Allying with the Mites (Slight spoilers?)

[GM Xan Nes]

This is both a brief explanation of the event, and a question on how do I go forward from here.

So to summarize,:

I started off running Kingmaker for a new group, as they were insistent on playing it. The party consisted of a druid, a arcanist, a fighter, and a shaman. They have only been through one session, and already they have proven to be a very different party from groups that I normally game with. They tend to talk their way through things, having recruited Happs and then moving forward in the game. The dice were with them as the game progressed, though they did not head to the Bandit camp, choosing to explore.

After a bunch of random encounters, some of which they fled from, others they fought, they found the Old Sycamore. The players themselves had no idea what Mites were, and because I wanted to give the mites something memorable, I had them work as a monarchy, under their grate King Grabbles. They were eccentric, silly, and the players loved them/ The players decided to ally with them, promising to bring back the missing Mite, as well as the Kobold Chieftan and Shaman for execution. That is where the session ended.

SO In question, have any of your players tried to ally with the Mites, and is there any advice on how I should have this impact the game moving forward?

[JohnB]

Mites are LE - so they should keep any bargains they make. So it is feasible to ally with them.

The first thing that springs to mind is that the mites have Svetlana’s wedding ring, which is a minor plot item. However, that really shouldn't be too hard to rework. Be careful when you do, because the reward gets the PC’s quite a lot of gear as a reward.

My last party allied with the Kobolds and, from what I have seen here, that is the more common route. But, they are both just clans of LE monsters who need managing - so not a lot of difference there. One advantage of destroying the Kobolds is that your party get to develop the Silver Mine they live in more easily :}

However, it could be harder to arrange a long term agreement with the Mites than the Kobolds.

My party negotiated an agreement with the Kobolds to treat their hex as a Kobold Reserve - Kobold laws operated in that Hex, but Kobolds doing bad stuff outside the hex were subject to the PCs law and would be strung up and executed. That type of treaty might be more difficult to negotiate with the mites, as the PCs do not have as many bargaining chips. In my game the Kobolds still had the river to fish in, a hex to hunt in – and the PCs built a mine, bar and dock – and then helped them sell silver. Before long the Kobolds were inviting traders in, getting them drunk in the bar and then selling them silver ore at inflated prices. All legally :} and my PCs had extra Economy points on their Kingdom scores, from the investments they had made. The Sootscales saw the advantages of the system and changed alignment to LN with evil tendencies. Win – win.

I am not sure how you could set something like that up with the Mites.

[Philip Knowsley]

Allying with the Mites might help set a helpful precedent with other Fey in the
kingdom however. No reason why it shouldn't work - as JohnB pointed out.

Somehow I see Mites as being less industrious than Kobolds however, so whilst
they might be allies, they may also prove to be a drain on the kingdom, more
than a boon.

As always - up to how you want to play it.

As for Svetlana's ring, you could have PCs spot mite children playing with it,
or it on a chain around a Mite's neck or something similar. If you decribe it
right, it will stick out in the player's minds as being 'different' to the
other gear the Mites are using, & therefore worthy of investigation - but still
not a 'gimme' clue.

[GM Xan Nes]

Thank you guys :)

I've reworked the named Mites, Quoggy, Grabbles, Dingetooth, and Uurch giving them some class levels (Grabbles is a lv 4 fighter, Quoggy is a level 1 druid, Dingetooth is a level 1 Slayer and Uurch is a lv 1 Rogue) and have been fleshing out personalities for them.

My players emailed me their plans, which include getting a contract settled with the Mites (The fighter has ranks in profession Lawyer), to secure an alliance with them while they explore.

I have no idea how this will progress but I do hope it ends well, as the Mites have been my favorite npcs to run.