Breadcrumbs

[Kzach]

I've been playing Dragon Age a lot lately and one of the ideas that resonated with me is that of a breadcrumb trail of clues that, individually, mean very little, but when combined, lead to a treasure of some type.

The implementation of the idea was poor, however, as it essentially amounted to random pieces of paper or other information media, just lying about the place. I mean... who leaves a bits of a treasure map just lying on the ground in the middle of a busy merchant district, for instance?

So I've been wracking my brain trying to think up a better way to implement the concept but have so far come up with zilch. I figured I'd throw it out there and see what got flung back

 

[FreeXenon]

Rumors, legends, writing in books, myths and knowledge from sages;
Streetwise or history checks that give rumors or local tales; random maps at a map shop that seem innocuous, but to those with the correct skills might find something useful or amiss; an overheard conversation alluding to treasure; the random dead body or treasure dropped from the sky.... =O

Not necessarily random pieces of paper, but potentially a quick side adventure leading to treasure of sorts...

Just use the typical methods of giving the PC's info, but have them come across via happenstance or serendipity...

 

[Janx]

A map to the treasure (or dungeon map) would make sense to be cut up and seperated by the group of people who hid something there.

years later, the party comes across one piece of it on a guy, and might wonder what it means.

If they research his background, they find he was part of some unit or group, or they run into another guy, looking for the first (since he heard he was dead). Thus the chain supports itself.

If you want to do something different, I think you've got to work backwards from the source. Basically identify the treasure/location. Work out the facts or information that protect it, then place those facts in appropriate hiding places. One of which should be where the PCs can run into it.

 

[Deset Gled]

It may be simpler to use "breadcrumbing" with pieces of negative information instead of positive. Basically, the breadcrumbs don't tell you where to go or what to do, they tell you where not to go or what not to do.

For a very simple example, assume the party knows there is a legend of an ancient undergound city made of gold, and they are in the general area of where it was hidden. They can then learn that the lands to the north used to be a giant swamp until a recent dam dried it out, the town to the west has been digging countless wells of deeper and deeper depth since the swamp dried out to find more water (and have not found the city), and the forest to the east has a castle that was deserted because the tree roots there are so strong they could break through stone. This will gently push the adventurers to look for the city in the south.

This method also has the benefit of not requiring the party to find every breadcrumb, and still be better off than when they started.

 

[Nagol]

The other way to approach the breadcrumbs is to split the information into smaller chucks that only make sense when combined into the whole -- sort of how the picture on a puzzle becomes sensible once the pieces are fit together.

The treasure was last seen under the control of a battle company for the Great Kingdom. The company was wiped out during the battle of Blarnstaff and the treasure disappeared.

After the battle, the corporal walked three days down the mountain and buried his burden near the river fork.

Sages say the battle of Blarnstaff started at the foot of Mt Tangletooth and raged for over a week.

The battlelines shifted up to 10 miles north -- halfway up Mt Nosebleed.

Mt Nosebleed is the the origin for two river systems -- the northern on flows into the White river about 30 miles north and the western one drains into the Swamp of nasty mosquitoes after about 5 miles.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Rather than scattered all over the place, you could have them be rewards for encounters or skill challenges.

Forex, clear out the orc camp, and you find that the king was squatting on a chunk of a map. And you talk to the captain of the guard and find out he's got another chunk as a family heirloom. Digging into some old fortress ruins, you find another chunk, this time implying an allegiance between the family of the captain and the orcs in an attempt to overthrow the city. Find the next piece in an ancient graveyard, and you realize that the half-orc lineage of the guard's family still lives, but has been forgotten about by the city. The final piece, of course, is with the half-orc tribe, who know that the map is truly a guide to a powerful artifact that could make any warrior a divine king on earth, which the half-orcs knew, even if they didn't know where any of the other pieces were....until the PC's showed up, of course.

"Left lying around in a marketplace" is essentially, in the game, a reward for an exploration challenge. In D&D, this could be more like "held by a merchant of dark goods deep within the Market Ward of Sigil."

 

[Kzach]

Although there are some great ideas I think I should've clarified a bit more what I was trying to do.

Essentially these 'breadcrumbs' should not form a part of a major quest or dominate a session's gaming. An example from the Dragon Age game is the Topsiders Legacy.

As you're trawling through the Deep Roads, you randomly come across bits and pieces of a sword and some lore regarding the owner of it. As you find more pieces, you learn of this heroes sacrifice and deeds. When you find the final piece of the shattered sword, you then have the option to take it to his final resting place. When you do, the sword is reforged and you gain a nice item with some interesting lore behind it.

But at no stage, until the end, was this a major quest that overshadowed the purpose of being in the area in the first place.

My problem with this scenario is that it's all a bit too artificial in the sense that you find these clues as mere happenstance, and they're all conveniently placed in an order that indicates a design, rather than as luck or skill or figuring anything out.

 

[I'm A Banana]

But at no stage, until the end, was this a major quest that overshadowed the purpose of being in the area in the first place.
...
My problem with this scenario is that it's all a bit too artificial in the sense that you find these clues as mere happenstance, and they're all conveniently placed in an order that indicates a design, rather than as luck or skill or figuring anything out.

Which is why the idea of making them rewards, packaged in with treasure parcels, might not be a bad plan. When you're rattling off the gold and items, also include a "breadcrumb." There could be any number of reasons the party is in the orc camp (they're orcs!) or the graveyard (unrelated necromancer!) or in the fortress (loot!). But if they start to see a pattern, they can investigate, and go on that final quest to get the item itself (the artifact).

So in the sword example, when you're on an unrelated mission, you also find some bits of a sword, and if they ask an NPC about it, get told a bit about how the legendary warrior found herself in this very place the PC's are undertaking a different quest...repeat ad nauseum for different bits and pieces. Eventually they hear that his final resting place is nearby, and can go there if they want.

You could go top-down with it (there's this legendary hero who was in the Forest of Mist, and so if the PC's are in the Forest of Mist, and complete Encounter X, they'll find a splintered piece of his shield there, and hear about the warrior's exploits here), or bottom-up with it (PC's find a splintered piece of shield with a snippet of some legend that may or may not be related to other things going on in the campaign as of yet, but will if they push harder on it, or if the DM thinks it's cool).

 

[LostSoul]

Sagiro's Story Hour was full of great examples of this. At some point he detailed his system... I'm sure it's around here somewhere.