Interlude - Part 5

So ends the fifth part of "Rise of the Runelords" adventure path called "Sins of the Saviors". The party is now either 13th or 14th level.

Xantumal - 14th Level Druid of Gozreh
Preacher - 13th level Shoanti Cleric of Pharasma
Phain - 10th Level Sorcerer/ 4th Level Rogue
Nameless Monk of Thassilon - 14th level Monk

There is a break until mid August because of some people being gone during July and Gen Con in early August. (Plus this was a great place to leave off)

"Spires of Xin-Shalast" will continue in August with the party just entering the city.

Vraxeris's Journal

Here are the important excerpts from Vraxeris's Journal

Interlude - Part 4

So ends the fourth part of "Rise of the Runelords" adventure path called "Fortress of the Stone Giants". The party is now either 11th or 12th level.

Xantumal - 11th Level Druid of Gozreh
Mogart - 11th level Shoanti Barbarian of the Skoan-Quah clan.
Phain - 8th Level Sorcerer/ 4th Level Rogue
Khazen Dren - 1st Level Ranger/5th Level Wizard/6th Level Eldritch Knight

Here is the information they found out about Runeforge:

Runeforge was created as a place where agents of the seven Runelords could gather to study magic and develop new spells and magic items.

The Runelords wove wards around Runeforge that barred entrance into the complex to any Runelord or his direct agents, in order to keep the research within free from sabotage at the hands of an enemy.

Those who joined Runeforge joined for life. The complex’s constant renewal of air and a magical matrix sustained those within without the need to eat, drink, or even sleep.

The final project the Runelords set Runeforge on was the development of ways the Runelords could escape the imminent fall of their empire. Each faction developed a unique answer for its Runelord, based upon the underlying principles of that faction’s magical traditions.

Conna's Story about Mokmurian

In stone giant society, those born with an innate magical ability are often marked. Although these markings border on deformities, the stone giant gifted with sorcerous power can expect a role of honor and power in his tribe. The disadvantage of unsightly crystalline growths on the skin or a diminished physical stature are outweighed by the increase in social status and respect. Mokmurian was one of those born with a diminutive stature.

Mokmurian was late to show powers but once he did he his power grew quickly. Eventually he took a wife, and she discovered that he had hidden spellbooks and exposed his lie to the clan. He killed her with his magic in a rage, but before he could conceal his crime, his tribe’s elders found out. They burnt his books, censured him as a traitor, and exiled him into the wild.

Five years ago he came back and started to unite the various tribes by promising the lands of Varisia that were taken from us thousands of years ago. The elders would have nothing to do with it, but the younger giants were swayed by the promise of glory and riches. Mokmurian challenged the elders, his right by tradition, and slew them with powerful magic. Without the calming influence of the elders, the younger generation joined his cause. Mokmurian eventually swayed enough clans that even our own clan that exiled him had to join him.

Mokmurian set up his base here in Jorgenfist, previously off limits to all stone giants because it used to be a place of our old oppressors. Mokmurian invited my husband and I to this shrine to officially bring us into the fold, but instead betrayed us by killing my husband. He left me alive mainly because I wasn't enough of a threat, but also because he needed an elder for something.

Mokmurian began to brand the giants with his personal rune as a dign they belong in his army and are loyal to him first. They wear it with pride and is considered quite an honor in the army.

If you could kill Mokmurian, and prove he is dead, as an elder I could gain enough sway to convince the tribes that war time is over and to return home. Stone giants are not naturally warlike, and with the influence of their surviving elders things should return back to normal.

She tells you one more thing, that she has heard Mokmurian say a name that belonged to an Ancient Lords that enslaved her people long ago, Karzoug.

Interlude - Part 3

So ends the third part of "Rise of the Runelords" adventure path called "Hook Mountain Massacre". The party are now all 10th level and each of them has a cohort at 8th level. Here is what the party looks like now:

Xantumal - 10th Level Druid of Gozreh
Mogart - 10th level Shoanti Barbarian of the Skoan-Quah clan.
Phain - 6th Level Sorcerer/ 4th Level Rogue
Khazen Dren - 1st Level Ranger/5th Level Wizard/4nd Level Eldritch Knight

After the events at the end of Hook Mountain Massacre, the party traveled back to Kaer Maga to pick up some of the items they had purchased or upgraded, and also spent some more of their money buying additional items. On returning to Fort Rannick, additional recruits had arrived from Magnimar to become rangers. Needing to clean, repair and rebuild the fort would take time, but now they had plenty of help.

Here is a list of Fort Rannick troops:

Khazen Dren - Commander of Fort Rannick
Vale Temros - Officer
Xantumal - Officer, Coordinator of security in the forest around the fort
Shalelu - Officer
Jakardros - Officer and Chief Trainer of recruits
Mogart - Shoanti Ambassador at Fort Rannick
Preacher - Shoanti Ambassador at Fort Rannick

Each of the three players with leadership has followers manning the fort or the area. Khazen has a group from Magnimar of mostly criminals or down on their luck individuals looking for a second chance. Mogart brought a group of barbarians and rangers from the Storval Plateau. Xantumal has a contingent of forest animal to scout and report to the fort in case of any threats in the area.

After about a week, the party traveled back to Magnimar to report their findings and progress on rebuilding. Phain demanded and received a parade in his honor. Each of the players were rewarded with one magic item of 20,000 or less of their choice.

Everybody but Phain and Orik returned to Fort Rannick. Phain returned home to greet his wife, but now as a goblin instead of human. Assuring the town that he was not a goblin, but the hero that had saved them numerous times, the town came to accept him again. Phain and his Vinder in-laws worked to expand their business in town and in Magnimar.

Things were peaceful for awhile until rumors of attacks on villages and farmsteads began to surface. Magnimar sent out some patrols to find the bandits, but with no luck. Fort Rannick patrols started seeing increased stone giant activity and Magnimar's mayor specifically asked that the heroes that helped him go and find more information.

Khazen, Vale, Xantumal, Shalelu, Mogart and Preacher all headed out searching for giant raiding parties. Tracking some west of Sanos forest and North of the Malgorian Mountains, they eventually came to Wolf's Ear where their patrols had encountered some southwest by the Fogscar Mountains. Scouting around those mountains they headed south until they picked up a trail heading southwest. Soon the discovered that the raiding party was heading towards Sandpoint so they headed there straight away to warn them.

With Phain and Orik they asked for as many volunteers were willing to help defend the town. They also called in the militia. They evacuated as many people as they could into the smuggler's tunnels and the catacombs, and any other place they felt people could be safe.

In the morning....they came....

The next game will be the Battle of Sandpoint. It will take place at one of the player's houses, and the town will be built from miniature terrain. Pictures will follow!

Books on the Swords of Sin

The books they found and scanned talked about the Seven Swords of Sin. The Runelords in Thassilonia were wizard kings that styled themselves after one of the seven Virtues of Rule: wealth, fertility,honest pride, abundance, eager striving,righteous anger, and well-deserved rest. Disputes between Runelords were common and were often settled between their champions, who wielded powerful blades each tied to one of the seven virtues.

Over time, the Runelords became corrupt and they also corrupt the Virtues into Sins. Thassilonia fell to a catclysmic event, but the swords survived. They also found the name of each sword and what sin it is tied to.

Asheia, Longsword of Lust
Garvok, Greatsword of Wrath
Shin–tari,Short Sword of Sloth
Tannaris, Bastard Sword Envy
Chellan, Scimitar of Greed
Baraket, Rapier of Pride
Ungarato, Falchion of Gluttony

Lucrecia's Journal

After they cleared the keep, the party rested and read the Journal kept by Lucrecia.

Lamashan 19

Today I got word from Mokmurian that Xanesha was killed by a group of humans. She must have gotten really sloppy for them to even get a chance at killing her. He says they are leaving Magnimar, with a pair of Black Arrow Rangers, to come investigate the area so the timeline for our plans needs to be moved up.

Lamashan 22

Finally after being in this back water town for more than two years, the barge will sink tonight during a “special” members only party. I had Kaven over last night and set in motion Rannick’s fall next week. Jaagrath Kreeg secured the help from the Grauls yesterday as well, although I would consider the price he had to pay Mammy too high. Barl Breakbones must really be ruling the Kreegs with a “stone” fist to force Jaagrath to do that!

I am not looking forward to the next few days after I “die” since all I will be doing is laying low and waiting for the next phase to begin.

Lamashan 28

These Kreeg Ogres drive me crazy, they are filthy and crude! At least I got to claim the dungeon and have it decorated to my standards. I know Mokmurian is using them to further our Master’s goals, but I wish there was some other way to do it. Mokmurian was even mocking me about it when he was contacting me about the humans coming into Turtleback Ferry tomorrow. Too bad for them they will be too late to save it.

Lamashan 30

Blast those lazy Kreegs! Because they couldn’t handle a few trolls at Skull’s Crossing they fell behind schedule and now those humans lowered the build up of water today. Drowning the town is a little more sophisticated than other more direct methods, but one way or another Turtleback Ferry’s citizens will be dead.

Mokmurian says they will be heading to the fort tomorrow. I wonder who his spy is in that group giving him information. I guess I should be more concerned with who is the spy here giving him information on what I am doing. Either way, the dungeon here is the most secure place, and even if they could wade through all the Kreeg Ogres, by the time they get to me they will be ripe for the picking.

Neth 1

Tirana arrived today with Asheia, the final sword. The secret tunnel to the ancient Council of Truth stronghold was found in the crypt. Apparently she has most of the schematics to avoid its security protections. Once she reaches the Awakening Altar all Seven Swords of Sin will available. I will receive Baraket only after they finish Chellan, of course.

Interlude - Part 2

So ends the Second part of the "Rise of the Runelords" adventure path called "Skinsaw Murders". James Paladin Budwar has died and James will be playing a new character, a dwarven Eldritch Knight that belong to the "Order of the Black Arrows", a ranger group that protect a remote area from Ogres and Giants. His background will have a huge part in the next chapter, "Hook Mountain Massacre"

The party is now 7th or 8th level:

Xantumal - 7th Level Druid of Gozreh
Preacher - 7th Level Cleric of Pharasma
Phain - 4th Level Sorcerer/ 4th Level Rogue
Khazen Dren - 1st Level Ranger/5th Level Wizard/2nd Level Eldritch Knight

The group found a journal in Ironbriar's office:

Ironbriar used his position as Justice to cover up the Cult of Norgorber's murders as well as give them inside information on what the authorities were doing. His journal makes it clear enough that someone he refers to as the “Wanton of Nature’s Pagan Forms” has stolen his heart and provided him with a new method of murder, the Sihedron ritual. He involved Aldern in the ritual after he turned undead.

The ledger also indicates that Ironbriar has received payment from a group called the Red Mantis for delivery of “Vorel’s Legacy”, a fungus that was harvested from Foxglove Manor which was sent to the sinister group of assassins based in Cheliax.

They also found a note in the clock tower:

My dearest Xanesha!

I am so proud of what you are doing in Magnimar, with your band of murderers bringing souls to our Lord, fueling his awakening! Soon enough, Magnimar will be a much nicer place, with all of its greed sucked dry.

My plans are proceeding nicely up here in Turtleback Ferry. You wouldn’t think that greed could take a foothold in such a desolate area, but when you provide people with just a bit of hope for a better life, it is amazing how their greed rises to the top.

The only obstacle to my plans is Fort Rannick, but that will be taken care of shortly. Then nothing will stand in the way of our Lord coming back to life!

Soon, we shall be reunited and our Lord will begin his glorious reign over all of Golarion!

Lucrecia

Interlude

So ends the first part of the "Rise of the Runelords" adventure path called "Burnt Offerings". At this point, most of the party is 4th or 5th level. Gen Con is coming up and with it comes the final Pathfinder rules. After a two week break, we will resume playing and convert the characters to those rules.

The group found notes and a journal in Nualia's chamber. Here is a rundown of those notes for reference.

Nualia's Notes

The notes outline her plans to send an army of goblins against Sandpoint and to burn the town to the ground, not only to offer it all as a burnt offering to Lamashtu in hopes of being made a half-fiend, but to fuel the runewell in the catacombs below.

The notes go on to detail how to cause sinspawn to manifest from the runewell, and that if one were to overextend the runewell’s stores, it would be deactivated. Nualia wasn’t sure how to reactivate it, and several times stresses that the runewell shouldn’t be used much until after Sandpoint is razed and the deaths of hundreds of angry citizens and goblins have refilled the well.

Nualia's journals and notes were pieced together to find out a little of her story.

A foundling raised by Sandpoint’s religious leader, a man named Ezakien Tobyn, Nualia’s childhood was lonely and sad. Her unearthly beauty made the other children either jealous or shy, and many of them took to playing cruel jokes on her. The adults in town weren’t much better, many of the superstitious Varisians viewed Nualia as blessed by Desna, a sort of “reverse deformity.” Rumors that her touch or proximity could cure warts and rashes, that locks of her hair brewed into tea could increase fertility, and that her voice could drive out evil spirits led to endless awkward and humiliating requests over the years. Nualia felt more like a freak than a young girl by the time she came of age, so when Delek Viskanta began to court her, she practically fell into his arms in gratitdue.

Knowing that her father wouldn’t approve of a relationship with a Varisian because he wanted her to remain pure so that she could join one of the prestigious Windsong Abbey convents, they kept the affair secret. They met many times in hidden places, a favorite being an abandoned smuggler’s tunnel under town that Delek had discovered as a child. Before long, Nualia realized she was pregnant. When she told Delek, he revealed his true colors and, after calling her a slut and a harlot, fled Sandpoint rather than face her father’s wrath. Nualia’s shock quickly turned to rage, yet she had nowhere to vent her anger. She bottled it up, and when her father discovered her delicate condition, his reaction to her indescretions only furthered her shame and anger. He forbade her to leave the church, lectured her nightly, and made her pray to Desna for forigeness. In so doing, he nurtured her growing hate.

One night when she was about seven months pregnant, and she flew into a frenzy. She miscarried her child later that night, a child whose monstrously deformed shape she only glimpsed before the midwives stole it away to burn it in secret. The double shock of losing a child and the realization she had been carrying a fiend in her belly for seven months was too much. Nualia fell into a coma.

As Nualia slept, she dreamed unhealthy dreams. Fueled by wrath and the taint of Lamashtu, Nualia became further obsessed with the cruel demon goddess and the conviction that her wretched life was inflicted on her by those around her. She came to see her angelic heritage as a curse, and the demon-sent dreams showed her how to expunge this taint from her body and soul, replacing it with chaos and cruelty. When she finally woke, Nualia was someone new, someone who didn’t flinch at what Lamashtu asked of her. She jammed her father’s door shut as he slept, lit the church on fire, and fled Sandpoint.

The locals assumed Nualia had burned in the fire, a tragedy made all the worse by the death of Father Tobyn as well. Yet Nualia lived. She fled to Magnimar, where she enlisted the aid of a group of killers known as the Skinsaw Men. Seeing a kindred spirit in the tortured woman, the mysterious leader of the Skinsaw Men gave Nualia a medallion bearing a carving of a seven-pointed star called a “Sihedron medallion.” Nualia learned that she had a larger role to play, and that her dreams were a map to her destiny. Taking the advice to heart, Nualia returned to Sandpoint, and found herself drawn to the brick wall in the smuggler’s tunnels where she and Delek had conceived her deformed child. Nualia bashed down the wall, and in so doing, discovered the Catacombs of Wrath and the quasit Erylium, also a follower of Lamashtu. For many months, Nualia studied under Erylium’s tutelage. During this time, Nualia received another vision from Lamashtu—a vision of a monstrous goblin wolf imprisoned in a tiny room. In Nualia’s dreams, she learned that this creature, a barghest named Malfeshnekor, was also one of Lamashtu’s chosen. If she could find him and free him, he would not only help her achieve her vengeance against the town of Sandpoint, but he would be the key in cleansing her body of what she had come to see as her “celestial taint.” Nualia wanted to be one of Lamashtu’s children now. She wanted to become a monster herself.

Prelude

So begins Rise of the Runelords. Four people are heading to Sandpoint for various reasons, but will unite to face a multitude of danger. Here are the four future heroes that will be part of the story, as long as they can survive.

Phain - Having strange powers all his life he decided to eventually try and figure out why. His father always hinted at ties to an ancient civilization in Varisia and even taught Phain the language passed down over generations. Intrigued, he began to travel and examine ancient monuments to see if he could learn anything more about himself from them. He decided that Sandpoint's Old Light would be a good place to start as the bigger cities tended to have strict policies on examining the Thassilonian monuments.

Budwar - Budwar is a human paladin of Torag, which is almost unprecedented. Having grown up and lived in Korvosa, he was finding more and more the oppressive laws and the corruption, including the presence of the Hellknights was more than he could take. He accepted a task to go investigate the western region of Varisia where there was disturbing rumors of Ogres and Giants moving about. He was to take the boat to Magnimar and then make his way north up the coastline gathering any information he could and help those who couldn't help themselves.

He arrived in Magnimar and began to travel north. He met up on the road with a minor Magnimar noble names Aldern Foxglove who was traveling to Sandpoint to enjoy the Swallowtail festival and do some hunting. Always nice to have someone to travel with, they went the rest of the way together.

Preacher - "Preacher" Bloodmoon is a cleric of Pharasma from the Shoanti clan Skoan-Quah. As protector of the Shoanti history and their dead. Most of the Shoanti are uncomfortable around the Skull Clan, and most people react that way to Preacher. Preacher has a half-brother training to be a clan leader one day.

Preacher was sent a vision one night in a dream. When he awoke, he knew that he was supposed to travel immediately to Sandpoint and learn why there were souls not arriving to Pharasma to be judged. Assuming a Varisian disguise he left immediately not telling anyone where he was going, even his brother.

Xantumal - Xantumal is a druid from the forests of Sanos. He bonded at a early age with a wolf that he named Hogie. One day the other local druids called a meeting as there were ogres, giants, and other strange monsters moving about the forest and the surrounding areas. They decided they needed to gather more information so they split off in different directions and sent Xantumal to the cities in the west as he was the youngest of the druids.

Having taken a boat down many of the rivers, stopping through towns he eventually made it to Magnimar, where he found little help from the mayor in getting any answers. He decided his next stop was Sandpoint.