Leader’s Reputation Modifier

Ruthless +2

Rewards loyalty or success +1Possesses a special power +1Indecisive –1Tolerant of failure –1 Милосердное 2

 

Other modifiers may apply when you try to attract a cohort with this черта, as listed below.

Leader’s Attributes Modifier

Gained power by eliminating a superior +1

Fails to punish or kill minions who make –2*

 costly mistakes Recruits a cohort of a different alignment 1

* Cumulative per incident of compassion shown. This penalty is incurred even if you show Избавление to avoid killing or punishing more than 20% of your minions during a given character level (see the footnote in the following table).

 

Followers have different priorities from cohorts. When you try to attract a follower, Использование the following modifiers.

 

Leader’s Attributes Modifier

Has a stronghold, base of operations, guildhouse, etc. +2 Has punished or killed minions to set an example +1*  or assert dominance Has a tendency toward long periods of inactivity –1 Restricts minions from looting, pillaging, or pursing 1 other spoils of war

* Cumulative to a maximum bonus of +1 per character level. If you punish or kill more than 20% of your minions during a given character level, this bonus becomes a penalty instead. When you gain a new level, any bonus or penalty from punishing or killing minions resets to 0.

 

WEAPON BEARER

You attract a weapon bearer to Помощь you in your endeavors.

Предпосылки: Character level 4th, proficient with all особое оружие.

Benefits: This черта is similar to the Лидерство черта, with several exceptions. You can attract only a 1st-level cohort (referred to hereafter as a weapon bearer) with this черта, and can’t recruit followers. You determine your Лидерство score according to the rules presented in the Лидерство черта, but your weapon bearer is always at least 3 levels lower than yourself.

A weapon bearer can take levels in only рыцарьAPG, воин, or gunslingerUC. She cannot multiclass, though she can take any archetype for which she qualifies.

Once per round as a действие движения that does not provoke attacks of opportunity, you can retrieve an item carried by your weapon bearer. In addition, your weapon bearer can pick up items you drop as an прерывающее действие. In Орден to Использование either of these abilities, you and your weapon bearer must be adjacent to each other and must both be able to move and communicate with each other.

If a weapon bearer gains enough XP to bring her to 2 levels lower than your level, she doesn’t gain the new level until you gain your next level; until you advance, her XP total remains 1 less than the amount needed to attain the next level.

If you release your weapon bearer from service or otherwise lose your weapon bearer, you can recruit a new one. At 7th level, you can swap this черта for the Лидерство черта.

NEMESES

Over the course of their adventuring careers, player characters face many obstacles and enemies. Only a true nemesis, though, continually tests the PCs, ищущее to foil them at every turn. Whether it’s a corrupt magistrate thwarting the PCs’ efforts to bring Орден to a town, or a fellow adventurer sabotaging their attempts to curry favor with the king, a nemesis can be the PCs’ most memorable foe—particularly if he’s an adversary they’ve made through their own choices. This section provides detailed guidelines to help GMs create recurring villains who are memorable and who possess recourses beyond normal foes. A system of escalating nemesis stratagems helps rivalries intensify over multiple engagements. It also presents Внушениеs for encounter adjustments and increased XP rewards you might provide to make facing a nemesis мертвlier, but also more rewarding. Each foiled strategem should provide the PCs with an opportunity to Ответный Удар against their foe, potentially launching into new adventures plotted to go along with the PCs’ schemes. These new adventures are also almost certain to deepen the grudge between the characters and their nemesis.

 

PROVOKING A NEMESIS

The tЭль of a character and her nemesis is a back-and- forth exchange in which both always try to gain the upper hand. This leads to the nemesis plotting stratagems of escalating severity until one individual decisively defits the other—often by killing or otherwise ruining the foe. Likewise, nemeses actively strive to foil, sabotage, and otherwise hinder the PCs by employing stratagems—a representation of the plans they implement and resources they possess.

Each stratagem is an event, an encounter, or an adventure in which the nemesis takes Действие against the PCs. If there is a social Аспект to the situation, consider making the struggle between the PCs and their nemesis a social Conflict (see pages 166–175). After each stratagem plays out, the PCs might exploit an opportunity, allowing them to Ответный Удар against their foe. This exchange might occur numerous times over the course of a long-term campaign. To reflect the intensity of his rivalry with the PCs, every nemesis has a Nemesis Score. This score measures the number of setbacks that the PCs have inflicted upon their nemesis (such as by exploiting an opportunity successfully; see the Opportunities section), and it determines the severity of the nemesis’s stratagems against the PCs. Even if the PCs don’t realize why they’ve earned a nemesis’s initial enmity, a particular nemesis’s score always starts at 1 or higher; if the nemesis has no reason to be upset with the PCs’ actions, he wouldn’t waste resources on stratagems against the PCs. Particularly spectacular setbacks might increase the Nemesis Score by 2. The PCs can have multiple nemeses, but the ongoing back-and-forth struggle between the PCs and each individual nemesis has its own separate score.

As a rivalry matures, the Nemesis Level of the PCs’ foe increases. The nemesis’s opposition of the PCs progresses through three levels, as described below.

Simmering: The PCs have come to the attention of the nemesis, who considers them a threat that’s minor but nonetheless needs to be resolved. The nemesis begins to collect information on the PCs and utilize stratagems, but he isn’t yet deeply invested in the rivalry.

Engaged: The PCs have clashed with the nemesis often enough that he considers them a significant problem. The nemesis knows the PCs’ abilities and goes out of his way to tailor stratagems specifically to hinder them when his plans oppose theirs.

Intense: The PCs and their rival have foiled each other so often that the nemesis knows the PCs’ capabilities in intimate detail. He is now willing to Использование whatever means necessary to end their meddling, once and for all. This means the PCs’ deчерта has become one of the nemesis’s main goals, potentially secondary only to the main goal that the PCs keep foiling.

 

Nemesis Score Nemesis Level

4 or lower Simmering

5–8 Engaged

9 or higher Intense

 

 

OPPORTUNITIES

An opportunity is the PCs’ chance to Ответный Удар at their nemesis. Each Время you choose a stratagem, decide what sort of opportunity, vulnerability, or clue the PCs might be able to discover as a result of either foiling or enduring the stratagem. The descriptions of the strategems in the following section include the kinds of opportunities each might expose; these optional plot hooks are meant to give the PCs more influence over the sorts of the adventures they undertake, and they can help the PCs feel like they’re guiding the campaign’s story based on their reactions to the nemesis’s schemes. Opportunities lend themselves to player-devised counter-stratagems, which might take the form of single encounters or whole adventures (see Heists on page 118 and Infiltration on page 128). While the Stratagems section has many options for nemeses, the opportunities listed along with each strategem are merely some of the possibilities. You should feel free to Проводник the PCs toward other opportunities that match your nemesis’s modus operandi and that mesh better with the campaign. Of course, each opportunity the PCs take likely encouЯростьs their nemesis to continue his antagonism, continuing— and likely intensifying—the rivalry.

This back and forth between the PCs and their nemesis should culminate in a естественная броня, plot-driven conclusion— such as a dramatic final encounter or the end of a campaign arc. Such interplay works best if there is a reason that the nemesis and PCs haven’t faced one another in combat until this climax. PCs tend to find ways to kill enemies with even the most foolproof-Личины Побег plans, and using storytelling tricks to save the nemesis can breed resentment among players. Nonetheless, if a nemesis somehow dies early but still has plenty of resources, the nemesis may be able to manage a Воскрешение— just like the PCs would if one of their own died in the struggle. Unless special events (or even deliberately lПомощь stratagems) deem otherwise, a nemesis likely continues to antАгония the PCs until either he dies or somehow reconciles with his foes.

STRATAGEMS

A nemesis typically only employs one stratagem at a time. Only if the PCs continually cause the nemesis major setbacks воля he Использование two stratagems simultaneously. A nemesis typically employs stratagems appropriate for his current Nemesis Level and that tie into the archetype or modus operandi that you’ve chosen for the villain (see Nemesis Personas on page 141). Occasionally a lesser Стратегия might make sense for a nemesis after he’s endured a lesser setback, but he should never employ a stratagem meant for a higher Nemesis Level.

 

STRATAGEM REWARDS

The PCs receive an XP reward when engaging a nemesis’s stratagem, regardless of whether they emerge victorious. When the PCs gain this XP is up to you. It may make sense to aОпекун this XP at the end of an encounter, whether it’s a single combat or interДействие with the nemesis’s agents, or it might come at the end of a Крупныйr adventure influenced by the strategem’s benefits or theme. The PCs do not gain the XP if they avoid or ignore the stratagem. This XP reward is in addition to any XP the PCs receive for overcoming encounters as the stratagem plays out. Stratagem XP rewards are relative to the PCs’ Average Party Level. After engaging a nemesis’s strategem, the PCs should never receive less than the amount they’d receive for defiting a CR 1 encounter.

Low: The PCs gain XP as if they had defited an encounter with a CR equal to their APL – 3.

Средний: The PCs gain XP as if they had defited an encounter with a CR equal to their APL – 2.

High: The PCs gain XP as if they had defited an encounter with a CR equal to their APL – 1.

 

SIMMERING STRATAGEMS

These stratagems tend to be simple, as well as less costly and свирепое. They are perfect for fledgling nemeses who simply don’t yet have enough reason to Расход vast resources against PCs or to make things extremely personal.

 

 AFFLUENCE

XP Reward low

The nemesis uses extra resources against the PCs. In either a combat with the nemesis or against a group the nemesis supports, the nemesis or group receives a 25% increase in their wealth per level, typically applied to consumable gear that the opposition uses before the fight to Поддержка their abilities. In a noncombat encounter, the affluence stratagem grants the nemesis or a group the nemesis supports a modest advantage at a task in which they are competing against the PCs. For example, if a PC and the nemesis are engaged in a словесный duel, the nemesis gains 3 edges (representing access to better training, ringers in the audience, or bribes; see pages 176–181).

OPPORTUNITIES

The nemesis accidently reveals something personal about his background, where his wealth comes from, who manages his money, or that it comes from an illicit source.

 

 COUNTERFEIT GOODS

XP Reward low

The nemesis plants a counterfeit Магия item at a shop he anticipates the PCs воля patronize. The item the PCs purchase is actually проклятие. It appears to function normally according to all tests, and the GM can either select a Проклятие or roll on Table 15–27: Common Item Curses (Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook 537).

OPPORTUNITIES

Tracing the проклятие item back to a shop reveals someone who works with or who was bought off by the nemesis. It might also reveal a trove of other Магия items (проклятие or otherwise).

 

 FALSE СВИДЕТЕЛЬ

XP Reward low

The nemesis accuses the PCs of some minor crime or other misdeed, either directly or by way of a proxy he manipulated to provide false Свидетель. The PCs must either avoid the authorities or spend Время proving their Невинность, often through some form of social Бросить Вызов, and maybe by engaging in a словесный duel (see pages 176–181) during some form of legal proceeding. Avoiding the authorities or failing to clear their names may have more drastic consequences, such as harsh Крошечныйs, Заключение, a decrease in influence, or even some form of corporal punishment.

OPPORTUNITIES

The nemesis’s Свидетель can’t keep her story straight or proves that she knows something she shouldn’t. This not only undermines her lies, but also likely implicates the nemesis in some wrongdoing.

 

REFUSAL OF SERVICE

XP Reward low

The nemesis uses coercion to Сила a group of other NPCs to no longer associate with or conduct business with the PCs (since PCs often exchange vast quantities of wealth, merchants are a particularly effective group to pick for this stratagem). Members of that group of NPCs refИспользование to assist or discuss anything with the PCs unless the PCs succeed at a Дипломатия or Запугивание check. The DC is equal to 20 + the group’s APL.

OPPORTUNITIES

Once the nemesis’s scheme is revealed, the coerced group proves that it doesn’t appreciate being bullied. Perhaps they deny the nemesis future Помощь or give the PCs a 10% discount on their services.

 

 SCANDALOUS SUBVERSION

XP Reward low

The nemesis engages in a campaign to Облако rumors that impugn the PCs’ reputation. These rumors aren’t ubiquitous, but they are just believable enough to cause others to have doubts about the PCs. This stratagem decreases the characters’ Лидерство score, contact trust (Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Campaign 148), Fame (Ultimate Campaign 180), Чести points (Ultimate Campaign 160), and total influence points with organizations (see page 109) by 1. Alternatively, the nemesis can target a single character and Двустороннее the decrease.

OPPORTUNITIES

Tracing the rumors back to the nemesis counters the lies and potentially negates the losses the PCs suffered. Going forward, members of the Сфера Товарищества in which the nemesis Облако his lies are less likely to believe his claims.

 

 ХВОСТ

XP Reward low

The nemesis sends an agent to follow the PCs from a дальнобойное. This Хвост is an NPC or creature (typically one whose CR is equal to the group’s APL –3). While they have a tail, the Хвост relays the PCs’ activities and general plans to the nemesis. The Хвост follows the PCs in urban and wilderness areas, but воля not enter dangerous locations (such as a dungeon or tomb). The Хвост makes daily reports on the PCs’ activities. If the PCs split up, the Хвост follows one PC—either the one who seems to be doing something interesting or who’s easiest to follow. The Хвост uses its own Внимание and Скрытность Навыки but attempts to remain hidden, using cover and crowds to hide its presence and staying at a дальнобойное to increase the Внимание DC to notice it. The Хвост always attempts to flee if discovered or engaged.

OPPORTUNITIES

If the PCs discover the tail, they might trick it into reporting false information to the nemesis. Alternatively, they might capture or have their tracker arrested, denying their enemy a useful ally.

 

ENGAGED STRATAGEMS

Engaged stratagems are more personal and costly than simmering stratagems, evidencing the nemesis’s attention and a growing, свирепое grudge.

 

 ALLIES IN PERIL

XP Reward Средний

The nemesis takes an ally of the PCs hostage while they’re away or otherwise distracted. Removing the ally proves to be a boon for the nemesis and a detriment to the PCs. The PCs might be forced to decide whether to spend their efforts locating their ally and attempting a rescue, or opposing the nemesis’s goal.

OPPORTUNITIES

The captured ally learns a considerable amount during her Заключение, such as the location of the nemesis’s lair, its interior layout, or the movements of guards.

 

 CALL ON DARK POWER

XP Reward Средний

The nemesis makes a pact with a fiend or other dark Сила to thwИскуство the PCs. He gains the temporary service of a powerful Зло Потусторонний (with a CR no higher than the party’s APL + 3), but forfeits something significant in the process. This could include the nemesis taking a penalty to an ability score while the creature is in his service. Or, maybe the pact requires him to make a monthly Жертвоприношение  of intelligent creatures (usually a number equal to the Зло outsider’s Кости Здоровья).

OPPORTUNITIES

The PCs discover the price the nemesis pПомощь to summon the dark power, perhaps revealing some manner of infernal contract.

Others groups might also condemn him for his dark dealings.

 

 ЗАГОТОВКА PLAN

XP Reward Средний

The nemesis has become accustomed to the PCs’ Вмешательство and has developed a Заготовка plan. When the PCs are about to foil his current scheme, he either instantly benefits from an Эффект of a 1st- through 4th-level spell, as the spell Заготовка. Alternatively, he might unleash some nonmagical Заготовка, such as collapsing the ceiling or opening a floodВрата.

OPPORTUNITIES

In his rush, the nemesis leaves behind some evidence of his hideout’s location or compromising secret. Also, others might be Вред by his dramatic escape, leading them to help the PCs.

 

 HALF ВРЕМЯ

XP Reward Средний

In the wake of the last setback the PCs caused, the nemesis works harder to attain his goals. He completes one of his current projects (such as a ritual, research, influence, Конструкцийion, or any other task) in half the usual Время required. In exchange, he is утомление when the PCs exploit their next opportunity. Or, if the PCs face him in a noncombat situation, his work proves shoddy, and this provides the PCs with a Небольшой advantage against him.

OPPORTUNITIES

The PCs notice where the nemesis cut corners on this and other schemes, revealing vulnerabilities in his new weaponry, magical defenses, or hideout.

 

 NO PRIZE FOR SECOND PLACE

XP Reward Средний

The nemesis discovers the PCs’ eventual destination while they are on a quest, whether through spying or Прорицание, and gets there aГолова of them. He might alert those at their destination and explain the PCs’ strengths and weaknesses (giving the denizens Время to flee or set an ambush) or slaughter the guardians and pillage the place, leaving behind only traps for the PCs.

OPPORTUNITIES

The nemesis’s attempt to rob the destination reveals an unexplored section rife with greater treasures. Alternatively, the nemesis might trigger some Проклятие or Оборона that targets him rather than the PCs.

 

 NOWHERE IS SAFE

XP Reward low or Средний

The nemesis sends one or more agents aГолова of the PCs as they are traveling or resting, tasking them with manufacturing obstacles to Замедление the PCs down. Simple dangers that the agents might devise, and that provide a low XP reward, include obstructing the PCs’ travels by destroying a bridge, stealing the PCs’ Скакунs, or luring ordinary Животные to the PCs’ camp to cause havoc. More threatening obstacles that provide a Средний XP reward include locking the PCs inside a building and setting it on fire, triggering an Лавина, or provoking a dangerous creature to attack the PCs. To Использование this stratagem, the nemesis must have already used a Хвост stratagem against the PCs at least once (or have another way of knowing where the PCs are going, such as if the PCs are pursuing the nemesis; see pages 142–147).

OPPORTUNITIES

The trap the nemesis’s agents set up reveal a threat that might be used against the nemesis on the return trip. Tempting creatures into the PCs’ camp might also give those beasts the Нюх of the nemesis and his agents, with unintended consequences.

 

 POWERFUL ALLIES

XP Reward Средний

The nemesis strikes a temporary agreement with another group. This grants him the services of a number of allies equal to the number of PCs, though the CR of each ally should usually be no greater than the party’s APL – 1. These allies assist the nemesis with whatever he requires, whether directly confronting the PCs or assiЖало him with Помощь and resources. The alliance lasts a number of days equal to the nemesis’s Кости Здоровья.

OPPORTUNITIES

The PCs might discover the points of contention between the nemesis and his new allies, potentially using their знание to turn them against each other. Also, the PCs might bring the nemesis to the attention of a Крупныйr, more dangerous group or individual that doesn’t appreciate an Потусторонний manipulating her pawns.

 

 ROBBERY

XP Reward Средний

The nemesis attempts to steal something of value from the PCs. If they have stored valuable items at a particular location, the nemesis or his servants attempt a heist (see pages 118-129), typically stealing between 10% and 100% of the value stored at that location. If the PCs carry all of their wealth with them, the nemesis instead sends pickpockets to steal items from the PCs, using Ловкость рук and Скрытность to purloin what they can and retreat.

OPPORTUNITIES

The PCs find evidence pointing back to the nemesis, giving them an opportunity to retrieve what they lost with interest in a counter-heist.

 

 SURPRISE

XP Reward Средний

The nemesis launches a Внезапная Атака against the PCs at an inopportune time. The nemesis could send a powerful agent or team of agents against the PCs while they are already in combat, or when they are reЖало after Running out of resources for the day. The surprise might also be an unsuspected sabotage of a plan or project the PCs are pursuing.

OPPORTUNITIES

Intending to Использование it to overМедведь the unprepared PCs, the nemesis’s agents possessed more valuable treasure than usual or had one of the nemesis’s useful Магия items in their possession. Upon defiting their foes, the PCs gain a useful treasure for themselves.

 

INTENSE STRATAGEMS

Intense stratagems are desperate, costly, personal, or perhaps all three. Only a nemesis with a profound need to avenge the numerous setbacks the PCs have inflicted on him is capable of such extremes.

 

 BACKED INTO A CORNER

XP Reward high

The nemesis liquidates assets and calls in debts to gain additional finances equal to his normal wealth by level. He may spend this wealth on any resources he pleases or to gain a significant advantage in an endeavor in which he is in direct competition with the PCs. The nemesis’s liquidations might provide wealth in the short term, but they are deleterious to his long-term financial solvency.

OPPORTUNITIES

The nemesis has бессилие his resources and is without many of the magical and mundane defenses his wealth normally provides. Or, one of the PCs’ allies takes it upon themselves to check the accounting of whoever granted the nemesis his additional wealth. The ally finds errors or lies that infuriate the nemesis’s backers, causing them to cut ties with him or seek to call back their loan.

 

 СМЕРТЬ OF AN ALLY

XP Reward high

The nemesis callously slays a Тычковое ally of the PCs. The ally should be one who offers significant Помощь to the PCs or with whom they have a Тычковое personal connection. The method of the Убийство should provide the PCs a solid opportunity to Ответный Удар at the nemesis, since after this stratagem, it’s likely the PCs воля be out for blood.

OPPORTUNITIES

This might not be the first Время the nemesis has resorted to murder. A public Смерть brings the nemesis’s other foes to Свет, and in their Симпатия they ally with the PCs.

 

 ENEMY OF THE STATE

XP Reward high

A more severe version of the false Свидетель stratagem, the nemesis has persuaded the local government that the PCs have committed treason. The PCs must not only contend with the nemesis’s antics, but must also Побег the state authorities’ hounding and possible criminal charges. The PCs can still attempt to prove their Невинность, but doing so is extremely difficult, taxing the PCs’ Время and resources. Also, proving their Невинность may not be enough, and the PCs may have to work on the fringes of society to achieve their other goals.

OPPORTUNITIES

The nemesis’s lies are themselves a crime and, upon redeeming themselves, the PCs Сдвиг the eyes of the law to their foe.

 

 GHOSTLY CATHEXIS

XP Reward high

The PCs have killed their nemesis, but his obsession causes him to rise from Смерть as a ghost with the unfinished business of defiting the PCs. His spirit rises 1d4 days after his death, and his ghost is tied to his possessions from life. He can Использование Поиск Предмета at воля as a spell-like ability to locate any of those objects, and once per day, he can Использование greater Тайновидение to Шпион upon a creature carrying them as if he were фамильяр with that creature (even if the object itself is in an extradimensional space). If he successfully locates an object with either effect, he can transport himself to its location once per day, as per Слово Возвращения, merging his бестелесность form with the object and moving with it. While he inhabits the object, he can Использование his malevolence ability to possess creatures nearby; a creature wearing or wielding one of the ghost’s former possessions takes a –4 penalty on испытания against this malevolence. Becoming a ghost limits the nemesis, as well, and represents a new opportunity for the PCs to Ответный Удар.

OPPORTUNITIES

The nemesis’s refusal to pass into Смерть draws the attention of some dangerous creature, such as a Ночи hag or psychopomp. They seek to claim the nemesis’s soul, but also draw the PCs into new, otherworldly adventures.

 

 LOYALTY BEYOND СМЕРТЬ

XP Reward high

The PCs kill a fanatic follower of the nemesis, who returns from Смерть as a revenant (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 2 235). For higher-level parties, multiple slain Союзничество might come back as a group of revenants or more powerful нежить. These unсвященное abominations pursue the PCs tirelessly, ищущее to exact revenge. Unlike most stratagems, the nemesis might not instiВрата this one on his own.

OPPORTUNITIES

Even though the nemesis might not typically Использование нежить allies, in this case, the мертв have served his agendas. This incites the scruМаленький of a good-aligned faith that now has reason to believe the nemesis is an enemy of the living.

 

 MISTAKEN IDENTITY

XP Reward high

The nemesis uses a Клон, Симулякр, doppelganger, or other impostor version of himself to make it seem like he is in one place rather than another. The GM should decide to implement this stratagem before the PCs encounter the nemesis and Использование the stats for the impostor, rather than having the PCs fight the real, full-powered nemesis; after the PCs kill the impostor, the GM should reveal that it was a fake.

OPPORTUNITIES

The PCs might be able to convince many of their nemesis’s agents that their master is мертв, tricking them into leaving their posts or giving up Секреты that now seem moot.

 

 TRUMP CARD

XP Reward high

The nemesis reveals a trump card he has been holding back for just the right moment—such as monstrous allies or a powerful Магия item. There should be something that strongly limits his Использование of this trump card or that has caused him to hold it back until now. For example, maybe the item powers down after Использование and is very difficult to recharge. Or, maybe знание of his alliance would ruin his reputation. Whatever it is, the nemesis’s reason for hiding the trump card could feed into a particularly useful opportunity for the PCs.

OPPORTUNITIES

Using his trump card brings considerable attention to the nemesis, perhaps from the law, the trump card’s former owner, or a мертвlier creature that wants this advantage for itself. The PCs might temporarily ally with this creature, or Использование its antagonism to their advantage.

 

NEMESIS PERSONAS

Because having a nemesis is more personal than just having an adversary, it’s important to consider what makes the nemesis tick. Certain archetypical nemesis personas, such as those in the following Внушениеs, are common in fiction and help to build a memorable foe.

Embittered Protege: Perhaps the nemesis was once a follower of one of the PCs or a Тычковое ally, or shared the same mentor. The protege was dismissed from training, whether for lack of talent, failure to pass a key test, or because of some transgression. The protege blames one or more PCs for his failure, claiming the PCs were shown favoritism after outshining him, or that the PCs somehow sabotaged his education.

Fallen Idol: The nemesis was once a person of great repute, honored for his heroic deeds, or revered as a mentor of the PCs. Whatever his former prominence, the idol has fallen on hard times. This may not be public знание, and early encounters with the fallen idol might preserve the facade that things are going well. However, the PCs have unknowingly disrupted the fallen idol’s (possibly illicit) scheme to recover his position, plunging him further into desperation. The nemesis becomes obsessed with regaining his former fame, resorting to ever-more-questionable methods and outrageous schemes in a losing Битва to regain respect; in short, he’s become the very thing he once stood against. The PCs might never realize that their old mentor and their new nemesis are one and the same until the final confrontation, after which they must decide whether to redeem or slay the fallen idol.

Herald of the Future: The nemesis is devoted to the cause of progress, ищущее to abolish the old ways and usher in a glorious desМаленький. This new future might come about through science, political upheaval, the rapturous return of a deity, or the advent of alien intelligence. Whatever his creed, the nemesis promises it воля change everything. His goals and dogma might be strange, leading the PCs to either oppose his view of the future or simply compete with him for the same resources. For instance, his goal to collect strange artifacts might place him in a race against the PCs for the otherworldly relics. While urОтповедь and sophisticated, the herald dismisses dissent as Небольшой- minded ignorance. At first, he might feel more sorrow for his opposition’s shortsightedness than anger, but he still won’t let the PCs stand in the way of progress.

Obstructive Official: The nemesis is a person of political power or prominence, such as an officer of the law, a moralizing judge, an ambitious аристократ, or an arrogant noble. Whatever his role, or whether he holds his position through birth, wealth, or personal strength, he is dogmatically dedicated to a specific set of rules that the PCs, in the course of their adventuring activities, violate with some frequency. The obstructive official is not interested in the PCs’ motivations or justifications. To the nemesis, they are dangerous карательs who bring trouble in their wake. So-called “heroes” are menaces that need to be controlled or, failing that, eliminated. This sort of nemesis uses his connections to make Жизнь more difficult for the PCs, but always through legal avenues. Eventually he hopes to have the PCs Метательное in jail, exiled, or otherwise removed from the equation, but only after he has built an ironclad case against them.

Trickster: The nemesis is an agent of chaos, a troublemaker who may act with malЛьда or out of pure capriciousness. The trickster respects no laws, authorities, or systems of control. He may be распластан to acts of charity when the mood strikes. He may even be a hero to some, but he may just as quickly turn on those who supported him, or безрассудства them for a new scheme altogether. The trickster’s opposition to the PCs may be a perverse social experiment to undermine their principles or to disrupt the world around them. Or, it may be just a game to him, and the PCs are simply too much fun to ignore.

PURSUIT

Охота down your enemies across hill and dЭль is a classic fantasy trope, and a deeply satisfying part of many books and films, yet difficult to simulate using only the Pathfinder RPG combat rules. Though chase rules appear in the Pathfinder RPG GameMastery Guide, those are specifically designed to cover fast-paced Действие chases— once the journey is measured in hours rather than seconds, Двужильный and Стратегия quickly outweigh fast Реакцияes and quick thinking. Only by using careful tracking and хитрое tricks can pursuers catch up to their quarries. The pursuit system presented below integrates these crucial Стихии into a structure that simulates a longer pursuit in a manner that’s both fun and easy to manage.

There are two main types of pursuits. In a direct pursuit, the pursuers are following another group’s trail wherever it may lead, with the express goal of catching up to their quarries. In this type of pursuit, the pursuers don’t know where the quarries воля go—they’re forced to follow the trail that their prey left behind. By contrast, in a race, both sides know the destination, and the pursuers simply want to get there first, perhaps to catch their quarries or prevent them from acquiring something at the destination.

 

THE CORE MECHANIC

In a pursuit, each group travels along a series of terrain tiles. Each group must complete a certain amount of progress to complete a tile and move on. This amount is listed in the terrain tile for that type of terrain. One terrain tile is roughly 12 miles across (see Terrain Tiles on page 143 for more information).

The quarries always start out aГолова of the pursuers by an amount established by the GM. In a direct pursuit, if the pursuers ever share the same terrain tile with the quarries and have made an equal or greater amount of progress on that tile, they have caught up to the quarries. In a race, whoever reaches the destination tile first wins the race, and the groups can continue with their goals from there.

Personal Progress: To determine the amount of progress that each group makes during a 1-hour pursuit phase, first calculate the progress each party member could potentially make. This is roughly based on the number of miles the character could Сфера Путешествий per hour when using overland movement if the tile were devoid of obstacles and rough terrain. Each party member’s personal progress is equal to her base land быстрое divided by 10 (typically 3 for a human or 2 for a dwarf, for instance). Temporary effects that boost movement быстрое count only if they last for the entire 1-hour pursuit phase (like Скороход or Дальний Перелет, but not полет).

Group Progress: The group’s progress is equal to the lowest personal progress in the party. Тактики and advantages, as explained later, can give characters ways to improve the быстрое of the whole group.

 

BUILDING A PURSUIT

Once the GM knows the progress numbers for both the pursuers and quarries, she is ready to Конструкций the overall structure of the pursuit. Building a pursuit is fairly simple, but the process depends on the type of pursuit (and for direct pursuits, whether the PCs are the pursuers or the quarries).

When Running a pursuit, it helps to have a visual Помощь of the area where the pursuit takes place. If the GM is using a published adventure or otherwise has access to a nice- looking map of the region, it might be interesting to have a map big enough for miniatures or tokens to sit on each tile. The GM can then draw in the tiles, providing a bit of a game board to help the players visualize the pursuit.

 

DIRECT PURSUITS

A direct pursuit involves a pursuing group chasing after a Добыча group across a series of terrain tiles. The pursuers must succeed at Выживание checks to continue tracking their quarries, as described in the Running a Pursuit section on page 143. Direct pursuits in which the PCs are the pursuers are the simplest and the most common type in an Average campaign. It is a Добро idea to Бегун a direct pursuit as the group’s first pursuit to help the players and GM alike to get a grasp of the system.

PCs as Pursuers: In a direct pursuit with NPC quarries, the GM establishes a linear series of terrain tiles that the quarries воля follow, and the pursuers proceed along those tiles after their prey. See the section on Terrain Tiles on page 143 for common types of terrain tiles. For a direct pursuit that is even simpler to Бегун, don’t give the Добыча group access to Использование all the tools described later in this section. For instance, the quarries might not attempt to gain advantages, and they might Использование Тактики sparingly—and only if it makes the pursuit more interesting. Remember that if the Добыча group doesn’t Использование those tools, the pursuit воля be much easier for the PCs.

PCs as Quarries: If the PCs are quarries, direct pursuits become a bit more complicated, as the PCs have options for which path they choose and which type of terrain they enter as they try to shake their pursuers. The GM should present pursuit tiles arranged in more than a simple linear path. In fact, the GM can divide a map of the general region into terrain tiles as appropriate, perhaps using a Наговоры grid to match the system for Исследование in Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Campaign.

Ending a Direct Pursuit: A direct pursuit can end in one of four ways. When the pursuers are on the same tile as the quarries and have made equal or greater progress than the quarries, the pursuers catch their quarries. When the quarries Досягаемость a location where they stop progressing (such as a safe haven or stronghold), pursuit ends and may turn into a siege. When the pursuers can’t possibly succeed at the Выживание check to continue tracking their quarries and have бессилие any other Тактики that might help relocate the trail, their quarries have eluded them. Finally, the pursuers can voluntarily give up the pursuit. Optionally, the GM can choose a дальнобойное at which the quarries are so far aГолова that the pursuers have no real chance of catching up. For instance, the GM might decide that if the Добыча group is five tiles aГолова of the pursuers, they’ve escaped; this number might be Небольшойer in jungles or other dense terrain.

 

RACES

In a race, both groups have far more options in their travels. As with a direct pursuit in which the PCs are the quarries, the GM should include more options for terrain tiles than just a linear path. The two groups might start on different tiles and move through different types of terrain during the race. A race features no Добыча or pursuer. A race ends when one group reaches the designated destination.

 

RUNNING A PURSUIT

Pursuits proceed in 1-hour pursuit phases, during which each group (or the group that is moving, if one group is resting) makes progress toward completing its current terrain tile. The group can potentially attempt to Использование Тактики (see page 146) or gain an advantage (see page 145) to outthink or outвыступление the enemy.

Each Дня of pursuit consists of eight 1-hour pursuit phases. Pursuits take place over a long period of Время and cover plenty of ground, so pursuers and quarries might encounter terrain tile denizens or environmental hazards along the way. Consider using these encounters to provide spikes of tension and to control the pursuit’s pacing.