Tangent: Treasure and Leveling in Burnt Offerings

Characters in the original Rise of the Runelords adventure path were supposed to reach around 17th level by the campaign's conclusion. In 4th Edition we have a new challenge in restructuring the adventure path around a 30-level range rather than the 20 levels of D&D 3.5. I plan on setting this up so that by the end of the converted adventure path the party will have reached level 25 or 26. That means that each of the six adventures contained within Rise of the Runelords needs to advance the party by a little over four levels. To this end, we need to break down each adventure into roughly four sections so that experience and treasure can be awarded appropriately.

Burnt Offerings, as written, can be considered in three large sections: the festival and glassworks, the Catacombs of Wrath, and Thistletop. I am going to expand the number of encounters for each of these sections so that the PCs will hopefully be well on their way to fifth level by the end of the adventure.

Let's start by looking at experience breakdowns. By the end of Burnt Offerings, each character should have accumulated well over 4,000 xp. This means that a party of five characters should encounter in excess of 20,000 xp worth of monsters, traps, skill challenges and quests. This might seem daunting at first. Don't worry, we'll get there.

Part 1: Festival and Fire contains three encounters totaling 1,875 xp. Part 2: Local Heroes contains another 900 xp between three encounters. This puts the party a little over halfway to 2nd level by the time they begin Part 3. This means that, in short, the party needs to gain three and a half levels between the Glassworks, the Catacombs of Wrath and Thistletop. To that end, these dungeons are going to be jam-packed with encounters.

The Glassworks, including the quest to rescue Ameiko, is worth 3,175 xp. Much of the treasure for level 1 and some of the treasure for level 2 is located therein. The party should reach 2nd level partway through the Glassworks. The Catacombs of Wrath is worth 4,300 xp and contains the rest of level 2's treasure. Thistletop's exterior is worth 4,375 xp, including the quests to save Shadowmist and stop the goblin attack. The party should reach 3rd level well before they enter the fortress. Thistletop's upper floor is worth 2,250 xp and its second floor is worth 4,150 xp. The party should have reached 4th level by this point. Thistletop's lowest floor is worth 5,293 xp.

The more immediate concern should be the amount of treasure the party receives. All of the parcels available in Burnt Offerings and their locations are laid out below.

Treasure Parcels for Level 1:

• Parcel 1 is carried by Tsuto.
• Parcel 2 is found in the dining room.
• Parcel 3 is on Lonjiku Kaijitsu's corpse.
• Parcel 4 is carried by the Goblin Underboss in the dining room.
• Parcel 5 is found in the backpack of a goblin blackblade in the servant's quarters.
• Parcel 6 is the bribe money carried by Tsuto.
• Parcel 7 is given to the party by Sheriff Hemlock.
• Parcel 8 is given to the party by Sheriff Hemlock.
• Parcel 9 is found hidden in a desk in the Glassworks.
• Parcel 10 is given to the party by Aldern for rescuing him.

Treasure Parcels for Level 2:

• Parcel 1 is found in the Cathedral of Wrath.
• Parcel 2 is at the bottom of one of the prisoner pits.
• Parcel 3 is carried by Tsuto.
• Parcel 4 in encased in glass in the reception room.
• Parcel 5 is carried by the statue in the welcoming chamber.
• Parcel 6 is worn by Erylium.
• Parcel 7 is found on a goblin in the servants' quarters.
• Parcel 8 is worn by Erylium.
• Parcel 9 is found in the meditation chamber.
• Parcel 10 is found in the meditation chamber.

Treasure Parcels for Level 3:

• Parcel 1 is carried by Warchief Ripnugget.
• Parcel 2 is found with Bruthazmus.
  
• Parcel 3 is found in Gogmurt's Lair.
• Parcel 4 is in the treasury chest.
• Parcel 5 is found with Bruthazmus.
  
• Parcel 6 is either in the throne room or Ripnugget's room.
• Parcel 7 is in the research room.
• Parcel 8 is in the research room.
• Parcel 9 is in the research room.
  
• Parcel 10 is found scattered throughout Thistletop's upper level.

Treasure Parcels for Level 4:

• Parcel 1 is in a hidden side room off of Malfeshnekor's prison.
  
• Parcel 2 is found on a goblin corpse in the cave.
• Parcel 3 is found in the research room.
• Parcel 4 is allocated in The Skinsaw Murders.
• Parcel 5 is found in the observation room.
• Parcel 6 is a portion of the reward for returning Shadowmist.
  
• Parcel 7 is found in the sarcophagi in the crypt.
• Parcel 8 is found in the sarcophagi in the crypt.
  
• Parcel 9 is Nualia's holy symbol.
• Parcel 10 is a portion of the reward for returning Shadowmist.

Treasure Parcels for Level 5:

• Parcel 1 is in Nualia's possession.
  
• Parcel 2 is allocated in The Skinsaw Murders.
• Parcel 3 is buried in the collapsed treasury.
  
• Parcel 4 is allocated in The Skinsaw Murders.
• Parcel 5 is part of the remaining wealth in the collapsed treasury.
• Parcel 6 is allocated in The Skinsaw Murders.
• Parcel 7 is part of the remaining wealth in the collapsed treasury.
• Parcel 8 is allocated in The Skinsaw Murders.
• Parcel 9 is allocated in The Skinsaw Murders.
• Parcel 10 is the silver coffer found in the hidden room off of Malfeshnekor's prison.