PDA

View Full Version : I need a small sidequest for my campaign.



Gnaritas
2011-01-24, 10:32 AM
So my party is sitting in the Elven Forest with an Elven Army while outside the forest is a Human Army of 10.000 soldiers trying to invade the Elven Forest.
This has been going on for 2 weeks and my party has just arrived in the Elven Encampment.

Their purpose will lead them away from this mayor confrontation, further into the elven forest, but before that i want them to get a taste of this ongoing war.

The options i considered so far:

1. They need to destroy one of their largest catapults that's throwing burning balls into the forest.
Problem: i am afraid the solution to this problem will be the invisible pixie doing some stuff like pouring gasoline on it and put it on fire. That's fine by me, but i want this to be a party effort.

2. A human legion of Knights breaks through the Elven Lines and wrecks havoc among the Encampment.
Problem: kind of inspireless combat

Any other suggestions?

<edit>
It's D&D 3.5
Party is ECL 10

Minotaur Psychic Warrior Wolverine Style
Pixie Rogue
Goliath Warblade
Human Sacred Fist
Elf homebrew Warlock-like class

Re'ozul
2011-01-24, 10:53 AM
Main alignment of players and elves?

Gritty idea:

A human gryffon-rider (aerial scout) is shot down and questioned. The elves being kind of desperate (if they are) say nothing opposed when one less good inclined among them suggests torture. Have the party know that, see what they do. Create reaction among the elves.
They do nothing (Elves are revolted once the torture starts, stop it and consider the fact that your people did nothing to be slightly suspicious.)
They do nothing (Elves torture the scout, gain minor info and manage (with own scouts info) to figure out plans for the suprise breakthrough. Planning to oppose this attack ensues. Characters help to defend.
They rescue the human because torture is disgusting and spend a session to covertly help him escape back to the humans without the elves noticing.

Less gritty idea:

Humans have started to (very carefully and heavily guarded) pull down trees in different section of the forest. Only ever a few trees at a time, but enough to make the elves worried. (Because attempts are seemingly made at several different places, its harder to react to all of them). The group is tasked to use special seeds to regrow them. (insta trees) after the first time, guards are posted so the players will have to either be stealthy or brutal.
(Idea blatantly ripped off from the Asterix book Mansions of the Gods)

profitofrage
2011-01-24, 10:56 AM
If they have recently entered the elven lands, you could have the human army suddenly suspect that perhaps there mercenaries hired by the elves. In responce they send in assasins or otherwise sneaky killers in order to take them out.

another potential idea is that they stumble on an underground tunnel, on searching they find that it goes straight under the elven line of defences, there surprised to see that there are indeed soldiers within, i.e they have to 1) collapse the tunnel 2) find a way back out and 3) survive while they do it all.

Gnaritas
2011-01-24, 11:00 AM
Both good ideas.

However the first has a moral issue that is not new to this campaign, almost the exact example has happened.

The second is an excellent idea considering it's "something else besides simple combat". Currently the humans are burning down parts of the forest every day, forcing the elves further back. Regrowing the trees would be an excellent options, but the existence of insta-trees troubles me. Also this will be abused by my party who would use these items to slip in someone's food or so.

I have also thought of having them face a forest fire, but have no idea on how to go about that besides them saying "ok, we move away from it".

Greenish
2011-01-24, 11:01 AM
Miniquests:

Gather information about the elven army and sell it to the humans. Don't get caught!
Poison elven supplies and get paid for it.
Assassinate elven leadership.
Torch the forest for kicks and shiggles.


[Edit]:
Regrowing the trees would be an excellent options, but the existence of insta-trees troubles me.They already exist, and creative players have found 1001 uses for them.

LansXero
2011-01-24, 11:02 AM
Has the catapult already been presented? If not, you could somehow let them know there is a HUGE one being assembled right in the human trenches (it was carried in pieces and will be functional and decimating everything burnable shortly). You could combine it with the captured-scout idea as well. Then its not something as simple as burning it down; you have to find the engineers / crewmen, the smiths, the forges, etc. because if you dont they will just make more. Perhaps have the elves running guerrilla tactics to cover the PCs while they do this, and show them an elven party getting steamrolled and torn to shreds to cover for them. Should give them a sense of a bigger conflict, I guess.

Gnaritas
2011-01-24, 11:03 AM
If they have recently entered the elven lands, you could have the human army suddenly suspect that perhaps there mercenaries hired by the elves. In responce they send in assasins or otherwise sneaky killers in order to take them out.


If they had assassins i would say they would already try to assassinate the Elven General which would demoralize the entire elven army. But then again, the party might need to stop his assassination. That said, an assassanation prevention already occured in this campaign.




another potential idea is that they stumble on an underground tunnel, on searching they find that it goes straight under the elven line of defences, there surprised to see that there are indeed soldiers within, i.e they have to 1) collapse the tunnel 2) find a way back out and 3) survive while they do it all.

I like this one, but i do wonder how realistic this is (my players are gonna say it takes more than 2 weeks to dig a tunnel that long).

Re'ozul
2011-01-24, 11:06 AM
Actually, insta trees exist. (according to crystal keep)

Qualls's feather token - tree (DMG p264)
single use, becomes a 60' tall oak. 100gp
(Have a specialist elven artificer makes these things at ridiculous cheap cost, and only hand the party what they are supposed to use).

I had this used against me by a party because i didn't specify that stuff only works on the ground. They carpet bombed an army of crystal spiders and the main crystal-armored-amoeba with these.

profitofrage
2011-01-24, 11:12 AM
I like this one, but i do wonder how realistic this is (my players are gonna say it takes more than 2 weeks to dig a tunnel that long).


dwarven super miners...magic? slaves?
Tunnel is actually ancient and has been there for a good long time the humans just managed to find it / clear it of rubble.

Curmudgeon
2011-01-24, 11:27 AM
Problem: i am afraid the solution to this problem will be the invisible pixie doing some stuff like pouring gasoline on it and put it on fire. That's fine by me, but i want this to be a party effort.

Gasoline doesn't exist in D&D.
Lamp oil doesn't cause that much damage per flask.
You can pour a pint of oil on the ground to cover an area 5 feet square, provided that the surface is smooth. If lit, the oil burns for 2 rounds and deals 1d3 points of fire damage to each creature in the area.
Wood has hardness 5 and 10 HP/inch of thickness. Catapults use massive wooden beams at least 10" thick, so you'll need to do 100 HP of damage after subtracting 5 each round.
A simple Mending cantrip/orison will repair any charred spots.
A catapult (15' across) takes up 9 squares, so that's 18 move actions to grab flasks and pour, then at least a full round to grab a tindertwig and light the oil. This assumes the pixie is right atop the catapult's center square.
Fear not. The pixie is going to need a lot of help.

Greenish
2011-01-24, 11:34 AM
Wood has hardness 5 and 10 HP/inch of thickness. Catapults use massive wooden beams at least 10" thick, so you'll need to do 100 HP of damage after subtracting 5 each round.If you assume wood is not vulnerable to fire damage, the damage is halved before applying hardness.

I should think it likely, though, that the DM would rule that wood is vulnerable to fire, which thus deals double damage and probably ignores hardness too. Why, if the DM got really carried away, it could even catch fire!

Kislath
2011-01-24, 11:53 AM
I can't remember what it's called, but there is an old artifact in D&D which is a terrible machine. This plane-hopping device goes around plowing down all in it's path and building paved roads in it's wake, disappearing only when it falls off a cliff or something.

Toliudar
2011-01-24, 02:47 PM
The elves know that a strike team of humans have been dispatched to the ancient blah-blah-blah place of power, near the edge of the forest, to retrieve the mcguffin that will make it easier for the humans to win the war, or harder for the elves to defend themselves. As is typical of such things, no one on the elven side thought to retrieve it before now, so the group is sent to enter the place of power, defeat the humans along the way, and retrieve the mcguffin. Built in team-work required, and you get to introduce either specific personalities among the humans, or a kind of mentality/strategy that will reappear later.

Kol Korran
2011-01-24, 03:00 PM
hhmmm, here are two ideas, a bit simliar, but still:

1)one of the elven commanders have invested in some magical supplies that are en route, however, the humans have found out about them, and sent special infiltrating commando units to them. the other elves vote against sending any more resources (people) to protect the supplies, but that commander tries to do so as well.

what challenges this provide: some combat through ambushes, maybe some navigation or subterfuge? dealing with the supply givers (maybe of some exotic race?) and dealing with all kinds of natural challanges (blockades, rivers, and so on)

2) similar to the supplies, only this time the party are sent to a small settlement of potential allies (a young dragon? forest giants? a colony of talking gryphons, let by an androsphinx?) possibilities:
- again, ambushes on the way.
- to try and persuade them to join the elves' cause. only there may already be representatives from the humans as well. or the allies might think the elves are the real threat.
- maybe they'll have to prove themselves as worthy? or part of the tribe? something the party wouldn't do normally, under other circumstances

hope any of these helps!

Moginheden
2011-01-24, 03:32 PM
Don't want the party to get their hands on insta-trees? Simple, use elven druids instead of the item.

The party needs to defend the druids for X rounds, every time the druids get hit they make a concentration check, failure = restart the spell.

The druids are casting a fast growth spell on normal tree seeds, (think of what the Ogier in the wheel of time series do with singing to the trees.)

Stanlee
2011-01-24, 03:37 PM
If you want to give them what true war is about then look outside of battle:

1.Go to a nearby town to help evacuate only to be meet by a bunch of snot-nosed crying orphans you have no control over and freak out and run around and get killed whenever you run into the enemy forces as you try to evacuate them. (you cant save them all)

2. Find a local warlord that has stake in the outcome of the battle and have him do something to help you now.

3. Build ambushes for paroling enemies. Give them traps to set. Or simple recon missions, no fighting, just gathering information.

4. Awaken some ancient magical creature that would aid the elves, only because the destruction of the forest is pending. Sort of like the Ents from Lord of the Rings.

5. Cut off re-supply convoys to the humans. Take the supplies to the Elves instead.