ZEITGEIST Zeitgeist Cut-Scene Idea - DMs ONLY!!

[gideonpepys]

SPOILER WARNING!!

This notion occurred to me when I read the Mangled Golem section of adventure #3. I thought it might be interesting to present the events that lead up to this grisly discovery as a cut-scene - either verbally (at the table) or as a short piece of fiction for the players to read.

The intention would be to provide drama, and an awareness that events the players have no control over are happening throughout the campaign.

I would plan to do this long before the start of Digging for Lies (as I have left room for a month or more of buffer adventures before we begin that part of the campaign). So when Carlao and co. call the players to the murder scene they (the players, not the characters) will recognise it.

My only concern is that any such account might give too much of the game away. This would not be the intention of cause, but placing Kasvarina (or rather 'an eladrin woman') at that location (as a cut-scene inevitably would) might give too much away.

What do you think to his idea?

 

[RangerWickett]

Depends on the players. How well do they ignore out of character knowledge?

Perhaps give the point of view of a rat in the basement. It would recognize the old man, the woman, the metal man, and the angry man.

 

[gideonpepys]

Depends on the players. How well do they ignore out of character knowledge?

Perhaps give the point of view of a rat in the basement. It would recognize the old man, the woman, the metal man, and the angry man.

Rat or no rat, that's pretty much all the info they'd get. No names, just what happens.

Or maybe some names?

I dunno. I guess I'm interested to see how they handle the dramatic irony.

If I try it I'll post a version here.

 

[gideonpepys]

Zeitgeist Interlude

SPOILERS

As promised, I have attached a final draft of the cut scene I plan to send my players to whet their appetites before Adventure #3.

Apologies for anything that runs contrary to the intentions of the original writers, and for the somewhat overwrought style.

Before sending it to my players I thought I would briefly double-check if any of the facts I have included would give the PCs too much information. (Not information they can use, but information that would passively spoil a big 'reveal' later in the campaign.)

Obviously, naming one of the NPCs is a bold move, but I want to challenge my players not to metagame this info, and handle it in the spirit it is intended. Bond doesn't respond to cut scenes involving Blofield, does he?

I think this particular scene has the added advantage of encouraging the party to view Leone as the BBEG, distracting them from any other suspicions they may have.

Also, I love the thought of them being called in to examine the murder scene in Digging For Lies and being unable to share the information they know!

Hope other DMs find it useful.

 

[RangerWickett]

Quite nice. A bit thicker with adjectives than I'd normally go for, but I'm okay with baroque verbiage.

Quick revision suggestions:

I think you meant 'nobility forgotten'.

Leone's line uses both 'fool' and 'foolishness', which sounds a bit clunky.

The golem crushing its master's skull might be a little unclear to people who don't know that the old man is the master. Perhaps it'd be better to say it crushes the old man's skull.

Sunder is a transitive verb, so Leone can sunder the golem, or the golem can be sundered.

Personally I'd end with Kasvarina screaming. She doesn't recognize Leone, and she just saw a gruesome murder. But more importantly, ending on a bit of menace should really confuse the players as to what the relationship between the three people is.



And I see no problem here with later events being spoiled.

 

[gideonpepys]

I quite agree on the adjective use. Thing is, a player of mine began this 'canon' of campaign-inspired literature, so I decided to run with the overwrought style he had adopted.

A nice editorial catch on 'sunder'.