Hello, fellow DM'ers, I need some wild ideas on how this simple side quest my PC's are on to go completely off the wall wild and will allow me some flexibility for ideas. Basically, the run down here is that I have four PC's currently about to enter their 0.3, I did this so that it made sense why they would stay together as a group and not just meet in some tavern and save the world. Currently, they've traveled to one of the larger cities in this country and there was recently a bank robbery by this notorious gang and met another PC that's playing as a bounty hunter. What I need is some crazy ideas that I can work into this narrative that'll make it go completely off track and present the characters with some intense bonding time while killing shit, or doing whatever else. I want to do this so I can introduce other PC's, and it make sense why they all stick together. Plus, this gang has a bounty on their head issues by the taskmaster in the city, and when they return they will need to give a name and I want them to be able to all introduce their group like that.
That's a possible option, as long as the other party members are invested in chasing down the leader of the robbers. If any of them seem hesitant, you could drop hints that the leader of the robber's has some object or piece of information that the hesitant member wants. I remember a campaign I played in where we got caught up in helping with a coup in a criminal organization; my character refused to help because it was none of our business and the coup leader seemed as bloodthirsty as the people he wanted to overthrow, but changed his mind when the coup leader's brother asked for my character's help in course-correcting his brother.
The party got to have the bonding experience of raiding a den of criminals, and I had the RP opportunity to reason why my character would stay with the group and help. It also depends on your players and whether or not they prefer RP over combat.
Showing up to play D&D with the intent that you will NOT help the group or go along in a cooperative fashion is...[insert rude comment]. Most folks play D&D to kick some ass together. If you want to lone wolf, then you need to find a GM to do that for you. Generally speaking, set the bait and if they don't go for it, they don't go for it. You let THEM decide where they go. It would be unusual for the group to split up.
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"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
Possibly they could all get mugged, or confused for the people who did the bank heist. This would put them all together, and give them a reason to stick together for the time being, and then from there you could introduce some other plot hook that would interest or intrigue them, and just go from there.
Personally I would go the route of having them get ambushed / mugged by people with ties to the gang, or have the gang pull something while they are in the same area so they all have motivation to investigate that, even if it isnt a serious bonding experience, it is a good starting point to work from.
Showing up to play D&D with the intent that you will NOT help the group or go along in a cooperative fashion is...[insert rude comment]. Most folks play D&D to kick some ass together. If you want to lone wolf, then you need to find a GM to do that for you. Generally speaking, set the bait and if they don't go for it, they don't go for it. You let THEM decide where they go. It would be unusual for the group to split up.
I want to second that.
Wanting to play together for a common goal should be a baseline for your game. I DM'ed & was player in a "we all have different agendas" in the past 35 years of my RPG history and both adventures were short lived and caused lots of frustration on both the DM and the players's side.
Unless you don't have the main plot line streamlined (e.g. establish a long term goal for everyone in the party they can work on as a team), do not send them on crazy side quests that are fun for a fraction of the gaming table and leave the rest puzzled and eventually annoyed.
You want it to be off the wall crazy right? Well...*cracks knuckles* what if the bank robbery was just a cover to grab a specific artifact that was secretly held in the vault? Oh! And the gang isn't really a gang, or was used as a cover for a demon worshiping cult, that then taes the artifact to a secret temple(dungeon) where they are going to use it to bring their master into this world! Just make sure to throw in some pure maidens to hook the guys. Works every time.
One of the gang members could be using an alias (not surprising) but is actually known to a member of the party. Relative, old flame, something to create an emotional dilemma.
The gang ends up to be working for someone bigger, xanathar is an easy choice. Anything involving that crazy bastard will go sideways real quick.
The bounty hunter is working for someone specific.
The gang is working covertly for a guild, trying to undermine another one by stealing their gold reserves. Maybe working for the money lenders guild, while stealing from the people who owe them money to force them into foreclosure.
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Hello, fellow DM'ers, I need some wild ideas on how this simple side quest my PC's are on to go completely off the wall wild and will allow me some flexibility for ideas. Basically, the run down here is that I have four PC's currently about to enter their 0.3, I did this so that it made sense why they would stay together as a group and not just meet in some tavern and save the world. Currently, they've traveled to one of the larger cities in this country and there was recently a bank robbery by this notorious gang and met another PC that's playing as a bounty hunter. What I need is some crazy ideas that I can work into this narrative that'll make it go completely off track and present the characters with some intense bonding time while killing shit, or doing whatever else. I want to do this so I can introduce other PC's, and it make sense why they all stick together. Plus, this gang has a bounty on their head issues by the taskmaster in the city, and when they return they will need to give a name and I want them to be able to all introduce their group like that.
Do any of the characters have any interesting backstory tidbits that can be worked in to drive them off course?
Well, one of them in a bounty hunter. I was thinking maybe the leader of the robbers troupe could bolt.
That's a possible option, as long as the other party members are invested in chasing down the leader of the robbers. If any of them seem hesitant, you could drop hints that the leader of the robber's has some object or piece of information that the hesitant member wants. I remember a campaign I played in where we got caught up in helping with a coup in a criminal organization; my character refused to help because it was none of our business and the coup leader seemed as bloodthirsty as the people he wanted to overthrow, but changed his mind when the coup leader's brother asked for my character's help in course-correcting his brother.
The party got to have the bonding experience of raiding a den of criminals, and I had the RP opportunity to reason why my character would stay with the group and help. It also depends on your players and whether or not they prefer RP over combat.
Showing up to play D&D with the intent that you will NOT help the group or go along in a cooperative fashion is...[insert rude comment]. Most folks play D&D to kick some ass together. If you want to lone wolf, then you need to find a GM to do that for you. Generally speaking, set the bait and if they don't go for it, they don't go for it. You let THEM decide where they go. It would be unusual for the group to split up.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
Possibly they could all get mugged, or confused for the people who did the bank heist. This would put them all together, and give them a reason to stick together for the time being, and then from there you could introduce some other plot hook that would interest or intrigue them, and just go from there.
Personally I would go the route of having them get ambushed / mugged by people with ties to the gang, or have the gang pull something while they are in the same area so they all have motivation to investigate that, even if it isnt a serious bonding experience, it is a good starting point to work from.
I want to second that.
Wanting to play together for a common goal should be a baseline for your game. I DM'ed & was player in a "we all have different agendas" in the past 35 years of my RPG history and both adventures were short lived and caused lots of frustration on both the DM and the players's side.
Unless you don't have the main plot line streamlined (e.g. establish a long term goal for everyone in the party they can work on as a team), do not send them on crazy side quests that are fun for a fraction of the gaming table and leave the rest puzzled and eventually annoyed.
You want it to be off the wall crazy right? Well...*cracks knuckles* what if the bank robbery was just a cover to grab a specific artifact that was secretly held in the vault? Oh! And the gang isn't really a gang, or was used as a cover for a demon worshiping cult, that then taes the artifact to a secret temple(dungeon) where they are going to use it to bring their master into this world! Just make sure to throw in some pure maidens to hook the guys. Works every time.
Yes.
One of the gang members could be using an alias (not surprising) but is actually known to a member of the party. Relative, old flame, something to create an emotional dilemma.
The gang ends up to be working for someone bigger, xanathar is an easy choice. Anything involving that crazy bastard will go sideways real quick.
The bounty hunter is working for someone specific.
The gang is working covertly for a guild, trying to undermine another one by stealing their gold reserves. Maybe working for the money lenders guild, while stealing from the people who owe them money to force them into foreclosure.