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we started running RotRL a pair of week ago. My group had 7 player all of then first timers.
All went well, tough but well, until they got to the Glasswork... when they faced the 12 goblins in the furnace, the DM factor started to work against them, lets say there where to many critical on my side.
After 3 rounds they started to panic and scatter. Enough to say that only 3 of them survived and 3 of the goblins escaped.
The survivors were beaten and decided to recover and recruit first, before going to investigate deeper in the Glasswork.
-What do you suggest would be the best way to introduce the new Players?
- Any idea on how let them know about Thistletop?
- Would it be possible to save Amiko?
- What would happens with Kaijutsu's properties?
- can anyone recommend possible side quests to level then a bit or at least help them polish their skills?
All and any help will be greatly appreciated.
Introducing players in the town should be pretty easy.
The new characters could be escorting a caravan down to Magnimar, and stop to help the surviving PC's. They could be members of the town militia who volunteer to help the PC's. They could be family members of people killed in the goblin raid and out for some revenge. They could be wandering Varisians who blow into town and decide to help. They could be friends of Ameiko's from the Rusty Dragon who decide to get brave and assist the PC's, etc., etc.
As for saving Ameiko, to me it would depend on how much time they take to rest. If its a short time, she's still imprisoned down in the cellar. If its longer, I'd have Tsuto take her back to Nualia at Thistletop as a sacrifice. I'd have Tsuto leave a condescending note mocking the PC's (to make 'em angry and hungry to kill the evil brother) and then let them use tracking/gather information/etc. to follow him to Thistletop, make the rescue of Ameiko a central motivation to get them there.
A good side quest would be the Cavern's of Wrath themselves; I'm glad my PC's decided to check it out after defeating Tsuto - it provided them with enough xp and assistance to enable them to take on Thistletop.
Losing the big fight at the Glassworks is only a temporary setback for the PC's; there's no hard and fast timeline for the events. Sounds like a fun game, and I bet you have some very motivated players now thirsting for revenge.
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Introducing players in the town should be pretty easy.
The new characters could be escorting a caravan down to Magnimar, and stop to help the surviving PC's. They could be members of the town militia who volunteer to help the PC's. They could be family members of people killed in the goblin raid and out for some revenge. They could be wandering Varisians who blow into town and decide to help. They could be friends of Ameiko's from the Rusty Dragon who decide to get brave and assist the PC's, etc., etc.
I like that. I was planning on letting them pick from a variety of local thugs. Making them regulars of the Rusty Dragon and/or Ameiko friends could work fine.
As for saving Ameiko, to me it would depend on how much time they take to rest. If its a short time, she's still imprisoned down in the cellar. If its longer, I'd have Tsuto take her back to Nualia at Thistletop as a sacrifice. I'd have Tsuto leave a condescending note mocking the PC's (to make 'em angry and hungry to kill the evil brother) and then let them use tracking/gather information/etc. to follow him to Thistletop, make the rescue of Ameiko a central motivation to get them there.
Let’s say they take too much time, How long would be acceptable before Nualia sacrifice her? And would it be fine to kill her?
Making her rescue a central plot would help then root in Sandpoint and an early introduction to Police investigation can probe helpful for the next adventure.
A good side quest would be the Cavern's of Wrath themselves; I'm glad my PC's decided to check it out after defeating Tsuto - it provided them with enough xp and assistance to enable them to take on Thistletop.
Ok, I like that. Do you think they can spend a pair of days in Sandpoint before going to Thistletop? In case they haven't found the catacombs, I could make some Sin Spawns to roam Sandpoin at nights. What do you think of that?
Losing the big fight at the Glassworks is only a temporary setback for the PC's; there's no hard and fast timeline for the events. Sounds like a fun game, and I bet you have some very motivated players now thirsting for revenge.
Well you can bet on that. They started naming some goblins like my assistant an me.... :)
One suggestion for the future would be to control the dice and not the other way around. One of the benefits of the DM screen is the option to fudge dice unless the group enjoys the brutality of a pull-no-punches game, which is fine as well. You can still put on a good poker face and make players go through the rack without killing them.
Part of the atmosphere of the Glassworks were some more of the illogical battle tactics and insane, maniacal glee the goblins have during battle (like the very first encounter) until they reach the body count that suddenly puts awareness into them. They should be just tossing glass around and using hot pokers to almost minimal effect, and then their kid gloves come off while they seek the help of Tsuto.
As far as introducing new PC's, I'd make the players do the work. As DM you have the right of veto, but you don't need to do more work than needed.
As far as Ameiko, as the AP suggests, and as Goroxx mentioned, it should be a matter of your sensibilities. Do you think the players are motivated to save her, or are they dragging their heals about it? The party should not be punished by having you roll well and killing them off, which forces them to pause to lick their wounds, and recruit new members. If you deem they take a reasonably quick time to get going, then offer them a second chance at it. If they slow down and waste time at the Hagfish or Pixie's Kitten, then Ameiko has been sacrificed by the time they bother with Thistletop. Maybe another group of adventurers already beat them to it and earn the glory. It all depends.
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Man. If I was a player, I'd be begging to roll up a goblin adept as a replacement PC. It would be fun to play as a "glassworks/caves of wrath" only PC.
Roleplay hook: The goblins are under orders from Chief Ripnugget to Aid Tsuto. The Goblin Adept PC can't tell one longshanks from another and simply mistakes one of the other PCs for Tsuto.
Ahh...what fun to play goblin. Maniacally Diabolical and goofy bastards. I wonder how long it would take before I roleplayed myself into getting killed by the citizens of Sandpoint (or heck, my fellow PCs!)
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Thanks all.
i was afraid that Ameio would take part in futurte plots, so If she get sacrificed is a problem....good.
what about Kaijitsu's busines and/or properties? Would a plot with Scarnetti family traying to take over Kaijitsu's properties be interesting? I think there was a post sugesting something similar. any ideas?
What about Kaijitsu's business and/or properties? Would a plot with the Scarnetti family traying to take over Kaijitsu's properties be interesting? I think there was a post sugesting something similar. Any ideas?
In my game, the party captured Tsuto and saved his sister, so she was going to reward them by making them part owners in the glassworks, once it's up and running again. The party isn't really tied in to the area, so this was going to stir up issues with the Scarnettis. "We've put years of our family's blood and sweat into this town, then we're forced to watch strangers come waltzing in, taking advantage of that poor girl's tragic loss! What do these 'adventurers' know of running a business?"
Since most of the glassworks' employees were killed, some people that had worked there in the past were going to apply for work there again. Unfortunately, these workers are tied in to the Scarnettis; they were fired before because of attempts to intimidate the rest of their crew into backing the Scarnettis' attempts to take the place over.
Eventually, the workers will find a way to cause problems for Amieko and the party, giving the Scarnettis an opening to take the glassworks over. "These people shouldn't be in charge of something as important to our town as the glassworks! We need someone responsible to ensure that business survives."
As a sidenote (because this won't necessarily work for the OP's problem, but it will for similiar situations)
I plan on using the 4 iconic characters (Valeros, Seoni, Kyra and ???) as NPCs throughout the AP. Just more adventurers who get to be around as re-occuring NPCs, lend a hand in the opening battles against the goblins at the festival, prod the PCs with a vital but overlooked piece of information, etc
And of course, to be a ready-made source of replacement PCs if/when a PC dies. This way even if several PCs die and we need new characters, the iconics already have a relationship with the party.
One thing to think about if you go this route: You don't want to have the Iconics rival the party too much.
Afterall, the party is supposed to be the local heroes after the Festival, etc. So I intend to have the iconics battle alongside the PCs and the militia, but more as individuals. The PCs get the accolades and fame, because they "gelled" as a group and were more effective. The Iconics will form their own loose party, but because the PCs formed first, and then handled the Glassworks and Thistletop by themselves, etc... the PCs are seen as the heroes, and the iconics are relegated more to sidekick or lesser status in the eyes of the public. (I'm really thinking more of a Justice League/Teen Titans vibe, but without the disparity in the ages. The B team gets to guest star once in a while with the PCs, and sometimes someone gets "promoted" to the PC team)
I may be getting soft in my old age, but if this is a group of first timers, I would simply allow them to bring their characters back again now that the fight is over. Tell them that you are granting them a one time only reprieve, but from now on any character deaths are the real deal. Perhaps their near death experience left some physical/emotional impairments and let them come up with them and use them for character development. As first timers, you want them to see that character death is a real possibility at each game session, but that you are more interested in their immersion into the game and overall enjoyment rather than punishing them for their failures.
New gamers that came up with their characters and put their time into creating what they thought was cool should not have those characters taken away from them so early on in their D&D experience. Allow them to get attached to them, enjoy the develpment, role playing, and fun stuff that goes with building a character before pulling the rug out from under them.
Also, I agree with DarkArt, you have control of the dice. Do not let them control you. Use a GM screen and roll behind it for now. This give you the luxury of pulling some of your punches if the rolls may end up derailing your game. As the newbies beome veteran gamers, you can start being a little bit more merciless. Roll in front of them, don't pull punches, let the dice fall as they may. But for now, you need to nurture your new gamers, not turn them off to the game.
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Also, I agree with DarkArt, you have control of the dice. Do not let them control you. Use a GM screen and roll behind it for now. This give you the luxury of pulling some of your punches if the rolls may end up derailing your game. As the newbies beome veteran gamers, you can start being a little bit more merciless. Roll in front of them, don't pull punches, let the dice fall as they may. But for now, you need to nurture your new gamers, not turn them off to the game.
You see, that might have being the real issue, due to "technical problems" we did not have the screen at hand in that particular session....