Post/Author/DateTime	Post
_zx75 03-27-07, 01:03 PM	Ok, I have an adventure that my players are quickly coming up to that is still somewhat formless in my mind. I have ideas, hooks, situations, goals, locations, motivations, plots, travel but it is still lacking the middle unifying bit that turns it from a collection of ideas into a solid adventure. Which is why I am here. I want to petition you for ideas, practical or insane that you think would be cool to see in order to help me bring this to fruition. I would be happy to hear anything from location maps and atmosphere, to monsters to encounter and when/where they could be encountered, to outside plot hooks that players might stumble across evidence of while they are going about their task. Below in the spoiler block are details of what I have already laid in place and hinted at to my PCs, as well as my ideas that I intend to use but haven't yet (and are subject to change). If you don't want to spend time reading the details, I'll give you the very brief version: Players are level 7 (or maybe 8 by time they get there), the adventure involves at least 1 very challenging Vampire, and the PCs will be motivated to retrieve a unique diamond that is about 4 inches across for their own purposes. The Vampire is part of an organization called the Lightless Fane which uses the symbol of a geometric ring of thorns with a circle in the middle. The adventure will be very difficult, and will pose a serious risk of losing party members. Oh, and if it matters, there are no full-progression Arcane OR Divine casters in the party right now. (A dead Paladin that may or may not be raised, and a UMD rogue). How the party stands: Rogue - UMD and lots of little magical tricks, party face and prefers diplomacy to fighting. Paladin(dead) - May become something else depending on if they are raised or not, good AC and defence not so great damage Barbarian - Also a gnome, huge HP and good damage, uses TWF Fighter - Swings a greatsword, tries to be a hunter without the skills Swordsage - New character, does some mean damage with a fireball, ok damage, poor AC. The party knows that Vampires are involved, and have had run-ins with a Vampire Wizard before (non-lethal and the Vampire hid the full extent of his power). The rogue has suffered under domination by this Vampire before and has been quite shaken by the encounter, she has also been through some disturbing incidents after the fact where she thought she was being mind-controlled. They are seeking to retrieve a unique diamond that they need to follow up on another quest. Another NPC has a second piece to this puzzle and may be willing to trade it for revenge on the Vampire (another potential hook), and she also has information on where to go to find the Vampire. She is also a Player in the local underground thieves scene. The location itself can be anything, but it will likely be a self-contained area (someplace secretive) that will be accessible through a single entrance (possibly a portal) by the PCs although others may or may not exist. The organization is called the Lightless Fane, and is an organization, a clan of multiple vampires and their spawn. This organization is involved in the local illegal slave trade and has been known to deal with pirates. There is also a loose organization of Moon God Worshippers of whom many are were-creatures of various types. Their power is currently limited and don't pose an overt threat to the Fane, yet. The city itself is run by a collection of particular specialist mages, and the current leader has dark/evil undertones and has dealt with shadow and undead types before. There is also a devil influence present in the city, but its extent is currently unknown although they have been linked to the leadership of the Legion, the local army. There is no known demon influence yet, although they are aligned against the thief NPC mentioned earlier who is in conflict with the Vampires. Now the mission itself seems pretty simple, retrieve an item and possibly kill. Their opponent though has access to both divination and illusion, and knows a couple members of the party intimately (he bit one). Now he is a cocky person, and enjoys toying with others. He would be happy to distract, mislead, and confuse the PCs and in doing so try to cause conflict between them and other organizations in the city. He also has allies, possible demonic, devilish, or undead, or all of the above. As well he may be willing to let the PCs "escape" with the gem, as he may have already gotten what he needs out of it, and the PCs dispatching a demonic or devilish 'ally' to obtain it may be to his advantage. What is left to me right now is what kind of unique and atmospheric place would he live? What kind of slaves/prisioners would he keep and how can they tie into this plot? What sort of allies would he use to combat the PCs, and what sort of distraction and misleading information would he try to use on them? Any ideas or thoughts or unusual things that you think would help this become an awesome adventure would be very much appreciated. Thank you.
taradusis 03-27-07, 05:31 PM	Perhaps some good lycanthropes as Npcs.C/G were-bear and L/G were-lion spring to mind?Libris mortis has the half vampire template,like BLADE from MARVEL.Perhaps a palce like stonehange or other megalith for his rituals with the diamond?RANDOM THOUGHTS
Gilgalad 03-27-07, 06:01 PM	My initial thought is to use something other than a diamond. Diamonds are so over used, in my opinion, plus diamonds were traditionally viewed as a "sun symbol" and so I doubt a vampire would use one in a ritual. Perhaps use a more ominous sounding gemstone like a blood-red ruby or a cat's eye agate? I have also run a number of vampire-themed adventures in my time and they are always a lot of fun. You might try some of the following: - check out the Ravenloft campaign - perhaps use vampires from other cultures rather than the traditional Count Dracula type - toss in other cool horror movie creatures such as flesh golems and werewolves along with worgs and dire bats. Even the weather can be a factor- fog as thick as pea soup, thunder rumbling over the horizon, etc. - use an idea from the original stories of dracula with a Von Helsing type vampire-hunter (maybe as an NPC the characters come across on their journeys) - toss in a few "bride of dracula" creatures that use seduction and enchantment magic to corrupt the party - watch "Brom Stroker's Dracula" which is one of the best vampire movies out there to get some awesome ideas
KeshFerrar 03-27-07, 07:25 PM	If the vampire knows they're coming he needs minions to try and soften the party up first. You could go standard: unread. Or you could put the characters in a moral bind by having the vampire dominate or trick innocents and sending them at the PCs. Vampire: "Look its the PC's, they're responsible for the death of so and so!" Angry mob: "That's them! Get 'em. Burn the witch!"
Prator_the_Legendary 03-27-07, 09:40 PM	You know what would be really cool? It would be awesome if the vampire actually knows about the PCs who are coming to kill him. He's spread around the rumors of the ritual and the gem story himself, and the people who give the quest to the PCs are his pawns. The head vamp thinks the PCs would make excellent vampire spawn, and he's willing to take a slight risk of death in order to bite them and bring them under his rule... The PCs can still kill him and find awesome treasures in his coffin, but it makes a nice twist on a story that gets used fairly often. Granted, the twist isn't really original either, but at least it's used LESS.
Alex_Belinsky 03-28-07, 12:21 PM	Some random ideas: Devil influence in the army - Disciples of Dispater (from BoVD). These guys really want to improve their unit (and so spread the worship of "God of Legions"). I think these ideas about vampires were overused in years past, but... Way into LF's hideout lie through some public or governmental building (probably, with some form of vampire influence over building's inhabitants). Only way into the inner sanctum of Lightless Fane - through minor crack in some basement. Full-fledged vampires have no need for more. Multiple coffins for every full member of LF. Heavy use of Darkness spells. Dungeon with waist-deep murky water - stagnant water, so vampire can hide there. Several vampire spawns, attacking one party member. Vampire spawn trained to imitate spellcasting - as false target. Vampire spawn kid with some levels of Rogue, posing as real living kid. Slaves are used as cattle and shipped to and from vampires under charm or domination. Several treasury with faked gems (party's goal including) and gems stolen in this city some time ago - if looted, invaders can be fooled or accused before authorities as thieves. False rivalry between two crime lords/ merchants/ nobles - both are vampires and make this facade for recruiting potential servants and early uncovering potential threats. When I plan main adversary in one of my own vampire adventures, it was Rgr3/Ftr2 with emphasis on archery and with heavy use of arrow slits, murder holes and portcullises. Sorry for my english.:(
_zx75 03-28-07, 02:19 PM	Thanks everyone for replying, there are some really good ideas in here. One update, I made an error in my post, the Vampires don't have the diamond. The diamond is another goal of the PCs, the Vampires hold a Yellow-gold Topaz which the PCs are after. The gem is unique in another way, it has inside it a 3-dimensional image of a horse and rider. The PCs have an alternate option instead of acquiring the Topaz they could simply sacrifice a living human, but I don't think they will be willing to go that route. Party Update: After yesterday's game (they're getting close to where they need to be to encounter the vampires) it has come about that the Paladin will stay dead. The player has replaced her character with a Druid, who has different motivations. I definitely think I'm going to use some of these ideas, and it has occurred to me that I might use an abandoned Legion fort/outpost (using perhaps a portal or something to get there) that is partially sunk into a swamp. There they have the advantages of flying, the water is still and stagnant so they don't have to worry about running water, and I can take advantage of some partially/fully submerged rooms and passageways.