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I don't think having the players resolve the protest/riot non-violently would be a problem. It might even tick Barzillai off more, cuz he wanted a riot. I think you probably still want to have someone throw the dagger at Nox so the PCs get a warning about her. And you may want to have Rexus being beat up in a side alley.
This may actually end up working better than a fight would. My players ended up seeing the entire thing as a fight to win, rather than a riot to escape. I had to pull a lot of punches not to kill them in the first scene.
Generally speaking, if you find a way to bypass combat, you get the experience as if you defeated the opponents in combat anyway. Usually, the AP writers put those under story award segments at the end of an encounter.
Granted, I haven't read HR in a while since our campaign has been postponed for a few months, but I'd certainly do it that way.
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I'm not worried about them missing XP - I've already told them I don't feel like messing with it and will just tell them when to level up. I'm more worried about the story implications - what information are they supposed to get from the riot/combat that I need to give them some other way, in order to make informed decisions later?
First of all: Bypassing the riot seems very hard. The PCs don't start it (remember, someone in the crowd throws manure near Thrune, who responds that the Dottari are to drive off, incarcerate OR KILL the protesters: that leads to a riot.) A diplomacy check takes a minute to do, (ten rounds), unless your level 1 party has the rogue skill unlock for, like, level 15.
However, if your party manages to avoid the fight, here are the two pieces of information they need to learn:
1) The populace is generally displeased with Thrune's actions, however the Dottari are on his side, along with a small group of loyalists called the Chellish Citizen's Group.
2) Nox is not fully human, she has some sort of healing power.
The first piece of information is easy to pick up on, as it is the basis of the entire AP. The second is more difficult, but there is a rumor about Nox being not quite human on the book 1 rumormonger chart. Whenever PCs gather information, make sure that is the rumor that comes up first. Or simply later on in the AP have the PCs see Nox putting down some protesters and healing through the fight.
VampByDay is correct, and I'd even go so far as to mention that sticking around for the fight doesn't really help with either piece of information, particularly the first. They'll get the feel for the general reaction of the crowd during the time leading up to the riot, and the Nox thing really isn't going to be obvious (IIRC, there's a perception check to see her sudden heal ability, which could also imply simply some powerful magic) even if they stick around.
So I'm DMing a PbP for the first time ever, with almost no experience as a DM. I'd really like to reward my players for their great roleplaying by bypassing the combat...but the AP seems to expect, even require, the riot and its attendant combat to occur. So I'm looking for advice: how can I reward such awesome roleplay at riling up and then diffusing the crowd without totally derailing the AP? Do I need this first combat to occur before anything else in the adventure, or can I safely skip it, as long as the inform they're supposed to discover about Thrune's bodyguard is available elsewhere before they're expected to face her in combat again?
Any advice you can give me, general DMing or specific to my AP, will be appreciated. Thanks!
Note: I did ask this here on the PbP General Discussion board, and someone recommended I re-post here, where people with more experience with the AP would likely see it.
Without the combat, you need another reason to justisfy the PC's meeting that very important first contact.
You and your players are going to need a lot of patience to run this as a PBP.
They seem to be having fun with the RP, so I'm letting them run with it. I think I figured out how to do this, although it feels a tad too railroady for me. I understand modules and APs can sometimes feel that way, so as long as my players are still having fun I don't mind a little railroading.
Thanks for the advice, guys.
Your players are signed up for an AP. By definition they've asked to be railroaded, provided you can maintain the illusion of free will.