Council of Thieves (adventure path)

For another meaning of "Council of Thieves", please see Council of Thieves.

This adventure path is the fifth released in the Pathfinder Adventure Path series and debuted in The Bastards of Erebus at Gen Con in August 2009. Council of Thieves has the distinct honor of being the first Pathfinder Adventure Path to take full advantage of the new Pathfinder Roleplaying Game rules, and works with both the Pathfinder RPG and the standard 3.5 fantasy RPG rules set. Beginning in the former Chelaxian capital of Westcrown, adventurers are certain to face a horde of devils, legions of Hellknights, and at least a handful of thieves.

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Don't go out after dark! In the run-down Chelaxian capital of Westcrown, fallen from grace generations ago by the rise of the devil-worshiping House of Thrune, strange beasts of shadow prowl the streets after nightfall. At the same time, the head of the city's all-powerful crime syndicate, the notorious Council of Thieves, has grown unstable, and a new power is determined to take control—even if it means burning Westcrown to the ground.
The Council of Thieves Adventure Path is a gritty, urban adventure of organized crime, corrupt officials, and ancient curses. In their efforts to help the revolutionary Children of Westcrown, the heroes must infiltrate the halls of power, moonlight as actors in a deadly play, delve into a condemned Pathfinder Lodge and a mad wizard's labyrinth, make deals with hags, and face down the hordes of Hell itself—all while pursued relentlessly by vampires, assassins, and the infamous law-keepers known as Hellknights.

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Chronology

Hell's Vengeance, the eighteenth Pathfinder Adventure Path campaign takes place six years after the conclusion of the Council of Thieves Adventure Path.¹²³

Releases


The Bastards of Erebus	Written by Sean K Reynolds	Released August 2009
For level 1. The city of Westcrown is dying. Since being stripped of its station as the capital of Cheliax, the wealth and prestige of the city has gradually slipped away, leaving the desperate people to fend for themselves in a city beset by criminals, a corrupt nobility, and a shadowy curse. Can the PCs fight back against champions of both the law and the criminal world?
The Sixfold Trial	Written by Richard Pett	Released September 2009
For level 3. To banish the monstrous shadows that stalk Westcrown by night, the PCs go undercover, joining the city's chaotic theatrical community in an elaborate plot to infiltrate the estate of the decadent lord-mayor. Yet theater life turns deadly when they become players in a spectacle no actor has ever survived. Can the PCs endure their debut performance in a city where an actor's first big hit is often his last?
What Lies in Dust	Written by Michael Kortes	Released November 2009
For level 5. In Westcrown, darkness brings fear and death, the night haunted by the spawn of a terrible curse. Striving to free the city from its decades-old blight, the PCs must reveal a long-buried secret and a treasure locked away for ages. Their journey will set them against the scum of Westcrown's underworld, denizens of the haunted night, and the very forces of Hell itself, all in an attempt to rekindle the memories of long-dead spirits with stories still to tell. Yet what those souls reveal might prove even deadlier than the city's midnight curse.
The Infernal Syndrome	Written by Clinton Boomer and James Jacobs	Released December 2009
For level 7. In the bowels of one of Westcrown's most esteemed halls of power lies an unfathomable evil, a terror beyond all reason and sanity, shackled and broken by the magic of a lost archmage. For years this menace has laid fuming, endlessly testing the bars of its prison, gathering its hatred and planning its revenge. Now the machinations of a deadly conspiracy have weakened the chains of this nightmare's bonds, and in their growing cracks rise the flames of the damned and the promise of Westcrown consumed in hellfire. Can the PCs infiltrate the labyrinth of a madman to put an end to an evil beyond even the heroes of legend? And what foulness would seek to ruin all of Westcrown by gambling with its very soul?
Mother of Flies	Written by Greg A. Vaughan	Released January 2010
For level 9. Leaderless and disorganized, the city of Westcrown reels after a terrifying incursion from the infernal realm. Yet while fiends stalked the streets, a more insidious rebellion unfolded below. Now a new power rises to lay claim to all of Westcrown! Only the insight of a crazed witch might aid the PCs in curtailing this dastardly coup. But can they hope to stand against the true masters of a city poised on the brink of ruin?
The Twice-Damned Prince	Written by Brian Cortijo and James Jacobs	Released February 2010
For level 11. Their deception revealed and their plans waylaid, two deadly and Hell-touched siblings make a desperate final play for control of Westcrown. With the city in chaos and its leaders fled, few stand to defend the beleaguered people when the plots of fiends turn upon them. At the same time, the rulers of Cheliax launch their own ruthless plot to retake control. Can the PCs return order and shatter the Council of Thieves' age-old stranglehold on Westcrown once and for all? Or will the former capital slide fully into the grip of a terrible new deviltry?

Related publications

Player's Guides
	Council of Thieves Player's Guide	Written by James Jacobs et al.	Released August 2009
	Aside from introducing the Council of Thieves Adventure Path, this guide is intended to aid players in the creation of characters native to Cheliax. The information presented herein is common knowledge, especially to characters who call Cheliax home. This guide is organized to help root characters in the area in and around Westcrown—the focal point of this entire Adventure Path. While any character can take part in the Council of Thieves, those created and using this guide are likely to have more personal motivation as the events of the Adventure Path unfold.
Sourcebooks
	Cheliax, Empire of Devils	Written by Jonathan H. Keith et al.	Released August 2009
	Seventy years ago, the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune defeated its rivals in a bloody civil war following the death of the god of humanity, bringing order to the war-torn nation of Cheliax—but at a price. Now the imperial bureaucracy enforces devil-worship as the state religion, and the common people bow their heads in perpetual servitude to the dark lord of Hell. Fortunately, Cheliax still has heroes: crusaders and revolutionaries motivated by glory, honor, greed for the throne, or hatred of what their land has become under the infernal thumb of Asmodeus.
	Princes of Darkness: Book of the Damned Volume 1	Written by F. Wesley Schneider	Released October 2009
	From the origin of the gods to the inhabitants of the darkest infernal pit, Princes of Darkness: Book of the Damned Volume I is an unflinching look at the methods, motivations, and goals of Asmodeus, the archdevils, and the entire hierarchy of Hell. Whether you're planning to storm the gates of Avernus or trade in the exotic and immoral markets of Dis, or simply want to add a splash of diabolical flavor to a standard campaign, this 64-page book is full of delicious temptations worthy of Faust himself.
Accessories
	Council of Thieves Map Folio	Written by Jared Blando and Rob Lazzaretti	Released March 2010
	Shadowy scoundrels and infernal masterminds scheme to claim the city of Westcrown in the Council of Thieves Adventure Path. Those who dare to face this villainy find challenges taking them from stinking slums to regal villas, through dilapidated museums and diabolical labyrinths, and on perilous paths beneath and beyond the tarnished city. The Council of Thieves Map Folio leads the way through the first Adventure Path created entirely for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game!