Post/Author/DateTime	Post
_Radagast_ 05-23-07, 06:41 PM	Hi all! I need some help developing an encounter and I'm kind of stumped. Basically, the PCs are required to help someone escape from prison before that person is hanged at dawn the next morning. What I really need is some ideas to help me flesh out a pathway for the PCs to succeed without really drawing all the attention of the law. I want to think of a good method of them helping to person escape with as little combat as possible. Here is what the PCs know: A powerful wizard has been captured by Valenar authorities for crimes committed in Valenar and is to be hanged the next morning. But, Brelish authorities want this wizard alive and in their custody because the wizard knows a secret entrance of the Argonth mobile fortress (taken from a Sharn inquisitive a while back...) and can't let that secret die with the wizard for fear of another finding it out before they can fix it. Unfortunately, diplomacy hasn't worked for the Brelish diplomat and the Valenar won't release the wizard into his custody. So... this diplomat hires the PCs to break the wizard out and bring him to the Brelish. Basically, I need some help developing a method (or three) for the PCs to get into the prison and get the wizard out without them getting deep into combat and causing them to be the next in prison... One of the PCs MAY be a changeling (we haven't actually started the campaign yet), but I'd prefer if there were alternatives to the changeling method. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.
gelalshawr 05-23-07, 06:53 PM	well the most important question is what level are your characters starting at. depending on the answer there are several choices available to you. invisibility, knock and other useful spells, maybe an adamantine dagger to cut your way into his cell, a\or a decent illusion to make everyone think the wizard does hang, except the PC's got away with him before anyone went to check the body.
Rechan 05-23-07, 07:05 PM	The Valenar strike me as the decapitating sort. Or "bury you in the sand and shoot arrows at your head." Or the type to pit a criminal against a powerful monster as a gladitorial sort of "If you survive, you deserve to go free." Simply because they are a more martial society; I would expect them to see something as simple as hanging as the "wussy" way to go. But, back on topic. There's always the body switch. Sneak a corpse into the cell and either 1) make it look like he committed suicide/was murdered by a prisoner or a Brelish assassin, or 2) animate the body, so that when they hang it and it doesn't die, the PCs have a head start. Ever seen "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly"? Blondie and Tuco have a little system set up - Tuco goes to be hanged, and Blondie shoots the rope, freeing Tuco and letting Tuco flee while Blondie covers everyone with the gun. If the Valenar are not armed or at least battle prepped, and the PCs have them at gunpoint, this might be a viable option, but the PCs would likely then be hunted down. Give the PCs a Device (Eldrich Machine, construct, whatever) that allows them to burrow under the earth. This way they have to burrow under the cell where the wizard is kept and break through the floor. But they have to do this right, so they need maps, be able to gauge their distance, and all that stuff. IF they make a mistake, they might unearth themselves under another criminal's cell, and have to free him too. How powerful is the wizard? Make him a decent level, so he may have some spells to allow them to escape once they get to him and free him (a spellcaster would likely be bound very well and gagged to prevent spellcasting). Perhaps the Crown has a rare Teleport scroll and all they do is pass that to the wizard when they get to him and he teleports them all out.
Lanodantheon 05-23-07, 08:01 PM	You need some more information before you can start. 1. Levels and resources of all parties involved. 2. What did the wizard do to warrant death? 3. What does this prison look like? 4. How high a level of security do you want? Without those things, you can't start. The Valenar strike me as the decapitating sort. Or "bury you in the sand and shoot arrows at your head." Or the type to pit a criminal against a powerful monster as a gladitorial sort of "If you survive, you deserve to go free." Simply because they are a more martial society; I would expect them to see something as simple as hanging as the "wussy" way to go. I agree, the Valenar don't seem like the type to hang people. I could several possibilities depending on what tone you were going for in the campaign: 1. Gladitorial Combat. Either as Rechan described, fight to the death or go free or the more Roman method of keep fighting until you are eventually killed by other gladiators. 2. Decapitation 3. Bury in the sand and play, "Kick the Human" 4. Dip the Wizard in gravy and feed him to something in a small room. 5. Magic; Turn him into a cow or other edible mammal and cook him for dinner. :D (Maybe a little too morbid, but it's a possibility) As for the Great escape, with limited info I can only come up with so much. 1. Break into the prison at night through the sewers, make their way to the cells and take him through the underground tunnels. 2. Snag him on the way to the Executioner. 3. Pull a favor to get in as inmates or as new security guards, then break him out from the inside.
_Radagast_ 05-23-07, 10:03 PM	First, thanks for all the great replies. So far this is extremely helpful. I'll throw some more info out there in case more people have ideas. I'll definitely take the advice about decapitation. The PCs are all 1st level, with very minimal gear. This is definitely going to be a brain-teaser and I want to just supply them with several routes to success. I hadn't really thought about what the wizard did to the Valenar. Apparently, it was enough to warrant death. So, I'll assume he is a pedophile and just happened to mess with the wrong child, the Sultan's daughter or something. The wizard is definitely a villain and should remain headsacked/gagged/bound throughout the adventure. That's one of the key things too, is to keep this guy underwraps throughout it. The prison I imagine as a tower for powerful villains. Hope this helps with more ideas!
Rechan 05-23-07, 10:20 PM	I have to ask why Breland would entrust this mission on some 1st level characters with limited equipment? The Crown would at least give them some decent equipment - that they would then take away at the end of the mission. Think Q giving Bond a few tricks. Some boots of elvenkind, slippers of spiderclimb, something like that. Heck, this could be an excuse to give them something powerful to play with - Cloak of the Arachnid, Wand of Fly, etc. Have the wizard kill one of the Valenar's horses. Or he tried to steal it. Or he released a creature that ate it. The Valenar take their horses seriously; if he somehow messed with the horses, the Valenar would take that seroiusly.
_Radagast_ 05-23-07, 11:00 PM	The really only reason for this particular diplomat to trust the PCs with the mission is simply out of last resort. He's exhausted all other ways of getting the wizard into his custody and one of the PCs happens to be a Brelish fella in a sea of Valenar elves. He can't use his personal guard for fear of them getting caught and having the Valenar ill at ease diplomatically with Breland. I do like the idea of the wizard messing with horses --- Two of my players are new to the game - and Eberron - and this'll help flesh out the Valenar for them. Thanks for the reply.
Gurv 05-23-07, 11:54 PM	The fact that the wizard himself is a villian is an interesting detail. My assumption from the first post was that the guy was innocent of whatever the Valenar accused him of and the PCs were getting him out of a bad situation. That changes things. It seems to me that they don't really need to save him. All they have to do is get the secret from him. Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate could work...but you would think that the Brelish diplomat would already have done that better than some 1st level PCs. Charm or hypnotism might work better than diplomacy though. Breaking into a prison is easier than breaking out. If they could do that, they could leave with the answer and never have to smuggle the wizard anywhere. And if things don't go well, then speak with dead might yet yield answers. A little mission to an unmarked grave to find the corpse could be quite interesting, if you follow it by smuggling the decaying body from place to place, and seeking a cleric willing to cast the spell...for a price.
Rechan 05-24-07, 12:04 AM	Breaking into a prison is easier than breaking out. If they could do that, they could leave with the answer and never have to smuggle the wizard anywhere. And if things don't go well, then speak with dead might yet yield answers. A little mission to an unmarked grave to find the corpse could be quite interesting, if you follow it by smuggling the decaying body from place to place, and seeking a cleric willing to cast the spell...for a price. A damaged body will only yield semi-useful information from Speak with Dead. A body must have a mouth to use it. So if they behead him and do something with the head, the PCs are boned. Also, Speak with Dead has the answers cryptic. Then, getting the Cleric to ask the question they need (because only the cleric can ask and hear the answer), the cleric has to tell them what the secret is - and that would be another person who knows the secret, which could make the situation even harder. Using Speak with Dead should be a last option. Just because he's a villain shouldn't effect the mission too extensively.
_Radagast_ 05-24-07, 01:35 AM	Thanks for all the replies so far! Excellent discussion. Diplomacy, or getting the wizard villain captive to tell the secret could be an option, but they're all pretty much afraid of taking the sack off the guy's head for fear of some kind of magic being used against them... Which, makes me think if they did break in, maybe they could put ANOTHER person in place of the wizard ... bag and all over his head. But, that would mean the person being beheaded would actually be the wrong guy and the PCs aren't evil... The Brelish diplomat essentially wants to get the wizard back to Breland where extensive interrogation can take place with a zone of truth and all that jazz. I've decided to foreshadow a "Tumbler" (which tunnels beneath the earth)from Magic of Eberron when the PCs first enter the city. They'll notice this weird device and some foreman type guy yelling about it. This will be one option of digging a tunnel beneath into the dungeon. Thanks again for all the responses.
Rechan 05-24-07, 01:44 AM	Which, makes me think if they did break in, maybe they could put ANOTHER person in place of the wizard ... bag and all over his head. But, that would mean the person being beheaded would actually be the wrong guy and the PCs aren't evil... I still say a zombie. Maybe a stolen Karnathi zombie that is intelligent enough to take orders. I didn't know the Valenar did cities. I figured they were more nomadic, the "tent and temporary housing" sort.
_Radagast_ 05-24-07, 01:47 AM	I still say a zombie. Maybe a stolen Karnathi zombie that is intelligent enough to take orders. I didn't know the Valenar did cities. I figured they were more nomadic, the "tent and temporary housing" sort. Yeah... A zombie or something would be interesting. Maybe I can throw some accessible zombies around. I doubt my players would catch on to that though. It's worth a shot. I imagine the Valenar cities as being more like City of Brass, or Arabian cities, complete with towers and mosques and statues of great heroes of old. But, the Talenta halflings as the more tent and temporary housing type.
Splendide 05-24-07, 07:20 AM	Cast feather fall at the hanging.
Alaya_of_Stormhome 05-24-07, 08:03 AM	Just another thought...you wouldn't happen to have any Lyrandar heirs in the party, would you? House Lyrandar seems to have a reasonable amount of diplomatic pull in Valenar- moreso, perhaps, than the Brelish crown might. If you have an heir in the party, you may be able to go through channels only available to House Lyrandar. Just my humble two cents.
_Radagast_ 05-25-07, 04:18 PM	Cast feather fall at the hanging. That's pretty clever, but I think I'm going to go with the decapitation.
_Radagast_ 05-25-07, 04:19 PM	Just another thought...you wouldn't happen to have any Lyrandar heirs in the party, would you? House Lyrandar seems to have a reasonable amount of diplomatic pull in Valenar- moreso, perhaps, than the Brelish crown might. If you have an heir in the party, you may be able to go through channels only available to House Lyrandar. Just my humble two cents. No Lyrander heirs in the party. But good thoughts. I read that also.
True_Atlantean 05-28-07, 07:46 AM	What you need is a Changeling with a death wish - a penitent perhaps, or a zealot, wanting to leave the Eberron in a final act of good. Can the party willingly allow another sentient to die (commit suicide) in order to serve a greater good? What if the Wizard sentenced to death is not a nice guy or even belittles the sacrifice made on his part? It could make for some serious role-playing, especially if the Crown has appropriated the Changeling specifically for this purpose, or if it is of the same faith as a party member. And remember that its death will only grant some escape time, as it will revert to natural form after the hanging takes and it dies. What then if the Changeling is later resurrected by the Crown (he has been raised or resurrected a few times now and the penitent face was just another act)? How does the party feel about the situation now? The Changeling has nothing to lose as he is simply brought back from the dead whenever anything goes awry (how does this twist the psyche? Does he actually yearn for a true death? Why does the Crown continually pay for this - what makes him so valuable?). Food for thought...
_Radagast_ 05-29-07, 03:41 PM	What you need is a Changeling with a death wish - a penitent perhaps, or a zealot, wanting to leave the Eberron in a final act of good. Can the party willingly allow another sentient to die (commit suicide) in order to serve a greater good? What if the Wizard sentenced to death is not a nice guy or even belittles the sacrifice made on his part? It could make for some serious role-playing, especially if the Crown has appropriated the Changeling specifically for this purpose, or if it is of the same faith as a party member. And remember that its death will only grant some escape time, as it will revert to natural form after the hanging takes and it dies. What then if the Changeling is later resurrected by the Crown (he has been raised or resurrected a few times now and the penitent face was just another act)? How does the party feel about the situation now? The Changeling has nothing to lose as he is simply brought back from the dead whenever anything goes awry (how does this twist the psyche? Does he actually yearn for a true death? Why does the Crown continually pay for this - what makes him so valuable?). Food for thought... True this is brilliant. I'm definitely throwing this in.
hecknoshow 05-31-07, 07:02 AM	I think they may focus on rescuing him before the execution. Burrowing can be done by an earth elemental (summoned,scroll) without any difficulty. obscuring mist is pretty useful for covering escape. Ghost sounds is great for distractions. Sleep should be really useful at that level. A decent rogue can bypass most casual nonmagical defenses and with a sap can nutralise unsuspecting gaurds. color spray is good. And don't forget the rope, lots of rope. All these are in the phb, if you have any splat books there should be even more options. Supplying the changeling is a bit extreme and seems a little like railroading the plot, although I love the idea of someone whos job is to die on a regular basis.
True_Atlantean 05-31-07, 07:08 AM	Supplying the changeling is a bit extreme and seems a little like railroading the plot, although I love the idea of someone whos job is to die on a regular basis. Depends on how it is handled of course, but I certainly concede the point that it allows fewer choices to the players. Although again, it depends on how the Changeling is used (or abused) and what sort of a focus is required for the game. As I said, food for thought.... Do with it as you will.
_Radagast_ 05-31-07, 04:48 PM	Supplying the changeling is a bit extreme and seems a little like railroading the plot... Not really at all. It's just an option. The point of the thread was to throw out as many options as possible for the PCs to solve the problem. It's not railroading to present a changeling who has a deathwish who the PCs may be able to use or not, as well as many other options. I just don't want the PCs to have to break him out by force... Of course if they come up with some other method, that's awesome too and may be a good excuse for an XP bonus.
Hopeless 06-01-07, 11:55 AM	Hi all! I need some help developing an encounter and I'm kind of stumped. Basically, the PCs are required to help someone escape from prison before that person is hanged at dawn the next morning. What I really need is some ideas to help me flesh out a pathway for the PCs to succeed without really drawing all the attention of the law. I want to think of a good method of them helping to person escape with as little combat as possible. Here is what the PCs know: A powerful wizard has been captured by Valenar authorities for crimes committed in Valenar and is to be hanged the next morning. But, Brelish authorities want this wizard alive and in their custody because the wizard knows a secret entrance of the Argonth mobile fortress (taken from a Sharn inquisitive a while back...) and can't let that secret die with the wizard for fear of another finding it out before they can fix it. Unfortunately, diplomacy hasn't worked for the Brelish diplomat and the Valenar won't release the wizard into his custody. So... this diplomat hires the PCs to break the wizard out and bring him to the Brelish. Basically, I need some help developing a method (or three) for the PCs to get into the prison and get the wizard out without them getting deep into combat and causing them to be the next in prison... One of the PCs MAY be a changeling (we haven't actually started the campaign yet), but I'd prefer if there were alternatives to the changeling method. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated! Thanks. Find out who performs the final rites before the execution using the excuse that it has to be of his faith and have them place an amulet around his neck as a religious token so once he's dead it can be returned with his remains as proof that his soul has passed on according to his family's religious beliefs. The amulet by the way is disguised by a nondetection or even psionic in nature so that the wizard upon death has his soul stored either in the amulet or transferred toa suitable receptacle so it can be perused at leisure to discover what he actually knows without the problem of him escaping in the meantime and as for good behavious they have his remains which if he proves this necessary can be raised or ressurected pending the superior's decision on the matter. Note last time I checked the Valenar would hardly refuse such a request since it fulfils their justice and they don't need to know exactly what the amulet's new owners want it for!
Elderich 06-09-07, 09:22 PM	Is the mage being held in an AMF? Anti magic manicals? or cell? How important is it that the trail does not lead back to breland? What will happen to your gaming group if they do not suceed? Is Brelish intelegence going to hand them a complete plan or are they going to make the plan up on there own? Do you want a chase scene? With Armies of undead skeletons?
OctaviusIII 06-10-07, 02:11 AM	A small version of the entrapping mirror (or whatever it's called) in the DMG would be perfect for smuggling out the prisoner. All you'd need is to see the guy, maybe through the cell window or on the way to the execution. The PCs speak the command word and reflect the sunlight on his face. When he looks at it he gets stored in the mirror. Then it's an escape through city streets after people notice what's happened. There's also some dust that covers tracks nonmagically in there, too. As for Valenar cities: yep, they're around, just few and far between.
Need_A_Life 06-11-07, 11:10 AM	Changeling with Scroll of disguise self sneaks in (disguised as a guard) and passes the paper through the bars and two "guards" walk out... then run the moment they're outside the prison. Change the evidence! Frame some innocent sucker for the crime. When he is being transported to the site of execution, ambush the guards and then make a run for it! Sneak over to his window and use hypnotism to learn the secret, then laugh knowing that when he dies you'll be the only one to know the secret weakness of Argonth... Make sure bad things happens to his corpse, so they never get a chance to fix it... at least not before you enjoy yourself, by leaving the Dark Lanterns scratching their heads.