I want to write a humorous episode for my campaign. Some backstory - many levels ago the party met a (poor) bard, who was almost completely devoid of skill - he plays a lute decently, but his singing is pretty bad. He traveled with them for a bit and then went his own way. A few levels after that, there was a bardic competition held by the king, and while he was not good enough to compete in it, he did make some money by singing songs of the party, known as The Three.
The party is currently pissed off at the king for accusing them of stealing an heirloom sword and for murdering a guard. They have been cleared of the charges but there is still some tension in the town, so they expressed a desire to leave for a while. Perfect. I thought I would have them go someplace they have not been before (or often) and run into this bard singing songs of The Three, but doing it with the NPCs that are impersonating them. The party consists of:
Bloodhunter (male human, order of the Lycan) - player modeled this after Geralt of Rivia. Wizard (female elf, transmuter) Rogue Assassin (female half-elf)
I am looking for some ideas on how the interactions will go. I sorta wanted to make it Witcher-ish. The bard could be singing "throw a coin to your hunter" where the fake bloodhunter is, upon closer inspection, wearing makeup and/or prosthetics to look more monsterish.
I guess it depends on what the bard told the imposters. Did he tell them he made everything up, and there were no such real people as The Three? That the heroes the songs were based on were dead? Or are all four of them in on the scam?
For that matter, are the fakes even adventurers, or just paid actors? Or are they all struggling bards too? Maybe the bigger scheme is that once they've milked one area, they move to another town and switch around who's playing which role to throw off pursuit.
If you're just coming out of a false accusation story you may not want to do this, but it would really wind the PCs up if they leave one place where they had to beat trumped-up charges only to go to a new town they've never been to before and have a bunch of people shove unpaid bills and accusations of shenanigans in their faces because The Other Three have already come and gone...
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
I guess it depends on what the bard told the imposters. Did he tell them he made everything up, and there were no such real people as The Three? That the heroes the songs were based on were dead? Or are all four of them in on the scam?
For that matter, are the fakes even adventurers, or just paid actors? Or are they all struggling bards too? Maybe the bigger scheme is that once they've milked one area, they move to another town and switch around who's playing which role to throw off pursuit.
If you're just coming out of a false accusation story you may not want to do this, but it would really wind the PCs up if they leave one place where they had to beat trumped-up charges only to go to a new town they've never been to before and have a bunch of people shove unpaid bills and accusations of shenanigans in their faces because The Other Three have already come and gone...
Good questions! I think of it as the fake three (who might be low level adventurers or scam artists) are trying to get free food, drink and rewards by pretending to be The Three. I am sort of imagining that the party rides into town, tired from a long day on the road. As they approach the inn, they hear laughter and music and people cheering. The Bloodhunter is a big drinker, so this will be good for them. Once inside, they are not remarked on . The party actually produces their own ale, called Barrelbuster Ale, so maybe they hear cries of "open another keg of that Barrelbuster!" and general cheers. Or maybe the party has already ended and they see a few people sleeping it off.
Trying to figure how to stretch out an event for a full session of play (3-4 hours), so some events might be:
1. Much cheering for the 3, but they find out it isn't them... 2. A chase maybe, where both parties are drunk and ineffective 3. A reveal of the fraud... 4. ?
I do like the idea of the shenanigans. A father comes looking for his daughter... The drinkers realize that the ale is watered down, or not Barrelbuster. Some items are missing from nearby houses...
I'd definitely try to do some mistaken identity stuff, i.e. if the party gets separated in the crowded tavern, the rogue could walk up to the "wizard" from behind, only to realize it's a complete stranger when they turn around
That goes double if there's a chase. I'd consider it a total win if one PC ends up chasing another, thinking it's one of the imposters
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
I want to write a humorous episode for my campaign. Some backstory - many levels ago the party met a (poor) bard, who was almost completely devoid of skill - he plays a lute decently, but his singing is pretty bad. He traveled with them for a bit and then went his own way. A few levels after that, there was a bardic competition held by the king, and while he was not good enough to compete in it, he did make some money by singing songs of the party, known as The Three.
The party is currently pissed off at the king for accusing them of stealing an heirloom sword and for murdering a guard. They have been cleared of the charges but there is still some tension in the town, so they expressed a desire to leave for a while. Perfect. I thought I would have them go someplace they have not been before (or often) and run into this bard singing songs of The Three, but doing it with the NPCs that are impersonating them. The party consists of:
Bloodhunter (male human, order of the Lycan) - player modeled this after Geralt of Rivia.
Wizard (female elf, transmuter)
Rogue Assassin (female half-elf)
I am looking for some ideas on how the interactions will go. I sorta wanted to make it Witcher-ish. The bard could be singing "throw a coin to your hunter" where the fake bloodhunter is, upon closer inspection, wearing makeup and/or prosthetics to look more monsterish.
Any other ideas?
I guess it depends on what the bard told the imposters. Did he tell them he made everything up, and there were no such real people as The Three? That the heroes the songs were based on were dead? Or are all four of them in on the scam?
For that matter, are the fakes even adventurers, or just paid actors? Or are they all struggling bards too? Maybe the bigger scheme is that once they've milked one area, they move to another town and switch around who's playing which role to throw off pursuit.
If you're just coming out of a false accusation story you may not want to do this, but it would really wind the PCs up if they leave one place where they had to beat trumped-up charges only to go to a new town they've never been to before and have a bunch of people shove unpaid bills and accusations of shenanigans in their faces because The Other Three have already come and gone...
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Good questions! I think of it as the fake three (who might be low level adventurers or scam artists) are trying to get free food, drink and rewards by pretending to be The Three. I am sort of imagining that the party rides into town, tired from a long day on the road. As they approach the inn, they hear laughter and music and people cheering. The Bloodhunter is a big drinker, so this will be good for them. Once inside, they are not remarked on . The party actually produces their own ale, called Barrelbuster Ale, so maybe they hear cries of "open another keg of that Barrelbuster!" and general cheers. Or maybe the party has already ended and they see a few people sleeping it off.
Trying to figure how to stretch out an event for a full session of play (3-4 hours), so some events might be:
1. Much cheering for the 3, but they find out it isn't them...
2. A chase maybe, where both parties are drunk and ineffective
3. A reveal of the fraud...
4. ?
I do like the idea of the shenanigans. A father comes looking for his daughter... The drinkers realize that the ale is watered down, or not Barrelbuster. Some items are missing from nearby houses...
I'd definitely try to do some mistaken identity stuff, i.e. if the party gets separated in the crowded tavern, the rogue could walk up to the "wizard" from behind, only to realize it's a complete stranger when they turn around
That goes double if there's a chase. I'd consider it a total win if one PC ends up chasing another, thinking it's one of the imposters
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Oooh, I have to work that in...