So I can up with an idea for a campaign. An arcanaloth tricks the players into signing a contract that is enchanted to give the effects of geas spell. The acanaloth reveals himself as he is and makes the players gather magical items for him and he with detect magic to make sure that they hide items. He will take uncommon and rarer items, but will at least leave them with +1 weapons and health potions...
It may be a good "session zero" way to tie the party together as a group. If done well, you could use it as a springboard for various adventures where the party looks for ways to slip their demonic leashes. Until then, they have to do an occasional fetch quest for their "patron" whenever it needs them to, but probably doesn't have to be more than a thorny middle manager boss to them otherwise.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
It could also make a good "big bad" where the story of the game is about how to escape the geas and throw off the curse. You'd want to let the players know early on that it is possible to break the curse but they'll have to "quest" for the solution. Could be a fun under plot too, the kind of thing that they're always working towards while doing other things in the main story.
It might upset them if they can get remove curse scrolls and you try to say “it doesn’t work. This contract seems to be more binding than the usual geas curse.” If you play it straight and allow them to dump the storyline as soon as they can escape, they’ll be fine. If you try to keep them tied to your plot until they’ve collected enough items to satisfy you, they’ll have problems.
I’d consider narrating past the contract scene and just start the story from “The ink of your signature was still wet when the arcanaloth appeared.” I can picture a player being unwilling to sign anything in game. And what do you do if they won’t play ball with that scene?
It sure might upset your players in just the way you don't want. I'd suggest pitching this plot hook to them before the campaign...it sounds great but if it gets sprung on them without warning, the shock factor is not worth the ticked-off factor. And you definitely want to give them a specific series of quests they'll have to go on to break the curse, so they have a way to do it right from the get-go and don't feel trapped.
It could function much like a criminal gang, once you're in, you're in, but there is a rumour about old One Eyed Pete the only man to leave the group for good and live to tell the tale! So it will take either something very special or something surprising to break free. Maybe they go find out if One Eyed Pete is still alive and ask how he did it?
Wherever the party goes there will always be that shadowy cloaked figure watching and reporting back. You could get a dragons hoard safely back to the boss with multiple magic items in it which sets you free or you could save a random damsel/dude in distress which later turns out to be his favourite relative and grants you freedom for doing him a solid!
There are multiple ways this can tie in to larger campaign or stay as just a one shot or session zero. And you could do established campaigns and tie it in to the story there as well.
It sure might upset your players in just the way you don't want. I'd suggest pitching this plot hook to them before the campaign...it sounds great but if it gets sprung on them without warning, the shock factor is not worth the ticked-off factor. And you definitely want to give them a specific series of quests they'll have to go on to break the curse, so they have a way to do it right from the get-go and don't feel trapped.
So much of this depends on the campaign and the players.
A certain subgroup of players would freak out that they got "surprised" and "Tricked". They would be furious that their character had a new challenge to overcome that was more work than just finding a "remove curse" scroll.
On the other hand, another subset of players would consider that some of the best story telling in the history of gaming. They would revel in the chance to do more than "kill this week's boss monster". And the fact that it wasn't an easy fix would be even more fun. It creates a mystery. It creates suspense. It creates a drive beyond "the quest for more money".
And it opens doors for exploring the world. What other characters have been roped in by this "deal"? Who else can they ally with? Maybe they can earn a boon with a Lord of Waterdeep if they can find a way to not just remove the curse but defeat the one who cursed them all? Romantic subplots? Nothing says romance like working together to escape a contract with a demon.
What better way to say "I Love You" than "You're free of eternal servitude! Wanna get married?"
That said, you need players who TRUST you. If you have a reputation of running games designed to kill the players, or designed around "you need to be tactically smart to defeat this monster or you WILL die", then this probably won't work. If your reputation is one of intrigue and plot and story.... you're golden.
Thank you all for your responses! Now I was thinking that maybe it is like geas, but it is stronger and more than just the spell. I was thinking about having the players role insight and if the they role high they think that something is up, but don't know what it is. I was thinking about having the players having to get about a 1,000,000 golds worth of magic items.
A while back I used to help run a LARP (Live Action Role Playing). I was in my sunset with the group (life, job, fiance, etc were taking more and more time) but I wanted to run one last story line over my last 6 months with the group. So I wrote a Vampire plot line that would bridge 6-9 months of game sessions. The Vampire was nearly indestructible when met. None of their "research" skills gave them fast answers. He could appear in town with immunity, dole out some cryptic comments, wreck some havoc and vanish again.
But at the same time, there had been a hunter, ages ago, who had defeated this Vampire's consort. And the journal of that hunter was known to exist in some form. Lower level players were given small missions to recover parts of this journal. Sometimes a page from the journal would be hidden in a different adventure all together. The journal absolutely detailed how the very specific weaknesses of the Vampire and how to kill him, and in killing him, how to free those he had captured or corrupted.
Sadly, the established players didn't like working at something. They wanted the plotline resolved in a single weekend and when it couldn't be, they protested that I was running a bad plot, that I was just trying to "Ruin the entire game" before I left. So while some of the players were upset, others loved it. At one point a group had taken a shredded set of pages from the book, and recreated it like a jigsaw puzzle and then "glued" it together with candle wax. Then they copied the final product because agents of the duke had shown up and insisted the turn it over for "official study".
My big take away from that is that players vary a lot in what they want out of a game, and their attachment to their systems can be very strong. Shake things up from the "kick the door/ kill the monster/ loot it's pockets" and you will get a variety of responses.
How about this: The arcanalich doesn’t reveal themself. The party only finds out after the fact that they were being mind controlled, therefore giving you a plot twist and a possible minor boss
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So I can up with an idea for a campaign. An arcanaloth tricks the players into signing a contract that is enchanted to give the effects of geas spell. The acanaloth reveals himself as he is and makes the players gather magical items for him and he with detect magic to make sure that they hide items. He will take uncommon and rarer items, but will at least leave them with +1 weapons and health potions...
So thoughts?
Pico De Lolobardo; Aarakocra bard.
Tyto is family of owls like the Barn Owl.
It may be a good "session zero" way to tie the party together as a group. If done well, you could use it as a springboard for various adventures where the party looks for ways to slip their demonic leashes. Until then, they have to do an occasional fetch quest for their "patron" whenever it needs them to, but probably doesn't have to be more than a thorny middle manager boss to them otherwise.
It could also make a good "big bad" where the story of the game is about how to escape the geas and throw off the curse. You'd want to let the players know early on that it is possible to break the curse but they'll have to "quest" for the solution. Could be a fun under plot too, the kind of thing that they're always working towards while doing other things in the main story.
"Teller of tales, dreamer of dreams"
Tips, Tricks, Maps: Lantern Noir Presents
**Streams hosted at at twitch.tv/LaternNoir
It might upset them if they can get remove curse scrolls and you try to say “it doesn’t work. This contract seems to be more binding than the usual geas curse.” If you play it straight and allow them to dump the storyline as soon as they can escape, they’ll be fine. If you try to keep them tied to your plot until they’ve collected enough items to satisfy you, they’ll have problems.
I’d consider narrating past the contract scene and just start the story from “The ink of your signature was still wet when the arcanaloth appeared.” I can picture a player being unwilling to sign anything in game. And what do you do if they won’t play ball with that scene?
It sure might upset your players in just the way you don't want. I'd suggest pitching this plot hook to them before the campaign...it sounds great but if it gets sprung on them without warning, the shock factor is not worth the ticked-off factor. And you definitely want to give them a specific series of quests they'll have to go on to break the curse, so they have a way to do it right from the get-go and don't feel trapped.
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
It could function much like a criminal gang, once you're in, you're in, but there is a rumour about old One Eyed Pete the only man to leave the group for good and live to tell the tale! So it will take either something very special or something surprising to break free. Maybe they go find out if One Eyed Pete is still alive and ask how he did it?
Wherever the party goes there will always be that shadowy cloaked figure watching and reporting back. You could get a dragons hoard safely back to the boss with multiple magic items in it which sets you free or you could save a random damsel/dude in distress which later turns out to be his favourite relative and grants you freedom for doing him a solid!
There are multiple ways this can tie in to larger campaign or stay as just a one shot or session zero. And you could do established campaigns and tie it in to the story there as well.
From Within Chaos Comes Order!
So much of this depends on the campaign and the players.
A certain subgroup of players would freak out that they got "surprised" and "Tricked". They would be furious that their character had a new challenge to overcome that was more work than just finding a "remove curse" scroll.
On the other hand, another subset of players would consider that some of the best story telling in the history of gaming. They would revel in the chance to do more than "kill this week's boss monster". And the fact that it wasn't an easy fix would be even more fun. It creates a mystery. It creates suspense. It creates a drive beyond "the quest for more money".
And it opens doors for exploring the world. What other characters have been roped in by this "deal"? Who else can they ally with? Maybe they can earn a boon with a Lord of Waterdeep if they can find a way to not just remove the curse but defeat the one who cursed them all? Romantic subplots? Nothing says romance like working together to escape a contract with a demon.
What better way to say "I Love You" than "You're free of eternal servitude! Wanna get married?"
That said, you need players who TRUST you. If you have a reputation of running games designed to kill the players, or designed around "you need to be tactically smart to defeat this monster or you WILL die", then this probably won't work. If your reputation is one of intrigue and plot and story.... you're golden.
"Teller of tales, dreamer of dreams"
Tips, Tricks, Maps: Lantern Noir Presents
**Streams hosted at at twitch.tv/LaternNoir
Thank you all for your responses! Now I was thinking that maybe it is like geas, but it is stronger and more than just the spell. I was thinking about having the players role insight and if the they role high they think that something is up, but don't know what it is. I was thinking about having the players having to get about a 1,000,000 golds worth of magic items.
Pico De Lolobardo; Aarakocra bard.
Tyto is family of owls like the Barn Owl.
I want to add on to this conversation briefly:
A while back I used to help run a LARP (Live Action Role Playing). I was in my sunset with the group (life, job, fiance, etc were taking more and more time) but I wanted to run one last story line over my last 6 months with the group. So I wrote a Vampire plot line that would bridge 6-9 months of game sessions. The Vampire was nearly indestructible when met. None of their "research" skills gave them fast answers. He could appear in town with immunity, dole out some cryptic comments, wreck some havoc and vanish again.
But at the same time, there had been a hunter, ages ago, who had defeated this Vampire's consort. And the journal of that hunter was known to exist in some form. Lower level players were given small missions to recover parts of this journal. Sometimes a page from the journal would be hidden in a different adventure all together. The journal absolutely detailed how the very specific weaknesses of the Vampire and how to kill him, and in killing him, how to free those he had captured or corrupted.
Sadly, the established players didn't like working at something. They wanted the plotline resolved in a single weekend and when it couldn't be, they protested that I was running a bad plot, that I was just trying to "Ruin the entire game" before I left. So while some of the players were upset, others loved it. At one point a group had taken a shredded set of pages from the book, and recreated it like a jigsaw puzzle and then "glued" it together with candle wax. Then they copied the final product because agents of the duke had shown up and insisted the turn it over for "official study".
My big take away from that is that players vary a lot in what they want out of a game, and their attachment to their systems can be very strong. Shake things up from the "kick the door/ kill the monster/ loot it's pockets" and you will get a variety of responses.
"Teller of tales, dreamer of dreams"
Tips, Tricks, Maps: Lantern Noir Presents
**Streams hosted at at twitch.tv/LaternNoir
How about this: The arcanalich doesn’t reveal themself. The party only finds out after the fact that they were being mind controlled, therefore giving you a plot twist and a possible minor boss