D&D 5E Homebrew(ish)--The story of my roots with AD&D and where it has led! (Part One)

[Derek Mentzer]

Hello All,

This is my first post and I have labeled it under 5E and titled it Homebrew(ish) due to some of the content that is in my campaign. I'm the DM for a group of mostly newer players, save for one (he has been playing a little less time than me, but is not as avid a fan of the Forgotten Realms novels as I am.

I have been a loyal and rabid fan of R.A. Salvatore since the day I was given Homeland by my older brother when I was 8 years old. He had just gotten the Red Box and was well on his way as I begged and pleaded to be included, which never seemed to happen. Therefore, the stories of Drizzt, Bruenor, Wulfgar and the rest of the Companions of the Hall became my introduction into the storytelling and the history of Faerun.

Recently, my friend that I mentioned earlier, approached me to see if I would be interested in running a campaign in 5th Edition, beginning with the Starter Set and then letting me take the wheel from there. I agreed and we found 3 other guys that had little to no experience with D&D at all, so, I felt that I had a great opportunity to use the characters that had enticed me into learning about this amazing game and has fueled a 25 year love affair of either being a PC or a DM.

We have finished the Starter Set for 5th and, for the most part, I've enjoyed the pacing and the choices that were made with the new edition. My first dilemma now arises. I have named the campaign "The Redemption of Bregan D'Aerthe". I do not plan on publishing the adventure, nor using any of it for profit, but I have seen the heroes and villains created by Salvatore face so many different adversities over the years that it has become hard to make something "fresh" for them to do. My main purpose in using Jarlaxle's mercenaries as important NPC's in this campaign is to complete the circle that was started a quarter century ago: pass on my love for the creations of Bob Salvatore to a new group of friends!

This all being said, I will end this post with saying that the Starter Set went fairly well and I was quite pleased to see innovations I hadn't considered and also to see that every member of the party made it through everything in one piece, thus far.

Thank you all for being patient with me. If you haven't been able to see yet, I love stories and being a storyteller. The next parts will focus on the party members and the quagmire that I have sunken into now that I have to try and make things fresh for characters that I have read about and idolize! Hopefully, the help I will need will be around the corner.

 

[Schmoe]

Hi, welcome to the boards. It sounds like you have great enthusiasm for the game, and that's wonderful to see. You'll find a lot of people around here who have similar enthusiasm and energy. Without knowing any details on what you've done with Jarlaxle's mercenaries, I would offer the following advice: Make any interactions the characters have with them focused on "passing the torch" to the PCs. Maybe they need the PCs to start up a new company in a new part of the world, or maybe they're just old and tired and need someone to take over for them. Regardless, the adventure should focus on the PCs, not on Jarlaxle's mercenaries. The best way to make sure your players take the spotlight is to make the game about their PCs. The NPCs should be secondary.