bounty hunter campaign idea

[goldbond]

Hello folks! I'm new to D&D and I'd like to add some fun ideas to my first game.

Here's my idea: a 17 year old prince had a heated disagreement with his father and has fled without a trace. The King has assembled the best bounty hunters in the land to apprehend his son and bring him back alive and unharmed.

The prince is good with disguises, skilled with swords and daggers, and is an amateur spellcaster.

For the seasoned players out there, how would you go about capturing and returning him to his father unharmed? What kind of items, weapons, or skills would you use?

 

[Gilladian]

I guess my first question is about the campaign world. What sort of kingdom? Is this traditional fantasy medieval? Are there other kingdoms? If so are they friendly or at war? Temporary or long peace? What tech level?

Second, who knows the Prince is missing? Is it general knowledge? A state secret? Just not widely known yet? Are there others hunting him? Does he hate his father, or just want to live his own life? Is he likely to flee the kingdom, or go into hiding? Does anyone know?

Third, who were the Prince's friends? Will they talk to the heroes? Will they help find him, or cover his tracks? What do they want, and why?

The answers to all these questions, and many more you can ask yourself, will begin to shape your campaign long before you know whether the prince is good with weapons...

 

[goldbond]

Hi Gilladian! I really appreciate you taking the time to thoughtfully respond to my thread. You have given me some great pointers to really flesh out this campaign. I've thought about it a little bit more, and here's some answers:

1. The kingdom is traditional fantasy medieval.
2. The Kingdom has hostilities and distrust with another province across the sea, but not active war.
3. The King has decided to make his son's disappearance known only to his closest and most trusted officers (and a group of elite bounty hunters), so as not to make the issue a form of leverage for opposing forces.
4. It is likely that the Prince would disguise himself and try to flee the kingdom.
5. The prince does have some close friends, but since the King is offering a magnificent reward in gold for the prince's capture and safe return, who's to say that one of his friends wouldn't betray him

 

[Herobizkit]

I'm assuming the players are higher than level 1. If not, they're not the best bounty hunters in the land unless they're the ONLY bounty hunters in the land... probably.

Hire someone to scry (Scrying, level 5 spell for most casters) for him, or learn/prepare said spell when able.

Hire (or have) a Ranger, Rogue, and/or a Bard into the party. These classes are more likely to have the skills necessary to track your fugitive and suss out disguises. Druids who can change into animals for tracking or summoning trackers would be helpful as well.

Bounty hunting in fantasy is likely about foot traffic and communication; it's also about knowing as much about your target as possible. Look for friends, known associates, former business dealings, anything that will help determine where the young Prince may go and what kind of risk he may be to himself and others while evading capture.

 

[goldbond]

Hi Herobizkit! Thank you for replying to a newbie's thread . I like the party you recommended, and the scry ability would be extremely useful, I hadn't thought of that.

Let's say we've tracked the prince and it's time to capture him. Obviously, he would be desperate NOT to get captured, and would surely fight to the utmost to prevent being captured. Now here's the tricky part: the King made it explicitly clear that he does not want the prince harmed (or at the very least, not permanently harmed.) I've read about inflicting non-lethal/subdual damage, but even that might violate the bounty agreement.

What could be some ways, tricks, items, or weapons that could subdue a desperately resisting subject who is both armed and a spellcaster?

 

[Wednesday Boy]

the King made it explicitly clear that he does not want the prince harmed

"You are free to use any methods necessary, but I want him alive. No Disintegrates."

 

[goldbond]

"You are free to use any methods necessary, but I want him alive. No Disintegrates."

Yeah, disintegrations would DEFINITELY be a no-no! lol

 

[Gilladian]

One thing to keep in mind is the commonness of raise dead, etc... Why would killing him be such a no-no in those circumstances?

Also remember that as DM you don't have to know every answer to how your party can solve a problem. Maybe they will find another way you never thought of. Don't sweat it. Never present a problem that you have FIXED on a single answer to; however, once you know there is at least AN answer, you can use the challenge for your pcs.

 

[Herobizkit]

Magic is always the answer.

Silence spells prevent casting.
Any movement restricting spells. In 1st level alone there's Charm Person, Command, Entangle, Fog Cloud (maybe), Hold Person, Jump and/or Longstrider (to catch up to the target), Sleep, Tasha's Hideous Laughter...

It's more important that the players come up with an idea than you coming up with all potential counters to their ideas beforehand.

Also, if they use non-lethal damage, it can always be Cured back. :3

For weapons, you've got Nets. Maybe lassos and Tanglefoot Bags (check the 3e SRD as they're not in 5e). Ball bearings might make the target slip.

Ideally, the players are going to want to corner him in a building or otherwise cover all avenues of egress before approaching the target.

 

[AnimeSniper]

On the note of "I want him returned alive!" you could do the following:

Simply use a non-lethal drug to subdue the Prince... slip into his wine or meal when you find him!
Have a party member or NPC seduce the prince away from prying eyes and strike dealing non-lethal damage.
Blow dart gun tube with the dart laced with a fast acting non-lethal drug/poison.

And why did the Prince run away? Here's a few snippets to run with if you want too...

Having been confined to the palace since birth the prince leaves to see the world without an entourage of guards and servants in the way.
The Prince fell in love with a servant girl of the palace or minor nobles daughter and ran away to meet them and elope against the king's wishes.
He ran away to escape an arranged marriage.