I ran a funnel adventure recently as a one-off, and it really helped my players understand the threat goblins pose to Sandpoint.
Each player had four 0-level commoners from Sandpoint that they ran the night The Chopper met the former sheriff. They decided to check out Junk Beach, where this mob of 20 ran in to a whopping 4 goblins.
The goblins killed 2 and had 6 unconscious before the mob finished them off.
I see that you know that the sheriff asks them to stay put while he goes to Magnimar, but you also refer to them as random adventurers. If they weren't considered heroes, he wouldn't ask. If the goblins weren't a credible threat, he wouldn't ask. It sounds like the key is to play up the real danger the goblins are:
1. Do the PCs get enough of a taste of the destruction to realize that if they themselves weren't there, then the raid would have killed many more townsfolk? They should feel like leaving exposes the town.
2. Do the PCs know there are multiple tribes in the area and all were there for the raid? So leaving town to hunt goblins, assuming they go after one tribe means Sandpoint is open to all the other tribes coming back while the sheriff is gone.
That's my take.
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I think the other thing to do is to have Belor confide in the party about the goblins. The town guard were able to repulse the goblins, but they took some casualties. He's worried that if more goblins come back, then they could get overrun. I would have him head to Magnimar basically immediately to put the new heroes in charge. He'll ask them to remain in town and remain visible, so the townsfolk don't worry that they're unprotected while he's away.
I insisted all the PC's were from Sandpoint, or the immediate environs. (I also had a sort of milita service that everyone in town has to go through when they're in their late teens, and the PC's did that as a group and got to know each other. I had the Runewell wake up during that time and the PC's help with the chaos that ensued). If you have players that promptly have to play PCs that are foxmen from Golarion-China and such, you'll have to tell them that no; being from Sanpoint is the buy-in of the campaign, basta. Most people should accept that. And now, since the PCs are from the village, that means Hemlock is familiar with them and they are not some random weird (dangerous?) vagabonds. Also it ensures they will have family/friendship-bonds to the village, which will be critical later.
It also solves the problem with Hemlock or Mayor Deverin having to run to the PC's all the time. Just make the people disovering stuff bump into the PCs instead. E.g. I had the gravedigger who finds the disturbance in the crypts go the party cleric directly, since they know each other.
Having the PCs be some Clint Eastwood-like 'Men With No Name' just riding through just doesn't work well with this AP, in my experience. Insist that the PCs are born and bred in Sandpoint and many of the APs early problems with get solved by themselves.
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All good points. Supported by Aldern taking them on the boar hunt
I got the impression that the initial raid is just 2 or 3 tribes, while the actual planned assault will be all of the tribes.
It's very possible I'm thinking of some later evidence that shows all tribes are involved in the upcoming attack and getting confused.
Does Hemlock go to Magnimar only because of the raid or because of the evidence in the tomb? It seems odd that it would both be a laughable attack and enough of a threat for him to go for reinforcements from Magnimar. When I ran it, they searched the tomb right after the fight, but couldn't make anything of it so they rested. The next morning I hit them with evidence of their new fame, like a lock of hair for the ranger. But, at the same time, they learned of the goblin in the closet, so there were immediate things to clean up. And I kept doing that. Enough about my game, though.
"good jobs, thanks for being heroes. No more adventure here." And told to just chill in Sandpoint for days. Every time I've played/ran it, the Players want to be running off looking for clues immediately, especially after the tomb is opened.
I guess what I'm saying is don't tell them "No more adventure here." Do the opposite: let them know that the adventure is in the town. There's stuff to clean up, people that want to see them, and goblin in the closet. And maybe don't give them the tomb straight away.
What happens if the gravedigger doesn't discover the tomb until 2pm and spends the rest of the day tracking down the sheriff and the sheriff tracking down the party so they don't learn of it until later in the evening. In the meantime, the party has agreed to go on a boar hunt, one of the party has a date, and they're planning on staking out some kids closet because there might be some ghost in it. Now they've got a bunch of things they're attending to because they don't have any leads on tracking goblins when the real lead comes to them. And when the sheriff asks them to stay in town, investigating the tomb becomes a way he appeases them, rather than him relying on them to do everything.
Hmmm. That's not the impression I got reading the adventure and so not really the impression the players got.
1. Everything I have read, including, I think, a quote by James Jacobs, states that the first encounter is supposed to be pretty easy with little risk.
2. The initial encounter with goblins shows them more comedic and not really very dangerous.
3. The opening blurb for part 2 emphasizes how everybody is laughing about the "silly goblin attack."
4. Part 2 is supposed to take place over several days, until a really high GMPC ranger randomly shows up and states that goblins are becoming more organized. The PCs are then placed in charge of the town, while Shalelu goes to investigate, and Hemlock goes to
Magnimar.
I got the impression that the initial raid is just 2 or 3 tribes, while the actual planned assault will be all of the tribes.These series of events, really confused my players. They start the adventure, the first session is some fun games and festival interrupted by a goblin attack. Then they are told, "good jobs, thanks for being heroes. No more adventure here." And told to just chill in Sandpoint for days. Every time I've played/ran it, the Players want to be running off looking for clues immediately, especially after the tomb is opened. I remember when I played, it was extremely frustrating because, as a player, you are ready to start the adventure, and there is just kind of a lull. As a gm, both times the players really did not want to stay in Sandpoint for the days until Shalelu showed up, they wanted to go do something.
So my thoughts are
** spoiler omitted **...
Yes, the lead-in to Part 2 references comedic characteristics of the goblin attack but it starts with a reference to dead citizens. So the goblins are more like Joker funny than like Scooby Doo funny. Meaning not really all that funny - everyone's laughing to avoid crying or screaming.
The key here is atmosphere. Five years ago the town went through some real unpleasantness and now during a festival to celebrate rebuilding, a large group of goblins attacks, killing people and trying to burn the new temple. In a world filled with magic, ritual and gods, no one is going to assume that is a coincidence. Something BAD is happening and since they don't know what it is, their imaginations make the unknown even more awful than reality.
The AP is a little short on details but I would suggest making clear two or three dozen goblins from different tribes attacked the northern wall of the town and Hemlock and his men barely held them off - taking casualties. And if the pc's hadn't been there, a lot more citizens would have died. The attack on the wall was clearly a distraction for the attack on the festival. Goblins attacking the town is unheard of; goblins rampaging through the center of town is unimaginable. And most of the town is scared crapless as a result. That's why the pc's are heroes.
It's been a while since I read BO, but I don't think there should be days of delay between events. There can be if your players have found something else to interest them, but otherwise the events in Part 2 should come bam-bam-bam. Get seduced by the shopkeeper's daughter, skeletons in the crypt, goblins in the closet, the boar hunt, argument in the tavern. The goblin in the closet should put the town into near hysteria and when Shalelu shows up that triggers the desperation of sending Hemlock to Magnimar. Like Razcar, the pc cleric in my group was from the area and Naffer approached him instead of Hemlock to explore the crypt. Naffer explained to the pc's that the town was on edge and he didn't want anyone getting anymore agitated if the disturbance at Tobyn's crypt turned out to be nothing. Which of course it isn't - UNDEAD in Father Tobyn's Crypt! Holy Crap, Batman! Flee! Flee for your lives! Okay, that's a bit over the top but when Hemlock and the Mayor prevail upon the pc's to stick around and stay visible, it should be clear the town needs whatever morale boost they can get.
So what I've done the few times I've run it is use Ameiko's influence to sway the townsfolk who gather in the cathedral. Between her influence over people and the fact they get free room and board also helps keep them in town long enough to do some of the smaller things that can last a week before going to the glassworks. Plus, if you let your group get to know Ameiko more than just she's the inn owner, then the glassworks becomes more than just a 'save the princess' deal, but more of a "She could be in trouble, let's check it out and see if she's okay" type of feel. That's seemed to work for me.
I actually had several town guard die during the attack. I explained when the players expressed surprise that the goblins that died so easily were such a threat that the guard were not wearing armor or with weapons outside of daggers or makeshift clubs because they were not on duty, but still tried to save peoples' lives.
There may also have been a hint dropped that town guard were specifically targeted by the goblins.
As a result, the guard is short several people. This is going to be part of the reason the group is asked to remain in Sandpoint when I get to that point of the game. That said, I've also expanded the game - right now they're finishing off "Master of the Broken Tower" (a level 1 module that I reskinned to be at Wisher's Well), and the players will be going through the first third of the first Jade Regent book to go after some of the goblins (and get bounty money).
One other thing I did was map out a timeline of when certain encounters happen (both those in Burnt Offerings and those I'm importing from elsewhere). If the players actually paid attention to some of the rumors, they might even be able to prevent one of the events (involving goblins and nightmares) from happening.
By the way: the party ARE heroes. The initial assault involved around 30 goblins, of which six remained with Tsuto and were never seen. 11 goblins and a goblin dog killed by the PCs, which means the PCs likely account for nearly half of the goblins that died. Other goblins fled, and some even jumped off the cliff, which suggests when the PCs wiped out half of their forces, word spread and the remaining goblins lost their resolve.
Hey Tangent, would you mind putting up a copy of that timeline? I think that would actually be something pretty useful to have.
Hey Tangent, would you mind putting up a copy of that timeline? I think that would actually be something pretty useful to have.
I'll hide it behind spoiler tags just in case.
There are a couple things I'm doing differently, btw. First, as I mentioned above I'm running them through Master of the Fallen Fortress. Also, seeing I've a 12-year-old in the group and the other two players are married in real-life, I've changed the encounter with Shayliss:
I will also be putting the group through the short adventure on Chopper's Isle that is in an old Wayfinder magazine, and will also send them to Ravenmoor before continuing to the G_________, and the C_______ following that.
The enemies in the above will be leveled up to compensate for the party's higher level.
As for the timeline:
Day 1 (done)
Goblin attack Sandpoint
Monster in the Closet: First "nightmare"
Day 2 (current)
Initial reactions day after the attack (done)
Players finish off the Broken Tower
Ameiko's encounter with her father in the Rusty Dragon
Monster in the Closet: Second "nightmare"
Group is at level 2
Day 3
Alyssa's run-in with the shop owner
Rumors from Jade Regent (plot hooks?)
Let players hear about the nightmares for Monster in the Closet.
Caravan shows up near the end of the day having encountered goblins
Day 4
Jade Regent Swamp (the swamp may take several forays and days of adventuring).
Monster in the Closet at night when they're in town (assuming they don't investigate earlier)
Group is at level 3
Day 5?
Chopper's Island
Approached to go to Ravenmoor
Two days after hired to go to Ravenmoor (which will be relocated to the river and the large swamps along the south of Sandpoint/Magnmar), the party reaches it (module).
On the way home from Ravenmoor, the party is ambushed by Bruthazmus and a bunch of goblins, and Shalelu helps them fight them off.
After the group is back from Ravenmoor, have Sheriff Hemlock and Shalelu talk with the group about what is stirring up the goblins and Hemlock's plans to recruit some soldiers from Magnimar to help bolster defenses.
Start the Glassworks.
Group is at level 4 after defeating Tsuto.
A few bonus encounters during the festival (our group had an enchantment-focused Sorcerer with Sleep, so it required a bit more challenge to stay interesting and to seem a legitimate threat).
I added a pair of goblins on a rooftop with shortbows (partial cover, but they had lit the building on fire so after 1d4+1 rounds the ceiling collapsed, and they along with it).
Two groups of four goblins each - one with a Warchanter - trying to burn down the Goblinsquash stables. Hosk is there trying to get the horses out but is menaced by one group while the others fan the flames.
A pair of goblins menacing Shayliss in an alleyway while the PC's are on their way to the north gate. This allows her to be rescued and develop her bit of hero worship naturally, but then I had a much bigger subplot with Aldern and Shayliss so thrusting them together at the time was expedient.
I've made some extensive changes to the first two chapters of RotRL. One of the more minor ones was that the Sheriff wanted everyone to stay in town (including visitors from the festival) until they could make sure the area was clear of goblin marauders... bought a couple of extra days for the 'slow down' and gave the PC's a reason to stay in town (if needed, the Sheriff could ask them to stay as a reassuring presence to the townsfolk while his men checked out the surrounding region).
I like those changes Tangent, gives me some ideas. The time line is nice though. I'm curious as to how the nightmares occur involving the players if you do involve them.
The players are unlikely to become involved before Day 3. That's when they'll overhear one bit of dialogue about the dad being tired because he got woken up a couple times because his damn kid keeps having nightmares because of the goblin attack.
They'll also be hearing several other rumors that I'm lifting out of the back of the first Jade Regent book. Nor am I the first who chose to use it - it was recommended to me from someone else on the forums when I started plotting out changes to my own RotRL tabletop game.
BTW, one thing to consider is that Jade Regent includes an early exposure to
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LankyOgre, I originally was of the same mindset as you. I didn't see how the PCs could be considered heroes. And then I started looking at the encounter. I counted the number of goblins fought by the PCs... and the number of goblins visible in the fight. And that's when I realized over half of the goblins that the town knew of was wiped out by the PCs.
BTW, I'm also going to include adventures from Pathfinder Comics #1-6. I actually ordered the comics (except #3 which is out of print for the non-fancy versions) so I could use the pull-out maps. This includes a level 1 encounter against three goblins and a goblin dog on Junker Beach. All six adventures are included in the bound compilation, but it lacks the pull-out maps.
Put townsfolk on the map with the PCs. Have a some additional goblins attack townsfolk, where the PCs can see them.
Play up the insanity of the goblins: Maybe a couple of goblins jump onto a food vendor's truck and fight the PCs with a skewer of roasting meat (for fire damage), while taking bites of the meat in-between attacks.
Have the PCs witness a group of six goblins surround, grapple, and drag down a town guard.
During the festival (before the goblin attack), the PCs encounter a little girl looking for her lost tabby cat. The PCs can then help reuinte the two. During the raid, the PCs encounter a goblin holding the girl and another holding her cat. One pours lamp oil on the cat and sets it on fire, letting the burning cat run away, all in front of the horrified girl. Laughing, the goblins then start pouring oil over the girl...
Three goblins attack an old man on crutches, pulling his crutches away (causing him to fall over), and then beating him with his own crutches.
Several goblins deliberately set buildings on fire, and the PCs have to help put out the fire. Bonus if they're torn between fire-fighting and helping goblins threatening other townsfolk.
Basically, make the raid as confusing and chaotic as possible. Each individual fight should be relatively easy for the PCs, but make the stakes seem really high.
Bottom line: Give the PCs a chance to really prove their heroism to the town. It is extremely important for the players to feel like heroes and for the players to get attached to the town.
Interestingly enough, one of my group attacked background goblins who were there for flavor. A goblin was chasing after a mother, and the Wizard sent his weapon into it (Hand of the Apprentice). While he only got it to 0 hit points, I decided to have the goblin be taken out since it was a fairly heroic gesture. :)
A bad die-roll also prevented the Bard from wiping out the first group of goblins. She was close enough to cast Chord of Shards, close with them, and then only roll 3 hit points damage. If she'd done average damage, those three goblins would have been wiped out easily. (They still weren't that big a threat.)
The crowning moment of awesomely amusing was as a result of a joke. Back when Sheriff Hemlock was talking about the bonfire and a moment of silence for those who died in the fires that destroyed the old church, the wizard's player said "I hide the bag of marshmallows I'm holding behind my back." When he encountered the next group of goblins (with the goblin bard) he said on his initiative "I take that bag of marshmallows and throw it at the goblins' feet."
It helps that right when the goblins attacked, I did a "brief commercial pause" and read the Things to Know About Goblins found at the front of the RotRL AE. Thus he was aware of the hunger. And the fear of horses, as he the next round used Ventriloquism to mimic an angry horse behind them. At least one Goblin failed its save and was cowering as a result.
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That said, you might do well to read that information for the players. The goblins are not a serious threat. They're meant to be a fun initial encounter. So knowing about their being hungry and hating dogs and fearing horses... well, you may very well see your own players do some interesting and innovative tactics in fighting the geebahs. :)
Put townsfolk on the map with the PCs. Have a some additional goblins attack townsfolk, where the PCs can see them.
(more stuff)
All great stuff.
For my game I'm adding the chopper's isle encounter from Wayfinder 7 and because all of my party members are straight females with lovers, I'm dropping shayliss and adding the junk beach encounter. I plan on stealing many of the comic encounters if the pcs explore the region but instead of exp, if they start earning too much I plan on converting the exp into downtime capital. The end goal being that the mayor and sheriff grant chopper's isle to the party as a gift (after all, they saved the town many times and have proven themselves). After the start playing with their new land and just before book 2 they will receive a concerned letter from the mother (monster in the closet) that is fearful and intelligible. She can't find her son but she can hear him.... an encounter with an attic whisperer in magnimar will follow and bridge into the horror of book 2. They will hear of the murders in book 2 after coming home.