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View Full Version : DM Help Advice/Ideas needed for continuing the plot



MysticalSkyWhal
2017-09-13, 05:15 PM
So my last campaign was the Rise of the Runelords adventure path. It ended very suddenly in the last chapter with betrayal and an eventual TPK in Xin-Shalast. Now, the campaign I'm currently running is a spin-off of that set four years later with a host of different characters after Karzoug took over everything and restarted the Thassilonian Empire. The general idea of the plot is that the new characters all hate Karzoug and are trying to start a rebellion against him. Unfortunately, the last session ended rather sourly when 5 out of 6 PCs ended up in prison at level 2. As a small note worth mentioning, There are 3 players playing 2 characters each. I've talked to the one whose character evaded prison and he's okay temporarily abandoning one of his characters in favor of continuing the plot in prison.

Therein lies the problem. I've come up with the general idea of the PCs being sent to an Alcatraz-esque prison where all the prison guards are Hill Giants and Ogres except for the Warden who is a Half-elf wizard. However, I'm currently at a loss as to how the players' actions are going to have much, if anything, to do with the overall plot. I don't want to gloss over this section very much and I don't believe it's feasible for the players to break out anytime soon.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

Tinkerer
2017-09-13, 05:34 PM
So your group of people who are looking to oppose the government are now in a facility full of people who dislike the government? Kinda sounds ideal. I'm lousy at advising people on plot because my first piece of advice is always the same, "Know your group".

Second to that though I'd say that the first two sessions would most likely be establishing themselves in the prison and learning the lay of the land. Surviving and trying to gain a power base. It's a great situation for pushing the moral boundaries of the characters as well. For instance there is a mass killer who also really hates the government, does the group accept the large amount of extra power that they can provide knowing full well that if they are unleashed on the population they will kill many people? Does the group use the killer as a sacrificial decoy?

They could spark a revolution or sow the seeds of their own destruction. They could wind up with an army under their control or watch as they become the very monsters they were trying to stop.

Depending on how close the missing character is to the rest maybe don't be so quick to discount them. Give the player who lost that one the ability to have them smuggle in one non-magical item per session. Anything obvious would be taken from them but a lockpick or something to barter with could be invaluable.

Kane0
2017-09-13, 06:25 PM
Half the time your own players are your best source of content. You've given the primary goal ('Overthrow the tyrant') so ask how they want to go about it and what their ideas are on accomplishing it. Expand from there until you have enough workable data to plan a few sessions around. Don't forget to take into account secondary objectives, obstacles and keeping track of the villain's resources.
This cuts down the amount of work for yourself, retains player interest and minimizes railroading in one fell swoop.

Thrudd
2017-09-14, 01:53 AM
So the characters have all been captured and you don't think there's any way for them to escape. What kind of adventure do you think they could have in a prison, besides trying to escape prison? Unless the prison is actually a dungeon, or a labyrinth, that the prisoners get locked in. Monsters roam around in there, and the only way out would be through some cracks and pits where they come up from the underdark.

If you want it to be a normal sort of prison/dungeon where everyone is shackled in barred cells being fed gruel, then I'd shift the adventure to new characters outside the prison - maybe go with the one that escaped, who gathers a new party to try and break in to save his friends. Unless there's an adventure the prisoners can have, don't bother.

Darth Ultron
2017-09-14, 06:37 AM
Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

There is a great show you can watch for ideas and inspiration: Prison Break. And Oz and Orange is the New Black are not so bad either.

redwizard007
2017-09-14, 07:32 AM
You have an evil tyrant. An evil prison with evil guards. Evil inmates with some nice political prisoners mixed in, I'm sure...

Prison riot!!! What a great chance to slip away in the confusion. It doesn't even need to be PC driven. Your boys are level 2. Give them half a session to make some contacts and maybe get an idea what is about to happen, then some calamity hits the prison.

It could be a rival "government" organization attacking the prison as a power play, a rebel (or criminal) attempt to break out some of their own, a legit riot that happens spontaneously or any other idea you can come up with. Shoot, even a natural disaster could work. The key here is that the riot is not the plot, it's the environment.

Let me say that again. The chaos and combat is the back drop for your adventure. You should introduce an NPC or two, drop some plot relevant tidbits in to move the story along (like the half-elf wizard teleporting out after laying waste to a chunk of prisoners but showing a weakness in the process,) and give the PCs a chance to punch above their weight class when supported by superior numbers (hill giant.)

The PCs escape, have some new contacts (some of which may be spies,) and get a high intensity session where you could push the pace (get out before the guards regroup,) or ratchet up the tension (oh my god you guys are so out matched, avoid all these big fights...)

Have fun.