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Jukashi
2007-02-10, 12:20 PM
Tomorrow I'm running a game for 3 fourth-level characters (a Fighter, a Wizard, and a Scout), where they escort a dwarven expedition to their home city. They start off in the characters' city, then proceed through farmland, out into wilderness along a river, with the option of a desert area, then up into the mountains.

I figured that they could have a fun encounter every few days along the way; I've got "get ambushed by bandits", "navigate a treacherous ledge", and "look for a drunk dwarf who stumbles off in the night". I could use one or two more, though. Does anyone have any suggestions on new ones, or improvements to my own three?

Mewtarthio
2007-02-10, 12:24 PM
How big's the expedition?

Iden
2007-02-10, 12:32 PM
You could go with some kind of dispute between members of the expedition that needs to mediated by the players. This adds a diplomatic element to your combat, tactics, and hunting. If the expedition is large this could involve several parties that have your players running all around a camp site. Don't let them start traveling again till it's all resolved.

Jukashi
2007-02-10, 12:48 PM
How big's the expedition?

I've decided on 3 carts. The expedition's members are 1 3rd-level Cleric (the leader), 1 1st-level Cleric, 1 2nd-level fighter (the drunk guy) , 2 1st-level warriors, and 4 1st-level Experts. The Experts are pretty much miners.

Plus the PCs, that's 12 characters in total. The trip should take a few weeks.

Quietus
2007-02-10, 01:09 PM
Definately go for some kind of subterranean thing in the desert. Nothing gets the PCs more scared than suddenly being underground, grappled by something unpleasant.

Conversely, snakes in the river could drag someone under the water. If you go with this option, familiarize yourself with the grapple and drowning rules, you'll need them.

And I do like Iden's suggestion; A bit of inter-caravan conflict will spice things up just right, and add that nice little twist of roleplay. Put it in somewhere around the middle to break up the continual combat.

Oh, another option - if they aren't well prepared where food is concerned, make sure you take advantage of that. Maybe it could spark off the inter-caravan conflict? If necessary, have something small and snatchy come along and take the food supplies - this gives you either a "Hunt the critter and get our stuff back" or a "Find a way to keep feeding ourselves without the supplies" shtick.

Jukashi
2007-02-10, 03:14 PM
That's good, I like that. Yes, I'll add that in.

I also added a theft by a village wizard's familiar early on, and hill giant as the last encounter in the mountains; I figure that, if they succeed in protecting the expedition previously, they'll have a decent chance of winning.

Anything else?

Quietus
2007-02-10, 03:54 PM
I like the Hill Giant idea - perhaps tie that in to some of the other things? Use something small, fast, and mobile to steal the food, which then brings it back to the Giant. The small things benefit from the protection of the Giant when people notice them and get pissed, while the Giant takes a share of whatever he can snag from caravans. By leaving them without food, this group of things slows the caravans down (since even in the best of conditions, they then have to go Survival-checking), and then after the people are hungry and tired, THEN the Giant steps in, and takes the caravan's stuff.

This would work best if the small theives are weak but carnivorous; They might not be able to beat a caravan of people on their own, but with the Giant's help, the Giant turns the tide. Giant gets loots, theif-carnivores get bodies to eat.

Major benefit of all this? Ties some of it all together so it doesn't feel like one random encounter after another. :D

Orzel
2007-02-10, 04:31 PM
Escort mission are the evil!!!

This always the "large heavy sleeping animal in the path and there's no way around it" encounter.