Rise of the Runelords

Game Master Kevin O'Rourke 440

Yup, I'm here, but I'm pushing an important deadline, so I'll be a few days before I can post, at best. Maybe a week.

I don't recall who exactly has a Runeforge weapon or what it does, but it might be important!

Oooh, good reminder. Now whether to attack Karzough or the Crystal.

Drazh definitely has one I remember that.

As to whether ye rested ye didn't say ye were but if ye want to have taken a last rest before facing a figure of legend... but it gives him more time to prepare!

Kevin, did anything come from my Knowledge check concerning the giant rune stone?

Also, I haven't been monitoring my HP, apparently. I can use my daily contingency to survive, but I'm wondering if there's a ret-conned healing opportunity we can take (since it's hard to keep track of the action when each round can be months apart in real time).

Am I reading correctly that Azalia might also be in trouble from that fire damage?

Nah, she has evasion. I just rolled it. No damage.

Kevin, is it apparent to the party how we'll leave the place we're in?

Not at a glance, either you'll be able to uncover a way with a bit of study.. well you could let Karzoug return to Gollarion and get out that way.

Studying will be tough with a Runelord trying to kill you all.

Ok ye are wearing him down and he didn't get quite high enough to tap Drazh but once he has the two dwarves in time out he can really focus on the squishy spellcasters.

Since Anneka didn't post I just copied her actions from last time as she is a spontaneous caster... no one is going to complain at a little more healing.

Yeah... I'll start getting his loot sorted.

Basically time to discuss what your characters are going to get up to now ye have defeated Karzoug, there's still a few small reveals but ye defeated him, I ran his tactics like in the book. Suffice to say if he had zapped Drazh out of the fight with temporal stasis it could have gotten nasty.

In some ways I'm a bit shocked we've actually completed the adventure path (especially with my spotty record the last year). It's really cool to actually get a game come to a close of a full blown adventure path with most of the original characters still present to boot! The side adventure in Korvosa added on time too but it was still fun.

Five years is a long time, admittedly I think we blitzed through the first three books in like six months at some break neck speed. I've started adventures that have fallen by the way side for various reasons. Thanks for sticking with me as we got this done! ...well mostly done. Time for the victory lap and establishing what ye do next.

I have some vague ideas but I am sure ye have notions of your own.

We did it! Thank you to GM Kevin, and to everyone else. This has been a very long ride, but we finished the entire adventure path! That is huge. :)

I'll get a final post up for Drazh's epilogue soon.

Basically time to discuss what your characters are going to get up to now ye have defeated Karzoug, there's still a few small reveals but ye defeated him, I ran his tactics like in the book. Suffice to say if he had zapped Drazh out of the fight with temporal stasis it could have gotten nasty.

I forget what the touch spell Karzoug had charged was, but I do remember that it wouldn't have killed outright, just majorly incapacitated the victim. My plan for if that happened would be to cast maze on Karzoug, for which there is no save, and if I got past his spell resistance would have taken him out of the fight for at least a round, more if he didn't roll his save well. Marten has greater dispel magic prepared (which Karzoug's touch spell specifically lists as a counter to it), and the Nalfeshnee can cast it at will. Marten also has a scroll of limited wish that could have replicated greater dispel magic, also. We would have spammed that spell until Drazh was back in the fight. Hopefully, the maze spell would have bought us some time.

Drazh was in good(ish) hands. He, Azalia, and Ferocia were crucial to this fight, obviously, especially with the two runeforged weapons. I debated trying to get all three of you attacking the same target, but I wasn't sure which target would have been better.

I'm glad I set up that contingency for Marten, even if it kept me from benefiting from Anneka's healing. I wasn't sure if I would get to use it before the campaign ended.

I am a bit bitter that my Mirror of Guarding Reflections was not useful even once in the times I used it, I think.

In some ways I'm a bit shocked we've actually completed the adventure path (especially with my spotty record the last year). It's really cool to actually get a game come to a close of a full blown adventure path with most of the original characters still present to boot! The side adventure in Korvosa added on time too but it was still fun.

You recruited me from a Kingmaker campaign we were both in, which is still going strong! We are in book 4, with only me and Colwyn as the only two original PCs still in the game. But you recruited me to replace a guy who dropped out in the first or second adventure, I believe. (There was some sort of drama that I never fully understood, but it's none of my business.) And I think we kept the same group through the entire rest of the adventure path!

Decimus dropped out, of course. I hope he's doing well! If you still talk to him, let him know that we're thinking of Miron, Creydon, and the ever-so-brief Ze'ev!

This is the only AP that I've started that has finished! Thanks for sticking with it, Kevin. And everyone else, too!

Five years is a long time, admittedly I think we blitzed through the first three books in like six months at some break neck speed. I've started adventures that have fallen by the way side for various reasons. Thanks for sticking with me as we got this done! ...well mostly done. Time for the victory lap and establishing what ye do next.

I have some vague ideas but I am sure ye have notions of your own.

I have some ideas, but I need to think of something appropriately prima donna enough for Marten.

Is there any point to divvying up the loot? I don't care if Marten or Azalia takes that spellbook. It might be an interesting magic item (artifact!) for Azalia to study. As for the robes, if anyone has any plans for their PC to stay in or return frequently to Xin-Shalast, the robes could be helpful. If Anneka or Azalia want the robes for their spells, it looks like they are good for any spellcaster. If nobody wants them, Marten would love that item (as a conversation starter about how he killed Karzoug the Runelord), which would make his Robe of Runes (that we got from Mokmuran) available.

Oh, Azalia will take anything left, in addition to anything not nailed down, after everyone has a chance, but she already picked, so feel free to take the robes if that is what you most want. :)

Her afterstory is just looting the whole city really, and then taking it all home. She'll set up a proper magic shop, and still perhaps do some under the table transactions.

There is no point on taking loot. But Drazh is still taking the amulet. He had a +1 amulet of natural armor. That is +5 and it is a memento. So it's going on his sheet for the 'cool' factor. :)

I mean... there is a point in that it is still a story even though it is at an end. Might as well wrap it up right.

But Azalia is happy to take whatever anyone doesn't want. :)

My final post is up. It is how I see Drazh's story ending, given the vast amounts of wealth that just fell into the party's hands. In it, I included abit about each of the characters, but I tried my best to not step on anyone's toes. The only assumption I made was that Drazh would at least be able to find most of the group, and that Marten would retain his title as Professor. If I overstepped myself, please tell me and I can make whatever corrections are needed.

I look forward to seeing what everyone writes!

@Marten. I can barely remember the details of that other guy other than with him in two games it became apparent he was one of those players you REALLY had to keep an eye on as he'd make some creative liberties with any wiggle room he got. Marten has been around since low enough levels I still think of him as one of the original crew.
Decimus is doing fine, I still trek to his house from time to time and he's in a fortnightly PF2e game I run. They completed Extinction Curse and we're oddly enough into book two of Kingmaker.

@Drazh, a very cool ending as young Master Anviltamer retires... Gods help any giants who try to attack his hold!

@Azalia, it is terrifying that after all this Azalia still has so much greed in her heart. Still you've got to appreciate the hustle.

@Ferocia I was think perhaps our resident shifter would help out one of the fey groups, her old one that is lacking a head now. Or perhaps the one with the niaid (I think) further down the mountain, keeping an eye over the area. Of course popping in to check on her friends.

@All. In my madness after putting up that last post I downloaded Return of the Runelords. I probably wont end up doing anything but there's a niggling idea. If I do I'll poke each of you to offer a seat at the table so to speak. That said I'd like to check that it would be ok for people to use your characters as mentors etc as their are traits for that. I think some uppity Academy attending apprentice to Marten would be very interested to prove their worth. Or a shifter, druid, hunter etc who has found balance with the her of Ferocia. A cunning Rogue who acquires artifacts and magic items to sell in her Mistress's shop. An immovable dwarven magus who combines his mentor's teachings with arcane fury.

Of course I amn't sure if the adventure actually deal with the issue of keeping the legacy characters out of the adventure when the new PCs are the protege (or children) of them!

And I know I technically I have a PF2e game... though that has defaulted into inactive. I generally prefer 2e these days but I think PF1e works a bit better for play by post. It's just a pipe dream. I need to sit down and at least fully read the first book... also I made vague suggestions of running Shattered Star after this previously but honestly I tried running it and I wasn't bowled over by the first book and neither were my players.

Glad you liked the epilogue! And if you decide to run Return of the Runelords, then please do reach out. I’d love to continue the story. Especially if it is with such a great group.

But if for whatever reason I’m not there, then please do use Drazh. I’d consider it can honor.

Agree... would be happy to join at whatever pace if you decide to do it, and also happy if you want to mention Azalia if I am not there.

Also, yes, still greedy, but not evil-greedy. She shared her winnings before, and she is sharing here. She just doesn't want all of the wealth lying around to go to waste, and she loves to study and own magical items... hmm. I guess I will write a little bit of an afterstory.

I'm taking my family camping this weekend and into the week, so I'll try and get Marten's final post up after that but before U.S. Thanksgiving.

Marten would make an amazing mentor that any apprentice would love and never have any issue with.

I kind of made a promise to myself that I wouldn't try and join any further APs for a play-by-post game. I just think it's not the best type of adventure for this play format, and it's always disappointing when it fizzles out. Homebrew or shorter adventures is the way to go for me. However, I'd make an exception for this group, especially if it has ties back to this campaign.

Cool, I was thinking if one or more people were an apprentice to Marten or Azalia I might let the player of the mentor pick out a few spells ahead scribed into a spell book from the Mentor's spellbook. I'd likely give some extra cash starting off... not a rediculous amount but I can imagine anyone in any of these character orbits having a bit more cash than normal. Not thousands but a little bonus package.

To be clear as well in my mind an apprentice doesn't have to match their mentor's school... though opposition ones are probably out unless there is a story behind it!

Well, that sure was a ride! Thanks to everyone for the great game, and thanks to Kevin for sticking it out through some tough final years. It's been a joy.

Yes, I also have mostly stepped back from the boards, but I'll happily step back in to another campaign with this group if we run one.

Happy to see everyone's follow up posts and epilogues.

Look at Drazh, bringing a tear to my eye with his "greatest treasure" and making antisocial Ferocia a home.

Much love, everyone! It's been fun.

I had originally taken creative liberty with Marten's life after Karzoug, assuming that he'd be able to retrain one of his feats/arcane discoveries to learn the Immortality arcane discovery. However, I'd forgotten that a wizard had to be 20th level to take that ability. So that inspired me to give Marten that ambition after his adventuring career was over, and after he had seen his family and companions in good hands. And then I like hinting that Marten may or may not become immortal, but leaving it up to the future (but probably never) to determine if he succeeded or not.

This is easily one of the best groups I've gamed with, live or PbP. Thanks again to all of you for a great adventure!

I really love all of the epilogues. I think that I've read everyone's about 3 times so far. This truly was an amazing group. :)