Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="MarkAHart" data-source="post: 1982258" data-attributes="member: 20415">Turn it around.  Don't trap the characters, or restrict their movements.  Give them a powerful reason why they won't leave the village -- even when they really, really want to escape.  Having the elements, or a disaster, or similar event trap the characters provides one sort of tension, but having the characters remain in the village of their own free will offers a different sort of tension and drama.  Of course, this is easiest with a good-aligned party -- the "trap" is one of their own choosing.For example, the party is in the village en route somewhere.  They have been asked to escort or protect someone along the way, or to pick up this person at the village.  The person becomes deathly ill and will likely die if moved too soon -- he/she needs a few days to heal according to the local priest.  The party could abandon their ward and leave the town, at the risk of losing their reputation as being unreliable.As another example, the characters have friends or family in the village who could not survive the journey to flee the village.  The characters can flee, but in so doing they condemn their friends & loved ones to their fate.Perhaps the village elders had a vision about impending doom for the village.  The day before, the children and others who could travel were moved to a safe location at another village.  Those who stay behind hope to defend their homes, or protect those too sick or old to be moved.  The characters have offered to help protect the town against the approaching danger for whatever reason (good deeds, payment, protecting family, etc.).For added mystery and a possible future rescue adventure, if the villagers wake up that morning and find all the children vanished (kidnapped?), they may call upon the characters for help in the midst of the impending trouble.</blockquote>

Verification