Adventure Development: Resurrecting A Fallen Comrade

[ourchair]

This is probably familiar territory to most D&D vets, but I was just wondering what kind of practical considerations -- in terms of mechanics, fluff and actual play --- I'd need to measure for an adventure of such.

We're having a reunion adventure, for our very first 4E group. It consisted of 3 players, all part of a detective agency called Dragon Eye Inquisitives, set in a seedy noir town. In our last adventure, one of the players died while we were hunting zombies in the wilderness.

We haven't gamed together since last year as death of the character (a Half-Elf Warlock named Nalit Luminarin) coincided with the player suddenly having a full up schedule.

Now that we're getting back together, the obvious course of action is to bring him back to life, which is an adventure premise all its own. The player is comfortable trying out a new character but I think it is more epic to start with a descent into the planes and pulling him out, much like the recent Acquisitions Incorporated adventure at PAX 2010.

How would that work? It's essentially going to be two players, and the returning player controlling an NPC/minion, while going into locations that are clearly not intended for heroic tier.

I know we can customize, but what should we consider first?

 

[Lord Ernie]

I can think of two options off the top of my head, depending on the level of the characters (but still doable in Heroic, either way):

• They find a way into the Shadowfell to hunt down the fallen spirit of their comrade. They could run into some level-appropriate encounters, find his spirit, and fight their way out. The advantage here is that the absent player does not have to sit around for hours waiting for his character to be revived.
• Let the Raven Queen send them on some appropriate quest, in return for which she will grant them the boon of reviving their comrade. To let the formerly absent player take part, you could either give them a one-time character, or have the RQ send his spirit along on the quest (while giving him some appropriate limitations).

 

[DonAdam]

The obvious choice is to get the Warlock's patron involved. Either he has his soul and doesn't want to give it up or whatever he wants him to accomplish isn't done yet, but there will be a larger price to pay down the line.

 

[Mesh Hong]

If this is a seedy noir type game then why not make it seedy and noir?

What if the poor unfortunate’s soul has already been raised and put to work in the laboratories of a Big Boss style crime lord (maybe even an old adversary?).

Information can be passed to the PCs that their old friend has been spotted, they can do a little investigating to check out their source and uncover the exterior operations of a syndicate run by a nefarious villain. (of course in film noir the big bad guys are well known personalities).

The PCs will probably kidnap (or rescue if you prefer) their old friend who is in a zombie like state, then uncover a way to cast a “True Resurrection” on him to properly align his spirit and his body.

Once they have done this then they have a new villain to deal with (before he deals with them) complete with his own criminal empire which could very well be your ongoing main story, or series of side quests.

For added effect once rescued, but before the cure, the person playing the half-zombie (or Zombie Goon) could actually play an undead version of himself in a slight state of confusion with only vague or fleeting memories of his past life. This would allow you to run a short “Finding True Resurrection” story that would ease him back into the game in a fun and amusing way.

I am not sure if that is the type of thing you want but I hope it gives you some ideas.

 

[ourchair]

What if the poor unfortunate’s soul

I saw what you did there.

has already been raised and put to work in the laboratories of a Big Boss style crime lord (maybe even an old adversary?).[/COLOR][/FONT]

Information can be passed to the PCs that their old friend has been spotted, they can do a little investigating to check out their source and uncover the exterior operations of a syndicate run by a nefarious villain. (of course in film noir the big bad guys are well known personalities).

The PCs will probably kidnap (or rescue if you prefer) their old friend who is in a zombie like state, then uncover a way to cast a “True Resurrection” on him to properly align his spirit and his body.

Once they have done this then they have a new villain to deal with (before he deals with them) complete with his own criminal empire which could very well be your ongoing main story, or series of side quests.

For added effect once rescued, but before the cure, the person playing the half-zombie (or Zombie Goon) could actually play an undead version of himself in a slight state of confusion with only vague or fleeting memories of his past life. This would allow you to run a short “Finding True Resurrection” story that would ease him back into the game in a fun and amusing way.

I am not sure if that is the type of thing you want but I hope it gives you some ideas.

This is a great idea. The city is actually pretty well developed so far, but we don't have a real villain yet since most of the story has revolved around a benevolent mob boss-patron and 'monster of the week' detective mysteries. The question is how to set up this Big Bad in relation to the city's major players.... *goes off into thinking room*

 

[Mesh Hong]

A lot of this will probably be obvious to anyone running a noir styled game but it might give you a few ideas or be useful to anyone who isn’t familiar with the broad brush genre. I take most of my inspiration for this sort of thing from my love of black and white films, anything with Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, Edward G Robinson etc.

Classically “Mr Big” is a well known figure, usually of a legitimate or mainly legitimate business. It is generally well known that “Mr Big” is the leader of a criminal organisation but he keeps his fingers clean so that no real or serious wrongdoing can be pinned on him. It is a case of everyone knows that Mr Big ordered his triggerman to whack that guy, but there isn’t any evidence to back that up. While many people in society or authority would like to see Mr Big get whats coming to him they are either too afraid or lack to authority themselves to take him down, bear in mind that he usually has people in authority on the payroll to smooth things over and stop the majority of investigations against him or his business affairs. When this isn’t enough Mr Big usually has a patsy lined up to take a fall, and isn’t beyond letting his own men take the fall to save himself. When these guys get out of jail he will usually take them back onto the payroll with a greater degree of responsibility as they have proven their loyalty.

Mr Big usually has a nightclub, bar, or legitimate business office that he holds court in. This is commonly a nightclub in films as it allows for the greatest variety of scenes and allows for a small musical number to be thrown in to set the atmosphere or pad the running time a little. A nightclub is also great as it can have a good variety of sub locations; at the bar, seating/dining area (with private booths if necessary), dance floor, stage and dressing rooms, cloakroom, gambling rooms, back offices and main office.

Of course there are also good secondary locations. Classically; warehouse, warehouse on the docks, the docks in general, a boat at the docks, a private residence, a suspects residence or place of work, a back alley, a long flight of steps leading down to the seafront etc. Also don’t forget that the hero’s (PCs) home or work location is also a great place for a scene where Mr Big sends his goons to intimidate the PCs to dissuade them from meddling. It all depends on the plot of the story, but realistically you don’t actually need any more than 3 fleshed out locations to make a rounded story.

Whatever plot you settle on, and I realise that I haven’t even discussed plots, usually it is the hero (PCs) who provoke “Mr Big” into taking action himself. This is his fatal mistake as it either puts him in a position where the Hero (PCs) can kill him legitimately (self defence) or can link him directly to a criminal act and either have the police on hand to witness it and arrest him or take irrefutable evidence to the authorities for them to deal with.

A likely way of forcing Mr Bigs hand is to deplete the number of goons and sidekicks he has, forcing him to sort it out himself. But there are subtler ways if you PCs or plots are that way inclined.

Also remember that defeating Mr Big doesn’t always mean killing him or having him arrested. Sometimes Mr Big will have something you want, that could be markers from someone’s gambling debts, information he is using to blackmail someone, or in an extreme case kidnapped or indentured people. Of course in a fantasy setting this could be anything.

Anyway I hope you find this interesting or it gives you a few ideas.

 

[ourchair]

I'm familiar with most of the tropes of the noir style narrative (and no I didn't go to TVTropes to look it up) but having you spell it out is really helpful from a structural POV.

I'm thinking of swiping from Grim Fandango.

The characters -- Bez, Tiefling Artificer (the thinker of the group), Mercedes, Half-Orc Paladin (the cool headed muscle) and Loq, Changeling Wizard (my leap before looking character) -- could, in a bid to find ways to bring back their fallen comrade, look for a means to travel into the Limbo/Hell plane and plan to bust him out of there, then take him to an appropriate means of revivification.

They find that a Big Mob Boss, has a standing arrangement with a lesser demon, in which all the dead of the city are taken to a "Mournland" where they work as undying laborers -- a mineral quarry of some sorts -- in exchange, the demon receives... something? in exchange.

So the party boards the train, the Number Nine Express, and travel to the Mournland to free their fallen comrade, but must pose as undead servants as most of the cars are devoted to shipping new laborers OR they pose as rich high society clientele who are inspecting their investment in the quarry or purchasing a valuable resource from there.

Anyway, that's all I have for now... I'm gonna cook breakfast nao.

Of course there are also good secondary locations. Classically; warehouse, warehouse on the docks, the docks in general, a boat at the docks, a private residence, a suspects residence or place of work, a back alley, a long flight of steps leading down to the seafront etc. Also don’t forget that the hero’s (PCs) home or work location is also a great place for a scene where Mr Big sends his goons to intimidate the PCs to dissuade them from meddling. It all depends on the plot of the story, but realistically you don’t actually need any more than 3 fleshed out locations to make a rounded story.[/COLOR][/FONT]

Whatever plot you settle on, and I realise that I haven’t even discussed plots, usually it is the hero (PCs) who provoke “Mr Big” into taking action himself. This is his fatal mistake as it either puts him in a position where the Hero (PCs) can kill him legitimately (self defence) or can link him directly to a criminal act and either have the police on hand to witness it and arrest him or take irrefutable evidence to the authorities for them to deal with.

A likely way of forcing Mr Bigs hand is to deplete the number of goons and sidekicks he has, forcing him to sort it out himself. But there are subtler ways if you PCs or plots are that way inclined.

Also remember that defeating Mr Big doesn’t always mean killing him or having him arrested. Sometimes Mr Big will have something you want, that could be markers from someone’s gambling debts, information he is using to blackmail someone, or in an extreme case kidnapped or indentured people. Of course in a fantasy setting this could be anything.

Anyway I hope you find this interesting or it gives you a few ideas.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Hate to be a wet blanket, but every time I've tried to make a resurection all dramatic - or seen DMs try to do it - it seems to fall flat in some way. Like the guy up and dies again the next adventure. Or the player changes characters - or moves out of town, or his schedule doesn't let him continue in the game - and then you're trying to work the character out of the campaign, again. Or the drama somehow 'ruins' the character.

I'd recomend having the player just bring in a new character of the apropriate level. Maybe one with a more tenuous connection to the group, in case RL keeps him away from the table again.

 

[LostSoul]

If you are having a reunion adventure, why not let the player of the dead PC play his PC? Have him run around with a slave collar on or something that will keep him from running away back to the land of the living.

Since he's a Warlock, have him hang out in your seedy noir version of hell/the abyss/the feywild, wherever his soul has gone.

 

[ourchair]

Hate to be a wet blanket, but every time I've tried to make a resurection all dramatic - or seen DMs try to do it - it seems to fall flat in some way. Like the guy up and dies again the next adventure. Or the player changes characters - or moves out of town, or his schedule doesn't let him continue in the game - and then you're trying to work the character out of the campaign, again. Or the drama somehow 'ruins' the character.

I'd recomend having the player just bring in a new character of the apropriate level. Maybe one with a more tenuous connection to the group, in case RL keeps him away from the table again.

I don't expect to make anything big, bold or excessively dramatic and showy about his resurrection. If anything, the structure of the adventure is more akin to a mundane 'break out of prison' scenario that is likely to be rewarding enough on its own terms.

Also, we don't really intend to continue the campaign unless we can. It's more like 'the old group gets back together to play one more adventure' which is fitting since the campaign had always had an episodic format ('investigators solve the mystery of the week') prior to our schedules changing.

Furthermore, it was never a campaign that aspired for heavy drama in the first place, so busting him out isn't about how Awesome We Are. Still, even if he doesn't return for a follow up game for more than a month, it's fine. Think of it as the one-shot OAV follow up to a successful anime.