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Message: <blockquote data-quote="wolff96" data-source="post: 3446160" data-attributes="member: 342">LAST WARNING:  Spoilers ahead for the Savage Tide Adventure Path.As is usual, my party has done something unexpected.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />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.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />-------------------------------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.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />)</blockquote>

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