I'll try to keep this quick.
Prepping to run a sandbox campaign in Eberron (I disregard the Pundit's opinion of the setting). Keeping most of my notes system neutral in case 5e doesn't work out long term.
Focus is on the foreign quarter of Dar Jin, a city in a formerly closed empire (Riedra) that's only just starting to allow foreigners into very restricted areas. Lots of espionage, culture clashes, fancy digs.
Going for a very James Bond / Noble House / Casablanca vibe.
BUT, I want a megadungeon because I think having one handy is good for the players. They always have that standby to explore if they don't like their other options for the session. Plus, it's a good starting point for the newbies I want to introduce to the game or something easy to do with players who have unreliable schedules but want to get in the occasional game without having to keep up with the larger intrigue plots.
Trouble is, I think I've painted myself into a corner. The foreign quarter is closely watched and the rest of the country is off-limits to foreigners, so there's no convenient wilderness boundary zone to trek through to get to a dungeon. Even if there was, the paranoia of this control-freak empire would soon have agents tailing the PCs, finding the mega-dungeon, and declaring war on it themselves.
I'm trying to fit the dungeon under the streets of the foreign quarter, or more precisely inside a hill in the northern district that spreads under the wall and into about a mile of barren shore beyond (cut off from the rest of the country), but there's still the spy factor and the fact that a megadungeon under a major city would be an even higher priority for the control-freak empire!
I'm mulling over some possible solutions, but I could use some advice:
Perhaps the empire already cleared out old some old smuggler tunnels, figured the job was done and sealed most of the access points. This was a major and costly operation they don't care to repeat again. But they forgot at least one entry point that is then discovered by the players.
In the meantime, gradually monsters started bubbling up from the underworld, repopulating the sealed smuggler areas. They then dug new tunnels and linked formerly unrelated water systems and spaces that were missed by the government sweep.
While some of the governments agents are aware that the megadungeon is flourishing again, their superiors just don't have the manpower to spare and are planning to deal with it later. Any spies watching the players will then been instructed to report back only if their actions endanger the government, otherwise they are just doing the empire a favor by clearing out beasties.
I still don't like it much; it makes the ominous empire look weak.
Your thoughts?
Prepping to run a sandbox campaign in Eberron (I disregard the Pundit's opinion of the setting). Keeping most of my notes system neutral in case 5e doesn't work out long term.
Focus is on the foreign quarter of Dar Jin, a city in a formerly closed empire (Riedra) that's only just starting to allow foreigners into very restricted areas. Lots of espionage, culture clashes, fancy digs.
Going for a very James Bond / Noble House / Casablanca vibe.
BUT, I want a megadungeon because I think having one handy is good for the players. They always have that standby to explore if they don't like their other options for the session. Plus, it's a good starting point for the newbies I want to introduce to the game or something easy to do with players who have unreliable schedules but want to get in the occasional game without having to keep up with the larger intrigue plots.
Trouble is, I think I've painted myself into a corner. The foreign quarter is closely watched and the rest of the country is off-limits to foreigners, so there's no convenient wilderness boundary zone to trek through to get to a dungeon. Even if there was, the paranoia of this control-freak empire would soon have agents tailing the PCs, finding the mega-dungeon, and declaring war on it themselves.
I'm trying to fit the dungeon under the streets of the foreign quarter, or more precisely inside a hill in the northern district that spreads under the wall and into about a mile of barren shore beyond (cut off from the rest of the country), but there's still the spy factor and the fact that a megadungeon under a major city would be an even higher priority for the control-freak empire!
I'm mulling over some possible solutions, but I could use some advice:
Perhaps the empire already cleared out old some old smuggler tunnels, figured the job was done and sealed most of the access points. This was a major and costly operation they don't care to repeat again. But they forgot at least one entry point that is then discovered by the players.
In the meantime, gradually monsters started bubbling up from the underworld, repopulating the sealed smuggler areas. They then dug new tunnels and linked formerly unrelated water systems and spaces that were missed by the government sweep.
While some of the governments agents are aware that the megadungeon is flourishing again, their superiors just don't have the manpower to spare and are planning to deal with it later. Any spies watching the players will then been instructed to report back only if their actions endanger the government, otherwise they are just doing the empire a favor by clearing out beasties.
I still don't like it much; it makes the ominous empire look weak.
Your thoughts?
Making this urban megadungeon semi-plausible
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire