Rise of the Runelords 4E: Story Hour and Conversion Notes

[Vyvyan Basterd]

******END OF SECOND SESSION******

The players were happy to see the pace pick up this week. The connection they feel to Sandpoint, Ameiko's awesome breakfasts, and their character's desire to stop the goblin menace are strong.

Please feel free to post any questions or comments.


Our next session is Friday, May 7th. More updates to come. - VB

We still have space for up to 2 new players in this and the other two campaigns we rotate. Click here for details.

 

[Dungeon Masta]

Just wanted to say that I've been enjoying reading your posts and I'm eagerly awaiting the continuing adventures!

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

Thank you, Dungeon Masta.



B9. Prisoner Pits

The group took the east exit from the ancient prison. The corridor led to an old torture chamber with doors on the east and south walls. The opened the east door and descended the stairwell behind the door to a large chamber. Eleven small pits lined the floor, each covered with rotted old planks. Shuffling and occasional low moans came from the pits. A deformed goblin, that Swift was able to recognize from Shelelu's description as the missing goblin hero Koruvus, raised his signature magical longsword in blind anger at the intrusion of the group. The goblin proved strong as he laid T'rune low is a series of four quick strikes. Things seemed to get worse as zombies clawed their way out of each pit. Toox came through and mananged to avert the zombie menace while Celeste revived T'rune to help defeat Koruvus.

I decided I wanted the zombies to be part of the combat instead of just sitting in their pits. I used Koruvus' deformity as a connection to Lamashtu that kept the zombies from attacking him. I made the pits a mere terrain features since they weren't hidden and enough evidence was given that walking over the covers could be dangerous.

[sblock]Terrain: Each pit is 20 feet deep. Walking onto a wooden cover causes it to collapse (+5 vs. Reflex; 2d10 falling damage). If a zombie is still in a pit when a creature falls roll a pit attack against the zombie. If hit the zombie and the creature both take half damage from the pit. An open pit is treated as any other precipice. Climbing out of a pit requires a DC 10 Athletics check.[/sblock]

I used Carcass Eaters (minion) for the eleven zombies and the following stats for Koruvus:

[sblock]Koruvus Level 3 Elite Brute
Small natural humanoid, goblin XP 300
Initiative +2 Senses Perception +4; low-light vision
HP 106; Bloodied 53
AC 18; Fortitude 18, Reflex 16, Will 17
Saving Throws +2
Speed 6
Action Points 1
Longsword (standard, at-will) Weapon
+9 vs AC; 1d8+5 damage (crit 1d6+13).
Dual Sword (standard, at-will)
Make a basic melee attack against two creatures.
Goblin Tactics (immediate reaction, when missed by a melee attack; at-will)
Koruvus may shift 1 square.
Blood Wrath (while bloodied) Healing
While bloodied, Koruvus deals an additional 1d6 damage and push the target one square. Koruvus loses the ability to use goblin tactics. He must attack the nearest foe, charging when possible. At the end of his turn, he heals 5hp.
Aecris Weapon (free, daily)
When Koruvus drops an undead enemy to 0 hit points he gains a healing surge.
Alignment Evil Languages Common, Goblin, Draconic
Str 18 (+5) Dex 14 (+3) Wis 16 (+4)
Con 13 (+2) Int 8 (0) Cha 12 (+2)
Equipment +1 aecris longsword[/sblock]

The group exlpored a passage to the south discovering a spiral stairwell that led to collapse and a strange spherical room with various items floating around in a lazy circle.

I converted the scroll of burning hands into a ritual scroll of tiny lanterns, the prayer book to Lamashtu remained as is, and I coverted the wand of shocking grasp to a +1 master's wand of static shock.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

B4. Washing Pool

Having reached a dead-end to the north, the group returned to the chamber with the red statue and headed up the small flights of stairs to the east that lead to a door. The chamber beyond contained a small pool ringed by skulls. Horrid winged heads floated down from upper reaches of the chamber, a look of otherworldly hunger on their face despite their hollow eyes. The creatures' shrieks left Toox and T'rune frozen in fear, but their comrades were able to defeat the strange tiy beasts.

The adventure called for one vargouille. Instead I upped that to five using the following stats:

[sblock]Vargouilles (5) Level 2 Lurker
Tiny shadow magical beast XP 125
Initiative +8 Senses Perception +3; darkvision
HP 35; Bloodied 17
AC 15; Fortitude 12, Reflex 15, Will 14
Speed fly 6 (hover)
Bite (standard, at-will) Poison
Reach 0; +5 vs Fortitude; 1d6+3 poison damage, and the target is unable to gain hit points (save ends).
Shriek (standard, at-will) Fear
Close burst 2; +3 vs Fortitude; 1d6+3 psychic damage, and the target is immobilized (save ends). First failed save: Target is stunned (save ends).
Kiss (minor; at-will) Disease
Reach 0; usable only on stunned or helpless targets; +3 vs Reflex; target is exposed to kiss rot.
Alignment Evil Languages understands Common
Skills Stealth +9
Str 5 (-2) Dex 17 (+4) Wis 14 (+3)
Con 11 (+1) Int 4 (-2) Cha 8 (0)

Kiss Rot – DC 15
Cured < Initial Effect (-2 to all attacks) <> (-2 to all skills) > Diseased becomes a vargouille.[/sblock]

The group continued through two seperate single doors to the east through a passage that continued to climb. The second door lead to a spiral staircase that lead up to collapse. Another dead-end, the group headed to a passage way south of the red statue room that they originally had passed.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

B13. Cathedral of Wrath

The passage led into a room with a small shrine. Another led further into a full cathedral. A small demonic figure sat atop a raised dais. She seemed to be prepared for the intrusion and had a group of spawn ready to defend her. The demon sat well-protected behind her spawn and launched bursts of cascading electical energy on the group. They had difficulty getting in the door, past the spawn to spread out from the demon's onslaught. Toox rushed to help Celeste as she succumbed from too many jolts. Swift make a break for the demon, only to suffer at her hands and one of the following spawn. Toox was able to help Celeste revive in time to save Swift.

After a hard-fought battle the group turned to a strange well of orange-red liquid. Although it looked like lava, the group determined that it was something more nefarious than a mere lava swell. While testing the liquid, both Celeste and Swift felt a strange sense of wrath enter their minds and momentarily take over, making them attack their friends. They realized though the each time the color of the odd well seemed to fade. They sent Toox up to the well alone to try to use her arcane skill to completely deactivate the well and luckily she was successful.

I added 6 sinspawn to the encounter and used a Runespiral Demon to represent the Quasit.

The group quickly made their way back into the town above to rest. Toox took the form of a common human and spread rumors about the brave new group of heroes. Marissa and Swift went to check if Tsuto was still imprisoned. They found him still there and still uncooperative. They all decided that after they took care of business in town and got a good night's rest that they needed to head to Thistletop to stop Nualia's plot. Celeste was concerned about leaving before Sheriff Hemlock returned, but Swift pointed out that they had no idea how soon the goblins planned to lauch their next attack on Sandpoint.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

******END OF THIRD SESSION******

Not as much roleplaying this time around. The group did enjoy a break from that to finish off the dungeon crawl.

Please feel free to post any questions or comments.


Our next session is Friday, May 14th. More updates to come. - VB

We still have space for 1 new player in this and the other two campaigns we rotate. Click here for details.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

PART FOUR: THISTLETOP

Following Shalelu's directions, the group made their way east toward the Thistle River crossing. They expecte trouble on the road and found some. A small group of goblins attempted to ambush them , but they proved to be too much for the goblins to handle.

I needed some filler XP and went with the modules suggestion of an encounter on the road. An EL 2 encounter became a quick Level 2 encounter against two goblin archers, two goblin blackblades, a goblin acolyte, and a goblin cursespewer.

After reaching the Thistle River crossing, the group headed north into the Nettlewood. Swift's superior skill in the wild kept them on track, even if the going was slow in the dense thickets of the Nettlewood. As they approached the coastline they could hear the waves crashing in the distance, but the way was blocked by a 20-foot-high tangled briar.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

C4. Refugee Nest

The group discovered a cleverly hidden mat of nettles used to close off a hole in the briar. Beyond the opening small tunnels, only big enough for a goblin, branched out. They made their way into a double set of the nettle mats, the second of which gave them a westward view of the Varisian bay and their first view of the strange island the Thistletop goblin tribe called home. A bridge spanned the gap from the shore to a compound atop the head-shaped isle, but the path around the cliff face looked too narrow and left the group more exposed than they wished to use it. The decided to make their way crawling through the briar tunnels instead. The group came upon a cramped chamber containing ten ragged loking goblins. The goblins lauched into a frenzied attack, shrieking in fury at the intrusion of the "longshanks". The goblins proved to be tougher than they looked, especially with the group reduced to crawling through their lair. But the group persevered. Looking through the goblins possessions the group was able to determine that these goblins were from the Birdcruncher tribe and realized that they must be taking refuge here with the Thistletop goblins.

I amped up this encounter, the group's toughest challenge to date. Four goblin archers, four blackblades, and two acolytes. Add the cramped conditions and this sucker was hard! The players quickly realized that squeezing through the tunnels was deadly and decided to instead crawl. This area presented an interesting challenge that these players hadn't yet had to face in previous campaigns.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

C5. Goblin Dog Kennel

The group continued their crawl through the tight briar tunnels. They were relieved to find a central chamber with a high ceiling, finally getting a chance to stand and stretch. They could hear the sound of sloshing waves coming from a hole in the center of the chamber. Celeste investigated, seeing a glint of gold shine up from the depths of the 70-foot-deep shaft. She decided to send her spirit down to retrieve the shiny gold. The panther returned with a single gold coin, but reported that there were more items under the water, including a bow-like weapon. The spirit also reported seeing animals with sharp teeth in the sea cave below. Celeste was able to identify the creatures from the description as a dangerous aquatic predator, the bunyip. She sent he companion back down to retrieve the bow, but the panther returned without it to report that it was wedged under a rock. The group decided to focus on the goblins for now and return to the sea cave later.

I decided I didn't want retrieval of the weapon to be that easy. I also decided it was fair to assume that the bow was wedged under something heavy since its weight would otherwise allow it to be washed away normally under changing currents and/or tides.

The group continued and came upon a pack of the same mangy dogs they had encountered in the raid on Sandpoint. The dogs were upon them quickly, even though they were tied to stakes with long frayed ropes. The rat-faced beasts were hungry and bred to be cruel. They savagely set upon the group, but were ultimately defeated.

I promised the stats at a later point. Since I had already established earlier what a goblin dog was, I increased the number from the original adventure from four dogs to eight.

[sblock]Goblin Dog Level 1 Skirmisher
Medium natural beast XP 100
Initiative +4 Senses Perception +1; darkvision, low-light vision, scent
Allergic Reaction aura 1; enemies who enter or begin their turn in the aura suffer a -1 penalty to all defenses (save ends)
HP 26; Bloodied 13
AC 15; Fortitude 13, Reflex 13, Will 12
Immune disease
Speed 10
Bite (standard, at-will)
+6 vs AC; 1d6+2 damage and the target suffers an additional -1 penalty to all defenses if under the effect of the goblin dog’s allergic reaction.
Alignment Unaligned Languages –
Skills Acrobatics +7, Stealth +7
Str 13 (+1) Dex 14 (+2) Wis 13 (+1)
Con 14 (+2) Int 2 (-4) Cha 10 (0)[/sblock]

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

C7. Gogmurt's Lair

The group pressed on after the canine-induced itching subsided, continuing east towards the bridge they saw earlier. They approached a T-intersection. To the north they could see the bridge. To the south the passage opened into another chamber. The group decided to cover their rear and investigate the chamber before heading to the bridge. The odd sight of various skulls, bones and teeth hung from thorny vines set the gruesome decor of the chamber. A curse-spewing goblin led the oddest group of defenders yet. They seemed ready and alert to take on these intruders. The group struggled to defeat the curse-spewer's defenses, but once they had, the gobin shaman surrendered.

He agreed to part with both his necklace and his knowledge of what was going on within the Thistletop tribe in exchange for the promise that the group would not kill any more goblins. He confirmed that Nualia had somehow gained his chieftain's ear instead of taking his counsel as in the past. He told the group of several "longshank" allies that accompanied the strange woman, including the bugbear Bruthazmus.

The group decided to hole up in Gogmurt's lair to recover from their wounds. After hearing of the discord between the shaman and the chief, they decided his lair would be as safe as they could hope for before crossing the bridge.

Again, humanoids just don't make good solos, so I added some goblin allies to the fight. What was once a goblin druid and his animal companion became a Deep Goblin Curser, a Norker Berserker, and two Deep Goblin Stoneblades.