Hello All,
I'm trying to put together my frist adventure. I have always run pre-made adventures and want to try my hand at running something of my own. Having said that, I would like some help.
Here is the general idea:
I'm calling this "Coins of the Dead". There is a set of coins that when seperated cause the person holding one of the coins to fall into a coma. Until both coins are brought together and placed over the persons eyes they can not be woken up. My plan is to have the wife of one of the main NPC's in the town we are using to get one of the coins and have the other taken. The PC's will need to get the other coin back within a given time frame in order to bring her out of the coma.
We have a thieves guild that we have used in the past. My thought was to use this guild. Maybe they are trying to punish the NPC for some reason.
Any help with this would be great. I would like to have at least one Skill Challange in the game.
If I can give anymore infomation, let me know.
Beldar
Investigation into how she got the coin might lead them to the merchant who paid her coins in change. The thief will just be the specialist tasked with removing one coin and leavint the other.
So what you have is a conspiracy - that would look like the Thieves Guild but is infact some other villain.
Working Title: SQUARE COINS
Intro
The wife of Merchant A falls into a coma. On her person is an (old?) coin. The coin has some weird properties and may or may not be discerned as the cause of the problem but its removal is not the solution.
Employment
The PCs are brought in to investigate.
Avenues of Investigation
- Investigation of the moment she collapses leads to the market place, and possibly the guild - dont know how yet.
- Investigation of the idea it was a guild thief hired to 'put the coin on the victim' might lead to the fact that the thief removed a coin - rather than placed a coin on the victim. This reveals important information about the coins. Further negotiation with the Guild might allow the PCs to convince them that 'Murder' was outside their agreement with the BBEG and that they are being fitted up to murder by theft - she will die if she doesnt come out of the coma.
- Investigation of the Coin should lead to some archive of knowlegdge - and coin collection.
- Investigation of Rivals and Enemies of the Merchant shoud direct the PCs toward some rivals and likely the BBEG amongst them - but the Merchant may not wish to cooperate as this will expose his own financial dealings.
Revenge on the BBEG
Have the PCs hand both coins to the BBEG and have a Thief remove one coin...
Sean
Hey Beldar, you want to have fun with your PCs?
1) Make sure that the wife and merchant are good friends with one of the PCs
2) Tell the Rogue in the group that the theives guild in this town is especially talented, and recieving training from the guild master could gain him extra xp
3) Once the rogue investigates the guild, the guild master says that in order to join he must "prove himself" by performing a simple task only then will the guild master train him. Of course the task is to have the party rogue steal the coin from the merchant. Make it apparent that once approached, refusing the task could result in serious bodily harm.
The Rogues guild learned of the coins existence when they had a member of the guild pose as a servant girl in the house. The merchant's wife doesn't keep the two coins stored together, which is why the guild only learned of the one. The guild will have detailed plans of the house, and some fore knowledge of any alarms or traps there might be. They haven't moved on the coin yet because the town's magistrate is aware of the membership, and they would be the first to be suspected. The planted servant couldn't steal it for obvious reasons. The arrival of the PC rogue provides them with a unique opportunity.
Make the servant girl a sympathetic charater who is only working for the guild to pay off her father's debt, and when the merchant's wife falls into a coma and its learned that its due to the theft she feels guilty. Or conversely, she could use the "father's debt" story to gain sympathy from the PCs if caught.
4) If your rogue PC refuses the task, or fails to perform it, the coin is stolen anyway... and now the party rogue has a good idea where to start looking. Of course, in the mean time, the guild is looking for the rogue... and anyone who is with him becomes collateral damage... In addition, other items from the merchants vault mysteriously end up in the PC rogues room... and the magistrate recieves an "anonymous tip"...
The magistrate himself, a stuffed shirt "by the numbers" kind of guy, wears "the pendant of danas" (or whatever), which gives him a +5 insight bonus. Its not easy to lie to the magistrate, and he has a strong reputation for uncovering the guilty.
Zaniness ensues... 
That is awesomeness Dave. It is exactly what I have been advising a few DM's out there to do: get the players involved in the plotline. Not just aware of it, but in the thick of it.
Keep your plot fluid, be ready to roll and flow with the players.
NPC's are people too! They don't have to deliver lines from a script to ensure a preordained plot. They should be able to influence and be influenced by the players.
That is awesomeness Dave. It is exactly what I have been advising a few DM's out there to do: get the players involved in the plotline. Not just aware of it, but in the thick of it.
Keep your plot fluid, be ready to roll and flow with the players.
NPC's are people too! They don't have to deliver lines from a script to ensure a preordained plot. They should be able to influence and be influenced by the players.
Yeah, I've been trying to do the same thing. Most DM's can come up with pretty good plots, but stop there, and forget the NPCs. Understanding their motivations, why they do the things they do, and how certain things came to be suggest additional storylines and plot points themselves.
My favorite thing to do is come up with a linear plot, develop the characters, and then look for ways I can "twist it" so the players will think they are trying to accomplish one thing, when actually its something completely different. Of course, you can't over do it or the players will never trust a thing you say... so I try to sprinkle truths in often enough so they won't know when the hammer is going to fall.
I try to find ways to connect the PCs directly to the plot and the setting through relatives, friends that aren't PCs, and personal enemies. I look at the player backgrounds and try to figure out how to connect that to the current plot.
In general, once this is done, the stories start writing themselves.