So its that tricky time for the Crooked House plot in the free city. I was able to get a player to agree to play a doppelganger and they are a good role player so I have no worries there. I've asked for bulk sense motive and perception rolls from my party ahead of time to try and keep the role playing seemless. My question for you is the best way to catch the party. I was thinking a paralytic or sleep poison in their food, the issue is there are 2 characters immune to paralysis and sleep. I was thinking to have everyone else carted away and the city guards and the arrest plot only be used on the remaining 2 characters. Of course the guards will bring them out of their rooms one by one for safety reasons and will not let them see their friends. I also could just have a gang overwhelm them in their rooms. The problem is one of the PCs immune is a priest and I imagine the gang would cuff and gag him as soon as possible.
I'm really open to other ideas within the dopps means to easily get the two characters who are immune to sleep and poison.
Thoughts?
I'm not sure I get what your exact problem is, but - correct me if I'm wrong - I guess you mean this: how do you 'kidnap' one PC to have him replaced by the doppleganger, without the other party members knowing about it.
The way I handled it - and the way the adventure probably wants you to handle it is: have the PC be kidnapped when he is alone. I had my PC kidnapped when he was wondering through the streets of the Free City by himself. Just overpower him while he is in his room, even tell him he was taken while going to the bathroom, something you naturally don't play out in game, but it still happens. You can use email to communicate with the player about this.
When you handle it like this, the rest of the party doesn't have any clue anything is going on. And that is what you want. If you have to pull an elaborate trick out of your hat just to get the plot started, you might give away too much already. If you can make it happen smoothly, nobody suspects anything.
Why do you need to figure out a way to capture the rest of the party?
The adventure more or less tells you exactly when the doppelganger PC should turn against the party (if memory serves me right, it's when the party nears the doppelganger lair, and combat ensues between the party and the doppelgangers).
There is no assumption in the adventure that the lone doppelganger PC should pick off or capture the rest of the party on its own, just that it should turn against them at the most opportune point in time.
Why do you need to figure out a way to capture the rest of the party?
The adventure more or less tells you exactly when the doppelganger PC should turn against the party (if memory serves me right, it's when the party nears the doppelganger lair, and combat ensues between the party and the doppelgangers).
There is no assumption in the adventure that the lone doppelganger PC should pick off or capture the rest of the party on its own, just that it should turn against them at the most opportune point in time.
The body thief plot has the party framed for stabbing the bar keep, the dopps use their influence to have the city guard arrest them and take them to the hold.
I thought that was only if they could not plant a doppleganger into the party
The body thief plot has the party framed for stabbing the bar keep, the dopps use their influence to have the city guard arrest them and take them to the hold.
I think you are overcomplicating things...
1. Just have a dopple take the appearance of a PC while they are away in their rooms and enter the tavern;
2. Have him (under PC guise) stab the barkeep and run for the stairs/rooms and change appearance again as soon as he is outside view (safely assuming that everyone in the common room would be stunned/surprised by the sudden and unwarranted attack, maybe with the help od a second dopple accomplice to delay pursuit by getting in the way);
3. Now our dopple turned witness only have to point to the PC room yelling "he's gone this way!", before getting out by the front door.
4. Et voila, instant framing for attempted murder.
Of course, PC should be able to prove their innocence in time (unless you want to replay Prison Break), and by asking the right questions, could get suspicious about the "witness" disapperance.
Just a question : why do you want them to be brought as prisoners to Sodden Hold? What have you in mind? As I remember, the adventure as written doesn't paly out this way.
You can do it the way Smarnil said, that is how the adventure wants you to do it. Of course, the PCs are not supposed to talk themselves out of jail, but they have to be taken to the Sodden Hold. Still, I wasn't too happy with that suggestion, because I had a hard time figuring out how corrupt guards would transfer the PCs unnoticed from the city prison to the Sodden Hold.
Here is what I did:
I started off with an adaptation of ‘Murder in Oakbridge’ (Dungeon # 129), a fantastic murder mystery scenario, which can be easily inserted into the Free City.
In the aftermath of the adventure, I had the doppelganger Ixiaxian take the PC’s place.
Then I inserted ‘The Weavers’ (Dungeon # 138), to give the player of the replaced PC the chance to get into his double role.
When this adventure was done, the doppelganger informed the rest of the party that he had a lead one of their earlier enemies who got away. He took the PCs to the Sodden Hold, where he lured them into a trap. The party was overwhelmed by Ixiaxian’s allies and surprised by their “friend’s betrayal”. They were taken alive and put into jail.
The party also had the company of Mélinde, an NPC paladin from Diamond Lake, who had been accompanying them since the very beginning and who was a love interest of one of the players. That night the prisoners were visited by a cloaked man with horns on his head (the tiefling priest Bozal Zahol from ‘The Champion’s Belt’, Dungeon # 128), who took Mélinde with him because she was a ‘righteous soul’. He later sacrificed her in his secret Kyuss shrine, under the arena, where the PCs discovered her body after they confronted him.
Note: The doppelganger Ixiaxian is a rogue 3 in the adventure as written. He did not fit any of my characters, and since – IMC – his assignment was to hang out with the PCs for a while to find out what they knew and then lure them into a trap, he had to adventure with them for a couple of days. So I recreated him as a doppelganger bard, to replace the bard PC. I also made his companions in the Sodden Hold much more powerful to be a match for my players’ min-maxed party.
Hi again. I just checked on HoHR to jog my memory.
What I described before is 'Plan A', as described in the adventure. The dopples count on the City Watch to arrest the party on charges of 'attempted murder' and hopefully 'assault' on the furious crowd and 'resisting arrest'.
The PCs are supposed to be later hijacked/snatched from their cells using transfer orders (official ones, made by dopples infiltrated in the City Watch). I would say that it's much more seamless than using exotic paralytic poisons, but it depends on your party composition (especially if one or more PCs are well-connected or upper-class types, which the CW would never dream to jail, whatever the reason; with common riff-raff adventurers, just go ahead).
You will need a 'Plan B' in case some PCs get clever and flee the scene rather than face lynching by a angry mob, or arrest by the guards, but still don't manage to catch Elaxan (the dopple who stabbed the barkeep).
It would depend on the outcome at the tavern, but if they got separated, I suggest that the dopples try to snatch at least one PC and impersonate him, bringing to the others a providential lead to "their ennemies hideout" (that is, Sodden Hold).
Your thoughts, people?
I recall why I didn't like the idea of the doppelganger murder attempt. It uses another doppelganger scheme, while you are already on the Ixiaxian trail. Too many doppelganger threads kinda spoil the fun. That's why I had the infiltrated doppelganger lead the PCs to the Sodden Hold, where they were ambushed and captured.
I remember a post a long time ago where the DM had told each one of his players, privately, that they were the Doppelganger; and then only revealed the truth when they were all about to ambush eachother :)
I recall why I didn't like the idea of the doppelganger murder attempt. It uses another doppelganger scheme, while you are already on the Ixiaxian trail. Too many doppelganger threads kinda spoil the fun. That's why I had the infiltrated doppelganger lead the PCs to the Sodden Hold, where they were ambushed and captured.
Yep, could be: I see your point. But that's only if the PCs manage to catch Elaxan and so learn that he is a dopple. If they get successfully framed, or have to flee, all they know is that somebody somehow managed to take the appearance of one of them (could also be an illusion, a hat of disguise, a good disguise, etc.). At this point, the plot isn't screaming "dopple alert!"; how it was done only becomes clear, in hindsight, in Sodden Hold.
I don't remerber 'The Weavers'; what was the plot?
lolth worshipping spider people try to bring a plague of hastendeath spiders down onto the Styes.
lolth worshipping spider people try to bring a plague of hastendeath spiders down onto the Styes.
Okey dokey, roger that. I remember now.
Another point : the body thief plot main function is to give the PCs a chance of knowing dopples are involved (forewarned is forearmed, and all that) and a tenuous lead to the Sodden Hold.
What they do with that is up to them: theyr can get suspicious and uncover the mole among them, or get there blissfully and get hit by the turncoat. But even then, they couldn't say that they didn't had a chance to uncover the plot, which helps the DM to keep the game fair (or apparently fair, which is all that matters).
My point is, if the PCs are sent to Sodden Hold without forewarning by the mole, some players could complain about heavy handed railroading (ungrateful whiners!). Having some earlier hints to point at helps the DM to defuse such complaints.
Matter of taste, as always, and heavily dependant on the psychology of your players, but as DM we have to take such matters into consideration.
I've just finished this section of HoHR. I had the accomplice PC get arrested for killing one of the thieves during the chimera encounter, all the other PCs could claim self defence but he struck first and then second.. in the back... as the guy was running away :D Once in jail he got replaced (email RP session with that player, this also gave his doppel alter-ego some info).
I had the player play as per normal, just take a slightly lesser role and not lead in anything. this turned out to be easier than expected as his dice rolling was abysmal! LOL.
This all happened prior to the stabbing in the bar, so once the doppelganger was exposed at the bar, the party became paranoid and kept everyone within sight, further ensconcing the alter-doppel in the party :)
By the time they got into the Sodden Hold maze, they had code phrases all lined up and if all sorts of paranoia regarding players not moving out sight, it was very funny but did slow the game down a bit.
Now they're past that and back in town and are still paranoid about being doppel'd. I think I'll play on it for a little while longer as long as it's not slowing down the game too much :)
You got 'em Edit-B. Hook, line, and sinker. The whole body-thief sub-plot of HoHR requires alot of DM finesse to pull off, but, man, is it worth it! You'll enjoy the looks on their faces when you finally bury that literal knife in their backs!
You got 'em Edit-B. Hook, line, and sinker. The whole body-thief sub-plot of HoHR requires alot of DM finesse to pull off, but, man, is it worth it! You'll enjoy the looks on their faces when you finally bury that literal knife in their backs!
As I recall it was a critical hit with a dire pick in the back...