Kraken's cove - keeping it on track

[DocFaustus]

This weekend my players and I going to be playing our second session of The Bullywug Gambit. They're a little way into the the battles with the savage pirates in Kraken's cove and they aren't in the best of shape. Three of the four characters are diseased already and morale is running a bit low.

They're toying with the idea of taking the Sea Wyvern (which they haven't explored at all yet) to go back to town and return in a two or three days with more healing supplies to keep them going. I can't fault them for wanting to play it safe, but I feel that such a plan would through off the encounter with Harliss and the discovert of the plan to attack Vanderboren manor. After all, in two or three days time, Harliss would probably either have found a way out of the caves and fled for parts unknown or would finally have fallen in battle with the remaining savage pirates. I'd like to keep the players in Kraken's cove for a little while longer, but I don't want to simply railroad them.

Here's what I came up with. Put a few low level crewmen loyal to Harliss, freaked out but otherwise undiseased, on the Sea Wyvern. If my players go onto the ship to take it back to town, I'll have them put up a little resistence and eventually agree to turn the ship over to my players in they agree to go back into the caves to rescue Harliss.

So what does everyone think? Would my players leaving for a few days indeed throw off later events for the campaign? Are my plans to keep them in the cove worth trying? Any other suggestions of how to handle the situation?

Thanks for any comments or advice...

[Pygon]

Sounds like a good attempt to keep the players there.

If they refuse to stay and head back to town, the crewmen could spit at the PC's feet and tell them "they deserve the same fate Captain Harliss sent her first mate to put upon the Vanderboren family".

This should hopefully perk up the PC's ears, and they can get enough of Harliss' tale to know Vanthus' involvement and that they need to hoof it to Sasserine as fast as they can.

Harliss could still contact the PC's later, after hearing from her other sources that Vanthus wasn't on good terms with his family when he caused all the trouble.

Another possibility that strains believability:

* Harliss and her first mate managed to hold out that long in the caves, but were unable to leave because of all the savage creatures. But finally, as the creatures' conditions weakened and they started succumbing to their disease and dying off, Harliss covered her first mate's retreat but got cut off again (perhaps some slaves broke out of their cages - "I'm not leaving you here, mistress!" "Get yer green hide outta here afore I run ya through myself!") and is putting up a fight against the few remaining savage pirates/slaves when the PC's finally reach her. They can then get the tale from her, and find out that she only recently sent her first mate to the Vanderboren manor.

This route at least allows the PC's to get some more XP if the festival encounters don't level them up.

[Pygon]

Another possibility is that the PC's simply go back to Sasserine and decide to stop by Livinia's manor. If so, they get a surprise attack from some Bullywugs! This steals away the drama of racing back to town to save Livinia, but maintains more consistency with the intended timeline.

[Drawdy]

Check out the Sea Wyvern side bar on page 18. It states that you need a crew of at least 7 to sail her, so there's an easy "out" for you.

[MrFish]

I can't really add more except this general advice: I myself am planning to make the drama come as much from the pcs' actions as anything else. Sometimes that can be even more fun. I think that if they find something in the game interesting and want to go in depth a little more means that you're doing a good job as the dm.

[carborundum]

If they're demoralised and determined to retreat (and not having fun) you could have Harliss and a last surviving crew member run out of the caves followed by 8 or 9 savage pirates. Cue rearguard final battle with help from the ship's crew and the players of course. If it goes too easily, have the krenshars or Ripclaw show up on the beach too :)

During the fight enough crew can die that they can't help crew the Wyvern. The players could take a rowboat or (if there's enough) take the Wyvern. In that case they'll have to go back for charts. Harliss can tell her tale and if the players check out the now empty and spooky caves they might even find Brissa.