What could possibly go wrong?

[MerricB]

"Roll up, roll up! Noble sons, have I a treat for you - hunt your very own tiger in the wondrous land of Farika! Step through this magic portal and our trained guides will escort you through the hunting grounds - and we will stuff and mount at no additional cost, the head of the tiger you hunt! Can you allow this offer to slip you by?"

While you've been away from the city, Master Cerrick's Marvelous Menagerie has entered town... and all the noble sons have been flocking to see his star attraction: the Portal to Farika! For the sum of 50 gold pieces, you'll be able to hunt your very own tiger (and get either a mounted head or a tiger-skin rug for your new home).

No mysterious deaths, no arcane disasters... just a romp in the jungle.

###

I've just posted that as the lead-in for the next session of my Greyhawk campaign. Unfortunately, now I have to actually write the adventure...

Cheers!

 

[meomwt]

"Roll up, roll up! Noble sons, have I a treat for you - hunt your very own tiger in the wondrous land of Farika! Step through this magic portal and our trained guides will escort you through the hunting grounds - and we will stuff and mount at no additional cost, the head of the tiger you hunt! Can you allow this offer to slip you by?"

While you've been away from the city, Master Cerrick's Marvelous Menagerie has entered town... and all the noble sons have been flocking to see his star attraction: the Portal to Farika! For the sum of 50 gold pieces, you'll be able to hunt your very own tiger (and get either a mounted head or a tiger-skin rug for your new home).

No mysterious deaths, no arcane disasters... just a romp in the jungle.

###

I've just posted that as the lead-in for the next session of my Greyhawk campaign. Unfortunately, now I have to actually write the adventure...

Cheers!

That sounds marvellous! There are shades of the old Tunnels & Trolls solo dungeon Beyond the Silvered Pane in there. (Sorry, showing my age again).

Of course, I'm guessing that mysterious deaths and arcane disasters will be likely to happen as part of this adventure - right?

 

[freyar]

Everything can go wrong!

Somehow, reading your "sales pitch," I've concluded that it must be some kind of scam. Some sort of plot to kidnap/body snatch the bored nobles?

And something just has to happen that the con artists don't plan. I don't know why, but Jurassic Park also springs to mind.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

I guess a disgruntled competitor of Master Cerrick has set up a plan to earn some extra money and dishonor Cerrick. He had a wizard sabotage the exit pad of the tour to lead to his secret retreat. There he imprisoned the travellers, holding them for ransom. For an extra detour you might have this competitor and/or his henchman being stranded in the hunting spot. The PCs notice only that the exit pad refuses to work as announced.

Or the hunting spot is just a bit too close to a Scarlet Brotherhood outpost in the jungle.

Or the trained guides are members of some mysterious beast cult, looking for sacrifices.

Or the trained guides are actually were-tigers, waiting for some really big group of tourists.

Or it is a doppelganger setup. Master Cerrick and his henchmen are doppelgangers, using this advetnure tour as a cenvenient method to replace more and more "customers".

Or this travelling device is just malfunctioning, depositing the PCs in another location (artic area might be nice for tiger hunters) or another plane.

Have fun!

 

[Gregor]

What could go wrong? Everything!

How about once the PCs go through the portal, it malfunctions on the other side and they find themselves stranded in a strange jungle with no clear way to get back. Arcana checks reveal that the portal has been drained of energy so the PCs need to find something to power it back up again. So the PCs head off in search of their "tiger" as well as something to fix the portal. They soon come across an ancient central-american style city strangled by vines and trees, a strange city covered in tiger carvings and motifs. The PCs soon find out that they are being hunted by some great tiger and a pack of razorclaw shifters that worship the great cat. Unbeknownst to the PCs, the company that offered a chance to "bag a tiger" had previously found this city, exploited its resources (e.g. stole religious artifacts) and figured out how to power the portal to the city. Their transgressions awoke an ancient spirit of nature (the great tiger) and a cult of razorclaws have gathered around it. Now the razorclaws have deactivated the portal and will focus their ire on the PCs. The PCs must find a way home while battling the cult in a strange ancient city and being stalked by a massive tiger.

Just some thoughts as I drink my first coffee this morning.

 

[drothgery]

One of the nobles is actually a disguised assissin intending to take out one of the others (who is the heir to a powerful family) with a 'stray arrow/bolt' once the hunt begins.

 

[WayneLigon]

One of the nobles steps on a butterfly and... no, no, wait.

Maybe the head guide is the only person with the amulet that re-activates the portal back to the home city. Unfortunately, the tiger they are hunting gets lucky and kills the head guide. Then he eats the amulet. You have to find that tiger and kill it or be stranded a year's journey from home.

An elaborate kidnapping plot sounds good. The portal actually works, but when Young Nobleman X steps through, it routes him to a prison cell instead.

Tiger? That's a rakshasa...

 

[Rhun]

What level PCs are you looking at? Perhaps the portal malfunctions, and they find that the jungle is really an overgrown layer of the Abyss, where the PCs are now hunted by the demons that dwell there.

 

[frankthedm]

What could possibly go wrong?
"Roll up, roll up! Noble sons, have I a treat for you - hunt your very own tiger in the wondrous land of Farika! Step through this magic portal and our trained guides will escort you through the hunting grounds - and we will stuff and mount at no additional cost, the head of the tiger you hunt! Can you allow this offer to slip you by?"

While you've been away from the city, Master Cerrick's Marvelous Menagerie has entered town... and all the noble sons have been flocking to see his star attraction: the Portal to Farika! For the sum of 50 gold pieces, you'll be able to hunt your very own tiger (and get either a mounted head or a tiger-skin rug for your new home).

No mysterious deaths, no arcane disasters... just a romp in the jungle.

###

I've just posted that as the lead-in for the next session of my Greyhawk campaign. Unfortunately, now I have to actually write the adventure...

Cheers!

Yeah, you did paint yourself into a corner there since those sure look to be your promises as the DM

 

[MerricB]

What level PCs are you looking at? Perhaps the portal malfunctions, and they find that the jungle is really an overgrown layer of the Abyss, where the PCs are now hunted by the demons that dwell there.

Level 7 PCs, as I recall.

Cheers!