[City Fun] Demon-Haunted Earth Players STAY OUT!!!

[Nifft]

Okay, my players better stay out!

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The city has a Teleportation Circle, so it won't starve even if isolated.

Here's the idea that I want fleshed out: Lycanthropic Quarrantine. A were-rat (or were-wolf, or anything were-evil) has infected a sigificant minority of the population, and the whole city is quarrantined until the infected are all cured -- or killed.

How would various factions react to this threat?

Paladins can come & go, of course. They're recruited to act as gate-guards and investigators, since they're immune to the disease. Clerics of the Moon Goddess are also immune, so they act as guards too.

Thieves' Guild: they'll try to smuggle stuff in & out -- but who can they trust?

The Merchants' Guild would like to see this silly business over, so that SERIOUS business can resume. I see an alliance with a otherwise enemy faction, the Thieves' Guild.

What kind of profiteering will occur with the city's best & brightest otherwise occupied? Obviously Clerical services will be at a premium, and food won't be too expensive (due to Teleportation Circle supply line). What else though?

Politics: this is a golden opportunity for House X to try to infect (or just accuse) and kill off House Y. Gimmie some good twists on this theme, or on a better theme.

Any other miscellaneous things that can happen to the PCs in a quarrantined city full of lycanthropes?

Thanks, -- Nifft

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

The biggest target for anyone with aspirations of taking over would be the teleport circle. Whomever is guarding or otherwise controls that is going to have to defend it, and will also have a lot of chances to make some money from bribery and graft.

Eventually the lycanthropes may make a try for the circle, since they know they're trapped and will eventually be found out.

Otherwise, I could see wolfsbane becoming a valuable commodity. There'd probably be a lot of fake wolfsbane showing up as well, people selling whatever leaves they could find. Some could even turn out to be poisonous- it would be like buying black market medicine.

Also with the smuggling aspect, getting messages (and even people) out of the quarentined area would be a good business.

 

[Nifft]

Okay, more on the city in question:

1) It's a port town. There are ways for aquatic people to sneak things in.

2) It's built on ancient ruins. Only about half of the ancient ruins are known about. There are no doubt places that a "dire rat"-form wererat can go that a normal sized person cannot.

3) The Teleport Circle is guarded by elite royal troops -- Half-Dragon or Half-Celestial Paladins, mostly, but some normal Paladins too. On the other side, it's guarded by more elite Paladins, and Clerics & Mages. (Paladins only on the infected side -- they're immune to the disease.) That's the one point that the PCs should not really worry about, since the State is so worried about it.

4) The city is the only major city on a large island. It's almost a colony. There are Dwarves on the island, but not nearby. Other nearby island nations are ambivalent about the colonists... what could they do from a distance, without revealing themselves, to "discourage" the colonists?

5) People are going to be very mistrustful of strangers. What kind of encounters can I throw at my PCs?

-- Nifft

 

[arwink]

The teleportation circle may keep people from starving, but given that it's heavily guarded and controlled by the government it may not bring in everything people want. Staple foodstuffs may be readily available, but scarcity of things that are considered luxury items should still render some level of profiteering available.

Nobles and people with significant foodstores or gardens will find their homes invaded by either theives or mobs, which in turn leads to adventurer-lead counter attacks, and vice versa.

Somewhere in there, the slums are probably going to become a hotbed area. The thieves guild is worked up, food is being rationed and the poor are usually the first to miss out. Worse, they're the most likely part of the city to contract lycanthropy and have the disease spread, so they become even more isolated and ostracised from the other parts of the city. Enter a were-rat trouble-maker wearing the disguise of revolutionary/missionary here to save the poor and helpless. Paladins may be immune, but that just means their getting first pick of those goods that come in...

Give the were-rats a method of getting in and out of the city based on their size, and they have a fairly effective selling tool to get new members onside. Nobility and merchants who have been significantly disadvantaged by the quarentine may turn to the were-rats out of desperation when they hear they have a way out. Then, once the PC's have encountered a few of these, have them start finding more sympathetic were-rat converts. One poor peasant-looking rat pleads for its life - it was in town to collect healing for its poor daughter, who lies dying in a nearby town, and if he doesn't get out she's going to die...

 

[Nifft]

The teleportation circle may keep people from starving, but given that it's heavily guarded and controlled by the government

Worse, it's guarded by Elite Paladins. They're rather strict.

Nobles and people with significant foodstores or gardens will find their homes invaded by either theives or mobs, which in turn leads to adventurer-lead counter attacks, and vice versa.

Good, good!

Somewhere in there, the slums are probably going to become a hotbed area. The thieves guild is worked up, food is being rationed and the poor are usually the first to miss out.

Yes. The poor are going to be preyed upon, despite the fair distribution system, so that the corrupt get more.

(The Paladins are actually Lawful Good -- they don't take anything extra -- but that fact is not necessarily equal to public perception.)

Give the were-rats a method of getting in and out of the city based on their size, and they have a fairly effective selling tool to get new members onside. Nobility and merchants who have been significantly disadvantaged by the quarentine may turn to the were-rats out of desperation when they hear they have a way out. Then, once the PC's have encountered a few of these, have them start finding more sympathetic were-rat converts. One poor peasant-looking rat pleads for its life - it was in town to collect healing for its poor daughter, who lies dying in a nearby town, and if he doesn't get out she's going to die...

Since Lycanthropy always changes the base creature's alignment, that last one isn't going to work. They could find some deluded were-rat sympathizers, though...

The others are great! Thanks!

-- Nifft

 

[arwink]

Since Lycanthropy always changes the base creature's alignment, that last one isn't going to work. They could find some deluded were-rat sympathizers, though...

The others are great! Thanks!

true, but a change in alignment doesn't necessarily change the a creatures goals, just the way they go about them. Getting out of town to save a sick child is still a valid goal, and a smart Evil opponent is more than willing to play upon the sympathy angle to get help from the PC's. Milk it for all its worth, and keep in mind that a were-rat peasant probably isn't overly concerned with looking weak and pathetic in order to save his skin

The real upside of this is that it puts the PC's in a bind - even if they determine the peasant is now evil and deserves to die, the child is still an innocent who needs the potion he's carrying back to her. If they fall prey to sympathy and help him get out, then you've got at least one were-rat in the open countryside who can come back to haunt them later.

 

[Nifft]

true, but a change in alignment doesn't necessarily change the a creatures goals, just the way they go about them. Getting out of town to save a sick child is still a valid goal, and a smart Evil opponent is more than willing to play upon the sympathy angle to get help from the PC's. Milk it for all its worth, and keep in mind that a were-rat peasant probably isn't overly concerned with looking weak and pathetic in order to save his skin

True, I just don't think my players will fall for it. I'll try it anyway, though.

The child in the countryside is probably dead anyway, with all the were-rats running around. (IMC, magic is common, so it's more likely that the child simply won't be able to eat... sick kids generally get cured.)

So, any more suggestions?

-- Nifft