Story HourPost your ongoing tales from your campaigns, and read those from others for inspiration. Lots of other RPG boards post "Story Hours", but this is where it started!
My group is going through Paizo Publishing's excellent Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path. We're about halfway through, and I have the first dozen session summaries posted on my blog. I'll notify as new ones come through! Come read them - you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll read things you wish you could un-read.
Finally, we completed the third chapter of the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path, “The Hook Mountain Massacre.” We put as many sessions into Hook Mountain as into the previous two chapters combined!
The fun part about this is that Xanesha is becoming our main recurring supervillain, which is a deviation from the scenarios’ plots. But she keeps escaping, getting tougher, and starting new evil plans.
Our PCs are getting into the whole gig of running the Black Arrows - we all have Black Arrow tattoos now and have put a lot of work into making them a force to reckon with. We got the local Hellknight to send us lots of recruits, got the Lord Mayor of Magnimar to send us an officer corps that wasn’t criminals, rebuilt and enhanced the keep, and have equipped our guys with the best captured equipment a sword can buy. After frequent PC-led reconnaisance in force missions into the wilderness, they’re a tough bunch!
Hey I just picked up the pathfinder 1-3, Ive read your takes of book 1 and most of book 2. (Sounds like you have your hands full with PC's but good writing none the less)
I noticed that you are using up to 7 players at points... how do you scale the adventure? Im planning to run the module, any advice? Thanks in advance!
Attic Whisperer
Hey I just picked up the pathfinder 1-3, Ive read your takes of book 1 and most of book 2. (Sounds like you have your hands full with PC's but good writing none the less)
I noticed that you are using up to 7 players at points... how do you scale the adventure? Im planning to run the module, any advice?
Well, I'm a player and not the GM. But so far he's pretty much been running it as written - though there's a long list of players several of them only showed up one or two times. And we've fallen behind the XP curve some. Don't worry, it's hard enough for a full party!
I've got to say, these are pretty good. I'm currently running Rise of the Runelords (I'm about where you guys are--the party just finished up Hook Mountain Massacre), and it's always interesting to see how other groups play it.
I really like the idea of Xanesha as a recurring villain. I was all set for it in my game... and the hobgoblin bard got a lucky critical and shot out her heart as she was flying away.
It's been a long haul, but we've now started Fortress of the Stone Giants! Nothing subtle about these bad boys. Also, some more full character sheets are up.
Our special Spring Break adventure follows the standard format of a Spring Break vacation. A road trip, gossip, shopping, drinking, violence, assessing the damage, and fleeing the scene.
Drop a line or comment on the blog if you're enjoying these!
[Edited: I got ahead of myself and posted the blurb for session 15 with the link to session 14 - so now you get a double shot of session summaries at once!]
Here it is - Part I of Sins of the Saviors! In which booze is consumed, loot tossed about, and some ass is well and truly kicked. And Valgrim can now Teleport, which is all kinds of handy.
In Part II of Sins of the Saviors, the penultimate chapter in the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path our group is playing through, we go to the Runeforge, fight a dragon, and avoid being turned into goldfish. Fun as usual! Check it:
Well, Valgrim fans, unfortunately I was on vacation last week so your favorite dwarven malconvoker only shows up in this session when dragged into the appropriate dungeon-lobe to solve a problem that requires his exceptional intellect. But everyone else gets to chop a lot more! Thrill to our looting of the Runeforge in…
Our heroes continue to thwart the Rise of the Runelords in our latest installment. Still in the extradimensional Runeforge, we go through the undead-haunted Vaults of Gluttony - and Valgrim goes toe to toe with a lich and comes out on top!
Our intrepid band finishes its total subjugation of the Runeforge in the fifth and final installment of "Sins of the Saviors." The Iron Cages of Lust and Shimmering Veils of Pride bow down before the Relentless Kickers of Ass!
Next, we must locate and travel to the haunted peak of Mar-Massif, upon which lurks the frozen spires of forgotten Xin-Shalast. And in it the shade of the former Runelord of Greed, Kharzoug, who seeks to lurch back to ill-formed life. I will destroy him and take his place as a proper Runelord! Mmmwah hah ha ha haaaaaaaaaaa!
Our doughty band travelled way past the settled frontier into the Kodar Mountains, seeking the legendary golden streets of Xin-Shalast, Runelord Kharzoug's millenia-lost capital. But, holed up by a blizzard out in that remote place, trapped in a shelter together for what seemed like an infinity, our hunger grew different. More severe... savage. Not to be sated by magically conjured gruel.
In Part II of the Spires of Xin-Shalast, the last of six chapters in the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path, our heroes begin their insurgency campaign within the ruins of fallen Xin-Shalast. Yeti, dragons, and… uh, weird invisible psychic slither-beasts prove no match for their spells and steel as they prepare to close in on the Runelord. Death or glory!
We may be approaching the climax of the campaign in Part III of Spires of Xin-Shalast. Valgrim calls an angel to help, and the group rolls into a devil-haunted arena to do battle… And then to the Pinnacle of Avarice to find and defeat the Runelord himself. Wave after wave of giants broke upon us and fell apart like surf upon the rocks - once, twice, three times. We slay without respite, or hesitation, or mercy. The summary ends in media res as more enemies stir in the darkness beyond the piles of cloud and storm giant carcasses. Who shall fall?!?
Spires of Xin-Shalast, Part III
And with a bang, we have completed the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path! We finished our epic combat with waves of giants and lamias and named characters in the Pinnacle of Greed. My "Aura of Brilliance" spell and Int damage from my summoned amnizu devils were two very strong contributors to our success.
And then - we met Kharzoug the Claimer, Runelord of Greed in combat in his inner sanctum. I've never actually been the victim of Time Stop, Meteor Swarm, etc. before so it was entertaining yet deadly. So many of our attacks failed against him - he had layers of magical defenses you wouldn't believe - but in the end we prevailed!
Bruce did a great job with this session summary, come read it in:
I've been following the updates via the Paizo boards but felt the need to chime in here too - great campaign and really well written too - hilarious even!
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