Hostile Hostels: The Slums
Posted in Hostile Hostels on January 22nd, 2008 | 3 Comments »
Tags: Businesses, Urban
In the town of Amberdine there exists a peculiar little tavern known as The Slums. At first glance, it certainly appears to live up to its name; the building looks rundown, more than one window is boarded up, and it is covered with graffiti.
Things start to fail a bit upon closer inspection, though. The boards nailed to the window are too well-maintained; the paint too perfectly cracked. Even the graffiti seems less edgy, using clever half-curses to avoid the outright obscenities one would expect to find. Perhaps most damning of all– The Slums is located centrally in one of the more affluent quarters of Amberdine.
The Slums is actually something of a dinner theater. Wealthy patrons pay for the privilege of seeing a vicious bar-fight three times a night. The proprietor, Angus Greedly, allows anyone to eat for free in the central area as long as they get involved when the fight breaks out. They’re given cheap food, and much of it ends up getting wasted over the course of the brawl, but the many beggars of Amberdine gladly participate.
The actual customers are allowed to sit on the second floor, giving them a fine vantage point of the fight and much-needed distance to protect them. Angus hires several bouncers to guard the staircase, preventing the riff-raff below from trying to get upstairs. The food upstairs is some of the best you can find in the city, and Angus employs both a halfling and an elf as the main chefs.
The lower portion of the tavern is set up to encourage a good fight. There are several low-hanging chandeliers, stacks of (empty) crates and barrels, lots of wooden mugs and dishes to be thrown, etc. Angus makes a point to buy the most shoddily-crafted furniture he can for the first floor, not just because he has to replace them so often, but also because they tend to break apart more spectacularly when used as weapons.
Some of the wealthy diners will drop a bit of coin to the floor below, to bring the fight closer to them. It is also not uncommon for particularly entertaining participants to be given tips and gifts from the customers. Angus even pays a few people who have proven both to be wily and entertaining combatants, and to be good at getting a fight started.
Fighter using a dead hollowed-out goblin as a bag to hold his magic biscuits?
Wizard hurling bottles of poop and eggs instead of fireballs?
Frenzied berzerker being slowly and agonizingly drowned by a giant clam?
Time for a Madness Check.
Showing posts with label plot hooks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label plot hooks. Show all posts
Door Ninja
The Door Ninja is an animated heavy steel door with a silent portal disk attached to it (maybe with the Stick spell)
Hit Points:
Init:
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: (+ size, + Dex, + natural), touch , flat-footed
Base Attack/Grapple:
Attack:
Full Attack:
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks:
Special Qualities:
Saves: Fort +, Ref +, Will +
Feats:
Girallons are savage, magical cousins of the gorilla. When moving on the ground, a girallon walks on its legs and lower arms. An adult girallon is about 8 feet tall, broad-chested, and covered in thick, pure white fur. It weighs about 800 pounds.
Rend (Ex): A girallon that hits with two or more claw attacks latches onto the opponent’s body and tears the flesh. This attack automatically deals an extra 2d4+9 points of damage.
Climb: A girallon has a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on a Climb check, even if rushed or threatened.
Large Magical Beast [extraplanar]
Environment:
Organization:
Abilities: Str , Dex , Con , Int , Wis , Cha
Skills:
Alignment:
Treasure:
Hit Points:
Init:
Speed: 30 ft. (6 squares)
Armor Class: (+ size, + Dex, + natural), touch , flat-footed
Base Attack/Grapple:
Attack:
Full Attack:
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks:
Special Qualities:
Saves: Fort +, Ref +, Will +
Feats:
Girallons are savage, magical cousins of the gorilla. When moving on the ground, a girallon walks on its legs and lower arms. An adult girallon is about 8 feet tall, broad-chested, and covered in thick, pure white fur. It weighs about 800 pounds.
Rend (Ex): A girallon that hits with two or more claw attacks latches onto the opponent’s body and tears the flesh. This attack automatically deals an extra 2d4+9 points of damage.
Climb: A girallon has a +8 racial bonus on Climb checks and can always choose to take 10 on a Climb check, even if rushed or threatened.
Large Magical Beast [extraplanar]
Environment:
Organization:
Abilities: Str , Dex , Con , Int , Wis , Cha
Skills:
Alignment:
Treasure:
Returning Serial Killer
Early in their adventuring careers, the party has to track down a memorable serial killer. The killer has a "signature" such as cutting a pentagram into his victims' cheek. Additionally, he is memorable for some reason - maybe he makes it personal to the party (always good), maybe he is particularly cruel or merciless - something. He is killed when the party manages to find him. During the fight, he displays some unusual, slightly strange abilities - nothing extreme but noticeable.
The PCs move on with their lives, adventuring, gaining fame, fortune, and so forth. Eventually, they need to meet with an important NPC (archmage, mob boss, someone personally powerful or who would never be without bodyguards). When the party gets there, they find the NPC dead in his office, with a pentagram cut into his cheek.
Best done with some substantial time inbetween his death and "return", and best done if the party will instantly remember and recognize who they're dealing with.
POSSIBILITIES:
• it is the original killer, back to life somehow
• it is the original killer, but he's undead!
• it's an imitation killer
The PCs move on with their lives, adventuring, gaining fame, fortune, and so forth. Eventually, they need to meet with an important NPC (archmage, mob boss, someone personally powerful or who would never be without bodyguards). When the party gets there, they find the NPC dead in his office, with a pentagram cut into his cheek.
Best done with some substantial time inbetween his death and "return", and best done if the party will instantly remember and recognize who they're dealing with.
POSSIBILITIES:
• it is the original killer, back to life somehow
• it is the original killer, but he's undead!
• it's an imitation killer
Strangers at Home
The party goes on some adventure where there something happens...maybe a burst of magical energy that seemingly does nothing, or they pick up some strange magical item that has a mysterious aura.
When they return to their hometown, everyone treats them like strangers and have no memory of them at all.
When they return to their hometown, everyone treats them like strangers and have no memory of them at all.
Murder Paintings
There's been a series of murders, the party is asked to solve the mystery.
Eventually, they find a mansion or building or SHACK, whatever. Inside is piles of paintings and painting supplies. The only finished paintings, on stands, are of the murdered people. They are posed like they were posing for the paintings. One painting is covered. When the cover is revealed, it is a portrait of one of the PCs.
(Maybe it's a portrait of a PC that is 95% done...missing some small detail. Same effect.)
Eventually, they find a mansion or building or SHACK, whatever. Inside is piles of paintings and painting supplies. The only finished paintings, on stands, are of the murdered people. They are posed like they were posing for the paintings. One painting is covered. When the cover is revealed, it is a portrait of one of the PCs.
(Maybe it's a portrait of a PC that is 95% done...missing some small detail. Same effect.)
The Ruined Abbey
D&D adventure: This started off as a random encounter, which I elaborated on the fly. While traveling along an old road near sundown, the party sees a light like a lantern up on a ridge. The light stays in one place for a few minutes, bobbing and weaving, and occasionally flashing on and off, before moving along the ridge. The party decides to follow the light and does so for about two miles, back into the foothills of some mountains, eventually arriving at a ruined abbey. Even before they began exploring, the paladin said "I have a really bad feeling about this place, its unclean." They explored the abbey for about 20 minutes, until the ranger found the large bell laying in the bottom of the old tower and smacked it with his warhammer. A few minutes later, crows begin to flock to the abbey by the hundreds, cawing loudly and watching the PCs. Over all the racket the birds are raising, the rogue in the group think he hears chanting, very faintly and muffled. The group decides to leave, not even having explored the 1/3 of the abbey left above ground. They make it to a roadside inn an hour or so after sundown, and after a few drinks the ranger asks the innkeeper if he knows about a ruined abbey nearby. The innkeep goes pale, and said he did, that an order of monks used to live there about 100 years ago until it was discovered they were demon-worshippers and cannibals, and would lure travelers to their abbey by having one of the monks wait on a ridge near the road and lead them back. Once the monks finished their feast, they would ring the bell and place the discarded bits of their victims in the courtyard, where flocks of hungry fiendish crows would descend to devour the remains. The order was censured and destroyed by their parent church as blasphemous, but strage tales still speak of lights on the ridge, and that the ghosts of the former monks still exist there, attempting to lure travelers back to their doom for their infernal masters. All the players at the table looked at each other with looks of fear and disgust on their faces, and the paladin's player said "I KNEW that place was just wrong." Oddly enough, he NEVER tried to detect evil there.
Kill The Prince!
The proposal: Some dude in charge needs to be croaked. Damn the man! Fight the power!
The twist: Set it up so that when they go to gank him. a couple of things could happen.
1) They kill the prince disturbingly easily. Only to go to court and find him there and smiling. He seems to have no interest in discussing things nor is he interested in killing the characters. That'll bake their noodles good and proper as they try to figure out what the fuck is going on.
2) They kill the prince only to have the city completely fall apart because of the way the prince put the place together. City infrastructure flies to pieces and each week therafter some vampire or other flips out in some pre-programmed fashion. Drawback: there's...no happy ending here. Since they killed him, there's no way to really fix things unless they can somehow get him raised/resurrected.
3) They get there only to dscover that he's already been destroyed (Possibly faked) and that the local law enforcement shows up just in time to catch the Would-Be Perps. A masterful frame job.
The twist: Set it up so that when they go to gank him. a couple of things could happen.
1) They kill the prince disturbingly easily. Only to go to court and find him there and smiling. He seems to have no interest in discussing things nor is he interested in killing the characters. That'll bake their noodles good and proper as they try to figure out what the fuck is going on.
2) They kill the prince only to have the city completely fall apart because of the way the prince put the place together. City infrastructure flies to pieces and each week therafter some vampire or other flips out in some pre-programmed fashion. Drawback: there's...no happy ending here. Since they killed him, there's no way to really fix things unless they can somehow get him raised/resurrected.
3) They get there only to dscover that he's already been destroyed (Possibly faked) and that the local law enforcement shows up just in time to catch the Would-Be Perps. A masterful frame job.
Saved, Or Are We?
If the party is in a spot of unexpected trouble against a group of generic foes (ie, not directly related to the plot or major villains), a standard way of "saving" the party is to have a group of powerful NPCs show up and rescue them. But not only is this fairly implausible, but it also feels cheap.
However, a good twist on this is to have the party's Arch-Nemesis show up. He's been keeping tabs on them, he's gathered his henchmen and buffed them all to hell, and he's ready to take his revenge. The whole group teleports in, and sees the party getting attacked.
"DOGS! HOW DARE YOU STAND BETWEEN ME AND MY PREY!" and the villains starts laying into the people whupping on the party. That's when you pass the party leader, or hell, just anyone in the group, a note that says: "RUN FOOLS!"
Not only does this save the party, it's a great memorable experience, AND it's a way to show off the villain's tactics and forces available to him.
However, a good twist on this is to have the party's Arch-Nemesis show up. He's been keeping tabs on them, he's gathered his henchmen and buffed them all to hell, and he's ready to take his revenge. The whole group teleports in, and sees the party getting attacked.
"DOGS! HOW DARE YOU STAND BETWEEN ME AND MY PREY!" and the villains starts laying into the people whupping on the party. That's when you pass the party leader, or hell, just anyone in the group, a note that says: "RUN FOOLS!"
Not only does this save the party, it's a great memorable experience, AND it's a way to show off the villain's tactics and forces available to him.
Groundhog Day
A plot in which the party is caught in a time loop, doomed to repeat a period of time (often exactly one day) over and over, until something is corrected. Only the party realizes what is going on -- everyone and everything else else remembers nothing, and if not interfered with will do the exact same things every time, right down to dialogue.
Think Groundhog Day and Majora's Mask.
Great potential in D&D...ensieged city, the party is trapped inside. State of war and chaos, disaster, with many people and events happening at once. They have to, through trial and error, piece together what exactly is causing this battle, what will solve it, who the major players/events are, etc. Also good because it will allow DEATHS but not really, since the dead PC's will be back the next morning (ie The Dream).
Death = Loss of Memory?
If they died, they don't remember anything they have learned during the ordeal. But this could be a pain, as too many deaths would start clashing with unconscious metagame knowledge. Maybe it's better to just have them remember everything regardless of being dead/alive at the end.
Answer = NO
The party is approached by a man to hunt down some magical item (referred to hereafter as an orb) that will protect his city/kingdom & ensure the safety of its citizens forever.
Pretty routine, in fact, almost too routine. The party might even be suspicious of such an easy quest. Might have to have a good reason why the party is being hired, ie it's an old man, the guardian is too fierce, etc.
The dungeon crawl is relatively short and routine. There's nothing TOO crazy or too dangerous, but a good "warmup" for the real adventure to come. The guardian is challenging, but has a weakness or two that their employer advises them about beforehand. There shouldn't be any deaths. There will also be some hints dropped at something strange going on...nothing too obvious, but a slight feeling of there being more going on than appears. Examples - the dungeon being not dungeonish but instead very well kept up (too obvious?) or a door being locked on the wrong side. The party should retrieve the orb with relative ease, but it should still take a bit of time.
The doors locked on the wrong side can even be passed off as a "Random dungeon generator said so" remark, which will make the players not think anything of it...until later. Other puzzling clues can be wall murals, or maybe a recurring symbol can be an infinity sign or OUROBOROS sign.
The party brings the orb to the kingdom.
Here is where the plot can go in a number of different paths:
a) The employer has no idea about the curse, and thinks he's honestly saving the city. There is no secrecy, the party returns, they are celebrated, maybe a feast and such, and they are honored guests and go to sleep in nice, nice rooms. The time loop now starts, either because the orb is cursed, or because there is a mishap when "installing" it.
b) The employer knows exactly what the orb does, and wants to trap the city in the time loop as revenge. He has also fooled the King, and there is no secrecy about the orb. The employer leaves town during the festivities to escape the curse, but otherwise it is exactly the same as above.
c) The employer knows exactly what the orb does, and wants to trap the city in the time loop WITH HIM INSIDE so he can enjoy everyone's misery forever. This path doesn't require a huge celebration, but it's a possible outcome - lied to the King, celebrate, go to sleep, curse starts. OR, he could get the orb, and immediately smash it on the ground, confusing the party, and he will start laughing wildly and insanely and then run off. The party should be somewhat disturbed, but they will have gotten paid, so they will either rest (it being late) or leave the city. If they rest, they are awoken as normal, but if they leave the city...not sure how that would work. Maybe they just appear in the city square? Or where the orb was smashed?
Problem with leaving the city - upon waking up they would realize something was wrong, since they are somewhere other than where they went to sleep. This idea is out.
WHAT ENDS THE CURSE?
- The death of someone, or maybe preventing the death of someone
- Some kind of personal resolution with the employer (kinda lame)
- Maybe the orb is shattered each day, which starts the time loop...it has to be protected
On the First Run Through (before the party knows what is happening)
• The morning starts off with one PC (or maybe all the PCs) waking up suddenly, inexplicably. Moments later, something loud and memorable (a bell tower crashing down, a fireball exploding nearby, etc.)
• Present at least one dilemma between two choices, and their choice ends up being wrong or at least unfortunate (so next time they can choose the other option). Example: Tanis in The Dream choosing between Laurana and Kitiara; he hesitates and they both end up dying.
• Seemingly random occurrences that, if the party remembers them, they can tailor to their purposes. IE, a lightning strike will always occur at a certain time at a specific spot, so the party can use that however they wish.
• Toss out some innocent details (names, directions, klatu verada nicto type stuff) that, if they knew the day was repeating, would be invaluabe...but since they don't suspect that, it will be a sudden challenge to try to remember. Should end up like Cam's "tell me the names of your party members." To be really blunt, along the lines of being led through a locked door and saying "it's a good thing the keyword is Apple or else I'd never remember it" and then never seeing that lock again that day. The party would likely just ignore it...until they need to open the door the next day by themselves. Like that, only more subtle and not so prominently brought to the party's attention.
• In a fight in a ballroom/dining hall, have a missed attack or shot cut a rope holding up a chandelier, which sways and tips and crashes to the floor. The party can remember this and use it next time.
• Preventable mishap - someone (like a gnome with a new device) tries to do something and horribly fails and explodes/dies/etc. The party can prevent this the next day...if they want to.
• Have a useful NPC be on the verge of doing something helpful (providing information, casting a triggering spell, etc.) but are slain before they can finish the act. Next time the party can save them (if they remember). A nice example would be an assassin death striking the NPC, and the party can intercept/sacrifice themselves to save them.
• With or without direct input from the party, events happen around them. During the first day they may find themselves acting as spectators more than once.
• At the end, everyone dies in a Major Disaster. Maybe the city explodes, maybe the big demon is summoned and kills everyone, maybe the moon crashes down upon the city, but it ends in a total death. And then they wake up at the beginning of the day...
On the Second Run Through
• The next morning, the party status is exactly the same as when the ordeal begins, ie no gained gear is kept. But they still have the knowledge of what happens. They will most likely be puzzled and try to discuss it and figure things out...BUT they are interrupted by the loud and memorable event. Or maybe the loud event is actually what wakes them up, like a guard yelling at them, a la the alarm clock in Groundhog Day.
• In any fights, the enemies take the same actions as before (in general - if they were wounded on Day 1 and stopped to heal, but don't get wounded on Day 2, then obviously they don't stop to heal...)
• Start chaining, ie on Day 1, Bob dies before he can lead them to the prison. On Day 2, they save Bob and he leads them to the prison, but is then eaten by a dragon before he can say the unlocking phrase to get into the prison basement. On Day 3, they save Bob, then avoid the Dragon, but then Bob is attacked & killed by an escaped insane prisoner, etc.
Bonus: Just to screw with the players, slightly bend the rules. For instance, on Day 3 or 4, an item they find during that day unexpectedly comes back with them the next morning. This should confuse them, and if it's a key item, all the better!
Bonus: Have multiple possible branching storylines. For example, they can go with Bob the guard, or with Phil the Wizard, or with Sue the princess, OR go fight the invaders...etc. Drawback: an AWFUL lot to keep track of to accurately repeat on subsequent days.
Bonus: Maybe they are not the only ones caught in this curse? They could find someone who is actually doing something different each day, for whatever reason. Or maybe their goal is to find a person trapped in the curse.
Bonus: Have an NPC named Connors - "Phil? Phil Connors??"
Bonus: Have a mystery woven into the day's events, that the party can slowly decipher piece-by-piece.
Bonus: (if death = loss of memory) When the ordeal starts, have one or more party members know what is going on already, but the others don't because they have died on a previous day's attempt. Problems = the party members who already know what's going on, WON'T actually know what's going on other than the premise. Bad idea, now that I think about it more.
Bonus: Have NPCs named the same as the characters in the movie. Phil, Rita, Ned...maybe just the first two. Or not.
Bonus: Work in the Sealab 2021 Doppelgangers quote! Something about Queen Doppelpopolos.
Murphy: "Nice try, doppelganger!"
Quinn: "What? No! We're not doppelgangers!"
Murphy: "Save it for Queen Doppelpopolous!"
Carlos: "Sweet dreams, doppelgangers!"
DM NOTE: Maybe have pre-set "results" for NPCs, like dice rolls except more generic, like success, success, failure, success, failure...then if the party interrupts the actions of a certain NPC, their destiny is still somewhat preordained.
DM NOTE: Why are the PCs the only ones unaffected? Maybe because they were the ones who handled the orb? If the employer smashes the orb as in c) below, they were exposed to its magic, which would explain things. Or maybe it's because they aren't native to the city?
DM NOTE: Have some method of tracking in-game time, because certain events can be scheduled to happen at specific times.
--------- ANOTHER OPTION -----------
The party is hired to investigate a cursed city, or a city that has suddenly ceased all communication, or fetch an item reputed to be in this legendary ghost city, WHATEVER. They enter the city & discover it's full of people (where does the time loop start?) and also get trapped in the curse.
But why is this happening? Maybe once the party figures out the solution/cure, the city and all the people fade away? This could be the result of a mission too, ie get rid of / investigate the cursed city, maybe to obtain some artifact. Then after the city fades, the artifact is the only thing left. Along similar lines, is the city real but in purgatory? Do they pass on once the party resolves the curse? Or are they not even real, and it's just a magical effect/curse?
Think Groundhog Day and Majora's Mask.
Great potential in D&D...ensieged city, the party is trapped inside. State of war and chaos, disaster, with many people and events happening at once. They have to, through trial and error, piece together what exactly is causing this battle, what will solve it, who the major players/events are, etc. Also good because it will allow DEATHS but not really, since the dead PC's will be back the next morning (ie The Dream).
Death = Loss of Memory?
If they died, they don't remember anything they have learned during the ordeal. But this could be a pain, as too many deaths would start clashing with unconscious metagame knowledge. Maybe it's better to just have them remember everything regardless of being dead/alive at the end.
Answer = NO
The party is approached by a man to hunt down some magical item (referred to hereafter as an orb) that will protect his city/kingdom & ensure the safety of its citizens forever.
Pretty routine, in fact, almost too routine. The party might even be suspicious of such an easy quest. Might have to have a good reason why the party is being hired, ie it's an old man, the guardian is too fierce, etc.
The dungeon crawl is relatively short and routine. There's nothing TOO crazy or too dangerous, but a good "warmup" for the real adventure to come. The guardian is challenging, but has a weakness or two that their employer advises them about beforehand. There shouldn't be any deaths. There will also be some hints dropped at something strange going on...nothing too obvious, but a slight feeling of there being more going on than appears. Examples - the dungeon being not dungeonish but instead very well kept up (too obvious?) or a door being locked on the wrong side. The party should retrieve the orb with relative ease, but it should still take a bit of time.
The doors locked on the wrong side can even be passed off as a "Random dungeon generator said so" remark, which will make the players not think anything of it...until later. Other puzzling clues can be wall murals, or maybe a recurring symbol can be an infinity sign or OUROBOROS sign.
The party brings the orb to the kingdom.
Here is where the plot can go in a number of different paths:
a) The employer has no idea about the curse, and thinks he's honestly saving the city. There is no secrecy, the party returns, they are celebrated, maybe a feast and such, and they are honored guests and go to sleep in nice, nice rooms. The time loop now starts, either because the orb is cursed, or because there is a mishap when "installing" it.
b) The employer knows exactly what the orb does, and wants to trap the city in the time loop as revenge. He has also fooled the King, and there is no secrecy about the orb. The employer leaves town during the festivities to escape the curse, but otherwise it is exactly the same as above.
c) The employer knows exactly what the orb does, and wants to trap the city in the time loop WITH HIM INSIDE so he can enjoy everyone's misery forever. This path doesn't require a huge celebration, but it's a possible outcome - lied to the King, celebrate, go to sleep, curse starts. OR, he could get the orb, and immediately smash it on the ground, confusing the party, and he will start laughing wildly and insanely and then run off. The party should be somewhat disturbed, but they will have gotten paid, so they will either rest (it being late) or leave the city. If they rest, they are awoken as normal, but if they leave the city...not sure how that would work. Maybe they just appear in the city square? Or where the orb was smashed?
Problem with leaving the city - upon waking up they would realize something was wrong, since they are somewhere other than where they went to sleep. This idea is out.
WHAT ENDS THE CURSE?
- The death of someone, or maybe preventing the death of someone
- Some kind of personal resolution with the employer (kinda lame)
- Maybe the orb is shattered each day, which starts the time loop...it has to be protected
On the First Run Through (before the party knows what is happening)
• The morning starts off with one PC (or maybe all the PCs) waking up suddenly, inexplicably. Moments later, something loud and memorable (a bell tower crashing down, a fireball exploding nearby, etc.)
• Present at least one dilemma between two choices, and their choice ends up being wrong or at least unfortunate (so next time they can choose the other option). Example: Tanis in The Dream choosing between Laurana and Kitiara; he hesitates and they both end up dying.
• Seemingly random occurrences that, if the party remembers them, they can tailor to their purposes. IE, a lightning strike will always occur at a certain time at a specific spot, so the party can use that however they wish.
• Toss out some innocent details (names, directions, klatu verada nicto type stuff) that, if they knew the day was repeating, would be invaluabe...but since they don't suspect that, it will be a sudden challenge to try to remember. Should end up like Cam's "tell me the names of your party members." To be really blunt, along the lines of being led through a locked door and saying "it's a good thing the keyword is Apple or else I'd never remember it" and then never seeing that lock again that day. The party would likely just ignore it...until they need to open the door the next day by themselves. Like that, only more subtle and not so prominently brought to the party's attention.
• In a fight in a ballroom/dining hall, have a missed attack or shot cut a rope holding up a chandelier, which sways and tips and crashes to the floor. The party can remember this and use it next time.
• Preventable mishap - someone (like a gnome with a new device) tries to do something and horribly fails and explodes/dies/etc. The party can prevent this the next day...if they want to.
• Have a useful NPC be on the verge of doing something helpful (providing information, casting a triggering spell, etc.) but are slain before they can finish the act. Next time the party can save them (if they remember). A nice example would be an assassin death striking the NPC, and the party can intercept/sacrifice themselves to save them.
• With or without direct input from the party, events happen around them. During the first day they may find themselves acting as spectators more than once.
• At the end, everyone dies in a Major Disaster. Maybe the city explodes, maybe the big demon is summoned and kills everyone, maybe the moon crashes down upon the city, but it ends in a total death. And then they wake up at the beginning of the day...
On the Second Run Through
• The next morning, the party status is exactly the same as when the ordeal begins, ie no gained gear is kept. But they still have the knowledge of what happens. They will most likely be puzzled and try to discuss it and figure things out...BUT they are interrupted by the loud and memorable event. Or maybe the loud event is actually what wakes them up, like a guard yelling at them, a la the alarm clock in Groundhog Day.
• In any fights, the enemies take the same actions as before (in general - if they were wounded on Day 1 and stopped to heal, but don't get wounded on Day 2, then obviously they don't stop to heal...)
• Start chaining, ie on Day 1, Bob dies before he can lead them to the prison. On Day 2, they save Bob and he leads them to the prison, but is then eaten by a dragon before he can say the unlocking phrase to get into the prison basement. On Day 3, they save Bob, then avoid the Dragon, but then Bob is attacked & killed by an escaped insane prisoner, etc.
Bonus: Just to screw with the players, slightly bend the rules. For instance, on Day 3 or 4, an item they find during that day unexpectedly comes back with them the next morning. This should confuse them, and if it's a key item, all the better!
Bonus: Have multiple possible branching storylines. For example, they can go with Bob the guard, or with Phil the Wizard, or with Sue the princess, OR go fight the invaders...etc. Drawback: an AWFUL lot to keep track of to accurately repeat on subsequent days.
Bonus: Maybe they are not the only ones caught in this curse? They could find someone who is actually doing something different each day, for whatever reason. Or maybe their goal is to find a person trapped in the curse.
Bonus: Have an NPC named Connors - "Phil? Phil Connors??"
Bonus: Have a mystery woven into the day's events, that the party can slowly decipher piece-by-piece.
Bonus: (if death = loss of memory) When the ordeal starts, have one or more party members know what is going on already, but the others don't because they have died on a previous day's attempt. Problems = the party members who already know what's going on, WON'T actually know what's going on other than the premise. Bad idea, now that I think about it more.
Bonus: Have NPCs named the same as the characters in the movie. Phil, Rita, Ned...maybe just the first two. Or not.
Bonus: Work in the Sealab 2021 Doppelgangers quote! Something about Queen Doppelpopolos.
Murphy: "Nice try, doppelganger!"
Quinn: "What? No! We're not doppelgangers!"
Murphy: "Save it for Queen Doppelpopolous!"
Carlos: "Sweet dreams, doppelgangers!"
DM NOTE: Maybe have pre-set "results" for NPCs, like dice rolls except more generic, like success, success, failure, success, failure...then if the party interrupts the actions of a certain NPC, their destiny is still somewhat preordained.
DM NOTE: Why are the PCs the only ones unaffected? Maybe because they were the ones who handled the orb? If the employer smashes the orb as in c) below, they were exposed to its magic, which would explain things. Or maybe it's because they aren't native to the city?
DM NOTE: Have some method of tracking in-game time, because certain events can be scheduled to happen at specific times.
--------- ANOTHER OPTION -----------
The party is hired to investigate a cursed city, or a city that has suddenly ceased all communication, or fetch an item reputed to be in this legendary ghost city, WHATEVER. They enter the city & discover it's full of people (where does the time loop start?) and also get trapped in the curse.
But why is this happening? Maybe once the party figures out the solution/cure, the city and all the people fade away? This could be the result of a mission too, ie get rid of / investigate the cursed city, maybe to obtain some artifact. Then after the city fades, the artifact is the only thing left. Along similar lines, is the city real but in purgatory? Do they pass on once the party resolves the curse? Or are they not even real, and it's just a magical effect/curse?
Eviler Than Thou
When there is not one major villain, but TWO, and their plots often clash and intertwine. The two are usually drastically different, such as direct and violent vs clever schemer. They will also have vastly different moral/personal beliefs, which ensures that when they inevitably meet, they dislike each other. The heroes are caught in the middle and have to deal with the two different styles.
As the schemes begin to collide, the villains will look upon each other with disdain and disapproval, and even hatred. Despite t his, sometimes they will team up against the heroes, both intending to double-cross the other or turn the situation into their own benefit, or some other ulterior motive.
Sometimes one of them will begin a scheme so terrible that the other will be shocked and willingly work with the heroes to defeat the threat. If the threat is really, really bad (so bad that there's no way the terrible scheme villain could ever be considered anything BUT the major baddie after), either the scheming villain will die and the team-up villain becomes the primary antagonist, or the team-up villain becomes a good or neutral character and gives up his villainous ways, and the scheming guy remains the primary antagonist.
Samples:
• Magneto in X2, Stryker - after teaming up with the X-Men to defeat Stryker, Magneto seizes the opportunity to try to kill all the humans on earth using Stryker's plan. This is an example of a Terrible Scheme resulting in the team-up villain becoming the primary antagonist, at least for the remainder of the movie.
• In Beast Wars, Megatron and Tarantulas. Both have their own plots and distrust the other, but they do not outwardly fight, and they still fight together against the heroes. Megatron is more of a wiser, bigger-picture villain, while Tarantulas is more focused on personal gain/power.
As the schemes begin to collide, the villains will look upon each other with disdain and disapproval, and even hatred. Despite t his, sometimes they will team up against the heroes, both intending to double-cross the other or turn the situation into their own benefit, or some other ulterior motive.
Sometimes one of them will begin a scheme so terrible that the other will be shocked and willingly work with the heroes to defeat the threat. If the threat is really, really bad (so bad that there's no way the terrible scheme villain could ever be considered anything BUT the major baddie after), either the scheming villain will die and the team-up villain becomes the primary antagonist, or the team-up villain becomes a good or neutral character and gives up his villainous ways, and the scheming guy remains the primary antagonist.
Samples:
• Magneto in X2, Stryker - after teaming up with the X-Men to defeat Stryker, Magneto seizes the opportunity to try to kill all the humans on earth using Stryker's plan. This is an example of a Terrible Scheme resulting in the team-up villain becoming the primary antagonist, at least for the remainder of the movie.
• In Beast Wars, Megatron and Tarantulas. Both have their own plots and distrust the other, but they do not outwardly fight, and they still fight together against the heroes. Megatron is more of a wiser, bigger-picture villain, while Tarantulas is more focused on personal gain/power.
Death Takes a Holiday
Something happens to the personification of Death which makes no one able to die. At first this seems like a great thing, but it quickly turns into disaster - people severely injured but unable to die and in great pain, overpopulation/lack of food, supplies, living space...or other disasters. The end result is that the mystery of what has happened to Death must be solved.
Often Death is captured or imprisoned in some fashion. Sometimes it's more silly, like he's just on holiday.
Could make for an interesting quest to free Death, probably from some Death Cult (meaning to pay tribute to Death, but unknowingly screwing him over), or some Good Cult (naively meaning to prevent Death, which they interpret as Evil). With the Good Cult, they might be taught the errors of their ways and free Death, or they might be fanatics and have to be killed. With the Evil Cult, they probably will be the fanatic route and end up facing a very annoyed Death god.
If the party tries to take advantage of the no-death clause for personal gain, they quickly learn that others, more powerful than them, are going to do the same thing TO them.
Often Death is captured or imprisoned in some fashion. Sometimes it's more silly, like he's just on holiday.
Could make for an interesting quest to free Death, probably from some Death Cult (meaning to pay tribute to Death, but unknowingly screwing him over), or some Good Cult (naively meaning to prevent Death, which they interpret as Evil). With the Good Cult, they might be taught the errors of their ways and free Death, or they might be fanatics and have to be killed. With the Evil Cult, they probably will be the fanatic route and end up facing a very annoyed Death god.
If the party tries to take advantage of the no-death clause for personal gain, they quickly learn that others, more powerful than them, are going to do the same thing TO them.
The Caper
A team of criminals get together to do something, most likely carry out some kind of crime. They are usually distinct, interesting characters each, and may be polar opposites of the good characters.
Possible uses: the players play this team of criminals fully, then later "discover" the crime(s) as their real characters. It provides a nice change of pace when roleplaying, as the players can play different personalities with different motivations and goals than their regular characters.
Has potential to flesh out and individualize NPCs/villains more dramatically than the DM doing so, as each player may lend their own unique touches to the villain they play. Also potentially drawback, as a character meant to be serious might end up being portrayed as a buffoon...
Possible uses: the players play this team of criminals fully, then later "discover" the crime(s) as their real characters. It provides a nice change of pace when roleplaying, as the players can play different personalities with different motivations and goals than their regular characters.
Has potential to flesh out and individualize NPCs/villains more dramatically than the DM doing so, as each player may lend their own unique touches to the villain they play. Also potentially drawback, as a character meant to be serious might end up being portrayed as a buffoon...
Broken Pedestal
A mentor figure who taught a main character everything they know, and is revered by said character, has some dark secrets and/or is revealed to not be as good as they seemed. Often the mentor will explain his actions as "for the greater good" or "for their/your own good" but the sense of betrayal is still strong.
In some cases, not only are they imperfect, but they're downright bad, maybe even using their status as mentor to further their evil ways. Creates a sense of betrayal, surprise, and probably anger and/or thirst for vengeance. It will always come down to a final confrontation between mentor and student, of course, if the mentor is actually evil.
Sample:
• Professor X seemed like a savior and perfect person, but then MUCH, much later you learn that he lied about Vulcan's team's death, AND ignored the sentient danger room's cries for help.
• Jade Empire, your mentor/sensei trains you and coaches you throughout the entire game, only to reveal it's all been one giant plot to conquer the universe, which you learn as he beats you down.
In D&D, this could be used with an NPC, but only one who is recurring and trusted. A great example of this was Terelas/Stelera, the priestess in the forest town within Undermountain, who worked with the party to supposedly solve the mystery of the imps, disappearing townsfolk, etc. In reality, it was actually her behind it all, and by working with the party she knew how to avoid detection, AND she managed to frame (and kill!) the town's championi, Baris, who was actually good and trying to ferret out the truth himself.
In some cases, not only are they imperfect, but they're downright bad, maybe even using their status as mentor to further their evil ways. Creates a sense of betrayal, surprise, and probably anger and/or thirst for vengeance. It will always come down to a final confrontation between mentor and student, of course, if the mentor is actually evil.
Sample:
• Professor X seemed like a savior and perfect person, but then MUCH, much later you learn that he lied about Vulcan's team's death, AND ignored the sentient danger room's cries for help.
• Jade Empire, your mentor/sensei trains you and coaches you throughout the entire game, only to reveal it's all been one giant plot to conquer the universe, which you learn as he beats you down.
In D&D, this could be used with an NPC, but only one who is recurring and trusted. A great example of this was Terelas/Stelera, the priestess in the forest town within Undermountain, who worked with the party to supposedly solve the mystery of the imps, disappearing townsfolk, etc. In reality, it was actually her behind it all, and by working with the party she knew how to avoid detection, AND she managed to frame (and kill!) the town's championi, Baris, who was actually good and trying to ferret out the truth himself.
Becoming the Mask
A character takes on a fake identity for some reason, and as time progresses, finds themselves growing more and more comfortable in the fake identity and the way they are treated. A possible sole reason is that the character falls in love with someone who they're supposed to be taking advantage of. Either way, they end up wanting to remain in the fake identity.
A slight variation is when a hero is pretending to be a villain (likely a henchman or the like) and finds himself forced to commit some terrible act while in the persona, then later is forced to come to grips with what they have done.
Samples:
• Intertia pretending to be Impulse, finds himself liking the love and friendship he receives
• Hawkgirl in Justice League, who joined the team as a spy, but came to appreciate them. Fell in love with someone she was supposed to be duping, AND betrayed her people by staying with the League.
Another variation is when a character creates a fake personality to be able to act anonymously, but becomes so involved and committed to the personality that they eventually become the fake persona, and their real self becomes the mask. (Batman/Bruce Wayne, Walter Kovacs/Rorschach)
A slight variation is when a hero is pretending to be a villain (likely a henchman or the like) and finds himself forced to commit some terrible act while in the persona, then later is forced to come to grips with what they have done.
Samples:
• Intertia pretending to be Impulse, finds himself liking the love and friendship he receives
• Hawkgirl in Justice League, who joined the team as a spy, but came to appreciate them. Fell in love with someone she was supposed to be duping, AND betrayed her people by staying with the League.
Another variation is when a character creates a fake personality to be able to act anonymously, but becomes so involved and committed to the personality that they eventually become the fake persona, and their real self becomes the mask. (Batman/Bruce Wayne, Walter Kovacs/Rorschach)
Bachelor Auction
There is an auction in a kingdom of eligible bachelors (or whatever), and somehow one (or all) of the male characters end up involved. Some possible outcomes is that they tell a fellow party member to bid on them so they don't end up the "property" of some horrible person, in which case the horrible person is rich and outbids them anyways.
Other possible bidders could include extremely beautiful people (Nymphs, Sun Elves, Dryads) or extremely ugly people (Hag, Troll, Mongrelman). If the party is good, could make for great swallowed-dignity scenes, if the cause is good, or if the party really needs the money.
Or for an actual gaming twist, maybe a villain buys them. It could be serious and lead to an encounter, or it could be funny (if female) and she just wants a night out with someone who understands her. Obviously in the latter case it needs to be a pest villain and not an evil villain.
Other possible bidders could include extremely beautiful people (Nymphs, Sun Elves, Dryads) or extremely ugly people (Hag, Troll, Mongrelman). If the party is good, could make for great swallowed-dignity scenes, if the cause is good, or if the party really needs the money.
Or for an actual gaming twist, maybe a villain buys them. It could be serious and lead to an encounter, or it could be funny (if female) and she just wants a night out with someone who understands her. Obviously in the latter case it needs to be a pest villain and not an evil villain.
Mirror Universe
Alternate reality, where alternate versions of the main characters exist. Through some bizarre circumstance, they cross over to the normal universe, or the normal characters cross over to the alternate one.
Sometimes the alternate characters are evil twins (Justice Lords), other times they're just alternate selves (Fullmetal Alchemist).
In D&D, this has many possibilities. The easiest would be having the evil twins be enemies, or even just having one party member's evil twin be an opponent (especially a smart one who "knows how they think.")
Another option would be a temporary team-up, where they work with their alternate selves to avoid some major catastrophe that affects both realities. Or for a twist, to fight their evil twins, they have to work with the GOOD twins of their regular enemies. (IE, Justice League working with alternate reality good Luthor, to fight the Justice Lords.) You could take this even further by having the team-up members be a mix of real and alternate selves, but that might be too confusing.
Another option that would be less encounter-based would be meeting their alternate selves, who are fundamentally the same except for a major, major difference which isn't learned until after teaming up with them for a while. Maybe they're willing to execute in cold blood, or intensely religious, or even VAMPIRES (or werewolves.) But important to note that despite these differences, they are not dealbreaking, ie the party reaction should be one of shock and "what do we do now?" and not "They're monsters, kill them!"
Finally, another option that simplifies things by eliminating the need for two groups is having the party end up in their alternate selves' bodies. (Maybe the alternates end up in THEIR bodies, but maybe their minds just disappear for awhile.) Party has to deal with strange world, strange friends, and unknown EVERYTHING. Makes for an interesting mini-adventure. Sample: JLA ending up in alternate bodies in Rock of Ages storyline.
Sometimes the alternate characters are evil twins (Justice Lords), other times they're just alternate selves (Fullmetal Alchemist).
In D&D, this has many possibilities. The easiest would be having the evil twins be enemies, or even just having one party member's evil twin be an opponent (especially a smart one who "knows how they think.")
Another option would be a temporary team-up, where they work with their alternate selves to avoid some major catastrophe that affects both realities. Or for a twist, to fight their evil twins, they have to work with the GOOD twins of their regular enemies. (IE, Justice League working with alternate reality good Luthor, to fight the Justice Lords.) You could take this even further by having the team-up members be a mix of real and alternate selves, but that might be too confusing.
Another option that would be less encounter-based would be meeting their alternate selves, who are fundamentally the same except for a major, major difference which isn't learned until after teaming up with them for a while. Maybe they're willing to execute in cold blood, or intensely religious, or even VAMPIRES (or werewolves.) But important to note that despite these differences, they are not dealbreaking, ie the party reaction should be one of shock and "what do we do now?" and not "They're monsters, kill them!"
Finally, another option that simplifies things by eliminating the need for two groups is having the party end up in their alternate selves' bodies. (Maybe the alternates end up in THEIR bodies, but maybe their minds just disappear for awhile.) Party has to deal with strange world, strange friends, and unknown EVERYTHING. Makes for an interesting mini-adventure. Sample: JLA ending up in alternate bodies in Rock of Ages storyline.
Along Came a Spider
A villain strings the party along with a series of clues and baits, intentionally left to toy with or test the pursuers. Hard to believe at times, but makes for entertaining mystery stories.
Sample:
• Riddler in Batman. Even realizes it at times but finds himself unable to stop leaving clues, even though it always gets him caught.
Sample:
• Riddler in Batman. Even realizes it at times but finds himself unable to stop leaving clues, even though it always gets him caught.
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