Searching the great library

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Whiskeyjack
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Searching the great library

Unread post by Whiskeyjack »

One of tasks I'm going to set upon my group in a coming session is to scour the Library of Bletherad for information on destroying a particular type of undead. There will be several monks assisting them in this task, as the undead in question is threatening the island.
How would you all go about determining success in such a search, and the time it takes to actually find the proper information?
I've already decided that the information they seek does in fact exist in the library.
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Jack Burton
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Re: Searching the great library

Unread post by Jack Burton »

Not sure about determining success, but here are some ideas, some of which could be spin-off adventures. The time required to complete the adventure, however long it takes, would solve your time question, perhaps.
*Only one monk in particular is familiar with the book, but he's been abducted by brigands holding him and trying to get ransom from the library or church/monestary affiliated with the library
*The book was destroyed in a fire but an old scribe who works at the library may remember copying the info down several years ago into the now destroyed book from scrolls that were also destroyed in the fire (the challenge is discovering the scribe's existence)
*The book was stolen by a cult member or other dastardly villain in league with the undead but the monks know who took it
*The book was actually never finished, but one of the author's descendants has all the original manuscripts and the monks are familiar with the family and their whereabouts, but their location is not in the safest or most accessible area
*As the monks help the PCs, a library caretaker gets wind of the search for the book and tries to covertly stop them from finding it at the direction of an evil overseer, the identity of which is yet unknown
*The book or scrolls that contain the information are housed in an unused underground chamber of the library guarded by some creepy-crawlies the monks lost control of centuries ago, hence why the chamber has been sealed (I guess the success can be determined if the creepy-crawlies are destroyed)
*The monks are secret supporters of the undead and are part of a cult that wants to raise and control them
*A rival group, maybe good, maybe evil, that DOES NOT play well with others, shows up to the library while the group is there and is seeking the same book
*An advance party of undead are encountered in the catacombs under the library, drawn to that location from a separate underground entrance because (insert reason here)

I'm a little jealous, since that sounds like a great beginning to a fun adventure! DISCLAIMER: I'm not very familiar with the Palladium Fantasy genre yet, so keep that in mind if any of my ideas are lame. :lol:
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Whiskeyjack
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Re: Searching the great library

Unread post by Whiskeyjack »

Thanks for the reply Jack. Those are some good ideas. I may use the locked chamber one. Most of the others wouldn't apply to the specific circumstances, but will be filed for future sessions. :)
The undead in question has not been since since the Chaos War, so the only books to mention it would be truly ancient tomes.
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kiralon
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Re: Searching the great library

Unread post by kiralon »

http://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/bo ... tf8WE0h2JA
Is helpful, I copied a heap of them for when a pc asked for a title name.

Time spent searching is a function of gold spent(number of searchers) and how unknown the undead creature is.
If fairly well known %per day cumulative (%4 per searcher)
Moderately known % per day cumulative (%2 per searcher)
hard to find % per day cumulative (%1 per searcher)
very hard to find % per day cumulative (%1 per 3 searchers)
Almost unknown Info %1 per 5 searchers not cumulative

Roll at the end of each day, a %100 roll is something interesting happened (demonic bookworms, used as toilet paper, that sort of thing)
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Whiskeyjack
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Re: Searching the great library

Unread post by Whiskeyjack »

Thanks kiralon. I already the name generator opened for getting names for some characters. I never noticed the book option though.
The undead in question is completely forgotten. There is monk however, who spends his spare time reading about the undead, and he is positive that he has read about a creature like this before.
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The Beast
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Re: Searching the great library

Unread post by The Beast »

If any of the PCs have the research skill and remember to use it I suggest rewarding them in some way with either additional information, reduced amount of time to find the info, and what have you.
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kiralon
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Re: Searching the great library

Unread post by kiralon »

if they have the research skill they can be one of the searchers, they just have to make the skill roll check
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Whiskeyjack
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Re: Searching the great library

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No one has the research skill. It's not inn the main book either. High Seas?
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The Beast
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Re: Searching the great library

Unread post by The Beast »

Whiskeyjack wrote:No one has the research skill. It's not inn the main book either. High Seas?


Might not be in this setting.
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Prysus
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Re: Searching the great library

Unread post by Prysus »

The Beast wrote:
Whiskeyjack wrote:No one has the research skill. It's not inn the main book either. High Seas?


Might not be in this setting.

Greetings and Salutations. Mysteries of Magic included the skill into PF. That's all for now. Farewell and safe journeys.
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ShadowLogan
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Re: Searching the great library

Unread post by ShadowLogan »

Whiskeyjack wrote:One of tasks I'm going to set upon my group in a coming session is to scour the Library of Bletherad for information on destroying a particular type of undead. There will be several monks assisting them in this task, as the undead in question is threatening the island.
How would you all go about determining success in such a search, and the time it takes to actually find the proper information?
I've already decided that the information they seek does in fact exist in the library.

That would depend on:
-the size of the library (# of books/scrolls/material)
-how well organized the library is (do they have the equivalent of a card catalog, dewie decimal system, do they group the material by topic, how are the titles alphabetized by author or title, etc)
-even then is the text in a language the searchers are literate in (might overlook something that was written in say Japanese Kanji if you don't have the literacy for it), yes I know magical options exist
-is the material they are searching for a devoted text on the subject, or is it buried in material requiring a more in depth search of said material
-is the material even on the shelf in the proper space (assuming some organization is present), Bob the Monk might be using the book to level a table/bed or as a doorstop
-is the title of the book known, or even relevant to what they are searching for (ex a title like "Dracula" or "Forever Knight" might not evoke vampire connections like say "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" or "I, Vampire" or "Interview with a Vampire")
-how are they doing the research (going through each book, looking at the titile, etc)
-do they find short references that refer to other material for more depth
-is anyone actively trying to keep the knowledge suppressed (might be safeguards like invisible ink to keep the information from getting out for some reason, or double agent, hidden in a "fake book" or magical illusion, etc)
-how rushed are the searchers

You might want to try something like this...
Go to the library (or a physical book store). Estimate its size. Pick a subject/topic (more specialized the better, preferably one not as familiar with). Time yourself in trying to find it without using a computer card catalog (since searching with a computerized version is quicker than old fashioned).

Now multiply the time it took you by the size difference between the real world site compared to the Library in question and divide by the number of searchers. You might want to apply modifiers based on the above.
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