>In your next short game, your group's PCs will be assigned to man a remote watchtower in the high hills overlooking a small farming town and a large expanse of wild frontier.
>While the farming town is only few leagues distant, it's just far enough away to make regular travel there impractical, confining the game to the watchtower and its immediate surroundings.
>These environs can include such features as a seldom-traveled road, a cluster of farmhouses, a patch of woodlands, a waterfall, a cave system or even ancient ruins.
>With an eye toward running a game combining the mundane with the magical and the pleasant with the paranormal, what sorts of events and happenings could be had here?
>Weeks pass without incident as the party finds ways to keep themselves entertained. >Travelling caravan passes, saying business is waning where they came from >Beggar arrives asking for shelter and food. Things aren't as they used to be he says >A pair of siblings with sores on their skin implore shelter, wailing and asking for mercy >A group of pilgrims are driven to the watchtower in fear, telling tales of an unholy band who have already killed several of their number >Said unholy band arrives. Upon closer inspection they seem to simply be walking corpses >Over time more and more refugees flee from what turns out to be a plague of undeath that is gradually taking hold in the land
Spice it up with a blizzard just as the party realises what's going on and watch cabin fever spread.
Aiden Phillips
Smoke pillars just far enough away to be hard to get to while fulfilling duties, but also not in the areas that the usual farmhouses are, indicating either a new building is being set up, or there is a camp there for some reason. Perhaps bandits?
in a box you found on your doorstep is a human head and a note "we found this dead guy, we didn't kill him" it's singned either "the local monster" or with a big monstery foot+claw print. later farmers come and say a headless body was delivered to their coffin maker by dead of night.
A little lost girl shows up at the tower and the PCs must care for her a while.
Michael Diaz
I would start actually playing TRPG’s if i could play a game like this.
Julian Walker
>The village is destroyed or the valley becomes impassable >Refugees begin begging for resources from the party >Accident sabotage done on the party stores >Refugees are increasingly more aggressive and well armed as the snow deepens and soldiers flee the plague
Benjamin Ramirez
Corner Gas, but a watch tower instead of gas station.
Nathan Nelson
"Our town is under attack!" PCs have to frantically defend the tower as three orcs chop it down with their axes from the base with frantic efficiency.
Kevin King
I ran a campaign based on this thread a few months back. I had three players and a fourth one who joined partway in, and it was focused on roleplaying and exploration. They were pretty good players and it wound up going great, so I've almost finished turning it into a storytime since I figured Veeky Forums might be entertained
This is actually not a bad idea for a game. It's like a medieval version of the late night gas station game. I don't know if it would work for a long campaign, but for a short one if you have inventive players and a lot of stuff planned out, it could be pretty good.
Tyler Murphy
Ahhh tower threads. Love these. >The tower is a light house 3 miles off shore, they must man the lonely post to guard the coming and goings of distant ships from the most treacherous stretch of water for leagues. The rocky sand bar it's on recedes to open water come high tide, and they have nothing but the curious gulls and deck of cards found in the pantry to keep them company.
I'd not do it quite THAT isolated, there's only so much to do before "shit washed up" gets boring...
I'm actually running a longer format game kind of similar to it. the party gets a bunch of followers and are paid to be protectors and law keepers for a new colony. limited resources, long stretches of in-game time between events. totally unexplored world for miles in every direction.
doing it play-by-post
Adrian James
Not unless it's a lighthouse and there's an unfathomable beast nearby
Ethan Smith
Every session is the party trying to ward off boredom by doing wackly sol shit
Carson Morales
Why do you keep posting this?
Landon Clark
Oh I'd definitely let some horror creep in. Glimpses of movement in the water. The passing and random smell of fish. Or notes hidden in places from the last keepers, "KEEP THE LIGHT ON", "Don't let them see you see!" etc.
I responded in the last thread, but no one liked my ideas.
I think you've milked this topic enough.
Colton Barnes
>I responded in the last thread, but no one liked my ideas. which one? what did you say? I did this one cause the question I ACTUALLY want to ask attracts too many angry autists. but this thread is too comfy for them to pay attention, while still giving me just the info and ideas I want.
>Mass hysteria builds as people begin to go missing amid strange tracks in red snow
William Bell
so, I'm getting a game together. each PC gets 6-9 follower NPCs. they've been hired to protect a new colony, based on their previous military career(explaining their followers, and higher levels than 1).
now the things that attract the assholes >there is apparently no real historical precedent for "organized, commercially sponsored, colony-efforts" the colony is sponsored by a group that can guarantee all the resource trading and travel will pass through a single controllable point. (a magic portal)
>there is no pressure to immigrate in this way still working on this, but its under a decade after a pretty major war. and the players I have for this game do not give a solitary damn if it means they are getting to play, especially if they get that handful of followers
>this tech level is stupid tech is relatively high. among other things we have early format combine harvesters, heavy dependence on water-wheels and wind-mills for more than milling grains, early machining practices, etc. but while there is gunpowder there are no canons or guns(ballista bombs are just fine tho). other alchemicals are also fine
>"I was reading your post and was planning to write serious reply, but then you mentioned magic portal and suddenly I've lost interest. So you are saying there is a setting of yours that has stable, reliable and apparently affordable bulk matter transmitation, but for whatever reason relies on colonial charters? Are you insane or just stupid? Or simply keen D&D player, thus unable to see functional magic as anything else than ability to throw nukes around" this asshole(or people like him) stayed for days to shit on the thread and every suggestion anyone came forward with. screwed any chance for the thread to progress after that with his "bad-wrong fun must END" bullshit. I said magic was limited is odd ways. the players don't get to be mages(ranger or bard casting maybe or I'll just buff the classes)
Nicholas Campbell
Reminds me of a campaign I played. One of the players was a man at arm's who stuffed up. The local Lord sent him and his fellows to the far north to man a watch tower.
They fought off trolls, patrolled the area, bartered with gypsies, hunted down a frost wyrm, fortified the tower, received a group of adventurers just before winter set in. One of them was a murderer. When they ran out of food they ate the murderers body who then haunted the tower at which point the party went murder hobo, burnt the tower down went back to the Lord and claimed it was ransacked by a horde from the north.
Julian Gutierrez
"the PCs are operating a roadside beacon/guard/signalling tower" is somehow comfy enough that those assholes don't look here. while still giving me useful ideas for my colony game.
because the tower is isolated, and in a forest near some mountains, the tower is close enough to a settlement for there to be reasonable amount of interaction with villagers/colonists, etc. its close enough to provide the same sort of useful ideas for the game that I want to run.
There is a clan/family of goblins/tiny creatures that live near the tower/camp border that enjoy sneaking inside and mischievously stealing things from the tower and acting as nuisances to the PC's.
You and your party have been sent to a distant part of the country where a deal was struck with some barbarians/orcs to build a tower in exchange for goods. After the PC's have arrived and taken residence in the tower, the creatures/people that built it decided they changed their mind and want the tower to themselves, and will randomly attack the tower to try and take it back.
Carter Williams
The tower sits atop a cathedral perched atop a spire of rock. The tower is the tallest thing visible in the landscape and has a reputation for strangeness.
Its said that during storms or bad weather that guards or people atop the tower witness strange structures or creatures in the distance. And yet once the storm breaks nothing that was seen appears actually to be there.
Its said that search parties sent out or inquisitive people that seem to be drawn out to investigate during the storm never return. That its happened so many times its become standard practice to bolt and seal the doors to the castle and the cathedral to stop people being sent out or leaving to their doom.
Joshua Stewart
The Towers are built on top of a perilously tall tower of rock within a lush valley of hills and mountains. The only way up is by a platform on a chain winch. Those that are posted there here rumours that the towers had to be built upon taller and taller locations, that the monsters that stalked the innocent looking valley like to stay closer to the ground, yet as time went on got more desperate in how high they would climb to find humanoids to eat
Known as the black finger, this structure was known to all the peoples of the continent. Stretching up so far into the heavens that the top had never been seen, groups of ravenous beasts and battalions of the undead ever climbed down towards the lands of the living.
To the soldiers of the surrounding lands lords, it was used as a right of passage/trial by fire for new recruits, and a proving ground for champions to be sent to man the castle at the base of it. Or more daringly to breach upwards into the tower.
A message has been transmitted in various forms to all those in positions of power by a previously unknown sorcerer. According to him on his yearly passage by the black finger, he noticed the darkness of the castle at its base.
He investigated closer and found the castle deserted and empty to a man. Some number of thousands of men that normally manned the defenses to keep the dark forces within just ... gone.
Emergency mobilisation orders and mass conscription has gone into affect in those kingdoms who chose to believe the message to immediately send all available forces to the deserted castle and defend against what must be a new and terrible force.
The tower contains a large pile of wood to be used as a beacon in case a long forgotten threat returns. One night, in the far distance, the beacon on the next watchtower is lit, and with this sign, the perilous times begin.
ohchit, kickly murder the old and the children before the royal guard saves us
Carson Bennett
what the actual hell???
Gabriel Roberts
It's your players job to make the tower better and region safer. >Train up a militia. First you have to find the manpower, then you need to find the supplies >Build an external wall to better fortify the tower Farmer Joe has a great source of wood you can use, but needs some bears killed. Merchant John wants to start a quarry for Stone, but some goblins are currently living there >Improve regional trade Build some roads, recruit some caravans, find some settlers from more inhabited areas Etc. Etc
Angel Davis
If I did a game like this, I'd make sure to set up lots of locations in the surrounding area that the players could explore.
>abandoned mineshaft >grave yard >swamp >a hermit's home >ancient and forgotten ritual site >a witch's hut >bear dens >Etc
Next, I'd give the player's mundane tasks like finding food or checking in on people who live close. While they were working on those jobs, I'd sprinkle in stuff to make the game less boring.
Stuff like >Meeting a fairy while searching for herbs >Coming across whatever the watchtower is meant to be looking out for >Preventing monster races from taking up residence in the area >Finding a rusty dagger with a shiny gem in the hilt while getting water >Having to escape a ravenous wolf pack while out hunting
I can't imagine that this game would last very long. It might be a really good way to start off fresh characters though. I imagine it'd be the most fun with a variety of races and classes so players could all do something specific to their character.
For example >Druids and Rangers are out and about getting familiar with the surroundings in their spare time >Clerics and Paladins go out and try to spread their faith in the surrounding area >Rogues are doing roguish stuff like looking for something to steal >Bards are just out in the wilderness looking for musical inspiration You get the point.
Liam Wood
It's a reference to the mist. The main character shoots his whole family in like a suicide pact thing because they think there's no point in trying to survive any further and it turns out that the army was literally right about to reach them and fix everything.
Wyatt Ross
been a while since I've seen this one
Hunter Foster
where do the well-to-do vacationers shit?
Brandon Perry
it was good the last time it came around I was kind of hoping it'd be as good this time. so far, it seems like it's doing pretty good.
ah, that makes a little more sense
I suspect there is a septic system plumbed up from one of the tower-legs...
Christopher Wilson
efficient design if so. my second thought was it's really just a leisure tower and outside the frame where the cameraholder is standing is the tourist lodge with all the amenities.
Christian Watson
You need to give them a handful of NPC guards too so they can actually leave someone manning the tower when they go adventure. But I like this idea for a lower level game.
>The watchtowers pantry has been broken into >There's a cave system underneath the tower that leads to a small cliff several kilometres away
Wyatt Carter
>Fire and torch in the courtyard >Torch on the observation deck >Interior lighting throughout Why even man the tower at night if you're not going to be able to see a fucking thing anyway?
Juan Murphy
Firewatch rpg when?
Jason Lopez
oooh, this has potential here are these guys, not really remarkable, got watchpost duty in shithole nowheresville hell, they dont even get that, just close to shithole nowheresville
so here are these guys used to spending most of their time split between staring at nothing, foraging for something more than basic rations, trying not to have to talk to each other to much and writing up reports that amount to "nothing happened".
then all of a sudden a group of soldiers/knights/ whatever come bolting through and stop by the tower, exhausted and some wounded, with them are a few bandits/prisoners they were transporting
turns out they got into a skirmish with some warband, Orcs?Goblins?Kobolds?Flumphs? Doesnt really matter.
All of a sudden they come under arrow fire as the warband moves in and surrounds the tower, they want blood for the men they lost and now your group of bumblefucks are stuck in a tower along with a bunch of highborn soldiers and some bandit assholes and you need to survive.
Leo Cooper
Yea it was pretty awesome. My favourite part was hunting down the frost wyrm. Was good fun
Ryder Hernandez
>Mysterious little girl is seen from time to time. >No one can tell where she comes from or where she hides >Turns out she is the tower >turns out the tower is a golem that's decided it liked the view too much to bother moving
Adrian Bennett
>When you question the Kings book keepers about this they just give you a flat look. >Why did you think the place happened to be standing empty for so long?
Elijah Russell
I like the horror potential for this. Darkwood is a good game to draw inspiration from. I'm feeling a desire to run a spooky frontier tower game in some eastern frontier forest.
Levi Nelson
>PC's decide to try and see if they can use cookies to bribe the golem to join them for jolly cooperation >PC's now have a walking castle that likes to sight see >everythingwentbetterthanexpected.parchment
Jason Nelson
except I'll bet that before they can leave they must build a replacement tower.
They'll just have a druid help them grow a tree house or something before riding off in search of cookies and sights to see. Everyone leaves happy.
Daniel Jackson
That is one dumb looking tower.
Jordan Bennett
it was probably an expedient tower first, then it got upgraded and modded and reinforced in a slap-dash sort of way as it became more permanent. instead of say, tearing it down and rebuilding it.
>party is stopped by a govt bean counter >he's been tracking them for months >your replacement tower does not meet imperial standards for such a structure >you are expected to pay the balance on bringing the new tower into standard specs.
I really like this, especially since I have always had the map but now I have the context...
>Darkwood I'll look it up >I'm feeling a desire to run a spooky frontier tower game in some eastern frontier forest. come back and story-time eh? I'd read it...
sounds like an endgame to me.
because fantasy artists?
now, whats living in the
honestly, it looks like a refurbished fire-watch tower to me...
I've been setting up a setting with the idea of making a game like this. In terms of events, it depends on the context. Like, if there was just a major war that ended, and that's why they need to hire adventurers to protect a town and man a small tower, maybe there's bandits returning from the war. Maybe there's movements of refugees they have to corral. Maybe there's wild monster pops that have grown too much.
Sounds like most of those "problems" aren't that huge of a deal to me. >there is apparently no real historical precedent for "organized, commercially sponsored, colony-efforts" Easy, there's something there the group or business venture wants, and they need dudes to go get it, and continue getting it. Think resource gathering or refining on the spot of collection that you can't get the locals to do (if any). Tagalongs and other stuff tend to follow this whenever possible (families, nonessentials, quality of life providers). Or just call it a government mandate/sponsorship/incentive program to immigrate there lobbied by the group or whatever. And if all else fails, maybe the place is a metaphorical island in a sea of fuckery and getting there any other way than portals in a group bigger than 5 is just not safe. >there is no pressure to immigrate in this way "Hey, remember that magus war you're still barely surviving from? I got a job open over here in [INSERT NEW TOWN] that needs hands. Sure it's out in the middle of nowhere and not the safest yet, but it'll get food on the table and a roof over your head for years to come!" >this tech level is stupid Itsmagiciaintgottaexplainshit.jpg
I'd say my only real gripe would be justifying a full blown village setting up on the other end of a very powerful portal instead of just have the facility/security there and everyone else on the other side where it is assumedly safer and just clocking in each day. My only way around that is to nerf the portal. Maybe it just boots up for an hour or two each day at noon (light gems or some bullshit that powers it, expensive and hard to store). Maybe it's not safe/exhausting to go through portals everyday (magic jetlag on steroids or something bad) so only the product/supplies go through often. Really at the end of the day, I believe it doesn't matter how outlandish the situation is, as long as it is internally consistent.
Alexander Reed
see, that other user in the other thread kept shitting on things for those reasons. screwed up the thread something fierce.
>on the other end of a very powerful portal but you see, the mage can only do that sort of thing intermittently and for a more permanent reliable portal several criteria need to be met.
>an established population above a certain size >the actual carefully assembled "landing pad" >rituals throughout the construction process of the landing pad >the original terminal-end-mage on both sides .. ... >profit??
>I believe it doesn't matter how outlandish the situation is, as long as it is internally consistent. I usually try for consistency when I put in the prep time like I am for this...
Caleb Stewart
I remember the first of these threads. Comfy as hell, it was the same night I had the first date with my current gf. Good times.
Anyway, for ideas, slightly more mundane things could be good. For the colony variant, religious differences raise arguments over what church to raise first, possibly coming to minor violence requiring the party (as community leaders) to step in and make a decision. Golden Mean won't make anybody happy here. Another colonization effor comes through. They're woefully unprepared for the effort, lacking in the ability to turn back, and winter (a rough looking one at that) is coming in fast, with your colony not having the resources, even with the extra labor, to hold them over until spring, and even then you'd have to outfit them to survive which you can't afford.
Xavier Hernandez
>had the first date with my current gf. Good times. Kudos dude.
>religious differences raise arguments over what church to raise first I started planning my colony game thinking there would be no religion, but the more people talk the more I think I need to include it, especially this suggestion...
>requiring the party (as community leaders) to step in and make a decision. oh my, especially if the appointed governor of the colony is an adherent of one or the other of them.
that "second wave" of settlers one might be pretty good too before I introduce the real major problem for that game...by killing the portal-mage they need to make the actual portals, before the system is fully activated and no longer needs the mage
Chase Walker
Another idea for the church, they could only have the resources at the time to build one right now, so it's not "we build one now, the other next," its "we build one now, we might never build the other one." I don't think the conflict should get beyond fist fights, kind of brings the mood down too much if neighbors start killing neighbors.
Jacob Wilson
So how do you start up a campaign like this? Intro session where the PC's travel around and meet a few key NPC's? Introduce themselves in the village below? Just rock up at the tower and start chilling?
Jacob Jackson
>here's how I'm starting the colony game.
it was five years after the war, you went home and back to your lives. … and they were boring. … Then one day you'd received a couriered message.
Salutations, Sir. The Southern Cross Trading Company™, having reviewed your military career during the Ostershallen Conflict, would like to offer you a position in one of our next remote-colony charters as a protector and a keeper of the peace.
Should you accept you will be granted a choice parcel of land and a small staff of your choosing, as well as suitable remote supply for the establishment of a proper household. Our courier will remain at the inn for two weeks awaiting your reply. Services will be supplied should you require transport for yourself, your family, or your personal effects. If you have in mind people you’d prefer as staff, please note their pertinent information on your acceptance. we will endeavor to employ them in your name post-haste. Sincerely Elouise Pritchard, Personnel Selections Board Southern Cross Trading Company
Ryder Young
how I'd start the tower game is
>players pick classes >players must have a military career in their back-story >high command wills that they were all assigned to the tower
Alexander Long
I dig it, but I moreso mean the content of session one
As a sidenote, I've run a couple of colony games in the past, giving the players a political figure to want to work against can work quite well. I usually go with some kind of minor noble, or once a governor, that fancies themselves the true ruler of the colony and doesn't appreciate someone 'undermining my authority' by sending in guards who aren't on his payroll.
Julian Adams
running mine play-by-post over discord so its not a bunch of sessions so much as continuous slow play.
but for me, "session 1" is the last 2 briefings before transit where the players meet the appointed first governor, officially meet eachother, and the transit where hundreds of wagons pass through and they all finally see the colony-site, and from there its all organizing and the first week of wood-clearing defending gather parties and first scouting of the near areas.
Adam Gray
First session should be all about setting the tone. Making them aware that this is their job and they should take it seriously but also that its out in the middle of no where and they will be basically reporting to no one other than their regular written reports.
Have them all be assembled, a runner grabs each of them from whatever post or bar they happen to be in and gathered in the officer of their superior.
Basically get told that they got this middle of no where place thats been standing empty to long and they happen to be junior enough to be given a role of no great import but also competent and reliable enough to be given the supplies and independence to handle this kind of role.
They get given at their orders, a map and directions but once they start getting ready for heading out people are all like Fucking where? Oh out past Bumfuck? East of Nowhere? That way i guess...no idea how far it is though, maybe a week at the fastest? Basically no one in the big city knows or cares about this place. If you want to give them some company and people to know when they get there, have them accompany a family of new settlers or the rare trader actually heading that way.
Then have them travel there, make a point of how far they are travelling, days of nothing broken up only by smaller and smaller townships and hamlets. This would be a good time for some stray bandits or deserters to pop in for a little action.
Have them finally reach their tower, see how ramshackle and dilapidated this is. Maybe fill it with giant rats, squatters or the local group of 3 edgy teens or something they need to clear out. Place needs a lot of spit and polish so have them head down into the town to meet and greet the people, secure supplies and maybe some guys to help fix the place up and clean it out.
After that is all, have it end with them standing at the top of the tower and seeing just how empty and alone this place is, this is their life now.
Village & tower are at the site of a previous colony, some old buildings & walls remain. Previous colony failed several times over the last few generations for various reasons but the lords/king/church/whatever keep ending folk out here.
Andrew Rodriguez
how cute & how old does she appear to be?
Aaron Martinez
I feel like the watchtower thing works best when it's mystery/horror in some sort of vague and ambiguous war against an enemy none of them have ever met.
Asher Richardson
watch, thats best determined by how well the party takes care of the tower.
Wyatt Sanchez
About 12, ranging from adorable to kid from the Ring depending on how poorly kept the structure is.
