Well you said it was a treasure hunting campaign so you could pull an Indiana Jones’s cliche and have the nice trap the party in whatever temple or building they are in.
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“And the Lord spake, saying, 'First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then, shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out! Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thou foe, who being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it.'"
“And the Lord spake, saying, 'First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then, shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out! Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thou foe, who being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it.'"
“And the Lord spake, saying, 'First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then, shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out! Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thou foe, who being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it.'"
You could have the npc lure your players to a place they say the treasure is located then spring an ambush on the pc’s
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“And the Lord spake, saying, 'First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then, shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out! Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thou foe, who being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it.'"
Keep me posted! A apocalypse/ treasure hunting campaign sounds cool!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“And the Lord spake, saying, 'First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then, shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out! Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thou foe, who being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it.'"
oh he could alter the translated code from the temple walls.
Sounds great!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“And the Lord spake, saying, 'First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then, shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out! Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thou foe, who being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it.'"
“And the Lord spake, saying, 'First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then, shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out! Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thou foe, who being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it.'"
I will try. I do have some notes (it also takes place at a boarding school for monsters)
School makes it easy. A teacher who’s been helping them turns out to be working against them. Or not against them so much as for the BBEG. The teacher had been feeding them information about various items, basically encouraging them to find the things. Then, once these items are all in one place, the teacher swoops in and takes them.
If you go this route, be very careful about how you have the teacher phrase things when they are talking to the PCs. If they don’t lie, they don’t need to make a deception check. PCs with a high insight may still notice something is off, however. And I wouldn’t plot armor it (I’d actually say if you do it’s basically a railroad). If the characters realize what’s happening, let them. They thwart the teacher and it’s a big win. Of course, the BBEG has others working to get those items, and they won’t be nearly as nice about it.
For a betrayal to mean anything the party need to at least on some basic level trust the NPC that is going to betray them. Setting up the NPC from day one, allows the NPC to share the party's outrage, annoyance, or seemingly feel the pressure of the rival group.
Fortunately, you've got a world of inspiration to pull from. It's no bad thing that the 'fantasy boarding school', 'treasure hunt', and 'betrayal' themes are well trodden cliches. Perhaps the oldest and best one to take lessons from is that of Aladdin - and not the version created by the story thieves (a mouse themed company).
Aladdin is a story in which a treasure hunt and not one, but two betrayals occur. At first the sorcerer in the story proves his goodwill to Aladdin by promising to set him up as a wealthy merchant. He extends this goodwill by lending Aladdin a magic ring. This act exploits both Aladdin's greed an ambition. Then of course the sorcerer betrays Aladdin in the booby-trapped cave. Later in the story, the Sorcerer hears that Aladdin has become rich and successful and married. He then tricks the wife by seemingly offering something of value, for something of no value (a brand new shiny Lamp, in exchange for the dusty, dirty old lamp). Of course the wife doesn't know of the magic lamp's true value and so driven by greed makes the trade. Side note, what is wonderful about Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, is that Aladdin isn't a hero, he's just as greedy as the Sorcerer.
Anyhoo, greed and ambition are the things I'd suggest being sparked here. In a thrilling treasure hunt tale there aren't any heroes. No-one who sets out to search for treasure is a hero - that extends to Indiana Jones by the by. Quartermain, Croft, Hawkins - the key is always that they're greedy or bored and thrill-seeking. Treasure Hunters are fundamentally selfish.
So with that in mind if I'm constructing an NPC whose going to betray the protagonists (the party), I'm looking at how it happened in these kinds of stories. If you've got a boarding school you've got a great opportunity for the bittersweet interactions between Hawkins and Silver in of all things Muppets Treasure Island. Unlike the novel where Hawkin's parents own the Inn, the Muppets version attempts to make Jim more sympathetic by having him be an orphan. This then really helps create a strong relationship between Hawkins and Long John Silver. In both the versions of course Jim and Hawkins do lean on one another throughout the story, and despite Silver's betrayals of Hawkins he takes some good memories away with the bad. Jim letting Silver sail off in the Muppet's Version, or ending the novel assuming that Silver must have settled down happily somewhere.
Having the betrayer appear as a parental figure, someone who the party can look up to, can help. However, having the betrayer actively save the life of the party will enhance this. If you want this NPC to be particularly difficult to pin down you can have the betrayer betray the party in a way that still allows for escape. So, for example imprisoning the party in a cell but leaving all their weapons, tools, and rations outside the cell. Then, as they turn to flee they throw a lockpick and torsion wrench just into reach of the party. They want to betray the party by getting the treasure for themselves, but really don't want to see the party die.
I guess in short I'm saying read, watch, and follow Disney's example - steal from other writers.
lucy has siblings; Janet, Lucas, and Johnny. disowned by parents for being bi. currently single. sister Janet is an AA (acolyte of the apocalypse). sent to GWA (glasswater academy) as punishment.
Ace (an infernal and the "Judas")
Bit of a slut: dated 10 guys the previous year, but currently steady with Alex. here to escape father, a prominent demon who founded the AA. The most notorious ex is orc Nē- king Henry ,the AA chapter leader
Alex (a werewolf)
currently going steady with Ace (his first BF). Son of Johnathan, a werewolf pack leader, and a war god. has 1/2 brother, Lucian, a known AA member. is being reached out to. initiated?
now my players have fast tracked me into starting today by asking. "is the campaign ready yet"
I'd suggest 'sorry, not yet but in the meantime we can play some one-shots or run an official adventure'.
Genuinely it's what I do. I've literally just ended a campaign (Level 1-17) and will take one week off, another week to chat to players and see what they want from a campaign and adventure. Then I will offer a one-shot in the next week. If the table is players who are decent, they'll understand. If you're looking for some high quality one-shots I'd recommend Kobold Press' adventures (https://koboldpress.com/kpstore/product-category/adventures/), they run around $5 for the PDFs. They also do a bundle of 13 adventures for $50 or so: (https://koboldpress.com/kpstore/product/tales-of-the-valiant-epic-adventures-bundle/) They are designed for Tales of the Valiant but work perfectly well for 5e with no modifications.
As long as you think that the content that you have prepared will keep them occupied, you should be fine. Usually I just prepare what I want for the biweek and then I play through it.
If you want any more advice, make sure the NPC that is betraying them has worked their way deeply into the characters trust, while simultaneously framing another as a bad person and possibly evil. Drop clues to the fact that there's a traitor and the characters will likely go off on the red herring, letting the other NPC do some evil mischief.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
He doesn't have much besides the skin on his bones. Me: I'll take the skin on his bones, then.
"You see a gigantic, monstrous praying mantis burst from out of the ground. It sprays a stream of acid from it's mouth at one soldier, dissolving him instantly, then it turns and chomps another soldier in half with it's- "
"When are we gonna take a snack break?"
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so in Act III of my treasure-hunt campaign I'm working on, one of my NPC party members betrays the rest of the party. how would I do this?
p.s. my acts are as follows:
Act I intro to world
Act II competition enters the picture
Act III plot twist (betrayal)
Act IV climax/ end
DM: ...the goblin slaps you with the fish he is holding.
Me: what are we, in Nineveh?
(insert DM laughing/dying noises here)
Well you said it was a treasure hunting campaign so you could pull an Indiana Jones’s cliche and have the nice trap the party in whatever temple or building they are in.
“And the Lord spake, saying, 'First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then, shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out! Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thou foe, who being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it.'"
it's more like an investigation to prevent apocalypse. but not a bad idea.
DM: ...the goblin slaps you with the fish he is holding.
Me: what are we, in Nineveh?
(insert DM laughing/dying noises here)
Oh ok so it’s more mystery than treasure hunting?
“And the Lord spake, saying, 'First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then, shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out! Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thou foe, who being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it.'"
You could have the npc lure your pcs to an area he says the treasure is but in reality it is an ambush
“And the Lord spake, saying, 'First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then, shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out! Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thou foe, who being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it.'"
You could have the npc lure your players to a place they say the treasure is located then spring an ambush on the pc’s
“And the Lord spake, saying, 'First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then, shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out! Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thou foe, who being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it.'"
Keep me posted! A apocalypse/ treasure hunting campaign sounds cool!
“And the Lord spake, saying, 'First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then, shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out! Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thou foe, who being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it.'"
oh he could alter the translated code from the temple walls.
DM: ...the goblin slaps you with the fish he is holding.
Me: what are we, in Nineveh?
(insert DM laughing/dying noises here)
Sounds great!
“And the Lord spake, saying, 'First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then, shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out! Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thou foe, who being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it.'"
I will try. I do have some notes (it also takes place at a boarding school for monsters)
DM: ...the goblin slaps you with the fish he is holding.
Me: what are we, in Nineveh?
(insert DM laughing/dying noises here)
👍
“And the Lord spake, saying, 'First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then, shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out! Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thou foe, who being naughty in my sight, shall snuff it.'"
School makes it easy. A teacher who’s been helping them turns out to be working against them. Or not against them so much as for the BBEG. The teacher had been feeding them information about various items, basically encouraging them to find the things. Then, once these items are all in one place, the teacher swoops in and takes them.
If you go this route, be very careful about how you have the teacher phrase things when they are talking to the PCs. If they don’t lie, they don’t need to make a deception check. PCs with a high insight may still notice something is off, however. And I wouldn’t plot armor it (I’d actually say if you do it’s basically a railroad). If the characters realize what’s happening, let them. They thwart the teacher and it’s a big win. Of course, the BBEG has others working to get those items, and they won’t be nearly as nice about it.
also not a bad idea but the "judas" is another student who is in the party.
DM: ...the goblin slaps you with the fish he is holding.
Me: what are we, in Nineveh?
(insert DM laughing/dying noises here)
In short, don't leave it until the third act.
For a betrayal to mean anything the party need to at least on some basic level trust the NPC that is going to betray them. Setting up the NPC from day one, allows the NPC to share the party's outrage, annoyance, or seemingly feel the pressure of the rival group.
Fortunately, you've got a world of inspiration to pull from. It's no bad thing that the 'fantasy boarding school', 'treasure hunt', and 'betrayal' themes are well trodden cliches. Perhaps the oldest and best one to take lessons from is that of Aladdin - and not the version created by the story thieves (a mouse themed company).
Aladdin is a story in which a treasure hunt and not one, but two betrayals occur. At first the sorcerer in the story proves his goodwill to Aladdin by promising to set him up as a wealthy merchant. He extends this goodwill by lending Aladdin a magic ring. This act exploits both Aladdin's greed an ambition. Then of course the sorcerer betrays Aladdin in the booby-trapped cave. Later in the story, the Sorcerer hears that Aladdin has become rich and successful and married. He then tricks the wife by seemingly offering something of value, for something of no value (a brand new shiny Lamp, in exchange for the dusty, dirty old lamp). Of course the wife doesn't know of the magic lamp's true value and so driven by greed makes the trade. Side note, what is wonderful about Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, is that Aladdin isn't a hero, he's just as greedy as the Sorcerer.
Anyhoo, greed and ambition are the things I'd suggest being sparked here. In a thrilling treasure hunt tale there aren't any heroes. No-one who sets out to search for treasure is a hero - that extends to Indiana Jones by the by. Quartermain, Croft, Hawkins - the key is always that they're greedy or bored and thrill-seeking. Treasure Hunters are fundamentally selfish.
So with that in mind if I'm constructing an NPC whose going to betray the protagonists (the party), I'm looking at how it happened in these kinds of stories. If you've got a boarding school you've got a great opportunity for the bittersweet interactions between Hawkins and Silver in of all things Muppets Treasure Island. Unlike the novel where Hawkin's parents own the Inn, the Muppets version attempts to make Jim more sympathetic by having him be an orphan. This then really helps create a strong relationship between Hawkins and Long John Silver. In both the versions of course Jim and Hawkins do lean on one another throughout the story, and despite Silver's betrayals of Hawkins he takes some good memories away with the bad. Jim letting Silver sail off in the Muppet's Version, or ending the novel assuming that Silver must have settled down happily somewhere.
Having the betrayer appear as a parental figure, someone who the party can look up to, can help. However, having the betrayer actively save the life of the party will enhance this. If you want this NPC to be particularly difficult to pin down you can have the betrayer betray the party in a way that still allows for escape. So, for example imprisoning the party in a cell but leaving all their weapons, tools, and rations outside the cell. Then, as they turn to flee they throw a lockpick and torsion wrench just into reach of the party. They want to betray the party by getting the treasure for themselves, but really don't want to see the party die.
I guess in short I'm saying read, watch, and follow Disney's example - steal from other writers.
DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests - 'Better' Player Character Injury Tables?
Actor, Writer, Director & Teacher by day - GM/DM in my off hours.
thanks for the suggestion actually very helpful.
DM: ...the goblin slaps you with the fish he is holding.
Me: what are we, in Nineveh?
(insert DM laughing/dying noises here)
misc NPC party member lore.
Lucy (a siren)
lucy has siblings; Janet, Lucas, and Johnny. disowned by parents for being bi. currently single. sister Janet is an AA (acolyte of the apocalypse). sent to GWA (glasswater academy) as punishment.
Ace (an infernal and the "Judas")
Bit of a slut: dated 10 guys the previous year, but currently steady with Alex. here to escape father, a prominent demon who founded the AA. The most notorious ex is orc Nē- king Henry ,the AA chapter leader
Alex (a werewolf)
currently going steady with Ace (his first BF). Son of Johnathan, a werewolf pack leader, and a war god. has 1/2 brother, Lucian, a known AA member. is being reached out to. initiated?
DM: ...the goblin slaps you with the fish he is holding.
Me: what are we, in Nineveh?
(insert DM laughing/dying noises here)
now my players have fast tracked me into starting today by asking. "is the campaign ready yet"
DM: ...the goblin slaps you with the fish he is holding.
Me: what are we, in Nineveh?
(insert DM laughing/dying noises here)
I'd suggest 'sorry, not yet but in the meantime we can play some one-shots or run an official adventure'.
Genuinely it's what I do. I've literally just ended a campaign (Level 1-17) and will take one week off, another week to chat to players and see what they want from a campaign and adventure. Then I will offer a one-shot in the next week. If the table is players who are decent, they'll understand. If you're looking for some high quality one-shots I'd recommend Kobold Press' adventures (https://koboldpress.com/kpstore/product-category/adventures/), they run around $5 for the PDFs. They also do a bundle of 13 adventures for $50 or so: (https://koboldpress.com/kpstore/product/tales-of-the-valiant-epic-adventures-bundle/) They are designed for Tales of the Valiant but work perfectly well for 5e with no modifications.
DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests - 'Better' Player Character Injury Tables?
Actor, Writer, Director & Teacher by day - GM/DM in my off hours.
actually I think i'm ready to begin it
DM: ...the goblin slaps you with the fish he is holding.
Me: what are we, in Nineveh?
(insert DM laughing/dying noises here)
As long as you think that the content that you have prepared will keep them occupied, you should be fine. Usually I just prepare what I want for the biweek and then I play through it.
If you want any more advice, make sure the NPC that is betraying them has worked their way deeply into the characters trust, while simultaneously framing another as a bad person and possibly evil. Drop clues to the fact that there's a traitor and the characters will likely go off on the red herring, letting the other NPC do some evil mischief.
He doesn't have much besides the skin on his bones. Me: I'll take the skin on his bones, then.
"You see a gigantic, monstrous praying mantis burst from out of the ground. It sprays a stream of acid from it's mouth at one soldier, dissolving him instantly, then it turns and chomps another soldier in half with it's- "
"When are we gonna take a snack break?"