Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 patch42 Sep 11, 2009 3:43:04	for a while a I have been playing with the idea of a series of one off adventure type things with the PC's playing the part of an elite response team in a high fantasy city for when I'm short players or i cant get something ready in time. I figured I could have them raid troll drug factories, thieves dens and hostage situations and the like but I was hoping I could draw from the vast creativity of the masses for something more original and exiting without me having to read a bunch of bloody tom clancey book's.   Also I'm not sure if I should run with an established city like halavar or sigil(especially with sigil due to be flushed out in detail the DMG2) or if it would be worth my time to put together a city of my own devising witch might allow me a bit more freedom with the how, why, and what.   also WOOT for first post. Edit: So upon further thought I've decided to make the city from scratch but I 'm not sure how a city that is orderely and lawful enough to have an emergency response unit and allow for the widest possiblity of enimes and scenerious. I figure i just need to figure out the basic power structure and basic economic structure that allows a compisition of preety much evry creature in the planes. also I'm not really sure how to handle equipment, as a swat unit they should be able to choose their equipment based on what is happening (though depending on the situation that could change) so im thinkig of going with a equipment locker type thing just give them a big pool they can draw items out of before the adventure. Also im not sure if I should bother making the magic items myself allowing me to give them all the appropriate flavor of swat-ness or if I should just try to draw enough suitable items from the core books. any and all ideas vastly appricated.
#2 slobo777a Sep 11, 2009 5:24:43	I ran a short city adventure which was effectively "Predator 2", starting with a Cult of Poison instead of drug enforcement. The first part, with the cult, worked very well. I made it a bit more of an explore, and still had dangerous stuff active in their temple. The party also bought into the mystery of "who killed them all then". The rest of the Predator 2 story was a bit dull, and either I should have sped it up (a skill challenge might work really well to track down the "predator"), or introduced some more, less powerful bad guys, so there was a more interesting combat at the end. Perhaps a variant on predator who uses some "pets" to hunt . . .
#3 sparkchaser Sep 11, 2009 7:12:39	You're probbaly better off making your own city. That was you can borrow as much as you want from other cities/settings/systems. As for adventure ideas, look to TV shows for inspiration. A bank heist would be interesting.   I once had a similar idea, but the "opposite" side of the law. The PCs would be the "investigative / enforcement" arm of the local thieves guild.
#4 patch42 Sep 16, 2009 17:44:29	The predetor thing gives me some ideas that could be preety cool after i mull them over for a bit.
#5 Shiftkitty Sep 17, 2009 14:13:16	Although it's a 3.5 third-party module, look for "Three Days to Kill". My group really enjoyed that one for the "special forces" feel to it.
#6 zycrom Sep 18, 2009 2:42:35	A crime syndicate.   have the players tasked to investigate some muders for the king at the request of the nobles, as the players roll back the organisation, starting with lieoutenants and sub-bosses they slowly discover the corruption of the nobles and the king oders the players to stop, but the players by this time dont want to stop and so they become criminals themselves until they discover the over-boss of the syndicate is the king and they kill him too.
#7 blackdrgn121 Sep 18, 2009 9:46:57	Kind of pointless but an idea I toyed with in a previous campaign.  I had a warforged paladin with the warforged juggernaut PP.  Got myself one of the various magic items that says I never take damage from fall, and one of my allies owned an airship.  Need a fast entry?  How about 400 pounds of person and armor dropping through the roof?  It would be a good fast deployment method and could also give a fun bit of flavor to the game.
#8 patch42 Sep 18, 2009 12:01:41	Kind of pointless but an idea I toyed with in a previous campaign.  I had a warforged paladin with the warforged juggernaut PP.  Got myself one of the various magic items that says I never take damage from fall, and one of my allies owned an airship.  Need a fast entry?  How about 400 pounds of person and armor dropping through the roof?  It would be a good fast deployment method and could also give a fun bit of flavor to the game. THat is an absoultly epic mental image that im going to use at some ponint or another. Just the idea of a squad of warforged being carried through the air by rocs or dragons of somekind and dropping in to random "hot" situations.
#9 pbn Sep 18, 2009 16:33:34	Magic Using Rapid Deployment Emergency Response (MURDER) Squad Warlock (Striker) Wizard (Controller) Bard (Leader) Sorceror (Striker) Swordmage (Defender) good morning agents - We just got a message from the lord of this city.  It seems that his youngest daughter is missing.  He suspects a rogue element within the magic academy to be at fault.  We had our undercovers place some scrying foci around the building, and sure enough - it seems they're doing some extra-curricular necromancy.  From what we could gather they plan to begin their ritual with her tonight.  On the desks you'll see up to date maps of the various floors of the building, as well as the 3 suspected locations - we haven't had visual confirmation of her placement - only her arrival.  You'll also find a scroll - that should open up a temporary portal to the area in the lower level denoted by the red X.  Your task is to get in there, get the girl, and get out.  Needless to say - such accusations against the academy would be detrimental to all, so this mission is to be considered highly sensitive and kept on a need to know basis.  Good luck team. (of course, they don't realize that She is the one that leads the necromancers, but oh well)
#10 patch42 Sep 18, 2009 18:52:58	Magic Using Rapid Deployment Emergency Response (MURDER) Squad Warlock (Striker) Wizard (Controller) Bard (Leader) Sorceror (Striker) Swordmage (Defender) good morning agents - We just got a message from the lord of this city.  It seems that his youngest daughter is missing.  He suspects a rogue element within the magic academy to be at fault.  We had our undercovers place some scrying foci around the building, and sure enough - it seems they're doing some extra-curricular necromancy.  From what we could gather they plan to begin their ritual with her tonight.  On the desks you'll see up to date maps of the various floors of the building, as well as the 3 suspected locations - we haven't had visual confirmation of her placement - only her arrival.  You'll also find a scroll - that should open up a temporary portal to the area in the lower level denoted by the red X.  Your task is to get in there, get the girl, and get out.  Needless to say - such accusations against the academy would be detrimental to all, so this mission is to be considered highly sensitive and kept on a need to know basis.  Good luck team. (of course, they don't realize that She is the one that leads the necromancers, but oh well) The MURDER squad bit is officaly stolen. And that is almost exactly the kind of thing I was thinking of adventure wise.   I was thinking that the city could be founded by an ex adventurer who became a planeshaper who created the city out of her(or his?) love for..commerce? just evrything in general? or maybe a desire to create a city where any may call it home and catering to those who can find a home nowhere else. kind of give it a ankh-morpork of the astral sea kind of feel, But im not sure if that kind of city works well with a structerd response team.
#11 The_Jester Sep 20, 2009 0:21:59	The lord could be a nut for order, maybe a deva or extremely lawful good type. Or even a non-human.   Or they could have a private employer, like a knightly order or retired adventurer. They could be leased to the city when necessary or hired for additional odd jobs.
#12 garner_adam Sep 20, 2009 16:18:51	Although it's a 3.5 third-party module, look for "Three Days to Kill". My group really enjoyed that one for the "special forces" feel to it. I ran that module and it was a blast. Changed my perspective on magic items a lot too.
#13 johnnii Sep 21, 2009 4:35:29	I haven't read the book, but a fantasy SWAT team sounds a lot like the Wraith Recon campaign setting