D&D 5E DMing Question: Framing my PC's infiltration into secret organization

[darkbard]

DMing minds, one and all: I've tried posting this in the 4E forum (since that's the system we use), but I haven't received any feedback there and turn here instead; and, truth be told, even though what I'm looking for aid with is a skill challenge, the system elements are relatively neutral.

Here's the sitch: My group wishes to infiltrate a secretive guild of wizards (the Veiled Alliance of the Dark Sun setting), working for a noble who wishes to learn the identity of the organization's leaders to crush the guild for her own political gain.

My question: How might I frame this scenario for my group? What stages of encounter (I would call them "complications" in 4E terminology) might I put them through in their endeavor? I would like for this to play out as a fairly rich roleplaying encounter, one potentially spread out over several weeks of fictional time.

Any and all ideas are most welcome! You have my thanks in advance.

 

[Quickleaf]

DMing minds, one and all: I've tried posting this in the 4E forum (since that's the system we use), but I haven't received any feedback there and turn here instead; and, truth be told, even though what I'm looking for aid with is a skill challenge, the system elements are relatively neutral.

Here's the sitch: My group wishes to infiltrate a secretive guild of wizards (the Veiled Alliance of the Dark Sun setting), working for a noble who wishes to learn the identity of the organization's leaders to crush the guild for her own political gain.

My question: How might I frame this scenario for my group? What stages of encounter (I would call them "complications" in 4E terminology) might I put them through in their endeavor? I would like for this to play out as a fairly rich roleplaying encounter, one potentially spread out over several weeks of fictional time.

Any and all ideas are most welcome! You have my thanks in advance.

Cool scenario

I'm going to answer your question, but first I suggest taking a step back and getting clear on the scope & what's at stake.

Scope: Are you imagining this filling just one game session? Or extending over multiple game sessions like an adventure in its own right?

And by "infiltration" do you mean going undercover? Or do you mean a stealth mission?

Stakes: It sounds like the PCs' goal is to discover who leads the Veiled Alliance, right? They're not actually trying to physically crush the organization or use whatever blackmail material they find, that's up to their noble NPC ally, right?

So what happens if they fail and are discovered? You need to spell that out, and make sure it's interesting and a response apropos to the Veiled Alliance.

 

[darkbard]

Scope: Are you imagining this filling just one game session? Or extending over multiple game sessions like an adventure in its own right?

And by "infiltration" do you mean going undercover? Or do you mean a stealth mission?

I guess a mini-adventure is kind of what I'm thinking. Ultimately, this is a distraction from the PCs' more pressing longterm goals, but it does provide aid to an ally who can help achieve those goals (the powerful noble).

By infiltration, I definitely mean going undercover: locating the VA, making successful contact with them, garnering an invitation and trial to join, etc.

I suppose this might be spread over two or three gaming sessions before a kind of resolution is reached (i.e., the skill challenge resolves).

Stakes: It sounds like the PCs' goal is to discover who leads the Veiled Alliance, right? They're not actually trying to physically crush the organization or use whatever blackmail material they find, that's up to their noble NPC ally, right?

So what happens if they fail and are discovered? You need to spell that out, and make sure it's interesting and a response apropos to the Veiled Alliance.

I'm not really sure yet how the PCs will decide to use the information. Based upon the players' inclinations, I think they will provide the information to the noble and not take any direct action against the Veiled Alliance themselves (or indirect action via blackmail, for example). But I'm not sure what they might decide as the situation plays out.

The Veiled Alliance, per setting canon, has a policy known as Requital against those who join their ranks and later wish to leave the organization. In a word, it's a lifetime commitment; those who try to leave face assassination, or, at the very least, expulsion from the city under threat of force.

 

[Quickleaf]

I guess a mini-adventure is kind of what I'm thinking. Ultimately, this is a distraction from the PCs' more pressing longterm goals, but it does provide aid to an ally who can help achieve those goals (the powerful noble).

By infiltration, I definitely mean going undercover: locating the VA, making successful contact with them, garnering an invitation and trial to join, etc.

I suppose this might be spread over two or three gaming sessions before a kind of resolution is reached (i.e., the skill challenge resolves).


I'm not really sure yet how the PCs will decide to use the information. Based upon the players' inclinations, I think they will provide the information to the noble and not take any direct action against the Veiled Alliance themselves (or indirect action via blackmail, for example). But I'm not sure what they might decide as the situation plays out.

The Veiled Alliance, per setting canon, has a policy known as Requital against those who join their ranks and later wish to leave the organization. In a word, it's a lifetime commitment; those who try to leave face assassination, or, at the very least, expulsion from the city under threat of force.

Ok, that helps give a clearer picture. I'm not familiar with the Veiled Alliance, but I am getting a feel for them from your description, and I am familiar running undercover scenarios...

What is this chapter of the Veiled Alliance's goal exactly? Are they simply there to defend preservers? I thought preservers were kind of good-guys in Athas?

~~~

I suggest skipping over the locating the Veiled Alliance part. For this scenario, it's probably better for the noble NPC to already have identified that for the PCs, so they can jump right into their planning of HOW they want to make first contact...

1. First Contact
The noble gives the PCs' info about where agent X of the Veiled Alliance is going to be on a certain day. Maybe agent X's daughter is having a birthday, and he intends to throw an elaborate gladiatorial combat for the spoiled princess (that seems Dark Sun-esque to me). So the PCs have a choice: they can try to pose as other nobles/wealthy merchants gambling on the gladiator games, they can try to pose as gladiators, or they can try to make a connection directly with the daughter. However, soon the PCs discover there's several slaves plotting the daughter's assassination – one slave is a gladiator who plans to make the kill, one slave is a handmaiden (the gladiator's sister) who is getting all the intelligence, and one slave belongs to a rival noble who owns the arena (and is in love with the handmaiden).

So right away, the PCs have a dilemma: Do we stop the plot of these slaves (knowing it likely means their death) to get close to agent X? Or do we try to ally with them to achieve our goal of getting close to agent X while transmuting their vengeance against the daughter to take some form besides killing her?

2. Feeling the PCs Out
Agent X is intrigued by the PCs, but knows better than to trust fools bearing gifts. Thus he devises three tests (and the PCs won't necessarily realize they're tests) to probe the PCs' loyalty. These tests will depend on what the goals of this chapter of the Veiled Alliance are, so I can't give you anything more until you clarify that.

 

[darkbard]

This is a good start! Of course, the PCs need to perform some action to win over the contact: something more than mere words (and a high skill check)!

2. Feeling the PCs Out
Agent X is intrigued by the PCs, but knows better than to trust fools bearing gifts. Thus he devises three tests (and the PCs won't necessarily realize they're tests) to probe the PCs' loyalty. These tests will depend on what the goals of this chapter of the Veiled Alliance are, so I can't give you anything more until you clarify that.

This chapter of the Veiled Alliance is in the City-State of Tyr, which recently just saw its Sorcerer-King assassinated. Some members of the VA lent aid in this endeavor, but the general populace is still fearful of arcane magic, from generations and generations of propoganda and witnessing the horrid effects of defiling. Also, after the assassination of the SK, the new king declared slavery outlawed (so I will need to tweak your suggestion somewhat, of course).

So, to your question: the pressing questions the VA faces are (1) to divulge or not; since their good deeds opened a slim window of perceiving their good works, some members advocate "lifting the veil," so to speak and making the organization public. That faction is still in the minority, however. (2) most directly, they still work against the remaining bureaucratic structure of the Sorcerer-King's former Templars, who have always enjoyed their (near) monopoly on arcane magic. (3) they seek to combat, often kill, those who practice defiling magic (the grandest example being the now-deposed Sorcerer-King), but the Templars and rogue defilers, also fit this description. (4) they most especially seek to comat the machinations of a group known as The True, a small and hidden subset of the current ruling administration that believes the Sorcerer-King is not truly dead and can be restored to power/the throne (or, at the very least, replaced with a similar figure).

Yikes, I feel like I'm dumping a lot of information at you, Quickleaf! But I really do appreciate the help since I've been vexed over developing this potential plot thread for the better part of three weeks now!

In any event, it's late here on the East Coast, so I'm going to bed now but will eagerly check any response you may have tomorrow morning! Again, you have my sincere thanks! I've always found it's best to bounce around ideas with other creative minds before running scenarios in game with players!

 

[Quickleaf]

This chapter of the Veiled Alliance is in the City-State of Tyr, which recently just saw its Sorcerer-King assassinated. Some members of the VA lent aid in this endeavor, but the general populace is still fearful of arcane magic, from generations and generations of propoganda and witnessing the horrid effects of defiling. Also, after the assassination of the SK, the new king declared slavery outlawed (so I will need to tweak your suggestion somewhat, of course).

So, to your question: the pressing questions the VA faces are (1) to divulge or not; since their good deeds opened a slim window of perceiving their good works, some members advocate "lifting the veil," so to speak and making the organization public. That faction is still in the minority, however. (2) most directly, they still work against the remaining bureaucratic structure of the Sorcerer-King's former Templars, who have always enjoyed their (near) monopoly on arcane magic. (3) they seek to combat, often kill, those who practice defiling magic (the grandest example being the now-deposed Sorcerer-King), but the Templars and rogue defilers, also fit this description. (4) they most especially seek to comat the machinations of a group known as The True, a small and hidden subset of the current ruling administration that believes the Sorcerer-King is not truly dead and can be restored to power/the throne (or, at the very least, replaced with a similar figure).

Ah, ok. So...the Veiled Alliance sounds like they're fighting for a just cause. Why are the PCs wanting to tear them apart? Are you running for an evil-aligned party?

Yikes, I feel like I'm dumping a lot of information at you, Quickleaf! But I really do appreciate the help since I've been vexed over developing this potential plot thread for the better part of three weeks now!

In any event, it's late here on the East Coast, so I'm going to bed now but will eagerly check any response you may have tomorrow morning! Again, you have my sincere thanks! I've always found it's best to bounce around ideas with other creative minds before running scenarios in game with players!

You're very welcome!

 

[darkbard]

The VA does fight for a just, if self-serving, cause, and they do so ruthlessly: to wit, the practice of Requital above. The PCs are not evil but may go down this path in the interests of achieving some of their other campaign goals via the aid of the noble.

Basically, I'm looking to frame a game of difficult moral decisions and a lot of ethical gray areas. My post here describes the full situation a little better: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showth...or-infiltrating-an-organization&prefixid=wotc

 

[Quickleaf]

The VA does fight for a just, if self-serving, cause, and they do so ruthlessly: to wit, the practice of Requital above. The PCs are not evil but may go down this path in the interests of achieving some of their other campaign goals via the aid of the noble.

Basically, I'm looking to frame a game of difficult moral decisions and a lot of ethical gray areas. My post here describes the full situation a little better: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showth...or-infiltrating-an-organization&prefixid=wotc

Ah, I see. OK, that's important information to have (as are the details about Tyr, the assassination of the Sorcerer King, and no slavery allowed).

So picking up at...

2. Feeling the PCs Out
Agent X is going to want to test the PCs' commitment to the Veiled Alliance, and ideally do it in an underhanded way, so that only at the last of a series of tests will the PCs be sure that they indeed are being tested. Using those motives of the Veiled Alliance you listed...

Test #1: "The Templar's Downfall" The PCs are asked to frame a Templar (former Templar?) for a crime. Agent X will not immediately reveal that this is actually so other trusted operatives of the Veiled Alliance can steal arcane lore from the Templar's home. While serving the Sorcerer-King, the Templar did bad things because he was ordered to, but also helped a lot of those who would be killed escape the hostile regime in Tyr. He's trying to live his life for the better now, despite the attitude towards Templars, and framing him would ruin the man, who is already wracked by guilt as it is. PCs can pass the test by doing as they're told OR by deducing what the real objective of the test is (getting the arcane lore from the Templar's house) and accomplishing that.

Test #2: "Justice for the Defiled" When a desiccated corpse is found in a suddenly dried well, Agent X informs the PCs that another agent of the Veiled Alliance has paid the ultimate price - dying for their cause to get evidence of a defiler hidden in Tyr. He wants the PCs to track down the defiler and bring him in for questioning, suspecting there may be an entire cult/cell of defilers. When the PCs do find the defiler, he is indeed as vile as the stories say, but he also knows about the plot of the noble the PCs work for, and threatens to reveal their true purpose to Agent X unless they let him go. PCs can pass this test by finding a way to bring other defilers to justice (falsely/truly blaming them for the murder & well-drying), killing the defiler and successfully lying about what they learned (it had better be convincing!), or finding a way to secure the defiler's silence and turning him over to Agent X.

Test #3: "To Divulge or Not to Divulge" The PCs are asked to bring in "tribute" for a ritual the Veiled Alliance is working on, though Agent X is elusive on the details, only stating that the tribute must be a regular stream of income not a one-time donation from the PCs. Soon thereafter, they meet another NPC (seemingly an influential power-broker) who expresses disdain for the current regime of arcane persecution, and wishes he could put his considerable resources toward a cause he can believe in. Of course, this NPC is a Veiled Alliance plant who is part of their test. Should they reveal their affiliation with the Veiled Alliance, they fail the test. If they manage to get the NPC's support (or even the support of someone else who has no affiliation with the Alliance) without giving away who they're doing the bidding of, they pass the test.

Test #4: "Not So Noble Now" As their final test, Agent X reveals he believes there is a hidden cult within the current ruling administration that seeks to restore the Sorcerer-King, and that So-And-So is a member. It just so happens that So-And-So is a close relative of the noble who hired the PC, and this draws the noble's own motives into question. Agent X's plan is to send the PCs to raid So-And-So's heavily guarded estate for evidence of his allegiance to the Sorcerer-King (and if evidence has been destroyed, to fabricate some and plant it). Complicating this assignment is that Agent X is going with the PCs. The noble warns the PCs that if they go after his relative, it's crossing a line, and he'll need to retaliate in kind against Agent X's family (i.e. insinuating he'll have Agent X's daughter killed). Passing the test will require a delicate balancing act and clever thinking.

EDIT: This was stream of consciousness. You might want to include more of things look like ###, but in actuality it's all a set up by Agent X of the Veiled Alliance to test the PCs.

 

[darkbard]

My word, Quickleaf, this is a veritable cornucopia of plot ideas! Really, any one of these would likely fill a session or more, depending on the actions of the PCs and what mechanics come into play (if we keep it relatively narrative-based with skill rolls determining the resolution of complications or if violence breaks out and we decide to use combat rules as opposed to simple resource atttrition). Thus, I'll likely pick two of these and flesh out the possibilities and stages a little more and save the others for backup should the players divert their energies in an unexpected direction or fail spectacularly at one of these stages (with the impulse being that PC failure still advances the plot and doesn't become a roadblock--failing forward as the terminology has it--but has costly but interesting repercussions as well.)

Again, you have my sincere thanks!

 

[darkbard]

Also, while I think Quickleaf has given me an excellent range of ideas with which to work here, that shouldn't stop others from chiming in with alternative ideas, tweaks to any of our exchange, etc.

My next session is almost two weeks out, so I have plenty of time to work through competing ideas, and, as I said above, I always find that bouncing around a bunch of ideas with other creative minds, even ideas that don't seem likely to see use immediately, makes for a richer game experience when it comes time to actually play the game!