I honestly don't know what to do. She's been nothing but nice to them, and I haven't played her as deceitful in any way, but for some reason the party has decided to despise her very core. While this is causing only minor issues now (just started Sea Wyvern's Wake) I worry about motivation down the line. Any suggestions on how to change a party's perception of an NPC?
What on earth do they hate about her? She's always seemed rather unobjectionable to me...
I ensured they liked her by having her give them large amounts of treasure in reward for their various heroics. Has your Lavinia been too cheap? Or maybe have you been too unsubtle in using her to prod the PCs down the plot railroad? Players tend to resent that kind of thing.
The good news is that once they're committed to the Isle of Dread expedition (and why did they embark on that anyway, if they hate Lavinia?) it basically doesn't matter if they hate her or not, at least until the start of Serpents of Scuttlecove. Manthalay Meravanchi makes a perfectly good substitute patron once the PCs reach Farshore, after all. The only problem is getting them to chase Vanthus to Scuttlecove and then to Divided's Ire, if they don't care what happens to Lavinia. But there's plenty of water under the bridge until then.
Advice, for what it's worth - make Lavinia useful. She shouldn't be just a helpless chit who needs rescuing all the time, she should be resourceful and competent, and have her own resources that she is willing to use to make the PCs lives easier when she can. If she's a dead weight, they'll look on her with contempt. If it seems appropriate, use her to make helpful and worthwhile suggestions if the PCs are stymied by anything - not only will this help them respect her, but it might also prevent your PCs from missing obvious clues or blundering off in stupid directions just because the players/GM aren't on their best form. Also ensure that, especially once you're on the way to the Isle and after you've arrived, lesser problems crop up while the PCs are absent and she manages to deal with them herself, or with the help of the Jade Ravens. If she leaves EVERYTHING for the PCs to do, they'll hold her in contempt. On the other hand, don't make her overpowering. She should be competent but no more - avoid having her overshadow the PCs, in combat particularly.
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I honestly don't know what to do. She's been nothing but nice to them, and I haven't played her as deceitful in any way, but for some reason the party has decided to despise her very core. While this is causing only minor issues now (just started Sea Wyvern's Wake) I worry about motivation down the line. Any suggestions on how to change a party's perception of an NPC?
WARNING POTENTIAL SPOILERS*************************************
Ok, my party thought for the longest time that Lavinia was actually the evil mastermind and Vanthus was the victim. I tried everything I could think of, but my group just wouldn't invest themselves in Lavinia because they were expecting a betrayal. Once I got Prince of Demons, I found the perfect way to give them what they wanted. In Wat Dagon, General Ghorvash is there with Vanthus as a larvae, and in the mag, it says he tells the PC's that he was Lavinia all along and he set them up. He further says he played Vanthus and the PC's etc. etc. In the Mag, it is clear that he is lieing, but I ran with it, and let the PC's use magic to test for truth and told them it was true. That made the fight and encounter with Ghorvash awesome. Since the PC's felt like there was this huge betrayal, all kinds of fun ensued when Ghorvash on the verge of being defeated told them that he had a double agent in their group, and the PC's went into this huge thing trying to figure out who the traitor was. It even hurt them in the fight with big D himself as the players wouldn't help each other trying to root out the traitor. They ultimately triumphed, but it made the whole thing so much better at the end that I ran with that when they got there. If your players can't shake that Lavinia is evil, don't disappoint them. Let Lavinia be Ghorvash and put things in the campaign to keep them guessing.
Hope that all helps.
My Party originally hated Lavina, mostly because she was a noble. But shortly after hating her, I had her help them with the puzzle in the Vault. Of course, they didn't get XP for the puzzle, but that helped a lot in redeeming her in the eyes of the players.
I believe one player's quote was,
"You're actually competent?"
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I honestly don't know what to do. She's been nothing but nice to them, and I haven't played her as deceitful in any way, but for some reason the party has decided to despise her very core. While this is causing only minor issues now (just started Sea Wyvern's Wake) I worry about motivation down the line. Any suggestions on how to change a party's perception of an NPC?
I don't know why your group is having trouble but mine felt like they didn't have any motive to travel to the Isle of Really Bad Stuff tm. They owned a large boat but suddenly were supposed to offer up their cargo space, take on a bunch of potentially dangerous(and frickin' annoying) passengers without much say in the whole matter and travel for monthes to a dangerous locale, planning to stay for a year or more away from their city. I had to offer a large stake in the overall profit(15% of the profit from all goods sold) of the trip, give them veto power over who was allowed on their ship, and toss in some ship upgrades from Lavinia just to keep them willing to go along with her.
Even before SWW the party felt that she was a spoiled noble and they were the "employees" of her. I played her as compassionate, caring and generous and the group still disliked her.I had to go out-of-role and ask what the problem was and why the group was giving me such a hard time with her and the response was "She keeps giving us jobs that get us attacked and beat-up".......YOU GUYS ARE ADVENTURERS!!! What the hell did you expect! That was how I responded, along with a smart-@ss comment about how we could play Accountants and Academics instead of D&D if they didn't want adventure......Goofy players.....
FH
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I had to go out-of-role and ask what the problem was and why the group was giving me such a hard time with her and the response was "She keeps giving us jobs that get us attacked and beat-up".......YOU GUYS ARE ADVENTURERS!!! What the hell did you expect! That was how I responded, along with a smart-@ss comment about how we could play Accountants and Academics instead of D&D if they didn't want adventure......Goofy players.....
FH, you have no idea how much the levity of your post helped out just now. Quite funny and a true mood changer. Nice work!
>> Or maybe have you been too unsubtle in using her to prod the PCs down the plot railroad? Players tend to resent that kind of thing.
I'd wonder about that aspect.
If I had to do it again, I'd have Lavinia join the Sea Wyvern crew. Let her journey with the party through Here There Be Monsters. Show her as competent. Maybe that would help.
A lot of the later adventure depends on the PCs caring about Lavinia so you've got to get this resolved.
It's interesting how perceptions work. My impression is that she's almost the perfect patron--she has no hidden agenda, she's as generous as she can afford to be, grateful when a job is well done.
However players sometimes read things where there is no writing, as there were, like all people do. I laughed at the "she makes us do things that get us beaten up" thing--that's pretty funny, I can see how it would be frustrating to hear it though.
One thing you could do would be to give them some contrast--if they would rather have someone else then maybe let Rowyn or Manthalay or someone like that sink their hooks into them. They might even prefer someone whose motivations they might understand better.
Just play Avner the right way and your players will forget about hating Lavinia. She could side with the PCs on occasions against Avner. If they still insist on hating her, let them. The only thing you will have to arrange for is making them go after Vanthus...he is a bad guy revived from the dead after all, your players should have motive enough to hunt him down. Keep on playing Lavinia nice (as long as the PCs don't make an effort to annoy her). In the end the players will see, that they were wrong.
I guess this is from all the: "your nice employer/mentor/... is really the bad guy, you know" plots overused in many adventures and stories" no wonder the players are suspicious about everyone. This might cure them...and make them more vulnerable to exactly the same ruse in the next campaign *evil grin*
I honestly don't know what to do. She's been nothing but nice to them, and I haven't played her as deceitful in any way, but for some reason the party has decided to despise her very core. While this is causing only minor issues now (just started Sea Wyvern's Wake) I worry about motivation down the line. Any suggestions on how to change a party's perception of an NPC?
Hmn, having semi the same problem myself.
The PCs don't hate Lavinia. Infact they don't care at all. I'm looking for way to get her on their good side before they start to hate her. As it stands right now if she was kidnapped by "anyone" I doubt they'd rescure her.
On another note all the PCs do hate Vanthus, which is good, but I fear by the next time they actaully see him them may have gave up caring by then. Wish the AP had him drop in one last time after Karkens Cove yet before Farshore.
I had to go out-of-role and ask what the problem was and why the group was giving me such a hard time with her and the response was "She keeps giving us jobs that get us attacked and beat-up".......YOU GUYS ARE ADVENTURERS!!! What the hell did you expect! That was how I responded, along with a smart-@ss comment about how we could play Accountants and Academics instead of D&D if they didn't want adventure......Goofy players.....FH
This is pretty much precisely their attitude. They feel that she's not being up front with them because their jobs for her are "dangerous."
My response is "Dear God in heaven, are you fifth graders? She gives you the jobs she does because they're dangerous and she thinks you can handle them."
I've been generous, even too generous with her money towards the party and yet . . .
Someone else posted on making her more helpful, maybe that's the key, but I don't want the party to expect that they can go to her for help at every drop of the hat
Why did they accept in the first place?
The first scene in the campaign actually had the party waking up in a Sasserine City Watch jail cell nursing hangovers from carousing the night before. Lavinia marched into the jail, paid for their release and told them that if they were interested in a high-paying job involving a "little bit of skullduggery" they could inquire at her mansion for the details.
I set it up this way precisely because I felt that Lavinia needed a immediate favorable impression. Shows where that got me.
My players have had a love-hate relationship with Lavinia, as well. Although she kick started their adventuring careers, and paid them well, she has had to pull rank on them on occasion. Though are party warlock has successfully seduced her, he took great offense when she appointed Amella to captain the Sea Wyvern. He is, in fact, an even more skilled captain/pirate than Amella is, and since they found the boat, they assumed it was theirs for the keeping. (This was, indeed, true--within the context of the game--but since Lavinia asked to use the boat, she appeared to interpret that to the characters that she would also appoint her own crew.) After some diplomacy, Lavinia agreed to allow the warlock, Zatara, and Amella to be co-captains of the vessel.
Later in the game (were on ToD right now), some characters have asked to be compensated as an aside, but have not pressed the point, in as much as they kind of muttered it to themselves out of her earshot. When it came time to garner votes for the position of lord-mayor, the characters decided to stay out of it, not wanting to appear like they were playing favorites. Thus, Manthalay won the election, and all that entails.
I don't think my party hates Lavinia, but views her as an employer first (perhaps with the exception of the lascivious warlock, who has in fact cheated on Lavinia with almost every notable female NPC thus far, with his eyes on Harliss Javell most of all).
If you want Lavinia to appear more favorably, have her bribe the PCs with more social encounters, such as a ball or a festival she can attend with them. Outline a deeper personality for her, and have her show an interest in her employees. On the other hand, if the PCs feel that they can walk all over her, show her as--perhaps--the only reasonable source of employment in Sasserine/Farshore, with other places being far less rewarding.
Of course, if she's still so sweet she makes sugar taste like salt (thanks, QT), and the PCs still don't like her...maybe they don't like a goody-two-shoes. Give her a little bit of a dark side, which will have all kinds of rewarding applications further into the AP, anyway.
I honestly don't know what to do. She's been nothing but nice to them, and I haven't played her as deceitful in any way, but for some reason the party has decided to despise her very core. While this is causing only minor issues now (just started Sea Wyvern's Wake) I worry about motivation down the line. Any suggestions on how to change a party's perception of an NPC?
Instead of using the mephit in the jar and things like that to attack the players, she'll use it to make Lavinia look more incompetent to the players. Or she'll use her disguise ability at certain points to throw a wrench in their relationship.
Then Rowyn can help lead a mutiny, the PCs can continue to the Isle of Dread (with the aim of exploiting the colony as a source of imports in Sasserine) and things will proceed largely as planned. Perhaps the most vocally anti-Vanderboren character will receive a note tucked into their cabin to arrange a meeting with the former Lotus Dragon, kicking off their plans.
Just to add my two cents --
When I started "Shackled City", I made it clear to my players first:
"This is a series of modules that will go more-or-less in a straight line, not a freeform universe exploration. So if your character is going to really resent going on errands for person X, then you might consider choosing a different character. I'll do my best to motivate you, but you'll have to meet me halfway."
It's worked so far...
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Just to add my two cents --
When I started "Shackled City", I made it clear to my players first:
"This is a series of modules that will go more-or-less in a straight line, not a freeform universe exploration. So if your character is going to really resent going on errands for person X, then you might consider choosing a different character. I'll do my best to motivate you, but you'll have to meet me halfway."
It's worked so far...
Yeah, the group I'm will go off on a tangent on purpose just to see how a DM will react (I will admit to doing it myself before). They did this to me once and I told them that the campaign was over. We decided to rewind to the spot where they went of and continued from there. I want to give my players, and I want as a player, the freedom to do as they please, but I feel it is counter-productive to purposefully sidetrack the adventure and campaign. It can be a rough balancing act.
When playing adventure paths, everyone, player and DM alike, must remember an important detail.
Adventure paths are NOT campaigns.
To expound, I feel that the term campaign refers to the more commonly seen, open ended sort of game where characters are for the most part self-motivated (even if only by greed or desire for power) and have the ability to "do what they want". If the players decide to go into Undermountain at level 1, they can. If they decide to hold off and go do some small-time merchant escorts through generally safe farmland, they can do that too. Or if they want, they can march into the lair of the most well known, vicious, deadly dragon in the region. And the game will flow from the actions they take and the reprecussions of said actions.
An adventure path is a more linear game, where there is a set story, with set events at certain points. Some of the points can be interchanged, moved around, or even eliminated, but the main plot remains the same, and is known (at least by the DM) from the first play session. Shackled City, Age of Worms, and Savage Tide are adventure paths. I would also put Seeds of Sehan as an AP, albeit a shorter one. Adventure paths require a certain amount of lieniency when it comes to the knee-jerk "this is railroading" reaction. Yes, you are on a track, its going from here, to that place 20 levels down the line. But these aren't railroad tracks, they are roller coaster tracks. The track is bumpy, and twisty, and loopy, and if you accept the fact you're on tracks and start just enjoying the ride, you'll realize its not that bad.
Some games fall in between these. My wife has a plot in mind when she runs games, but she manages to make every odd choice or strange thing we do somehow relate to the plot more often than not. I try to let my players do what they want, and just "nudge" them with a bit of psychology now and then, to get them were I need them (Villains like Vanthus are great for this).
Summary: If your group doesn't know or acknowledge the differences between a campaign (which is what they may be used to) and an Adventure Path (which are awesome examples of writing and DM time saving, but still fairly revolutionary in concept) then that might be the source of some of your troubles, or a definite sign of potential trouble down the line.
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Ok, my party thought for the longest time that Lavinia was actually the evil mastermind and Vanthus was the victim. I tried everything I could think of, but my group just wouldn't invest themselves in Lavinia because they were expecting a betrayal.
A question for the OP; what sort of campaigns have they been used to, either with you or with other DMs? If they instantly suspect their patrons of being 'not what they seem', chances are they've been burned in the past...a lot...
Also, you don't say whether any of them have played Shackled City; if they did, they would have encountered several other members of Lavinia's family, one of whom (Todd) is a member of a rival adventuring band, made up of spoilt noble 'brats', who attempt to follow the party, belittle their achievements, take the credit, and goad them into public fights, knowing that their families can afford to buy off the law.
If your players' reaction, upon meeting a cultured, friendly, well-spoken noble (who's also quite easy on the eye...!), and hearing the words "Greetings, my name is Lavinia Vanderboren..." is to put their heads in their hands and cry out "Hell's Teeth! Not another of those ****s!", then this may have some contributing factor?
If so, maybe the best you can do is to play up the contrast between her and her relatives, by having them appear, and act boorishly to the PCs, whereupon she defends them ("This 'filthy peasant' is more of a man than you'll ever be, you drunken fop!"). This could appear more genuine if the PCs overhear a private argument with her brother/sister cousin, as this is less likely to be misinterpreted as an attempt to 'trick' the PCs with flattery (there's always one who'll view a patron's actions in the worst possible light...).
Hmm, no problems so far with her in our campaign. Of course, she wasn't depicted straightforth as a member of nobility (that usually doesn't go over well with many players ) but as the scion of a successful merchant clan. although I have to admit, that I don't usually use the "spoiled and rotten noble" archetype, at least not more than other types of (socially acceptable) villains.
Ther was also the factor that two players immediately started vying for her attentions and affection after seeing her "mugshot". Both of these are now defunct characters, but it set the initial mood.
As for much of the later STAP depending on being loyal to Lavinia, there is always the possibility of replacing her with another NPC or even cohort for the villains attention.
Given that we have a bardic cohort, now inactive due to an advanced pregnancy in the campaign, I arranged matters accordingly that old "V" might carry a grudge and/or nefarious purpose for her as well, giving him a motive to abduct her instead of Lavinia, in case of the characters loosing motivation.
Since they are deeply embroiled in CoBI now, and the group's knight being very much spoken for with regard to Lavinia, that problem is moot, but the bachip plan might help you out ?
When my party and Lavinia found each other, both were in desperate situations. I don't know what led your party one way and mine the other, but my group loves Lavinia. She's more like a team member than anything else - she brings some pull, a small line of credit and a big claim in farshore to the group - and she's even been on a short adventure or two (she hangs with the spellcasters). She doesn't really pay them so much as covers expenses - the understanding is that when farshore pays off, everybody gets an even cut (plus Jade Ravens plus Amella). When misfortune falls her, my group will be off like a shot.
THat said, if the party can't help but dislike her, why not pull a "Buffy's Roommate" and have one of the PC's pull the false face of the demon "Lavinia?" YOu might have to re-work some adventure leads, but it is worth it to hear the satisfied PC's say "I knew it!"
Spoiler alert.
My players had no problem with Lavinia, in fact I suspected that my all male players don't mind the damsel in distress situation. One of my player who played a rightuous priest of Moradin actually gave all of the loot from the Lotus Dragon hideout to Lavina. He rationalized that these were the gold looted from the Vanderboren vault and all of the other players agreed.
I also made it so that Lavinia does not appeared incompetent. After the players raided the Lotus Dragon hideout, I had Lavinia use her oratory skill as well as her connections to the other nobles to mount a campaign against the Lotus Dragon that the players started. She was able to get the Dawn Council to outlaw the Lotus Dragons. She claimed that if Islaran can be assassinated then whats to stop the Lotus from targeting any of the other Dawn Council members. She also got the temple of Heironious to provide security for the trial as well as protect witnesses. She got the temple of Wee Jas to use their magic to speak with dead members of the Lotus Dragons and thus incriminating the Kellani family.
well, try to impress upon the party the noble aspects of her character - not the hereditary ideas of social class nor the authority of the aristocracy - but, the idea of admirable in dignity of conception; manner of expression, execution, and composition. Stately appearance, lofty principles and character or spirit that scorns the petty, mean, base or dishonorable. Display this npc's high-mindedness and mangnamimous character of principles and their consistence at adhering to them.
your pc's are going to interact with a lot of npc' as they engage in their various tasks of buying, selling, staying at the inn, and whatnot; use this interaction to your benefit. Nobles affect everyone with their character and believes; they are intently studied by the commoners and most are going to take the nobles side; especially if they are good guys. You could have the innkeeper up their fee for staying there - maybe a maid, notorious gossips they are, would tell the party that they heard that the party bad mouthed Lavinia, and the innkeeper is furious; perhaps he will kick them out of his inn; maybe traders wont deal with them or maybe people will spit and glare when they walk by; lots of peeps could tell story bits of how she helped them out of some bit of trouble asking nothing in return and damned if they are gonna let anyone besmirch her honor and such; then after a few days, the innkeeper might send a boy to invite them back or appologize, hat in hand, as the Lady Lavinia would have let it known in passing that she didnt think much of the townsfold unfair treatment of the pc's; the townsfolk give the lady her due and begin to treat them fairly, but still have a few grudges.
That sort of thing should help; the townsfolk need to show that the lady is loved and admired and they will fiercely protect her as best they can with the methods they each have in their own arenas of influence.
hope this helps.
Heh. I'm not sure that will work quite as well as suspected. It is a Pirate campaign that we're talking about here. So maybe making a noble NPC is similar to painting a big X on the NPC.
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I played Lavinia as a damsel in distress from the start, giving knowledge (local) results to let the PCs know that she had inherited more debts than assets after the string of tragic fires that claimed the lives of her mother, father, and uncle.
I think the problem with the OP's intro of Lavinia is that players want their characters to be top dog. Waking up in jail reminds them unpleasantly that the cops have power over them. Having Lavinia spring them, implying that they were powerless to escape without her, is perceived as further humiliation. I think that making her more competent would just reinforce their resentment of her: making her more desperate and in need of aid would be the way to go, but I don't think it'd be worth it to try making them love her at this point. Having her prove to be evil all along gives them the satisfaction of having been right, and then you can tie them to a new PC to set up the next plot hooks.
My party hated Lavinnia too and ended up joining Rowyn. For them, it was greed and, I guess, that Lavinnia was too much of "the man". I didn't play her out of character, maybe slightly haughty when the party demanded more than the healthy sum I was giving them early on.
Without knowing the makeup of your party, I can't really give you any specific advice as to how to work around this problem. My party was filled with all CN, CE leaning characters. It wasn't much a stretch for me to have Rowyn fill the roll of Lavinnia in the adventure when they finally had had enough of her.
My suggestion is to really look at what motivates your party, and then use that to drive them through the adventure. You may need to do this out of character. I actually asked my players what would motivate their players and they told me "loyalty to the crew and money".
Since my party is motivated by party loyalty and then greed, I worked very hard to make Rowyn seem like a part of the group and give them bling for their deeds. As long as I dangle money and power they will do what they need to. Oh, and they hate Vanthus so he becomes a motivator as well.
If they really don't like Lavinnia and Rowyn is not an option, then I would create a character that fits the party's goals and weave them into the story.
Hope this helps
Well, if they don't like Lavinia during SWW, there is another noble on board the Sea Wyvern.... I'm taking a serious look now at proposing that option to my players, as their opinion of Lavinia has dampened over the course of SWW. A contract to protect him till Farshore, then a rivalry between his personal guard vs. Lavinia's Jade Ravens, perhaps to put down the Vanderboren name or maybe even to impress her into a coalition vs. uncle? There's a number of interesting scenerios that come to mind if the PCs accepted that twisted option.
Sure it will; some pirate lords, like Captain Hook in fantasy or Bluebeard in real like, sought legitimacy; the pirate leader could be courting the Lady hoping to win her heart and kingdom to increase his control of the region or such like that.
Heh. I'm not sure that will work quite as well as suspected. It is a Pirate campaign that we're talking about here. So maybe making a noble NPC is similar to painting a big X on the NPC.
One of the issues in my campaign stems from party dynamics. The outspoken character-actor type is the one with the biggest beef against Lavinia. The quiet types at my table have little real problem with her, but the character-actor tends to sweep them up in his enthusiasm. Maybe saying the entire party hates Lavinia was inaccurate. Most of them could take her or leave her, but the really enthusiastic one hates her so it looks like the entire party does from behind the screen.
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One of the issues in my campaign stems from party dynamics. The outspoken character-actor type is the one with the biggest beef against Lavinia. The quiet types at my table have little real problem with her, but the character-actor tends to sweep them up in his enthusiasm. Maybe saying the entire party hates Lavinia was inaccurate. Most of them could take her or leave her, but the really enthusiastic one hates her so it looks like the entire party does from behind the screen.
I know she has a low wisdom score but I can't recall Lavinia's Sense Motive modifier. If she's picked up on this characters disdain, maybe have her ask to speak to him in private then pull the player out of ear shot also and ask him what is beef is. With out an audience, the player/character might not feel the need to be so bold and might actually listen to her or have to explain himself without having to maintain his limelight image. Main thing is to have her be truly concerned and curious about what she has done to engender this attitude. As for the bailout campaign start, have her say that a friend of hers who works at the jail told her about some people that had a bit too much to drink but aren't that bad, could use a little help and that they also looked like they might be able to help her with some of her problems.
It's funny - I find that I've roleplayed Lavinia to be extremely naive and sheltered. She's painfully sincere. I've played her up to be a "oh me, oh my" type of noble, to the point where my PCs almost think she's kinda dumb. I feel this is a good approach for my group, because it motivates them more to find out all the things Lavinia seems blind to.
For example, ever stop and think how dense Lavinia must be to think her brother has gone missing, when he's actually been gallavanting around half of Sasserine with his lover and Penkus?
"Oh my, how could the family vault be almost empty?"
Uh, because the other guy with the signet ring is hanging out with shady floozies and thieves? Hello?
Creative Director
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Portraying Lavinia as a good gal and a trustworthy patron is certainly a tough trick, especially if your players are used to NPCs being bad guys. I certainly had my fair share of players in my onw Savage Tide game who didn't want to ally with any NPC, for fear that they'd turn out to betray them or whatever. My trick for making them identify with and like Lavinia was basically to role-play her as a PC—as an adventurer. The fact that she's got aristocrat levels makes her a poor choice as an adventurer, and even though she starts taking player classes, she's always a few levels behind the PCs. And at the same time, I generally have her agree with the PCs' plans, or at the very least come up with plans that they might have come up with themselves. Her attitudes on looting monsters, exploring stuff, getting cool gear, and ironically the distrust of authority figures meshed pretty well with the classic PC mindset, and as a result they've come to see her as a pretty trustworthy ally. One PC recently proposed to her, in fact!
But if yo end up wiht a party that hates her, despite everything you've tried, that's a good time to bring in Rowyn as an alternate patron. Focus her on fueling the hate for Lavinia, and presto! You should have a replacement in no time!
In the end, though, the main role Lavinia fills in the campaign is to get things moving. With each adventure, this role becomes less and less important; by the time the PCs are mid to high level, the campaign should have enough momentum that they don't need someone to point them in the direction of the story anymore. So if you can get to that point without Lavinia, it doesn't really matter if the PCs like her or not.