Royal Ball Scenario: Looking to keep it interesting for every PC

[DontEatRawHagis]

So my players are currently aiming for one of the PC's home city. The PC in question is Nobility and his quest has been to gain a name for himself.

So while he was away his family has fallen out of favor with the government and is looking to marry him off to another noble family to raise his status. This is going to be a Royal Ball to help him find a suitor, but I need to find a way of making this more interesting for the other players.

The City of Vul:

Rests inside a Volcano.
Nobility is mostly made up of Red Dragonborn who were created by their ruler Inferno. Most fought in the Great Dragon war and have a military background.
Other nobility is attained through rising through the military ranks so
Dragonborn are not natural creatures, but are created by Ancient Dragons. Dragonborn can be born if both parents are Dragonborn.
Black Dragonborn opposed the Red Dragonborn during the war.
Inferno the Ancient Red Dragon has been dormant since he was forced to destroy his own city to win the Great Dragon war.
Commoners are typically humans and dwarves, which make up the majority of the army.


List of PCs:

Half Elf Ranger Female- Commoner, hunter of Giants.
Black Dragonborn Male- Deposed Warlord.
Red Dragonborn Male- Noble who this Ball is being thrown for.
Half Elf Paladin Male- Paladin of the Deity of Assassins.


So there is definitely going to be some racism that will likely happen to the Black Dragonborn. I've done well with this before in more common situations, but in this case it would be the equivalent of a English Nobleman going to French Nobleman's mansion filled with commanding officers of the army 5 years after the Hundred Years War. Though in this case its been about 25-50 years and both of Red's parents were soldiers in said war.

I don't know how to factor The Half Elves into the Royal Ball. Though they are less likely to cause a stir of being a different race.

The plan is to have several possible suitors for the Red Dragonborn PC, with the other players acting as his bodyguards/confidants. But I need a twist to keep all the PC's interested. I'm leaning towards one of the Suitors being an assassin, maybe one of them is taking out the competition, but I want to stay away from too much combat in this encounter as usually I don't make balanced combat encounters. Typically the player beatdown everything I throw at them.

Any opinions or advice would be much appreciated.

[Regitnui]

The half-elves are probably going to be assumed to be inferior, maybe even indistinguishable from humans. The black dragonborn would be politely ignored unless someone wants to get him to leave or is looking for a fight.

[CoggieRagabash]

Sounds like the dragonborn are both going to be plenty occupied.

What are the two half-elves' backgrounds? Do they have any skills, proficiencies or abilities they don't get to use very often?

[brainface]

*Half Elf Paladin Male- Paladin of the Deity of Assassins.

I'm leaning towards one of the Suitors being an assassin, maybe one of them is taking out the competition, but I want to stay away from too much combat in this encounter as usually I don't make balanced combat encounters. Typically the player beatdown everything I throw at them.

"oh... hello sir. *confidential whisper* Are you working here too? There's this new posh noble I'm supposed to take out. Lend a hand will you? Yes, that one. The one you came in with."

[Corran]

I'm leaning towards one of the Suitors being an assassin, maybe one of them is taking out the competition
Have this assassin be someone the halfelf paladin knows and cares about. Some relative or a childhood friend or a youth love or sth. Then the paladin can participate in whatever this assassin is plotting, or alternatively, have the assassin captured by the party or the guards, and see what happens. Now you ofc have to figure out what exactly this assassin is tasked to do, who employed him/her and stuff like that.

[DontEatRawHagis]

Sounds like the dragonborn are both going to be plenty occupied.

What are the two half-elves' backgrounds? Do they have any skills, proficiencies or abilities they don't get to use very often?

Ranger is Outlander the Paladin is Noble. The Paladin is Noble from another city that was not part of the war.


"oh... hello sir. *confidential whisper* Are you working here too? There's this new posh noble I'm supposed to take out. Lend a hand will you? Yes, that one. The one you came in with."

Adding to my notes now. :smallbiggrin:


Have this assassin be someone the halfelf paladin knows and cares about. Some relative or a childhood friend or a youth love or sth. Then the paladin can participate in whatever this assassin is plotting, or alternatively, have the assassin captured by the party or the guards, and see what happens. Now you ofc have to figure out what exactly this assassin is tasked to do, who employed him/her and stuff like that.

Hm... I think I have an idea which NPC to use. :smallbiggrin:

[Fable Wright]

Let's take this case by case, shall we?




Half Elf Ranger Female- Commoner, hunter of Giants.


This is a volcano, no? Perhaps there may be fire giant dignitaries here. Are they trade partners? Did they stand with the Red Dragonborn in the great war, or did they refuse to help? In the former case, there are stronger ties between the giants and the dragons to justify their presence in the city. In the latter, this might be the first Fire Giant in the city in decades, groomed by his people for being the best possible diplomatic candidate possible. Charismatic, charming, and working every angle he can to mend the bridges between the fire giants and the dragonborn—something that might be problematic for this Hunter of Giants.




Black Dragonborn Male- Deposed Warlord.


Oh, you can have so much fun with this one. Sure, sure, there's racism and exclusion... but there are also power plays. Maybe someone at the party knows that this general was deposed, and is offering everything he once had fighting for the Blacks and more—but only if he sabotages his own country. Of course, backstabbing is nearly inevitable, but whether it's the black being used as a patsy or a red being murdered and the black gaining recognition is anyone's guess.




Half Elf Paladin Male- Paladin of the Deity of Assassins.


Hello, people are going to recognize this man. Either trying to hire him, ask for his help during a job, or trying to curry his favor to get in good with their god. Of course, no one can be seen talking to the assassin. So he's going to be getting magical messages, whispers from behind curtains, notes with his drink, and a guarantee of getting exactly the hors d'oeuvres he wants whenever he reaches behind him. Usually, but not always, with an offer hidden somewhere in the dish.

[DontEatRawHagis]

Let's take this case by case, shall we?



This is a volcano, no? Perhaps there may be fire giant dignitaries here. Are they trade partners? Did they stand with the Red Dragonborn in the great war, or did they refuse to help? In the former case, there are stronger ties between the giants and the dragons to justify their presence in the city. In the latter, this might be the first Fire Giant in the city in decades, groomed by his people for being the best possible diplomatic candidate possible. Charismatic, charming, and working every angle he can to mend the bridges between the fire giants and the dragonborn—something that might be problematic for this Hunter of Giants.



Oh, you can have so much fun with this one. Sure, sure, there's racism and exclusion... but there are also power plays. Maybe someone at the party knows that this general was deposed, and is offering everything he once had fighting for the Blacks and more—but only if he sabotages his own country. Of course, backstabbing is nearly inevitable, but whether it's the black being used as a patsy or a red being murdered and the black gaining recognition is anyone's guess.



Hello, people are going to recognize this man. Either trying to hire him, ask for his help during a job, or trying to curry his favor to get in good with their god. Of course, no one can be seen talking to the assassin. So he's going to be getting magical messages, whispers from behind curtains, notes with his drink, and a guarantee of getting exactly the hors d'oeuvres he wants whenever he reaches behind him. Usually, but not always, with an offer hidden somewhere in the dish.

1. Perfect. The last session we had was with a group of Giants being organized as a war party. This might be a good time to have the Ranger interact with non-hostile Giants. Not only that, but the Red Dragonborn PC also gained the title Traitor of Giants for pretending to be on a peaceful mission and then attacking a Fire Giant.

2. Black being used as a scapegoat is a good idea. Sadly the Black Dragonborn's old country actually doesn't exist in the way it used to. He was a tyrant and his soldiers revolted against him, setting up a new form of government. Though he does have a bounty on his head and a party member might see it as an opportunity to capture him.

3. This combines well with how the PC has evolved. To make a long story short, he is now plagued with hallucinations. Having people sending magical messages to him without him realizing it might cause him to think they are messages from his deity.

[ChelseaNH]

If the family is seeking to improve status, there are likely other families who would prefer they remain out of favor, and want to sabotage the ball. So someone could bring the giant as a guest, hoping there will be a scene. There could be multiple plots -- someone planning to slip something in the punch bowl or hors d'oeuvres that would make guests ill, someone else trying to sabotage the musicians by hiding/breaking their instruments, someone who wants to have a chandelier come crashing down in the middle of the ballroom...