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our group just started carrion crown. the peasant attack while burying the professor wasa bad enough for not liking the peasants. then later my charactor was using the dancing lights cantrip to try and drum up attention for the bard's concert, and the peasants were acting scared of the minor illusions. so i have the feeling our party may end up burning down the town or otherwise ending up in a confrontation due to just not liking the townsfolk. also, does anyone else think the town priest's picture in the module makes him look undead?
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This isn't Sandpoint.
In Ustalav the man you drink with may be a werewolf, the man living down the street could be a vampire, the local bakers wife may be a cultist of Urgathoa.
These are the people you know, who you've lived with for years. Now imagine a bunch of outsiders roll up to town to bury a man who is well known for travelling around and using god knows what type of magic and they start poking their nose into things that are best left undisturbed?
They are suspicious of you because being suspicious keeps you alive...
Also bear in mind that this town is about a couple of days travel away from one of the most dangerous places in the world. They have a right to be paranoid.
Finally, if you are thinking about burning the town to the ground maybe their actions are justified?
Are you even bothering with the Trust point system?
I'd have a look over it, even if you weren't. Just having these situations come up can really help the player understand that the town trusts them now.
"Wanted?" No my players took extreme umbrage over the attack at the funeral and pert near leveled the place. Yup, what a beginning for budding heroes...they got mellower later though.
It is a slight pain. Despite, according to settlement guidelines, Golarion having lots off, and powerful, spellcasters, the peasants in this mod freak out alot!
I actually had the characters visit the local tavern a few times to have the locals "warm up" to them.
Dares of ordering a "random specialty drink" {I have a list of 100} with results like:
The drink is mint green with dark swirls and a slice of a strange fruit on the edge of the glass. The drink smells like a tangerine and tastes spicy. It causes the drinker to temporarily levitate.
Along with games & gambling with the locals will result in gaining rumors, information & possibly trust points.
The GM can place postings in the town square that will provide hints or introductions to important people in upcoming campaigns or this one, including NPC's you need to meet offering services or products, etc.
In other campaigns I have had to add hunting parties the PC's can join, people needing help as a small side quest for money, objects or information and an outside surprise town attack that puts the PC's helping the entire town to help the game proceed.
The gm we had for this part wasn't our normal gm, and did things so badly if I had the time, the means, and the power I totally would have burned it to the ground. Almost died because of those peasants several times, then got run out of town when we were doing everything we could to help them. I don't think he understood the fact that we could earn trust and it wasn't just deducted at every opportunity. Bad start for the AP, and even after switching gms it didn't get much better. Considering there's a lodge in a forest that needs to burn, Jack the Ripper needs to move to lipistat and go to town, once he's finished there he can vacation in illmarsh, and every one in caliphas needs to flush with holy water.
At least when we camp out in the wilderness monsters attacking is normal, and animals will generally leave us alone unless we tick them off. At least most of the nobles have been pretty cool, outside of the ones we needed to kill.
I play a ranger in the Carrion Crown. We stared down the funeral protesters, then fought zombies and crawled through the Harrowstone prison, just before leaving Ravengro two days later. I'm not sure why the GM is having you linger in town so early in the adventure, but I suggest getting out of town and forget you were ever there. It's easier than avoiding bountyhunters the rest of you potentially short adventuring careers. I thought it was cool that you used Dancing Lights to enhance the Bard's show :)
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I ran two groups through Ravengro and the second group specifically wanted to kill only one person in the entire town... Jominda the Apothecary.
She refused to sell them magical potions because of their terrible trust score and they felt they needed it to save the town. Hijinks ensued and it ended with the wizard getting a 600 gp fine.
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I haven't started this AP yet, but one thing I was going to do is try to work up some sympathy for the town. Near the beginning of "Rule of Fear" is a great section that talks about how Ustalov is a place where all the scary stories told in other parts of Golarion about boogeymen in the night are all too true in Ustalov. The folks of Ravengro are simple people that are untrusting just because it's how they stay alive. I've got a decent group of players who - once they understand this (even if I have to straight up tell them) - I think will want to work their way into the town's trust so they can help out. But we'll see. Shrug.
I find it funny that players think that they are even able to raze a town when they are level one and there are some people there who probably can take out the party by themselves, i.e. the priest and the magic shop owner. And probably that retired military commander councilman.
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I find it funny that players think that they are even able to raze a town when they are level one and there are some people there who probably can take out the party by themselves, i.e. the priest and the magic shop owner. And probably that retired military commander councilman.
I find it funny that that when players don't like someone in an RPG (especially D&D though...) their reaction is so absurdly violent. Seriously? burn down a town you don't like? who thinks like that in any sort of a realistic situation?
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Well, the phrase "adolescent power fantasies" comes to mind. ^^
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I find it funny that players think that they are even able to raze a town when they are level one and there are some people there who probably can take out the party by themselves, i.e. the priest and the magic shop owner. And probably that retired military commander councilman.I find it funny that that when players don't like someone in an RPG (especially D&D though...) their reaction is so absurdly violent. Seriously? burn down a town you don't like? who thinks like that in any sort of a realistic situation?
I know, right?
Unfortunately a lot of APs IME, at low level, suffer from the NPCs seeming way more important than the PCs. Which is not what I wish to play.
It is a slight pain. Despite, according to settlement guidelines, Golarion having lots off, and powerful, spellcasters, the peasants in this mod freak out alot!
It helps to remember that the people of Ravensgro and the lands of Carrion Crown have had a bad time with powerful spell casters. Mix that with the knowledge that the Whispering Tyrant is just resting, a dollop of the land still bearing scars from the last time he was out and a just a dash of justified paranoia in other areas and you have a people who aren't going to be very friendly or willing to trust unknown magic users.
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I have wanted to destroy every single town in carrion crown so far. Halfway through the 5th book right now and every single location has left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
+1
So the Sheriff is having a tough time believing your story. He wants to arrest you so clearly the most reasonable thing to do is just kill him.
Just how many of your players ,when told by a sheriff , "Your lying! Drop your weapons you're all under arrest!" have just dropped their weapons and meekly went to jail???
No player I have ever gamed with has ever done that or anything even remotely similar.
I end up with the sheriff either backing down after being told in no uncertain terms...NO!, or a little to a lot of blood and the thunder of spells depending on how seriously my players took the sheriff's threat/orders.
Since the town hired these highly skilled heroes to do something the sheriff and his posse could not, I tend to have the townies believe the heroes rather than arrest them for doing their job...much less drama and more focus on the players rather than the oh so important npcs
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Some context would probably help. Not everygame is wild west style. Either the sheriff is a corrupt POS and they should kill him or he is just a guy doing his job and doesn't know what is really going on. Sometimes that means, god forbid, putting away weapons and working with the Sheriff. Oh so important NPCs? Sounds more like do whatever the #$%^ we want PCs to me.
Thanks for the reply...the oh so important npc line was in response to thenovalords post directly under your post that I quoted.
And the ap's npcs do tend to be a bit high in the importance...I still remember the demi-lich in an ap a while ago...my players screamed like little schoolkids!
As for some context...you did not have much in your quoted post...sorry.
My players used torches in the night...tossed on rooftops...at 1cp each they had a LOT of them...now I know why!!!
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Not to shift the focus from Ravengro to Illmarsh, but really guys, Ravengro was tame and quaint compared to the creepy evilness of Illmarsh.
How is a Crusader supposed to react when
the populace is sacrificing their female children to squirt out little fishes for the Scum? Ok, ok, I know, I should be an understanding hero and forgive them for a couple centuries of these "sacrifices" just so the town can have a bountiful harvest of fish. I don't think my immediate hostile reaction to the sheriff's threat of bodily harm was out of place.
Anyway, I have not burned the town down, but if any town deserves that fate, it is Illmarsh.
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Not to shift the focus from Ravengro to Illmarsh, but really guys, Ravengro was tame and quaint compared to the creepy evilness of Illmarsh.
How is a Crusader supposed to react when
** spoiler omitted **
Anyway, I have not burned the town down, but if any town deserves that fate, it is Illmarsh.
I am beginning to suspect that my gaming group and I are very different than the norm......
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** spoiler omitted **Not to shift the focus from Ravengro to Illmarsh, but really guys, Ravengro was tame and quaint compared to the creepy evilness of Illmarsh.
How is a Crusader supposed to react when
** spoiler omitted **
Anyway, I have not burned the town down, but if any town deserves that fate, it is Illmarsh.
Our group is not about killing first then speak with dead later. I just find playing my alignment quite a challenge in the town of Illmarsh. (NG)
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So the Sheriff is having a tough time believing your story. He wants to arrest you so clearly the most reasonable thing to do is just kill him.Just how many of your players ,when told by a sheriff , "Your lying! Drop your weapons you're all under arrest!" have just dropped their weapons and meekly went to jail???
No player I have ever gamed with has ever done that or anything even remotely similar.
I end up with the sheriff either backing down after being told in no uncertain terms...NO!, or a little to a lot of blood and the thunder of spells depending on how seriously my players took the sheriff's threat/orders.
Since the town hired these highly skilled heroes to do something the sheriff and his posse could not, I tend to have the townies believe the heroes rather than arrest them for doing their job...much less drama and more focus on the players rather than the oh so important npcs
Even without surrendering, PCs of 9th level should be able to avoid imprisonment in any number of ways that do NOT involve the murder of innocents... incapacitating them is one easy option, and escaping is another. KILLING every NPC that hinders you is an overreaction and probably has to do more with player immaturity than roleplaying a tough character.