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I have a handful of different ideas for either story settings and/or individual encounters. Plan on building a fair bit on my own, but I'd like some help brainstorming how to bring some of these ideas together.
Background: Playing with a group of 6 PC's in a shared, sandbox, homebrew world. We all take turns at GM leveling once per story arc/GM rotation. In theory, I will GM 3 to 4 times. The world is built with several land masses and far flung islands so that, in theory, every type of setting and creature is possible (excepting Sci-fi type stuffs).
I've got about half a dozen ideas for things I'd like to present or run on my turns. Probably a few more, but I failed to right them down, so they're adrift somewhere in my subconscious. I'm hoping to draw on the skills and ideas of you who are better and/or more passionate GM's than I to see how these ideas might gel into 3 or 4 distinct story arcs/mini campaigns. Last time I ran for this group, in a different world several years ago, I had several ideas, a great layed out adventure, several enounters and unique story elements . . . . and then I TPK'd everybody on a side quest less than a 3rd of the way in. I need help figuring out how to balance my story builds into manageable chunks, both from a real time perspective, and a themeatic/story based one.
So, the ideas: (some might recognize some of these from other threads of mine)
1. A setting idea, not any story yet. Using the game Candy Land as a setting for a story. Appeal is in the idea of making candy themed monsters and NPC's, not much else there yet. May give this one away to one of our other players who has a young daughter and no GM experience yet.
2. Encounter, possibly multi-encounter idea. Could become whole story-arc. Homage to Plants vs. Zombies. At the very least would like to do 1 (maybe 3) "puzzle combats" using plant critters as summons/allies vs. undead. Maybe have a green witch/druid living in the Tree of Knowledge who either is the quest giver, or is a NPC needed to complete a quest who needs/wants a favor in return. Maybe a feud or turf was between rival plant magic users vs. necromancers.
3. Single encounter/challenge I think, could become more. A dinner party for overpowered monster leaders that the PC's must prepare/solve. This is a multifaceted, gridwork logic puzzle. I got a lot of good feedback on another thread of how to do this. Just not sure if it should be a single encounter, or if it becomes a whole arc of its own.
4. A gladitorial type tournament where each character must fight within the parameters of a specific role. This is the Midnight Games stuff. More combat focused for my hack and slashy players, but with an element of "puzzle combat" or at least more strategy emphasis.
5. A genearl scavenger hunt type quest. Perhaps at the behest of a mage's guild or some such. Could be inert items, but also thinking some type of a critter round up. Thinking pokemon safari zone mixed with a less lethat Jurrasic Park.
6. Full story arc idea, needs individual elements. A micro-sized adventure. Basically the characters all get magically shrunk down to bug size. They won't realize what happened at first. Could just as easily be a mass teleport or planar shift for all they know. Strangers in a strange land type setting along a massive lake river (in reality a ditch/brook running next to the inn they had just left). Meet the micro people, get pulled into a quest to defeat the BBEG that needs the random Maguffin up or down the "river", find out they're all shrunk somewhere along the way nearer to the end, prior to the final confrontation.
I may have other ideas later. I don't claim any of these are amazingly unique/original, but anybody is welcome to use any of these if they appeal. I'd appreciate input on different ways to combine, refine, and/or add to these. The hope, as above, is to have a frame work for 3 to 4 story arcs that could be run in 4 to 12ish sessions of approximately 4 hours each. Keeping in mind that my group tends to progress semi-slowly, and I have a tendency towards over embellishment/complication/biting off more than I should.
If levels matter at all for those giving more mechanical advice, the earliest I might run is Lvl. 4, all the way up to 20. In theory each time I run, we'll be about 5 levels higher than the time before.
Thanks to any and all in advance.
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5. General Scavenger Hunt... CR 4-5...
A Leprechaun Sylvan Trickster is gleefully stealing things from townspeople, and must be stopped. The townspeople are not sure who or what is stealing their property, but they can ill-afford to lose anything else. They want their items returned, if possible. They do not care what the party does to whoever or whatever is responsible.
The Leprechaun uses trickery, illusions, and stealth... preferring to toy with people, rather than kill them. To this end, I have given him Sap Adept and a mwk sap. He also has the Misfortune Hex.
I can give you the whole sheet for the Leprechaun, if you want. I left him 4HD, and just overlapped 4 levels of Sylvan Trickster UnRogue on him... trying to keep his overall HD low... to keep him as low level encounter as possible.
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1. Candyland Game... CR 15-17...
A Gingerbread Witch, probably level 16. And her bodyguard 12th level Barbarian (Tyrant Totem). Nom nom nom... get in my belly!
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I love that you took the Candy Land one to the higher end. That is one seriously scary version of Grandma Nut.
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Sysryke wrote: I love that you took the Candy Land one to the higher end. That is one seriously scary version of Grandma Nut.
You know in Pan's Labyrinth where the little bug people are like don't eat the food, but the girl eats it anyways and wakes up the beast?
It's just a weird world of candy and sweets up until people have to rest, make camp... get hungry...
Once a single, the first, piece of the environment has been tasted by the party, a scream echoes across the land... pain, as if you had taken a bite of something alive...
And now, it's full horror, hunt and be hunted... basically a chase scene... as you try finish your game of Candyland... that the party doesn't even know they are a part of.
Oh no, you landed on the mud slide square... you slip all the way back to here... does the party go on, or go back to help you? See Candyland is NOT a team game, so playing as a party will require choices to be made.
It's actually a Maze spell... as soon as anyone beats the game, everyone is out... but they don't know that... so every time they go back to help, the Witch gets closer... if you die in the game, your character dies for real... so it's actually best to leave those that fall behind, and just try beat the game before the Witch finds/eats the friends that are behind you... but no level 15 party has made it this far with a habit of splitting up the party...
It should be quite unnatural to abandon your friends and all-out race as individuals... for the team to survive. Lol.
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Creepy, I like it.
Sadly I have yet to see Pan's Labyrinth. It's on my Netflix queue, but I just haven't been in the right mood yet to watch it. Plus, apparently it freaks my husband out :p
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Sysryke wrote: Creepy, I like it.
Sadly I have yet to see Pan's Labyrinth. It's on my Netflix queue, but I just haven't been in the right mood yet to watch it. Plus, apparently it freaks my husband out :p
You have to be in the mood to watch a movie you have to read... or I did, at least... I am not French, or know the French language... or whatever language it is in... but I normally have subtitles on, anyways... just a head's up...
Great movie, though. No CGI... all smoke and mirrors old-school effects...
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4. Gladiator Arena... CR varies...
It starts almost as an interrogation. 1-on-1 in a little room. The speaker talking to you is addressing the tactics you have used up to this point, as if you are on trial for crimes against humanity... your abhorrent use of force thusfar...
The illusion is broken by the roar of a crowd... a stadium full of onlookers appears as the walls of the room, as well as the speaker themself, fade out of view... you are in the middle of an arena lined with mirrors...
From any single mirror along the walls, an exact reflection of yourself steps out...
At this point, you can probably guess what happens next... each player has to fight themself, controlled by you... same feats/equipment/class abilites/spells prepared...
Allow the reflection to enter/exit any mirror they please... including any Mirrored armor or shields the PC may have...
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Since these are quite unique settings, and probably not everybody at the table will be familiar with the reference: I'd introduce the setting slowly. Examples:
1) Start in a normal forest. Let the PCs find a trace of candy. The trace leads to the gingerbread witch's house. While monsters might be candy themed, you can still add (more or less obvious) hints what the base monster is.
2) The players might think they can mow down zombies anyway, so first there would be little incentive for them to use special mechanics. Throw zombie troops, giant zombies, flying zombies and zombie lords at them, until they start to sweat. Let some NPC use special mechanics to take out a serious amount of zombies, then let them have a fatal accident (they are not the star, after all). Now the players might be more motivated to use alternate means. Especially if you keep it simple and rewarding at the beginning.
3) Don't forget to give players a reason why they are supposed to prepare a dinner party. Maybe the monster leaders have some special knowledge they won't share otherwise, maybe they find it fun to throw gold at everyone who succeeds at a certain subtask. Fey might be a good creature type here.
4) They might hear of the tournament first, then meet some people who want to participate / place their bets / watch. Make these NPCs really look forward to it, to make the event more attractive.
5) Sorry, too many references I am not familiar with.
6) Well, IMO it doesn't hurt much if they know about the shrinking beforehand. Maybe someone tells them it's the only way to achieve something. Alternatives to the two spells would be a good old portal, some weird ritual or divine intervention. And maybe they shrink step by step.
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2. Plants vs Zombies... CR "higher the better"...
Plants are NOT immune to becoming Undead, don't forget that...
So you have one of your little islands be in the middle of a lake or sea... have this island populated with plant people. Somewhere along the opposite shoreline is a sprawling populous that believes dropping their dead into water is the proper burial... have something in the water(?), or a local Necromancer... be raising the dead from the lake/sea, and they meander on to the island with the plant-people...
Endless deluge of Undead... waves... waves stacking on waves... pretty much endless Undead...
If you need help with a bad guy for this, I have a Mystic Theurge Necromancer that can CONTROL 200+ HD of Undead, following Ryze's beautiful advice on how to recycle and reuse. He is a level 20 Dhampir Worm that Walks...
Oracle 4/Witch 3/
Agent of the Grave 5/Mystic Theurge 8
Like I said, higher the CR, the better...
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3. Mad Hatter tea party... CR 11...
Skill challenges with DC's that require ten ranks or more in the skill to pass... a reason for making the Skill Focus and Signature Skill feats shine...
Have literally every other challenge tied into this tea party, with bonuses and penalties dependant on the success/failure of the skill challenges at this dinner.
Say the wrong thing here at the dinner table... now the Gingerbread Witch "starts" a number of game-board squares closer to the party in the Candyland challenge... or the first wave of zombies doubles in the Plants vs Zombies challenge...
No noticeable penalty for failing the challenge at the table, though. Just a dumb, peaceful tea party... for all they know...
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6. Honey, I shrunk the kids... CR ???...
Please have a Pugwampi be the "Big" Bad End Guy for this...
They [Pugwampi] are so much fun, and literally NEVER get to tower over their enemies...
Fee-Fi-Foe-Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman... be he live... be he dead... I will grind his bones, to make my bread...
But it's a freaking Pugwampi!!!
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Thanks for the ongoing contributions. Getting some great ideas. With my particular take on the shrunken world story, the players not realizing at first is part of it for me. I want them to discover it as we play.
Is the pugwampi an evil and/or mischevious fey and/or goblinoid? That could work quite well.
Truly appreciate all the help so far. However, can anyone give some further ideas just on the storyboarding of these concepts? V Monk's tea party with long term consequences is one good idea, but I'm still trying to figure out how to mix and match these ideas into four distinct story arcs. Not sure which ideas are single (maybe 2) session encounters, or should be paired down to such, and which ones are, or can grow to be, whole arcs on their own.
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I don't know how hard or expensive it is to find first ed modules but TSR did the whole Alice in Wonderland theme rather well.
The Tea party idea with powerful monsters could actually work as your BBGG. The party they have are to start and bet of the various world theme games. Candyland could be the purview of a Gingerbread demon witch. Plants versus Zombie several demons specializing in undead. Maybe use a Qupploith for the plant creature. Roman gladitoral games any major monster could be into that. A Bhatgest for the shruken world.
For the shruken world Micheal Crighton did a novel on that name escapes me perfect for ideas. In shruken land don't discount insects. Red Ants as tiny as they are can be a threat to people in the south. Now picture them as large as you. Same with other predatory bugs. Praying Mantis the size of a house to you. People are afraid of spiders, now imagine that fear when it's the size of an elephant chasing you.
Derek Dalton wrote: For the shruken world Micheal Crighton did a novel on that name escapes me perfect for ideas. In shruken land don't discount insects. Red Ants as tiny as they are can be a threat to people in the south. Now picture them as large as you. Same with other predatory bugs. Praying Mantis the size of a house to you. People are afraid of spiders, now imagine that fear when it's the size of an elephant chasing you. Everyman Gaming/RGG has a 3pp sourcebook called Microsized Adventures which might prove useful for your idea, Derek Dalton. :)
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Today is a good day to... halp wrote: Derek Dalton wrote: For the shruken world Micheal Crighton did a novel on that name escapes me perfect for ideas. In shruken land don't discount insects. Red Ants as tiny as they are can be a threat to people in the south. Now picture them as large as you. Same with other predatory bugs. Praying Mantis the size of a house to you. People are afraid of spiders, now imagine that fear when it's the size of an elephant chasing you. Everyman Gaming/RGG has a 3pp sourcebook called Microsized Adventures which might prove useful for your idea, Derek Dalton. :) Yep, yep! Thanks to you both. I'd had that particular book recommended on another thread, just don't have the budget to get it yet.
@ Derek, you said "The party they have are to start and bet of the various world theme games." What was that supposed to say? I'm assuming an editing error, but I couldn't quite grasp your meaning.
Also, in the vein of not letting the players realize they've been shrunk right off the bat, my intent is to use bugs and mice and such beasties. I plan to describe them vaguely at first though, and let the realization come with time. I'll need to read that book for mechanical help, but my hope is to shrink the party to something like sub-fine size, so that even bugs are medium or large size by comparisson.
Somewhere I thought I saw mentioned a tea party with monsters theme. I was referring to the monsters at the tea party are actually responsible for the various themes all of them being power demon devil type lord.
Sorry for confusion have a cat on my lap when I usually type
Derek Dalton wrote: Somewhere I thought I saw mentioned a tea party with monsters theme. I was referring to the monsters at the tea party are actually responsible for the various themes all of them being power demon devil type lord.
Sorry for confusion have a cat on my lap when I usually type
Gotcha. I do like the idea of the stories somehow having a larger link, and the dinner/tea party has definetly received the most traction on this thread. Originally I was imagining a more medieval or Victorian style dinner party with several iconic big bad monster types attending; demon lords, master vamps, high level hags, etc. Was feeling a more gothic or horror theme, but the tea party feel could also work.
The core idea is still to make the dinner a puzzle. Something along the lines of which beastie, eats from which dish, is served what entree, from what place at the table type deal. Obviously that's drawing on a lot of player knowledge and skills over characters, but I've gotten alot of good input from the other thread on how to balance this, and make it more engaging for all types of players/characters.
The linking idea that you all have given me is intriguing though. So, now my question would be this, do I do this as my first run early in our campaign, or do I save it as a culmination for high level play?
If you list my group off as players A through F, basically player A GM'd us at level 1, B 2, C 3, etc. Once we go through, everyone will run again, though not necessarily in the same rotation. Point being, there will be anywhere from 3 to 10 levels between one story arc of mine and the next.
If I do the dinner/tea party puzzle as my first run, I could lay the ground work for story hooks for later runs. The monsters should definetly not be fought then, as even if we're level 6 when I run, that's too many powerful beasties for us to fight. This encourages engagement/compliance with the puzzle aspect. Potential problem is, players may not remember relevant info or have carried/maintained needed McGuffins if I do this early, and it seems to metagamy/self aggrandizing if I have my character hold on to all of the relavent stuff. When each of us runs, our character is supposed to fall back into a support, pseudo-NPC role.
If I do this as a high level, culminaton/convergence of storylines, the big beasties become appropriate CR to the party. It's also kind of fun to think of this as a reaveal that ties toghether several story threads. The characters may even bring certian, items, powers, or skills to the table that are essential to the puzzle. Question becomes again, how do I ensure they have the right items, without meta gaming, giving to much away in preveiws, or placing too much importance on my character?
In either scenario, for those of you who are the more/most experienced GM's, is the dinner party puzzle enough to be an arc of it's own, or is it only a session or two that needs more added to become an arc? My instinct leans towards the later, but not sure how much becomes too much.
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What you could do which was a common tactic in another games system was foreshadowing. Let the players somehow witness the party but not actively be there. The reason for this suggestion is I have seen players decide to try and fight monsters way above thier level thinking they have to. Even if the monsters use non lethal force the party will get stomped on hard.
Maybe they are invited to the party aware they are not supposed to fight that could work. The idea of a Alice in Wonderland Tea party is because it comes across as a bit silly but at the same time scary as hell. A Vampire drinking tea dressed in a frilly sort of outfit. A Balrog asking everyone to show manners. a Hag actually looking more like Jessica Rabbit not an evil old crone. The party walking in on this being invited to sit and enjoy the refreshments. Skill check to see what is being served and if they really want what is offered. That tea isn't tea but something else. Blood of a Unicorn? Something to consider for this party these are high level powerful Evil monsters. Finger food might actually be fingers more then likely an angel or something along those lines. A result of intruding on the tea party is someone suggests the PCs play a game.
VoodistMonk wrote: 5. General Scavenger Hunt... CR 4-5...
A Leprechaun Sylvan Trickster is gleefully stealing things from townspeople, and must be stopped. The townspeople are not sure who or what is stealing their property, but they can ill-afford to lose anything else. They want their items returned, if possible. They do not care what the party does to whoever or whatever is responsible.
The Leprechaun uses trickery, illusions, and stealth... preferring to toy with people, rather than kill them. To this end, I have given him Sap Adept and a mwk sap. He also has the Misfortune Hex.
I can give you the whole sheet for the Leprechaun, if you want. I left him 4HD, and just overlapped 4 levels of Sylvan Trickster UnRogue on him... trying to keep his overall HD low... to keep him as low level encounter as possible.
Could you send me this character? I'm actually thinking of him as the possible villain (maybe a smidge more evil) for the micro adventure.
The MacGuffin is going to be a magic crystal. It belongs at the heart of a spring near the inn, but I think it will have been stolen, and then lost, by this guy (or maybe someone like him). I'm thinking that the crystal is going to be taken from him, by force or guile, by a faerie dragon with ambitions.
The crystal will be the new crown jewel in the faerie dragon's "horde". It amuses me to picture the party going into a colossal 3 dragon's lair, that's actually just the size of a house cat.
Looking through this old thread, I forgot about the pugwampi. Still need to look into that race/creature. Wonder if I could use the trickster build on a pugwampi . . . . May also fit better with me wanting him to be a bit more evil, or at least malicious.
I've also considered throwing an evil cleric type into the mix. Either the one who stole the crystal at the behest of a malign deity to foul the waters, or maybe just a crooked opportunist who seeks to stop the return of the crystal because he's risen to greater influence over the people since the properties of the waters went wrong.
I definitely want a final BBEG for my combative types to get a climax combat, but I also like the idea that this is all a small regional upheaval between three differing powers. The faerie dragon is one, because of his enormous size (HA!). The cleric is another. Not sure if the thief is a separate third, or if I want/need that to be something else.
So, obviously I'm jumping back on this thread hard. Our least experienced GM is running us for level 4. She was super nervous, but she's an amazing story teller, and her first session was a blast. I think she is running with some of my Candy Land ideas, but with a lot of her own elements added. Anyway, if I don't start prepping now, I won't be ready when it's my turn, even if that's after Christmas :p S
I've pretty well decided that the micro adventure will be my first bit, and we'll be level 5. Seven of us now (doesn't bother me at all), which fish my gladiator ideas for later. I know that the gladiator idea, the puzzle/dinner/tea party, the plants vs. zombies, and the scavenger hunt(s) will all come later. The dinner party tying in to all the rest still appeals to me strongly, just unsure if it's the last story, or a mid point with a return/call back later.
For now, I need to focus on the micro world. Please bear with me as I probably will make numerous posts trying to organize my thoughts.
Sidebar: would it be better for me to start a new thread on just the micro world story? If so, could someone help me post a link back to this thread?
Okay. At this specific moment in time, I know I'm just talking to myself. Going to use this space to work out my storyline. If it needs to be a new thread, I'll copy and paste later. Thanks again to all who were involved in the first run. Thanks to all who contribute moving forward.
Lists work for me, so NEW NUMBERS all comments, ideas, notes, tweaks, and especially GM/story advice welcome.
1. Story will pick up with party hearing about a "resort"/inn near a regionally famous natural spring. We might be seeking a healing fountain in our current story arc, to soon to know for certain. Depending on how that plays out, and how central it is to the story, this may or may not be the same spring.
If it's a major element of the current arc, I may need a different natural feature for the resort. If it's not, then it may provide a natural transition.
Either way, by proximity, rumor, or direct invitation, the party will travel to this resort for recovery/downtime/vacation. Going with the spring theme, the waters will be reputed to have magical/devine properties. Minor restoration and healing from bathing/drinking; mending, repair, and quality/value enhancement of items washed; superior flavoring and nutrition of foods and beverages cooked r brewed with the waters.
My character is a merchant prince, so beyond the obvious experience draw, I could persuade the party this is an investment opportunity. Either way, we go, and the facility is top notch, but the waters aren't all they're cracked up to be.
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More posts and numbers to follow, but my posts tend to be TLDR as it is. Thanks again!
2. Adventure kicks off in proper sometime the next day. When we prepare to leave the inn, we will pass near to or over a small brook that flows in front of the inn, fed from the spring. This is the major geographic feature of the whole arc.
Some mysterious/random figure is going to show up and shrink the party. I'm unclear on most of the details here. Not sure if this should be a villain, a micro world NPC come seeking champions, or a macro world oracle who is just a random tool of fate. Not sure if he should run up, appear out of nowhere, or be waiting when the party comes outside. Also unsure if he should be stationary, involved in an obvious ritual, or accosted by assailants.
Whatever the details, this entity will be the vehicle by which the party is shrunk. There will be obvious, but unidentifiable, magic effects. Storms, load noises, smoke, flashes? Definitely some momentary sensory wipe out. The key thing is that while the party will clearly know that something supernatural has occured, the should have NO IDEA that they've been shrunk.
3. Unlike the first two bits, which hopefully are fun, but shouldn't take up to much real world time, this should be the first scene where some skills, powers, problem solving, or dice rolling comes into play. The PCs senses will slowly fade in. A whistling in their ears, the rush of wind in their faces, a blooming, tickling, void-like ache in their guts. The characters will find themselves falling from a seemingly impossible height. Hopefully, some measure of panic ensues.
The characters will eventually notice they appear to be falling over a vast body of water; something like a small sea, or the widest river one might imagine.
I as the GM know they are now micro sized. Per that rules system, the party are in no danger of falling damage. They are effectively the size of ants and fleas (fine 5 and 6) and really only falling from their respective natural heights. The great river is of course the brook. Both of these might be clues to the shrink, but hopefully the fall pulls focus from that.
I know at level 5 some of the party might be flight capable, but hopefully not all. Waiting here to see what solutions the players find to save themselves and mitigate or prevent the fall. Debating on what hazards might/should be on or in the water. I've considered effects to bounce them on the water, but not sure if that's too much of a giveaway. Also thinking about plunging below and swim/breathing checks. Should their be some giant aquatic monster (minnows) that try to swallow some of the party?
I don't want this to turn into a true combat. I'm also aware, that while I have a linear story in my head, player choices run that all to heck. I'd appreciate tips on how to create character choices (at least 2 or three) that create player agency, while balancing the need to hit certain plot points that progress the tale.
With that in mind, I figure the fall can end one of three ways
(four?). Either the group somehow all make it to land on the far shore, they end up in some state on/in the river, or they all end up Jonah-like in a fish. Possibly a combo if the party splits into an every man for himself scenario.
Assuming I don't have to wrangle everyone together, the next part begins with an encounter/rescue by some microverse natives.
4. I'm unsure how I want the natives to look. I'm drawing some inspiration from a Zelda game (Minish Cap) as well as a few movie from the mid 20 teens (don't remember the titles). I'm leaning towards a random assortment of vaguely fey humanoids, or possibly some abberant type bipeds. Either way, no obvious buggy features, and an assumption that these creatures exist in a state to small to be normally appreciable by macro worlders.
Hoping that the party ends up in the river. A vessel of some sort will arrive to fish out the party. Otherwise, after a brief bit of time on shore, the party will find a small dock/fishing encampment.
Roleplay and story bits. This should be the vehicle to bring the party to the main "city" of this region. I'm bad with names, so recommendations are welcome. The city will be beautiful, wonderous, and relatively sophisticated. The city exists under, inside, and throughout, a large rock that is partially immersed in the brook, so the party will enter what appears to be a great mountain in the river from a great cavern/overhang that leads to the city. I'm imagining your classic dwarven city with added touches from Tales of Arcadia's Troll Market, and maybe bits of Native American architecture. I'm thinking I mean the Pueblo of the American West, but that history class was a long time ago.
Anyway, aside from hopefully interesting and beautiful scenery, this city will be where the party takes stock, tries to process their shock, and starts to try and figure out what the heck happened to them. I'd like to sprinkle in some fun descriptive moments that lead to some shrinking clues. Again, hoping for mostly too subtle. One thing I will do is have a big storm. The rain will be so thick, the windows (magic faux stone viewing ports) will look like their under a waterfall. In fact the raindrops are just to massive to process. This will flood part of the city, which both it and the residents are designed/adapted for.
Wondering what other scenes or opportunities should present in the city before the party learns about "the bad thing"; the current threat to this region that, funnily enough, our heroes may just be able to help with.
5. Not so much a scene/encounter as basic story info. Going to put this here so folks know where this story is supposed to go, then stop for the night.
This being the microverse around the spring, the people of this world are geographically, culturally, and possibly religiously linked to the waters. They know of the Sacred Sucrodium. Bad science pun, literally a sugar salt, but divinely magical. This is the MacGuffin crystal that either sits in or caps the headwaters of the spring, below the surface, where the water bubbles up from deep within the earth. This crystal has gone missing, stolen by an unknown agent, and is the reason the waters are no longer as they should be. In the macroverse, this has manifested as the spring waters being mostly mundane, but down at this level, the effects are more dire.
Unsure myself who took the crystal or why. That will be a mystery for the players, but I need to figure out why bad guy's gotta bad, or prankster took it too far. I think it's something different that has done the theft, but I'm leaning towards the idea that there's an evil cleric involved now. Agents of the church (bad, or trying to purge the corruption?) are one possible source of info for the party.
What I do know, is that the original thief lost the crystal to a faerie dragon who resides near the spring. Some divinatory agent will point the party in the direction of the crystal, but they won't know who currently possesses it. They'll have to travel the river to get to the lair and recover the crystal. They will then have to find a way to get to the source of the spring to return the crystal to it's rightful place.
Between the basic core of the story, and encounters along the way, I hope to engage each of my party members on a character or mechanical level (hopefully both).
My character becomes a psuedo-background GMPC of course, and I provide one possible link to the starting location. I also have a cleaning obsession with this character. Mechanical engagement not a must for me, but I'm a whip wielding, plague bringer alchemist/sorcerer, who mixes "clean" and "dirty" spells in combat. I am good, but embrace the concept of disease as a natural bi-product of commerce, and a crucible for the advancement of life. The whole "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" bit. Ratfolk.
Aside from me, we have an Undine cleric/bard who fights with a Trident and dances the Hakka as her performance. I figure threats to sacred waters should engage her on a race/class level.
We have a Kobold, dragon themed Shifter, who has scale color dependent psychology, and a belief (true or otherwise) that he's the earthly heir of both Bahamut and Tiamat. The faerie dragon is at least in part for him. I like the idea that his first (on screen) encounter with a "Great Wyrm" will really be a tiny faerie dragon.
We have a Gnome monk/alchemist. He has a penchant for shrinking himself to Tiny size. Interesting ramifications in a micro world; could lead to the final discovery of their micro state. He wants to climb big bad things, flurry slice them open, and deposit bombs in the holes. I think I can provide an opportunity or two. Not sure about story/character motives though.
Our other three players are less involved roleplayers, semi-frequently absent, or new to the game.
There's a Centaur ranger who uses a lance, a battle axe, his hooves, or a bow, in that order. He's a happy hack and slasher. I'm thinking that when we fight various animals and vermin that are usually no threat, he'll have some opportunities for tracking, identifying, and/or maybe some handle animal checks. May be a bird or bug ride somewhere along the way.
Half-Elf Arcanist/cleric is the kind of hopeless and often absent player. She wields a crossbow and focuses on being the heal bot. Has utility spells that she doesn't really understand how to use, no matter how many times explained. Nice lady, but our most frustrating player. Only character traits I know for her is she tries to sell people mistletoe and Holly berries, she mentioned baking sweets once, and she's loosely inspired my some flower or herb selling Final Fantasy character (I don't know which one).
Last, not least, is the new guy. Half-Orc Ranger. Uses a bow, has a short sword for melee. Yours by the name of Kevin Hammertoe. Funny and nice guy. Relatively new to RPGs in general; a smidge of D&D play (unsure 5e or 3.x). Aside from generic loot and adventure, not sure what makes him tick yet.
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Kudos to anyone who can plow through these long posts. Eager and hopeful for feed back. Any input on where or how to engage players for possible spotlight/foreground moments is appreciated. I know certain stories naturally fall to characters in differing ways, but hope to sprinkle a little something for everyone. More to come as I get ideas, if I can keep my motivation train running.
Leprechaun Rogue CR 4
Source Bestiary 2 pg. 177; Ultimate Wilderness 2017
XP 1200
CN Small fey Sylvan Trickster UnRogue 4
Init +9;
Senses low-light vision;
Perception +18
Defense
AC 16, touch 16, flat-footed 11
(+5 Dex, +1 size)
hp 34 (4d8+12+4)
Fort +3, Ref +9, Will +4
Evasion; Danger Sense +1;
DR 5/cold iron;
SR 13
Offense
Speed 40 ft.
Melee
+1 sap +10 (1d4+5 nonlethal), or
+1 club +10 (1d8–1)
Spell-Like Abilities
(CL 4th; concentration +8)
Constant—shillelagh
At will—dancing lights, ghost sound (DC 14), invisibility (self only), mage hand, major image (visual and auditory elements only, DC 17), prestidigitation, ventriloquism (DC 15)
3/day—color spray (DC 15), fabricate (1 cubic foot of material only)
1/day—major creation
Witch Hexes
(10 + 1/2 class level + Int)
At will--misfortune (DC 16)
Statistics
Str 7, Dex 20, Con 14, Int 18, Wis 16, Cha 18
Base Atk +3; CMB +0; CMD 17
Feats
Improved Initiative, Sap Adept, Stick Fighting Style*, Weapon FinesseB
Talents
Fey Trick (Witch Hex), Ninja Trick (Style Master)*
Skills
Acrobatics +9, Appraise +8, Bluff +11, Climb +2, Craft (alchemy) +9, Craft (traps) +8, Diplomacy +8, Disable Device +9, Escape Artist +12, Intimidate +8, Knowledge (geology) +8, Knowledge (local) +8, Knowlede (nature) +11, Perception +18, Perform (comedy) +9, Perform (dance) +9, Sense Motive +10, Sleight of Hand +16, Stealth +12, Swim +2, Use Magic Device +11.
Racial Modifiers +8 Perception, +4 Sleight of Hand
Languages Common, Elven, Halfling, Sylvan
SQ leprechaun magic; Sneak Attack +2d6; Wild Empathy; Resist Nature's Lure; Danger Sense; Debilitating Injury; Witch Hex
Ecology
Environment temperate forests
Organization solitary, pair, band (3–6), or family (7–10)
Treasure npc (mwk club, mwk sap, other treasure)
Special Abilities
Leprechaun Magic (Sp)
When a leprechaun uses any of its spell-like abilities to deceive, trick, or humiliate a creature (at the GM’s discretion), the spell-like ability resolves at caster level 8th rather than 4th. If a leprechaun uses its spell-like abilities in this manner, it has a bonus of +12 on concentration checks.
Wild Empathy (Ex)
A leprechaun can improve the attitude of an animal. This ability functions just like a Diplomacy check made to improve the attitude of a person. The leprechaun rolls 1d20 and adds her class level and her Charisma modifier to determine the wild empathy check result.
The typical domestic animal has a starting attitude of indifferent, while wild animals are usually unfriendly.
To use wild empathy, the leprechaun and the animal must be able to study each other, which means that they must be within 30 feet of one another under normal conditions..
Generally, influencing an animal in this way takes 1 minute but, as with influencing people, it might take more or less time.
A leprechaun can also use this ability to influence a magical beast with an Intelligence score of 1 or 2, but she takes a –4 penalty on the check
Resist Nature’s Lure (Ex)
Starting at 4th level, a leprechaun gains a +4 bonus on saving throws against the spell-like and supernatural abilities of fey. This bonus also applies to spells and effects that target plants, such as blight, entangle, spike growth, and warp wood.
Description
Leprechauns are small, fun-loving tricksters. They are most commonly found in forests and share the close connection with nature that is possessed by most fey creatures. Leprechauns love playing tricks on unknowing passersby—almost as much as they love a fine bottle of wine and a plateful of hot food in their bellies. They often steal something of worth from adventurers just to provoke a chase. Using their ability to disappear at will to its full potential, they wait until their victims appear to be about to give up the chase before reappearing once more to let the chase resume. They are not greedy creatures, and eventually drop what they’ve stolen, slipping away while their angry pursuers claim the lost property. The exception is gold—leprechauns love gold and often hoard it in secret, hidden places. It is rumored that a person who finds a gold coin in the forest and returns it to the leprechaun that dropped it will be granted a wish as a reward. Unfortunately, these rumors are false—likely perpetuated by the leprechauns themselves in order to trick others into bringing them gold.
Leprechauns prefer not to kill other creatures unless the ones attacking them are malicious or known enemies of the forest or fey. They often use their powers to befuddle and annoy evil folk, tricking creatures such as goblins and orcs into thinking a forest is haunted.
If you're going to go Alice and Wonderland, that potentially covers BOTH tea party part of the time and being micro-sized for part of the time. With a bit of stretching, you could also fit in the other ideas in the original post.
UnArcaneElection wrote: If you're going to go Alice and Wonderland, that potentially covers BOTH tea party part of the time and being micro-sized for part of the time. With a bit of stretching, you could also fit in the other ideas in the original post.
Appreciate the idea, but won't quite fit for this group. We all share the world, so there's no one central theme. The theme of each story arc is in the hands of whichever player steps up to GM us through the next level. I've drawn a few bits of inspiration from other posters who thought of Alice and Wonderland in regards to my OP, but it's not the core of the idea. The big puzzle idea, is likely to be a big table gathering, but more likely to be a dinner (tea might still be served :p).
Thanks for the idea.
6.(a) Doing this on break at work, may not finish before I've got to get back. Wondering if I should/need to throw in a small combat encounter during part 3 or 4. I don't want the start of the game to get to monologuey or full of exposition. Not sure how to judge my pacing. Thoughts?
Anyway, keeping in mind that I still really need to work on (or get suggestions on) how to fill in and flesh out part 4, the impetus to get the party out of the city under the rock is that they will learn of the missing Sucrodium and get sent down the river to go retrieve it. The boat journey was my original inspiration for this campaign. And . . . . . I'm out of time. Client just walked in, part 6b will have to come later tonight.
6.(b) So, later tonight, turned into 2 days later, and I'm back at work. Had a cancellation though, so I have a couple of hours to kill.
The objective for part 6 here is to send the party on a journey to go recover the Sucrodium from where it is currently stashed.
I had been thinking that I wanted to accomplish this as a boat ride down the river.
I live in a city prone to some heavy rains, and depending on which streets you're on, some of the ditches and gulleys darn near flood (or do) most every major rain storm. Once the clouds are done with their fun, it usually takes a while before the water levels along the side of the street go back down. We're left with little lakes and rivers of clear water over grass and rocks a road beds. This has always captured my imagination for some reason. I imagine what these relatively small pools and streamlets of water must look like from the perspective of the bugs. A leaf caught in the current of a streetside runoff, would seem like a raft going down the rapids from this shrunken perspective. And that, in a nutshell, inspired this whole campaign.
I want to take the party on a journey of at least a week or two (in game time), over seemingly great distances up and down the "river". But, when all is said and done and they return to the macro world, they'll realize they were on a journey of only a few dozen (hundred?) feet.
Anyway, I want to do the boat ride, and use stylized language to describe the leaf/boat. Possibly may use a walnut (a suggestion from my dear ma). Either way though, I'm thinking now that however I describe it, this might give up the game on keeping the party in the dark about the shrinking. I just don't know if I can be both descriptive and vague enough to satisfy both objectives. So, I think I'll save the boat ride as a means to get the party swiftly back to the city under the rock. (I really need to come up with a place holder name.)
Re-directing, I will send the party upstream instead. This will probably mean that they have to go ashore and travel on foot. This is the journey that should take a week or two. I figure that this should probably provide for some encounters with the local vermin population. Hoping I can sort a way to give the rangers and/or shifter a chance to use their various nature type skills.
Need to sort out how to describe the oversized critters vaguely enough still. These should be shrinking clue moments, but hopefully not yet obvious. I'm hoping that the party won't figure it out until they encounter the fairy dragon.
So, obviously my job ultimately to decide the details, but I'm open to encounter suggestions or other input as always. Figure I need at least 3 encounter that at least could be combats, and 1 or two others that might challenge skills or ingenuity. End of this leg of the journey is going to be a great chasm and a cliff.
Sysryke wrote: I love that you took the Candy Land one to the higher end. That is one seriously scary version of Grandma Nut.
Coming back to this...
I think we make the Grandma Nut a level 17 Gringerbread Witch Drider. She needs to be at least level 12 to get her Swallow Whole thing. Driders are Large, so it puts her in a good place for eating most PC's. Gives her a Climb speed and Greater Spell Resistance, which is good both thematically and mechanically... see, we are going to have this Candyland get darker the deeper you go... covered in spider webs and $#!+... as if you forgot about your Candyland board game in the attic too long... now its all infested with spiders, webs covering all the pieces...
Her bodyguard is Trox Invulnerable Rager Barbarian 7/Evangelist [Mazmezz] 6... as a Trox, you start as Large (with Improved Grapple), and 6 levels of Evangelist [Mazmezz] gets you this gem:
(2nd Evangelist boon): Blessing of the Creeping Queen
...Your lower half swells into a bloated spider’s body, complete with eight spindly legs and dripping spinnerets. You become one size category larger, but your reach and the size of weapons you wield do not change. You gain the web universal monster ability (usable seven times per day) and a climb speed of 20 feet. You gain darkvision with a range of 60 feet (or the range of your existing darkvision increases by 30 feet). Finally, you gain a permanent +2 bonus to your Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution score (your choice).
So, umm, as a Huge Monstrous Humanoid, this Trox gets a total of +16 Str, -4 Dex, +4 Con, -2 Int, -2 Wis, -2 Cha between racials and the size increase... still has a floating +2 from the boon, and three stat bumps from levels. Lol. You are still technically just Large with Large reach and Large weapons, but Huge for space and size bonuses/penalties. With Rage.
The idea is to gather at least 12 levels of Barbarian to pick up Greater Tyrant Totem... for Swallow Whole. Invulnerable Rager's DR should help against people cutting their way out. As a Huge spider-thing (so freaking gross to imagine a Huge Trox-Drider-thing if you know what Trox look like) it has both a Burrow speed and Climb speed, so it can be up in the candy trees with Grandma Nut, or come up from underneath and take you below like a giant insect-like Jaws... with Rage.
I have a level ~18 Kasatha Tetori Monk with the same boon from Mazmezz. Figured four arms would go well with eight legs. Lol. And all that nonsense wrapping you up as a Large(ish) Tetori Monk.
This alien-spider Monk is rocking both Hamatulatsu and Hamatula Strike, so every single one of those nasty black-widow legs (and its four hands) can deal piercing damage... which, visually, is awesome... four-armed, eight-legged, alien-Drider doing Monk stuffs... STABBING people with its black-widow legs... then grappling them for the long goodnight.
Has some nasty surprises like:
Stunning Pin, Pinning Knockout, Chokehold, Throat Slicer, and Neckbreaker... +60' of Fast Movement! Lol.
Can actually stop this build at 16, and still get that boon to make it a spider-thing... gives up a few feats, and Ghost Touch grappling... but might make it easier to actually field/use.
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NO! None of that! Shame on you! . . . . *shudders*
j.k.
Those things are creepy and awesome. Think for now my friend is taking a lower level tack on the Candy Land theme, but I'll have to save these for an alternate story, or maybe a haunting high level call back.
I can easily see this Grandma Nut as one of the big bads at the monsters' dinner/tea party. She'd also fit well in a haunted woods/maze setting. Not sure how yet, but there are definitely ways to weave her in . . . . Crap! Just sent myself to the pun hell dimension :p
I can see how one may not actually want to take a Candyland theme straight to aliens and spiders and witches... most people probably don't jump straight to focusing on eating the players, all Hanael & Gretel style. Lol. Turning things up to level 16/17/18 definitely brings a level of intensity that is best left to when it is intentional/planned. Not just dumped on you.
But, oh boy, would they have been in for a surprise. Lol.
I have a habit of extending builds all the way out to 20, so I can use them at any point... this also means I get to imagine enemies with all those juicy endgame abilities. Not that it ever matters... the party will inevitably embarass whatever I create, even if it takes them coming back to the same enemy more prepared a second time. That is about the best I can ever hope for. Lol.
Need anything in particular chewed on? I can crunch on something if you give me a concept or something somewhat specific to flesh out. I got a little distracted with these stupid spiders (but I will save them for later).
Actually, yes. Since you seem to groove on this sort of thing, I'm happy to let you do some leg work for me, with my heartfelt thanks.
One, some type of evil, or at least power hungry, cleric who could appropriately challenge a party of seven level 4 gestalt characters. This could maybe be the pugwampi you mentioned, or that might be the separate original crystal theif. Thinking the cleric has taken advantage of the turmoil caused by the missing crystal. He'll be attempting to thwart the party from recovering and/or returning the crystal to its proper place. Encounter likely in an underground cavern with an inverted waterfall/spring dominating a good chunk of the room. Bad cleric is a denizen of the microverse.
Two. Your take on a faerie dragon, who has claimed the crystal for itself. Okay if it's smarter than normal. From the group's perspective, this thing will be three size categories greater than collosal. They are not meant to fight it, but I suppose they might. Better that they end up trying to negotiate or sneak past it in its lair. Not sure if there's a variant out there for this, but not opposed to this faerie dragon having a very minorly damaging secondary breath weapon. Don't need to worry about size scaling, I have a book with rules for that. Normal tiny size stats are good.
Cheers!
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I would recommend doing a search for a PDF of Dungeon Magazine #18, Chadranther's Bane. It's 2nd edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, but the plot and story are easily convertible.
It does a very good job of introducing a miniaturized party adventure. The setting is a roadside rest-house where the party typically ends up shrunken on a table, now hundreds of feet above the floor and having to make their way through the gardens to where the magical object is and find some way to smash a house-sized crystal ball-like object.
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Before I just start dumping stuff here... I have a Faerie Dragon with the Ensorcelled Creature (+1) template added to it. Gave the little dragon the Kobold Bloodline to go with its 3/day Greater Invisibility SLA, but that is easily fixed/changed if you need.
If you want its breath weapon to be better than "Euphoria", I would have it duplicate Color Spray in effect, with modified HD limits and range. Have "Euphoria" be the result of a successful save. You could even describe its breath weapon to appear more crystal-like or whatever.
If they are not meant to fight it, then a breath weapon that stuns them and puts them completely at the mercy of the dragon is about as less-than-lethal as you can get... but still terrifying to anyone who has played this game before and has had their character be Stunned.
Probably switch Acrobatic for Flyby Attack if you want to up the combat nature of the beast.
Mind you, this is still a wee 3HD/CR3 (w/ template) Faerie Dragon... I don't/won't use Faerie Dragons without the Ensorcelled template (it just fits too good)... but if this sounds like a chassis you would be interested in using, let me know if any of my ideas need changed/modified moving forward.
What sort of spells are you thinking it should have? As of right meow, she has these:
1st (7/day) grease (DC 16), silent image (DC 16), sleep (DC 16), *add one spell known here*
0 (at will) dancing lights, flare (DC 15), ghost sound (DC 15), mage hand, open/close, *add two spells known here*
Thanks for the recommendation Pizza Lord.
V-Monk, the dragon sounds awesome so far. The wee 3HD thing is no issue at all. By the time all of the relative size modifiers come into play, this thing will still be a terrifying beast. I actually love the euphoria aspect of the faerie dragon, I just think I saw one (maybe in 4e?) that had a secondary option that did some tiny bit of magic damage or something. Sort of how the metallic dragons have an elemental AND an effect/gas breath weapon. Not essential, just something my brain latched onto. The color spray idea is cool. With the size difference, it will be like she's belching out the Bifrost.
As far as spells known, anything that suggests trickery and or luck effects would be good. This little dragon has aspirations/delusions of being a "real" dragon, completer with a horde, a realm, and a renowned name. Basically acts like a smart magpie. If the encounter goes well, I'm hoping the party will either bargain with her, possibly encouraging her to become the known and acknowledged guardian of the spring in both the micro and macroverse settings. I'm thinking the dragon could be offered gifts in exchange for services, blessings, or boons. Basically encourage the faerie dragon to emulate metallic traits as opposed to chromatic. So minor blessing, luck, conjuration, or mini-wish type spells are all good. Not sure what all can be done with level 1 spells, but 3rd party is also fine. House rule friendly here, plus, when you're GM, the creatures are what you make them anyway.
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I'm having trouble with the Cleric.
Against seven PC's, there is just no way to match the parties action economy without lots of minions... or making the Cleric such a high level she is knocking at least one PC out of the fight every round.
So, I am thinking possibly an Evangelist focused on summoning... then buffing whatever she summons with Performance. My other option is obviously a Necromancer, but I thought I would present the idea of the Cleric with Inspire Courage first. Lol.
Granted, an 8th level Pugwampi Cleric with the Madness Domain would have the Pugwampi's Unluck Aura, AND the Aura of Madness... so, literally any Cleric archetype that doesn't eliminate the choice of Domains or the 8th level Domain Power should be fine.
If you have any reason to need a level 12 Cleric for this... I think a Pugwampi Divine Paragon 5/Evangelist 7... worship Trelmarixian, and grab Sentinel boons with Divine Paragon. At 12, you will have the Unluck Aura, Aura of Madness, and Trelmarixian's Consumptive Aura.
I've sent overpowered casters against the party before. The cleric really shouldn't be higher than level 7, or a super suboptimal level 8. I'm totally fine with summons or minions. Just keep in mind that this cleric at least needed to start as a plausible upper level officiate in the church of a goodly community. I'm thinking someone corrupted by the power of influence when society turned to the church, when everything started to go haywire. Any domains are fair game since custom world means any/all dieties. Necro probably isn't appropriate here though. The inspiration one could be used for good or ill though.
I realize I said cleric, but any class that could fit the corrupt clergy member could work. Still leaning towards divine.
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