D&D General Not enjoying the urban adventure I'm running

[robus]

I was worried about this before it started and it's actually worse than I feared. My worry was that, with an entire town of NPCs to pester, the PCs would be constantly talking to anyone and everyone making planning for an upcoming session quite hard. The worse part is that they (reasonably) keep expecting the powers that be to sort out their problems. In the most recent session, one of the party got taken prisoner by the local gang and after discussing possible options amongst themselves they went with going to the city guard to help them recover their comrade. Absolutely reasonable and, of course, no self-respecting city guard person is going to ignore a cry for help (and it doesn't help that one of the PCs was a member of the city watch, so has contacts). But they're doing it a lot and it's a bit frustrating.

Now I certainly didn't help myself by having them going up against a gang that is much more powerful than them (they're level 3) but instead of trying the softly, softly, sneaky, sneaky approach they went running to the guard for backup (again entirely reasonably to choose that option, but it turns them into bystanders). Amusing anecdote, they tried this a couple of sessions ago when they discovered the identity of a villain (and left a mess in the process) and then while they were off rounding up the constabulary, the villain returned discovered that their lair had been ransacked and made their escape, and is now plotting their revenge... I thought that might have learned them...)

So (and I realize I'm opening myself up to a lot of criticism here) what, if anything, can I do about this? And is this the norm for urban adventures where NPC aid is around pretty much every corner?

 

[Doug McCrae]

So (and I realize I'm opening myself up to a lot of criticism here) what, if anything, can I do about this? And is this the norm for urban adventures where NPC aid is around pretty much every corner?

Ask them to stop going to the city guard and to take the softly, softly, sneaky, sneaky approach instead.

 

[commandercrud]

The next time they call the cops on someone, have that cop be corrupt and friends with that person.

 

[Nebulous]

So (and I realize I'm opening myself up to a lot of criticism here) what, if anything, can I do about this? And is this the norm for urban adventures where NPC aid is around pretty much every corner?

Have the villains frame the PCs for something fairly bad, or more than one thing, or lots of lesser things, and ruin their reputation. The City Guard will refuse to help criminals and troublemakers.

 

[Fenris-77]

Give the guard some sort of crisis to handle that makes them too busy to help out the players. Then add a clock of some kind so they need to act with some haste. See what happens.

 

[iserith]

I was worried about this before it started and it's actually worse than I feared. My worry was that, with an entire town of NPCs to pester, the PCs would be constantly talking to anyone and everyone making planning for an upcoming session quite hard. The worse part is that they (reasonably) keep expecting the powers that be to sort out their problems. In the most recent session, one of the party got taken prisoner by the local gang and after discussing possible options amongst themselves they went with going to the city guard to help them recover their comrade. Absolutely reasonable and, of course, no self-respecting city guard person is going to ignore a cry for help (and it doesn't help that one of the PCs was a member of the city watch, so has contacts). But they're doing it a lot and it's a bit frustrating.

Now I certainly didn't help myself by having them going up against a gang that is much more powerful than them (they're level 3) but instead of trying the softly, softly, sneaky, sneaky approach they went running to the guard for backup (again entirely reasonably to choose that option, but it turns them into bystanders). Amusing anecdote, they tried this a couple of sessions ago when they discovered the identity of a villain (and left a mess in the process) and then while they were off rounding up the constabulary, the villain returned discovered that their lair had been ransacked and made their escape, and is now plotting their revenge... I thought that might have learned them...)

So (and I realize I'm opening myself up to a lot of criticism here) what, if anything, can I do about this? And is this the norm for urban adventures where NPC aid is around pretty much every corner?

Urban scenarios, particularly of a sandboxy nature, are the worst possible adventure to run in D&D in my view. Get them out of the city pronto.

 

[Li Shenron]

I must say I am not very good either at urban adventures...

Perhaps you can get inspiration from movies and TV series. What happens when the good guys or the victims try asking the cops for help? Usually it doesn't go well because:

• cops don't believe them
• cops are busy with a bigger trouble
• cops are corrupt and side with the villain
• cops are inept and get killed

And obviously it doesn't have to apply to the whole city guard, just the individuals that the PCs stumble upon when asking for help.

 

[Oofta]

In my campaign the PCs are the special investigators. They can get backup now and then but for the most part the authorities are under-funded and don't have the time or ability to help.

So the next time they go to the city guard it would probably be something like "Have they been gone for 24 hours? Not yet? Sorry, can't help." In other cases the guard can give helpful suggestions but may not be able or capable of helping.

As others have stated there are a lot of options.

• Not a top priority
• The guard is really there to serve the nobility
• The guards simply aren't particularly competent. The last time they did something like this, they burned down a city block and didn't rescue the hostage.
• While there are some honest cops, there is corruption in the ranks
• They'd like to help, but they need evidence. They can't just go kicking in doors without proper paperwork and search warrants.
• The cops are afraid of the bad guys
• If the guard gets involved they'll be breaking what is a delicate balance with far-reaching consequences. There is more at stake than the PCs realize.
• The guard can't help, but they also can't explain why. Edict from a corrupt captain? A noble is secretly in league with the gang? They have a secret operation to take down the whole gang and they don't want to expose their operative? Who knows! You don't even have to know right away, figure out something as you go along that fits the story.

I've run primarily urban adventures for years now, they can be a lot of fun.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

There's already some good advice here. I've been running a mostly urban campaign for the last year and a half. Like @Oofta's campaign, the PCs are an elite city watch squad (or perhaps a dumping ground for problem officers, I've yet to clarify which ).

If they go to get help, sometimes they can get it, but sometimes it'll make matters worse, and sometimes they'll be rebuffed. The head of the city watch isn't at their beck and call, and more often than not will tell them they're supposed to be solving problems on their own. It helps me in that they are part of the city watch, but I think the key part to them always asking someone else for help is that these people aren't at their beck and call. There are other threats to the city, these people have other interests, and do not just sit still.

Another thing I did is to write out the laws of the city (which were based on an actual set of medieval laws). Worshippers of Asmodeus causing trouble? Sorry, it says here that only demon worship is outlawed.

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

In the most recent session, one of the party got taken prisoner by the local gang and after discussing possible options amongst themselves they went with going to the city guard to help them recover their comrade. Absolutely reasonable and, of course, no self-respecting city guard person is going to ignore a cry for help (and it doesn't help that one of the PCs was a member of the city watch, so has contacts). But they're doing it a lot and it's a bit frustrating.

Have them have the backup they ask for. They are level 3 and against a group with much more firepower? The guard will locate the comrade and send in a bust squad. Remember, though, that NPC guards are CR 1/8, with +3 to attack doing 1d6+1 damage. The first team is killed, the second, strike team of 12 guards led by an officer results in the officer being captured and the rest of the guards killed or heavily injured. The town has lost half of its law enforcement force, and the PC are accused on baiting the guards to a certain death. Now they have to clear their name by taking out the gang (and freeing the beloved guard officer and their friend), before the local authorities tries to turn to real heroes to deal with the unstoppable gang.

So (and I realize I'm opening myself up to a lot of criticism here) what, if anything, can I do about this? And is this the norm for urban adventures where NPC aid is around pretty much every corner?

Don't try a full sandbox if you're not at ease with heavy improvisation. Have the PCs work for a questgiver organization : either they are the LEO themselves, or they work for an organization emphasizing discretion...