Help needed with an adventure. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Help needed with an adventure. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Majorafire77
09-28-05, 03:58 PM Alright, so my plan is that in Sharn, a halfling who has been funding some of the Boromar Clan's operations had recently caught someone who snuck into his house with the will to assassinate him. Fearing that the assassin would strike again, he finds a way to get to the PCs (I think that they'll start off as part of an adventurer's guild), asking them to find out the identity of the assassin.

I wanted to do something kind of creative, so I decided that the halfling who the PCs talk to is actually the assassin with the disguise of the real one (I don't think changelings can disguise themselves as small creatures, can they?), who is now dead and probably hidden somewhere within the tower where this all takes place. The assassin is a Daask spy, impersonating the noble so he can find out about planned Boromar activities and relay the plans to his Daask superiors, who will put a stop to them. The only reason that he hires the PCs to investigate anything is so he doesn't look suspicious (It'd look kind of strange not to hire some investigators).

Now all I need help with is how to get from the beginning of this mystery to the end. I'm planning on having all of the clues that the NPCs around the tower at the time give to the PCs to make them think, with the NPCs telling them that they saw someone go in, but not come out or something else like that. I'm also thinking that maybe some Daask members should attack or kidnap the PCs, just to make sure that they're not a threat to their plan. I know that what I have now will only fill about an hour or less of play time, so I think I need more stuff in this adventure to make it more interesting. Any ideas?
Setherial
09-29-05, 03:39 AM an assassin hires people to find out that he is an assassin, that seems like asking for trouble to me!!

What about this: Human noble (politician) sponsers boromars illigal activities in exchange for an occasional favour (taking out a political adversary, putting some pressure here and there...). The Daask have already attempted 2 failed attacks on the Noble in an effort to take him out and deal the borromars a heavy financial blow. The Party is contracted by the boromars to offer the noble some high class protection but it's to late already. By the time the party gets to the Noble a changeling assassin has taken him out and taken his place in the hopes of getting some inside information on boromar activities before disappearing again. However he has not yet been able to dispose of the body as the nobles house is being watched by the boromars.
He'll send the party on wild goose chases while he tries to gain information. The corpse hidden in the closet or under the bed is decomposing and time is running short....
Maybe he'll escape before the party finds the body but they'll figur it out as they discover the body has been dead for several days already and they've seen the noble just yesterday.
Save-vs-DM
09-29-05, 04:57 AM Okay, here is a very general amount of advice: Work Backwards.

This is how I plan mysteries. I start with the solutoin and then work backwards to plant clues. To use your example.

The Halfing was replaced 1 month ago by a Goblin Assassin. This is your answer to the mystery
||
\/
The Goblin replaced the halfling for two reasons. One, the halfling had stumbled upon a secret tunnel enabling them to perform raids. Two, the Goblin is an advance spy for an upcoming raid.
||
\/
A local maid knew the halfing well and discovered it was someone in disguise. She was murdered last night in order to cover up the fact.
||
\/
The knife wounds in her body indicate that a strange dagger was used in her murder. She also had a letter satchel but no letter in it.
||
\/
A local antique dealer had a dagger stolen last night. He wants to hire the PCs to find it.

That gives you a basic framework to work with. All you have to do is fill in the clues that lead from one thing to another. I'd help more, but I'm tired and braindead at the moment. Let me sleep on it.

Cheers,
Save vs DM
Kid SixXx
09-29-05, 06:07 AM Here is your plotline, taken from liberal doses of the movie, Black Rain:

The Halfing paymaster was killed by an Clan Borormir member. The member found out that the paymaster was on the take (Tyrants, Daask, take your pic) however the source of the Halfling's never ending money pot is a mystery as the Halfing died before he could divulge the info.

Here is where the PC's come in, as the investigation into the Halfling's death will turn up financial records of a questionable nature (embezzlement, perhaps) along with the knowledge that the Halfling paymaster still has a sizeable amount of money stored somewhere in the city.

Now you have a murder mystery, a treasure hunt, and the motive for the murder.

Naturally the fellow that hires the PC's to investigate the murder is the Clan Borormir fellow. He does not really want the PC's to find the murder, he wants them to find the money and plans to elimiate them as soon as they do.

To make things interesting, you could involve Daask or the Tyrants as you see fit, as you could throw in the money angle as a lure or try to have the other organizations make an attempt on the Upstart's life in a bid to cover up their involvement with compromising a House Borormir member.
Rake
09-30-05, 08:57 AM I notice you're a lot more tolerant of people's grammar, Majorafire...

http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=510431

...when you're asking for their advice. ;)
Majorafire77
09-30-05, 06:22 PM I notice you're a lot more tolerant of people's grammar, Majorafire...

http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=510431

...when you're asking for their advice. ;)
First of all, if you don't have something to say here that can help me, then don't post. Second of all, no :censored: Insulting people who offer you advice on a question you asked is never smart.
Rake
10-01-05, 07:22 PM Aha.. but insulting people who ask you and the rest of us for help is smart?
Majorafire77
10-01-05, 08:35 PM Aha.. but insulting people who ask you and the rest of us for help is smart?
Well, apparantly you think it is.
Rake
10-02-05, 02:52 AM Nah, no one's insulting you, Majorafire. You just haven't got an answer for your moral double standard. s'Just food for thought.
WizO_Sith
10-02-05, 08:30 PM Flaming and responding to percived flames are both violations of the Wizards Online Code of Conduct (http://www.wizards.com/coc) and are not tolerated on these forums.

This thread will be locked.

*Click*

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Majorafire77 09-28-05, 03:58 PM	Alright, so my plan is that in Sharn, a halfling who has been funding some of the Boromar Clan's operations had recently caught someone who snuck into his house with the will to assassinate him. Fearing that the assassin would strike again, he finds a way to get to the PCs (I think that they'll start off as part of an adventurer's guild), asking them to find out the identity of the assassin. I wanted to do something kind of creative, so I decided that the halfling who the PCs talk to is actually the assassin with the disguise of the real one (I don't think changelings can disguise themselves as small creatures, can they?), who is now dead and probably hidden somewhere within the tower where this all takes place. The assassin is a Daask spy, impersonating the noble so he can find out about planned Boromar activities and relay the plans to his Daask superiors, who will put a stop to them. The only reason that he hires the PCs to investigate anything is so he doesn't look suspicious (It'd look kind of strange not to hire some investigators). Now all I need help with is how to get from the beginning of this mystery to the end. I'm planning on having all of the clues that the NPCs around the tower at the time give to the PCs to make them think, with the NPCs telling them that they saw someone go in, but not come out or something else like that. I'm also thinking that maybe some Daask members should attack or kidnap the PCs, just to make sure that they're not a threat to their plan. I know that what I have now will only fill about an hour or less of play time, so I think I need more stuff in this adventure to make it more interesting. Any ideas?
Setherial 09-29-05, 03:39 AM	an assassin hires people to find out that he is an assassin, that seems like asking for trouble to me!! What about this: Human noble (politician) sponsers boromars illigal activities in exchange for an occasional favour (taking out a political adversary, putting some pressure here and there...). The Daask have already attempted 2 failed attacks on the Noble in an effort to take him out and deal the borromars a heavy financial blow. The Party is contracted by the boromars to offer the noble some high class protection but it's to late already. By the time the party gets to the Noble a changeling assassin has taken him out and taken his place in the hopes of getting some inside information on boromar activities before disappearing again. However he has not yet been able to dispose of the body as the nobles house is being watched by the boromars. He'll send the party on wild goose chases while he tries to gain information. The corpse hidden in the closet or under the bed is decomposing and time is running short.... Maybe he'll escape before the party finds the body but they'll figur it out as they discover the body has been dead for several days already and they've seen the noble just yesterday.
Save-vs-DM 09-29-05, 04:57 AM	Okay, here is a very general amount of advice: Work Backwards. This is how I plan mysteries. I start with the solutoin and then work backwards to plant clues. To use your example. The Halfing was replaced 1 month ago by a Goblin Assassin. This is your answer to the mystery \|\| \/ The Goblin replaced the halfling for two reasons. One, the halfling had stumbled upon a secret tunnel enabling them to perform raids. Two, the Goblin is an advance spy for an upcoming raid. \|\| \/ A local maid knew the halfing well and discovered it was someone in disguise. She was murdered last night in order to cover up the fact. \|\| \/ The knife wounds in her body indicate that a strange dagger was used in her murder. She also had a letter satchel but no letter in it. \|\| \/ A local antique dealer had a dagger stolen last night. He wants to hire the PCs to find it. That gives you a basic framework to work with. All you have to do is fill in the clues that lead from one thing to another. I'd help more, but I'm tired and braindead at the moment. Let me sleep on it. Cheers, Save vs DM
Kid SixXx 09-29-05, 06:07 AM	Here is your plotline, taken from liberal doses of the movie, Black Rain: The Halfing paymaster was killed by an Clan Borormir member. The member found out that the paymaster was on the take (Tyrants, Daask, take your pic) however the source of the Halfling's never ending money pot is a mystery as the Halfing died before he could divulge the info. Here is where the PC's come in, as the investigation into the Halfling's death will turn up financial records of a questionable nature (embezzlement, perhaps) along with the knowledge that the Halfling paymaster still has a sizeable amount of money stored somewhere in the city. Now you have a murder mystery, a treasure hunt, and the motive for the murder. Naturally the fellow that hires the PC's to investigate the murder is the Clan Borormir fellow. He does not really want the PC's to find the murder, he wants them to find the money and plans to elimiate them as soon as they do. To make things interesting, you could involve Daask or the Tyrants as you see fit, as you could throw in the money angle as a lure or try to have the other organizations make an attempt on the Upstart's life in a bid to cover up their involvement with compromising a House Borormir member.
Rake 09-30-05, 08:57 AM	I notice you're a lot more tolerant of people's grammar, Majorafire... http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=510431 ...when you're asking for their advice. ;)
Majorafire77 09-30-05, 06:22 PM	I notice you're a lot more tolerant of people's grammar, Majorafire... http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=510431 ...when you're asking for their advice. ;) First of all, if you don't have something to say here that can help me, then don't post. Second of all, no :censored: Insulting people who offer you advice on a question you asked is never smart.
Rake 10-01-05, 07:22 PM	Aha.. but insulting people who ask you and the rest of us for help is smart?
Majorafire77 10-01-05, 08:35 PM	Aha.. but insulting people who ask you and the rest of us for help is smart? Well, apparantly you think it is.
Rake 10-02-05, 02:52 AM	Nah, no one's insulting you, Majorafire. You just haven't got an answer for your moral double standard. s'Just food for thought.
WizO_Sith 10-02-05, 08:30 PM	Flaming and responding to percived flames are both violations of the Wizards Online Code of Conduct (http://www.wizards.com/coc) and are not tolerated on these forums. This thread will be locked. Click