Masquerade Ball Macguffin needed.

A_K_K · 04-05-2010, 02:41 AM

So I'm a running a traditional fantasy (LotR/DnD type) in PBP on another site.

I have a Masquerade ball featuring a masque of an old fable starring an international celebrity at the capital city opera house coming up.

The two characters attending are undercover, one is a elven risen (as in died and returned) rouge spy the other is a gnostic monk (who's people are hunted by the local church authority).

The scene offers them the opportunity to mingle with the higher nobility in the kingdom, but that's kind of not so helpful in that they can't identify most of them due to the masks (and no one will likely want to talk shop after a few drinks without significant prodding), so that point is kind of moot, granted good dice rolls could help, but I don't like leaving a scene to the dice alone.

There is also the opportunity to have the masked rival gang in a blood fued with the characters patron arrive on the scene, but the only way to pull this off seems to be to emulate old batman scenes with the joker, and I'd prefer not to rip on something that cliche. (they arrive in masks, take prisoners and enforce their will until the heroes save the day).

The goal of the party is basically to learn what they can here, and their bigger objective is to shift support in the nobility to their unpopular candidate for the crown which is a long shot at best, but the only reasonable and good man for the job (the duke) and he's not even sure he wants it (he won't be in attendance).

So my main problem is a need a Macguffin or two (or three) and I've never actually been to a masquerade ball or a masque so I'm not quite certain how the affairs are conducted aside from wiki reading and a few scenes from selected movies, so if you have experience in these affairs that's probably a boon.

Granted a google search will turn up info about these events, but not really give me any insight as to how I might use the scenario to advance the plot.

I know where the story is headed but the characters opted for this weird side quest for in character reasons (the elf woman is a singer and is apparently a decided fan of the operatic singer performing) not to mention it could prove to be a great scene and I'd hate to waste such a unique sounding scene when there seems to be a lot of potential here to do something interesting.

Any thoughts are welcome :) Lists are appreciated so I can pick through a few interesting things.

arnej · 04-05-2010, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WoLT

Any thoughts are welcome :) Lists are appreciated so I can pick through a few interesting things.

You want lists? We got lists...

Mistaken identity - one of the PCs is wearing a mask that a VIP is also wearing. They get all sorts of asides, whispered confidences, etc. to lead them on to other interesting things.
Wait, what was that? - Lots of opportunity for overheard conversations about the Duke. Maybe one where someone is obviously in his court. Who are they, and how do you find them again?
Swapping identities - an NPC in trouble asks to change masks with a PC. They could be a good guy or gal that needs help, or a bad guy who's trying to dodge some trouble they've brought on themselves.
Magical curse - some sort of magical catastrophe causes everyone to take on some aspects of their masks?
Status concealed - a PC gets approached for a liaison by someone wayyyy above their station...
Hey, you're cute - similar, but a PC is approached by someone who turns out to be from the other side. Desparate fight? Or Romeo & Juliet?

arnej

A_K_K · 04-05-2010, 11:46 AM

That was about awesome. Thanks alot, I like all of these, I'll see what I can use within the frame of the scene as it plays out.

Any more ideas are welcome, thanks so much arnej!

Bruno · 04-05-2010, 02:50 PM

All of arnej's items can also be turned around if the PCs have a mission/goal in attending the party, other than just "having fun" and "meeting important people".

If the PCs need to make contact with a VIP, and someone else is wearing the same mask, then you have Mistaken identity with the PCs as the mistaken side accidentally leaking information (and now they have to clean up!)

PCs can also be encouraged to be the ones doing the approaching for Status concealed or Hey, you're cute - provide appealing targets and see if you can get someone to take the initiative. In this case, Status concealed may be the target is actually way out of the PCs league :)

For color, you can have much of the above going on in the background with NPCs and the PCs accidental observers. If a high-status NPC sneaks off for a liason with someone they "shouldn't" have dallied with, the PCs might find themselves under EXTREME pressure later to keep quiet...

A_K_K · 04-05-2010, 07:13 PM

All good points.

These things can all be done from several angles.

I'll keep that in mind.

Generally the trend is to send them on a specific mission and they find all sorts of other things to do along the way that unlocks a bunch of different things.

I'm thinking making contact with an NPC they otherwise couldn't access would be a great mission for them, perhaps the enemy or perhaps someone otherwise out of their league. That should do it.

The rest is all stuff I can arrange for flavor.

Thanks guys, I'm fully confident in this scene now and have several game changing opportunities ahead.

Lets see what happens :)

04-05-2010, 02:41 AM	#1
A_K_K Join Date: Apr 2010	Masquerade Ball Macguffin needed. So I'm a running a traditional fantasy (LotR/DnD type) in PBP on another site. I have a Masquerade ball featuring a masque of an old fable starring an international celebrity at the capital city opera house coming up. The two characters attending are undercover, one is a elven risen (as in died and returned) rouge spy the other is a gnostic monk (who's people are hunted by the local church authority). The scene offers them the opportunity to mingle with the higher nobility in the kingdom, but that's kind of not so helpful in that they can't identify most of them due to the masks (and no one will likely want to talk shop after a few drinks without significant prodding), so that point is kind of moot, granted good dice rolls could help, but I don't like leaving a scene to the dice alone. There is also the opportunity to have the masked rival gang in a blood fued with the characters patron arrive on the scene, but the only way to pull this off seems to be to emulate old batman scenes with the joker, and I'd prefer not to rip on something that cliche. (they arrive in masks, take prisoners and enforce their will until the heroes save the day). The goal of the party is basically to learn what they can here, and their bigger objective is to shift support in the nobility to their unpopular candidate for the crown which is a long shot at best, but the only reasonable and good man for the job (the duke) and he's not even sure he wants it (he won't be in attendance). So my main problem is a need a Macguffin or two (or three) and I've never actually been to a masquerade ball or a masque so I'm not quite certain how the affairs are conducted aside from wiki reading and a few scenes from selected movies, so if you have experience in these affairs that's probably a boon. Granted a google search will turn up info about these events, but not really give me any insight as to how I might use the scenario to advance the plot. I know where the story is headed but the characters opted for this weird side quest for in character reasons (the elf woman is a singer and is apparently a decided fan of the operatic singer performing) not to mention it could prove to be a great scene and I'd hate to waste such a unique sounding scene when there seems to be a lot of potential here to do something interesting. Any thoughts are welcome :) Lists are appreciated so I can pick through a few interesting things. Last edited by A_K_K; 04-05-2010 at 02:46 AM.

04-05-2010, 11:46 AM	#3
A_K_K Join Date: Apr 2010	Re: Masquerade Ball Macguffin needed. That was about awesome. Thanks alot, I like all of these, I'll see what I can use within the frame of the scene as it plays out. Any more ideas are welcome, thanks so much arnej!

04-05-2010, 02:50 PM	#4
Bruno Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Canada	Re: Masquerade Ball Macguffin needed. All of arnej's items can also be turned around if the PCs have a mission/goal in attending the party, other than just "having fun" and "meeting important people". If the PCs need to make contact with a VIP, and someone else is wearing the same mask, then you have Mistaken identity with the PCs as the mistaken side accidentally leaking information (and now they have to clean up!) PCs can also be encouraged to be the ones doing the approaching for Status concealed or Hey, you're cute - provide appealing targets and see if you can get someone to take the initiative. In this case, Status concealed may be the target is actually way out of the PCs league :) For color, you can have much of the above going on in the background with NPCs and the PCs accidental observers. If a high-status NPC sneaks off for a liason with someone they "shouldn't" have dallied with, the PCs might find themselves under EXTREME pressure later to keep quiet... __________________ All about Size Modifier; Unified Hit Location Table A Wiki for my F2F Group A neglected GURPS blog

04-05-2010, 07:13 PM	#5
A_K_K Join Date: Apr 2010	Re: Masquerade Ball Macguffin needed. All good points. These things can all be done from several angles. I'll keep that in mind. Generally the trend is to send them on a specific mission and they find all sorts of other things to do along the way that unlocks a bunch of different things. I'm thinking making contact with an NPC they otherwise couldn't access would be a great mission for them, perhaps the enemy or perhaps someone otherwise out of their league. That should do it. The rest is all stuff I can arrange for flavor. Thanks guys, I'm fully confident in this scene now and have several game changing opportunities ahead. Lets see what happens :)