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Old 03-23-2021, 07:43 PM   #1
phiwum
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
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Default Some ideas for contraband

Give me some ideas for contraband shipment to an enemy army. You know, something like gun-running, but weapons are commonplace. I don't necessarily want to go with magical weapons shipments, 'cause that just don't sound quite right. Weapon poison is a possibility, but not a great one.

What kind of smuggling do you envision in Elyntia?

Thanks.

Aside: I briefly lived in Groesbeek, The Netherlands, near the German border. Funny little town, had a history of smuggling some time in the 20th century, but it was mostly dairy products. Would kind of suck to be thrown in the pokey for that. Big, hairy dude next to you asks, "What you in for?" What do you say? I had three pounds of butter in my underwear?

Any lies about Groesbeek above is due to a mighty faulty memory, but is accurate to the best of my addled abilities.
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Old 03-23-2021, 08:34 PM   #2
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Default Re: Some ideas for contraband

Smuggle in a goblin witch to do ISR for the enemy general.
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Old 03-23-2021, 09:12 PM   #3
phiwum
 
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Default Re: Some ideas for contraband

That's an idea, but I've already presumed that the warlord has at least some competent wizards, including a party for creating a gate in preparation for a small to medium scale invasion. It's possible, I suppose, that there's one extraordinary wizard who would be a great asset.

But I was thinking about items being shipped. The shipment has to be discovered. At this point, it's only for flavor in the game and the discovery will be known through rumor, not direct involvement. Whether or not anything comes of it later, I don't know. I don't even know if the rumor is true.

I started off on the first adventure mentioning orcs coming from the Huldre forest northward, up to no good. I intended it to be a bit of racist fearmongering and do nothing with it, but as I searched for things to do and it will become an important feature of the campaign.

I suppose even racist fearmongerers could be right part of the time. I have a little mini adventure titled "Not All Orcs" just to keep this from being too simple in moral terms. Let's see whether the party slaughters a band of mostly innocent orcs for the bounty or takes the time to talk to them first. (They are, after all, still orcs, so only mostly innocent. Or am I being racist now?)

Maybe later, the band of orcs from "Not All Orcs" will become radicalized due to ostracization and prejudice and the adventure should be titled "Not All Orcs Yet".
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Old 03-24-2021, 05:10 AM   #4
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Default Re: Some ideas for contraband

Whataboutism if the orcs were mostly law abiding but subject to racist weapons restrictions and some foreign halfling troublemaker was carrying a dozen finely made spearheads to the orcs?
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Old 03-24-2021, 06:45 AM   #5
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Default Re: Some ideas for contraband

Quote:
Originally Posted by hcobb View Post
Whataboutism if the orcs were mostly law abiding but subject to racist weapons restrictions and some foreign halfling troublemaker was carrying a dozen finely made spearheads to the orcs?
That's also not bad. The orcish threat is coming from a warlord in the Huldre Forest in Tanander. Those areas are remote, perhaps few resources and technology so weapons are hard to come by.

I've been thinking the threat is real, that they're invading parts of the Duchy of Dran, but that comes with its own problems. Large battles are unwieldy in TFT. I could just change the background and suppose that they are migrants battling poverty and famine, unable to emigrate legally and visibly to Elyntia and so sending ahead a well-provisioned vanguard to secure a place in the Gargoyle Mountains as a safe entry point via Gate. They're not looking to abuse the populace but they need a place to live that is safer and more civilized than the Huldre Forest.

This complication really would add a moral morass to the problem. The orcs feared and hated for posing a real threat are just looking for a place to live. This wouldn't be easy to discover, so the characters will have begun to hate orcs by the time they find out. Hmm... Another little moral issue.
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Old 03-24-2021, 08:54 AM   #6
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Default Re: Some ideas for contraband

ITL 77: "if led by someone they respect (that is, fear). An orc army is a terrifying thing."

Your mission, if you chose to accept it, is to launch a kamikaze decapitation strike to remove the leader of the orcs (and hence their threat to us).

As the orcs worship strength their leader is of course a ST 6 Halfling Theologian who knows the Great Voice and Word Of Command - Believe spells. So remember to stuff beeswax in your ears.
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Old 03-24-2021, 09:11 AM   #7
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Default Re: Some ideas for contraband

Woodcuts or engravings with images that would run afoul of the official censors' political or prudish sensibilities (here's a link to an old NYTimes article that discusses censorship of prints in Japan) or which are part of a psyops campaign.

Or how about a big shipment of Tavos Tea (see Ardonirane 58)?
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Old 03-24-2021, 11:28 AM   #8
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Default Re: Some ideas for contraband

Supply logistics are almost always a problem for an army, especially an invading one.

Basic food items including spices and things like the mentioned butter.
Materials for uniform/clothing/tack/weapon repair.
Solders invading a dry/no-booze area might pay a high price for alcohol.
Entertainment(use your imagination).
Information.
If in enemy territory, replacement troops.
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Old 03-24-2021, 03:19 PM   #9
phiwum
 
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Default Re: Some ideas for contraband

Excellent suggestions from everyone. Thanks, guys! (Going out on a limb here and supposing that every contributor is a guy. Seems probable, even when the name doesn't give clues to gender.)

I still haven't settled on a particular contraband yet, partly because I've been so taken with the notion of changing the story line and making the incursion a migration issue instead of a military invasion.

Now, if that's the case, what calamity is causing a mass migration of orcs from lawless Tanander to Elyntia? Could be a simple famine, exacerbated by the lawlessness of the region. Could be a dragon causing chaos, though orcs fleeing a dragon sounds kinda chicken. Orcish refugees generally seem a little problematic. A zombie apocalypse moving further north? That's an option.

I have time to figure out if I want this to be a refugee crisis or just baddies being bad and invading. I kinda like big reveals that show the situation isn't as expected. Honestly, a zombie apocalypse or garden variety plague to the south of Elyntia might do okay. The powers that be want to keep it quiet while refusing entry from the affected regions and the orcs are loath to discuss the situation for fear of further bigotry and violence.

Whatever the cause, it has to be significant enough to prompt a large band of orcs to flee, but it should be something that either PCs can play a role in defeating or that does not threaten the destruction of Elyntia. Hmm...

I have plenty of time to think it over. These developments won't be visible for a while in real world time.
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Old 03-24-2021, 04:34 PM   #10
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Default Re: Some ideas for contraband

TFT needs some sort of madman stiring up trouble in Tanander in order to destabilize Dran, but where would he be located and what's Tollenkar's ultimate goal?
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