My party does not have a sense of urgency, they just stop and craft items while at the same time they are supposed to be on a clock to stop the WW. How would you propose changing the last 2 adventures (Ashes at Dawn & Shadows of Gallowspire) to make it more difficult due to the party ignoring the clock and taking their time.
I want to do something, I believe the party's decision should result in a tangible reaction. So, OK, they can stop and craft but the adventure then becomes more difficult as a result.
Now that I've been thinking about this I think the best way to handle it is have the WW hire a group of powerful NPC's , like a group from the Rival guide who hunt down and try and eliminate the PC's in Caliphas. I will make them very tough roughly a 50/50 fight with the PC's.
I am sure by that point WW knows the PC's are on their trail. I would have them set up and bunker down(traps, more guards and so on). Have an NPC chat them up to see if they willing to give up any information. Then pass the info on to the bad guys that the PC's are trailing.
That might make regular fights 1 or 2 CR's higher, maybe even 3. If they ask why the fights are so tough call for a wisdom check. Then let them have an epiphany. If one of these boosted up combats kills a player or two then so be it. :)
Now that I've been thinking about this I think the best way to handle it is have the WW hire a group of powerful NPC's , like a group from the Rival guide who hunt down and try and eliminate the PC's in Caliphas. I will make them very tough roughly a 50/50 fight with the PC's.
I think I tossed out some more specific thoughts on the "Wake of the Watcher" thread relating to specific commentary there (including using this as an excuse for bringing big bad Adivion Adrissant more into view as the jerk they're dealing with), but yeah - the Rival Guide is a good way to go, given the levels your party is likely reaching. Any one of the Night Harrowers could serve as a challenging encounter if their just hitting AoD, while the entire team could mess them up along the way in SoG. One of the real nice bits about the NH is that two of them (Nuetetia & Vesnic) are undead-generating machines, fully capable of slipping in and killing/turning a large number of locals/followers (even cohorts) into minions to distract the PCs while they &/or the rest of their party hammer the PCs with espionage & hit-n-run tactics. If your heroes realize sitting for too long in one place means horrible death for all those around them, that should getting them moving fairly quickly (if they care - a neutral or evil group might not - they might get a recruitment offer instead).
Now that I've been thinking about this I think the best way to handle it is have the WW hire a group of powerful NPC's , like a group from the Rival guide who hunt down and try and eliminate the PC's in Caliphas. I will make them very tough roughly a 50/50 fight with the PC's.
Actually THIS would open up a awesome opportunity to include Paizios comment in ShadowsOfGallowspire. He said that he wanted to have the main vilan more interacting with the group....taunting them etc.
Check the Introduction....I think the idea of hasseling them with a Rival group is a nice idea but thats just combat. It would be better to get the sence of urgency across. Let them be meet by people (dead ones) that have notes for the PC's....
Its hard to balance all the time consuming things that PCs want to do when you run a big overarching plot from an adventure path. Many PCs have class abilities (crafting, for instance) that takes time and they get (rightfully) touchy when they feel the campaign YOU are running is not letting them play THEIR character. So make sure you see both sides of the issue. Plus, I think you need to recognize that the problem isn't THEIRS, its YOURS--YOU dont like that they aren't respecting the versimilitude of the story. Because really the encounters wont change as written. You could just say "this likely wouldnt have happened had you gotten here sooner" and be done with it. But I sense you want more than that.
If so, then talk with them after the game session outside of play. Tell them you are concerned they don't have a sense of urgency. Not everything in game needs to be solved with an in game solution--you can talk to them as fellow gamers. Remember, we are all playing this together. Make sure they understand that you don't want to take away things they want to do, but there is a plot and their success may hinge on speeding things up.
Here is what I would do. I would tell them, that I will try to be very clear and that I will ask them very clearly "if they are sure they want to spend time doing that" if their delay might have a chance to impact their success. A real plot and event driven AP that has an implied timeline is way different from sandboxing and if your players are used to that it will be a big change. So making sure they understand they are actually making a choice by delaying (whether it be fully heal up or buy more equipment or make something or whatever). Then I might have some minor impact--an empty treasure chest, an extra minion, a dead important NPC (that isnt supposed to be dead).
It sounds though like you want to bend them to what you think they should do. I propose a more cooperative and simpler solution. Just let them do what they want, but then suggest it would have been better had they moved faster. Have whenever they arrive or do something be just exactly when it was supposed to happen. That will take some flexibility on your part.
Also, remember that going too fast can be as bad or worse than going too slow. Too slow parties are usually at least prepared. Too fast parties often die because they think they are playing Diablo and the proper strategy is to just keep running and gunning and trying to kill everything. TOO much pressure to move along and you may wind up with that problem--PCs that think they have NO time to do anything but the main plot, which is bad in another way.
It strikes me that what you really want is DRAMATIC TENSION. If they are going slow but are creeped out and there is proper dramatic tension in the game, then you dont have a problem.
Game management is a skill. Keep in mind its a game and the goal is fun. So make sure to ask yourself whether or not it is a problem and if so for who and if so how to solve it--in game or out of game.
Good luck.