Hey im dming a game where the pcs are latchkey kids in a orphanage, we just ran the first game a short session they met some of the npcs
used survival to dig up grubs for extra food(they only get grool and bread)
the party is a kitsune expert ifrit adept and goblin expert
they will retrain their pc lvls as a time jump thing to get them to adult age.
The goblin pc can only speak goblin so she hung out with goblin kids who were watching a trash fire. the goblins up with a plan to burn some karts passing on the street from above inside abandoned building a ways away from the orphanage(its in a seedy industrial part of town). the goblins recruited the ifrit because they thought he was cool cuz he could make fire. the kitsune followed.
They went to the fifth floor and waited for a cart to pass by then started hurling torches at the cart trying to catch it on fire. a commoner lady ran away screaming for guards, the horse was freed and ran away from the fire. then a clockwork flying helicopter guard(used clockwork servant stats )came after them the ifrit enlarged himself and grabbed the goblin and kitsune and jumped out of the building and into the cart and found its cargo to be hay(i didn't expect them to jump out they were on the fifth floor but i think they forgot) they then ran and the helicopter went towards the goblins as it was flying and say their fire and caught them in its net. the pcs ran and let the heat die down by hiding out in the orphanage. it was really fun i would like to know what other ppl think of some fun missions i could send them on. they have no armor and only had free weapons. give me some advice :)
They could spy on some crooks, join the circus, or stop a hungry gog from stealing their sand which.
some of them would actually probably prefer to join the crooks it seems like they are pretty mischievous so i also need to have reasonable consequences to their actions
rrllmario wrote: Hey im dming a game where the pcs are latchkey kids in a orphanage, we just ran the first game a short session they met some of the npcs
used survival to dig up grubs for extra food(they only get grool and bread)
the party is a kitsune expert ifrit adept and goblin expert
they will retrain their pc lvls as a time jump thing to get them to adult age.
I was on board with the idea of a "Child's Play" type game of Pathfinder. This sounds hilarious and I am totally invested.
Quote: The goblin pc can only speak goblin so she hung out with goblin kids who were watching a trash fire. the goblins up with a plan to burn some karts passing on the street from above inside abandoned building a ways away from the orphanage(its in a seedy industrial part of town). the goblins recruited the ifrit because they thought he was cool cuz he could make fire. the kitsune followed. This sounds like you and your kitsune player are going to need to do something to strengthen the group bond. One of the big advantages of working up from childhood is that you get play the "Childhood Friends" instead of it just being a cliff note. How kitsune-y is your player with his race? Has he revealed his true form to them yet, or is he keeping it a secret? As a kitsune player myself, I personally waited about two days after the adventure started to tell my allies the truth; I had to change to my natural shape to bite someone that was grappling me. Not all players are as trickster-y as I am, though.
Quote: They went to the fifth floor and waited for a cart to pass by then started hurling torches at the cart trying to catch it on fire. a commoner lady ran away screaming for guards, the horse was freed and ran away from the fire. Hahahahahahahaha! Are you SURE you want these PCs to grow up? This sounds like a hilariously awesome game.
Quote: then a clockwork flying helicopter guard(used clockwork servant stats )came after them the ifrit enlarged himself and grabbed the goblin and kitsune and jumped out of the building and into the cart and found its cargo to be hay(i didn't expect them to jump out they were on the fifth floor but i think they forgot) they then ran and the helicopter went towards the goblins as it was flying and say their fire and caught them in its net. the pcs ran and let the heat die down by hiding out in the orphanage. it was really fun i would like to know what other ppl think of some fun missions i could send them on. they have no armor and only had free weapons. give me some advice :) First thing's first; I don't think that you should do a time skip. What I would do is after your players achieve 1,000 XP (2nd level on the Fast XP Track), instead of giving the kids a new class level, let them retrain their NPC class level using the usual retraining rules without aging them up. They're clearly more active and adventurous than normal children, and I honestly think that the "PC Children can't have PC levels" is a terrible rule in the first place. Your players are very clearly going along with being young characters very well and there's no reason to take that away if they're having fun.
Second, how old are these characters? Are we talking the low-end (8 year old children) or the higher end (12–14 year old adolescents). That will have a big impact on what your kids can and can't do. Also, what are the kid's general alignments? My advice would differ if we're talking a Chaotic Neutral band of troublemakers or a Chaotic Evil group of hellions.
Regardless of the answer to those questions, I would make the kids fend for themselves; their shenanigans can be easily traced to them because of how exotic their races are. (How many ifirt kids are there at a time, right?) Maybe have the kids have several "life on the streets" encounters, including getting robbed and dealing with the perils of being a child without a guardian. Things like slavers looking for you and people trying to take advantage of them. From there, try to push them into starting their own orphanage/club/whatever. Sort of a Lost Boys scenario.
That's another thing you could do, actually. Put some Fey in there and have a Lost Boys scenario. Have them shipwreck on an island where they never age and have to fend for themselves; maybe other children are already there and they have to assert themselves as the leader. You could have double the fun when years later (kids are terrible at keeping track of time, after all) kids from their orphanage who recognize them also shipwreck on the island and try to get them to come home.
The kitsune did not play this session super sneaky and hiding the fact that he was kitsune. i gave all the pcs a race feat and the kitsune took realistic likeness so he did use that and will in the future im sure. he always plays rouge type characters in rpgs and this game he is shooting for arcane trickster. no one in the party has played a lot of pathfinder we did a few one shots to get peoples feet wet and they are learning things fast the party likes about half rp half combat and i enjoy that style of play too.
I am actually really happy with how the session went as i was planning on having the first session this weekend but i wanted to test out their characters so i just winged all of it and it came together really well and the players had a blast.
One reason why i thought the npc class thing was a good idea is that they seem like things any person could do without any special training. I had thrown out the idea of them finding someone to train them. A master wizard for the kitsune, a zealous inquisitor for the ifrit, and a raging madman for the goblin, and they seemed to want that to happen. There will also be some more players from time to time but they havent rolled their pcs. and i wanted the time jump just because then in between sessions they were just training and learning from their mentor and i know they want to be adults at some point. But you are totally right that i should keep this going while it is still fun. but even a 6-8 month gap for retraining lvl 1 seems reasonable for a child as they arent really retraining as much as just regular training/learning.
The ages are goblin: 6 or 7 kitsune: 14 ifrit: 8
so the kitsune is closest to becoming an adult a will be shortly without a time skip but dont want other player to feel left behind so i would want to enact the time jump around then but that still gives me up to a year of in game time or so.
and im not doing the ages straight from the book as the ifrit would be hard to fit in and another possible player had been interested in rolling a Samsaran. the alignments are generally on the chaotic side no evil pcs.
The lost boys scenario seems right up their alley the kitsune has talked about his intrest in having a thieves guild so it could be the start of that and have low stakes crimes and mischief. And i had made the point that the headmaster old man Frump opens the gates around 12 or so and closes them at sundown and if they are not in he doesnt care they have to fend for themselves till morning. so the fend for yourself thing is definitely and angle i want to push and slavers would be a good villain for them.
They definitely did cause some attention to themselves but the ifrit was enlarged when the guard noticed him running away, but the guard did catch the goblin kids who came up with the plan that were still in the building. i figure i could send a lawman to ask questions and put up posters looking for an ifrit(although they might think its an adult) and that might scare the kids a bit. but your ideas are really helpful and are getting my creative juices flowing(ewwww lol) so any more advice/tips are welcome
one thing i was also planning to add in the next session is a bombing by a villain in the industrial area,i was going to fully introduce him later but wanted to build up his character and just leave his deeds noticeable by the pcs. so one idea i had is to just pick it up right where it left of with them running and the cart explodes(because it was holding explosives underneath the hay) they just happened to pick that cart to attack. then some major heat and major unintended consequences would be on their shoulder/minds.
Send them cleaning part of the orphanage after they get caught misbehaving--put in faeries, ghosts, imaginary friends.
Introduce a tinker, a maker of toy dolls, the soulbound kind. Have a couple npc kids disappear/be sold from the orphanage. Then target the pcs.
Meet a kid with a an 'imaginary friend' i.e. an eidolon (the rules of NPC classes only was a big mistake IMHO). Have npc their age get jealous and want a 'friend'. He gets one, and bad things need fixing.
There is a gate to hell in the orphanage basement.
Give them a group of rivals, if all three of your characters are boys make them girls.
The kids are not growing up. They age to age 15 or so. Then the adults do something....and they're seven again. Certain kids it is very important that they NEVER grow up.
Circus comes to town, but the circus is not what it seems.
One of the children in the orphange is a ghost. He plays, tells stories, sits in class and does homework. For some reason, only the pcs have noticed he is a ghost.
they will be pc classes soon sometimes you cant give kids all the toys in the shop :)
I just thought that would be best so they feel like they've actually built thier character up, and i would think it takes time and dedicated training and study to become these pc classes so i want to fit that in in a realistic way i guess
I have also run a 'kids' adventure - in my case it was a simple prequel warm-up adventure. For inspiration (beyond Harry Potter and the Thousand-Page Doorstop,) I recommend the comic series Leave it to Chance (out of print) and certain volumes of Usagi Yojimbo (if there's a rabbit-kid on the cover it's probably one you'll find something in). You can nick bits from classic literature such as Peter Pan and Treasure Island, of course. There are a few kids-have-an-adventure films you can mine for ideas (The Goonies is probably the most straight-up Pathfinder-like one.) You can also watch cartoons for campaign inspirations (if anybody catches you, be sure to say you're watching them for 'research purposes'): the two series that spring to mind are Secret Saturdays and Young Justice, but there are plenty more. Just don't watch Scooby Doo for plot ideas, because you're only liable to find one, and we all know how it works.
It sounds like you are keeping it light, but for a darker take on it - take a look at The Devil's Backbone for a good ghost story.
Although even with a ghost mystery, it can be light - Perhaps the ghost is simply a goblin child who slipped on the soap in the bath and is forever doomed to annoy bathers.
i had thought to have an encounter with an attic whisperer would be thematically interesting
maybe he steals their voices then insults, annoys, torments ppl or spreads false information and rumors
I've always wanted to play like a Robin Boy Wonder sort of character. This sounds hella fun, good job man.
The group of kids sees a townsperson paying for some fruit or bread from a vendor and a copper or silver coin drops and rolls down the gutter and into the sewer.
Just as they start to discuss how to fish out the money, a beggar from nowhere grabs one of their shoulders and tells them the tale of 'Old Man Cratchett' or some-such. He grabs children who run away from home and drags them into the sewers.. NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN! Some say, he eats their eyes, cooking them in a cauldron so he can live forever and guard his hoard of treasure gathered from all the lost coins and jewelry in the city.
Then the beggar leans forward from the shadows and reveals he has no eyes before laughing drunkenly and stumbling off.
i like the ideas i think in the next session i want to tie in slavers sewers and the law. the bum they met last session will probably tell them a story about the riches that fall into the sewers but also the sewer monster that roams about. But he's spent time in the sewer so he gives em a map/some equipment/ a tip on something the monster hates/scared of(probably fire you know goblins and ifrits).
they will feel like they have an advantage and probably take the bait. Maybe the Law comes to ask about the fire so the headmaster puts the place on lockdown but they can still acess the sewer from the basement service pipes(dont really know). Then there will probably be a backstab from the hobo and hes sold out the kids to hobgoblin(maybe gnoll) slavers to make some coin.
im just watching lotr and i think it would be a cool idea if the hobgoblins used them as basically child soldiers(the characters said they wanted drugs to be in the game) so they might be hopped up and addicted(also saw this in new one piece)the drugs could curve some of their lower damage also.
but basically the hobgoblins would want to use them in their war against treants cuz they clear cut and over log and stuff. what do you guys think?
Kids and drugs rubs me the wrong way, personally.
You said they wanted to grow up? Why not have them meet a wizard/fey/outsider/genie who agrees to turn them into adults via a magic substance (think ambrosia from Greek mythology, but backwards). However, they turn back into weak children if they don't consume so much of the substance every so often, so the kids end up getting roped into the service of this entity.
It's sort of like a drug, but with a lot less squick.
kids on drugs becoming child soldiers rubs me the wrong way too but im not looking to add it for a novelty im looking to add it because that is something that happens to real children in life(think Congo and Somalia) and i think its interesting to explore from a fantasy setting. I think my group would appreciate it from that standpoint as they would empathize with real ppl and would also be able to rise up and fight their captors and gain satisfaction of freeing their "brothers in arms". Thus earning the admiration and support of the lost boys.
im not gonna actually railroad them into this but only explaining the slavers motives and what they will do if they enslaved them. But i think im gonna run with this idea it seems good to me im gonna run the session tonight.
Now I -really- wanna be Robin in your game.
So last session the cart the kids set on fire exploded and caused a larger fire in the morning the Law was talking to the headmaster. The headmaster woke everyone up and began interrogating the kids, when the story wasnt adding up he began to separate them. when he was interrogating a different kid they all decided to bail from the orphanage. they began to wander the streets exploring a bit and met the kind bum from the first session. They asked him of a good place to busk and perform. The kitsune did acrobatics, the ifrit did a small fire show, the bum played a banjo, and the goblin smiled and held a hat.
They rolled really good and made a very large bit of coin considering they had nothing. A unamused spectator said lame the show was and the kitsune started a scuffle with him AS him, he pushed him over and he dropped an orb which fell into the sewers after the other kids chased after it. Then they had to cheese it as the fuzz was closing in(clockwork robo types) They went to the bums place which is connected to the sewers an had a large metal door he lead them into the tunnel and ran away shutting the door.He took their most of their money(threw them some silver) and locked them up the kids explored the tunnel a bit found his campsite and on the other side fought with rats and mites. they slept it off in his camp and found a suspicious note, the note lead them to the ladder leading lower into the sewers.
There they found a group of Hobgoblin slavers who had a captive(a pc samsaran) they fought really good better than i thought i dropped their hp some(17->11) i did throw in the goblin kids from the first session who came to the rescue when things looked too tough.then the sound of rushing water began to sweep in closer followed by a large sewage wave(2 became sickened. which swept them to the bay and they had a shitty nights sleep under a dock(fatigued) and that was the end, they are all very gungho about finding the bum to take revenge/ enact justice.
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