For reasons I needn't include in a public forum, Part One of Edge of Anarchy really isn't going to work for one of my players. I wondered if this might be the case after reading the players' guide, and reading the (really well-written) scenario has confirmed this for me, particularly after speaking with the player in question about it. It's a great piece of work, but I need to replace part one with something that doesn't include child abuse.
Here are the elements I'm seeing that I need to include:
* introduction of Zellara
* bringing together the PCs
* kick off the campaign with a bang
* distribute Harrow points
Anything else? Skipping the Gaedren backstory means no background traits, but I could make some up or not use them or use the trait optional rules from d20srd.org. Do we know if the traits as written play a part later in the path?
To reiterate: I am in no way unhappy with Edge of Anarchy. It's a GM's job to know his players and filter out things that would be actually disturbing, not anyone else's. I'm just pondering the objectives of Part One to make sure that my customized encounter achieves them.
Creative Director
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Well... Gaedren has his hands in all manner of other unsavory pies; not just the Oliver Twist child abuse scene. You could certainly replace all his orphans with goblins, perhaps, that he's smuggled into town through the sewers. Or maybe just make them homeless desperate non-combatant thugs?
Doing that lets you pretty much just knock out all of the trait options that have anything to do with the kids; there's false accusations of murder and drug problems too.
If you want to drop the Gaedren scene entirely, and not use the traits at all, though, that works fine too. The implied backstories of the traits don't play in to Curse of the Crimson Throne again after Part one of the first adventure, but Zellara and her Harrow deck certainly do.
Thanks! That's very helpful.
I'll wait until I can buy the Korvosa pdf and read through that before I make a final decision on how to kick off the campaign. I'll definitely include Zellara and her Harrow deck, though.
He's also a drug dealer. If none of your players are opposed to a game with rampant drug abuse, you can have your players develop backgrounds around loss due to drug abuse. Friends, family, or lovers lost to drugs, being beaten for competing in the trade, trying to stop the trade for moral reasons, etc. It's still enough to bring some crusaders together.
Yes, the false accusations of murder and the drug problems are good starting points, if I keep Lamm in. I'll reread some source material and see if I can concoct a few more reasons to hate Lamm. It shouldn't be too hard. :)
I also need to include the queen's brooch in there, in order to facilitate the segue to part three. Plan A is definitely to keep Gaedren in there and just remove the child abuse.
Maybe he's been enslaving pseudodragons for some nefarious purpose. That would incense people without triggering RL child abuse issues. I'll keep pondering.