Important NPC's dying (spoilers) GM help

[IV HADES VI]

So first time posting on the boards, so sorry if I am creating an existing thread but needed some GM help.

I am running my first AP as a GM, and it's going well. I am following the story but having a lot of extra added homebrew stuff added in so far. Most all of it is working great! (All party dying except the druid, devastated losing his friends makes a deal with a demon to bring them back, animal companion becomes a evil half fiend intelligent snake he has thin control over is one fun example).

I am reading book 3 and I have run into a problem. They needed help with thistletop and asked Shalelu. ended up having to retreat and she got downed, captured and sacrificed in front of them on there second try at a siege.

With her involvement in book 3 what are some ideas? Should I just skip her all together? Was there some good interaction with her in that chapter that is worth trying to figure a good way for her to get brought back? Help please?

[Fumarole]

I'd say skip her altogether. My players weren't particularly interested in NPCs helping them, so other than a bit of action in Thistletop and giving some exposition, Shaleleu has been absent from our game with no ill effect and we just finished book three.

[Mike J]

Yep, I agree. Really, the only NPC that *must* survive is Aldern and then only until Book 2. You can work around all the other NPCs getting killed through the end of the AP.

[Jhaeman]

Agreed, as well. Shalelu's subplot with her step-father (the prisoner of the Grauls) is interesting, but not really necessary for events to play out normally.

[Latrecis]

Since it appears the OP is still in Book 1 and comfortable introducing additional material - the role of Jakardros stepchild could just as easily be played by someone else. In Book 1, no one knows this detail about Shalelu so any other NPC could have that connection and no one would know a change had been made.

Shalelu's connection to the Black Arrows serves two roles: a) it makes the world seem more complete if there are story plots that don't revolve exclusively around the pc's or their major plot objectives and b) gives the pc's some extra firepower if needed for the challenges of Book 3.

[Misroi]

Just to make sure that the through-line is complete, I'd have Jakardros ask about the PCs' backstories, and when they mention Sandpoint, he can say something like, "Oh, really? My daughter stops in there every once in awhile. Ever meet up with an elf named Shalelu?"

And then they get to break his heart.