An alternate module?

[BittyDM]

I am currently running Curse of the Crimson Throne, my players have completed All the Worlds Meat. (In addition to the Meet the Mob and Grau sidebits) I will have a player missing next week and the others are uncomfortable continuing storyline seperately and have expressed intrest in running a sidequest.

Do you guys have any suggestions, perhapse of a prebuilt module that would fit the theme of this Adventure Path. It would need to be completable in about 5 hours, my players are largely newbies so things tend to run slow, but not terrible so (ie it took about 10 hours total to run the campaign thus far).
They are generally less interested in roleplay situations than combat with a plot. It would be a well built magus, druid and monk all level 2.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[BittyDM]

I have had time to think on this, and looking at the next quest I dislike the Chelaxian noble bit as it's forgettable and a bit overdone. Two of my characters chose backgrounds that involve the drug shiver (ones mother having died of it and the other having kicked the habit) so I thought it might be cool to play that up.

I was thinking something along the lines of getting sent on a mission outside of town and stumbling upon a shipment of shiver, finding out where it's coming from, Devargo. Tying them back to the origonal story, then Devargos info could be that the noble is funding the shiver trade. They will relish getting both that and dealing with Devargo personally. They are a bit overpowered so i'm not seeing the boat as an issue.

All I need is an outside mission that gets them outside of town, one of my players expressed the need for some beastly opposition as a change of pace since he knows once we get into the meat of the AP there will be more and more urban.

[MrVergee]

I'll be adding an encounter with 'the Ironworks' to the chapter you're currently playing.

This is information on the Ironworks, an iron factory in Old Korvosa:

"One of the largest buildings in Old Korvosa, and indeed the city, the Ironworks takes in pig iron from Janderhoff and recycled slag bought for almost nothing and, in turn, spits out wrought iron works in a wide range of quality. More a factory and less a smithy, the Ironworks focuses on simple and functional wrought-iron goods, emphasizing quantity over quality. This allows the city’s few blacksmiths to remain in business, as they can focus on high-quality goods or customized jobs."

(I also found this information on the net, which looks like homebrew, but I used it anyway (also, remember that Korvosa bans guilds):
"The Ironsoots = the oldest, largest, and wiliest of the city’s secret guilds has existed in one form or another for more than a century. Many of the workers who belong to this guild work for the Ironworks. The Ironsoots have become more active of late, recruiting in the dark taverns near the Ironworks and in the Shingles of Old Docks. Currently, the Ironsoots are led by Baris Trenchlow, a soft-hearted and thick-handed (some say thick-headed) master smith who apprenticed in more liberal Magnimar, where he learned the values of solidarity. Because the city charter prevents its legal recognition, the union plans on launching a riot at the first opportunity to make the people of Korvosa pay attention. Baris Trenchlow believes that shutting down the Ironworks and rioting in the streets is the right push Korvosa needs to amend the charter again.")

I made this into the following encounter:

Cressida Kroft summons the PCs and tells them about the Ironworks in Old Korvosa. The workers in the iron factory have been fighting Korvosa's law against guilds for many years. The Ironsoots, as they call themselves, are led by master smith Baris Trenchlow, who trained in Magnimar and adopted Magnimar's more liberal ideas on economy and solidarity.

The Ironsoots are using the current instability in the city to enforce their claims. They've locked down the factory and are protesting in the streets, demanding Korvosa's ban on guilds be lifted. Their protest contributes to the general atmosphere of chaos in the city, so Croft wants to end their actions by any means possible.

She doesn't think of Trenchlow as an evil man, though, so she would be happiest to have him arrested and not killed, but she fears a bloodbath if she sends her own troops. The city also needs the services of the ironworks, so coming to a "peaceful" solution would definitely be preferable. She asks the party to use their skills and tricks to sneak into the ironworks and arrest the master smith.

The iron factory processes iron ore from Janderhoff and recycles slag. Most of the goods they produce are of a simple quality, things like nails, pins, horseshoes, crowbars, iron bands for barrels and wheels, hinges and all kinds of iron parts for shipbuilding or repair.

The furnaces never stop. The workers work around the clock in three shifts of 8 hours each. At any moment some 20 laborers are at work in the workshops and 10 more in the loading and storage areas or the coal cellar. This means that about 100 people are employed at the Ironworks.

Those laborers are on strike right now. They've barricaded the entrances to the building and occupy the Ironworks to prevent iron bars from being taken to the other smithies in town (all private smiths). During the day about 75 Ironsoots are present, manning the barricades. At night their numbers dwindle to about 30, half of whom are asleep while the others stand guard. They have all blackened their faces with soot.

Baris Trenchlow, the leader of the strike is also in the building. Although it isn't his goal to have the city sink away in chaos, he does use the current disturbances to empower his demands to legalize guilds. He can usually be found in his office, where he writes letters to potential supporters of his claim or other influential people, such as other smiths, noble families, merchants and the government. At the moment he's working on a letter to Garrick Tann, the city's magistrate of commerce, trying to convince him of his more liberal ideals.

The PCs can use several tactics to get a hold of Trenchlow:
- violence;
- infiltration: a disguise check DC 15 allows the PCs to dress up as an Ironsoot with a blackened face, so they can try to bluff their way past the guards and through the factory (best chances are at night);
- sneak into Trenchlow's office through the coal cellar (information on the lay-out of the building can be obtained from any Ironsoot);
- negotiate with bluff and/or diplomacy and try to get an 'audience' with Trenchlow (although in this case several Ironsoots will be present in Trenchlow's office during these negotiations).

If the PCs interact with the master smith, they quickly understand he is a reasonable man who simply opposes Korvosa's obsolete laws. The city's charters forbid merchants or craftsmen from forming guilds so Korvosa can keep a tight hand on labor and prices. This is why most artisans are independent workers who operate as masters with just one or a handful of apprentices to help them.

Trenchlow is especially outraged that Korvosa allows one guild to exist: the thieves' guild, the Cerulean Society, just because they pay 'vice taxes'. Honest guilds on the other hand are forbidden. Allowing guilds would certainly benefit the artisans and all those who work hard. And if they prosper, so will the city (and tax income). So it is time to put aside the old laws and introduce modern rules, which would serve all Korvosans. The master smith is convinced that many citizens support his ideals, but they are too afraid to say so, because punishment for unionizing is very hard: branding and imprisonment (5-10 years), with no appeal.

I'm using the glassworks map from Burnt Offerings for the Ironworks. Here are my stats for the Ironsoots (my PCs will be level 2):

Baris Trenchlow CR 3
hp 47 (5HD)
Init +0; AC 16, touch 10, flat-footed 16
Fort +4, Ref +1, Will +3
Speed 20 ft. (4 squares)
Melee masterwork warhammer +9 (1d8+6/x3)
Base Atk +3; CMB +7; CMD 17
Skills Appraise +9, Craft Armor +9, Blacksmithing +12, Locks +9, Weapons +9, Diplomacy +9, Know (Engineering) +5, Know (History) +8, Know (Local) +9, Sense Motive +7
Possessions masterwork chainmail; masterwork warhammer;

Ironsoot striker, com2
hp 14 (2HD)
Init +0; AC 10, touch 10, flat-footed 10
Fort +1, Ref +0, Will -1
Melee mace, light +4 (1d6+3)
Melee unarmed strike +4 (1d3+3)
Base Atk +1; CMB +4; CMD 14
Possessions mace, light

Ironsoot striker, exp2
hp 20 (2HD)
Init +1; AC 15, touch 11, flat-footed 14
Fort +2, Ref +1, Will +3
Melee mace, light +5 (1d6+3)
Base Atk +1; CMB +4; CMD 15
Possessions chain shirt; mace, light

[BittyDM]

@MrVergee That all sounds great! You have done a wonderful job, unfortunatly my pcs are liable to completely agree with him and refuse the job. Upon introduction to the city and how guilds are outlawed they basically rallied on his side already.

Damn, I actually think that would be cool as hell.

[Tels]

Well, perhaps you could have the PCs attempt to be negotiators on behalf of the city. Maybe Baris and the Ironsoots don't trust any of the slimy politicians that haven't worked a day in their life, but are open and willing to speak with a neutral (if biased) third party who is interested in returning the peace to the city.