In a few sessions, the players in my group will be heading into the lion’s den in game.
Essentially, they need some vital information that can only be obtained from a reclusive sage in the capitol city of a large kingdom. However, this is a human-dominated nation that really looks down their noses at both non-humans like elves and dwarves, but even other humans not from their kingdom because those impure humans mix with the “lesser races.” (If you know the setting, it is the kingdom of Eldor in Kalamar)
The players are not all Eldoran humans – in fact, none of them are. There are three humans in the group that are from the more tolerant kingdom to Eldor’s South, plus an elf, a dwarf and a Halfling. The make-up of the group is a cleric, a fighter/paladin, a rogue, a fighter, a psion and a sorcerer. The elf is from the Lendelwood, an area that Eldor is at war with, though the pace of the war is more along the lines of skirmishes.
Eldor is pretty extreme in their prejudices – no self-respecting merchant will do business with the party if they have a non-human in it; and if caught outside after dark, the non-humans will likely be jailed. Any non-human will also likely get stares and glares when walking through the city during the daytime, and they might find themselves tailed by the city watch and/or beset by a mob of angry locals. The PCs might be able to find a church/temple to stay in while in the city, or else might get lucky and find a place that will charge them double or triple the normal price for a night at the inn.
(And, if you ask why I sent them there in game: I gave the party four different places to find an equivalent sage, but they chose Eldor because it was the closest despite their knowledge of the kingdom’s lack of tolerance.)
So, my questions/comments are:
1) Has anybody run an adventure where almost the entire population of a city of 100,000 people at best will look down upon the party and glare at them, and at worst be openly hostile towards them? If so, how did you handle it? How did it go in game?
2) Any good suggestions/ideas for an encounter in the city beyond the angry mob, followed by the city watch? (The party will likely be level 8-9 in 3.5E here). The sage they seek is at a local college of sages which is somewhat neutral ground, but the party still has to travel through town to get there, and then back again.
3) I am torn between having them get in and out of the city quickly (overnight), and having them stuck there for a bit longer. Would you suggest to the party via an NPC that the three non-humans stay on the ship while the three humans visit the sage? Or, possibly give them a one-shot potion each to alter their appearances so the party can stay together? (Would the dwarf go for that?)
Essentially, they need some vital information that can only be obtained from a reclusive sage in the capitol city of a large kingdom. However, this is a human-dominated nation that really looks down their noses at both non-humans like elves and dwarves, but even other humans not from their kingdom because those impure humans mix with the “lesser races.” (If you know the setting, it is the kingdom of Eldor in Kalamar)
The players are not all Eldoran humans – in fact, none of them are. There are three humans in the group that are from the more tolerant kingdom to Eldor’s South, plus an elf, a dwarf and a Halfling. The make-up of the group is a cleric, a fighter/paladin, a rogue, a fighter, a psion and a sorcerer. The elf is from the Lendelwood, an area that Eldor is at war with, though the pace of the war is more along the lines of skirmishes.
Eldor is pretty extreme in their prejudices – no self-respecting merchant will do business with the party if they have a non-human in it; and if caught outside after dark, the non-humans will likely be jailed. Any non-human will also likely get stares and glares when walking through the city during the daytime, and they might find themselves tailed by the city watch and/or beset by a mob of angry locals. The PCs might be able to find a church/temple to stay in while in the city, or else might get lucky and find a place that will charge them double or triple the normal price for a night at the inn.
(And, if you ask why I sent them there in game: I gave the party four different places to find an equivalent sage, but they chose Eldor because it was the closest despite their knowledge of the kingdom’s lack of tolerance.)
So, my questions/comments are:
1) Has anybody run an adventure where almost the entire population of a city of 100,000 people at best will look down upon the party and glare at them, and at worst be openly hostile towards them? If so, how did you handle it? How did it go in game?
2) Any good suggestions/ideas for an encounter in the city beyond the angry mob, followed by the city watch? (The party will likely be level 8-9 in 3.5E here). The sage they seek is at a local college of sages which is somewhat neutral ground, but the party still has to travel through town to get there, and then back again.
3) I am torn between having them get in and out of the city quickly (overnight), and having them stuck there for a bit longer. Would you suggest to the party via an NPC that the three non-humans stay on the ship while the three humans visit the sage? Or, possibly give them a one-shot potion each to alter their appearances so the party can stay together? (Would the dwarf go for that?)