So I'm running/ designing a one shot. I and my 4 players have about the same amount of D&D experience, which is to say, we have almost no experience at all. I'm not nervous about DMing, I have a solid grasp of the rules and I'm good at thinking on my feet when things get hazey.
The idea is simple, my players have been thrown into a prison so that they can break out a crime boss from the inside. Get loose, get the guy, get out. I want the game to be more about creative problem solving than combat. A designer I am not however.
What I want from you guys are ideas for potential skill check events, puzzles, hurdles, ECT. AND y'alls advice on how to actually run them. ((I don't want to just have them roll athletics to escape a Sentinel Golem, that's boring! Also how do I handle the inevitable failures?))
I've made pre-gen characters that I've assigned rolls; tank, rogue, healer, wizard; all level 3 with bare bones equipment (smuggled in by a contact that's suppose to give them a map but he hasn't shown up yet...). I'm going to pick two players to give a secret. One is going to be an undercover cop, so they should try to minimize collateral damage, without giving themselves away. The other has a secret Vendetta against this boss and wants to sabotage the mission without getting caught.
So guys, any advice about encounter design or map creation is most welcome.
Here's a pretty solid prison map you can use if you want:
As for things to do in said prison....
Maybe they run across another inmate that threatens to tell the guards if the party refuses to do a task for them on their way out?
Maybe their original exit on the map is currently being used for some training purposes and the party needs to find another way out?
Maybe, since their target is a pretty high level crime boss, this sort of dungeon have special puzzle doors or requires certain magical keys to get around.
Maybe the prison has just got in a batch of new security golems or some other monster to improve prison security that the mission giver was unaware of.
Assuming you are in prison, here are some challenges that come to mind:
Getting out of your cells to assemble together
Dealing with guards who don't like you getting out of your cells to assemble (stealth or strength?)
(optional) Getting useful gear to fight with
Locating your target
Getting him out of his cell - Logistically as well as convincing him to come with you
Locating an exit to the prison - Here's where you can really stretch your creative muscles
(optional) Getting your confiscated gear back
Getting to the exit past guards as well as obstacles
Getting out of the prison and ditching any pursuers
Anything and everything else you feel like inserting along the way
OK, so once you make a list of your challenges, you need to come up with the way you want to present them to the players because this is what they will consider first when dealing with them. Are there barred windows the players can attempt to work loose? Does the guard come by every hour? Is he a jerk or is he sympathetic? The list goes on. Come up with a benefit for success and a cost for failure for each step along the way, but don't worry about being too specific because the players will definitely throw a curveball at you and try something you haven't considered. Think in terms of how successes and failures might alter the narrative and then you can apply this story path to success or failure wherever you want.
As far as traps, you may find yourself with fewer of the obvious dungeon traps that make sense here (or maybe you won't). The old swinging axe blade or spiked pit trap might not have a place in this jail, but the lever the players find that will open the door to free their target might just open a whole row of cells instead. This could be a distraction (good) and/or it could free a prisoner with a grudge and a prison shank in his hand. Think of traps in more general terms. Rounding a corner? Make a perception check to see if there's a few guards coming your way. Running away and come up to a door? Roll a persuasion check to see if you can convince the prisoner on the other side to unlock it and let the party in.
That should be enough to get the creative juices flowing. Feel free to workshop your ideas in this thread for feedback.
TexasDevin already hit on most of the potential challenges the PCs may encounter. A couple more ideas:
Depending on how high security this prison is, the prisoners might be allowed "yard time" or might eat together in a common area. This can provide the players with an opportunity to get to know other inmates, scout the prison, and hatch a plan. Another prisoner might even overhear them and blackmail them into being let in on the plan.
Consider where the PCs and the crime boss are being held. Maybe the PCs are posing as low-level thugs, so their cells are not particularly secure, but the crime boss is being held in the prison's most secure wing. The PCs might not even know exactly where this is or how to get to it.
Consider corruption in the prison. Maybe some guards can be bribed or otherwise persuaded to help. Maybe whoever sent the PCs to break out the crime boss has an inside man.
Consider prison "politics." Maybe the crime boss is in danger because there are rival gang members inside the same prison. Maybe it's not as simple as just breaking out the crime boss - they might also need to make sure he doesn't get murdered by someone with grudge.
I would be really cautious about giving one PC a secret objective to sabotage the mission. First, because depending on the scenario, this might be ridiculously easy to do, as there's so many things that can go wrong in a prison break. Second, because this will probably sow some resentment among your players. Having an NPC ally working to sabotage the mission (or who is just incompetent) might be a better idea. The "undercover cop" secret is okay, as long as that PC still wants the mission to succeed.
Thanks for all the advice guys, really solid stuff! Even the stuff I'm not going to use really got the juices flowing.
Some more advice needed:
I have an idea to keep the pace steady and create a sense of urgency; When ever they are debating what to do next or dragging their heels (or if I just feel like it) I flip a 5 minute hourglass. After five minutes, if nothing is done I roll a d4, if it lands on a min(1) or max(4) something happens ("a patrol rounds the corner!"). They can do things to give themselves "advantage", with this advantage the die becomes a d6, if they earn another it becomes a d8 ect. I'll call this the urgency die and I'll award it like inspiration ("Cool idea trans-mutating those iron bars to wood!" or "That riot you instigated has caused a great distraction!"). This ability to earn advantage should encourage them to not just blitz to the objective. Actual Question: Is this a bad Idea? Would 3 minutes be better than 5?
I'm also going to use a 1 minute timer for in-combat decisions, Yay or nah?
I'm going to post a "blue print" of the map for them to look at during the days leading up to the game. They will not have a map during the game however, unless they find one. I'll give them the chance to plan the heist in character for the next few days leading up to their arrest (game day). This will let them stretch their roleplaying legs and get to know their charters. It will also let me smash their plans if I'm able to catch on to the plan. Actual Question: Should an NPC just give them a plan? How privy to the plan should I be? I kind of want to be in the dark and react to them as the Warden would.
I'm going to have them all roll d20s at the start and whoever rolls the highest I'm going to pull into the other room and assign the cop secret. I think a clandestine meeting with only one player will add to my devious DM mystique. My players are a Mother, Father, and 2 adult daughters, the secret (I've abandon the sabotage secret) exist because I'm worried they will be TOO cohesive. Should I abandon the secrets all together?
Any Ideas for opportunities to upgrade their "Urgency die"? How could I lure them to those opportunities?
How should I handle wizard components in jail?
Thanks again for all the help guys. I'm excited about the potential of this urgency die mechanic! The game is Saturday, I'll let y'all know how it goes. Heck, if it isn't considered Spam I may create another thread with a review of the session!
So it may be too late for this session but I think the urgency is good. i do agree with a 3 minute timer since it Would add to the tense feeling.
As for a plan maybe have a lot of counter plans to their plans. You can send a strong counter plan to stop them if you think they did a poor job with their plan. The idea would be, for example in the eyes of a warden you always notice the prisoner sits in the same spot near the cell bars so you keep an extra eye on him. If he pulls on the bars while a guard can see it then a guard gets posted to watch that and so on. Keeping yourself in the dark sounds fun and gices you more of an active role as a GM.
For wizard components you could always ask a sleezy guard to get them or use suplement stuff you can find in the jail. Maybe make spells with these incompatible components weaker or have a higher chance of failure.
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So I'm running/ designing a one shot. I and my 4 players have about the same amount of D&D experience, which is to say, we have almost no experience at all. I'm not nervous about DMing, I have a solid grasp of the rules and I'm good at thinking on my feet when things get hazey.
The idea is simple, my players have been thrown into a prison so that they can break out a crime boss from the inside. Get loose, get the guy, get out. I want the game to be more about creative problem solving than combat. A designer I am not however.
What I want from you guys are ideas for potential skill check events, puzzles, hurdles, ECT. AND y'alls advice on how to actually run them. ((I don't want to just have them roll athletics to escape a Sentinel Golem, that's boring! Also how do I handle the inevitable failures?))
I've made pre-gen characters that I've assigned rolls; tank, rogue, healer, wizard; all level 3 with bare bones equipment (smuggled in by a contact that's suppose to give them a map but he hasn't shown up yet...). I'm going to pick two players to give a secret. One is going to be an undercover cop, so they should try to minimize collateral damage, without giving themselves away. The other has a secret Vendetta against this boss and wants to sabotage the mission without getting caught.
So guys, any advice about encounter design or map creation is most welcome.
Here's a pretty solid prison map you can use if you want:
As for things to do in said prison....
Assuming you are in prison, here are some challenges that come to mind:
OK, so once you make a list of your challenges, you need to come up with the way you want to present them to the players because this is what they will consider first when dealing with them. Are there barred windows the players can attempt to work loose? Does the guard come by every hour? Is he a jerk or is he sympathetic? The list goes on. Come up with a benefit for success and a cost for failure for each step along the way, but don't worry about being too specific because the players will definitely throw a curveball at you and try something you haven't considered. Think in terms of how successes and failures might alter the narrative and then you can apply this story path to success or failure wherever you want.
As far as traps, you may find yourself with fewer of the obvious dungeon traps that make sense here (or maybe you won't). The old swinging axe blade or spiked pit trap might not have a place in this jail, but the lever the players find that will open the door to free their target might just open a whole row of cells instead. This could be a distraction (good) and/or it could free a prisoner with a grudge and a prison shank in his hand. Think of traps in more general terms. Rounding a corner? Make a perception check to see if there's a few guards coming your way. Running away and come up to a door? Roll a persuasion check to see if you can convince the prisoner on the other side to unlock it and let the party in.
That should be enough to get the creative juices flowing. Feel free to workshop your ideas in this thread for feedback.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
TexasDevin already hit on most of the potential challenges the PCs may encounter. A couple more ideas:
I would be really cautious about giving one PC a secret objective to sabotage the mission. First, because depending on the scenario, this might be ridiculously easy to do, as there's so many things that can go wrong in a prison break. Second, because this will probably sow some resentment among your players. Having an NPC ally working to sabotage the mission (or who is just incompetent) might be a better idea. The "undercover cop" secret is okay, as long as that PC still wants the mission to succeed.
Thanks for all the advice guys, really solid stuff! Even the stuff I'm not going to use really got the juices flowing.
Some more advice needed:
I have an idea to keep the pace steady and create a sense of urgency; When ever they are debating what to do next or dragging their heels (or if I just feel like it) I flip a 5 minute hourglass. After five minutes, if nothing is done I roll a d4, if it lands on a min(1) or max(4) something happens ("a patrol rounds the corner!"). They can do things to give themselves "advantage", with this advantage the die becomes a d6, if they earn another it becomes a d8 ect. I'll call this the urgency die and I'll award it like inspiration ("Cool idea trans-mutating those iron bars to wood!" or "That riot you instigated has caused a great distraction!"). This ability to earn advantage should encourage them to not just blitz to the objective. Actual Question: Is this a bad Idea? Would 3 minutes be better than 5?
I'm also going to use a 1 minute timer for in-combat decisions, Yay or nah?
I'm going to post a "blue print" of the map for them to look at during the days leading up to the game. They will not have a map during the game however, unless they find one. I'll give them the chance to plan the heist in character for the next few days leading up to their arrest (game day). This will let them stretch their roleplaying legs and get to know their charters. It will also let me smash their plans if I'm able to catch on to the plan. Actual Question: Should an NPC just give them a plan? How privy to the plan should I be? I kind of want to be in the dark and react to them as the Warden would.
I'm going to have them all roll d20s at the start and whoever rolls the highest I'm going to pull into the other room and assign the cop secret. I think a clandestine meeting with only one player will add to my devious DM mystique. My players are a Mother, Father, and 2 adult daughters, the secret (I've abandon the sabotage secret) exist because I'm worried they will be TOO cohesive. Should I abandon the secrets all together?
Any Ideas for opportunities to upgrade their "Urgency die"? How could I lure them to those opportunities?
How should I handle wizard components in jail?
Thanks again for all the help guys. I'm excited about the potential of this urgency die mechanic! The game is Saturday, I'll let y'all know how it goes. Heck, if it isn't considered Spam I may create another thread with a review of the session!
So it may be too late for this session but I think the urgency is good. i do agree with a 3 minute timer since it Would add to the tense feeling.
As for a plan maybe have a lot of counter plans to their plans. You can send a strong counter plan to stop them if you think they did a poor job with their plan. The idea would be, for example in the eyes of a warden you always notice the prisoner sits in the same spot near the cell bars so you keep an extra eye on him. If he pulls on the bars while a guard can see it then a guard gets posted to watch that and so on. Keeping yourself in the dark sounds fun and gices you more of an active role as a GM.
For wizard components you could always ask a sleezy guard to get them or use suplement stuff you can find in the jail. Maybe make spells with these incompatible components weaker or have a higher chance of failure.