HELP! .... In "The Styes" My PCs Went the Left Way Instead of the Right Way!

[W E Ray]

In "The Styes" by Richard Pett from Dungeon the macguffin is that the PCs see a poor old man getting assaulted by a street gang of kids, taunting him and throwing rocks -- and the old man, an alchemist named Refrum, tells the PCs (after they rescue him by running off the kids) that he has been vocal in claiming that a town idiot (Jarme Loveage) is innocent of being the recent serial killer known as "The Lantern Man."

Refrum is certain that Jarme is NOT the notorious Lantern Man and asks the PCs to find a way to vindicate the town idiot.

....I've put "The Styes" into Old Korvosa, which is where we are.

And I started the campaign months ago and we're just now getting to The Styes part of the campaign.

I made Refrum an NPC that the PCs like by offering them a place to rest-and-recover after adventuring, and selling them healing potions at cost (1/2 off) since they are good guys (They had no healing PC.). He's a trusted NPC now, exactly how I wanted so they would trust him when he says the town idiot is innocent. (They've also been hearing about The Lantern Man serial killer from Day 1 -- even tried to solve it themselves a few months ago but hit dead end after dead end.)

And I even introduced them to Jarme Loveage -- the town idiot -- who sold them some oysters and provided them an account of what he witnessed for some other adventure. Jarme is "Lenny" from Of Mice and Men.

....So now the PCs finish an adventure in Old Korvosa, exit the "dungeon crawl" at half health & out of resources, and hear the news that The Lantern Man has been caught, and that it was the town idiot, Jarme Loveage all along.

The PCs immediately, simultaneously, shout that Jarme is innocent and want to like, I dunno, burn down Old Korvosa to prove his innocence. (They really have no connection to Jarme; I guess they just like him.)

....Anyway, I'm not sure if I should let them just go for it on their own OR try to find a way to get Refrum back involved.

Any advice?

[Pizza Lord]

W E Ray wrote:

The PCs immediately, simultaneously, shout that Jarme is innocent and want to like, I dunno, burn down Old Korvosa to prove his innocence.

Well... I guess that's better than them deciding to dress up as the Lantern Man and start killing people to prove it's not Jarme...

Quote:

Any advice?

Have Refrum show up, like you suggested (unless there's a reason he isn't around.) Either he seeks out the PCs, a messenger just happens to arrive with a note from him telling them to meet him somewhere, or they see him visiting Jarme at the garrison/prison/whatever that they can't get into.

Obviously Refrum (or anyone) can explain that if the Lantern Man were caught it would be better all around.

Or... just let them go it on their own and burn down the town and have Jarme somehow die horribly in the fire or aftermath of riots and chaos (if they PCs are careful to avoid burning the jail, he's killed or trampled while being transported or a mob busts in and lynches him while the guards are trying to quell trouble elsewhere). Even if they save him that way, the sheer weight of guilt from knowing that all the death and devastation was his fault (in his own simple mind), causes him to snap, and become a serial killer... plaguing the roads and farms and villages in his travels (though he always manages to find some 'smart' person to accompany him out of pity, compassion, and concern to look after him).

[Dave Justus]

It seems to me that the hook in the adventure you are talking about has a few differences from your campaign:

1) The PCs know the accused and care about him.
2) The accused hasn't already been executed before the PCs even hear about the case.
3) The PCs have already tried and failed to investigate the killings.

This is going to very much change the emotional thrust of the story. Where it was an academic interest to find out what really happened that leads to other things, now, if Jarme is executed, it is going to feel like a failure (and the rest of the adventure will probably feel anticlimactic and uninteresting.)

I think you need to rework the plot to saving Jarme and proving his innocence before he is executed (or at least give the PCs a good chance to do so.) This is going to be a bit complicated by the fact that you have let the PCs investigate these events previously, and they have already failed, which will make them tend to feel that they will fail again, and thus more direct means might be needed to save an innocent life (probably destroying the campaign.)

My first step would be for Refrum to contact the PCs somehow, and give them some new information that will give them hope that they can clear Jarme's name before it is too late. Since the focus of the adventure you have is really stopping an existing threat rather than acquiring proof on someones innocence I think you are going to have to add in quite a few elements.

If you want to allow the a new murder to be sufficient proof of innocence (it isn't in the original) then delaying the execution until that happens might be sufficient to get things back on track, but in that case you will need motivation for the PCs to remain involved (probably including something to let them believe they can succeed when they failed before.)

[Geruvurrda]

Or, as you said they really like refrum, you could build on refrum

After all he apparently has the resources to sell them potions at half price, what if he was in charge of a vigilante underground?

He used to be an adventure, doesn't run the underground anymore, but has stockpiled wealth, and still has contacts, have him arrange to remove the poor fool from prison, but there is a catch, in doing so, the underground may have exposed themselves, and authorities are on the trail, mistakenly thinking that they are involved with the murderer

(After all, bust a "known" killer out of jail, and it's unfortunately an obvious conclusion, that they are accomplices)

Anyway, you can have clandestine operations, and the PC's can use the help of their new allies to catch the real murderer

However, just because the fool is innocent, doesn't mean it's ok to bust into a prison, you can build all sorts of adventures from there, maybe even have to get refrum, and the fool out of town

[W E Ray]

Thanks Guys -- this has been a great help!

.

Dave Justus wrote:

If Jarme is executed, it is going to feel like a failure .... I think you need to rework the plot to saving Jarme and proving his innocence before he is executed (or at least give the PCs a good chance to do so.)

I had completely not thought of this and you're spot on right. When a Macguffin is just dropped in their laps they likely won't care as much but you're absolutely right, they know Jarme Loveage and, for whatever reason, they like him. If I just let the idiot be killed without giving them a reasonable chance at saving him -- somehow, through criminal acts or lawful -- the Players could feel cheated.

With y'all's ideas I think I've got a way to both give them a shot at keeping Jarme alive (without railroading) and get Refrum back into this little tangle of plot for the adventure/ campaign.

Thanks again!

[Geruvurrda]

Good luck :D