Zandu staightened up from his writing desk, the candles all flickering on their dying wicks. His eyes were exhausted and back ached, but he had finally finished transcribing the variant spells discovered in the odious derro Vreeg's spellbook. He called an unseen servant to fetch him the wine he had chilling and settled into a pipe he had promised himself as a reward for finishing his task. As thick rings hovered overhead he reflected over the events that led to this spellbook coming into his possession, and events that had happened since.

When Vreeg the necromancer was brought to justice under Bordana's stern gaze, his spell book was claimed by Zandu, who at the time was wryly amused at the fact that his first prize of magic combat to the death was a tome of the spells he found most difficult to read, let alone use. The variants made it a great prize none the less. Now, it would seem his battle was again against the very forces of magic that were shadowy and dim  to Zandu - necromancy, with disease and rot. He barely knew the rudimentary basics of its magic, and it seemed he was in need of an expert, or at least an educated student.

Jolistina Susperio was as enigmatic as she was charismatic. She too, was an Acadamae Graduate, and an accomplished summoner in her own right. Her specialty, however, was necromancy, magics that could twist and control life energies, even after death. It was hard to know for sure, but Zandu believed her to be roughly the same age as he - within a couple of years any way. She was cool and distant to everyone, except two other women who were close associates. It seemed you never saw one of the trio alone, though rarely you would come across only 2 of them. All three were excellent mages, and known for impressive magical stamina, Jolistina especially always seemed to have one more spell ready than her opponent or rival. Of course the closeness of this trio led to many ribald rumors and stories, but Zandu believed he knew the true drawstring that bound them together. He believed, though he never voiced his opinion, that they were all sorceresses studying wizardry. They called themselves the Ashen Sisters, and Jolistina was their undisputed maven. Surely she would be interested in Vreeg's spellbook, and he might be able to exchange it to her for some information and perhaps some protection against the coming plagues.

His last task before retiring was to pen a note, a dinner invitation at a place of her choosing, to be sent to Madam Susperio through acadamae channels. The note included a teaser of the book he hoped to show and trade to her. He happily allowed the candles to burn out, and smoked as he fell asleep in a comfortable chair.

Harrow Point Uses-Seven Days to the Grave

Harrow Point Uses

In “Seven Days to the Grave,” the PCs are faced with numerous situations where health and resolve win the day.  During this adventure, a character can spend his Harrow Points in the following ways. 

Constitution Rerolls: Spend a Harrow Point to reroll a Fortitude saving throw, Concentration check, or other Constitution-based d20 roll. You must abide by the new result (although if you have additional Harrow Points remaining, you can use them to attempt additional rerolls).

Fast Hit Point Recovery: Spend a Harrow Point after resting for a minute to catch your breath and recover from your recent ordeals—you heal a number of hit points equal to your class level and 1 point of ability damage (but not ability drain) each time you do so. You may spend a Harrow Point in this manner once after each encounter. 

Damage Reduction: Spend a Harrow Point to gain damage reduction 3/—. This damage reduction persists for the duration of the encounter in which you spent the Harrow Point.

The Chosen

In addition, the card a PC draws during the choosing has special qualities during this adventure. Each of these cards is tied to a specific moment foretold in their Harrow reading.  In “Seven Days to the Grave,” when a PC who drew that card reaches that moment:

He gains a +2 bonus on all rolls modified by Constitution

A number of temporary hit points equal to twice his character level.

These bonuses last for the encounter’s duration. 

The Trumpet:  (area F8)

The Survivor: (area G14)

The Desert: (Area D3)

The Brass Dwarf: (area E)

The Teamster: (area B)

The Mountain Man: (area A)

The Tangled Briar: (area C6)

The Sickness: (area F2)

The Waxworks: (area G5)

My notes are sketchy, but here is what I have for review.

We started up just a few days after the brave appearance of Black Jack. ThE gaurds of the post we work with had taken a collection and wished to provide the funeral with a military burial ( we found him in twisted undeath in the grays when we recovered the shoanti noble ). A reception was hosted and the night was lost to drink. An adept in the service of Melani, Patron Goddess of Uprisings, introduced herself to me and we haggled a bargain that would allow me to summon her via the new "summon NPC" spell. In return, I am to provide an extravagant gift to her shrine ( it will be a holy symbol worth 100 gp).

The next morning, we were visited by armigers, hell knights who seemed primarily interested in hearing Bordanas version of the account of the appearance of Black Jack. They seemed to treat her position in her faith very respectfully, and accepted her words as the standard others' recountings were to be compared to. 

we visited with the watch captain later that day, who suggested we visit Orsini's neighborhood. Although she never said the words together, she asked us questions until she was confidant we knew he was Black Jack and we were friendly to their methods. Here is where my notes get sketchy, I think she also gave us a name of a man who suspected to be involved with the kidnappings that Rob's character is struggling to recall. He was said to work a rope supply shop. We went to the shop on the way to Orsinis. We watched and observed for a while but decide to come back after dark, for the 'special cuts' as it were. we were evidently spotted , but that wouldnt become evident until the next day. 

At Orsinis, an advisor of his said he hadnt been seen in a few days, but bade us to stay the night. We thought this might have given a chance to meet with him, but it was not to be.We left early the next morning, just in time to be ambushed by a group of thugs from the rope shop. A fight ensued, which i remember as very tough with a spellcaster involved. I remember charm spells, having summoned a grappling warrior, and summoning Kush to help us fight as well. Thats about all I got, feel free to comment or add details.

Citadel Vraid-Hellknight Order of the Nail

Some 15 miles south of Korvosa stands Citadel Vraid, the black-iron fortress of the Hellknight Order of the Nail. From its grim fastness, this autonomous legion of law-bringers seeks to enforce its own harsh vision of order upon Varisia, meting out law with blade and iron-shod boot. Unconcerned with the petty trivialities of morality, Hellknights are fanatics of law, adhering only to their harsh, Cheliax-born vision of order and their own unyielding vision of honor.

Vreeg's Spellbook

Spellbook of Vreeg the Derro Necromancer

3rd—extended false life (already cast), fly, vampiric touch, gentle repose, water breathing

2nd—blindness/deafness, extended shield, scorching ray, spectral hand, command undead, darkness, scare,

1st—cause fear , chill touch, magic missile, ray of enfeeblement, sleep, feather fall, mage armor,

0—every cantrip excluding conjuration and illusion ones

Also in Vreeg’s spellbook are a collection of spell variants.  These pages are all on different types of paper and look to have been torn from other books, possibly stolen from graves.

Drawn From: Pages 1 to 5 of The Genius Guide to 110 Spell Variants.

Because the following are all variants of existing spells, we present only a minimal sketch of each spell.  Any information not presented or mentioned is the same as the base spell the variant is built off. These spell descriptions are so short, it's silly to list each one multiple times if it happens to appear on more than one class spell list. As a result, each spell variant lists what class and level it is designed for after its name. In cases where the spell appears at different levels for different classes, it is listed with the level of the first class to gain it. Other information such as School, [Descriptor], Casting Time, components, Range, Area, Targets, Duration, Saving Throw, and Spell Resistance are only given if they differ from the base spell. 

Dancing Shadows (Cleric 0, Sorcerer/Wizard 0)

As dancing lights, but it creates 1 to 4 motes of darkness, each reducing light by 1 step.

Detect Alchemy (Alchemist 1, Sorcerer/Wizard 0)

As detect poison, but it detects objects created through alchemy and alchemical reagents rather than magic.

Tie/Unfasten (Sorcerer/Wizard 0)

As open/close, but it affects rope, string, lacing, straps, and similar objects that hold knots.

Caustic Cloud [acid] (Sorcerer/Wizard 1)

As sound burst but it deals 1d6 acid, +1 per 2 levels, and targets save or are blinded for 1 round.

Summon Minion I (Wizard 1)

As summon monster I, but it summons NPCs from the Advanced Gamemastery Guide that have a CR at least 1 lower than creatures monster summoning I would produce. The same rules can be used to create summon minion II–IX, based on summon monster I–IX.

Touch of Frailty (Sorcerer/Wizard 2)

As touch of idiocy but it reduces Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution rather than Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. It might make feats useless if their prerequisites are no longer met.

War Staff (Sorcerer/Wizard 2)

Target: Staff in your hands As magic weapon but your staff makes 1 attack/round as a free action, using your caster level as the attack bonus. This ability cannot be used when the staff is in anyone else’s possession.

Glide (Sorcerer/Wizard 3)

As spider climb, but you don’t need any free limbs to move, and you ignore difficult terrain rather than climb up walls.

Secret Pockets (Sorcerer/Wizard 3)

Target: one bag, pouch, pocket, or similar container

As greater magic weapon, but it turns containers into bags of holding (the type equals 1 every 4 caster levels) rather than the normal benefit.

Post Script Most of these spell variants began life as twitter entries on author Owen K.C. Stephens Twitter account (@Owen_Stephens). New variant spells are regularly featured in the author’s posts, and marked with the hashtag #Spelltweet. Also, some compiled spelltweets can be found at www.d20pfsrd. com/extras/3pp-previews/-spelltweets.