Okay, so. First: if anyone of my Harbinger House group actually frequents this forum, don't read this, please.
I'm running Harbinger House a second time, with a new group. Last time I did, I noticed a few problems with the adventure, and I'd like some input on them, as well as to present my own ideas, for critique.
First of all: Sougad's motivation. It seems a little bland. Apparently, his three driving motives are "Bwahaha, I kill people, I'm evil", "Screw you, Law!" and "I'll be more powerful than you can ever imagine!"
So, I rewrote his background a little. Trolan's as well. Most of it is still the same, these are just a few more details.
Trolan of ecstasy had led a sheltered life in the city he was named after. His father a formerly rich merchant, retired to a life of philosophical discussion, he never had to actually work in his entire life. His youth was spent in the pleasantly warm climate of Ecstasy, lazily discussing philosophy and art with friends and wandering the peaceful lands around the city.
Until his father died. With his source of easily available money taken from him, Trolan thought to himself that he would try his own hand at trading, taking up the trade routes his father had served.
And so, he came to Curst (because part of the adventure is set there). He never told anyone what happened to him there (because I can't think of anything sufficiently grim, ideas welcome), but he came back a broken man. After a time of wandering the Planes, he joined the Bleakers, seeking for a new meaning in life.
He found it, in the Lady of Pain. As he first saw her, floating by in all her magnificience, he fell in love, and began to sing her praises. Before the Mercykiller or Harmonium could take him, however, the Dabus found him, and brought him to Harbinger House, putting him under the control of the Godsmen.
There, he met Sougad Lawshredder, a psychotic murderer and radical Anarchist of the revolutionary league. The two had rooms opposite each other and Trolan would spend his evenings tell Sougad, who at first was violently annoyed, but later intrigued, about his love for the Lady, eventually transferring that idea to him.
Sougad, however, put his own spin on the idea. Why would the Lady want a puny mortal? The Lady needed a worthy counterpart. One just as reckless as her, one who would not flinch back from killing if necessary. One who had power as she did.
And so, when he broke out, Sougad began his series of murders again. But this time, he did it differently. Before he killed them, he cast his innate powers of fear and shadow over his victims, then flayed them alive with blades, starting with only one blade, but, as his powers grew, more and more of them, simultaneously, simulating the Lady's destructive power.
It is his conviction that the Lady has become too predisposed towards law. Does she not kill of the Free League, if mysteriously and subtly? Do not the lawful factions - the Hardheads, the Guvners, the hated Mercykillers - hold together much more power than the Xaositects or the revolutionary league?
So a new power needs to arise in Sigil, to balance out the Lady. A power of Chaos, and Darkness, and blood-soaked blades.
Chaos is the only Law,
And Death the only Freedom.
So, that's part one.
The second part, and the one that bothers me more, personally, are the clues left lying around in chapter one. First of all, Sougad has divine powers. He does not (and should not) need material components in his spells. I'm even thinking of just giving him a Frightful Presence and a Darkness Aura, instead of spell-like abilities, to make him a little more unique.
And second, the chalk dust idea seems a little silly. "There's chalk dust here! The villain must be hiding in a chalk warehouse!" Sigil is a wet city with often muddy streets. I doubt chalk powder would remain visible on boots for very long. And the entire idea just doesn't seem very logical to me.
So, I need ideas. How do the players find Sougad? What clues could be left behind? Any ideas for interesting locations he could be hiding in? (A warehouse seems a little mundane for a murderous psychopath hiding out in Sigil). I was thinking about putting him somewhere into Undersigil, or a sewer system, but I'm open to ideas here.
I like the tweaking of Sougard. It still lets him be a psychotic evil without being a 2-dimensional one.
Regarding Trolan's trauma: I can't think of anything off the top of my head but since it happened in Curst, it should involve one heck of a betrayal.
I'd probably have it involve (but not limited too) a betrayal of love, which might warp his views on what "true love" is and who is deserving of it - setting him up for his latter madness
Regarding Sougard's hideout: I haven't thought this through, but I tend to like themetic or ironic setups. In this case, I would lead more towards ironic.
The first thought that pops into my head is some (now defunct - or at least, now defunct after Sougard killed the occupants) library or printing shop where tomes of law were stored or reproduced. That way you could have inky prints at the crime scenes (with a special or unique kind of ink)
This might even cause the party to incorrectly assume the killer is in one of the factions of law.
He could set up the hideout like a maze with stacks of documents and bindings stacked every which way, possibly allowing him to cause some stacks to tip over and bury the PC under a mound of laws.
As I said, this is just off of the top of my head, I'll have to review the module and think on it more