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Count Dravda
2010-09-09, 03:34 PM
A while ago, I saw a genius idea (and I believe it was on these forums) for a campaign in which the PCs aren't the heroes at all. The hero is a mighty, epic-level wizard who has to go out and save the world. As he defends reality from cosmic evils, he requires somebody to keep an eye on his home and tend to things while he's away. Enter the PCs.

I'm planning on running this pretty soon for my own group, so I'm looking for help. The campaign will take a lighthearted tone, and I'm going to set it at 8th level. The tasks the PCs face won't be overtly hostile: they must simply survive an epic-level wizard's home, and keep it running smoothly.

If anyone knows of the original thread, I'd love to take a look at it, since I've lost it and can't find it for the life of me. I'm also looking for suggestions for possible challenges the PCs could face in keeping the mansion/castle running properly.

Here's a list of the ideas I have so far (some remembered from the old thread, some cribbed from Harry Potter, some genuinely original):
FEATURES OF THE CASTLE
-A horde of unseen servants sweeps the PCs out of bed every morning at dawn exactly.
-Some doors are just walls, pretending.
-Some rooms don't exist on some days.
-Some doors lead to different places depending on the day, or your mood.
-Paintings are aware, and can speak to passerby.
-The suits of armor lining the walls are actually inert guardian constructs, who remain silent except to laugh at people who fall prey to a trick stair or poltergeist. If asked, they will give silent directions, which have a 75% chance of being accurate.
-The kitchen is self-aware and quite insane, attacking anyone except the staff.

NPCs
-A surly, backtalking warforged butler, created by the wizard.
-An ancient, ex-ranged groundskeeper who keeps to himself and lives in a small cottage on the grounds.
-A herd of jolly satyrs living on the grounds.
-A 20-year-old version of the wizard, actually a simulacrum he made when he was young.
-A slightly manic homunculus who tends the kitchen. He's territorial, the only one the kitchen doesn't murder on sight, and more than a little paranoid. He has been known to poison people's meals if he doesn't like them, but cooks a delicious meal for anyone he likes.
-An ancient gold dragon who comes around to play chess once per month.
-The kitchen ghost, who doesn't remember his own name, but impotently resents the living for everything.
-A crazed prankster of a poltergeist.
-Two fetches who act as butlers.

CHALLENGES
-Taking Fluffles and Snuffles (two fiendish basilisks) for a walk.
-Clearing up a guttersnype infestation.
-Finding out where all the spare rags keep disappearing to. (The warforged butler is stealing them and sewing them into teddy bears).
-Exercising the 'horses'. The horses range from mundane equines to unicorns to constructs.
-Defeat an ancient gold dragon in a game of chess for a hefty wager.

DabblerWizard
2010-09-09, 08:29 PM
I think this is a fantastic idea. Props for remembering, re-creating, revamping, re-considering this adventure.

I think this story extends itself, anywhere from a light hearted, one night one-shot, to a several night, more structured adventure. I find it difficult to imagine how this plot could fill a whole campaign, though. I would be interested to hear your thoughts on this.

Here are the thoughts that come to mind on this:

Protection

An epic level wizard would surely want his home to be super protected.

This includes defense from external forces, as well as internal safeguards. Who knows what sort of magical mischief he's got stored away in some long forgotten closet. He wouldn't want his maids (if he's got any) to stumble upon something dangerous, or frightening, or unmanageable... or maybe he would.

Along these lines, I imagine this epic wizard would also want to have a regular "house keeper". I noticed you mention a groundskeeper and a butler, but I was thinking in terms of a magically-competent manservant who deals with some of the more technically challenging things in the mansion. - Maybe the wizard has several ferocious (when hungry) dire pets that need feeding, but never leave the house.

If you go along with this, it seems you'll want to explain why the wizard suddenly wants all these newcomers in his home. I mean, if he's legitimately just looking for house sitters, couldn't he have other wizard friends who he'd be more likely to trust with his home?

If he's a misanthropic meany face, then I would question why he's hiring (is he paying the PCs?) these people to watch his abode.

Perhaps he's got some other reasons that he wants these PCs to watch his house. This might be a challenge to answer. So, to work on that, it might help to first answer the following: How does the wizard know the PCs, how did the PCs find out about this house needing sitting, how long will the wizard be away, is this a one time deal...

Logistics

How big is this mansion? What are some of the cooler rooms in it?

Do the PCs have specific instructions they have to follow in terms of their interaction with the house and its inhabitants?

[Edit - Addition]

It would help to make an entire list of people living on the site, how they sustain themselves, what keeps them their, whether they do their own magic, etc.

Intrigue

Is there something spooky or interesting in the house? Is there a part (or several parts) of the house that the PCs are supposed to stay away from? (The interesting answer to that question is YES!, obviously)

Jack_Simth
2010-09-09, 09:33 PM
Let's see....

Reasons for this:
Well, what reasons do people normally have for getting a house-sitter?
1) Security. Sometimes, people watch for places that are unoccupied, and go after them for loot. So you have someone watching your house for you, and making it seem occupied - turning lights/TV on and off, fetching the paper, messing up any snow that falls in the yard, and so on. For an Epic wizard, that could be fetching the paper, setting off assorted magical traps for the light show, and so on. Of course, there's also always the possible encounter with someone who isn't fooled, and not all of the things set off are harmless....
2) The pets. The cat's gotta eat. Or in this case, the half-fiend, half-dragon, half-celestial, half-fey, multiheaded, phrenic, advanced Dire Tiger (don't ask, the Wizard had a bad day, it followed him home, and he kept it). Oh yes, and because Cuddles likes his food live, you're going to need to coax one dire wolf at a time out of the holding pen, into Cuddles', so that Cuddles can eat it. The Wizard forgot to say exactly how to do this, just that you'd need to 'feed the cat' for him.
3) Cleaning. Hey, things get dusty, and it's always good to come home to a clean house, and have someone standing by just in case the cat spills something. Or, you know, just in case the trapped Succubus (or other Outsider) the Wizard keeps around for the entertainment value manages to attract Cuddles enough to break a few layers of wards, leaving the Succubus (or other outsider) relatively free to seek the keys to the other wards keeping it contained.

Eronai_Jantig
2010-09-09, 09:47 PM
For a multi-game adventure using some ideas posted by Jack, you could do some interesting things. Say for instance the Epic Wizard has a Demigod or something down there that gets released into the main Castle Area, but is still help there by something. Every day the demigod would work to get out. Every day you combat it you delay it, until the Epic Wizard comes back and takes care of it for you. The party has to decide if they can mange taking it that day and whatnot, and bonus if the party manages to kill it.

These are just some quick ideas before I hop downs stairs for food for my WoW raid, figured I could help the topic along as it sounds very fun to me.

If you were to do something like this the Creature involved would need to be hard to kill, but possible to damage enough for it to retreat, but not powerful enough to tpk the party.

mobdrazhar
2010-09-09, 10:38 PM
He could have gotten the house sitters in as an experiment ala Big Brother.