[@BCTheEntity] Thanks. I'll definitely be sure to have at least one player meet Kait in a tavern. It's practically a requirement in swords and sorcery.

As for Akella, she is, indeed, quite powerful. I'd assume this comes at the cost of very, very high stamina consumption. The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long, after all. Maybe make her a bit weaker? But I'm not sure how... Maybe reduce her Dwarven ETs? As for a negative mutation, Maybe the iron in her blood is getting thicker, making her liable to blood clots?

EDIT: Oh, I think I may not have explained this idea well enough; By having everyone meet, I didn't mean at once, I meant like, "While Kait is wandering, she met Izerk, who then hired Rane, and then blah, blah, blah, etc." That may be a bit too complex and an issue to organize though. I'm fine with the first objective being a fight of some kind that brings all the PCs together.