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Half-orc Bard
2010-12-18, 01:18 AM
I'm Dming a group and I want it to mostly be in one city

It is a woodland city
It has at least one of each core classes including psionics
It has very strict laws about commoners interacting with druids
It is good but being evil is not a crime doing evil is
It has clerics or favoured souls from every religon most are low lvl
It has a waterfall with nymphs in it
It has a above average library
It has an alright army of archers with good protection from a wall with slits for they're bows

It Has a group of criminal rouges with crossbows (This will be my first questish thing to kill them)

I want for the city to grow to a metropolis as the party gets higher lvl so ways to expand the city would be a great help thanks playgrounders :smallbiggrin:

Jothki
2010-12-18, 02:17 AM
Looking at your list, there's the inevitable cave complex behind the nymph waterfall that will get infested by monsters.

The city will have graveyards, you can throw in an overly large crypt or two.

The_Scourge
2010-12-18, 02:24 AM
Bounty Hunters.

Either through mistaken identity, vindictive enemy or something they actually did the PCs now have a price on their heads. They have to outpace the hunters, evade the legitimate authority and try not to cause too much havok all the while figuring out who set them up.

Grelna the Blue
2010-12-18, 02:33 AM
Cities are easy. When you put that many people close together, you get problems and almost every one is a potential plot hook if looked at the right way.

Are there external enemies like dragons or humanoid armies or raiding parties? Even relatively small raiding parties could pose a serious threat to nearby farmers who supply the city residents with food. What about troublemaking adventurers? Who deals with them? How many nearby druids are evil, and how happy are they about the existence and growth of the city?

Is the cities water supply safe and secure all the way to the source? If not, the city may send out adventurers to deal with someone or something fouling the water far upriver.

The trade routes leading to and through the city, how secure are they? If trade is disrupted by anything, the city suffers for it.

Does this city have sewers? Burial grounds? If so, all sorts of possibilities open up. Otyughs, ghouls, graverobbers, cultists, wererats (actually, you can put those last two anywhere).

Then too, what city of any size doesn't have a vampire or two (usually keeping a very low profile)?

Even something as simple as a deranged murderer could be a good city adventure. Think Jack the Ripper or Hannibal Lecter.

Was this city built atop the ruins of anything whatsoever, no matter how long forgotten? If so, even if the ruins are completely harmless, something non-harmless could move in.

Who runs the city, and is there any group upset about the fact that it isn't them? Upset enough to do something about it, that is?

Regarding the rogues with crossbows you mentioned, you don't have to have the party kill off ALL of them. You'll want at least one or two to survive to form the nucleus of another group later. Also, there's room in most cities for multiple thieves guilds/gangs. Just have them concentrate on different things if you're worried that the city is too small, unless it's really only a small to medium size town. Drug runners (have them sell really despicable stuff), burglars, pickpockets, etc. can all belong to separate groups.

I hope this was of some help.

Halae
2010-12-18, 04:32 AM
I once ran an entire semi-campaign in which the players were tracking down and defeating a villainous syndicate in their home city. That sort of thing is hard to do effectively, but I made it work, and the players were surprisingly accomodating

WinWin
2010-12-18, 05:13 AM
Apprentice summoning spell goes awry. Could be something to do with the library, or just a mage trying to impress a barmaid in a local tavern.

Opens a Gate and floods and area with elementals and mephits. Alternatively, it could open in the Far Realm and start spawning abberations, turning local critters Pseudonatural and sending the local populace insane. Could be part of a larger plot by Kaorti, Mindflayers (Thoon) and/or a cabal of Alienists. Druids are busy containing the problem in one section of the city, they enlist the PC's to go in and investigate the area.


Negotiations with a local tribe of Goblinoids has gone awry. Trade routes pass though the tribes territory and the group is too large for the city to wage war with without a very large commitment of resources. It could be the result of interference by a local group of criminals, dopplegangers, a rival tribe of goblins or even a dragon planning on raising an army. The PC's are hired to investigate and/or deal with the Goblins secretly on behalf of the city.


just a couple of ideas.

grimbold
2010-12-18, 05:32 AM
i think a mafia/gangster type thing would be fun

RndmNumGen
2010-12-31, 05:39 PM
Cities are easy. When you put that many people close together, you get problems and almost every one is a potential plot hook if looked at the right way.

Are there external enemies like dragons or humanoid armies or raiding parties? Even relatively small raiding parties could pose a serious threat to nearby farmers who supply the city residents with food. What about troublemaking adventurers? Who deals with them? How many nearby druids are evil, and how happy are they about the existence and growth of the city?

Is the cities water supply safe and secure all the way to the source? If not, the city may send out adventurers to deal with someone or something fouling the water far upriver.

The trade routes leading to and through the city, how secure are they? If trade is disrupted by anything, the city suffers for it.

Does this city have sewers? Burial grounds? If so, all sorts of possibilities open up. Otyughs, ghouls, graverobbers, cultists, wererats (actually, you can put those last two anywhere).

Then too, what city of any size doesn't have a vampire or two (usually keeping a very low profile)?

Even something as simple as a deranged murderer could be a good city adventure. Think Jack the Ripper or Hannibal Lecter.

Was this city built atop the ruins of anything whatsoever, no matter how long forgotten? If so, even if the ruins are completely harmless, something non-harmless could move in.

Who runs the city, and is there any group upset about the fact that it isn't them? Upset enough to do something about it, that is?

Regarding the rogues with crossbows you mentioned, you don't have to have the party kill off ALL of them. You'll want at least one or two to survive to form the nucleus of another group later. Also, there's room in most cities for multiple thieves guilds/gangs. Just have them concentrate on different things if you're worried that the city is too small, unless it's really only a small to medium size town. Drug runners (have them sell really despicable stuff), burglars, pickpockets, etc. can all belong to separate groups.

I hope this was of some help.

This gave me quite a few ideas for my own game. Thanks!

Dr.Epic
2010-12-31, 05:54 PM
It has a waterfall with nymphs in it

People (mostly men with nothing better to do:smallwink:) keep bothering the nymphs and the PCs are called in to keep guard of the waterfall.

doctor_wu
2010-12-31, 06:27 PM
How old is the city. Are there levies on the river. Could someone break the levies and find them and have flooded farms.

Hmm someone tries to burn down the library? CAtching someone for arson could be a big deal if this is an impressive library. Scrolls could be great treasure for this adventure.

dgnslyr
2010-12-31, 06:35 PM
People (mostly men with nothing better to do:smallwink:) keep bothering the nymphs and the PCs are called in to keep guard of the waterfall.

How do you know the PCs won't shirk their duty? Or is that the, ahem, reward they receive? :smallwink: