Catacombs of Wrath - Statue of Alaznist

[muklowd]

Hi all,

Running RotRL for the first time at the moment ... my PCs have just got into the Welcoming Chamber in the Catacombs. We just got to the bit where the text says
"The statue depicts Runelord Alaznist, identifiable as
such with a DC 25 Knowledge (history) check."

and one of the members of the party managed to roll a natural 20 for his roll!

So, what do I tell them? I have said it is Runelord Alaznist but I am unsure of what knowledge should be available about her from thousands of years ago. I haven't found anything (yet) explaining it in the book and I don't want to derail anything that might come later. So can anyone give me an idea for what I should be telling them?

thanks

[Bellona]

"A powerful ruler from the time of Thassilon, said to be a great spellcaster. Experts think that she ruled the Varisian coastal area, plus the islands of the Gulf."

If/when the party gets to the library under Jorgenfist, they can find some maps of the original Thassilon, and see exactly how incorrect the common academic theories are. :)

(I would require a much higher DC - like 40 or more - for more information. This is in part to prevent them from being killed by exploring a place like Hollow Mountain, which has no relevance to the AP, yet is as deadly as Xin-Shalast.)

Also, Alaznist/Wrath can serve as a red herring as to the identity of the BBEG of RotR.

[Tangent101]

Small note: A nature 20 on a skill check does not mean an automatic success. The only way that player would have succeeded in the Knowledge (History) check is if her or she had at least one skill point in Knowledge History and enough Intelligence to boost the skill to a +5.

[Urath DM]

So.. I had a similar issue in my game.

If you have the Anniversary Edition,

Spoiler:

there's a table of Knowledge checks for Thassilon in the SECOND book, Skinsaw Murders, under the investigation part. A DC 25 Knowledge (history) check gets them all of the information Brodert Quink can give them, and XP for getting it either from him or through their own check.

You can use this ahead of time in your game to determine what they know.

Reminder: A Natural 20 is NOT an automatic success on a skill check, unless you're using house rules.

EDIT: Ninja'd while composing. However, a class with Knowledge as a class skill can easily have a +5 or greater modifier at 1st level.. and they probably should be 2nd or maybe even 3rd by this point in the adventure.

[muklowd]

Awesome - thanks for the advice and suggestions all :)