Example of a scenario or Event as I call them.

EDIT: You should read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thirty-Six_Dramatic_Situations

I also found this interesting article which lets you break down a “combat mission”: https://www.roleplayingtips.com/rptn/rpt631-combat-missions-adding-glorious-stories-gruesome-struggles/

“ The Mission Stat Block Below we present several combat missions. Each uses a stat block Tony and I designed so you can read, understand, and assess missions easier.

Here is the stat block breakdown:

Mission Name: To help you identify, sort, and find missions in the future.

Mission Success: The mission objective(s).

Mission Failure: The fail state. What constitutes mission failure?

Encounter Elements: Things you need to include in the encounter, and things that might make the mission even more interesting.

Tactics: GMing advice to help or remind you how to run the mission well.

Twists: Unexpected elements to surprise players and make the mission memorable.”

original:

Think of Events as small plays.

Set the scene. Is the player present? Do we need to move them to a particular location? Do we pop up a dialog or make a dialog allowing PCs to respond to these Events quickly in the Adventurer's Handbook we give PCs? A horn of warning (cue attack horn three times in succession), and a message to assemble? (floating text and message in chat.) For all PCs above ground and within the walls of Neverwinter. "A horn blows in the distance, the foreboding call you were taught was for all available defending forces, including yourself, to assemble at the gate of Castle Never." (The horn can remain the same for other Events and locales, only the text needs to change.)

PCs arrive at the gate of Castle Never, where a throng of Neverwinter guards and knights are waiting for Aribeth to give orders in response to a growing mob in Beggar’s Nest.

The trigger for Aribeth's appearance might be a dialog option with Sedos, who is at the head of the crowd of guardsmen and militia. Sedos should prompt the PC that we are waiting for everyone to be present (so other PCs that might not know about the horn or Event can be informed somehow and given time to arrive. A PC leader or otherwise might wait for all of the PCs are present, then tell Sedos everyone who could make it are present...

Cue Aribeth, who Appears at the Castle Never gate and walks to a central location to address the crowd. (We might need another area redesign... - Sean) The speech should be in floating text and in the dialog windows. Each block should be given a number of seconds per sentence to be ingested by the players.

Aribeth: “What was once a a lone zealot, has now grown in power and formed a cult, and this cult is a growing threat to the safety of Neverwinter and it's citizens. We do know their apparent leader, a misguided man named ?NPC NAME? was known for harassing the community for alms and spouting portents of doom. Somehow he has grown in power as desperate Neverwintans cleave to any shred of action, misguided or otherwise.” “He has been amassing a mob, which until now has been easily subdued and contained in Beggar’s Nest by the Guard. Now they appear to be expanding both the mob and their area of operation. They are not just a growing danger to our safety, but their own. We have already had several buildings burned by the assaults of undead out of the Great Graveyard. and I have assembled you here to let you know we must halt this type of activity before more tragedy can be dealt." "All members of the Guard will form up under your Captains. They will give you your orders. May Tyr guide us and keep safe everyone in Neverwinter!”

(Here we can decide the scale of the Event, named NPCs involved, henchmen, etc. Are PCs Captains commanding 4 guards or militia? Or are these squads all AI scripted to act in a particular way? If AI only “Recruits will have a bigger task.”.)

Aribeth maybe?: “You must find and subdue sigh... or eliminate, ?NPC NAME? and his enforcers. Sedos here will give you your orders and give you further information. Do your utmost to safeguard ALL citizens unless you are directly attacked or in defense of others. They are in the same desperate situation as all of us and feel they have few options for survival.”

(Subdual damage might come into play here, where the mob attacks other commoners, ?defeated victims will not die, but be unconscious on the ground?)

NOTE: Aribeth can be DM'ed at this point, in case of further questions or whatnot. DM can trigger the next cue of Aribeth's departure into the castle. The gates (Castle and North Gate) might be locked at this point, for obvious narrative reasons. Though PCs can arrive, no one leaves. GAtekeeper needs to reject any departure through that gate.

Cue Aribeth leaving back to the gate, and Sedos stepping up and taking Aribeth's place: Sedos: “Ok, Recruits, listen well! Our intelligence reports that ?NPC NAME? has been lifted up and guided by a group of criminals, OR spies, acting as his intelligence network and enforcers. They are the true threat. We do not know who they are, who is backing them, what their true goals are, or even where they hail from. But our first objective is one of containment. Investigation is already under way by others, you report anything you find, no matter how minor."

"This cult has no name and no apparent demands. It appears to simply be a front. Previously they has been content to slowly rile up a power base. Common citizens are looking for anything they perceive will help them in these perilous times. Already they appear to be readying to organize an armed force, leave Beggar's Nest, and head to the gate to Blacklake. Being closest to our current position, our first phase will to be to assist the private guards there to defend the gate and push the mob further back into Beggar's nest territory. We want to dissuade or subdue them, don't kill anyone where possible. Even a minor would should set the common folk to flight." (Blacklake could be an obvious ploy to loot the rich, or it could be a spearhead action to infect those that seem to have realized the danger and safeguarded themselves, to the frustration of those looking to wipe everyone out with the Wailing Death.)

A Neverwinter Knight (dismounted): "We could hold them farther back on the bridge over the river...". Sedos: "Yes, that was my plan, I have already sent a team to barricade the south end of the bridge. Gather your forces and head to the center island. The details of the next phase are to come as we see how events play out." (Do we need a script this in AI, or have the PCs place the barricade?)

NOTE: Sedos can be DM'ed at this point for further RP or any changes DMs might make to the Event through direct control of NPCs or creatures. Otherwise Sedos enters the gate as well, or heads off to somewhere else mysterious or notable.

Scene: Blacklake Gate: PCs and guards arrive and speak to the guard there, . He is haughty and annoying as usual, but we grin and bear it or ague, whatever. They will not help us on the bridge, because the snobs in control only care about their gate, but they will help guard the gate. They don't want the mob to destroy it and gain entrance. (The private guards might flee and lock it behind them if they take too much damage/losses.)

On the bridge between the City Core and Peninsula: PCs and forces move to the south end of the bridge. Very likely they will hold at the small island in the middle, since the bottleneck will be the southern span of the bridge itself. The barricade is to slow them at the southern entrance to the bridge, and give the PCs an opportunity to give minor casualties to the common people in the mob and cause the bulk of them to disperse (we might make a certain number immune to fear unless the usual AI fleeing at damage kicks in. The mob captains and their proper fighting group will be behind the mob, using it as a shield and staying out of range of the PCs until they need to fight. Each wave of the mob is to wear down the defenders. Archers can also be placed on the wall-walks at each end, but this might be a distraction to the Event.

Captain: "If you can, target the group with Fear or other such spells. Where possible, a minor wound to the common rabble should cause them to flee. Spare the puppets, save your true might for the puppet masters themselves. Use slings or smaller missiles to wound and dissuade the common citizens. Our first goal is to halt the attack."

Cue horn informing players of impending arrival of the mob. (Cue attack horn (single) for impending wave, bright horn for beginning of respite, two or three bright horns in succession, maybe some bells for victory). Each wave is heralded by horn, and appears at the Beggar's Nest trigger (we might need to clear the commoners and/or redesign the path from that entrance to the bridge.) and moves to the barricade(s), attempting to cross the bridge and reach the Blacklake gate.

The first wave will be one of the captains of the criminal puppeteers, along with minor fighters and a bunch of citizens. The leadership and regulars stay at the rear of the mob. Small groups of commoners begin to flee at the sight of each enemy going down or their neighbors being wounded, the rest fight. When an enemy captain is down to half their HP, they attempt to walk away and fade into the crowed. With the help of the private guards (should the PCs be pushed back over time but subsequent waves), they are dispatched and sent running.

For every commoner that dies or is wounded, script a chance of Fear. This causes them to run away, and/or fade, after X seconds (since it will be difficult for them to get through the crowd back to safety). This will have a cumulative effect over each round, so should clear the riled commoners fairly quickly. They will give an AC penalty on any PC combatants they are flanking. So even if they don't hit anyone they are helping. The goal is to wound in some small way every citizen you can, though the primary targets are the leadership.

X waves of these groups arrive and must be repelled. There are a few respites for the PCs to recover and heal themselves and other defenders (see note on horns for signaling).

This might be phase one of several related Events.

The-Frozen-North / tfn-module

Example of a scenario or Event as I call them. #362