Hello all,
I am prepping the second module in Jade Regent and as you may know there is a big investigation that takes place in a certain city. I am looking for ways to make the whole encounter here more interesting ... so any ideas long this line are appreciated..... but specifically I was thinking of adding achievements for the PCs as a group or individually try to achieve in each quarter. If they get all of the achievements, there is some kind of reward.
Obviously this is what you do in many video games, such as assassins creed black flag. I am not sure this would translate to RPG, but I find it fun to complete a set of mini missions when gaming.
Do you guys think this could work? What are some ideas for a set of missions?
I have 4th level Barbarian, Monk, Wizard, Bard and Ninja.
Thanks for the ideas.
John
I have a DM who ran that module with us and he added an area beneath the city in the Undercroft that was being overrun by the undead and we had to complete a massive undead dungeon crawl in order to gain the favor of the dwarves so that we could get help to continue on our way, that might be an idea for you.
I have a DM who ran that module with us and he added an area beneath the city in the Undercroft that was being overrun by the undead and we had to complete a massive undead dungeon crawl in order to gain the favor of the dwarves so that we could get help to continue on our way, that might be an idea for you.
I like this idea - I may go with a undergound evil ninja lair with traps and stuff - but interesting.
I guess this is a terrible idea since not many people commented - maybe adding video game elements to RPGs doesn't make sense...
Not a terrible idea Johnnycakes. I can't speak for anyone else, but I just don't know what you're asking for. I've never played Jade Regent, don't play any modern video games (from the last decade) and don't understand a lot of the references. However for general city adventures here's some suggestions:
1. Festival - you need to impress a patron but attending and performing in games and such. Bard needs to perform, wizard needs to anwer trivia/lore contests, barbarian and monk have athletic events and all of these are meant to mask the ninja's task - taking out a patron's rival in broad daylight.
2. Courrier service - the party has a timeline to get a message delivered through a ward in the city that hates outsiders. They can go about it diplomatically, physically, or use spells to complete their task.
3. Sewer crawl - an urban classic; the party descends into the sewer to defeat a menace of the city.
Now I don't know the city you're talking about but here's four plot-lines specific to my homebrew that revolve around impressing a patron and earning a boon from them in an urban setting. These are geared for level 1 adventures, but maybe they'll spark some imagination:
1. Bogwill, the gripili bard, is a simple creature. He is not too bright and is a beggar but he plays his flute brilliantly. Normally he entertains children with his skill and antics. Today however he is very sad; his flute is missing. If you would help him retreive it Bogwill would be an excellent source of information around the city. For the GM: a group of pixies have swiped it from the bard to play a trick on him. They have hidden clues for the party to find that lead to a great tree where the pixies have a small lair. At this point the fey will attempt more shenanigans; its up to the PCs how they want to resolve.
2. Master Goyle is member of the ratcatchers - the guild that keeps the sewers and alleys clear. He's also a drunk and a gambler, but he loved his brother. To honor his dead sibling Goyle has taken in Vanya, his niece; he's training the girl to be a ratcatcher too. Unbeknownst to Vanya, Goyle is secretly pulling side jobs, right on the edge of outright burglary, to put together extra money to set aside for the girl. For all these reasons he approaches the PCs and asks that they help him raid a "secret" cache of wine accessible throught the sewers. Really Goyle's stealing from a wealthy collector. For the GM: Vanya is an odd girl. She and her uncle don't realize it but she's a sorceress. Every so often, when under duress, one of her cantrips will go off unexpectedly. Doing this job nets the party gold and access to an expert sewer guide who is also a member of the rogues of the city.
3. Ilyana is a barmaid and a single mom. Her husband was a woodcutter and took a job with a crew scouting new areas to cut. The crew uncovered a nest of Wooly Bloodfangs (giant spiders) and her husband died from wounds sustained in their escape. The cruel foreman, Bruhn, has been coming on to her ever since. She's convinced that not only did Bruhn get her husband killed but that the burly man kept Ilyana's husband's family heirloom axe as a trophy. She knows the city nor the guild will deliver justice so she asks the party to retrieve the axe for her from the foreman's hangout at a rival tavern. For the GM: if the party accepts the place can be assaulted, broken into or the men and courtesans inside can be charmed. Completing this task nets a 20% cost of living reduction and gives a +2 to Gather Info in the city.
4. Pontess Bulivere is the head of the Pharasmin clergy in the city. A body was brought in and interred awaiting last rights but the Pontess and her other clerics are busily tending to victims of a virulent strain of Filth Fever and she will be unavailable until just after dawn. The PCs then must watch over the body overnight. For the GM: I ran this as a 5-room dungeon with the body turning into a void zombie. I also custom built some sprites who are nature spirits bent on disposing of bodies "naturally" by burying them in fairy graves so this is what the party was guarding against. Success in this task gets the party a 20% discount on healing and perhaps a source for Knowledge: Religion checks.
Not a terrible idea Johnnycakes. I can't speak for anyone else, but I just don't know what you're asking for. I've never played Jade Regent, don't play any modern video games (from the last decade) and don't understand a lot of the references. However for general city adventures here's some suggestions:
1. Festival - you need to impress a patron but attending and performing in games and such. Bard needs to perform, wizard needs to anwer trivia/lore contests, barbarian and monk have athletic events and all of these are meant to mask the ninja's task - taking out a patron's rival in broad daylight.
2. Courrier service - the party has a timeline to get a message delivered through a ward in the city that hates outsiders. They can go about it diplomatically, physically, or use spells to complete their task.
3. Sewer crawl - an urban classic; the party descends into the sewer to defeat a menace of the city.
Now I don't know the city you're talking about but here's four plot-lines specific to my homebrew that revolve around impressing a patron and earning a boon from them in an urban setting. These are geared for level 1 adventures, but maybe they'll spark some imagination:
1. Bogwill, the gripili bard, is a simple creature. He is not too bright and is a beggar but he plays his flute brilliantly. Normally he entertains children with his skill and antics. Today however he is very sad; his flute is missing. If you would help him retreive it Bogwill would be an excellent source of information around the city. For the GM: a group of pixies have swiped it from the bard to play a trick on him. They have hidden clues for the party to find that lead to a great tree where the pixies have a small lair. At this point the fey will attempt more shenanigans; its up to the PCs how they want to resolve.
2. Master Goyle is member of the ratcatchers - the guild that keeps the sewers and alleys clear. He's also a drunk and a gambler, but he loved his brother. To honor his dead sibling Goyle has taken in Vanya, his...
Thanks Mark - Johnnycakes cracked me up - embarrassingly I was called that as a kid from time to time.
Thanks for the treasure trove of ideas. I will grab onto some of these.
I guess I wasn't very clear, my initial brainstorm was to try to come up with some goal for the PCs that was achievement based - rather than just story/quest based. But I couldn't come up with anything that didn't seem too shallow or boring - or too silly.
Example - Go to each of the 8 quarters (not sure why they are called quarters, but they are) and find the missing piece of hack silver. Bring all the pieces together to form the missing jewelry, return to owner for a big prize. I wanted something like this but cool instead of boring and corny.
I think instead of this, I will try to focus on bringing the city to life with these side quests and as much detail as I can.
Thanks for the post!
Now I'm starting to get it. Well, the gripili bard game could easily be what you're looking for.
The poor man-frog has had his precious flute stolen and broken into five pieces. The fey have provided clues to the location of each. Unfortunately some faerie enchantment on the device prevents them from simply being made whole through arcane magic.
If the party gathers all 5 pieces for Bogwill he'll be very appreciative. He's a good source of info around the town. What's more knows a very special song, taught to him by other faeries long ago. If the party brings the flute together and he plays this tune, the party gains some simple abilitiy like a cantrip or a trait bonus permanently on their character. For example you might have Bogwill play the Dance of a Thousand Wings; henceforth all of the party members are exceptionally light on their feet gaining a +1 to all Reflex saves or something.
This discussion is good.
I am thinking that before the party gets to the city of Kalsgard, they meet a wealth leader who tells them about the city he loves. He asks that they embrace the city and learn something about each district. If they are able to become part of the culture and appreciate the people he loves they will be rewarded.
So in each district, there will be some kind of challenge that keeps with the theme of helping out or getting to know the town.
If they are able to succeed in all challenges, something will happen .... but I don't know what....maybe the town rewards them when they are in trouble? Maybe the mayor rewards them....??