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He urged them to avoid fighting the Terraken directly but try to capture the amulet that controls it which was at the bottom of the oubliette. Then he was gone. There was a rumble in the distance and they could feel tremors. Jaron was near death and ran out of the room. Cromag crawled into one of the water tubes leading out, or into, the room.
Balinda crawled into another but she needed light so Lemmy went with her. Bartholomew crawled into another. Gwaiyu followed Jaron out. Nobody knew where the oubliette was. Cromag found the correct way and the fatigued dwarfed called out. Balinda and Lemmywinks tube had ended in collapsed rock so they were on the way back and the only ones to hear him. His tunnel passed into the other side of the dry channel past the collapsed section. There was a breeze and the smell of salt water.
They ran and left the fatigued dwarf behind telling him to get out. The channel opened into a huge pit at least one hundred feet across. A horizontal geyser of water shot from a fissure in the far wall thirty feet below the channel and blasted into the opposite stone wall and fell into a swirling froth eighty feet below.
The water level was rapidly rising. At the bottom of the pit drifts the partially decomposed corpse of an enormous beast. Balinda suggested Lemmywinks go down there and fish out the controlling amulet while she distracted the Terraken. The halfling was horrified and refused.
The second plan was better. As the shaft filled up Balinda created a fake wall to hide them from the beast. They stayed quiet and when the water lever reached the top, the Terraken roared in victory and scuttled down the old channel. The water kept rising and followed the undead dragon turtle. Balinda and Lemmywinks took deep breaths and spider climbed down the wall into the churning water. They reached the bottom quickly. There was magic present. They stayed close and moved along the bottom of the pit.
Unfortunately the magic item turned out to be a sword and not the amulet. They continued on and this time Balinda sensed the next aura. This one required some probing but the wizard found it quickly — a ring still on a finger bone. She slipped it on and discovered it helped her swim. Lemmy was becoming out out of breath when they found the Cloak of the Manta Ray. Now Balinda could breath and she took the halfling to the top before continuing. The water was flowing into the old canal now.
It had been digging through the collapsed portion of the canal. Balinda and Lemmywinks returned to the rest of the party in the inner port. All the rooms and passages were flooding and the water level in the inner port was rising but there would always be at least a dome of trapped air. They spent the rest of the night there in relative safety arguing about what to do. Ultimately they decided to leave Balinda behind and seek out a church that could handle the destruction of the creature.
Most of them left for Augustana the next day. That turned out to be the best decision. They chose to decamp from Magnimar after a delve into the city sewers went sideways resulting in their companion, an Inquisitor of Pharasma, being swallowed by what appeared to be a mass of tentacles with teeth.
This incident caused some bad blood with the authorities, so they thought an out of town job may be just what the barber ordered. They encountered a posting for a job in Riddleport requesting adventurers in retrieving information needed by a person by the name of Cyphermage Grimbowl. It offered a gp award, but was otherwise vague on the details. Needing to get out of town and having no other destination in mind, the four sold theirr horses and grabbed the first ship headed north.
After about 5 days at sea they arrived in Riddleport late at night. It was notable that the ship was docking without any lanterns lit and the crew was whispering the whole time. After an unceremonious disembarkation, the four all spent the night in a seedy inn along the waterfront, awaking the next morning to begin their newest adventure! He had some information to give, telling them they needed to take the ferry across the river.
After being unceremoniously shoved to the side and having his boot stolen, the group decided to proceed to the ferry. They took the ferry across the river and met with Grimbowls estate. Grimbowl told them that they just needed to go to the Publican house to ask the High Publican Arnando Rolf for the map. The group went to the Publican house but it was too early in the morning and it was still closed. Uncle Sparrow ask a nearby hobo who was able to answer some questions about the High Publican as well as the Publican house. While speaking with the hobo a young halfling pickpocket attempted to steal Uncle sparrows purse.
The whole group being wide awake and alert noticed the halfling and Pema with her quick reflexes punched him into submission. The gathered hobos, seeing the group attack a pickpocket, fled the scene for fear of reprisals by the pickpocket Guild.
Everyone decided it would be best to dump the unconscious halfling in a bin and then flee the scene. At this point, hoping to kill some time until the Publican House opens everyone decided to go to the market where they were able to purchase a pair of replacement boots for Uncle Sparrow. That evening the group paid a visit to the Publican House where they found a raucous tavern like situation. They mingled among the crowd, attempting to gather information about the Publican Rolf and the possible job that they agreed to do.
Jigsaw mingled amongst the crowd looking for free drinks. Uncle Sparrow decided to play a song with the band which was quite a morose and melancholy tune. Mark made friends with a couple other gnomes, Lini the druid, Bob and So-and-so. Pema went to the bar to try to bribe some information out of the bartender.
She asked the bartender if the High Publican was going to be around saying that she was an old friend of his, not realizing that she was speaking to the High Publican himself. He asked her who is asking and when she stumbled over her answer he then told her Publican Rolf would be around. Pema then attempted to sneak into the office but was caught. Mark asked his new friends if they knew who the High Publican was and they pointed out that it was the bartender that Pema was speaking with earlier. The group then introduce themselves to Arnando and he welcome them into his office to speak about their job.
He asked them what they were there for and they told him that they were told to ask for the map. Publican Rolf told them that they could have the map after they do something for him, specifically they needed to clear out the gang run by Ziphras that is holed up in the Boneyard. When asked for more information the High Publican told them that if they gave him a hundred gold pieces he would give them all the information they needed or they could try to find it out on their own. Blanching at the cost of the information the group decided to just ask around.
He was able to tell them that it is a salt marsh to the east of the city that has a large number of derelict ships in it. He also mentioned that there were rodents of unusual size or ROUSes there and to stay out of the water because they are dangerous animals as well.
When asked if any of the three would be interested in helping, they politely declined. The group purchased rooms at the Inn for that night. Climbing over the ridge, Boneyard Cut passage ascends almost feet at a neardegree angle. The whole area is a partially flooded salt marsh that is generally two to three feet deep, although some hidden patches of quicksand are much deeper. Our group proceeded into the swamp, moving towards the larger collections of ships.
They initially encountered a group of 3 gang members. They got the drop on the group and was able to get an opening volley. Luckily, One of the gang members fumbled his crossbow. After a few rounds Pema was able to get the better of the small group. One fled the scene, but was struck down by Pema. While moving through the swamp, the foursome was able to see the swamp barracuda before it was within striking distance. They were able to go around and avoid that encounter. Coming up on a large collection of derelict boats, they again encountered 4 gang members.
This was ineffective because the gang members were able to take their true form, wererats and use their scent to navigate the cloud. One agreed to help them if he was spared. The one remaining wererat as able to tell the four the lay of the land where Ziphras had his hideout. Pema drank a potion of fly and Jigsaw a potion of invisibility.
Jigsaw stood at the bottom and was able to sneak attack him. An all out melee then ensued with several close calls, particularly for Mark and Uncle Sparrow. In the end Ziphras was killed, being stabbed in the back as he attempted to flee from the constant onslaught of the silver dagger. They then returned it to Cyphermage Grimbowl and received their reward.
They stood in muddy water outside a partially natural cavern. At least a dozen wooden boxes and chests lie in the dry areas, most open, with coins and weapons clearly visible within. Of course it was too good to be true that it was left unguarded. The construction of the concealed port many years ago, particularly the excavation via transmute rock to mud spells, attracted ooze mephits to the caves which proved a constant annoyance to Pelastour and his men. It was then that the mephits attacked with grease , acid arrows and a stinking cloud. The mephits were known to two of them so there were no surprises.
Though weak they were clever combatants and flitted out of the range of hand weapons. They continued attacking with a breath of slime, more clouds, more grease, and another acid arrow. Between the obscured vision, water, mud, and furniture in the room it was difficult for the attackers to even get a chance to attack then the creatures had a resistance to all but magical weapons. Crossbow bolts and lead sling bullets flew and the monsters all began summoning. Balinda blinded the leader who was also a spellcaster.
Fortunately all the summonings failed. Then Lemmwinks took down the sorcerous leader with three well placed shots. Bart spitted another with bolts and the last fled. Shortly the clouds cleared and they searched the room. There was a thousand silver and a thousand copper. The rest of the stuff did not interest them. Gwaiyu picked a potion of invisibility off the pulped body of the leader. This roughly spherical chamber is mostly dry, and the stone walls appear to be unworked.
A passage in the east wall winds away to the northeast. A ghost manifests here when the PCs arrive and attempts to recruit them to its cause. The ghost appears as an insubstantial human figure young and energetic and dressed in sailing attire. My name is Pelastour, and I built this place.
My only hope is to help you destroy him. They spoke for a short time. Where is Poltur now? He is in a chamber known as Fluxhold, almost directly above us, and he remains there because Fluxhold offers a view of the Terraken and other locations within the islands through a scrying pool.
What is the purpose of Fluxhold and the scrying pool? The scrying pool allows it to do this while remaining in Fluxhold. The next chamber contains Captain Vintresk and what remains of her crew. They are sea sworn and the Captain was a wizard in life. Her first mate was an Ulfen warrior. Three marines remain at their side. Where is the Terraken? There, too, lies the amulet which controls it—the treasure Poltur is undoubtedly seeking even now. Instead, he monitors the situation, too close to his goal to take a step back and find new allies, too concerned with you nipping at his heels to give the matter his full attention.
The stage is set for you to confront him in Fluxhold. What can you do to help us? As he is my own flesh, I have not dared attack him outright—the spells that bind this place are tied to me and my blood. I have some control over them, but he, being alive, has more.
What would happen if he were to be slain, I do not know. Can you tell us more of the elemental? It is a bound servant, and matters only if someone gives it the command to flood the oubliette. With that the ghost urges haste and fades away to nothing. They prepared themselves for battle with magical charms and Cromag drank his healing draughts. Then they proceeded to confront the Captain. That fight is interupted when the last remaining mephit ambushes them.
As the turn a sharp corner it spews slime breath on Bart and Jaron. That proved to be a mistake. Although nobody else could reach it, Bart skewered it on his fine trident. Then he held it out for Gwaiyu to batter. Ahead was a stone chamber filled with a roar every dozen heartbeats, similar to the sounds of surf, but amplified. A large pool of water fills the southern half of the chamber and extends shallow fingers almost to the northern wall. For decades Captain Vintresk, the sea-sworn pilot of the Terraken, has languished in this chamber. The party saw her sitting behind a table with the tall Ulfen marine beside her.
Immediately three marines burst out from the water and two were able to attack. One stabbed her viciously forcing her to spin to the left and exit down a short side passage. Good thing she was under the affects of expeditious retreat. Then she let rip with a scorching ray that destroyed the nearest marine. Captain Vintresk got the right angle and with a word, unleashed a lightning bolt down the hall that zapped everyone and Cromag doubly so. The fight was well and truly on now.
The Ulfen jumped on the table and began bellowing and flexing which left the first three people in line shaken. Then the remaining two marines moved up. The first attacked Bartholomew and missed and the wouned one continued up to Lemmy in the other passage and missed. There was a general feeling of hopelessness, but the regular marines were quickly destroyed.
Bart pierced the one over and over and Lemmy sprayed fired on the one after her. Jaron entered the room only to have the first mate jump down from the table and run him through with his longsword. The investigator wobbled on the edge of unconsiousness. It was then that the ghost of Pelastour manifested again. They felt sure that victory would be snatched from the jaws of defeat!
Pelastour also reached out and touched the Ulfen marine who wailed and collapsed into the water. Vintresk burned the her old enemy with a ray of fire and then everyone else was upon her. She fought back primarily with spells although she was armed with an impressive trident herself. She took their blows sometime healing herself other times attacking.
Gwaiyu cast rage on Jaron allowing him to move over and deal the final blow to the captain and send her to her eternal reward. Pelastour was gone but for the moment they were safe and Balinda excitedly announced that the room was full of magic. They grabbed armfuls of stuff and retreated to the chamber where the helpful ghost had first appeared. It was clear they were done for the day even though it was 9 am. Most of them were close to unconsciousness and almost all magic was used up for the day. Cromag inexpertly returned the catboat to the dock. During the burning of the Chelish ship, Cromag paddled away from the inferno.
The task was harder than the sailor had made it look he thought. By the time he had returned to the dock his loud companions were disappearing from the inner port. The dwarf waited for some time watching the merchant vessle burn. The two wounded hobgoblins that still remained were unable to ascend the ramp to the top of the lock due to the smoke and noxious fumes. Seeing the dwarf alone they descended. Cromap quit the small boat to meet them on the dock.
They charged and Cromag bellowed deeply intimidating them both. Yet he was struck with a longsword and the other mercenary moved behind him. The naked dwarf traded blows with the sword and shield wielding hobgoblin. The creature behind him chopped him with hand ax and short sword. The barbarian took a liking to the masterwork breastplates worn by his opponents. He knocked the one senseless with his greatclub and concentrated on the other. They fought back and forth before Cromag decapitated the hobgoblin with a tremendous blow. Cromag left the dock wearing an ill fitting breastplate, carrying a masterwork steel shield, and armed with a fine longsword.
In his belt was a sharp new hand axe. He also sported several new injuries. The dwarf exited the port and spent some time rummaging the guardroom. He retrieved some coins and pulled three mysterious oils from a small lead box before collecting six candles. Then he hiked the ledge alongside the dry canal until reaching the landing. At the landing he looked with interest on the two large bloody pools in front of the iron double doors which were ajar. Cromag stared at the three iron levers set in the wall and the open doors.
He poked around a dead chimera for a time. Then moved on to a water logged chamber with two dead zombie marines in it. The barnacle encrutsed gear was in a poor state. Here he heard some noises and left the room. He hurried through the twisting passage. That evening the village had another reason to celebrate. Bartholomew Roberts was rowed ashore from his ship.
He was a favorite of the inhabitants and freshly returned from a year at sea. He was so grateful that he immediately insisted on joining them the following day. They wasted no time in the morning. They took the items Lemmywinks had brought, the holy symbol and silver wire, and climbed into a small boat. Bart sailed the catboat into the center of the cove and Lemmywinks lowered the holy symbol. It was as easy as that. Almost immediately, the winds and waters calm. The spray gradually ceases and waves that were crashing against rocks now lap placidly against them. Although the fog remains, where gaps between the shore and the islands were once visible leading out to the open sea, now stone seawalls are visible, slowly rising.
It quickly becomes clear that the seawalls only rise a short distance and thereafter it is the water level in the cove that starts to fall. More and more of the steep, rocky sides of the islands become visible, until the three islands appear as a single connected mass. The southwestern face of the largest island reveals a large cave mouth below the low-tide mark. But the lowered water revealed something else. A giant octopus was left stranded above water on a rocky promenance feet away.
As it slithered toward the water Bart told them about this particular nasty. The Inner Sea is home to the Hand of the Deep, a rare breed of giant octopus that has evolved a paralytic poison in its tentacle suckers. Not liking the sound of that Balinda quickly magicked up an illusion of a giant hungry orca to swim around between their boat and the beast. It seemed to do the trick and they headed directly into the cave mouth.
The cavern was huge — big enough for more than one large ship. To either side of the cave mouth, stone ramps five feet wide rise out of the water and cling to the cavern walls, gradually rising upward to end at a height of thirty five feet at the far wall. At that wall the west ramp opens into another chamber from which faint light emanates. Thick ropes hang into the water here and there, some anchored to rusting cleats set into the walls, others lying in loose coils. The top of the doors are flush with the top of the wall, while the bottom is ten feet above water level.
The many barnacles indicate the door is typically submerged to a depth of twenty feet. No hinges are visible, making it appear the doors open inward. Standing atop the far wall to either side of the giant doors is a pair of wooden and steel contraptions which resemble small siege engines. A stout wooden base supports a pivoting mechanism enclosing an open chute ten feet long and one foot in width, with attached gears used to adjust the angle of the chute.
Three hobgoblin mercenaries watched them from the upper ledge. They appeared to have been spear fishing. Now they eyed the newcomers curiously. Realizing that the hobgoblins were expecting reinforcements Balinda bluffed her way into their trust. They were told to move the catboat to the lock doors on the far end. The hobgoblins would open the doors and let the boat inside. Bartholomew again proved his worthiness and expertly piloted the boat inside the lock. The giant doors closed behind them. Now the water could rise behind them concealing the port.
The inner port was not as big as the initial cavern but still big enough for ships to dock. It looked low in the water. Bart docked near the ship and all but Cromag exited. They though someone should stay with their escape vessel. To their surprise, they immediately spotted Poltur running up the gangplank to the ship. He stopped at the top to stare at them.
He was a tall, tanned man in his thirties with a black eyepatch over his right eye. He wears flashy clothes but despite the garishness of his outfit, his every movement conveys a precise sense of balance. He had a rapier on his hip and a crossbow on his back. Balinda again tried to pass them off as the expected reinforcements but her initial success waned. Poltur demanded a duel with Bart who was happy to oblige. Before that could start though the rest of the group began to conspire and Poltur stepped back out of view while calling his mercenaries.
They immediately rushed aboard the ship but Poltur was nowhere to be seen. The deck of this ship was completely bare under the flickering supernatural lights attached to the mast, with shadow-nets cast through the rigging dancing across the planks. Two hatches, each with a steep ladder, stand open to the hold below. Jaron threw an alchemist fire down one hatch. No reaction from below. Then Jaron became invisible and descended the other ladder followed by Gwaiyu while the others guarded the two hatches.
Poltur remained hidden while the other occupant, a hell cat, attacked the invisible Jaron sinking only its teeth into the man.
They would explore further. This adventure is set on the border between two nations in the Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting, but can easily be set in any game world. The village elder begged Bart to stop it before it could call down those reinforcements and destroy them for sure. Balinda burst a glitterdust into the room and blinded Poltur but the duelist was undeterred. He was waiting for Poltur to surface. The inn keeper was able to give a fuller description of this stranger, describing him as a tall, powerfully built man with dark close cropped hair and a beard. With the immediate fight won, there came a collective sigh of relief.
The cleric debilitated the beast further with each passing round. Above deck the others were fighting six hobgoblin mercenaries bottlenecked on the boarding plank and some suffered from magical stunning. Both fights carried on and suddenly Poltur exited from below decks. He crossed the ship stabbing others when he could before leaping to the dock when the fight appeared to be going against his side. As his mercenaries dropped into the water and the hell cat suffered, he ran into the darkness.
The fight only continued a couple of more rounds. Then the two remaining wounded hobgoblins retreated. They left the burning ship and hastily checked the remaining bodies. No money but they had some expensive gear. The group moved off into the darkness after their quarry. Balinda scanned for magic in the guardroom and came up empty. So the group followed a ledge that ran alongside a dry channel until it came up on an old landing. Opposite the dock where two large iron doors with a set of three iron levels set in a plate on the wall.
Bart and Jaron checked them out but accidentally triggered a terrible spike trap that impaled the two of them for 1 minute before it reset. The others helped them through the doors and Gwaiyu reluctantly performed some magical healing.
The party formed ranks again and marched down the passage until it opened into a narrow chamber. As they entered a sea sworn chimera sprung from around the corner and blasted three of them with a line of acid. The five of them made the beast pay dearly however. Gwaiyu used magic to pass behind it but took a hit from the tail and his lungs filled with saltwater. Jaron and Bart took the brunt of the heads and claws. It was a nasty but short fight. The chimera was cut down and they passed on.
A short section of hallway separated them from the next room. That one had water on the floor and rotting furnishings. There were also two submerged bodies that animated as Bartholomew approached to poke one with his trident. The were undead Chelish marines and not nearly the challenge the chimera was. The room had nothing of value in it and they moved on quickly. The twisty passage led them to another room.
And there was movement inside. Wounds were healed though, and so the hunt for the treasure continued. Elmer led the way with a swig of alcohol, scouting out the beach and their best path up to the hill tops on the penesula. Sophie and Rillivis followed the fighter, but they both basically took in the sea vistas and fresh air offering nothing useful in the way of scouting. Elmer chose a good spot to climb to the forested bluff and head towards the hill tops, one with numerous handholds and trees to help the others climb.
After a failed attempt, the weakened elf required Elmer to haul him up via rope anyway. They hiked a path to the nearest hill top, unsure where to begin their search. On the way up they found a mineshaft, well fortified but unused for some time. The decision was made to explore it. They needed to find a cave, right?
Elmer led them in with Rillivis lighting the way for the 2 humans plus himself. Sophie and Elmer paused at the first side passage when they both spotted a large black spider hanging in a web watching them. It was the size of a mule. When Elmer sent Laramore away everything changed as a web shot out to entangle the poor dog.
The spider lurched forward and Elmer moved to chop it. Sophie started telling jokes and Rillivis sent a sparkle of lights to dazzled it, informing the others that his magical light and fire attacks were only effective against evil. They could not hurt the insect. The massive spider bit Sophie and she felt the strong poison taking effect. Seconds later another of the large spiders raced along the ceiling from deeper within the mineshaft. He broke free in time to beat it back but took a nasty bite in the process.
Meanwhile Sophie was quickly deteriorating due to the poison in her bloodstream, her constitution draining away. Eventually she was able to use her bard magic to break free of the poison. Rillivis summoned a small fire elemental to attack and the spider retreated after being burned. Elmer did not want to lose track of it so he chased it deeper into the mine with everyone following. They cornered the spider and, as it tried to escape, cut it down. Seeing nothing else here they headed out and continued up the hillside. They came upon another mine but this one looked much more random, like a hole dug in the dirt without supports.
Cautiously entering, they heard clinking sounds deeper inside. Elmer had Rillivis cast light on an arrow to fire inside and see the source of the clinking. After a poorly aimed shot that barely lit the ground beyond their feet, they tried again and this time saw that 6 humanoids were digging with picks.
The humanoids noticed them and turned dropping the tools. Slow moving, the party used their vantage to fire arrows and eventually heavenly flame at them, destroying half of them before they were within range to strike. The others were cut down mostly by Elmer, but not before landing a couple of solid blows on the elf. Inside they found nothing but rusted picks … odd. And so they carried on climbing further up the hillside. Elmer decided that was worth another drink! Sophie spotted a structure above them, actual stonework.
Elmer climbed to it and discovered a finely constructed well adorned in sigils and blackened as if burned. He pulled the others up and they identified risidual magic, probably from the sigils, and religious markings representing Norgorber God of Assassins and Deceit. They heard a crunch alerting them to something moving nearby and they hid behind the well. Actually only Elmer hid, both Sophie and Rillivis just crouched to either side of it in plain sight.
A voice called down to them to come out. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page.
An ancient map points to a legendary treasure hidden in the mythical Chimera Cove, a long forgotten pirate port. A host of deadly traps and lingering guardians await the plunderers, but an even greater evil has its sight set upon the powerful relic. Treasure of Chimera Cove is a wilderness adventure set in the Pathfinder Chronicles setting, and is suitable for low-level ch An ancient map points to a legendary treasure hidden in the mythical Chimera Cove, a long forgotten pirate port.
Treasure of Chimera Cove is a wilderness adventure set in the Pathfinder Chronicles setting, and is suitable for low-level characters. Paperback , 32 pages. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Pathfinder Module LB2 , please sign up. Be the first to ask a question about Pathfinder Module LB2. Lists with This Book. Feb 24, Martin St-laurent rated it liked it Shelves: This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here. If you are a player and may play this adventure in the future, please do not read any further as this review contains spoiler. Treasure of Chimera is a Pathfinder adventure for a group of four 7th level characters. It is intended to be played as a sequel to Tower of the Last Baron. The characters must race against time to prevent the traitor Poltur from getting hold of a powerful weapon called the Terraken and delivering the weapon to the Cheliax empire.
In part one, the characters must face a sm If you are a player and may play this adventure in the future, please do not read any further as this review contains spoiler. In part one, the characters must face a small group of Poltur's henchmen who have taken hostages the populace of the small village of Chimera Cove. The werebear Targas, the only villager to evade capture, is a potential ally that can be very helpful if the characters do not have a lot of brawn in their group. The opponents, hobgoblins soldiers, are not particularly powerful but the environment in which the fight takes place, a boathouse, and the fact that they can use the villagers as hostages does add to the complexity of the rescue.
If they befriend Targas, they also get a chance to restore the villager's trust into Targas the outcast. It is an interesting first part as it offers roleplaying opportunities as well as an interesting combat. Then we have two pages of Backgrounds, which give ability boosts and skills usually.
Book Of The Terracken - Kindle edition by William Polden. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like. Book of the TERRACKEN - Kindle edition by William Polden. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like.
Acolyte, Criminal, Warrior, and so on. I wonder which map to which classes? So gnoll sign language is different from celestial sign language? Like, the sign language section is larger than the entire alignment section. I punted and went forward to Fighter to figure out the game.
Turns out they published a massive revision to the Alchemist in the errata because I guess that was a common reaction. Anyway, the classes go to a pick-and-choose set of feats, you know, like every video game skill tree. But I speak too soon. They combined skills into a semi short list of 17 skills. They are still complicated because they basically pasted the rules for each more granular skill under them, so in Acrobatics you get a long ass thing about Balance, Escape, and the 5 other uses each of which has its own ruleset.
Everyone gets skill advances that boost your skill ranks pretty frequently. Some are defined here, like Secret. The organization of this book starts to fall down about this point. Take classes and their class feats.
OK, those are described under the class entries, not lumped into the general feats chapter. Do class things go under the class or sorted into other categories? Do traits and such get defined in the relevant section or in the back? Secret is in the traits section in the back but there it just says see p. Where it has the exact same text as on p. Only 13 pages of them. They go to the silver standard, which I like.
Gold is just for magic items and super expensive stuff, normal folks use silver for conventional expenses. Shields are weirder and more complicated, you have to use an action to get their AC bonus. Weapons, predictably, are like they used to be except we love traits now so every single weapon has traits on it. Gear is gear, but encumbrance has changed to a more abstract Bulk system instead of weight, with all the complicated junk about well this is negligible and this is Light so 10 of those become 1 Bulk and so on.
Not that anyone uses encumbrance anyway. And then GMing and treasure if I reach it. Our newest campaign is based on the Spire RPG. This is a cool high-concept game — we are all drow living in the Spire, which is a China Mieville-esque super weird giant tower where each level is a whole neighborhood. But the elves have conquered it and keep us down as an oppressed underclass along with their human lackeys. Therefore, we foment rebellion!