My players were going to go from the local town to the dwarven PCs far away, wintery homeland as it is in grave danger. I was planning on running a mystery adventure there but I dont have enough time to prep for something like that right now.
My plan is to make an adventure out of the PCs journey to the snow filled Dwarven settlement while I prep for the other adventure next session.
Im quite unsure as to how to do this well? I want it to be a bit more than just some random encounters as I want my players to enjoy it.
Anyone have any suggestions?
All help would be greatly appreciated and thanks to all those who respond.
I have a random table of encounters players can have on long trips, or dungeons/other points of interest they can discover on the way. I run travel like a skill challenge with a set DC based on where they're travelling through or how far, and I roll on my random table once for each failure on the skill check. The dungeons/locations they can discover are regardless of level (I have some of the books like Tales from the Yawning Portal or Candlekeep Mysteries that I pepper in with my homebrewed dungeons for more variety), meaning that if the players are wandering the wilderness and stumble upon a random dungeon, it could be something too dangerous for them to deal with right now. That way, they could either go the high-risk route and try it anyways, gaining more exp and potentially finding valuable loot at the potential cost of their lives, OR they have the choice to realize this place is beyond them and to retreat, to come back later after they've trained up more.
Allowing for that kind of organic exploration helps with immersion, and makes the players believe that the Doomvault (for example) was always there, waiting for them to stumble across out in the wilderness, because the world is real, and the DM planned this. They don't have to know they only discovered it there due to random chance and a failed skill challenge.
I have had great success in using travel sessions as a worldbuilding excercise. I introduce unique flora and fauna, genuinely innocent ruins, and that sort of thing. They have some interest in exploring, in seeing schools of glowing fish pursued by pike under their boat at dusk, and the like. Encounters with non-hostile NPCs, where you can just make the world feel like it's still ticking on around them, and would do so whether they were there or not. My players have all commented on how this makes the world feel real, and hints at there being near-infinite variety out there without actually making it!
So I am assuming mountainous scenery with snow and the like. Perhaps a tavern at a junction in the road (they would typically be a days journey apart in peaceful lands), where they brew their ale from snowmelt and ancient grains that only grow in permafrost soil, the beer being prized for remaining chilly even on the hottest days. Have them encounter small burrowing creatures in the snow which are attracted to the shininess of the paladin's armour (or pick something else relevant). Have an avalanche caused by a huge bird crashing on the slope, that needs a harpoon pulling from its wing to be able to fly again. Maybe a bridge has become so heavy with snow that it is a challenge to cross? Maybe they find a hill giant explorer corpse in a block of ice, with a treasure chest hanging from his belt, 3 feet below the ice? They could be attacked by an Avalanche Mimic (I just made that up and it sounds terrifying). Maybe Kobolds, Goblins, or some other diminutive enemy has made a toll gate on the bridge - there's enough of them to be a bother, but not too many to fight, but the toll is affordable for the group (1 silver each) and the Goblins/kobolds are not nasty, just resolute - "this is our bridge, we will have to ask you for a toll good sir paladin!"
Honestly, it's my biggest weakness, but after trying everything from random encounter tables, to hour by hour progress, I've settled on montaging and giving players the chance to have conversations as part of that. I just flat out gave up on it because many of my players just didn't enjoy the travelling aspect either.
So, I tend to go hex by hex...there's a survival check to ensure the party continue in the direction they intend, a perception check to keep an eye out for points of interest, or random encounters. Then I roll a die for any ambushes or similar. While the rolls are happening in the background we've got any conversations in character that the players wish to have.
Largely, I've begun to yada yada the long distance travel though. It bores most of my groups to tears.
Great question, and this is something a lot of DMs struggle with.
The first step to getting the players invested in a travel segment is to present them with an aesthetically pleasing over-world map. Unless you are an unusually good descriptive narrator, this is what will draw the player’s attention and get their imaginations going as they envision being on strange land and traveling about it. I like to use custom map creation programs that come with various fantasy video games for this purpose, taking a screenshot when I’m finished and uploading it to an online game or printing it for an in person game.
Next you have the random encounters. Try to think outside of bandits or monsters attacking them though. This could be the case, but think more of Oregon Trail type difficulties that can be encountered. Force them to make difficult decisions. A caravan horse breaks a leg. A party member falls very ill. The food stock is raided by hungry animals in the night. Equally important is making some of these encounters positive- they happen upon an abandoned caravan with some treasures. They come across a strange carved stone with a mesmerizing crystal in the center that imparts them all with 2000 exp. They encounter a hut with an old hermit who offers to train them for a free level in the ranger class. They could also discover the entrance of dungeons or secret communities (towns) and the like.
Finally, keep an air of mystery to the whole ordeal. Don’t reveal the exact location of their destination or the exact lay of the land beforehand. Make them feel as if their travel and searching is meaningful.
Next you have the random encounters. Try to think outside of bandits or monsters attacking them though. This could be the case, but think more of Oregon Trail type difficulties that can be encountered. Force them to make difficult decisions. A caravan horse breaks a leg. A party member falls very ill. The food stock is raided by hungry animals in the night. Equally important is making some of these encounters positive- they happen upon an abandoned caravan with some treasures. They come across a strange carved stone with a mesmerizing crystal in the center that imparts them all with 2000 exp. They encounter a hut with an old hermit who offers to train them for a free level in the ranger class. They could also discover the entrance of dungeons or secret communities (towns) and the like.
As Samuel is saying, just wanna stress that to make things more interesting and immersive, think about non-combat encounters. Even non-hostile encounters. Pepper in traveling friendly NPC's the players can encounter on the road and nowhere else. Maybe there's quest givers or traders of magical items, or maybe someone they meet proves important to the story. Chance meetings would also count as a "random encounter", just a social encounter rather than combat.
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Hello my fellow masters of the dungeons đź‘‹.
My players were going to go from the local town to the dwarven PCs far away, wintery homeland as it is in grave danger. I was planning on running a mystery adventure there but I dont have enough time to prep for something like that right now.
My plan is to make an adventure out of the PCs journey to the snow filled Dwarven settlement while I prep for the other adventure next session.
Im quite unsure as to how to do this well? I want it to be a bit more than just some random encounters as I want my players to enjoy it.
Anyone have any suggestions?
All help would be greatly appreciated and thanks to all those who respond.
I have a random table of encounters players can have on long trips, or dungeons/other points of interest they can discover on the way. I run travel like a skill challenge with a set DC based on where they're travelling through or how far, and I roll on my random table once for each failure on the skill check. The dungeons/locations they can discover are regardless of level (I have some of the books like Tales from the Yawning Portal or Candlekeep Mysteries that I pepper in with my homebrewed dungeons for more variety), meaning that if the players are wandering the wilderness and stumble upon a random dungeon, it could be something too dangerous for them to deal with right now. That way, they could either go the high-risk route and try it anyways, gaining more exp and potentially finding valuable loot at the potential cost of their lives, OR they have the choice to realize this place is beyond them and to retreat, to come back later after they've trained up more.
Allowing for that kind of organic exploration helps with immersion, and makes the players believe that the Doomvault (for example) was always there, waiting for them to stumble across out in the wilderness, because the world is real, and the DM planned this. They don't have to know they only discovered it there due to random chance and a failed skill challenge.
I have had great success in using travel sessions as a worldbuilding excercise. I introduce unique flora and fauna, genuinely innocent ruins, and that sort of thing. They have some interest in exploring, in seeing schools of glowing fish pursued by pike under their boat at dusk, and the like. Encounters with non-hostile NPCs, where you can just make the world feel like it's still ticking on around them, and would do so whether they were there or not. My players have all commented on how this makes the world feel real, and hints at there being near-infinite variety out there without actually making it!
So I am assuming mountainous scenery with snow and the like. Perhaps a tavern at a junction in the road (they would typically be a days journey apart in peaceful lands), where they brew their ale from snowmelt and ancient grains that only grow in permafrost soil, the beer being prized for remaining chilly even on the hottest days. Have them encounter small burrowing creatures in the snow which are attracted to the shininess of the paladin's armour (or pick something else relevant). Have an avalanche caused by a huge bird crashing on the slope, that needs a harpoon pulling from its wing to be able to fly again. Maybe a bridge has become so heavy with snow that it is a challenge to cross? Maybe they find a hill giant explorer corpse in a block of ice, with a treasure chest hanging from his belt, 3 feet below the ice? They could be attacked by an Avalanche Mimic (I just made that up and it sounds terrifying). Maybe Kobolds, Goblins, or some other diminutive enemy has made a toll gate on the bridge - there's enough of them to be a bother, but not too many to fight, but the toll is affordable for the group (1 silver each) and the Goblins/kobolds are not nasty, just resolute - "this is our bridge, we will have to ask you for a toll good sir paladin!"
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Honestly, it's my biggest weakness, but after trying everything from random encounter tables, to hour by hour progress, I've settled on montaging and giving players the chance to have conversations as part of that. I just flat out gave up on it because many of my players just didn't enjoy the travelling aspect either.
So, I tend to go hex by hex...there's a survival check to ensure the party continue in the direction they intend, a perception check to keep an eye out for points of interest, or random encounters. Then I roll a die for any ambushes or similar. While the rolls are happening in the background we've got any conversations in character that the players wish to have.
Largely, I've begun to yada yada the long distance travel though. It bores most of my groups to tears.
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Great question, and this is something a lot of DMs struggle with.
The first step to getting the players invested in a travel segment is to present them with an aesthetically pleasing over-world map. Unless you are an unusually good descriptive narrator, this is what will draw the player’s attention and get their imaginations going as they envision being on strange land and traveling about it. I like to use custom map creation programs that come with various fantasy video games for this purpose, taking a screenshot when I’m finished and uploading it to an online game or printing it for an in person game.
Next you have the random encounters. Try to think outside of bandits or monsters attacking them though. This could be the case, but think more of Oregon Trail type difficulties that can be encountered. Force them to make difficult decisions. A caravan horse breaks a leg. A party member falls very ill. The food stock is raided by hungry animals in the night. Equally important is making some of these encounters positive- they happen upon an abandoned caravan with some treasures. They come across a strange carved stone with a mesmerizing crystal in the center that imparts them all with 2000 exp. They encounter a hut with an old hermit who offers to train them for a free level in the ranger class. They could also discover the entrance of dungeons or secret communities (towns) and the like.
Finally, keep an air of mystery to the whole ordeal. Don’t reveal the exact location of their destination or the exact lay of the land beforehand. Make them feel as if their travel and searching is meaningful.
As Samuel is saying, just wanna stress that to make things more interesting and immersive, think about non-combat encounters. Even non-hostile encounters. Pepper in traveling friendly NPC's the players can encounter on the road and nowhere else. Maybe there's quest givers or traders of magical items, or maybe someone they meet proves important to the story. Chance meetings would also count as a "random encounter", just a social encounter rather than combat.