the Jester
Legend
I'm a huge fan of the crawling apocalypse (from Sandstorm).
Planning some desert encounters...
- Thread starter Greenfield
- Start date
Greenfield
Adventurer
I just got a look at Dust Wights. Nasty things. I also saw Death Giants (both in MM III).
Death Giants are trying to preserve the remains of their crumbling empire. Dust Wights seek to destroy any kind of metal or stone structure. One is undead, the other is a soul stealer.
Looks like a match made in the center ring. And when some adventurers come upon the conflict.... <evil grin>
Death Giants are trying to preserve the remains of their crumbling empire. Dust Wights seek to destroy any kind of metal or stone structure. One is undead, the other is a soul stealer.
Looks like a match made in the center ring. And when some adventurers come upon the conflict.... <evil grin>
Grogg of the North
Adventurer
What about a Dune Hag from Sandstorm? Perhaps she uses her abilities to convince the PCs to help her fend off some raiders at her oasis. And after the PCs are battered and tired she and her covey attack!
What about using Marruspawn? I remember them working well together.
What about using Marruspawn? I remember them working well together.
DancingSatyr
Villager
Random mastaba/crypt with ( no mummies, I promise ) Manscorpion druid with a few Manscorpion rangers adjusted accordingly. Throw in a mummy red herring, as in making the the tomb appear to have been abandoned while in the process of creating mummies for this actual tomb. This way you give the nod to players, " yeah, i get it, it's the desert there are probably mummies ( yet not here as promised ) somewhere around the vast desert." Then throw in the manscorpions. Maybe an imprisoned Efreet, or Djinn as a vile suprise!
Greenfield
Adventurer
There are a few standard tropes in D&D that I occasionally abuse.
Here are a few standards:
1) See a maze? Look for a Minotaur (or a Troll), even though Minotaur's can't be lost in one.
2) There is no such thing as a statue in D&D, just a monster that hasn't animated yet.
3) The "innocent maiden" needing rescue is inevitably a Succubus or Vampire, or some other monster trying to get close to the party.
4) Cobwebs always mean giant spiders.
5) Giant spiders always mean Drow.
As for abuse, sometimes the pretty girl needing rescue from the monsters isn't a Succubus, she's actually an innocent victim. Sometimes the statues you see in that room really are just statues. They aren't going to animate. Sometimes the cobwebs in the corners of the room are just signs of normal spiders, not giant ones. Sometimes the damp spot on the floor or wall isn't a mold or slime. Sometimes the skeletal remains in that cell really are just skeletal remains, and the mummy in the sarcophagus really is just an embalmed corpse.)
And at least once, when they see a skeleton in worn armor advancing on them, it shouldn't be a Skeleton Warrior, it's a suit of Animated Armor carrying the remains of its last "owner". Turn or Rebuke Undead doesn't work. (Now if, after the victory, someone decides to repair and wear that neat magic armor... <evil laugh>).
I absolutely floored my group once when they found a Tiefling being beset by Gnolls. She was running more than fighting. After the rescue they started to ask her questions, trying in a roundabout way to ask what her class and level were. She continued to not know what they were talking about. One player, getting blunt, asked her, "How do you go about killing things?". She was shocked, and swore that nobody had ever died from eating her cooking, not even once.
They were in shock that the Tiefling was just a cook who moved from mining town to mining town, wherever the latest strikes had been reported, to cook good (if overpriced) meals for the miners that inevitably showed up. She wasn't an adventurer class at all, and her "expert" ranks weren't in anything related to combat, espionage, assassination, or anything even slightly nefarious.
They kept trying to trip her up, to see if she knew things she shouldn't, or could do things a cook shouldn't be able to do.
Here are a few standards:
1) See a maze? Look for a Minotaur (or a Troll), even though Minotaur's can't be lost in one.
2) There is no such thing as a statue in D&D, just a monster that hasn't animated yet.
3) The "innocent maiden" needing rescue is inevitably a Succubus or Vampire, or some other monster trying to get close to the party.
4) Cobwebs always mean giant spiders.
5) Giant spiders always mean Drow.
As for abuse, sometimes the pretty girl needing rescue from the monsters isn't a Succubus, she's actually an innocent victim. Sometimes the statues you see in that room really are just statues. They aren't going to animate. Sometimes the cobwebs in the corners of the room are just signs of normal spiders, not giant ones. Sometimes the damp spot on the floor or wall isn't a mold or slime. Sometimes the skeletal remains in that cell really are just skeletal remains, and the mummy in the sarcophagus really is just an embalmed corpse.)
And at least once, when they see a skeleton in worn armor advancing on them, it shouldn't be a Skeleton Warrior, it's a suit of Animated Armor carrying the remains of its last "owner". Turn or Rebuke Undead doesn't work. (Now if, after the victory, someone decides to repair and wear that neat magic armor... <evil laugh>).
I absolutely floored my group once when they found a Tiefling being beset by Gnolls. She was running more than fighting. After the rescue they started to ask her questions, trying in a roundabout way to ask what her class and level were. She continued to not know what they were talking about. One player, getting blunt, asked her, "How do you go about killing things?". She was shocked, and swore that nobody had ever died from eating her cooking, not even once.
They were in shock that the Tiefling was just a cook who moved from mining town to mining town, wherever the latest strikes had been reported, to cook good (if overpriced) meals for the miners that inevitably showed up. She wasn't an adventurer class at all, and her "expert" ranks weren't in anything related to combat, espionage, assassination, or anything even slightly nefarious.
They kept trying to trip her up, to see if she knew things she shouldn't, or could do things a cook shouldn't be able to do.
Empirate
First Post
Oh, well, can never get entirely rid of dem metagamers... sigh!
Although I must admit my main group is by now more or less fully housetrained in the "don't assume stuff is gonna follow any tropes" department.
But my secondary group is metagaming like crazy sometimes, and not always smartly so:
"Lothard 'Brightlight'? That's seriously his name? I'm sooo Detecting Evil on him! What's he up to?" -- talking about a venerable, friendly, goodly wizard who had gotten his moniker after a lifetime of helping people stand against the darkness.
"Well, that chick obviously has something to hide, nobody is that smart and not on to something!" -- after speaking to a goddamn' sage whom the group hired because she was smart, and very knowledgeable about a lot of stuff the group needed to know! They never saw that NPC again, and why should they?
Although I must admit my main group is by now more or less fully housetrained in the "don't assume stuff is gonna follow any tropes" department.
But my secondary group is metagaming like crazy sometimes, and not always smartly so:
"Lothard 'Brightlight'? That's seriously his name? I'm sooo Detecting Evil on him! What's he up to?" -- talking about a venerable, friendly, goodly wizard who had gotten his moniker after a lifetime of helping people stand against the darkness.
"Well, that chick obviously has something to hide, nobody is that smart and not on to something!" -- after speaking to a goddamn' sage whom the group hired because she was smart, and very knowledgeable about a lot of stuff the group needed to know! They never saw that NPC again, and why should they?
I'd suggest something more subtle than just a combat. The desert is a harsh place and travelling caravans group together to ensure the safety of everyone involved crossing to the next suitable city. Why not have them encounter a caravan of slavers? The slavers though pose as a travelling casino, enticing the party to spend their gold and stay for the night. The next day they find themselves drugged and hung out to wash in the glaring sunlight. Perhaps one of the party has been imprisoned and taken by the slavers. Now without their weapons, they must come back upon the caravan, travelling hard, surviving, and rescue their friend.
The conflict is subtle, skill based, and much more dramatic. The entire party will remember the time Fizban was captured by the slaver casino!
The conflict is subtle, skill based, and much more dramatic. The entire party will remember the time Fizban was captured by the slaver casino!
Greenfield
Adventurer
The "caravan of slavers" thing may have merits. (Aside from the lack of "blazing sunlight" in our ever-overcast world, that is.)
Now, trying to take and hold high-level casters is always a problem. The thing that makes them valuable is also the thing that makes it impossible to hold them. So while the idea makes good drama, it doesn't work very practically within the rules.
The game world is set up as being similar to the real world, circa the year 500 a.d. In this world, slavery is relatively common and quite legal, so a band of slave traders wouldn't have to hide who or what they are. Encountering a troupe transporting Nubians from the southern regions to Egypt would make a for a very tense situation, since it would grate horribly on the players' sensibilities, yet be perfectly legal and above board in the game setting. It's quite possible to be a Lawful Good slave trader in this world. Weird, isn't it?
And when somebody decides to free the slaves? Well, inciting a slave uprising is a serious crime, punishable by (among other things) slavery.
Another thing that could set at least one of the PCs off would be someone transporting animals for the arena, or for private menagerie. The party Druid would go ballistic.
The final risk for the player characters in a scene like this is far more direct, though somewhat paradoxical: Higher level spell casters are in high demand by various military factions. The ongoing conflicts that are tearing the Roman Empire apart make them very valuable, as well as making them high profile targets. It's hard to force a high level caster into service though. So how would you go about that?
How about some "spice traders" who also trade in addictive drugs?
Also note that, in the region they're heading into, there's a solid drive for troops to go against Egypt, which is allied with Rome. The party are all Roman subjects or allies, and have worked for the Empire. That more or less makes them enemy agents in these parts, whether they intend to act as such or not. If they reveal who they are they could be buying trouble of another flavor as well.
So lots of people-problems to be had.
Now, trying to take and hold high-level casters is always a problem. The thing that makes them valuable is also the thing that makes it impossible to hold them. So while the idea makes good drama, it doesn't work very practically within the rules.
The game world is set up as being similar to the real world, circa the year 500 a.d. In this world, slavery is relatively common and quite legal, so a band of slave traders wouldn't have to hide who or what they are. Encountering a troupe transporting Nubians from the southern regions to Egypt would make a for a very tense situation, since it would grate horribly on the players' sensibilities, yet be perfectly legal and above board in the game setting. It's quite possible to be a Lawful Good slave trader in this world. Weird, isn't it?
And when somebody decides to free the slaves? Well, inciting a slave uprising is a serious crime, punishable by (among other things) slavery.
Another thing that could set at least one of the PCs off would be someone transporting animals for the arena, or for private menagerie. The party Druid would go ballistic.
The final risk for the player characters in a scene like this is far more direct, though somewhat paradoxical: Higher level spell casters are in high demand by various military factions. The ongoing conflicts that are tearing the Roman Empire apart make them very valuable, as well as making them high profile targets. It's hard to force a high level caster into service though. So how would you go about that?
How about some "spice traders" who also trade in addictive drugs?
Also note that, in the region they're heading into, there's a solid drive for troops to go against Egypt, which is allied with Rome. The party are all Roman subjects or allies, and have worked for the Empire. That more or less makes them enemy agents in these parts, whether they intend to act as such or not. If they reveal who they are they could be buying trouble of another flavor as well.
So lots of people-problems to be had.
Holding high-level casters captive is not that hard. If they don't have meta-magic simply take away spell components, or focuses (can't cast anything with DF or M), and then bind their hands and gag them? Or worse just keep them from sleeping or praying and they can't get their spells back? If all else fails use the Sword-of-Truth style "Rada'Han" or "Locked collar of anti-magic field?" All possible options.
The slavers aren't hiding the fact that they are slavers because it's illegal, they are hiding their true nature in order to capture more slaves!
Very interesting story and I definitely approve of the idea of an addictive substance to use to force the caster to do your bidding.
There are several interesting reference books with drugs and drug use, BoVD and the d20 Modern "Little Black Drug Book" come to mind.
Good luck!
Cheers,
Carlos.
