thoughts on combining the Runelords trilogy?

[Theron Pierce 632]

Reading through the Return of the Runelords had me chomping at the bit to insert as much of it as possible into my existing game of Rise of the Runelords. Though I know there is a lot in the book to indicate that there is supposed to rather large time gap between the campaigns I have heard of successful combinations between Rise of the Runelords and Shattered Star so maybe it wouldn't be too ambitious. If it can be done I would love to have my players get to know more about Thassalon and get them acquainted with at least a few more Runelords.

How would you go about it at your table? is the idea just too impractical?

For reference my players are nearing the end up book 2 and I think the revelations about Justice Ironbriar should segway well into meeting with Audrahni.

[The Shifty Mongoose]

Some of the things I did was include the Sin Swords, introduce them to Sheila & Canaven in case they needed to do any research on anything, and made Xaliasa (the Scribbler) a traitor, loyal to Alaznist, who sabotaged the Eye of Avarice so that it wouldn't work properly before fleeing to his hiding spot.
I also foreshadowed Mhar a few times, giving hints of the possible Bad Ending. If it does occur in my game, that'll make the potential sequels extra-interesting...

[M0bious]

Have actually someone combined Rise and Return? I am trying to do that too.. I want Karzoug to remain the bigger threat thought.. Any ideas or recommendations? Especially for part 6 of such a mega campaign:)

[The Shifty Mongoose]

As it turned out, my group did, in fact, get the Bad End. Now they've begun Shattered Star, six months after the Rise of Mhar.

My advice? Put Karzoug's box text in the mouth of Khalib, and have Special K complain that he's the only one who could stop someone like Xanderghul or Alaznist from ruining everything, and your attempts to murder him show how much you need him to own all of Varisia and everything in it.

...Then, when they need help from Dead Karzoug, he can say something like,

"...You mean to say that Alaznist is destroying the world, and even time itself, and you need my help to stop her?
"I recall saying the exact same thing, when I was alive. To a group of people, not unlike yourselves.
"Then they killed me, destroyed everything I had worked so hard to build, and awoke the World Thunder to do it, even at the cost of their own lives.
"Golarion deserves what it has earned. You are welcome to it."

[W E Ray]

I’m three years into my ‘Shards of the Sundered Sihedron’ campaign, though we skipped a couple months near the beginning and are pandemic-postponed since late March.

It is a homebrew amalgam drawing all the NPCs and site-based encounters (dungeon locales) from Rise vol’s 5 & 6, SS, Return, The PF novel, ‘Lord of Runes’ and about a dozen PFS Scenarios.

None of the events have transpired in those adventures, or rather, just the background stuff has. Basically all the RuneLords are near awakening and their various cultists, from Mokmurian, to Varian Jeggare, to Emmek, to Mozammer, to Xaliassa to etc., etc. (NPCs from texts) are just beginning to start their plans. Obviously some things, such as ‘nice Sorshen’ are out.

It’s intended to be a complete Sandbox — the PCs know that ONE of the RuneLords is awakening but DON’T KNOW WHICH. They know that all of the RuneLords have cultists who are trying to get their RL up. This way they can go all over Varisia looking for clues and fighting cultists, wiping out dungeons, or rather, wiping out one or two levels of a dungeon and getting a cool Item before making a hasty retreat from ‘Things from Deeper Dungeon Levels.’

So far they’ve done site-based adventuring in Kaer Maga like “Feast of Sigils” and “The Godsmouth Heresy” — with some other PFS Scenario stuff and ‘Lord of Runes’ stuff. .... They’ve done some Sandpoint ‘Catacombs Of Wrath’ and ‘Underflume’ stuff. .... We’ve done a ton of urban roleplay in Korvosa just to get started. .... They’ve done some meet-and-greet with Sheila Heidmarch in Magnimar and some ‘Roderic’s Cove’ stuff against Mozamer’s mooks. .... They found Windsong Abbey sacked. Etc.

I think they’re planning on going to ‘The Lady’s Light’ next, or maybe Hollow Mountain. They are close to uncovering clues about Rimeskull, The Tower of the Ironwood Watch and the Lissala temple in the Wyvern Mountains.

Basically I have them learn of this or that NPC (such as Mozamer or Oriana or Xaliasa or Kesoulla) and this or that site (such as The Lady’s Light or Hollow Mountain or Xin-Shalast or The Mobhad Leigh) and they decide which one is the priority according to what they think or feel is going on. Which is all based on their own personalities. For example, they are quite concerned about RuneLord Zutha’s Cult and I’m pretty sure they’re going to chase it to The Lady’s Light cuz they learned that’s where Zutha’s Cult is going next (to steal from Sorshen).

Now, they can’t fight Oriana and that Succubus at their level, but they’ll kill some of Sorshen’s lesser mooks and learn quite a bit more of who’s who and where’s what. Maybe even find an Artifact — maybe even a Shard of the Sundered Sihedron that they will have to have (with a RuneWell) to kill any awoken RuneLords. Maybe they’ll encounter Naroth Balam of Krune and learn of his plans.

And when they’re stronger (and have more info) they can return to dungeons they’ve started, and they don’t have to Bluff they’re on your side, Kesoulla, or pit one Cult against another — though they’ve learned to preach hate at Alaznist when a cultist of Karzoug is around and preach hate at Karzoug when a Cultist of Alaznist is around.