Wardens of Heroes Gate

Note on Notes

Rewriting this scene…

First of all… I need to power up the goblins a little here… first time thru it was two against four. It was still an easy fight, but this time we have Khi-Khi and Koza with the party.

Koza will not do well… probably on purpose. First, it is outside in the daylight and she will probably struggle to see well… (Do I give her Drow attributes or half-elf attributes? Technically she is half-elf… but half-elves do inherit some things from elvish line… instead of disadvantage in daylight, perhaps just -1 to attack in daylight? ) What will Koza do? She wants to find Gundren as much as the others because he is her lead to Nezznar at the moment. Perhaps during the fight with Klarg, she puts an arrow or two into him and then disappears. When the party finds Sildar tied up, Yeemik is already dead. He relates the story how a drow took out several goblins and then questioned Yeemik in Goblin-tongue before killing him. She tells Sildar “your friends should be along soon…” she cuts him free and then disappears down the tunnel. Koza then goes to the Cragmaw Castle. She will free Gundren as well… but rather than return to Phandalin with him, she follows Vyrith the doppleganger to Wave Echo Cave. Maybe the party finds her there… perhaps once again beaten and nearly dead… next to a dead doppleganger. (Does Vyrith have any part in module after Cragmaw castle?)

Before I really get into this rewrite, I have some ToDos…

– Build stat blocks for Koza and Khi-Khi (if not full character sheets)

– Beef up the stat blocks for the goblins – maybe add in a hobgoblin or two

– Where is Sildars gear (incuding his new shield?)?

Now about the dead horses…

It has been 2+ days since party left Neverwinter. Sildar and Gundren went ahead of them with the expectation that they would arrive in Phandalin. It is 60 miles from Neverwinter to Phandalin… according to some accounts, Fast Travel would allow 6 miles per hour which means 10 hours of travel… Perhaps they made it all the way to Peldons Passerthru the first night (party made it the second night) and then early that morning started down the Triboar where they were ambushed. If that is the case, their dead horses have been blocking the road for over 24 hours by the time the party arrives. Is it reasonable to assume that no other traffic has tried to make it through here in 24 hours? Probably not… which means others have been ambushed as well. Perhaps they were on foot or mount and the goblins left them alone as they walked around the dead horses. But if any wagons came this way… Suppose then another wagon of supplies was ambushed here the forenight before the party arrives… heading east… merchants probably… with some guards. The wagon would be left on the road to increase the ambush opportunity. Maybe they even prop up a dead cart driver for appearance sake? Perhaps this wagon was the Lionshield Coster supply? Then that quest will be more apparent. The dead horses will not immediately be thought to be Sildar and Gundren’s mounts… but Roonoo will know. Or is this just complicating matters too much? Maybe I just run it as written – you see two dead horses in the road ahead.

Before the ambush… should I have more social interaction between Koza and Deynn? Do I want to strengthen their relationship before she disappears? Give Deynn a reason to help her later?

Ileel and Koza will have similarities… do I want to delve much into relationship and romance and such things? I cannot decide. I had thought about exploring writing some “adult-only” sections just to see what it was like to write it… I think Deynn and Koza would make an interesting match-up. Would Ileel have an interest in Deynn? Or the other way round? Should I invite a conflict between Koza and Ileel based on the attentions of Deynn? Or perhaps they just will not like each other because they are too much alike? Or maybe Ileel and Koza are where the real relationship is to be found? I plan on Dawndra and Kildar being intimate partners – if only alluded to. Yisi and Valea have an awkward tension there… they have a strong sybling sort of bond… will either risk it in order to express their more intimate feelings towards each other? Yisi will be tempted by Zoony perhaps… or at least… attracted enough to cause Valea some feelings of insecurity which will need to be resolved? Part of me thinks the whole relationship aspect will be hard to get right… but probably only because I’ve never done it before… likely it is going to be poorly done at first – should I not do it then? Or should I explore with the intent of developing some skill at it? Relationshp and romance are a part nearly every adventure novel – to some degree or another. I’m certain there are D&D sessions that have taken this idea far enough to make a very memorable session which no one openly talks about… How far can that be taken in Textplay? Is there room for the erotic? Is there need? Do I want to include it even? For now… lets just leave it at “maybe”.

Back to the scene…

Scene 06 and we are just getting to the very first scene of the published module. I actually quite enjoyed designing the opening to LMoP with this depth. It introduces some NPCs which will have a recurring role. That said… I feel this scene is weak and needs something more… maybe it is a spark of romance between Deynn and Koza, or Deynn and Khi-Khi. (Though neither of them is really in a place where they might be seeking romance… Khi-Khi is all about her studies on the way to becoming Lore Master. The death of her husband, while sad, creating a freedom for Khi-Khi which she values now. Koza is, perhaps, cold inside. Trained to be so, and enforced by trauma and anger and revenge… she is also not in a place for romance. While Khi-Khi has a long term path away from such things… Koza actually has a long-term path towards relationship. Will she keep working for the assasins guild once this job is complete? I see her like the character from ESO – the assasin from Morag Tong – Naryu. She pops in here and there with information or a side quest. For IronAegis… she may be pursuing the same BBEG as the group but largely in the background.

Right now, she is playing the part of the helpless outcast. Once her true intentions are known by Deynn and Roonoo, she will change… perhaps into a snarky and snubbing elite killer? Or a sassy and seductive tease? Something that will make her future returns enjoyable. All that has a foundation in this scene… she will soon vanish… I need to draw some more connective tissue between Koza and the PCs here. Or maybe not… perhaps since she is in disguise right now, real connections are not possible… just mystery. How can I increase the mystery of Koza in this scene?