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WARNING: CONTAINS LOADS OF SPOILERS!
I've just finished running Council of Thieves, and thought I would share my experiences and some of the changes I made to the AP. COT was the first Pathfinder AP I've run, though I'm planning on running Kingmaker next, and certainly others in the future.
The group make up was as follows:
CG Human Bard
N half-elf Cleric (Pharasma)
N elf Sorcerer (though became NG later - read on)
CG gnome fighter
LG elf Paladin
The players all had read the COT players guide and had bought into the premise of the AP. so no issues there.
Heres's my thoughts and changes:
The NPCs
Make more of the Children of Westcrown (or whatever they end up becoming called) throughout the whole AP. I used them extensively to help build roleplaying situations, then started to kill them off as the problems in the city grew. Get them caught up on the action, but really not being powerful enough to deal with it. Loads of them died when the COT attacked the safe house in book 6! I actually had Janniven possessed (as per the rules in the AP) by a devil for a couple of adventures then reveal it when the safe house is attacked in the last part.
Use the information at the back of the Bastards of Erebus to build up the Nobles and the Dotarri. The nobles have a part to play in book 6 - but theres no reason why you shouldn't detail these beforehand so that the events in that part have more impact.
The Dotarri have very little involvement as written, but should, so it's good to develop this, especially in preparation for the final book.
Understand the history of the mayors of the city; Dargentu Vheed is really interesting so it's worth understanding this to bring him alive (um not literally..)
Ilnerik - he's a great bad guy, but consider making a pathetic (in the literal sense) character. He's a victim of the Totemtrix and if the characters start to relate to him it makes the events that take place The Mother of Flies more interesting (especially if one of the PCs is connected to the Morrowfell - see below).
The City
At it's heart COT is about the city of Westcrown. Do everything you can to make the city come alive. Use the information in the back of the first book and supplement with your own information. Create NPCs, shops, descriptive encounters, let the players constantly see a map of the city. By the end of the AP you want them to live and breathe Westcrown as it's really important for the final part of the story to have maximum impact.
The Aohl
I always felt that not enough was done with the Aohl in the AP - it IS an artefact after all. The Totemtrix curses it's owner to Vampirism, and we know that Bisby was obsessed by the Morrowfell. What I decided to do was have the use of the Morrowfell have an effect on the owner. This manifested itself in a number of effects:
+1 Positive Levels (think of it of the opposite of negative levels), when it's power was used for good. This was temporary of course.
An obsession with it (think of it like Frodo and the One Ring - it becomes 'precious' to the owner)
A gradual shift towards LG alignment if not already.
Ultimately it's owners life is linked to Morrofell.
The beginning effects I allowed the PC a Will save to resist, after telling them what would happen ("you're going to get a positive level, do you want to resist?"). I did this a few times, giving them more each time, with the will save increasing by +2 each time, whether they chose to make the save or not, long as they kept using it. The effect on the game was great (I worked with the player on roleplaying the obsession with it). By the end the PC had shifted to NG from N and the will save needed to resist the effects was pretty much impossible since the PC had allowed himself to be bolstered by it for so long.
When they came to Ilnerik, I had the vampire look upon the PC with pity and say they were kindred spirits, stating that they were both used by the Aohl and would be destroyed if artefact was joined (bluffing??)
In my game, when the vampire was killed and the Aohl was neutralised by bringing both parts together the PC actually died (will save to resist), as by then his life force was linked to the Morrowfell. The Paladin in the party activity used his sacrifice spell to 'take the damage' and died instead! Poetically the group used the Philosophers Stone to resurrect the Paladin. It was a great moment in the story, especially as afterwards the originally obsessed PC (no longer affected by the Morrowfell now its power was suppressed) shed a tear as it was melted down.
The price for the end of the Shadowbeasts was high, but well worth it.
The Shadowbeasts
The existence, and therefore removal of the shadow beasts, is important to Westcrown and the story. Until they are destroyed I made it almost impossible to travel at night. When they are removed, I allowed the PCs the time to celebrate their success, but then had the final breakdown in authority take place, and the people started rioting and looting at night as well! Ironically the lifting of the 'curfew' just fuelled the (literal) fires of Anarchy!
Liebdaga the Twin
As written he can be a bit too easy - depending on your class make up. I raised the tension by having one of the PCs (with his amulet) having to make opposed rolls to keep him staggered.
Also consider having the pit fiend communicate with the PCs during their time in the Spiral - encouraging, or even helping them with clues. Knowing you're being 'added' by the creature that is being imprisoned makes for an interesting situation.
The Play
The Six Trials of Lazarod is one of the most memorable parts of the whole AP. My players actually read through the play and had a great time! I highly recommend you do this if your players enjoy the roleplaying aspects.
The last part
I found the non-linear aspect of The Twice Damned Prince required the most amount of preparation. I ended up changing quite a lot of it:
I put Thesing in the Nymmis tomb - which I extend downwards, because I didn't feel that dragging the PCs to another location in the Rego Cader made any sense. This fitted well because of Thesings previous obsession with Nymmis. I also had his Vampiric Spawns be the NPCs from the playhouse, including Robhl Nonan, as well as Nymmis' father (one was wielding the sword).
The undead army changed a lot - I through dozens of zombies at the PCs as they made their way through the streets. This gave them a chance to flex their muscle with things like fireballs etc. The encounters were not really meant to challenge them, just give an indication of the size of the problem. At the Sunset Gate I added a Graveknight from Bestiary 3 (I had previously made up a story about the Devourer that included a fallen Paladin) that was leading the army. This worked really well, and without realising it, the PCs put the armour in the Cheliax Crux; which was being used as a general storage container for loot(!) and yes, he came back to torment - literally "Where are you putting the jewellery?" "oh, just in the Crux" "No problem, roll for initiative!" "what?!"
I completely dropped the Rolan The Tinkerer encounter. It really added no value to the adventurer, nor any challenge.
The Blacknapes because a solely roleplaying encounter, when the napes realised who they were up against they pretty much surrendered.
Skarxs prison I extended and including Lhianna Strikis; the Duxotar from the back of the first book (who I made a lvl 11 Magus) that was aligned with the COT. I had told the PCs (via Ertein Oberigo) that Skarx was a lover of Chammady and the PCs, who had the contract, realised that if they could get to Skarx and convince her that Chammady would die then the tiefling might help them. That's exactly what happened.
BBEG
The Vacant Throne was run pretty much as is. But! I did give Eccardian a chance for a monologue. He's basically Ozymandis from the end of The Watchman - he wants to make Westcrown a better place; under his leadership. Hence the staging of the battle against the devils. In my ending he thanks the PCs for everything they've done, mentioning that everything was as he'd planned (though the killing of Liebadga was a little unfortunate). When confronted with the contract he retorted with 'Think of the songs that will be sung of my sisters sacrifice! Her legacy will live on far longer than any of us!'
Eccardian needs a chance to explain himself to the PCs really. When you're ready for battle to be joined, Chammady can turn up and force the issue by attacking him..
Once the battle is joined the most important thing is to get the PCs out onto the statue, because the cramped interior of statue is no place for a climatic battle. This was easy for me, as one of the PCs bull rushed Eccardian out of the 'eyes'. It's unfortunate that there is no tactical map of the head and shoulders, but it's not difficult to make one up.
All in all, I loved the AP. It's not without it's faults, but still stands as a very good campaign with lots of variety. I didn't deviate very far from the plot, and enjoyed the end result, as did my players.
I hope you found this useful.
Very nice recap. I am going to start running this in a month so your review was very much appreciated.
I am having a similar experience with this AP at the moment. I did my best to get my players "speaking" and "breathing" as proper wiscrani and the city just came to life!
The party includes: 1) LN Human Cavalier(Order of the Dragon)/Hellknight(Order of the Rack), 2) LG Human Priestess of Iomedae, 3) N 1/2E Ranger(Guide), 4) N Human Rogue/Shadowdancer
I have the Hellknight PC trying to reform the order and restore power to the Paralictors hands who has been politically minimized by Arvanzi.
The orders signifers are in league with the Council.
The Shadowdancer PC played Larazod in the play and has been riding high on his fame ever since. He also managed to romance Calseinica in a long courtship that has lasted through the third and fourth modules.
My 1/2 Elven Ranger PC has embraced his "humanity" and considers himself "wiscrani" more than anything else. His character has become the parties ranged combat specialist and he is famous in the city for his magic heavy repeating crossbow's unbelievable accuracy!
The Priestess of Iomedae I allowed to be one of the originators of the Children of Westcrown. She was a co-conspirator from the get-go with Janevan and Arael. This really served to ground her in the setting. The player loves the city like it was her home, really she does!
At every turn the players have really gone the extra mile. Hunting shadowbeasts as often as their conflicting schedules allow. Salvaging, scrounging and hand building their own printing press by the beginning of the fourth module. Engaging in several tourneys (hey, it was an urban setting & I had a Cavalier PC. How could I not do some tournaments??).
I too played up the Dottari and Aberian a lot. The results were nothing short of spectacular. It really helped breathe life into the city. All it took then was busy daytime marketplaces, shadowy dealings in back rooms, people who were late getting home in the afternoon often would jog in the streets. I then tossed in a few Priest of Asmodeus NPC's just to keep the players on their toes and made hellknight armigers who were controlled by the Order of the Rack Signifers into the cities "LunaDottari".
We will be starting Mother of Flies soon.
All-in-all we are all loving this AP!
One thing I tried hard to do was convey the oppressive nature of city life, which really needs to be worked into every session at the beginning of the adventure. After all, the reason the Children of Westcrown arise is in defiance of both the Shadowbeasts and the Hellknights.
I had one of the Children (Tarvi, who seemed the intellectual sort) be part of a 'true history' conspiracy, organized around a bookstore run by an elderly man. Trusted citizens were allowed in a special back room where they took a 'city diary' from a portable hole folded and stored in a special volume of Asmodean prayers. They recorded the actual goings-on in the city to oppose the propaganda published by Thrune. The Hellknights caught and executed him after rounding up nearby citizenry (including the PC's) and forcing them to watch the execution and book-burning.
I also tried to have Hellknight patrols ride through the streets and described the citizens scurrying out of the way and ducking into shops to avoid them, as well as having the PC's stuck in a tavern a couple of times when darkness fell. The entire timeline of the city was altered, with people rising before dawn to breakfast and dress so they could be off to work as soon as the sun rose and the shadowbeasts were dispelled.
Young blades held 'raves' in empty warehouses at night, dashing through the dark streets with weapons out and halorens in hand, all for the chance of a drink and dance and a bit of fun.
As the shadowbeasts were routed, the city came alive again in the evening, with an all-night street party when Vourne agreed to sail away.