Campaign Consultation!

[Erithrius]

So I am working on a campaign, and as that sort of thing goes, I have a lot of information and ideas but many of them are incomplete. What my intention is here is to draw on the massive resource that is the forum members on this site, most of who have played or DMed in their own time, for advice about plot and mechanics and whatnot. I have a big list of questions, and would love any and all advice, suggestions, criticism and ideas you guys can give me.

1) The party is going to inadvertently start a revolution in one of the major cities. The king has been paying for their services by raising taxes, and people aren't happy about that, but then they hear about a task (but one that a party of good-aligned adventurers would be comfortable doing) that he had the party do that was perhaps good overall, but bad (possibly very bad) for the townsfolk. What kind of quest or mission could spark a revolution?

2) Do you think it would be at all interesting for the PCs to enlist the aid of a silver dragon on their side of a war, where they are obviously in need of aid (because the otherside enlisted a bronze dragon)? The MM says they will cheerfully assist those in obvious need of aid, so it seems like all they'd have to do is walk up and ask...

3) How could a city find out that there is a necromancer building an army, if the only contact he had was stealing bodies from graveyards?

4) In a world with two kingdoms at war and the necromancer building his army, how would you complete this sentence: "And in the middle of all that, some @$$HOLE has been going around...."?

5) If there was an unusually large, multi-level dungeon (possibly with a prison on the deepest level), what could be a valid reason as to why it was created, and what would you, as a DM, make it contain?

Hopefully you guys have millions of great ideas and suggestions. Also feel free to ask more questions, and thanks a ton in advance; even if I only get one good idea it will have been worth it.

 

[Dandu]

1) The party is going to inadvertently start a revolution in one of the major cities. The king has been paying for their services by raising taxes, and people aren't happy about that, but then they hear about a task (but one that a party of good-aligned adventurers would be comfortable doing) that he had the party do that was perhaps good overall, but bad (possibly very bad) for the townsfolk. What kind of quest or mission could spark a revolution?

"The time has come to abolish slavery in the realms!"

 

[PureGoldx58]

"The time has come to abolish slavery in the realms!"

"...but our economy!"

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

1) The party is going to inadvertently start a revolution in one of the major cities. The king has been paying for their services by raising taxes, and people aren't happy about that, but then they hear about a task (but one that a party of good-aligned adventurers would be comfortable doing) that he had the party do that was perhaps good overall, but bad (possibly very bad) for the townsfolk. What kind of quest or mission could spark a revolution?

-revealing a lie, such as "The King isn't really the king, he's a doppleganger" or "The King doesn't really have the right to be the king, he wasn't the son of the previous king, he was the baker's son, the previous king's son died in a tragic water polo accident and the swap was a cover up"
-Underneath the shoemaker's cottage is a deposit of gold larger then all the gold in the king's treasury, and the Shoemaker has legal right to the claim...

2) Do you think it would be at all interesting for the PCs to enlist the aid of a silver dragon on their side of a war, where they are obviously in need of aid (because the otherside enlisted a bronze dragon)? The MM says they will cheerfully assist those in obvious need of aid, so it seems like all they'd have to do is walk up and ask...

-Do you have access to Monster Manual V? Xorvintaal is the "Great Game" for dragons. it has rules and descriptions, but basically all you need to think is "Dragons, higher beings then us, have an elaborate game with elaborate rules that they keep to themselves to compete in status. Therefore, they do things throughout the world that make little sense to us mere mortals. Therefore, dragon's joining opposite sides of a kingdom war may seem like an unusually kind gesture in favor of the kingdom, but really the Dragon has an ulterior motive.
-Another option, since the MM I says Bronze Bragons are facinated by warware, and willing to join a side they think is right for good pay, a Silver Dragon may just join the opposite sie if he/she disagrees with the Bronze Dragon's involvement, maybe even has a past with that Bronze Dragon because they've disagreed in the past.

3) How could a city find out that there is a necromancer building an army, if the only contact he had was stealing bodies from graveyards?

-Body snatching, especially multiple bodies, it a challenging process. One person cannot carry off two, three or more bodies. Therefore, if one is a Necromancer, having a Zombie or two by your side to carry the bodies is just plain practical. The presence of a Zombie or two might tip other people off.

4) In a world with two kingdoms at war and the necromancer building his army, how would you complete this sentence: "And in the middle of all that, some @$ has been going around...."?

-Trying to start a new religion.
-claiming to be the true king.
-Smearing his own poop on walls and spitting in people's faces, only no one can stop him because he's a level 20 Barbarian.
-Trying to spread peace. That'd just mess everyone's plans.
-Taking over people's minds.

5) If there was an unusually large, multi-level dungeon (possibly with a prison on the deepest level), what could be a valid reason as to why it was created, and what would you, as a DM, make it contain?

-A wealthy, stuck up former thief-turned-philanthropist-because-he's-got-tons-of-money has designed a vault to hold his most prized treasures, and which he's heavily trapped. Every 5 years he invites would-be thieves to try to make their way into his maze.

I must say though, [MENTION=85158]Dandu[/MENTION]'s suggestion of Slavery would address most of these. dragon involvement, anti necromancer army, the existence of and going into a dungeon, revolution.

 

[Greenfield]

Think of a popular outlaw, like Robin Hood, or better yet Jaques Lafitte the pirate.

Lafitte was very popular, even among the well to do, because he smuggled in luxury goods that were normally taxed exorbitantly.

So the PC's were sent to rid the waters of a pirate, or bandit chief on the borderlands (if the area is inland). Good for the kingdom and makes trade safer over all, but shuts down the local businesses that make a profit on the smuggled and stolen goods.

The Silver Dragon was the mount of a higher level Paladin who passed away (humans are so short lived, you know). Now he (or she) is "just being helpful" while hoping to find another champion who is worthy.

How does one notice a Necromancer building an army? There's a condition known as "Ghoul Fever" (See Ghoul in the SRD or Monster Manual. It takes a day to incubate, and drains Con. When someone dies they rise as a Ghoul if they're 4 HD or less, or as a Ghast if they're over 4 hd.

The presence if this illness in a town is a sure sign that there are Ghouls around, somewhere. The fact that they aren't over running the place (as undead seem to do) is because they aren't there all the time, only when sent in to fetch bodies. Sometimes they resist the control and attack someone, instead of laying low and just getting the job done.

 

[Ranger19k]

What kind of quest or mission could spark a revolution?

Ever see that Family Guy episode where Mayor West bankrupted the town to build a solid gold statue of the Honeysmack's Frog "Diggem" out in front of the statehouse? How about something like that. It was good enough to start a rebellion in Quahog.

3) How could a city find out that there is a necromancer building an army, if the only contact he had was stealing bodies from graveyards?

Honestly, the simplest "tell" is to have the local grave diggers begin reporting that they are finding smashed open (and now empty) crypts, and that some of the bodies they just buried the other day are mysteriously dug up (and missing). Muddy footprints and strips of old flesh lead off into some catacomb somewhere....

 

[BriarMonkey]

1) The party is going to inadvertently start a revolution in one of the major cities. The king has been paying for their services by raising taxes, and people aren't happy about that, but then they hear about a task (but one that a party of good-aligned adventurers would be comfortable doing) that he had the party do that was perhaps good overall, but bad (possibly very bad) for the townsfolk. What kind of quest or mission could spark a revolution?

The slavery issue is definitely a powder keg. If it is allowed in the realm, and now the monarchy wants to abandon it, you have the makings for revolution. Not only the economic issues are at play, but state security, property rights, and a whole host of other issues come into play. It only takes one noble to start it all as most nobles have their own men-at-arms and knights, which means the more that don't see eye to eye on a huge issue like this, the more likely that armed conflict will happen.

Now, how a party would actually help a monarch effect such a change, well, that I really don't know as it's too big an issue for a group of 4 or 5 adventurers to do alone. So with that in mind, imagine that the characters are going to be court pawns for a bit. The monarch would use them to determine the true dispositions of the other nobles (in other words, spy on them and collect intelligence), and in extreme cases, may even have to "handle" some of the more extremist elements of the court. In theory, the monarch would use them to try to even the playing field so that the abolishment of slavery could take place more even handedly. But of course, this assumes the characters are right in their spying and intelligence gathering.

In this type of scenario, you could have nobles that have ties to other kingdoms and as such actually have more military muscle than is known overtly. This, as well as the potential that the necromancer (below) is working with some of the nobles, would keep the way open to civil war as even if the characters found out, there is little they could do before the pro-slavery groups moved against the king.

And if slavery is allowed in other realms, they too could become embroiled in the conflict as they need to protect their interests in keeping slavery - or anti-slavery groups could take the chance to try to overthrow their own governments. This gets even uglier if the realms use non-human slaves as those tribes and groups would most likely jump on the chance to take revenge when the realm is in open chaos.

2) Do you think it would be at all interesting for the PCs to enlist the aid of a silver dragon on their side of a war, where they are obviously in need of aid (because the other side enlisted a bronze dragon)? The MM says they will cheerfully assist those in obvious need of aid, so it seems like all they'd have to do is walk up and ask...

Interesting? That has more to do with what the dragons are up to, and who they are. If we are talking about a couple young adult dragons, maybe. If we are talking about a couple ancients, probably not.

As with any NPCs, you need to be careful that they don't overshadow the PCs. The game is, after all, about the PCs. If the dragons are there to work in the background, provide information, etc., then it should be fine. If the silver is there to fight with the PCs, then you pretty much need to keep it paired against the bronze lest the PCs find themselves just watching the show.

3) How could a city find out that there is a necromancer building an army, if the only contact he had was stealing bodies from graveyards?

That sorta depends on the graveyard, and who handles the dead. If the graveyards are hallowed ground and managed by a church or priesthood, then it would become obvious fast as the caretakers would see the disinterments and disturbances in the yard.

On the other hand, if the graveyards are not really under the hand of any church, there would still be a caretaker or undertaker. Someone has to bury the dead. It may take longer to notice the issues in the yard if people are not buried often, but again, a caretaker would notice eventually.

4) In a world with two kingdoms at war and the necromancer building his army, how would you complete this sentence: "And in the middle of all that, some ##### has been going around...."?

...preaching the Gospel of Prophecy.

Hook this to a doomsday cult, one that espouses a Prophecy of the end of days. This could be any alignment, and of any bent. The cult could be trying to look for converts to its message; it could be trying to hasten the end by bringing forth doom (like demonic or diabolical forces); or they could just be plain mad.

Regardless, if the cult appears to have some legitimacy, or even just charismatic leadership, there could be a huge problem as now you have some other group rallying people and support to their cause. And regardless of that cause, it means that the nobility is having their base eroded.

You could take this in pretty much any direction you wanted - and if you don't have any ideas, just throw it out there and see how the characters react. That alone should give you ideas on what the cult does from that point.

5) If there was an unusually large, multi-level dungeon (possibly with a prison on the deepest level), what could be a valid reason as to why it was created, and what would you, as a DM, make it contain?

Catacombs. They could be ancient, or current, depending on whether there is still a city there or not. And if you look at some of the ancient catacombs, or necropolises as they are sometimes referred to by archeologists, that we know of in the modern world, they can extend for miles under the surface (but they tend to only be a couple layers deep).

And, with catacombs, the above mentioned necromancer would have fair grounds for not only creating his army, but a base of operations as well.

It would be quite reasonable for an ancient catacomb to have multiple levels. As the city, or cities, above was destroyed and rebuilt, a new layer would be added to the whole environment - as the older layers would eventually be "lost".

 

[Binho]

5) If there was an unusually large, multi-level dungeon (possibly with a prison on the deepest level), what could be a valid reason as to why it was created, and what would you, as a DM, make it contain?

Maybe some evil elemental of fire is caged in the deepest level of dungeon. It could emanate heat to the surface enough to attract people to form a city above it. Maybe the people who caged the elemental built the dungeon and putted traps to maintain the elemental there, sealed the passage that leads to the dungeon and forgot about it.

 

[xigbar]

So I am working on a campaign, and as that sort of thing goes, I have a lot of information and ideas but many of them are incomplete. What my intention is here is to draw on the massive resource that is the forum members on this site, most of who have played or DMed in their own time, for advice about plot and mechanics and whatnot. I have a big list of questions, and would love any and all advice, suggestions, criticism and ideas you guys can give me.

1) The party is going to inadvertently start a revolution in one of the major cities. The king has been paying for their services by raising taxes, and people aren't happy about that, but then they hear about a task (but one that a party of good-aligned adventurers would be comfortable doing) that he had the party do that was perhaps good overall, but bad (possibly very bad) for the townsfolk. What kind of quest or mission could spark a revolution?

2) Do you think it would be at all interesting for the PCs to enlist the aid of a silver dragon on their side of a war, where they are obviously in need of aid (because the otherside enlisted a bronze dragon)? The MM says they will cheerfully assist those in obvious need of aid, so it seems like all they'd have to do is walk up and ask...

3) How could a city find out that there is a necromancer building an army, if the only contact he had was stealing bodies from graveyards?

4) In a world with two kingdoms at war and the necromancer building his army, how would you complete this sentence: "And in the middle of all that, some @$ has been going around...."?

5) If there was an unusually large, multi-level dungeon (possibly with a prison on the deepest level), what could be a valid reason as to why it was created, and what would you, as a DM, make it contain?

Hopefully you guys have millions of great ideas and suggestions. Also feel free to ask more questions, and thanks a ton in advance; even if I only get one good idea it will have been worth it.

1.Dandu's suggestion works. Also, the idea in and of itself (perhaps a history of economic oppression through taxing) is a revolution.

2.It depends on the level of the adventurers. If they aren't high enough they won't have any impact on Dragon v. Dragon combat.

3.I'm assuming the city guard has a night patrol? But, if the necromancers is high enough in level and has the right spells, the guard better have some hefty divination going around for him.

4.Stealing old magic relics is always nice. It can be made either integral to the story or a cool side quest of sorts. A powerful stealthy magical item hunter is always fun, in my opinion.

5.The Necromancer would be a good reason. Or the dragon. Or whoever's running around doing whatever. You've provided yourself with some good end game npcs that might have a dungeon.

 

[Dandu]

Now, how a party would actually help a monarch effect such a change, well, that I really don't know as it's too big an issue for a group of 4 or 5 adventurers to do alone. So with that in mind, imagine that the characters are going to be court pawns for a bit. The monarch would use them to determine the true dispositions of the other nobles (in other words, spy on them and collect intelligence), and in extreme cases, may even have to "handle" some of the more extremist elements of the court. In theory, the monarch would use them to try to even the playing field so that the abolishment of slavery could take place more even handedly. But of course, this assumes the characters are right in their spying and intelligence gathering.

They could conduct a railroad.