Howdy of us, and welcome again to Incorrect Each Time. Right now I’m as soon as once more past updated on my excellent reader bounties, which means it’s a wonderful time to reward myself (and also you all? I hope???) with a contemporary reflection on my fledgling dungeon mastering profession. When final we left off, the social gathering was approaching Citadel Blackmire, and my DMing prep work was already on sounder footing relative to the preliminary Competition of Saint Agatha. There may be merely no approach to keep away from the gauntlet of knowledge and expertise offered by really operating classes; even amongst DMs, what quantities to “enough preparation” can range wildly, relying completely by yourself consolation, knack for memorization, means to improvise, and conception of what precisely you and your gamers need out of your marketing campaign.
For me personally, principally all of those components level in direction of “there is no such thing as a degree of preparation that might really feel so exhaustive as to not really be helpful.” Firstly, I used to be and nonetheless take into account myself a reasonably novice DM, and I’m frankly not a lot of a public speaker, so “consolation” is all the time a crapshoot. All I can do is ready my thoughts comfy nonetheless doable, so I usually observe a pre-session ritual that entails consuming a pleasant, fundamental meal that gained’t mess with my abdomen, prepping a sandwich or one thing so I don’t must interrupt the session later, and attempting to relax by first reviewing my notes after which going for a short stroll. As for my knack for memorization, that’s a flat zero – my recall means is horrible, so I’ve to imagine that something I don’t have written down, I gained’t have the ability to use in-session.
My improvisation means I take into account roughly common; I can’t provide you with wealthy characters or fight encounters on the spot, however I can not less than converse comfortably as a personality, and hold their voice going as I take into account how the gamers would possibly finest be directed. And at last, there may be that query of “what would you like out of your marketing campaign,” a query that can have a unique reply for any given desk. The play expertise of DnD can vary from using alongside on an epic journey with a number of pre-scripted highlights to exploring an infinite sandbox, letting your instant curiosity dictate wherever the journey would possibly lead. As somebody who loves epic fantasy and finds sandboxes kinda repetitive and unsatisfying, I clearly lean extra in direction of a pre-scripted model, and thus my back-end writing must be strong sufficient to truly repay the religion the gamers are inserting in me.
As I mentioned, for my DMing model and talents, all indicators pointed to “prep as a lot as you assume doable, then take a couple of days away, come again, and prep some extra.” I principally wished to ship my gamers by an epic fantasy novel, and coherent epic fantasy novels aren’t written one web page at a time – they’re constructed off of sturdy skeletons, with early developments continuously seeding distant payoffs. The simplest manner to do that in DnD gave the impression to be to make the land and cities the gamers visited each initially worthy of funding and ripe for eventual transformation, which principally set the general construction of the marketing campaign: I’d have my gamers march all throughout the Dalelands in a time of peace, gathering allies earlier than they return to defend these lands in a time of battle. This was roughly the extent of definition I’d reached for my total marketing campaign construction because the social gathering approached Citadel Blackmire.
Persevering with on, darkish columns emerge within the distance, slowly clarifying into the spires of a mighty fortress. Putrid swamp offers approach to a blighted orchard, bare branches clawing on the chilly grey sky. The fortress is preceded by a stone wall and gatehouse, with one guard stationed exterior the portcullis, and one other patrolling the wall above. Barren, scraggly timber encompass the social gathering, the remnants of an orchard fallen to wreck. The fog has largely masked the social gathering’s strategy, however they might want to tread rigorously from right here, lest the entire fortress be roused in opposition to them
Mission: infiltrate Citadel Blackmire and assassinate Baron Tragdor
- Sidequest: save the vacationers who’ve been kidnapped by Tragdor’s raiders
- Sidequest: reclaim the Crest of Mirelords (will result in following: current it to the King of Yauhnn beseeching help, and return the final Inheritor of the Mirelords)
The fortress could have guards (occasional Knights and plenty of Guards, together with Thugs, Spys, and Scouts as archers) located all all through, largely congregating round outposts, towers, and barracks. There’ll moreover be patrols operating all through the fortress, in addition to guards posted exterior vital chambers. Nevertheless, the troops appear poorly skilled, extra bandits than troopers, with no constant uniforms and never a lot resembling a way of order or cohesion. It might not be troublesome to evade them, and even perhaps doable to idiot them into contemplating you allies. Tragdor usually resides within the Grasp Examine
Guard clusters will be discovered within the Guardhouse, Barracks, Entrance Corridor, and Rear Station, in addition to the 2 towers on high of the fortress
Single or twin guards will be discovered at main doorways/entrances
Patrols run all through the hallways and predominant chambers of the primary flooring, in addition to the overhanging corridor of the second flooring
Vital fog and darkness make it comparatively simple to isolate single guards and even small teams. Watch out for runners in the event you get into a bigger engagement (make a giant humorous commotion the primary time, “somebody has to report this!” and whatnot)
The armory comprises a Greataxe for Arachne, Shurikens for Garu, and a Cloak of Mending for Jaric
Already on this sequence, you possibly can see my writing has shifted from pondering by way of total quest ideas to pondering by way of player-DM moments, how a selected sequence will probably be skilled or described, and the way it will really feel to mechanically navigate the fortress grounds. The opening descriptive copy is extra elaborate and particular, as a result of I’ve already settled into the sample of utilizing such exposition to set a scene earlier than pulling again and letting the gamers do what they’ll. The writing matches my assumed pacing; exposition is a bit cheaper when it comes initially of a session or sequence, when it’s not actively interrupting participant motion.
The distribution of guards and loot noticed me pondering extra by way of visible and bodily geometry, a pattern I’d be embracing from right here on out, and supplementing with participant maps each time doable (please get pleasure from my exceedingly tough and coffee-stained map above). I had all the time beloved pouring over maps as a participant within the earlier marketing campaign, and wished to reward funding in such supplementary instruments by making strategizing and plotting a course of bodily motion genuinely helpful. Such an strategy would hopefully emphasize participant company – quite than the fortress or guard patrols merely “occurring to” the gamers, I wished them to really feel a way of possession over their strategy, and satisfaction in choosing the exact battles they felt had been mandatory for victory.
Looking back, I’m fairly impressed with novice-Nick for weaving a pair bonus sidequests into the fortress infiltration. I think about the instant clean stares upon setting my gamers free in Nettlebarn had a profound impact; gamers like company, however additionally they want some path, and thus I attempted from then on by no means to depart them with out some clear purpose they might not less than select to pursue. I’d additionally all the time loved World of Warcraft’s system of weaving aspect quests into bigger dungeons to supply some path to your exploration past “kill all of the monsters,” and figured with an open expanse like Citadel Blackmire to discover at will, having a handful of sub-objectives would supply each friction and path. In the event you can organically lead your gamers to questions like “ought to we battle to clear this space or stealth our manner in direction of that different goal,” you’re usually hitting the candy spot of company and path.
Encounter:
The captured vacationers are being held within the dungeon cells, beneath the rightward predominant corridor staircase. Two Guards are enjoying playing cards at a desk close to the bottom of the steps. When the social gathering initiates fight, the Lurker will strike as nicely, awkwardly/belatedly warning the guards (“be careful, uh, man! Oh, shoot”) earlier than becoming a member of them in battle
- The lurker is definitely a ferocious but deeply anxiety-stricken Lamia, who can really be befriended by the social gathering. She is accustomed to being shunned for her allegedly monstrous nature, and has thus developed a nervous disposition and eagerness to please that finally led to her becoming a member of Tragdor’s bandits. Her identify is Natalie
- Provides the social gathering her Necklace of Spider Climb when defeated (she’ll surrender and ask for the social gathering to stop it when her well being drops low)
Ah, Natalie. This anxious lamia who roughly unintentionally joined a bandit gang would unexpectedly show probably the most consequential side of this entire quest line. She was really initially conceived by Dante the Sorcerer’s participant, who was principally my companion in crime for sculpting this marketing campaign, continuously dealing with extra mechanical features like designing upgrades for our rogue. However I used to be the one who gave her the character and disposition of Dusa from Hades, and that was all it took for my social gathering to fall in love together with her.
“Nervous, eager-to-please lamia who talks with an adorably snake-like lisp” was a right away hit, and thus I swiftly made plans to carry her again, first as a waitress at a Yhaunn tavern, and later as an precise employed ally of the social gathering. Regardless of the medium or format, my specialty in storytelling is characters, and thus my marketing campaign has slowly gained a “gotta befriend ‘em all” subtheme, as my gamers latch on to favored NPCs and recruit them into their enterprise operations. Natalie would finally change into the primary worker of Diehard Enterprises, however that was a good distance off – for now, I used to be simply glad to have constructed a personality my gamers clearly wished to see once more.
Checking the cages reveals the vacationers you had been trying to find. The vacationers will reward you with two Potion of Better Therapeutic, and can enhance your status in Tasseldale as they relate phrase of your exploits to these they meet
Together with the vacationers, one cage comprises Helena Mirehand, the final steward of the Mire household
Helena Mirehand, Final Steward of Citadel Blackmire
Loyal to the unique household. Was doing her finest to keep up their fading property when Tragdor arrived, demanding the placement of the household’s treasures. When she refused, she was consigned to the dungeons. For saving her, she’s going to disclose to you the key hallways and doorways of the fortress, in addition to the placement of a relic that was as soon as borne by the pinnacle of the household, bearing drops of their blood to show their lineage (“flip the golden candlestick within the manor’s vault chamber”)
“The final true inheritor of the Mire clan, the Mireheir, has been secreted away to my sister in Yhaunn. Please, you should petition the king for forces to reclaim our dwelling! You have to restore the true Mirelord!” She affords a Quest to search out the final Mire inheritor and acquire an settlement from the king to revive this land, thereby making it protected once more for its homesteads and vacationers
At this level I’m already beginning to plot at scale, and provides the social gathering as many tethers as doable connecting them to Yhaunn, in order that they’ll really feel not simply compelled to go to the capitol, however really rife with quests to pursue after they get there. Certainly one of my main targets in scripting this marketing campaign was to make the social gathering genuinely care about this land and its folks, quite than having them merely really feel like surroundings for the social gathering’s personal heroics. Reaching that might demand continuity of connection and goal, and Yhaunn would primarily function the primary harvest of the seeds I’d planted, providing an opportunity to examine in with the thief Charlie from Nettlebarn, hand within the quest supplied by Nettlebarn’s mayor to the king, pursue the final inheritor of the Mire clan, and meet again up with Natalie. You solely get one likelihood at a primary impression, so I’m grateful I labored so arduous to infuse the introduction of the social gathering’s ever-since predominant base Yhaunn with so many factors of emotional and mechanical connection.
Encounter:
When the social gathering has progressed considerably by the fortress, they are going to be challenged by Tragdor’s lieutenant Fukuro. This encounter will start explosively, with Fukuro utilizing his lightning energy to carve or stab a shock entrance by one of many fortress partitions. He’ll then summon two guard captains and start the battle (one samurai + two spies)
Fukuro is definitely a samurai from the jap kingdoms. He’ll acknowledge Garu’s weapon and apparel, calling him out as a false warrior, and pledging to strike him down with This Very Sword (an imposing, lightning-enchanted sword that carves lightning arcs throughout the environment)
- When Fukuro is defeated, his sword will shatter, and its essence will probably be consumed by Garu’s Wakizashi
- Wakizashi Improve: +1 to assault and harm rolls, in addition to the power to imagine Lightning type. When in Lightning type, exchange all slashing harm with Lightning harm. This kind is embodied in a small yellow bead embedded within the sword’s hilt, and will be changed by one other (as soon as others are discovered) over the course of an motion
Encounter:
When the social gathering reaches the Grasp Examine, they must disarm a number of layers of traps to proceed ahead. There’s a wire lure exterior the door, magical lure on the door, and stress plate activating crossbows contained in the door. Tragdor (in all probability a Gladiator) and two troopers wait inside, ready to climate a siege. I ought to embody alternate methods to strategy/disarm this encounter – it’s additionally doable to interrupt in by the again window, and there’s a air flow duct entrance that may be exploited with Helena’s info
The protected behind Tragdor isn’t locked, and comprises his important private fortune. If the social gathering has the information gained from Helena, they will proceed additional as soon as they’ve found the proper golden candlestick to show (there are dozens within the room, however just one bears the marks of constant use as a deal with). This may reveal a hidden passage that leads right down to a small stone shrine, the place a Bloodwell Vial stands above a pool of water, casting an eerie crimson hue on the water’s floor
Conclusion:
When Tragdor falls and his minions are silenced, the social gathering could have a second to discover his quarters and resolve any lingering quest targets. When the prior door guards fail to examine in, an alarm will probably be raised, and the social gathering must swiftly escape the fortress. The prisoners could have already escaped at this level, which means the social gathering is free to hold on in direction of Yhaunn
Whew, I actually had no thought what was happening with Garu at this level. His participant had outlined him as “Sekiro mixed with Cloud from FFVII,” a mix he wished to comprehend in each a mechanical and narrative sense. The mechanical finish was partially fulfilled by his wakizashi, which I might finally give the right title “Blade of the Castaway,” and which you’ll be able to already see right here is being fitted with the equal of FFVII’s Materia System. He would additionally finally be fitted with an outright Restrict Break system, courtesy once more of Dante-player’s arduous work turning completely unrelated sport programs into workable DnD copy.
I might in the end ditch each the samurai identities and stat blocks for Garu’s signature opponents, reflavoring them because the elite “Knights of Archendale,” who had been a lot nearer to the SOLDIERs of FFVII. This is able to enable the initially amnesiac Garu’s true historical past to unfold throughout the course of the marketing campaign, with the rising martial risk represented by Archendale echoed by Garu’s drawing understanding of his place on this battle. As such, despite the fact that virtually the entire defining variables launched right here would finally be discarded, it was nicely price it to introduce signature enemies for Garu so early, and thus set up a precedent to information each future character developments and an extended string of associated fight encounters.
With that, my social gathering vanquished the bandits who had so rudely claimed Citadel Blackmire, and had been thus as soon as once more on the street to the town that might change all the pieces. Till subsequent time!
This article was made doable by reader assist. Thanks all for all that you just do.
