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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CapnZapp" data-source="post: 7236960" data-attributes="member: 12731">My players will start the adventure at fifth level. This means the Flaming Fist patrols need a bit of support to avoid being ignored as a presence by the party. I don't mean stronger guards. Instead I'm thinking about how the Flaming Fist can ever hope to enforce their authority unless they can act as a team.I think I'll give each Flaming Fist patrol (the random encounter) a scroll of Sending or similar, which the second in command has orders to use if hostilities with unchartered explorers break out. Unless there's a threat the entire Flaming Fist organization finds out about non-compliant adventurers, I fear a party will simply ignore any of their demands and kill off any patrols that attack them in self-defense. If the XO of the patrol (the acolyte perhaps) has orders to respond to violence by 1) breaking off line of sight (to make it difficult to Counterspell the Sending), then 2) using the scroll to describe the interlopers. This during the very first round of combat. If the patrol subdues the explorers, fine. If not, it is critical to their organization that the offenders are identified ASAP.If the same description is reported in this manner twice, Commander Portyr will either use a Crystal Ball herself or pass on the info to her superiors in Baldur's Gate, who has access to one, so an appropriate response can be formed; where Grand Duke Ulder Ravengard will use overwhelming force to catch the interlopers and demand a heavy tribute for their crimes, or fight them to the death if not.The point here isn't to make the Flaming Fist into untouchable guards (like in the Baldur's Gate video games <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=":)" /> ) but to at least explain why low- and even mid-level rabble won't act against their authority. Isolated patrols are otherwise only a threat to adventurers low-level enough to be intimidated by the patrol itself, and that ends at or before fifth level.A canny party can still fly under the radar in many ways. They should not feel forced to agree to the Flaming Fist's (rather unreasonable) demands. They can ask around for information on Flaming Fist procedures to learn their response. They can then pick-pocket the Sending scroll, so any altercation won't get back to Commander Portyr. This would greatly intimidate their leader. They can counterspell the Sending. More violently, they can use surprise and/or focus fire to (rather easily) kill the Acolyte before she can even act. Or, of course, they can profess ignorance, convincing the patrol they haven't found any loot.As you see, the point isn't to make these patrols invincible DM pets - only a nod towards the magical and realmsian nature of the world they operate in. Not operating on reliable (=magical) communication would be a huge disadvantage for any organization with as ambitious goals as this one.</blockquote>

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