I need ideas!
A while ago I ran a oneshot for my group, with an ending that made it possible for it to evolve into some wort of campaign. The basic premise was that they were allmore or lessordinary joes with debts to The Mafia. The head of the organization brings them all in, tells them to dispose of the contents of a box they're given and then they can talk about writing off the debts. (The box had enough of a fictive drug to count as a WMD).
They succeeded, and it's then revealed to them that this was more or less a test for them, since the Boss is looking for a new task group to do things for her when needed.
I have some ideas about the boss and mafia;The mafia is at its core an occult organization, and the leader is in some way planning to use the PCs to ascend and become an angel or something like that. The PCs of course have no idea, but the plan is that they should notice weird stuff over time, and eventually unveil the plot.
ANYWAYS we have now decided to continue with this campaign. Problem is, I have no ideas for new missions to give them. Any tips?
Modern day urban setting. Uses the WaRP system. The PCs include a failed entrepreneur with undiagnosed something, a prostitute looking for her lost sister and a car mechanic/family wife, and another PC joining in next session.
tl;dr
>pcs are running errands for the mafia, although they have no idea about it actually being an occult sect. need ideas for tasks to give them.
>>46814665
Gods that comic sucked.
>>46814665
An antique dealer under the protection of the mafia has absconded with some pricey ancient artifact. Other groups (occult, but the PC's don't know that) are also looking for the guy.
When the PC's finally get the artifact touching it will count towards them ascending, which was the plan all along.
Another one is the PC's are asked to guard an old kind ladies house for a few days, under the guise that an inter-mafia war has come up and one of the bosses needs his old grandmother protected.
Things are boring for the most part until official black suited agents turn up and try and take her in (with some government or very powerful organisation, which ofcourse the PC's aren't told about). An assault on the house begins which ends with the PCs and the enemy being knocked out by a flash of light.
When they regain consciousness the old woman and the agents are gone, with just empty sedans used by the agents left in the front, and the entire thing was also a ruse to progress their ascension.
I would chuck in some normal missions as well, unrelated mafia ones, however it might require mental gymnastics to argue why average joes are performing the work of a (expected) large mafia organisation without proper training.
Also, as far as the story in the long run goes, don't go too evangelion with it. The PC's should be crucibles or catalysts to something, not necessarily gods or angels.
>>46815626
Thanks, those are some good ideas!
I think that the PCs' role in the ascension thing is to be sacrifices, but not until some requirements are met (it has already been hinted that there was a similar group before them, although the PCs don't know that they have already been sacrificed). I like the thing about having them touch an ancient artifact having to do with the ascension.
>>46815059
I'm sure the movie will be better.
This seems as good a place as any
What are some good european folklore references?
I've got two PCs in hiding in a faux europe lone snowy village and I'm trying to come up with something to do for them while the rest if the party tracks them down.
>>46819241
OP here, and as a matter of fact, a know a thing or two on this, but my knowledge is on Scandinavian folklore (not Norse Mythology, but folklore). So if that's the kind of not!Europe the PCs are located, I can try to find something. All of my sources are in Swedish, but I could look around a bit if you want. If it's some other part of Europe I can't help you though more than that I've heard that Slavic mythology is pretty badass.
>>46819525
We're not big on specific places- it's not real europe, and we mix everything up.
I just wanted to do my homework though and read up a bit on european folklore (or mythology, I'm not picky) so if you have anything that's not in swedish I'm interested.
>>46819711
I have some ideas. Give me a little while and I'll see what I can do
>>46819711
>>46819737
Okay, so I figured Wikipedia would have some basics, and I was right. The first article links to several, but not all, of the others. I've only skimmed the (English) articles, so some parts of the stories that at least I heard growing up might have been lost, but as I said, this will cover some basics. Some of these are more, well, obscure and regional than others.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scandinavian_folklore
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomte
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mare_%28folklore%29
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vittra_%28folklore%29
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bysen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Grim
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulder
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neck_%28water_spirit%29
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draugr
You ever read The Darkness or Witchblade comics? Kind have that theme of Mafioso organizations in cahoots with the occult and demons in some issues
>>46820311
I've heard of Witchblade, but never read either of them. I'll check them out, thanks!
>>46820165
Thanks.
>>46815059
what is it?
>>46820686
It's definitely not in the filename.
>>46814665
Like someone else said, start with low level, low excitement busy work, like collecting payments from business, or breaking legs, delivering messages to low level politicians.
But throughout leave clues into bigger things. Maybe the fact that the Capo that the party hands the money off to carries a very ornate antiquish pistol even though it's modern day.
Or the fact that an extortion victim who didn't pay up was found dead in a dumpster drained of blood.
If you want to go with a slow burn, which I would recommend, you make traces of it known. But allow the option for things to escalate even during early mission like when the party goes to deliver some sensitive documents to a local politician if someone rolls really well, the politician could mention some high level but limited stuff.
From this you can do 2 low level missions that are fun can lead to brawls and stuff, but it keeps the characters low on the totem pole but gives them ideas that shit is afoot.
For a third mission make it the tranistion where they begin to uncover more stuff. Perhaps the Don assigns the group to kill a Priest who was removed from his Parish to a monastery for reasons. The Don says it is because he was a pedophile, which is fine reason for the mafia to call a hit, but instead have it be revealed that the priest is a modern day paladin who is more vulnerable than usual and boom the fireworks start.
