Adventure Advice

[Saisei]

Hey folks. Not sure how many people have read the 'Tonight I'll be running the Dalish Curse" thread but I would appreciate some advice.

I currently have a group that are far from heroic (Fits perfectly for Dragon Age). Unfortunately I've been running DnD for so long as well as a Supernatural game and a Superhero game (Both using Cinematic Unisystem) that I'm a little rusty on running non-heroic advenures.

Don't get me wrong, my group aren't evil they're just... independent? Selfish?

My party consists of am Elven Circle Mage (was Dalish but was taken by the Circle at a young age), a City Elf Warrior, and Avvar warrior, a Dwarven Rogue and our newest edition a Freeman Warrior.

The background is that the Dwarf Teegan has been snuck out of Orzammar on a mission to go to Denerim. The Avvar and the elven warrior are her protectors, the Circle mage is with the city elf, and the Freeman is stuck with them at the mo'.


I have an idea of running an old fashion caravan escort mission (I'm thinking of tying in the Blackstone Irregulars) but I'm also looking to make it not as dull as that. I have a couple of ideas but I'm mostly looking for advice for steering this type of group in the right direction or creating adventures to suit them.

Any advice would be welcome (And hey if all else fails, coin is a great motivator)

[discuit]

Hi mate,

Before i can offer any help i need to know a few things:

1. What ties the two elves to the dwarf+mercs?
2. Are the mercs old friends? Or just randomly hired escorts?
3. What brought the human into the picture?

Cheers.

[Saisei]

Right so we have the Dwarf Teegan. She's the youngest daughter of a lesser Dwarven Noble and has been snuck out of Orzammar. She's heading to Denerim in search of the head of the Templars in Fereldan.

Her father has hired Cullen, the Avvarian Hillsmen to be her guide and somewhat of a bodyguard. Cullen, being unsure of the lowlands asked for aid from his friend the Elf Falos. Falos is a city elf but left Denerim years ago and took up life as a mercenary and scout. He and Cullen met a few years ago and have hunted and fought together a few times. They get on well.

Ahnika, our Circle Mage, has just left the Circle to pursue knowledge of her people. One of her main goals however is to head to Denerim and retrieve her phylactery so that she can be free of the Circle and the Templars.

On the road she met Falos and decided to travel with the elf. Both of them wish to find th eDalish to learn more of their history.

Kariel, the newly acquired human Freeman, is from Vintiver. After this adventure he will have burned his bridges in Vintiver and has spitefully decided to inflict himself on the group until they get to Denerim.

So those are all the ties we have within the group.

Now I have an idea for the group to get to Denerim and look for the Knight Commander (I think he's the one in charge... Batgirl? lol). He has however left. I'm thinking he's either at Redcliffe or in the Circle Tower.

The Pc's want to find him so they take the escort job with the Blackstone Irregulars to ensure some coin and a little more safety.


I have however just found something which really intrigues me and would be great for Ahnika

When the Imperium occupied the area that is present-day Ferelden, they had two sites dedicated to magical experimentation at the extreme ends of the Imperial Highway. The southern one was the fortress of Ostagar, which looked out over the Korcari Wilds. The northern one was Aeonar, although the exact location is now a secret known only to a handful of Templars.

Whatever it was the Tevinter were trying to discover at Aeonar, their work was never completed. The fortress was overrun by disciples of Andraste upon hearing the news of her death. According to legend, it was a massacre--eerily silent, for the invaders caught the mages while all but one of them were in the Fade.

The site was left structurally sound but spiritually damaged. Possibly because of this, the Chantry chose to put it to use as a prison. Accused maleficarum and apostates are held in the confines of Aeonar. Those who have a powerful connection to the Fade, and particularly to demons, will inevitably attract something across the Veil, making the guilty somewhat easier to tell from the innocent.

--From Of Fires, Circles, and Templars: A History of Magic in the Chantry, by Sister Petrine, Chantry scholar.

[discuit]

Coolio, but i have one last question.

Why is the dwarven noble seeking the knight commander? I only ask as it seems to be a central theme for you and i don't want to make suggestions that might derail that.

[Saisei]

Ah yes. Sorry. Basically the house, House Stonebrow, are a lesser house and are seeking to get ahead. Teegan's father wants her to try to cut a deal with the Tepmplars directly and become the sole supplier of Lyrium to the Order.

Now whether or not that has any hope of succeeding is an entirely different question, but that is her mission nonetheless.

Failing that she is to try to set up any possible trades she can with anyone willing to buy.

[discuit]

Very cool. Leave it with me for this evening to stew over, and all going well i'll post some ideas tomorrow for you.

[Saisei]

Much appreciated dude. I have the ideas for the adventures but I'm starting to doubt myself now. I'm like "Will my players just bugger off?" lol

Cheers anyway

[Aldaris]

Just a general bit of advice for involving non-heroic players in an adventure: make it personal. They need to have some stake in it other than just "doing good" because they felt like it at the moment. Quick idea: your Dwarven noble seems to be rather central to the group, and he's out of Orzammar on a secret mission. No one can know about this, or he'll lose his standing and hurt his family. How about a surface Dwarf finds out/recognizes him/was hired by a rival house and now threatens to blow his cover?