RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32
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While Kingmaker doesn't have very many dungeons, it does have a few that are important. Most of those have powerful BBEGs that are able to keep an eye on the PCs as they are moving through the dungeon. The dungeons are also at least a couple of days away from the nearest source of resources like magic items, spell casting services, and equipment.
So, what happens when the PCs decide to leave the dungeon in the middle of exploring it?
This thread is about how you as a GM handled that situation, or how you plan on handling it. Feel free to share and discuss.
The three dungeons that come to my mind immediately is the Staglord's Fort, Vordakai's Tomb, and Irovetti's Castle. Each of these, if the PCs leave before defeating the BBEG, the dungeon could become even more fortified. At the very least defeated encounters could be renewed or replaced if the PCs had to fall back. These locations also have the added advantage of being difficult or impossible to rest inside of, meaning that the PCs might have to fall back at some point to rest and renew resources.
The Staglord's fort is straight forward. If the PCs leave in the middle of a fight, fallen bandits are replaced and the whole fort is on high alert. The Stag Lord will have lanterns and torches lit all around the fort at night, the bandits will keep an eye on the entire hillside, and everyone will be on the catwalks ready to fire down on attackers while the owlbear handles them from the ground floor.
Vordakai has the ability to make his lair even more dangerous if the PCs leave before dealing with him. He can summon daemons and soul eaters, reposition cyclopes zombies, and create more undead. He could even go and place magical symbol traps. He is patient, cruel, and powerful, and has been watching the PCs for a very long time. While they may not realize it, this is probably the one dungeon that they need to avoid leaving. Resting here is difficult though, as Vordakai can send out summoned creatures to harass them in the middle of a rest. He could even do a hit and run himself, teleporting in and out as he pleases.
I plan on changing Irovetti's castle, it's protections, and the siege. Because of that my advice on this subject won't help very many when it comes to this dungeon.
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Staglord's Fort- Have reports come in about this laughingstock of a motley band traipsing around the countryside sightseeing and drinking tea instead of finishing an honorable commission to destroy banditry and settle the land. Public humiliation and eventually chastisement for failing in their assignment should encourage them to complete the mission.
Vordakai's tomb - don't make them finish it, just let the Big V run free and build his evil empire until the party says "OMG we should have finished that dungeon!" Once the destruction of their own kingdom begins, they will get the idea.
If you want to handle it with more kid gloves and not be cruel and heartless like myself, you can have one of the more faith based characters receive dark dreams about a dread presence lurking just beyond the darkness of the dungeon entrance. Shadows spread over the land, and all suffer and die under its corrupting influence. Think Fiver's vision from Watership Down and you are in the right ballpark :)
Irovetti's Castle - Seriously? Haven't they learned from the previous two disasters to leave no stone unturned. If not, have the Spymaster intercept messages discussing something secret and awful he plans to unleash on the PC's kingdom. It should also mention that even if he dies or is defeated, his plan will still work and they will suffer as well. If that doesn't get them moving, I am not sure what to tell you :)
YMMV on some of these, as your players are unique to their game and not all are motivated by the same things. This is what I would do at my table with my players, so take these as suggestions with a grain of salt :)
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Hmm maybe I misread your initial post. I thought it was asking how to handle it if they did not want to return.
Vordekai - Not much to add to your thoughts except maybe one thing. I would have Vordekai complete some rituals that the party would find out about, rituals whose other end is way off in Northern Iobaria. You know, rituals to wake up his other minions. :)
Staglord - He should hunt them down and kill them as quickly as possible. If they prove too powerful, have him send a group to slaughter anyone at Oleg's and burn the place to the ground and punishment for daring to stand against him. That removes their base of operations and now they are roaming with no resources, right where he wants them. If this is too complexe a thought process for your version of the alcoholic Staglord, then have the idea come from one of his lieutenants. Perhaps have Akiros try to get a message to the party warning them of the impending attack.
No idea about Irovetti, havent gotten that far along in detailed reading yet :)
SL's Fort: To me this is barely meaningful if the Stag Lord lives and remains the leader. He's still a drunk, he still doesn't care. An interesting way to change it up would be if that Riggs character brought dad out of the basement and they had a little coup.
Vordekai: There's so many places to go with it, I might be inclined to have him release plague zombies on a kingdom's pop to buy him time and space. Certainly he will raise more undead.
Irovetti: Escapes to the countryside uses his amazing Cha to become an even larger than life bandit lord? Maybe hands Narissa the sword!
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RPG Superstar Season 9 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2015 Top 32
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Yes, the PCs are expected to return to finish the job. With the exception of Irovetti's castle, they would have been gone for a day or more in their resupply.
In my first time running Kingmaker Part 1 the group assaulted the fort and realized they had made a mistake doing it in such a direct way and retreated. They watched the fort for a day or so before attempting it again. One of their own was captured, but he had a good amount of alcohol on him. That saved them because Stag Lord hadn't had a drink in a while and ended up being passed out when the party stealthed in from the rear (the zombies were all killed in the first assault) and slit his throat. The fight against all of the bandits was still very difficult though.
I am now running VV and the party has actually taken two trips back to town. The first one was taken right before entering the lair and the other was after fighting the daemon. The first time they purchased scrolls and potions to help them. The second time it was to raise a party member from the dead. They are struggling with their action economy and resource management, and as a result are finding encounters they should be able to defeat a big challenge. Vordakai has been watching them from the time they entered Varnhold, and I doubt he would just leave the rooms they cleared free from danger. The room with a sizable pool of water is going to be a summoned Hydrodaemon, while zombies will be found in previously cleared rooms.
Hargulka's troll lair could have also been disastrous if they left in the middle to rest up. The trolls would have fortified it further and been a pain to fight all at once.
Fro story its mean, but make the centaur girl some form of intelligent undead...
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Armag's tomb is another dungeon with pretty far-reaching consequences if the PCs leave early. My group got split inside and half of them had to bail and had every reason to suspect that everyone who remained had died. The PCs who remained made the really foolhardy decision to push on and did surprisingly well until Armag tore them up and forced them to flee. If I remember correctly, Armag is just retrieving the sword when the party arrives, so there's nothing keeping him in the tomb. After my PCs left, Armag returned to his barbarians and began preparations to invade Fort Drelev and then move on to the PC's kingdom.
The next book normally starts after the PCs defeat Armag when Irovetti uses his tournament to destabilize the kingdom for his sneak attack. So with Armag moving his army against the PC's kingdom, Irovetti takes advantage, jumps the gun, and sends HIS army in too. The desperate war that the unprepared PCs have to fight against a barbarian horde and then against Pitax could be reason enough to trigger the events of book six as well, but I mean, you don't wanna be THAT much of a jerk.
I did check with my group before prematurely shooting them into books five and six, but as I read it, this seemed to jive with the AP's plot. It has gone down in our group's history as the worst party split we've ever had.
I had my pc's fortify Drelev, make a last stand there and actually win the hearts and minds of the residents.
Defence measures (Tatzlford style), rounds, and every character got a "nemesis" which they had to fight single handedly. Nobody could die (they would be dragged back in to the back rows), but it would provide the main character a single re-roll in his final fight with Armag, on the plains, in the midst of the war!
The <3'ed it, and this worked very nice for several background story hooks.
Oh, and I didn't want to deprive them of the chance for the Rushlight Festival, coz it's epic.