A player who was supposed to join us today is not showing up

instead of thinking of something simple, you ask the internet thinking that would be better or faster?
please be a troll.

>>49870756
I'm not really good a this, mang.

I'm like errr ... escaped ... rats? A child ... lost in ... a tower? Eee, a wizard ... doing things ... for lulz?

I'm really not good at this. I'd say I'm a decent DM, but basically because of prep time. And /tg/ did provide for me on MANY occasions. So yeah, here I am.

Investigation about a cult kidnapping people for awaking an ancient evil or something?

or

PC's are invited to a party/reception at one of the wealthiest wizards of the city, but there are many "magical" accidents at the party, made by a rival who is trying to wreck the wizard's good reputation with the city's high society.

>>49870708
Interaction with a thieves guild perhaps. Pickpocket takes something, a scam, that sort of thing.

You could do a 'day in the life' game. Forget about plot, just let the players do what they want 'hey, you got a few days in town before X happens - what are you guys doing'. Then complicate that shit a bit, just small encounters and interactions.

The missing PC was kidnapped and they have to find who did it.
A secret cabal of vampires did it, but they mislead the party towards the slavers first.

A Half-Orc wizard calling himself Glothro the Magnificent is fucking around and local guards wont do anything about him since he's technically not breaking any laws, just being a massive fuckass to people with low level spells.
The party is hired by a small pool of people who each chipped in a couple of coins to pay to get rid of him.
Please also note that Glortho the Magnificent refers to Glortho the Magnificent in the 3rd person and is as flambouyant as possible.
Having Glortho the Magnificent show up multiple times in your campaign, getting steadily stronger/more dickish is optional, but reccommended.

Party goes to drink overnight at the tavern. They wake up in the slums with a terrible hangover, and find out that all of their belongings were stolen.

A wizard in town is selling "Challenge experiences", where they let you live through historic events total recall style (in a dream, with illusions or something), just prepare a set of high level character sheets and set up an encounter.
Have a small prize if they win, and if they're broke, have the wizard make them run errands to advertise his business for a free go.

>>49872864
Im stealing this.
Glortho will become a recurring bbeg

There have been reports of strange noises coming from the sewer system beneath the city. Sounds like roaring and pained squeals. The captain of the guard is a huge pussy and would rather, instead of investigating himself, hire some nobody adventurers to go see what it is down there.

It's a drake hatchery
You can tame the drakes and ride on them when they mature

Have them come across some lost children who ask for their help getting home, but have the children actually lead them to a bunch of angry owlbears.

Or have them meet eerily similar adventurers claiming to be them from the future, needing the help of their past selves, but when they go to meet them to prep for a big fight, it turns out the adventurers were an illusion and they got sent to a bunch of angry owlbears in adventurer gear.

Have them hired to help the guard arrest a wizard doing Standard Wizard Things(tm), but when the party makes it to the wizard's room in the tower, there's nothing there but a bunch of angry owlbears in pointy hats and robes.

Have them arrested unjustly, and while in prison another guard finds out about he corruption of the first few guards, releases them, and asks for their help in bringing the corrupted guards to justice. When the party get to the guard barracks it's empty except for a bunch of angry owlbears in guard uniforms.

Have the party post on /tg/, but when they do, all the anons replying to them turn out to be a bunch of angry owlbears with social anxiety.

>>49875505
The players are just owlbears disguised as PC's the whole time

>>49875781
You can never be too careful these days, anyone could be a bunch of angry owlbears. Even you!

Some crows stole their shinny items

Players hired by a very decorated wizard to clear out some were-rats in the lower city sewers. Its hush hush, as to avoid the rabble getting panicked.

You find the were rats. The burrow is actually a safe haven for other mutants. Turns out, the very politically influencial and decorated wizard has been doing some not so good experiments. His underlings fail to realize that you cant just slit a were-afflicteds throat, dump him in the sewer, and call it a day. So they end up here, plotting revenge.

Gives players options: do they black mail wizard? Take wizard out (possible backlash from law unaware), kill were's and get the job done? Its a quick little side quest you can expand upon.

>>49875931
But when the PCs go to get their stuff back, it turns out the crows were a bunch of angry owlbears all along!
Wonderful plotline anon, 10/10 I love it.

>>49875971
The owlbears deserve a theme song

I'm thinking "Happy Birthday"

File: 1434084386835.jpg (135KB, 800x800px) Image search: [Google]

135KB, 800x800px

>>49870708
Make it a dude wheres my car episode but they lost the other players character after going on a tavern crawl.

The stranger the place and condition they find him in the better.

>>49876554
I'm not OP, but that's a magnificent idea.

OP, consider playing Everyone is John, but in your campaign setting.

>>49876554
So it's The Hangover: DnD edition

Just

Please make it good.

>>49870708
>in Neverwinter
>level 3 (its 5e)
>broke and willing to take on any job
>one session
>absent player won't be in on it

The Fall Guys
Claiming to be understaffed, a commander hires the PCs to minor guard duty at a location, and gives them company insignia and/or castoff guard-style armor. In reality, the commander has intel that a rival group will attack that location to try to kill his men, as retaliation in kind. Because the party is broke <spoiler>and probably emowierd af, knowing the people that frequent this board</spoiler>, the commander mistook them for refugees, and planned to dress the party as his guards to use them as fall guys. In an attempt to surprise, the enemies set up a distraction using a wrecked vehicle, injured horse, or something catching fire seemingly by accident. The enemies gain a surprise round if all party members get involved, any player declaring to stand watch instead will catch them in the act and negate this. The enemies have very damaging weaponry, but are not especially fast, armored, or stout, because they are fall guys as well.
...

>>49870708
>>49879411

If the PCs aren't surprised, they should win the fight handily, with no foes able to escape. The weapons are good and can be taken, one of them is an unusual style not often seen with a minor enchantment. One of the downed foes will have a letter on him that he was composing to his sweetheart talking about his misgivings about the assignment and naming the location where he met the employer. If the PCs go to that location, they will meet the employer.

If they're wearing the company insignia when they go in, the employer will slip out the back while his two toughs hold them back, they will see him escape and be able to give a description of him. If they're not wearing company insignia, the employer will mistake them for job applicants, and tell them the job was already done. But if they also carry the unusual weapon to that location, the employer will mistake that character for one of the attackers and try to pay them.

Upon returning to their commander, he will laugh when he hears the description and tell the PCs that the guy is a double agent working on their side, and this was all an attempt to bolster the guy's credibility. As always, Luskan is involved, and the commander will offer the PCs a lead on a new mission, which is your next adventure.

>>49870708

His character has dissapeared in strange circumstances.

Is up to the PCs to find out where he is.