I've just started one of my groups on CotCT (RE version), with the PF1 rule set.
The players produced a party which consists of: a halfling Bard (going for Harrower prestige class), a halfling Witch (jinx-focused), a half-orc "boom" Cleric of Sarenrae (very fire-focused and taking one level of Sorcerer so as to be Crossblooded [Red Dragon/Orc bloodlines]), and a dwarf Barbarian 1 (Armoured Hulk)/Druid 1+ (Goliath).
Yeah, they only have one front-liner. :(
The two halflings and the Cleric had problems with the Mad Prophet encounter (mainly because they didn't want to hurt him). (The dwarf Druid was elsewhere at the time.) The entire group had a lot of problems with the Imps vs. House Drakes encounter (it certainly put the fear of imps in them, and impressed upon them the need for silvered weapons).
So, when they got the job to bring in Verik Vancaskerkin from All the World's Meat, they decided to be very careful and subtle. They let the halfling Bard reconnoitre first. He walked round the the building, visited the shop, and then climbed up onto the roof to look/listen through the windows of the upper floor. There he saw Verik, drinking already even though it wasn't even noon.
Long story short: the two halfings double-teamed Verik (Lullaby spell followed by Slumber hex) and managed to keep him unconscious long enough to manacle and gag him. The other two party members then climbed up onto the roof, and Verik was unceremoniously taken out of the window and the session ended with him about to be lugged off to the Old Fishery. (The party wants to question him about the cause of his desertion before they turn him over to Kroft. For some reason, the Cleric is certain that she'll hang him for desertation.)
My dilemma: the party has basically skipped most of the "All the World's Meat" section, including the horrendous discoveries which lie within. I want them to finish that section (and maybe inflict some mental trauma :) ). Any suggestions for how to persuade the players to return to the scene of the (Cow Hammer Boys') crime?
I'm considering something so basic/crude as just having one of the Cow Hammer Boys happen to walk outside and around the corner, and see his boss being carted off - thus starting a combat which will hopefully end with the thugs being defeated. Then the party might be tempted to explore the building properly.
But do any of my fellow CotCT GMs have a better idea?
Having one of the Cow Hammer Boys stumble on them while they're making their escape with Verik could work, although it may make them feel that their hard work in sneaking in and taking out the leader was for nothing.
Some alternate options, which you can potentially combine if one doesn't do the trick:
Pique their curiosity:
1) Reverse your idea, and have the PCs stumble on the Cow Hammer Boys - to wit, one of the guards is coming back as the PCs leave with today's shipment of meat - a scraggly cow or pig . . . and a sack in the back of the wagon that looks suspiciously like a person. Alternatively, the PCs "almost" get caught by them when two of them go out back to have a smoke, and while they don't see the PCs so they can literally eavesdrop on their conversation as they start talking about "tonight's menu" and that they have several jobs lined up for tonight so it's going to be busy.
2) A bit of a potential plot hole given the Cow Hammer Boys tend to do their work at night, but perhaps they already have someone strung up in the butcher area to start working over already despite it being the middle of the day (they've gotten a lot bolder . . .) That person manages to slip off their gag and cry out, which no one but the nearby PCs is going to hear or care about, but if they hear someone start screaming from inside only for it to be abruptly cut off perhaps they'll decide to investigate further.
Pay them:
1) Kroft is pleased about the job, but is concerned about the remaining guards' desertions festering even without their charismatic leader. She asks that they go back to convince the other guards to come back, paying them if pressed into doing so (although naturally a much smaller fee for the other guards beside their "leader"). Alternatively, she could have heard rumors about some gang calling itself the "Cow Hammer Boys" in the area, and they seem to be linked to several disappearances, and she wants the party to investigate that next. Connecting the gang name to the guards, and what they're actually been doing, is what the PCs need to discover.
2) This will probably have to be an original character, but you could have someone else hire the PCs to investigate the Cow Hammer Boys, other than Kroft. Maybe a local person or someone whose family has been targeted - and since they're just citizens and not the filthy rich guard they can't offer the PCs much money. If you want to be particularly cruel, have it be some street urchin who wants the PCs to find her Pa and offers up a handful of copper/silver which is all they had. Then if the party is good rather than mercenary, they take the job . . . only to discover Pa got fed to the reefclaws some time ago (alternatively if you want to give them a chance to be heroic/add a complication to taking on the guards), Pa is currently being lowered down to the reefclaws as the party barges in, and they have to keep him from falling down into the midst of the raging hungry monsters while fighting off the Cow Hammer Boys.
Make it personal:
1) IF the party completely ignores the problem, then you can still have it be a problem they have to deal with after one of the PCs' family/friends/love interest NPCs gets abducted to get worked over/killed by the Cow Hammer Boys.
2) If the PCs have any enemies, maybe the Cow Hammer Boys get hired to work one of THEM over. If all else fails, trust me, having a bunch of NPCs kick in the door of their house to try and kidnap them is sure to rile the PCs up into a murderously vengeful mood. The only difficulty after that point will probably be to convince them not to butcher all of the Cow Hammer Boys and put them up on the storefront the next morning!
Part of the job is also getting the Cow Hammer boys as well, not just their leader. So regardless of whether they make off with Verik, simply tell them that they recall the Cow Hammer boys being the other half of the job. If all you want is to get them to return to discover the rest, that should cover it. If you want them to do more, think of ways to clue them in and push towards it like the examples Inspectre is offering.
@Inspectre, @AwesomenessDog:
Thank you both for your good suggestions! They have given me some ideas to chew on before the next session. :)
I agree with the above answers, all of them are deserters.
There is also the possibility of having them stumble upon some bones of the humanoid variety. Or even a lot of clothes/boots that may pique the PC’s curiosity