Natural disaster adventures?

[Psychotic Jim]

Most times in D&D the heroes fight against mortal villains and disrupt their schemes, but has anyone ever ran an adventure where the characters had to deal with a natural disaster (forest fire, earthquake, etc.) as the opponent. Like having to rescure people from a raging flood or trying to find people trapped underneath an avalanche. How did it go/how did you structure it?

 

[Furn_Darkside]

Salutations,

I have found the key with such situations is to start slow and then start racheting up the timing of the events.

I have also found out that splitting up the party is essential- and ending each players turn on a cliffhanger.

Ok, example time:

Walled city in the middle of a torrential rain storm- and the city is flooding.

Word reachs the adventures the main wooden gates to the city are closed- this will cause the water to raise too high. The pc's need to get there and quickly.

On their way- they see a small child swept into a sewer opening. There goes one pc to help. Along with dealing with whatever monsters are desperate in the flooding sewers- the rats are going nuts, the tide is strong, and there is a kid to save.

Further on- they spot a noble tower is on fire. A young woman is screaming from help on the top floor. There goes another pc. Not only is the courtyard of the estate already underwater, but the tower is an inferno.

A bit further- some villians have taken the chaos as an opportunity to rob a bank/guild/whatever- there goes another pc or two.

Finally- the gate.

How do you get the party to split up? You meta-game a bit and tell them they realize they can not all stop to get involved in whatever incident, so they either split-up, ignore it, or move on.

You can also personalize the events. For example: The kid was a local beggar who had previously attached themself to a pc. The noble-girl is the object of flirtation of another pc. etc. etc.

At first, you should be spending a few minutes per pc. As things get more intense- you spend less and less time with each pc. The climax of every little storyline should end at exactly the same moment.

That is the "dealing with the disaster"-like scenario. There are other scenarios- escape, combat during, or possibly even trying to stop the disaster.

All of them share the same timing issue- you need to make things intense and rushed. Don't allow time to consider all the options.

If your players would be up for it, then you could tell the players before the adventure that at time decisions will be limited to # second time limit. If they don't decide in that time, then they don't do anything in that round. Time is of the issue- describe how events get worse as they sit around.

Good luck!
FD

 

[Xarlen]

I gotta ask, why wouldn't the guards just... open the doors?

 

[Jeph]

I gotta ask, why wouldn't the guards just... open the doors?

Cuz the *other* burning tower (you know, the one next door to the DiD's) fell on them and crushed them, of course! It also destroyed the cables that can draw up the drawbridge, which slammed down and shattered. So then there's the mode to cross.

Wow. One party of unhappy, soggy, torn, split, helpless campers.

 

[Furn_Darkside]

I gotta ask, why wouldn't the guards just... open the doors?

1) The doors open in and the the water has floated enough stuff against the doors to keep the doors from being opened by guards.

2) Big city, few guards, and they are already stretched out trying to deal with misc events.

3) A villian of the pc's is killing any guard that tries- demanding a member of the pc comes and faces him.

4) Some other reason I can't think of at the moment.

FD

 

[Xarlen]

Doors open in, okay that makes sense.

But it surprises me a Big city has little police force.

 

[Furn_Darkside]

Doors open in, okay that makes sense.

But it surprises me a Big city has little police force.

I was just trying to offer some ideas and an example to the discussion- what exactly are you adding to it?

FD

 

[Fast Learner]

I did a river semi-flash flooding. The town it flowed by was built to handle such floods (though it washed over the bridge), but the encampment of homeless dwarves on the far side were in severe danger.

I figured out in advance how the map would be affected as the river rose and fell, which trees would we washed away and which (older) ones would survive, and which of the dwarves would be caught in the initial rush of water.

It was fun. I enjoyed it and I think my players did, too. Lots of clever stuff on their parts involving utilizing the trees that withstood the water, rope, and such. Plenty of swim checks, and I paid careful attention to their weight and equipment before the water came through.

Note that I did this when they were only 3rd level or so, keeping flying and stuff out of the equation. If I did it at a higher level then there would have been many more people in danger.

 

[Xarlen]

I was just trying to offer some ideas and an example to the discussion- what exactly are you adding to it?

FD

Oh; I thought it happened allready.

 

[Tonguez]

I burnt down the orphanage!

Okay nothing to boast about but I really did Church sponsored Orphanage is on fire and PCs must go in a save the children who of course sleep on the second and third floors. PCs move through and encounter collapsing ceilings and collapsing floors, closed doors which are warm to the touch (ie open it and you get Backdraft/Fireball) etc

Essentially it worked like a Trapped maze with a time limit.