MrFish |
The pcs are saviours of the city! However rank hath its problems as well...The adventure I'm planning for them involves the pcs' patrons asking them to help make sure three candidates for magistracy get elected. I was hoping I could get some suggestions but also a critique of the structure of the adventure.
1. The pcs are invited to a dinner party by their patron, who introduces three candidates. They are the guild master of merchants, an inexperienced young knight of great intelligence and an experienced finance officer who has run tax/customs/public works. The pcs as foreigners cannot run for office but are known to be wealthy and are heroes to the public; they will (ideally) act as support and protection for these politicians.
2. The finance officer is running for an office that will enable him to to some extent control the elections of the other two. His intention is to have some sports events and other public spectacles to gather attention before the first stage of the electoral process.
3. Following this a public oration is necessary, to be held in the market place of the city district running the election.
4. After this there is an announcement of the gathering of representatives of the city guilds and fellowships of free citizens of non-aristocratic rank. A Censor, a high ranking magistrate, is appointed to determine who may legitimately vote and who is counted as a voter.
5. At the public gathering there is a debate between the candidates.
6. Finally, there is a vote for candidate.
What I'm trying to work out is what kind of challenges the pcs might face, and ideally I'm hoping people here can offer me things outside of my box of thinking. Thanks very much for any help that is offered!
TheDrone |
It sounds fun! But it's missing some intrigue ;). Wouldn't it just be too boring to have a fair and even election based on the issues at hand where the canidate that won did so based on merit as decided by the people?
I don't know if this election is customary and normal or a brand new thing to the city, but there's gotta be a group trying to strong hand or bribe one of the canidates or even outright fix the election. Could be evil, could be just a radical group.
It could be that the canidate is being black mailed, or could be that he's running something sneaky on his own. This can have an adverse effect on the election itself, and things may happen afterward (really bad things, missing people, martial law, town water drugged with something for a charm person to make the people fall in line) that when fixed reverse the decision to have the people vote again. Groups may even black mail the voters themselves to get people to vote things "their way." Which can cause other problems.
All kinds of potential! That's somewhere I would go with it.
I'm playing in a campaign that had a small town that had an election because the town just grew that big. We missed it because we were out adventuring to save someone, but after seeing your post I kinda wish we did something more with it.
Good luck! Let us know what you end up doing with it.
Rezdave |
It sounds fun! But it's missing some intrigue ;)
You've detailed the candidates, but what about the opposition?
More importantly, who are the "king-makers" behind the opposing candidates. IMHO, the focus should be on the behind-the-scenes power-play. The chess match between the PC king-makers and the opposition's secret and powerful supporters. Ultimately, I think most of the PCs' efforts and attention will be focused on the back-stage action rather than the obvious stuff. There will be plots, assassination attempts (not on candidates, but on their powerful supporters) and so forth. Things that go unnoticed by the general populace.
Think of it like a dungeon. Everything else in the election really is just window-dressing. You need to place the major villains and BBEG (or at least a few competing factions), and then their minions and schemes will fall into place from there.
HTH,
Rez
Rezdave |
It's possible there are different "neighborhood bosses" in the city. Convince each "boss" through persuasion, intimidation, favors or bribes to support your candidate and he will make certain his neighbors do as well.
There is some of this in the movie Far and Away with "Boss Kelly" as well as an election in Gangs of New York that might provide some ideas.
Don't forget that other factions will be trying to "persuade" the bosses as well.
HTH,
Rez
MrFish |
Thank you VERY much for all the ideas. This is what I've come up with so far...wouldnt mind hearing what others think of this...
This is the first adventure I was going to have. The pcs are told by one of the candidates that he intends to hold a public event to impress the citizens, including music, a race, a gladiatorial event and a bestiarii type event. It turns out that The patron of one of the opposition candidates intends to humiliate the pcs' candidate by ruining it. I was thinking the following would be done to try to do this:
1. a bard in the employ of the opposing patron slanders the pcs' candidate.
2. The Thieves Guild has already been bought by the opposition (the pcs didn't mention any intent to get in touch with them and showed little interest in doing so) and so are used as spies and thugs. They intend to start trouble in the stands, ideally causing a riot or ruckus enough to ruin things.
3. The opposing patron also has brought in at great expense opposing teams (gladiators, racing team and monsters for the arena) that will clearly pwn those of the pc's candidate. However they have risen in status enough that it would be bad for them to get into the arena themselves. They need to somehow stack the deck against this.
Anyway I'd appreciate thoughts, ideas, refinements on this and so on. Thanks very much.
Dragonchess Player |
Don't forget traditional guilt by association (someone in the candidate's past, possibly even a relative, was/is involved in something "corrupt/illegal/immoral"), mud-slinging ("so-and-so will raise taxes and force everyone into slavery!"), name-calling ("coward," "tyrant," etc.), and scandal (real or manufactured). Take a look at the various political blogs or the politics section of several newspapers for ideas. You could also do some reading of Machiavelli's The Prince.
Rezdave |
Fish ... had a thought this morning.
I can't remember the levels your PCs are right now. Presumably the 8-12 range? That's about the point where you should start dipping their toes into meta-plot.
Have you thought about who's behind the attack on Exag. I'm not talking about the general or nation or whomever launched the army against the city ... I'm talking about whomever is behind them.
It occurs to me that the PCs might find that, regardless of their efforts, one or two or even all of their candidates are not making progress. Maybe they start finding evidence that their "random and factionalized" opposition actually has some coordinated backing. Maybe as their are losing support for one of their candidates, a powerful "campaign contributor" comes out of the woodwork to support them, asking no special favors ... for the time being.
Of course, the PCs should not really see the hands turning the gears that spin the wheels until about 15th level. But at their current level, they might begin to glimpse the gears that turn the wheels that have recently been rolling over them and begin to realize it's not all random.
FWIW,
Rez
Lord Fyre RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32 |
MrFish |
Thanks for further help. I'm trying to decide how to use any or all or none of my already placed in opponents.
1. Undead. Granted the pcs sent a whole bunch to final death in their last adventure, but there are still a few roaming around that got out of the Exag battle.
2. Wererats. Again, a cult of them smashed by the pcs, but who is to say who survived or just didn't get met?
3. conservative, corrupt or xenophobic nobility. The rather decadent and wealthy nobility of the city were generally treated pretty well when the pcs conquered the city in the princess's name, but who's to say what they're really thinking...
4. Thieves Guild. I was at a loss as to how to figure out all the ins and outs of the Thieves Guild without just repeating myself--I'd already done the "Bill the Butcher" type in the last city they were in, and also the Longshoremen of their native city. I finally came up with rival gangs duking it out discreetly in the seedy parts of the city.
5. Assassins Guild? What assassins guild? Basically the various cults, gangs, and a few talented individuals provide this service.
6. The King's Army. The princess the pcs are backing for the throne, who is having these elections in the name of normal life to appease the people, has a big problem: her brother wants to keep his throne. The Count leading the army disbanded the militia for the harvest and is now waiting till it's war season again, but will be up to whatever dirty tricks he can think of. The undead army and the cult of wererats as allies proved to be a wash however, so he'll probably be trying to think of something else.
So in a way I'm almost reluctant to provide a bunch of new baddies unless they're cool story-wise as background for the already introduced ones. I'm wondering, Rezdave, if that was what you were suggesting.
Nicolas Logue Contributor |
Oh my god. This thread hurts. The ONE adventure I was killing to write for Paizo was an election adventure set in Falcon's Hollow (continuing after Carnival of Tears).
Talk of the project and an outline got lost in the shuffle (more my fault than ANYONE at Paizo) and I never did it. Ugh. Pain. Anguish. It was going to be an incredible final topper to the Crown of The Kobold King, Return of the Kobold King, Carnival of Tears arc of Nick Logue Falcon's Hollow adventures.
Maybe I will put it in front of someone at Paizo again someday soon (when I am not IMMERSED in Sinister madness) and write that puppy!
MrFish |
I think i've come up with the first scenario.
Background; the senior candidate (whose title is quaestor) has a lovely and troubled wife; he has treated her cruelly. He comes from a jumped up family while hers is ancient but poor (due to her father's unwise spending) and simply wanted to marry her for her family name. It has only gotten him so far; he has a chance to marry the beautiful and ambitious daughter of a wealthy knight.
The Quaestor also has a concern. Recently detractors jeered at the fact that his star gladiator and charioteer win SO many contests. It is either that there is no fit challenge for them or else the contests are rigged. One of his announced intentions to win the adulation of the people is to hold arena events on an auspicious day. But the word is being bandied about that it will be boring.
A final important piece of background: the star gladiator is the wife's lover.
Plot:
One of the pcs receives a message from the wife to the effect that the gladiator has dragged her off to a lower class tavern and that she is frightened; could the pc possibly come and escort her home?
When the pcs arrive they find a lot of drunkeness and debauchery, but also some serious gambling going on. What they don't realize is that two nasty gangs have staged this for the gladiator and the charioteer, knowing their penchant for roistering and gambling, and intend to at the very least badly wound if not kill them in what will seem to be a tavern brawl. One of the gangs is led by a slave taker who intends to kidnap the wife and take her to a rich and decadent man in a faraway city.
Ultimately the pcs may discover that it was the Quaestor that was behind it all, but then again they may not.
(this is what I have so far.)
Rezdave |
Rezdave, I apologize if I seem dense but I'm not sure I'm following you. Are you talking about supernatural forces
No. Are you familiar with the concept of metaplot?
Here's a bunch of info/examples:
If you think of your campaign like an Adventure Path from Dungeon magazine rather than just a random collection of "adventures" one after another, you can see the need for an over-arching meta-plot. It does not need to be supernatural, though the plots in the APs almost all were.
SCAP - A cabal of powerful, evil beings are trying to open a gateway to the lower planes and literally flood the world with fiends.
AoW - Kyuss is returning and trying to ascend to godhood.
STAP - Demogorgon is attempting to elevate himself to become the King/Lord/god of Demons rather than just Prince.
In all these cases, the PCs never knew about what was going on until the final few levels of the AP. Wolfgang Baur's Dungeoncraft column addressed the structure of a metaplot in one magazine, but I can never seem to remember which. I know I really like that column, because his advice would be almost verbatim my own. Basically, here's an overview:
Levels 1-5 - PCs engage in "random" adventures with no sense of an overarching plotline.
Levels 6-10 - PCs discover that some on-going nemesis is actually just a minion of a greater enemy.
Levels 11-15 - PCs learn that the "greater enemy" is in fact just a cog in a vast conspiracy.
Levels 16-20 - PCs realize that a nation/world-altering plot is unfolding and they must neutralize the mastermind.
Here's an off-the-top-of-my-head example:
Levels 1-5 - PCs are involved in what they believe is random adventuring, and indeed, most of it is. They may develop one "nemesis" such as the leader of an evil cult or a scheming nobleman or a monster champion that is powerful enough that their various fights end in draws or the "villain" escapes.
Levels 6-10 - The PCs begin to discover evidence that not all of their adventures were "random" or "disconnected". It turns out that the "evil cult" is not just a small local group, but is supported by a larger network across the kingdom, for whom the scheming nobleman is the local coordinator and uses a neighboring monster tribe as allies and muscle.
Levels 11-15 - As the PCs try to take out the various parts of the conspiracy, they begin to realize that they are peeling an onion and there are simply layers upon layers. The head of the "cult" and conspiracy is the Crown Prince of a powerful neighboring kingdom who plans to replace his ailing father upon the throne, and the machinations in the PCs' homeland is simply a plot to keep the neighbors from intervening or coming to his father's rescue. The Prince has the Army and most of the nobility behind him, and when he takes the throne he will be in a position to overrun the neighboring nations he has destabilized with his minions.
Levels 16-20 - Turns out the Crown Prince worships a demon who wants to become a living god. With enough death, slaughter and sacrifice the Prince can transform himself into a vessel for the demon's spirit and the fiend can inhabit the mortal world possessed of god-like powers. Killing the Prince isn't the only solution, however, since the demon has untold numbers of "back-up" vessels prepared. Somehow the PCs must find a way to disrupt the link between the mortal realm and hell to sever the connection (perhaps journeying to the Abyss itself).
Some AP-derived examples:
My own world has various regional plots tied to several metaplots that themselves organize into a could of meta-meta-plots that transcend to multi-world uber-plots. Frankly, I can keep a party guessing into high-Epic levels. OTOH, they can change form region to region and meta- to meta- and end up never realizing what's going on.
The previous incarnation of this campaign was moving down one specific line of the regional meta- while the current party has changed regions and gotten themselves mixed up in an entirely different meta-. However, both are still tied to the meta-meta.
If you haven't given any thought to introducing a meta-plot in your campaign, then you should. Can you answer these questions:
You don't necessarily need all the answers now. A general idea of an over-arching plotline will be enough at this point.
Note that meta-plots are bigger than individual mortal humanoids. Dragons, demons, liches and other creatures who can plot and plan and let their schemes unfold over centuries make the ideal masterminds for metaplots.
If you are plotting over a period of years, then humans will figure it out and stop you.
If you are plotting over a period of decades then elves will figure it out and stop you.
If you are plotting over the course of a century then a knightly order risen to oppose one of your schemes will figure it out and oppose you.
If you are plotting over centuries and even millennia then all who might oppose you (short of another creature of your longevity) will wither into dust before they can connect any of your schemes one to another and even have a sense of your plan.
The only reason PC Parties hook into metaplot is because they coincidentally happen to be in the right/wrong place just and the plots are coming to fruition. They take centuries to plan and more centuries of slow and careful planning and positioning to get all the pieces in place. Only at the end do events move swiftly, but their force is massive and almost unstoppable. Consider them like an avalanche that takes years of snow-pack to prepare but only seconds to come crashing down. Expand the preparation to centuries and the execution to a mere mortal generation and now you have a metaplot unfolding.
Of course, the other reason the PCs hook into the final execution of the metaplot is because they are the PCs.
Here's a couple Alternate-Universe Tolkien LotR-inspired meta-plots:
Again, both off-the-top-of-my-head as I write them ...
Ranger Campaign - The party is adventuring in the northlands fighting monsters and adventuring. They become friends and eventually allies of the Dunedain Rangers of the north, and a PC Ranger might even be one. As they fight monsters they come to realize the the increasing frequency and power of the evil and supernatural beings is related. The creatures are searching for something. The PCs scour the Misty Mountains and delve into its bowels, but only uncover minor goblin treasure, several plundered elven artifacts from Gondolin, and a plain ring of invisibility of unknown origin.
Over time the ring displays odd powers and they realize it is an Intelligent item with massive Ego so they stop using it and must journey south to research it, contacting sages in Gondor and perhaps speaking to Saruman. They now find themselves targets of ambushes and assassination attempts of increasing power and frequency. It seems their "friend" Saruman was searching for the ring for himself and having his minions scour the North for it. A mid-level party of rangers is no match for an Archmage, so they flee into the safety of the Entwood and establish alliances with the Ents, the Elves of Lothlorien and the riders of Rohan, all of whom have been oppressed by Saruman over the years, to eliminate the "white wizard" and his growing army of Uruk-hai. Only Gondor does not join the fight against Isengard.
Yet, once the PCs control the Tower of Orthanc they find and gaze into the palantir, now coming to realize that Saruman was merely a pawn of a deeper and darker power growing in Mordor, and the nature of the Ring of Power becomes manifest. The Party must convince their united force of elves, ents and horsemen march south to Gondor (who failed to support their war on Saruman) to oppose Sauron, but first must depose the Steward of Gondor and place one of their own, a Ranger of the North and last scion of the House of Elendil, upon the throne.
Calling upon their old ranger-allies and companions from the north they order a reconnaissance of Mordor to learn the unfortunate news that Sauron has spend centuries amassing a horde of orcs and trolls, dragons and allies from the distant east. His force is greater than they can defeat. They must convince their fragile alliance to stand in Minas Tirith and hold out against the oncoming tsunami long enough for them to sneak alone into Mordor and destroy the Ring once and for all. Only then will Sauron's power be weakened enough that the Party can take him on directly with any hope of defeating him.
Rohirim Campaign - The PCs are adventurers and natives of the Plains of Rohan, horsemen and riders. They are rangers and mounted fighters and druids scouring the open fields and rolling hills of their homeland to rid it of wandering undead, orcish raiders and packs of worgs as they occasionally delve into some or other funeral barrow to return an item plundered by grave-robbers and so appease ancient spirits. Unfortunately, king Theoden is not himself, and heroes like themselves and even Marshal Eomer become outlaws.
Mercenaries from Gondor have been hired to arrest the outlaws and Gondoran nobles even marry into Rohirim houses and take lands with the king's blessing and subvert the local nobility, so the PCs flee across the open plains, making camp among allied villages that will support them, leading a guerilla resistance against the oppression of the foreign overlords. Other bands of "outlaws" exist as well, but not all are so noble. The party must unite those still loyal to Rohan while eliminating actual marauders that turn the common villagers against them. Rumors spread that an adviser of the king named Grima but known among the outlaws and a few righteous nobles as "Wormtongue" who is believed to be an Enchanter who has ensorcelled the king. With the backing of their allied bands the party returns to Edoras to confront Grima, but the Wormtongue flees the capital with the protection of Gondoran knights. As the horsemen pursue him they find themselves ambushed not only by foreign knights but also large band of powerful orcs. They are forced to give up the chase and retreat to Edoras.
In the capital it is learned that the king's son is dead, murdered by Grima's agents. Rohan is in turmoil as various factions of Gondoran nobles who over the past decade have, "with the King's blessing" married into Rohirim noble houses and subverted the indigenous nobility, vie for the throne. The King is not safe in his own house and the villagers are being conscripted to support the war among the foreign nobility, so the party must spirit Theoden out of Edoras before he is assassinated and secure him in the fortress of Helm's Deep. Word of their plan has spread, however, and the foreign claimants to the throne unite against their common enemy as loyal commoners flock to the side of their king. With only a few bands of "former outlaws", a handful of loyal nobles and their personal guards plus several hundred commoners and refugees, the party must hold the defenses of Helm's Deep against the armies of the foreign knights who are inexplicable reinforced by a horde of orcs.
Surviving Helm's Deep, the King returns to Edoras, but now it appears there will be war with Gondor over the slaughter of their relocated nobles, most of whom are being tried and quartered for treason against Theoden. As the king tries to make peace but prepares for war while purging the nobility, he asks the PCs to investigate the strange, powerful "White Hand" orcs that supported the Gondorans. The trail of orc-camps and investigations across the Riddermark eventually leads to Isengard, where the PCs learn that Saruman has been building up an army of orcs. They also find Grima there, learning that he is merely a minion of the wizard. They cannot hope to confront such magical power alone, and though Saruman lost much of his orcish army at Helm's Deep, the forces of Rohan cannot crush Isengard with the Gondoran Army preparing for war at their back. It will take a wizard to defeat a wizard, so the PCs journey to Lothlorien to seek the aid of the sorceress Galadriel to defeat Saruman.
Though Galadriel agrees Saruman is a threat, she will only promise that the elves will keep him contained, rather than eliminate him. She begs the party to undertake a quest for her, delivering a messenger safely to Rivendell. She advises the party to journey by way of Moria, where the dwarves have within the last two decades begun rebuilding the fallen kingdom of Khazad-dum, and are now in a position to offer safe and rapid passage through the mountains. Though the underground passage is no place for horses, the party agrees to gain favor with the elf-queen. Yet, when they arrive they find the delve in ruins and under the dominion of a terrible demon risen from the deeps. Demons pursue their retreat and the forces of hell fall upon Lothlorien. Forced to defend their forest home, the elves are unable to keep pressure on Saruman, who begins rebuilding his forces.
The party flees northward to the Greenwood (formerly Mirkwood) to see the help of the forest elves, and is surprised to discover they have their own emissary to send to Rivendell. The Misty Mountains are crawling with orcs, however, and cannot be passed. The party must report the failure of the Moria resettlement to the dwarves of the Iron Hills, hopefully convincing them to raise an army to reclaim Khazad-dum. Indeed, the dwarves are furious. A united army of elves and dwarves marches south, and as the Greenwood elves liberate their besieged kin in Lorien the dwarves assault the demon of Moria to reclaim their delve. With passage open, the party can finally make their way to Rivendell.
The news in the hidden elven vale is not good. Gondor has either allied with or fallen to the realm of Mordor, a little-known land of orcs, trolls and other monsters. Theoden has averted war with this unholy alliance, but the combined forces of Gondor and Mordor are marching northward up the coast. Rangers allied with Rivendell report that demonic-horsemen scour the far north, slowly pressing in on the otherwise idyllic land of the halflings. The mounted party races north and west from Rivendell, able to pursue the undead horsemen where the Rangers have failed. The wraiths are powerful, but can be defeated with great effort. Making their way into the Shire, the party themselves investigates the purpose of the wraiths with the few clues they learned form the undead ... "Shire" and "Baggins". They find an aging hobbit named Bilbo who years ago went on an "adventure", recovering not only dwarven wealth but also a curious ring of invisibility that they determine detect artifact-level magic.
Convincing Bilbo (and his nephew ward) to accompany them, they return the ring to Elrond in Rivendell, where it is learned that this is Sauron's ancient Ring of Power. Combined with news from the Greenwood elven emissary about the disappearance of the Necromancer of Dul Guldor and Galadriel's news about the rising darkness in Mordor the purpose of the Gondor/Mordor alliance is clear. Sauron has come to power in Mordor, corrupted Denethor, steward of Gondor, and now their combined army marches north seeking the Ring. The party shares their own experiences with Gondoran nobles and Saruman in Rohan, leading to suspicion that even Saruman himself was only a pawn of Sauron. Unable to face the Gondoran/Mordor army advancing from the south with the limited guardians of Rivendell, Elrond convenes a Council to determine how to destroy the Ring and thus break Sauron's power and hold over Gondor and Isengard. The party must spirit the ring back east and south, entering Mordor and destroying it in the fires of Mount Doom. Unfortunately, the dwarves report that the Battle for Khazad-dum does not go well. The demons who crawled from the deeps to claim it are known minions of Sauron's ancient master, and taking the Ring of Power into the embattled delve is too risky.
By coincidence, the aged halfling Bilbo speaks up. He was once saved by the great eagles on his earlier adventure. Perhaps they could fly the ring to Mordor? The idea is an intriguing one, so the party departs to ascend the mountains to the Great Aerie of the King of Eagles. His condition is that Galadriel must allow the eagles to once more roost in Lorien. Her emissary agrees on her behalf and the party is flown south towards Rohan. With the army of Mordor fighting up the coastline far to the west it seems that it will be simple for them to fly into Mordor, destroy the Ring and end Sauron's power. Unfortunately, with the Lorien elves besieged by demons and orcs hordes from Moria, not only has Saruman regained enough strength to once more press Rohan, but the undead horse-wraiths the party thought they had defeated in the Shire are now known to be Sauron's nearly-immortal Ring-wraiths. They have returned, but this time mounted on dragons. Even the eagles are not strong enough to defeat them in aerial battle.
The only hope to take Saruman off their backs is to ally with the treeherders of the Entwood. An agreement from the Eagles to search the known lands for the Entwives secures their cooperation, and the Ents animate the forest to assault Isengard and reinforce the Greenwood elves liberating the Siege of Lorien. This frees Theoden and Eomer to marshall the Rohirim and march against Minas Tirith and Minas Morgul. Yet, even this offensive is merely a feint, designed to draw Sauron's Great Eye away from the party. The small band of horsemen race eastward with the Ring, using powers of illusion and druidical command of nature to disguise their passage. Entering Mordor from the rear they push hard and battle their way to Mount Doom, detected too late for Sauron to recall enough of his forces to stop them. As the dragon-riding Ring-wraiths descend to intercept the party the powerful PCs must hold them off, relying on only their brave squire, Bilbo's own nephew Frodo who joined them in Rivendell, to race into the bowels of the mountain and drop the Ring into the fires therein.
OK ... I admit I got carried away writing the second one. But you see how they are both the same Meta-plot? They just differ in the development of the details as the party interacts with the Meta and the storyline unfolds. Of course, you can draw inspiration from many sources. If you thought you detected shades of Robin Hood or Braveheart in the first couple paragraphs of the [b]Rohirim Campaign[b] then you were correct.
My point is, now is probably the time to start considering having a metaplot in your campaign. You don't need to know all the details, and in fact you don't want to. Just a basic idea of an over-arcing backstory that will unfold in piecemeal layers to the PCs will not only give your campaign a great, long-term "Epic" feel, but also will help you answer for yourself many of these "what do I do next" queries that you keep bringing to the boards.
Instead of asking strangers on the forum "What random adventures, encounters and action do I throw at the Party now" you will instead be asking yourself "what part of the plan does the party stumble into now" or "who does the bad-guy react to the party foiling his larger and unknown-to-them plans" or even "now that the party has unwittingly advanced the evil-mastermind's plans by eliminating a pesky adversary, how does he 'thank' them since he now knows about them and realizes they might become a threat, even though they still have no idea he exists"?
HTH,
Rez
MrFish |
Wow...that's an amazingly thorough answer. You also wrote two cool story outlines. I can't help but wonder if you've ever run an alternate Tolkien history game, it sounds like it would be lots of fun.
You make a very good point about the key questions, and I very much appreciate the explanation of metaplot. I guess I don't have a clear idea and in fact that's why I've kept the Count, who is the main antagonist as far as teh pcs know, in the distance, referred to but almost never seen.
I also now see what you mean by looking at STAP. It starts out as being the pcs choosing which rich patron in Sasserine they want to be employed by, then going on this journey to claim the riches that is their employer's inheritance, and only gradually discovering that there is a pattern to all their encounters. So thank you very much for the clarity you've given me. As you say, that is worth more than an exchange of encounter ideas. Thank you again.
If anything I feel drawn to the sense of antiquity, mystery and the sinister that is in RE Howard, Clark Ashton Smith and Lovecraft, so I may toy around with some of those ideas.
Rezdave |
Wow...that's an amazingly thorough answer. You also wrote two cool story outlines. I can't help but wonder if you've ever run an alternate Tolkien history game, it sounds like it would be lots of fun.
Thanks ... and, no I haven't. I am too busy with my own homebrew stuff in the limited time I have to game. However, I am (among other things) a professional writer, so this stuff comes pretty quick and naturally to me.
Personally, I wouldn't run it because everyone knows the meta-plot anyway, and that spoils the fun. If you had LotR virgins then it might be cool, ala the conceit of DM of the Rings, but otherwise it wouldn't work well. Maybe something out of the Silmarillion.
You make a very good point about the key questions, and I very much appreciate the explanation of metaplot. I guess I don't have a clear idea and in fact that's why I've kept the Count, who is the main antagonist as far as teh pcs know, in the distance, referred to but almost never seen.
I figured as much. The Count will make a good "mastermind villain" for the PCs to uncover at their level. They can eventually tie him to all sorts of plots in Exag, and when they finally defeat him they think they have closed the book his schemes. Only there remain one or two lingering clues and loose ends and they come to realize that he is merely the minion or perhaps the unwitting pawn of a yet-larger conspiracy. Better yet, maybe by eliminating the "evil Count" they have inadvertently advanced some larger foul scheme by an as-yet unknown mastermind. Again, this plays out well in 5-level blocks until the 15-20 range where the PCs are taking out the true masterminds, be they demon princes, archmage liches, ancient dragons or ascending demi-gods.
If anything I feel drawn to the sense of antiquity, mystery and the sinister that is in RE Howard, Clark Ashton Smith and Lovecraft, so I may toy around with some of those ideas.
Definitely do ... draw inspiration from wherever you can find it. Your Players will probably never suspect it but it will add life and depth to your stories. Steal liberally from books and movies and history, and look up everything you can on Wikipedia for more ideas.
Anyway, try to work up answers for those questions and start to think big-picture. However, remember that you only need the immediate details as they apply to your current campaign. Everything else just ferments in the back of your head until you're ready for it. Stay loose and fluid and adaptable.
HTH,
Rez
EDIT - Just saw Shrek earlier today and that reminded me now of something I meant to mention. Metaplot is like an Ogre. Why? Because an Ogre is like an Onion. Stinky and not everyone likes them? No. Layers. Onions have layers, ogres have layers and metaplots have layers. Just when your PCs think they have it figured out, you let them peel back another layer ... R.
P.S. Technically, the term "metaplot" only refers to the overarching conflict that drives everything. In the LotR samples, Sauron's search for the Ring of Power. PCs only interact with actual meta- at the highest levels ... 15-20. Otherwise, they are acting with the sub-plots and ploys of lieutenants, minions, pawns and all manner of ancillary spin-offs as you track backwards through lower and lower levels.
MrFish |
You know, Rezdave, not everyone likes onions OR ogres--on the other hand people do like parfaits. But good point.
There's something really insidious about the idea that the pcs may have destroyed villains who were actually rivals of the Count or even of the ultimate mastermind. I'm going to work with that to some extent, because it implies really long range thinking and evil cunning.
Rezdave |
There's something really insidious about the idea that the pcs may have destroyed villains who were actually rivals of the Count or even of the ultimate mastermind.
Of course, but also consider this "evil" rationale: the Count (or other villain) is a pawn or even knowing minion of some more powerful master. He serves his purpose and runs his schemes. However, they have run their course, served their purpose and the "master" is done with them. The Count (or other) is now a loose end and potential liability.
Allowing or even "guiding" a group of "heroes" to eliminate your own used-up minions and pawns is a great way to cover your tracks. No one will wonder who murdered the Count, because everyone knows it was the "heroes" so there's no mystery for the authorities and populace to investigate. It puts resources such as minor criminals/pawns the party wouldn't pursue or a formerly enslaved but now "liberated" workforce back into circulation for the next step in the master plan. It gives the heroes and the authorities a false sense of security because they believe they have "taken down the evil conspiracy in our town". Finally, and perhaps most importantly, it allows you to see who rises to the fore to eliminate him, forces your potential threats to expose themselves and gives you a chance to see them in action so you can plan against them.
Some notes from my own campaign:
(Collapsed for space and just in case any of my Players are reading this)
When the first major story arcs wrapped up the PCs were at the end of the 1-5 block. They headed far away from their own part of the world, from the northern lands to the far south. They had foiled a minor plot of a scheming baron that was a blind side-effect of the regional meta but they also had one adventure which dropped a long-term meta-hook in their lap and also set them up as potential low-level and unknowing pawns in the continental/world uber-plot. However, they walked away from it.
Settling into the new region they become entangled in two different adventures with two different "villains". They eliminate the champions in both but in the first the villain/BBEG escapes. Now in the 6-10 block, they stumble across an archeological site that, according to "known history of the world" shouldn't exist, and the escaped villain is using it as a lair. They explore, but again he escapes (I had a knife-end encounter balance, so their first fight ended in a draw but almost TPK and the second was dangerous and he had enough resources still to escape from under their noses). However, now he has engaged them twice and has a good idea of their tactics. BBEG #1 disappears and they encounter a lot of weirdness in their second adventure, including strange and unknown monsters and tunnels that shouldn't exist leading to places unknown or to places that shouldn't have tunnels to them.
In both cases the BBEG is a semi-knowing minion tied to the regional meta. In one case the villain is well informed and acting according to instructions of his masters. In the other, the villain is almost unknowing and is simply running his own schemes in the region under the false impression that he is taking advantage of his allies, not realizing that his own allies/minions are in fact pawns of a greater power tied to the regional meta and he is himself merely a pawn to them. The PCs have noticed any number of differences between the two encounters, but also one or two troubling similarities, so despite outside appearances they hold a faint suspicion that the two situations may be related. Again, they are in the 6-10 block, so that's good. They are defeating low-level plots and starting to see that something is behind them and trying to figure out what or how to pursue/defeat it. Of course, they're just peeling back another layer and targeting yet one more level of minions. They are oblivious to a couple other instances of meta-minions they have encountered (one rather powerful and with direct-knowledge) since they have not run directly afoul of their schemes.
The campaign goes into a period of Extended Downtime for some 18 months as the PCs pursue non-adventuring careers, helping struggling allies rebuild their lives, running shops, joining the Navy to fight a growing pirate problem and so forth. As they come out of EXDT, the pirate problem has grown to become an overwhelming threat that may destabilize their region. They begin to suspect that their old nemesis, BBEG #1 may be involved or even behind it. One of the PCs has made contact with an NPC who claims to be part of a "secret society" operating in the region (part of a "good-guy" counter to the villains of the regional meta that is itself tied to the uber, albeit semi-unknowingly) and this NPC through his own network of agents inside the pirate fleet has confirmed that BBEG #1 is indeed the brains of the operation.
So the party very publicly puts to sea in a trap designed to specifically attract their nemesis who they believe will target them for revenge. Instead, he issues orders to the fleet to allow them to slip by unmolested. They only learn this because communications went awry with one pair of boats, and now the PCs control a small "fleet" of their own crewed by former pirates they believe to be primarily unwitting pawns under the effects of a sustained mass charm of BBEG #1. Thinking they have enough information they scout for the "secret, hidden pirate base" along the far reaches of a dangerous and largely unexplored coastline and find it.
They are just now preparing to assault the pirate base. They figure if they defeat BBEG #1 they will have ended one major threat to the region. However, a careful search of his possessions, papers and so forth will reveal that he could not be responsible for everything they have lain at his feet, so he must have secret allies or backers. There is also the question of who was backing the defeated BBEG #2, and finally whether or not these two are related. One PC already has been alerted by the "secret good guys" to who the "secret villains" are, but this is merely just another cover-up. Although the target is the actual regional meta, the uber isn't ready to reveal yet to his "allied minions" who this is and thus has presented them with a believable cover-story. Since the meta remains unrevealed and operating behind several layers of their own, this seems plausible. Only the direct, personal and knowing servants of the uber (of which there are only a handful in the entire world) are aware of the regional meta, and the PCs aren't near knowing about or meeting them.
Incidentally, what I just said is not entirely true. From the previous campaign in this world that ran into the upper end of the 10-15 block the PCs became very tied into the northern regional meta, and almost reached the 15-20 block where it would be exposed. In fact, that was their next adventure before the campaign fell apart, the actual stumbling across and exposing/defeating one of the weaker meta-villains. But the campaign fell apart and mostly new Players founded the next one. However, there was a relationship between the old PCs and the new ones. The new party kept in contact with the old one as "mentors" and has enlisted the aid of an NPC archeologist (the husband of a prior-campaign PC) to help them investigate their "site that shouldn't exist according to known history". They don't realize that he is a servant of the "good-guy" super-meta that is becoming opposed to the northern regional-meta, nor that he is being carefully watched by the uber, for whom the super-meta is yet another pawn. This as well as their contact with the local GG-meta, has put them on the radar (albeit faintly, given their still relatively low-levels) of both the super-meta and the uber.
Pretty soon they will complete the 5-10 block (currently they are 7-8th level), which will put them face-to-face with the lieutenants of the regional meta. They have the option to pursue it, or they might leave the region and pursue something else. This might mean they will encounter a new regional meta and advance rapidly through the pawn/minion/lieutenant layers (given their level, pawns and minions can't oppose them and they can easily foil their schemes and divine the connections). Regardless, they will remain watched by the super-meta if they stay on their continent and the world-uber if they leave it.
Meanwhile, though the Players probably don't realize it, I've personally developed very little of this beyond that which with they've directly interacted. I known basically what's going on for each regional-meta, the super-meta and the uber, but I certainly don't stat up them or their minions, much less figure out the details of every scheme and ploy. I simply throw the PCs an appropriate adventure and figure out how to tie it in. I do have a timeline built into the campaign for the evolution of the metas, and the clock is always ticking. Frankly, if the PCs went to sea to explore unknown continents for 40 years and then returned they would find a very changed homeland.
I only develop the details I need for each story arc as it evolves. I remain loose and flexible, keeping the meta in the back of my mind while running the campaign as if, one the surface, it doesn't exist.
I realize that my campaign and world has a great depth of layers of plots, regional metas, super metas and uber-plots. I suggest you do not attempt this degree of complexity. However, developing a nice concept for a meta-plot that is influencing local events on a deep and ultimately wider-ranging scale will not only add depth to your current adventures, but will set you up for more long-term villains, coherence and story-direction as your own party and PCs advance in levels.
HTH,
Rez
MrFish |
It sounds like your world is indeed very well fleshed out. It also sounds like a very exciting campaign world to play in. One thing I particularly like is the continuity of it. I'm very curious about what your own influences are in gming.
I've been thinking seriously about your questions. I think that the main purpose behind the attack of the undead army was distraction. After all they're pretty cheap troops. The Count I had already decided wants more than to just drive the pcs' army out; he wants to be welcomed as a hero because his ultimate aim is to be King himself. I guess my question is what means is he trying to use to do that beyond politics and military activity? What has he aligned himself with?
BTW, one thing that has proven helpful is the party themselves. I felt it was all too obvious that the Count would be behind any schemes, but then it turns out that the pc group are just concerned with what's going on right now, and just think that there are twisted intrigues going on in the city.