u/Digitalflip

Hey everyone!

Could use a little advice on how to make this situation flow smooth at the table, just a light set up for you.

A party of 5 level 2 players are in a port town controlled by a noble house led by a Count who they have been making inroads with doing various things for this faction and earning goodwill. This Count is subservient to a Duke who is the eventual big bad and ties into a much larger story going on with multiple of my friends groups. I have the docks currently occupied with a single warship from the friendly faction, many of the dukes men got dropped into this city recently (they saw this so they know). My question is I’d like to have some sort of uprising occur here and the dukes men take the city and force the party to flee on this warship, so I’m wondering what I can do to make this dynamic without taking like 10 sessions, I’d like the party’s focus to be on getting aboard the ship and fleeing the city before the dukes armada shows up and traps them.

How can I make situations both in combat and around the city as they flee to the docks that are engaging, any inspiration is much appreciated!