"Descent Into Midnight" Trivia Quiz

Answer: Doomsday Points

After assisting the Winter Council at the end of "A Memory of Darkness", Queen Telandia will issue an apology for the events that transpired and candidly ask for assistance in stopping Allevrah once and for all. Allevrah plans to use Earthfall Glyphs, and soon, to bring about a catastrophe, pulling asteroids from the sky to destroy Kyonin (and likely send Golarion into another generation of darkness).

The clock is ticking throughout this final chapter of the campaign, and the Adventure Path prescribes Doomsday Points to track the urgency. Though these points can be reduced by removing Focus Glyphs underground, the adventure will likely come to a near-conclusion when the total Doomsday Score reaches 20; it'll mean that Allevrah succeeds in executing her plot.

Answer: Shaitan Genie

The heroes of this story are sent deep underground into the Land of Black Blood, a deep corner of the Darklands found hundreds of miles away from the surface of Golarion. Before advancing on the Focus Glyphs, it makes sense to stop off at the Shrine of Bound Earth to speak to the obsidian genie waiting there, Haiten Bhaq, but visitors will be greeted by someone else, yet another of the Azrinaes in disguise, attempting to lie their way through an encounter. If visitors can find Haiten Bhaq in the cellar and promise freedom, they can learn a ton more about the areas to visit in the Land of Black Blood and, maybe, get a wish.

Otherwise, they'll be misled into visiting some of the less-exciting, more dangerous landmarks of the region.

Answer: The Crystal Plaza

Although there's no single way to approach the Focus Glyphs and the order in which they're wiped out, the Glyph of Renewal is a smart contender for the first on the list since its power allows it to restore any other destroyed Glyphs in twenty-four hours. Without disabling it, visitors to the Land of Black Blood are likely to retrace their steps until they get it right. To get to this one, you would need to visit the Crystal Plaza, an area that plays home to an abyssal harvester known locally as The Feasting Damnation.

Its ability to pull people into another dimension with its many tentacles is likely to be an off-putting trait. A hero with a strong heal check is likely to make the shortest work of the Glyph.

Answer: The Glyph of Vigilance

The Hanging Jungle in the west end of the Land of Black Blood is one of the less-appealing environs to stop by, but it's a key spot to be for anyone trying to get the jump on Allevrah since the Glyph of Vigilance, found there, alerts Allevrah whenever someone is working on destroying a Focus Glyph.

In effect, she's able to track the heroes' progress through the area. The Fetid Palace is home to a neothelid known as The Moldering Emperor, and as if that weren't bad enough, the region is home to disease-laden waters and toxic spores. To destroy the Glyph of Vigilance, someone with a strong bluff check would be best suited to the task of calming it down.

Answer: Charda

The Rotstone Towers, found in a mud flat in the Land of Black Blood, are just the surface of this area. Visitors looking for the Glyph of Watching will need to descend into the Charda Dens below the surface here either by infiltrating the towers or falling into a Muck Lion's sinkhole and, even then, they need to find their way into a charda hatchery (maintained by Orrn, a troglodyte guard).

The Glyph of Watching is critical to take care of if only because it allows Allevrah to track the movements of the party disabling the Focus Glyphs. To take it out, someone needs to excel with either a disable device or a use magic device check.

Answer: Drexinis

Found on an island between rivers of black blood, the Bloodforge is a stronghold occupied by Drexinis, one of Allevrah's drow ex-lovers who's taken on a leading role in securing glyph sites. Visitors to the Bloodforge will need to contend with more than just Drexinis though-- he's protected by a ghoulish priestess, clouds of black blood, and dire bats. Anyone who can best these foes can find the Glyph of Defense which, if deactivated with intimidate skill checks, will remove some of the defenses possessed by some of the other glyphs-- the Glyph of Fury, in particular, is tough to get to without this step taken.

Answer: On a cliff face

Although the Weeping Cliffs are the closest to the Shrine of Bound Earth, it almost makes sense to visit it last because the Glyph of Fury is likely the least essential in terms of its abilities, at least in the way of deactivating the other Focus Glyphs.

This one, deactivated with a diplomacy check to charm the anger from the area, allows all Focus Glyphs to shoot off bolts of electricity to protect themselves. If it's quelled, that'll stop. The Glyph of Fury, found on the side of the cliff face 1,000 feet above the ground, is also surrounded by a group of ropers who strive to protect it at all costs.

Answer: The Blood Basilica

The Throne of Abraxas, found in the center of the Land of Black Blood, is the final destination to be visited if anyone wants to storm the Blood Basilica and face Allevrah Azrinae once and for all. Anyone can do this upon arriving in the Land of Black Blood (as in, before taking out the Focus Glyphs), but taking the extra steps to traverse these forsaken underground lands will go a long way in reducing the power flowing into the building here. Most of the Throne of Abraxas is impossible to reach due to the surrounding landscape, so anyone storming the Basilica has to enter via one of two ways, and both are risky and well-guarded.

Answer: Cleric

There's no redemption for Allevrah Azrinae who, having become a drow, has crossed too far past the line reverse her plan to bring an end to Kyonin. A follower of Abraxas and a demonic disciple, she is both wildly adept at spellcasting and using her whip, the Lash of Abraxas, to bring down enemies in the Grand Temple within the Blood Basilica. Only when she's defeated can heroes attempt to deactivate the Master Glyph, a highly-complex magical creation that can only be deactivated when she's not there to get in the way.

Answer: False

While skill checks are likely to be the quickest way, they are by no means the only way. The Master Glyph, found in the Grand Temple of Abraxas, is destroyed by completing a series of DC 30 skill checks based on the order denoted by the five Focus Glyphs (at least based on the order in which they feed into the Basilica). Each one of those skill checks can be replaced by specific spells as well (instead of diplomacy, for instance, Calm Emotions can still rid the Glyph of Fury's power).

The third alternative is damaging the glyph, but at 1,000 HP and Fast Healing 20, the glyph is a powerful foe. Exploration of the antechambers of the Blood Basilica will reveal that Allevrah was only a pawn in a larger scheme, perhaps in the same way the adventurers of the campaign might have felt they were during the story, as Alistraxia, an envoy of the demon Abraxas, will appear to state that win or lose, Allevrah was able to remind the world that the power of the aboleths is still there, always ready to plunge the world into darkness.