Rise of The Runelord Anniversary Edition for 4, 5 or 6 Players using The GM’s Guide to Creating Challenging Encounters (SPOILERS!!!!)


Rise of the Runelords

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Thank you so much for all of this! I have 7 players and this is going to help tremendously.


Joey, you are a maniac! Thank you so much for this! This is great stuff. I am using this for my soon-to-come-to-fruition AE Rise Campaign. I am going chapter by chapter and needed some clarification...

I will have a party of 6 PC's that have very good stats. (I allowed them to roll, WHAT?! who does that anymore?)
Anyway, right now I am only going through Chapter One making use of all your hard work when I came across this...

In the Catacombs of Wrath for the Sin spawn you made the note of:
6 Heroes 2 Advanced +2 Hitdice Sin spawn
and later:
6 Heroes 3 Advanced +2 Hitdice Sin spawn
(sorry don't post enough on here to know the way to show a quote and whatnot)

Now does that mean, and here's where I need the clarification, that the Advanced Sin Spawn have 2 additional hit dice as well as the advanced template? Because that seems like a lot of hit points for the PC's to battle. Two 5HD Sin Spawn? Then three 5HD Sin Spawn. That's an average of around 45 hit point each. It just seems like a tad much for 2nd level characters at that time.
Just wanted to check with you and see if I'm interpreting/reading the entries correctly.
Thank you again for all this great material. As I said I am going to use it.
Appreciate the time.
Good Gaming,
Asti


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Yes if you are dealing with six players that's what I did hit dice and the template.

But by chance that night I ran that I didn't have six players lol

Side note for all I am very sorry I haven't finished this as a teacher summers are more busy than work days so I haven't and don't see myself getting a chance to finish this up till August at the earliest sorry guys


Just a side request if any of this kills PCs please let me know on here I like to know how these combats play out for other groups. We should finish book one next Saturday.

Grand Lodge

My group is in Thistletop right now and we run 7 players ( yeah I know its a large party) but even with 5 or 6 at the table players adding a huge amount of monsters is a logitical nightmare with the size of the rooms and corridors.

I have been using your premise and altering, or adjusting as I see fit. Creatures with greater hit points last more than one round of 7 people wailing on them.

One question... in the Thistletop entry you have The Dragon Above... where was your intent to put that encounter?

Thank you again!


It was circling over the entire thistle top. They saw it from the thorns. If they tried to enter the front gate it came down and said no. They talked with it for a while then the enlarged lead blades hunter unloaded on it a couple times and it died.

Grand Lodge

Thanks.

Joey Virtue wrote:
It was circling over the entire thistle top. They saw it from the thorns. If they tried to enter the front gate it came down and said no. They talked with it for a while then the enlarged lead blades hunter unloaded on it a couple times and it died.


hi there joey just wana say thank you for all that you've done. can i get all the stats in word format ? thanks

kingofpirates125@hotmail(dot)com


Thank you so much, i recently started RotRl with a 6 player party and this is exactly what i needed.

A quick question, the Vargouille encounter, the stats you've posted are for the Advanced version, in the 6 player section you said to put up 2 Vargouille. Did you mean 2 regular or 2 advanced? Two advanced seems a bit much, but i'm just curious.


Two of my custom vargouille is what I meant when I say advanced I mean throw the advanced template on what I posted.


Ah, understood. But i think i will keep the normal cr2 vargouille. My party consists of mostly new players, so i don't wanna overwhelm them right from the getgo. But this is definitly helpful. Thanks again, great work


Well, i have to veto my last comment, i think i might just use your list.

My Party consists of:

- Summoner (APG Variation, not Unchained)
- Redeemer Paladin
- Bones Oracle
- Druid
- Witch
- Alchemist

Do you think this party will have much problems with your suggestions? I probably will have to balance on the fly regardless, but what do you think of this party comp and their capability? Should they handle a bit of difficulty even if not minmaxed?


They seem to have lots of casting which always give the PCs an Advantage right out the gate.

My players have good stats and high HP I have taken very few of them down but many of them have gotten into the single digits on HP a few times.


I've took a look at your character creation guidelines for the campaign, they have quite a bit more in terms of stats than mine (we did 20 point buy). Also the equipment is pretty much standard in terms of starting gold. So your encounter suggestions might actually be a bit much for them. I can't tell you the stats right away since i don't have the sheets with me. I'll probably stick to the usual CR calculations and maybe increase the difficulty a bit ad hoc.

Probably some advanced templates and such. In case of the Vargouille, the armor for an advanced version is a bit much, AC 19 is really hard to hit for a 2nd level character (14+/65% misschance for a BAB 2 +3 STR character).

How would you balance AC? What hitchance should a character usually have?


So I remade the encounter now that I wont be making my PCs mythic

4 Heroes Azaven
5 Heroes Azaven and 2 Dread Wraiths
6 Heroes Azaven and 4 Dread Wraiths

Non Mythic Azaven:

Azaven CR 18
XP 153,600
Unholy negative-energy charged human lich (Azlanti necromancer 14 (Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Magic 17, Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 188)
CE Medium undead (augmented humanoid, evil, human)
Init +13; Senses darkvision 120 ft., life sight (20 feet, 14 rounds/day), lifesense; Perception +34
Aura awful presence (30 ft.), fear (60 ft., DC 27)
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 37, touch 23, flat-footed 26 (+5 armor, +2 deflection, +9 Dex, +2 dodge, +9 natural)
hp 252 (14d6+168)
Fort +16, Ref +15, Will +15; +3 profane bonus vs. channeled positive energy, +2 resistance vs. good creatures
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +8, obscuring energy, positive energy protection, protection from good, rejuvenation, strong resistance; DR 15/bludgeoning, 15/magic, 5/good; Immune cold, electricity, negative energy, polymorph, undead traits; Resist positive energy 10
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 70 ft.
Melee touch +14 (1d8+8 negative energy plus paralyzing touch)
Special Attacks paralyzing touch (DC 27), profane attacks, searing darkness (100 ft., 7d8 neg. energy, 1/day), unholy spellcasting
Arcane School Spell-Like Abilities (CL 14th; concentration +24)
. . 13/day—grave touch (7 rounds)
Necromancer Spells Prepared (CL 14th; concentration +24)
. . 7th—finger of death (2, DC 29), forcecage (DC 27), prismatic spray, shadow body[OA]
. . 6th—banshee blast[ACG] (2, DC 28), chain lightning (2, DC 26), mislead (DC 26), quickened scorching ray (2)
. . 5th—quickened magic missile (3), suffocation[APG] (DC 27), wall of force, waves of fatigue (2)
. . 4th—dimension door, enervation, enervation (2), fear (DC 26), mass reduce person (DC 24), stone shape, wall of blindness/deafness[ACG] (DC 26)
. . 3rd—fly, gaseous form, lightning bolt (2, DC 23), ray of exhaustion (2, DC 25), slow (DC 23), tongues
. . 2nd—blindness/deafness (2, DC 24), false life, ghoul touch (DC 24), glitterdust (DC 22), mirror image, scorching ray (2), spectral hand
. . 1st—chill touch (2, DC 23), grease, magic missile (4), obscuring mist, reduce person (DC 21)
. . 0 (at will)—detect magic, mage hand, prestidigitation, read magic
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 20, Dex 28, Con —, Int 30, Wis 19, Cha 30
Base Atk +7; CMB +14; CMD 35
Feats Combat Casting, Craft Wondrous Item, Eschew Materials, Extend Spell, Greater Spell Focus (necromancy), Improved Initiative, Quicken Spell, Scribe Scroll, Spell Focus (necromancy), Spell Penetration, Time Stutter, Turn Undead
Skills Acrobatics +10 (+26 to jump), Appraise +28, Bluff +11, Climb +6, Craft (alchemy) +28, Diplomacy +11, Disguise +11, Escape Artist +10, Fly +27, Heal +5, Intimidate +11, Knowledge (arcana) +28, Knowledge (dungeoneering) +28, Knowledge (engineering) +28, Knowledge (nobility) +28, Knowledge (planes) +28, Knowledge (religion) +28, Perception +34, Ride +10, Sense Motive +34, Spellcraft +28, Stealth +34, Survival +5, Swim +6; Racial Modifiers +8 Perception, +8 Sense Motive, +8 Stealth
Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Azlanti, Common, Draconic, Elven, Giant, Infernal, Necril, Thassilonian
SQ arcane bond (staff of hungry shadows), power over undead, unholy body
Combat Gear staff of hungry shadows[UE]; Other Gear amulet of natural armor +2, bracers of armor +5, headband of vast intelligence +4, ring of protection +2
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Arcane Bond (Staff of hungry shadows) (1/day) (Sp) Use object to cast any spell in your spellbook. Without it, Concentration required to cast spells (DC20 + spell level).
Awful Presence Nonevil creatures take -1 penalty on attacks, checks, and saves.
Channel Resistance +8 +8 bonus to save vs. Channel Energy.
Combat Casting +4 to Concentration checks to cast while on the defensive.
Damage Reduction (15/bludgeoning) You have Damage Reduction against all except Bludgeoning attacks.
Damage Reduction (15/magic) You have Damage Reduction against all except Magic attacks.
Damage Reduction (5/good) You have Damage Reduction against all except Good attacks.
Darkvision (120 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Energy Resistance, Positive energy (10) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Positive Energy attacks.
Eschew Materials Cast spells without materials, if component cost is 1 gp or less.
Extend Spell Spell duration lasts twice as normal. +1 Level.
Fear Aura (DC 27) Foes in 60 ft are frightened (below 5 HD) or shaken for 14 rds (Will neg).
Gluttony (Necromancy) The dread and feared necromancer commands undead and uses the foul power of unlife against his enemies.
Grave Touch (7 rounds, 13/day) (Sp) As a standard action, touch shakes living foe 7 rds (frighten 1 rd if already shaken).
Greater Spell Focus (Necromancy) +1 to the Save DC of spells from one school.
Immunity to Ability Drain Immunity to ability drain
Immunity to Bleed You are immune to bleed.
Immunity to Cold You are immune to cold damage.
Immunity to Death Effects You are immune to death effects.
Immunity to Disease You are immune to diseases.
Immunity to Electricity You are immune to electricity damage.
Immunity to Energy Drain Immune to energy drain
Immunity to Exhausted You are immune to the exhausted condition.
Immunity to Fatigue You are immune to the fatigued condition.
Immunity to Mind-Affecting effects You are immune to Mind-Affecting effects.
Immunity to Negative Energy You are immune to negative energy.
Immunity to Nonlethal Damage You are immune to Nonlethal Damage
Immunity to Paralysis You are immune to paralysis.
Immunity to Physical Ability Damage Immune to ability damage to your physical abilities.
Immunity to Poison You are immune to poison.
Immunity to Polymorph You are immune to Polymorph effects.
Immunity to Sleep You are immune to sleep effects.
Immunity to Stunning You are immune to being stunned.
Life Sight (20 feet, 14 rounds/day) (Su) Gain special blindsight which only sees living and undead.
Lifesense (60 feet) (Ex) Sense living things and creatures without seeing them.
Obscuring Energy (Su) Concealment (20% miss chance) when moving; total concealment (50% miss chance) when standing still
Paralyzing Touch (1d8+7 negative energy dam, DC 27) Touched foe takes dam & permanent paralysis (Fort part). Seems dead unless examined.
Positive Energy Protection (Su) Cancel out positive energy attack with a level check.
Profane Attacks (Su) +1d6 unholy damage on all attacks vs. good
Protection from Good (Su) +2 deflection bonus to AC and resistance bonus on saves vs. evil
Quicken Spell Cast a spell as a swift action. +4 Levels.
Rejuvenation (Su) Liches can return after a few days.
Searing Darkness (100 ft., 7d8 neg. energy, 1/day) (Su) As searing light but deals negative energy damage (max 10 dice).
Spell Focus (Necromancy) Spells from one school of magic have +1 to their save DC.
Strong Resistance (Su) Always gets a Will save against effects that would destroy it
Time Stutter (1/day) (Sp) Use time stop for 1 round
Touch (DC 27) (Su) Touched foe is paralyzed permanently (Fort neg). Seems dead unless Percep DC 20 or Heal DC 15.
Turn Undead (DC 27) (Su) Receive Command Undead or Turn Undead as a bonus feat.
Undead Traits Undead have many immunities.
Unholy Body (Su) Healed by negative energy, harmed by positive.
Unholy Spellcasting (Su) Necromancy, curse, and evil spells cast at +1 CL.

Dread Wraith:

Dread Wraith CR 12
XP 19,200
Dread wraith (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary)
LE Large undead (incorporeal)
Init +13; Senses darkvision 60 ft., lifesense (60'); Perception +29
Aura unnatural aura
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 26, touch 26, flat-footed 16 (+7 deflection, +9 Dex, +1 dodge, -1 size)
hp 252 (18d8+144)
Fort +13, Ref +15, Will +15
Defensive Abilities channel resistance +2, incorporeal; Immune undead traits
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed fly 60 ft. (good)
Melee other melee natural attack +21 (2d6 neg. energy plus 1d8 Con drain)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str —, Dex 28, Con —, Int 18, Wis 18, Cha 24
Base Atk +13; CMB +23; CMD 41
Feats Alertness, Blind-fight, Combat Reflexes, Dodge, Improved Initiative, Improved Natural Attack (other melee natural attack), Mobility, Spring Attack, Toughness
Skills Diplomacy +25, Fly +32, Intimidate +28, Knowledge (planes) +22, Knowledge (religion) +25, Perception +29, Sense Motive +29, Stealth +26
Languages Common, Infernal
SQ constitution drain (1d6), create spawn, sunlight powerlessness
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Blind-Fight Re-roll misses because of concealment, other benefits.
Channel Resistance +2 +2 bonus to save vs. Channel Energy.
Combat Reflexes (10 AoO/round) Can make extra attacks of opportunity/rd, and even when flat-footed.
Constitution Drain (1d8, DC 26) (Su) Creatures hit by a wraith's touch attack must succeed on a DC 17 Fortitude save or take 1d6 points of Constitution drain. On each successful attack, the wraith gains 5 temporary hit points. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Create Spawn (Su) A humanoid slain by a wraith becomes a wraith in 1d4 rounds. These spawn are less powerful than typical wraiths, and suffer a -2 penalty on all d20 rolls and checks, receive -2 hp per HD, and only drain 1d2 points of Constitution on a touch. Spawn ar
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Fly (60 feet, Good) You can fly!
Immunity to Ability Drain Immunity to ability drain
Immunity to Bleed You are immune to bleed.
Immunity to Critical Hits You are immune to Critical Hits
Immunity to Death Effects You are immune to death effects.
Immunity to Disease You are immune to diseases.
Immunity to Energy Drain Immune to energy drain
Immunity to Exhausted You are immune to the exhausted condition.
Immunity to Fatigue You are immune to the fatigued condition.
Immunity to Mind-Affecting effects You are immune to Mind-Affecting effects.
Immunity to Nonlethal Damage You are immune to Nonlethal Damage
Immunity to Paralysis You are immune to paralysis.
Immunity to Physical Ability Damage Immune to ability damage to your physical abilities.
Immunity to Poison You are immune to poison.
Immunity to Precision Damage You are immune to Precision Damage
Immunity to Sleep You are immune to sleep effects.
Immunity to Stunning You are immune to being stunned.
Incorporeal (Ex) You aren't quite here.
Lifesense (60') (Su) A wraith notices and locates living creatures within 60 feet, just as if it possessed the blindsight ability.
Mobility +4 to AC vs. AoO provoked by moving out of or through a threatened area.
Spring Attack You can move - attack - move when attacking with a melee weapon.
Sunlight Powerlessness (Ex) A wraith caught in sunlight cannot attack and is staggered.
Undead Traits Undead have many immunities.
Unnatural Aura (Su) Animals do not willingly approach within 30 feet of a wraith, unless a master makes a DC 25 Handle Animal, Ride, or wild empathy check.


This is all incredibly helpful. I'll be starting RotR with a group of 6 new-ish players in a few weeks. Can I get the word document by chance? I can manage with this format but I'd love to have the information offline as well. Thanks so much for the work you've done. halliwell.tyler@gmail.com


So as of right now there is no word document of Stats and Im not sure when Ill get them done Im sorry.
I only have the word Doc of the encounters


Can't wait to see what you've got after this! Thanks for all your work so far, Joey!


I finally killed a player the other night with and extra encounter with the Goblin Ghoul Rogues lots of sneak attack damage when you are paralyzed


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Part Five: The Vault of Greed

Pilfer’s Bane:
• Crushing Door Perception 28 Disable Device 28
• Effect: Crush 15D10 Bludgeoning DC 25 Reflex to Avoid

Morphic Mist:
• Baleful Polymorph DC 25 Fortitude Save

Fountains:
• 4 Heroes 4 Stone Golems
• 5 Heroes 4 Stone Golems
• 6 Heroes 4 Advanced Stone Golems

Fountain Stone Golem:

Fountain Stone Golem CR 13
XP 25,600
Stone golem (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 163)
N Large construct
Init +0; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +0
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 27, touch 9, flat-footed 27 (+18 natural, -1 size)
hp 174 (18d10+30)
Fort +6, Ref +6, Will +6
DR 10/adamantine; Immune construct traits, immunity to magic
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 20 ft.
Melee 2 slams +26 (2d10+9)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks slow
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 28, Dex 10, Con —, Int —, Wis 11, Cha 1
Base Atk +18; CMB +28; CMD 38
Skills Acrobatics +0 (-4 to jump)
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Construct Traits (+30 HP) Constructs have many immunities.
Damage Reduction (10/adamantine) You have Damage Reduction against all except Adamantine attacks.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Immunity to Ability Damage Immunity to ability damage
Immunity to Ability Drain Immunity to ability drain
Immunity to Bleed You are immune to bleed.
Immunity to Death and Necromancy effects You are immune to Death and Necromancy effects.
Immunity to Disease You are immune to diseases.
Immunity to Energy Drain Immune to energy drain
Immunity to Exhausted You are immune to the exhausted condition.
Immunity to Fatigue You are immune to the fatigued condition.
Immunity to Magic (Ex) A stone golem is immune to any spell or spell-like ability that allows spell resistance. In addition, certain spells and effects function differently against the creature, as noted below.
• A transmute rock to mud spell slows a stone golem (
Immunity to Mind-Affecting effects You are immune to Mind-Affecting effects.
Immunity to Nonlethal Damage You are immune to Nonlethal Damage
Immunity to Paralysis You are immune to paralysis.
Immunity to Poison You are immune to poison.
Immunity to Sleep You are immune to sleep effects.
Immunity to Stunning You are immune to being stunned.
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in dim light, distinguishing color and detail.
Slow (DC 19) (Su) A stone golem can use a slow effect, as the spell, as a free action once every 2 rounds. The effect has a range of 10 feet in a burst centered on the golem and a duration of 9 rounds, requiring a DC 19 Will save to negate. The save DC is Constitution

Research Center:
• 4 Heroes Ordikon The Mithral Mage and The Platinum Man
• 5 Heroes Ordikon The Mithral Mage and The Platinum Man
• 6 Heroes Ordikon The Mithral Mage and The Platinum Man (Advanced)

Ordikon The Mithral Mage:

Ordikon The Mithral Mage CR 14
XP 38,400
Mithral-clad human (Azlanti, Pureblooded) transmuter 14 (Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Inner Sea Magic 17)
NE Medium humanoid (human)
Init +4; Senses Perception +16
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 33, touch 15, flat-footed 28 (+4 armor, +4 Dex, +1 dodge, +10 natural, +4 shield)
hp 228 (14d6+144)
Fort +13, Ref +10, Will +13
Defensive Abilities fortification 75%; DR 10/adamantine (140 points); Resist electricity 30, fire 15
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 60 ft.
Melee staff of mithral might +11/+6 (1d6+5) or
. . slam +4 (1d8+1)
Arcane School Spell-Like Abilities (CL 14th; concentration +22)
. . At will—change shape (beast shape iii or elemental body ii, 14 rounds/day)
. . 11/day—telekinetic fist (1d4+7 bludgeoning)
Transmuter Spells Prepared (CL 14th; concentration +22)
. . 7th—limited wish, prismatic spray, reverse gravity (2), shadow body[OA]
. . 6th—disintegrate (2, DC 26), greater dispel magic, flesh to stone (DC 26), quickened scorching ray (2)
. . 5th—baleful polymorph (2, DC 25), dismissal (DC 23), quickened magic missile (2), wall of force
. . 4th—dimension door (2), fear (DC 22), obsidian flow[UC] (DC 24), mass reduce person (2, DC 24), stoneskin, symbol of slowing[UM] (DC 24)
. . 3rd—extended false life, fireball (2, DC 21), fleshwarping swarm, fly, protection from energy, slow (2, DC 23)
. . 2nd—acid arrow, cat's grace (2), glitterdust (DC 20), extended mage armor, resist energy, scorching ray (2)
. . 1st—expeditious retreat, grease, magic missile (2), reduce person (2, DC 21), shield (2)
. . 0 (at will)—acid splash, arcane mark, mage hand, prestidigitation
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 14, Dex 18, Con 24, Int 26, Wis 14, Cha 14
Base Atk +7; CMB +9; CMD 24
Feats Craft Wondrous Item, Dodge, Eschew Materials, Extend Spell, Greater Spell Focus (transmutation), Quicken Spell, Scale And Skin, Scribe Scroll, Spell Focus (transmutation), Tenacious Transmutation[APG], Time Stutter
Skills Acrobatics +4 (+16 to jump), Appraise +25, Craft (Metal Working ) +25, Fly +21, Knowledge (arcana) +25, Knowledge (engineering) +25, Knowledge (nature) +25, Knowledge (nobility) +25, Knowledge (planes) +25, Perception +16, Sense Motive +16, Spellcraft +25, Swim -2
Languages Abyssal, Aklo, Azlanti, Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Giant, Infernal, Thassilonian
SQ arcane bond (staff of mithral might), mithral limbs, physical enhancement (+3)
Combat Gear pearl of power (2nd level), staff of mithral might[UE]; Other Gear cloak of resistance +2, headband of vast intelligence +4, rod of metal and mineral detection
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Arcane Bond (Staff of mithral might) (1/day) (Sp) Use object to cast any spell in your spellbook. Without it, Concentration required to cast spells (DC20 + spell level).
Change Shape II (beast shape iii or elemental body ii, 14 rounds/day) (Sp) Use beast shape III or elemental body II as a Spell-Like ability.
Damage Reduction (10/adamantine [140 points]) You have Damage Reduction against all except Adamantine attacks.
Energy Resistance, Electricity (30) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Electricity attacks.
Energy Resistance, Fire (15) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Fire attacks.
Eschew Materials Cast spells without materials, if component cost is 1 gp or less.
Extend Spell Spell duration lasts twice as normal. +1 Level.
Fortification 75% You have a chance to negate critical hits on attacks.
Greater Spell Focus (Transmutation) +1 to the Save DC of spells from one school.
Greed (Transmutation) Transmuters use magic to change the world around them.
Mithral Limbs (Ex) Natural attacks and grapple are mithral.
Physical Enhancement +3 (Constitution) (Su) When preparing spells, chosen physical attribute gains enhancement bonus.
Quicken Spell Cast a spell as a swift action. +4 Levels.
Scale and Skin When transmutation spell affects you, gain +1 or +2 to natural armor.
Spell Focus (Transmutation) Spells from one school of magic have +1 to their save DC.
Telekinetic Fist (1d4+7 bludgeoning, 11/day) (Sp) As a standard action, ranged touch deals bludgeon dam vs. foe in 30 ft.
Tenacious Transmutation Caster level checks to dispel your transmutations increase by 2. Negated transmutations last 1 more round before dissipating.
Time Stutter (1/day) (Sp) Use time stop for 1 round

The Platinum Man:

The Platinum Man CR 17
XP 102,400
Shield guardian platinum-clad iron golem (Pathfinder Campaign Setting: Tombs of Golarion, Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 158, 162)
N Large construct
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision; Perception +1
--------------------
Defense
--------------------
AC 36, touch 11, flat-footed 34 (+2 Dex, +25 natural, -1 size)
hp 250 (22d10+30); fast healing 5
Fort +7, Ref +9, Will +8
Defensive Abilities light fortification; DR 15/adamantine; Immune construct traits, magic; Resist electricity 5, fire 20
--------------------
Offense
--------------------
Speed 10 ft.
Melee 2 slams +27 (2d10+36/19-20)
Space 10 ft.; Reach 10 ft.
Special Attacks breath weapon, powerful blows
Spell-Like Abilities (CL 18th; concentration +15)
. . —spell storing
--------------------
Statistics
--------------------
Str 34, Dex 14, Con —, Int —, Wis 12, Cha 5
Base Atk +22; CMB +29; CMD 47
Feats Power Attack
Skills Acrobatics +2 (-6 to jump)
SQ controlled, find master, guard, shield other
--------------------
Special Abilities
--------------------
Breath Weapon (1/1d4+1 rounds, DC 21) (Su) 10-ft. cube, poison, usable every 1d4+1 rds.
Construct Traits (+30 HP) Constructs have many immunities.
Controlled (Ex) A shield guardian that has the berserk special attack cannot go berserk as long as the wearer of its amulet is within 30 feet.
Damage Reduction (15/adamantine) You have Damage Reduction against all except Adamantine attacks.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Energy Resistance, Electricity (5) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Electricity attacks.
Energy Resistance, Fire (20) You have the specified Energy Resistance against Fire attacks.
Fast Healing 5 (Ex) Heal damage every round unless you are killed.
Find Master (Su) As long as a shield guardian and its amulet are on the same plane, the shield guardian can locate the amulet's wearer (or just the amulet, if it is removed after the guardian is called).
Guard (Ex) If ordered to do so, a shield guardian moves to defend the wearer of its amulet. All attacks against the amulet wearer take a –2 penalty when the shield guardian is adjacent to its master.
Immunity to Ability Damage Immunity to ability damage
Immunity to Ability Drain Immunity to ability drain
Immunity to Bleed You are immune to bleed.
Immunity to Death and Necromancy effects You are immune to Death and Necromancy effects.
Immunity to Disease You are immune to diseases.
Immunity to Energy Drain Immune to energy drain
Immunity to Exhausted You are immune to the exhausted condition.
Immunity to Fatigue You are immune to the fatigued condition.
Immunity to Magic (Ex) Immune to spells that allow SR, with some exceptions.
Immunity to Mind-Affecting effects You are immune to Mind-Affecting effects.
Immunity to Nonlethal Damage You are immune to Nonlethal Damage
Immunity to Paralysis You are immune to paralysis.
Immunity to Poison You are immune to poison.
Immunity to Sleep You are immune to sleep effects.
Immunity to Stunning You are immune to being stunned.
Light Fortification (Ex) 50% chance to treat any critical hit or sneak attack as a normal attack
Low-Light Vision See twice as far as a human in dim light, distinguishing color and detail.
Poison (DC 21) Poison: Breath weapon—inhaled; save Fort DC 21; frequency 1/round for 4 rounds; effect 1d4 Con; cure 2 consecutive saves.
Power Attack -6/+12 You can subtract from your attack roll to add to your damage.
Powerful Blows (Ex) Slam attacks deal 1-1/2 times Str bonus and threatens critical on 19-20.
Shield Other (Sp) The wearer of a shield guardian's amulet can activate this defensive ability as a standard action if within 100 feet of the shield guardian. Just as the spell of the same name, this ability transfers to the shield guardian half the damage that would
Spell Storing (Sp) A shield guardian can store one spell of 4th level or lower that is cast into it by another creature. It “casts” this spell when commanded to do so or when a predefined situation arises. Once this spell is used, the shield guardian can store anot


Joey Virtue wrote:
Just a side request if any of this kills PCs please let me know on here I like to know how these combats play out for other groups. We should finish book one next Saturday.

As you wish.

The 'one Kreeg Fighter per PC' part at the Kreeg Clanhold actually killed our overconfident Monk. well that and an exceptional good rolling GM


Stellar work. I'm getting ready to run this adventure path with 6 players and you just made my life a million times easier. Thank you!


Joey, I wanted to say thank you once again! This has been awesome, as I now have 8 players! (I know, I'm a glutton for punishment) However, I did want to ask: you do intend to finish the entire campaign, yes? Also, I am very interested in what you would apply for Mokmurian's permanent spells, and contingency. Thank you again for your amazing work friend!


Joey! This has been an invaluable aid - my party of 5 or 6 PCs are now finding th AP much more difficult and therefore entertaining. Thanks to your work, I've saved a load of time and gained a load of fun at the table! I'm indebted to you...


a quick question, is nualia really supposed to hit for 1d10+14 on a lvl 3 character or is this a typo. seems quite much and will most likely one or twoshot them

edit: ah, i see, probably because of the consecrated weapon. wish you would mark 3rd party stuff, since i dont really wanna use that. most of it is blatantly broken.


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Hello All
I real life has been kicking my a$$ but Im hoping over the next couple months to finish off the entire campaign

I don't use third party products its from her domain powers. As said in my first post I make the NPCs very deadly and powerful because I allow for my PCs to have powerful stats.

My house rules and character generation rules are here on the site.


Joey, my 5 person overpowered party just reached the Pinnacle of Avarice! Any chance you've been compiling this offline, and it's coincidentally almost done? :P


If it helps, my group (7) is also at the Pinnacle. I kept them a level behind what the book said, and they set off the alarm going in, so giants/lamias/etc kept pouring in as they fought in the throne room. Was a long, hard fight, with many close calls, but it worked out in the end.


They've just been dominating all of the encounters, even when only 4 out of the 5 of them show up. I'm worried the waves of monsters won't be enough. Hrm.


Hey Joey!
Hope life is treating you better in the new year!
I really love your work! Any chance you will continue?
By the way: So far no kills, but a few close calls: Jaagrath critted the mage down to -12 ... and he has an constitution of 12 :D


Bump, so I can find this thread more easily

Also: Two killings at the Scribbler's Lair

The Exchange

In the Iron Cages of Lust. Dozen party deaths so far. Mainly bad Crit timings. Players are having a blast. About 18 months in.

Toughest things in the adventures?
Yeth hounds have killed 3 players over 2 encounters


Hey Joey,

I am a first time DM and running some players through this AP and read that you have all this stats on Hero lab and I was wondering if you could email me that file it would help me out a lot!

If not I'll just keep using the comments on this thread but anyway my email is tcnewkirk31@gmail.com

Let me know thanks Joey!


Hey Joey
Is there a chance that you will make the last book in the near future??


Hey Joey,

I don't know if you're still keeping an eye on this thread or working on it, but I've got a question.

Your stats for Xanesha have the damage bonus with her spear as +26. Is... is this right? I really hope this isn't right.


22 strength = +6 bonus, +9 for two-handed weapons like spears
Power Attack with a BAB of +13 = 2(base) +2(4 bab)+2(8 bab)+2(12 bab)= +8, +12 for two-handed weapons

+9 (strength)
+12 (Power Attack)
+1 (magic weapon)

= +22 damage

Arcane strike (presumably using her 6 caster levels) can add another +2 as a swift action, +3 if using her caster level for spell-like abilities.

Not sure where the other +1 came from.


kadance wrote:

22 strength = +6 bonus, +9 for two-handed weapons like spears

Power Attack with a BAB of +13 = 2(base) +2(4 bab)+2(8 bab)+2(12 bab)= +8, +12 for two-handed weapons

+9 (strength)
+12 (Power Attack)
+1 (magic weapon)

= +22 damage

Arcane strike (presumably using her 6 caster levels) can add another +2 as a swift action, +3 if using her caster level for spell-like abilities.

Not sure where the other +1 came from.

G~! d~#n. My players will hate me.


kadance wrote:

22 strength = +6 bonus, +9 for two-handed weapons like spears

Power Attack with a BAB of +13 = 2(base) +2(4 bab)+2(8 bab)+2(12 bab)= +8, +12 for two-handed weapons

+9 (strength)
+12 (Power Attack)
+1 (magic weapon)

= +22 damage

Arcane strike (presumably using her 6 caster levels) can add another +2 as a swift action, +3 if using her caster level for spell-like abilities.

Not sure where the other +1 came from.

G+# d~@n. My players will hate me.


Hello all

First I would like to apologize I have been gone for a long time and this game died.

So with this game dead I dont plan on investing the hours of work for the last couple books and im sorry for all of you who have become dependent on my work. The GMs guide to creating challenging encounters is key to making the better encounters.

The next game im likely going to run is Iron Gods and I will be doing this same thing with iron gods if anyone is interested.


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Wow, that's disappointing to hear. I really appreciate all the hard work you put in, regardless. Thanks for everything you've done Joey Virtue!

Grand Archive

Thank you Joey for your hard work. Your guide has been very helpful.
I've tried to continue your work, however english is not my primary language and I'm not very smart.
But I hope someone continues this great job, and if this happen, you'll have my support, maybe a Patreon or something like that.
Anyway, thanks again, Joey. I hope you have a blast with your Iron Gods campaign


I know you are done with this guide so I'm not even sure you will see this but, I am about to do the Mokmurian fight and i was looking over his stat block.
I noticed he has True Name but nothing really says what he could summon if he had to.
I'm just wondering because i want to tweak him and his bodyguards to be more like bodyguards and not just trip machines and need to swap some feats around.
But, if True Name could be more useful I would keep that instead


I don't remember any more I'm sorry


I will run this AC with 6 players. Can someone send me this great job in word pls? My email is ztira999@hotmail.com ty so much! :)


I hope someone can continue this thread. My group has been using this and we are in book 5 now. Please continue this work.

Grand Lodge

Hi there @Kyphexler,

I've been either working with Joey's stat blocks or making my own for nearly every encounter in Rise of the Runelords, and I'll certainly be making Book 5 and 6... over the next year. If you need these stat blocks ASAP, I can't really help you unfortunately, but I plan to post my stat blocks once I hit the point Joey left off at. At least, if I can find a convenient way to share them, as I make them all as PDFs.


That's great to hear Askar. I think continuing to flesh out these encounters helps the community a lot.


Hi Everybody, This is my first post here. you really give lot of help.
I dig up this post to thank all the people who participated to this scenario. Thanks First to Joey who has work a lot.
I hope I dont make too much english mistakes, but It s not my natural language ( my first is draconic! )
SO after looking and studying these rules, I m very interesting because after 45 parties I was thinking to be a more effective GM in this scenario. Which means to be more "mean".
But I v got a problem, When I looking to all the modifications, there is lot of XP at the end .

For exemple :
Chapitre 4 Part 3 : the normal XP for 4Player is around 160.000 ( 40.000/PC)
With the new calculation, always for 4 players, I found 281.600 (70.000/ PC) 75% more!
THe Average CR is now 12.6 instead of 11: It s a lot !! At this party the average level for a 4 party player plans to be a CR 11 / for a 5 party player the average is a CR 12 (11.9 to be exactly )

So, I would like:
1/ to use some of these encounters for my 5 party player and:
2/to play without killing everyone at the first encounter
3/Not to give too much XP because at this rate, Players will progress too fast !
How do you manage.
Thx everyone.

Grand Lodge

This is a broader concern than just Joey's guide, but to answer your question:

1) Use milestones for experience, and then the larger budget doesn't factor in as a problem.

2) If you refuse to use milestones, just switch to Medium XP track so you level slower.

3) Are your players experienced? They likely won't die, especially right off the bat. My party of entirely new players has still managed to get through the first 4 books using Joey's encounters and a lot of homebrew (also using the GM's Guide to Creating Challenging Encounters).

Also, for an update for folks:

I'm almost finished with Book 5's rebuilding. I've been making a lot of Book 4 homebrew, so it hasn't been a huge priority, but the Iron Cages of Lust and the Shimmering Veils of Pride are finished.


Askar Avari wrote:

This is a broader concern than just Joey's guide, but to answer your question:

1) Use milestones for experience, and then the larger budget doesn't factor in as a problem.

3) Are your players experienced? They likely won't die, especially right off the bat. My party of entirely new players has still managed to get through the first 4 books using Joey's encounters and a lot of homebrew (also using the GM's Guide to Creating Challenging Encounters).

The milestons ( I didn't know this world before) could be a good solution .

About the players they are experienced, but If I look the Black Monk , this encounter should be very ahard, and certainly kill someone.

thx for the tip .

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