Running an infiltration mission

[Ellie_the_Elf]

Hi all

I'm working on a future adventure where my pcs will be called upon by a church head to infiltrate a cell of the cult of the dragon. They'll basically be asked to collect information on the cell, and retrieve one or two items from within.

I have a few ideas for complications- a good adventuring party stumbling on the cell and attacking (do the pcs blow their cover or fight the good guys?) and the pcs being asked to assist/join in with some of the cult's unpleasant activities. If they last it out, I'm planning to wrap up with a dracolich transformation ceremony, which the players will need to stop or sabotage before fighting their way out.

So my question is- anyone got any experience/ideas/tips for running this?

Ellie.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

One thing you'll need to look out for are Disguise checks. Basically, any PC who doesn't have a good Disguise skill is going to be found out - unless you can concoct a way to have the cult members accept them as they are (hired dumb muscle, perhaps?).

Which leads into another problem - your PCs will need to have a decent cover story, and if that cover story involves them being cult members sent from another cell to help out, they'll need a way to fake that, as well - including things like knowledge of the other cell's members, particular cult rituals (don't want to be caught out on not knowing the secret handshake!), greetings, etc.

Hunting down a "transfer" group, capturing them, and draining the info out of them can be a preliminary adventure in its own right.

 

[Ellie_the_Elf]

I'm planning to let them come up with their own plan for carrying it out- their patron will offer advice, necessary potions etc if requested!

I plan to have a small group in town going to join the cell- so the question will be if they think to look for it!

Ellie.

 

[Len]

We just infiltrated a dragon cult last week.

The PCs might not need to disguise themselves in order to join the cult, if they can pretend to be likely cult recruits. Perhaps it will be easy for them to join up as new members, but they would have easier access to the things they're seeking if they can manage to pose as more senior cult members.

Even if they don't need to disguise themselves to join the cult, it might be useful later on when they're trying to sneak into the inner sanctum. (We used plan B: Kill the guards.)

 

[domino]

Of course, if everyone wears the same ubiquitous hooded cloak, then most disguise problems are solved. A large hood will make sure that nobody sees their face. And, odds are most people see the cloak, and not the face, so even if someone's appearance is seen, nobody will think anything of it.

 

[The Grackle]

Ever read Watership Down? Big Wig joining the Efrafans is my favorite infiltration story.

If it's a cell (like a terrorist cell) that means that this group of cultists doesn't know much about any of the other cells, and there's no hierarchal structure to the cult. So the PCs could probably pass for some other cultists if they know enough about the cult and pass a few tests.