Jussi Marttila wrote:- Viglund himself is an extremely ruthless man (and a tyrant), but to some degree he does mirror Beorn: he can be a good friend but the worst enemy. If he gives his word, he keeps it. He doesn't give it easily.
- Quite a few of Viglund's men are far worse than he is himself. His son Viglar is the worst of the lot. Viglund doesn't think twice about executing someone if they have stood against him and his, but he doesn't revel in evil. Viglar does.
- Othbald is a swine and will get a bad end.
This is exactly how I'm playing these NPCs!
I've found very interesting ideas in this topic, and since I'm playing this part too I'll share mine:
1) The plot hook comes directly from
Kinstrife and Dark Tidings, from
Tales of the Wilderland.
Valter (the bandit villain from that adventure) managed to escape the battle at the Old Ford and sought refuge in the land of the Viglundings with his surviving warriors. Sharing a hatred for the Beornings, the two allied. The players embark on a journey to the Upper Marches to find Valter and bring him to justice, but how can they convince Viglund to let him go?
2) First, they need some information. They can ask around, but moving in the lands of the Viglundings can be risky, especially if there are Beornings in the Fellowship. They can seek the advice of
Mab (
Heart of the Wild) in the
Sceadudene (the Western Upper Marches), or trade information with the bandit
Cruac (same supplement). Both will ask something in return, though. One way or the other, the characters will discover that there is a number of ways to convince Viglund to stop protecting Valter:
a) Capture
Black Tom (in the
Sceadudene). Viglund wants Tom's lands, and conquering his farmstead will let Viglund to extend his dominion there, so he'll gladly abandon Valter if the characters will do the job for him. This is a bad course of action, though: they'll need to fight the Stone Trolls that protect Black Tom's farmstead, or bribe them. Moreover, this will reinforce Viglund's power and the followers of Black Tom will be enslaved. The characters will get a lot of Shadow points for this.
b) Convince
Mab to prepare a potion that can "compel" Viglund into accepting the characters' request. This is difficult too: Mab will ask something in return, even requiring a magical oath that will bind the players to Mab's will for the years to come (and what are her aims? Is she really a witch?). Then they have to find a way to pour the potion into Viglund's drinking horn...
c) Take a direct approach and face Viglund in his home, asking permission to get to Valter. This is a no victory option: after the Encounter, Viglund will decline and will then enslave the characters! Fortunately,
Aestid will free the players, involving them in her escape from Othbald and giving them in exchange the chance to get to Valter before Viglund can send warriors to protect him. This can be mixed with option b) above, since the plan of poisoning Viglund may fail, or it can be carried out by Aestid in exchange for the Fellowship's help in her escape.
3) If Valter is not killed outright in the confrontations above, the characters may bring him to the Carrock to face Beorn's justice.
These are my ideas, hope someone will find the useful!
