Stolen Fate Chapter 1: Luck of the Draw

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I am now running three campaigns, one of which is Stolen Fate! It's a fun adventure so far (we just finished chapter 2, which was full of lovely little vignette adventures), but I was struck by how off the structure of Chapter 1 felt. So, let's fix it! Spoilers from here on out.

The Trouble with Chapter 1

The adventure starts off with a Bang! The players make their way to Three Moves Ahead, where they find the shopkeeper dead and devils ransacking the place! As it turns out, they were looking for harrow cards from the same deck as the ones the players just found, and that guided them to this very shop. In the shop are clues to one more card somewhere in the city, owned by Dieral Myrnese, owner of the Harrow barrow, a neat steampunk wheelbarrow occult shop. There are three people who might know something: an antique collector, a tattoo artist, and a scrapyard mechanic, and the players must convince them to help!

This is where the trouble starts. The chapter uses the Influence subsystem, which I overall think is pretty neat! But that honestly does not fit this scenario at all.

Making Friends By Influencing People

The Influence subsystem works like this, for anyone who doesn't want to read the rules for themselves. The party acts in rounds working to win over specific individuals by making skill checks either to discover what tactics might work well or to actually influence them. Each NPC has different skills that work well (and, to the system's credit, not always traditional social skills! You can even use Athletics with one NPC), as well as tactics that work better or worse with them. You earn points through succeeding (or critting!), and at certain thresholds the NPCs give you more perks, information, or other benefits. 

This system is great for slow, diplomatic negotiations where the party needs to slowly win over delegates, council members, or other important figures - I'm legitimately excited to run the system in Book 4 of Strength of Thousands! But that's not what this scenario is. 

(Note: I've since soured on Influence after running SoT Book 4 - it's a fine system, but could use some tweaks and is insufficient as scenario design.)

Roll to Remember

So, what's actually happening in this scenario? A woman is dead, killed for the same reason you came to see her. Now, you race against her assailants to find a man in way over his head before he meets the same fate and his powerful magical artefact falls into enemy hands!!

And so the party... spends hours and hours talking to the same 3 people, hoping that if they can just be friendly enough that they will happen to remember a useful detail. Each round of rolls takes 1 hour, and shopkeepers are likely to kick the PCs out before they reach 8, meaning that this will likely involve not just hours but possibly days of talking with the same 3 people. 2/3 NPCs are more willing to give the PCs cool free shit then they are to help them save their friend, and 2/3 NPCs are basically convinced by influence 2 or 4, but don't actually remember anything useful until influence 8! What's the GM supposed to say to keep the players engaged? "Hey, the NPC doesn't remember anything now, but they might eventually!" Or is the GM supposed to just reveal the numbers to the players, replacing the immersion of actually investigating and talking to real people with an inane numbers game where they try to pick the right button to press?

It lacks tension. It lacks drama. And it doesn't really make sense.

Clues As Written

Before we go into fixes, it's important to identify how the party might find Dieral as written in the adventure.

The most straightforward way, the way the adventure assumes (though they do nod to other possibilities, which I appreciate), is to find the 3 following clues:

1. Dieral has been living somewhere in the Eastgate district
2. A stylized tattoo of a horse in profile reminded Dieral of the sign above a safe place he knows
3. Dieral knows of an abandoned forge he would go to if he was ever in trouble

The party can uncover these clues in the following ways:

• Each of the Influence NPCs knows one of them (finding them should be fairly easy, either by the clues in Three Moves Ahead or by gathering information)
• If the party tries to Gather Information, if they critically succeed on a DC 40 check then they learn one of them (note: at Level 11, a character with the highest possible bonus has a +5 CHA, +17 master proficiency, and a +1 item bonus has a total of +23, meaning they crit on a nat 17 - a 20% chance. Most characters will have worse odds.)
• The GM can trigger the proactive Assassin Attack and either have one of them talk post-fight or have a letter on them with one of the pieces of info (IMO, the Eastgate clue makes the most sense here, the other two felt a bit too specific for most methods of investigation)

The module basically assumes that the party will do the first option, but they might get super lucky asking around (again, the best possible character has a 20% chance of this, most characters will have a 5% chance), be super persistent and fish for that crit, or the GM can trigger an actually interesting encounter with antagonists!! (not that the NPCs aren't interesting, to be clear, but the structure around them isn't)

Once the party has all 3 clues, they can make a DC 25 Society, DC 20 Absalom Lore, or DC 25 Diplomacy to confirm the final location. My party actually found 1 clue on the mercenaries, got 1 clue from a merchant (though I honestly sped run that conversation because it was getting repetitive and the party did a good job, they were only at like 4 or 6 ish influence), and then I let them make a slightly harder check to find it just with those 2! (I went with DC +5, but you could go with +10 if you really want to be mean / make them find all three. I do think they need at least 2 clues to have a good shot, logically speaking).

Remixing Chapter 1

We've identified the problem, but how would we go about fixing it? The first step is to rip out the influence system, because it's just too slow for our purposes - but what to replace it with?

I still like the NPCs, so we keep them. They all know about each other, and as written can give useful tips in dealing with the others, and they might tell the PCs more. We're going to introduce elements of node based design, so they'll be able to point in several different directions.

We'll also add a few more locations! We'll try to keep these short, as I know Paizo would have page limitations, but honestly a lot of this chapter feels overwritten (there are like 4 paragraphs of backstory on why Dieral chose his specific hiding place when like, 1-2 sentences would've been fine, for example) so I'm sure we could find some stuff to cut if necessary. Basically, though, this needs to feel more like an active investigation, not just a series of conversations, so there needs to be more going on.

Finally, we'll go through all the clues and make revelation lists for everything the party might learn, including a bunch of threads they might follow that we won't go into as much depth about.

What the NPCs Know

I do still like the idea of the NPCs giving the players more information the deeper they delve, but instead of raw influence points I think I want to have a specific thing that, if the PCs do it, they'll get an even better clue.

At Baseline, all 3 NPCs can tell the PCs basic details about Dieral, including his route (where the PCs might go gather information), his relationships (to each other), and details about his wheelbarrow / appearance / etc.

From there, each NPC has three different rewards (either treasure or information), each with a different specific trigger - note that these are meant to inspire the GM, not constrain them. The PCs don't have to find the specific right thing to say to progress, definitely try to reward clever tactics, but these triggers should help GMs know what to roleplay / foreshadow as well as help guide the conversation in a more tailored direction.

The GM should probably ask for at least one roll for each trigger, though can feel free to waive it for the first in each section if it feels appropriate. I think we definitely keep the list of skills that will endear the PCs to the NPCs, as well as resistances, because both of those are fun guides! If you want to do a mini influence-like thing you can, but I personally prefer different tactics get different info.

Erikanesh (Historia Reliquiary)

• Show Good Manners / Politeness: Erikanesh will tell them Dieral lives in Eastgate, and that if they're concerned for him they should talk to the local guards.
• Tell epic tales of their heroics, whether true or false: He's impressed enough to sponsor them with a magic item! (as per the module) So long as they tell new stories including Erikanesh's gear, of course.
• Make clear the danger: Convince Erikanesh that this isn't just a tall tale, and Dieral is actually in real danger from real, terrible foes, and Erikanesh will tell the party that Dieral's sister was in deep with some underworld types, and is worried that might have something to do with all this!
• (Note: the GM should try to foreshadow this by making clear Erikanesh's love of crazy stories, both the telling and hearing, and having them react dismissively)
• (Also, Abreth's dealings with the underworld have very little to do with Dieral's current misfortunes, but 1. sister and 2. underworld will point them in the right direction.)

Arhan Benimaya (Kraken's Ink Tattoo)

• Ask Nicely: Dieral and his sister both lived in Eastgate, and they both frequented the Wilted Lily tavern
• Ask to Help: if the PCs are particularly earnest about protecting Dieral, and will tell them his home address.
• Express Crafting Skill: If anyone in the party does a good job talking shop with Arhan, he will offer to teach them formulas and give them tattoos! If they also express how dangerous this situation is, he might even give some tattoos for free or for a big discount.

Clemeth Falk (Reclaimed Paradise)

• Directly ask for help: If the PCs are straightforward and honest in their approach and explain their worries, she gives them Dieral's address - he's had repairs delivered there on occasion.
• Complete the obstacle course: she  gives detailed advice on how to talk to the other two NPCs (as per the module)
• Mention Dieral's Sister: She knows that Abreth used to do some work for the city guard, they might know more!

Expanded Locations

We are adding 3 new locations for the PCs to visit: Dieral's old home, the Eastgate guard house, and a seedy bar run by a minor crime boss. Each section lists some NPC names and basic traits, the information that might be found there (and some ways the party might get it), and what dangers the PCs might encounter while there (usually won't be combat).

Guard House

• NPCs: Sergeant Khindu (she/her, Bonowat/Mwangi, sick fade, no-nonsense) and Archivist Kai (they/them, Aiudeen elf, spikey blue hair and big ol' glasses, quiet about everything except hyper-specific record details)
• Basic Help: If the PCs convince the guard that Dieral is in real trouble, they will keep an eye out while patrolling. At a minimum, this will give the PCs a hefty bonus to their own gather info checks (+2, or +4 on a crit, while in Eastgate), but if the players stall this is a great way to feed PCs hooks to other places.
• City Records: The guard have on file both the address of Dieral's personal home and of the Stirrup and Barding, as well as the fact that Dieral and Abreth are siblings, but they're unlikely to volunteer any of this - just confirm it, and even then they'd need a reason to not think the PCs would abuse this information.
• Danger: Arrest! The PCs can almost certainly fight their way out of any situation (at least until heavier reinforcements arrive), but being on the run will make things preeeetty difficult, and if they do anything that gets them locked up for more than a day or so they will lose the race.

Dieral's Apartment

• NPCs: Neighbors can confirm that Dieral hasn't been here for [roughly the amount of time that has passed since the PCs got their cards]. If asked, they'll say his sister hasn't been here for years.
• Signs of Trouble: The place has been ransacked, much like Three Moves Ahead! Notably, there is an empty cloak rack and the boot tray only has butterfly slippers, and there is no blood / other signs of obvious struggle. Nothing's broken, just turned upside down. 
• If anyone hits a DC 30 perception, they notice an unopened vial of poison from the assassins. Even if they fail, they also notice a coupon for a free drink (with a meal) at the Withered Lily.
• Address Book: Dieral keeps an address book that includes the locations of all 3 book NPCs, several common clients (can give a +2 to gather information checks about him in the Grand Bazaar), and his sister's business (Stirrup and Barding).
• Can be found with any intentional search of the books/papers or with a DC 30 perception if they aren't very specific about their intent
• Danger: A team of assassins was tasked with watching the place in case Dieral returned! If the PCs are obviously rooting around, they will report their presence and then attack!

The Wilted Lily

• NPCs: Barkeeper Sally May (she/her, human-passing-changeling, blonde, talkative/friendly), Papa K (he/him, absolutely built Oread, boisterous/friendly until things get serious, then stone cold), and The Barber (they/them, ambiguous ancestry, no tongue so doesn't talk - communicates in sign, which the others all understand)
• Familial Connection: Papa K and Sally May both know Abreth, but are hesitant to talk (especially of they find out the PCs are in any way affiliated with the guard). They know that she used to do some minor blacksmithing for their people, but ended up cutting formal ties when she started doing work for the town guard, and when the guard got close to finding Papa K through her, she fled town to keep him safe. He's therefore not particularly inclined to help the PCs find her, but does know where her workshop was and that Dieral would often spend time there.
• Danger: If the PCs piss off anyone important or are obviously affiliated with the guard, they will be asked to leave. If they don't, 4 Elite Casino Bouncers will try to escort them more forcefully. There are more bouncers on site, and the named NPCs might join the fray as well.

Putting It All Together

Below are revelation lists for all the important clues! Basically, while the above sections have the information available at each location (at least by default, improvising clues is always awesome)

Core Revelation: Dieral is hiding at his sister's abandoned workshop, Stirrup and Barding

• Find the address at his apartment
• Get the address from the City Guard (they have it on file because Abreth used to work for them)
• Get the address from Papa K (first have to address his concerns and make a good case)
• Piece clues together and then make a successful Society/Absalom Lore/Diplomacy check to find the right location (DC starts at 25 if if they have several clues, +5/+10 if they have fewer)

Revelation: Find Dieral's apartment

• Get the address from Arhan
• Get the address from Clemeth
• Get the address from the guard archives

Revelation: He spent a lot of time at the Withered Lily

• Arhan can tell them
• They can find the coupon at his apartment
• Abreth had criminal connections in Eastgate - a DC 30 society or DC 20 Absalom/Underworld lore check reveals she'd have to know Papa K who operates out of there
• You can learn this either from Erikanesh or by asking around (DC 25 gather intel), though the guards might also suspect something after Abreth's disappearance

Proactive Node: Assassins! If the players are stuck, have them attack with a clue, or have them see the assassins heading to one of the above locations to do their own recon.

Conclusion

There you go! Quick and dirty, could definitely use some polishing, but I think the above would be a much more satisfying investigation experience than the influence challenge as written. Let me know what you think! What would you do differently?