Quickleaf's campaign plotting: a heist in Menzoberanzzean

[Quickleaf]

Right now my group is delving thru Dragon Mountain, but eventually the dungeon crawling fun will end. What happens next?

One possibility is the party goes into the Underdark to follow up on a drow lead. The player of the former Bregan d'Aerthe Mercenary (a half-elf) requested a heist adventure when we sat down to get this campaign going. And I was just gifted by another player the Menzoberranzean book and some Underdark maps. So I got to thinking...

Could I run the PCs thru some kind of a heist adventure in Menzoberanzzean?

Thing is, I've never run an adventure prominently featuring drow before! That's where I need help...what might a party of good PCs want to steal from the drow city? And is the premise (a party of non-drow steal something from under the noses of the drow) even plausible?

If 'yes', what do I need to consider as DM to prep this sort of heist? For example, anyone of elven blood is normally killed or captured to be sacrificed upon being found in Menzoberanzzean; fortunately the half-elven PC can still get sponsorship from the Bregan d'Aerthe so he is technically safe.

If 'no', what might I tweak to make it plausible?

 

[Manbearcat]

Looks like no one is biting on here to help you out. I guess I'll throw some words at this.

Could I run the PCs thru some kind of a heist adventure in Menzoberanzzean?

And is the premise (a party of non-drow steal something from under the noses of the drow) even plausible?

If 'yes', what do I need to consider as DM to prep this sort of heist?

If 'no', what might I tweak to make it plausible?

Here's the thing. You're talking about a society that is literally entrenched with intrigue, heists, backstabbing, double-dealing...the works. Everyone is duplicitous and most are worse than that. Paranoia is their morning cup of coffee, brunch, afternoon tea, supper, etc. A society such as that truly expects malfeasance and corruption before it assumes incompetence; and its right.

I believe your PCs are mid-paragon tier. Perusing the compendium, I see much of the drow antagonists there are mid to late paragon tier (the truly powerful are mid-Epic tier). As such, you could have a campaign filled with of-level combat and Skill Challenges.

If you're going to do some sort of heist, you might want to consider some sort of societal upheaval that would make it feasible (and could add some interesting adversity/pressure to introduce that is unrelated to the deranged drow society; thus diversifying the color):

- Perhaps they just endured an enormous civil war. This could either be an intra-house battle or a battle with a Mind-Flayer, Beholder, Deep Gnome, or competing Drow colony. Maybe they are rebuilding their society/infrastructure as a result.

- Perhaps they are in the middle of enduring a terrestrial, seismic cataclysm; a massive earthquake or a volcanic eruption. Perhaps their infrastructure, home cave, or cavern network is in the throes of destruction. Leadership is convening to consider the possibility of uprooting the entirety of the city to an alternate location; perhaps a Deep Gnome city's cavern nearby...

Something like that should suffice to make what you're describing feasible plus it would add plenty of other angles (and potential allies) to diversify your arc.

what might a party of good PCs want to steal from the drow city?

That's a bit too open-ended a question to answer. I would need to know more about your PCs to conjure something that would make sense for you. Generally speaking though, could be several things as a Drow society would have much to offer:

- High magic. Perhaps the recipe for a powerful Ritual from a lost civilization that now wants that recipe returned, all records of it destroyed, and all members of the city who know it assassinated.

- Intelligence. Never a shortage of this in a Drow society. Perhaps a recent excursion to the surface has uncovered a secret that someone wants expunged from the records of the intelligence gatherers. Or perhaps the Drow have been raiding the surface with far too much success and they need to know the tunnel networks/means that the raiders are using in order to collapse them/prepare for their inevitable assault.

- Perhaps an elven elder was kidnapped and is going to be sacrificed to Lolth by a minor house in hopes of earning favor before that house commits a coup on a house of a higher caste. That would provide room for the PCs to potentially solve the problem by carefully determining who they could "trust" and enlist "help" from within the higher house.


If any of that is helpful and you have further, focused questions, I'll check back in and see if I can help you further.

 

[Quickleaf]

I believe your PCs are mid-paragon tier.  Perusing the compendium, I see much of the drow antagonists there are mid to late paragon tier (the truly powerful are mid-Epic tier).  As such, you could have a campaign filled with of-level combat and Skill Challenges.

Actually they're only about 12th level right now, but Dragon Mountain will easily take them to 13th or even 14th, depending on how much dungeon-crawling they want. 

If you're going to do some sort of heist, you might want to consider some sort of societal upheaval that would make it feasible (and could add some interesting adversity/pressure to introduce that is unrelated to the deranged drow society; thus diversifying the color)

Awesome! Thanks Manbearcat, that is just the right thing to open a window of opportunity for the PCs' heist. I'm leaning toward the civil war, and perhaps the male drow mages of Sorcere hatching a plot to throw off the yoke of Lolth (and failing).

The basic story I've got, which the PCs will learn in Dragon Mountain, is that a party of Bregan d'Aerthe mercenaries entered Dragon Mountain from the Underdark to quell kobold threat. However, one of them was actually a spy serving another house and he sold out his companions to the kobolds, earning a meeting with the dragon Infyrana to negotiate safe passage for his house thru Dragon Mountain. The implication is that the drow house wants to move a large number of its members to the surface via a route the matriarchs aren't aware of....this could be an attack on the surface, or it could be an exodus divorcing the house from the Temple of Lolth, or something else entirely.

So for the the former Bregan d'Aerthe PC, there's the element of either bringing this traitor to justice or, at least, finding out what the traitor's plan is.

- Perhaps an elven elder was kidnapped and is going to be sacrificed to Lolth by a minor house in hopes of earning favor before that house commits a coup on a house of a higher caste.  That would provide room for the PCs to potentially solve the problem by carefully determining who they could "trust" and enlist "help" from within the higher house.

I really liked this idea! I guess I like the reason behind the sacrifice (a coup) and inter-house rivalry the best...suppose that could be layered onto the High Magic and Surveillance/Intelligence as well.

If any of that is helpful and you have further, focused questions, I'll check back in and see if I can help you further.

Thanks Manbearcat, great advice as always

 

[Manbearcat]

No problem mate I would really focus on establishing the temporarily, destabilized society, the shattered infrastructure, etc. Normally in a place like Menzoberranzan, Arcana, Bluff, History, Insight, Perception, Stealth, Streetwise would be enormously powerful skills. However, a destabilized society and shattered infrastructure will allow Acrobatics, Dungeoneering, Endurance, Nature, Athletics plenty of opportunities to shine in Skill Challenges and general exploration.

This may also be a good opportunity to use Grandmaster Training rules to augment your PCs via latent supernatural powers or martial expertise rather than magic items. Arach-Tinilith, Sorcere, Melee-Magthere, over-exposure to the grossly, magically infested cavern could all be conduits for that.

Enjoy and have fun in your Dragon Mountain adventure!