My players are just finishing up Seven Days to the Grave. Their highest priority all along has been making sure that everything they do is done "for the honour of the queen", and their incursion into the depths of the Hospice has been as much of a black op as they've been able to manage. They've spent big money on magic to cover their tracks, and they're arranging to drop off the notes about the plague at the Academae anonymously.
They're very afraid of the Red Mantis, and they want to make sure that they never become targets of that group. This is a higher priority than everything else. Realistically, anyone who's a target of the Red Mantis never gets a "happily ever after". At best, you survive the campaign, retire, and then two weeks later get rubbed out.
So the queen has no easy way of knowing who happened to the Hospice, but signs point to the Arkonas. In fact, the PCs are cultivating that House as potential allies, under the theory that the enemy of their enemy is their friend. This should make Escape From Old Korvosa very interesting.
At this point I feel like I should let the PCs succeed in covering their tracks. They're spending many hours (real time) figuring out every angle and taking care of it (preferably with back-up plans at every step). Saying that Ileosa sends the Red Mantis after them could realistically be justified by enough money being spent on divination spells, but I think it would be very disheartening for the players and I'd rather not do that.
I don't think that the AP is seriously harmed by the PCs never becoming targets of the Red Mantis. Am I wrong?
They could still become targets of the mantis if they encounter them in Vencarlo's apartment. Of course, if the PCs don't kill them (either by using subdual damage or use of stabilize spells that could work. Course then they'd have to deal with the mantis's memory of the event.
Unless they run from the mantis encounter its unlikely they'll avoid it for long. They might not make enemies of the queen (yet) but theres something to be said for "wrong place, wrong time"
If their plans are decent, I'd let the players succeed.
The only drawback is that you somehow have to convince them to leave down later on. If the Red Mantis is not after them, then that may be a bit hard to do.
Of course, the PCs are doomed to meet the Mantis at Vencarlo's. I'd try and make sure the players understand that the Mantis was not there for them - just wrong place at the wrong time.
Unless they run from the mantis encounter its unlikely they'll avoid it for long. They might not make enemies of the queen (yet) but theres something to be said for "wrong place, wrong time"
There is something to be said for that, but it seems to me that when their overriding concern is avoiding this enmity then having it occur by happenstance would be bad GMing on my part.
When they encounter Red Mantis assassins on duty I'm sure that they'll be properly terrified and respectful. If not then it's their own fault and not me forcing the issue.
If their plans are decent, I'd let the players succeed.
The only drawback is that you somehow have to convince them to leave down later on. If the Red Mantis is not after them, then that may be a bit hard to do.
I'm okay with that. I'll make sure that they know that the Shoanti are going to invade if nobody convinces them otherwise, and then leave it up to the PCs whether or not they do something about it.
Of course, the PCs are doomed to meet the Mantis at Vencarlo's. I'd try and make sure the players understand that the Mantis was not there for them - just wrong place at the wrong time.
I think that it must be possible to encounter the Mantis and live. After all, that's how reputations are made, and the assassins have been very careful about cultivating theirs. As long as the PCs are smart in that encounter they should be able to avoid combat. The encounter description gives details on what the assassins do after they hear people enter Vencarlo's home, but it doesn't say that they automatically attack anyone. Given the attitude of my players I expect that if people in Mantis outfits stepped out of hiding I'd have a full surrender on my hands, or at the very least a moving to a non-threatening stance and a frantic request for a conversation before any fighting broke out.
Alternately, they could fight the assassins and burn the bodies, but that seems really unnecessary.
If no one is paying the Red Mantis to kill the PCs, then there's no reason for individual members of the Red Mantis to kill the PCs just because they encounter them - especially if the PCs are properly respectful.
It would be interesting to see if you can set things up so that the PCs become "informers" for the Red Mantis, or otherwise act cooperatively with them in order to avoid being on their bad side. (For example - If the PCs stage info to make it appear that some of their own enemies are causing trouble for the crown so Ileosa hires the Red Mantis to go after those enemies, then provide info to the Red Mantis about those enemies...)
If they do this, then even if Ileosa does later figure out the PCs are the troublemakers and tries to hire the Red Mantis to kill them, the Red Mantis might have reason to turn down the job.
I love this idea! Thank-you!
The PCs have met one woman who I've always tagged as a Red Mantis assassin. She was off duty at the time, and all they knew about her was that she was well-connected in the underworld but was an enemy of the Arkonas. I don't know that she'll approach them, but she's certainly a source of information on the PCs to Red Mantis administration. She might even recommend them for the job you suggest.
Thanks again!