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View Full Version : Adventure Game inspired dungeon.



Templarkommando
2013-06-21, 11:37 PM
I'm going to place this thread in spoilers in case my players wander in here by accident and don't mean to see it. If the cities of Crestdale, or Koldern mean anything to you, please do not read what I am about to write:


My rule system is 3.5. Okay, so here's my concept: A large mansion belonging to the local Duchess (also mysteriously absent from her own party) is hosting a party.... forever in perpetuity. No one seems to realize that days are passing and turning into weeks and months. At the Ducal mansion in Koldern no one (except for the adventurers) seems to notice that time is passing, and if you ask them what the date is, they'll give you a date from two weeks ago!

In any case, the idea is that the party has to set things right at the party so that life can continue as normal (as per Quantum Leap). This of course will take place over a period of several adventures. There are several distraught NPCs scattered throughout the compound that require certain services in order for things to be set right. These services include things like killing bandits, rescuing treasure, pairing up pretty young elven bard with an angry old soldiering man so that he can regale her with stories which she will turn into songs. etc. etc. etc. For every quest completed, the party will get a reward of some sort in addition to a plot coupon which will later help to break the spell.

I foresee a couple of problems here.

1.) I need a way to keep this from being very rail-road-like. A solution that occurs to me is that characters don't have to have all of the plot coupons, just enough to break the spell - so naturally they don't have to help everyone. Another option would be multiple ways to break the spell (i.e. kill the spell's caster, a high dispell magic of some sort, or gather these alternative ingredients etc.

2.) I want to involve personal intrigue between the various characters(PCs and NPCs). So, the actions of helping one NPC might hurt another NPC. I'm not sure how to craft this together though. I'm not great at intrigue unfortunately.

This being the case, I would like to entertain suggestions on what sorts of NPCs and situations I should introduce. Any help is appreciated.

erikun
2013-06-22, 12:15 AM
First, why can't the party just walk out the front door? You've said that the partiers don't recognize time passing, but the PCs do. What is to stop them from simply smashing a window or digging through the cellar walls to escape?

Second, this idea is likely to need a very large house to have enough area to reasonably walk around it. A castle or mansion, with thousands of square feet of floorspace (and multiple floors) is probably called for.

Third, have you considered another system other than D&D? Not that you can't run it in D&D - especially if you aren't familiar with others - but the idea of characters in basically a "one shot" campaign for just a few sessions interaction with other people doesn't really play to D&D's strengths.

Fourth, ideas like these tend to end up frustrating for players. They get stuck, can't figure out where to go next, and get upset or annoyed. They start trying to dismantle the setting - probably literally. Players may begin killing random NPCs if and robbing them if they keep coming back to life each loop. And ultimately, if the players are stuck and progress seems impossible, GM fiat is either forced or the game is dropped. It is very difficult to make an "imprisoned and find your way out" sort of game work, especially in this style, so you'd want to make sure it is interesting or something your players really want to do.

Templarkommando
2013-06-22, 12:41 AM
As to point 1.) Yes the party would be free to just walk out the door. In fact, they're going to have to in order to set some of these things right. Some of the people involved in the stories aren't at the party, and some of the MacGuffins that need to be recovered aren't in the Ducal mansion.

Ideally, breaking the spell will allow them to meet up with the agent of an evil dragon who is selling futuristic weaponry in order to undermine the Kingdom.

2.) I have in fact already mapped the house out, unless I need to make changes to accommodate a few plot points.

3.) The other RPGs that I have ready access to and at least vaguely familiar with include D&D (2.0, 3.0, and 3.5) d20 Modern, and Star Wars Saga. Given that in many ways they're all essentially the same game, (with the exception of maybe 2nd ed.) I figured 3.5 was just as good as any of those. Furthermore, the only one that my group is unanimously familiar with is 3.5.

4.)I've actually thought about a little of this beforehand. In order to enter the party, weapons, armor, and spell component pouches need to checked at the door in addition to anything the guard thinks needs to be checked. Again, the party is free to enter and leave the estate at will, but if they leave and return to the party at some later date, it's as if nothing has happened since then to the NPCs.

I'm planning on being really light-handed with the adventure style. I've played text adventures where you carry around the letter L and you have to use deangling cream to turn it into an I... that's not going to happen. It will essentially be a quest hub of sorts where the party will accomplish unrelated plot points in order to advance the main plot. (i.e. recover my Family Tree so that I can establish that I am the rightful count of Herdigerdiville.)