Bringing Maavu and the Striders more into the campaign


Shackled City Adventure Path


My SCAP campaign is currently at the end of the Flood Season chapter. I am about to run the group through delvesdeep's Demonscar Ball and then we will be moving on to the next chapter.

So far in my campaign I have had a bit of trouble introducing both the Striders and Maavu into the campaign. The party came across Fario and Fellian in Chapter 1 but they still don't really know anything about them. They were suspicious of the 2 half-elves since they were proclaiming to be working for the Mayor but no-one seemed to know anything about them.

Since then I haven't really introduced them into the campaign again. I'd like to weave them in but I'm not really sure how. The party have met Shensen the drow druid twice and are on relatively good terms with her. They've met Meethern(sp?) once (but only when he was disguised as a merchant) when they were rewarded with the Boots of Striding and Springing.

I like the Striders concept and I'd like to work them in more but I don't know how they really integrate with the campaign. Anyone have any suggestions?

As for Maavu, I know he is an important character in the later chapters so I'd like to make the PC's aware of him before the Tax Riots. I've put an ad for Maavu's Imports in the Cauldron Chronicle issues I give my players. I'll also get him to make an appearance at the Demonskar Ball. Any other ideas as to how I foreshadow him more?

Thanks,

Olaf the Stout


He gets nicely forshadowed in Chapter Four at the beginning when his warehouse is attacked by the umber hulk and Vhalantru's agents spread rumours about him fleeing on a horse with flames for hooves. My party were really suspicious about him after that.

Then he turns up at the start of Chapter Five inciting a riot and they really did think he was a bad guy - until he thanked them for saving his ass from the breath drinker and told them he is allied with the paladin Alek Tercvival (who they think might be mad or cursed) and now they are absolutely not sure what to make of him!

They are believing the government to be corrupt (mostly due to comments by Vhalantru of all people!) so this is leading them to think maybe Maavu is a good guy.

Personally I think this all works really well. They'll know who he is before be becomes hugely important in Chapter Five, due to the events of Chapter Four and will not really be sure if he's good or bad.

I suggest you have done enough forshadowing with adding adverts into your newspaper for now to be honest...

Blakey


What about the Striders. I'd like to work them into the campaign more but I'm not sure how to go about it. Thoughts?

Olaf the Stout


In my game, the Striders are investigating rumours of a demonic cult operating in the Cauldron region. One of the characters is an elven ranger whose family died in a orc raid. So I had the Striders approach him with information that his brother is still alive. His brother's name? Kyan Winterstrike (converted to a non-drow, of course).

So as they find out more information, they'll keep in touch with the PCs. In fact, one PC joined the party temporarily as Fellian (for the attack on the Lucky Monkey), but he dropped out soon afterwards.


In my campaign, Shensen became the girlfriend of one of the PCs. Fario and Fellian stuck around Cauldron for a while and traded information about the various investigations. Eventually, all of them headed off to explore the area for more trouble.

I also ran a Necrocant ambush on the Striders, in which Meerthan teleported the PCs in to help. Details are here This is to foreshadow Alurad Sorizan and Khyron and was among the many foreshadow events from Delvesdeep's documents.


Sorry, I forgot you asked about the Striders.

In my campaign Shensen has also become the GF to a PC. His mother (he's just found out) was also a priestess of Fharlanghn so he's quite keen to become a Strider himself, even though he is a wizard.

Meerthan has been encountered and they know he's the head of the Striders in this region and Shensen told them they are currently investigating an evil cult in the region but would not tell them more than that (this is the CW's of course).

I expect they'll become more important over time and of course in Chapter 8 (I think) the PCs have to try and rescue one from the Last Laugh. So of course by then it will be good to get the PCs familiar with them.

I think soon enough in my campaign Meerthen is going to want to "interview" the PCs, especially the PC dating Shensen, and so the whole party will meet all the Striders soon....


I think Shensen might be my way to let the PC's know more about the Striders. They know her a little and would probably trust her enough to believe that the Striders are on their side.

Olaf the Stout


hogarth wrote:

In my game, the Striders are investigating rumours of a demonic cult operating in the Cauldron region. One of the characters is an elven ranger whose family died in a orc raid. So I had the Striders approach him with information that his brother is still alive. His brother's name? Kyan Winterstrike (converted to a non-drow, of course).

So as they find out more information, they'll keep in touch with the PCs. In fact, one PC joined the party temporarily as Fellian (for the attack on the Lucky Monkey), but he dropped out soon afterwards.

Actually you don't need to convert Kyan to a non-drow, she is already an elf (see chapter 11). You might have to change her gender though. Or were you referring to Viirdran?


Maglub wrote:
Actually you don't need to convert Kyan to a non-drow, she is already an elf (see chapter 11). You might have to change her gender though. Or were you referring to Viirdran?

Sorry, I get those two mixed up. It is indeed a sex change, not a race change.


I actually had it easy in my game. After the first session the party was moving to investigate the Lantern Street orphanage when another player joined us. His barbarian's back story involved his becoming an orphan after the demons of the Demonskar destroyed his village when he was young so he had a deep hatred of demons as an adult. This allowed me to simply say he was a member of the Striders already and knew Merthan, Fario and Fellian. His orders were to make contact with the party, determine their motives, and if they were working in conjunction with the Strider's manifesto than he was to aid them in any way possible.

In another game one of the Striders or, even Merthan himself, could request a meeting with the party. After speaking to them about their goals and ambitions he might recruit them to his cause or at east offer himself as a contact and ally. If you are using delvedeep's alternate foreshadowing there is a quick mission that Merthan asks of the party to be placed somewhere inside The Demonskar Legacy, probably prior to the tax riot. So if you cultivate the relationship during your next chapter, Zenith Trajectory, you could have the party involved with the Striders at this time.

As the campaign progresses you could fade the Striders in or out as you choose. Once the party flees Cauldron for Redgorge you could keep merthan or any of the Striders inside the city as contacts to feed intelligence out to the party. You could even use them as a hook to return later with their possible death or capture by Vhalantru or any of the XIII.


EATERoftheDEAD wrote:
Once the party flees Cauldron for Redgorge...

As a very brief aside and desperate not to derail this thread, when is this supposed to happen? What causes it?

Cheers


Blakey wrote:
As a very brief aside and desperate not to derail this thread, when is this supposed to happen? What causes it?

The party leaves cauldron during The Demonskar Legacy and stay away for the next chapter, Test of the Smoking Eye, and by the time they return in Secrets of the Soul Pillars Vhalantru has seized power. The party then spends the next several chapters tearing through Vhalantru and the Cagewrights' organization.

I don't recall exactly what the adventures say or if it is different in the HC (I am running it from the magazines) but I believe the party is implicated as being part of the Chisel and branded as outlaws. I could be completely wrong on that part, however.


Blakey wrote:
As a very brief aside and desperate not to derail this thread, when is this supposed to happen? What causes it?

The heroes go in search of Alek Tercival, paladin of St. Cuthbert. The search should lead them to Redgorge.


Shimrath wrote:
Blakey wrote:
As a very brief aside and desperate not to derail this thread, when is this supposed to happen? What causes it?
The heroes go in search of Alek Tercival, paladin of St. Cuthbert. The search should lead them to Redgorge.

Okay, so they are not "fleeing" Cauldron as such, just leaving in search of Maavu. Okay.

Apologies for derailing the thread.

B


Blakey wrote:
Okay, so they are not "fleeing" Cauldron as such, just leaving in search of Maavu. Okay.

My party just did this bit today and wanted to head off to Redgorge after Maavu before I could get Celeste to talk to them at the beginning of Zenith Trajectory. I stepped up her invitation so they wouldn't head off so quickly. They hemmed and hawed about what to do but finally decided to accept the mission to go after Zenith but not before requesting Sir Alek and Ruphus to head to Redgorge after Maavu for them.

So now I don't need to explain why Tercival took off, he said he had business down there anyway. Thank you PCs, I appreciate it.


Well I managed to work the Striders into my campaign nicely last session. I ran the delvesdeep forshadowing plot addition where one of the PC's gets captured and tortured by the Last Laugh theives guild and then turned to stone by Orbius.

The party rescued their petrified friend and then took him back to Jenya to ask for her help. She said she couldn't turn him back to flesh but she would put the word out for them. The next day she old them that Tyro Amberhelm, a merchant they met through Shensen, could help them. He told the party he had a business proposition for them and then took them up to his room.

Waiting in their were Fario and Fellian, whom the party had discovered was following them in Chapter 1 (but didn't know anything else about them). Meerthan AKA Tyro then filled the party in on who the Striders were, what they stood for and why they had come to Cauldron. He said that they had been watching the party and that, since they had proven themselves to be on the good side, proposed they share information with. The party was happy with this and everyone is on board to seek out these Cagewrights.

I'm not sure what role the Striders will have in the campaign going forward but at least I've introduced them now.

Olaf the Stout

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

Damn, how did I miss that point? Foreshadowing Orbius as well, that is quite awesome. Going to have to remember that for my next run through.


TriOmegaZero wrote:
Damn, how did I miss that point? Foreshadowing Orbius as well, that is quite awesome. Going to have to remember that for my next run through.

I think the Orbius encounter where a PC is captured and turned to stone is in delvesdeep's "Foreshadowing" document. Basically I PC is ambushed one night in Cauldron when they are by themselves. I did this by giving the party Rogue a note supposedly from Artus Shemwick, asking him to meet him alone right away. He fell for the bait and Jil paralysed him with one well placed blow.

From there he is tortured and questioned by another person from the Last Laugh until he tells them everything he knows about his party, the Striders (the PC didn't even know who they were at this point), the nobles and just Cauldron in general. After that is all over I had the PC black out and then come to when Orbius arrives.

I let all of the players sit around and watch the whole thing. The expression on their faces when I put the Beholder on the table for the second time in the campaign was awesome. The Rogue's player said "Oh s**t!" and everyone had the look of "uh-oh". They managed the rescue with ease but I didn't mind as the rescue wasn't really the point of the whole sub-plot. It was more about getting Orbius to show up in the campaign again.

The fact that the Rogue was questioned about the Striders was good. It meant things started to click into place when the party actually found out who the Striders were later that session.

Olaf the Stout

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

How did they rescue the rogue? I see this as an opportunity to hint at Orbius' "collector" habit, so how did they get the statue back? Catch the Last Laugh transporting him under cover of darkness?


TriOmegaZero wrote:
How did they rescue the rogue? I see this as an opportunity to hint at Orbius' "collector" habit, so how did they get the statue back? Catch the Last Laugh transporting him under cover of darkness?

It's all in the foreshadowing article. Basically Artus Shemwick lets them know that their friend is in trouble and tells them where to go (a warehouse near Crater Lake). The PC's bust in there, take down about 8 Last Laugh Rogues and a Harlequin (See the Hardcover for stats on both). In the warehouse the party finds the missing PC, turned to stone in a covered up wagon.

For that fight I let the PC that was turned to stone take over the actions and dice rolling for all the baddies. That way he's still involved in the combat instead of sitting on the sidelines watching.

Olaf the Stout

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure, Rulebook Subscriber

Found it in the archives. Definately a handy idea. I imagine using the capture as a cliffhanger at the end of a session will be most enjoyable.

This could also be the cause of Artus' cover being blown and getting murdered by Nulin.

Community / Forums / Archive / Paizo / Books & Magazines / Dungeon Magazine / Shackled City Adventure Path / Bringing Maavu and the Striders more into the campaign All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.
Recent threads in Shackled City Adventure Path