So, I have a vague idea for an upcoming story where the group's patron goes missing. Olo (the patron) has stolen something valuable from an opponent. This opponent is very powerful (more powerful than Olo) and so he has gone into hiding by taking himself and the item he stole into something like an Iron Flask. Before he did so, he sent a message to our adventurers asking for their help in rescuing him. Unfortunately, he was unable to give them much more information aside from where (geographically) he is. I don't want the party to simply go straight for the Iron Flask, but rather do some searching around.
Any ideas on how I could build this quest to find the patron? I'm just in the spitballing stage right now, so very little if anything has been set in stone.
Thanks in advance for any ideas folks might have?
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C. Foster Payne
"If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around."
The classic adventure structure - Cross Threshold to New World - Meet Allies - Survive Tests and Ordeals - Receive Reward - Ultimate Test - seems like it works fine here. They get the message (and this is an opportunity to do something cool, not just say "you get a message") that Olo is trapped somewhere on Skull Island, and needs their help. Get to Olo before Bad Guy does. So that's a race against time in an unfamiliar environment, lots of potential skill checks and environmental hazards. Probably one encounter with some kind of force native to this environment. Something beyond the confines of this feud between Olo and Bad Guy. Maybe it's just going to be there for show or maybe the characters have an opportunity to harness the native environment and weaponize it to give them an edge; that's good either way, so think about it.
They should find an ally somewhere and an enemy. Let's assume the enemy is a scout for Bad Guy, out to find the flask. That person is the miniboss. They could have started as an ally but double-crossed the team or they could be more like an Indiana Jones vs Belloq.
Getting to the actual treasure is a big story beat and seems like a good place for puzzles and riddles. The fight with the miniboss probably happens right before or right after this.
Then they release Olo. By this point, they've all been leveling up the whole time, so when Bad Guy shows up thinking he's going to trounce Olo, he's actually facing a superior force and they trounce him.
I'd start thinking of the environment and the miniboss, trying to get something memorable. And probably start looking for puzzle ideas.
I've seen this specific setup once or twice, but I can't quite put my finger on where. Maybe if you google around, you'll see an example to follow.
Once the BBEG sees that he is out gunned have him do something as a distraction, (burn the town, sink the island, flood the temple, conjure undead) to piss off the party and escape. Then they get to hear about Olo and that he is afraid that taking the Macguffin was a bad idea. Olo gives Macguffin to Party to care for/destroy. All flee after righting the distraction/rescuing the populace. BBEG lays low for a while and gets stronger. BBEG comes back; kills Olo after being directed at Party. Final showdown with BBEG.
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So, I have a vague idea for an upcoming story where the group's patron goes missing. Olo (the patron) has stolen something valuable from an opponent. This opponent is very powerful (more powerful than Olo) and so he has gone into hiding by taking himself and the item he stole into something like an Iron Flask. Before he did so, he sent a message to our adventurers asking for their help in rescuing him. Unfortunately, he was unable to give them much more information aside from where (geographically) he is. I don't want the party to simply go straight for the Iron Flask, but rather do some searching around.
Any ideas on how I could build this quest to find the patron? I'm just in the spitballing stage right now, so very little if anything has been set in stone.
Thanks in advance for any ideas folks might have?
C. Foster Payne
"If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around."
The classic adventure structure - Cross Threshold to New World - Meet Allies - Survive Tests and Ordeals - Receive Reward - Ultimate Test - seems like it works fine here. They get the message (and this is an opportunity to do something cool, not just say "you get a message") that Olo is trapped somewhere on Skull Island, and needs their help. Get to Olo before Bad Guy does. So that's a race against time in an unfamiliar environment, lots of potential skill checks and environmental hazards. Probably one encounter with some kind of force native to this environment. Something beyond the confines of this feud between Olo and Bad Guy. Maybe it's just going to be there for show or maybe the characters have an opportunity to harness the native environment and weaponize it to give them an edge; that's good either way, so think about it.
They should find an ally somewhere and an enemy. Let's assume the enemy is a scout for Bad Guy, out to find the flask. That person is the miniboss. They could have started as an ally but double-crossed the team or they could be more like an Indiana Jones vs Belloq.
Getting to the actual treasure is a big story beat and seems like a good place for puzzles and riddles. The fight with the miniboss probably happens right before or right after this.
Then they release Olo. By this point, they've all been leveling up the whole time, so when Bad Guy shows up thinking he's going to trounce Olo, he's actually facing a superior force and they trounce him.
I'd start thinking of the environment and the miniboss, trying to get something memorable. And probably start looking for puzzle ideas.
I've seen this specific setup once or twice, but I can't quite put my finger on where. Maybe if you google around, you'll see an example to follow.
Once the BBEG sees that he is out gunned have him do something as a distraction, (burn the town, sink the island, flood the temple, conjure undead) to piss off the party and escape. Then they get to hear about Olo and that he is afraid that taking the Macguffin was a bad idea. Olo gives Macguffin to Party to care for/destroy. All flee after righting the distraction/rescuing the populace. BBEG lays low for a while and gets stronger. BBEG comes back; kills Olo after being directed at Party. Final showdown with BBEG.