| Propheus |
So I recently decided to introduce some of my friends to Pathfinder. They have never played a roleplaying game in their lives, but were curious about it when the discovered that I play with PFS. This led to me running a game for them, which they loved and insisted on continuing it as a campaign...I thought I would share this because I'm really loving the campaign. The campaign is being run with the following pregens: Seoni (sorcerer), Kyra (cleric), Merisiel (rogue), and Valeros (fighter). The players selected these characters themselves.
The first game...
I decided that a simple one-shot adventure would be good for the first game as I was not sure what level of complexity/commitment my players would want. Seoni, Kyra, and Merisiel were hired by the chief of a town they were passing through to rescue his son, who had been captured by some goblins led by a hobgoblin (Valeros would come into the picture later when his player joined). Nothing too special there. But the players then expressed interest in another game, at which point I decided to link the two and carry on.
The second game...
So I started the second game with the town having a huge party hosted by the chief. This was to celebrate the safe return of his son. I mentioned that there was a lot of free alcohol and Seoni and Krya decided to get drunk and later sleep off their hangovers. Merisiel spent the night stealing coins from party goers, and also decided to sleep in. When the party awoke, they discovered that a large amount of soldiers from a dictatorship to the north of the town had arrived to recruit conscripts for a siege they were conducting. Given the number of soldiers, the players were uncertain of whether they could win if they fought. So instead they allowed themselves to be conscripted, except for Seoni, who convinced the captain of the soldiers (Valeros, currently an NPC) that he would willingly join the service of the army for some coin. Off the entire party went to the river where they were to be picked up by a boat and taken to the city under siege.
On the way to the river, the convoy of conscripts, soldiers, and PCs was attacked by three boggards. The soldiers, who were in front, were slaughtered and Valeros, the captain of the soldiers, was knocked unconscious. The PCs proceeded to free themselves (with the help of Seoni, who was the only one of the three who had not been bound), and slew the boggards, followed by the few soldiers that remained. Knowing that there might be more conscripts awaiting the boat, the PCs decided to free them too, so in order to be led to the location where the other conscripts were, they saved the life of the Valeros and informed him that the boggards had slain all of his soldiers, but that they were willing to help him escort the remaining conscripts to the tower in which he mentioned there were other conscripts if they could join the army for which he worked. They did not mention that they had slain the other soldiers that were with Valeros. At this point, this did not matter because Valeros was an NPC. I ended the second session with the party escorting the conscripts to the ruined tower where the other conscripts were guarded by more of Valeros's soldiers.
The third game...
So this is where things get interesting. One of my friends wanted to bring a friend. I wanted to seamlessly integrate the new character into the story, so I took a risk. I asked the new player if he would play Valeros. He agreed, so I gave him some backstory - that Valeros is from a middle class family in the kingdom to the north, the Realm of Vernor, that is collecting conscripts for their siege and expansionist goals. Valeros, like most middle class males in Vernor, was conscripted to join the army there as an officer. His family is currently living in military housing, where they are taken care of but also monitored. Should Valeros fail to execute his orders and not bring the conscripts to the siege, and Vernor's military find out about his desertion or insubordination, they will kill or maim his family. However, Valeros can purchase his freedom from the military by paying them 600 gold pieces. Also, Valeros does not know that Seoni, Kyra, and Merisiel slew his contingent of soldiers since his character was unconscious (and an NPC) at that time. So essentially, I was able to create a situation where Valeros has secrets from the other PCs, and they have a secret from him while simultaneously creating the opportunity for them to collaborate. I also told Valeros' player that the ruined tower where the conscripts were being kept that there was a tomb in a lower level of the tower which he thought might contain treasure which he could use to buy his freedom, but which the soldiers under his command were to afraid to attempt to enter.
So the game opened with Valeros informing the other PCs that there might be treasure in a tomb below the ruined tower. Merisiel (and her player) is motivated by gold, so she was immediately onside. The other PCs also reasoned that if Valeros were killed in the tomb then it would be easier for them to free the conscripts (it should be noted that they roleplayed this, and the players themselves did not actually want Valeros to die, but rather their PCs were still unsure of him since he had conscripted them and people from the town).
I had written a poem for how the PCs would need to proceed through the tomb which warned them of each danger and also provided instructions on how to avoid it (in a roundabout way so they had to debate each phrase). The players loved this challenge of interpreting the poem to solve problems. One thing I love about this group is that although they are new players, they really do a great job of roleplaying debate over what they should do next and handling PC disagreements without letting them spill over into player conflict. Long story short, the PCs looted the tomb, disarmed three traps, and killed some undead - while discovering how to use a scroll of spider climb to ingeniously avoid one of the traps I had prepared. One of the dangers in the tomb was a pool which is linked to The Boneyard (purgatory). This is a modified Pool of Fear (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/traps-hazards-and-special-terrains/t raps/pool-of-fear-cr-1/). Essentially, in addition to the fear effect, the pool also has an additional effect - anyone that falls into the pool may be possessed by a soul from The Boneyard. Moving around the pool required a relatively easy acrobatics check, which everyone succeeded on while travelling into the tomb, but which Valeros failed on the way out. So he now shares his body with the soul of another individual (the other players are not yet aware of this, although I hinted to Valeros' player that he is hearing a "voice in his head"). In the tomb, Valeros also found a huge diamond worth 600 gp (enough to purchase his family's freedom), but he decided not to tell the other PCs in case they wanted to take it from him and split it as he does not yet trust them because he knows there is something odd about what happened when his character was unconscious and his guards were killed. End session three.
The fourth game...
The PCs debated how to exit the tomb and hide all their treasure from the soldiers. Valeros revealed that he actually is not an evil person but that his family is being held hostage. He still did not reveal the diamond. Together, the PCs hatched a plan to convince the soldiers guarding the conscripts to go away so they could free the conscripts. They then, after much deliberation, decided to go and rescue Valeros' family (or buy his freedom, they have not decided yet) so that he will be free.
Valeros exited the tomb and informed his soldiers that they should prepare to leave. When the soldiers went into their chambers to get ready, they were locked in and the door secured from the outside. The PCs then proceeded to release the conscripts, intimidating them to make them leave quietly. Knowing that the door holding the soldiers would eventually be broken, they ingeniously proposed to leave 300 gp for the soldiers when they broke out. Five of the soldiers would require 50 gp each to buy their freedom, but the subordinate officer would require 300 gp. So the intent was that the five foot soldiers would slay their subordinate officer to buy their freedom, thereby removing some of the risk that Valeros would be reported to military command for his subversion. The adventure ended with the PCs heading to the river to catch the ship that was supposed to take the conscripts to the war zone. I can't wait to see what the PCs do next and see their reaction to the possession of Valeros by an unknown soul...