Armored Plot Hooks
May 24th, 2011
Hello everyone and welcome to another exciting Grave Plots, where we bring you new plot hooks and adventure ideas to jump start your imaginations and get your game started in the right direction, or at least provide an entertaining distraction for the next five minutes. Today is the second day of Armor Week here at Necromancers of the Northwest, and as it would probably be inappropriate to write about tanks, today will be devoted to personal protective gear. Rather than spend today’s article examining how to make armor an interesting part of your adventure (those of you who follow this column regularly will remember we covered making magic items a plot focus just a few weeks ago, and the same information applies), today I’ll simply be handing out some sample plot hooks where armor is, for one reason or another, a central theme.
Competition
The Plot: The thriving metropolis of Vales is home to a great number of armorers and smiths who for years enjoyed a particularly lucrative trade, providing armor to serve the city’s men-at-arms in their conflicts with their neighbors. Now, a lasting peace has seen a sharp decline in profits and a stiff competition amongst smiths for the custom of the adventurers passing through town. While many have done their best to lower prices or increase quality to gain a leg up, others look for a simpler way to gain a competitive edge. Ivan Haros is one such man. A mediocre smith with ties to the criminal underworld of Vales, Ivan has been hit particularly hard by the decline of the armor trade and has decided to take matters into his own hands.
The PCs: Ivan is looking to hire some thugs to ruin his competition by robbing their stores and vandalizing their forges. If the PCs are on the side of flexible morality, working for Ivan can be a great way to get involved with the local underworld and make a little extra cash on the side. If not, perhaps one of the local armorers could hire the PCs on as security, or Vales’ city guard could recruit them to find out who’s behind the break-ins and bring the criminals to justice, allowing the PCs to earn a reputation as stellar citizens.
The Challenge
The Plot: Alhain Word is a world renowned armor smith whose artful pieces have adorned great heroes for over three decades. His work has set the standard of greatness for both quality and comfort and the beauty of his suits has often been described as awe-inspiring. Being a man at the top of his field, Alhain feels that he has reached his full potential as a craftsman and now desires to train others in the skill that has brought him fame, wealth, and above all, great satisfaction. To that end, Alhain has decided to hold a competition to find a worthy apprentice to carry on his legacy. The competition is simple: beginning at the new moon, entrants are to craft the finest suit of armor they can using whatever materials they wish within one week. The winner then will be whoever presents Alhain with the finest suit of armor by the end of that period.
The PCs: There are numerous ways to get your PCs involved with the challenge, and if nothing else this hook should provide them with a fine opportunity to mingle with beings from far and wide interested in competing. The PCs might very well be coming to the competition to compete themselves, putting that Craft Armor skill to some use while scoping out the competition and making new contacts. Perhaps one of the contestants needs help obtaining some rare material such as dragonhide and requests the PCs’ assistance. Alternatively, the PCs could be hired to resolve a dispute between rival smiths that threatens to disrupt or even destroy the competition. These are just a few examples and you should look to whatever fits your group’s individual needs best.
Rivalry
The Plot: The village of Querian is home to a great smith by the name of Tivor and his two apprentices, Wells and Mika. While Tivor did his best to try to maintain a sense of serenity at his forge, his protégés were fiercely competitive and were always vying for position in their master’s eyes. Their rivalry was legendary in the village and had degenerated into arguments that had nearly come to blows on numerous occasions. Despite his efforts to assure his pupils that they were both fine smiths and that he regarded them as equals, his apprentices continued their feud until one day, Tivor, growing tired of their constant bickering, announced that he had devised a way to finally determine which one of them was the better of the two. They are each to craft a unique suit of armor, and Tivor will contact some adventurers he knows to field-test the armor and determine which suit is the more useful.
The PCs: For this plot the PCs are contacted by Tivor to participate in the test. He asks that they take each suit of armor, wear it while adventuring, review the armor’s performance,e and report back to him. Then, based on the PCs’ review he will determine which of his apprentices is the more skilled and officially name him first apprentice until the other catches up. As a reward for their time, the PCs get to keep the armor from the reviews and will be allowed to commission a piece from Tivor himself. Both armors should be about the same quality but should be significantly different from one another. The end result then should be that the apprentices rate the same and Tivor can relax for a month or two before they renew their rivalry. Naturally, Wells and Mika each fear the other will be elected the winner and attempt to bribe or coerce the PCs into reviewing their armor better.
The Captains Suit
The Plot: Captain Pellum is the pride of Restor, a large fortified township in the south of the kingdom of Enoth. Renowned for his bravery and the skill at arms displayed in defending Restor from a particularly aggressive tribe of hill giants, Captain Pellum is finally receiving some recognition for his service to Enoth: tomorrow afternoon the Grand Duke himself is coming to Restor to grant Pellum the Star of Saint Evi, the highest accommodation given to servicemen in Enoth. To celebrate his success, Pellum spent the night at the Traveler’s Tavern drinking to Restor and toasting the Grand Duke’s health. Unknown to Pellum, however, among the men he was celebrating with was Besik Tasser, a disgruntled mercenary formerly of the Enothian army before Pellum had him discharged for assaulting an innkeeper’s daughter. Enraged at Pellum’s success, Besik hatched a devious plan to humiliate the good captain, and amidst the celebration he stole Pellum’s keys and slipped out of the Traveler’s into the night. Weary from his celebration Pellum awoke the next day hoping to take it easy, only to discover that the ceremonial parade armor he was to wear for the afternoon’s commendation was missing. With the Grand Duke arriving in just a couple of hours, Pellum began to panic.
The PCs: The PCs might get involved when Captain Pellum requests their aid in locating his missing armor before he is forced to publicly insult the Grand Duke by not adhering to ceremony. Alternatively, Besik might enlist the help of unscrupulous PCs in smuggling the captain’s armor out of town and into the woods lest he find it before this afternoon.
Well, that’s it for this week’s Grave Plots. Join me next week for something a little different, and until then allow me to wish you all the best in your gaming endeavors.