I am not a new DM by any means, but this is my first in-person group so I decided to create from scratch a campaign for them. I don't lay out specifics of the campaign, I simply write a story the day before the game so that I can adapt it to fit the party's exploits (For example, I will write about dealing with the aftermath of an event that the players caused in the previous game).
I am currently trying to push the players towards an area of this world I've created that functions as a kind of "Portal to the 9 hells" if you will. Zariel and her layer are accessible by humans, restricted only by a magical barrier spell that keeps the planes from meeting entirely.
My question is this: If I want the party to have an urban adventure in this hellscape, how would I set it up? I have it set so that Zariel is somewhat of a tyranical ruler over the tieflings and devils that reside here, but I have no idea how to engage the party in this plane.
For reference, the characters in the party are:
- A Neutral Evil Revenant Wild Mage/Necromancer hunting the man who killed him
- A Neutral Good Air Genasi Paladin with a habit of getting drunk off his behind
- A Chaotic Evil Drow Gunslinger looking to earn money for the orphanage she sponsors
- A Chaotic Neutral Half-Elf Rogue who loves money more than his own life
- A True Neutral Aasimar Cleric who is haunted by an evil spirit
- A Chaotic Neutral Tiefling Monk who is searching for answers relating to the massacre of his temple
Please drop some reccomendations below! I think it'll really help my players out!
Sounds to me like your campaign is off to a good start. I will say, your PC lineup looks a lot like a Suicide Squad to me. Am I wrong?
So, your Suicide Squad is headed to Sin City, Hell's Kitchen, the Devil's Playground whatever you wanna call it... The group's vices and personal demons should really get put to the test in a place like this. There are several elements to running a good Urban Adventure game, but I'd argue the primary pillar or play is social interaction. What mobs rule the streets of Sin City and how do they stop or aid the group in achieving their goals? Who acts as Zariel's cruel law enforcement? Are there hellish nobles or elites that want to use the group to undermine Zariel or other fiendish lords? I think that these devils can essentially promise the group anything they desire, but how far are they all willing to go to get it?
To setup this kind of adventure, your going to have to get your players to "buy-in" meaning that they need to help you by agreeing that their are reasons their characters should go to this place. The basis can be something as simple as: "An imp arrives at the group's usual tavern/hangout... It delivers a letter, elegantly written in a blood-like ink. The letter is addressed to the Revenant Mage, it says 'The soul of the man who killed you belongs to hell. Find the Crimson Hawk and let's make a deal, we have gold and gems aplenty...'
Eager for information about his killer, he desires to find this mysterious Crimson Hawk. The other group members should latch onto this too. Maybe the Tiefling Monk has heard of this Crimson Hawk in connection to his temple's massacre. The Paladin recognizes the Crimson Hawk as the name of an assassin. The Cleric knows that a blood hawk is the symbol used by a devil cult. The mention of gold and gems will catch the attention of the Rogue and Gunslinger. Something like this is just an example of how you could interest the group into pursuing the adventure, tying their character knowledge or motivations into a single mysterious letter.
A lot of what you're going to have to play with here is selling the feel. I'm leaning toward some kind of dystopian landscape; think Judge Dredd, Mad Max, being the only human in Planet of the Apes. Now you twist those themes and create a layer on top of that where the worst elements are in power, the rest of the population simply goes on about life like you and I do right now, the rub: everything seems normal, not dystopian.
Incubi standing on the corner talking about sports, a balor has a hellhound on a leash walking down the street. There's a building that looks like an apartment complex, with various tenants walking in and out. A grocery store, some smaller furniture shops, the whole urban sprawl. Now you get to the industrial area, where the real action happens, and see the denizens of the other realms being hauled about. Torturous displays, slave trade, subjugation and humiliation a plenty, and it's as casually received as a farmer's market. All the while there's the ominous presence of a force that is beholden to Zariel, that feeds information to her, a network of spies, thugs, and enforcers.
Now that the scene is set, you have to give the players a cause. I like the ideas Lighspeed gave, they give you the hook to run in where you'd otherwise avoid. I would also offer up that while journeying around this hellscape you give some other plights. Being hired to help other devils/demons vie for power, getting caught up in the demonic politics. Learning that their way in was only a one way door, now to find the way out. Trying to keep from becoming the servant/pet/property of some demon or devil as they traverse this realm. Catching the eye of Zariel, do they earn favor or do they make a powerful creature dislike them? Mayhaps Zariel is doing all this on purpose?
- In this world, Gruumsh has died. Those who worship him after his death consider themselves "Paladins of Gruumsh", even though they are simply fighters running around worshiping him, lacking any actual divine powers. However, their goal is to ressurect Gruumsh, bringing about what could be likened to ragnarok: A war of the gods to end the world. The Paladin and Cleric are basically sent on a holy crusade to kill these fighters that worship Gruumsh, and they partner up with the party to hunt them down.
- The people who've been murdered, be it in the Revenant or the Monk's backstory, have been killed by Gruumsh followers, aiming to sacrifice enough souls to form a phylactary. They wish to make a caster into a lich, allowing the lich to ressurect the dead god.
- They encountered the captain of Zariel's guard. THE REVENANT AND THE ROGUE HAD HIS SPINAL CORD RIPPED OUT. OUR PARTY FREAKED OUT.
- They've robbed 4 banks so far. I'm thinking of making them wanted.
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I am not a new DM by any means, but this is my first in-person group so I decided to create from scratch a campaign for them. I don't lay out specifics of the campaign, I simply write a story the day before the game so that I can adapt it to fit the party's exploits (For example, I will write about dealing with the aftermath of an event that the players caused in the previous game).
I am currently trying to push the players towards an area of this world I've created that functions as a kind of "Portal to the 9 hells" if you will. Zariel and her layer are accessible by humans, restricted only by a magical barrier spell that keeps the planes from meeting entirely.
My question is this: If I want the party to have an urban adventure in this hellscape, how would I set it up? I have it set so that Zariel is somewhat of a tyranical ruler over the tieflings and devils that reside here, but I have no idea how to engage the party in this plane.
For reference, the characters in the party are:
- A Neutral Evil Revenant Wild Mage/Necromancer hunting the man who killed him
- A Neutral Good Air Genasi Paladin with a habit of getting drunk off his behind
- A Chaotic Evil Drow Gunslinger looking to earn money for the orphanage she sponsors
- A Chaotic Neutral Half-Elf Rogue who loves money more than his own life
- A True Neutral Aasimar Cleric who is haunted by an evil spirit
- A Chaotic Neutral Tiefling Monk who is searching for answers relating to the massacre of his temple
Please drop some reccomendations below! I think it'll really help my players out!
Sounds to me like your campaign is off to a good start. I will say, your PC lineup looks a lot like a Suicide Squad to me. Am I wrong?
So, your Suicide Squad is headed to Sin City, Hell's Kitchen, the Devil's Playground whatever you wanna call it... The group's vices and personal demons should really get put to the test in a place like this. There are several elements to running a good Urban Adventure game, but I'd argue the primary pillar or play is social interaction. What mobs rule the streets of Sin City and how do they stop or aid the group in achieving their goals? Who acts as Zariel's cruel law enforcement? Are there hellish nobles or elites that want to use the group to undermine Zariel or other fiendish lords? I think that these devils can essentially promise the group anything they desire, but how far are they all willing to go to get it?
To setup this kind of adventure, your going to have to get your players to "buy-in" meaning that they need to help you by agreeing that their are reasons their characters should go to this place. The basis can be something as simple as: "An imp arrives at the group's usual tavern/hangout... It delivers a letter, elegantly written in a blood-like ink. The letter is addressed to the Revenant Mage, it says 'The soul of the man who killed you belongs to hell. Find the Crimson Hawk and let's make a deal, we have gold and gems aplenty...'
Eager for information about his killer, he desires to find this mysterious Crimson Hawk. The other group members should latch onto this too. Maybe the Tiefling Monk has heard of this Crimson Hawk in connection to his temple's massacre. The Paladin recognizes the Crimson Hawk as the name of an assassin. The Cleric knows that a blood hawk is the symbol used by a devil cult. The mention of gold and gems will catch the attention of the Rogue and Gunslinger. Something like this is just an example of how you could interest the group into pursuing the adventure, tying their character knowledge or motivations into a single mysterious letter.
A lot of what you're going to have to play with here is selling the feel. I'm leaning toward some kind of dystopian landscape; think Judge Dredd, Mad Max, being the only human in Planet of the Apes. Now you twist those themes and create a layer on top of that where the worst elements are in power, the rest of the population simply goes on about life like you and I do right now, the rub: everything seems normal, not dystopian.
Incubi standing on the corner talking about sports, a balor has a hellhound on a leash walking down the street. There's a building that looks like an apartment complex, with various tenants walking in and out. A grocery store, some smaller furniture shops, the whole urban sprawl. Now you get to the industrial area, where the real action happens, and see the denizens of the other realms being hauled about. Torturous displays, slave trade, subjugation and humiliation a plenty, and it's as casually received as a farmer's market. All the while there's the ominous presence of a force that is beholden to Zariel, that feeds information to her, a network of spies, thugs, and enforcers.
Now that the scene is set, you have to give the players a cause. I like the ideas Lighspeed gave, they give you the hook to run in where you'd otherwise avoid. I would also offer up that while journeying around this hellscape you give some other plights. Being hired to help other devils/demons vie for power, getting caught up in the demonic politics. Learning that their way in was only a one way door, now to find the way out. Trying to keep from becoming the servant/pet/property of some demon or devil as they traverse this realm. Catching the eye of Zariel, do they earn favor or do they make a powerful creature dislike them? Mayhaps Zariel is doing all this on purpose?
The way I went about setting it up is this:
- In this world, Gruumsh has died. Those who worship him after his death consider themselves "Paladins of Gruumsh", even though they are simply fighters running around worshiping him, lacking any actual divine powers. However, their goal is to ressurect Gruumsh, bringing about what could be likened to ragnarok: A war of the gods to end the world. The Paladin and Cleric are basically sent on a holy crusade to kill these fighters that worship Gruumsh, and they partner up with the party to hunt them down.
- The people who've been murdered, be it in the Revenant or the Monk's backstory, have been killed by Gruumsh followers, aiming to sacrifice enough souls to form a phylactary. They wish to make a caster into a lich, allowing the lich to ressurect the dead god.
- They encountered the captain of Zariel's guard. THE REVENANT AND THE ROGUE HAD HIS SPINAL CORD RIPPED OUT. OUR PARTY FREAKED OUT.
- They've robbed 4 banks so far. I'm thinking of making them wanted.