Creating Multiple Threats

A threat is anything that can damage the player characters or keep them from reaching their goals. It is what provides tension, and hence excitement, in an adventure. If there is only one source of threat, such as a single villain, the adventure coasts to a halt if the heroes overcome the threat. Even if the PCs merely hold their own, the adventure usually lacks variety. A single source of threat usually generates only one type of challenge.

Adventures with multiple threats tend to be more flexible and resistant to player character successes. They also offer more variety. For example, consider an adventure where the player characters are pursuing a kidnapper. If the kidnapper is the only element actively opposing the heroes, the adventure becomes a mere chase with the villain trying various tricks to slow the player characters or to throw them off the scent. No matter what the villain’s resources, there is a limit to the number of tricks and ploys the kidnapper can throw into the PCs’ way. The heroes might end the adventure prematurely through the use of items such as crystal balls in conjunction with spells such as teleport without error.

Suppose, however, that a rival party also is pursuing the villain and hoping to beat the player characters to the prize. Let’s also place the adventure in a dark jungle filled with deadly creatures, including a tanar’ri who remained here after an unsuccessful summoning by a long-dead wizard. Now, the heroes have numerous problems to deal with simultaneously.

They still must track and overtake the villain, but they also must deal with their rivals’ attempts to foil their efforts. The party must deal with tropical heat that makes heavy armor impractical, dampness that is baneful to spellbooks and scrolls, swarms of biting insects, and the tanar’ri and his minions. Even if the player characters catch and defeat the villain, they still must get out of the jungle with their rescued kidnap victim. After they escape, the party must be on the alert for reprisals from their rivals.

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