Rise of the Runelords Recap # 31 [RPG]

[9 Neth 4707 continued]

The race to cure Arnald Swiss of ghoul fever before it’s too late continues.  At the Sandpoint Garrison, Artemis asks local healer Hannah Valerin to wait until he can return with an armed escort before she tries to help the potentially dangerous disease victim.  Artemis then runs through the storm to the Rusty Dragon, where he finds Kang obnoxiously reading over Briza’s shoulder.  Artemis tells the two that they need to hurry to the Garrison, and they depart immediately.  Artemis then manages to pull Bey out of her mystery, only to learn that the prophetess is unable to magically cure diseases.  As Hannah Valerin earlier explained that the best she could do was temporarily delay the progression of the disease, Artemis runs across town to try one last hope:  The Feathered Serpent, Sandpoint’s boutique store for magical scrolls and other paraphernalia.  The shop is open, despite the storm, but proprietor Vorvashali Voon explains he’s long been sold out of the scroll that Artemis is asking for.  The enthusiastic storekeeper tries to sell Artemis various other magical devices, but Artemis knows he needs to hurry back to the Garrison.  Meanwhile, Bey takes her time walking over to the Garrison and is lightly wounded when a nearby tree explodes from a bolt of lightning. 

When all of the adventurers have assembled outside of the locked door to the morgue where Arnald is being detained, Briza volunteers to take the risk of escorting Hannah in.  When the door is unlocked, they can see Arnald looks terrible and is pacing frantically back and forth.  They distract him by throwing him rations, but although Hannah gets close enough to cast her spell, it has no effect.  She and Briza retreat and shut the door behind them.  Artemis talks to Sheriff Hemlock about the predicament, and is told that Arnald may have to be “put down” if he can’t be cured, as it’s too dangerous to wait for a full transformation into a ghoul.  Artemis learns, however, that a fast clipper ship is scheduled to leave Sandpoint in the morning for Magnimar, and the watchman decides it’s worth the risk of taking Arnald aboard in the hopes that he’ll fight off the disease long enough to be cured in the larger city.  While Artemis and Hemlock are speaking, Briza tries shouting through the heavy stone door and is rewarded with an answer—Arnald has retained enough sanity to realize he’s a threat to the others, and is willing to turn over the biggest danger he poses: his adamantine greataxe!  With Arnald safely confined, and being fed copious amounts of food from the Garrison’s stores, the adventurers take up vigil through the night.

[10 Neth 4707]

The thunderstorms of the previous night have given way to a beautiful late-Autumn day, but Arnald continues to get worse: “I don’t know how much longer I can hold this off for!” he shouts through the locked morgue door.  Fortunately, Kang has perfected a formula to stave off the worst physical effects of the disease, and they improve Arnald’s condition considerably.  Well enough, in fact, that he’s trusted to leave his makeshift detention and join the others as they journey to the Sandpoint Cathedral to speak with Father Zantus.  The kind priest regretfully explains that he’s unable to assist, having used the last of his resources to stem the tide of the disease that almost overwhelmed the farming community around the town.  After Bey continues talking about the apocalypse, Father Zantus warns her that such heresy will not be tolerated in a place of worship devoted to Desna.  The adventurers leave for the docks, hoping to book passage to Magnimar.  There, they soon learn that Sheriff Hemlock’s information was correct: a clipper named the Vexing Dodger has just arrived from Riddleport, and after unloading some cargo and taking on more, will set sail for Magnimar at midday.

The curious thing about the ship, however, is that it is crewed entirely by ratfolk!  The captain, who gives his name as Dodger (explaining that it’s easier than his real name for humans to pronounce), is happy to take on passengers.  Kang books a private cabin, while the others are relegated to steerage.  Bey is unable to negotiate a reduction in price, but she cleverly gets Dodger to agree that the latter half of “room and board”should be on an “all you can eat basis,” something that will surely benefit Arnald.  Dodger warns everyone, however, to stay away from the ship’s hold, as it could be dangerous.

Captain Dodger

The adventurers have a last few hours in Sandpoint before the Vexing Dodger is scheduled to depart, and they choose different ways to pass the time.  Briza goes fishing and has some good luck, while Kang brews some powerful antitoxins and sells them to Arnald.  Artemis tours the ship and is treated quite deferentially in his Magnimar City Guard tabard.  Bey makes a speech at the Farmer’s Market, instructing everyone to continue to prepare for the imminent apocalypse but offering hope that some of the residents of Sandpoint could survive.  Her words are met with fear in some quarters, and a belief that she’s insane in others.

At midday, the Vexing Dodger raises anchor and sets sail for Magnimar with all of the adventurers on board.  The ship’s captain begins to spin tales for the passengers as the vessel passes by Lost Coast landmarks.  He points out a high promontory called the Pyre and said it was used by Varisians in decades past for mysterious rituals.  A small island, dimly seen in the distance, is named as Grubber’s Hermitage and Dodger says that in recent months no one’s heard from the villagers who live there—he suspects ghosts or lepers!  Bey pays him to sail the ship a little closer, and, through a spyglass, Artemis sees large numbers of carrion birds circling around.  Next, Dodger points out the cliffs at Hag’s Plummet and relates an old yarn about a beautiful young Varisian woman who treated with a witch to gain eternal life, but only on the condition that she never fall in love; the tale ends, of course, with the woman falling in love, aging instantly, being spurned by her beau, and throwing herself off the cliff.  When Dodger starts to tell the adventurers about Foxglove Manor, however, they quickly and in unison tell him they’re not interested.

Despite the ship’s speed, Briza shows surprising proficiency with fishing and catches a small shark!  She lets Arnald eat most of it.  Apart from Kang secretly selling Dodger a couple of vials of drow poison for help in subduing what Dodger explains are beasts confined in the hold for the Serpent’s Run gladiatorial rings, the evening passes without incident.  The adventurers decide to sleep out on deck under the stars.

[11 Neth 4707]

Approaching Magnimar from the Gulf

Another beautiful day greets the adventurers as the last weeks of Autumn are warmer than in years past.  The adventurers wake aboard the Vexing Dodger to the captain’s words that they’ve made good speed and should reach Magnimar before lunchtime.  Bey, however, is disturbed by the fact that her usual dreams of disaster and apocalypse were instead replaced by dreams of peace  and optimism.

The adventurers’ first sight of Magnimar is the massive Irespan, an ancient bridge standing over 300 feet above sea level but mysteriously broken part of the way out to the Varisian Gulf.  The harbor is full of hundreds of ships, large and small, and the noise and bustle of a real city make a clear distinction between Magnimar and Sandpoint.  The travellers learn that the city is divided into three major sections: the Summit, a wealthy section of the city looming on a high cliff that cuts right through the city; the Shore, a more diverse section of the city abutting the Varisian Gulf and the Yondakabari River; and the Shadow, a regrettable slum existing, quite literally, under the enormous reach of the Irespan above.  In addition, they learn that residents of Magnimar further divide the city into nine different districts.  Bey explains to Briza that the Irespan is one of the most famous existing remnants of Thassilon, a mighty empire that existed thousands of years ago and that was ruled by seven mighty wizards who had somehow perverted magic to extend their might before a sudden cataclysm brought about their downfall.

Founder's Honor

The adventurers bid farewell to Captain Dodger and are led by Artemis into Dockway district, full of markets and warehouses and then into the heart of the city and Keystone district, a middle-class section of the city containing safe, clean, wide thoroughfares and impressive buildings.  Keystone is also the religious heart of Magnimar, and Artemis has no difficulty finding the Cynosure, the ring-shaped shrine dedicated to Desna.  Artemis leaves the adventurers in the good hands of a beautiful Varisian cleric named Bevaluu Zimantiu.  When Bey explains that they’ve come to have one of their number healed of ghoul fever, Bevaluu is happy to oblige and successfully invokes the Song of the Spheres to cure Arnald’s infliction.  She welcomes the adventurers to Magnimar and tells them that the city is called variously the City of Monuments and the City of Secrets, as great powers reside in the ancient structures that dot the city.  She tells them to visit a monument called Founder’s Honour along the eastern side of Keystone and leave a gift of flowers and fruit to experience the miracles of Magnimar firsthand.  When the adventurers do so, Bey and Arnald do feel a surprising degree of contentment.

The adventurers have followed a trail of clues from Foxglove Manor all the way to Magnimar.  After the small-town charms of Sandpoint, are they prepared for the dangers and opportunities presented by a bustling city?

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Director's Commentary

With his access to lesser restoration, Kang effectively solved Arnald's ghoul fever problem (even the disease wouldn't be formally cured until the PCs reached Magnimar).  A bit anti-climactic from a story-telling perspective, but I can't begrudge the smart use of a resource to save a PC's life.

I came up with the Vexing Dodger, a ship crewed entirely by ratfolk, because I thought it might be fun for the PCs to encounter a non-Core rulebook race.  The bit with the monsters in the hold destined for Serpent's Run was my preparation in case I rolled for any random encounters on the voyage.  I even had a ship flip-mat.  Alas, the dice said no random encounters, so it was a peaceful journey.

I spent a lot of time preparing Magnimar: the AP has a small gazetteer, of course, but I made a lot of use of the campaign setting book and even tried to get some flavour from a novel set there.  I wanted the city to make a big impression on the PCs, but in the actual session I found it really hard to describe the "feel" of the city as they moved quickly from place to place.  As cool and impressive as the Thassilonian monuments would be in real life, they didn't get much a reaction from the jaded adventurers (or players).  It's hard for a GM to translate cool stuff from paper into the players' imagination sometimes.