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Message: <blockquote data-quote="rstivers1989" data-source="post: 9570299" data-attributes="member: 7049572">Session 2 SynopsisBig D's Duel and the Gift of GabOur party having successfully secured Rivereye was able to get some additional information about the case. Notably:The case is a large black metal object with something smaller inside of it. It cannot be opened by traditional means.The party shared some personal stories and Luther successfully interrogated everyone (save Fenwick's) rationale for joining the Resistance. (DM Note: the party was itching for some time to deconstruct who everyone was and what their strengths were, this proved an opportune time and I encouraged them to debrief in the depository tower. A good time was had by all as we unpacked various loyalties and motives.)The party then traveled toward Gabal's, on the way they saw a Wyvren Rider fall in to a nearby house. The rider had killed the two adults inside and a boy was currently held hostage. While the party was too late to save the parents, they did arrive when the man had his armor fully off, making him significant easier to take down. The party sneakily approached and Journey imitated a Ragesian officer with a combination of Charm and accents to confuse the Wyvren rider. Ultimately, they decided to kill the man when he began to see through Journey's ruse, the boy was securedHeading to Gabal's the party stumbled up Diogenes or "Big D" as he decided to describe himself. (Dm Note: "Big D" seemed way too funny to pass up as a nickname and its easier to pronounce. The players hated it, which was great and I felt it added a bit of humor to an otherwise serious situation).The party did not make any attempts to disguise themselves, or largely their intent because it seemed Big D didn't like Shaelis (Dm Note: I used this spelling because it was easier). The party was able to convince Big D to engage in a duel with Shaelis. Shaelis, disliking Big D's arrogance and personality (which the party also seemed to dislike) happily agreed.As Big D and Shaelis began to prepare for the duel, Journey and Val took seats to watch. Unbenkownst to them, Shaelis clocked both of them and telepathically communicated to her Lantern Familiar in her room about the intruders. However, a spectacular Pass Without Trace + Hiding roll + invisibility allowed Luther and Fenwick to enter Shaelis's room undetected. It was at this point they realized that Larion and the Lantern Archon were in the room, and the "jig" was up. Shaelis however seemed to be playing in to the ruse and prepared what seemed like a spell to attack Diogenes.In reality, Shaelis was preparing a spell to attack anyone that came near her. Val succesfully read that Shaelis had clocked them and charged in to attack Shaelis, at which point she released a readied action of a Fireball. Big D's quick thinking however resulted in a Counterspell happening. At which point Shaelis both called for help and for the party to surrender. (DM Note: The adventure path calls for Shaelis to flee at this point, which I did not do. With Larion and the Lantern, and only seeing three potential attackers, Shaelis had the clear upper hand. The party had not actually enacted Diogenes plan and had put themselves in a very tough situation.)Magnus, being the pacificst of the party, immediately surrendered. Val, being the bash-things member of the party, immediately attacked. Several tense minutes of "will they or wont they" fighting started to happen and Big D looked very confused as they had initially promised to steal Shaelis's component bag but then decided not to and instead search the room. Big D peaced out, happy to have gotten one over on Shaelis (even if the party did not). Ultimately, the party did decide to surrender and have a conversation with Shaelis as opposed to fighting her. Shaelis accepted the parties surrender and negotiations began in earnest.Ultimately, an accord was reached. Magnus, in his capacity as local folk hero/former councilman, would make an announcement in the city square the following morning announcing his support for Gate Pass to become a vassal state of the Shahesti Empire. In exchange, the party would be allowed to copy the contents of the Case, which Shaelis disclosed were written materials, having successfully opened the case herself. Shaelis would then take the case and return to Shahesti and they could keep the copy.To keep everyone Honest, Shaelis let the party know that she would only provide the copy once the announcement had done publicly and sincerely. Luther also requested that Shaelis find a way to destroy Coaltongue's statue before she left. Shaelis agreed, finding this an amusing extra request. The party headed back towards the Safehouse where Rivereye and Torrent remained. On their way to the Safehouse, they ran in to a Rat that began to talk with them about the Case (DM Note: my attempt to give them another option to get the case even though they were never going to the Ghetto)Magnus, sensing that the Rat was a fiend, immediately attacked it - as did the rest of the party. Our session ended with the Rat turning back to an imp and trying to fly away and Luther shooting a bullseye through it, the rat landing with a resounding "splat." The party has now begun a long rest at the Safehouse and will awaken late morning the day after the bombing.What Went Well<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The AP doesn't provide a pathway for Shaelis to exit the situation friendly with the PCs AND having the contents of the case, but given the situation, the blunders of the party, and the long-term potential for the Shahesti to be the parties allies, this felt like a good middle ground. Full disclosure - another DM in this forum did something similar and I really liked it. It also allows us to "skip" the whole Badger House/Puzzle/Soldiers mechanically and for it to just be narrative and I felt like the wild goose chase for 8 hours of game-time was sufficient as is. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The party is very morally conflicted about the Shahesti and in particular their offer to make Gate Pass a vassal state. It really has amped up the "the enemy of my enemy is my friend but oh boy the cost." Shaelis really flexed on the party that Shahesti was the equivalent of the U.S. and Gate Pass was a 3rd world country. I'm planting some seeds here so that the party can rub it in their face when they finally get The Torch etc. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The players really wanted to help every person they passed as they were deeply concerned with Gate Pass, to stop the constant random encounters that would have had to happen, I let the PC's contribute Inspiration or Spell Slots to "Help" the people with a tangible benefit to them later (in terms of how the people of Gate Pass feel about them). </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The players and I discussed out of game what role they wanted the NPCs to take. We decided that NPCs traveling with or around the party would fulfil a purely "agent" based role. So for example, Torrent was assigned to go research potential exits out of the city while the party went to Gabals. Everyone agreed this fit best both mechanically and story wise and while their "NPCs" would not aid them in combat, they would still be around for story support and feel meaningful in this way.</li> </ul>What Could Be Improved<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The party has really been taking a lot of L's - they didn't catch Larion, they didn't save the boy's family, they didn't defeat Shaelis, and the only way they are getting the case is through Shaelis grace because they have eliminated all other options of finding it. While I don't think out-of-game the party is discouraged, I am actively planning for a win for them. On the plus side, they are only at the afternoon of Day 1 so as long as they do not dither too long they will actually be able to ambush Renard if they leave tonight instead of the following evening.</li> </ul>Requests:Assuming it happens, if anyone has advice on how to handle the Renard ambush in a real-life table environment or table-top TV, i'd be curious. The map is just massive and the entire structure of the fight with running horses and deployed ambushes means that one party member could be 120 feet away from another party member and my physical table / 32 inch display just cant capture that many players in that big of a distance with my current setup.</blockquote>

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