Pathfinder Adventure Path #138: Rise of New Thassilon (Return of the Runelords 6 of 6)

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Pathfinder Adventure Path #138: Rise of New Thassilon (Return of the Runelords 6 of 6)
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Sins of the Past

Varisia has been destroyed! Runelord Alaznist's alteration of the past has thrown the frontier nation into chaos, devastated cities, resurrected demon lords, and worse. The Runelord of Wrath is now primed to seize control of a ruined realm, so that she can remake it into a New Thassilon with herself as its furious queen. Only one desperate plan can set things right—a band of heroes must discover a method to travel back in time and repair the damage their enemy has wrought on history, but can they make the sacrifices necessary for victory? This adventure allows the heroes to reach the absolute height of power, but even the potent options gained at 20th level may not be enough for the party to survive the furious might of Runelord Alaznist in her seat of power!

This volume of Pathfinder Adventure Path concludes the Return of the Runelords Adventure Path and includes:

  • "Rise of New Thassilon," a Pathfinder RPG adventure for 17th-level characters, by Greg A. Vaughan.
  • A brief exploration of how the Return of the Runelords Adventure Path will change Golarion in the future, including the first-ever map of the empire of Thassilon as it stood before the devastation of Earthfall, by James Jacobs.
  • A bestiary of monsters, including undead salamander forgemasters, living landslides, the mysterious hallowed lynxes used by runelords as pets and guardians, a planar dragon from the tumultuous Maelstrom, and the immense Great Old One Mhar itself, by John Compton, Andrew D. Geels, Lyz Liddell, Luis Loza, and David Schwartz.

ISBN-13: 978-1-64078-106-1

The Return of the Runelords Adventure Path is sanctioned for use in Pathfinder Society Organized Play. The rules for running this Adventure Path and Chronicle sheet are available as a free download (1.5 MB PDF).

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Best PF 1 Adventure Path

5/5

I ran this AP for my home group and they really enjoyed it. This Adventure Path ties into many previous APs, especially Rise of the Runelords and Shattered Star. There are rules that involve the heroes of these previous APs, and the players appreciated seeing their other characters have one more role to play. The time travel mechanics were interesting, and the PCs are treated as the important high level heroes that they are. I also like that this AP takes the characters to level 20. The story was great, the time travel rules were cool (and reminded me of the Sliders tv series), and the adventure was epic. Thank you Paizo for this enjoyable gaming experience!


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Scarab Sages Webstore Coordinator

Announced for January! Image and description are provisional and subject to change prior to release.


4 people marked this as a favorite.

First comment! So excited for this.

Currently running Book 4 of the Rise of the Runelords in a slow (once a month) campaign, where each Chapter takes us a year. So we have Shattered Star still to go, then Return. Should get to this by 2032...

But we are patient!


2 people marked this as a favorite.

Was just reminded as I wrote this, of a post from a few years ago...

http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2hfpg?The-Seven-Lords-of-Sin#1


Ooooh! Time travel. This one sounds fun.


Dot.


Not a dot. More like I think Yog-Sothoth and maybe some other that don't like time travelers messing with stuff MIGHT show up. Like THAT guy!

Liberty's Edge

1 person marked this as a favorite.

NEW THASSAILON!!! Yeah this could become quite the dangerous predicament for the world.


2 people marked this as a favorite.

I can see Aeons, some Inevitables, and Hounds of Tindalos being quite annoyed by these chronal antics.


Them too, EL-boy.


Eternally Lost Boy wrote:
I can see Aeons, some Inevitables, and Hounds of Tindalos being quite annoyed by these chronal antics.

Well, judging by the cover it looks like Yog-Sothoth is involved. If he's on Alaznist's side, she's got nothing to worry about.

Dark Archive

That's just placeholder art. ;-)


Are we SURE??

Paizo Employee Managing Developer

4 people marked this as a favorite.

Yes.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

I know it's a placeholder, but there's a definite pattern when it comes to what Paizo puts on their placeholder art. It's usually at least tangentially related to the adventure itself. For example the adventure prior to this has a kyton on it and involves the PCs going to the Plane of Shadows. The adventure before that has an asura, so I'm guessing asuras are involved. Etc.


Okay Mister Daigle. You would know...


Generic Villain wrote:
Eternally Lost Boy wrote:
I can see Aeons, some Inevitables, and Hounds of Tindalos being quite annoyed by these chronal antics.
Well, judging by the cover it looks like Yog-Sothoth is involved. If he's on Alaznist's side, she's got nothing to worry about.

Is that supposed to be Yog? I seem to recall this entity that stood in one place and kind of rotated around and would say various prophetic things about cosmic events. Had some kind of 'halving' power where it could slice up people's essences.

Dark Archive

2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

That is Tawil At’umr which is CR 30 great old one that is basically Yog's avatar


1 person marked this as a favorite.

3 Runelords down, 4 to go. I was hoping the BBEG would be Sorshen or Xanderghul, but I have a feeling they're both too powerful for a non-mythic party to take done. Ah well.

Liberty's Edge

Generic Villain wrote:
3 Runelords down, 4 to go. I was hoping the BBEG would be Sorshen or Xanderghul, but I have a feeling they're both too powerful for a non-mythic party to take done. Ah well.

3??? Are you counting Alaznist as the 3rd?

Paizo Employee Creative Director

10 people marked this as a favorite.

Hah. I suspect a lot of folks are gonna be surprised, shocked, and delighted by the role the runelords have in this Adventure Path.


Paladinosaur wrote:
Generic Villain wrote:
3 Runelords down, 4 to go. I was hoping the BBEG would be Sorshen or Xanderghul, but I have a feeling they're both too powerful for a non-mythic party to take done. Ah well.
3??? Are you counting Alaznist as the 3rd?

Yup. Sloth, greed, and wrath have now been accounted for.


4 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook, Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
Hah. I suspect a lot of folks are gonna be surprised, shocked, and delighted by the role the runelords have in this Adventure Path.

They are the good guys! :D

Seriously, though, I would laugh a lot if the players get to team up with Sorshen. After Shattered Star that would raise some eyebrows.


I'm pretty sure they'll team up to stop Mhar. That's about all I got.

Liberty's Edge

1 person marked this as a favorite.

If I'm going to run around doing fetch quest for a Runelord, it better be Sorshen...

Dark Archive

2 people marked this as a favorite.
James Jacobs wrote:
Hah. I suspect a lot of folks are gonna be surprised, shocked, and delighted by the role the runelords have in this Adventure Path.

I suspect the players will either have to become the new runelords themselves in the present or because time travel is involved, they ARE the very first Runelords which found Thassilon on zhe seven virtues in the past. ;-)

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Marco Massoudi wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Hah. I suspect a lot of folks are gonna be surprised, shocked, and delighted by the role the runelords have in this Adventure Path.
I suspect the players will either have to become the new runelords themselves in the present or because time travel is involved, they ARE the very first Runelords which found Thassilon on zhe seven virtues in the past. ;-)

Not really possible because we know what happened to first Runelord of Lust, Pride and Wrath and first Runelord of Greed's name was dropped in Xin-Shalasts background info.

Dark Archive

CorvusMask wrote:
Marco Massoudi wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Hah. I suspect a lot of folks are gonna be surprised, shocked, and delighted by the role the runelords have in this Adventure Path.
I suspect the players will either have to become the new runelords themselves in the present or because time travel is involved, they ARE the very first Runelords which found Thassilon on zhe seven virtues in the past. ;-)
Not really possible because we know what happened to first Runelord of Lust, Pride and Wrath and first Runelord of Greed's name was dropped in Xin-Shalasts background info.

Timetravel can create new facts.

Also there are seven different Runelords and four players.
And i said they could become the very first Runelords, which are NOT based on the sins you named, but on the seven virtues. ;-)
As far as i lnow we don't know their names yet.

Silver Crusade

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Marco Massoudi wrote:
CorvusMask wrote:
Marco Massoudi wrote:
James Jacobs wrote:
Hah. I suspect a lot of folks are gonna be surprised, shocked, and delighted by the role the runelords have in this Adventure Path.
I suspect the players will either have to become the new runelords themselves in the present or because time travel is involved, they ARE the very first Runelords which found Thassilon on zhe seven virtues in the past. ;-)
Not really possible because we know what happened to first Runelord of Lust, Pride and Wrath and first Runelord of Greed's name was dropped in Xin-Shalasts background info.

Timetravel can create new facts.

Also there are seven different Runelords and four players.
And i said they could become the very first Runelords, which are NOT based on the sins you named, but on the seven virtues. ;-)
As far as i lnow we don't know their names yet.

They’re the same Runelords. There wasn’t “Runelords of Virtue” and “Runelords of Sin”. Just Runelords.


8 people marked this as a favorite.
Rysky wrote:
They’re the same Runelords. There wasn’t “Runelords of Virtue” and “Runelords of Sin”. Just Runelords.

That's what they want you to believe.

(This message brought to you by the Eighth Sin, Public Relations.)

Silver Crusade

9 people marked this as a favorite.
Cthulhudrew wrote:
Rysky wrote:
They’re the same Runelords. There wasn’t “Runelords of Virtue” and “Runelords of Sin”. Just Runelords.

That's what they want you to believe.

(This message brought to you by the Eighth Sin, Public Relations.)

Aka the school of Divination.


Marco Massoudi wrote:

Timetravel can create new facts.
Also there are seven different Runelords and four players.
And i said they could become the very first Runelords, which are NOT based on the sins you named, but on the seven virtues. ;-)
As far as i lnow we don't know their names yet.

What Rysky said. If you want a first-hand account, check out the final adventure from the Shattered Star AP. The original seven Runelords were bad from the very beginning. Maybe they started out more altruistically, but by the time Xin was an old man, they were all conniving monsters. Sorshen was the first and only Runelord of lust, Xanderghul the first and only Runelord of pride, and the first Runelord of wrath was a guy named Alderpash. Poor Alderpash...

Dark Archive

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

For the record, original Runelord of Greed was someone named Kaladurnae according to RotR


I hope we get more information on just how the whole "Runelord" title works. For a long time I thought it was the basic "assassinate your predecessor" to gain the title....but James stated somewhere that's not exactly the case.....


nighttree wrote:
I hope we get more information on just how the whole "Runelord" title works. For a long time I thought it was the basic "assassinate your predecessor" to gain the title....but James stated somewhere that's not exactly the case.....

Doesn't one just claim the title and lay waste to dissenters?


nighttree wrote:
I hope we get more information on just how the whole "Runelord" title works. For a long time I thought it was the basic "assassinate your predecessor" to gain the title....but James stated somewhere that's not exactly the case.....

Krune, last Runelord of sloth, got his position when his predecessor (Runelord Ivarinna) peacefully abdicated and granted her rulership to him. The first Runelord of wrath is still alive to this day, though he clearly lost the title. I'm sure there are more examples. Trickery, blackmail, bribery, nonlethal duels, imprisonment, etc. etc.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Runelord is essentially a political title for governor of the region


I have a feeling that Thassilon is set for a modern revival. That would be a cool switch up for Pathfinder 2nd edition - Varisia may well have a makeover, wherein the 10,000-year-old kingdom rises again.

Dark Archive

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Generic Villain wrote:
I have a feeling that Thassilon is set for a modern revival. That would be a cool switch up for Pathfinder 2nd edition - Varisia may well have a makeover, wherein the 10,000-year-old kingdom rises again.

I too think that a sizable part of Varsia will be replaced by "New" Thassilon, which may very well be part of the actual old Thassilon displaced through time.

Most propable it will be "the city outside of time" from last month's AP, which reminds me of "Kandor, the city in a bottle" from Superman's homeplanet Krypton.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

A certain time travel-related device in a certain chamber in a big building in a huge city that is hidden somewhere up in Kodar mountains definitely comes to mind when I read the description of this book.


What role will New Thassilon play in the future indeed, as it sounds it will rise and stay there. Will the world map change again once again?


I wonder if Riddleport's Cyphergate will actually be put to its intended use?

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook Subscriber
Bellona wrote:
I wonder if Riddleport's Cyphergate will actually be put to its intended use?

second darkness:

As I understand the Cyphergate, and other gates like it are Elven creations for interplanetary travel, or occasionally local/dimensional travel. I'm not sure how they connect with the Runelords?


Galnörag wrote:
Bellona wrote:
I wonder if Riddleport's Cyphergate will actually be put to its intended use?

I thought the Cyphergate was made by Karzoug as a giant scrying device. I believe it's how he saw the coming of Earthfall

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Cyphergate is huge version of the thing in Xin-Shalast :P Aka its

:
Time Portal


2 people marked this as a favorite.
Original Blog Post wrote:
Rise of New Thassilon (6 of 6): The Return of the Runelords Adventure Path concludes as the heroes take steps to confront Alaznist, the runelord of wrath. But Alaznist is more than just a deadly wizard—she's meddled with the flow of time itself, and before she can be stopped, the heroes must do what they can to restore the damage she caused. What strange mysteries and dangers await in the depths of time itself, and what role will New Thassilon play in the world to come?

I wonder if this means that Alaznist will be sending Constructs back in time cloaked in Human flesh . . . .


1 person marked this as a favorite.

First volume had Yamasoth, and second had Lissala.

Following the pattern of the previous volumes, that had back matters related to the Runelords in the cover, it would be cool if this one, that has Shorshen in it, had something about the Redeemer Queen.

Might I dream with an illustration of a more composed/less demonic illustration of the "goddess" herself!


Generic Villain wrote:
nighttree wrote:
I hope we get more information on just how the whole "Runelord" title works. For a long time I thought it was the basic "assassinate your predecessor" to gain the title....but James stated somewhere that's not exactly the case.....
Krune, last Runelord of sloth, got his position when his predecessor (Runelord Ivarinna) peacefully abdicated and granted her rulership to him. The first Runelord of wrath is still alive to this day, though he clearly lost the title. I'm sure there are more examples. Trickery, blackmail, bribery, nonlethal duels, imprisonment, etc. etc.

I'm not sure if "alive" is a good definition of Alderpash's current state... I don't believe people abducted by Baphomet have a life. Someone even took his skull...


The Gold Sovereign wrote:
Generic Villain wrote:
nighttree wrote:
I hope we get more information on just how the whole "Runelord" title works. For a long time I thought it was the basic "assassinate your predecessor" to gain the title....but James stated somewhere that's not exactly the case.....
Krune, last Runelord of sloth, got his position when his predecessor (Runelord Ivarinna) peacefully abdicated and granted her rulership to him. The first Runelord of wrath is still alive to this day, though he clearly lost the title. I'm sure there are more examples. Trickery, blackmail, bribery, nonlethal duels, imprisonment, etc. etc.
I'm not sure if "alive" is a good definition of Alderpash's current state... I don't believe people abducted by Baphomet have a life. Someone even took his skull...

I'm not sure I'd use "alive" either, mostly because if I recall correctly he's actually managed to turn himself into a lich.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

New products were announced and yet I'm here still waiting for the product description to be updated! XD

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