My usual dm asked me to do a short dnd campaign in between the end of our current campaign and the beginning of our new campaign just so that he has more time to prepare. Some people who I also play with told me ghosts of saltmarsh cold be used to do a shorter campaign like that but I am not sure how. This is the first time I have dmed before and I am not quite sure where to start. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!! :)
It took my group ten sessions of about 4 hours each. But sometimes they did not go murderhobo and played nice in one chapter. Another session they went murderhobo and made themselves public enemy of one module. But suggestions.
Take some notes. Like this from the Sinister Secret.
8 Withdrawing Room
Swarm of Spiders AC 12 HP 22 XP 100 MM 338
Kitchen
Giant Centipede AC 13 HP 4 XP 50 MM 323 * 4
Do not try to get through the whole book. Pick two of the modules and let them have fun.
A "one month campaign" doesn't tell us a lot. You have said 3-4 hours per session ... do you play weekly? If so then you have four sessions.
Do Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, Danger at Dunwater, and The Final Enemy.
Will need to jump them forward in levels between Dunwater and The Final Enemy but these three are really the ones that carry on from eachother. The others are fillers. (Nice fillers but still). If they are experienced players then jumping them up a few levels for this reason won't be a big deal.
To clarify we do meet weekly with the rare exception of course. With doing the three missions, sinister secret of saltmarsh, danger at dunwater, and the final enemy would you recommend starting at the level the books says or starting them higher and upping the difficulty? Thank you so much for the advice! It definitely has helped.
If you use milestone leveling don't worry about it. Saltmarsh is 1. Danger is 3. And Final enemy is level 7. I would start at level 2 with no adjustment for Saltmarsh. However if you want to keep them in Tier 1 (level 1-4) Do Salvage Operation instead of Final Enemy.
OR could wait to next Tuesday when the new season drops. And buy the first module.
Saltmarsh (and level 1) can be a little brutal so a level 2 start isn't too bad. First two adventures then "several months have passed and you have had many adventures but finally the sahugin have raised their heads again ... dun dun dun." - type of flavour text. You are now level 7 and lets play this adventure.
Would also let them choose a few magical items before the last adventure. Probably 1 or 2 rare, a few uncommons and essentially unlimited commons.
My usual dm asked me to do a short dnd campaign in between the end of our current campaign and the beginning of our new campaign just so that he has more time to prepare. Some people who I also play with told me ghosts of saltmarsh cold be used to do a shorter campaign like that but I am not sure how. This is the first time I have dmed before and I am not quite sure where to start. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!! :)
Ignore the town mostly. I Dmed the book and it took about 2 sessions 4 hours per adventure. How long are you sessions?
No Gaming is Better than Bad Gaming.
They're normally 3-4 hours!
It took my group ten sessions of about 4 hours each. But sometimes they did not go murderhobo and played nice in one chapter. Another session they went murderhobo and made themselves public enemy of one module. But suggestions.
Take some notes. Like this from the Sinister Secret.
8 Withdrawing Room
Swarm of Spiders AC 12 HP 22 XP 100 MM 338
Giant Centipede AC 13 HP 4 XP 50 MM 323 * 4
Do not try to get through the whole book. Pick two of the modules and let them have fun.
No Gaming is Better than Bad Gaming.
A "one month campaign" doesn't tell us a lot. You have said 3-4 hours per session ... do you play weekly? If so then you have four sessions.
Do Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh, Danger at Dunwater, and The Final Enemy.
Will need to jump them forward in levels between Dunwater and The Final Enemy but these three are really the ones that carry on from eachother. The others are fillers. (Nice fillers but still). If they are experienced players then jumping them up a few levels for this reason won't be a big deal.
To clarify we do meet weekly with the rare exception of course. With doing the three missions, sinister secret of saltmarsh, danger at dunwater, and the final enemy would you recommend starting at the level the books says or starting them higher and upping the difficulty? Thank you so much for the advice! It definitely has helped.
If you use milestone leveling don't worry about it. Saltmarsh is 1. Danger is 3. And Final enemy is level 7. I would start at level 2 with no adjustment for Saltmarsh. However if you want to keep them in Tier 1 (level 1-4) Do Salvage Operation instead of Final Enemy.
OR could wait to next Tuesday when the new season drops. And buy the first module.
No Gaming is Better than Bad Gaming.
Yeah, I would follow the level advice.
Saltmarsh (and level 1) can be a little brutal so a level 2 start isn't too bad. First two adventures then "several months have passed and you have had many adventures but finally the sahugin have raised their heads again ... dun dun dun." - type of flavour text. You are now level 7 and lets play this adventure.
Would also let them choose a few magical items before the last adventure. Probably 1 or 2 rare, a few uncommons and essentially unlimited commons.