So my players expressed a lot of disappointment at not being able to recruit every gang that was mentioned or alluded to in Book 1. The Book 2 bestiary has a write up of several gangs in Old Kintargo (that I will probably extend to cover the whole Argo Isle side of the city)
I am looking at turning it into an Influence mini game using the Ultimate Intrigue system. It might be something good for when the cleric player is away on holiday as I imagine the rest of them will be too terrified to actually adventure.
Also to anyone who has read about my group's shenanigans in the Book 2 thread then a lie low period also makes sense.
However I want to gauge some people's views on these groups and their descriptions and motivations before trying to draft things for the influence (e.g. discovery skills, influence skills and weaknesses etc.). I assume there will be some that are not really possible to recruit. But I am thinking of having the game be a way of potentially revealing plot information that doesn't normally come up or doesn't come up as easily.
Q: Would too many "bonus" teams be game-breaking? The action limit is still in place so I don't really think so...
The Flowershop Crew
Nidalese refugees and Information brokers to their homeland’s embassy Blackmail anyone they find with a secret
Would refugees not have difficulty dealing with a homeland embassy? I suppose it depends on why they were displaced (presumably anti-fetchling discrimination)
What use would the information be to the embassy? I guess they would be after political leverage against Cheliax? Or more likely information that will aid with trade disputes as they seem to small fry and the Chellish system too autocratic for them to get reasonable blackmail
Also the embassy is now closed. So they currently don't have a purpose. This should theoretically make them easier to sway. But perhaps they still want to collect information in case their diplomats return...?
They could potentially be just a good way of extracting a rumour but since gathering one is a fairly easy diplomacy check I don't think this is a useful enough reward. Perhaps they could confirm the veracity of certain rumours although that is usually uncovered by the group actually adventuring
I can't think of useful blackmail material that they might currently be sitting on.
They probably make sense as a bonus team of Rumourmongers...
Their rivalry with the Logrunners would mean you can't easily succeed with both. That said it takes a bit of thought as to why information peddlers have a problem with the drug gang. Presumably some connection to smuggling from Nidal
Logrunners
Old Kintargo’s largest drug gang
I like the idea of these guys teaming up with the CCG. There is a PFS scenario about a warehouse raid to do with drugs that involves two rival consortiums (one of them of course being Aspis). It seems like an easy switch in
I can't see them being useful or recruitable. If they were they would be Sneaks. But teaming with drug dealers seems a bit of a push
On this note there isn't a lot of mention of drug usage in the city. I know Cure of the Crimson Throne has a substantial element of dealing with Shiver in the early books
A use I can think of is that potentially their trade may somehow be impacted by the Cult of Mahathallah. The description of that sub deity in Book 3 mentions drug use a lot. They could either be rivals or boosted by their presence as providers...
Jollytime Girls
Half-orc girls working for mutual protection and to take out their frustrations on anyone they decide is “too pretty.”
The concept seems problematic (implication is that they are bullied for being ugly.
Who do they need "mutual protection" from? I guess being victimised for being Half Orc. I don't like the idea of the assumption that they are ugly and attacking pretty people seems rather thin as a group motivation. Why would they be frustrated.
As written they are irredeemable but perhaps they should be?
Perhaps they have some information on the changeling cultists as they could have been a "too pretty" target and they could have come off on the wrong side due to mind affecting magic. Beyond that I can't readily think of a use for them and putting them in to get beaten up seems like a bit of a waste of time. But perhaps they can highlight that there are still nasty people in the city (I just don't really like it).
Black Eyes
Rough halfling troublemakers who fancy themselves vigilantes - offer highly priced "protection"
Who would be hiring high priced halfling vigilante protection at this time? The halflings are most likely to be escaped slaves. I imagine the only people who could afford this would be merchants. But why would they choose these halflings
At this moment in time I can't think of any useful information they could have. They don't seem benevolent enough to be recruited as Freedom Fighters (and my group already has two lots of them). Perhaps mention of Laria will help sway them - and maybe it could lead to a bonus Merchant team who the Ravens agree to help in lieu of the halflings (or if the Ravens fund the protection money for them?)
Spellcrafters
Arcane students from Villegre - I would re-skin as Alchemists with maybe one or two levels in wizard given arcane studies are new to Alabaster.
They investigate into old secrets in the buried parts of the city and defend whatever urban ruins they claim: What Urban Ruins? Where would they be searching and claiming?
Might they have tried and go after Lucky Bones first? Or try and investigate the Wex murders? The former seems likely
Successful recruitment/influence would probably result in an eventual discount on Spellcaster team upgrade
Diola Brothers
Steal bodies from the cemetery and occasionally murdering people to sell to doctors and students.
There is an Alabaster tie in here.
They don't seem like people who any group would want to actually associate with but could have information. In this case it is most likely that they might have spotted Thrune using the Soul Anchor lift. And they also might be aware that he hasn't come back...?
(As an aside - why are they Monks? Presumably just something selected from NPC Codex. Probably more fitting options.)
So this is a very long stream of thoughts. What do people think about these groups and any of my questions or observations?
How have these groups been used in other games (if at all)?
Whilst it seems like a reasonable amount of work to fit them in neatly it does seem a shame to leave them out. At the very least they look to be more interesting sources of information on a successful Gather Information roll. But I would like a bit more from this.
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it would certainly add color to the following books.
just keep it simple.
there's so many moving parts in Kintargo already that the PCs can get easily side-tracked (gotta catch'em all!) working on allies and other tangents.
but yeah, if you want to make, say, book 5 more interesting, the Diolas are custome made for that. The Logrunners might make for fun opponents to add spice in book 4. The Spellcrafters can come into play in Books 3 and 6. etc.
Toss them in if you want with a memorable NPC. That one person can represent them. And remember - not all of these gangs are political or want to get involved in a rebellion which will almost certainly get all of them horribly murdered.
Funnily enough, two of my players wanted to have a backstory that involved a falling out with a gang in Kintargo, so now we have a player from the Red Jills and a player from the River Talons on board and looking to shake things up. I plan on plenty of future shenanigans with those relatively small factions
I really want to run an Influence game around this to both give my players some chance to recruit assistance and also to try and introduce and/or clarify some of the many strands of plot information that spirals around in this book (hints to cult before they are told about the lucky bones mainly ). I might even add some CCG and the investigator (who will be a Kintargan ex dottari)
My challenge is where and why these elements might convene either in the same place or relatively close to each other in the way these things normally run.
My best thought is something in the under city - but this is not really precisely explained. It seems like there is scope for an entire city beneath ground very much like in Chicago in the Dresden files
So perhaps some kind of underground tavern. I am not convinced the Tooth and Nail would be appropriate but I suppose it could be...(perhaps Luculla suggests it to Setrona to try and find out what people know)
I really want to run an Influence game around this to both give my players some chance to recruit assistance and also to try and introduce and/or clarify some of the many strands of plot information that spirals around in this book (hints to cult before they are told about the lucky bones mainly ). I might even add some CCG and the investigator (who will be a Kintargan ex dottari)
My challenge is where and why these elements might convene either in the same place or relatively close to each other in the way these things normally run.
My best thought is something in the under city - but this is not really precisely explained. It seems like there is scope for an entire city beneath ground very much like in Chicago in the Dresden files
So perhaps some kind of underground tavern. I am not convinced the Tooth and Nail would be appropriate but I suppose it could be...(perhaps Luculla suggests it to Setrona to try and find out what people know)
Remember that house Jarvis made a significant effort to raise the city against floods. It's beyond reasonable to imagine a messy undercity below Kintargo. The Fair Fortune Livery basement has a pit with what used to be a fountain, and the Wasp Nest even has an extension built from a forgotten basement and a sewer connection. I was even considering creating an undercity of sorts long enough to connect the two.
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Don't add them as bonus teams, have the PCs spend resources and use the Recruit Team activity.
My group recruited Forvian Crow from the Salix Salt Works and the other prisoners as a Rebel Team. They recruited a random street encounter of cutpurses to become an Outlaw Team. I've tried to use any minor NPC they run across that isn't named in the gazetteer or as a major encounter enemy as potential members for Teams. Through Book 1 and 2 I tried to highlight at least 1 named NPC from the gazetteer as they travel from point A to point B in the city. Once they interact with them either favorably or not, I have that NPC make a cameo now and again to reinforce the relationship as it becomes more purposeful at the Ruby Masquerade. Minor roleplaying opportunities become major plot devices later.
--Vrockatrice