This is a spoiler-filled resource thread for GMs running the Return of the Runelords Adventure Path, specifically for the second adventure, "It Came from Hollow Mountain."
Excellent module. Can't wait for the next one.
Shisumo -- love the lyrics in your version of the song. I'm sure the my next PC Bard/Cleric will be of Ashava due to this stanza.
Great adventure! my group is going to love the mix of roleplay in the beginning and dungeon crawling in the latter half. I did have a question, in the dream council Sorshen ask the PC's to seek at Thybidos for more information but when they confront him he doesn't really do much more than attack or pass on quietly. Sorshen already mentions that Alaznist is no longer in Hollow Mountain and Thybidos mentions it briefly. I'm wondering if I missed out on something or if it was omitted on accident any suggestions on some lore that we can add to the final encounter?
Great adventure! my group is going to love the mix of roleplay in the beginning and dungeon crawling in the latter half.
"You're stuck on a ship with a colorful cast of NPCs!" is pretty much the briar patch I want to be thrown into.
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Great adventure! my group is going to love the mix of roleplay in the beginning and dungeon crawling in the latter half. I did have a question, in the dream council Sorshen ask the PC's to seek at Thybidos for more information but when they confront him he doesn't really do much more than attack or pass on quietly. Sorshen already mentions that Alaznist is no longer in Hollow Mountain and Thybidos mentions it briefly. I'm wondering if I missed out on something or if it was omitted on accident any suggestions on some lore that we can add to the final encounter?
It's all the information that the PC should learn about events unfolding that Sorshen hopes they learn about, as well as hoping they learn more information on the way on their own, rather than specific stuff Thybidos is to reveal to them. A lot of it is perhaps contextual lore that won't pay off for several adventures to come in various fun and minor ways.
Apologies if this comes off as snarky. It is not meant to be, but I am confused.
Looking over the other threads, especially where JJ has responded, I expected more interaction with the Sihedron Heroes in Chapter 2. I understand they are off somewhere and trapped in Crystilan, but am kind of disappointed in the lack of interaction with them.
Will the PCs eventually meet the Sihedron Heroes, or at least have some interaction with them?
-- david
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Apologies if this comes off as snarky. It is not meant to be, but I am confused.
Looking over the other threads, especially where JJ has responded, I expected more interaction with the Sihedron Heroes in Chapter 2. I understand they are off somewhere and trapped in Crystilan, but am kind of disappointed in the lack of interaction with them.
Will the PCs eventually meet the Sihedron Heroes, or at least have some interaction with them?
-- david
I was thinking about holding off the reveal of it being Sorshen contacting them. Like perhaps she appears to them as an ancient armored knight with an echoing voice. I'd really like for them to see the reveal that their "patron" is truly Sorshen in person. To reference my favorite guilty pleasure Batman and Robin, much like the scene where Ivy is in the gorilla costume into a dramatic reveal. What do you folks think?
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Any insight into how Sorshen reacts to a character with the "accidental clone" campaign trait? Which is an amazingly flavorful trait by the way, my PC's loved the idea!
Not knowing how much of a part she plays in the rest of the AP I'm wondering how much or how little drama I should attempt to milk from this initial interaction? Is there some conflict I could foreshadow here? Does she completely ignore the clone? Is she amused?
Any insight into how Sorshen reacts to a character with the "accidental clone" campaign trait? Which is an amazingly flavorful trait by the way, my PC's loved the idea!
Not knowing how much of a part she plays in the rest of the AP I'm wondering how much or how little drama I should attempt to milk from this initial interaction? Is there some conflict I could foreshadow here? Does she completely ignore the clone? Is she amused?
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Any insight into how Sorshen reacts to a character with the "accidental clone" campaign trait? Which is an amazingly flavorful trait by the way, my PC's loved the idea!
Not knowing how much of a part she plays in the rest of the AP I'm wondering how much or how little drama I should attempt to milk from this initial interaction? Is there some conflict I could foreshadow here? Does she completely ignore the clone? Is she amused?
Sorshen is a key player for the rest of the campaign. She should be amused by the clone for now, though. More info will be in part 3.
Will we be getting stat blocks for the other runelords? I know we've got Karzoug, Alderpash, and Krune, but what about the others? I'm sure we'll get Alaznist for the final fight of course. Possibly Xanderghul later on as well?
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Will we be getting stat blocks for the other runelords? I know we've got Karzoug, Alderpash, and Krune, but what about the others? I'm sure we'll get Alaznist for the final fight of course. Possibly Xanderghul later on as well?
There's stats for several, yes. Not gonna spoil which ones... but there'll be at LEAST one in each part going forward.
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After reading page 18, it seems a bit cruel that Hira would choose to hide a secret message using a voice-activated device, then deliver said device to a hireling who is pseudo-famous for being a self-inflicted mute. Having said that, I have verified that it is indeed possible to say that particular command word without the use of one's tongue, although I don't recommend trying it in public, unless you want to get some strange looks.
I'm in the process of running Beyond the Doomsday Door. Any thoughts on how I should be foreshadowing this adventure given all of Ardathanatus's adventures inside Hollow Mountain?
For example, what’s the deal with the sinspawn? He brought at least thirty of them with him to Windsong Abbey from Hollow Mountain, and between them they had (at least) 100 +1 human bane arrows, 100 regular arrows, 10 potions of cure moderate wounds, 10 suits of +1 chainmail, and +1 composite longbows (of the appropriate Strength rating), and 10 masterwork halberds. Were these provided to the sinspawn by Alaznist and are thus over ten millennia old? Did Ardathanatus stop in Riddleport to go shopping? It seems unlikely he’d be able to find all this in stock.
So where in Hollow Mountain did he find thirty sinspawn (possibly a third of whom were fully equipped) free for the taking?
(This isn't by any means a criticism of the writing. This is an attempt to make cool tie-ins between the adventures.)
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Hollow Mountain is MUCH larger than what's in this adventure, and the sinspawn, being hand-crafted infinatry stormtrooper type soldiers, have had plenty of time over the past 10,000 or so years to craft gear, to have gear crafted for them by others in the mountain, or to scavenging their gear. The equipment owned by the sinspawn in Beyond the Doomsday Door is their belongings from before they were recruited by Ardathanatus.
Thank-you for the quick response. That seems pretty definitively against a tie-in, so I'll just run them by the book.
Just translated all the flavor text for this module to German. Oof, Mike Shel certainly has a faible for complicated descriptions. ^^
I was about to ask a question about Sursha Antefalle using a katana as her weapon of choice, but I just noticed that this is perfectly legal with Swashbuckler's Finesse and Slashing Grace. :)
This question seems dumb.
So, where, exactly, does Sorshen's dream council image lead the PCs to, if they do "in following this urge implanted by the area, they can arrive at the location with ease.." ?
I've pored over the gauntlet of fury and looked and maybe it's just the cold I'm dealing with and that I'm tired, but I can't figure out where the PCs end up if they say "okay, we go there then."
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This question seems dumb.
So, where, exactly, does Sorshen's dream council image lead the PCs to, if they do "in following this urge implanted by the area, they can arrive at the location with ease.." ?
I've pored over the gauntlet of fury and looked and maybe it's just the cold I'm dealing with and that I'm tired, but I can't figure out where the PCs end up if they say "okay, we go there then."
It's covered in the next adventure, but the short version is "Korvosa."
It's covered in the next adventure, but the short version is "Korvosa."This question seems dumb.
So, where, exactly, does Sorshen's dream council image lead the PCs to, if they do "in following this urge implanted by the area, they can arrive at the location with ease.." ?
I've pored over the gauntlet of fury and looked and maybe it's just the cold I'm dealing with and that I'm tired, but I can't figure out where the PCs end up if they say "okay, we go there then."
Thank you for answering questions on a Sunday! And, this is probably my favorite AP of them so far. My players' favorite, perhaps, as well! :)
I took some tylenol and afrin and had another look, and found the reference I was looking for -- it's on page 48, talks about the "overgrown archway depicting two weeping dragons" that leads into area E1. It's just a small enough reference that I missed it at first.
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Creative Director
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It's covered in the next adventure, but the short version is "Korvosa."This question seems dumb.
So, where, exactly, does Sorshen's dream council image lead the PCs to, if they do "in following this urge implanted by the area, they can arrive at the location with ease.." ?
I've pored over the gauntlet of fury and looked and maybe it's just the cold I'm dealing with and that I'm tired, but I can't figure out where the PCs end up if they say "okay, we go there then."
Thank you for answering questions on a Sunday! And, this is probably my favorite AP of them so far. My players' favorite, perhaps, as well! :)
I took some tylenol and afrin and had another look, and found the reference I was looking for -- it's on page 48, talks about the "overgrown archway depicting two weeping dragons" that leads into area E1. It's just a small enough reference that I missed it at first.
OH! Glad you figured it out. I misread your question entirely. Sorry about that!
The Degradation of Thybidos!
Give me some ideas about *what* the insults on the wall say (the stoneworked insults in Thassilonian, etched on every inch of the exposed walls inside the area). Let's have it in the form that Alaznist would have actually had written down.
I'll read the best ones to my PC when they reach that area, next session. Be inventive! Go. :)
After the PCs help Audrahni complete her prayer/ritual in Magnimar, the AP mentions that she should be back to a full Cleric by book 3.
Is there any mention of her after that? Is she assumed to be traveling with and helping the PCs? Or that she remains in Magnimar and becomes a full time worshiper of Ashava again?
I think it's up to you. If one of your PCs takes Leadership, she becomes a pretty good choice for a cohort, I think. Otherwise, if you think your group needs the clerical help, she could travel with them, or she could remain in Magnimar and serve as a point of contact for them, being a full time worshiper of Ashava.
Thanks for the input.
I had planned to have her remain in Magnimar for now, as a new Cleric of Ashava. She could be called on for help if necessary.I had read through the remaining chapters of the AP, and couldn't find any other mention of her (beyond the campaign trait that ties a PC to her), and I was afraid I was missing something.
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Curious about the chains that hold Thybidos. With the chains appearing to be self-healing, a character has to do 40 points of damage to destroy a chain (hardness 10, 30 hp) to free him, or destroy all the 6 chains individually? Does a successful Disable Device release all chains or only 1 chain?
I'm sure I could run it how I want, but I'm wondering how James intended the mechanics of the events. Should make it 6 attempts to be absolutely sure the party wants to free Thybidos? I'm fairly certain they'll be in for a surprise if they release him because they were lead to believe Thybidos will help them after the dream from Sorshen.
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Creative Director
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Curious about the chains that hold Thybidos. With the chains appearing to be self-healing, a character has to do 40 points of damage to destroy a chain (hardness 10, 30 hp) to free him, or destroy all the 6 chains individually? Does a successful Disable Device release all chains or only 1 chain?
I'm sure I could run it how I want, but I'm wondering how James intended the mechanics of the events. Should make it 6 attempts to be absolutely sure the party wants to free Thybidos? I'm fairly certain they'll be in for a surprise if they release him because they were lead to believe Thybidos will help them after the dream from Sorshen.
The "immediately repairs itself an instant later" healing applies to Thybidos's remains, not to other things in the room like the chains holding him (remains, in this case, means his body, not his gear or the chains or anything like that). The intent here is to make the confrontation with Thybidos something different than just "Roll for initiative and then start stabbing." The encounter should give Disable Device a chance to play and to give the players a chance to have some roleplaying stuff—I do try everything I can to inject roleplaying opportunities like this into large dungeon adventures to keep things varied and interesting.
The point is that you have to get rid of the chains before you can actually start fighting him. The most important thing for him to impart to the PCs is confirmation that Alaznist is out and about and doing her thing—if the PCs already learned this somehow else, then that's not as important, but this is their chance if they haven't (remember that the PCs knowing this as fact is different than players knowing it as fact!). You can, of course, also use him to give the PCs other hints and clues. Think of Thybidos as "plot insurance" at this point to help you give the PCS clues and information that they may have missed at this point but SHOULD have learned.
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So, prepping the first two books for running this shortly, and I have a question: the 20,000 GP items that the council hands out, is that ONLY if the PCs hand over Baraket? If they got it stolen the council gives them nothing? I mean, I am aware of Story rewards, but at the same time, yesh, getting rid of 80,000 GP worth of stuff (Assuming a 4 player party) is ROUGH for failing 1 will save vs a mesmerist. Can they get those items at level 8 after they presumably stab the opera singer and retrieve Baraket on the island?
Treasure: Before the meeting adjourns, Sheila thanks the PCs again for delivering the Sword of Pride, and notes that such a task should not go unrewarded. She informs the PCs that each may claim an item from the council’s significant treasure vaults as their personal reward. In game terms, you should work with each player to determine a magic item reward of approximately 20,000 gp in value. The simplest solution is to just allow your players to pick an item from Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Equipment, but feel free to truncate that “shopping list”
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So in preparation for this game, I was really looking forward to the part gives the council gives the players a 20,000 GP item because it lets me, as the GM, have some fun. In that vein I have custom built some items for my PCs instead of just letting them choose, though these are hardly ‘core’ items. Tell me what you think:
PC1: A Dwarven Vigilante who uses a heavy Pick. His father was a Dwarven priest of Torag that is on the Sihedron Council. His father saw some truly terrifying things in his time, and didn’t want that for his son, so now his son has to dress like a vigilante to adventure like he yearns to do.
Item: A father’s protection.
This weapon acts as a +1 heavy pick for anyone but a dwarf. In the hands of a dwarf becomes a +2 courageous heavy pick that can cast shield twice per day for a minute each time. No matter who swipes it, is also counts as a masterwork tool for profession-mining.
Breakdown:
Mwk Military pick 308
+3 weapon (+2 courageous) 18000
+2 bonus to a skill: 400(x1.5, additional ability) =600
Lvl 1 spell, CL 1, (2x per day)(1800x1x1)/(5/2)=720(x1.5, additional ability)=1080
Total=19,988
PC 2: A Thassalonian Arcanist scholar
Item: Field Scholar’s Aegis
+4 silken ceremonial armor. Also acts as a first level runestone of power and gives a +2 competence bonus to knowledge-history checks
Breakdown
Mwk silken ceremonial armor: 180
+4 armor: 16000
Lvl 1 runestone of power: 2000(x1.5, additional ability)=3000
+2 to a skill: 400(x1.5, additional ability)=600
Total: 19780
PC3: Ifrit Rogue/magus/Arcane Trickster
Item: The thief’s escape.
This armor acts as Celestial armor with the exception that it only acts as +2 chainmail, and it can, as a swift action, disassemble the sleeves to provide a set of marvelous lockpicks which provide a +4 bonus to disable device. Another swift action returns the armor to normal. While the lockpicks are out, the suits provides one less armor than normal.
Breakdown:
Celestial armor but +2 22,400(-5000, conservative estimate)=17,400
+4 to disable device 1600(x1.5, additional ability)=2400
Total: 19800
PC 4: A half Orc Bone Shaman, strength based.
Item: The strength of the grave
This counts as a set of +1 Horn Lamellar armor unless worn why a divine spellcaster, then it becomes a set of +3 horn lamellar armor that grants the wearer a +2 enhancement bonus to strength. It also grants a +2 competence bonus to knowledge-Religion checks, and the ability to cast unbreakable heart 1/day as a fifth level caster.
Breakdown:
Mwk Horn Lammelar: 250
+3 armor 9000
+2 enhancement bonus to stat 4000(x1.5, additional ability)=6000
+2 to skill: 400(x1.5, additional ability)=600
Lvl 1 spell CL5 1/day (1800x1x5)/(5)=1800(x1.5, additional ability)=2700
Total 18550
Tell me what you guys think!
Having a real hard time trying to understand 'The Jeweled Ascent' in The Degradation of Thybidos. Can anyone shed some light on it?
Like what is at the 'bottom'? It mentions there's a flight of stairs leading down, so why would any party ever consider trying to monkey-climb up some weird colored cones in a hallway instead of just going down the stairs in front of them?
I would assume that any party that's exploring the dungeon would just follow the hallway instead of trying to parkour up somewhere weird.
From how I read it, the flight of stairs leading down is the hallway that leads from E7 to E8. The only way to get from the bottom of those stairs up into the hallway that connects to E9 to explore further is to take the Jeweled Ascent and clamber up those cones.
Also Boag-Hok. Is he 'tethered' to that egg some how? If so, how far can he go? If not, why is he hanging out down there instead of leaving?
The text says that he's "bound to this altar," and that the egg is "also the lair of a sinisier entity..." so it seems like he is bound to the area. I'd probably say that he can go anywhere within the chamber (B8), but not leave it, as that seems a reasonable compromise to me.
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So my party has been having a pretty easy time through the campaign so far (with the exception of those blightspawn which are just gross). So I’ve decided to up the ante by rebuilding Damil Russo to provide a bit more of a challenge.
Damil Russo
human Swashbuckler 7 (inspired blade)
CE Medium Humanoid (Human)
Init+9 Senses Perception +10
Defence
AC:20 Touch:15 Flat-Footed:15 (+5 armor, +2 dodge, +3 dex)
HP:71 (7d10+28)
Fort+5 Ref+9 Will+4
Speed: 30
Melee: Baraket (+14/+14/+9)1d6+9 (15-20 x2) (+7 precision damage not multiplied on crit)
OR +1 rapier (+13/+8) 1d6+8 (15-20 x2) (+7 precision damage not multiplied on crit)
Ranged: Longbow +11/+6 (1d8-1)
Special: Swashbuckler deeds through level 7, charmed life 3/day, nimble +2, panache 3, rapier training (+1 to hit, +2 to damage)
Str 8 Dex:17, Con:14 Int 12 Wis 10 Chr 14
Feats: Weapon finesse (rapier only) weapon focus-Rapier, fencing grace, improved initiative, toughness, weapon specialization-rapier, quick draw, combat reflexes
Skills:
Intimidate:+12, Perception: +10, Acrobatics +12 Knowledge-History: +7, know-Religion +7, Sense Motive: +10, Linguistics +2, Bluff +6
Gear:
Other Gear
+1 Mithral chain shirt, +1 rapier , Baraket, Cloak of resist +1, Mwk longbow, 10gp
So my party has been having a pretty easy time through the campaign so far (with the exception of those blightspawn which are just gross). So I’ve decided to up the ante by rebuilding Damil Russo to provide a bit more of a challenge.
Vamp, I really appreciate the work you've been doing on these. The slayer rebuild for Jana was great, I loved the change for the Order monks, and this should make things more interesting for my players as well. Can't wait to see what other changes you've made.
Hmm, just made the changes to Damil, and I have to say two things.
1) What two languages does he speak?
2) I kept Acrobatics maxed out and reduced one of his Knowledge skills.
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So my party has been having a pretty easy time through the campaign so far (with the exception of those blightspawn which are just gross). So I’ve decided to up the ante by rebuilding Damil Russo to provide a bit more of a challenge.Vamp, I really appreciate the work you've been doing on these. The slayer rebuild for Jana was great, I loved the change for the Order monks, and this should make things more interesting for my players as well. Can't wait to see what other changes you've made.
Hmm, just made the changes to Damil, and I have to say two things.
1) What two languages does he speak?
2) I kept Acrobatics maxed out and reduced one of his Knowledge skills.
Thank you! I'm glad someone appreciated it! When I ran this, he died after two rounds I think, but he certainly made them hit their 'oh crap' buttons. The languages he speaks are Thassalonian and Giant.
One more thing I did was change the spell that is stored in Baraket to anything his cleric friend could cast. Since the party I am GMing for are known as the 'fire fighters' and they have a phoenix bloodline sorcerer, an ifrit, and a dude named 'fire eyes' in their midst, I changed 'hold person' to 'resist fire.' Then, as his iterative on his first full attack he stabbed himself (choosing not to apply dex to damage) and got fire resist 20 or something.
Thank you! I'm glad someone appreciated it! When I ran this, he died after two rounds I think, but he certainly made them hit their 'oh crap' buttons. The languages he speaks are Thassalonian and Giant.
Sorry, I guess I should have specified which additional languages. Thassalonian is already listed, but you gave him two ranks in Linguistics. But if he doesn't need another language, that point can go back to the Knowledge skill I took to maximize Acrobatics.
I'm not going to worry at all about what spell to have in Baraket unless I need to, because so far my players have been smart enough. After the initial searching by Corla, the character keeping Baraket (in its case, in a Bag of Holding) put an alarm on the cabin door (mental alert version). Corla was caught (pretty easy since she doesn't have any points in Disable Device…) on her next try. We'll see how Viralane's attempt to get it goes.
In case anyone runs into this - the difficulty ramp up of the Breath of Ibdurengian is pretty intense - given all the stuff it's immune to and the to hit/dmg.
Might be a good idea to remind the party if they have any of that oozeclot during this fight.
C4.Reading Rooms in Hollow Mountain pg 36:
"The face in the west wall depicts a man, his
visage adorned with a drooping blindfold
covering only one eye, his jaw hanging open
in bewilderment."
Anyone know what this refers to? Apologies if it is in a later part of the book.
Newish GM here... Can anyone here direct me to find stats for Audrahni when she becomes a full cleric of Ashava again? Or is this as simple as adding some spells to her stats from book 1? Also if anyone could provide any extra input/flavour/ideas around the encounter with Ilsynor I would much appreciate it. Like what is the prayer Aud says and how does is sound/look/work? I think it could be a pretty epic moment if played correctly. Thanks in Advance!