Things didn't according to plan when the players encountered the Graul family.
Rukus killed the fighter instantly with a power attack boosted confirmed critical hit with a set spear against a mounted charge. The player took over Shalaleu until the PC druid reincarnated him later. Rukus was brought down though.
Crowfoot went down as expected, but Mammy escaped with 1 hit point through her dimension door (her zombies got killed). The PCs expected her to be in the barn, so they didn't explore the rest of the house but went straight to the barn instead. They immediately engaged the three boys at the still, and then rescued the rangers from Biggun.
Tough fights. The PCs were low on healing options and resources, and had lost temporary attribute points to poison and other effects. They took their dead fighter and the rescued rangers and evacuated back to Turtleback Ferry.
So Mammy has a few boys left, and any she can animate. The homestead has not been thoroughly explored.
Do you think they would fortify the House for another assault? Or do you think they would work up some other mischief?
I'm tempted to have Mammy contact the Kreegs, but I don't want Fort Rannick any more difficult than it might be anyway.
(In my game I switched Lucretia and Xanesha in terms of stat blocks too).
Any interesting ideas on what I might do with the surviving Grauls? I'm looking for logical consquences to how it went down, but I'm leery of making everything else that much harder.
Hehehe,
I just had a wicked idea:
either use them as antagonists, let them show up every once in a while to cause trouble...maybe Mammy animates a giant or whatnot they've just slain.
or, even more evil: go Nightmare on Elmstreet with the PCs. Have Mammy terrorize their dreams in a way that actually hurts!
Hehehe,
I just had a wicked idea:
either use them as antagonists, let them show up every once in a while to cause trouble...maybe Mammy animates a giant or whatnot they've just slain.
So have them show up later in the AP, or even in the next one?
or, even more evil: go Nightmare on Elmstreet with the PCs. Have Mammy terrorize their dreams in a way that actually hurts!
Interesting, how specifically would you have her do this?
Given the admittedly little that I do know about the genre of films that the module is supposed to evoke the flavour of, I would think that mammy and the surviving Grauls (plus any help she can whip up in the form of zombies) will come gunning after the PCs, bent on revenge. Since the PCs got away, the Grauls' quiet life of being repeatedly overlooked by everyone in the area is likely over, the location of their hideaway (and what has been going on their) known. If mammy were dead, the others might flee in confusion, but mammy will want vengeance on these nasty PCs who have been murdering her family and maybe later (with ogre help) the Grauls can deal with any attempts by the human authorities to polish them off, now that their unsavoury lifestyle has been revealed.
Have Mammy attack Turtleback Ferry while the PCs are at Fort Rannick?
You could even give mammy a homemade harrow deck to read, so she knows roughly where to come looking for the PCs, or can set an ambush if the cards say that they will return.
Interesting, I just want to make sure I don't dogpile the PCs during existing encounters.
Edit:
If mammy has the resources to create zombies, any deliberate move against the PCs by her (coming after them in Turtleback Ferry?) would be delayed by however long it took her to prepare, cast the necessary spells, and then reload again, giving the PCs some time to recover their own losses. (You mentioned ability damage amongst other things.)
Indeed, between the druid and cleric they got back on their feet after two days, but I allowed that Mammy and Co. was doing the same thing.
or, even more evil: go Nightmare on Elmstreet with the PCs. Have Mammy terrorize their dreams in a way that actually hurts!Interesting, how specifically would you have her do this?
Options include:
Nightmare spells, from the PHB.
The nightmare creature template from Advanced Bestiary turns a creature into a dream-haunting monster; perhaps Mammy transforms herself into one (or even a night hag) in some hideous ritual.
[A cross-Varisian murder spree for the Grauls sounds right--with Mammy being carted around by wagon as the boys slaughter innocents and authorities alike until the PCs shut them down.
Hehehe,
I just had a wicked idea:
either use them as antagonists, let them show up every once in a while to cause trouble...maybe Mammy animates a giant or whatnot they've just slain.
So have them show up later in the AP, or even in the next one?
I really like the idea of having them appear in future campaigns. Ongoing antagonists that appear in subsequent campaigns are likely to really engage your players (even though they are playing new PCs) and will provide a powerful emotional kick. The Grauls are very evocative in this context - Mammy and her boys should make excellent villains to cameo in a later campaign. I suspect you'll get a lot more mileage out of them that way then if they show up again this campaign. That sort of thing lets your players know that their actions are meaningful even beyond just their current PCs. What they do with their characters in the world in this campaign has an impact on the world in the next.
I really like the idea of having them appear in future campaigns. Ongoing antagonists that appear in subsequent campaigns are likely to really engage your players (even though they are playing new PCs) and will provide a powerful emotional kick. The Grauls are very evocative in this context - Mammy and her boys should make excellent villains to cameo in a later campaign. I suspect you'll get a lot more mileage out of them that way then if they show up again this campaign. That sort of thing lets your players know that their actions are meaningful even beyond just their current PCs. What they do with their characters in the world in this campaign has an impact on the world in the next.
This does have some appeal, especially due to the way they engaged Mammy.
I made the mistake of saying there was some low burning coals in the fireplace on the first level of the house.
After getting nailed by one trap on the porch, and finding the sofa trap but not falling for it.. Coupled with the fact that they were convinced that someone should have run out of the house when Crowfoot was killed (the text specifically says the ogres wait inside where there's a tactical advantage when Crowfoot shouts out his warning)-
I could see them getting the idea to just burn the house down. They were discussing it aloud.
I said pretty bluntly that I wouldn't be giving any experience for that sort of lame-ass response to a problem. They'd never done that so far, but after clearing the top of Thistletop, they burned it down (I had it have little or no effect on the levels below). They thought about Foxglove Manor, but I specifically had it rain hard the day they went there. This time I just said that arson never going to be rewarded, ever.
One of the actually cited that James Jacobs should stop allowing monsters to have wooden above ground lairs. I kept this thought to myself: that we should just hearken back to '79 where dungeons were all 10' x 10' rooms with an orc in each one, micromanaged by an evil wizard who made +1 swords to be left lying around because he had nothing better to do. Vocalizing sarcasm towards the players doesn't befit the GM sometimes, but I was thinking it.
They grumbled and closed up the chimney flue and through the bearskin rug in the fireplace to try to smoke the ogres out. I relented a little, and had Mammy and her three zombie boys come storming out.
That's part of the reason I was happy to let her escape, when she was able to do so legally. I wasn't impressed with how they handled the house.
Lol. This was mostly a minor vent. I like the idea of the Grauls returning in future chapters...
Huh, something very similiar happened in my game. They heard Mammy shouting for her boys and decided to run (after killing almost all of the Grauls). She's formed a loose alliance with Lucrecia and is going to terrorize Turtleback Ferry in general and the PCs specifically throughout the chapter and maybe into the next one if they don't deal with her. She's out for revenge and will launch a few raids on outlying farms and maybe even a big one on Turtleback Ferry.
I could see them getting the idea to just burn the house down. They were discussing it aloud.
Mine almost torched the place too. I believe it was greed that stopped them in the end though.
[A cross-Varisian murder spree for the Grauls sounds right--with Mammy being carted around by wagon as the boys slaughter innocents and authorities alike until the PCs shut them down.
I love the image this evokes!
[
I said pretty bluntly that I wouldn't be giving any experience for that sort of lame-ass response to a problem. They'd never done that so far, but after clearing the top of Thistletop, they burned it down (I had it have little or no effect on the levels below). They thought about Foxglove Manor, but I specifically had it rain hard the day they went there. This time I just said that arson never going to be rewarded, ever.One of the actually cited that James Jacobs should stop allowing monsters to have wooden above ground lairs. I kept this thought to myself: that we should just hearken back to '79 where dungeons were all 10' x 10' rooms with an orc in...
Once they rescue the rangers, I don't see any reason why burning down their house ISN'T a valid response. (When you suspect that there might be people to rescue inside, burning down the place is bad form, I agree.)
It's one thing when you're dealing with Aldern's place; the "history" of the place should effectively prevent any such shenanigans. But here? Why not? They're using their home as cover and a way to gain an advantage on the party, it's entirely natural for the party to not be stupid tactically and to try to take away that advantage.
And it would be deeply satisfying to me as a player to see those bastards come out of their sick little den crying like babies at what we had done. Who's ready for a grudge match with a burning building as a backdrop? I am.
Once they rescue the rangers, I don't see any reason why burning down their house ISN'T a valid response. (When you suspect that there might be people to rescue inside, burning down the place is bad form, I agree.)
That was the case here. The rangers hadn't been rescued yet.
In the larger sense, as a tactic, arson seems to be contagious.. and once it works really well it gets repeated a lot.
I do see your point, that the ogres might deserve it once all innocents are free and clear. No disagreement there, but I don't care for the precedent it creates as a strategy for overcoming an obstacle or a challenge.
I'm with Watcher here - careful with letting the players be arsonists. In my experience players are never more then a half a step away from using 'Burn It!' as their answer to every problem at the best of times.
I'd not encourage them...
Well, how hard is it to get a building to burn to the ground using only the exterior to set it on fire? I presume it would be much easier to get a building-destroying fire going from the inside. Also, you can always let them burn it with the cost being the loss of treasure, rather than simply telling them that they CAN'T do it.
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My group did not explore the whole house either because they accidently burned it down although the only one to get away was Mammy. They saw her fly off. Actually it has been a lot of fun the Quasit, the first Lamia and Mammy and the 2nd Lamia all got away from them. They think they are the Runelords and are worried that at the finale they are going to have to face them all together. I have enjoyed their discomfort at that thought.
I had not decided if I was going to do anything with that or not but this thread may have given me some ideas...