Hello everyone,
I am DM-ing S&S as a solo campaign for my wife. She just had a blast winning the regatta and had some kind of revelation : "I get it!", she said, "Harrigan is the spy from Cheliax!". As I put on my best poker face, she continued : "I know how Paizo works. That's why I had to sail over the whole Shackles following that trail of a spy network: Harrigan will come with a chellish army and attack the Shackles in the end of the campaign".
Meanwhile, when she first heard of Arronax Endymion's origin as a Chellish exile, she quite fast set aside the idea that he would work for his previous homeland (would be too obvious) and jumped to the conclusion that the guy would probably hate it instead.
I swear I did not try to help her linking all that together and I gave her no clue of it. While I am quite happy she's thinking so accurately far into the campaign and sees Harrigan as the BBEG that he is, I have some fears this mindset might scramble a little bit some Tome 4 events. Indeed, at several points of 'Ilse of the Empty Eye', the book assumes the PCs should "have some suspicions about Endymion's loyalty" and that "While Endymion is occupied with defending himself against the PCs' accusations, Harrigan will be free to carry out his own betrayal". Those assumptions look compromised to me.
Can anybody tell whether this could become a problem campaign-wise or narratively speaking ? Should I change parts of the story to adapt them in accordance to the clever girl I have in front of me and to my expectation that she will not take seriously to claims that Endymion is the culprit in any of the events that mention his name ?
I can't think of anything that would get screwed up due ot her trusting Endymion and thinking Harrigan is the BBEG.
Book 4 doesn't involve him at all, and he'll ask for her help early in book 5.
I figure the "While Endymion is occupied with defending himself against the PCs' accusations, Harrigan will be free to carry out his own betrayal" is more that the Pirate Council is distracted and placing the blame on Endymion so Harrigan is able to pull some of the stuff he's doing.
I'd leave it as it is and let your wife work on trying to convince people Endymion is fine, which she'll be able to do in not too long. (Book 5, as I said). Maybe play up that the Hurricane King thinks Endymion is the traitor as that will help have things near the end make a little more sense.