Need Advice - Story Hook "Vision"

[Knuddelbaer]

Hello!

I need some advice from more experienced DMs since I ran into kind of a rut with my group at the weekend.

My problem is: I tried to hook my group into the next storyark with a vision to one of them.
It was a vision of the destruction that their current location, a town of 10.000 people, will suffer within roughly 1 year of narrated time. The demise comes as a host of goblinoids, that control an elemental artifact and harness its power to attack the humans.

In adventures before that I planted following clues:
- The goblinoids once had a large empire that was destroyed in a cataclysm (think of it like Eberron, but we play in a homemade setting - my goblinoids only found the artifact and were shown how to use it by some outside force)
- Before that, they used the artifact to fight and win against a highly advanced civilisation of "psionic merfolk" I created for the setting
- The goblinoids already started small fights, engagements, raids etc. against the current human kingdom, where the group lives, because the humans expand more and more into the old goblinoid empire, where scattered tribes of all kinds of races live. Some of them are for, some against the goblinoids.
- This is important: Where the goblinoids keep the artifact and that the "psionic merfolk" tried to take it away in a decisive engagement, but failed.

My mistake, I think, was that I implicated in the wording of the vision, that the actions of the group were/are/will be the important turning point that decides the fate of the town and subsequent events. After that, the rest of the session was bogged down into the discussion of future paradoxes: No one could know, what action of the group, if any, triggers the events from the vision or if an action of the group will prevent it. So to say: They were paralized up to a point where they talked about if "decision" is something that is done actively or if "decision" can even refer to an involuntary or unconcious act you don't even notice.

My conundrum is now this: How can I get them back on track? As far as I am concerned (i.e. how I as the author interpret the information given to the group) they know where to go (the pyramid/necropol of the goblinoids - they have looted a map recently) because they know that the artifact is there (the chronicles of the "psionic merfolk" indicated that it is there) because they know what will happen, when the goblinoids use the artifact (said vision).

But they are uncertain and don't dare to do anything because anything could be the wrong step. I still have 2 weeks to think about this, but if anyone could offer piece of advice how I could continue without telling them outright to go there, I would be thankful.

I hope I provided enough information to get some advices. I also apologize for the language, English is not my mother tongue.

 

[d2OKC]

I'd try one of two different things (or, both!).

One - Give them a chance to talk to someone about this vision they received. Maybe someone in the town is a fortune teller or sooth-sayer or whatever, and they have experience with these things. This way they can get a definite answer to their question, whether its "this event is going to happen regardless of what you do" or, better "this is something that will happen if certain events are not stopped". I don't know how you want to run it from there, but it would be more motivating to me, as a player, if I knew there was a way to stop it. I think it's cool they decided to spend a long time discussing it, but at some point, you need to give them an answer, and run with it.

Two - Keep things ambiguous. Throw a few different leads at them, and see which one they bite on. It would be interesting to have them keep up the discussion as they play, and even as they attempt to stop the destruction. I get the impression, from your post, that their actions don't have any affect on the outcome? In that case, offer them other choices. Maybe they can evacuate the town? Maybe they can cause the event to happen in a different location? I'm not sure how excited I'd be if I knew there was nothing I could do to stop something like that.

 

[Knuddelbaer]

I get the impression, from your post, that their actions don't have any affect on the outcome?

In the end, they will save the day with a few more twists and turns, but my problem is that I apparently fail to communicate the right hints and that the players seem to over-interpret everything.

In my head the story plays out like this: group heeds the vision - group decides to steal the artifact (since they know where it is/might be: the pyramid) - group slays the hobgoblin warchief in the process, who is the last descendent of a family that can attune to the artifact - we are happy and the whole thing moves on into the next arc.

 

[Infiniti2000]

Option one from [MENTION=97351]d2OKC[/MENTION] seems best to me. They're discussing in game, so no need to try to take them out of game. Have a "sage" sort of person, perhaps a village elder, tell them that a vision is changeable and that their lack of action will ensure an unfavorable outcome. The vision is likely granted by a powerful entity (e.g., a god) as a warning. Tell them (in character) to NOT be complacent and to work to avoid the outcome in the vision.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Have the goblins send assasins after the party (or a specific party member) and some clues to indicate that the goblins have some prophesy that indicates the party as a possible future nemesis.

Have some information that circulate that goblin assasins are also hitting other targets.

Say they are targeting the party magic user or cleric and other clerics or magic users in the town have been also attacked. Some successfully other not.

So the goblin prophesy indicated person of that type is a threat to their plans.

This will force the party to react and also indicate that the vision is not so much a result of what the party might do but something it might not sdo.

 

[Traveon Wyvernspur]

• I would add in ancient texts that the party can run across that tell of this artifact and it's power (in the past and what it did) in some ruins or possibly in the bowels of a church/library/mage school (however you want to flavor it).
• I'd have prophecies and omens streaming forth from various sources, ancient texts foretelling of the rise to power of these goblins.
• I liked [MENTION=28487]ardoughter[/MENTION] 's idea with the added goblin assassins trying to take out these sources, it would make for interesting role playing and encounters as the goblins would have their own clerics/prophets that would want to keep the group from trying to stop their perceived destiny.
• Possibly more visions and stronger visions as the time gets closer to when this artifact is going to be used to push the players a bit with a sense of urgency.
• Try not to railroad them down the path, but leave it open with a seemingly sandbox style that all points in the direction you want things to happen with a series of related events.
• Give the players a chance to capture one of these goblin assassins or someone who is helping them and get the information out of that NPC somehow (using magical, drug, or physical means) to extract said information.

 

[OnlineDM]

I agree with the idea of having an NPC sage of some sort interpret the vision for them as meaning, "This will happen unless you stop it."

Another fun idea might be for a wise person to pull out an old tome that tells of past visions from other heroes. Some visions came to fruition while others were averted thanks to the actions of brave adventurers. This should make it clear that visions CAN be averted by taking the right kind of action. I'm guessing that the vision is sent by some sort of good deity who wants the heroes to act - perhaps make that motivation clear.

This seems like a potential seed for a really cool NPC - a soothsayer-historian, who studies the history of prophecy.

 

[Rune]

First of all, the set-up you've given your players is perfect, if you want to start a sand-box style game.

If you don't, however, what I would do is drop the subject entirely. No answers. No resolution. No direction. Give the party time to forget about the vision.

Then, somewhere down the line, they make some seemingly mundane decision and feel the universe shift into alignment around them. Somehow, they've just set things toward fulfillment of the vision!

Then, start the cycle again.

Come to think of it, this is how I'd do it in a sand-box game, as well.

 

[Unwise]

Who gave them the vision? To me it could be a very deciding factor in influencing their decision. Was it from a diety? If so, their personality could really drive the PCs into action. Whether they get another vision/dissapproval, or if they just hear a sermon/read a text that speaks to them.

E.g.

Avandra/Tymorra/Traveller - "sheesh, stop over thinking everything, just go out and be heroic already, this is no fun at all!"

Bane - "You have your orders, fulfill them or I will crush you and find someone that will. Do I need to spell everything out? A snivelling worm paralysed by indecision is unworthy of me"

Moradin - "If in doubt, work harder. Sitting around is for Eladrin and cowards. Do something dagnabbit!"

Ioun - "Your questions are wise, but consider this, why would the god of knoweldge and prophecy bother to send you a vision of a future you cannot change?"

A latent psionic ability - "The dreams start becoming more vivid and solidified, as if the reality that it represents is slowly but surely becoming more sure." When they take some action towards their goal "The dreams become more hazey, as if unsure of their own existance. The faces of the dying loose clarity and the slaugther takes on a more dream like approach, as if it will soon be a bad memory"

Anyway, just some thoughts. Hope it helps.

 

[CroBob]

A soothsayer once told me that a prophecy is what will happen if nothing is done to stop it.