Occasionally I get annoyed at official Free League publications, and I think of ways they could be better. This typically starts with them misunderstanding how Ravenland should work, and also overlaps with my headcanon.
Make them more interesting: Krasylla
What do they do while waiting to say “this isn’t even my final form!”?
In Raven’s Purge, only male key players have agency, but everyone basically agrees with Krasylla. She doesn’t need Zytera’s help, and turning into sarmog might get her out of her contract with Zytera. She’s been adapting to a number 2 position for a while, and wondering what it would be to be a local demon.
Krasylla’s main weakness, which she’s thought about, is being shot by an arrow of the Fire Wyrm (which won’t happen instantaneously), and it makes sense that Krasylla would have spies looking out for the arrow. When the PCs get involved, hilarity can ensue.
Consider who can thwart Krasylla.
Gracenotes: Krasylla is now Ursula out of the Little Mermaid, maybe Zytera’s giant spider is Krasylla’s spy, what if Krasylla eats one of Merigall’s children, Krasylla talking in a hideous mockery of a local dialect, even if Maha is the universal language of magic the Galdanes want no part of it, if Erinya attacks you through lava where do you need to stand to be safe?, Raven’s Purge is wrong about which arrow Merigall has, Erinya is summoned through a ritual rather than having agency, as it should be, what does it take to bribe a spy, flaws that shape-shifters have, Zertorme likes this chompy horse spy, humans are too short-lived to be good plotters, Zytera should always posture given the chance, oh hey, Katorda exists.
Coins are boring
Always make your players talk to the other side of the trade
If a random encounter gives you a monster egg that’s about to hatch, the last thing you want the PCs to do is sell it and forget. They should negotiate with buyers instead, which can and should get interesting.
If a brewer has been robbed, don’t just rescue him and let him go home; instead, wonder why he had to leave his village and/or why maybe supernatural creatures want his beer. Maybe you’ve now recruited a brewer for your stronghold?
If a village is sacrificing a youngster to a great serpent, do they have enough people that they can afford to? Even if they, did the Bloodmist change everything, by supporting more people / allowing people to leave? Or is this a desperation tactic?
My favourite asides: the buyers are working with the monster, Batman reference, another reference to trading a dead gryphon for horses.
Blaudewedd didn’t create the ice in the Bitter Reaches. Ferenblaud did.
This doesn’t actually change anything of significance in the Bitter Reach campaign
The Seals are lost and unprotected, Ferenblaud and his people are still safe (some of them guard the seals), and there is every incentive to break a Seal and stop the winter.
The summer elves would have liberated the land and taken Ferenblaud and his monsters away, not cursed everyone with eternal ice.
No, what happened was that Ferenblaud rigged the curse to happen if he was losing. Elves don’t fear the passing of time, especially not if the prison actually protects them. The freezer-burned look isn’t accidental, it’s a deliberately-chosen look.
The Redrunners’ situation is still politically tricky. They should find and choose one seal to defend.
How does Nekhaka help a ruler?
It tires you out just when you need to be looking out for plotters and assassins
Nekhaka will Break you, which is a problem as you want to use it all the time, and if you don’t people can tell when you do. This is excessive compared to other elf artifacts.
The problem with Maha
It can’t be a universal language of magic
Maha signs aren’t as clever as the writers think. Maybe this is a trap for tourists, or an early attempt at writing that’s no longer fit for purposes. The Pelagia traps are probably just mechanical, but what if they were part of an attempt to invent a primitive computer?
Who hammered a spike into Teramalda, and why?
The spike is the thing that matters, after all
It wasn’t Garmar or the Rust brothers, and you need to explain why you can’t take the armour off. There’s a spell in the spike and this has nothing to do with Teramalda or Garmar.
Krasylla’s contract
It can’t just be a disintegrating parchment
A tattered parchment can fall or be stolen. The contract should be tattooed in Maha signs on Zygofer’s body instead. That’s why Krasylla has to change.
Merigall’s weakness is rubbish
He needs to get into the sea
Merigall must know where their life essence is, and the trap is too slow.
A better solution is to put Merigall’s life essence: probably not inside Zytera, but in a small village connected to the sea, or maybe more than one. Therania and/or Zygofer can trigger the destruction of the life essence. And the players can steal it.
Mentioned in passing: why hasn’t Krasylla tried to steal their contract?
What are Gemelda, Neyd and Nebulos even for?
Structurally, you have no reason to care for them
Gemelda, Neyd and Nebulos have no emergent personality, and structurally there is no need to care about them.