Most interesting dilemma you've thrown at your players?
- Thread starter Cor Azer
- Start date
Wombat
First Post
A musketeer game where the group had to recover some "stolen documents" turned out to be great fun and devilishly clever for them. The man who had stolen the plans was the main actor in a Commedia del Arte style comedy troupe; the local archbishop, thankfully a bit deaf, was a great fan of him. The group traced down the actor the night before he was to leave town, but he was going to be on stage. Equally they knew he had hidden the plans somewhere in the theatre.
Add to this two of the characters were new (one was a secretary to the Archbishop and one was a mercenary recently arrived in the area) and suddenly there were three different player groups with slightly different information about the plans and their location, but all of them knowing they had to get to the plans during the performance without interrupting it!
Needless to say, mayhem ensued.
Popping out of trap doors, many costume changes, a few threats with firearms (without actually using them), actual swinging from chandeliers, triple-crossings, mistaken identities, and one of the wildest nights in existence, this has been remembered down the years (this was 8 years ago) as Wombat's Best Game.
Add to this two of the characters were new (one was a secretary to the Archbishop and one was a mercenary recently arrived in the area) and suddenly there were three different player groups with slightly different information about the plans and their location, but all of them knowing they had to get to the plans during the performance without interrupting it!
Needless to say, mayhem ensued.
Popping out of trap doors, many costume changes, a few threats with firearms (without actually using them), actual swinging from chandeliers, triple-crossings, mistaken identities, and one of the wildest nights in existence, this has been remembered down the years (this was 8 years ago) as Wombat's Best Game.
Wow, there are some great stories here.
My campaign has grown to an epic scale, although the PC's are some of the few who are fully aware of the changes taking place.
Four of the gods of the world began as mortals and "ascended" thousands of years ago. Their strength comes from tokens of divinity that rest in extra-planar shrines of power. Removing a token from its shrine will cause the god to fall from divinity and cause his or her influence to fade from the world. To prevent the re-awakening of the Devourer, the players need these tokens. The players, of course, weren't yet fully aware of the full ramifications of retreiving the tokens.
It just so happens that one of the PC's is a holy warrior dedicated to one of the four gods. When they finally reached the shrine of his god, it was guarded by a Sword Archon who had sworn his life to protect the token. Because of a the presence of another group of archons who want to bring about what is essentially Armageddon, they fought. In the confusion, the holy warrior fled the battle to the token's resting place. As he was preparing to seize the token, the Sword Archon teleported away from the battle and intervened. The Archon explained what would happen if the token was removed, explained that he could not allow the token to be taken while he still lived, and said that these choices were left by the Maker for mortals to choose. Then the Archon kneeled down, awaiting the holy warrior's judgment.
In that instant, full realization dawned on the player, and it was one of the most powerful moments I've experienced in the game. None of it was choreographed, it simply worked out that the holy warrior fled the battle for this solo scene to play out, and it was awesome. The warrior vowed to carry on the faith of his god in the new world to come, and slew the Archon with a single, sorrowful stroke.
My campaign has grown to an epic scale, although the PC's are some of the few who are fully aware of the changes taking place.
Four of the gods of the world began as mortals and "ascended" thousands of years ago. Their strength comes from tokens of divinity that rest in extra-planar shrines of power. Removing a token from its shrine will cause the god to fall from divinity and cause his or her influence to fade from the world. To prevent the re-awakening of the Devourer, the players need these tokens. The players, of course, weren't yet fully aware of the full ramifications of retreiving the tokens.
It just so happens that one of the PC's is a holy warrior dedicated to one of the four gods. When they finally reached the shrine of his god, it was guarded by a Sword Archon who had sworn his life to protect the token. Because of a the presence of another group of archons who want to bring about what is essentially Armageddon, they fought. In the confusion, the holy warrior fled the battle to the token's resting place. As he was preparing to seize the token, the Sword Archon teleported away from the battle and intervened. The Archon explained what would happen if the token was removed, explained that he could not allow the token to be taken while he still lived, and said that these choices were left by the Maker for mortals to choose. Then the Archon kneeled down, awaiting the holy warrior's judgment.
In that instant, full realization dawned on the player, and it was one of the most powerful moments I've experienced in the game. None of it was choreographed, it simply worked out that the holy warrior fled the battle for this solo scene to play out, and it was awesome. The warrior vowed to carry on the faith of his god in the new world to come, and slew the Archon with a single, sorrowful stroke.
Razz0putin
Explorer
spoiler alert for mini module
I was running one of the mini adventures in the old dragons and giants supplement modified to 3e. the party was hired to guard some black dragon eggs and in the process they had to coat it with dragon jelly hourly and keep it at the proper temperature. eventually they found out that a dragon had hired them to babysit for her. well they found the dragons hoard and had to choose wether they would stay and protect the 2 eggs and now one baby or grab the money and run. they voted for grab and run but then the druid pointed out that without care the eggs would die. well the eggs died and the players although rich have aquired themselves quite the hunted. Now I just have to put them in a spot where they can learn that the dragon really would have honored her agreement without killing them.
I was running one of the mini adventures in the old dragons and giants supplement modified to 3e. the party was hired to guard some black dragon eggs and in the process they had to coat it with dragon jelly hourly and keep it at the proper temperature. eventually they found out that a dragon had hired them to babysit for her. well they found the dragons hoard and had to choose wether they would stay and protect the 2 eggs and now one baby or grab the money and run. they voted for grab and run but then the druid pointed out that without care the eggs would die. well the eggs died and the players although rich have aquired themselves quite the hunted. Now I just have to put them in a spot where they can learn that the dragon really would have honored her agreement without killing them.
Ralts Bloodthorne
First Post
I love stuff like that.
The heroes catch one of thier arch-villian nemesis alone, and he starts laughing, and chucks too "Second Sight Crystals" at thier feet.
"You have three choices, my little social butterflies. You can attack me, and possibly even defeat me, or you can stop what you see." They looked in the crystals and saw two things.
Some of the minions standing inside thier own keep with axes and torches with the party's spellbooks and historical documents in a pile.
The rest of the minions standing inside an orphanage with all of the children tied up in front of them.
They ended up going to the orphanage and finding all of the caretakers dead, and a note scrawled in blood on the wall: "We don't make war on children, fools."
---------------------
A member of a group of assassins had married the lord of a bordering duchy while the party was out looking for other members of the assassin's guild. This woman had arranged the fact that her husband's pedophilia had become common knowledge, and he had begun preying on commoner and merchant class children in the worst way. He also took to embezzeling from the crown, extorting merchant caravans, allowing the roads to fall apart, and other excesses while letting his obligations fall by the wayside.
The assassin "caught" the husband in the act and slew him, making reperations to the families. She then began having roads repaired, sold all of rich materials and decorations in order to fix the roads, improve housing, and everything else she could do to get the populace on her side.
Seeing that the lord of the district had betrayed his subjects (visibly at least) and the new wife had things well in control, the Emperor allowed the woman to maintain the district.
This caused the party no end of grief, as her people were now fanatically loyal to her, hated the leaders of the nieghboring duchy (the party) and subtly encouraged the population to revolt.
Plus, she'd stand there in court and grin at them.
The party knew they could either let the Wraithkillers get closer and closer to thier goals, or risk killing Aveline (the duchess) and being declared wolfshead and possibly even civil war within the emporer.
Tying thier hands politically is often great fun.
The heroes catch one of thier arch-villian nemesis alone, and he starts laughing, and chucks too "Second Sight Crystals" at thier feet.
"You have three choices, my little social butterflies. You can attack me, and possibly even defeat me, or you can stop what you see." They looked in the crystals and saw two things.
Some of the minions standing inside thier own keep with axes and torches with the party's spellbooks and historical documents in a pile.
The rest of the minions standing inside an orphanage with all of the children tied up in front of them.
They ended up going to the orphanage and finding all of the caretakers dead, and a note scrawled in blood on the wall: "We don't make war on children, fools."
---------------------
A member of a group of assassins had married the lord of a bordering duchy while the party was out looking for other members of the assassin's guild. This woman had arranged the fact that her husband's pedophilia had become common knowledge, and he had begun preying on commoner and merchant class children in the worst way. He also took to embezzeling from the crown, extorting merchant caravans, allowing the roads to fall apart, and other excesses while letting his obligations fall by the wayside.
The assassin "caught" the husband in the act and slew him, making reperations to the families. She then began having roads repaired, sold all of rich materials and decorations in order to fix the roads, improve housing, and everything else she could do to get the populace on her side.
Seeing that the lord of the district had betrayed his subjects (visibly at least) and the new wife had things well in control, the Emperor allowed the woman to maintain the district.
This caused the party no end of grief, as her people were now fanatically loyal to her, hated the leaders of the nieghboring duchy (the party) and subtly encouraged the population to revolt.
Plus, she'd stand there in court and grin at them.
The party knew they could either let the Wraithkillers get closer and closer to thier goals, or risk killing Aveline (the duchess) and being declared wolfshead and possibly even civil war within the emporer.
Tying thier hands politically is often great fun.
EternalNewbie
Explorer
Okay, so this turned out a little long, and are more plot twists than dilemma's...
I ran a campaign a while back which revolved around a powerful merchant fighting a covert war against a lich (one his ancestors) to protect an ancient artifact which would allow the lich to gain the power of one of three demi gods, thus paving the way for an ancient evil to arise. The fight had been going on for generations, and had thus far cost the lives of the merchants family, including his son, a reckless paladin. Now, this merchant, one of the most powerful in the kingdom, had used virtually all of his wealth fighting this losing battle. Forced to desperate measures, he blackmailed and coerced the party to undertake some suicidal tasks for him (crossing a vast desert by an unused route for example). The PC's of course, knew none of this, and just though him a manipulative bastard.
Anyhow, evetually the thief in the party (a member of the local 402: thieves, assassins, prostitutes, conmen and beggars) decided to take matters into his own hands. Hiring a friend of his, he sent him out to dig up some dirt on the merchant. Needless to say, the friend returned, badly beaten, suggesting that the next time he needed a favour, to ask somebody else and that maybe he'd check out the opportunities in another country for a little while. This worried the PC thief, but not nearly as much as waking up with a dagger against his throat that night, held by what the pc's though was the merchants chief administrator (in actual fact, a front runner for the head of the thieves guild 20 years ago before the lich's agents seized control, and he was forced to fake his own death).
Quote, next morning at breakfast: "Um, I think Gregor's a little more than an ordinary merchant, and we'd better be nicer to William (the NPC 'administrator').
In the same campaign, the cleric was being played by a newbie to D&D, and I decided, since she didn't seem to be enjoying the combat aspect as much as the others, to throw some RPing her direction, by introducing a love interest at one of the merchant's parties. The NPC in question, a charming, handsome, wealthy and urbane member of the old aristocracy (the country was now run by merchant princes and a consortium of other guilds). Not to let a good plot hook go by unmolested, I made the NPC a vampire spawn, a low-mid level servant of the lich. The backstory being that she reminded him of an ancient love and part of the reason he became a vampire (he was waiting for her to return). He courted her over the course of probably 5 sessions+, whenever she was in the capital. I had decided that the vampire was capable of redemption but the player, unbeknownst to me, had decided to develop a relationship with one of the other PC's and told the vampire this. The ensuing kidnapping and battle were epic, probably the best in the campaign. The PC's were a little concerned when they broke into his mansion, and found a room filled with hundreds of pictures of a woman that looked almost exactly like the cleric, wearing gowns hundreds years out of date.
Best quote (by the thief PC upon realizing the cleric hasn't returned, and discovering the body of another investigator they hired to check out the Vampire's background): Um, so has anybody seen Kail in the daylight?
I ran a campaign a while back which revolved around a powerful merchant fighting a covert war against a lich (one his ancestors) to protect an ancient artifact which would allow the lich to gain the power of one of three demi gods, thus paving the way for an ancient evil to arise. The fight had been going on for generations, and had thus far cost the lives of the merchants family, including his son, a reckless paladin. Now, this merchant, one of the most powerful in the kingdom, had used virtually all of his wealth fighting this losing battle. Forced to desperate measures, he blackmailed and coerced the party to undertake some suicidal tasks for him (crossing a vast desert by an unused route for example). The PC's of course, knew none of this, and just though him a manipulative bastard.
Anyhow, evetually the thief in the party (a member of the local 402: thieves, assassins, prostitutes, conmen and beggars) decided to take matters into his own hands. Hiring a friend of his, he sent him out to dig up some dirt on the merchant. Needless to say, the friend returned, badly beaten, suggesting that the next time he needed a favour, to ask somebody else and that maybe he'd check out the opportunities in another country for a little while. This worried the PC thief, but not nearly as much as waking up with a dagger against his throat that night, held by what the pc's though was the merchants chief administrator (in actual fact, a front runner for the head of the thieves guild 20 years ago before the lich's agents seized control, and he was forced to fake his own death).
Quote, next morning at breakfast: "Um, I think Gregor's a little more than an ordinary merchant, and we'd better be nicer to William (the NPC 'administrator').
In the same campaign, the cleric was being played by a newbie to D&D, and I decided, since she didn't seem to be enjoying the combat aspect as much as the others, to throw some RPing her direction, by introducing a love interest at one of the merchant's parties. The NPC in question, a charming, handsome, wealthy and urbane member of the old aristocracy (the country was now run by merchant princes and a consortium of other guilds). Not to let a good plot hook go by unmolested, I made the NPC a vampire spawn, a low-mid level servant of the lich. The backstory being that she reminded him of an ancient love and part of the reason he became a vampire (he was waiting for her to return). He courted her over the course of probably 5 sessions+, whenever she was in the capital. I had decided that the vampire was capable of redemption but the player, unbeknownst to me, had decided to develop a relationship with one of the other PC's and told the vampire this. The ensuing kidnapping and battle were epic, probably the best in the campaign. The PC's were a little concerned when they broke into his mansion, and found a room filled with hundreds of pictures of a woman that looked almost exactly like the cleric, wearing gowns hundreds years out of date.
Best quote (by the thief PC upon realizing the cleric hasn't returned, and discovering the body of another investigator they hired to check out the Vampire's background): Um, so has anybody seen Kail in the daylight?
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Yeah. Made it hard for the players to figure out.twofalls said:
Her personality (and thus alignment) is that of a nice little girl. All the evil within her can be released with the correct ritual, to the great advantage of the bad guys; however it does not manifest itself through her own actions or personality.
Mustrum_Ridcully
Legend
What came next to a "moral dilemma" in my current AU/Diamond Throne campaign was about a village with a strange ritual - one or two years before the naming ceremony, the children of the region where gathered, having to perform some rituals to prove their education and so on. During the ceremony, one of the children would be ritually killed.
The background for this was an ancient dramojh curse - one of the children would be born without a soul. During the naming ceremony, the lack of soul would become obvious, and evil demons or dead dramojh could take the child and infest it with their evilness. (The child itself would be perfectly innocent, till then).
Centuries ago, a Giant was able to find a "limited" cure for the curse - he created a magical device/ceremony that allowed to identify the child before the naming ceremony, allowing to kill it before the evil creature could wreak havoc.
Since someone already had to take a choice in the moral dilemma, I created the oppertunity to solve the problem, though the player´s still had to figure out about the background and how to.
The solution was created a few years ago, when a priest (oathsworn) entered the town and learned about the ceremony, he convinced the local ceremony leader to spare the life of the child, so he could care for it and end the curse. Unfortunately, the oathsworn couldn`t avoid the posession of the child, and was even killed by it several years later. But thanks to the power of his oath, he came back as a ghost, tied to the corrupted child.
His existance gave the solution - after the death of the corrupted child, he would be able to bind himself to a new space (going to afterlife was still impossible - he didn´t fulfill his oath so far). If the ceremony was changed a bit, he could be enabled to spend a part of his soul to the soulless child, making it a normal (probably even good) person, immune to being controlled by evil spirits.
The solution won´t be permanent, though - in a thousand years, his soul might be "up" - and then, a new solution has to be found.
The background for this was an ancient dramojh curse - one of the children would be born without a soul. During the naming ceremony, the lack of soul would become obvious, and evil demons or dead dramojh could take the child and infest it with their evilness. (The child itself would be perfectly innocent, till then).
Centuries ago, a Giant was able to find a "limited" cure for the curse - he created a magical device/ceremony that allowed to identify the child before the naming ceremony, allowing to kill it before the evil creature could wreak havoc.
Since someone already had to take a choice in the moral dilemma, I created the oppertunity to solve the problem, though the player´s still had to figure out about the background and how to.
The solution was created a few years ago, when a priest (oathsworn) entered the town and learned about the ceremony, he convinced the local ceremony leader to spare the life of the child, so he could care for it and end the curse. Unfortunately, the oathsworn couldn`t avoid the posession of the child, and was even killed by it several years later. But thanks to the power of his oath, he came back as a ghost, tied to the corrupted child.
His existance gave the solution - after the death of the corrupted child, he would be able to bind himself to a new space (going to afterlife was still impossible - he didn´t fulfill his oath so far). If the ceremony was changed a bit, he could be enabled to spend a part of his soul to the soulless child, making it a normal (probably even good) person, immune to being controlled by evil spirits.
The solution won´t be permanent, though - in a thousand years, his soul might be "up" - and then, a new solution has to be found.
Stormborn
Explorer
My current campaign began as the PCs are cultivated by a Spymaster to run small errands for him,fairly standard retrieve the artifact/prisoner kinds of things. During the process they discover that there are a group of lizard people terrorists loose in the city that have some capacity for seeming human (I wont say what that is 'casue one of the players will no doubt read this.) Through various adventures the nature of the poltics in the city becomes increasingly confused, or at least that was my intent. Finally the PCs are sent to retrieve an ancient death mask from a lost crypt almost immediately on the heels of another great revelation (a group of NPC allies, including the lover of one of the PCs, is revelaed to be able to take the form of rats) and the death of the Lord of the City. They are told that by gettign there first they may stop the plasn of the lizard men. They encounter resistance from both the lizard men and the guardians of the tomb itself. They are given an suitably obscure prophesy about their future, including hints that one of the PCs is realted to the rulers of the city, but return to the Spymaster to deliver the mask.
They discover him closeted with the rulers of the city, and a merchant that they had aided but were suspicious of, around the dead body of the former Lord. They are asked if they have the mask.
The Spymast wont look at them, but seems uncharacteristically cowed.
On of the PCs gladly hands it over.
The merchant is revealed to be a lizard man. Although the PC fighter draws, she quickly realizes that they are out numbered and lowers her weapon.
The mask is placed on the dead Lord, along with two red gems the lizard folk terrorists had wanted.
The lord rises from the dead.
The PCs are dismissed.
Later, in the dead of night, the PCs are awoken by the main NPC, the spymaster's assistant who frequently accompanied them on the adventures.
They are told that the spymaster has been hung for treason, and that they are all probablly next.
The scene faded to black. And I said "End Season 1."
They discover him closeted with the rulers of the city, and a merchant that they had aided but were suspicious of, around the dead body of the former Lord. They are asked if they have the mask.
The Spymast wont look at them, but seems uncharacteristically cowed.
On of the PCs gladly hands it over.
The merchant is revealed to be a lizard man. Although the PC fighter draws, she quickly realizes that they are out numbered and lowers her weapon.
The mask is placed on the dead Lord, along with two red gems the lizard folk terrorists had wanted.
The lord rises from the dead.
The PCs are dismissed.
Later, in the dead of night, the PCs are awoken by the main NPC, the spymaster's assistant who frequently accompanied them on the adventures.
They are told that the spymaster has been hung for treason, and that they are all probablly next.
The scene faded to black. And I said "End Season 1."
