At some point I casually said that “it might be fun trying to DM for you guys at some point” our DM was super excited and immediately offered doing a oneshot in our current campaign (just please don’t kill off named NPC’s) this way I know the world, the characters and their “reaction pattern” and can focus on the story I wish to tell.
On that note: if any member of "Nordstjernens Brigade" happen to find your way here, please turn around now
Just to give you the main points of the plot: the party have at some point been in possession of an evil sentient weapon. Several persons in the group have been attuned to it – it ended bad (of course) and the sword was destroyed in a vat of acid.
this set the spirit captured in the sword free, and it is now on a mission to return to life. Due to a magical accident he and the party gets trapped in the plane of dreams – more specifically the memories of his life. Only he knows this. if the characters die, they will just wake up in their bodies, but his only way out is to see the dream to its end. = the moment when his soul was removed from his body and attached to the sword.
in this world (a Danish setting adapted to the d&d 5e system) dreams can be altered and can manifest in the real world (through a portal in the “dreamcenter”. If he can manipulate the characters to change the dream, stopping his soul to be bound to the sword, he would be able to merge with his body and bring it to the real world – essentially being alive again.
The goal for the characters is to figure out that they are dreaming and escape without setting the bad guy free.
And I was hoping you would help me brainstorm 😊
How to hint that it is a dream:
When it’s quiet the will be able to hear sounds from the real world – people speaking their name, birds, footsteps. (perception(wis) maybe)
Some one is trying to shake them awake (dex save or feel getting pushed)
People are very “onedimentional” they are his version of the people they meet.
The villain: High lvl paladin.
His wife gets sick and eventually dies. He spends his entire fortune and pulls every string to hire doctors and clerics ect to cure her (and eventually raise her) nothing works, He loses his faith, and makes a pact with a demon to gain knowledge and power to eventually raise her.
Through his pact with the demon he has the ability to look like other people (warlock mask of many faces) and will look like a party member (my character who I do not want to be present) and will use that to manipulate the rest to help him. She will therefore behave a bit off.
The house.
The players will come by his house (the good version) meeting his wife. Do you have an idea of what scenes they could experience.
They will spend the night in the house, and the next day the house has changed to a “dark” version of the house. I would like a nightmareish feeling there.
He keeps the preserved body of the wife in her room, cast speak with death on her to feel like they are still together.
Do you have any ideas of stuff to include to set the mood.
The dark house will be under attack of the people that has come to take him away on the night of the ritual.
Getting to the ritual.
I’m thinking that the ritual will take place in a wizards tower. Depending on the way the story goes they will either fight the wizard and the priest or the real villain
Do you have ideas to puzzles / rooms / guardians to get to the ritual room
Other stuff I need to figure out.
What did the villain do that was bad enough to bind his soul
Why didn’t they just kill him
I know it was long, but if you have any comments / suggestions / things that does not make sense / ideas ect I would greatly appreciate it
there are chains hanging from the ceiling (using a grid it would be one chain per 5 foot box) and a lever in the center of the room. A locked door with a rope hanging next to it is on the other side of the entrance. Pulling the rope causes the floor to unhinge and basically become a sesaw. Whichever side of the room has more weight leans down revealing a spike pit underneath. The lever has a ward on it that deals 2d6 lightning when touched. Pulling the rope also removes this ward while the floor is unhinged. Pulling the lever unlocks the door. When the floor unhinges, it is a dc 17 Dex save to grab a chain before they fall. Spikes each deal 1d6 piercing and 1d4 spikes hit the character when they fall.
Hi all
At some point I casually said that “it might be fun trying to DM for you guys at some point” our DM was super excited and immediately offered doing a oneshot in our current campaign (just please don’t kill off named NPC’s) this way I know the world, the characters and their “reaction pattern” and can focus on the story I wish to tell.
On that note: if any member of "Nordstjernens Brigade" happen to find your way here, please turn around now
Just to give you the main points of the plot: the party have at some point been in possession of an evil sentient weapon. Several persons in the group have been attuned to it – it ended bad (of course) and the sword was destroyed in a vat of acid.
this set the spirit captured in the sword free, and it is now on a mission to return to life. Due to a magical accident he and the party gets trapped in the plane of dreams – more specifically the memories of his life. Only he knows this. if the characters die, they will just wake up in their bodies, but his only way out is to see the dream to its end. = the moment when his soul was removed from his body and attached to the sword.
in this world (a Danish setting adapted to the d&d 5e system) dreams can be altered and can manifest in the real world (through a portal in the “dreamcenter”. If he can manipulate the characters to change the dream, stopping his soul to be bound to the sword, he would be able to merge with his body and bring it to the real world – essentially being alive again.
The goal for the characters is to figure out that they are dreaming and escape without setting the bad guy free.
And I was hoping you would help me brainstorm 😊
I know it was long, but if you have any comments / suggestions / things that does not make sense / ideas ect I would greatly appreciate it
Here’s a room:
there are chains hanging from the ceiling (using a grid it would be one chain per 5 foot box) and a lever in the center of the room. A locked door with a rope hanging next to it is on the other side of the entrance. Pulling the rope causes the floor to unhinge and basically become a sesaw. Whichever side of the room has more weight leans down revealing a spike pit underneath. The lever has a ward on it that deals 2d6 lightning when touched. Pulling the rope also removes this ward while the floor is unhinged. Pulling the lever unlocks the door. When the floor unhinges, it is a dc 17 Dex save to grab a chain before they fall. Spikes each deal 1d6 piercing and 1d4 spikes hit the character when they fall.
that's perfect. Thank you so much. just the kind of room i need
Of course! Glad to help a fellow first time dm