NPC motivations
Background: I having only been gaming for a year (D&D 4e) but am trying out things from the other side of the screen. I've run several practice games (printed adventures) with just me and my husband (bravely playing four characters, but he loves character creation, so it's no real burden). Now, I'm preparing to run my first "original" adventure, and I would appreciate some input from the vast experience represented here. [I'm sure my ideas aren't original, but they're new to me.]
I have a secret society called the Peacekeepers, who seek out and imprison anyone in the town who has anything at all magical about them. Any race other than human, dwarf, and halfling is suspect. The public display of any magical power or talent is cause for immediate arrest. Even owning a magic item of any sort will earn you a room in their special prison. It's been this way for as long as anyone native to the town can remember - it's just a part of life. Traders in the area have learned the hard way, so the most common victims are travelers and adventurers.
My husband was helping me brainstorm, and suggested that perhaps the prisoners get a chance to earn their freedom (a la "Running Man" - old Arnold Schwarzenegger movie). I liked the idea, and decided the prisoners would be chosen by a lottery system - completely random. This is where my ideas get a little foggy. Why would the Peacekeepers imprison these characters, only to later offer them a chance to earn their freedom? Is their quest some local menace? Or is there something even more devious? Could their perceived quest for freedom merely be a test to propel them into some further nefarious Peacekeeper plot?
Thanks in advance for any and all feedback.
I have a secret society called the Peacekeepers, who seek out and imprison anyone in the town who has anything at all magical about them. Any race other than human, dwarf, and halfling is suspect. The public display of any magical power or talent is cause for immediate arrest. Even owning a magic item of any sort will earn you a room in their special prison. It's been this way for as long as anyone native to the town can remember - it's just a part of life. Traders in the area have learned the hard way, so the most common victims are travelers and adventurers.
My husband was helping me brainstorm, and suggested that perhaps the prisoners get a chance to earn their freedom (a la "Running Man" - old Arnold Schwarzenegger movie). I liked the idea, and decided the prisoners would be chosen by a lottery system - completely random. This is where my ideas get a little foggy. Why would the Peacekeepers imprison these characters, only to later offer them a chance to earn their freedom? Is their quest some local menace? Or is there something even more devious? Could their perceived quest for freedom merely be a test to propel them into some further nefarious Peacekeeper plot?
Thanks in advance for any and all feedback.