My players just finished up We're No Heroes, but they escaped from the rendezvous point without killing Deminda. The book says that Sinjin will kill her if she fails, but that feels like a waste given how much of an impression she made on my players. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to incorporate her into future adventures?
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Foiled by the PCs, on the run from her boss. Third-party antagonist with a grudge?
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My players just finished up We're No Heroes, but they escaped from the rendezvous point without killing Deminda. The book says that Sinjin will kill her if she fails, but that feels like a waste given how much of an impression she made on my players. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to incorporate her into future adventures?
Well, the module anticipates that the PCs may not go the Golden League hangar and will instead attempt to make a run for it. "However, because the PCs never face Deminda, she could reappear in a future adventure—at an appropriately higher CR and accompanied by drow henchmen."
The time to re-emphasize this threat and re-insert the Drow, in my opinion, is not so much in Volume 2, but at the beginning of Volume 3. The perfect hook is the throw-away part of the intro to the adventure which follows up with a job offer while the PCs are still on Marixah - the planet where they finish Volume 2.
Marixah is the homeworld of the colonists the PCs probably helped on Vohxa (the labor camp) in their struggle with the Hobgoblins of the Gideron Authority. It is the GA which is the link back to the Drow. The GA are being supplied arms from the Drow on Apostae through House Zeizerer. Sinjin is from House Zeizerer, though he has largely "gone rogue" outside of the Drow matriarchy and has instead built up his criminal network with non-Drow in the Golden League.
Still, the links between the Drow and the Gideron Authority provides your opportunity to re-insert Deminda.
By this point, as the FFoD AP provides, the first contact with the GA was with Captain Harradan, Commander of the Gideron Authority Attack Vessel Falchion. This occurs as the PCs initially come into land on Vohxa in Vol 1. While in orbit, Harradan checks out the PCs bona fides, sees their arms shipment papers from House Zeizerer, and authorizes them to land on Vohxa. (At that time, Harradan's name is not mentioned - though his ship is.) He's potentially your recurring GA BBEG if you like.
At the beginning of Vol 3, Verran asks the PCs to bring a shipment to Absalom Station. The PCs don't know what this shipment is, but it's actually a fascinating collection of archaeological artifacts which underlie the conflict between Marixah and the GA.
The PCs take the gig and shortly thereafter, Captain Harradan in the Falchion and another GA ship confront the PCs in space above Marixah as the Oliphaunt leaves. Ideally, what you want Harradan to do is to board the Oliphaunt to take the archaeological relics back. Harradan's ship ordinarily has himself and five other Hobgoblins on it. (There is another GA ship out there as well).
Problem: The GA above Marixah is WAY too dangerous for the GA. They will get crushed trying that stunt above Marixah. Instead, have the shipment of cargo to be picked up on Sansorgis, a nearby planet outside of Vesk Space where the GA and Marixah are fighting. It's the setting for SFS 1-24 where the GA is introduced. Deminda sets up Verran as a fence to draw the PCs in - and get the GA Navy to help her do it.
Put Deminda and a group of Drow thugs on Harradan's ship. The entire delivery of the artifacts from Varran to the PCs is all part of her elaborate bait to catch the PCs, while using the military ships of the GA to help her do it.
So Harradan will board with his "crew", all done up in armor and with helmets on to conceal who they are. Some will be hobgoblin - others will be Drow thugs. The fight will be on board the Oliphaunt and it will happen even if the PCs comply with the GA's demands. Harradan brings Deminda aboard to verify the artifact cargo is the cultural relics. Deminda will use that opportunity to start a fight on the Oliphaunt.
Frankly, I consider the Gideron Authority and that entire subplot as being FAR more interesting than the underwater adventure that takes place in Vol 3. So much so that I may scrap Vol 3 as written in preference for some home brew with the PCs vs the GA.
Anyways, the drow will be on board the Falchion and will board the Oliphaunt if they get the chance.
Problem: They might not get the chance. Your PCs may choose try to escape from the GA vessels because the Oliphaunt has a Speed of 12 and the Sword Class Attack Vessels in the GA navy sent to interdict the artifact shipment have a speed of 8. Unless the GA ships get lucky and crit the Oliphaunt in order to slow it down, the PCs will get away.
If the PCs escape the GA, Deminda will use Sinjin's allies in the Golden League to attack the PCs at Absalom Station as part of Hafrigek's Xun's crew. Again -- that is the reason the Hafrigek family is attacking the PCs in the first place -- because Sinjin asked them to.
Well, Sinjin asked them to do it through Deminda. So either boarding The Oliphaunt with the GA or with the Golden League on Absalom station -- that is where the drow and Deminda re-enter your tale.
Why are the PCs going off to Entha for underwater adventures while this far more interesting intrigue with the Gideron Authority and the Golden League presents a more plot cohesive option in Volume 3?
Honestly, I think it's the biggest weakness in all of the FFoD AP. Volume 3 is detached by design from the rest of the AP and is intended to be a "palate cleanser" where the bad guys are the nameless, faceless EJ Corp. The AP is supposed to be about working class truckers and their former employer in EJ Corp, right? So that's why Jason Tondro made that choice and it makes sense from that perspective. This is a story not about "saving the Galaxy" but "woking class heroes". Vol 3 attaches its premise to the PCs former employers at EJ Corp - all vaguely wrapped around the idea of Big Corporate environmental exploitation. So in that sense - it fits the theme.
But if the politics of the setting appeals more to you, maybe you don't want or need to play up the heartless environmental destruction EJ Corp is involved in. Perhaps to you,the Gideron and Drow subplot is far more interesting and it also integrates well with Volume 1 and Volume 6 and Sinjin.
Pick your poison. I find the GA subplot to be so interesting, I may just scrap the Entha adventure in Vol 3 in its entirety and homebrew that part of the AP to go down that rabbit hole and just pick it back up in Volume 4 with the White Glove Affair.
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My run, my players ran from her. The mechanic had a grapple drone and had it grab her while they flew away. They did kill the underlings, but they were too terrified of her (and one of the party members had already had to Resolve back in at 1 hit point from the indoors fight). So they had the drone grab her and they ran.
When the bomb went off, they flipped. They were so terrified of facing her.
So I absolutely brought her back at the start of book three, leading the Vesk Golden League Assassins. Instead of doing that attack in Public, I put it ON the ship, and AFTER they met with Tarika. Ambushes on the ship while they just were taking off into space.
And I had her using a level 5 upgraded version of the Mechanic's Drone, so that he could be attacked by his own upgraded, repurposed tech.
I love using the drone to come back at your mechanic. That’s fantastic!
Have her come back as a cyborg with parts of the drone still embedded in her flesh.
"You abandoned. US"