I am running a campaign in a port city called Eregor that had a contract with the Autumn Court of my world, and it's going well so far. The party is currently level 3 and are planning to take down the current tyrannical government and oppressive economic system, and I plan to guide them through that by the end of level 5. At some point after this, they learn that one of the players' patron is planning on destroying the city by taking control of a kraken. The party would have to follow the patron's cultists to the kraken's lair and try to stop them from succeeding at this (the plan is for them to fail at stopping the cultists because some of the cultists already left with the kraken). However, this could be a large gap and I need some kind of buffer encounters or arcs for the party to go through before entering this part of the story. Any ideas?
I would say you have a ton of stuff following the collapse of the tyrannical leaders. Do they have minions in the city that will want revenge? Maybe they had alliances with foreign powers and these either want to move in to the power vacuum, or over throw the new government? I would say you can easily stretch out a number of games with just the fall out, and maybe they need to travel to said foreign land to deal with threats?
A few encounters to set up the sense of this government, maybe have them fall in with a group of peaceful resisters who are meeting in the basement of the tavern they are staying in, or have the city watch have a jobs board, there can be all sorts of things in the sewers that need killing.
Alternativly the more tyrannical a government the more entrenched the black market and smuggling linked to that will be, maybe a chance to get some of the criminal gangs onside get them working together seeing that without the harsh government coming down hard there will be more coin with less risk. You could have them work to find a spy reporting back the the government, maybe an opportunity to feed false information.
Have them witness the town guard beat up a defencleas women or steal from an old mans market stall. Use the opportunity to just reinforce the feeling of oppression, missions that have to take place after curfew are good for that, finding ways of sneaking through the town at night avoiding the guards looking for curfew breakers. Maybe they need to find a way to forge or get some documents to allow them out at night.
Maybe they want to sow discord, give them the chance to raid a key government members residence, or stage a breakout from prison of a well known popular local leader who would be perfect to put on the throne once the government is removed.
Of course they may choose to go with the coin, shop all the people that want to overthrow the government for coin, and then leave having not cared about enacting any change but all the richer for betraying a bunch of NPCs (I talk here from experience of giving one group much the same opportunity lol)
I'd use it to tie the arcs together. Maybe the kraken is plan B for the patron, where plan A is to back some sort of foreign attack or internal struggle for who fills the power vacuum in the city. Once the players foil that, the patron decides to play hardball and decides it just wants to level the place to the ground. Could be a fun reveal that not only is the patron behind the kraken cultists, but he was behind another scheme that they've already encountered.
I'd use it to tie the arcs together. Maybe the kraken is plan B for the patron, where plan A is to back some sort of foreign attack or internal struggle for who fills the power vacuum in the city. Once the players foil that, the patron decides to play hardball and decides it just wants to level the place to the ground. Could be a fun reveal that not only is the patron behind the kraken cultists, but he was behind another scheme that they've already encountered.
Actually, the patron gains power by capturing drowned souls, so this wouldn't work. Putting them behind a different scheme in secret is a great idea, though.
Well, after the first government falls you could have an arc about determining who will rule. Set a few conflicting candidates and have their factions clash whether they like it or not. You could have an honorable but close minded man, a progressive but morally bankrupt one, a militaristic one who wants to impose order and ward off external enemies but that could easily fall into dictatorship, the least reprehensible of the former government liutenants who already know how things work, a good candidate but unknown and with no support, etc. Just choose a few axis for them to have different opinions on how they go about it: religion, public order, corruption, military investment, isolationist or not, open vs closed market, immigration, education and magic, etc.
Alternatively, if you are looking for just urban encounters and sidequests, there are a few.
They could fight a drug cartel that made a npc they know an adict and took them when they couldn't pay.
They could have to deal with rabid dogs or plague bearing pests and destroy their nest before it becomes a health hazzard since the authorities are doing nothing.
A noble could have a private menagerie or zoo and one of the creatures could have escaped.
A wizard's experiment escaped from its lab and is terrorising the city (based on Frankestein, Jeckill and Hyde, the invisible man or the golem)
A serial killer could be in the loose like jack the ripper.
A xenophobic gang could take offense of them wandering in their turf.
They could witness a kidnapping of a rich kid or poor ones taken off the street for a nefarious purpose (experiments, sport, etc).
They could be invited to a wedding and something happens (someone crashes it or the ring is stolen or they are missing booze)
A storm could hit the port and they have to rescue people from sinking ships or flooded streets.
Underwater monsters might attack the city because they learnt what the patron is planning.
A criminal they captured before might want revenge.
A famous cat burglar is in town and they either have to stop them or they are hired by them for their greatest heist yet.
A carnival or festival might come to town and they get involved in carnival games like a city wide water/food fight.
They find and infiltrate an underground casino/ fight club.
A bar fight expands on the street and they have to decide who to help without knowing what started it.
A private detective hires them to investigate an auction house (it helps introduce any mcguffin you might like). It could be used to smuggle illegal subtances or someone might try to steal an item.
They are hired by a gang to help fight another but when the time comes, more and more gangs keep showing up and it becomes a surprise seven way brawl.
Some NPC they know offers them the chance to invest in their business and become a co-owner.
Well, those are the ones off the top of my head.
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I am running a campaign in a port city called Eregor that had a contract with the Autumn Court of my world, and it's going well so far. The party is currently level 3 and are planning to take down the current tyrannical government and oppressive economic system, and I plan to guide them through that by the end of level 5. At some point after this, they learn that one of the players' patron is planning on destroying the city by taking control of a kraken. The party would have to follow the patron's cultists to the kraken's lair and try to stop them from succeeding at this (the plan is for them to fail at stopping the cultists because some of the cultists already left with the kraken). However, this could be a large gap and I need some kind of buffer encounters or arcs for the party to go through before entering this part of the story. Any ideas?
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My homebrew stuff:
Spells, Monsters, Magic Items, Feats, Subclasses.
I am an Archfey, but nobody seems to notice.
Extended Signature
I would say you have a ton of stuff following the collapse of the tyrannical leaders. Do they have minions in the city that will want revenge? Maybe they had alliances with foreign powers and these either want to move in to the power vacuum, or over throw the new government? I would say you can easily stretch out a number of games with just the fall out, and maybe they need to travel to said foreign land to deal with threats?
A few encounters to set up the sense of this government, maybe have them fall in with a group of peaceful resisters who are meeting in the basement of the tavern they are staying in, or have the city watch have a jobs board, there can be all sorts of things in the sewers that need killing.
Alternativly the more tyrannical a government the more entrenched the black market and smuggling linked to that will be, maybe a chance to get some of the criminal gangs onside get them working together seeing that without the harsh government coming down hard there will be more coin with less risk. You could have them work to find a spy reporting back the the government, maybe an opportunity to feed false information.
Have them witness the town guard beat up a defencleas women or steal from an old mans market stall. Use the opportunity to just reinforce the feeling of oppression, missions that have to take place after curfew are good for that, finding ways of sneaking through the town at night avoiding the guards looking for curfew breakers. Maybe they need to find a way to forge or get some documents to allow them out at night.
Maybe they want to sow discord, give them the chance to raid a key government members residence, or stage a breakout from prison of a well known popular local leader who would be perfect to put on the throne once the government is removed.
Of course they may choose to go with the coin, shop all the people that want to overthrow the government for coin, and then leave having not cared about enacting any change but all the richer for betraying a bunch of NPCs (I talk here from experience of giving one group much the same opportunity lol)
The city's enemies see the chaos unfolding and view it as the perfect chance to invade.
I'd use it to tie the arcs together. Maybe the kraken is plan B for the patron, where plan A is to back some sort of foreign attack or internal struggle for who fills the power vacuum in the city. Once the players foil that, the patron decides to play hardball and decides it just wants to level the place to the ground. Could be a fun reveal that not only is the patron behind the kraken cultists, but he was behind another scheme that they've already encountered.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
Actually, the patron gains power by capturing drowned souls, so this wouldn't work. Putting them behind a different scheme in secret is a great idea, though.
Come participate in the Competition of the Finest Brews, Edition XXVIII?
My homebrew stuff:
Spells, Monsters, Magic Items, Feats, Subclasses.
I am an Archfey, but nobody seems to notice.
Extended Signature
Well, after the first government falls you could have an arc about determining who will rule. Set a few conflicting candidates and have their factions clash whether they like it or not. You could have an honorable but close minded man, a progressive but morally bankrupt one, a militaristic one who wants to impose order and ward off external enemies but that could easily fall into dictatorship, the least reprehensible of the former government liutenants who already know how things work, a good candidate but unknown and with no support, etc. Just choose a few axis for them to have different opinions on how they go about it: religion, public order, corruption, military investment, isolationist or not, open vs closed market, immigration, education and magic, etc.
Alternatively, if you are looking for just urban encounters and sidequests, there are a few.
They could fight a drug cartel that made a npc they know an adict and took them when they couldn't pay.
They could have to deal with rabid dogs or plague bearing pests and destroy their nest before it becomes a health hazzard since the authorities are doing nothing.
A noble could have a private menagerie or zoo and one of the creatures could have escaped.
A wizard's experiment escaped from its lab and is terrorising the city (based on Frankestein, Jeckill and Hyde, the invisible man or the golem)
A serial killer could be in the loose like jack the ripper.
A xenophobic gang could take offense of them wandering in their turf.
They could witness a kidnapping of a rich kid or poor ones taken off the street for a nefarious purpose (experiments, sport, etc).
They could be invited to a wedding and something happens (someone crashes it or the ring is stolen or they are missing booze)
A storm could hit the port and they have to rescue people from sinking ships or flooded streets.
Underwater monsters might attack the city because they learnt what the patron is planning.
A criminal they captured before might want revenge.
A famous cat burglar is in town and they either have to stop them or they are hired by them for their greatest heist yet.
A carnival or festival might come to town and they get involved in carnival games like a city wide water/food fight.
They find and infiltrate an underground casino/ fight club.
A bar fight expands on the street and they have to decide who to help without knowing what started it.
A private detective hires them to investigate an auction house (it helps introduce any mcguffin you might like). It could be used to smuggle illegal subtances or someone might try to steal an item.
They are hired by a gang to help fight another but when the time comes, more and more gangs keep showing up and it becomes a surprise seven way brawl.
Some NPC they know offers them the chance to invest in their business and become a co-owner.
Well, those are the ones off the top of my head.