Need to add some flavor/role playing ideas for after next session

[Mighty Halfling]

Have the group, regardless of class, be approached by the local thieves guild. The guild offers membership, which includes access to an alchemist, magic items, travel papers, maps, library, etc. If the PCs accept, the guild wants a portion (5 to 10 percent, I'd say) of their haul out of the Goblin lair as a membership fee. If the PCs refuse, the guild starts "agitating" the party and their family members. One day, the farm fields are found trampled. The rogue finds that no place in town will offer him services -- He's totally blacklisted because the shopowners fear the guild. The Wizard's father's shop's supply caravan never arrives.

One of the players is approached by a townsperson who says they have accidentally dropped a valued item down one of the town's wells, and they need help retrieving it. Almost at the water level, the PC discovers a hole has opened up on one of the walls and a massive void is beyond it. Looking inside, he/she sees that the void is infested with fungus. The PC realizes that upon the next heavy rain, the water will rise flooding the void and poisoning the well. How can the PC eliminate the fungus without destroying the viability of the well?

Riffing off of Steenan's suggestion: Town leaders approach the PCs with an investment plan. The town wants the PCs to bankroll the construction of a fortified wall around the town in exchange for a percentage of the gate taxes when its completed. Also, the PCs would be granted ownership of some parcels within the wall. Of course, the wall ends up costing more and more, so the town leaders urge the PCs to do more adventuring and even dig up leads for them. Additionally, a debate brews among the townsfolk as to what properties go within the wall and what remains unprotected, and its up to the PCs to choose which since they're essentially paying for it.

 

[NewJeffCT]

I'm not familiar with Sand Point, but it sounds like you want to make the city that is their current base of operations a character within the overall narrative. This is usually a great idea. I'd recommend a couple different tacks:

It's not really a city - it's a town with a population of just under 2,000, if I recall correctly, within the town proper.

 

[NewJeffCT]

Riffing off of Steenan's suggestion: Town leaders approach the PCs with an investment plan. The town wants the PCs to bankroll the construction of a fortified wall around the town in exchange for a percentage of the gate taxes when its completed. Also, the PCs would be granted ownership of some parcels within the wall. Of course, the wall ends up costing more and more, so the town leaders urge the PCs to do more adventuring and even dig up leads for them. Additionally, a debate brews among the townsfolk as to what properties go within the wall and what remains unprotected, and its up to the PCs to choose which since they're essentially paying for it.

I had another idea that might work as well as an investment. Earlier on in the campaign, the players found out that a local nobleman & business owner had been murdered by his bastard half-elf son, who was the person behind the initial goblin raid. In the process of killing the son & his goblin allies, the players also rescued the nobleman's daughter - and half sister to the bastard half-elf. That leaves the rescued daughter as the sole heir to the glassmaking business. However, she also runs the most popular inn in town and that keeps her very busy already. She could propose selling the business to the players at a good discount (bad memories for her, after all)

It needs some fixing up after the goblins trashed the place and murdered the workers, however. But, it would make a nice, large home base for the players.

 

[Haltherrion]

Since you are looking to get the players interested in the town, as a ref I would create hooks along the following lines, hoping the players might bite on one or more of them:

• A few possible love interests from a cute barmaid to middle and higher ranked folks in town. A 'forbidden' love with the daughter (wife?) of a local noble might be interesting.
• An organization in town that might be impressed enough with a party member to offer them a prize, a title, an office in the group. The former gives them reasons to like the town; the latter might help bind them to the town.
• A person in town who has one-shots and advice to offer in return for errands in the area.
• If you use trainers, a trainer or two who might offer cheap or free training in return for errands around the town.
• A source of wealth or magic within the town itself (buried city, something in the cemetery, etc.)
• If there are foolish partymembers/players, a trap or a situation likely to lead to poor judgement that gets them in legal trouble that they can work off for duties (this might prove more short term: they hang around a little but are mad at the town and leave as soon as possible).
• A puzzle related to something in town like a strange fountain, carvings on a crypt, a bizarre door in the local lord's basement, etc. If you make the resulting puzzle center on the town and give them reason to believe the loot is good, it can be a sure win
• A high level retired adventurer living in disguise who reveals himself to the party and offers assistance, maybe in return for something.

One thing about all these various hooks is even if they don't bite, it takes time for them to run through them and can be fun by itself although it works better if at least a few hooks catch.

It depends on the group but for most of my groups, a mix of some love interests, some useful NPCs and a cool loot puzzle will almost always work to get them roleplaying and interested in remaining. The "trick them into a legal problem" can be fun but does not usually engender any love for the location unless someone in the town really helps them work through this and they eliminate the person who caused the issue.

 

[NewJeffCT]

thanks - seems like a love interest or two is in order, judging by the responses. Perhaps a local girl has sympathy for the widowed shaman... and, now that the charismatic bard is out of the picture, the merchant's daughter may turn her attention to one of the remaining PCs.

 

[nedjer]

Cute hamlet with family bonding, community singing and widespread PC love-in

Order me a flight of ancient black dragons, a side order of pit fiend riders and a couple of flagons of spilt relatives' blood

 

[NewJeffCT]

Cute hamlet with family bonding, community singing and widespread PC love-in

Order me a flight of ancient black dragons, a side order of pit fiend riders and a couple of flagons of spilt relatives' blood

and, they'll all be singing kumbayah, or however you spell it.

 

[nedjer]

and, they'll all be singing kumbayah, or however you spell it.

More than happy to shoot the breeze with the unicorns for kids' games. But I want a bit of bite when the kids have gone to bed. Player seeing a happy homely hobbit haven in one of my games starts stacking potions, muttering incantations and coating the arrow tips with blade venom. Guess I watched Where Eagles Dare too many times and never got over it

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

kumbayah

Don't sing that!

Like Bloody Mary, Candyman and Beetlejuice, that is a name of power: you see, Koom-Bayahgh is an undead Orc Bard with a nasty attitude...

 

[NewJeffCT]

More than happy to shoot the breeze with the unicorns for kids' games. But I want a bit of bite when the kids have gone to bed. Player seeing a happy homely hobbit haven in one of my games starts stacking potions, muttering incantations and coating the arrow tips with blade venom. Guess I watched Where Eagles Dare too many times and never got over it

I'm not anticipating this taking several sessions - it will probably be one session, which will also involve them selling off any treasure, trying to buy a few things for their next adventure, finding out more clues about what they found in goblin central, etc.

However, I want the players to be a bit relaxed in game before springing act 2 of the adventure. I was hoping to do that with a cliffhanger ending at the end of that session.