BookTenTiger
He / Him
An idea came to me from another thread.
Has anyone ever run "prologues" for adventures? A mini-adventure that takes place before the real adventure, setting up the mood, foreshadowing events, or introducing enemies? I thought this could be a fun little facet to a campaign. The players could play alternate characters, especially low-level villagers, guards, or treasure-hunters.
Here's how I see it working.
Let's say you're planning on running Sunless Citadel (I pick this just because it's an adventure I'm familiar with). The adventure begins in the town of Oakhurst, where folks have been buying magic apples from goblins which can either cure or harm those who eat it. The village is also being attacked by twig blights.
Before the adventure begins, the players could create 1st-level villagers with more average stats (maybe an array like 12, 11, 10, 10, 9, 8). They would run through a short adventure (1 - 2 sessions) that would introduce some of the mysterious elements of the adventure. Maybe the villagers would be trying to find a goblin merchant to purchase magic apples to heal an elder, but run into twig blights? Or the villagers could be trying to find signs of lost villagers in the upper levels of the Sunless Citadel dungeon?
After the adventure, the next session would introduce the real characters, and the rest would run as normal.
Some fun benefits of a prologue would be:
Has anyone ever run "prologues" for adventures? A mini-adventure that takes place before the real adventure, setting up the mood, foreshadowing events, or introducing enemies? I thought this could be a fun little facet to a campaign. The players could play alternate characters, especially low-level villagers, guards, or treasure-hunters.
Here's how I see it working.
Let's say you're planning on running Sunless Citadel (I pick this just because it's an adventure I'm familiar with). The adventure begins in the town of Oakhurst, where folks have been buying magic apples from goblins which can either cure or harm those who eat it. The village is also being attacked by twig blights.
Before the adventure begins, the players could create 1st-level villagers with more average stats (maybe an array like 12, 11, 10, 10, 9, 8). They would run through a short adventure (1 - 2 sessions) that would introduce some of the mysterious elements of the adventure. Maybe the villagers would be trying to find a goblin merchant to purchase magic apples to heal an elder, but run into twig blights? Or the villagers could be trying to find signs of lost villagers in the upper levels of the Sunless Citadel dungeon?
After the adventure, the next session would introduce the real characters, and the rest would run as normal.
Some fun benefits of a prologue would be:
- The DM can foreshadow important settings, enemies, or mysteries.
- The enemies will get a chance to be dangerous and threatening when facing these low-level villagers.
- The players get a chance to play different characters, and can have fun trying out different roles.
- The surviving villagers can be important NPCs in the main adventure!