| Post/Author/DateTime | Post |
|---|---|
| Britt02-26-07, 12:47 PM | I have a few projects I need to work on in the next several months; however, I have trouble writing if I don't have some nifty concept to propel me. So, anyone have any clever, interesting, unique, or other adjectival adventure concepts? |
| bitznarf02-26-07, 12:59 PM | Gnomes. |
| Britt02-26-07, 12:59 PM | That's a given. |
| MatteBlack02-26-07, 01:47 PM | An overland race/chase? |
| gomeztoo02-26-07, 01:56 PM | I actually proposed such an idea once for a cross-TSS/VVTF metaregional special, where two captains have a race with their ships across the arctic seas and the Solnor, from Ekbir to Dullstrand. It failed 'cause people though it wasn't very realistic and the ships had to pass through core area. Maybe it would work if we involve all the meta-regions with areas on the sea (VTF, Iuz Lands, Nyrond, TSS). Pirates, polar bears, ice-ridden storms, lacedons and evil gnomes! Arrr! Shiver me timbers! |
| evilaustintom02-26-07, 02:33 PM | I'll just throw a few ideas out... Look at the deities document - pull out a god that hasn't been used (or rarely used), and go with that. Often times, it leads to interesting encounters or plots (such as another thread's mention of Incabulous and the Riders). A friend pointed out an interesting experiment in LG writing a few years back. I believe it was a double-round core module (or adaptable?) that took place entirely on a boat. That leads to an idea of an entire adventure taking place in a 'room' or similar enclosed area. That particular event was a double-round module, and it still was fun. With just the map of the Rhenee barge, you played for 6-8 hours. Leading off of that, make an adventure that is a static environmental mod. Perhaps one where you have to 'defend the village' or 'protect the boat'. Maybe keep it as a murder mystery, where the entire household is locked into a manor house, kept there by a nasty snowstorm (or other outside threat). Putting an NPC into the group mix makes for good roleplaying options. A wizard's familiar directing the party...a drunken sailor who is trying to recount the previous night's bar hops...a lowly goblin who is the only one who knows where his former ogre master's lair is...or even a diplomat who is very critical of 'adventurers', and constantly critiques the PC's actions (and one of the party's goals is to convince him of their benefits). PCs forced to interact with NPCs (and not just club them into unconsciousness) can make things fun and interesting (although you can never COMPLETELY rule out clubbing). Try opening up the Greyhawk Gazetteer and pulling out some old tales or rumors - base the adventure off of that (or rather, what REALLY happened). Put the PCs into some sort of profession. Bouncers for a bar. Running an inn while the owner is away. I played an old Yeomanry module that involved the group competition of building a bridge vs another NPC group. The PCs could even start out and select who they wanted to support in the bridge-building race (my BK character went to build for the highest paying employer, who was an 'evil land baron' kind of NPC). Perhaps you can get the PC's heart strings tied up. Have a 'love interest' - which could be welcomed or spurned by the PC. Pick an exotic location for encounters. I wrote an old 1st edition D&D adventure involving a ship-wrecked boat on a glacier. At the end of the module, the ship dramatically slipped off the ice and sank to the depths of the ocean just after the PCs jumped for the safety of the ice. Years later, I wrote a follow-up adventure, involving PCs travelling by sled up to that same location in the ice where the boat sank (helped by aquatic creatures and magic). They had to use rubber-like tubes to breath air at the surface (it was low level adventure, so only a few parties had access to magic that would allow them to swim underwater). They had to search out the ship again, now underwater for two years. Returning to a location in a previous module can be neat as well. And exotic locations always help spark my imagination. In any case...maybe something I mentioned sparked an idea. Good luck! Tom Thowe Occasional LG writer |
| trollbill02-26-07, 02:44 PM | Three words...Fiendish...Dire...Kobolds! |
| Mithreinmaethor02-26-07, 02:47 PM | Ok this will seem silly to you. But back in the 80's I played a module at a convention with a "funny for the times" theme. At one point in the adventure we found a secret door that opened into a maze. We all went through and found that it was a one way door unfortunately. Well there were these silver ingots floating about waist high every few feet. And these glowing gold orbs in the 4 corners of the maze. And you hear the sound of "walka walka walka". I am sure some of you will figure it out :) Needless to say we lost the greedy little thief because he wanted those ingots and orbs. It was fun. It might have been an old RPGA event because it had premade characters and you had a time limit in the module. The teams that got the furthest in the mod the fastest won some prizes. |
| LGMoses02-26-07, 03:29 PM | from the Greyhawk mods I've played, we need to do some clearing out of bandits hired by turrosh mak harrassing adventuring parties. |
| bitznarf02-26-07, 03:59 PM | from the Greyhawk mods I've played, we need to do some clearing out of bandits hired by turrosh mak harrassing adventuring parties. And get rid of all the XP packs that are just lying around? |
| kenobi6502-26-07, 04:00 PM | An adventure in which the PCs keep encountering NPCs who are "not quite famous." The PCs are hired by a group of not-quite-powerful wizards, the Octagon of Eight: "Wow! The Circle of Eight wants us to do something for them!" "No, actually, we're the Octagon of Eight. There's always been some confusion between the two groups. We like to think of ourselves as being more in touch with the common adventurer than the Circle. In fact, we've found that we sort of need to really steer clear of the Circle...they don't like us much. Something about trademark infringement..." They then have to thwart the plans of not-entirely-competent villains, like Zaree the Trader and his lieutenant Rollibar. |
| Mortepierre02-26-07, 05:38 PM | Return to the Isle of the Ape. You can't go wrong with Oonga :D Alternatively, Return to the Forbidden City. With more ties to the Black Brotherhood, of course. Going up against the SB is fun but common these days. Against the BB, on the other hand, that's a different story... |
| Mommy was an Orc02-26-07, 06:00 PM | What I'd like to see is a mod where the mod says something along the lines of: "This mod is aimed primarily at characters who can do things outside of combat. Characters whose only purpose is to beat things up may leave their players bored." |
| solbergb02-26-07, 06:14 PM | I've seen quite a few interactives with blurbs like that. I've seen several where the ability of the party to get OTHER people to do stuff is more important than what the individuals can do too, but that wasn't reflected in the blurb. (I played one minimission that would have been a fantastic interactive, but we got a very nonlinear result because we had a smaller party than expected with a skill mix AND character personality/goal mix that didn't mesh with how the mod was supposed to go. We had a pretty good time, although our characters were very frustrated at the stupidity of the commoners :)) And some, such as Storms Ebb, which indicate that noncombat skills are important for overall success. When people twist my arm and force me to write, I usually try to do something that would be perfectly normal in another genre but is unusual in D&D - take people out of their comfort zone a little while still being fun. I ran a minimission that was pretty much "evil superteam robs the bank" plot from Champions, complete with a fight in a pottery shop, a chase seen in a crowded city constructed entirely of flammable wood, interfering and proud NPC commoners who were both helpful and a nuisance, lots of witnesses and "police" who will be much more sympathetic if you resolve the problem WITHOUT massive property damage/bloodshed and bad guys whose main goal was extortion before the PC's show up and escape when PC's show up, rather than slaughtering everything in sight and trying to end the world. That mod was also intended to showcase some regional flavor, so the different NPC reactions (official and unofficial) was a big part of the mod, as was the chance for the PC's to get a reputation in that region. I remember how pleased a pair of elves were at my table once when they proudly informed the party that they couldn't enter any major cities in the Pale because they were wanted for questioning. (Had it been important that they enter, I'm sure they would have managed a disguise, just like how most PC's act in the BK) It was a lot of fun to run, and it went over pretty well the one convention it played at. My wife keeps trying to get me to write a plot involving rival wizards who know animate object...there are some very funny scenes in there that are nonetheless very dangerous. Stuff where victory by defeat of the bad guys isn't the whole goal - doing it *cleanly* is the goal (no innocents killed, houses/groves burned down, demons released etc) or where reputation is on the line is usually fun. There's a concept I put in the mouth of Lord Robilar but applies strongly to high level play. "After a while death is just a setback, and to really punish somebody you have to take away their toys. At a certain point even equipment is easily replaced, and even the most permanent of death is just a true ressurection away. At that point, it is reputation and reputation alone that matters." "I can't be ignored. Anything I do gets immediate attention by the Powers in the world. That is my proudest accomplishment. An injury to my reputation is far worse than any physical threat." In Pendragon, experiance was "glory" and you got more by having a noble woman present to show off to, and even more if a bard/skald was watching to sing your praises. Give PC's a chance to shine or fall flat on their face in front of witnesses whose opinions they care about, be it the small child begging you to save its parents or the the ghost of a cool canonnical character, or the direct representative of a cleric's deity. Make it more than an AR entry, make it happen while the PC's are oncamera. Heroic PC's, though, at least, like to strut their stuff in front of ordinary folks and get cheers. But having the witnesses there means innocents to threaten - adjust the CR's appropriately if the real goal is to prevent harm, not just beat the bad guys. That's my advice. It's harder to do in a living campaign, but it isn't impossible. |
| Madfox1102-26-07, 06:22 PM | You could always try something with dark fey... fey adventures seem to be a love or hate type of thing with little middleground ;) |
| Shieldhart9102-26-07, 06:23 PM | Adamantine Beer Mug? |
| Lomiat02-26-07, 08:44 PM | Britt, If you're looking for ideas for IUZ metaregionals, I'd honestly like to see a return to some of the bread-and-butter evil outsier and undead stuff before newcomers get the wrong impression about the evils that threaten them. If you're looking for ideas for stuff other than IUZ metaregionals, ignore the above. And while this thread is about what to INCLUDE, rather than what to *avoid*, I thought I'd mention that the campaign has more than its share of Cadaver Collectors and Wail of the Banshee traps right now. Those can wait for another year. In the meantime, while Thom and solbergb gave some excellent advice, there's always the option of looking through the Monster Manual collection, picking out something you like, and designing a coherent adventure to highlight it. In fact, as Thom indirectly suggested, an LG adventure is limited enough in its scope that you can build it around nearly any concept. Madhouse was a lot of fun as many of the newer IUZ mods have been, but they lack the sense of danger, urgency, and direct action that many other IUZ mods offer to adventurers concerned with the direction of the metaregion. Perhaps there will be a way for PCs to take advantage of Iuz's distraction in the Abyss by pursuing an opportunity to take out one of the Lesser Boneguard - something like that. |
| nony2klerch02-26-07, 09:44 PM | The Five Blades of Corusk....there is a whole cult of Vatunites that would be overjoyed to hear one of the blades had been found....Who knows, it's been 10+ years since we've had a god reappear... |
| Gwumph02-26-07, 10:26 PM | I gotta second that suggestion of "Defend" Nothing brings a group together like having a short time prepare to defend for their lives. It's also greatly heroic stuff!! Rouke's Rift, that Hill in korea etc etc. Small group defending against overwhelming numbers. Various terrain could make this even better. Also tactics would have to vary alot from Apl to Apl but I think forcing the PC to make a choice to fight or run and then pressuring them will make for some great heroics. Recently in a game our party druid who never ever ever fights, got put in a situation where he had to draw his sword and step in. After the battle he was so chuffed to have been in melle and get in a couple good twacks. |
| UMiskatonic02-26-07, 10:56 PM | Things that I don't have time to write, but you might...... 1) NPCs that actually try to be helpful. They should at least have some useful information, or realistically try to ease your burden. (more of a grip actually) "We saw an ogre, and no one around here is equipped to deal with that, but here's what it looked like, and Leroth here can show you where he saw it, as long as you're willing to go with him. We can't pay you much, but we can introduce you to the local fey prince, who knows a lot of useful things, and anytime you're in town you can eat for free" 2) Write a mod where everyone in town wants the McGuffin. Easy to set it in Greyhawk, and have everyone in town offer to take the really powerful magic item, after someone planted it on the PCs to get rid of it (and all the people following its location). Make it something really good, like a robe of the archmagi. The interested parties will all lie about all of the other parties, of course. See Maltese Falcon for details. 3) Write a mod where PC's enter the cursed tomb of whomever, and easily get to the treasure. Then, the curse goes off and shrinks the PCs to REALLY tiny. Than open up with all the giant-sized version of things like bees, which they ignored on the way in. 4) Have a evil summoner cast something like Planar Ally, and pull the PCs in someplace really weird. You could have a githyanki sorceror, or whatever, and request help from the PCs against his enemies the slaad. (or anybody, really) 5) Write a regional adventure where the PCs are in the tavern, as per usual. Have some high level wizard project an image, and announce "Reinforcements are needed immediately on the left flank for the worthy cause of X. Prepare to leave in 12 seconds." Have some high-level dude show up, (Circle of 8?), ioun stones a whirlin', and drop them in the middle of some crazy battle. Explain afterward. 6) I want a battle so epic that the vrocks circle slowly overhead, waiting for thier chance to scavenge among the fallen. 7) I want a battle that involves swinging from ropes, and leaping from rickety platforms. I think a deep, open pit mine where all the sides have rickety wooden scaffolding would be ideal. 8) I want an adventure where PCs get on a boat, and nothing bad happens. Good luck |
| magebeast02-26-07, 11:38 PM | 8) I want an adventure where PCs get on a boat, and nothing bad happens. Such a mod currently exists, but the boat plays only a very small role. |
| bitznarf02-27-07, 12:07 AM | 8) I want an adventure where PCs get on a boat, and nothing bad happens. I've actually had this. Once. |
| rockondon02-27-07, 12:55 AM | 3) Write a mod where PC's enter the cursed tomb of whomever, and easily get to the treasure. Then, the curse goes off and shrinks the PCs to REALLY tiny. Than open up with all the giant-sized version of things like bees, which they ignored on the way in. ha ha this idea is awesome. |
| pedr02-27-07, 03:29 AM | 3) Write a mod where PC's enter the cursed tomb of whomever, and easily get to the treasure. Then, the curse goes off and shrinks the PCs to REALLY tiny. Than open up with all the giant-sized version of things like bees, which they ignored on the way in.Heh. At GenCon 05 I played a highly entertaining three-round NASCRAG tournament with quite a similar plot-line: You were various inhabitants of a castle and suddenly you're told 'The King's missing! We're all looking for him, but you've got to look after his (toddler) son as the nanny's missing too'. Unfortunately it was the half-fey son himself who had shrunk the king and the nanny 'because they were too big to play toy soldiers with normally'. Unsurprisingly he shrinks you, too, and you have to find the King, while about 6" high. The party's druid's mouse animal companion doesn't shrink, and becomes the largest member of the party - and much high-jinks ensues! |
| cycloptic_squirrel02-27-07, 04:00 AM | 1) Surgical strike. E.g. The majority of a warmage academy is off to fight a battle, the PCs can use such an opportunity to eliminate an important sage/loremaster who resides at the academy. Stealth, subterfuge, and planning will allow bypassing of most combats; while a full frontal assault will result in a huge, but winnable battle, with several of the comabats being at or below APL, such that they drain resources, but allow the PCs to feel like the powerhouses they are. A similar setup would work for a jailbreak scenario as well. 2) More of pre-adventure combat, but interesting. The PCs are asked to escort a caged rust monster as a gift to a king, court wizard, or zoo or something. Along the journey, they are ambushed by an iron golem or four, something APL+(3-4) EL. Give the party a round or two to prep.They should realize that this battle is possibly winnable alone, but there's a much higher chance if they let the rust monster out; but then the party also has to keep the rust monster alive (buffing, healing, etc.), as well as having to deal with the rust monster after the golems are taken care of. 3) It's strongly recommended to avoid clichés, but with this so ingrained throughout D&D, there are some things I've never actually experienced but would enjoy playing out once. I might be alone in this, but I would enjoy a module with cryptic blurb about a celebration in the north country; but when the PCs arrive, they find out that an evil dragon has taken the princess and will surely eat her within a day or two. She is most certainly doomed unless a group of adventurers can save her. Que up classic fantasy music, slay the dragon, save the princess, and be revered as heroes throughout the kingdom. Most players might expect a plot twist, only this time, there is no plot twist. No question as to the evil dragon's motivations, no hints that the queen is actually in league with the dragon, no moral dilemmas such as saving the princess will cause some other undesirable consequence. The PCs are heroes who did a mighty deed. And there was much rejoicing. |
| Mortepierre02-27-07, 08:12 AM | 3) Write a mod where PC's enter the cursed tomb of whomever, and easily get to the treasure. Then, the curse goes off and shrinks the PCs to REALLY tiny. Than open up with all the giant-sized version of things like bees, which they ignored on the way in. If you can get your hands on the old #18 issue of Dungeon magazine, be sure to read Chadranter's Bane. It's tailor-made to your suggestion ;) |
| kegdrainer02-27-07, 09:17 AM | Britt, Its hard to beat the classics. 1.) A continuing task, like Hercules. 10-12 tasks to be finished over the course of a few mods (3-4) The tasks require more than just magic or a good sword. Diplomacy to get a person freed from prison, someone to help rebuild a village, etc. 2.) Save the village from raiding bandits like the Seven Samurai. 3.) An adventurer is mistaken for a lost ruler/villian. 4.) Part of a battle and are given objectives to achieve. Success determines what the next objective is and the results of the battle. Just a few thoughts. |
| smerwin2902-27-07, 09:17 AM | There's a retired Keoland adventure where they get shrunk, and there is a chance that they remain small. |
| MatteBlack02-27-07, 09:47 AM | I have to say that the defense/seven samurai concept could be a very good one. No story path to fall off. You could have investigation and skill use help make the fight easier or just allow the powergamey types to slog through tougher fights if they don't prepare. |
| magebeast02-27-07, 10:36 AM | Most players might expect a plot twist, only this time, there is no plot twist. No question as to the evil dragon's motivations, no hints that the queen is actually in league with the dragon, no moral dilemmas such as saving the princess will cause some other undesirable consequence. The PCs are heroes who did a mighty deed. And there was much rejoicing. IMO this would be even better if there WERE hints, but they amount to nothing. |
| pneumatik02-27-07, 12:33 PM | I'd like to play a murder mystery adventure where the killer isn't decided by the mod, but instead by the players. There are multiple clues that point to different people. Some of the clues are only found if the PCs start to follow the trail of some of the initial clues. Great search / spot / gather info / diplo / etc. checks lead to more clues, but if you don't make good checks you still find some clues, and come to conclusion concerning who the murderer is. At low levels PCs don't have a lot of magics that can read minds or perform other acts of divination. At higher levels, the NPCs need to be powerful enough to protect themselves from divinations, and the murder act itself may need to be protected by divine interference. The idea is to have an investigative mod where players do more than walk from person to person, learning bits of the story of what actually happened. Only the killer knows what actually happened, and s/he's not talking. In those mods, players usually know at the end that they did the right thing. In the type of mod I describe, they have to make judgment calls and may end up worrying that they did the wrong thing. Force the PCs to be judges in a Rashomon-like trial (only the PCs also investigate, as well). |
| Genghis Cohen02-27-07, 08:40 PM | I'd like to see more mods that mildly punish LG metagaming and reward decisions that are rare in LG, but common in home campaigns. "We can't steal the gold because its way over the cap..." "Use all of your spells because this is the third encounter so there won't be any more fights..." I'd also like to see PCs rewarded for maxing out skills that no one in LG ever maxes out. Appraise, Sleight of Hand or Use Rope come to mind. Don't make a mod need these skills to succeed, but if a PC can do something with that skill, make the mod easier and provide something special on the AR. How about a mod that's modeled after old I Love Lucy episodes? Balance checks while stomping on the grapes? Dex checks to box the candy, or when that fails, fort checks to swallow it? |
| UMiskatonic02-28-07, 10:41 AM | One of our former Triad members wanted to write a mod where, like in Raiders of the Ark, the difficulty was getting OUT of the dungeon. Preferably while being chased by something TRULY horrible, of such EL busting power that even combat-types would be inclined to leave. Of course, maybe there's enough gear stashed in the maze to eventually allow you to beat the thing, but that's up to you. |
| rockondon02-28-07, 11:05 AM | make a mod like those Saw movies. The PCs wake up chained up or something and have X rounds to escape before the big nasty happens. Then they have to save NPCs quickly or watch them get ripped apart. |
| smerwin2902-28-07, 11:42 AM | Someone accused me of ripping off the Saw movies in an XE mod I wrote, but I have never seen the movies. |
| RBNMare02-28-07, 12:16 PM | There's a retired Keoland adventure where they get shrunk, and there is a chance that they remain small. That is true, one of the guys in my home group has that curse. He is a 9th level wizard. He took his curse like a champ and plays to its benifits. It is kind of odd though having a small Elven wizard running around. I second the idea of the battle over a pit or something, with bridges and ropes and stuff like that. Makes Balance, climb, jump all that much more important. Good luck in whatever you decide |
| mlund02-28-07, 12:52 PM | I've been interested in fleshing out a concept of a Clocktower Dungeon for a few weeks now. I had it in mind that this was created by denizens of the Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus as part of a compact with an obsessed wizard that owned the local manor. His obsession with time and schedule eventually lead him to treating his serfs and peasants as automatons and a brutal rebellion left his castle and manor in ruins. But the Clocktower, built by extraplanar hands and conforming to arcane geometries, survived unscathed and still keeps perfect time over the ruins over a century later ... Lots of opportunities for Climbing, Balancing, Bullrushing, and the like as players climb over "floors" of moving parts and try to avoid losing life or limb between massive crushing gears. Moreover, particular denizens and wards will make approaches like "we'll just fly / teleport / dimension door to the top" prohibitive. - Marty Lund |
| UMiskatonic02-28-07, 04:14 PM | Be careful with that one.... I GREATLY prefer higher level adventures that -require- you do to high-level things. "You were hired because the clock tower is a horrible whirling, grinding place of gears that can mash bones" I really don't like higher level adventures that take away all of your higher level abilities, and make you, in effect, lower level characters. "In the clocktower, summoning spells of any kind are forbidden, and the entire place is under a dimensional lock. This also shuts down any extradimensional spaces. Divination magic is banned, and everyone takes four negative levels unless they are evil. If you attempt to gether information about the clocktower, you gain 'Curse of the Clocktower' on your AR. And, make a saving throw because every inch of the place is coated with contact poison." |
| mlund02-28-07, 04:49 PM | Be careful with that one.... I GREATLY prefer higher level adventures that -require- you do to high-level things. Let's not confuse "requiring you to do high-level things," with "making the most popular mid-to-high level spells the solution to every problem." Writers should be well aware of the capabilities of such spells when writing modules that are supposed to challenge characters of a variety of levels on a sliding scale. If getting somewhere is a major challenge of the adventure the module either has to cap out prematurely or have some sort of contingency for, say Teleport. This could be Dimension Lock. This could be sequential activations or scattered clues. There are a ton of variables to be had that keep things interesting - just so long as you plan ahead. I really don't like higher level adventures that take away all of your higher level abilities, and make you, in effect, lower level characters. I don't think anyone seriously suggested this. Of course, there will always be players who complain about they are being "forced to play below their level" due to a monster's touch attacks or grapple attempts ignoring the AC bonus of their Mithral Fullplate +5 and the like. I personally think limiting the effectiveness of travel magic in an arcane tower is not an undue burden on the players and is rather in-flavor for the setting. Moreover it allows encounters to be weighted based on terrain factors rather than the Hit Dice and Attacks of the inhabiting monsters. Fly is easy to mitigate if you make sure there isn't a straight shot up the building. Having to navigate various ceilings makes this fun. As long as the encounters aren't foolishly ground-bound with no ranged attacks it won't defeat the encounter by itself. Teleport is such a common threat to castles that anyone worth his salt wards his inner sanctum against random punk 9th level Wizards. It'll be great for getting out of a pinch of helping regroup after a nasty fall, though. Dimension Door is a great spell, but if the terrain is in constant motion your mileage may vary more than normal. :) - Marty Lund |
| trollbill02-28-07, 05:10 PM | It's also greatly heroic stuff!! Rouke's Rift That would be Rorke's Drift, Pilgrim. (Zulu is one of my all time favorite movies). Of course, there is this little know fortification in the Disputed Territories of the Principality of Ulek known as Rourk's Redoubt...and the Principality has just started it's reclamation of the DT...so one does wonder...;) I did a scenario like this in my 2E days. The PCs had to defend a village stockade against an army of goblins. The truly inspiring moment came when the village elder, who told the PCs this wasn't their fight and the villagers had no right to ask them to die for them, asked the PCs to ride for help so that he wouldn't have to send an able bodied man (or boy) to do it. The PCs insisted on staying and fighting while the elder's grandson rode for help. |
| Eric Anondson02-28-07, 05:40 PM | How about adventures with more exotic terrain. Such as extreme heights; giving monks value for that slow fall ability, or sky high adventures with aerial encounters, say in the Astral Plane or Elemental Plane of Air or thousands of feet about the Flanaess. - A mini-campaign of sort, say a series of 3-4 linked mods in exotic Greyhawk locations, like Fireland or Southern Hepmonaland. - Dig in to the history of old Aerdy, especially the artifacts from era of the rise of the Great Kingdom. The Machine of Lum the Mad, the Mighty Servant of Leuk-O, or the Orbs of Dragonkind. If not using those specific artifacts, something around the hunters of those artifacts or maybe a location shaped by the use of those artifacts. Maybe invent a new artifact for that era and a story around it. - Something on Greyhawk saints other than St. Cuthbert. Such as St. Ceril, St. Kargoth, St. Benedor, St. Bane. |
| cycloptic_squirrel03-01-07, 01:49 AM | other than St. Cuthbert. Such as St. Ceril, St. Kargoth, St. Benedor, St. Bane. Good old saint Bender. Patron saint of drinking, stealing everything not bolted down, and girder bending. Well, any bending in general, I guess. Wonder how his petition for godhood is going... |
| SgtHulka03-01-07, 08:57 AM | How about a heist? The Italion Job or Ocean's 11 in Greyhawk. The trick would be to maintain a need for the iconic classes, perhaps looking for inspiration in the iconic heist classes...the brains, the muscle, the safe-cracker, the second-story man, the getaway driver, etc. And it's always fun to have the local Thieve's Guild find out and want to assassinate you for infringing on their monopoly. |
| Cardinal Teplin03-01-07, 09:14 AM | Or if you want to keep on the good side, get the PCs to foil a heist, only to be trapped, with the theives, in the middle of whatever complex they were trying to rob. The PCs have to catch the theives while avoiding the traps and guardians, as well as find their own way out (with captive theives? could be trickey?) I like an adventure where you get to know the villains before you kill them, and clever plans are available to both sides. Putting a lot of traps and danger areas in a sealed complex with known foes allows the PCs to get creative. Possible spins: The PCs are the theives, the villains are the defenders of the (evil) temple. One of the villains is a double agent friendly to the PCs. They can tell the PCs how to get out, but the PCs don't know which one they are, and they don't know who the PCs are. The PCs can identify the double agent with a gubbin/password/specialist knowledge/etc but doing so to the wrong one, or to the villains at large, will blow their agent's cover. The villains will also be attempting to frame the PCs for the break in. The villains may suggest teaming up to find the exit, but warn the PCs they will fight them *as soon as it is found*. This could be a fun low-level game, or a high level one (stealing the sacred gubbin from the temple of x on the para-elemental plane of y. Because of the sealed nature of the area, the plot can be as non-linear as you like. H |
| rockondon03-01-07, 12:10 PM | how about a mod where the PCs have to kill evil babies? /trying to stir up trouble. how about the PCs go back in time and have to protect Bigby, except Bigby is a newborn baby and his favorite plaything is a toy hand his mommy gave him. The baddies are coming so the PCs have to make sure he lives to become a legend. |
| kenobi6503-01-07, 12:12 PM | Good old saint Bender. Patron saint of drinking, stealing everything not bolted down, and girder bending. Well, any bending in general, I guess. Wonder how his petition for godhood is going... WHOOOOO! I work with a young woman whose last name is Bender. Every once in a while, I do the "Bender voice" for her, and I think she thinks I'm nuts. :D |
| kenobi6503-01-07, 12:13 PM | how about the PCs go back in time and have to protect Bigby, except Bigby is a newborn baby and his favorite plaything is a toy hand his mommy gave him. Giving rise to the lesser-known cantrip, "Bigby's Suckable Thumb." |
| trollbill03-01-07, 12:39 PM | Or if you want to keep on the good side, get the PCs to foil a heist Nothin evil about heisting Turrash Mak's warchest. |
| qstor03-03-07, 08:24 AM | Drelzna |
| bhale18703-03-07, 04:30 PM | I'd like to play a murder mystery adventure where the killer isn't decided by the mod, but instead by the players. There are multiple clues that point to different people. Some of the clues are only found if the PCs start to follow the trail of some of the initial clues. Great search / spot / gather info / diplo / etc. checks lead to more clues, but if you don't make good checks you still find some clues, and come to conclusion concerning who the murderer is. At low levels PCs don't have a lot of magics that can read minds or perform other acts of divination. At higher levels, the NPCs need to be powerful enough to protect themselves from divinations, and the murder act itself may need to be protected by divine interference. The idea is to have an investigative mod where players do more than walk from person to person, learning bits of the story of what actually happened. Only the killer knows what actually happened, and s/he's not talking. In those mods, players usually know at the end that they did the right thing. In the type of mod I describe, they have to make judgment calls and may end up worrying that they did the wrong thing. Force the PCs to be judges in a Rashomon-like trial (only the PCs also investigate, as well). I am currently about 2/3 of the way through a 2 round Intro mod for my region that uses alot of the concepts you've described. At the end of the adventure you will not ever really know who is responsible since no one admits to it. Also there is evidence against several people so you can't be sure what was planted or falsified testimony. |
| cetiken03-03-07, 11:33 PM | Flying Carpets are cool. So are dinosaurs. More seriously, I think it'd be awesome to have an adventure where the PCs wind up in Sigil (The City of Pain of planescape fame) and have to figure out how to find a portal back home from the bizarre inhabitants of that town. Then they could fight a mad wizard on a carpet and a pack of dinosaurs. Cause they're cool. |
| chesspiece03-04-07, 11:32 AM | Battle on a cliff-face. I did this as a 2e ~level4 off-the-cuff adventure once and it went over well. Fighting against a warren of weak humanoids (kobolds? Jermalaine?). Need to use existing ropes to ascend / descend to cavern complex while they sling / drop / throw stones at you. Probably need to sell / give some scrolls (invis, feather fall, spider climb, levitate, web) to avoid falling deaths. Hide – don’t seek Many adventures involve finding & retrieving the McGuffins. What about concealing them? A wizard can cloak each of several items for a limited time. In that time limit, you must bring the item to an area that is known for magical instability and conceal it. The local instability (wild magic, anti-magic) will help to keep the item concealed. At the end, magic won’t work so need to use skills & equipment to overcome an environment obstacle (even if higher level). Recommend against a final monster encounter so as not to overshadow spellcasters. Why doesn’t uber-NPC just do this by themself? Because wizards don’t like to risk themselves in antimagic areas. Could make a series out of this. Recover from BBG. Then hide / destroy it. No rings / volcanoes please. Conflict of faith Pick a faith that is not overutilized – Tritherion? There are two groups within the church in conflict over a philosophical issue / interpretation of scripture: A & B. Group C is neutral within the church and hires the PCs to help resolve. Could have different favours depending on the side chosen. Scavenger Hunt The Fire is still Colourless – Part Deux (Invoke This!) We missed the 1000 year anniversary of the Rain. Maybe in +1024 the stars will align and someone can try it again? But who would want to do such a thing? Matchmakers - Employer / Hook has fallen in love with the baron’s son but needs PCs help to be seen as “worthy”. Can the PCs do glorious deeds and give the credit to an NPC? If they don’t bring her with them (and protect her), how will she get the credit? Maybe after 2 encounters, they should just talk her out of this. (Potential to substitute diplomacy for 3rd fight.) Dinosaurs are cool. The adventure should end up giving druids access to dinosaur companions. Or allow summoning a dinosaur from MM2+. Infiltration Employer makes the PCs look like monsters (orcs?) and sends them into an enemy force. Maybe the monsters are divided and they can help the 'friendly' side gain dominance via a couple quests. |
| Gaelforcwynd03-04-07, 01:57 PM | I have a few projects I need to work on in the next several months; however, I have trouble writing if I don't have some nifty concept to propel me. So, anyone have any clever, interesting, unique, or other adjectival adventure concepts? Have you played the Baldur's Gate games? They have a lot of interesting plots you could be inspired by. Remember those Fighting Fantasy books? There's a few novel ideas there for you too. An underwater adventure might be a thought. |
| clannagh03-05-07, 08:03 PM | what level of outrageousness are we looking for here ? Highly outrageous ... - the party timeslips into the future/alternate reality and ends up somewhere like Pear Harbor or on the deck of the Starship Enterprise while dressed in medieval armor etc. In the Star Trek example they may end up on a klingon Bird of Prey instead. They need to "close the time anomalie" to get home. medium outrageous (but likely to cause OOC disputes) ... - the party suffer some sort of telepathic transfer where they are suddenly in the bodies of one of the other PC's in the party.. to keep things simple the players should randomly be given someone elses PC with all stats items etc for the rest of the mod .. preferably fighter PC's end up in the mind of bards or mages etc etc Mildy outrageous .. - the party are on a (unimportant) mission (for the Drinkers ?) and while investigating an artifact the entire party suffer sudden gender changes and lawful/chaotic alignment changes .. the goal of the mod being to change themselves back by completing several tasks. You may want to offer the optional choice of individual keeping the new gender/alignments if they wish to. |
| kenobi6503-05-07, 09:44 PM | - the party suffer some sort of telepathic transfer where they are suddenly in the bodies of one of the other PC's in the party.. Hasn't something like this been done? |
| Timlagor03-05-07, 09:56 PM | Hasn't something like this been done? Folly. |
| kenobi6503-06-07, 04:50 PM | Folly. That's what I thought; that was during the period when I wasn't playing LG. I'd heard a lot about it (mostly that people either loved it or hated it, and many suggested that you should only play it with people you knew / trusted), but I had to figure out the details of the module from context. |
| Gwumph03-07-07, 02:16 AM | Although most BFG hate this, Core could use a good pirate mod. Kick in some of the rules from stormwrack, show of some of the gear and weapons. Nothing makes fighting harder then being in chest deep water. Better yet 15ft deep water, they are a rowboat attacked by octopus. Although difficult, a multi-level fight between 2 ships (below decks, on deck, in the rigging) would make some classic fight scenes. Also if PC somewhat smart would't have to worry to much about drowning (my favorite it having 1 end of rope tied around your waist and the other around something suitable secure) Balance check and Water, nothing gets players more antsy than that!! |
| Southernskies03-07-07, 06:26 AM | Although most BFG hate this, Core could use a good pirate mod. Although difficult, a multi-level fight between 2 ships (below decks, on deck, in the rigging) would make some classic fight scenes. Also if PC somewhat smart would't have to worry to much about drowning (my favorite it having 1 end of rope tied around your waist and the other around something suitable secure) Balance check and Water, nothing gets players more antsy than that!! Hear! Hear! I've been writing quite a few similar concept regionals to this over the last few years (some butchered by post-submission editing, some not) and when they are well written and have a blurb that lets you bring the right PCs the heroic tactics make for a great game. Unfortunately, I have also noticed that a really good adventure based on this concept requires too many ELs for a single round using the writers guidelines, so is best done as a two round investigative followed by a classic ship boarding action. As soon as I finish my latest (non-seafaring) regional, I might put together another core submission. |
| Timlagor03-26-07, 11:35 AM | I'd really like to see more modules that don't end with a big combat. |
| trollbill03-26-07, 11:42 AM | I'd really like to see more modules that don't end with a big combat. Given that ending a story with a climax is SOP for most storytelling, and that most people do not like a long denouement, how would you recommend they end? |
| Timlagor03-26-07, 06:46 PM | Given that ending a story with a climax is SOP for most storytelling, and that most people do not like a long denouement, how would you recommend they end? In a non-standard way :P 1) The big fight can be the first fight just as easily as the last 2) The mastermind need not actually fight at all 3) I'm sure there are people out there capable of thinking of something original. Having a big fight at the end is ok.. doing it in every single module gets tedious (and encourages metagaming). |
| solbergb03-26-07, 06:56 PM | well..I did something where I faked the party into thinking they'd won the "last fight" and all that was left was negotiation with the captured bad guy...and then after he agreed to help, that triggered the final encounter, as a third party wanted to kill the NPC for helping... (the last encounter's objective was to keep the NPC alive, not in fact to defeat the attackers directly, although that would get the job done) I'm not sure that counts though, because the mod did end in a battle. My other minimission ended in a courtroom, where PC's had to explain their actions apprehending badguys to skeptical Pholtan judges. Still, if you are in fact innocent, there is no safer place to be than a Pholtan trial. If you endangered innocents, killed anybody except in self-defense or defense of others, damaged property, used pagan holy symbols in public places or otherwise behaved badly, well, you'd generally have to "atone" for your crimes one way or another. At least in the Pale, where they actually use the magic Pholtus grants AND use forensic skills (magical, physical and stuff like "asking witnesses") to determine the facts before coming to a judgement. |
| jhorred03-26-07, 08:21 PM | I was thinking about working up an idea where the mod would start with "roll initiative..." More of a joke than anything, but it could turn into a 'murder mystery' type thing where the PCs need to figure who was attacking them. |
| solbergb03-26-07, 08:39 PM | We had a minimission like that. The minimission was called "Man Ripper", after an infamous character in a year 1 module who demonstrated what a raging barbarian with 2h weapon could do in 3.x to APL2-4 tables. With that title, the oldtimers would be waiting for the shoe to drop. So the author figured to get it out of the way right at the beginning, by having the mod start with the PC's in a bar, and a hooded figure walking up, sundering their table and...."roll initiative". At the higher levels, the funniest thing about it was that when you slew the first Man-ripper, a size large version of her entered the bar the next round... Sadly the author didn't have a size huge version to follow.... fun with similicra. She was mostly a decoy, the really dangerous person in the bar at high levels was an inoffensive-looking cleric... |
| jhorred03-26-07, 09:09 PM | hmm, I missed that one, I didn't join the campaign until year 4. |
| The_Jester03-27-07, 12:18 AM | I've always thought an adventure where you get body-swapped (variant of reincarnation) into the bodies on some NPCs (complete with NPC classes, stats and equipment) would be fun. The challenge being surviving as an unarmed nobody, like an extra in a horror flick. Plus doing something that shows being a hero is more than high stats and powerful equipment. The problem is finding an excuse to do this. Possibly as a poor wizard's time travel "I can send your souls into other bodies in the past, find out what happened to X" or a magical accident or even some evil scheme. The PCs could volunteer, be in the wrong place at the wrong time or be chosen by higher powers. |
| Cardinal Teplin03-27-07, 10:17 AM | The more unusual the set up, the harder it is to write, review, etc. The word limit cracks down on unusual adventure concepts more than expected ones, and so on. There are normative pressures at work here that turn an unusual concept into a more normal adventure. Fr'instance. Friends of mine plotted out an adventure from start to end, encounter by encounter. It involves time travel, romance, mages of immense power, intrigue, lost cities and some of the ancient history of Greyhawk. It has the potential to run a little long for a single slot game, but since it's designed to run to a strict time limit (for conventions and other occasions) the players have every incentive not to dawdle. Half the descriptions are already done, and the statblocks wouldn't be a huge challenge. I thought it was well put together (I would, I was co-author), but it doesn't really fit into my region. And I simply don't rate it's chances as a Core, because it's too different in construction to what has gone before. And while I'm sure my own players would enjoy it when I ran it for them, I'm not convinced it would work out the same if someone tried to run it based only on some DM notes in the adventure. If there is a real need for somewhat off-the-wall adventures out there, I could finish it off, but otherwise the changes required to make it fit a particular region/storyline, and to make it safe to run on a larger scale, might end up removing much of what made it distinctive in the first place. |
| cheeky_ktty04-02-07, 12:55 AM | Halflings, You can never go wrong with halflings:D |
| Gwumph04-02-07, 03:25 AM | Just remember.... Halflings have the best PR department in the world. so if should be something along the lines of them being evil and doing evil things, but setting up some gnomes as the fall guys. Investigate to find the truth behind the evil halfling conspericy!! |
| Potato Weasel04-02-07, 08:43 AM | How about dealing with extremely non human societies? A 'standard' adventure could be very different if your only dealing with denizens of mechanus, it would be interesting to show just how different outsiders can be from mortals, wether its a diplomacy type of adventure or a fighting type i'm sure it'd be interesting. |
| Timlagor04-24-07, 12:28 PM | Inspired by the thread on Crime and Punishment, I suggest that we need a module in which the party is hired to track down a criminal who is not particularly evil. ...maybe it's already been written in Ket. |
| comixguru04-24-07, 01:21 PM | Five ideas for LG RPGA mods (none of which are particularly novel as concepts unto themselves -- but play on mix of the limitations and campaign setting). 1. Alternate History mod, or time travel mod back to a pivotal event in Greyhawk history. Alternate History, what if Iuz was much more successful. Or Time Travel, PCs witness events of Rary's betrayal perhaps to discover some new truth about those events or return to the time when Vecna still had his hand... 2. A mod in which two PCs of a single Player actually can meet and interact. I'm thinking about something with a PC of any level and an APL2 subplot. The adventure would possibly be 2-rounds. 1 round is played as normal mod but the outcome/challenge can change based upon the events of a sub-adventure played by another of the same Player's APL2 legal PC. (Or PCs without a second PC can play an iconic for the sub-adventure and not receive an AR, anyone can make a level 1 PC and play, though). Perhaps a chance for a Player to give access down to his lower level PC? 3. A mod that breaks with current rules and has a bunch of certed items as a cool little flashback to year 1/2. There's a trick to this. The PCs encounter items early in the mod that are of an unknown quality (items that contain other items or stuff that is just a part of something later on) -- so it hard to determine what's what early on. The Certs are replaced later as the PCs successfully open or repair or join the parts. Each cert is unique and the PCs get to keep or sell the items themselves as the bulk of the GP rewards for the mod. 4. A mod that plays upon the Raise Dead rules experience. The PCs play the mod knowing they've been called back from the dead by something evil (as indicated before play so PCs can pick the proper PC). 5. Dungeon Siege mod -- PCs are asked to stop people (adventuring party of 4-6 adventurers, perhaps) from getting into a dungeon and getting something. Oh what the heck... one more just for giggles -- Act Now, and Receive a free bonus idea -- 6. A special intro mod made for a smaller group of players than normal. For instance, a special intro that assumes a more novice judge, and more novice players and has rules for running as little as 2 players through it (or can only have 2-3 players in it for some particular reason of the plot). -comix |
| Madfox1104-25-07, 03:33 AM | Inspired by the thread on Crime and Punishment, I suggest that we need a module in which the party is hired to track down a criminal who is not particularly evil. ...maybe it's already been written in Ket. There was one in Sunndi... or at least the PCs meet a couple of bounty hunters who are hunting a none evil criminal who escaped from the Calling Mines. Depending on the circumstances the bounty hunters will request the PCs help. Of course, there are circumstances that complicate matters severely (ghosts looking for stolen possessions from a previous adventure). |
| Simpi04-25-07, 10:49 AM | We had an adventure concept for intro module (= this must be PCs first module variety) which would have happened during a notorious event of Scarlet Brotherhood occupation when they burned part of one of our town to ground. There was a spontaneous uprising which was put down and someone betrayed the local fighters. We wanted to give PCs chance to start as characters who were part of this battle and perhaps learn something about the traitor. Naturally PCs would age over a decade after the module since battle happened long ago. Unfortunately our metaregional coordinators did not allow us to write one :( Main reason was that it would not be realistic if PCs did not adventure at all during intervening years. Sampo Haarlaa Naerie Triad |
| cycloptic_squirrel04-25-07, 02:49 PM | We had an adventure concept for intro module (= this must be PCs first module variety) which would have happened during a notorious event of Scarlet Brotherhood occupation when they burned part of one of our town to ground. There was a spontaneous uprising which was put down and someone betrayed the local fighters. We wanted to give PCs chance to start as characters who were part of this battle and perhaps learn something about the traitor. Naturally PCs would age over a decade after the module since battle happened long ago. Unfortunately our metaregional coordinators did not allow us to write one :( Main reason was that it would not be realistic if PCs did not adventure at all during intervening years. Sampo Haarlaa Naerie Triad Oooh! I like! What if you combined the concept (partaking in a historically significant event) with the result that shortly after the event the new PCs are unlawfully jailed for 30 years. I don't think such a character history woud appeal to everyone, but anyone who doesn't has lost, what, a brand new first level character? I think such an intro could lead to a very interesting roleplaying perspective. |
| chesspiece04-25-07, 05:01 PM | I don't remember anyone suggesting it, so here goes: How about modules that end with the PCs becoming aware of all the significant backstory? Or how about a module that starts with the PCs automatically being told what's going on & what challenges they must overcome? Surely there has been a LG adventure that the PCs are recruited to slay the dragon / menace and everything is exactly as it seems? :P "You need to fetch the McGuffin from the Haunted Manor. It's haunted by the ghost of Old Maid Winifred. Legends say she hated rats and her spirit will haunt the place until it is emptied of the giant rats that infest the place." Mysteries are enjoyable and reading backstory is a nice treat for the Judges. But this shouldn't be the case for 100% of modules. Probability dictates that there should be some challenges where there is absolutely no investigation required. ;) |
| bitznarf04-25-07, 05:04 PM | Probability dictates that there should be some challenges where there is absolutely no investigation required. ;) Probability dictates that with an infinite number of mods, a proportional number of them will need no investigation. So now the question becomes how to get an infinite number of mods... |
| WalksWithDragons04-27-07, 04:41 AM | One word if you are still following this thread Britt:Swashbuckling! Think Errol Flynn in Robin Hood and Captain Blood, any Three Musketeers Movie or Pirates of the Caribbean. It doesn't have to be a ship based adventure but the focus could be on looking good rather than being good. Have ropes to swing on, chandeliers to drop on opponents, damsels in distress and, of course, clever one liners for the any bad guys (who should have goatees and wear black:D ) Beating the bad guy and saving the day at the last minute are a given but the gold and the XP comes from being dashing, debonair and not letting your swash buckle:P !! (sorry couldn't resist that one) If you or anyone else is interested in writing such an adventure i would be willing to offer my assistance. |
| Timlagor04-27-07, 06:17 AM | Ooh the fun you could have coming up with ways to award points for style and the IC excuses for making it matter! |
| pedr04-27-07, 06:25 AM | Ahem: http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0391.html |
| Genghis Cohen04-28-07, 12:15 PM | OK, to break up the monotony at high APLs, I'd like to see more encounters set in anti-magic fields or wild magic areas. A low APL mod where every encounter is in anti-magic or wild magic would be very interesting, especially if a coherent story line tied it all together. |
| Haro04-28-07, 02:12 PM | One word if you are still following this thread Britt:Swashbuckling! Think Errol Flynn in Robin Hood and Captain Blood, any Three Musketeers Movie or Pirates of the Caribbean. It doesn't have to be a ship based adventure but the focus could be on looking good rather than being good. Have ropes to swing on, chandeliers to drop on opponents, damsels in distress and, of course, clever one liners for the any bad guys (who should have goatees and wear black:D ) Beating the bad guy and saving the day at the last minute are a given but the gold and the XP comes from being dashing, debonair and not letting your swash buckle:P !! (sorry couldn't resist that one) If you or anyone else is interested in writing such an adventure i would be willing to offer my assistance. Come to Bordercon. I am running a little something that may just be right up your alley... Joe |
| WalksWithDragons04-28-07, 09:27 PM | Come to Bordercon. I am running a little something that may just be right up your alley... Joe Oh I will be there:duel: but what is the little something so i don't miss out?? |
| copper_wyrmling04-28-07, 10:42 PM | OK, to break up the monotony at high APLs, I'd like to see more encounters set in anti-magic fields or wild magic areas. A low APL mod where every encounter is in anti-magic or wild magic would be very interesting, especially if a coherent story line tied it all together. I'd much prefer wild magic to antimagic. Antimagic is just "don't play a pure caster"... it's not fun or unusual when you can't do anything, it's just boring. Wild magic, on the other hand... :drool: |
| Lomiat04-29-07, 09:44 PM | OK, to break up the monotony at high APLs, I'd like to see more encounters set in anti-magic fields or wild magic areas. A low APL mod where every encounter is in anti-magic or wild magic would be very interesting, especially if a coherent story line tied it all together. This is still current in the Shield Lands. |
| Eric Anondson04-29-07, 10:45 PM | This is still current in the Shield Lands.Who knew what would happen by destroying an Arcane Order's spellpool built upon an Ur Flan obelisk network located in a large city in 594! :angelhide Destruction and chaos, pshaw, think of the adventuring opportunities that came later! |