This could be fun. We're currently running "Tides of Dread." My PC's spent their last few minutes of gametime last week deciding to go on a hunting excursion, seeking animal hides for the tannery. They invited Tolin of the Jade Ravens along due to his good survival skill, and since the two parties are on decent terms (save for Tolin's dislike of the rogue, who is romancing Lavinia), he came along. Well, in their first hunting encounter, the dice handed them a herd of 5 triceratops. They figured they'd give it a shot. In the first round, a trike charged and dropped the psion from full health to 4 hp, at which point the psion teleported back to Farshore. The others also decided to get out of dodge, with the cleric summoning a celestial eagle and the three remaining characters riding it to safety. Problem: Tolin was cut off and was left behind to suffer a grisly death at the hands of the 5 territorial trikes. This week, upon arriving back in Farshore, they'll get to explain to the rest of the JRs why their friend didn't come home. I'm looking for ideas on how to play this up. I've decided the Ravens won't be happy and will set out on an expedition to reclaim Tolin's body, but should they be seriously miffed? How should Lavinia react? One of my players in particular has a rather nonchalant attitude about the fate of NPCs (the cleric, *irony*), so I'd kind of like to shake them up a bit. Any ideas are much appreciated!
*SPOILERS*
That's not going to help their "heroic" reputations much, to the extent that Lavinia will likely lose the election with such chumps campaigning for her, and no one will listen to them when the pirates attack. If they manage to save Farshore, then maybe that will redeam them somewhat, but if they lose the battle because, in part, of the lost election, I'd say the other residents will kick them out and make them go live in the jungle. Where curious tricetatopses can attack them at will.
I would imagine that Zan would suspect foul play the most out of the Ravens; since in the backdrop it says that he's begun to see the PCs as symbols of his entrapment on the Isle of Dread. Liamae and Kaskus may be a bit more enclined to believe that it could have been an accident, though they would hold the PCs with at the very least some responsibility. If none of them express even a shade of remorse, they're in deep trouble, I would say. And depending on their actions, maybe an alignment hit is in order if they didn't even TRY to help him. It makes for a good story if you make the consequences of their actions very real. Meravanchi may scoff at the idea of entrusting Farshore's safety to a group of people so obviously negligent, so it may result in some problems during the defense.
Don't give the PCs any hint as a DM to what the reactions are going to be. Let them get back to Farshore and have them explain what happened to the JR and Lavinia. When they get to the part where they all left Tolin there and didn't even go back and try to fight for him to keep up, have the NPCs focus on that part and repeatedly ask about it. "You.. you didn't even try? Tolin didn't deserve such a fate.." Nothing the PCs can say should "fix" this.
Zan immediately goes out to the tavern and starts ranting about what the PCs did, and everyone hears about it rather quickly. Kaskus and Liamae begin public preparation to go and retrieve their leader's body and give him a proper burial. Zan agrees to join them, but not before he tries his best to ruin the reputation of the party. The people of Farshore solemnly wish Kaskus and Liamae luck on a mission that looks very difficult (think of the people when Faramir is leaving on that hopeless charge of knights in the third Lord of the Rings movie).
If the PCs don't accompany them at all to help, I would have Kaskus and Zan return with Liamae's body, shamed that they couldn't complete their task and lost another member. Zan loudly makes it clear to Lavinia that she needs to either choose the PCs or the Ravens. If she is convinced to refuse Zan and keep the party on staff, Zan joins the Meravanchi cause. Manthalay Meravanchi uses a sending spell to order a cleric teleported from Sasserine to cast raise dead on Liamae. Spending a considerable portion of his personal wealth to do this wins him Liamae and Zan campaigning vigorously for him.
If the PCs do accompany the Ravens to find Tolin's body, they encounter evidence that some dinosaur dragged Tolin back to a nest. Following the trail, they come upon the nest of a large mother carnivore dinosaur (pick one that will challenge the party AND the Ravens together) and some young. A search of the nest shows a mostly eaten body of Tolin and half of his gear, and some ancient gear from other creatures. I suggest even throwing in a single expensive item or a diamond for raise dead, so that the party and the Ravens can argue over who should receive it (of course the Ravens think Tolin should be raised). If they do all that they can to help, I'd let the PCs off the hook.
Don't give the PCs any hint as a DM to what the reactions are going to be. Let them get back to Farshore and have them explain what happened to the JR and Lavinia. When they get to the part where they all left Tolin there and didn't even go back and try to fight for him to keep up, have the NPCs focus on that part and repeatedly ask about it. "You.. you didn't even try? Tolin didn't deserve such a fate.." Nothing the PCs can say should "fix" this.
Zan immediately goes out to the tavern and starts ranting about what the PCs did, and everyone hears about it rather quickly. Kaskus and Liamae begin public preparation to go and retrieve their leader's body and give him a proper burial. Zan agrees to join them, but not before he tries his best to ruin the reputation of the party. The people of Farshore solemnly wish Kaskus and Liamae luck on a mission that looks very difficult (think of the people when Faramir is leaving on that hopeless charge of knights in the third Lord of the Rings movie).
If the PCs don't accompany them at all to help, I would have Kaskus and Zan return with Liamae's body, shamed that they couldn't complete their task and lost another member. Zan loudly makes it clear to Lavinia that she needs to either choose the PCs or the Ravens. If she is convinced to refuse Zan and keep the party on staff, Zan joins the Meravanchi cause. Manthalay Meravanchi uses a sending spell to order a cleric teleported from Sasserine to cast raise dead on Liamae. Spending a considerable portion of his personal wealth to do this wins him Liamae and Zan campaigning vigorously for him.
If the PCs do accompany the Ravens to find Tolin's body, they encounter evidence that some dinosaur dragged Tolin back to a nest. Following the trail, they come upon the nest of a large mother carnivore dinosaur (pick one that will challenge the party AND the Ravens together) and some young. A search of the nest shows a mostly eaten body of Tolin and half of his gear, and some ancient gear from other creatures. I...
Excellent Sterling I like It!!!