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The Shadowcurse is a huge part of Council of Thieves, expressed as both in the general narrative arc and in terms of the actual encounters leading up to the climax of the adventure path itself. And yet, as I run it, I find I have to make a lot of decisions about how it actually affects the people who live in Westrcrown itself, and thus how the PCs come to interact with it.
I have created this thread with the purpose of both solidifying the "hard rules" for the Shadowcurse, justifying those rules in-game, as well as to explore design space for supplemental material that is situated between the material plane ("Light Westcrown") and the plane of shadow ("Dark Westcrown").
Here are the hard rules I have decided to run with, somewhere between making intentional decisions in preparing the game and responding to legitimate questions posed by the PCs as a way to explore the world they find themselves in:
1) Shadowbeasts are incredibly varied in their general make-up.
2) Shadowbeasts come out only at night, and leave during the day.
3) Shadowbeasts are kept at bay by locking down a building at night.
4) Shadowbeasts are more of a threat in Dospera, and less in Regicona.
Having had both intentionally and incidentally decided on these norms, I find myself at a loss at explaining the last three. Generally, I have let my PCs know that they gain access to Westcrown via "portals" that open and close at different and shifting locations in the city. This helps to perhaps begin to explain #2 and #4. But I have great difficulty in justifying #3. What about a locked door keeps a shadowbeast, or worse, an incorporeal shadowbeast at bay? Is it just as simple as "because that is part of the curse"? I guess that solution leaves me feeling like I want a little more...
How do you run the Shadowcurse?
What do you tell your PCs about it?
How do you tie all this in with Ilnerik as the source of the Shadowcurse?
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Second,
I'd like to start developing "Dark Westcrown" - specifically the denizens of the plane of shadow that live at it's borders - and the extent to which they step through the portals into "Light Westcrown" at night.
What role do the people of shadow play (Darkfolk, Fetchlings, Wayangs)?
What role do the beasts of the shadow play?
How do these two interact with eachother?
How do they interact with the people of Westcrown at night?
What role do these interactions play in Council of Thieves?
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Cheers!
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I'd recommend getting the shae involved, and possibly the d'ziriak. I'd also leave the dark folk and wayangs out, but that's just me... make it more about the weirder denizens of shadow. Maybe some kytons, used sparingly. ^_^
As for the Shadowcurse itself, I had it function sort of like magical darkness. The shadowbeasts and vampires could see normally, but others - even those with darkvision - suffered concealment. (This also makes the campaign trait that deals with that far more useful.)
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Did the Shadowbeasts in your game go into people's houses at night? If not, why?
Either way, how did you explain their appearance at night and disappearance during the day?
Was the danger they poses differentiated by district? Why?
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And thanks I will look into those races - honestly, I am seeing the plane of shadow as a sort of "grey" fey realm, and am strongly considering development in that direction...
Edit: Shae are definitely fitting the bill!
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-They did not - partially because of the purpose assigned them by Thrune, and partially as a side effect of being minions of a vampire. Of course, when necessary, Ilnerik had a trick up his sleeve...
-It was "just part of the curse", for all anyone knew. I didn't really see the need to define it further at the time.
-Not explicitly, although the Ruin Sector was "known" to be especially dangerous by night.
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With the steady turnover in sovereigns for the top spot in Thrune/Cheliax, I wonder if anyone important in Egorian even has recollection of the deal with Ilnerik? Perhaps that is why he threw in his lot with the Council? I figured by design that the shadow beast terrorized enough to keep people off the streets to dissuade rebellion and humiliate Westcrown as sought by Thrune and to later allow more freedom to act for the Council. Going into the people's homes might raise too much dissent or force too much of a response. I see their use mixed between being random enough to enforce the "curfew", but targeted when needed to keep attention away from specific Council operations.
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With the steady turnover in sovereigns for the top spot in Thrune/Cheliax, I wonder if anyone important in Egorian even has recollection of the deal with Ilnerik? Perhaps that is why he threw in his lot with the Council? I figured by design that the shadow beast terrorized enough to keep people off the streets to dissuade rebellion and humiliate Westcrown as sought by Thrune and to later allow more freedom to act for the Council. Going into the people's homes might raise too much dissent or force too much of a response. I see their use mixed between being random enough to enforce the "curfew", but targeted when needed to keep attention away from specific Council operations.
This is helpful
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-They did not - partially because of the purpose assigned them by Thrune, and partially as a side effect of being minions of a vampire. Of course, when necessary, Ilnerik had a trick up his sleeve...
** spoiler omitted **
-It was "just part of the curse", for all anyone knew. I didn't really see the need to define it further at the time.
-Not explicitly, although the Ruin Sector was "known" to be especially dangerous by night.
I've always loved that loophole :3