Oregon Trail

[Flawless P]

I've been milling an idea around in my head(off and on) ever since the Gen Con videos, I've finally decided on how I want the supplies and such to work, I just need to figure out some conflicts.

So far it's a story of 4 families of at least 3 people each, packing up and heading out on the trail. I'm running it in a very low magic fantasy setting using the pathfinder rules, although there are no clerics/wizards/druids/sorc ect. Diseases will still be a potential  threat and healing is going to be a challenge.

Other than the random repairs and disagreements among families I am having trouble coming up with a suitable "end" game conflict, I want to include a war between tribal lizardfolk and orc at some point so that might be some source of inspiration.

So please help me with some ideas for an interesting plot point to end this mini series on.

[Tadanori Oyama]

For end game content I suggest the mountains. I think crossing the Rockies should be the hardest part and it gives you all sorts of monsters to use. A dragon at the pass would be iconic; giants are always good for mountains; or you can have the orc nation have it's 'capital' in the mountains that the players must pass through.


The title of this thread, which I assume is a typo but I thought was a different subject entirely then what I found, has given me an idea for another game:

PCs arrive in Oregon in chains, brought before the brutal law keepers of the western territories. They (and the NPCs chained with them) will all be hung unless the can find out who among them committed the crime.

The game is told in flashbacks with the crime, criminal, and results unknown at the beginning of the game. I see it playing out like Fiasco but with the "character generation" done during game play.

[D6xD6 - Chris]

I agree with Tad; the mountains are an ideal location for an end game.

You could have the final challenge be the guest appearance of the Donner party,  either as crazy cannibals, zombie/vampire monstrosities, or a happy combination of the two.

Tad, that sounds like an awesome variant of Werewolf/Mafia/whatever the kids call it these days.  Sounds really cool.

I might suggest giving players handouts with some information that the other players don't have and let them have fun forming deals and accusing each other. 

I would also involve The King in Yellow, but that is just me...

[Flawless P]

Lol yeah I got a little bit of the overzealous typing fingers... Trial Trail whateva! XD

I like the idea of the mountains being a terrible and difficult pass to make... I think I might go with Orc's and possibly a nice Dragon encounter, although I would like to use the dragon as more of a setting element instead of a foe. Creating terrain hazards and the like.

That's pretty awesome!

Also Pauly don't worry the King in Yellow/Zombie stuff happens earlier in the scenario, although it is an optional encounter depending on if they explore certain ruins or not. Cultist Lizardfolk are likely to be running about.

[Tim]

If you wanted to get cray cray you could make the whole migration that is occurring be basically a lie. Nothing is beyond the mountains but death. In a low magic world the people may have very little information about the world and a lot of people could be fooled before the truth comes out.

For an end game maybe a mad 'wizard' is capturing all the pilgrims along a specific mountain pass once they have been weakened by the crossing. Could be he is using all of them as slaves or is planning on slaughtering all of them as part of a massive death magic spell to crack the world and make him onto a god. Or maybe he is just crazy and has no actual magic and none of that will work but he is going to kill a ton of folks till someone stop him.

I sort of like the idea of pulling the rug out from under the PCs so they spend a number of sessions making it to the mountains, start to cross the mountains, maybe get captured, ultimately defeat the mad wizard, and then find beyond the mountains is the edge of the world or something. Course I am a bit of jerk so your mileage may vary.