Category Archives: D&D

D&D Grp 2 Session 8 Planning #1

D&D, D&D Grp2, RPG, session planning

So tired.

But I have a session to prepare for.

SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign/session. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.

The players have finished the haunted house adventure. At the end of I let them level up. So since the last session they have been busy working out what new abilities etc their characters will have.

I’ve given the players some “homework” before this coming Saturdays session. Basically I’m advancing the in-game calendar by a week, and the players have been asked to come up with what their characters did in that week to gain all these new skills/abilities they have gained going from level 2 to level 3.

Before the party entered the haunted house a guard of the Silver Talons did drop the following adventure hook to them.

“The back walls of one of the villas collapsed into a series of chambers appearing to have once been a temple to a dark bestial god. The family owning the villa has gone missing and the Silver Talons seek discreet investigators to enter the temple and find any survivors from the collapse.” Page 14, City of Arches by Mike Shea

However the party has taken at least a day to work their way through the haunted house. They have took two long rests and a short one.

So my plan in the next session is to have the streets a buzz with the story of how a different group of adventurers are being proclaimed heroes for rescuing the missing family.

I have some homework too!

I need to go through and work out with the Ghosts of Saltmarsh adventure just what the party have found.

Which give some great opportunities for adventure hooks.

I’ve had some great NPC cards by Monte Cook Games arrive.

As you can see they have some great art, and system neutral info about the NPC on the reverse.

I like these sort of things. I have some Pathfinder ones also. They are great for bringing NPCs to life for the players. But also for inspiration to while preparing a session.

I do feel this next session needs to see Adel’s rival being introduced and making an offer to the party for the artifact they have.

Adel will be a bit miffed the party took too long getting back to her with the artifact.

Not sure how both will play out.

I like the idea of the party having to enter into a “mega dungeon” to get the next artifact. But that will be a single possible hook for them to follow up.

If the party decide to activate the watch and go through the rift/portal I need to chose or create a realm of dread.

Another hook will be a Harengon looking for adventurers to rescue their family or maybe protect their “warren”.

All I know about this upcoming session is it’s going to be very by the seats of the pants, reacting to what’s happening on the day.

Grp2: When last we left our heroes… #7

D&D, D&D Grp2, post mortem, RPG

After the epic battle with the minotaur skeleton and zombies the party decided they needed a rest to recover.

So after setting up watch and closing the rooms door the adventurers settled down for a rest.

However a couple of hours in Vas heard a shuffling sound coming from the hallway.

With the aid of Draynol (?), Vas investigated the noise.

Much to their horror they saw a mummy shuffling down the hallway.

Returning to the room and shutting the door, they alerted the others and quickly prepared to fight the mummy now bumping against the closed door.

A fight followed with the mummy trapped in the doorway and on fire.

After defeating the mummy (now a pile of ashes) the party settled down again to recuperate.

Fully rested the adventurers made their way to the attic. But not before Vas demonstrated his ability to throw a grappling hook was equal to his searching skills. Very poor.

As soon as the party entered the attic they were attacked by a small nest of stirge. Which were quickly dealt with.

Further in the attic they came across a rift/portal and a watch. As Babs was examining the watch a red slaad emerged out of the rift.

During the subsequent fight Draynol (?) got injured by the slaad. There was a gash on his arm.

Our heroes managed to close the rift by breaking the watch up into five pieces.

It was time to head back to their lodgings to rest, and make plans on what to do next.

We leave the adventurers at their lodgings.

Post mortem

Before I pontificate my thoughts on the session I need to do that legal bit first.

SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following part of the post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this part of the post and join me in a future one.

Much of the session was made up, sorry decided, as I was setting up!

It was in my index card holder that I had the pathfinder watch card, that struck me as I saw it and read the brief description on the back would make a great artefact to be the reason the rift was open. And by breaking it up into its five pieces a great way to deactivate the rift.

My original plan was to have shadows in the attic. But as I was getting the minis out that I needed for the session I saw my red slaad and thought I’m going to have the slaad come out of the rift.

The slaad worked well, plus it did land a claw on Draynol(?) which means he has been infected. A future plot point to explore. Definitely a ticking time bomb.

The stirge were part of the original Saltmarsh adventure. I hadn’t planned on using them. But on the spur of the moment I thought why not, especially as their hp were so low.

I threw the mummy at the party as a surprise and to show the players that taking a rest is not a safe thing to do. It was a spur of the moment thing decision. But it worked out well.

This session was nearly a full head count. Anthony couldn’t make it. So this initial encounter with the mummy was a good way for Luke, Mark, and Lizzy to get used to working together.

There was an unexpected plot twist that Shane came up with that I will probably run with. Shane playing Babs (as well as his own character Jeb) had the crystal orb that they found cause Babs to act strangely. Its effect broken when she lost possession of the orb. A nice twist I thought.

I thought considering the fact the party had taken on mummies, slaad, etc. that they had earned leaving up to level three.

Now to somehow plan for the next session.

D&D Grp 2 Session 7 Planning #1 

D&D, D&D Grp2, RPG, session planning

Well thanks to life finding a way to throw obstacles in the way we are finally going to be having our next D&D session in our City of Arches based campaign this coming Sunday.

Which means I have some planning to do.

But first I’ll give the boiler plate spoiler warning.

SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign/session. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.

With that out the way let’s get on with the show.

This session should see the attic explored within the haunted house. Which will be the final encounter of this adventure based on the Ghosts of Saltmarsh.

Here the party will find a dreadful incursion (you can read more about adding these here on the Sly Flourish website) that is the source of the monsters they have been encountering, and needs closing.

So I can still use most of my prep notes from the previous sessions but I need to come up with hooks for what’s next. They had one at the start of this adventure. But will they remember it?

I finally caved and got a copy of The Wild Beyond The Witchlight.

The main reason is because I was after some Harengon (rabbit folk) NPC stats.

I’ve got the idea in my head that within the City of Arches is a community of Harengon. The only Harengon NPC stat blocks are for a brigand and sniper.

I want a stat block more in line with a commoner. I understand why there isn’t. However that doesn’t help me. Granted I don’t really need a stat block for an NPC unless they get into combat. So I might just try and come up with a generic Harengon stat block to have on hand.

The other advantage is that there are more monsters I can call upon, a fey trinkets table to roll against, and a feywild domain to visit!

I think with the monsters thrown against the party so far once this adventure has come to an end they will advance a level.

Anyway that’s it for now.

D&D Grp 2 Session 6 Planning #1

D&D, D&D Grp2, RPG, session planning

This coming weekend should see session 6 running.

If you remember the first time this session was due to be run I had to cancel it due to work.

At the moment this and a Friday evening gaming session are all good to go.

Luckily the party are still exploring the haunted house. So there is very little prep to to do. I might come up with some more adventure seeds to drop.

I was hoping the physical copy of The Lazy DM Companion and spiral bound Lazy DM Workbook would arrive in time. But there is no news of the fullfilament having started. Still time I suppose.

D&D Grp 2 Session 5 Planning #2

D&D, D&D Grp2, RPG, session planning

Our sponsor for this post insists that I issue the following warning.

SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign/session. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.

After having to cancel the last session due to unforeseen circumstances. This weekends up and coming planned meet up is on.

I still have the bit of prep to do for it that I discussed in that first planning post. The plan is to do that Friday on my next day off.

In the meantime there is a remote chance that the Lazy DM Companion and spiral bound Lazy DM Workbook might arrive by then. At the tail end of last week delivery addresses were locked. So the sending out of pledges should be any day now.

I was going to say I got nada at UKGE rpg related. But I did in fact get something. The Little Book of Battle Maps was being given away free by the publisher to attendees of the expo. Probably to the annoyance of one particular stand that was trying to sell it for £9.

I’m a fan of the Battle Map books. I have two already. The big dungeon themed one lives in my DM bag. My last two sessions have used it as a generic battle map.

I’ll write another update Friday once I’ve finished the prep.

D&D Grp 2 Session 5 Planning #1

D&D, D&D Grp2, RPG, session planning

Tradition and D&D law states that the following disclaimer has to be said. If it doesn’t apply just ignore it, skim read my ramblings and go find some more compelling, nay interesting content to read.

SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign/session. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.

A wise and clever DM/GM would schedule playing a completely new RPG system the week between their regular D&D session. Not the night before!

In my defence… no I have no defence I didn’t check before arranging. I just knew any new session couldn’t be on a Saturday. Which meant it could only in reality be a Wednesday or a Friday there is no gaming.

Luckily this next session is the continuation of exploring the haunted house. So not a great deal of session planning to do for it.

However there is a bit of house keeping to do, such as make a list of what the party found or could find.

Plus I need to start thinking of hooks to start hinting at. I quite like the one Mike Shea came up with for the Second Rise district.

“Hook. The back walls of one of the villas collapsed into a series of chambers appearing to have once been a temple to a dark bestial god. The family owning the villa has gone missing and the Silver Talons seek discreet investigators to enter the temple and find any survivors from the collapse.” City of Arches by Michael E. Shea

I can see a patrol of Silver Talons approaching the party as they exit the haunted house. Or even contact them via Adel.

I still need to decide how much Adel will reward the party for investigating the haunted house. What will her standard rate be?

While I’m pondering that I’ll end this post and see you next time.

Grp2: When last we left our heroes… #4

D&D, D&D Grp2, post mortem, RPG

The adventures woke up to find a note left for them by Adel, asking them to investigate strange goings on at a villa in the Second Rise district.

So led by Vas they made their way to the exclusive part of the City of Arches. The party stopped and asked a member of the Silver Talons (a private mercenary security force employed by the residents of the Second Rise) for directions.

Once at the villa the party made their way in, discovering foot prints in the hallway. Following the foot prints led them to a trap door.

Upon descending into the cellar the party is attacked by a mummy. After an epic battle they needed a rest to recover.

After an uneventful rest the party discovered they had been in a room next to some skeletons. Which they soon dispatched. During the brief combat a secret room was revealed.

Inside the secret room these dark figures attacked the group. Only to be repelled by Jeb, forcing the group to grab and thing not nailed down and run.

Back on the ground floor the group started exploring the rest of the house.

And that is where we left the party.

Post Mortem

And here is the necessary bit to tell my players to basically stop, and go do something less boring. Otherwise their future fun might be ruined.

SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following part of the post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this part of the post and join me in a future one.

It was requested that we use two of the bigger tables for our D&D session. Which I’m glad we did. It gave me and the players more space to spread out.

Before the session started I made some quick last minute notes based on the Lazy DM Workbook (page 7, Quick Encounter Building) about how many of each creature I could use in an encounter. I’m glad I did this. Otherwise I might have thrown all 4 mummy minis at the party!

I again started the session with inspiration being given to the players. I think it worked reasonably well again.

My session 4 notes

Wow the mummy nearly took out the party by itself. Although to be fair I was willing on the party to defeat it. I did have to bite my tongue during the combat. They had identified how to do lots of damage to the mummy using a torch they had dropped into the cellar. But no-one picked it up and used it. Lizzy even suggested it a couple of times during the combat. I just wanted to say “just listen to Lizzy”.

The encounter with two shadows was over very quickly with the cleric successfully using turn undead on them. But this will not be the last time they will encounter shadows. And there will be no turn undead to get them out of the tight spot!

I’m glad I printed out the maps from Ghosts of Saltmarsh and it’s version of the The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh adventure. It made keeping the room descriptions and map together a lot easier for referencing during the session.

One thing I need to look up is how to handle information about a creature like if a player asks “is it undead?” I provided the information this session but should I be?

I do need to go through the adventure and make a note of everything found and likely to be found by the party.

Ok that’s it for this post mortem.

D&D Grp 2 Session 4 Planning #4

D&D, D&D Grp2, RPG, session planning

The following is for a small, select group of people. For everyone else just ignore it and read on if so inclined.

SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign/session. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.

After searching Dyson Logos for a suitable haunted house map I narrowed it down to one, his Blackhall Haunt map. However there was a nagging feeling I was making a compromise somehow.

I then looked at the map for the Witch Cat Inn from the introductory adventure The Dance of Dreams in the Vaesen core rule book. I felt happier about the map. Maybe because it was a multi level building. I could definitely make it work plot/story wise.

For some reason I decided to do one final image search and my results took me to the haunted house map in The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh. Wait I have that map already! I have the adventure twice in fact. I have the DriveThruRPG 1e printing, and it’s in the 5e Ghosts of Saltmarsh. How did I not remember this?

The haunted house map in The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh needs to be annotated with where the planned monsters are located. What makes sense story, location wise on the map.

I’ll be adding the two monsters of giant weasels, and giant poisonous snakes, that the The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh has hidden outside the house to the possible encounters for the party. I hadn’t planned on having anything happen before the party enter the house. But this seems a good (ok good may not be the right word here) little surprise for them.

I finished the note that will be given to the players at the start of the session. Which is basically the plot hook for the session.

The finished note

Whilst I was on the page with the Blackhall Haunt map on it, there was a second map also, which did inspire me. The map was called Prior’s Hill. Truth be told I can see myself using this with either group (once the other groups sessions start up again).

Prior’s Hill map by Dyson Logos (link above)

“On the right nights, with the right rituals, you can open the portal on Prior’s Hill and climb down the stairs to the black dungeons below.” Or with the right relic I’m thinking. Maybe Adel already has that relic and needs the adventurers to go retrieve another more powerful and dangerous relic for her.

After listening to a recent Tomb Show podcast where they started going chapter by chapter through Izirion’s Enchiridion of the West Marches, I ordered a physical copy of the book.

I’m not sure where the practice of putting in a thematic disclaimer came from. But I know WotC do it with their books. This one continues the trend with one I found funny, and a very true warning. I may use it as small print on a note from Adel at some point.

Izirion’s Enchiridion of the West Marches Disclaimer

Ever since way back when I watched the Matt Colville video on West Marches I thought they sounded pretty cool. And most definitely thought I’d like to run one.

Maybe with two groups, and interest from others I could finally run a West Marches campaign.

But until that day arrives I’m pretty sure there is stuff in here I can make use of in both campaigns.

Right I have some miniatures to finish painting before this Saturday’s session. Laters.

D&D Grp 2 Session 4 Planning #3

D&D, D&D Grp2, miniatures, miniatures painting, RPG, session planning

Hey if you are part of the adventuring party and don’t heed the following warning. Just don’t blame me for any disappointment from knowing too much!

SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.

This should be a very short post. A bit like the previous one really.

I actually had a moment of madness this morning and primed the new minis that arrived the other day. Plus also the four new minis I picked up last night from Colin at club night.

I now have four mummies. So super chuffed about that. Plus a mystery mini that inspired me when I was shown it.

I’m not sure what or who this humanoid is, but I think they will be the owner of the haunted house. Possessed probably and extremely dangerous with that meat cleaver(?).

The shadows I’ll finish first. They will get a dry brush finish similar to the one I did on the Alien figures to give them some highlights.

After that it’s a little research into how to paint mummies!

Told you this was short. Laters.

D&D Grp 2 Session 4 Planning #2

D&D, D&D Grp2, RPG, session planning

To whom it may concern, the following is for you. If you decide to ignore those words then so be it. But your enjoyment of the next D&D session is liable to be diminished. Even spoiled for want of a better word.

SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.

The gap between session 3 and 4 has been increased to 4 weeks! Mainly due to a little confusion about when the next session will be.

However that’s given me time to do very little except order some miniatures! Which arrived today.

As you can see these were mentioned in the previous post for the haunted house idea. I’ve not been able to find any mummies, or ones I like. I already have zombies, and oozes. Not been able to find any giant bats or swarm of bats miniatures that are in stock or affordable! Etsy is so flippin expensive, especially the postage.

That’s one thing that doesn’t get mentioned about being a DM, the cost. Between printing out stuff at the library (cheaper than buying ink cartridges for my printer, that just acts as a scanner these days), miniatures, books, and various accessories. The cost mounts up.

Granted much of that stuff isn’t needed to play the game. However some of it does make life easier whilst running the game.

Cost is one of the factors in why I’m moving to using a battle map with the room drawn on it, odd bits of scatter terrain, and minis. It’s also quicker to setup during the session.

You hope that the players appreciate the efforts that go on behind the scenes to give them a fun time.

Now I have to get motivated into painting those minis. Especially the shadows.