So, it has happened again. Once again I have bitten off more than I can chew, painted myself into a corner, put the cart before the horse and other assorted cliches. How did it happen? Impatience? Trying to grab my players? Trying to counter an unpredictible play schedule? Who knows.
What has happened is that I seem to have put my players (and their characters) in a position that they may not have the means to get out of. The party averages about 6th level and has unleashed a great evil on their rustic valley home. The region they live in is not well-equipped for this sort of threat, having no major cities, central governing body or anything resembling a military. Their are local populations of elves and dwarves but the characters haven't had much luck in gaining help from the elves (I didn't want NPCs to necesarrily do all the saving). To add to this, the characters have spent a bit of time skirting around the issue, trying to remain close to home until they can find a solution to the situation. They have made a few attempts to take it on themselves but this only illustrated to them how ill-equipped they are, personally, to handle the situation
I find myself, as DM and friend to my players, feeling like I may have let them down by letting my desire for a cool plot get out of hand. I am considering ways to swing this very distastful situation into something fun. The one plot angle I have considered is to let the evil force win the first round and change the focus of the game from trying to stop it to trying to find a way to undo it. This will accomplish a number of things -
1) Cut the apron strings, so to speak, and sever the characters from their safety zone (at least in the short term).
2) Motivate them to seek grander adventures. They will need to seek out more than just the satisfaction of wander lust to overcome the evil that has befallen their home.
3) Redirects the game onto an entertaining story arc where the young characters become heroes (reluctant or otherwise) who also have the character-building trait of having been partially responsible for the evil that befell the valley.
I am not sure if this is the way to go, but I'd rather not abandon the campaign as the players really do like the setting and their current characters. Anyone else have any thoughts on other ways to handle such a situation?
Thanks,
-Eli
Tags: Rpg D&D 3.5
. However, if the character are just not able to stand toe-to-toe with the evil coming to their neck of the woods, then you may want to change the focus of the campaign. I like your idea of letting the evil win the first round. This has great potential for a subterfuge or resistance type story line. Seriously, the characters, and players, have to understand that there are just some opponents that cannot be dealt with directly, and that sometimes it's the better part of valor to run away and come and fight another day.
