I’m running my first campaign. It’s quite short and sweet, based on the Kharos stones. I’m trying to add a stealth mission (or at least, a mission where stealth is an option) seeing as a lot of my characters are good at this (monk, rogue, dex barbarian, dex ranger).
I was wondering if anyone knows a module where characters are encouraged to sneak into a settlement, castle, small town or something of the like. The inspiration could go a long way.
I already have a back up in mind if they get caught, if they choose to force there way through, etc. But I would love it for sneaking to be the easiest way through.
Well, usually stealth is just "there's a checkpoint. Roll stealth to get past without a fight". If you want to make a Stealth Adventure, as opposed to an adventure where stealth is useful, I suggest using stealth FPS games as a reference (rainbow six, for example).
Honnestly, I was just using modules to looks at what kind of stuff I need when creating a town for instance. There's always a few things that you're not ready for.
Now, I want them to at least have the option to sneak in this village and liberate a prisoner. Sure I have this map with guards here and there, but I figured there's probably more prep that I didn't think about.
There is a subgenre of the stealth puzzle adventure, which does have its own complexities. Basically, the way it works is:
You have a map where hiding is not always possible -- if you are in particular positions, and a guard is in particular other positions, you will get spotted.
Your goal is to get through the map without an alert being raised. You have a couple of tools available:
For mobile guards, you can figure out their schedule, and schedule your movement so they can never see you.
For stationary guards, you have to map them and figure out if there are routes that are not watched.
If there are no available routes that are not watched, it gets into sentry removal, where you approach a guard and kill it before it can raise an alarm.
This fails if some other guard is watching the guard you removed.
This generally creates two timers, one for how long before the body is discovered, one for how long before the absence of the guard is noticed.
Hiding the body can help with the first timer. Disguise, mimicry, and the like can help with the second.
As DM, you have to look at it from the opposite side: where are the guards located? What are the mobile guard patrols, if any? Do the guard posts keep an eye on one another? If a given guard goes missing, how long until this is noticed? How capable are the patrols? What happens when an alert is raised?
The difficulty from a DMing perspective is that the response to an intrusion has to be potent enough that the PCs won't just stand and fight, but that creates a significant risk that the PCs make a mistake and win up in an unwinnable fight.
I think the issue would be more of a practical one when it comes to the dice. You can design it how you like, but when it comes time to roll, someone (looking at you fighter in heavy armor who used DEX as a dump stat) is going to fail their stealth check (even with your party composition, when there are that many dice being rolled, its a safe bet at least one of them will roll poorly) or the flip side, you'll roll a nat 20 for a guard's perception (I know that's not an auto-success, but still going to beat most rolls). It's not like combat where you are expected to miss sometimes, and that one miss doesn't make you fail the whole encounter. If you really want stealth to be an option, you've got to give them a couple fails and still let them go ahead. But then that starts to feel cheesy when you're the player, and you're looking at that 1 you just rolled, and the guard still didn't notice you.
Also, be prepared for them to get creative and completely wreck your plans. Stone shape, for example, makes most prisons trivial if you can get to the right section of wall.
Well, the sentry removal method does allow some failures, and means some people don't have to make checks (you clear a path), but it's still very likely to eventually get you caught.
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Hi,
I’m running my first campaign. It’s quite short and sweet, based on the Kharos stones. I’m trying to add a stealth mission (or at least, a mission where stealth is an option) seeing as a lot of my characters are good at this (monk, rogue, dex barbarian, dex ranger).
I was wondering if anyone knows a module where characters are encouraged to sneak into a settlement, castle, small town or something of the like. The inspiration could go a long way.
I already have a back up in mind if they get caught, if they choose to force there way through, etc. But I would love it for sneaking to be the easiest way through.
thank you!
Does it need any particularly special design? The requirements for stealth to be useful are
Would be nice to see just what kind of preparation I should have ready to go though.
Well, usually stealth is just "there's a checkpoint. Roll stealth to get past without a fight". If you want to make a Stealth Adventure, as opposed to an adventure where stealth is useful, I suggest using stealth FPS games as a reference (rainbow six, for example).
Honnestly, I was just using modules to looks at what kind of stuff I need when creating a town for instance. There's always a few things that you're not ready for.
Now, I want them to at least have the option to sneak in this village and liberate a prisoner. Sure I have this map with guards here and there, but I figured there's probably more prep that I didn't think about.
There is a subgenre of the stealth puzzle adventure, which does have its own complexities. Basically, the way it works is:
As DM, you have to look at it from the opposite side: where are the guards located? What are the mobile guard patrols, if any? Do the guard posts keep an eye on one another? If a given guard goes missing, how long until this is noticed? How capable are the patrols? What happens when an alert is raised?
The difficulty from a DMing perspective is that the response to an intrusion has to be potent enough that the PCs won't just stand and fight, but that creates a significant risk that the PCs make a mistake and win up in an unwinnable fight.
I think the issue would be more of a practical one when it comes to the dice. You can design it how you like, but when it comes time to roll, someone (looking at you fighter in heavy armor who used DEX as a dump stat) is going to fail their stealth check (even with your party composition, when there are that many dice being rolled, its a safe bet at least one of them will roll poorly) or the flip side, you'll roll a nat 20 for a guard's perception (I know that's not an auto-success, but still going to beat most rolls). It's not like combat where you are expected to miss sometimes, and that one miss doesn't make you fail the whole encounter. If you really want stealth to be an option, you've got to give them a couple fails and still let them go ahead. But then that starts to feel cheesy when you're the player, and you're looking at that 1 you just rolled, and the guard still didn't notice you.
Also, be prepared for them to get creative and completely wreck your plans. Stone shape, for example, makes most prisons trivial if you can get to the right section of wall.
Well, the sentry removal method does allow some failures, and means some people don't have to make checks (you clear a path), but it's still very likely to eventually get you caught.