*Spoiler* Skinsaw Murders - Estate encounter


Rise of the Runelords

Sovereign Court

I've run into a bit of a snag in my run of ROTR. I had several problems with the final encounter, both mechanical and plot. Spoilers follow.

The Aldern Foxglove encounter was not only a complete steamroll for the party, but they cut him off early before he could reveal any information. What's more, they burned everything on the table including the letter from Xanesha.

The first problem: Aldern Foxglove was murdered in less than 5 rounds or so. Round 1 consisted of the mage casting Spiked Pit right behind Aldern, which he succeeded in avoiding with his good Reflex save. Before anything else happened, the fighter bullrushed him into the pit like a sparta kick from 300. This was handled by a CMB check vs his CMD and once that was done the encounter was basically over. Since he gets no additional save from a bullrush, he was instantly caught in the pit, unable to climb out and unable to jump out, regardless of his ring of jumping (30ft deep pit). They picked him off from a distance with spells and ranged weapons as he tried to climb. It was awful and anticlimactic. Did I miss something in the calculations or is it just a powerful tactic that ended in a steamroll?

Also, this all occurred before Aldern could say a word to reveal any plot items. What's more, they torched the table for some reason. I offered several perception checks which were responded to with "Don't care, burn the **** it's creepy." Needless to say, the party was determined to destroy all evidence to the plot and now have nothing to go on. Any thoughts?


Have someone in Sandpoiint ask them to investigate the murder of a friend down in Magnimar. That segues themnicely into that plot.

Or maybe they see Aldern Foxglove in the street (one of those shapechangingmonsters) when they get there.


Have the Skinsaw Cult sent a group of assassins to attack the party in Sandpoint. This gives them initiative to return to Magnimar. You could even comment how they had "skin masks similar to the one Aldern had been wearing" to suggest a link between the two.


I agree with Tonyz. The PCs learn of more Skinsaw Murders in Magnimar, and head there to investigate. While in town, they cross paths with Aldern Foxglove (really a Faceless Stalker). This should pique their interest, and they can then either investigate Foxglove's holdings in Magnimar at the city records office, or just tail him back to Foxglove's townhouse.

You can then resume your regularly-scheduled Adventure Path, already in progress.

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