i may be running RotRL this summer for some new players (plus two old guard) that played it years ago. They are all built for Undead hunting and I have no problem switching out settings, but really need some thoughts on what undead to swap in for the first few modules. If they get past 3/6 I will be delighted. Maybe next Summer...
I'm going along with the idea that you want to disguise that they are playing RotRL. Some quick ideas to facilitate that off the top of my head (through the first 3 chapters)
I'd suggest pilfering some Carrion Crown material.
As for substitutions -
Burnt Offerings -
Goblins -> Zombies (it pains me to make this suggestion, I've be "over" zombies for a long time) And run the Festival as more of a Carnival/Day of the Dead type event.
Skinsaw -
Ghouls -> Werewolves
Habe's Sanitorium becomes a haunted undead Sanitorium
Watch some 80's Werewolf movies
Skinsaw Cultists -> Drow (another simple change to make)
Hook Mountain -
Ogres and Ogre-kin -> Shadows and Greater Shadows
I'm thinking to re-skin some things too, as I might have to GM long before I planned (I wanted to GM Hell's rebel, but might have to take my turn sooner)
I'm thinking about giving Runelords more Lovecraftian love. My plan is to make Runelords and runelord magic more involved with Dark Tapestry, and extend-increase the pressence of Karzaug in the AP, specially in the begining.
Nualia might be a half-aberration, instead of a Lammashu's child. Malfeshnekor might be a Hound of Tindalos. Maybe the sin-spawns are some kind of aberrations too. I'm thinking about maybe changing the runewells a bit, but Sin magic is also cool, so I might have to find some connection between sins, and Dark Tapestry.
If you want to make it more like that, and I think the AP certainly could support it. There's plenty of depravity and madness.
You'll need to do a bit more behind the scenes changes.
I'd eliminate the whole Runelords - make Karzoug the only big cheese.
Mokmurian in a mind controlled puppet who THINKS he's Karzoug.
Naulia is K's descendant, and Mal is some being who can further aid in ensuring K's rebirth.
The most challenging part actually is Burnt Offerings.
Perhaps replace the Goblins with Boggards, but make them more interested in breaking into town to pray at the stones in the Cathedral?
I was actually thinking about removing the Well of Wrath for a Well of Greed (need to change a few stuff in the background -like Chopper's motivation- but that's easy). Maybe making Karzaug THE runelord (or make Emperor Xin the BBEG himself?) could allow for a different approach, where all runewells are able to spread/feed from all sins. It might be worthile to spend a few hours thinking about it :)
The quasit-witch might be some qlippoth or something like that, or just re-skin her. A quasit-Dark Tapestry Oracle for example would be a good mentor for Nualia. Graze Sevilla or however is called the crazy dude is perfect for this, and the Skinsaw murder is plain AWESOME as a mad serial killer. The lich's manor could become a perfect lovecraftian horror manor (I'm remembering now the old videogame Alone in the Dark, top3 videogame I've played, ever)
The hillbilly ogres in book 3 could be a golarion version of Dunwich horror.
I think the idea has some possibilities, indeed. Just need a bit extra horror for Mokmurian and book 4, and I think everything would be ok
I agree - its not that far of a stretch.
Honestly though I'd remove the Sin aspect entirely.
Karzoug needs money to get rare stuff to...
...open a portal to the Beyond.
...manifest fully on this plane.
...call forth his secret allies.
...because he's crazy and wants to build the biggest gold foil hat ever.
...assembling a full copy of the Necronomicon is expensive.
...umm did I mention crazy?
Most of the rest of the path works pretty well - you can just add a bunch of mind controlling slugs to the stone giants and about everything else falls into place.
As for the OP, Bwang,
Perhaps the end of Hook Mountain is a army of Skeletal Warriors, and Fortress of the Stone Giants is more Skeletal Warriors (K is raising the army of the dead immortals)
My Sandpoint scene and some of the Burnt Offerings is going to have several 'burning' undead types, harkening back to a fight I ran last summer on a burning galleon. The werewolf and Shadow adds will make nice diversions, can't let them get too focused and a visit to the Shadow Realms will do that for sure (my Shadows aren't always undead).
The Necronomicon! Dang! Wish I had thought of that as an ultimate goal! Ack!
A burning galleon full of flaming zombies crashing on to the coast of Sandpoint during a Day of the Dead festival sounds GREAT!
Instead of money, karzoug can still need souls. Maybe not sinful, but souls. Skinsaw works just too well as written to mess with it
I'm still unconvinced about the giants, although maybe some aboleth mindlord couod work
I was thinking of something more like Spawning Canker infested stone giants or some such.
A reskinning of the giants might work if you rewrite them as alien quasi-aberrations as per Attack on Titan.
I think I found the right reskin of the giants, and it's not even needed to go that far.
In Lost Kingdoms, when talking about Thassilonian Empire, they talk about Inverted Giants.
Mokmurian as a dark sorcerer, with an army of inverted giants, should work perfectly.
I think I found the right reskin of the giants, and it's not even needed to go that far.
In Lost Kingdoms, when talking about Thassilonian Empire, they talk about Inverted Giants.
Mokmurian as a dark sorcerer, with an army of inverted giants, should work perfectly.
Just read up on them, horrific! I could make them undead with little effort.
Memorial Day:
Ran Sandpoint with waves of skeletons and other low end undead as the bad guys. I salted in a few that fell apart, yet still fought (think 'the Mummy'). Two players actually mounted up and caught several of the skeleton between them on the street. The bowman got upset that he wasn't death on a string against them. He did cap the necromancer in charge. The Cleric tapped out on channeling and had to grab his mace and shield. Ended with a wall fight between the Rogue and Fighter against an undead champion. All enjoyed themselves.