Side quests Whitethrone

[Richard Pitt]

Did anyone do or is planning on doing any extra side quests whilst in White throne? My ideas are:
1) Letting the PCs attend the rebel meeting and persuading the head of the iron guard themselves, along with leaders of the Heralds, a rogue Winter Witch, a Baba Yaga loyal snow goblin alchemist (from the howlings if they spare him) and maybe the winter wolf if they romanced her to take part in the rebellion. I thought the crooked house might be a good place to hold it. Depending on how many they get on side affects how large a force guards the entrance to the forest later and whether they have extra encounters on route.

2) A romp into a Yelivazeta tomb in the frozen graveyard to retrieve a legendary dragon slaying sword and staff (I am upgrading the dragon to a full adult later).

3) An adapted version of the Trials of Larazus (from Council of Thieves) performed in the theatre in Whitethrone) to protect Solveig's girlfriend who has been blackmailed into taking part. Solveig asks them to protect her. Princess Cassisixhe attends but doesnt recognise the pcs yet. Prince Paval of the stiltagi plays the judge. Surival results in being invited to a stilyagi party where the PCs can discover information.

4) letting them earn ice diamonda battling ice trolls at Trollfang arena.

Anyone do anything similar?

[Black_Cat]

I really liked Greta so I changed her background slightly. I made her one of the rebels' contacts who willingly helped people through the gate. They met her in a tavern the night before trying to sneak in and they agreed to help them all for a price. She wanted revenge on some hunters who had killed her lover (another winter wolf), in the full knowledge of the senior officers (why she returned to help the rebels under their noses too). They helped her on her mission and she ended up staying with them.

Not quite what you were looking at above, but maybe something to consider?

[Luna eladrin]

I used the ice theatre plot (in the Irrisen book). The heralds wanted to infiltrate the theatre company to stage a subversive play and the group could meet someone belonging to the Iron Guard there to make contact. My group went for it. The have a bard and 2 other characters with very high perform skills. It was great fun.

[Dhrakken]

I intend on doing some side quests myself before they get to Whitethrone so thank you for all the fantastic ideas! I won't be running the second book for at least another 6-7 months so I have some time to nail down what I will do and I will be sure to share if I come up with anything new.

[Richard Pitt]

Good luck when you do. I have worked out the specifics for the rebel meeting if you are interested:

It will be held in a secret
room up in the crooked house on Ironhill. Solveig and Ringeirr go with the players and warn them on route that at least two other groups must be convinced to join the uprising for it to draw enough forces away from the market square, and more would draw even more forces away.

Depending on what the players have done up to date effects who is in attendance.

Group 1 Heralds rebel faction represented by Grandmother Bellavonica (a charismatic old lady):
Dc 23 diplomacy check to help and starting attitude of friendly.
Is grandmother of Bela who in my story is forced into a murder play at the theatre. If PCs are in the play then the DC becomes 13 and she is helpful.

Group 2 Heralds faction represented by Ringeirr's twin brother: DC22 diplomacy to help or 12 if food delivered in the Howling's and Ringeirr alive and well.

Group 3 Iron Guard represented by head of iron guard: Dc 26 indifferent or DC 21 friendly if Snow White present (she is a rogue winter witch who the PCs have been communicating with through a mirror since book 1). Plus two to the role if vengeance against the Elvannas in the sales pitch.

Group 4:The snow goblin alchemist from the howlings who represents Baba Yaga loyal goblins in Whitethrone. Only present if alive. DC30 unfriendly if any goblins killed in howling fight, DC25 if the encounter before ended without violence. Plus five to the roll if others persuaded to give food aid to starving goblins. Intimidate is also an option against goblins, threatening to write down his name results in plus five to roll - goblins think writing your name down is bad luck.

Group 5: Greta represents winter wolves who feel the Elvanna are destroying the wolf sense of pack in Whitethrone. But only present if a PC attended a date with her where she revealed her feelings on the Elvanna, and then only if she is told about the meeting. And then she is friendly Dc 16 to help.

I like to encourage good roleplay so will reward anything from plus one to five for a good explanation of the plan (for all diplomacy checks).

Now what the results do:

If only 1/2 parties join uprising: 3 fights in market square. 1 frost giant. Then 4 ice trolls. Then a human winter guard unit.

If 3 parties: Just two fights: 4 ice trolls and then winter guard unit.

If 4 parties: just winter guard unit in market square.

If all 5 convinced: The market square is abandoned in favor of dealing with the huge uprising.

[Richard Pitt]

Also Solveig will aid another for all diplomacy rolls. Any suggestions welcome :-)

[Richard Pitt]

And of course the dragon needs to be brought down before anyone will rise up. I have upgraded him to young adult. Snow White (her code name - she is in fact a Yelizaveta and one of my Pc's sisters using a cold sister shawl to hide her face) has help there.

She has procurred a key for a tomb in the city graveyard for the tomb of the Yelivazeta twins (a pair of male twins
, a mage and warrior, who killed a legendary white dragon that pestered the old queen). Burried with them is a staff (dragonburn - a staff of fire that gives a plus five to beating a dragon's spell resistance with its spells) and a weaker, but still potent, copy of Riubrax (a +2 dragonbane sword that gives a plus 4 to saves against dragon breath weapons and spells).

The PCs must get past two mirror mem guarding the graveyard (by killing them swiftly or convincing them they are in the graveyard to pay respects to a dead jadwiga). Then in the tomb are frost skeleton warrior champions, a puzzle trap related to the queens of Irrisen, cross an icey ledge guarded by boreal gargoyles, enter a tomb within the tomb shaped like a dragon head (avoiding a ice breath trap) and defeat the spirits of the twins there in the form of a pair of wraiths.

[Luna eladrin]

This is full of good ideas, so I would like to hear how it goes when you run this.

[Richard Pitt]

Thanks and sure. I'm going to put together a journal for my 2nd group over the holidays, when I have time, up to this point and then continue it after each session.

They are still on route till Whitethrone at the moment. I am doing a completely different route there using some Irrisen material. Here it is for any who might want that too. It might require the Irrisen book for parts of it to make sense however

Nadya wants to relocate her family to Coldwater in my version where her late husband's sister lives. She suggests cutting along the forest and then up to Rizobran where they can try to hitch a ride up the river Gullik. The PCs can then bank before Cold water, when they are level with Whitethrone, and cut across to it whilst her family and her continue up to Coldwater.

Rizobran is a 2 and a half day journey. Day 1 I ran the raven swarms encounter but had them coalesce into Nazhena's face before attacking and give a threatening message (if using magic from Whitethrone why not embelish it a little). Nazhena knows some of my group and thanks to a warning from Radosek before he died, knows who they are. I am also having her witch ally (another enemy of a group member) utlize a Bowl Of Troubled Sleep to cast Nightmare on a different party member each night.

Then on day 1 I had them meet Red. A character from book 1 I added, who has been trouble for them since (long story in itself). And that is where they now are.

Day 2 I will run the Huldra and mindslaver mold side quest as written but add an extra mindslaver mold in the cave to cause chaos. The PCs arrive in Rizobran the next day.

Rizobran is an especially interesting location what with the changeling imposter who rules it (Baroness Vivianne). I'm giving my PCs a side quest to tangle with her too, if they wish (although I took her down a few levels for them). They need to rescue one of her 'lovers' from her clutches, who is the son of a boat owner they need to get board on. They can either raid her keep, reason with her and then hunt down her hag mother for her, or gather clues to expose her as a fraud. I used the map of Riba for Rizobran and gave my PCs chance to rest and shop here, since they evacuated Waldsby and Red killed any leftovers so they wouldn't betray the PCs.

Then they get a boat trip on a varisian floating magic shop up river: seeing a family of mammoths on the Mammoth Lord land side and adding a Soul Eater attack (sent by Nazhena who is really quite relentless in her attacks from Whitethrone). Nadya will also make a move on my group's Paladin at this point, he lost his wife to witches too, and if he reciprocates ask him to return to Coldwater once his quest is finished.

The PCs will disembark and then have a three day journey across land to the Fishcamps. Day 1 I thought a yeti attack might go down well and have them stumble upon another Winter portal (still working out the details to this email one). Then day 2 they will find the haunted ruins from the original adventure but with three huelvcas rather than 2. Then day 3 they hit the ambush from the book with the Winter Wolf, and things are more or less the same from that point. Only it is their Winter Witch contact who sets them up to rescue Ringeirr, not Nadya.

[Tangent101]

One thing I started crafting for my second group was a way of integrating the different parts of the random encounters to be a continuous storyline. And it all starts with Norgrimm.

The story starts with Norgrimm. He is hunting Nadya for her betrayal of Irrisen, and once he's dead, Nadya will remember the story of the Rimepelts. However, rather than his pelt just becoming one, it will need to be enchanted. And she knows someone who can do just that - a wisewoman named Sylgja who lives a day's journey away.

The group will have to help Sylgja with a Moss Troll that she thinks may have captured her husband, and that part of the quest will continue as-is. If the group succeeds in saving Finngarth (and don't forget, the Mold can only dodge *one* attack a round so it's not impossible) then Sylgja agrees to help. She knows of a place of power, where Winter has failed, but needs reagents that are kept in an ancient temple of Desna that has fallen into ruin. The group then has to go through the Haunted Village of Ulsgaard and deal with those who lurk there, and will thus gain the reagents. They then can go to the Circle of Summer where Sylgja will enact the ritual to empower the Rimepelt (which will now be usable three times a week). They must protect Sylgja from a pack of Wargs that will try to disrupt the ritual.

To sum up:
* Norgrimm attacks and is defeated.
* The group recruit the help of Sylgja by freeing her husband
* Sylgja tells them to get reagents hidden in the destroyed village of Ulsgaard
* They go to the Circle of Summer where they can enact the ritual and empower the Rimepelt.