Welcome to the Caravan Adventure Forum

[jtougas]

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I like it (even if it reminds me initially of the 1986 Eddie Murphy movie The Golden Child).

I wa..wa..wa..want the knife....

[industrygothica]

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I like it (even if it reminds me initially of the 1986 Eddie Murphy movie The Golden Child).

I was thinking more of the Lion King, but hey....

Ok, so are we still going to use a cup, or some other magic item? An amulet seems appropriate, if not a bit cliche, but the Cup of Kings has a certain ring to it.

I was also thinking about the city itself, and why the PCs might be there. Since it's likely a fairly large city, I was thinking that maybe there was a Midsummer Festival underway where people came from all around. Lots of opportunities to meet some NPCs and get into a little trouble before the adventure proper. Maybe even a few contests of skill (archery, drinking, gambling) that can alert the king's steward to the PCs presence.

If we're going to stick with a child-king, I don't think it's too early to see a picture of him. Maybe make him about 10-12 years old? Which one of our illustrators is up for it?

[jtougas]

I'll be honest I'm kind of partial to the "Cup of Kings" (and for anyone who might not know, It's another name for the Holy Grail). I like the festival idea. lots of people easier for the thieves to get around. Also it would give some role-play opportunities right off the bat. (everyone knows how fun it is to barter with a street vendor or try to converse with a drunken fool on the street...

[Ascension]

Cup of Kings has a ring to it but if this thing is supposed to somehow protect the king then why not have it be wearable? Kind of silly to carry the cup around all the time when going from place to place when a ring or amulet would be much more un-noticeable as having said power. Personally, I'd be in favor of the Kings Briefs because very few people would know of that sort of thing and the power it has. Double-entendres aside it doesn't really matter much to me. I can't do faces but I'll give it a go this weekend. Someone else might have a better sketch so, please, let's get some other folks on sketches here as well and we'll pick the best one.

[Jaxilon]

I've been sick all week and only now am starting to feel like I can sit up at my pc for a few minutes at a time. In between fevers I have been thinking up what the cup might look like. I'll try to do a sketch or two.

[jtougas]

Thanks Jax and Ascension. I understand your points Ascension about the "portability" of a cup as opposed to an amulet or a ring. I was trying to get away from some of the more cliche items.

[jtougas]

Here is an updated outline.


Thandon Delan couldn't quite belive he had done it. It was the heist of a carrer. The "Cup Of Kings" was a magical device of the utmost importance to the Kingdom. It provided protection to the child-king and would help him become a proper king when the time came. Or not. Now that the cup was in Delan's possesion none of that would come to pass. He knew some of the thieves guilds agenda towards the cup and the king but not all. If he were to be honest with himself he really didn't care. He had been given this job because of his skill and he would be paid handsomely for it. That was all that really mattered.
He walked the busy streets of the city. It was festival time and the city's population had doubled as people from the outlying towns and villages traveled to take part in the festivites. This was perfect, he thought to himself. He would have no problem reaching the pre-arranged drop off point where he would reliquish the cup and recive his payment. Slipping a handpie off of a vendor's counter and taking a bite he smiled. Perhaps a drink after the drop off and maybe even some company…..

In this adventure, the PCs must retrieve the "Cup of Kings" and return it to their employer.

The king is a child his parents were both killed in some sort of accident shortly after his birth 11 years ago.

He is too young to take the throne and the Kingdom is led by his steward until he reaches adulthood.

The midsummer festival is going on in the city. The PCs will have opportunity for role play with various
NPCs. This could also be how they become known to the King's steward.

The PCs employer is the kings steward. He is aware of the cups powers and the importance it holds in the kingdom.

The "Cup of Kings" is an ancient magical device given to the current kings ancestors hundreds of years past. It acts as a "protector" and can only be used by the "true" king

The city thieves guild is just an agent of the person(s) who want the cup. They were hired to steal it and get it out of the city.

The person(s) who want the cup cannot travel into the kingdom as they are bitter enemies and would be attacked or imprisoned on sight.

The caravan is simply that a caravan that travels between the major cities of the kingdom selling goods and providing various services. The owner is a middle aged man that descends from a long line of caravan owners. His family often accompanies him on his travels as they have on this trip.

The Kings steward can be of help determining where the cup has gone. The kingdoms Archmage can track the cup in a limited sense enough to know that it is leaving the city on a caravan.

The PCs should attempt to intercept the caravan at some point before it reaches it destination.

Unknown to the PCs (and the caravan owner) a thieves guild plant has been employed with the caravan as a driver. This persons task is to see that the cup makes it way to it's destination. The PCs will discover this during their journey.

The cup's destination is a city controlled by a rival to the king. The ruler there knows that with the cups assistance he can invade and destroy his enemy. As a relative to the king the cup is (he believes) likely to be that much more effective.

The ruler of the city feels slighted as he is not a direct descendant of the current royal family. He feels he should be king. He has made several attempts to seize the throne by various means in the past all of which have been thwarted by various agents loyal to the king.

If the PCs succeed in retrieving the cup, they will gain a powerful friend in the kingdom that can help them during their careers.

If the PCs fail (or switch sides) they will gain a powerful enemy in the kingdom although most likely the rival ruler will take the throne and reward the PCs in some way. The agents loyal to the king will never stop trying to unseat the usurper and punish the PCs for their duplicity.

[Jaxilon]

What about adding in an acrobatic troop to the festival. It's the perfect hideout for the thief from another city to slip in and snag the item. Kind of gets the local thieves guild off the hook and if there is an issue of a rival city thieves guild not doing such a thing it could be a hired rogue thief.

OR

If we really wanted to twist things around we could have the PC's hired to steal the Cup:
Under the guise of the festival they easily pull off the job and and hide the cup in the hidden compartment. Per instructions they remain in the city to participate in the games and festivities. Meanwhile the cup leaves via the caravan. A day later, the local King's protector seeks out heroes to help find the stolen item. When he approaches the PC's they find out they have started a terrible chain of events and have been lied to by their current employer. Additionally, not only does the cup aid the king in his rule, it also maintains the seal to an ancient evil that even at this moment is awakening beneath the castle. The cup must be returned before the world will have to deal with another age of darkness.

yadda yadda, slice and dice if you care for any of it, if not I'm still content. We can't keep making changes or we'll never get started


edit: jt posted the above while I was typing this

[jtougas]

If we really wanted to twist things around we could have the PC's hired to steal the Cup:
Under the guise of the festival they easily pull off the job and and hide the cup in the hidden compartment. Per instructions they remain in the city to participate in the games and festivities. Meanwhile the cup leaves via the caravan. A day later, the local King's protector seeks out heroes to help find the stolen item. When he approaches the PC's they find out they have started a terrible chain of events and have been lied to by their current employer. Additionally, not only does the cup aid the king in his rule, it also maintains the seal to an ancient evil that even at this moment is awakening beneath the castle. The cup must be returned before the world will have to deal with another age of darkness.

I like this idea. It would certainly "open the door" for a long term series of adventures as the PCs try to thwart the "great evil" I was also thinking that what if the child-king's government was the "bad guys" ? the kings steward could have had the cup stolen to make sure his charge never becomes king and that the rival is actually trying to save the kingdom by retrieving the cup and putting the rightful heir on the throne. I also agree with Jax that at some point we should at least start to firm this up so that the "game and stat" guys can get into it

[tilt]

yeah.. we got the subforum up and running ... thanks RobA ... and great work on the outline jtougas - its coming together nicely. Maybe having the PC's stealing the cup is twisting the story too much, they must afterall steal it from the crown (which some players wont do) and thus would probably run if the steward was asking for them - that doesn't exclude the big evil though