms that 
  come from darkness.
  Pathfinder #30: Masterminds and World-Ending Evils, 
  high-level embodiments of the apocalypse.
  Wandering monsters
  Westcrown serves as both home and war zone for 
  thousands of Chelaxians, as its abandoned northern 
  reaches have given way to ruin, violence, and the worst 
  humanity has to offer. In this urban wasteland lurk 
  beasts and brigands, the scavengers of a splendorous 
  past and the terrors that would prey on such rabble. 
  Presented here and in the random encounters sidebar 
  are just a few of the dangers PCs might encounter as 
  they explore the walled-off northern reaches of the 
  Wiscrani Dospera.
  Dotarri: The dotarri are the Westcrown city guard. 
  While many are upstanding peacekeepers, others—
  especially those who might be wandering the Dospera—
  are corrupt and likely up to some mischief or criminal 
  venture. To approximate a typical dotarri, use the stats 
  for a Hellknight armiger, presented on page 21.
  Thieves: Characters might encounter a wide variety of 
  scavengers, criminals, miscreants, and other ne’er-do-
  wells in their exploration of Westcrown’s ruins. These 
  might be disorganized brigands, thugs, con men, or even 
  members of the Bastards of Erebus. Such thieves might 
  use the statistics for tiefling rogues, present on page 264 
  of the Pathfinder RPG Bestiary. An encounter with 1d6 CR 
  1/2 thieves is a CR 2 encounter, while an encounter with 
  1d10 CR 1/2 thieves is a CR 3 encounter.
  Westcrown Ruins Random Encounters
  d% 
  Encounter 
  Avg. CR 
  Source
  1–3 
  1d6 dire rats 
  1/3 
  Bestiary 232
  4–7 
  1 giant centipede 
  1/2 
  Bestiary 43
  8–10 
  1 guard dog 
  1/2 
  see page 40 
  11–15 
  1d6 dottari 
  1 
  see text
  16–19 
  1d6 guard dogs 
  1 
  see page 40
  20–22 
  1d4 sewer goblins 
  1 
  see page 22
  23–24 
  1d6 skeletons 
  1 
  Bestiary 250
  25–29 
  1 spider swarm 
  1 
  Bestiary 258
  30–32 
  2d8 torbles 
  1 
  Pathfinder #25
  33–34 
  1 tiefling fighter 2 
  1 
  see page 35
  34–35 
  1d6 hanivers 
  2 
  Pathfinder #25
  36–39 
  1 imp 
  2 
  Bestiary 78
  40–42 
  1 rat swarm 
  2 
  Bestiary 232
  43–46 
  1 shadowgarm 
  2 
  Pathfinder #25
  47–51 
  1d10 skeletons 
  2 
  Bestiary 245
  52–55 
  1d6 stirges 
  2 
  Bestiary 260
  56–61 
  1d10 tiefling thugs 
  2 
  see page 39
  62–64 
  1d6 thieves 
  2 
  see text
  65–68 
  1 torble swarm 
  2 
  Pathfinder #25
  69–73 
  1d6 zombies 
  2 
  Bestiary 288
  74–76 
  1 allip 
  3 
  Bonus Bestiary 4
  77–78 
  1 assassin vine 
  3 
  Bestiary 22
  79–82 
  1 giant rot grub 
  3 
  Pathfinder #25
  83–85 
  1 shadow 
  3 
  Bestiary 245
  86–89 
  1d10 thieves 
  3 
  see text
  90–91 
  1d4 venomous snakes 3 
  Bestiary 255
  92–94 
  1 gargoyle 
  4 
  Bestiary 137
  95–96 
  1 otyugh 
  4 
  Bestiary 223
  97–99 
  rot grub hazard 
  4 
  Pathfinder #25
  100 
  1 shadow mastiff 
  5 
  Bonus Bestiary 16
  * See paizo.com for the Pathfinder RPG Bonus Bestiary.
  
  76
  Council of Thieves
  gremlin, Haniver
  This small, bizarre humanoid creature has strange yellow skin 
  and tiny black eyes that burn with malevolence. It grins at its 
  prey with a mouth filled with sharp, needle-like teeth. Its long 
  tail and fins flap around wildly whether it flies through the air 
  or swims through the water. 
  Haniver 
  CR 1/2 
  XP 200
  N Tiny fey (aquatic)
  Init +5; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +4
  DEfEnSE
  AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+1 Dex, +2 size)
  hp 4 (1d6+1)
  fort +1, Ref +3, Will +2
  DR 2/cold iron; SR 8
  OffEnSE
  Speed 5 ft., fly 20 ft. (average), swim 20 ft.
  Melee bite +1 (1d3–1) 
  Space 2-1/2 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
  Special Attacks misplacement
  Spell-Like Abilities (CL 1st)
  At will—prestidigitation, ventriloquism (DC 12)
  1/day—scare (DC 13)
  STATISTICS
  Str 9, Dex 13, Con 12, Int 8, Wis 11, Cha 12
  Base Atk +0; CMB –3; CMD 8
  feats Improved Initiative
  Skills Disguise +7, Perception +4, Sleight of Hand +7, Stealth +13, 
  Swim +11; Racial Modifiers +2 Disguise, +2 Sleight of Hand 
  Language Common, Sylvan
  SQ amphibious
  ECOLOgy
  Environment temperate coasts
  Organization solitary, pair, or swarm (4–12)
  Treasure incidental
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Misplacement (Su) Hanivers are swift and curious, possessing 
  an uncanny ability to meddle with the possessions of any 
  character whose square they enter. Any time a haniver makes 
  a Sleight of Hand check against a creature, it also rearranges 
  its possessions. The next time that creature attempts to 
  produce a weapon or item it finds its possessions misplaced 
  or disarranged, thus requiring a standard action instead of 
  a move action to retrieve a stored item or draw a weapon 
  (unless the haniver has stolen the item in question). After 
  spending this standard action, the character takes mental 
  inventory and is no longer affected by this ability.
  Occasionally, hanivers replace items they’ve stolen or 
  leave their old treasures—seashells, old fish, clumps of 
  sand—in containers or clothing they have rooted through. 
  They do this without any added difficultly to their Sleight of 
  Hand checks.
  Haniver gremlins haunt the stories of sailors and fishing 
  communities, featuring prominently in parables told to 
  naughty children by disapproving parents. A thousand 
  such tales exist, each a variation on a common theme—
  the gremlins flap up from the sea, startle nasty fishermen 
  or disobedient youths, and make off with their trinkets. 
  Yet as is rarely the case with such tales, nearly every word 
  of these stories—no matter how unlikely or comic—
  proves near to the truth.
  Strange fey creatures that enjoy skimming whitecaps, 
  flipping horseshoe crabs, and fatalistically teasing 
  dolphins and sharks, hanivers endlessly indulge a mad 
  racial curiosity. Such is their obsession that every haniver 
  must know what is under every rock, in every basket, and 
  beneath every hat. Should they like what they find, they 
  typically attempt to make off with it, clinging to their 
  prize like a beloved heirloom until the next curiosity 
  or shiny treasure catches their attention. Hanivers 
  have no concept of worth, though they know much of 
  desirability, and might hang onto an item they would 
  otherwise discard in moments if another creature—or 
  former owner—expresses desire for it. The gremlins 
  don’t steal out of any sense of maliciousness, but merely 
  out of curiosity and selfishness. The most intelligent 
  occasionally even believe that they’re trading, leaving 
  behind old “treasures”—often strange or natural items 
  that barely fit the description—in place of things they’ve 
  claimed. Regardless, folklore advises those who have 
  something stolen by a haniver to simply abandon it rather 
  than face the frustration of attempting to rescue it—
  hence the tendency of fishermen to blame the hanivers 
  whenever something goes missing.
  Hanivers possess flat, leathery bodies with only a few 
  thin bones. Most stand little more than a foot tall and 
  1-1/2 feet across, and weigh less than 5 pounds.
  Ecology
  Strange beings, even for fey, haniver gremlins bear 
  similarities to both sprites and some breeds of coastal 
  fish. Their fin-like wings grant them great mobility, both 
  above and below the waves, aiding in their odd habit of 
  flitting in and out of rolling waves. Sets of tiny gills and 
  lungs alike allow them to survive in both environments, 
  making them strangely oblivious to the quandaries 
  of those that cannot. If forced to the ground, a haniver 
  moving along land is a pitiful sight, as it scrabbles its way 
  across the earth with its feeble claws and flops like a fish 
  at the bottom of a boat.
  Habitat & Society
  Hanivers rarely travel far from the ocean, preferring 
  the coast both for the comfort of salt water and for the 
  strange things they often find washed up on beaches. 
  
  77
  Bestiary
  Even though they don’t require water to live, their 
  leathery bodies dry out over time, becoming chafed and 
  stiff. Thus, few hanivers spend more than an hour out 
  of the water. These gremlins rarely keep lairs or places 
  they call theirs, though most favor small flat underwater 
  crevices or gaps in sea cliffs on those rare occasions when 
  they feel like sleeping. Some hanivers keep small troves 
  for their treasures, and such nooks might be numerous 
  and any place a gremlin deems safe.
  Often seeming oblivious to others of their kind, or 
  even avoiding them—fleeing from those who might also 
  take a fancy to objects that fascinate them—hanivers 
  occasionally travel together in small mobs. Banding 
  together for safety as they flit across and below coastal 
  waves, these gremlins can prove incredibly frustrating, 
  even dangerous, should they notice something of 
  interest en masse. Ships at sea, lone fishermen, and even 
  whales and some other forms of large marine life go 
  out of their way to avoid swarms of hanivers. Those that 
  don’t risk finding themselves captured amid a storm 
  of inexplicably terrifying, flapping pests, their every 
  possession pilfered by the quick-fingered gremlins.
  Treasure
  With no real care for the treasures they collect or 
  interest in items of value, hanivers swipe things 
  based wholly on whether an object strikes 
  their curiosity. Certain objects are guaranteed 
  haniver bait, most specifically any object with 
  a lid or flap or anything that shines. As such, 
  chests, packs, boxes, and tents prove irresistible 
  to these gremlins, as do metal arms and armor, 
  coins, gems, lanterns, fishing lures, buttons, 
  sea shells, and the like—the shinier, the 
  better. Additionally, every haniver has its 
  own favorite treasures, and while one 
  might need to claim every new feather 
  it sees, another might obsess over 
  objects that look like they’d make an 
  entertaining noise when dropped 
  from a height. Such fascinations are 
  never malicious, but occasionally 
  lead hanivers to imperil delicate 
  objects or small creatures. On the 
  other hand, hanivers’ fixations can sometime prove 
  their undoing, as these thieves’ curiosity about closed 
  spaces make these unsuspecting gremlins notoriously 
  easy to capture, and other curiosities might directly 
  lead to messy ends as they attempt to steal from animals, 
  working 
  machinery, 
  or—most 
  commonly—angry 
  humanoids.
  Hanivers occasionally collect items that prove durable 
  and particularly pleasing. Such treasures they place in out-
  of-the-way hidey-holes, such as underwater crevices, high 
  tree hollows, and gaps underneath loose shingles. While 
  such collections usually prove worthless, containing only 
  bits of glass, pieces of paper, bent nails, or children’s toys, 
  some fishermen tell of the fortunate costermonger whose 
  chimney rained gold—the result of a coin-collecting 
  haniver’s poor choice in hiding spots.
  As Hanivers are widely reviled by sailors and any who 
  dwell along the coast, many town constabularies or old 
  timers hold to an age-old tradition of paying a copper 
  for the body of a haniver. Legends say that the gremlins 
  fear the bodies of their own kind and will avoid any 
  house that nails a dead haniver above its door, or the 
  fisherman who carries a haniver corpse amid his tackle. 
  The only problem is that, unless properly prepared and 
  dried (requiring a DC 11 Craft [leather] or Profession 
  [fisherman] check), haniver flesh begins to reek terribly 
  about an hour after death, much like the smell of week-
  old fish. To approximate such gruesome talismans, 
  children in many coastal communities enjoy “candied 
  gremlins”—haniver-shaped dried fish or ray covered in 
  salt and sticky sugar.
  
  78
  Council of Thieves
  rot gruB
  A nauseating carpet of wriggling white grubs erupts from the 
  corpse’s flank, undulating outward in a wave of pallid hunger.
  Rot grub Swarm 
  CR 7 
  XP 3,200
  N Fine vermin (swarm)
  Init +2; Senses blindsense 30 ft.; Perception +0
  DEfEnSE
  AC 20, touch 20, flat-footed 18 (+2 Dex, +8 size)
  hp 85 (10d8+40)
  fort +11, Ref +5, Will +3
  Defensive Abilities swarm traits; Immune mind-affecting effects, 
  weapon damage
  Weakness swarm traits
  OffEnSE
  Speed 10 ft.
  Melee swarm (2d6 plus distraction and infestation) 
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
  Special Attacks distraction (DC 19), infestation
  STATISTICS
  Str 1, Dex 15, Con 18, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 1
  Base Atk +7; CMB –6; CMD 6
  ECOLOgy
  Environment any
  Organization solitary
  Treasure none
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Infestation (Ex) Any living creature that takes damage from a rot 
  grub swarm becomes infested unless he makes a DC 19 Reflex 
  save. An infested creature takes 1d6 points of Constitution 
  damage per round as the rot grubs inside him consume his 
  flesh—this damage continues even if the victim escapes the 
  swarm’s square. If the victim is targeted with any area-effect 
  fire attack before he suffers his second round of infestation, 
  the grubs in his body are slain and the infestation ends, but the 
  sheer number of grubs makes cutting them out impossible. 
  Any effect that cures disease (such as remove disease or heal) 
  also halts the infestation and kills the grubs, but immunity to 
  disease offers no defense against infestation. The save DC is 
  Constitution-based.
  Rot grubs are nauseating parasites that feed on flesh and 
  use corpses as nests in which to grow. While a rot grub 
  can derive nourishment from dead flesh, its true hunger 
  is for the flesh of the living—live flesh greatly accelerates a 
  rot grub’s growth to adulthood. A grub with only a corpse 
  to feed on can take weeks to complete its transformation 
  into the short-lived, skittering, yellow-orange arachnid 
  that is its adult form, but a grub that finds living prey 
  gnaws its way through the body and gorges on live flesh, 
  then nests in the resulting corpse and grows to adulthood 
  in a matter of hours. An adult rot grub lives for only a few 
  hours—long enough for it to lay dozens of eggs within 
  the body of its old host before it dies. The new grubs that 
  hatch grow slowly unless a new host wanders by.
  Thankfully, rot grub swarms occur only rarely, as they 
  require the infested carcass of a Huge or larger creature 
  and many weeks to build up in the amounts necessary to 
  constitute a swarm. When this occurs—after the grubs 
  have finally skeletonized their host—they erupt and seethe 
  across the ground, a hideous carpet of pale flesh that, unlike 
  smaller groups of rot grubs, actively seeks out living flesh to 
  consume. Once formed, a rot grub swarm is self-sustaining; 
  the vermin quickly devour creatures they slay and move on. 
  When individual grubs mature in a swarm, they are quickly 
  eaten by those grubs yet to achieve adulthood.
  Swarms of rot grubs are single-minded in their purpose, 
  and know only hunger. They are voracious, and never stop 
  moving or pursuing flesh that can be eaten. As long as 
  consumable flesh exists, they replenish their numbers at a 
  speed such that they never need to stop to rest. Swarms of 
  rot grubs have been known to cross vast expanses of land 
  like flesh-eating floods, consuming all living creatures 
  that they happen to encounter. These menaces arise most 
  frequently in warm, moist environs, but prove tenacious 
  and might be found in nearly any unfrozen clime.
  giant rot gruB
  This twitching, pale yellow maggot is the size of a large dog. 
  A four-jawed mouth twitches and gasps at one end of its 
  pulsating body.
  giant Rot grub 
  CR 3 
  XP 800
  N Small vermin 
  Init +1; Senses blindsense 30 ft.; Perception +0
  DEfEnSE
  AC 15, touch 12, flat-footed 14 (+3 armor, +1 Dex, +1 size)
  hp 34 (4d8+16)
  fort +8, Ref +2, Will +1
  OffEnSE
  Speed 20 ft.
  Melee bite +6 (1d6+3 plus poison and grab)
  Special Attacks gnaw
  STATISTICS
  Str 14, Dex 12, Con 18, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 1
  Base Atk +3; CMB +4; CMD 15
  ECOLOgy
  Environment any
  Organization solitary, pair, or nest (3–8)
  Treasure none 
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  gnaw (Ex) A rot grub that is grappling a foe and chooses to 
  damage the foe with an additional grapple check inflicts twice 
  
  79
  Bestiary
  its normal bite damage (2d6+6 for most giant rot grubs), in 
  addition to injecting an additional dose of poison with each 
  successful check.
  Poison (Ex) Bite—injury; save Fort DC 16; frequency 1/round for 5 
  rounds; effect 1d3 Strength damage; cure 1 save. The save DC is 
  Constitution-based.
  Sometimes a rot grub’s transformation into an adult 
  simply fails to trigger. In this case, the mutant grub 
  continues to feed and grow, eventually reaching its 
  maximum size and becoming a venomous giant rot grub. 
  At this size, the rot grub ceases its parasitic behavior and 
  functions more like a predator, scouring the region for 
  living creatures to feed upon.
  Although it proves notoriously difficult to predict 
  what circumstances might lead to the growth of a giant 
  rot grub, many seem to arise from swarms allowed to 
  feed upon the flesh of dragons, be they true wyrms or 
  other breeds. While these giants can’t be trusted to arise 
  from every draconic meal a rot grub swarm ingests, the 
  frequency with which they do proves statistically higher.
  Rot Grubs as Hazards (CR 4)
  Smaller groups of normal-sized rot grubs do not 
  constitute a swarm, but even individually they’re quite 
  dangerous. Generally, a handful of the grubs infest a 
  single corpse at a time, and a DC 15 Perception check is 
  enough to note the infestation before the grubs have a 
  chance to attack anything living that comes in contact 
  with the corpse. If the Perception check is failed, 1d6 
  grubs swiftly burst from the carcass to burrow into 
  the creature, which can attempt a DC 15 Ref lex save to 
  avoid the grubs (but only if the creature is aware of the 
  grubs’ presence).
  Once rot grubs are burrowing in a living body, the 
  host must make a DC 17 Fortitude save each round. 
  Failure results in 2 points of Constitution damage per 
  grub infesting the victim—at Constitution 0, the rot 
  grubs have reached the host’s heart, brain, and other key 
  internal organs and death occurs.
  On the first round of infestation, applying flame to 
  the point of entry can kill the grubs and save the host, 
  but this inflicts 1d6 points of fire damage to the victim. 
  Cutting the grubs out also works, but the longer the 
  grubs remain in a host, the more damage this method 
  does. For each round that the grubs have remained in a 
  host, cutting them out requires a slashing weapon and a 
  DC 20 Heal check, and inflicts 1d6 points of damage per 
  round that the host has been infested. On a successful 
  Heal check, the grubs are removed. A remove disease 
  spell (or similar effect) instantly halts the infestation, 
  but as the grubs themselves are parasites, immunity to 
  disease offers no protection against infestation. 
  Any amount of damage reduction is enough to provide 
  immunity to infestation, however.
  Infested Undead
  Since rot grubs only feed on living flesh and use dead flesh 
  as an incubator, undead are not harmed by infestations of 
  the parasites. A corporeal, non-skeletal undead infested 
  with rot grubs transfers one rot grub to any creature 
  that touches it or to any creature it strikes with a touch 
  attack or with any natural attack. The target may make a 
  DC 15 Reflex save to avoid being infested, but otherwise 
  is immediately subjected to a single grub burrowing 
  through his flesh. A rot-grub-infested 
  undead’s CR increases by +1.
  The Rot Grub Legacy
  Rot grubs have been menacing PCs for decades. 
  Traditionally, the grubs are dangerous en masse but 
  individually quite harmless. The variant rot grubs presented 
  here serve different roles than the traditional rot grub—
  the rot grub swarm is a deadly mid-level monstrosity, 
  while the solitary giant rot grub is a lower-level threat that 
  has traded efficiency for sluggish size and strength. GMs 
  interested in presenting the PCs with a more traditional 
  rot grub should consult the Tome of Horrors Revised, page 
  421, for rules on using rot grubs as a hazard. Those rules 
  are converted to the Pathfinder RPG here.
  
  80
  Council of Thieves
  sHadoWgarm
  This amorphous creature loosely resembles a cross between a large 
  snake and an insect. It has black oily skin, and parts of its very 
  flesh blend seamlessly into the shadows. Its constantly moving, 
  writhing form makes it difficult to identify from a distance.
  Shadowgarm 
  CR 2 
  XP 600
  NE Medium aberration (extraplanar)
  Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; 
  Perception +6
  DEfEnSE
  AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor, +2 Dex)
  hp 19 (3d8+6)
  fort +3, Ref +5, Will +5
  Defensive Abilities feather fall, shadow blend; SR 7
  Weaknesses light fixation
  OffEnSE
  Speed 30 ft., climb 30 ft.
  Melee 3 claws +4 (1d4+2 plus shadow slime) 
  STATISTICS
  Str 14, Dex 15, Con 14, Int 5, Wis 14, Cha 11
  Base Atk +2; CMB +4; CMD 16
  feats Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes
  Skills Climb +14, Perception +6, Stealth +6 (+10 in dim light); 
  Racial Modifiers +4 Stealth in dim light
  ECOLOgy
  Environment any (Plane of Shadow)
  Organization solitary or gathering (2–12)
  Treasure none
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  feather fall (Ex) A shadowgarm’s body is both light and consists 
  of numerous folds of thin flesh. Although it cannot fly, a falling 
  shadowgarm always descends as if under the effects of a feather 
  fall spell, and thus never takes falling damage.
  Light fixation (Su) Although a shadowgarm is not particularly 
  harmed by bright light, it prefers dim lighting. Magical light, 
  on the other hand, causes a shadowgarm to grow slow and 
  lethargic. Whenever a shadowgarm is within an area of bright 
  light that is magically created, it is staggered.
  Shadow Blend (Su) In conditions of dim light, a shadowgarm’s 
  outline wavers and blends with the surrounding shadows, 
  granting it concealment (20% miss chance) even if its 
  opponents are capable of seeing clearly in dim light.
  Shadow Slime (Su) A shadowgarm is coated with a thin layer 
  of oily black slime. Whenever it strikes a foe, it transfers a 
  swath of this cold black slime onto the creature struck. This 
  slime causes a growing numbness and lethargy in the bodies 
  of those it coats. Each time a creature takes damage from a 
  shadowgarm’s claws, the creature struck must make a DC 13 
  Fortitude save or take a cumulative –2 penalty to its Dexterity 
  score. A creature whose total Dexterity penalty equals its 
  Dexterity score is paralyzed and blinded as long as the penalty 
  remains in effect. All accrued Dexterity penalties fade an hour 
  after the last time the victim was affected by shadow slime, but 
  any new shadow slime resets the recovery period. Exposure to 
  bright light of any sort causes the Dexterity penalty to lessen 
  by 2 points per round until all of the shadow slime is effectively 
  “burned away” by the light. A shadowgarm is immune to the 
  effects of its shadow slime and the shadow slime of other 
  shadowgarms. The save DC is Constitution-based.
  Shadowgarms are strange monsters from the Plane of 
  Shadow, where they function as lowly predators and pests 
  somewhat akin to the Material Plane’s coyotes, leopards, 
  and similar hunting mammals. Yet to a creature unfamiliar 
  with the workings of the Plane of Shadow, the shadowgarm 
  is a hideous and frightening beast. Generally lairing in 
  ruined sections of towns or dead-end alleys clogged with 
  refuse during the day, they come out at night to prey 
  upon creatures that stray too far from the safety of light. 
  These aberrant predators “leak” into the Material Plane 
  anywhere the Plane of Shadow’s influence is strong. Small 
  groups of shadowgarms are occasionally seen lurking in 
  old graveyards where undead (particularly shadows) are 
  known to reside, and anywhere that has strong traditions 
  of shadow magic tends to have a healthy population of 
  shadowgarms lurking in out-of-the-way areas as well.
  The typical shadowgarm measures about 4-1/2 feet 
  long and weighs approximately 90 pounds, their bodies 
  being strangely light, composed of a spongy dark matter 
  and seemingly wisps of shadow itself. Some, however, 
  grow to be much larger, though shadowgarms of all sizes 
  prove especially adept at blending in among the shadows 
  and detritus of their hunting grounds or crawling into 
  crevices it seems creatures of their size would not be able 
  to squeeze.
  Ecology
  Strange beings with a little-understood physiology, 
  shadowgarms prove endlessly hungry, taking sustenance 
  from shadow as if it were water and drawing nutrition 
  from the flesh of other creatures as their only source of 
  food. Shadowgarms can eat and digest any sort of animal 
  matter, from flesh to bone, converting them into little more 
  than smoke and shadow. A creature left to a shadowgarm 
  to feed upon leaves behind nothing but trappings of metal 
  and similarly solid accessories.
  A shadowgarm’s physical form seems strangely fluid, 
  proving slightly malleable and generalized. No two 
  shadowgarms appear exactly alike, and even individuals of 
  the race seem to gradually change, all the faster in areas of 
  deep shadows. Regardless of their endless, fluid alterations, 
  they retain three primary clawed appendages, which serve 
  them in consuming meals and fighting. Their number 
  of feelers or tentacle-like legs, however, is constantly in 
  
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  flux, numbering but two or three one moment and then 
  multiplying to dozens the next. Shadowgarms do not have 
  a mouth and hardly have heads to speak off—possessing 
  only slight knobby protuberances that seem to have little 
  role in guiding their motions. When ingesting matter, 
  they slowly dissolve their meals, their bodies breaking 
  down any organic substance they choose by resting upon 
  their meal for a matter of moments. The entire process 
  might be likened to a body-wide ingestion process similar 
  to that of a fly, as matter is dissolved and subsumed by the 
  shadowy hunter’s bulk.
  Once every several months, the urge to mate descends 
  upon shadowgarms like a mass racial insanity. At 
  this time, their natural aversion to their own kind is 
  overwhelmed by a need to procreate. Shadowgarms 
  are hemaphroditic, but cannot fertilize themselves—
  when a shadowgarm gathering begins, these creatures 
  congregate in groups of up to a dozen, remaining in close 
  proximity to each other for days at a time. The cycle that 
  drives shadowgarm gatherings is nothing connected to 
  the Material Plane—most scholars have been unable to 
  determine what pattern the timing follows, if indeed 
  there is a pattern at all.
  Habitat & Society
  Although shadowgarms are quite active at all times on the 
  Plane of Shadow, the realities of the Material Plane force 
  them into the niche of nocturnal predator. Yet despite 
  their hatred of light, they seem to need it in some strange 
  way. Observers have noted that the creatures prefer to 
  stand in actual shadows, rather than just in darkness, 
  and seem to savor the ever-changing nature of the 
  shadows themselves. It may be that shadowgarms abhor 
  total darkness as much as light, though neither bright 
  light nor utter darkness causes them physical harm. Most 
  shadowgarms’ hunts take place under 
  the light of the full moon, or in the 
  shadowy hours of dusk or dawn.
  In cities where shadowgarms 
  are common, they naturally gravitate to 
  sewers or narrow alleys. This allows them the easiest way 
  to quickly strike at unwary victims from above or below. 
  They do not build any sort of true nest 
  or lair, preferring to remain 
  constantly afoot in search 
  of new prey. As shadowgarms 
  have no fear of falling, they 
  often clamber up to corners 
  and niches at the tops of 
  tunnels or just under rooftop 
  overhangs, both to avoid any 
  bright light that might be 
  shining down from above 
  and to lie in wait to ambush unsuspecting prey that walks 
  underneath. This leads to the discovery of shadowgarms 
  in truly unexpected and unnerving places, like in bell 
  towers, within attics and crawl spaces, and even hidden 
  amid cracks and loose shingles in old roofing. More than 
  one child’s tale of boogiemen or strange shapes lurking 
  outside their windows might actually be attributed to the 
  daring nocturnal wanderings of shadowgarms.
  Shadowgarms are incredibly territorial, and usually do 
  not nest together except during their mating gathering. 
  Shadowgarms immediately confront one another upon 
  meeting. Pickpockets and other street urchins often 
  share wild tales of shadowgarms battling fiercely in the 
  alleyways and nighted dens, fighting with raw savagery 
  instead of their more customary stealth. Some canny 
  streetfolk use this territorial nature to trick competing 
  shadowgarms into fighting each other, giving wanderers 
  out after dark enough time to move through territories 
  infested by these lurking hunters without being attacked. 
  Of course, this tactic doesn’t work well in areas where 
  large numbers of shadowgarms are known to skulk, as 
  directing one’s attention to avoid a single hunter might 
  prevent a traveler from noticing other predators lying in 
  wait in the shadows.
  On rare occasions, a shadowgarm might take to the 
  seas, stealing aboard a ship at dock and hiding in the 
  hold. Once at sea, such hunters emerge nightly to prey 
  upon the ship’s crew. Since a shadowgarm melts away 
  into shadow and fog when it dies, leaving no evidence 
  of a corpse behind, this might be one explanation for 
  mysteriously derelict ships found adrift on the waves 
  with nothing living on board.
  
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  Council of Thieves
  strix
  The wings of a monstrous raven cloak this leanly muscled, 
  onyx-skinned humanoid. With eyes like a nocturnal predator he 
  considers his surroundings, as if scanning for prey. 
  Strix 
  CR 1/3
  XP 135
  Strix warrior 1
  AL Medium monstrous humanoid 
  Init +6; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +0 
  (+2 at night)
  DEfEnSE
  AC 12, touch 12, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex)
  hp 5 (1d10)
  fort +2, Ref +2, Will +0 (+2 against illusions)
  OffEnSE
  Spd 30 ft., fly 60 ft. (average)
  Melee spear +2 (1d8+1) 
  STATISTICS
  Str 12, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 8, Wis 11, Cha 7
  Base Atk +1; CMB +2; CMD 14
  feats Improved Initiative
  Skills Fly +3
  Languages Strix
  Special Qualities hatred, nocturnal
  ECOLOgy
  Environment temperate mountains
  Organization solitary, hunting party (3–6), war party (5–12), or 
  tribe (22+ plus 100% noncombatants plus 1 champion of 2nd-
  level per 10 adults, 1 or 2 seers of 3rd or 4th level, and 1 leader 
  of 5th–7th level)
  Treasure NPC gear (never coins)
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Hatred (Ex) Strix receive a +1 bonus on attack rolls against 
  humanoid creatures of the human subtype due to special 
  training against these hated foes.
  nocturnal (Ex) Strix gain a +2 racial bonus on Perception and 
  Stealth checks at night.
  Devil’s Perch, an infamous reach of Avistan’s southwestern 
  coast, has long captured the imaginations of the Chelish 
  people. For untold centuries, gruesome deaths and 
  diabolical shadows have haunted the region’s spires, while 
  local folklore weaves tales of winged devils. There strange 
  rock spurs and unnaturally deep abysses make the heights 
  deadly and nearly impossible to reach by land, and those 
  who manage to survive the pitiless environment swiftly 
  discover that the land’s inhabitants, the dark-winged strix, 
  do not welcome trespassers.
  Winged humanoids, the strix fiercely defend both 
  their land and their air, claiming dominion over all 
  reaches within sight of Ciricskree, the Screeching Spire. 
  Deadly but wise, savage yet content with their realm, 
  the strix would prefer to live quietly amid the towers of 
  Devil’s Perch, yet time and tradition have taught them 
  the wingless peoples of the shores and lowlands cannot 
  be trusted, and that only fear and bloodshed will protect 
  their ancient lands. 
  The common strix stands just over 6 feet tall, with males 
  and females being roughly the same size. Sharply pointed 
  ears, pupilless eyes, and slitted nostrils distinguish the race, 
  though their 12-foot wingspans prove most distinctive. An 
  adult strix weighs around 170 pounds. Most strix live to be 
  about 40 years old, with the eldest reaching ages of up to 60.
  Strix speak their own language, a strange pidgin of Azlanti 
  and Infernal understandable only by those who speak both 
  languages or Strix. 
  Ecology
  A mysterious, secretive race of winged humanoids, the 
  isolationist strix are set apart from their human neighbors by 
  several subtle differences. The eyes of strix prove particularly 
  interesting, as they are both highly reflective—leading many 
  tales to claim the natives of Devil’s Perch possess glowing 
  eyes—and fixed within their owners’ heads, forcing strix to 
  rotate their necks to adjust their field of vision. This causes 
  most strix to appear either stiff and somber or jerky and 
  skittish in their rare dealings with other creatures. Strix also 
  possess slightly clawed hands and feet, which aid them in 
  gripping perches but are too delicate to be used as weapons.
  Habitat & Society
  The only known strix in Avistan occupy a single group of 
  tall, rocky spires in western Cheliax, communally known as 
  Devil’s Perch. From their largest settlement atop the spire 
  of Ciricskree, they hunt the surrounding land by night 
  and guard their territories against the slightest incursion, 
  especially those made by humans.
  Strix have learned to hate humans, and teach their young 
  from an early age to fear and mistrust them above all other 
  races. Although the source of this hatred proves unclear to all 
  but the strix, it most likely comes from centuries of bloody 
  invasions into their lands, disastrous first encounters, or an 
  even older grudge.
  Strix culture is tightly knit, as it must be in a society 
  numbering less than a thousand members. Children 
  are cherished and deaths are serious and ceremonious 
  occasions. Murder is unknown among the strix, except 
  when those of their kind are slain by outsiders. The 
  strix take a vicious eye for an eye stance when it comes to 
  retaliation. They also realize that they are small compared 
  to the human nation that—as they see it—besieges them, 
  and view the death of one of their number as proportionally 
  equaling dozens, even hundreds, of outsiders. Suspecting 
  that the cultures of land dwellers prove as tightly knit as 
  their own, the strix might strike against and destroy an 
  
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  Bestiary
  entire ship or caravan that comes near their land, avenging 
  themselves against victims who have done no wrong. Their 
  ways are often bloody, but they are not merciless, and what 
  they do, they do only to survive.
  Lost Origins of the Strix
  Few who know of the strix believe them to be natives of 
  Avistan’s shores. Although such tales are never told to 
  outsiders, even the legends held by the strix of Devil Perch 
  cast doubt on their origins. Rather, ancient tales passed down 
  through their oral tradition tell of a green storm that carried 
  the vicious and undeserving far from their homes, where they 
  and their children would be punished until the sun ceased to 
  rise in the sky. Then came the time when the sun did cease 
  to rise, and the ancestors of the strix were freed from their 
  torment. Lost and alone in a world of darkness, they hunted 
  like beasts for untold years until those few of their race’s 
  survivors came to a fortress of stone, where the fish of the sea 
  were plentiful and the terrors of the earth could not reach. 
  There they made their home, and there they have stayed—the 
  inheritors of a forgotten exile—for thousands of years.
  Aside from these legends, little remains among the 
  strix connecting them to a greater past, though all among 
  those of Devil’s Perch harbor the belief that their people 
  are cursed and bear the shame of misdeeds of which none 
  among them know the truth. The great library of Iadara 
  in Kyonin, however, bears faded and ancient scrolls of a 
  strange leather. Said to have been saved from before the 
  Age of Darkness, these man-sized rolls show both black 
  and gray figures bearing great wings and mysterious 
  masks sitting among the men of Azlant and the elves of 
  the lost elven fortress of Adarshavir. Only a handful of 
  elven scholars have made the supposition that the tales 
  of winged devils in western Cheliax and this ancient 
  scrollwork might bear some connection.
  Strix as Characters
  Strix are defined by their class levels—they do not possess 
  racial Hit Dice. All strix have the following racial traits.
  +2 Dexterity, –2 Charisma: Strix are swift and elusive, but 
  their fearsome appearances and insular nature make them 
  difficult to interact with.
  Normal Speed: Strix have a base speed of 30 feet.
  Flight: Strix have a fly speed of 60 feet with average 
  maneuverability.
  Low-Light Vision: Strix can see twice as far as humans in 
  conditions of dim light.
  Darkvision: Strix can see in the dark up to 60 feet.
  Hatred: Strix receive a +1 bonus on attack rolls against 
  humanoid creatures of the human subtype due to special 
  training against these hated foes.
  Nocturnal: Strix gain a +2 racial bonus on Perception and 
  Stealth checks at night.
  Suspicious: Strix receive a +2 racial bonus on saving throws 
  against illusion spells or effects.
  Languages: Strix begin play speaking Strix, their racial 
  language. Strix with high Intelligence scores can choose any of 
  the following bonus languages: Azlanti, Common, Infernal.
  Monstrous Characters
  Some players and GMs might seek to include characters 
  from races other than those found in the Pathfinder 
  Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook in their games. Individuals 
  of such unusual races can make for fantastically memorable 
  characters, but bring with them the potential for a variety 
  of challenges. A strix character, for example, 
  gains advantages over the races presented in 
  the Core Rulebook, most notably the ability to 
  fly. While this ability might not prove advantageous 
  in all campaigns, GMs should carefully consider how 
  a particular race’s abilities might impact his game or 
  that character’s interaction with the rest of the party. In 
  the end, GMs may include or exclude any races they wish 
  based wholly on the needs of their campaigns. 
  See the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Bestiary for more 
  details on running monstrous characters.
  
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  Council of Thieves
  torBle
  This scuttling thing looks at first glance like a colorful, animate 
  blob of slime, but its thin insectoid legs and eyestalks suggest it 
  is a more advanced creature. Its antennae-like appendages wave 
  about curiously, and its multiple legs carry forth its transparent, 
  hand-sized body at a surprisingly swift scuttle.
  Torble 
  CR 1/8
  XP 50
  N Diminutive vermin 
  Init +2; Senses blindsight 30 ft., darkvision 30 ft.; Perception +2
  DEfEnSES
  AC 16, touch 16, flat-footed 14 (+2 Dex, +4 size)
  hp 1 (1d8–3)
  fort –1, Ref +2, Will +2
  DR 1/piercing or slashing; Immune acid
  Weaknesses ooze-vermin hybrid
  OffEnSE
  Speed 15 ft., climb 15 ft.
  Melee bite +0 (1 plus 1 acid) 
  Space 0 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
  STATISTICS
  Str 3, Dex 15, Con 5, Int —, Wis 14, Cha 2
  Base Atk +0; CMB –8; CMD 4
  SQ primitive sight, telepathic sensitivity
  Torble Swarm 
  CR 2
  XP 600
  N Tiny vermin (swarm)
  Init +2; Senses blindsight 30 ft., darkvision 30 ft.; Perception +8
  DEfEnSES
  AC 15, touch 15, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +1 dodge, +2 size)
  hp 13 (3d8)
  fort +3, Ref +3, Will +3
  Immune acid, swarm traits, weapon damage
  Weaknesses ooze-vermin hybrid
  OffEnSE
  Speed 15 ft., climb 15 ft.
  Melee swarm (1d6 plus 1 acid) 
  Space 10 ft.; Reach 0 ft.
  Special Attacks distraction (DC 11)
  STATISTICS
  Str 3, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 3, Wis 14, Cha 2
  Base Atk +2; CMB —; CMD —
  feats Dodge, Skill Focus (Perception)
  Skills Perception +8
  SQ hive mind, primitive sight, telepathic sensitivity
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Hive Mind (Ex) Any torble swarm with at least 3 hit points per Hit 
  Die (or 9 hit points, for a standard torble swarm) forms a hive 
  mind, giving it an Intelligence of 3. When the swarm is reduced 
  below this hit point threshold, it becomes mindless, losing its 
  feats and reducing its Perception bonus to +2.
  Ooze-Vermin Hybrid (Ex) Torbles react to ooze-affecting effects 
  as if they were oozes and vermin-affecting effects as if they 
  were vermin, whichever is least advantageous for the torble or 
  more advantageous for the originator of the effect.
  Primitive Sight (Ex) Though it has blindsight and can operate without 
  vision, a torble’s simple eyes give it poor sight (mainly light and 
  color) with an effective range of 30 feet. Because they can see, they 
  are subject to attacks that affect sighted creatures (such as gaze 
  attacks), but as they can still rely on their blindsight, they cannot 
  be dazzled or blinded by sight-based attacks.
  Telepathic Sensitivity (Ex) Torbles are receptive to the thought-
  energy of telepathic minds. A creature with the telepathy special 
  ability can use a swift action to mentally command one torble 
  per point of Charisma bonus for one round, twice that many 
  by using a move action, or four times that many by using a 
  standard action. The creature’s control of the vermin is limited 
  to simple commands (“attack,” “defend,” “stop,” and so forth); 
  orders to attack a certain creature when it appears or guard 
  against a particular occurrence are too complex for the vermin 
  to understand. Torbles that leave the range of the creature’s 
  telepathy immediately revert to their standard behavior.
  Torbles (called “chordoplasms” by scholars of strange fauna 
  and “ooze bugs” by many others) are strange and fascinating 
  creatures, curious in ways beyond what their simple forms 
  might suggest. These strangely colored creatures resemble a 
  cross between a tiny ooze and an insect. They typically have 
  a bulbous, beetle-like translucent body, six legs, and long 
  eyestalks with primitive sensory knobs on the end. Usually 
  they take on green, gray, or pink shades, though they may 
  be any color. Older torbles often tend toward the colors of 
  large ooze predators such as ochre jellies, black puddings, 
  or the colorless gelatinous cubes, though any relationship 
  between them is unclear. The creature’s interior may be 
  clear or cloudy, and has the same consistency and properties 
  of the fluid that surrounds the brains of lower animals. After 
  the creature feeds, however, its color temporarily changes 
  to match the color of its meal—which sometimes remains 
  visible for hours. Although a torble has no true organs, it 
  has a stiff bundle of fibrous nerve tissue running the length 
  of its body that helps hold its shape. When it rests, it retracts 
  its antennae and legs into its body, similar to how a snail or 
  slug withdraws its eyestalks when threatened.
  A typical ooze bug is about 7 inches long and 5 inches 
  wide, and weighs about 1 pound.
  Ecology
  Torbles fulfill the same roles as oozes and insect 
  vermin: they hunt creatures close to their own size, 
  scavenge corpses and organic material, and territorially 
  attack anything they perceive as food or a threat. They 
  gravitate to damp caves, city sewers, rotting logs, or 
  corpses—anywhere they can find plentiful prey and not 
  
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  be disturbed by rival scavengers and predators. Because 
  torbles are easily controlled by both ooze- and vermin-
  specific spells, some isolationist clerics and druids use 
  them to guard their secret lairs or process garbage when 
  otyughs are unavailable or unsuitable.
  Ooze bugs reproduce by creating internal buds that 
  mature and migrate to the creature’s outer surface, 
  erupting as inch-long, disgusting transparent things 
  resembling a cross between a slug and a cockroach. These 
  buds can survive the destruction of the parent for days, 
  feeding off the corpse until they are ready to emerge and 
  fend for themselves; this means attempts to eradicate 
  an infestation are usually only temporarily effective, as 
  the unborn torbles quickly grow and repopulate the area 
  inhabited by the now-dead adults. Only if the bug-slayers 
  deliberately crush the adult corpses or consume them with 
  fire or similar methods can they be certain their efforts 
  are successful in the long term.
  Because torbles are sensitive to mental commands, 
  telepathic creatures sometimes use them as guardians, 
  distractions, or shock troops; even a lowly imp becomes a 
  petty tyrant with a few torbles under its command. Torbles 
  cannot resist such compulsions, unless they’ve already 
  been telepathically commanded in the same round or have 
  made a more significant bond with another.
  Most torbles seem endlessly hungry and insistent 
  on eating their discoveries before designating them 
  edible or inedible. A torble can ingest nearly any fleshy, 
  wooden, or bony matter, visibly dissolving such meals 
  within their transparent bodies. Stone, metal, glass, and 
  similarly hard objects prove resistant to their digestion, 
  however, and pass through their system in a matter of 
  3 or 4 hours, floating suspended within their colorful 
  ooze during that time. Once a torble has consumed 
  something, it seems to retain memory of whether not 
  such an object is edible—though many seem terribly 
  forgetful in this regard.
  Habitat & Society
  Most torbles work in groups, coordinating their attacks 
  like ants or bees, or forming large swarms that may 
  number hundreds of individuals, though unlike colony 
  insects they do not appear to have specialized roles such 
  as queens and workers. Usually all members of a colony 
  or swarm have an identical appearance—coloration, 
  number of legs, and so on. They never attack others 
  of their kind that match their specific physiognomy, 
  though explorers have found caves with 
  bulbous pink victors feasting on rent gray 
  corpses, or six-legged varieties hunting down 
  and killing four-legged intruders in their territory. 
  Torbles that get separated from such groups act wildly 
  different, proving edgy and cowardly. Rarely attacking 
  living creatures, a lone torble scavenges for whatever food 
  it can find. Those who happen across individual torbles 
  and offer them food find that ooze bugs instantly warm to 
  them, likely following their benefactors for hours, even 
  days on end. Those who continue such practices find 
  torbles make dutiful pets, even if the skittish creatures 
  often prove more comical than clever. 
  Torble Familiars
  Notorious for infesting swamps and the sewers of 
  coastal cities, torbles prove annoying and sometimes 
  startling, but rarely dangerous in small numbers. Their 
  devotion—or at least, lazy hunting practices—make 
  them easily manipulated by even creatures without the 
  ability to command them telepathically. Children in poor 
  communities and swamp dwellers often adopt lone torbles, 
  enjoying their attachment and shiny, ever-shifting colors. 
  Some magic-users from such backgrounds even go so far 
  as to adopt torbles as their familiars. While hardly the most 
  popular or aggrandizing companions, torble familiars help 
  their masters better understand strange magical processes 
  and prove obsessively devoted, if at times clumsy.
  Torbles that undergo the process of becoming a 
  spellcaster’s familiar lose their telepathic sensitivity and 
  hive mind abilities, but gain a permanent Intelligence 
  score of 3. Torble familiars grant their masters a +2 bonus 
  on Craft (alchemy) checks.
  
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  Council of Thieves
  devil, ukoBaCH
  The light of a flaming pitchfork illuminates a creepily malformed 
  little man, his red skin scarred and raw like the victim of horrific 
  burns. Although barely taller than a child, his features mock 
  those of a terrible old man with an oversized head, knife-like 
  nose, and crazed round eyes flickering with wild flames.
  Ukobach (Tinder Devil) CR 4
  XP 1,200
  LE Small Outsider (devil, evil, extraplanar, lawful)
  Init +8; Senses darkvision 60 ft., see in darkness; Perception +3
  DEfEnSES
  AC 17, touch 15, flat-footed 13 (+4 Dex, +2 natural, +1 size)
  hp 32 (5d10+5)
  fort +2, Ref +8, Will +7
  DR 5/silver or good; Immune fire, poison; Resist acid 10, cold 10; SR 15
  OffEnSE
  Speed 30 ft.
  Melee 1 fire poker +5 (1d6–1 plus 1d4 fire) or
  2 claws +5 (1d4 –1 plus 1d4 fire) 
  Ranged 1 ember +10 (1d6 fire) 
  Special Attacks animate flames, fire breathing, scorch
  STATISTICS
  Str 9, Dex 19, Con 13, Int 13, Wis 16, Cha 13
  Base Atk +5; CMB +3; CMD +17
  feats Improved Initiative, Lightning Reflexes, Throw Anything
  Skills Acrobatics +12, Appraise +9, Bluff +9, Climb +7, Craft (any) 
  +9, Knowledge (arcana) +9, Stealth +16
  Languages Celestial, Common, Infernal; telepathy 100 ft.
  SQ fire leap
  ECOLOgy
  Environment Hell
  Organization solitary, pair, or team (4–16)
  Treasure standard
  SPECIAL ABILITIES
  Animate flames (Su) As a standard action, an ukobach can animate 
  an existing fire of Small size or larger. Doing so requires an 
  ukobach to make a DC 15 Wisdom check as it impresses its will 
  upon the fire. This DC increases by +5 for every size category 
  of the flame above Small. If an ukobach succeeds, the flame 
  animates with the statistics of a fire elemental of the same size, 
  and follows the ukobach’s mental commands. The flames remain 
  animate for a number of rounds equal to the ukobach’s Wisdom 
  modifier—usually 3—after which they return to being simple 
  flames, setting the square they cease moving in alight or being 
  extinguished, as their surroundings warrant. 
  Up to five ukobachs can make use of the aid another action 
  to each grant an adjacent ukobach a +2 bonus on this Wisdom 
  check to animate flames (granting a maximum +10 bonus).
  fire Leap (Su) As a swift action, an ukobach occupying the same 
  space as a fire, pool of lava, vent of searing steam, or similar 
  blaze can teleport from that burning feature and emerge from 
  another within 100 feet. This ability functions similarly to the 
  spell dimension door, but only between fires. Upon entering a 
  flame, an ukobach is instantly aware of all flames within range 
  through which it might exit. If an ukobach enters a flame and 
  there are no others to exit through within 100 feet, the devil’s 
  movement immediately ends and it is stunned for 1 round.
  firebreathing (Su) An ukobach can spend a standard action to 
  guzzle a pint of oil, alcohol, or similarly flammable fluid and hold 
  the combustible liquid within its body. At any point within 10 
  minutes of doing so, the ukobach can expel the liquid either as a 
  10-foot cone of fire or a 20-foot line of flame, both dealing 3d6 
  points of fire damage (Reflex DC 13 for half). Upon breathing fire 
  an ukobach cannot make use of this ability again until it drinks 
  another pint of oil. The save DC is Constitution-based.
  Scorch (Su) An ukobach’s touch is searing hot, causing its claws 
  and any metal weapon it grasps to deal an additional 1d4 points 
  of fire damage.
  Maniacal and clever, ukobachs embody the tenacity and 
  ever advancing genius of Hell. Legions of these tiny devils 
  labor throughout the it, and from their efforts rise new 
  heresies and tools of depravity. They revel in the fires of 
  Hell and manipulate them not toward destruction, but to 
  the creation of ever greater and more innovative diabolical 
  ends. The keepers of Hell’s furnaces, they delight in their 
  mad work, breaking only to torment the damned with 
  their burning tools or newest inventions.
  Ukobachs stand approximately 3-1/2 feet tall and weigh 
  70 pounds on average. Their fire pokers are fundamentally 
  tied to their beings and disintegrate in a flash of cinders and 
  ash upon the devil’s death. These tools hold up to 10 fist-
  sized embers, which an ukobach can fling at its enemies.
  Ecology
  Born from the burning depths of Hell, ukobachs find 
  themselves most at home amid the choking and sultry 
  pits where mortals dare not delve, proving well adapted 
  to such stifling environs. While they must breathe, they 
  prove equally well adapted to breathing smoke, cinders, 
  and steam as air. Like all devils, the ukobachs’ infernal 
  eyes gaze through even the most stygian night, but 
  unlike their brethren, they dislike the dark. While they 
  harbor no fear of darkness and certainly see its value 
  when tormenting mortals, they view it largely as a waste, 
  seeking to dispel even the most fleeting shadow with an 
  explosion of flame.
  Habitat & Society
  Most ukobachs originate from the flaming canals of Dis 
  or the fiery pits of Phlegethon. Although rarely born 
  from Moloch’s crematoriums at the heart of Citadel Ba’al, 
  hordes of ukobach furnace keepers tend the flames of 
  the archdevil’s ceremonial ovens. Devastating ukobach 
  engineers also tinker in the foundries at the heart of 
  
  87
  Bestiary
  Phlegethon, creating ingenious devices of intentional or 
  incidental immolation—some infernal rumors claim a 
  particularly insidious ukobach inspired the invention of 
  the first fireworks, leaving these devils with a universal 
  love of such creations.
  On the mortal plane, ukobachs gravitate to cities. 
  While many metropolises prove ill prepared to defend 
  against the flames these devils delight in spreading, most 
  ukobachs take more subtle approaches, finding lairs in 
  abandoned smithies, large furnaces, stone ruins, and 
  other places likely to survive the occasional errant flame. 
  While indisputably pyromaniacal, ukobachs are more 
  than merely crazed marauders. Seeing a small hovel, pile 
  of leaves, or alley cat burn is nothing to creatures born 
  from the flames of Hell. Rather, they enjoy the order 
  and progression of flames, exalting in striking the spark 
  that ignites a wildfire, upturning the lantern that sets 
  a whole city quarter aflame, or immolating the leader 
  whose death results in the dispersal of a formerly devout 
  congregation. Further satisfying their methodological 
  obsessions, ukobachs prefer setting elaborate traps for 
  their victims over direct combat, often turning whole 
  structures into burning deathtraps, trapping and re-
  trapping the same location, or setting obvious snares that 
  cause their quarries to overlook more devious ambushes. 
  These impish devils understand the use of flammable 
  fluids and materials well, often employing barrels of oil, 
  casks of alcohol, heaps of coal, and even alchemical items 
  like tindertwigs in their creations.
  Among diabolists, it is said that all ukobachs know the 
  secret of creating berith, an alchemical element by which 
  any material might be distilled into gold. Stories 
  tell of ukobachs trading knowledge of this 
  element for wild prices or only after an 
  alchemist gathers components from exotic 
  lands. Such tales often offer blatant 
  moral lessons and warnings 
  against these unnatural 
  obsessions, such as the 
  Taldan author and former 
  alchemist 
  Smardina’s 
  cryptic and symbol-laden 
  work Shagreen, wherein 
  an 
  obsessed 
  alchemist 
  adventures across the world 
  and ultimately trades an ukobach 
  23 years of his life, only to find his age and journeys have 
  made his hands too crippled to work—he dies soon after 
  and is dragged to Hell in a golden coffin.
  Summoning Ukobachs
  Ukobachs prove unusually congenial when it comes to 
  answering the summons of many diabolists, especially 
  those with an obvious creative streak, interest in alchemy, 
  or queries regarding the inventions of Hell.
  Any diabolist who draws the magic circle necessary to 
  bind an ukobach with mercury or silver powder, or who 
  lights their diabolical summoning with chemical fire 
  rather than normal oil or tinder, increases how difficult 
  an ukobach finds it to escape from the magical trap by +2. 
  Additionally, a diabolist gains a +2 bonus on the opposed 
  Charisma check made to obtain an ukobach’s service if 
  the task involves creating alchemical or metallurgical 
  works, or otherwise involves fire.
  In addition, ukobachs who know and favor their 
  summoner sometimes bring gifts with them from 
  Hell. While on the surface such boons might seem 
  like blessings, they are always carefully selected by an 
  ukobach and meant to encourage a summoner toward 
  a destructive end. Commonly, such infernal gifts take 
  the form of fireworks and explosives—especially in 
  lands where such creations are uncommon—inscrutable 
  blueprints or formulas for fiendish devices or magic 
  items, or powerfully volatile alchemical reagents.
  
  88
  Council of Thieves
  A Heritage of Evil
  N
  o city in all of Golarion was 
  racked more fundamentally 
  by 
  Aroden’s 
  death 
  than 
  Westcrown. The capital of Cheliax, 
  Westcrown was the expected site of 
  Aroden’s return and had for decades 
  prepared for the event. Within years 
  of Aroden’s demise, his church had 
  fallen, holy sites were abandoned, 
  and the country found itself gripped 
  by civil war with fierce diabolists. The rise of the Thrice-
  Damned House of Thrune saw Westcrown’s further 
  descent. The new diabolical rulers moved the capital north 
  to the city of Egorian, stripping Westcrown of much of its 
  affluence and prestige. While still a vibrant and important 
  port, the city swiftly lost the splendor that had typified 
  it, becoming but a pale shadow of its former glory and a 
  playground for vultures eager to pick the royal carcass. 
  Even before Aroden’s death, the Council of Thieves had 
  been an open secret in Westcrown. Comprised mainly of 
  influential and noble families, the guild’s power rested 
  upon smuggling, banditry, and many white-collar crimes. 
  Key among its members were the Drovenges, an incredibly 
  wealthy and conservative family of moneylenders and 
  property owners. Led by their patriarch, Vassindio 
  Drovenge, the family weathered much in the years after 
  Aroden’s death but kept a comfortable grip on their 
  underworld holdings. 
  All that was threatened by Vassindio’s son, Sidonai. 
  Arrogant and manipulative, the Drovenge scion was incensed 
  by the birth of his first offspring, a mere girl her mother 
  named Chammady. Sidonai had wanted a son to usher in 
  a new era of power and prosperity for his family. Although 
  tieflings in Cheliax face a harsh life as second-class citizens, 
  Sidonai sought a way by which he might sire a son by one of 
  the archdevils, an infernal heir whom Cheliax’s diabolically 
  obsessed rulers would have no choice but to respect. To this 
  end, Sidonai bargained for the aid of three hag sisters living 
  within the woods near Westcrown. The hags presented the 
  nobleman with a coin from the depths of Erebus, the realm 
  of the archdevil Mammon, telling Sidonai to swallow the 
  gold piece before next bedding his wife. Yet Mammon, the 
  Lord of the Third, is all the treasure that comes to lie within 
  Hell’s vaults, being a creature of no forms and of many, 
  a profane animating spirit. Thus, swallowing the coin 
  allowed Mammon to temporarily posses Sidonai, imparting 
  his foul immortal seed unto the criminal’s wife.
  The child birthed 9 months later was a boy, yet there 
  was no question of its true parentage. Disfigured with 
  horns, silver eyes, and golden skin, the 
  devil-touched child drew the horror of 
  its mother, and soon the wrath of the 
  family patriarch. Vassindio Drovenge 
  murdered Sidonai’s wife and ordered 
  the death of his house’s staff, the 
  midwives, and the hags his son had 
  consulted. Sidonai was spared death but 
  not punishment. Vassindio gathered a 
  generous stipend for his one-time heir 
  and sent him to live among family members in distant 
  Oparra, the capital city of Taldor. Enraged but fearful of 
  his father’s recent display of wrath, Sidonai departed for 
  Taldor immediately, yet he never arrived in Oparra and 
  has not been seen since. Considering his son dead even 
  before this disappearance, Vassindio mourned the cruel 
  fate that had come upon his family. Too old to sire a new 
  heir, Vassindio decided to raise his son’s children. Even 
  though the tiefling embodied the shame Sidonai had 
  inflicted upon the family, he was now Vassindio’s only 
  male heir, and the old man named him Ecarrdian.
  Ecarrdian and his sister Chammady spent their youths 
  together among servants and cold luxury. Theirs was a 
  family of two, where each was the only companion of the 
  other, and the devotion they formed for one another grew 
  strong. Chammady had some contact with her grandfather, 
  receiving occasional boons from him that she secretly 
  shared with her brother. She also heard the jabs and 
  mockery the house staff heaped daily on her brother; one 
  of her handmaids had to be released from service after 
  Chammady cut her with a wine bottle for such an offense. 
  Ecarrdian’s childhood proved even more painful, and he 
  came to loathe his grandfather and his army of servants—
  not just for their stuffy ways and slander, but for their race, 
  nurturing a hatred for all humans save his beloved sister.
  Upon entering into their majority, Chammady and 
  Ecarrdian found that escaping from their family would 
  not prove as easy as expected. Well into his eighties, 
  their grandfather remained vigorous and spiteful, and 
  they began to believe that the old man’s death and their 
  freedom would never come. The plot was simple and 
  obvious, but Chammady spoke it first. The siblings 
  would kill their grandfather and Ecarrdian would take 
  control of the family. In fact, with their grandfather’s 
  power and prestige, why stop there? Vassindio would 
  die, Westcrown would be theirs, and if the pair had to 
  shatter the criminal underworld, throw the entire city 
  into chaos, and draw upon the power of Ecarrdian’s true 
  father, so be it.
  Spoiler Warning!
  What follows is both the background 
  and outline for the Council of Thieves 
  Adventure Path. If you intend to play 
  in this campaign, be warned! The 
  contents of these two pages spoil the 
  plots of the upcoming adventures as 
  thoroughly as possible!
  
  89
  Adventure Outline
  Bastards of Erebus
  by Sean K Reynolds
  Pathfinder Adventure Path #25, Levels 1–3
  The PCs join Wiscrani rebel commander Janiven Key 
  and the Children of Westcrown in a grassroots operation 
  aimed at winning the hearts and minds of Westcrown’s 
  downtrodden populace by defeating the Bastards of 
  Erebus, notorious tiefling brigands operating in the city’s 
  northern ruins. In order to accomplish this task, the PCs 
  must rescue the revolutionaries’ leader from the infamous 
  Hellknights of the Order of the Rack before launching a 
  daring raid against the tieflings’ secret base. However, it 
  soon becomes clear that the Bastards of Erebus are but 
  pawns of something far more sinister: a powerful group 
  of crime-lords long shrouded in myth—the legendary 
  Council of Thieves.    
  The Sixfold Trial
  by Richard Pett
  Pathfinder Adventure Path #26, Levels 3–5
  In a continuing campaign to win the devotion of 
  Westcrown’s populace, the PCs embark on a plan 
  to banish the terrible shadow beasts that haunt the 
  nighttime streets of Westcrown. Told that a powerful 
  artifact capable of accomplishing such a task lies within 
  Westcrown’s 
  abandoned, 
  magic-warded 
  Pathfinder 
  lodge, the PCs go undercover as a theatrical troupe in 
  order to infiltrate Lord Mayor Arvanxi’s fiendish estate 
  and retrieve information needed to bypass the lodge’s 
  cunning and deadly traps. Even if the PCs can blend 
  in with Westcrown’s decadent nobility without being 
  discovered and prevent the catastrophic release of a 
  bound pit fiend, can they survive the grueling tortures 
  of a Chelish play long enough to pull off the performance 
  of a lifetime?
  What Lies in Dust
  by Michael Kortes
  Pathfinder Adventure Path #27, Levels 5–7
  Armed with information secretly procured from 
  Lord Mayor Arvanxi’s estate, the PCs set out on a 
  series of macabre quests, following various clues and 
  accumulating information needed—much of it from the 
  long-dead—to infiltrate the abandoned Pathfinder lodge 
  of Delvehaven. When they finally enter the imposing 
  structure, the PCs discover that they are not alone, and 
  soon run afoul of deadly traps, diabolical 
  guardians, and vile vampires. The 
  PCs must overcome these dangers 
  to retrieve the powerful ancient 
  artifact, 
  and 
  only 
  then 
  can 
  Westcrown finally be free of the 
  shadow beast menace! 
  The Infernal Syndrome
  by Clinton Boomer
  Pathfinder Adventure Path #28, Levels 7–9
  Devils are loose in Westcrown! Before the PCs can return 
  their recently acquired artifact to the rebels, the bound 
  pit fiend in Lord Mayor Arvanxi’s decadent estate begins 
  to break loose, releasing swarms of devils upon the city. 
  To prevent the beast from breaking free of its bonds 
  entirely and unleashing Hell upon the city, the PCs must 
  brave their way through Lord Mayor Arvanxi’s estate—
  now infested with devils, tiefling rebels, and agents of the 
  Council of Thieves—and confront the diabolical menace. 
  Can the PCs stop the pit fiend in time to save the city 
  from utter ruin? And is all of this but a distraction from 
  a greater plot finally put into action?
  Mother of Flies
  by Greg Vaughan
  Pathfinder Adventure Path #29, Levels 9–11
  The sinister noble siblings Ecarrdian and Chammady 
  Drovenge have led a coup within the Council of Thieves, 
  seizing control over much of Westcrown’s criminal 
  underworld. In order to learn what she knows about the 
  notorious thieves’ guild, the PCs seek out an ancient hag 
  known as the Mother of Flies, deep in the swampy woods 
  just outside of Westcrown. When they arrive, the PCs find 
  that a group of assassins sent by the Council of Thieves have 
  laid siege to her lair, and after saving their unlikely new 
  ally, the PCs learn where the Council of Thieves’ hidden 
  guildhall is located. The PCs must infiltrate the thieves’ 
  guild and confront the Council of Thieves’ chief lieutenant, 
  the vampire Ilnerik, and his shadow beasts. Even with this 
  victory, the Council of Thieves is yet to be broken, and the 
  PCs learn that the organization does not wish to control 
  merely all of Westcrown’s underworld, but the city itself! 
  The Twice-Damned Prince
  by Brian Cortijo
  Pathfinder Adventure Path #30, Levels 11–13
  Westcrown lies in chaos. Outraged by reports of lawlessness 
  in the city streets, General Vourne of Egorian sails with 
  a dozen ships toward Westcrown, determined to restore 
  imperial order. Fearing direct Chelish control, the Children 
  of Westcrown beseech the PCs to restore peace first. In order 
  to accomplish this monumental task, the PCs must seek 
  out the disparate factions of Westcrown and convince them 
  to work together in order to defeat the Council 
  of Thieves. Even if they succeed in this 
  task, the PCs must confront the siblings 
  Chammady and Ecarrdian high atop the 
  Vacant Throne and prevent them from 
  summoning the power of the tiefling’s 
  true father: the archdevil Mammon! 
  
  90
  Council of Thieves
  SELTYIEL
  LEM
  CHARACTER TRAITS
  CLASS/LEVEL 
  Bard 1
  ALIGNMENT 
  Chaotic Good
  INITIATIVE 
  +3
  SPEED 
  20 ft.
  CHARACTER TRAITS
  CLASS/LEVEL 
  Fighter 1
  ALIGNMENT 
  Lawful Evil
  INITIATIVE 
  +3
  SPEED 
  30 ft.
  ABILITIES
  STRENGTH 
  8
  DEXTERITY 
  16
  CONSTITUTION 
  13
  INTELLIGENCE 
  12
  WISDOM 
  8
  CHARISMA 
  17
  ABILITIES
  STRENGTH 
  12
  DEXTERITY 
  17
  CONSTITUTION 
  13
  INTELLIGENCE 
  14
  WISDOM 
  8
  CHARISMA 
  10
  DEFENSE
  HP 9
  AC 17, touch 15, flat-footed 13 (+2 armor, +3 
  Dex, +1 dodge, +1 size)
  Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +2; +2 vs. fear
  DEFENSE
  HP 11
  AC 15, touch 13, flat-footed 12 (+2 armor, 
  +3 Dex)
  Fort +3, Ref +3, Will –1; +2 vs. enchantment
  Immune sleep
  Senses low-light vision
  OFFENSE
  Melee short sword +0 (1d4–1/19–20)
  Ranged dagger +4 (1d3–1/19–20)
  Base Atk +0; CMB –2; CMD 12
  Special Abilities bardic knowledge +1, bardic 
  performance (countersong, distraction, 
  fascinate, inspire courage +1)
  Spells Known (CL 1st)
  1st (2/day)—cure light wounds, hideous 
  laughter (DC 14)
  0 (at will)—detect magic, ghost sound (DC 13), 
  light, prestidigitation
  OFFENSE
  Melee longsword +3 (1d8+1/19–20)
  Ranged shortbow +4 (1d6/×3)
  Base Atk +1; CMB +2; CMD 15
  SKILLS
  Acrobatics +9 (+5 to jump), Climb +1, 
  Knowledge (local) +6, Perform (comedy) +7, 
  Perform (wind instruments) +9, Perception +5, 
  Spellcraft +5, Stealth +11, Use Magic Device +7
  FEATS
  Dodge
  SKILLS
  Craft (alchemy) +3, Intimidate +4, Knowledge 
  (arcana) +3, Perception +3, Spellcraft +3
  FEATS
  Combat Expertise, Skill Focus (Perception), 
  Weapon Focus (longsword)
  Gear leather armor, short sword, throwing daggers (4), backpack, masterwork flute, rations (6), 
  spell component pouch, sunrods (3), 16 gp
  Combat Gear acid, alchemist’s fire (2); Other Gear leather armor, longsword, dagger, 
  shortbow with 20 arrows, flask of fine absinthe worth 50 gp, gold holy symbol worth 75 gp, 
  mysterious spellbook, 8 gp
  Although Lem was raised in the lap of luxury, his childhood was anything but comfortable. 
  Born into slavery, Lem was sold a half-dozen times to different nobles before he reached the 
  age of 2. Always quick to side with the underdog, Lem has learned that his most powerful trait 
  is his optimisim and sense of humor—skills that more than make up for his small stature and 
  impulsive nature.
  Seltyiel grew up surrounded by shame and disgrase. Before he came of age, his stepfather 
  attempted to kill him, but after Seltyiel turned the tables, he fled into the wild. Since then, his life 
  has been a cruel series of betrayals and pain. Recently escaped from a period of imprisonment 
  after his true father, a notorious bandit, set Seltyiel up to take the blame for his crimes, the half-
  elf longs for revenge against both his fathers.
  MALE HALFLING
  DEITY 
  Shelyn
  HOMELAND 
  Cheliax
  MALE HALF-ELF
  DEITY 
  Asmodeus
  HOMELAND 
  Cheliax
  
  91
  Pre-generated Characters
  SEONI
  SEELAH
  CHARACTER TRAITS
  CLASS/LEVEL 
  Paladin 1
  ALIGNMENT 
  Lawful Good
  INITIATIVE 
  +0
  SPEED 
  20 ft.
  CHARACTER TRAITS
  CLASS/LEVEL 
  Sorcerer 1
  ALIGNMENT 
  Lawful Neutral
  INITIATIVE 
  +2
  SPEED 
  30 ft.
  ABILITIES
  STRENGTH 
  15
  DEXTERITY 
  10
  CONSTITUTION 
  14
  INTELLIGENCE 
  8
  WISDOM 
  13
  CHARISMA 
  14
  ABILITIES
  STRENGTH 
  8
  DEXTERITY 
  14
  CONSTITUTION 
  12
  INTELLIGENCE 
  10
  WISDOM 
  13
  CHARISMA 
  17
  DEFENSE
  HP 13
  AC 17, touch 10, flat-footed 17 (+5 armor, 
  +2 shield)
  Fort +4, Ref +0, Will +3
  DEFENSE
  HP 8
  AC 13, touch 13, flat-footed 10 (+2 Dex, +1 dodge)
  Fort +1, Ref +2, Will +3
  OFFENSE
  Melee longsword +4 (1d8+2/19–20)
  Ranged longbow +1 (1d8/×3)
  Base Atk +1; CMB +3; CMD 13
  Special Abilities aura of good, detect evil, smite 
  evil 1/day (+2 to attack roll, +1 damage)
  OFFENSE
  Melee quarterstaff +0 (1d6–1)
  Ranged dagger +2 (1d4–1/19–20)
  Base Atk +0; CMB –1; CMD 12
  Special Abilities arcane bond
  Spells Known (CL 1st)
  1st (4/day)—mage armor, magic missile
  0 (at will)—acid splash, detect magic, flare (DC 
  14), read magic
  Bloodline arcane 
  Familiar blue-tailed skink named Dragon
  SKILLS
  Knowledge (religion) +3, Sense Motive +5
  FEATS
  Power Attack, Weapon Focus (longsword)
  SKILLS
  Bluff +7, Climb +2, Knowledge (planes) +4, 
  Perception +3, Sense Motive +3, Spellcraft +4
  FEATS
  Alertness, Dodge, Eschew Materials, Spell 
  Focus (evocation)
  Combat Gear holy water; Other Gear scale mail, heavy steel shield, longsword, longbow with 
  20 arrows, backpack, rations (4), silver holy symbol, 23 gp
  Combat Gear smokestick, tanglefoot bag; Other Gear dagger, quarterstaff, backpack, sunrod 
  (5), rations (4), 27 gp
  When a group of Iomedae’s knights arrived to save Seelah’s hometown of Solku from gnolls, Seelah 
  knew where her destiny lay. Atoning for her misdeeds as a child, she devoted her life to Iomedae. 
  Over the years, guilt over her misspent youth has changed into a powerful faith and conviction. 
  Today, she sees the good in everyone, and hopes that by leading by example, she can help other 
  wayward souls (such as Seltyiel) find their way.
  Seoni is something of an enigma—quietly neutral on most matters, bound by codes and 
  mandates she rarely feels compelled to explain, the beautiful sorcerer keeps her emotions 
  tightly bottled. Extremely detail-oriented, Seoni is a careful and meticulous planner 
  who frequently finds herself frustated by the improvised plans of her more impulsive 
  companions.
  FEMALE HUMAN
  DEITY 
  Iomedae
  HOMELAND 
  Katapesh
  FEMALE HUMAN
  DEITY 
  Pharasma
  HOMELAND 
  Varisia
  
  92
  Next Month in Pathfinder
  The Six-Fold Trial
  by Richard Pett
  To strike at the black heart of Westcrown’s aristocracy, 
  the PCs take part in a plot to infiltrate one of the most 
  famous theaters in the city. Yet their rebellious plan 
  relies wholly on their ability to perform the infamous 
  Trial of Larazod, an elaborate play few actors have ever 
  survived. Should they succeed, the invitation of the 
  lord-mayor will grant them admission to a gala attended 
  by Westcrown’s crème de la crème. Should they fail, 
  however, their deaths will be nothing more than an 
  evening’s grim entertainment.
  The Trial oF larazod
  by Nicolas Logue
  The script of that heretical tale of a tiefling punished 
  and his tortures exposed before all of Heaven and Hell, 
  revealed to the world at last. This notorious work of theater 
  has long proven one of the most shocking spectacles in 
  Cheliax, a complete play—performed only by criminals 
  and the desperate—which few actors have ever survived.
  iomedae
  by Sean K Reynolds
  Join the crusade of Iomedae, righteous goddess of 
  justice and valor. Learn of her benevolent church, the 
  duties of her honored servants, and the great works of 
  her noble champions. 
  and more!
  Varian and Radovan’s investigation into a noble’s death 
  reveals a dark family secret in the Pathfinder’s Journal by 
  Dave Gross. Plus, discover the gilded monsters of royalty 
  and nobility in a decadent entry into the Bestiary.
  SubScribe To PaThFinder advenTure PaTh!
  The Council of Thieves Adventure Path has begun! 
  Venture to paizo.com/pathfinder and subscribe today! 
  Have each Pathfinder Adventure Path, Pathfinder 
  Chronicles, Pathfinder Companion, Pathfinder Module, 
  and GameMastery product delivered to your door! Also, 
  check out the free Council of Thieves Player’s Guide, available 
  for download now!
  You must add the title, the copyright date, and the copyright holder’s name to the COPYRIGHT NOTICE of any original 
  Open Game Content you Distribute.
  7. Use of Product Identity: You agree not to Use any Product Identity, including as an indication as to compatibility, 
  except as expressly licensed in another, independent Agreement with the  owner of each element of that Product 
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  Bastards of Erebus Dramatis Personae
  Janiven  
  (second in command of Children of Westcrown)
  Morosino  
  (street urchin who serves Arael as a messenger and scout)
  Amaya  
  (Child of Westcrown, beautiful but self-conscious glassblower)
  Ermolos  
  (Child of Westcrown, blacksmith whose father has gone missing)
  Fiosa  
  (Child of Westcrown, house servant with a new faith in Iomedae)
  Gorvio  
  (Child of Westcrown, believes an ancestor was a tiefling)
  Larko  
  (Child of Westcrown, dock worker who misses rural life)
  Mathalen  
  (Child of Westcrown, recently unemployed philosopher)
  Rizzardo  
  (Child of Westcrown, bad-tempered but hard-working laborer)
  Sclavo  
  (Child of Westcrown, soft-spoken scribe and devotee of Iomedae)
  Tarvi  
  (Child of Westcrown, aspiring wizard stuck in a dead-end job)
  Vitti  
  (Child of Westcrown, green-haired eccentric who respects nature)
  Yakopulio  
  (Child of Westcrown, offensive and irreverent gnome bartender)
  Arael  
  (leader of the Children of Westcrown)
  Shanwen  
  (Hellknight signifer who sponsors the Hellknight trainees)
  Thesing Umbero Ulvauno  (talented but arrogant actor, misogynist, and likely long-term foil)
  Scabby  
  (mangy guard dog pet of the Bastards of Erebus)
  Ostengo and Vethamer 
  (Bastards of Erebus, tiefling brothers with hideous leathery skin)
  Dravano the Digger  
  (Bastard of Erebus, thick-clawed tiefling and second-in-command)
  Palaveen  
  (Tiefling leader of the Bastards of Erebus)
  Ailyn Ghontasavos  
  (undercover Pathfinder agent, ally and supporter of the rebels)
  Ecarrdian Drovenge  
  (Chammady’s brother, wants to rule Council of Thieves and Westcrown)
  Chammady Drovenge  
  (Ecarrdian’s sister, wants to rule Council of Thieves and Westcrown)
  Vassindio Drovenge  
  (patriarch of the Council of Thieves)
  Aberian Arvanxi  
  (decadent mayor of Westcrown)
  
  T
  paizo.com/pathfinder
  Printed in China. PZO9025
  The Rebellion Begins
  he city of Westcrown is dying. Since being stripped of its 
  station as the capital of Cheliax, the wealth and prestige of 
  the city has gradually slipped away, leaving the desperate 
  people to fend for themselves in a city beset by criminals, a 
  corrupt nobility, and a shadowy curse. Can the PCs fight back 
  against champions of both the law and the criminal world?
  This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path launches the Council of Thieves 
  Adventure Path, and includes: 
  ►  
  “The Bastards of Erebus,” a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 
  1st-level characters, by Sean K Reynolds.
  ► 
  A gazetteer of Westcrown, the shadow-haunted City of Twilight, 
  by Steven Schend. 
  ► 
  An investigation into the lives of tieflings, along with hundreds of 
  fiendish variations, by Amber Scott.
  ► 
  A deadly mystery of nobility and intrigue for Pathfinder Varian 
  Jeggare and his tiefling bodyguard Radovan in a new series of the 
  Pathfinder’s Jounal, by Dave Gross.
  ► 
  Six terrifying new monsters by Mike Ferguson, Sean K Reynolds,  
  and F. Wesley Schneider.
  TM
  TM
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Pathfinder/1st Edition/Adventure Paths/PF025-030 - Council of Thieves/Council of Thieves - 01 - The Bastards of Erebus.pdf