adventure ideas needed [Archive] - Wizards Community

adventure ideas needed [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Tyrone
07-01-03, 08:30 AM i am about to start DMing an adventure for about 5-6 people of different races and classes. they are going to be starting a new guild in waterdeep(thieves guild) and i need some adventure ideas and plots to use with them. also any experiences you've all had as a dm or a party member being in a guild would be nice. by the way they are all starting at level 1.
thanks
:behold:
Dargoth
07-01-03, 08:36 AM Id look into Skullport, the Shadow Thieves and Elaith Craulnober
Derulbaskul
07-01-03, 09:01 AM Actually, you've picked a tough place to start a thieves guild, unless you're prepared to go underground... literally, to either Skullport or Undermountain (there are 2E accessories for both available to download from svgames.com or rpgnow.com).

Of course, it is your campaign but any reading you do will highlight Waterdeep's rulers will come down very hard on a thieves guild being established in their city. Because of that, ideas for adventures or plots don't really spring to mind, unless you want to set the party up as patsies for one of the noble families.

A scion of the family poses as a member of a second family and sponsors the party's guild in the second family's name. Of course, the whole idea is to discredit the second family... the party are just (not so) innocent pawns.

Personally, I would run this sort of campaign in another city to make sticking with canon a lot easier (eg, Luskan, north of Waterdeep- an evil city where a thieves guild could almost be run in a "Robin Hood"-like manner).
Herr Doktor
07-01-03, 11:58 AM Starting a thieves' guild in Waterdeep is horrendously dangerous. If you're set on the idea, here's what I'd do:

First, introduce the party to the Shadow Thieves. They will be working with several other guild members on establishing a base of operations in Waterdeep.

Use the Return from Exile (Plots and Rumors: Waterdeep) hook, and have the guild members run into a group of Lord sponsored adventurers, or an apprentice to Khelben Arunsun or something of that sort, and barely make it out of the scrabble alive.

The guild members then leave the city for some time, returning later to try and establish a new base of operations covertly in an upper layer of Undermountain. First the chambers the guild would like to use need to be cleared and made safe.

From there... who knows!

Generally though... I'd feel like it was a doomed cause. Unless they get some strong magic at their backs, and I mean STRONG there will be lots of pain in their immediate future.

Amulets of Proof against Detection will be a must.
Tyrone
07-01-03, 08:22 PM thanks for all the help. i have thought about using luskan but i don't know all that much about the city other then what i have read in the drizz't novels. the party are using an inn to disguise their guild, which is run in the lower levels(underground) might make that undermountain for fun. :smirk:
still kind of lost as to how to run the campainge as they can't really all venture out far.
Shade_agent
07-01-03, 09:21 PM If you're into dungeon crawlish adventures, perhaps adventures could mean assignments ( rich nobles, and merchants would have large houses, with magical traps, guards etc. Merchants would be ideal, since they may have powerful magic items in their possession, which could tie in with the overall plots of Faerun, perhaps their guild is payed to steal the item, by an otherwise lawful character, intent on keeping it from an organisation such as the Cult of the Dragon, that could introduce a race against time element too ).
The Shadow Thieves, and the Xanather Guild probably wouldn't be happy about the competition, and that could provide adventure hooks ( in the form of raids, and what not ).
The undermountian, or skullport would probably prove a better base of operations, since the authorities in Waterdeep are pretty tight about keeping out criminal operations. Though the dock ward would also be a good area, because the city watch doesn't have much of a presence there.
Derulbaskul
07-01-03, 10:18 PM Originally posted by Tyrone
(snip) still kind of lost as to how to run the campaign as they can't really all venture out far.

I agree and would also add that running a thieves guild-style campaign is really, REALLY difficult unless your players are prepared to do some of the work.

As for Luskan, there really isn't much about it other than what's in the Driz'zt novels. Other sources are the Arcane Brotherhood section of Lords of Darkness and then 2E products such as The North. The lack of detail makes it more attractive, IMO only of course.

Good luck!
Herr Doktor
07-02-03, 02:13 AM Originally posted by Derulbaskul
I agree and would also add that running a thieves guild-style campaign is really, REALLY difficult unless your players are prepared to do some of the work.

As for Luskan, there really isn't much about it other than what's in the Driz'zt novels. Other sources are the Arcane Brotherhood section of Lords of Darkness and then 2E products such as The North. The lack of detail makes it more attractive, IMO only of course.

Good luck!

Actually, I have just begun a thieves guild type campaign in Luskan and there is plenty of information. There are also well established roguish fellows, not to mention all the Arcane Brotherhood underlings who perform the organizations dirty operations.

Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (Luskan)
Lords of Darkness (Arcane Brotherhood)
Races of Faerūn (Human: Illuskan)
The North
The Savage Frontier
Volo's Guide to the North

All of the above are useful sources on lore about Luskan.
Derulbaskul
07-02-03, 03:47 AM Originally posted by Herr Doktor
Actually, I have just begun a thieves guild type campaign in Luskan and there is plenty of information. (snip) All of the above are useful sources on lore about Luskan.

Oops.

My apologies, I should have put my comment in the proper context in that there is a relative paucity of information on Luskan compared to Waterdeep however there is definitely more than enough to establish the flavour of the place.
Dungeon_Master
07-02-03, 06:10 PM I always thought the Baldur's Gate area was cool...

If you want dungeon crawls and world building, go for Icewind Dale.

If you want a mix of roleplaying opportunities and combat, Dalelands are pretty good. Were for me so far anyhow. Also, I'd say that the Dales are probably one of the most "New DM friendly" areas. Another "new DM friendly" area would be the Silver Marches, but I never tried using it.
Herr Doktor
07-03-03, 05:36 PM Luskan is a very good choice of setting because there are no strong guild houses currently operating in Luskan.
There is no major thieves guild in Luskan, but a few lesser organized gatherings exist, these are foremost the Darkenberries (an all-halfling thieves group), the Shadow-thieves (led by "King" Golgoth out of the Public Bath) and Hydra’s Hoard (a very small number of informants associated with the Kraken Society).
This leaves plenty of room in a major trading city for one to establish a thieves guild.

In my own solo-campaign involvling a certain ambitious young elven rogue who plans on starting his own guildhouse the PC has already been introduced to these groups and affiliated himself with Golgoth. Golgoth is a paraplegic, which makes things interesting, as the elf plans on one day taking control of the guild and starting it anew. To make things fair for Golgoth I've given him an Illithid ally who has been able to teach him psionics, making him not entirely helpless... something that should be a big suprise for the PC.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Tyrone 07-01-03, 08:30 AM	i am about to start DMing an adventure for about 5-6 people of different races and classes. they are going to be starting a new guild in waterdeep(thieves guild) and i need some adventure ideas and plots to use with them. also any experiences you've all had as a dm or a party member being in a guild would be nice. by the way they are all starting at level 1. thanks :behold:
Dargoth 07-01-03, 08:36 AM	Id look into Skullport, the Shadow Thieves and Elaith Craulnober
Derulbaskul 07-01-03, 09:01 AM	Actually, you've picked a tough place to start a thieves guild, unless you're prepared to go underground... literally, to either Skullport or Undermountain (there are 2E accessories for both available to download from svgames.com or rpgnow.com). Of course, it is your campaign but any reading you do will highlight Waterdeep's rulers will come down very hard on a thieves guild being established in their city. Because of that, ideas for adventures or plots don't really spring to mind, unless you want to set the party up as patsies for one of the noble families. A scion of the family poses as a member of a second family and sponsors the party's guild in the second family's name. Of course, the whole idea is to discredit the second family... the party are just (not so) innocent pawns. Personally, I would run this sort of campaign in another city to make sticking with canon a lot easier (eg, Luskan, north of Waterdeep- an evil city where a thieves guild could almost be run in a "Robin Hood"-like manner).
Herr Doktor 07-01-03, 11:58 AM	Starting a thieves' guild in Waterdeep is horrendously dangerous. If you're set on the idea, here's what I'd do: First, introduce the party to the Shadow Thieves. They will be working with several other guild members on establishing a base of operations in Waterdeep. Use the Return from Exile (Plots and Rumors: Waterdeep) hook, and have the guild members run into a group of Lord sponsored adventurers, or an apprentice to Khelben Arunsun or something of that sort, and barely make it out of the scrabble alive. The guild members then leave the city for some time, returning later to try and establish a new base of operations covertly in an upper layer of Undermountain. First the chambers the guild would like to use need to be cleared and made safe. From there... who knows! Generally though... I'd feel like it was a doomed cause. Unless they get some strong magic at their backs, and I mean STRONG there will be lots of pain in their immediate future. Amulets of Proof against Detection will be a must.
Tyrone 07-01-03, 08:22 PM	thanks for all the help. i have thought about using luskan but i don't know all that much about the city other then what i have read in the drizz't novels. the party are using an inn to disguise their guild, which is run in the lower levels(underground) might make that undermountain for fun. :smirk: still kind of lost as to how to run the campainge as they can't really all venture out far.
Shade_agent 07-01-03, 09:21 PM	If you're into dungeon crawlish adventures, perhaps adventures could mean assignments ( rich nobles, and merchants would have large houses, with magical traps, guards etc. Merchants would be ideal, since they may have powerful magic items in their possession, which could tie in with the overall plots of Faerun, perhaps their guild is payed to steal the item, by an otherwise lawful character, intent on keeping it from an organisation such as the Cult of the Dragon, that could introduce a race against time element too ). The Shadow Thieves, and the Xanather Guild probably wouldn't be happy about the competition, and that could provide adventure hooks ( in the form of raids, and what not ). The undermountian, or skullport would probably prove a better base of operations, since the authorities in Waterdeep are pretty tight about keeping out criminal operations. Though the dock ward would also be a good area, because the city watch doesn't have much of a presence there.
Derulbaskul 07-01-03, 10:18 PM	Originally posted by Tyrone (snip) still kind of lost as to how to run the campaign as they can't really all venture out far. I agree and would also add that running a thieves guild-style campaign is really, REALLY difficult unless your players are prepared to do some of the work. As for Luskan, there really isn't much about it other than what's in the Driz'zt novels. Other sources are the Arcane Brotherhood section of Lords of Darkness and then 2E products such as The North. The lack of detail makes it more attractive, IMO only of course. Good luck!
Herr Doktor 07-02-03, 02:13 AM	Originally posted by Derulbaskul I agree and would also add that running a thieves guild-style campaign is really, REALLY difficult unless your players are prepared to do some of the work. As for Luskan, there really isn't much about it other than what's in the Driz'zt novels. Other sources are the Arcane Brotherhood section of Lords of Darkness and then 2E products such as The North. The lack of detail makes it more attractive, IMO only of course. Good luck! Actually, I have just begun a thieves guild type campaign in Luskan and there is plenty of information. There are also well established roguish fellows, not to mention all the Arcane Brotherhood underlings who perform the organizations dirty operations. Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (Luskan) Lords of Darkness (Arcane Brotherhood) Races of Faerūn (Human: Illuskan) The North The Savage Frontier Volo's Guide to the North All of the above are useful sources on lore about Luskan.
Derulbaskul 07-02-03, 03:47 AM	Originally posted by Herr Doktor Actually, I have just begun a thieves guild type campaign in Luskan and there is plenty of information. (snip) All of the above are useful sources on lore about Luskan. Oops. My apologies, I should have put my comment in the proper context in that there is a relative paucity of information on Luskan compared to Waterdeep however there is definitely more than enough to establish the flavour of the place.
Dungeon_Master 07-02-03, 06:10 PM	I always thought the Baldur's Gate area was cool... If you want dungeon crawls and world building, go for Icewind Dale. If you want a mix of roleplaying opportunities and combat, Dalelands are pretty good. Were for me so far anyhow. Also, I'd say that the Dales are probably one of the most "New DM friendly" areas. Another "new DM friendly" area would be the Silver Marches, but I never tried using it.
Herr Doktor 07-03-03, 05:36 PM	Luskan is a very good choice of setting because there are no strong guild houses currently operating in Luskan. There is no major thieves guild in Luskan, but a few lesser organized gatherings exist, these are foremost the Darkenberries (an all-halfling thieves group), the Shadow-thieves (led by "King" Golgoth out of the Public Bath) and Hydra’s Hoard (a very small number of informants associated with the Kraken Society). This leaves plenty of room in a major trading city for one to establish a thieves guild. In my own solo-campaign involvling a certain ambitious young elven rogue who plans on starting his own guildhouse the PC has already been introduced to these groups and affiliated himself with Golgoth. Golgoth is a paraplegic, which makes things interesting, as the elf plans on one day taking control of the guild and starting it anew. To make things fair for Golgoth I've given him an Illithid ally who has been able to teach him psionics, making him not entirely helpless... something that should be a big suprise for the PC.