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****SPOILERS******
If you havent read through my RotR homegame thread, then here's the situation. Party just got done Roftlstomping their way through Thistletop, then turned and ran after barely getting everyone away from Malfeshnekor in time.
I believe they are planning on taking him on a second time, but they seem to have forgotten some of the bad guys they captured, and Im wondering about their motivations now that Nualia is dead.
-I messed up the bridge, so they will have to deal with that if they go back the second time.
-I forgot about the 4 goblins + goblin dogs that were playing kill gull.
-They tied up Bruthazmus and his goblin wives, and Orik as well, but forgot to get all of them before leaving. All of them are stripped of equipment.
-Since they were making so much noise, Lyrie had time to hide, and they havent encountered her yet.
-Malf is still in his room, obviously, though now, Lyrie knows how to get there.
-They havent fought the Giant Hermit Crab or the Shadows yet.
So thats what Ive still got to work with. Obviously the shadows and the crab probably just need to stay in their original locations.
So my question is how do you think I should handle the bad guys?
Does Lyrie flee? Does she stay and try to release Malfeshnekor just for the hell of it, as she is evil anyway? Would she be able to release him before the PCs come back (likely the next day)? Malfeshnekor is smart enough to not kill Lyrie if she is trying to let him out, at least until she succeeds, but should he then eat her?
If Lyrie stays, should Orik hang around, as he is in love wth her, or should he be smart enough to leave?
Bruthazmus has been wanting to get Thistletop as his lair for awhile now, so would he willingly give it up, or stay and try to defend his new 'castle'? Would the goblins flee, or stay with Bruthy to form a new tribe of goblin/bugbears?
If Bruthy/goblin wives/Orik stay, what would they fight with? Should they try to raid the crab and shadows areas for gear, or just trek out into the woods and loot a caravan or something like that to give them basic equipment again?
Ive already got some ideas, but id like your opinions on how their motivations would play out. Thanks!
IMO, everybody drawing a paycheck would leave once the payroll dries up and hanging around could mean imprisonment or death. Bruthazmus might want the lair, but he'd probably lie low in the hinterlands until the heat dies down, then move in on whichever tribe tries to claim the rock as theirs. The goblins would flee, especially if both Ripnugget and the shaman are dead, probably being absorbed into another tribe (which would then try to take Thistletop as their own with their numbers bolstered).
Just my $0.02 though.
If it were my game, this is how I'd run it:
Bruthy bails with his goblin wives to set up his own little harem fort somewhere in the wilderness. Later they might make a decent sidequest as Bruthy goes back to his old habits and caravans start vanishing. You can stat up the tougher goblin wives as goblin Amazons (give 'em a couple of levels in fighter, rogue, or barbarian) and put some traps around the cabin. It'd make a decent one-shot side trek. They might come back to reclaim Thistletop after the PCs clear it out, too.
Lyrie releases Malfeshnekor (if she can do this -- I don't have my copy on hand to check right now and can't remember what the rationale is for why he doesn't leave his dungeon on his own).
If the PCs got enough decent loot already, then Malf does not kill Lyrie. She and Orik take all the remaining easily-accessible good loot in the complex and flee together, using Nualia's defeat to cover up their own involvement and trying to make a clean start elsewhere. Orik's a sucker for Lyrie, and Lyrie is probably smart enough to use that to her advantage even if she doesn't actually care about Orik at all. Every wizard needs a meatshield!
If the PCs did NOT get enough decent loot already, then Malf kills Lyrie and the PCs can then loot her corpse. If the PCs are likely to need help against Malf, then Orik survives and offers to join them to avenge Lyrie's death. If the PCs should be able to take Malf on their own, then Orik got eaten while he was tied up and defenseless (and, if you're so inclined, anybody who is strongly LG and left him that way gets a minor ding for facilitating his death via careless treatment of prisoners).
I like Liane's answer to this.
When I ran the adventure I decided Lyrie had no intention of releasing Malfeshnekor; she was just in it for the research on Ancient Thassilonian. In an ideal world she'd be able to question Malfeshnekor about his knowledge of this ancient place; but having Nualia and so many goblins killed and with the prospect of the PCs returning, I'd have Orik & Lyrie flee together, with Lyrie intending to return once it's safe and continue her research.
If you give Lyrie a few months, she could probably return and take over Thistletop with her new hirelings/goons/etc and set it up to her liking. It could become an interesting side-quest if she's hiring bandits and the like to keep her well informed/equipped -- the bandits might get brazen and attack caravans etc. It could be a slightly higher level encounter than the goblin version.
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Those are all ideas I have had, so its good to get some reinfocement on them, though Im not sure about Lyrie, still.
Obviously, she is smart enough to convince Orik to stay with her, even if the others flee, but since she is NE, Im not sure if I think she should release Malf, if she can, just for the heck of it, or if she is smart enough to realize once she lets him out, he will eat her.
Other problem with that is I dont know IF she can release her. I was pretty sure that the spell that keeps him contained in the room is permenant, and at her level, she wouldnt have any method of breaking that spell, though I could be wrong.
Also, Gogmurt isnt dead, either. He was released by the PCs, after they looted him, along with the Birdcrunchers, and told never to bother Sandpoint again. The remaining Thistletop male goblins could go to him, which is fine, though I intend to have them make an appearance in book 4, during the assault on Sandpoint, as allies of the town, who come along to fight some of the other monsters.
Erylium isnt dead either, if anyone wants to make suggestions for her, though I hadnt planned on them actually encountering her again for awhile, though she is going to start some petty burglary pretty soon.
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Hadnt even thought of Erylium resurrecting her. Good idea.
The PCs actually havent been terribly efficient, so far. Havent checked for a single trap through the entire book. Ive had to ask on more than one occasion if they searched the room for treasure. Havent desecrated either altar to Lamashtu. Didnt destroy the runewell, though I havent given them the info about Nualia's backstory, so that could potentially set them to it.
If I decide to go the resurrection route, they might encounter her as a succubus the next time or some other kind of demon. That was her eventual goal, after all.
Orik and Lyrie I had considered having run to Magnimar, though Im hoping Orik can be a eventual good guy, and I dont know if they will give him a second chance if they have to fight him again.
Oh man, oh man. This just keeps sounding better and better.
I'm considering pitching my own home game to you guys because I'm honestly scratching my head for direction heading into Magnimar, but perhaps that deserves it's own thread.
Don't discount the possibility of setting up one of these NPCs (or Malfeshnekor) up as a read herring in the early stage of Skinsaw Murders. If your PCs are hot on their trails, and you can cast some suspicion their way (ferinstance, the "claw marks" in the sawmill could easily be that of Erylium's sinspawn minions).
Alternatively, if your PCs catch a glimpse of Lyrie at Thistletop and opt to spare her too. Have them uncover the two of them hiding out in the White Deer at the edge of town, and mysteriously dissapear on the night of the murder. (of course, the notes left by the killer will quickly throw them off of this trail...)
I found the beginning of Skinsaw Murders (or at least, how it turned out with my group) decidedly lackluster. They listened with wide eyes to the description of the grisly sawmill scene, before turning to leave. A subtle hint or two had them investigate, but they didn't pick up on my own cues (a lock of white hair, all of the clawmarks are made with one hand and a faint hum from their new sihedron medallion). From here, the red herring in the book basically amounted to a good deal of NPC banter and a few diplomacy rolls before discounting it, at which point my PCs began staring at me blankly for some kind of cue...
Here's hoping you have more inquisitive players.
Dirty, dirty thread necromancy.
Oh lordy, I just looked at the date of these posts.
Well, this is embarassing. This is why I shouldn't be allowed to poke around in the archives...
Welp, seeing as the damage is done... If you're still around, kind sir, how did it play out?