I am wondering if any of you out there have ran the Shackled City Adventure Path?  I am currently running the beginning of the adventure and my players are currently delving into the gnome dungeon called Jzadirune.  They are currently going on their fourth delve into its depths, and since it can be very deadly for first level PC's they often come up to rest and recover.

My question is how do you handle the church involvement with these delves?  Since they were hired by the church of St. Cuthbert to help find the four missing children they often ask these clerics to heal them.  Often they can heal their own hit points since they have a cleric and some potions, but the will also ask for help in restoring ability score damage.  Since they were hired to do this by the church I kind of have troubles saying no to the PC's, but on the other hand should they be able to use this limitless resource?  How would you, or did you handle this in your campaign?

Thanks for any suggestions in advance!


PS - Just thought I should mention how much we are enjoying this adventure early on, the story and environment are great!  Highly recommend it so far, although it takes a lot of prep on the DM's part (which is me!) but I enjoy it.

Shackled City is a great campaign - my group is now over 2/3rds of the way through the adventure path. It has not disappointed.

The hardcover suggests (in the Cauldron overview section) giving PCs a 20% discount on spells cast from the Church of St. Cuthbert (using the table in the equipment section of the PHB). This way it isn't a freebee, and since there is a kind of harsh, judgemental side to St. Cuthbert, this seems appropriate - that the church is hiring heroes, but it expects them to be able to stand on their own and there are some consequences to coming to the church for healing. This still allows the church to provide some affordable support though. I had a list of spells available for the day from the church (i.e. 8 CLW, 2 lesser restorations, etc) so the availability of spells wasn't limitless.

The book also suggests providing a 20% discount on potions/scrolls while the PCs stay in the good graces of the church. While I didn't use this in my campaign (house rule that no magic can be purchased - with an elaborate rationale that has it make sense within the setting ethos) I can see it being a useful option for many parties.

My player are not worried about finding any keys, they just bash in all the doors so far!  This probably has a little to do with why they need so much healing, and it will eventually cost someone their characters life I assume, but so far they have managed to avoid what seems to be at least one inevitable death.  I do agree Jzadirune is a bit much for secret doors and traps but this week I made a miniature sized map of the entire players map so that should help to speed things along.

Still I need some ideas on how to handle the PC's use of the clerics of St. Cuthbert because if the beginning delves are any indication I have a feeling that my players may begin to rely on their healings for free.  And I personally like a limited amount of assistance from outside sources so I need a good reason to deny them the spells they need and they can't provide themselves.  Otherwise it's just too easy to survive, and I like the element of danger as it keeps the PC's attention on the events at the table as they have a significant vested interest in what is going on at all times.  But at the same time I want them to see their relationship with the church of St. Cuthbert as a worth while one that isn't to be taken advantage of.

I do have a rogue in the group that like the five finger discount so there are some who will not hesitate to take advantage of any situation if they see their chance.  Luckily they are very good at playing their PC's wisely and realistically so they don't run amuck, but if they see an opportunity that role plays well they will jump at it.  This can be fun at times but the using of the Church for excessive healing I think could hurt the tension of the early dungeon delves of Jzadirune.