Hostage on Arunisiir

[Pyromancer]

I need ideas for an upcoming adventure:
A rich heir and Imperial citizen was abducted by pirates and is held for ransom on an Aslan estate on Arunisiir. The "pirates" are some rich bored Aslan offsprings and human retainers, and they used the ship of the family head (with his permission, although he doesn't know about the pirating and the Imperial prisoner). A messenger is on the way to Tobia to negotiate the ransom, and the exchange is planned to be held on Exocet.

I have the background worked out so far, and how the PCs (Imperial mercenaries) will likely get involved and get to know about the situation. I guess they will want to free the prisoner. What I'm lacking are good hooks how this can be done, apart from the obvious solution to go in guns blazing and hope for the best. Do you have any ideas?

 

[Sigtrygg]

Thoughts and ideas that spring to mind.

How rich and heir to what? Will the family pay the ransom, try to negotiate a lower price (watch the TV series Trust about the kidnapping of John Paul GettyIII).

Paying a ransom will encourage more kidnappings.

Trying to rescue a kidnap victim against competent opposition will mean a dead hostage. Think about this - if the PCs were the kidnappers what would happen to a rescue team?

Is there a way to shame the Aslan into giving up the hostage? Is an Aslan cultural team of more use than J Rambo and friends? What if the PCs are the hired help for the negotiator rather than an extraction team.

Are any of the hostage takers or their confederates corruptible?

 

[Pyromancer]

Thoughts and ideas that spring to mind.

How rich and heir to what? Will the family pay the ransom, try to negotiate a lower price (watch the TV series Trust about the kidnapping of John Paul GettyIII).

In the current draft, his family owns a sizeable share of the Tobia Commerce Guild, so they are worth billions, if not more. And they are noble. How they will react is currently outside the scope of the adventure, but I'd guess they will pay what is pocket change for them.

Trying to rescue a kidnap victim against competent opposition will mean a dead hostage. Think about this - if the PCs were the kidnappers what would happen to a rescue team?

The kidnappers aren't competent. They are bored rich kids playing pirate. But some of them are Aslan, so the psychological barrier against killing the hostage isn't very high.

Is there a way to shame the Aslan into giving up the hostage? Is an Aslan cultural team of more use than J Rambo and friends? What if the PCs are the hired help for the negotiator rather than an extraction team.

Are any of the hostage takers or their confederates corruptible?

That's exactly the angle I'm aiming for. Nonviolent solutions. How could it go?

 

[paltrysum]

Well, they're Aslan so there are cultural idiosyncrasies in play. How about challenging them to a duel? Sure, your PCs are probably humans and the Aslan may or may not recognize an attempt by an alien species to appeal to them via their customs and traditions...but they might!

Maybe it would be beneficial for them to resolve the issue with a duel of some sorts (perhaps a "group duel" in which two entire teams, the PCs vs. selected Aslan) instead of just engaging in gratuitous bloodshed.

The players in my campaign have an unresolved plot thread in which a key ally of one of the players was kidnapped and enslaved by the Aslan of the Glorious Empire. The players want to get her back, but they really don't much like the idea of marching into the Glorious Empire and asking for her release. "Pretty please?" So they've come up with a number of different ideas on how they might make a deal for her. They have considered hiring the Aslan clan lord and his soldiers as mercenaries, only to draw them into a trap. The idea is that if they capture the Aslan, they will ransom them back to the clan lord's leading wife. While this could put his honor at stake, it makes sense to appeal to her. She's a female Aslan and they are adept at financial transactions. It's got some holes in it, but I like where the players are going with the plan.

 

[steve98052]

A prisoner exchange is another option. Who would the kidnappers' families value enough to demand that the kidnappers release the hostage?

A nice role-playing aspect of this is that it allows the players to get some use out of their coolest, scariest weapons -- to threaten, rather than the commit mass murder.

Handled deftly, the players should be able to convince the family of the kidnappers -- which is also the family of the hostage the players capture -- that the exchange is a good way to restore the honor of everyone involved, rather than an affront.

 

[Linwood]

An offer of land instead of cash might be an option....