No battle plan survives contact with the enemy. -- Colin Powell
When the heroes go to the Brinestump Marsh in The Brinewall Legacy, they may have a reaction that seems unanticipated by the adventure.
or
or even,
What if the player heroes try to bargan with the Goblins rather then fight them?
|
What if the player heroes try to bargan with the Goblins rather then fight them?
Have the goblins say "We're sowwies!", then tell the party where to find the cave with the mean skeletons that hurted their village. What happens to the goblins is irrelevant; what matters is that the party finds Rokuro's letter within the caverns. The biggest problem with the adventure's first act is that it's easy for the PCs to miss or ignore all of the hooks to the cave, so having a party that wants to negotiate is a good thing. It gives you one more hook to get them to go after it.
"Negotiation is hard with an enemy that keeps trying to set you or himself on fire." - Sun Tzu the lost dialogues.
While true, remember "Crazy, not Stupid."
I think that LeadPal may be on to something. If the party is able to negotiate, perhaps the Goblin Chieften might demand that he heroes "clean out the cave" in exchange for passage through his territory.
Gutwaddle DESPISES humans. He only wants to kill them, and the goblins of his tribe are likewise motivated. The chieftain fights -to the death- if any humans or human-like creatures are present, and he has the ranger skills to back up that deadly threat.
The goblins, terrified by their recent defeat at the claws of Tsutamu and his skeletons, hide and wait in ambush, and the first group fights WITHOUT FEAR OF DEATH or even typical goblin stupidity! They're just out to kill anything getting in on their property and hide again. They don't want to talk. They don't answer questions. They sneak and kill. Because they are terrified, I suggest you raise any attempt at Diplomacy by a DC of +8. The PCs really need the goblin XP to get rolling, and diplomacy with one goblin is not worth combat with a tribe.
After the first group is dead, goblins start coming (literally in some cases! *gnawgnawgnaw*) out of the woodwork, and engaging in crazy half-conceived stunts, even using held fireworks as weapons. While the PCs are sawing through them with brutal efficiency, they try acrobatics, combat maneuvers, and MADE UP combat maneuvers in some sort of psychotic, sadistic attempt at great heroism. A goblin who drops a PC stands atop his body and crows like a rooster, then does a little dance for his next two actions, he doesn't stop to talk to the PCs about the moral implications of their combat, and he doesn't ask for surrender.
If the PCs approach and continue to yell and ask for Parley, I suggest the first group of three goblins come out looking sad and scared, and have the PCs (who the stupid, weak goblins assume are stupid and weak...) all make sense motive checks to catch the snickering from the windows and the half-concealed glimmers of malice in their beady, red little eyes. As soon as the PCs are flanked in 'honor guard' position, let off with a desnan candle and some snarling grapples and giggles while hte second group of goblins howls with laughter from the windows and OOOHS and AHHHHHs at the fireworks display.
Creative Director
|
When the heroes go to the Brinestump Marsh in The Brinewall Legacy, they may have a reaction that seems unanticipated by the adventure.
For example, they could have a Goblin PC (one of the babies rescued from Thistletop in Burnt Offerings).
or
the heroes may be reluctant to kill their own Goblin PCs from We Be Goblins.
or even,
The players may even reject the idea of innate "evilness" and be of a more peaceful in nature ... (Ameiko might not be tough ...) What if the player heroes try to bargan with the Goblins rather then fight them?
The ONLY thing that the PCs need to learn from the Licktoad village in Brinewall Legacy is that there are scary skeletons that are going to be a growing problem, and that those skeletons need to be put down.
In fact, if the PCs befriend the Licktoads, that actually works out BETTER since in this case, the goblins can beg the PCs to save them from the mean skeletons! The goblins might even send some guides with the PCs to lead them to the cave where they found the skeletons, and this way the PCs not only kickstart the entire AP by discovering the truth behind the skeletons, but also get to save their new friends from being even further menaced by the undead.
That all said... befriending the Licktoads should be really tough. There's not a lot of love between them and Sandpoint. Even if the PCs want to befriend the Licktoads, they still might find themselves all but forced to kill Gutwad in order to even gain this option.
|
Oddly enough this happened to our group.
But it started earlier: the group figured out something was amiss in Walthus' place. Intimidated the false Walthus and had ihim lead them to the goblins by saying they'd release him afterwards. Which they did.
Of course it might bite them in the butt someday, but then, it might not.
Then they bargained withe the goblins. Granted one party member searched fir any bodies while the others parlayed and removed ome ears...
The goblins, reluctant at first, agreed. The party would eliminate the skeletons if the goblins behaved. Of course the goblins had crossed fingers but no one really caught that ;)
Personally, as the gm, I appreciated the fact that things were done differently than just wholesale slaughter.
Oddly enough this happened to our group.
But it started earlier: the group figured out something was amiss in Walthus' place. Intimidated the false Walthus and had ihim lead them to the goblins by saying they'd release him afterwards. Which they did.
Of course it might bite them in the butt someday, but then, it might not.
Then they bargained withe the goblins. Granted one party member searched fir any bodies while the others parlayed and removed ome ears...
The goblins, reluctant at first, agreed. The party would eliminate the skeletons if the goblins behaved. Of course the goblins had crossed fingers but no one really caught that ;)
Personally, as the gm, I appreciated the fact that things were done differently than just wholesale slaughter.
Do keep in mind though that Gutwad still hates humans, so there is the possiblity of a double-cross ... such as an ambush when the (now weakened) party is leaving the cave.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Obviously, if the nice longshanks would do Gutwad the favor of doing in the skeletons for him then he would reward their leader with the hand of his daughter Gupy in marriage in order to seal the deal for an alliance between the tribe and Sandpoint.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Do keep in mind though that Gutwad still hates humans, so there is the possiblity of a double-cross ... such as an ambush when the (now weakened) party is leaving the cave.
This is what I did with my group, after they started down the parley path with the Licktoads. Gutwad (negotiating from within his fortified hut), sent the PCs off to the cave to retrieve "his tribe's" treasure and eliminate the skeleton threat. In return, he promised to be nice and stuff. He even sent along one of the Licktoad "heroes" to be a guide (and provide some comedic moments).
Once the PCs are out of town, Gutwad gathers his remaining warriors and follows discretely, setting up an ambush at the cave entrance while the PCs deal with the undead. What better way to deal with the skeletons, reclaim his shinies, and kill all humans?
Luckily, the PCs made a friend of sorts in their guide, and she sold out Gutwad's plan before they left the cave. Even forwarned of the ambush, it still made an interesting fight!