Hey guys, I'm reading through this adventure in preparation of running it after the holidays are done. I had a question about the later parts of the adventure for those of you who have already run through it.
While reading part's 5 and 6 I liked the idea of having a timeskip after the negotiations where the group settles down a little bit (ideally for a year or so, but the time is flexible for sure), before Barzillai's influence begins to effect the city. Then, the group would reunite to track him down and kill him again to save Kintargo one last time. The problem, however, is that over the course of 5 and 6 the negotiations are kind of spread out, so it makes it difficult to believably take a break (if Kintargo is still in open revolt against Cheliax, why do they take a full year to open negotiations with them, for example?)
The idea being that they get to describe their character's starting to settle down, and then they are forced out of "retirement" for the final parts of the adventure.
So I was just kind of curious if anyone had run a similar idea, and if it worked or not.
This adventure is supposed to happen concurrently with Hell's Vengeance, so what you would need to do to buy time for the rebels in Kintargo is posit that the war in the main part of Cheliax keeps House Thrune occupied for as long as you need them not paying attention to Kintargo.
You could reorder things.
After book 4, things happen in a specific order.
These thing should be done relatively soon after book 4
1: They need to Understand the Kintargo Contract.
2: They need to assemble the Board of Governors.
3: They need to Nominate a Lord Mayor.
-Optional: Unite the regions with resigned treaties.
4: Lord Mayor needs to reject Cheliax.
After that point, Cheliax is done with Kintargo and Hell’s Vengeance doesn’t matter. It’s probably true that Abrogail would send her negotiators to Kintargo to solidify relations as soon as she can if only to curb dissent and maintain some semblance of control. You’re going to have to adjust CR ratings here if you plan to move this closer to level 13, but not by much.
5: Negotiations.
6: Breaktime!
Once that’s done, I think this is the time for your break. I also think that maybe it’s not just Barzillai that brings them out of retirement but Mangvhune as well.
What if Barzillai’s awakening is hinted at with small haunts that plague Kintargo and its actually Barzillai’s growing power that has weakened Kintargo’s place on the Material Plane, thus allowing Mangvhune to return?
7: Mangvhune
8: Fane
9: Hell
An issue to consider is one that's come up at my table. One player wants to goad Queen Abrogail II to break the Kintargo Contract. If your players want to interact with the civil war, a time skip makes it harder for them to do that, possibly.
An issue to consider is one that's come up at my table. One player wants to goad Queen Abrogail II to break the Kintargo Contract. If your players want to interact with the civil war, a time skip makes it harder for them to do that, possibly.
That's a great point, but I think that entire plot line is never a smart one for PCs to realistically pursue.
When my group brought it up in front of Jilia Bainilus, she looked shocked and exclaimed "We have no standing army." and then asked, "What happens to us and our citizens after we force the throne to lose Hell's support by goading the Chelish army to cross our borders?"
"We will be the first to suffer her wrath. As tempting as this might be, I would rather Kintargo serve as a living bastion of hope than a sacrificial lamb."
I wouldn't have stopped my group from pursuing that story if it was one they wanted to tell. When they heard Jilia say this, they all looked at each other and decided that they need to focus on Kintargo instead of the Throne.
I absolutely agree that it's a high-risk, sacrifice play if the PCs go that route. But you have to admit--it would be a very memorable end to a campaign!