In most adventures that I’ve written, the PCs are able to gain a direct victory—overpowering the opposition through physical, mental, or social means—but it’s always interesting to change it up and present them with a problem that the direct approach can’t solve. That’s what it’s like when you are the smartest or the strongest in the room. That led me to think about a situation ’s what it’s like for a real underdog. In our world—and, to be honest, historically—that’s been the fate of displaced persons. This isn’t the first time the subject informed my RPG writing. I had plans to write on the fate of a particularly famous group of likely displaced people during the Late Bronze Age collapse—Sagas of the Sea Peoples got recycled as the Sword’s Edge adventure Poles of Power. This one-pager is still a kind of a power fantasy—it’s a lot cleaner and removed from real suffering than most refugee situations—but it presents a situation the PCs can’t punch their way out of.
Story
The PCs control Sanctuary—this could be a tavern and inn, it could be a quarter of a city, or it might even be a city or town itself—that sits between two opposing powers. It is the only safety for the refugees from the war. The PCs can’t openly use violence as the opposing armies have escalation dominance—they can bring far more force to bear on Sanctuary than the PCs can even hope to oppose. As the war is coming to a close, both armies seek battlefield victories to improve their positions and the polity’s negotiation position. The PCs need to protect Sanctuary and the refugees finding shelter until peace or at least stability arrives.
Places
Sanctuary: What is it? How do the PCs control it—are they the oligarchy controlling a city state or the owners of an establishment inside a city that is the site of battles between the opposing powers?
Paradise: There is another place of refuge, and a more permanent one. For the lucky few, Sanctuary is but a stop on their journey. Many others must try to find a means to reach Paradise and be accepted there.
Challenges
The Soldiers: The war has been long and it has been cruel. Those fighting have been brutalized by it. The enemy has been dehumanized and atrocities committed. The soldiers likely feel there will be no repercussions for the crimes they commit, and some welcome that as they share their pain with the world or try to blot it out through brutality.
The Leaders: For some of the leaders of the opposing powers, Sanctuary is an insult. It flaunts their authority, and for some people, that is a personal slight. They will not accept anything except total submission. They do not care that submission to them lays one open to retribution from the enemy. That is not their concern.
The Professionals: There are those on both sides who abhor the crimes and atrocities. Yes, it is a constant is war, but that does not mean one should accept it. As Shakespeare had Henry V say: “. . . when lenity and cruelty play for a kingdom, the gentler gamester is the soonest winner.”
Events
Balance of Power: One of the two warring powers has achieved a modicum of dominance, and now has control—for the moment—of the territory in which Sanctuary exists. The commander of the force seeks submission from Sanctuary, and they are hesitant and indecisive, easily swayed by their lieutenants—some of whom want Sanctuary destroyed.
The Negotiations: One of the two warring powers approaches the PCs, requesting that Sanctuary host the negotiations. It is a loaded request, as the proposing side implies rejection of the request will reveal Sanctuary is not neutral. And if Sanctuary hosts the negotiations, both sides will constantly demand submission as a show of neutrality, while claiming any show of submission to the other side show Sanctuary is not neutral.