So my players have just about ended Chapter 1: Burnt Offerings.
Upon killing Nualia (which is a whole story on it's own), they opened the door to the Barghest. They were outmatched since they are still level 3 and the Barghest is a CR 7. They got extremely lucky with some illusions and rolls and managed to escape through a narrow hallway in which the Barghest could not fit or continue to pursue them.
Having not gone through the door with the shadows and having not found the treasure, they decided to camp up, refresh and buff and get a second chance at taking on the Barghest ... except ... I decided that it had escaped through the shadow room and the treasure room through the pool of water and out.
This has made for an interesting turn of events for Sandpoint:
- A Barghest is on the loose, Father Zantus is freaking out
- The town guard is worried since it has DR unless you have magic weapons and the guards just can't all afford magic weapons
- The skinsaw murders have started and the party has no clue if it's the Barghest or something else (which has made an intersting Red Herring)
- And the stage is set for an epic showdown, in the rain, at night, with Ameiko, Shalelu, Hemlock and the party to face the Barghest when it comes in to attack the town again.
- The party is luring the Barghest by making use of the minor runewell of wrath
I'd like to extend to you: What are your thoughts? Have you had alternate endings to the Chapter of your own? Have you had something similar with Nualia or the Barghest getting free and harrassing the party throughout the Campaign?
P.S. Lyrie and Orik escaped Thistletop. Any ideas how I can use them as well as recurring pests?
Thanks,
Alex
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After defeating Naulia, my party pretty much slammed the door on Malfeshnikor, put a big "Do Not Open" sign on the door, and left Thistletop behind.
It may make sense to have Malfeshnikor run off and stay gone until Chapter 5 when the earthquake opens up the Lamashtan Shrine under Sandpoint. Perhaps Malfeshnikor is attracted back to Sandpoint, by Lamashtu's urgings, to assist the Scribbler.
Orik is a mercenary. He could be encountered back in Magnimar or perhaps passing back through Sandpoint. I'm not sure what I'd do with Lyrie.
-Skeld
My party were captured before taking out Ripnugget and Nualia. She sent them downstairs to attempt to free Malfeshnekor, which they lied saying they would. Meanwhile, Nualia led an attack on Sandpoint with Ripnugget and all remaining goblins. Her plan was to free Tsuto, and to kidnap Brodert Quink - the eminent scholar on all things Thassilonian to assist her with freeing Malfeshnekor in the likely event they failed or double-crossed her.
The PCs got out, and raced home - killing their horse by forcing it to sprint the whole way to Sandpoint and began marshalling some troops to meet Ripnugget. The end of the book mirrored the front with a goblin siege of Sandpoint, this time they were prepared and wiped out the goblins once and for all. Nualia retreated back to the Catacombs where she was confronted with Tsuto, her Yeth Hounds, and a small mob of Sinspawn.
It was pretty darn epic. In order to convince them to go back, Brodert became hell-bent on going to Thistletop to examine the site, and he likely, would have opened the door for Malfeshnekor. I played Malfeshnekor as very bright, but ravenously hungry and psychotically vicious. Pairing him with the Scribbler would be nice, but I couldn't imagine him being that patient.
In my campaign, Malfeshnekor got out (actually, the PCs left him locked in the room, but some hobgoblins came to claim Thistletop, and unfortunately for them, they managed to release him...)
Since Malfeshnekor was an agent of one of the other Runelords, and was imprisoned in a really boring room for a really long time thanks to the followers of Karzoug, I decided he really, really hated Karzoug and all of his followers.
So the party saw no signs of Malfeshnekor until chapter 4. When they got to the Fortress, they were scouting the area and discovered a stone giant splayed out on the sands, obviously tortured to death. They overheard hunting parties from the fortress worrying about getting caught by the "ghost" that haunted the plains. They ran across more evidence that something was hunting the giants. And eventually, they ran into a leveled-up Malfeshnekor, who was doing his lone-guerilla campaign against the Fortress. They came to an agreement with him, to work together to bring down those loyal to Karzoug - and he ended up (suitably modified for balance) being run by one of the players as part of the group for the rest of the campaign.
In my game, Nualia succeeded... no, let me rephrase that: every single player in my group failed his Will save and Nualia managed to escaped via sanctuary.
They didn't find M and are sure to leave with the big helmet next session.
This leaves me with all the interesting options you just mentioned and some more of my own design. *evilGMgrin*
To the OP: I like what you did and how it played out for you. Concerning Orik and Lyrie: I'd have them team up with Lyrie in the lead. She's planning her revenge and I'd send them south to Magnimar, let them advance a couple levels and have the PCs meet them in book 3 when passing through Turtleback Ferry or on another occasion when visiting Magnimar; maybe use Dawn of the Scarlet Sun as scaffold?
Ruyan.
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I'm also trying to figure out what Lyrie will do. My group killed Nualia and Bruthazmus, convinced Orik to help them (after knocking him unconscious the first time and taking all his stuff), then let him go once he proved genuinely cooperative in showing them how far Nualia had gotten in exploring the lowest level of Thistletop. But Lyrie escaped while they killed Nualia. I'm trying to decide if they'll see her again, and if so, in what capacity.
They also got their butts kicked by Malfeshnekor. I could have killed one party member, but in an act of GM kindness, had him focus on weakening the others who were a threat from outside the room before going for the kill on the one who was knocked out inside the room with him. They closed the door, took the key with them, reset the trap, and closed all the secret doors in the hopes the goblins will never find their way down there.
The goblin tribe is mostly still there. After they killed Nualia, Ripnugget decided not to mess with them, so they negotiated peace between the goblins and Sandpoint. Ripnugget will be seen as weak and have trouble holding on to his leadship position. I already had his warchanter arguing with him about letting the "longshanks" leave without a fight. None of the PCs speak goblin, so they didn't understand the details, but they could tell it was an argument.
I'm enjoying the RP potential of the social interactions with some of these bad guys. There are so many of them, each with their own motivations.
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He's imprisoned in Sandpoint. I thought of that, but she's smart enough not to try anything too blatant. I'm thinking she'd use the hidden tunnels to sneak into the catacombs and check in with the basement under the glassworks. Not finding him there, I'm not sure what she'd do next.
The group had the sheriff put up "Wanted" posters with drawings of her face around town, so she'd have trouble sneaking in. I'm also thinking Ameiko will be blocking off underground access to the glassworks pretty quickly.
So Tsuto's likely to be hanged for conspiring with the goblins and killing his father before Lyrie even knows where to look for him.
Maybe Tsuto will be send to Magnimar to trial? It would be a lot easier to her to reunite with him there. Maybe tell certain Justice to interfere with the process, or to fake a sentence and then release him undercover? They could both join to his cause in Magnimar, then.