Town Adventures

[osarusan]

In a few hours I'm running a game.

The players just finished a dungeon, and there's another small one nearby, but for a change of pace I want them to stay in town for tonight's session rather than run off to another adventure.

I'm running the search for the cult in town part of Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil, with a bunch of tweaks to fit my campaign. The player's just finished clearning the hobgoblins out of the ruined temple and haven't been to the moathouse yet.

So tonight they're hunting for the cultists that are hiding in town. I've got a decent amount of stuff planned, but just to make sure I don't run out, does anyone have any suggestions for fun things to do in town?

Anything related to hunting for a secret cult, side-tracks, etc. would be helpful. Something to turn a town search into an adventure in itself rather than just the sidequest between dungeons. I want something more interesting than just tailing suspicious people around town until they find cult evidence to pin on someone.

Any ideas are appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Quickleaf]

What if the adventure comes to them?

-While passing a temple, the cleric comes out to denounce the PCs. He's absolutely ungrateful about what they've done for the community, considers them morally hazardous (farmboys won't stop talking about them, the bard tried to seduce a noble woman, etc), drawing undue political attention to the town, and accuses their actions of sparking reprisals from the cult. The cleric's tactic is to incite a mob. Once the mob gathers around the PCs, their progress will be halted. If they do not explain themselves, they will be kicked out of town. Of course, fighting the mob brings the town guard and confirms what the cleric has been raving about (in the minds of the townfolk)

-The authorities have captured a former cult member, once a caravaneer. The ex-cultie has been brainwashed and doesn't remember much, though magical/psionic methods could be used to probe his mind. However, he has visions of a noble family getting killed and replaced by doppelgangers - he is determined to stop this, and wants the PCs' help going to the doppelgangers lair before they can make their move. In fact, his visions are flashbacks of what has already come to pass, but the doppelgangers are very cunning. If they suspect the PCs know, they will invite them over for a (poisoned) dinner. Getting access to the ex-cultie may be difficult if the PCs have bad relations with town guard.

Cheers!

 

[Morpheus]

Spend a few minutes here and learn everything you ever wanted to know about RttToEE. Look at the Best of the Boards-there are some great ideas in there.

 

[Ed Cha]

There are a bunch of fun side encounters in the Town of Mullikin which is included in The Village of Oester book I wrote. I've run many players through the various romps in Mullikin and they all enjoyed it very much.