[DF] General Adventure Workshop Thread

[ajardoor]

So, how about Mirror of the Fire Demon, huh? Seems like there is some demand for ready to use modules for the GMs.

(WARNING: Obviously, you may not want to look at the stuff in this thread if you do not GM a DF game but play in one instead. TLDR; SPOILERS!)

So, I kind of want to enlist this forum in fully fleshing out some ideas for Dungeon Fantasy adventures - advice and contributions to the adventures would be great.

You can, of course, post any related material (including your own adventures) in this thread.

To start off, here's the beginnings of stuff I'm working on;

Divide and Conquer
A mystery scenario set in an large city.
The PCs must find out who is responsible for the murder of a local woman heavily involved in the trade wars of three merchant families. On the way, they discover a plot to mass-counterfeit gold coins, overseen by a deadly secret society.

The Continuing Crisis
An action packed disaster movie-style scenario.
A town called Requiem, famous for its excellence in magical research and quality production of enchanted items, has suddenly been horribly destroyed by an unknown catastrophe. The PCs have either been hired to rescue survivors, decided to loot the town for thier own gain or they were somehow caught in town when the disaster struck and must escape to safety. Unfortunately, Requiem's ruins have become infested with strange monsters and an entrenched bandit syndicate is hiding out in the ruins while the baron's army stands outside in a bitter standoff with the evil plaguing the town. What was Requiem's dark secret?

Music of the Death Cult
An horror scenario set in the grim, snowy mountains.
The PCs have been hired to help an expedition investigate a manor in a mountain range, where strange and unknown music is coming from. As the PCs survive the strange and disturbing wilderness, they come to find the empty mansion was the headquarters for a hideous death cult. Exploring further, they uncover ancient catacombs leading into the depths of the mountain. But the source of the mysterious music they hear may be the last thing they discover...

[Gnome]

Our group went on the following adventure:

The PCs are hired by a consortium of elvish wine merchants to sabotage a dwarvish brewery in the nearby mountains. If the local dwarven ale supply runs dry, the elves calculate, demand for elvish wine will go up. As it turns out, the brewery is built inside of a dormant volcano and run by golems and fire elementals (as well as dwarves). Ultimately, the PCs ended up flooding the entire facility with molten lava, releasing it from the machinery that powered the brewery.

[Langy]

I'm basing my DF campaign on Ye Olde Mythes and Legendes; the first adventure is going to consist of the PCs being tossed into the Labyrinth (the local prison complex) by the Magistrates of Crete. One of the Magistrates will give the PCs their equipment back and promise a pardon if they kill the Minotaur, a great beast that lives at the heart of the Labyrinth. Maybe have them recover some fancy bauble, too. They fight through the Labyrinth, kill the Minotaur - and then **** gets serious. It's going to eventually segue into Mirror of the Fire Demon, but with an ocean taking the place of the desert and old-style gods taking the place of the wizard who owns the mirror of the fire demon.

These two adventures will be the basis of a series of adventures focusing upon the PCs stumbling into a plot to cause a world-wide calamity and then trying to fix it before Armageddon.

[Captain-Captain]

The PCs are to intercept a young noble on his way to marry a princess in a neighboring kingdom. Somewhere on his person, his retinue or his baggage is a letter of credit, from his father the Duke meant to bribe one of the King's Generals. The PCs are to bring the letter to an Ambassador from a 3rd kingdom, who will pay them 1 1/2 times the value on the letter, or kill them and pocket the money. Guess which.

Ideally leaving the Groom to be in condition to be married. This will stall the upcoming war something the Ambassador, Duke and King respectively all want.

However, the general has gotten wind of this and has an army to stop the PCs.

[ajardoor]

Here's what I got so far for my adventures;

Divide and Conquer

"If money is, as it is often posited, the root of all evil, then where does that leave greed? Let's do the math: Greed takes up most of your time and most of your money, so therefore greed = time x money. And, as we all know, time = money. Ergo, greed = money x money. So, if money is the square root of all evil, then we are forced to conclude that greed is evil as well, perhaps even more so, in that it forced us to do math.
But when does the desire to simply possess something turn into unchecked greed? That's easy: when the things that you possess start possessing you"
-- Dale E. Basye and Bob Dob, in Rapacia: The Second Circle of Heck (2009), "Backword", p. 361

1. Overview
The city of Port Vith is an interesting place. It is a festive and prosperious place, a major trading port and Baron Cadwell's personal home. It is a decadent and uneasy place, filled with violence, crime, grime and intrigue. Many make their home here; farmers, sailors, craftsmen and merchants. Murderers. One of the three major merchant companies, each run by a rich family, is in charge of a brutal secret society of spies, thieves and hitmen. One of the society's leaders, Trey Quipper, has been secretly running a gold mine on the baron's private property and using the illict gold to make counterfeit coins. Recently, however, he has found out that a woman of a rival merchant family, Reina Warsh, managed to discover the approximate location of the gold mine (although she didn't realise what exactly she discovered). Being a pragmatic sort, he took this opportuntity to kill two birds with one stone - he orders his men to murder Reina and try to frame the other rival family for it.
The adventure starts with the PCs arriving in Port Vith, and Reina Warsh having a few hours to live. Once in town, they attract the eyes of the merchant families as potential employees or enemies - perhaps tempting them with payment. Eventually, though, they either find the body of Reina Warsh, or are employed to find her killer. Following the clues, they eventually discover links to the secret gold mine scheme and the involvement of the secret society. Meanwhile, the murder is used by the Quippers to inspire the common people to riot against the Gapu family and the secret society starts to realise what a threat the PCs are. Once the assassins they send are stopped, the PCs must then use the clues they have gathered to locate the secret society's lair and infiltrate it. What happens then will decide the fate of Port Vith.

Sidebar: Key Elements
This adventure relies less on combat to advance then being able to connect the dots. The dots in question are the ARRIVAL IN TOWN, the EMPLOYMENT BY A MERCHANT FAMILY, getting clues during the INVESTIGATION, surviving the RIOTS, dealing with the ASSASSINS and confronting the secret society at their LAIR. An important consideration for the GM is giving the players CLUES about the killer's identity, the secret society, the gold mine scheme and the location of the lair. Be sure that there is ample opportuntity for the PCs to find them and figure out their significance in the bigger picture, allowing them to uncover the killer and the secret society.

Sidebar: Protagonists
Keep in mind that this is a "town adventure". Illegal activity by the PCs could lead to them being arrested or wanted by the city watch. The adventurers may have to use stealth and cleverness, rather than brute force. Also, Druids and other adventurers who specialise in 'wilderness' skills may/will be less useful for this adventure. Although there are guidelines provided for scaling the adventure to greater or lesser threats and rewards, the intended party is three to five characters built on 250 points each, and at least one of the PCs is of an profession suited for urban adventures (see DF 2, page 30) and with only normal starting gear.

Sidebar: Hooks
The adventure generally assumes the party investigates the murder either on their own after discovering the body in person, or having been hired to do so by one of the three merchant families (see below). Alternatively, they may be press-ganged into action if a PC was caught doing something illegal. The party could turn down the offer, the GM should probably be ready to run with it, deciding on what happens due to their inaction. To minimise the possibility of the party's refusal of adventure's call, be sure to appeal to both player and character (offer a nice reward, roleplay the employer as sympathetic and generous, note the disadvantages (i.e. Curious, Charitable, Greed, etc.) the PC has).

Sidebar: Custom Fit
Overhauling Scenery - Changing the city shouldn't be too much trouble, although the merchant families and the secret society may have to change a few details along with it. For example, a clue about the killer's identity is that he left behind traces of pitch used in shipmaking and he works in a habour, so if the city is changed to a non-port, the killer will have to leave behind a different clue about his occupation. Also, note that the chase scene, the discovery of the body and the riots may have to change if your city is very unlike the one detailed here.
Your Own NPCs - The main personalities of the adventure are a murdered woman, a secret society and some merchant families. Making it more personal is simple; a recurring NPC is one of them, although the villain's scheme may change from a secret gold mine for counterfeiting into something else. The secret society may change up their membership, methods and goals.
Major Changes - The PCs are most likely to be better than most of the enemies in this adventure, although thanks to the lethalness of combat, a surprise attack or lucky roll could be dangerous. The real focus should be on the investigation and roleplaying. Shifting that focus is possible. If the party sides with the secret society, they may find themselves carrying out the murder and helping with the counterfeiting scheme, thus making them rely on combat more often and doing morally dubious actions.

Sidebar: PC Abilities and the Adventure
Exceptional Firepower - The enemies in this adventure are generally fairly mundane fighters and thieves, with some wizards mixed in. They'll have appropriate armour and weapons for covert business in the city, although the existence of enchantments can not be ruled out at all. If the party is heavily loaded with gear, keep track of encrumbrance. Also note that the city guards will be watching them as they arrive, so illegal and dangerous equipment may confiscated or restricted (more on that later). Being able to completely plow through any opposition, however, will not be an issue, as the main focus on the adventure is not violence, although scaling up the final confrontation in the lair may be necessary to preserve the drama.
Exceptional Travel - The adventure requires practically no overland travel at all, so teleporting or flight won't matter too much. While such abilities may trivalise some parts of the adventure, such as the chase scene or the riots, those scenes aren't vital to the adventure and keep in mind that enemies may use such abilities themselves.
Exceptional Information - Now here's what could trivalise the entire adventure, at first glance anyways. What if the murder victim is resurrected? What if the secret society's lair and gold mine are scried for? What if the murderer is scried for, or mind-read? The simpliest answer to these questions is that the secret society and merchant families all have magical protection against these spells, with the most valuable stuff (the lair and the gold mine) protected by spells with Endurance/Power-25. GURPS Mysteries also has some insight into how magical solutions to mysteries can be foiled or turned against the investigator (inventive uses of Scryfool, for instance). Of course, perhaps it is better if you just let PCs use their spells and abilities to get clues, although be sure to examine the limits and modifiers related to them very closely before you roll the dice. Also note just using such abilities successfully may not be enough; knowing that a NPC is the murderer because you read his mind once may not help the party find the lair or stop the assassins from attacking them.

Sidebar: Spin-Offs
* Further adventures in or around Port Vith are possible, assuming the adventure goes well. The city would make an excellent 'home base' for more typical dungeon crawling activities.
* The merchant families will be changed by the events of the adventure - the PCs may have won themselves an Ally Group, a Contact Group, a Patron Organsation or an Enemy because of their actions. Getting hired by any of them again could happen. Ditto the secret society.
* The material rewards of the adventure could serve for future plot hooks - a treasure map in the lair, for example.
* And what about the baron himself? Surely such major events in his city would get him involved! What kind of man is the baron, anyway?

[ajardoor]

About The Quipper
Headed by the aging Turril Quipper, this merchant family controls the secret society, although very few members of the society know who are the leaders. Assisted by his brother Davo, his own sons Trey and Wade, and their sons Barlo, Othello and Jimfree. They have many contacts in the city's marketplace, a stranglehold on the waterfront and influence the city's customs and importing/exporting. Right now, they wish to control the baron directly, through the money-lending institutions. Trey's counterfeit coins scheme is lucrative, but very risky. The mine is on the baron's private land, and the coins themselves are less than perfect reporductions due to the family counterfeiter's lack of skill. The family itself is all human, but also employs halflings, half-orcs, gnomes and half-elves in both legitimate and illegimate jobs.

About The Warsh
The youngest legacy of the three, the Warsh family openly dislike the other two factions, maintaining their own fleet in defiance of the Quippers and uncooperative with the Gapu due to striking differences of opinion when it comes to labour relations. Their reputation for secrecy is well deserved, maintaining the family's personal privacy through an growing influence of the local military and an army of mercenaries. Expanding their military might is their immediate goal, as that would allow them to win important trade concessions from foreign powers later on. To this end, they plan on suppressing any public unrest and crime - thus making the baron more comfortable with their use of martial force. Sea elves, dwarves, hobgoblins, dragon-blooded, humans and minotaurs are their employees. The family themselves are all high elves.

About The Gapu
Ever since the tragic death of their leader, the Gapu family have seen their control over Port Vith slip. Now, inter-factional conflicts over leadership positions have cost them precious followers. Despite this, the family still controls the exceptionally rich sides of the city, especially visiting foreigners. The family is all human, with mostly humans on their payroll - although many other races do count themselves as supporters and errand runners.

About Port Vith
The city is accessed two ways; a heavily defended habour on the east side (leading to a large river) and the north-western main gate.
A huge wall surrounds the city, lined with standard anti-seige equipment, guardtowers and regular patrols. The baron's castle is located on the east end of his private land, on a hill overlooking the habour. A large army of soldiers are kept in the city, in case of emergencies. He has an elite guard available for personal missions and as bodyguards. The elite guard all patrol his private land and secure his castle. The city itself is crowded and dirty, with narrow streets and dark alleys. The sewer system has manhole openings on the street level, although they are hazardous to walk around in, for obvious reasons, and it's illegal to do so. The poorer sections of the city look they're crumbling apart, and very shoddily built and repaired. Most buildings are one or two stories high. Water is drawn from public wells or the river. Open squares for public meetings are uncommon and patrolled by guards. Common crimes are often done by street gangs, who meet at night in squalid hidden gambling dens. Depending on how the PCs have interacted with the three merchant families, the rolls involved with certain activities may be penaltised or granted bonuses, at GM's fiat.