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Post by deslonratt on Apr 12, 2016 3:13:21 GMT
My city is split in two. Upper "Seneca" is a cruel society. Bottom"seaside" is a poor society. The Senecan's took the city from dwarves then enslaved them. I have a warlock player who is entrenched in the Senecan society. A thief who is entrenched in seaside. And a Dwarven Paladin who has taken an oath of vengeance against the Dwarven enslavement. My party just stole the exiled Dwarven kings tools of power. Gave them to him in exchange for a noble man's daughter. All this against the Senecan kings will. They just returned to Seneca with the girl. Now I have to sort it all out in our next adventure....I'm stumped I would love any suggestions.
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Post by dmsam on Apr 12, 2016 4:30:00 GMT
They are asked to stay the night at the nobleman's mansion. They wake up to a ruckus of men fighting. Royal guards have invaded the home in search of the party and the tools of power, by the order of the king. Now, if you want to push the party to one side vs the other (Seneca vs Seaside), you can have the nobleman betray them and have them arrested for treason (that should leave a bad taste in the warlock's mouth), despite the girl's protest.
Alternatively, the party wakes up to the girl, who caught on to her father's plan to betray the PCs. She takes them out the secret passage, and warns them that they are now fugitives. As the PCs steal away into the night, they hear fighting break-out in the mansion, where the royal guards proceed to slaughter everyone. They have a choice to either stay and fight, or convince the girl to leave with them and escape to somewhere safe, such as seaside. They will have to avoid guard patrols, thugs, etc. You can even have innocent NPCs caught in the process, like a youth who recognizes the party's face and must be silenced or convinced to keep the party's presence a secret.
If the party is caught or surrenders, they are thrown in jail and interrogated for the locations of the tools of power by the king's inquisitor/torturer/judges. They will have to figure out a way to break out or eventually face execution or other punishments. Depending on what they tell their torturers, they king may or may not find his tools. As long as the tools are missing, the party will be kept alive for the information.
Either way, the warlock will no longer be entrenched in high-society, thus aligning your party's goals.
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Post by ino on Apr 12, 2016 6:10:46 GMT
Great idea from dmsam. Im curious where ur campaign is going. I like to use different game sessions to add things for the future, calling things back for the players and showing them depth in the setting.
Personally, I'm a fan of trying to keep the option of political intrigue open. There's nothing like being caught between a rock and a hard place. Surely, allying the party together should be a goal. But leaving options to work with both sides can always make things complicated for the players (and the dm, but can be worth it if you prefer a player driven campaign). This way, the warlock could play different angles inside the senecan society, and the others can still work for the seaside's goals.
Is there a catalyst u'd be willing to use? A third influence that isn't allied one way or the other? For example, I'm thinking of running a localized area campaign with a town that's heavily influenced by different poor but influential mob families, but is also occupied by a heavily supported tyrannical army. I'd like to maintain threats and hooks from both sides, so I'm having them come across a small "abandoned" dragon horde. They have the money to buy what they want, but spending too much of it would tip off either side and draw attention.
Who is the dwarven paladin's deity? And who is the patron of the warlock? Depending on the tone you want, either deity or patron may not be as concerned with short-term "mortal" problems. Use the city and politics as setting elements, but run a hidden larger plot that calls to the warlock and paladin that also requires the thief. Start off with hooks and clues that seem to make no sense, but build and allude to the catalyst. A deity or other beings feeding on the conflict? Possibly a threat from the underdark or the sea? If u want things to go one way or the other, what complication will rise to fill the power vacuum?
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Post by deslonratt on Apr 12, 2016 9:49:32 GMT
I love your suggestions. The Dwarven paladin was a slave in the Senecan temple of the One until an accident hurt a fellow slave. When the paladin healed his fellow slave holy Aremis the wise took the dwarf as a student and eventually granted his freedom. I can use Aremis as a trump card to get the players out of trouble. I like the idea of using Alethea the Noble man's daughter. I hadn't thought of that. My players are only third level. I did individual games with each before our first game together. This had a powerful side effect, their personal life is more important than their party life. I worked on the game allot after I posted this. I want the game to end with the party escaping the city as fugitives. I know that they will change the cities politics but not yet.
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