Player owned Castle and a Simulated Montage

[Hand of Evil]

Along comes a wife - bit more details:

The players are now mover and shakers in the empire, the king has noted them and as such, they have become part of the game of thrones. Because they are low at this time, rich merchants may want to tie trade deals with them, the best is that the castle opens up a shorter trade route; the control of this route is risky but can lead to a lot of money. So, arranged marrage is a logical step. Toll roads and stopping points are money makers.

You also have other nobles, maybe close to the land that now want to tie their family to it and again, arranged marrage to the characters. This could allow them some peace of mind, from being attacked.

The point is that the castle is part of a bigger game, the players also.

 

[aco175]

A quick idea for a few skill checks would involve negotiating with a clan of dwarfs for cut blocks of granite to repair the tower. They might 'sweeten the pot' with some marble for the floor if the pcs are good at bartering. Maybe the dwarfs need something that the pcs can trade; food or the steward finds a rare cache of ale in the cellars.

The fresh water supply is blocked, as mentioned earlier, and the pcs go to investigate. Have an npc go first that they need to now rescue. Maybe this is where the brother of the cook or someone not a follower npc comes in play. Have a minor fight with a tribe of minions that the pcs can whipe through in 15 minutes of play. This clears out the tribe of kobolds/goblins, restores the water, and gives them a stableboy or hunter/scout npc that introduces other missions.

In only 4 houors of play you need to prepare for a few areas to drag and have another filler in case things fly. I used to think 3 good fights/encounters and some roleplay would fill our night, but I cut that down to 2 because we do not start right away. If you are looking for 15 minute ideas you may want to give each pc one spotlight block where their character goes off alone or in pairs depending on your players.

If you have a dwarf, use what I have above. An elf, suddenly the local tribe of elves are needed for something. A fighter needs to meet with the warroirs guild to get a permit, maybe fight for it. The rogue might need to steal a royal seal, and place it back, so they can show the other group of npcs who show up that they have official claim to this land. Be prepared to fudge dice to run through things and skip others. Maybe save a fight I listed above for last if you have time, or pad it with a few real monsters if you have the whole hour.

 

[gamerprinter]

Regarding your catacombs access beneath the castle that you want to keep the PCs out for the time being. Place a heavily enchanted gate holding shut, and requiring the use of a unique, magical key that is not on the premises. It was in safe keeping by the Church of (?), however fifty years ago, the bandits/dragon/necromancer/big threat took over, and the party will require an adventure to recover the key to access the dungeons below at a later time. This keeps the door below in firm mind of the PCs, but prevents them from entering at this time - the captured key, might not be known to the party at this time, and through other adventures learn clues of its existence, and to that eventual adventure to be able to finally go into their own catacombs - just a thought.

GP