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I'm DM-ing a game and trying to make a loose plot that allows enough room for creativity by the players, but is also organized enough to keep it structured. Feedback appreciated.

 

You have traveled to New Ulm. King Esterlin has summoned you all (The Wardens of Lithesen) to eliminate Lord Vistaru of the Mountains. Lord Vistaru is a powerful dwarven warrior who was once the leader of the kingsguard. After an expedition into the summerset forest, he has turned on the king and declared war against Lithesen. Lord Vistaru has a large army of dwarves, and surprisingly has gained the aid of Lady Lyra Glimmerguant and her elfish rangers and archers. As Lady Glimmerguant is one of the king's closest allies, he believes that she is being enchanted or otherwise forced to act against her will. The King is sending you to navigate the summerset forest and confront Lady Glimmerguant, along with Lord Vistaru if he is present.

Before you enter the forest, you stop at a vendor and are allowed to buy three Items before you leave.

What's the purpose of the three item restriction? As in, how is it explained in character, since I'd assume these guys would want to take whatever they thought they needed to deal with the problem, and would be having the resources of an entire kingdom at their disposal.

Being wardens they are already level 7 or 8. I am using the three Items as a way to make it more challenging. Also by entering a different place besides the kingdom, they have less aid from ally forces.

Is there anyway you could think of that would limit their power other than restricting aid and Items?

If the challenge were one that could be trivialized by a shopping trip, adventurers wouldn't be needed in the first place.

The reason I brought it up is that that kind of thing (NPCs begging you to save their village/kingdom/world/whatever, but not offering any real help even when their lives depend on your success..) always feels very artificial and gamey even in an RPG, and this is a tabletop game you're talking about where players aren't necessarily just going to accept any restrictions you give them. Especially ones that don't feel logical to the setting or characters.

How are you going to handle it if they rob the merchant and take everything? Or get in a fight, burn the place down, and start out with nothing?

And I mean, I'm not just talking about this one single situation. You should be prepared for upsets to your planned plot every step of the way.

Fair point. I'll eliminate the shop step entirely and let them decide what to bring.

If they start acting out of alignment by robbing and murdering NPCs to get what they want, he could just start docking them experience points.

Unless this is an evil party, then he can just ramp up the law enforcement, bounty hunters and other do gooder NPCs that frown upon such things.

If his players start complaining and saying “Hey you’re trying to kill our characters!”

He can reply with “You’re damn right I am, nobody likes a scoundrel!”

So if they act like dicks, be a dick?

It sounds like a really interesting quest line. I might suggest having a couple major quest lines if you want the players to have more freedom. For example, confront Lady glimmerguant. Then following that, march on Lord Vistaru's Keep. Or they could choose to start with Lord Vistaru, but that depends on the players. I, for one really like following what the DM has in store for the players instead of choosing random things to do. 

My only other thing with that is what Mizal mentioned. There shouldn't be a limit on items other than money, or something circumstantial. You could even twist it to where they have a chance to look into the King's personal armory, but can only take one item. There are tons of ways you can twist it.

It sounds fun, good luck.

Thanks for the input. I plan to twist it where Glimmerguant is the one actually controlling Vistaru instead of what is assumed. I also plan to enslave one of the players by tempting them at the shop with an amulet of power. Whichever one takes it will be an easy target to mind magic.

No problem. It would have to be a shifty shop. Or at least not a well renowned one. Items that harm the user aren't typically found in normal shops, so maybe some kind of black market dealer? It distracts the players if they're wondering why a shop keeper is selling that kind of amulet when they're supposed to be fighting the boss battle. Of course, you could argue that he didn't know, but having a story behind everything makes it more interesting.

Definitely interesting. Thing about loose plots is that they often end up being complex no matter what. When you make mistakes, work them into the story. Make mysteries ambiguous until they can be worked into a moment of plot awesomness.

Looking at this as if I were a character:

Why did we travel to New Ulm?
The king has summoned me. Who is he? I mean, if I'm just traveling through and the king summons me, why should I obey? He's not my king.
The note about Wardens suggests there's more back story that I'm not aware of.
I'm not sure part of this makes sense: a powerful dwarven king has allied himself with an army of elves. The two of them have declared war on a human king. Now the king wants our small group to defeat two entire armies? Where is the king's army? If he doesn't have one, why isn't the war already over? Is this just a tiny part of the war? Is our group asking for peace? Why would we confront both of them? If the Lady is suspected to be under a spell, is the king sending one of his wizards with us to help remove the spell? What are we supposed to do when we meet them? Are we assassins?

Just a few random thoughts...

I was assuming it was some kind of diplomatic meeting just to figure out what the hell is going on, with assassination as a plan B if things didn't work out. Otherwise, yes, it wouldn't make a lot of sense of we're talking open war with armies involved.

Wardens are tasked with protecting an area in a kingdom. If anything is believed to be a threat, they are tasked with looking into it. And the orders they are given is to confront Lady Glimmerguant. How they get there, what they do once there, and how they choose to solve the problem is up to them. For all I know, they may just cut her head off.

Why did we travel to New Ulm?   You were summoned by the king.

The king has summoned me. Who is he? I mean, if I'm just traveling through and the king summons me, why should I obey? He's not my king.  As a warden, you are a basically a peacekeeper of the kingdom. He is your king.

The note about Wardens suggests there's more back story that I'm not aware of.  Wardens are tasked with protecting the kingdom. And there was a previous quest line where the players became wardens.

 
I'm not sure part of this makes sense: a powerful dwarven king has allied himself with an army of elves. The two of them have declared war on a human king. Now the king wants our small group to defeat two entire armies? Where is the king's army? If he doesn't have one, why isn't the war already over? Is this just a tiny part of the war? Is our group asking for peace? Why would we confront both of them? The king's guard is lead by the dwarven warrior. He is using the king's army against him. Getting the Lady's help is the only way to secure an army. Full out war hasn't started, by it's mainly the wardens own soldiers keeping the enemy at bay. You only need to confront the dwarf if he is present or they choose to seek him out.

If the Lady is suspected to be under a spell, is the king sending one of his wizards with us to help remove the spell? What are we supposed to do when we meet them? Are we assassins? 

The group is composed of a female sorcerer half-elf, a male half-orc rogue, a male orc barbarian, and a female human paladin. They have the option to try sorcery on her, they have an assassin through the rouge, they have brute strength for confrontation. It depends on how they want the problem solved.

Ah, good background info. It makes more sense now. I think the initial setup made it look like the kingdoms were at war, but with the additional details it looks like there are rumors of fighting and setting up of alliances, but no open hostilities. In that case, we are a member of the loyalists who are working to defend the king, but someone suspects the head of the king's army is going to attempt a coup to take over the country. We're working to stop it. Do we have the full support of the king to take any and all actions? Is the king SURE the dwarf is starting to work against him? If so, why can't the king simply replace the dwarf leader? If the dwarf leader is killed, will the king get his army back? Can we bring the dwarf back in chains to face justice? If he hasn't committed any crime, how can we rationalize killing him? With a paladin going with us, I don't think we're going to assassinate anyone, period. Do we know what they want (other than to take over for the king)? Do we know why, or can we simply ask him why he is opposed to the king? With a paladin, we might work hard as a group to find a way to settle the dispute without violence.

Sounds like the king is fucked either way if the majority of his own army is against him.

This is a great thread, I love trying to make sense of fantasy politics and legal systems in worlds where 'a wizard made me do it' is a viable defense for anything from shoplifting to treason. :D

I'm debating adding in my character (Jake Ivory, Half-Elf, Sorcerer) as NPC. The only thing is the group I play with is a continuous one, so if he dies in game, I would have to start him over at level 1.

Do be careful with adding your own character as an NPC. It can work, but from what I've seen and experienced, you often end up showing some favoritism towards that character, whether you intend to or not. Also, with an NPC that stays with the group through the entire adventure, they can tend to become the guide -- so the character don't do anything other than follow the guide because they don't have to discover anything on their own.