D&D 5E DM Advice: Menzoberranzan, City of Intrigue

[Queer Venger]

Prepping to run a drow campaign using 5e in the FR. I'll be using Menzoberranzan as primary campaign base. While its a 4e supplement it is easy to adapt to 5e as its primarily fluff with little to no crunch/stats. Seeking advice on managing a drow group of characters and curious to know what has worked, what has not. Any internet articles I should check? Any DM's who have run a drow campaign or this sourcebook?

The party will be primarily composed of mercenaries, not nobles, (but could be nobles from houses that have been destroyed). Obviously the book offers suggestions for running a drow campaign but Im looking for other sources and actual play DM advice that has worked. Thanks.

 

[jrowland]

Well, I can't assume anything, so I'll give my advice, but please ignore it if it doesn't apply.

Campaigns like this are great, but it requires the right players. There should be *some* ground rules/guidelines. Evil Drow City doesn't mean war zone of murder. Nor doesn't it mean wanton destruction. Hopefully they get that. I did a similar thing (it was Vault of the Drow 1E era) and we played it more like Mafia (houses) and thoroughly corrupt government (everyone is in the mafia). It was all intrigue and maneuvering until BAM! Gang war. Then things would die down. The ground rules were (iirc):

1) Undermining fellow PCs was ok if all PCs involved felt it added to the story. True betrayal (ie killing off a PC) should be rare to non-existant: the other Houses were the true enemy. Familial killings, Inter-House Killings might be the norm, but the PCs are by definition NOT NORMAL...

2) Power/Wealth (we had a ranking system we devised) is most important, so killing each other therefore is only product if it brings greater power/wealth to the group

That was basically it. There was a betrayal...a rival house relic was acquired after a successful infiltration but the getaway went bad. All PCs barely survived and back at "home base", the party wizard cast fireball on the room (he had a ring of Fire Resistance) killing 2 PCs, and knocking one unconscious, and then used the relic to kill their House Matron that was clearly relic caused and then used teleport to return the relic and teleported back. Long story short: Their house was without a female heir, so it lowered in "rank", but the wizard was "consort" to the matron and simply assumed control. So while the house was of a lower rank, the PCs (well, the wizard and the replacement PCs) actually gained. All Players were on board when the wizard announced his intent and described his plan, so the dice were cast and it played out. good times.

Keep it in that realm and you'll be good.

 

[iserith]

Have a solid Session Zero where everyone gets on the same page with regard to how the campaign will work, especially as it relates to the characters potentially being at odds. Make sure everyone has the same goals as players of the game, if not as characters.

 

[Queer Venger]

Thanks for the feedback. As you suggest, I am planning on running this for a select by invitation group of 4 players. Menzoberranzan uses a power ranking system that I think is easy to adapt for 5e, and iirc killing fellow drow in Menzoberranzan is frownded upon unless you can guarantee no witnesses and it advances your standing.

I like the idea of a session 0, and it could be a good place to set these ground rules and expectations.

 

[Jack99]

I recently(-ish) ran a drow-campaign from level 1-15 using 2e D&D. It was a very fun experience. As others have mentioned, the most important is to have players that are on the same page regarding how an evil campaign should run.

IMC, the strict hierarchy in drow society made it easy to give them some common goals and enemies, thus keeping them from turning on one another. Their father (these drows have a patriarchal society), the House Patron, was the unifying figure that acted as the carrot, the primary quest-giver and benefactor, using them to further the many agendas of their House. At the same time, he was also the stick, should they consider stepping out of line and eliminating too many brothers or cousins, since he might also need them to further his own ends/the ends of the House. He was (for a great deal of the campaign) way too powerful to contemplate challenging, something which obviously also helped keep them in line.

So I guess my advice would be two-fold. Get your players on the same page as you, and create a solid, plausible in-game reason for them to cooperate instead of backstabbing each other, and you should be golden.

 

[Lidgar]

Do you have the 2e era boxed set of the same name? It is a great resource, and includes excellent maps of the City.

When I ran something like this, I had the PC's hail from a merchant house. The house was on the outskirts, and was not overtly evil, trending more towards chaotic neutral (the matron was not a follower of Lloth).

The campaign centered around an epic struggle against a drider cult that was (through shapeshifting magics) infiltrating the City and covertly taking down noble houses.

One player even played a Sladd minion of the House. Good fun.

 

[Queer Venger]

I don't have the 2e boxed set, but I'll start hunting for it, thanks!!

 

[arjomanes]

If you get to higher levels (level 10 or so), I recommend City of the Spider Queen for D&D 3.5. It's an excellent module and it's perfect for an all-drow campaign.

Not to give too much away, but it deals with a threat to the drow that also envelops surface races. It's nice how it's set up so that you can play it with either a good-aligned standard party of surface adventurers or a drow party (evil or otherwise) that is threatened by the actions of the villains in the module.

Of course running a 3.5 module may require you to adjust leveling up so that the PCs don't level too fast or too slowly. You may want to use the milestone XP method. You also may want to make sure your NPCs are the appropriate levels. Also note that some traps and effects are deadlier than standard 5e equivalents. The module is somewhat infamous for a particularly nasty trap right in the beginning.

That being said, I highly recommend the module. It was a lot of fun to play through back in the day.

 

[Queer Venger]

Thanks arjomanes, I actually have the pdf of City of the Spider Queen, i'll peruse it for ideas.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Build a power/conflict chart - drow are all about power. Basic groups would be Church, Ruling House, Houses (warriors, trade, slavers, miners, wizards, etc.) Houses are like guilds, they may be more of each type and some will work with other house but not all, some may even be in open warfare but most weaken others behind the scene. If a house is destroyed a few things can happen; be incorporated into a house, become houseless, become outcast, (note: you may have a house in another city), become slave.

Now, think of what the party is bring to the table. Players, are mercenaries so they can be of a house or not. Say they are a in a Neutral House of X, this way they can be used for any type of adventure.

Adventures ideas: Trade Route clean up, slave trade guards, raid of the surface, contact and make a spy on the surface, kill a rival of or within a house, etc.