SoT Book 2 Remix - Part 4: Quest Breakdown

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Howdy folks! Today we'll be going through each of the quests and how to integrate them. A lot of this will be re-hashing things from previous posts, but I figured it made sense to have it all in one place. In general, the goal is for the party to find quest hooks as they go about other things, and choose what to prioritize. There should always be more to do than they have time for, and eventually enough things should spiral out of control and go wrong at the same time that the party feel compelled to seek out Froglegs and/or Salathiss.

Under each quest, I have the following bullet points:

• Hook: How might the party become aware of this quest? Where might they find clues, and what kind? You can of course just have someone come give the party the quest as well, either the person who originally did in the book or someone involved in the quest, but I would try to have this be a reward for building relationships (either with that individual or with someone else - "my friend is having this problem...")
• Changes: Are we changing anything about the quest to fit our more open game?
• Escalation: What happens if the party don't deal with this quest quickly?
• Clues: What might this quest tell the party about the wider conspiracies afoot

Froglegs Related Quests

Suspicious Alchemy (p20-24)

• Hook: Alchemical mixtures keep going wrong at school! If not dealt with quickly, soon their classmates start getting hurt and potions they buy start to fail
• Changes: 2 Grippli Skirmishers often tail him to keep him out of trouble. If the party haven't done the "Oozing Into Trouble" quest, Abeo (or the Grippli ) might try to lead the party into the Carniverous Gardens, where they will then trigger aggression from the plants/oozes (see the "Misc. Quests" section below for more details, as these quests do work independently of each other as well). Basically, since he lives so close, he will either trigger this on his way home after leading the party through here or, if they catch him, tell him he has proof hidden here that he can go retrieve, and then use the chaos to try to escape.
• Escalation: Soon, all alchemical goods and potions the party might fail! Roll 1d20. On a 1, the potion fails and something wild happens instead (feel free to use Wellspring Magic or some other random magic table). This can definitely get worse the longer the problem goes unsolved.
• Clues: Abeo fell into Froglegs' debt while gambling at the Jade Palace

Busker Woes (p25-30)

• Hook: Canvassing the city or asking after common problems. You can also set up buskers earlier and then have the party see them again but injured or sad.
• Changes: N/A
• Escalation: Eventually, Reth and his crew kill someone, and then are killed in return by Froglegs (this probably causes a big chaotic chase situation that destroys bits of the city)
• Clues: Reth knows where Thieves Swamp is, and the others all know where the Jade Palace is (that's where they always met with Froglegs)

Ghost Stories (p32-35)

• Hook: Canvassing the city or asking after supernatural problems. 
• Changes: N/A
• Escalation: Lesedi will be super grumpy in class because Tokkus is staying with her. (Gerrus probably wouldn't attack folks who didn't enter, so there's not a whole lot that will go wrong long term for anyone other than Tokkus)
• Clues: Kalembi remembers that Habu used to run the Jade Palace. 

Finding Froglegs

• Hook: The party should run into Froglegs and have reason , but can learn of her location 
• Changes: I changed her backstory slightly (see Part 2A), but otherwise this is the same
• Escalation: If the party hold off long enough, she will send kill teams after them (see Part 2B for more)
• Clues: Froglegs knows that Asanda is not who he seems, and suspects he is working with whoever is trying to muscle in on her interests

Salathiss Related Quests

Flooded Workshop (p24-25)

• Hook: Canvassing the city or asking after common problems, especially looking around the canals. Eventually the party might just notice flooding while out in the city on other business.
• Changes: N/A
• Escalation: If the canal isn't repaired, it will eventually flood. Even if it is, the serpentfolk will eventually start eroding other areas in order to escalate the chaos they are trying to cause.
• Clues: Traces of acid can be found that were sold by Fire Pot Ubano, and it's the same acid used on the foundations of Asanda's Manor (this requires a closer look to discover)

Fiery Debt (p38-43)

• Hook: Fires on campus!
• Changes: If its been too long since Oyo/Mtembe were killed, the serpentfolk might have pulled the same trick again. The Stone Ghost might be egging Ubano on. The council (either Salathiss as Asanda or Syrith as Thuma) might have imposed fines on him to add more pressure. (see Part 3B for more!)
• Escalation: Eventually, Ubano will actually hurt someone. If the Stone Ghost is involved, he might used a fire on the Spire Dormitory to kill some students in the chaos.
• Clues: None directly, but this quest might confirm that the serpentfolk are still active, that the Stone Ghost is still active and working against the school, or that Asanda or Thuma are corrupt in some way, and possibly involved with the others

Carving Trouble

• Hook: Goana sends a letter to the Magaambya asking for help, saying she fears for her life but can't say more in a letter
• Changes: The assassins are watching to confirm that Goana has figured Salathiss out, and move as soon as they see her trying to talk to the party about it
• Escalation: She is found dead if the party don't respond quickly.
• Clues: Both Goana and the Assassins know that Asanda is involved in something shady

Misc. Quests

Tell a Tale (p31-32)

• Hook: Someone invites them!
• Changes: This isn't a real quest - instead, it's either a nice way for the players to unwind after a particularly stressful adventure or a way for them to learn about possible quests if they are stuck, either through the stories the other competitors tell or by talking with people there (someone might even recognize that they're from the Magaambya and ask them directly for help!)
• Escalation: N/A
• Clues: Feel free to put NPCs here from any other quests you want to seed!

Oozing Into Trouble (p35-38)

• Hook: Canvassing the city reveals that some people have been getting mildly attacked by plants in the Carniverous Gardens, or that they have been shut down due to trouble. Or, Abeo might lead them here as a trap in "Suspicious Alchemy"
• Changes: Abeo is the one that's been selling Natofo the oozes. He's been lacing them with a stimulant that makes the plants slightly more aggressive, but more importantly lays the groundwork for a potential clever escape on his part by feeding them a second alchemical compound that activates the first (or having his Grippli do so), and makes the plants and oozes as over-the-top aggressive as they are in the quest.
• Escalation: If the party learn about the quest at the "mildly" attacked stage, it eventually progresses to the "Gardens Fully Closed" stage.
• Clues: Might lead to Abeo if the party haven't dealt with him yet.

Trouble From The Skies (p43-45)

• Hook: Canvassing the countryside, or specifically asking farmers/etc.
• Changes: N/A
• Escalation: The drakes grow bolder and start attacking people, not just sheep! Possibly by accident but someone gets hurt
• Clues: N/A - I like having some unrelated quests!

I was originally going to do a full article on the Stone Ghost, but I never did! Huh. And at this point it's like a year and a half later, so I'm probably not going to. Long story short, he was behind the scenes as a double agent, basically spying on Froglegs as her "lieutenant" for Salathiss, and was a big impetus for Salathiss going so aggro on the Magaambya. Here's an updated stat block! You could probably add another cool ability or two.