Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 kkru3g3r60 Feb 25, 2015 15:38:48	Hello, im a soon to be first time DM, and i would greatly appreciate thoughts and suggestions on my first nights major "dungeon". So the games is set in a world with a group of rouge wizards causing havoc among the 3 kingdoms. The group is sent to a city that the king hasnt heard from in days. Scouts, messengers, even soldiers dont return. So the group heads there, and when they finally get to the town, everything looks fine. Its midday, townsfolk are out and about, no issues. No on has seen or heard from any scouts, messengers or soldiers. If the group tries to leave town, when they get about 100 feet out of town they notice they are walking back into town. The group is now unable to leave. The group can search around, get rooms, whatever. Nightfall comes. The town goes crazy. Townies killing each other left and right using anything they can get there hands on as weapons or just plain old duking it out. The townies can attack the group as well. There will be a lot of townies. Impressive if the group can find a way to live. No biggie if they cant. Cause at dawn the town resets. Everyone comes back to life. The townies help clean up any messes made and then go about there normal day to day business. The group finds out this has been going on for a while. With no escape found. Hopefully the mage jn the group will ask to make a knowledge/arcana check so i can tell him that he knows for a spell this big and powerfull the caster has to be close. Within the town. The group explores around town noticing the damage done over the last week, and notice a church in the middle of town untouched. No damage. No one inside praying for help... odd right? Hopefully they ask the townies about it, to which every townie will reply "what church"? There is a group of rouge wizards a few floors down under the church. Gaurded by summoned gaurdians and traps along the way, maybe a puzzle if i find an appropriate one. The wizards are running a constant ritual using the towns mayor, to affect all those in his town. This is the part i would greatly appreciate ideas on. Thinking of saying the "mayor" is actually the great great great grandson of the original founder, so i can use blood magic to affect the town? Or would blaming it on the ritual be enough? Any and all ideas/suggestions welcome. Would like to improve upon the story if possible as well. Just want to give my players a great first story ya know? Thanks to any one who helps or comments
#2 Barky Feb 25, 2015 19:08:55	Step 1: watch Star Trek: The Original Series episode Return of the Archons. :-)   I like red herrings. Make the mayor the obvious source, give him some support to make him a real tough encounter, but just when the party gets close to defeating him, have the real power behind him abandon him and leave the city. When he's abandoned, the mayor reverts back to his old self, totally unaware what happened. Then have the party find the empty lair of the real villains. Put a bunch of clues in there to lead the party to their next experiment, and then the chase begins! Will the party find the power behind the power, and whatever ritual/artifact/ancient secret/otherwordly monstrosity that let this all happen, before they turn the whole country into raving lunatics?
#3 alienux Feb 26, 2015 6:32:38	Barky wrote:
#4 BRJN Feb 27, 2015 17:50:18	NEVER set up a necessary plot development that includes "Once the PCs make a successful -insert Skill here- check."  They will (A) not think of it, or (B) will roll a '1'.  Now what?   Instead, if the PCs need a clue (or cannot read your mind), have an NPC walk up and introduce themselves, "Hi you look new here.  I think something strange is happening to my hometown.  Oh, you agree?  Good, let's talk."  Then fill them in.   Also, as a first-timer, do not create something complicated as a mystery that must be solved.  Something simple - HELP THE ORPHANAGE IS ON FIRE HELP ! - will work just fine as a hook to introduce adventure and a problem to solve.  Save the complicated stuff (who set it on fire and why?) for when you are used to running the whole world.
#5 Dreamstryder Feb 28, 2015 22:07:43	Re: Knowing the responsible wizard is close by: Anything you want the players to find no matter what, have them "find" it no matter what they do.   The church: They will likely ask about or just investigate the church if it is the only thing in town untouched. If they don't realize the townsfolk don't see it, no biggie (but a fun explanative detail if they do).   The ritual: The ritual can affect the town for any number of reasons, but really neat magic, in my experience, tends to have some meaning to it. Why are wizards repeatedly "rewinding" the town? Perhaps for their goals they require the townsfolk to do something or other of their own will (so they can't force them to do it), and it has to be on the date of a celestial concordance or while someone in town is still alive (something that ends at the end of the day, hence the "rewinding" when their goal is unfulfilled).   How do they accomplish this? Mayor's blood, imprisoning a cosmic creature, it doesn't matter as long as it provokes a good reaction from your players.