I decided to have a thread for my campaign, rather than asking several separate questions in different threads and cluttering the board.
First one that came up last week (luck delayed it) - what should I do if the PCs attack Aldern Foxglove in the first module? After seeing him hiding from the goblins behind the rain barrel, the sorcerer denounced him as a coward and tried to egg the barbarian on to kicking him between the legs. The barbarian rolled a d4 to decide if he would, and it came up favorably for Aldern, but I'm worried about the next time they meet. (One of my players, a WoW addict, breathed a sigh of relief. He's already labeled Foxglove as a "questgiver". I contained my maniacal laughter. If only he knew...)
I forget the when they meet next but you should probably make sure it's a public location within eyesight of Sherif Hemlock or one of his boys.
Or perhaps have him hire a pair of 2nd level warrior body guards to stand around looking intimidating.
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I'd remind the player(s) who say that Foxglove is a coward that the vast majority of the town was running scared: I mean, the goblins just showed up out of no where, in what is supposed to be a safe and secure town. (And then I'd maybe have the Sheriff 'keep an eye' on the would-be bullies. That'd get the point across, I think.)
Personally I'd stop playing with people who roll a die, flip a coin, to decide what their character is going to do. That, or have the character who does actively assault a peacefull NPC suffer the full extent of the local law (assuming the die roll next time doesn't go so favorable)
Thanks for the input. The Foxglove incident went well after all. Even the barbarian was suitably pleased at the prospect of a boar hunt - he actually grappled the boar and killed it with a dagger. The annoyance factor was suitably played, with Foxglove asking WAY too many questions about "his hero" the alchemist.
This week the problem is twofold. One, the Shayliss Vinder encounter didn't go exactly as planned - while only one PC went with her, another snuck along behind and ran interference on Vin. (Curse those rolls of 1 on Sense Motive checks vs. Bluffs!) So my question is, is Shayliss becoming easy, or is she already easy? IE, do I need to check if she gets pregnant, or would she go to Hannah's to "solve the problem". And how likely is she to have some kind of disease?
Second, does any part of the AP detail the Old Light? I have skimmed it, and didn't see any more than the backstory of it being a weapon, and the sage's belief in this hypothesis. One of the players, though, wants to explore it. I don't want to make some generic tower only to realize later that it is totally different, and plotline significant.
Personally I'd stop playing with people who roll a die, flip a coin, to decide what their character is going to do. That, or have the character who does actively assault a peacefull NPC suffer the full extent of the local law (assuming the die roll next time doesn't go so favorable)
I think the player thought it was only fair - the sorcerer rolled a really high diplomacy check, and while ordinarily I would say that doesn't work against PCs, that usually assumes the PC doesn't want to be influenced. So the player didn't want to do it, but he felt his character *might* after the sorcerer's influence - hence the roll.
IE, do I need to check if she gets pregnant, or would she go to Hannah's to "solve the problem". And how likely is she to have some kind of disease?
In my game I made a check for both and she did get pregnant. Currently about halfway through the AP and they are now married. He took leadership feat and has Orik as a cohort, Shayliss is also on his follower list and gaining sorcerer levels as his main follower (he is a sorcerer and so will his child, so she is gaining the same sorcerer powers that way. It also was a great way to prove to the player it was his!
It should be fun in an upcoming part of the AP when they need to go back to Sandpoint.
So my question is, is Shayliss becoming easy, or is she already easy? IE, do I need to check if she gets pregnant, or would she go to Hannah's to "solve the problem". And how likely is she to have some kind of disease?
Shayliss was already easy.
As for a pregnency check, remember that generally speaking, a woman doesn't know right off hand. Might take a few weeks. As for the result, it depends on your game. The character might get to have a nice discussion with Father Zantus about obigation and responsibility. Likely, Shayliss doesn't know who the baby-daddy is.
Disease? Again, it depends on your game, but if I were the character, I'd stop by the cathedral and get a cure disease just in case. Maybe a couple saves vs. fortitude or Con are in order, even if they don't mean anything. The power of suggesting is a powerful thing.
For the record, when a player in my group did that and Vin caught the character, the end result was Shayliss finding comfort with a couple town guardsmen. Easy doesn't begin to cover it.
Next question: how long ago was Nualia's pregnancy? Does it specify in the AP? I'm thinking of having one of my characters (a tiefling) turn out to be her son, since he hasn't specified his age and his character is youngish. This would mean he would have been about 13 during the Late Unpleasantness, which I could see a possibility in. Consider, if Nualia got knocked up at 13 or so, she'd be about 31 now. It would provide extra reason for Father Tobyn to want to lock her away in the church, getting pregnant so young. OTOH, that would mean she'd be there until she was 26, and keeping a 26 year old locked up might get the old priest in trouble where a 17 year old wouldn't.
Is this feasible, or am I trying too hard for this plot twist?
It might be a bit of a stretch:
However, like everything else, it's your game, and you can alter the written storyline to suit your needs. The AP's give a good outline for a story, but the actual story is the GM's to tell as they wish.
Oh, yeah - forgot the reasons behind the miscarriage. :( Wanted to keep that in there, too, so that won't work. Ah, well. Thanks for the reminder. Back to the drawing board.
Off the rails! And yet... not.
I wanted to throw in some extra treasure (after seeing the number of posts about how easy it was to miss some) and give a link to some storyline, so I threw a mini-dungeon in under the Old Light. There, my players found a bit of platinum, and three books - one, a vague instruction manual on how to reactivate the Old Light (which I made clear was fallen in and so the book has only historical value), a code of laws for Alaznist's kingdom, and notes for a biography on Emperor Xin.
I was hoping that they'd sell them to Brodert Quink (who would give them 3000gp, over time) but instead they have decided they need to protect their investment. So now they are planning a two week trip to Magnimar where Brodert will gather the funding, they will sell the books to the academic community there, and the collection will be put on show (with their names at the exhibit).
On the one hand, this will mean I have to give 3000gp to a bunch of adventurers who haven't even met Shalelu yet (though that might happen on the trip instead of in Hemlock's presence). If I don't, my players might mutiny. On the other hand, this will give me a chance to foreshadow early on those things that occur in Magnimar - like dealing with Ironbriar.
Only concern I have now is them stopping to visit Aldern Foxglove on the way back... which, this early on, he won't yet be a ghast, but the manor will still be deadly.
Off the rails! And yet... not.
Only concern I have now is them stopping to visit Aldern Foxglove on the way back... which, this early on, he won't yet be a ghast, but the manor will still be deadly.
maybe the spirit of vorell is not so activ, jet? he could just start to take over the whole house when he has Aldren complitly insane.
the PC#s could get a feeling that something with the house is not quite right as foreshadowing
And let them meet Ironbriar in Manignmar, without knowing him first, the sawmill is half the fun
You could Aldern be at his home in Magnimar (he has one there as well) when they visit, and let them bump into him (or simply see him from a distance on a crowded street)while they are in the city to let them know he is not at the manor.