PDA

View Full Version : The nigerian prince scam, with a twist



pasko77
2012-02-05, 09:29 AM
i'm preparing a minicampaign centered on the concept of the nigerian prince scam.
For who doesn't know, the scam goes: "i'm the nigerian prince, i've been overthrown by an usurper, please help me I will repay you more than you can imagine".

The "help me" part, in real life, is "send me money", in a fantasy scenario can be "steal and bring me this precious artifact that will prove my identity and restore my kingdom".

The mcGuffin, i thought, could be a ring of wishes, that only works if used by the royal bloodline, so it is both very powerful and revelatory.
The scam is obvious, the thief wants the mcguffin for themself and will backstab the PCs asap.

So, how can I make it more interesting?
The first thing to cross my mind was "the prince is real", it has the added benefit that my players know that I've a penchant for double-double crossing stories, so they won't be able to decide if it is a scam or a real thing.

I think i'll send mixed signals, such as "the prince is a known thief". This should work both ways, because even if true, the prince HAS to fund his comeback.

Secondarily, I'll put the court magician as his sidekick. Once a powerful sorceress, she was defeated in a magical duel by the usurper's own wizard, and Feebleminded. The prince managed to save his devoted sorceress, but he is unable to restore her mind, so he keeps her in his house in exile. Obviously this is double folded, since to a first analysis she is just "a mindless whore of which he is the pimp".

Like the story so far?
Other ideas?

Tiki Snakes
2012-02-05, 09:52 AM
A twist on the Nigerian Prince scam that will complicate matters and make things more interesting?

I think I have one. And fittingly, the inspiration comes from the real thing, too.

The PC's are recruited by "The Nigerian Prince", who has been overthrown and needs just a little bit of help to reclaim his kingdom, whether in the form of cash monies or more RP appropriate having them steal an appropriately powerful sounding macguffin.

But at every step of the way, mysterious rivals keep interfering with their plans, stealing the plot-tokens needed to get the macguffin out from underneath their noses, sabotaging their transport, etc. Perhaps occaisionally the PC's will reach the main chamber to find two sets of these mysterious rivals already fighting over the plot coupon.

Because, true to form, they've also been contacted by a "Genuine Nigerian Prince". There's a whole black-market industry built around the scam.

For bonus points, the Macguffin doesn't even exist. No, infact the whole point of the scam is to get the relatively minor (but very valuable) Plot Coupons that were supposedly needed to unlock the macguffin's location or some such.

For extra Bonus Points, Fantasy Nigeria in this case could be an established Republic?

Slipperychicken
2012-02-05, 11:13 AM
Knowledge (Nobility and Royalty). If/when they fail, the scam "seems legit".

Anxe
2012-02-05, 11:26 AM
I like the idea. I did something similar in my campaign. It was a princess attempting to reclaim her throne. A prophecy said that she would open a gate to hell on her 35th birthday. She thought the prophecy had come only from her brother, so that he could rule in her place. The twist was, of course, that the prophecy was real.

Sooo... Demon possession would be my suggestion.

some guy
2012-02-05, 01:28 PM
Hm, reminds of a comic I read as a kid. 't Was about a prince posing as a thief posing as a merchant. The prince had been usurped, to reclaim his kingdom he had to steal every object he had ever owned and put it in his chest of holding. With every object put in it, the chest would grow bigger and bigger until the chest transformed into the prince's original palace.

Vknight
2012-02-06, 02:51 AM
I like this idea.

As for suggestions.
Be ready for the PC's to double cross the double cross or not want to follow that plot hook

pasko77
2012-02-06, 05:21 AM
But at every step of the way, mysterious rivals keep interfering with their plans.

For bonus points, the Macguffin doesn't even exist.

For extra Bonus Points, Fantasy Nigeria in this case could be an established Republic?

1)Good.
2)No, it exists, it is a ring of wishes 1/week, works only for bloodline. It must be renown.
3)No, too easy to find out that it's a lie.
The official version is "the king and the prince both died from a magic resistant disease, probably a curse from an enemy. The 'usurper' was the king's vizier."



Be ready for the PC's to double cross the double cross or not want to follow that plot hook

Sure. I always run semi-sandbox stuff, so the prince will be met at a gambling den. He can be higly ignorable or expendable.

I want to open as in the movie "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels".

I already made up the first 3 plot hooks. If interested, I can post :)

GodGoblin
2012-02-06, 05:33 AM
Id be up for seeing those hooks! Also you just mentioned one of the greatest movies of all time so im all ears! :smallbiggrin:

hewhosaysfish
2012-02-06, 08:04 AM
But... if the ring is well-renowned and only works for people of the royal bloodline then there's not much reason why a random scammer would want to steal it and thus no tension in th party's minds about "is this guy for real?"

I suppose they might suspect he's a lackey of the the usurper, hoping to dispose of anything the exiled prince could use to prove his identity but that scenario doesn't quite have the same parallels to the Nigerian Prince scam.

Reluctance
2012-02-06, 08:25 AM
"Bad guy tricks protagonists into bringing him the macguffin" is a classic twist. 419 scams are about sending more and more money until you come to your sense. I strongly advise against the latter, as all you'll be doing is frustrating the players for what's by definition zero gain.

I'd be tempted to make this a double bind. The legitimate line has been overthrown and scattered. An illegitimate offspring sees this as his chance to grab the jackpot. You'd need some way to let the players clue into this eventually, and probably to let them decide which side to back. A few real "nigerian princes" by your definition - people with no claim to the line whatsoever, who try to take advantage of the confusion to take the throne for themselves - would be an interesting twist to the story.

RobD
2012-02-06, 08:33 AM
Speaking of spam....
I've had the thought that it might be fun to play a Warforged spellcaster who only uses buff spells ("Guaranteed to improve size/performance!"), and keeps offering them all the time. I would label him the Sentient Program Actualizing Modified Biology Of Targets, aka...S.P.A.M.B.O.T.

Kurgan
2012-02-06, 12:46 PM
Well, another twist you could use is that yes, this guy is the real prince, but:

-The old king was a hated ruler who nearly bankrupt the country with his lavish lifestyle and constant wars [which either resulted in defeat or Pyrrhic victories].

-The usurper is a well loved ruler, a benevolent monarch so to speak, who has saved the country from the near disaster the old king put it in.

So, while the players are helping someone from the old line, the old line isn't all that popular or well liked due to its abuse of power. The instant this guy gets back on the throne, the country will begin spiraling into chaos once more.

Another thought: The old king got around, there are literally dozens of real princes, all making the same plots. Bonus points if they are all separately plotting the same thing in the same tavern/gambling house.

QuidEst
2012-02-06, 04:34 PM
Hmm.

My approach would be:
1) The quest item is legit.
2) The party can find out from a number of clues that they're not dealing with the genuine prince. It's actually the Grand Vizier (possibly a powerful necromancer) in disguise.
3) Further investigation can reveal that the Grand Vizier is genuinely helping the prince, who has to remain in hiding, and is risking his own life to do so. He wants his old position back.

In a later quest, the G.V. can stage a coup, though. :smallamused:

pasko77
2012-02-08, 03:10 AM
Id be up for seeing those hooks! Also you just mentioned one of the greatest movies of all time so im all ears! :smallbiggrin:

I haven't forgotten. It' just that RL stuff is in the middle. I'll post when I have time :)

Sudain
2012-02-08, 10:58 AM
In my old group the party would remove the prince's hand(if he fell to any misfortune) with the ring attached to see if it worked. If needed they would drain the body of all the blood to see if that helped. If warned ahead of time they would look into ways of charming/enslaving the prince on a infinite basis.

Heads up.

prufock
2012-02-08, 12:24 PM
This actually sounds like a great plot for my next Paranoia! game.

MukkTB
2012-02-08, 09:00 PM
What level are the PCs? A ring of 1 wish / week sounds like a really overpowered item.

Feddlefew
2012-02-08, 11:49 PM
Another thought: The old king got around, there are literally dozens of real princes, all making the same plots. Bonus points if they are all separately plotting the same thing in the same tavern/gambling house.

I'd like to tack on "...and the old king was an incubus/gender-bent succubus." to this one.

darthbobcat
2012-02-09, 02:45 AM
A

But at every step of the way, mysterious rivals keep interfering with their plans, stealing the plot-tokens needed to get the macguffin out from underneath their noses, sabotaging their transport, etc.

I'd suggest playing this suggestion up a lot. There's your source of opponents for the campaign. Because after all, the Nigerian Scam doesn't just target ONE person at a time.

deuxhero
2012-02-09, 10:31 PM
UMD user is a problem with the ring of wishes methinks.

pasko77
2012-02-13, 04:22 PM
So, I finally have half an hour for myself (stupid job, house, son, father, all competing for my attention )

That means that I didn't write further, but at least I can answer all your kind suggestions.


I'd be tempted to make this a double bind. The legitimate line has been overthrown and scattered. An illegitimate offspring sees this as his chance to grab the jackpot.


I'd suggest playing this suggestion up a lot. There's your source of opponents for the campaign. Because after all, the Nigerian Scam doesn't just target ONE person at a time.

Yes, I agree with both of you. More parties, more fun!


But... if the ring is well-renowned and only works for people of the royal bloodline then there's not much reason why a random scammer would want to steal it and thus no tension in th party's minds about "is this guy for real?"


Except that he ends up stealing the valuables in the castle and not said ring :)


this guy is the real prince, but:
-The old king was a hated ruler
-The usurper is a well loved ruler.

Another thought: The old king got around, there are literally dozens of real princes, all making the same plots. Bonus points if they are all separately plotting the same thing in the same tavern/gambling house.

Ohhh! Love it! :)


Hmm.

My approach would be:
1) The quest item is legit.
2) The party can find out from a number of clues that they're not dealing with the genuine prince. It's actually the Grand Vizier (possibly a powerful necromancer) in disguise.
3) Further investigation can reveal that the Grand Vizier is genuinely helping the prince, who has to remain in hiding, and is risking his own life to do so. He wants his old position back.

In a later quest, the G.V. can stage a coup, though. :smallamused:

Even more twisted, but unfortunately collides with the characters I have in mind. Nice ideas, though!!!


In my old group the party would remove the prince's hand(if he fell to any misfortune) with the ring attached to see if it worked. If needed they would drain the body of all the blood to see if that helped. If warned ahead of time they would look into ways of charming/enslaving the prince on a infinite basis.

Heads up.

That's... pretty sick. You should be proud of them :smallamused:
Thanks for the heads up, my players are indeed little rascals.


What level are the PCs? A ring of 1 wish / week sounds like a really overpowered item.


UMD user is a problem with the ring of wishes methinks.

For these two concerns: don't worry, I don't use D&D rules. I just talk in D&D terms here in the forum because it is the common accepted rules. In the game I play there is no such thing as "umd". The ring _is_ a mcguffin. The players _won't_ be able to trigger it (except... ehm... per Sudain's method, it might work:smalleek:)

QuidEst
2012-02-14, 08:30 AM
In my old group the party would remove the prince's hand(if he fell to any misfortune) with the ring attached to see if it worked. If needed they would drain the body of all the blood to see if that helped. If warned ahead of time they would look into ways of charming/enslaving the prince on a infinite basis.

Heads up.
Eh, personally I was leaning more towards necro'ing the guy or setting up a pair of casters to keep him soul jarred.


Even more twisted, but unfortunately collides with the characters I have in mind. Nice ideas, though!!!
Ah well… I do love using the Grand Vizier in interesting ways.