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JusticeZero
2022-04-03, 02:36 PM
The party (E6 Pathfinder 1) is originally based in a town on the coast dealing with a threat of invasion by plant creatures.
For various reasons, they've picked up a boat as a reward from the undead empire upriver and north, which they mostly operate from, then went north along the coast to solve something else, south along the coast to stop someone from becoming a goddess (rewarded with a mostly immobile, 5,000 lb magic boosting stone that the alchemist uses sometimes), then upriver to the mountains to deal with a coup and insurrection.

Now, they have come downriver somewhat to the country that worships scars and has a grand hospital, and are helping the rulers of that city with a conflict between secretive undead cannibals versus disguised disease spirit carriers vying for power and currently focused on construction of a proper sewer. One of the rulers—the hetman, who is in charge of the city guard and military of the city—is the uncle of the memories that the God of Scars implanted in the rogue some time back; she has his scar map so he knows them by name.

...yeah, this is what notes look like on a sandbox campaign that's been running for two years weekly.

Anyway, I'm at a bit of a loss how to reward them when it's all dealt with. They operate out of their ship (a military knarr with a team of tireless undead oarspeople), and this city and the inland nation it's part of isn't typically the center of their operations.

They originally came here looking for volunteers to move into the re-opening city of the God of Darkness, to operate the mining community down below (and free It's hostages with agreed one to one swap). They still have some concerns about the God of Rot along the coast just north of their hometown (which is overseen by representatives of The Hags), and this city isn't adjacent that. Their next destinations are coastal (and oceanic), not inland. They're likely to go zip off looking for more miners next.

They're geared up almost as much as they need.
What would they need? Cash? They have plenty of tin already (used instead of gold). Land in a place they don't spend a lot of time in? I'm looking for advice here.

Telonius
2022-04-03, 03:15 PM
The party (E6 Pathfinder 1) is originally based in a town on the coast dealing with a threat of invasion by plant creatures.
For various reasons, they've picked up a boat as a reward from the undead empire upriver and north, which they mostly operate from, then went north along the coast to solve something else, south along the coast to stop someone from becoming a goddess (rewarded with a mostly immobile, 5,000 lb magic boosting stone that the alchemist uses sometimes), then upriver to the mountains to deal with a coup and insurrection.

Now, they have come downriver somewhat to the country that worships scars and has a grand hospital, and are helping the rulers of that city with a conflict between secretive undead cannibals versus disguised disease spirit carriers vying for power and currently focused on construction of a proper sewer. One of the rulers—the hetman, who is in charge of the city guard and military of the city—is the uncle of the memories that the God of Scars implanted in the rogue some time back; she has his scar map so he knows them by name.

...yeah, this is what notes look like on a sandbox campaign that's been running for two years weekly.

Anyway, I'm at a bit of a loss how to reward them when it's all dealt with. They operate out of their ship (a military knarr with a team of tireless undead oarspeople), and this city and the inland nation it's part of isn't typically the center of their operations.

They originally came here looking for volunteers to move into the re-opening city of the God of Darkness, to operate the mining community down below (and free It's hostages with agreed one to one swap). They still have some concerns about the God of Rot along the coast just north of their hometown (which is overseen by representatives of The Hags), and this city isn't adjacent that. Their next destinations are coastal (and oceanic), not inland. They're likely to go zip off looking for more miners next.

They're geared up almost as much as they need.
What would they need? Cash? They have plenty of tin already (used instead of gold). Land in a place they don't spend a lot of time in? I'm looking for advice here.

Probably due to playing a lot of Final Fantasy, my mind went right to, "Upgrade the boat to make it fly." If that wouldn't make sense in the setting, maybe some resources or letters of introduction to the next location, plus a few items you know will be helpful in the next few sessions.

The other angle at it, would be ... what would the characters want? Not necessarily gear, but more like RP rewards.

Valorium
2022-04-03, 09:47 PM
People like shiny official titles. Make them nobility or give them some kind of honorary military rank with some perks like retainers or a small keep. There's lots of lovely home-brew out there on the subject of maintaining an outpost or headquarters with staff, renovations and other fun stuff that also serves as a great money sink. It can also serve as great other quest hooks – sieges, seeking out specialists to live and work there or work for them as a retainer, etc. Gives them something else to care about other than their super-boat.

animorte
2022-04-03, 11:26 PM
Give them a sidekick!

Pauly
2022-04-04, 01:37 AM
Shiny title and honorific. Has no practical value, like getting knighted today, but it increases your social standing and opens doors that would otherwise be closed.

Another modern day example is being a Nobel prize laureate. The real value of the prize isn’t the money but the prestige.

Just make sure it is something widely recognized outside of the city itself.

Easy e
2022-04-07, 08:39 PM
Ask the players?

False God
2022-04-10, 11:28 AM
Improvements to their ship seem like the most practical reward. Maybe more ships? If they're going to be hiring workers or shipping goods undoubtedly they're going to want to have their cake and eat it too; that is being able to travel freely on their own ship while a "cargo ship" under their command transports the goods they've collected in a more mundane manner.

Vahnavoi
2022-04-10, 02:04 PM
Land in a place they don't spend a lot of time in? I'm looking for advice here.

Usually getting land from some place is an incentive to spend more time there. I would, specifically, suggest a port or harbor, giving them access to and power over more than one ship, in addition to being a safe haven for their existing ship.