Defeat at the Glassworks

[David Annable]

Hi folks,

I'm running a 3-man group through Rise of the Runelords for the first time and somehow my party managed to flub the fight at the Glassworks. The initial Goblin raid during the festival was a breeze for the party - I played up the goblin's lack of organization and focus and the party really took advantage of it. But since Tsuto was running the show at the Glassworks, I had the goblins work a little more cohesively. Part of the problem was that the party never really committed to an attack (the party is made up of a paladin, a monk, and a rogue) and they ended up getting flanked. While a lot of the goblins died, the Monk eventually went down and the Paladin somehow found himself outside leaving the poor Rogue to run for his life.

Regardless - I figured it made the most sense for the goblins to capture the incapacitated Monk and return to Thistletop where he can be imprisoned along with Ameiko. The other two party members (probably with some hired help) can go on a rescue mission.

The problem is, Tsuto's journal is the primary clue leading the party to Thistletop. They've spoken to Shalelu about the various tribes but I don't expect them to just start randomly searching the countryside for a hint. So I'm a bit stuck as to how to get them to Thistletop.

I expect the remaining two party members to return to the Glassworks where I will have them find the entrance to the Catacombs of Wrath. Provided they can make it through there, they can move on and perhaps find the secret smugglers door that leads out to the beach. I assume this would be how the goblins and Tsuto would secretly get themselves in and out of town. I don't really have anyone in the party capable of tracking but I can have Shalelu show up claiming to have picked up the trail of some goblins and a human who are carrying two humanoids. From there, they can head to Thistletop.

How does that sound?

[Mark_Twain007]

That should work. If you wanted to, you could make a character sheet for Shalelu and give it to the play who had the monk. That way he can be involved, and you can probably mostly ensure they will survive the catacombs, because depending on how you run it, and player luck, that fight with Erylum can sometimes go bad.

You could also give the monk some time in Thisletop, and maybe a chance to try and escape, and run down the beach to meet his allies. It could give him a chance to discover the underwater cave entrance in the basement, giving them another way in.

[David Annable]

I hadn't thought of letting the monk play through trying to escape, though at -2 HP, it could be a tough sell. I'd considered letting Salelu join the party but I feel like she might overshadow the PCs a bit so I want to be careful with that. At 6th level, she might make the other two heroes wonder what they're even doing there.

[Story Archer]

David Annable wrote:

I don't really have anyone in the party capable of tracking but I can have Shalelu show up claiming to have picked up the trail of some goblins and a human who are carrying two humanoids. From there, they can head to Thistletop.

How does that sound?

That's what I would have done.

[Latrecis]

Just throwing some ideas out there...

Spoiler:

Tsuto and the goblins could retreat to the Catacombs instead of Thistletop. He doesn't care about the monk, but he does about Ameiko and carrying her across the rough terrain to Thistletop has him concerned. Ameiko is also at -2 hp. He's going to wait for her to recover before moving. That gives the players a chance to go back the next day and still catch them. Of course it turns the difficulty of the Catacombs up a notch. But then putting Tsuto and more goblins at Thistletop does the same thing for the goblin fort.

You could have them find other notes or hints in Elyrium's possession - correspondence with Nualia, notes from Tsuto, goblin armor or other gear with Thistletop tribal markings, etc. that hint at the Thistletop location. Actually any dead goblins in the Glassworks might have such clues on them (if Tsuto and the other goblins didn't clean up the place before leaving.) Maybe it's their corpses that are left in the Catacombs...

What if the goblins drag the monk into the room with Ameiko who subsequently convinces Tsuto the Monk is dead so he gets left behind. She leaves a hint about Thistletop with the monk. Or the group can find clues in the Catacombs as above.

Does the monk player want to continue with that character? You could have him role-play some escape attempts. Ameiko could help him escape either while in the Glassworks, in the Catacombs, in route to Thistletop or once at Thistletop. Along these lines he or Ameiko could leave a trail or markers that makes it easier to track them. Your two surviving pc's are no match for Thistletop alone - whatever supplemental help they get should have Survival and tracking. I agree with your assessment about the risk of Shalelu as a pc, but you could leverage her as a DMPC and that way keep her from dominating the action. Of course another risk - if she comes off as limited in ability, it may discourage them from bringing her along at the start of Book 3. That's an outcome that's not absolutely required but for your small group a really, really, really good idea. They are going to need all the help they can get at Hook Mountain.

By the way, this thread should have a spoiler label in the heading or have been placed in GM Clarification Thread for Burnt Offerings.