Bit of background...
Party of 6 now
Human Fighter uses Longspear as weapon of choice
Dwarven Fighter/Rogue Trapfinder going to Dungeon Delver
Human Sorcerer Strong Dragon bloodline, getting Dragon feats from CArc
Human Cleric of Heironous Borderline paladin type
Human Paladin of Heironous
Human Wizard/Cleric of Wee Jas
Okay they are currently dealing with the cults below Diamond Lake, cleared out the Hextorites without too much trouble, moved on to the Grimlocks next. To get into the mine, they bribed their way down with one of the guards. The dwarf has worked as a miner and a mine guard and knew one of the guards. Well the poor sorcerer found out what a bad critical from an arrow can do. To get him out of the mine and rezed, the dwarf bluffed his way past the cult guards that now guard the entrance of the mine. So he gets back down to the rest of the party with the sorcerer. Now with the battle with the chief two more characters (fighter and paladin) die. I think the party is just going to leave, get their people back and head back in.
For this campaign, each character gets one relatively cheap raise dead just to let things progess along for the first few deadly levels.
Now they are going to the garrison for help. What would the garrison do. They have information that there is an evil cult below the town. I am thinking they will send troops out to secure the area and not let anyone in or out. The party once rested will be sent in to clear out the area. They have experience and are 'expendable'. Smenk of course has a problem because of the supplies down there with his markings. So he will quickly report a robbery from one of his warehouses to cover his butt. However what can Dourstone do? No way to say "I had no idea". Is he out of luck and will be arrested? The other mine managers would support this I believe, one less for them to deal with. Or would he have enough power to deflect this (They threatened me and my family, miners, etc.?)
Also how will the mayor and the sheriff react to this display of power from the garrison in the town itself? Try to stand up to them or let them do thier thing hoping they don't get questioned why they didn't know about the cult.
Just looking for some ideas how this could go down.
Thanks
Hi there
Though a similar situation didn't happen in my game, I had made it clear early on that the garrison and the town 'government' were at odds.
The garrison would regard any story about evil cultists or whatnot as yet another Diamond Lake 'wild story', and be very dismissive of it. The place is crawling with iniquity after all... so rumors about an evil cult probably pop up often enough. Some garrison soldiers might even regard it as some tactic used by the religious to try and 'purge' the town.
In any case, even with evidence presented, the garrison more or less doesn't care what happens in Diamond Lake; it's not really their problem. THey have greater concerns; let the local law sort it out.
At least, that is how I ran it in my game, where the political situation is more along the lines of Diamond Lake being an independent settlement very dependent on the Free City for trade... the garrison is for the Free City, and has nothing to do legally with Diamond Lake.
Well, with two thirds of the cult confronted by the players, I don't think there'd be too much missed story wise to have a unit of soldiers come down. If the party wants to short cut the adventure by calling in the cavalry, go ahead and cut it short.
Have the party return to the temple at the head of a squadron of soldiers and have them meet the Faceless One standing at the pool waiting for them. Prepare a monolog if the party allows him one, but ultimately it should end with him summoning the ebon aspect. Sure the PCs are probably a level low because they skipped a lot of the dungeon, but they have all those crunchy 1st level warriors to absorb hits. If you can arrange it, have the Faceless One flee back to his lair during the slaughter and the PCs can chase him into the maze for an 'Enter the Dragon' 'where's the enemy' finale.
I think the garrison will take notice and believe the party when there are three worshippers of Heironous (paladin, cleric and fighter) telling them that their hated enemy Hextor (I figure that Hextor and Heironous hate each other alot, not just because of opposing alignments and spheres of influence, but I believe they are also brothers), and then dropping holy symbols and statues of Hextor on the floor.
So I think this will happen...
Garrison musters and moves to the mine. Sealing it up and not letting anyone in or out. Anyone trying to get out are checked and moved off to the side. Most miners are allowed to go.
Everyone knows that this is bad for business so they don't get in the way. Dourstone however, turns himself into the Sheriff. Of course nothing will happen to him once the proper fines are paid but it will keep him out of the hands of the Garrison. He will of course try to find some way to get revenge on the party. Smenk simply reports his goods as stolen. The garrison does not push the issue since they know they have stepped outside thier boundries a bit.
Now to see about replacing the Kenku of the maze with something else. Thinking Dark Stalkers and Creepers to play up the darkness part of the maze.
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These are my views on the subject.
I would have the garrison do nothing. Being a cult of an evil god is not illegal. The players bringing evidence of the cults existance is not enough to have Captain Trask mobilise the troops. This is actually stated in the adventure. Also remember that the Chapel of Heironeous is not the leadership of the garrison. The soldiers are Free City Militia and not warriors of Heironeous. No matter how much Heironeous and Hextor hate each other, it still won't make the Captain act.
Furthermore, the players don't have Dourstone's permission to go into the mine. So they're breaking and entering. The cults have permission, and thus the right, to be were they are and are doing nothing illegal (stated in the adventure). So the players attacking and killing the cultists can be seen as murder.
I would make the players understand that if they go for outside help, the Governor-Mayor would have, at the demand of Ragnolin, Sheriff Cubbin arrest them. If they resist arrest, the Captain would be forced to send in the garrison troops to aid the Sheriff. From the first page to the last of the Backdrop: Diamond Lake article it says that politics in Diamond Lake is down and dirty and that Lanod Neff enjoys the statis quo,so the players would get in trouble with the law if they go big. Calling in the garrison is BIG.
Given Greyhawk's history of problems with evil cults, if you're playing in that setting, even the ordinarily neutral Trask would have to be concerned, and he would be lobbied by Valkus Dun to take a more active role. Trask would see Ebon Triad as a threat if the party presents clear evidence of the size of its operation. However, that sense of concern is counterbalanced by the fact that Trask will be in trouble with his superiors if he oversteps his bounds. I think he would be more inclined to provide "covert aid" that would give him plausible deniability in the event that things go wrong.
So, surrounding Dourstone mine or sending a platoon of troops in to secure the place is out. Providing magical help (wand of Cure wounds, potions, scrolls, etc.) would work, as long as the items could not be linked with the garrison, and even providing a helper or two (Melinde, for example) to help the party is a possibility.
I think it's best not to "rescue" the party if it's avoidable, but don't force the party to complete the mission either. If they leave the Vecna temple untouched, though, there should be some consequences down the road--e.g. a buffed up version of the Ebon Aspect rampages through Diamond Lake while they're off fighting Lizardfolk (or they return in the middle of its rampage and are forced to investigate where it came from--you can then lead them into the Vecna Temple section of 3FOE scaled to whatever level they're at).
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.. and he would be lobbied by Valkus Dun to take a more active role.
Providing magical help (wand of Cure wounds, potions, scrolls, etc.) would work, as long as the items could not be linked with the garrison, and even providing a helper or two (Melinde, for example) to help the party is a possibility.
The backdrop says that Valkus tends to step on Trask's toes alot, resulting in tons of tension between the two. I can't see Dun's lobbying having much effect.
On the other hand, I can see Valkus doing all he can to help. He would provide the magical help behind the Captain's back. I can also totally see Melinde charging in to help the players.
Oh, yes! Status quo. Not statis, oops.