I think I'm stalling out my own game

[Mordane76]

I'd say that most people wouldn't view being attacked by a "pain squad" and having a PC mangled as any sort of reward. While your intention may have been to send a message your party was going in the right direction, in fact it sounds like they've come to exactly the opposite conclusion. Revenge is a powerful motivator, and it sounds like revenge is sending them after their attackers.

When you give your players a reward, it needs to be a carrot not another stick. The carrot can be something as simple as money or magic items, or something less tangible but equally useful like allies or important information.

This isn't the normal way I would "reward" action - they did get more out of the incident than spent spell slots and a death; they did manage to disarm one of the assailants of a weapon worth some nice and needed cash, and using a few scry spells gained more information about their attacker's connections to the BBEG, and thus are planning to confront their attackers before the BBEG can use them again. It just wasn't the exact outcome I was hoping for, because it side-tracks where they were headed and will cost them more time, out of which the PC's father is running.

 

[Wasteland Knight]

This isn't the normal way I would "reward" action - they did get more out of the incident than spent spell slots and a death; they did manage to disarm one of the assailants of a weapon worth some nice and needed cash, and using a few scry spells gained more information about their attacker's connections to the BBEG, and thus are planning to confront their attackers before the BBEG can use them again. It just wasn't the exact outcome I was hoping for, because it side-tracks where they were headed and will cost them more time, out of which the PC's father is running.

From my reading of the thread (please correct me if I'm mistaken) the intention of the attack was to encourage the PC's to continue down the path they were pursuing, as it was hoped they would associate the attack from the minions as indication they were on the right track. But my point is the reward came from defeating the assailants, thus encouraging the PC's to shift gears into chasing down their attackers rather than following the path that caused the attack in the first place.

Tried this...unfortunately didn't work. The PC whose father is implicated in the BBEG's scheme is set to be executed in one month's time as a traitor to the crown. The plot is disintegrating because no one can agree on what is the best course of action in combating the charges against the PCs father. He is being held by a LN(G) nation, and the character wants to stay within the boundaries of the law so that his father (a noble) will retain his lands and title once they exonerate him.

Sounds to me like inability to make a decision regarding the father is because of the difficulty and/or complexity of attaining a satisfactory solution. Now the PC's perception of the difficulty may make the task seem harder than it is, but in any case they are shying away from it and choosing an easier task of killing some bad guys and taking their stuff.

Why not kill two birds with one stone. When the PC's catch up with their attackers and (hopefully) defeat them, they discover some sort of evidence that will completely exonerate the father in question. Now they just need to get back to the nation in question and present the evidence at the trial. You could always have the BBEG discover their ownership of the evidence, and have some minions hastily dispatched to try and stop the PC's from reaching the court, adding to the overall excitement and tension.

 

[Quartz]

I'm minded of something one of my teachers used to say: "Simplify!" Find a way to remove the side-quests. Let the missing relatives be found killed (it is an Evil kingdom after all). Let the father get off the hook (it is a Good kingdom after all).

Let them find a friend: have them rescue a paladin who is being attacked by a band of orcs or ogres. This gives them an inside source who is totally trustworthy. You've indicated that one of the PCs is morally ambiguous, so if the paladin finds this out, he can talk to the PC about it, to try and lead him to the path of right, but turn the paladin over to someone else for this discussion so you won't be seen to be railroading the PC.

 

[Mordane76]

Is there any chance the BBEG could find out where the artifact is? Remember that he has many people working for him. Including spies and thieves.

You also said that some of the PC's were sympathetic to his cause. Perhaps one of them could be contacted (in private) and maybe convinced to reveal the location.

A thank you note from the BBEG for keeping his artifact safe, but that their services will no longer be required, might spur them into action.

The BBEG already knows where three of the four artifacts are, which includes the one the PCs have hidden. The fourth one will not be so easy, because it was scattered into many pieces. At the present moment, the BBEG has been pleased to allow the artifacts to remain where they are because they are currently in safe places where he has a good degree of control over their movement... I'm trying to decide if it might not be time to change that. I really don't want to move the artifacts until the PCs have gained more levels and thus can potentially confront the BBEG directly, which is where this is all hopefully heading.

I'm minded of something one of my teachers used to say: "Simplify!" Find a way to remove the side-quests. Let the missing relatives be found killed (it is an Evil kingdom after all). Let the father get off the hook (it is a Good kingdom after all).

Let them find a friend: have them rescue a paladin who is being attacked by a band of orcs or ogres. This gives them an inside source who is totally trustworthy. You've indicated that one of the PCs is morally ambiguous, so if the paladin finds this out, he can talk to the PC about it, to try and lead him to the path of right, but turn the paladin over to someone else for this discussion so you won't be seen to be railroading the PC.

Letting the father off at this juncture might actually work - it would drive the PCs crazy, because they'd want to know how it came about, and they'd suddenly have one path I believe all of them would want to pursue (since they're all getting frustrated trying to figure out how to save the father).