Red Mantis Assassins in Runelords - Suggestions?


Rise of the Runelords


I want to integrate the Red Mantis somewhere in the AP thanks to them playing a role in a character's backstory. The character joined the game during the Hook Mountain Massacre and we will be moving on to the Fortress of the Stone Giants soon.

Any suggestions as to how the Red Mantis might be involved with the plot somehow? I don't want to just add a Red Mantis hit team encounter. I want it to connect with the story somehow.

Anyone have any ideas?


Nothing?


Adventure Path Charter Subscriber

Red Mantis are remorseless, tenacious killers for money.

With a Lamia Matriarch infiltrator, Red Mantis could be co-opted just like the Skinsaw men.

Red Mantis agents could well be precursors to the invasion of Sandpoint, depending upon how you are setting up that encounter, they could be after the PCs or other targets such as the Sheriff or High Priest of the Cathedral.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Xanesha, the lamia matriarch from Magnimar acquired Vorel's Legacy from The Skinsaw Man and then sold it to the Red Mantis agents. They would be in the area. Perhaps they recognized your PC from a chance encounter or perhaps X's sister paid them to track down the party after their repeated scooby-doo, meddling kids-esque shenanaganery.


Adventure Path Charter Subscriber
the Lorax wrote:
Red Mantis are remorseless, tenacious killers for money.

Should have made the Greed link in there a bit more clear.


Given where you're at, it's hard to introduce an assassin's guild. After Hook Mountain (even before) the as-written AP is pretty well set in stone :)

Spoiler:

The remaining antagonists don't really have avenue or motivation to engage the Red Mantis - Mokmurian could but lacks any real connections to civilization to exploit, Runeforge is totally isolated and Karzoug is trapped in the Eye and focused on his minions in Xin Shalast.

However... Karzoug and his minions are not sublte. Nor discrete. (Hey! Let's sacrifice the Lord-Mayor! Or Let's destroy a dam that's stood for 10,000 years! Think anyone will notice?) What if there have been other minions harvesting greed outside those described in the AP? What if others have noticed this activity and have begun to suspect a Runelord is rising? What if they have less altruistic motives (you're pc's are altruistic, aren't they? :) What if there are rivals searching for Xin Shalast or Runeforge? Or Mokmurian for that matter - he knows where Xin Shalast is? What if these rivals perceive the pc's as a threat? What if these rivals have hired Red Mantis assassins? Who might these rivals be? The Aspis Consortium? The throne in Korvosa? Rogue Pathfinders? Aboleths? (just for crazy)


Latrecis wrote:
Given where you're at, it's hard to introduce an assassin's guild. After Hook Mountain (even before) the as-written AP is pretty well set in stone :)

There is a bit of wiggle room, but you are right, not much. And once in the runeforge, the RMA are not going to have an impact at all.

Lorax: I do like the Lamia matriarch angle. It throws a bit of a twist into things. There are two that we know of so far in the story, but there could easily be others operating in secret here and there all around Varisia. Stopping Xanesha and Lucretia doesn't stop the Sihedron sacrifices; it just slows them down, so there are likely others.


As LWoP points out, per the AP, Xanesha had Aldern collect samples of the diseased rats and mold from beneath The Misgivings in order to sell them to the Red Mantis. Which is how he ended up contracting Ghoul Fever in the first place.

Of course, since you're already past that point in the adventure, it's a little more difficult to work it in.

Community / Forums / Pathfinder / Pathfinder Adventure Path / Rise of the Runelords / Red Mantis Assassins in Runelords - Suggestions? All Messageboards

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