jeice
2013-02-03, 09:59 PM
So I've just finished up my 2nd session as DM in a new campaign with some friends and I'm looking for some guidance on the idea of plane-shifting in the plot. Just a quick synopsis if you want to know how we've gotten here...
It's a small group, only 2 players and they have a barb/fighter hireling with them who I'm controlling. They are level 3 but just reached enough experience to hit level 4 in the next session(well 2 are, the other one is a Tiefling who is doing LA buyoff so they aren't quite there yet). Basically the group is sort of working for an unnamed employer(an eccentric collector) in order to acquire items for them. The first session was them working their way out of an abandoned dwarven mine that was used as a test to see if they were good enough. At the end of the mine they received their first reward along with a note explaining their next job if they were interested, in which they were. They left the mine and made their way to a town called Falcon's Hollow. This town is part of the Crown of the Kobold King adventure by Paizo which involves saving some children from an old Dwarven monastary called Droskar's Crucible. Note that we are in FR so I plugged Falcon's Hollow into an area at the south edge of the High Forest so it actually works out pretty well.
Their task is to hunt down an item from that adventure, but after going to the town they learn of the children which has strengthened their will to go to the monastary. They have almost cleared out the first level so by next game I'm assuming we'll probably have finished up the adventure where they are to report back to Falcon's Hollow to meet the person who gave them the job and receive their reward.
So basically the plot is they are given these via a proxy of the main employer. He has sent them to Droskar's in order to hunt a specific item he tells them their employer wants, however it is just a ruse. In reality this proxy has betrayed their employer and stolen a certain item. His reason for having the PC's clear out Droskar's crucible is due to their actually being a level 3 to the dungeon which is currently blocked(it is mentioned in the adventure). So while they're saving the children and retrieving the item, in reality they are clearing a path for this person and verifying that the dungeon indeed goes deeper. The players have no clue yet, but they will be finding out not long after they finish the adventure and speak to this person. They have rescued a 2nd NPC in this dungeon that was part of another adventuring group also sent their by the proxy, but were overtaken. They don't actually know this yet, but they will find out when they reach the item and they realize they had the same goal.
Essentially the first group didn't come back so the proxy hired my current players to do what the first group couldn't. When they finish and head back to town the proxy will take the item, slyly ask them about the blocked passage, and after paying them will head there secretly. The next day they will get word from the actual employer about the proxy's betrayal, the dangerous nature of the item he stole and their job will be to hunt him down to retreive it. The proxy will end up being their first BBEG.
So basically I haven't decided exactly what I want that item to be and how it connects to what is on the 2nd level. Their employer is a rich collector and is in possession of many powerful magic artifacts. I have a few ideas, but this is where I'm having trouble.
1. It's some sort of key that will unlock an evil that has been forgotten about for ages. Very cliche, but gives them a reason to continue as they are all from this area and would probably not be happy if that were to happen. I would love it to be a Lich, but I think it might be too early for them to face this unless it escapes and they must hunt it down for part of the campaign. Is it possible that the lich who is locked away magically to perhaps be using an astral projection? Perhaps he learned of the key to unlock himself and used an astral projection to kill and replace the original proxy? If he couldn't do it himself, he could possibly command others to do so.
2. He is actually a Drow in disguise and the blocked passage actually leads to the underdark(my campaign is taking place at the edge of the high forest in FR so it's entirely feasible). Perhaps it has been magically sealed off and the item he stole will unlock it.
3. Their is some sort of ancient magical device that has been sealed, but their employer was aware of it and held the key. Proxy figured it out and decided that he wanted to use it and used the PC's as a way to clear out the trash and confirm that the blockage was indeed there. I was thinking of this being some sort of plane-shifting portal that proxy will escape to and they will end up following him which can lead basically anywhere.
One of the players is our previous DM, who was also a first time DM, and really loves the FR campaign world. I'm alright with it but I also adore classic Greyhawk style adventures. Ultimately I think it would be fun to pull them out of FR into something unknown and they must find and retrieve the item if they are to make it back. I would absolutely LOVE for them to end up near a little town called Hommlet and take off from there, though at level 4-5 they will no doubt be a bit too high level for standard Hommlet stuff. I had considered stripping them and de-leveling them a bit if they managed to plane-shift, with the promise that they will level back up to where they left off at an accelerated rate.
Either way it would give them a different adventuring world than they are used to, and since it's not as high fantasy/magic as Faerun they would notice something different. Greyhawk seems just a bit more gritty which I like. I'm thinking that if the BBEG is Drow he could replace Lareth in the Moathouse and that would be their major confrontation. From that point they would gain the item required to shift back to FR, but also give them the opportunity to choose to head towards the Temple of Elemental Evil if they liked the story.
I'm just rambling here, but I'm wondering if any of this is a bit too cliche or if I'm railroading a bit too much. This group needs a push and I thought dropping them in Hommlet would allow them to focus on their own investigations in order to find where the proxy went. Also it could be explained that plane shifting also causes a time shift so while they might have followed him in within a day or two of him leaving, he might have actually arrived weeks or months ahead and has had time to setup shot in the Moathouse and gain some followers.
Most importantly it takes them out of their comfort zones. We started at level 3 with their WBL, but I think it may be fun for them to experience starting out naked and having to struggle a bit just to continue. They would be able to level and obtain new items rather quickly and if they were to speak to Jaroo he would be able to supply them with some "old adventuring gear" with the promise to help them out if they take care of a task for him.
At any rate I'm looking for ideas as to what would be a cool idea to have the proxy be willing to betray his employer and go through all the trouble to get to. Also would stripping and de-leveling them a bit due to the plane/time shift be too harsh if I were to at least speed up their leveling so they don't feel like they're on an endless treadmill? My thoughts are that they would shift back in time a little on the trip there and lose a level or two, but when they shifted back forward they'd gain what they lost back and automatically shift up an extra level or so. That way in the end they lose nothing except being stuck in lower levels for a bit longer. Also the gear wouldn't travel with them on either trip, but it'd still be there waiting for them when they returned.
It's a small group, only 2 players and they have a barb/fighter hireling with them who I'm controlling. They are level 3 but just reached enough experience to hit level 4 in the next session(well 2 are, the other one is a Tiefling who is doing LA buyoff so they aren't quite there yet). Basically the group is sort of working for an unnamed employer(an eccentric collector) in order to acquire items for them. The first session was them working their way out of an abandoned dwarven mine that was used as a test to see if they were good enough. At the end of the mine they received their first reward along with a note explaining their next job if they were interested, in which they were. They left the mine and made their way to a town called Falcon's Hollow. This town is part of the Crown of the Kobold King adventure by Paizo which involves saving some children from an old Dwarven monastary called Droskar's Crucible. Note that we are in FR so I plugged Falcon's Hollow into an area at the south edge of the High Forest so it actually works out pretty well.
Their task is to hunt down an item from that adventure, but after going to the town they learn of the children which has strengthened their will to go to the monastary. They have almost cleared out the first level so by next game I'm assuming we'll probably have finished up the adventure where they are to report back to Falcon's Hollow to meet the person who gave them the job and receive their reward.
So basically the plot is they are given these via a proxy of the main employer. He has sent them to Droskar's in order to hunt a specific item he tells them their employer wants, however it is just a ruse. In reality this proxy has betrayed their employer and stolen a certain item. His reason for having the PC's clear out Droskar's crucible is due to their actually being a level 3 to the dungeon which is currently blocked(it is mentioned in the adventure). So while they're saving the children and retrieving the item, in reality they are clearing a path for this person and verifying that the dungeon indeed goes deeper. The players have no clue yet, but they will be finding out not long after they finish the adventure and speak to this person. They have rescued a 2nd NPC in this dungeon that was part of another adventuring group also sent their by the proxy, but were overtaken. They don't actually know this yet, but they will find out when they reach the item and they realize they had the same goal.
Essentially the first group didn't come back so the proxy hired my current players to do what the first group couldn't. When they finish and head back to town the proxy will take the item, slyly ask them about the blocked passage, and after paying them will head there secretly. The next day they will get word from the actual employer about the proxy's betrayal, the dangerous nature of the item he stole and their job will be to hunt him down to retreive it. The proxy will end up being their first BBEG.
So basically I haven't decided exactly what I want that item to be and how it connects to what is on the 2nd level. Their employer is a rich collector and is in possession of many powerful magic artifacts. I have a few ideas, but this is where I'm having trouble.
1. It's some sort of key that will unlock an evil that has been forgotten about for ages. Very cliche, but gives them a reason to continue as they are all from this area and would probably not be happy if that were to happen. I would love it to be a Lich, but I think it might be too early for them to face this unless it escapes and they must hunt it down for part of the campaign. Is it possible that the lich who is locked away magically to perhaps be using an astral projection? Perhaps he learned of the key to unlock himself and used an astral projection to kill and replace the original proxy? If he couldn't do it himself, he could possibly command others to do so.
2. He is actually a Drow in disguise and the blocked passage actually leads to the underdark(my campaign is taking place at the edge of the high forest in FR so it's entirely feasible). Perhaps it has been magically sealed off and the item he stole will unlock it.
3. Their is some sort of ancient magical device that has been sealed, but their employer was aware of it and held the key. Proxy figured it out and decided that he wanted to use it and used the PC's as a way to clear out the trash and confirm that the blockage was indeed there. I was thinking of this being some sort of plane-shifting portal that proxy will escape to and they will end up following him which can lead basically anywhere.
One of the players is our previous DM, who was also a first time DM, and really loves the FR campaign world. I'm alright with it but I also adore classic Greyhawk style adventures. Ultimately I think it would be fun to pull them out of FR into something unknown and they must find and retrieve the item if they are to make it back. I would absolutely LOVE for them to end up near a little town called Hommlet and take off from there, though at level 4-5 they will no doubt be a bit too high level for standard Hommlet stuff. I had considered stripping them and de-leveling them a bit if they managed to plane-shift, with the promise that they will level back up to where they left off at an accelerated rate.
Either way it would give them a different adventuring world than they are used to, and since it's not as high fantasy/magic as Faerun they would notice something different. Greyhawk seems just a bit more gritty which I like. I'm thinking that if the BBEG is Drow he could replace Lareth in the Moathouse and that would be their major confrontation. From that point they would gain the item required to shift back to FR, but also give them the opportunity to choose to head towards the Temple of Elemental Evil if they liked the story.
I'm just rambling here, but I'm wondering if any of this is a bit too cliche or if I'm railroading a bit too much. This group needs a push and I thought dropping them in Hommlet would allow them to focus on their own investigations in order to find where the proxy went. Also it could be explained that plane shifting also causes a time shift so while they might have followed him in within a day or two of him leaving, he might have actually arrived weeks or months ahead and has had time to setup shot in the Moathouse and gain some followers.
Most importantly it takes them out of their comfort zones. We started at level 3 with their WBL, but I think it may be fun for them to experience starting out naked and having to struggle a bit just to continue. They would be able to level and obtain new items rather quickly and if they were to speak to Jaroo he would be able to supply them with some "old adventuring gear" with the promise to help them out if they take care of a task for him.
At any rate I'm looking for ideas as to what would be a cool idea to have the proxy be willing to betray his employer and go through all the trouble to get to. Also would stripping and de-leveling them a bit due to the plane/time shift be too harsh if I were to at least speed up their leveling so they don't feel like they're on an endless treadmill? My thoughts are that they would shift back in time a little on the trip there and lose a level or two, but when they shifted back forward they'd gain what they lost back and automatically shift up an extra level or so. That way in the end they lose nothing except being stuck in lower levels for a bit longer. Also the gear wouldn't travel with them on either trip, but it'd still be there waiting for them when they returned.