I was wondering if anyone had experience and/or suggestions to run Escape from Old Korvosa more as a sandbox.
As far as I can tell, the events in this module are:
1- Vencarlo's and the Assassins
2- Laori
3- The Emperor
4- The Arkonas
My initial thought was to remove Amin from the opening events. Leave instead some clues at Vencarlo's. He collects a lot of art: some Vudrani stuff (which would lead them to the Arkonas) and some weird dark stuff (leading them to Salvatore) and perhaps some other items that could lead them to the Emperor.
The risk is that I miss the encounter with Laori.
I guess the events with the Emperor and the Arkonas can be handle a variety of ways making the later the part of the adventure more sandbox-y. So maybe I am over thinking it.
I wouldn't worry too much about missing the encounter with Laori. If worse comes to worse, you can put her in with/ near Scream. Say she was tracking Scream and was taken prisoner with him. Now, the Emperor forces her to entertain him daily (probably by torturing a small animal or unruly subject). She has since been biding her time, waiting for the right opportunity to spring herself and rescue Scream. She has the wisdom to realize that while she has a lot of levels, she's still only one person. Or maybe even remove a few levels from her and grant them back before Scarwall.