Treasurefox's Rise of the Runelords (Inactive)

Game Master TreasureFox

Happy thanksgiving, you Americans, you.

Technically speaking, you guys have now finished the Burnt Offerings part of Rise of the Runelords. There are some loose ends that could be tied up, but the main part is all done. Nualia has been thwarted, the goblins have been pacified, the runewell has been drained, and Malfeshnekor is locked away. Sandpoint is safe.

I'd like to take this opportunity to discuss the game as a whole while you guys heal up, talk to various NPCs, and such. Here's what I'm most interested in discussing:

1. The most memorable/enjoyable/engaging parts of the adventure
2. A respectable critique of the adventure, the GM, etc. What could be improved upon?
3. Should we continue on? And what changes should be made if we do

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for playing with me for these past two and a half years. Your dedication and creativity were instrumental in not only the continuation of this game, but its enjoyment.

Should we continue on?
I'd like to, but we'll need to recruit 2 new players. It also depends on if you guys want to continue, of course. What would you guys like to see changed if we played part 2?

I think the most memorble parts along with the ones you mentioned, is making up blasphemous curses. That much was a blast, not to mention getting to be the snarky one telling furnok he wouldn't fit in Cleo, and such things. I want to thank everybody who played straight man for me.

2. Critiques, things felt a lot more natural when you were making up your own filler material, so much so that I'd lije to see you write an adventure and would happily play in it.

3. Hell yes I want to continue. I want to see what we come up with next, it's sad that we lost a few players though. I was especially looking forward to Maria starting to Crush on Ali, (a sub plot we discussed) oh well.

YES!!! I mean, um, yes I'd love to continue. Please.

I'm quite fond of Aggah and all her insights into goblin society. I was truly stunned when she was genuinely confused on why we wouldn't eat Furnok. :) I'm glad Helgarr kept Cleo from killing her. Thank you Helgarr!!

The accent of the tentacle beast that killed Furnok was great, though the death of him wasn't as much.

The temple of testicles I will never ever forget, must remember to check my spelling more often.

The early argument in the inn between Maria and Vandra, drama is always great in roleplaying.

The wouldn't fit comment was spectacular.

But the best is the group, all of the interactions, and all the opportunities you gave us Treasure to show them as characters and not just stats. Also thank you for allowing Cleo to use diplomacy in so many occasions.

Critiques are harder. Posting regular is on all of us really. But real life is unfortunately very real. I am happy we decided to continue in that dark day of almost stopping.
I do have a hard time remembering what Cleo knows verses what I know, having ran this adventure a long while ago. I usually side with her being completely ignorant (like in Aggah's speech, I know what you were talking about but couldn't remember if Cleo had run into anything that would let her know). She is a country bumkin so it works.
I do second Maria's comment. It is obvious when you are having a lot of fun writing, and those moments when you are just being creative shine.

Oh, and HAPPY THANKSGIVING! My computer has been toast for a few days. Just got it working again, so will post tonight or tomorrow on the main thread.

THE TEMPLE OF TESTICLES!!! I totally forgot about that! That was simultaneously the grossest and most hilarious encounter.

Thanks Maria, I actually do a lot of homebrew campaigns, but I've always done pre-written ones on forums because I didn't think I'd get much traction otherwise.

Do any of you have questions about the campaign so far? Some things I may not be able to answer due to foreshadowing, but I'd be happy to answer otherwise.

Where the hell did Nualia go?

She jumped into the water where the crab is and swam out of Thistletop

I mean where she ended up since we were kind of too broken to follow.

Happy thanksgiving, you Americans, you.

Technically speaking, you guys have now finished the Burnt Offerings part of Rise of the Runelords. There are some loose ends that could be tied up, but the main part is all done. Nualia has been thwarted, the goblins have been pacified, the runewell has been drained, and Malfeshnekor is locked away. Sandpoint is safe.

I'd like to take this opportunity to discuss the game as a whole while you guys heal up, talk to various NPCs, and such. Here's what I'm most interested in discussing:

1. The most memorable/enjoyable/engaging parts of the adventure
2. A respectable critique of the adventure, the GM, etc. What could be improved upon?
3. Should we continue on? And what changes should be made if we do

There have been a LOT of enjoyable moments Fox. I'm gonna completely second all that's been said thus far. From my end, I became a fan of most characters Helgarr bumped heads during the game's introduction scene in Cathedral Square, right off the bat. The RPG was sound and true to character.

I LOVE side quests! And it was great having such detail given to Sandpoint NPCs Fox, that is just really cool.

Will never forget the bomb wielding goblins - damn, they were TOUGH!

Really enjoyed being given the chance to begin (or trying to) redeeming Aggah.

I am a huge fan of the tone being imprinted on the game - I don't really like comedic fun games, and this one is probably the exact amount of seriousness for me.

On the flip side, agreed that posting frequency is on all of us at one point or another, and good we pulled out of that nasty slump a few months back. It is however like a snowball, and only gets worse over time, so we did well in recovering, as most games would not.

DEFINITELY we should continue, if you feel like doing it Fox, and please do not hesitate in modifying the game as much as you would like. I have never played Rise of the Runelords, and I am not a canon fundamentalist anyway :D Also, your ideas have been amazing in getting us involved, so there is really no reason to stop.

Agreed we need to recruit, but would much like to maintain the game feeling, so we should look for someone who fits in nicely :D

And yeah, at a point there it 'felt' like too many NPCs ;) (but plese keep them all somehow, as I have become a fan of Grunyar also)

A note to say great job with the maps, and BOOOO to the site's instability... Really not acceptable.

As a final note, and before we continue, would be nice to have some sort of catchup post, even if on Discussion. To give an overall picture of what has happened thus far (according from what we have uncovered).

Also I would dig if we tied up loose ends - like the creature we left 'locked'? We gotta take care of that somehow...

I mean where she ended up since we were kind of too broken to follow.

Ah, that one I can't afford to answer, for she may yet return to exact vengeance.

Before I open up recruitment, are there any people that you guys know who would be good for our group? Anyone who you would want to toss out an invite to?

There are a couple to be honest, but I'm not sure if they are available - shall I reach out? Are we looking for particular roles?

Oh yeah those dinky goblin alchemists! I had no idea they'd be so powerful. Their stats weren't all that high, but they had all the terrain advantages they'd ever want.

I'm glad that all of you are on board. We will certainly continue.

Lol Helgarr yes I'll keep them, but they may disappear for a little while before coming back.

I'll do whatever I can to help you guys clean up any loose ends. Lemme know which ones you would like to do.

Thanks again for all the kindness ^^

There are a couple to be honest, but I'm not sure if they are available - shall I reach out? Are we looking for particular roles?

I'm never all that worried about roles, but if you want a super diverse group, you'd likely be looking for some sort of arcane spellcaster, perhaps a survivalist, or an investigator type. We've already got the heals, the traps, and the brawn ^^

And Stealth! Maria can hide from anything!

Didn't Cleo repeatedly attempt to beat Aggah into unconsciousness with the hilt of her dagger in the alchemist fight? Fun times :)

She did! LOL!

Question: Should I send the players over to the Recruitment thread, or...? Also, would we allow noobs? :D

Aaaaand, are we leveling up? :P

Yes, you guys are level 4 now

Normally I would say that noobs are fine, but I can only do so much to help them over a forum. They need the skills to build their own characters. I'm going to pour over the story traits to see if I can replace a few now that part 1 of the adventure is complete.

Please send the potential recruits to this discussion section.

Also I'll get to work on that summary of our adventures thus far.

If you want to create a google doc, Treasure, we all can try and add in bits to the summary. So not all the work is on you.

Helgarr pm'ed me saying you might need a new player or 2.

I've never played Runelords except for one encounter and then game died :(

Definitely interested in this campaign. It looks like you have no arcane or ranged.......BUT the character creation criteria allows for COMBAT STAMINA and VMC!!!!!!!! So rare to find a campaign where these options are permissible. I can't help but submit a concept taking advantage of this.

Cleo looks to be a caster cleric not a Battle one. If so that gives you a Barbarian and a Rogue for melee. I've been looking for a home for my half orc (Falcata Swashbuckler1/Fighter1 for Combat Stamina/Arsenal Warpriest2+) VMC Orc Bloodline Sorcerer....with QuickDraw he switches between his Orc Hornbow and Falcata as needed.

In my experience having 2 frontliners and a rogue isn't necessarily overkill.

Would a character like this be something your group might consider?

Hey WabbitHuntr, thanks for taking the time to drop by.

I'm fine with your character, but The Fox is the boss.

If anything regarding characters, I would suggest 'keeping the power level in check' as the group is not overly optimized ;)

As far as skills go, what would your character bring to the table?

Unfortunately with 2 skills per level.... the warpriest will never be a skill monkey.

Likely maxing perception and intimidation

Hello WabbitHuntr, thanks for dropping by and reviewing the character creation guidelines. I'm going to take a moment to go over a few things to make sure that our expectations align.

Your build is exceptionally well planned, and I expect you would hit often and very hard. This in itself is not an issue, especially given that you would have difficulty in the skills and social aspects. What I am a bit concerned about is that we tend to have fairly large stretches between combats (dungeons notwithstanding), and I hope that during those stretches you and your character will still be interested in interacting with the world at large. We tend to spend extra time learning and interacting with NPCs, world lore, and sometimes even politics. You don't have to be good at these things, but I do hope you'll still be willing to participate. If possible, I encourage you to develop a fairly deep backstory, as I believe it will aid you during those times.

Also it's important that I let you know that our posting rate is fairly slow (though we are all trying to improve). It is very likely that I will post within 1-3 days, but longer times have occurred.

Though characters may not always agree, I hope that we can come to an understanding that PvP beyond non-lethal (consensual) brawls are off the table. I'd prefer if the tension is dealt with in character, but we should discuss it out of character if need be.

This game will contain gore, sexual content, and drugs. We don't go into r@pe, nor child-related stuff, but almost all other sexual content will exist with a fade-to-black when things get particularly intimate. Rarely do we fight obvious monsters, but rather ordinary men and women with extremely dark and selfish desires.

Also, I will be following the main story arc of Rise of the Runelords, but I do plan to change or completely rewrite less important aspects of the campaign. In some situations (generally combat), I will elect to not use standard pathfinder rules for enemies or the environment. This is usually to enhance the story or to create a more dynamic combat encounter. I will do my best to make sure it is not used to punish, only to challenge.

If you have any concerns about the tone of the game, or the subjects we may cover, please feel free to let me know. I may want to create a dark environment, but ultimately everyone's enjoyment is my priority.

Hello WabbitHuntr, Cleo got attacked by sperm, it scarred her poor little mind :) While her handler (me) was not sympathetic and couldn't stop laughing. Beware misspellings!!!

It is a good game and welcome.

Level 4! Okay Treasure, at level 4 the animal domain gets an animal companion. Do you have any restrictions? Or would it be easier to just say Aggah is her "companion" and keep her as an npc that comes around with us? I like the latter cause it keeps Aggah with us and Cleo (and me) likes Aggah, plus it has one less critter to keep track of. But I'm good either way. Cleo with a pet bear would be lovely... or a HUGE crab!!! Wait are there huge crabs as an option...

Aggah would be my first choice though. Crabs, bears, firepelt cougars, and all sorts of others would be the next.

Last post tonight, I put the short sword +1 on the loot list. Cleo won't use it much and selling it would get Helgarr and Maria closer to magic weapons.

Hey Cleo. I think we can work something out so that you can have Aggah as your animal not animal companion. Here's what I've come up with for balance purposes, please let me know what you think of them.

Aggah
STARTING STATISTICS
Size Small; Speed 30 ft.; AC +0 natural armor; Attack N/A; 
Ability Scores Str 11, Dex 16, Con 12, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 8; 
Special Qualities darkvision 60ft.
Proficiencies: Simple weapons, light armor
4TH-LEVEL ADVANCEMENT
Gain proficiency in medium armor, martial weapons, and shields.

Aggah would not gain natural armor bonuses, and does not have natural attacks. You will be responsible for equipping her with the appropriate gear.

The Story So Far

I've whipped up a quick document to detail the major events, NPCs, and villains we've encountered so far in the campaign. If you guys would like, feel free to write about any of the topic already laid out, or if you think something/someone important is missing, you can write about them as well. This document will serve as a Coles' Notes for new players, and a refresher for our veterans.

Hey ppls,

Just a note to let you know I will be off until next Monday for a family trip. Will be able to check games, but probably not able to post.

Feel free to bot me if needed ;)

The Story So Far

I've whipped up a quick document to detail the major events, NPCs, and villains we've encountered so far in the campaign. If you guys would like, feel free to write about any of the topic already laid out, or if you think something/someone important is missing, you can write about them as well. This document will serve as a Coles' Notes for new players, and a refresher for our veterans.

I'm going to read the "story so far" tommorow and see if I get a better feel for what character might better fit this campaign. My falcata warpriest is a melee monster but I don't have a real story for the character yet. Hopefully after reading up on the campaign I will get inspired and might come up with a different character proposal

Enjoy your trip Helgarr.

Cleo (and Maria), if you would please help me fill in a few things for The Story So Far, I would appreciate it. Just put in whatever you remember about the topic you choose. It can be in point form if you want. We want to make sure WabbitHuntr and any others we might recruit are able to see what's happened.

WabbitHuntr, you can check out the Rise of the Runelords (anniversary edition) player's guide if you'd like some extra info about the campaign. If you're interested, you could also check out Varisia, Birthplace of Legends for more info regarding the country of Varisia where this campaign is set. I'm PRETTY sure both of those documents are free on THE GOOGLE.

Will do, Treasure!

Okay, I got the events, the locales, and the villains done. (Cleo helped). I'll let you guys sort out the NPCs.

I added more. Sorry, got a bit sick yesterday and crashed.

Hello WabbitHuntr, thanks for dropping by and reviewing the character creation guidelines. I'm going to take a moment to go over a few things to make sure that our expectations align.

Your build is exceptionally well planned, and I expect you would hit often and very hard. This in itself is not an issue, especially given that you would have difficulty in the skills and social aspects. What I am a bit concerned about is that we tend to have fairly large stretches between combats (dungeons notwithstanding), and I hope that during those stretches you and your character will still be interested in interacting with the world at large. We tend to spend extra time learning and interacting with NPCs, world lore, and sometimes even politics. You don't have to be good at these things, but I do hope you'll still be willing to participate. If possible, I encourage you to develop a fairly deep backstory, as I believe it will aid you during those times.

My Orc Falcata Warpriest brings a lot to the table combat wise....but he will certainly be lacking in the skills department. I don't have a great grasp yet of how he would bring a lot to the table with extended NPC interactions, politics

Here is an idea for a character that should be more interesting from an RP perspective if not quite so capable combat-wise

Wabbit the Halfing Paladin of Chaldira and Giant Slayer:

Wabbit trained from a young age with Old Master Riverdancer as his sole pupil. His Sensei died protecting the village from Giants.

lvl1 Unchained Monk Scaled Fist (cha based) focuses on using the monk weapon Wave BLade 1d4 p/s 18-20x2
traits: Giant Slayer, Opportunistic Gambler

Devasted by the loss of his master Wabbit focused on learning a fighting style to neutralize the advantage Larger creature have in combat

lvl2 Swashbuckler Mouser

As Wabbit grew more experienced as a frontline warrior protecting the more vulnerable from the predation of bandits and other threats he began having flashes of Divine Rage which enhanced his quickness

lvl3 Urban BloodRager Celestial BLoodline

After much contemplation on the nature of the power that sometimes flowed through him Wabbit found that his faith in the teachings of Chaldira deepened to such an extent that he has become a Paladin of Chaldira.

lvl4 Paladin Holy Tactician

Wabbit will have more social skills as well as stealth to accompany Maria in any MISCHIEF she gets up to.

After 3 levels of Paladin Wabbit will take 4 levels of Urogue Vexing Dodger. This is an extension of him getting more proficient at his combat style which involves getting up close and personal with Larger enemies. This won't step on Maria's toes as a dedicated rogue. In fact she'll like this Paladin of CHaldira who easily invades the enemies space and gives her a great flanking buddy.

While Paladins of some deities might look down on rogues, the Halfling God of Luck and Mischief should have no problem with his paladin multiclassing a bit as a rogue.

Oh look Cleo. Another Halfling for me to corrupt.

LOL! Cleo used to be such a good person too...

Wabbit, I'm not all that crunchy but the ideas seem sound. Cleo would welcome another not so bigun, no matter what Maria will do to you :)

Hey now Cleo. I haven't really corrupted you yet. You stilk need some burgling experience and a level in rogue.

You made her distract the guards while you broke into the mill! That would be considered aiding and abetting.

I did consider a level in ranger or rogue, give her actual real skills and proficiency in short swords. But we always need healing, so you must wait for corruption success.

I'm liking this Halfling character of yours, Wabbithuntr. They would have a good reason for coming to Sandpoint, they have an interesting backstory to draw on during NPC conversations, and you'll certainly be able to contribute to the party without stepping on any toes.

You may want to consider adding a bond to a PC or NPC. Suppose you lived in Cleo's home village and were good friends with her. You might have helped Sheriff Hemlock in the past with a minor adventure, or perhaps you were in Sandpoint 5 years ago during the "Late Unpleasantness" when Sandpoint was consumed in serial killings and other terrible events. You could perhaps have an enemy or rival, like a previous disciple of your master's who turned from his teachings in pursuit of power.

You don't have to if you don't want to, but I thought I'd suggest it. I think they are quite beneficial to enhance the story.

Cleo would welcome knowing you, Wabbit.

Treasure, how do you want us to go about identifying and selling what we don't want or need out of the loot? Cleo will pick up a rank in spellcraft to help since we are lacking a mage.

Helgarr, is there anyone else you are asking or should we recruit or ask around as well?

Hmm. So what kind of time frame are we looking at between adventures. I just want to know how many rolls I'm going to be able to do on my wagon if I make it myself.

It won't be a long time frame. I'm thinking of giving you guys 1-2 opportunities to tie up a loose end of your choice, and 2-3 opportunities to take care of some things like research, crafting, etc. Unfortunately for Maria she will have less time, due to her injuries.

TLDR: Still undecided

Sorry guys, took a little longer to get back on track after my mini break/vacations. Catching up right now ;)

Helgarr is level 4 for starters.

Hey Treasure, I want to do ranger this level. I know I asked about Aggah as her companion, but am thinking the extra skills would be really nice. If you are okay with her waiting on that, below are her changes.

+1 level in ranger
+1 wisdom
+11 hit points
+1 base attack
+1 fort, +2 ref, +1 will
favored enemy (undead), track, wild empathy
martial weapon prof
7 skill points
+1 diplomacy, +1 knowledge religion, +1 perception, +1 sense motive, +1 spellcraft, +2 survival
2 background
+1 profession cook, +1 linguistics (Thassilonian)

Glad to see you guys leveling your characters. I unfortunately should of said earlier that this level is the first one where you guys do not get max hp.

1. You can take [half of your hit die +1 +Con modifier +favored class bonus (if applicable)].

2. You can roll your hit die + your Con modifier +favored class bonus (if applicable).

2.5 If you do not like the number you rolled, you may ask me to reroll for you. You must take whatever I roll, even if the result is lower.

I think I am going with option 1 and be done with it.

Cleo... Are you sure you want to do that? None of my business of course, but I can't really see the added benefit of you going ranger. Unless you have something specific in mind for Cleo ;)

Cleric who multiclasses with ranger and takes favored enemy undead? I feel there's a plan.

What plan are you thinking of, good sir? I am curious.

I'm not much of a planner past the immediate. My reasoning is entirely cause clerics suffer with skills. A single level in something else gets her +3 in many skills, stealth, survival, perception, and animal training (not used much but hey she is a cleric of Erastil). Well that and better saves. And undead killing.

Level 4 in cleric gets her 2 more spells than she had before and an animal companion (but a first level animal companion). But gets her closer to level 3 spells which is nice. Aggah is nicer though(even at first level) and extremely tempting.

I'll give it a little more thought.

On deciding, I think I'll wait and see about potential others joining. Either way she'll pick up a rank in spellcraft so her iding will stay.

Should we open up to get another player?