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New GM requesting setting help

   
New GM requesting setting help

Note- this is based in 5e
If anyone is currently in my physical game, and reading this forum, please stop because SPOILERS AHEAD

Alright, so I have a setting worked out based around a town on the frontier, linked to the rest of civilization based around a single tenuous supply road to the south. The town is basically a hotspot and base for many adventurers and explorers heading out into the unknown north, where many orcs, gobins, and other monsters of savage lands are. I have spent most of my time trying to populate the northern unknown, with the plan being that the PCs will set out to explore this area, encountering various tribes of barbarians, goblins, lizardfolk, and giants, and either befriending or making them enemies. My PCs are currently low level, and have spent some time out in the wilds exterminating some goblin raiders, and investigating a missing party(Giant Spider attack). The idea behind this is that this is phase 1, when I get time somewhat leveled up.

Phase 2 begins with the leader of the town announcing that he has heard of a hobgoblin legion headed by a fearsome warrior Olag the bloody-handed, who is marching for the town, intending to destroy it and sweep down into the rest of civilized lands. To this extent, I want him to be sending out scouts and envoys to the various tribes of the region to try and get allies, that the PCs were supposed to be finding some of in phase 1.

My current problems are that I sort of jumped the gun, and had the Captain(Leader of town) announce that the army exists and is headed for the town. This was kind of early, because the PCs were making motions to go leave the town and try to reach the rest of civilization. So I tried to get them to go help defend the town by showing this clear and present threat, and instead they decided to help escort the last caravan out of town. I don't have the rest of the world very well developed, so I feel like I need to try and find a way to keep them in this general area around the town and in the wilds.

My present solution is to have a large band of orcs attack the caravan, cutting the part of the convoy they are in off and forcing them to head back to town.

My actual encounter plan is such: Rockslide happens, splitting the convoy in 2, and then a massive orc warchief yells to kill the weaklings and have a band of orcs descend on the convoy, killing the weaker people and capturing the stronger fighters. Have the main warchief jump down onto the other part of the convoy,(Putting him out of somehow getting sniped by player range) while having an almost overwhelming amount of orcs and a smaller, more killable warchief try to attack their portion of the convoy and capture them. Note to the PCs that the orcs are trying to nonlethal blow on the stronger NPCs in the convoy, so that they don't have a TPK, and that if they are taken out, I have them wake up in a orc stronghold as slaves.

I see this as a good way to introduce a secondary evil adversary (Main orc Warchief), who I have referenced to earlier in the past sessions. Hopefully this gets them stuck in the town, and then I can have the Captain send them out to harass the legion on the march, and get up to the business of gathering allies and other interesting things.

My worries is that this is going to feel very railroady to the players. Can I get any advice from here on alternative solutions to this problem, or other ways I can help improve the present setting. I know that parts of the setting seems very vague, and I'm open to suggestions on how to elaborate on them

First, ask the players what they want to do. It's possible they really don't want to do the savage frontier town thing and would like the bright lights of the city. If that's the case then keeping them in the town would indeed be railroady. As a DM you cater to your audience, but you've also got to run what you vpfeel comfortable with. Come to an understanding with your players and don't be afraid to talk about it.

Have a scout or something meet up with the players stating that the captain begs for their assistance in defending the town and that the caravan will be escorted by someone else.

or this is what I would do.....

Quote:
So I tried to get them to go help defend the town by showing this clear and present threat, and instead they decided to help escort the last caravan out of town.
I would let them leave and reach a neighboring village a few miles away. Caravans move slowly, they are overpacked ... so when they reach the village a few hours before nightfall and the horse's are surely in need of rest, some of the people from the town arrive on horseback to the village stating that the army is nearing the town and it needs more help, i.e the village militia and another low level npc or two comes into play and the pcs are again asked to join the fray.
they all can reach the town via horseback by nightfall and will encounter the town on fire and an army at its front door, do they get time to level, no not really, they were the ones who choose not to stay in the first place, but they did get some xp for the escort quest.
however if they again choose not to go, they are not really liked by the villagers and told theirs no room at the inn, now you can repeat your initial adventure.... when they wake up, orc scouts were spotted, do they flee with some of the villagers and the caravan again or do the stand and fight with those survivors from the town who arrived during the night to set up another force to attack the orcs once again... you will need to make sure the pc's believe their is a winning chance, introduce a few new NPC's from the village or something.

but then again if they still plan to flee, their quest is basically over, the wagons move slow and theirs a river that needs to be forged, this will take time to prep the wagons, meanwhile most of the defending armies have retreated and are badly wounded and here comes more orc scouts riding worgs. Fight or die! if they jump in the river and flee again, you simply tell them they have failed the adventure and are currently traveling with peasants and some wounded warriors down the river where their will be a small town.

Now you will have to think of something else to do, meanwhile your orc army, now weakened, lives and reaps the reward for their plunders.... Players fail and DM wins do they get xp, no not really, maybe some story xp. will they be bored, probably but that is their own fault.

I like some of your ideas Tsunami, including them getting sent out to try and deliver a message to get help from the other towns. However, I don't think that "DM wins" is not very entertaining for them or me really. Also saying 'you failed the adventure' is rather drastic.
I spent a bit of time last night planning things out, and I came up with some ruins, now infested with orcs, that are being repaired by slaves. These orcs are helping build a staging area in preparation for the larger Hobgoblin Legion's arrival, as they are working for them.
So, I planned out a quarry, ruined tower under repairs, and slave holding area. Ideally this should give the PCs options to try and foment a slave escape, uprising, or simply slip off themselves.

This is all assuming, of course, that the PCs get captured in the convoy ambush. Alternatively they run away and make their way back to the starting town on the edge of civilization, where I can have the captain ask them to go scout out the orc slavers or approaching army, and hopefully get them back on rails or at least nearer to more planned out content.

Quote:
I don't think that "DM wins" is not very entertaining for them or me really. Also saying 'you failed the adventure' is rather drastic.
hey when the DM has made obvious hints as to what he wants the adventure to be about and the players ingnore said hints and try to do what they want, then a direct.... you went the wrong way and you had a map, lol... saying will sometimes be needed to wake them up.

the above comment was moreso based off of the concept around your post, preferably the sentence, So I tried to get them to go help defend the town by showing this clear and present threat, and instead they decided to help escort the last caravan out of town.

in otherwords, I wanted them to fight and they fled, so no they don't get the good xp, just a small bit of story, nor do they get the good rewards....they fled and the monsters reap the rewards instead

but all that is based off of what they do compared to what you want them to do...

having/ wanting players to do something and forcing them to do something are two completely different things. The latter is what many consider railroading... however, its still an adventure, a journey through the game and ideas you have in mind but if their looking to do other things even after stearing them back to the right course, then yeah...I've had a few times when Ive said... Yo! wtf are you guys doing.... lol... and their response was well I don't want to do that... then don't play.

but ive been known to be a bit blunt sometimes, though on a different note, thanks for liking some of the ideas.

Edit: though if you really want them to do something, ensure they believe they can win. that's the best way to get them to do what you want them to do with it being their idea.





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