WWID - What Would Ironbriar Do?

[Krathanos]

Dear Hivemind,

my players just arrived in Magnimar to investigate the leads they stumbled upon at Foxglove Manor. They quickly met Justice Ironbriar, since I wanted him to have an appearance before the events at the sawmill. Ironbriar left a lasting impression on the PCs with his professional demeanor, something they found sorely lacking with Sheriff Hemlock.

So the PCs immediately spilled their beans about everything they discovered so far, while Ironbriar listened attentively. He knows now they're on to something. So when they mentioned Foxglove's town house, he encouraged them to investigate it, "since sending my own men would be too obvious".

The party went to Foxglove's house, killed the two faceless stalkers after a tough fight und turned the place upside down looking for clues. After finding the documents, they decided to stay the night in Foxglove's house, although they had rented rooms in an inn. That's when we called it a night.

So here's where you come in: Ironbriar will know about the party's whereabouts, but how will he react? Send more stalkers? Skinsaw cultists? Send the guard to arrest the PCs? If so, on what charges?

Thanks in advance!

[Phntm888]

I think Ironbriar would have someone watching to see if the faceless stalkers took them out and report the results back to him. His double life only works if no one suspects him of any involvement with any crime. He won't involve the guards, as that would make the players suspicious of him, and he doesn't want that. He might send cultists, but they aren't really very skilled at taking on a group this strong. His best option is to put the cultists at the mill on alert, and either evacuate the mill so their investigation stalls (which might stall the whole AP), or have the cultists on alert so they can be better prepared for the assault.

This means you could toughen up the cultists by adding a couple extra buffs. I'm a fan of this option, as it means you can add a bit of a challenge to otherwise rather weak opponents (unless they go on Oathday at midnight - in which case it's challenging enough).

[Krathanos]

I was thinking about guards turning up and trying to arrest the group for trespassing and stealing the valuables. I wouldn't want Ironbriar to show his hand in this.

The smart thing would be for him to evacuate the sawmill, but as you said - it would stall the investigation. I might need to think about another way the PCs could find the cultists after they dealt with the law.

[Phntm888]

You could have guards turn up unrelated to Ironbriar - someone saw a group of "suspicious ruffians" in the area, and notified them. You could use that to bring them into contact with the Lord-Mayor, and he could try to hire them to solve the murders that have occurred in Magnimar. That would allow you to introduce him to the party before book 3.