Problem with the Carowyn Mansion hook

[Illessa]

Is it just me or does the initial hook (being asked to investigate the place by Deyanira) seem rather unlikely? Apparently Deyanira has been pleading with the guard for days but they won't help her as they don't have time to search for a single Varisian musician, but surely he isn't the only one missing? Apparently dozens of nobles were at the party and most of them must have family who didn't attend, Ileosa wanted them dead but surely even she couldn't prevent the guard from investigating when the families of all these nobles (and the servants etc) are clamouring for their loved ones to be found, at least not without drawing some serious suspicion. Plus no matter how overstretched the guard are, it must still be worth their while looking into the mansion when everyone who attended a ball there mysteriously vanished.
It's not really a problem, since I can always just have Cressida give the party a mission to go there, but I'm just wondering if there's an explanation.

[James Jacobs]

Illessa wrote:

Is it just me or does the initial hook (being asked to investigate the place by Deyanira) seem rather unlikely? Apparently Deyanira has been pleading with the guard for days but they won't help her as they don't have time to search for a single Varisian musician, but surely he isn't the only one missing? Apparently dozens of nobles were at the party and most of them must have family who didn't attend, Ileosa wanted them dead but surely even she couldn't prevent the guard from investigating when the families of all these nobles (and the servants etc) are clamouring for their loved ones to be found, at least not without drawing some serious suspicion. Plus no matter how overstretched the guard are, it must still be worth their while looking into the mansion when everyone who attended a ball there mysteriously vanished.

It's not really a problem, since I can always just have Cressida give the party a mission to go there, but I'm just wondering if there's an explanation.

Actually... the guard DOESN'T have time to investigate the majority of events that occur during this adventure. They've got a full-fledged plague going on that they're trying to handle, and that's AFTER the events of the previous adventure which already left them short-staffed between desertions and death. They really don't have the manpower to check into the majority of the non-plague-related events during the adventure. (Remember that even though the Carowyn events ARE plague related... from the outside, it doesn't seem so.)

There's likely other people looking for what happened to the missing guests... but also, keep in mind that in many cases, entire noble families attended the Carowyn gala. Of those who are left to notice their absence among the hired help... they have their own worries. Some of them probably have the sickness... ALL of them certainly know someone who is sick ad needs care.

One other factor to keep in mind. The Carowyn event is set up by Rolth, who likely has a grudge against the PCs for what they did to his lab in the previous adventure. I wouldn't put it past him to pull strings and manipulate stuff so that the PCs are the ones who are most likely to go investigate the manor's problem. In fact, you can change things a little bit and have him set up the PCs with the mission (via a proxy) in the first place, guaranteeing that they go there before the guard has a chance to react or do stuff.

[Illessa]

James Jacobs wrote:

Actually... the guard DOESN'T have time to investigate the majority of events that occur during this adventure. They've got a full-fledged plague going on that they're trying to handle, and that's AFTER the events of the previous adventure which already left them short-staffed between desertions and death. They really don't have the manpower to check into the majority of the non-plague-related events during the adventure. (Remember that even though the Carowyn events ARE plague related... from the outside, it doesn't seem so.)

There's likely other people looking for what happened to the missing guests... but also, keep in mind that in many cases, entire noble families attended the Carowyn gala. Of those who are left to notice their absence among the hired help... they have their own worries. Some of them probably have the sickness... ALL of them certainly know someone who is sick ad needs care.

One other factor to keep in mind. The Carowyn event is set up by Rolth, who likely has a grudge against the PCs for what...

Fair enough, perhaps I need to look over PF8 again, my brain obviously isn't working on a big enough scale yet :), I think I mostly latched onto the fact that a lot of nobles would have gone missing and the upper echelons mostly haven't been affected by the plague quite as much (or there have been fewer infections at least), so it would stand out. But I guess that still doesn't change the fact that the guard are out in the streets trying to create a semblance of order and aren't investigating anything bar problems that could further the spread of the plague.

I guess also the initial feeling of a change of scale from finding evidence of the queen's involvement on the Direption to saving some Varisian guy threw me, though again not a problem as I'm probably going to make Ruan a relative of my Varisian PC with large extended family for added personal trauma :P and if the other players feel that shift then what they find in the mansion should soon change their minds.
I really like the idea of it being a set up by Rolth, I'll have to integrate that in.

[primemover003]

Yeah the Korvosan Guard is probably stretched as thin as it could go... In a plague they've got to man the checkpoints between City districts on top of monitoring the desposal of bodies and their ranks are probably suffering from Blood Veil as well.

The Sable Company is probably busy checking to make sure Ships leaving the city aren't carrying the infected.

Everyone but the Gray Maidens is probably swamped!

[firedancer]

I'm planning on making this a bit more personal and want to introduce at least one of the siblings earlier in the AP, just so they've met, perhaps even appreciated the music. Certainly going to make them hear of this talented young man on the up.

As for the party itself, I was thinking it was intended to be one of those "close the doors, let the city burn around us while we party for days" events, so the nobles aren't really missing yet. Ruan can be considered missing as the musicians are hired for a performance, they would go home and rest inbetween. Other performers might have turned up, shrugged at the locked doors "they do party hard" and then rushed home.