Getting Undermountain on track

[Lelldorianx]

In effort to avoid putting any effort into my short intro, I'll be lame and say "I'm a long, long, long time reader, and just now posting." This post is going to be obnoxiously long, but might as well describe it all now rather than over the next 3 pages as questions come in. Sorry!

Regardless, I need some help with Expedition to Undermountain (3.5E). My players are loving the game so far. They just hit 5th level and are venturing down to the 3rd level of Undermountain (where I understand Skullport, Spiderhaven, and Belkram's Fall to be).

For those who know the book, it's got tons and tons of places to drop in neat adventures and NPCs. I've created a few races and towns within Undermountain, which keeps things fresh and gives the players a place to roleplay before delving back into the dungeon. Every session they say that it was a lot of fun, great session, good job - whatever. The thing that concerns me though, and I can see it coming knowing my group of players for 4 years, is that the game seems to have lost its direction. When that happens, we normally drop the campaign and move to a new one. Since everyone likes it so much, and I like the concept of Undermountain, I need some help giving them a "main quest" or focus. Something likely related to Halaster. One player wants to find the source of the earthquake... easy enough. Another is on a quest to reclaim his status as a noble, the third and fourth have no clue what they want to do, they are just kind of "there." The fifth and final player is infrequent due to college, and can't remember why he went to Undermountain in the first place.

What are some things you guys have done with Undermountain to compel the players to dive all the way down to the bottom? What kind of motivation can I give them? If you haven't noticed (and most of you have, as I've seen in a few topics), Undermountain is extremely bare-bones and if run straight from the book, can be quite dull. Encounter, city, encounter, encounter...some sort of quest the DM plants, etc. In my setting Khelben Blackstaff is still alive, and they are going to try and talk to him next about some artifacts they found (the ring on the 1st level of the dungeon).

Any help to determine a direction is appreciated! There is so much going on in this campaign that I've lost focus of the initial goal (stupid big book )

-Lell

 

[FreeXenon]

Halaster?

There is always Halaster to find and loot? Ya know he is asking for it?

I am sure the Harpers need something from him, his apprentices or his wacky caches of magic and libraries of knowledge.

I think there was another boxed set - Undermountain 2 - which had Halaster's apprentices reset things in Undermountain a bit in his absence, which could always prove annoying and interesting.

Perhaps the Harpers need you to find Halaster to reign in his apprentices who are causing havoc in Undermountain, which ends up causing problems with the above world.... monster's on the move and relocating to the surface... pirates and monsters raiding the waterways... random places shift to and from other planes or parts of Undermountain...

Perhaps his Halaster's wacky apprentices are trying to perform a ritual of impending doom that needs to be stopped... maybe perhaps the same ritual, that they have corrected, that caused the fall of Netheril and Mystra to loose her magic for a bit. Rituals to become a deity are always fun....

Just a few thoughts.

 

[FreeXenon]

Welcome!

Oh, and welcome to the boards....=)

 

[FreeXenon]

History of the Realms

Perhaps you could use the pre-4E History of the Realms book for some inspiration. A lot changed from 3E to 4E.... perhaps you campaign can play through some of that or provide foreshadowing of future possibilities?

 

[DaveMage]

Welcome to the Boards!

When dealing with a megadungeon, one thing I like to do is a specific mission - either to find an item or a person. The nice thing about these is that should the campaign become stagnant, you can correct this by either having the party discover the item/person or provide a clue which give a definite direction.

Good luck!

 

[FreeXenon]

Cyric?

Just randomly throwing things out here...

Perhaps our favorite cult of Cyric is about and is making havoc while making it look like Halaster or his entourage is responsible. In the mean time Mask's minions could be guiding or strangely enough assisting in their delve since it will thwart Cyric's plans. Their Undermountain based cult could have unearthed a weak point in the planes are exploiting it and weakening it further, or perhaps they unearthed an imprisoned creature or relic or ritual that was buried for a really good reason twixt they do not have the good sense to leave it as such...

 

[evildmguy]

If they are now 5th level, and started going to Undermountain at 1st level, they are now experts of it. Have NPCs come to them with questions! ("What do you recommend to me as my son is intent on going down there! What can I give him to help him survive? Will you go with him and his group?")

How do they go down there? Secret passage from an inn/tavern/festhall? Do they go via the Yawning Portal? What if they are legally barred from one and they have to find a new way down?

Maybe their maps are now valuable and someone steals them and they have to get them back or risk getting lost, or taking time to remap it. (This one might be a bit more tough, depending on how you handle mapping.)

What year is this? Are the skulls free? If so, maybe they are going to do a ritual and Khelben needs them to disrupt a part of it. Maybe some cult is going to do a ritual "in that one room where we fought X" and they know how to get there in time.

Maybe people are disappearing and the watch suspects slavers in Skullport. Only now, a noble's son/daughter was captured and there is a bigger reward or pressure to find and rescue them.

If you have more shades of grey than absolute alignments, perhaps a kobold or orc (half orc) hires them to find their son? Maybe they do it under a disguise and so are questionable but truly want help.

Maybe you can create or find a prestige class (or paragon) for them if they become masters of Undermountain.

Multiple groups which hide in Undermountain are fighting and spilling over into the city. Or are recruiting in the city which is causing problems.

A gate has opened up but is one way to the surface. However, the gate itself has clues to where it is located and the PCs recognize the room. So, they are hired to close the gate before more monsters come out.

Maybe the council hires them to get rid of a beholder crime lord . . . wait, that's been done.

Priests of Selune want to find the hidden temple of Shar and want the group to help lead them there. Or, followers of Mask or Cyric want to find it, if your players don't ask many questions! Then you can have either bad group wanting something they shouldn't have and the PCs caught in the middle!

The skulls are having a secret contest to see which group can survive in UM the longest but don't tell any of the contestants! The contestants are randomly teleported to a known area, or a new area of the Skulls devising. The group happens to be chosen by Skull #3 to win its wager with Skull #7 and are teleported to some random point in UM and have to get to a place they recognize to get out. Perhaps they meet a few groups and then it turns out those that survive have to fight each other? (The real answer is they have to all work together to get out!)

Maybe someone from Skullport hires them to find someone in Waterdeep, as a twist?

Unfortunately, with regards to the motivations, your players might never get one. It could be they just enjoy playing with the others or letting the others run the game and are content to come along for the ride. As long as they are having fun and keep coming back, you are doing something right! Just keep doing that!

I hope this helps! Have fun!

edg

 

[FreeXenon]

Bane?

Perhaps a cult of Bane is working to gain significant control or influence in Skullport and is engaging in significant blackmail, theft, and murder in order to do so. Perhaps they are using a extraplanar shape changer of sorts to appear as a Deva or other Celestial as their proxy of choice to achieve their ends? Who would suspect a Celestial of such deeds.

Perhaps they wish to organize and mobilize the denizens of Skullport and Undermountain to take over or just perpetually siege Waterdeep.... to kill the Lords of Waterdeep... to act as a larger distraction to mobilize the Lords so they can access a secret chamber where an artifact or imprisoned creature is hidden and remain basically undetected?

 

[Lelldorianx]

Wow guys, this is fantastic! EN World seems to have a much nicer community than the Wizards boards They like to tell me I'm a bad DM since I am asking for ideas over there. Nice, right?

Xenon I'll probably use some of your cult ideas, and Mudguy, I am most definitely using your excellent tournament idea! We're playing today, last night I had enough time to put that tournament together. Sweet! All of the ones you posted are great, so I'm totally going to rip them off for the next few session, hehe.

Also, I found your wiki page interesting. Just saying.

Thanks guys!

 

[FreeXenon]

Glad to be of help.

Please do let us know how the ideas manifest and turn out in your game.

Good luck to ya!