A prelude adventure to Neither Man nor Beast (long)

[Diosamblet]

I was writing an outline for the next adventure I'm planning to dm, and I thought that it might be of interest to post it on the fraternity's boards. It is by no means a finished outline, and you might find that some parts constrain the player's actions too much. For those who manage to read through it all (its a bit lengthy), I'd be happy to hear your thoughts. Here goes:

The background story for the campaign focuses on the character Hugh Rowantree, a young noble who was deprived of his estate in Mordent by the usurping George Ulminster, who married his mother after his father’s death. The adventure begins with the arrival of Hugh and his companions near Mordentshire, to reclaim the Rowantree’s family estate. After having deposed of the tyrant, Hugh must set about restoring order to his manor.

The party finds that what servants have stayed behind are terrified by sounds and visions they have experienced near the room of the late Lady Rowantree. No one has entered it in years, not since she died, neglected by her husband. One or more PC’s are urged to stand guard at night to fight the specters the servants believe inhabit the room.

The truth of the matter is that the room contains a secret door that leads downstairs to the beginning of a mile-long earthen tunnel, which ends at a steep and perilous staircase carved into the sheer chalk cliffs of Mordent’s coastline. Whatever its original purpose, it is now utilized by a group of contrabandists to smuggle valuable items in and out of Mordent, having bribed Ulminster into working with them.

During the vigil, those PC’s guarding the room are attacked by one group of smugglers. The most likely situation is that they are overpowered and taken hostage. The other PC’s will search the room and find the tunnel. The rest of the band of smugglers lie in wait at the end, where they will fight the PC”s, while both parties must be careful not to step too closely to the brink of the stony stairs and fall to their deaths.

Assuming the whole party is captured, they are locked in the bowels of a ship and taken north. During the journey they hear snatches of conversation that inform them they are being transported to the manor of a reclusive scientist in Lamordia, who reputedly works on ghastly experiments involving the resuscitation of dead flesh.
On board, they also have the chance to meet another prisoner, Vasili Merripen, a half-vistani captain of the mists (a prestige class with which he can travel accurately through the mists. I believe it was designed by Joel, but I don’t have the file with me to verify this).

The chance for escape comes when the prisoners are traded to another ship at high sea. While the captains of the two vessels are engaged, the players need to break free. Undercover, they must take one of the ships during the night, while most of the crew is on board the larger vessel, leaving behind nothing but a skeleton crew.

Vasili forces the remaining crew’s assistance by leading the ship into a bank of mist near the jagged rocks. Once in the Mists of Ravenloft, only the gypsy captain can guarantee their safe return.

They sail out of the fog at sunset, when a storm is brewing. It is so ferocious that the ship, a small, light vessel is heavily damaged. After the storm subsides, the ship is no longer sea-worthy. When the new day dawns, they spot an island on the distant horizon. Nothing else can be seen, making it their only chance for survival. They set a course for Markovia.

[Sylaire]

I was writing an outline for the next adventure I'm planning to dm, and I thought that it might be of interest to post it on the fraternity's boards. It is by no means a finished outline, and you might find that some parts constrain the player's actions too much. For those who manage to read through it all (its a bit lengthy), I'd be happy to hear your thoughts. Here goes:

*snip*

During the vigil, those PC’s guarding the room are attacked by one group of smugglers. The most likely situation is that they are overpowered and taken hostage. The other PC’s will search the room and find the tunnel. The rest of the band of smugglers lie in wait at the end, where they will fight the PC”s, while both parties must be careful not to step too closely to the brink of the stony stairs and fall to their deaths.

You definitely put your finger on my (personal) problem with the outline when you said that it constrains the characters too much. I've always had a particular dislike for "And the entire party gets captured by the enemy..." adventures ever since the end of A3 when the party gets captured by the Slave Lords' no-saving-throw, no-trap-detection, doesn't-depend-on-the-actual-abilities sleep gas trap. The question has to be asked: if the smugglers are of sufficient levels/magics/equipment to instantly subdue the PCs, then why are they working as smugglers? For that matter, why would they capture the PCs--isn't it just easier, from their point of view, to simply abandon the hideout (since their stated motivation for using this particular location was their deal with Ulminster, who has now been removed) or in the alternative, to feel out the situation with Rowantree (who may be the rightful heir but might not have anything against making a bit of illegal cash to support his new property and lord-of-the-manor lifestyle).

(aside: maybe the smugglers already have approached Rowantree and that's why the PCs are being kidnapped--it fills the smugglers' needs and at the same time gets a bunch of pesky law-and-order types from hanging around Rowantree's hair. The meal served to them while standing watch by Rowantree's servants might be drugged, putting them in a weakened position to begin with...)

The fight on the cavern stairs sounds like it could play out in a nicely atmospheric fashion and would be considerably more fun than "oops, you've been nabbed by the bad guys." And if a PC falls from the stairs, rather than falling to their deaths they might end up falling into the hands of the bad guys (a legitimate "in-game" reason why they could be captured instead of DM fiat).

I don't like the mention of the "reclusive scientist in Lamordia." The threat of a Dire Fate at the far end of the journey shouldn't be necessary to motivate your PCs to attempt escape, and since the adventure segues into "Neither Man nor Beast" Mordenheim just serves as a distracting name-dropping cameo.

I do like the encounter between the two ships. This kind of chaos presents the perfect opportunity for the PCs to take action to free themselves and the scenario could go a number of different ways depending on the PCs' actions, leaving them on board one ship, the second ship, or over the edge in a lifeboat (Markovia ho!).

The last question I have is, what are Vasili's motivations? Why does he--a prisoner on board ship--suddenly shanghai the PCs off the Markovia once they're free? Does he have some compelling reason to do that--some important goal to accomplish there? If so, does he need to lead them there by magical force--maybe the PCs would be willing to help him instead (if, for example, he was instrumental in the success of their escape from their mutual captors)?

[Diosamblet]

Thank you for the reply Sylaire, its given a lot of food for thought.

I haven't really detailed the smugglers yet. I am, however, fleshing out one of the npc’s I want the players to meet onboard, a young Death Delver (from Heroes of Horror) named Miranda, who heals their wounds after the fight on the stairs. She is the first person they see upon regaining consciousness (picture the Tarokka card The Healer), and she shows herself to be fascinated by their near death experiences.
The players will have many opportunities to speak with her during their imprisonment, and realize she does not share in the wickedness of the crew. I want her as a foil to the ship’s captain, who should be thoroughly evil; this would lead the players to wonder what kind of bond exists between them. During the player’s escape, they can choose to take her with them, or even use her as a hostage to break free, despite the fact that she saved their lives.
I would like to make the captain a recurring villain and not just a one-shot bad guy, possibly as a dark mirror to Lord Rowantree himself (who is a player character, in case this was not apparent), but I am having trouble right now deciding on anything concrete about his personality or motivations.

[Diosamblet]

Ulminster’s deposition is a prime opportunity for the smugglers to take over the manor. Sylaire is right in proposing that it is easier for them to strike a new deal with the newly appointed Rowantree; the smuggler’s leader may ask for an interview, while at the same time attempting to capture one of Rowantree’s friends to use as leverage in their negotiations.
The fight in the room containing the secret door does not have to end with the capture of the players that were on vigil. Even if the pc’s kill their attacker(s), they will be prompted to search the room further and discover the secret passage.
The fight at the staircase can end in three ways: with the whole party held prisoner, the players killing off the band of smugglers, or with the smugglers taking off some of the players as hostages. Under the last two possibilities, the players will be motivated to hire a ship as quickly as possible and sail after the smugglers in hopes of rescuing their friends or avenging themselves on their attackers. They can finally catch up at the rendezvous point of the smugglers, and attempt to sneak in under cover of night or attack the vessels head on. That way I think the adventure is left open to the players’ ability, and how they wish to tackle the obstacles is completely up to them.

[Sylaire]

Ahh, that clears things up nicely. After all, the point is to get the PCs on a ship (so they have a legitimate reason to end up in Markovia) and to have a genuine adventure on the way--and given that Rowantree is a PC, they'll definitely pursue for one reason or another. So you've got some cool options for as it plays out, which is all I could ask for as a PC: meaningful choices, freedom of action, and fun either way! You'll have to tell us how it all plays out.

(Still curious about Vasili, though...)

[Joël of the FoS]

I believe it was designed by Joel, but I don’t have the file with me to verify this).

It isn't, unless I'm too old to remember writing it

They sail out of the fog at sunset, when a storm is brewing. It is so ferocious that the ship, a small, light vessel is heavily damaged. After the storm subsides, the ship is no longer sea-worthy. When the new day dawns, they spot an island on the distant horizon. Nothing else can be seen, making it their only chance for survival. They set a course for Markovia.

Interesting intro. I always like things DMs add to canon adventure to make them fit more closely to as campaign.

You could make them lost at sea for a few days. Always fun to see terror iin the eyes of sailors when unseen "things" hurt the hull of the ship, or when the ship is in a mist patch. So many things in the mist, ya know

You can use the patch for terror, eerie monsters you always wanted thme to fight, or to give them visions (prophetic or past) relevant to your campaign.

Joël

[Diosamblet]

Vasili was born of a Mordentish mother and a Naiat father. He was raised along the coast, living with his mother, but like many half-vistani, he was never accepted by either sides of his heritage. He ran off to become a sailor as soon as he was of sufficient age, to escape the constant glares and forge a life of his own.
Once he became captain of his own vessel, he was the master of his own world, yet every time he reached port and stepped off his ship, he was once more reduced to a half-breed child. He wishes to gain power and influence among the nobility of Mordent, to force others to acknowledge him. Vasili therefore trades as much in wares as in favors.
He will have the chance to learn of Hugh’s circumstances while they are held in the smugglers’ cells, and he will realize that, by assisting the young Rowantree in their mutual escape and delivering him safely to the mainland, he can gain his first ally among the circle of Mordentish nobles.

@ Joel

I had envisioned a suitably horrific encounter within the Mists, after the players escape from their imprisonment. One of the sailors is fishing to battle his ennui, when he feels he has caught something heavy. Assisted by others, they manage to pull aboard a corpse, its bones broken as if the body had been constricted. Not long after, the skeleton of a ship looms out of the fog, its hull bent and twisted, its masts snapped as if by a great force. The players are viewing the work of a giant squid of monstruous size, and they realize that whatever destroyed the ship did so recently, and might still be close by.