Encounters: That something extra

In Media Res

How do you start a roleplaying game in the middle of the action, well you can’t really, but what I am trying to do in Adventure #1: A Witch’s Choice is have the players arrive during what would normally be the middle of an encounter.

In this case I literally plan on changing the encounter as it stands. In the current encounter a monster attacks a guard, freeing another monster.

I have decided to change this up. The Monster will be pursuing a nobleman, the reasons why are the beginning of Adventure #2: To Kill or Not To Kill, Why the monster is pursuing him will not be uncovered until the end of that adventure.

To make this even crazier I am going to have this all happen during the middle of another encounter entirely, I am going to have a man run up and then hid behind a PC begging him to save him from a horrible monster… that’s where the fun really begins.

Here is the thing, you don’t know what is going on you are already dealing with one problem and someone you don’t know is asking for your help and then you confronted by a monster that is usually on the side of the angels, and it wants to kill the man asking for help.  A complex moral situation, that won’t really be resolved till next week’s episode J

Yeah I with some work this will be a much stronger encounter that the way it currently stands. 

Adventuring Tropes and PCs (part II)

Here is an example of a trope (storytelling devices and conventions that a writer can reasonably rely on as being present in the audience members' minds and expectations.) that I used in my own game. 

 One of my players Chirs is playing an mojh magister named who is missing 2 days from his life after a undersea race decimated the eastern naval fleet of the diamond throne, when he came to the undersea race had stopped attacking and were asking to meet with reprentatives of the throne including Chis's character at a newly discovered city called Io-Delethon (a city that may have been part of the old giantish empire. In my current game each of the player characters has a secret event he player does not know about, that has been added to the Jigsaw Puzzle Plot of the campaign Myth Arc.

 One bit of Myth Arc you will need to know is that every PC is unstuck in time, this explains where a PC goes when the player is not there, and why PCs suddenly appear when  a PC arrives at a game late.  He is moving forward in time to an unknown destination, but always returns near other PCs.

In the case of Chis's character I have set up an Either Or Prophecy that sets him up as either The Chosen One or The Anti Messiah

the PCs choices will be what decides the outcome, as I have added a number of destiny specials that go along with the chosen one, marking him in a number of special ways as the messiah-like character.   The Name he goes by in the game is "The Scion of Dusk and Dawn"  with a nice little rune of either a rising or setting sun, with what is either the morning or the evening star.  With a number of intelligent sea chreatures recognizing him by this name, and passiing on a special talisman of Dusk. 

I set up a vague prophecy that has outcomes that are both vague as to weather they are good or bad based on your point of view.   If you read it from the charaters point of view or the undersea races point of view it makes a vast differance on which outcome is prefered.

In this way it becomes an outline for the future without being a railroading script, he can still go far afield from the outline but its alot easier to put something that is part of the outline out in front of him and still maintain the illusion of choice.   

I have taken a bit of this idea from the second chronicles of Thomas Covenant, where you hand somone emmense power but with an immense lack of control

which reminds me I need to start adding in the Wild magic stuff I wanted :0

The DM's Primer to The Rituals of Choice Adventure path

Rite Publishing has released a free introduction for game masters to the myth arc of its patron driven campaign saga.

Its about the PCs, Stupid.

I had this wonderful idea for an encounter in A Witch's Choice your basicly a 1st level PC encountering a 25 CR + monster. I really hated this encounter though because it kept coming off as a stupid encoutner no matter what I had the monster doo.

I came to the realization that it was because the PCs were not in any meaningful way involved in the encounter, nothing they did in anyway affected the outcome. It was not about what the monster did, it was about what the PCs did.

So I changed the ecounter around if you help the BBEG you get an ally in the final fight with the true vilian of the campaign, if you don't then there is a big explotion and the BBEG's head ends up in your parties collective lap.

I really hope they don't help him.

Adventuring Tropes and PCs

Here is an example of a trope (storytelling devices and conventions that a writer can reasonably rely on as being present in the audience members' minds and expectations.) that I used in my own game and how the trope evolved over the course of play.

 One of my players Doug is playing an akashic/litorian named Alejandro Breezestalker who works as a tracker and seeker for the Jaren, his basic character idea was a master who is seeking the right apprentice. In my current game each of the player characters has a secret event he player does not know about, that has been added to the Jigsaw Puzzle Plot of the campaign Myth Arc.

 One bit of Myth Arc you will need to know is that every PC is unstuck in time, this explains where a PC goes when the player is not there, and why PCs suddenly appear when  a PC arrives at a game late.  He is moving forward in time to an unknown destination, but always returns near other PCs.

 In Doug’s case I always had his PC arrive from a direction the party was headed, and later when they went that direction they would run into traps set by a manipulative bastard named Duskin Pitt who had killed Doug’s mentor.

 In reality Doug is dealing with a combination of the Tomato in the Mirror, Demonic Possession, and The Puppet Masters.  Duskin Pitt is actually a Soul Rider (See Ptolus or think of the Ravers from Stephen R Donaldson’s Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever).  Duskin is using Doug’s PC as one of its many hosts; in this case they are attempting to stop the destruction of civilization by an alliance of Heralds of Annialation, Rune Reavers, and Shadow Fey.

His apprentice comes in to the picture as a host in training, someone Doug's PC will have to defend, and is likely to be the "face" of Duskin Pitt in the future should Doug succeed in ridding himself of Duskin Pitt's possession.  If you a comic book fan think Wolverine, Kitty Pryde and Ogen.

 This is the limit of my outline so that Doug is not railroaded into any course of action, he could ally with the soul rider seeking to assist its work or it could seek the help of the shadow fey in removing it, or finding a third option it’s up to him.

 I can tell you the player loves the idea that many of the things that have been happening (Including the assassination of the lady protector) he has been an unknowing and unwilling participate in, you can really see his emotional investment not just in his character but in the campaign that character is part of. 

I found it fascinating how this piece that could have easily been misused and railroaded down the characters throat, has been embraced by the player and has become a wonderful part of our sandbox, 

I encourage you to pic a trope and see what you can do to tie a trope to a PC without railroading him.  Next time I will show you want I did with Either Or Prophecy 

 

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The No Combat Game.

My current game resolves around a puzzle piece plot with subplots customized for each character. This last Sunday the party reached an akashic node. using one of the variant rules from Akashic Nodes (home of memory), I created an aspect of an ancient dragon akashic who used to lair atop the node. This as a Npc who would only answer the questions with cryptic answers if you did not make a good delve the collective memory check. The party spent a huge amount of time investigating various questions, then went off investigating if two islands would make good military bases in a looming war. When they got to the island a number of options were presented,, the party avoided a fight with a horde of spinned grapplers and decided to transverse a spectral maze.

Lots of solid role-playing in these encounters, the tone of the game is rising as the storm of war gathers.

Just a reminder that you can have a great game, have action and adventure and not have a single moment of combat.

Deisgn Diary: Evocative City Sites (part II)

Last night I sat home and hammered out the idea for a "Little shop that was not there yesterday" and came up with Kaveat Imptor's Curiosity Shop. I played this trope pretty straight.

I did put a slight twist to the idea that these need not be cursed items but actually they are fenced items, and the reason the shop disappears is because of the law wanting to track down their sale. They can afford to undercut the competition because it’s all profit for them.

Still I did leave in the ability that Kaveat is a Demonic/Fey imp who is simply happy to make a bargain and is always getting the better end of the deal.

I did add one item "Mercykiller" that is a subverted trope in that the item was a horribly vile and dangerous weapon after gaining sentience it became a strict pacifist.

For now I am just trying to burn these out, and will go back and convert them to a first person point of view as I edit them.

This is going to be Rite Publishing's first non Arcana Evolved product, since it is systemless, making it compatible with every fantasy rpg available. I am really looking forward to seeing how it does.