My regular group has hit the summer slump where we are struggling to get all the players to the table and lucky to get a session in for our normal campaign once a month.
I'm looking to develop a more of an adventures club setting so if only 3 or 4 of us can make it we can go through and pick a mission and let the players starting at level 1 work there way up. Basic escort/ambush, clear the abandoned tower, find the missing whatever, heist, ect...
Ideally each would be something that we could complete in a 3-4 hr session, since I don't know which players may be available the following week.
Anyone willing to share your go to one shot/side missions for different character levels?
Helmed Horrors as the players reach around level 4.
Because they are so resistant and get three spells that they are immune to, they are a great way to signal that the campaign is ramping up in difficulty. I originally came across Helmed Horrors when wanting to find a way to encourage players to think about what they can use other than Eldritch Blast. Three characters had and always utilised that spell throughout battle. All three actually tried Eldritch Blast before the party twigged that maybe it was immune. That encounter is still one of my favourite encounters as it required a lot of really different thinking from the party and the players legitimately learnt a different way of approaching their encounters in future. Story wise, the Helmed Horrors guarded a ruined keep or a manor house that the local villagers are concerned has some dodgy goings on. Maybe the local lord is corrupt and is using the horrors to supress the populace.
Likewise, something that inflicts a status condition (sleep, poison etc) is great for level 2/3. Again it allows the PCs, especially new ones to think about how they are going to approach things like getting poisoned. I tend to like Grell for this. They're pretty cool and have multiattack and the chance of inflicting some status effects on PCs. The Grell has inhabited a local tunnel used for trade, that could of course be a mine or similar. The town needed the players to clear it out so trade/mining could resume.
For the more political, I've also thrown in an escort quest where players were asked to help a pilgrim traverse an area so that the pilgrim could found a new shrine to their deity in a different town/city etc.
There's a canyon in the wilds somewhere. Through the canyon is a vital trade route. The players come across ruined carts and ransacked caravans. At one end of the canyon is a cave, home to a small enclave of Drow (or any other grouping) who rely on the traders to get food, and other things in trade for precious metals and gems, magical trinkets etc. Further up the canyon is a small encampment (again any grouping you like) of Goblins, Hobgoblins, and Kobolds. The encampment too are peaceful and do trade with the caravans things like furs and skins. The Drow, and the Goblin camps used to trade with one another until the caravans started getting attacked. The two camps blame each other. The Party must get to the bottom of it. You could choose the resolution you like. I chose that the resolution would be:
An illusionist who wanted to take possession of a trinket/McGuffin that the drow had.
My regular group has hit the summer slump where we are struggling to get all the players to the table and lucky to get a session in for our normal campaign once a month.
I'm looking to develop a more of an adventures club setting so if only 3 or 4 of us can make it we can go through and pick a mission and let the players starting at level 1 work there way up. Basic escort/ambush, clear the abandoned tower, find the missing whatever, heist, ect...
Ideally each would be something that we could complete in a 3-4 hr session, since I don't know which players may be available the following week.
Anyone willing to share your go to one shot/side missions for different character levels?
Helmed Horrors as the players reach around level 4.
Because they are so resistant and get three spells that they are immune to, they are a great way to signal that the campaign is ramping up in difficulty. I originally came across Helmed Horrors when wanting to find a way to encourage players to think about what they can use other than Eldritch Blast. Three characters had and always utilised that spell throughout battle. All three actually tried Eldritch Blast before the party twigged that maybe it was immune. That encounter is still one of my favourite encounters as it required a lot of really different thinking from the party and the players legitimately learnt a different way of approaching their encounters in future. Story wise, the Helmed Horrors guarded a ruined keep or a manor house that the local villagers are concerned has some dodgy goings on. Maybe the local lord is corrupt and is using the horrors to supress the populace.
Likewise, something that inflicts a status condition (sleep, poison etc) is great for level 2/3. Again it allows the PCs, especially new ones to think about how they are going to approach things like getting poisoned. I tend to like Grell for this. They're pretty cool and have multiattack and the chance of inflicting some status effects on PCs. The Grell has inhabited a local tunnel used for trade, that could of course be a mine or similar. The town needed the players to clear it out so trade/mining could resume.
For the more political, I've also thrown in an escort quest where players were asked to help a pilgrim traverse an area so that the pilgrim could found a new shrine to their deity in a different town/city etc.
There's a canyon in the wilds somewhere. Through the canyon is a vital trade route. The players come across ruined carts and ransacked caravans. At one end of the canyon is a cave, home to a small enclave of Drow (or any other grouping) who rely on the traders to get food, and other things in trade for precious metals and gems, magical trinkets etc. Further up the canyon is a small encampment (again any grouping you like) of Goblins, Hobgoblins, and Kobolds. The encampment too are peaceful and do trade with the caravans things like furs and skins. The Drow, and the Goblin camps used to trade with one another until the caravans started getting attacked. The two camps blame each other. The Party must get to the bottom of it. You could choose the resolution you like. I chose that the resolution would be:
An illusionist who wanted to take possession of a trinket/McGuffin that the drow had.
DM session planning template - My version of maps for 'Lost Mine of Phandelver' - Send your party to The Circus - Other DM Resources - Maps, Tokens, Quests - 'Better' Player Character Injury Tables?
Actor, Writer, Director & Teacher by day - GM/DM in my off hours.
I'm in a similar situation and I plan on running a bunch of 0 level "funnels" like Hole in the Sky and Sailors on the Starless Sea.
They are for Dungeon Crawl Classics so need a small amount of conversion, but they look super fun and are great for drop in games.