Anyone have any interesting ways of getting the PCs to TF. I have a feeling my party won't contact the Mayor after finding his name on a list and so far they've done things very covertly. So I can't imagine they'll alert any authorities or anything.
They'll probably be ready to head back to Sandpoint right after they take out Xanesha.
I don't want any plot hooks to appear to coincidental. My first thought is that Shalelu will appear in Sandpoint (if that's where the characters are)...she'll have a couple prisoners in tow on the way to Fort Rannick. She's seriously outmanned after an ambush took out a couple of her party and now she needs help escorting the prisoners.
My players helped me out in this regard - perhaps with a slight nudge yours can also.
During Skinsaw, one of the things they collected was the deed to Misgivings - which they decided that they would try to claim.
After, they were ready to head back to Sandpoint, and I gave them a couple short side missions, and roleplaying events, a disease outbreak at the Pixie's Kitten...
Then they received a letter indicating that there was a contest to their claim of the estate - the Foxglove sisters.
This eventually led them back to Magnimar and allowed the authorities the opportunity to hire them to go look in on Fort Rannick.
Asking the players what they want to do with all of the assorted papers/deeds that they have could send them down a similar path.
The Anniversary Edition includes a crumpled-up letter from Lucretia to Xanesha among the latter's belongings atop the Shadow Clock, which hints that the former is up to no good in TBF. Even if you have the original AP, I recommend adding the letter.
Having Shalelu ask them to accompany her (rather than the other way around) to Fort Rannick, as you suggested, works as well.
Yeah, I have the Anniversary Edition and I'm including the letter as a handout, but one thing I don't like about this AP is that there are so many letters or documents leading to the next piece of the puzzle. So I want to omit the actual calling out of TF in the letter.
Depending on how much they got involved with Sandpoint, you could have one of the citizens approaching them.
Easiest (closest to what the AE offers) would be Shalelu: she could openly ask them for help in finding her father.
Combine Lucrecia's letter and the Lord Mayor's story about investigating Rannick.
Closest settlement is TBF where they should stop by for info and supplies, off they go.
Maybe one of their closer aquaintances from Sandpoint has relocated/is doing business in TBF or they are asked by one of the noble families of Sandpoint to go there on their behalf (Scarnetti for staking claims, or Valdemar for doing the same to circumvent Scarnetti's growing domination, or ...).
Another idea could be to have Jubrayl Vhiski (spelling?) approach them telling them about the Paradise and that he wants them to spy on the proprietor to... suggest some kind of deal.
Ruyan.
Yeah, I have the Anniversary Edition and I'm including the letter as a handout, but one thing I don't like about this AP is that there are so many letters or documents leading to the next piece of the puzzle. So I want to omit the actual calling out of TF in the letter.The Anniversary Edition includes a crumpled-up letter from Lucretia to Xanesha among the latter's belongings atop the Shadow Clock, which hints that the former is up to no good in TBF. Even if you have the original AP, I recommend adding the letter.
Having Shalelu ask them to accompany her (rather than the other way around) to Fort Rannick, as you suggested, works as well.
I suggest you skip the letter. At least where placed in the AP. I get your objections to the letter motif so why not stick to your guns? If the pc's don't connect with Magnimar's power structure enough to get a mission to Fort Rannick, get them the mission another way - what if a group of gnomes from the Sanos forest is looking for help with the problem in the Shimmerglens? They could be in Sandpoint desperate for help because the Mayor of Magnimar is not paying any attention to them. Maybe they heard of the pc's actions saving Sandpoint from its many problems. Maybe Shalelu approaches them with the gnomes, looking for companions on her journey to Rannick (for her own reasons, which she might share if her relations with the pc's are friendly enough.) Or Ameiko makes the connection - the gnomes stayed at the Rusty Dragon and she knows just the people to help...
The pc's could find the letter in transit - a dead messenger, victim of bandits. Or...
Or Lucretia sent a more nefarious messenger to Xanesha, who runs afoul of the pc's on the road. Are the pc's entangled either as allies or enemies with the Sczarni? Maybe the messenger is from those ranks?
I used Shalelu. She seemed like the most logical link, aside from the letter. Talking about her adoptive father and the deep-seated feeling that something was wrong with him. Eventually, she forked over the dream visions of capture and torture...
Then we had a great session just running the overland travel there. It felt like a wilderness adventure from the old days. Players made checks to ride their horses into the ground, though in the end none of the poor beasts actually died. <g>
Oh, and there was another thing: the PCs discovered that Ironbriar had been hiding alarming reports from Turtleback Ferry that never made it past his desk.
Really, there are so many ways to get them travelling.