Rise of the Runelords series:

• Book 1: Burnt Offerings
• Book 2: The Skinsaw Murders
• Book 3: The Hook Mountain Massacre
• Book 4: Fortress of the Stone Giants
• Book 5: Sins of the Saviors
• Book 6: Spires of Xin-Shalast
• Reconstructing Rise of the Runelords

It’s taken six days of articles and over 30,000 words, but I’ve broken each book of the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path down into what I consider the essential story beats, freeing up room for more character-driven bits and overall simplifying the campaign focus. I won’t restate my caveats for the seventh day but will again emphasize that these are changes to my tastes only, creating the AP that I want to run. Essentially, you’re seeing my initial GM prep in action. My hope is that, at the very least, these articles have inspired you to tackle your own revisions as a GM, whether they be to RotR or another adventure.

Today, I’m stepping back from the details and examining the story overall. Specifically, my goal today is to assemble the Adventure Path into ten chapters, with milestones at the end of each chapter that might represent a level-up for the PCs. Put another way, these are the ten big story beats of the campaign, with pauses and downtime between them.

But wait, you may be asking with a puzzled expression, doesn’t Pathfinder go to twenty levels, and wasn’t the AP originally designed to take characters from level 1 to level 18? Fair enough, but a) I’ve changed and dropped a lot of the adventure as written, so it’s worth looking at the relative pacing of each story milestone, and, more importantly, b) as I’ve said repeatedly, I won’t be running Rise of the Runelords in any edition of Pathfinder or Dungeons & Dragons. I’ve GMed long campaigns in these systems and know them well, but I find them too GM prep-heavy for my current TTRPG tastes. I’m on the hunt for a lighter heroic system, and you can follow along on my quest starting here.

Many of the games I’m considering either don’t have strict levels (e.g. EZD6) or, more commonly, have ten levels of progression instead of twenty (e.g. Daggerheart, 13^th Age, Vagabond). Indeed, the only system I’m considering with twenty levels is Nimble 2. In any case, a “10 chapter” structure makes a lot more sense for the campaign I’ll be running.

Based on all the subtractions and changes I’ve made to the AP as written, here are the chapters of the campaign as I see them, with downtime between each major story beat:

Chapter 1: Welcome to Sandpoint (Book 1, Ch 1-3)

• The PCs attend the Swallowtail Festival and thwart the goblin raid during its conclusion.
• Each PC becomes embroiled in relationships with the Sandpoint locals, including Aldern Foxglove, Ameiko Kaijitsu, Shalelu Andosana, the Vinder family, and others.
• With the sheriff away, the PCs become aware of the surviving goblins hiding out in the Sandpoint Glassworks and go to investigate. They clear out the goblins, led by Koruvus, and discover that someone named Nualia is orchestrating several goblin tribes from Thistletop. [Level 2]

Chapter 2: Thistletop (Book 1, Ch 4)

• The party travels to Thistletop, gaining access to the stronghold through hazards and goblin patrols. They defeat Warchief Ripnugget and the forces assembled there.
• In Thistletop, the PCs venture into the lower dungeons and find and defeat Nualia. She possesses a strange seven-pointed symbol upon her person and speaks of the awakening of the Runelord Karzoug.
• The party returns to Sandpoint as local heroes. [Level 3]

Chapter 3: The Skinsaw Man (Book 2, Ch 1-4)

• Months later, Sheriff Hemlock confides in the PCs, asking for help to solve a series of disturbing murders in Sandpoint. The party investigates the grisly crimes, which involve the same seven-pointed symbol—which they discover is called a Sihedron Rune and dates to ancient Thassilon, an empire that fell millennia ago.
• The sheriff points the party towards the farmsteads surrounding Sandpoint, where they discover a plague of ghouls and another Sihedron Rune murder. It becomes clear the killer is Aldern Foxglove, but he is nowhere to be found.
• The PCs travel to decrepit Foxglove Manor to confront Aldern, who is now a ghoul. He explains that his benefactor is someone named Xanesha in the city of Magnimar and is somehow linked to the Brothers of the Seven, also called the Skinsaw Cult. [Level 4]

Chapter 4: Xanesha (Book 2, Ch 5-7)

• The party travels to Magnimar and experiences the City of Monuments.
• In Foxglove’s townhouse, the PCs are ambushed by shapeshifters and, after the fight, discover that the Brothers make the Seven’s Sawmill their base of operations.
• At the sawmill, the party defeats cultists, led by Justice Ironbriar. They discover the cult’s full history and Xanesha’s whereabouts: the Shadow Clock.
• Within the Shadow Clock, the PCs defeat Xanesha’s minions and battle the lamia. They discover the plot to free Runelord Karzoug and kill Magnimar’s mayor.
• The PCs either expose the Skinsaw Cult to the mayor or not. Either way, they return to Sandpoint. [Level 5]

Chapter 5: Fort Rannick (Book 3, Ch 1-2)

• Months/years later, Magnimar’s mayor asks to meet the PCs. He sends them to investigate the lack of communication from Fort Rannick. Shalelu asks to accompany them.
• The party travels to Turtleback Ferry, the closest settlement to the fort. Here they notice hidden Sihedron Runes on some of the residents but have no time to investigate.
• On the way to Fort Rannick, the party rescues three Black Arrows from ogres and hears the full story of the fort’s raid and occupation by ogres. Heavy rain begins pelting the region.
• The PCs formulate a plan and retake the fort. They also meet and fight Lucrecia, lamia sister to Xanesha, who reveals her boss Mokmurian’s plans. [Level 6]

Chapter 6: Saving Turtleback Ferry (Book 3, Ch 3-5)

• The PCs must prioritize and accomplish three larger tasks in any order: a) Restore Fort Rannick to defend the region despite the Black Arrows being routed.
• b) When the party returns to Turtleback Ferry, it is flooding. The PCs rush to save the townsfolk, battling the creature Black Magga. They are sent upriver to the damaged dam, where they find ogres and trolls battling. The PCs defeat the foes and repair the dam.
• c) The party scales Hook Mountain to root out the remaining ogres, led by a stone giant named Barl Breakbones. Barl further reveals Mokmurian’s plans and that he is at Jorgenfist. Barl has hordes of treasure.
• The party’s reputation across the region grows and they find ways to spend their newfound wealth. [Level 7]

Chapter 7: Jorgenfist (Book 4, Ch 1-5)

• Months/years later, Sandpoint is attacked at dawn by stone giants and a dragon. It’s clear Mokmurian has located the PCs.
• The party either tracks the repelled giants or discovers the location of Jorgenfist. They travel up the Storval Steps to the Iron Peaks to Mokmurian’s stronghold.
• Surrounding an ancient structure in a sheltered valley are seven giant tribes, Mokmurian’s army. All bear Sihedron Runes and alliances are uneasy. Somehow the PCs navigate these forces and infiltrate Jorgenfist. An unexpected ally, Conna the Wise, aids the party.
• Deep in the Thassilonian library of his inner sanctum, the PCs battle and defeat Mokmurian. Karzoug briefly inhabits the stone giant to villain-monologue his plans.
• The party now has access to the library and Mokmurian’s vast wealth. [Level 8]

Chapter 8: Runeforge (Book 5, Ch 1-10)

• Months/years later, the PCs return to Sandpoint. The giant’s attack on the town revealed an ancient Thassilonian ruin beneath the glassworks, and local scholars have discovered Runeforge, perhaps a key to defeating Karzoug.
• The PCs travel to Rimeskull, solve a puzzle, and battle a white dragon to enter Runeforge. Upon entering, the players & GM assess each PC’s sins and virtues.
• Seven wings of Runeforge represent seven sins. The party explores the wings and discovers, in three of them, the ritual for creating Runeforged items.
• At the central chamber, the PCs begin the ritual. A statue of Karzoug animates and tries to stop them, providing more villain-monologue. The PCs defeat the statue and create Runeforged items. The place begins collapsing and the party escapes. [Level 9]

Chapter 9: Xin-Shalast (Book 6, Ch 1-4)

• The party returns to Sandpoint. Local scholars have uncovered the location of Xin-Shalast, capital of Karzoug’s ancient nation and where his body is about to rise. They travel to and through the Kodar Mountains.
• Near the city, the PCs reach the Fens of the Icemists. They meet a nymph who offers aid and guides them to the city.
• Xin-Shalast is partially ruined, but the Lower City is vast and occupied by Karzoug’s newly called forces. The party explores, encountering various factions, places, and potential allies.
• At the city’s northernmost end, before the road to the spires of Karzoug’s palace, they battle and defeat a powerful blue dragon. [Level 10]

Chapter 10: The Pinnacle of Avarice (Book 6, Ch 5-7)

• The party scales Mhar Massif, encountering Leng spiders. They reach the small city overlooking Xin-Shalast and are drawn to the Pinnacle of Avarice.
• Within the Pinnacle, the PCs battle Karzoug’s remaining forces, which are heavily otherworldly beings from Leng. As the last creature falls, Karzoug breaks free of his millennia-long prison.
• It’s the final boss battle between the PCs and Karzoug! The Runelord of Greed opens a portal to Leng and pulls allies into the battle, but an ancient entity tries to escape.
• The PCs defeat Karzoug and repel the evil exiting the portal. The portal explodes, leveling much of the surrounding area. The party has saved Varisia!

And there you have it! My edited-and-culled version of Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path, in ten parts. I’m sure that, as I dive into GMing this AP, connections and edits that I haven’t spied will show up, but for now I feel confident enough in the overarching story of the campaign to create a Player’s Guide. Honestly, at this point I’d be ready for Session 0 tomorrow! Now I “just” need to pick a system to run it in… [insert thinking face and distant stare]

It’s been a lot of work, but for me the most important signal to assess is whether I actually want to run this AP as rewritten. There’s a resounding “YES!” echoing in my nerdy heart, and I can’t wait to dive in.

This project was a ton of fun, and I hope it’s been enjoyable to follow along in my prep process. It’s also a big ‘ole writing experiment, so I’d love to receive your feedback now that you’ve seen all seven installments. Soon, I’ll pluck another Adventure Path off my shelf to deconstruct, so please comment below or email me at jaycms@yahoo.com to ensure the next series is even better.