How to make Shalelu matter


Rise of the Runelords


Shalelu is a guide NPC who shows up in Burnt Offerings with essentially no other purpose than to bring news about the goblin threat. She shows up later to advance the plot into the Hook Mountain Massacre, but she doesn't have much characterization or story importance. My players are really taken to her, and I don't want her to be that character that just shows up to prod them in the direction of the plot. How can I make her matter more to the overarching story?


AttilaThePun wrote:
Shalelu is a guide NPC who shows up in Burnt Offerings with essentially no other purpose than to bring news about the goblin threat. She shows up later to advance the plot into the Hook Mountain Massacre, but she doesn't have much characterization or story importance. My players are really taken to her, and I don't want her to be that character that just shows up to prod them in the direction of the plot. How can I make her matter more to the overarching story?

I had her go on side quest with characters to make her more of an important figure. ROTRL has all kinds of neat tricks you can do with the story to make it more fun and interesting for the players

The Exchange

Shalelu is also stated out as a potential Cohort if one of your PCs takes the Leadership feat. Beyond that, you could certainly make her more importamt to the PCs in lots of ways.

In our game she started out as one of our party member's trainers/teachers. She could also serve as a romantic intrest to a more serious PC, in contrast to the more over the top portrayal of Shayless Vinder.


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Shalelu is mortal enemies with Bruthazmus. My group bonded with her by taking her along to Thistletop, and the battle with the bugbear was more memorable because of it. I had Shalelu recount some stories of previous encounters with the bugbear.

There is tension between Shalelu and her step-father, Jakardos. In my game she pretty much blamed him for her mother's death. I challenged my group to take a side after getting to know both characters, as tension boiled to a head between them. From the moment they find the Black Arrows the story is pretty action packed, so Shalelu kind of simmered (ogres in Rannick were more important than their reunion) until there was an opportune time to vent her frustrations. They sided with Shalelu, and the drama associated with that made for good roleplay.

Shalelu was then promoted to a member of the main party, where she became romantically involved with a PC, another elf ranger. They plan to retire together and live out their lives patrolling the Sandpoint forests for goblins.

So really, Shalelu has a lot of room for roleplay if your players will bite for that sort of thing.


I have my own plans for Shalelu, but I thought I'd share what happened in another group I'm familiar with...

Bruthauzmus escaped Thistletop and later, unbeknownst to the PC's, captured Shalelu. When they found out they set out to rescue her, braving the lair of a group of 'renegade' Bugbears to do so. When they found her, she was bound to a tree in the center of the settlement and had been more more than two weeks... Brauthazmus had been using her for target practice, and had the bugbear's shaman heal her periodically - but he left the arrows in when they did. She had barely been fed, enough to keep her alive... it was pretty horrific and made him a truly wicked and despicable villain. It also made her incredibly sympathetic and respected by the group when they finally freed her.

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