My PCs, all minor aristocrats, are starting to feel like the problems they're facing should be solved by somebody else. This seems reasonable, based on what they've seen so far. Sure, the Korvosan Guard and the Sable Company and the Order of the Nail are all way too overworked, but there are other nobles around. I need to show them why nobody else is fixing things.
They're just finishing up Seven Days to the Grave, and they feel like going into the Hospice after the bad guys is just something they're not up to doing. Instead they've taken all the information that they have and given it to Glorio Arkona.
Here's my plan:
1. I'm going to run a session where Lord Glorio sends Vennashti Arkona and a couple of minor cousins (human ari1, or so) along with any PCs who choose to accompany them to check out the old Arkona warehouse. They'll use passwall to get into the room with the lift and head straight down, dismissing it behind them. Glorio's interests have been badly hurt by the plague, and he has a stake in stopping it. One of my players was spoiled (not by me) about the true nature of the Arkonas, so he'll play Vennashti.
2. I'm going to start explaining what the other noble houses are doing. House Ornelos is sequestering themselves in the Academae, and House Leroung is doing likewise in the university. House Zenderholm is shutting down Zenderholm manner, leaving behind a minimal stuff, turning over whatever house guards they can to the Korvosan Guard, and leaving for Palin's Cove. Lord Jeggare is taking a sizable contingent of his family and retainers and relocating to Melfesh, leaving his city concerns in the hands of other family and stuff. Does this sound like what would be happening with the Great Houses?
3. Once the PCs start gaining recognition (should they ever do any of the missions themselves) I want to have citizens approach them as heroes and assume that they're saviours of the city. Right now the PCs feel like they're doing all this work for almost no return, but they just need to push through to the end to see it all pay off.
Doing these paths with weird compositions of PCs is always extra challenging, but I think that if I can pull this off we'll have a lot of fun.