I feel like this may have been addressed elsewhere on these boards, but I couldn't find the thread, so ...
I am somewhat unhappy with the fact that Fort Rannick is so far from the town that the PCs have been working so hard to defend for 2 adventures and was thinking it might be more fun to move it closer to Sandpoint. This would allow me to establish Paradise, the floating casino, within Sandpoint itself and run the possible inclusion of the PCs and allow them to witness (and possibly prevent) its burning down. Then, when the PCs clear out the ogres, they can take over a fort that lets them protect a town that is dear to them, rather than Turtleback Ferry, a place they've never heard of before arriving there. The final plus is the option to run a couple encounters from within the keep (once it's fixed up) against Mokmurian's stone giant scout parties, effectively protecting Sandpoint, prior to the all-out attack in PF #4.
My question, though: does anyone have a good suggestion as to where to move the fort so that it still has access to a river and makes sense as a fort intended to protect Sandpoint?
Also, does anyone see any major problems with this set up?
Thanks,
O
Perhaps you could locate it at the eastern end of the Devil's Platter, or the other hills along the Turandarock river. But if it's that close, you have to wonder where the Rangers were when the PCs were taking on Thistletop about a mile away.
So maybe you need to go farther east of the Mosswood, past the edge of the Sandpoint area map.
Unfortunately the Varisia map shows no details of the area near Sandpoint. The nearest features on the map are the towns of Nybor and Wartle, Ember Lake, and the Sanos Forest, all 60+ miles away.
My player told me, after we did Hook Mountain, that he would very much have preferred to have Fort Rannick closer to Sandpoint. So I think your idea is a really good one. I'd think about putting the Fort near that forest north of Sandpoint that's supposed to be lousy with bandits. It'd be on the coast instead of on a river, but I don't think you need to be wedded to the river. (The whole Skull Crossing line will have to be dropped anyway, I think. Personally I would have been happy with that.)
I would not put it too close to town, however, or there would be a stronger town tradition of ogres. You might foreshadow the module's events by having a few ogres or ogrekin show up around town, getting people worried: they think, the Fort is supposed to be protecting that border, what's happened? You definitely don't want the first encounter area as close to Sandpoint as it is to Turtleback Ferry in the module--that's going to be very hard to believe.
Do you have #5 yet? There is a gazetteer of Varisian locations which may help you in choosing a site.
Mary
I do have #5, but it is not helping with the crucial issue that you have already identified:
The Fort needs to be far enough away that it has not played a major role in the conflicts to this point, but not so far away (e.g., Ember Lake) that it couldn't possibly serve as a source of protection to Sandpoint.
It would be a shame, I think to drop the entire scene at the dam, just because I like the concept of the outsider forced to provide magical energy for centuries, but maybe this can be reworked into something that fits.
|
Do not discount the desire/hook of Magnimar wanting Fort Rannick as a "forward base" to expand its influence. Strategically, the line from "hook mountain" to "Sandpoint" creates a bulwark against Korvosa that says "cross at your peril". Essentially blocking korvosan expansion (yes, korvosa could "go around" this line, but any trade, communication, etc would have to pass through Magnimaran lands and thereby incur tariffs, disruption etc.)
So considering Sanpoint as one "anchor" and Fort Rannick another "anchor", then the "best" locations lie along that axis. In this way, you can keep the dam and turtleback ferry as the anchor point in the East, and move Fort Rannick to a more "central" location on that axis.
As to why Fort Rannick hasn't been that involved, well, things are more "pressing" in the East than in the relatively peaceful West. Indeed, you could foreshadow the fort Sheriff Hemlock "sending word to Fort Rannick for help" rather than Magnimar and then to Magnimar when Fort Rannick doesn't respond or perhaps declines based on "more pressing concerns"...
|
I thought about doing this as well. Mostly cause i know my players like to take over stuff like this and use as a base of their own. My only solution I have come up with so far is this.
Use the map of the area around Sandpoint. Make the map range bar 5 mile instead of 1 mile. Then swap Hag's Plummet with Foxglove Manor.(it will still be a bit further away but not to much.
Then Fort Rannick can be along the Tor's mountains along the Turandarok River. Which is the one that comes out at Sandpoint, just make the river be a bit bigger.
Now to still make the rest of the things work, takes a bit more work. In you then need a 2 prong attack. One at the new location of Fort Rannick and then another at the Skull's Crossing. You can have the Graul's at either place, near the new fort along the Lonely Coast road perhaps not far from Thistletop keep, or leave them over by Turtleback Ferry.
After dealing with the first part Fort Rannick the PC's can learn about the second prong of the attack. NPC's can urge them on to rush to deal with this second prong as well.
So in short you could add a second orge/gaint camp. Have Barl's second as having come over nearer Sandpoint. The PC's learn there and then head over to where Fort Rannick was. You can add a second Fort or something else, anything to let them find out about Skull's Crossing and finish up that and the flood. Then go deal with Barl at the end.
This allows the PC's if you have ones like mine that you know will want the Fort but would also want to be based near Sandpoint cause of the cool NPC's and don't want to have to choose. Then this lets them do it and still completely the whole adventure, though it does take a bit more work on the GM's part.
Now the downside to this is xp, with my group it is not a issue cause we give less xp and advance more slowly. So because of that, i plan to throw in plenty of small side adventures between each of the RotRL books to get them up to the right levels for each one. But if you go along normal XP rate this idea could be a problem. But I thought I would share, since it is something I have been debating as I prep to run the series.
The idea that I am going with is placing a landing node on Thistletop and Skull Crossing. At skull crossing they find a key (my case a golden piggie with a seven pointed star on the sides) that when it approaches the node they both glow. When enough gold pieces are dropped in the slot on the back of the piggie points on the node twinkle until only one is constantly on. That one is Thistletop. When the piggie is pointed at the light then those on the node are suddenly flown at great speed and arrive at Thistletop in of a couple of hours or less. This gives the players the only known key to the nodes (10,000 years has buried or destroyed them all) and a way to get back and forth to their home town and the fort in short order. Karzoug will also know the nodes have been activated and will want the key as well possibly adding an additional item the Stone Giants are searching for in Sandpoint.