GMing a module as a flashback / origin story. Brainstorming.

[DM Livgin]

I'm going to be running the Fist of the Ruby Phoenix Adventure Path that starts at 11th level. For a variety of reasons we do not want to start at 11th level. We have decided to convert to 2E and run the Price of Immortality trilogy (Crypt of the Everflame, Masks of the Living God, and City of Golden Death) which will serve as the party's 'origin story'.

I'm brainstorming mechanical and storytelling changes I can make to make these first three 'chapters' feel different than a typical adventure. To make them feel like something that has already happened, to make them feel bigger than life like they are the tall-tales told by seasoned adventurers.

A few ideas I'm bouncing around:
- Level jumps between chapters. The idea that they are looking back and only the exciting points are vivid in their memory. That the year they spent isolating in Nirmathas as a plague ravished the countryside is an uncertain blur.
- Super powering hero points. Leaning into the Prince of Persia death mechanic of the storytellers going "No, wait, that isn't how it happened." when something goes very wrong.
- More super powering hero points. This time to make the heroes the unreliable narrators of their own stories. Since these chapters are the telling of their adventures, not their actual adventures, some of their exploits can be extremely exaggerated.
- Frequently returning the narrative to the present. Starting each chapter or session from the point of view of the lvl 11 characters preparing for the tournament qualifier, either bragging up their exploits, reminiscing, or such.

What ideas do you have? I'm really focused on mechanical adjustments we can make that can reinforce this premise.

[Malk_Content]

This is something I used in another game in which reality warps based on belief, but the idea should port over fairly easily to PF2 and the nature of flash backs and memory. If you aren't good at on the fly improvising (or in this day and age have technical limitations on it) this won't be a good fit.

Allow players to use Recall Knowledge in order to fill in their own interpretations or tidbits on events. They declare their intention for "hold on I remember it going like this" and you set the DC based on how much it deviates from the current thread.

Critical Success: The change happens and the next character interacting with that change gains a +2 circumstance bonus.
Success: The change happens.
Failure: The change doesn't happen.
Critical Failure: The GM institutes a twisted version of the change, giving a -2 circumstance bonus to the next character interacting with that change.

For example the players are trying to talk their way out of being found at the scene of a crime.

Player: Ah man can you guys remember that the Guard Captain had been seriously drinking that night, he could barely see us let alone charge us for meddling with evidence.

GM: Alright make me a Society Roll.

Scenario A (Crit Success)

GM: You remember the stink of whiskey as Captain Miskalli entered the warehouse, swaying from side to side and bumping his subordinate out of the way, *hiccup* "Alright lets make this quick, Ashton thinks he can win back that last hand."

The next player got a +2 to their Diplomacy check trying to smooth things over.

Scenario B (Crit Failure)

GM: You remember the stink of whiskey as Captain Miskalli entered the warehouse, swaying from side to side and shoving his subordinate out of the way. He fixed on you a mean glare and you realized reasoning with him was going to be difficult.

The next player got a -2 to their Diplomacy check trying to smooth things over.

[Joana]

What a neat idea!

I'd definitely take out some of the level-grinding encounters and only play through the boss fights. Think of a "Previously on..." segment at the beginning of a TV show, and only present the highlights or plot points that end up being germane to the PCs making the choices they do to end up at the tournament. This could end up being one or fewer encounters per level. Fill in the rest with narrative ("Then we explored more of the dungeon and found a healing fountain, and Percival almost got swallowed by a giant frog. It was the next day when things got really dangerous....").

Make the fights you do choose involve as many moving parts as possible! Allow the party to come into them at full resources (since they won't be fighting the 1d4 kobolds in the random corridor, etc.), but then consider including some of the enemies or hazards from the encounters they've bypassed since the party won't have to worry about saving spells and such for possible later encounters before resting. Just like the BBEG, they can nova with their whole stat block when the spotlight's on without holding anything back.

[Perpdepog]

Joana wrote:

Make the fights you do choose involve as many moving parts as possible! Allow the party to come into them at full resources (since they won't be fighting the 1d4 kobolds in the random corridor, etc.), but then consider including some of the enemies or hazards from the encounters they've bypassed since the party won't have to worry about saving spells and such for possible later encounters before resting. Just like the BBEG, they can nova with their whole stat block when the spotlight's on without holding anything back.

This is a really neat idea also because it fits the way people tend to remember, squishing things together in one big chunk. Fighting three skeletons, a couple kobolds, and an ogre is less exciting than fighting three skeletons, a couple kobolds, and an ogre at the same time, and that latter way is probably how adventurers would model it.

If it turns out to be too much for the players to handle, one of your Hero Point options could be something like "No, remember? The skeletons weren't in this room. We'd already fought them by then." Then the problematic element can vanish, or at least be taken out of the fight for a couple rounds until another character says "Hang on. I definitely remember skeletons there. Are you sure?"

Also, probably goes without saying but you'll want to hand out Hero Points like candy to help fuel these narrative interactions.

[Ascalaphus]

I think this is an interesting idea to try in Pathfinder, but I think care needs to be taken when applying it to Masks of the Living God. That module is really interesting, but it also deals with themes of the characters being disempowered for a while, which sets up a dramatic reversal later on.

Masks of the Living God:

You're basically being brutally hazed by a cult, and at some point you have enough evidence to stage a raid to end their vile practices. After all the nasty hazing revenge is very, very sweet.

It's possible that much of the emotional payoff of the module doesn't happen if the players can do too much dramatic rewriting of uncomfortable moments during the buildup.

[DM Livgin]

Ascalaphus wrote:

It's possible that much of the emotional payoff of the module doesn't happen if the players can do too much dramatic rewriting of uncomfortable moments during the buildup.

I'm really hoping that the critical hit system against a wave of low level mooks really pays off here. But this module is the one I'm most concerned about because I do not have many 2E games under my belt. I'm concerned I might group too many combat encounters together or end up with critical fails on skill check.

Mask of the Living God:

This module will need it's own player check in before the session. To discuss that it has a break from the normal Pathfinder power fantasy, if the players buy in then hopefully they will not want to 're-write' it. And if they don't want that type of adventure this gives a really nice break were we just change the tone of the whole adventure. On top of it all I'm a really PG GM, So the brutal hazing will be limitedly burtal.