I'm having difficulty with presenting Magnimar as a living city to the players, they are still in AP#1 and are so intertwined with Sandpoint and all of its people. I find it hard to describe the City of Monuments as anything other than "people static" such as a city full of bustling crowds and paper pushers.
Did any NPC's just jump out at anyone besides the obvious BBEGs (big bad evil guys). Moonbeam mentioned a player who was reincarnated by a druid, but I couldn't find the character. Maybe I skimmed over him.
I know the Lord Mayor, but my PC's are likely to be disgusted by the awesome and repugnant NPC.
I'm having difficulty with presenting Magnimar as a living city to the players, they are still in AP#1 and are so intertwined with Sandpoint and all of its people. I find it hard to describe the City of Monuments as anything other than "people static" such as a city full of bustling crowds and paper pushers.
I'm in a similar boat (although the campaign has stalled thanks to real life issues).
I don't know that that's a huge problem, though. Will it make the PCs want to associate with Sandpoint more?
In a way, it keeps the focus on the small town where the PCs can really stand out and make a difference. Sort of like the small-town kid going off to college and realizing that the big city is dirty, smelly, and filled with disgusting people.
For my part, I am adding an NPC or two, depending on the players actions once they get into town. (1) The owner of a run-down inn/tavern, just struggling to get by, hit up for his "monthly dues" by the local goon squad/thieves' guild. (2) The Lord-Mayor's secretary, basically a good-guy paper pusher with a few kids to feed, who can liason between the PCs and the other paper-pushers, because PCs don't speak Bureaucraticese. Plus, the guy knows that the city doesn't suit him, and he's trying to do better for his family, but he's just beat down, being surrounded by all this . . . city.
I'd agree, introduce some NPCs to give them contacts and really go from there. Three of my group are from Magnimar, one is a knight, so he knows all the watchmen (his captain talks to him regular when he's there)
Second is a thief, so he'd been working with his underworld contacts, he even knew a couple of the Skinsaw Mens victims.
Third was a slightly upper class sorcerer, so she knew a little more of the high life.
As they start to get involved with these NPCs, it'll snowball from there :)
I know the Lord Mayor, but my PC's are likely to be disgusted by the awesome and repugnant NPC.
He's my favorite!
I totally aped from the end of "O Brother Where Art Thou" — when the party defeats Xanesha, the Lord Mayor sees them as a chance to boost his own approval ratings. He immediately declares that the PCs (who were fugitives at that point in my game) are part of a special strike team he assembled to deal with the ongoing murders.
Oh, he's such a fat self-serving worm, I love him.
|
Wow, Evil sounds like you have the Mayor's personality down cold. I would love to hear more about the Mayor in your game, since I have not really figured out who to focus on developing NPCwise in Magnimar yet, outside of the Night Scales, and Czarni gangs (the only PC who knows about Magnimar in game is the rogue, who was jumped into Jubrayl's Sandpoint gang through time spent in the Magnimar chapter).
I used the mayor to represent all the Runelords virtues (vices). He was almost enough to disgust the players when they met him in the mayor's gold inlaid bath holding two young girls against his fat body eating fruit hand fed to him by another young thing. Getting angry when one drops a serving dish full of drinks for the adventurers then offering to pay for them to go forth to help secure one of Magnimar's holding up river at a gala event at the docks.
I will speak more on the mayor later, maybe I will give him his own thread! But more on-topic, I also used the head of the Sczarni gang "the Gallowed" when they had to break the Paladin out of jail (see my last post, fugitives). He was cool. Gotta love a musclebound rogue with neck scars.
|
|
Did any NPC's just jump out at anyone besides the obvious BBEGs (big bad evil guys).
I invented my own: a young-ish street urchin sort, who latched himself on to the party when they entered the city with shouts of "Hey, you're new here! You need a guide? I know the best Inns..", that kind of thing. Then I more or less ignored the fact that the players didn't know the ins and outs of Magnimar, because they had an instant source of Knowledge (local) - for a few silver - with which to learn that stuff.
I totally aped from the end of "O Brother Where Art Thou" — when the party defeats Xanesha, the Lord Mayor sees them as a chance to boost his own approval ratings. He immediately declares that the PCs (who were fugitives at that point in my game) are part of a special strike team he assembled to deal with the ongoing murders.
Hot damn, I did the EXACT same thing - even making the "O Brother" comparisson!
CEO
|
I made up a nosey upper class woman who was poking around the Foxglove townhouse in Magnimar. She was awesome, adding a bunch of life as she kept prying and asking questions about what exactly was happening at the house and who the PCs were and stuff. I gave her this high warbly voice, a bit prudish, and bit indignant. The characters loved her and she really brought some life to that part of the adventure.
-Lisa
Nireed at the Aquaretum. All of my players' characters in my campaign are gnomes, so it was a natural choice to have them associate with Nireed (whom I made obsessed over fish - a conversation about hagfish ensued).
Sibyl Slice-hand, a female half-elf pit fighter with a sickle-hand. Blonde, lovely, and had an accomplice that liked to use various spells to weaken her opponents, one of whom was Maub the Mauler (female half-orc barbarian). The party first ran into Maub after the party rogue tried to pick her pocket and got caught. (Rogue's hide was saved from the quick-talking bard.)
the player tried to take the evidence about the skinsaw murders(after the Snake Lady). to the Secretary of the Mayor. I played him as a snobbish self important fop.(being as he does more to run the city than the Mayor). They didn't want to let him have the evidence to look at, just flashing the list of names to him. He told them that if they wanted to see the Mayor they had to prove to him that their case was strong enough. Not just any one can see the Mayor. They said it is for the Mayors eyes only and I replied 'I am the mayors secretary and no one sees him just because they say so'. They gave him a hard time, pulled some attitude and I had them thrown out. Then they tried to convince the guardsman that they had important info for the Mayor, and now tried to be diplomatic with the guards. Who said 'Weren't you just talking to the Secretary? He's in charge, out you go!'
They acted like they were untitled to preferred treatment. The Secretary didn't care who they thought they were, he was the one with the power.
They had to return later (leaving the disruptive ones at home). After selling Xenesha's stuff. With tails between their legs to be more respectful. When the mayor gave them his gratitude and a write of preference, so they could sell their stuff for a greater profit. They lost out on 5000 gp by being confrontational
When presenting big cities I use a variety of city books so that I have plenty of random details and NPCs on hand. I also concentrate on a few key NPCs that they are likely to meet based on what they've decided to do.
I mainly used elements from Ravens Bluff, and Bits of the Boulevard (awesome!) to fill the city out.
Best.
|
As far as other NPCs in Magnimar go, the PCs went to Avensoar to "introduce" themselves as the heroes who saved Sandpoint. The Captain of the Guard (I can't recall her name off the top of my head) was not overly impressed and viewed the PCs more like country yokels in the big city. She also had one of the PCs arrested when they refused to give up evidence they claimed to have regarding the murders in town related to the ones in Sandpoint (via the Sihidron rune).
As a result, the party did not trust her too much, though she did get on their good side when she helped them after the Skinsaw cult attacked the party (long story there as well) and gave them permission to investigate the tower. She was actually key in getting
Other than that, during the course of their investigations, I threw in several other NPCs (some home brewed) who were sufficient red herrings.
My PCs showed up at the gates and were mistaken by the Lord-Mayor's majordomo and a small group of staged onlookers for another adventuring party hired by Grobaras to take care of the killers - an group of "troubleshooters" led by none other than Orik Vankercaskin. So, they got to meet the grubbing assistant to the mayor, and quickly came to dislike him.
Then they went to the townhouse and basically moved in, after fixing it up. I took Lisa's route, with the lady across the courtyard essentially playing the role of Gladys Kravitz from Bewitched. She really had something to tell Abner when the party chased away a couple of shapeshifters sent by Xanesha after they wiped out the Brother's Sawmill.
Along the way they met Magnimar's "chief of detectives", who was actually a decent guy in a city of pompous, sinful, nutjobs. They liked him and I expect he'll figure in some future adventure.
The didn't care for Grobaras himself, or the way he treated the aforementioned chief of detectives.
So, yeah, pick some key points and add a couple of NPCs to give them somebody to remember when they leave.
My guys were there *very* briefly...taking out the townhouse and heading to the sawmill in the first two days and then just a few more to analyze Ironbriar's journal and locate the clocktower. Then they were off to Rannick.
M
|
|
I ran an outside module "The Eldest Son" from Reaper (shame they never did any others), and tied it to one of the PCs so that they had to get into Magnimar earlier than planned in the time frame, and that it feels less artificial to them.
Allowed me to introduce a series of pre-written NPCs, one of which was supposed to give clues into the past of our amnesic PC ... but they have not catched on it yet.
Sorry can't tell more right now, players lurking too much on these boards.
When presenting big cities I use a variety of city books so that I have plenty of random details and NPCs on hand. I also concentrate on a few key NPCs that they are likely to meet based on what they've decided to do.
I mainly used elements from Ravens Bluff, and Bits of the Boulevard (awesome!) to fill the city out.
Best.
Wow, where can I get the Bits of the Boulevard? Just saw an example page and it looks great!