MonkeySage
2013-12-29, 07:38 PM
In my campaign there are three sides: the adventurers, Pale Night cult(they are trying to summon her to the material plane), and the emperor(a lawful evil tyrant who wishes put a stop to the cult). The emperor has sided with a goblin cleric(calls himself the Ram and is currently organizing a goblinoid army) and a wizard academy that focuses on assassination. Their alliance is a well-guarded secret.
Recently, the pary defeated one of the goblin's associates, and came back to imperial soldiers to tell the tale; the local captain has sent them on a red herring mission to fight a nearby dune hag, while he figures out what to do about them. The captain is aware of the secret alliance his emperor has set up, and is trying to protect it. He hopes the hag will just solve his problem for him.
Short term goal: Aim the party's hatred towards the empire; I do not want them to focus on the bigger problem(the imminent apocalypse brought on by the cult).
Long term: Ultimately, i'd love to set up a "nice job breaking it" situation, in which they overthrow the emperor and then learn from his dying breath they've basically enabled the cult.
I'm thinking the captain will send them on a number of quests to cripple unaffiliated goblinoid tribes(making it easier for the Ram to take over). This can only help the empire advance their own goals. After a while, the captain becomes frustrated with thier continued survival and believes they may be growing suspicious. He sends them on one more quest, but tells them to rest(meanwhile he can send a courier to a notorious bandit, saying they can keep whatever they pick off the adventurers' corpses).
And that's as far as I've gotten so far, but maybe I can get some ideas from you guys?
Also, is there a way to see things play out like this without railroading too heavily?
(I have to say, this forum has been extremely helpful, as I'm still a fairly mediocre DM. Thank you guys for responding to my numerous advice requests. XD)
Recently, the pary defeated one of the goblin's associates, and came back to imperial soldiers to tell the tale; the local captain has sent them on a red herring mission to fight a nearby dune hag, while he figures out what to do about them. The captain is aware of the secret alliance his emperor has set up, and is trying to protect it. He hopes the hag will just solve his problem for him.
Short term goal: Aim the party's hatred towards the empire; I do not want them to focus on the bigger problem(the imminent apocalypse brought on by the cult).
Long term: Ultimately, i'd love to set up a "nice job breaking it" situation, in which they overthrow the emperor and then learn from his dying breath they've basically enabled the cult.
I'm thinking the captain will send them on a number of quests to cripple unaffiliated goblinoid tribes(making it easier for the Ram to take over). This can only help the empire advance their own goals. After a while, the captain becomes frustrated with thier continued survival and believes they may be growing suspicious. He sends them on one more quest, but tells them to rest(meanwhile he can send a courier to a notorious bandit, saying they can keep whatever they pick off the adventurers' corpses).
And that's as far as I've gotten so far, but maybe I can get some ideas from you guys?
Also, is there a way to see things play out like this without railroading too heavily?
(I have to say, this forum has been extremely helpful, as I'm still a fairly mediocre DM. Thank you guys for responding to my numerous advice requests. XD)