I played AD&D back in the late 70s. I have the original hardcover books including DM Guide, PHB, Monster Manual, Deities and Demigods, Fiend Folio, Monster Manual 2, Wilderness Survival Guide, Oriental Adventurers and a softcover book called The Complete Alchemists Guide. I thought I had one other book, something about dungeoneering Survival Guide, but it isn't on my shelf so maybe my memory is a little fuzzy. Back in the day I preferred to be a player but my group preferred me to be the DM. I only DM'ed two games, which I made up, not off the shelf. I wanted the players to have to get to the dungeon, beat the dungeon, and then get back, so I was real big on creating a "province" where the action was taking place so there were events taking place around the party.
Fast forward and my son comes home on break and says his board game group has asked him to DM a game. He hasn't DM'ed before. We went out and purchased the books (PHB & DMG) for the 5th ed. Merry Christmas! Wow have things evolved. I am wading through the PHB right now. He is wading through the DMG. He played D&D in school on a few weekends a couple years ago but he was always a player, not a DM.
I thought I'd give him some help so he could get the game put together as much as possible before he returns to school so it would impact his class time as little as possible. He has a good imagination but is not very artistic.
I drew up an imaginary map without any names on it except "Dark Wood" labeling the deep woods (written in Dwarvish lettering) at the northern edge of the map. Then I talked to him about how the political structure could work in the area explaining the "town" in the center of the map could be the County Seat and the four towns around it could be the rest of the county. I then gave him an outline of the NPCs I would use to fill in the key positions. He said he thought that was all pretty good.
He came up with an idea that the party would get a message saying there was a magical treasure in a place near this county that might be a mountain or a volcano. I offered that maybe the party could begin having been told that after coming to this area they purchased a map (the map I drew) to get their bearings as they traveled through the area. On the other side of the map there was a letter written in Dwarvish lettering but common tongue saying the chest had been stashed at the old hideout in such-and-such but the reader would first need to get a cart and find the key in the Dark Wood where only fools would find it. Then they could travel to the hideout to get the chest. I think it is a good theme for the campaign.
He is a new DM, but played a few campaigns with his buddies before. The party is just beginning so this is planned to be a level 1-4 campaign. There will be six to eight players. Two of them have experience, but one of those only a little. I suspect the other one only a little more. My son has put together a chat group and sent them a message they would need to get together as soon as school returns to make characters so he can shape the campaign for them.
NPCs ...
County governor - Level 7 Paladin, Captain of the Guard - Level 5 Paladin, other patrol leaders Lvl 4, 3, 3, 2, 2 fighters and various men-at-arms.
Head Cleric - Level 5, asst clerics - Lvl 4, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1 which together cover the needs of the five townships.
There is a Lvl 4 Wizard that is the caretaker of the magic items entrusted to the governor and his military force
Some sort of courtly advisor for civilian affairs that will be an NPC
Blacksmiths - Dwarf, Human and Human - two in the county seat and one in the NE township and one armorer in the county seat
A common folk Tavern and Inn & a little folk tavern (catering to halflings)
There is a Lvl 5 Half-Elf Ranger in the NW corner of the map where a lumber mill is near a great pine forest. He is watching over the wood to keep orcs away from the province in that direction. There will be an NPC for the lumber mill owner.
In the SW area there are many farms with a halfling community in the area as well, mostly a farming village.
In the SE corner there is a grain mill and that road leads to the next higher governmental entity which is also its own province. A stream runs from the NW corner of the map through the center to the SE corner. The river was dammed up at the middle town to provide a lake for the cattle and horses being raised there.
In the NE corner of the map there is a bunch of hills leading off the map with a town near the edge closest to the county seat. Sheep are raised in the hills and there is a small problem with sheep being killed (wolves?). Dwarves are known to live beyond in the NE direction off the map.
There will be a Lvl 7 Bard that travels from county seat to county seat as a messenger/ambassador that helps the government and may be asked to be a guide and will have loads of information about where things are and who is who.
We are thinking about having a band of outcast merchants too and we're trying to come up with an NPC Rogue with the right story.
One important note is that the Governor makes it a rule that all PCs and NPCs (leveled characters that is) have to check in with him before the sun goes down upon arriving at the county seat so he may inquire what they have seen and where they've been. Upon entering the county seat the first time, their weapons are taken and placed in a guarded chest before being moved up to the "palace" where the party may meet the governor and have them back if the governor agrees. This will be the encounter that explains the "Rules" for the county to the party. Everyone, including the Bard, the Ranger (when he comes to the county seat) and the Clerics, observe this rule. Other NPCs also observe this rule but seldom leave the county seat so it doesn't happen much. The official visit always includes an offer to dine with the governor and the other guests and if the information is especially important the governor will ask the player to remain after dinner to talk further.
For this reason, the Bard is never seen in the tavern the first night he comes through on his visits. He may be found in the tavern most every other night until he leaves.
The other towns are about four hours easy ride from the county seat (about ten miles or 16 km away). The next provincial seat is about two days ride away so that trip includes at least one overnight stay somewhere.
I gave you all that so I could ask … What sort of ideas do y'all have for a good level 1-4 campaign and how do you think we could encourage the party to stay on the story line instead of wandering off to kill the Ranger or something stupid?
I can relate to your position - I started back in the 70s with the Red and Blue box sets - but skipped 3.5e and 4e entirely. You're right - the landscape has changed! But I think it's actually improved from a game design perspective.
As to your post.
Wow - looks like you've built a really good framework! Varied, lots of flavor, and logically and plausibly laid out; my respects sir. Sort of an "old school" vibe, not totally unlike The Village of Hommlet, but that's not a bad thing ;)
As for a campaign, and as for keeping the Players on story line, here's my $0.02 ( and this is only my personal style - it's not the only way to do things ).
First, you need to set up opponents to the Party ( the "bad guys" ). Add other NPCs and/or factions into your setting as villains, and give them goals. There is a sudden resurgence in the Orc population, or there is a secret cult in the county that has become active for some reason ( the uncovering of a long-lost mystical shrine to their dark god always works - and can be used as a dungeon ). However, the idea is that there are bad people(tm) who have an "evil" goal.
Figure out a) Who the opponents are, b) What they want, c) What their resources and capabilities are, d) What are their tactics ( preferred, possible, avoided, never used ), and e) under what circumstances their tactics might change ( does the evil cult, if they feel they are being hunted down, try and assassinate the Governor, for example - or do they complete the black rites to summon the hunter in the dark if they're really desperate ).
If you want to get fancy ( probably not a super good idea if you're just getting into it ), you can have multiple groups in play, and sub-factions within groups.
Then - don't build a campaign at all. Instead the unfolding story is a set of moves and counter-moves. The adventure starts with a hook when the opponents do something, and the party is dragged into the issue ( why are they involved? directly affected? hired by the Governor? ). Then the Party acts, or reacts. Then you have to figure out what the opponents saw, what they think and believe is happening, and create a plausible reaction to what the Party did. Show their reaction to the Party, in the world.
Then it's just a series of moves, and counter-moves.
Has any faction in the conflict achieved their goals, or have all other factions been eliminated, or have all other factions withdrawn from the conflict?
Yes? Adventure is over!
No? What will all factions still in the conflict attempt to do next? The Party declares their actions, and the DM figures it out for the NPCs.
Where will those actions collide? How will those conflicts resolve?
What information does each factions now have? What do they think is going on?
Loop back to #1
The one call out here is that the DM knows what the central conflict is ( The bad guys want to ___________, and the Party wants to stop them and _____________ ), so the DM can make good educated guesses as to what the required locations are going to be, and should probably flesh those out. If it's a local cult, for example, you might need an ancient temple, the homes of several prominent members in the cult, an eldritch misty grove, etc. Same can be said for notable NPCs.
I find that this approach is a lot less frustrating - as the Party doesn't need to "stay on the story line" - since the DM and the Party are creating the story line together. The DM can roll with the Party's actions. If the party does something stupid, like wander off and kill the Ranger - well, that just affects how the world will react to the Party next ( probably not well ).
If the pace is getting bogged down, the DM can even start throwing in new factions and story threads that are completely unrelated, if you so choose ( OK, the cultists have kidnapped the Governors daughter, but how to these bandit raids on the southern trade routes factor in?! ); life is seldom one issue at a time.
It's not less work for the DM - it's just a differentkind of work, as you need to put in a lot of effort into detailing the world, the NPCs, the factions, their motivations, etc. - rather than trying to put work into creating a narrative structure.
In any case, it sounds like you've got a really good handle on your setting, and adding some conflict into it shouldn't be hard!
One other thing you might think about as well - there are some seriously capable locals ( Governor, local priests, Rangers, Bard/courier ) - you'll need to come up with a reason why they aren't dealing with the issues, and why the Party has to deal with this threat.
But all in all - sounds like you've got a great foundation.
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It seems like you have a really good handle on the framework already. I can suggest some third-party resources that I've found very helpful when developing my games.
The Venatus Maps tumblr account (and also their patreon if you are interested) put out a lot of really nice village, town, and city maps that are general enough to plop into just about any setting while also having a handful of named locations in their key to help drive NPC development. I have used their maps often when I need a random location for my party to gather information from or just meet the locals.
The folks over at One-Page Dungeon run a contest every year and usually offer up the submissions for free. One of my favorites from there that would fit nicely into your world is "Welcome to the Tin Ear," a short little adventure featuring a roadside tavern, some strange music, and maybe a possessed barkeep with a hoarding problem. The monsters in it are effectively just Giant Centipedes and maybe a blind Young Remorhaz that the party doesn't technically even have to fight.
Anyway, I hope that helps. I'm a lot better at helping with specific needs than more over-arching campaign ideas. If you have certain things that need developed further, feel free to ask.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
Thanks fellows. Here is the beginning of the story my son developed ...
Having finished your initial training, saying goodbye to friends and family and collecting your gear, you head off to the town as directed by your "Mentor" to find adventure. Your parting words were simply, "I'll be back and what stories I'll have to tell." but you turn your face quickly to the road and begin walking so your parents don't see the tear fall from the corner of your eye.
Arriving at the town you quickly find the tavern and inquire where you might put your stuff down and they show you a series of shelves three feet deep, three feet high and four feet long, more like bins, and the barkeep says you can have one of those for your gear but we're not responsible for anything. You toss your gear in one and have a seat at the nearest table to keep an eye on your stuff. You order a pint and wait while watching the coming and going of patrons in the smoky light of the hearth fire. Not long after, a few fellows come in and get the same welcome you received. You invite them to sit down and share a pint with you. Four pints later, you're feeling better than good, talking with a table full of new adventurers like yourself.
A fellow in unusual garb, a turban and robes, with dark skin comes in and scans the room stopping to take in every member of your party carefully. He steps over to the table and says, "I'm Achmendar, and I'm leaving tomorrow with my caravan headed to provinces North and East of here. We need a few guards and I was asked by my partners to see if I could scare up eight good fellows to escort us at least as far as the next city. Are you looking for work, adventure or trouble?" You glance at your companions and say, "What's it pay and how many days to the city?" He says "Three days and we'll pay all of you twenty five gold pieces when we get there." You look at your new companions and they look back at you eagerly, and you reply, "And what do we do with our gear, carry it for three days?" Achmendar replies, "No nothing like that, we got a cart for your gear and a horse and saddle for each of you to ride Till We Get There." Noting the edge in his voice and the desire on your friends faces you reply "OK sure. Tomorrow, right? What time?" "We leave as soon as the sun comes up and we can get ready to move." He says. You stand up and lean over to shake his hand and looking him in the eye you say simply, "See you in the morning then." He makes a small grin, nods his head shaking your hand and says "See you then, mister ..." You reply, "Oh, yea, Donovan. Donovan Glorider."
You and your companions watch as the door closes behind him, and the fellow across from you says, "That is great. We couldn't earn half of that waiting around here and we're not going to get any richer staying around here with all these other adventurers looking for work. We can get up the road and see what we can scare up there where there's not so much competition." All the other fellows are thinking about the same thing as you talk and enjoy a hot dinner together before making your way to your rooms for the night. Each one of you have the locations of two others written on a scrap of paper so when the first one gets up you quickly raise the others in the morning. You fall asleep thinking of gold and far away places, … and your parents.
The next morning you are waken by one of the fellows and roll out of bed quickly and excited to get started. You quickly find out the other fellows have all been found and woken up too. You stand up and pour the water into the basin to wash your face. Next you get dressed and gather your equipment before heading downstairs. The other fellows are trickling in and you all order breakfast and sit down together to eat. Then it is off to the stables where you expect to find the caravan assembling. You see that you were right and Achmendar is checking the loads in a few wagons as you step up. He shakes your hand with a bigger grin this time and says "Glad to see you. You can put your gear in that wagon and saddle one of the horses. We'll be ready to leave shortly." You place your gear in the empty wagon and turn to look over the horses. You take a strong deep black riding horse by the reigns and lead him over to the fence where a few saddles are setting on the ground. You pick up a saddle and throw it up on the horse as you were trained and see the other fellows are following your lead.
The caravan pulls out and you and your companions have a relatively uneventful three day ride to the "City." Along the way you ask questions about the area and the folks in it. You noticed that you went through two towns along the way, one around lunch on the first day, and the second around lunch on the second day. Near dinner on the third day you arrived at the "City", which didn't look like a city to you at all. It was a collection of several homes and a few shops, but there wasn't much else to see, not even an inn. You dismounted and settled up with Achmendar, unloaded your equipment and watched as they set up their camp for the evening. Without a place to sleep you asked Achmendar if you and your friends could sleep and eat with the caravan one last night and he agreed to feed you and let you sleep with the caravan for two gold pieces leaving you and your friends with twenty three. He went off to discuss trade with the merchants and you and your friends settled down for the night around a campfire.
While talking about your next move, one of your friends said he heard a real city was just another half day's travel up this same road. Another said he heard the same thing And he said there was a fellow looking to hire a band of adventurers to join him on his next adventure. You all thought that sounded great. Everyone enjoyed the promised dinner and settled in for another night under the stars.
In the morning, you were fed breakfast, even though you weren't sure if that was part of the agreement and you went into one of the shops while they were still loading the caravan. You wanted to get a map of the area to see if you could get your bearings about the city and the next job and figure out the lay of the land. You were able to get a hand drawn map of the province on the back of some letter for a few coppers and you took it back to the group. You showed it to your buddies and said, "I'm going to see if Achmendar will let us ride with the caravan to the city." Off you went while your friends looked at the map. You returned quickly with good news, that Achmendar said you could ride to the city with them, when your buddies said, "Did you read the letter?!"
You said, forgetting the letter on the back of the map, "What letter?" and they showed it to you. The letter was old and worn, which was not uncommon where paper and parchment was in short supply. But it was easily readable and written in the Common Tongue using Dwarvish lettering. ...
I know someday this map will make its way to you. I have hidden the key deep in the Dark Wood where only fools might find it. Once you have it, take it to Malthinines' old stronghold. Remember the foot-eared dwellers. Next, remember the second parchment covered in water, yet it never loses its ink. Finally, as a friend, I tell you a cart will be necessary for the truth and four directions must be gathered to carry it. Know the winds, know the truth and find my legacy.
Verogrim
You and your companions conclude these are directions to a treasure and realize since the letter mentions Dark Wood and the map shows Dark Wood, you're in the area where the treasure can be found. In hushed tones you all agree to ride on to the city with the caravan where you will see if you can find out about any of the details in the letter, particularly who is this Marogred fellow. You all mount up and keep the talking down on the way forward.
As you move through this town you see the folks are humans with an occasional halfling. Everyone seems in good spirits but eyes you with some suspicion as your horse walks by. Maybe they're not used to new folks, you think to yourself. Leaving town you can see many farms around growing wheat, beans and potatoes. The gardens in town were growing tomatoes, carrots and other things. Good soil in this area. The fields are well kept as is the path you are riding on.
After a few hours ride you see the "city" ahead. Not much of a city again, but much more than the town you left this morning. As you approach the road goes over a stone arch bridge over a stream that is a natural boundary for this edge of the "city". Immediately before the bridge, the last farm is a substantial operation. Unlike the others you passed this morning, this farm has fields and cattle and a large barn. Chickens run round the barn pecking at the dirt and two dogs are playing nearby. You start to think of home when Achmendar rides back alongside you and says, "We'll stop a short way past the bridge and you can unload your gear. We'll be talking to some shop owners to sell some things and we'll be leaving a short time later."
Looking at you directly, he says, "Now listen here. The governor here has a policy that folks like you, men looking for adventure, have to come to the hall and introduce yourselves so he knows who is coming and going around his province. When we cross this bridge the town guards will stop our caravan when they see you. They will insist that you disarm and place your weapons in a chest. The chest will be guarded so if you don't do anything stupid they will return your weapons after you meet the governor. I'm telling you this so you know it happens to all the adventurers, even the older ones. This is why we don't have our own guard and we hired you. We don't want to get held up for a day waiting for you to get your weapons back. Don't do anything stupid and you will be rewarded by meeting the governor and getting a good meal tonight. I know you have quite a bit of gold tied up in your stuff, but don't do anything stupid. It would reflect on us as well if you did, and this is an important leg on our journey so we don't want anything to happen. Clear?"
You nod you head, "Yes, I understand. Thanks. With your assurance, I can see we won't have a problem as long as we go along. I guess we'll spend some of the gold you gave us right here while we wait." And you wink at him as if to say "Thanks" for the advice and the gold.
Achmendar continues will watching the road ahead, "You and your fellows have been pretty quiet this morning. The last three days you haven't stopped asking us questions about where we're going, where we've been and all manner of things. We weren't bothered by it. It all seemed friendly enough. But this morning, like a cloud came over us last night, you fellows haven't had anything to say. I hope you slept well enough. If your this tired after three nights on the road you're not going to be happy in this life you are taking." He turns his head to look at you again, a little more serious, "Or is it something else?"
You think for a moment about what to say. "I don't know. Maybe we do need some experience living on the trail, but I'm sure we'll get used to it." Achmendar replies, "I see." and you suspect he knows there is something you are keeping from him. You quickly add, "Hey thanks again for the advice about the guards. I'll make sure these guys understand. Good luck to you." "Good luck to you too, Donavan."
The front of the caravan begins to cross the bridge and you ride ahead to talk to each of the fellows in your group saying, "Let me do the talking when we meet the guards. Achmendar just told me what the protocol is for adventurers in this area and we don't want to start anything." After talking to the fellows ahead of you, you drop back and talk to the ones following you so that you end up at the back of the line.
The caravan is stopped by two town guards on the other side of the bridge. They are speaking in a friendly manner with Achmednar and he concludes by talking to the guard and then pointing back at you indicating to the guard that you are the fellow to speak to. The guard walks back your way as you horse walks forward. He lifts his hand as if to indicate you should stop and he grabs the reigns of your horse and looks up at you.
"Achmendar says you are the leader of the guards he hired to bring him to Confernos. Is that correct?" You nod and say, "Yea, well sort of. They're letting me hold the money so I guess that means they are letting me be the leader." The guard raises his eyebrows, "Money, eh? How much?" You look him in the eye and say in strong tones, "We have twenty-three gold pieces for room and board until we can find work, which we were paid by Achmendar for escorting his caravan." The guard says, "So Achmendar did hire you then?" And you reply, "Yes he did." The guard says, "OK, well I'm going to let him go on then but we got some business to take care of, you and me, since you're the leader of this bunch. How many you got here?" You ease back in your saddle and say, we've got eight, but we don't have eight horses, they belong to Achmendar. We'll have to dismount and return them to him if he's going on. Is that OK?" "Sure thing," he says.
You dismount and pass the word for your party to dismount too. You ask them to unload the cart as you remove the saddle from your horse. Then you take the saddle to the cart and throw it up in there and tell your party to do the same thing. You beckon to the guard that you are going to talk to Achmendar. The guard walks up to join you. "You tell him, my name is Donovan. What is your name?" The guard replies, "I'm Kerch." "How long have you been living in … Confernos, you said?" Kerch replies, "I've been here for six years." You ask, "And a member of the guards all that time?" He replies, "Yea, and a few more before that too. Now how about I ask the questions?" You arrive at Achmendar and reach up to shake his hand. "Thanks for the company and the coin. I hope we see each other again sometime." He reaches for your hand and says, "Thank you. I hope we do see each other again. Now remember what I said and take care of yourselves." You grasp hands and wave farewell.
Turning to the guard as Achmendar leads his group onward, you see your party is gathering around you and two guards are moving over to stand with Kerch each with a pole arm held in a regular carrying position across their chest. They are wearing padded armor, good leather boots, a leather helmet, leather work gloves, breaches, and a tunic of yellow cloth with a red border around the edge over their clothes. The neck opening is neatly hemmed. The legs on their breaches are not. Kerche's breaches are leather and well made, but not armor. Otherwise he is dressed in the same manner as the other two guards. Your party's gear is neatly arranged just off to one side of the road about twenty feet away from where you stand.
The street leading off to the middle of town is on your left. It is well maintained with fine gravel over the top about eighteen feet wide. Buildings are on either side with ample space for folks to walk on both sides. The buildings are wood frame structures with hard mud finish between the timbers; or is that plaster. It looks like buildings you have seen often before. Most buildings have a second floor that juts out two to three feet over the front wall of the main floor. The roofs are mostly thatch pitched roofs and well maintained. Everything appears to indicate this town, which they call a city, is prosperous.
The structure immediately behind you appears to be a guard house, jail or barracks. It has a reinforced wooden door in the center with iron fittings. The windows, one on either side, have strong wooden covers hinged at the top. The covers are up exposing the iron bars on the windows, no glazing. Other than the iron fittings, this structure could be any of the dwellings on the street as it has the same character and proportions, except it has three floors where most of the other structures appear to have two floors.
This story is really bordering on "over developed." I feel like I just read the opening chapter of a novel and less like I was just told the intro to a game and given a plot hook. Unless this is all preamble, I can see about ten different ways for all of this to come crashing down if the players do anything at all outside of what seems to be expected of them. If this is all just the setup, it's....a bit long?
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
Yeah it's too much. You need to give the players choices and options - they won't just follow your expected story.
Set the scene with the first part in the tavern then the job offer - do you take it? Or look elsewhere? If they say no, is there further incentive the NPC could offer?
Do they take their chances in the other city straight away? Do they walk about town to see if there's any other way to make cash?
Metamongoose gave some really great advice. Maybe rather than continuing with the narrative it would be worth going back to the drawing board and creating an environment?
The intent of all this was to set the stage for the characters and to help them hear what sort of things they might want to know about their environment as they prepare to make a decision. For example, in a routine description I wouldn't mention the quality of the guards attire unless the players asked, but in this opening description I offered to give it to them as an example. Did they learn anything from this worthwhile, maybe and maybe not. I wanted to give them a story that explains why they all found themselves in this place together at this time. Remember that we are trying to help folks that have never played before to see how things go. If you believe this is going too slow and too long that is helpful as we can cut things back. But is this too long or slow for new players?
My idea of the game is that it is the DM telling a story and the players getting to be part of the story. Too may choices and they will be so far off track that they will never get to the core thread of the story. Once we have drawn them in with the conversation that occurs at the governor's palace I believe they will take the ball and run with it until they find the treasure. But the governor and a few of his advisors have some things to say that will hopefully get the party in the spirit of the adventure.
The short answer for "is this too long for new players" is, yes. As an example, the Lost Mines of Phandelver adventure, which is something of a go-to starter adventure for new players provides pretty much the following information for the players once they have made their characters:
First, a simple plot hook:
Meet Me in Phandalin. The characters are in the city of Neverwinter when their dwarf patron and friend, Gundren Rockseeker, hires them to escort a wagon to Phandalin. Gundren has gone ahead with a warrior, Sildar Hallwinter, to attend to business in the town while the characters follow with the supplies. The characters will be paid 10 gp each by the owner of Barthen’s Provisions in Phandalin when they deliver the wagon safely to that trading post.
Then the opening blurb before the game begins:
In the city of Neverwinter, a dwarf named Gundren Rockseeker asked you to bring a wagonload of provisions to the rough-and-tumble settlement of Phandalin, a couple of days’ travel southeast of the city. Gundren was clearly excited and more than a little secretive about his reasons for the trip, saying only that he and his brothers had found “something big,” and that he’d pay you ten gold pieces each for escorting his supplies safely to Barthen’s Provisions, a trading post in Phandalin. He then set out ahead of you on horse, along with a warrior escort named Sildar Hallwinter, claiming he needed to arrive early to “take care of business.”
You’ve spent the last few days following the High Road south from Neverwinter, and you’ve just recently veered east along the Triboar Trail. You’ve encountered no trouble so far, but this territory can be dangerous. Bandits and outlaws have been known to lurk along the trail.
And that's it, the game starts from there with about three paragraphs worth of information.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
Personally, I'm all for this kind of intro. It is highly detailed and sets a tone for the game very thoroughly. The issue I would see however is you stated this is a project to help your son get started with the first time he is going to be DMing. The reason I see this level of detail being an issue is that if he is not comfortable providing the same level of detail throughout the rest of the story it could sour the experience for him if he gets the impression his players are able to tell the difference between the parts he got an assist on and the parts he did on his own.
Now, this will be impacted by a lot of factors. Maybe he is perfectly fine with it, in which case there is no issue. It will come down to his personality, his ability to accept constructive criticism, his work ethic for prepping upcoming sessions, etc. Overall though I would recommend for his first time running a campaign to follow the KISS rule. I would even go so far as to recommend railroading the players a little more than I would normally suggest just to help keep it simple. Still give the players room to breathe, of course, but don't be afraid to narrow their potential options a bit.
A rival going after the same goal in the background is a good way to put a "time limit" on completing events without much risk. The players don't even need to encounter this unseen rival more than once or twice, just knowing they are out there and the feeling of gotta beat em to it will help keep the players on track by itself.
My son read over what I posted this morning and said he liked it but with teenagers you can't tell if he is being polite or if he wants to do something like this himself. This is the way we used to do it in my group, but that is too small a sample set to matter, which is why I have to consider a shorter narrative. He well may like it, but he'll write his own based on his personality and what he thinks his friends are looking for.
As for the plot line, there are seven clerics that cover the needs of the townspeople (in the five towns) in the area. But there is also a group of four druids that are watching over the Dark Wood; except not quite. First, the party is going to be confronted by the governor about the letter and they won't know if he has decided to take an interest in the treasure but is just letting them think he is not. In actuality, he is not interested in the treasure that deeply so the party doesn't have to be concerned about him. But the fellow that received the letter, Marogred, is passing himself off as a level 1 druid trying to help the three other druids watch over the Dark Wood. He is actually trying to find the key and the parchment. When the party gets to the Dark Wood they will meet him and recognize the name. However, he won't know that they have a copy of the original letter, so he will begin thinking his secret is safe. Maybe at some point he will come to know that they know his secret. Maybe they will out him with the druids. We haven't thought that far through the story. We will certainly have to factor in that they may out Marogred at the first meeting of the druids without us pushing the story in that direction.
But before we get that far, one way or another, the party is going to meet the governor. One way or another, the party will not be armed when they meet the governor. If they were armed, they would either have to "come around" or the governors party is strong enough for a TPK and that would be that. I don't want a TPK. I want the party to come to see that it is better to have allies in different areas so they can benefit from that later. Therefore, I'd prefer for the new players to want to sit down and have a nice dinner with the governor. They get a better story and allies they might deal with later. It's a big win for the party.
What sort of level campaign do you enjoy? I think for established players, a short intro presenting an excuse to be there and a promise of a big reward is all you need. What if the promise if reward was not so big? I don't think it allows the game to be enjoyed as much if intro level characters get too much loot too quickly. I fear the description you shared only promises a big reward if I stay on the story.
I could cut out the whole into I shared and simply say ...
Your party of eight level 1 characters arrives at the edge of town and you've been confronted by the town guard. You have a letter and a map of the area. The letter indicates there is a treasure somewhere in the north of the map called the Dark Wood. What do you say to the town guard? [I'd leave out all the description of the town and the guards themselves unless they asked]
Is that a better beginning? It would not have been preferable to my group some years back.
I'm a big fan of the 1-10 level tiers of play. Smaller adventures that are "lower to the ground" than world-shaking dramas among cosmic forces.
You don't have to cut out that much. As an example, here are two of the games I've run here for people. Give my first post a perusal to understand the sort of balance I'm talking about.
OK. First, I see you were running a game online, which is a different thing. There folks have to read every bit before they can respond. I have a light touch of dyslexia and that makes it difficult for me to process information that is written down. Reading lots of stuff is hard for me because I can't remember half of what I read and if I had to dungeon that way, I'd have to have less material. But my sons sessions are going to be old style face-to-face gaming around the table stuff.
I really liked your map. Is there an online tool for drawing maps like that or did you draw it by hand, scan it and upload it to the site to link? Either way, I thought it looked great.
I got a sense from reading your first adventure that the players knew how to play. I think that cuts down on the need for descriptions at the start since they fill in many details on their own.
Remember the opening for Skyrim? You do know about Skyrim, right? Good. Think of all the bits and pieces that short cart ride fed you if you could catch everything? You woke up bound in a wagon talking to a Stormcloak soldier dressed in a blue uniform clearly suited to cold weather. He explained you were in the same cart as Ulfrik the High King and for some reason he had a gag tied round his face unlike everyone else. You approached a town made from stones, apparently loose river washed stones and angular quarried stone too. The terrain was pretty irregular and the town had seen better days. The adversaries of the Stormcloaks dressed in leather armor reminiscent of the Roman Legions. These were also hardy folks because they were in cold country in what amounts to shorts and a short sleeved shirt. And their leader, is there with a High Elf. The leader of the whole enemy army is here today, in this run-down place. Why? Is this some sort of coincidence? ...
As you can see, in that opening scene the authors provide quite an extensive bit of information which, if you had to write it all down, would take several pages. I believe this is necessary to help the new players get a feel for the game and get into their character.
As the action unfolds, you initially don't get many options. The authors want you to get through the tutorial phase. Just as in my story, where the party is going to meet the governor whether they like it or not, this adventurer is going to escape the town by way of an underground tunnel. He is going to meet some enemy soldiers and a bear and some frost spiders along the way. He is going to be outfitted with some armor, an iron weapon and an old longbow along the way. If he has brains he is going to pick a few locks and grab a couple magic items along the way. If he is especially curious and industrious he is going to grab a few alchemical ingredients and a bit of treasure along the way as well.
But once he navigates the way out of the cavern he is presented with an open world.
In Skyrim they can do that because they have created a team of programmers that generated the open world. I shudder to think how many man-hours it took to produce that world. Not only did it have to be scripted by someone, then it had to be drawn and then programmed. Wow!
As a DM I (we) don't have that many man-hours left in our lives, well I don't anyway. So we write our stories and at some point the characters have to stick to the story. The best DMs write a story the players want to follow without promising a mountain of reward for doing it. If they give away too much reward, then other than fame, there is nothing to be gained by adventuring because the players are set for life. Great DMs can handle a little departure from the storyline for a moment without getting off gait. They are able to redirect you into the main story without being too crazy. But all this takes preparation and experience. My son doesn't have much experience, but right now he has the time to prepare.
Anyway, as you can see, I just think there is a little more effort required at the beginning to set the stage and even a little more effort to help first time players get into the spirit of the event.
I'm going to read through your first module though. I can always use good ideas myself. Good luck. Happy gaming.
The module I ran and the maps I use can be found at the links I provided in my first post. And while yes, my players were a bit more familiar with D&D as a whole, almost none of them had any experience with an online game and what you don't see is the extensive "session 0" we had in a private message thread getting them prepared for the the game and making their characters. Otherwise, what you see there is mostly how I run my games, both online and in the real world. I generally have a basic structure in mind and fill in the meat of the game responding to how my players interact with the world as provided. I also run a lot of published adventures as a DM for the Adventure League, so I've very used to the structure of those modules where occasionally there will be a small text blurb to set up a scene and frame the narrative before things begin to happen. We get tons of new players comes through AL play groups, so I have a pretty good idea of, at least what Wizards of the Coast thinks is a good structure to learn by. It seems to be working out okay so far.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
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Hey folks. I am going by OldElf86 here.
I played AD&D back in the late 70s. I have the original hardcover books including DM Guide, PHB, Monster Manual, Deities and Demigods, Fiend Folio, Monster Manual 2, Wilderness Survival Guide, Oriental Adventurers and a softcover book called The Complete Alchemists Guide. I thought I had one other book, something about dungeoneering Survival Guide, but it isn't on my shelf so maybe my memory is a little fuzzy. Back in the day I preferred to be a player but my group preferred me to be the DM. I only DM'ed two games, which I made up, not off the shelf. I wanted the players to have to get to the dungeon, beat the dungeon, and then get back, so I was real big on creating a "province" where the action was taking place so there were events taking place around the party.
Fast forward and my son comes home on break and says his board game group has asked him to DM a game. He hasn't DM'ed before. We went out and purchased the books (PHB & DMG) for the 5th ed. Merry Christmas! Wow have things evolved. I am wading through the PHB right now. He is wading through the DMG. He played D&D in school on a few weekends a couple years ago but he was always a player, not a DM.
I thought I'd give him some help so he could get the game put together as much as possible before he returns to school so it would impact his class time as little as possible. He has a good imagination but is not very artistic.
I drew up an imaginary map without any names on it except "Dark Wood" labeling the deep woods (written in Dwarvish lettering) at the northern edge of the map. Then I talked to him about how the political structure could work in the area explaining the "town" in the center of the map could be the County Seat and the four towns around it could be the rest of the county. I then gave him an outline of the NPCs I would use to fill in the key positions. He said he thought that was all pretty good.
He came up with an idea that the party would get a message saying there was a magical treasure in a place near this county that might be a mountain or a volcano. I offered that maybe the party could begin having been told that after coming to this area they purchased a map (the map I drew) to get their bearings as they traveled through the area. On the other side of the map there was a letter written in Dwarvish lettering but common tongue saying the chest had been stashed at the old hideout in such-and-such but the reader would first need to get a cart and find the key in the Dark Wood where only fools would find it. Then they could travel to the hideout to get the chest. I think it is a good theme for the campaign.
He is a new DM, but played a few campaigns with his buddies before. The party is just beginning so this is planned to be a level 1-4 campaign. There will be six to eight players. Two of them have experience, but one of those only a little. I suspect the other one only a little more. My son has put together a chat group and sent them a message they would need to get together as soon as school returns to make characters so he can shape the campaign for them.
NPCs ...
County governor - Level 7 Paladin, Captain of the Guard - Level 5 Paladin, other patrol leaders Lvl 4, 3, 3, 2, 2 fighters and various men-at-arms.
Head Cleric - Level 5, asst clerics - Lvl 4, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1 which together cover the needs of the five townships.
There is a Lvl 4 Wizard that is the caretaker of the magic items entrusted to the governor and his military force
Some sort of courtly advisor for civilian affairs that will be an NPC
Blacksmiths - Dwarf, Human and Human - two in the county seat and one in the NE township and one armorer in the county seat
Shopkeepers - Alchemist, Tailor, General goods, Fletcher, Jeweler (Gnome), Leather goods maker, Cabinet Maker
A common folk Tavern and Inn & a little folk tavern (catering to halflings)
There is a Lvl 5 Half-Elf Ranger in the NW corner of the map where a lumber mill is near a great pine forest. He is watching over the wood to keep orcs away from the province in that direction. There will be an NPC for the lumber mill owner.
In the SW area there are many farms with a halfling community in the area as well, mostly a farming village.
In the SE corner there is a grain mill and that road leads to the next higher governmental entity which is also its own province. A stream runs from the NW corner of the map through the center to the SE corner. The river was dammed up at the middle town to provide a lake for the cattle and horses being raised there.
In the NE corner of the map there is a bunch of hills leading off the map with a town near the edge closest to the county seat. Sheep are raised in the hills and there is a small problem with sheep being killed (wolves?). Dwarves are known to live beyond in the NE direction off the map.
There will be a Lvl 7 Bard that travels from county seat to county seat as a messenger/ambassador that helps the government and may be asked to be a guide and will have loads of information about where things are and who is who.
We are thinking about having a band of outcast merchants too and we're trying to come up with an NPC Rogue with the right story.
One important note is that the Governor makes it a rule that all PCs and NPCs (leveled characters that is) have to check in with him before the sun goes down upon arriving at the county seat so he may inquire what they have seen and where they've been. Upon entering the county seat the first time, their weapons are taken and placed in a guarded chest before being moved up to the "palace" where the party may meet the governor and have them back if the governor agrees. This will be the encounter that explains the "Rules" for the county to the party. Everyone, including the Bard, the Ranger (when he comes to the county seat) and the Clerics, observe this rule. Other NPCs also observe this rule but seldom leave the county seat so it doesn't happen much. The official visit always includes an offer to dine with the governor and the other guests and if the information is especially important the governor will ask the player to remain after dinner to talk further.
For this reason, the Bard is never seen in the tavern the first night he comes through on his visits. He may be found in the tavern most every other night until he leaves.
The other towns are about four hours easy ride from the county seat (about ten miles or 16 km away). The next provincial seat is about two days ride away so that trip includes at least one overnight stay somewhere.
I gave you all that so I could ask … What sort of ideas do y'all have for a good level 1-4 campaign and how do you think we could encourage the party to stay on the story line instead of wandering off to kill the Ranger or something stupid?
Happy gaming. Merry Christmas!
Welcome back! :)
I can relate to your position - I started back in the 70s with the Red and Blue box sets - but skipped 3.5e and 4e entirely. You're right - the landscape has changed! But I think it's actually improved from a game design perspective.
As to your post.
Wow - looks like you've built a really good framework! Varied, lots of flavor, and logically and plausibly laid out; my respects sir. Sort of an "old school" vibe, not totally unlike The Village of Hommlet, but that's not a bad thing ;)
As for a campaign, and as for keeping the Players on story line, here's my $0.02 ( and this is only my personal style - it's not the only way to do things ).
First, you need to set up opponents to the Party ( the "bad guys" ). Add other NPCs and/or factions into your setting as villains, and give them goals. There is a sudden resurgence in the Orc population, or there is a secret cult in the county that has become active for some reason ( the uncovering of a long-lost mystical shrine to their dark god always works - and can be used as a dungeon ). However, the idea is that there are bad people(tm) who have an "evil" goal.
Figure out a) Who the opponents are, b) What they want, c) What their resources and capabilities are, d) What are their tactics ( preferred, possible, avoided, never used ), and e) under what circumstances their tactics might change ( does the evil cult, if they feel they are being hunted down, try and assassinate the Governor, for example - or do they complete the black rites to summon the hunter in the dark if they're really desperate ).
If you want to get fancy ( probably not a super good idea if you're just getting into it ), you can have multiple groups in play, and sub-factions within groups.
Then - don't build a campaign at all. Instead the unfolding story is a set of moves and counter-moves. The adventure starts with a hook when the opponents do something, and the party is dragged into the issue ( why are they involved? directly affected? hired by the Governor? ). Then the Party acts, or reacts. Then you have to figure out what the opponents saw, what they think and believe is happening, and create a plausible reaction to what the Party did. Show their reaction to the Party, in the world.
Then it's just a series of moves, and counter-moves.
The one call out here is that the DM knows what the central conflict is ( The bad guys want to ___________, and the Party wants to stop them and _____________ ), so the DM can make good educated guesses as to what the required locations are going to be, and should probably flesh those out. If it's a local cult, for example, you might need an ancient temple, the homes of several prominent members in the cult, an eldritch misty grove, etc. Same can be said for notable NPCs.
I find that this approach is a lot less frustrating - as the Party doesn't need to "stay on the story line" - since the DM and the Party are creating the story line together. The DM can roll with the Party's actions. If the party does something stupid, like wander off and kill the Ranger - well, that just affects how the world will react to the Party next ( probably not well ).
If the pace is getting bogged down, the DM can even start throwing in new factions and story threads that are completely unrelated, if you so choose ( OK, the cultists have kidnapped the Governors daughter, but how to these bandit raids on the southern trade routes factor in?! ); life is seldom one issue at a time.
It's not less work for the DM - it's just a different kind of work, as you need to put in a lot of effort into detailing the world, the NPCs, the factions, their motivations, etc. - rather than trying to put work into creating a narrative structure.
In any case, it sounds like you've got a really good handle on your setting, and adding some conflict into it shouldn't be hard!
One other thing you might think about as well - there are some seriously capable locals ( Governor, local priests, Rangers, Bard/courier ) - you'll need to come up with a reason why they aren't dealing with the issues, and why the Party has to deal with this threat.
But all in all - sounds like you've got a great foundation.
Best of Luck :)
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
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It seems like you have a really good handle on the framework already. I can suggest some third-party resources that I've found very helpful when developing my games.
Anyway, I hope that helps. I'm a lot better at helping with specific needs than more over-arching campaign ideas. If you have certain things that need developed further, feel free to ask.
Thanks fellows. Here is the beginning of the story my son developed ...
Having finished your initial training, saying goodbye to friends and family and collecting your gear, you head off to the town as directed by your "Mentor" to find adventure. Your parting words were simply, "I'll be back and what stories I'll have to tell." but you turn your face quickly to the road and begin walking so your parents don't see the tear fall from the corner of your eye.
Arriving at the town you quickly find the tavern and inquire where you might put your stuff down and they show you a series of shelves three feet deep, three feet high and four feet long, more like bins, and the barkeep says you can have one of those for your gear but we're not responsible for anything. You toss your gear in one and have a seat at the nearest table to keep an eye on your stuff. You order a pint and wait while watching the coming and going of patrons in the smoky light of the hearth fire. Not long after, a few fellows come in and get the same welcome you received. You invite them to sit down and share a pint with you. Four pints later, you're feeling better than good, talking with a table full of new adventurers like yourself.
A fellow in unusual garb, a turban and robes, with dark skin comes in and scans the room stopping to take in every member of your party carefully. He steps over to the table and says, "I'm Achmendar, and I'm leaving tomorrow with my caravan headed to provinces North and East of here. We need a few guards and I was asked by my partners to see if I could scare up eight good fellows to escort us at least as far as the next city. Are you looking for work, adventure or trouble?" You glance at your companions and say, "What's it pay and how many days to the city?" He says "Three days and we'll pay all of you twenty five gold pieces when we get there." You look at your new companions and they look back at you eagerly, and you reply, "And what do we do with our gear, carry it for three days?" Achmendar replies, "No nothing like that, we got a cart for your gear and a horse and saddle for each of you to ride Till We Get There." Noting the edge in his voice and the desire on your friends faces you reply "OK sure. Tomorrow, right? What time?" "We leave as soon as the sun comes up and we can get ready to move." He says. You stand up and lean over to shake his hand and looking him in the eye you say simply, "See you in the morning then." He makes a small grin, nods his head shaking your hand and says "See you then, mister ..." You reply, "Oh, yea, Donovan. Donovan Glorider."
You and your companions watch as the door closes behind him, and the fellow across from you says, "That is great. We couldn't earn half of that waiting around here and we're not going to get any richer staying around here with all these other adventurers looking for work. We can get up the road and see what we can scare up there where there's not so much competition." All the other fellows are thinking about the same thing as you talk and enjoy a hot dinner together before making your way to your rooms for the night. Each one of you have the locations of two others written on a scrap of paper so when the first one gets up you quickly raise the others in the morning. You fall asleep thinking of gold and far away places, … and your parents.
The next morning you are waken by one of the fellows and roll out of bed quickly and excited to get started. You quickly find out the other fellows have all been found and woken up too. You stand up and pour the water into the basin to wash your face. Next you get dressed and gather your equipment before heading downstairs. The other fellows are trickling in and you all order breakfast and sit down together to eat. Then it is off to the stables where you expect to find the caravan assembling. You see that you were right and Achmendar is checking the loads in a few wagons as you step up. He shakes your hand with a bigger grin this time and says "Glad to see you. You can put your gear in that wagon and saddle one of the horses. We'll be ready to leave shortly." You place your gear in the empty wagon and turn to look over the horses. You take a strong deep black riding horse by the reigns and lead him over to the fence where a few saddles are setting on the ground. You pick up a saddle and throw it up on the horse as you were trained and see the other fellows are following your lead.
The caravan pulls out and you and your companions have a relatively uneventful three day ride to the "City." Along the way you ask questions about the area and the folks in it. You noticed that you went through two towns along the way, one around lunch on the first day, and the second around lunch on the second day. Near dinner on the third day you arrived at the "City", which didn't look like a city to you at all. It was a collection of several homes and a few shops, but there wasn't much else to see, not even an inn. You dismounted and settled up with Achmendar, unloaded your equipment and watched as they set up their camp for the evening. Without a place to sleep you asked Achmendar if you and your friends could sleep and eat with the caravan one last night and he agreed to feed you and let you sleep with the caravan for two gold pieces leaving you and your friends with twenty three. He went off to discuss trade with the merchants and you and your friends settled down for the night around a campfire.
While talking about your next move, one of your friends said he heard a real city was just another half day's travel up this same road. Another said he heard the same thing And he said there was a fellow looking to hire a band of adventurers to join him on his next adventure. You all thought that sounded great. Everyone enjoyed the promised dinner and settled in for another night under the stars.
In the morning, you were fed breakfast, even though you weren't sure if that was part of the agreement and you went into one of the shops while they were still loading the caravan. You wanted to get a map of the area to see if you could get your bearings about the city and the next job and figure out the lay of the land. You were able to get a hand drawn map of the province on the back of some letter for a few coppers and you took it back to the group. You showed it to your buddies and said, "I'm going to see if Achmendar will let us ride with the caravan to the city." Off you went while your friends looked at the map. You returned quickly with good news, that Achmendar said you could ride to the city with them, when your buddies said, "Did you read the letter?!"
You said, forgetting the letter on the back of the map, "What letter?" and they showed it to you. The letter was old and worn, which was not uncommon where paper and parchment was in short supply. But it was easily readable and written in the Common Tongue using Dwarvish lettering. ...
I think you got this!
The letter reads,
Marogred,
I know someday this map will make its way to you. I have hidden the key deep in the Dark Wood where only fools might find it. Once you have it, take it to Malthinines' old stronghold. Remember the foot-eared dwellers. Next, remember the second parchment covered in water, yet it never loses its ink. Finally, as a friend, I tell you a cart will be necessary for the truth and four directions must be gathered to carry it. Know the winds, know the truth and find my legacy.
Verogrim
You and your companions conclude these are directions to a treasure and realize since the letter mentions Dark Wood and the map shows Dark Wood, you're in the area where the treasure can be found. In hushed tones you all agree to ride on to the city with the caravan where you will see if you can find out about any of the details in the letter, particularly who is this Marogred fellow. You all mount up and keep the talking down on the way forward.
As you move through this town you see the folks are humans with an occasional halfling. Everyone seems in good spirits but eyes you with some suspicion as your horse walks by. Maybe they're not used to new folks, you think to yourself. Leaving town you can see many farms around growing wheat, beans and potatoes. The gardens in town were growing tomatoes, carrots and other things. Good soil in this area. The fields are well kept as is the path you are riding on.
After a few hours ride you see the "city" ahead. Not much of a city again, but much more than the town you left this morning. As you approach the road goes over a stone arch bridge over a stream that is a natural boundary for this edge of the "city". Immediately before the bridge, the last farm is a substantial operation. Unlike the others you passed this morning, this farm has fields and cattle and a large barn. Chickens run round the barn pecking at the dirt and two dogs are playing nearby. You start to think of home when Achmendar rides back alongside you and says, "We'll stop a short way past the bridge and you can unload your gear. We'll be talking to some shop owners to sell some things and we'll be leaving a short time later."
Looking at you directly, he says, "Now listen here. The governor here has a policy that folks like you, men looking for adventure, have to come to the hall and introduce yourselves so he knows who is coming and going around his province. When we cross this bridge the town guards will stop our caravan when they see you. They will insist that you disarm and place your weapons in a chest. The chest will be guarded so if you don't do anything stupid they will return your weapons after you meet the governor. I'm telling you this so you know it happens to all the adventurers, even the older ones. This is why we don't have our own guard and we hired you. We don't want to get held up for a day waiting for you to get your weapons back. Don't do anything stupid and you will be rewarded by meeting the governor and getting a good meal tonight. I know you have quite a bit of gold tied up in your stuff, but don't do anything stupid. It would reflect on us as well if you did, and this is an important leg on our journey so we don't want anything to happen. Clear?"
You nod you head, "Yes, I understand. Thanks. With your assurance, I can see we won't have a problem as long as we go along. I guess we'll spend some of the gold you gave us right here while we wait." And you wink at him as if to say "Thanks" for the advice and the gold.
Achmendar continues will watching the road ahead, "You and your fellows have been pretty quiet this morning. The last three days you haven't stopped asking us questions about where we're going, where we've been and all manner of things. We weren't bothered by it. It all seemed friendly enough. But this morning, like a cloud came over us last night, you fellows haven't had anything to say. I hope you slept well enough. If your this tired after three nights on the road you're not going to be happy in this life you are taking." He turns his head to look at you again, a little more serious, "Or is it something else?"
You think for a moment about what to say. "I don't know. Maybe we do need some experience living on the trail, but I'm sure we'll get used to it." Achmendar replies, "I see." and you suspect he knows there is something you are keeping from him. You quickly add, "Hey thanks again for the advice about the guards. I'll make sure these guys understand. Good luck to you." "Good luck to you too, Donavan."
The front of the caravan begins to cross the bridge and you ride ahead to talk to each of the fellows in your group saying, "Let me do the talking when we meet the guards. Achmendar just told me what the protocol is for adventurers in this area and we don't want to start anything." After talking to the fellows ahead of you, you drop back and talk to the ones following you so that you end up at the back of the line.
The caravan is stopped by two town guards on the other side of the bridge. They are speaking in a friendly manner with Achmednar and he concludes by talking to the guard and then pointing back at you indicating to the guard that you are the fellow to speak to. The guard walks back your way as you horse walks forward. He lifts his hand as if to indicate you should stop and he grabs the reigns of your horse and looks up at you.
"Achmendar says you are the leader of the guards he hired to bring him to Confernos. Is that correct?" You nod and say, "Yea, well sort of. They're letting me hold the money so I guess that means they are letting me be the leader." The guard raises his eyebrows, "Money, eh? How much?" You look him in the eye and say in strong tones, "We have twenty-three gold pieces for room and board until we can find work, which we were paid by Achmendar for escorting his caravan." The guard says, "So Achmendar did hire you then?" And you reply, "Yes he did." The guard says, "OK, well I'm going to let him go on then but we got some business to take care of, you and me, since you're the leader of this bunch. How many you got here?" You ease back in your saddle and say, we've got eight, but we don't have eight horses, they belong to Achmendar. We'll have to dismount and return them to him if he's going on. Is that OK?" "Sure thing," he says.
You dismount and pass the word for your party to dismount too. You ask them to unload the cart as you remove the saddle from your horse. Then you take the saddle to the cart and throw it up in there and tell your party to do the same thing. You beckon to the guard that you are going to talk to Achmendar. The guard walks up to join you. "You tell him, my name is Donovan. What is your name?" The guard replies, "I'm Kerch." "How long have you been living in … Confernos, you said?" Kerch replies, "I've been here for six years." You ask, "And a member of the guards all that time?" He replies, "Yea, and a few more before that too. Now how about I ask the questions?" You arrive at Achmendar and reach up to shake his hand. "Thanks for the company and the coin. I hope we see each other again sometime." He reaches for your hand and says, "Thank you. I hope we do see each other again. Now remember what I said and take care of yourselves." You grasp hands and wave farewell.
Turning to the guard as Achmendar leads his group onward, you see your party is gathering around you and two guards are moving over to stand with Kerch each with a pole arm held in a regular carrying position across their chest. They are wearing padded armor, good leather boots, a leather helmet, leather work gloves, breaches, and a tunic of yellow cloth with a red border around the edge over their clothes. The neck opening is neatly hemmed. The legs on their breaches are not. Kerche's breaches are leather and well made, but not armor. Otherwise he is dressed in the same manner as the other two guards. Your party's gear is neatly arranged just off to one side of the road about twenty feet away from where you stand.
The street leading off to the middle of town is on your left. It is well maintained with fine gravel over the top about eighteen feet wide. Buildings are on either side with ample space for folks to walk on both sides. The buildings are wood frame structures with hard mud finish between the timbers; or is that plaster. It looks like buildings you have seen often before. Most buildings have a second floor that juts out two to three feet over the front wall of the main floor. The roofs are mostly thatch pitched roofs and well maintained. Everything appears to indicate this town, which they call a city, is prosperous.
The structure immediately behind you appears to be a guard house, jail or barracks. It has a reinforced wooden door in the center with iron fittings. The windows, one on either side, have strong wooden covers hinged at the top. The covers are up exposing the iron bars on the windows, no glazing. Other than the iron fittings, this structure could be any of the dwellings on the street as it has the same character and proportions, except it has three floors where most of the other structures appear to have two floors.
You look at Kerch and say, ...
This story is really bordering on "over developed." I feel like I just read the opening chapter of a novel and less like I was just told the intro to a game and given a plot hook. Unless this is all preamble, I can see about ten different ways for all of this to come crashing down if the players do anything at all outside of what seems to be expected of them. If this is all just the setup, it's....a bit long?
Yeah it's too much. You need to give the players choices and options - they won't just follow your expected story.
Set the scene with the first part in the tavern then the job offer - do you take it? Or look elsewhere? If they say no, is there further incentive the NPC could offer?
Do they take their chances in the other city straight away? Do they walk about town to see if there's any other way to make cash?
Metamongoose gave some really great advice. Maybe rather than continuing with the narrative it would be worth going back to the drawing board and creating an environment?
The intent of all this was to set the stage for the characters and to help them hear what sort of things they might want to know about their environment as they prepare to make a decision. For example, in a routine description I wouldn't mention the quality of the guards attire unless the players asked, but in this opening description I offered to give it to them as an example. Did they learn anything from this worthwhile, maybe and maybe not. I wanted to give them a story that explains why they all found themselves in this place together at this time. Remember that we are trying to help folks that have never played before to see how things go. If you believe this is going too slow and too long that is helpful as we can cut things back. But is this too long or slow for new players?
My idea of the game is that it is the DM telling a story and the players getting to be part of the story. Too may choices and they will be so far off track that they will never get to the core thread of the story. Once we have drawn them in with the conversation that occurs at the governor's palace I believe they will take the ball and run with it until they find the treasure. But the governor and a few of his advisors have some things to say that will hopefully get the party in the spirit of the adventure.
The short answer for "is this too long for new players" is, yes. As an example, the Lost Mines of Phandelver adventure, which is something of a go-to starter adventure for new players provides pretty much the following information for the players once they have made their characters:
First, a simple plot hook:
Then the opening blurb before the game begins:
And that's it, the game starts from there with about three paragraphs worth of information.
Personally, I'm all for this kind of intro. It is highly detailed and sets a tone for the game very thoroughly. The issue I would see however is you stated this is a project to help your son get started with the first time he is going to be DMing. The reason I see this level of detail being an issue is that if he is not comfortable providing the same level of detail throughout the rest of the story it could sour the experience for him if he gets the impression his players are able to tell the difference between the parts he got an assist on and the parts he did on his own.
Now, this will be impacted by a lot of factors. Maybe he is perfectly fine with it, in which case there is no issue. It will come down to his personality, his ability to accept constructive criticism, his work ethic for prepping upcoming sessions, etc. Overall though I would recommend for his first time running a campaign to follow the KISS rule. I would even go so far as to recommend railroading the players a little more than I would normally suggest just to help keep it simple. Still give the players room to breathe, of course, but don't be afraid to narrow their potential options a bit.
A rival going after the same goal in the background is a good way to put a "time limit" on completing events without much risk. The players don't even need to encounter this unseen rival more than once or twice, just knowing they are out there and the feeling of gotta beat em to it will help keep the players on track by itself.
Skizz,
My son read over what I posted this morning and said he liked it but with teenagers you can't tell if he is being polite or if he wants to do something like this himself. This is the way we used to do it in my group, but that is too small a sample set to matter, which is why I have to consider a shorter narrative. He well may like it, but he'll write his own based on his personality and what he thinks his friends are looking for.
As for the plot line, there are seven clerics that cover the needs of the townspeople (in the five towns) in the area. But there is also a group of four druids that are watching over the Dark Wood; except not quite. First, the party is going to be confronted by the governor about the letter and they won't know if he has decided to take an interest in the treasure but is just letting them think he is not. In actuality, he is not interested in the treasure that deeply so the party doesn't have to be concerned about him. But the fellow that received the letter, Marogred, is passing himself off as a level 1 druid trying to help the three other druids watch over the Dark Wood. He is actually trying to find the key and the parchment. When the party gets to the Dark Wood they will meet him and recognize the name. However, he won't know that they have a copy of the original letter, so he will begin thinking his secret is safe. Maybe at some point he will come to know that they know his secret. Maybe they will out him with the druids. We haven't thought that far through the story. We will certainly have to factor in that they may out Marogred at the first meeting of the druids without us pushing the story in that direction.
But before we get that far, one way or another, the party is going to meet the governor. One way or another, the party will not be armed when they meet the governor. If they were armed, they would either have to "come around" or the governors party is strong enough for a TPK and that would be that. I don't want a TPK. I want the party to come to see that it is better to have allies in different areas so they can benefit from that later. Therefore, I'd prefer for the new players to want to sit down and have a nice dinner with the governor. They get a better story and allies they might deal with later. It's a big win for the party.
Meta,
What sort of level campaign do you enjoy? I think for established players, a short intro presenting an excuse to be there and a promise of a big reward is all you need. What if the promise if reward was not so big? I don't think it allows the game to be enjoyed as much if intro level characters get too much loot too quickly. I fear the description you shared only promises a big reward if I stay on the story.
I could cut out the whole into I shared and simply say ...
Your party of eight level 1 characters arrives at the edge of town and you've been confronted by the town guard. You have a letter and a map of the area. The letter indicates there is a treasure somewhere in the north of the map called the Dark Wood. What do you say to the town guard? [I'd leave out all the description of the town and the guards themselves unless they asked]
Is that a better beginning? It would not have been preferable to my group some years back.
I'm a big fan of the 1-10 level tiers of play. Smaller adventures that are "lower to the ground" than world-shaking dramas among cosmic forces.
You don't have to cut out that much. As an example, here are two of the games I've run here for people. Give my first post a perusal to understand the sort of balance I'm talking about.
Meta,
OK. First, I see you were running a game online, which is a different thing. There folks have to read every bit before they can respond. I have a light touch of dyslexia and that makes it difficult for me to process information that is written down. Reading lots of stuff is hard for me because I can't remember half of what I read and if I had to dungeon that way, I'd have to have less material. But my sons sessions are going to be old style face-to-face gaming around the table stuff.
I really liked your map. Is there an online tool for drawing maps like that or did you draw it by hand, scan it and upload it to the site to link? Either way, I thought it looked great.
I got a sense from reading your first adventure that the players knew how to play. I think that cuts down on the need for descriptions at the start since they fill in many details on their own.
Remember the opening for Skyrim? You do know about Skyrim, right? Good. Think of all the bits and pieces that short cart ride fed you if you could catch everything? You woke up bound in a wagon talking to a Stormcloak soldier dressed in a blue uniform clearly suited to cold weather. He explained you were in the same cart as Ulfrik the High King and for some reason he had a gag tied round his face unlike everyone else. You approached a town made from stones, apparently loose river washed stones and angular quarried stone too. The terrain was pretty irregular and the town had seen better days. The adversaries of the Stormcloaks dressed in leather armor reminiscent of the Roman Legions. These were also hardy folks because they were in cold country in what amounts to shorts and a short sleeved shirt. And their leader, is there with a High Elf. The leader of the whole enemy army is here today, in this run-down place. Why? Is this some sort of coincidence? ...
As you can see, in that opening scene the authors provide quite an extensive bit of information which, if you had to write it all down, would take several pages. I believe this is necessary to help the new players get a feel for the game and get into their character.
As the action unfolds, you initially don't get many options. The authors want you to get through the tutorial phase. Just as in my story, where the party is going to meet the governor whether they like it or not, this adventurer is going to escape the town by way of an underground tunnel. He is going to meet some enemy soldiers and a bear and some frost spiders along the way. He is going to be outfitted with some armor, an iron weapon and an old longbow along the way. If he has brains he is going to pick a few locks and grab a couple magic items along the way. If he is especially curious and industrious he is going to grab a few alchemical ingredients and a bit of treasure along the way as well.
But once he navigates the way out of the cavern he is presented with an open world.
In Skyrim they can do that because they have created a team of programmers that generated the open world. I shudder to think how many man-hours it took to produce that world. Not only did it have to be scripted by someone, then it had to be drawn and then programmed. Wow!
As a DM I (we) don't have that many man-hours left in our lives, well I don't anyway. So we write our stories and at some point the characters have to stick to the story. The best DMs write a story the players want to follow without promising a mountain of reward for doing it. If they give away too much reward, then other than fame, there is nothing to be gained by adventuring because the players are set for life. Great DMs can handle a little departure from the storyline for a moment without getting off gait. They are able to redirect you into the main story without being too crazy. But all this takes preparation and experience. My son doesn't have much experience, but right now he has the time to prepare.
Anyway, as you can see, I just think there is a little more effort required at the beginning to set the stage and even a little more effort to help first time players get into the spirit of the event.
I'm going to read through your first module though. I can always use good ideas myself. Good luck. Happy gaming.
The module I ran and the maps I use can be found at the links I provided in my first post. And while yes, my players were a bit more familiar with D&D as a whole, almost none of them had any experience with an online game and what you don't see is the extensive "session 0" we had in a private message thread getting them prepared for the the game and making their characters. Otherwise, what you see there is mostly how I run my games, both online and in the real world. I generally have a basic structure in mind and fill in the meat of the game responding to how my players interact with the world as provided. I also run a lot of published adventures as a DM for the Adventure League, so I've very used to the structure of those modules where occasionally there will be a small text blurb to set up a scene and frame the narrative before things begin to happen. We get tons of new players comes through AL play groups, so I have a pretty good idea of, at least what Wizards of the Coast thinks is a good structure to learn by. It seems to be working out okay so far.