Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Bradley Hindman" data-source="post: 7255644" data-attributes="member: 91764">Its absolutely crucial that the PCs have a goal of their own.  They need a place to start and a reason to talk to the NPCs.  To give an example, I once started a campaign at a high-brow party.  This was a pulp game (using Fate instead of D&D) but the principle is the same. The event was a party held by the Nazis in Mexico City. Their goal was a little propaganda to demonstrate Nazi technical prowess, by unveiling a large rock boring machine "designed" for boring railroad tunnels.  Each of the PCs started with a small piece of information that not was all that it seemed. One player had discovered that an archeologist/treasure hunter was in the employ of the Nazi. She went to party to find out what the Nazis were really up to. Another, was a spy trying to steal Nazi technology. Another, was trying to ascertain what sort of deal the Mexican government was making with the Germans (if any).Of course, the borer was actually a vehicle for traveling deep underground, a subterrene, leading eventually to a set of adventures ala "Journey to the Center of the Earth".  The scene worked because each player had a reason to go speak with one or more NPCs.  Further, each character brought their own particular skill set to the table.  One tried to seduce a German engineer into giving a private ride on the subterrene (with the goal of stealing it of course).  Another used his contacts with the local criminal element to create a distraction so he could steal documents unobserved. Another, got the archeologist drunk and guided the conversation towards interesting topics.  I only used 3 three scripted events (welcoming speech by the lead German industrialist, the unveiling of the subterrene by the German engineering team, and tours through the subterrene as the party continued).  I had a few others prepared, but the players were driving enough of the action that I didn't use them.</blockquote>

Verification