I'm planning a homebrewed campaign which will be centered largely on a single city, that they PCs are quite attached to. A few sessions, I want to have a devestating earthquake hit the city, destroying landmarks, killing thousands (including city leaders), and generally just wiping out the status quo. The campaign, ideally, will center around dealing with the unleashed monsters and chaos and delving into the depths of the mega-dungeon beneath the city to find out what caused the quake.
Now I've already figured that I shouldn't kill any of the PCs family members during the quake (though I might let their houses collapse and only allow them a brief time to gather their belongings). I've also prepared for the possibility that they will just up and run from the city, or go join the looting. My difficulty is coming up with the actual mechanics of an earthquake in an urban sprawl.
I want the players to survive those devastating minutes by the skin of their teeth, but I don't really know what's appropriate to do for a big earthquake. What sort of reflex saves do you make to dodge a collapsing building, or avoid a sinkhole? What's the Fortitude save on noxious fumes being released by the earth? And should I do a a Will save to avoid being shaken (forgive the pun) at seeing their homes destroyed?
Basically, I have two questions. What are the right saves for these Lvl 4-5 characters to still be challenging? And are there any other aspects of an earthquake I'm forgetting about that I should include in the disaster itself?
(I've also done my background on the players and as far as I know they've never have a bad experience with a natural disaster, so I'm not terribly afraid of triggering some horrible memories)
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Look to the earthquake spell for some of the basic mechanics, maybe describe things like the tall spires or the government houses collapsing and toppling like falling Giants, the monoliths and temples to the gods being devoured by a fissure that has opened up during the quake as people panic and flee, struggling to hold their feat as the shaking throws everything aside like a rag doll. Survival is going to be paramount as the players struggle to help people out of collapsing buildings, or keep people from being knocked over and killed in the ensuing pandemonium. The earth quake lasts maybe x rounds, as things happen and change and the players chose how to deal with the situations presented.
After the earthquake stops, describe the aftermath. There are people dead and injured, buildings and livelihoods crushed, despiration as the city guards, healers and other groups struggle to provide aid to the injured and consolation to those mourning their losses. And there are other horrors to come as the quake opens up numerous opertunities for criminals, fiends and other unpleasant types to exploit the disaster for their own personal gain. After all, a necromancer could easily form an army from the victims of the quake, theives could loot and scavange the buildings for valuables, cultists could draw support from those whose faith has been shaken, and ambitious antipaladins could take control of the city by corrupting the will and minds of its confused and desperate citizens by controlling resources needed for rebuilding the city.
Run the disaster like a gigantic set piece, with you describing what is happening and asking the players what they are going to do. Apply damage and checks where and how you feel it is appropriate. Heck, just forcing them to take round by round reflex saves to simply stay standing should make them feel that this is a tense and dangerous situation. How can you be a hero and protect people if you can barely hold your feet to move.
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You can also run it like a Chase sequence, with the need to squeeze through small spaces (Escape checks), Climb checks, Acrobatics checks, etc., as they clamber through fallen structures, look for survivors, have to jump across opened chasms, and so on.
I ran a small lodging fire rescue with Chase mechanics, with increasing DCs as the fire roared on, and my group really enjoyed it! Most people groan at Chase sequences, but if done right it works quite well! (They had to rescue as many people as possible in ~ 8 rnds before the building collapsed and no further rescue was possible. This was with 5th level character btw.) You need to keep the pressure on if you use a Chase mechanic - there are consequences for stopping!
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You can also run it like a Chase sequence, with the need to squeeze through small spaces (Escape checks), Climb checks, Acrobatics checks, etc., as they clamber through fallen structures, look for survivors, have to jump across opened chasms, and so on.
I ran a small lodging fire rescue with Chase mechanics, with increasing DCs as the fire roared on, and my group really enjoyed it! Most people groan at Chase sequences, but if done right it works quite well! (They had to rescue as many people as possible in ~ 8 rnds before the building collapsed and no further rescue was possible. This was with 5th level character btw.) You need to keep the pressure on if you use a Chase mechanic - there are consequences for stopping!
This was my thought exactly. The Chase scene rules are a bit weird, but can be done very well. Earthquakes are a pretty terrifying deal and can't be replicated with a single round spell or the like. Players should be required to make a series of rolls, such as acrobatics to avoid opening fissures or climb checks to escape over fallen debris. Give them a couple choices like an Easy Acrobatics to vault over a fallen wall or a difficult strength check to help some nearby children over that wall. I say something like that because you were concerned on them being jerks. Give them a bit of obvious, good guy bait to earn them brownie points. Then when the earthquake is over, maybe the mother thanks them profusely and they can't get away to loot.
Looting shouldn't really be a concern on their mind, since the world is literally falling down around them. Maybe after the earthquake, (if they are terrible awful people!) but give them an entire scene of stuff to do rather than "City falls down". Also, to further discourage looting, put one or more of the PCs families in danger. "Bob and Kevin's families both went to the Temple of Sarenrae earlier and you can see in the distance that it is collapsed! Oh no!" They SHOULD be more concerned with their families over looting random junk. Make another scene out of that. An earthquake and the immediate aftermath could easily be an entire session all on its own.
Assassin's Creed: Rogue Spoiler
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You can also run it like a Chase sequence, with the need to squeeze through small spaces (Escape checks), Climb checks, Acrobatics checks, etc., as they clamber through fallen structures, look for survivors, have to jump across opened chasms, and so on.
I came in to say the same thing. This was my first idea just reading the thread title.
Ah, fantastic ideas using the Chase sequence rules! Giving options of skill checks is inspired as well, I'll def be doing that.
This is all excellent, thank you all so much. I'll let you know how it plays out!
I have no advise, but I just wanted to say:
Chaslin, that is truly an inspired idea! Good luck running it!
Ah, fantastic ideas using the Chase sequence rules! Giving options of skill checks is inspired as well, I'll def be doing that.
This is all excellent, thank you all so much. I'll let you know how it plays out!
Another nice thing about the Chase mechanics is: it lets players use skills they seldom get to try! You can get very creative, and yes - offer options ("Do I Climb across that fallen trellis? Or do I balance (Acrobatics) and cross that fallen beam?") for various obstacles.
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This is a fantasy setting though, so an earthquake could trigger a catastrophic alchemical or mystical explosion, or bring down large statues or monuments to famous kings or persons which can still crush people. A big fire could start from an oil lamp falling over during the quake, and then you have the potential for a massive cloud of flame to start engulfing portions of the city, leaving the players also rushing to keep ahead of the roaring inferno and try to cut it off before it turns the whole city to a crisp. It could also open up the catacombs and crypts of the city, leaving a massive potential for a more dangerous aftermath, with monsterous species and undead be able to reach the surface and start causing chaos.
Also prisoners could escape from the dungeons of the castles or jails during the chaos and seek refuge among the survivors, with some of the REALLY dangerous and psychotic criminals turning back to their old habits, like killing innocents, burning down parts of the city, etc. it might make the campain interesting if you get an innocent medium getting possessed by the spirit of one of these psychotic killers and being split between wanting to help the heroes by providing support and information, and keeping the psychotic spirit inside them from going on a massive killing spree. Even more interesting if the spirit has information on the group responsable for the disaster, like names, motives, plans and strength.