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Ok so the PC's raided the lodge.
I had made some minor NPC changes because I thought they might need help.
I had a 2nd level cleric in the stable as an ostler/2nd in command. He was not in league with joining forces with the winter creatures and did not agree with Rohkar on this.
He was 'banished to the barn'.
The PCs scouted the stable, so they knew someone was in there (sent to witches fox to look)
they snuck into the barn, but he heard them, there was a brief parlay, when no one could see each other (stall walls in the way) but diplomacy checks were made, as a result there was a fight, the PCs won.
They stayed the night in the barn, and because the bandits knew the Cavalier was in the barn regularly, no one went out to check.
In the morning, the PCs assaulted the Lodge.
It was a take no prisoners attitude and they chopped down ten penny before she could speak (they thought she was a witch because she had drank a potion of spider climb and was running up the wall to get away from them and they saw her over a pot of stew and thought it was their cauldron)
the pitched battle went on and they slaughtered the bandits.
The armored hulk was wearing the cavaliers half plate and +1 heavy shield, and there for had a 21 AC. He was neigh unstoppable.
After a while, the PCs discovered there was an upstairs, which gave rohkar plenty of prep time.
They eventually found the room he was in, but he was invisible and during a skeleton fight, was able to slip out unnoticed. (almost walked straight into the druid, but didn't)
They spent quite some time upstairs studying the map, giving rohkar plenty of time to raise zombies, who eventually they heard coming up the stairs.
The armored hulk rushed the zombies plowing them down the stairs on top of each other with a bull rush from his shield, effectively holding them off while the others jumped out a window. as he clogged the stair well, the others set fire to the lodge.
The barbarian escapes out the window and the PCs set up to snipe anything that came out of the lodge.
I had rohkar escape invisible, the PCs never laid eyes on him and he was never in position to attack one.... what do i do with him now?
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Some Suggestions:
If not, it's possible Rohkar could go back into the debris and try to find/revive her. I kind of hinted that he had a desire to sacrifice her in Norgorber's name, but Teb Knotten and Izoze wouldn't let him, because they had plans to replace her with Gardhek the doppelganger from the Pale Tower and they still needed to give him time to study the noblewoman to better carry off their ruse. If Izoze and Teb Knotten think Rohkar died in the lodge...and the PCs didn't rescue Lady Argentea...there's nothing stopping him from conducting his ritual and adding one more victim to his long list of murders. He's then free to slip away from the Border Wood and escape his erstwhile alliance with the cold fey of Irrisen. He'll be rightly worried, however, that Queen Elvana's plans (which he'd have learned enough about from Teb Knotten) will still succeed in taking over the world...and that her minions would visit misery upon him if they find him again. So, he'd look to reinvent himself by adopting a new name and different disguise, planning on currying favor with whatever provisional governor (i.e., Radosek) comes to power in Taldor as the eternal winter expands.
If the PCs did rescue Lady Argentea, they should be faced with the dilemma of having her travel with them to the winter portal...or, returning with her to Heldren to ensure she reaches safety before they venture into any further danger. If that happens, it's entirely possible for Rohkar to follow after them under the benefits of his cloak of the yeti. He'd probably slip into their camp while invisible so he can put oil of taggit into their stewpot. Then, while most of the party is unconscious or asleep, he could murder them and Argentea. Rohkar is a devious-minded fellow, as well. So, if I were running that kind of encounter, I'd probably have him animate some skeletons he retrieved from the burned out lodge...or found along the way as he retraced the PCs path back to Heldren. When he slipped into camp, he could coup-de-grace Lady Argentea while she's sleeping and order the skeletons to occupy the rest of the PCs while he escapes back into the snow and the dark. Or, if there's only a single sentry watching over their camp, he could cast hold person on them before moving about and murdering Argentea and as many PCs as he can. He's got enough gear and spell options to really make this a deadly encounter if he lines everything up properly...i.e., invisibility, oil of taggit poison, hold person on anyone still conscious, order animated skeletons to attack, coup-de-grace anyone who's helpless...game over.
If you're feeling generous and you don't want to go that route, you've also got the option of Rohkar trying to maintain his alliance with the cold fey by seeking to warn Teb Knotten and Izoze about the PCs's actions at the lodge and the danger they pose. That won't end well for Rohkar, however. Izoze will already know from her vantage point across the ravine, and the mephit may have alerted Teb before Rohkar can get there. In that event, he won't be able to spin any lies to convince the troll to keep him around. You could then have the PCs discover his frozen corpse at the winter portal, as Teb would react violently to Rohkar's ineptitude. The priest could even be found in the disgused pit inside one of the igloos where the fey tricked him into falling to his death.
Lastly, if you want to go long-term, you could hold Rohkar back as a recurring villain...i.e., someone who wants vengeance on the PCs and would like nothing better than to stalk them in an effort to pick them off one by one and sacrifice them in murderous "glory" to Norgorber. In that event, have him follow along when the PCs assault Teb Knotten's camp at the winter portal. You might even have him invisibly aid the PCs at first, and then reveal himself as an "ally" claiming to be one of the few remaining members of the High Sentinel rangers that escaped the bandit assault on the lodge. He could explain his cloak of the yeti is what allowed him to survive in the cold for so long. Be sure to trade out his death knell spell for nondetection so he can better fool them with this ruse. And then, since he'd like nothing better than to also see the moss troll and winter-touched fey slain, he could set himself up as a "benevolent" NPC among the party. Later, when the Black Rider arrives, he'd become fascinated as he participates in their conversation with Baba Yaga's servant. He might even accept the rider's mantle and receive the same compulsion to free Baba Yaga. From there, he'd then take it upon himself to go with them through the winter portal into Irrisen. The only difference is that when he helps free the Old Crone, he'll be looking to request a boon from her to become even more powerful...or, he might seek to become her next Black Rider.
Basically, you've got a ton of ways to spin things story-wise with this development. The fact that the PCs haven't actually seen/met Rohkar gives him a lot of advantages on how to play things. He could become the silent, obsessed serial-killer dogging their trail through the entire campaign. Or, he could come forward under a trustworthy guise to become a manipulative traitor in their midst, arranging all kinds of misfortune in an effort to pick off the PCs so he's the only one still carrying the Black Rider's mantle and therefore worthy of Baba Yaga's reward for freeing her...assuming, of course, he can actually complete that task without them. He may string it out so the PCs do all the heavy lifting for him, only to swoop in and snatch victory for himself at the end.
My two cents,
--Neil
I don't play in Golarion so I confess I don't know as much about the religion of Norgorber or the political ties between White Witches/the power of BY etc but perhaps if Rokhar plays his cards right, he could sacrifice Elvanna and/or BY to Norgorber and gain favour/become the new Stabbing Beast/ another herald?
Good luck with the game
Some Suggestions:
** spoiler omitted **...
the PC's set Fire to the lodge before the realized there even WAS a basement.
So technically, no they did NOT free Lady Argenta (they kinda got side tracked with lots of fighting, and in the midst of it there was an epiphany of, why ARE we killing these guys again?)
Tunnel vision/fog of war/lapse of memory between game sessions I guess.
I had a PC (that was going to be introduced this game session) also locked in the basement as a captive, meant to be freed by the PCs and join the gang. But when the building went on fire the character (who is a rogue) picked the lock and they were able to escape in time.
However, the PCs set up out side to snipe anything that came out and both Argenta and the PC were shot (poor perception checks) but were not killed before they could yell out DONT SHOOT.
so Argenta and the would be PC survived. But the Party, not knowing Argenta or the new character (the new character was a cat folk , so that didnt help) were suspicious and didnt want to keep them around. So the PCs gave them a horse and some supplies and sent them packing back to heldren.
The Pcs then turned their attention to Rohkars map that they swiped before the burned the place down.
The character with points in Knowledge geography is the barbarian, pretty funny.