Having a Ball - Needing Ideas

[kolvar]

I am DMing a one on one adventure with a rather naíve elfen rogue, that got some assassins at her back. She is educated and protected by an old and rather nice vampire, who belongs officially to the nobility of the city. The enemy is one of the richest nobles, and the vampire wants to annoy him by giving a great ball, where his protegee can shine and the noble may be led to do something stupid.

So far, nicely thought, but badly implemented. I do not have the slightest of ideas, what will happen at this festivity. It should be a rather merry, Italien, renaissance-style thing with a bit of boding and darkness in the background (the city-state is ruled by a dynasty that is known for its devil-worship ... it is not a nice city to be, actually). But what kind of events take place in the house and in the small park belonging to it?

Next, I need a rather big base of characters to pull this through (any good NPC creators out there, that are more of a background and characteristics generator than a die-roller?).

And last, but not least, what does realy happen? I mean, I can think of some rather clishé events like poisoning, a bit of small-talk between the opponents, a bit of seduction. but that does not exite me much and does not realy fill up the evening.

Therefore, I realy would apreciate your input and your ideas
thanx in advance

 

[Aholibamah]

First of all: do you have ready access to some films with some pageantry in them? The following (regardless of total accuracy of time period) are good for this:
Amadeus
The Madness of King George
Elizabeth
Stealing Beauty
Henry and June
Dangerous Liasons
Valmont
Queen Margot

One thing that might work rather well would be this--I've used it both as a player and as a DM.

The ball is planned, and it is to be held at this estate you mention. There will be touches of decadence (small child-servants dressed as mythical creatures holding lamps, magical fountains of blood red wine, beautiful music constantly played, servants in revealing but tasteful costumes, dalliances behind pillars and in dark alcoves) but also good food (crayfish in white wine and butter, roasted doves with grapes, perhaps some kind of great fish served smoked on a bed of ice, pears and peaches in liqueur, etc). Howevever the noble is told at the last moment that absolutely EVERYONE is secretly coming in costume--a fine prize will be given to the person with the best costume. Therefore it would be wise to keep one's costume an absolute secret lest someone try to imitate another. And it is to be very exclusive, only the best people invited. Therefore not to be gossipped about either.

Then the protegee is urged to give him an idea for something if he doesn't have one. Something elaborate--it must be a costume beyond a shadow of a doubt, not a mere fashion statement.

Thus when the noble arrives, fashionably late of course, he finds that he is the ONLY person in a costume that under the circumstances looks totally ridiculous.

You may not like this particular scheme so it is just a suggestion.

As for others to attend:

1. The rake. A well born but somewhat roguish young noble, he comes across as being VERY gallant, suave, charming, a bit wild at times but in a fun kind of way. In fact though he really is after enjoying the favours of women he desires. He likes to genuinely seduce and get others to fall in love with him, whereupon he gets bored with them and discards them. They dare not contest him or they would be publically made fools of and dishonored, is the way he tends to work it.

2. The bore. He has some crankish interest--bird watching, collecting rare manuscripts about coinage in a previous dynasty, something like that--which he believes others will be interested in if he only presents it properly. He has a knack for walking in on interesting conversations and trying to divert them to his own interests. However he is also very rich and with some persuasion could be a useful partner in some venture provided he might get something he also wants from it. He'd like a wife to manage his affairs a little better--his own jumped to her death for unknown reasons.

3. The obvious lecher. Unlike the rake he does not seduce--he tries to grab, caress, fondle, leer, murmur what he imagines are lusty provocative remarks.

4. The grand matron. This lady is a shrewd survivor in the intrigues of the city, the dowager of a noble clan. She sometimes speaks in innuendos and in maxims but her advice is good, though she doesn't waste it on just anyone. Clever people, especially clever up and coming young women may interest her. She probably has a bodyguard, disguised as a humble maid, always with her.

5. The Sinister Gentleman. This is a warlock/necromancer/strange cultist who seems a cultivated polite gentleman but has something sinister about him. He may try to probe people he meets to ask about their interest in odd occult matters, or may imply a fine adventure to be had. To be involved with him is very dangerous but he will not do anything obvious.

 

[kolvar]

Now I am hungry ...

thanks, great ideas. The one with the costume ist nice and nasty, but I think it would not fit with the noble being rather powerful, clever, well known and in the favor of the king. But I have realy to think about it.

The achetypes are a great help and I will try to watch/ rewatch the movies.
thanks again

 

[roguerouge]

A rogue, you say? Skill checks are your encounters. Have success in one lead to bonuses in others, failures lead to penalties. The goal is to end the evening with a high prestige by making a good first impression, establishing your popularity through your dance card, making conquests on the dance floor, avoiding scandals, avoiding getting snowed by social climbers, and getting the good opinion of a handful of key targets.

First impressions: Disguise check to start off: higher the check, the more fashionable you appear. Give incentive for buying nobility outfits (+2 to check) and masterwork disguise kits (makeup, the really kickin' dress). This is the first impression she makes on high society. This influences the next encounter...

Filling out the dance card: in high society less than a century ago, women wore a bracelet with a little book attached to it, where they would pencil in their dance partners. As it was considered rude to take up a woman's entire dance card, a full dance card indicated popularity in a circle where that was power. Have her do GInfo checks to figure out who would be good partners to dance with, along with Knowledge: nobility to i.d. notorious womanizers, bores, the society woman you have to impress, the lech, and the best catch or conquest at the party. Some bluffs or diplomacies to get suitors to ask her to dance. Make it a tough diplomacy check or hide check to avoid the lech or the oaf or the bore.

Dancing: Have perform checks to indicate her grace on the dance floor for several dances. Intermingle a balance check to deal with the oaf who steps on her foot or hem of her dress. Bluff check to avoid revealing that she's been goosed by the lech ("making a scene" would be her fault in a semi-corrupt setting like you describe). You can have a "fight" occur as she dances defensively to up her ac vs. touch attacks from the lech). Have it last maybe 3 rounds, due to the setting and the vagaries of the complex forms of the dance. Success gets her in good with the matron, who admires her grace under pressure in one so young. Diplomacy checks to positively influence the attitude of those people who's good opinion matters. Knowledge: nobility to know what topics are appropriate and with whom.

He likes me!: Have sense motive checks to figure out which one's interested in her from the legions who are interested in scoring points in high society. Diplomacy checks to make conquests (a.k.a. draw interest from male suitors, nothing physical).

Appraise checks to i.d. what jewelry, clothing, and art work are actually praise-worthy. Failure indicates poor fashion sense and can lead to penalties in social interactions.

If she really hits it off with a desirable suitor who's interested in her or if a rake wins the skill check battle, a moonlight kiss on the patio either tops off the evening's adventure as a reward or indicates her naivete and the foolishness of her patron.

 

[kolvar]

Again, nice ideas there. Will have to see, how I can combine this.