In preparation for Pathfinder 2nd Edition, I decided to run my long-time gaming group through Rise of the Runelords. We had done it all; Dark Heresy, Call of Cthulhu, Dungeons and Dragons 5E, 13th Age, Dresden Files, Game of Thrones, Homebrew and (most importantly) Pathfinder. Yet we also have never truly run through an Adventure Path.
I strived for this game to be a celebration of something that we've all played for so long together, and as such invested heavily in getting everyone to collaborate on backstories and character investment. In some part, however, this was also my opportunity to hone myself further as a DM, and to showcase the lessons I've learned. I worked hard to invest my players in the game through discussion, game prep and pointing them in the right direction regarding backgrounds and resources to help flesh those aspects of their character more fully. That out of the way, some game background before discussing the first session:
- I did not inform any of my players at the time (aside from the one player whose run the first half of Part 1) that we were running an Adventure Path. This was more for the surprise factor then anything else; the group has already had experience with me as a DM, and as such I wanted to keep the players guessing in regards to the direction that this game would go. The reception was quite positive for the reveal, so I'm glad I made that call early on. I also helped navigate point-buy with my players, who were able to build some character strengths and backstory by stats alone. I was very proud.
- The game would have a couple of house-rules which would establish the world, and help with balancing without needing to change the game as extensively. They are as follows:
1. Pathfinder Second Edition introduced armor and certain spells that raised both AC and Touch AC. I jumped at the chance to incorporate that immediately, especially with three spell-casters in the party. In this case, magic armor (and any spell which give bonuses to AC such as mage armor), certain magic items that give armor bonuses and a majority of mundane metal/heavy armor would increase Touch AC.
2. Incremental negatives for Intimidate and Diplomacy rolls for player characters when attempting these actions against higher level enemies. This has been done for quite some time in my games, and works great for early balancing while proving negligible at higher levels as intended.
3. Finally I introduced the different human ethnic groups found in Varisia, due to the emphasis placed in ROTRL on actually knowing where people come from in this campaign. So I expanded the languages that characters could learn to include Shoanti, Varisian and Tian. I also made it a point to name-drop these groups during the campaign.
- Lastly I decided to give each player (once I had their character name, background and a check on their character sheet by the DM) a personal item which could be used 1/day based on their backstory. One of these would prove quite useful within the first session.
With all that out of the way, I'm excited to begin the tale of my adventurers as we travel to Sandpoint and experience the wonders of lunacy and festivities. I will be making another post due to the length of this one which will detail the characters and backgrounds before I move forward with the session recap. If anyone has questions in the interim between posts, I'll do my best to answer them!
Backgrounds, Introductions and Session 1(05/16/2018)
Well... this has been quite the week! After three sessions, it looks like there will be plenty to discuss regarding the adventures and missteps of the heroes of Sandpoint.
I had mentioned before the backgrounds for these characters were incoming. Many of the players worked on their backstories by mixing together Ultimate Campaign material alongside personal feedback and collaboration with myself and the other players. When I told them that a campaign journal was being made of our exploits, they allowed me to help write a more comprehensive backstory for their characters which could be utilized for the journal. We've been communicating for the past week to discuss each persons background; I would send a draft expanding and elaborating on what they had already discussed with me, and in turn I would make changes as instructed or approved. Expect these stories and backgrounds to be uploaded upon completion. That out of the way, a quick introduction! As the game sessions continue, hopefully their personalities shine through and you get an idea of how the party plays.
Keshazha Miazz: Catfolk Ninja (Worshipper of Desna)
Tatara: Half-Orc Shaman (Worshipper of Gozreh)
Orvah Khajir: Half-Orc Oracle (Life, Worshipper of Sarenrae)
Karan: Kitsune Sorcerer (Infernal bloodline)
Wolfgang Baron: Human Fighter (Viking, Worshipper of Gorum)
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Part 1:
Introductions out of the way, and pizza in the oven, the game had finally begun as the group spread out around the table. And we rolled initiative. (As other campaign journals have done, PC names will be bolded for easy searching and convenience)
Karan was engulfed by the sounds of war. A blood red sun hung in the sky as bodies were laid bare on the ground. He was surrounded in death and the stench of copper and fear. He closed his eyes, and awoke in a cold sweat inside The White Deer. He sighed, and began to put all of his items in order and ready for the day's festivities. One by one the other's awoke.
Keshazha awoke in a dingy bed inside the Fatman's Feedbag, where he had been staying on the cheap. Tatara awoke with her joints aching, but glad that the bed supported her back and that she was no longer on the high seas. Still, however, it took some time for her to move herself out of bed and to awaken her traveling partner, whom she gently nudged. Orvah was not surprised when she felt herself being softly jostled awake, and both her and Tatara moved to the downstairs where the innkeeper by the name of Ameiko greeted them warmly as the owner of the Rusty Dragon Inn. Finally Wolfgang woke as well, his armor and arms sitting against the corner in neat order. Though dented or scuffed in places, he still donned his belongings and headed downstairs as well. While he noticed a man also coming downstairs, with bright eyes but a dirty and unremarkable face, they both said nothing to each-other.
From there the party continued onward towards the festival grounds. It was morning, but the town was buzzing with excitement. Children played alongside the streets, running and leaping around with toy swords or looking to catch butterflies. The people were discussing town gossip and the beauty of the new shrine. And the entire area smelled wonderful, with scents of fresh breads, candied apples and grilled meats. For the party this was a chance to relax and enjoy the festivities, though most had other matters to attend to. Karan headed towards the new shrine, stopping along the way to perform for some children which looked at the stranger. He performed admirably (using his Prestidigitation alongside a Perform of 11) for the children, who were enamored by the sparks and small paper toys he made. Wolfgang was non-communicative, and headed straight for the shrine, though he would be waiting for some time before the speeches were held. Orvah and Tatara, meanwhile, decided to enjoy of the festival games available to them. While Tatara distracted some children by holding her familiar in her arms (a compsognathus which shimmered with sparks and light), Orvah decided to play a game of ring toss. Instead of bottles or loops, however, it was a collection of dead fish which were stood straight up and were of a variety of species. The owner, Belven Valdemar, manned the stand as his sons prepared fresh catch for the town.
"Greetings! Care to try your luck in obtaining a great catch? Well, you will simply need to use these rings and test your luck! These fish are of varying quality, but I gurantee that they are all fresh!"
As this was being told Orvah (in-game and to the DM) stared intently at every word being said. When she was done, she took out a collection of papers and wrote in them, before handing them to Belven. They read "I will go for the freshest and most expensive fish you have!"
GM note: I had Belven role a Sense Motive at this point, more to not misconstrue the situation then anything else, and (with a 18) pulled his ear briefly while pointing to Orvah. She nodded, pointing to her ears and then her parchment. Belven, understanding, pointed to the fish near the back, roughly ten feet behind him and gave her three rings.
"Well good luck, it'll be quite difficult and I'm sure that--"
Before he had even finished, Orvah had already thrown a perfect (critical) toss and landed it squarely on the marbled tuna near the back, the one Belven had pointed to her. Before he could even stammer a response, Belven watched as Orvah threw another near perfect throw (19 alongside her Dex for a 21) and landed the next one on the same fish. Belven grinned while widening his eyes in fear, but was luckily saved the embarrassment of having all of his fish taken from him when she tossed one more time and in her excitement judged the distance too far. Belven continued to grin and passed her a deboned pair of tuna fillets, and bid her a grand day as she skipped merrily back to Tatara, while behind her Belven's sons comforted their father, his head in his hands. Orvah did not see this event, nor did she see one of the sons move the tuna another five feet further from the toss area.
While the events of our other heroes transpired, Keshazha had continued down the street, staying out of the crowds and not a fan of the noise. In an attempt to figure out where he would need to go, and to get a better view of the town, he decided to climb up the side of a building and head towards the roof. As Keshazha effortlessly began his climb (seriously, I don't think he has rolled below a 25 so far while climbing), he heard a voice cry out.
"Excuse me, what exactly are you doing?"
In response Keshazha cried out, his voice quite frightened.
"Keshazha did nothing wrong!"
The man below, who was quite clearly a guard simply sighed. Keshazha did eventually climb down to talk to the guard of Sandpoint.
GM note; the player for Keshazha is quite good at staying in character and following through with his actions based upon his characters backstory. It also happens to be "I promise officer, you don't need to arrest me, I am innocent of all charges, the rumors in town are false and I don't want to talk anymore." when not necessarily asking about crimes committed. Thank god the guards sense motive at the time was low, but this will probably bite him at some point.
With the guard briefly placated, Keshazha made a quick exit, and eventually made his way to the festival grounds. At this point, the party had made it all within the same area. From there, most of the next few minutes were spent with Mayor Deverin acknowledging the great shrine dedicated to the primary gods and goddesses worshipped in Sandpoint, Belor Hemlock bringing down the mood with talks of the Late Unpleasantness, Lonjiku's lack of appearance and Cyrdrak Drokkus's lack of subtlety. The only actions of note by the party was Orvah clapping at inopportune times as loudly as she could, unaware of the mood around her. This was good time for some villains to appear on the scene.
And also a good time for another post. Check in later for Part 2 of Session 1!
Session 1, Part 2:
Goblins, it turns out, have a knack for theatrics. So when Father Zantus raised his hands for silence, only for a woman to scream in terror as the goblins began their attack, they did so with great joy and song. Of course the crowd began to scatter quickly, with Father Zantus hurrying Mayor Deverin and Cyrdak away from the chaos. Meanwhile, Belor Hemlock attempted to step off the platform towards the threat, but was caught in the midst of the ongoing crowd and momentarily stalled. This was as good a time as any for the party to show their combat prowess. It was not, however, a good day for Wolfgang Baron.
Before anyone else could act, Wolfgang charged forward, shield and sword in hand to fight off a group of goblins which occupied one of the food vendor carts. With a mighty swing, he missed completely, bashed his own head with his shield, dropped his sword and stayed stunned for the round. The very first attack of the session and a complete botch. Of course he was beset by the goblins, who began attacking or taunting him relentlessly because of his predicament, one even managing to bypass his armor to deal him a moderate wound. Meanwhile, Karan had not moved. As soon as combat started, he was overwhelmed by the screams of the towns people and the goblins attacking, and thus could not act for the time being (Natural 1 initiative).
The rest of the party quickly followed, however, and with Tatara utilizing her shocking grasp, Keshazha utilizing his acrobatics and blades, and one particularly foolhardy goblin attempting to lift the longshanks sword, only to lost his grip and cleave through his own head, they were able to quickly dispatch them. Only a lone goblin was able to quickly flee with an acrobatic dive and sprint off the cart.
The party only had a few moments to breathe, but already the town was in chaos. Goblins running off with babies in hand while being chased by the city guard, some fighting over chicken bones and copper pieces, others diving off rooftops only to snap their necks while splatting onto the hard ground. The entire town of Sandpoint was for the moment in disarray. Before the party could respond to these threats, however, flames shot out from a nearby fuel cart as goblins with torches, one carrying and roasting a chicken, laughed and looked ready to attack. Karan had other plans.
With cascading red flames flickering upon his arms, Karan approached the group of goblins and attempted to incinerate them with Burning Hands. Most were heavily damaged, though only one fried to a legitimate crisp. While most of the party were too far to do more then approach rapidly and heal any possible wounds, Karan started to realize that standing in front of a mass of charred goblins had downsides, and he quickly began to take attacks from torches and bows. Keshazha was able to pierce through a thoroughly dead and roasted chicken to penetrate the goblin behind it, and that one fell dead. Upon Karan's next turn, he channeled his fury through his focus (a vial attached to his neck filled with a dark red liquid which appeared to be flaking), and let forth a cascade of flames, incinerating the rest of the goblins, but leaving him with few spells left to cast.
Hemlock at this point was able to finally reach the party. His brow was gashed, but made do as he sliced a goblin which flew through the air in an attempt to slay the sheriff to no avail. Briefly assessing the party, along with the arrival of Father Zantus and one brief positive energy channel, Hemlock and the group were interrupted by the sounds of barking. As the party raced ahead (with Keshazha and Wolfgang in the lead), Hemlock found himself blocked off by a rolling barrel being pushed by goblins. However he quickly chased after them upon realizing the goblins had locked a child within it.
The party rounded the corner to see the goblins and their commando approaching a fidgeting man in noble vestments, having slain what appeared to be a large dog. They recognized that they were not immediately noticed and decided to act. While most of the party raced ahead to engage in the back-line (with Karan utilizing his fire magic and Orvah Inflicting Wounds) Keshazha moved towards the noble and attempted to lead him away from the battle. Granted, his plan was to tell the noble "Come with Keshazha if you want to live" but as Common is his second language instead grabbed the noble while looking at him with wide eyes and stating "Come with Keshazha or die!" The noble went with Keshazha.
With the noble rescued, and the party quickly dispatching with most of the goblins in a flurry of flames and blades, the commando made a hasty retreat. However he was stopped by Hemlock's judicious use of his blade to the commando's neck. As the noise of battle died down, and as the party breathed heavily from the effort, townsfolk began to gather in a circle looking at the visitors who had just successfully repelled the goblin threat. One figure pushed through the crowd to stand before the adventurers, and raised her voice.
"I don't know why you came here, but even though the festivities have been ruined...you saved something far more important. The people of Sandpoint owe you a great debt. To the heroes of Sandpoint!"
With this proclamation the crowd cheered as they began to chant "The heroes of Sandpoint!" much to the chagrin of some members of the party. The session ended at this time with three pieces of information; That the innkeeper of the Rusty Dragon, Ameiko, was allowing the party to stay for a week free of charge, that Sheriff Hemlock was to award the party gold and any supplies of worth taken from the slain goblins, and that the nobleman who had been rescued professed his admiration for the party while giving them his name, Aldern Foxglove.
This was the end of Session 1