Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 bfiggins Apr 19, 2011 18:23:15	This scenario is probably going to happen in my game soon, so I was wondering how you'd approach it. 1) Party learns of a group threatening to destroy Thronehold, and the location of their nearby base. 2) Party goes to House Deneith and tells them about the group, providing reasonable evidence as to the threat. My players are smart, and they'll want to use the resources they have to solve their problems easily - including a recent positive encounter with members of House Deneith. The situation threatens all of Eberron, and the House can accept that if the situation goes unchecked, it'll be bad for everyone. However, since this is D&D, I would rather have my party delve into the ruins and deal with the problem themselves, rather than letting the NPCs do the heavy lifting. So why does House Deneith refuse?
#2 belisarius19 Apr 19, 2011 20:27:27	Just spitballing... -The head of the particular branch of House Denneith somehow profits from the event, or is even behind it? -This group of villans also engineers an event that threatens House Denneith directly, so their resources are stretched too thin to deal with the threat to Thronehold. -The evidence they have is actually a decoy that will lead Denneith investigators on a wild goose chase, leaving your heroes to deal with the true danger. -The young, brash Denneith officer they speak to doesn't like being told what to do, or else doesn't believe anyone would dare such an affront to the Five Nations. -House Denneith isn't raking in the money like they did during the Last War, so an event that might restart the war and allow them to profit is something they would overlook/encourage. -And finally, the evidence comes into their hands at a point when there just isn't enough time to go speak to House Denneith, so they have to do it on their own.
#3 Madfox11 Apr 23, 2011 4:06:48	Or House Denneith recognizes them for their services, offers them a job and pays them to investigate the ruins. They should probably provide them with some shiney new magic items, just so that the players know you appreciate it when they think. You might even grants them a handful of henchman (see recent dragon article) which ultimately mostly fullfil RP role, but could help out in a roundabout way during actual fights. After all, why would House Denneith send out soldiers who lack the skills of the PCs (a typical soldier comes nowhere near the resourcefullness of a team of adventurers) and who also knows much less of their enemy? All it would do is leave their flanks exposed. The officer in charge might even argue to the PCs that while they are busy, they will create a fallback plan, including a method to raise the PCs if they fail. Personally I doubt they would balk to much at the prospect of being hired to solve the problem they recognized. They are adventurers after all ;)