Rise of the Runelords

[Spuddles]

Going to be starting a Rise of the Runelords campaign next Friday, have to roll up new characters. What would be a good favored enemy for ranger?

What's the campaign even about? Certain classes that will do better than others in it?

[Zjordan85]

Currently in the tail end of this campaign now.

RotRL is centered around the history of a group of very powerful master magic users named, you guessed it, the Runelords. One of these Runelords is attempting to rise to power again after 10,000 years through various machinations that will be made apparent through the campaign.

As for classes that will do well, this campaign is very high magic, as such, A Druid/Cleric and a Wizard are pretty much necessary. A Rogue or just someone with high Disable Device will have a little work here and there. There are quite a few heavy hitters, so you'll need one of your own, Barbarian probably. You'll also want someone who's adept at killing things at range, it'll come up more than once, Sorceror or some Archery class.

As for Favored Enemy; Aberration, Outsider (Evil Or Native), or Humanoid (Giant) will give you good mileage where it counts in this campaign, some aren't until later, but those times you'll be thankful for whatever bonuses you can get.

[Baroncognito]

Going to be starting a Rise of the Runelords campaign next Friday, have to roll up new characters. What would be a good favored enemy for ranger?

What's the campaign even about? Certain classes that will do better than others in it?

I did this with a Halfling Ranger. I was very happy to have Favoured Enemy (Golbin) at first level. It hasn't been useful since then, but a little extra to-hit and damage at the very low levels is not amiss.

[Keneth]

I don't think finding out what the prevalent type of enemy is, or what the story is about beforehand, is good for roleplaying. Metagaming right off the bat is bad practice, not to mention it ruins the story for you. You don't go watching a movie after reading its entire plot summary. Unveiling the mystery is part of the fun. I suggest you read the Player's Guide, there's plenty of information inside to help you start building your character, and you can download it for free on the Paizo website.

That said, you shouldn't necessarily go into the AP blindly. With the difficulty level of RotR, having a somewhat optimized group is almost crucial. At the very least, having one or two full casters is recommended. I've also found that summoners and alchemists can trivialize many encounters in the first half of the campaign since the adventure wasn't build with them in mind.

[Baroncognito]

I don't think finding out what the prevalent type of enemy is, or what the story is about beforehand, is good for roleplaying. Metagaming right off the bat is bad practice, not to mention it ruins the story for you.

At the same time, there are certain things that your character would know in advance especially if your character is a Ranger. Having favoured enemy: Goblin would partially explain why your character is in the Sandpoint area.

And that Favoured enemy: Goblin isn't very useful in the long run is not at all surprising. No one expects to fight goblins after level 5.

[Spuddles]

I don't think finding out what the prevalent type of enemy is, or what the story is about beforehand, is good for roleplaying. Metagaming right off the bat is bad practice, not to mention it ruins the story for you. You don't go watching a movie after reading its entire plot summary. Unveiling the mystery is part of the fun. I suggest you read the Player's Guide, there's plenty of information inside to help you start building your character, and you can download it for free on the Paizo website.

That said, you shouldn't necessarily go into the AP blindly. With the difficulty level of RotR, having a somewhat optimized group is almost crucial. At the very least, having one or two full casters is recommended. I've also found that summoners and alchemists can trivialize many encounters in the first half of the campaign since the adventure wasn't build with them in mind.

It's because of this sort of attitude why I rarely play specialists like rangers. Furthermore, if I wanted to see a movie, I'd watch one. This is a participatory game, and I'd like to be able to participate.

But good to know about the optimized caster part. I'll be playing a melee cleric, we have a cavalier, and a new player who wants to play something "sneaky and cutty."

[Eldonauran]

I am currently running through the campaign. There are a ... decent amount of goblins to come across in the first few sessions (20+ cough cough).

We have one Tactician Fighter, one Tiefling rogue (very secretive, no idea on archetypes) and a Sorcerer/Druid (that would be me.) We all have 15+ CHA, so we are great at the social stuff. Between the three of us, we have bluff, intimidate and diplomacy covers (twice each).

Tactician Fighter 4 is human with adopted racial trait, get to use elven courtblade. Love his character. Is a quarter-elven in backstory but counts as human for the important stuff.

Tiefling rogue 4, from what i have seen, has a tail, 120ft darkvision, has sticky fingers but is otherwise respectable in character. Him and I (as players and characters, get along famously).

Sorcerer 3 / Druid 1, (Crossblooded Fey/Verdant, Wildblooded Sylvan, Tattoo-ed Sorcerer + Feral Druid archetypes). I bring the power to the group, though because of this, I spread myself out a bit. I am going Mystic Theurge, so my ample use of archetypes is necessary to remain reliable and to never become a burden.

I have an animal companion (full strength due to boon companion), a familiar (tattooed, hedgehog +2 will to offset crossblooded penalty), only need 2 hours of rest to recharge spells and have dabbled in the Words of Power (via a feat) to get blasty spells while my normal spells known give me utility. I used a longbow + spell gravity bow to give me something to do when spells are not needed. I have two wands of cure light wounds that the group chipped in for, so that i can heal.

The panther is a backup combatant, who's real purpose is to trip and rip apart anything that attacks me directly. She (Named her Alana) has already saved the fighter and the rogue from death. It helps that i can speak to panthers (Feral Druid) so tricks are unnecessary. Boosts Int to 3 for Alana, so that she can understand call of help from party members. Wear leather barding for extra protection.

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But enough of that (Rambling, I am. Excited, I am). We've come across a decent amount of monsters that swing hard. As a team, we do well and even managed to nearly slaughter a certain monster on a certain island that is intentionally too powerful for you.

Outsider (Evil) will definitely serve a good purpose.

[Sylthia]

I haven't had the chance to play that adventure, but in many campaigns I've been in, it seems that favored enemy:humanoid(human) is quite helpful. YMMV, but it seems that many big bads as well as mooks are humans, but it would depend on the campaign and campaign setting.

[Baroncognito]

I haven't had the chance to play that adventure, but in many campaigns I've been in, it seems that favored enemy:humanoid(human) is quite helpful. YMMV, but it seems that many big bads as well as mooks are humans, but it would depend on the campaign and campaign setting.

It also allows you to wear strange leathers, and to give meaningful looks to your human party members while sharpening your blade.

[Keneth]

At the same time, there are certain things that your character would know in advance especially if your character is a Ranger. Having favoured enemy: Goblin would partially explain why your character is in the Sandpoint area.

Indeed, which is why I recommended reading the Player's Guide. It includes information like that, as well as suggested backgrounds.


I haven't had the chance to play that adventure, but in many campaigns I've been in, it seems that favored enemy:humanoid(human) is quite helpful.

There are exceptionally few humans that you have to kill in RotR, which is not to say there isn't ample opportunity to do so, especially if your DM decides to expand certain parts of the AP.


It's because of this sort of attitude why I rarely play specialists like rangers. Furthermore, if I wanted to see a movie, I'd watch one. This is a participatory game, and I'd like to be able to participate.

I'm not sure if you're agreeing with me or if you're mad at me. :smallbiggrin: