Hi fellow DMs and creative sorts. I have a plan I want to share for a mash up of Book 1 of Return of the Runelords and Shadow in the Sky from Second Darkness. Feedback is welcome, as is using the notes we work out here for you game. Players who have yet to complete Shadow in the Sky or Secrets of Rodric’s Cove are advised to stop reading this thread.
Okay!
So I’m sure my group will never play Second Darkness as written. But I like the scenario of working for a failing gambling hall at the start. Also, unlike other APs, the opening hook of Return doesn’t feel like it gives the PCs a strong excuse to be in the Circle Market when the opening hook happens. So I plan to open Return with a gambling tournament and use the Second Darkness traits as session zero hooks to get everyone on site.
Obviously things change significantly from there.
1) Open with the gambling tournament at the Gold Goblin
2) The Gold Goblin is now run by “Gold” Gildersleeves
3) The robbery is a legit attempt. Bouncers wear the horned fang gang symbol. Possibly select other staff?
3a) Possibly robbery is done by Roadkeepers to mirror the Circle Market event
3b) Or it’s random upstarts or someone else cool I haven’t thought of yet. Either way the haunting starts at a later time below
4) When the PCs are offered room and board and a stake in the Gold Goblin, Jes is thinking she’ll test them out to deal with her sinspawn problem and keeps that business seperate.
5) Any dead theives are taken by the PCs to the graveyard where they connect or reconnect with Audrahni, who warns them the PCs were hired to replace ‘employees’ killed under mysterious circumstances
6) Investigating the murder of their predecessors happens alongside the initial Shadows in the Sky tasks and rolls for profitability
7) Samaritha Beldusk is in town for the Order of Resplendence (but they’re holed up after the murder)
8) After the initial gambling hall tasks and investigations are ready to get kicked into the next phase, ‘the siege’ event of Roadkeepers attacking is interrupted by Roderic’s ghost.
9) the book continues but with The Gold Goblin as a common base and Jes’ hidden motivation being about her gang being taken over
- Floor Manager Larur Feldin is a dwarf, and could make a good quest giver for the missing dwarves. And why not have the missing dwarves have supplies for the beleaguered gambling hall in their caravan?
- Samaritha's interest in being a cyphermage would be a more personal connection to eventual activation of the cyphergate. I might just have her updated as a current cyphermage who heard Corstela might have some new information about Thassilon and is here to chat
- Since I don't need to provoke Boss Croat, I'm planning on skipping the entire moneylender/suspicious murder of Feldin mission
- I do like the more nuanced encounter at the docks with Braddikar the ex-Korvosan guard. I'll just change his backstory (if anyone looks into it or cares) as a guard who defected back during the riots at the death of King Eodred. Maybe one of Verik Vencaskerkin's defectors at All the World's Meat!
- The intimidating visit of Clegg Zincher would be cool because you meet him later in other circumstances, but another logical option is Captain Julit, who might just be eyeing things to make sure nothing suspicious is going on
- I'm not really into Mister Retch. Feel free to change my mind. I'd rather Old Scratch get freed in the robbery as written, but flee and be the annoying flavor around town that the PCs feel responsible for setting loose
I'm hoping stealing these early encounters and flavor adds some breadth to the murder investigation portion and a reason for the PCs to all hang out a lot and become close, with a bit more motivation to not immediately murder Jana. I'm open to more thoughts!