D&D 5E Writers Block

[Christopher Bixby]

So i have a session on Friday and have hit a wall of writers block with my written material. i have decided to get the party back on the main track of the campaign that i have been working on and have introduced some not so well known Norse mythology to the party. i have been working on this campaign for some time now and keep coming back after each session to add more to it as we play. My players are cool with me winging it when i need to however i am not the best as taking notes so i have one of the party doing that and go off of her notes that she takes. I am at a cross roads for how i want this to go because we usually do the sessions at night when the kids go to bed and on the weekends when we can stay up later than during the week.
The campaign is set in ancient Norse times and they are going after the mask of Loki. i have it in my head that the person who hired the party is also the main villain and will be Loki in disguise and giving him back the mask of Loki will start Ragnarok and cause Balder's death to start the events of Ragnarok. with this in mind i know where i want it to go i just dont know how to get the party not only ready for Ragnarok but for the final battle between them and Loki. If there are any people out there as far as DM's go who have run something similar and could give some advice on getting through the writers block that would be helpful and appreciated. I would also welcome anyone who has done something similar to give some advice to newer DM's like myself on how they could get enough written material down to run two sessions in a row.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Well, if you want adventure ideas, knowing more about your party would help.

Number of PCs?
Average level?
How did your last session end?
How much longer before you want "begin the end"?

 

[Christopher Bixby]

Well, if you want adventure ideas, knowing more about your party would help.

Number of PCs?
Average level?
How did your last session end?
How much longer before you want "begin the end"?

The party consists of my roommates wife and my business partner and there are around 6 party members averaging levels 1-2. the last session ended with them completing a side quest i sent them on where they had to retrieve one or two items for a silver dragon who protected a town and were on their way towards the person who had hired them for the quest's tower to investigate what has happend to the mask of Loki that was stolen and see where the "thieves" went after the heist of the mask. I haven't really gotten to what level i would like for them to be at for the final session yet and i am trying get the hang of the combat end of DMing down on my part. I am still new to being a DM and am willing to take any and all advice from my fellow DMs here as well as anywhere else i can get it.

 

[Celebrim]

As a newer DM, my guess is the biggest problem is you've bitten off a bit more than you are ready to chew.

What you need to do now in my opinion is focus on a chapter rather than the overall plot of the novel. The actual conclusion you are headed for is way off in the future of your story, and for now you need to focus on some smaller episodes.

So, for example, the party is going off on a quest, the first thing they need to do is get information.

So maybe they have to find an old one eye-witch who lives in a dark forest who is said can see the future with the eye she does not have. Then you have reduced your problems to two things:

a) What do you want the party to have to deal with in the forest?
b) What is the witch going to tell the party that will lead to the next chapter?

That is just an example spun from the first thing that came into my head, but I'll be happy to brainstorm this down to any level of detail you like.

 

[Christopher Bixby]

So maybe they have to find an old one eye-witch who lives in a dark forest who is said can see the future with the eye she does not have.

I do like this idea right now the way i have it written out is that they will see the tracks of the thieves leading away from the tower to where they camped for the night before the theft occurred and will have to find clues as to the whereabouts of the bandits that stole the mask in the first place. With that being said I am hoping to have them starting Ragnarok shortly after they get the mask back from the bandits.

 

[Celebrim]

I do like this idea right now the way i have it written out is that they will see the tracks of the thieves leading away from the tower to where they camped for the night before the theft occurred and will have to find clues as to the whereabouts of the bandits that stole the mask in the first place. With that being said I am hoping to have them starting Ragnarok shortly after they get the mask back from the bandits.

So, not to be too critical, but your party is like 1st to 2nd level. And Ragnarok, if it is to feel anything like an epic event, needs to involve things like frost giants and fire giants. Giants are not really going to be something your party can deal with before like 5th level, and preferably not before 9th level.

So you are pushing your story to completion too fast. And in particular, if you do that, there is a danger you are going to sideline your PC's as observers to events that are too big for them to interact with. This is called in the hobby 'deprotagonizing your player characters'. As a GM, it's your job to ensure that the players always have the staring role in the story.

Moreover, you are putting a logical inconsistency into your story. If the real mask is being held by mere bandits, what does Loki need the PC's for? Can't he just trick the bandits into giving him the mask? Can't he just steal the mask from the bandits himself?

So I suggest to you that when the PC's take the mask back to Loki, that Loki will tell them that this is a fake mask - a copy - not the real mask, one of several that were constructed to lead astray the unwary. But, that fortunately, this fake mask is actually a key, and that by wearing it they will be able to see the path to the real one.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

My first thought when I saw the title of the thread was to suggest rolling up some random adventures using the tables in chapter 3 of the DMG. After reading your post I realize you're asking for something more specific. But hey, rolling random adventures at least gives inspiration for stuff.

 

[robus]

When doing something like this it‘s good to have way points along the journey that you can refer to, sort of like lighthouses. You can then plant plot items that steer your players toward those lighthouses and as they pass them the main plot moves forward.

The way you’re describing it, it sounds way too tightly scripted and you‘re going to tie yourself in knots trying to mesh what actually happened with your script, which sounds like it’s already occurring.

Relax, establish your way points and guide the players gently. Not every session must follow your plan to the letter.

If you’ve not read the AngryGMs guide to RPGs I can highly recommend it. It’s full of great tips on how to run adventures, combat, narrate encounters, handle NPCs etc: https://angry.games/shop?olsPage=products/game-angry-electronic-book

 

[Eltab]

If you can find the Thor Compendium, a collection of 1980s Thor comics, it will give you an example of how to build up to an Epic Battle - plus you meet some mythic characters the PCs could interact with along their way. (I was able to borrow a copy from my local Public Library.)

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I usually fall back on published adventures to fill gaps in my arc-plots.

But on the theme of ripping off other mediums, you might try playing through the computer game Titan Quest Ragnarok expansion. It's a good game, very cheep since it is old, and is a railroady romp through classical and Norse myth.