ZEITGEIST The Cephlapod Caper
Andrew Moreton
Adventurer
They are work colleagues with little or no direct prior experience of tabletop gaming. I am aiming for fun with no deep plot so they should hopefully laugh.
Particularly as Octopus is a type of software we use and there will be other references. If it works I may try it out at the UK games expo if that runs
Particularly as Octopus is a type of software we use and there will be other references. If it works I may try it out at the UK games expo if that runs
Lol ok that sounds fun
Andrew Moreton
Adventurer
It could have been sillier , it it had not been for complicated mechanics the PC's would have been a SEAL team of selkies
RangerWickett
Legend
Sounds neat.
The three bits of advice I try to always keep in mind for short adventures are:
1. Two motivations. Give the pregen PCs two motivations: one shared by the group, so they all want to 'beat the baddy,' and one that is personal, to motivate a bit of roleplaying.
In this adventure, maybe one PC has a friend who had their boat burned down by a henchman of the Primo [wants revenge], and another is the sibling of a different henchman [wants to keep them safe], and another works with the navy's trained aquatic creatures [might recruit the Primo], and another is friends with a pub owner [and the henchmen in scene two are busy smuggling fancy liquor that the PC might filch for his friend]. I think those could be played humorously.
2. Narrow-wide-narrow. There's nothing wrong with linear narratives, but one of the strengths of tabletop RPGs is the freedom that video game RPGs can't match. I like to make sure each scene doesn't have a definite conclusion, and that there is at least one decision point where the party feels like their choices in the middle of the session affect the climax. Like maybe the minions know where the lair is, but also know where they were going to meet the boss, so the party could lay an ambush. Something small like that.
3. Quirky Details. It's not easy to have mechanically complex foes in a one-shot, but giving them a tiny bit of flair can make them memorable. Maybe the Primo's lair is under a bar, and their big scheme is to smuggle fancy alcohol, so one of the perks each minion gets is a trio of potions that come in tiny liquor bottles. When the party gets to the lair, maybe the other minions who are there have colorful cocktails, and the bartender quickly pours a 'shot' worth of potion into each cocktail. (I'm partial to Kraken Rum.)
The three bits of advice I try to always keep in mind for short adventures are:
1. Two motivations. Give the pregen PCs two motivations: one shared by the group, so they all want to 'beat the baddy,' and one that is personal, to motivate a bit of roleplaying.
In this adventure, maybe one PC has a friend who had their boat burned down by a henchman of the Primo [wants revenge], and another is the sibling of a different henchman [wants to keep them safe], and another works with the navy's trained aquatic creatures [might recruit the Primo], and another is friends with a pub owner [and the henchmen in scene two are busy smuggling fancy liquor that the PC might filch for his friend]. I think those could be played humorously.
2. Narrow-wide-narrow. There's nothing wrong with linear narratives, but one of the strengths of tabletop RPGs is the freedom that video game RPGs can't match. I like to make sure each scene doesn't have a definite conclusion, and that there is at least one decision point where the party feels like their choices in the middle of the session affect the climax. Like maybe the minions know where the lair is, but also know where they were going to meet the boss, so the party could lay an ambush. Something small like that.
3. Quirky Details. It's not easy to have mechanically complex foes in a one-shot, but giving them a tiny bit of flair can make them memorable. Maybe the Primo's lair is under a bar, and their big scheme is to smuggle fancy alcohol, so one of the perks each minion gets is a trio of potions that come in tiny liquor bottles. When the party gets to the lair, maybe the other minions who are there have colorful cocktails, and the bartender quickly pours a 'shot' worth of potion into each cocktail. (I'm partial to Kraken Rum.)
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Andrew Moreton
Adventurer
Thinking about it I can say that advice fits almost all of my convention games plots and characters. For this one I am preparing a very clear and scripted pathway but if players have ideas they will almost certainly work and change the pathway.
Primo's base is going to be a resteraunt on the bay with a big underwater window in it's dining room where they will face his minions as he escapes cackling maniacally to swim off. Until someone drains the bay so they can fight She Who Writhes leaving him stranded just outside the window so they can capture him
Primo's base is going to be a resteraunt on the bay with a big underwater window in it's dining room where they will face his minions as he escapes cackling maniacally to swim off. Until someone drains the bay so they can fight She Who Writhes leaving him stranded just outside the window so they can capture him
Andrew Moreton
Adventurer
This will be appearing at the Games Expo in Birminghan
RangerWickett
Legend
Are you running for groups of strangers? I recall running Bonds of Forced Faith at GenCon two times, but before that I'd done a test run with some local friends, which helped work out the kinks.
I'd say break a leg, but tentacles have no bones!
I'd say break a leg, but tentacles have no bones!
Andrew Moreton
Adventurer
Games expo will be entiretly strangers and this will be one of several games I run, the star wars game is one I have run several times the other 3 are new. It may still get run for some colleagues at work and/or my normal gaming group
Andrew Moreton
Adventurer
This ran at the Games Expo this morning
We had Ella the Sorceress and fluffy her cat familiar. Orthack the Destroyer Int 6 orc Barbarian, Guido the Made Man Family Rogue, Steve Rodgers a man with a shield, Illiadan the Seer a Deva Oracle, and Glorfindel two gun an elven gunslinger.
The team was asssigned to guard the informant Mr Sleeman in a safehouse above a coffee shop run by the family, Glorfindel was on the Roof. Illiadan and Steve Rodgers patrolled the ground floor, Guido was gtting everyone coffee and pastries Ella and Orthack stood guard outside the apartment, Ella turned out to be deaf, Orthack heard a scream and a the thud of a body collapsing inside but his orders were to block the doorway so he did. Inside Little Primo strangled their informant.
Eventually Guido arrived with some coffee for Mr Sleeman and opened the door to find the body. Recriminations.
Investigating theroom revelaed that a Risuri Mountian Octopus has climbed up the drain in the bath and strangled their informant. They discussed how this was possible and then realised the Oracle could talk to the dead for 5 minutes. He did, Mr Sleeman insulted and abused them for being the worlds worst bodyguards(with some reason) but eventualled revealed that he knew the location of one of Primo's Gangs and they sent messages back to a central location where they got messages from the boss.
After some discussion about the merits of searching the sewers they instead decided to stage a raid on the gang while fluffy, Glorfindel and Guido followed the man sent to warn the boss. The low grade thugs put up no serious opposition and the team was able to rescue a kidnapped docker was who was about to be fed to the fishes. The surveillance team found the bigger warehouse the boss was at and saw there was a bossman and some thugs inside. Fluffy went back to fetch the others while the other two sneaked around and got spotted , they were chased back to th roof where the gang decided to get rid of them by burning down the building. The two sneaks then climbed down and chained the dooors shut, as the gang was about to break out the rest of the team arrived and Ella lit more fires. A fight occurred and thanks to Ostea all the gang were taken alive , the two hostages inside the warehouse burned to death but no one noticed that.
A bit of interrogation , threats of feeding someone to the Kraken and other things which Manuel would have felt to be illegal persuaded the boss to reveal that he reported to the last footstep Sushi resteraunt where his main contact was the much feared Lone Shark a wereshark and the left hand shark of the big boss.
They went there before news of a warehouse and pier burning down spread too widely. The last footprint is where Bourne stood at the edge of Parity lake and created a vast footprint into the lake, and has a foot shaped underwater resteraunt with a glass wall. Glorfindel and Guido were to sneak in invisiblly after Orthack got the door open by asking for a job and being turned down. Despite telling them he only moved boxes the huge Orcish barbarian was taken down for a job interview after all Primo always wanted new dangerous thugs. Fluffy who was observing all this facepalmed as the Orc said he already has a job as a constable. On getting the face palm message the team outside stormed in with Ella igniting the guards at the door , Glorfindel and Guido moved to help Orthack as Primo Monologued about his ineveitible victory and Cephalapod superiority. The Lone Shark and Orthack traded blows, Guido scooped up Primo in the tablecloth from the table he was on and Glorfindel shot the minions. The Dwarf with no name proceded to roll 3 consecutive 1's and miss with every shot at the pc's and the Sorceror was little better. The others arrived to help and thanks to emergency healing Orthack won the duel of low int killing machines. The other minions were subdued and Primo initiated his emergency escape via a small airlock in the window proclaiming he would never be caught as he swam to safety. As he landed outside the window Queen Nevla's druids finished the ritual to lower the water level across the bay and lake stranding both the Kraken and Little Primo. as Steve Rodgers took him into custody he told them tha Big Primo would avenge him
We had Ella the Sorceress and fluffy her cat familiar. Orthack the Destroyer Int 6 orc Barbarian, Guido the Made Man Family Rogue, Steve Rodgers a man with a shield, Illiadan the Seer a Deva Oracle, and Glorfindel two gun an elven gunslinger.
The team was asssigned to guard the informant Mr Sleeman in a safehouse above a coffee shop run by the family, Glorfindel was on the Roof. Illiadan and Steve Rodgers patrolled the ground floor, Guido was gtting everyone coffee and pastries Ella and Orthack stood guard outside the apartment, Ella turned out to be deaf, Orthack heard a scream and a the thud of a body collapsing inside but his orders were to block the doorway so he did. Inside Little Primo strangled their informant.
Eventually Guido arrived with some coffee for Mr Sleeman and opened the door to find the body. Recriminations.
Investigating theroom revelaed that a Risuri Mountian Octopus has climbed up the drain in the bath and strangled their informant. They discussed how this was possible and then realised the Oracle could talk to the dead for 5 minutes. He did, Mr Sleeman insulted and abused them for being the worlds worst bodyguards(with some reason) but eventualled revealed that he knew the location of one of Primo's Gangs and they sent messages back to a central location where they got messages from the boss.
After some discussion about the merits of searching the sewers they instead decided to stage a raid on the gang while fluffy, Glorfindel and Guido followed the man sent to warn the boss. The low grade thugs put up no serious opposition and the team was able to rescue a kidnapped docker was who was about to be fed to the fishes. The surveillance team found the bigger warehouse the boss was at and saw there was a bossman and some thugs inside. Fluffy went back to fetch the others while the other two sneaked around and got spotted , they were chased back to th roof where the gang decided to get rid of them by burning down the building. The two sneaks then climbed down and chained the dooors shut, as the gang was about to break out the rest of the team arrived and Ella lit more fires. A fight occurred and thanks to Ostea all the gang were taken alive , the two hostages inside the warehouse burned to death but no one noticed that.
A bit of interrogation , threats of feeding someone to the Kraken and other things which Manuel would have felt to be illegal persuaded the boss to reveal that he reported to the last footstep Sushi resteraunt where his main contact was the much feared Lone Shark a wereshark and the left hand shark of the big boss.
They went there before news of a warehouse and pier burning down spread too widely. The last footprint is where Bourne stood at the edge of Parity lake and created a vast footprint into the lake, and has a foot shaped underwater resteraunt with a glass wall. Glorfindel and Guido were to sneak in invisiblly after Orthack got the door open by asking for a job and being turned down. Despite telling them he only moved boxes the huge Orcish barbarian was taken down for a job interview after all Primo always wanted new dangerous thugs. Fluffy who was observing all this facepalmed as the Orc said he already has a job as a constable. On getting the face palm message the team outside stormed in with Ella igniting the guards at the door , Glorfindel and Guido moved to help Orthack as Primo Monologued about his ineveitible victory and Cephalapod superiority. The Lone Shark and Orthack traded blows, Guido scooped up Primo in the tablecloth from the table he was on and Glorfindel shot the minions. The Dwarf with no name proceded to roll 3 consecutive 1's and miss with every shot at the pc's and the Sorceror was little better. The others arrived to help and thanks to emergency healing Orthack won the duel of low int killing machines. The other minions were subdued and Primo initiated his emergency escape via a small airlock in the window proclaiming he would never be caught as he swam to safety. As he landed outside the window Queen Nevla's druids finished the ritual to lower the water level across the bay and lake stranding both the Kraken and Little Primo. as Steve Rodgers took him into custody he told them tha Big Primo would avenge him
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