Burnt Offerings without heroes


Rise of the Runelords


Just out of curiosity, I was wondering what would happen to Sandpoint If no one intervened and Nualia's plan worked? What exactly would happen to Sandpoint?

RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32

Bad, bad things.


Spoiler:
The Swallowtail Festival would have been much more tragic. The goblins would have likely killed a number of Sandpoint residents before the militia finally rallied (since it takes them two hours). Eventually the goblins would have been driven away, but the day would be remembered with mourning.

Aldern Foxglove would have died, since the heroes save his life. We'll come back to that.

The runewell under Sandpoint would likely have a bunch more charges as a result of a lot of angry people dying. There would probably be more goblins alive at Thistletop, too.

Sheriff Hemlock wouldn't have anyone to whom he could entrust the town's safety when he went to Magnimar, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Maybe he would have made a deal with the Sczarni if they'd protect the town temporarily, or maybe he'd have stayed behind while Mayor Deverin went to Magnimar, or maybe the Sandpoint Mercantile League would send a delegation (headed by the Scarnettis, perhaps).

Lonjiku would be dead. Ameiko would be dead. Tsuto and Nualia would control, via Ripnugget, the goblins not only of the Sandpoint Hinterlands but also those further north (even as far away as the Fogscar Mountains). They would sacrifice all of Sandpoint to Lamashtu and Nualia would become a half-fiend.

Xanesha would have her plans frustrated, since Aldern wouldn't have retrieved the fungus for her. She would likely send some Skinsaw Men eventually to explore Foxglove Manor, and frankly I think they'd be in for a hard time. I think that she'd actually be worse off as a result. She'd be looking for a way to take over the goblin horde, of course. Preferably before the Hell Knights arrived and wiped them out. She has ties to Nualia, so she'd be exploiting those for all they're worth.

Skull's Crossing would burst. Karzoug's runewell would benefit greatly from the deaths of everyone living in Turtle Ferry. Skull River would flood as the Storval Deep drained, and that water would swell the Yondabakari until equilibrium was restored.

Magnimar's importance would be lowered by the loss of two of its vassal cities, and the economy would likely suffer. I'm not sure how Ironbriar figures into this.

The Hook Mountain weaponsmiths would continue to produce, and the giants of Jorgenfist would be better armed and even reinforced. Mokmurian would send emissaries to Nualia or Xanesha (whichever one was in control of Sandpoint) to get what he wanted, and since both of them are ultimately in debt to Karzoug I expect they'd give him what he wanted. If they didn't then he'd send stone giants, and the goblins would scatter.

Eventually Mokmurian would have sufficient forces to slaughter huge numbers of the residents of Varisia, powering up Karzoug's runewell and enabling him to return. At this point he's the most powerful guy in thousands of miles, and he takes over. The end.


Ross Byers wrote:
Bad, bad things.
Tbug wrote:
Even worse things, in detail.

Wow, that shows a lot of insight. Nice work, tbug!


Thanks! It was kind of a fun exercise, actually. :)


Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

If you wanted to mix things up a little more:

Spoiler:

The slaughter of Sandpoint, just above an open Runewell of Wrath, gives Alaznist the kick-start she needs to begin her own rebirth. Nualia's faction ends up bound to Alaznist, not to Karzoug. Xaliasa is reborn early and strengthens that faction enough that it can withstand Xanesha and, later, Mokmurian's first strike force.

The secret of Runeforge falls into Nualia's hands, and the Wrath faction of Runeforge becomes a powerful addition to her forces. This sets the stage for a Mokmurian/Nualia showdown in western Varisia. Who wins probably depends critically on how much progress Alaznist has been able to make in her restoration.

Nualia's faction will have a tough time with the giants. I'd be tempted to have the hellknights, who set up camp in the ruins of Sandpoint while trying to subdue Nualia's forces, become corrupted by Alaznist. (I can't see how to corrupt Xanesha, though she would be a useful addition.) This would also be helpful in keeping Magnimar unsettled. If Xanesha has assassinated the Mayor and perhaps his successor, Magnimar may be unable to mount a concerted response to any of these events in time.

In either case, there is now declared war between Karzoug and Alaznist, and whichever group of (mostly) mortal servitors survives must carry the fight to the central Runewell, either in Xin-Shalast or (I suppose) in Xin-Barakhan beneath the waves. (Unless the domed city is in fact Xin-Barakhan, but I don't think it is.)

If I were thinking of inserting another group of PCs later, I'd go with this interpretation as it has more chaos, and PCs thrive on chaos.

Mary


Wasn't Aldern a third level rogue second level aristocrat or something like that? I don't think he would have died. Not exactly going to take over for the missing characters, saving the day and all, but I think he would be one of the last people to go down. The few who are higher level than him have an interest in saving the town, so would likely get themselves in a bad situation and go down swinging, where Foxglove is high enough to take what the goblins can give out, and cowardly enough to turn tail and bolt when things look rough at all.

His stats are actually one of the only things that bothered me about the first adventure. A group of four first level characters have to save THIS guy from a goblin ranger?! It'll work from the players perspective, because they obviously don't know what class/level he is, and when they fight him he's changed a bit, but it's one of those things you see behind the screen that makes you stop and scratch your head...


Mary Yamato wrote:

If you wanted to mix things up a little more:

** spoiler omitted **

Mary

Spoiler:
Alzhanist is alive? I ever asumed she died (really die I mean) in the sunking of her kingdom

I Thought that it was the reason for the minor runewell controlled by Erylium, instead of the runelady.

Please excuse my poor english.


Artemis,

Spoiler:
We know that all seven runelords had different plans for surviving if everything went wrong. We don't know what all those plans were, and the only one described in detail is Karzoug's. As far as we know, any of the seven runelords could come back at any time. Mary is suggesting that it could be fun to incorporate Alaznist's return into the story.

At least, that's how I read it.


tbug wrote:

Artemis,

** spoiler omitted **

At least, that's how I read it.

Spoiler:
Thanks to the web supplement we also know how Zutha planned to survive/rebirth via the Gluttonous Tome. Not sure if it would ever come up with the goblin attack going off unhindered, but knowing that it's out there and Zutha's potential is unsettling.

Excuse me ¿What web suplement?

Tbug that was I think for all except the runelord of wrath. But is possible that I was in error. Thanks ^^


artemis2 wrote:
Excuse me ¿What web suplement?

Magic of Thassilon


Thanks!


Aldern still would have risen as undead since he was nearly in the final stages of it when he went to Sandpoint. Getting killed earlier doesn't necessarily stop that.

Spoiler:
Don't forget that the fungus is what also causes the plague that hits Korvosa in the second adventure path


Zarine wrote:
Aldern still would have risen as undead since he was nearly in the final stages of it when he went to Sandpoint.

That turns out not to be the case. If you check The Skinsaw Murders, p. 9, you'll see that he attended the Swallowtail Festival at Sandpoint before going back to Foxglove Manor and getting sick.

"Eager to finally be free of his debt, but nervous about returning to the scene of his crime, Aldern swore off the flayleaf, cleaned himself up, and headed north. He lacked the courage to go directly to Foxglove Manor, though, and instead continued on to Sandpoint, where he attended the Swallowtail Festival."

It was after the Festival that he found the fungus and became sick.

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