Isle of Photos
Contents
MAP of NW islands
The adventure
At last the tyrant Syron has been overthrown and democracy restored to the Isle of Photos. Syron's soldiers, the Red Cloaks, held monsters and raiders at bay during the Time of Terror. The regime's priests conjured up sea-monsters to defend the island's waters. In return the people provided obedience to Syron's oppressive taxes and demands for sacrifices. But no new threats have appeared for years and the people have at last overthrown their tyrant and restored their former democracy. It is time now to break the xenophobic cordon that Syron placed around Photos and send ships out into the surrounding islands. Explorers must find whether communities in the Circle of Islands have survived in isolation. Their task will be to kill monsters, remove cults and banish tyrants so as to restore confidence, and re-connect far-flung islands with Photos as the old Circle League's protector.
First Voyage
The sailors land on an island where the inhabitants have been reduced to living in caves. They meet the witch Euryales and make an ambiguous deal with the beastmen of the Gull. They clear the caves of monsters and recover stores, most of which they leave to the locals.
They travel to an island to the north where they liberate a temple of Artemis from a debased cult. They overcome a diabolic steed and cleanse the temple. As a result the cluster in which the temple stands , The Five Islands, is less plagued by monsters.
Back at Photos, the adventurers enter the city's underground aqueducts. Fearful that abandonment of the religion of Typhon will cause the god's ire to return, they seek the high priest's missing cloak as a means of restoring the cult's reputation. They kill a serpentine monster, then make an alliance with her sister. Both creatures are 'parts', split from a scylla what was summoned by Typhon's priests to defend the city. The serpentwoman agrees to serve Typhon using the cloak.
They further discover a way into a labyrinth, constructed centuries earlier by the Old Palace culture on whose foundations the city was founded. After many tests, they escape from the maze and find signs that Syron's technicians had been exploring its upper level and were seeking to harness its magi-tech.
While leaving for their second voyage , they encounter the haughty Photonauts, perhaps convincing some its heroes to go on an Odyssey beyond the Circle of Islands.
Second Voyage
They return to the western isles to continue their missions; to defeat the beastmen on the Gull; locate treasure (at e.g. the old palace); do a thorough exploration of the whole map to locate communities; or even visit the mysterious headland seen far north west of the palace island.
system/ house rules
- Pathfinder, using low-level characters in a low-level setting where most NPCs will under level 5 in power.
- Start at level 1
- Use defence bonus rules, so that characters have a good AC sans bulky armour, but perhaps allowing fighters to also benefit partly from shields/armour.
- Healing would be done mostly from rest, food , gymnasia, temple visits
- Monsters would be harpies, skellingtons, bad guy soldiers, but also possibly hydras and sea-monsters. Not necessarily filtered for level 1 encounters. Players will struggle at first (possibly die) but grow in competence against typical encounters as they advance.
defensive bonuses
Table from SRD
[here].
Lev A. B. C. D.
1st +2 +3 +4 +6
2nd +2 +3 +4 +6
3rd +3 +4 +5 +7
4th +3 +4 +5 +7
5th +3 +4 +5 +7
6th +4 +5 +6 +8
Use column A for monk, sorcerer, or wizard.
Use column B for bard, ranger or rogue.
Use column C for barbarian or druid.
Use column D for cleric, fighter or paladin.
Links to Character Pages
These are links to individual pages that you fill in with your stuff.
swashbuckler (Mitch)
pankratist (stormraven)
priest of typhon the destroyer (Illtry)
hoplite of old photos (thattripletguy]
witch of cerce (squid)
Treasure
- +1 gloves of impact for Merana (that make her punches stronger, doing the next die damage (d8 I guess)).
- a +1 sword for Tiros and a Circlet of Asklpeius the Divine Serpent (for the purposes of natural healing in the house rules, give him the equiv of CON 18 if worn during rest).
- a triskelion bundle for Euryales. A bundle of twigs, copper rods, dried bulbs that act like a wand of magic missiles with 25 charges , caster level 5 (=2 missiles a shot). But missiles are tiny triskelion sun spirals that do double damage versus evil monsters, undead and many other evil creatures.
- Bracers of defense +2 for Fidi.
Euripides the satyr
Euripides is the group's trusty henchman. Any action undertaken by Eurpides out of combat in the following areas are not rolled for but always result in a 15:
- appraise, craft (carpentry), handle animal, healing, knowledge (local), knowledge (nature), perform (wind), profession (agriculture), survival.
- He always carries a limited stock of medicines: the liquor , poppy, lotus mixture already seen. Work as cure minor wounds *3; cure light wounds *3, cure serious.wounds *1 (all renewed each adventure).
- He will support the party as a musician, mender, barterer, fixer, porter and healer. Though he is still strong, his eyesight and mobility are poor and he will not take an active part in combat.
- He is a drunkard and blabber-mouth, though, when in taverns and the like. He also dislikes boats.
Setting Stuff
Setting languages part from the local Photos dialect are:
- Koine (universal language)
- Palace Script (Linear A)
- Lydian
- Hunters’ signs
- Typhonic (priests only, like Black Speech in LOTR)
- Atlantean (ancient written language)
- Amazonian (Amazons are rare visitors)
- Keltoid (barbaric northern traders)
- Stygian (egyptian-like tongue)
Island Layout
| × | West | Centre | East |
|---|---|---|---|
| North | Deep Water Bay | Mount of Trees | Temple Forest |
| Centre | Mount of Winds | Town of Photos | The Farms |
| South | Western Cliffs | Closed Harbour | Eastern Cliffs |
Kosmologi
Two particular gods, Typhon and Hecate are especially active in the setting. Other gods- Zeus, Neptune, Athena, Mercury, are still revered but have a less obvious presence. Typhon is a god of monsters and chaos, and the real bad guy in the setting. The priests of Typhon have just been overthrown on Photos. Those that survive are tolerated either since they represent a milder aspect of the god, or are too effective and powerful for the new regime to kill them off. Typhon's domains are chaos, darkness and destruction.
Hecate is generally a good goddess in the opinion of locals to the island. She's worshiped as feminine, protective but with a fierce and mysterious aspect. Her domains are chaos, liberation, magic as core.
Priests of Asklepius also have obvious active powers, dealing with healing.
Why are some gods so obviously active, and others less so? The adventure -and the Fates- will reveal in time.
Fidi's Kosmologi
"Three generations ago, Photos was First among Equals in a maritime alliance, the Photoan League. Though they strove at times with powers from the mainland, they were wealthy and strong. Then one day a star appeared in the sky. Some astrologers said it was a comet. But that something was wrong-it had no tail. And this because it approached the Kosmos directly and would soon destroy it. The star grew larger and larger until it was visible by day.
In the very moment that the comet arrived, enveloping the sky in orange fire, the earth shook. It seemed to tilt, and the sky turned black. Buildings tumbled, great waves moved in the sea. Many died in the tumult. But when the horrific movement ceased the world was still. The comet had passed and the world had survived.
But something had changed. The stars were different. And ships discovered that while some islands and headlands outside the Circle of islands had disappeared, new ones had appeared in their stead. The world beyond the League had changed its geography.
Then, the Age of Monsters began. Harpies flapped in the skies, kraken waded up from the depths to destroy cities. The dead walked, beasts grew monstrous in size. Cults appeared worshiping Typhon, to whom they attributed these manifestations. In Photos a tyrant appeared who imposed martial law to preserve what was left of the Photoan civilization, withdrawing from the outer islands.
We believe that all these wonders and terrors were the Punishments of Typhon. Typhon was angry that men had forgotten to worship him, so he visited the world with many frights. But he has grown weary of killing. The Age of Monsters has passed. Creatures such as this great insect have become rare. Perhaps this one is old. The last of its kind. Typhon watches the world now in peace, asking to be invited and worshipped as he once was. He is only another god, does he not deserve temples to be made to him?"
