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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Pixie in the Playground
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Baltimore
    Gender
    Male

    Default Fantasy Cold War

    Greetings. I'm a new DM, playing with new players.

    I wanted to create a world in which the core political dynamics and conflicts were plausible, and then build around that. This is my first time, so I'd really like feedback.

    Here's a skeleton plot:

    • The world is relatively 'young' and unexplored.
    • Humans and Drow are rivals. They are both expansionist, hence they clashed, waged a costly war (90 years ago), ended in ceasefire.
    • Henceforth, Human/ Drow areas of interest were marked, and in between them were buffer states with halflings, Elves, etc.
    • Now, human population growth being what it is (and a 'loose' immigration policy) means that Humans need to expand. Drow and Humans agree on a colony location for Humans (fertile and secure enough for the Humans, far away from Drow spheres of interest for the Drow).
    • This colony, centered on the town of Esthold (established 40 years ago) prospers. Looks like it's getting rich on (recently discovered) mines and wheat. The Mayor of Esthold seeks to upgrade the political status of Esthold from town to Province, giving her more powers.
    • Enter goblins. Thieves, they've been stealing weapons/ iron/ ore from the mines. This is bad for the economy of Esthold.
    • Enter adventurers.
    • Goblins are evil? Kill em!
    • Here's where I introduce complexity - Goblins are not monolithic. They are divided into 4 tribes. Some tribes are being dominated by the Drow, who want to use them as proxys to raid humans and whittle down their new colony.
    • Some goblin tribes don't want to join Drow (loss of independence, exploitation concerns), but they're hard pressed in battle. They look to humans for concessions. They've been stealing ore/weapons/metal to augment their weapons caches.
    • Humans are plagued by a distrust of goblins (due to having fought their southern cousins..) so who knows if they'll make concessions.


    In session 1,

    My players fought goblins, but instead of killing the last one chatted with him (he had shouted 'We don't really have to fight!' when the fight went badly for his companions). They convinced the Mayor of Esthold to pay some tribute to the goblins, in exchange for the goblins not raiding/ stealing. I wonder how this goes down with the local populace.

    My players also met the leader of one of the four goblin tribes, completed a rescue mission assigned (Stealth Assignment*) to them by him (rescuing a nephew of his), which makes him trust the party (and willing to negotiate with the human town of Esthold). He is even willing to send an ambassador of sorts, his hobgoblin nephew, one of the smarter ones of the tribe and part of the ruling caste. He's given them a necklace each, marking them as friends of the tribe.

    * This was fun. The party encircled the goblin camp, the rogue slit throats and untied the prisoners while the wizard put people to sleep. The fighter was at the opposite end, willing to charge to create a diversion if needed, but she did not need to. When the party called her to withdraw, she rolled a 1, and fell flat on her face with an audible 'thump'. Goblins were alerted, but the Wizard used minor illusion to create an illusion of a desert rat running across the camp! Goblins went back to their usual state.

    Session 1 finished here.

    I plan to throw a mix of negotiation, dungeon crawl, stealth encounters. If it gets to a point, I'm planning to have an all out inter-tribal war between the goblins (if the players convince the town to commit), where the players can play different roles (pre-war commandos/ during-war force multipliers/ post war emissaries).

    What do you think?

  2. - Top - End - #2
    Troll in the Playground
     
    HalflingPirate

    Join Date
    Nov 2011

    Default Re: Fantasy Cold War

    It sounds like fun.

    My advice is to grow at the pace of your players. Dumping low level characters or inexperienced players into the center of a clash of nations is unfair. Your beginning is a good one. By starting small they have an opportunity to learn and grow.

    The negotiation part is a good start. They have a deal in hand, now can they convince the locals to go along with it? What do they get in return for their tribute? Will the goblins take the bribe and attack anyway?

    Here's an idea, reject it if you like: the village elders want something more than tribute for peace. If the goblins want their protection from human adventurers, the goblins have to defend the village against the next challenge the players face. Let's say hobgoblin mercenaries have been hired by someone to stir up border trouble and the goblins have to prove their value by actively keeping them at bay. The goblins are being pressured to aid the hobgoblins The adventurers have to figure out how to insure the goblins come in on their side.

    This will set the stage for your cold war without forcing unready players to play over their characters' capabilities.

  3. - Top - End - #3
    Pixie in the Playground
    Join Date
    Feb 2018
    Location
    Baltimore
    Gender
    Male

    Thumbs up Re: Fantasy Cold War

    Quote Originally Posted by brian 333 View Post
    the goblins have to defend the village against the next challenge the players face. Let's say hobgoblin mercenaries have been hired by someone to stir up border trouble and the goblins have to prove their value by actively keeping them at bay. The goblins are being pressured to aid the hobgoblins The adventurers have to figure out how to insure the goblins come in on their side.
    I like this idea! Thanks.

    The other stuff is helpful too.

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