Flaganus vs. Module Plot

[Kzach]

My group is starting our WotBS campaign tomorrow, so I haven't played this encounter yet. But it's one of the ones that stood out for me on my read-through. I like it because it establishes, early on, that this is a campaign world where there's consequences beyond winning or losing a fight, and there isn't always a happy ending.

Yes, exactly, which is why I couldn't process a result that would give the same sense of anger without the kid dying.

Sometimes when my players get a super high roll on a skill check I feel a bit like a deer in headlights -"Now what?"

Yeah, that's what happened to me as well. A 25 DC is pretty damn unlikely to succeed and it didn't occur to me that it would and I'd have to deal with the result.

I definitely could've handled the encounter better, which is why I felt this thread might help others who have to run the encounter.

 

[SteveC]

For what it's worth, I would have let it stand and congratulated the group on coming up with a good solution to the problem. There's nothing plot related that saving the child alters, and later on when the councilman talks about the wyvern rider that a mysterious group defeated, it becomes even a bigger story in the telling!

I ran the scenario twice for different groups, and the first time the encounter went as expected. Boy was the group angry! They had a genuinely emotional moment as a result, and I expanded the story a bit as they were looking for the boy's father to try and make amends.

In the second game, the group had a priest who walked up to Flaganus and put himself in front of the axe, going so far as to offer to be helpless to give him a free coup de gras. With that sacrifice in mind (he almost died from it) I let them save the child. It was a very emotional moment as well. The character in question had grown up on the streets and told me he would not suffer a child's death, even at the cost of his own life. I gave him the toughest fight I could, but in the end they won...and the story became better for it.

In other words, I'd say "roll with it..." you'll have the possibility for a great story as a result.

--Steve

 

[Truename]

In the second game, the group had a priest who walked up to Flaganus and put himself in front of the axe, going so far as to offer to be helpless to give him a free coup de gras. With that sacrifice in mind (he almost died from it) I let them save the child. It was a very emotional moment as well. The character in question had grown up on the streets and told me he would not suffer a child's death, even at the cost of his own life. I gave him the toughest fight I could, but in the end they won...and the story became better for it.

That's awesome. I hope I would have done the same.

To be clear, what I object to in this encounter is allowing "instant win" diplomacy/intimidate rolls to cheapen the emotional aspect of the encounter. Truly creative and interesting solutions like this one add to the weight of the encounter, and I hope my group comes up with something nearly as good.

 

[Kzach]

In other words, I'd say "roll with it..." you'll have the possibility for a great story as a result.

You're right. I regret handling it the way I did. I can only learn from the mistake I guess.