D&D (2024) Menzoberranzan Meets The Sopranos - A Drow Campaign.

[TheSword]

Been thinking about the Sorcere encounters.

Teacher is a house Xorlarrin gets great entertainment watching his students and also uses them as indentured servants to wash and clean. Nevertheless if the PC wizard can make it through the challenges then they will make an ally of a master of Xorlarrin and make friend and deadly enemies among the other apprentices.

Summoning a familiar. Sorcere has a menagerie of creatures and the apprentice are encouraged to interact with them to select a familiar. Some creatures are quite dangerous though and one is released. Think face hugger scene in Aliens.

Crafting a spellbook: Scribing a scroll. Scribing a scroll. The apprentices will make a scroll of their choice from scratch. Might be useful later.

Using magic items. A selection of items and the apprentices have to work out how they work. Several of the items are cursed and the apprentices can avoid them as traps if they can work it out or even trick rivals into using them.

Casting with concentration. Difficult test to cast when distracted. Something pretty nasty. Maybe acid, or standing in a tank with shocker lizards. Students have to do an escape room style situation using magic. Alternatively first to make it out despite being distracted wins.

Bottany: Taken into the field. Introduced to various mushrooms. Find some poisonous ones, some strange ones. Attacked by a violet fungus. Timmask mushrooms and devils snare etc.

Materials of Magic: teaching of various magical materials including mithral, adamantine (and by extension Faezress). Understanding of gem craft which is the master’s speciality. But also the uses of various expensive material components. Master might punish students because one went missing. Which apprentice stole it?

 

[TheSword]

What official and unofficial Drow materials have been released for 5e?

I know we have the Piwafwi, Drow Boots, and some Underdark stat blocks in Out of the Abyss. There are also various Drow NPc stat books in the various bestiaries - Monsters of the Multiverse, 2014 MM etc.

What else is out there? Either official or unofficial?

 

[TheSword]

So I’ve been thinking long and hard about the best format for the campaign. I discounted the idea of running an individual sessions for each character. Firstly because it delays the campaign, secondly because I think it’s just not as fun running solo adventures when there is an alternative.

Instead for levels 1-3 I would run this as a sandbox where the players can self-direct their adventure depending on what interests them. Hooks provided in the form of lessons - a few lines of rumours that reveal something more interest.

Sandbox locations would include…

• The Menagerie of Melee Magthere where dangerous creatures are kept, some of which are fought in the sparing pits.
• The Study of a master of sorcerer. Repository of magical lore provided you don’t get caught.
• The Temple of Lolth where demons will share knowledge and favors for a price.
• The Fungal Jungle - a side cavern where useful and dangerous Fungi are kept.
• The Tunnels to the Baufwaff, guarded by Jade spiders. An opportunity to evade a foe.
• A slum in the Braeryn where a surface dweller trades in secrets. Students are forbidden to leave Tier Breche.

While this is happening there are three other wider storylines that are taking place.

• Threats from other students, jealous of the PCs success in their lessons.
• Threats from a Master or Mistress who has a reason to hate the family.
• Threat from a rival house that wants to see the PCs meet a sticky end.

These would each have their own NPCs that will be looking for opportunities to confound and foil the PCs.

Lastly random encounters would function as lessons. Small encounters 10-15 mins long that would add depth to the Drow life/academy life and add threats/opportunities to the party that might be used in the sandbox areas.

• Test of concentration: casting spells while distracted
• Test of endurance. Keeping still or quiet while bitten by spiders/centipedes
• Identifying magic items from a selection, some cursed - chance to purloin one.
• Crafting a scroll
• Brewing a potion
• Communing with a demon - a quasit or Myrlochar
• Finding a familiar
• Interrogating a male captive
• Fighting using drow darkness.

More to add but these can be used to boost experience or add drama tension if things get slow. They might also add their own rumours/opportunities. For instance the section on brewing a potion may reveal the existence of the Master of Alchemy’s fungal jungle.

I think this sandbox style will fit better. Sure characters probably aren’t supposed to be interacting while at their studies but at the end of the day getting away with it is the only thing that matters at Tier Breche.

I think it’s probably time to start writing and see how I get on.

 

[humble minion]

I discounted the idea of running an individual sessions for each character. Firstly because it delays the campaign, secondly because I think it’s just not as fun running solo adventures when there is an alternative.

A compromise, if you really wanted to run character preludes at the schools, could be to run group sessions, with the relevant player playing their ‘real’ PC for the campaign and the others playing throwaways who could in the course of the prelude die, or else become NPC enemies or rivals or allies to be used later in the main campaign.

 

[TheSword]

A compromise, if you really wanted to run character preludes at the schools, could be to run group sessions, with the relevant player playing their ‘real’ PC for the campaign and the others playing throwaways who could in the course of the prelude die, or else become NPC enemies or rivals or allies to be used later in the main campaign.

It’s a great idea just for the introductory encounters. A good way of introducing two important students for each school.

 

[TheSword]

I’ve been looking at Cleric Domains. Considering a variance of War Domain for Lolth with a few modified spells.

What do you think about…

3 Speak with Animals (Spiders), Shield of Faith, Spiritual Weapon, Suggestion
5 Dispel Magic, Clairvoyance
7 Summon Demon, Giant Insect (spider)
9 Insect Plague (spiders), Planar Binding

Do they seem reasonable?

I considered switching Speak with Animals for Detect Poison, Summon Demon for Polymorph (Spider) and Planar Binding for Yolanda’s Regal Presence?

 

[humble minion]

A Lloth cleric should get Web as a domain spell, surely?

 

[ECMO3]

A Lloth cleric should get Web as a domain spell, surely?

Summon Giant Insect and Find Familiar too, but only the spider variants.

 

[TheSword]

A Lloth cleric should get Web as a domain spell, surely?

You’re right. The two level 2 slots were taken up by Spiritual Weapon and Suggestion. The former because it’s intrinsic to the War Cleric 6th level ability and Suggestion because it’s a historical power that all Lolth clerics have. That said I could always switch the 6th level ability to let Web be cast without concentration instead of Spiritual weapon. I think that’s a good shout. Making it feel far more spidery and keeping the domain interesting.

Summon Giant Insect and Find Familiar too, but only the spider variants.

Giant insect is already on there. Not sure about familiar though. I can’t think of a time when I’ve ever seen a priestess of Lolth with a spider familiar.

I am going to take out summon Daemon though. I feel like summoning should be more of a choice rather than forced on a cleric given the limitations. Going to replace that with Polymorph (Spiders only).

Also going to go with the Yolande’s Regal Presence - it’s very drow! So..

3 Speak with Animals (Spiders), Shield of Faith, Suggestion, Web
5 Dispel Magic, Clairvoyance
7 Giant Insect (spider), Polymorph (Spider shapes)
9 Insect Plague (spiders), Regal Presence.

 

[TheSword]

In the original Menzoberranzan campaign box, drow played a game called Khaless - dueling inside globes of darkness while levitating over the Claw rift. Both can’t see through the darkness. The first one to leave the globe (willingly or unwillingly) lost the duel. I want to include a softer version of this as a lesson in Melee Magthere - on the ground and to first blood.

How would you play it out? I want to follow 5e (2024) rules as much as possible.

My understanding of 5e (2024) fighting blind vs blind is that both participants are at normal to hit - as the advantage and disadvantage cancel each other out.

I’m thinking they start 10’ apart and the radius 15’ globe is placed in the center of them. Meaning they have 5’ of darkness behind and 10’ infront. I was thinking a round for them to shift position to start with so it doesn’t just come down to who wins initiative.

Then on initiative they can move and attack as normal.
They can pick a square and attack there with normal chance to hit if someone is in that space.
They can use their action to make a perception check and on a DC 15 check they can pinpoint the space their opponent is in but that uses their action.
If they move they move without sneaking then the opponent will know where they are when they stop moving.
If they use their action to sneak then their stealth is measured against passive perception.
If one Drow moves into another then the defender gets to make an attack of opportunity before the offending Drow can strike.

We play on VTT so the two Drow won’t be able to see where the other one is. They also won’t be able to tell how close they are to the edge of the sphere unless they think carefully about their moves. My hope is for a careful game of cat and mouse with them sneaking and listening for their opponent. What do people think? Could this work?