So I'll cut directly to the chase, two of my four players are cutthroat tavern owners. In chapter 2, they successfully framed their rival tavern owner for bribery and was exiled. So they think that can do something to the YP and take it for themselves or basically run them out of business. So, I have no idea how to process that idea. Their current idea is to investigate the YP's suppliers and basically burn down the farms for their crops then taint the meat for the cattle / fish in the cover of the night. Under normal circumstances, this sounds fine and dandy but they want to roll over these characters into Dungeon of the Mad Mage. That slightly complicates things since these characters have also shown interest in going into descending into the mountain.
I'm interested, how would you DMs deal with your level 3 party try to overthrow Durnan with one of the most recognizable taverns in all of Faerun?
You're tellin' me. The two tavern players abandoned the Force Gray to do work for Harpers because they weren't being paid in straight gold. I'm wondering at this point if they're going to join the Zhents at this point. Not to mention the other two players already got jailed for assaulting a priest in session 2.
These players are a trip, but man I expect some decent stories from DMing these guys.
i would probably inform them that by starting off down that path they're going up against the lords of waterdeep, the city watch, the moonstars, the nightmasks, the zhents, the red wizards, the harpers, the lords alliance, all the local thieves guilds and the xanthars guild. there won't be any punches pulled either. i also assume that your two charachters are lawful or neutral evil at least as this is not the actions of either good nor neutral aligned players (their motivations aren't taking down other evil people .for the greater good here, they are acting in an evil manner in order to increase their own power) which means that if they are in league with any good aligned divine spellcasters they're either going to be disowned or the spellcasters will be disowned by their gods. you need to keep the principles of the game in balanace and not just fling them out the window for expediency and a laugh. after those things are covered then go for it and make their lives hell.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
All plans turn into, run into the room waving a sword and see what happens from there, once the first die gets rolled
Isn't the owner of the Yawning Portal like, a retired high level adventurer? Who built the bar as a lid on the dungeon entrance? I seem to recall something to that effect from listening to a pod cast. So, you have low level characters attempting to effectively pick a fight with a powerful, well established adventurer who's job it is to protect this one place. Definitely warn them that it seems the place has powerful backing, and if they go ahead, well. If you prick a dragon, expect to be burned. Consequences are a thing that shouldn't be ignored.
Sounds like your group is heading down the evil path fairly quickly. Might be a good idea to just plan for that and go Game of Thrones early on. Its not a bad thing if you're not dungeon delving yourself, after all.
Isn't the owner of the Yawning Portal like, a retired high level adventurer? Who built the bar as a lid on the dungeon entrance? I seem to recall something to that effect from listening to a pod cast. So, you have low level characters attempting to effectively pick a fight with a powerful, well established adventurer who's job it is to protect this one place. Definitely warn them that it seems the place has powerful backing, and if they go ahead, well. If you prick a dragon, expect to be burned. Consequences are a thing that shouldn't be ignored.
Durnan (the owner of the YP) is a retired adventurer, but his challenge rating is only 9, so he's not "unkillable". However, he has 4 attacks at +8 with 2d6+4 dmg and effectively Vorpal (on a nat 20 roll again, on another nat 20 he lobs off a limb). So he'll be tough in combat.
However, he's funded the Yawning Portal from the gold and treasures he found in Undermountain, which probably is enough to last his (expanded) lifetime. I don't think he needs the income of the tavern in order to keep it open. It just helps.
Also note that Durnan is one of the most respected and well-known citizens of Waterdeep. Going up against him would likely earn the ire of not only him, but also Mirt (his former adventuring ally) who's deeply connected in the city. Next spoiler is info about Mirt you may not want to read if you're a player and not a DM.
As Mirt is a Masked Lord, he can make anything really difficult for the players. Since he can overrule a magistrate on anything to do with the legal system, he could basically have them arrested and executed for stealing an apple if he wanted to use his power this way. He probably won't, but he could.
Also there are many adventurers both current and former that frequent the Yawning Portel which probably have become friends with Durnan at least in some way. They might not be so subtle as either Durnan or Mirt to protect their watering hole :P
All in all, if your players want to go for it, then have fun with that :) As others have said; make sure the possible consequences are clear to the players AND their characters so there are no hard feelings.
the owner of the portal is durnan, he got his moneyl by adventuring in undermountain. at the time one of the few people to ever go in and actually come back out alive, he's ridiculously rich and a masked lord of waterdeep i.e. one of the people who run the city. he was over 18th level in 3rd edition and spent another century down in undermountain since
Also of note, like most inns and taverns in Waterdeep, the Yawning Portal is likely supplied by the same guilds and organizations that are available to the players in the adventure. It's not like the players can just slash and burn some fields or ruin a single butcher shop. There is a city-wide network of businesses supplying to all the inns and taverns. Messing with that supply chain would likely bring both guild action and the city guard down hard on the players.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
So I'll cut directly to the chase, two of my four players are cutthroat tavern owners. In chapter 2, they successfully framed their rival tavern owner for bribery and was exiled. So they think that can do something to the YP and take it for themselves or basically run them out of business. So, I have no idea how to process that idea. Their current idea is to investigate the YP's suppliers and basically burn down the farms for their crops then taint the meat for the cattle / fish in the cover of the night. Under normal circumstances, this sounds fine and dandy but they want to roll over these characters into Dungeon of the Mad Mage. That slightly complicates things since these characters have also shown interest in going into descending into the mountain.
I'm interested, how would you DMs deal with your level 3 party try to overthrow Durnan with one of the most recognizable taverns in all of Faerun?
You shouldn't need to process or plan anything FOR them. Let them do the legwork, and if they decide to proceed with the plans they proceed with, have the world react naturally.
For example, Durnan, being an experienced adventurer, would definitely have the knowledge and the ability to recognize subterfuge/sabotage. On top of that, despite one's first impression of him, he's super well connected in Waterdeep. As mentioned above, one such connection is Mirt.
It's been regarded as a "BAD IDEA" for the most part, but I just wanted to mention their current game plan since it's just an interesting goal for the players to push toward
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Hello Fellow DMs,
So I'll cut directly to the chase, two of my four players are cutthroat tavern owners. In chapter 2, they successfully framed their rival tavern owner for bribery and was exiled. So they think that can do something to the YP and take it for themselves or basically run them out of business. So, I have no idea how to process that idea. Their current idea is to investigate the YP's suppliers and basically burn down the farms for their crops then taint the meat for the cattle / fish in the cover of the night. Under normal circumstances, this sounds fine and dandy but they want to roll over these characters into Dungeon of the Mad Mage. That slightly complicates things since these characters have also shown interest in going into descending into the mountain.
I'm interested, how would you DMs deal with your level 3 party try to overthrow Durnan with one of the most recognizable taverns in all of Faerun?
i'd let them try get found out and end up on the wrong end of both the law and the harpers
All plans turn into, run into the room waving a sword and see what happens from there, once the first die gets rolled
You're tellin' me. The two tavern players abandoned the Force Gray to do work for Harpers because they weren't being paid in straight gold. I'm wondering at this point if they're going to join the Zhents at this point. Not to mention the other two players already got jailed for assaulting a priest in session 2.
These players are a trip, but man I expect some decent stories from DMing these guys.
i would probably inform them that by starting off down that path they're going up against the lords of waterdeep, the city watch, the moonstars, the nightmasks, the zhents, the red wizards, the harpers, the lords alliance, all the local thieves guilds and the xanthars guild. there won't be any punches pulled either.
i also assume that your two charachters are lawful or neutral evil at least as this is not the actions of either good nor neutral aligned players (their motivations aren't taking down other evil people .for the greater good here, they are acting in an evil manner in order to increase their own power) which means that if they are in league with any good aligned divine spellcasters they're either going to be disowned or the spellcasters will be disowned by their gods.
you need to keep the principles of the game in balanace and not just fling them out the window for expediency and a laugh.
after those things are covered then go for it and make their lives hell.
All plans turn into, run into the room waving a sword and see what happens from there, once the first die gets rolled
Isn't the owner of the Yawning Portal like, a retired high level adventurer? Who built the bar as a lid on the dungeon entrance? I seem to recall something to that effect from listening to a pod cast. So, you have low level characters attempting to effectively pick a fight with a powerful, well established adventurer who's job it is to protect this one place. Definitely warn them that it seems the place has powerful backing, and if they go ahead, well. If you prick a dragon, expect to be burned. Consequences are a thing that shouldn't be ignored.
Sounds like your group is heading down the evil path fairly quickly. Might be a good idea to just plan for that and go Game of Thrones early on. Its not a bad thing if you're not dungeon delving yourself, after all.
Durnan (the owner of the YP) is a retired adventurer, but his challenge rating is only 9, so he's not "unkillable". However, he has 4 attacks at +8 with 2d6+4 dmg and effectively Vorpal (on a nat 20 roll again, on another nat 20 he lobs off a limb). So he'll be tough in combat.
However, he's funded the Yawning Portal from the gold and treasures he found in Undermountain, which probably is enough to last his (expanded) lifetime. I don't think he needs the income of the tavern in order to keep it open. It just helps.
Also note that Durnan is one of the most respected and well-known citizens of Waterdeep. Going up against him would likely earn the ire of not only him, but also Mirt (his former adventuring ally) who's deeply connected in the city. Next spoiler is info about Mirt you may not want to read if you're a player and not a DM.
As Mirt is a Masked Lord, he can make anything really difficult for the players. Since he can overrule a magistrate on anything to do with the legal system, he could basically have them arrested and executed for stealing an apple if he wanted to use his power this way. He probably won't, but he could.
Also there are many adventurers both current and former that frequent the Yawning Portel which probably have become friends with Durnan at least in some way. They might not be so subtle as either Durnan or Mirt to protect their watering hole :P
All in all, if your players want to go for it, then have fun with that :) As others have said; make sure the possible consequences are clear to the players AND their characters so there are no hard feelings.
Subclass: Dwarven Defender - Dragonborn Paragon
Feats: Artificer Apprentice
Monsters: Sheep - Spellbreaker Warforged Titan
Magic Items: Whipier - Ring of Secret Storage - Collar of the Guardian
Monster template: Skeletal Creature
Ah, I thought as much. A level 20 retired adventurer. The CR for goodly creatures is almost always lower than they should be by all rights.
the owner of the portal is durnan, he got his moneyl by adventuring in undermountain. at the time one of the few people to ever go in and actually come back out alive, he's ridiculously rich and a masked lord of waterdeep i.e. one of the people who run the city. he was over 18th level in 3rd edition and spent another century down in undermountain since
All plans turn into, run into the room waving a sword and see what happens from there, once the first die gets rolled
Also of note, like most inns and taverns in Waterdeep, the Yawning Portal is likely supplied by the same guilds and organizations that are available to the players in the adventure. It's not like the players can just slash and burn some fields or ruin a single butcher shop. There is a city-wide network of businesses supplying to all the inns and taverns. Messing with that supply chain would likely bring both guild action and the city guard down hard on the players.
-
View User Profile
-
View Posts
-
Send Message
D&D Beyond StaffYou shouldn't need to process or plan anything FOR them. Let them do the legwork, and if they decide to proceed with the plans they proceed with, have the world react naturally.
For example, Durnan, being an experienced adventurer, would definitely have the knowledge and the ability to recognize subterfuge/sabotage. On top of that, despite one's first impression of him, he's super well connected in Waterdeep. As mentioned above, one such connection is Mirt.
It's been regarded as a "BAD IDEA" for the most part, but I just wanted to mention their current game plan since it's just an interesting goal for the players to push toward