How long is Ilthane assumed to have reached Diamond Lake before the PCs?
Shag Solomon has already left town. The Prince of Redhand states that Prof Marat sent for him as soon as he heard about Ilthane's attack. However, Alhaster is hundreds of miles away!
It's only 3 days to Greyhawk, probably less if you trade horses out at some of the other communities along the way.
Shouldn't Greyhawk have sent someone to take Ilthane out by now? I guess one could assume that Greyhawk sent the PCs there for that very reason, but it kind of ruins the surprise.
I think I'll have Ilthane's attack occur in the wee hours, before sunrise, just a few hours before the PCs get there. Marat will have already been in town, visiting, & will have already enticed Shag & company away (he may have invited Zalamandra, too, but she could have refused, or died in the attack). The PCs will have arrived just in time for Capt Trask to ask for their help.
Thoughts?
How long is Ilthane assumed to have reached Diamond Lake before the PCs?
Shag Solomon has already left town. The Prince of Redhand states that Prof Marat sent for him as soon as he heard about Ilthane's attack. However, Alhaster is hundreds of miles away!
It's only 3 days to Greyhawk, probably less if you trade horses out at some of the other communities along the way.
Shouldn't Greyhawk have sent someone to take Ilthane out by now? I guess one could assume that Greyhawk sent the PCs there for that very reason, but it kind of ruins the surprise.
I think I'll have Ilthane's attack occur in the wee hours, before sunrise, just a few hours before the PCs get there. Marat will have already been in town, visiting, & will have already enticed Shag & company away (he may have invited Zalamandra, too, but she could have refused, or died in the attack). The PCs will have arrived just in time for Capt Trask to ask for their help.
Thoughts?
There are a lot of ways to do this section. Somewhere (wrap-up to CB or intro to Gathering) they mention that word comes to Greyhawk of Ilthane's attack on Diamond Lake, and indicate that as a hook to get the PCs to return home. When the PCs arrive, Ilthane has been sitting atop Whispering Cairn for a couple of days, waiting for Allustan (trapped in stasis) to come back out. If you want to make Ilthane's visit a surprise and the PCs already have a good reason to return to DL, I'm sure it works fine, though.
There are a lot of ways to do this section. Somewhere (wrap-up to CB or intro to Gathering) they mention that word comes to Greyhawk of Ilthane's attack on Diamond Lake, and indicate that as a hook to get the PCs to return home. When the PCs arrive, Ilthane has been sitting atop Whispering Cairn for a couple of days, waiting for Allustan (trapped in stasis) to come back out. If you want to make Ilthane's visit a surprise and the PCs already have a good reason to return to DL, I'm sure it works fine, though.
The end of CB says something like "it seems a dragon has come to town," but it doesn't indicate that the PCs should know this. The reason given for their return is that they find Eligos note, which indicates they should return to Allustan so he can put them in touch with Tenser.
The end of CB says something like "it seems a dragon has come to town," but it doesn't indicate that the PCs should know this. The reason given for their return is that they find Eligos note, which indicates they should return to Allustan so he can put them in touch with Tenser.
There are a lot of ways to do this section. Somewhere (wrap-up to CB or intro to Gathering) they mention that word comes to Greyhawk of Ilthane's attack on Diamond Lake, and indicate that as a hook to get the PCs to return home. When the PCs arrive, Ilthane has been sitting atop Whispering Cairn for a couple of days, waiting for Allustan (trapped in stasis) to come back out. If you want to make Ilthane's visit a surprise and the PCs already have a good reason to return to DL, I'm sure it works fine, though.
True, assuming that Eligos died without finishing his note.
But, presumably Eligos would be more inclined to send the PCs to Tenser than Allustan, who is, after all, supposed to be estranged from the archmage. I can't remember if the note mentions Tenser at all.
IMC, I plan to have Eligos narrowly escape the assassination with the aid of a teleport scroll, leaving the note unfinished. My PCs have already keyed in on Ilthane as an important figure related to the spread of the worms, and will almost certainly come rushing back to Diamond Lake as soon as they hear news of the attack.
Anyhow, like many of the transitions between segments of this AP, this one is somewhat vague and thus fairly flexible.