Need help with an odd idea for a campaign set in the underdark...

[SuperFlyTNT]

My players decided they want to go to the underdark, the thing is this was a sea farring campaign so they sailed into the underdark to rescue a pc's sister from a drow outpost that was planning on shipping the slaves off to the deeper levels of the underdark along with other goods they robbed... original? Maybe not but it was fun none the less. So after they return the sister they want to keep going into the underdark. I had this idea that maybe they could run into a half demon who runs this kind of crazy casino. At first I thought it would be too wierd but the more I thought about it the more fun I figure I could have with it. I figure he could be so powerfull they would have to do what he wants IE: play casino games... I figure he could make them draw from a deck of many things allthough I dont like this idea because I tend to use the deck of many things far to often in my campaigns. I just need to think of some more activities for them down here. I want at least one of them to die. I was also thinking maybe of making one of the pc's be a doppleganger. In our first session my first two players pissed off a group of dopplegangers, they've killed all but one and suspect he's on the ship. I thought maybe I could have the half demon tell them that one of the pc's is the doppleganger only none of them are this would be pretty interesting to watch. Well any ideas where to go with this crazy campaign I have going?

 

[SuperFlyTNT]

Whats the matter you people dont like the underdark?

 

[Piratecat]

Only 40 minutes passed; is that really enough for a bump? Here's some questions:

Why is there a casino in the underdark? Who goes there? Who runs it besides the demon? Are they trading for souls, or money? is it in an underdark city? What is the demon's goal?

 

[SuperFlyTNT]

Only 40 minutes passed; is that really enough for a bump? Here's some questions:

Why is there a casino in the underdark? Who goes there? Who runs it besides the demon? Are they trading for souls, or money? is it in an underdark city? What is the demon's goal?

Well I kinda got the idea thinking about undermountain. I was like what would make it fun? A casino! So I decided Id have this mad demon who hangs out does crazy stuff and toys with adventurers by making them play games in his crazy casino. I figure they could play some games for money and then some higher stakes game. It wont be in a city, just like they are traveling through the underdark and happen upon a reception room where the plot begins.

 

[SuperFlyTNT]

Bump a saurus rex

 

[RangerWickett]

You've got a lot of ideas so far. Fitting them together will be the tricky part?

What else are you thinking about for the adventure? Will the demon casino play a big role, or is it more of a set-piece, just there to add flavor? What's the actual adventure? Will they just be exploring, or will there be a clear conflict they have to deal with?

Lying to the party and telling them there's a doppelganger among them could lead to some fun paranoia. It does seem appropriately evil for a half-demon to do, just to mess with the party. Do they trust the demon and sabotage their own group, or do they risk getting back-stabbed by doppelgangers?

This will be a lot more dangerous if there's an immediate mission they have to work on. If they can just chill and figure out who's the doppelganger in leisure, it's not that exciting. But if there's danger, they have to be paranoid. And it'll be fun.

 

[RangerWickett]

Oh, also, to make the game more fun, pull the different players aside and talk to them in private. Make it something important to their character, like a secret they have, or a goal they're pursuing. Basically, you do this will all the players, so that when you introduce the idea of the doppelganger in their midst, they'll think that you must have told someone "you're a doppelganger."

Do you trust your players to actually be a doppelganger, or do you just want this to be a trick? If one PC actually is a doppelganger, make sure you think up how the switch would have been made. You don't want to piss off a PC, or worse yet, tell them they're a doppleganger and then have them say they don't want to be. That'll mess with your plans. But even if it is just a trick, make up a few 'clues,' things to make the PCs suspicious of each other.

Here's an idea. People trust knowledge more if they have to work to get it. So maybe have the demon casino offer things other than money as prizes. Like, if you win a few hands in poker and get enough 'chips,' you can exchange them for a secret of some sort, or a favor. Have the owner play them in a card game, and if the PCs win, the demon hands over the 'secret' that one of the PCs is a doppelganger. Of course the demon might be lying. And even if the PCs lose, you can always find a different way to give them the information.

How do you run a game of cards in D&D? Simple. If it's a game of pure luck, you just make unmodified d20 rolls, and whoever's highest wins, but those are no fun. For a game with some skill, make opposed Intelligence checks. In some rules I've seen there's a skill called Knowledge (gaming and gambling), but your group's not likely to have that. So make opposed Intelligence checks (with a +2 synergy bonus if you have 5 or more ranks of Bluff). Keep track of how much each person wins by, and when once person is ahead by 20 points, they're considered to have won the pot.

You can always give the demon a skill bonus to his check, or increase the margin of success needed (the bigger the number, the more 'chips' it represents). You can use this basic idea for lots of different games you'd find at a casino.

 

[T-Bone]

I like the doppleganger idea.

Here are some ideas to implement it:

1. Plan ahead. at some time, seperate the PC's at the end of a gaming session. Somehow they get split up. Seems innocent now, but will be another point of doubt later.

2. When they get to the casino, the demon who runs it gambles with them, if they win, he tells them a secret. The secret is that one of them sitting at the table right now is a doppleganger. (but doesn't say who just yet.)

3. Have the demon say that behind this cell door is thier long lost friend who is currently being doppleganged. Who could it be? They must do something for the demon to free the mystery prisoner.

4. Decide wether the demon is telling the truth or not, or is it the doppleganger on the ship who got to the demon first to play this trick and is the one in the cell who will look like one of the PC's if rescued.

 

[brellin]

i love the casino idea and if you don't mind i would like to use it as well but only if it's o.k. with you? now on to the games in issue 302 of Dragon Magazine they had some card games but i myself have not used them yet so if that helps any oh and have a secret grand prize something really cool not just some magic weapon but something that will realy help them but make it hard to win it