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One of the main comments I hear about this AP is that many missions and hooks are given by NPCs who just show up and know the PCs are the Ravens
I would like to try and bring as many forward as possible, either for the reason above or to improve payoff.
What NPCs have others brought forward and how?
And how could the NPCs listed below be brought into the story earlier to make things more organic?
Setrona Sabinus > I have seen it said to use her bar in book 1 for the fairy dragon incident. Any other ways?
Octavio Sabinus > I have also seen someone suggest the Red Jills perform a kidnapping. Not sure of whom (perhaps someone else to introduce earlier?)
Luculla Gens > It will improve the reveal. I still am not clear why her cult is all changeling (and indeed what they are up to) and expect my players to scrutinise the gloves and eye patch unless I try really hard to mention other weird things about unimportant NPCs.
Tayacet > How have people used her? Is it worth having her poke around earlier on?
Mialari Docur > I feel like it could be useful to mention her earlier. But I am expecting no female PCs so am a little stumped.
Ruba Fenquay > I wouldn’t mind having her known about before they just so happen to need a master forger.
Captain Sargaeta and Elia Nones > I really want at least one of these two to meet the PCs in Book 1 so Elia arriving in Book 2 doesn’t see so odd. Shore leave before the proclamation makes sense. But where would navy officers meet low level PCs?
Marquel Aulorian > I would like early reference to the Poison Pen and ideally to Marquel but if there is no noble PCs this might be difficult. The Poison Pen is easy because I can easily have people accused and beaten up as the PCs walk by.
Varl Nex > Has anyone introduced him earlier so that the group actually know the killer when they find him? I was thinking of just putting him in a bar but there is no guarantee he will be spoken to. His occupation is also ambiguous so I am struggling to think of a link (Craft – Mechanical?)
Hetamon Haace > Another who I would really like to bring in earlier. One way would be to do a prologue that has reactions to the proclamations and have “finely dressed” PCs visit him to come up with something nice that doesn’t break the rules? Any other ways he can be around in Book 1?
I saw that in Book 5 there is a character that has two grandsons who die fighting for the Ravens. Whilst not critical I will look to include them
Are there any other key ones I have missed?
Thanks for any help / advice!
Several of those, yeah.
I introduced Hetamon early (in the very first session, in fact). One of the PCs was also a tiefling and was hanging out in a tavern, so Hetamon invited him to a card game and chatted with him a bit. He'd show up at Laria's coffeehouse on occasion during book 1 and interact with the PCs. I wanted to have him in there early so the reveal that he's the Rose in book 2 would have more of an impact.
I also introduced Lady Mialari early, though it was a bit based on luck that I got the opportunity to do that. One of the PCs was a disowned noble girl and wanted a maid. I figured Lady Mialari's school would be a good place for her to find one...and a good way for Lady Mialari to keep a an eye on the PCs' actions. :-) (The spy-maids eventually grew more loyal to the party than Mialari, though their goals didn't end up conflicting during the campaign.)
And I didn't introduce Luculla that early, pretty much just when the PCs start hanging out at Sabina's tavern, but I did give her greater prominence. Which led to the rather hilarious situation of the PCs considering her trustworthy enough to ask her to help in their plans for catching whoever was responsible for the disappearances...shockingly, that plan didn't end up working.
I have Lady Mialari Docur as the original Silver Ravens' spymaster, who no one knows about because she's just that good... and due to redaction of that era anyway. Her lifetime as an elf makes it plausible to still be alive. So I had her agents leave a note for one of the party enrolled at Lady Docur's to retrieve "an interesting item" of their choosing from the old Hokum's museum as a test to join the Lacunafex. She currently has the party vigilante spying on the Silver Ravens. Her motives (and her true story) are unknown and not yet decided by the DM.
Tayocet Tiora is the former head of the dottari who's been busted down to beat cop by the new administration. The PCs were interested in recruiting the purged dottari so they now know about her and will soon meet her. I'm playing her as Jim Gordon, the battered noble cop in a town full of corrupt dottari.
I have Lady Mialari Docur as the original Silver Ravens' spymaster, who no one knows about because she's just that good... and due to redaction of that era anyway. Her lifetime as an elf makes it plausible to still be alive. So I had her agents leave a note for one of the party enrolled at Lady Docur's to retrieve "an interesting item" of their choosing from the old Hokum's museum as a test to join the Lacunafex. She currently has the party vigilante spying on the Silver Ravens. Her motives (and her true story) are unknown and not yet decided by the DM.
Tayocet Tiora is the former head of the dottari who's been busted down to beat cop by the new administration. The PCs were interested in recruiting the purged dottari so they now know about her and will soon meet her. I'm playing her as Jim Gordon, the battered noble cop in a town full of corrupt dottari.
I assume she is not still going to spy on them in book 2? Your way is a more sensible way of getting her to where she needs to be
The take on Mialari is very interesting. I will wait on what my players come up with a characters before making a decision on her
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NPC's I introduced in book 1/before the game started:
Rexus: A PC was a noble so she knew him from before.
Marquel Aulorian: Same PC was childhood friends of his. She checks on him and he talks about his new favourite poet, the Poison Pen, and gives her some of the poems.
Laria: Noble PC had been brought to the coffeehouse by Rexus before the game started
Hetamon Haace: Tiefling PC worked at the Cloven Hoof Society so knows a lot of the NPC tieflings
Zea: Tiefling PC knows her
Gattrus Pinderloch: Same tiefling PC
Ravzee: Random encounter in book 1 and a PC knows Chuko at the War Cage
Setrona: Rexus brought the PCs to the Tooth & Nail rather than the Crissali's Fine Tomes after the riot. (I changed the meeting place because Crissali's is never mentioned again in the AP so why use that rather than a place that it's good to have introduced early?)
Luculla: When they were first in the Tooth & Nail (She typically has baking mitts on, eye patch is due to a childhood injury from an abusive father.)
Clenchjaw: PC worked at the Thrashing Badger before it was burned down then he started working at Clenchjaw's. (Made introducing Vendalfek much easier.)
One of Raenna Solstine's grandson's: He owns a small shop of Bleakbridge and helped a PC hide
Current plans for Mialari Docur: She'll give Rexus the key to Hocum's, he knows her as he attended her school, which also revels his not so guarded secret
Other ones you've mentioned:
Octavio Sabinus: They saw him during the prequel that I found written out Over Here (Along with a lot of the higher powered NPCs)
Ruba Fenquay: I thought about introducing her earlier but figured they wouldn't have a reason to know her... sometimes introducing everyone that they'll need to know isn't the best thing to do.
Captain Sargaeta and Elia Nones: I'm changing it so that the request for help comes from Marquel instead because that makes much more sense to me.
Varl Wex: As a bar patron is an easy way, same as if the PCs have any reason to go to Vespams
NPC's I introduced in book 1/before the game started:
Rexus: A PC was a noble so she knew him from before.
Marquel Aulorian: Same PC was childhood friends of his. She checks on him and he talks about his new favourite poet, the Poison Pen, and gives her some of the poems.
Laria: Noble PC had been brought to the coffeehouse by Rexus before the game started
Hetamon Haace: Tiefling PC worked at the Cloven Hoof Society so knows a lot of the NPC tieflings
Zea: Tiefling PC knows her
Gattrus Pinderloch: Same tiefling PC
Ravzee: Random encounter in book 1 and a PC knows Chuko at the War Cage
Setrona: Rexus brought the PCs to the Tooth & Nail rather than the Crissali's Fine Tomes after the riot. (I changed the meeting place because Crissali's is never mentioned again in the AP so why use that rather than a place that it's good to have introduced early?)
Luculla: When they were first in the Tooth & Nail (She typically has baking mitts on, eye patch is due to a childhood injury from an abusive father.)
Clenchjaw: PC worked at the Thrashing Badger before it was burned down then he started working at Clenchjaw's. (Made introducing Vendalfek much easier.)
One of Raenna Solstine's grandson's: He owns a small shop of Bleakbridge and helped a PC hideCurrent plans for Mialari Docur: She'll give Rexus the key to Hocum's, he knows her as he attended her school, which also revels his not so guarded secret
Other ones you've mentioned:
Octavio Sabinus: They saw him during the prequel that I found written out Over Here (Along with a lot of the higher powered NPCs)
Ruba Fenquay: I thought about introducing her earlier but figured they wouldn't have a reason to know her... sometimes introducing everyone that they'll need to know isn't the best thing to do.
Captain Sargaeta and Elia Nones: I'm changing it so that the request for help comes from Marquel instead because that makes much more sense to me.
Varl Wex: As a bar patron is an easy way,...
Thanks
I was going to ask if you made a point out of the PC who knew Rexus having known him as a female but realised that it wasn't really the point or important and I will just mention it as incidental detail and move right along
The Mialari point it interesting as I have seen people mention that it is a slight problem that he has the knowledge and the key for the whole 7 weeks
Regarding Marquel and the Captain, how would he request for help if he is trapped at home? Or does the PC connection work here as you can simply say they haven't heard from him for a while...?
On a related note as people putting in a bunch of random NPCs as say for example bar patrons and rebellion members? Because introducing Hetamon, Varl and Lucella early and specifically to allow for a series of "gotcha" moments could become a bit much.
I am especially taking note of Lucella as I feel that the players might meta game her eye patch and gloves (especially if they ever encounter another cult member - which I believe those prologues mention)
(What doesn't help is that I got them with a hidden cleric in a PFS module only a few weeks ago. Was a TPK (well one player had to go home early) and for 2 of the players it was their first character deaths. So they are quite scarred by the experience!
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The player is aware that Rexus was born in the body of a female. I think it's great that Paizo included a trans character and hadn't decided how I would bring it up in the game yet so I was quite happy that I was able to tell the player about it. (It was later that I figured out the Mialari part).
Having Rexus not have the key at the beginning was important. When I started the AP I knew that it wouldn't be in the coffer and that someone would somehow give it to him. After a couple of weeks I realized I could do that and introduce Mialari early so that's what my current plan is.
I haven't decided how Marquel will get a message to the PCs yet.... perhaps hidden in a poem. Maybe something boring like a mutual friend or a servant of the family. (I think I like the idea of it being in a poem... I may try to come up with a poem I can hand the players.)
For randomly mentioned NPCs being important later, I likely won't mention Varl unless there's a reason for it and, even then, I'll probably add him in with a few other NPCs as an off-handed thing. (Eg: "When you walk in to Vespam's Artisans you see.... [describe 5 or so vendors at their booths, one of which is Varl]"
I was worried about Luculla as well, mostly because a player in my previous campaign was playing a changeling. But there's a fair bit of NPCs that have scars early in the AP that someone missing an eye didn't draw attention to anything. And, like I said, I have her wearing oven mitts rather than "leather gloves" because saying "she comes into the bar carrying a tray with hot blackberry tarts" makes them assume she's wearing gloves without drawing attention to it.
(Unless you describe clothing to people try not to directly mention that she has gloves on unless it comes up for some reason.) My players have interacted with her a few times and I'll say things like "when you walk in she's taking something out of the oven" followed by "as you're leaving she turns back to putting more pies in the oven" so that it (hopefully) in their mind that she didn't takes the gloves off. If the see her without oven mitts on I'll describe them as leather gloves and use the excuse that either she doesn't want to talk about it or, if it's a trusted PC, that her father burned her and she doesn't want anyone to see, no matter how much she trusts them.
Or, alternatively, there's a lot of changelings in the city... have her not hide it. If she's on the alter to be sacrificed in the Lucky Bones have it be because she wouldn't join them so they're getting rid of her. (Maybe the other changelings are making an example out of her for the other changelings that refuse to join the cult?... I wish I had thought of that earlier...)
Hetamon, Mialari, NPCs like that.... they kept their secrets from the PCs at first because they wanted to see how the PCs would conduct themselves. The NPCs have witnessed what happens when rebellious people are too obvious and therefore want to make sure that the PCs are subtle and trustworthy enough before revealing themselves but at the same time, they want to get to know them.
A few notes:
1) Warped Savant: Mialari as the source of information for Rexus about Hocum's is excellent - consider that idea stolen! (In my case, Rexus has the key but not the location. )
2) Crissali's makes some sense for retreating from the riot because it's close by. And getting off the streets filled with rampaging militia and Dottari is an urgent need for 1st level characters who've already had a couple fights.
3) Introducing Setrona early is a good idea though. My pc's are just about to deal with the Salt Works - if they start talking about or looking for a place to take the rescued mercenaries to recover, I'll have Forvian suggest the Tooth and Nail.
4) None of my pc's are noble so introducing Marquel is harder but I plan to introduce the writings of the Poison Pen early - initially distributed just in the Greens and the Alabaster Academy (where one of my pc's is a student.) I have the themes/content summary for a few essays but probably don't have time (or ambition) to write them fully.
Latrecis:
Glad to see you like the idea of using Mialari! I don't feel as though Rexus hides his past from people he trusts so being open to tell them makes sense, and doing it that way feels natural. It makes it more of an off-handed comment than some big secret to eventually be discovered by the PCs.
My players happened to specifically head in the direction of the Tooth & Nail when they left the riot so they found Rexus partway between Aria Park and the tavern. It seemed weird to head back around the riot so they rolled knowledge local to see of places they knew about in the area.
For me, it was mostly dumb luck that the Tooth & Nail worked so well and it came about naturally enough that the players don't seem to have thought anything about it.
Forvian mentioning the Tooth & Nail makes sense, especially since it's in the vicinity of the Salt Works. (I think my players are going to the Salt Works today... we'll have to see.)
Again, I lucked out with a player being a noble. She's also a Sarini so that has worked out fantastically with Blosodriette!