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

[Vyvyan Basterd]

D12. Chapel to Lamashtu

The newly reformed group headed back to Thistletop to meet Gogmurt. The shaman had successfully taken over as the new chieftain. He told the group about the two entrances to the power level. The front staircase lead down to the goblin's feast hall, while the rear staircase lead down to the chieftain's war room. The group decided to head down into the war room.

The war room displayed evidence of the planned attacks on Sandpoint, both the prior attack and the future. Two other doors led to the east and west.

The group headed east into a small room dominated by crude goblin art. The grandest piece of which depicted the Thistletop island and a giant goblin figure. Another door was set into the south wall.

Through the south door the group found a convergence of three hallways upon an alcove to the west containing large stone double doors. The group decided to investigate the double doors.

The doors led to a large horrific chapel dedicated to Lamashtu, the goddess of monstrous births. The group heard the growl of hounds and scanned the darkness for goblin dogs. Instead to gaunt hounds with red glowing eyes lept from the darkness. The hounds seemed to have an unholy strength that threatened to overwhelm the group. Finally the foul beasts were defeated.

Two yeth hounds became two death dogs in my conversion. The dogs "Go For the Legs" power turned the battle into another prone combat after the intial gotcha when the first person laid prone tried to stand.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

D2. Chieftain’s Harem

The group proceeded through another door to the south. The door led to an unoccupied prison and torture area, including a side room that seemed to belong to the tribe torturer. The group headed east from the empty prison.

The door led to the former feast hall. Frayed pillows and other various bedding seemed to spill out from an open side chamber. The bugbear Bruthazmus and a throng of goblin women seemed to hear the group coming. The scene unwelcomingly brought the heroes mind down the horrid path of goblin lust that had most certainly been taking place.

Bruthazmus roared in anger at the interruption and the goblin harem proved to fight as well as some of their male counterparts. Honoring their agreement with Gogmurt, the group attacked to subdue rather than kill. The harem fled up the stairs in defeat, while the group decided to lock Bruthazmus in one of the prison cells for interrogation. The bugbear was less than helpful and the group decided not to waste too much time with him.

I statted the eight goblin wives as 4th level minions and Bruthazmus as a Bugbear Skinner. The players had a real sense of discomfort and disgust at the thought of goblin lovemaking.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

D4b. Orik’s Chamber

The group explored one of the other doors in the south wall of the feast hall. The door led to five separate bedchambers, one of which was occupied.

A lone human in scale armor, brandishing a longsword in defense stood wary of the group. The man didn’t look like he wanted a fight, but refused to surrender. The numbers against him in the ensuing battle, the man dropped his sword and surrendered. Fargrim told the man that he had his chance to surrender and knocked him out. After stripping him of armor and gear they locked him in another empty cell. The man was a lot more helpful than the captured bugbear and told the group that Nualia entered the lower levels from a chamber to the west of the war room.

This was an intentionally easy fight in case the party accepted Orik’s surrender and subsequent aid. Instead they just pummeled him and left him in a cell, not wanting to trust him.

[sblock= Orik Vancaskerkin]
Orik Vancaskerkin Level 3 Elite Soldier
Medium natural humanoid, human XP 300
Initiative +5 Senses Perception +6
HP 96; Bloodied 48
AC 24; Fortitude 18, Reflex 17, Will 14
Saving Throw +2, +4 vs. fear effects
Speed 5
Action Points 1
Longsword (standard, at-will) Weapon
+10 vs AC; 1d10+3 damage, and the target is marked until the end of Orik's next turn.
Press the Advantage (standard, at-will) Weapon
Requires longsword; +10 vs AC; 1d10+7 damage, and the target is pushed 1 square, knocked prone and dazed (save ends).
Crossbow (standard, at-will) Weapon
Ranged 15/30; +9 vs AC; 1d8+2 damage.
Second Wind (standard, encounter)
Orik gets +2 to all defenses until the start of his next turn. He regains 24 hit points and gains 6 temporary hit points.
Alignment Evil Languages Common
Skills Streetwise +7
Str 16 (+4) Dex 14 (+3) Wis 11 (+1)
Con 15 (+3) Int 10 (+1) Cha 12 (+2)
Equipment: +2 heartening drakescale armor, crossbow , crossbow bolts (20) , longsword , potion of healing, everburning torch, 2 pp.
[/sblock]

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

D15. Research Room

The group checked out the third southern door in the feast hall. The small room beyond was lined with small cages filled with straw. Assuming they were animal cages, Swift investigated. He was shocked to find the skeleton of a goblin infant buried in the straw of one of the cages. Tuco confirmed that many savage goblin tribes used this method to raise their children.

The group pressed on to the east, through a door leading to a storage chamber. To the north they could hear the distant sound of surf. Tuco and Swift moved quietly to investigate. In the next chamber they spotted a large verminous creature that Swift identified as a carrion crawler and two black squid-like creatures attached to the ceiling. The group decided it best to leave the odd creatures alone and focus on their task.

They returned to the war room and headed through the west door in search of Nualia. The dark-skinned woman that Gogmurt had told them of and to apprentices stood at a table studying ancient broken stonework. The three mages made a fighting retreat through a secret door in the west wall, down a flight of stairs into a large pillared hall. But the mages were overtaken and captured, placed in a cell near Orik and Bruthazmus.

[sblock=Lyrie Akenja] Lyrie Akenja, Mercenary Wizard Level 7 Artillery
Medium natural humanoid XP 300
Initiative +3 Senses Perception +10
HP 60; Bloodied 30
AC 19; Fortitude 16, Reflex 20, Will 21
Speed 6
Quarterstaff (standard, at-will) Necrotic, Weapon
+13 vs AC; 1d8+1 damage (crit 2d4+9).
Magic Missile (standard, at-will) Force
Ranged 20; +13 vs Reflex; 4d4+4 force damage (crit 2d4+20).
Lightning Bolt (standard, recharge ) Lightning
Ranged 10; +11 vs Reflex; 2d6+4 lightning damage (crit 2d4+16), and make a secondary attack against up to two different targets within 10 squares of the primary target.
Secondary Attack
+10 vs Reflex; 1d6+5 lightning damage.
Lightning Burst (standard plus minor, daily) Lightning
Area burst 3 (or 2 without minor action use of staff daily power) within 10; +11 vs Reflex; 2d6+4 lightning damage (crit 2d4+16), and the target takes ongoing 5 lightning damage and is slowed (save ends both). Miss: Half damage, target is slowed (save ends), and no ongoing damage.
Alignment Unaligned Languages Common, Draconic
Str 10 (+3) Dex 11 (+3) Wis 14 (+5)
Con 12 (+4) Int 19 (+7) Cha 16 (+6)
Equipment: +2 staff of expansion , spellbook , potion of healing, goodnight tincture (level 6), ritual scroll of comprehend language, ritual scroll of hallucinatory item, silver comb worth 25 gp, fine silk gown worth 60 gp, everburning torch, pearl earring worth 50 gp, 3 pp.[/sblock]

For her two apprentices I used Firequench Wizards.

I realized I hadn’t paid much attention to room size at this stage of my conversion. A mistake I won’t make again. I chose for Lyrie to have apprentices to make the encounter interesting, but was forced to move the encounter in the form of a fighting retreat because the area was too crowded.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

E3. Trapped Hall

The group proceeded east from the pillared hall. Beyond was a short hallway flanked by two statues in alcoves and a third statue at the end of the hallway. Marissa easily noticed the falling portcullis trap between the two statues and moved up to disable it. The group continued down the hall, but as Tuco stepped between the two statues they erupted in movement. The statues glowed with an inner light and with each slam of their stony fists seemed to push nightmarish visions into their victim's minds. Tuco fell to the statues' assault, but the rest of the group was able to save him and destroy the strange statues.

Singular traps don't work well in 4E. So I changed the trap to two minion Falling Portcullis traps and two shard golems reflavored to pushing visions of Lamashtu as the cause of their mind-searing strike.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

******END OF SEVENTH SESSION******

Really wondering how I missed the fact that the rooms are so small. And I'm such a stickler on maps I hate changing them on the fly. Oh well, it worked out and everyone had fun, I was the only one aware of my "mistake."


Please feel free to post any questions or comments.


Our next session is Saturday, June 19th or Friday, June 25th. We may be taking a break to play our paragon-level campaign this week if one of the players can't make it. More updates to come. - VB

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