Reply To: came across an interesing phrase

[s-m-r]

I’m out (computer is still being replaced…long, painful story), but I have some suggestions. I’m basing this on my previous Halloweenie game session experience I had quite some time ago.

It’s easiest to hold one-off events, but always leave the door open for a recurrence or possibility for players to follow-up with their own input. The case of a “witch’s sabbath” seems like one that lends itself to recurring naturally. It could be a situation that comes up every couple years, or something that occurs once every [time interval] in a different place in Markshire.

Have it start off in an area where it’s easy to assemble PCs on their own volition. I’m fond of dressing up locations for key encounters with custom set pieces and lighting so the players gradually transition from the familiar to the exotic.

With all this in mind…Here’s a possible scenario just off the top of my head.

How about a group of high-level magic users meet somewhere in the remote wilderness for a meeting of the minds, once every ten years or so? These could be wizards, sorcerers, clerics, or druids. Maybe they’re old veterans of the Mage’s Guild or some other less-reknowned sect. The point is, they come together to perform some sort of mischief for one day only after a break of several years or whatever when they all are doing their own thing; they reconvene to share experiences and knowledge…Dare I say, a Gathering. 😉

An event the PCs have been invited to is interrupted by a sort of strange intervention…It’s the Witch’s Sabbath group causing trouble. They leave behind some kind of clue that it’s them. Someone recommends the PCs contact the Mage’s Guild to uncover the mystery. After seeing the clues, the Guild says, “Oh, it’s Ralph and Zeke, up to their old tricks again.” Then something happens– some high-profile stunt–that actually injures or intensely humiliates the Guild, courtesy of Ralph and Zeke. The Guild implores the PCs to hunt down the Witches and bring them to justice.

The bulk of the adventure is the PCs traveling through the wilderness to track down the Witch’s Sabbath group, hiding somewhere in Markshire. Maybe you can dress up a cavern or interior location with special lighting, traps, and other stuff the players want to explore and work their way through. At the end, Ralph, Zeke, and the other members of the Witch’s Sabbath are simply chilling out in the lounge. The PCs, hopefully realizing they’re outclassed or at least have their work cut out for them, must face off with the magic users either violently or diplomatically so the resolution between them and the Mage’s Guild can be reached, one way or another.

That’s just one idea, following the principles I set up in the beginning. I wish you luck, and I wish I could be there. 🙂