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View Full Version : [3.5] OK, so apparently building an entire PLANET was not enough. Need help ASAP!



Pika...
2009-12-15, 11:56 PM
First let me say that I am sorry for being back on here, but I am currently in a gaming emergency and have no clue what to do from here.


So, you know that saying about planning as little as possible in advance due to PCs finding that 1 thing out of 100 you overlooked? You'd figure making a sandbox world you spent close to two years on would be of use overcoming that, right? Nope.

My player who is a timelord (my cosmology's version of one) taken physical form (they are normally fourth-dimensional beings, but can enter the Temporal Plane at will) decided to grab his prinny slave and flee into the Temporal Plane to reach the Endless Citadel (see Manual of the Planes) for some information knowing it was almost impossible to reach it. In the process he got the party he left behind (and was basically leading) surrounded by enemies and basically TPKed, though a smart player made it so they are insted slaves and I can use them and the village they are in on my homebrewed world/setting as a backup campaign.

So anyway, he failed to get there (obviously), and got tossed around the currents of time itself.

I made him roll twice. The first was to see which of my past ages along with the next one I knew about and the final one (where the Mind Flayers flee from as time ends) to see where/what setting he landed on.

First roll he ended up 6k years in the past during the Human golden age before they killed each other off in their Great Human Wars (great, their goes some of the uniqueness of my games. LoL).

Second roll was to see which setting of those I knew he landed in including mine, all the offical ones I am familiar with, and 3rd party ones like Dawnforge and Gamma World. He rolled Spelljammer.

Thankfully I had been working on a campaign/adventure slightly modifying it from the below Dragon magazine on-and-off for weeks:
http://paizo.com/store/magazines/dragon/issues/1990/159

For all those who have read this issue, or who remember it from way back the main world there is called "Below", and the primes is that the Arcane Order brings creatures from all over the Prime Material there to scare off people from finding a hidden base/jammer shipyard there of some importance. According to the article "PCs can find everything and anything from modern day soldiers to cartoon characters on Below". I took this and ran with it, allowing players to literally play ANYTHING they want (withn a bit of reason. no tarrasque basically).

So players rolled up some new PCs except for the Prinny, the Timelord who regenerated as a Kobold, and one other PC who mysteriously showed up (for fluff reasons I need to make up. did it on the fly for potential fluff/story in the base later on). One PC is Spideman...

They left off with an antrophormorphic rabbit running up to them from the jungle saying as he grabbed a PC by the shirt: "Doc, Doc you got to hide me. You have to help me. I know why we are here. They are going to ki..." as he fell over with thirty adamantine crossbow bolts in his back. The bolts had been fired by halflings (unknown to the PCs from the Arcane Order), who proceeded to check his body, but took nothing (I am not sure why I did that, but perhaps I left a possibility open for them to have taken something of importance?). Then after they left the PCs started to talk and Spiderman said "Damn, how many times am I going to be kidnapped to a hunting planet?". Then a voice from behind a small rock said "N..n...no amigo, Yoz are wrong. Muy wrong.". The party proceeded to look over the rock to see a small mouse in a sombrero who seemed as though he had just drank twenty cups of coffee shakingly say: "They are gonna kill me like esceron him....". The Kobold picked him up and said "Talk". The mouse said "Amigo, please don't ask me to tal...tal..talk. They will kill you too. You do not want to know. The PC smirked and replied "I have died before...".


So now here are my two issues:
1. I need to know ASAP by next Sunday what I need to read and what parts to get a Spelljammer campaign going by Saturday. I have a learning disability, so I read slow. Need the kep points and parts first I believe would be best.

2. I need to know exactly what is going inside that hidden base. Is it a special jammer ship perhaps I am thinking (the article never said...)? Maybe one that does not need a caster?

Maybe they are trying to make a jammer ship that can cloak Romulan style Hence giving an excuse for the PCs getting past the fleet of the Arcane Order in the sphere if they manage to get the ship?)?

Maybe they are working on a way to sail the Temporal Plane's time currents, hence why PC #3 is there somehow? Maybe they need the timelord for some currently unknown to me the DM reason to get it going? Maybe they want to see the future with it, or retrieve advance weaponry from the future with it, or rewrite history?

I have no idea here folks...

3. I need to basically know where to go from here.

Due to the timelord PC failing a Sanity check and seeing flamingos with fangs he tossed his prinny slave into the jammer chair of a ship which had crash landed (aka how the Wild Elf PC got there in a fleeing attempt from Mind Flayers). Because of this prinny went some miles North, and the rest went with the cabin end of the ship South East. This was before the rabbit and mouse incident. I just thought I would point it out.

4. I need to know if I can make this last as a fun adventure getting out of here, and after that perhaps stop by the moon refuge (need to know the article for details sadly...) for even more fun and adventures.

5. And after that what the frail do I do?

What the frail do I do now?!

LoL. I think this is one of those cases where a potential DM's metal is being tested.


As always, many thanks in advanced!

Tyndmyr
2009-12-16, 12:06 AM
Time travel is bad. Always. Burn it with fire.

Yes, yes...I know what you're thinking. You're thinking "But crazy man, you CANT burn time".

That's just what they WANT you to think. Fire solves everything.

Temotei
2009-12-16, 12:12 AM
Time travel is bad. Always. Burn it with fire.

Yes, yes...I know what you're thinking. You're thinking "But crazy man, you CANT burn time".

That's just what they WANT you to think. Fire solves everything.

Including forests and forest fires, contrary to what Smokey says.

chiasaur11
2009-12-16, 12:14 AM
Including forests and forest fires, contrary to what Smokey says.

Hey, the bear says "Only YOU can prevent forest fires."

If I recall, he leaves the methods open.

Temotei
2009-12-16, 12:16 AM
Hey, the bear says "Only YOU can prevent forest fires."

If I recall, he leaves the methods open.

True. Still though, bringing fire to a forest fire would only start another forest fire, unless the forest is done for already, in which case...:smallamused: Preventing a forest fire with a fire, says Smokey the Bear, would only bring more forest fires, thus causing an endless forest fire that only you can prevent.

Pika...
2009-12-16, 12:27 AM
Eh, sadly there is nothing I can do about the time tavel at this point. As for future time travel, the only way I see to prevent it now is to smash the Temporal Plane into the Elemental Plane of Fire. :/


Anyway, I did just finish this model for my 40K gretchin army. Perhaps someone can suggest a way to stat it up for an encounter for Sunday as time filler to get me time?


http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/IMG_2112.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/IMG_2113.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/IMG_2116.jpg

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f173/celestialkin/IMG_2115.jpg

Magnor Criol
2009-12-16, 01:57 AM
Eh, sadly there is nothing I can do about the time tavel at this point. As for future time travel, the only way I see to prevent it now is to smash the Temporal Plane into the Elemental Plane of Fire. :/

I think you just found a BBEG's Evil Plan! Have fun torturing the PCs. :smallbiggrin:

As for your ACTUAL questions, though, I'm afriad I have little to offer you. I know little about the Spelljammer system...and I'm afraid I found myself somewhat lost among your description of just how things happened. Or WHAT things happened.

Perhaps, to take a cue from many movies and TV shows, you buy yourself some more time by simply "cutting" to a different scene. This requires you to have something else prepared, but it doesn't really sound like that'll be a problem for you.

The next session then will start out with a gigantic "MEANWHILE..." and run your other story idea with the players and some new characters. Make it some sort of short, one-night session, even. You buy yourself another couple weeks to come up with what happens with the main story that way.

Unfortunately, that does also require you to come up with additional material - how the side arc ties in to the main story, and what to do with the extra PCs, assuming they survive - but if you're desperate for time, it could be the desperate measure you need.

Pika...
2009-12-16, 04:53 AM
I think you just found a BBEG's Evil Plan! Have fun torturing the PCs. :smallbiggrin:

As for your ACTUAL questions, though, I'm afriad I have little to offer you. I know little about the Spelljammer system...and I'm afraid I found myself somewhat lost among your description of just how things happened. Or WHAT things happened.

Perhaps, to take a cue from many movies and TV shows, you buy yourself some more time by simply "cutting" to a different scene. This requires you to have something else prepared, but it doesn't really sound like that'll be a problem for you.

The next session then will start out with a gigantic "MEANWHILE..." and run your other story idea with the players and some new characters. Make it some sort of short, one-night session, even. You buy yourself another couple weeks to come up with what happens with the main story that way.

Unfortunately, that does also require you to come up with additional material - how the side arc ties in to the main story, and what to do with the extra PCs, assuming they survive - but if you're desperate for time, it could be the desperate measure you need.

That would be one BBEG. LoL.


Anyway, I spellchecked and clarified a few points in my OP for better understanding of what happened.

Haven
2009-12-16, 04:55 AM
True. Still though, bringing fire to a forest fire would only start another forest fire, unless the forest is done for already, in which case...:smallamused: Preventing a forest fire with a fire, says Smokey the Bear, would only bring more forest fires, thus causing an endless forest fire that only you can prevent.

Eventually you run out of forest, thus ending the forest fire (if nothing else, at least in that any remaining flames are no longer forest fires).

Pika...
2009-12-16, 04:56 AM
Eventually you run out of forest, thus ending the forest fire (if nothing else, at least in that any remaining flames are no longer forest fires).

The Elemental Plane of Wood?

Vizzerdrix
2009-12-16, 05:38 AM
If it was me, I'd read up on the fluff for spelljammer and the section about ships.
Either that so switch to a different system for a little bit. I think RIFTS would handle this a bit easier, but that's just me.

What is in the base is up to you, just remember, they are bringing in horrors from all over so what is in the base must be a super BBEG/ mcguffin. Plane hopping Deathstar with a legion of templated warforged riding steamjacks and mechs or something.

As for where to go with this, I'd pick either time travel, space/plane travel or getting back to the home world and stick with it. I'd also perma-kill the timelord to prevent such shenanigans from happening again, or send them to a time/place where every character is from the Charop boards.

Alternatively, I think Ravenloft would be a good dumping ground for the timelord.

Anonymouswizard
2009-12-16, 05:53 AM
The entire fabric of space if falling apart thanks to the time lord! free standing portals are opening up everywhere, and every few sessions the time lord and those nearby him are sucked into a different campaign setting you can use. the only way to solve the problem is to find the [insert artefact here]. However, they have only so much time to retrieve it. No one knows where it is, so they have to keep hoping worlds until they find the artefact. And when found the ritual can only take place with the death of the person who caused it. After that anybody who was moved about by the rifts automatically returns home, along with a free spaceship.

:smallbiggrin:

Tyndmyr
2009-12-16, 09:17 AM
The Elemental Plane of Wood?

Now the elemental plane of fire, a vast upgrade.

Only you can prevent forest fires....by burning reality out of existance.

Pika...
2009-12-17, 10:20 AM
If it was me, I'd read up on the fluff for spelljammer and the section about ships.
Either that so switch to a different system for a little bit. I think RIFTS would handle this a bit easier, but that's just me.

OK, I will rush through the fluff and ship sections. Thanks. Then perhaps read the races and equipment and whatever else...


What is in the base is up to you, just remember, they are bringing in horrors from all over so what is in the base must be a super BBEG/ mcguffin. Plane hopping Deathstar with a legion of templated warforged riding steamjacks and mechs or something.

What would you suggest to be in the base?

I do not know nearly enough about spelljammer to know what would work, and what would still keep things somewhat balanced wet is this significant setting wise.





As for where to go with this, I'd pick either time travel, space/plane travel or getting back to the home world and stick with it. I'd also perma-kill the timelord to prevent such shenanigans from happening again, or send them to a time/place where every character is from the Charop boards.

Alternatively, I think Ravenloft would be a good dumping ground for the timelord.

There lies a problem. He has 12 regenerations left, an has already prerolled on my 200+ race/creature/monsterreincarnation table (He is gonna go from having been a Human, to now being a small sized Kobold, to in the future being a tiny sized Muckdweller...). LoL.

And I run sandbox style. I have told them many times that, and worked hard to, I would not lead them by the nose. :smallfrown:

Pika...
2009-12-17, 10:25 AM
The entire fabric of space if falling apart thanks to the time lord! free standing portals are opening up everywhere, and every few sessions the time lord and those nearby him are sucked into a different campaign setting you can use. the only way to solve the problem is to find the [insert artefact here]. However, they have only so much time to retrieve it. No one knows where it is, so they have to keep hoping worlds until they find the artefact. And when found the ritual can only take place with the death of the person who caused it. After that anybody who was moved about by the rifts automatically returns home, along with a free spaceship.

:smallbiggrin:

I like, but sadly I already put in canon other time lords. Ooops... >_<

And I am still too inexperienced a DM to use every single campaign setting. Far from it. I got REALLY lucky with his Speeljammer roll since I had already been working on it...

Though perhaps there can be momentary rifts like you mentioned when the timelord changes a significant thing from the should-be timeline? And maybe those rifts could lead to big nasties coming in from who-knows-where?



Now the elemental plane of fire, a vast upgrade.

Only you can prevent forest fires....by burning reality out of existance.

Naw, it would always exist. It would just mean history is altered from day 1 to day last so that everything has and will live as though you wer all natives to the plane of fire. Burning DMZ hair and steam oceans anyone? :smallbiggrin:

Reaper_Monkey
2009-12-17, 10:37 AM
True. Still though, bringing fire to a forest fire would only start another forest fire, unless the forest is done for already, in which case...:smallamused: Preventing a forest fire with a fire, says Smokey the Bear, would only bring more forest fires, thus causing an endless forest fire that only you can prevent.

Actually a common way of stopping forest fires from spreading too far is to burn a lot of the dry scrub ahead of where the fire is in a controlled burn. This creates a sort of barrier where its harder for the fire to keep burning past as there is less fuel for the fire to consume.

Of cause this doesn't always work, high winds can carry embers which start small fires ahead of the main body of the fire and thus make it harder to create a barrier big enough, they can also make a fire suddenly change direction and spread somewhere else unexpected. There have also been a fair few cases where due to it being too dry and hot that this method in itself causes more fires, so it does have its limits.

But, ultimately, you can indeed stop a forest fire, with fire! :smallbiggrin:

Ormagoden
2009-12-17, 11:27 AM
...One PC is Spideman...

They left off with an antrophormorphic rabbit running up to them from the jungle...

So yeah...right about there is where my head popped.

KillianHawkeye
2009-12-17, 02:29 PM
My advice would be to not roll on a chart for random events if there are things on it that you're not prepared for and that you don't want to do. You need to learn to place some limitations on yourself, here. Just because it's a sandbox game doesn't mean that you have to allow literally anything the players imagine or include material from all possible campaign settings. That's just ridiculous.

Pika...
2009-12-17, 03:07 PM
My advice would be to not roll on a chart for random events if there are things on it that you're not prepared for and that you don't want to do. You need to learn to place some limitations on yourself, here. Just because it's a sandbox game doesn't mean that you have to allow literally anything the players imagine or include material from all possible campaign settings. That's just ridiculous.

Who said I did not want this to happen? :smallbiggrin:

I am actually thrilled to get a chance to use this article from Dragon, and to finally get into Spelljamming (I thought it would take them until level 15 or so).

I was just hit with a major surprise of it being spontaneous, and hence am asking for help here getting some quick ideas. Mainly on figuring out a good thing(s) to have in said secret base, since I am hoping the more experienced DMs and players here would have some nice less cliche ideas.

I enjoy such random things happening as a DM, and I got a blast that I was actually able to run the rest of the game somewhat well on the spot with my mere memory pf the article's details.



Anyway, right now I am thinking perhaps an intelligent Lost Universe style ship that is being finished by the Arcane Order. Someone suggested adding a "I'm lonely" aspect to the ship for fun/humor which a potential pilot would need to deal with. :smallbiggrin:


She would be in the middle of a gigantic underground drydock (with a mechanical opening zeppelin style roof) surrounded by other spelljammer ships in various stages of gutted and/or missing parts. She would clearly have characteristics of various styled ships from those of the Mind Flayers to Halfling ships. How I will stat this I am WAY to early in the Spelljammer core book(s) to know.

I need some unlockable "secrets" within her that PCs could discover later. Perhaps Farscape style with that certain plotline? I am guessing she would need to be pretty big for this, though? 10+ stories maybe? By who know how long and wide?

Maybe a "final secret" they can find at near epic levels is that the Arcane Order had installed their prototype (and perhaps only???) timelord timeship copying technology into a secret/inaccessible hall/room only a certain NPC knows the trick to get into? Perhaps they wanted the timelord to finally be bale to complete the thing, or to connect/plug him into it to be able to sail the Temporal Plane?

Perhaps the ship has a cloaking field, but after "narrowly escaping" this sphere it is wrecked, and it will take the timelord PC centuries to repair? Hence explaining realistically why they escaped, yet not overpower them? Or perhaps it can work every once-in-a-while if the ship's repair man/tinker/timelord gets lucky on Scotty style engineering rolls to conveniently save themselves at dire moments (like a fleet of Arcane Order ships heading their way)?


I am also thinking of them having multiple projects going on there if time permits, such as research into the timelords in an attempt to make a timeportal. This perhaps can give the leader PC the dilemma of having to interfere to make sure time continues as it would have, but at the same time wanting to go back to his adopted home and time.


Oh, and the "fallen" timelord player did talk to me of trying to become a leader style PC who would bring together a group of people/followers who would act to "make sure things happened how they should". It was a short talk, and he talked as though it was a longshot, far off, and possibly pipedream goal for his PC, but perhaps with a ship this big(if I make it big?) and this powerful (if I make it powerful or brokenish powerful?) he could do that? Perhaps he could even pick up some crew on the planet who want to escape, or even experiment subjects in the base?



OR


Perhaps they have one of the miniature Spelljammer ships that can turn into a and/or the full Spelljammer itself in their?

Perhaps they are trying to prematurely trigger the transformation without the need of attacking the Spelljammer?



Or

Any other ideas or suggestions?

Pika...
2009-12-17, 03:08 PM
So yeah...right about there is where my head popped.

Chucks. Is that a compliment or a bad thing? :smallbiggrin:

KillianHawkeye
2009-12-17, 10:38 PM
Who said I did not want this to happen? :smallbiggrin:

I am actually thrilled to get a chance to use this article from Dragon, and to finally get into Spelljamming (I thought it would take them until level 15 or so).

I was just hit with a major surprise of it being spontaneous, and hence am asking for help here getting some quick ideas. Mainly on figuring out a good thing(s) to have in said secret base, since I am hoping the more experienced DMs and players here would have some nice less cliche ideas.

I enjoy such random things happening as a DM, and I got a blast that I was actually able to run the rest of the game somewhat well on the spot with my mere memory pf the article's details.

Sorry, apparently I inferred some tone of complaint or exasperation into your text which was not actually there. Consider my comment retracted.

Samuel Sturm
2009-12-17, 11:40 PM
<snip>

Anyway, I did just finish this model for my 40K gretchin army. Perhaps someone can suggest a way to stat it up for an encounter for Sunday as time filler to get me time?

<snip>



That looks a lot like a AT-ST from Star Wars.
The Star Wars d20 roleplaying system has stats for one at a CR 8, if you're familiar with that system. If not, I can give it a shot at converting it into 3.5e for you. It's pretty close already, would just need to re-word or clarify a few things and it'd be ready to run.

Sewblon
2009-12-18, 04:14 PM
Cthulu challenges the PCs to a dance off, so they need to keep dancing until you get the rest of the campaign ready. It makes exactly as much sense as the current scenario, and it will be awesome.

Licensedtoill
2009-12-21, 04:21 PM
How about you make the whole world explode, sending them into a universe where they are there old characters and have the strange inability to do anything remotely like this again?

Licensedtoill
2009-12-21, 04:24 PM
Cthulu challenges the PCs to a dance off, so they need to keep dancing until you get the rest of the campaign ready. It makes exactly as much sense as the current scenario, and it will be awesome.

i KNEW my ranks in Perform(Dance) would pay off!! Ha Ha!!! The kercpa has won again!!!!

cheezewizz2000
2009-12-21, 04:27 PM
True. Still though, bringing fire to a forest fire would only start another forest fire, unless the forest is done for already, in which case...:smallamused: Preventing a forest fire with a fire, says Smokey the Bear, would only bring more forest fires, thus causing an endless forest fire that only you can prevent.

Actually, you would be introducing a non-indiginous forest fire to a new environment. It would probably out-compete the native forest fire for resources and cause it to go extinct. Just look at rabbits and Australia, or the grey squirrel and England.