pukunui
Legend
Hi folks,
A few sessions ago, I had the guards come for Rictavio in the night. The PCs chose to help him escape and ended up fighting and killing Izek and most of the guards that he'd brought with him. A few escaped, however. The PCs fled with Rictavio and haven't been back since.
However, it is now the day of the Festival of the Blazing Sun, to which the baron had invited them as VIPs. I imagine that the surviving guards would've reported to the baron, so he would know that the PCs had been involved in the fracas. The question is: would the baron then bar the PCs from the town, or would he dismiss it as a "misunderstanding" and let them in so they can lend some weight to his festival?
I'm inclined to do the latter just so they can take part in some of the other sub-plots in town. They also need to get the Tome of Strahd off Lady Wachter, although they haven't figured that one out yet. (They've got the holy symbol, and they're pretty sure they know where the sword is.)
On a different note, Sir Godfrey Gwilym is their assigned ally. I've been pondering making it so he won't help them against Strahd unless the beacon is lit. This might be a bit harsh, but I feel it gives them more reason to go into Castle Ravenloft and then leave again once they've found the dragon's skull. Otherwise, there's not as much incentive to make multiple trips to the castle.
The other thought I had, though, was that I could make it so Baba Lysaga's flying skull is the dragon's skull rather than a hill giant's skull. That way the PCs wouldn't have to go to the castle and come back and then go to the castle again.
Lastly, the PCs succeeded in getting Ireena to Krezk, and they allowed her to go with Sergei into the pond. The text says that now Strahd is determined to kill them. He sends them an invitation to the castle, which makes it sound like he wants to kill them in his castle, not out in the wilds of Barovia ... so does that mean they're still free to roam about, or would Strahd take steps to drive them towards the castle? One of my players was quick to point out that the invitation to the castle is open-ended - it doesn't tell them to attend on or by a certain date. So they feel like they can still freely roam about, levelling up on all the sidequests until they feel ready to confront Strahd, whereas I feel like, if Strahd really actively wants to kill them now, shouldn't he be taking steps to stop them from growing more powerful before they confront him? Shouldn't he be using his resources and minions to attempt to drive them towards his castle without doing all the little sidequests along the way? (So, like, if they return to Vallaki for the festival, and then turn around and head back towards Krezk or Argynvostholt, perhaps Strahd sends minions to try and stop them or force them to turn back.)
I'd appreciate people's thoughts.
Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Jonathan
A few sessions ago, I had the guards come for Rictavio in the night. The PCs chose to help him escape and ended up fighting and killing Izek and most of the guards that he'd brought with him. A few escaped, however. The PCs fled with Rictavio and haven't been back since.
However, it is now the day of the Festival of the Blazing Sun, to which the baron had invited them as VIPs. I imagine that the surviving guards would've reported to the baron, so he would know that the PCs had been involved in the fracas. The question is: would the baron then bar the PCs from the town, or would he dismiss it as a "misunderstanding" and let them in so they can lend some weight to his festival?
I'm inclined to do the latter just so they can take part in some of the other sub-plots in town. They also need to get the Tome of Strahd off Lady Wachter, although they haven't figured that one out yet. (They've got the holy symbol, and they're pretty sure they know where the sword is.)
On a different note, Sir Godfrey Gwilym is their assigned ally. I've been pondering making it so he won't help them against Strahd unless the beacon is lit. This might be a bit harsh, but I feel it gives them more reason to go into Castle Ravenloft and then leave again once they've found the dragon's skull. Otherwise, there's not as much incentive to make multiple trips to the castle.
The other thought I had, though, was that I could make it so Baba Lysaga's flying skull is the dragon's skull rather than a hill giant's skull. That way the PCs wouldn't have to go to the castle and come back and then go to the castle again.
Lastly, the PCs succeeded in getting Ireena to Krezk, and they allowed her to go with Sergei into the pond. The text says that now Strahd is determined to kill them. He sends them an invitation to the castle, which makes it sound like he wants to kill them in his castle, not out in the wilds of Barovia ... so does that mean they're still free to roam about, or would Strahd take steps to drive them towards the castle? One of my players was quick to point out that the invitation to the castle is open-ended - it doesn't tell them to attend on or by a certain date. So they feel like they can still freely roam about, levelling up on all the sidequests until they feel ready to confront Strahd, whereas I feel like, if Strahd really actively wants to kill them now, shouldn't he be taking steps to stop them from growing more powerful before they confront him? Shouldn't he be using his resources and minions to attempt to drive them towards his castle without doing all the little sidequests along the way? (So, like, if they return to Vallaki for the festival, and then turn around and head back towards Krezk or Argynvostholt, perhaps Strahd sends minions to try and stop them or force them to turn back.)
I'd appreciate people's thoughts.
Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Jonathan