My group is beginning the Hook Mountain Massacre and something seems odd: At the end of the Skinsaw Murders, the PCs found a letter to Xanesha from an anonymous source (not signed). It doesn't say who the letter is from, but it does call Xanesha a sister. The PCs have assumed they are looking for a brother because it is not specified.
My question: There are a lot of strong hints at the beginning of the Hook Mountain Massacre, that point to the Paradise and Lucrecia, but the PCs aren't picking up on them,
- How should I handle this?
- and also, did we miss something that would have been a more obvious hint that they should be looking for Lucrecia, or does that unfold later?
Thanks for your help!
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My group is beginning the Hook Mountain Massacre and something seems odd: At the end of the Skinsaw Murders, the PCs found a letter to Xanesha from an anonymous source (not signed). It doesn't say who the letter is from, but it does call Xanesha a sister. The PCs have assumed they are looking for a brother because it is not specified.
My question: There are a lot of strong hints at the beginning of the Hook Mountain Massacre, that point to the Paradise and Lucrecia, but the PCs aren't picking up on them,
- How should I handle this?
- and also, did we miss something that would have been a more obvious hint that they should be looking for Lucrecia, or does that unfold later?
Thanks for your help!
It's ok if your players are missing the clues that point to Lucretia. The adventure very clearly leads to her toward the end when her reveal takes place. If your players are unsuspecting, that will make for a bigger surprise and maybe lead to a few "so that's what that meant" realizations after the fact. With luck, it will cause them to pay more attention to the little details in the future (I've had several instances now of my players trying to connect the dots and coming to hilariously incorrect conclusions that are very entertaining for me). :D
-Skeld
It's ok if your players are missing the clues that point to Lucretia. The adventure very clearly leads to her toward the end when her reveal takes place. If your players are unsuspecting, that will make for a bigger surprise and maybe lead to a few "so that's what that meant" realizations after the fact. With luck, it will cause them to pay more attention to the little details in the future (I've had several instances now of my players trying to connect the dots and coming to hilariously incorrect conclusions that are very entertaining for me). :D-Skeld
Thanks for clarifying. I was worried I forgot to give out clear evidence of her involvement, but if her reveal is later, then I am grateful for the red herrings they have created for themselves.
I assumed that Lucretia knew that the PCs had killed her sister, so I pulled out a "you killed my sister!" monologue. A few jaws dropped when the PCs realized who they were fighting.
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What you really need to be leading the players towards is the Black Arrows, and by extension the Grauls. That's where the first encounters take place, where they find several NPC allies and where they can potentially first fight Lucrecia.
Have a local caravaner complaining that his shipment of goods for Fort Rannik hasn't been picked up by the Black Arrows yet. Have a local fisherman comment that he didn't meet a Black Arrow patrolling his favored fishing spot like usual.
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I've had several instances now of my players trying to connect the dots and coming to hilariously incorrect conclusions that are very entertaining for me. :D
Yeah, me too. We just finished with Fort Rannick. My party is convinced that The Brothers of the Seven are a larger, more powerful group than they are, and that they're behind everything. Somehow, they missed that the brotherhood was just that group of losers they killed at the Seven's Sawmill in Magnimar. They're assuming that the judge there was one of the seven, and that there are six more still out there. LOL
The sad part is that the oracle took Divination as a known spell, used it to ask about the Brothers of the Seven being in Fort Rannick, and I gave them a response that pretty much told them outright that they were asking the wrong question. They still didn't get it. Apparently, they thought "The Brothers of the Seven are gone" meant that they'd already left Fort Rannick, not that the organization was all dead. I only used that wording because I wanted my answer to rhyme. :P Next time, I'll make it more clear that they're chasing the wrong enemies.
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Don't. Have the various BBEGs be more members of the Brotherhood.
It's a shame to waste player involvement.
My group is beginning the Hook Mountain Massacre and something seems odd: At the end of the Skinsaw Murders, the PCs found a letter to Xanesha from an anonymous source (not signed). It doesn't say who the letter is from, but it does call Xanesha a sister. The PCs have assumed they are looking for a brother because it is not specified.
My question: There are a lot of strong hints at the beginning of the Hook Mountain Massacre, that point to the Paradise and Lucrecia, but the PCs aren't picking up on them,
- How should I handle this?
- and also, did we miss something that would have been a more obvious hint that they should be looking for Lucrecia, or does that unfold later?
Thanks for your help!
A monster knowledge roll about lamias would also let them know that there aren't any male ones (if they succeed on it, of course.)