Before running ToA, I'm planning to pull together a list of hints and where they lead so I ensure passing on this info to the PCs. Unless someone does all the work first, I expect this will take me quite some time.
This raises a couple points that all module writers should consider: 1) list hints that players can receive, and 2) have a quick list of all hints in the section with the side-trek/quest/adventure.
If I'm trying to encourage the party to take a specific side quest, or want to foreshadow something, having that list handy makes it more likely I'll communicate the information. If I just trust the PCs will talk to the right people, in the right order, at the right time...yeah, that's not happening.
When I ran PotA, a number of times someone would say "Who was it that told us about abc?", and I'd promptly go to section abc of the adventure and find...nothing. The person(s) giving the hint(s) were listed in the NPC description in their section of the adventure. If at the beginning of each adventure location there was a quick list of the hints that led to the location and who gives them, that would have helped enormously. It would also serve my first point, as a quick reference of the information that I may want to convey before the party go off toward that encounter/area/whatever.
Not sure how clear my point is, so I'll try again: module writers - make it easier to run your adventures by giving GMs quick lists of hints, clues, and so forth for each adventure area/quest. And put that list in the section describing that adventure area/quest.
