Base Caravan Speed

This is a recap of basic overland travel info from Table 7–6 in the Core Rulebook. A caravan’s speed is determined by its slowest member. The base travel distance per day is then modified by the terrain type; the journey legs detailed below incorporate the modified distance totals.

Speed 20: 16 miles per day. A dwarf, halfling, or encumbered human traveling on foot. A mounted caravan might be traveling at this speed if they’re relying on Survival checks to bolster their supplies, but otherwise it’s pretty unlikely.

Speed 30: 24 miles per day. A human traveling on foot.

Speed 40: 32 miles per day. An encumbered camel, horse, or dire hyena. The adventure assumes the party is riding on camels, and the caravan guards’ camels at least are definitely carrying medium loads, so this is the party’s expected speed.

Speed 50: 40 miles per day. An unencumbered camel, horse, or dire hyena. For my own campaign, I’m assuming that until the Sons of Carrion’s numbers are whittled down by flubbed ambushes, the elements, and infighting, they are traveling on dire hyena mounts and living off the land, abandoning or even eating anyone too wounded or exhausted to keep up. This additional speed allows them to outpace the PCs’ caravan and set up their attacks.

A “day” of travel is 8 hours, though in my take on the AP that actually means 4 hours of travel in the early- to mid- morning, taking a break of up to 4 hours in the heat of midday, and then putting in another 4 hours of travel starting in mid-afternoon and ending in the early evening. This gives the caravan the Survival bonus for remaining stationary during the hottest period of daytime.

Journey Legs

Kelmarane to Bronze Hook is the only leg that follows a road; all the others are trackless terrain (though most follow the Obelisk Trail). With the exception of the hills near Kelmarane and a possible diversion to the sandy desert of the southeast, the terrain is generally all plains.

Kelmarane to Bronze Hook

Distance & Terrain: 26 miles (hills, with road)

Travel Time

Speed 20: 12 hours (1-1/2 days); Speed 30: 11-1/2 hours (1 day, 3-1/2 hours); Speed 40: 9 hours (possible in 1 day with a short forced march); Speed 50: 5-1/2 hours

Kelmarane to Sabkha

Distance & Terrain: 125 miles (26 miles of hills followed by plains)

Travel Time

Speed 20: 26 hours (3 days, 2 hours) to cross foothills, then 66 hours (8 days, 2 hours) to cross plains (11-1/2 days total); Speed 30: about 17 hours (2 days plus 1-2 hours) to cross foothills, then 44 hours (5-1/2 days) to cross plains (nearly 8 days total); Speed 40: 13 hours (1 day, 5 hours) to cross foothills, then 33 hours (4 days, 1 hour) to cross plains (nearly 6 days total); Speed 50: about 10-1/2 hours (1 day, 2-1/2 hours) to cross foothills, then 26-1/2 hours (3 days, 2-1/2 hours) to cross plains (4 days, 5 hours total)

Kelmarane to Sleeping Dove

Distance & Terrain: 52 miles (30 miles of hills followed by plains)

Travel Time

Speed 20: 30 hours (3 days, 6 hours) to cross foothills, then about 15 hours (1 day, 7 hours) to cross plains (5 days, 5 hours total); Speed 30: 20 hours (2-1/2 days) to cross foothills, then nearly 15 hours (1 day, 7 hours) to cross plains (4 days, 2 hours total); Speed 40: 15 hours (1 day, 7 hours) to cross foothills, then just over 7 hours (1 day) to cross plains (nearly 3 days total); Speed 50: 12 hours (1-1/2 days) to cross foothills, then nearly 6 hours to cross plains (2 days, 2 hours total)

Bronze Hook to Sleeping Dove

Distance & Terrain: 30 miles (plains)

Travel Time

Speed 20: 20 hours (2-1/2 days); Speed 30: about 13 hours (1-1/2 days); Speed 40: 10 hours (1 day, 2 hours); Speed 50: 8 hours (1 day)

Sleeping Dove to Floater's Pond

Distance & Terrain: 60 miles (plains)

Travel Time

Speed 20: 40 hours (5 days); Speed 30: about 27 hours (3 days, 3 hours); Speed 40: 20 hours (2-1/2 days); Speed 50: 16 hours (2 days)

Sleeping Dove to Sabkha

Distance & Terrain: 90 miles (plains)

Travel Time

Speed 20: 60 hours (7-1/2 days); Speed 30: 40 hours (5 days); Speed 40: 30 hours (3 days, 6 hours); Speed 50: 24 hours (3 days)

Floater's Pond to Sabkha

Distance & Terrain: 42 miles (plains)

Travel Time

Speed 20: 28 hours (3-1/2 days); Speed 30: about 19 hours (2 days, 3 hours); Speed 40: 14 hours (1 day, 6 hours); Speed 50: about 11 hours (1 day, 3 hours)

Floater's Pond to Selkelas

Distance & Terrain: 65 miles (plains)

Travel Time

Speed 20: about 43 hours (5-1/2 days); Speed 30: about 29 hours (3 days, 5 hours); Speed 40: about 22 hours (2 days, 6 hours); Speed 50: about 17 hours (2 days)

Sabkha to Katapesh

Distance & Terrain: 90 miles (plains)

Travel Time

Speed 20: 60 hours (7-1/2 days); Speed 30: 40 hours (5 days); Speed 40: 30 hours (3 days, 6 hours); Speed 50: 24 hours (3 days)

Selkelas to Palace Mortales

Distance & Terrain: 78 miles (sandy desert)

Travel Time

Speed 20: 78 hours (9 days, 2 hours); Speed 30: 52 hours (6-1/2 days); Speed 40: about 40 hours (5 days); Speed 50: 21 hours (2 days, 5 hours)

Palace Mortales to Katapesh

Distance & Terrain: 80 miles (plains)

Travel Time

Speed 20: about 53 hours (6 days, 6 hours); Speed 30: about 36 hours (4-1/2 days); Speed 40: about 27 hours (3 days, 3 hours); Speed 50: about 21 hours (2 days, 5 hours)

Side Note: Why take the long detour to Selkelas? In my game, the Sons of Carrion are going to attempt their flubbed ambush at Floater’s Pond, by which time the PCs will be fully aware that they’re being hunted, and should probably know by whom. From Floater’s Pond, it’s still more than 5 days’ ride to the safety of Katapesh, but less than 3 days to Selkelas, which marks (among other things) the edges of the Duenas tribe’s territory. (In my campaign, the Duenas tribe’s desert is also the homeland of one of the PCs’ badawi tribesmen.) Garavel’s going to recommend cutting south for the desert. With luck, they’ll encounter the PC’s kinfolk, who can help them out, but failing that, it’ll force the Sons of Carrion to either break off their pursuit or to extend it into the lands of a rival tribe, hopefully pitting one pack of gnolls against the other. While hopefully ditching the Sons of Carrion in the desert, the PCs will also hear about the Deep Well of Paradise, which might serve as a last-ditch effort to run somewhere the obsessive Sons of Carrion won’t go.

Raiders and warriors, thieves and murderers, gnolls prey upon the spoils of other races—their refuse, their castoffs, and their vulnerable. Gnolls are often likened to hyenas, but with intelligence and the ability to walk on two legs. This comparison is both succinct truth and deadly understatement. Like the beasts they resemble, gnolls survive off the scraps of those greater than themselves, opportunistically preying upon the weak while cowering before the powerful. Unlike base beasts, though, gnolls know the value of organization, the inevitable deadliness of prolonged attacks, and the might of their own tribes. In others, gnolls see only the potential for prey and exploitation, and those too canny to serve as today’s meal might still serve as tomorrow’s feast.

In the shadow of Pale Mountain, gnoll savagery takes on a new dimension. Here, secreted among the dusty foothills and shadowy crags, the beastmen gather in bands of dirty, brutal curs, seemingly with few greater aspirations beyond their next meal. These gnolls are filthy wretches who demonstrate the horrors of inbreeding, seclusion, and murder, ravenous beasts that covetously guard the barren territories they claim as their own.

Feared and loathed even by others of their kind, the gnolls of Pale Mountain embrace their brutality with the spread of a savage cult among their people: worship of the Rough Beast, Rovagug. Throughout Golarion, gnolls typically worship Lamashtu, who is often credited with raising them up from mere beasts. In the Pale Mountain region, the Carrion King—a merciless warlord sworn to Rovagug’s bloody religion—revels in the debauchery and savagery of his minions’ fear and faith, exulting as they raise icons to the god of wrath and howl his name as they ride to slaughter. As the Carrion King’s power grows, more and more tribes fall beneath his influence, sharing in the spoils of his savage rule and adopting the ways of his mad god. Now all of Pale Mountain quakes with bloodcurdling howls, but whether the gnolls of the Brazen Peaks will turn upon themselves or strike from their lairs, bringing new war upon unprepared Katapesh, none yet know.

Tribes of The Carrion King

From his throne upon Pale Mountain’s slopes, the Carrion King commands hundreds of gnolls, his emissaries and slaves having compelled or subjugated numerous tribes of slavering warriors into his service. Among the ramshackle hordes, bands of raiders and slavers, and lone murderers, four noteworthy tribes have come to serve the cruel warlord. Each known and feared in its own right, these four tribes existed before the Carrion King’s rise to power, having shared and warred over Pale Mountain for decades.

Now they find themselves allies but, even under the claws of their brutal master, the resulting peace is a weak and little-enforced thing. Of the tribes serving the Carrion King, each possesses a similar structure. A strong leader commands the activity of the whole pack, organizing hunts, placating the tribe’s deities, and leading them in preparations for raids and inevitable intertribal skirmishes. Even in this time of supposed truce between rival tribes, bloody conflicts are not uncommon. As individual tribes prove too small to sustain prolonged battles there might be weeks without any direct conflict, but a season cannot go by upon Pale Mountain without groups of gnolls dying in the jaws of enemy tribes. The Carrion King punishes conflicting tribes—often with murder and impossible commands—but such castigations are swiftly forgotten as rivalries and slights stir the embers anew.

Presented here are the four greatest tribes in the service of the Carrion King. While each vies for power over one another—and possibly over the Carrion King himself—each also has its own objectives and desires to gain from allegiance to their vicious warlord.

Al’Chorhaiv

The fate of the Al’Chorhaiv tribe changed during a nighttime thunderstorm. It began when Vaskjaw, the tribe’s white-crowned leader, stumbled from his harem pavilion, his belly distended and shuddering like a frog’s bladder. A labored and gurgling moan grated from his clenched teeth as his limbs flailed like a dropped marionette. A moment later the old chief collapsed and the rest of the tribe hurried to surround him, his writhing form illuminated by bursts of harsh light in the driving rains. His eyes widened underneath the lightning flashes and his lips curled back in pain so terrible none could forget the sound of his cracking, clenched fangs. No one dared touch their leader out of abject fear and revulsion. Then, with a widening of eyes and a simple, sick pop, all life fled the old hunter. All was silent for a moment, and even the thunder seemed to pause as gnoll looked to gnoll, knowing that bloodshed always marks the passing of a leader. It was Vaskjaw’s corpse that broke the silence, his broken jaws falling open, spilling the fragments of yellow teeth into the mud. Slowly, from pale lips, crooked legs picked their way out of the dead chief ’s mouth and the opalescent form of a vhagshea—a deadly div blood scorpion—crawled forth into the rain. Shocked, few noticed the naked form of Ahrikvask the Foot Washer, third wife of Vaskjaw, stride from the harem pavilion. At her passing, the mud swirled with blood, fat drops slipping from her long knife and draining from the severed heads of Dhorhaalva and Jhokgral, Vaskjaw’s first and second wives. Standing over the soaked body of the dead old gnoll, Ahrikvask threw her dagger down, impaling the scorpion there. Lifting the still squirming arachnid upon her knife, the gnoll concubine devoured the deadly insect in a swift series of small bites. Looking to the tribe’s eldest members, most skilled hunters, and deadliest warriors, the bloody gnoll threw down the heads of her mistresses and claimed her kill:

“By my venom the feeble have fallen,” she said. “Follow me now, or suffer far worse a death.” With her words, young scorpions crawled from the usurper and the assembled gnolls drew back in fear. None of the Al’Chorhaiv defied their new chieftain.

Symbol: Lengths of intestine hanging from a hyena skull.

Size of Tribe: 46 gnolls and countless scorpions.

Leader: Ahrikvask (NE female gnoll druid 5, rogue 3), a deceptive murderess and master of scorpions who proves immune to most forms of venom.

Notable Members: Isvhag, a Large monstrous scorpion, travels alongside the chieftain, serving as her companion and occasional enforcer; Vamaag (CE female gnoll adept 9), former sacred mother in the service of Lamashtu, silent opponent of the chieftain.

Territory: A nomadic people, the Al’Chorhaiv recognize no territory. They roam anywhere they can find meat, be it giant insect, highlands animal, or that of another other humanoid race. Currently they range through the mountain passes of the Brazen Peaks near Pale Mountain, though they occasionally descend when food grows scarce or to raid.

Lair: The Al’Chorhaiv live in the open and are fearless, thus they have no centralized lair or specific defenses. They’re light sleepers and their watches have served them well enough over the years. Since Ahrikvask’s ascent to chieftain, deadly vhagshea scorpions infest the tribe’s stopping points and frequently aid in warding off intruders.

Society: The Al’Chorhaiv live to serve their mistress Ahrikvask. While life under the tribe’s former chieftains was brutal, fraught with lean times and arbitrary violence, Ahrikvask and her scorpions have ushered in a time of both fear and bounty. Although the infestation of poisonous arachnids unnerves the entire tribe, all can agree that times haven’t been better. Food proves more readily available—even if it is just the meat of giant insects and poisoned beasts—and the other gnoll tribes of the region fear the supposed scorpion-lovers, telling tales of their venomous mistress and the tribe’s immunity to even the most deadly poisons. In addition, Ahrikvask extols faith in a kind of morbid naturalism and the will of savage natural forces. While such faith angers many more traditional members of the tribe who cling to Lamashtu’s perverse tenets, those who have spoken out in the defense of the old ways have been found dead, riddled with stings and leaking deadly venoms.

Service to the Carrion King: The Al’Chorhaiv know much of the land around Pale Mountain, and it’s said that Ahrikvask’s insects bring her news from even farther afield. The Carrion King’s minions regularly come among the Al’Chorhaiv seeking news of the surrounding lands, exotic poisons, and use of their skills as deadly archers and assassins.

Adventure Hook: Vamaag, the former spiritual leader of the Al’Chorhaiv, plots to claim leadership of her tribe. She seeks the most deadly poison in Katapesh or beyond, planning to challenge the tribe’s leader to imbibe it with her. While Vamaag can rely on her magic to cure herself of the poison, Ahrikvask’s strange beliefs should result in the chieftain’s painful death. As the gnoll leader proves strangely immune to most forms of poison, though, Vamaag travels far searching for agents capable of fetching her a deadly—preferably extraplanar—toxin. She willingly pays in gemstone fetishes for venoms that prove their lethality.

The Circle

Secreted highest upon Pale Mountain lairs the Circle tribe of gnolls, engaged in a sacred duty given to them by the Carrion King himself. Their task is simple: construct the greatest weapon Pale Mountain has ever known for the greater glory of Rovagug. At least, this is what most people believe—no one aside from the Carrion King and his minions knows for certain what the reclusive gnolls are doing up there, and the gnolls themselves do nothing to illuminate their secret plans.

In truth, the gnolls possess little actual engineering, smithing, or arcane talent with which to create anything, much less a weapon of such destructiveness as to please the god of devastation. Instead, they stumbled upon ancient ruins near the mountain top which they now excavate—if “excavate” can be applied to their wanton destruction of an entire slope as they search for an amulet that their leader, the mysterious figure known only as the Witch, claims rests there. The Circle’s scaffolding-strewn dig site led to rumors that the gnolls were constructing something, which the tribe has encouraged.

Symbol: Anything representing a simple circle. The amulet the tribe searches for supposedly looks like a gold disc, which they recreate in their symbol.

Size of Tribe: 38 gnolls, 9 flinds, numerous trained wild dogs, and nearly two dozen slaves of varying races.

Leader: The Witch (LE female human cleric of Rovagug 6), an emissary of the Carrion King and supposed seer of the god of disaster.

Notable Members: Badilur (CE male flind fighter 4), the Witch’s slavemaster and chief enforcer; Lakkickkish (CE male gnoll fighter 3), a cowardly warrior who dreams of finding the treasure his tribe seeks and using it to overthrow the Witch and the Carrion King himself; Purkor (CN male gnoll rogue 3), a scheming gnoll who doesn’t realize he possesses the amulet for which his tribe searches.

Territory: The Circle makes its semi-permanent home high on the slopes of Pale Mountain. Most of the steep slopes the tribe occupies host shallow mines and the ruins of collapsed dig sites.

Lair: Aside from those who must descend the mountain to hunt, the gnolls rarely leave their crude tent village or the deep caves where the Witch performs strange ceremonies in worship of Rovagug. Nearby, a jagged stone palisade surrounds the tribe’s largest dig site, which serves both as workplace and prison for numerous slaves. Patrols of gnolls and their constantly hungry dogs make the rounds of the dig site, eager to catch any prisoner who even looks like he harbors the notion of escaping.

Society: The Circle passes each day digging deeper into the mountainside in search of its prize. All members are somehow involved in the task, whether directly digging, hauling the debris, or supporting the pack by hunting for food. Their awkward, inexpert mining has led to numerous casualties over the course of the past 8 months, including a landslide that killed a dozen tribe members and almost half of the group’s prisoners. Although devoted to finding the deadly arcane amulet she swears lies within the area, the Witch grows more despondent and meditative every day, having expected to discover the relic long ago. That her god has not sent her any new visions in months and kept the nature of the amulet hidden from her has started to undermine her sanity.

Service to the Carrion King: When the Witch appeared before the Carrion King, telling him of their shared faith and her visions of a powerful weapon, the gnoll warlord eagerly granted the strange human the resources she sought to find the unholy relic. Thus the Witch took command of a legion she came to call the Circle. Months have passed since then, and the human’s search has yielded little fruit. The Witch knows the Carrion King’s patience might expire at any moment and fears his warriors coming to claim her head. Thus, every day her demands on her tribe and its slaves become more desperate and hopes to actually discover the amulet grow less unlikely.

Adventure Hook: Months ago, the gnoll Purkor found a hunk of green rock with a sun-like semicircle extending from it. Not knowing what it was but suspecting its value, he hid it away, eager for a chance to trade it to another tribe or flee to Katapesh and sell it there. What Purkor doesn’t know is that within the rock rests the amulet for which his tribe’s leader searches and a power beyond his understanding. When Purkor finally does flee the Circle, the Witch’s agents give chase, following their mistress’s all-too-true delusion that he knows something of the amulet. When Purkor runs into the PCs, he begs for their aid against his former kin, and might even trade them his treasure in exchange for protection.

Three Jaws

The barely remembered lore of the Three Jaws tribe speaks of a time when the gnolls were led by three warriors, brothers of peerless skill and savagery among all the tribes. Supposedly the Three Jaws conquered all the gnolls of Pale Mountain, drove the other races from the surrounding Uwaga Highlands, and took hundreds of slaves. How long ago this time of gnoll glory was or how it ended none—not even the Three Jaws—can say. Today, the members of the Three Jaws view themselves as the elite of the local gnoll tribes.

While their skill as warriors and berserkers is impressive, little in the lands or wealth they hold distinguishes them from the other gnolls of Pale Mountain. Only the appearance of Three Jaws warriors sets them apart, the tribe’s members having a long tradition of adorning themselves with trophies and precious ornaments collected from their fallen foes through piercings, skin pockets, and similar painful disfigurement. Their current leader, Hakkur, wears the crown of his father through his shoulder and four bejeweled rings in his face—items many whisper grant him all manner of magic protections.

Symbol: This pack doesn’t bear a standard so much as living “banners” of their tribe. They typically adorn themselves with objects from defeated enemies. Ears are the most heavily pierced, usually with fangs, claws, and bits of weapons seized from fresh kills.

Size of Tribe: 25 gnolls, 11 flinds, 6 goblin slaves, 15 guard hyenas.

Leader: Hakkur (CE male flind barbarian 5), brutal hulking chieftain and slayer of death worms.

Notable Members: Chinew (CE male gnoll barbarian 2), hunt leader and second-in-command; Lakkur (CE female flind barbarian 1, cleric of Rovagug 3), Hakkur’s sister.

Lair: A small collection of huts built by the Three Jaws spans the banks of a cascading feeder stream that runs from the upper reaches of Pale Mountain. Patrols of warriors guard the encampment, while groups of hunters prowl the nearby slopes—the Three Jaws make little distinction between intruders and prey. Within the camp, chief Hakkur makes his home in a grim tent crafted from sewn-together animal pelts and the skins of intruders. To the chieftain’s pride, the skins of his father and younger brother provide the door flaps to his home. Outside, Hakkur keeps the cramped hut of his six remaining goblin slaves. He once had 10, but in the 4 months since the goblins’ capture several have died from the poor conditions, the tantrums of gnoll warriors, and battles they engage in for the chieftain’s entertainment.

Society: Three Jaws life revolves around hunting trophies, with the term “hunting” referring to ambushing and killing any humanoid they encounter—but other gnolls and, in particular, members of the Circle tribe are prized above all. Hakkur organizes daily hunting parties, usually sent forth under the command of the tribe’s second, Chinew. When the Three Jaws discover and murder a beast or foe, they quickly strip the body of its distinctive adornments, fangs or teeth, and weapons. Then, back home, warriors often pierce their bodies with their new trophies.

Treasures: Each warrior of the Three Jaws has precious metals and gems affixed to his body worth a total of about 5 gp. The warriors carry such adornments not as currency but as trophies of their past kills and for the flashy sparkle. Gold teeth or earrings still bearing a scrap of tattered skin make far more impressive trophies than otherwise indistinguishable fangs or fingers.

Service to the Carrion King: Known as deadly warriors, the Three Jaws serve at the forefront of the Carrion King’s legions. Their self-inflicted deformities strike fear in the hearts of their enemies and other tribes of gnolls. When a tribe under the Carrion King’s command displeases him, it’s often a member of the Three Jaws he sends to exact punishment.

Adventure Hook: The Three Jaws tribe has a reputation for savagery and making attacks on non-gnoll communities throughout the Pale Mountain region. In recent months, though—owing to the support offered by the Carrion King—the merciless raiders have become increasingly deadly. While striking back against the gnolls might prove a daunting task, many mercenaries have come to the region to do battle, rumors of the copper and precious jewels the gnolls weave into their flesh inspiring the greed of many sellswords. Unfortunately, the Three Jaws prove dangerously capable of defending their trophies.

Wormhollow

Kikkling the Slight killed the pack leader of the Wormhollow tribe—a monstrous flind called Ghaldahag—in his sleep 3 years ago. He quickly claimed that he did so with Lamashtu’s blessing, though since his tribe has joined the ranks of the Carrion King, he claims the assassination was actually Rovagug’s will. In truth, the rest of the pack cared not one way or the other about what god slight and seemingly sickly Kikkling followed, for his rule has proven far less severe and significantly more beneficial than their past leader’s. A toady and false zealot, Kikkling the Slight opportunistically panders to the Carrion King, sending regular, needless tributes to the warlord while seeking out word of other tribes who denounce the worship of the god of wrath. From their cavernous lair—one of the oldest gnoll holdings near Pale Mountain—the Wormhollow gnolls follow Kikkling’s whims, watching for signs of dissension and faithlessness in their fellows.

Symbol: Pyramidal pile of bone-white rocks.

Size of Tribe: 45 gnolls, 4 flinds, 6 gnoll slaves.

Leader: Kikkling the Slight (NE male gnoll rogue 7), deceitful sycophant of the Carrion King.

Notable Members: Korkor (NE male gnoll rogue 3), inquisitor; Sinvew (CE female gnoll ranger 3), stalker and spy; Glos (NE male gnoll cleric of Rovagug 4), eldest faithful of the god of wrath.

Territory: The Wormhollow tribe controls a shallow cave system that winds through the base of Pale Mountain. None outside of this tribe know how deep the caves go, and other tribes believe the caverns bore all the way into the land of the dead. The truth is far less dramatic, but the Wormhollow gnolls enjoy the fear and awe their eerie home lends them. Members of the Wormhollow tribe rarely venture outside the caves except to hunt and spy upon their supposed allies.

Lair: The entrance to the Wormhollow tribe’s domain is the largest cave entrance on Pale Mountain. An opening in the cliffs on the mountain’s lower western slopes bears the crudely sculpted visage of a snarling hyena or gnoll. Within lies a cramped and heavily trapped cavern leading to a constantly manned guard post and the main hall of the Wormhollow tribe. Within this trapped corridor, the gnolls keep two giant solifugid “guard dogs,” huge spider-like desert insects with a hunger for hairless flesh. In the caverns beyond lie numerous chambers, including the cave of Kikkling (high on the wall of the main room) and a large shrine once dedicated to Lamashtu and reconsecrated to Rovagug. Beyond lie caves that wind to hidden escape routes, though one tunnel hides a crevice known only to Kikkling that leads all the way to the Darklands.

Society: The Wormhollow tribe used to be the most secretive of all tribes around Pale Mountain. With the coming of the Carrion King, though, their white-dyed fur and squinty eyes have become synonymous with deception and fanaticism—if not for Rovagug than for the Carrion King himself. Scouts of the Wormhollow tribe regularly make their ways among the disorganized lesser tribes and warbands of their warlord’s horde, seeking to garner their tribe leader’s and the Carrion King’s favor by rooting out the lazy and unfaithful, or simply the weak. Not powerful warriors or great hunters, the Wormhollow gnolls seek to elevate themselves above the other tribes through information, falsehood, and perceived loyalty.

Service to the Carrion King: The Carrion King realizes that Kikkling panders to him, but the praise and tribute pleases him. He also enjoys the fear the Wormhollow tribe provokes in the other tribes, increasing fear of the warlord but deflecting anger and resentment toward Kikkling’s people. The Wormhollow gnolls also possess useful skills as spies and liars, services at which few other gnoll tribes excel and which the Carrion King readily takes advantage of in his deals with distant tribes and keeping tabs on the hordes of the Red Sultana—another gnoll warlord—to the south.

Adventure Hook: The other gnolls have grown tired of the Wormhollow tribe’s endless scrutiny and accusations. Drovoag the Lame was driven from his tribe when Kikkling’s spies accused him of worshiping old demons. He encounters the PCs in their travels and begs for their help in infiltrating the Wormhollow caves, destroying their shrine to Rovagug, and leaving a message that the god is displeased with Kikkling. The gnoll ranger knows a back way into the tribe’s caves, but the way is infested with the eggs of giant solifugids. In return for their aid, Drovoag offers to show the PCs the way to the hidden caves where the Wormhollow tribe stores its ancient treasures.

Lesser Tribes of Pale Mountain

Along with the larger tribes tenuously united under the bloody banner of the Carrion King, dozen of smaller tribes, warbands, and groups of raiders obey the gnoll warlord’s call. Listed here are but a handful of diverse groups of hunters, murderers, and thieves moved by the Carrion King’s claw.

Al’Vohr’s Hunters: This band of six accomplished gnoll hunters follow the flind Al’Vohr, a living legend in the Pale Mountain region who supposedly single-handedly slew a roc in its sleep and fed upon its eggs—some claim he was a normal gnoll before, and that the experience made him grow into a flind. Al’Vohr and his followers are skilled trackers who enjoy ambushing their prey at night.

The Ghulveis: The remnants of a gnoll tribe of the same name, the Ghulveis were afflicted with a terrible, flesh-wasting disease said to be punishment from Lamashtu for their weak fertility. Now only five gauze-wrapped flinds and a pack of mangy hyenas—who lick their masters’ wounds—remain. The Carrion King employs the leper-like gnolls as threats, sending them among those who displease him.

The Sordaiv: This isolated, inbred tribe of human nomads has long been estranged from the other wanderers of central Katapesh, believing some great wrong was committed against them in the distant past. Numbering no more than 20 ash-robed raiders, these dull-witted but skilled desert trackers now lend their services to the Carrion King.

Wyrmslaves: These 18 gnolls were once of the Al’Drogat tribe, but their people were wiped out by the fat behir Lazzairhage. While the behir claims the gnolls as slaves, several of his servants are considerably more cunning than he is. Thus, the gnolls have convinced him to join in the plots of the Carrion King.

Throughout the adventure, the PCs will find hints regarding an ancient order known as the Templars of the Five Winds. When such an event occurs, give the PCs an opportunity to make a Knowledge (religion), Knowledge (history), or bardic knowledge check to learn more about the group.

Level 3: The Templars of the Five Winds were a group of five powerful genies from antiquity. They have not been heard from in centuries, but travelers in the northern reaches of Katapesh and the southern bounds of Osirion still sometimes attribute miracles or victories to their guidance.

Level 4: Legend tells that the Templars of the Five Winds defeated a great evil hundreds of years ago near Pale Mountain in the Brazen Peaks, a pinnacle not very far from the village of Kelmarane. Each Templar was associated with a specific aspect of the wind, and each wielded a distinct, highly potent magic weapon.

Level 5: The Templars of the Five Winds were said to be particular enemies of the cult of Rovagug, god of destruction, and many tales of their triumphs recount battles against the spawn of that vile religion. The templars themselves are jann, mortal genie-spirits dedicated to no particular element. For some reason, these jann cannot die, though none have been seen in centuries.

Level 6: The Templars once consisted of six genies. One of the Templars was lost though no one knows why or how. Speculation say that the lost genie became an enemy of the remaining Templars.

Level 7: The Templars of the Five Winds served a powerful djinni princess named Nefeshti, a great genie noble whose designs upon Osirion and Katapesh have had good and bad consequences. The Song of Edrehu suggests that the Templars’ immortality came from a powerful wish uttered by Nefeshti in antiquity, stating that so long as the warriors retained her favor, they would live forever. This result also grants the names and associated weapons of the five Templars, but not the additional information given for each Templar mentioned below.

• Davashuum (The Jackal’s Price, The Final Wish): Davashuum is an amoral and deadly creature that served Nefeshti as an executioner and, in dire extremes, as an assassin. He represents the fury of winds from all directions and wields a powerful quarterstaff named Tempest.

• Kardswann (Howl of the Carrion King): A scout and traveler of the planes, Kardswann’s weapon is an elaborate greataxe named Vendaval, and he represents the south wind, the most well-traveled and worldly of the winds. He is currently under the mental domination of Xulthos, a daemon imprisoned in the crypt below Kelamarane’s ruined church of Sarenrae.

• Anhur: Anhur was once the leader of the Templars. He represented the calming wind from all directions. Also known as the Lost Wind he was lost long ago. He wielded a whip that harnessed a slashing wind named Miltemi.

• Pazhvann (The Jackal’s Price): Pazhvann is Nefeshti’s advisor and spiritual guide. He represents the east wind, upon which the whispers of the gods and the advice of elders is carried. His weapon is a tremendous burning flail named Sorocco.

• Vardishal (Howl of the Carrion King): A general of Nefeshti’s armies, Vardishal’s spirit resides in the monastery laboratory. He wielded a power artifact named Blizzard, and in life he represents the north wind, a wind said to carry the battle cries of all armies.

• Zayifid (House of the Beast): Nefeshti’s spy and diplomat, Zayifid was a messenger and spy. He represents the west wind, upon which secrets thought hidden were carried. His weapon is a delicate but razor-sharp scimitar named Zephyr.

Sarenrae (SAIR-in-ray) is one of the most popular deities on Golarion, and even those of other faiths respect her power, dedication, and generosity. Worshiped originally by Keleshite humans, her faith spread to the Garundi in ancient Osirion and into other human and nonhuman civilizations as well. Like the sun in the sky, she shines upon the entire world as a symbol of good, healing, and redemption.

Eons ago, Sarenrae was not a goddess, but a powerful angel, guiding the energies of the sun and smiting agents of darkness that would quench the day’s light and plunge the newborn world of Golarion and its sister planets into eternal darkness. Her skill and success at these tasks led other angels to lend her their support, and eventually gods as well, making her one of the mighty empyreal lords. When Rovagug sought to unmake Golarion, it was Sarenrae who was first on the battlefield, and she who faced the Rough Beast personally when the other forces of creation were engaged with his hideous spawn. Though the exact timeline is unclear, her willingness to sacrifice herself in this battle so that all could be saved inspired great hope in all of her comrades, and this gave her the boost necessary to elevate her from one of the greatest angels to a full goddess, and with this influx of power she smote him and hurled his broken body deep into the earth. As the gods mended the scars in the world and intelligent life appeared on its surface, mortals turned their eyes upward to thank the life-giving sun, and her faith grew roots in the early primitive peoples.

Sarenrae is a kind and loving goddess, a caring mother and sister to all in need. She joys in healing the sick, lifting up the fallen, and shining a guiding light into the darkest hearts and lands. She brushes off insults and deflects attacks, patiently trying to convince those who perceive her as an enemy that their belief is false. She is no victim, and once it is clear that her words and power are wasted on those who refuse to listen and believe, she responds to violence in kind with swift metal and scorching light.

She dislikes cruelty, lies, quenching darkness, needless suffering, and thoughtless destruction. Ancient, timeless, and renewed every day, she has seen much suffering in the world but is bolstered by the inevitable appearance of hope, truth, and kindness.

Religious art depicts the sun goddess as a strong woman with bronze skin and a mane of dancing flame; in some cases this flame trails behind her for a dozen or more yards. While one of her hands holds the light of the sun, the other grasps a scimitar, so that she might smite those who do not change their ways. The church does not teach that Sarenrae is the sun itself; she is its guardian and conduit for its power, not a direct manifestation of the actual orb, and while fanciful art may show her face in place of the sun, the mainstream faithful recognize the difference between the sun and the goddess.

Sarenrae is a popular goddess and worshiped by people of many interests, from the obvious farmers and healers to governors, honest jailors, redeemed evil-doers, and those who wish to make the world a better place. City-folk who have no particular interest in fate, farming, magic, or esoteric philosophy make up the bulk of her worshipers, regular people who believe in honest work, relief from suffering, and the idea that each new day brings hope and new opportunity. Her faith attracts those with kind hearts, but only those willing to harden them when kindness is a dangerous weakness.

Sarenrae indicates her favor with sightings of doves, or through the shapes of ankhs appearing in unexpected places. Other signs of her favor are rays of dawn or dusk sunlight lasting far longer than they should, the discovery of yellow stones or gems, or the sudden soothing of aches and pains. Her displeasure is most often made apparent through unexplained sunburns or periods of blindness that can last anywhere from only a few moments for minor transgressions to a lifetime for mortal sins. She has been known to befuddle the tongues of habitual liars and slow the healing of the unkind and unrepentant.

Sunflowers may bloom around the faithful to show her favor, or a dead enemy may sprout them from its mouth.

Formal raiment for priests of Sarenrae includes a long white chasuble and tunic decorated with red and gold thread depicting images of the sun, and officiating priests usually wear a golden crown with a red-gold sunburst device on top. Scimitars inlaid with gold sunbursts or golden gems are common ceremonial implements. This costume has changed over time and varies by region; older illustrated copies of her holy text show priests wearing pointed caps, decorative long-sleeved open-front coats over normal clothing, and even elaborate wings made of wood and feathers.

Rose gold (a mix of copper and gold) is very popular among the faithful for its color, which reminds them of the dawn’s light. Any church items made of gold may actually be rose gold. Marriage ceremonies, dowries, and other events sanctified by the church may contain one or more finger rings made of rose gold, and in some desert cultures a man is not ready to ask a bride for her hand unless he has a rose gold ring to give her.

Sarenrae is neutral good and her portfolio is the sun, redemption, honesty, and healing. Her favored weapon is the scimitar. Her holy symbol is an ankh, though more stylized versions are a winged ankh or a winged female figure, arms outstretched, with a halo of flame. Her domains are Fire, Glory, Good, Healing, and Sun. Most of her priests are clerics, though there are many paladins and rangers and a smattering of sun-druids and sun-bards. Her titles include the Dawnflower and the Cleansing Light. To her enemies she is the Warrior of Fire.

The church has passive and active elements, and a priest of either flavor can usually find like-minded worshipers at any temple. Sarenrae’s paladins tend to be adventureseekers, many of them questing in search of penance for past failures or perceived flaws. The more relaxed clergy tend to the sick and injured, though even these are ready to brandish a scimitar in the face of evil that steps within reach of the temple.

Religious ceremonies for the Dawnflower always involve singing (or sometimes ululation or even speaking in tongues) and usually include vigorous dancing, with participants spinning or moving in great circles representing the sun’s path through the sky. Cymbals, bells, and drums are popular instruments, accented by hand-clapping.

The church is very supportive of marriage and a wedding in a temple is always cause for celebration. Because of their stance of forgiveness and redemption, there is no stigma for divorce, and the delight over a second or third marriage is just as joyful as a person’s first. Worshipers reconsecrate their vows every 10 years, though this doesn’t involve an elaborate ceremony with guests.

In Katapesh, Osirion, and nearby lands the harsh sun beats down upon mortals, and the line between survival and extinction is much finer. Thus, it is no surprise that even benign Sarenrae emerges as a more steely, dangerous force. As tribal nomads say, “there are no second chances in the desert,” and here the Cult of the Dawnflower has taken that to heart. These hard-edged priests offer mercy once and only once to their opponents, and if refused they are ruthless in battle, ignoring offers to parley or surrender, unafraid to judge neutral opponents as if they were blackhearted evildoers. This severe stance only applies to enemies of the faith and sinful folk—among their friends, family, and other respectable members of the community, the people of the Desert Dawnflower are kind, generous, and forgiving. As a whole this subset of the main faith tends to fall much closer to true neutral than neutral good, though never to actual evil.

Temples and Shrines

Temples are open-air buildings (with satellite buildings having ceilings) open to the sky, sometimes with large brass or gold mirrors on high points to reflect more light toward the altar (always in such a way as not to blind anyone present, though older priests tend to develop a squint and crow’s feet from the bright light). Sun-motifs are common decorations, as are white or metallic wings and images of doves. Most temples have a sundial and markings tracking the solstices.

Sarenrae’s sanctuaries are surrounded by sunflowers or other plants with large golden flowers. These may be flower gardens or simply wildflowers that flourish because of the goddess’ will. In poorer communities, sunflower seeds are eaten, either whole, as a nutritious paste, or dried into powder and used like flour to make bread. “Dawnflower bread” is small loaves of sunflower bread marked with an ankh on top, distributed to the needy by the church.

Sarenrae has many shrines, typically a single stone marker with a sun-ankh, though trios of carved standing stones may mark the summer and winter solstices.

Shrines may have niches for candles or small handwritten prayers, and visiting pilgrims typically scatter sunflowers or seeds at the base. In hotter lands, the stone might be part of a small shelter or have an overhang to create a bit of shade for a weary traveler.

A Cleric’s Role

The clergy of Sarenrae are usually peaceful, administering to their flock with a gentle hand and wise words. Such kindness vanishes, however, when the church is stirred to action against an evil that cannot be redeemed—particularly against the cult of Rovagug. At such times, Sarenrae’s priests become dervishes, dancing among foes while allowing their scimitars to give their opponents final redemption. Even commonfolk aid in these endeavors, though their contribution is more in terms of supplies and emotional support than taking up arms against evil, though even that has happened in extreme times.

Priests are responsible for blessing farmland, organizing planting and harvest celebrations, tending to the sick and injured, guarding or rehabilitating criminals, or simply preaching to others using simple parables. Like their goddess, priests of the Dawnflower tend to be caring and understanding, which makes them naturally suitable for working out disputes between neighbors or family members. Swordplay, particularly with the scimitar, is held to be a form of art by her followers. Martial-minded priests seek out evil in the hopes of redeeming it or destroying it if redemption fails. They understand that undead, mindless beasts, and fiends are essentially beyond redemption and don’t bother wasting words on such creatures. The church is not averse to using spells like lesser geas and mark of justice to help guide malcontents toward goodness. Priests of Sarenrae never seem to sunburn; those of middle or dark complexion just get darker, while those with fair features tend to become lighter as if sun-bleached.

Most non-adventuring priests live on donations from their congregation, as do those who work in church temples. Wealthier folk or nobles might hire a priest as a personal healer to deal with a particular problem or as a long-term retainer, likewise some receive a stipend from the city guard or army to take care of peacekeepers and soldiers. By tradition they normally do not refuse someone in need of healing even if the person cannot pay, but they are quick to assess who urgently needs medical attention and who will recover naturally, which prevents most exploitation and allows them to focus their magic on those who really need it.

The Dawnflower’s church is extremely flexible and allows its priest much mobility between temples—a legacy of its early popularity among the nomadic tribes.

This practice helps diffuse pressure from personal feuds, as one priest can relocate to another temple until tempers cool. Individual temples are organized much like a family, with parental and sibling-like interactions between various groups. The head of a particular temple is called the Dawnfather or Dawnmother, and is usually an older person skilled at healing and diplomacy; members of the temple are expected to follow the decisions of the leader, though normally he or she encourages input from junior members before a decision is made.

Priests of Sarenrae are usually skilled at Diplomacy and Heal. Many also learn Knowledge (nature) or Profession (herbalist) to better understand medicinal plants. Those who make a habit of confronting evil usually learn Intimidate, as they prefer a foe that surrenders to one that must be beaten into submission.

A priest normally wakes around dawn and makes a thankful prayer toward the rising sun. A quick meal (preferably warm) follows, as does a short time of introspective prayer, no longer than an hour, after which the priest goes about his work. It is customary to utter a quick prayer upon exiting a building through a door that faces the sun, and another any time the sun breaks through the clouds (much as you might bless someone if they sneeze). They pause to pray a few minutes at the sun’s highest point in the day and shortly before sundown (priests who cannot see the sun, such as those in a dungeon or cave, estimate the appropriate time for these prayers).

Two Myths

Sarenrae’s followers record many myths in their holy books; these two are among the most popular.

Darkness and Light: When the primal forces created Golarion, Asmodeus planted a malignant evil upon the world under cover of perpetual darkness. The doctrine of Sarenrae’s faith tells how the Dawnflower brought light to the world, and with it came truth and honesty.

All who had turned to evil in the darkness saw their wickedness illuminated in Sarenrae’s light; shocked at the ugliness within them, they asked for forgiveness and were cleansed of their evil by the goddess. The church uses this to explain its policy of redemption—it is there for anyone who asks for it with an open heart. Note that the church believes that divine forgiveness for evil does not excuse mortal punishment; a thief who asks the church for forgiveness finds his soul elevated, but must still compensate his victim according to local law.

The Punishment of Ninshabur: Legend holds that the Pit of Gormuz was once the great city of Ninshabur. Long had it been a city of wickedness and sin, and long had her priesthood tried to convince the people there to abandon their ways and turn to the healing power of the light. Their efforts failed time and again, and despite her warnings in the form of an earthquake and a night that burned bright as day, they still rejoiced in their evil.

Finally, when her followers found cultists of Rovagug preaching openly in the streets, she decided that the taint was too deep and they must be destroyed like any other fiend. Sarenrae smote the earth with a scimitar of fire, creating a rent to the center of the world, and the city tumbled out of the light they had so fervently rejected.

Holidays

Sarenrae is the patron goddess of summer, and its month of Sarenith is named for her. The church has two universal holidays, though regional temples may hold additional holidays to celebrate local events, such as the appearance of a saint. Services are happy events incorporating singing, dancing, bells, cymbals, and flutes; they always take place outside and during daylight hours.

Burning Blades: This takes place on Sarenith 10th, although technically it is the apex of a summer-long celebration in the Dawnflower’s name. The holiday represents the light of Sarenrae and its power to heal, both physically and spiritually. It is named for the dance of the burning blade, where the faithful coat ceremonial weapons in slow-burning pitch and dance with flaming blades. Church legend says that on this day the blades of the zealous will ignite with Sarenrae’s fire should their wielder be in mortal peril, and this miracle has happened often enough that evil folk avoid the faithful on this day.

Sunwrought Festival: Celebrated on the summer solstice, this holiday honors the longest day of the year as the day when Sarenrae pays extra attention to the people in the mortal world. Worshipers dance, give each other small gifts, light fireworks, and sell or trade their finest crafts in a market-like gathering. Fireworks, paper streamers, and simple kites are popular amusements. Many feature a reenactment of the battle between Sarenrae and Rovagug, with the goddess represented by a young woman and the evil god represented as a large frame-and-cloth costume that can exceed 20 feet in length and require four or more people to move.

Aphorisms

The people of Katapesh and Osirion always swear oaths on Sarenrae’s name to prove their honesty. Among the faithful, there are certain phrases in common use.

The Dawn Brings New Light: Often used as a litany against evil and despair, the faithful use this phrase to mean that each new day is an opportunity, a promise from Sarenrae that things will get better, even if that means the afterlife (records from Osirion during the purging of the Cult of the Dawnflower cult indicate several martyrs of the faith chanted this as they were executed for their beliefs). It is also used to welcome good things in life, whether blessing the birth of a child, an unexpected monetary gain, or a delicious meal.

For the Sun and the Fury: This battle calls upon the light of Sarenrae and her righteous anger at unrepentant evil. Paladins like to shout it when they smite, clerics when they invoke holy fire. Traditionally this is painted or carved on the cornerstone of every temple to Sarenrae.

Relations With Other Religions

The goddess welcomes all non-evil deities and treats most of the evil ones pleasantly in the hopes of convincing them to abandon their evil. Similar to how all gods love Shelyn in their own way, they understand that Sarenrae honestly wants their friendship, whether or not that feeling is reciprocated. She hates Asmodeus passionately, and though it is rarely spoken of, they share a deeper rivalry than merely their constant battle over souls. Likewise, despite her disgust at Urgathoa’s undead followers and disease, the Dawnflower tries to find some way to “help” the other goddess become whole again, though the Pallid Princess has no interest in her help. Rovagug is particularly loathed, for his mindless destruction opposes her generous nature and she still remembers the sting of his attacks in the battle where she imprisoned him ages ago. She gets along very well with the Empyreal Lords and often lends them support in their causes (in some lands, these beings are worshiped as saints of the Dawnflower’s church, though Sarenrae makes no such claims).

NPC Priests of Sarenrae Though her greatest temples are in the southern lands, Sarenrae’s faith is welcome in all non-evil countries, and her followers may be found anywhere. In places where evil holds sway, they travel incognito and help other good folk against oppression and misery. The following are two notable priests the PCs might meet on their travels.

Fayar the Swift-Foot (LG male human paladin 6) fancies himself a dervish crusader, having survived many battles with gnolls, undead, and even a hellcat. He has used his nickname exclusively ever since acquiring a pair of boots of striding and springing. His real patronymic is unknown, and he reveals little about his past, leading most to speculate that he is atoning for some great shame or perhaps trying to redeem his family name. Fayar is meticulous in his religious observations, praying each dawn for at least an hour and fasting for a day if he ever misses part of his regimen. In hot climates he wears loose white silks over his armor (patching them himself in between battles). He has a large winged ankh branded on his left pectoral and several Sarenrite prayers tattooed under it in flowing Kelish script.

Sahba al-Waaj (NG female human cleric 9): Born into a low-status family, Sahba’s father planned to give her to a warlord as a peace offering. Not relishing the idea of life as a harem girl, she prayed to Sarenrae and was given a vision of her fleeing her father’s tent to the safety of a nearby pilgrimage.

She obeyed, and the pilgrims took her in and trained her to be a priestess. Now she balances her roles of healer and redeemer, tending to the poor and underprivileged some days, seeking evil and oppressors on others. She is resentful toward belligerent or controlling men and has been known to pick fights with them in order to give them a good beating. She is an excellent cook but only does it for close friends or in response to witnessing a great act of charity or generosity.

Planar Allies

The following creatures are well-known supernatural servitors of Sarenrae, suitable for conjuring with planar ally or similar spells. Her herald is her friend and advisor, Holy Sunlord Thalachos (see page 86), and in times of great need she sends him to Golarion to aid her cause.

Charlabu: This golden-haired hound archon prefers a friendly dog form when interacting with mortals, and has been known to masquerade as a regular dog to look after people in need of help (though his alignment spoils the ruse for those who can detect such things).

Mystmorning: Religious scholars debate whether this servant is a celestial unicorn in the shape of a sword or a sword with the powers of a celestial unicorn. She always looks like a fine sword or scimitar, inlaid with rose gold markings on the blade and with two gray gems set on the pommel. She rarely speaks and prefers to take a passive role as a weapon in the hands of a hero.

Sometimes it seems that the lands of Katapesh and Osirion are not entirely the realm of men, but first and foremost the abode of jinn, those creatures whose souls are more akin to the tempers of nature than the passions of mortal-kind. These lands themselves are hostile to human life and full of elemental forces—sand, wind, water, and sun define the desert kingdoms. It’s not surprising, then, that genies find comfort in these lands. Yet most desert dwellers know little of geniekind, embracing centuries of legends and ancient fears, imagining these wanderers as creatures of story and song.

Perhaps rightfully so, for these radiant beings are kin to the elements, and fundamentally greater than those forced to suffer the whims of the multiverse. For untold centuries the peoples of the desert have told tales of the jinn, these stories spreading to faroff lands and capturing the imaginations of listeners across Golarion. Numerous wizards, researchers, and storytellers have sought to collect tales of these incredible creatures, hoping to find power within such tales, seeking wisdom of realms beyond the mortal plane, or merely entranced by the exotic tales of the desert. Regardless of such scholars’ intentions, presented here are many of the most celebrated “facts” about the jinn. While many jinn might laugh at the tales passed as truth among mortals, all five major races of genies prove notoriously tightlipped about the efforts and ways of their people, and thus the observers of mortal-kind must make due with stories and tales they hope hold the seeds of truth.

The Five Families of Jinn

The forms of all true genies correspond to the four elements: the air is ruled by the djinn, the earth by the shaitans, the waters and oceans by the marids, and flames by the efreet. Then there are the jann, who combine all four elements into a clear and balanced whole. While the jinn prove tightlipped about the ways and workings of their great societies, countless legends and the songs of the desert reveal a number of supposed truths—some more dubious than others.

Djinn

The body of a djinni is half cloud and half flesh, with pale skin, light eyes, and hair ranging through the colors of clouds. Their clothes always seem to ripple in the wind, even inside buildings or during a calm. They prefer flying over walking at all times, and their feet rarely touch the earth—their sandals often drifting just above the sands, leaving no footprints. Many djinn refuse to wear shirts even on the coldest days or on high mountain peaks. They favor tattoos, occasionally animating the ink within their skins to make them dance and move. Most are known for their flighty nature, but overall djinn seem good at heart and outgoing, and of all the jinn they prove the friendliest to the people of Golarion.

Efreet

Creatures of fire and wrath, efreet delight in destruction and are said to be born of the smoke from burning tents and charred cities. Their bodies range through a variety of smoldering shades, from the brazen red of the setting sun to the blackness of a dampened fire’s smoke. Tales say their skin burns like a lit torch, their hair blazes like flame, and their appetites are as endless as fire. Efreet greatly enjoy the taste of flesh, both of animal and human sacrifices, and of creatures left to burn on pyres or battlefields. Failing that, they happily devour anything that burns: wood, cloth, coal, incense, and exotic flammable metals infused with phlogiston and phosphor. They consume these materials by the pound, and drink nothing but a strange slurry of wood shavings and coal dust.

Jann

The jann are the genies of the mortal plane, creatures of the world but still set apart from its other natives. In them, all the elements that empower the other races of genies unite, the contradictions and fundamental oppositions of these natural powers serving to weaken the jann rather than invigorate them. The weakest of all genies, the jann appear most akin to humans yet prove vastly more powerful. For them, elemental magic is second nature, physical form is an intrinsically changeable thing, and the bonds of reality are loose. Although these genies may travel to the domains of their kin on the Elemental Planes, they are not at home in such realms and must return to the mortal plane after a short time.

Marids

Marids are a tranquil yet powerful people well known through the tales of sailors and hopeful desert nomads. They concern themselves with the affairs of the seas and protection of bodies of water, rarely venturing far from ocean shores or lush desert oases. Marids have bodies covered in fine scales and hair like flowing kelp, most often blue, black, or green, though many can transform themselves into translucent, liquid forms that prove effectively invisible in water. Most are known to be flighty, impetuous, whimsical, or otherwise lacking in attention, moving from one topic or passion as swiftly as a surging river. Of all the genies, marids most often take human lovers, whom they lure into the waters from the shore, promising riches, lavish palaces, and a life of indolence. Surprisingly, they most often keep these promises, though their paramours might be little more than prisoners beneath the sea.

Shaitans

Many think of the shaitans as sinister creatures of the Darklands, but truly they are things of the earth, the empty caverns, and the high hills. Their skin is stone, their hearts molten lava, and their eyes jewel-like in their sparkle. Few shaitans share similar skins, either in color or texture, and some are smooth and delicate like polished lapis lazuli, while others are hulking and rugged like rough granite. Strands of jewels and sheets of beaten metals are the preferred clothing of these earthen jinn, and they wear them much as mortals wear linen, cotton, or silk. These jeweled garments are sometimes worth a prince’s ransom, but the death of a shaitan does more than make his killer wealthy: it typically buys a blood feud, as the shaitan’s brethren strive for compensation. Those who seek to escape retribution from the shaitan might take to a life spent upon the sea or amid the clouds, knowing that accusing shaitans lurk beneath every rock, field, and sand dune.

A Name Beyond Words

In the real world, the creatures commonly known in the West as genies have their roots in ancient Arabic tales of the jinn. In their earliest mythological incarnations, jinn are spirits or deities capable of bestowing aid or hardships upon humans. Islam explains that they are a race created alongside humans and angels, some proving virtuous but others acting as foul tempters akin to the corruptive spirits of other religions. Yet the legends of jinn probably best known to Western audiences come from interpretations of tales from The Thousand and One Nights following the exploits of the hero Aladdin and his genies.

It is from European translations of The Thousand and One Nights in the 1600s that the name jinn was first transliterated as “genie.” Drawing from the Latin genius (plural genii), protective personal spirits from Ancient Rome, French translators of these Arabic tales used their language’s version of this word, genie, due to its similar sound and meaning. Thus, countless Westerners were first introduced to tales of spirits, magic lamps, and sweeping romances featuring exotic creatures called genies, and the tradition has persisted ever since. Other names for specific genies and genies in general can be found throughout the folkloric tradition of the Middle East, a few examples being Azazil, Deev, Efrit, Ghaddar, Ghul, Jann, Marid, Nasnas, Shaytans, Shiqq, Silat, Sut, and Taus.

Genie Life & Death

Tales say that in the rushing of winds, the shuddering of earthquakes, the crash of waves, and the roaring of great fires, one can hear the passions and songs of genies. Unlike many other beings of the Elemental Planes, genies are not born directly from flames or cracked from stony eggs, though elemental earth, air, fire, and water are always part of a genie’s birth. Genies are birthed much as many mortals—a rarity among the races of the planes. This speaks toward the strange heritages of the jinn race, being creatures part flesh and part elemental.

Newly born genies rarely enter their existence alone, but rather as twins or quadruplets, sometimes in litters as large as eight. These young genies grow into adults in a matter of years, far faster than creatures of the mortal plane. While djinn and efreet are fully grown by their sixth year, marids take 10 years to grow to adulthood, and shaitans and jann take 15. Genies seem to consider the longer periods of humanoid fertility a sign of inferiority, or at least laziness on the part of such simple creatures. The sizes of genies are often relative, however. As genies age they grow larger and more powerful, typically gathering ever-greater magical and elemental power that often takes concrete, physical form. Upon reaching adulthood, the size and apparent age of a genie is a sign of his power. Thus, small, thin genies might be young or powerless, while larger genies might be comparatively inexperienced but always filled with elemental power.

The lives of genies vary wildly in their often directly conflicting societies. Within their airy homes, djinn live amid floating palaces and lofty cities where they welcome strangers and embrace the endless experiences of the spheres. Many mortals mistake the domain of the efreet for Hell, as their metal towers rise from seas of flame and vast armies march the avenues of the fabled City of Brass. Jann follow the simplest lives of all genie-kind, wandering the deserts of the mortal realm, communing with the elements among natural extremes and avoiding the prying eyes of lesser beings. Within a decadent empire of gleaming shells and pearlescent cities, marids delight in the pleasures of the sea and wonders of the depths. And from the Opaline Vault of their realm of stone, the shaitans assemble vast treasuries, locking them away in impregnable earthen keeps. While untold numbers of each genie race embrace the fundamental natures of their people, there are always exceptions, and stoic marids and whimsical shaitans are not unknown.

As immortal beings, jinn do not view death as an inevitability, but as a terrible crime or punishment. Legends say that when jinn die violently, in feuds or battle, their ends are usually spectacular, with djinn departing as howling winds, efreet turning to smoldering columns of coals and ash that swiftly crumble, marids changing into fog and water that swiftly evaporates, and jann simply fading away. Supposedly only shaitans leave any real remains: strangely tubular bones of copper, iron, or even mithral, though few can prove that such metals truthfully come from the bones of genies. Other than this, it’s said that a dead genie leaves little trace.

The genie customs of mourning are primarily rooted in songs and sacrifices, and the creation of a memorial marker to honor the departed. These events can last for hours or days, and usually involve long speeches by genie nobles. A death marks a time of neutrality and peace, as feuds are set aside for the duration of the funeral and one day afterward. But a genie’s grief doesn’t necessarily last long. Most, once the mourning is past, turn immediately to the pressing business of revenge.

Genie Culture

The lives of jinn are long and complicated. With each breed of genie having its own distinct culture, untold tomes could be written on the specifics of any one of these varied societies. Fortunately certain similarities exist between each of these ancient cultures and in the traditions followed by genies of all types. Noted here are just a few facts one might know regarding genies, though many of their societies’ other aspects prove far more complicated.

Genie Lore

Knowledge (the planes)

DC Result

10 All genies are powerful spirits, part flesh and part living natural force. This status gives them humanlike desires and powers over the elements.

15 There are five dominant races of genies: djinn, with power over air; efreet, with mastery of fire; marids, with control over water; shaitans, with mastery of stone; and jann, who embody all of these elements.

20 Genies are well known for their power to grant wishes, either by specifically adjusting the fetters of reality or by drawing upon their great might and that of their brethren to do their masters’ will. Genies typically only grant such wishes when forced to by powerful magic or in reward for a great service.

25 Genies are very susceptible to flattery, and those who would deal with these creatures do well by offering them valuable gifts and artful praise. They are immortal and their memories are long, meaning that a scorned genie never forgets a slight or an enemy.

30 Although few genies cooperate with one another—having little tolerance for beings as arrogant as themselves—certain races hold particular animosity toward one another, with regular hostilities breaking out between efreet and djinn. This aggression increases to open war when it comes to the shaitans and efreet, who have long battled each other upon the planes and mortal realm.

The Cursed Death

Unlike most outsiders, genies can be corrupted, their souls forbidden from returning to the Elemental Planes of their creation upon their deaths. At least three types of corrupted jinn are known:

Div: Although slain jinn have their spirits reabsorbed by the Elemental Planes, it is said that the foulest souls of the first genies slipped the bonds of the Inner Sphere and found their way to Abbadon. There, amid the warped landscapes and fundametal foulness of that grim realm, these jinn souls underwent a centuries-long transmogrification, emerging as the first divs, sadistic fiends who seek to ruin mortal lives.

Statistics for a variety of divs and their ruler, Ahriman, can be found in the bestiaries of the Legacy of Fire Adventure Path.

Edimmu: Jinn slain upon the Material Plane yet magically compelled to remain there to complete a term of service find their bodies destroyed but their essences lingering on. These edimmu are tormented spirits that either endlessly act out the duties set by masters often long dead, or eternally rage against the mortal races they blame for barring them from their elemental homes. Statistics for edimmu appear in Pathfinder Adventure Path volume #20.

Ghul: These undead rise from the corpses of jinn who attracted the foul attentions of the ruler of the divs, the fiend Ahriman, or were attacked by ancient and more powerful ghuls. Resembling the jinn they were in life—though rotted, sometimes to the point of being skeletal—ghuls are intelligent and often retain some control over their core element. They are a combination of elemental power and necromantic corruption, and all true genies consider them abominations. Statistics for ghuls can be found in Pathfinder Chronicles: Dark Markets, A Guide to Katapesh.

Customs & Mating

Genies are proud and eager for recognition by their peers, enjoying the opportunity to show off to others of their kind their sumptuous garments, wildly improbable magical vehicles, and manors and palaces suitable for pashas among pashas. Their gifts are often illusory, but even so, the energies invested in creating silver robes of pure starshine, building cities amid a realm of fire, or carrying glacial sherbets from the mountains to the middle of vast deserts are considerable.

This extravagance is due primarily to the simple fact that female genies are relatively rare, comprising no more than roughly a third of the race of genies. The reasons for this are unclear, but might reflect a deficit of female souls when the race was created, or perhaps a divine limitation required by the gods to keep the genies from growing into an unstoppably dominant race upon the planes. Whatever the cause, the effect is profound on genie mating customs, and female genies prove quite demanding of their male suitors. Female genies hold all the power in the mating game, with two or more suitors for every female hand, and eagerly exploit their prerogative to choose a mate.

Male genies eagerly strive to gain the attentions of the few female genies, and so prove boastful, loud peacocks always willing to dismiss other males. The only exceptions are efreet, who take to open warfare with other males to win the affections of their paramours—and ostensibly to reduce the number of living males. Efreet are also the only jinn to cloister their women away from view, and slavery among their own kind is not unknown.

Among the shaitans, marids, jann, and djinn, polyandry is quite common, with female genies keeping up to four husbands or consorts. This leads to frequent outbursts among jealous, feuding males, which is why the females prefer to keep their men busy with tasks: fetching pomegranates from distant lands, weaving enormous carpets of gold and red madder, or finding and harassing caravans that might pay bribes in perfume or silk. For most such households, the female genie remains in her palace, and the males fetch and carry goods, expand her house, organize her servants, and fight her wars.

Wishes

Noble djinn, efreet, and marids can all grant wishes to non-genies, who bargain for such boons or otherwise compel these beings to use such great and dangerous magic. Considering the often selfish nature of many genies, the granting of wishes to lesser races seems unlikely at best. Storytellers suggest that all races of genies provide these wishes not out of fear of death when captured or enslaved, but rather to discharge some karmic debt or epic obligation. Some tales say that the first genies wagered with universal powers and lost, and now must serve the whims of lesser creatures when magically captured. While this is an interesting theory, the genies demur when questioned about it.

A few jinn have offered an alternative take on the origin of wishes. In their description, it is the genie’s ties to the Elemental Planes and to the deeper magic of Golarion that make them able and willing to grant wishes to those who capture them. They do this not out of obligation, but out of a sense of pity or fair play. Any of the mortal world’s creatures are lesser beings and, thus, if one of them manages to best a genie, certainly the poor creature deserves a wish or three. In this view, genies are indulgent elder brothers to mortals.

Genie wishes are generally honored as long as the wisher does not request too much. Braggarts, swaggering fools, and those who hold themselves in high regard irk the vast egos of most genies, who consider themselves to be doing the wisher a favor. The louder a wisher crows about his victory, the more inclined a genie is to undermine it.

The Granting of Wishes

Many tales of genies tell of wishes that go awry, imperiling the wisher or leaving him to some terrible, yet often deserved fate. More than moral lessons, such stories serve as warnings against the fickle and often cruel natures of these powerful beings. In any case, a genie’s wishes are powerful and might easily be bent or honored depending on the whims of the jinn granting them, how the genie is treated by his captors, and whether the genie is good or evil. Sometimes even the most seemingly beneficent jinn might attempt such trickery, viewing an overly literal or otherwise mischievous interpretation of a wisher’s commands as educational or character-building in some twisted sense. Any character attempting to have a genie grant his wish might make an opposed Sense Motive check to determine whether or not a genie might attempt to maliciously misconstrue his wish. In the cases of genies a character might find bound or otherwise enslaved to service, a GM might allow characters to make DC 25 Diplomacy, Knowledge (nobility and royalty), or Knowledge (the planes) checks to glean what offerings a genie might favor and thus make it more likely to grant a wish without mischief.

Allies & Servants

Genies are all fond of servitors, steeds, and troops who can carry on their feuds for them. The types vary, but generally any elemental creature might serve a genie of the proper elemental type. In addition, some other monsters serve out of ancient loyalty, or are captured and tamed by the genies because of their powers.

Djinn: Djinn are fond of rocs, giant eagles, invisible stalkers, cloud giants, and the strange torthune (from Kobold Quarterly #7). Anything that flies is a friend of theirs, though belkers and some mephits are less welcome than others. Earthbound creatures mostly evoke their pity and scorn, and the djinn have a talent for considering even their friends beneath their notice when some new artistry or magic entrances them. Most other genies consider djinn shallow narcissists.

Efreet: All fire creatures are either friends of the efreet, eager to share in their cruelties, or deathly afraid of being caught and enslaved by them. These genies’ more willing allies include salamanders, fire giants, iron golems, various mephits, and fire wisps (see Pathfinder Adventure Path volume #23). Less willing slaves include azers, ogres, and firesnakes. For some reason, pale and sickly elves are especially popular as concubines among the efreet. Few of them last long in the genies’ fiery embrace, though.

Marids: These water genies favor whales, dolphins, and giant sea horses as servants, as well as locathah, nixies, hippocampi, and devilfish (see Pathfinder Adventure Path volume #7). Marid lords consider storm giants their equals, and are also known to speak with brine dragons on matters of concern to the greater depths. For the most part, though, marids consider merfolk and other aquatic species little more interesting than talking fish.

Shaitans: Shaitans use a wide variety of monsters to serve their needs below the earth, from xorn and delvers to purple worms, sandmen, clay golems, and sandwalkers (from Kobold Quarterly #7). They often buy dwarves, pech, svirfneblin, and other Darklands races as slaves, or trade great wealth for such minions. The shaitans’ desire for gems makes them push their servants to search ever deeper for riches. Slaves of shaitan masters often survive for years, as their labor, while forced, is not wholly unpleasant, with the genies allowing their prisoners rotating periods of rest and rewards for exemplary work.

Enemies

Some savants believe there is no greater doom than to become enmeshed in the affairs of the genies. Jinn see things differently: all those who are not their friend must, perforce, be their vilest enemies. Although they enjoy civilized haggling over prices, terms, and quality for goods or services, they have surprisingly little patience for diplomacy, which involves meeting other creatures and pretending at equality or at least treating them with respect.

Nearly all genies are extraordinarily proud, meaning that even the best-natured of their kind often come off as insufferable at best and insulting at worst. This arrogance often leads to intense feuds among genies as those of equal standing seek to prove their dominance.

As a result, the long hatred of the efreet for the djinn, and the shaitans for the marids, grows and festers and multiplies, sometimes even drawing in their jann cousins. Genies fight more among themselves than they do against other creatures of the planes, such as demons or devils. In this way, the typical approach to manipulating genies involves appealing to their vanity while disparaging their enemies—and implying a willingness to aid their most hated foes if they become difficult.

Beyond Legends

Although many tales of jinn bear distinct similarities and hints of veracity, few beyond genies themselves can be sure what aspects of these stories are truth and which are pure fiction. More than one brazen mortal has dared the fury of a genie, believing to possess knowledge to keep him at bay or some magical word to coerce his obedience. No interaction with genie-kind ever proves so simple, though, and such bold souls often become the newest slaves of fundamentally more powerful masters. Thus, a word of caution to all who would deal with jinn, as even the most benevolent genies hold the power to unwittingly crush the unwary.

Katapesh—the Bazaar of the Bizarre—is the greatest marketplace in Golarion. Built upon trade and commerce, every street or alley in Katapesh seems to have its own unique market. From the Tiny Song Market where only hummingbirds are sold on up to the Great Tannery where each street and plaza, each footpath and square has its own character and wares, the markets of Katapesh are a truly varied lot. A thousand markets cram these narrow streets and alleyways—and those that exist today may not exist tomorrow. It is not only a place of vast variety, but a place of constant change. Today, colorful tikka sellers haggle with farmers for better prices on coriander, while tomorrow that spot might house a camel trader singing of the fine quality of his wares while a tall sailor sells a smuggled cargo of diamonds to a pesh addict. Trade is everywhere and always in Katapesh—the city never sleeps while money can be made and bargains can be had. If you can find a way through the endless markets without being robbed, hoodwinked by conmen, or dragged off by slavers, you may well find your heart’s desire in the Katapesh marketplace.

Souks Beyond Counting

Katapesh has a vast population, all needing to be fed, clothed, and watered. In a city where every inch seems to be given over to commerce, it is possible to obtain most things day and night—when they must, many traders opt to sleep at their stalls with tiny bells above their heads that customers can ring to wake them.

The city represents an incredible opportunity for players to purchase practically anything they wish, especially since Katapesh, with its population of over 210,000 souls, has a gp limit of 100,000. This does present the GM with an unusual challenge, though. Simply telling your PCs “you have a 100,000 gp limit—buy anything you want from any sourcebook,” is a surefire way to break your game. Conversely, you don’t want to limit options by saying something like, “You have a 100,000 gp limit, but the only things available are what’s in the core rules.” It’s also unlikely that you want your game session to simply become a bland shopping spree with everyone at your table sifting through books for hours to find the perfect item—where’s the roleplay in that?

When a PC goes shopping in Katapesh, use the following guidelines to encourage roleplaying and to invest a bit more verisimilitude into the more outlandish and expensive purchases. Anything of up to 5,000 gp value can be commonly found for sale in Katapesh with minimal work—a few minutes of shopping in the right marketplace can turn up what’s needed. For items of greater value, a customer must spend 2d4 hours shopping around multiple stalls and shops throughout the city (a DC 20 Gather Information check reduces this time requirement to 1 hour). After this time, and if you as the GM want the item in question to be available, the PC can purchase the item at the listed price (or perhaps at a slightly lower or greater price if you feel like roleplaying out the haggling session).

To add an even deeper layer to the experience, you can judge that some items are available but must be “special ordered.” A good rule to go by here is that objects in the core rules in the DMG are always available after the 2d4 hours spent shopping, but that items from other sourcebooks that have been approved by you, the GM, must be brought in from elsewhere. Katapesh’s more successful merchants aren’t above utilizing magic like teleport or wind walk to go out and find an obscure object for a customer—special orders like these are available in a mere 3d8 hours 50% of the time, but the remainder of that time they’re available in 2d6 days. Due to the extra level of service required for special orders, a merchant typically increases the final asking price by 10%.

Katapesh also hosts countless crafters of all manner of objects. In some cases, you might tell a shopper that a particular magic item isn’t available, but that it can be commissioned from a local spellcaster. Prices in this case are generally by the book, but the shopper must wait for the magic item to be created before he can claim it (typically requiring a wait period of 1 day per 1,000 gp value of the item’s cost).

The Feel of the Mart

There’s more to the Katapesh Market experience than simply handing a merchant a bag of gold and claiming your purchase, though. When your PCs decide they want to go shopping, you don’t have to gloss it over by saying, “Okay…sift through the book and buy what you want—I’ll be sitting here quietly reading up on the adventure.” At the very least, the first time the PCs go shopping in Katapesh, use the information presented here to bring the experience to life. Part of the excitement of shopping in Katapesh isn’t the fact that they have what you know you want, but that they have things you didn’t know you wanted!

Katapesh is a vast, sun-scorched city with narrow alleys, colorful, tall houses and, of course, traders. Be sure to emphasize the crowding, the smells, and the noise. Katapesh abounds in color and life; livestock roams the streets, beggars congregate around the temples and greater markets—as do the guards and villains—and calls to prayer sound out at all hours of the day. The air is hot and dry, with the city becoming quietest (but never truly silent) in the heat of midday sun. The markets truly come alive at nightfall. Adding color and flavor is an important part of the backdrop to any adventure, and emphasizing the strangeness of Katapesh helps to make the setting and hence any adventures here memorable.

Goods: In the markets, one may find Vudran carpets, salt imported from far Qadira, and all manner of colorful Chelish “Devil Boxes” (handheld wooden puzzle boxes, sometimes featuring dozens of moving parts). All goods from all places, it seems, arrive here to be sold. Katapesh gives you a great opportunity to root out those obscure equipment lists or scour the Internet for the weird and wonderful purchases of fantasy roleplaying worlds. However, the vast bulk of goods are commonplace ones—the staples of life. Such common goods are sold at every street corner; every market has its pesh-seller, every plaza its water-trader, and every souk its pan-maker.

Food and Drink: Cool, clear water is the most common drink sold on the streets of Katapesh, usually from great barrels at a price of a copper piece a tankard. It, along with mint tea, is the staple drink for Katapeshi people. Wine may be found but it is generally thin, while ale and beer are almost unheard of outside of specialty taverns. The staple foods are bread and rice, which are usually served with hot spices—the most common being a mildly spicy bread called khat. The most common meal served on street corners is an oily mix of pickled olives, limes, and rice called thal.

Clothing: Silk and cotton clothes are the most popular apparel sold, with heavier garments made of leather or fur being confined to specialties. The profession of tailoring is seen as a respectable one, as it exists to cover modesty.

Household Wares: Torches, candles, utensils, tools, and other goods referred to in common equipment lists are sold by traders across the city—such wares are generally laid out on silk cloth or rugs, awaiting only the start of barter. Occasionally, a great treasure might be found here, covered in dirt or filth, its seller unaware of its worth. Each day the PCs spend shopping, feel free to set a 1% chance that a randomly determined minor magic item (DMG 216) might be found for sale at a tiny fraction of its actual price. A DC 25 Appraise or Spellcraft check identifies such an accidental bargain, as can detect magic.

Fakes, Lies, and Scams: An uncountable number of fake potion makers, antiquarian dealers selling clever forgeries of rare documents, confidence men and snake-oil salesmen, perpetrate their schemes throughout the city. While some of these scams are easy to spot, many are well practiced—the art of the purse-slasher has reached new heights here, games that seem to be purely chance are anything but, and friendly offers to “Come with me into this alley to see the real deals” are often precursors to attack in quieter streets.

The Katapesh Markets at a Glance

Although streetside vendors and traveling merchants are perhaps among the most prevalent salesmen in Katapesh, they are by their nature transitory. It’s impossible to get to know these merchants, since they move along so rapidly, and as a result, one can never be sure of the quality of the goods purchased, or indeed, if what you’re looking for is even available.

For the majority of Katapesh’s natives, it is to the numerous permanent markets that the buyer travels. Here, merchants have the benefit of permanent buildings to house their shops, and often ownership of a business can be traced back for generations. Pride in one’s shop translates directly to business in Katapesh, for it is to these renowned old shops that those most familiar with the city will habitually come to buy their goods. The rest of this article details many of these permanent markets, shops, and locales—if your PCs are interested in a particular type of good or service, the result of their Gather Information check could point them to an appropriate merchant from the list below.

1. The Great Plaza: The Plaza is vast—a bowl of noise in the center of the great city. It is the heart of trade in Katapesh, a place where all manner of common goods can be had—fruits and vegetables, life-giving water, and the flesh of animals. The Plaza is overlooked by a thousand ancient buildings variously used as homes, workshops, and temples.

Even in the dead of night figures move across torchlightkissed cobbles on their way to or from trading. A whole cant and set of bylaws has developed among the traders who frequent the vast plaza, with phrases like “Plaka ghul” (Plaza ghoul—traders who operate after dark), “rata gros quu-cul Plaka” (as fat as a Plaza rat—a portly or corpulent person), and “Plaka sorrol” (as silent as the Plaza—referring to an incredibly noisy place, person, or event).

2. Sweat Town: Some say that the endless narrow streets of Sweat Town show the true face of Katapesh—a vast populace slogging away in sweatshops. To walk in Sweat Town is to walk amid the desperate and the hopeless, their faces hanging heavy with toil and despair. These workshops have their own masters, their own rigid caste system, and their own brutal laws.

Sweat Town specializes in simple trade goods—clothes and tools, basic weapons and armor, as well as camelsaddles and basic transport. Sales are handled by a “d’hakor” (overseer), but buying goods directly from workers reduces the initial price by 25%, as long as the transaction isn’t noticed by a d’hakor (most d’hakors have Spot +10)—if they notice, the worker making the sale is punished by the lash and the hopeful customer is told to leave Sweat Town or suffer the same fate.

3. The Pesh Quarter: If the Great Plaza is the city’s heart, then the Pesh Quarter is its arteries and veins. The streets here are broader than those of Sweat Town, and its occupants of a higher caste—afforded rank and respect by the word of the Pactmasters. Pesh is made, bought, and sold here in vast quantities, the boiling vats working day and night to reduce the cactus sap to a slurry which is compressed into resin and sold. The scent of pesh drifts everywhere, and the workers bear the terrible signs of addiction—many have lost their noses or even whole parts of their faces.

4. Streets of Silver and Gold: The shops and merchants that throng in these two narrow streets specialize in trade of gold and silver, gems and jewels, and are home to some of the wealthiest and most powerful merchants in the city, many of whom dwell in huge townhouses surrounding great courtyard gardens full of flowers and huge trees.

5. The Great Camel-Mart: The camel-mart operates every Fireday—a confusion of dust and noise, the low call of the stock, and the scent of musk. This area of the city is a low, dirty bowl of earth surrounded by and infested with hundreds of small corrals and stockyards. On good days, some one thousand camels are traded here, and it is said that Katapeshi camels are the most noble and sought-after of all of their kind. While a general riding camel fetches around 300 gp, beasts from the more noble lines can cost 10 or even 20 times that. Such beasts may grant a +2 bonus on Ride checks, have maximum hit points or elite statistics, or simply come from a line celebrated in some song or tale.

6. The Water Market: Here amid Katapesh’s docks, boats and ships of all type vie for space. Tian dhows skirt great Qadiran galleys, tiny local fishing vessels cower beside Nexian caravels. All trade ships must register their cargoes here, a process that can take hours or even days. Many of the shops here cater exclusively to ship crews waiting for their cargo to be registered. These traders ply the waters around the docklands on small, nimble barges, selling everything from water to cure-alls, offers of guidance and lodgings, prostitutes and poisons, alcohol and pesh—in short, the sorts of things many sailors hold dear.

7. The Grand Tannery: The stench of the tannery can almost be felt, a reek so overpowering that many find it impossible to even approach. The Great Tannery is a huge, open yard along the banks of the River Scorpius, a colorful wound in the sprawl some 200 yards across. Here, countless tanners work at open vats, curing, coloring, and drying their wares for all to see. The place is a riot of noise and color and stench, with its not-quite-so-foul-smelling borders delineated by a ring of leather and skin traders eager to sell fresh hides brought forth from deeper within the tannery.

8. The Cattle Market: This great street winds through the slums, lined on each side by uncountable cages, pits, prisons, lock-ups, holds, and pounds. The Cattle Market—the greatest slave market of Katapesh—lurks at the end of this street, a large crumbling amphitheater where slaves are sold and auctioned. Slaves that don’t sell are often given over to the Grand Coliseum. Gnolls, in particular, are common here, with many such savage slavers arriving astride hyaenodon mounts with another horde of chained slaves to sell.

9. Peculiar Emporium: The magical souk of the city, this is where many wizards, sorcerers, bards, and alchemists come to trade their wares and shop for bargains. The Emporium is a maze of buildings connected by bridges and underground passages—without a guide, a DC 15 Survival check is required to avoid becoming lost every hour. The scale and amount of wares for sale here is breathtaking, from simple potion makers and scroll scribers (who often have to make their wares in tiny stalls on the streets) to the greatest crafters of mighty wondrous items and masters of the darkest magics.

10. The Mechanical Market: The groan of machine and the screech of iron commands here. This small quarter is filled with engineers, inventors, tinkerers, and madmen, all eager to advance their understanding of mechanics—some for the sheer joy of discovery, but most for greed. The market is home to hundreds of smithies, ore smelters, alchemists, weaponsmiths, and tinkers who toil at advanced water-wheels, toys, cranes, clockwork wonders, and stranger inventions.

11. The Souk of the Magnificent and Inscrutable: A warship towers over this souk, raised from the sea and put on stilts for all to see. Naturally this ship, like everything else in the city, is for sale. This souk specializes in the grand—five sphinx statues 100 feet high have had stonecarvers diligently working on completing their creation for decades in one section, while in another, war machines of almost impossible complexity are slowly constructed under the nervous gaze of their creators. One particularly large project, a working model volcano 60 feet in diameter, is being created for an eccentric Taldan lord. The geniuses of Golarion come here to learn and trade, and any manner of weird and wonderful grandiose objects may be found.

12. The Roof Market: Lashed across the rooftops near the Great Plaza, the Roof Market is a relatively new addition to Katapesh. One of the largest flea markets in the city, the Roof Market specializes in second- or third-hand goods. The Roof Market can get very busy—dangerously so at times as thousands upon thousands of locals crawl up its rickety ladders and wander its creaking boards in search of a bargain. Goods for sale at the Roof Market vary greatly, but as a simple rule of thumb, there is a 30% chance of any mundane items of equipment being found here, with a starting price before haggling of 50% of their original cost. Some 20% of such goods are shoddy or substandard in some way, and this may only be noticed by a DC 20 Appraise check—otherwise the item breaks 1d6 times after its initial use.

13. The Menagerie: The market for exotic animals, strange beasts, and even monsters is strong in Katapesh, and the Menagerie is its epicenter. This market occupies a dozen streets that wind amid a score of disused temples converted into cages and kennels of all shapes and sizes. Here it is possible to purchase a trained owlbear, a chained ogre, griffon eggs, and a whole host of other exotic or more mundane creatures. From the goliath moth of the Mwangi Expanse to the tiny Thuvian fey-ferret, the Menador Mountain great griffon to the Andoren black pegasus, they can all be found at the Menagerie. At rare times, even subdued dragons were traded here, although such trade is now largely a thing of the past. This market is particularly renowned with those seeking more exotic familiars, as many are likely to be found here.

The Nightstalls

Katapesh’s most infamous markets are not as much a physical location as they are a state of mind. In most cities, trade of lives, poison, souls, and other vile merchandise is regulated to the black market, yet in Katapesh, these wares are legitimate mercantile offerings—as long as their peddlers keep their payments to the Pactmasters on a timely basis and as long as their wares don’t disrupt trade.

The Nightstalls does the majority of its business after dark, seeming to sprout up amid shops closed for the day like strange shadow-versions of diurnal business. The Nightstalls is ostensibly run by Khafira Blacktongue (Level 5 Female tiefling Rogue). Karfira oversees the Duskwalker Guild, a group of shadowy merchants who take a cut of every Nightstalls transaction in return for granting these unsavory merchants a safe place to ply their trade. The Nightstalls is spreading as fast as its infamy, and the market “overlays” much of the city today. Many of the merchants who work in the Nightstalls maintain dynamic locations, changing often as customers and their customers’ victims seek their own justice against the unsavory merchants. The following presents the most infamous of the Nightstalls’ merchants, but is by no means an exhaustive list.

The Violet Fire: Khafira Blacktongue herself has worked the brothels and sin-pits of various port cities across Golarion and has developed a fine understanding of the needs of more discerning (and wealthy) clientele. The Violet Fire is at once a brothel, a fighting arena, a drug den, and her own palace. A quartet of female and a pair of male tiefling prostitutes work within the themed chambers of this garish townhouse. These tieflings love their work and tend to perform in outrageous costumes, masks, and accessories. Khafira has taken an enslaved fiendish satyr as her lover and business partner. The satyr, Sayyid Farokh (Level 3 male satyr bard; Level 5 social interaction and musical checks), is currently engaged in an interesting case of double-cross, intending to relieve Khafira of her brothel and wealth and claim it as his own. Part of Sayyid’s plan has recently failed, with one of the male tiefling prostitutes being unmasked as an Eagle Knight spy who was attempting to discover something about the Nightstalls that he could present to the Pactmasters to encourage them to shut the Nightstalls down. Despite this intrigue and treachery, the Violet Fire has a reputation for entwining cruelty into its vice, and the games overseen by Sayyid Farokh, woven with liberal use of pesh, and his pipes to charm then cast fear on its clients, has ensured a steady stream of well-paying customers.

Answers to Many Questions: Pesh-addicted M’hem (Level 4 male human sorcerer; energy manipulation and minor conjuring spells, Level 6 local and planer knowledge checks) uses a small army of imps (20 in all) to assist him in learning secrets and spying for clientele. M’hem was hideously burned 3 years ago in a mysterious fire which, unknown to him, was caused by other imps in the service of Hashcuss H’rann, proprietor of the Nightstall known as “The Brewer.” M’hem’s charges depend upon the difficulty of the information to be found; an easy task, such as finding where someone in the city lives, costs 100 gp, but something as complex as a floor plan for the Immaculate Repository would cost many thousands of gold pieces.

Ancient Tomes: A quartet of Eagle Knight spies have managed to infiltrate the Nightstalls with this bookstore. Here ostensibly to bring down the Katapesh slave trade, the spies are beginning to unravel an even darker story and are presently plotting to break into the Royal Palace. The huge collection of banned texts and forbidden tomes here is a cover for the spies’ real purpose, and the spies have gone through great lengths to make this cover believable. Many spells and secrets may be found in this small minaret-topped townhouse. Generally the bookish H’kul Mushain (Level 4 male half-elf bard; Level 6 social interaction and knowledge checks; minor illusionary and audible spells) deals with customers to ensure a fabric of normality. He uses illusions to appear as an aging cripple who speaks with a pronounced stutter. H’kul has a great knowledge of tomes and arcana, but his attention span, driven by his dangerous mission, is very short and he is prone to bouts of infuriating forgetfulness—he often agrees to carry out works or find tomes, only to have forgotten his promises completely a few hours later.

The Tongue that Tastes, the Fang that Slays: Ebrahim Nashoord (Level 4 male gnome rogue) sells poison snakes. The Katapeshi ringback viper is his best seller; this Small viper sells for 200 gp and comes complete with wicker basket to carry it away in—as do all his wares. The blue-eyed hood viper (Medium viper) costs 800 gp, while his most expensive snake, the red-scaled burning cobra (Large viper), costs 2,500 gp. Burning cobras are elite Large vipers, and available only on special order.

The Cabal Inquisitor: Unknown to most, the Seer (Level 7 male human lich wizard; necromancy spells), one of the Nightstalls’ more secretive and dangerous merchants, is in fact a lich. This mysterious figure claims to be able to obtain any secret ingredient for any spell, and is prepared to meet a high price for new and rare magic. His library and shop is a spiraling tower of stone rising to a great dome at the rooftops, a megalithic, artificial mushroom. The Seer is as twisted as his crumbling manse home, which is widely avoided by the locals. For his rare public appearances, he wears a faded, red velvet robe that conceals many useful items, and hides behind a bone-carved mask that depicts a smiling human face. The Seer is attended at all times by the One Who Is Travesty, a four-faced, eight-armed, unusually intelligent flesh golem who acts as both a guard and an assassin. The One Who Is Travesty wields eight razor-sharp scimitars in combat and is said to devour the bodies of its master’s enemies to prevent resurrection.

If a magic component is required, the Seer is likely to be able to locate them, either through local intermediaries or through a network of spies and contacts across the Obari Ocean. The Seer is presently at work translating the insane contents of one of the Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan, smuggled in by his accomplice Kolra Kazbegi (see Antiquaries, below).

Those Bound and Forgotten: Squint-eyed Marquin Ortstone (Level 5 male gnome cleric of Asmodeus; necromancy and divination spells) is a mummy smuggler. He presently has some 10 sarcophagi, of various ages and types, within which lie seven mummies that serve him as henchmen and thugs. Marquin hires out his undead slaves to carry out deeds to be determined by the purchaser (at a suitable cost). Marquin is a strangely colorful character who wears a magnifying lens like a monocle and who has an addiction for fine gems. He also trades in loot gathered from tomb-robbing, selling mummy rot (flesh gone foul by the disesase), and various antiquities.

Extraordinary Slaves: Noseless, blind, pesh-addicted Y’aalay Quam (Level 4 male gnoll fighter) imports beasts and slaves that are extraordinary. His stock moves frequently, but at any given time he has at least six monsters (Level 1–4 each) and the same number of unusual humanoid slaves available, which he sells at a cost of roughly 300 gp per Level.

The Brewer: Hashcuss H’rann (Level 5 male elf assassin; level 7 checks on alchemical checks) toils in his alchemical workshop, a brick tower held together by the dozen iron chimneys that throttle it. Hashcuss trades and makes poisons with the aid of a trio of imps who also act as ingredient gatherers when the need arises. These imps are jealous and frightened of the superior numbers of imps in the employ of M’hem D’jall, and are always seeking to undo the group in some petty way.

One Whose Touch Corrupts: Klane Raicht (Level 5 male human wererat druid; necrotic and poison spells) specializes in sickness and disease—he has a quartet of caged otyughs in his basement which he uses to harvest filth fever (usually by allowing an otyugh to bite and infect a dog or halfling slave), and has also purchased creatures infected with mummy rot and devil chills in hopes of distilling the sickness into elixirs. Klane is a foul creature, with oily hair falling across his pimply forehead. He walks clumsily with the aid of a stick, as one of his legs has been eaten away by leprosy. Klane’s prices for infected slaves and creatures varies, but a dog or halfling carrying filth fever is usually for sale for 500 gp.

Master Reapesmoor: One of Katapesh’s most notorious Nightstalls merchants dwells in a rotting timber church overlooking the ocean. This is Master Reapesmoor (aka The Shanky Benefactor, the Kind Gentleman, and Master Smiles), a horned devil exiled from Hell who usually uses a magic ring to appear as a tall, well-dressed Taldan man (light bronze skill and long waivy brown hair and amber eyes) when he steps out in public. He finds the ability to peddle infernal wares legally and in public amusing, and is curious about the Pactmasters. In time he hopes to learn why they allow such depravity to exist, and has recently begun courting Khafira Blacktongue as a way to learn a little more. He holds many lesser Nightstalls merchants in some sort of thrall, and most of his direct trade with customers is handled through these proxies. Even though he usually appears in disguise, maggots occasionally appear in his mouth and the noises he makes while crunching and swallowing them are particularly vile.

Master Reapesmoor deals in souls, and always has a plentiful supply. In the dungeon below his church, he keeps a number of lemures held in great bell jars to punish cruelly for amusement. One of Master Reapesmoor’s favorite tricks is to claim to have the soul of a saint within a receptacle and offer to free the soul in return for some suitably horrific task. Master Reapesmoor likes to haggle over the cost of his souls, and generally does not trade in anything so vulgar as money—preferring instead tasks and favors, such as making the purchaser lie to a loved one or perform some act of violence, hate, or aggression.

Antiquaries: Pesh-addicted smuggler Kolra Kazbegi (Level 5 male human ranger) is one of the Pactmasters’ most valuable accomplices. A Varisian by lineage but a citizen of Katapesh by birth, Kolra’s specialty is the smuggling of dangerous magic from his Sczarni contacts in distant Ustalav. Operating from the sinister town of Carrion Hill, a place infamous for its connections with ancient magic, Kolra risks the wrath of the province princes to smuggle objects for the Pactmasters as well as valuable items for his own profit. His home, a teetering, steep-gabled manor, has its own private dock, where the Carrion Storm, his caravel, lies moored when he is in the city.

Kazbegi likes the finer things in life, and is always on the hunt for beautiful foreign women to expand his considerable harem. He also keeps a small staff of loyal followers in his sumptuously appointed and expensive home. He is a black-hearted, arrogant, and tyrannical man who regards himself as a folk-hero and ensures that tales of his heroism are frequently spread. A close accomplice and valuable ally of the Seer, Kazbegi’s most recent triumph includes the delivery of a terrible book from the Charnel Libraries of Carrion Hill—one of the infamous Seven Cryptical Books of Hsan.

Vudran Secrets: The Vudrani Slajeev Djincan (Level 4 male human fighter) imports wares from Vudra—great brass and copper objects, as well as more infamous Vudrani produce such as the poison breath of a tiger (cost 3,200 gp, inhaled Level 5 Might Defense, damage 4 Might/6 Might), the incense of Megeer (cost 1,200 gp, inhaled Level 4 Might Defense, damage nausea/6 Intellect), and even strange psionically-charged items capable of magical effects both unique and frightening. Djincan is keen to establish a Vudran pesh den in the Nightstalls, but all his efforts have so far met with failure at the hands of agents of Huzshak.

The Gables: This is an eating hall lashed to the rooftops. Here, visitors can indulge in outlandish meals, such as fried wyvern hearts with oysters, boiled eyes of bulette in jelly, and harpy hand poached in honey and coriander, among others. Private booths overlook the sea, while a pair of strange, four-armed slave girls plays multiple panpipes in the background. Lork Hlay (Level 5 female human bard) is always on the lookout for new ingredients and dishes, and often hires smart-witted adventurers to sail to exotic lands and return with a live catch for her chef T’zol (Level 3 male janni), whom she tricked into working for her for 40 years and a day.

Khumol Hask Huzshak’s Pesh Den: This notoriously large pesh den is run by a group of rogues who allow their pesh-addicted customers to carry out their dirty work for them in return for payment in pesh. Huzshak himself (Level 5 male human rogue) is a corpulent, greedy individual engaged in petty battles with other groups in the Nightstalls, most notably the Vudran Slajeev, whom he regards as a foreign interloper.

Acids and Spittles of Many Creatures: K’havass Mahurll (Level 4 male human fighter merchant; Level 5 animal handling and survival checks) harvests the acids of dangerous creatures and sells them to assassins, poisoners, and crooks throughout Katapesh. Mahurll’s acids all bear grandiose names, such as the Spittle of Hell’s Vipers, the Festering Juice of the Gargantuan Slug, and the Milk from the Teat of the Daughters of the Sphinx of Corrosion, although in practice most of these acids are identical to the standard vial of acid—in a lot of ways, his customers pay the outlandish prices (often 50 gp or higher) as much for the delicate artistry of the containers he uses to hold his acids as for the acid itself. Mahurll also proudly stores large, specially blown glass vials of green slime which he sells for 1,000 gp apiece—he refuses to buy the stuff, though, pointing out that he can resupply his slime quite easily by simply throwing a cat or a street urchin into the pool he keeps in his basement.

Ten Strange Baubles

Listed below are 10 different strange and unusual objects that a character might find for sale at a curio shop or from a roadside merchant. These objects can also serve as things that someone might gain by using Sleight of Hand, or even as unusual items of treasure found in a creature’s stash of loot. Since each of these items is relatively unique, you might want to keep a list of which ones you hand out and then invent new items to fill the gaps you’ve created, using the following as inspiration for these new objects.

1) Tiny Bejeweled Vest: This red silk vest is sized for a monkey. Even though it has tiny pearl buttons and gold thread, the vest is unbelievably filthy after having been worn by a monkey for several years. A Level 6 Appraise check reveals the object’s true value—something its seller hasn’t accomplished. The vest carries a price tag of 10 gp, but cleaned up is actually worth 500 gp.

2) Jade Lizard: A three-inch-long jade sculpture of a lizard. The jade radiates faint transmutation magic; it is always pleasantly warm to the touch, but has no other properties. Carved into the lizard’s belly is a strange word: “Cazamazan,” a command word for a magic item, perhaps, or maybe the name of the jade lizard’s previous owner. The statuette is worth 250 gp.

3) Treasure Map Fragment: Half of a map of what appears to be the floor plan of a ruined church of Abadar, with a hidden vault clearly marked. Missing from the map is the top half, which presumably indicated where the church in question was located. The map sells for a mere 50 gp, but the merchant wants 10% of the treasure found in the vault if the map leads to riches.

4) The Songs of Shazathared: A beautifully illuminated, undersized book that contains a dozen short legends, as told by the legendary marid princess Shazathared to her cruel efreeti captor. These legends are reprinted on the inside front covers of the Legacy of Fire Adventure Path volumes—the booklet itself is worth 3,500 gp for its exquisite artistry, and could actually come in handy later in this Adventure Path in “The Impossible Eye.”

5) Frog Statuette: This is an incredibly lifelike basalt statuette of a frog, selling for a mere 6 gp. A Level 6 Spellcraft check reveals that the statuette is actually a real frog that’s been petrified by stone to flesh. The intrigue goes deeper—the “frog” is in fact a baleful polymorphed halfling con-man named Ildaki Shrevewort (Level 4 male halfling rogue) who, 200 years ago, conned a wizard out of his spellbook. Unfortunately for Ildaki, the wizard figured out the con, sought him out, and exacted revenge. If restored to life, Ildaki promises to lead the PCs to an old Desnan shrine hidden in the Katapeshi wilds where he claims to have hidden a nest egg. What Ildaki’s nest consists of (and what dangerous creature might live at the shrine now) is up to you.

6) Shrunken Gnoll Head: This shrunken head, barely over 4 inches in diameter and threaded with a leather cord, once belonged to a gnoll king named Balok Baaru. The head itself is somewhat poorly preserved, but functions as a stone of good luck. Unfortunately, it’s also cursed (a fact the merchant doesn’t reveal, using his Level 5 Bluff check to hide), and while it is carried, the user’s personality grows more crass and foul, resulting in 2 steps penalty to social interactions. This penalty applies as soon as the user is forced to make a check that’s modified by the item’s luck bonus, and persists until it is removed via remove curse, break enchantment, or a similar effect (the curse functions at CL 9th). The merchant tries to sell the gnoll head for its full 20,000 gp price, but if the buyer confronts the merchant with the truth, he agrees to drop the price to 10,000 gp.

Shrunken Gnoll Head (Cursed Artifact)

Level: 1d6+4

Form: This poorly preserved shrunken head, barely over 4 inches in diameter and threaded with a leather cord, once belonged to a gnoll king named Balok Baaru.

Effect: Eases any defense or skill checks attempted. While it is carried, the user’s personality grows more crass and foul, resulting in 2 steps penalty to social interactions. This penalty applies as soon as the user is forced to make a check that’s modified by the item’s luck bonus, and persists until it is removed via remove curse, break enchantment, or a similar effect (Level 6 curse).

Depletion: 2d20 (once the curse is broken)

7) Monkey’s Paw: A withered, mummified monkey’s paw, with one finger missing and the wrist capped with a tarnished silver bulb from which dangles a silver chain. This grisly charm sells for 40 gp. If the silver bulb is removed from the paw, a tiny silver key is found wedged inside—what the key opens is a mystery.

8) Pixie Dagger: The merchant claims that this is a powerful artifact of returning shocking burst giant bane tiny dagger used by a pixie hero to defend his magic mushroom home from a ravenous shadow giant named Uguthonk the Lisper. The dagger is, in fact, a Tiny returning dagger that periodically issues a bright spark when one unsheaths the blade, enhanced by several magic aura spells to make it appear to be more than it is. The merchant tries to get 98,000 gp for the dagger, but settles for its actual price of 8,301 gp if confronted.

Pixie Dagger (Artifact)

Level: 1d6+2

Form: Tiny dagger (2 damage) that takes the shape of a large thorn emerging from the center of a rose bloom as the crossguard and the hilt being the stem.

Effect: While small, the dagger does 2 damage due to the sharpness of its needle-like point. If thrown it returns back to the hand soon after its strikes. The magical aura radiates of a more powerful artifact.

Depletion: 1d100

9) Mummy Repellant: A silver ankh that glows in the dark like an everburning torch, the merchant tries to sell this object as an ankh that repells mummies. It does nothing of the sort, and is worth no more than an everburning torch (110 gp), despite the fact that the merchant (Level 4 bluff check) asks for 6,000 gp.

10) High Noon Fire Monsoon: This is a 4-inch-diameter glass globe that, strangely, contains a tiny model of Kelmarane (or whatever town or city is of particular importance to the person touching the globe). Peering closely reveals tiny people going about their daily business in the miniature town. Engraved in the globe’s silver and gold base is the phrase, “High Noon Fire Monsoon.” When shaken, a storm of fiery rain lashes the town, burning buildings and forcing the tiny people to race in panic for 1 minute before the fire fades and the scene within returns to normal. Those who hold the globe to the ear can hear tiny screams of terror. This effect is nothing more than a programmed illusion—while the fire “burns,” the globe sheds light like a torch. It’s worth 3,000 gp for the artistry alone, but could be of use later in the adventure in “The Impossible Eye,” as the strange bauble is in fact part of a set once owned by the efreeti warlord Jhavhul.