Rise of the Runelords Recap # 116 [RPG]

 

[8 Gozran 4708]

After further planning and preparations at their campsite, the Heroes of Varisia put their plan to assassinate Karzoug’s apprentice into motion.   Using various spells to turn themselves invisible and gaseous in form, they start flying towards the tallest tower of the massive fortress Shahlaria.  Just as the sun begins to dip below the horizon, a massive circle of light appears in the sky above the fortress and a strange black sailing ship emerges and begins slowly flying toward the tower as well—a ship that Ava recognises from her bizarre experiences in the Dreamlands of Leng!  Seconds later, a figure becomes visible on the tower—a tall, robed man holding a staff topped with a jagged chunk of crystal.  This is surely Khalib!  The adventurers’ timing is crucial, as their plan depends on defeating Khalib before the ship docks at the tower and more threats emerge. Fortunately, the agreement with Gyukak seems to have worked, as some sort of disruption in the streets below has drawn the attention of the fortress’ giants.

But as the adventurers see Khalib, so does Khalib see them—for the Thassilonian’s glowing eyes are not fooled by simple tricks like invisibility.  The battle begins with the adventurers still hundreds of feet away and trying to emerge from their gaseous forms so they can do battle with spell and blade.  Khalib taunts his enemies, his words mostly lost on the wind, before unleashing powerful magic designed to strip the meddlers’ of their primary means of healing and spellcasting, Ava.  A thin green ray of light springs forth from Khalib’s finger and arcs towards Ava, only to somehow reflect off a magical shield and return directly towards the wizard!  Khalib screams as his body instantly disintegrates into a pile of dust!  Ava’s abjuration has turned the wizard’s potent magic against its caster!  The ebullient heroes race to the tower, gather Khalib’s assortment of enchanted paraphernalia, and race away before the black ship can arrive.

The adventurers celebrate their surprisingly easy success at their campsite.  Ava gives thanks to Sinashakti, while Kang identifies one of Khalib’s rings as another of the set the heroes will need to survive the occluding field around the Pinnacle of Avarice.  With three of the rings in the group’s possession and five members in the adventuring company, the decision is made to strike the lair of the blue dragon Ghlorafaex in the morning.  But for tonight, a great victory has been won!

[9 Gozran 4708]

In the morning, the adventurers steel themselves for another battle against one of Karzoug’s most powerful minions.  As they make their way towards where Gyukak told them the dragon had his lair, Jinkatsyu suddenly begins speaking strangely again: “My apprentice failed to awaken me at the appointed time millennia ago.  You have thus done me a favor in separating the wheat from the chaff.  I have prepared a reward for your service to the Runelord of Avarice.  Behold my gratitude!”  But Karzoug’s “gifts” are gut-wrenching: Morgiv and the other skulks who aided the adventurers have been murdered and turned into golden statues!  Ava is devastated and determined to attack Karzoug immediately, but the others hold her back with a reminder that rashness will only play into the arch-wizard’s plans. 

The adventurers pass through an area of the city that was obviously a religious district: although now long-abandoned, intact temples and shrines to obscure Thassilonian deities, gods of the giants, demon lords and archdevils, and even Desna still stand.  Built in a plethora of styles, shapes, and materials, they only have two things in common: multiple towers and prodigious dimensions.

Soon, they reach a building that was clearly devastated by the pyroclastic flow that destroyed much of the city millennia ago.  Enough of it still stands to serve as the lair of a fearsome blue dragon.  The adventurers try to approach stealthily, but, to no avail.  A booming voice comes from within the building: “Those of you who seek to sneak upon me have failed.  If you are envoys of Karzoug, you have chosen the wrong path and must depart.  If you are not, prepare to meet your doom.”  Kang tries to trick the dragon into thinking the adventurers are indeed emissaries of Karzoug, but the tiefling is a much better alchemist than he is a liar—Ghlorofaex sees right through the deception and roars in anger.  The ensuing battle is one that bards’ tales are made of, but in the end, both the dragon and Morgiana lie dead in the midst of a smoking ruin.  Fortunately, the adventurers have something that the dragon does not—a powerful cleric capable of bringing the dead back to life!

Having defeated two of Karzoug’s most powerful servants in as many days, the Heroes of Varisia are ever closer to the time when they can make a final assault on the Runelord himself.

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Director's Commentary

The sudden disintegration of Khalib in the first round of combat was quite the surprise to everyone, and pretty funny in retrospect.  What happened was that Ava had spell turning on, and the spell bounced back, got through the wizard's defenses, and he rolled a natural 1 on the saving throw.  I remembered a few days after the session that disintegrate in Pathfinder isn't an automatic death even on a failed save--it just does a ton of damage, and Khalib probably could have actually survived it.  But that's okay.  To me, it's a good example that the mistakes I make as GM help the party as often as they hurt them.

The battle against the dragon wasn't really very hard for the group, and Morgiana's death was mostly caused by rushing in without the same sort of armor class that a character like Jinkatsyu had.

In retrospect, I think having Karzoug turn Morgiv and the other skulks into gold statues was a bit of a jerk move on my part.  My thought process at the time was that it would really make the PCs hate Karzoug, and tie off a subplot with the skulks that had pretty much run its course.  But I think now it was probably unnecessary and furthered the RPG trope that any NPC the PCs befriend will become kidnapped or murdered to fuel the plot.