First time DM here finishing up a first ever campaign with some first time players (Starter Set) and going to run WDH next. My party is excited at the prospect of creating new characters with more connections with the story (wasn't able to really do this with the current campaign) and advancing past level 5 as adventurers since I told them that I'd probably homebrew the continuation after WDH.
There are a few questions I have regarding this proposal though:
Being set pretty much entirely within one city, character backstories/motivations would be slightly restricted by the opening campaign setting as they would all need to have reasons to be there and reasons to pursue the main goal. Do you see this an issue if we want to continue afterwards or would it be a nice transition from city locals to adventurous heroes? I'm just worried that all of the backstories will end up being focused in this one place so not much motivation to go out of the borders.
Depending on the conclusion of the campaign, the players could end up with 50k gold. If we are to continue the story though, such amount would be game breaking right? Ideally I'd like for there to be a way for the party to spend their money on something which makes sense for them and doesn't feel too forced (hey maybe they decide to invest their entire fortune into their tavern, now that'd be fantastic). Any experiences with this conundrum or any ideas? If they somehow get the full 500k well that would most likely end up being an 'on the run' type of scenario.
Would having different party members be part of different factions be a big issue down the line because of conflicts of interest or would it be more of a catalyst for interesting encounters?
I feel like WDH would set an interesting foundation of allies and enemies to further build on in future endeavours HOWEVER if the idea is not very feasible then I'd want to let the party know that this will be a contained adventure before we start, so any help/advice on these matters would be much appreciated.
I'm currently finishing up WDH with a group of friends, and here are my thoughts...
1) Although I haven't tried it myself, I imagine there is plenty to do in Waterdeep in terms of a homebrew campaign if you're creative. You might not even need your players to leave the city. You could explore some of the villains you didn't use in WDH, maybe parts of the Undermountain, maybe a plot of political intrigue, etc. The transition out of the city wouldn't be that difficult, though, if you're creative.
2) Collecting the gold is not technically illegal, unless I'm mistaken, although Laeral Silverhand does encourage them to share the wealth and give some back to the city. They would be hounded by NPCs wanting loans and whatnot, but I don't think they would be on the run from the law. There are other goals that can encourage characters that aren't just money, especially if the characters are good-natured.
3) If the factions have directly opposing goals, then perhaps it could be an issue, but I also think it creates interesting roleplay among the party. The players don't have to do everything their faction wants them to.
I am planning on running Rise of Tiamat after WDH. I know it seems like a weird shift, but I have edited the Cassalanters to be members of the Cult of The Dragon instead of cultists of Asmodeus. Rise of Tiamat begins in Waterdeep, with the players being invited to the Council of Waterdeep because of their recent status as heroes within the city. The adventure hook relies more on them being willing to help out for the greater good than anything. It's also worth noting that most good players will take any adventure hook you give them, whether it's in character or not, because they know you've spent time on it. The beginning of Rise of Tiamat requires them to purchase a boat and set sail, so that would cost them a decent chunk of their gold. This campaign also utilizes the same factions they're already invested in, so I thought it worked out nicely.
Moral of the story: Anything is possible with enough creativity.
Oh no no no no the only thing you should be homebrewing after WDH are the extensions to each dungeon level in Dungeon of the Mad Mage with your own content.
You see all WDH is intended to be is an optional, fluffy little lead up to the most important adventure WotC has ever printed- Dungeon of the Mad Mage.
This is the quintessential adventure that really teaches you what D&D is actually about, at its core, and trains DMs and players in the most essential skill of effectively making and crawling through dungeons, respectively.
Oh no no no no the only thing you should be homebrewing after WDH are the extensions to each dungeon level in Dungeon of the Mad Mage with your own content.
You see all WDH is intended to be is an optional, fluffy little lead up to the most important adventure WotC has ever printed- Dungeon of the Mad Mage.
This is the quintessential adventure that really teaches you what D&D is actually about, at its core, and trains DMs and players in the most essential skill of effectively making and crawling through dungeons, respectively.
D&D is not just about dungeons and dragons. Sure, those are nice, but it gets boring after a while. DotMM also has a ... depressing lack of an overarching story. D&D has three ‘pillars.’ Exploration, Combat, and Roleplay. W:DH focuses more on roleplay. DotMM focuses more on exploration and combat.
All adventures have parts of D&D in them, but no adventure has all of it.
p.s. YamJam doesn’t seem to intend to play DotMM after W:DH
Hello all,
First time DM here finishing up a first ever campaign with some first time players (Starter Set) and going to run WDH next. My party is excited at the prospect of creating new characters with more connections with the story (wasn't able to really do this with the current campaign) and advancing past level 5 as adventurers since I told them that I'd probably homebrew the continuation after WDH.
There are a few questions I have regarding this proposal though:
I feel like WDH would set an interesting foundation of allies and enemies to further build on in future endeavours HOWEVER if the idea is not very feasible then I'd want to let the party know that this will be a contained adventure before we start, so any help/advice on these matters would be much appreciated.
Thanks!
Also, would it be possible to have a mix of good and evil party members or is that too much of a hassle for the future?
I'm currently finishing up WDH with a group of friends, and here are my thoughts...
1) Although I haven't tried it myself, I imagine there is plenty to do in Waterdeep in terms of a homebrew campaign if you're creative. You might not even need your players to leave the city. You could explore some of the villains you didn't use in WDH, maybe parts of the Undermountain, maybe a plot of political intrigue, etc. The transition out of the city wouldn't be that difficult, though, if you're creative.
2) Collecting the gold is not technically illegal, unless I'm mistaken, although Laeral Silverhand does encourage them to share the wealth and give some back to the city. They would be hounded by NPCs wanting loans and whatnot, but I don't think they would be on the run from the law. There are other goals that can encourage characters that aren't just money, especially if the characters are good-natured.
3) If the factions have directly opposing goals, then perhaps it could be an issue, but I also think it creates interesting roleplay among the party. The players don't have to do everything their faction wants them to.
I am planning on running Rise of Tiamat after WDH. I know it seems like a weird shift, but I have edited the Cassalanters to be members of the Cult of The Dragon instead of cultists of Asmodeus. Rise of Tiamat begins in Waterdeep, with the players being invited to the Council of Waterdeep because of their recent status as heroes within the city. The adventure hook relies more on them being willing to help out for the greater good than anything. It's also worth noting that most good players will take any adventure hook you give them, whether it's in character or not, because they know you've spent time on it. The beginning of Rise of Tiamat requires them to purchase a boat and set sail, so that would cost them a decent chunk of their gold. This campaign also utilizes the same factions they're already invested in, so I thought it worked out nicely.
Moral of the story: Anything is possible with enough creativity.
Oh no no no no the only thing you should be homebrewing after WDH are the extensions to each dungeon level in Dungeon of the Mad Mage with your own content.
You see all WDH is intended to be is an optional, fluffy little lead up to the most important adventure WotC has ever printed- Dungeon of the Mad Mage.
This is the quintessential adventure that really teaches you what D&D is actually about, at its core, and trains DMs and players in the most essential skill of effectively making and crawling through dungeons, respectively.
D&D is not just about dungeons and dragons. Sure, those are nice, but it gets boring after a while. DotMM also has a ... depressing lack of an overarching story. D&D has three ‘pillars.’ Exploration, Combat, and Roleplay. W:DH focuses more on roleplay. DotMM focuses more on exploration and combat.
All adventures have parts of D&D in them, but no adventure has all of it.
p.s. YamJam doesn’t seem to intend to play DotMM after W:DH
i can roll nat 1s on command
my homebrew thingies
Magic Items - Monsters - Subclasses