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Ranos
2009-08-19, 01:28 AM
My players are working on a plan to break their fellows adventurers out from a high-security jail where they have been imprisonned for mass murder. Their plan so far involves kidnapping the child of a single-mother guard who works at the prison, then forcing her into helping them from the inside.

Of course, since the universe (read : me) hates them, this can't possibly go as planned :smallwink:
At first I was thinking into making the maid guarding the child into some sort of battle-maid, but there's just no way even a badass super-nanny could take those three 4th level serial-killers on (this is an E6 campaign).

So instead, I'm gonna have them go against Macaulay Culkin :smallamused:
Now, since two of the players are undead and can heal themselves at will with the dread necromancer's negative energy touch, I can't just limit myself to damage-dealing traps. So I'll need some improvised traps that 1) will delay them or 2) will warn the whole neighborhood. Most of my ideas so far include grease, sovereign glue, and maybe a trap going wrong and setting the whole place on fire.

I'm gonna need your help on this. Any more ideas ?

Jade_Tarem
2009-08-19, 01:31 AM
Magical explosives - Loud, damage dealing, and if done right they have almost no chance of endangering the child.

Positive Energy - An explosion of positive energy works double duty against an undead party, hurting them and strengthening the opposition. Don't forget to Consecrate the area - Hallow it if you really hate them.


Also, are they imprisoned for serial killing or mass murder? Because while serial killers are thoroughly despicable, mass murderers are war criminals, and would probably be held somewhere more secure than even the tightest civilian prison.

Also note that, this being 3.5, the kidnapping thing isn't going to work indefinitely. The players should know this, but if they don't then that's just another trap for you to spring on them. Them abducting a small child to free infamous, despicable criminals is going to tick off a lot of people - it's just one of those things that makes virtually every decent person very upset. Chances are that someone nearby with enough power to do something about it is going to intervene just on principle - probably in the form of scry-and-die tactics. If they take long enough (say, more than 48 hours) then they may find that the child is used as a beacon for some righteously angry level 12 good-aligned wizard and his paladin friend to find the party and hose them.

Fri
2009-08-19, 01:40 AM
What's the 'goal' of this home alone setting? Do you want to kill the PC, making them giving up on the prospect of kidnapping the kid? Or what?

Mind you that Kevin always failed at the end, and need his ass to be saved by his creepy new friend

Jade_Tarem
2009-08-19, 01:45 AM
Oh. I completely failed to notice the reference in the OP.

Um... this could work.

Well, we could always go with the movie's standbys. Rooms full of marbles for ludicrously high balance checks could do it - nothing says hilarious like when your PCs, thoroughly holding on to their mental picture of themselves as badasses, burst into a room and spend the next ten minutes trying to stand up.

I think we'd need to know just how rich this kid is. Because frankly, Kevin (I think his name was Kevin in the movie) had a big house with lots of toys. If Macaulay doesn't, then there's only so much he can do.

Ranos
2009-08-19, 01:45 AM
Magical explosives - Loud, damage dealing, and if done right they have almost no chance of endangering the child.

Positive Energy - An explosion of positive energy works double duty against an undead party, hurting them and strengthening the opposition. Don't forget to Consecrate the area - Hallow it if you really hate them.

Thanks for the ideas, although damage dealing traps wouldn't help too much. Unless it kills them in one hit, they'll just shrug it off and heal themselves back up.



Also, are they imprisoned for serial killing or mass murder? Because while serial killers are thoroughly despicable, mass murderers are war criminals, and would probably be held somewhere more secure than even the tightest civilian prison.

Ah yes, mass murder might be a bit exaggerated. They were imprisonned for killing five people in a highly reputed inn, 3 of which were city watch officers.


Also note that, this being 3.5, the kidnapping thing isn't going to work indefinitely. The players should know this, but if they don't then that's just another trap for you to spring on them. Them abducting a small child to free infamous, despicable criminals is going to tick off a lot of people - it's just one of those things that makes virtually every decent person very upset. Chances are that someone nearby with enough power to do something about it is going to intervene just on principle - probably in the form of scry-and-die tactics. If they take long enough (say, more than 48 hours) then they may find that the child is used as a beacon for some righteously angry level 12 good-aligned wizard and his paladin friend to find the party and hose them.

Ah, but this is an E6 campaign, meaning no one has more than 6 class levels. No scrying. And they've pretty much got every adventurer in the city, do-gooder or not, looking for them already due to a huge bounty on their heads, so the situation can't exactly get any worse.

Jade_Tarem
2009-08-19, 01:47 AM
Ah, but this is an E6 campaign, meaning no one has more than 6 class levels. No scrying. And they've pretty much got every adventurer in the city, do-gooder or not, looking for them already due to a huge bounty on their heads, so the situation can't exactly get any worse.

Ok, I was unfamiliar with that.

Ranos
2009-08-19, 01:57 AM
What's the 'goal' of this home alone setting? Do you want to kill the PC, making them giving up on the prospect of kidnapping the kid? Or what?

Mind you that Kevin always failed at the end, and need his ass to be saved by his creepy new friend
Killing them directly is probably out of the question, they are rather tough. Delaying them until help arrives is more like it.


I think we'd need to know just how rich this kid is. Because frankly, Kevin (I think his name was Kevin in the movie) had a big house with lots of toys. If Macaulay doesn't, then there's only so much he can do.
Well it's already been said earlier in the campaign that elite watch officers are very well paid, so he can be as rich as needed.

Thatguyoverther
2009-08-19, 02:00 AM
I think a sovereign glue trap and setting the building on fire would work pretty nicely. Although it doesn't quiet fit the family friendly Home Alone type feel. Owning one or more large dogs might help too, even if their not much of a threat, their barking can alert neighbors.

Mordokai
2009-08-19, 02:08 AM
For a touch of comedy, have some anvils set around the house :smallbiggrin: If you work it so it's not a trap(doesn't allow Search/Spot) checks, your PCs can be in for a lot of pain.

Buckets of holy water over the door frame for undeads? Buckets of acid for the living? The kid parents are illusionists, they have been teaching the kiddo the art of magic? Illusionary walls and grounds? Ghost sound? Mage hand? You can hurt them or scare them. Or both :smallbiggrin:

Let your imagination soar :smallwink:

Eloel
2009-08-19, 02:15 AM
You can also use marbles & caltrops - invisible ones if you desire. Maybe even illusion of marbles at one place, and right after the illusion, invisible marbles. Jumping into caltrops/marbles is PAINFUL.

PS: Poisonous caltrops = WIN

Ranos
2009-08-19, 02:23 AM
For a touch of comedy, have some anvils set around the house :smallbiggrin: If you work it so it's not a trap(doesn't allow Search/Spot) checks, your PCs can be in for a lot of pain.

Buckets of holy water over the door frame for undeads? Buckets of acid for the living? The kid parents are illusionists, they have been teaching the kiddo the art of magic? Illusionary walls and grounds? Ghost sound? Mage hand? You can hurt them or scare them. Or both :smallbiggrin:

Let your imagination soar :smallwink:

Now that I think about it, giving the kid some low-level magic could make this a whole lot funnier :smallbiggrin:


PS: Poisonous caltrops = WIN
If my players weren't mostly undead, I would be so using this. Still gonna use caltrops/marbles though, thanks !

Thatguyoverther
2009-08-19, 02:31 AM
This might seem like a cliche plot twist, but maybe they get the wrong house and the 'kid' they try and grab is actually an adult gnome illusionist. After falling through a half dozen Home Alone inspired traps, they figure out their mistake kill the gnome walk next door and nab the kid without difficulty.

Serpentine
2009-08-19, 02:37 AM
If my players weren't mostly undead, I would be so using this. Still gonna use caltrops/marbles though, thanks !There are varieties of poisons effective against undead. Heroes of Horror or Libris Mortis, I think.

Mordokai
2009-08-19, 02:54 AM
This might seem like a cliche plot twist, but maybe they get the wrong house and the 'kid' they try and grab is actually an adult gnome illusionist. After falling through a half dozen Home Alone inspired traps, they figure out their mistake kill the gnome walk next door and nab the kid without difficulty.

I like this one! :smallbiggrin: Of course, if you're feeling evil, the kid could turn out even bigger problem :smallamused: After all, we all know what devil seed kids can be :smalltongue:


There are varieties of poisons effective against undead. Heroes of Horror or Libris Mortis, I think.

I can't remember such poisons and I've been reading both books quite extensively. Granted, it's been some time, so my memory may be lapse.

Ranos
2009-08-19, 02:59 AM
Just checked it out and yeah, undead poisons exist and they're called positoxins. The kid having access to those might stretch suspension of disbelief a bit too much though.


This might seem like a cliche plot twist, but maybe they get the wrong house and the 'kid' they try and grab is actually an adult gnome illusionist. After falling through a half dozen Home Alone inspired traps, they figure out their mistake kill the gnome walk next door and nab the kid without difficulty.

Nice ! Problem is, they've already followed the mom home once, so I'm not sure how I could do this.

Johel
2009-08-19, 04:47 AM
About giving the kid some magic : Sorcerers are there just for that kind of situation. Make him a 4th level Sorcerer with a "spoiled brat" personnality (that's what drove the father away... Kid wouldn't listen)

Ghost Sound
(He's there..or not. Shi-t !!)
Disrupt Undead
(Just so the undeads know : he can hurt them)
Mage Hand
(Flying knifes, torches, burning towels,... for the win)
Message
(I hear voices in my head...)
Mending
(OPEN THAT ****ING DOOR, KIDDO !!)

Silent Image
(Combine with Ghost Sound)
Color Spray
(Will save, for those who aren't undeads)
Grease
(Reflex save in the stairs)

Blindness/Deafness
(Fortitude save and ultimate curse at that level. Undeads are affected)

boomwolf
2009-08-19, 05:47 AM
Make the kid a shapeshifted dragon. (the mother thinks its her son, the real some died at birth.)

Alternate-the father was a dragon, kid is now a half-dragon badass.

Mordokai
2009-08-19, 05:53 AM
@Johel: no wonder the father left :smalltongue: I would too, if my kid would be doing stuff like this! :smallbiggrin:

Ravens_cry
2009-08-19, 05:58 AM
@boomwolf
I am not so sure that would work theme wise. It's one thing for the players to go "yeah, we were bested by a badass half-dragon. No shame, no shame." It is quite another to lose to the wimpiest of the wimpy. Basically, this like Tuckers kobalds, only goofier.

TheCountAlucard
2009-08-19, 07:04 AM
I'd advise against half-dragon. Now, Unholy Scion (Heroes of Horror) sounds too perfect to pass up, though!

Also, paint cans. :smalltongue:

Shademan
2009-08-19, 07:17 AM
have them fall into the pool.
undead: ok...water... it's not even holy! hah!
kid: *throws in a bag of pirannha teeth*
undead: ... small...fangs?
Fangs: *turn into a angry piranha steam*

Stormwrack, magic items, bag of piranha teeth= WIN
also: tanglefoot bags, nets, living furnace that breathes fire...

Kris Strife
2009-08-19, 07:24 AM
evil and undead characters? Single mother? How about a half celestial kid, or would that be too close to the half dragon idea?

Triaxx
2009-08-19, 07:50 AM
Just what I was thinking. 'Congrats stupid, you've just attempted to kidnap the son of god. Prepare to be curbstomped.'

Give the kid a positive energy aura, so only the dread Necro can touch him, and then hand up a vicious bite attack. Bonus points if the kid can fly.

I'm assuming a ten year old here, in at least a three story house. So naturally ascending stairs is going to be interesting. Not to mention he... generates holy water, if you get my meaning.

PairO'Dice Lost
2009-08-19, 07:53 AM
Nice ! Problem is, they've already followed the mom home once, so I'm not sure how I could do this.

The gnome could be their landlord--the mom and her son just rent the place, and they've gone out of town for a day to let the landlord refurbish/restock the security system.

horngeek
2009-08-19, 07:55 AM
...

Can I make a suggestion?

DON'T make it hard for them. If you are always hard on your players, this will then start to drive them paranoid.

kestrel404
2009-08-19, 10:15 AM
Why are we trying to make this kid powerful? A 4th level sorcerer? A shapeshifted dragon?
If I was a player and I found out that the 'kid' of a random jailer was actually shapeshifted dragon in disguise, I'd probably leave the game. Especially in an E6 game!

At best, the kid is a 1st level sorceror. Either somebody's apprentice or a natural talent (who know's who his father was, after all - single mother, right?).

And the important bit here is that he has to know that the PCs are after him. But that's easy - they've already followed his mom home. Maybe he spotted them while they were watching her, and she didn't believe him when he told her about them.

So now he's making his house (perhaps his whole neighborhood?) into a fortress against them. Because he's a kid and no one thinks that the nastiest nasties in town are really out to get HIM.

Enough story, on to the traps.

First things first - preparations. None of the adults in the area will believe him - but his friends will. He's a sorceror, so high charisma. So he gets his many companions-in-crime to help him. The roster of street-rats (all level 1):
The Cutpurse: A halfling rogue with an 18 int (lots of skills at 4),
The Wild Child: an elven-druid from outside of town.
Between the three of them, they don't just trap the kid's home, they
trap a couple of the neighborhing houses too!

Resources:
The Kid, Known spells: Mage hand, Ghost sound, Prestidigitation, Message, Grease and Silent Image
The Wild Child: Animal companion: A wolf with Improved Trip as a bonus feat.
The Cutpurse: Has craft(trap) and craft(alchemy) at 4 ranks, along with the stealth and skills and listen.
Whatever they can find in the woods. Whatever they can steal from the neighbor's houses. Perhaps a handful of weapons (daggers, short swords, crossbows) 'borrowed' from the local militia.

The Traps:
The first trap should be obvious from the movies: The heated metal doorknob. The front and back doors are locked (with shoddy locks, granted, but still locked), but the invaders are likely to try the doorknobs first. So you put a candle on a chair under the doorknob, and let nature take it's course. Attempting to open the doors will result in 1d4 fire damage and a 'burned hand' on a failed (diff 15, 12 for undead) fort save. A burned hand results in a -2 penalty whenever you're using that hand (good hand assumed unless ambidextrous or they state otherwise when opening the door), which means on most non-perception skill checks and when wielding a weapon. Also requires a concentration check (diff 15, 12 for undead) when casting a spell with a somatic component. The burned hand effect goes away when you take an extended rest after healing the fire damage, or when you use a regeneration or similar spell that would repair that limb. Just healing the HP damage won't do it.

In the event that the invaders skip the doors and go for the windows, mention that the curtains are drawn very tightly. When the invader goes to move the curtains (or cut them open, or disturb them in any way), the window shutters slam shut, potentially trapping the offending limb/weapon (reflex save, diff ~18 to avoid). Then a cauldron of heated oil pours off of the roof above that window. If their limb is trapped in the window shutters, they need a dc 25 reflex save to take 1/2 damage, otheriwise it's only DC 15 (and a 25 avoids all damage). If they're hit or splattered (1/2 damage) with the oil, it's 1d4 points of damage per round until they get out of their armor or jump in cold water.

There is, of course, a nearby trough of water. Unfortunately for anyone who jumps into that trough, it is full of angry crabs, who will each make their opportunity claw attacks on anyone who jumps in among them. They only have a +1 attack that does 1d2 damage on a hit, but of course, on the first round, they're attacking a prone, flat footed opponent. It's a diff 20 spot check to notice the brown crabs in the wooden trough. Any crab that hits with it's first attack is considdered to be grappling whatever they hit - they stick, and can make additional attacks in subsequent rounds with their other claw!

Most of these things are damage traps, you say? Well, think of all the noise and activity that these bozos will be making BEFORE THEY GET INTO THE HOUSE! And healing that damage takes precious time in which the locals can notice and call for guards.

Once the invaders actually get INTO the house, they will find (as mentioned above) several rooms are full of marbles. The marbles have recently had GREASE cast on them. DC 18 balance checks to stay standing on first entry. Another one with every move action. Try searching a house when every other movement you make lands you on your rear!

And of course, the first area rug they come upon is a pit-trap (with CALTROPS at the bottom, dealing 1d4 damage on top of falling damage for ending up in the pit, and loose dirt walls). They will most likely figure that one out (after all the other traps) so they go around it. But they probably won't notice the trip-wire that releases the falling-log trap in the hallway beyond. DC 16 reflex save or you're knocked into the pit trap (again?). And if they DO notice the trip-wire, a simple mage-hand from the Kid (hiding nearby, we'll get to that) will trigger the trap ANYWAY.

Beyond the log trap is the kid's room. They already heard the kid sobbing quietly from that room, and at this point they find out tha the noise is coming from under the bed. They will, of course, be wary of another trap. A search check, dc 10, reveals the presence of more trip-wires criss-crossing the room. At DC 23, that search check will reveal that the ceiling is an illusion and that there is a giant net (fishing net, grabbed from the docks?) above the Silent Image ceiling. And at DC 28, the search-check will reveal that there is no mechanism attaching the tripwire to the net - the net is set to release when a pull-string that runs up into the roof is tugged on (which means that whoever is going to release the net is probably hiding on the roof...and perhaps watching through a peep hole?

Regardless, if they don't want to cut or stomp all over the tripwire (don't see why not, but THEY probably don't know that it's just there to slow them down). Probably only one of them is going to go into that room full of tripwire, so as soon as they get over to the bed (making DC 15 balance checks the whole way to not trip), they'll find that there's nothing but a Ghost Sound spell under there - and then a net falls through the illusionary ceiling, catching them unless they make a dc 30 reflex save.
The ropes are old and tough and as such have dr 5/magic (not quite hardness, but close), and 10 hp. You'd need to cut at least 5 strands
to free yourself. Alternately, a DC 22 strength check or escape artist check would also get you out of the net. Once whoever is trapped in the net gets free, the SECOND net falls (it's actually the other half of the first net, which was bigger than the Kid's room, so they cut it in 1/2)! Exact same effect as the first net, but hopefully someone else went into the room to help whoever got trapped!

And right after the second net falls, the Kid makes a run for the front door, sprinting out of a silent-image fake cabinet (for those keeping track, this is his 3rd 1st level spell, so he's still got one more grease or silent image in him). He exits the front door in a single move action (avoiding his own greased marble trap by tossing a rug on top of the marbles and making the dc 5 balance check), then closes the door behind him.

At which point the wild-child with a readied action lifts him onto the roof - all before the PCs get to roll initiative.

At this point, hopefully, the guards will have arrived. And a group of 3 kids will be scampering into ANOTHER trapped house while the PCs have to deal with the authorities.

What can go wrong:
A sufficiently high search check or a detect magic in the front room will reveal that there is something strange about one of the cabinets. This will result in the Kid throwing his rug onto the marbles towards a nearby window and diving through (which causes the shutters to slam shut behind him). At this point, the kids move on to ANOTHER trapped house (same traps except for the door window ones, no need to come up with more creative ones).

If they set the building on fire (by accident or on purpose), the Wild Child and the Cutpurse will start screaming for help, while the Kid uses Silent Image as a distraction (Oh look, there he goes!) to hide in another building.

If they climb onto the roof, the pots of boiling oil (kept hot with three stubby candles each) are very obvious and easily removed. Also, both the Cutpurse and the Wild Child are hiding on the roof.

Lots of other stuff can go wrong for the kids. They're not perfect, but that's half the fun of the scenario!

Johel
2009-08-19, 11:57 AM
Wow... That's a lot, kestrel404.

I was thinking Sorcerer as the best option because, unlike a wizard, there's no need for uber intellect or long studies. He's just naturally gifted with a HUUUGE magical affinity. Also, no need to prepare the spells. He's just a kid with powerful magic, lot's of imagination and a mischiefous personnality.

So, a 4th level sorcerer of 10 years old, while unusual, doesn't strike me as impossible. It also gives a real challenge beside the traps. The "Blindness" spell is a challenge in itself.

ashmanonar
2009-08-19, 12:01 PM
Magical explosives - Loud, damage dealing, and if done right they have almost no chance of endangering the child.

Positive Energy - An explosion of positive energy works double duty against an undead party, hurting them and strengthening the opposition. Don't forget to Consecrate the area - Hallow it if you really hate them.


Also, are they imprisoned for serial killing or mass murder? Because while serial killers are thoroughly despicable, mass murderers are war criminals, and would probably be held somewhere more secure than even the tightest civilian prison.

Also note that, this being 3.5, the kidnapping thing isn't going to work indefinitely. The players should know this, but if they don't then that's just another trap for you to spring on them. Them abducting a small child to free infamous, despicable criminals is going to tick off a lot of people - it's just one of those things that makes virtually every decent person very upset. Chances are that someone nearby with enough power to do something about it is going to intervene just on principle - probably in the form of scry-and-die tactics. If they take long enough (say, more than 48 hours) then they may find that the child is used as a beacon for some righteously angry level 12 good-aligned wizard and his paladin friend to find the party and hose them.

Old man with a shovel.

RTGoodman
2009-08-19, 12:23 PM
You know, The Kid doesn't actually have to defeat the PCs by himself - he just has to be able to hold out 'til the metaphorical cavalry arrives. He could very well be a 1st-level Rogue or Sorcerer, and that'd give him most of the tools he needs to lay down enough traps to keep them occupied. Go for the standard heated-up doorknob, the marbles on the floor, and a few others, but when the PCs finally get to him, he's just completed a sending spell from a scroll. Something like "Mom, some people are trying to break in and get me. I can't hold them off much longer by myself, so please hurry. Love, [Name]"

When they get there, they can try to get him, but as they get out the door (which, of course, he locked and trapped once they got inside), the reinforcements arrive in the form of his mom and maybe another couple of guards.

Mordokai
2009-08-19, 12:27 PM
*snip*

You sir, are my new hero! :smallbiggrin: While this is nothing we haven't seen before(out of DnD, at least), your scenario makes me want to try something similar.

Kudos!

Yukitsu
2009-08-19, 01:39 PM
Make a resetting sepia snake sigil trap, 0 (-2000 GP) search DC, 0 (-2000 gp) disable device DC. Label it with "To teleport to hidden tree fort, read the below." Make it always hitting (+1000 GP) auto resetting (+2000 GP)

Describe it as "You read the below inscription. A bright flash of light takes you away. Who's next?"

Delays them all d4+5 days.

technophile
2009-08-19, 04:09 PM
I just want to say that Kestrel404's response is a) brilliant and b) exactly what I would want to encounter as a player (though not as a character ;)).

Jalor
2009-08-19, 05:00 PM
Make a resetting sepia snake sigil trap, 0 (-2000 GP) search DC, 0 (-2000 gp) disable device DC. Label it with "To teleport to hidden tree fort, read the below." Make it always hitting (+1000 GP) auto resetting (+2000 GP)

Describe it as "You read the below inscription. A bright flash of light takes you away. Who's next?"

Delays them all d4+5 days.

Doesn't make sense for a kid to do it, but I'm stealing that for a paranoid Wizard.

Ranos
2009-08-19, 08:33 PM
*snip*
Wow. This is simply awesome. Kestrel, you have my undying respect and all the internets I have to offer.

kestrel404
2009-08-20, 07:02 AM
Glad I could help. :)

Forbiddenwar
2009-08-20, 11:21 AM
Everyone is focused on the kid's actions. No one is thinking of the MOM! What's the mom going to do when her child has been kidnapped and tried to used to bride her? Just roll over and take it? The PCs could be in a world of pain even if they kipnap the child easily. I would give her a circumstantial bonus to rage as a 5th level barabarian, at the very least!