Late the other night I had a cool idea (partially inspired by some comments on this forum, so thank you for that) and wrote it all up. Now I read over it and I still like it, but it doesn’t quite make sense. So I was wondering if anyone could help me justify this whole situation.
So here’s the basics, even keeping it simple it gets kind of complicated. Keep in mind that this is a low magic game in an historic setting (exactly as Pirates of the Caribbean was).
I never got a chance to run the original thief ambush, they went straight to the taxidermist and from there is was a blood bath all the way to Rowyn's treasure chests, they left the rest of the guild unexplored.
Kersh Ruftun discovered the body of Rowyn Kellani, so he ordered two of the remaining thieves to leave her on the doorstep of the Kellani manor early in the morning, ring the bell and run like hell. The other bodies were dumped in the harbor.
The Kobold in the thieves guild had a mate, and that mate happens to be Kala, the leader of their little tribe. Kala is a Lv4 Kobold (2 rogue, 2 sorcerer). She wants revenge on who killed her mate. She hears the news of his demise a week later and comes to Sasserine with 10 of her best warriors (monster manual kobolds). They set about reinforcing the guild hall with new traps and defenses (I figured they helped set it up in the first place) and they send out a few of the remaining thieves to track down the people responsible.
Rowyn’s parents had connections with the temple of Wee Jas and paid a lot of coin to have her raised. (I originally decided this so that she could come back in chapter 3, but then it occurred to me that if she was brought back from the dead she would have a new lease on life, I think she would let it go (for now) and focus on rebuilding the thieves guild. She puts a generous price on the PC’s heads, knowing the greedy pirates and mercenaries will fall over each other trying to kill the PCs and then she puts them out of her mind.
We have just finished Bullywug Gambit and they have some down time, I have a brief side quest planned just for a change of pace, then they will return to Lavinia and get the plot hook for Sea Wyvern’s Wake, then they have a week to prepare.
We were one PC short of a TPK at Kraken’s Cove, they never met Harliss Javell. She fought her way out, took a boat from the Sea Wyvern and went to Sasserine to look for her first mate. She looks first at their favorite tavern in Shadowshore, no one has seen him. so she comes snooping around Lavinia’s place and finds no sign of any recent murder (it has been a few days by now, the PCs are out of the city at the moment and the house has been cleaned up, the frog men didn’t really show themselves publicly so the watch is trying to keep rumors of giant frogs to a minimum for the sake of public order and their own reputation as protectors). So she gives up after a few days of worry and begins to assemble a crew for the Sea Wyvern. This task takes another week, once she has gathered 3d4+3 sailor (giving her a minimum necessary to sail) she steals another row boat and they head out for the Kraken’s Cove.
So, good story so far, this is where I start having trouble. I feel like my tower of building blocks is about to collapse, if only I could balance it just right.
Before they can head out to get the Sea Wyvern they will be ambushed. Lead by the Kobold Kala, the thieves, accompanied by the Kobolds stage an attack in a narrow alley. One of the kobolds will throw a dagger at a PC, then run into the nearby ally. From there I will run the ambush as written from There is no Honor.
What I WANT to do is have the PCs put up a good fight but ultimately get hit hard, then have Harliss show up (out for a stroll perhaps? I don't know really why she is there) She helps them out of a bind, then they can talk. But why would she even help them? she seems more like the type to pull up a seat and just watch to see what happens.
I am really just trying to do 3 things,
1. Revive the thieves’ guild, even though the PCs don't know Rowyn is still alive. I have ideas for using this after the STAP. (and run the encounter I didn’t get to run before)
2. Have the conversation with Harliss they missed at Kraken’s Cove, and just introduce her to the party, since she shows up later.
3. inform the PCs that someone else has intentions on that boat. She will be good natured about it though, if they mention their intention of taking it she reminds them that according to the laws of the sea who ever finds it first has salvage rights, “And who ever gets there second gets to be a pirate!”
I am willing to admit defeat at this point, I don’t know if its gonna work out like this. Maybe I cant combine all those things in one encounter, I’m hoping someone has an idea how I could, or if not, what else could I do in the given situation to achieve the 3 points listed above?
If you run this encounter near Lavina's digs you might be able to tie it together. The PCs will presumably head toward Lavina's at some point as she's their employer. Harliss has reason to be snooping around Lavina's so the PCs could encounter her there. it might be easiest to have the PCs encounter Harliss before the Kobold attacks.
You can have the PCs clue into the fact that she's snooping around and when they confront they get to have the roleplaying session - when that looks to be reaching some kind of an conclusion the kobold attacks and Harliss participates becuase she's not sure if its her, the PCs or both that are under attack. The kobold could open with an attack on her first - as far as the kobold is concerned she is just one more member of this party - albeit one she has not encountered before.
Alternitivly you can have the PCs just begin to talk to Harliss when the Kobold attacks targeting first Harliss and then some of the PCs - Harliss and teh PCs fight off the attack and then have their roleplaying interaction.
Late the other night I had a cool idea (partially inspired by some comments on this forum, so thank you for that) and wrote it all up. Now I read over it and I still like it, but it doesn’t quite make sense. So I was wondering if anyone could help me justify this whole situation.
...
We have just finished Bullywug Gambit...
It looks good to me someonelse, I think you are struggling to motivate the party to get into the LD hideout? My PCs too went through the taxidemists, which is unfortunately only a left versus a right from heading straight t the bbeg. I have to ask what is your party doing now?
If the party is still looking for Vanthus, returning to the LD would be a good part place to start looking. Harliss is no fan of Vanthus and wants to make him pay for her lost people/cargo/ship--going back to the Crimson Fleet empty handed would be suicide. She, like the party, has tracked Vanthus to the LD, which is surprisingly not quite down for the count. If the party already got the credit for removing the threat to the harbor, then they will have to either admit their reputations are falsely deserved, or complete the task and empty out the guild. A third motivation for returning to the guild might be a string of murders involving the toxin the party discovered to be Churtle's creation.
I hope that helps.
i've been thinking a bit on it.
For linking the kobold attack with Harliss, you could have her attacked first. While PC walk the street a kobold turns an alley, shriek surprised seeing the PC, throws his dagger and turns back, leading the pc where the whole rogue party is attacking Harliss. it's more like kraken's cove encounter and players are more helpful than pirates.
then you could spread the rumor that Vanthus is still in the lotus dragon's guild (as Curaigh said) wich may be enough to make PC go back there. if not, spread the rumor that lotus dragons had adquired some strange and mystical black pearls. none of these has to be true at all.
about the ship, be careful. if Harliss has already occuped it, it may end in a battle between her and the pc (sometimes players are obsesed with something), specially if Lavinia ask them to retrieve it. If it's what you want, great. if not, consider having a replacement ship for pc. (even a paty of 5-6 level characters could end dead confronting harliss and a pirate crew)
about the ship, be careful. if Harliss has already occuped it, it may end in a battle between her and the pc (sometimes players are obsesed with something), specially if Lavinia ask them to retrieve it. If it's what you want, great. if not, consider having a replacement ship for pc. (even a paty of 5-6 level characters could end dead confronting harliss and a pirate crew)
That could be a problem. I am hoping that they will come up with something clever to get the ship, but if they fail to do so I need a backup plan. Maybe Harliss gets hassled by the city watch or soemthing, but the PCs will end up with the boat anyway, I am really trying to create an illusion of a challenge more than an actual challenge.
It looks good to me someonelse, I think you are struggling to motivate the party to get into the LD hideout?
Actually I would prefer they didn't go back to the lair because I kind of want to keep them around. The LD are defeated and quietly rebuilding, they are taking only one chance at revenge and if it doesn't work they will cut their losses. If they did actually go back it would require me to draw out that whole map again for a hand ful of bad guys who are two levels behind the party in challenge rating. If anything I would fill the place with devious traps and have the actual thieves hiding out someplace else for a while.
Thank you all for your suggestions, I welcome any more! I have to figure out what I'm doing by sunday morning.
You could use one of the city watch groups to add to the confusion certainly--in fact that's an old staple in this kind of story--the cops after the wrong people or the wrong people getting confused with villains. You could also introduce Harliss to the plotline that way, have her swept up in the confusion, then it is discovered that they have similar goals for different reasons. I seem to remember that worked in the film "Conan the Barbarian".
I workmd War of the Weilded into the Bullywugs Gambit (same dungeon issue as Enemy of My Enemies). Certainly intelligent weapons who wan to run Sasserine's underground have use for a gauntlet or for a high level captain. The opening scene there has gives the party cause to chase, and the guantlet could replace the bathhouse