Author Topic: what sort of adventures do you run?  (Read 4523 times)

Offline vampmike

  • Participant
  • *
  • Posts: 18
    • View Profile
what sort of adventures do you run?
« on: May 14, 2009, 11:39:17 AM »
hi all i have been reading the forum and looking for the aphpa tests write ups and i havent been to find any, but it brought up a issue: what sort of adventures/campaigns fit into the dresdenverse?
the books are always from harrys point of view and the side characters come and go from one chapter to the next, but rarely do they spend any real time with him, and its only when he needs their help that they give him any aid. otherwise they are really there for harry to be harry at.
now i have been roleplaying for over 15 yeras and either running a game or playing in it this sort of play is very hard to do, it is time consuming and gives the stage to 1 player at a time most of the time. most roleplaying sees the player group as just that a group [now this could be just my experience and i do run for 6-10 ppl a game, so i never run small groups], what im asking has anyone had any good adventures in the dresden universe and what were they? were the player party all mages? how did you handle that? were they a mix of dresdenvers types, and how does that work? i mean how does a white court vamp, a fae, a knight of the cross and a council wizard 1] get on 2] have anything in common, etc.
what im really asking for i suppose is other peoples ideas on adventures and the other above subjects and how if they have done did they get around them.

thanks 

Offline Knave

  • Participant
  • *
  • Posts: 38
    • View Profile
Re: what sort of adventures do you run?
« Reply #1 on: May 14, 2009, 04:09:45 PM »
That is a tricky one, but SotC is very good at creating characters that already have a history from the get go.  As long as that much is in place it really doesn't matter what character types the PCs are playing.

Offline TheMouse

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 733
    • View Profile
Re: what sort of adventures do you run?
« Reply #2 on: May 14, 2009, 05:46:16 PM »
One thing I do in almost all of my games is do character generation all together, as a group. That way the players get to build the ways that their characters know one another. This is especially helpful when the players want to play things with no intrinsic reason to hang out.

If I were running a Dresdenverse game, I'd probably run the initial couple of games such that something threatens something a couple of the characters value. This could be as simple as something that draws local mortal attention a little too close to the supernatural world for anyone's comfort.

For example, the first game I plan to run involves a local student being murdered and having his heart removed. Not only does this bring federal law enforcement into the area, but research on the nature of the murder and the date shows that it might involve a really nasty demon. Demons are bad for the local peace, as are FBI agents poking around.

More specifics would come about based on what the PCs actually are. The identity of the student could be tied to a character or two. Involvement by the White Council would depend on character type. Etc.

Offline vampmike

  • Participant
  • *
  • Posts: 18
    • View Profile
Re: what sort of adventures do you run?
« Reply #3 on: May 15, 2009, 12:39:40 PM »
thanks for the replys, i have just gone out and brought SoTC, and wow i must say what a great system! i love the aspects, compels etc.

Mouse, i agree that was one points, some of my core players all want to play in the dresdenvers and at least 1 wants to be a knight of the cross, and we know from the books that while they are tolerant [just look at harrys relationship with them hehe] they do only tolerate so much, and i think if a player got into playing some sort of morally ambigious character type like a fae or wizard the two players would just spend the whole time at loggerheads, now while at times this can be fun and can spawn some great roleplaying conversations, most of the time it just decends into 'mines bigger than yours' roleplaying.
as for the adventure idea, i had one that was like that, that eople we turing up dead in a gruesome manner at focal [lay lines, weak points into the nevernever etc], but ther was no discernable change in the areas.
i mean the one constant in all the books is that the core of the story is a mystery. but i would love to hear some other types of plots that dont involve mysteries at the core, that would work in the dresden files style.

Offline Knave

  • Participant
  • *
  • Posts: 38
    • View Profile
Re: what sort of adventures do you run?
« Reply #4 on: May 15, 2009, 04:05:23 PM »
Well let's see:
- War stories -  White Council vs Red Court / Oblivion War / Fae vs Fae / Denarians vs Everyone / Order of St Giles vs Red Court
- Political Intrigue stories ( pretty much any of the Accorded groups )
- Fallen down and trying to get up, or - 'it sucks to be Black Court'
- Coming into power (anyone)
- Drafted! (Wardens / Wyld Hunt etc etc)
- Look who has come to town!  Stop them!
- Find that Darned MacGuffin!
- Joe PC, TARGET!  Now - figure out why?
- The posse
- On the Run

etc etc
« Last Edit: May 15, 2009, 04:13:05 PM by Knave »

Offline vampmike

  • Participant
  • *
  • Posts: 18
    • View Profile
Re: what sort of adventures do you run?
« Reply #5 on: May 15, 2009, 05:00:20 PM »
Well let's see:
- War stories -  White Council vs Red Court / Oblivion War / Fae vs Fae / Denarians vs Everyone / Order of St Giles vs Red Court
- Political Intrigue stories ( pretty much any of the Accorded groups )
- Fallen down and trying to get up, or - 'it sucks to be Black Court'
- Coming into power (anyone)
- Drafted! (Wardens / Wyld Hunt etc etc)
- Look who has come to town!  Stop them!
- Find that Darned MacGuffin!
- Joe PC, TARGET!  Now - figure out why?
- The posse
- On the Run

etc etc
ok love these knave hehe, a few questions?
1]Fallen down and trying to get up, erm i take it were not talking about actual falling down hehe, ive run some really obscure ideas for adventures, but im not that good. but seriously im alittle dense at the moment could you explain this one for me
2]ok it was just 1 question i looked up what a macguffin was

but i have to say i love the idea of a bunch of characters getting drafted into the wyld hunt hehe. i could see another good one here drafted into special investigations lol work for us or we will make your lifes a living hell. i would love to see a fae have to work inside the law hehe.

anyway great list and thanks my minds already buzzing with ideas

Offline TheMouse

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 733
    • View Profile
Re: what sort of adventures do you run?
« Reply #6 on: May 15, 2009, 09:33:27 PM »
If one of the players wants to create a Knight of the Cross, that shouldn't necessarily present a huge problem so long as all the players work together.

For the other players, that would mean not creating total monsters. We see that Michael is pretty tolerant of anyone who doesn't hurt people. The other players simply need to make characters who don't tend to hurt people. That means that any White Court characters need to avoid making people into thralls, Wizards have to not use their power against people, etc.

For the player of the Knight, that means extending that tolerance. Don't pounce on every little thing and insist that everyone behaves by the Knight's personal code. There are lots of tolerant people of faith in real life; it's not a huge stretch that they exist in a fantasy game.

As for creating stories, start with the formula from the books. There's a problem, whatever it is. For some reason it can't be solved in the most straight forward fashion. Then things start going more wrong than they were already. Throw in the final twist, and there you are.

Take my example story from above. The problem is that there's a murder with supernatural implications. The complication is that there are federal and local law enforcement agents in the area looking for unusual characters, and the PCs are unusual characters. Ergo they have to keep their heads down and avoid the law.

Now things need to start to go wrong. Research shows that this murder is likely one in a series of five. Whoever is killing is sacrificing to some nasty demon, and the demon demands five murders, each of which provides an organ. The murders must follow a certain pattern of days, and that means that someone's going to be killed tonight. Evidence leads to the campus... which happens to be a White Court hunting ground, and with the war going the way it is, you absolutely cannot piss them off.

The final twist is the FBI showing up at the characters' house, convinced that they're the killers. See, the real killer spotted the characters snooping around and decided to throw them to the cops. But the only one they mentioned their names to was that really helpful pre-med student. It must be him! Oh, but we've got to escape SWAT, the FBI, and anyone else who's throwing tear gas through the windows.

Just remember that complications shouldn't prevent all forward movement. Some of them should even be clues.

Hope this helps.

Offline Knave

  • Participant
  • *
  • Posts: 38
    • View Profile
Re: what sort of adventures do you run?
« Reply #7 on: May 16, 2009, 04:49:35 PM »
Quote
1]Fallen down and trying to get up, erm i take it were not talking about actual falling down hehe, ive run some really obscure ideas for adventures, but im not that good. but seriously im alittle dense at the moment could you explain this one for me

Sure - the basic idea is the characters have metaphorically fallen down.  They or their ancestors or their reputations have been damaged at some point in the past and they're out to regain their place in the world, or if things go badly for them - avenge themselves.  So they start out as serious black sheep.  Maybe they are hideously evil black court vampires.  Maybe they're necromancers.  Maybe their master was a remnant of a group crushed by the Council for breaking the laws.  Regardless of their origins their plight provides purpose.

Quote
2]ok it was just 1 question i looked up what a macguffin was

Main Entry:   Mac·Guf·fin
Variant(s):   or Mc·Guf·fin /m&-'g&-f&n/
Function:   noun
Etymology:   coined by Alfred Hitchcock
: an object, event, or character in a film or story that serves to set and keep the plot in motion despite usually lacking intrinsic importance
 :)

Quote
but i have to say i love the idea of a bunch of characters getting drafted into the wyld hunt hehe. i could see another good one here drafted into special investigations lol work for us or we will make your lifes a living hell. i would love to see a fae have to work inside the law hehe.

Forcing characters to APPEAR to run inside a structure is great fun!  :D
« Last Edit: May 16, 2009, 04:51:41 PM by Knave »

Offline DrAmyWeaver

  • Participant
  • *
  • Posts: 58
  • Ordinary talented surgeon from Paragon City, RI
    • View Profile
Re: what sort of adventures do you run?
« Reply #8 on: May 17, 2009, 09:01:20 PM »
Having run Champions and Ars Magica games back in the day, one my favourite minicampaign types was was "Unholy Alliance" - the classic one where our heroes are forced to work with villains (or really, really irritating people - as a purely random example, Harry working with Morgan). They may be working under duress, against a common/greater foe, or even just with no-one else to turn to. But with all the opportunities for snarkage and octuple-crossing plots, it's good fun and a lovely way to mess with people's heads.

Another favourite requires a player's (knowing or unknowing) co-operation... "Seduced by Power". A player acquires a talent or object that is WAY too powerful for their characatier - and while there's benefits for the team and the player, (s)he may be forced to choose between letting go of their newfound strength - or letting go of their friends/health/sanity. This has worked well in AM, Champions, and even MERP...
"Life isn’t divided into genres. It’s a horrifying, romantic, tragic, comical, science-fiction cowboy detective novel. You know, with a bit of pornography if you're lucky." -- Alan Moore

Offline TheMouse

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 733
    • View Profile
Re: what sort of adventures do you run?
« Reply #9 on: May 26, 2009, 10:39:05 PM »
Having run Champions and Ars Magica games back in the day, one my favourite minicampaign types was was "Unholy Alliance" - the classic one where our heroes are forced to work with villains (or really, really irritating people - as a purely random example, Harry working with Morgan). They may be working under duress, against a common/greater foe, or even just with no-one else to turn to. But with all the opportunities for snarkage and octuple-crossing plots, it's good fun and a lovely way to mess with people's heads.

I had a blast back in the day with a similar setup in In Nomine. My Elohim had particular issues with the Calabim. Lots of fun.

Offline Mitchell

  • Participant
  • *
  • Posts: 58
    • View Profile
Re: what sort of adventures do you run?
« Reply #10 on: June 07, 2009, 11:05:41 PM »
I like to have games become "Brain Twisters".

Were you don't really know who is good, who is bad, who is misunderstood...

Just like real life. With magic.

Offline Zenbear30

  • Lurker
  • Posts: 1
    • View Profile
Re: what sort of adventures do you run?
« Reply #11 on: July 13, 2009, 04:49:30 AM »
Currently I am running a D20 modified game, I have 7 players.
(Three Faye, Two wizards, One werewolf, One Scion of power.)

So far the game has had four runs, and the snark quotes which I throw up on my facebook for people to read are just hilarious. 
I havent let anyone do a vamp, simply because it would directly come into conflict with the plot I have devised, in my sadistic mind. 

I had to ask myself four basic questions.
1.  What would happen, if a war did break out (Between white and black councils)
2.  What if maab and Titania decided they had plenty of mortals and vamps running around through their lands, and decided to join the fray in their own ways.
3.  What would the whole mess look like as it started to unfold?
4.  What if the WHOLE thing were being played by a being from beyond the nine gates.

Right now as its unfolding its White council, versus the vamps, and the shadow walkers (Stolen from the D20 urban arcana book)
Dragons being neutral (Ive set the number rather low, (less then 20 all told) With one being more or less amused with the whole situation.
The faye who have created a new breed, truely half human and half faye, whos abilities are born from killing faye creatures.  IE, gryphons, Goblins etc etc.
Scions running the last man standing for themselves
And then the black council just doing their hijinks.


Offline Mitchell

  • Participant
  • *
  • Posts: 58
    • View Profile
Re: what sort of adventures do you run?
« Reply #12 on: July 26, 2009, 08:09:44 PM »
What happens when a Columbian Cartel decides that smuggling drugs through the Mexican/US border is not profitable and decides to enlist the aid of shamans and sorcerers to transport drugs directly to the USA via the nevernever?

What happens when the Fae try to stop them and the cartels, in typical heavy handed ways, start using iron, and large quantities of it, to get the loads through?

And what happens when you get the problem dropped on your desk...

Happy times. Happy times...