Naurgul's page

I made an undercity pointcrawl based on an adventure hook from the toolbox in book 1.

Snowdew Pond: Most fisherfolk can only dream of a body of water like Snowdew Pond: crystal-clear, with a surface as flat as newly cut glass, and continually stocked with fish ranging from mundane to magical. [...] Despite the water’s clarity and the serenity all around Snowdew Pond, several fairgoers have complained of a foul stench emanating from the spot, and one terrified visitor has even claimed to have seen a ghastly arm reach out from the middle of the pond, curl its clawed fingers into a loose fist, and then sink back into the depths as quickly as it had come.

It is meant to replace or complement parts of book 1 and book 2. Enjoy.

I made an undercity pointcrawl based on an adventure hook from the toolbox in book 1. It is meant to replace or complement parts of book 1 and book 2. Enjoy.

The foul stench of Snowdew Pond
Fairgoers have made complaints about a foul stench emanating from this pond (see book 1, page 72). The PCs might have also noticed during the patrol on their first day at Edgewatch or at some point later while investigating. One visitor has even seen a ghastly arm emerge for a moment before sinking back into the water.

The truth is Snowdew Pond was built over a haunted sank school, which explains the ghostly sightings but not the smell. The smell is due to an ofalth that was attracted to the location because of all the bodies that were dug up and rubish that was produced when the remains of the school were sealed up during the preparations for the Radiant Festival. The ofalth unsucessfully chased some otyughs and then set sight on an even better meal: the constant barrage of body parts produced by the Skinner.

Which means the smell at the pond will go away on its own but the danger it represents will still be lurking under the city and eventually reach the Catacombs under the Ascendent Court (where the PCs will eventually find it if they don't intervene in the meantime).

To represent this, assume the ofalth's initial location when the festival starts is area 2. Precipice necropolis. It will move through the shortest possible path towards the final area 12. Arodenite catacombs at a pace of 1 area every 3-4 days, so it will reach the destination in a little over a month.

The DC to Track the smell, discerning if an exit from an area leads closer to the ofalth, is 5 times the number of areas between the ofalth and the party. So it's DC 5 if it's an adjacent area, DC 10 if two areas over, DC 15 if it's three areas over and so on.

The first hurdle is tracking the smell to the precise location of a tightly screwed storm drain on the northern side of the pond. It takes a DC 25 to Force Open or more likely waiting a week of bureaucracy to get a crew to open it if they ask Edgewatch for official permission to investigate.

If the PCs reach the ofalth before they are at a level they stand a chance, make sure to telegraph its power, perhaps by letting them witness the strength of its Stench Aura ability or stealing a glance of its disgusting form from a safe distance. The ofalth will ignore the PCs thinking they are small fry until they get extremely close or attack.

Here is the map showing the pointcrawl areas.

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1. Drownyard (Level 1-2)
The once renowned school of Tri-Towers Yard sank in the sewer waters beneath it during the 4698 AR earthquake. Most of the students perished and their ghostly remnants haunt this place.

Cavernous space with derelict ruined buildings that once comprised the school. No light except for the ghostly presences.

PCs who go back to investigate what this school is about might find their way to Lady Dacilane who tells them the story of her daughter who was at the school, went missing and presumed dead but was eventually found and returned unharmed by the Pathfinders.

Check old PFS scenario Black Waters for more info and inspiration.

Exits:

• • Long ladder back to the surface next to Snowdew pond
  
• 2. Precipice necropolis: Dried up pool. Α severed human arm tightly gripping a metal handle connected to a heavy iron plug is blocking a hole in the ground, which leads to a series of slippery handholds.
  

Encounters:

• • A fence of black iron pikes. The padlocked gate that once was the sole entrance to the school grounds lies flat on the ground.
  
• • Backpack with appropriate minor art object. This was a school for rich children after all.
  
• • 1d4 ghost students. Curious and kinda friendly. They may try to possess you to piggyback a way out of here if interacted with. Figure out what they wanted to be when they grew up to help them move on to the afterlife.
  
• • Poltergeist. The area near this classroom gets noticeably colder and foreboding. A restless and naughty spirit of a student inhabits it. Throws rocks, loose bricks and school supplies at intruders. Strictly bound to this classroom where the kid met his demise.
  

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2. Precipice necropolis (Level 2-3)
A network of once ornate chambers, murals fading, stones crumbling, water seeping through the walls making puddles out of floor cracks. Wet unlit holders for torches, doors of stone -that could once be locked- left ajar. Alcoves filled with skeletal remains. It's quiet down here except for the drip drip drip of water and the occasional undead monstrocity.

Check old PFS scenario Black Waters for more info and inspiration.

Exits:

• 1. Drownyard: Climb handholds leading to dry pool.
  
• 3. Winding tunnels: Staircase leading down to a tunnel
  
• 4. Docks sewer: Wall weathered down from eons of humidity, breaking through causes a torrent of sewer water to be released.
  

Encounters:

• • 1d6 ghouls and a ghast gnawing on old bones excited for living prey
  
• • Draugr (still has a lesser sea touch elixir on his belt, if only he had managed to reach it in time when he was alive!), 2 skeleton guards and a constantly shifting magical tide making water rise and fall. Treat the tide as a hazard; init + 0; routine: 1 action each turn alternating area between high tide (Balance DC 15) and low tide (Balance DC 5).
  
• • Cairn Wight playing dead in sarcophagus filled with gold (150gp) holding a sword with glowing runes (vitalizing, ghost touch); will rise and attack looters until every last coin is returned
  
• • 1d4 ghost children sitting in a circle pantomiming ghost stories to each other, they think they're still taking refuge from the collapsed school.
  

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3. Winding tunnels (Level 2-3)
Winding maze-like passages, not man-made but a cave system (probably). The water reaches your knees if you're Medium-sized and you gotta bend awkwardly because the ceiling is so low.

Exits:

• 2. Precipice necropolis: Back to the city of the dead after a climb of that slippery staircase.
  
• 4. Docks sewer: One passage progressively widening, walls and floors show more and more signs of regularity, until it opens up to a sewer system.
  
• • Azarketi cave: Another passage leads to a cave that an underwater Azarketi community, the Seafoam Conclave, calls home. You can keep going to reach the surface of the water beneath the creaky boardwalks of the Docks district. If the Azarketi perceive you as honoured guests they might even show you the way from there to 8. Gilltown.
  

Encounters:

• • A shadow forms inside the shadow of whoever is holding any source of light. Needs it to be nice and dark again so it can whisper its sweet maddening limericks to passersby.
  
• • Fortune eater starts following the PCs. Comprised of Pathfinders, it will not shut up about defying sewer dragons, looting graves and finding a little girl alive and unaged 10 years after the earthquake hit.
  
• • The water level reaches the ceiling in this part. Gotta swim or find a way to drain it.
  

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4. Docks sewer (Level 3-4)
Part of an ancient sewer network that is still in use. There is a narrow sidewalk of sorts at the sides of the cylindrical corridors while the middle is filled with flowing raw sewage.

Exits:

• • Manholes or storm drains leading to Docks District at regular intervals.
  
• 2. Precipice necropolis: That weak -and possibly collapsed- wall behind which is the city of the dead.
  
• 3. Winding tunnels: Passage progressively narrowing, walls looking more and more like a cave.
  
• 5. Coins Sewer: Not an exit per se but this is where you end up if you keep going through the main tunnel.
  
• 6. Docks drainage: Squeezing through a slippery pipe that is intermittently gushing muddy water gets you to the drainage network of the district.
  

Encounters:

• • 1d4 sewer oozes in the way; 1d4 rat swarms gush out of old pipes if the PCs make a loud noise.
  
• • rust ooze + spraying foul water hazard (because the ooze ate through some pipes)
  
• • 1d6 chokers attempt to stalk the PCs, if succesful they will attack when the PCs are occupied and distracted.
  
• • 1d4 slurks huddling together upside-down in a manhole shaft, lazily competing for what feels to them like a prized hunting spot.
  
• • 1 otyugh strangler called King of Dirt, was left behind while his comrades led the Ofalth away. Not interested in a fight (unless provoked) he might attempt to impress friendly PCs by spitting out a Skinsaw Mask he's been unsuccessfully chewing for a few days now. Never has he faced such an inedible gummy delicacy!
  
• • Sewer gas, lasting until the next exit/encounter. Might throw them off the ofalth smell trail (+5 to Track DC). Will also explode (dealing 4d6 environmental fire damage) if exposed to a source of flame.
  

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5. Coins sewer (Level 4-5)
Inconspicuous change, the scenery is mostly the same (practically a continuation of the same sewer network as 4. Docks sewer) except the decor is slightly different (more chances to find signs of intelligent life).

Exits:

• • Manholes or storm drains leading to Coins District at regular intervals.
  
• • Temple of Lost Coins basement: Secret door hidden inside a comically oversized treasure chest that is made to look like an incompetently disguised mimic. A series of increasingly harder locked doors and non-lethal traps lead to the base of operations of the Forthright, the "honorable thieves" of Absalom. The PCs are welcomed with open arms and invited to join if they pass the aforementioned test chambers.
  
• • Band of the Palm basement: Secret door (permanent illusonary wall) leads to a heavily guarded labyrinthine complex of rooms and traps, traversing them to eventually reach the Bloody Barbers HQ is an adventure in itself, even the Bloody Barbers don't travel here alone, they have a special unit of albino chokers trained to guide them through this gods-forsaken place.
  
• 4. Docks sewer: Visually indistinguishable, you end up there if you follow the main tunnel.
  
• 7. Buried city ruins: Decrepit manhole without handholds and a stuck rusty cover on top. It's been unused for its original purpose for thousands of years. Instead of hearing the bustle of the city or seeing light from the cracks, there's darkness and silence.
  
• 10. Cursed slave holds: Part of the wall used to form a secret door for a slave smuggler tunnel but the hinges have corroded in the past few years so the passage is now comically obvious.
  

Encounters:

• • 2d4 [Bloody Barber ruffians](https://www.pf2easy.com/index.php?id=23391) making sure there are no nosy trespassers in their territory
  
• • 1d4 [Bloody Barber thieves](https://www.pf2easy.com/index.php?id=23392) returning after difficult heist with 1d6 x 10% HP each. They are carrying 100 gp worth of art objects, gems and coins each. Not looking for a fight but also not willing to give up the loot that easily. (If you decide they are members of the Forthright, they instead immediately agree to return the loot to their rightful owners if confronted about it)
  
• • 1d4 Forthright charlatans and burglars returning after a heist. They too are carrying 100 gp worth of art objects, gems and coins each. They will attempt to lie and feign innocence but if confronted forcefully they immediately agree to return the loot, but only to the rightful owners. If arrested they ask to be delivered to the Token Guard where they can easily buy their freedom with a token fee.
  
• • Drug stash behind loose brick (DC 20). Contents: Critical failure = didn't even notice it; Failure = 20 doses of qat; Success = 50 doses of grit; Critical success = 5 doses of either demon dust or succumbus kiss
  
• • Mutated Sewer Ooze and Wizard Sponge. Escaped experiments from the Gallery of Innovation. Not very aggressive but their normal behaviour poses a danger to everyone around them. They kinda stick together instictively but they are not really consciously allied.
  

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6. Docks drainage (Level 3-4)
Similar environment to 4. Docks sewer except it is narrower, closer to the surface (the noise and bustle of the Docks above can be often heard, and the grates are only 5 feet above the flow). Also no raised paths along the walls, you will have to get your feet wet. The water is also cleaner since this network is meant to drain excess water from the rain or the sea until it later joins the sewage.

Exits:

• 4. Docks sewer: A slippery pipe allows the muddy water outflow to join the sewer network. It's tight enough to be considered greater difficult terrain but not so tight it would require a skill check to Squeeze.
  
• 7. Buried city ruins: Following the drainage system to the east leads to an old rusty storm drain, part of a street that has been unused and buried for centuries. Very silent, dark and dry compared to a normal current-era storm drain.
  
• • Eventually following the drainage system to the west leads all the way to the Groundwater Tunnel (see book 3 for more info). But some of the openings between here and there might be too narrow for most people. It might be possible proceed by breaking through the walls or squeezing through the pipes or magically shrinking down.
  • Azarketi cave: Another passage leads to a cave that an underwater Azarketi community, the Seafoam Conclave, calls home. You can keep going to reach the surface of the water beneath the creaky boardwalks of the Docks district. If the Azarketi perceive you as honoured guests they might even show you the way from there to 8. Gilltown.
  

Encounters:

• • Very narrow passage. Squeeze DC 15.
  
• • Diobel sweeper tough or washboard dog tough. Will warn any transpassers to get out of their gang's territory. Might have to demonstrate the point and toughen someone up (no killing of course!). Might ask 1d6x10gp as a toll.
  
• • 1d12 Dockside Dozen urchins. Their small bodies can fit through some very narrow water pipes; perfect for evading the law and other gangs.
  
• • Jossie Slimfin, azarketi junk merchant
  
• • Cecaelia Trapper washed through the pipes from the sea and lost his way. Extremely xenophobic and wary of land-dwellers.
  
• • Emergency watery wave floods the whole tunnel, pushing PCs in one direction unless they Grab an Edge (Reflex DC 20). Failure could mean the PCs are separated, they have to re-tread some way or even get some bruises or hit their heads somewhere.
  

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7. Buried city ruins (Level 4-5)
Disused part of the city that has caved into the ground. Actually this general area includes remnants of buildings from different epochs that have been pressured together from eons of newer construction built on top of each other into a sort of labyrinthine amalgamation.

Exits:

• 5. Coins sewer: Decrepit manhole, DC 20 Force Open to get it unstuck.
  
• 6. Docks drainage: Rusty storm drain. Perception DC 20 to notice it's in use.
  
• 8. Gilltown: Underwater tunnel, the entrance hidden behind carefully nurtured seaweed. Must hold breath at least for 10 minutes (Survival DC 25 to not waste extra time lost in the circuitous passages) to fully explore. And then you have to deal with Azarketis who might not appreciate you finding their secret home base.
  
• 9. Mother Venom lair: Ancient outhouse in collapsed building (DC 30 to Squeeze through the cracks) leading to the Eastgate sewer network.
  
• • House of Planes back door: One of the passages leads to an area of olds buildings that are currently inhabited by members of the Hookclaw kobold clan. Further down this way you eventually reach area D6 from book 1. From there you can visit the House of Planes or just exit through the Raptor's Rest graveyard to the surface in Eastgate.
  
• • Dark dark cave leading to the Darklands.
  

Encounters:

• • Kekker & Gref, ratfolk drug smugglers.
  
• • 1d6 Vargouilles. They want to turn you into one of them.
  
• • 1d4 Poltergeists. Restless echoes of citizens of old, confused their home lies in pieces.
  
• • 1 caligni caller and 2 caligni stalkers on an unholy quest to find owbs here in the ruins of long ago.
  
• • Owb. It has come to bargain. With caligni or others. If it won't get a good price, it is not above issuing threats, curses, ultra-violence or strange omens (in that order).
  
• Unlooted ruins of aristocrat's mansion. Perception DC 20: Critical failure: didn't even notice; Failure: 1d4 lesser art objects; Success: 1d6 moderate art objects; Critical Success: 1 greater art object.
  

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8. Gilltown
A network of mostly submerged caves where azarketis privately live, worship and trade among themselves. Few outsiders are permitted. Exploring here is beyond the scope of this write-up.

For more info, check out the Absalom book, page 141.

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9. Mother Venom lair (Level 10-15)
If the ooze-dripping ceilings and walls or the oozemorphic passage-blocking clots of this part of the sewer network don't dissuade PCs, describe the sense of foreboding and terror they feel as they catch a glimpse of one of the children of venom going about their business. If they insist you should probably tell them this area is too high-level for them or let them be kidnapped and turned into children of venom themselves.

For more info, see book 5.

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10. Cursed slave holds (Level 5-6)
This area consists of narrow man-made tunnels, passages and cells spread beneath Misery Row, the former slave pits of Absalom. They were used to hold slaves in awful conditions or to smuggle them to nobles in other areas (the law allowed buying and selling slaves only within three-quarters of a mile of the sea). While slavery is outlawed now, slaver activity even in this obvious place has not completely ceased. And the legacy of past sins still echoes in the dark, metaphorically or literally.

Exits:

• 5. Coins sewer: Through that not-so-inconspicuous secret door.
  
• 11. Ascended Court ancient sewer mainline:Finding your way through all the passages without going in circles is a challenge in itself (Survival DC 23) but eventually you might reach another secret door (Perception DC 23) which leads to the oldest sewer network of the city.
  
• • Grand Bazaar sewer: Another possibility is going west, eventually you get to yet another secret door that leads to the sewers below the Grand Bazaar, and from there to the Foreign Quarter sewers.
  
• • Ascending the pits will get you out through Misery Row, now turned into homes for the poor, empty lots and low-cost staffing agencies that are like slavery with extra steps.
  

Encounters:

• • 1d4 morlock engineers and 1d4 morlock cultists looking to abduct slaves or other stranglers and bring them back to Delirium's Tangle (a mind-bending labyrinth of chambers and tunnels) deep beneath the Ivy district.
  
• • The Stitchlip Man, who creeps at night to stitch shut the mouths of anyone who speaks ill of thieves and steal away their voices. Actually it's an act performed by a masked member of the Family Dogs gang (use elite copper hand rogue statblock) to scare people into paying them protection money. 10% chance it's the gang leader himself (Dras, level 9 fetchling rogue) reprising the role.
  
• • Denizen of Leng. Here to take in the sights and breath in the energy of the place.
  
• • Animate Dream made up of all the nightmares of the people enslaved here over time.
  

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11. Ascended Court ancient sewer mainline (Level 6-7)
This is the most ancient part of Absalom's sewer network, built in the time of Aroden. It's still in use although not by design; several more modern parts of the sewer network have collapsed or become blocked and through an emergent process the excess sewage from there ends up here.

Exits:

• 10. Cursed slave holds: Secret door that leads back to the pits and passages below Misery Row.
  
• 12. Arodenite catacombs (chasm entrance): There is a small hole that leads to the Starstone Cathedral chasm. From there you can sort of see another window a few hundred feet further. Climb DC 25 to get there. That puts you in area D2 of the catacombs.
  
• 12. Arodenite catacombs: Following the mainline sewer all the way circling the starstone chasm eventually leads you to a large opening in a naturally-formed cavern. That is area D25 of the catacombs. If you don't exit here, you can keep going north to the Wise Quarter sewers.
  
• Ivy District sewers: Branching of the mainline is a smaller newer sewer that eventually leads below Ivy District.
  

Encounters:

• • 1d4 skinstitches, the Skinsaws send them here to ward off guards and other people who could track them down.
  
• • 1d4 skinsaw murderers on their way to look for more victims to skin. Lucky for them they found you, saves them the trouble.
  
• • 1d4 shamblers usually survive with scraps that end up in the sewer. They are hidden among other normal vegetation that has overgrown and taken over this part of the sewer.
  
• • Mohrg, used to be part of the skinsaw cult until there was a scuffle with another member and he ended up left for dead in the sewer.
  

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12. Arodenite catacombs (Level 8-9)
These halls served as the final resting place of a niche sect of Aroden worshipers called the Fellowship of Prospectus. This is the final destination for the ofalth. It sets camp in area D25 and feeds off a steady diet of corpses provided by the Skinsaw cult.

For more details see book 2, page 30.

You could give a hint to players to have some sort of plan prepared if things go south. The cleric in my group cast status on the bait PC so they would know if he was in trouble and rush in to his rescue. Or you could send him through a less immediately lethal trapped room. Not all trap rooms kill you in 1-2 rounds. Keeping him alive for dissection, torture or some other nefarious purpose like Kemeneles is also an option.

Did anyone else make special arrangements to make resurrection easier for their group? Here's what I did:

We had an unfortunate death in book 4 (the ankou shadow doubles body-blocked the ranger) and the player seemed inconsolable and really wanted the character back. The convenient thing was that the player also wouldn't be able to attend sessions for a while so we organised a few mini sessions for the rest of the players.

The basic structure we used was the Research Subsystem. The way it works is there are various places of knowledge (called "libraries" in the subsystem) and interacting with them (usually requires a skill check) gives you points. The more points you collect, the easier it gets. Each place of knowledge might have its own quirks and restrictions. When you achieve certain point thresholds you get a benefit, like a sudden realisation about what to do or even some unexpected extra.

For Absalom I chose the following "libraries":

• • Arcanamirium (complication: PCs found the dean annoying and had to stealth to avoid her)
  
• • Forae Logos
  
• • College of Mysteries (complication: requires payment)
  
• • Temple of the Shining Star
  
• • House of Healing (complication: need to talk to doctors to get info and they are busy)
  
• • Seventh Church of Iomedae (complication: traditionally only Iomedae worshippers are told the secrets)
  
• • Azari Palace (complication: the books aren't catalogued)
  
• • Ahnkamen estate (complication: only Eaters of Knowledge members may access)
  

Each place grants a maximum of 3 points. Each attempt takes at least 4 hours (half a day). The default DC was 30.

The thresholds I used were roughly as follows:

• 3: Learn the base Resurrect ritual (extras if applicable at location: healer's gel, firestarter pellets)
  
• 5: Learn that speeches made by friends of the dearly departed lower the DC. The more friends call on him the better. (extras if applicable at location: +1 point for a separate research towards the raise dead spell, staff of final rest, dawnlight)
  
• 7: Learn that decorations, sounds and smells that remind the dearly departed of their home, their homeland, their life lower the DC (extras if applicable at location: stumble upon instructions for another uncommon ritual, like commune or planar ally)
  
• 9: +1 point for a separate research towards the raise dead spell or something else important to the story
  

So what happened after that they arranged a speech from all the important people from his background, including the guy who set him free , the people who helped to his feet when he was poor, the colleague he had a fling with. They bought spices imported from the Mwangi Expanse where he came from and so on.

We also role-played him being a ghost for a bit, he encountered a lesser death (the same one the Twilight Four had called to deal with the Infector) who tried to send him to the Boneyard but he resisted. During the culmination of the ritual (which was a critical success) he briefly met Desna. All in all it was worthwhile and I don't think it trivialised the impact of character death.

They later re-used the same tricks to resurrect Harlo Doleen (which I initially thought would completely derail the plot but actually wasn't too difficult to deal with).

I did a write-up on how to run the Pratchett/Ralso trial. It should probably be run at some point during book 2 or in-between books but since it acts as a sort of epilogue event for this book I'm linking it here.

Before the trial:
After getting arrested, Pratchett will make several arrangements to minimise the chances of being convicted. With his charisma and connections, unless the PCs intervene, his cell at the Edgewatch jail will have lots of luxuries not afforded to other prisoners, like no cellmates, a desk, a real bed, good food but most importantly he is allowed to receive as many visitors as he wants for as long as he wants.

One of the people who are visiting him frequently is Mrs. Honeywall who fanatically believes in his innocence. Pratchett is slowly radicalising her and will eventually ask her to burn down the hotel (ostensibly as an act of defiance) to destroy any evidence the PCs haven't gotten around to gathering. If she succeeds and the PCs investigate the ruins, they might find and recognise her glasses (Perception DC 25). If she is arrested she will stand trial with the rest.

He is also very quickly writing his memoirs to "tell his side of the story", of course they will be full of lies to turn the public to his side. He asks Vancaskerkin to publish them but Vancaskerkin, recognising an opportunity, informs the PCs (he's eager to win their trust, hopes they will return the favour later or even prove useful pawns). If the PCs show no interest in stopping this, he goes ahead and does it but if they ask him not to he will respect the PCs' wishes.

Pratchett doesn't want a lawyer, he will represent himself.

Ralso might also be on trial as Pratchett's accomplish. Before the trial she might have cooperated with the PCs and Edgewatch, some of the PCs might have pitied her and want to help her. She makes no preparations on her own, so she won't even have a lawyer unless the PCs take an active interest in helping her and she will only remind them of the lawyer situation the day before the trial. If the PCs try to help her, she will play along with anything they suggest, including an Atone ritual.

Nobbindale (the redcap) might also have been arrested. In that case he will stand trial with the rest. He is completely unhinged and will refuse any cooperation.

The public prosecutor, Zendo Loreya, an old man with a white short well kept beard, comes by at Edgewatch HQ to get the list of all the evidence and all other info on the case the PCs might offer him.

The courthouse:
The trial takes place a few weeks after the PCs resolve the murder hotel adventure, whatever better fits your campaign's pacing and story. It takes place at the badly maintained Puddles courthouse. This happens because Ralso was once arrested while burgling a very well connected haberdasher who is still keeping a grudge and used his connections to make the trial happen at the corrupt and extremely harsh Puddles courthouse.

Lady Seichya of House Tevineg (high warden of the Brine prison, trademaster of the Salt Cartel) is the presiding judge. She has a conflict of interest of course, since her control of the private prison means she'd rather see defendants convincted than go free.

Outside the courthouse, the PCs might encounter Eunice (if they have saved both him and Kemeneles). He is standing next to the door with his arms crossed, clearly annoyed. He is watching a bunch of urchins around his age whose circumstances couldn't be more different than his own: they are selling newspapers and trinkets, shining shoes and possibly even picking pockets. Kemeneles forbid him to go inside on account of the gruesome descriptions that will no doubt be relayed during the trial. He feels this is unfair. Still, seeing the PCs might lift his mood if they were nice to him in the past.

The process:
For simplicity and brevity the trial will be depicted in a series of short episodes, each either from a witness deposition or from the presentation of a piece of evidence. At each episode, one PC will be either making a speech or will have the opportunity to make a retort/comment during someone else's speech. Example episodes:

• • A PC acts as a witness for the prosecution and recounts how the agents of Edgewatch solved the case and made the arrests.
  
• • Kemeneles testifies how he was captured and what he suffered
  
• • Lyrma testifies how she was captured and what she suffered
  
• • Nobbindale is called as a witness. He is extremely candid and incriminates everyone, most of all himself.
  
• • Corpseward pendants are presented as evidence of Pratchett's necromancy.
  
• • Books, scrolls and other magical items are presented as evidence of Pratchett's necromancy.
  
• • The skin with the dragon tattoo is presented as evidence connecting Pratchett with the missing Minkaians.
  
• • Roji Aozo corpse is presented (perhaps not directly) as evidence connecting Pratchett with the missing Minkaians.
  
• • “To Anastatia, my love” locket and rust monster ring are presented as evidence connecting Pratchett with the missing zoo keepers.
  
• • Pratchett is questioned about what possible innocent use he might have had for restoring and actively using the smelter in the basement.
  
• • Pratchett's dueling cane is presented as evidence of suspicious conduct. (note: poisons are illegal in Absalom)
  
• • Mrs. Honeywall's glasses are presented as evidence of her starting the hotel fire.
  

If things are not going favourably for Pratchett, he gets vindictive and tries to take down Ralso with him. In that case, consider adding the following episodes:

• • Pratchett testifies against Ralso, says she built the traps.
  
• • Pratchett testifies against Ralso, says she has confessed to murders in her diary.
  

If Ralso is cornered after Pratchett turns on her, she considers changing her plea to guilty, confessing her crimes. If there is a PC she trusts, she looks at them expectantly hoping for a sign in the form of a nod or other body language. She will follow their advice.

Make sure to modify or skip episodes based on what has transpired in your game (e.g. if a witness was not rescued they can't testify, if a piece of evidence was not recovered it cannot be presented and so on).

The verdict:

Each episode contributes 1 conviction point to all relevant defendants by default. But if some deposition or piece of evidence is doubted or objected to, then the point might be nullified. Pratchett will never miss an opportunity to do this.

If no PC is involved, the GM decides if the point is nullified or not. If a PC is involved in an episode, they roll a relevant skill check (mostly Diplomacy) with DC 20. If the involvement was against a defendent then:

• Critical success: +2 conviction points
  
• Success: +1 conviction point
  
• Failure: 0 conviction points
  
• Critical Failure: -1 conviction point
  

If the involvement was to object or cast doubt to a witness or piece of evidence then:

• Critical success: -1 conviction point
  
• Success: 0 conviction point
  
• Failure: +1 conviction points
  
• Critical Failure: +2 conviction points
  

Example objections that Pratchett might use:

• • Evidence has been tampered with by PCs/Edgewatch (especially if the PCs actually used some of Pratchett's magical items)
  
• • Corpseward pendants are needed because the Precipice Quarter is infested with undead
  
• • It wasn't a smelter in the basement, it was an oven for meatpies
  

Finally subtrack 1 conviction point for each extenuating circumstance, for instance:

• • Pratchett: he successfully published his memoirs.
  
• • Pratchett: the hotel was burned down
  
• • Ralso: cooperated with the authorities
  
• • Ralso: atoned for her deeds in a very public and dramatic manner.
  
• • Ralso: found a lawyer
  
• • Ralso: pleads guilty (don't subtract if it would bring the tally to 0)
  

Depending on conviction points, the verdict is:

• 0: innocent, free to go
  
• 1-2: 5 years in the Brine
  
• 3: 10 years in the Brine
  
• 4+: hanged until dead
  

I made a homebrew sidequest addon. It uses information mostly from book 4 but level-wise and story-wise it fits betters somewhere during book 3.

The sidequest involves uncovering a circle of norgorberite assassins in the Ivy district that might have some tangentially useful information for the Twilight Four. It can be used to replace parts of book 3 or add to it.

Shreeve:
Introduced in the toolbox of the Gallery of Evil, Ventalie Shreeve owns a small potion shop on Vermillion Way in the Ivy District. A hidden cellar under the shop conceals a meeting room, where an elite circle of assassins for hire known as Norgorber’s Knot dedicates its kills to Norgorber.

Shreeve is intimately acquainted with the Blackfinger temple yet she has not been granted access to the inner sanctum under the temple proper. Nevertheless she knows a lot of secrets of the cult. Even though she is not directly involved with the twilight four, she knows a few things about the blackfingers. She has been trying to gain access to the blackfingers lower temple unsuccessfully for a while now. Jonis has word from Norgorber himself that she's not to be trusted. She has heard that Jonis the head priest of the Blackfingers temple is part of the twilight four, a conspiracy of high-level norgorberites. She does not know what the conspiracy involves exactly but she knows it's important. This information was fed to her by Vancaskerkin's agents, hoping it would lead investigators off his trail and destroy Jonis at the same time.

Shreeve was recently hired by Bloody Berleth to kill Maurissa Jonne but he had second thoughts, did not make the payment so the assassination never went through.

Possible hooks to start mini-adventure:

• • she frequently attends the midnight meetings at the Black Mask costume shop, the PCs might be doing a stakeout
  
• • one of the PCs might have dealt with her in his background, especially if the PC is from the Ivy district
  
• • there is a pile of unsolved cases at the Thistleguard, perhaps one of the PCs' contacts there tries to solicit their help to investigate the seemingly unsolvable ones.
  
• • they might be led to her while searching for possible norgorberite activity in the city
  
• • they might notice something suspicious (like a customer speaking in code) going on while purchasing potions from her shop
  
• • they meet her in person at the Noxious Retort conference and decide to investigate her further
  
• • somehow the PCs get Bloody Berleth to admit he almost hired an assassin to kill Morissa Jones
  

Potion shop:
I used this map. It includes the shop and her house and basement. Does not include the secret sub-basement.

Her shop seems like a normal potion shop, with a focus on alchemical consumables. False bottoms/backs in the cabinets she stores her usual wares conceal potent divine poisons (pretty much everything from the adventure toolbox of book 4 is available), those are for special clients or for her own use.

In her private chambers on the 2nd floor connected to the shop via a staircase, on her desk, one can find her formula book, where she keeps all her recipes: focus cathartic, vermin repellent agent, vexing vapor, skeptic's elixir, silvertongue mutagen, quicksilver mutagen, juggernaut mutagen, energy mutagen, dread ampoule, cognitive mutagen, drakeheart mutagen, tanglefoot bag, alchemist's fire, acid flask, snake oil, antidote, bravo's brew, elixir of life, wyvern poison (last one is encrypted, DC 30).

The same notebook also contains a list of her clientèle each associated with a 4-digit code. If studied, Perception or similar DC20 to notice some clients have no associated orders at all. Perception or similar DC25 to notice she has nowhere near 9999 clients so there's no sense in using 4-digit codes. These deductions will come into play later.

The altar:
In the middle of the basement, there is an oblong stone altar. Its surface is sculpted with a network of long winding grooves that connect in an intricate pattern. There is a hole in the middle like a drain. DC20 to observe that it is actually one continuous line with the drain at one end. Religion/crafting DC30 to realise it's a mixture or alchemical and norgorberite symbolism. Another appropriate DC30 check like Identify Magic reveals that it's a magic device that accepts sound and liquid as input.

The actual solution is to sing a skiprope rhyme called "No-No Norgorber" while pouring the right sort of liquid at certain times, as noted below. The players could figure this out on their own if they are familiar with the rhyme (try to foreshadow it), or they could remember it with an appropriate check (DC20 if they realise it's something like a song or poem or hymn, DC30 if they have no idea what they're supposed to be looking for).

The timings and liquid requirements can also be figured out with appropriate Identify Magic or similar checks. The device hums and glows more and more with each correct new liquid poured but if you pour something wrongly then the humming and glowing ends abruptly. This together with knowledge of Norgorber lore (as a lore-skill or just paying attention) will help the PCs figure it out. Someone who is a Master in Thievery can Disable Device DC30 to completely bypass it. Other similar brute-force solutions should be around DC35.

Here is the rhyme and liquids:

Reaper?
Master?
Skinsaw Man?
Where is the poison? (pour in any poison)
What is the plan? (pour in anything that fools senses)
No-No Norgorber!
Folks take care!
How many dark masks does he wear?
One Reaper! (pour in anything that manipulates knowledge or information)
Two Master! (pour in anything that fools senses)
Skinsaw Man! (pour in blood)
Quick leaper!
Jump faster!
Bogeyman!

What lies beneath the altar:
When someone sings the song and pours the right liquids at the right times, the whole altar moves out of the way revealing a small shaft with handholds on all walls. The sub-basement is a small square room, the floor decorated with Norgorber's symbol made out of dried blood. In the corner there is a desk, on the desk there is a small booklet.

Assassination log:
The booklet is the lightly encrypted assassination log. It's written in Elven. Decipher Writing DC30 to decode it in one go. The PCs get repeated tries with possibly a reduced DC every time they make a reasonable deduction from the following clues:

• • There are rows and columns filled with data.
  (rows represent assassinations, columns represent the properties of each assassination)
  
• • The columns are: 8-digit number, another number (range 500-2000), 2-3 comma-separated keywords (from a fixed set of about a dozen different ones), a date, another date, a third date (in some entries both 2nd and 3rd date are missing). The dates are always ordered: 1st is always earlier than 2nd, 2nd is always earlier than 3rd.
  (columns represent 1: combined 4-digit client code and 4-digit target code 2: price in gold coins 3: the aliases of the assassins that got assigned to this task 4: order date 5: payment date 6: completion date)
  
• • The possible keywords in the 3rd column are: "Unseen Hand", "Qat", "Demon Dust", "Arsenic", "Dagger", "Belladonna", "Wyvern", "Black Adder", "Centipede", "Wasp" etc
  (these are the aliases of each assassin in the circle, Shreeve is the "Unseen Hand", the rest are named after assassination methods, mostly poisons)
  

Once the PCs solve this they get a clear picture of all the assassinations Norgorber's Knot has conducted.

There is only one entry that is related to the main case though: The last row is an assassination ordered by Bloody Berleth to get Maurissa Jonne killed. The bounty was set to 1800 gold but was never paid (as indicated by the fact that the last two dates are not filled in). Bloody Berleth, despite his hatred for Maurissa, couldn't go through with it.

Behaviour and schedule:
Shreeve tends to her shop every day of the week during daytime. Sometimes she can be found in the Blackfinger temple. One night per week she attends secret meetings at the Black Mask costume shop. She meets up with her assassin buddies in her basement almost every other night. If she knows the PCs are investigating her she will feign ignorance. If they make a move to arrest her or attack she will attempt to flee at the first good opportunity (perhaps using her gaseous form potion). If the PCs are investigating her shop/house there is a good chance she will show up with her 2-4 assassin buddies (number determined either randomly or based on desired difficulty). She may or may not know the PCs are there but she always returns home eventually. She does not fight to the death, she might trade secrets for her life and freedom.

For Shreeve use the statblock of Japu Thelenger (AoE book 4, page 14). Add a gaseous form potion (and at your discretion, perhaps some more alchemical items for emergencies). For her assassin buddies use the assassin statblock from the Gamemastery Guide. As an example, for 4 level 10 PCs, Shreeve + 4 assassins is a severe encounter, Shreeve + 2 assassins is a moderate encounter.

What the PCs can gain from this scenario:

• • Jonis' omen/instinct about Shreeve being untrustworthy is correct: If she's interrogated or otherwise pressured, she's going to try to trade her freedom for secrets (most likely Jonis' secret identity). Such secret might be hard to be used in an official capacity since Shreeve will be either gone or refuse to repeat it in a court of law.
  
• • Putting Shreeve behind bars and/or dismantling her circle of assassins will make people in the city safer and the Thistleguard will be grateful.
  
• • If they unlock the second basement and decrypt the assassination log, they can hand over the info to the Thistleguard which will be even more thankful.
  
• • If Shreeve abandons her shop and the PCs impound the merchandise, give them unlimited access to alchemical consumables up to level 7.
  

Where do we go from here:

• • You may allow the PCs to skip some parts of the Adventure Path to get to the Blackfinger temple raid sooner.
  
• • Add a new downtime activity to help with cleaning up the cases in the assassination log. This might involve arresting the ones who ordered the assassinations, arresting the assassins themselves based on their aliases. Providing closure to victims' families and so on.
  
• • Or you can invent new scenarios with the PCs doing these things on-screen.
  
• • The PCs might be invited as witnesses for Shreeve's trial.
  
• • Use the info as leverage over Maurissa/Berleth in future encounters.
  
• • Shreeve's confessions and/or trading of secrets might lead to more investigations of norgorberites she has been associated with, the Black Mask costume shop for example.
  

I liked the campaign as well and agree with most of your criticisms. It would be definitely better if it wasn't a 6-part 1-20 level AP.

Why does first book assumes it ends on Arodus 3 and final book on Rova 7? That's less than month for entire thing)

If you're referring to the newspaper frontpages, I don't think they are meant to impose a timeline or deadline on you. They are just used illustratively.

If you're looking for a low-key early foreshadowing of Olansa as the Gray Queen, I have a treat for you. To make a long story short, it's a case they receive about how Olansa stole a High-Council seat but presented in such a way that it will be dismissed until it's too late. You can run this scene as soon as the PCs get promoted to the Starwatch.

You can read the full details here: The Larrett vignette.

One of the subtler foreshadowing I've done is the Larrett vignette.

Larrett, sometimes called Lord Filth, is Absalom’s infamous Commissioner of Sewers. With sunken eyes, a wrinkled nose, and long, greasy locks tumbling down from an unkempt and receding hairline, the twitchy administrator would look as if he had just crawled out of a septic puddle if he wasn’t always bedecked in the latest and most expensive Ivy District fashions. The smirking villain is perhaps the most caricatured politician in Absalom’s broadsheets, his face a veritable symbol of corruption known all across the city. The commission’s efficiency, as well as Larrett’s alliance with fellow Sanitation Commissioners Venlun Frusk (Streetsweepers) and Pondo Funt (Trashpickers), keep Larrett in power despite the fact that everyone seems to hate him.

He's a member of the High Council and thus has one of the precious votes for deciding who's the next (acting) primarch. The year before the start of the AP, Olansa very carefully orchestrated, in conjunction with the newspaper Eyes on Absalom, a damning exposé of his corruption. The scandal was so great that it left the acting primarch Starborn no choice but to replace him during that year's Exaltation of the Starstone. Olansa, with some expert political manoeuvring, was not only credited for catching him in the act, but also got his place in the High Council, thus securing one vote for herself when the Twilight Four plan was eventually enacted. There was a secret tradition that the positions of the High Council were reserved for the bearers of the magical cornucopias (see the 1e Guide to Absalom for more info about this recently expunged bit of lore) but that tradition had been waning for a long time after the artifacts lost their powers with the death of Aroden so Starborn wasn't particularly concerned with being the first to break it.

Since then, as is his right as a council member, Larrett has been regularly visiting the Starwatch and asking them to investigate how Olansa stole his high council seat. He will talk to anyone there who will listen to his ramblings about how he deserved the seat because of the cornucopia and so on. He has become a joke at the office. The Starwatch, as is their right, have decided, repeatedly and despite his protestations, to de-prioritise his case.

Enter the PCs. After they earn their Starwatch badges in the beginning of book 3, you can run this scene for them while they are in their office at Starwatch Keep, preferably when they feel they already have their hands full: One of their colleagues, preferably someone they already have a relationship with, sighs and mumbles "Not him again" as they're watching from a window. If asked, they will tell the PCs about how this low-councilmember has been bothering them with "a case of utmost urgency" (they do the air quotes to indicate the sarcasm). He used to come more often but lately he comes by every time there are new recruits so he's definitely there for the PCs. Larrett of course demands an audience with the new Starwatch agents and if the PCs grant it, he tells them what he tells everyone about how he is entitled to a high council seat and not just a lowly low-council seat and how Olansa stole what was rightfully his etc etc. Obviously he comes off as extremely entitled, corrupt and hysterical. If there's any other Starwatch guards present they roll their eyes incessantly through the whole ordeal. If the PCs recall knowledge about him they remember all the caricatures they've seen of him, not just in Eyes on Absalom but also as a character in puppet shows and word on the street about how corrupt he is.

The PCs will very likely completely dismiss him and write him off as another corrupt entitled nobleman that deserves his demotion... but the narrative seed of Olansa's meteoric rise in political power as well as her being a great thief has been planted.

I wanted to foreshadow Chapter 3: A Wonderful Time in Harrowland, so I ran the module The Harrowing to do so. The idea was that Vancaskerkin used an occult ritual or darkside mirror to create the Rabbit Prince out of the essence of one or more PCs. As a side-effect of this, the PCs stumble into the Harrowed Realm and have to escape. Vancaskerkin's alter-ego inside the Harrowed Realm is the Nightpeddler.

Here's my notes for converting the module to 2e.

I wanted to foreshadow the Harrowland from book 4, so I ran the module The Harrowing to do so. The idea was that Vancaskerkin used an occult ritual or darkside mirror to create the Rabbit Prince out of the essence of one or more PCs. As a side-effect of this, the PCs stumble into the Harrowed Realm and have to escape. Vancaskerkin's alter-ego inside the Harrowed Realm is the Nightpeddler.

Here's my notes for converting the module to 2e.

(I'm linking it from this thread too since this book is the best place to foreshadow Harrowland and the encounters in my conversion are semi-appropriate for a level 10-11 party.)

I ran this module as a side-quest / foreshadowing for my Agents of Edgewatch campaign. My notes are very patchy but I thought I'd share them in case they are useful to someone else.

Should be okay for around level 10-11 PCs.

Playing the corresponding card against a storykin applies the weak adjustment to them for the rest of the fight.

Events:
Andera Paldreen as Algon the Ever-Seeking.

Α. Midnight circus
Combine A2 and A3 into one encounter. 2 reskinned Feathered Bears as the unicycle bears (Feathered Charge represents their exceptional ability with the unicycles). Raja Rakshasa as Bernaditi.

B. Briar
A leveled-down Rabbit Prince as the Rabbit Prince. (In foundry use the workbench module to do this automatically; otherwise just reverse-engineer it using the creature building rules).

C. Demon's Fen
Change the owl into a skill challenge without any combat. Xiuh Couatl as the couatl. Leng Ghoul as the Barrow King.

D. Manmolds
Steam Vents as the steam vents. Formian Queen as the ant queen; either level it down to be an appropriate challenge or turn into an threatening RP encounter with occasional attack/ability usage but not a full fight.

E. Prophet's Garden
Confounding Betrayal as the hunter's horn trap. Replace Sonnorae fight with a Flensing Blades hazard to simulate her haunted ghostly outburst.

F. Sanguine Playhouse
Grig as grig. A leveled-down (just reduce the DCs) Dance of Death as the fiddle hazard. Use Planar Terra-Cotta Soldier as Balio and Balimar with the following changes:

• • Occupies 2 adjacent spaces instead of 1
• • Add a simplified "Act Together" ability: Free action; Trigger Balimar Casts A Spell; Effect Balio can take a 1-action activity.
• • Add some spells: Vibrant Pattern, Mirror Malefactors, Wall of Stone, Chromatic Armor, Haste, Mirror Image.

G. Smith’s Caldera
Great Cyclops as the cyclops. Kolyarut as Ticktock.

H. Trackless Dearth
Denizen of Leng as Nightpeddler

I. Striding Fortress
Marid and Efreeti in I5, 3 Succubi in I9, Adult Blue Dragon as Zassrion. Simplify/skip the rest of the fights.

Yeah that's what I did; inserted a month-long span of downtime there.

You know you can remove fights, right? if you're not enjoying it, start shortening the drawn-out bits. If you're not the GM, discuss with the group and if most people agree, ask your GM to change things up. It's not exactly hard to abridge or completely skip the boring parts.

the "Flying Chairs" obviously seem to be some kind of elevator, but if they're designed for Edrer, why do they have chairs inside? How would Edrer bring his wheelchair with him?

Flying chairs were presumably not designed solely for Edrer. It's just that Edrer having a disability made Gage more keen to design the casino with disability in mind. I assume there are no actual chairs inside or if there are there's also enough space for Edrers wheelchair to fit.

As an aside, I always read this as "flying stairs" until you pointed now that it's actually "chairs".

there is a bouncer at the curtain checking people who are looking to enter, but there's also just an open passageway to the north

I mean it's not that rare, there's theaters that are designed like that too. Not all spaces are designed with absolute security in mind to physically block any trespasser. The bouncer obviously knows you can go through the curtain on the other side or past the corridor that way and will keep an eye on you, not allowing you anywhere else on the floor if you don't have the right credentials. But it's still possible to sneak by the bouncer by distracting him or whatever.

it says the tokens cannot be removed from the briefcase

Think of it like a piggy bank. You can easily put coins inside at any time without doing anything special but removing them requires a key or thievery.

Nice, how did the fight go? Did you use more spells or Reality Rip?

I'm also thinking of changing Olansa, I would REALLY like to give her some sort of supercharged Steal ability that allows stealing spells, abilities. items, all sorts of stuff. Looking into high level rogue feats and Umbral Graft/Extraction spells for inspiration.

I also did the Djinni Vizier from the casino in book 3 a while ago. Had some time to transcribe it today:

Djinni Vizier — Creature 10
Rare CG Large Elemental Air Genie

Perception +20; darkvision; detect magic

Languages Common, Auran

Skills Acrobatics +23, Arcana +18, Athletics +18, Crafting +16, Deception +18, Diplomacy +22, Society +16, Stealth +19

Str +5, Dex +7, Con +3, Int +3, Wis +2, Cha +5

Bound Wishes A djinni vizier can grant a mortal or undead creature up to three wishes within a year’s time. Once they grant a third wish to a single creature, they are freed from service to that creature forever.

Items scimitar

AC 30; Fort +16, Ref +21, Will +18

HP 170; Immunities acid; Resistances mental 10, sonic 10

Whirlwind (air, arcane, aura, evocation) 30 feet. All squares in the djinni's aura are difficult terrain for Striding and Flying creatures. Creatures with the air trait are immune.

Speed 25 feet; fly 40 feet

Melee [1-action] scimitar +23 (forceful, reach 10 feet, sweep), Damage 2d6+15 slashing

Melee [1-action] fist +24 (agile, finesse, magical, nonlethal, reach 10 feet), Damage 4d4+8 bludgeoning

Ranged [1-action] crashing wind +23 (air, arcane, evocation, range increment 20 feet), Damage 2d8+5 bludgeoning

Spells DC 30, attack +22 ; 10th wish (bound); 7th Plane Shift (At Will) (to Astral Plane, Elemental Planes, or Material Plane Only); 5th creation, tongues, summon giant, illusory creature, illusory object; 4th gaseous form, enhance visuals (at will), invisibility (at will) (self only); Constant detect magic

Hurricane Blast [1-action] (air, arcane, evocation); Frequency Once per round. Effect The djinni pushes all creatures in its whirlwind back 30 feet, or repositions all creatures inside the aura without changing their distance to the djinni. Each creature must attempt a DC 30 Fortitude save. Bumping targets to walls or to each other deals damage as if they had fallen. On a success, a target avoids being moved, and on a critical failure it falls Prone in addition to being moved. Creatures with the air trait are immune.

monster.pf2.tools/v/6ZL0m9m0

Hmm.. it's actually more sensible than I initially though. As sensible as you need to make it for an "unknowable extra-terrestrial intelligence whose designs we cannot hope to comprehend". Also more sensible than them camping right next to the Skinsaw sanctum entrance and somehow escaping notice.

You're right, if you want to say that the Graycloaks have been there for a while, it makes no sense that they are right where the Skinsaw cultists come and go.

But to be honest, D13 doesn't make a lot more sense to me as a long-term safe spot either, they would be right next to Tyrroicese. They would be able to hear his slimy appendages and their commander's voice from within its mass. And it's hard for me to imagine that a slightly tight corridor would be an insurmountable obstacle for a slime in a suit of armour.

Perhaps if you changed D13 so the corridors had doors or something else to seal them off? Or maybe move Tyrroicese's initial location away from D13. Or maybe the Graycloaks go back to the lower level and hole up in D23 (after clearing it up as much as possible) or D24.

I think the default assumption is that Flakfatter dies. There's too many things going against him:

• Constant attempts on this life by the fellow Twilight Four, even going so far as summoning a Lesser Death to get him.
  
• Reckless attacks by his comrades who gas the whole building indiscriminately.
  
• A demilich who wants to wear his body.
  
• Angry PCs many of whom will not think twice about ending him or letting him perish.
  

If they manage to have him survive all that, the PCs should be rewarded at least with some extra info on the T4. But in order to move the plot, Flakfatter being alive is not necessary at all. The next part of the plot involves the PCs and Starborn getting tricked by Vancaskerkin to approach the Harrow circus thing. If anything, Flakfatter surviving makes this part more awkward to implement as written.

With all that said, if the demilich succeeds, I would say her next goal would be to get rid of the PCs and failing that run away from them. The demilich is a demented creature. Her plans are insane and her grasp on reality tenuous. Even if she agrees to the trade you describe I doubt she would seriously be of any help to the PCs later on.

Thanks for sharing! That map is awesome.

Anyone find where Edgewatch HQ is on the map?

I talked to narchy and he confirmed the HQ is meant to be this building.

Any other landmarks I should be looking for?

The pagoda and the menagerie are kinda obvious. The Dreaming Palace is also there as we discussed in a different thread. There might be more. For sure there are some old landmarks from before the sector was re-built. You can quickly locate those by comparing the old map from the Absalom book with this one since they align perfectly.

Where is it stated that they could have learned this?

I'm pretty sure it's not stated and it is a mistake. Here's how I handled it in my campaign:

PCs killed Skinner so they couldn't learn anything from her.

From Mobana & Violeta they learned about the existence of the T4 but not its exact aims.

They still had no lead about Skinner's dealings with the Washboard Dogs so I brought in Niervok from the Absalom book to connect his story about witnessing an abduction and the abductions the Washboard Dogs did on behalf of the Skinsaw cult.

We are currently in the middle of book 4 and my players still have no concrete idea about the T4's plan. They have some theories that it has to do with taking advantage of a political power vacuum since the whole "revolt is being puppeteered by the Infector from the shadows" bit at the end of book 3.

It's not on the map. You have to decide for yourself where to put it. However, there's a new map made by narchy that actually shows the location of the Dreaming Palace. It's this one.

If you're asking about the location of the Edgewatch police station, no official location exists. A lot of people assume it is that big building north of the mystic gardens with a humongous backyard filled with white circles.

PS: See also this question I asked on reddit when I was starting.

Hello from the future, this is one GM that will do use of this awesome work when i do start the AoE campaign (probably late 2022/start 2023. First going to start book 6 of EC.

As foretold!! ;)

Nice, well I guess it's not as far-fetched as I thought. You seem to have everything figured out. As for the difficulty, it should be fine I think, just loosely follow the guidelines for the chase subsystem, that's probably the closest equivalent.

Seems pretty good. My only concern is that it has a very "theme park" feel, there is no "realistic" reason why all these people that are relevant to the plot are congregating in this spot and parade in front of the players one after the other. If this is the atmosphere you were going for (which seems reasonable since it's literally a theme park ride!), that's fine of course. Just thought I'd point it out.

My group just finished book 3 so we have a long way to go still. While we're waiting for other people to chime in, here's an in-depth review of the AP after completing it in full with separate sections for each book that someone posted on reddit.

Just finished running a full campaign of Agents of Edgewatch. Here are my thoughts!

This is some amazing stuff. I laughed at

GEB ANTI-TOURIST BOARD FLOAT – DYING TO VISIT? DON’T

I wrote a comment on reddit that is about the overlap between the old version of the Precipice Quarter presented in the Absalom book and the renovated version that appears in the AP.

Absalom book assumes the Precipice Quarter is in the state it was before it was rebuilt for the Festival. So there's no 1-to-1 correspondence. Of the locations mentioned in the Absalom book, of direct consequence to the AP are the following:

• (170) Beldrin's tower is prominent on the map and it is the location of the final confrontation in book 6.
  
• (173) The Drownyard is possibly connected to a plot hook mentioned at the end of book 1 at Snowdew Pond with the stench and the eerie hand.
  
• (174) The Grislyfair is the location of the finale of book 4.
  
• (175) Gulgamodh is fought in book 6.
  

I should also note at the point that /u/narchy made a wonderful map of the Precipice Quarter which while it has no key, it is way easier to find the locations there than on the official map of the quarter in book 1.

The original Chicago World Fair lasted for 6 months. You can stretch the AP story so book 1 is right at the start of the radiant fair and book 6 is after it's over, or even later. Conceivably I think the whole plot with reasonable added downtime can be stretched to about 1 year in extremis. That's still not a very "realistic" 1-20 level timeframe but it's less jarring than 3 months.

Given that, I’m having a hard time rationalizing that the PCs won’t be able to figure out with some investigation where the guild is operating from.

I allowed them to investigate and find the Coppher Hand HQ earlier. They had the choice to raid it before the robbery but after consulting with other guards they decided not to in case they couldn't find any incriminating evidence in the building and tipping them off that the guard is after them (which would result in them changing up the details of the robbery, making it harder to stop).

I am also super-challenged given the amount of time the guild has been operating that Melipdra and the Sleepless Sons don’t recognize the name 'Copper Hands'.

In my game, the Copper Hand was careful enough to avoid notice for the most part and the bank robbery is not their usual style since they're forced to do it by Skinner.

You can find about these and all the other additions/adjustments I did to expand this part and make it more -as you said- like "procedural investigators" in this thread:

Expanded Bank Robbery Investigation

where I wrote down all my notes on the topic.

Hello, everyone. I decided to give this AP a go and enjoy it so far. Thanks for everyone's ideas here. It is my group's first time in Pathfinder 2e - for me as Game Master and for the rest as players. I especially enjoyed encouraging them to think outside of the box to solve the challenges in ways different than a fight, unless they had no choice. For some of them, it was a steep learning curve but they are getting hang of it. They have became the most troublesome of agents, and they have earned an alias on the precinct already: "Divas of Edgewatch". "Queens of Drama" would do to :D Anyhow, I have just shared with them a quick set of handouts I prepared for the Missing Persons part of the game. A lot of the text comes from or is inspired by the Naurgul's post. Maybe some of you would like to use it, then have fun! Here are 9 missing persons notes/reports.

Wow your handouts are absolutely amazing! :D

Glad your players are having fun making trouble for the watch, especially for that stuck-up Lavarsus I would hope!

Try going to the Map Note Tool palette and clicking on the Toggle Map Visibility button.

Okay it's done. I will recount here what happened:

The players successfully convinced a judge to sign a warrant but their efforts were noticed by some corrupt token guards and court employees. Also it got late before the PCs returned with all the required evidence so the judge went home. When the judge returned the next dawn he found his office had been broken into. He got paranoid and took the day off, promising himself he'd just lie low and wait for this all to blow over. In the meantime, the leaked information started trickling to the halls of power, first to the Token Guard HQ, from there to Gage and from Gage to some grandcouncilmembers.

Meanwhile the PCs tracked down the judge to his home. Despite his butler's best efforts to conceal him they realised he was there, then talked to him appealing to his courage and conscientiousness. He agreed to sign on the condition they offered him assurances he'd be safe from retribution, both physical safety and job-wise.

PCs went to the Grand Council Hall to do that but there they discovered that the political repercussions were under way. There was talk about the council having enough votes to investigate Asilia of Gyr for skirting her duties. It was obviously Gage's doing that tipped the scales. After this the PCs decided to back off and try a different approach.

They issued a posthumous fine to Morrisa for her crimes then did a civil forfeiture on the key and by extension on the contents of the vault, ostensibly to pay off the fine. They greased the wheels of Starwatch bureaucracy to finish this faster and convinced Alasmin Sarulamon to sign it off. Then they tracked down the Second Lady of Laws and urged her to offer her official judgement/opinion on the matter in writing which she did.

They were still in time to catch Franca in the act but at the last minute they decided to wait until morning so that the casino will be less busy. They woke up Gage early and, flabbergasted, he couldn't say no to their airtight legal argument so he opened the vault for them... only to find it empty.

I hope my group's experience might inspire anyone else looking for ideas on alternatives to doing the heist.

I'd have the informant be the judge's wife, who then called Carlile who doesn't like official raids in his casino and this nixed the whole thing politically.

Hmm not sure I get what you're getting to here. Why would the judge's wife put her husband in peril? Also that doesn't answer who in the Grand Council Carlyle is connected to and what threats they would use against the Starwatch.

As for them getting there before franca, why? There's no specific time frame in the AP, just have franca have already taken the thing when they get there.

I wanted to give the party a chance to get to the vault before her because I thought automatically failing and achieving nothing at the casino was too underwhelming. I was expecting that they would either do the heist slow and steady and Franca would get it before them or they would rush to do the heist and catch Franca unprepared forcing her to intervene mid-heist. What I didn't expect was they'd un-stealthily get a warrant.

I had one persistent token guard harass them while they were there so it makes sense he and the rest of that guard are involved. Thanks, I'm gonna use that. That would probably be enough to scare the judge but what about the Grand Council and Starwatch? The book says

Asilia relates a story about a prior investigation a few years ago in which she herself requested access to the Lucky Nimbus’s lockboxes and came up empty-handed. She suspected foul play, but the next morning, a powerful grand councilmember’s adjutant suggested— not so politely—that Asilia drop the matter, which she did.

My players also didn't seem too keen on robbing the casino so I let them try to get a search warrant. They were told they needed some personal connection with a judge to expedite the process so they asked Orvington (the bank owner from book 2) and he so happened to know a guy. They went to the courthouse in disguise and were introduced to Judge Brett who in turn they had to convince that it was of utmost importance that he signs a search warrant right away. I ran this as an infiltration subsystem so the longer they stayed in the courthouse and the more attention they drew to themselves the more awareness points they accumulated. The judge asked for three things:

1. To get him the official search warrant seal from the seal storage room. They got it although not without alerting the clerk.
2. Some evidence to justify the warrant. They went back to the Docks and got Berleth's account in writing.
3. A completed A9 form which is needed to properly declare the evidence. They got it but drew some suspicion.

By the time they returned from the Docks the judge had gone home for the day. And when they returned the next morning there was definitely something up because the judge was missing on sick leave.

This is where we left off. I don't know what happens now, I don't even know who exactly got wind of their plans and stepped in to scare the judge. But there will likely be no casino heist if things keep going this way.

If you guys have any ideas to help me with the next steps with who was Gage's inside man in the courthouse/council and what they did to the judge, that would be great.

Also my players will likely get to the vault before Franca so I need a plan on how she reacts. OmegaZ mentioned he had Franca just fight the PCs but I'm afraid that might be a tad too anticlimactic since it's almost impossible she manages to take the bomb from them and escape both the PCs and everyone else in the casino going after her. Any ideas would be most welcome.

I made troop statblocks for the two gangs that appear in this book. Here's some direct monster.pf2.tools links for convenience:

Washboard Dogs Crew

Diobel Sweepers Crew

For the sake of completionism and in case a serious gang war breaks out in your campaign, here's a Diobel Sweeper gang troop to complement the other one:

Diobel Sweepers Crew — Creature 12
Uncommon N Gargantuan Humanoid Human Troop

Perception +21

Languages Common

Skills Athletics +22, Intimidation +18, Gang Lore +18

Str +7, Dex +3, Con +6, Int +2, Wis +3, Cha +2

Items huge quantities of vials and alchemical reagents (reduced to broken glass and brownish mush after combat)

AC 30; Fort +23, Ref +20, Will +18

HP 240 (16 squares); Thresholds 160 (12 squares), 80 (8 squares); Weaknesses area damage 15, splash damage 8

Troop Defenses

Speed 25 feet; troop movement

Form Up

Alchemical Barrage [2-to-3-action] Frequency once per round Effect The members of the gang throw a barrage of alchemical vials in a 10-Foot Burst raining down 1d12+2 elemental + 4 elemental splash damage (DC 27 Basic Reflex save). Each target rolls 1 additional effect from the table below on a failure (2 on a critical failure). Increase the number of additional effects by 1 if the 3-action version was used:
1. 2d6 persistent acid damage
2. 2 persistent fire damage
3. –10-foot penalty to Speeds
4. Flat-Footed from shock
5. Immobilized for 1 round
6. None

Sweep [1-action] Frequency once per round Effect The members of the gang wildly swing their weapons at each enemy adjacent to the troop dealing 2d12+9 bludgeoning damage (DC 25 Basic Reflex save).

Troop Movement

monster.pf2.tools/v/rH63Qq35

Here's a Washboard Dogs gang troop in case your players are mad enough to take them on:

Washboard Dogs Crew — Creature 11
Uncommon N Gargantuan Humanoid Human Troop

Perception +21

Languages Common

Skills Athletics +22, Intimidation +18, Gang Lore +18

Str +7, Dex +3, Con +6, Int +2, Wis +3, Cha +2

Items assortment of bludgeoning weapons like pipes and morningstars, one washboard each (use steel shield stats)

AC 31; Fort +23, Ref +20, Will +18

HP 210 (16 squares); Thresholds 140 (12 squares), 70 (8 squares); Weaknesses area damage 15, splash damage 8

Shield Block [reaction] Trigger The crew takes damage from a physical attack. Effect They snap the washboards into place to deflect the blow. The shields prevent an amount of damage up to the shields' Hardness. The crew takes any remaining damage.

Troop Defenses

Speed 25 feet; troop movement

Fire Crossbows! [2-action] The gang draw or reload their crossbows, then launch a ranged attack in the form of a volley. This volley is a 10-Foot Burst within 120 feet that deals 5d8 piercing damage (DC 25 Basic Reflex save).

Form a Phalanx [1-action] Many of the gang members raise their washboards to protect others. They gain a +2 circumstance bonus to AC until the start of their next turn.

Form Up

Scary Swing [1-to-3-action] Frequency once per round Effect The gang members wildly swing their weapons at each enemy adjacent to the troop (DC 27 Basic Reflex save). On a failure, the target becomes Frightened 1 and on a critical failure Frightened 2. Add the number of actions used and the target's frightened value:
1. 1d12+2 bludgeoning damage
2. 2d12+9 bludgeoning damage
3. 3d12+9 bludgeoning damage

Scraping Clamor [1-action] (auditory, manipulate) The Washboard Dogs scrape their weapons up and down their washboard shields, making such a clatter that it's hard to hear anything over the din. Until the beginning of the crew's next turn, all creatures within 30 feet gain a +5 circumstance bonus to any saves to resist auditory spells or abilities.

Troop Movement

monster.pf2.tools/v/p7mPHzP2

Instead of the heist automatically failing because Franca Laurentz beat them to it without any chance for success, I had Franca trying to rob the casino at the same time as the Agents. Franca also has connections to the Champion of Milani in the party, both having escaped slavery together, so its personal.

I really like the idea of giving players a chance to stop Franca. But I think it should be really hard to achieve, i.e. they should only be able to do so if they think outside the box and outsmart her. In my campaign Franca is also acquainted to one of the PCs and depending on how they handle it she might learn of their heist plan and execute her own plan one day in advance. The PCs might or might not realise this by her demeanour or whatever.

On a totally unrelated note, I think I noticed a secret story connection: It's heavily implied that Gage got his fortune by aid of a djinni vizier. RAW the djinni is dead when the players get in the vault. There's also some info on Gage that says he really desires to be part of Absalom's upper class but the other rich and nobles aren't accepting him. Now here's where it gets interesting. The Bestiary entry for djinn viziers says

Djinni viziers prefer to manifest wishes in physical, often gaudy displays, but cut corners in quality. Wished-for gold, for example, might only be gold plated

So... add two and two together: Gage wished to be part of the upper class and he got his wish: he's outwardly rich yet the upper class won't accept him as one of their own. His wish got monkey pawed, he got the "gold plated" version of being in the upper class.

Here's an attempt at Sergeant Ollo:

Sergeant Moldun Ollo — Creature 8
Unique LG Medium Humanoid Dwarf

Perception +19; Darkvision

Languages Common, Dwarven

Skills Athletics +19 , Diplomacy +18 , Society +17 , Absalom +17 , Legal +17

Str +4, Dex +1, Con +5, Int +2, Wis +1, Cha +3

Items battle axe, steel shield

AC 26 (28 with shield raised); Fort +20, Ref +14, Will +18

HP 160

Speed 20 feet

Ancient Blood +1 circumstance bonus to saving throws against magical effects

Bravery When Ollo rolls a success on a Will save against a fear effect, they get a critical success instead. In addition, any time he gains the frightened condition, reduce its value by 1.

Quick Shield Block [reaction] At the start of his turns, Ollo gets an additional reaction that he can use only to Shield Block

Melee [1-action] battle axe +21 (attack, sweep), Damage 2d8+2 slashing

Heroes' Call [2-action] (Frequency 1 time per day) Ollo sings of ancient heroes. He or an adjacent dwarf ally gets the effects of 3rd level Heroism. If the target has half or fewer Hit Points they also gain 16 temporary Hit Points.

Swipe [2-action] Ollo makes a melee Strike and compares the attack roll result to the AC of up to two foes, each of whom must be within melee reach and adjacent to each other. Roll damage only once and apply it to each creature he hits. This counts as two attacks for the multiple attack penalty.

monster.pf2.tools/v/o8DPWBod

Not a statblock, but here is a background I drew up for Skinny Bolera to help inspire my players in their Slot 0.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16QeK8PmBFCNtsUiVXTtq2fC7-xhdlIVT/view

That' s awesome, I really love the picture.

How about we share some statblocks we have made for those situations that aren't strictly in the AP but could potentially arise? I'll go first. Here's my take on Detective Desdelen “Skinny” Bolera:

Detective Bolera — Creature 6
Unique, NG, Medium, Humanoid, Half-Elf, Human
female half-elf investigator

Perception +18; low-light vision

Languages Common, Dwarven, Goblin, Undercommon, Kelish

Skills Arcana +15, Deception +13, Diplomacy +13, Occultism +15, Performance +13, Religion +15, Society +15, Stealth +13, Creative Writing +18

Str +0, Dex +2, Con +1, Int +4, Wis +1, Cha +2

Items acid flask, crystal shards, thunderstone, tanglefoot bag, dread ampoule, alchemist's fire, blight bomb, frost vial, ghost charge (all moderate), handcuffs (good), fingerprint kit, forensic dye, blindpepper tube, looter's lethargy

AC 23; Fort +12, Ref +13, Will +12

HP 90

Speed 25 feet

Ranged [1-action] Crossbow +18 (range increment 120 feet, reload 1), Damage 2d6 piercing

Bolera's Interrogation [3-action] (Frequency 3 times per day) She focuses her attention on a single creature within 30 feet. That creature must attempt a Will save against her Perception DC. On a failure, the creature finds itself unable to speak any deliberate and intentional lies and takes a -2 penalty to Deception checks. On a critical failure, the penalty to Deception checks is -4. This effect lasts for 10 minutes.

Devise a Stratagem [1-action] (Frequency once per round) She chooses a creature she can see, Recalls Knowledge on it and Strikes. If the Strike is a failure, the attack never happened. If it's a success, add 7 precision damage, the target becomes flat-footed for one ally's next attack, improve the Recall Knowledge result by one degree.

Expeditious Inspection [free action] (Frequency once per 10 minutes) Assesses surroundings with great speed. Recalls Knowledge, Seeks, or Senses Motive.

Inspire Imitation [reaction] Whenever she critically succeeds at a skill check, she automatically qualifies to use the Aid reaction when attempting to help an ally using the same skill, no preparation needed.

monster.pf2.tools/v/ojxs7sLL

As promised, I wrote a big expansion for the bank robbery investigation, which you can read here.

I thought I would share my notes on how to expand the bank robbery investigation in the beginning of book 2.

Copper Hand missive
Instead of being handed a list of 6 leads and Ralso's journal entry about the letter, the players start with only a single clue: the letter Ralso got from the Copper Hands. If the players didn't recover this on their own, perhaps someone else cleaning up the murder hotel did or even better maybe Ralso willingly divulged its location to the PCs as part of a plea bargain. it simply says "R, Got a job if you’re interested. Big money in plain sight, strike while the streets are soaked with tourists. We need a jimmy. You in?" with a Copper Hand seal. To decode it they would either need Ralso's cooperation or a Decipher Writing DC 19 check (Lore Underworld or similar also work). If you think it's fun you can give the players partial clues like "R refers to Ralso", "streets soaked with tourists refers to the radiant parade", "big money in plain sight refers to a bank" and "the seal is from a gang called the Copper Hand"... and see if they can figure out the rest on their own. At any rate, at the end of this stage, one way or the other, they should have learned at least that there's a group of thieves called the Copper Hand who are planning to rob a bank using the radiant parade as a cover.

Radiant parade route
if the players express interest in investigating the radiant parade, they might learn that while the main event takes place on some specific date (of your choice), there is also a number of rehearsals they can attend. While the main event goes through every district (except the puddles), the rehearsals take place in one district at a time, cycling through districts each day, with partial attendance from floats while many floats show up in varying states of completion.

Here is the route of the radiant parade that your players should get access to soon after they express interest. Each district segment is marked with a different colour. On the big day, the parade will start at the Hall of Nations and end near the Starstone Chasm.

Rehearsals
By attending rehearsals the PCs can get info on the floats or speak with the participants. The Copper Hand thieves attend only the last rehearsal that takes place at the Coins, obviously with fewer people, unarmed, without the clown/stitchskin and their ship float has no mast nor sail.

Talking to the participants or following the participants back to their workshops after the rehearsal might trigger the scene that in the original AP happens at the tannery. Reflavour the NPCs and scenery as necessary depending on where it happens. The important clue that gets uncovered is that there was a float or theatre machinery depicting Aroden raising the Starstone out of the ocean but the pneumatic telescoping cylinder part that did the lifting was stolen, ruining the best part of the effect. Most of the float makers reside in the Ivy District having a background in theatre prop making. But of course if the PCs pay close attention they might notice that the ship float is one of the few that goes somewhere else: to the Foreign Quarter. They can follow it there to the thieves' warehouse on Richmore street in Vudratown.

Here's some descriptions you can use for the rehearsals:

(Coins district only) there's too many people, it's already crowded on a normal day, the addition of the floats and the tourists completely erase the notion of personal space

fireworks, crackers, kids in colourful costumes

some vendors have not packed up their stuff so some floats don't fit causing a traffic jam

most floats seem non-functional or half-finished, most are not yet painted and some props or details are missing

lots of ads, almost all floats are sponsored by some shop or church which is displayed prominently

Cayden Cailean float has the hiccups and appears to drink a never ending mug of beer, with illusionary foam and drink spilling continuously on his chin

clockwork Iomedae float with raise shield action

siege engine float with some sort of crowned angel statue on top (Kharnas)

empty chariot with decorative axes with a huge "Oggvurm Blood City Champion" sign

keleshite float with dancers dressed as djinns breathing out smoky clouds in various shapes and designs, the sign says "Lucky Nimbus" (this one might catch fire and cause a ruckus at your discretion)

ship float with no sails or mast

Potential banks

At some point the PCs need to try to narrow down the potential banks that might be targeted. They can cross-reference an index of the city's banks with the parade route or just walk the route and check what banks are on the way. If the players don't come up with this, have Ollo or Bolera gently nudge them e.g. "if only we had a way to filter the banks to know which ones to focus on". Letting them roll a skill check for ideas is also fine. One way or another, they get a list of banks located along the route of the parade.

Here's a map of possible locations for the banks in the Coins district.

Show a rough sketch of each bank's layout to the players if possible to help them visualise the place and how the robbery might play out.

Orvington: Run it as written. Extra clues if the PCs keep coming back: Perception DC 10 to notice Urthar is on unpaid leave, Craft DC 20 to notice the iron bars are of exceptional quality, Nature DC 15 the dogs are excellent guards. Security: dogs, iron bars and guards etc indicate it's pretty good (walls withstood the Fiendflesh Siege after all :P).

Penny & Sphinx: Run it as written. Extra clues if the PCs keep coming back: Perception DC 20 collapsible ladder, Craft DC 20 iron bars to conference room are decorative, Society DC 20 Kolo duties/salary reduced. Security: indirectly indicate that it's so-so, the decorative bars should be the best clue they can get about this fact. The large lawn and tall fence should be emphasised.

Stonesworn: Run as written, possibly simplifying the spider/xill encounter. Extra clues if the PCs keep coming back: Craft DC 20 walls are exceptionally thick, iron filigree is of exceptional hardness and very well integrated with the stone. Security: make a big show of the magical rune-covered vault "turn around so I can input the code that unlocks the door", make sure to comment on her obvious adventurer background or the proprietor.

Chadraxa: She might mistake the PCs for token guards and ask them about the complaint she has filed (Urthar owing her money; depending on the conversation she may inadvertently confess to the vandalism). She might also mistake the PCs for representatives of the Mudcrackers who came here to resolve her business permit approval case. She does not tell them about Percen Droan unless they ask specifically about him. Chadraxa insinuates she has some very valuable intel but helping her with her troubles or otherwise convincing her to talk should at best produce a simple clue like "talk to the float makers" or "X bank has very tight security". Extra clues if the PCs keep coming back: teenage couple trying to sell a grandfather clock they stole (red herring), smugglers and other criminal elements the PCs might have missed from elsewhere might show up here to do business.

Vault of Abadar: The only bank outside of the Coins that is on the parade route. Should be obvious from the construction and the Brotherhood of Abadar Vigilance Committee barracks being housed right next door that the security here is impeccable.

Asking other district guards
The PCs might decide to send a note to other districts to ask if they have heard of this Copper Hand gang. If they don't, maybe Ollo takes initiative and does this anyway. In that case only the Mudcrackers send a positive response. Ziraya tells them she's seen a symbol that depicts a copper hand on some smuggler delivery crates she witnessed a few days ago, leading the PCs to the smugglers' lair.

If the PCs actually visit other district guards and show Ralso's letter and the seal on it, they might learn more. Melipdra of the Sleepless Suns might recognise the seal but wouldn't know the exact location of the thieves' lair, knowing perhaps that they are based in Vudratown. Runewulf of the Graycloaks will for sure recognise the symbol but not the name, noting they've been looking for a gang like that. He might or might not be willing to talk about a patrol chasing the suspects and losing them after they descended into the catacombs. If the players insist on exploring the catacombs, gently remind them they are on a timer about a certain bank robbery.

The Token Guard is of course too corrupt to tell them the truth, but industrious PCs with some serious time investment might convince someone to spill the beans about the Copper Hand bribing them to delay their arrival at Penny & Sphinx on the parade day or find other evidence of the deal. If the PCs look up the goblin burglar Quidle, they are told no goblin of that name had ever been arrested but maybe they can manage to take a peek at the prisoner log and see that the name was actually in the files but crossed out. Don't forget to tell the PCs about how there's a queue of criminals outside the building, waiting to pay 1 copper each to bail out their comrades.

Vudratown
The PCs might get here by following the ship float during a rehearsal or asking Melipdra about the Copper Hand symbol or some other way. Gathering information (DC 15-20) might reveal the following info (takes at least 4-8 hours each): pickpockets have increased the past few years (crit: especially since this Donavon Rachoir showed up), some of the names of low-ranked Copper Hand associates (crit: names of higher-ups), sightings of weretigers and fiends (crit: the location of a building they were seen entering, which is of course the thieves' hideout), a troubled bespectacled young man that is never out and about by himself (Gribse). If they ask around specifically about Rachoir: his death was a result of some gang war business. If they ask around specifically about Fayati: enigmatic, quite the character, full of mystery and finesse.

If the PCs investigate the ownership of the warehouse or Rachoir at the Sleepless Suns, they might learn he owns a lot of properties in this neighbourhood: The warehouse where the ship float is stored, a 2-story townhouse where 4 poor families are squatting, an old 4-story tenement building with a doss house on the ground floor (the thieves' hideout), a dilapidated building, only the façade is okay, the insides are completely gutted and ruined.

Stake-out: If the PCs find the warehouse/workshop where the thieves store and work on their float, they might examine the float closely. A DC 20 Craft check should let them know it can be made to sway left and right wildly and that there is no hollow space to store loot or any other bulky object. If they decide to do a stake-out, run it like an infiltration subsystem. The objectives are a series of events that happen around the warehouse which the PCs might listen in if they bypass obstacles and get close enough.

The objectives/events are: (1) Aarushi stands guard since last night, (2) Timos comes from the hideout after sunrise and tells her the masts are ready and he needs help carrying them, (3) they leave together (the warehouse is left unguarded) and go to the thieves' hideout, which is about 15 minutes walk away, on the way they talk about how many cylinders there are and how all 3 must be placed inside each other to make up the mast, (4) they return carrying the thickest cylinder, which looks wooden but that's just a coat of paint, they discuss what tools they might need, (5) they go inside the warehouse and install the cylinder on the ship, they talk about how impossibly heavy the drill is and how they have a special carrier guy for it sent by "the others", (6) they go to the hideout to take the second cylinder, discuss about how the pocket stage works on the way nervous about whether it will malfunction, (7) while installing the cylinder they discuss how many teams there will be (initially two but second team will split later), (8) they are having trouble installing it and argue loudly about "why do we need it to extend so high?" "we need it to cover the distance between the fence and the window", (9) they leave arguing about how it should be installed all the way, (10) they come back with Gribse, joking on the way about him making an escape attempt, (11) inside the warehouse Gribse shows them how it must be installed and instructs them on how to press the button to activate it, (12) they leave for the day

Possible obstacles include: (long-distance) Avoiding the thieves noticing them, possible crash with children playing on wheelbarrow/skate, curious old man asking them lots of questions. (close distance) Thieves notice them as they leave or come back, thieves search and seek around the premises for anything odd. (inside the warehouse) too much noise, thieves are whispering, thieves angrily throwing tools around might hit them.

Accumulating awareness points causes complications: the thieves stop being so chatty, they lower their voices, they check the warehouse for signs of intrusion, they become suspicious of anyone approaching and so on. Too many awareness points and they call things off, possibly alerting Fayati that their whole operation is in jeopardy.

Hideout: If the PCs find the thieves' hideout before the robbery, the thieves will be more relaxed than as-written and won't be preparing to hightail it. If the PCs ask for advice, Ollo or someone else tells them that raiding the hideout now might not bring in enough evidence for a successful criminal conviction (if tested, this proves false actually, since there's lots of loot and other illegal things in the hideout) and will surely alert the thieves their bank robbery plans are not secret, which will make them change things up, invalidating any prior investigation and clues.

Smugglers' lair

The PCs might learn about this by asking the Mudcrackers whether they've heard of the Copper Hand or not. They haven't heard of it per-se but Ziraya is perceptive enough to connect the name with the symbol she's seen on some crates the smugglers have been moving around. Alternatively the PCs might wander to the Stilt House trying to help Chadraxa, in which case try to find any excuse for Ziraya to ask them about the case and comment on the related smugglers she has been watching.

If the PCs locate the smugglers' ledger, they do not automatically learn that the Penny & Sphinx is the target of the robbery. They discover instead that the Copper Hand had ordered some mundane items like sails, paint, clown make-up, pirate costumes and other things that would be appropriate for building a ship parade float. They also discover that they ordered some caltrops and other things they need for the robbery (check their inventories from the robbery chapter for examples). If they question Droan, he might reveal that the leader of the Copper Hand is called Fayati and is of Vudran descent, tidbits about her personality and possibly even that her hideout is in the Foreign Quarter. He can also reveal that she wanted to buy some sort of extendible pneumatic telescoping cylinder which he couldn't sell to her because he hasn't the slightest idea what that is or how to acquire it.

What happens if the PCs fail the smuggler lair? The smugglers won't stick around for long, they will split up, divide the loot and lay low for a few weeks. Luckily, if the PCs or Ziraya are in the vicinity they can follow one of them. After confronting them there might be a chase (sample obstacles: festival crowd, twisting alleyways, wooden fence, guard dog, rickety rooftops) and upon arrest they could exchange their freedom for the location of Percen Droan's hiding place, where the PCs get a second chance at fighting and catching him, this time with fewer grunts around.

Library
(Optional) If the PCs have any contacts with Forae Logos or the Learned Guard you can present them with a new "unrelated" case. A librarian insists a book has been stolen but that makes no sense because it's such a common book that is not worth stealing. In fact what happened is Fayati stole it for fun instead of purchasing it from a store like a normal person. The title of the book is "The Tallest Masts of the Inner Sea" and obviously she needs it to research her ship float.

Putting it all together
Cross-referencing the parade route with the bank registry yields 5 possible banks as targets. From investigating the banks, it's obvious Chadraxa isn't a serious target. The Vault and Stonesworn employ extremely serious defences and security measures. That leaves Orvington and Penny & Sphinx. Of those Orvington is probably a bit stronger. From investigating everything else they might learn that the Copper Hand will use a ship float which can sway left and right and has an extendible mast. Penny & Sphinx is the only bank where this sort of arrangement is relevant due to its tall fence and large lawn.

If they don't figure out which bank is the most likely target, they might have at least learned about the ship float, so all that is left is follow it during the parade and wait and see which bank it attacks. Obviously this way the thieves get a head start. Conversely, if they figured out the bank but not the float, they might be a bit more surprised when it sways and crashes into the lawn and the window.

Conclusion

The whole investigation took 9 sessions before my players were confident enough to skip to the day of the parade. If you want something shorter, just select some of the above parts you think are superfluous or long-winded and skip them.

Feel free to add your own notes and ideas about how to expand the bank robbery investigation in this thread. All contributions are welcome!