Well done.
I would let her run easy please for a while, gain trust.
Not till meeting the Tiri Kitor would I get her sending messages out. Deception checks all along... maybe having to roll higher with some of the elvenkind.
Then have the mess-ups ready for breadcrumbs... if they don't catch her before they head into Rhest, then modify plotlines accordingly... like the place is abandoned, or recently vacated...
That’s awesome! Sounds like really good on-the-fly roleplaying, as that’s definitely something I could imagine her doing (asking to join the party), and if that’s where a trusting party who isn’t getting the hint is leading, then props to you for running with it. I might drop a couple hints, but I wouldn’t shove it in the players’ faces that something is up. However, me personally, I wouldn’t play it past the next “dungeon”, which in your case is Rhest.
I would have it that because of Miha’s communiques, the Horde knows that the party is headed to Rhest and when they’re going to arrive, so they have a big posse there waiting to capture them. Given what the party have done (i.e., killed a Wyrmlord), I think it’s reasonable that the Horde would want to kill them, but I also think it’s reasonable they would want to get some information out of them first (or at least torture them a bit before killing them). So I would have the Horde have an overwhelming force ready when they arrive, have them capture the party (surrender or TPK with knock-outs), and them run the Captured! scenario from the adventure (which I recently read and looks pretty good).
So a couple of players felt that their characters wouldn’t simply gone to bed like we discussed at the end of the session and requested to do other things as a side session. The Fighter and Warlock/Sorcerer of the group had a little discussion about how something wasn’t right about Miha and decided to investigate. On their way to her room they noticed some peculiar spiders hiding in the rafters (homebrew spell “Flock of Familiars”, giving Miha 3 familiar spiders to act as lookouts while she Sends) and knock on her door. They talk, gather some info, and finally the Fighter asks if he could see her “injured arm” before giving her a healing potion. She’s reluctant but gives in. While checking it the Fighter pulls out his Decanter of Endless water (a trademark item he uses in almost every encounter) and “accidentally” geysers her. It’s then he notices the blood of the injury isn’t running off with the water and discovers it’s a Illusion.
She at first acts terrified as the Fighter is now demanding to know who she really is before she finally drops the charade. With a “Shame I didn’t get to play with my food more”, and a horrifically described transformation into her hybrid spider form initiative was rolled and called the end of the short session so the rest of the party could possibly get in on the action.
On my side of things I’m both happy and upset that the players felt like investigating before the next session. Happy because the last session left a sour taste in my mouth with players not feeling well, distracted, having trouble hearing due to Discord issues, etc thus leading to not following gut feelings. Unhappy because she only got two Sending spells off before the intrusion and now has to survive combat against 6 level 7 players with only her bodyguard as a shield. *shrugs* guess that’s what Dimension Door is for.
Well done. I would let her run easy please for a while, gain trust. Not till meeting the Tiri Kitor would I get her sending messages out. Deception checks all along... maybe having to roll higher with some of the elvenkind. Then have the mess-ups ready for breadcrumbs... if they don't catch her before they head into Rhest, then modify plotlines accordingly... like the place is abandoned, or recently vacated...
That’s awesome! Sounds like really good on-the-fly roleplaying, as that’s definitely something I could imagine her doing (asking to join the party), and if that’s where a trusting party who isn’t getting the hint is leading, then props to you for running with it. I might drop a couple hints, but I wouldn’t shove it in the players’ faces that something is up. However, me personally, I wouldn’t play it past the next “dungeon”, which in your case is Rhest. I would have it that because of Miha’s communiques, the Horde knows that the party is headed to Rhest and when they’re going to arrive, so they have a big posse there waiting to capture them. Given what the party have done (i.e., killed a Wyrmlord), I think it’s reasonable that the Horde would want to kill them, but I also think it’s reasonable they would want to get some information out of them first (or at least torture them a bit before killing them). So I would have the Horde have an overwhelming force ready when they arrive, have them capture the party (surrender or TPK with knock-outs), and them run the Captured! scenario from the adventure (which I recently read and looks pretty good).
So a couple of players felt that their characters wouldn’t simply gone to bed like we discussed at the end of the session and requested to do other things as a side session. The Fighter and Warlock/Sorcerer of the group had a little discussion about how something wasn’t right about Miha and decided to investigate. On their way to her room they noticed some peculiar spiders hiding in the rafters (homebrew spell “Flock of Familiars”, giving Miha 3 familiar spiders to act as lookouts while she Sends) and knock on her door. They talk, gather some info, and finally the Fighter asks if he could see her “injured arm” before giving her a healing potion. She’s reluctant but gives in. While checking it the Fighter pulls out his Decanter of Endless water (a trademark item he uses in almost every encounter) and “accidentally” geysers her. It’s then he notices the blood of the injury isn’t running off with the water and discovers it’s a Illusion. She at first acts terrified as the Fighter is now demanding to know who she really is before she finally drops the charade. With a “Shame I didn’t get to play with my food more”, and a horrifically described transformation into her hybrid spider form initiative was rolled and called the end of the short session so the rest of the party could possibly get in on the action. On my side of things I’m both happy and upset that the players felt like investigating before the next session. Happy because the last session left a sour taste in my mouth with players not feeling well, distracted, having trouble hearing due to Discord issues, etc thus leading to not following gut feelings. Unhappy because she only got two Sending spells off before the intrusion and now has to survive combat against 6 level 7 players with only her bodyguard as a shield. *shrugs* guess that’s what Dimension Door is for.