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View Full Version : My players were slaves! How do they regain possessions!?



knaving
2014-08-10, 01:43 AM
Hello all, I'm running a 3.5 game and have run into a bit of a pickle with my players. To start with, they all got sold into slavery. They were taken to the desert and forced to help build the keep of an up and coming warlord. It took about a year to escape for the group and they just managed to escape by the skin of their teeth. However, they have no possessions save for 3 horses, two shanks, and a spell book. Now,I dont doubt they'll survive the desert, that's easy. What I fear is that they have no money. Even if they were to get to a town, I don't really know how they could get gear to adventure with. I don't want to bore the group with having to grind small jobs just for a few gold when they should have like 3000 gp to their name at level four. And I don't want to just drop it in their lap with a magic chest they just "happened" to find. In a town in the surrounding area they would be recognized by their clothes as slaves. It should also be mentioned that the warlord is tracking them down (it's a rare opportunity to have PCs slave for you, especially as the wizard in the group was his architect, so he isn't so quick to let them slip away). So! Who's got an idea to help me with this? I'd appreciate any ideas, concepts, or experience you could bring. I'm a new DM who is just beginning to get a grasp on the intricacies of running a game so yeah, go ahead and give me whatever you've got.
Oh, and they're all level four; one wizard, a bard, and a rogue/3 ranger/1. We had a paladin but he left the game so his character was flayed by warlord and left in the desert for being an insurgent. :(

DM Nate
2014-08-10, 01:48 AM
Do a simple skills-based dungeon (like an abandoned house or something with eroding floorboards and an odd spider or two) with the bodies of desiccated wayfarers along the way they can loot. That way they have a straight-forward adventure, gear they can pick up along the way, and a small reward at the end.

Sith_Happens
2014-08-10, 03:47 AM
Give them a chance to ambush their would-be recapturers. Gearing up is a dish best served cold.:smallwink:

Of course, this is assuming they don't immediately turn to a life of crime upon reaching civilization.:smalltongue:

Sidmen
2014-08-10, 04:00 AM
My recommendation:

Let them meet a nomadic caravan where they can sell their (obviously stolen) horses for some simple weapons, armor, and food/water. They can then try to flee to a newly revealed ruin/burial site where they can explore a bit and steal the grave goods located within.

That way you've thrown off pursuit for a while and given the PCs some much needed resources. They can then proceed to come up with a plan to get themselves captured again - because that's what PCs do.

Yora
2014-08-10, 04:39 AM
Give them a chance to ambush their would-be recapturers. Gearing up is a dish best served cold.:smallwink:

Of course, this is assuming they don't immediately turn to a life of crime upon reaching civilization.:smalltongue:

I had just that idea yesterday when thinking about how to start a Dark Sun campaign. The PCs are called of their current task for an emergency, when their group gets attacked by raiders and leaves only them and a number of overseers who don't have enough numbers and are too badly beaten up to control the PCs. The PCs kill the remaining overseers, take their gear, and make a run for it.

Later, they could run into another group of overseers who are looking for them, but don't recognize them with their new armor, so they are completely unprepared for a fight, which allows the PCs to take their stuff as well. That should have them well on their way regarding gear.

bulbaquil
2014-08-10, 07:30 AM
The party encounters a couple of hyenas trying to eat the corpses of an adventuring party (or something like that) waylaid by bandits. Or they encounter the (relatively low-level, probably unprepared) bandits themselves, and can loot their equipment after shanking them. Nobody in the party would really benefit from heavy armor, so there's no need to have it except as sale bait.

Chacha
2014-08-10, 07:48 AM
There's a former slave in the town who has been preparing a resistance group. He offers to provide shelter and some essentials if the PCs will help his cause.

LibraryOgre
2014-08-10, 09:04 AM
They adventure. If you've got a wizard, it's a rougher thing, so you might have them find some low-level spellbooks or scrolls in an early adventure, but give them a while where they're poorly equipped.

The thing is, hitting a few of the old-school dungeons... something like Keep on the Borderlands or Village of Hommlet... will provide a LOT of gear to higher-level adventurers. Folks who can move quickly, afford the spells to detect magic for the hidden treasures, and so on. Lareth the Beautiful is a tough challenge for a group of 1st, 2nd level characters. By the time you run into him at 4th level, he's barely a threat, even with all of his allies.

JusticeZero
2014-08-10, 09:31 AM
They can fight traditionally under leveled enemies with clever ambushes and improvised weapons - give bonus XP for the challenge. Those will net them under leveled gear with which they can adventure in search of fabulous treasures to replace the ones they had before.

Another_Poet
2014-08-10, 04:36 PM
My ideas:

1. They come upon a group of bandits. The bandits just raided a caravan, so they are flush with loot but also nursing their injuries. The PCs could pick the off and take the stuff with a clear conscience.

2. There are rumors of past slaves escaping. They reach the nearest settlement to wherever they escaped from... and find that the previous escaped slaves took it by force, massacred many citizens and now run the place. Kill them and take the stuff.

3. They find the rooftops of a town sticking out of the dunes in a desert. The town was wiped out by a dust storm. If they break into the attics or clear away some of the sand, they will find the remains of the inhabitants and their goodies

4. Ominously, they find the remains of a previous band of escapees wandering in the desert. The dead bodies have empty waterskins and no rations, but plenty of swords and equipment.

5. Come upon a band of slavers with freshly captured slaves in tow. The slavers are too powerful to attack directly, but if they can sneak in and free the other slaves....

6. Reach a settlement. A man recognizes them as slaves by their clothing, but offers them refuge, food, money and disguises. He is a firm abolitionist.

7. Come upon a lonely shrine of an ancient god. One hermit-priest lives there. He offers them water and rest. He has no money but he says that if they pledge themselves to his god, it will bring them great fortune....

8. They encounter a rare monster. The Ranger realizes that a part of its body is incredibly valuable.

9. They reach a settlement during a religious festival, celebrating the day centuries ago when a band of prophets wandered off into the desert, promising to return. The PCs are mistaken for the reincarnation of the prophets.

10. Is this a gritty game? Have them come upon a small oasis settlement with plenty of wealth and let them decide for themselves whether they're willing to take it by force.

11. Gladiatorial pits are a good way* to earn money. *Citation needed

12. They encounter a wandering djinn. He offers to give them his help if they will take him along and help him with _____. His help comes in the form a substantial amount of goodies and special powers, not to mention a freaking djinn in your pocket.

13. They encounter the refuge of a desert druid who shows them how to make powerful items from the natural materials the desert has to offer.

14. They encounter a rift in a stony ridge. Inside is the remains of a dwarven silver mine.... and the bodies of all the dwarves, who seem to have dropped dead on the spot wherever they were working. The mine could make the rich or get them all killed....

15. They encounter a ghost town that looks like it was once very wealthy. In the cemetery they encounter a small group of opportunists who are breaking open the graves looking for wealth. These guys seem to have found a lot of loot so far.... is it worth becoming grave robbers?

16. They reach the camp of a band of escaped slaves, who are willing to equip them if they will help _____.

17. They hear rumors of a dethroned Queen with three dragons king who has decreed slavery illegal, and is recruiting former slaves for his army.

Slipperychicken
2014-08-10, 10:05 PM
I think this is a situation where you could just set up the surroundings and let the players figure it out themselves. PCs tend to have an easy time murderhoboing their way from rags to riches.


And remember that WBL is just an average and a guideline. They don't need you to give them exactly 3000gp next session; they can figure out ways to make it over time.