Yora
2013-07-25, 07:05 AM
I am working on a setting for a campaign that is all about the PCs being part of the defense of their community. In this particular case it's warriors of a barbarian clan, but I think having PCs as militia members or soldiers is mostly a difference in fluff, but not so much in substance. The real difference to a regular adventuring party is, that such characters wouldn't be motivated by finding treasures or simply out of the goodness of their hearts. Not being mercenaries but having responsibilities towards a specific settlement or realm does change to some degree what kinds of adventures the PCs would go on, or which would seem a bit inappropriate. On the other hand, being tied to a specific place and people, there are far less options to refuse or avoid certain dangers, because it's the PCs job to deal with them and they wouldn't really have anywhere to return to if they would turn their backs on it.
I just want to collect some basic ideas for adventures that would work well for such parties when planning a campaign.
So far, I've come up with seven types of goals, that should make for good and appropriate adventures.
Destroy a threat to the settlement/realm: This thread could be a monster that has made its lair to close to the town, bandits that raid outlying farms or attack travelers on the road, a new outpost of warriors from a hostile neighbor, or even a small invading army that is already attacking the realm. The objective of the PCs is to locate this thread and put an end to it, one way or another. Relatively easy and straightforward. Locate the danger and either destroy the enemies or make sure they don't pose any threat in the future.
Take control of a new outpost: Basically the same thing in reverse. The PCs are tasked with establishing a new secured base for their own people at the edge of their realm. That means clearing out any previous inhabitants and fortifying the place to repell any attempts to drive them out.
Find or retrieve an object: For whatever reasons, the PCs have to find an object of a certain kind and bring it back to their town. That could be magical ingredients, plants or animal parts for medicine, stolen jewels or relics, secret documents, and so on. The goal is primarily that the object is returned to the PCs town, regardless of how they accomplish that. In many cases, opponents might be persuaded to trade the object for something without violent confrontations being neccessary.
Capture or kill an enemy: Could be an enemy leader, a criminal, an assassin, or an escaped prisoner or spy.
Rescure an ally: The person or people could be captured by enemies, or simply lost or trapped. While similar to hunting an enemy or retrieving an object, the stakes would be quite different, changing the tone of the adventure and also the kinds of risks the PCs might be willing to take. A botched assassination can be tried again, but a rescue attempt might not. Also, whatever the PCs do to attack enemies must not harm the people they want to save.
Escape from danger: The PCs are trapped in some way or another. Be it being captured and in prison, trapped in a cave, or just having the path to their main goal blocked by dangerous monsters. The only objective is to stay alive and get out of the place.
Explore or scout a location: It could be that a formerly unknown ruin has been discovered or that the superiors of the PCs require new information on the current situation in a specific location. This might potentially lead to situations where the PCs will also attempt to destroy a threat to their town or retrieve an item valuable to the town, but the setup merely requires them to explore and return with information. Destroying monsters or retrieving treasures could be done in a follow-up adventure as well.
Does anyone have more idea for adventures that characters would take for reasons other than payment and riches?
I just want to collect some basic ideas for adventures that would work well for such parties when planning a campaign.
So far, I've come up with seven types of goals, that should make for good and appropriate adventures.
Destroy a threat to the settlement/realm: This thread could be a monster that has made its lair to close to the town, bandits that raid outlying farms or attack travelers on the road, a new outpost of warriors from a hostile neighbor, or even a small invading army that is already attacking the realm. The objective of the PCs is to locate this thread and put an end to it, one way or another. Relatively easy and straightforward. Locate the danger and either destroy the enemies or make sure they don't pose any threat in the future.
Take control of a new outpost: Basically the same thing in reverse. The PCs are tasked with establishing a new secured base for their own people at the edge of their realm. That means clearing out any previous inhabitants and fortifying the place to repell any attempts to drive them out.
Find or retrieve an object: For whatever reasons, the PCs have to find an object of a certain kind and bring it back to their town. That could be magical ingredients, plants or animal parts for medicine, stolen jewels or relics, secret documents, and so on. The goal is primarily that the object is returned to the PCs town, regardless of how they accomplish that. In many cases, opponents might be persuaded to trade the object for something without violent confrontations being neccessary.
Capture or kill an enemy: Could be an enemy leader, a criminal, an assassin, or an escaped prisoner or spy.
Rescure an ally: The person or people could be captured by enemies, or simply lost or trapped. While similar to hunting an enemy or retrieving an object, the stakes would be quite different, changing the tone of the adventure and also the kinds of risks the PCs might be willing to take. A botched assassination can be tried again, but a rescue attempt might not. Also, whatever the PCs do to attack enemies must not harm the people they want to save.
Escape from danger: The PCs are trapped in some way or another. Be it being captured and in prison, trapped in a cave, or just having the path to their main goal blocked by dangerous monsters. The only objective is to stay alive and get out of the place.
Explore or scout a location: It could be that a formerly unknown ruin has been discovered or that the superiors of the PCs require new information on the current situation in a specific location. This might potentially lead to situations where the PCs will also attempt to destroy a threat to their town or retrieve an item valuable to the town, but the setup merely requires them to explore and return with information. Destroying monsters or retrieving treasures could be done in a follow-up adventure as well.
Does anyone have more idea for adventures that characters would take for reasons other than payment and riches?