Ending Skinsaw for Chaotic Paranoid characters

[pjackson]

I am trying to plan for this weeks session and would welcome second opinions.

Spoiler:

My player's characters seem to be paranoid about getting involved with the authorities in Magnimar. Two are CN and one CG.
They burned down the sawmill to destroy any evidence of their being there.
They did take the masks to the temple of Desna (who the CG character worships) and were given a reward. They also left Ironbriar's coded journal there.
They have just fought Xanesha, going up the outside where they could be seen and with part of the fight being in the open.

I am a little worried that they might not pass the list on and so will miss out on the reward and not come to the mayor's attention so will be harder to lead into the next module.

Since there is a law against climbing the tower (which they started by doing) I think I will have someone who saw them report it to the Hellknights in hope of a rewards, and have a couple turn up to questions the party, and pray that the barbarian will behave himself. Maybe have a mounted squad turn up shortly afterwards, and try to take charge. Then have to ask the party's help in dealing with the golem. I will try to bring the list to the Hellkinght's notice. Their commander would instantly recognize it and take the party to the mayor.

I think I will also have them find a letter from Xanesha's sister, to give them a hint that they may face more like her and should be prepared.

[Sean Mahoney]

Worst case scenario, you have them arrested and sentenced to head to the same place... either way it can logically move in that direction.

[pjackson]

Sean Mahoney wrote:

Worst case scenario, you have them arrested and sentenced to head to the same place... either way it can logically move in that direction.

That would very much be the worst case.

I would like them to get the reward and have time to equip themselves, as there gear is currently a bit poor for their level. They got 15,000gp they haven't had time to spend yet the session before last.
Besides trying to keep the druid prisoner would be extremely difficult, currently she is on her last wild shape of the day, but once she has rested ...

[mearrin69]

Wow. Your guys *are* paranoid. My players would be searching out the authorities, "Look what we did. Is there a reward for that?" :)

So, anyway, some people saw them climbing the clocktower. Maybe they start a little grass-roots hero worship. Something dark was living in that tower and these guys cleaned it out. Probably that dark thing was behind all these crazy murders recently, right? Start having the ordinary joes buy them drinks and backslapping them and calling them the "real city watch" and similar. Maybe they'll get into the role and accept the credit - then they've got the docs and info to prove that they did, in fact, stop the skinsaw murders when the authorities get interested in all this hero-worship going on in rabbletown.

I'm going to have my guys greeted by a band and banners as they roll into Magnimar. The Lord-Mayor's assistant will be there to greet the famed "Seekers of Truth" (not the party's name) who have come to rid the city of its plague of madmen and murderers. Of course, when they learn the party is just a bunch of nobodies, they'll shut it down and wait for the real heroes to arrive. I have to make this change so they'll smell reward and feel the pressure of a competing group of heroes and actually go after the plotline a little. Chaotic lethargic.
M

[Revan]

I was honestly surprised by the lengths my party went to in informing the Lord Mayor anonymously. I guess they hadn't figured out that Justice Ironbriar was fleeing the city after their battle (they let him go, realizing only afterwards that he was evil before the lamia charmed him. It was easy enough to move them along--Shalelu's on her way down there anyway, and would probably want some backup. But I was forced to not give them their reward...

[pjackson]

I didn't need to preasure the player's into following the plot. The note from Xanesha at Foxglove manor was enough motivation for them. The clues led them to the townhouse, sawmill and tower. They decided they needed to go after Xanesha quickly and not give her time to learn about Ironbriar's death so haven't waited for the journal to be translated. I was hoping to give them some more warnings about her that way :(.

As they see it they have broken into a rich man's house and stolen some goods, and taken the law into their own hands by killing the cultists in the sawmill, and have killed an important official of the city. So their concern is not unjustified. But by destroying the sawmill they have made it harder to admit it and prove their innocence. Of course they do not know yet that there is evidence that the mayor would be the next target, and that that is all they need. They can't know that since they don't know the mayor.

[pjackson]

It was a struggle but I managed to steer the players into getting the reward.

Spoiler:

As they finished looting Xanesha's body, 2 figures in black plate marched up and asked what was happening. The druid stayed in her wild shape so that she wouldn't be recognized, The barbarian largely kept quiet and the bard did most of talking, explaining that they were investigating some murders in Sandpoint and had found clues pointing to a creature living in the tower. Six more hellknights arrrived on horseback and the officer took over. He ordered three to investigate the tower. When one came flying back out of the door he asked the party to take over.

The fought the scarecrow. The barbarian was reduced to negative hit points at one stage, but eventuall with a lot of help from the druid and a little from the bard they got him to the stage where he would run, almost killed hi with AoOs and then finished him off. That was a challenging fight, though it was unfortunate that the bard was ineffective again.

The druid carried them up to the top of the tower, then resumed her normal for to be able to use her wand of lesser vigor. They came down the stairs Observing the trapped bell on the way. Meanwhile the shapeshifters had adopted human form and came out the bottom of the tower claiming to have been charmed by Xanesha. They were arrested, but later escaped.

The party were asked what they found and admitted to some papers which they reluctantly handed over. One glance and the officer said they had to go see the mayor. ordering some of his men to lend the party their horses.

They mayor fainted when he saw that he was to have been murdered. He asked the party about it. They gave a little more information, admitting to a fight in the sawmil with masked cultists during which a fire had started "accidentally". They said they though the creature from the tower had probably been in league with officials of the city and that they needed to investigate further. The mayor ordered the officer to give them full assistance.

The officer tried asking more questions, but they avoided giving full answers. Eventually the bard and barbarian went to rest as they had been wounded, whilst the bard and officer went to the temple of Desna where the party had earlier left the journal they found in the sawmill.

I decided that the code had been broken and the expert there was able to give them a lot of information. Information that proved Ironbriar's guilt, that he was doing it for Xanesha, who had been sent to the city by her master to gather greedy souls. They went back to the mayor with that and he gave the bard her share of the reward.

The other two turned up the following morning, expecting there to be trouble, but they were just given the reward, and the mayor told them he had ordered a civic banquet in their honor.

They cashed in some of the loot they had aquired. I allowed the magic scythe and spear that the barbarian had sundered to be repaired for 500gp each. I do not want to discourage him from using his feats.

Altogether they have about 40,000 gp to spend, which should bring them around the wealth by level guideline for 8th level.