Missing the Middle of My Story

[NerdHut]

A while ago, I posted about the E6 campaign I'm about to start. I have part of the first story arc already set, but I'm not sure how to fill in the middle part. Here's the short version:

Part 1
The party goes to a small village to deal with a string of goblin attacks. Before they reach the village, they must stop on the road, meet an npc family and goblins attack the npcs. Most of the family dies in the process, leaving only the mother. The party then goes and destroys the goblin tribe, only to find out they're being commanded by a bugbear they've never heard of and can't find information on.

Part 2
?????

Part 3
After ????? happens, the party encounters a woman that wants their help hunting down the previously mentioned bugbear. It's the mother from Part 1, but now she's got class levels. They go find the bugbear and take him out.


This is the simplified version, so if you need more info let me know. I'm just not sure if I should put something unrelated in the middle or what. All I know is that there needs to be some time between parts 1 & 2 to allow the npc to gain levels in the background.

[DarkSoul]

The bugbear is a warlord of sorts, the chieftain of a tribe of bugbears that in turn controls multiple group of goblins in the region. When word comes back to him about the meddling kids....erm, "adventurers" that killed off one of his goblin tribes, he tracks them down and stays right on their heels until they reach a new town and think they're safe, until the raids start.

Part three involves sneaking through hostile territory to the warlord's camp, where they kill him which breaks the morale of the clans, sending them back to their own lands and back to being the minor threat they normally are.

[ExLibrisMortis]

Well, it seems like Part 2 can be pretty much anything. If you want something relatively unrelated, you can do some of the usual bandit-clearing and minor dungeon-delving. Maybe there are some bandits led by an (unrelated) bugbear, and another that trades with both bugbears (leave bugbear-ish evidence, such as tracks), and a third with a guy called Bugbear, who's really an (unrelated) ogre.

[Inevitability]

They must journey to a far forest, where the fey can help them locate the bugbear. For the fey's amusement, they must complete several trials (hunt a particular animal, climb the forest's highest tree, pick a rare flower).

Mechanically, the fey is a Nymph (perhaps with druid levels) who can cast Scrying for the PC's. The bugbear will have a saving throw bonus, but not something big enough to make a failed save unlikely.

[nedz]

I'd let the players write it.

By which I mean: their backstories should give you enough material for some side-plots.

[Waker]

Part 1
The party goes to a small village to deal with a string of goblin attacks. Before they reach the village, they must stop on the road, meet an npc family and goblins attack the npcs. Most of the family dies in the process, leaving only the mother. The party then goes and destroys the goblin tribe, only to find out they're being commanded by a bugbear they've never heard of and can't find information on.
You might want to consider having the family being killed happen off screen. There is always the chance that the party might surprise you with a super competent defense and then you're left with an NPC lacking a tragic backstory. Party meets family, heads off for adventure, comes back to recoup after a night in Vegas only to find a row of graves with one member missing.


They must journey to a far forest, where the fey can help them locate the bugbear. For the fey's amusement, they must complete several trials (hunt a particular animal, climb the forest's highest tree, pick a rare flower).
I would go with this idea if the area was actually in a Fairie realm. Myths on fairies are full of stories on people disappearing for years and not having aged more than a few days. Party is mucking around picking flowers and earning their merit badges only to come back for their reward and being told "He's currently occupying a keep his army overran. He's really made a name for himself these past ten years."

[NerdHut]

Well, the group will be initially gathered by an NPC (unoptimized, only the party face for a couple sessions, after which he'll either be killed or just go his own way). I figure I'll have his past come back to haunt him for a side quest, and then get back to he Goblinoids.

Do you think it's plausible that a bugbear might send a message into a town, reading to the effect of "You've taken from me. Meet me outside of town to settle your debt"? Maybe the leader of the goblin tribes wants to ambush them.

At this point it seems like a good idea to have the party involved with the goblins throughout the story arc.

[KillianHawkeye]

Well if Part 1 is going to feature goblins and Part 3 is all about a Big Bad bugbear, it seems obvious to me that Part 2 should include some hobgoblins!

Perhaps the hobgoblin leaders have come to the realization that they lack the resources and numbers to establish control over all the territory they've been raiding into, but the bugbear's insatiable greed could not be reasoned with. Thus, the hobgoblins have come to the human towns claiming that they've banished the offending tyrant, taken control for themselves, and now wish to negotiate an end to the hostilities (for now, at least) while they consolidate their power.

Now, you could run this totally straight and have the crux of the adventure to be to help the humans and goblins come to an adequate compromise. In this case, your story for Part 3 will be more of a lone person's revenge story than a climactic battle against the leader of a goblin horde. Alternatively, the devious hobgoblins could be merely using this story as a cover for some nefarious motive that requires them to sneak into the human city. Perhaps they're their to identify and assassinate whoever is in charge (or even the PCs themselves)? Or maybe they're after some powerful magical doo-dad that the villagers happen to possess? Their ruse may be a preamble to a full scale goblinoid invasion, leaving the humans with their defenses crippled and a hostile army on their doorstep.