Post by StoryTeller on Apr 10, 2006 22:05:26 GMT
(This is an entire campaign, and begins with 1st level chars that have never met each other.)
Each PC is doing normal, everyday things (sword practice, study, drinking, etc) when he is arrested by the city police (knocked unconcious if they do not go peacefully). The PC's all end up in the same jail cell. The next day, they are brought to trial for the murder of some important official. They are convicted and sentenced to burn tomorrow. They are returned to their cell (stripped of all equipment) to await their execution.
The PC's have at least two escape paths: (more, if they're creative)
1) If they carefully search the cell, they can find a loose stone under a cot (everyone gets a 'concealed doors' roll) (and if they look, they will eventually find it: the odds are in their favor, if there are more than a few PC's). By falling through, they can drop into sewers, float to the exit, batter away the grate, and they are free.
2) Have a mage do something to the single guard (charm comes to mind immediately)
Once they are out, they must flee the city (if they try to stay, tell them the police have noticed their escape, and are beginning a house-to-house search. This information could come from a bartender or similar person.) They may wish to steal some equipment, or maybe a friend will provide them with weapons, urging them to run.
The PC's can travel either to the ocean (if they can capture a small vessel) or to the unexplored mountainous regions. There, they can gain experience and hide until they are ready to return, and find out who framed them for the murder. (It was the judge, or maybe another politician. After killing the victim, he planted evidence pointing to the PC's. The PC's may have been political opponents of him, or just randomly chosen.)
"Double-Cross"
The PC's are hired to retrieve a family heirloom which was stolen from the family 5 years ago. The family has just found who now has the heirloom and want the PC's to steal it back. The current owner is the original thief and is an accepted member of the community (probably not Lawful Good but not CE either). The theft must be done quietly so as not to attract attention as the familiy would lose social esteem if it was known that the object had been lost i.e. no questions asked in town etc. The current owner has a normal house with normal traps and precautions to
protect this type of treasure, plus whatever skills or guards are required.
After the theft has been performed, the object handed over and the PC's are still congratulating themselves on a job well done, reward posters go up around town for the return of the object, the thieves wanted dead or alive or the object returned and no questions asked. The PC's have been suckered, the object has ALWAYS belonged to the person they stole it from and they are forced to either flee the area (never to return), or to get it back again from the person they originally stole it for (probably a member of the local Thieves' Guild or similiar). The preferred method is to lead them toward stealing it back again (if they can break into the thieves' guild etc) as there are no other safe
alternatives. If they are captured, no-one will believe them unless the PC's pay for a cleric to "Detect Lie" (very expensive under the circumstances) and no-one will mind if they are accidently killed while trying to retrieve the object.
Last time I did this the object was a diamond tiara and used in royal coronations (one of which was due in 2 months). Nearly brought the whole political structure down.
"Time War"
An experimenting Cleric/Mage has opened a portal to another realm. Accidently this corresponded with an experiment in a modern-day underground military base which is performing a physics experiment on time/space. A trans-Time/dimensional portal is formed, both attuned to each other such that neither can be closed until both are closed simultaneously. Meanwhile, a military scouting party of Rambo types have passed through and are exploring the AD&D area (walky talkies, hand grenades, sub-machine guns and pistols, hand-to-hand combat etc). They
don't believe what they've ended up in (save vs illusions and mind-affecting spells at +4) and are taking prisoners of anyone who can give information on the situation.
Problem 1: Stop the scouting party (including retrieving their gear if possible).
Problem 2: Find what equipment is needed to close both portals simultaneously - sages can probably help with this - and get the required equipment. (I used a Redeye missile and Staff of power, both of which were in the possession of a Barghest on the plane of Gehenna).
Problem 3: Go through the portal to the Underground base, find the source controlling the portal, and get control of the area. The guards are the (US ?) army equiped with modern gear, but the primary security structure is to block access to the experimental area, rather than the area itself.
Problem 4: Destroy both portals simultaneously. For example, fire the missile into controlling computer complex, while simultaneously breaking (retributive strike) the Staff of Power at the fantasy-side entrance to the portal. Then get the surviving PC's from the underground base to their home realm (either use plane shifting magic or have a time delay on the portal destruction).
The elderly Lord of a small adventuring town was found missing from his home a after a visit from some strange men. The man's family determines that he has been kidnapped and hires the PC's to find him. The PC's, following various clues, find the man, and, after a bit of a fight with Kenku and (some other bird race) the Kenku call for a truce. They say they were hired to kidnapped the man and the person who hired them has not shown up with their money. They want no more trouble with the PC's and hand over the old man. So far, so good. What the PC's
don't know is that the 'man' they take back is actually the Kenku leader, shape-changed into the old lord's appearance. The Kenku were able to use magic (my version allow them to be up to 3rd level mages) to ESP and CHARM the lord into telling them about his home, servants and treasure. All goes well until a few days after the PC's return the 'lord'. It seems that most of the servants have been fired, guard captains dismissed for failing in their duties, etc. In other words, the 'lord' is clearing the castle of any who could recognize a difference in him. His family (if any - in my campaign there was a granddaughter set off to a nunnery and a son who was locked in the dungeon for treason - he was blamed for the kidnapping!!) have been done away with and most of the loyal servants/guards are gone. The 'lord' has hired new 'people'; more Kenku coming in as advisors, guards, etc. Once this was done, they began
cleaning out the castle treasury. Needless to say, the PC's will be curious, and the townsfolk furious. The 'lord' has diverted all monies to his "new and worthwhile projects" while neglecting the town and allowing things to decay. In the meantime, servants (Kenku) are looking for a ship (with a captain that would not ask questions) to come to the
castle's dock during the night. This does not go unnoticed by the PC's. It all comes down to the Kenku, loading the castle treasure into the ship, and in the midst of this, the PC's come in and battle the Kenku and their mercenaries. They may also find the true lord and his son in the castle dungeon.
The PC's, after wandering into the nearest town for some R&R, suddenly find themselves drafted into an expeditionary army as a scouting party or even a small, *expendable* unit with an NPC leader. The pay is a little
money plus food and any necessary clothing. If you want to be nice, you may assign the PC's horses, if they don't have any. As a scouting party, the PC's don't have to travel with the main force of the army, which gets rid of the possibility of *huge* battles.
At this point the PC's have several options:
-Join the army (possibly in anticipation of relieving the kingdom's enemies of unnecessary wealth)
-Play draft dodger and be chased by an elite group of warriors (plus MU's and clerics, if you want to get nasty)
-Pretend to join and desert at first opportunity (this would tend to rocket the PC's to the top of the local "10 Most Wanted" list).
Any way they choose, you can follow up with new ideas or just adjust the outcome so they wind up back in the army. The overall goal of the army is up to you. Whether it is to rescue a princess, lend aid to a besieged town or outpost, explore uncharted territory, or even to defeat an opposing army, the PC's need not participate in any large-scale battles. The job of scouting gives many opportunities for encounters. Wilderness encounters, encounters with enemy forces, a ruined temple, or a castle or two, are just some of the things that can be encountered. Nature itself can provide lots of good role-playing opportunities. For example, do you make the dangerous trek over the mountains or go around? How are you going to cross that rain-swollen river? The possibilities
are endless.
The total outcome of the whole campaign can also be the basis for another adventure. What happens if the army is defeated or routed? Do the PC's try to carry on and compete the mission? What will the PC's do when they find themselves stranded deep in hostile territory or deep in an uncharted wilderness? If the campaign is successful, will the PC's be tempted to split up by being promoted to higher positions in the military? Will the PC's distinguish themselves and become heroes or celebrities? Will they fail and be looked on as traitors and criminals? The rewards can be great and so can the risks.
Baron Harksheen requests an audience with the adventurers. Background checks will reveal very little is known about this baron. The local vassal is named G'caird, and is a duke. G'caird has never heard of Harksheen. Harksheen castle is rather remote, to say the least.
If asked, Harksheen will relate a story about saving the life of one of the kings' children several years ago, and how he received this barony quite by surprise some years later. If the party asks too many questions, they may be imprisoned in the baron's dungeons. The baron has 15 men at arms, and can command the skeletons which inhabit all of the numerous suits of armor displayed in the great hall. (Note that this armor gives the skeletons much better than normal defenses and weapons.) If the party notices the skeletons in the armor, the baron will claim they are the remains of the great warriors who died in the armor.
The Baron's story is that he would like to obtain a certain suit of armor that has fallen out of sight. He has uncovered some clues (which he will be glad to show any mages in the group), that indicate that the armor, called "The Hide of Harker", was interred with the remains of one Keforid, apparently a priest of some sort. The Baron would like to commission the party to recover the armor, will provide escort and livestock, and allow the party to keep all other booty.
The Baron's real name is Harker, he's a demon. The armor was once his hide. Besides the defenses of the armor, and the fact that it is nearly weightless, it has the following abilities: Telepathy with Harker, sense danger, protection from cold. If Harker is killed, the telepathy converts to a sort of scrying from his skull. Without it, he is pretty weak, but if he gets his hands on it (or rather, the other way 'round), look out. He will warn the party that the armor is cursed, and to be careful not to wear it. (It isn't cursed per se, but with it's special abilities, wearing it might be a tip off.) The real reason Harksheen won't go after the armor himself is that the Wraith wearing the armor
would know what he was going to do next and would be an extremely formidable opponent.
If the party looks closely at the warrior statue in the crypt, they'll notice that the base of the statue is a defeated demon who looks a lot like the Baron. One of the Tapestries depicts the skinning of the demon.