In need of ideas: the GC's "old things"

[Igor the Henchman]

hayhayhay! Topic starting! Haven't done that in quite some while.

Now, my query is actually very specific, but I find I need to describe my whole campaign idea to explain all the factors at work. I'll try to make it short and clear.

I'm going to attempt a new Ravenloft campaign yet again really soon. Now, since Vlad Drakov obviously has all the traits of a great campaign archvillain, the campaign will deal with the Kingfuhrer's attempt to invade his southern and western neighbors. Vlad's plan is to use his spies and intelligence to disrupt/weaken the League of the Four Towers, then move out against the isolated countries. He is actually being subtly manipulated by the GC with the help of Vigo Drakov. Typical.

The PCs will all be nobles (choice between Boritsi, D'Honaire, Dilisnya, Godefroy, Renier, VZ) and I plan to make the campaign go from 2nd to 10th level, with the long-term goal being to (possibly) defeat Vlad. The short-rage plans are to nudge the PCs towards Port-a-Lucine so that they can get involved with Vjorn Horstman's man-beast infiltraitors trying to murder Marcel Guignol and to kidnap Josephine Chantreaux (in an attempt to destroy the Treaty of Four for Vlad).

That said, here comes the query itself. As a plot hook to get the PCs involved in the first adventure of the campaign, I would like to make them seek an item that a band of bandits have stolen. Only, I don't really like to start the adventure by saying "OK, you all start the game seeking item X".

So I made it more complex. I start with having the PCs stumbling upon an ebony box, to which they do not have the key (the key has been stolen by the aforementioned bandits). The box resists all attempts to open it through conventional and low-magic means. The box is rumored to have belonged to a mysterious borcan gentleman who dabbled with magic (his old manor is the setting I plan to use for the adventure).

Seeking to open the mysterious box, the players will hopefully decide to travel to the manor (which leads to the discovery on more clues on the box's old owner) and get involved with the bandits. All that I need know is 1) the box's past owner's identity and 2) the box's actual contents once the players open it.

"So let's see, thought I, we need to find an identity for an enigmatic borcan gentleman who resided in a far corner of Borca some twenty years ago. An enegmatic gentleman... hhmmm... An enigmatic gentleman... "

... ...

Excellent.

But what could the box contain? I figure it should be something important (something to give birth to new adventures, perhaps), and also something to steer the campaign in the direction I described above. I've thought and thought and thought on the matter and I'm completely out of ideas. Since the GC's in the picture its got to be grand.

After thinking over the matter fruitlessly all day, I decided to finally turn... here. Mind lending an ol' obedient henchman a creative hand?

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Well the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Items related to the GC is the Pipes of Mordent from Forged of Darkness. I don't remember much about them, but it wasn't the GC himself who made them, I think he encouraged someone else to.

[The Dr]

Hi -specifically on the box front -perhaps it could be like the puzzlebox in Hellrazor. An incredibly complex mathematical puzzle that when finally worked out leads to a gate containing something very nasty.

This might be the only way to defeat Drakov and indeed you have the horrible potential to turn the characters greatest triumph into something much much worse. Have the look on there and drakovs face as something like the furies burst out or Gydion or even Ebonbane.

Then they run

Have the clues scattered all the way through the adventure. Starting in the manor. There may be physical keys, mathemetical keys, musical keys and magical keys. Each key reconfigures the box so it slowly seems to be open. Have them come across hints of it in old libraries. Tempt them with a priests theory that it may have the power to destroy even the most strongest villians or heroes. Maybe drakov has the last key and doesnt even know it.

As a suggestion - before they run into Drakov - he may send an elite team or two up against them. Ubersoldiers -alchemically enhanced and supported by genetic engineering and each having a unique magic or psionic power. Think Special forces Nazi Supermen Raptor knights.

Worked a treat in my game. Enhanced stats, Trollish blood and in one case firebreathing made the characters think twice about open assults on castles.

Anyway just a couple of ideas

[Jester of the FoS]

So they spend ages trying to find the way to open this box, what if inside is a large key? Nor for the box of course, but now they need to find a lock.

Other quick ideas:
* Or something creepy like a mummified human hand with magical powers.
* A book written in an untranslatable language that seems to defy magic.
* A ticket stub to Ford's theater.
* A strange curved dagger shapped like a sicle-moon with an ivory handle.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

Ah now, if we're going for "What creepy stuff could be in a locked box" how about:

A human baby. (In stasis until the box is opened)
A painting of the PC's who open it.
Voodoo dolls in the shape of the PC's who open it.
A smaller box.
A bigger box.
A staked vampire skeleton, ready to be revived.
Nameless, indescribable eldritch horrors that drive you mad at a glance.
The Wishing Imp
A doll.
A portal to somewhere... else.
The original Tatyana. (Dead, or in stasis)
Tristessa's baby.
Black Mist.
hundreds of assorted teeth.
A 3-D map of the Core, if you look very closely, you see movement as the seas ebb and flow, the wind blows through trees, the mists swirl. If you look closer still, you see people and horses moving. If you have a magnifying glass you can make out someone that looks a lot like yourself looking into a box with a magnifying glass...
A cat, a gun, and a trigger pulling machine with a radioactive core.

[Jester of the FoS]

A cat, a gun, and a trigger pulling machine with a radioactive core.

OMG! OMG!! OMG!!!
cat... radiation...
The Gentleman Caller is Schrodinger!!

[Dominique]

A cat, a gun, and a trigger pulling machine with a radioactive core.

OMG! OMG!! OMG!!!
cat... radiation...
The Gentleman Caller is Schrodinger!!

Well, that might cool down the flames on the Gentleman Caller's Children thread. There's a possibility that Isabella is Vigo's mother, and there's a possibility that she isn't, and there's a possibility that a world exists containing each of these possibilities . . .

As far as what the box contains, I'd say it should depend on what the GC wants the PCs to do. I'd definitely run it to seem like the GC doesn't actually want what's in the box; he just wants the PCs to see what's in the box. So I'd go for either a subtle clue of what Drakov's plans are, if he wants to see the sparks when the PCs try to stop him, or else some scandalous piece of evidence that would suggest one of the Four Tower nations is conspiring against the other. Perhaps this "Borcan gentleman" has the beloved heirloom jewelry of an important Dementlieuse noblewoman who went missing some time ago, suggesting that she was murdered by Borcans toward some nefarious end . . .

[Igor the Henchman]

Many thanks for the wisdom (and the laughs) thus far.

The idea of placing a smaller box inside the bigger one is tempting, but I can just see the players throwing dice at me immediately after the realization.

The Pipes of Mordent: a sound idea, but they are, in theory, still inside the Black Vault.

Now that I think of it, maybe it would be better if I described the 2nd-level adventure in greater detail. There are basically two threats, there: the bandits (former Falkovnian soldiers gone rogue) and the pseudo-noble borcan family that presently occupies the GC's former estate. The family (been thinking of calling them the Faenzas or something like that) have come upon an evil magical artifact (more of the evil items commissioned by the GC?): a silver chair that litterally turns helpless victims into money (a pile of silver pieces with the victim's horrified face engraved on the head side). Since they have had problems with meeting Lady Ivana's taxes, lately, the family has no compunctions against using the artifact on their workers and minor servants (since those, indenture-wise, are considered to be their property anyway). To avoid suspicion, they've been hiring thugs to kidnap potential victims from the fields and the nearby village. To avoid suspicion in turn, the thugs themselves pass themselves off as the local falkovnian bandits.

Now, there's a way to use the magical chair to reverse the transformation, but you need to have most of the silver pieces to do that... and lots of those have fallen into the bandits' hands. This is a very bandit-centered plot. It is, of course, still open for improvement.

By this first adventure, it is my intention to introduce the players to the world of the corrupt aristocracy and have them develop ways of dealing with their enemies through influence as much as through brawn (as dealing with a band of bandits at 2nd level will be tricky by conventional adventurers' tactics). I'm not really looking to do something big, here. Just a little something to get the players into the feel of their characters and of the world. The weird stuff I save for later.

And, back to the topic of the box, I'm mainly looking for something that will nudge the players in the general direction of the campaign I planned. There's no way I'm giving them a world-chattering weapon against Drakov this early. After all, they don't even know yet that they're destined to face the guy.

Oh, and the Gentleman's caller long-range plan in the campaign is to get Vlad to use an evil ritual of the incubus's invention: it summons a storm of pure destruction ready to raze everything in its chaotic path. The storm can only be summoned from a place where at least a thousand men have recently suffered a violent death (like a fresh battlefield).

As far as Vlad is concerned the ritual was "discovered" by his favorite son Vigo. He would prefer not to resort to its use, but if this campaign turns as bad as the rest, he would rather destroy what he cannot conquer rather than face another humiliating defeat. Vigo, in the meantime, plans to turn the magic storm against his adoptive daddy and claim the throne of Falkovnia for himself. Only the Gentleman Caller knows that they are both wrong: once unleashed, the storm will be completely free of outsider control.

[Igor the Henchman]

I'd definitely run it to seem like the GC doesn't actually want what's in the box; he just wants the PCs to see what's in the box. So I'd go for either a subtle clue of what Drakov's plans are, if he wants to see the sparks when the PCs try to stop him, or else some scandalous piece of evidence that would suggest one of the Four Tower nations is conspiring against the other.

This definitely gives room for thought...

[Jasper]

I would make it a ring. Platinum with gold veins running through it in the shape of a snake eating its tale. In the snakes mouth is set a small dark black gem.

Anyone looking into the gem for too long looses all track of time (Kinda like the Daze spell) and in there minds eyes they see thing happening around the core as if through someones eyes.

The ring is the GC's way of keeping track of those he deems worthy of his time when he himself can not actively follow due to other obligations. The gem acts as muted clarvoiance spell for the PCs but instead of seeing from a fixed point it laches on to the mind of a random person (DMs choice) and allows the Pc to see through his/her eyes. The GC in turn can see through the gem to see what the Pcs are up too.

To tie it in with the plot the Pc who has the ring starts getting prophetic visons through the ring of Marcel Guignol being murdered but as the visions are sight only they have now way to known whos name Marcel screams before dying. Not knowing how long they have any smart PC would rush to Guignol' side in hopes of thwarting the act.

[sabbattack]

* A strange curved dagger shapped like a sicle-moon with an ivory handle.

Hijacking the topic for a moment, I dare you agree that you stole this from the "Ba'al Verzi Dagger" from the great computer RPG: "Rloft: In Strahd's Possession".

Admit it!

[Jason of the Fraternity]

But what could the box contain?

Perhaps, this idea comes from watching Pulp Fiction recently, but I would have the ebon box contain the soul of an important NPC. The fact that the Gentleman Caller is an incubus would make it rather likely that he might have collected a few souls during his time in the demi-plane. Plus, this particular soul might be especially useful for his future plans.

As for the NPC, nearly anyone to fit the role. My first thought was to have the soul belong to Vlad Drakov himself, and the reason for his invasion of his southern and western neighbors is to reclaim his lost mortality. However, you could easily create a different hero or villian to fit the storyline you're trying to create. Plus, you could provide the "hollow" feat (from Champions of Darkness) to the NPC, which further cements their spiritual loss and desire to have their soul returned.

Thus, the PCs are brought in to retrieve this important artifact for its original owner, rightful owner, or even legal owner (all of which just convolutes the matter even more).

Anyway, just my two coppers...

[Brandi]

How about a thick old book, leather bound, with a very strange lock whose key must be very bizarrely shaped? If the PCs manage to open it, they find a list of contracts.

And they better hope nobody in Barovia hears about it.

[Igor the Henchman]

, Brandi! A more poisoned gift is hard to imagine! Great ideas, all! Still, I think this is the one I'll go with:

I would make it a ring. Platinum with gold veins running through it in the shape of a snake eating its tale. In the snakes mouth is set a small dark black gem.

Anyone looking into the gem for too long looses all track of time (Kinda like the Daze spell) and in there minds eyes they see thing happening around the core as if through someones eyes.

The ring is the GC's way of keeping track of those he deems worthy of his time when he himself can not actively follow due to other obligations. The gem acts as muted clarvoiance spell for the PCs but instead of seeing from a fixed point it laches on to the mind of a random person (DMs choice) and allows the Pc to see through his/her eyes. The GC in turn can see through the gem to see what the Pcs are up too.

To tie it in with the plot the Pc who has the ring starts getting prophetic visons through the ring of Marcel Guignol being murdered but as the visions are sight only they have now way to known whos name Marcel screams before dying. Not knowing how long they have any smart PC would rush to Guignol' side in hopes of thwarting the act.

This really fits too perfectly with what I had planned. Especially that it solves another important problem I had: a means for the players to peek into the inner struggles within the Falkovnian government during the course of the campaign. I needed a tool to make the players see what sort of enemies they're up against, and obviously, the PCs couldn't meet with figures like Calons Weir or Vjorn Horstmann in person. I had resigned myself to using cut scenes to show them the inner workings of Falkovnia, but this is better.

The only problem now is to find a good prop for this...

[Jester of the FoS]

* A strange curved dagger shapped like a sicle-moon with an ivory handle.

Hijacking the topic for a moment, I dare you agree that you stole this from the "Ba'al Verzi Dagger" from the great computer RPG: "Rloft: In Strahd's Possession".

Admit it!

Oddly enough, never played the game.
I was thinking of writing "Ba'al Verzi dagger" though but instead went for atmosphere.

I do like the ring idea, but who says there has to just be a single item inside the box?