Evacuating Turtleback Ferry to Fort (filled with ogres)

[Wibs]

So, the party got to Lucrecias lair where she charmed the bard. The party agreed to help kill the trolls ("let's try to find a bit more information from her by playing nice") and on the way out they saw the messenger from Turleback ferry with ill news about the flooding.
The party rushed there and then the bard had the most amazing idea: Since Lucrecia was so nice and she is a good friend and ally - he was yelling at the townsfolk, that they should all rush to the Fort, as it is safe there. The rest of the party is still confused: the barbarian said (well, bard is very convincing), the Fighter said he's against as this sound really odd. Druid kept silent.

The party has just saved the children from the flood and are about to meet the Magga.

I am not sure where to go from here.... I can imagine Ogres at the fort seeing caravans of people heading to their gates, but that's where my imagination stops.

[Askar Avari]

Hi there Wibs,

I think you've got a few things to consider:

1) Is there somewhere else the townsfolk would be more likely to flee? Fort Rannick, on top of being many miles away (uphill, at that), is accessible via a road that mostly follows a river that is currently rather flooded and scary. Do they have the means to ferry displaced people to, say, Bitter Hollow or a town further south?

2) For those with limited enough options or enough trust in the PCs to follow them, they may well see things that get them to turn back in the woods along the way. Butchered or impaled Black Arrows come to mind, as do Kreeg patrols.

3) Did Lucrecia sink the Paradise? If not, she is likely making her way up to Fort Rannick as well. If she's already there, she might come to inspect the damage to Turtleback Ferry from the partial dam break - once she finds the number of casualties wanting, she might be interested in luring as many branded humans towards Fort Rannick as possible - or finding ways to simply discourage them from leaving the region.

4) If the PCs actually manage to bring folks all the way from Turtleback Ferry to Fort Rannick without scaring them off, then say they're friends with Lucrecia (who may or may not be 'supposed to be dead' at this stage) and are seeking refuge, I see no reason why Lucrecia may not have conveniently forseen this possibility and informed the gate guards that this might happen, and to have the bard report to her. Then, while the bard is with her (whether or not they're alone), put them to sleep while their friends and the townsfolk are butchered (or offered deals akin to slavery in exchange for their lives).

Charismatic leaders and traumatized people can create some horrible situations. If your bard manages to push these people into a situation that bad... well. Reward them with some appropriate chaos.

And hey, maybe your party members can get some sick tattoos from Lucrecia while they're at it.

[Lawrencelot]

I have no advice but I was wondering as a kind of new DM: how did the charming go? Did you roll a save in secret? Did you just tell the player his character got charmed? What did the rest of the party see (players and PCs)? Does the player know his character is charmed and just choose to follow along even though it's bad for the party?

[Wibs]

Lawrencelot wrote:

I have no advice but I was wondering as a kind of new DM: how did the charming go? Did you roll a save in secret? Did you just tell the player his character got charmed? What did the rest of the party see (players and PCs)? Does the player know his character is charmed and just choose to follow along even though it's bad for the party?

I asked the bard to roll a Will save. Everyone saw how much was rolled. and secretly sent him a message on Facebook that he is charmed. Later I asked the Druid and Fighter roll also. They rolled a successful save, but I still told them to check their facebook message, where it was written "all is OK". So, none of them actually know what happened, but based on bards actions they feel something is fishy.

But... I am also a new GM - it's been like 3 years and we have gotten only this far :D

[Lawrencelot]

Seems like a good way to handle charms, thanks!