Hey guys, I'm a pretty new DM, only ran a handful of game thusfar, and I want to make a one shot for next week for a bunch of friends who never played it.
I rolled on the tables of the DMG and got some interesting ideas, everything is still on top of my head but something along the lines of this
BBEG: Greedy necromancer out for revenge (unsure what yet), he also makes beautiful paintings.
When the players arrive he'd be eating from the Bowl of Many Peanuts (random magic item I decided to make that gets refilled with peanuts when nobody is watching lol), while also working on creating a Flesh Golem (which is nowhere near completion since level 1 characters would be destroyed by it).
Now my main issue here though is, what is an appropriate Necromancer for a first level party of about 3 to 4 characters? I know zombies and skeletons are easy and all but unsure about the necromancer...
And also if it would require a high level to reanimate undead like that, maybe he has a magical item that allows him to do that, but what would that item be?
If I could get some tips on that, specially the necromancer's stats, it would be great :)
Personally I'd run your players at no less lvl 3, as 1st level characters are boring unless you plan to invest in them long term. You want your players to have fun and do epic things, a 1st level anything can only walk it and hit it with a pointy stick or throw a match at it. Give them the goods and you'll probably hook them into playing a longer adventure where you can start at 1st level. For the love of sanity, make sure they understand this is a one-shot! Everything goes the way of the dodo at the end of the night, period.
Necromancer: Roll a wizard make it a couple levels higher than your party will be during the final battle, specialize in Necromancy. You don't have to go through the whole process, just give it stats, give it spells, and give it gear.
Then flesh out the who, why, and how. The where and what are already set. The flesh golem can be alive, it can be animated, and it can present a problem for the players....just make it about as useful as the tin-man before he got oil. It can move, it glitches all the time, it's uncoordinated, and it's not put together very well...after all the players did interrupt the process.
The rest of the night will be spent on foreshadowing, random encounters, and narrative, with a whole lot of your players doing everything but what you want! Good luck, and I hope your group has a memorable night.
Personally I'd run your players at no less lvl 3, as 1st level characters are boring unless you plan to invest in them long term. You want your players to have fun and do epic things, a 1st level anything can only walk it and hit it with a pointy stick or throw a match at it. Give them the goods and you'll probably hook them into playing a longer adventure where you can start at 1st level. For the love of sanity, make sure they understand this is a one-shot! Everything goes the way of the dodo at the end of the night, period.
Necromancer: Roll a wizard make it a couple levels higher than your party will be during the final battle, specialize in Necromancy. You don't have to go through the whole process, just give it stats, give it spells, and give it gear.
Then flesh out the who, why, and how. The where and what are already set. The flesh golem can be alive, it can be animated, and it can present a problem for the players....just make it about as useful as the tin-man before he got oil. It can move, it glitches all the time, it's uncoordinated, and it's not put together very well...after all the players did interrupt the process.
The rest of the night will be spent on foreshadowing, random encounters, and narrative, with a whole lot of your players doing everything but what you want! Good luck, and I hope your group has a memorable night.
You know what? You're absolutely right!
Specially the part about starting at 3rd level, I always had this thought in my mind that first level characters were a bit "meh" but never really considered starting one shots higher than that.
I think you just changed the whole way I play from here on out buddy :)
Personally I'd run your players at no less lvl 3, as 1st level characters are boring unless you plan to invest in them long term. You want your players to have fun and do epic things, a 1st level anything can only walk it and hit it with a pointy stick or throw a match at it. Give them the goods and you'll probably hook them into playing a longer adventure where you can start at 1st level. For the love of sanity, make sure they understand this is a one-shot! Everything goes the way of the dodo at the end of the night, period.
Necromancer: Roll a wizard make it a couple levels higher than your party will be during the final battle, specialize in Necromancy. You don't have to go through the whole process, just give it stats, give it spells, and give it gear.
Then flesh out the who, why, and how. The where and what are already set. The flesh golem can be alive, it can be animated, and it can present a problem for the players....just make it about as useful as the tin-man before he got oil. It can move, it glitches all the time, it's uncoordinated, and it's not put together very well...after all the players did interrupt the process.
The rest of the night will be spent on foreshadowing, random encounters, and narrative, with a whole lot of your players doing everything but what you want! Good luck, and I hope your group has a memorable night.
I feel like you absolutely hit the nail on the head with this my friend. I was going to write all of this but you already did lol
Ok, I'm on my lunch break, so I can take a bit more time with this post. I'm glad my previous post gave you some inspiration, now I'd like to point out a few of the finer details that can go into the one shot.
So let's look at this:
Who: Necromancer with a penchant for brilliant paintings.
What: Revenge
When: In the process of finishing his Flesh Golem, so it would be just before he begins his master plan.
Where: ?
Why: ?
Those two answers can be figured out with little difficulty, common tropes from movies or books can be used here and no one will really mind.
Running the session however, since it is a one shot, requires a few things beyond this. Pace is the first, the easiest way to do this is to sketch out a traditional 3 part act: Build up, Climax, Resolution. The next part is keeping your players in the scope of the adventure, this requires a lot of guidance on your part without looking like you're doing it. The use of NPCs and narrative context will help there. Finally you'll need to create a definitive resolution, before the night is over the players must succeed or fail and they must experience this before you wrap up for the night.
Pace:
Build up: The party meets somewhere. They are pointed in a direction by an npc. Social encounters give information about the plot. Combat encounters show the dangers ahead. The villain does something to slow them down. Social encounters give information on how to move the plot ahead. Combat encounters show the villain is ready for them. They make their way to the lair.
Climax: The party approaches the villain, the villain wins this skirmish. The party goes out to gather the tools needed to defeat the villain. They return to defeat the villain.
Resolution: The party wins, the npcs celebrate, they get epic loot. The party looses, you describe the horrors enacted by the villain, the players pout.
Keeping them inside the invisible walls:
The best approach here is to use NPCs and social encounters to bring them back to the main plot. They decide to head out toward the neighboring town since another npc mentioned they had just traveled from there. Let the players make their way toward the town, and then they see some of the local townsfolk kidnapped by minions of the villain. The players decide to head to the villain, and don't gather the necessary tools to win, have the villain stomp them in the fight. They wake up later in the local inn, the villain has done something dastardly to the town, and the townsfolk are angry with players.
I also like to have one or two NPCs wandering around aimlessly that happen to drop hints to the players when they get lost or confused about what to do. This way it's still in game, but as DM you can give them guidance since they are newer players.
Hope this gives you the tools to create more depth to the one shot, and yet again: good luck and I hope the night is memorable!
Ok, I'm on my lunch break, so I can take a bit more time with this post. I'm glad my previous post gave you some inspiration, now I'd like to point out a few of the finer details that can go into the one shot.
So let's look at this:
Who: Necromancer with a penchant for brilliant paintings.
What: Revenge
When: In the process of finishing his Flesh Golem, so it would be just before he begins his master plan.
Where: ?
Why: ?
Those two answers can be figured out with little difficulty, common tropes from movies or books can be used here and no one will really mind.
Running the session however, since it is a one shot, requires a few things beyond this. Pace is the first, the easiest way to do this is to sketch out a traditional 3 part act: Build up, Climax, Resolution. The next part is keeping your players in the scope of the adventure, this requires a lot of guidance on your part without looking like you're doing it. The use of NPCs and narrative context will help there. Finally you'll need to create a definitive resolution, before the night is over the players must succeed or fail and they must experience this before you wrap up for the night.
Pace:
Build up: The party meets somewhere. They are pointed in a direction by an npc. Social encounters give information about the plot. Combat encounters show the dangers ahead. The villain does something to slow them down. Social encounters give information on how to move the plot ahead. Combat encounters show the villain is ready for them. They make their way to the lair.
Climax: The party approaches the villain, the villain wins this skirmish. The party goes out to gather the tools needed to defeat the villain. They return to defeat the villain.
Resolution: The party wins, the npcs celebrate, they get epic loot. The party looses, you describe the horrors enacted by the villain, the players pout.
Keeping them inside the invisible walls:
The best approach here is to use NPCs and social encounters to bring them back to the main plot. They decide to head out toward the neighboring town since another npc mentioned they had just traveled from there. Let the players make their way toward the town, and then they see some of the local townsfolk kidnapped by minions of the villain. The players decide to head to the villain, and don't gather the necessary tools to win, have the villain stomp them in the fight. They wake up later in the local inn, the villain has done something dastardly to the town, and the townsfolk are angry with players.
I also like to have one or two NPCs wandering around aimlessly that happen to drop hints to the players when they get lost or confused about what to do. This way it's still in game, but as DM you can give them guidance since they are newer players.
Hope this gives you the tools to create more depth to the one shot, and yet again: good luck and I hope the night is memorable!
Hey mate, once again I thank you for your input, last night I actually thought a bit more about it and had a bunch more ideas on how to do it.
Who: Necromancer with a penchant for brilliant paintings.
What: Revenge
When: In the process of finishing his Flesh Golem, so it would be just before he begins his master plan.
Where: Abandoned outpost
Why: Greed/Obsession
The Necromancer lost someone dear to him in life, went crazy with arts and beauty making paintings, he then decided his ultimate art piece would be a Flesh Golem. He uses lesser undead to pillage caravans so that he can amass gold and flesh so he can continue building the Golem.
As for the Players, I decided it might be quicker and faster if they were part of a patrol or some kind of military, along the way they see an attacked Caravan, a nearly dead NPC is freaking out that he saw what looked like dead people move and attack them.
The patrol commander (another NPC) would order the PCs to go investigate (to prevent players from straying too much or decline help "Just because"), where they then find the outpost.
At this point I now need to build the dungeon.
Also, Zombies and Skeletons are quite low CR, are there other types of undead like these that would be a bit stronger? Or should I just buff them on my own?
Also, how much sense does it make for there to be Mimics and/or smothering rugs on a necromancer's lair?
The Necromancer lost someone dear to him in life, went crazy with arts and beauty making paintings, he then decided his ultimate art piece would be a Flesh Golem. He uses lesser undead to pillage caravans so that he can amass gold and flesh so he can continue building the Golem.
The flesh golem is his variant of Venus de Milo. The threat is his method of procuring resources. You have just merged the story of Frankenstein with a lost love/grievance under tone. I like it. The trick from here is to make sure to keep the players in the mind frame that what the necro is doing is bad. I would use social and/or moral cues to help with this. One other fun thing to do is create a moral dilemma, think Phantom of the Opera or The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
As for the Players, I decided it might be quicker and faster if they were part of a patrol or some kind of military, along the way they see an attacked Caravan, a nearly dead NPC is freaking out that he saw what looked like dead people move and attack them.
The patrol commander (another NPC) would order the PCs to go investigate (to prevent players from straying too much or decline help "Just because"), where they then find the outpost.
The method of how the group comes together works without leaving the "You're in a tavern and a bunch of strangers walk in." dilemma in the open. I would make sure that you point this bit out during character creation, it may influence their choices. It also helps start the game in motion, like most good books and movies. The patrol commander will need to set that moral/social tone "necros are bad" when you order them to investigate. Normal conversation cues will work, no need to be heavy handed.
Also, Zombies and Skeletons are quite low CR, are there other types of undead like these that would be a bit stronger? Or should I just buff them on my own?
Also, how much sense does it make for there to be Mimics and/or smothering rugs on a necromancer's lair?
Something interesting to consider, isn't the whole of the game the dungeon? That's a semantic thought, don't over think it. The point of it, you need a lair, the town, and the area connecting both. The lair is goal, not the journey, so give it the love it needs as the final showdown setting. Then put your effort into the locations that they players need to go to get whatever it is they'll use to defeat the Necro. The tomb of Sir Vyse the Holy Knight who held a sacred sword, the broken tower of Prestin Dijitasion wherein lies an amulet of power, and so on.
What monsters/creatures you use is going to be based on 3 criteria: What fits the theme of the area? What works for the situation? Does it sound like fun? Answer 2 questions for most encounters, answer all 3 for dramatic encounters.
List of possible creatures that fit the theme up to CR 4:
Crawling Claw
Tiny
Undead
mm 44
Lemure
Medium
Fiend
mm 76
Flumph
Small
Aberration
mm 135
Manes
Small
Fiend
mm 60
Slaad Tadpole
Tiny
Aberration
mm 276
Dretch
Small
Fiend
mm 57
Skeleton
Medium
Undead
mm 272
Zombie
Medium
Undead
mm 316
Shadow
Medium
Undead
mm 269
Warhorse Skeleton
Large
Undead
mm 273
Ghoul
Medium
Undead
mm 148
Imp
Tiny
Fiend
mm 76
Quasit
Tiny
Fiend
mm 63
Specter
Medium
Undead
mm 279
Ghast
Medium
Undead
mm 148
Gibbering Mouther
Medium
Aberration
mm 157
Intellect Devourer
Tiny
Aberration
mm 191
Minotaur Skeleton
Large
Undead
mm 273
Nothic
Medium
Aberration
mm 236
Ogre Zombie
Large
Undead
mm 316
Specter (poltergeist)
Medium
Undead
mm 279
Spined Devil
Small
Fiend
mm 78
Will-o-wisp
Tiny
Undead
mm 301
Bearded Devil
Medium
Fiend
mm 70
Grell
Medium
Aberration
mm 172
Hell Hound
Medium
Fiend
mm 182
Mummy
Medium
Undead
mm 228
Nightmare
Large
Fiend
mm 235
Spectator
Medium
Aberration
mm 30
Wight
Medium
Undead
mm 300
Banshee
Medium
Undead
mm 23
Bone Naga
Large
Undead
mm 233
Chuul
Large
Aberration
mm 40
Flameskull
Tiny
Undead
mm 134
Ghost
Medium
Undead
mm 147
Gnoll Fang of Yeenoghu
Medium
Fiend
mm 163
Incubus
Medium
Fiend
mm 285
Shadow Demon
Medium
Fiend
mm 64
Succubus
Medium
Fiend
mm 285
As you'll see, that's a rather long list, and it only deals with the Necromancer. You also have the creatures that naturally inhabit the area between town and the necromancer's lair.
Hey guys, I'm a pretty new DM, only ran a handful of game thusfar, and I want to make a one shot for next week for a bunch of friends who never played it.
I rolled on the tables of the DMG and got some interesting ideas, everything is still on top of my head but something along the lines of this
BBEG: Greedy necromancer out for revenge (unsure what yet), he also makes beautiful paintings.
When the players arrive he'd be eating from the Bowl of Many Peanuts (random magic item I decided to make that gets refilled with peanuts when nobody is watching lol), while also working on creating a Flesh Golem (which is nowhere near completion since level 1 characters would be destroyed by it).
Now my main issue here though is, what is an appropriate Necromancer for a first level party of about 3 to 4 characters? I know zombies and skeletons are easy and all but unsure about the necromancer...
And also if it would require a high level to reanimate undead like that, maybe he has a magical item that allows him to do that, but what would that item be?
If I could get some tips on that, specially the necromancer's stats, it would be great :)
Personally I'd run your players at no less lvl 3, as 1st level characters are boring unless you plan to invest in them long term. You want your players to have fun and do epic things, a 1st level anything can only walk it and hit it with a pointy stick or throw a match at it. Give them the goods and you'll probably hook them into playing a longer adventure where you can start at 1st level. For the love of sanity, make sure they understand this is a one-shot! Everything goes the way of the dodo at the end of the night, period.
Necromancer: Roll a wizard make it a couple levels higher than your party will be during the final battle, specialize in Necromancy. You don't have to go through the whole process, just give it stats, give it spells, and give it gear.
Then flesh out the who, why, and how. The where and what are already set. The flesh golem can be alive, it can be animated, and it can present a problem for the players....just make it about as useful as the tin-man before he got oil. It can move, it glitches all the time, it's uncoordinated, and it's not put together very well...after all the players did interrupt the process.
The rest of the night will be spent on foreshadowing, random encounters, and narrative, with a whole lot of your players doing everything but what you want! Good luck, and I hope your group has a memorable night.
Specially the part about starting at 3rd level, I always had this thought in my mind that first level characters were a bit "meh" but never really considered starting one shots higher than that.
I think you just changed the whole way I play from here on out buddy :)
Thank you a lot
Published Subclasses
Ok, I'm on my lunch break, so I can take a bit more time with this post. I'm glad my previous post gave you some inspiration, now I'd like to point out a few of the finer details that can go into the one shot.
So let's look at this:
Those two answers can be figured out with little difficulty, common tropes from movies or books can be used here and no one will really mind.
Running the session however, since it is a one shot, requires a few things beyond this. Pace is the first, the easiest way to do this is to sketch out a traditional 3 part act: Build up, Climax, Resolution. The next part is keeping your players in the scope of the adventure, this requires a lot of guidance on your part without looking like you're doing it. The use of NPCs and narrative context will help there. Finally you'll need to create a definitive resolution, before the night is over the players must succeed or fail and they must experience this before you wrap up for the night.
Pace:
Keeping them inside the invisible walls:
The best approach here is to use NPCs and social encounters to bring them back to the main plot. They decide to head out toward the neighboring town since another npc mentioned they had just traveled from there. Let the players make their way toward the town, and then they see some of the local townsfolk kidnapped by minions of the villain. The players decide to head to the villain, and don't gather the necessary tools to win, have the villain stomp them in the fight. They wake up later in the local inn, the villain has done something dastardly to the town, and the townsfolk are angry with players.
I also like to have one or two NPCs wandering around aimlessly that happen to drop hints to the players when they get lost or confused about what to do. This way it's still in game, but as DM you can give them guidance since they are newer players.
Hope this gives you the tools to create more depth to the one shot, and yet again: good luck and I hope the night is memorable!
The Necromancer lost someone dear to him in life, went crazy with arts and beauty making paintings, he then decided his ultimate art piece would be a Flesh Golem. He uses lesser undead to pillage caravans so that he can amass gold and flesh so he can continue building the Golem.
As for the Players, I decided it might be quicker and faster if they were part of a patrol or some kind of military, along the way they see an attacked Caravan, a nearly dead NPC is freaking out that he saw what looked like dead people move and attack them.
The patrol commander (another NPC) would order the PCs to go investigate (to prevent players from straying too much or decline help "Just because"), where they then find the outpost.
At this point I now need to build the dungeon.
Also, Zombies and Skeletons are quite low CR, are there other types of undead like these that would be a bit stronger? Or should I just buff them on my own?
Also, how much sense does it make for there to be Mimics and/or smothering rugs on a necromancer's lair?
As you'll see, that's a rather long list, and it only deals with the Necromancer. You also have the creatures that naturally inhabit the area between town and the necromancer's lair.
Awesome stuff mate, thanks once again :D
I still have until about friday to finish this, will certainly drop by once I flesh it out more.
Thanks again ^^