So...my DM asked me if I could run a high level one-shot for the party (13th level), to try out new character builds and I agreed. There are four players...so far I only know that one is playing a sorcadin, the others are slow to tell me what they're intending to play.
Now... I'm not a great DM... I haven't got much experience at writing an adventure, and I've never run a pre-written adventure for more than the first four levels, for variously reasons, so it feels pretty scary.
That being said, I've come up with a basic concept, that being an undead siege. Set in the city of Neverwinter, a portal in the graveyard district has opened up, hordes of skeletons, zombies and the like swarming through to scale the walls...a young brass shadow dragon swooping through to swoop the city, it's breath weapon acting as artillery to lead the main force...setting buildings ablaze and raising undead shadows from the civilians it slaughters.
On the other side of the portal, a war rages between Orcus and the Raven Queen over the divine portfolio of death, and the demon lord has sent a small army to Neverwinter, led by a nalfeshnee lieutenant, to secure more undead for the cause.
Here's...where I have difficulty. What encounters to use...how many I use...where they take place...what on earth happens in between?
So I've thought maybe the one-shot starts with them defending the district wall from undead? Maybe a swarm of skeletons and a deathlock (Mordenkainens ToF) attack? I'd really like for them to feel like they're defending this wall, even if it doesn't take too much time...there are bigger and badder things for them to fight yet, right?
So, if their goal is to stop the Shadowfell portal, and they have to get to it next, I'd like them to encounter the shadow dragon along the way somehow. I thought maybe it is tearing into houses on the street before the gatehouse and to get to it, they have to sneak around it or fight it. I chose a brass shadow dragon (CR 9) instead of a regular red shadow dragon (CR 13) because I know shadow stealth and living Shadow are very powerful, and I've ruled that the Shadowfell portal has darkened the sky drastically. I've also thought that it's breath weapon has already been used to set buildings ablaze and must recharge so it is an easier fight, but is this still a bit powerful? I won't have too many shadows, if any, fight them at once alongside the dragon, because it would only make tough fight tougher? I can just say that they're dispersing into the streets to kill and convert more people, if having them alongside the dragon is too tough.
Next...well...I want the players to be able to close the Shadowfell portal, which means travelling through the Graveyard district, which is swarming with an army of demons and undead...
I don't know how to run this area... apparently I should probably have some ability checks here and there in the adventure, so I should probably have some here? I don't know. Should there be fighting or at least a few small encounters? It's an army, so it'd would make sense, but it's also a one-shot, and it'd be deadly, so I'm not sure if it's a good idea or not.
Finally, I thought they could fight the Nalfeshnee boss at the end before the portal, in a tumbledown ruined temple. I thought of adding a couple of sidekicks for the nalfeshneee, a beholder zombie and a wight...but that's a deadly encounter right? Perhaps too deadly? And there's also the portal which his army is coming through nearby as well so...skeletons could be a risk as well, but that'd be too much.
I don't know if this sounds comprehensible, or even good... it's just a concept I've had... honestly I've thought too much about it to put in one post, so it's pretty simplified but that's what I've got. I'm particularly worried about the graveyard/battlefield area bit. I'd really like the whole thing to feel like they're physically defending against and breaking a very dangerous siege, if possible.
I'd really appreciate some advice if anyone could help.
"I'd really like the whole thing to feel like they're physically defending against and breaking a deadly siege, if possible."
Deadly is where at least one player character, and possibly all of them will die. I doubt you want to do that. 1 young brass dragon and as many as 20 shadows is a Hard encounter at that level, but that's with 5 characters, and you didn't say how many or what classes. I'd probably base the one-shot around the players getting to the portal, I'd put nothing in their way at all, let them slip right to the fight with the dragon and their shadows, and use no more than the number of shadows that the players can defeat in the first three turns. With the dragon and the shadows fighting, that should make for a decent battle.
Start out the adventure, describe in as much detail as you can the titanic forces colliding with each other, let the party slip out of the castle through a secret passage that takes them right near the portal, and go on from there.
No no, when I say deadly, I more meant the feeling of facing a very real and dangerous threat, almost apocalyptic in it's theme.
As I said, when I use the shadow dragon, I probably won't have many, if any, shadows fighting alongside it...so maybe 3 at most at anytime, but I'm considering having no shadows in the combat at all as they've been commanded elsewhere on the battlefield.
And, yeah, sorry. I'm afraid I only know that one of the four is playing a sorcerer-paladin multiclass, I've not heard anything from the others yet, which is a bit frustrating.
That secret passage idea is pretty great though, thanks very much! If necessary I can still add a few ability checks to cross a bridge across a subterranean cavern or bypass a cave in or something...all without worrying about the army above
I wish some other people would chime in with their own ideas. I frequently miss points and details. A bit more advise. Have a back up plan or two. I have seen players get the oddest ideas into their heads and do things that I think are foolish. You can never tell if they will want to take the secret passage, and you should avoid forcing players to do things if you can.
Indeed, that's definitely good advice. I've heard though that one shots should, to a degree, be fairly obviously railroaded since there's limited time in the session?
Though that's just one person's advice, and maybe it's good to give them a few choices instead?
If you're not confident as a DM and unsure about how to run adventures, then you are biting off way more than you can chew here. You should be starting out with a low level party - preferably level 1 - and getting to grips with the basics of running a game. What you're trying to create here is a huge, epic scale mega-conflict of world shaking proportions. Why not give yourself an easier time and go for something smaller?
Thanks for your advice Sanvael! I think I'll be okay. I've played D&D for several years, and I'm fairly well versed in the mechanics, so I think running it should be fine, if the plot is fairly straightforward. The main problem with me is that I'm not very familiar with homebrew adventure creation itself, though I think it's gradually coming together, even if it is a little bit railroaded...
Thanks for your advice Sanvael! I think I'll be okay. I've played D&D for several years, and I'm fairly well versed in the mechanics, so I think running it should be fine, if the plot is fairly straightforward. The main problem with me is that I'm not very familiar with homebrew adventure creation itself, though I think it's gradually coming together, even if it is a little bit railroaded...
A one shot needs to be railroaded, and the PCs have to be focused on playing it out. The PCs can't just do their thing wandering about, so don't worry about that. Just make sure they all understand that their character motivations at the beginning have to be focused on the goal you're setting them.
Creating homebrew is easy enough that I did it for my first ever game when I was 15 and it wasn't a problem. Design the locations, the NPCs, and let the story flow naturally between the consequences of meeting them.
Bear in mind that for a one shot - let's say a 5 hour game - a combat with characters capable of taking on a dragon is likely to take 2-3 hours of your time.
"I'd really like the whole thing to feel like they're physically defending against and breaking a deadly siege, if possible."
Deadly is where at least one player character, and possibly all of them will die. I doubt you want to do that. 1 young brass dragon and as many as 20 shadows is a Hard encounter at that level, but that's with 5 characters, and you didn't say how many or what classes. I'd probably base the one-shot around the players getting to the portal, I'd put nothing in their way at all, let them slip right to the fight with the dragon and their shadows, and use no more than the number of shadows that the players can defeat in the first three turns. With the dragon and the shadows fighting, that should make for a decent battle.
Start out the adventure, describe in as much detail as you can the titanic forces colliding with each other, let the party slip out of the castle through a secret passage that takes them right near the portal, and go on from there.
A one shot needs to be railroaded, and the PCs have to be focused on playing it out. The PCs can't just do their thing wandering about, so don't worry about that. Just make sure they all understand that their character motivations at the beginning have to be focused on the goal you're setting them.
Creating homebrew is easy enough that I did it for my first ever game when I was 15 and it wasn't a problem. Design the locations, the NPCs, and let the story flow naturally between the consequences of meeting them.
Bear in mind that for a one shot - let's say a 5 hour game - a combat with characters capable of taking on a dragon is likely to take 2-3 hours of your time.
How's something like this as a layout? I feel like there should be a little more stuff to fill out the passages/catacombs/crypt bit...and of course I ought to add in treasure...
Sounds like you've got a decent basic structure of ideas there so I would ask some more basic questions: How long is your One-shot going to be? How long does your group usually play in a session? To me, a one shot means 1 session (max 2) for about 3ish hours of play.
Obviously there is a huge difference between playing for 3 hours or 6. Since you've said that you're a relatively inexperienced DM (no need to too critical on yourself - as long as everyone is having fun you're doing fine) plus all players are running new 13th level PCs, I would budget more time for combat than your group normally takes. I would be hesitant about running more than 2-4 combat encounters, and even then I would make sure that 1-2 of them are relatively easy / quick ones with the purpose of trying to get your players to expend resources. I also wouldn't give them the opportunity for a short rest until right before the boss fight.
Also are you allowing them to have magic items? The challenge of a combat encounter has as much to do with what resources the PCs have at their disposal as with how 'deadly' the monsters are. A Nalfeshnee isn't a push over but a level 13 Sorcadin with a decent magic weapon and one or two divine smites could really lay a beating on one in a single turn, especially if your PCs love the crunchy / tactical aspects of combat.
If you want tension and want something "episodic" have you considered using a timer? Have a one shot that is all against the clock, decide on a number of rounds and the party just have to survive. Here's one I used:
Timer: 10 Turns.
Plot: Undead are swarming the town in overwhelmng numbers, all exits are cut off, the townsfolk are being butchered and Necromancers are skulking around raising the freshly killed to bolster the Undead hoard. The PC's are in a 3 story tavern when the attack starts and an NPC says he can cast a telportation circle to get everyone in the tavern to saftey IF they can hold off the hoard for 1 minute. In additon to the PC's and NPC there are an equal number of common tavern folk.
The PC's need to decide where the NPC will set up to cast the spell, defend the tavern AND get to the location where the Teleportation Circle is being cast by the time the NPC's initiative rolls round on turn 11 (the spell completes on turn 10 and remains open until turn 11).
Locations they can set up the CIrcle are: 1) the basement, 2) the ground floor/main tavern area, 3) the 1st floor function foom or 4) the Taverns rented bedrooms on the 2nd floor.
On initiative count 20 each turn the Undead Horde move 5ft further into the tavern as the press of bodies push forward. This movement can push them through doors or windows and over baracades.
For "ease" of DM'ing the horde is effectively limitless in size but each undead use a minion mechanic similar to tthat from 4e, in that they have 1hp and auto fail their saving throws. You can mix any undead you want as their other attacks and abilities remain the same so you could use zombies, skeletons and ghouls or mix in some shadows and a Necromancer or two hiding among them to throw out the occasional counterspell or chill touch cantrip.
The PC's need to manage the defence and a fighting retreat to reach the teleportation circle in time so as many people can get out as possible. Whether they fail or succeed you can narrate what happens and the aftermath of the battle, if they fail then assume those characters that were involved have died and their players roll up new characters for the next one shot/episode.
Sounds like you've got a decent basic structure of ideas there so I would ask some more basic questions: How long is your One-shot going to be? How long does your group usually play in a session? To me, a one shot means 1 session (max 2) for about 3ish hours of play.
Obviously there is a huge difference between playing for 3 hours or 6. Since you've said that you're a relatively inexperienced DM (no need to too critical on yourself - as long as everyone is having fun you're doing fine) plus all players are running new 13th level PCs, I would budget more time for combat than your group normally takes. I would be hesitant about running more than 2-4 combat encounters, and even then I would make sure that 1-2 of them are relatively easy / quick ones with the purpose of trying to get your players to expend resources. I also wouldn't give them the opportunity for a short rest until right before the boss fight.
Also are you allowing them to have magic items? The challenge of a combat encounter has as much to do with what resources the PCs have at their disposal as with how 'deadly' the monsters are. A Nalfeshnee isn't a push over but a level 13 Sorcadin with a decent magic weapon and one or two divine smites could really lay a beating on one in a single turn, especially if your PCs love the crunchy / tactical aspects of combat.
Absolutely, great points, thank you!
I'm not actually sure how long exactly we usually go, but I was thinking a 3-4 hour session. I could split it into 2 parts if worst comes to worse, but I wasn't intending to.
I was thinking of giving the PCs the of 1 magical item weapon up to a rarity of very rare; or one magic weapon up to very rare and one non-weapon magic item of any kind up to rare (including armour). Plus maybe a greater healing potion each.
And regarding builds, I know the sorcadin particularly LOVES to optimizr and min-max his builds, and roleplay second. The usual DM loves story and roleplay first and foremost. The other two...I don't know really, but one usually hits like a truck in our usual game, so I guess he's pretty min-maxy too. Thus I have no doubt that they'll efficiently hold their own in combat, and probably even hit above their weight, but you never know
If you want tension and want something "episodic" have you considered using a timer? Have a one shot that is all against the clock, decide on a number of rounds and the party just have to survive. Here's one I used:
Timer: 10 Turns.
Plot: Undead are swarming the town in overwhelmng numbers, all exits are cut off, the townsfolk are being butchered and Necromancers are skulking around raising the freshly killed to bolster the Undead hoard. The PC's are in a 3 story tavern when the attack starts and an NPC says he can cast a telportation circle to get everyone in the tavern to saftey IF they can hold off the hoard for 1 minute. In additon to the PC's and NPC there are an equal number of common tavern folk.
The PC's need to decide where the NPC will set up to cast the spell, defend the tavern AND get to the location where the Teleportation Circle is being cast by the time the NPC's initiative rolls round on turn 11 (the spell completes on turn 10 and remains open until turn 11).
Locations they can set up the CIrcle are: 1) the basement, 2) the ground floor/main tavern area, 3) the 1st floor function foom or 4) the Taverns rented bedrooms on the 2nd floor.
On initiative count 20 each turn the Undead Horde move 5ft further into the tavern as the press of bodies push forward. This movement can push them through doors or windows and over baracades.
For "ease" of DM'ing the horde is effectively limitless in size but each undead use a minion mechanic similar to tthat from 4e, in that they have 1hp and auto fail their saving throws. You can mix any undead you want as their other attacks and abilities remain the same so you could use zombies, skeletons and ghouls or mix in some shadows and a Necromancer or two hiding among them to throw out the occasional counterspell or chill touch cantrip.
The PC's need to manage the defence and a fighting retreat to reach the teleportation circle in time so as many people can get out as possible. Whether they fail or succeed you can narrate what happens and the aftermath of the battle, if they fail then assume those characters that were involved have died and their players roll up new characters for the next one shot/episode.
Very interesting, I like it!
I'm not exactly certain how exactly it's run, I might have to look into it, but I think that it would be very useful for certain parts of it. For the rampart combat particularly. What I did do is find a skeleton swarm stat block (CR 5) online for the undead, and that would probably account for about 5-8 skeletons, but maybe I could look into seeing whether that could work well too? And the timer being that they should slay the deathlock mastermind commander by that time or they get overwhelmed.
That being said, isn't it difficult having every single one of them being an individual on the battlefield, with their own individual attacks and movements? And would only one of them be targeted at a time or would they be cut down in groups according to the damage rolled?
It sounds pretty complicated to run so many individuals even if they do only have 1hp and all 😅
It sounds pretty complicated to run so many individuals even if they do only have 1hp and all 😅
It hard in terms of concept than actually doing it, if you use an enclosed space then theere is only a finite amount of space so at most there will only be a handful of monsters per character so it would ne no different than having one monster per party member doing 2-4 attacks per round (depending on party level). Plus you do get to have the players do their area of effect spells to clear out sections for a round and make it a bit more tactical but I won't lie, you'd likely find it easier if you have a background with table top wargaming and/or use mini's for your game.
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Mhmm...I do have D&D minis, but not many undead, lmao, though I could use random adventurers I guess.
I'll have to look up the minion mechanics...maybe they'll come in handy though running a swarm sounds easier since it's basically just running a single creature?
I was thinking of giving the PCs the of 1 magical item weapon up to a rarity of very rare; or one magic weapon up to very rare and one non-weapon magic item of any kind up to rare (including armour). Plus maybe a greater healing potion each.
And regarding builds, I know the sorcadin particularly LOVES to optimizr and min-max his builds, and roleplay second. The usual DM loves story and roleplay first and foremost. The other two...I don't know really, but one usually hits like a truck in our usual game, so I guess he's pretty min-maxy too. Thus I have no doubt that they'll efficiently hold their own in combat, and probably even hit above their weight, but you never know
Gotcha, well then I'd definitely say be less concerned about what is too deadly and instead frame it about what you can accomplish in the time frame. The dragon idea is fun, but the flying may slow down combat more than you want. Perhaps you have it break a hole in a wall and set the buildings on fire which leads to your first combat encounter?
Regardless don't pull your punches, if you TPK the party after like 2.5-3 hours who cares! Especially since its a one shot. Maybe it could lead into a fun post-apocalyptic campaign, or maybe you have a Planetar show up to res the party and let them keep fighting, just have fun with it.
Gotcha, well then I'd definitely say be less concerned about what is too deadly and instead frame it about what you can accomplish in the time frame. The dragon idea is fun, but the flying may slow down combat more than you want. Perhaps you have it break a hole in a wall and set the buildings on fire which leads to your first combat encounter?
Regardless don't pull your punches, if you TPK the party after like 2.5-3 hours who cares! Especially since its a one shot. Maybe it could lead into a fun post-apocalyptic campaign, or maybe you have a Planetar show up to res the party and let them keep fighting, just have fun with it.
About the flying, the way I'm intending to run it is that it will remain on the ground throughout the entire combat. Firstly, it is arrogant enough to think that these puny little insects could hardly defeat his glorious might, secondly, he he has been promised handsome rewards and is overzealous to please, and thirdly, he is utterly enraged that little vermin frustratingly hide from him within all these buildings. He will attack the players on foot, seeking firstly the satisfaction of close quarter melee kills...to have blood dripping from his fangs and talons. He will only take to the air when he is severely damaged enough to realize his big mistake, and making a hasty retreat.
Considering it will not be flying and that it will not be able to bonus action hide in shadows, do you think CR 9 will be too easy? That being said it's probably not a bad thing, seeing as though there's only so much time for the one-shot.
And yeah, I definitely have no intention to make it too easy for them, other than to keep the ball rolling. I might just have to consider a planetar assistance, yes! Maybe a dark feathered servant of the Raven Queen. Or otherwise some kinda small shadar-kai strike force to help them close the portal.
I hate being critical. I really do. I like your basic idea, doing a one shot with a grand, titanic battle going on. In the background. You keep adding more and more details.
When I DM, my job is to focus on the players. I give them options, and I let them do what they want. If their characters die, that's very sad, but sometimes that happens, and doing anything to stop it isn't fair to anyone.
I told you to describe things in as much detail as possible, but really, I was wrong. You ought to describe their options is as much detail as you can, and let them do whatever they like.
You know perfectly well what Deadly means. You've got a story in mind, you want to force the player characters to follow a specific path, you've got a limited time to do it, you want to add complications on the way, you want to give them help so they can get anything at all done, so the players have to feel like they didn't matter in any way, and then the bad guy gets away in the end, because the only way they have any chance at all in winning is if the Necromancer is an utter fool who likes to get into melee, which isn't something Necromancers are very good at.
I hate being critical. I really do. I like your basic idea, doing a one shot with a grand, titanic battle going on. In the background. You keep adding more and more details.
When I DM, my job is to focus on the players. I give them options, and I let them do what they want. If their characters die, that's very sad, but sometimes that happens, and doing anything to stop it isn't fair to anyone.
I told you to describe things in as much detail as possible, but really, I was wrong. You ought to describe their options is as much detail as you can, and let them do whatever they like.
You know perfectly well what Deadly means. You've got a story in mind, you want to force the player characters to follow a specific path, you've got a limited time to do it, you want to add complications on the way, you want to give them help so they can get anything at all done, so the players have to feel like they didn't matter in any way, and then the bad guy gets away in the end, because the only way they have any chance at all in winning is if the Necromancer is an utter fool who likes to get into melee, which isn't something Necromancers are very good at.
If someone ran that for you, would you enjoy it?
It's not a necromancer though... it's a dragon. And it behaves like a red dragon. Aggressive, angry, intelligent yes, but arrogant enough to be dangerously overconfident. They have claws, teeth... he'll use his breath when it recharges. And chances are, he won't get away, by the time he knows what hits him. At his level, he's gonna be smited by a sorcadin and a party with magical weapons.
There's no necromancer in the adventure at all.
I don't intend for any allies to really show their faces apart from the sgt in the first combat but even then, I expect the party to do the heavy lifting. The nalfeshnee at the end won't escape either, he's gonna fight to the death to keep that portal open.
I don't really understand what you're concerned about, sorry... 😟
Are you certain your player characters can do that?
Are you planing on giving out Dragon slayer weapons? Those are rare, give +1 to hit, add 3d6 to the damage and are Martial weapons.
A Sorcerer can only use daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaves, and light crossbows. Only Paladins can use Martial weapons, so your Sorcadin can use any weapon.
Are there any Martial weapons a Sorcerer can use?
Single class player characters are always supposed to be stronger than multi-class ones, they trade off or delay the good stuff and get versatility instead.
No matter what they use, the weapons they have aren't any particular use against what you seem to see as the final boss in the story, Nalfeshee aren't dragons after all.
Those are Fiends. I'd suggest you take a hard look at what they are capable of.
I understand that you don't like any of my advice. I'm scrupulous about breaking rules.
So...my DM asked me if I could run a high level one-shot for the party (13th level), to try out new character builds and I agreed. There are four players...so far I only know that one is playing a sorcadin, the others are slow to tell me what they're intending to play.
Now... I'm not a great DM... I haven't got much experience at writing an adventure, and I've never run a pre-written adventure for more than the first four levels, for variously reasons, so it feels pretty scary.
That being said, I've come up with a basic concept, that being an undead siege. Set in the city of Neverwinter, a portal in the graveyard district has opened up, hordes of skeletons, zombies and the like swarming through to scale the walls...a young brass shadow dragon swooping through to swoop the city, it's breath weapon acting as artillery to lead the main force...setting buildings ablaze and raising undead shadows from the civilians it slaughters.
On the other side of the portal, a war rages between Orcus and the Raven Queen over the divine portfolio of death, and the demon lord has sent a small army to Neverwinter, led by a nalfeshnee lieutenant, to secure more undead for the cause.
Here's...where I have difficulty. What encounters to use...how many I use...where they take place...what on earth happens in between?
So I've thought maybe the one-shot starts with them defending the district wall from undead? Maybe a swarm of skeletons and a deathlock (Mordenkainens ToF) attack? I'd really like for them to feel like they're defending this wall, even if it doesn't take too much time...there are bigger and badder things for them to fight yet, right?
So, if their goal is to stop the Shadowfell portal, and they have to get to it next, I'd like them to encounter the shadow dragon along the way somehow. I thought maybe it is tearing into houses on the street before the gatehouse and to get to it, they have to sneak around it or fight it. I chose a brass shadow dragon (CR 9) instead of a regular red shadow dragon (CR 13) because I know shadow stealth and living Shadow are very powerful, and I've ruled that the Shadowfell portal has darkened the sky drastically. I've also thought that it's breath weapon has already been used to set buildings ablaze and must recharge so it is an easier fight, but is this still a bit powerful? I won't have too many shadows, if any, fight them at once alongside the dragon, because it would only make tough fight tougher? I can just say that they're dispersing into the streets to kill and convert more people, if having them alongside the dragon is too tough.
Next...well...I want the players to be able to close the Shadowfell portal, which means travelling through the Graveyard district, which is swarming with an army of demons and undead...
I don't know how to run this area... apparently I should probably have some ability checks here and there in the adventure, so I should probably have some here? I don't know. Should there be fighting or at least a few small encounters? It's an army, so it'd would make sense, but it's also a one-shot, and it'd be deadly, so I'm not sure if it's a good idea or not.
Finally, I thought they could fight the Nalfeshnee boss at the end before the portal, in a tumbledown ruined temple. I thought of adding a couple of sidekicks for the nalfeshneee, a beholder zombie and a wight...but that's a deadly encounter right? Perhaps too deadly? And there's also the portal which his army is coming through nearby as well so...skeletons could be a risk as well, but that'd be too much.
I don't know if this sounds comprehensible, or even good... it's just a concept I've had... honestly I've thought too much about it to put in one post, so it's pretty simplified but that's what I've got. I'm particularly worried about the graveyard/battlefield area bit. I'd really like the whole thing to feel like they're physically defending against and breaking a very dangerous siege, if possible.
I'd really appreciate some advice if anyone could help.
Thanks for reading! 😄
"I'd really like the whole thing to feel like they're physically defending against and breaking a deadly siege, if possible."
Deadly is where at least one player character, and possibly all of them will die. I doubt you want to do that. 1 young brass dragon and as many as 20 shadows is a Hard encounter at that level, but that's with 5 characters, and you didn't say how many or what classes. I'd probably base the one-shot around the players getting to the portal, I'd put nothing in their way at all, let them slip right to the fight with the dragon and their shadows, and use no more than the number of shadows that the players can defeat in the first three turns. With the dragon and the shadows fighting, that should make for a decent battle.
Start out the adventure, describe in as much detail as you can the titanic forces colliding with each other, let the party slip out of the castle through a secret passage that takes them right near the portal, and go on from there.
<Insert clever signature here>
No no, when I say deadly, I more meant the feeling of facing a very real and dangerous threat, almost apocalyptic in it's theme.
As I said, when I use the shadow dragon, I probably won't have many, if any, shadows fighting alongside it...so maybe 3 at most at anytime, but I'm considering having no shadows in the combat at all as they've been commanded elsewhere on the battlefield.
And, yeah, sorry. I'm afraid I only know that one of the four is playing a sorcerer-paladin multiclass, I've not heard anything from the others yet, which is a bit frustrating.
That secret passage idea is pretty great though, thanks very much! If necessary I can still add a few ability checks to cross a bridge across a subterranean cavern or bypass a cave in or something...all without worrying about the army above
Thanks for your thoughtful reply!
I wish some other people would chime in with their own ideas. I frequently miss points and details. A bit more advise. Have a back up plan or two. I have seen players get the oddest ideas into their heads and do things that I think are foolish. You can never tell if they will want to take the secret passage, and you should avoid forcing players to do things if you can.
<Insert clever signature here>
Indeed, that's definitely good advice. I've heard though that one shots should, to a degree, be fairly obviously railroaded since there's limited time in the session?
Though that's just one person's advice, and maybe it's good to give them a few choices instead?
If you're not confident as a DM and unsure about how to run adventures, then you are biting off way more than you can chew here. You should be starting out with a low level party - preferably level 1 - and getting to grips with the basics of running a game. What you're trying to create here is a huge, epic scale mega-conflict of world shaking proportions. Why not give yourself an easier time and go for something smaller?
Thanks for your advice Sanvael!
I think I'll be okay. I've played D&D for several years, and I'm fairly well versed in the mechanics, so I think running it should be fine, if the plot is fairly straightforward.
The main problem with me is that I'm not very familiar with homebrew adventure creation itself, though I think it's gradually coming together, even if it is a little bit railroaded...
A one shot needs to be railroaded, and the PCs have to be focused on playing it out. The PCs can't just do their thing wandering about, so don't worry about that. Just make sure they all understand that their character motivations at the beginning have to be focused on the goal you're setting them.
Creating homebrew is easy enough that I did it for my first ever game when I was 15 and it wasn't a problem. Design the locations, the NPCs, and let the story flow naturally between the consequences of meeting them.
Bear in mind that for a one shot - let's say a 5 hour game - a combat with characters capable of taking on a dragon is likely to take 2-3 hours of your time.
How's something like this as a layout? I feel like there should be a little more stuff to fill out the passages/catacombs/crypt bit...and of course I ought to add in treasure...
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fNM1b_K1XYp4K9iWj2HxKCLCRpHcetsZ/view?ths=true
Sounds like you've got a decent basic structure of ideas there so I would ask some more basic questions: How long is your One-shot going to be? How long does your group usually play in a session? To me, a one shot means 1 session (max 2) for about 3ish hours of play.
Obviously there is a huge difference between playing for 3 hours or 6. Since you've said that you're a relatively inexperienced DM (no need to too critical on yourself - as long as everyone is having fun you're doing fine) plus all players are running new 13th level PCs, I would budget more time for combat than your group normally takes. I would be hesitant about running more than 2-4 combat encounters, and even then I would make sure that 1-2 of them are relatively easy / quick ones with the purpose of trying to get your players to expend resources. I also wouldn't give them the opportunity for a short rest until right before the boss fight.
Also are you allowing them to have magic items? The challenge of a combat encounter has as much to do with what resources the PCs have at their disposal as with how 'deadly' the monsters are. A Nalfeshnee isn't a push over but a level 13 Sorcadin with a decent magic weapon and one or two divine smites could really lay a beating on one in a single turn, especially if your PCs love the crunchy / tactical aspects of combat.
If you want tension and want something "episodic" have you considered using a timer? Have a one shot that is all against the clock, decide on a number of rounds and the party just have to survive. Here's one I used:
Timer: 10 Turns.
Plot: Undead are swarming the town in overwhelmng numbers, all exits are cut off, the townsfolk are being butchered and Necromancers are skulking around raising the freshly killed to bolster the Undead hoard. The PC's are in a 3 story tavern when the attack starts and an NPC says he can cast a telportation circle to get everyone in the tavern to saftey IF they can hold off the hoard for 1 minute. In additon to the PC's and NPC there are an equal number of common tavern folk.
The PC's need to decide where the NPC will set up to cast the spell, defend the tavern AND get to the location where the Teleportation Circle is being cast by the time the NPC's initiative rolls round on turn 11 (the spell completes on turn 10 and remains open until turn 11).
Locations they can set up the CIrcle are: 1) the basement, 2) the ground floor/main tavern area, 3) the 1st floor function foom or 4) the Taverns rented bedrooms on the 2nd floor.
On initiative count 20 each turn the Undead Horde move 5ft further into the tavern as the press of bodies push forward. This movement can push them through doors or windows and over baracades.
For "ease" of DM'ing the horde is effectively limitless in size but each undead use a minion mechanic similar to tthat from 4e, in that they have 1hp and auto fail their saving throws. You can mix any undead you want as their other attacks and abilities remain the same so you could use zombies, skeletons and ghouls or mix in some shadows and a Necromancer or two hiding among them to throw out the occasional counterspell or chill touch cantrip.
The PC's need to manage the defence and a fighting retreat to reach the teleportation circle in time so as many people can get out as possible. Whether they fail or succeed you can narrate what happens and the aftermath of the battle, if they fail then assume those characters that were involved have died and their players roll up new characters for the next one shot/episode.
Absolutely, great points, thank you!
I'm not actually sure how long exactly we usually go, but I was thinking a 3-4 hour session. I could split it into 2 parts if worst comes to worse, but I wasn't intending to.
I was thinking of giving the PCs the of 1 magical item weapon up to a rarity of very rare; or one magic weapon up to very rare and one non-weapon magic item of any kind up to rare (including armour). Plus maybe a greater healing potion each.
And regarding builds, I know the sorcadin particularly LOVES to optimizr and min-max his builds, and roleplay second. The usual DM loves story and roleplay first and foremost. The other two...I don't know really, but one usually hits like a truck in our usual game, so I guess he's pretty min-maxy too. Thus I have no doubt that they'll efficiently hold their own in combat, and probably even hit above their weight, but you never know
Very interesting, I like it!
I'm not exactly certain how exactly it's run, I might have to look into it, but I think that it would be very useful for certain parts of it. For the rampart combat particularly. What I did do is find a skeleton swarm stat block (CR 5) online for the undead, and that would probably account for about 5-8 skeletons, but maybe I could look into seeing whether that could work well too? And the timer being that they should slay the deathlock mastermind commander by that time or they get overwhelmed.
That being said, isn't it difficult having every single one of them being an individual on the battlefield, with their own individual attacks and movements? And would only one of them be targeted at a time or would they be cut down in groups according to the damage rolled?
It sounds pretty complicated to run so many individuals even if they do only have 1hp and all 😅
It hard in terms of concept than actually doing it, if you use an enclosed space then theere is only a finite amount of space so at most there will only be a handful of monsters per character so it would ne no different than having one monster per party member doing 2-4 attacks per round (depending on party level). Plus you do get to have the players do their area of effect spells to clear out sections for a round and make it a bit more tactical but I won't lie, you'd likely find it easier if you have a background with table top wargaming and/or use mini's for your game.
Mhmm...I do have D&D minis, but not many undead, lmao, though I could use random adventurers I guess.
I'll have to look up the minion mechanics...maybe they'll come in handy though running a swarm sounds easier since it's basically just running a single creature?
Gotcha, well then I'd definitely say be less concerned about what is too deadly and instead frame it about what you can accomplish in the time frame. The dragon idea is fun, but the flying may slow down combat more than you want. Perhaps you have it break a hole in a wall and set the buildings on fire which leads to your first combat encounter?
Regardless don't pull your punches, if you TPK the party after like 2.5-3 hours who cares! Especially since its a one shot. Maybe it could lead into a fun post-apocalyptic campaign, or maybe you have a Planetar show up to res the party and let them keep fighting, just have fun with it.
About the flying, the way I'm intending to run it is that it will remain on the ground throughout the entire combat. Firstly, it is arrogant enough to think that these puny little insects could hardly defeat his glorious might, secondly, he he has been promised handsome rewards and is overzealous to please, and thirdly, he is utterly enraged that little vermin frustratingly hide from him within all these buildings. He will attack the players on foot, seeking firstly the satisfaction of close quarter melee kills...to have blood dripping from his fangs and talons. He will only take to the air when he is severely damaged enough to realize his big mistake, and making a hasty retreat.
Considering it will not be flying and that it will not be able to bonus action hide in shadows, do you think CR 9 will be too easy? That being said it's probably not a bad thing, seeing as though there's only so much time for the one-shot.
And yeah, I definitely have no intention to make it too easy for them, other than to keep the ball rolling. I might just have to consider a planetar assistance, yes! Maybe a dark feathered servant of the Raven Queen. Or otherwise some kinda small shadar-kai strike force to help them close the portal.
I hate being critical. I really do. I like your basic idea, doing a one shot with a grand, titanic battle going on. In the background. You keep adding more and more details.
When I DM, my job is to focus on the players. I give them options, and I let them do what they want. If their characters die, that's very sad, but sometimes that happens, and doing anything to stop it isn't fair to anyone.
I told you to describe things in as much detail as possible, but really, I was wrong. You ought to describe their options is as much detail as you can, and let them do whatever they like.
You know perfectly well what Deadly means. You've got a story in mind, you want to force the player characters to follow a specific path, you've got a limited time to do it, you want to add complications on the way, you want to give them help so they can get anything at all done, so the players have to feel like they didn't matter in any way, and then the bad guy gets away in the end, because the only way they have any chance at all in winning is if the Necromancer is an utter fool who likes to get into melee, which isn't something Necromancers are very good at.
If someone ran that for you, would you enjoy it?
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It's not a necromancer though... it's a dragon. And it behaves like a red dragon. Aggressive, angry, intelligent yes, but arrogant enough to be dangerously overconfident. They have claws, teeth... he'll use his breath when it recharges. And chances are, he won't get away, by the time he knows what hits him. At his level, he's gonna be smited by a sorcadin and a party with magical weapons.
There's no necromancer in the adventure at all.
I don't intend for any allies to really show their faces apart from the sgt in the first combat but even then, I expect the party to do the heavy lifting. The nalfeshnee at the end won't escape either, he's gonna fight to the death to keep that portal open.
I don't really understand what you're concerned about, sorry... 😟
What would you suggest I change?
By taking out a nearly unbeatable red dragon?
I understand that you don't like any of my advice. I'm scrupulous about breaking rules.
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