ToastmanTom's page

Does anyone else feel like the Queen's Banquet has a LOT of NPCs? Between Manticce, Molly Mayapple (who I've subbed out for a player-written NPC), and the 9 other guests, that's 11 people the DM is in charge of role-playing. To avoid having this be all me talking to myself, I'm considering letting each of my players role-play a guest in addition to everything else they've got going on. Now I just have to decide if I want to give Hei-Fen to one of my players. It could deepen their connection to her, but it could also be hard to pull off without spoilers.

Interesting take. How does the Sarini get her contract, when it's in the Wasp Nest itself?

You could have Bloso Suggest it. ;)

Yeah, that was my thought as well. Left to her own devices she could find some suggestible person to bring her contract up to the coffee shop, and then bide her time until someone with an obvious connection to the Sarinis comes in, then ride back with him.

I'm not sure why she would risk starting a fight between the dottari and the Ravens if it might expose her.

I agree that it doesn't make logical sense for her to take actions that risk her contract, like provoking a fight with the Ravens. I see her as more driven by revenge and inflicting pain than any kind of logic, though. She's been craving bloodshed for a long time, and she's only got a Wisdom of 10, so....

Also I played Blosodriette as a truly foul-mouthed imp who insulted the PCs creatively as they tried to capture her, and that was really fun, so I want to do that again. :)

Would you be able to elaborate? I'd love to hear your idea!

What, you want to hear me talk about my game ideas!? Oh, if I must... :)

I'm still working it out. I mostly didn't like the rapid hideout leapfrog from the coffee house to the Tooth & Nail to the Lucky Bones, so I thought I could accomplish several goals with a raid on the coffee house: 1) raise the stakes now that their rebellion is actually getting some traction, 2) remind them that their actions may have unforeseen consequences, 3) give them a reason to go to the Tooth & Nail (two of my characters already chose that as their workplace, so it's an obvious choice), and 4) introduce more of the flavor of the noble classes, who have been absent thus far. I'm picturing a young Sarini noble (totally a Draco Malfoy-esque clone) getting his/her hands both on Blosodriette and the knowledge of the Silver Ravens' whereabouts and going in without notifying Thrune so he/she can get all the glory. Even when the players win, their base will have been compromised, and they will have royally pissed off the Sarinis. Capturing Laria is something I'm still toying with. The PCs didn't really take to her, so she's not serving much of a function now. Captured, she'd give them more of a reason to hate Thrune.

My problem is this; my PCs are level 4 and due to forgetting the little imp, I haven't done any of the security checks or had the PCs look for her. Indeed, they've mostly forgotten about the problem in the Wasp Nest itself. In game, they haven't been spending a lot of time there though; they've been mostly at the Tooth and Nail or gallivanting around Old Kintargo.

I find myself in the exact same position. And while I could just let it go, I feel like it makes more sense to have there be some kind of consequences for their inaction. I'm thinking I might have the little bugger finally figure out a way to get her contract into the hands of a lesser Sarini, who then tries to prove herself by raiding the Wasp's Nest. This also has the added bonus of pushing the players towards the Tooth and Nail or the Lucky Bones. Maybe Laria will even get captured.

Am I missing something, or is the answer to the Mystery of the Devil's Bells just, "they ring every time an insane undead cleric decides to ring them"? Because my player who is building a character around the 'Pattern Seeker' trait is going to be mighty underwhelmed when he discovers that, many play sessions from now. The Player's Guide certainly plays them up as a more important mystery than that.

I suppose I could keep it that way to mess with him, and show him that sometimes there really just is no pattern, but it still feels unsatisfying. I'm also considering that, as a corrupted priest of Aroden, he can feel whenever a piece of Kintargo's knowledge or culture is lost, so that every time a book is redacted or a citizen dies, he feels the need to mark its passing.

Anyone else have ideas on how to RP this?

Great suggestions, all. I'll check these out.

My group of Lvl 7 players has gotten obsessed with a tower that isn't really all that special as written, so I'd like to beef it up into a 1-2 session dungeon crawl that'll live up to their expectations. I'd love to find an existing tower/monastery/spire scenario that I could adapt to fit our setting. Any suggestions? Something with a divine or fey flavor would be even cooler.