Pathfinder - Pathfinder Society - Scenario 29 - The Devil We Know, Part I - Shipyard Rats.pdf - Society - R5700

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The Devil We KnoW ParT i:

Pathfinder Society Scenario 29

Design : Joshua J. Frost

Development : Joshua J. Frost

Editing : James L. Sutter

Senior Art Director : James Davis

Interior Artist : Tyler Walpole

Cartographer : Corey Macourek, Mike Schley

Vice President of Operations : Jef Alvarez

Events Manager : Joshua J. Frost

Paizo CEO : Lisa Stevens

Corporate Accountant : Dave Erickson

Sales Manager : Chris Self

Technical Director : Vic Wertz

Publisher : Erik Mona

Pathinder Society Scenario 29: The Devil We Know Part I: Shipyard Rats is a Pathinder Society Scenario designed

for 1st- to 7th-level characters (Tiers: 1–2, 3–4, and 6–7). This scenario is designed for play in Pathinder Society

Organized Play, but can easily be adapted for use with any world. This scenario is compliant with the Open Game

License (OGL) and is suitable for use with the Pathinder Roleplaying Game.

The OGL can be found on page 19 of this product.

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Product Identity : The following items are hereby identiied as Product Identity, as deined in the Open Game

License version 1.0a, Section 1(e), and are not Open Content: All trademarks, registered trademarks, proper

names (characters, deities, etc.), dialogue, plots, storylines, locations, characters, artwork, and trade dress.

(Elements that have previously been designated as Open Game Content or are in the public domain are not

included in this declaration.)

Open Content : Except for material designated as Product Identity (see above), the game mechanics of this Paizo

Publishing game product are Open Game Content, as deined 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.

Pathinder Society Scenarios are published by Paizo Publishing, LLC under the Open Game License v 1.0a

GameMastery are registered trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC; Pathinder Roleplaying Game, Pathinder

Society, Pathinder Chronicles, Pathinder Modules, and Pathinder Companion are trademarks of Paizo

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ShiPyarD aTS

The Devil We KnoW ParT 1:

of one of Taldor’s more dramatically fallen

families, Dalirio Teppish, decided he’d had

enough of Taldor and would do all within his and his

patron deity’s power to ensure the total destruction of his

native homeland. The Teppish family once stood as the

right hand of the Grand Prince, a family of wealth, power,

and absurdly large holdings throughout northern Taldor.

A Teppish once sat in the governor’s seat in Cassomir

Prefecture. A Teppish once led thousands in battle against

the Qadirans during the Grand Campaign. A Teppish

negotiated the Treaty of the Wildwood, guaranteeing

Taldor a renewable source of druid-protected blackwood

trees that would forever supply the empire with the ships

built in Cassomir’s famous Imperial Naval Shipyards.

The Teppish family’s power came to a close nearly 50

years ago when a series of rival houses launched attacks

on their holdings and wealth, and even went so far as to

assassinate several of the Teppish family patriarchs. In

just a few short years the mighty Teppish were reduced

to laughingstocks in the Opparan social scene and were

let with few possessions, even less gold, and no power at

all. So the Teppish family did what any self-respecting

Taldan family does when let destitute: they turned to a

life of organized crime.

Their crimes were crimes against the state. They

robbed treasury caravans, ambushed military convoys,

even traveled deep into the Verduran Forest and

sabotaged druid-guided logging operations. Slowly

and methodically, they sought to destroy Taldor from

within—a destructive ideal that soon caught the

attention of Groetus, the God of End Times. Groetus sent

his cultists to iniltrate the Teppish family and just over a

generation later, their family has become one of the more

ambitious Groetus cults in the western Inner Sea.

Dalirio Teppish was raised in this environment of

seething hatred toward the homeland, and by the time

he’d reached adulthood, Dalirio had dedicated his life

to Groetus, training as a cleric and slowly concocting

a plan to start the irst in a series of catastrophes that

would eventually bring hated Taldor to its knees. His

plan was simple: disrupt all ship construction in the

Imperial Naval Shipyards and Taldor would cease to be a

power in the west. Everyone knows the Taldan Phalanx is

under-funded, that the nation’s infrastructure is falling

apart, and that the corruption of Taldor’s Bearded class

is pushing the empire toward ever-increasing acts of

frivolity and excess. If it weren’t for the power of Taldor’s

Navy, the empire would long ago have ceased to exist.

Dalirio wanted to help make this happen.

The vengeful cleric spent years recruiting a small cult

of Groetus followers from the underprivileged of Taldor,

not telling them the full extent of his plans but ofering

a huge reward for obedience and loyalty. He approached

a local circle of druids, known as Nature’s Cataclysm,

who hated the druids of the Wildwood Lodge for giving

up so much of the Verduran Forest to the empire, and

enlisted their help. He even traveled deep beneath

Cassomir, wandering Cassomir’s Locker and then the

Darklands before inding the derros in Corgunbier, their

city deep beneath northern Taldor, and plying them with

thousands in gold before convincing them to step up their

kidnapping in Cassomir to create further confusion and

sow chaos. The derros agreed for their own reasons, and

suddenly Dalirio found himself leading a sizeable band

of miscreants with mayhem on their mind. Together they

adopted the moniker of the druids, calling themselves

the Cult of Nature’s Cataclysm.

While wandering the Darklands, Dalirio received a dream

from Groetus, telling him to seek a speciic cavern to ind

the weapon that would help him succeed. Upon waking,

Dalirio immediately followed his patron’s guidance and

found a bizarre grotto illed with a brackish lake, dozens

of decayed, staring faces loating just above the waterline.

In the center of the lake was a small stone outcropping,

upon which rested a solid gold, gem-encrusted amulet.

Dalirio swam out to the stone, feeling dozens of skeletal

hands lightly grasping at his skin as he went, and took

the amulet from its perch. Once he touched the amulet,

the faces on the lake awakened, their eyes bursting with

blue light. Groetus had granted Dalirio control of several

huecuva, fallen clerics of Groetus that the God of End

ShiPyarD aTS

By JoShua J. froSt

T welve years ago, a cleric of Groetus and member

Pathfinder Society Scenario

The Devil We KnoW SerieS

Shipyard Rats is the irst in a connected series of scenarios for

Pathinder Society Organized Play. Though it’s best if these

scenarios are played in order, they do not have to be. For

example, if any of your PCs have played through Cassomir’s

Locker irst (Part II of the Devil We Know series), assume they

learn that the few cultists they encounter in Part II were just

a prelude to the kidnappings in this adventure. There will

be at least two more chapters to this story before the end

of Season 1.

SUMMARY

The PCs are asked by Venture-Captain Themis to

locate a recently kidnapped Pathinder named Cestis.

Additionally, she informs the PCs that they are also

looking for a missing agent of the Aspis Consortium

named Kafar who was kidnapped at the same time. She

introduces the PCs to Neti, Kafar’s timid Chelaxian

assistant, and orders the PCs to follow Neti’s only clue:

that he believes the kidnapped victims from the auction

are being held at a dockside tavern in the shipyards

called the Inn of the Unlucky Sailor, currently closed for

business while being remodeled.

The PCs are guided by Neti to the Inn of the Unlucky

Sailor and ind a druid and his dire rat minions guarding

some of the Cassomir citizens who were at the auction—

they also ind Kafar, drugged and unconscious. At the

inn, the PCs learn from the nearly enslaved citizens that

they were broken into two groups ater the kidnapping—

the second group was taken to a ship, called the Prancing

Prince , docked at a nearby wharf. The kidnapped citizens

admit they’re not sure where the Pathinder Cestis is

being held, but if he’s not at the inn, they must have taken

him to the Prancing Prince .

The sun sets over Cassomir as the PCs arrive at the

Prancing Prince . The ship appears deserted—no sentries

or sailors on deck at all—but the PCs soon discover more

kidnapped Cassomir citizens below deck guarded by a

group of half-orc monks hired by Dalirio to guard the

ship until such time as the Groetus cleric could gather

enough funds to hire a crew for the Prancing Prince and

sell these citizens into the Inner Sea slave market—a sale

that would gather him a large sum of gold for his plans.

The PCs do not ind the missing Pathinder here,

nor do they ind any clues, but just as they’re about to

leave the ship, they encounter Luscilia Ismacco, Dalirio’s

sometimes lover and the woman to whom he trusted

the Prancing Prince and its valuable cargo. Luscilia is

accompanied by several undead that she was bringing to

help guard the ship. Once the PCs best the cleric and her

undead minions, they can learn the location beneath the

shipyards where Dalirio and his remaining cultists are

gathered. If the scenario is running short at this point,

the PCs may also encounter a group of cultist ighters

arriving dockside to help man the ship.

The PCs then travel to a warehouse in the shipyards,

where they ind a trap door in the oice that leads

down to a two-level basement below. The irst level is

trapped and guarded by a Nature’s Cataclysm druid and

his dire rat animal companion. The second level is the

secret headquarters of Dalirio’s cult—where the PCs

encounter the mastermind himself and his heucuva

minions. Dalirio and his heucuva’s are guarding dozens

Times had let here as punishment. Dalirio had the inal

piece of his plan—undead servants who would obey him

unquestionably and prove to his followers that they truly

had the blessings of Groetus himself.

The nighttime kidnappings started a few months ago.

Cassomir had always had some trouble with kidnappings,

but this was diferent— only carpenters, shipw rights, and

guards from the Imperial Naval Shipyards were going

missing, and they were doing so at a rate of one or two a

night. The Cassomir authorities tried to keep it quiet, but

when ship production missed a launch deadline for the

irst time in a decade, the Grand Prince himself demanded

action. Martial law was instituted, the shipyards were

guarded heavily at night, and the streets were patrolled by

an increased presence of the constabulary. These changes

did nothing, and the kidnappings continued.

Then the cultists got brash—a few days before the

start of this adventure they kidnapped an entire group of

citizens who were gathered for a secret auction of Taldan

artifacts just ater sunset in the shipyards. Among that

group were a young Pathinder named Cestis and an

agent of the Aspis Consortium named Kafar, there with

his 16-year-old Chelaxian assistant Neti. Neti managed

to escape by throwing himself into the harbor and

swimming for safety, but no one else got away. Neti led

back to his masters in Old Cassomir and reported what

had happened. Ater lengthy discussion, the other Aspis

Consortium agents decided enough was enough—they

contacted the Pathinder Society venture-captain in

Cassomir, a woman named Hestia Themis. They had a

bizarre proposal: with both groups now missing agents

as the result of this recent spike in kidnappings, couldn’t

the Society and the Consortium work together to bring it

to a halt before resuming their less-than-friendly rivalry?

Hestia reluctantly agreed, knowing the Consortium must

surely have a plot mixed up in this but willing to risk it.

She assigned a recently arrived band of Pathinders to the

case and gave them the only lead they had: the Chelaxian

assistant Neti.

the devil We KnoW Part 1: ShiPyard ratS

of Cassomir citizens including Cestis, the missing

Pathinder.

AfflicTionS, DiSeASeS, AnD PoiSonS

Be sure to read the rules in the Pathinder RPG Core Rulebook

beginning on page 555 regarding curses, diseases, and

poisons, as the way they are handled has changed slightly

from previous editions.

GeTTInG STARTeD

Read the following to get the adventure underway:

Venture-Captain Hestia Themis, a small, unassuming woman

of Taldan heritage with dark hair and eyes, holds a large

sheaf of papers in her small hands and clears her throat. Her

booming voice, the antithesis of her stature, ills the main hall

of the small Pathinder Lodge in the Taldan city of Cassomir.

took Cestis, was brash and bold. They grabbed more than

a dozen people in one attack, neglecting to grab Neti.

Their mistake is our fortune.”

Who kidnapped these people? “There are... rumors of

twisted men from the Darklands who climb up through

Cassomir’s Locker, the sewers, catacombs, and older

ruins below the city. Alas, they are only rumors. We don’t

know who’s doing it.”

Why are we working with the Aspis Consortium?

“Diff icult situations sometimes call for diff icult

choices. The Aspis have the information we need about

where to start in this mystery, and if it takes dirtying

our hands with them to get Cestis back, I think it’s

worth it.”

“One of our own has been kidnapped. Pathinder Cestis was

taken just days ago from a relics auction in the Imperial Naval

Shipyards, and we believe his dissapearance to be related to

the six dozen or so kidnappings of the last several months.

Now that one of our own is missing, this has become a Society

matter—something we’ll get to the bottom of.”

Themis gestures to a teenage boy standing beside her, who

nervously regards his surroundings and sweats profusely,

his thick brown hair matted and wet against his head. “This

is Neti, the assistant to the biggest thorn in my side in

Cassomir—an agent of the Aspis Consortium named Kafar.

Kafar is also missing, taken from the same relics auction along

with Pathinder Cestis and a dozen other citizens of Cassomir.

Neti was at the auction, saw where a small group of the

kidnapped victims were taken, and his handlers in Cassomir

have give us access to him so that he might guide us to our

missing Pathinder. If you happen to ind Kafar...” Themis

grinds her teeth. “Let him go, per the agreement I’ve just

made with his superiors. Your priority is Cestis, and I think

Neti can lead you to him. Any questions?”

ACT 1: Inn of The UnlUCkY

Perched precariously overhanging the dirty harbor water

stands the Inn of the Unlucky Sailor. A fresh coat of white

paint glistens on half the inn’s outside walls, and most of

the windows are boarded up. The roof leans slightly toward

the harbor, as if at any moment the entire thing could come

of and slide into the ocean. The dock leading up to the inn

is made of rotting wood connected to thick, rank-smelling

pilings. Several small rowboats are currently tied up along

its length.

The PCs may have questions for Themis. Though

she’d rather the PCs get the investigation and recovery

underway, she’ll patiently answer any questions the PCs

might have.

Why not report the kidnappings to the authorities?

“They’ve been unable to recover the dozens of other

Cassomir citizens who’ve gone missing in recent months.

What makes you think they’ll get our Pathinder back?

Besides, Cestis has some... knowledge I’d rather the local

authorities not get, and so I need you to get him for me.”

What knowledge? “It’s a high-level Society matter and

none of your concern.”

What do you know about the kidnappings? “They

started a few months ago. Cassomir has always had some

trouble with its citizens going missing, but this was

diferent. Only those associated with the Imperial Naval

Shipyards were taken—shipwrights, carpenters, navy

guards, and so on. This recent kidnapping, where they

Approaching the inn quietly is quite diicult. There

is limited access to the inn from the water below and the

dock leading up to the main entrance is so rotten and

noisy that anyone attempting a Stealth check to move

along it sufers a –5 penalty. Additionally, anyone who

moves faster than a single move action along the dock on

their turn must succeed on a DC 15 Acrobatics check or

fall prone. The street entrance is boarded up, and though

a simple DC 15 Strength check is enough to bring the

boards down, it immediately alerts the cultist inside of

the PCs’ approach.

The inn’s interior is in much better condition. The

f loors are new and quiet, the walls are covered in fresh

paint, and the entire place smells of recently cut wood.

Most of the furniture has been removed, though a few

tables and chairs remain and are covered in sawdust

SAIloR (CR 2, 4, oR 7)

Pathfinder - Pathfinder Society - Scenario 29 - The Devil We Know, Part I - Shipyard Rats.pdf

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