There's a couple of things that are odd about Black Jay's sheep quest. 1. Why didn't Black Jay notice the hemlock on his field himself? It's all over the place, and one should think that the shepherd (being a nature guy and all) must have seen it. 2. When the player has finished the sheep quest, there's still a lot of those poison plants left lying in the field. Jay just leaves them there. 3. Why did Corl put the hemlock there in the first place? Who told him to? We never find out. 4. What happens to Corl after the player confronts him? Here are some comments/proposals: 1. We could change the dialogue so that Black Jay appears a little bit short-sighted. That would explain why he didn't notice the hemlock. It could also provide a few moments of comic relief. 2. When the player tells Jay about the hemlock, he should have the option of telling him: "And there's more of this stuff on your field." Jay might then ask him to gather the rest of the plants, and give the player a little additional reward if he does. If the player chooses not to tell Jay about the remaining hemlock plants (evil!!!) and then comes back later, Jay would tell him: "I don't understand. My sheep are still dying. What's the matter with them?" 3. and 4. There's an interesting line in Smigmal's dialogue file (00141smigmal.dlg, string 100). I quote: "... In fact, I had that snot-nosed brat Corl poisoned in Hommlet so he could not expose us!" I don't think this line is used in the game. A little hint that tells us something about Troika's original plan concerning Corl ... So let's say Smigmal threatened Corl and told him to put the hemlock on Black Jay's field, because Jay is an enemy of the Temple and she wanted him to suffer, and when Corl was caught, she had him killed. Maybe the two traders could be involved somehow?
I like this.. maybe Black Jay can also be filled out a bit more too (doesn't the countess mention him?). Just an idea (and I know it sucks but because it's my birthday and I'm getting slowly sozzled while getting ready to go out I thought I'd post it ;p ) If, after speaking to Corl at his home, the next time you speak to his dad you are told that he has been poisoned (with hemlock..). You could then allow the messenger to reveal his last shipment to the traders had been said poison, which would then lead you to the traders. High intimidation could give you the option to demand some hemlock and trigger the revenge quest by Livonya. High diplomacy might allow you to find out whether they stock it and allow the player to decide whether or not to bring the matter to a head.
well they defintly need to finish it off. ive never liked how it was left hanging. it could be temple related, i always wondered about it cause jay isnt much of a threat to the temple but all the town folk want him out of town. there are a nmumber of suggested quests in hommlet that never get started
Definetly a chance... ..to improve, here. Of course, none of this was in the original supermodule, so it can be expanded anyway one desires. A lot is in ToEE already, just that some of you here may not have discovered it. Black Jay isn't a ranger or an elf, so he may not realize hemlock has dangerous qualities. The Traders Rannos Davl & Gremag have secretly bullied, intimidated and frightened Corl into poisoning Black Jay's flock by threatening to murder his family. Black Jay is a retired warrior and elf-friend. His family was killed when his home was raided while he was off fighting in "the wars". (I don't know which wars exactly - or which home for that matter, b/c Hommlett was not attacked during the battle of Emridy Meadows, so...this must have been someplace else). Princess Tillahi and Sir Juffer are obviously important elves who know Black Jay, and the traders obviously want him removed, so...(this is freshly made up stuff, here...) perhaps Black Jay the shepherd is actually secretly spying for the elves of Highfolk? As one of the most powerful demi-human realms in these parts, there are a lot of reasons for them to be interested in the goings on in and around Hommlett. The traders may not know exactly what he is doing, but have been warned that he is an elf-friend, so they hatched their plot to remove him. The teamster doesn't like or trust the traders, and will tell you so, but he can't explain why. So maybe he can be enlisted as an ally before the party confronts them if the party shows proof of their foul influence over Corl and their murderous threats against the teamster's family. It could help tip the scales in favor of a less experienced party trying to kill the both of them before one of them escapes...
im sure we can come up with some sutible story line for Black Jay and an ending for Corl. we could even have Zert being the one pushing Corl to do it since he is there spying for the temple too. that could tie Zert in with the traders even though he dosnt know about them they know about him. we may have to chase Zert down for justice. maybe all the way to the moathouse or nulb.
Zert... ...is usually the first NPC evildoer to feel my steel. Ya know, Kobort & Toruko aren't exactly boyscouts either. In the olden days, they were supposed to sign up with a group, let the party get a little weaker from the adventure (by hanging back a bit) and then take advantage of the situation by attacking when the opportunity presented itself on a return from the moathouse. Depending on how things go, why not create an encounter with a few evil folks in league to actually try this? I always did it as DM, and the players hated the NPC's for it. They don't have to fight to the death; they could run off and join up with the traders later on, or work in cahoots with the assassin, or maybe be found among the bandits in the tower of the temple? Sounds like a lot of scripting, but it could add yet another dimension.
yeah Kobort and Toruko are another pair that could be behind it but i dont think they had any concetion to the temple in the mod, dont mean they cant now. there could even be another spy in the workers at the castle. cant think of anyone else in hommlet that might be with the temple. maybe the courier hired them to stir things up in hommlet and we have only found out about one. many many possiblities here could be agents from each faction in the temple. we might have to be looking over our shoulders for archers and assassins everytime we turn around depending on who we kill and offend lol.
