Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Cthulhu3125 03-19-06, 01:38 PM	I'm playing in a campaign at the moment which might have a plot buried in there somewhere; none of us can find it... A synopsis so far: Session 1). We travel from a major city for 3 weeks to go kill a bulette for a mage. We kill it, and go back. We head to a construction site where there are rumours of horrible "accidents". Session 2). Reach the site, kill a vampire who seemed to be there for no reason. We find a mage, who wants to employ us to fill his dungeon with monsters. To prove ourselves, we have to go ransack his rival's dungeon home. That takes the rest of the session, a few bugbears there, some orcs, some mummies and zombies (We're level 7, the 2 party fighters suffered about 3 damage each). Session 3). The mage considers us to have proved ourselves and tells us our quest: "You have 18 months to bring me live monsters with which I may populate my dungeon". Hmm... a nice, directional plot there with a well-identified villain and story arc. The third session mostly consisted of me saying to the rest of the party "OK, where should we go? What should we hunt?", to which everyone replied "<incoherent mumble>". I managed to direct us north into the mountains, we fought 2 giant eagles. The rogue took 6 damage. There were rumours of dragons but they turned out to be mature silver ones, so no chance of capturing one of those. We carried on north to a forest, and there were 4 giant spiders. One flame strike from the druid saw two of them fleeing, the other 2 were dispatched by the barbarian and the fighter. In 2 rounds. We spent a good hour sitting round wondering "So guys, just how are we going to take these monsters back alive?", and considering all the possibilites, a wand of hold monster, a wand of flesh to stone and transporting the statues back (Our party has no mage, so every arcane spell has to be from the rogue using magic device). It just seems to me that we're stuck with no definite direction, I'm trying to get the rest of the party interested enough to make decisions about where to go but they just tag along with what I suggest, we have no idea how to practically capture monsters, no idea where and what to hunt, and no spellcaster apart from the druid. I think the encounters match our level, but there is the fighter, with a +1 shocking spiked chain (2d4 + d6 + 9 damage), who has AC 23 and expertise, and the barbarian, with a +1 flaming dwarven waraxe and large shield (d10 + d6 + 5 damage, AC 23). We seem to be tearing through combats while the AC 17 druid gets mullered. As a player, I'm not sure how to keep the campaign alive. Should I just ask the DM for some more direction? Do our fighter characters seem too powerful? Can I turn this plot around into something whereby we know a little more of what we're supposed to do?
TheChilliGod 03-19-06, 02:27 PM	I think you should take a hint or two from the people that do monster-capturing best. Poachers. Step 0) Pick your turf. Then get all the info you can on the monsters in your turf. Ask sages, read whole freaking libraries, just find out their strengths and weaknesses (especially in ability scores). Step 0.5) Pick a type of monster on your turf to hunt first. Bring sleep/calming and curative magic, and/or multiple doses of non-con poison of the creature's lowest ability score. Step 1) Find it. The druid should have some sorts of tracking magic, but if not (seeing as how I can't be bothered reaching for the PHB) and your guys don't know track, just wonder around off the road while trying to find something. Step 2) If you can, flank the thing. If the creature makes all it's saves, you don't want it to escape. Step 3) Cast your sleepie spell, and if it doesn't work, (Using delayed/readied actions) then launch missiles at it dipped in the poison. If it worked, go to step 5. If not, step 4. Step 4) Attack the beast until it's unconscious (non-lethal damage), then have the druid stabilize it with cure light. Step 5) Loot it, then carry the beast to the cage, and pull it back home. If the beast looks like it can break through the cage if it wakes (assuming poison wasn't used), apply constant measures to keep it under. Step 6) Instantly demand a commission from the wizard, to cover for scrolls and poison. --- Maybe if you follow these steps, your DM might throw in a few complications and sidequests to keep the action flowing and the direction straight. You don't necessarily need to have constant direction fed to you, and perhaps the DM is simply afraid of railroading you. Talking to him about that, saying that you don't mind being railroaded (as long as it isn't malicious railroading) might help as well.
druidess4life 04-18-06, 12:30 PM	I don't have much information about the DM, so it would help to know if he is planning his adventures or doing shoot from the hip. To me with out any real direction, it sounds like the DM is doing Shott from the Hip, which can be good, if your DM can make a story, but from what it sounds like to me, the DM is doing kill this here, and kill that there, whith no variation, just new monsters. maybe you could suggest to your DM, to step down from DMing for a little bit, and let a new player take a crack at being a DMto give the DM some time to bring an adventure to life instead of the same ol kill this here and that there, there is some great adventure hooks in the DMG and DMG II. Like it said I think in the DMG, the dungeon is a great location to play in but even the same ol 30 x 30 room gets boring after awhile
kelvinaw273 04-18-06, 12:53 PM	I have to admit, that's a pretty lame campaign plot. I mean, yeah, it is simple and straightforward, but hardly taxing save in the impossible sense. You need to hire minions and gather wagons and cages and stuff to transport monsters around in - that or your sponser should have given you a wand of teleportation attuned to his dungeon to zap them into it. And why does he want a dungeon anyway? It just sounds lame ... even lamer than the usual dungeon crawl, which is saying something.
Pegasos989 04-18-06, 01:21 PM	I was going to say that "It is hard to design a world-saving plot for 1st level characters. Give him time." But then I noticed that you are 7th level. It should no longer be hard to design a plot. Each DM has his style and if your whole party would be interested it actually might be good to have a open idea and leave the rest for you people to design. If you guys don't like it, tell the DM. Say that you would like more direct plot and if you think that you can do better job, ask if you could DM. And no, those character's don't seem off the balance. If enemies can't hit ac 23 at 7th level, something is wrong. You need more ogres.
Auburn 04-18-06, 01:43 PM	It seems like the other players will go along with whatever you do. If you don't want to hunt monsters then don't. Figure out what you want to do as sort of a long time goal. Then next time you guys play just start your character towards this goal. Do it slowly at first so the DM has a chance to adapt or railroad you back to hunting monsters. This way even if you do something he doesn't like the campaign isn't destroyed. If he railroads you back to hunting monsters then talk to him about the game's direction. You can always do what you want and probably catch some monsters for this guy at the same time too.
druidess4life 04-19-06, 01:09 PM	It is not hard to plan a world saving plot for a group of first level characters... If your DM has any kind of intertwining skills, he can link a bunch of adventures together that don't really seem to have any connection, and the players soon find out that all this was not done in vain, but with each adventure prior it foiled some greater plot that could be considered the "main" world saving plot