WinnipegDragon
First Post
anonystu said:
Oh crap... Was that a requirement? This is my first IronDM, and I thought I knew the rules, but I think mine was six or seven pages in Word.
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- Thread starter Rune
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Oh crap... Was that a requirement? This is my first IronDM, and I thought I knew the rules, but I think mine was six or seven pages in Word.
anonystu
J'Accuse PirateCat!
Quoting rune, who's quoting nemmerle from the first page of this thread:
Rune, is of course, free to do how he likes, but I took this (which can also be interpreted as just a mild suggestion) as one of the constraints of the competition: to be able to cohesively tie together a bunch of disparate elements in not much room.
I rarely write adventures as linear as the one posted above, but I could barely squeeze the plot together in four paragraphs, let alone get to describe much of the interactions in depth (a lot of the last scene is meant to be chaotic, so that's not too much of a problem in that scene, but there's a lot of detail and other things left out, like that I wanted some scenes with the reformed illithids, and so on).
On the other hand, what Nemmerle just posted is a really great module, that's something that I personally, would love to modify and run in my campaign. I guess this is something to think about for the future: how much should the module length become a more hard limit (say, no more than 1000 words), or how much to encourage people to write their heart out to create great modules like the one Nemmerle just wrote (I haven't read yours quite yet, so judgement reserved for now ).
Rune, is of course, free to do how he likes, but I took this (which can also be interpreted as just a mild suggestion) as one of the constraints of the competition: to be able to cohesively tie together a bunch of disparate elements in not much room.
I rarely write adventures as linear as the one posted above, but I could barely squeeze the plot together in four paragraphs, let alone get to describe much of the interactions in depth (a lot of the last scene is meant to be chaotic, so that's not too much of a problem in that scene, but there's a lot of detail and other things left out, like that I wanted some scenes with the reformed illithids, and so on).
On the other hand, what Nemmerle just posted is a really great module, that's something that I personally, would love to modify and run in my campaign. I guess this is something to think about for the future: how much should the module length become a more hard limit (say, no more than 1000 words), or how much to encourage people to write their heart out to create great modules like the one Nemmerle just wrote (I haven't read yours quite yet, so judgement reserved for now ).
Last edited:
seasong
First Post
Sphinx
Maze
Bag of tricks
Waterlogged totem
Paranoid city
Harpy
Summary: This is a scenario meant for level 5-7. The core "event" (hunting for the harpy) is not particularly difficult, because it is meant as a springboard for further adventures, and an introduction to the city politics, rather than a challenge in and of itself. On the other hand, despite its easiness, it is not intended to seem easy to the PCs - the hunt should involve plenty of rolling, shouting and worry, and the fight should paralyze a few members of the party and do minor damage to the others before they have the bird in hand. And if it seems straightforward to the PCs, that's only because they don't know what's really going on.
Backwater Tar Baby
The city of Eu Topos was founded some three hundred years ago by a small clan of gnomes looking to capitalize on a river damming project that would put their obscure initial location on the map. As plans go, it went reasonably better than expected, and within a decade or so it was a thriving city of twenty thousand souls. Unfortunately, Evaneskos came along.
Evaneskos is a powerful gyrosphinx wizard who despised both male breeds of her kind, and sought a way to escape them... as well as the difficult, hunted life of a gynosphinx. So she used her magics to appear as a gnome for periods of time, and insinuated herself into the leadership of the council using all manner of charms and enchantments to achieve what she needed.
Then she set about remaking the city more to her liking. Streets were gradually rebuilt into one way, twisting routes. Building zoning was established along a spiralling aesthetic, so that a straight line always took you to a different kind of place. The quaint red clay construction was supplemented with cliff-like barriers, which forced buildings to grow taller and connect at points other than the ground floors or street. More streets were built on top of that, and she began prowling the shadowy underworld of the city maze for her prey.
The city's very structure was paranoid, difficult to get in or out, claustrophobic and twisted into knots. And this had a similar impact on her citizens, who took to taking corners cautiously, examining each other for clues to the murderers identity... other urban predators, from dopplegangers to rakshasa, began to immigrate to the city...
Barely a square mile, the city became a dense, festering rat warren of desparate gnomes and other races, who were trapped by the tax and emmigration laws to scrimping and saving sufficient money to leave. It was a perfect trap.
A new predator has recently entered the city, however, one who is considerably less subtle, and more irritating to Evaneskos. Her name is Yau Tallas, and she is a ruined harpy, kicked out to die in the desert by her own harem for her greed and gluttony (it's not just that she overate - she was stealing her sisters' shares as well). She eventually found her way to Eu Topos, and has set up shop for herself. She is a skilled city hunter, and specifically has mastered an unusual ability for a harpy - the ability to only affect one person at a time with her singing, but at much greater ranges (a Savage Species-like monster feat). With it, Yau has begun gorging herself again, and has become quite fat and happy and hidden.
The problem, from Evaneskos' point of view, is that whoever the new threat is (which survivors have described as a "melodious voice giving false promises, like a siren only sweeter"), she's overhunting her section of the city. Occasional murders and disappearances are all well and good, and help maintain the aura of hopeless despair that marks mortals in the city, but push too hard and mortals leave with or without money, or turn to mob-like rages. She needs the harpy taken care of, and soon.
So she hires the PCs. This can happen several ways:
1) A small band of gnomes, looking terribly frightened and constantly looking over their shoulder, approach the PCs where ever they are and offer to hire them (or simply plead for help). They have been sent by Evaneskos to acquire skilled, reasonably priced adventurers, and they know she can scry them to determine success. If the PCs spot the scrying and get a glimpse of the scryer, they will see an elderly gynosphinx checking them out. Otherwise, the gnomes simply want them to come back to the city to find and kill a terrible monster for them. It will seem fairly straightforward.
2) If the PCs are deep in the wilderness and are looking for a place to sell their loot, you could glance at your map and casually mention to the bard (or ranger or other "area knowledge" person) that there is an obscure, small city nearby. It does some trade in fish, furs, gnome textiles and some magic, but is otherwise a footnote in history. When they arrive, make note of the closed-in architecture, the squeeze that some streets give, the poorly lit sidepaths, the paranoid way everyone scuttles through the street (as if they're trying to watch all directions, including up, without missing a step). They find a proprietor of whatever it is they want, and he mentions regulations requiring permission to sell the item they want most (or to buy the item they want to get rid of). He says he'll check for them that afternoon, and could they please come back that evening? (This is authentic and true) When he asks permission, Evaneskos takes an interest and visits his shop to meet these expendable out-of-towners who might be willing to help her out.
3) Rumors of lost treasures in the depths of an obscure city reach the ears of the adventurers. A rumor that the city is hiring could accompany it.
In any of these cases, the gynosphinx will offer to hire them. She will present herself as an almost grandmotherly figure in the city, who long ago shed pretensions of gnomeness and overcame the fears of the People with her kindness, forthrightness, and willingness to eat non-sentients. It's a lie, but she's a high level wizard with a ton of skill points in bluff, and the spells to pull it off (mostly deception, charms, divinations, etc.). The problem, she'll tell them, is that some sort of singing monster has moved into the bowels of the city and is killing off her valued citizens. A siren, possibly, since the creature stays near the lake.
She'll offer what she needs to in order to get them to do it, or appeal to their sense of justice and goodness if she thinks that will work. She plans to continue hiring them and keeping them in the city (so their money will eventually go back to her anyway), and killing them when they eventually leave, so it's no skin off her back. (Note: keep it within your preference for their level, though, in case they succeed
).
She will give them one other thing: a bag of tricks. Each of the animals it produces are small and scrawny (but last for an hour each), and she explains that the bowels of the city were designed by a madman, and are somewhat mazelike. If the singing creature begins singing, the weakest nearby creature is drawn to it, and if they keep out a creature from the bag of tricks, it should be the first affected, and they can then follow it.
Most importantly, however, she wants the creature alive so that it may face justice. She will be very clear on this to the adventurers, with as much bribery or threats as she feels is necessary to ensure it. (In point of fact, she wants to tame/hire the creature if that is possible, or eat it herself if that is not; she's mostly concerned about its appetite right now).
Finding the Harpy
Make rolls as they wander around with their scrawny little beast. If you can make the beast seem cute and funny, do so. He should also seem weak and frail and slow. Then, have them hear faint singing, and the beast takes off.
That was the straightforward part. Now you can make them sweat, because the little bastard is making a beeline through holes in flimsy walls (STR or damage check to burst through), jumping down narrow holes with no visible bottom (Spot check to see if its safe, Jump check to make it safely when it isn't), scrambling under tables (Jump or Tumbling check), etc. Then it jumps into a water-filled street and begins doggy paddling. The lake has filled in part of the city here, and the maze becomes narrow corridors for swimming.
Note that armored characters are going to need some help. If the party has no methods for handling this normally, and you don't think they'll find a way, you could perhaps include a broken, floating wooden door or something they could use.
Finally, the beast scrambles onto what looks like the top of a partially rotted, water-logged ironwood dome about twenty feet across. It clambers up, then drops down a hole too small to follow... but under the water, the structure looks more complicated, and there may be a way inside.
In point of fact, Evaneskos would be furious to discover Yau Tallas' location. An artifact (in the historic, not magical, sense) of the sphinx's early days after revealing herself to the city, it is a totemic statue, carved of ironwood, of Evaneskos herself. It is hollow, with heavily water-damaged artworks within (all with Evaneskos as the subject, of course), and was abandoned when the lake broke through one of the safelocks and flooded this portion of the original, older city.
Yau is situated in one of the back rooms (the rump, where she has room to maneuver, and a quick exit to air that was not visible from the head area). The PCs will have to explore the totem itself (it's a good 100 foot by 50 foot wide statue, and two stories high at the head) to find her, as the trick creature is long since eaten.
If they are clever, pull out another trick and wait, she will begin singing again. The new animal will lead them on a more straightforward path, at which point...
Yau, from her hidden vantage, will spot them and switch from singing to a single individual to ALL within range. At this point, it's fighting time. Remind the players that alive means subdual damage, which for most of them will mean -4 on their to hits. Once she figures out they aren't trying to kill her (the first successful hit or two), if she isn't already unconscious, she will pretend to be, slumping to the ground.
Bringing Yau In
The sphinx is delighted with the catch. Indeed, upon discovering that it is a harpy, she seems almost beside herself, and immediately offers the PCs another job, at a slightly improved pay...
Future
The gynosphinx and harpy will eventually become a vicious tag team. By the time the PCs have outlived their usefulness and are looking to get out of the city (run this like a module - just one more corner or mission to complete and then we're OUTTA here!), the harpy will be higher level and possessed of an even deadlier voice, not to mention the city guard. And the possibility of vengeful predators whose meal ticket was killed, should they kill Evaneskos. Heck, the townsfolk think the sphinx is on their side, so that could make things sticky as well - do they kill the innocents, just because the innocents believe a lie?
Maze
Bag of tricks
Waterlogged totem
Paranoid city
Harpy
Summary: This is a scenario meant for level 5-7. The core "event" (hunting for the harpy) is not particularly difficult, because it is meant as a springboard for further adventures, and an introduction to the city politics, rather than a challenge in and of itself. On the other hand, despite its easiness, it is not intended to seem easy to the PCs - the hunt should involve plenty of rolling, shouting and worry, and the fight should paralyze a few members of the party and do minor damage to the others before they have the bird in hand. And if it seems straightforward to the PCs, that's only because they don't know what's really going on.
Backwater Tar Baby
The city of Eu Topos was founded some three hundred years ago by a small clan of gnomes looking to capitalize on a river damming project that would put their obscure initial location on the map. As plans go, it went reasonably better than expected, and within a decade or so it was a thriving city of twenty thousand souls. Unfortunately, Evaneskos came along.
Evaneskos is a powerful gyrosphinx wizard who despised both male breeds of her kind, and sought a way to escape them... as well as the difficult, hunted life of a gynosphinx. So she used her magics to appear as a gnome for periods of time, and insinuated herself into the leadership of the council using all manner of charms and enchantments to achieve what she needed.
Then she set about remaking the city more to her liking. Streets were gradually rebuilt into one way, twisting routes. Building zoning was established along a spiralling aesthetic, so that a straight line always took you to a different kind of place. The quaint red clay construction was supplemented with cliff-like barriers, which forced buildings to grow taller and connect at points other than the ground floors or street. More streets were built on top of that, and she began prowling the shadowy underworld of the city maze for her prey.
The city's very structure was paranoid, difficult to get in or out, claustrophobic and twisted into knots. And this had a similar impact on her citizens, who took to taking corners cautiously, examining each other for clues to the murderers identity... other urban predators, from dopplegangers to rakshasa, began to immigrate to the city...
Barely a square mile, the city became a dense, festering rat warren of desparate gnomes and other races, who were trapped by the tax and emmigration laws to scrimping and saving sufficient money to leave. It was a perfect trap.
A new predator has recently entered the city, however, one who is considerably less subtle, and more irritating to Evaneskos. Her name is Yau Tallas, and she is a ruined harpy, kicked out to die in the desert by her own harem for her greed and gluttony (it's not just that she overate - she was stealing her sisters' shares as well). She eventually found her way to Eu Topos, and has set up shop for herself. She is a skilled city hunter, and specifically has mastered an unusual ability for a harpy - the ability to only affect one person at a time with her singing, but at much greater ranges (a Savage Species-like monster feat). With it, Yau has begun gorging herself again, and has become quite fat and happy and hidden.
The problem, from Evaneskos' point of view, is that whoever the new threat is (which survivors have described as a "melodious voice giving false promises, like a siren only sweeter"), she's overhunting her section of the city. Occasional murders and disappearances are all well and good, and help maintain the aura of hopeless despair that marks mortals in the city, but push too hard and mortals leave with or without money, or turn to mob-like rages. She needs the harpy taken care of, and soon.
So she hires the PCs. This can happen several ways:
1) A small band of gnomes, looking terribly frightened and constantly looking over their shoulder, approach the PCs where ever they are and offer to hire them (or simply plead for help). They have been sent by Evaneskos to acquire skilled, reasonably priced adventurers, and they know she can scry them to determine success. If the PCs spot the scrying and get a glimpse of the scryer, they will see an elderly gynosphinx checking them out. Otherwise, the gnomes simply want them to come back to the city to find and kill a terrible monster for them. It will seem fairly straightforward.
2) If the PCs are deep in the wilderness and are looking for a place to sell their loot, you could glance at your map and casually mention to the bard (or ranger or other "area knowledge" person) that there is an obscure, small city nearby. It does some trade in fish, furs, gnome textiles and some magic, but is otherwise a footnote in history. When they arrive, make note of the closed-in architecture, the squeeze that some streets give, the poorly lit sidepaths, the paranoid way everyone scuttles through the street (as if they're trying to watch all directions, including up, without missing a step). They find a proprietor of whatever it is they want, and he mentions regulations requiring permission to sell the item they want most (or to buy the item they want to get rid of). He says he'll check for them that afternoon, and could they please come back that evening? (This is authentic and true) When he asks permission, Evaneskos takes an interest and visits his shop to meet these expendable out-of-towners who might be willing to help her out.
3) Rumors of lost treasures in the depths of an obscure city reach the ears of the adventurers. A rumor that the city is hiring could accompany it.
In any of these cases, the gynosphinx will offer to hire them. She will present herself as an almost grandmotherly figure in the city, who long ago shed pretensions of gnomeness and overcame the fears of the People with her kindness, forthrightness, and willingness to eat non-sentients. It's a lie, but she's a high level wizard with a ton of skill points in bluff, and the spells to pull it off (mostly deception, charms, divinations, etc.). The problem, she'll tell them, is that some sort of singing monster has moved into the bowels of the city and is killing off her valued citizens. A siren, possibly, since the creature stays near the lake.
She'll offer what she needs to in order to get them to do it, or appeal to their sense of justice and goodness if she thinks that will work. She plans to continue hiring them and keeping them in the city (so their money will eventually go back to her anyway), and killing them when they eventually leave, so it's no skin off her back. (Note: keep it within your preference for their level, though, in case they succeed
).She will give them one other thing: a bag of tricks. Each of the animals it produces are small and scrawny (but last for an hour each), and she explains that the bowels of the city were designed by a madman, and are somewhat mazelike. If the singing creature begins singing, the weakest nearby creature is drawn to it, and if they keep out a creature from the bag of tricks, it should be the first affected, and they can then follow it.
Most importantly, however, she wants the creature alive so that it may face justice. She will be very clear on this to the adventurers, with as much bribery or threats as she feels is necessary to ensure it. (In point of fact, she wants to tame/hire the creature if that is possible, or eat it herself if that is not; she's mostly concerned about its appetite right now).
Finding the Harpy
Make rolls as they wander around with their scrawny little beast. If you can make the beast seem cute and funny, do so. He should also seem weak and frail and slow. Then, have them hear faint singing, and the beast takes off.
That was the straightforward part. Now you can make them sweat, because the little bastard is making a beeline through holes in flimsy walls (STR or damage check to burst through), jumping down narrow holes with no visible bottom (Spot check to see if its safe, Jump check to make it safely when it isn't), scrambling under tables (Jump or Tumbling check), etc. Then it jumps into a water-filled street and begins doggy paddling. The lake has filled in part of the city here, and the maze becomes narrow corridors for swimming.
Note that armored characters are going to need some help. If the party has no methods for handling this normally, and you don't think they'll find a way, you could perhaps include a broken, floating wooden door or something they could use.
Finally, the beast scrambles onto what looks like the top of a partially rotted, water-logged ironwood dome about twenty feet across. It clambers up, then drops down a hole too small to follow... but under the water, the structure looks more complicated, and there may be a way inside.
In point of fact, Evaneskos would be furious to discover Yau Tallas' location. An artifact (in the historic, not magical, sense) of the sphinx's early days after revealing herself to the city, it is a totemic statue, carved of ironwood, of Evaneskos herself. It is hollow, with heavily water-damaged artworks within (all with Evaneskos as the subject, of course), and was abandoned when the lake broke through one of the safelocks and flooded this portion of the original, older city.
Yau is situated in one of the back rooms (the rump, where she has room to maneuver, and a quick exit to air that was not visible from the head area). The PCs will have to explore the totem itself (it's a good 100 foot by 50 foot wide statue, and two stories high at the head) to find her, as the trick creature is long since eaten.
If they are clever, pull out another trick and wait, she will begin singing again. The new animal will lead them on a more straightforward path, at which point...
Yau, from her hidden vantage, will spot them and switch from singing to a single individual to ALL within range. At this point, it's fighting time. Remind the players that alive means subdual damage, which for most of them will mean -4 on their to hits. Once she figures out they aren't trying to kill her (the first successful hit or two), if she isn't already unconscious, she will pretend to be, slumping to the ground.
Bringing Yau In
The sphinx is delighted with the catch. Indeed, upon discovering that it is a harpy, she seems almost beside herself, and immediately offers the PCs another job, at a slightly improved pay...
Future
The gynosphinx and harpy will eventually become a vicious tag team. By the time the PCs have outlived their usefulness and are looking to get out of the city (run this like a module - just one more corner or mission to complete and then we're OUTTA here!), the harpy will be higher level and possessed of an even deadlier voice, not to mention the city guard. And the possibility of vengeful predators whose meal ticket was killed, should they kill Evaneskos. Heck, the townsfolk think the sphinx is on their side, so that could make things sticky as well - do they kill the innocents, just because the innocents believe a lie?
WinnipegDragon
First Post
Re: Re: He who waits...
I'm quite sure that we will both have nice new ones after this
Loved the way the bag of tricks is used in yours. I can imagine the sheer panic in the character's eyes when the little bugger heads into the walls
seasong said:WinnipegDragon: I like your entry. I'll comment further after Rune has ripped me a new one for mine
I'm quite sure that we will both have nice new ones after this
Loved the way the bag of tricks is used in yours. I can imagine the sheer panic in the character's eyes when the little bugger heads into the walls
Pielorinho
Iron Fist of Pelor
Re: Re: Re: He who waits...
"Get a leash! Goddammit, SOMEBODY GET A LEASH!!"
Daniel
WinnipegDragon said:Loved the way the bag of tricks is used in yours. I can imagine the sheer panic in the character's eyes when the little bugger heads into the walls
"Get a leash! Goddammit, SOMEBODY GET A LEASH!!"
Daniel
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