Hey guys,
Just looking for a quick bit of input. My players are about to reach the sawmill and plan to use disguise self on one of them to look like aldern (for when he drops off money each oathday). The question I have is would Ironbriar know that Aldern is dead at this point. Would he have been informed by Xanesha? Or would he still be ignorant of this and potentially be fooled by it?
Thanks in advance.
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All references are to the AE version.
Given what it says about the Foxglove Townhouse on page 110 - that Ironbriar placed the faceless stalkers there and that the cultists searched the building - and also in his journal on page 118 - that he sold Vorel's legacy to the Red Mantis, it seems to me Ironbriar knows Aldern returned to Sandpoint as a ghoul. So he will not be fooled by someone pretending to be a human Aldern.
However, whether he knows of Aldern's fate is open to interpretation. That would depend upon how recently the pc's defeated him and how public the information is coming out of Sandpoint. If it happened only a few days ago, there's a chance word has not reached Magnimar ahead of the pc's. (It's also possible the pc's and Sandpoint's leadership have tried to keep it quiet - though given the deaths and terror from the ghouls that's not something I think the Mayor or Sheriff would go for - they have to calm nerves and in this case the truth is a pretty good method.)
All that said, that doesn't mean the idea won't work. Just because Ironbriar knows enough to not be fooled doesn't mean the Skinsaw cultists do. No matter when the pc's reach the Mill under disguise, Ironbriar isn't going to answer the door. I'm assuming here the player's objective is merely entrance and initial scouting of the place. And this case the Cultist's will probably let them in and then fetch Ironbriar. Indeed the strangeness of Aldern's arrival might lead to Ironbriar engaging the pc's in dialogue for a few moments before he sets his cultists on them. This would give them a chance to notice he is charmed (as discussed on p. 117-118.) Of course it also would likely lead to the pc's encountering most of the cultists and Ironbriar simultaneously (the danger of which is discussed on p. 116.)
Reckless speculation by me beyond the language of the AP: the Skinsaw cult is an serial-killing cult of evil living undercover in a city/world with known shapechangers (they have faceless stalkers as allies!) Chances are they don't discuss anything but Mill business with anyone without an exchange of a code word or sign regardless of whether they physically appear to be a known, "trusted" ally. When the pc's can't give this passcode or fail to give it - most likely a specific answer to a seeming innocuous question (Looks like it might rain. Yes, and I left my umbrella at my mother's, and so forth) the cultists likely muster in preparation for an attack. Surreptitiously if possible. Chance for pc perception checks.