Good evening guys, after a while time I come to attend this community! Unfortunately the university kept me busy until a few days ago, and I am preparing for the history of medieval art's exam.
My ROTR's campaign is still active, and my party (3 PC, although a fourth player who was absent will come back) has just completed the Part Four of the 2nd adventure .. but there are some changes that I will have to take into view of future sessions, and I take this opportunity to discuss with you while I'm using my free time after a heavy week of skim.
Besides the fact that I do not like to remain 100% faithful to a campaign written (although i really love RotR), one of the players playing with a second party the same campaign and he is forward (Part Two of the 3rd adventure); then it has to adopt amendments to the main plot and events, and it would not be the first time. However a friend of mine showed me his Italian paper copy of Beyond the Door and Doomsday... and - man, it's PERFECT! Actually I had already altered a bit' the plot to add Krune as a threat to Varisia ... but at this point, why not add Alaznist and a qlippoth lord? :D
The campaign will have its original 4th adventure, but I want to present to my group an "alternative street" to make him fully understand the threat that involves the return of the Runelords. The following is my version of Beyond the Doomsday Door, obviously changing the original details of the adventure and adapting it to my ROTR campaign:
Ardathanatus lets slip something about his previous life, and the creature is able to guess that the Abbey Wingsong is located where, in the Thassilonian Era, was erected a temple of Groteus. Not only that, in the depths of the that place lie the infamous Doomsday Door Doomsday Door, connected with Sekatar - Seraktis, the realm of the wicked Yamasoth. So, the creature decides to manipulate the elf's madness urging him to avenge the wrongs suffered by the priests of the Abbey and promises his help; within a few months the elf and the creature not only consolidate their alliance, but they manage to muster a court of monsters to drive a deadly assault on the Abbey of Windsong. Also the elf becomes a servant of Yamasoth and, seduced by the advice of his "only friend I've ever had," he intends to carry out a ritual to summon the Plague Polymorph to complete his revenge on enemies who dared hinder, his ambitions.
However the Ardathanatus's "friend" has its reasons to do so. He is perhaps the only servant of Alaznist currently outstanding; it is not certain, but not intended to repudiate his loyalty to his queen. Through Ardathanatus, he found from these what became the world nowadays, learning much of the historical events of importance and nations that arise on the border with Varisia. Having Yamasoth been an ally of the Runelord, the creature is convinced that the qlippoth is aware of what happened at the end of Thassilon and where she is his queen. When Ardathanatus will complete the ritual and Yamasoth will be called, the creature will seek to obtain from the Polymorph Plague his answers; once obtained he will kill the elf (or deliver it to his patron) and, with its small army of monsters, go to the place where it is located Alaznist and deliver her.
A month before directing the attack on the Abbey, the creature (concealing his identity) went to investigate in the Lost Coast to recruit other servants. Then he ran in the Thistletop goblins and tried to establish some contact with them. However, on that day, the Heroes of Sandpoint had attacked the goblin outpost and killed the goblin chieftain, then head in the Thistletop's underground - and so, while the players were facing Nualia, the creature has chosen the wrong time to talk to the goblins as these, in despair over the death of their king, went mad and attacked the creature in sight.
The creature, obviously offended to see those silly goblins disrespect him, decided to exterminate them without hesitation - unaware that by doing so he saved the PCs. Indeed, at the time the party had managed to defeat Nualia but he was afraid to return to the surface some of the goblin tribes were keeping them a deadly trap, so i sadly decided to resort to a Deus ex Machina - when the group stepped out from their hiding place , they discovered that something had burned Thistletop and goblins of the tribe had been burned alive. But with these new changes, I may be able to connect the event.
Later, Mokmurian and Ursathella (yep, a third lamia matriach from Wrath of the Righteous!) are gathering their army of giants. The lamia is in touch with his sister in Magnimar, which had reported the suspicious movements in the area - then no new communication (I assume that the party is able to defeat Xanesha). Then, when the PCs leave for Turtleback Ferry , the elf and his "friend " will attack the Abbey: Ursathella deems then someone is hindering Karzoug's plan back to Golarion. When the PCs face Barl Break-Bones, they find a letter in which Mokmurian sent a group of giants to attack the Abbey and kill the invaders.. but, before that, the Mokmurian's giants will attack Sandpoint!
As mentioned before, I intend to play at my party "Fortress of the Stone Giants" - but if they intend to investigate the Abbey I not deny him! In fact I think that in this campaign two Runelord are more than sufficient, but I like to use the threat of the Alaznist's return could exercise. Although the real threat would the Yamasoth's call - the mad elf and the Alaznist's servant overestimate their power, or Yamasoth could actually help the creature in exchange for some service. Go as he goes, bring in the Material Plane a qlippoth lord would, I say, a BAD idea.
Now, my goal is to see who can be the creature that Ardathanatus released. The Highlady Athroxis? A Thassilonian wizard? Or a monster, an aberration or a evil outsider? I don't know :P