As I'm prepping SoT, wanted to share some of the rewrites I'm making to try to better tie plotlines together and deliver a more satisfying arc for the heroes and antagonists. Obviously, this is with the benefit of the full set of published books, a year's worth of online commentary, and insights of what my specific table will respond well to, so this is not intended to imply that this is the 'right' or even a 'better' way to run it. It's just what I think will work best at my table, but perhaps some ideas will help at yours.
Changes to the Vesicant Egg:
I plan to have the Vesicant Egg continue to escalate the influence it has on pests from School (Book 1) > City (Book 2) > Region (Book 3). Book 1 focuses on pests being drawn to The Magaambya and can be run mostly as written. Book 2, I'll plan to reflavor a lot of the sidequests to show the influence is spreading. Some examples - Froglegs will use her knowledge of alchemical agents that are described to lure Giant Dragonflies to a much greater degree, flavoring how she sabotages Oba's cages with unnaturally large termites, or draws away attention from her muggings by redirecting swarms of flies who have recently appeared in town. In addition, Nantambu will be in really rough shape during Book 2, with pests and gremlins tearing down infrastructure and causing the various floods and collapses, made worse by Asanda's absence and lack of leadership to rebuild. Finally, things will come to a crescendo in Book 3, where Kiutu (and other towns in the region) will not be attacked (the first time anyway) by Knights of Abendengo, but instead by giant roaming beetles and locust swarms. The Knights will still act as the main villains and kidnap Kiutu's inhabitants during Chapter 2, but it and other encounters will be under the backdrop of the insect plagues - the Knights and others are taking advantage of that chaos to advance their goals. However, by Book 4, the Vesicant Egg will be mostly contained so the King of Biting Ants narrative can take a breath and shift focus to Mzali/Osibu temporarily thanks to changes I'm making to Koride.
Changes to Koride:
Koride is framed as a reckless and callous but an ultimately redeemable person by the end of Book 6. I think this is portrayed well in Books 1 and 2, but by the time she is making deals Norgorber slaver cults in Book 3 and stealing from and sabotaging the Iobane in Book 5, I don't believe most players will give her the benefit of the doubt or see those as the actions of an ultimately decent person you should try to work with - I certainly don't. I also worry the PCs will start to see her as the BBEG by the end of Book 3, and then will feel railroaded or push back when I say "Ignore her, go and do this unrelated quest in Mzali. She'll be traveling with you, but don't worry about engaging her." Because of this, she's my biggest rewrite.
As I mention above, my climax of the 'pest attacks' will be rampant destruction in the Sodden Lands in Book 3. However, as the heroes are preparing to escort the students there with the dual purpose of researching The Bloodsalt as written AND gathering more information about these swarms, Koride will offer to take the Egg away from the Magaambya similar to what's described at the end of Book 2, with the intention of ensuring the students' safety while she continues her research. She brings it to the Doorway of the Red Star, where she believes she can close herself away in an abandoned temple to learn more about it from some of the foremost reference materials on King of Biting Ants (though she wont mention the plan to anyone else - the PCs will eventually have to uncover Where and Why themselves). She wont join the Book 4 delegation, and the PCs wont hear from her at all in Book 4, but will presume things have stabilized as they work through the Mzali/Osibu storylines and hear reports from other allies back at The Magaambya that insect attacks are waning, and Nantambu is safe again. Metagame-wise the players may also think Vesicant Egg was a Book 1-3 plotline only, and then get to enjoy a little twist when it comes back with a vengeance in Book 5.
When the players return back to focusing on King of Biting Ants and meet the Iobane in Book 5, Mpondo's displeasure with Koride and the Magaambya will not be that Koride stole the egg FROM them, but that she brought it TO them, and they have had to fight off pests drawn to the Plaza of the Door for the better part of two years while she conducts her research in an increasingly arrogant and uncommunicative way. They are not in the mood to do more favors for Magaambya professors after all this. Offscreen during Book 4, Koride's research HAS uncovered spells and runes that reduce the Egg's pull on local wildlife and has localized the effects just to the Plaza and nearby surroundings, but she has recklessly taken shortcuts in her approach that have allowed the Egg to feed on her protective magic and accelerate the Egg's growth, as well as opened her mind to the influence of the King of Biting Ants' Three Aspects after many sleepless nights of work alone with the artifact. If the heroes choose to confront her prior to their trip through the Gateway, she will refuse to meet face-to-face with them through a thick stone door protected by powerful traps, claiming she cannot emerge yet until she finishes her research, lest her runes falter and it threaten the safety of all of Golarion. If she hears of their plan to speak with Jatembe, she'll adamantly agree and say they should go to seek him so she can ask him questions (whether trying to send them to their deaths due to more overt influence by King of Biting Ants, or legitimately seeking his council, I haven't decided yet and I think will depend where I land with the nature of her 'influence' by the Egg.) However, by the time they return from Akiton with him, Koride will have left the Plaza and taken the egg back to the Magaambya, and Book 6 can play out largely as written.
Other Changes:
A few other minor changes I plan to make which I think will resonate better with my players:
-Rather than being advance scouts of an invasion, the Terwa Lords delegation will be a group of scholars who are investigating the pest attacks which are destroying settlements on their borders much like the PCs are. It provides a group of rival and morally dubious, but still empathetic foils to the PC teachers, and blunts the need to work closely with a nationalist group of conquerors in Book 3, just before you do the same thing in Book 4.
-Along the same lines of avoiding the takeaway of both Books 3 and 4 being 'Diplomacy is all well and good, but ultimately might makes right' (which seems antithetical to the goal tone of Strength of Thousands) I'm going to have Worknesh go rogue and launch the siege on Osibu himself without Walkena's knowledge, in an attempt to earn favor with the god king. There are several references about Walkena imbuing chosen with a fraction of power, so my idea is to say that Worknesh can summon an 'avatar' of Walkena himself via this gift. This way I can maintain the exciting final setpiece, but not need to handwave planet-scale mind wipes to remove the knowledge from Walkena and Mzali's inhabitants. Between the reforms of Chapter One, and removing an opposing piece from Mzali's chessboard during the Siege of Osibu, I think it leaves a much more optimistic view of the future as you wrap up that storyline.
-I plan to run Chapter One of Book 6 less as a celebration lunch, and more of a tense War Council where the PCs are lifted up as leaders, then need to begin the hard work of leading. They'll get some clues that the King of Biting Ants may not be fully defeated yet at the end of Book 5, as well as be suspicious when they find Koride missing when they return, so I don't think they will be in the mood to hobnob and 'enjoy their celebrity' soliciting gifts. Instead, the Influence minigames will be framed as planning and building consensus and unity among Nantambu for an unknown but inevitable danger hanging above their heads.
If you made it to the end of this novel, thanks for reading. Thoughts, questions, or constructive feedback welcome.
