Heading into the fifth adventure in the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path, we've already saved Sandpoint (again), discovered and solved some disturbing problems with a variety of giants (hill, stone, -kin, undead, etc), cornered and defeated a pair of lamia cleric twins what seemed like a dozen times, and met the stone giant necromancer Mokmurian (and hopefully taken his club)! Looking around the ancient library lair, you find important-looking references to a lost storehouse of Thassilonian magic known as the Runeforge.
Meanwhile, back in Sandpoint, a mysterious sinkhole has opened up a new area of the ruins underneath the unassuming coastal town. Suspiciously close to the area where you found your "old friend" Tsuto Kaijitsu delving for trouble back in the first adventure, we finds signs of recent activity, along with a pack of nasty braying beasts befitting the moniker of the Mother of Monsters. You're sure to hear their maddening howls before you see the Hounds of Lamashtu, but even if you strike one down, you'll still need luck or mettle—or both—to close the location.
Bad Doggy!
These hounds don't have a keeper, but that doesn't mean that they're on their own. Caught between the Thassilonian masters of Wrath and Greed, the thaumaturge once known as Xaliasa fled the consequences of his treachery and swore eternal devotion to Lamashtu. With the resurgence of the runewells, the Mistress of Insanity has raised her late cleric and bound him to the runewell. But Xaliasa is no more—instead we find the broken thaumaturge endlessly scribing Lamashtu's wisdom on the walls, floor, and ceiling of his shrine, and also on the flesh of its visitors. Are you ready to receive the wisdom of the Demon Mother?
Whatever shall I use for ink?
If you do manage to corner the Scribbler—a couple of times, at least, since he keeps Word of Recall and Heal ready—you might be able to discern from his scattered writings an ancient secret. In his former service to two different Runelords, the Scribbler managed to discover an entrance to the Runeforge, a secret library, laboratory, and foundry of Thassilonian magic — the same place mentioned in Mokmurian's library at the end of Adventure 4. Here and there among the maunderings covering the Scribbler's shrine, you piece together the location of an entrance to this lost foundry. In a cold, remote place known as Rimeskull, you seek an ring of ominous, carved stone monuments.
I wonder what these things do?
Before you can harness the power of the Sihedron Circle, you'll have to master the standing stones. Incredibly old but still bearing powerful enchantments, each stone head much be disabled, broken, or appeased in turn. Not the simplest task anyone has ever attempted, and probably not the safest. Your reward for success? You get to meet Arkrhyst, the Freezemaw. Lucky you!
Apparently, they shoot lightning. And summon dragons. Yay?
While that's quite a bit of bad news, it's not all bad news in Adventure 5: Sins of the Saviors. I've showed you the first few threats, but there are also plenty of new boons to help you out. On the combat side of things, we have a nasty crossbow that can inflict massive damage, as long as your target cares about things like circulation and respiration. It's good against most creatures you might happen to trip over, and it can be downright lethal to fleshy targets like The Scribbler.
Meanwhile, Disintegrate packs both utility and destruction into one glowing green package. Whether you want to blast your way through locks and walls, or dust a pesky dead, undead, or about-to-be-dead creature, this spell is for you. It's useful in the scroll-tube of a collector or dabbler like Merisiel or Harsk, and it can be devastating in the hands of Ezren, Lem, or Seoni—and even if you don't manage to finish it off before it can get to you, the beastie will trouble you no more.
Those two don't look friendly.
Shooting and blasting are all well and good, but what about those of a more… material mindset? Put another way, killing the bad guys and taking their stuff is good, but maybe we can optimize away that first step? If this interests you, I have a card for you: the unassuming but unbelievably tasty Wand of Treasure Finding. Some people will want to use it to increase the odds of finding the key boons in a scenario, while others will be more interested in examining the location deck. I say "Why choose, when you can have both?"
Knowledge is power, and loot is awesome.
Finally, I have one more little helper for your adventures into the ruins of the ancient magical empire of Thassilon. Whatever you think of her size, shape, or various movie appearances, I assure you that she is indeed a very clever girl. On top of all that, she's Gaby's favorite card in all of the Rise of the Runelords: Velociraptor!
RAAAAAAAAWWR! Velociraptor!
These are a few of the denizens and delights waiting for you as you begin Adventure 5: Sins of the Saviors. Starting underneath the normally quiet, currently battered town of Sandpoint, you'll end up exploring ruins of Thassilon lost almost a hundred centuries earlier. If you're brave, clever, and lucky, you will explore the lost halls of the Runeforge and survive—and perhaps learn how to harness rune magic yourself, to turn it against its former masters.
I assure you, you're going to want every advantage you can get.
Thanks for playing!
Chad Brown
Pathfinder Adventure Card Game Developer
