Believable leads

Discussion on game mastering Earthdawn. May contain spoilers; caution is recommended!
PiXeL01
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Believable leads

Post by PiXeL01 » Tue Jul 18, 2017 3:56 am

I'm reaching out because I'm admitting defeat and have lost the trust in my own creative abilities.

In my current campaign a group of Raggok cultists have the cartoonish plot that they are trying to destabilize an entire region near Travar by luring all the heirs of the merchants and nobles to Parlainth and help along these sons' demise should the ruins not do it.

The cult's modus operandi is that a few members approach the heirs and try to sell them a fake map, poetry or artifact which would lead to easily obtainable treasure in Parlainth, which will bring the heirs lots of fame or smooth their path to prosperity.
Should they be able to hook someone the cult send word to their pals in Parlainth who then approach the heirs when they arrive, acting as scouts. The heirs are then lead into the ruins and never seen again.
...
My players are currently seeking out one of these missing heirs and the plan is for them to be too late. The heir's vengeful father wants those responsible hunted down.

My question is what believable leads can I offer that will bring the adepts to the cult' Parlainth camp without dragging them by the nose?

The adepts consist of an Archer, Illusionist, Elementalist and troubadour mainly. Other attendees include a Swordmaster (always late and a beastmaster. All should be circle 6 now (58400 LP awarded)

The cult's composition is: Scout/Nethermancer (7/5), 3 Scouts (C5) & 5 mundane mercenaries (skills roughly rank 6 or 7)

Telarus
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Re: Believable leads

Post by Telarus » Tue Jul 18, 2017 5:13 am

Where are the player characters now in relation to the Travar/Parlainth branches of the cult? What context do they have for this so far?

PiXeL01
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Re: Believable leads

Post by PiXeL01 » Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:22 am

Please excuse me if I do not understand your question completely. I blame being a none-native user living in a country where the language isn't used at all.
...
Right now they are in the Southern Catacombs looking for a merchant son. They will find his corpse in a room, which is basically a trap set by the cult.

I was thinking to have them find his journal which could provide some hints, but without them being too obvious i.e. "The associate of the guy who sold me the poem made contact almost as soon as we arrived in Haven."

Telarus
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Re: Believable leads

Post by Telarus » Tue Jul 18, 2017 8:12 am

Yes, thank you. I was not sure where the party was in relation to geography and the plot. In Parlainth's S Catacombs and near the body is good info.

So the cult is aware there is some-one tracking the heir. They have laid out his body in a room with few exits as a trap. Will the PCs be fighting the cult soon or is the intent to track them down? I would have a cult lookout posted, which the PCs could spot if they roll well. If this area is also a cult work area, there could be signs of forging maps or making and then ageing artifacts. Signs of Raggok should be everywhere (defaced idols or signs of the other Passions, etc). Or you could have the mercenary cult members discover the PCs while they are investigating the body, but not attack - they try to hide and escape back to the Adepts for orders. This could allow perceptive PCs to track the mercenaries, or if the PCs don't take action, a greater ambush force waiting for them as they make their way out of the catacombs. If the PCs do not encounter the cult in the catacombs, maybe other NPCs saw the cult members enter/exit those areas, and it would take using the clues found on the site to track down rumors in Haven to find the right street urchin, merchant's guard, or who-ever - who can point them in the right direction.

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etherial
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Re: Believable leads

Post by etherial » Tue Jul 18, 2017 2:32 pm

PiXeL01 wrote:
Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:22 am
"The associate of the guy who sold me the poem made contact almost as soon as we arrived in Haven."
Most people don't write things like that in their journals. They'll say "I met with my contact" or "I found George right away and talked to him about X".

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Flowswithdrek
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Re: Believable leads

Post by Flowswithdrek » Tue Jul 18, 2017 6:04 pm

PiXeL01 wrote:
Tue Jul 18, 2017 3:56 am
My question is what believable leads can I offer that will bring the adepts to the cult' Parlainth camp without dragging them by the nose?
The adepts consist of an Archer, Illusionist, Elementalist and troubadour mainly. Other attendees include a Swordmaster (always late and a beastmaster. All should be circle 6 now (58400 LP awarded)
The cult's composition is: Scout/Nethermancer (7/5), 3 Scouts (C5) & 5 mundane mercenaries (skills roughly rank 6 or 7)
Give the players some motivation: A lot of carrot, and a little stick.

The Carrot: If the 'heirs' are from Travar's big merchant houses, they are likely rich as hell. Have one of them carrying a number of unique items (clothes/saddle/weapons with house sigil clearly marked on them), including something relating to one of the player character's disciplines (Sword, Staff, Collected Works of some legendary Troubadour). Have the player characters spot one or more of the mercenaries wearing or wielding one of these items. The players should be able to work out, if they can see one item, the other items must be close by and have them follow the mercenaries back to the cultist lair. Perhaps the mercenaries are flaunting one or more of the items just to lure the player characters into the lair.

The Stick: If the 'Heirs' are from Travar, perhaps one was carrying sensitive trade documents. The player characters learn in advance that the magistrates of Travar have sanctioned the Champions of Travar to travel to Parlainth by airship and recover the documents. This might give the player characters a little push knowing they might get beaten to the punch by real heroes if they don’t do something soon..

PiXeL01
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Re: Believable leads

Post by PiXeL01 » Wed Jul 19, 2017 3:16 am

Thank you everyone. It's surely good for thought all of it.

Slimcreeper
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Re: Believable leads

Post by Slimcreeper » Wed Jul 19, 2017 11:42 am

Was the room a trap set for the nobleman's son (nobleson?) or for the players? If the trap was set for the young nobleman, some possible clues:

- Clutched in his hand is a Brooch of Raggok that he pulled from the cloak of one of the attackers
- All of the wounds are clean sword blows, not bites or claw strikes. There is a broken axe lying near the young nobleman's body.
- One of the attackers dropped a cloth stamped with the mark. The mark is from a maker of snack-cakes from the city.
- The young nobleman was able to slay one or more of his attackers. The cultist didn't have the time or the inclination to remove the bodies. The attacker is a very distinctive Name-giver, such as a one-armed Obsidiman.

Back in Haven:

- Asking around yields rumors of a camp of cultists to the east.
- The maker of snack-cakes recently got a large order. He delivered the order to a cave complex to the east. He can make you a map, if you like
- The one-armed Obsidiman was obsessed with revenge against a band of unruly dwarves miners that caused a sinkhole near his Liferock. He left word at a local tavern that any correspondence for him should be saved. He had some sort of camp off to the east.

PiXeL01
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Re: Believable leads

Post by PiXeL01 » Wed Jul 19, 2017 10:17 pm

The room is a trap set for the victims, yes. It a large circlular room within a larger room. The walls are crystal clear so you can stand on the outside and look in, giving the impression that it was an old arena or museum. There's a weak ward on the door and spike traps beyond the room to give the victims of the cult a little challenge to make it more believable.
An old harp sits on a pedestal in the middle of the room on a small pile of treasure. A powerful illusion make the floor appear to be covered in coins and precious stones (are there penalties for difficult terrain? Have to look that up). The illusion also covers the flayed corpses in the room, bloody prints and sprays on the walls from the victims of the major Wingflayer the cultists trapped there.
The door to the room slams shut when victims are inside (either by design or remotely controlled, haven't decided yet) and a tornado of coins and slivers rise up from around the pedestal. As the fight commences hooded figures can be seen looking in from the outside. Not sure whether it will be real or just Raggok witnessing it all

Telarus
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Re: Believable leads

Post by Telarus » Thu Jul 20, 2017 3:55 am

Aaaah, I love that. Good imagery.

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