Notable NPCs

Friends, foes, and others

Ameiko Kaijitsu — The Innkeeper

Ameiko Kaijitsu portrait

Identity

Description

Ameiko Kaijitsu is a half-elf woman of Tian-Shu descent from Sandpoint — former adventurer, now innkeeper of the Rusty Dragon. She is the prisoner found in the Thistletop dungeon (area D9) — a person, not a monster, in the wrong place through someone else's choices. She owes the party something, which is the most reliable currency.

How She Got There

Her half-brother Tsuto Kaijitsu (half-elf monk, Nualia's lover) lured her to the Sandpoint Glassworks under false pretenses, captured her when she refused to join Nualia's cause, and had her transported to Thistletop in a covered wagon. She was kidnapped during the last goblin raid on Sandpoint — approximately 5 days before the party found her.

Location confirmed: Thistletop dungeon D9. T3 source states "Im Gefängnis ist Ameiko... hierher verschleppt" — "here" = Thistletop dungeon. She was not in Sandpoint jail. remembered — T3

She has been in the D9 prison cells since Brunkel (the jailer/torturer) died in the Sandpoint raid, neglected and slowly running out of food.

Campaign Account

The party's descent into the Thistletop dungeon (05.12.2025 session) included finding Ameiko in the prison cells. The campaign describes the dungeon prisoner as "a person, not a monster, in the wrong place through someone else's choices." She owed them something. They freed her.

What she told the party (T3 confirmed):

Bears in Cages

The campaign describes bears in cages in the dungeon. No bears exist anywhere in the published Thistletop. The bears are confirmed original GM content.

Significance

Status

Alive. Freed by the party from D9. Owes the party a debt. No further appearances in the recorded campaign account.

Notes

Shalelu Andosana — The Ranger

Shalelu Andosana portrait

Identity

First Appearance — March 2025 (Leer session, FoundryVTT 3/15/2025)

Shalelu's first confirmed in-campaign appearance is the Leer session (March 2025), before the Thistletop assault. The encounter on the return from the Kaijitsu Star was not Shalelu — that was Magical Maggie (Maggdelena Stackdeck), a half-elf traveling merchant (see the Paddlefoot Farm page). Earlier lore versions incorrectly recorded Shalelu here; corrected from We B4 Goblins! (T1).

The Birdcruncher Meeting — March 2025 (Leer session, FoundryVTT 3/15/2025)

Shalelu appeared at the Birdcruncher territory area and briefed the party before the Thistletop assault — not on the return. This is confirmed by T3 session log and T1 FoundryVTT. T3 beats T4 on sequence.

This meeting fundamentally defines her significance: she is not a one-time informant but an active ally who brokered the party's access to Sandpoint. The party's mission to bring back Nualia's head was connected to this deal.

Relationship to the Party

Background (from Rise of the Runelords)

In Rise of the Runelords, Shalelu is an experienced elven ranger who has spent years learning about the five goblin tribes near Sandpoint, motivated partly by personal loss (her stepfather Jakardros Sovark was killed by Bruthazmus, the bugbear at Thistletop). She visits Sandpoint periodically, brings information about goblin movements, and receives meals and lodging at the Rusty Dragon. She does not live in town. She is described as self-sufficient and dangerous.

Status

Active ally. Last confirmed appearance: March 2025 / Leer session (FoundryVTT 3/15/2025). The Sandpoint-entry deal is presumably active — the party had not entered Sandpoint by the end of the known campaign record.

Shalelu Andosana in the Brinestump Marsh

Shalelu Andosana in the Brinestump Marsh

Squealy Nord — The Pig

Squealy Nord portrait

Identity

Important Distinction

Squealy Nord is NOT Princess Crackling. Princess Crackling is a separate fire-breathing pig from Manschmied Farm, captured in a valley and freed at the Oger farm. They are two completely different animals. Shvub-Mah has both. Do not conflate them.

History

Squealy Nord is not just a pig. In the campaign's words: Squealy Nord was the pig — tribal mascot, spiritual animal, the pig whose squealing had soundtracked a hundred goblin songs.

Shvub-Mah held the title of Master of the Pigpit — the tribe's pig caretaker. The Pigpit was the muddy enclosure next to the goblin baby cages where Nord was kept.

First Rescue — Paddlefoot Farm

After the first ship celebration (Kaijitsu Star mission), Nord was noticed missing. The elders pointed toward the farm on Magical Maggie's looted map — Paddlefoot Farm (the halfling wedding/cake farm from "We B4 Goblins!").

The party went and recovered Squealy Nord from a cage at Paddlefoot Farm. Some humans had a worse day than they had planned for. The tribe held a second celebration, louder than the first.

Timing: Between the first ship return (Kaijitsu Star) and the second ship expedition. Distinct from Manschmied Farm — two separate farms, two separate missions.

Second Reunion — After Village Destruction

When the party returned from the second ship expedition to find Licktoad Village destroyed and the skeletons cleared, Squealy Nord was found loose in the nearby plains and reunited with the party and Shvub-Mah. remembered — CD memory

Nord's whereabouts during the village attack are unrecorded. She was not at Manschmied Farm — that is a different location entirely.

Notes

Vorka — The Cannibal

Vorka

Vorka portrait

Vorka

Identity

Description

A cannibal goblin of considerable local legend and worse dinner habits. Oversized mouth even by goblin standards, filed teeth producing a mismatched snaggletooth grin. Wears rags and scraps of cloth harvested from victims as trophies. Never changes her distinctive floppy, pointy leather hat — stolen from a human traveler and crudely resized to fit her large, misshapen head.

Legend says she was once the wife of a former Licktoad chief. She murdered and ate him and several other tribe members before being driven out. She took up residence in the Kaijitsu Star — an old shipwreck in Brinestump Marsh — and has lived there since, eating whatever comes to her.

Personality

Arrogant, crazed. Fights to the death. Taunts enemies by describing how she plans to cook them ("Those ears might taste fine stuffed with eyes"). Has a twisted fondness for her animal "pets": a horse (Stomp), three dogs (Cuddles, Scabtongue, Tickletooth), and a giant frog (Lord Longtung).

The Encounter (Session 1)

The party boarded the Kaijitsu Star to retrieve the tribe's fireworks cache. What they found was Vorka. The horse (Stomp) died first, as horses do in goblin stories. Vorka died after, following a conversation that illustrated why goblins should not negotiate with other goblins who have already decided to eat them. The ship was thoroughly ransacked. The tribe was pleased.

Campaign note: The campaign describes a "talk to Vorka" beat before her death. The module does not frame Vorka as a conversationalist — she sleeps, awakens progressively, then attacks. The conversation was GM-added or player-initiated. Confirmed campaign canon regardless of source.

Animal Companions

Stats (Module 1)

AC 17, hp 29. Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +5. Scimitar +3, darts +5. Druid spells include spider climb, summon swarm, charm animal, cure light wounds, produce flame. Barkskin potion (pre-combat). Will not leave the shipwreck to pursue fleeing PCs.

Notes

Ripnugget — Warchief of Thistletop

Ripnugget

Identity

Description

Ripnugget controls the best lair among the five Sandpoint-region goblin tribes — Thistletop island, a fortified headland with an elevated compound and dungeon levels beneath. He rides a giant gecko named Stickfoot. His throne room (C19) features a dog pelt throne, horse skull armrests, and impaled human hands on the pillars. Has a broken arm (published source).

The Sandpoint Plan

Per GM notes (T2) and Featherbrain’s intel (T3): Ripnugget is forming an army to attack Sandpoint, intending to offer it and its inhabitants as a sacrifice to Lamashtu. He is operating under the command of an unnamed Hobgoblin — the “Leader of the assault.” The Hobgoblin visited the Birdcruncher tribe and recruited many of them for the Thistletop operation. confirmed — T2 GM notes, T3 session log

Status

Status: Unknown. The party’s assault on Thistletop does not include a recorded confrontation with Ripnugget in extracted T3 sources. He was alive and commanding as of the assault sequence in March 2025.

Notes

Nualia — Cult Leader of Thistletop

Nualia

Identity

The Party’s Mission

Shalelu Andosana gave the party a direct mission: bring back Nualia’s head. This was the objective condition for the deal struck in Birdcruncher territory (March 2025). Nualia is the stated target. confirmed — T1 + T3

Who She Is

Nualia leads the cult of Lamashtu operating from the Thistletop dungeon. Her goal is to burn Sandpoint as an offering to Lamashtu and to transform herself into a half-fiend. Her left hand has been replaced by a demonic talon — an irreversible mark of Lamashtu’s blessing. She operates from Area E4 (observation deck, second dungeon level).

Former foundling of Sandpoint’s temple. Her backstory involves the previous Sandpoint fire and the priest Ezakien Tobyn (her adoptive father, killed in the fire). She believes Lamashtu is guiding her toward apotheosis.

Associates

Notes

Tsuto Kaijitsu — The Traitor

Tsuto Kaijitsu

Identity

What He Did

confirmed — T3: “wurde von Tsuto (ihr Bruder) verraten und beim letzten Goblin überfall auf Sandpoint hierher verschleppt”

Why He Turned

He was manipulated and seduced by Lyrie Akenja, who used this relationship to bind him to Nualia’s operation. Whether his commitment to Lamashtu is genuine or purely driven by Lyrie’s influence is not resolved.

confirmed — T3: “Tsuto gehört zu Lamaschtu und kann getötet werden, er wurde von Lyrie Akenja verführt” — “Tsuto belongs to Lamashtu and can be killed; he was led astray by Lyrie Akenja”

Notes

Gogmurt — Razertooth Druid

Gogmurt

Identity

Animal Companion

Tangletooth — confirmed as a cat (FoundryVTT T1). Earlier session log references to a “cat” companion are accurate. confirmed — T1 FoundryVTT

Encounter

Gogmurt and Tangletooth were encountered in Razertooth Territory during the Birdcruncher prisoner rescue operation. The party also fought Razertooth dogs and goblins in the same engagement. Gogmurt and Tangletooth were both defeated. confirmed — T1 FoundryVTT (1/19/2025), T3 session log (18.01.2025)

Loot

Dropped on defeat (T1 + T3 confirmed):

Notes

Wise Mummy Sprattleharsh — Birdcruncher Elder

Wise Mummy Sprattleharsh

Identity

Name Note

The name “Wise Mummy Sprattleharsh” is canonical, confirmed by the Creative Director (2026-03-21). The raw German session log contained “Wise Many Splatterheard” — this was a transcription/phonetic error, not an alternate name. Use “Sprattleharsh” exclusively.

Role in Campaign

Wise Mummy Sprattleharsh oversaw the Chieftain’s Moot competition in Birdcruncher territory (Sessions 6/7). She administered the challenges that determined the new Birdcruncher chief — ultimately won by Sneaky Scorch, who received the Crunchy Crown.

She also assigned the party the mission to deal with Pa Manschmied and the fire-breathing pig at Manschmied Farm.

Description

Elder goblin of the Birdcruncher tribe. Her title “Wise Mummy” marks her as the tribe’s spiritual and ritual elder — the spook-speaker, the one who handles the dangerous and invisible things that goblins prefer to have between them and the world.

Notes

Featherbrain — Birdcruncher Informant

Featherbrain

Identity

What Featherbrain Told the Party

After the party freed the Birdcruncher prisoners held by the Razertooth tribe, Featherbrain provided critical intelligence:

confirmed — T3 session log

This intelligence confirmed and expanded what Shalelu Andosana had briefed the party about — the Razertooth/Thistletop operation is a full-scale assault on Sandpoint for religious purposes.

Notes

Pa Munchmeat — Ogre Druid of Manschmied Farm

Pa Munchmeat

Pa Munchmeat (Pa Manschmied)

Identity

Family

NameRoleStatus / Notes
**Pa Manschmied**Ogre druid; farm ownerDefeated
**Ma (Oger-Ma)**Female ogre; carries a large axeLeft early; tracked to Devil Plateau — trail lost by Sneaky Scorch
**Guffy**Ogrekin daughterReturned later with Ma and a dead hobgoblin
**Piggy**Pa’s animal companion — huge, armored, fire-breathing boarFire fueled by fire-burping plants from the workshed gourd

Piggy — The Fire Companion

Pa’s animal companion is Piggy — a huge, armored, fire-breathing boar. Piggy’s fire breathing is fueled by fire-burping plants grown in the farm’s workshed (overgrown, to the south). The gourd of fire used by Piggy was found by the party in a chest in the farmhouse.

Key Events

Notes

Chief Gutwad … and Slorb

Chief Gutwad

Chief Rendwattle Gutwad

Identity

Description

Obese goblin chieftain who rules the Licktoad tribe from his six-foot Teeter Chair in the Moot House. He does not speak directly to those beneath him — all communication passes through his advisor Slorb. Whether this is a mark of status, eccentricity, or both is not recorded.

Role in Campaign

Gutwad sent the party on the fireworks quest (Session 1) — the opening mission of the campaign. Retrieve fireworks from the Kaijitsu Star shipwreck in Brinestump Marsh. The order was delivered through Slorb. confirmed — T5 (We Be Goblins!), T3 session log

Slorb — The Chief’s Voice

Identity

Description

Overdressed, pompous, and possessed of a nasal voice. Slorb functions as Chief Gutwad’s official voice and intermediary — all orders, missions, and pronouncements pass through Slorb. He distributes missions on the Chief’s behalf. Whether Slorb’s self-importance is officially sanctioned or self-inflicted is not recorded.

Delivered the fireworks quest to the party at the start of the campaign (Session 1) on behalf of Chief Gutwad. Source: We Be Goblins! (T5).

Bruthazmus — Nettlewood Bugbear

Bruthazmus

Bugbear ranger. Nualia's hired enforcer at Thistletop. He hates elves.

Overview

An infamous bugbear who lived alone in northern Nettlewood for years as a trapper and caravan robber. Nualia encountered him when he tried to capture her to sell to Riddleport pirates. She defeated him without taking a wound and offered him a job. He has treated her almost as a mother figure since.

He wears a necklace of elf ears. This is not a metaphor for a preference — it is a behavioral fact. Any elf in range becomes his primary target regardless of tactical sense.

At Thistletop

Stationed in D4f (his chambers). Typically found in D2 (Ripnugget's harem) — he has developed a disturbing attachment to Ripnugget's goblin wives. Has not slept in his own chambers in days. Deeply jealous of Tsuto for getting to raid Sandpoint while Bruthazmus was required to stay at Thistletop.

During Lamashtu services (weekly, daytime): attends along with Gogmurt, Tsuto, Lyrie, and all goblins. Orik boycotts services. Bruthazmus does not.

Stats (RotR source)

Key Connections

Campaign Status

Present at Thistletop during the assault. Whether he was encountered and defeated by the party is not recorded in available sources. The encounter was designed for D2 or D4f.

Lyrie Akenja — The Wizard

Lyrie Akenja

Identity

Who She Is

Lyrie Akenja is a wizard hired by Nualia for her ability to read Thassilonian — the ancient script carved into the ruins beneath Thistletop. She operates in the dungeon level. She is the person who seduced and manipulated Tsuto Kaijitsu into betraying Sandpoint to the Lamashtu cult.

She is not the cult leader — that is Nualia. But she is the human catalyst for everything that followed: Tsuto's betrayal, the raid on Sandpoint, Ameiko's kidnapping, and ultimately the party's assault on Thistletop.

The Encounter

The party found her in a rock cathedral deep in the Thistletop dungeon. They had already sealed themselves in by urinating on the Lamashtu altar (the door shut behind them). From the dark came howling — Screech laughed at it. The party was unafraid.

Two Jethounds emerged. Chaotic evil fiends. They fly. They have scent. Silver hurts them. The party hid, then Sneaky opened fire and killed the first one.

Then the second wave arrived: another Jethound, a Tentacle-hand monster that turned out to be a vicious firebomber, and Lyrie herself. The party won, but it cost them. After the fight they identified loot and rested despite the dungeon being on full alert.

Significance

Lyrie is why the party went to Thistletop. Her manipulation of Tsuto set the entire chain in motion. She is the indirect architect of the party's longest and most dangerous campaign arc — and she never saw herself as the villain of anyone's story.

Status

Defeated. Whether she was killed or captured was not recorded.

Princess Crackling — The Fire Pig

Princess Crackling

Identity

Who She Is

A fire-breathing pig captured alive by the party during the early campaign. She is not Squealy Nord. They are two completely different animals — Princess Crackling is a wild fire pig with no connection to the Licktoad tribal mascot.

She attacked the party in a wide valley after they followed an ogre's trail from an abandoned farmhouse. Shvub-Mah insisted she be taken alive. The other three agreed. After a short fight they wrestled her to the ground and tied her snout shut. She has been with the party ever since.

She was later found penned at Manschmied Farm and officially freed there. From that point she is Shvub-Mah's bonded animal companion.

Shvub-Mah also has Squealy Nord — the old Licktoad tribal pig, recovered from Paddlefoot Farm. The two pigs are separate. Shvub-Mah has both.

What She Can Do

She breathes fire. Fifteen-foot cone. Fuelled by Gourds of Fire Burping. When one goes down her throat she breathes fire for several rounds — 2d6 fire plus persistent fire, Reflex save DC 17. She has used this in combat.

She also has Ferocity — when she would go down, she stays up at 1 HP instead. She has survived things that should have killed her.

The Astral Plane

When the party was pulled through to the Astral Plane in the spider cave, the pull order was: Sneaky first, then Princess, then Rrrahah, Bubble, Shvub-Mah, Screech last. She went through before most of the humanoids. She is a full party member in every sense that matters.

Notes

Slorb — The Chief's Voice

Slorb

Identity

Who He Is

Overdressed. Pompous. Nasal voice. Slorb is the intermediary between Chief Gutwad and everyone else — Gutwad does not speak directly to his subjects, so every order, mission, and pronouncement passes through Slorb. Whether this authority is officially granted or entirely self-appointed is not recorded.

Role in the Campaign

Slorb delivered the fireworks quest to the party at the start of the campaign on behalf of Chief Gutwad. He is the reason the party went to Brinestump Marsh. He is, therefore, indirectly responsible for everything that followed.

See Also

Magical Maggie — The Merchant

Identity

The Encounter

On the road returning from the Cave of Darkfear — before the first shipwreck mission — the party found a painted wagon sunk wheel-deep in the mud. A half-elf woman in an impressive jester’s cap stood next to it.

The wagon was “Magical Maggie’s Mobile Market.” Her mule Braya was refusing to cooperate.

She opened with a sales pitch — Magical Maggie’s Miracle Medicine, cures what ails you, guaranteed. When the goblins had no coin, she threw rocks. Then bombs. The party killed her before she could flee.

The wagon was thoroughly looted.

Items Taken

ItemNotes
Magical Maggie’s Miracle Medicine (×6)Fake cure potions — cure light wounds cut with grain alcohol, peppermint, seawater. 1 HP per swig, 4 swigs per bottle. Distributed: 2 to Sneaky Scorch, 2 to Rrrahah Bäähh, 1 to Bubble Bomb, 1 to Wee Goo.
Map of local roadsLarge red X marking Paddlefoot Farm — this became the direct hook for the Squealy Nord recovery mission.
Gilded wedding invitationSparkly. The tribe interpreted this as dangerous magic.
Alchemical suppliesAcid, alchemist’s fire, smokestick, tanglefoot bags.
Hidden compartmentPotion of spider climb, potion of jump, elixir of fire breath, wand of cure light wounds (15 charges).

Significance

Magical Maggie’s map — with the red X on Paddlefoot Farm — was the direct hook that sent the party to rescue Squealy Nord. Without her loot, there would have been no Paddlefoot Farm mission.

She is the most consequential character the party killed without knowing why.

Notes