Help me design a short adventure (my players stay out!)

[Nareau]

I'm interested in running my characters through an Ocean's Eleven type adventure. Basically, the party will need to retrieve an item that's locked in a vault, in a city, under heavy guard.

The party is 13th level, with a barbarian (adamantine greataxe), a druid (very good problem-solver), and an archer (3.0 OotBI).

The guardian of the vault is a high-level (15th or so) wizard, with nearly unlimited resources at his disposal. The only thing he can't utilize is divine magic. The item is valuable enough to be guarded against teleportation, with plenty of guards and wards in place.

I'm looking for either a module to base this on, or possibly just some good RBDM tactics that would make it very difficult to break into.

I'd like the adventure to run 3-4 sessions. Starting off will be investigation, then planning, then execution. Ideally, I'd like to incorporate lots of stealth, bluffing, and puzzle-solving into the scenario. I love the Ocean's Eleven model of having the treasure lie underneath a bustling casino/party/etc. And I'd like it to have some elements of "dungeon-crawl," as that's something our group hasn't done in quite a while.

So, how do I keep them from simply burrowing/teleporting/fighting their way straight to the goods?

Spider

 

[pogre]

So, how do I keep them from simply burrowing/teleporting/fighting their way straight to the goods?

Spider

I do not know much about Ocean 11, but with higher level parties the best way to make them explore is to scatter keys to the goal area around. So I would advocate the multi-key part method to get a little dungeon crawling in.

Perhaps others can be more original...

 

[LostSoul]

So, how do I keep them from simply burrowing/teleporting/fighting their way straight to the goods?

One thing I've been thinking about lately is a magic item based on the Magnificent Mansion spell. That's where the Wizard's true sanctum lies. On another plane, as it were. Hard to Scry, impossible to Teleport in, easy to defend. Expensive though (91k gp, 7280 xp, as I peg it).

What you'd have to do, I guess, is give the PCs a lot of information about the vault (like they did in Ocean's Eleven). That shouldn't be too hard for high-level PCs. To keep them from fighting their way through, make it obvious that unless they dispatch their opponents quickly, they'll end up in a fight they can't win.

 

[Wycen]

In older editions of DnD, copper and lead could foil things like scrying and teleport. I can't remember the details anymore, but it would make sense these things might have some effect. And having the vault actually exist on the ethereal plane is another good idea.

 

[LostSoul]

What if (stealing an idea from Piratecat) you had the vault on some kind of small demi-plane that the Wizard "inherited"? Exactly what's on this plane should be tailored to your PCs - I'd go with something "green" that the druid could work with.

You should have enough fighting so that the Barbarian and the Archer get to shine.

You could have some kind of "feat of strength" obstacle that the Barbarian (preferably buffed-up and enRaged) and the Druid, wildshaped into a brute, need to overcome together. While the Archer covers them with his arrows. (Like, they need to lift a gate or keep open a closing iron slab while the Archer shoots through the portcullis to hit some kind of mechanism.)

 

[Nareau]

All cool ideas so far, thanks!

The demi-plane idea could work well. Planar travel is almost entirely unknown to the continent, so it would be a nice way of demonstrating how unique this vault is. I've also toyed with the idea that the vault was built into an old maze-temple of Eshu (god of portals, crossroads, and prophecy).

This could work especially well if everyone thought it was simply warded against teleportation...when in fact, it simply doesn't exist in the material plane at all.

Unfortunately, my efforts to make the PC's feel like strangers in a strange land have succeeded a little too well. They're too paranoid to enter town for just about any reason at this point. I can probably pull some strings with the OotBI...

I'm thinking the guards will be mostly undead, elementals, and constructs. I might also throw in some magical alarms that will alert the BBEG to their intrusion.

Spider

 

[Whisper72]

To add some tension (like in O11, where they had limited time to execute certain moves because the power would come back on etc.), have a hostile environment. Maybe there is a sphere of annihilation somewhere that has sucked out all the air, the PC's will need to find some way to breathe in an effective vacuum.

Furthermore, use 'orichalcum', as a mix of lead, dragon's blood and other stuff (make something up), which wen used mixed into cement, paint, whatever, makes certain area's impervious to teleport and scrying.

Another RBDM tool is to have one of the henchmen of the Wizard act like he is dissatisfied, and give information to the PC's, only to have it be false info and an ambush...

Definately go with constructs. Have them be statues, or better yet, embedded in the wall as part of relief-scenery, and have them suddenly step out and attack from behind or in the middle of the party (effectively splitting them).

On the topic of splitting a party, a good way to put some scare into a party is to have some barrier (magical steel or somesuch) come down in a corridor (which is also shielded from TP and scrying) AFTER the first two PC's have moved past it...

Have the maze be with shifting walls, making mapping a nightmare, as the wa back is suddenly different....