Shattered Star (adventure path)

Shattered Star is the eleventh campaign to grace the pages of the Pathfinder Adventure Path series, and is scheduled to run from August 2012 through January 2013. It will return to Pathfinder's Varisian roots in a celebration of ten years of Paizo and five years of Pathfinder

Overview

From the ashes of Thassilon, an ancient power shall rise again!

The ancient empire of the runelords may be long dead, yet the legacy of Thassilon continues to haunt the frontier realm of Varisia. With the rise of one runelord only narrowly thwarted, Korvosa reeling after the curse of the Crimson Throne nearly brought the city to its knees, and Riddleport rebuilding after a close call with a falling star, the people of Varisia fear that the greatest threat to their land has yet to play its hand. When agents of the newest Pathfinder Society lodge in Magnimar learn of a fragmented artifact scattered throughout the lands of old Thassilon, it falls to a new band of heroes to step in and gather up the seven fragments of this Shattered Star. For if the greatest prize of Thassilon's first ruler cannot save Varisia... what can?

The Shattered Star Adventure Path is a first in Paizo's Adventure Path line—a complete campaign set after the events of previous Adventure Paths. Shattered Star serves as a spiritual sequel to Rise of the Runelords, Curse of the Crimson Throne, and Second Darkness alike, yet it delves into a brand new storyline, making it as good as a group's first introduction to Varisia as a return to old stomping grounds. The Shattered Star Adventure Path focuses on the hunt for a sundered artifact, its pieces scattered throughout the land in some of its most dangerous and notorious dungeons—with the exception of the city of Magnimar, every location featured in the Shattered Star Adventure Path is brand new and filled with both dangers and treasures alike!

Chapters

Shards of Sin by Greg A. Vaughan

In Varisia's bustling frontier town of Magnimar, the Pathfinder Society's newest lodge recruits a team of rookie Pathfinder agents to track down rogue agent Natalya Vancaskerkin—who also happens to be a member of the Varisian criminals known as the Sczarni. Yet when Magnimar's newest heroes track down the missing woman, they find far more than a Pathfinder on the run, becoming embroiled in a quickly expanding hunt for a fragmented artifact from the height of the ancient empire of Thassilon that will take them to some of the most dangerous corners of Varisia!

Curse of the Lady's Light by Mike Shel

Varisia's newest heroes have stumbled across a powerful relic from the ancient empire of Thassilon—yet the artifact has been sundered into seven fragments. The third of these fragments lies in the swampy Mushfens south of the city of Magnimar, hidden within an ancient, towering lighthouse known as the Lady's Light. With squabbling boggards, troglodytes, and other swamp monsters dwelling in the region around the Light, approaching the ruins will require either stealth or bravado. But the threats posed by slimy and scaly humanoids pales in comparison to the exiled Gray Maidens who have claimed the interior of the Light as their new headquarters—or to the sinister curse that afflicts the powerful, ancient caretaker of the ruin.

The Asylum Stone by James L. Sutter

The hunt for the seven shards of the Shattered Star continues, with the heroes following the trail across the face of Varisia and into the notorious City of Strangers—Kaer Maga! There, the heroes encounter strange enemies and stranger allies as their quest for the ancient Thassilonian artifact embroils them in the politics of Varisia's most exotic city. What secrets lie hidden in the dark and deadly realms deep under Kaer Maga, where things best shunned from day's light and sane minds lie in wait? Will the heroes survive their descent below, or will the Dark Rider claim their heads for his ever-growing collection?

Beyond the Doomsday Door by Tito Leati

The hunt for the seven shards of the Shattered Star leads the heroes back to the western coast of Varisia, to the multifaith monastery known as Windsong Abbey. The next shard of the Shattered Star appears to be hidden somewhere within the dungeons below the abbey. But when the PCs arrive, they find the monastery in ruins and held by savage giants and twisted fey! An ancient terror has returned home, and now dwells within the deep dungeons below—a terror who hopes to open the dread Doomsday Door deep within!

Into the Nightmare Rift by Richard Pett

With five shards of the Shattered Star secure, visions point toward one of Varisia's most remote corners as the site protecting the sixth fragment of the powerful artifact. Yet the heroes are not the first to search for this shard—upon arriving at the ancient ruin known as Guiltspur, they find a small army of giants said to be ruled by a blue dragon already excavating the site. And as the heroes soon learn, there are other forces searching for the final shards from the Darklands below, and even from beyond reality itself, for Guiltspur lies dangerously close to the nightmare realm of Leng!

The Dead Heart of Xin by Brandon Hodge

The seven shards of the Shattered Star have been recovered, and the Pathfinders prepare a grand festival on Magnimar's Irespan to celebrate this incredible achievement. The culmination of this celebration is to be the reassembly of the seven shards into the legendary Sihedron itself, rebuilt for the first time in over ten thousand years. But a lot can change in that amount of time, and as the ritual to reforge the artifact finishes, ancient contingencies rumble to life, and as the dead heart of Thassilon begins to beat again, all of Magnimar is put in terrible danger. With the power of the Sihedron on their side, the heroes take a stance against this risen evil—but will the aid of an ancient artifact be enough to save them all?