Airships, Tournaments, and Troubles - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Airships, Tournaments, and Troubles

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
godspeace21
Jan 05, 2009 18:38:16 So I'm a new DM who's been playing D&D in total for about a year and a month. So far my old DM, who's now a player and has played D&D since 2nd, has only done pre-gen content. Before 4th ed came out we played Barrow of the Forgotten King, the Spire-thingie, the second part of that series, and Expedition to the Demonweb Pits. So far we TPKed in the Spire and Demonweb Pits games, so once 4th ed came out I offered to try my hand at DMing.

Well we just finished Keep on the Shadowfell successfully, and while I'm still learning I know I've gotten the hang of things. After taking about a month off, we just started doing Thunderspire Labyrinth; so far so good. However, after we're done with it, regardless of the result, the old DM wants to run Red Hand of Doom back in 3.5.

Now then, my introduction's finished. While we're doing RHD, I wouldn't mind planning my own campaign, hand made. I've already got some ideas I'll drop in just a moment. I'm just not sure what I need to do to make it interesting and appropriate. Here's what I've got so far. (4th ed, by the way)

1) Open with an Airship battle. To get the PCs together, they've all been hired as bodyguards for the travel airship, so they get to travel for free provided they make sure nobody bites the dust. I got the idea from the Adventurer's Vault, and its stats on Airships. I'm thinking pirates raid the ship and the PCs are supposed to stop them from destroying it. This can be either a purely combat encounter, or have a bit of a skill challenge, I'm not sure.

2) The setting: Traditional Western Fantasy with a twist. While the PCs will likely be from the normal lands (medieval/renaissance style fantasy lands) the place they are traveling to would be Middle Eastern in style. Lots of round edges, sand, and the like. Of course the PCs could be from this place if they like, as well, but that's my base idea.

3) The first major event: a hunting celebration or tournament. I'm very interested in doing this in a way that makes an urban dungeon. I'm tired of tramping through old ruins and the Underdark, something out in the open with lots of people watching. However, I'm wondering how I could do this and still have my Good aligned PCs want to participate. I can't have people, or its too barbaric. Animals too. Maybe I can do stuff with magically created entities.

Here's my major need of help: the hunt/tournament. First, how do I make it where Good aligned PCs will be willing to participate? Second, how do I put a degree of competition in it? I don't want it to be just a series of encounters where if the PCs don't die they come in first. That's why I thought of a tournament, to cater towards that. Third, how do I get them into the tournament without railroading? I'm considering setting it up like that's where they're going. I know if I was a player, I wouldn't mind being told my character wanted to check out the tournament. That's what pre-gens do anyway.

4) What next? I've got all sorts of ideas running through my head. I plan on having this a 1- however long campaign. I'd like to include cultists of Tharizdun at some point, since that feels like it'd add some intrigue.

So what do you guys think? Any suggestions, or should I just scrap it and think of something else?
#2
matthewswift
Jan 05, 2009 18:48:39
3) The first major event: a hunting celebration or tournament. I'm very interested in doing this in a way that makes an urban dungeon. I'm tired of tramping through old ruins and the Underdark, something out in the open with lots of people watching. However, I'm wondering how I could do this and still have my Good aligned PCs want to participate. I can't have people, or its too barbaric. Animals too. Maybe I can do stuff with magically created entities.

Here's my major need of help: the hunt/tournament. First, how do I make it where Good aligned PCs will be willing to participate? Second, how do I put a degree of competition in it? I don't want it to be just a series of encounters where if the PCs don't die they come in first. That's why I thought of a tournament, to cater towards that. Third, how do I get them into the tournament without railroading? I'm considering setting it up like that's where they're going. I know if I was a player, I wouldn't mind being told my character wanted to check out the tournament. That's what pre-gens do anyway.

4) What next? I've got all sorts of ideas running through my head. I plan on having this a 1- however long campaign. I'd like to include cultists of Tharizdun at some point, since that feels like it'd add some intrigue.

Tournament could be exactly what you said: An urban Dungeon. Think like Spain's running of the bulls but with beasties being bulls and the idea being to kill them for food and sport.

~~~ Once a year, trapsmiths and farmers from across the land bring in their most challenging (and edible) "pets". Now for that day only the city is locked down and more tender parties stay in their homes on balconies or in viewing towers. The monsters can either outnumber the hunters or visa versa. Whoever bags the biggest beasty by the end of the day is declared the city's huntsmaster and givin shiny things.

Someone (cultist?) cheats? Maybe being the huntsmaster(s) means the party gets approached by cultists, or maybe one of the prizes is an artifact the cultists are into? Or maybe culty type critters enter the fray, and begin hunting hunters.

-Happy Hunting!
#3
SteelMirror
Jan 05, 2009 19:06:47 As for the tournament, I had the following idea. I know I'm ripping it off from somewhere but I can't remember where, so apologies to somebody for not acknowledging them in this plot outline.

Adventurers, mercenaries, and knights from throughout the land have received mysterious invitations to a single city to participate in something called the "Grand Fete". The invitation mentions that it will be a competition between every adventurer of repute in the land, with the prize being titles, a huge party in their honor, and a significant portion of gold. It is signed "the Duke (or King, or Count, or whatever) of [fill in city name here]. To ensure the recipients know that the offer is serious, each invitation arrives with a significant sum of gold.

Upon arriving at the city it is a madhouse as everyone eagerly anticipates the beginning of the event. On the day in question the town criers announce that teamwork is rewarded and even necessary to complete the challenge, and that the first five to finish the challenge will be considered the winners.

What follows is essentially a treasure hunt following clues from location to location in the city, often in dangerous locales like the top of a cathedral spire (guarded by animated stained glass guardians), the depths of the city central sewer room (rigged with traps) and one clue suspended 500 feet above the town square that can only be reached by air taxi (since you mentioned airships in your post). The clues to each location are essentially riddles.

The pcs have to solve the riddles, defeat the hazards at each location, and simultaneously defend themselves from other participants who will stop at nothing to be the winners. Bonus xp to be awarded for minimal property damage and civilian casualties.

The Count who is throwing the event is really looking for capable adventurers to solve some other problem he has, and can serve as the patron for your group of PCs for the early part of the campaign.

Whew! If you read through all that, then there you go, my ideas. As I think about it the concept could be pretty exciting, so I may come back and post some more specific ideas if they come to me! Even if you don't use my plot, maybe some of the encounters or riddles could be useful someday.

Cheers!
#4
Dreamstryder
Jan 06, 2009 0:43:44 Early knightly tourneys in Medieval Europe were basically controlled wars. Knights would travel from all over to publicize themselves and make lots of money (because warhorses were expensive and had a habit of dying when archers caught you in mid-charge). You had a boundary of countryside to play in, and knights took up teams and raided each other for a certain period of time (say, a day). Later tourney weapons were customarily blunted, but the goal either way was to capture (not kill) your enemies and their equipment and hold them for ransom. Lots of people left in debt; others went home rich.

If the party uses special tourney weapons, you could say they all subdue instead of kill.
#5
Vatras
Jan 06, 2009 6:01:56 Horse and chariot races, archery contests, ring lancing, drinking or song contests have all medieval roots and can appeal to a good party.

I did a contest on a harvest festival for my players, where the three games replayed a memorable event in the ruler's adventuring career, where I shameless stole the scene from the second Dragonlance trilogy (Caramon teaches the dwarves and barbarians how teamwork accomplishes what neither side can by itself).
I used a point system to judge each teams performance to determine the winner (how many tries were needed, and by what margin did a check suceed), pre-rolling the NPCs to have things ready when needed.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 godspeace21 Jan 05, 2009 18:38:16	So I'm a new DM who's been playing D&D in total for about a year and a month. So far my old DM, who's now a player and has played D&D since 2nd, has only done pre-gen content. Before 4th ed came out we played Barrow of the Forgotten King, the Spire-thingie, the second part of that series, and Expedition to the Demonweb Pits. So far we TPKed in the Spire and Demonweb Pits games, so once 4th ed came out I offered to try my hand at DMing. Well we just finished Keep on the Shadowfell successfully, and while I'm still learning I know I've gotten the hang of things. After taking about a month off, we just started doing Thunderspire Labyrinth; so far so good. However, after we're done with it, regardless of the result, the old DM wants to run Red Hand of Doom back in 3.5. Now then, my introduction's finished. While we're doing RHD, I wouldn't mind planning my own campaign, hand made. I've already got some ideas I'll drop in just a moment. I'm just not sure what I need to do to make it interesting and appropriate. Here's what I've got so far. (4th ed, by the way) 1) Open with an Airship battle. To get the PCs together, they've all been hired as bodyguards for the travel airship, so they get to travel for free provided they make sure nobody bites the dust. I got the idea from the Adventurer's Vault, and its stats on Airships. I'm thinking pirates raid the ship and the PCs are supposed to stop them from destroying it. This can be either a purely combat encounter, or have a bit of a skill challenge, I'm not sure. 2) The setting: Traditional Western Fantasy with a twist. While the PCs will likely be from the normal lands (medieval/renaissance style fantasy lands) the place they are traveling to would be Middle Eastern in style. Lots of round edges, sand, and the like. Of course the PCs could be from this place if they like, as well, but that's my base idea. 3) The first major event: a hunting celebration or tournament. I'm very interested in doing this in a way that makes an urban dungeon. I'm tired of tramping through old ruins and the Underdark, something out in the open with lots of people watching. However, I'm wondering how I could do this and still have my Good aligned PCs want to participate. I can't have people, or its too barbaric. Animals too. Maybe I can do stuff with magically created entities. Here's my major need of help: the hunt/tournament. First, how do I make it where Good aligned PCs will be willing to participate? Second, how do I put a degree of competition in it? I don't want it to be just a series of encounters where if the PCs don't die they come in first. That's why I thought of a tournament, to cater towards that. Third, how do I get them into the tournament without railroading? I'm considering setting it up like that's where they're going. I know if I was a player, I wouldn't mind being told my character wanted to check out the tournament. That's what pre-gens do anyway. 4) What next? I've got all sorts of ideas running through my head. I plan on having this a 1- however long campaign. I'd like to include cultists of Tharizdun at some point, since that feels like it'd add some intrigue. So what do you guys think? Any suggestions, or should I just scrap it and think of something else?
#2 matthewswift Jan 05, 2009 18:48:39	3) The first major event: a hunting celebration or tournament. I'm very interested in doing this in a way that makes an urban dungeon. I'm tired of tramping through old ruins and the Underdark, something out in the open with lots of people watching. However, I'm wondering how I could do this and still have my Good aligned PCs want to participate. I can't have people, or its too barbaric. Animals too. Maybe I can do stuff with magically created entities. Here's my major need of help: the hunt/tournament. First, how do I make it where Good aligned PCs will be willing to participate? Second, how do I put a degree of competition in it? I don't want it to be just a series of encounters where if the PCs don't die they come in first. That's why I thought of a tournament, to cater towards that. Third, how do I get them into the tournament without railroading? I'm considering setting it up like that's where they're going. I know if I was a player, I wouldn't mind being told my character wanted to check out the tournament. That's what pre-gens do anyway. 4) What next? I've got all sorts of ideas running through my head. I plan on having this a 1- however long campaign. I'd like to include cultists of Tharizdun at some point, since that feels like it'd add some intrigue. Tournament could be exactly what you said: An urban Dungeon. Think like Spain's running of the bulls but with beasties being bulls and the idea being to kill them for food and sport. ~~~ Once a year, trapsmiths and farmers from across the land bring in their most challenging (and edible) "pets". Now for that day only the city is locked down and more tender parties stay in their homes on balconies or in viewing towers. The monsters can either outnumber the hunters or visa versa. Whoever bags the biggest beasty by the end of the day is declared the city's huntsmaster and givin shiny things. Someone (cultist?) cheats? Maybe being the huntsmaster(s) means the party gets approached by cultists, or maybe one of the prizes is an artifact the cultists are into? Or maybe culty type critters enter the fray, and begin hunting hunters. -Happy Hunting!
#3 SteelMirror Jan 05, 2009 19:06:47	As for the tournament, I had the following idea. I know I'm ripping it off from somewhere but I can't remember where, so apologies to somebody for not acknowledging them in this plot outline. Adventurers, mercenaries, and knights from throughout the land have received mysterious invitations to a single city to participate in something called the "Grand Fete". The invitation mentions that it will be a competition between every adventurer of repute in the land, with the prize being titles, a huge party in their honor, and a significant portion of gold. It is signed "the Duke (or King, or Count, or whatever) of [fill in city name here]. To ensure the recipients know that the offer is serious, each invitation arrives with a significant sum of gold. Upon arriving at the city it is a madhouse as everyone eagerly anticipates the beginning of the event. On the day in question the town criers announce that teamwork is rewarded and even necessary to complete the challenge, and that the first five to finish the challenge will be considered the winners. What follows is essentially a treasure hunt following clues from location to location in the city, often in dangerous locales like the top of a cathedral spire (guarded by animated stained glass guardians), the depths of the city central sewer room (rigged with traps) and one clue suspended 500 feet above the town square that can only be reached by air taxi (since you mentioned airships in your post). The clues to each location are essentially riddles. The pcs have to solve the riddles, defeat the hazards at each location, and simultaneously defend themselves from other participants who will stop at nothing to be the winners. Bonus xp to be awarded for minimal property damage and civilian casualties. The Count who is throwing the event is really looking for capable adventurers to solve some other problem he has, and can serve as the patron for your group of PCs for the early part of the campaign. Whew! If you read through all that, then there you go, my ideas. As I think about it the concept could be pretty exciting, so I may come back and post some more specific ideas if they come to me! Even if you don't use my plot, maybe some of the encounters or riddles could be useful someday. Cheers!
#4 Dreamstryder Jan 06, 2009 0:43:44	Early knightly tourneys in Medieval Europe were basically controlled wars. Knights would travel from all over to publicize themselves and make lots of money (because warhorses were expensive and had a habit of dying when archers caught you in mid-charge). You had a boundary of countryside to play in, and knights took up teams and raided each other for a certain period of time (say, a day). Later tourney weapons were customarily blunted, but the goal either way was to capture (not kill) your enemies and their equipment and hold them for ransom. Lots of people left in debt; others went home rich. If the party uses special tourney weapons, you could say they all subdue instead of kill.
#5 Vatras Jan 06, 2009 6:01:56	Horse and chariot races, archery contests, ring lancing, drinking or song contests have all medieval roots and can appeal to a good party. I did a contest on a harvest festival for my players, where the three games replayed a memorable event in the ruler's adventuring career, where I shameless stole the scene from the second Dragonlance trilogy (Caramon teaches the dwarves and barbarians how teamwork accomplishes what neither side can by itself). I used a point system to judge each teams performance to determine the winner (how many tries were needed, and by what margin did a check suceed), pre-rolling the NPCs to have things ready when needed.