I read a thread here that re-arranged the order of events for Skinsaw Murders. I really like the idea of having the Manor be the final area of the module. There were a lot of home-brewed elements to the thread I am robbing for the idea that wouldn't fit in my own game.
I gave a Story Feat to each PC at the beginning of the adventure with a little back story. I wanted to tie my first-time-to-RPG-games players into the story a little more. Our female human Rogue got 'Nemesis' with Justice Ironbriar as the man behind the curtain. I've told her that she used to run with the Scarzni in Magnimar, until she was framed for some crimes she didn't commit by a Justice with an axe to grind and had to flee to Sandpoint.
They were able to capture Tsuto at the Glassworks and he was then shipped off to the big city for a trial by Sherrif Hemlock. He will of course be sprung by Ironbriar (who is also his father in my revision, thanks Paizo forums!)
I'm trying to expand the section where the PC's are investigating the Cult. Its pretty sparse as it is written, and two of my players are also big Mystery-genre fans who will really enjoy tracking down clues.
The sequence of events that I'm contemplating goes as follows:
First murders at the Sandpoint sawmill go as normal. The clues will remain unchanged, but I intend to have the Sherrif mention the caravan guard shacked up at the Sanitarium and the similarity between the killings.
Tsuto will be at the Sanitarium to clean up the loose ends that the increasingly-unbalanced Skinsaw Man is leaving behind. He'll have a couple low-level thugs/cultists with him acting as orderlies. He'll intend to impersonate the staff (who's bodies are stuffed in a closet) until he sees its the PC party. As they are rather fresh from killing the love of his life he'll lose it and attack. He'll get his butt kicked again of course, and try to flee into the woods to give our Inquisitor a chance to track someone down.
I need to add some clues here that will lead ultimately to Ironbriar and his Sawmill hideout. I also intend to have some cryptic notes about the cult replenishing their ranks and a debate as to whether to allow 'A' in or not. There will also be mention of a plan to 'deal with the Scarnetti's.'
Titus Scarnetti will be receiving a new shipment when they arrive to check on him. I'm stuffing the Golem Works Incident in here, and the Clockwork Constructs will be trying to carry the man off. The rest flows pretty normally, with the culprit being changed to another Skinsaw cultist.
Between the two thwarted attempts, I need enough clues to get them to the Sawmill. There will be cultists and clues aplenty, but I want to move the Ironbriar fight.
Here's where I really need help. I'm struggling with what to do with Ironbriar and Xanesha from this point. My tentative idea is that they try to flee to the Manor in a carriage. Instead of the Farm, I will have the Ghoul's attack an Inn where the pursuing PC's will (somehow) be moved to stop for the night. I understand that Ironbriar as written is kind of a lightweight, and Xanesha can be overpowered. I'm trying to figure out a sequence of events that has the PC party fight Xanesha first (possibly with the Scarecrow driving the carriage?) Ironbriar would make it to the mansion, as I really like the idea of the Carrionswarm hunched over the remains of his horses when they arrive. I'm open to other ideas though, and admit I'm not really sure where I could put him in the mansion that would add anything of interest to his fight. It should be somewhat epic as its a major milestone for our Rogue.
Any ideas for plot hooks or clues found at various scenes would be greatly appreciated!