I posted this in the main forum, but it is almost as much a general plot question as it is a question about "Terror in Freeport". The big question is how to keep a party heroic when they start to curl up into a defensive ball after being stymied by politics.
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SPOILERS!
OK, my players are nearing the end of the second module, Terror in Freeport.
They've worked themselves into a bit of a corner; they are extremely paranoid after finding The Secrete Historie and after being betrayed and thrown in the Crusher. They are moving very slowly and cautiously and they are alienating potential allies with a "if you ain't in the party, I can't trust you" attitude.
Worse, it seems like the events of the final part of the module need to take place within hours of each other, and once the lower temple is invaded the clock is set in motion. My players have cleaned out the lower temple (and taken Egil "prisoner" in their paranoia!) and now they want to retreat and regroup.
So, what to do? In a small sense, I wonder how to re-jigger the plot so it matches with their actions. It seems somewhat likely that they will not investigate V's house for several days; perhaps they never will.
In a larger sense, how can I get them back into a heroic mode? They seem to be in a downward spiral; every time they ignore or mistreat an NPC with valuable information or abilities they end up missing clues or making life harder for themselves. How can I show them what they are missing out on without just jacking them -- "Ha! First you trusted X and he screwed you! Then you didn't trust Y and he had a widget you needed to complete the module! Now you are totally hosed. Ha ha ha!."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPOILERS!
OK, my players are nearing the end of the second module, Terror in Freeport.
They've worked themselves into a bit of a corner; they are extremely paranoid after finding The Secrete Historie and after being betrayed and thrown in the Crusher. They are moving very slowly and cautiously and they are alienating potential allies with a "if you ain't in the party, I can't trust you" attitude.
Worse, it seems like the events of the final part of the module need to take place within hours of each other, and once the lower temple is invaded the clock is set in motion. My players have cleaned out the lower temple (and taken Egil "prisoner" in their paranoia!) and now they want to retreat and regroup.
So, what to do? In a small sense, I wonder how to re-jigger the plot so it matches with their actions. It seems somewhat likely that they will not investigate V's house for several days; perhaps they never will.
In a larger sense, how can I get them back into a heroic mode? They seem to be in a downward spiral; every time they ignore or mistreat an NPC with valuable information or abilities they end up missing clues or making life harder for themselves. How can I show them what they are missing out on without just jacking them -- "Ha! First you trusted X and he screwed you! Then you didn't trust Y and he had a widget you needed to complete the module! Now you are totally hosed. Ha ha ha!."
