I Need Help Developing a Quest. Suffering from Serious Writer's Block.

[Masaryk the Mad]

This isn't the kind of thing I can solve by looking through a bunch of modules. I'm having some really serious DM writer's block for this situation that one of my players sprung on me. It's kind of out of the scope of what I'm used to creating quests around.

Background: I am currently running a low-level 4E campaign. This campaign takes place in a homebrew world that I have been using for the past 12 years. Due to the age of the campaign world, there are numerous 2E throwback NPCs that are still active.

The Situation: One of the PCs, I'll use the initials HR, a hopeless romantic, has fallen madly in love with the NPC that was central to the forming of this adventuring group, KV. Being a bit of a traditional lad, HR wants to ask KV's father's permission to court his daughter. The PCs are overwintering in a fortress far to the north of their home town. It is only one week until the New Year's ball. If HR is going do get daddy's permission in time for the ball, he is going to need to enlist the help of KV's older brother to cast the Linked Portal.

KV's older brother, KAV, is not the most approachable person. He carries himself with an air of authority that makes even hardy adventurers nervous. He is a veteran commander of the Border Wars, 15 years in the past. He is also an Epic Tier Wizard, that has been known to dabble in Necromancy. He has been a threat to adventuring parties of the past, but also, at times, a strange ally.

KAV loves his little sister more than anything. Forget what his father thinks; he is not going to let her go to just any hapless hero that comes along. If HR wants a free trip home to ask for KV's hand, he's going to have to prove himself to KAV first.

I need help coming up with a series of challenges that will prove HR's honour, bravery, cunning, and his love for KV to the overly-critical retired war hero turned necromancer.

 

[fba827]

Air of authority = he'll speak of things and expect that they are right and will be done. therefore, he tells HR that he must prove himself. "Make your way across the plain and defeat the one standing there within 24 hours - begin ..."

Thus, he must cover the distance (it might include a skill challenge if you're group is in to those and finds them exciting, otherwise, shorten the time period and just leave it as combat and RP encounters).

Along the way - fight a lot of minion-type creatures (probably undead). This could test bravery if the undead are clearly outnumbering. It could also test cunning if there is some way to take out a bunch of them at once (aka if you knock down some pillar, a roof will collapse, taking out a bunch; or if you can corner them against a ledge on the path, they have a chance of the the ledge collapsing from thier weight -- give a couple different types of things that could happen so that the player has some freedom in thinking up his own solutions and not bound by the ones you are thinking up).

For the other encounter, this could count as honor or love, depending on HV's choice. The thing at the end that HV must defeat is "RAV himself" (or rather, a simulacrum of himself, by HV won't know that). "RAV" says that he must be defeated if HV wishes his approval. begin a tough fight encounter. at the end of it, does HV kill "RAV" ? (if so, that might be counted as love) or does HV simply knock out "RAV" (if so, it might be counted as honor -- not taking a life when defeat was already confirmed)

 

[Masaryk the Mad]

Thanks for your ideas!

It's an idea I could potentially work with, but it will require a bit of planning and tweaking on my part. KAV is more than 20 levels ahead of the PCs, so I will have to fudge things a lot to turn his simulacrum into a level-appropriate encounter for the party.

 

[fba827]

Maybe it's not RAV at the end, but the point being that it should be someone they think is a real person and believable and therefore should hesitate to outright kill as a chance to show honor/mercy. (where as if it was an obvious undead or monster there is no reason for the PCs to pause and not kill it, or sticking in someone's 'mom' is too obvious a 'fake' that they wouldn't believe it.)

 

[Masaryk the Mad]

Actually, the one character whose honour is in question always renders foes unconscious, if he gets to deal the final blow, so he wouldn't kill the "boss" anyway.

Most of the other party members kill everything. One of them kills everything because that's the character's personality. Another one kills everything because that's the player's personality.

 

[Quickleaf]

So his crush has an epic level necromancer older brother who hasn't been on best of terms with the PCs? And he needs to win this guy's trust in order to use teleportation circle to crush's father's manor? Is the necromancer stuck with a certain notion of what makes a good husband or paramour? Or is he more sensitive and cares more about what his sister needs and wants? Is he above using the "test of honor" to his own means like harvesting a rare spell component? The other option instead of a planned test is a spontaneous situation where the PC proves his worth to the necromancer, such as showing up when the necromancer is in crisis. Maybe a demon that feeds on magic escaped its anti-magic barrier? Maybe the necromancer has learned about threat to his sister (for something bad she did) thru divination or speaking with corpse PC brings in? Or maybe the locals have come to burn down the necromancer's tower for an experiment run amok? Btw what's with the necromancer's military background? Sounds interesting.

 

[Masaryk the Mad]

So his crush has an epic level necromancer older brother who hasn't been on best of terms with the PCs? And he needs to win this guy's trust in order to use teleportation circle to crush's father's manor?

The necromancer has no real conflict with the PCs in question. They are currently hiding out in the necromancer's fortress, at his insistence, because it wasn't safe for them to stay at home. Some enemies of the necromancer were threatening his sister to try to get to him. It isn't actually all that safe for either the necromancer or the PCs to return to the father's home, a prominent inn.

The PCs are too low in level to cast such rituals for themselves, so not only is loverboy asking for access to the teleportation circle, but he needs the necromancer to cast the spell for him too and then bring him back to the fortress.

Is the necromancer stuck with a certain notion of what makes a good husband or paramour? Or is he more sensitive and cares more about what his sister needs and wants?

He cares very deeply for his sister, and her happiness is very important to him. Considering the dangers to his sister, he wants to make sure that her suitor will be able to protect her.

Considering his military background, the necromancer is of the impression that a "good man" will be brave, honourable, and quick-minded. A good man must be able to make tough choices that will lead to the success of his "team." He should also be fair and kind to women.

Loverboy easily meets most of these criteria, but the necromancer does not know him well enough to judge his character, so that is why a test seems like a reasonable idea.

Is he above using the "test of honor" to his own means like harvesting a rare spell component?

He has been known to use PCs to his own means. One of the quests that these PCs went on was at his bidding. The PCs proved themselves admirably, so he knows he can trust them to complete minor tasks.

The other option instead of a planned test is a spontaneous situation where the PC proves his worth to the necromancer, such as showing up when the necromancer is in crisis. Maybe a demon that feeds on magic escaped its anti-magic barrier? Maybe the necromancer has learned about threat to his sister (for something bad she did) thru divination or speaking with corpse PC brings in? Or maybe the locals have come to burn down the necromancer's tower for an experiment run amok?

I could devise a spontaneous situation, but I think a planned test would be more his style.

Btw what's with the necromancer's military background? Sounds interesting.

As a 2E NPC, he was originally designed as a dual-class Fighter/Wizard. He joined the army at age 16, and it quickly became apparent that tactical skill and natural leadership made him officer material. He served as the captain of a tactical infantry unit during the Border Wars. He began to dabble in wizardry while recovering from a war injury.

 

[ajanders]

Family politics

What is the relationship between the older brother and the father? The older brother may be a powerful figure in his own right, but he may consider it appropriate for the girl's father to make the decision, and if he makes the quest too stiff, he pre-disqualifies the lover.

If the older brother is good, he's probably not going to create a test where death is the penalty for failure.

Oh, and if necromancy is frowned upon in the campaign the test isn't going to consist of going up against his skeleton army.

The best test might be a pure roleplaying test of character. The older brother takes the lover out sparring or hunting and pretends to be unimpressed with their prowess. (Depending on how well the character does, he may not need to pretend much...but don't let the young lover die.)

He lectures the young lover about his failings until he feels about three inches tall, then writes a letter to his father containing "his serious recommendation". It should sound like he's writing a report card of all F's. Then he seals the letter, casts the spell, and sends the young lover off to meet Daddy.

The sparring, of course, isn't the test. The test is: will the young lover grit his teeth and hand a critical evaluation over to his prospective father in law?
Or will he break the seal/substitute a letter?
If the letter gets to Daddy seal unbroken, it probably has some trenchant criticism of his sword work, but closes with the line. "If he was brave and honest enough to bring this to you seal unbroken, I think he is fit to marry my sister."

 

[Masaryk the Mad]

What is the relationship between the older brother and the father? The older brother may be a powerful figure in his own right, but he may consider it appropriate for the girl's father to make the decision, and if he makes the quest too stiff, he pre-disqualifies the lover.

The relationship between father and son is good, but they have little in common. The father had always expected his son would take over the family business some day, but that will never happen, so there is still a bit of tension over that issue.

The stark reality of the situation is that the father is not well. I had decided at the beginning of this campaign that he'd die of pneumonia this winter. The necromancer knows his father is very ill and that he won't live to witness the wedding.

If the older brother is good, he's probably not going to create a test where death is the penalty for failure.

Oh, and if necromancy is frowned upon in the campaign the test isn't going to consist of going up against his skeleton army.

I have no intention to kill any characters over this matter. That's not fun for anyone.

A hoard of skeletons would be very frowned upon in open society. However, there are a number of locations available nearby where such things could be done away from prying eyes.

The best test might be a pure roleplaying test of character. The older brother takes the lover out sparring or hunting and pretends to be unimpressed with their prowess. (Depending on how well the character does, he may not need to pretend much...but don't let the young lover die.)

He lectures the young lover about his failings until he feels about three inches tall, then writes a letter to his father containing "his serious recommendation". It should sound like he's writing a report card of all F's. Then he seals the letter, casts the spell, and sends the young lover off to meet Daddy.

The sparring, of course, isn't the test. The test is: will the young lover grit his teeth and hand a critical evaluation over to his prospective father in law?
Or will he break the seal/substitute a letter?
If the letter gets to Daddy seal unbroken, it probably has some trenchant criticism of his sword work, but closes with the line. "If he was brave and honest enough to bring this to you seal unbroken, I think he is fit to marry my sister."

Part of me would really prefer a roleplaying test over a physical challenge. I am somewhat concerned that my other players will be bored while waiting for this one character to do his thing, so I had been trying to think of a situation that could be inclusive of all characters. (I have one player that tends to make everyone uncomfortable with character exposition scenarios, but that is a matter for another thread entirely.) Roleplaying does make a lot more sense, though. A multi-faceted challenge wouldn't be too bad either.

 

[steeldragons]

The brother teleports the party to the base of Mt. Gorge. Upon the upper slopes/peaks of the mountain grows the Titan's Rose, a particularly rare and beautiful flower of icy blue petals with streaks of metallic-looking silver running through them.

"Ascend the slopes of Mt. Gorge and retrieve two Titan's roses. I require one for my research and the other, you can offer my sister as a gift."

"Physical Test": Climbing the mountain offers multiple opportunities for skill challenges of various kinds as well as wandering monster combat, so your other party member shouldn't have a chance to get bored or feel ignored.

"Intelligence Test": Naturally, when they reach the top and find the flowers, they also find why they are called the Titan's Rose. Because there's a titan that lives up there in the cloudy peak. You could throw this few ways: 1) he's good and has a nice chat, maybe a riddle, for the PCs and he'll give them the flowers they request, thus generating the intelligence test.

or scrap "the test of the mind" and just fight s'more 2) The titan is evil and needs to be physically defeated to gain the prize.

3) The remnants of a massive stone domicile are apparent, going INTO The mountain, of course (the resting place of "the titan") and the characters can explore there for a bit if you like...or face some unexpected evil/monsters that have taken up residency in the high secluded tomb.

Using some trinket given to them for a return teleport when they've completed the task, they are returned to the necromancer to bring him his flower...."Excellent. You've completely the first two parts of your test."

"First parts?!" sez the PC/party.

That's when the brother and the PC dual and the letter is written, to test the PCs honesty and integrity, a test of the "Spirit/Soul."

Passing the three should be adequate proof for the brother that this would-be hero has what it takes to woo his sister.

(Obviously, somewhere down the road, the PCs should encounter some villain or monster or evil that involves the titan rose as a component - the results of the brother's "research".

Have fun and happy romancing.
--Steel Dragons