kidnapped/undead [Archive] - Wizards Community

kidnapped/undead [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
bloodtalon
04-26-07, 07:09 PM in a new one i am doing for one of my groups it happens in a city.
first off they are starting at level one and 6 of them
not sure of the classes yet
but here is the plot of it
the city they are in is haveing a rash of kidnapping of young children (human ages or equivvalent of 5-15) . they see a reward posted of 250 gps for each child return.
if they ask around they will find out that most of the children are from the local milita and clergy families.

the children are being taken by a cult(thinking it will be to Orcus) to be turned into undead right after sacrificed. when they are turned into the undead being sent to the city to kill thier parents.
the high priest (level 5) of the cult is hopeing the fathers who are in the milita will not attack first and the child zombie will hurt him enough so his followers can step in and finish the job.
once the militia is out of the way they will go and take care of
they will take out the local priests and then the baron.

it is up to the party to do one of these things.
1) find the children and return them before being turned
2) destory the cult
3) rescue the town if they do neither

please let me know what you think of this type of campaign
OneEye589
04-27-07, 07:20 AM I like the idea. It gives many options for "success", saving the children before they are sacrificed or killing the cult before they sacrifice the children.

Maybe you could only have a few children kidnapped then the PCs enter the city, and have more being taken while they are there. That woiuld leave another option of stopping the kidnappings. Of course some would have already happened, and they'd have to go save the other children.

If they don't save the children before the sacrifice, they can go fight for the city or help the city evacuate. They could go fight ALL the zombie children, but you may want to have some major thing controlling them behind the scenes, that if destroyed, returns all the children back to normal. Of course it would be behind several zombie squads and several cult members, but it's better if they can save most of the children.

My two gp.
taradusis
04-27-07, 11:56 AM I ran a similar adventure called"Cherubs of Death"based off a vampire who was converting 3 yr.old boys into little horrors.Some parents will be insane enough to still help their children even after they've been converted.Some parents will resent PCs if they kill the children.RANDOM THOUGHTS.
Arcade
04-27-07, 01:30 PM I like the idea. You could have the priest able to create a few higher level undead like a ghoul, for very special children such as the guard captain's daughter. This way, perhaps a bit of the undead infliction can be spread throughout a larger household if the undead child kills off a few family members first. Only do this once or twice since these are pretty deadly for first level. Feel free to have some town guard help out with it so you can have someone else to kill besides a player. The ghouls might require extra sacrifice, high level scrolls, or perhaps the cult has a ghoul working with them.

If the party has a cleric, he may find himself targeted once the party starts investigating since the priest needs to get rid of all the clerics. This can give the party a method to track the cult back to its hideout.

There can also be someone else behind the scenes who is high enough level to rebuke the undead and can be used as a villain later. Imagine that when the party is undoing the cult's plans and face an overwhelming number of undead and all seems lost, the undead suddenly disappear or turn on the cult, pulling the leader down in a horde of zombie kids.
bloodtalon
04-28-07, 05:14 PM as of now i just wanted this to get them to about 4 or 5th level
as for having a higher up guy in charge of the cult it is a thought.
never thought about the ghoul
and other thoughts let me know
thanks for all the input

as for the party there is a human priest of ilmater, a half elf swashbuckler, halfling wizard, dwarven fighter, a human thief, and dragon blooded human sorcerrer

the hideout/ cult temple to ORCUS is in the warehouse section of the town in a thriving business for silk goods. (something to throw them off. most evil temples in a rundown building or sewers)

was gonna have them befriend one of the children and end up fighting same child if they do not stop it in time
kinda to show thier inaction has the same effect as action
OneEye589
04-28-07, 09:49 PM You know what may be good...

If you have the Monster Manual III, or are able to use it, there is an undead in there called the Bondrinker. Now, the Bonedrinker is supposed to be an undead Bugbear pretty much, but the Lesser Bonedrinker is a small sized undead that is supposed to be like a Goblin. Maybe you could change the appearance to that of a human child, and have a few of those as well? They're a CR 4.
bloodtalon
04-29-07, 07:21 PM my players did something on the first night we did this i hate them for it tooo

the dwarfen paladin suggested the halfling wizard dress as a little girl (she is a female) i rolled and the cult bought that the halfling was a small human child
this is what happen
the halfing wizard was crying out for "mommy where are you i am scared"
the cult bought it and went to get the child
the human priest and the dragonblood human sorcerre was hidden in a wagon and had to wait a turn
the human thief hidden behind a water barrel was able to strike and do sneak attack and kill one iof the cult
the dwarven paladin jumped from a 15 foot roof onto 2 cult memebrs killing one with his dwarven waraxe and knockingnone prone:::: in the process spraining his ankle and limiting his turn to movement only
the half elf duskblade was able to corner the other one left
instead of sururnderng he slit his own throat

the duskblade and the dragonblooded sorcerer went to get the local sherrif and the rest went to the local ILMATER temple for healing and mybe for some speak with dead

can;t wait till next time
GoriceXII
04-30-07, 01:26 AM Actually dude it sounds like you have a creative party there, you should be pleased--that is always a sign that they are responding well to the setting and are interested!

A good twist is the false rescue--think of "Aliens" or any number of other horror films. Another good one for that element is "Resident Evil". While the latter is not one of my favourite horror films I remember thinking after I saw it that it would make a good game.
bloodtalon
04-30-07, 05:42 PM i do not mind them being creative i was just wanted them to go around firat and get to know some people and get info before setting up something like that.
did not have no stats for the bad guys and had to wing it when the dice came up he fell for the trap
Anuvrix
05-01-07, 12:24 PM Always stat out all bad guys, even some that the PCs might not end up interacting with.
Just a tip. It's a hassle, but it's worth it when the PCs go and try to "eliminate all evil"...... that session was particularly fun.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
bloodtalon 04-26-07, 07:09 PM	in a new one i am doing for one of my groups it happens in a city. first off they are starting at level one and 6 of them not sure of the classes yet but here is the plot of it the city they are in is haveing a rash of kidnapping of young children (human ages or equivvalent of 5-15) . they see a reward posted of 250 gps for each child return. if they ask around they will find out that most of the children are from the local milita and clergy families. the children are being taken by a cult(thinking it will be to Orcus) to be turned into undead right after sacrificed. when they are turned into the undead being sent to the city to kill thier parents. the high priest (level 5) of the cult is hopeing the fathers who are in the milita will not attack first and the child zombie will hurt him enough so his followers can step in and finish the job. once the militia is out of the way they will go and take care of they will take out the local priests and then the baron. it is up to the party to do one of these things. 1) find the children and return them before being turned 2) destory the cult 3) rescue the town if they do neither please let me know what you think of this type of campaign
OneEye589 04-27-07, 07:20 AM	I like the idea. It gives many options for "success", saving the children before they are sacrificed or killing the cult before they sacrifice the children. Maybe you could only have a few children kidnapped then the PCs enter the city, and have more being taken while they are there. That woiuld leave another option of stopping the kidnappings. Of course some would have already happened, and they'd have to go save the other children. If they don't save the children before the sacrifice, they can go fight for the city or help the city evacuate. They could go fight ALL the zombie children, but you may want to have some major thing controlling them behind the scenes, that if destroyed, returns all the children back to normal. Of course it would be behind several zombie squads and several cult members, but it's better if they can save most of the children. My two gp.
taradusis 04-27-07, 11:56 AM	I ran a similar adventure called"Cherubs of Death"based off a vampire who was converting 3 yr.old boys into little horrors.Some parents will be insane enough to still help their children even after they've been converted.Some parents will resent PCs if they kill the children.RANDOM THOUGHTS.
Arcade 04-27-07, 01:30 PM	I like the idea. You could have the priest able to create a few higher level undead like a ghoul, for very special children such as the guard captain's daughter. This way, perhaps a bit of the undead infliction can be spread throughout a larger household if the undead child kills off a few family members first. Only do this once or twice since these are pretty deadly for first level. Feel free to have some town guard help out with it so you can have someone else to kill besides a player. The ghouls might require extra sacrifice, high level scrolls, or perhaps the cult has a ghoul working with them. If the party has a cleric, he may find himself targeted once the party starts investigating since the priest needs to get rid of all the clerics. This can give the party a method to track the cult back to its hideout. There can also be someone else behind the scenes who is high enough level to rebuke the undead and can be used as a villain later. Imagine that when the party is undoing the cult's plans and face an overwhelming number of undead and all seems lost, the undead suddenly disappear or turn on the cult, pulling the leader down in a horde of zombie kids.
bloodtalon 04-28-07, 05:14 PM	as of now i just wanted this to get them to about 4 or 5th level as for having a higher up guy in charge of the cult it is a thought. never thought about the ghoul and other thoughts let me know thanks for all the input as for the party there is a human priest of ilmater, a half elf swashbuckler, halfling wizard, dwarven fighter, a human thief, and dragon blooded human sorcerrer the hideout/ cult temple to ORCUS is in the warehouse section of the town in a thriving business for silk goods. (something to throw them off. most evil temples in a rundown building or sewers) was gonna have them befriend one of the children and end up fighting same child if they do not stop it in time kinda to show thier inaction has the same effect as action
OneEye589 04-28-07, 09:49 PM	You know what may be good... If you have the Monster Manual III, or are able to use it, there is an undead in there called the Bondrinker. Now, the Bonedrinker is supposed to be an undead Bugbear pretty much, but the Lesser Bonedrinker is a small sized undead that is supposed to be like a Goblin. Maybe you could change the appearance to that of a human child, and have a few of those as well? They're a CR 4.
bloodtalon 04-29-07, 07:21 PM	my players did something on the first night we did this i hate them for it tooo the dwarfen paladin suggested the halfling wizard dress as a little girl (she is a female) i rolled and the cult bought that the halfling was a small human child this is what happen the halfing wizard was crying out for "mommy where are you i am scared" the cult bought it and went to get the child the human priest and the dragonblood human sorcerre was hidden in a wagon and had to wait a turn the human thief hidden behind a water barrel was able to strike and do sneak attack and kill one iof the cult the dwarven paladin jumped from a 15 foot roof onto 2 cult memebrs killing one with his dwarven waraxe and knockingnone prone:::: in the process spraining his ankle and limiting his turn to movement only the half elf duskblade was able to corner the other one left instead of sururnderng he slit his own throat the duskblade and the dragonblooded sorcerer went to get the local sherrif and the rest went to the local ILMATER temple for healing and mybe for some speak with dead can;t wait till next time
GoriceXII 04-30-07, 01:26 AM	Actually dude it sounds like you have a creative party there, you should be pleased--that is always a sign that they are responding well to the setting and are interested! A good twist is the false rescue--think of "Aliens" or any number of other horror films. Another good one for that element is "Resident Evil". While the latter is not one of my favourite horror films I remember thinking after I saw it that it would make a good game.
bloodtalon 04-30-07, 05:42 PM	i do not mind them being creative i was just wanted them to go around firat and get to know some people and get info before setting up something like that. did not have no stats for the bad guys and had to wing it when the dice came up he fell for the trap
Anuvrix 05-01-07, 12:24 PM	Always stat out all bad guys, even some that the PCs might not end up interacting with. Just a tip. It's a hassle, but it's worth it when the PCs go and try to "eliminate all evil"...... that session was particularly fun.