Post/Author/DateTime	Post
naturax 09-01-07, 02:19 PM	I'm running a game on Monday for a few new players and of course I'm going to get them started with D&D in Eberron. I could run them through the Forgotten Forge, but I had another idea that I would like some help with. I took the idea for "That Darn Familiar", one of the Steal This Hook articles, and changed it so that the premise is the following: The PCs all get arrested for various minor offences (bar fights, minor theft, etc.). Meanwhile, a retired wizard has died and left his entire will to his familiar, Biggles the cat. The will calls for House Vadalis to take care of the cat, so this is a big contract for them and they want to make sure that the cat survives for the few hours it'll take them to find their animal handler and pick it up. House Vadalis puts pressure on the Watch to protect the cat, but they couldn't be bothered so they send the PCs to do it in excuse for letting them off with a warning. Meanwhile, the executor of the wizard's estate will inherit everything if the cat dies, so she hires the Daask to send in some "burglars" and kill the cat. Hilarity ensues. What I need help with is: Obviously the wizard's tower is going to be filled with zany rooms, but why would the PCs go exploring? What is the cat's behaviour going to be like: fat and lazy or wacky and running around? But then what reason would the PCs have to chase the cat? How do I setup the encounters: is the whole adventure just one big fight as the Daask try to break in and the PCs try to protect the cat? If you were one of the players, what would make this enjoyable and memorable? If you were running this, how would you structure the adventure? I'd very much appreciate any thoughts anyone can offer. Thanks!
Rechan 09-01-07, 03:35 PM	I think this is an adorable and very amusing adventure, and I would love to be a player for this. The original folklore associated with Familiars is that they brought a bit of knowledge or secrets to their master. When a master dies, the familiar usually becomes an animal again, but that process might be slow. So this Familiar may still be trying to get across its secrets, or still believe it is an assistant; maybe he doesn't know his master is dead. He might also have some semblance of Intelligence, so it could try to Communicate, or have some magic left in it. I imagine Biggles as a siamese or a calico - vocal, flamboyant and trying to Help. The PCs realize suddenly that the cat is GONE from the room. It just disappeared. So now they have to go hunting it, because it could get out. This might be a good time for the burglars to crash in. Perhaps one of the PCs trips over something or drops an object that unleashes a creature (a fiendish hound, a shocker lizard, a dire rat), and either it starts chasing the cat, or the cat chases it. This thing could clearly do some damage to the cat, so the PCs need to Stop It. Imagine the cat scaling one of the wizard's bookshelves, and as whoever tries to climb it, books start falling out onto the floor and their magic (Explosive runes, snake sigil, creatures or effects bound into the book (Think the Hurricane book from the Adams Family movie)) is unleashed. The wizard may have things hanging from his ceiling - chandeliers, models, etc - and the cat is jumping on them and skittering away from who-ever. What this adventure conjures to mind is a Farce taken to the nines. Mousehunt meets Mr. McGoo meets High Flying Magic.
Shady314 09-01-07, 04:54 PM	That sounds like good light hearted fun. Small problem with the idea the Watch would send criminals, even minor ones to a wealthy individuals estate when a Dragonmarked house asks for assistance though. The Houses are basically nobility. Would anyone in charge at the Watch risk anything bad happening at a place they've been requested? I doubt it. They'd be risking their jobs at the very least. The Watch is lazy with the poor. Not the Upper Class. And what would take Vadalis so long to get to this estate? I don't see how the Watch or PCs could get there so much faster. It'd make a lot more sense for the PCs to have been hired by Vadalis to guard the estate. Which would explain why they'd put up with all this craziness. It's their job and they have to to get paid. Definitely all that Rechan said is great. Wacky Mousehunt type shenanigans all the way. An imp might be a better choice for you though than a cat with their abilities and mischievousness. One idea that did spring to mind was a Tom and Jerry situation. Biggles antics are all the result of him trying to catch this magically altered mouse. It runs up the bookcase and Biggles follows knocking spells books and things down releasing magical effects and such (as Rechan said). For a plot twist the Mouse can turn out to be a second familiar. Not possible by RAW I know but don't feel constrained to follow the RAW for Biggles. As a plot device he gets special treatment. Another idea I had was to make the wizard the equivalent of a crazy cat lady. The PCs get there and the place is full of cats. They have no idea which one is Biggles and so they can't let anything bad happen to any of them. Complicating matters is this wizard worked for Vadalis. The cats are magebred or magical beasts and so have above average intelligence or special abilities and all have a knack for causing trouble. The wizard could keep it all under control but can the PCs? Biggles might be being a jerk and not letting them know which one he is (by not speaking) Or he might have lost that ability with the death of his master (which is I think what should happen by RAW but like I said don't feel you have to follow RAW) As for Daask I'd have them send some thugs a bit too tough for the players to handle in full frontal combat. A pair of ogres or similar. Then make it painfully obvious this is not to be handled by force. A DC 5 dungeoneering check to know these brutes are too much for them to handle. The key will be "Home Alone" style shenanigans against the intruders. The wizards house should be full of magical traps and whether they know it or not Biggles will be helping them. There's a few ways to give the PCs a heads up. I'd have a Daask Ogre show up and threaten/intimidate them to leave. If they don't he warns he'll be coming back with a friend or two. The wizards house can have alarms and a scrying portal set up to look around his property. Etc.
naturax 09-01-07, 06:09 PM	Those are some really great ideas and I thank you both! So say the wizard works for Vadalis and the cat is magebred (the latter I was going to do in any case, and I don't care even a little about what familiars in the RAW) and the will leaves everything to the cat. House Vadalis hires the PCs to guard the cat indefinitely? The reason I said the handlers from Vadalis don't get there right away is because there has to be some time limit on the adventure, like "for a few hours" or "overnight". So say the PCs answer a want ad for the job, why would there be a time limit involved? Thanks again!
Rechan 09-01-07, 08:39 PM	The Day the PCs must watch Biggles, there's a BIG thing which is causing the entire House Vandalis Enclave distraction. Maybe it's the County Fair, and everyone in the House is either helping organize and run it, or they're showing their animals. Maybe it's a Family Reunion. Or even an Eldeen Reaches holiday and everyone affiliated with House Vandalis, with its home base in the Eldeen, gets the day off. A mad druid has caused a monsoon of pigeons and squirrels to infest Sharn, and Vandalis has every available member out trying to herd the stubborn pests. It's possible that one or three of the PCs has a connection to Vandalis. A friend of a friend who knows that one of the PCs is reliable. The Barrister who filled out the wizard's will could recommend one of the PCs. Another could be a friend of the Wizard's estate (like the son of the gardener), or a great great grand niece of the wizard twice removed.
naturax 09-02-07, 12:00 PM	The Day the PCs must watch Biggles, there's a BIG thing which is causing the entire House Vandalis Enclave distraction. Maybe it's the County Fair, and everyone in the House is either helping organize and run it, or they're showing their animals. Maybe it's a Family Reunion. Or even an Eldeen Reaches holiday and everyone affiliated with House Vandalis, with its home base in the Eldeen, gets the day off. A mad druid has caused a monsoon of pigeons and squirrels to infest Sharn, and Vandalis has every available member out trying to herd the stubborn pests. It's possible that one or three of the PCs has a connection to Vandalis. A friend of a friend who knows that one of the PCs is reliable. The Barrister who filled out the wizard's will could recommend one of the PCs. Another could be a friend of the Wizard's estate (like the son of the gardener), or a great great grand niece of the wizard twice removed. Brilliant! You've saved the day. If you happen to think of anything else in the next 24 hours, please post it! Thanks again!
Rechan 09-02-07, 12:43 PM	Brilliant! You've saved the day. If you happen to think of anything else in the next 24 hours, please post it! Thanks again! Let us know how it goes! I want to hear how this plays out.
naturax 09-03-07, 06:44 PM	Thanks for everyone's help! The session went fairly well. I had two new players and my partner who is an experienced player. It took a grueling hour for me to walk the new players through the basics and build their character sheets - I should have just handed them completed characters and let them make changes. That was the worst part but once we finally got started the game went very smoothly. They were all 3rd level: a shifter barbarian, a halfling rogue and a half-orc druid. The druid was an Ashbound secretly infiltrating House Vadalis and so was trying to gain favours with them by helping them out. The shifter was a bouncer at the Broken Mirror who had kicked out a young heir of House Vadalis a while back, so they threatened to ruin her unless she did them the favour of cat sitting. The rogue was a thug for the Boromar Clan who was a friend of the shifter and went along to help out. I was worried about how to get the players engaged but they did that for me - as soon as they walked into the parlour the rogue pulled one of the levers on the bar expecting pina colatas to pour from the ceiling but instead it opened up the desert show room and unleashed three giant fire beetles. The cat, who was napping in the sun on the couch, attacked one of the beetles and a fight broke out, ending with beetle guts everywhere and a charmed cat, thanks to the druid. But then the halfling pulled the other level and the cat ran into the swamp room! The players went in to get it but the shocker lizard knocked the rogue unconcious, having her fall into the water, and the cat ran downstairs to get into the magic catnip from the storage room. Then the cat ran upstairs to the alchemy lab and started knocking things off of shelves: the druid was alone up there trying to get the cat under control while the shifter left the premises to buy some alcohol (she didn't want to steal from the dead wizard) in order to inebriate the halfing and prevent her for pulling more levers. So the shifter and the halfling were hanging out downstairs and the druid cast calm animal on the cat. So the PCs had everything under control and weren't really exploring so I had three goblin burglars come in through the window to the alchemy lab and attack the druid. They start losing the fight and call for help, so two gnolls burst in the front door. The PCs dispatch all of them easily, so in comes one ogre and then the other. The druid got knocked down to -4 after casting soften earth and stone under the ogre, causing the floor to collapse and it fell into the kitchen for the end of the fight. I was generous and said the gnolls had some healing potions, so they fed those to the druid and they survived, even though the manor was a huge mess. One of the ogres had a note that said, "Smash and Grab, Kill the cat and you can keep anything in the estate. -N". I spent a bit of time resolving the game by having Zandor show up and congratulate them for repelling the attack by the Daask after the PCs showed her the letter. They had a good time and the session lasted 2-3 hours. I really want to thank everyone for their help again! Here's the write-up I used: That Darn Familiar NPCs: Reegan Evas, deceased retired human wizard who was a House Vadalis breedmaster. Biggles, the magebred cat familiar of Reegan who was left the wizard's entire estate. Nekot Evas, Reegan's daughter, who stands next in line after Biggles to inherit the fortune. Smash & Grab, the ogre Daask thugs hired by Nekot to kill Biggles. Zandor d'Cannith, the breedmaster that brings the PCs to the estate. Total control freak. Adventure Premise: Reegan has chosen a poor time to die (by choking on a pretzel), because House Vadalis is in the middle of a crisis. The Ashbound have attacked Dalin Tower and all members of the Handler's Guild are busy trying to recapture their freed animals. According to the will, a huge stipend is set aside for House Vadalis provided they provide exceptional care for Biggles, but everyone else is busy so they call in some favours from/hire the PCs to watch the estate for now. Meanwhile, Nekot will inherit everything if the cat dies, so she hires the Daask to send in some "burglars" and kill Biggles. Hilarity ensues. Details: (use the Noble Tower map on page 89 of Sharn: City of Towers) Room (Floor) Features Dining Hall (1) Large, L-shaped table and tapestries of various flying animals over Sharn. Kitchen (1) The kitchen is run by a continuous Unseen Servant effect that follows whatever commands are given by anyone standing in the room. All of the items in the kitchen are animated. Cold Room (1) Full of frozen stuff. Storage Room N (1) Contains a LOT of cat food, magical catnip Storage Room S (1) Contains food for other animals: fish food, dried insects, etc. Meeting Hall (2) Couches, chandelier, bar stocked with drinks. Switch for rooms: levers at bar Green Room S (2) Humid with swamp-like environment with moving water (shocker lizard) Red Room N (2) Dry-hot with desert environment with cacti (giant fire beetles) Blue Room E (2) Aquarium room with coral and little fishes (squid) Potion Lab W (3) Cat knocks over and then laps up potions of: blink, expeditious retreat, mirror image Library N (3) Cat climbs up bookshelves, knocks over books of: color spray, grease, web, Alchemy Workshop S (3) Cat knocks over a couple of thunderstones and pushes alchemist's fire into a box of smokesticks. Sky Room (4) Full of exotic, magebred caged songbirds, and the cat is knocking over cages Biggles' Bedroom (4) Full of various expensive cushions and scratching posts. Spiretop dragon at window (which was left open). Master Bedchamber (4) Locked DC20. Crunch: Biggles Magebred Cat Familiar of a 6th level wizard Size/Type: Tiny Magical Beast Hit Dice: ½d8+1 [effectively 6 HD for effects that check HD] Hit Points: [assume that Biggles is the familiar of a 6th level wizard who had 6d4+6 hp] (21 hp) Initiative: +4 Speed: 40 ft. (8 squares) Armor Class: 21 (+2 size, +4 Dex, +5 natural), touch 16, flat-footed 17 Base Attack/Grapple: +0/-12 Attack: Claw +6 melee (1d2-3) Full Attack: 2 claws +6 melee (1d2-3) and bite +1 melee (1d3-3) Space/Reach: 2½ ft./0 ft. Special Attacks: — Special Qualities: Low-light vision, scent, excellent learner, swift breed, improved evasion Saves: Fort +3, Ref +6, Will +1 Abilities: Str 5, Dex 19, Con 12, Int 8, Wis 12, Cha 7 Skills: Balance +12, Climb +8, Hide +18, Jump +10, Listen +3, Move Silently +10, Spot +3 Feats: Stealthy, Weapon Finesse, Athletic Description: Tabby, but fur ranges from deep blue to bright pink. Eyes are bright yellow and betray a devious mind, the kind that looks like it is plotting your doom. Biggles likes to perch on bookshelves or other high places and watch goings on while swinging its tail.
Hopeless 09-09-07, 02:16 PM	I think this is an adorable and very amusing adventure, and I would love to be a player for this. Just a thought but what if the wizard's soul was transplanted into the cat's? Imagine he wanted to find a way to avoid dying but in the process he was stuck in his familiar's body and the pair are fused together so it not only retains itsprevious abilities but we've got a reasonably levelled wizard stuck in a feline's body nd searching for a way to restore his form except the feline is actually female so more hijinx...
Nerdicus 09-10-07, 09:21 PM	I have a group that I may be DMing for once the current campaign is over, and this may very well be their first adventure! Consider it yoinked.
naturax 09-11-07, 11:25 AM	I have a group that I may be DMing for once the current campaign is over, and this may very well be their first adventure! Consider it yoinked. I'm glad to hear it! Please let me know what changes you made and how it went, as I very well might run this again in the future.