Next session the party will return to a city they visited a couple months ago. When they get there they will find that the father of the party's Paladin is in the city looking for the Paladin.
A nearby magistrate has sent a spy after the Paladin's father, using a magical headband with a Geas spell to compel the spy to try to assassinate the Paladin's father. BUT the compelled spy is actually someone known to the party and not someone they would expect to assassinate anyone.
I'm having trouble figuring out how to set this up. I expect, or would like, the following things to happen, but am not looking to railroad the players down a specific course of action:
The party learns the Paladin's father is in the city
The party learns about or witnesses the spy trying to assassinate the Paladin's father
The party, realizing the spy has a headband (which they have seen before on another assassin), may
kill the spy outright
knock spy out and try to remove headband
try to reason with spy
But ultimately my hope is that this encounter leads to the party discovering who is behind the headbands, and saving the lives of both the Paladin's father and the spy.
How do I set this up? Do I even set it up? The spy is going to try to kill the Paladin's father in the most effective way he can. He probably wouldn't do it in front of the party, but then the party won't learn about it.
Paladin, father, and the party meet up at a tavern. Drinks are poured, the paladin is poisoned. Ingested poison, almost enough to kill the paladin. They question the staff, get clues about who did it. (Insight/investigation rolls) Maybe there is a note about giving it to Mr _______. (Whatever their last name is.) They discover it was meant for Sr and not Jr. Realize that if the paladin almost died, it would have certainly killed his father. (Lucky there was a mix-up) They manage to track the poisoner/assassin down, perception roll to see the headband on the dresser in his room at the Inn. (Now that the assassin is no longer compelled to wear it) Intelligence check to realize they've seen it before. (If the players don't remember outright) Assassin says something about feeling like he had to wear it all the time up until he delivered a special wine to a friend of his. "It all started after I met ______."
The only issue is that I do want the NPC spy to be targeting the Paladin's father directly, not giving the wine to someone else to poison him. And I'm imagining it as a more compelled behavior, like he's almost robotic and feels forced to kill the Paladin's father.
The NPC behind all of this (I'll call him "N") is someone the party knows and doesn't really trust, but it's time for them to learn for sure that N is not a good person. That is the primary point of this interaction. But it also brings in the Paladin's father, and the NPC spy is a former associate of the party Sorcerer (who was previously working as a spy within the party and reporting to the NPC spy, who in turn was delivering those Sorcerer reports to N, unbeknownst to the Sorcerer, who didn't know who he was actually working for). Additionally, the party Paladin was targeted previously by someone wearing a similar headband. In that case N was behind it as well, but the party killed him before he could reveal who had sent him. So this is meant as an echo of that subplot from a long time back.
I think I would go to Battlestar Galactica/ Naked Gun Movie route. Paladin's father greets spy as friend (as, if he is under a geas, N absolutely can be). N sees him, embaces him, and then stabs him in back with a poison dagger. Then party has to stabilize the Paladin's dad and catch the spy at the same time and it will get across the idea that the headband means that anyone can be an assassin, potentially making anybody with a large enough hat a danger to the party.
If you want a plot twist, have someone in the party order the drink, propose a toast, or do something else innocent that, after the fact, looks suspiciously like the party was involved in the poisoning plot. Now the party has to evade capture by the city guards long enough to solve the case and prove their own innocence. Lots of tension there while the party has to stick to shadows and move in secret since the guards are pursuing the party and the party (presumably) doesn't want to kill innocent authorities.
Okay. As the party enters the town they're stopped by a kid who was sitting by the entrance running up and looking at everyone who come in. When they see PalaSON they run up excitedly and say that some old man (PalaDAD) was paying kids to watch all the ways into town to tell PalaSON that he was looking for him and to meet at ______ Tavern but that he'd only be in town 5 days and this is the last day before he moves onto a different town to find PalaSON.
When they get to the tavern PalaDAD is no where to be seen. Any patrons remember seeing him and that he was talking to the bartender. When they approach the bartender he/she is surprised to see PalaSON (either recognizes him from description PalaDAD gave or from last time they were in town). Ask if [PalaDADS name here] is really his father and how come he doesn't look hurt. The bartender goes on to say that a short time ago a man came running in (your spy) yelling to PalaDAD that he's found his son but he's falling off "blah blah" cliff and is badly hurt and he needs PalaDADs help to pull him up and save him
At "blah blah" cliff the spy has cast a minor (or major) illusion of PalaSON on a cliff ledge 30ft down a say 80ft drop cliff. [if your spy cant cast then maybe he acquired an object can cast an illusion once] The spy had a rope tied to a tree 10ft from the edge of the cliff and the rope lead down to where the son is. He's convinced PalaDAD to climb down to get his son and climb back up with him. The spy of course would of done it himself but he lacked the strength. Once PalaDAD is down the 10ft down the rope the spy runs to the tree and starts trying to cut the rope with his dagger
The party with PalaSON arrive to find the spy cutting away at a rope tied to a tree with other end hanging off the edge of a cliff and pulled tight and no sign of PalaDAD anywhere. I'd say on 5 successful Dex checks the spy cuts through the rope. If they try to talk him down each success in the conversation raises the DC of the spys Dex checks and every failure lowers it. Once cut they have 1 round to grab it before it uncoils from the tree and another round before its pulled off the cliff. I assume since the spys only focus is to kill his target he would answer any questions about where PalaDAD is now truthfully since it doesn't stop him from cutting the rope (and that way the party would quickly know the stakes)
If they attack the spy he uses the tree as cover and any ranged attacks that miss have a 50% of hitting the rope itself and count as a successful Dex check against it. Since he's been compelled to do this, no matter how much damage he takes he doesn't fight back, only continues to cut the rope. I would describe the scene to the party as far away from the tree as makes sense so they cant reach the spy in one turn and stop him. I would also have it happen close to dusk so the spy has an oil lantern with him so if the party rushes him he throws the lantern at the tree catching it on fire and burning the rope while he tries to escape. Forcing the party to split between saving PalaDAD and catching the spy which could make for a cool chase sequence.
Dad is a paladin, and is therefore pal-ing (har har) around with city bigwigs. He's protected. The Spy needs to get dad alone. So the spy, knowing the party, meets the party before they can meet up with the dad, and tells them "Your dad is in great danger--not everyone in this city is who they appear to be. Someone in the Bigwigs Group (King's court, etc) is plotting against him. We must get him away from them." Spy tells party to convince dad to meet them--spy included--at a lonely warehouse in the Lonely Warehouse District. Party dutifully tells dad, dad meets them, spy is there, spy says "Thank the gods, we got you away from them" and then detonates the fireball, springs the trap, etc. OR depending on spy's class, the party meets dad, but spy is nowhere in sight, and poisoned arrow comes shooting out of the night, hitting dad. Party has to chase down the assassin. If they do it well, they find out it's the spy :)
I would simply have the assassin see the party and, knowing his target was in the city, reacquaint himself with his friends to get them to help him find the target. Of course he will contrive another excuse for why he is looking for the target, but that is just how it goes. Then you have all the time in the world to give the assassin interaction with the party. Plenty of story opportunities there. Good luck.
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Next session the party will return to a city they visited a couple months ago. When they get there they will find that the father of the party's Paladin is in the city looking for the Paladin.
A nearby magistrate has sent a spy after the Paladin's father, using a magical headband with a Geas spell to compel the spy to try to assassinate the Paladin's father. BUT the compelled spy is actually someone known to the party and not someone they would expect to assassinate anyone.
I'm having trouble figuring out how to set this up. I expect, or would like, the following things to happen, but am not looking to railroad the players down a specific course of action:
But ultimately my hope is that this encounter leads to the party discovering who is behind the headbands, and saving the lives of both the Paladin's father and the spy.
How do I set this up? Do I even set it up? The spy is going to try to kill the Paladin's father in the most effective way he can. He probably wouldn't do it in front of the party, but then the party won't learn about it.
Paladin, father, and the party meet up at a tavern. Drinks are poured, the paladin is poisoned. Ingested poison, almost enough to kill the paladin. They question the staff, get clues about who did it. (Insight/investigation rolls) Maybe there is a note about giving it to Mr _______. (Whatever their last name is.) They discover it was meant for Sr and not Jr. Realize that if the paladin almost died, it would have certainly killed his father. (Lucky there was a mix-up) They manage to track the poisoner/assassin down, perception roll to see the headband on the dresser in his room at the Inn. (Now that the assassin is no longer compelled to wear it) Intelligence check to realize they've seen it before. (If the players don't remember outright) Assassin says something about feeling like he had to wear it all the time up until he delivered a special wine to a friend of his. "It all started after I met ______."
This is great! Thank you.
The only issue is that I do want the NPC spy to be targeting the Paladin's father directly, not giving the wine to someone else to poison him. And I'm imagining it as a more compelled behavior, like he's almost robotic and feels forced to kill the Paladin's father.
The NPC behind all of this (I'll call him "N") is someone the party knows and doesn't really trust, but it's time for them to learn for sure that N is not a good person. That is the primary point of this interaction. But it also brings in the Paladin's father, and the NPC spy is a former associate of the party Sorcerer (who was previously working as a spy within the party and reporting to the NPC spy, who in turn was delivering those Sorcerer reports to N, unbeknownst to the Sorcerer, who didn't know who he was actually working for). Additionally, the party Paladin was targeted previously by someone wearing a similar headband. In that case N was behind it as well, but the party killed him before he could reveal who had sent him. So this is meant as an echo of that subplot from a long time back.
I think I would go to Battlestar Galactica/ Naked Gun Movie route. Paladin's father greets spy as friend (as, if he is under a geas, N absolutely can be). N sees him, embaces him, and then stabs him in back with a poison dagger. Then party has to stabilize the Paladin's dad and catch the spy at the same time and it will get across the idea that the headband means that anyone can be an assassin, potentially making anybody with a large enough hat a danger to the party.
Fenchurch, Gnome Wizard, Red Skies in Mourning
If you want a plot twist, have someone in the party order the drink, propose a toast, or do something else innocent that, after the fact, looks suspiciously like the party was involved in the poisoning plot. Now the party has to evade capture by the city guards long enough to solve the case and prove their own innocence. Lots of tension there while the party has to stick to shadows and move in secret since the guards are pursuing the party and the party (presumably) doesn't want to kill innocent authorities.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Okay. As the party enters the town they're stopped by a kid who was sitting by the entrance running up and looking at everyone who come in. When they see PalaSON they run up excitedly and say that some old man (PalaDAD) was paying kids to watch all the ways into town to tell PalaSON that he was looking for him and to meet at ______ Tavern but that he'd only be in town 5 days and this is the last day before he moves onto a different town to find PalaSON.
When they get to the tavern PalaDAD is no where to be seen. Any patrons remember seeing him and that he was talking to the bartender. When they approach the bartender he/she is surprised to see PalaSON (either recognizes him from description PalaDAD gave or from last time they were in town). Ask if [PalaDADS name here] is really his father and how come he doesn't look hurt. The bartender goes on to say that a short time ago a man came running in (your spy) yelling to PalaDAD that he's found his son but he's falling off "blah blah" cliff and is badly hurt and he needs PalaDADs help to pull him up and save him
At "blah blah" cliff the spy has cast a minor (or major) illusion of PalaSON on a cliff ledge 30ft down a say 80ft drop cliff. [if your spy cant cast then maybe he acquired an object can cast an illusion once] The spy had a rope tied to a tree 10ft from the edge of the cliff and the rope lead down to where the son is. He's convinced PalaDAD to climb down to get his son and climb back up with him. The spy of course would of done it himself but he lacked the strength. Once PalaDAD is down the 10ft down the rope the spy runs to the tree and starts trying to cut the rope with his dagger
The party with PalaSON arrive to find the spy cutting away at a rope tied to a tree with other end hanging off the edge of a cliff and pulled tight and no sign of PalaDAD anywhere. I'd say on 5 successful Dex checks the spy cuts through the rope. If they try to talk him down each success in the conversation raises the DC of the spys Dex checks and every failure lowers it. Once cut they have 1 round to grab it before it uncoils from the tree and another round before its pulled off the cliff. I assume since the spys only focus is to kill his target he would answer any questions about where PalaDAD is now truthfully since it doesn't stop him from cutting the rope (and that way the party would quickly know the stakes)
If they attack the spy he uses the tree as cover and any ranged attacks that miss have a 50% of hitting the rope itself and count as a successful Dex check against it. Since he's been compelled to do this, no matter how much damage he takes he doesn't fight back, only continues to cut the rope. I would describe the scene to the party as far away from the tree as makes sense so they cant reach the spy in one turn and stop him. I would also have it happen close to dusk so the spy has an oil lantern with him so if the party rushes him he throws the lantern at the tree catching it on fire and burning the rope while he tries to escape. Forcing the party to split between saving PalaDAD and catching the spy which could make for a cool chase sequence.
The spy needs to use the party to setup the dad.
Dad is a paladin, and is therefore pal-ing (har har) around with city bigwigs. He's protected. The Spy needs to get dad alone. So the spy, knowing the party, meets the party before they can meet up with the dad, and tells them "Your dad is in great danger--not everyone in this city is who they appear to be. Someone in the Bigwigs Group (King's court, etc) is plotting against him. We must get him away from them." Spy tells party to convince dad to meet them--spy included--at a lonely warehouse in the Lonely Warehouse District. Party dutifully tells dad, dad meets them, spy is there, spy says "Thank the gods, we got you away from them" and then detonates the fireball, springs the trap, etc. OR depending on spy's class, the party meets dad, but spy is nowhere in sight, and poisoned arrow comes shooting out of the night, hitting dad. Party has to chase down the assassin. If they do it well, they find out it's the spy :)
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
I would simply have the assassin see the party and, knowing his target was in the city, reacquaint himself with his friends to get them to help him find the target. Of course he will contrive another excuse for why he is looking for the target, but that is just how it goes. Then you have all the time in the world to give the assassin interaction with the party. Plenty of story opportunities there. Good luck.