Chief Ripnugget TPK: where to go from here?

So my players finally made it to Thistletop yesterday. They breezed through everything up to the chief's room. Due mostly to some really bad rolls on their part, they blew all their heals on the commandos. When the chief finally attacked, they couldn't cope and were wiped out.

Now, as it happened our druid couldn't make it this week, so there is still that connection to the original party. We also have a barbarian that hasn't been able to play for a while due to work schedule.

What I'm curious about is how you think Thistletop would change after the attack. All of the commandos were killed, along with the sleeping goblins and the goblin dogs in he exercise yard. They didn't find the goblins playing Kill Gull or their dogs. They also completely avoided the thistle tunnels, so the Birdcrunchers are still there along with Gogmurt and Tangletooth.

I'm expecting Gogmurt still wont help Ripnugget directly but will set up an ambush in the tunnels. Might have the Birdcrunchers move into the main fort, minus a few for the howling hole.

I don't know what, if anything, Nualia and crew would do. Bruthazmus seems like the one most likely to do something, but not sure what.

I'm going to add all their gear to the treasury, so they don't lose out on what they have picked up already.

Anybody have ideas?

Youve covered most of what I would have suggested. I think your fairly well set, aside from the part where you have to introduce a new group of pcs.

Ive allowed my pcs to create a 'backup character', which was an idea I stole from someone else, all of whom live in Sandpoint, and have some kind of connection to the party, so should a player die, I dont wind up with "And Bob the fighter who just walked into town is now everyone's best friend, and ..." cause wasting time when the players feel like they ought to be fighting bad guys instead of getting to know one another is a pain.

~Gogmurt staying outside should be fairly obvious. The reason he's out there hasnt changed, so why would he go back.
~The birdcrunchers are an easy restock for the upper levels, which is something I plan on doing if the PCs take more than one trip to finish the goblins.
~As for the other baddies, Nualia stays below. Lyrie was hired on to do a specific job, so she should continue to do that. Bruthazmus and Orik I could see being used as guards, or patrolling the goblin lair, alternating shifts (Orik in the day, Bruthy at night) just to help out. Maybe Tsuto, too, if he is still alive. They were all hired on as guards, nothing more.

Depending on how you wanted to play it, you could have Ripnugget/ Nualia send out emissaries to the other goblin tribes, asking for reinforcements, in case of anotehr attack.

I dont anticipate having to do that route, so Im having Bruthazmus being sent out to 'take care of' the leaders of the other goblin tribes. Basically, any goblin outside Thistletop who would know anything about who is really behind the raid is being killed off (Im trying to establish Bruthazmus as a red herring BBEG).

Good luck!

Have Bruthazmus deputized by Nualia and bully the Birdcrunchers into the fort as troop replenishment.

Sounds like a fun game.

Just remembered this, but another idea Ive been kicking around is that if Gogmurt and the birdcrunchers do somehow survive my pcs assault on Thistletop, I think I am going to have them form into a new tribe. Depending on how relations go between the new tribe and Sandpoint, I might have the

No that itll be a big dent, but itll help more than if they were fighting against, instead of with.

Lots of really good ideas. I was thinking about pulling in the kobold vs mite storyline from kingmaker between modules, and making an alliance with the goblins would be a good start. And the image of goblins fighting giants is just too good to pass up. Thanks guys.

Well, you could "goblinize" the AP - if the goblins thrash the second group, have them wipe out everyone in town and loot the bodies. Then have a gaggle of vicious goblins take out the BBEG at the end of the AP as the "heroes of the trash heap". ^_^

There you go, have a Goblin Oracle, a Goblin Ranger, a Goblin Witch and a Goblin Thief...

Don't forget that all of the local goblin tribes cover Thistletop as the best lair. If they see that the eponymous tribe is weakened they might move in themselves. Would Nualia even care, so long as she had access to the rooms she needed?

My PCs were Birdcrunchers, so the desirability of Thistletop as a headquarters was an integral motivation for them.