Bit of writer's block. Suggestions for a caravan adventure? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Bit of writer's block. Suggestions for a caravan adventure?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Snooze
Feb 14, 2011 10:10:01 I'm running an Eberron campaign (if you're curious, I posted about it a few months ago), and it's going pretty well. It's my first honest-to-Moradin campaign that I'm writing by hand, and I'm having a blast with it so far.

I'm having a bit of writer's block at the moment though. Right now, the characters are in between adventures. They've finished up part one, and they need to travel cross-country to get to the next part. They're going to escort a caravan from their current city to another city, and then take a lightning rail from there to their destination. Should be about one or two days for the caravan, and then a day for the lightning rail.

So, I want to add some excitement to the trip, but I can't think of anything interesting. It would be easy to have some bandits ambush the caravan, but that feels a little generic. I thought about a guard post where the guards have been killed and some bad guys are now taking "tolls" from unsuspecting travelers. I might run with that, but it may lead to more investigation that might distract the party from the main goal.

Any suggestions? I feel like this is a golden opportunity to throw in a fun encounter, but I'm drawing a blank.
#2
yellowdingo
Feb 15, 2011 0:09:02 Unfamiliar with Eberon, however...

Sakmad the Salt Merchant: Moving two large urns of Salt (they actually contain a salt mummy* each and he intends to unleash them at the destination in a murder spree) for sale in the next settlement. He seems friendly enough at dinner time though anyone breaking the seal on his salt can look forward to his scimitar and possibly a boney hand around their throat.

Furn Broke the Seal on the Salt Urn.
"Its only Salt...Urk!" The Crushing bone claw constricted around furn's Throat crushing it - The Poison paralyzing his body and tongue.
"Come away Furn...I think he's coming back." Furn could not comply with Jakobi's suggestion.

*Think of a salt mummy as a mummy with poison touch as opposed to diseased touch. When they emerge from their scarcophogi (salt filled urn) they look like salt encrusted Skeletons.
#3
ReasonForTreason
Feb 15, 2011 10:20:28 A couple of month ago, my players were part of a cyran refugee caravan through the wilds of Darguun. The treck was about to be attacked by a rather large force of goblin skirmishers, hobgoblin tiger riders, and barghest leaders, and the caravan leaders decided to flee into the nearby forest to break the assaulting war band.

So, the Encounter had the players fend off the attacking gol'dar from atop their wagons, while the caravan thundered towards the forest.
I've used two battle mats and scrolled them at the speed of the fastest caravan wagon, while the Goblins closed in from all sides.

In order to get to other carts, the players had to jump from horseback to tiger mounts to wagons, while fighting goblins at the same time.

Each driver (about 12 HP) had a guard with a crossbow, the players got to play as well.

It was great fun, yet a bit complicated. Knocking down advancing goblins and see them disappear in the distance conflicted with the constant scrolling of the (too small) battle mats.

I added rubble, bushes and trees, and - of course - improvised boulder ramps they had to navigate or use to their advantage.

You could add in a Skill challenge, as well.
#4
TregMallin
Feb 15, 2011 16:50:29 If you'll pardon the Snidely Whiplash aspect... what if the caravan reached its destination in good order and made good time.

And the party boards the train... only to discover that someone has been tied to the tracks up ahead!
Or is threatening to blow up the tracks ahead!
Or the power goes out and the train just stops in the middle of nowhere.

#5
BRJN
Feb 18, 2011 23:47:45 - You meet a merchant wagon going the other way. This is actually a "Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves" (as the song) family.
- One of your wagons breaks down ... totally (axle snaps or rotted floorboards or something). Skill check and role-playing to fix / replace / whatever. In the worst case, you leave a half-wagon of stuff in the wilderness.
- You happen across a bear den. They'll leave you alone if you leave them alone.
- You camp in a likely spot, and all night you hear something - sounds like bandits? - moving in the woods outside the camp. There is never an attack (but tension can grow during the night). In the morning you find wolf tracks all along the edges of the clearing.
- Nothing at all happens. You actually get a day to relax and a good night's rest for once.
- The local goblin tribe recently got into a fight with somebody tougher than them. They find your caravan and want stuff from it, but have to bargain rather than raid. This is unfamiliar and uncomfortable for them. If you attack them, they'll run, and leave you alone thereafter - they CAN NOT afford any more losses.
- The caravan you are with has a reputation for being low-class / dishonest / cheap. When you arrive in town with them, so will you.
- A wandering hermit asks for supplies. He thinks you should give from the goodness of your heart, not charge him money or expect favors in return.
#6
WhisperMagellan
Feb 20, 2011 0:43:09 Ambush on the tracks:
A wagon full of rocks and alchemical smoke is pushed down the hill into the caravan. Up above, snipers rain fire (or arrows) down on the party while brutes and minions charge in and envelope individuals (my favorite power to give melee monsters is MeatShield: immediate interrupt, incoming attack hits adjacent minion instead of monster). Maybe throw in a mage/witchdoctor controller above.
Path of the wagon is filled with smoke that blocks LoS and LoE. Naturally, the monsters have taken a potion that makes them immune.
The party could probablly track the monsters back to their camp, where more monsters are waiting. Or a village of their mates and offspring. The offspring turn into swarms, the mates have viscious & brutal attacks that mark, but don't cause as much damage, and the few regular monsters and headman/witchdoctor (or both) can be a lvl+2 encounter. Find treasure looted from previous caravans.
#7
jack_of_all_trades_02
Feb 20, 2011 1:07:57 Why not have a game aboard the train while its moving? You could do a murder mystery with the passengers for social intrigue. How about an assassination attempt against an important or soon to be important npc? Nothing wrong with a good old fashioned train robbery? The robbers could be planning to derail the train to cover their tracks. Just make sure the players have to fight something on the top of the train while going under a tunnel. Just keep things moving at a fast pace to maintain the illusion of danger.

I'm definitely doing this during paragon.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Snooze Feb 14, 2011 10:10:01	I'm running an Eberron campaign (if you're curious, I posted about it a few months ago), and it's going pretty well. It's my first honest-to-Moradin campaign that I'm writing by hand, and I'm having a blast with it so far. I'm having a bit of writer's block at the moment though. Right now, the characters are in between adventures. They've finished up part one, and they need to travel cross-country to get to the next part. They're going to escort a caravan from their current city to another city, and then take a lightning rail from there to their destination. Should be about one or two days for the caravan, and then a day for the lightning rail. So, I want to add some excitement to the trip, but I can't think of anything interesting. It would be easy to have some bandits ambush the caravan, but that feels a little generic. I thought about a guard post where the guards have been killed and some bad guys are now taking "tolls" from unsuspecting travelers. I might run with that, but it may lead to more investigation that might distract the party from the main goal. Any suggestions? I feel like this is a golden opportunity to throw in a fun encounter, but I'm drawing a blank.
#2 yellowdingo Feb 15, 2011 0:09:02	Unfamiliar with Eberon, however... Sakmad the Salt Merchant: Moving two large urns of Salt (they actually contain a salt mummy* each and he intends to unleash them at the destination in a murder spree) for sale in the next settlement. He seems friendly enough at dinner time though anyone breaking the seal on his salt can look forward to his scimitar and possibly a boney hand around their throat. Furn Broke the Seal on the Salt Urn. "Its only Salt...Urk!" The Crushing bone claw constricted around furn's Throat crushing it - The Poison paralyzing his body and tongue. "Come away Furn...I think he's coming back." Furn could not comply with Jakobi's suggestion. *Think of a salt mummy as a mummy with poison touch as opposed to diseased touch. When they emerge from their scarcophogi (salt filled urn) they look like salt encrusted Skeletons.
#3 ReasonForTreason Feb 15, 2011 10:20:28	A couple of month ago, my players were part of a cyran refugee caravan through the wilds of Darguun. The treck was about to be attacked by a rather large force of goblin skirmishers, hobgoblin tiger riders, and barghest leaders, and the caravan leaders decided to flee into the nearby forest to break the assaulting war band. So, the Encounter had the players fend off the attacking gol'dar from atop their wagons, while the caravan thundered towards the forest. I've used two battle mats and scrolled them at the speed of the fastest caravan wagon, while the Goblins closed in from all sides. In order to get to other carts, the players had to jump from horseback to tiger mounts to wagons, while fighting goblins at the same time. Each driver (about 12 HP) had a guard with a crossbow, the players got to play as well. It was great fun, yet a bit complicated. Knocking down advancing goblins and see them disappear in the distance conflicted with the constant scrolling of the (too small) battle mats. I added rubble, bushes and trees, and - of course - improvised boulder ramps they had to navigate or use to their advantage. You could add in a Skill challenge, as well.
#4 TregMallin Feb 15, 2011 16:50:29	If you'll pardon the Snidely Whiplash aspect... what if the caravan reached its destination in good order and made good time. And the party boards the train... only to discover that someone has been tied to the tracks up ahead! Or is threatening to blow up the tracks ahead! Or the power goes out and the train just stops in the middle of nowhere.
#5 BRJN Feb 18, 2011 23:47:45	- You meet a merchant wagon going the other way. This is actually a "Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves" (as the song) family. - One of your wagons breaks down ... totally (axle snaps or rotted floorboards or something). Skill check and role-playing to fix / replace / whatever. In the worst case, you leave a half-wagon of stuff in the wilderness. - You happen across a bear den. They'll leave you alone if you leave them alone. - You camp in a likely spot, and all night you hear something - sounds like bandits? - moving in the woods outside the camp. There is never an attack (but tension can grow during the night). In the morning you find wolf tracks all along the edges of the clearing. - Nothing at all happens. You actually get a day to relax and a good night's rest for once. - The local goblin tribe recently got into a fight with somebody tougher than them. They find your caravan and want stuff from it, but have to bargain rather than raid. This is unfamiliar and uncomfortable for them. If you attack them, they'll run, and leave you alone thereafter - they CAN NOT afford any more losses. - The caravan you are with has a reputation for being low-class / dishonest / cheap. When you arrive in town with them, so will you. - A wandering hermit asks for supplies. He thinks you should give from the goodness of your heart, not charge him money or expect favors in return.
#6 WhisperMagellan Feb 20, 2011 0:43:09	Ambush on the tracks: A wagon full of rocks and alchemical smoke is pushed down the hill into the caravan. Up above, snipers rain fire (or arrows) down on the party while brutes and minions charge in and envelope individuals (my favorite power to give melee monsters is MeatShield: immediate interrupt, incoming attack hits adjacent minion instead of monster). Maybe throw in a mage/witchdoctor controller above. Path of the wagon is filled with smoke that blocks LoS and LoE. Naturally, the monsters have taken a potion that makes them immune. The party could probablly track the monsters back to their camp, where more monsters are waiting. Or a village of their mates and offspring. The offspring turn into swarms, the mates have viscious & brutal attacks that mark, but don't cause as much damage, and the few regular monsters and headman/witchdoctor (or both) can be a lvl+2 encounter. Find treasure looted from previous caravans.
#7 jack_of_all_trades_02 Feb 20, 2011 1:07:57	Why not have a game aboard the train while its moving? You could do a murder mystery with the passengers for social intrigue. How about an assassination attempt against an important or soon to be important npc? Nothing wrong with a good old fashioned train robbery? The robbers could be planning to derail the train to cover their tracks. Just make sure the players have to fight something on the top of the train while going under a tunnel. Just keep things moving at a fast pace to maintain the illusion of danger. I'm definitely doing this during paragon.