Hello!
I'm running a campaign in Darkmoon Vale in Andoran. My PCs just cleared out a bandit camp, and amongst the loot they found a map with a spot marked "Treasure" in the Wolfrun Hills. Just that one word, with an X marking the spot. They plan to head there in our next session... but I have no idea what to put there.
Any ideas?
If it helps, the major themes of our campaign are fey vs lumber consortium, werewolves, and a slowly building thread about the Whispering Way (the PCs have only heard that phrase once, and have probably forgotten it by now, but there are NPCs with plans afoot, which will culminate in the Hungry are the Dead module).
The bandits whose camp they found the map in previously worked for the lumber consortium, but turned to banditry in a desperate attempt to break free of the near slave-like conditions they were subjected to. Their bid for freedom ended when hobgoblins killed them all and took over the camp shortly before the PCs arrived. The map belonged to the bandits, and hadn't yet been found by the hobgoblins when the PCs got there.
S%$%ty Movie: "Frielik leaps into the pit! How much does Frielik get?"
S%**ty Movie: "It's a trap. The pit is filled with gem-encrusted spikes. Frielik is dead."
A Spoony Bard: "Why don't they just climb down there, pry off a couple of gems, and pay for a resurrection?"
Mazes & Monsters Pathfinder is a far-out game. Doesn't have to be conventional treasure. Hell, you could have one of them need to outright die in order to be able to get the treasure, but have the treasure include enough to pay for bringing that party member back to life and removing the negative levels on top of how much you'd normally give them for treasure from finding it, and see whether they do the obviously correct thing or whether they keep some or all of the extra and screw over their buddy.
A tomb that the bandits stashed stolen goods in, but also contains an ancient crypt. The crypt is abide by both fae and lycanthropes alike, though the younger know not why and the elder dare not say.
Sealed inside the crypt there is a being who is, to all appearances, a healthy young man. He will seem friendly and thankful for rescue. He speaks in an older, seemingly more formal dialect.
He is in reality a misbegotten half-breed, from ages ago when a fae noble had a relationship with a lycanthrope. Both sides feared the child, so he was sealed in a magically warded tomb, while the parents were exiled (fae) or executed (lycanthrope). Over the centuries, the wards began to weaken, allowing the child to age slowly into a young adult. His isolation has made him resentful of his captors, and he now seeks their end.
His capabilities and specific intentions are as yet unknown, and it is unlikely he would trust the party with the truth of his existence, until be believes they are trustworthy or at least useful.
Or...
The crypt contains the interred skull of an ancient necromancer who was defeated, but not able to be permanently killed. The skull is still able to speak, and will exchange information for freedom, and aid (in the form of spell knowledge, spell casting, or undead servitors) in exchange for seemingly minor tasks that will allow the skull to transition into demi-lichdom.
Thanks for the ideas, keep them coming!
So far, I like the idea of a cave with mineral wealth worth mining. More so for the political ramifications that could cause with the Lumber Consortium claiming ownership, etc. Maybe I'll submerge it under a lake, just for fun.
One of my PCs just told me she's "had enough of tunnels for a while", so I don't really want to go the tomb/dungeon route, which was my original plan.
they find the treasure and it is very easy to recover, only a few nymphs talking about how the treasure is forbidden. when the PC's take the treasure, they unwittingly release a bogeyman, who is bound to recover his treasure before he can go out and terrorize the rest of the world.
they find the treasure and it is very easy to recover, only a few nymphs talking about how the treasure is forbidden. when the PC's take the treasure, they unwittingly release a bogeyman, who is bound to recover his treasure before he can go out and terrorize the rest of the world.
Or maybe the Nymphs ARE the treasure. XD
If there are a lot of lycanthropes in the campaign, how about some magical silver arrows (or crossbow bolts, or sling stones, or whatever the preferred ranged weapon of the party is) that remove the DR silver from any lycanthropes (or whatever) they hit until the arrow is removed (DC 15 Heal check).
Inspired by that cool vigilante talent.
I was going to suggest a haunted barrow with buried treasure, but you already said some of your party are sick of tunnels.
What is the party make up?
A rouge? ;-)
Anyways, maybe make it a vertical dungeon among some trees?
PCs are a paladin, inquisitor, fighter, gunslinger, ranger and alchemist. (And yeah, lack of a proper arcane caster makes things interesting...)
A haunted barrow was actually my original idea, but then I got the "no more tunnels for now" request and a similar dungeon coming up in future (Revenge of the Kobold King) made me want to change those plans. Then I couldn't think of what to do instead and panicked, but knew I could rely on people here to help me out because you're all awesome.
A treetop village is a fantastic idea, and fits well in the campaign, I think... I'll have to look into that. Even if I don't go with it in this case, it would be a fun thing to do later.
A couple of thoughts:
This treasure hunt does not need to tie into the pain plot. It can if you want or it could be a complete side show.
If you want to punt the issue for a while you can have have the original map lead to another map/clue to the treasure.
There was a White Wolf magazine a while ago that had a really cool little adventure centered around the recovery of an artifact that would multiply gold. Gold that was near it would double in quantity every (whatever period of time). Seems awesome, right? The problem was that the money created was fool's gold. If the fool's gold was taken more than a few miles from the artifact, it disappeared. Near the artifact, the amount of fool's gold became so overwhelming that it basically killed the local economy. I don't recall the rest of the specifics but it was an interesting little idea.
"Treasure" is the stage name of the headliner at the region's only bugbear burlesque show.
What level is the party?
What level is the party?
I've got 6 PCs all at level 4, so APL 5.
This treasure hunt does not need to tie into the pain plot. It can if you want or it could be a complete side show.
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. We'll be going into Carnival of Tears right after this treasure hunt, so something a bit lighter would be good. If nothing else, it makes for a nice contrast with all the gore and violence in that module...
I'm a fan of treasure that is a quest.
Your party can find a tuning fork. Why a tuning fork? It's the tuning forked attuned to a long dead wizard's permanent demi-plane, one needed to reach his plane through the use of plane shift.
Now your party likely wants to try to learn about this wizard and what this plane may contain before they go there. They may not even be high enough level to reach the plane yet themselves meaning they may have to delay gratification.
It also gives you time to plan and scheme. Include some minor loot (gold, gems, paintings) and the personal journal of the long dead wizard.
I like the idea that there's just a small toy model of a chest buried there -- this is actually the focus component for a wizard's secret chest, but the PCs may have to make a DC 23 Knowledge (arcana) or Spellcraft chest to recognize it, and maybe a DC 23 UMD check to use it. (23 for 15 + twice the spell level).
A couple advanced leprechauns might be a ton of fun.
Maybe one stays invisible the whole time?