In Service to Lore was retired in part, to my understanding, because the faction heads used as quest-givers in the scenario were caught up in the Faction changes resulting from Season 5. I got to thinking that the overall scenario of In Service to Lore is still workable, provided one changes the Quest Givers.
Then it occurred to me, who better than the deans of the Grand Lodge themselves! We could have one task each from Marcos Farabellus, Aram Zey, and Kreighton Shaine, along with one task assigned by Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin, and perhaps a task from Drandle Dreng.
But these are no mere errands! The PCs' success at each task will factor into their recommendation to ultimately accompany Field Agent Janira Gavix on her special research project...
Here's what I was thinking:
TASK #1 - FAVOR FOR FARABELLUS (AND POSSIBLY FISTICUFFS)
*Marcos Farabellus' task, as Master of Swords, should probably involve some feats of strength or some nonlethal combat. I thought perhaps that the PCs might go meet a shipment of arms he expects at the Docks from the mechant vessel Sea Mule, the captain of which is an old mercenary buddy of his.
The Captain regards the PCs, saying that Farabellus is always bragging about how his latest recruits could go toe-to-toe with any cudgel-swinging cur this side of Casmaron, and then makes them a bet: Go toe-to-toe in an even match against some of his deckhands, and if they win, they get to pick a couple weapons each from his hold before he off-loads.
They complete the task by at least verifying that the shipment arrived, but they don't get Farabellus' approval if less than half the group participates against the deckhands.
>I was thinking that rather than a fight, the PCs could also propose other feats of strength and dexterity, such as Pugilism atop barrels, Arm Wrestling, or even a game of Knivesies. Each PC that wins a match gets a pick of the loot.
TASK #2 - ARAM ZEY'S ARCANE EXAM
*Aram Zey, as Master of Wands, should feature defeating magical traps, illusions, enchantments, and the like, as well as some Spellcraft, Knowledge/Arcana, and UMD challenges. I thought perhaps that the test could be hosted in a hall at the Arcanamirium, where they must ultimately pass through a series of rooms, solve puzzles, and avoid traps in order to obtain the key to the dimensional portal... to the Dean's Office in the Arcanimirum, where they have a parcel waiting for them to deliver back to the Lodge.
The PCs only get Aram Zey's approval if they get the Parcel, but as I had the thought below... that doesn't mean they HAVE to pass the test itself.
>For enterprising PCs that think to just go to the Dean's Office in the first place, what might an appropriate challenge be for those who so cleverly wish to cut the knot? After all, if you think about it for a moment, what if the real test is realizing that nothing and no one is actually FORCING them to take the test set before them?
NOTE: When they get the Parcel, the NPC that has it encourages them to send it to the Lodge straight away by hiring a courier if they yet have other business in the city. Hopefully, they will remember to do this after Dreng's task below!
TASK #3 - KREIGHTON SHAINE'S CONFOUNDING QUEST
*Kreighton Shaine, Master of Scrolls, is described on the Pathfinder Wiki as having "abilities in solving puzzles and codes [that] more than make up for his eccentricities." Don't want to send the PCs on a riddle-solving easter egg hunt (as, I'm concerned, is becoming typical of the tasks he assigns), but I've been stumped as to what else he could have them do for him.
It's a task that should evaluate their Knowledge, Information Gathering, and Social skills a bit more, I think. It would be appropriate if this task allowed for multiple different avenues to success, but I'm not sure where to start with it.
I'll be honest, this one's had me stumped from the start.
TASK #4 - PUNKS AND PARCELS
*Drandle Dreng's task is basically the same as Guaril Karela's task, but the circumstances are a little different:
They meet a friend of Dreng's at the Soused Sow, a pub on the Southern end of the Foreign Quarter. He owns the Pelican Warehouse, but due to some debt collector trouble, he can't get near the place - bully-boys are waiting out in front of the warehouse in case he tries to come near it. They can't legally repossess the place yet, but they can keep him from salvaging any goods from it.
Thing is, there's a parcel of books in there he'd promised Dreng, and he doesn't want to let his friend down, but neither does he want to risk being thrown to the sharks.
He tells the PCs it would be better not to get the city watch involved, so if they can get in through stealth or trickery (or delivering a drubbing of the quick-and-quiet kind), that would be great. Other than the potential encounter, the task plays out the same as before: As long as the PCs get the Parcel out safely, they succeed at this task.
>Had a thought: Perhaps the PCs could convince the thugs that they have every right to be there as agents of the Pathfinder Society, come to claim property that rightfully belongs to them within the Warehouse, and they can either step down or take it up with the Watch. Best of all, it's not even bluffing.
The Thugs might decide, "Sod it, do your business and quick," neatly side-stepping the encounter without directly implicating Dreng's friend as being involved. Good way to let it slide with the encounters - after all, the PCs will have much more dangerous foes to fight soon, and they still have the rats to deal with!
TASK #5 - AMBRUS' EMERGENCY ASSIGNMENT
*V-C Ambrus Valsin's task arrives late in the day, and urgently, via Sending Scroll (like a Sending spell, but it's a letter with as much written on it as you can fit in an envelope - faster and more accurate than a courier, and he can afford it). He's been notified that a Field Agent he'd expected back this morning is in a tavern in The Coins called the Kirin's Consort, and that she suspects she's being followed. The PCs are to escort her back to the Lodge.
When they get to the Tien-themed tavern, they meet Field Agent Ale (pronounced ah-LAY) Minsheng of Amanandar, and she's fatigued, disheveled, and a little beat up, having just made a double-time return overland from the other side of the Isle of Kortos.
As it happens, the muggers from the event below were not the ones following her earlier, as they were following the PCs. Ale was indeed being followed earlier, but by whom is as yet irrelevant, as she lost them in the midday throng before she ducked into the Kirin's Consort.
>Incidentally, I'm working on a detailed write-up for her. Would it were I were any good at art, I'd draw her as well.
EVENT - JUMPED!
It is during the time of Valsin's task that the PCs, having been tailed for most of the day by the muggers led by Deandre Dulay, are jumped during an unplanned detour through some North Docks/South Foreign Quarter alleyways, which are notoriously narrow and hazardous late in the afternoon.
They pay a bum to shoot Ale with a dart tipped with Giant Wasp Poison in order to remove her as a factor in the fight, but not kill her. They want to take as many of the PCs alive as they can in order to ransom them back to the Lodge, attempting to disorient and intimidate them in order to make it easier to take them down quickly, but they're not afraid to cut their losses (and the PCs' throats) if they feel like they have to.
The PCs may overcome these brigands more easily, however, if the PCs give at least 14GP to the bum: this doubles what the thugs gave him, and he bails without using the dart. Ale herself can chip in 4GP if the PCs ask her to do so, but she's down to her last silvers otherwise.
Potential endings:
ENDING #1 - TRIUMPHANT RETURN
*The PCs return to the Lodge with Ale and the Parcels in tow. So long as they completed at least two of the four assigned tasks and returned safely with Ale, they are considered to have succeeded at the Scenario.
ENDING #2 - THE PATHFINDERS WHO DON'T DO ANYTHING
*The PCs return, with or without Ale, with less than half of their assigned tasks completed. While the Grand Lodge understands that agents need time while on assignment to tend to themselves, Diligence and Competence are still valued by the organization. Naturally, this means they failed the Scenario.
ENDING #3 - NOT EASY BEING "GREEN"
*The PCs and Ale were kidnapped by the gang led by Deandre Dulay, and are held for random for two days, given only water in order to stay alive. Pathfinder Agents find them on the third day. Provided the PCs didn't send the Parcels ahead to the Lodge via courier service - if they had the Parcels - those are gone now, and their related tasks are considered failed. Ale will need a couple weeks of medical treatment in order to recover, but at least most everybody is still alive. The Scenario is considered Failed, but the PCs aren't blamed for what happened - after all, they are still just Initiates.
So, my questions for you all:
What would you suggest for the tasks from these quest-givers? I'm open to any advice, particularly for Aram Zey's and Kreighton Shaine's tasks.
For ease of reference, just refer to each task and ending by their respective number (Task 2, Ending 1, etc.), and to Jumped by name.
