TLDR: I want the players become the villians in an epic shell shock reveal, could use your advice to iron out the details.
I am relatively new to DnD. Started playing my first campaign a few months ago but its a long time between sessions. My mate and I have got that new player energy and excitement so we decided to play a series of one shots with a group of new people, all new to the game as well. We take turns playing DM. So far we have played the traditional storylines: do this quest, face this boss, find this loot, use an overpowered weapon, etc. etc. It was getting a bit repetitive and I could tell other players were loosing interest so I came up with this idea for the next oneshot. I would have it look similar but eventually reveal that the players were actually the villian in the story. Cool concept but I have hit writers block on how to do it.
My original idea went a little something like this:
Players find themselves in a newly opened country of trade and traffic situated at a crucial tradelink between two major continents. Cities are bustling, people and creatures from all over the world come and go. Some want to find new lives, scholars and scientists come in search of new ideas, literature, etc. Missionaries come to preach their religion. You get the idea. The country only opened fairly recently (10 years ago) thanks to the efforts of the new king. However the old guard and council members disagree and would see the country return to its former self. "The king opened the floodgates and now the country is riddled with heresy and filth." Hence, the "old guard" are orchestrating a coup by allowing their rival neighbour (one which mimics their country of old) overtake them and allow them to become their suzerain in an effort to return things as the way they are. Since the people wont allow it willingly. However, the bastion city of *insert name* stands in the way. Its too well defended and the rival neighbour won't go forward with the coup in fear of loosing too many men. It needs to be taken out, from the inside.
Enter the players. Escorting a "merchant envoy' headed for this bastion city. In fact, this enovy is the undercover espionage mission to sabotage the city defenses and allow the rival army in to play out the coup. There will be hints and foreshadowing of this to the players, its up to them to decipher the clues and figure out the plot. Eventually, I would have the players be blamed for the coup if it fails or have them escape if it suceeds. Either way they will be the fall guys.
Nothing of these ideas are solid and I'd appreciate anyone's input into how I could play this out subtlely without using too much plot hook. I want the players to feel in power and that everything is their decision which led up to this so that they would feel like the villain rather than the hero at the end of the oneshot. Its a new twist to the story. Thanks in advance!
If you are making a one shot with a set goal reveal in mind you might want to work backwards.
think of the moment you want to get to, how it plays out, story beats etc - then start asking yourself “what are the logical strides to get here” then think about the next moment back and ask the same question.rinse and repeat.
Then think of all the things your players could not do to end up there, all the directions they could take stuff, then map to it making sure you have ways back on the track
I like the idea of the players being the bad guys, however I feel like doing this may require more 'rail roading' than one many find enjoyable. Have you thought of playing out the story so no matter which faction your players side with they'll end up being the "bad guys".
Of course, this may require more preparation and improvising, but would definitely add to the whole shock reveal at the end of the one shot... especially when your players were convinced they were the good guys.
I think you've taken the right approach with the players escorting the true bad guy as that leaves the players with some agency.
I'd put together a list of clues as a personal checklist as things players could discover at certain points and at any point. Then dole them out as needed.
As another approach....personally, when I plan one-shots, I plan one major activity/fight per planned hour. I'd probably plan at least 2 clues the players definitely discover each hour, as well as up to 3 more than can discover if they take the initiative.
Also, rather than just telling players about the volatile situation, I'd make that part of the clue process. The way different people describe the problem could be a nice hint.
I like the idea of giving the players subtle clues. Some of the PCs may catch on to what's about to happen and some may not. Encourage your players to give their characters different alignments and motivations. If a LG PC catches the hints, they'll probably tell the whole party their theory. But a CE character might debate their hypothesis and try to persuade the party it's paranoia, even though they know it's true.
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TLDR: I want the players become the villians in an epic shell shock reveal, could use your advice to iron out the details.
I am relatively new to DnD. Started playing my first campaign a few months ago but its a long time between sessions. My mate and I have got that new player energy and excitement so we decided to play a series of one shots with a group of new people, all new to the game as well. We take turns playing DM. So far we have played the traditional storylines: do this quest, face this boss, find this loot, use an overpowered weapon, etc. etc. It was getting a bit repetitive and I could tell other players were loosing interest so I came up with this idea for the next oneshot. I would have it look similar but eventually reveal that the players were actually the villian in the story. Cool concept but I have hit writers block on how to do it.
My original idea went a little something like this:
Players find themselves in a newly opened country of trade and traffic situated at a crucial tradelink between two major continents. Cities are bustling, people and creatures from all over the world come and go. Some want to find new lives, scholars and scientists come in search of new ideas, literature, etc. Missionaries come to preach their religion. You get the idea. The country only opened fairly recently (10 years ago) thanks to the efforts of the new king. However the old guard and council members disagree and would see the country return to its former self. "The king opened the floodgates and now the country is riddled with heresy and filth." Hence, the "old guard" are orchestrating a coup by allowing their rival neighbour (one which mimics their country of old) overtake them and allow them to become their suzerain in an effort to return things as the way they are. Since the people wont allow it willingly. However, the bastion city of *insert name* stands in the way. Its too well defended and the rival neighbour won't go forward with the coup in fear of loosing too many men. It needs to be taken out, from the inside.
Enter the players. Escorting a "merchant envoy' headed for this bastion city. In fact, this enovy is the undercover espionage mission to sabotage the city defenses and allow the rival army in to play out the coup. There will be hints and foreshadowing of this to the players, its up to them to decipher the clues and figure out the plot. Eventually, I would have the players be blamed for the coup if it fails or have them escape if it suceeds. Either way they will be the fall guys.
Nothing of these ideas are solid and I'd appreciate anyone's input into how I could play this out subtlely without using too much plot hook. I want the players to feel in power and that everything is their decision which led up to this so that they would feel like the villain rather than the hero at the end of the oneshot. Its a new twist to the story. Thanks in advance!
If you are making a one shot with a set goal reveal in mind you might want to work backwards.
think of the moment you want to get to, how it plays out, story beats etc - then start asking yourself “what are the logical strides to get here” then think about the next moment back and ask the same question.rinse and repeat.
Then think of all the things your players could not do to end up there, all the directions they could take stuff, then map to it making sure you have ways back on the track
I like the idea of the players being the bad guys, however I feel like doing this may require more 'rail roading' than one many find enjoyable. Have you thought of playing out the story so no matter which faction your players side with they'll end up being the "bad guys".
Of course, this may require more preparation and improvising, but would definitely add to the whole shock reveal at the end of the one shot... especially when your players were convinced they were the good guys.
I think you've taken the right approach with the players escorting the true bad guy as that leaves the players with some agency.
I'd put together a list of clues as a personal checklist as things players could discover at certain points and at any point. Then dole them out as needed.
As another approach....personally, when I plan one-shots, I plan one major activity/fight per planned hour. I'd probably plan at least 2 clues the players definitely discover each hour, as well as up to 3 more than can discover if they take the initiative.
Also, rather than just telling players about the volatile situation, I'd make that part of the clue process. The way different people describe the problem could be a nice hint.
I like the idea of giving the players subtle clues. Some of the PCs may catch on to what's about to happen and some may not. Encourage your players to give their characters different alignments and motivations. If a LG PC catches the hints, they'll probably tell the whole party their theory. But a CE character might debate their hypothesis and try to persuade the party it's paranoia, even though they know it's true.