[Grim Tales] Help me write an adventure

[Wulf Ratbane]

All right, here's how I generally do my adventure writing.

PLOT
Pick a movie, book, or comic book that would make a fun adventure.

Example: My last adventure started with a name, "The Seven Saxons." I knew I wanted seven badasses to save a town from... something. I moved from there to add Beowulf and Dragonslayer.

Ultimately, Munin needs to be most comfortable with the Plot, because he has to be able to wing it in a pinch. If he's comfortable with the source material, that's easier on him. So we'll take ideas and then Munin can help us narrow it down.

Thinking about Plot will often lead you into scenes.

SCENES
Start by envisioning a cool scene (or two or three) that you want to work into the adventure.

Every "scene" in the adventure should includes some conflict that the players can resolve through their skills, wits, or combat prowess. Working backwards from the "big scenes" you'll develop a lot of "little scenes" to tie it all together.

Example: I thought the scene from Beowulf/13th Warrior where the good guys are all asleep in the Great Hall and get attacked by... something wicked in the darkness... was pretty cool. I also thought a dragon doing a strafing run of vengeance on the town would be interesting. What should attack the PCs in the town? And how do I link that to a dragon? I settled on some nasty Pictish minions led by a druid-- who in turn works for the dragon.

Here's how I might brainstorm for "scenes" to include:

I've always loved that scene from King Kong where Kong knocks the explorers off the log over the chasm.

Which reminds me of the great "rope bridge showdown" scene from Indy and the Temple of Doom.

Just sticking with my chasm theme for a moment, when the Balrog flies up out of the chasm and lands on the bridge-- goosepimply goodness.

Ideally our adventure will include a few Scenes to include the essential components I laid out in the Gamemastering chapter of GT:

a) Research
b) a Chase
c) a Battle with the Henchman
d) Regroup
e) showdown with the True Villain

CHARACTERS
Finally, design a batch of characters which, when inserted into this mix, make for an interesting game.


So we'll start with Plot-- What's everybody got? Let's hear them.


Wulf

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

We've already decided on theme...The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but that's about as far as I've gotten at this point.
I like Wulf's idea...the disappearance of Nikola Tesla and little green men from outer space. I also wouldn't mind doing something similar to Hellboy, with the party facing off against a Rasputin style menace.

Let's back off that for a bit and leave it wide open-- not much point in brainstorming if you don't open it up to everything right off the bat. Let's see what other folks have and see if anything else grabs you.

In any case, all the details will be posted here. When we're done, I'd like enworlders to be able to pull a ready-to-run LXG adventure right off the thread.

I agree!

 

[Felikeries]

The world lays awaiting a prophecy written by a philosopher,who is actually related to a player as they later find out,durring their attempt to find answers they travel to 3 strangely evil castles...(duh du duh du duh),they discover that an island that supports freaks of nature is making a weapon to fight this prophecy,and finally hints that there is a god element involved is shown by angelic visions occuring at certain deaths...

 

[GlassJaw]

Just for the record, Wulf's dragon in the Seven Saxons got whooped.

*runs for cover*

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Just for the record, Wulf's dragon in the Seven Saxons got whooped.

*runs for cover*

If by "whooped" you mean he killed three out of seven heroes-- including swallowing one of them whole-- TWICE-- yeah, he got whooped.

And just for the record-- I was holding back.

 

[ragboy]

If by "whooped" you mean he killed three out of seven heroes-- including swallowing one of them whole-- TWICE-- yeah, he got whooped.

And just for the record-- I was holding back.

Well, if it were to be true to the 'Seven Saxons' story, you'd have to lose at least three Saxons.

 

[Yuan-Ti]

Let's back off that for a bit and leave it wide open-- not much point in brainstorming if you don't open it up to everything right off the bat. Let's see what other folks have and see if anything else grabs you.

Problem is that this is such a fun idea, anything I can think of pales in comparison.

(As a side note, Mummy's Revenge from Adamant would work pretty well for a one-off Grim Tales adventure. It is designed for d20 Modern, but it's all in the family.)

Tomorrow, I will try to post a coherent adventure idea.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

In the "LXG vs. The Tomb of Horrors" my Rasputin-like menace was Dietrich Eckart (scroll down or search). He was a Thule Society member who initiated a young Adolf Hitler into mysticism.

I set the adventure pre-WWI so that Hitler was alive, but not too old (this was important for the players to get that "A-ha!" moment when they realize what it is they're up against, that connection to events they know).

Quatermain would be quite old in 1919, so I set the piece a few years before that. Eckart had already recovered the Spear of Longinus and was now at work uncovering the secrets of the Tomb of Horrors.

So when the LXG came on the tomb (that great image of the hill with the skull face) it was all set up with tents like an archaeological dig scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark, with Thule Society "thugs" (proto-Nazis... I hate those guys...) around and inside the tomb.

For an added twist Eckart had also already recovered the Eye and Hand of Vecna, and having gouged out his eye and cut off his hand, and with the Spear of Destiny at his side-- he was a bad-ass sorcerer.

At least, I thought so until Quatermain killed him with one critical hit from his elephant gun.

The party all knew Eckart had the Spear, as they were a step behind him all the way. But when they met him and I described him as having a ripped out eye and severed/re-attached shriveled hand, there was a HUGE "A-ha!" moment as they made the Vecna connection. (Actually, it was more of an "Oh !" moment, to be exact...)


Wulf

 

[Fenris]

The LXG set up I was going to use involved Dr. Moreau. Not on his island any more mind you. But stealing gems across Europe to perfect a new beam to help fuse animals and people. Anthropomorphing animals didn't get the best results so he is now fusing them to get the best of both worlds.

This let me play with the mutation rules, I was going to throw in some cyberware (OK steam ware) and let me have any animal hybrid I wanted as mooks or heavies.

Take from it what you will.

 

[Nuclear Platypus]

Well I once had an idea involving a clown who used funhouse mirrors to deform others so the clown would become more 'beautiful' in a twisted version of The Ugly Duckling.

How about a new version of The Thing (John Carpenter not Benjamin J. Grimm)? Toss in some X-Files-ian 'worms from beneath the ice' or even remnants of Nazi experimentation involving the occult (aliens?) in an Anarctic outpost.

Not trying to make anyone squeamish but how about mixing Lovecraft with Deliverance so the dueling banjos is played by some Cthulhu-esque hillbillies / Deep Ones. Just make sure to have Dueling Banjos ready to play to really creep out the players.