Will my party fit in CoCT?

[Rechan]

I wanted to wait til CoCT came out before I started a game, but my players were very eager to get started. They were hoping that I could just ease them into CoCT without much problem.

Since we don't yet know what CoCT will entail, I have to ask this. This weekend, my players decided what kind of game they wanted, or at least, what kind of characters they were going to make, and the sort of theme.

They're playing grifters, gypsies, con artists. A swashbuckler, a fortune teller, and a bellydancer. The three are just drifting through, separated from their existing caravan by some as-of-yet determined cause.

Is there a means of roping these guys into Curse of the Crimson Throne? If I have to try and nab them with the second module rather than the first, that's fine.

[Heathansson]

Sounds cool. From what I understand, the "powers that be" are corrupt. So with that angle, the characters are set up to be unwashed vagabonds that get hassled by the authority who....are either in league with or the unwitting pawn(s) of wickedness.
Cool "rebels with a cause" setup.

[Nicolas Logue]

Rechan wrote:

I wanted to wait til CoCT came out before I started a game, but my players were very eager to get started. They were hoping that I could just ease them into CoCT without much problem.

Since we don't yet know what CoCT will entail, I have to ask this. This weekend, my players decided what kind of game they wanted, or at least, what kind of characters they were going to make, and the sort of theme.

They're playing grifters, gypsies, con artists. A swashbuckler, a fortune teller, and a bellydancer. The three are just drifting through, separated from their existing caravan by some as-of-yet determined cause.

Is there a means of roping these guys into Curse of the Crimson Throne? If I have to try and nab them with the second module rather than the first, that's fine.

Sounds like a great group for CoftheCT Rechan! The Player's Guide has a neat little "hook em in" section that should be very easy to use with these kinds of PCs.

[James Jacobs]

Curse of the Crimson Throne works best if PCs are native to Korvosa. There's certainly a large Varisian population in Korvosa, so that works fine for a group of Varisian PCs, actually. That said, you'll probably need to finesse a few elements, since for much of Edge of Anarchy, the PCs are working for the Korvosan Guard. The guard won't mind hiring Varisian adventurers, but if your group's made up of a bunch of anti-government types, THEY might mind working for the Guard. In which case, there's plenty of alternate groups discussed in the Guide to Korvosa.

[Shisumo]

Korvosa comes across as fairly authoritarian, yeh? Assuming that's the case, it would be all too easy for the Korvosan authorities to decide that conscription is the only truly effective way to deal with "disruptive" elements like these...

[James Jacobs]

Shisumo wrote:

Korvosa comes across as fairly authoritarian, yeh? Assuming that's the case, it would be all too easy for the Korvosan authorities to decide that conscription is the only truly effective way to deal with "disruptive" elements like these...

True... but the campaign is constructed so that the PCs should be friends with their Korvosan Guard contact. That's easy enough to adjust though I suppose.

[Rechan]

James Jacobs wrote:

True... but the campaign is constructed so that the PCs should be friends with their Korvosan Guard contact. That's easy enough to adjust though I suppose.

Hmm.

The PCs, as mentioned, are con artists, and are Going to get into trouble.

Naturally they're going to want to find a Guard who's easily bribed, able to help them get out of trouble, etc. So being friends with the Guard willing to tip them off on the sly could be easier.

Another option would be that, they get caught in Karvosa doing their thing, and get tossed in jail. But, with the place in Anarchy, the people in jail are offered the option of "Community Service"; help put down the anarchy and you get out free.

Of course, what I'm wondering is if the plotline itself will constrain them, prevent them from doing their charlatan gig, and the plot allows them to get tangled up in Karvosa's underworld - even if by accident.

I may just have to wait for the summary to come out before I can really tell.

[Briseis]

Just last week, I created a PC for CotCT. I'll be playing a female Varisian cleric of Pharasma. She'll be a native of Korvosa and, per Pharasma's allowed domains, will have Knowledge and Healing as her domains. I've written her background--she's a "gypsy" fortune teller. A charlatan. I figure she'll fit in well with the adventure.

One question, though. The way I have her written, she was born in the haberdasherie district (hope Korvosa has such a district!) and was fostered upon an NPC I refer to in her background write-up as Mother Crone. Mother Crone is supposed to be a bit of a charlatan herself--a "fortune teller," albeit not a very good one. More like a businesswoman, really.

So, my question...what existing Korvosan criminal organizations would be a good fit for Mother Crone? The way I see it, sometimes even Law resorts to "sub-contracting" investigative work to the city's underbelly.