Hey guys! In a bit of a troubled spot here with the campaign I'm running. As you can see, I'm at Book No. 4 of Second Darkness.
Two of my party members, A Rogue and a Bard, didn't like how they were being tested by House Vonnac's slavemother, pretty much calling her a stupid b!$@% and storming back to Zirnakaynin to find someone who would appreciate them better. I've had them mulling around a bar for a while now. The only thing I've got planned for them so far is to visit a patron for his overdue tab, and fight his Omox bodyguard.
Any ideas on what I could get these guys to do? I have an idea that they get involved with Safan so that they can have SOME connection with the rest of the party. I at least want all of them together when they meet Alchaviss (or I could just be evil and break the spell when those two are knee-deep in Drows and Demons. >:3).
The Rogue's Lawful Evil and the Bard's Neutral Good. The Gnome's dependant on the Rouge as the latter is the former's employer. The Rogue wants to see if there's a Thieves Guild or Assassin's Guild he can join (and maybe murder his way in charge).
The Rogue also wants to know if there's any downtrodden Drow who might need guidance, since he was once a beggar on the streets himself and is thus sympathetic to others like him. His player has also told me that there is a chance his alignment might change to Lawful Neutral if he realised that even Drow are capable of some sort of virtue.
Any ideas from those who've been in the same situation? They have a way to contact the rest of the party via Kwava (who's a DNPC to move the plot along), I should add...
Well, the most "in story" way of handling this is that they should have been executed immediately for their insubordination to the slave mother, especially if they were male. I mean, their mission was to infiltrate drow society as a drow and figure out what is going on. In all the background lore given, I cannot see a reason why they should be allowed to live, but it sounds like it is too late for that. Kwava should be seriously scolding them for not playing along for the good of the entire Inner Sea and you should reduce the elves attitude accordingly.
(I don't think you need to worry about the alignment change since any living drow are incapable of any sort of "virtue", unless that virtue is vice.)
Some ideas to advance the story along and not waste a whole book (at a minimum, Kwava should be urging them to get to the bottom of what is going on):
(a) The slavemother should be frequently sending assassins at them for what they've done. Assuming they survive the attacks, the house matriarch (knowing the PCs aren't drow), has them captured (through use of poison while visiting a drow pleasure house or tavern, simply overwhelming them in a fight, or through a non-drow spy that is pretending to help them). Until this happens, you can let them stumble onto the vast richness of drow lore through exploring the city. Once taken to the matriarch, you can continue with the end game for the adventure.
(b) There is a sub-adventure to track down the group of driders that abandoned their posts. They could stumble onto this (if they haven't already killed them) and find allies in the former drider slaves, who freely part with information and the knowledge for them to infiltrate the matriarch's tower to determine what is truly going on. Of course, the matriarch knows of their attempt to breach her tower and lets them, thus leading to the conclusion events of the book.
(c) You could let them simply fumble around the city long enough to gather information vs. opposing checks for other residents to realize they aren't truly acting like drow, especially considering that they are going to attempt to find "down on their luck drow" to help. Once they've bungled enough checks, they are seized and about to be put to the sword. At this point, they could have learned enough to not need the matriarch to reveal Allevrah's plans, which leads to a final battle and flight from the city (use chase rules or something cinematic). Or they brought to the matriarch to be 'executed', where she reveals Allevrah's plans and you can continue with the conclusion events of the book.
Good luck!
Ahh, I don't know how I missed that it was only a couple of party members the first time I read your post through.
Having an extended split party is just a hassle for everyone. A lot of how to handle this situation depends a lot on the players involved and how they will handle things. It also depends on the intentions of the other party members.
I would be inclined to go with something like my previous (c) recommendation just for those two characters and have them show up bound in chains at the Alchaviss meet at the end. If the other party members abandon their infiltration of House Vonnac to find their brethren, then switch to a new plan for the whole party.
The big question in this scenario will be what to do with the players. If you can keep them happy with playing an NPC, not coming at all, coming and just watching, or filling in for another player that is absent, then great.
Alternatively, you could give those two members a new purpose. Maybe the remaining party members are tortured and in imminent danger of being executed due to the actions of their friends, and it is now up to the rogue and bard to save their friends, and also up to others to try and work their way out of the situation.
I had this idea of having those two get involved with the thieves and smugglers of Zirnakaynin. And by the time the rest of the party meets up with Alchaviss for the last time, they're partaking in a big deal\meeting about deals and trades or something, with plenty of Drow and Demons around. So when Alchaviss casts Wish against the party's disguises, those two will be in much more peril than the rest of the party. (If they're smart, they'll try and escape)
But I'll try and see how much they'll screw up, and see how I go from there. I have told them I'm not going to be as forgiving as I was earlier on, and though I know the rogue's player will probably throw a hissy fit if his character dies (he has the habit of creating elaborate back-stories) getting them in a situation where they could easily die will always be an option.
The biggest problem for the rogue (story wise and assuming you are running the drow somewhat as written) is that as soon as they starting wandering around seeking "downtrodden drow who might need guidance", they are going to be showing the same weakness of compassion that get drow executed when discovered.
Drow wandering around seeking other drow to "help" should stick out and it probably won't take long to come across beggars that also willingly turn these 'helpful/compassionate' drow in for a few extra coin. Maybe it will be a good lesson for them. Maybe the first time they act with charity and are witnessed they are just severely beaten for it, and next time there isn't mercy. If they still have Vonnarc tokens on them, they might be beaten unconscious and returned to the house mistress.
To me, the biggest issue to take with these characters actions is that they (1) put their pride first and abandoned their party/friends, who surely would take extra beatings for their insubordination (which I would freely dish out), and (2) put their own pride above trying to stop a second cataclysm from befalling the inner sea.
Now, is that in character for the LE rogue? Maybe, maybe not - it depends on how he takes the destruction of a continent. The bard, though, should likely shift to Neutral and then to Neutral Evil if he doesn't start some steps towards showing he is good. Being paid by someone doesn't excuse you to ignore their evil actions. To me, this realization would happen in the same manner that Palin Majere was handed black robes, which was his wake up call.
My group likes to play loose with the alignments, and as such for a greedy, back-stabbing crook who's been known to rape the Drow he catches alive, the rogue's apparently got a soft spot for those who live in poverty and only helps the elves because Kwava was the only friend he had. (Kwava, who I decided has been watching Riddleport for a longer period of time). It's a mess, I know, and this player's been a bit of trouble a number of times.
Hah. If this got messy with him, I can only imagine the next book. G'luck!