As a GM of the ROTRL campaign I have a small but important question. Which are the PCs rivals in town, this could be your own personal or legit from the actual storyline. I know there may be a rivalry with Ven Vinder and a Noble family (I can't remember their name, or the reason why they are the Pcs rivals) :P So if you have any comments or ideas I would appreciate if you could share.
I'd be careful introducing rivalries in Sandpoint. The AP heavily assumes that the PCs care about Sandpoint. If you dwell too much on antagonistic NPCs there, they may come to hate the town. That would be a problem when they are supposed to be saving the town. Only using one rival (faction) would help mitigate this risk.
There are three rivals I can think of off the top of my head:
- Brodert Quink's obsession with Thasillon could make him a rival with the PCs once they start finding Thasillonian ruins and artifacts. But then you'd need to find a way to give the players exposition on Thassilon.
- Sheriff Hemlock could become a rival out of envy of the PCs' hero status and success. But bringing them in to investigate the saw mill murder in Book 2 would be difficult to justify. Helock isn't going to think that they'll be killed by an (apparently) mundane serial killer after their exploits at Thistletop.
- Mayor Deverin is a plausible rival. If it is an election year, she may feel threatened by the PCs' hero status. Especially after the goblin shenanigans. But this one will be hard to pull off without making the PCs hate the town.
As to the noble family,
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I don't have any of my books with me, still out for the holidays, but this is how I remember it at least.
Anyone, feel free to correct me.
** spoiler omitted **
I don't have any of my books with me, still out for the holidays, but this is how I remember it at least.
Anyone, feel free to correct me.
Nice! It will be fun to keep this rivalry with my PC and this Noble Family.
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Grimwolf has it right.
The Scarnetti's are decidedly not Sczarni. Though the current patriarch in Sandpoint has hired local Sczarni to do some dirty work. A choice which might come back to haunt him (see book 4.)
The pc's do not automatically come into conflict with the Scarnetti's but they are prudish, bigoted (against Varisians and Shoanti), power hungry nobles. They dislike the brothel in town and resent the current Mayor (if only because they don't hold the post.) So as the players form alliances or relationships with these folk and otherwise act to support the town's current leadership, they may run afoul of the Scarnetti's. It's unlikely Titus (current Scarnetti leader) will ever perceive the pc's as rivals - he'll likely look down on them or view them as thorns or hindrances. There are others in town who dislike the Scarnetti's so pc's can get into conflict (real or imagined) with them in several ways.
There really aren't any rivals in Sandpoint for the pc's as in someone (or someones) they will compete with for the same objectives or are otherwise likely to be and stay their equals in strength/power. There are numerous people the pc's might come into conflict with:
- the Sczarni
- the Scarnetti's
- Lonjiku Kaijitsu - just because he's irascible and dismissive of others
- Ven Vinder
- Das Korvut
- the Sheriff/Mayor - if they behave poorly or in a criminal fashion
I'm not mentioning one of the BBEG's of Book 2 who the pc's meet early in Book 1 but should not have any conflict with until later.
Not to be the cranky old curmudgeon (too late!) but the OP really needs to read the Sandpoint background material and let his pc's find their own conflicts and allies as they explore the town. Or the NPC stories he thinks are interesting. Also there is a a very good write-up of Sandpoint with a lot more detail (fan developed of course) about the people of Sandpoint in the Community Created sticky thread. The entire thread cannot be recommended strongly enough for GM's of RotRL.
Thanks Latrecis! You've been really useful and generous with my questions. :D
Grimwolf has it right.
** spoiler omitted **
Not to be the cranky old curmudgeon (too late!) but the OP really needs to read the Sandpoint background material and let his pc's find their own conflicts and allies as they explore the town. Or the NPC stories he thinks are interesting. Also there is a a very good write-up of Sandpoint with a lot more detail (fan developed of course) about the people of Sandpoint in the Community Created sticky thread. The entire thread cannot be recommended strongly...
Ah, that explains why I misremembered that family's backstory. It did strange that such an antagonistic faction would be included when so much of the AP is built around the PCs liking Sandpoint and wanting to save it. Thanks for clearing that up.
I agree that getting into conflicts with the townsfolk organically would be more fun for the players.
Grimwolf has it right.
** spoiler omitted **
Not to be the cranky old curmudgeon (too late!) but the OP really needs to read the Sandpoint background material and let his pc's find their own conflicts and allies as they explore the town. Or the NPC stories he thinks are interesting. Also there is a a very good write-up of Sandpoint with a lot more detail (fan developed of course) about the people of Sandpoint in the Community Created sticky thread. The entire thread cannot be recommended strongly...
Is it kosher to reply to your own post?
The author of the Sandpoint NPC guide I had in mind when I wrote the above has just posted a link to it in the Community Created thread. You don't even need to search. It's an invaluable aid to anyone running RotRL who doesn't have the ambition to make one of his/her own.
The Internet: empowering lazy people everywhere since 1993!
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The Internet: empowering lazy people everywhere since 1993!
Glad you like the guide!
There's some details later in the adventure that matter:
The Sczarni and Scarnettis are the two obvious 'rival' groups. That and Lonjiku of course, as written.
Bear in mind that the noble families in Sandpoint also have relatives in Magnimar, where the PCs end up later (book 2 onwards). So you can use this to extend the drama into the city. As i did...
Read page 192 of the Runelords Anniversary Edition: "Looting the Scarnetti Manor", at the beginning of Book 3, right after the giant's raid on Sandpoint.
"If the PCs bother to search the teakwood desk and make a DC 30 Perception check, they find a hidden compartment that contains several letters addressed to Titus Scarnetti from local crime lord Jubrayl Vhiski that reveal not only that Titus hired Jubrayl to burn down several mills in the region (ensuring Scarnetti's own mill in touwn would gain more business), but also that Jubrayl has reversed the attack and is now blackmailing teh Scarnetti family for regular payments, lest he reveal to Sheriff Hemlock that Scarnetti paid one of his boys to light those fires. If the PCs present this evidence to Sheriff Hemlock and Deverin, the Scarnetti family is all but ruined and the grateful town of Sandpoint scrapes up a reward of 2k gp for the PCs. Alternatively, the Scarnettis themselves would pay up to 3k gp to the PCs to keep them quiet if the PCs come to them first with the evidence".
As you can see, this provides an opportunity to bring any rivalries to a head.
In my case, my PCs had already pretty much de-clawed the Sczarni in town. The Scarnettis however were causing issues, especially in Magnimar where I had the Scarnettis there (Gradon & Urtilia, p8, Magnimar, City of Monuments), being a real thorn in my PCs side as they tried to deal with Lord Mayor Groboras.
My PCs ended up keeping the letters, but telling the Scarnettis that they had them. They then used them as leverage to get the Scarnetti family to support them in the Council of Ushers (Magnimar government). Eventually the needed a major favour, and handed the letters back to the Scarnetti in exchange for the favour. Although not friends, the fact that the PCs showed strength but also kept their word has earned some grudging respect from Titus and family.
Note: there's two other minor plots I used to add depth to Sandpoint, both covered in the guide linked in the community created thread.
The first is the tension between the Scarnetti family and Kay & the Pixie's Kitten (with the Sheriff involved). I detailed out the Pixie's kitten based on this in case anyone wants to go into that sub plot. It's a good way to meet the Sczarni, who are visitors of the Kitten.
The second was a new NPC I added, Jonal Medor. He's really there just to prefigure the Brotherhood of the Seven in Magnimar. But he makes for a good 'shadowy figure about town' rival, with maybe a rumour of 'the Seven', providing more of a link between Sandpoint and Magnimar towards the end of book 2.
Good luck.
Here's the link to the Sandpoint NPC guide by the way Sandpoint NPC guide
Thanks! The NPC guide looks quite useful! :)