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Fleshing out a caravan based adventure

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
Martryn
Dec 18, 2008 4:42:29 I've got planned in the future (one or two sessions hence) on running an adventure where the PCs are accompanying a caravan on it's supply route to various key forts along a river. An enemy army on the other side of the river (basically an orc horde) are sneaking troops and supplies across to assault one of the last bridge crossings, and ultimately the PCs are gonna have to stop this.

My problem is I don't want the entire adventure to be a bunch of random caravan attacks. I can only pull the orc ambush trick once or twice before the PCs will get tired of the monotony. The party will be 2nd level, some close to third (a few might reach 4th level during the course of this adventure), so I need encounters that work for those levels. I don't really need details as much as ideas.

What I've got so far:
-Mundane ambush encounters (where the orcs come out of the trees or something)
-Encounter with wild animals that are attracted to the rotting flesh of a less fortunate caravan.
-An ambush that take place at a stream/river crossing.
-A mounted attack on a fort the PCs have stopped at overnight.
-Maybe an encounter where the PCs manage to catch the orcs unaware.

I plan on ending it with a short dungeon crawl, where the PCs raid the secret orc base and capture the supplies the orcs have been ferrying across the river.

Any ideas on other encounters that sorta fit this theme? Even something like using a monster in a way I haven't thought of before. Something to make the encounters more interesting and memorable than just waves of orcs coming out of the trees every 16 hours or something.
#2
DragonsWrath
Dec 18, 2008 9:33:59
I don't really need details as much as ideas.

What I've got so far:
-Mundane ambush encounters (where the orcs come out of the trees or something)
-Encounter with wild animals that are attracted to the rotting flesh of a less fortunate caravan.
-An ambush that take place at a stream/river crossing.
-A mounted attack on a fort the PCs have stopped at overnight.
-Maybe an encounter where the PCs manage to catch the orcs unaware.

Simply mix it up a bit each time.
Surely a caravan would be passing through various terrain types.

Terrain ideas:
A narrow mountain pass
A wide open plane
A narrow road through a forest
An open field covered in tall grass
A risky ferry crossing

fighting techniques:
One group is all melee units
One is mostly ranged units (especially annoying in the mountain pass)
One is a mix
One has managed to find a nearby monster and lead it to your caravan. Bear attack!

Other ideas
Perhaps all the orcs sneaking around have irritated a young dragon, and it comes to attack the orcs, and since the orcs are near you, it attacks you as well. The orcs help you fight off the dragon... sort of. Perhaps giving everyone a short rest between the two combats would make it less fatal. As the dragon falls, you eye each other warily and regroup for the final skirmish...
#3
mazaron
Dec 19, 2008 20:33:13
I've got planned in the future (one or two sessions hence) on running an adventure where the PCs are accompanying a caravan on it's supply route to various key forts along a river. An enemy army on the other side of the river (basically an orc horde) are sneaking troops and supplies across to assault one of the last bridge crossings, and ultimately the PCs are gonna have to stop this.

My problem is I don't want the entire adventure to be a bunch of random caravan attacks. I can only pull the orc ambush trick once or twice before the PCs will get tired of the monotony. The party will be 2nd level, some close to third (a few might reach 4th level during the course of this adventure), so I need encounters that work for those levels. I don't really need details as much as ideas.

What I've got so far:
-Mundane ambush encounters (where the orcs come out of the trees or something)
-Encounter with wild animals that are attracted to the rotting flesh of a less fortunate caravan.
-An ambush that take place at a stream/river crossing.
-A mounted attack on a fort the PCs have stopped at overnight.
-Maybe an encounter where the PCs manage to catch the orcs unaware.

I plan on ending it with a short dungeon crawl, where the PCs raid the secret orc base and capture the supplies the orcs have been ferrying across the river.

Any ideas on other encounters that sorta fit this theme? Even something like using a monster in a way I haven't thought of before. Something to make the encounters more interesting and memorable than just waves of orcs coming out of the trees every 16 hours or something.

Other ideas:
1. Wildfire, forest fire up ahead. Does it cause them to change their route? Do they have to fight the fire? What caused it?
2. Flood. Get the caravan to high ground, perhaps find a way to stop the floodwaters? Sandbagging?
3. Something or someone demands a toll. Maybe some renegade knight, a troll or two, a band of ogres, an entire village. May not even be evil, or too powerful to take down but asking too much to be paid.
4. A predator is stalking the caravan, just slipping at night and taking a few people, or just one person, or a horse, disappearing before anyone can do anything. How do they defend the camp at night? Do they sacrifice travel time for time setting up a stockade each evening? Do they leave the caravan to go hunt it? See The Ghost and the Darkness.
5. Someone is murdered on the caravan. Do the orcs have an agent? Is someone a doppleganger? A lycanthrope? A serial killer? A robbery gone wrong? A lover's spat? Or silenced for some reason, maybe by an enemy agent.
6. The caravan passes a burning farmstead or a monster attacking a village. There is debate over whether or not the caravan stops to help and it stops is it vulnerable.
7. Dense fog, sandstorm, whiteout snowstorm reduces visiblity to near zero in an area without obvious close by landmarks or signs. What do they do? What does the mist or blizzard hide?
8. A wagon breaks a wheel or axle. How do they fix it? Do they have to leave something or someone behind? Go out and look for a wagonwright four miles or fourteen miles back?
9. Someone saw some large thing flying by. The PCs don't see it...it might have been a hawk. Or a harpy. Or a wyvern. Or a dragon.
#4
Martryn
Dec 20, 2008 6:56:33 Awesome. Some great ideas in here! I've got about eight days to come up with some things, but I think, from just the two posts, I've got enough ideas to flesh out an interesting adventure for the PCs.

In fact, some of these things seem so obvious now, I can't believe I was wracking my head trying to think of more ideas. I'll work on the adventure a little more tomorrow and post what I've got so far. Thanks again for being a great resource for an unimaginative DM to use.
#5
mazaron
Dec 20, 2008 17:18:25
Awesome. Some great ideas in here! I've got about eight days to come up with some things, but I think, from just the two posts, I've got enough ideas to flesh out an interesting adventure for the PCs.

In fact, some of these things seem so obvious now, I can't believe I was wracking my head trying to think of more ideas. I'll work on the adventure a little more tomorrow and post what I've got so far. Thanks again for being a great resource for an unimaginative DM to use.

You seem plenty imaginative to me. Post in this thread what you do and how it turned out, I would be interested in reading it.

Wasn't there an old 1950s Western series called Wagon Train? You might want to Google that, see if there are plot ideas to steal from there. Also maybe the adventures of Marco Polo, that was in part basically one long caravan trip.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Martryn Dec 18, 2008 4:42:29	I've got planned in the future (one or two sessions hence) on running an adventure where the PCs are accompanying a caravan on it's supply route to various key forts along a river. An enemy army on the other side of the river (basically an orc horde) are sneaking troops and supplies across to assault one of the last bridge crossings, and ultimately the PCs are gonna have to stop this. My problem is I don't want the entire adventure to be a bunch of random caravan attacks. I can only pull the orc ambush trick once or twice before the PCs will get tired of the monotony. The party will be 2nd level, some close to third (a few might reach 4th level during the course of this adventure), so I need encounters that work for those levels. I don't really need details as much as ideas. What I've got so far: -Mundane ambush encounters (where the orcs come out of the trees or something) -Encounter with wild animals that are attracted to the rotting flesh of a less fortunate caravan. -An ambush that take place at a stream/river crossing. -A mounted attack on a fort the PCs have stopped at overnight. -Maybe an encounter where the PCs manage to catch the orcs unaware. I plan on ending it with a short dungeon crawl, where the PCs raid the secret orc base and capture the supplies the orcs have been ferrying across the river. Any ideas on other encounters that sorta fit this theme? Even something like using a monster in a way I haven't thought of before. Something to make the encounters more interesting and memorable than just waves of orcs coming out of the trees every 16 hours or something.
#2 DragonsWrath Dec 18, 2008 9:33:59	I don't really need details as much as ideas. What I've got so far: -Mundane ambush encounters (where the orcs come out of the trees or something) -Encounter with wild animals that are attracted to the rotting flesh of a less fortunate caravan. -An ambush that take place at a stream/river crossing. -A mounted attack on a fort the PCs have stopped at overnight. -Maybe an encounter where the PCs manage to catch the orcs unaware. Simply mix it up a bit each time. Surely a caravan would be passing through various terrain types. Terrain ideas: A narrow mountain pass A wide open plane A narrow road through a forest An open field covered in tall grass A risky ferry crossing fighting techniques: One group is all melee units One is mostly ranged units (especially annoying in the mountain pass) One is a mix One has managed to find a nearby monster and lead it to your caravan. Bear attack! Other ideas Perhaps all the orcs sneaking around have irritated a young dragon, and it comes to attack the orcs, and since the orcs are near you, it attacks you as well. The orcs help you fight off the dragon... sort of. Perhaps giving everyone a short rest between the two combats would make it less fatal. As the dragon falls, you eye each other warily and regroup for the final skirmish...
#3 mazaron Dec 19, 2008 20:33:13	I've got planned in the future (one or two sessions hence) on running an adventure where the PCs are accompanying a caravan on it's supply route to various key forts along a river. An enemy army on the other side of the river (basically an orc horde) are sneaking troops and supplies across to assault one of the last bridge crossings, and ultimately the PCs are gonna have to stop this. My problem is I don't want the entire adventure to be a bunch of random caravan attacks. I can only pull the orc ambush trick once or twice before the PCs will get tired of the monotony. The party will be 2nd level, some close to third (a few might reach 4th level during the course of this adventure), so I need encounters that work for those levels. I don't really need details as much as ideas. What I've got so far: -Mundane ambush encounters (where the orcs come out of the trees or something) -Encounter with wild animals that are attracted to the rotting flesh of a less fortunate caravan. -An ambush that take place at a stream/river crossing. -A mounted attack on a fort the PCs have stopped at overnight. -Maybe an encounter where the PCs manage to catch the orcs unaware. I plan on ending it with a short dungeon crawl, where the PCs raid the secret orc base and capture the supplies the orcs have been ferrying across the river. Any ideas on other encounters that sorta fit this theme? Even something like using a monster in a way I haven't thought of before. Something to make the encounters more interesting and memorable than just waves of orcs coming out of the trees every 16 hours or something. Other ideas: 1. Wildfire, forest fire up ahead. Does it cause them to change their route? Do they have to fight the fire? What caused it? 2. Flood. Get the caravan to high ground, perhaps find a way to stop the floodwaters? Sandbagging? 3. Something or someone demands a toll. Maybe some renegade knight, a troll or two, a band of ogres, an entire village. May not even be evil, or too powerful to take down but asking too much to be paid. 4. A predator is stalking the caravan, just slipping at night and taking a few people, or just one person, or a horse, disappearing before anyone can do anything. How do they defend the camp at night? Do they sacrifice travel time for time setting up a stockade each evening? Do they leave the caravan to go hunt it? See The Ghost and the Darkness. 5. Someone is murdered on the caravan. Do the orcs have an agent? Is someone a doppleganger? A lycanthrope? A serial killer? A robbery gone wrong? A lover's spat? Or silenced for some reason, maybe by an enemy agent. 6. The caravan passes a burning farmstead or a monster attacking a village. There is debate over whether or not the caravan stops to help and it stops is it vulnerable. 7. Dense fog, sandstorm, whiteout snowstorm reduces visiblity to near zero in an area without obvious close by landmarks or signs. What do they do? What does the mist or blizzard hide? 8. A wagon breaks a wheel or axle. How do they fix it? Do they have to leave something or someone behind? Go out and look for a wagonwright four miles or fourteen miles back? 9. Someone saw some large thing flying by. The PCs don't see it...it might have been a hawk. Or a harpy. Or a wyvern. Or a dragon.
#4 Martryn Dec 20, 2008 6:56:33	Awesome. Some great ideas in here! I've got about eight days to come up with some things, but I think, from just the two posts, I've got enough ideas to flesh out an interesting adventure for the PCs. In fact, some of these things seem so obvious now, I can't believe I was wracking my head trying to think of more ideas. I'll work on the adventure a little more tomorrow and post what I've got so far. Thanks again for being a great resource for an unimaginative DM to use.
#5 mazaron Dec 20, 2008 17:18:25	Awesome. Some great ideas in here! I've got about eight days to come up with some things, but I think, from just the two posts, I've got enough ideas to flesh out an interesting adventure for the PCs. In fact, some of these things seem so obvious now, I can't believe I was wracking my head trying to think of more ideas. I'll work on the adventure a little more tomorrow and post what I've got so far. Thanks again for being a great resource for an unimaginative DM to use. You seem plenty imaginative to me. Post in this thread what you do and how it turned out, I would be interested in reading it. Wasn't there an old 1950s Western series called Wagon Train? You might want to Google that, see if there are plot ideas to steal from there. Also maybe the adventures of Marco Polo, that was in part basically one long caravan trip.