MortalPlague
Adventurer
My epic campaign is under way, five sessions in, and we've concluded the first adventure. I'm planning to have some down time in the capital city of Tilis, where the PCs will have a chance to unwind before they fly to meet a comet hurtling towards the world.
Now I could just say "You guys have a few days of down time, what do you do?". But invariably, that results in a bunch of people shrugging, and saying "I rest up" or "I hit the taverns" and not much in the way of fun. Besides, the city of Tilis has not yet had much face time, so I'd love to come up with some roleplay encounters to introduce the city and its residents.
And so it hit me; why not have a game? So I've concocted a game; the King's butler, Waldorf, will hide in a vault somewhere in the city which requires three keys to open. Nobles band together in pairs and scour the city, searching for the keys (each one carried by a distinct person), and the vault where Waldorf hides. The first to find Waldorf claims a hefty purse, and the prestige of victory!
I've got the rough outline for the game planned out. I'd love some input and suggestions; is there a particular course players can take that is far better than any others? Is it too hard? Too easy? Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Where's Waldorf?
A game for down time
The city of Tilis is the playing field; it is divided into twelve districts. Four wharf districts, four market districts, and four wealthy districts. The PCs begin with the knowledge that Waldorf is hiding in one of the districts, and three key-bearers are each in separate districts. The key-bearers may not share a district (they have a magical way to detect each other). A key-bearer moves to an adjacent district if another key-bearer enters his district.
The PCs will form teams of two (I have four PCs, so this split works well). Each team may move to an adjacent district for free, then choose one tactic on each turn. The tactics chosen unfold in the numbered order; so if one group picks [URL=http://www.enworld.org/forum/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=1]#1 [/URL] , they act before any of the other tactics happen. If there's a tie initiative is rolled to break it. Their choices are as follows:
1) Move - PCs may move to any district in the city.
At the start of any turn, PCs may move to an adjacent district without using an action. This action lets them traverse the city quickly
2) Search - PCs may attempt to find the key-bearer.
This is how you acquire the keys. To attempt it, you roll a d6. On a roll of 6, you find a key-bearer (if there are any to be found in the district). A key-bearer will relinquish a key, then move to an adjacent district. On a lesser roll, you may spend clue tokens to boost the roll by one per token.
If you roll a 6 and there are no key-bearers present, or if you spend clue tokens up to 6, you learn the district is empty.
3) Ask Around - PCs may gather clues to the key-bearer's whereabouts.
This is how you acquire clue tokens. Asking around will put the PCs into a social encounter (I'll have a few prepared) where they meet some of the NPCs of the city, and need to succeed on some sort of skill check. If they succeed, they gain a clue token. If they make the DC by 10 or more, they gain a second clue token.
If a PC asks around and there are no key-bearers in the district, they learn this information.
4) Recruit - PCs may recruit followers.
PCs love to go to the tavern, right? While there, they have the option to hire / convince followers to join them in their quest. They'll have a selection of three randomly-drawn followers who can help out in various ways. This will involve a roleplay encounter to recruit them.
Some examples: Doxy, Beggar, Scoundrel (needs a second ability), and Noble Strumpet
5) Cheat - PCs may attempt sneaky and underhanded tactics.
This is how the groups can mess with each other. This one will allow them to attempt to steal followers from other groups (that's what the loyalty number is for, it's a DC). I'm not sure what else will fall under this action, perhaps something with taking away the enemy's clue tokens?
6) Scry - PCs may use magic or religion to try and scry the location of the key-bearers.
This action happens last, but it's powerful. The PCs may use arcana or religion to scry up to three districts for the presence of a key-bearer. They get a yes / no answer for each district scryed.
So that's the game so far in a nutshell. The PCs will go around the city, searching for key-bearers while acquiring an entourage, gathering clues, and messing with the other team. Thoughts?
Now I could just say "You guys have a few days of down time, what do you do?". But invariably, that results in a bunch of people shrugging, and saying "I rest up" or "I hit the taverns" and not much in the way of fun. Besides, the city of Tilis has not yet had much face time, so I'd love to come up with some roleplay encounters to introduce the city and its residents.
And so it hit me; why not have a game? So I've concocted a game; the King's butler, Waldorf, will hide in a vault somewhere in the city which requires three keys to open. Nobles band together in pairs and scour the city, searching for the keys (each one carried by a distinct person), and the vault where Waldorf hides. The first to find Waldorf claims a hefty purse, and the prestige of victory!
I've got the rough outline for the game planned out. I'd love some input and suggestions; is there a particular course players can take that is far better than any others? Is it too hard? Too easy? Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Where's Waldorf?
A game for down time
The city of Tilis is the playing field; it is divided into twelve districts. Four wharf districts, four market districts, and four wealthy districts. The PCs begin with the knowledge that Waldorf is hiding in one of the districts, and three key-bearers are each in separate districts. The key-bearers may not share a district (they have a magical way to detect each other). A key-bearer moves to an adjacent district if another key-bearer enters his district.
The PCs will form teams of two (I have four PCs, so this split works well). Each team may move to an adjacent district for free, then choose one tactic on each turn. The tactics chosen unfold in the numbered order; so if one group picks [URL=http://www.enworld.org/forum/usertag.php?do=list&action=hash&hash=1]#1 [/URL] , they act before any of the other tactics happen. If there's a tie initiative is rolled to break it. Their choices are as follows:
1) Move - PCs may move to any district in the city.
At the start of any turn, PCs may move to an adjacent district without using an action. This action lets them traverse the city quickly
2) Search - PCs may attempt to find the key-bearer.
This is how you acquire the keys. To attempt it, you roll a d6. On a roll of 6, you find a key-bearer (if there are any to be found in the district). A key-bearer will relinquish a key, then move to an adjacent district. On a lesser roll, you may spend clue tokens to boost the roll by one per token.
If you roll a 6 and there are no key-bearers present, or if you spend clue tokens up to 6, you learn the district is empty.
3) Ask Around - PCs may gather clues to the key-bearer's whereabouts.
This is how you acquire clue tokens. Asking around will put the PCs into a social encounter (I'll have a few prepared) where they meet some of the NPCs of the city, and need to succeed on some sort of skill check. If they succeed, they gain a clue token. If they make the DC by 10 or more, they gain a second clue token.
If a PC asks around and there are no key-bearers in the district, they learn this information.
4) Recruit - PCs may recruit followers.
PCs love to go to the tavern, right? While there, they have the option to hire / convince followers to join them in their quest. They'll have a selection of three randomly-drawn followers who can help out in various ways. This will involve a roleplay encounter to recruit them.
Some examples: Doxy, Beggar, Scoundrel (needs a second ability), and Noble Strumpet
5) Cheat - PCs may attempt sneaky and underhanded tactics.
This is how the groups can mess with each other. This one will allow them to attempt to steal followers from other groups (that's what the loyalty number is for, it's a DC). I'm not sure what else will fall under this action, perhaps something with taking away the enemy's clue tokens?
6) Scry - PCs may use magic or religion to try and scry the location of the key-bearers.
This action happens last, but it's powerful. The PCs may use arcana or religion to scry up to three districts for the presence of a key-bearer. They get a yes / no answer for each district scryed.
So that's the game so far in a nutshell. The PCs will go around the city, searching for key-bearers while acquiring an entourage, gathering clues, and messing with the other team. Thoughts?
Last edited:
