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View Full Version : [3.5]Need ideas for plot hooks.



LansXero
2011-02-03, 11:39 AM
Hello.

Last week our regular session was, again, canceled, because the DM didnt show up. We decided to fool around creating characters and I ran a small encounter aboard a ship that was assaulted by sahuagin raiders. Said ship was concealedly carrying the deposits for a bank office, which included a couple of magic items, incriminating pictures of a high-ranking member of the House of Healing (setting is Eberron, or rather, as much as I can remember of Eberron xD), a writ for spice trading rights in a far away set of islands valid for a whole year, and lots of gold and stuff. Also the ship, while its in a ruinous condition, the captain is dead, and the crew just want to get to land and seek refuge. I made the bankers sound as nasty bastards, so after the sahuagin took half the treasure (they broke through the hull with a shark and swam away with the boxes) they cant return to the mainland. Session ended there, with a lot of possibilities open but it wasnt something I seriously expected to pursue.

Our old DM was rather good at storytelling, but most combats just fell flat. I tend to be a lot more dinamic with combat and the style appealed to the players (they never imagined monsters would run away when being wiped out, or use their amphibiousness as an advantage), and with our old DM now tied up in RL issues, they have agreed on continuing my 'planned adventure'. Ugh.

So, I need ideas on where to take it from here! Thats where you all come in. So far:

Location:

The ship is in an awful state of disrepair. One of the crew's member will mention a near-by pirate island where they can get repairs and part ways; also cash-in the loot and get themselves some supplies. The island is based off this:
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/mapofweek/mw053101_overland_map.jpg
Inside is a large cave with a lake, where ships can dock. A city has grown around the lake, the bigger and better houses on the shore and the cheaper neighborhoods to the back, where people dig into the mountain wall for habitation. Upside-down economy: Since its based off pirating and looting, exotic goods are rather common and cheaper, and standard stuff (like food or tools that people arent often trading across long distances) are more uncommon and expensive.

Aditional ideas:


- The incriminating pictures were put in such a weak vessel purposefully. A black ship is in the island, it had been waiting for the bank ship in-route, but since the sahuagin raid caused to slow down considerably and take down their sails, as well as get slightly lost, the black ship thinks they lost their mark. If they find out the PCs ship is what they were looking for, it could get messy.
- The sahuagin are taking after the example of a succesful aberrant-marked sahuagin pirate, whose ship is in the island as well, crewed with monsters. Not sure what else to do with this, but I always liked surprising players showing them non-core humanoids arent XP fodder brutes.
- There is an spy for the trading powers in the island, spying its defenses and location. Its a scared-out man in the brink of a nervous breakdown that will ask the PCs (and any ships arriving, actually) for a way out into any of the main sea lanes. they may or may not figure out what his deal is, turn him to the island people or help him get away, whatever. options are good.
- While resting in a bar a girl comes putting up flyers for a missing brother. Barkeep kicks her out forcefully and acts scared. If the PCs take issue with it, they find out his missing brother was working for a pirate and is heavily indebted. Pirate crews recruit people with a set pay agreement. Then when stuck overseas for weeks they begin to 'eat their pay' and go into debt, which is to be paid with more work, during which they get indebted even more... brother wanted out, was caught, is being sold as a slave. Slavery isnt ruled out in the island, but it isnt done openly seeing how many of the city's founders and influential people are ex-slaves themselves. Cue the PCs to buy him off / fight him free. Maybe. In any event, the girl and the boy where in a ship that was looking for a magical thingie before crashing and ending in the island. Gief PCs the map to it for plot hook.



Sorry for the length. Any other ideas / comments ?

Satyrus
2011-02-03, 12:00 PM
All those sound like interesting ideas and it seems like you have a good handle on the make of the island. It might be fun to have them "trapped" on the island, ship stolen/possibly destroyed/forced to use as payment for a debt they somehow incur. Anyway, the point would be to have them be stuck on the island and have to adapt to it, including the varied race composition and coming to terms with the social structure.

What level are the characters at?
What are their classes?
What do you think the general alignment of the party is going to be?
I know almost nothing about Eberron but is there some larger power that might come to disrupt this little pirate island at some point?

LansXero
2011-02-03, 12:12 PM
All those sound like interesting ideas and it seems like you have a good handle on the make of the island. It might be fun to have them "trapped" on the island, ship stolen/possibly destroyed/forced to use as payment for a debt they somehow incur. Anyway, the point would be to have them be stuck on the island and have to adapt to it, including the varied race composition and coming to terms with the social structure.

They do seem surprised by talking monsters, since we were previously doin Forgotten Realms, so thats a good idea. Im just really fond of improvising. At least, they will be stuck in the island for a week, since the ship needs repairs badly. Or they could try getting back to the mainland, or they could go after the sahuagin raiders (they all saw them fleeing in the same general direction) or try to catch a ship to the islands where they have a 'legal' monopoly on spice trade. Who knows? I like options :D
But I also want their wandering around to have meaning and be the start of a story, and thats where I fall short :(


What level are the characters at?
Ah, sorry. Level 2, all books allowed but not much used, non-core races encouraged by ignoring up to 1 LA.


What are their classes?
Currently:
Goliath Fighter,although probably changing to Drow rogue (was really into the Drow lore for Eberron, for some reason).
Raptoran Cleric of travel and celerity, although also rerolling.
Human fighter going sword&board. Probably staying that way.
New guy, no idea, new to the game in general.
Only the Raptoran/Human players have experience. The goliath player played some 3.0 way back then, and has been playin MERP (Middle-Earth Role Playing), which is very complicated and full of tables. Seemed very surprised at being able to have a combat with on-the-fly adjudicating and options not pre-written on a table.


What do you think the general alignment of the party is going to be?

Neutral tending towards good. Even helpings of chaos and law, likely. Evilstupid or Chaoticretards are very unlikely, both of the players with experience are really fond of heroic stereotypes and party collaboration.


I know almost nothing about Eberron but is there some larger power that might come to disrupt this little pirate island at some point?

Definitively, thus the island is like the one portrayed in the map: entirely sealed in except for a heavily guarded entrance and a smoke vent for the metal-works. Its just far enough from the main shipping lines to be able to intercept ships in a timely fashion, while not being directly in the way either. Its exact location and defenses are a secret, and they are very well concealed; one of the PC's ship crew had a pirate father, who left the island map with his mom when he ran off, thus how they get to know about it. Without the map, theyd approach the island through the gentler northern coast. Which is choke-full of coral reefs. And has a hidden outpost to blast anyone coming that way specifically. The 'real' entrance is concealed through a maze of jagged, low-depth rocks, which you either have the map to navigate or just crash on it.

The raids have grown bolder though, and thats why the little spy is there. He has been scouting the place for a month, but lost his magical means of exiting and reporting, and thus, has to get into a ship out of there before his cover is blown.

Kol Korran
2011-02-03, 01:25 PM
let me think. i love Eberron, and you seem to have an interesting place to start with. question is- why would the PCs want to stay on the island, can't they buy their way on a ship out?
- i suggest a farily stormy weather for at least a week or two, maybe with a break for a day or so. that way people need to stay on the island.
- a Darguun slaving ship comes to the island, to buy the few slaves they can. (that could be a punishment in the island, since they can't afford a prison, and the money they are bought with goes to offset damages due to the crime) The Darguun could also pose as a more "elite" fighting force, being veterans of war as well. they might be however persuaded by the PCs to perhaps help them, if the fighting and the pay is good.

- there is a certain kind of Seer or Healer on the island, but there is a catch- she's a medusa/ sea hag/ harpy (perhaps with young?). few deal with her, and she likes it that way, preferring not to get entangled with the likes of her. when the party is in a real fix however, she offers some deal- she wants them to do something covert, and not draw attention to her. she can compensate of course, but the deal is quite risky. would you dare refuse her? (also, a side interaction- she might need a mate. will compensate accordingly as well. who would like the pleasure?)

- there could always be some sort of tomb/ lost vault from the times of the giants (or the elves on their exodus?) that gets found by the storm. the party is offered enough money to get them off the island (or some other benefit) if they explore it first. a little dungeon crawl that might lead to further adventures down the way.

hmmmm... thinking about this- if you're really in a pickle, why not look for "eyes of the lich queen", and continue from the temple- adjust for level, or just have the party level enough while they are in the island.

hhmmm... i remember that adventure also featured a challenge to persuade the Lhazarian pirate king, which you might adopt. the persuasion was by diplomacy/ bluff, but they could (and should_ impress him before that, in acts of strength, dagger throwing, performance, and you might fit things better for your party.

i hope this helped.
Kol.

LansXero
2011-02-03, 01:35 PM
let me think. i love Eberron, and you seem to have an interesting place to start with. question is- why would the PCs want to stay on the island, can't they buy their way on a ship out?
- i suggest a farily stormy weather for at least a week or two, maybe with a break for a day or so. that way people need to stay on the island.

Well, they are already fond of the ship, they were discussing upgrades and their allocations as we were leaving the game store. But yes, they could, its an option. The storm seems like a good idea, thanks!.



- a Darguun slaving ship comes to the island, to buy the few slaves they can. (that could be a punishment in the island, since they can't afford a prison, and the money they are bought with goes to offset damages due to the crime) The Darguun could also pose as a more "elite" fighting force, being veterans of war as well. they might be however persuaded by the PCs to perhaps help them, if the fighting and the pay is good.

Yeah! And I could get a use for this:
http://mythicmktg.fileburst.com/war/us/home/images/zoneoverviews/OrcBattleBarge.jpg
XD


- there is a certain kind of Seer or Healer on the island, but there is a catch- she's a medusa/ sea hag/ harpy (perhaps with young?).

Ill weave this in most likely. How I use it will depend on their backgrounds (we will be making those today).


i hope this helped.
Kol.

Most definitively, thank you!

Satyrus
2011-02-03, 04:54 PM
The joys of having players that actually like to play heroic types and cooperation.

Anyway, it sounds like a good party for an improvy game. I always love to have players new to DnD as they have some of the most interesting ideas and solutions not being bound into the mechanics logic that seems to pop up later a lot.

Let us know what happens I'm really curious about it.

LansXero
2011-02-03, 11:43 PM
The joys of having players that actually like to play heroic types and cooperation.

Yeah, they want to save the world and stuff like that. Im actually relieved, since I suck at evil-type campaigns.


Anyway, it sounds like a good party for an improvy game. I always love to have players new to DnD as they have some of the most interesting ideas and solutions not being bound into the mechanics logic that seems to pop up later a lot.

They do have some mechanical-mindedness, mostly from previous experiences. I dont mean to toot my own horn, but I try to accomodate anything they feel like doing with some kind of ruling and think I succeed at making it make sense.


Let us know what happens I'm really curious about it.

Lets see, party now is:
- Level 2 Rogue/Warlock Warforged. (CN I think, assuming its legal).
- Level 2 Raptoran Druid (CG)
- Level 1 Drow Ranger (CE)

Today's Session:
They won over their ship crew by healing and caring for the wounded ones after the attack and decided to head for the island and bring their crew's families over. The crew is now the 4th party member, at 15% share of all earnings (oddly for such a chaotic party, they made a legal-sounding contract :S ).

The storm mentioned above is brewing but hasnt hit the island yet. They salted the shark and spent their remaining traveling days fishing (hadnt told them food was in low supply yet, so thats good for them). Had them catch a glimpse of the black-sails ship but havent done much with it.

Party arrived at the docks, inmediately set out to pimp their ship. Paid for repairs with shark-meat and barrels of fish :S. Shark-skin was collected and revealed the sahuagin leader's symbol. They suspect him to be the main antagonist, Surprised me.

They got paranoid about leaving their ship, so one of them went out to get a bag of holding. They saw an elderly lady mugging a thief, and asked her for a bag. She sold it to him, tried to sell him a hammer enchanted with light passing it off as a magic weapon. ALMOST make him fall for it. Eventually realized she was a harpy that nested high in the cavern's ceiling. They plan to kill her at some point, because she is senile and steals magic trinkets and reagents and exchanges them for apples. Dont ask me how that come around, Im still confused.

I made this sahuagin captain to be a big bully and to be drawing unwanted attention towards the island. Most other crews are afraid of him (sidenote: they tended to call sahuagins "san joaquines" because of how the name sound in spanish. The captain's name is Joao Quinn, and his ship's name is The Saint. Good? Bad?). They head into the town to find the old harpy (didnt knew thats what she was yet) meet the girl looking for the lost brother. Take pity on her and lead her to home, which is near the metalworks (loot!). Metalworks are busy making ship-parts for Cpt. Quinn and filled with warhammer-like goblins and a peaceful orc, which threw them off. He says he cant sell them magic weapons because the harpy keeps raiding his stash of magic components. Also, heavy load of iron got lost a week ago due to a storm, would retrieve it himself but the Cpt. has him under the clock. Cpt. shows up, belittles the orc for low-quality work (except when the PCs first got there he was shown to be very devoted and careful with his craft) and trashes the shop. PCs are very surprised about the Orc not fighting back, cue speech about 'doing right by those who depend on you' and him being sort-of fatherlish towards the goblins.

Then they went to the girl's house, sob story about orphans taken in to live with old pirate captain who got his leg blown off; always raving about this big treasure he was supposed to find. Map is there for PCs if they get the brother back (they were willing to help without any reward, because they felt sorry about the girl anyways) but the girl warns them she has been there before and it was nothing but empty sea (treasure is underwater / storm will reveal it. maybe). They give her money after spending the night there and realizing they ate her week-worth of provissions, and that it consisted in 2 apples and a fish.

When they wake up, the slaver ship is entering the island. The spy makes contact, they assume he is trying to escape the slavers and agree to take him away when repairs are complete. They also think he is highly suspicious. Crewmember gets arrested for debt, they were celebrating their good fortune and didnt consider booze costs more in the island than back home. Town guard raids slums to catch debtors before the slave auctions begin (brother is being held for debt as well, maybe the PCs will figure it out? havent yet). They cross paths with the guards bringing their friend captive, try to pay off his debt, slaver wants more (because he can get more selling him than what was owed) and fight breaks out. Warlock is useless, darkness and rolling barrels win the day. End of session.

Thats it so far, not sure where to take it from here. Because Cpt. Quinn makes people go into debt with him to turn them into virtual slaves, they want to gut him open. I think thats good, that a villain got them steaming. They react very well to the needs of the poor and overall surprised me with how little push they needed to undertake a quest (they offered to retrieve the lost iron in exchange for a discount in making them new gear, despite being told its sunk in the coral reef, which is full of sea nasties and maybe merfolk looters). Gonna try to play up the black ship thing next time; not sure what to do with the harpy, although I could get her to crush on the druid, since he tried to flirt his way into a cheaper bag of holding. Gonna probably give them the boy and girl as crewmembers, but i dont want to NPC-bloat things. :( Need to research the price of cannons / harpoons / ballistae /etc. They will try to make a dreadnaught out of their little ferry ship. Should I let them? Should I try and tie improvements to plot progress? Building a fleet of their own to crush Cpt. Quinn's seems like their current intention.

Also, I had an idea: If they dont find the missing brother in the next ingame day, the day after a sahuagin patrol appears at the girl's door with her brother. He has been rotting in prison for a month, but when the slavers got to the port he was dragged out to be cleaned up for auction. He bargained with them for release, offering the map as compensation. Intrigued, the Captain sends his men to his house and, in presence of the PCs, they take the map, claim its worthless (but pocket it nonetheless) and take the girl as well as reparation for him making them waste his time. He whines about that not being the agrrement, so they break his kness. They say he is free now, so dont go around sayin Cpt. Quinn doesnt keep his word. (hopefully the PCs will act before that point, but if they dont, the girl gets dragged away to be auctioned off). Good /Bad? Any other ideas? Also... names for the NPCs? xD

dsmiles
2011-02-04, 07:47 AM
You should check out this (http://geekcentricity.com/2010/10/200-hooks-of-plotting.html).

Have fun! :smallbiggrin: