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View Full Version : Ballroom Blitz (My players, don't even think about it)



Glyde
2009-06-21, 11:52 AM
In a previous thread I started, I enrolled the assistance of the playground to help create a massive, space-time-continuum-mash-up Lich Tower. The construction is going well, thanks to everybody's efforts.

My second clue that the Tower is cooky (Next to one of the rooms suddenly being a rectangle, and the backdrop slowly turning into a starfield) is that the party will enter large, elegant double-doors and find themselves in a massive and crowded ballroom. The door closes behind them, and the party looks down to find themselves in suits/dresses. The doorman greets them warmly, and introduces them to the other guests as they enter (In the form of: Now Entering: Mr X Y and Escort or something.)

On the far side of this ballroom is another pair of double doors. Both sets of doors are locked. The one on the opposite side of the entrance is, reliably, the exit. Here's where I'm stumped.

I've been juggling a few ideas in my head as to the conditions to get those doors open, but I'm not experienced in the 'intrigue' side of things. Without further ado, here are a couple of the ideas I've been toying around.

Murder Mystery: The 'head' of the party is poisoned. A classic whodunnit scenario, and if the party helps catch the culprit, the door is unlocked. Simple concept, complicated execution if I want to make it memorable.

Theft: Somebody in the ballroom has their scepter stolen (Which is actually the key to the double doors). This could go two ways. The party could figure it out and steal it themselves, or somebody else in the room could steal it and the party needs to figure out who and take it. The problems here are figuring out that the scepter is actually the key, and the fact that the scenario is just limited to a ball room (I don't want to get too obvious in the space-time thing, so no rooftop chases or anything.)

Dance off?: The host holds a competition for the finest dancers. If the party wins the competition (Not just a Perform(Dance) roll. I'll have them roleplay this.) then they get to leave. If not, then they need to find another way out (Probably coupled with the scepter scenario)

Try to smash the door down, kill everybody: The party resigns to just banging on the exit until it submits. This triggers a contingency in the 'illusionary' guests to attack the party, resulting in massive combat in a ballroom setting (Who doesn't like that?)

BBEG Mini-Encounter: The party roleplays in the ballroom for some time, trying to figure a way out. The BBEG or one of his lackeys get fed up with the little game and teleport in, wreaking havoc and attacking the 'guests'. With or without monologue explaining why. This could be seen as railroading, though, so it'd need to be handled with care.


There isn't much of a time constraint, luckily. Any new suggestions or expansions on these would be greatly appreciated.

only1doug
2009-06-21, 12:24 PM
Diplomancy test:

Waiters circulate the room with trays loaded with golden wrapped globe shaped foodstuff stacked into pyramids.

The "food" is Cockroaches served in gold dyed horsehair.

a gather info test will reveal that the host of the party is an Ambassador from Xxxxx (powerful Nation).

The exit will open once one of the PCs says something like "oh Ambassador, with these furry roaches you are really spoiling us"

Totally Guy
2009-06-21, 12:33 PM
Maybe the ball is a window into the past. The lich attended this ball long ago in his past.

As soon as the players realise who is the one that will become the lich is... everything vanishes leaving only an aged decrepid ball room. The door is open.

Deth Muncher
2009-06-21, 12:52 PM
See, I'm much for the support of combining the "Massive Battle" and the "Figure Out Who The Lich Is/Mini BBEG Fight". Specifically as follows.

The PCs enter the room, as normal. All of a sudden, everything goes...strange. The musicians have been playing very soothing music (akin to the spell Calm Emotions). At one point, a man in the back "with eyes as red as the sun" gives an order for everyone to attack, which is when the guests start storming the PCs. Bonus points if one of the PCs is female, stands in a corner and warns the entire group that doing anything will result in a Ballroom Blitz.

The Lich then raises his hands to the sky, which is when the musicians' disguises dissapear, revealing hulking undead (with levels in Bard, for lulz). Everyone else winks out of existence (assuming they haven't been slaughtered by the PCs), and the PCs must deal with these bigguns. After defeating them, the Lich disspears, and the doors open.

That's as good as I can do for now from just going off of the lyrics. :P

Glyde
2009-06-21, 01:06 PM
See, I'm much for the support of combining the "Massive Battle" and the "Figure Out Who The Lich Is/Mini BBEG Fight". Specifically as follows.

The PCs enter the room, as normal. All of a sudden, everything goes...strange. The musicians have been playing very soothing music (akin to the spell Calm Emotions). At one point, a man in the back "with eyes as red as the sun" gives an order for everyone to attack, which is when the guests start storming the PCs. Bonus points if one of the PCs is female, stands in a corner and warns the entire group that doing anything will result in a Ballroom Blitz.

The Lich then raises his hands to the sky, which is when the musicians' disguises dissapear, revealing hulking undead (with levels in Bard, for lulz). Everyone else winks out of existence (assuming they haven't been slaughtered by the PCs), and the PCs must deal with these bigguns. After defeating them, the Lich disspears, and the doors open.

That's as good as I can do for now from just going off of the lyrics. :P



Bahahaha. I knew with a topic title like that, something would come up.

I'm loving these ideas so far. I'm definitely including that the Lich is attending the ball, and it's in the past. I'm probably going to throw in his former apprentice (An NPC that accompanied the party, and is now thought dead. He isn't dead he's just going to be a dread necromancer now and a boss fight.) as well, to stir up some emotions (One of the PCs may or may not have had a crush on him. I knew the other PCs thought she did.)

Deth Muncher
2009-06-21, 01:09 PM
Bahahaha. I knew with a topic title like that, something would come up.

I'm loving these ideas so far. I'm definitely including that the Lich is attending the ball, and it's in the past. I'm probably going to throw in his former apprentice (An NPC that accompanied the party, and is now thought dead. He isn't dead he's just going to be a dread necromancer now and a boss fight.) as well, to stir up some emotions (One of the PCs may or may not have had a crush on him. I knew the other PCs thought she did.)

Happy to oblige. I've been looking for a reason to convert the song into a D&D encounter for weeks now.

Cicciograna
2009-06-21, 01:19 PM
There isn't a single key to the doors, but a set of n keys (where "n" is your favourite number). Each key has a distinctive mark on it (such as a symbol or a rune), they have to be obtained from the guests, and each key requires a different system: for example, one of the keys might require to dance and seduce one of the guests, another might require a duel against one of the dancers, another one could require some sort of larceny, such as stealing it or the like.

Every time a key is inserted in the doors it unlocks them, leading into a long corridor, at the end of which there is another double door: as PCs enter the corridor, the first door slams shut, while the other can easily open, revealing the same scene, the same ballroom filled with the same guests. Each key disappears after every use.

In reality, in this part of the tower there is a time loop that prevents the PC to exit the area unless they insert the keys in a particular order: they can discern which key is the right one by examining the ballroom. Somewhere in the room there is something that reminds the symbol on the key: for example, there could be a big mosaic on the floor depicting the symbol, or the tapestry are decorated with it, every guest could have it on their dress or sort. Once the PC have noticed the symbol (a task that you can deem simple as a mere Spot check, or complex like as asking for the exact locations where your PC look), they can go for the key: if they insert the wrong key, the time loop leads them into the same ballroom, as if they just entered it; otherwise they get into an apparently identical ballroom, which in truth bears the symbol of the corresponding key.

Once they have found all the n keys,the last doors lead them to the next room, and as they look back they see an old, dusty balroom, filled with cobwebs and dirt.

Coidzor
2009-06-21, 01:23 PM
If you want to play up the CLUE angle, could have it be a masnion-esque thing or possibly just two rooms a great dining hall and a grand ballroom... maybe a study or two/cloakroom that the poisoned/tobemurdered personage retires to and is found dead in.

Or maybe the PCs have to spend time ferreting out the secrets of every 'prominent' person at the ball. Say, one is planning to poison the host, another is having an affair with a foreign wossname to wrangle for trade benefits... a couple are actually representatives of the doppelgangers and/or yuan-ti...

All of the secrets as they're found out light up the line of a riddle on the doors they're trying to go through. The riddle gives 'em a clue of what they need to do in order to get out and is also the lock...

Could have the musicians turn out to be corpse chanters or whatever that undead singing undead is...

wizuriel
2009-06-21, 01:44 PM
To build off the above idea could have the guests as Necropolitan (from libris mortis) with illusions to look as humans from the lich's past. All the food ect could be poisoned (or rotten) but look delicious.

the musician could be some kind of bard/dirge singer hybrid. He could constantly change the music from soothing (in which case the illusions up and the guests are acting as guests to a ball) to something more dreadful at which point all the illusions drop and the PC's see the guests and ball for what they are. The undead at this point might attack or just keep doing guest things. To really play with them after a few rounds change the music back to soothing, illusions go up and all the guests go back to dancing (make the illusion hide any bodies ect if the PC's get violent).

Maerok
2009-06-21, 02:03 PM
For an amusing detail:

Play music in the background to create ambiance. If the undead band begins to fight, switch the music from classical to something more like this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cfahXQh-X8). The band continues to play while it fights, hurling death magic through music notes (maybe like that scene from Kungfu Hustle (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq84WO_zubQ)).

If you can get the metal song that they play on separate tracks for each instrument, that would be cool. When the PCs kill the singer, you click off the vocals track. When they take down the drummer, you turn off the drum track on the music, etc.

Glyde
2009-06-21, 02:10 PM
For an amusing detail:

Play music in the background to create ambiance. If the undead band begins to fight, switch the music from classical to something more like ]this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cfahXQh-X8"[URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq84WO_zubQ). The band continues to play while it fights, hurling death magic through music notes (maybe like that scene from Kungfu Hustle[/URL]).

If you can get the metal song that they play on separate tracks for each instrument, that would be cool. When the PCs kill the singer, you click off the vocals track. When they take down the drummer, you turn off the drum track on the music, etc.

Haha, I'll see about doing that (Love Kung Fu Hustle by the way.) I'm not sure about the resources required, but I'll give it a shot.

Stormthorn
2009-06-21, 07:05 PM
In a previous thread I started, I enrolled the assistance of the playground to help create a massive, space-time-continuum-mash-up Lich Tower. The construction is going well, thanks to everybody's efforts.

My second clue that the Tower is cooky (Next to one of the rooms suddenly being a rectangle, and the backdrop slowly turning into a starfield) is that the party will enter large, elegant double-doors and find themselves in a massive and crowded ballroom. The door closes behind them, and the party looks down to find themselves in suits/dresses. The doorman greets them warmly, and introduces them to the other guests as they enter (In the form of: Now Entering: Mr X Y and Escort or something.)

On the far side of this ballroom is another pair of double doors. Both sets of doors are locked. The one on the opposite side of the entrance is, reliably, the exit. Here's where I'm stumped.

I've been juggling a few ideas in my head as to the conditions to get those doors open, but I'm not experienced in the 'intrigue' side of things. Without further ado, here are a couple of the ideas I've been toying around.

Murder Mystery: The 'head' of the party is poisoned. A classic whodunnit scenario, and if the party helps catch the culprit, the door is unlocked. Simple concept, complicated execution if I want to make it memorable.

Theft: Somebody in the ballroom has their scepter stolen (Which is actually the key to the double doors). This could go two ways. The party could figure it out and steal it themselves, or somebody else in the room could steal it and the party needs to figure out who and take it. The problems here are figuring out that the scepter is actually the key, and the fact that the scenario is just limited to a ball room (I don't want to get too obvious in the space-time thing, so no rooftop chases or anything.)

Dance off?: The host holds a competition for the finest dancers. If the party wins the competition (Not just a Perform(Dance) roll. I'll have them roleplay this.) then they get to leave. If not, then they need to find another way out (Probably coupled with the scepter scenario)

Try to smash the door down, kill everybody: The party resigns to just banging on the exit until it submits. This triggers a contingency in the 'illusionary' guests to attack the party, resulting in massive combat in a ballroom setting (Who doesn't like that?)

BBEG Mini-Encounter: The party roleplays in the ballroom for some time, trying to figure a way out. The BBEG or one of his lackeys get fed up with the little game and teleport in, wreaking havoc and attacking the 'guests'. With or without monologue explaining why. This could be seen as railroading, though, so it'd need to be handled with care.


There isn't much of a time constraint, luckily. Any new suggestions or expansions on these would be greatly appreciated.

This looks suspicously like a big masquarade ball that i was planning on inviting my PCs to. The host was going to be a Worm That Walks.

Are you stealing my thoughts?

Myrmex
2009-06-21, 07:40 PM
Entering a room full of ghosts in a ballroom?
What next, a crazed man chopping through a door with a fire ax?

Coidzor
2009-06-21, 07:42 PM
Haha, I'll see about doing that (Love Kung Fu Hustle by the way.) I'm not sure about the resources required, but I'll give it a shot.

Basically a ranged scimitar attack.

...Do you play Kingdom of Loathing?

This might give you some ideas... (http://kol.coldfront.net/thekolwiki/index.php/The_Haunted_Ballroom)