Help! How do I do a ball scene?

[Bob Aberton]

Well then,

Have the players get to know him at the start of the ball, when the night is young.

When the ball starts to wind down, have him start having small flare-ups of temper.

Then have, say, someone spills a drink on him and he not only rants, but literally clocks the poor sod.

Then, after the uproar has died down somewhat, have someone comment that its very unusual for him to be so tempermental, that he's never, ever, shown any sign of anger before.

Something like that.

 

[Benben]

Don't Discount Movies

Rent a couple of these movies and see how the director displayed both character moments, and plot movement.

• Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare)
• Emma
• Sense and Sensibility
• Plunket and Maclean (Warning intentional anachronisms)
• She's All That (Warning: Freddy Prinze Junior)
• Record of the Lodoss War (Anime)

Except for "Much Ado" these aren't the best films in the world. But if you turn it into a movie night with your wife, it will give your mind something to do before you die of boredom.

 

[Spider_Jerusalem]

Okay, I ran a grand ball in my campaign (Ice, Luck and Honour) about a year ago. I'm sure that my players will agree it was one of the most satisfying sessions we have had in a long time. Not a single dice of combat rolled, and everyone felt exhilirated.

The key to its success was that the dastardly villain that the PC's had been chasing for near to two months was there (It was all staged around the Shieldmeet Tourney), and he was joining in on the celebrations. The characters were under strict orders not to disturb the peace, but they caused the villain so much social grief they felt like they had knocked him dead. Fantastic to DM, I assure you.

Points of interest included:

The mage using prestigidation to trip the arch-villain over his own cloak.
The introduction of a major new villain by showing him take advantage of an innocent Lord's daughter (the cleric of Tyr almost went insane over this, but knew he couldn't do anything physical so had to try to roleplay through it)
A dance that ended with a character falling for a betrothed princess (this has had the most immense ripples on the gameworld)
The arch-villain drunkedly sitting with the characters and laughing about all the people he has killed whilst the characters swear there and then they will hunt him down and kill him when all this is over.
A lord goes missing half way through the ball (found later by [plot point deleted for prosperity of my story hour])
The halfling rogue gets to entertain a half dozen kids with stories of their clash with a mighty dragon etc etc - all roleplayed of course.

And a load of others.


I have to say, some of the ideas being thrown around by the posters in this thread are fantastic and even if you pick out 10%, they will make a memorable ball scene.

My big tip is to shove a villain into talking proximity (but make sure as hell you have an escape plan, lest things go awry), it really helps to build the hate relations between enemies and PC's.

Anyway, I've talked too long.

Spider.

 

[Infinite Monkey@Work]

On the Azharadian front, I think I might use this as an opportunity to show once and for all that he is/was a very good person. That is, at the ball he does something that establishes/reinforces with the players that he is a really nice guy. Justification is that the artifact hasn't got enough of a hold on him yet, so he is still good.

Then I can start altering him after the ball. It may even make it harder for the players to figure out that the artifact is the culprit.

So now the question is : what scene can I stage that will give me an opportunity to show off Azharadians goodness without just saying 'Azharadian is a good guy'.

Note : My players aren't very good at remembering what happens from one session to another (although they are getting better), so subtle stuff is perhaps not the best for a major plot point like Azharadian going bad.

 

[Conaill]

Ideas for random gossip:

Watch a couple of episodes of those crappy afternoon soap operas! No need to know the plot, just jot down the "juicy" bits.

Make up a bunch of note cards, one for each piece of gossip. (You can have several about the same topic, each from a different angle.) Add in a few cards with the important information. This will make it much easier on you to do the gossip "on the fly", without making it obvious which parts are random gossip, and which parts are important.

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

So now the question is : what scene can I stage that will give me an opportunity to show off Azharadians goodness without just saying 'Azharadian is a good guy'.

A young family is observed begging at the gate by some of the entering aristocrats. Some pompous nobleman makes some rather nasty comments about the "animals", "filthy beggars", etc. Azharadian orders them brought into the kitchens and fed, and has some sharp words with the pompous nobleman. Importance of ALL people, that kind of thing. You could make it into a grand scene in front of all the guests, but it might be even more effective if he just does it without calling a lot of attention to it. Depends on your group, really, and what you think would make a better impression on them.

Any kind of charity or going out of his way for someone is good, really. Opening granaries for refugees. Lots of little touches as appropriate sprinkled throughout the party might help, too. Rebuking bigotted NPCs. Random kindnesses and compliments. Telling stories to children. That kind of thing.

 

[Happiest_Sadist]

Azharadian might be adversely affected by the artifact to the point where he no longer has discression. He could have several of his new associates invited, who turn out to be unsavory.

He could also have a drink spilled on him by the Fop (obviously harmless) as suggested earlier. He looks irritated but shrugs it off. He leaves the hall to change his jacket.
Later in the evening a very valuable piece of jewlery goes missing. The PCs are called upon to find it Azharadian encourages them and mentions the Fop. However Azharadian dosn't have any apparent reason. When it is found the Fop is humiliated and punished. Unknown: Azharadian had it planted on the Fop because of the wine spilled on him.
This is the first of several increasingly obviously vindictive quests the PCs are sent on.

 

[Bob Aberton]

Geez...

I almost feel sorry for the poor Fop...

humiliated...
framed...
beaten up by Anschlag...
poisoned, then beaten up by Anschlag...
spilling wine everywhere...

 

[The Sigil]

Just for fun, here's one more personality...

The Important Lush: The guy is a jerk and/or an imbecile whom nobody can stand - but he's the crown prince or an exceedingly popular musician (at least with the king) or somesuch so he can't just be kicked out or ignored. Watch the movie Amadeus and see the way he conducts himself in the ball scene.

--The Sigil

 

[Meds]

Sorry to ressurrect a prehistoric thread, but I'm curious to know how things turned out.

Infinite, did you run the ball scene?
Did Anschlag dance?
Did Pta-riri wear a ballgown?
Did the fop make it out alive?

Inquiring minds want to know.