Hi, Im currently writing my first ever adventure. Its a mystery/thriller based in Icewind Dale, Good Mead. Their mission will be to investigate a potential murder and will during the adventure be going inside an tavern to ask questions/investigate NPCs. However I have about three NPCs inside the Inn that I have prepered dialog and actual clues with.
Now Im not sure how to play this out, I dont want to say that there is only three people inside the taverna, but at the same if I say its filled with people, how will I stear my PCs to the right NPCs without leading them to much?
I was planning that one of the NPCs will approach them (because my PCs are new to the village), but the other two NPCs Im not sure how to play it out. Do you guys maybe have some ideas or advice how to subtley stear them in the right direction that will make them interact with the right NPC?
Who might tell the PCs who to look for to gain more information? Are the PCs really just going to walk into a tavern and hope to interview everybody?
Are there any clues which the PCs will find beforehand which might draw them towards certain NPCs?
If the PCs just sit in the tavern and spend some time listening to conversations of the locals, will that give any indication as to which NPCs might have the useful information?
Be prepared for your players to do things you don't expect, like...decide they don't want to go to the tavern, for example. Or spend the entire time in the tavern having a drinking contest and ignoring the NPCs. When player unpredictability happens, my advice is to roll with the punches and just give them the information they need in another place. Maybe the NPC meets them on the road, or maybe the priest of Tempus pulls them aside. A plan never survives contact with players. If you're flexible and don't let things like that throw you too much, you'll be in a good spot.
Is figuring out who to talk to part of the mystery you want them to solve? This means the clues you have already dropped come into play - for example, was a fancy brooch left at the scene? Then speaking to a noble or jewelry maker could be figured out. Was there a weapon left at the scene? Let's find the armorer. If so, then really leave it up to the party. You can perhaps let other NPCs they ask guide them to the right people, but I would be wary about railroading them. In this scenario, you should prepare for several outcomes. Perhaps they identify the wrong murderer but will they ever know (could make for a great revenge plot later down the line)? Will they still get a reward in this case - the settlement leaders would still be happy they caught the 'murderer'.
Do you just need to dump information on them? Then let them ask around a bit but essentially have any NPC be able to give them the info they need. You can decide when you think they've put in enough effort. Or perhaps prepare a physical clue that will lead them to the same outcome. Again, be wary about the party feeling railroaded.
The mission was brought upon them by Kendrick Rielsbarrow (Good Meads speaker/leader), a body of an well-known (had a reputation in Icewind Dale) adventurer/mountain climber has found to be dead on the lowpoint of a mountain. In my adventure I have decided that this mountain is a famous tourist attraction (because of northern light) for the villagers of Good Mead. Kendrick tells them that they need to find out what happend to the body so it doesnt hurt either Good Meads reputation (because an skilled mountaineer succeded to die there) or the income they get from the mountain attraction. He then points them into the direction of the towns tavern and suggest them to start searching for clues there. So them going into the tavern is a very early stage and they have gotten no real clues at this point. But I can always change things around and let them gather some clues first, maybe check out the potential crimescene etc.
The NPCs knowledge is basically not much, there is one NPC which will be my "red herring" at the tavern, a grumpy old dwarf that will speak ill of the dead adventurer. Another NPC will be able to reveal that she has heard gossip in the taverna a few weeks back, talking about another adventurer who has seen a glimpse of a big beast on the mountain. And a third NPC will tell them that he doesnt know to much about what happens on that mountain and refer them to the local mountain-guide (who is basically my next scene).
I do like the option that you gave about them just sitting down and listening, however this is a small town with not too many travelers so that the population will probably spot them and might not want to talk to loud about secrets.
That is very true, this is my second time as a DM, but have been a PC for 15 years. The flexablity will come over time I assume once I get more experience being the DM. I can always make them meet a few of the NPCs outside, maybe a shivering cold beggar sitting outside is willing to spill some beans for a coin or two? :)
Well the thing is (as I mentioned in the response to Farlings post) the scene of them going into the tavern is very early in the game. They dont really have any clues just yet, they've just got pointed into this direction of the towns leader Kendrick Rielsbarrow (the questgiver). Basically to ask around or listen to gossip of what might have happend. I can always change the scenery of them walking into the taverna to happen later in the game when they already aquired a few clues, maybe at the crimescene etc.
Altho I do like the tips; let other NPCs guide them to the right people, that is possible to freestyle on if they ask the "wrong" NPCs. Great advice! I will be cautious about railroading them, again thanks alot for all your responses!
If the players are new to role-playing, then this could be a difficult scenario since they might not know any strategies for finding the right people - but sometimes even beginners might surprise you with their ideas - even walking into the bar and shouting WHO KILLED X might elicit a response from somebody (Insight rolls to notice somebody trying to hide their surprise).
If they are experienced role-players, then just leave it to them to work out how to find the information in the tavern.
Bring real beer to the table and as players fail their persuasion and deception rolls, its drink a beer. After a few failed rolls the players will be bonding with the tavern.
You don't "make" your PCs interact. You interest them so that they decide to interact on their own. Here is an NPC encounter that you can feel free to steal:
A tough guy comes up to the table and challenges the barbarian or fighter to a drinking contest and bets a small amount of money (1gp at most, in addition to the loser paying for the beer) on it, and a few NPCs decide to bet amongst each other on it. The other players might join in by betting with NPCs on the match. A few Constitution checks later, they are both very drunk, and the challenger says something weird before stumbling away. What he says should be brief and vague, but enough of a hint that the man knows something of interest to the party that they might choose to interrogate him further once he is sober again.
This activity is disguised as a bit of lighthearted tavern roleplay and an opportunity to make a few silver pieces. I'm yet to see a single player who would turn down a drinking contest. By all means, let it play out as a bit of a break from serious murder business. Once the players are open to the roleplay, they will become more interested when the drunkard says something. He may be an accomplice or planner of the murder, have valuable information that he has withheld, or be related to the mystery in some other way. Or maybe his murder confession was actually just a random, drunken raving that could lead the party to capturing, attacking or calling the guards on an innocent man. Enjoy!
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Panda-wat (I hate my username) is somehow convinced that he is objectively right about everything D&D related even though he obviously is not. Considering that, he'd probably make a great D&D youtuber.
"If I die, I can live with that." ~Luke Hart, the DM lair
Bring real beer to the table and as players fail their persuasion and deception rolls, its drink a beer. After a few failed rolls the players will be bonding with the tavern.
Note, this a '1st time Dming game' and a lot of new gamers are too young to legally drink in the United States.
If you are in a location where this is legal, go for it. But also state that they bring the libations next game.
It really depends, including on how you are playing the game. If its in person or on VTT, and on what kind of info they have and who the NPCs are.
One sure fire way to incite interaction of some kind is to have action with them come to the forefront.
-Have one be a child thief who attempts to pickpocket the party
-Have some drunk start pick on/picking a fight with one of the NPCs
-Describe the NPC as looking sick and then have them collapse onto the floor.
Things like this have the DM describe what's going on and puts a spotlight on the NPC, if the DM follows the description with "what do you do". This gives the players agency on what they do but also steers them into doing something that will lead to dialog with that NPC.
Have them do an insight or perception check and they noticed a detail about ur npc or hear them mention something. That will attract the party’s attention without the npcs walking up to them
video games have taught us a lot of design elements that we have to unlearn if we want to run a successful D&D adventure. progression locking the campaign's story behind a locked door or a specific NPC is fine, even necessary in a video game that by it's very nature has no choice but to be on rails. a TTRPG though? it's the ultimate open world game.
others have already pointed out that your players will surprise you and do something unexpected. and they've given great advice for how to handle this. there is a lot of fantastic advice already in this thread.
what I'll add to the conversation is: if there's information the PCs need in order to advance the story, think of what is sufficient for them to know, but not any one specific thing they need to do in to learn that information. it's fine to brainstorm several possible solutions, if you can't think of more than one, I would suggest you leave it open-ended instead. (and don't beat yourself up if you can't think of a million solutions to the scenario you want to put before the PCs. creativity requires calories and it's not a skill that comes naturally to everybody.)
QED: the players in my current campaign figured out how to activate and travel through a stargate. all I did was create the dungeon, put the stargate in it, and decided they had to do something to activate it but I didn't know what.
the trick is to follow the core gameplay loop described in the first few pages of the PHB: describe the environment, get each player to tell you what actions they take, decide if a roll is necessary, and narrate the results. in this case, I described the stargate and informed the high-Int character that this looked like some kind of teleportation device (no roll necessary). I then asked the player "based on your character's understanding of such devices, how do they think it works?"
and wouldn't you know? one of the ideas they gave me was the right answer. weird, huh?
Since 1995: AD&D 2nd Ed.; D&D 5e; Vampire: The Masquerade (and other Old-WoD titles); Rifts (and other Palladium RPGs); Star Wars (WEG); Magic: The Gathering; Old School Essentials; AOL Red Dragon Inn; Ultima Online; Dark Age of Camelot
Fill the tavern with NPCs loads of them, describe them all, maybe have some called by name, then.
The first NPC the party talk to is the one that you want them to engage with and has all that info, regardless of which one it is.
Your players will have no idea, they feel they have loads of choice and options and picked someone at random. You know that there are only really 3 NOCs in this tavern, the rest are just empty bodies playing a role. Which 3 is up to the players to pick not you.
I do this all the time, if there is important information the party need to know and they don’t have a contact name then I will sometimes roll a D3 and let that decide which number npc they interact with next has that information. Maybe it’s the guy I always intended it to be, but usually it’s a random Dragonborn I threw in for flavor and the characters got fascinated by.
Scarloc's technique (called a Magician's Force, I believe) works very well to get the player where you want them to. There are lots of versions of it.
But it is a bit of a railroad technique. Some people dislike it for this reason. It is almost invisible if you use it once or twice (especially early in the game when the players have less plans), but the more you do it the more people realize what is going on. It especially becomes obvious when the players have plans that do not match up with the DMs.
I see no problem with using it as the adventure hook, especially for the first adventure, but I do not like to use it later on. I'd rather the players decide to save the world and find the info themselves.
Scarloc's technique (called a Magician's Force, I believe) works very well to get the player where you want them to. There are lots of versions of it.
But it is a bit of a railroad technique. Some people dislike it for this reason. It is almost invisible if you use it once or twice (especially early in the game when the players have less plans), but the more you do it the more people realize what is going on. It especially becomes obvious when the players have plans that do not match up with the DMs.
I see no problem with using it as the adventure hook, especially for the first adventure, but I do not like to use it later on. I'd rather the players decide to save the world and find the info themselves.
I will second this, I suggested it for your specific example, where players are in the place looking for information you want to give them and you don’t know how to get them to the NPC, but don’t do it all the time. I tend to use it when the party are heading down a path they have chosen to provide information rather then trying to force them into a path of my choosing while allowing me to fill my world with loads of NPCs and not worry about making sure the players find the one they are looking for, unless they have started to lose there way a bit as a group. So saying I do it loads was probably an over exaggeration lol.
Hi, Im currently writing my first ever adventure. Its a mystery/thriller based in Icewind Dale, Good Mead. Their mission will be to investigate a potential murder and will during the adventure be going inside an tavern to ask questions/investigate NPCs. However I have about three NPCs inside the Inn that I have prepered dialog and actual clues with.
Now Im not sure how to play this out, I dont want to say that there is only three people inside the taverna, but at the same if I say its filled with people, how will I stear my PCs to the right NPCs without leading them to much?
I was planning that one of the NPCs will approach them (because my PCs are new to the village), but the other two NPCs Im not sure how to play it out. Do you guys maybe have some ideas or advice how to subtley stear them in the right direction that will make them interact with the right NPC?
Much appreciated / James
Why do the NPCs know what they know?
Who might tell the PCs who to look for to gain more information? Are the PCs really just going to walk into a tavern and hope to interview everybody?
Are there any clues which the PCs will find beforehand which might draw them towards certain NPCs?
If the PCs just sit in the tavern and spend some time listening to conversations of the locals, will that give any indication as to which NPCs might have the useful information?
Describe a few NPCs to the players and let them role play from there. They’ll surprise you.
You’ll also find that they will give you opportunities to pick which NPCs they talk to.
Worst case you can pull the old trick of, “It doesn’t matter who they talk to, they talk to the NPCs who you need them to talk to.”
Professional computer geek
Be prepared for your players to do things you don't expect, like...decide they don't want to go to the tavern, for example. Or spend the entire time in the tavern having a drinking contest and ignoring the NPCs. When player unpredictability happens, my advice is to roll with the punches and just give them the information they need in another place. Maybe the NPC meets them on the road, or maybe the priest of Tempus pulls them aside. A plan never survives contact with players. If you're flexible and don't let things like that throw you too much, you'll be in a good spot.
There are a 2 main things you need to consider:
Response to Farling:
The mission was brought upon them by Kendrick Rielsbarrow (Good Meads speaker/leader), a body of an well-known (had a reputation in Icewind Dale) adventurer/mountain climber has found to be dead on the lowpoint of a mountain. In my adventure I have decided that this mountain is a famous tourist attraction (because of northern light) for the villagers of Good Mead. Kendrick tells them that they need to find out what happend to the body so it doesnt hurt either Good Meads reputation (because an skilled mountaineer succeded to die there) or the income they get from the mountain attraction. He then points them into the direction of the towns tavern and suggest them to start searching for clues there. So them going into the tavern is a very early stage and they have gotten no real clues at this point. But I can always change things around and let them gather some clues first, maybe check out the potential crimescene etc.
The NPCs knowledge is basically not much, there is one NPC which will be my "red herring" at the tavern, a grumpy old dwarf that will speak ill of the dead adventurer. Another NPC will be able to reveal that she has heard gossip in the taverna a few weeks back, talking about another adventurer who has seen a glimpse of a big beast on the mountain. And a third NPC will tell them that he doesnt know to much about what happens on that mountain and refer them to the local mountain-guide (who is basically my next scene).
I do like the option that you gave about them just sitting down and listening, however this is a small town with not too many travelers so that the population will probably spot them and might not want to talk to loud about secrets.
Response to Tim:
Thats very true, I like the worstcase scenario, can be very useful as a plan C, thank you!
Response to theologyofbagels:
That is very true, this is my second time as a DM, but have been a PC for 15 years. The flexablity will come over time I assume once I get more experience being the DM. I can always make them meet a few of the NPCs outside, maybe a shivering cold beggar sitting outside is willing to spill some beans for a coin or two? :)
Response to Holton_Coalfield:
Well the thing is (as I mentioned in the response to Farlings post) the scene of them going into the tavern is very early in the game. They dont really have any clues just yet, they've just got pointed into this direction of the towns leader Kendrick Rielsbarrow (the questgiver). Basically to ask around or listen to gossip of what might have happend. I can always change the scenery of them walking into the taverna to happen later in the game when they already aquired a few clues, maybe at the crimescene etc.
Altho I do like the tips; let other NPCs guide them to the right people, that is possible to freestyle on if they ask the "wrong" NPCs. Great advice!
I will be cautious about railroading them, again thanks alot for all your responses!
Your basic problem is you want to get your players to get specific information from a specific NPC?
Do not bother trying to make them do this. Either they organically do it now, or they return to the tavern to get that same information later.
Just don't kill off the essential NPC until after the PC's get that information, even if he has to shout it out while being attacked by a bugbear.
If the players are new to role-playing, then this could be a difficult scenario since they might not know any strategies for finding the right people - but sometimes even beginners might surprise you with their ideas - even walking into the bar and shouting WHO KILLED X might elicit a response from somebody (Insight rolls to notice somebody trying to hide their surprise).
If they are experienced role-players, then just leave it to them to work out how to find the information in the tavern.
Bring real beer to the table and as players fail their persuasion and deception rolls, its drink a beer. After a few failed rolls the players will be bonding with the tavern.
You don't "make" your PCs interact. You interest them so that they decide to interact on their own. Here is an NPC encounter that you can feel free to steal:
A tough guy comes up to the table and challenges the barbarian or fighter to a drinking contest and bets a small amount of money (1gp at most, in addition to the loser paying for the beer) on it, and a few NPCs decide to bet amongst each other on it. The other players might join in by betting with NPCs on the match. A few Constitution checks later, they are both very drunk, and the challenger says something weird before stumbling away. What he says should be brief and vague, but enough of a hint that the man knows something of interest to the party that they might choose to interrogate him further once he is sober again.
This activity is disguised as a bit of lighthearted tavern roleplay and an opportunity to make a few silver pieces. I'm yet to see a single player who would turn down a drinking contest. By all means, let it play out as a bit of a break from serious murder business. Once the players are open to the roleplay, they will become more interested when the drunkard says something. He may be an accomplice or planner of the murder, have valuable information that he has withheld, or be related to the mystery in some other way. Or maybe his murder confession was actually just a random, drunken raving that could lead the party to capturing, attacking or calling the guards on an innocent man. Enjoy!
Panda-wat (I hate my username) is somehow convinced that he is objectively right about everything D&D related even though he obviously is not. Considering that, he'd probably make a great D&D youtuber.
"If I die, I can live with that." ~Luke Hart, the DM lair
Note, this a '1st time Dming game' and a lot of new gamers are too young to legally drink in the United States.
If you are in a location where this is legal, go for it. But also state that they bring the libations next game.
It really depends, including on how you are playing the game. If its in person or on VTT, and on what kind of info they have and who the NPCs are.
One sure fire way to incite interaction of some kind is to have action with them come to the forefront.
-Have one be a child thief who attempts to pickpocket the party
-Have some drunk start pick on/picking a fight with one of the NPCs
-Describe the NPC as looking sick and then have them collapse onto the floor.
Things like this have the DM describe what's going on and puts a spotlight on the NPC, if the DM follows the description with "what do you do". This gives the players agency on what they do but also steers them into doing something that will lead to dialog with that NPC.
Have them do an insight or perception check and they noticed a detail about ur npc or hear them mention something. That will attract the party’s attention without the npcs walking up to them
video games have taught us a lot of design elements that we have to unlearn if we want to run a successful D&D adventure. progression locking the campaign's story behind a locked door or a specific NPC is fine, even necessary in a video game that by it's very nature has no choice but to be on rails. a TTRPG though? it's the ultimate open world game.
others have already pointed out that your players will surprise you and do something unexpected. and they've given great advice for how to handle this. there is a lot of fantastic advice already in this thread.
what I'll add to the conversation is: if there's information the PCs need in order to advance the story, think of what is sufficient for them to know, but not any one specific thing they need to do in to learn that information. it's fine to brainstorm several possible solutions, if you can't think of more than one, I would suggest you leave it open-ended instead. (and don't beat yourself up if you can't think of a million solutions to the scenario you want to put before the PCs. creativity requires calories and it's not a skill that comes naturally to everybody.)
QED: the players in my current campaign figured out how to activate and travel through a stargate. all I did was create the dungeon, put the stargate in it, and decided they had to do something to activate it but I didn't know what.
the trick is to follow the core gameplay loop described in the first few pages of the PHB: describe the environment, get each player to tell you what actions they take, decide if a roll is necessary, and narrate the results. in this case, I described the stargate and informed the high-Int character that this looked like some kind of teleportation device (no roll necessary). I then asked the player "based on your character's understanding of such devices, how do they think it works?"
and wouldn't you know? one of the ideas they gave me was the right answer. weird, huh?
Since 1995: AD&D 2nd Ed.; D&D 5e; Vampire: The Masquerade (and other Old-WoD titles); Rifts (and other Palladium RPGs); Star Wars (WEG); Magic: The Gathering; Old School Essentials; AOL Red Dragon Inn; Ultima Online; Dark Age of Camelot
Fill the tavern with NPCs loads of them, describe them all, maybe have some called by name, then.
The first NPC the party talk to is the one that you want them to engage with and has all that info, regardless of which one it is.
Your players will have no idea, they feel they have loads of choice and options and picked someone at random. You know that there are only really 3 NOCs in this tavern, the rest are just empty bodies playing a role. Which 3 is up to the players to pick not you.
I do this all the time, if there is important information the party need to know and they don’t have a contact name then I will sometimes roll a D3 and let that decide which number npc they interact with next has that information. Maybe it’s the guy I always intended it to be, but usually it’s a random Dragonborn I threw in for flavor and the characters got fascinated by.
Scarloc's technique (called a Magician's Force, I believe) works very well to get the player where you want them to. There are lots of versions of it.
But it is a bit of a railroad technique. Some people dislike it for this reason. It is almost invisible if you use it once or twice (especially early in the game when the players have less plans), but the more you do it the more people realize what is going on. It especially becomes obvious when the players have plans that do not match up with the DMs.
I see no problem with using it as the adventure hook, especially for the first adventure, but I do not like to use it later on. I'd rather the players decide to save the world and find the info themselves.
I will second this, I suggested it for your specific example, where players are in the place looking for information you want to give them and you don’t know how to get them to the NPC, but don’t do it all the time. I tend to use it when the party are heading down a path they have chosen to provide information rather then trying to force them into a path of my choosing while allowing me to fill my world with loads of NPCs and not worry about making sure the players find the one they are looking for, unless they have started to lose there way a bit as a group. So saying I do it loads was probably an over exaggeration lol.