I'm wondering it anyone has some favorite ways of deceiving their players? Patrons with their own agenda, inaccurate maps, etc.
Not long ago I had a group doing what they thought was a typical wanted poster quest but the posters were hung by someone looking for recruits for their merry band of marauders, or to eliminate potential threats if unwilling to join.
Young man, with minor magical experience, had a traumatic loss. Night Hag visits him in his dreams and stirs his negative emotions. Eventually she leaves him a present in the shape of an old necromantic grimoire. Tricked by guilt and feelings of failure he wants to undo the traumatic loss he experienced. Starts by practicing his necromancy on little critters, larger animals, some corpses, messing with an entire mausoleum. He uses his richboy funds to turn his basement into some necromantic laboratory. Also using magic like Alter Self, to keep up appearances in public while in fact he's not eating/sleeping well. Also gradually going insane.
From player perspective. They get hired because of increased undead events on the graveyard. Sounds like a regular clean up job that turns into a full blown investigation. Players work together with the clergy of the Raven Queen. Gradually gathering clues and then clear out an entire mausoleum. Filled with undead that gave them an extremely difficult time. However there was one undead in there, that wasn't summoned by the necromancer. He was once a paladin, and founder of the family of this crypt. Due to social interaction the players learned some more information. A young red haired man... There is only one real mage in town and he is called "the Red". However that wasn't the target, but did lead to more information to narrow down the suspects. Eventually they found the man in his laboratory with creepy music box, frankstein scenes, lots of crawly freaking hands appearing from the ceiling to attack the players, large tubes he broke to spread environmental necromantic fog in the fight...which eventually called an explosion and infected nearby houses. When they caught him there wasn't a sane word to be gleaned. All possible evidence had gone up in the unexpected explosion. During the night the Hag visited the man in his cell, while she was in ethereal form, and snatched his soul. Effectively killing the man and leaving no further trace. However this does impact his families status among the local aristocracy all of a sudden due to roleplay elements.
What the players don't know. There are three Hags operating in the valley. Tormenting people. Creating some racism and unease among people in a few larger villages. Next up will be a Green Hag in The Foggy Mangrove that has been quite the influence for over the past 100 years. No one knows its a hag, but her (undead) ogre minions have been spotted a fair bit. As well as the hag appearing in town as the Lady of the Fog luring men in for a kill. Or children disappearing. This hag also has 2 polymorphed minions forcing the owned of import/export to sell out and spy on the citizens. The hag herself occasionally visits as a disguised woman selling herbs and such to the local alchemist. Using her visits to spread rumors/lies about how there are still people missing/dying and the village protector (a druid) isn't doing anything about it. Pitting the citizens against the druid and making sure this druid can't go into the woods/swamps anymore due to the issues inside the village. This will be the first time they'll most likely also encounter this hag and notice there is more going on. In poymorphed form the hag can sell the occasional item to the alchemist under the guise of "i need a bit of extra coin". However this item contains a hags eye, but also grants additional poison protection. When the village druid suggest players to watch out in the woods/swamp. That the players should prepare accordingly and most threats using poison. Then the shopkeep could potentially sell the hags eye necklace to one of the players. Effectively giving the hag constant view of what the party is up to. However the Hag only does this if the players draw to much attention to themselves when walking around town. Logically the Hag would know that these nuisances would eventually try to find their way into the swamp after all.
Then I plan to eventually drop the bomb on one of the players, who is also a druid. And she originated from this village. The Green Hag is currently in the process of being pregnant and that's a big tie in of course. Because one girl in the village is in the last few days of pregnancy, but past 3-4 weeks feverish and delirious. So when the players will end up in the Hags lair they'll also find drawings/paintings of the druid player and snippets of text. Basically saying that the player is one of the Hag daughters. Depending on whether the player will accept this heritage or such. I'll provide some homebrew content she could add to her character over time signifying the Hag magic she could add to her repertoire. Already spoken about it with her to see if she'd be interested in such a thing beforehand of course.
When, instead of if, my players get to deep being annoying to the hags. The cleric could receive a dream visit from the Night Hag. Who will try and prey on the clerics drama. He's still trying to cope with the loss of his one true love. Which is the reason he started traveling. So I'll be messing with his mind a little. Providing the needed RP options.
Also have a totem dwarf barbarian with a sentient great axe. He just awakened a glimmer of this sentience, but combined with his totem animal the barbarian is receiving the occasional foreshadowing visions. But he seems to be going the road of going a little bit crazy, uncertain and worrysome. Seeing occasional buildings suddenly looking as if they're on flame. Having a difficult time to see what is real or not. So he even went to look for help from some priests. Will be fun to see where that goes. Because the sentience is an old Azer.
I'm using these hags currently as a third story thread which ties in some player backstory. Still fitting in with the main story thread. While also laying the ground work for the Blood War elements and more devil/demon involvement 14-15 levels from now. As well as Campaign number 2 which will be mainly dealing with demons/underdark from the perspective of fresh characters. Campaign 3 will be revisiting the Valley and see the aftermath of the players decisions from campaign 1.
There is also a succubus possibly showing up in the not too far future. Will be fun to see how that'll work out as well :D
As for Maps the group gotten an old map. At the capital they got an updated version. When they attack an outpost of the enemy they'll get a partial map drawn by the enemy. Which can be really weirdly drawn with only a few key landmarks standing out. Then its up to the players to use the map from the capital and figure out where the drawn enemy map fits in the most. Since the adventure also has a time schedule of when the opponents do x event. They better not be wasting to much time on going to the wrong area or taking too much time doing seemingly irrelevant stuff. The enemy isn't going to stop just because they want to sit down for a cup of tea.
However I do tie in the Night Hag and such. If the players hadn't done that, seemingly unimportant standard quest, then the undead would've attacked the city from the inside. Leading up to it the increasing undead trouble would've caused the guards/soldiers to be spread even thinner than they already are. Depending on how things go the players can stop a duergar forge that is supplying the army with masterwork armor/weapons. Meaning only the leaders of the army have such strong equipment instead of EVERY enemy. This means the players are, unknowingly, interfering with the opponents. At some point, during a meeting at the war council, the commanders can start seeing a pattern and explain it to the players. If they haven't figured out themselves yet.
PS wow that became lengthier a response then expected :O Seeing I mention a lot of stuff in the future...it might seem like its a linear/railroading campaign. It really isn't. The first 10 levels or so take place in a reasonably large valley. I got a time table of key events occuring on specific in-game days. I got a few sheets of paper of where the baddies are and what they're up to and their goals. I have a general idea of what I want the key story moments to be. And then I wing it from there and guide my players where necessary by information NPC's provide. Weaving in "mind ****s" and deception does require to have a good understanding of the main story "beats" regarding your campaign. That way you can make something happen that won't be truly revealed 3-4 steps later. Giving you plenty to improvise with. Also it might sound as if there is a lot of deception going on. Which would naturally lead to players mistrusting everyone eventually. However that's not the case. Majority of people they meet are just normal friendly/helpfull individuals. They made a business deal to generate extra income while providing the army with new type of weaponry. Which they had found in some 800 year old ruins. You need to provide a balance of contrasting situations otherwise players indeed automatically assume one thing.
Nice! That sounds like a campaign I'd have fun in! It also doesn't seem like railroading to me. You've set the stage and provided options for players to get to where you want them to go. It will be interesting to see how the hag skills play out with the pc. That could provide some really cool game-play and role-playing.
I like idea of the maps too. Having to figure out how the crude maps fit in.
Thanks for sharing! Well thought out campaign you've got going!
This arc is wrapping up for my players so I'm not sure how it's going to end, but how we got here. Almost 3 years of game play go into this story, so I'll just give the shortest version I can:
The group found a cave with a strange obelisk and murals to a diety that had almost no information about him in the local literature. The cave was found because of blights that were ravaging a local town, one farmer setting fire to the forest, and the Dryad which lived deep in the forest talking about a strange dark aura seeping into her forest.
As the group left their home town to head to the capitol city, they were met by a mysterious Dragonborn who threatened them while sending his dire wolves to attack them. The threats were odd since the group had done nothing noteworthy at this point in time. The threat was that they should stop interfering with his plans or he would unleash his true wrath on them.
They made their way to the neighboring town to find it falling to ruin. They saved the town mayor's wife and son, driving off a shadow demon, only to find that there was another threat living in the sewers. The sewers were controlled by a were-rat who seemed to have ties with the Dragonborn who threatened them a week earlier. As they attempted to rid the sewers of this threat they happened to make a new friend out of a stray dog that helped kill off the rats that were plaguing the city. They found a strange finger bone in the possession of the were-rat and decided to hold on to it while they traveled, thinking to gather information on it.
Continuing their travels they finally made their way to the capitol city and finished their task. Their new pet would wander off and come back at random intervals, and the group was comfortable with that. While in the city, the pet dog seemed to be anxious about something, leading them to an abandoned house. When inside the dog led them to a cellar where he started digging up a strange circlet. The group figured it was important to the animal so they gave it to him as a collar. As they made to leave the house started emanating strange magical forces and a giant skeletal hand issued forth from a wall in the cellar. The group ran to safety, thinking to leave the strange home.
While in their new home base they contended with their pet. It seemed the collar was somehow magically stuck on the dog, no matter what they try it wouldn't come off. As they tried to figure out a solution the city erupted in panic as 3 giant half-wolf skeletons were attacking the town guards. The group took their pet with them into battle. During the battle the pet was lost, the group could only mourn the loss. After the calamity was resolved the group headed off to the north as guards to a merchant caravan that was leaving the capitol.
They had a major revelation when they reached their destination, learning that one of their members was heir to an artifact of an ancient dwarven lineage. They used this artifact to close planar rifts and create quite a name for themselves while doing it. Enough so that they had a divination wizard approach and ask to join their ranks. Just as the group was getting ready to join in on a guild challenge one of their members decided to inquire about the finger bone they'd found so many weeks ago. Their new divination wizard cast a spell and they learned that there were pieces of this artifact near them.
They were aware, from their fight with the were-rat, that the finger bone was part of a larger whole artifact. They also knew that this Dragonborn that had threatened them was the ring-leader toward it's acquisition. So they went to find the pieces and see about stopping this Dragonborn, only to find that the situation was worse than they'd ever expected. The child they saved from the shadow demon and were-rat was standing out front of the dwarven kingdom, 3 weeks away from his home. They figured out he was under a spell, broke the spell and went to gather him up, only to watch as an earth elemental rose from the ground and abducted the child.
They fought with the elemental, rescued the child from it's grasp and had a major shock. As the warlock of the group touched the elemental's mind, she learned it was the same as a mind she'd touched before....their pet dog. Shocked at the betrayal the group commanded the dog stand down and hesitated on killing it. They took the boy from him with the use of some well placed spells, and watched as the elemental vanished underground.
Moments later the elemental rose from the ground, a good distance away and started to change form. Before them stood the Dragonborn who had threatened them, regaling them with how he had infiltrated them as the dog they so cherished. Then 2 more of his group showed up, subdued the party with the exception of one. They are all now in a camp of Orc, Half-Orcs, and Druids waiting for their demise..while their one party member is attempting to find a way to rescue them.
This is an extremely abbreviated version of the arc, but to put it into perspective: the players, not characters, were actually yelling at me about the betrayal, tears were shed, and there is a very different tone about the game since...I'm kind of afraid for my NPCs/Villains...
With that stray dog. Did the players just befriend it and you later turn it into the polymorphed dragonborn? Or did you introduce the dog with the intention of being the dragonborn from the start? In cases like this I find it difficult to ensure my players would entrust/befriend someone in their ranks like that.
I had something similar, but a more friendly version. When leaving Oakhurst they picked up an extra companion for the road. A traveling jovial halfling who loved telling stories and had a bag full of scrolls/books. He functioned as a lore/history dump if the players wanted to know specific things. Other then that he was there just to liven things up a bit. A long the players adventures I occasionally let the halfling show up again. And at times he shows up in different shapes/forms without the players knowing. Simply because he is a Brass Young Dragon. He hasn't revealed himself as such to the party yet. He is a good way to provide some information should the players need it. Over time they do start to seem to accept him among their ranks instead of just being an acquaintance. I had this brass dragon there to be part of the backstory of one that isn't part of the group anymore. So no idea yet how to use the dragon in the future yet.
The stray dog was, from the beginning, intended to be the Dragonborn. I am not a big fan of just randomly tossing in an NPC/Villain that betrays the players, it generally only sews distrust in every NPC going forward. I prefer not to create a bunch of murder-hobos so if there is going to be some type of betrayal it will always, in my games, be designed from the beginning.
I have almost the exact same type of NPC as your Halfling in this same game. In this case an Ancient Gold Dragon who takes on a human form and travels around to sight see. They've met him and he ended up revealing his true form...my Barbarian player decided to arm wrestle him...it ended poorly as the dragon accidentally broke his arm. (Nat 20 vs Nat 1)
I don't use thac0 any more, my oldest players are from the 3.x days. Most of the players I have right now are ones I brought into the fold and have taught them with 3.5 or 5e.
Have fun with the dragon idea! The metallic dragons are nice to toss in to a game since most people expect a dragon to simply swoop in, breath death on the field and create some epic fight. Instead, all of a sudden one shows up just to say "Oh...hey...I knew your great-great-great-great-great grandpa back when he was an adventurer...oh the stories I could tell...".
Haha! I like it. I just started a new PbP. You can read the description if your like. I think it could fit in well. Hopefully no new players are reading this, lol.
Rolling dice randomly. Sometimes with a meaning and other times without. Having powerful entities try to snatch up a puppet to slowly manipulate the world. Making player paranoia real. As in many times I have statues in dungeons, or armors. And when players are sure they will come alive I may chance it from a normal statue to an animated statue, or more likely, vice versa! ^^
Stuff like that. Not really a lot now that I think about it ^^.
Well the deception and manipulation went well. So well that my players followed the Green Hag and her Bearded Devil rescuer into a gate. A gate that led to Hades... in the "living room" of the night hag. Where she was waiting for the green hag with a few more nasties. Well this has gotten interesting with options for making quite a fun bargain if the 4 lvl 4 PC's want to stay alive :D
One of my PC's had a backstory quest of trying to find an Axe which had been stolen. It was a ceremonial Axe that was a trophy given to the champion of a dwarven clan gathering. So I built it into the campaign and had someone from a rival clan turn up saying that they hadn't been at this gathering so they couldn't really claim to be the champion, and if they ever wanted to see the axe again, they needed to get to Daggerford.
The PC's is from the Ironeater Clan, and the NPC was from the Ironaxe. Going back through DND lore, you'll find that the 2 clan's used to be one, but the brother of the Ironeater King disobeyed his orders and left to try to retake the mines under Mount Illefearn years after they had been abandoned by the clans. They ended up retaking the mines, but then got beaten back. They sent a request for aid to the Ironeaters, who refused, the King pronouncing them "Beldarakin" or unclean oath breakers. They never speak of this to outsiders.
They ended up getting overwhelmed by a party of Orcs, who were themselves in pretty bad shape with dwindling numbers. They kept the Ironaxe as breeding stock, and a sub race of "Dworcs" were created, causing the Ironaxe to be even further despised.
This whole thing was designed to take the PC's into the Ghost of Dragonspear Castle campaign, which most of it takes place in Mount Illefearn. The mountain kingdom has been taken control of by a bunch of Red Wizards of Thay, and are holding King Ironaxe under their thrall, although by this point he is quite insane. The original NPC stole the axe to try to get the PC and his group to Mount Illefearn in the hope that he would kill the Red Wizards and the Orcs, and essentially free the Ironaxe clan. He couldn't just ask, because they are Beldarakin, and he knew that the PC wouldn't even speak to him, if he'd just approached, asking for their help.
So they turned up and cleaned out the mines. But in doing so, they also killed the mad king, which was WAY off script.
When they got back to town, the NPC found them and returned the axe, explaining why he had done what he had, and saying that he understood if Thalmor's honour required him to kill him. He didn't know that they had killed the King at this point. The PC's told him, and turned it all onto the NPC, saying that it was his reckless actions that had brought about this outcome, and that he was responsible. The NPC left without a fight, heartbroken and shattered at what had come to his Clan, even though he had just been trying to help.
Thalmor (the PC) was pretty broken up by it too. The player himself had to get up from the table. He was pacing and quite upset about the way it had all gone down, and the point behind all of it, because he is very connected to his character and his backstory, and the RP that goes with it. He's told me it was one of the highlights of playing DND, so that was very rewarding on a DM level. the whole thing, from inception to reveal took about 3-4 months of weekly 3hr gaming sessions.
I found this out by happy accident: my players become very trusting of NPCs that flatter them for their brave deeds and triumphs in battle; i.e., feed their egos.
One in particular was an NPC that was the leader of society that outwardly appeared benevolent but was secretly working to overthrow a local government. The players were invited guests at an annual celebration. While there, the leader asked what they had been up to. Upon hearing of their adventures, the crowd toasted their bravery. The leader said he was revealed to find another group of people interesting in "fighting wrongs" like them. He then tricked them into going after rival guilds.
Over the new several months, clues started to pop up that this society might not be so noble. At this point, the players still believed that this NPC leader was a good guy. They became concerned that either he was being framed or he had traitors in his society. Eventually, I had to do what I call the James Bond villain monologue: "here's how I plan on taking over the world. Are you with me or not?". It was quite fun!
The other deceptive trick is to have NPC races that are normally good-aligned be the villains. In the same campaign, a small group of halflings seeks help but their real purpose was to lure the party into a trap. Even the senior player was surprised by that one!
Apologies if I'm hijacking this thread, but could use some feed-back. To see if the deal the Night Hag would offer is a plausible one.
So this campaign currently takes place in the region of Elsir Vale, which is a valley that is the backdrop of 3.5 Red Hand of Doom. My players are still going through the valley and encountering each village and what there is. Get invested in the region etc. In Witch Cross is a Green Hag active for 100-120 years by now. She resides in the swamp of the nearby woods terrorizing that village. My players dealt with that situation ending up in a chase scene.
The Night Hag however works for a devil. One that wants to aid Tiamat's escape from Avernus. However this devil is not part of any of the main groups. He's more a third party trying to get ahead of the other devils. A setup into the Blood War many many many levels from now in the future. Yet it is the reason the Night Hag is recently active in the valley. As always she had to make a deal with the green hag and bring gifts. That is what hags do when entering another hag's territory. This Night Hag has been working to de-stabilize some of the other villages/hamlets in the valley.
Now the players are meant to go to Blasingdell, because that's what they said they were going to do. Lured by awesome loot from the dwarven craftsman. A place where the Forge of Fury module would pretty much start. Fleshed that village out so that there are dwarven and half-orc mine organisations that are rivals. There are racial tendencies between those two demographics...all because of the hag's meddling. Tensions have always been there, but she's making them worse. The situation is explosive and ripe for the soul gathering. Especially since there are also orc raids occurring in that area. And the PC's have been sent to deal with that situation and interrogate an orc raider the mayor has in captivity.
The situation is currently that the party went through the gate and ended up in the Night Hag's domicile. Surrounded by the green hag, larvae, bearded devil, yugoloth and some other nasties. Gate has closed so the party can't leave Hades back to the Material Plane without the Night Hag opening it for them. The Hag's are very annoyed how they lost a prime soul farming village. For the Hag's to aid the players....they need to pay deeply for it in my opinion. Meaning a simple bargain won't cut it. The green hag is still trying to convince the druid PC in accepting the hag heritage as well in this situation.
The deal I've been thinking about for the Night Hag would be a short quest line, instead of only one task. She wants souls and Blasingdell is ripe for the plucking. It just needs that last push to ignite a civil war. Players don't know this. First task would be to simply deliver two items to specific npc's/locations within Blasingdell. Seems harmless enough, but those items would implicate key individuals within both the dwarven and half-orc community...who'd end up blaming each other and start some killings. Or other heinous acts that would allow the Hag to collect the souls. To make sure the PC's do as she says she demands a strand of each of their hair. Then also "want the eye" from one PC granting that one a bonus to perception while the Hag uses it to keep an eye on the party. Without having to scry all the time. Second order of the Night Hag would be to go to the Forge of Fury and set the succubus in there free, by killing her. PC's not knowing the succubus would be send back to her realm, which the devil (through his many layers of command) can than send to aid the Hag.
Also got some basic ideas how the Night Hag visits and pesters the cleric of the party in his dreams from time to time. Then introduce his deity Avandra and get something going there. A boon from the deity to deal with the Hag Coven? Because she needs the cleric for the greater threat that's occurring and has all the gods riled up. Perhaps I'll use the Succubus to deal with Lord Jarmaath of Brindol. Instead of dealing with that Arachnea infiltrator side quest it'll than become about finding out about the succubus and tie it all back in full circle.
I'm not familiar with the red hand of doom so can't speak to how it fits that setting. I do like the planted evidence to stir up bad feelings and killing the succubus to release it into it's masters service is a good idea. Depending on how aware your players are they may catch on as to why the succubus is being killed.
I ran a game many years ago where I came at this from a slightly different angle. I sat down with the players and said, "Right, we are going to conspire against your characters." All of us players knew the betrayal was coming, but the characters didn't.
Essentially, I was challenging the players' ability to roleplay. All of them rose to the challenge and the game went really well.
Up to and including the end, where most the PCs died in the betrayal. When I gave the players the choice to decide characters' fates, they decided that it would be a better game if the PCs didn't realise the deception until the end.
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I'm wondering it anyone has some favorite ways of deceiving their players? Patrons with their own agenda, inaccurate maps, etc.
Not long ago I had a group doing what they thought was a typical wanted poster quest but the posters were hung by someone looking for recruits for their merry band of marauders, or to eliminate potential threats if unwilling to join.
What kinds of deceptions have you had fun with?
That's what happens when you wear a helmet your whole life!
My house rules
Young man, with minor magical experience, had a traumatic loss. Night Hag visits him in his dreams and stirs his negative emotions. Eventually she leaves him a present in the shape of an old necromantic grimoire. Tricked by guilt and feelings of failure he wants to undo the traumatic loss he experienced. Starts by practicing his necromancy on little critters, larger animals, some corpses, messing with an entire mausoleum. He uses his richboy funds to turn his basement into some necromantic laboratory. Also using magic like Alter Self, to keep up appearances in public while in fact he's not eating/sleeping well. Also gradually going insane.
From player perspective. They get hired because of increased undead events on the graveyard. Sounds like a regular clean up job that turns into a full blown investigation. Players work together with the clergy of the Raven Queen. Gradually gathering clues and then clear out an entire mausoleum. Filled with undead that gave them an extremely difficult time. However there was one undead in there, that wasn't summoned by the necromancer. He was once a paladin, and founder of the family of this crypt. Due to social interaction the players learned some more information. A young red haired man... There is only one real mage in town and he is called "the Red". However that wasn't the target, but did lead to more information to narrow down the suspects. Eventually they found the man in his laboratory with creepy music box, frankstein scenes, lots of crawly freaking hands appearing from the ceiling to attack the players, large tubes he broke to spread environmental necromantic fog in the fight...which eventually called an explosion and infected nearby houses. When they caught him there wasn't a sane word to be gleaned. All possible evidence had gone up in the unexpected explosion. During the night the Hag visited the man in his cell, while she was in ethereal form, and snatched his soul. Effectively killing the man and leaving no further trace. However this does impact his families status among the local aristocracy all of a sudden due to roleplay elements.
What the players don't know. There are three Hags operating in the valley. Tormenting people. Creating some racism and unease among people in a few larger villages. Next up will be a Green Hag in The Foggy Mangrove that has been quite the influence for over the past 100 years. No one knows its a hag, but her (undead) ogre minions have been spotted a fair bit. As well as the hag appearing in town as the Lady of the Fog luring men in for a kill. Or children disappearing. This hag also has 2 polymorphed minions forcing the owned of import/export to sell out and spy on the citizens. The hag herself occasionally visits as a disguised woman selling herbs and such to the local alchemist. Using her visits to spread rumors/lies about how there are still people missing/dying and the village protector (a druid) isn't doing anything about it. Pitting the citizens against the druid and making sure this druid can't go into the woods/swamps anymore due to the issues inside the village. This will be the first time they'll most likely also encounter this hag and notice there is more going on. In poymorphed form the hag can sell the occasional item to the alchemist under the guise of "i need a bit of extra coin". However this item contains a hags eye, but also grants additional poison protection. When the village druid suggest players to watch out in the woods/swamp. That the players should prepare accordingly and most threats using poison. Then the shopkeep could potentially sell the hags eye necklace to one of the players. Effectively giving the hag constant view of what the party is up to. However the Hag only does this if the players draw to much attention to themselves when walking around town. Logically the Hag would know that these nuisances would eventually try to find their way into the swamp after all.
Then I plan to eventually drop the bomb on one of the players, who is also a druid. And she originated from this village. The Green Hag is currently in the process of being pregnant and that's a big tie in of course. Because one girl in the village is in the last few days of pregnancy, but past 3-4 weeks feverish and delirious. So when the players will end up in the Hags lair they'll also find drawings/paintings of the druid player and snippets of text. Basically saying that the player is one of the Hag daughters. Depending on whether the player will accept this heritage or such. I'll provide some homebrew content she could add to her character over time signifying the Hag magic she could add to her repertoire. Already spoken about it with her to see if she'd be interested in such a thing beforehand of course.
When, instead of if, my players get to deep being annoying to the hags. The cleric could receive a dream visit from the Night Hag. Who will try and prey on the clerics drama. He's still trying to cope with the loss of his one true love. Which is the reason he started traveling. So I'll be messing with his mind a little. Providing the needed RP options.
Also have a totem dwarf barbarian with a sentient great axe. He just awakened a glimmer of this sentience, but combined with his totem animal the barbarian is receiving the occasional foreshadowing visions. But he seems to be going the road of going a little bit crazy, uncertain and worrysome. Seeing occasional buildings suddenly looking as if they're on flame. Having a difficult time to see what is real or not. So he even went to look for help from some priests. Will be fun to see where that goes. Because the sentience is an old Azer.
I'm using these hags currently as a third story thread which ties in some player backstory. Still fitting in with the main story thread. While also laying the ground work for the Blood War elements and more devil/demon involvement 14-15 levels from now. As well as Campaign number 2 which will be mainly dealing with demons/underdark from the perspective of fresh characters. Campaign 3 will be revisiting the Valley and see the aftermath of the players decisions from campaign 1.
There is also a succubus possibly showing up in the not too far future. Will be fun to see how that'll work out as well :D
As for Maps the group gotten an old map. At the capital they got an updated version. When they attack an outpost of the enemy they'll get a partial map drawn by the enemy. Which can be really weirdly drawn with only a few key landmarks standing out. Then its up to the players to use the map from the capital and figure out where the drawn enemy map fits in the most. Since the adventure also has a time schedule of when the opponents do x event. They better not be wasting to much time on going to the wrong area or taking too much time doing seemingly irrelevant stuff. The enemy isn't going to stop just because they want to sit down for a cup of tea.
However I do tie in the Night Hag and such. If the players hadn't done that, seemingly unimportant standard quest, then the undead would've attacked the city from the inside. Leading up to it the increasing undead trouble would've caused the guards/soldiers to be spread even thinner than they already are. Depending on how things go the players can stop a duergar forge that is supplying the army with masterwork armor/weapons. Meaning only the leaders of the army have such strong equipment instead of EVERY enemy. This means the players are, unknowingly, interfering with the opponents. At some point, during a meeting at the war council, the commanders can start seeing a pattern and explain it to the players. If they haven't figured out themselves yet.
PS
wow that became lengthier a response then expected :O
Seeing I mention a lot of stuff in the future...it might seem like its a linear/railroading campaign. It really isn't. The first 10 levels or so take place in a reasonably large valley. I got a time table of key events occuring on specific in-game days. I got a few sheets of paper of where the baddies are and what they're up to and their goals. I have a general idea of what I want the key story moments to be. And then I wing it from there and guide my players where necessary by information NPC's provide. Weaving in "mind ****s" and deception does require to have a good understanding of the main story "beats" regarding your campaign. That way you can make something happen that won't be truly revealed 3-4 steps later. Giving you plenty to improvise with. Also it might sound as if there is a lot of deception going on. Which would naturally lead to players mistrusting everyone eventually. However that's not the case. Majority of people they meet are just normal friendly/helpfull individuals. They made a business deal to generate extra income while providing the army with new type of weaponry. Which they had found in some 800 year old ruins. You need to provide a balance of contrasting situations otherwise players indeed automatically assume one thing.
Nice! That sounds like a campaign I'd have fun in! It also doesn't seem like railroading to me. You've set the stage and provided options for players to get to where you want them to go. It will be interesting to see how the hag skills play out with the pc. That could provide some really cool game-play and role-playing.
I like idea of the maps too. Having to figure out how the crude maps fit in.
Thanks for sharing! Well thought out campaign you've got going!
That's what happens when you wear a helmet your whole life!
My house rules
This arc is wrapping up for my players so I'm not sure how it's going to end, but how we got here. Almost 3 years of game play go into this story, so I'll just give the shortest version I can:
The group found a cave with a strange obelisk and murals to a diety that had almost no information about him in the local literature. The cave was found because of blights that were ravaging a local town, one farmer setting fire to the forest, and the Dryad which lived deep in the forest talking about a strange dark aura seeping into her forest.
As the group left their home town to head to the capitol city, they were met by a mysterious Dragonborn who threatened them while sending his dire wolves to attack them. The threats were odd since the group had done nothing noteworthy at this point in time. The threat was that they should stop interfering with his plans or he would unleash his true wrath on them.
They made their way to the neighboring town to find it falling to ruin. They saved the town mayor's wife and son, driving off a shadow demon, only to find that there was another threat living in the sewers. The sewers were controlled by a were-rat who seemed to have ties with the Dragonborn who threatened them a week earlier. As they attempted to rid the sewers of this threat they happened to make a new friend out of a stray dog that helped kill off the rats that were plaguing the city. They found a strange finger bone in the possession of the were-rat and decided to hold on to it while they traveled, thinking to gather information on it.
Continuing their travels they finally made their way to the capitol city and finished their task. Their new pet would wander off and come back at random intervals, and the group was comfortable with that. While in the city, the pet dog seemed to be anxious about something, leading them to an abandoned house. When inside the dog led them to a cellar where he started digging up a strange circlet. The group figured it was important to the animal so they gave it to him as a collar. As they made to leave the house started emanating strange magical forces and a giant skeletal hand issued forth from a wall in the cellar. The group ran to safety, thinking to leave the strange home.
While in their new home base they contended with their pet. It seemed the collar was somehow magically stuck on the dog, no matter what they try it wouldn't come off. As they tried to figure out a solution the city erupted in panic as 3 giant half-wolf skeletons were attacking the town guards. The group took their pet with them into battle. During the battle the pet was lost, the group could only mourn the loss. After the calamity was resolved the group headed off to the north as guards to a merchant caravan that was leaving the capitol.
They had a major revelation when they reached their destination, learning that one of their members was heir to an artifact of an ancient dwarven lineage. They used this artifact to close planar rifts and create quite a name for themselves while doing it. Enough so that they had a divination wizard approach and ask to join their ranks. Just as the group was getting ready to join in on a guild challenge one of their members decided to inquire about the finger bone they'd found so many weeks ago. Their new divination wizard cast a spell and they learned that there were pieces of this artifact near them.
They were aware, from their fight with the were-rat, that the finger bone was part of a larger whole artifact. They also knew that this Dragonborn that had threatened them was the ring-leader toward it's acquisition. So they went to find the pieces and see about stopping this Dragonborn, only to find that the situation was worse than they'd ever expected. The child they saved from the shadow demon and were-rat was standing out front of the dwarven kingdom, 3 weeks away from his home. They figured out he was under a spell, broke the spell and went to gather him up, only to watch as an earth elemental rose from the ground and abducted the child.
They fought with the elemental, rescued the child from it's grasp and had a major shock. As the warlock of the group touched the elemental's mind, she learned it was the same as a mind she'd touched before....their pet dog. Shocked at the betrayal the group commanded the dog stand down and hesitated on killing it. They took the boy from him with the use of some well placed spells, and watched as the elemental vanished underground.
Moments later the elemental rose from the ground, a good distance away and started to change form. Before them stood the Dragonborn who had threatened them, regaling them with how he had infiltrated them as the dog they so cherished. Then 2 more of his group showed up, subdued the party with the exception of one. They are all now in a camp of Orc, Half-Orcs, and Druids waiting for their demise..while their one party member is attempting to find a way to rescue them.
This is an extremely abbreviated version of the arc, but to put it into perspective: the players, not characters, were actually yelling at me about the betrayal, tears were shed, and there is a very different tone about the game since...I'm kind of afraid for my NPCs/Villains...
With that stray dog. Did the players just befriend it and you later turn it into the polymorphed dragonborn? Or did you introduce the dog with the intention of being the dragonborn from the start? In cases like this I find it difficult to ensure my players would entrust/befriend someone in their ranks like that.
I had something similar, but a more friendly version. When leaving Oakhurst they picked up an extra companion for the road. A traveling jovial halfling who loved telling stories and had a bag full of scrolls/books. He functioned as a lore/history dump if the players wanted to know specific things. Other then that he was there just to liven things up a bit. A long the players adventures I occasionally let the halfling show up again. And at times he shows up in different shapes/forms without the players knowing. Simply because he is a Brass Young Dragon. He hasn't revealed himself as such to the party yet. He is a good way to provide some information should the players need it. Over time they do start to seem to accept him among their ranks instead of just being an acquaintance. I had this brass dragon there to be part of the backstory of one that isn't part of the group anymore. So no idea yet how to use the dragon in the future yet.
The stray dog was, from the beginning, intended to be the Dragonborn. I am not a big fan of just randomly tossing in an NPC/Villain that betrays the players, it generally only sews distrust in every NPC going forward. I prefer not to create a bunch of murder-hobos so if there is going to be some type of betrayal it will always, in my games, be designed from the beginning.
I have almost the exact same type of NPC as your Halfling in this same game. In this case an Ancient Gold Dragon who takes on a human form and travels around to sight see. They've met him and he ended up revealing his true form...my Barbarian player decided to arm wrestle him...it ended poorly as the dragon accidentally broke his arm. (Nat 20 vs Nat 1)
Cool twists! I like the long con with the stray dog. 3 years! Congrats to that. That's some serious gaming.
I may borrow the Dragon walking in human form for an upcoming campaign. It even has the halfling as part of the story already.
On a separate note, are you still playing thaco? I remember those days fondly. Also miss arms and claw law sometimes too 😀
That's what happens when you wear a helmet your whole life!
My house rules
I don't use thac0 any more, my oldest players are from the 3.x days. Most of the players I have right now are ones I brought into the fold and have taught them with 3.5 or 5e.
Have fun with the dragon idea! The metallic dragons are nice to toss in to a game since most people expect a dragon to simply swoop in, breath death on the field and create some epic fight. Instead, all of a sudden one shows up just to say "Oh...hey...I knew your great-great-great-great-great grandpa back when he was an adventurer...oh the stories I could tell...".
Haha! I like it. I just started a new PbP. You can read the description if your like. I think it could fit in well. Hopefully no new players are reading this, lol.
https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/d-d-beyond-general/play-by-post/31920-blobbins-adventurer-camp
That's what happens when you wear a helmet your whole life!
My house rules
Rolling dice randomly. Sometimes with a meaning and other times without.
Having powerful entities try to snatch up a puppet to slowly manipulate the world.
Making player paranoia real. As in many times I have statues in dungeons, or armors. And when players are sure they will come alive I may chance it from
a normal statue to an animated statue, or more likely, vice versa! ^^
Stuff like that. Not really a lot now that I think about it ^^.
Well the deception and manipulation went well. So well that my players followed the Green Hag and her Bearded Devil rescuer into a gate. A gate that led to Hades... in the "living room" of the night hag. Where she was waiting for the green hag with a few more nasties. Well this has gotten interesting with options for making quite a fun bargain if the 4 lvl 4 PC's want to stay alive :D
Nice! That sounds really cool. Lots of story opportunities there for sure. Keep us posted on what happens :)
That's what happens when you wear a helmet your whole life!
My house rules
One of my PC's had a backstory quest of trying to find an Axe which had been stolen. It was a ceremonial Axe that was a trophy given to the champion of a dwarven clan gathering. So I built it into the campaign and had someone from a rival clan turn up saying that they hadn't been at this gathering so they couldn't really claim to be the champion, and if they ever wanted to see the axe again, they needed to get to Daggerford.
The PC's is from the Ironeater Clan, and the NPC was from the Ironaxe. Going back through DND lore, you'll find that the 2 clan's used to be one, but the brother of the Ironeater King disobeyed his orders and left to try to retake the mines under Mount Illefearn years after they had been abandoned by the clans. They ended up retaking the mines, but then got beaten back. They sent a request for aid to the Ironeaters, who refused, the King pronouncing them "Beldarakin" or unclean oath breakers. They never speak of this to outsiders.
They ended up getting overwhelmed by a party of Orcs, who were themselves in pretty bad shape with dwindling numbers. They kept the Ironaxe as breeding stock, and a sub race of "Dworcs" were created, causing the Ironaxe to be even further despised.
This whole thing was designed to take the PC's into the Ghost of Dragonspear Castle campaign, which most of it takes place in Mount Illefearn. The mountain kingdom has been taken control of by a bunch of Red Wizards of Thay, and are holding King Ironaxe under their thrall, although by this point he is quite insane. The original NPC stole the axe to try to get the PC and his group to Mount Illefearn in the hope that he would kill the Red Wizards and the Orcs, and essentially free the Ironaxe clan. He couldn't just ask, because they are Beldarakin, and he knew that the PC wouldn't even speak to him, if he'd just approached, asking for their help.
So they turned up and cleaned out the mines. But in doing so, they also killed the mad king, which was WAY off script.
When they got back to town, the NPC found them and returned the axe, explaining why he had done what he had, and saying that he understood if Thalmor's honour required him to kill him. He didn't know that they had killed the King at this point. The PC's told him, and turned it all onto the NPC, saying that it was his reckless actions that had brought about this outcome, and that he was responsible. The NPC left without a fight, heartbroken and shattered at what had come to his Clan, even though he had just been trying to help.
Thalmor (the PC) was pretty broken up by it too. The player himself had to get up from the table. He was pacing and quite upset about the way it had all gone down, and the point behind all of it, because he is very connected to his character and his backstory, and the RP that goes with it. He's told me it was one of the highlights of playing DND, so that was very rewarding on a DM level. the whole thing, from inception to reveal took about 3-4 months of weekly 3hr gaming sessions.
I found this out by happy accident: my players become very trusting of NPCs that flatter them for their brave deeds and triumphs in battle; i.e., feed their egos.
One in particular was an NPC that was the leader of society that outwardly appeared benevolent but was secretly working to overthrow a local government. The players were invited guests at an annual celebration. While there, the leader asked what they had been up to. Upon hearing of their adventures, the crowd toasted their bravery. The leader said he was revealed to find another group of people interesting in "fighting wrongs" like them. He then tricked them into going after rival guilds.
Over the new several months, clues started to pop up that this society might not be so noble. At this point, the players still believed that this NPC leader was a good guy. They became concerned that either he was being framed or he had traitors in his society. Eventually, I had to do what I call the James Bond villain monologue: "here's how I plan on taking over the world. Are you with me or not?". It was quite fun!
The other deceptive trick is to have NPC races that are normally good-aligned be the villains. In the same campaign, a small group of halflings seeks help but their real purpose was to lure the party into a trap. Even the senior player was surprised by that one!
I'm getting some good idea from this thread. Thanks! Keep em coming :)
That's what happens when you wear a helmet your whole life!
My house rules
Apologies if I'm hijacking this thread, but could use some feed-back. To see if the deal the Night Hag would offer is a plausible one.
So this campaign currently takes place in the region of Elsir Vale, which is a valley that is the backdrop of 3.5 Red Hand of Doom. My players are still going through the valley and encountering each village and what there is. Get invested in the region etc. In Witch Cross is a Green Hag active for 100-120 years by now. She resides in the swamp of the nearby woods terrorizing that village. My players dealt with that situation ending up in a chase scene.
The Night Hag however works for a devil. One that wants to aid Tiamat's escape from Avernus. However this devil is not part of any of the main groups. He's more a third party trying to get ahead of the other devils. A setup into the Blood War many many many levels from now in the future. Yet it is the reason the Night Hag is recently active in the valley. As always she had to make a deal with the green hag and bring gifts. That is what hags do when entering another hag's territory. This Night Hag has been working to de-stabilize some of the other villages/hamlets in the valley.
Now the players are meant to go to Blasingdell, because that's what they said they were going to do. Lured by awesome loot from the dwarven craftsman. A place where the Forge of Fury module would pretty much start. Fleshed that village out so that there are dwarven and half-orc mine organisations that are rivals. There are racial tendencies between those two demographics...all because of the hag's meddling. Tensions have always been there, but she's making them worse. The situation is explosive and ripe for the soul gathering. Especially since there are also orc raids occurring in that area. And the PC's have been sent to deal with that situation and interrogate an orc raider the mayor has in captivity.
The situation is currently that the party went through the gate and ended up in the Night Hag's domicile. Surrounded by the green hag, larvae, bearded devil, yugoloth and some other nasties. Gate has closed so the party can't leave Hades back to the Material Plane without the Night Hag opening it for them. The Hag's are very annoyed how they lost a prime soul farming village. For the Hag's to aid the players....they need to pay deeply for it in my opinion. Meaning a simple bargain won't cut it. The green hag is still trying to convince the druid PC in accepting the hag heritage as well in this situation.
The deal I've been thinking about for the Night Hag would be a short quest line, instead of only one task. She wants souls and Blasingdell is ripe for the plucking. It just needs that last push to ignite a civil war. Players don't know this. First task would be to simply deliver two items to specific npc's/locations within Blasingdell. Seems harmless enough, but those items would implicate key individuals within both the dwarven and half-orc community...who'd end up blaming each other and start some killings. Or other heinous acts that would allow the Hag to collect the souls. To make sure the PC's do as she says she demands a strand of each of their hair. Then also "want the eye" from one PC granting that one a bonus to perception while the Hag uses it to keep an eye on the party. Without having to scry all the time. Second order of the Night Hag would be to go to the Forge of Fury and set the succubus in there free, by killing her. PC's not knowing the succubus would be send back to her realm, which the devil (through his many layers of command) can than send to aid the Hag.
Also got some basic ideas how the Night Hag visits and pesters the cleric of the party in his dreams from time to time. Then introduce his deity Avandra and get something going there. A boon from the deity to deal with the Hag Coven? Because she needs the cleric for the greater threat that's occurring and has all the gods riled up. Perhaps I'll use the Succubus to deal with Lord Jarmaath of Brindol. Instead of dealing with that Arachnea infiltrator side quest it'll than become about finding out about the succubus and tie it all back in full circle.
I don't mind the hijack.
I'm not familiar with the red hand of doom so can't speak to how it fits that setting. I do like the planted evidence to stir up bad feelings and killing the succubus to release it into it's masters service is a good idea. Depending on how aware your players are they may catch on as to why the succubus is being killed.
That's what happens when you wear a helmet your whole life!
My house rules
I ran a game many years ago where I came at this from a slightly different angle. I sat down with the players and said, "Right, we are going to conspire against your characters." All of us players knew the betrayal was coming, but the characters didn't.
Essentially, I was challenging the players' ability to roleplay. All of them rose to the challenge and the game went really well.
Up to and including the end, where most the PCs died in the betrayal. When I gave the players the choice to decide characters' fates, they decided that it would be a better game if the PCs didn't realise the deception until the end.