(If you're playing in the campaign "In Over Your Head", look away please)
My campaign is currently on break for the holidays. Where we left off, the players had fought off a group of cultists who attacked the town, then followed them to their hideout to rescue someone who had been captured in the attack. When we resume, they'll learn of a shady NPC who left town shortly before the attack, who people think might have been involved.
The NPC lives near the docks and left by boat, and the players need to find out where she went and what she's there for. There's some info to be learned from snooping around the NPC's house, and I also want the players to ask around for rumors. The rumors part is what I'm unsure of how to run.
My current setup focuses on what topic the players are asking people about. For each topic they ask about, I'll ask for a persuasion check, with the result determining how much info they get from talking to people about it. I have at least one useful clue as a given, and then for 10, 15, and 20, I add another clue, an amusing bit of trivia, and something that might help in an encounter (not necessarily in that order). The topics I have rolls for are: Where did she go? Who is she with? Have you seen her doing anything suspicious?
Of course, this gets a bit clunky if the players ask different questions. And not all of the info I have fits neatly into those categories anyway. What other ways can I run this?
In my notes I write down what happened, exactly When they left, what they left with, whether there's something important they forgot and where that thing has been left behind. Like... if there's a receipt they have that reveals important information about let's say... a boat they bought recently or something, then I write down where it is in their room and maybe even write down for myself ahead of time the DC of the skill check needed to find it. Like, let's say "NPC left behind a receipt from renting dock space for their ship. The receipt fell behind a book case and will be discovered on a DC15 Investigation Check". The Investigation Check is what it takes to find it without specifically looking exactly where it is, but if one player says, "I'm gonna check behind this book case", I'll just let them find it without rolling.
Then, I'd come up with a few individual NPCs. It doesn't have to be anyone specific... sometimes I just have "Person A, Person B, Person C" in my notes and just use a random NPC generator whenever the players actually speak to them. Then in my notes I write down what that specific person knows, and maybe include DCs for how to get information out of them... usually just for persuasion, but so sometimes also I include a different DC for Intimidation... some characters respond differently depending on tactics. I might also include just a literal gold price for how much it would take to bribe them. Also, don't be afraid to include inaccurate or misunderstood information... for example, in a game I was running the players were following a Half-Dragon, and at one point an NPC only got a fleeting glimpse of the Half-Dragon and assumed she was actually just a baby dragon.
(If you're playing in the campaign "In Over Your Head", look away please)
My campaign is currently on break for the holidays. Where we left off, the players had fought off a group of cultists who attacked the town, then followed them to their hideout to rescue someone who had been captured in the attack. When we resume, they'll learn of a shady NPC who left town shortly before the attack, who people think might have been involved.
The NPC lives near the docks and left by boat, and the players need to find out where she went and what she's there for. There's some info to be learned from snooping around the NPC's house, and I also want the players to ask around for rumors. The rumors part is what I'm unsure of how to run.
My current setup focuses on what topic the players are asking people about. For each topic they ask about, I'll ask for a persuasion check, with the result determining how much info they get from talking to people about it. I have at least one useful clue as a given, and then for 10, 15, and 20, I add another clue, an amusing bit of trivia, and something that might help in an encounter (not necessarily in that order). The topics I have rolls for are: Where did she go? Who is she with? Have you seen her doing anything suspicious?
Of course, this gets a bit clunky if the players ask different questions. And not all of the info I have fits neatly into those categories anyway. What other ways can I run this?
Here's what I tend to do...
In my notes I write down what happened, exactly When they left, what they left with, whether there's something important they forgot and where that thing has been left behind. Like... if there's a receipt they have that reveals important information about let's say... a boat they bought recently or something, then I write down where it is in their room and maybe even write down for myself ahead of time the DC of the skill check needed to find it. Like, let's say "NPC left behind a receipt from renting dock space for their ship. The receipt fell behind a book case and will be discovered on a DC15 Investigation Check". The Investigation Check is what it takes to find it without specifically looking exactly where it is, but if one player says, "I'm gonna check behind this book case", I'll just let them find it without rolling.
Then, I'd come up with a few individual NPCs. It doesn't have to be anyone specific... sometimes I just have "Person A, Person B, Person C" in my notes and just use a random NPC generator whenever the players actually speak to them. Then in my notes I write down what that specific person knows, and maybe include DCs for how to get information out of them... usually just for persuasion, but so sometimes also I include a different DC for Intimidation... some characters respond differently depending on tactics. I might also include just a literal gold price for how much it would take to bribe them. Also, don't be afraid to include inaccurate or misunderstood information... for example, in a game I was running the players were following a Half-Dragon, and at one point an NPC only got a fleeting glimpse of the Half-Dragon and assumed she was actually just a baby dragon.
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