Runelord Saga GM's page

Heading out of state on vacation for the next 10 days or so - I'll resume with the journey to and exploration of Thistletop, including some key twists on the original story.

See you then. :)

Dear Sir, You have started a great opus here.

Four Years ago, I did the same.
A great history of the Runelords, with 2 different teams of players, mixing the very same modules.
Thought, obviously, we difference in some aspects.

I would really like to assist you in this endeavor if you so wish.

That's a generous offer and I appreciate it.

Unfortunately there's not really much left to do, other than to get it all into a shareable format and get it posted. I've run this campaign in its totality (almost) twice now, I've just finally decided to share it for any who might be interested. Hopefully people will see it and have comments or questions that I can expound on, but all of the actual legwork has been done a couple of times over.

One thing you could do, if you wished, is to occasionally post some of the things you did differently, as a counterpoint to my own developments. It might give those who wish to run a similar campaign additional ideas to draw from.

Thanks, weigh in as much as you want, it keeps me inspired.

My big issue is that my group (5 of us) meet up only twice a year for a long weekend of gaming. We rent a lake house, leave family at home, etc. We've been pals for about 16+ years since the release of World of Warcraft (fellow officers in my old guild). We are from all over the US and one is from Canada.
Some of them drop in a few times a year with /without wives and hang for a short weekend but the full crew/guys weekend/mini-cons are twice a year (that's the plan).
Typically we move through 1 and a half AP volumes in a weekend.
We have a session zero thing this month on discord to figure logistics, and decide if we want to stay with PF or move to D&d (they hate PF2) where we can finish a campaign in 2 or 3 sittings. I have a feeling I may be the tie-breaker.
We are currently discussing an extra meet this September/October (as Covid-19 kept us from playing) or wait till January.

While this particular campaign is a labor of love (and has been for a long time), I can understand the distaste for PF2. I'm actually in the process of converting the campaign above to my own RP system.

I've had a number of ideas for similar expansion or evolution of several of the 5th Ed campaigns that have been released. Hit me up in PM's and let me know what you're looking at if you think that might be the direction you go in.

I had a thought this morning when I was thinking about the Sorshen/Kazavon/Ileosa thing (which is genius btw).

What if Sorshen could manifest another small portion of herself like she did with Ileosa but to influence/turn Sheila Heidmarch as well.

She could be trying to prepare Magnimar for conquest from within when she awakens fully. She could be hiring the PCs to recover her other clone body from "Into the Lady's light" for a temporary avatar as she can't hold onto two people for much longer.
A side effect of owning Sheila temporarily would be to find out about the Sihedron and Sheila's plan. This would fit in well when she eventually gets shunted out of Sheila so to speak due to Nualia inadvertently foiling her plan for the clone as per your outline. It also looks good for your timeline and plot later during "Into the Nightmare Rift" when the PCs lose some real time in Leng and why Sorshen is rushing to Magnimar with a navy to stop Sheila from resurrecting/unleashing Xin which will likely destroy her plans (not to mention the other Runelords).

This probably needs more minor adjustments, Nualia IMC, would still be loyal to Karzoug and would demonstrate how an agent of Karzoug can still be a thorn to another Runelord.

Another change I'd make for my campaign would be to swap out the Asylum Stone for Beyond the Doomsday Door and put the Shard of gluttony in Kadamerius' hands.

This leaves Mokmurian in his original role being loyal to Karzoug, as I already have Cadrilkasta rebelling later. This also evens out the already crowded first half of the campaign and shores up a strong second half (I still favor Doomsday Door over Asylum Stone).

I would shorten Fortress of the Stone Giants and use the Conna taking back control with the PCs help just to end the Stone Giant threat quickly and then head straight for Windsong Abbey (and the Doomsday Door).

With these changes, I'd have Nualia escape in Burnt Offerings, beat the party to Sorshen's clone in Lady's Light, and have her final showdown anytime after (or during... maybe she's looking for the Shard herself?) Doomsday Door but before they head to Guiltspur in Nightmare Rift.

Nualia will also keep as many henchmen/escaped enemies as possible in a rival band of adventurers like Orik, (especially if Lyrie dies, the proximity and residual effect of the Wrath Shard/Nualia will set him on a path of vengeance for the PCs). Possibly add Susperio or Andaisin from Seven Days to the rival group mix, the latter would be interested in the Shard of Gluttony as well, the former is basically a mercenary for hire, maybe even a former childhood friend of Nualia's born in Sandpoint herself.

All good stuff with real potential there. One of the reasons why I like the AP format so much is by doing the leg-work and giving me the structure, it frees me up to really freelance and tailor the story to my liking and my particular group.

Both Sheila and Nualia have very specific destinies in my campaign that intertwine with a lot of other things - Nualia's redemption arc has her not just sacrificing herself/saving the PC's and ultimately being reborn into Sorshen's clone, but also taking up Blackjack's mantle in Korvosa after he is tragically slain and eventually marrying Oriana in Sandpoint on the eve before the attack by the stone giants. A lot of role-play moment and little details are already planned (which is why I'm considering including some of my player's specific experiences in the write-up), so there's not much room for these kinds of revisions in my campaign, but your posts show very clearly all the different ways this epic story can be approached. Let me know if you want me to weigh in on any specific ideas you might have for your campaign.

Runelord Saga GM wrote:

I'm so very pleased to know that someone is reading this - I have a TON of stuff coming and it's a lot of work to sit silent.

I am currently in the midst of threading a fairly robust continuity that entwines not just the Runelord trilogy, but much of Curse of the Crimson Throne and Jade Regent, parts of Reign of Winter, and pretty much the exact same PFS scenarios you included in your original post. This, as you might expect, leads me to be very interested in your work. I've been eyeing this thread quite closely. Not sure if I can contribute to it overmuch, but I'm definitely following.

Keep up the great work. Not only am I interested due to the contributions it can bring to my own continuity, but also just because it is an interesting read by its own merits.

That is much appreciated. Its amazing how a little feedback can inspire someone to redouble their efforts. I've actually spent the last week or so polishing up my Runeforge section (which might be my favorite of the whole thing), but I need to get back to the session-by-session posts. I've done a lot of interesting things with Aldern Foxglove and I need to get the NPC profiles up for him, Ven Vinder, Shalelu and a few others.

Thanks again, and please feel free to comment or question anything.

Spectacular outline. Loved all of it except the twist on Cadrilkasta from Into the Nightmare Rift.

IMC, being that she's a dragon (normally greedy and a former steed of Karzoug) and she possesses the shard of Pride, she wants nothing more than to prevent Karzoug's awakening. She considers herself the new master of Guiltspur and she isn't looking to return to a life of servitude under her former master. She's trying to plunder what she can from Leng (servants or magical items) to bolster her efforts.
Have to admit, she's make a great temporary ally at the end of your campaign as well.

My ROTR campaign stalled when Covid started, but we are looking to get up and running again (but 50/50 that we are moving on to D&D5E). We ended our last session clearing most of Thistletop. We ended just before the last level, they still haven't met Nualia.
It would be so easy to jump onto your campaign, so thanks for the great ideas. It would be nice to do a mix of three campaigns because lord knows I'll be 100 years old before finishing three APs. I have a few different ideas that may vary at certain parts, and I'd probably skip the B team and Lissala in general.
I do like Nualia as a recurring foil, I had plans for her in a similar fashion, yet still loyal to Lamashtu (somewhat like an evil anti-hero), and possibly becoming a proxy late game.

Good Stuff regardless, I enjoy reading your posts.

Our group (in case you were wondering)
Ismar- an Azlanti Pureblood Sorcerer (Arcane Bloodline).
Renalio Gim- a Chelish Paladin (formerly a Fighter) and retired Korvosan city guard.
Razula Mvashti- a half elven Witch (Frost patron) hiding in Sandpoint, fostered by Niska.
Hassgar Umberkey- a tengu Rogue (Unchained) from Magnimar and a former crew member of Orik and Lyrie's on a few past jobs.
Nockmort Hooslehawk- a Gnome Druid (NPC heal/support bot).

There's huge backstory with every PC that will be tied in at various points in the campaign, but it's too much to go into. We also started with Crypt of the Everflame as...

I'm so very pleased to know that someone is reading this - I have a TON of stuff coming and it's a lot of work to sit silent.

To be honest, the inclusion of Into the Nightmare Rift was a late addition, the last one I made, to give the B-team a little more high-level opportunity. As such, I handwaved away any connection between Cadrilkasta and Karzoug to keep things simple. Depending on how the campaign ran (it wasn't part of it the first time I ran it through), I may very well have altered her role in much the manner that you suggest. At this point she is simply the doorway to the illusory shadow magic hellscape that I wanted to introduce.

One of the reasons why I wanted to give the B-team a little more to level them up is because I was toying with the idea of them being recruited by Fenster late in the campaign, convinced to stop Sheila from reforging the Sihedron and I was going to engage in a surprise battle between they and the 'A' team defending Sheila as she attempts to complete the ritual... meaning that many of the players were going to be pitting their characters from one team against their characters from the other, with the survivors being the ones who ultimately completed the final chapter together. I hadn't settled on it for sure - that kind of thing is very dependent on the players themselves - but I thought it was a potentially fun twist.

The 'B' team and Lisalla cult plotline is actually a remnant left over from the original campaign where I had this whole side thing where Black Blades were actually shards of Goddess Lisalla with Sheila and Maladros racing to gather them up... it was pretty cool but easily could have evolved into a campaign itself which would have distracted from the primary narrative, so I gave it up for the 'official' run. The B-team concept worked way too well to abandon, though. I'm sure others would have different experiences/perspectives.

I can understand your frustration with the pandemic interruption... this project is basically my therapy for gaming withdrawal. Thanks for the comments and PLEASE don't be a stranger to this thread. I've got some pretty cool materials and hand-outs planned.