In the bustling port city of Magnimar, a strange artifact is uncovered...
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1/8/4708 AR: Death of King Eodred Arabasti of Korvosa, his wife the young Ileosa Arabasti becomes Queen.
29/10/4708 AR: Town of Sandpoint east of Magnimar sacked and burned by Goblin hordes led by the Lamashtu champion Nualia. One of the few survivors, the sage Brodert Quink, claims that the attack was linked to the activation under Sandpoint of a 'Rune Well' of ancient Thassilon.
21/1/4709 AR: The tyrant queen Ileosa Arabasti of Korvosa is overthrown by a band of heroes. Tsadok I Arabasti, long-lost grandson of Queen Domina, becomes King of Korvosa.
9/11/4710 AR: Pathfinder Lodge Captain Sheila Heidmarch recruits a band of novice Pathfinders to recover the Shards of Sin...
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Shards of Sin PCs
Starting Group
Lerizzle the human-raised Drow Rogue from Magnimar's Underbridge
Quillax the human Moon Druid
Scotty Saldare the Korvosan Ranger
Joiners
Gedout the human Barbarian raised by gnomes
Keenan the Bard.
Ilvain the elf Wizard
Anastasia the Tiefling Warlock
9/11/4710 Session 1 (XP)
Paradox Box opened - 160
2 Pugwampis 25x2=50
Amazing Zograthi Interrogation 50
Fenster the Blight Interrogation 100
2 Varisian Thugs 25x2=50
3 Sewer Goblins with heavy x-bow 50x3=150+50=200
Natalya Vankaskerkin - 100
Goblin Snake - 50
Recover Thassilonian Shard - 120
Total 880
10/11/4710 Session 2
Game start ca 2 am, long rest at Heidmarch Manor, currently mid-afternoon, ca 3pm, in The Crow, one of the Irespan Pilings around 2000' off shore from Underbridge docks.
Quillax & Scotty returning to Heidmarch Manor are accosted by a whip-cracking tower girl accompanied by three docks thugs. She demands the Shard; Quillax is full of Pride and refuses. Battle starts, a new Pathfinder, Keelan, sent from Heidmarch manor appears and aids them, while Quillax turns into a bear!
The group return to Heidmarch Manor; Sheila uses an Ioun stone to cancel the curse on the Shard, and proposes a quest to recover the Seven Shards and reform the Sihedron, the greatest artifact of ancient Thassilon. Quillax can detect the location of the next shard in The Crow, one of the Irespan pilings in the sea off Magnimar.
After a long rest and brunch ca 1pm the trio head to the docks, where they seek aid from the 'Eyes of the Hawk' monument while fire beetles nose around consuming garbage. There they meet Lerizzle, who recruits One Eyed Igor the boatman to row them out to the Crow. He leaves them there. They enter, soon encountering a wererat and human tower girls, killing all three.
The Pathfinders penetrate deep into the Crow, now abandoned by the surviving Tower Girls following the ambush & death of their wererat leader (in Session 3) & a threat from Sheila Heidmarch to make themselves scarce before her 'archaeologists' return... One new recruit, a tiefling warlock, acquires an Aberrant Rat of Unusual Size as her henchmonster, and the group successfully solve the puzzle of the Siccate Doors - they begin to swing open...
21-22/11/4710: Session 5
The group journey down to the next level, battling grey oozes, aberrant bats, giant spiders, befriending a mite... the mite takes them to its leader King Zungga, who charges them with recovering his 'spare crown' and missing pet, 'Clickylegs'. They rest overnight in the mite warrens before proceeding down into dungeon levels beneath the Crow, battling yellow crab spiders and an aberrant Sinspawn. At last they come to an enchanted pool of healing water, where they take a short rest.
Session 6 22/11/4710
The group explore the Thassilonian dungeons beneath the Crow. Scotty returns. Eekum the mite is killed in a battle with giant spiders, much to Gedout's sorrow. Anastasia returns with her aberrant rat. The group battle a swarm of centipedes, defeat and capture Clickylegs - when he is carried back to King Zunga the king fails to recognise the party, orders their death & is swiftly dispatched by Keelan the Bard.
Back down below, the rat encounters and flees from ancient Thassilonian skeletons, only to be shot down by Lerizzle. Continuing explorations, stairs even deeper down are uncovered. Quillax senses that the next Shard is closer now.
Session 7 22-23/11/4710
The group explore the next level down, killing an enormous Larva; Gedout gains an enchanted ranseur. This level seems infested with devils. They kill two nupperibos, return a fire elemental to its home plane, then meet, chat with, and murder an imp who calls himself the Suzerein of Little Erebus, who says there is a portal from Hell around here. They kill several lemures then rest in the Suzerein's lair overnight before continuing, passing the hall of fleshwarping and safely navigating past an ancient fireball trap.
Session 8 23/11/4710
Party kill 5 nupperibos and Quillax-bear breaks down the door of Stink, an unusually intelligent lemure who asks them to kill the 'bullies' - the other devils in the dungeon. They find scrolls of water breathing, a sea exit to Magnimar bay and a glass undersea observation bubble, where they spot a wrecked ship offshore. Swimming out through the kelp beds to the Liza Jane they are attacked by two lobster-like Reefclaws; after a tough fight they loot the ship, finding an enchanted shield, a mithril rapier and a ring inscribed L.B. - Lerizzle recognises it as belonging to the lost fisherman Lockerbie Brast.
Returning to the dungeon, Quillax lights a fire and they feast on delicious roasted Reefclaw (short rest), then continue explorations, meeting imps (Anastasia gaining control of a Nupperibo) and eventually the Accuser Devil Lord Baz, who proves very cooperative, rewards them for slaying the Lord of Little Erebus, and even provides a map of the dungeon level. Further exploration uncovers a key which Quillax uses to wind up a Thassilonian Clockwork Servant discovered earlier - it imprints on her.
Session 9 23-28/11/4710 AR
Advancing deeper into the dungeon past the fleshwarper laboratory, the group are ambushed by a gray ooze & a hell hound from either side. In a bitter battle Ilvain is sore wounded by the fire hound, and Quillax nearly killed by the ooze. Eventually the party pull through, but are sore wounded. They rest and tend their injuries. Proceeding on they reach the pit of the Aquatic Sinspawn, Gedout leads them into battle and they dispatch the fierce brutes, then return to Magnimar at night. Tangling with two veteran guardsmen on the docks (loquacious Garus & silent Max) whose extortion attempt is deterred by mention of the Pathfinder Society, they return to Heidmarch Manor and report back ca 9.30pm.
28/11/4710
After four days (24-27/11) of rest, selling, and purchase of gear, on 28/11 the group return to the dungeons beneath the Crow; it takes about 90 minutes to work their way down to the next level, still unexplored. Quillax senses they are drawing closer to the Shard.
They enter a region of ancient Thassilonian sewer tunnels, and encounter a singing ghoul painting a cistern with painting of Magnimar harbour - it's the famous Lockerbrie Brast! He asks them to return his brooch to his wife, Liza Jane - but don't tell her he's 'alive'. He tells them of derro raiders beyond, seizing people from the city via a tunnel, and dangerous cave morays in the sewers beyond. The group pass him and prepare to battle the morays...
Session 10 28/11/4710 ca 11.30am-12.45pm
The group engage the three cave morays with trepidation, defeating them after a tough fight. Pressing deeper they hear high-pitched voices arguing - Derroes! They try to sneak up on them, but Scotty is a wee bit noisy... Three derro adventurers and their Carrion Golem vs 7 Pathfinders proves a tough battle, but the enemy are defeated, a female derro Atlatia captured, and their prisoners released - Fenster the Blight (charmed & strapped to Atlatia's Bed of Lurve...), One-Eyed Igor, and two Dockway fishwives kidnapped by the derro. Quillax finds herself strangely attracted to the eastern wall of the derro hall...
Session 11 28/11/4710-5/1/4712 AR
The party are still resting and making plans in the derro vault, having located a secret door to cobwebbed stairs, when they are attacked by their leader, Magister Khrysm, and her homonculi. She proves a tough and evasive little bugger, but is eventually defeated. The derro Atlatia fled during the battle. They loot Khrysm's laboratory then head down to the final battle...
Two massive Shriezyx guard the Runeforge and the black adamantine Shard nestled therein. The beasts strike with amazing speed, cutting down Lerizzle and Keelan in moments. Things look grim - but then the mage Ilvain unleashes a massive torrent of fire that kills one Shriezyx and horribly wounds the other. It lunges forward and fells Quillax too, but then Gedout impales it on the ranseur of Alaznist.
With the monsters dead, Keelan seizes the Shard of Greed, Quillax correctly identifying the right Ioun stone to negate its Curse (which would be bad) and the party with the four rescued captives take the long secret passage back into Magnimar's sewers, emerging in Dockway just after nightfall (about 5pm). On a quiet street they hear a cry for help, and rescue the aristocrat Aldern Foxglove from Wreckwash Blade muggers, Quillax turns into a bear and kills the leader, Gloria. Two flee, one is captured. Gedout summons the city guardsmen Garus & Max, who prove as helpful as usual... Eventually Ilvain and Keelan use magic and persuasion on them to send them down into the sewers to the derro lair, while Quillaz seals the manhole cover shut! The captured Wreckwash blade sneaked away. Aldern gives them 1pp each in thanks. The group escort Aldern Foxglove to a dockside tavern and question him. He is not very forthcoming, but a doxy tells them he's been looking for a particular someone in Dockside to buy something - a potion? Eventually he takes umbrage at the questioning and leaves in a huff.
Back at Heidmarch Manor ca 8pm, Sheila is grateful for their efforts, and word is sent to the Lord Mayor's office - he sends a reward of 50gp each for their solving the mystery of the disappearances. Gedout is given the Shard, he can only see a vague image of marshlands... it will be over a year before the proper rituals are mastered and the location of the next Shard is revealed (2/1/4712 AR), in the Lady's Light tower at the SW tip of the Mushfens... Meanwhile the heroes can attend to daily business, and complete their Pathfinder training.
...Sadly Sheila Heidmarch is keeping the whole 'have acquired bits of Thassilon's greatest artifact' thing under wraps until you can get the whole set and reforge the Sihedron - she doesn't want bad guys getting wind of this - so your exploits won't feature in the Pathfinder Journal yet, but rest assured your friendly Venture Captain is sending confidential reports back to the Grand Lodge in Absalom, and one day you'll be famous. biggrin Sheila believes you found a Runeforge beneath the Crow that can be used to reforge the entire Sihedron, and is working with the renowned Thassilonian expert the scholar-mage Brodert Quink, late of Sandpoint, to research the ritual that might accomplish this.
Pathfinder Training (400 days Downtime) - choose one of:
+1 to any one Attribute
Proficiency in any one Skill
Learn two new Languages (eg Thassilonian, Necril, Draconic, Diabolic) or two Tool Proficiencies (or one of each).
M1 4712 AR. The ancient empire of the Runelords may be long dead, yet the legacy of Thassilon continues to haunt the frontier realm of Varisia. Shadows of a dark past, the legendary Runelords now stir in their slumbers, and in waking seek to reclaim their lost kingdoms...
With Korvosa still reeling three years after the curse of the Crimson Throne nearly brought the city to its knees, the people of Varisia fear that the greatest threat to their land has yet to play its hand. When agents of the newest Pathfinder Society lodge in Magnimar learn of a fragmented artifact scattered throughout the lands of old Thassilon, it falls to a new band of heroes to step in and gather up the remaining fragments of this Shattered Star. For if the greatest prize of Thassilon's first ruler cannot save Varisia... what can?
Runelords of the Shattered Star Players
1. Judith (from Crimson Throne game)
2. Rebekah
3. Keelia
4. Joe B.
5. Jack
6. Francis (from Crimson Throne game)
Runelords of the Shattered Star PCs
1. Quillax the human Moon Druid
2. Keenan the half-elf Bard
3. Gedout the human Barbarian raised by gnomes
4. Anastasia the Tiefling Warlock
5. Bladesinger
6. Shadow Monk
