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

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

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!

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!

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

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

Them too, EL-boy.

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.

That's just placeholder art. ;-)

Are we SURE??

Yes.

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...

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.

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

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 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?

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

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.

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.

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

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. ;-)

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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.

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...

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.....

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?

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.

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.

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.

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?

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

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

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

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 . . . .

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!

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...

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.

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