Specifically Alderns prior to the PCs being called to the mill.
From leaving Sandpoint after the boar hunt he has to:
Return to Misgivings (a matter of hours)
Dig through to the basement and harvest (unlikely to be less than 2 days)
Return to Magnimar (dying) (at least 2 days to finish transforming and learn the ritual)
Return to Misgivings (another day)
Kill Farmer Hambley (first or second day back in Sandpoint sometime before book 2 starts - at least 3 days before)
Kill Mortwell and Co. (2 days before)
Death at the Lumbermill (Last night)
So an absolute minimum of 8 days. with plenty of opportunities to stretch it out as the only ones cast in stone are the last 2 murders.
Does that look right?
That looks close. I think Sandpoint to Magnimar is a two day journey (one-way) so you may need to insert an extra day for the trip to Magnimar and another for the trip back.
I assumed there were two weeks between the end of Book 1 and the start of Book 2. But I had no particular driver to count the days other than an incentive to provide an actual time break for the pc's. (The previous homebrew campaign had been characterized by high urgency so I promised the players that this campaign would have explicit windows for down time. Which of course they've primarily used to create magic items.)
Same here. I calculated 10 days (have him arive in Magnimar, contacting the Seven, waiting for his audience with X), return journey 2 days.
But as Latrecis already said, my players opted for a little downtime to sort things out (relationships as well as magic items, repairs etc.) so it didn't really matter.
Ruyan.
Thanks for the input :)
I'm running a second game for 3 completely virgin gamers, so I can't do what I did with my first group and let them go wild with a few weeks of downtime - I think that will be rules overload or even more blank looks.
I don't think you need to add a day for the journey back, he'll be a ghoul - no fatigue. he can just hustle/run all the way.
You know your players best but don't miss out on a chance to let them grow a little. You could point out class specific options (if they have any - at this point item crafting feats are probably few and far between.) You could also give them a little narrative license and ask them what they do in simple terms. One sentence is enough:
I party until the treasure is gone.
I study my spellbooks.
I carry on with Shayliss behind her father's back.
And so forth.
It's a learning process for both sides, I've never had to teach people completely new to the concept of RPGs before. While I can teach the crunch side really well, I never know how far to go with advising on the other side of things. Or pushing them when they seem uncomfortable/unsure. Maybe another thread might be required for this :))
Thanks for the ideas though.