D&D 5E Would you help me with tonight's game session?

Hello,

I'm looking for inspiration for tonight's game session in a game I DM where the storyline writes itself as we go, based on a well-defined set premise. We're 8 sessions into the game, and I hope to have it last about 15, so I don't want to side-track the main plot in any significant way.

Background: a group of savage humans worship a demon, thinking him to be a long-gone deity. They use bugbears, that they control, to instill fear before "freeing" other human cities from the bugbears. This allows them to meet little opposition and then, after, the demons come in, diguised as angels, to feed/corrupt/contaminate humans from whom other demons rise. Also, a group of orcs is tracking an artifact that the human savages have stolen from monks who stole it from the orcs. This artifact allows the human savages to be empowered by cleric-like magical powers. One NPC monk is with the PCs now.

The PCs' situation: They have left a nearby city that was taken by the savages, after having killed a high-ranking "cleric" of the demon/fake deity. When leaving the city, the PCs/players randomly picked a nearby place to go on the map called "the cursed tower" for no reason whatsoever. There, they've been attacked by undead in what looks like a... cursed tower. They are still inside the tower, having fought ghouls outside and wights inside.

My cunundrum: I don't know what to do with this tower, really. Question 1: Should the tower be part of the plot somehow? This seems counter-intuitive, and would support the players deciding again on picking any place randomly to go to, thinking I'll arrange for it to become relevant. Or, should it be a useless side-quest that they'll wonder why they went there?

Either way, question 2: what happened in the tower, why is it cursed?

Question 3: how to link the tower's story to the plot without it being central to the plot?

Any ideas are welcome, in addition to/replacement of the above questions that are there as guides more than anything.

Thanks!

Skyscraper said:

the PCs/players randomly picked a nearby place to go on the map called "the cursed tower" for no reason whatsoever.

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Players!

Question 1: Should the tower be part of the plot somehow?

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Depends on the style you're going for. If you're want'n to 'sandbox' and 'have player decisions matter,' no, of course not, they should all die or mostly get cursed as a result of willfully going to a tower clearly labeled 'cursed.'

If you've more of a story arc in mind and a schedule to keep, sure. Destiny awaits.

There, they've been attacked by undead in what looks like a... cursed tower. They are still inside the tower, having fought ghouls outside and wights inside.
question 2: what happened in the tower, why is it cursed?

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Hmmm... Corporeal undead. Eternal hunger outside, violence & hatred within? Yep, that (OK, & Masque o/t Red Death) sparks an idea:
The tower was the stronghold of a cruel (but canny and far-sighted) nobleman. Like any cruel noble, he taxed and abused his people for his own gain and amusement. When famine struck, he was well-prepared, his tower stocked not merely with food but luxuries to last for years. He invited other nobles (not so well-prepared), both allies and bitter enemies, to wait out the calamity in his tower. Common people all over the land, starving, turned upon eachother and even resorted to cannibalism - inevitably hardened, desperate and descending into savagery, they laid siege to the tower.

Inside, the noble's cruelty grew to madness. He delighted in the brutal defense of his tower from the disorganized untrained & starving rabble outside the walls. He plotted with his guest and set them against eachother, at first subtly then in increasingly vindictive 'games.' Ultimately, he and/or some of his guests turned to pacts with dark powers, or otherwise found their way from life, through horror, to undeath. Similar fates befell the besiegers.

Now, both prey upon any foolish enough to approach the Cursed Tower.

Question 3: how to link the tower's story to the plot without it being central to the plot?

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The Dark Powers who offered survival in undeath at the height of the famine might be the same Demons who are masquerading as a God & angels, now. Though no longer concerned with the Tower and that failed bid at invading the world, it's ruins could hold clues to their defeat...

You should have them approach the tower, and discover it in flames. As they get closer, it collapses, and they spy a larger group of people in front of it. That group is a party of adventurers, decked out with glowing weapons, fancy armor, and so on, along with their virtual army of hirelings and servants. They are tying down huge loads on several carts; as they tighten, a few platinum pieces and gems pop out of cracks/tears. "Oh, the Cursed Tower? We took care of all that. There was a lich in there, with hundreds of monstrous minions. All dealt with, and with barely a scratch. You're more than welcome to pick through the rubble once it cools down..."

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Question 1: Definite maybe! =D

Question 2: The tower is haunted by a banshee who was captured by a human noble in years past to be his wife. Instead she committed suicide and cursed the him and his tower. Over the years the negative energy has attracted all sorts of monstrosities into the tower, which at times can seem to possess its own sense of malice towards the world. The plot can then be the PC's figuring out the story and lifting the curse or destroying the banshee's presence.

Question 3: The tower, while unrelated to the main plot, has been there a long time. If the curse is lifted and the elven spirit released then maybe before departing to the afterlife the Banshee could give the PC's some local knowledge that she has gleaned as it relates to the cult and bugbears, such as enemy movement or a local camp/chapter/leader.

I would say to have the original inhabitants of the tower be people who opposed the false clerics in the past, and who were destroyed for it. So you can include some clues as to the background of the campaign and share a bit of info with the PCs. Maybe have the tower having belonged to a wizard and his allies...adventurers or heroes that opposed the cult. Have their spirits not at rest...use whatever undead you think appropriate. Maybe they can't rest until they know another group of people have taken up their cause.

The tower is not really haunted. It's a Scooby-Doo mystery where Old Man Crawford wants everybody to think it's haunted so that they stay out. Populated by constructs, illusions and traps it turns out that Crawford wanted a place to do his "experiments" in peace.

Or what some of the other posters said. Good luck!

Skyscraper said:

Question 3: how to link the tower's story to the plot without it being central to the plot?

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It's not, your players randomly selected somewhere to go. I wouldn't try to connect the plot to the tower as this sets a precedent for your players and that precedent is "Anywhere we click on the map is connected to the plot".

Either:
Decide that the reasons for it being called "the cursed tower" have been lost to the mists of time and now its just a foreboding but empty ruin, or;
There is something nasty or weird there and make an adventure around it, but don't try to shoehorn the plot into it. Just make it into a fun side trek.

transtemporal said:

Decide that the reasons for it being called "the cursed tower"

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Another more Scooby-doo reason that occurred to me, that the OP also can't use because they're already inside it fighting undead. It's neither cursed, nor even a tower. It's the home of the cartographer who drew the map, and he doesn't like visitors.

Tony Vargas said:

Another more Scooby-doo reason that occurred to me, that the OP also can't use because they're already inside it fighting undead. It's neither cursed, nor even a tower. It's the home of the cartographer who drew the map, and he doesn't like visitors.

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And his name is Baudrillard?

Probably too late to reply, but you could consider keeping it separate, let them run through it, then upon leaving they encounter a group of the "savages" with a few hobgoblins who were coming to clean the joint out themselves for whatever reason. Nothing worse than having the "bad guys" thank you for doing their hard work as they draw their weapons, smirking all the while.