My players tried to put in a claim for the house itself even!
So I let things go for a while then had the sisters show up with a lawsuit and a claim for the building and stolen property.
Then I let things play out, the PCs mostly just rolled over on this one, but we got in a good session just dealing with it.
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So let me get this straight - significant spoilers for RotRL follow
A few decades ago granddaddy, who was member of a organization (Brotherhood of the Seven) that fronts a cult of serial killers, built a mansion as homage to his quest to become a lich. When his wife finds out, she stops him, they both die and his spirit fuses into the house as some kind of undead plague thing (perhaps because the house was built on top of "an ancient complex devoted to the worship of Urgathoa, the goddess of undeath.")
A few years later, daddy moves into the house, attempting to refurbish it (perhaps unaware of granddaddy's life choices.) This doesn't go well - daddy kills mommy in a horrific murder-suicide in front of his children. Who are then dispersed to Korvosa and points beyond to attempt to rebuild their own lives.
More recently, brother returned to the house, got married and tried to restore the property. If anything this goes even more wrong that what came before. He kills his wife and a local carpenter in a fit of misguided jealousy, falls in with Brotherhood, dies trying to harvest plague poison from the house, rises as a ghoul and starts sacrificing local Sandpoint residents in a effort to restore one of the most powerful and corrupt wizards to ever dwell on Golarion. He also unleashes a plague of ghouls in the farmlands outside of Sandpoint, killing several local citizens.
Meantime, the cult of serial killers which is led by one of the lead judges in the city has fallen prey to an agent of said ancient wizard and has started sacrificing Magnimar residents in pursuit of the same goal, with the Lord Mayor of the city at the top of their target list.
The pc's track brother back to the house, dealing with various undead he has unleashed - including auntie who has risen as a revenant and give him the release he so desperately deserves. And at one point actually begs for. They then follow the trail back to the Brotherhood, uncover the cult of serial killers and the corrupt judge and the Agent behind it all. In the process they save the lives of many citizens of both city and town including the Lord Mayor. And probably arrange for granddaddy's spirit to be finally expunged from the house.
The pc's then travel to central Varisia (perhaps encouraged to go by government officials embarrassed by their own failures) where they stop a marauding group of ogres being manipulated by the sister of the previous Agent and prevent the destruction of a 10,000 year old dam that would have killed hundreds if not thousands of people and devastated much of central Varisia.
Then they travel back to Sandpoint and save it from an invasion of stone giants and dragons led by a maniacal stone giant wizard who also serves the ancient Runelord. Without their intervention, many citizens would have died and many more would have been carried off to serve the stone giants in abject slavery.
And at this point, little sister shows up and has the temerity to ask for recompense for the trinkets the heroes have taken from her family's festering black hole of suffering and death? Really? First off, both sisters should want nothing to do with the property nor have it associated with them in any way. Their only complaint should be: why didn't you burn it to the ground?
But if little sister does make such a claim, why isn't the response of local governments: "Shut up and go away or we'll ship you to Arcadia." Or: "We'll certainly be willing to investigate your claims once you have compensated both Magnimar and Sandpoint for your family's crimes." Or: "I'm sorry, Ms. Foxglove but that property isn't yours any longer. It's been seized to help pay for a long list of suits and damage complaints raised pursuant to acts performed by your family. Unfortunately, we've found it utterly inadequate to cover the needs of so many plaintiffs. But now that you're here, we're sure you can fill the gap."
And if the local governments do support little sister's claims, why isn't the pc's response: "Oh, that army of giants on the Storval Plateau? You guys got that? Okay, we're good. See ya."
So let me get this straight - significant spoilers for RotRL follow
** spoiler omitted **...
Not quite.
I'm not sure why that idea is so offensive - for the PCs to engage in a non- "HPs and ACs" confrontation, but I'll elaborate.
Party doesn't know if anyone left living has a claim on the house, files a claim of ownership with the courts, hires a lawyer.
Lawyer goes about working on the claim, finds that there are living relatives who probably have a better claim on house, but is working for the PCs.
Sisters get notified, file counterclaim, with the hope that the PCs will actually just opt to pay them off and take the deed and house off their hands in return for some cash - as the deed (prop) I provided them actually includes a fairly large land grant, it is of value.
One of the PCs actually has invested in Linguistics and ranks in Profession(Lawyer) and other related skills. Tries to step in a force the actual legal claim - botches skill checks. Then tries to Intimidate the sisters into giving up their claim, and goes on to insult them with nonsense like you just posted above - "Some of your family were bad, so you don't deserve land you should actually inherit."
Sister's lawyer smells blood, wealthy adventurer types trying to steal land and property and wealthy patrons family looking for recompensation. Hes looking at a ton of billable hours.
One of the PCs annoyed at the situation just decides to pay the sisters off, the full value of their claim just to make the irritation go away.
All the lawyers take their cut. The sisters get more than they had before. The PCs, well the wannabe lawyer anyway, goes away with egg on his face. The annoyed PC goes away with a significant land and property deed.
You're framing the situation that somehow the sisters should be held responsible for the actions of their ancestors, and should just go piss up a rope instead of try to make a legal claim on property that they should legitimately inherit? You're suggesting that the local authorities should ignore inheritance laws and back the claims of some rural bumpkins instead of members of local aristocracy?
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If the PCs sell all the loot openly in Sandpoint, people will know that it's them and eventually a finger or two might be pointed their way when the sisters come looking to see who looted their house. If they don't, there's no evidence pointing at the PCs as the responsible party. And given that the PCs are likely to be elsewhere when it happens, and by that time higher level and much more wealthy, it's probably fairly inconsequential anyway.
If the PCs decide that they conquered the house and it now belongs to them, you might point out that
a) it's a horrible haunted nightmare of a place
b) it's in need of some expensive reconstruction
c) nobody in Sandpoint wants to work to repair the place because horrible
d) you don't conquer houses, you conquer countries.
e) nicer houses are available for purchase or rent.
Absolutely, and they knew that.
The irritated PC proceeded to do nothing with the land/house.
Maybe in a future campaign I'll incorporate it all over again - a deed of a distant relative falls into your hands, its for some place called "Foxglove Manor"...
The massive money pit called Fort Rannick became the first distraction, then Stones over Sandpoint made a second.
The social encounter was actually a hit, and all the PCs were entertained by the situation blowing up, even the wannabe lawyer.