I am currently preparing myself for Escape from Old Korvosa and I have a little gripe with the fact that I am supposed to tell my players that their characters would miss the Queen's first public appearance after the botched execution.
So I was wondering why exactly this is the suggested course of events and I came up with no good reasons.
There is no realistic chance for the PCs to intervene and there is also no uncertainty to the truth of the events because Cressida is able to confirm all the rumors.
Have any of my fellow GMs tried to let their party witness the scene in person? How did it turn out?
I included this scene in my game and I'm glad I did. It is a cut-scene, that's true, so no intervention is 'allowed'. But the effect of the scene is much bigger when you have the PCs present.
Thanks for sharing, MrVergee!
I was thinking something along the same lines. Looks like it went very well for you! Real-time games are a different thing, though, than PbP, where it is easier to present a cut-scene, cinematic, monologue, whatever you want to call it.
But if you are blessed with players who have a sense for narration and dramatic effect (like I luckily am), this should work fine!
My guess is that the designers were afraid of the PCs interrupting the scene somehow and thus changing a pivotal plot point. If you can rely on your group to sit back and enjoy the fireworks, I really don't see a problem here.
I am just looking for confirmation that I am not missing anything here that might come back to bite me in the behind.
Marcus Endrin has no further impact on the AP because, obviously, it's expected that he's dead and he's not coming back. So if the PCs are there and somehow pull off the impossible to save him, you'll need to figure out what to do with him but it shouldn't be impossible to just make him another ally that shows up in Book Six.
The intent of the scene is for Ileosa to finally drop the act and reveal herself to everyone in Korvosa as the BBEQ (Big Bad Evil Queen). Whether the PCs are there to actually witness the slaughter of Endrin or not isn't relevant to that idea. Of course, the reason the PCs *aren't* part of the scene as written is because most PCs are boneheaded. They see the BBEQ do something villainous in front of them like murder an NPC and they assume that it's time to throw down and here.
Personally, if they are that reckless to attack the queen with Togomor, Sabrina, and a bunch of grey maidens present let them. Hell, use this as a brutal teaching example that they are currently completely out of their depth against Ileosa. Use her stats verbatim from Book Six and have her just stand there for a couple rounds, reveling in her invulnerability and laughing maniacally in your PCs' faces as she shrugs off everything a party of level 8 PCs can throw at her.
By that point hopefully they've gotten the hint and are exiting stage left, but if not either have Ileosa grow bored and just leave while instructing some grey maidens to stay behind and arrest these fools, or Togomor gets antsy because PCs are unpredictable and they *might* pull off some sort of implausible attack that might wound Ileosa (he probably doesn't know the full extent of what the Crown of Fangs can do, after all), and teleports her, himself, and Sabrina back to the castle to get them out of harm's way while the grey maidens handle it.
Or, if they're a particularly persistent bunch that have really drawn Ileosa's ire by this point, have her slaughter them all effortlessly, but use non-lethal means to subdue them. Then Geas them all to go kill Arkona and throw them all into Old Korvosa. Kroft can get in touch with them somehow once they're in Old Korvosa about Vencarlo's search, and they won't be able to see Glorio Arkona until they kill Pilts anyway.
It's definitely a touchy situation that won't work for every group, but you know your players best. If they *won't* throw a hissy fit for getting curbstomped after they pick a fight with a woman that just pulled a crossbow bolt OUT OF HER HEAD, feel free to have them present to watch Ileosa murder Endrin in front of them, and ask them what they're gonna do about it. If they're foolhardy, they attack Ileosa right there and you proceed to Operation Beatdown and Contrived Escape from Certain Death. If they are smart and don't pick a fight, continue the game as written. And if they pull off some sort of char-op b$$@+&@# that lets them kill Ileosa, then f%!~ it - have Queen Domina step out of the shadows and take Ileosa's place as the BBEQ for the rest of the AP.
If you go the capture route, however, I would probably not drag out the fight. Have Ileosa stand there, tank all of their attacks for a couple rounds with no effect, then go "you done yet?", and then drop some ridiculous high-level Bard spell - Overwhelming Presence would be ideal here (Will save or fall prostrate as if before a god, and are considered Helpless for the duration) - BOOM, fight over. PCs lost this round.
I stole an idea from somebody on Obsidianportal (sorry, don't remember whose). My party witnessed the whole thing as part of a vision from Zellara during her harrowing. Any other way would have most likely ended with at least a few dead PCs.
I stole an idea from somebody on Obsidianportal (sorry, don't remember whose). My party witnessed the whole thing as part of a vision from Zellara during her harrowing. Any other way would have most likely ended with at least a few dead PCs.
That is definitely a smart way to handle it.
I like that idea, especially because we actually have Zellara as a player character in our group. That would definitely make them feel more involved.