*spoilers a plenty, mate, arrr*
I reread book one and three, book two (haunted house) still to be re-read. I have a few things I want to discuss on the most difficult part of the adventure, the part in Dominia's asylum.
1) My players already know Van Richten. I need to change the adventure intro : they know that VR isn't feeling good (I already seeded this in last sessions) and while the PCs were gone adventuring, VR inscribed himself for a stay in a famous sanatorium, Dr Heinfroth's.
I know there is a sanatorium in Mordent, but I think I will have the warden of Mordent's sanatorium recommend Dominia to VR, whether because the warden truly believes Dominia's high reputation, or he was paid to do so and arrange the trip for VR to Dominia.
Eventually, people in Mordentshire will worry from not getting any news from VR, and will ask the players to investigate.
That doesn't work with the adventure as written, i.e. shipwrecked and saved by the Mercy. That would be an extreme deus ex machina coincidence to have the PC's boat wreck while they are going to Dominia, then to be saved by the Mercy, the boat serving exactly the place where they are going. And that far enough from Dominia (if it was close to the island, it could work), so that the PCs have a few days to possibly investigate the Mercy's real business.
So I will probably skip the shipwreck part, and have the players board the Mercy in Martira Bay (they will learn the Mercy links Martira Bay - Dominia two times per month).
2) escape with their stuff or not? IIRC, the adventure isn't saying where the PC's stuff will be kept while they are in the sanatorium under bad treatment. And If there is a chance to retrieve their things before they flee the island.
I know my players would never forgive me if they leave the island only with their patient's robe. I need to think of a way for them to get back their things, without it being too much deus ex machina. And it will help the escape and the rest of the adventure.
Ideas?
3) one of my PC is a lycanthrope and that will be a surprise for Heinfroth. This PC will probably try to escape in hybrid form. I will have him recaught (so many unfriendly wolves on Dominia, they will corral him back to the asylum, where people will show him his cell). Afterward, at night, he will be drugged with an anti-transformation serum.
Other ideas to DM this are welcomed.
4) VR do know the PCs well but I will have him very confused over their identity. Everyone is masked. It will be very difficult to get VR's trust, as he is paranoid and suspects every other patients to be in fact part of the asylum personnel.
I think the players will identify VR quickly through the masked patients, but it will be difficult for them to get VR think the heroes are really who they say they are.
Also, each PC has a separate room at night (VR too), plus that are not working during the day at the asylum (gardening, painting the walls, ...) in the same group everyday, and that will make planning anything very difficult. And during the day, there will always be a patient or two nearby (or is it a patient or a personnel?). Moving things will be extremely slow. I guess I will ask the heroes to stop talking while they are not in contact with other players. Paranoia!
5) the night treatment question and how to DM many "one player one DM" encounters. I think I will have a full session devoted to this, i.e. take one PC at a time, while I leave the others to think about what is going on, or to have them focused on an escape plan, as kristhomas suggested.
Then I will use the two weeks delay to play by email separately, with each player. I already used this technique, and it worked well. It won't have the same effect with each player, but I know some will get very troubled by their PC's fate when they come to the next game.
In this play be email, I will describe one night's treatment, and ask them how they react to this. Then next night, etc.
I haven't thought of making them play other patients, as Giamarga suggested, but that could be interesting, as they could have access to knowledge of things that happened before the PCs came to Dominia, in a type of cut scene technique.
Garudos Celestar wrote:I believe Stuart Turner once mentioned that he ran Bleak House as a sequel to his campaign, but there's no summary to how it turned out. Perhaps if we engage in a séance and prepare a mystick cage we can summon him for some DM do-and-don't tips?
Good idea, email send (I hope I stu at kargatane still works) and I gave him the link to this thread.
Joël