What info should players have after HMM?

[Damon Griffin]

We've just finished Book 3 and my players are trying to sort out clues they've gathered over time from various sources. They got limited information from the hag coven, killed Barl before questioning him and then only had five brief answers to questions they put to him via speak with dead, and killed Lucretia without questioning her (before or after.)

There was a fair amount of confusion regarding clues in the earlier part of the adventure path because the party assumed there was a single BBEG at the end of the adventure, which made it hard to make coherent sense of the wrath-related and greed-related events.

This is what they know or think they know:

• The stone giants are gearing up for war.
  
• This is unusual for stone giants.
  
• The Kreegs were co-opted by Barl to make weapons for the giants.
  
• Barl's "boss" is the stone giant Mokmurian.
  
• Mokmurian is presently at someplace called Jorgenfist.
  
• Mokmurian's "boss" is someone named Karzoug.
  
• Karzoug is in "his ancient city."
  
• The purpose of the sacrifices in Turtleback Ferry was to "feed the Risen One" aka the Runelord.
  
• A runelord is some sort of Thassalonian archmage.
  
• Xanesha's lord, identified as "K" in her writings, has many agents, some of whom act as assassins focused in some way on greed.
  

[Old Drake]

Sounds good. They know their next target and where he is. They know that he's merely a minion of the real BBEG, but that he presents the most actual threat to the whole region at this point in time (an army of giants). I'd say they know enough. It's only after they have access to the library at Jorgenfist (and I believe Mokmurian's notes) that start to understand the details. With two adventures still to go at that point, that is plenty time.

[mearrin69]

My players don't know this stuff:

Mokmurian's "boss" is someone named Karzoug.
Karzoug is in "his ancient city."
The purpose of the sacrifices in Turtleback Ferry was to "feed the Risen One" aka the Runelord.

I've deliberately held this stuff back so they think the "rising Runelord" is Mokmurian - and to give them another layer of the onion to peel back in chapter 4. They know a little *about* the Runelords and Thassilon and think they know that the Sihedron ritual/tattoos are feeding some kind of bad deal...but I don't think that they know it's feeding Big K.

This is all, of course, unless they've read the AP and aren't telling me...but even if they have their characters don't seem to be acting on any "inside information" so I don't really care if they have.

We're just about to take on Fortress the week after next. Begad! That looks like a tough adventure.