haha....oh oh oh...i just thought of the best inter-mixing plot ever.
The prisoners are taken prisoner on a ship. (something happens) to the crew and they wake up/free themselves from their cells and make their way up to the deck. Once on deck they find that the ship has run aground on a small island. On The Island they find 7 Goblins.....
D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
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BadgeAddict
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AccursedBiscuit
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Re: D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
Senor Vorpal Kickass'ooooooo!
I'm no ordinary biscuit. Just look at my horns.
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thinkslogically
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Re: D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
Hahahahaha! Very goodBadgeAddict wrote:haha....oh oh oh...i just thought of the best inter-mixing plot ever.
The prisoners are taken prisoner on a ship. (something happens) to the crew and they wake up/free themselves from their cells and make their way up to the deck. Once on deck they find that the ship has run aground on a small island. On The Island they find 7 Goblins.....
That would be awesome, but I'd probably be the only person who'd find it funny 
Aw man, there are so many options and so little time!AccursedBiscuit wrote:Senor Vorpal Kickass'ooooooo!
OMG! Accursed Biscuit, you are awesome. I think I just found my NPC Games I'm running:
The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)
The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)
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Quarg
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Re: D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
I would follow badgeaddict concept with some alterations:
Opening scene, the players wake in their cabins aboard ship and discover that it is rocking wildly and there is water sloshing about the deck floor. They only have a moment to grab one item before heading up on deck and getting into a lifeboat. However, there does not appear to be any crew left aboard.
The players then find themselves washed onto an island where there is a lighthouse and a few fisherman's houses. Also it is apparently crawling with crew members under the spell of a Siren who will attack if perturbed in the wrong way. (Most are gathering things to serve the Siren, like food, shiny things, etc)
As the game goes on a warship appears on the horizon, the players need to either kill the Siren, or signal the warship. They can signal the warship using the lighthouse but the parts for doing so are scattered in places on the island. The minions would be farily easy to handle and you can explain a lot of goodies from all over being the Siren's collected treasure. Also you have a RP solution and a fighting solution that the team can take. And also a mystery to solve since they would not know about the Siren unless they investigate.
Incorporate Senior Vorpal Kickass'ooo as another stranded, non-Sirened survior perhaps from a previous ship...
Note part of this game is the joke about NPC in early games that seemed to wander about aimlessly or completely ignore the carnage you were doing elsewhere....
Opening scene, the players wake in their cabins aboard ship and discover that it is rocking wildly and there is water sloshing about the deck floor. They only have a moment to grab one item before heading up on deck and getting into a lifeboat. However, there does not appear to be any crew left aboard.
The players then find themselves washed onto an island where there is a lighthouse and a few fisherman's houses. Also it is apparently crawling with crew members under the spell of a Siren who will attack if perturbed in the wrong way. (Most are gathering things to serve the Siren, like food, shiny things, etc)
As the game goes on a warship appears on the horizon, the players need to either kill the Siren, or signal the warship. They can signal the warship using the lighthouse but the parts for doing so are scattered in places on the island. The minions would be farily easy to handle and you can explain a lot of goodies from all over being the Siren's collected treasure. Also you have a RP solution and a fighting solution that the team can take. And also a mystery to solve since they would not know about the Siren unless they investigate.
Incorporate Senior Vorpal Kickass'ooo as another stranded, non-Sirened survior perhaps from a previous ship...
Note part of this game is the joke about NPC in early games that seemed to wander about aimlessly or completely ignore the carnage you were doing elsewhere....
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thinkslogically
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Re: D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
That's a cool idea Quarg, thanks I was toying with the idea of having some kind of underwater 'trap' that's captured the ship, but I think it would be too hard to pull off without railroading or expecting MASSIVE leaps of faith from the players. Putting the whole thing on a mini island would make it a lot easier...
I was toying with the idea of having some kind of underwater 'trap' that's captured the ship, but I think it would be too hard to pull off without railroading or expecting MASSIVE leaps of faith from the players. Putting the whole thing on a mini island would make it a lot easier...Games I'm running:
The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)
The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)
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Quarg
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Re: D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
Hey if you need help in additional details or something, don't hesitate to ask...I even know some lighthouses on some decently small islands...
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Arch Lich Burns
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Re: D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
You definitely need to put our players therethinkslogically wrote:That's a cool idea Quarg, thanks
see how they react.-
thinkslogically
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Re: D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
lol I'm not sure they'd get it to be honest, but I'll see what I can do with a small band of unconventional goblins! I'll probably put them slightly out of the way if they do go in somewhere...
I'm not sure they'd get it to be honest, but I'll see what I can do with a small band of unconventional goblins! I'll probably put them slightly out of the way if they do go in somewhere...Games I'm running:
The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)
The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)
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BadgeAddict
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Re: D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
See what i was thinking is, in The island, we'll have adventurers coming in on day 2, they could be those adventurers.
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thinkslogically
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Re: D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
You wouldn't be trying to squeeze important game info out of me would you now Badge?BadgeAddict wrote:See what i was thinking is, in The island, we'll have adventurers coming in on day 2, they could be those adventurers.
Games I'm running:
The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)
The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)
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BadgeAddict
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Re: D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
Not at all, in fact, what i was instead thinking is you would have other people give you ideas for the adventurers. though i am sneaky at times, i was not trying to be in this instance.
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thinkslogically
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Re: D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
I'm only winding you up I might well do that to be honest, though I'm not sure I would ask for inspiration directly from this forum just because if you guys find out about it early it spoils the surprise... I also have several 'days' worth of ideas drafted out anyway though so I think we'll be ok for a bit
I might well do that to be honest, though I'm not sure I would ask for inspiration directly from this forum just because if you guys find out about it early it spoils the surprise... I also have several 'days' worth of ideas drafted out anyway though so I think we'll be ok for a bitGames I'm running:
The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)
The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)
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thinkslogically
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- Location: Florida
Re: D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
OK the idea I'm currently rolling with is this:
PCs wake up imprisoned on an abandoned ship. It'll be suitably dark and spooky that it'll hopefully freak them out a little bit, but as they explore it, they'll find it completely empty except for a few token rats in the hold (which has a suspiciously large amount of water in it). They will be able to rummage around to find bits of loot that they can use but will need to find the keys to the armoury if they want any weapons. The captain's logbook doesn't reveal anything except that they were slaves being carried with various other cargo to some far away land. Hopefully they'll start getting into a bit of RP and make up some character background stuff along the way to flesh out their PCs a bit.
Emerging on deck they'll realise the ship is beached on a rocky reef a few hundred metres from a sandy island shore. A small boat is rowing out to them containing a single, very large humanoid (bugbear). He's quite friendly and too strong for the PCs to kill without a LOT of effort (L5 ish), and won't kill them unless they really force him to. He's basically a trader who loots the wrecks that come ashore and brings useful stuff back to shore to trade with people from the other islands nearby. He'll mention that the sea around here is dangerous and that the PCs should avoid it. If they haven't got into the armoury yet, he'll break the door down and offer them a 'discount' on any items they take.
As they go, he'll tell them about how ships are lured onto the reefs by a powerful sea creature (something like a mermaid but cooler). She wrecks the ships and lures the crews under the waves where she turns them into shambling sea-zombie minions and sends them onto the island at night*. HE doesn't know why, but he does know that he's killed enough of them in his time that as long as he doesn't interfere with whatever it is they do, they leave him alone. He's the only person on the island that he knows of, but there is an old abandoned village further up through the forest (watch out for wild animals!).
*She can't come ashore herself so can be as powerful as I want. The PCs can't go to her, and she can't come to them.
The village is abandoned like he says, but they'll find more information here if they look. They'll find several warning posters littering the streets to mind the curfew etc. and will eventually find enough clues (in the constabulary, temple and town hall) that explain what's happened. A few months ago, a fisherman was casting her nets in a new spot and hauled up a strange jade artefact. Believing it might be worth something, she took it back to the village where she showed it to the council. They decided to keep it and gave it to their alchemist to investigate. He took it to his tower to study.
A few days later the first ship wrecked on the reef and a group of villagers went to help. By nightfall, no-one had come back so another group went to the beach, armed and ready to tackle whatever pirates had come ashore. That evening was the first time they met the zombie things. Over the next few nights the villagers fought off their friends and families and the strange crew and eventually beat them back. A few weeks passed before the next ship wrecked... then another and another until the villagers were finally overrun and forced to flee. It's unknown if any of them made it out alive.
Yet the creatures still come ashore to the island.
More investigation / observation will reveal a few more things:
1. The zombie things will attack anyone (except the bugbear) they find and attempt to drag them underwater to their lair.
2. The zombies make it to the town and then seem to focus their attacks on the alchemist's tower, but they've so far not been able to get inside (blocked up / magic?)
3. A candle burns at night in the top of the tower.
If the PCs are able to get into the tower (maybe the magical barrier is down during the day), they'll find it suitably trapped and with a few animated constructs set as guards. At the top they'll find the alchemist who has been driven utterly mad by the constant attacks and the effect of the jade stone which whispers to him constantly. When the PCs arrive, he will believe they are zombies come to kill him and will attack.The PCs can decide whether to kill him or let him live. If they are able to break the enchantment that clouds his mind, he'll calm down and tell them what he knows, which isn't much but basically that the jade stone is precious to the sea creature in the bay and must be returned to her if they want the attacks to end. Then they have the option to give it back to the sea, keep it (BAD IDEA) or destroy it (will trigger an auto-revenge assault of all the creature's remaining zombies (approx. 10-15). If they trigger the attack, they'll have about an hour of in-game time to prepare the tower and persuade the alchemist to help them.
Once it's all over, they'll be free to leave the island. If they return the stone, the creature will thank them by providing a boat and some freebie treasures from previously sunk ships. If they destroyed the stone, similar items can be looted from the bodies of the zombies.
EDIT: The goblin group from The Island will be visible on a neighbouring island but are otherwise inaccessible for the duration of this story.
PCs wake up imprisoned on an abandoned ship. It'll be suitably dark and spooky that it'll hopefully freak them out a little bit, but as they explore it, they'll find it completely empty except for a few token rats in the hold (which has a suspiciously large amount of water in it). They will be able to rummage around to find bits of loot that they can use but will need to find the keys to the armoury if they want any weapons. The captain's logbook doesn't reveal anything except that they were slaves being carried with various other cargo to some far away land. Hopefully they'll start getting into a bit of RP and make up some character background stuff along the way to flesh out their PCs a bit.
Emerging on deck they'll realise the ship is beached on a rocky reef a few hundred metres from a sandy island shore. A small boat is rowing out to them containing a single, very large humanoid (bugbear). He's quite friendly and too strong for the PCs to kill without a LOT of effort (L5 ish), and won't kill them unless they really force him to. He's basically a trader who loots the wrecks that come ashore and brings useful stuff back to shore to trade with people from the other islands nearby. He'll mention that the sea around here is dangerous and that the PCs should avoid it. If they haven't got into the armoury yet, he'll break the door down and offer them a 'discount' on any items they take.
As they go, he'll tell them about how ships are lured onto the reefs by a powerful sea creature (something like a mermaid but cooler). She wrecks the ships and lures the crews under the waves where she turns them into shambling sea-zombie minions and sends them onto the island at night*. HE doesn't know why, but he does know that he's killed enough of them in his time that as long as he doesn't interfere with whatever it is they do, they leave him alone. He's the only person on the island that he knows of, but there is an old abandoned village further up through the forest (watch out for wild animals!).
*She can't come ashore herself so can be as powerful as I want. The PCs can't go to her, and she can't come to them.
The village is abandoned like he says, but they'll find more information here if they look. They'll find several warning posters littering the streets to mind the curfew etc. and will eventually find enough clues (in the constabulary, temple and town hall) that explain what's happened. A few months ago, a fisherman was casting her nets in a new spot and hauled up a strange jade artefact. Believing it might be worth something, she took it back to the village where she showed it to the council. They decided to keep it and gave it to their alchemist to investigate. He took it to his tower to study.
A few days later the first ship wrecked on the reef and a group of villagers went to help. By nightfall, no-one had come back so another group went to the beach, armed and ready to tackle whatever pirates had come ashore. That evening was the first time they met the zombie things. Over the next few nights the villagers fought off their friends and families and the strange crew and eventually beat them back. A few weeks passed before the next ship wrecked... then another and another until the villagers were finally overrun and forced to flee. It's unknown if any of them made it out alive.
Yet the creatures still come ashore to the island.
More investigation / observation will reveal a few more things:
1. The zombie things will attack anyone (except the bugbear) they find and attempt to drag them underwater to their lair.
2. The zombies make it to the town and then seem to focus their attacks on the alchemist's tower, but they've so far not been able to get inside (blocked up / magic?)
3. A candle burns at night in the top of the tower.
If the PCs are able to get into the tower (maybe the magical barrier is down during the day), they'll find it suitably trapped and with a few animated constructs set as guards. At the top they'll find the alchemist who has been driven utterly mad by the constant attacks and the effect of the jade stone which whispers to him constantly. When the PCs arrive, he will believe they are zombies come to kill him and will attack.The PCs can decide whether to kill him or let him live. If they are able to break the enchantment that clouds his mind, he'll calm down and tell them what he knows, which isn't much but basically that the jade stone is precious to the sea creature in the bay and must be returned to her if they want the attacks to end. Then they have the option to give it back to the sea, keep it (BAD IDEA) or destroy it (will trigger an auto-revenge assault of all the creature's remaining zombies (approx. 10-15). If they trigger the attack, they'll have about an hour of in-game time to prepare the tower and persuade the alchemist to help them.
Once it's all over, they'll be free to leave the island. If they return the stone, the creature will thank them by providing a boat and some freebie treasures from previously sunk ships. If they destroyed the stone, similar items can be looted from the bodies of the zombies.
EDIT: The goblin group from The Island will be visible on a neighbouring island but are otherwise inaccessible for the duration of this story.
Games I'm running:
The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)
The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)
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ThroughTheWell
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Re: D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
It sounds okay. But the alchemist needs more work. Somehow the alc is strong enough to block mindless but strong zombines and yet somehow the PCs can both get to him and possibly break the enchantment. So, I'd give the sea master a constant number of controled zombies, that way they just keep comming, but killing them does give PCs a temporary break. Let the sea master scry on undead or similar. Make the alc high enough level, or twinked to have cast some kind of premanent or conditional guards and wards. Yet, if the PCs can break line of effect between the alc and the item, then the enchant breaks. Or similar mechanical solution. The alc, while enchanted, is not using his full power since he's distracted by the item, but his previous preparations and defenses are still on autopilot.
And, please, try to come up with a tower that does 2 jobs well. It serves as an actual residence. And, when defenses are on, it serves as a fair adventure / challenge. Too many dungeons do the latter while neglecting the former. It helps if you design the tower as a defensible residence from the start. (I've found floor plans for a tower or 2 on the net.)
And, please, try to come up with a tower that does 2 jobs well. It serves as an actual residence. And, when defenses are on, it serves as a fair adventure / challenge. Too many dungeons do the latter while neglecting the former. It helps if you design the tower as a defensible residence from the start. (I've found floor plans for a tower or 2 on the net.)
I survived the forum move 4 times... yeah, I feel old.
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thinkslogically
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Re: D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
Thanks TTW that's good advice - the alchemist is a bit weak at the moment (e.g. how does he get food without being noticed etc.) so needs a bit more thought.
And yes, I agree about the 'defensible residence' part
And yes, I agree about the 'defensible residence' part
Games I'm running:
The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)
The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)
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ThroughTheWell
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- Posts: 1045
Re: D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
An alcove that has a create food and water trap, or the spell heroes feast, or item that does either. Plus a permanent unseen servant. Viola, food served without distractions for those periods of intense study. Item creation plus fabricate for dishes, or the ever fun oteogh (sp) disposal (more for sewage) or gelatinous cube (more for dishes). Throw in a skeletal servant to retrieve the cleaned dishes. The cube could even be summoved via a trap, which is nice for the dismissal.
So 3 alcoves, a cabinet, a bed, books, table, 2 monsters, and 2 servants, and suddenly the alc never has to leave his study.
So 3 alcoves, a cabinet, a bed, books, table, 2 monsters, and 2 servants, and suddenly the alc never has to leave his study.
I survived the forum move 4 times... yeah, I feel old.
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Quarg
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Re: D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
My suggestion is that the Tower House (rather than just a tower) defense is somewhat automatic, either raising itself (and it's doorway) at night or having the drawbridge automatically rise at sunset and lower and sun rise. Zombies are not known for their climbing ability. (I like the tower almost flying at night myself, but then I like to put obvious cultural references about the place.)
As for our intrepid alchemist...Have him stuck in a book or some other portal (sorry but the Island -- Myst) trying to escape the effect of the Jade. A magic weaver with a strong affinity for the Sea is found mad wandering about, eating raw fish from the stream below the Tower. If the players are able to break the enchantment of the Stone (say place it in a lead box or container) the magic user will tell them about looking for the Book. If they kill the magic user they can find a note on the body sating "Went into Otron" and then find the book "Otron" and then interview the Alchemist who is stuck until the Jade object is destroyed or removed from the tower.
Also the Alchemist will become more unwilling to help them the more damage they do to the magic weaver who is actually his son/daughter, so killing the magic weaver has serious repercussions later in the game.
I know this ads an NPC...but I think having two magic users, one mad and one stuck off in a timeless void works a bit better than somehow having all the complex magic effects on the single NPC.
As for our intrepid alchemist...Have him stuck in a book or some other portal (sorry but the Island -- Myst) trying to escape the effect of the Jade. A magic weaver with a strong affinity for the Sea is found mad wandering about, eating raw fish from the stream below the Tower. If the players are able to break the enchantment of the Stone (say place it in a lead box or container) the magic user will tell them about looking for the Book. If they kill the magic user they can find a note on the body sating "Went into Otron" and then find the book "Otron" and then interview the Alchemist who is stuck until the Jade object is destroyed or removed from the tower.
Also the Alchemist will become more unwilling to help them the more damage they do to the magic weaver who is actually his son/daughter, so killing the magic weaver has serious repercussions later in the game.
I know this ads an NPC...but I think having two magic users, one mad and one stuck off in a timeless void works a bit better than somehow having all the complex magic effects on the single NPC.
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thinkslogically
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Re: D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
No that's cool - nice idea I've got Saturday off from diving now, so I'll be able to sit and figure it all out properly then so an extra NPC is ok.
(Also Myst = Awesomeness)
I've got Saturday off from diving now, so I'll be able to sit and figure it all out properly then so an extra NPC is ok. (Also Myst = Awesomeness)
Games I'm running:
The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)
The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)
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thinkslogically
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Re: D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
Right then. So I think I will have just one alchemist, but the one they encounter is the son / apprentice of the original alchemist (who killed himself a few days ago in a massive act of will to free himself from the whispering stone). He knows enough to reset the traps and keep himself fed, but is still considerably less powerful than his mentor. Additionally, since he has been exposed to the stone for less time (it only really targets one being at a time), the PCs should be able to break the spell on him.
Oh, and because LAYF is awesome, I made another map
Oh, and because LAYF is awesome, I made another map
Games I'm running:
The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)
The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)
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Quarg
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Re: D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
I am going to make one criticism...
Beyond that have fun Thinks...
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LAYF
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Re: D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
I feel flathered
I like the map but.
I like the map but.
► Show Spoiler
Quarg wrote:I am going to make one criticism...Beyond that have fun Thinks...► Show Spoiler
► Show Spoiler
-Best regards LAYF
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Quarg
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Re: D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
LooksAtYouFunny wrote:I feel flathered
I like the map but.► Show Spoiler
► Show Spoiler
► Show Spoiler
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LAYF
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Re: D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
Quarg wrote:--SNIP--Also...► Show Spoiler► Show Spoiler
► Show Spoiler
-Best regards LAYF
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thinkslogically
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Re: D&D Mini-Dungeon help needed
I know it's not perfect - it's just a quick prop really The scale's off and the town is pretty much just dropped on the map. The only reason it is where it is is because there's a water mill in the town which needs a relatively high flow of water to run so I put it all at the bottom of the hills. Still, I figure I can explain that by the presence of water monsters - in a small community, no-one wants to live too close to the scavengers that come out the sea from time to time. The huts around the beaches are just sheds where fishermen keep bits of gear (but no-one really sleeps there).
LAYF - I made this one in Photoshop rather than GIMP just to see if it was similar, so it's not quite as nice as the ones you would have in your tutorial, but it's not too far off I don't think.
As for rivers, I just like drawing delta-like things
The scale's off and the town is pretty much just dropped on the map. The only reason it is where it is is because there's a water mill in the town which needs a relatively high flow of water to run so I put it all at the bottom of the hills. Still, I figure I can explain that by the presence of water monsters - in a small community, no-one wants to live too close to the scavengers that come out the sea from time to time. The huts around the beaches are just sheds where fishermen keep bits of gear (but no-one really sleeps there).LAYF - I made this one in Photoshop rather than GIMP just to see if it was similar, so it's not quite as nice as the ones you would have in your tutorial, but it's not too far off I don't think.
As for rivers, I just like drawing delta-like things
Games I'm running:
The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)
The Wandering Archipelago (D&D 5e)