Thistletop advice


Rise of the Runelords


Hello!

I'm running my first campaign and using RotRL. My party has gotten most of the way through Thistletop, but I was hoping for some ideas on how to proceed. They cleared the goblin fort and first dungeon levels so far, though I let them climb Thistletop itself to get in, so they didn't clear the area with Gogmurt. So far they let Lyrie go, and locked the goblin nursery to let the goblins starve to death. Though the half-elf did toss Bruthazmus' corpse in there because she was upset by the elf ear necklace. After killing the Yeth Hounds, the cleric consecrated the temple to remove Lamashtu's influence, and they've currently barricaded themselves in a room to rest for the night.

I was hoping for some advice for proceeding,
1) Does the Yeth Hound baying alert everyone in and around Thistletop, and the spread effect that is described just apply to its ability to induce panic, or would Gogmurt above and Nualia below be unable to hear it? The text seems to be saying two different things. I don't think Nualia would come up due to the baying, but I think she would be upset about the loss of her connection to Lamashtu through the temple. (Though I don't know if thats something she'd be able to sense...) If the entire complex is alert, I don't think it would make sense for Gogmurt to investigate due to his dislike of Nualia, but would she send someone up to ambush the group in the morning? I guess a lot of this is probably up to me, but I want to make sure what I do makes sense.

2) I personally think letting the goblin babies slowly starve to death in a locked room is crueler then just killing them. So I want this decision to come back and haunt them some day, like one of the goblin babies eats its siblings, becomes stronger, and breaks out to cause havok around Sandpoint. I'm just not sure how to make a goblin a big enough threat to bother them further down the road. I guess he could acquire an army and have a bunch of goblin warriors following him, but I would rather make him more powerful. Does it work to have a level 6 or so barbarian goblin? Or something like that? Or can someone think of a better way of having this decision come back to bite them?

3) The group took Lyrie's spellbook to ensure her cooperation before letting her leave, but lied about knowing about Tsuto's fate. Since they reported that they killed Tsuto to the mayor, and Lyrie is supposed to meet them in town to get the book back, I figure she would probably learn about this. How easy is it to get a new spellbook, could she just put one together in a couple of weeks and begin attacking them in Magnimar? Or would this need to happen much further down the road?


1) Nuallia below would hear it. Gogmurt across the bridge might or might not.

2) maybe a template is in order - how about a cadre of goblin ghosts down the line? Maybe one for each offending PC, that acts more like a personalized haunt and torments more than harms.

3) Lyrie doesn't need a spell book to utilize Scrolls, Wands, Staves, or Rods... That being said, I'd say it would take her about a week in a decently stocked arcane library to create a new book. And yes, if it where my campaign, Magnimar is where she'd have to go. (But that would make for a great ambush in book 2.)


Also, Lyrie could also just steal another Spellbook. She seems like the type to do that.


RoninUsagi wrote:

1) Nuallia below would hear it. Gogmurt across the bridge might or might not.

2) maybe a template is in order - how about a cadre of goblin ghosts down the line? Maybe one for each offending PC, that acts more like a personalized haunt and torments more than harms.

3) Lyrie doesn't need a spell book to utilize Scrolls, Wands, Staves, or Rods... That being said, I'd say it would take her about a week in a decently stocked arcane library to create a new book. And yes, if it where my campaign, Magnimar is where she'd have to go. (But that would make for a great ambush in book 2.)

Ghosts are an interesting option, especially with the Skinsaw Murders coming up. Though I also really like the idea of haunts. Maybe I'll have them haunted by the goblin babies until they go back and burn the bones or something.

Thanks for your advice with Lyrie - one of my players knows this system much better then me, and I wasn't sure how crippling the loss of her spellbook would be. I agree she seems to be the type to steal a spellbook, and I guess this way I get to pick out what spells she would have available. I like the idea of her ambushing them in Magnimar.

Thank you!


Bonus points if she steals it from the party wizard somehow. The panic it can cause the character just missing it for a day can be hilarious. (For the GM, not the player. :P)

Also, I don't remember where I saw it, but awhile back I saw someone also had an idea for a "disposable" spell book - one large stapled bundle of scrolls basically. Every time a page of spells is used, the page crumbles away...

Community / Forums / Pathfinder / Pathfinder Adventure Path / Rise of the Runelords / Thistletop advice All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.
Recent threads in Rise of the Runelords