Hey all, I'm a relatively new DM so I'm taking inspiration from action films to try and build one shots and kinda cut my teeth on this whole DM thing. I'm currently working on a campaign that combines elements of Apocalypto, Predator and The Raid, and was hoping to get some advice on the Predator portion of the campaign.
Essentially the party will end up in a dungeon where they are being hunted by enemies that pretty substantially outclass them, so they'll have to isolate their enemies and take them out with traps and improvised techniques that give them an advantage. The only problem is I have no idea how to pull that off!
What are some techniques I could employ to create a playground that allows for this kind of improvisation and communicates to the player the options they have at their disposal?
Best wishes and thanks in advance for the responses!
If you’re a relatively new DM, my sincere advice is to write something simpler. Players in video games will run from a Big Daddy. Players in a TTRPG yell “Roll Initiative!” and charge. There are just too many visual cues that go into something like that. Also, trying to get a player to rig up a booby trap is an exercise in hand-holding.
A good trick. Send a powerful NPC that the players know is powerful (they see them casting high leveled spells or something) with the party on this mission. And then have them taken out handily by the enemies. The players will be pretty afraid of the enemies now, and will probably run away. Getting the players to rig up traps might work, but it really depends on the players.
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A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
D&D doesn't have a lot of rules for rigging improvised traps, especially not in a hurry. That means that it will require a lot of GM judgement calls. Which means very slow gameplay.
Additionally, because this is not a normal thing in a D&D game, it's entirely likely that your players won't even think to try something like what you're expecting. More likely they'll either try to make a direct fight, or they'll try to find the exit under the assumption that that's what you want them to do.
I see a lot of GMs who get ideas like this when they first start out, but it's really a bad idea- you need to know how to handle the basics of GMing first before you can hope to add complicated stuff without this. It's like trying to build the top level of a building before you've laid the foundation.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
If you’re a relatively new DM, my sincere advice is to write something simpler. Players in video games will run from a Big Daddy. Players in a TTRPG yell “Roll Initiative!” and charge. There are just too many visual cues that go into something like that.
Well, you can to some degree do the same thing with sufficiently purple prose, but even in video games it's not always that easy to distinguish "boss fight cut scene" from "yeah, that thing outclasses you", it's just that when you charge the BBEG and die you respawn or reload, having learned a valuable lesson.
Lots of interesting notes! I think every single response was helpful to me! I might abandon the whole traps concept and work out something different. Thanks for all the input!
The party is about level 5 and will be facing off against Yaun-Ti Malisons. Normally that wouldn't be too hard, but they won't start with any weapons (they'll have to procure on site in the dungeon) and should have several levels of an amended exhaustion chart I've worked up by the time they have to face off against them.
They'll be running through trials leading up to the dungeon that result in exhaustion. I haven't seen AVP, unfortunately, only the earlier films. Also there will likely be corpses of other captives they can get equipment from, but I'm open to better solutions.
Is anyone playing a wizard in the party? Because depriving a wizard of their spellbook without providing realistic means of getting it back really screws them.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I'm not sure yet how I plan to handle casters. I was thinking they would have to make the spell slots they have last the entire encounter, but I'm not sure. To keep things moving I've added a magic threshold between each level of the dungeon that restores 1/3rd HP and one level of exhaustion. I guess I could also have it return a spell slot?
Every bit of complexity to add to this is going to make it that much harder to actually keep things working. I would strongly recommend that you put this idea on the back burner and try to get more skill in dungeoncrafting before trying to run something like this where you're talking about house rules to compensate for house rules.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Hey all, I'm a relatively new DM so I'm taking inspiration from action films to try and build one shots and kinda cut my teeth on this whole DM thing. I'm currently working on a campaign that combines elements of Apocalypto, Predator and The Raid, and was hoping to get some advice on the Predator portion of the campaign.
Essentially the party will end up in a dungeon where they are being hunted by enemies that pretty substantially outclass them, so they'll have to isolate their enemies and take them out with traps and improvised techniques that give them an advantage. The only problem is I have no idea how to pull that off!
What are some techniques I could employ to create a playground that allows for this kind of improvisation and communicates to the player the options they have at their disposal?
Best wishes and thanks in advance for the responses!
If you’re a relatively new DM, my sincere advice is to write something simpler. Players in video games will run from a Big Daddy. Players in a TTRPG yell “Roll Initiative!” and charge. There are just too many visual cues that go into something like that. Also, trying to get a player to rig up a booby trap is an exercise in hand-holding.
A good trick. Send a powerful NPC that the players know is powerful (they see them casting high leveled spells or something) with the party on this mission. And then have them taken out handily by the enemies. The players will be pretty afraid of the enemies now, and will probably run away. Getting the players to rig up traps might work, but it really depends on the players.
A fool pulls the leaves. A brute chops the trunk. A sage digs the roots.
My Improved Lineage System
D&D doesn't have a lot of rules for rigging improvised traps, especially not in a hurry. That means that it will require a lot of GM judgement calls. Which means very slow gameplay.
Additionally, because this is not a normal thing in a D&D game, it's entirely likely that your players won't even think to try something like what you're expecting. More likely they'll either try to make a direct fight, or they'll try to find the exit under the assumption that that's what you want them to do.
I see a lot of GMs who get ideas like this when they first start out, but it's really a bad idea- you need to know how to handle the basics of GMing first before you can hope to add complicated stuff without this. It's like trying to build the top level of a building before you've laid the foundation.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Well, you can to some degree do the same thing with sufficiently purple prose, but even in video games it's not always that easy to distinguish "boss fight cut scene" from "yeah, that thing outclasses you", it's just that when you charge the BBEG and die you respawn or reload, having learned a valuable lesson.
Lots of interesting notes! I think every single response was helpful to me! I might abandon the whole traps concept and work out something different. Thanks for all the input!
What level is the party and how tough are the Predators?
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
The party is about level 5 and will be facing off against Yaun-Ti Malisons. Normally that wouldn't be too hard, but they won't start with any weapons (they'll have to procure on site in the dungeon) and should have several levels of an amended exhaustion chart I've worked up by the time they have to face off against them.
Why would the party experience exhaustion?
Have you seen AVP?
How are you planning for the party to get equipped?
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
They'll be running through trials leading up to the dungeon that result in exhaustion. I haven't seen AVP, unfortunately, only the earlier films. Also there will likely be corpses of other captives they can get equipment from, but I'm open to better solutions.
Is anyone playing a wizard in the party? Because depriving a wizard of their spellbook without providing realistic means of getting it back really screws them.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Played Fortnite?
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
I'm not sure yet how I plan to handle casters. I was thinking they would have to make the spell slots they have last the entire encounter, but I'm not sure. To keep things moving I've added a magic threshold between each level of the dungeon that restores 1/3rd HP and one level of exhaustion. I guess I could also have it return a spell slot?
I have not played Fortnite, no.
Every bit of complexity to add to this is going to make it that much harder to actually keep things working. I would strongly recommend that you put this idea on the back burner and try to get more skill in dungeoncrafting before trying to run something like this where you're talking about house rules to compensate for house rules.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
This is certainly excellent advice, but oddly all the little rules I've put in help me keep it structured.