Hi,
I want to present you the situation in which I’m as DM. I left my PC asking people (like the doctor of the king) about his death during “Edge of Anarchy”. The doctor told them that he couldn’t explain the death of the King. Now, last Friday, we finished “Edge of Anarchy” with the save of Trinia by BlackJack. When I read “Seven days…” it starts weeks after “Edge of Anarchy”. In fact, I think that it’s not so cool for the PC to tell them that during 2 weeks they won’t be able to act and that they have to follow the story and only the story. I think that my PC would wish to be interested in trying to find who is Blackjack, talk with other NPC (like Grau, Verik, with whom I can introduce the name of Miss Arkona). I wish also to make them coming back to meet Devargo, which he’s also in link with Miss Arkona) just to make them not forget her name, even if they can’t act directly on her for the moment (because I think that they’ll meet her or learn her secret during PF#9?). What do you think about my idea? And if you have some ideas, I’m glad to read them!
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I think you've got some great ideas on events and things with which the PCs can be involved in the "down time" between those adventures. My time to prepare for games will be limited when we get to that point, and so if my players want to do similar investigations, I'll resolve them... but not with actual lengthy encounters. A few rolls (like Gather Information--or, if you're using Pathfinder RPG rules, Diplomacy) will give me an idea of how much they should learn.
For example, if they investigate Blackjack:
DC 10--Blackjack had been inactive for over a decade before appearing at Trinia's execution
DC 20--There are varying descriptions of Blackjack.
DC 25--Those descriptions can't all be attributed to time that has passed and the stress of situations in which he was seen. Older people who claim to have encountered him describe him one way (perhaps favoring a bow instead of a blade), while many younger people describe him as taller and more graceful than the old-timers.
DC 35--Sightings of Blackjack place him as operating primarily in and around Old Korvosa.
This sort of thing allows the characters to still be involved in the game world without detouring so far from the progression of the Adventure Path that the main story gets lost.
Glad to hear you've finished the first adventure! We're loving it.
A few rolls like Diplomacy will give me an idea of how much they should learn.
In fact, in my party, they already know that "Blackjack had been inactive for over a decade", but the other things, they don't know. One PC have given the idea about the fact that BlackJack is an elf (because of the 200 years of existence of BlackJack but...
one was Vencarlo's student and think that it's him, so I think that he'll wish to meet him in oder to ask him that (but he won't be able to reveal that before PF#10, I think). This PC knows also Grau and Sabina, for being student during the same period so he'll want to meet Sabina too, and moreover, ALL think that Sabina must have notice some changes in Ileosa's attitude. I'm not sure to find the wright things to say to them to explain them that Sabina doesn't notice anything new in Queen's attitude? Perhaps, because of her Bard's level?
My players know I run prepublished adventures and are pretty lenient on me as far as derailing the plot. Where I pay them back is in opening up the doors for player destiny between these published adventures.
It may take us several sessions to get through an adventure, but afterward they tell me what they plan on having their PC do. Some want to go to the big city to buy magic items, some try to investigate clues left behind by the previous Big Bad, some may just hang out at the tavern while they wait for adventure to land on their laps. Often these desires can be fulfilled "off-camera" via email where I simply describe the end results, discoveries, or shopping trips. There's also the possibility that the PC's actions can be dovetailed into either the next adventure in the plot or another appropriate one from my Dungeon Magazine collection.
Speaking of which, I was going through some of my old Dungeon magazines looking for exactly this sort of thing...side treks to drop in around the first adventure. So far, I came up with one good one...#128's "Shut in" by Pathfinder's own F. Wesley Schneider and James L. Sutter. Sure, it needs a bit of scaling, but there are few enough encounters to keep the PCs from getting too far ahead of the curve. The hook also seems easy to drop; Croft could foist this one on the PCs if they're bored, claiming she didn't want to waste their time playing bodyguard.
In fact, the fit is so good that I'm going to have to change a couple things. For one thing, the crippled old woman (forget her name) reminds me too much of Queen Ileosa; vain, snobbish, etc. I'm going to have to tone her down a bit, perhaps by making her a little more senile, or more like Lucille from "Arrested Development," taking some of the bile out of her and replacing it with a more passive-aggressive complex.
Also, Peck is eerily similar to Jabbyr from PF #9 (I think one small psychopathic mute barbarian per adventure path is enough). To remedy this, I was either going to have Peck be one of Gaedren's ex-employees who took a turn for the worse (ideally after the PCs freed him from Gaedren's clutches early on in EoA; Kester from pg. 16 comes to mind), or perhaps a deformed lovechild (in keeping with the "Arrested Development" parallels, one could say he's Buster) that the crippled old woman kept hidden away in shame (inspiration drawn loosely from the opening minutes of Batman Returns).
Anyways, that's just my thoughts. Anyone else have any luck finding old Dungeon modules that would fit in with Korvosa?
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Anyways, that's just my thoughts. Anyone else have any luck finding old Dungeon modules that would fit in with Korvosa?
I'm considering running War of the Wielded b/w EoA and Seven Days. (I think its Dungeon 148?) I imagine the Styes adventures could be adapted or Chimes of Midnight (though the Eberron stuff would need some work).
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Spoiler:one was Vencarlo's student and think that it's him, so I think that he'll wish to meet him in oder to ask him that (but he won't be able to reveal that before PF#10, I think). This PC knows also Grau and Sabina, for being student during the same period so he'll want to meet Sabina too, and moreover, ALL think that Sabina must have notice some changes in Ileosa's attitude. I'm not sure to find the wright things to say to them to explain them that Sabina doesn't notice anything new in Queen's attitude? Perhaps, because of her Bard's level?
Sabina has seen the changes at work in her queen, brought on by Kazavon’s influence, and although she does not yet know the extent or source of this influence (or the fact that the queen was behind Eodred II’s death), she approves of Ileosa’s sudden uprising of self-confidence, courage, and military eagerness. She suspects that Eodred was stifling her, and that the king’s death has finally allowed her queen to bloom into the ruler she was destined to become."
So if the player is a close friend of Sabina's, I'd just have her be honest. Ileosa did change somewhat, she seemed to find a great font of inner-strength and courage whilst she was coping with the king's long illness, it hints at the truth but shouldn't make the player too suspicious. If she's very close with the character, she might confide her suspicions about the doddering old king holding Ileosa back, which is a nice red herring. Remember Sabina is utterly infatuated with the queen, so she is very likely to notice any changes or unusual behaviour when it comes to Ileosa, but she's also likely to see her actions in the best possible light.
One of my players is a very close friend of Vencarlo's too. Vencarlo is currently feeling more than a little guilty having to constantly lie through his teeth to him :).
** spoiler omitted **** spoiler omitted **
Moreover, they discuss about the fact to try to know who is BlackJack, because mu PC thinks it's Vencalor because of his way of fight, but another think that it's not important to know who he is, because of the other Korvosa's gard and HellsKnights!
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Spoiler:In fact, one of my PC followed Vencarlo's lessons in the same period that Sabina and Grau did, but he's younger. He's friend with Grau but Sabina was always apart, not alone but working more than Grau, who was a very friendly person with my PC. So my PC knows Vnecarlo, Grau and Sabina but he's closer with Grau than the others that he didn't meet again after the end of Vencarlo's lesson. So in my mind, Sabina should remember him but has no reason to be very friendly with him and has no reason to talk to him about her doubts and so on... But it's clear that if Sabina would tell to my PC that there's no change in Ileosa's way of life, they didn't believe her because they were shocked to see Ilesoa well dressed and choosing to kill Trinia (for whom, they are sure that she's innocent). So something change but what? They think that she's under an influence of one person and think that Sabina must know something. Do you understand the situation. Moreover, they discuss about the fact to try to know who is BlackJack, because mu PC thinks it's Vencalor because of his way of fight, but another think that it's not important to know who he is, because of the other Korvosa's gard and HellsKnights!
Ahh I see
Hope I'm not ranting on here too much, I just enjoy these sort of thought exercises on how characters would react to different situations. It really helps to get a handle on them :).
I think the AP pretty much assumes that the party will at least vaguely suspect Vencarlo of being Blackjack, since he's the only swashbuckly type they know :). But yeah, hopefully between the events of 7DttG and early EFoK and their affairs with the guards and Hellknights, there'll be plenty to keep them too preoccupied to grill Vencarlo on the subject constantly :).
What I can answer if not...
I love your way to think because I do in the same manner! I love imagine how the NPC could react to a situation or a way to be asking. For example, just before going to meet Vreeg in the Gray, my party decided to meet cleric of Pharasma in order to ask them some question and to obtain son holy water. Unfortunately, the fighter (who is a professional Korvosa's gard, doesn't use any diplomacy to ask the beautiful cleric who reacted in being offense by that she heard! Told them if they didn't trust in the power of Pharasma and his cleric. So they went to the gray without any halo water :-)
I like imagine how I could react if someone ask me about his doubt on one of my best friend? Probably, in a bad way. In my party, I know that if the cleric would speak, everything is gonna be alright, if it's the paladin, I am not so sure!
I wish to play this not writing period soon! The first or second August