My party recently witnessed a huuuuge event that destroyed most of the noble district of their country's capital city. During this event, everyone in the party experienced some heavy stuff and are a bit in shock (in character). This Event happened several hundred feet UNDER the city and we left off with them staring up at a huge hole where the nobles used to live (including 2 of the characters).
Now I know i want the city to be in chaotic turmoil with people scrambling and guards fighting to keep order (though equally frightened). I know this isn't gonna be a combat heavy session but i would still like them to roll the dice for something!
So my question is, what kinda skill check/events would be fun here? (STRONGLY considering putting one of the character's family in danger cause the character is a spoiled rich kid and needs to have some development lol)
The first thing that I would do is figure out objectives, something for the players to do. Without some conflict rolls won't be really necessary beyond arbitrary "give me a ??? roll" situations. From there figure out the complications that can arise while they try to accomplish those objectives. Figure out what happens if they succeed or fail at the objectives. Give some form of time frame for some objectives so that there is a sense of urgency.
The noble kid's family's house is on the precipice of this giant hole, the house is on the verge of collapse, saving the family is an objective. At the same time there is rampant rioting and looting going on, so there will be groups of people that will attack or slow down the players as they try to get to their objective. They can kill the citizens, potentially getting themselves in trouble with the local population, or they can try to subdue them which will take longer. There are fires spreading through the city, threatening food stores and shelter for the people, if the fires go unchecked it could cause as much, if not more, devastation than the hole. Consider what else may go on, and lay it on them all at the same time, make it overwhelming and have them figure out how to handle the situation.
I really like the idea of having them fight through a large crowd. It'll be like a combat encounter (with initiative and everything) but with a different goal! I just hope they don't murder-hobo their way out (though the barbarian will most likely do just that)
If you want to give the players a challenge, both mechanical and moral, give them hordes of innocent townsfolk engaged in increasingly violent riots for food. You need to stop the riots, people are dying. But do you really want to cast Dissonant Whispers on the poor guy from the shipyards who just wants to feed his children? Okay...you just killed him, he had 4 hp.
Plus, in the middle of it, there are actual thieves, looting everything they can get their hands on. And something dramatic happening in a big building that is teetering right on the edge of the hole. The party has to get in to rescue someone/save a treasure/pursue a bad guy. But the building is slowly toppling over as they run through it.
I really like the idea of having them fight through a large crowd. It'll be like a combat encounter (with initiative and everything) but with a different goal! I just hope they don't murder-hobo their way out (though the barbarian will most likely do just that)
Take a look at the chase rules in the DMG and adapt them to dealing with a riot/crowd.
huge ancient machine under the city was activated and sent a massive blast through the ground and right through the city! machine is inert now (or at least to their knowledge it is cause none of their characters understand what's going on)
That's good stuff right there! What I would expect in the immediate aftermath of a devastating (un)natural disaster are the kinds of things you see in the real world, only adapted for a fantasy environment.
Many people will be displaced and without homes
The poor will always have a harder time of things than the wealthy
Some people will want to loot unprotected/ruined residences and businesses
Many people will be scared and untrusting of others
Some people will reach out to help people wherever they can - the local church or temple may be involved in this
Some people will go into survival mode and fiercely defend their little patch of turf, often in overreacting ways
Local law enforcement will be struggling to contain the chaos and have a stepped up presence.
The local military may be called in to bolster law enforcement, and that can cause other problems
City watch or whatnot will likely take a harder line with perceived crimes and troublemakers than they might normally
So with all of that in mind, you can start to build a library of about a dozen encounters based on this environment you have created. To keep things fresh and interesting, you can divide these encounters up into a few categories:
Traps
Unstable ground collapses as the characters travel on it, dropping them into a strange and unknown environment
Ambushes set by troublemaker are tripped by the party
Noxious fumes come up from the gaping hole in the ground, poisoning and sickening party members
Combat (even if they are based on misunderstandings--may leave the door open for parley or diplomacy instead of fighting)
Run-ins with looters
A group of vigilantes who think they are defending personal property
City watch who might mistake the party for looters or rioters if the public infrastructure situation has gotten out of hand
Skill challenges
A riot breaks out among hungry refugees who think the city watch is withholding food for some nefarious reason. Players must use their skills to quell the riot before lives are lost. The party must make three successful rolls before they make three failed rolls against a DC that represents the danger and tension of the situation. Characters are free to use whatever skill they are proficient in as long as they can make a reasonable case for how it would help the situation
A mother screams out for help freeing her child from a partially-collapsed house. Must roll 3 success before 3 failures against the DC of the unstable house.
The collapse has triggered a truly massive exodus of city rats from the town sewers. They are biting people, tainting food, and spreading disease. The party is recruited to help deal with this rodent menace.
Moral dilemmas
A hungry young woman is caught by the city watch stealing some bread (and a few gold). An overzealous guard captain wants to make an example out of her in a very harsh way. Does the party intervene to help the young lady at the risk of the wrath of the city watch?
A traveling salesman shows up selling expensive bottles of a cure for a sickness that has broken out in the wake of the town collapse. The party witnesses him filling the bottles from local puddles and adding some dye. But locals who buy the potion swear by it as a miracle cure in the short term. Does the party speak up for the cheated citizens? Or stay back and let things work themselves out?
A fire breaks out on one side of town at the same time as a report comes in that the town watch has walked in on a looter who then took a hostage and there's a stand-off. Whichever choice the party makes will help some people, but ignoring the other situation will lead to tragedy.
EDIT: Don't forget to build a random encounter table as well so that between these various planned encounters or whenever the party takes a long or short rest, you can throw some more random chaos into the mix to keep your party on its toes.
Thank you everyone for the suggestions!! Here's the basics of what I'm thinking now:
1. Party is gonna be frantically looking for the one member's house to help her family out. I plan on having the house on the precipice of the hole with obstacles blocking rooms, looters, cave-ins, etc... I'll have them explore the house with mini's using initiatives so that I can keep track of how long they screw around. I think I'll be mean and have the two parents trapped under debris and start making death saves after the 4th round or so (its a really big house)
2. The city is gonna be filled with panicking rich people (the district that got blown up is the noble quarter). Rather than BEINGlooters and thieves, they'll be paranoid that everyone ELSE (including party members) are the looters and thieves and that the explosion was an obvious attack on the city
3. From a set-up in an earlier session: The capital already has a large amount of soldiers in it (trying to set up a political/war scenario to be on top of the big end-o-the-world magicky main plot) and they'll start strictly enforcing order. Of these soldiers, one will be an NPC they've known for a while who will suggest they inform higher authority (like the current king) that they know what caused this.
4. I want the king to be an impostor/unrightful/unfit heir to set up a meeting with another heir later in the campaign. So I'm thinking that the current king will use this situation to justify officially declaring war (the tension between the two nations has been thick since the beginning but the party hasn't fully caught on to the subtle hints yet) and if the party comes forward saying they know what actually caused the explosion, they will be imprisoned to keep them from informing the masses (hello prison arc!)
Looks to me like you have a solid multi-session story with that alone. I thought about suggesting some political intrigue at the highest level and the ruler using the disaster as cover to go after his own agenda and blame his rivals. I didn't suggest it because while I personally found the idea compelling, I thought maybe it was a bit of a reach considering what you were asking about. Seems like we were on the same page after all.
3. From a set-up in an earlier session: The capital already has a large amount of soldiers in it (trying to set up a political/war scenario to be on top of the big end-o-the-world magicky main plot) and they'll start strictly enforcing order. Of these soldiers, one will be an NPC they've known for a while who will suggest they inform higher authority (like the current king) that they know what caused this.
You can easily use this friendly NPC as a way to offer the party secondary objectives. This kind of devastation is going to take a while to get under control, and the soldiers will be focused on overall security. Smaller issues that come up can be funneled through this NPC very easily, "I know you can handle yourselves and are resourceful, can you take care of this thing for me?" I suggest this not just to help avoid murderhoboing, but also to help give your party some clearer objectives. Chaos can be fun for a bit but can be overwhelming after too long. Use that NPC to give them some one line objectives and options.
My party recently witnessed a huuuuge event that destroyed most of the noble district of their country's capital city. During this event, everyone in the party experienced some heavy stuff and are a bit in shock (in character). This Event happened several hundred feet UNDER the city and we left off with them staring up at a huge hole where the nobles used to live (including 2 of the characters).
Now I know i want the city to be in chaotic turmoil with people scrambling and guards fighting to keep order (though equally frightened). I know this isn't gonna be a combat heavy session but i would still like them to roll the dice for something!
So my question is, what kinda skill check/events would be fun here? (STRONGLY considering putting one of the character's family in danger cause the character is a spoiled rich kid and needs to have some development lol)
Thanks!
The first thing that I would do is figure out objectives, something for the players to do. Without some conflict rolls won't be really necessary beyond arbitrary "give me a ??? roll" situations. From there figure out the complications that can arise while they try to accomplish those objectives. Figure out what happens if they succeed or fail at the objectives. Give some form of time frame for some objectives so that there is a sense of urgency.
The noble kid's family's house is on the precipice of this giant hole, the house is on the verge of collapse, saving the family is an objective. At the same time there is rampant rioting and looting going on, so there will be groups of people that will attack or slow down the players as they try to get to their objective. They can kill the citizens, potentially getting themselves in trouble with the local population, or they can try to subdue them which will take longer. There are fires spreading through the city, threatening food stores and shelter for the people, if the fires go unchecked it could cause as much, if not more, devastation than the hole. Consider what else may go on, and lay it on them all at the same time, make it overwhelming and have them figure out how to handle the situation.
If there are any checks they will probably only be persuasion and deception. It's more of a role play challenge than a skill challenge.
Thanks! I do like making them scramble...
I really like the idea of having them fight through a large crowd. It'll be like a combat encounter (with initiative and everything) but with a different goal! I just hope they don't murder-hobo their way out (though the barbarian will most likely do just that)
Food riots!
If you want to give the players a challenge, both mechanical and moral, give them hordes of innocent townsfolk engaged in increasingly violent riots for food. You need to stop the riots, people are dying. But do you really want to cast Dissonant Whispers on the poor guy from the shipyards who just wants to feed his children? Okay...you just killed him, he had 4 hp.
Plus, in the middle of it, there are actual thieves, looting everything they can get their hands on. And something dramatic happening in a big building that is teetering right on the edge of the hole. The party has to get in to rescue someone/save a treasure/pursue a bad guy. But the building is slowly toppling over as they run through it.
Looking for new subclasses, spells, magic items, feats, and races? Opinions welcome :)
What caused the big hole to appear?
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Take a look at the chase rules in the DMG and adapt them to dealing with a riot/crowd.
huge ancient machine under the city was activated and sent a massive blast through the ground and right through the city! machine is inert now (or at least to their knowledge it is cause none of their characters understand what's going on)
That's good stuff right there! What I would expect in the immediate aftermath of a devastating (un)natural disaster are the kinds of things you see in the real world, only adapted for a fantasy environment.
So with all of that in mind, you can start to build a library of about a dozen encounters based on this environment you have created. To keep things fresh and interesting, you can divide these encounters up into a few categories:
EDIT: Don't forget to build a random encounter table as well so that between these various planned encounters or whenever the party takes a long or short rest, you can throw some more random chaos into the mix to keep your party on its toes.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Thank you everyone for the suggestions!! Here's the basics of what I'm thinking now:
1. Party is gonna be frantically looking for the one member's house to help her family out. I plan on having the house on the precipice of the hole with obstacles blocking rooms, looters, cave-ins, etc... I'll have them explore the house with mini's using initiatives so that I can keep track of how long they screw around. I think I'll be mean and have the two parents trapped under debris and start making death saves after the 4th round or so (its a really big house)
2. The city is gonna be filled with panicking rich people (the district that got blown up is the noble quarter). Rather than BEINGlooters and thieves, they'll be paranoid that everyone ELSE (including party members) are the looters and thieves and that the explosion was an obvious attack on the city
3. From a set-up in an earlier session: The capital already has a large amount of soldiers in it (trying to set up a political/war scenario to be on top of the big end-o-the-world magicky main plot) and they'll start strictly enforcing order. Of these soldiers, one will be an NPC they've known for a while who will suggest they inform higher authority (like the current king) that they know what caused this.
4. I want the king to be an impostor/unrightful/unfit heir to set up a meeting with another heir later in the campaign. So I'm thinking that the current king will use this situation to justify officially declaring war (the tension between the two nations has been thick since the beginning but the party hasn't fully caught on to the subtle hints yet) and if the party comes forward saying they know what actually caused the explosion, they will be imprisoned to keep them from informing the masses (hello prison arc!)
Thanks!!!
Looks to me like you have a solid multi-session story with that alone. I thought about suggesting some political intrigue at the highest level and the ruler using the disaster as cover to go after his own agenda and blame his rivals. I didn't suggest it because while I personally found the idea compelling, I thought maybe it was a bit of a reach considering what you were asking about. Seems like we were on the same page after all.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
-
View User Profile
-
View Posts
-
Send Message
InsiderYou can easily use this friendly NPC as a way to offer the party secondary objectives. This kind of devastation is going to take a while to get under control, and the soldiers will be focused on overall security. Smaller issues that come up can be funneled through this NPC very easily, "I know you can handle yourselves and are resourceful, can you take care of this thing for me?" I suggest this not just to help avoid murderhoboing, but also to help give your party some clearer objectives. Chaos can be fun for a bit but can be overwhelming after too long. Use that NPC to give them some one line objectives and options.
Find me on Twitter: @OboeLauren