[Planescape-ish] 101 Planar Adventures

[Wraith Form]

Looking for some shortish ("monster of the week" style, able to be completed in a few game sessions, a little more substantial than Side Quests) planar adventure ideas. Only requirements? That it fits in the new cosmology of the 4th ed planes, and that lower level characters (1st or 2nd) could feasibly handle the challenge. Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[Charger28Alpha]

Are you planning on a plane-hopping campaign, one in which the PCs visit other planes from time to time, or a one shot visit to another plane?

 

[Wraith Form]

The plan is to do some plane-hopping, based in Sigil.

I considered having my players be the "first contact" team, hired by a Sigilian employer to open unknown portals to new planes and survey the 'lay of the land' as it were. A scout team, essentially. (Almost like a fantasy-ized Start Gate, I suppose, although I haven't really watched the show.)

Even better, I'd prefer they were hired by a group of criminals who stake out/infiltrate locations to rob, specifically on new Prime Material planes that no-one's been to before.

(I love these ideas, it's coming up with an execution that doesn't become redundant week after week that worries me. "ANOTHER break-in?!? *yawn* Didn't we do this place last week?")

 

[Charger28Alpha]

Here are some ideas if you go with the criminal organization as patron route.

In addition to scouting out areas to see if there is loot to be stolen include:

1. Drug (any) plantations in the Feywild. At low levels the PCs can be messengers between bosses in Sigil and those running the plantation. At mid levels they can act as guards for the plantation. At high levels they can be responsible for bringing the harvest to processing/distribution centers in Sigil.

2. Hunting down those that owe money to or have screwed over the Bosses in Sigil. This works with any planar location, just adjust power level of hunted and any denizens of the plane to the PCs.

3. Tracking and catching creatures to be used in arena fights. At low levels PCs can do basic recon jobs to find interesting creatures. As they progress they can be part of the capture, and eventually work at the arena ensuring that the fights are "fair".

4. Smuggling goods or slaves. If the crimes bosses have multi-planar reach this would be very important to them, since big money is involved. Influence in other planes could come from selling weapons forged in the Abyss to primitive Orcs so they can conquer territory and then be beholden to the bosses.

5. As the PCs get more competent with planar travel, the Bosses could hire them out to the explorer group you mentioned. The explorer group would make a good cover for PCs as the scope out the new turf.

I could break these down in more specific ideas if you like. All I ask is that you let me know how powerful the criminal group is, and what strengths and weaknesses the PCs have.

 

[Wraith Form]

Frakkin' amazing. That's some nice work, Charger!


Power level? The PCs will be level 1 or 2 to begin with, then after a few sessions under our collective belts they'll jump up to level 5 or so, then up to level 9 or 10. We'll proceed into Paragon tier and level normally from there.

I still have several weeks before we'll be starting--I'm not even sure what races or classes they'll be playing. They don't know that I plan on sending them to the planes. My players have the attention span of gnats, so I planned to run some shorter-termed and 'plot-lite' games for now. The ideas you presented are both straightforward, yet diverse enough, for me to run a few good games without boredom setting in!

If you have access to the original PS boxed set, I was going to use the first adventure (For the Price of a Rose) as a starting point, either run the adventure as-is and just have the Plunderers recruit the players, or possibly (if they hunt down and kill Yangol) insist that the characters replace him.

(The PCs will be trapped in Sigil--they won't know where the portal/door to their home plane, or what the portal activator key, is. This is a great opportunity to extort them for their services.)

 

[Charger28Alpha]

The PCs will be trapped in Sigil--they won't know where the portal/door to their home plane, or what the portal activator key, is. This is a great opportunity to extort them for their services.

If the PCs are content with the work and rewards they do for the crime bosses the may eventually decide that the do not want to go home.

Along those lines if any or your players start expressing interest in playing a PC from Sigil or one of the other planes. You can have the Bosses offer to send them back to their home plane, as one of their representatives. Then you turn old PC into NPC, and give player a planar character.

 

[Wraith Form]

If the PCs are content with the work and rewards they do for the crime bosses the may eventually decide that the do not want to go home.

This is what I hope, although it would be very LOST-like if their long-term goal was to eventually get home.

Along those lines if any or your players start expressing interest in playing a PC from Sigil or one of the other planes. You can have the Bosses offer to send them back to their home plane, as one of their representatives. Then you turn old PC into NPC, and give player a planar character.

We'll see. I've decided to limit the initial races to just what the Character Builder can create, but I do realize there are some races that would be completely appropriate on the planes (and more will likely be available as races are added by WotC).

 

[Wraith Form]

Anybody else have an idea? We have 96 to go....lol...

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

I say go beg, borrow, buy, or steal a copy of a Star Gate DVD, lol. There are a LOT of episodes that will give you various ideas. The basic premise of the show is different from your 'working for crime lords' concept, but some of the stuff would still work, and there are certainly a lot of basic adventure elements you could steal.

Or you could base the premise of this campaign more closely on the Star Gate model itself, where the PCs are good guys and there are also bad guys out there using the gates as well. I think it would make a pretty good campaign.

 

[Wraith Form]

I say go beg, borrow, buy, or steal a copy of a Star Gate DVD, lol. There are a LOT of episodes that will give you various ideas. The basic premise of the show is different from your 'working for crime lords' concept, but some of the stuff would still work, and there are certainly a lot of basic adventure elements you could steal.

Ironically (or not so), I just got the first two seasons for this very purpose. Now I just need to watch them ASAP and blatantly steal ideas galore...