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Inspired by Kobold Catgirl's and Cordelia Vianu's threads, I want to share my own prep for Rise of the Runelords.
My diagnosis and treatment of the problems with the AP may be different; I've also been listening to "No Children" by the Mountain Goats and "I Don't Love You" by My Chemical Romance on repeat as I write this post, so that's where my head's at. Still, I hope my prep is of some interest and use to you.
Twenty years before the Late Unpleasantness, Atsuii Kaijitsu—stuck in a loveless arranged marriage to Lonjiku Kaijitsu—falls in love with an elf named Variel Ironbriar, visiting Sandpoint from Magnimar. They have a half-elven child: Tsuto. Atsuii refuses to elope with Variel back to the city, and the two bitterly part ways.
Ezakien Tobyn sees the arrival of his foundling aasimar daughter Nualia as a blessing from Desna, but he gradually becomes singularly concerned with her "destiny" to join the clergy. When he separates Nualia from her Varisian lover Delek Viskanta and takes away her child, however, he crosses a line and loses his clerical powers. Abstalar Zantus, Ezakien's most promising pupil, suspects what's going on and argues with Ezakien one night. It will be their last argument.
The Unpleasantness begins. Nualia burns down the Cathedral and Ezakien with it, and Tsuto (accurately) accuses Lonjiku of murdering Atsuii. Both of them flee to the city of Magnimar and find help from the Brotherhood of the Seven. Lamashtu twists Delek's powerlessness against an influential figure in town into cowardice in Nualia's nightmares, and she wants him assassinated; Tsuto craves revenge, and he wants to become an assassin. As far as Ironbriar is concerned, Nualia is his client and Tsuto is his protégé, one whose true parentage Ironbriar must keep a secret according to Norgorber's inscrutable will.
But Ironbriar is already under Xanesha's charms. In his reports of Nualia's nightmares, Xanesha recognizes the ghost of Bakrakhan and a possible lead to the double agent Xaliasa. Ironbriar sends his only son and Nualia on this quest, entirely to Xanesha's benefit: even if they die in the attempt, they would be a welcome distraction for her other pawn in the region. All Xanesha asks of her new pawns is to carve the Sihedron rune into their victims. Nualia and Tsuto recruit Bruthazmus, Lyrie Akenja, and Orik Vancaskerkin. Lyrie and Orik pass through Sandpoint and purchase much-needed supplies, then the party gets to work subjugating the goblins:
- Thistletop: Nualia quickly convinces Ripnugget that she is the prophet who can find the voice beneath Thistletop, to Gogmurt's frustration.
- Brinestump: Lyrie uses a scroll of major image to scare the goblins in line with Vorka. Rendwattle Gutwad sees through the illusion and remains.
- Seven Tooth: Tsuto lures Koruvus and his followers with promise of treasure beneath the Glassworks. Tsuto also contacts Lonjiku and Ameiko.
- Birdcruncher: Bruthazmus kills a bunch of goblins until he gets bored, and drags the ones he didn't kill to be his warriors and wives.
- Mosswood: Orik parleys with Big Gugmut, but neither really care. Orik returns empty-handed, and the Mosswood goblins remain neutral for now.
If Tsuto finds Erylium and Nualia unleashes Malfeshnekor, the mandate of Lamashtu will unite the goblin holdouts and Sandpoint will burn.
I thought of a couple RP encounters for the Swallowtail Festival.
Eyes on the Prize: Ven Vinder is running a game since his general store is supplying the prizes, but he's distracted. His daughter Katrine is missing, and he suspects she's with that ne'er-do-well Banny Harker. If a PC tracks Katrine down with a Diplomacy check to gather information or a Survival check and returns to Ven, he rewards the PC a prize worth 10 gp or less and promises a 10% discount on their next purchase at his store. If they mention Katrine is with Harker, Ven storms off to find her.
While this is going on, Shayliss Vinder flirts with anyone who strikes her fancy behind her father's back, including with the PC. She's too busy to do much more, especially if she has to run the game alone to her increasing boredom and annoyance. If the PC confronts her behaviour, Shayliss plays dumb and Ven refuses to hear such slander.
Winners and Losers: Banny Harker approaches a PC at a game. He points towards his friend Ibor Thorn and girlfriend Katrine Vinder; he thinks winning that game will impress Katrine, and asks the PC to lose on purpose. Banny is willing to beg and flatter the PC to get what he wants. If the PC seems unpersuaded or asks what's in it for them, he'll offer to pay the PC 1 gp up front, and another 1 gp after he wins.
Banny has no intention of paying up afterwards, however, and laughs at the PC if they ask. If the PC picks Banny's pocket, they find 1d4 gp and 1d8 sp. If the PC confronts Banny or exposes his deceit in front of Katrine, tensions rise until Ibor interjects and offers the PC 2 gp and apologizes on Banny's behalf to keep the peace.
This is fantastic! Making a great adventure even better!
Great prep work! Fun to see Delek fleshed out like that; I feel like a lot of people forget he even exists. Good work with Banny, Ibor, and Katrine as well. Looks like a very solid start to the adventure - have fun with your opening!
Thank you both! I'll keep going: to quote Warren Spector, "Players do the cool stuff, NPCs get to watch the players do the cool stuff."
I plan to emphasize that the guards and important NPCs are fighting goblins elsewhere (likely Tanner's Bridge), and the goblins at the Northgate are a nasty surprise. I also think it's OK to have the goblins distracted at first, but fight in earnest once combat begins: between the PCs usually being fully armed and armored in a festival for some reason, the goblins dealing little damage, and Abstalar nearby with channel positive energy, the GM doesn't need to wait until Monster in the Closet to present goblins as a credible threat. Maybe it can also be a chance to present their uncharacteristically focused attack on Sandpoint as strange and worth investigating.
Initial Assault: The stray dog is dying and bleeding out at -1 hp instead of dead.
Die, Dog, Die!: Aldern's dog is dying and bleeding out at -1 hp instead of dead. I'm also planning to name Aldern's dog Vorel as a nod to Book 2 and the fact that his grandfather is a dirty dog. Aldern is unarmed, unarmored, and unwilling to fight out of fear as well as an allergic reaction to the goblin dog.
Potions: You may replace the prizes at the Swallowtail Festival with 1st-level potions. If a PC succeeds at an easy Craft (alchemy) or Knowledge (local) check, or if the PCs ask around town, they learn that the goblin warchanter's potion of cure light wounds and the goblin commando's potion of cure moderate wounds are in the same bottles as the festival's prizes, likely brewed by the same alchemist in Sandpoint.
If the PCs inform Sheriff Hemlock, he says there are two alchemists in town: Aliver "Pillbug" Podiker of the Pillbug's Pantry, and Nisk Tander of Bottled Solutions. Belor tells the PCs that Podiker is suspect and may be connected to local Sczarni criminals, but he has no proof; however, it was actually Nisk who sold 5 potions of cure light wounds, 9 potions of cure moderate wounds, and a potion of barkskin to a man named "Orik" a few months ago. Nisk can identify Orik as someone from Riddleport, well-armed and armored, and wearing an iconic steel shield that looks like a human face.
The morning after the festival, Sheriff Hemlock approaches the PCs on behalf of Father Zantus to investigate the ominous disturbances in Sandpoint's boneyard. The PCs may already want to investigate the Northgate environs after the goblin attack, and this fits neatly into that investigation as well. The PCs discover the ladder against the wall of the cemetery, the goblin and Medium humanoid tracks, and eventually encounter the haunt of Ezakien Tobyn's disturbed spirit in front of his crypt's doors. Once the haunt triggers, the skeletons emerge from the crypt.
XP 400
CE persistent haunt (in front of Ezakien Tobyn's crypt, and in front of Nualia's sarcophagus)
Caster Level 1st
Notice Perception DC 10 (to smell smoke and burning flesh)
hp 4; Trigger proximity; Reset 1 day
Effect Each haunted character feels uncomfortably hot and trapped, imagining their own hopeless death locked in and burning on the other side of the door or sarcophagus lid. Each character is affected by cause fear (CL 1st, save DC 11).
Instead of leaving a depleted robe of bones behind, Tsuto still has the item on him. Instead, the PCs can investigate with a Heal or Knowledge (religion) check to note that the skeletons they fought are unburned and too old to be the remains of Ezakien Tobyn, nor the remains of an adolescent aasimar like Nualia. The haunt triggers again near Nualia's sarcophagus once the skeletons are defeated. The PCs can learn with a Survival check that while the goblin and Medium humanoid intruders disturbed Ezakien's sarcophagus and stole his remains, Nualia was never buried here.
If confronted, Abstalar shares what he knows: that Ezakien sequestered Nualia from her young lover in town, Ezakien lost his clerical powers, and nine months later, the Late Unpleasantness started. The town never recovered Nualia's remains from the ashes of the chapel. Abstalar is guilt-ridden for not speaking up in public, but Ezakien has also left a legacy as one of the mediators who reconciled the Magnimaran settlers with the Varisian locals through their shared faith in Desna. Abstalar may ask PCs, especially fellow clerics or Desnans, whether he should tell the town what he knows.