JustusII
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Posts: 5
Joined: Thu 26 Jan 2023, 16:05

Dealing with Herunen

Thu 26 Jan 2023, 16:18

Reading thru the Ruins of the Lost Realm, and thinking about running a group thru Tindailin, the Elven Refuge near Sarn Ford. Has anyone played thru this one? Most of it seems pretty straight-forward, but I'm unsure how to play Herunen. I will have an elf in the party (which should tie in well with the other elves there), so from the description it seems he would be the primary target, and likely pulled into the lake and down to the chamber. The rest of the party will want to go in after to rescue him - but the description says players can only enter the chamber if Herunen lets them - why would he let them into the chamber? I am thinking if he is occupied capturing the elf, that could give an opportunity, does that sound logical? Overall, though, I'm not sure if the desired outcome is for the party to fight Herunen to try to 'kill' him, or if there should be a non-violent way to resolve the situation? Herunen has Resolve, not Hate, although presumably if he pulls an elf into the lake that would be considered provoking by attacking first. However, the Spirit ability (and 7 resolve) means it will take a lot to defeat him repeatedly, maybe too much for a newer party. Also, the 'Bitter End' block makes it sound like an adventure hook to have Mirwen return and make peace, which would assume Herunen survives the encounter. So does anyone have ideas of how to resolve this without a fight to the death?
 
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Harlath
Posts: 517
Joined: Sun 19 Jul 2020, 10:40

Re: Dealing with Herunen

Thu 26 Jan 2023, 19:18

I've gone through this adventure as a player!

We found clues as to Herunen's history from old documents and quizzing elves in Rivendell and at the refuge.

Then we offered Herunen some unusual artefacts (as he's noted as liking strange objects), presenting these as a peace offering.

He appeared and we then offered to complete a task for him as a show of good faith (after a pretty tough council, with the Elves at -1d). We wanted us to purge some nearby undead and recover another relic linked to the adventure.

We did this, then went back to him, swearing we'd bring Mirwen back to Tindailin. He returned the NPC prisoner (lord Aranwe) he'd taken.

After a long journey, we brought Mirwen from the Grey Havens back to Tindailin!

It was very satisfying, particularly as we had two elves in the group, plus a Dwarven Jeweller who helped refashion my Elf's Useful item gold torc in to an offering (the other was an unusual animal skull we sought out via a Hunting skill check nearby).
Last edited by Harlath on Thu 26 Jan 2023, 22:45, edited 1 time in total.
 
JustusII
Topic Author
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu 26 Jan 2023, 16:05

Re: Dealing with Herunen

Thu 26 Jan 2023, 21:11

Thanks! Those are some great ideas, I like the idea of treating it as a Council, and crafting some unique items as a way to gain favor.

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