Nualia after thistletop

[Mavrickindigo]

So people, Nualia has escaped and is free to do whatever she pleases, what have you done with her after Thistletop if your characters didn't kill her?

[Haladir]

Savor this chance! I almost never get a chance to run a recurring villain. My players tend to get obsessed with taking out recurring bad guys to the extent that they can derail a campaign just to "get" them!

Extensive Runelords spoilers:

I would level Nualia up appropriately, and have her show up again aiding the giants on their raid on Sandpoint at the start of Fortress of the Stone Giants. She still wants to burn Sandpoint to the ground-- and now she has a fire-breathing dragon!

From time to time, drop some hints that she's still out there, too. For example, maybe there's a mention of her in Ironbriar's journal that she returned for more assistance after the PCs' raid on Thistletop. And, maybe the villagers in Turtleback Ferry mention seeing someone who matched her description in town a few weeks before the PCs show up. (Behind the scenes-- she met with Xanesha in Magnimar, then went to see Lucretia in Turtleback Ferry, then met up with Terakitnus to advise him on Sandpoint's defenses.)

[Fabbio]

Here is what I did:

Rise of the Runelords spoilers:

So Nualia escaped without a trace.... What I did south her is to have the letter to Aldern from Xanesha in the second book include something hinting at a new ally (Nualia of course) I included enough description that they were fairly sure of who it was. I also included something about her greed and lust for vengeance eventually providing a great soul for her master once her usefulness has expired. Once they continue on through the adventure I had a real fun twist at the end of book two... Once they kill the scarecrow I described it something like this... As you ascend the stair you hear a scream followed by a crash as a form plummets to the ground in the center of the clock tower kick up a large cloud of dust. As it settles you see a creature lying in a small crater with a serpentine tail and a woman's body, her face frozen in a scream. Looming over this form is a blood red creature. As it straightens you see it is female (feminine features) with four grotesque arms.. It's exposed mid drift shows a crisscross mass of scars, a large knotted scar across its chest (the fighter slashed nualia there), long silver hair, and burning yellow eyes. The creature turns and breaks out in a wide grin and in a raspy voice says "I knew you would come".... Then roll initiative. I made her stats just a little better than Xanesha. It was a fun and exciting fight I also included a picture I found on google images that is perfect... If you want I can put it in an email... I just can't figure out how to paste from my phone. Also a slightly modified Xill mini worked awesome. I think it was an epic fight, and they appreciated the nice tie in.

Anyway, that's what I did, maybe not the most awesome, but it may give you an idea or two. My idea was that Nualia and her over all ideal didn't really fit with the whole greed thing too well. She was much more the "watch the world burn" type imo.