Cor! If a NPC in any of my campaigns did that the surviving villager PCs would say "no way, baby," and leave. They know that vengeance unto the fifth generation is way too much. They can spot a nasty GM trick like that a mile away.
> He successfully DIs and make this into an Oath that affects all
> present.
Here's the problem with this plot. If the PCs do not agree to join the Oath then the plot falls apart, unless the Oath affects them anyway, in which case they will get pissed off at the GM. If they do agree to the Oath then the plot works okay, but the players must be awfully stupid not to realize that vengeance unto 5 generations means they gotta kill grandparents, women, children, and babies. I just couldn't see any players I've ever GMed falling into this plot.
But I have a slightly different twist on the same plot. The Sartarite PCs were away from home when a small band of AWOL lunar scum swept in and destroyed much of the village, and the PCs dying parents make them swear to take vengeance on the scum. The Lunar officer in charge doesn't mind the vengeance much, since the soldiers committed a terroristic act and have since deserted, but he won't help other than to give a letter of passage to the PCs (who must ask specifically for a pass) and tell them where the scumbags are from. The deserters are headed back to their homes in the empire. The PCs must track them and catch them before they all get to the empire and split up, and inevitably one or more will get away from them, forcing the PCs to track the scumbag down in his own village.
> 2/ Duelling Houses
This isn't a scenario. This is an entire campaign! Campaigns are easy to come up with. All you need is a reason to get people to travel all over the place, and a boat or a trade mission is perfect. The hard part is coming up with the scenarios in the campaign.
Of course my favorite scenario that would fit into this campaign is the second Pearl Throne one. We all know that the Red Emperor's "pearl throne" is carved from a single, 4m diameter pearl, right? On their trip the boaters run into a huge oyster (either attacking them, or already dead) that has a 4m pearl in it. How can you maximize your monetary return on this huge, priceless pearl, without getting offed by Lunar agents or agents of various noble houses along the way, and without letting your rivals profit from it?
James Frusetta <gerakkag_at_wam.umd.edu> writes:
> PLAYING THIS IN CAMPAIGN: Heck, easy. Have your merc characters
> sign up, serve in a couple battles, then go to get paid. Turns out
> one of the officers scampered off with the pay chest -- and your
> company turns into a number of small "adventuring groups"
> determined to hunt down the thief, and seize the payroll for
> yourself.
Yeah! Now that's a scenario seed, and a good beginning for a campaign as well.
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