Year of the Demon

This page contains spoilers for the following products: Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild Season 5.
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Season 5 of the Pathfinder Society Roleplaying Guild campaign ran from August 2013 to July 2014. The season is referred to as the Year of the Demon due to the large involvement of the Pathfinder Society in and around the Worldwound. At the start of this season, there were eight factions: Andoran, Cheliax, Grand Lodge, Osirion, Qadira, Sczarni, Silver Crusade, and Taldor.

Metaplot overview

Season 5's metaplot is split between two groups, high-level play and low-level play. Each group contributes to the overall metaplot in it's own way that helped the Pathfinder Society complete its expedition to Jormurdun in the Worldwound (discovered at the end of Year of the Risen Rune).

Pathfinders are sent to the capital city of Mendev, to announce the Pathfinder's Society charge to find the lost Sky Citadel, Jormurdun. During their gathering, demons overcome the city's defenses and begin attempting to destroy the city. The Pathfinders work together in containing the demonic surge throughout the city and realize at the end of the assault, that the Wardstones that contain the demons of the Worldwound inside, have been destroyed, allowing demons to escape into Golarion.

Low-level metaplot

The Year of the Demon badge.

Andoren and Taldan Pathfinders are sent to a meet-and-greet of Absalom's finest in an attempt to gather support and funding for their charge into the Worldwound to locate and catalog the lost Sky Citadel, Jormurdun. As they mingle with the attendees, the Pathfinders realize that the gathering's staff are being murdered and must get to the bottom of it before the meeting's end. The Pathfinders realize a powerful demon that has escaped the Worldwound's borders, has been sabotaging the Pathfinder's efforts at the gala. The Pathfinders reveal this plot to the attendees and by doing so, win the support of the attendees of the dinner.

After researching the cause of the destruction of the Wardstones, it becomes clear that one of Nerosyan's venture-captains, Thurl, has been researching ways for the demons of the Worldwound to break through the city's defenses and attack. Tasked with investigating his now-empty home, Pathfinders come across notes, books, and research regarding the creation of demonic creatures. During the investigation, the Pathfinders come into contact with an amalgamation of a creature: one part human and two parts demon, named Valais Durant. Valais tells the Pathfinders about Thurl's thirst for knowledge and leads the Pathfinders deeper into the newly discovered laboratory beneath the lodge. There, the Pathfinders come across other imperfect creatures and notice that Thurl was in contact with a secret ally. Finally, in the depths of the lodge, the heroes find a shrine to Baphomet that Thurl had built to show his dedication to the demon lord. Providing the information to Venture-Captain Jorsal of Lauterbury, the Pathfinder Society labels Thurl as a traitor.

Andoren and Taldoran Pathfinders are then sent to a small town, Sauerton in Andoran, to help a government official, Tercio Andares find his missing daughter, Thalia, and win support from top Andoran officials. As the Pathfinders start uncovering the disappearance, they discover that Tercio has been using his power and wealth to keep his friends and himself in government positions while stifling competition. When they find Thalia, they reveal that Thalia was captured by her own father to quiet her attempts at revealing her father's plans and under-the-table dealings to stay in power. The Pathfinders confront Tercio and have him arrested for abuse of power. Princess Eutropia, hearing of the Pathfinder Society's attempts to gather support for their cause in the Worldwound, offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a team of Pathfinders to delve into a hidden wing of the Kitharodian Academy's library to research a possible lead regarding ancient Taldor history. Under the cover of a musical performance above the library, the Pathfinders enter into the library and discover the library to be used as training grounds for a secret group of spies called the Lion Blades. Researching further, they encounter a magical, intelligent guardian built into the library. After parleying with the guardian, the Pathfinders are able to discover information about the Shining Crusade, and information about an item called the Horn of Aroden and it's last known location in Brevoy.

Following their notes, the Pathfinders make their way into Silverhall, bastion of the Lebeda noble family in Brevoy looking for anyone who has more information regarding the Horn of Aroden. The heroes meet with Dame Sarrona Lebeda who is willing to provide the Pathfinders with the horn in exchange for them bringing back her son, Lander Lebeda who has gone out into the wild to attempt to stop the recent bandit attacks on the town. Following a lead from a local blacksmith, Marek Bogdan, the Pathfinders follow Lander's trail to a bandit camp, where they find Lander locked in a chest by the bandits. Successfully rescuing Lander, the Pathfinders make their way back to Silverhall with Lander and discover that Marek Bodgan had been secretly working with the local bandits to trick Lander into going out into the wilderness to hopefully use him as a ransom, if not more. Arriving back in Silverhall, the Pathfinders are given the Horn of Aroden for their service but also, presented with a choice: Turn Marek Bodgen over to the authorities or conceal evidence of his actions.

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High-level metaplot

Knowing that they are not going to be able to get to Jormurdun by themselves, the Pathfinder Society sends a team of agents to the elf nation of Kyonin to help a group of elite elven archers, the Uprooters, to fight against the ever-encroaching demonic threat from Treerazer's domain nearby. Working their way through the demonic forests, the Pathfinders rescue a missing member of the Uprooters and eliminate one of Treerazer's many active demonic generals. This, in turn, pleases the elves and they agree to send a team of Uprooters to the Worldwound when the society begins their assault. Looking for more allies, the Pathfinder Society reached out to a coalition of spellcasters dedicated to fighting evil summoners, the Riftwardens to persuade them to send assistance to the Worldwound. In order to able to help, the Riftwardens request the Pathfinder Society help a missing team of Riftwardens that were last seen in Azir, the capital city of Rahadoum. Arriving in Azir, the Pathfinders track down a fellow member of the society, Eando Kline, who is said to have information about the whereabouts of the missing Riftwardens. However, members of the Pure Legion, Rahadoum's guard is also on Eando's tail and the Pathfinders Society and the Pure Legion converge in a bathhouse where Eando Kline is found, bathing. After parleying with the Pure Legion, the Pathfinders learn from Eando Kline that the missing Riftwardens are being held in a slaver compound ran by Blackfire Adepts. Making their way inside, the Pathfinders encounter evil summoned demons and eventually locate the Blackfire Adepts' leader and the missing Riftwardens. Dispatching the leader, Sophini, the Pathfinders rescue the missing Riftwardens and as promised, the Riftwardens send a team to the Worldwound to help bolster the Pathfinder Society's charge.

While teams of Pathfinders are gathering allies for their charge into the Worldwound, Marcos Farabellus and Aram Zey tasks a team of diplomats to go into the Realm of the Mammoth Lords and head to Tolguth to befriend locals of the area and create a safe staging area for the future assault on Jormurdun as well as gain any potential allies. Arriving in Tolguth, the Pathfinders are quickly able to make peace with Tolguth's leaders; Traros, Vanna Demonbreaker, and Bloodspeaker Olovon by providing weapons, armors and trade goods that are not normally found in the area. After negotiations, the Pathfinders are given three different areas that could be of use to the Pathfinders. During their exploration, the heroes are approached by a local Kellid scouting party, led by Dorok Bear's Claw, demanding the Pathfinders are brought to the tribe's leaders for their intrusion into the tribe's land. After the Pathfinders explain their reasoning behind their intrusion onto the Red Winter Tribe's land, the Red Winter Tribe's leaders, Thanock Sundered Bear and Bloodspeaker Velka, the heroes are tasked with slaying demons that have also encroached on the tribe's land in exchange for the Red Winter Tribe's help with the Pathfinder Society's charge towards the Sky Citadel. After following the crude maps and directions from the tribe elders, the Pathfinders are able to dispatch the demons and forge an alliance with the Red Winter Tribe. Successfully scouting the potential staging areas, the Pathfinders discuss this area with the Tolguth leaders and with masters in Absalom, securing not only a new staging area, but also new alliances in the process.

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Ongoing plot overview

As the Pathfinder Society begins their trek to the lost Sky Citadel, Jormurdun, a group of Pathfinders are sent to the city of Xer to locate a missing entourage of dwarven ambassadors that were captured on their way to Nerosyan. The Pathfinders locate a small Inn where the dwarvens were last seen, but must find a way in to rescue them without any of the Razmiran clergy finding out the Pathfinders were there. The Pathfinders locate the missing dwarves in the basement of the Inn just as they are caught by the local Razmiran priest. The dwarves mention to any Sczarni faction Pathfinders that they know of a contact in the city of Azir that might know more information about a Diamond Sage, one of the members of the Jeweled Sages order in Osirion. The Pathfinders defeat the priest and make their way out of Razmir without anyone noticing... hopefully. A small contingent of Pathfinders are sent with a platoon of Nerosyan soldiers to make their way to a fort that had taken heavy damage from the Siege of Nerosyan. As they make their way there, they are attacked by demons and must fend them off. They arrive at the fort, only to find out that a group of soldiers has been taken by a small army of demons and the Pathfinders are requested to save them. The Pathfinders follow the demons to a small outcropping in the heart of the Worldwound and destroy the demons to save the Pathfinders.

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Season 5 releases

This table can be sorted by scenario number, title, level tier, metaplot arc, venture-captain (or other official) assigning the mission, faction metaplot, location, or country.

PFS#	Title	Tier	Metaplot	V-C	Faction	Location	Country
5-00	Siege of the Diamond City	1-15		Jorsal of Lauterbury	None	Nerosyan	Mendev
5-01	Glass River Rescue, TheThe Glass River Rescue	1-5		Ambrus Valsin	Grand Lodge, Osirion, and Qadira	Xer	Razmiran
5-02	Wardstone Patrol, TheThe Wardstone Patrol	3-7		Jorsal of Lauterbury	Cheliax, Sczarni, and Silver Crusade	Fort Portolmaeus	Mendev
5-03	Hellknight's Feast, TheThe Hellknight's Feast	5-9	Low level expedition to Jormurdun	Ambrus Valsin, Gloriana Morilla, and Colson Maldris	Andoran and Taldor	Petal District, TheThe Petal District	Absalom
5-04	Stolen Heir, TheThe Stolen Heir	1-5		Brackett and Colson Maldris	Andoran and Taldor	Sauerton	Andoran
5-05	Elven Entanglement, TheThe Elven Entanglement	7-11	High level expedition to Jormurdun	Aram Zey	None	Tanglebriar	Kyonin
5-06	You Have What You Hold	3-7		Holgarin Smine	Sczarni	Tymon	River Kingdoms
5-07	Port Godless	5-9	High level expedition to Jormurdun	Obo	Cheliax, Osirion, and Qadira	Azir	Rahadoum
5-08	Confirmation, TheThe Confirmation	1	2013 Evergreen Scenario	Kreighton Shaine	None	Absalom	Isle of Kortos
5-09	Traitor's Lodge, TheThe Traitor's Lodge	3-7		Jorsal of Lauterbury	Grand Lodge	Nerosyan	Mendev
5-10	Where Mammoths Dare Not Tread	7-11	High level expedition to Jormurdun	Marcos Farabellus and Aram Zey	None	Tusk Mountains	Realm of the Mammoth Lords
5-11	Library of the Lion	1-5	Low level expedition to Jormurdun	Muesello and Gloriana Morilla	Cheliax, Grand Lodge, and Taldor	Oppara	Taldor
5-12	Bitter Bargain, AA Bitter Bargain	1-5	Destiny of Sands Part 1	Norden Balentiir and Amenopheus	Osirion, Qadira, and Sczarni	Eto	Osirion
5-13	Weapon in the Rift	5-9		Jorsal of Lauterbury	Silver Crusade	Riftshadow	Worldwound
5-14	Day of the Demon	3-7		Ambrus Valsin	None	Menador Mountains	Cheliax
5-15	Race to Seeker's Folly	1-5	Destiny of Sands Part 2	None (continuation of #5-12 A Bitter Bargain	Osirion	Deserts of Osirion	Osirion
5-16	Sanctum of the Sages	3-7	Destiny of Sands Part 3	Amenopheus	Osirion	Pillars of the Sun	Osirion
5-17	Fate of the Fiend	7-11	High level expedition to Jormurdun	Calisro Benarry	Cheliax	Rachikan	Cheliax
5-18	Stranger Within, TheThe Stranger Within	5-9		Ambrus Valsin	Andoran, Szcarni, and Qadira	Kaer Maga	Varisia
5-19	Horn of Aroden, TheThe Horn of Aroden	1-5	Low level expedition to Jormurdun	Gloriana Morilla and Sarrona Lebeda	Taldor	Rostland Plains	Brevoy
5-20	Sealed Gate, TheThe Sealed Gate	7-11	High level expedition to Jormurdun	Marcos Farabellus	Grand Lodge, Silver Crusade	Plains of the Realm of the Mammoth Lords	Realm of the Mammoth Lords, Hao Jin Tapestry
5-21	Merchant's Wake, TheThe Merchant's Wake	1-5		Esmayl ibn Qaradi and Aaqir al'Hakam	Qadira	Katheer	Qadira
5-22	Scars of the Third Crusade	1-5		Jorsal of Lauterbury	Silver Crusade	Dawnton	Mendev
5-23	Cairn of Shadows	5-9		Canayven Heidmarch	Andoran, Cheliax	Nisroch & Barrowmoor	Nidal
5-24	Assault on the Wound	3-7	Low level expedition to Jormurdun	Marcos Farabellus	Silver Crusade, Taldor	Frostmire Fen	Worldwound
5-25	Vengeance at Sundered Crag	7-11	High level expedition to Jormurdun	Marcos Farabellus	Grand Lodge	Frostmire	Worldwound
5-99	Paths We Choose, TheThe Paths We Choose	3-7		Drandle Dreng	All	Absalom	Isle of Kortos
5-EX	Silent Grave, TheThe Silent Grave	3-7		Ambrus Valsin	None	Bonekeep	Absalom
5-SP	Maze of the Mind Slave	3-7	Convention Special 2013	Kreighton Shaine	None	Bonekeep	Absalom