Get Ready to Fight Some Runelords!

Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Cartography by Matthias Rotenaicher

The Return of the Runelords Player's Guide is here! Within, you'll find all the information you'll need to craft your character for this Adventure Path, including several unique campaign traits that will help tailor your character to the themes found in the campaign and... just maybe... set up some surprises for you along the way. In addition, the Player's Guide helps you choose which of your prior PCs, if any, who took part in Rise of the Runelords or Shattered Star might have roles to play in the background of the Return of the Runelords Adventure Path.

This new campaign begins in the small town of Roderic's Cove, and at the end of the Player's Guide you'll find a little chart that each of you will get to roll on at the start of the adventure, to determine what sort of bargains you might have uncovered at the town's weekly Circle Market. And never fear, if you find something you can't quite afford at the start, chances are good your bargain will still be for sale later in the week, once you've started to make your names as adventurers and have a bit more coin to your names. Certainly nothing bad will happen at the Circle Market, right?

While the first adventure, Secrets of Roderic's Cove, takes place in the town itself, note that Return of the Runelords does not stay here—you won't be returning to Roderic's Cove during the course of the campaign in a significant way, so make sure your characters are both ready to defend the town but also eager to move on to explore the world. Your GM has additional information about Roderic's Cove, as presented in Pathfinder Adventure Path #133—but everyone might find the map attached to this blog post helpful in exploring.

Have fun, and don't let those mean old runelords get you!

James Jacobs
Pathfinder Creative Director

More Paizo Blog.
Tags: Matthias Rotenaicher Pathfinder Adventure Path Return of the Runelords
Dark Archive

Thank you, James.
That sounds delicious! :-)

Grand Lodge

Huzzah!


Thank you for the heads up, and I'm looking forward to reading it! :)


Finally! Now the fun begins!


Pathfinder Maps Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Browsing it now - and the new approach to campaign traits is intriguing!


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber

Woot!!

Scarab Sages

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

You made the best trap ever into a campaign trait? Bless you guys.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

7 people marked this as a favorite.
Stratagemini wrote:
You made the best trap ever into a campaign trait? Bless you guys.

I've been planning on this being a campaign trait for this AP ever since I built that trap during development in the first place. It's fun to actually finally see it in print!


How would you adapt this for 2E if you wanted to use the information in it.


Ha! I think it would be great to have (or be) a GM who approves the Accidental Clone trait for the entire party! That is a fun one.


3 people marked this as a favorite.
Cthulhudrew wrote:
Ha! I think it would be great to have (or be) a GM who approves the Accidental Clone trait for the entire party! That is a fun one.

That would make for a very awkward meeting with the original herself.

On another note, Redeemed Nocty!!! Makes me so happy! I looked at her domains granted and my first thought was "Mid-2000's goth" and giggled. Now the question is, who is the new Queen of the Succubi(Not Sorshen???), and is there any meaning behind a seven pointed star crown in her symbol? Nocticula, patron deity of Sorshen's New Thassilon???


CrimsonVixen wrote:
Cthulhudrew wrote:
Ha! I think it would be great to have (or be) a GM who approves the Accidental Clone trait for the entire party! That is a fun one.

That would make for a very awkward meeting with the original herself.

On another note, Redeemed Nocty!!! Makes me so happy! I looked at her domains granted and my first thought was "Mid-2000's goth" and giggled. Now the question is, who is the new Queen of the Succubi(Not Sorshen???), and is there any meaning behind a seven pointed star crown in her symbol? Nocticula, patron deity of Sorshen's New Thassilon???

She should still be Chaotic, but might tell where she came from as a mortal.

James Jacobs wrote:
Stratagemini wrote:
You made the best trap ever into a campaign trait? Bless you guys.
I've been planning on this being a campaign trait for this AP ever since I built that trap during development in the first place. It's fun to actually finally see it in print!

Might allow for someone who figuratively, and almost literally, follow Sorshen's footsteps.

there is also a few cases of mixing "Rise" and "Return".


Best campaign traits Ever! Even ignoring the first one!

RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16

The campaign traits alone make me want to play this AP.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

I'm a huge sucker for the "man out of time" trope so Time Lost really appeals to me. Would love to play with the Accidental Clone trait as well and have the start of the adventure be the first introduction to my character's new body. Maybe play a monk who gets betrothed a lot and keeps falling into hot springs...


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Yog-Sothoth/Desna syncretic heresy Oracle of Heavens is a go...

EDIT: Oooo, no. Time, not heavens. Past, present, and future are one in Yog-Sothoth...


James Jacobs wrote:
Stratagemini wrote:
You made the best trap ever into a campaign trait? Bless you guys.
I've been planning on this being a campaign trait for this AP ever since I built that trap during development in the first place. It's fun to actually finally see it in print!

It absolutely warms my soul to see how excited you are about this adventure. It just fills my heart with excitement and appreciation for everybody's hard work into this project! I can't wait for my group to finally run through this adventure!


Could we get some specifics as to "once per adventure" timing for the campaign traits? Is that once for the entire AP? Once per book? Once you come back to town from adventuring, it resets? It's a little vague....


Phredd wrote:
Could we get some specifics as to "once per adventure" timing for the campaign traits? Is that once for the entire AP? Once per book? Once you come back to town from adventuring, it resets? It's a little vague....

According to the Directorsaur over in the product thread itself, it's once per book.

Paizo Employee Creative Director

7 people marked this as a favorite.
CrimsonVixen wrote:
Cthulhudrew wrote:
Ha! I think it would be great to have (or be) a GM who approves the Accidental Clone trait for the entire party! That is a fun one.

That would make for a very awkward meeting with the original herself.

On another note, Redeemed Nocty!!! Makes me so happy! I looked at her domains granted and my first thought was "Mid-2000's goth" and giggled. Now the question is, who is the new Queen of the Succubi(Not Sorshen???), and is there any meaning behind a seven pointed star crown in her symbol? Nocticula, patron deity of Sorshen's New Thassilon???

Nocticula's been associated with a seven pointed crown/hairstyle for a while. Almost like I had plans to dovetail her into Thassilon at some point. hmmmmmm... ;-)

Paizo Employee Creative Director

7 people marked this as a favorite.

An "adventure" in my mind has always been "a set of encounters encapsulated in a book." A single game session, a single chapter in a book, or a single encounter location are not, to me, "adventures." I guess I should have been more clear, though! :-P

Anyway, yes. "Once per adventure" means "Once per book."


2 people marked this as a favorite.

Good to have some free "break this out in case of Runelord infestation" stuff out there. ;)


1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Lost Omens, Maps, Rulebook Subscriber; Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber

I love all these callbacks, references, set ups for the future, reveals of the story... I greatly appreciate this building on the rich history and story for Varisia and Golarion as a whole. My group has only played Rise of the Runelords but man I'm excited to run this path. Maybe we can do an expedited Shattered Star somehow. A week of vacation during the holidays to power through?


I wish I could spend a week of vacation powering through an AP . . . .

Community / Forums / Pathfinder / Pathfinder Adventure Path / Return of the Runelords / Paizo Blog: Get Ready to Fight Some Runelords! All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.
Recent threads in Return of the Runelords

See Also: