So I'm doing Dragon Heist, and using the Cassalanters as the main villains. I've decided to set up the Cassalanters early, having them interact with the players, dipping them into multiple guild quests, etc. However, I'm at a lost as to how to let the party find out about the Midnight Tears plot.
As I have planed it, when the party opens the Vault of Dragons on Founder's Day, Victoro Cassalanter arrives with soldiers in tow. Big twist, much awe is had. He defeats the players (obviously, he's CR 9), but leaves them alive for "old times' sake", then hauls the gold outta there. That's all well and good, and the party should arrive back at the Cassalanters' just in time to stop the poisoning plot, should they wish to do so. However, I don't know how they might know about the poison plot. Obviously, the Cassalanters will keep it close to the chest.
The final confrontation as I'm hoping to run it will be a tense negotiation between the players, the Cassalanters, and a herald of Baator, where the players have to chose between sacrificing the people, sacrificing the children, or picking a third option. I
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"What do you mean I get disadvantage on persuasion?"
I don't know, Sneet, maybe because your argument is "Submit and become our pet"?
There are lots of other factions in Waterdeep that could potentially have acquired relevant information and want to pass some of it along to the PCs to try to influence them to make one decision or another or at least get in the way of the plans of an opposing faction. This could be done in the form of anonymous notes or an arranged meeting where the other organization tries to influence the party. Either by hiring them, bribing them or even just talking and dropping some pieces of information that the party could fit together with other things they already know.
I struggled with this too, I think it was overlooked in the writing process. Here are a couple ideas I had on deck (depending on whether your players are keeping track of the Cassalanters or what kind of contacts they have:
1). The Devil from the ritual in Ammalia's study that acts as a commune spell can instead be a little more forthcoming and explain the poison and the details of the contract;
2). A member of the cult/household servant gets a little too talkative in his cups;
3). Whoever supplied such a large amount of an esoteric poison (Bregan D'earthe? Zhents? Xanathar?) gets nervous that whatever the Cassalanters are planning could be traced back to them, players see him skulking around and press him for information;
4). The City Watch found out about the poison and are trying to find out who bought enough Midnight Tears to kill at least 100 people. Their only clue is that payment was made with trade bars of gold from the Cassalanter bank or something...
I have an extension to the Cassalanters' story on the DM's Guild called Cruel Summer that might help- it is built around the idea that another faction in Waterdeep infiltrated the Cassalanters' cult first and found out what they were planning. They twist the Founders' day party to their own ends, and use the ensuing chaos to abduct the twins for their own foul purposes.
Once the party is racing against time to save the twins, they'll have a clue path to find out what the Cassalanters had been planning and why. Their hunt for clues will take the party to a few new locations, as well as into Xanathar's, Manshoon and Jarlaxle's lairs. In the end, if they play their cards right, the party might even have a chance to re-negotiate the Cassalanters' deal and spare the twins, which it sounds like you're striving for anyway.
(If you want a little spoiler, I had the Black Viper unwittingly steal Ammalia's Red Grimoire during the Founders' Day party and pawn it at Book Wyrm's Treasure)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
So I'm doing Dragon Heist, and using the Cassalanters as the main villains. I've decided to set up the Cassalanters early, having them interact with the players, dipping them into multiple guild quests, etc. However, I'm at a lost as to how to let the party find out about the Midnight Tears plot.
As I have planed it, when the party opens the Vault of Dragons on Founder's Day, Victoro Cassalanter arrives with soldiers in tow. Big twist, much awe is had. He defeats the players (obviously, he's CR 9), but leaves them alive for "old times' sake", then hauls the gold outta there. That's all well and good, and the party should arrive back at the Cassalanters' just in time to stop the poisoning plot, should they wish to do so. However, I don't know how they might know about the poison plot. Obviously, the Cassalanters will keep it close to the chest.
The final confrontation as I'm hoping to run it will be a tense negotiation between the players, the Cassalanters, and a herald of Baator, where the players have to chose between sacrificing the people, sacrificing the children, or picking a third option. I
"What do you mean I get disadvantage on persuasion?"
I don't know, Sneet, maybe because your argument is "Submit and become our pet"?
-Actual conversation in a game.
I could of course do the typical "Mwahaha, let me explain my eeevil plan", but I really don't want to. Feels like a copout.
"What do you mean I get disadvantage on persuasion?"
I don't know, Sneet, maybe because your argument is "Submit and become our pet"?
-Actual conversation in a game.
There are lots of other factions in Waterdeep that could potentially have acquired relevant information and want to pass some of it along to the PCs to try to influence them to make one decision or another or at least get in the way of the plans of an opposing faction. This could be done in the form of anonymous notes or an arranged meeting where the other organization tries to influence the party. Either by hiring them, bribing them or even just talking and dropping some pieces of information that the party could fit together with other things they already know.
I struggled with this too, I think it was overlooked in the writing process. Here are a couple ideas I had on deck (depending on whether your players are keeping track of the Cassalanters or what kind of contacts they have:
1). The Devil from the ritual in Ammalia's study that acts as a commune spell can instead be a little more forthcoming and explain the poison and the details of the contract;
2). A member of the cult/household servant gets a little too talkative in his cups;
3). Whoever supplied such a large amount of an esoteric poison (Bregan D'earthe? Zhents? Xanathar?) gets nervous that whatever the Cassalanters are planning could be traced back to them, players see him skulking around and press him for information;
4). The City Watch found out about the poison and are trying to find out who bought enough Midnight Tears to kill at least 100 people. Their only clue is that payment was made with trade bars of gold from the Cassalanter bank or something...
I have an extension to the Cassalanters' story on the DM's Guild called Cruel Summer that might help- it is built around the idea that another faction in Waterdeep infiltrated the Cassalanters' cult first and found out what they were planning. They twist the Founders' day party to their own ends, and use the ensuing chaos to abduct the twins for their own foul purposes.
Once the party is racing against time to save the twins, they'll have a clue path to find out what the Cassalanters had been planning and why. Their hunt for clues will take the party to a few new locations, as well as into Xanathar's, Manshoon and Jarlaxle's lairs. In the end, if they play their cards right, the party might even have a chance to re-negotiate the Cassalanters' deal and spare the twins, which it sounds like you're striving for anyway.
(If you want a little spoiler, I had the Black Viper unwittingly steal Ammalia's Red Grimoire during the Founders' Day party and pawn it at Book Wyrm's Treasure)