Help with a developing story

[Atsull]

I'm currently DMing for a group. This is the first time I've tried to incorporate a story spanning more than 5 adventures, and I would love some advice on how to keep the story fresh and interesting, but give them breaks from the storyline so the party doesn't rush through it. Here's the story:

It is the 3rd Era, year 1016. The dwarves of the Zaltéröu fortress, like the other Dwarven settlements, have made rapid technological developments. Early firearms, such as lever-action rifles, blunderbusses, and revolvers are becoming more and more widespread (although still very expensive), and the invention of rocketry have the dwarves very excited about launching huge columns of explosives into space.

For years the astronomers of Zaltéröu have believed that life may exist on Yelovire, a nearby planet in the solar system. A rocket launch, planned for the year 1019, would send a team consisting of 2 dwarves, a half-elf, and a human to Yelovire, where they would use organic materials found on the surface to refuel the lander and come back. The plan is highly secret.

Meanwhile, the inhabitants of Yelovire have learned of the dwarves plan and have sent back an elite strike team to stop the launch, finding the components the dwarves have hidden in caves and stealing them.

So far, the players have found a cave which used to be filled with goblins, but instead was filled with goblin corpses. All the chests of loot in the cave had been unlocked and opened, but only one chest had been emptied. The leader of the goblin warband was found hung from the ceiling, with "Zalterou will never fly!" written behind him on the wall. A nearby village had been slaughtered.

So, my questions for you all are:

1) how can I keep the storyline fresh and interesting? I generally want to give the story a Disturbing, mysterious vibe.

2) how should I space out adventures related to Zalterou? I don't want the party to lose interest, but I don't want it to be the only thing happening for the first 7-10 adventures.

Thank you!

[Madfellow]

If you want to space things out, I think that advancing the main plot every other episode could work well. Half of the adventures deal with the infiltrators, while the other half have more of a tangential relationship to the launch.

As for keeping things interesting, just try to come up with new and inventive ways for the infiltrators to try and sabotage the launch. Assassinations, thefts, bribery, kidnappings, maybe eventually targeting the party themselves, hiring bandits to attack certain locations, all spring to mind. And with each new episode, drip-feed them new information about the saboteurs, so they slowly get an expanded understanding of what they're up against.

Good luck.

[Atsull]

If you want to space things out, I think that advancing the main plot every other episode could work well. Half of the adventures deal with the infiltrators, while the other half have more of a tangential relationship to the launch.

As for keeping things interesting, just try to come up with new and inventive ways for the infiltrators to try and sabotage the launch. Assassinations, thefts, bribery, kidnappings, maybe eventually targeting the party themselves, hiring bandits to attack certain locations, all spring to mind. And with each new episode, drip-feed them new information about the saboteurs, so they slowly get an expanded understanding of what they're up against.

Good luck.

Thanks! I think they'll love the story.

[daremetoidareyo]

Gunpowder is a revolutionary technological discovery. Stone fortresses are no longer impregnable, armor is now nearly worthless. Depending on your geography and politics, gunpowder plots dealing with nearby elves, fey, humans, and hobgoblins would be great inbetweener fodder. Humans want access to this new power, heck new alliances and businesses would want to enter the market of gunpowder production. The dwarves however are probably pretty keen on keeping the technology and therefor its value close to their chests as it has the most value as a rarity. Humans have resorted to offhandedly hiring groups of "privateers" to intercept gunpowder shipments. These privateers get a taste of banditry and find that they make more money robbing different clients however....

The fey see the advent of guns as a further disconnection of sentient races with the natural world and beset the dwarves with an infestation of gremlins led by pixie war chanters...

The elves scoff at the newfangled weaponry; seeing it as a typical dwarven stodginess and rigidity. Not a good plot point, but if the elven kingdoms come to blows with the dwarves, they will definitely be hurt by the first battle, as foot soldiers with blunder busses are scary.

Hobgoblins are a great intelligent martial race to replace humans with in the first scenario. Perhaps a war chieftain saw a gun in action and was immediately impressed. The hobgoblin chief sends a gift caravan of (stolen) mead and enslaved nymph prostitutes with beard-wigs to the dwarves with a gracious half orc bard messenger: "we would like to enter trade negotiations with you over thundersticks. We shall serve as 24/7 guards of every entrance to (important stronghold) with a minimum of 100 guards per entrance in return 100 guns, 4 cannons, and 20 handguns per year. Additional mercenary functions will be provided at cost +10% mark up for this year. We can negotiate new contracts annually. The value of these guard services more than outweigh your typically protection costs, and further insulate you from any attack at the hobgoblins' hands. The humans are getting restless about this new technology that you so brilliantly engineered, and wethinks you may get even better value.

Nearby halfling anti-gun protest demonstrations. They enter a hunger strike on the doorsteps of the kingdom and harass trade caravans in their protest of this technology that turns the most lazy roustabout into a deadly sorcerer.

[Atsull]

Gunpowder is a revolutionary technological discovery. Stone fortresses are no longer impregnable, armor is now nearly worthless. Depending on your geography and politics, gunpowder plots dealing with nearby elves, fey, humans, and hobgoblins would be great inbetweener fodder. Humans want access to this new power, heck new alliances and businesses would want to enter the market of gunpowder production. The dwarves however are probably pretty keen on keeping the technology and therefor its value close to their chests as it has the most value as a rarity. Humans have resorted to offhandedly hiring groups of "privateers" to intercept gunpowder shipments. These privateers get a taste of banditry and find that they make more money robbing different clients however....

The fey see the advent of guns as a further disconnection of sentient races with the natural world and beset the dwarves with an infestation of gremlins led by pixie war chanters...

The elves scoff at the newfangled weaponry; seeing it as a typical dwarven stodginess and rigidity. Not a good plot point, but if the elven kingdoms come to blows with the dwarves, they will definitely be hurt by the first battle, as foot soldiers with blunder busses are scary.

Hobgoblins are a great intelligent martial race to replace humans with in the first scenario. Perhaps a war chieftain saw a gun in action and was immediately impressed. The hobgoblin chief sends a gift caravan of (stolen) mead and enslaved nymph prostitutes with beard-wigs to the dwarves with a gracious half orc bard messenger: "we would like to enter trade negotiations with you over thundersticks. We shall serve as 24/7 guards of every entrance to (important stronghold) with a minimum of 100 guards per entrance in return 100 guns, 4 cannons, and 20 handguns per year. Additional mercenary functions will be provided at cost +10% mark up for this year. We can negotiate new contracts annually. The value of these guard services more than outweigh your typically protection costs, and further insulate you from any attack at the hobgoblins' hands. The humans are getting restless about this new technology that you so brilliantly engineered, and wethinks you may get even better value.

Nearby halfling anti-gun protest demonstrations. They enter a hunger strike on the doorsteps of the kingdom and harass trade caravans in their protest of this technology that turns the most lazy roustabout into a deadly sorcerer.

I like the idea of a world overturned by gunpowder, but firearms aren't as powerful as you might think. Within the crust of Thael(the planet), there is very large amounts of titanium, far higher than that of Earth. Titan steel, A alloy of High-carbon steel and titanium, is very common in armour and is capable of reflecting gunpowder-propelled projectiles, sometimes even harming the shooter. Spells such as protection from arrows and sanctuary means spellcasters can protect themselves.

I essentially created dwarven firearms so that fighters, rogues and barbarians could have the kind of once-per-encounter high damage attacks that wizards do. A low level wizard might be able to whip out a few burning hands, and when I played melee classes, I always envied that kind of quick elimination, wishing I had it with me. Giving a fighter a blunderbuss that takes 3 rounds to reload means that when he's thrown on his back by an ogre, he's got a fistful of buckshot to punch him with, rather than relying on the same attack that he'd use against a wound goblin. I think it adds a strategic element for melee classes, so that they have to gauge when the battle is desperate enough to whip out those pistols/blunderbusses/rifle.

Since most knights have titan-steel plate, and a rifle takes several rounds to reload, it becomes only slightly more useful (but much cooler) than a crossbow with poisoned arrows.

[daremetoidareyo]

I like your addition.

I guess that it comes down to mechanics, are the guns a ranged touch attack?

Fighters aside, the weaponry allows not just melee classes, but commoners, to be capable of blaster level damage at a minimum of training.

Skeletons with guns sounds scary as all get out. Any summons capable of wielding weaponry are actually pretty scary battle tactic.

[Lord of Shadows]

For years the astronomers of Zaltéröu have believed that life may exist on Yelovire, a nearby planet in the solar system. A rocket launch, planned for the year 1019, would send a team consisting of 2 dwarves, a half-elf, and a human to Yelovire, where they would use organic materials found on the surface to refuel the lander and come back. The plan is highly secret.

Meanwhile, the inhabitants of Yelovire have learned of the dwarves plan and have sent back an elite strike team to stop the launch, finding the components the dwarves have hidden in caves and stealing them.

So far, the players have found a cave which used to be filled with goblins, but instead was filled with goblin corpses. All the chests of loot in the cave had been unlocked and opened, but only one chest had been emptied. The leader of the goblin warband was found hung from the ceiling, with "Zalterou will never fly!" written behind him on the wall. A nearby village had been slaughtered.

Well, it would certainly be a mystery what was in that single chest that was so valuable that only it was taken. And why no witnesses were left behind. Answering those questions alone could take 2-3 adventures.

Consider also, perhaps the team from Yelovire messed up and got themselves stranded on Zaltéröu. Or perhaps just one or two got "left behind." In any case, you would then have material for at least another adventure or two as they chase down spies, or the spies continue their sabotage.

At some point, after a few levels, I'd let the party in on the planned trip. But not necessarily that any of the spies are still around. Of course, eventually they may be able to try to use magic to discover secrets (Communes, Scrying, etc.).

As a "final" adventure, you could end up with the party being the ones shipped off to the next planet. Perhaps all the original crew were killed, or something.
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