Tuesday, October 24, 2023

RHoD Chapter 2A - The Elsir War

RHoD Masterpost

We're back! Yay! It'll likely still be slow going, as I've got a lot of other stuff I'm working on (my Strength of Thousands campaign is going strong, and I'm working on a Necromancer class based on the Kineticist and a heartbreaker OSR take on Pathfinder), and we're still in Chapter 1 of Fall of Plaguestone. But! I'll plug away when I can.

Here is the document! There are basically 3 types of encounters: filler, story, and contingent. I also list out some useful monsters if you want to build your own encounters, and list the encounter building tables for levels 6/7/8. For all of these, definitely give the book a deeper read, my doc just includes mechanics.

Filler Encounters

These encounters are meant to basically be thrown in to spice things up as the party travels through the wilderness or through the towns leading up to Brindol.

  • Easy Skirmish - fight some hobgoblins!
  • Dirty Rotten Looters - possibly drive off looters! (or help them!)
  • Barghest Reavers - Survive a terrible Barghest ambush!
It also references 3 filler encounters you can re-use from Part 1:
  • Marauder Attack - similar in power level to Easy Skirmish
  • Goblin Raid - drive goblins away from a village!
  • Chimera Attack - spooky!

Story Encounters

These encounters are a great way to seed deeper elements of the conflict or draw in new elements.

  • Mercenary Gold - a fight with Ettins reveals a delivery that could change the course of the war if the PCs can deliver it! Definitely use this if the PCs skip Rhest as a way to get aid to Brindol and give the PCs more to do. I might write something out about expanding this side quest if I have time/drive later.
  • The Not-So-Sick Spy - will the heroes reveal essential info about their activities? Or will they uncover the Red Hand agent before it's too late? Great as a lead into some of the contingent encounters below, or as a chance to learn more about the Hand.

Contingent Encounters

These encounters will only come up based on what the party does or how things end up going.

  • Marked for Death - The PCs are enough of a problem that the Hand tries to have them killed! Run this once the party prove their effectiveness, but only if they leave Witnesses or some other way to be identified (or if their fame spreads enough that spies can learn of their activities. It is brutal. Run it accordingly.
  • Captured! - Goes through how to handle PCs who get captured! How might they escape? Definitely worth reading through.
  • Into the Horde - What happens if the PCs take the fight to the Hand? ... probably they'll die, unless they level up first. I didn't actually stat this one out, because it relies on creatures I haven't created stat blocks for yet. I'll get to it eventually!


That's all for today! Next time, we'll move on to Part 2B: The Blackfens. See you then!

Next - Part 2B: The Blackfens

No comments:

Post a Comment

RHOD Sidequest - The Mad Mage's Manor

RHoD Masterpost There's a throwaway line on page 52 that says "The razorfiend has done quite well for itself, having plundered a ru...