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View Full Version : DM Help Looking for suggestions to cause trouble for the PCs and/or their home city



hotflungwok
2019-03-01, 04:13 PM
A recent Pathfinder game came to end, and I agreed to run a new game for the same group, at the level we ended at (8th). The last game ended with the party doing something that would please some powers and anger others. So I've decided that the next chapter will focus on someone who was on the latter side causing trouble for the group and the area they live in (Magnimar/Varisia). I imagine this person to be someone high in an organization who loses status & power due to the actions of the party, is relegated to a more menial role after the events unfold, and eventually leaves to pursue revenge. I want this person to act behind the scenes, sending information or funding to those who would cause problems in the area, rather than interfering directly. I also want this person to eventually show up in the PCs city and possibly become familiar to them before the clues lead to him.

What kind of things can he do to cause trouble? So far I have:

- Sending a ritual to make normal animals/insects giant to a druid who doesn't want logging in his forest
- Sending $ to a bandit group to go after trade routes to the city
- Sending an extortion letter to the city to pay $ or he'll release some powerful demon/devil into the city (with an iron flask)

I've got another idea that involves getting someone hijack produce from farms and send poisoned food to the city, but I need to flesh out the details.

So what other trouble can this guy cause from behind the curtain? He access to money and resources, but not infinitely so. The city is large & coastal, the area is mostly wilderness with farmland nearby.

Hackulator
2019-03-01, 04:49 PM
Arson. Arson in a medieval setting is incredibly powerful.

Geddy2112
2019-03-01, 05:42 PM
A high enough level divine caster using miracle to cause a natural disaster to majorly impact or possibly destroy the city. At 8th level, this is not a problem forever as they can deal with garden variety disaster tourists, scammers/exploiters, looting, and rebuilding. However, this greatly cripples the city's ability to deal with said divine caster's secondary minions, machinations, etc.

DavidSh
2019-03-02, 01:39 PM
Hire a few bards to start a fad for Magnimar/Varisian jokes, "Did you hear the one about the Varisian who wanted to be a wizard?..."

Kazethefox
2019-03-02, 03:17 PM
Have them send a guard captain who also is antagonistic to the PCs to search for the source of some sort of monster/bandit problem in the area. Then have them push to make it 'known' that one of the PC's allies is guilty of helping them.

You could run it as a race to track down the bandit/monster leader, or some other way to prove their ally's innocence. Just make sure you have some plan in place if the PCs attack the captain so it is at least a very risky plan for them to try (and they know it). And make sure they find in writing that the captain is reporting all the PCs abilities and weakness to his boss for later use.

Storm_Of_Snow
2019-03-06, 04:34 PM
For your poisoned food, what about grain deliveries infected with ergot https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergot ? Or maybe the river through the city's been infected by dead animals being dropped into the river further up stream.

What's the economy of the city based on? One way to cause problems is undercut their main goods so that the money dries up and people get made redundant.

Might strike a little too close to home for some people, but maybe have him bankroll some extremist group that hates a minority?

OmSwaOperations
2019-03-08, 06:40 PM
Hire criminals to attack random civilians, commit arson, etc. and use that to undermine the authority of whoever's in charge of the city/get a patsy of his to replace them?

Segev
2019-03-08, 06:50 PM
Promote rumors that the PCs are villains. That they've committed crimes on their "adventures," and that their deeds have a darker truth behind them. Exaggerate sympathetic qualities of those they've hurt, and gloss over the good reasons the PCs had for doing what they did. Maybe even hire them by proxy for more shady adventuring roles that they'll only discover partway through are shady, and have them on an iron-clad contract so that they can be excoriated for their wickedness in fulfilling the deed, or held up as oathbreakers or otherwise in legal trouble for breaking it if they act more heroic.

If he's particularly villainous, murder some people the PCs merely defeated, and frame the PCs.

Arrange for thieves to rob the PCs' home/camp/wherever. "Help" and encourage them to go after said thieves, and then make sure that the results either leave the PCs more ruined or with a messy reputation for disproportionate revenge.

Potentially go so far as to promote legal changes to the city outlawing "adventuring" (or more specific things the party does for a living) on the basis of the harm the PCs supposedly do with their selfish, greedy, reckless ways.