NationStates Jolt Archive

I've got to come up with a D&D session within a couple hours, and I'm having writers block. So far the party has killed some head vampires and saved a city whose population is mostly decimated. Which is nice, but now most loose ends with that plot point have been wrapped up and I really want to get away from vampires because my party is way too prepared for them. So anyhow any ideas?

To those who will mention the nerdiness of DnD, I will mention I can have Vin Diesel beat you up AND have Steven Colbert put you on notice.

What level are they?

What level are they?

ten

one shifter druid
one half elf fighter (archer)
one genasi fighter (the tank)
one human wizard

I've got to come up with a D&D session within a couple hours, and I'm having writers block. So far the party has killed some head vampires and saved a city whose population is mostly decimated. Which is nice, but now most loose ends with that plot point have been wrapped up and I really want to get away from vampires because my party is way too prepared for them. So anyhow any ideas?

To those who will mention the nerdiness of DnD, I will mention I can have Vin Diesel beat you up AND have Steven Colbert put you on notice.
It's time to think of the reprecusions of killing the vampires and having this decimated population. Are they just going to leave them? What happens to them, can they feed themselves, defend themselves-how was the saving done, have they left them off better, or just doomed in a different way?

Once the character get to the point where they're taking out big shit at will, just moving up dice in the monster manual isn't really going to yield the good results. What has to happen now is to start making there be other consiquences for them using that power. They have a different class of problems to solve.

Otherwise they might as well be playing one of those safari games that masquerade as RPGs on video game machines.

OFF TOPIC-For fucks sake, I know it's extrodinarily rare to get snow on the coast of California but you don't need to keep interupting the season finale of Battlestar Galacitca with Emergency Broadcast reports, lots of other places get snow all the damn time, it's not that big a fucking deal.

ten

one shifter druid
one half elf fighter (archer)
one genasi fighter (the tank)
one human wizard
Liches can be pretty interesting and they’re versatile if not overused.

It's time to think of the reprecusions of killing the vampires and having this decimated population. Are they just going to leave them? What happens to them, can they feed themselves, defend themselves-how was the saving done, have they left them off better, or just doomed in a different way?

Once the character get to the point where they're taking out big shit at will, just moving up dice in the monster manual isn't really going to yield the good results. What has to happen now is to start making there be other consiquences for them using that power. They have a different class of problems to solve.

Otherwise they might as well be playing one of those safari games that masquerade as RPGs on video game machines.

OFF TOPIC-For fucks sake, I know it's extrodinarily rare to get snow on the coast of California but you don't need to keep interupting the season finale of Battlestar Galacitca with Emergency Broadcast reports, lots of other places get snow all the damn time, it's not that big a fucking deal.
You pwnd my sleep deprived response.

It's time to think of the reprecusions of killing the vampires and having this decimated population. Are they just going to leave them? What happens to them, can they feed themselves, defend themselves-how was the saving done, have they left them off better, or just doomed in a different way?

Once the character get to the point where they're taking out big shit at will, just moving up dice in the monster manual isn't really going to yield the good results. What has to happen now is to start making there be other consiquences for them using that power. They have a different class of problems to solve.

Otherwise they might as well be playing one of those safari games that masquerade as RPGs on video game machines.

OFF TOPIC-For fucks sake, I know it's extrodinarily rare to get snow on the coast of California but you don't need to keep interupting the season finale of Battlestar Galacitca with Emergency Broadcast reports, lots of other places get snow all the damn time, it's not that big a fucking deal.

The cities not really in bad shape; its one city (of value) within in a state that can support it through this time period. As for repercussions....I'm sick of vampires for now. I know I'll think of something, I'm pretty good at adlib, just want to hear some ideas because I'd like to throw my party for a loop.

The cities not really in bad shape; its one city (of value) within in a state that can support it through this time period. As for repercussions....I'm sick of vampires for now. I know I'll think of something, I'm pretty good at adlib, just want to hear some ideas because I'd like to throw my party for a loop.
The reprecussions should not come from vampires, but from the city. What has this done to the power structure? Who's going to benefit from it, and why? Who's going to exploit it, and who's going to be blamed for that exploitation? (the no good dead goes unpunished idea, but more complex)

Liches can be pretty interesting and they’re versatile if not overused.

When my party was 9 I sent a CR13 liche (I had determined that given prior battles they could manage) with three lower lvl helpers to aprehend the party members, so mind you he wasn't going all out. The short story is it ended terribly with them spanking the lich. The wizard who seems to specialise is summoning celestial bison (I call him the bovimancer) pinned down the lich and made it so he couldn't cast. Not one of the better battles.

The lich was pretty embarassed and he did survive though.....

When my party was 9 I sent a CR13 liche (I had determined that given prior battles they could manage) with three lower lvl helpers to aprehend the party members, so mind you he wasn't going all out. The short story is it ended terribly with them spanking the lich. The wizard who seems to specialise is summoning celestial bison (I call him the bovimancer) pinned down the lich and made it so he couldn't cast. Not one of the better battles.
Ouch
The lich was pretty embarassed and he did survive though.....
If you plan to bring him back, it would probably be best to do that at a much later time, and like I sad, they get overused, and that’s just boring.
Cannot think of a name has some good ideas.

Kobold Gay Pride Parade

You'd be astonished at just how much that can lend itself to story lines.

Kobold Gay Pride Parade

You'd be astonished at just how much that can lend itself to story lines.
Quality

The cities not really in bad shape; its one city (of value) within in a state that can support it through this time period. As for repercussions....I'm sick of vampires for now. I know I'll think of something, I'm pretty good at adlib, just want to hear some ideas because I'd like to throw my party for a loop.

In terms of 'throwing for loops', one of the best tricks can be to take something they know SO well, and use it against them.

Two examples - both pulled from DMing Warhammer many years ago, but they'll give you the idea:

1) Halflings (hobbits). Everyone knows hobbits are short and basically useless... and this may be true. However, if you use very small, agile snipers in an urban environment, you can drive your players crazy trying to come to terms with how to deal with the threat.

2) Orcs. I took some common-or-garden variety orcs. I decided they wore some different armour, with peculiar runes on it. SOME of the orcs, were bog-standard orcs, in this pretty new armour. SOME of the orcs were something very different (in my campaign, they were kind of Buddhists... a religious order of spellcasting martial-artists).

EVERYONE knows what to expect from orcs. Until, all of a sudden, they don't.

I've got to come up with a D&D session within a couple hours, and I'm having writers block. So far the party has killed some head vampires and saved a city whose population is mostly decimated. Which is nice, but now most loose ends with that plot point have been wrapped up and I really want to get away from vampires because my party is way too prepared for them. So anyhow any ideas?

To those who will mention the nerdiness of DnD, I will mention I can have Vin Diesel beat you up AND have Steven Colbert put you on notice.

Hmmm...

Are you planning on keeping the characters in this city? or general area? Maybe some 'behind the curtain's' kind of guy tries to paint the PC's as being responsible for the decimation of the city... sometimes fighting an assinuation is harder than fighting a monster...

Kobold Gay Pride Parade

You'd be astonished at just how much that can lend itself to story lines.

ingenious!

I've got to come up with a D&D session within a couple hours, and I'm having writers block. So far the party has killed some head vampires and saved a city whose population is mostly decimated. Which is nice, but now most loose ends with that plot point have been wrapped up and I really want to get away from vampires because my party is way too prepared for them. So anyhow any ideas?

To those who will mention the nerdiness of DnD, I will mention I can have Vin Diesel beat you up AND have Steven Colbert put you on notice.
Have a few demons show up. Maybe the vamps were mages who were trying to summon a few demons to conquer the world.

How about a heavily-armed and pissed off band of mercenaries who were hunting the vampires your lot killed?

Kobold Gay Pride Parade

You'd be astonished at just how much that can lend itself to story lines.
Well, that's new O_O

Give them a few (game) days to prepare (As in, tell them its coming), and then trow a Hellfire Wyrm at them. Or maybe a shadow dragon. I dunno, we defeated the Wyrm at level three...

I dunno, we defeated the Wyrm at level three...
D and D, where the heroes are'nt the underdog.

Throw a party at them consisting solely of evil halflings:

1 halfling warlock - For his feats, Supernatural Transformation: eldritch spear, Combat Expertise, Improved Flight, Supernatural Transformation: Brimstone or Beshadowed blast.
For invocations - Darkness, Devil's sight, Entropic Warding, Fell flight, Beshadowed or Brimstone blast, and The Dead Walk.

2 halfling rogues. The work together and with warlock skellies/zombies to flank. Combat setup.

1 halfling cleric of Dallah Thaun.

All of them CE.

It's time to think of the reprecusions of killing the vampires and having this decimated population. Are they just going to leave them? What happens to them, can they feed themselves, defend themselves-how was the saving done, have they left them off better, or just doomed in a different way?

Once the character get to the point where they're taking out big shit at will, just moving up dice in the monster manual isn't really going to yield the good results. What has to happen now is to start making there be other consiquences for them using that power. They have a different class of problems to solve.

Otherwise they might as well be playing one of those safari games that masquerade as RPGs on video game machines.

OFF TOPIC-For fucks sake, I know it's extrodinarily rare to get snow on the coast of California but you don't need to keep interupting the season finale of Battlestar Galacitca with Emergency Broadcast reports, lots of other places get snow all the damn time, it's not that big a fucking deal.

I've got to agree. Your players have created a power vacuum in the city and the region surrounding it. Things will probably not return to normal. Someone, or someones, will attempt to assume control of the city and its shady underbelly, and that can be even worse than the vampire. A turf war between rival criminal organizations attempting to ascend to control of the city. Maybe someone even more evil than the vampire rises to power and its even worse for the people of the city. Maybe the people resent the players for what they've done. Just because they killed the bad guy doesn't mean everything goes back to normal.

Sending them back to save the city two or three times before it's actually happy and safe there again will give them an affinity for the city, and they'll actually start to care about the inhabitants.

That or they'll hate the fucking morons inhabiting it for being so useless.

I've got to come up with a D&D session within a couple hours, and I'm having writers block. So far the party has killed some head vampires and saved a city whose population is mostly decimated. Which is nice, but now most loose ends with that plot point have been wrapped up and I really want to get away from vampires because my party is way too prepared for them. So anyhow any ideas?

To those who will mention the nerdiness of DnD, I will mention I can have Vin Diesel beat you up AND have Steven Colbert put you on notice.

One word: Doppelganger

If my group can get back together (work schedule conflicts), I want to play a doppelganger thief (assuming my DM allows it).

Hmmmm?

Make the vampires a distraction for something bigger. Take the story into a different direction as in oh somebodies tomb in under the city and the vampries were a lure to get the party out of the way......

2) Orcs. I took some common-or-garden variety orcs. I decided they wore some different armour, with peculiar runes on it. SOME of the orcs, were bog-standard orcs, in this pretty new armour. SOME of the orcs were something very different (in my campaign, they were kind of Buddhists... a religious order of spellcasting martial-artists).

EVERYONE knows what to expect from orcs. Until, all of a sudden, they don't.

I suppose that cracking the joke that NOBODY expects the orkish inquisition would be in poor taste?

I suppose that cracking the joke that NOBODY expects the orkish inquisition would be in poor taste?

Indeed... but not a bad idea...

An Orcish Inquisition...

Seriously, one of the big problems I ran into, over and over, was the idea that roleplaying was about killing bigger monsters every time... like a party that kills a group of orcs, is 'less good' than a party that kills a group of ogres..

The other big problem I had, is that players read the same books I do... so they KNEW what to expect, if they encountered a certain type of enemy...

So - I always tried to make campaigns about something OTHER than just 'kill one vampire, then kill two vampires, then kill THREE vampires...'

Sometimes, SOME of the players got pissed because I wasn't using standard orcs, for example... like there should ever be such a thing. For the MOST part, though, players enjoyed the fact that a small party of orcs MIGHT turn out to be more difficult to defeat than the last big monster they fought.

Just outta curiosity, what did you end up doing?

Indeed... but not a bad idea...

An Orcish Inquisition...

Seriously, one of the big problems I ran into, over and over, was the idea that roleplaying was about killing bigger monsters every time... like a party that kills a group of orcs, is 'less good' than a party that kills a group of ogres..

The other big problem I had, is that players read the same books I do... so they KNEW what to expect, if they encountered a certain type of enemy...

So - I always tried to make campaigns about something OTHER than just 'kill one vampire, then kill two vampires, then kill THREE vampires...'

Sometimes, SOME of the players got pissed because I wasn't using standard orcs, for example... like there should ever be such a thing. For the MOST part, though, players enjoyed the fact that a small party of orcs MIGHT turn out to be more difficult to defeat than the last big monster they fought.


My DM is like that. One of the things that got my group in trouble was an organized pack of (I think 20 or so) kobolds that ambushed us. My character came out of that debacle pretty good (L4 thief/L3 fighter with 73 hp), but as a party, we didn't do so good.

My DM is like that. One of the things that got my group in trouble was an organized pack of (I think 20 or so) kobolds that ambushed us. My character came out of that debacle pretty good (L4 thief/L3 fighter with 73 hp), but as a party, we didn't do so good.

I always preferred that.... something that might require some thought and some imagination to deal with, rather than whipping out the (same) trusty magic weapon again, and rolling 'hopefully high dice'.

Indeed, when I could manage it, I often tried to avoid rolling dice, at all.