I've spent some prep time fleshing out some of the backgrounds and personalities of the NPC's around town (really great resource there) and working tie-ins and hooks I can use to engage my players with. Each will have a couple of folks in town who are 'their' friends, giving them an additional resource of sorts to draw on for the group as well as a bit of potential for trouble.
Anyway, it occurred to me that it would be fun to turn the tables on my players a bit and get them in a situation where some of the townsfolk brave the wilds to come rescue them. It would have to be something fairly low level in order to be believable, but I like the idea of twnsfolk coming out of retirment, squeezing into armor that's a little too tight now or memorizing a combat spell for the first time ever and setting off to rescue the good folk who've done so much for their town now that they've found themselves in a spot of trouble.
But I have no idea when or where to do it. Total blank. I'm hoping someone on the boards here might give me an idea or two... I've found sometimes all it takes is that spark caused by a fresh perspective.
Take a look at the smuggler tunnel leading out from the Glassworks. The part the PCs are supposed to be looking for is about 400 feet in, but it goes out to about half a mile, leading out to a cave on the coast. The description they give there is pretty plain, but you could easily alter that to something that is just a bit more than the PCs can handle.
You'll want to be careful about using this idea, though. Many players can't bring themselves to realistically handle a no-win situation -- heck, a lot of them won't ever have their characters retreat, no matter how bad the odds or how much their goal emphasizes subtlety. They will literally throw everything they have into such an encounter, assuming that everything has been scaled to their level of ability.
(You may have a group that can handle this properly, of course. You know your players better than I do.)
This sort of scenario would also require the characters to be up-front about their motives, going so far as to tell some of these NPCs where they are going and why. This is a common trope in films and books: "If we're not back in three days, assume the worst."
If you did use the smuggler's tunnel, perhaps a cave-in would be a better choice than an actual monster? Its very early in the adventure though, so it depends how much you've spaced things out.
Perhaps the PCs try the 'frontal assault' approach at Thistletop and it... doesn't work very well. Nualia and her team of misfits (Bruthazmus, Tsuto, Lyrie and Orik) could be up-top for some reason and assist the goblins defenders, and their combined might helps put the PCs to flight. Assuming they've had enough, Nualia et. al. go back below and let the goblins finish off the survivors. A band of goblins and goblin-dogs chases down the PCs and has them cornered...
... until Daviren Hosk piles into them from one side, swinging a wickedly jagged greataxe and with his pet/companion (a snaggle-toothed bulldog the size of a halfling) murdering the hell out of a goblin-dog. Kaye Tesarani finds a high perch and rains bolts onto the goblins with the repeating-crossbow Vansaya, while Savah Bevaniky and Sabyl Sorn hit the goblins from the other side. Caught between the surviving PCs and a (fresh) group of a ranger, a sniping rogue, a fighter and a monk, the surviving goblins break and flee.
Daviren Hosk looks up from harvesting another set of goblin ears and smirks at the PCs. "Not bad for an old man, huh?"
You know... that's a great way to make the party feel unnecessary. They're heroes. Who wants to be bailed out just on the whim of the GM? And what's more... what if they don't run? You could end up with a TPK and a demoralized group, just because you wanted to have some "fun."
You know... that's a great way to make the party feel unnecessary. They're heroes. Who wants to be bailed out just on the whim of the GM? And what's more... what if they don't run? You could end up with a TPK and a demoralized group, just because you wanted to have some "fun."
Yeah, I think you kinda missed the point of this.
Oh, I'm too far from other Pathfinder players to ever GM Burnt Offerings myself; I'm a wannabe writer, so I was describing the scene that sprang to mind when I considered Story Archer's proposed scenario. It's an idea, nothing more; he's perfectly free to use, ignore, modify, or yoink any part of it he chooses. :P I certainly wasn't suggesting that he railroad the PCs into that situation - only proposing a way that he could prevent a TPK if they dug themselves in over their heads.
As a writer I think this is a great idea, and I would love to bring the NPCs out of retirement. However, as a player, you having a scenario you are FORCED to lose to make the NPCs shine, I think you're playing with fire, and need to tread lightly.
As a writer I think this is a great idea, and I would love to bring the NPCs out of retirement. However, as a player, you having a scenario you are FORCED to lose to make the NPCs shine, I think you're playing with fire, and need to tread lightly.
My players aren't so immature that they can't handle losing sometimes - its happened often enough and almost always led to greater triumphs. We don't have the TPK's that so many others do and that's the trade-off sometimes.
Think about it - Indiana Jones didn't fold his arms and pout when Short Round came to his rescue in Temple or Sallah and the children in Raiders, it was a great moment where an ally that he had had the foresight and wisdom to cultivate proves their worth. Making friends and allies should pay off in the story imo and not just through getting a generic 15% off gear at the local adventuring store.
I'm still playing around with the idea. It might end up being a situation where its a 'we're coming with you' kind of thing, perhaps to rescue fellow townspeople. When we were running Skulls n Shackles, the major NPC's (like Rosie and Sandara), minor NPC's (like Aron Ivey) and even the crew all had a role to play in the character's success... it gave the gamemuch greater verisimilitude than everyone standing back to watch whenever the PC's stepped onto the stage...
If you want the NPCs to shine, wait 'til the giants are going to assault Sandpoint. Then have them be part of a layered defense. Thus you can let the NPCs strut their stuff and yet still have the PCs be an effective force.