Asking for ideas... [Archive] - Wizards Community

Asking for ideas... [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Comus
06-14-07, 01:02 AM Okay. I actually find myself in need of some advice. Long story short, my players are going towards a confrontation with two different BBEGs, currently working together towards some evil goal.

Now, here's my problem - I want to make the confrontation as memorable and epic as possible. I have a few ideas on what to do and want to run them by some other people and see what they think. If anyone could chime in with ideas on how to improve, that'd be awesome. Also, before reading this sitrep, please note that no matter how silly it seems, I really am running this game.

SITREP:

Heroic Forces: Two (2) PCs, each level 10 and using Gestalt. One (1) NPC, level 8, also using gestalt. One (1) chartered spelljamming ship and its crew, which are likely to remain noncombatants and/or will keep the crew of the enemy forces from swamping the PCs while they engage the BBEG.

PCs-

Cyan Moonsfeld: Warblade10//Ftr2/Sct2/Survivor2/OccultSlayer2/StreetFighter2; Has just recently learned that his biological father is still alive, a person he has never met. Is currently engaged to the NPC traveling with them. He is big on honor, huge on it. Charges into battle with little regard for his own safety and tries to end fights ASAP with his best strikes.

Andromeda: Wizard10//Scout10; Started the game with Captain Bligh (see below) on her tail, as she had stolen part of an artifact from him. Somewhat reckless, and enjoys solving problems with evocation spells and by striking first. This has already caused her considerable problems when civilians got in the way.

NPC-

Lariel: Warblade8//Wizard8; Started as a barmaid working in the same inn as Cyan, she fell for him and he fell for her, and so they've been traveling together. Cyan and Andromeda both taught her what they knew, and thus the class combination. Weak, equipment-wise, but can throw down a lot of hurt in a hurry.

Enemy Forces: Two (2) BBEGs, currently unstatted. One (1) Spelljamming Pirate Flagship, the Executor, and it's attached crew, of undetermined size. Two (2) Squads of infantry from the German army, circa 1945, with standard kit.

BBEGs-

Captain Bligh Bludbayn [ECL ~12]: Captain of the mightiest pirate ship in the system. He's got his own base on another world, which the players have once managed to infiltrate (to resteal the artifact part Andromeda stole, because it was stolen back). He's never actually met the party in person, though they saw him once, and he's had them described to him in great detail by some LBEGs. At the moment, he is working with BBEG #2 because he sees a great profit in arms dealing using otherworldly weapons.

Adolf Hitler [ECL ~10]: Yes, him. This is what happened in that bunker - all that occult stuff he was obsessed with finally came to a head, and he managed to tear a portal into this universe and escape along with some of his most trusted men. He is also Cyan's real father. He is working with Captain Bligh because he needs a ship and people experienced with the way this new universe works.

Battlefield: The nightmare world of the Necropolis, a planet destroyed by a massive negative energy surge hundreds of years ago. Most of the undead are sleeping, but the players are unsure of their ability to deal with undead, and awakening a lichlord is probably the last thing they want to do. Some fighting is likely to take place in or near one of the many tombs that dot the world's surface.

Heroic Objective: The players want to confront and kill both Bligh and Cyan's father. Their secondary objective is to retrieve the two artifact parts Bligh recovered from a temple on Cyan's homeworld after capturing a monk that had been traveling with the PCs (who they forgot about for two months while they went monster-hunting for quick cash after raiding Bligh's base - they were asking for something bad to happen to him).

Enemy Objective: Recover the last part of the artifact, which they believe is located on the world of the Necropolis. In reality, the players have it. Then, after the artifact is in hand, to use it to power a permanent portal back to the modern world.

Other Considerations: The excavation efforts of the BBEGs could draw the unliving eyes of the terrible monsters living on the planet. Every living thing on it is undead, though many have simply been reduced to dust by the passage of time. If they awaken in force, everyone is going to have to make evacuation their primary concern.

Current Enemy Deployment: Bligh is with his ship. He doesn't like the planet and wants to keep the option of leaving open at all times. Consequently, it is staying at departure readiness and can leave whenever he wants. A large portion of his crew, basically all but a skeleton crew in case of emergency, is currently assisting with excavations. He has one of the infantry squads with him. Hitler is overseeing the excavations personally, along with the rest of the infantry. They are inside one of the pyramid-style tombs, while the remainder of Bligh's crew is divided there and two other tombs, leaving them dangerously thinned out if trouble starts. The morale of the crew is very low, and they'll likely flee a fight if possible, though they'll fight like cornered rats if they need to.

Probably Course of Battle: The PCs are likely to find Bligh first. The Executor is going to be hard to miss. They're going to try impersonating some dead LBEGs, which is just clever enough to work if they pass the disguise checks. Either way, it's going to turn to violence very quickly unless I miss my guess. Should be a good fight. They'll prolly put Bligh down within a few rounds and then end up fighting their way past the Germans.

Now, there will be obvious signs as to where Hitler is, so they'll likely track those, find Bligh's crew, and they'll point the way towards "The shouting man". There should be some great drama/lulz as the players learn Hitler is Cyan's real father. Giant battle will ensue, and they should come out triumphant. Assuming they don't leap over the table and strangle me for putting Hitler in the game.

So, what does everyone think?
Orchomenos
06-14-07, 10:11 AM What do they have against Adolf? They could simply infiltrate Bligh's ship, kill Bligh, and leave with both ships. And let the undeads deal with Adolf.

How high level are the crewmen? Are they dangerous, or will they just delay the PCs while Bligh is buffing himself? OTOH, Bligh will probably want to protect them, because he needs them to run the ship.

That makes me think some cabin truck fights. You know, when the hero attempts to fight a foe who is driving a truck (or vice-versa). Once in a while, either the hero or the villain has to drive the truck to avoid it falling out of the road. If the PCs attack the crew and give some significant damage to some part of the ship (from what you said about Andromeda, it is likely to happen!), the ship could be somewhat damaged, forcing balance checks each round, and eventually threatening to crash on the planet: THAT would most likely awaken the undeads.

Oh, and since the crew is small, try to describe each member. Not too much, just a two lines description. The player will be able to figure the long-bearded dwarf holding the helm in one hand and firing a hand crossbow with the other hand, or the tall and slim guy fighting with a heavy pick.
Comus
06-14-07, 01:57 PM They're likely to at least try to find Adolf, as Cyan wants to know who his real father is. Also to find out just why he was orphaned. Tactically, it'd be far more sound to just blow up the Executor and leave them stranded. But when you've just gotta know...

The crewmen aren't dangerous. They're going to be more backdrop than anything else. If it comes to combat with them, they'll just have noncombatant stats (10 or so HP, 12 or so AC, +0 to hit, and damage of whatever weapon they're using). Bligh won't order them into combat, as that's what the squad of German infantry is for.

Andromeda is extremely likely to cause extensive damage to the ship. As my fights tend to get fairly cinematic, Cyan might well end up doing something damaging as well, perhaps accidentally cutting through a mast or slicing away rigging lines. To give you an idea on how fights go, here are two examples from one adventure:

The players were in a construct-making wizard's tower. They're fighting a flesh golem (fairly easy pickings at their level). Andromeda casts one of the Orb spells, and misses. It goes out the window. Cyan winds up for a big swing and deals enough damage to kill the golem. Golem goes flying out the window like a home run, hits the Orb, and explodes into a fine powder.

Later, they kill the wizard in the surprise round (d4 for HD versus a d6 for damage...). Of course, at that very moment a bolt of lightning hits the elaborate equipment in the lab, causing the Wizard's last, greatest creation to come to life (an advanced flesh golem of Huge size). The players lure it back to the steps, are just about to finish it off... and it rolls a 1 on its attack. For the heck of it, I decide to see how hard it failed (I don't do critical misses, I was just curious). Natural 20. Its fist misses Cyan, hits a support beam, and part of the wall and stairway collapse and fall three stories to the ground. Everyone but Cyan makes the save to jump to safety, so only he and the Golem fall. Golem splats, Cyan lands on his back with only a few HP remaining and decides to take a breather and let the party come to him.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Comus 06-14-07, 01:02 AM	Okay. I actually find myself in need of some advice. Long story short, my players are going towards a confrontation with two different BBEGs, currently working together towards some evil goal. Now, here's my problem - I want to make the confrontation as memorable and epic as possible. I have a few ideas on what to do and want to run them by some other people and see what they think. If anyone could chime in with ideas on how to improve, that'd be awesome. Also, before reading this sitrep, please note that no matter how silly it seems, I really am running this game. SITREP: Heroic Forces: Two (2) PCs, each level 10 and using Gestalt. One (1) NPC, level 8, also using gestalt. One (1) chartered spelljamming ship and its crew, which are likely to remain noncombatants and/or will keep the crew of the enemy forces from swamping the PCs while they engage the BBEG. PCs- Cyan Moonsfeld: Warblade10//Ftr2/Sct2/Survivor2/OccultSlayer2/StreetFighter2; Has just recently learned that his biological father is still alive, a person he has never met. Is currently engaged to the NPC traveling with them. He is big on honor, huge on it. Charges into battle with little regard for his own safety and tries to end fights ASAP with his best strikes. Andromeda: Wizard10//Scout10; Started the game with Captain Bligh (see below) on her tail, as she had stolen part of an artifact from him. Somewhat reckless, and enjoys solving problems with evocation spells and by striking first. This has already caused her considerable problems when civilians got in the way. NPC- Lariel: Warblade8//Wizard8; Started as a barmaid working in the same inn as Cyan, she fell for him and he fell for her, and so they've been traveling together. Cyan and Andromeda both taught her what they knew, and thus the class combination. Weak, equipment-wise, but can throw down a lot of hurt in a hurry. Enemy Forces: Two (2) BBEGs, currently unstatted. One (1) Spelljamming Pirate Flagship, the Executor, and it's attached crew, of undetermined size. Two (2) Squads of infantry from the German army, circa 1945, with standard kit. BBEGs- Captain Bligh Bludbayn [ECL ~12]: Captain of the mightiest pirate ship in the system. He's got his own base on another world, which the players have once managed to infiltrate (to resteal the artifact part Andromeda stole, because it was stolen back). He's never actually met the party in person, though they saw him once, and he's had them described to him in great detail by some LBEGs. At the moment, he is working with BBEG #2 because he sees a great profit in arms dealing using otherworldly weapons. Adolf Hitler [ECL ~10]: Yes, him. This is what happened in that bunker - all that occult stuff he was obsessed with finally came to a head, and he managed to tear a portal into this universe and escape along with some of his most trusted men. He is also Cyan's real father. He is working with Captain Bligh because he needs a ship and people experienced with the way this new universe works. Battlefield: The nightmare world of the Necropolis, a planet destroyed by a massive negative energy surge hundreds of years ago. Most of the undead are sleeping, but the players are unsure of their ability to deal with undead, and awakening a lichlord is probably the last thing they want to do. Some fighting is likely to take place in or near one of the many tombs that dot the world's surface. Heroic Objective: The players want to confront and kill both Bligh and Cyan's father. Their secondary objective is to retrieve the two artifact parts Bligh recovered from a temple on Cyan's homeworld after capturing a monk that had been traveling with the PCs (who they forgot about for two months while they went monster-hunting for quick cash after raiding Bligh's base - they were asking for something bad to happen to him). Enemy Objective: Recover the last part of the artifact, which they believe is located on the world of the Necropolis. In reality, the players have it. Then, after the artifact is in hand, to use it to power a permanent portal back to the modern world. Other Considerations: The excavation efforts of the BBEGs could draw the unliving eyes of the terrible monsters living on the planet. Every living thing on it is undead, though many have simply been reduced to dust by the passage of time. If they awaken in force, everyone is going to have to make evacuation their primary concern. Current Enemy Deployment: Bligh is with his ship. He doesn't like the planet and wants to keep the option of leaving open at all times. Consequently, it is staying at departure readiness and can leave whenever he wants. A large portion of his crew, basically all but a skeleton crew in case of emergency, is currently assisting with excavations. He has one of the infantry squads with him. Hitler is overseeing the excavations personally, along with the rest of the infantry. They are inside one of the pyramid-style tombs, while the remainder of Bligh's crew is divided there and two other tombs, leaving them dangerously thinned out if trouble starts. The morale of the crew is very low, and they'll likely flee a fight if possible, though they'll fight like cornered rats if they need to. Probably Course of Battle: The PCs are likely to find Bligh first. The Executor is going to be hard to miss. They're going to try impersonating some dead LBEGs, which is just clever enough to work if they pass the disguise checks. Either way, it's going to turn to violence very quickly unless I miss my guess. Should be a good fight. They'll prolly put Bligh down within a few rounds and then end up fighting their way past the Germans. Now, there will be obvious signs as to where Hitler is, so they'll likely track those, find Bligh's crew, and they'll point the way towards "The shouting man". There should be some great drama/lulz as the players learn Hitler is Cyan's real father. Giant battle will ensue, and they should come out triumphant. Assuming they don't leap over the table and strangle me for putting Hitler in the game. So, what does everyone think?
Orchomenos 06-14-07, 10:11 AM	What do they have against Adolf? They could simply infiltrate Bligh's ship, kill Bligh, and leave with both ships. And let the undeads deal with Adolf. How high level are the crewmen? Are they dangerous, or will they just delay the PCs while Bligh is buffing himself? OTOH, Bligh will probably want to protect them, because he needs them to run the ship. That makes me think some cabin truck fights. You know, when the hero attempts to fight a foe who is driving a truck (or vice-versa). Once in a while, either the hero or the villain has to drive the truck to avoid it falling out of the road. If the PCs attack the crew and give some significant damage to some part of the ship (from what you said about Andromeda, it is likely to happen!), the ship could be somewhat damaged, forcing balance checks each round, and eventually threatening to crash on the planet: THAT would most likely awaken the undeads. Oh, and since the crew is small, try to describe each member. Not too much, just a two lines description. The player will be able to figure the long-bearded dwarf holding the helm in one hand and firing a hand crossbow with the other hand, or the tall and slim guy fighting with a heavy pick.
Comus 06-14-07, 01:57 PM	They're likely to at least try to find Adolf, as Cyan wants to know who his real father is. Also to find out just why he was orphaned. Tactically, it'd be far more sound to just blow up the Executor and leave them stranded. But when you've just gotta know... The crewmen aren't dangerous. They're going to be more backdrop than anything else. If it comes to combat with them, they'll just have noncombatant stats (10 or so HP, 12 or so AC, +0 to hit, and damage of whatever weapon they're using). Bligh won't order them into combat, as that's what the squad of German infantry is for. Andromeda is extremely likely to cause extensive damage to the ship. As my fights tend to get fairly cinematic, Cyan might well end up doing something damaging as well, perhaps accidentally cutting through a mast or slicing away rigging lines. To give you an idea on how fights go, here are two examples from one adventure: The players were in a construct-making wizard's tower. They're fighting a flesh golem (fairly easy pickings at their level). Andromeda casts one of the Orb spells, and misses. It goes out the window. Cyan winds up for a big swing and deals enough damage to kill the golem. Golem goes flying out the window like a home run, hits the Orb, and explodes into a fine powder. Later, they kill the wizard in the surprise round (d4 for HD versus a d6 for damage...). Of course, at that very moment a bolt of lightning hits the elaborate equipment in the lab, causing the Wizard's last, greatest creation to come to life (an advanced flesh golem of Huge size). The players lure it back to the steps, are just about to finish it off... and it rolls a 1 on its attack. For the heck of it, I decide to see how hard it failed (I don't do critical misses, I was just curious). Natural 20. Its fist misses Cyan, hits a support beam, and part of the wall and stairway collapse and fall three stories to the ground. Everyone but Cyan makes the save to jump to safety, so only he and the Golem fall. Golem splats, Cyan lands on his back with only a few HP remaining and decides to take a breather and let the party come to him.