I am playing PF for the first time soon and I will be running a mix of experienced and inexperienced players. Some of us have many years gaming experience but none of us have played PF yet. I plan to use the modules Crypt of the Everflame and it's sequels, Masks of the Living God and City of Golden Death to break everyone in to the PF system.
Spoilers ahead, read at your own risk.
The problem is none of them seem to fit together very well and the later ones have some issues all of their own.Reading over all the modules it feels like each one was written after the last and no thought was put into laying plot lines for following modules. For example, Crypt has the tomb disturbed by grave robbers who were hired via a handbill when Masks has them as members of the Razmir cult. An easy fix since I know about it but still.
Anyway, here are a few of the problems not so easily fixed.
1. Motivation. Roleplaying is like trying to solve a murder in that you always have to ask "Who benefits"? Why are the players doing this? In Crypt it's obvious as they are on a quest and want to make a name for themselves but what about Masks? Cygar wants the PC's to track down the grave robbers and bring them to justice. Why? Really, what does he care? I thought Pathfinders were all about exploring tombs, crypts and ruins. This seems a tad hypocritical. Reginar wants them to infiltrate the cult but again, WHY? I don't see the angle that makes this Pathfinder business. Since when did a group of explorers become the world police? And lets not Forget about City of Golden Death. No player in their right mind would do this. Go to a city that Reginar as good as tells them to their face is going to leave them mentally scared at the very least, just to track down a woman they have never met and has certainly never done anything to them personally to warrant the PC's to take this level of personal risk? That seems unlikely.
2. Loot. Kassen and crew made their fortunes in the city of golden death. Kassen hauled away enough to found his own settlement. The characters are going to get what? Next to nothing. Everything is rigged so that this fabulous city of gold is all a sham. It's all look but don't take. This seems like a cruel bait and switch that is sure to really piss my players off. If it worked for Kassen and friends why not them? About the best answer I can think of so far is just to let them haul off as much as they can carry. If this is the case I am going to have to make sure no one has any magical means of hauling large amounts of loot and I hate to "cheat" like that. Anyone have a solution to this?
3. The cult. The world Guide states that Acolytes are sent to the Exalted Wood for training and come back changed, acting in league with the faith despite any previous misgivings. This makes sense. You should always brainwash new members of your cult. Otherwise, you get people who join under false pretenses just to get enough inside information on your misdeeds to expose you for what you are and ruin the fun for everyone. People just like the PC's. This is a cult that can not afford to have it's secrets exposed and yet it seems that their screening process goes as far as asking the PC's "Hey, wanna join our club"? Really? They just leave them locked up for a day and then keep an eye on them so a few more days. I am going to have to change this, otherwise the whole cult of Razmir is just a joke that the averge five year old could expose. I hate to make this just a surveilance job followed by a straight up assault but what else is there? Anyone know a good way for the PC's to infiltrate the temple without making the cultist seem totally inept? Maybe a failsafe that snaps them out of whatever is done to them? That seems like it would have already been used if it were that esay. I plan to use the Church of Razmir later in the campaign so I want them to come out of this as a serious menace that the PC's don't scoff at or take lightly. Any ideas are welcome.
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Hi Gellos!
First of all, welcome to Pathfinder! I hope you enjoy our little community and, of course, the game as well.
As to your questions, I'll take a stab at them:
1) Motivation. This is always hard to pin down, as each party has its own motivation. They key is learning about each PC's background so you can build in a plot hook to kickstart each chapter of the adventure. If you're looking to use Cygar's request, rather than customize it, you could make the grave robbers official enemies of the Pathfinder organization. Or, have the grave robbers be one of the PCs' old rivals from before he/she joined the Pathfinders. For City of Golden Death, tie one of your PC's backgrounds to Reginar, so they are doing it for personal reasons, as well as professional ones.
2) Loot. Golden Death may indicate "look but don't touch", but in my experience as a GM, that won't work very well with many PCs. I would anticipate that your PCs will make off with quite a bit of loot. If you want to limit this, build in some consequences for the theft that the PCs won't want to face, or add an encounter where some of the excess loot is destroyed as the players try to escape the city.
3) The Cult. Razmir is a bit of a joke to begin with. He presents himself as a living god, and people buy into it. It's pretty easy to believe that the cult has some "not so bright" people in mid-management roles (and possibly leadership roles). This could make the initial infiltration relatively easy for your PCs. However, their eventual discovery could lead you down the path you wish - having the Church of Razmir become a serious menace. The infiltration draws the attention of some of the higher ups in the church, who "discipline" those responsible for letting the PCs in, then discovering the PCs identities. Vengeance is right up Razmir's alley, so having the Church of Razmir continually sending cultists, inquisitors, assassins, and other agents to harass the PCs in an attempt at revenge could easily be a result of Razmir's petty nature (and his Church's nature, by extension).
I'm not sure if this is what you were looking for, but I hope it helps!