dd.stevenson
Super KY
Short answer: yes and no, since to a very large extent, this relies on your presentation as the DM rather than what's written in the read-aloud text for room 2A.
Do your NPCs exploit each other/the PCs when they have the opportunity? (And not just in the physical senses of the word, but also as in using people instead of treating them with respect--think of how the sorceresses tend to treat Geralt, for example.) Does fear and ignorance drive the humans to act like monsters? Do the monsters' relationships with nearby humans mirror or sometimes surpass the humanity of the humans relationships with each other?
It's really rare to see a quest in The Witcher where the answer to at least one of these questions isn't "yes," and then more often than not, Geralt is prompted to choose whether he wants to draw his silver sword, draw his steel sword, or just walk away in disgust to let the monsters fight it out among themselves.
Adventures that have pre-written noir motivations like that--none spring to mind, but my experience with D&D adventures featuring heavily fleshed out NPCs is pretty narrow.
I hope I'm not misguiding you, btw--it may be that you're just looking to kick the asses of monsters resembling those found in the witcher, and that all this tone talk is not what you need for a fun introductory game.
Do your NPCs exploit each other/the PCs when they have the opportunity? (And not just in the physical senses of the word, but also as in using people instead of treating them with respect--think of how the sorceresses tend to treat Geralt, for example.) Does fear and ignorance drive the humans to act like monsters? Do the monsters' relationships with nearby humans mirror or sometimes surpass the humanity of the humans relationships with each other?
It's really rare to see a quest in The Witcher where the answer to at least one of these questions isn't "yes," and then more often than not, Geralt is prompted to choose whether he wants to draw his silver sword, draw his steel sword, or just walk away in disgust to let the monsters fight it out among themselves.
Adventures that have pre-written noir motivations like that--none spring to mind, but my experience with D&D adventures featuring heavily fleshed out NPCs is pretty narrow.
I hope I'm not misguiding you, btw--it may be that you're just looking to kick the asses of monsters resembling those found in the witcher, and that all this tone talk is not what you need for a fun introductory game.
