The adventure "Granite Mountain Prison" by Roger Baker appeared in DUNGEON magazine JULY/AUGUST #36 and if you want to make the most of this Remix then I highly suggest picking up a copy of the issue.
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| illustration by P.L. Wolf from pg 24 |
"Granite Mountain Prison" is, at it's core, an adventure where they players are working against a fascist government. This adventure allows them to approach it from a couple of different angles:
1. As mercenaries hired by either the "Order of the Holy Ring" or by an allied rebellion group
2. As participants in the uprising against the High Council
3. As fellow prisoners looking to escape from the Prison.
4. As agents of the High Council seeking to infiltrate the rebellion's organizational structure.
The players in my home game are my son and his friends (all teenagers) and have been working to undermine a tyrannical government in my home setting, "The New Sun," so I'm going to be proceeding from the second option (If you read this and would like help proceeding from another avenue please let me know in the comments). This means that I need to make sure that two elements from the Dungeon Master (DM) section are highlighted in play:
1. The Secret Police of the High Council must make an appearance and be a clear threat to the players.
2. The Order of the Holy Ring must provide an alternative to the High Council.
To make the Secret Police work in the scenario I need to start implementing them into the game 5-6 sessions before this adventure makes it's appearance. I'll begin by introducing them through word of mouth long before the players see them in action. The idea is to talk about actions they've been involved in and the get the players aware of them.
"Have you heard about Louis? They came and took him last night. Gods only know where they're taking him."
"Margaret's husband Thom was snatched off the street by the secret police. They claim he's a terrorist."
" Did you hear about Jean-Luc? They found him with his brains smashed out in the square. It's a message."
"Paolo's wife Adrianna was released last night. Those bastards tortured her for days. Paolo says she's catatonic."
The Secret Police aren't the good guys - no secret police force ever is - and I want my players to catch onto this early so that there is no ambiguity. I'm going to take role-playing queues for the Secret Police from the Cold War and spy films I watched as a kid. Lots of menacing stares, pregnant pauses, and deadly responses.
I'll follow this up by showing the Secret Police acting in brazen ways as they abduct people on the streets and behave like the thugs they are. The players need to see them and hear an increasing number of rumors about their vile actions. Before the players actually interact with them their minds need to be filled with ideas about who and what these people are within the context of the game. This way when the players finally meet them they will feel fear about the dangerous Secret Police.
The Order of the Holy Ring is described by author Roger Baker as, ". . . a religious order that at one time commanded a large following, including several members of the council. Using the secret police to harass, bully, and terrorize the order's adherents, the council reduced this once-thriving organization to a few hundred die-hard faithful . . ." (24). I'm going to change this as religious orders don't connect well with my players.
Instead I'm going to make the Order of the Holy Ring a social organization, like the Korean Association that operates in my city, so that they have a connection that my players can recognize. This Order will be focused on societal changes and on bettering the kingdom rather than on a religious artifact or deity. This should also give them a bit more latitude in being introduced to the players as members could be shop owners who display their order's seal, bar patrons who wear the order's seal on necklaces or rings, or they could be running soup kitchens and homeless shelters with their symbol featured prominently. Regardless of how they're introduced I need to ensure that there is a clear line between the tyrannical High Council and the Order of the Holy Ring.
The players' goal for the adventure is to rescue Jathan Paark, a leader of the resistance. The adventure plays it up as though Jathan is the only reason the resistance has succeeded when no resistance has ever done so through the efforts of a single individual. Jathan is treated as a charismatic figurehead who the movement has coalesced around and without whom it will fall apart.
I have little interest in a movement that is so unenthusiastic that a single man's imprisonment will doom it. Instead I will treat his imprisonment as a galvanizing moment that will enhance the revolution's reach and cause ferment greater resistance to the High Council's fascist actions. While the players are on the rescue mission the movement will push forward against the oppressive High Council.
Granite Mountain Prison Remix
Part 1, The World Set Up
Part 2, The Prison
Part 3, The Three Villains
Works Cited
"Granite Mountain Prison" by Roger Baker from DUNGEON MAGAZINE Issue #36 JULY/AUGUST, 1992. pg 24
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