Varisia Campaign

More information about Runeforge was divined via spells like commune - and by researching the topic at the Thassilonian library under Jorgenfist. The one bit of information missing from this was Runeforge's location. This was one of the most closely guarded secrets of the Thassilonian Empire, and it was why the Scribbler's rhyme was so important. Divination spells could not reveal Runeforge's location. Once the heroes had uncovered the Scribbler's masterpiece, these same divination spells were incredibly helpful in deciphering its riddle, organizing its stanzas into the proper order, and verifying theories and interpretations of the poem. The heroes travelled to Rimeskull using greater teleport to reach the shores of Lake Stormunder. They approached the Sihedron Circle. The Sihedron Circle From the rocky eastern shoreline of Lake Stormunder, the ground rose into the craggy snow-dappled roots of Rimeskull, casting its long shadow over the area. Yet not all of the ground

Aura strong divination Slot none; Weight 3 lbs. The first revelation quills were created by the followers of the Peacock Spirit. Since the fall of Thassilon, the method for creating them has been lost. The few revelation quills that remain today continue to function, drawing their revelations, it is said, from the Peacock Spirit itself. The quill is fashioned form a peacock's tail feather. Its nib is made of bone, and when held in one's hand, the quill seems strangely heavy. If placed in an empty vial or other glass container of similar size and left there for an hour, a revelation quill fills that container with ink. The ink created is of a random color 50% of the time, otherwise the ink is black. While a revelation quill can certainly function as a standard writing implement, its true strength lies in its ability to answer questions. Once per day, if the user concentrates on a specific future goal, event, or activity occurring within the coming week, the revelation quill take

The heroes regrouped and continued their exploration of the shrine. Antechamber. A pair of stone doors, their faces carved with an immense image of a three-eyed jackal's head, stood to the south. Birthing Pool. A low stone rim surrounded a shallow pool of water that seemed to glow with a soft radiance. The walls around the room were carved with large runes, and the ceiling rose to a dome above. The pool of water in the middle of the room looked pure. Meditation Cell. Small dunes of rubble and dust lay on the floor of this room, disturbed as if by the passage of pacing feet. The walls and ceiling were densely crowded with scribblings and markings. An image of a three-eyed jackal glared from the wall to the east. As in the antechamber, the walls bore prayers to Lamashtu. In the center of the eastern wall, just under the image of the symbol of Lamashtu, was the second stanza of the Scribbler's rhyme. Collapsed Meditation Cell. This room had partially collapsed. Cracks radiated alo

The heroes continued their exploration of Lamashtu's shrine. The Scribbler's Kennel. Three once separate chambers had become one, joined by collapsed walls and the erosion of ages. Bloodstained fragments of chain shirts, shields, swords, and clothing lay about this room haphazardly. The walls were decorated with countless scribblings written sloppily in blood. Another stanza of the Scribbler's Rhyme was inscribed on the northern wall of the southernmost chamber. The fragments of armor and weapons were all that remained of the Sandpoint guards. A pack of six powerful yeth hounds known as hounds of Lamashtu dwelt in these caves. Unlike the more common yeth hound, a hound of Lamashtu was black and had a poisonous stinger at the end of its ratlike tail. The baying and howling of this pack could be heard throughout the complex, and when they heard or saw intruders they attacked. The hounds of Lamashtu surrounded and attacked Tsela. They then eagerly attacked Shalelu. The hounds

Aura moderate transmutation [evil]; CL 11th Slot none; Price 22,375 gp; Weight 8 lbs. The blade of this brutal-looking falchion is serrated, forming the fangs of the stylized etching of a jackal's profile on the shimmering metal. Such weapons are fashioned in honor of Lamashtu and are favored by her most powerful cultists as weapons not only for battle, but also for sacrifice. A fanged falchion is a +1 unholy falchion and wounds caused by the weapon's serrated edge are horrifically ragged and bleed profusely. Whenever a fanged falchion 's wielder scores a successful critical hit with it, the sword's blade animates and "chews" at its victim. In addition to doing damage for the critical hit, this horrific chewing deals 2 points of Constitution damage and stuns the victim for 1 round (Fort DC 15 negates). Creatures immune to critical hits are immune to this Constitution damage and the stun effect. Construction Craft Magic Arms and Armor, harm, unholy blight, crea

A divine guardian is a creature chosen by the gods to guard a certain sacred site of the faith. Blessed with eternal life (or damned, some might say), a divine guardian spends untold centuries in the service of its deity, tirelessly and deathlessly defending its charge from any who would seek to desecrate it. A divine guardian may have an aura as if it were an aligned outsider. A divine guardian does not age or breathe. It does not require food, drink, or sleep. Typically such a creature is transformed into a form more regal than its mortal one, setting it apart from a typical member of its race or species. A divine guardian is spiritually connected to the one site that it must guard for eternity. As long as a divine guardian remains within that site, it does not hunger, thirst, get sick, or even age. Within the bounds of its sacred site, a divine guardian possesses numerous defensive powers to ward it from intruders, but it can never leave the area or the long years of its servi

The Scribbler started combat by casting summon monster VI to summon 2 babaus. While these summoned monsters engaged his foes, he cast righteous might and quickened divine favor . He then entered combat, casting a quickened spiritual weapon to attack Tsela. The Scribbler was joined by a glabrezu demon who reversed gravity in the antechamber and stranded those who couldn't fly. The heroes banished the demons and killed the Scribbler. The heroes then continued their exploration of the shrine. There was no illumination in the shrine itself (with the exception of the Shrine of Monsters and Madness). The entire dungeon was warded by a strong abjuration aura. Every time someone came to an intersection, there was a chance he took the route opposite form the one intended. Shrine of Monsters and Madness. Although portions of this cathedral had collapsed, leaving mounds of rubble on the floor and crumbling walls, the chamber retained its sense of menacing awe. Four black stone pillars support

Considering all that has happened - the bloodshed, the lives lost, and the miles upon miles of Varisian soil journeyed across to stop the machinations and minions of an ancient tyrant - it seemed ironic that the key to defeating Runelord Karzoug had lain dormant below Sandpoint the whole time. Yet in the ruined temple of Lamashtu once hidden below Sandpoint lay a maniacal mind who knew the route to the Runeforge. Sandpoint had been through a lot, including a goblin raid, slaughter at the local Glassworks, several grisly murders, and most recently a full-blown assault by giants and a dragon. It was certainly a testament to the townsfolk's resilience that they had carried on as hardily as they had. Of course, they had protectors at hand to help them through these times of peril, and when trouble stirred anew in the region, it was to these protectors the good folk of Sandpoint turned. This new development was something altogether more subtle and disturbing than invasions by goblins or

Aura strong transmutation; CL 13th Slot body; Price 44,000 gp; Weight 1 lb This robe is made of crimson silk and emblazoned with dozens of spindly Thassilonian runes, each symbolizing a different type of magical effect or syllable of power. Though favored by wizards, this robe can provide some benefit to any spellcasting creature. While worn, it grants a +4 enhancement bonus to Intelligence and allows the wearer to recall, as a free action, up to four levels of spells per day that he had prepared and then cast. Each time a spell is recalled and prepared again in this manner, the sudden rush of magical energy infuses the wearer with power. For 1 round after recalling a spell, the wearer's spell save DCs and attack rolls made with spells gain a +2 enhancement bonus. Construction Craft Wondrous Item, fox's cunning, limited wish; Cost 22,000 gp

The heroes spent the next couple of days healing the surviving dwarves and taking them and the loot back to Magnimar.

Lamias are monstrous humanoids. Monstrous humanoids are similar to humanoids, but with monstrous or animalistic features. They often have magical abilities as well. They have darkvision. Monstrous humanoids breathe, eat, and sleep. The hate-filled inheritors of an ancient curse, lamias appear as lean and attractive women from the waist up, while below they possess the bodies of powerful lions. Even their humanoid features bear distinctly feline traits, their eyes slitted and feral and their teeth like predatory fangs. A typical lamia stands over 6 feet tall, measures more than 8 feet long, and weighs upward of 650 pounds. Although a lamia is Large, its upper torso is the same size as that of a Medium humanoid. As a result, lamias wield weapons as if they were one size category smaller than their actual size (Medium for most lamias). Lamias are attracted to the ruined and forsaken parts of the world. Crumbling keeps, abandoned cities, and forgotten monuments all satisfy these

The heroes followed Conna's direction to rescue the dwarves. Chamber of the Sihedron. The doors to this room were made of stone and carved with an immense seven-pointed star - the Sihedron Rune. The doors themselves were unlocked but quite heavy and required pushing to open - causing them to grind on their ancient stone hinges. This immense hall was an unexpected break from the rough stone walls of caverns and caves. The rectangular chamber was fifty feet wide and a hundred feet long, with riblike spines arching up to a vaulted ceiling fifty feet overhead. The room's floor was loose soil, while the wall opposite the doors was carved with an immense bas-relief of a seven-pointed star. Throughout the room, seven fifteen-foot-tall tree trunks had been driven into the ground like immense stakes, their sides carved with countless more stars. Each trunk had been fitted with an iron ring from which dangled chains affixed to manacles. Next to each trunk stood an iron brazier filled wit

Aura faint transmutation; CL 5th Slot  eyes; Price  8,000 gp; Weight 1 lb. These goggles are made of carefully-polished rock crystal, with frames of polished brass and a simple leather strap and buckle sized for a giant's head (but easily adjustable for smaller wearers). The goggles allow the wearer to see through magical and normal fogs, mists, and similar obscurement. They do not confer darkvision or low-light vision. Further, the goggles distort and skew vision strangely, causing a -4 penalty on Perception checks. Construction Craft Wondrous Item, darkvision, fog cloud ; Cost 4,000 gp

Mokmurian fought until the heroes killed him. When Mokmurian was dying, this effect was, for a moment, delayed. When Karzoug took control (because of Mokmurian's death), Mokmurian's body suddenly went rigid. He spasmed a few times, and then his head turned to face the heroes, mechanically and clumsily, as if being forced to move by invisible hands. In a strangely accented voice, a voice that sounded almost human, he spoke, his eyes flaring with a soul-searing emerald radiance. "So these are the heroes of the age. More like gasping worms to me - worms to be crushed back into the earth when I awaken the armies of Xin-Shalast, when the name Karzoug is again spoken with fear and awe. Know that the deaths of those marked by the Sihedron - the giants you have so conveniently slayed for me - hasten my return, just as yours soon will. Fools, all of you. Is this all you could manage in ten thousand years?" At that, Karzoug laughed a cruel, mocking laugh that echoed and faded.

Born mightier and larger than usual for their kind, jotunblood giants tower over their fellows both in height and power. Often called king-giants by the smaller races, jotunblood giants almost invariably live up to that name, acting as leaders of the other giants they live with. Few giant tribes can boast more than one jotunblood giant, and these creatures rarely beget more. Typically, a jotunblood giant is born when a giant tribe lacks strong leadership. The birth of a second jotunblood giant to a tribe that already has one is usually seen as a sign from the giant gods that the tribe has grown too large and must split, with the two halves going their separate ways. Reluctance to do so has led to bloody civil wars and long-held grudges. Jotunnblood giants can detect opponents by sense of smell. If the opponent is upwind, the range increases; if downwind, it drops. Strong scents, such as smoke or rotting garbage, can be detected at longer ranges. Overpowering scents, such as skunk mus

Frost giant are cold giant humanoids. Humanoids usually have two arms, two legs, and one head, or a human-like torso, arms, and a head. Humanoids have few or no supernatural or extraordinary abilities, but most can speak and usually have well-developed societies. They are usually Small or Medium (with the exception of giants). Humanoids breathe, eat, and sleep. Cold creatures have immunity to cold and vulnerability to fire. A giant is a humanoid creature of great strength, usually of at least Large size. Giants have low-light vision. A frost giant’s hair can be light blue or dirty yellow, and its eyes usually match its hair color. Frost giants dress in skins and pelts, along with any jewelry they own. Frost giant warriors also don chain shirts and metal helmets decorated with horns or feathers. An adult male stands 15 feet tall and weighs approximately 2,800 pounds. Females are slightly shorter and lighter, but otherwise identical to males. Frost giants live to be 250 years old

Taiga giants are giant humanoids. Humanoids usually have two arms, two legs, and one head, or a human-like torso, arms, and a head. Humanoids have few or no supernatural or extraordinary abilities, but most can speak and usually have well-developed societies. They are usually Small or Medium (with the exception of giants). Humanoids breathe, eat, and sleep. A giant is a humanoid creature of great strength, usually of at least Large size. Giants have low-light vision. Taiga giants wander endlessly to keep from depleting the food supply of any one area. Aurochs and mammoths are their preferred inland prey, while whales, seals, and walruses provide food in coastal regions. These animals form the cornerstone of tribal survival, not just for the food they provide but because nearly all of a tribe’s possessions, from their portable shelters to their weapons, are crafted form the bone, hides, and sinews of felled beasts. Little is wasted. Taiga giants are accomplished rock throwers. A

Rubble blocked the western approach. The heroes used to magic to exit the room after they finished looting it. The escaped stone giant gathered a group of giants to mount an attack on the library to finish off the heroes. The heroes had secured an alliance with Conna and since she still lived, and among the giants whom the stone giant recruited - when this patrol encountered the heroes, Conna switched sides to aid them, a move that threw the other stone giants into chaos. Half of those giants soon defected as well, renouncing Mokmurian as an unworthy runt and joining Conna and the heroes against him. The heroes are still fighting this battle.

The library of Thassilon contained the collected knowledge of the Therassic wizard-monks. The wizard-monks focused their preservation efforts on this chamber. Furthermore, extradimensional travel did not function in this chamber. The heroes then decided to return to the library for research later, and use dimension door to bypass some of the walls they suspected blocked entrance to further rooms. Stone Giant's Lair. This vast chamber might have once been a lecture hall, but the place was empty of furniture. Six five-foot-wide pillars, each carved with spiraling patterns of runes, rose up to support the hundred-foot-high ceiling. Spread through the hall in neatly organized stacks and piles were arcane trappings, candles, books, scrolls, knives, and bundles of powders and ingredients - the entire place looked like an arcanist's laboratory or storeroom. At the west end of the room, a wide flight of stairs rose up to a stone door in the wall, just north of a twenty-foot-wide stage.

Clockworks are constructs. A construct is an animated object or artificially created creature. They have low-light vision. Constructs have darkvision. They have immunity to all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms). Constructs have immunity to bleed, disease, death effects, necromancy effects, paralysis, poison, sleep effects, and stunning. They cannot heal damage on their own, but often can be repaired via exposure to a certain kind of effect or through the use of the Craft Construct feat. Constructs can also be healed through spells such as make whole . A construct with the fast healing special quality still benefits from that quality. Constructs are not subject to ability damage, ability drain, fatigue, exhaustion, energy drain, or nonlethal damage. They are immune to any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects, or is harmless). Constructs are not at risk of death from massive dama

Fen attempted to go through some of the rubble using gaseous form, which also triggered a shining child appearing and looking for intruders. One of the dwarven prisoners the heroes freed perished in the ensuing battle, a victim of Bruthien's area effects. The particular rubble Fen crossed led to the library, and the heroes decided to trigger another shining child to have Fen open the doors from the inside the following day. Library of Thassilon. Numerous glowing crystal lanterns hung on fine chains from the domed ceiling sixty feet above, filling this circular room with bright light. The walls of the room were carved with more runes and sigils, while overstuffed wood and leather chairs and polished oak tables surrounded a thirty-foot-wide shaft in the floor. The central shaft contained the library's holdings. The walls of the shaft, 30 feet wide and 50 feet deep, contained shelf after shelf of books, scrolls, tablets, and other means of storing information. All of these books w

Shining children are extraplanar outsiders. An outsider is at least partially composed of the essence (but not necessarily the material) of some plane other than the Material Plane. Some creatures start out as some other type and become outsiders when they attain a higher (or lower) state of spiritual existence. Outsiders have darkvision. Unlike most living creatures, an outsider does not have a dual nature – its soul and body form one unit. When an outsider is slain, no soul is set loose. Spells that restore souls to their bodies, such as raise dead, reincarnate, and resurrection, don’t work on an outsider. It takes a different magical effect, such as limited wish, wish, miracle, or true resurrection to restore it to life. An outsider native to the Material Plane can be raised, reincarnated, or resurrected just as other living creatures can be. Outsiders breathe, but do not need to eat or sleep (although they can do so if they wish). Outsiders native to the Material Plane breath

The heroes retrieved the dearven prisoners they had saved and enclosed themselves in the forgefiend's lair with magic. The next morning the headless zombie corpse was dragged outside their hiding spot. The heroes tried opening a couple of double doors that led to dead ends before they decided to tackle the library doors. When the heroes attempted to bypass the doors to the library of Thassilon, the door's surface became suffused with a dull gray glow. The glow rapidly brightened to a near-blinding intensity, and then a strange figure floated out of the door's surface. It seemed humanoid, but it was hard to tell since the entire thing shed harsh, blinding light. The creature began screaming, not stopping even to catch its breath as it drifted forward to attack. This alien monster was a shining child, a creature conjured form a distant, insane corner of reality. It attacked anything in sight before the heroes put it down.

Hounds of Tindalos are evil extraplanar outsiders. An outsider is at least partially composed of the essence (but not necessarily the material) of some plane other than the Material Plane. Some creatures start out as some other type and become outsiders when they attain a higher (or lower) state of spiritual existence. Outsiders have darkvision. Unlike most living creatures, an outsider does not have a dual nature – its soul and body form one unit. When an outsider is slain, no soul is set loose. Spells that restore souls to their bodies, such as raise dead, reincarnate, and resurrection, don’t work on an outsider. It takes a different magical effect, such as limited wish, wish, miracle, or true resurrection to restore it to life. An outsider native to the Material Plane can be raised, reincarnated, or resurrected just as other living creatures can be. Outsiders breathe, but do not need to eat or sleep (although they can do so if they wish). Outsiders native to the Material Plane