I have a pc who is currently on a two week vacation. He asked me before he left if it was alright for his character to investigate the brothers of seven in magnimar while in game the other pcs investigate aldern and the ghoul problems. Question: What information would it be fair to give this pc about brother 7, skinsaw cult, ironbriar, and tsuto's trial? The fact that the pc still wants to "play" and be useful while away on family vacation makes me want to reward him....
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Well, there are a few things in play here. The activities of the Skinsaw cult are known through Magnimar, and the Lord-Mayor has directly gotten involved by posting Ironbriar to look into them. This is relatively public knowledge, and would be an easy entry point for someone who knows the name "Brotherhood of the Seven" or "Skinsaw Cult." Even the most basic inquiries will point the person to Ironbriar's "investigation" of the cult. The following facts are, in my opinion, fair game to reveal to the players with some successful Knowledge (Local) checks or Diplomacy checks to gather intel.
First, I changed the name to the "Seven Brothers Sawmill" and gave them a cartoony seven guys log-rolling logo for their sign to make it less immediately sinister-sounding. The place does appear to be a properly functioning mill though; if your PC goes investigating it while it's up and running there's very little to separate it from any of the other sawmills in Magnimar. No one will answer the door (because there's no one downstairs to hear anyone knocking and they aren't expecting anybody) but there are a few windows where an investigator could run into one or more of the cultists out of uniform and loading the wagon with lumber for one of their legitimate orders. Public records would show that it's been in business for several decades, and they pay their taxes on time. Boring is better here, as it discourages the investigator from breaking in for some solo exploration and getting himself murdered.
Any investigations into the Skinsaw Cult itself could head down a few different roads depending on how trustworthy you want Ironbriar to seem. My players never sought him out (even though they were recommended to do so, if they wanted to help), but it's reasonable to be able to figure out that they're likely a cult worshipping Norgorber (in his Father Skinsaw guise). Investigating with shady types might reveal that they're assassins-for-hire if you know the right people to ask, but that they have actually been turning down work even as the number of murders attributable to them increases. Implication is that someone already has them booked solid, which is absolutely the case. If it were me, and the investigating character came off as at least halfway competent and respectful of the law, I'd have Ironbriar bring him in on the official investigation, in which case he could see the dossier they've got so far:
Skinsaw Cult is a cult worshipping Norgorber (true)
Their murders have become either more numerous or more daring in the past several months (true)
They seem to be striking targets randomly, across all strata of society (false to the first part, true to the second)
Their base of operations is somewhere in Underbridge (dangerously false, and could lead to the wrong cult of Norgorber)
Ironbriar is on the case because of his decades-long history of being able to root out and stamp out cult activities in the city (true in my game- he was eliminating competition)
He hasn't yet been able to bring in a member of the Cult for questioning- they tend to strive not to be taken alive, or fear threats of death if they are (technically true, but he hasn't actually been trying)
The above info would only be available to a PC who's interested in cooperating with Magnimar's law enforcement, and of course Ironbriar will have a lot of questions about the PC (and his allies, if he lets on that he has them) to find out why he's so curious about this and whether he's actually interested in helping or just a looky-loo. He'll be hesitant to bring in outside help but eventually give in because he's running out of options. The real purpose, of course, is to learn more about the PCs for Xanesha's benefit, and alert the Cult to their existence so they can be on the lookout. On the off-chance that one of the cultists IS captured, Ironbriar can participate in the questioning and arrange for the cultist's escape from custody if necessary.
Ironbriar himself has a good (though not spotless) reputation as a cop who rose to his position on the Justice Council over the course of several decades, working his way up through the system largely based on just being alive and effective for a long time. Of course, it being Magnimar he has no shortage of detractors whose toes he's stepped on during his rise, and if you ask the right people they'll probably tell you he's known as effective AND ruthless. Those who know him will be able to share that he's seemed out of sorts and distracted lately- no doubt losing sleep due to the frustrating walls he's been running up against with his current investigation- this was supposed to be a couple weeks' work in addition to his regular duties, but is stretching out interminably.
As far as Tsuto's trial goes, I've got no idea what you've got going on with that. You're on your own :)
I have a pc who is currently on a two week vacation. He asked me before he left if it was alright for his character to investigate the brothers of seven in magnimar while in game the other pcs investigate aldern and the ghoul problems. Question: What information would it be fair to give this pc about brother 7, skinsaw cult, ironbriar, and tsuto's trial? The fact that the pc still wants to "play" and be useful while away on family vacation makes me want to reward him....
thanks for the post...
lots of ideas to play around with