Savage Tide Question (Spoilers Ahoy)

[wolff96]

LAST WARNING: Spoilers ahead for the Savage Tide Adventure Path.

As is usual, my party has done something unexpected.

We're in the middle of the first half of "The Bullywug Gambit". They saw the flash of green light, they've been attacked by mutated monkeys, and they've survived an incursion into the caves. Unfortunately, based on the savage nature of the creatures they've seen within, they assume that this is going to play itself out rather quickly.

Thus, after getting in over their heads several times in "There is no Honor", they've decided to retreat and hope the creatures massacre each other in the caves.

I plan to have at least some of the feral creatures escape and cause trouble later in the game, but that's not the real problem. The real issue is that the captain holed up in the last room of the complex will have easily dispatched her attackers and escaped overland (she can't sail the Wyvern alone) long before the PCs come back from resting up.

How can I get some of the necessary information into the hands of the PCs without making it obvious?

I came up with the idea of having an empty chest that contained a note indicating that the money had been used for an attack on the Vanderborens -- something along the lines of "Money sent as bribe to Bullywugs for reprisal on Vanthus, Authorized Xxxxx". It's kind of bland, but it should tip them about the attack on Sasserine.

Worse, though, the information on the actual activation of the Pearl is lost. I still haven't come up with any (non-cheesy) way to pass along that information.

Thus, I'm throwing myself on the collective minds of ENWorld, in hopes of a better solution.

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Side rant: Why do they assume that the PCs will make their way through the caves in one assault? If you look at the stats, Harlissa will make mincemeat of her opponents and be gone relatively quickly. There is no time pressure (other than metagame) on the PCs to hurry through the relatively vicious encounters within. So I would think it actually MORE likely for DMs to run into my problem than to massacre their way through the caves in one assault. (My players were far more interested in capturing and taking control of the Wyvern than they were in finding Vanthus. He's on "The List", so they figure they'll hunt him down at SOME point... whereas that ship needs their attention NOW. )

 

[BlackMoria]

You can have Capt Harliss escape the caves and run into the party (assuming they are encamping somewhere nearby) and take it from there.

Alternatively, you can do a total re-write of the Bullwug's Gambit. The sole purpose of the Kraken Cove segment is to introduce the effects of the Savage Tide.

Capt Harliss's sole purpose is to provide the information as to who is responsible and to setup the next segment of getting the party to rush back to city to save their patron.

If you can somehow get the information that Capt Harliss would have imparted to the party, to them via alternate means and get them back on track, you can still run the adventure as written or completely do your own thing, making sure to setup events for the next adventure.

 

[James Jacobs]

We don't necessarilly assume the PCs do the Kraken's Cove section in one push. The timeline's fluid enough that, however long the PCs take, that's how it works out. If the PCs leave and come back later, they could find Harliss still in the situation the adventure sets her up in.

Alternately, at the start of the next adventure, when Lavinia says that she needs another ship, the PCs are expected to go back to Kraken's Cove to claim the abandoned ship, the Sea Wyvern. At that point, they could encounter Harliss nearby; she's finally started to recover from her savage fever. Maybe she's trying to figure out a way to sail away on the Sea Wyvern by herself (impossible, since it needs a crew of 7), at which point she can have her dialogue with the PCs. If they've already saved Lavinia from the bullywugs and they explain Vanthus to her, she'll apologize and assuming good diplomacy checks, things work out more or less the same; she'll give the Sea Wyvern to the PCs as a "peace offering" to make up for sending her first mate and the bullywugs out to get the Vanderborens, and then sets off on her own to make her own way (she doesn't want to go to Sasserine, where she's wanted by the law; she's scheduled to re-appear in the 8th adventure, "Serpents of Scuttlecove," and what she's been up to between that adventure and "Bullywug Gambit" is detailed there).

 

[wolff96]

We don't necessarilly assume the PCs do the Kraken's Cove section in one push. The timeline's fluid enough that, however long the PCs take, that's how it works out. If the PCs leave and come back later, they could find Harliss still in the situation the adventure sets her up in.

First off, thanks so much for the feedback.

Second, if she's still there, why hasn't she wiped out all of the caves by herself? She's certainly capable, even weakened by illness. When I read the article, I assumed the only reason she was still there was because not much time had passed between the Savage Tide and the PCs finding her in the caves.

I suppose she could be holed up in the caves, fighting the sickness, and they show up in time to see the savage pirates kick in the door and attack.

Alternately, at the start of the next adventure, when Lavinia says that she needs another ship, the PCs are expected to go back to Kraken's Cove to claim the abandoned ship, the Sea Wyvern.

With six PCs and an NPC 'torchbearer' that was hired to watch their row boat, my PCs had enough hands (and more importantly, the ranks in Profession: Sailor with three PCs maxed out on the skill) to sail the ship out immediately. They relocated it at another cove nearby and then rowed ten miles back to investigate the caves. They figured Vanthus was inside the caves and didn't want him to escape on the one ship not going up in flames. More importantly, they wanted the ship for their own uses. One of my PCs REALLY wants to add 'Captain' to his name.

Again, thanks for the feedback. By the way, the group loves the AP so far. They were really creeped out by the Savage Tide itself and all the mutated life they've encountered.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

First off, thanks so much for the feedback.

Second, if she's still there, why hasn't she wiped out all of the caves by herself? She's certainly capable, even weakened by illness. When I read the article, I assumed the only reason she was still there was because not much time had passed between the Savage Tide and the PCs finding her in the caves.

She's unconscious, she's asleep, she's drugged, she's injured, she's trapped by a situation that's resolved by the player characters find her ...

 

[Wrathamon]

You could pull a PotC II and have her running away from the savage critters and she runs right into the PCs.

You said she can easily kill them all.. have her disarmed, injuryed, more sick than it says in the mod, she took some critical hits! They grappled her and did a lot of lethal and non lethal.

 

[James Jacobs]

Keep in mind too that she just saw most of her crew and allies and friends turn into freakish mutants, plus she's got the sick herself and is worried about turning into one of them. Her morale's pretty low. She might just hole up in the cave she's in and wait it out.

 

[blargney the second]

My players just ground their way through the whole thing, with one exception. They were very keen on making sure nobody else took the Wyvern, so they used manacles to lock the wheel in an unusable position.

I later told them that they'd put The Club on a plot device.
-blarg

 

[humble minion]

Introduce Harliss's lover - some crewman or other who she'd taken a shine to, but who failed his save against the Tide. He's bigger and stronger than her (plus he's feral), so she hasn't been able to grapple and restrain him successfully, and she doesn't want to kill him (all her weapons are edged, right?) because she still hopes there might be a cure. She's been playing a game of hide and seek with him for days - she wants to capture and restrain him so she can take him back to a wizard or cleric to have a look at, he wants to eat her head. The PCs can tip the balance - between them and her, they could be able to knock him down and sit on him - plus it gives you some interesting potential if the PCs meet this mutant boyfriend and injure him before Harliss happens on the scene...

 

[Hussar]

You don't even need to worry about it all that much. The contents of the cave are the contents when the PC's enter. It could be that Harliss had already fought off a number of attacks, slaughtering lots of baddies that were eaten by the savage creatures and holed up where she is because she doesn't actually know what's out there. Yes, she could mop the floor with whats there now, but, since she isn't sure, she isn't going to rush into anything.

In other words, I wouldn't worry about it that much.