Help! My players are driving the plot!

[Castellan]

I've recently started a new 1st-level campaign that is currently city-based. In yesterday's game, the players (there are three of them) were asked to track down and capture a criminal who was known to have committed armed-robbery.

They quickly located a run-down building where he was living, but it was on fire when they got there. The local constabulary drafted them into the "bucket brigade" to help them put out the fire, and they quickly volunteered to go inside the building to make sure everyone had gotten out safely (and to locate their mark). They found their quarry, drunk and passed out in a room that was half-engulfed in flames. During the effort to pull him out, one of the PCs was attacked by a small fire elemental. They slew the elemental, rescued/captured their man, and returned to the building to save a nearly-dead halfling. Afterward, they remained at the site to help put out the flames.

Here's the thing.... I had really only planned to put the fire elemental in as a challenging encounter. I figured trying to rescue someone who'd passed out, while avoiding flames and fire elemental attacks would be fun. It was. But afterward, the players spent a lot of time contemplating why an elemental would be in a small fire of this type (it only encompassed half of the building they were in, and did not spread to adjacent buildings), and are interested in investigating whether the elemental was just drawn to the flames, or was summoned there intentionally.

They've already done some preliminary investigation, including questioning the rescued halfling about his neighbors, asking local officials about their investigation (which is going nowhere, since it was in a bad part of town), and talking with the woman who was renting out the apartments. They've learned the name of a tenant whose apartment appears to have been at the center of the fire, but the session ended before they had a chance to try to locate him.

Now, I love it when my players do this. In the vast majority of the campaigns I've run for these folks, their musings have given me ideas I never would have thought up on my own. And it's always a lot of fun for them to think they've figured things out or to hear their cries of confusion when the plot isn't what they had originally thought. But I'm stuck with this one. So, I could use some ideas.

1) What is the significance of the fire elemental? Was it summoned, or was it just a fluke that it was there?

2a) If it was summoned, then by whom and for what purpose?

2b) If it wasn't summoned, is there any other interesting possibility for plot, here?

3) Might the investigation into the "missing tenant" lead to anything? Is he responsible for the elemental's appearance? The fire? Both? Neither?

The two mysteries need not be linked, but I would love to reward the players with a bit of a mystery of some kind, even if it's a purely harmless one. Perhaps it leads them to a new patron, or an ally, instead of some devious plot to overthrow the local government.

What kind of fun 1st-2nd level plots can come out of these two mini-mysteries?

Thanks!

PS -- I'm going to have to steal an idea from Piratecat and take a tape recorder to the games from now on. These players hurl juicy plot hooks back and forth at each other so rapidly, I can't write them down fast enough! Is that cool, or what?

 

[GlassJaw]

The first question that popped into my head was if the building had any importance. Maybe the thief was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Admittedly, that's kind of lame though.

What if the thief was part of a local thieves' guild but overstepped his bounds and robbed someone he shouldn't had. Or perhaps he was a freelancer that didn't join the guild. In order to make his death look accidental, a spellcaster in the guild (or someone they hired) summoned the elemental to set the building on fire. The guild didn't intend for the PC's to show up of course. Now that they've rescued the guild's target, the PC's have become targets themselves.

Maybe this missing tenant is really a spy for the guild who had been watching the thief that the PC's captured. The spy knew the layout of the building and could direct the summoning of the elemental and the subsequent arson.

These players hurl juicy plot hooks back and forth at each other so rapidly, I can't write them down fast enough! Is that cool, or what?

It is cool indeed. Be thankful for players like that!

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

In yesterday's game, the players (there are three of them) were asked to track down and capture a criminal who was known to have committed armed-robbery.

How much do the players know about who the mark is, and what was stolen? Who hired the party? Could he have stolen up an item that he was monkeying with that released the elemental?

Some other ideas: the missing tenant was behind on his rent and owed many people money. He could have a) summoned the elemental with the hopes of faking his own death, or perhaps someone he owed money to tried to send a message by summoning an elemental.

If using the "faking his death" idea, maybe the halfling they rescued was the person who, having magically altered his appearance, got caught up in the spreading flames.

 

[Insight]

I'm not sure if this is meant as a complaint or bragging (or both!), but I don't see a problem here. You have a bunch of players with active imaginations, who really want to get involved with the campaign. Is the problem that they are overwhelming you with what they want to do? Other than that, I can't see a problem here.

 

[painandgreed]

If I was to develop anythign out of it, I'd make it a case of the tenant being killed (burned to death) by the fire elemental whcih was sent to do so. Competely unrelated to the halfling. While investigating the missing tenant, they'll find out he was mixed up with a band of brigands outside the city. invetigation of the brigands gets the job of clearing the outlaws out from local authorities. After defeating the bandits, they uncover another clue and so forth until a grand conspiracy unfolds as the players tug at loose strings. Only later to reveal that the missing tenant was actually just an alias for the wizard who summoned the elemental to fake his own death in the fire as the elemental can make sure the fire grows to a point that a chance early discovery doesn't get it put out and dispel the story of his death. Make him part of some evil organization in your world that does whatever they normally do. By then the PCs are on his trail and they have probably made enemies of said organization and can't drop the issue.

 

[MerakSpielman]

My first thought was:

Your players are driving the plot? Good for them!

To give my take on your questions:

1) It was a fluke... kind of.

2) The borders between the planes are weakening. Outsiders are able to slip through occasionally. Likewise, people are going missing, slipping through into other planes (where likely they meet a swift death). This is because the Destroyer of Worlds draws near, and his clerics are attempting to weaken the bonds of reality to speed his coming.

3) The missing tenent was pulled into the Elemental Plane of Fire, and the fire elemental slipped through into this plane at the same time. Perhaps each time something slips through it works like this.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

He's asking for help handling the particular plot hooks that the players have come up with *this time*.

He's not complaining.

He's seeking outside advice.

 

[Saeviomagy]

Simple - it's a foolish armed robber who doesn't have some magical support. Small elementals come with a summon monster III or summon nature's ally II, or with a higher level binding spell (which is probably inappropriate).

Alternately a cleric of fire can command them when he's 4th level.

So - the armed robber has a partner in crime. A 3rd level druid, 5th level wizard or 4th/5th level cleric, depending on what suits you. The armed robber hasn't split the cash - he KNEW he was being looked for, and was keeping it safe.

The partner (who stayed back during the robbery, ready to deal with magical threats if any occurred) wants his cash NOW - he has debts. So he figured he'd give the guy a scare by sending his elemental thrall - but since it was a scare, the elemental was told to set fire to the place and make sure no harm came to the guy.

Of course elementals are dumb (small elemental: int 4) and otherworldly. This one didn't know that fire hurts people. So he was sitting there, guarding his charge, and someone tries to run off with him!

Anyway - now the partner can't get the cash - he either knows his accomplice is arrested, or thinks he's dead. So he's probably going to (try to) flee the city before his debt is called in.

It's up to you whether the party find a trail that leads out of town, or another body.

 

[Krieg]

1) What is the significance of the fire elemental? Was it summoned, or was it just a fluke that it was there?

2a) If it was summoned, then by whom and for what purpose?

It was summoned specifically to burn down the building.

Why? To eliminate evidence.

What evidence? The alleged criminal the players were sent to capture.

He only appeared to be drunk, in fact he was poisoned/enspelled to immobilize him so that he could be murdered & disposed of in the fire.

What does he know that would cause someone to want to eliminate him?

He is a loose end that could potentially lead the part to a much larger criminal ring.

The missing tenant? Play it up like it is important, but in the end it is nothing more than a red herring.

 

[Castellan]

I'm not sure if this is meant as a complaint or bragging (or both!), but I don't see a problem here. You have a bunch of players with active imaginations, who really want to get involved with the campaign. Is the problem that they are overwhelming you with what they want to do? Other than that, I can't see a problem here.

Sorry... I was being facetious. I love that my players are driving the plot. I try very hard to make sure they do. This time around, I wasn't expecting them to latch onto something that I considered so mundane, and got backed into a corner during the game session. I fudged some facts (wrote them down so I don't screw things up, either!) and pulled a couple of names out of my list of randomly generated NPC names and just flew by the seat of my pants.

Now that I'm sitting back and thinking about the players' questions, I'm trying to decide what to do. hence, the request for aid.

How much do the players know about who the mark is, and what was stolen?

Well, I had defined it as a cash-only robbery of a lesser member of one of the more powerful merchant houses in the city. Ideally, I was hoping to introduce a minor member of one of the influential houses, while building some detail on the city's politics.

I love your idea about the missing tenant faking his own death. That's definite possibility.

If using the "faking his death" idea, maybe the halfling they rescued was the person who, having magically altered his appearance, got caught up in the spreading flames.

That's not bad at all. The cleric in the party whisked this NPC away to her temple to ask for additional healing to save his life. She'd hate that she helped someone who had done this. I love it!

My first thought was:

Your players are driving the plot? Good for them!

To give my take on your questions:

1) It was a fluke... kind of.

2) The borders between the planes are weakening. Outsiders are able to slip through occasionally. Likewise, people are going missing, slipping through into other planes (where likely they meet a swift death). This is because the Destroyer of Worlds draws near, and his clerics are attempting to weaken the bonds of reality to speed his coming.

3) The missing tenent was pulled into the Elemental Plane of Fire, and the fire elemental slipped through into this plane at the same time. Perhaps each time something slips through it works like this.

Hear, hear! Good for them! There's nothing cooler than when my players take an interest in the game. This time around, I was just taken aback by their level of interest in something I hadn't planned to be a significant part of the adventure. This is exactly why I'm interested in rewarding their curiosity. I hate preparing an adventure for them to play... I'd much rather let them decide what to do and throw baddies in their way.

You've got a great idea, too! And a good possibility for a developing plot. I've been looking for and event-based plot that could develop slowly over time, and this might be something to try out!


So many good ideas in this thread! Keep 'em coming!