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Inspiring pragmatic PC's to heroics
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<blockquote data-quote="I'm A Banana" data-source="post: 220992" data-attributes="member: 2067"><p>To help with B, you don't need much...just a set-up plot.</p><p></p><p>Say the players kill the baby. Well, then, the people who sent them on the mission (presumably the baby's relatives) now have reason to dislike the PC's. Or say somebody sees the PC's slaughtering elven maidens in the forest...how's an observer to know they're Hags?</p><p></p><p>One thing leads to another. If you've got time, I wouldn't plan more than an adventure or two ahead. This allows you to go over the events of last week and tie them into an otherwise random encounter here. Suddenly, those goblins they cleared out a few days ago have taken residence in the moutains and start sending elite strike teams at the PC's.</p><p></p><p>If the baby's giving you problems, introduce Vengeful Dad. His family was everything to him, and he trusted you to restore it. You violated that trust, and now he can think of nothing but destroying you as you destroyed him. After his child's death, his wife left him and he got fired from his job at a day-care center because he was "negligent."</p><p></p><p>Boom, you've got a reoccuring villan that the PC's are probably loath to kill.</p><p></p><p>Add to the list:</p><p></p><p>C) Don't try to anticipate what your PC's will do in any but the most general of terms. Anticipate what they would do on how you will motivate them to do it. Consider even utterly dispassionate PC's who have enough glory and money -- how will you get them into the adventure? Also, think from the standpoint of the NPC's. Think of how the cultists or the hags think, and then let your mind flow from their position. If your next meal depended on you killing a group of people walking along the path, would you target the Big Bad Armed Warriors? Or would you rather go for the Random Pilgrim Family that's likely to come down the street later. If you want the hags to attack, give them a reason to, and give them the proper preparation. Think of what treasure they give, and then equip them with optimal items for that treasure level. A ring of mind shielding is a minor magical item -- and it makes it impossible to tell if you're lying, find out what you're thinking, or detect your alignment. Nearly any CR 3 encounter could grab one of these things, and in a world with Paladins runnin' around all over the place, wouldn't you grab one if you were evil?</p><p></p><p>Hopefully, that's decent advice. Someone can probably give you better, but I've got the time to respond. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="I'm A Banana, post: 220992, member: 2067"] To help with B, you don't need much...just a set-up plot. Say the players kill the baby. Well, then, the people who sent them on the mission (presumably the baby's relatives) now have reason to dislike the PC's. Or say somebody sees the PC's slaughtering elven maidens in the forest...how's an observer to know they're Hags? One thing leads to another. If you've got time, I wouldn't plan more than an adventure or two ahead. This allows you to go over the events of last week and tie them into an otherwise random encounter here. Suddenly, those goblins they cleared out a few days ago have taken residence in the moutains and start sending elite strike teams at the PC's. If the baby's giving you problems, introduce Vengeful Dad. His family was everything to him, and he trusted you to restore it. You violated that trust, and now he can think of nothing but destroying you as you destroyed him. After his child's death, his wife left him and he got fired from his job at a day-care center because he was "negligent." Boom, you've got a reoccuring villan that the PC's are probably loath to kill. Add to the list: C) Don't try to anticipate what your PC's will do in any but the most general of terms. Anticipate what they would do on how you will motivate them to do it. Consider even utterly dispassionate PC's who have enough glory and money -- how will you get them into the adventure? Also, think from the standpoint of the NPC's. Think of how the cultists or the hags think, and then let your mind flow from their position. If your next meal depended on you killing a group of people walking along the path, would you target the Big Bad Armed Warriors? Or would you rather go for the Random Pilgrim Family that's likely to come down the street later. If you want the hags to attack, give them a reason to, and give them the proper preparation. Think of what treasure they give, and then equip them with optimal items for that treasure level. A ring of mind shielding is a minor magical item -- and it makes it impossible to tell if you're lying, find out what you're thinking, or detect your alignment. Nearly any CR 3 encounter could grab one of these things, and in a world with Paladins runnin' around all over the place, wouldn't you grab one if you were evil? Hopefully, that's decent advice. Someone can probably give you better, but I've got the time to respond. :) [/QUOTE]
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