Melestav
2014-10-15, 03:42 PM
I've been DM'ing a campaign of The Night Below (3.5 conversion) for quite a while now and it seems like a few issues are finally coming to a head that I would like an outside opinion on.
For reference, here is the campaign log: http://dnderp.blogspot.com/ - The party is composed of a rogue/swordsage melee/dagger thrower guy, a control fire focused wilder, a straight warblade, a feyblood warlock focusing on shatter and eldritch blast, and soon to be a dread necromancer (new PC for someone who just died) - all level 4, with a 4th level fighter NPC also under party control.
Primarily, my issues are motivating the two remaining original party members (who are unfortunately both CN alignment) into continuing the story line. For those unfamiliar with the campaign, it is split into three books and we're just entering the 2nd book (delving into the Underdark for the first time). The duke of the small shire has commissioned them (ridiculously handsomely $ wise) to investigate the rash of bandits and kidnappings in the area. After conquering two strongholds, they have just located the path down to the Underdark and encountered a band of Svirfneblin with lots of important information concerning the plot and tunnels, but first requires the party to prove themselves capable of surviving in the Underdark on their own by conquering two bands of trolls holed up nearby.
One player's comment on the campaign in general:
"I feel that if two trolls almost destroyed us all, then the 10-15 is too difficult for our party unless there is a special strategy we need to use. And if there is a special strategy, I would expect some sort of clue, perhaps from the gnomes, other than a generic knowledge of a troll's vulnerability to acid and fire. In general, the NPCs seem very unaware / uninterested / afraid / helpless to the world around them, and our part in it, to the point that I feel discouraged to expect much out of any kind of interaction. Most things at this point feel very disconnected, and Mautilis has basically no incentive to pursue what feels like aimless wandering into dangerous areas that nobody seems to know anything about despite being fairly close by. It feels too open, even more so than the real world, because at least there are hooks in the real world that pique my curiosity so that I would want to go somewhere. You know when you're stuck in a video game and it turns out you just missed a switch or something simple, but you spend hours scratching your head (until Internet walkthroughs were invented)? I've kinda felt that way ever since Tauser's apprentice ended up dead. Everything sort of feels like side quests, except I have no idea which side quest I should be doing."
This stemmed from the party attempting to charge a nest of trolls intelligent enough to alert the rest of the tribe, resulting in the healer/marshal/flanker/support guy being one shot gibbed by a lucky claw+claw+rend. Admittedly, even an encounter with two EL5 trolls is a lot for the party - however, I have made it clear from the start that there is a considerable amount of danger in the world already in place and I wouldn't be pulling punches if the party gets in over its head.
I'm trying to keep the focus of the game on the PC's and this might be where the "unaware / uninterested / afraid / helpless" comment comes in. Does anyone have any ideas for how to influence the party to continue on into the depths or have an idea for a sidequest that might pique their interest while dropping a bit more EXP on their heads before they go back down? We're very light on backstory/RP in general, so I'm really struggling. I'm also considering further influences from the surface, but the party is made up of all completely unrelated PC's that have been hired by the duke. Saying something like, "Hey PC, your brother that hasn't been mentioned up until now and just got created specifically for this purpose got kidnapped, go find em," seems weak.
Thanks for any advice or ideas!
For reference, here is the campaign log: http://dnderp.blogspot.com/ - The party is composed of a rogue/swordsage melee/dagger thrower guy, a control fire focused wilder, a straight warblade, a feyblood warlock focusing on shatter and eldritch blast, and soon to be a dread necromancer (new PC for someone who just died) - all level 4, with a 4th level fighter NPC also under party control.
Primarily, my issues are motivating the two remaining original party members (who are unfortunately both CN alignment) into continuing the story line. For those unfamiliar with the campaign, it is split into three books and we're just entering the 2nd book (delving into the Underdark for the first time). The duke of the small shire has commissioned them (ridiculously handsomely $ wise) to investigate the rash of bandits and kidnappings in the area. After conquering two strongholds, they have just located the path down to the Underdark and encountered a band of Svirfneblin with lots of important information concerning the plot and tunnels, but first requires the party to prove themselves capable of surviving in the Underdark on their own by conquering two bands of trolls holed up nearby.
One player's comment on the campaign in general:
"I feel that if two trolls almost destroyed us all, then the 10-15 is too difficult for our party unless there is a special strategy we need to use. And if there is a special strategy, I would expect some sort of clue, perhaps from the gnomes, other than a generic knowledge of a troll's vulnerability to acid and fire. In general, the NPCs seem very unaware / uninterested / afraid / helpless to the world around them, and our part in it, to the point that I feel discouraged to expect much out of any kind of interaction. Most things at this point feel very disconnected, and Mautilis has basically no incentive to pursue what feels like aimless wandering into dangerous areas that nobody seems to know anything about despite being fairly close by. It feels too open, even more so than the real world, because at least there are hooks in the real world that pique my curiosity so that I would want to go somewhere. You know when you're stuck in a video game and it turns out you just missed a switch or something simple, but you spend hours scratching your head (until Internet walkthroughs were invented)? I've kinda felt that way ever since Tauser's apprentice ended up dead. Everything sort of feels like side quests, except I have no idea which side quest I should be doing."
This stemmed from the party attempting to charge a nest of trolls intelligent enough to alert the rest of the tribe, resulting in the healer/marshal/flanker/support guy being one shot gibbed by a lucky claw+claw+rend. Admittedly, even an encounter with two EL5 trolls is a lot for the party - however, I have made it clear from the start that there is a considerable amount of danger in the world already in place and I wouldn't be pulling punches if the party gets in over its head.
I'm trying to keep the focus of the game on the PC's and this might be where the "unaware / uninterested / afraid / helpless" comment comes in. Does anyone have any ideas for how to influence the party to continue on into the depths or have an idea for a sidequest that might pique their interest while dropping a bit more EXP on their heads before they go back down? We're very light on backstory/RP in general, so I'm really struggling. I'm also considering further influences from the surface, but the party is made up of all completely unrelated PC's that have been hired by the duke. Saying something like, "Hey PC, your brother that hasn't been mentioned up until now and just got created specifically for this purpose got kidnapped, go find em," seems weak.
Thanks for any advice or ideas!