So my players inadvertently entered the local gang's den...

[Magean]

Hi,

I DM'd a 5e session set in Eberron. Things didn't go as planned (as they always do), so I instead let my players have a long sandbox session in a metropolis (Fairhaven, for those who know Eberron). At the end of it, they entered a haunted cathedral. Turned out the cathedral wasn't really haunted, the screams and ghosts were all illusion magic. Then they found the magically hidden entrance to the crypt. We ended the session here. The PCs entered the crypt but don't know what's lying there.

The crypt is in fact the den of the local dominant's gang. Now I have to decide how to proceed. I have a few ideas, and I'd like people to give their opinion. First, a few points to keep in mind:
-the campaign as I devised it is intrigue-oriented, with a mixture of noir and Bond feeling and lots of factions. You don't know who to trust, any friend could be tomorrow's enemy and conversely.
-there's a large conspiracy at work, and this conspiracy needs a foothold in the underworld.
-PCs already established contact (in disguise, they wouldn't be recognized) with upstart criminals, willing to challenge the established gang.
-the city watch may or may not be corrupt, depending on the needs.
-I made the mistake of letting players create their own characters independently, instead of working on consistent backgrounds in advance. As a result they don't share a common goal or employer. They happened to be there during a terror attack (from the conspiracy, but for now no one knows whodunit), saved the day, became local heroes and this is how they met. They then decided to enjoy the city together for a day, eventually entering the gang's den.

So, the goal of the next session (in the cathedral's crypt) should be to set PCs on a common course or cause, whether they're noticed by one of the power-brokers as useful pawns (or annoying witnesses to be destroyed), or just need to work together to save their hide. After that we'll be able to move on to more "modular" sessions, easier to think ahead of.

Now, possibilities for what comes next:
1. PCs are "welcomed" by the gang and have to fight their way (there's no way the gang is going to let intruders alive). If they flee (they'll probably have to), they'll be hunted down in the city and beyond. This may attract the attention of a powerful sponsor-protector: "you'll be hunted down like beasts but I can help you with that... In exchange I'll just ask you for help here and there, I could use a bunch of mercenaries with good publicity and plausible deniability".
2. PCs stumble upon a battlefield between the gang and upstart rivals (and maybe they'll recognize someone)
3. When PCs enter, the city watch is currently cleansing the place
4. Combining 2. and 3.: the city watch is in fact in league with the upstarts. Maybe the watch is corrupt and the organization that's helping upstart criminal organization has directed the watch to intervene and help breaking the old gang.
5. Either of 2. to 4. already happened, and PCs discover dead bodies everywhere
6. PCs kill / capture someone relevant that was attempting to flee the mayhem
With options 2. to 6., we'd have to find a way to establish contact between PCs and their potential employers. Maybe they'll be scapegoats for whatever dirty work the watch did in the crypt, or on the contrary, they'd receive credit for helping ridding the city of its scum, maybe they'll be recruited on the spot... I like the idea of having PCs jumping in a big preexisting mess but I need more solid narrative threads here.

By the way, one of the PCs also is a journalist. This could open the way to deals of the sort: "I feed you scoops / tell you where something is going to happen, so your articles sell well; and I profit from the reveal."

Alright... What do you think of my ideas? How would you weave that story arc, taking the above goals and constraints into account?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Riley37]

I played in a Shadowrun story, in which the PCs came across the tail end of a firefight between two strong groups. We finished off the survivors, and found a LOT of useful items. It was the GM's way of giving us an immediate power boost, but with ensuing complications.

What if the PCs arrive just in time to break a deadlock and tip the victory towards either of two sides? For example, they can either cover the retreat of the gang's boss and treasurer (who hire them on the spot), or they can cut off that retreat and hope for gratitude from the pursuers?

Is the Watch *all* working for the conspiracy, or just a few? Perhaps a Watch leader hires them as deniable mercenaries, and then they stumble across evidence that he's working at cross purposes to the Watch commander.

 

[Starfox]

People who feel they are in a position of strength are often less hostile than otherwise. I think the gang might well welcome these guests, try to see who they are and if they are useful, and then act accordingly. If the PCs turn out to be enemies, they're never seen again. If they can be allies, all is well and good. In the middle, the party might turn to bullying and robbery, but unlikely to be worse than that.

If the base is a secret location, the PCs are in more danger.

 

[tomBitonti]

Is the gang aware of the PCs? If so, just before the crypt is entered, a gang member can step out of the shadows to “talk” the PCs out of continuing. Or, gang members disguised as ghouls, wielding metal gloves with paralytic poison, could attack. Say, attacking a lone PC then driven off by the other PCs, it not before paralyzing the PC. The goal being to use the PCs to add to the notoriety of the ruins as being haunted.

Thx!
TomB

 

[Eltab]

The gang doesn't want to be disturbed, and it has several layers of misdirection, not just the illusion 'ghost' sounds outside.
There is a small fake 'lair' that is supposed to be found. It looks long-abandoned but has a bit of loot squirreled away in a corner. (Maybe a Collector's Copy of the church's hymnal, some spell-component gems, a dropped purse of coins.)
This lair has an Alarm spell or similar, so the gang knows to send some muscle to put up a good fight - and 'protect the church' - when the intruders come out.

The REAL lair is in a deeper sub-basement that does not connect to the fake lair.

 

[Magean]

Thanks guys for your answers.

I played in a Shadowrun story, in which the PCs came across the tail end of a firefight between two strong groups. We finished off the survivors, and found a LOT of useful items. It was the GM's way of giving us an immediate power boost, but with ensuing complications.

What if the PCs arrive just in time to break a deadlock and tip the victory towards either of two sides? For example, they can either cover the retreat of the gang's boss and treasurer (who hire them on the spot), or they can cut off that retreat and hope for gratitude from the pursuers?

Is the Watch *all* working for the conspiracy, or just a few? Perhaps a Watch leader hires them as deniable mercenaries, and then they stumble across evidence that he's working at cross purposes to the Watch commander.

I like the idea of PCs as tie-breakers; forcing PCs to take sides in faction-heavy adventures is quite the staple dilemma.

The watch isn't entirely corrupt; in fact it's mostly not corrupt... but the leadership may be part of the conspiracy. My idea was: the watch intervenes to break the established gang, the average guard thinks he's doing the city a favor, while in fact he's helping the upstart gang (in league with the conspiracy) gets its foothold.

People who feel they are in a position of strength are often less hostile than otherwise. I think the gang might well welcome these guests, try to see who they are and if they are useful, and then act accordingly. If the PCs turn out to be enemies, they're never seen again. If they can be allies, all is well and good. In the middle, the party might turn to bullying and robbery, but unlikely to be worse than that.

If the base is a secret location, the PCs are in more danger.

Yes the base is a secret location... that's why I initially ruled out a not-aggressive reaction on the gang's part.


Alright, when we finally have our session I'll tell you how it went!

 

[Cart]

If you want to give the party some agency over the gang's reaction you could have the party stumble into a recruitment drive. They'll be given the choice of undergoing the gang's trials and rites, or making the gang hostile. If it's an intrigue focused game this might create some interesting interactions.