“I once ruled through desire and domination. Now, I seek to inspire, not compel. Power means nothing without purpose.” – Sorshen, former Runelord of Lust
I find Sorshen quite fascinating, especially her role for New Thassilon, leading Eurythnia after aiding heroes in the Return of the Runelords adventure path. She got stuck in her runewell, watched as the world changes, saw the other Runelords attack and fall back on old habits, and she reflected. Change was good; the old ways were wrong. She had originally been named the Runelord of Love by Xin, and that only changed when they took that rune magic to lording over their split domains, killed Xin, and sin magic was born. Sorshen was the only one to ever be the Runelord of Lust, so clearly she was smart and successful, let alone charming. But indeed, desire and domination did not prove the winning rule. She has a new purpose, and thankfully the Redeemer Queen Nocitcula has found a follower in Sorshen, guiding her and the people of New Thassilon – well some of them anyway.
Back last winter we got War of Immortals and access to mythic rules and now with Rival Academies we have the new runelord archetype. Thus I thought I’d take my hand at building stats for the former runelord. I wanted to ensure she was a level 20 wizard and I’d use free archetype to grant her the runelord related feats. I knew I’d tweak her with special abilities to try and capture some of what was noted in her Pathfinder1E stats in the last Return of the Runelords module: Rise of New Thassilon. I did decide to eventually pick up Bard as her feat for the 9th level ancestry Multitalented feat and a few focus spells along the way like courageous anthem as she’s now trying to inspire, not dominate. I also decided I wanted her to be at level 23 for effective power so I compared her to similar creatures and the Building Creatures rules on Nethys. I’ll add I used Hero Lab Online to build this NPC as that’s what my group uses for character building and I use for monsters/NPCs in combat.
This woman appears as a tall, impossibly beautiful woman with flawless bronze-hued skin that seems to shimmer subtly in dim light. Her features are sharp yet seductively soft—full lips, high cheekbones, and eyes like molten gold that carry the weight of ancient secrets and irresistible charm. Her long, luxurious black hair flows like liquid obsidian, streaked with deep crimson or violet highlights that glimmer faintly depending how the light hits them.
She exudes a deeper, layered magnetism embodied not only with sensual allure but control, confidence, and empowerment.
She wears a regal high-collared gown-like ensemble of crimson silk, blue-violet and diaphanous at the bottom exposing a hint of her legs. The material clings like a second skin but bears holy and arcane sigils across her bodice and thighs, glowing softly with magic. A symbol of a face with full blue lips and seven spines like a crown adorns her arm. No doubt that the symbol is made of the most expensive sapphire and silver.
Her presence radiates an aura of charm and dread, amplified by an undeniable presence of magic that subtly influences even the breezes moving through the space to better shift her hair and gown. While her beauty is unmistakable, it is matched by a sense of discipline and self-possession that reflects not only a woman of station but a person of undeniable power from a Runelord of unrestrained lust to a powerful and complex figure of liberation, sovereignty, and power reclaimed. This is not simply Sorshen, a figure of temptation, but a queen in full command of her mythos as one of magic and redemption.
Sorshen Level 23
Human wizard (runelord) (Advanced Player’s Guide, Dark Archive, Lost Omens Divine Mysteries, Rage of Elements, Secrets of Magic, War of Immortals)
Unique, Medium, Human, Humanoid, Mythic
Heritage versatile human
Background favored
Perception +42; darkvision
Languages Common, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Fey, Gnomish, Goblin, Jotun, Orcish, Thassilonian; truespeech
Skills Acrobatics +36, Arcana +46 (Take only 1 minute per spell level to learn a spell. In addition, use downtime to learn and inscribe new spells.), Athletics +32, Crafting +44, Deception +37, Diplomacy +43, Intimidation +37, Medicine +35, Nature +35, Nocticula Lore +38, Occultism +38, Performance +37, Religion +35, Society +38, Stealth +36, Survival +35, Thievery +36
Str +2, Dex +6, Con +5, Int +8, Wis +5, Cha +7
Items greater robe of the neutral archmagi, Sorshen’s Sinuous Guisarme (+4 keen mythic striking quickstrike spell reservoir dawnsilver guisarme (major judgment thurible)), major staff of arcane might bonded with guisarme as per runelord personal rune, true staff of impossible visions, embedded aeon stonesSoM (lavender and green ellipsoid aeon stone, pink rhomboid aeon stone), mirror of sorshen, religious symbol of Nocticula (silver), ring of recalcitrant wishes, ring of spell turning, ring of wizardry iv, spacious pouch iv, Spellbook, a lot more magical items and money
AC 49; mythic defenses; Fort +39; Ref +42; Will +41 (Successes are crit successes instead); +1 circumstance bonus vs. Arcane spells.
HP 488; fast healing 10; Immunities bleed, disease; Resistances arcane spells 10
Contingency [R] Trigger If Sorshen is ever reduced to fewer than 100 hit points; Effect a teleport spell whisks her away to safety. The contingency resets after 24 hours.
Mythic Defenses Whenever an attacker rolls a critical hit against a creature with mythic defenses, the attacker must reroll the attack roll and take the new result.
Speed 25 feet
Melee [1] Sorshen’s Sinuous Guisarme +40 (trip, magical, reach 10 feet), Damage 5d10+4 S
Melee [1] true staff of impossible visions +36 (magical, two-hand (1d8), monk, staff), Damage 1d4+4 B
Divine Cleric Spells DC 43, attack +33; Cantrips (10th) divine lance, vitality lash
Arcane Wizard Spells DC 46, attack +36; 10th dominate, freeze time 9th foresight, foresight, overwhelming presence, power word kill 8th power word stun, suggestion, uncontrollable dance, uncontrollable dance 7th force barrage, lifewood cage, love’s sacrificeSoM, spell riposte, warp mind 6th chain lightning, dominate, never mind, teleport 5th cone of cold, mind probe, slither, wave of despair 4th fly, fly, invisibility, mountain resilience, suggestion, translocate 3rd enthrall, enthrall, fireball, mind reading, paralyze 2nd dispel magic, mirror image, see the unseen, see the unseen 1st command, grease, illusory disguise, phantasmal minion Cantrips (10th) bullhorn, daze, needle dartsRE, prestidigitation, shield, telekinetic projectile
Occult Bard Spells DC 45, attack +35; 3rd (1 slots) shadow spyDA 2nd (1 slots) invisibility* 1st (2 slots) ill omen, object reading Cantrips (10th) haunting hymn, warp stepDA
*Spells marked with an asterisk are signature spells; these spells may be heightened freely
Ancestry Feats Bounce Back, Clever Improviser, Heroic Presence, Multitalented, Natural Ambition
Class Feats Advanced School Spell, Aeon ResonanceSoM, Anthemic Performance, Archwizard’s Might, Bard Dedication, Basic Bard Spellcasting, Bonded Focus, Cleric Dedication, Conceal Spell, Counter Perform, Effortless Concentration, Eschew Materials, Irresistible Magic, Occult Breadth, Orichalcum BondSoM, Overwhelming Energy, Quickened Casting, Rod Of RuleSoM, Runelord DedicationSoM, Second Thoughts, Sin ReservoirSoM, Sinbladed SpellSoM, Spell Protection Array
Mythic Feats Become DestinyWI, Correct The StoryWI, Cutting RebukeWI, Mystic Life ForceWI, Mythic CastingWI, Mythic HeighteningWI, Mythic MagicWI, Rapid SwitchWI, We’ve Met BeforeWI, Wildspell DedicationWI
General Feats Canny Acumen, Incredible Initiative, Toughness, Untrained Improvisation
Skill Feats Alchemical Crafting, Arcane Sense, Assured Identification, Bon Mot, Craft Anything, Embed Aeon StoneSoM, Group Impression, Inscribe Rune, Inventor, Legendary Negotiation, Magical Crafting, Magical Shorthand, Trick Magic Item, Unified Theory
Other Abilities arcane school, arcane thesis, archwizard’s spellcraft, demagogue’s calling, everdawn infusion, exceptional stats, immortal, maestro, name drop, personal rune
A few notes of adjustments I made to align to a level 23 creature or closer to the Sorshen presented for 1E:
- Added 5 to all ability scores from exceptional stats
- Added 3 to intelligence, charisma, wisdom in growth from a long, long life
- Added 8 to AC, saves, skills as part of everdawn infusion and magical changes
- Added 10 to weapon attack bonus as part of everdawn infusion and magical changes
- Added 13 to perception modifier as part of everdawn infusion and magical changes
- Added 240 to hit points, both to represent charisma based hit points and the everdawn infusion
- Immunity to bleed and disease from the everdawn infusion
I’m sure we’ll eventually get Pathfinder2E stats for Sorshen in some official manner. I hope this helps you in some shape or form while also seeing the depth of the new Runelord archetype for Wizards as well as what a powerful mythic character is capable of! Creating any PC runelords or mythic characters, or heck design an NPC Runelord? I’d love to see so tag me in discord or social media. Otherwise, hope you enjoy investing in the depth of options we’ve been given these past few months.
Reminder to be great to one another and support this community. Love y’all and stay good out there, keep gaming!
Investing In:
I wasn’t quite sure what to name my article series when I first started but the idea of showcasing or discussing things that make me excited, that I find new and interesting, or maybe I’m otherwise passionate about seemed to fit with the idea of Investing In something like the Pathfinder 2E mechanic. To use some magic items you have to give that little bit of yourself, which helps make these things even better. I like the metaphor of the community growing and being strengthened in the same way!
I also want to hear what you’re Investing In! Leave me a comment below about what games, modules, systems, products, people, live streams, etc you enjoy! You can also hit me up on social media as silentinfinity. I want to hear what excites you and what you’re passionate about. There’s so much wonderful content, people, groups (I could go on) in this community of ours that the more we invest in and share, the better it becomes!
Sources
Banner – modified Sorshen from cover, Return of the Runelords: Rise of New Thassilon, Paizo, art by Ekaterina Burmak
- Sihedron Spires banner, Pathfinder Lost Omens: Rival Academies, Paizo
- Sorshen from NPC Gallery, Return of the Runelords: Rise of New Thassilon, Paizo, art by Anthony Starr
- Sorshen, Shattered Star: Curse of the Lady’s Light, Paizo, art by Miguel Regodón Harknes
