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In Thunderspire Labyrinth, it is mentionned that the mages are swift to render justice, but if the Players attack the duergar's trading post, the mages and the enforcers do not take action? They are suppose to enforce peace in the 7 Pillared Hall and one of their merchants gets attacked and they don't react? I find this a little bit incredible. How did you handle this when you played?
It's been a while, but I think the duergar drew first. The PCs came in asking too many questions, and the duergar decided to nip the problem in the bud. It did not go so well for them, and the mages decided to stay out of it for the time.
It did help matters that the entire party died in the duergar fortress not long after...
IIRC all the mages are 'away' researching, thus they are not there to deal with trouble makers. Only the ogre (or whatever) guard, and he isn't too quick.
Our PCs took the place out on the quiet and handed it over to the prisoners, eventually, with the collusion of the dwarves.
Because I used the Keep on the Shadowfell adventure hook my PCs went to the trading post as soon as they got to the seven pillared hall. After the trading post but before they investigated the horned hold they went to the chamber of the eyes per the tip from Rendil. I used that time they were away, and the night they spent in the Halfmoon Inn once they got back from the chamber of the eyes as time for an investigation by the Ogre, Orontor, and the enforcers.
I had it play out such that Gendar the drow (first book page 14) was a witness. Since he has his own problems with the durgar he intended to enlist the help of the PCs, first with the threat of exposing their presumed crime, and if that didnt work then with a simple payment for services. He tracked them down to the halfmoon inn and waited for them to wake when the Ogre and Orontor found him.
Through their investigation the enforcers found out that Gendar was a witness. It just so happened that when they choose to confront him is when Gendar was waiting to confront the adventurers. As the adventurers came down to the common room in the morning, they saw the Ogre and Orontor interrogating Gendar. As Gendar saw them he broke and told the Ogre and Orontor what he saw, implicating the adventurers.
Orontor then made his way towards the PCs and after a little chat it came out to if the PCs investigate Paldemar, their problem with the traiding post would go away. The PCs agreed, and after this little bit about trying to find the slaves in the Horned Hold and looking for Gendars staff (he hired them after their encounter with Orontor, as his false threat of offering further incriminating evidence failed), they (probably) intend to look into Paldemar.
I had played up the mages took no prisoners, so I didn't want a confrontation at the Trading Post. Instead, because they had helped Rendil, I had him tip the party about how he had heard Kedhira had just bought a wagon load of foodstuffs. That lead to the party following the wagon to the Horned Hold.
I agree it's a weak point in the module. You don't want the party at odds with the mages because it will screw up the module later, so I would just skip having a fight at the trading post. You can make up the XP with a planned "random" encounter.
Depends on when the party challenges them, of course, but the Trading Post encounter is pretty early so the party is probably 4-5 Level. I would have to think Orontor L12 Controller, Brugg L8 Brute, more than a few Bronze Warders L7 Elite Soldiers, plus the normal Hall Guards would not be a winning fight for most 4-5 Level parties (surviveable by withdrawing, yes - but winning, no). The Bronze Warders would make the difference and seeing how they are the Mages main shock troops used to clear out the Labyrinth in the first place, I would suspect there are quite few of them inside the Tower of Saruun in the Hall. Even if there are only a half a dozen or so in the Hall, that's still too many, IMHO.
I'm not saying the Ordinator isn't a wimp, because he is a pretty weak L12 controller mostly because he's an NPC build and doesn't have recharge abilities. And a fight vs. the PCs would be a long fight. The Duergar Thurges are tougher in a long fight because of their recharge abilities. I just don't think a party could take the number of Bronze Warders likely to be available.
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