Post by StoryTeller on Apr 10, 2006 22:02:59 GMT
This adventure is best for a party of low-level fantasy characters.
A mage has managed to control an Ice Lizard (a la Fiend Folio), and uses it to his own ends. In my case, kidnapping a sage. The trick: it can appear to be a white dragon. Thus, the adventure seems very scary indeed from the all the dragon rumours surrounding the kidnapping, but Ice Lizards aren't even pale shadows of real dragons. So, it's exciting, but manageable for low power parties.
Eventually, the party may figure out that it's not a real dragon and gain confidence to attack it (if they were too cautious). The final showdown is between the party, and the low level mage and his pet. For extra excitement, add a few minions, some traps in the lair, etc.
Naturally, the lure doesn't have to be a kidnapped sage, it could be rumours of dragon raids, a fair maiden kidnapping, or whatever you please.
The party finds a book, a second copy of a book they have or have seen before, or can look at. On reading and/or close examination they find that the new copy has an extra passage/paragraph detailing where the famous hero/ine was buried/trapped. The book could be a history of the land, a tale of brave deeds etc. No other copies of the book have this passage, wise persons who are familiar witht the work can't recall the passage in anything they've read (but maybe someone will partially confirm the rumor...).
Once they get there there are a few options (in order of time consumption increasing concerning the book):
-The place exists but is uninteresting
-The place doesn't exist (could take the party a long time to believe you)
-The place exists, but people tell the party it doesn't
-The place doesn't exist, but people say it does
-The place exists but it's somewhere else
-The place exists, but it's a trap by the scribes who confirmed its existence for you.
The party is hired to transport scrolls to a temple in the hills, far from their hometown. They arrive in town, and discover that some townsfolk have disappeared. They meet the high priest, deliver the goods, and are prepared to leave, when they find the body of the high priest somewhere in town.
It seems a small band of doppelgangers have uncovered a lead to a magic item/relic that is buried beneath the tombs under the temple. The scrolls provide information of some sort the doppelgangers need to get to the item. The missing people are being used as slaves to dig beneath the tombs (which of course are full of nasties).
The final scene should be between the head doppelganger and his cronies just as the item is unearthed.
I've kept the details out of the description, because a lot of the stuff (like what's in the scroll) can be campaign-dependent. But if the players are perceptive/paranoid, they might blow this into a full-blown campaign: Did their employer know the high priest was a doppelganger? Is there a conspiracy to get doppelgangers into power in the human world?
In a big classy town that the PC's have reason to go to every once in a while (I have it set in a city near a paladin training center) is an even classier restaurant called Chez Ralph. It's about as nice a restaurant as you could possibly have. Waiters check on you every minute or so, there's a string quartet playing in the background, and glasses of water ("Mineral water, imported from halfway around the world" is what they tell you, and they're telling the truth) cost around 20 gp.
Besides being a wonderful place to have players dump some cash, it's also Soap Opera City. The bizarrest people show up there, at the same time the PCs are there - but since nobody wants to make a scene, the whole feeling is very tense. Old girlfriends, major enemies, spies, polymorphed dragons, you name it, end up eating there - and usually with each other.
This requires a lot of continuity in the game. Most games couldn't support the type of background and tension Chez Ralph requires. You need long-term NPCs that the PCs have come to hate - and put them here, where
you just can't DO anything about them!
"Tower Snatch"
A mage returns home after 1 year away and finds that someone has taken over his tower in the city. He wants it back and hires the PCs to reclaim it. He can supply maps etc of what it was like when he owned it (but someone may have moved "Walls of Stone" and placed whole new trap areas etc). The PC's can keep anything in the tower which is not specifically his (of course he can claim anything interesting and they won't know) and a cash reward. No-one knows who has it but he suspects someone respected in the community, hence the attack must be done fairly quietly so as not to warn the current possessor (the mage can prove that he is the owner however, he is not setting them up - unless you want this to happen). The tower is appropriately trapped and guarded, mostly with
the expectation of killing the mage who owns it when he tries to return. The guards and traps are there to kill (not capture) anyone breaking in. City guards etc will not take sides unless the conflict ends up outside the tower.
This is a non-linear adventure, good as a sideline for whenever the PC's happen to be home.
The PC's are based in a large city. The city is basically composed of three sectors. Two of which are virtually lawless and the other is extremely well controlled. The law portion is extending outward and slowly taking over the other two sections.
A faction war is taking place in the city. There are two opposing forces at war with each other (it could be a peasant/slave revolt, or a religious purge, or a supernatural invasion, or whatever.)
The war expands steadily, more and more groups getting dragged into it and being forced to choose sides. An interesting twist would be for 2 groups that 2 different PC's belong be on different sides. Great chance for roleplaying here!
The war could develop while the PCs are away, and upon return they get the opportunity to jump in.
Think of it, the politics! The adventure! The intrigue! The danger! The chance to be hunted by one of the most powerful groups in the city/county/country/kingdom!
A mage has managed to control an Ice Lizard (a la Fiend Folio), and uses it to his own ends. In my case, kidnapping a sage. The trick: it can appear to be a white dragon. Thus, the adventure seems very scary indeed from the all the dragon rumours surrounding the kidnapping, but Ice Lizards aren't even pale shadows of real dragons. So, it's exciting, but manageable for low power parties.
Eventually, the party may figure out that it's not a real dragon and gain confidence to attack it (if they were too cautious). The final showdown is between the party, and the low level mage and his pet. For extra excitement, add a few minions, some traps in the lair, etc.
Naturally, the lure doesn't have to be a kidnapped sage, it could be rumours of dragon raids, a fair maiden kidnapping, or whatever you please.
The party finds a book, a second copy of a book they have or have seen before, or can look at. On reading and/or close examination they find that the new copy has an extra passage/paragraph detailing where the famous hero/ine was buried/trapped. The book could be a history of the land, a tale of brave deeds etc. No other copies of the book have this passage, wise persons who are familiar witht the work can't recall the passage in anything they've read (but maybe someone will partially confirm the rumor...).
Once they get there there are a few options (in order of time consumption increasing concerning the book):
-The place exists but is uninteresting
-The place doesn't exist (could take the party a long time to believe you)
-The place exists, but people tell the party it doesn't
-The place doesn't exist, but people say it does
-The place exists but it's somewhere else
-The place exists, but it's a trap by the scribes who confirmed its existence for you.
The party is hired to transport scrolls to a temple in the hills, far from their hometown. They arrive in town, and discover that some townsfolk have disappeared. They meet the high priest, deliver the goods, and are prepared to leave, when they find the body of the high priest somewhere in town.
It seems a small band of doppelgangers have uncovered a lead to a magic item/relic that is buried beneath the tombs under the temple. The scrolls provide information of some sort the doppelgangers need to get to the item. The missing people are being used as slaves to dig beneath the tombs (which of course are full of nasties).
The final scene should be between the head doppelganger and his cronies just as the item is unearthed.
I've kept the details out of the description, because a lot of the stuff (like what's in the scroll) can be campaign-dependent. But if the players are perceptive/paranoid, they might blow this into a full-blown campaign: Did their employer know the high priest was a doppelganger? Is there a conspiracy to get doppelgangers into power in the human world?
In a big classy town that the PC's have reason to go to every once in a while (I have it set in a city near a paladin training center) is an even classier restaurant called Chez Ralph. It's about as nice a restaurant as you could possibly have. Waiters check on you every minute or so, there's a string quartet playing in the background, and glasses of water ("Mineral water, imported from halfway around the world" is what they tell you, and they're telling the truth) cost around 20 gp.
Besides being a wonderful place to have players dump some cash, it's also Soap Opera City. The bizarrest people show up there, at the same time the PCs are there - but since nobody wants to make a scene, the whole feeling is very tense. Old girlfriends, major enemies, spies, polymorphed dragons, you name it, end up eating there - and usually with each other.
This requires a lot of continuity in the game. Most games couldn't support the type of background and tension Chez Ralph requires. You need long-term NPCs that the PCs have come to hate - and put them here, where
you just can't DO anything about them!
"Tower Snatch"
A mage returns home after 1 year away and finds that someone has taken over his tower in the city. He wants it back and hires the PCs to reclaim it. He can supply maps etc of what it was like when he owned it (but someone may have moved "Walls of Stone" and placed whole new trap areas etc). The PC's can keep anything in the tower which is not specifically his (of course he can claim anything interesting and they won't know) and a cash reward. No-one knows who has it but he suspects someone respected in the community, hence the attack must be done fairly quietly so as not to warn the current possessor (the mage can prove that he is the owner however, he is not setting them up - unless you want this to happen). The tower is appropriately trapped and guarded, mostly with
the expectation of killing the mage who owns it when he tries to return. The guards and traps are there to kill (not capture) anyone breaking in. City guards etc will not take sides unless the conflict ends up outside the tower.
This is a non-linear adventure, good as a sideline for whenever the PC's happen to be home.
The PC's are based in a large city. The city is basically composed of three sectors. Two of which are virtually lawless and the other is extremely well controlled. The law portion is extending outward and slowly taking over the other two sections.
A faction war is taking place in the city. There are two opposing forces at war with each other (it could be a peasant/slave revolt, or a religious purge, or a supernatural invasion, or whatever.)
The war expands steadily, more and more groups getting dragged into it and being forced to choose sides. An interesting twist would be for 2 groups that 2 different PC's belong be on different sides. Great chance for roleplaying here!
The war could develop while the PCs are away, and upon return they get the opportunity to jump in.
Think of it, the politics! The adventure! The intrigue! The danger! The chance to be hunted by one of the most powerful groups in the city/county/country/kingdom!