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View Full Version : Writing a one-shot. Have one day to do it.



Grey Paladin
2010-08-20, 08:09 AM
See title :smalltongue:. Could use some help/criticism. I have the basic outline but lack any actual content as of yet. This is all a very rough outline so if something is unclear do point that out. The system used is Savage Worlds, but as this is mostly fluff/concepts its unimportant.

The world is a pretty generic gritty Fantasy setting - very similar to Warhammer Fantasy.

The basic idea is that each of the party members have their own (often contradictionary with another) motivation, while they all have a shared overarching goal. They have all arrived to a village where Strange Things are happening..

There are 5 characters, all pre-generated:

The Hero (Fighting type, Arcane Background (Miracles) came to help after having heard rumors of demon attacks, people going mad, missing, performing suicide etc in a nearby town. His aim is to save the village (and probably claim the reward). He has a loyal Sancho Panza-esque mercenary under his control, who is immediately suspicious of The Assassin.

The Assassin (Sneaky marksman, and the only character with firearms) was approached just a scant few days ago, out of the blue, by a mysterious robed figure. He is to kill The Hero for more coin than he has ever seen up to this point in his career - unless he fails, in which case, the figure said as it extended a clawed tentacle from its robe to the man's very-paralyzed body, he will find himself quite dead. The figure then disappeared into the darkness of the alley. whether he follows his secret objective or finds another way to both make some coin and avoid horrible death is up to him.

The Thief (Thief!) was sent by The Guild to rob the crypts beneath the village, where it is said that there is a priceless urn containing the ashes of the founder. The Guild warned him that the crypts are quite dangereous, and far older than the village. If he is to get to the urn he will need a group of violent suckers to do the fighting for him...
now where to find one?

The Hunter (Sneaky gish, Arcane background (Super Powers). Basically a Witcher) has been tracking a shapeshifter for many months, and (correctly) believes the source of the horrible happenings is his prey. The shapeshifter is extremely skilled in getting away by using its fell powers, and should it hear word of The Hunter's quest it will immediately flee and begin to perform its dark deeds elsewhere - thus The Hunter cannot tell anyone of his mission, or that he suspects the Shapeshifter is here. Anyone could be his vile nemesis. Should The Hunter not discover the identity of the shapeshifter he will have little choice but to call on his organization to slaughter everyone, to the last, to ensure that the monster has been put down.

The Keeper (Caster) is the protector of the ancient crypts beneath the village, and guardian of their secret. The ashes of the 'founder' are in truth a sacred artifact of The Demon Sovereign - the sole remnants of his wings, which were burned by the gods when he was cast down into hell. Any summoning circle enscribed with them becomes a permanent gateway between the underworld and earth, letting entire armies walk through rather than a few individuals for a short period of time. She is sworn to keep this information secret, for if it falls into the wrong hands the results would obviously be disastereous. The Keeper is set on protecting the urn and is known to be stern, but still has a kind heart. She will not let an innocent child die for the sake of duty.

On their late-night arrival by a shared caravan the party finds a generally intact village, though the people are understandfuly mistrustful, fearful, and generally unhelpful. Most refuse to leave their huts after sunset . A little girl (no more than 6 years old or so) cries loudly about the loss of her cat, which - if the adventurers inquire about - she found right after the demon attack on one of the huts on the outskirts. On the following morning the adventurers discover a weeping mother - the girl disappeared. One of her playmates said she went to look for her cat, which they all saw heading into the crypts.

In truth, the girl is the shapeshifter - she has taken the form of the girl and turned the original into a cat, to be used as a red herring. She managed to do so stealthly while the rest of the village was distracted by the demons she summoned. She planned to use the form to infiltrate the village and then 'go missing' in the crypts so that a group paves her a way to the urn - the defenses unpassable for unatural creatures such as herself. She hired The Assassin to get rid of The Hero when she heard he was coming, and hired The Thief in order to improve her shot at success in getting the urn.

The real girl, turned into a cat, tried to flee to The Keeper's office in the crypts - hoping her knowledge of the arcane would be enough to recognize her and restore her to her true form. The shapeshifter gave chase, fearing the same. Thankfuly this plays to her side as she planned to 'go missing in the crypts' anyway. She will leave ribbons and somesuch on the way to lead the 'noble' fools in the right path, all the while chasing the cat to keep it from The Keeper (who has a decent chance to recognize its nature if she sees it up close) in hopes of finishing the task before the accursed cat ruins it.

The PCs will likely suspect the cat is the demon, while it is in fact the girl. If they trust each other and piece their information together they can triumph, but if they all stick to their personal goal and be paranoid about it rather than adapting they are in essence doomed. To make it more interesting the GM is encouraged to continue and try to subtly keep the characters thinking on how to trick each into accomplishing their own goal rather than focus on the common foe.

This is the basic outline I have in mind. Thoughts? Suggestions for encounters? Should I put in some village encounters to give the poor PCs more clues? Any suggestions for actual content are welcome.

Kensen
2010-08-20, 09:09 AM
Sounds very good! Though the Keeper I think should be an NPC. I can see the four other characters go adventuring together, but the Keeper is likely just to sit and wait until the other characters find the urn.

Grey Paladin
2010-08-20, 09:19 AM
Glad to hear you liked it. The Keeper is meant to serve as foil to The Thief, and unless they snuck by her I don't think she'd let them go down there alone so her motivation is, basically, to keep an eye on them while helping them search for the kid.

If I do end up making her an NPC (Perhaps an 'antagonist' hounding them and trying to get them to turn back as they progress, sending minions and activating defenses) I'll need to make a 5th PC, because I have 5 players.

Kensen
2010-08-20, 09:57 AM
Maybe the fifth character could be an anti-hero whose past is somehow connected to the village and what's happening there. Unfortunately he doesn't know what the connection is or whose side he should be on in the conflict. Reveal bits of information (flashbacks or dreams?) about his past that help the player piece together the mystery. He's a wild card that may be one of the good guys.. or the bad guys.

Just an idea. :smallsmile:

jiriku
2010-08-20, 11:44 AM
You should have a couple of town-based encounters before entering the crypt to bring it alive and make it a real place in your players' minds, rather than just a placeholder location for the crypt.

Also, you need some red herrings. Right now, your only NPCs of note are a little girl and a cat. For those who know about the shapeshifter, it's for dead sure that one of those two must be the villain, if only because they're the only two choices available. Likewise, "you'd never harm children" is an obvious fishhook when there's only one child in the story. The child is clearly placed there in order to be threatened with harm to force the character into a moral dilemma. Add 3-5 additional NPCs with interesting personality quirks, including a child or two, and the players have more anchor points for roleplaying interactions. Plus, it will be less obvious where the villain is. A shapeshifter needs a crowd of probable suspects to hide among.

Grey Paladin
2010-08-20, 11:53 AM
Kensen: Cool idea. Will give it some thought.

jiriku: Right you are on the town encounters. Any ideas for some of those?

I was trying to make the cat dead-obvious, so that they 'get' the wrong person (this being the cat's original purpose in the shapeshifter's plan), but I figure a few more targets for those that shun the obvious is a good idea. The original idea was that the Hunter will suspect his own party (one of them, for example, actually being handed the shifter character) and thus promote more inter-party roleplay/paranoia. Everyone beside The Hero are hiding something and will probably try to manipulate the rest of the party, so there is significant cause for suspicion if it is noticed.

jiriku
2010-08-20, 12:07 PM
A few common chestnuts that I use:

The overly loquacious craftsman. Typically a blacksmith or carpenter, this is a fellow with a distinguished appearance (often an impressive mustache, fancy hat, or other signature item), a loud, bombastic voice, and expansive gestures. He loves to share gossip about his neighbors and the history of the town, and talk at length about his craft. As a rule of thumb, 25% of what he says is helpful to the plot, 25% is useful background material, and 50% is filler or red herrings. But he's very fun to roleplay and if you get into the role players may assume he's more important than he is.

The orphan thief. A small child with a tragic story who may attempt to steal food or petty valuables from the party. Another good roleplaying opportunity.

The overweight matron. Another source of gossip, this time delivered with the thickest brogue you can muster, the overweight matron will mother over the PCs, invite them into her home, and feed them, and encourage them to talk about themselves. Everything they tell her will be common knowledge all over town by sundown.

The suspicious undertaker. This fellow keeps odd hours, avoids polite company, and half the town thinks he's a vampire. He often meets with strange folk from out of town, and receives packages from them. He reacts in a guilty fashion if the PCs try to speak to him. However, he's just an odd fellow with low social self-esteem and a taxidermy hobby.

Various minor plot hooks:

An NPC has a gambling debt and is trying to force family members to borrow money on his behalf because no one will loan him money.
An NPC has developed a drug habit, and her friends are commenting on her strange behavior lately, and wondering if she's responsible for minor valuables disappearing from their homes.
An NPC has fallen ill, and townsfolk blame another NPC for placing a hex on the sick character.
An NPC is bitter about a break-up, and tells lies to the players about the ex-lover, hoping the players can be tricked into causing trouble for the ex.

Lord Loss
2010-08-20, 12:22 PM
Have some thugs attack the PCs when they first enter a more shadowy part of town. Also, Dopplegangers make for a good deal of fun when you let the Players play them, especially when given XP rewards for tricking their party members, I like your adventure, but would add a bard to the mix (instead of the Keeper)

Grey Paladin
2010-08-20, 12:49 PM
You've all been very helpful. Thanks.
The game was delayed two weeks, so the thread title is a bit misleading now, but I can at least work in all of your suggestions~.

Kensen
2010-08-23, 03:30 AM
I wouldn't necessarily use doppelgangers because the main villain is a shapeshifter and the Hunter's job is to slay the shapeshifter. If there are too many shapechanging people around, it gets confusing.