Dungeons & Dragons Provides Guidance on How to Run Heroes of the Borderlands As More Traditional Campaign

A new D&D Beyond article by the designer of the Heroes of the Borderlands set provides guidance on how to tie together various parts of the starter set into an overarching plot, which seems to be a direct response to some of the main criticism leveled at the new D&D starter set. Today, Justice Arman posted a new article providing guidance on how to run the Heroes of the Borderlands starter set into a more traditional adventure. The article contains some new narrative read-aloud text, some additional guidance on how to start playing through the adventure, and some guidance on how to emphasize the Cult of Chaos as the overarching antagonists of the adventure.

Heroes of the Borderlands is based on the 1979 adventure Keep on the Borderlands and utilizes a sandbox-style campaign, where various encounters and plots are provided to DMs, but an overarching plot is left for the players to draw out on their own. There are narrative threads that tease various encounters present in the booklets, but there's not a traditional storyline compared to the other Starter Sets. Several reviews, including our own, criticized the design of the adventure, saying that it wasn't advantageous to new DMs. Part of the reason for the narrative freedom, according to the D&D Beyond article, was to allow every player a chance to DM without spoiling the story.

 

[SothFan]

I think they missed the allegory you were going for

Analogy much more than allegory, but you are correct otherwise. I find it endemic here that most do not bother to read what another says, nor try to understand it. Like @Umbran once said, but disagreeing with his conclusion that "all fault lies with the speaker".

3 parts of the something:
1. What the speaker intended to say
2. What came out
3. What the listener heard

The disagreement comes down to it takes 2 to Tango. If the listener fails to try to understand, even by asking what may seem a dumb question, then they are at as much fault if not more than the speaker, because the speaker ALWAYS takes things for granted that they know, that they have no idea if the speaker understand a refetence or not. It seems to be an underlying reason many other places call ENWorld toxic because it assumes the worst from every spraker and never tries to accept communication is a two-way street.

So I really can not say if they understood or not, because they did not provide a point of inference where they may have had a question about how I structured my understanding of the Starter Set.

 

[Umbran]

Analogy much more than allegory, but you are correct otherwise. I find it endemic here that most do not bother to read what another says, nor try to understand it. Like @Umbran once said, but disagreeing with his conclusion that "all fault lies with the speaker".

3 parts of the something:
1. What the speaker intended to say
2. What came out
3. What the listener heard

The disagreement comes down to it takes 2 to Tango.

I think you missed the point.

As an author, you have control of two out of the three texts. If you do those poorly, you cannot really blame the audience if they don't get what you intended out of it.

And that's only speaking about understanding. Even if I fully understand you, doesn't mean I will agree with you.

 

[SothFan]

As an author, you have control of two out of the three

We can both play math games with the numbers, and I admitted the speaker often takes things for granted, but with my limited algebra, I can play you numbers game.

1 speaker, with 1 "mouth", and 2 options

1*1*2=2

1 "listener" (each is an individual in a greater audience), with 2 "ears/eyes", and 1 option
1*2*1=2

Either way you wish to add it, a chandelier almost kills Martin Moll.

The bigger problem is, there is only 1 speaker, but the auduence is larger, so there are more than 1 person(s) that can question the speaker. Sadly, each "listener" still acts in a vacuum thinking there is no other listener that may have caught something they did not. Public speaking does not always have the luxury of an editor or reviewer to make sure what is #2 was the same as #1. However, #3 always has the option you left out, #4.

4. Audience asks questions about what it heard.

 

[Umbran]

We can both play math games with the numbers, and I admitted the speaker often takes things for granted, but with my limited algebra, I can play you numbers game.

It isn't a numbers game. It is an observation about making yourself understood.

But, by all means, disregard what you will, and blame others for not understanding. I am sure that'll work out well for you.

 

[DEFCON 1]

The first time I ran Heroes of the Borderlands, I had a TPK with the giant spider encounter in the forest (two giant spiders against three level 1 characters, who were all newbie-ish with RPGs...

I am not underestimating newbies. The boxed set in actual play has a number of overtuned encounters.

Are those encounters actually built for 3 PCs? Usually the default assumption I always thought for WotC-produced adventures is a 4 PC party.

I would not be surprised at all if a group of 3 1st-level characters had a hard time against an encounter built for 4. Especially if that group did not include a healer (although you did not mention if your group had one or not).

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Are those encounters actually built for 3 PCs? Usually the default assumption I always thought for WotC-produced adventures is a 4 PC party.

I would not be surprised at all if a group of 3 1st-level characters had a hard time against an encounter built for 4. Especially if that group did not include a healer (although you did not mention if your group had one or not).

The bigger issue, IMO, is that each PC may start off trapped in a web, without a chance to get out of it before the attacks begin. Even with four player characters, you can end up in a situation where you have an isolated and trapped PC attacked by two CR 1 creatures.

It's a fine encounter for slightly higher level characters or, especially, more experienced groups, but there's a very good chance Heroes of the Borderlands -- which uses milestone leveling -- will have level 1 characters run by newbies walking right into a tough enounter.

There's some stuff like that in the caves as well, but so far, IME, the giant spiders in the wilderness are the real issue.

 

[MichaelSomething]

The bigger issue, IMO, is that each PC may start off trapped in a web, without a chance to get out of it before the attacks begin. Even with four player characters, you can end up in a situation where you have an isolated and trapped PC attacked by two CR 1 creatures.

It's a fine encounter for slightly higher level characters or, especially, more experienced groups, but there's a very good chance Heroes of the Borderlands -- which uses milestone leveling -- will have level 1 characters run by newbies walking right into a tough enounter.

There's some stuff like that in the caves as well, but so far, IME, the giant spiders in the wilderness are the real issue.

Nothing spells authentic D&D like killing off a first level party!!