After a break from posting my 3rd and 4th sessions (which were mainly spent in town researching and role playing), I thought I'd post what happened last night in our 5th session.
Warning, spoilers.
My PCs have finally made it to Harrowstone after sticking Kendra with Father Grimburrow for safe keeping. My PCs had become turtled up in Ravengro trying to defend Kendra and it took them several sessions to come to the realization that they needed to destroy the evil in Harrowstone to put an end to this. Equipped with lots of research information, they headed to the prison.
After exploring the grounds for a bit, they decided to go up on the west balcony. After complaining a bit about how a scythe was not a good executioners weapon and a stone block was equally bad, they dealt with the encounter there. They then decided to go through the door there. I was really trying to discourage that because, as you know (since players aren't reading this now, RIGHT!?) behind that door lies the Piper haunt area.
Nevertheless, they managed to beat it down and go in. I ended up playing out the Piper haunt and had them attacked by 6 skeletons. It was a great encounter involving a lot of low light. None of my PCs has any low light vision (all humans) and I had the skeletons that animated in the cells near them remain locked away (not a threat). Then, as the haunt progressed the skeletons ambled into view from elsewhere on the floor. It was a nice effect and really scared them as they didn't know how big the floor was and how many more might be coming.
The piper haunt itself was surprisingly not that devastating. They didn't manage to actually neutralize it, but only a few of them took some minor damage from the stirges. Freaked out, they retreated from the prison. They attempted to go back in and communicate with the piper using the planchette. They asked it what they could do to put it to rest. It's a bit tacky and cliche, but I had it slowly spell out D . . . I . . . E. It seems trite to write it here, but it worked at the table.
Retreating, they decided to go in the front door. One by one they went down the balcony, careful of the crumbling construction. Each one that went I rolled a d4 for 25% chance to break through and one of them, the last one, finally broke the balcony and they went stumbling down. Later, upon retreat, they would climb out and use a rope to make a way in/out.
They went right in and got scared by the Slamming Portal haunt which caused the burned faces of the criminals to escape. Then they went into the auditorium and were beat up pretty badly by a Cold Spot haunt. Basically they encountered 3 haunts in a row.
- The PCs are really attached to this notion that the 'burned faces' that escaped Harrowstone have now descended on the town. They are asking what they unleashed upon the citizens. A cool little thing that isn't in the module! I wonder what I'll do with that. Any ideas?
- Many of the PCs (though I don't think the players) are frustrated that they can't do much to combat these haunts. I've tried reassuring them that the prison is not all haunts, but they do feel a bit ineffective.
- They made it back to town after these 3 haunts and went to Father Grimburrow and told him it's time to evacuate the town, the town is "f*cked" in their words. I'm a bit worried about how I'm going to salvage some of that now. I played it up that Kendra doesn't want to leave, this is her town, her people, her friends.
- I had Father Grimburrow tell the players that Ravengro is the "bread basket" of Ustalav and that all of Ustalav will starve (I played it up a bit) if Ravengro was destroyed to which the players said "well, they should prepare for that". Again, the players are being a bit dramatic, but it's how they are showing their fear.
- The PCs have CLAIMED that they're "not going back there" unless the town offers up some pretty serious equipment or reason to believe that the PCs will fair better.
- The PCs have talked about just burning the prison down. I figure if they try and do this it probably won't do much damage. Possibly also Vessorianna will come out and plead them to help.
So. Ideas? Any suggestions from the crowd about how I can get the PCs to want to go back in there?
My current plan is to have the next day the council call the meeting in the townhall which then burns to the ground. The PCs then gain some levels of Trust and are offered services, including some of the items we've seen in the buildings that are reserved for higher trust levels.
However, I'm really concerned that after that they will be just spooked all the more and take off.
The PCs literally are talking about "voiding the contract" and just taking the books to Lepistadt. Saying they don't want the reward since they didn't fulfill their end of the bargain but they did do what the professor wanted. "If Kendra won't leave, and we can't stop this thing, then it's our only option."
I haven't figured out if the players are just role playing well (which I'm sure they are to some extent) or if they really feel helpless. Perhaps I've created something too insurmountable.
As always, would love some creative thinking from my companion DMs here.
The PCs literally are talking about "voiding the contract" and just taking the books to Lepistadt. Saying they don't want the reward since they didn't fulfill their end of the bargain but they did do what the professor wanted. "If Kendra won't leave, and we can't stop this thing, then it's our only option."
I haven't figured out if the players are just role playing well (which I'm sure they are to some extent) or if they really feel helpless. Perhaps I've created something too insurmountable.
This is pretty hilarious! I'm assuming they are just roleplaying, since experienced players would know full well that you and Paizo are not going to put them up against stuff that is totally insurmountable for their level. I think it is funny that they are roleplaying their characters in such a cowardly way. It makes sense that normal people would react as your PCs are, but most of the folks I've played with play their PCs pretty heroic and brave. Your PCs are even feeling to scared to just hang out in Ravengro for the month. On the other hand, this may be a testament to your power to terrorize.
I found the class list of your PCs on an old post: witch, magus, cleric, ninja, bard [isn't he a gnome?]. At least one of my PCs is motivated to destroy all undead, another is curious about the undead, and a third is obsessed with collecting magic. Those are all motivations I could use to get them into the prison. Perhaps there is something you can use in your PC backgrounds.
Looking at one of your past posts, I see why the magus might be afraid ("a nasty relationship with what he called "dark magic" in his backstory"), but what is your cleric's story? Also, isn't your oracle's character story tied in with the warden or Harrowstone? Couldn't the ninja be convinced some information in Harrowstone is important to her bosses in Cheliax, or might give her insight into the devil she believes is inside her?
Worst case scenario, maybe you could send Grimburrow in with the PCs for a limited extent, to clear away some haunts with his potent channel energies, and then have him struck down in some way that leaves the PCs no choice but to continue?
Each of the PCs should have a strong connection to the Professor. You should play on that. This is HIS daughter--the guy you are for whatever reason indebted to. Just going to void the contract and leave her? Is that what the Professor did to you when you came to him needing help? Or that time in the tower ruins where he saved your behind? Or when he gave you the answer to that riddle that was so puzzling you in the arcane task you needed to convince your master to teach you first level spells?
If you have properly established that back story connection to the Professor you should be able to get this back on track.
lots of stuff
Combating haunts...isn't the Cleric Channelling? Disrupt Undead? Using the Planchette to ask the haunt? Know: Religion to get a hint?
As for trying to evacuate a town...isn't going to happen. People are reluctant to leave what they consider home, I'm sure you can think of a myriad real world examples where it hasn't happened.
There was a major fire before and it didn't do much except collapse a section of the prison...can't see the PC's doing much better. And it wouldn't make any difference to the haunts or ghosts...
Have they found the goodies in the false crypt? If not then they still need to look. If they have and still want more, tough.
If it was my game and the PCs decided to quit then I would just let them. Let them "fail" and have the town become a ghost town. And kill Kendra. I personally wouldn't railroad them or acquiesce to their pleas of "we want more stuff"
Not much help but some PCs are cut out to be adventurers and some just aren't....
EDIT:
Go all Ravenloft on them
Let them leave...let them desert a town to its fate...let them walk away through the fog shrouded land.
For hours they trudge through the cold grey mists.
Through the swirling mists they spot the dim lights of a town...with a prison on a hill.
Several responses. Firstly, our bard character changed to human for some story reasons. They did have several light spells and a dancing light spell going. Just the range was an issue - it worked great.
Combating haunts...isn't the Cleric Channelling? Disrupt Undead? Using the Planchette to ask the haunt? Know: Religion to get a hint?
Yes but, he didn't roll well enough to know it was a haunt and didn't feel comfortable meta-ing that it was a haunt. At least vs. the piper. He did in the other two, lesser, haunts. But he knows now, and would be prepped next time.
Have they found the goodies in the false crypt? If not then they still need to look. If they have and still want more, tough.
Nod, but the goodies aren't really THAT great imo. They're OK.
Not much help but some PCs are cut out to be adventurers and some just aren't....
That's a really good point. I have one particularly outspoken PC who wants to abort this mission. It's the chaotic evil (though he hides it) ninja from Cheliax. I might just have to kill him and make him roll up something else. I spoke with him today and we talked about how he's torn by his duty to protect Kendra and his interest in staying alive. I think the character is just genuinely freaked out. Remember, these are level 1 wimps. Hell, his character is 16!
Go all Ravenloft on them
Let them leave...let them desert a town to its fate...let them walk away through the fog shrouded land.
For hours they trudge through the cold grey mists.
Through the swirling mists they spot the dim lights of a town...with a prison on a hill.
And down the path of the Dark Powers they go . . .
Your group sounds like the weirdest group I've ever heard of.
They spend four sessions crowding around playing house, and then when the adventure nudges them, they get scared and flee.
I don't know how much mileage you'd get out of Trial if they left. "What? Defend a scary flesh golem?! That sounds tough-- I'm going to go roleplay in the inn!"
If you're worried about them just ditching, I'd have a talk with the players about the unspoken contract that the PCs should make characters that want to play the adventure. If they think ghosts are scary and will kill them no matter what and that woe is us we're not high level and win automatically then I have to think they'll just keep fleeing their way through Carrion Crown.
The Vials in the crypt are pretty good dealing 1d6 damage to haunts.. so players without channel can do something.
Yeah but there are 4 of them. They do 3d6, I typed it up wrong. But that's, what, 3->18 damage. At absolute best they could be used 4 times, possibly even neutralizing 4 haunts. But there are more haunts than that.
They spend four sessions crowding around playing house, and then when the adventure nudges them, they get scared and flee.
I think they took this post on how to role play horror to heart. Perhaps too much so. I cut/pasted them a bit of the original notes from that thread into an email early on in the character development.
I should be careful here, I'm not saying by any means the module is broken or needs fixing. I'm saying my characters are perhaps role-playing too much the "game over man!" mentality. In fact at least once during the session they quoted "I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit . . . it's the only way to be sure" - in reference to their desire to just burn the place down.
What I'm hoping to stir up here are some ideas of how to balance the unwelcoming, scared town with their duty to protect Kendra. Up until now I've played the town as very off-putting. The PCs have worked their way up to Neutral, though I'm considering bumping them to Friendly.
The PCs are fairly convinced now that the professor was murdered, and they'd know more about that if/when they visit Vessorianna (as outlined in the module). I'm intending to start playing Kendra as a daughter now anxious for vengeance now that she knows her father's death was "no accident". Perhaps that will encourage the PCs to go back in.
I honestly think they will go back in, I'm just discussing thoughts with you guys.
Perhaps you could do something with Kendra to get them back into the prison. Maybe she goes to investigate herself, to prove her point that this is her home and she won't abandon it, and to get the PCs to follow her. Or, you could have her "possessed" by Visorianna (I probably botched the spelling, don't have the module with me) so that she goes into the prison. It could be something like a long-distance suggestion spell, suggesting that Kendra go visit Visorianna's room in the prison. If the PCs won't follow her even after she goes in/has been taken into the prison, she could even have a (behind the scenes) chat with Visorianna, come back out, and tell the PCs some stuff that Visorianna would normally tell them...like that there are items in there that will help them battle the haunts, and that Visorianna can contain the haunts if the PCs can neutralize them.
Perhaps you could do something with Kendra to get them back into the prison. Maybe she goes to investigate herself, to prove her point that this is her home and she won't abandon it, and to get the PCs to follow her.
I think that's a good idea, and it would probably work well. I've taken Kendra from the woe-is-me, my father died, grieving daughter to the I-have-to-avenge-my-father's-death daughter after the PCs came back with their information that they think he was murdered. This is allowing me to shift it slightly more in that direction. I currently have planned that she will take up reading the Whispering Way documents in her father's library in hopes of understanding her enemy. My PCs don't know much about the Way yet and this can help encourage them to research it a bit more - possibly with some bonuses to Knowledge from Kendra's assistance.
But then, after that, I totally like your idea. "Damn it. I'm going to put an end to this myself." Something foolhardy, youth-inspired, like that.