Hello everyone, I was hoping someone could help me with designing an adventure scenario for 6th level characters.
Here's the story so far (about designing, not about the other adventures in the series).
The PCs need to talk to a high priest (8th level) of a distant small town so that she can deliver (or interpret) a prophecy. Unfortunately, during their trip to the town (which takes a few weeks without magical travel), an Enclave of Witchwyrds (CR 6 individually) have practically taken over the city (for reasons they aren't sharing). Now I wanted to give them some fairly cool supporters, so instead of searching through the humanoids I thought that machine soldiers (CR 4 individually) might work. But to represent their influence in the city, they also have about 50 3rd level magi (maguses?) (CR 2 individually) fighting for them. (promised a new dawn of magical insight or the like).
The Witchwyrds have banned divination in the city, and prevent persons in positions of high authority from leaving their post. This unfortunately includes the high priest, and prevents her from revealing the prophecy.
There is a Resistance Movement building, though it is young people mainly. Some sorcerers or wizards from the town's university. Most magic wielders seem to sympathize with the Witchwyrds and look forward to the knowledge they can bring.
Any ideas, suggestions for encounters, traps, conflicts? This is supposed to be a little more challenging than their previous encounters as this is supposed to be an uphill conflict (and it leads smoothly into the next adventure).
Well, I would explain away the divination ban as a magical effect with a radius. Then you can have all sorts of fun by turning off divinations inside the encounter sites — that includes detect magic, detect evil, etc.
I presume you don't have a specialist diviner in the party, that would require kid gloves.
Just working from "no divinations" can give you a lot of interesting encounter ideas. Think of the kind of people who would flock to such a location!
Well, the Witchwyrds don't want to suppress their own ability to use divinations, just those of the townpeople.
Unfortunately, during their trip to the town (which takes a few weeks without magical travel), an Enclave of Witchwyrds (CR 6 individually) have practically taken over the city (for reasons they aren't sharing).
Why? How small is small? How big is their enclave? Where did they set up shop? Did they build that building? Where are they from? (You use 'small town', 'town' and then 'city' so I guess it's growing by the second. :P)
Now I wanted to give them some fairly cool supporters, so instead of searching through the humanoids I thought that machine soldiers (CR 4 individually) might work. But to represent their influence in the city, they also have about 50 3rd level magi (maguses?) (CR 2 individually) fighting for them. (promised a new dawn of magical insight or the like).
Maguses are a very rare class, so it's strange to have a ton of them just hanging out. It'd be like if the next town over had 100 summoners working for a league of azers. If you connect the maguses' power to the Witchwyrds-- maybe a magus is what happens when the Witchwyrds witch wyrdly on people (either openly or behind closed doors, whichever style of indoctrination/branding/experimentation/ceremony it is). That makes it a lot more solid-- the maguses aren't just like all responding to an ad on the wall in the plaza saying 'WITCHWYRD OVERLORD SEEKING YOUNG MAGUSES OF 3RD LEVEL, 100GP PAYOUT-- MAY HAVE TO FIGHT ADVENTURERS'. The giant robot people work well, too, thematically. Just from that you can kind of shake out-- there should be a fight against the maguses, the maguses probably have a leader like the witchwyrd's human lieutenant so the PCs may have to fight him too-- or not, he could be sympathetic--, they have to fight a robot, they have to fight the boss robot. Easy enough.
The Witchwyrds have banned divination in the city, and prevent persons in positions of high authority from leaving their post. This unfortunately includes the high priest, and prevents her from revealing the prophecy.
Why? Wait, and on top of that, how? How are they banning divination? Like do the maguses just run around with detect magic-- wait, uh, they can't do that. I guess there's a science fiction object that makes a divination-banning field? And like Evil Lincoln said, what kind of people would end up there if they knew no one could use divination?
There is a Resistance Movement building, though it is young people mainly. Some sorcerers or wizards from the town's university. Most magic wielders seem to sympathize with the Witchwyrds and look forward to the knowledge they can bring.
Why is there a resistance movement? The witchwyrds don't sound like they've done anything wrong besides colonize a town. 'No divination' doesn't sound like grounds for a rebellion.
There's my questions and critique and ideas and you should be able to pull something out of the mess I just wrote.
Sorry, its supposed to be a small town, well maybe a large town, population 2500, with about 500 of that being students. I was originally planning on it being a city, so I wrote it down in my description.
There is a resistance movement because the Witchwyrds, in addition to banning divinations, and prevented prominent folk from leaving the town, have introduced other laws and legalities restricting the use of magic.
But divinations (along with transmutations and enchantments) are the lifeblood of the noncombat core of the magic using society. Casting divinations and lesser enchantments and transmutations are the main ways that the magic users make money. Especially at the University.
The Witchwyrds have also banned the sale of magic items. So those wizards and clerics who make money by crafting scrolls or potions have now lost that income.
The young people also have a tendency to distrust any types of restrictions, and are quick to jump to conspiracy theories. Put those together with the strangeness of the witchwyrds, and you have a bit of a problem.
I didn't think 50 magi would be too extreme a deal. I originally had 100 magi (level 2), but I thought I would make the class seem rarer by halving the number and increasing the level by 1. If you think that fighter/wizards seem appropriate, I can use those instead.
Divination spells require components still, and carefully trained eyes can interfere with the casting of divination spells just as they start (Spellcraft)
Well, the Witchwyrds don't want to suppress their own ability to use divinations, just those of the townpeople. ** spoiler omitted **
Well then, explaining how that's done can serve as a whole other inspiration for encounters. How are they enforcing this no-divination policy?
That's why I was thinking of having the magi, who would basically enforce that restriction by being the neighborhood watchmen. In a town of 2500, 50 magi could each watch 49 individuals (or about there). In addition, there is a bounty for information leading to the arrest of diviners. Its not a perfect system, but you want the PCs to be challenged, not defeated on day 1. If only a quarter of the population can use magic, that reduces the number significantly. 50 Magi could each watch 9 casters. Or they would more likey group up and rotate among the whole populace.
As for encounters, for 6th level adventurers, this is what I have a list of, so far.
Boss
Encounter: Witchwyrd and machine soldier bodyguard (CR 7?)
Encounter: Witchwyrd (CR 6)
Encounter: Two machine soldiers (CR 6)
Encounter: Magus Lieutenant (6) (CR 5)
Encounter: Four magi 3 (CR 6)
Encounter: Three magi 3 (CR 5)
Encounter: One machine soldier (CR 4)
I'm not sure how fitting this is, but would it be possible to devise a collar that suppressed magical abilities? Or possibly an entire school?
I'm thinking a little outside the box here, but there are similar devices in other fantasy tropes. (Legend of the Seeker)
And if there were such a thing, would they be appropriate for 6th level casters to have and use?