Session 0 of my next D&D campaign. Well, technically, it's not D&D. It's Shadow of the Demon Lord. But to me SotDL feels more like learning a new edition of D&D than an entirely new system.
I'm playing with my core group, which finished a 1-20 5E campaign earlier this year. Since then we've played a series of short arcs in a variety of systems -- Star Wars d6, Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, Night's Black Agents. But we've started to get the itch to get back to D&D. So here we are.
The adventure I'll be running is The Banewarrens. Banewarrens was written for 3E and covers levels 6-10. It was originally published in the 2000s by Monte Cook. It was the first published introduction of the Ptolus setting. I'll be altering it to cover SotDL's level 0 through 10.
The Banewarrens is about an expedition into an ancient underground vault stocked with evil magic and artifacts. 3E had some mechanics built around alignment that created consequences for player characters interacting with these evil artifacts. 5E lacks any similar mechanical support. Fortunately, SotDL has mechanics for Corruption that will make the danger represented by the artifacts more than apparent. That's part of the reason I selected SotDL over 5E -- that and SotDL just looks like a cool system to take for a spin.
I chose Banewarrens for a variety of reasons. First, one of my players backed the 5E reprint of Ptolus. I own the 3E version. This gives us an excuse to crack these beautiful, epic tomes. Second, when I first read Banewarrens 15 years ago it blew my mind. The amazing high concept, combining urban investigation and dungeon crawl, along with site- and event-based encounters -- all add up to a focused but non-linear campaign. It's become the template that I've internalized for my own adventure and campaign creation. I've wanted to run it for a long, long time. Third, after spending over three years running a 1-20 campaign, I want a shorter campaign that's still complete and satisfying.
The setting will be a mashup of Ptolus and the default setting from SotDL. There's a lot of overlap between the two -- both have analogs to the Catholic church, a grand empire on the cusp of anarchy, firearms, devils loose in the world, etc. However, the world surrounding the city of Ptolus is vaguely defined and mostly uninteresting. In contrast, the default setting for SotDL is interesting and flavorful -- but it lacks a singular location that embodies the essence of the game. Looking at both of them, I realized I had chocolate and peanut butter. Putting them together is easy.
At Level 0, SotDL player characters do not have a class, only an ancestry. Mechanically, they are extremely simple. But the random tables provide a ton of inspiration and really ground the characters in the setting. They're great for DMs and PCs alike.
Some of the players already have a really clear idea of their character -- for others it's still a work in progress. For purposes of this description I'm including the class/paths the players intend their characters to take at Level 1. Here's what we've got so far:
This is a great mix of characters well-suited for this adventure. I'm excited for Session 1!
I'm playing with my core group, which finished a 1-20 5E campaign earlier this year. Since then we've played a series of short arcs in a variety of systems -- Star Wars d6, Marvel Heroic Roleplaying, Night's Black Agents. But we've started to get the itch to get back to D&D. So here we are.
The adventure I'll be running is The Banewarrens. Banewarrens was written for 3E and covers levels 6-10. It was originally published in the 2000s by Monte Cook. It was the first published introduction of the Ptolus setting. I'll be altering it to cover SotDL's level 0 through 10.
The Banewarrens is about an expedition into an ancient underground vault stocked with evil magic and artifacts. 3E had some mechanics built around alignment that created consequences for player characters interacting with these evil artifacts. 5E lacks any similar mechanical support. Fortunately, SotDL has mechanics for Corruption that will make the danger represented by the artifacts more than apparent. That's part of the reason I selected SotDL over 5E -- that and SotDL just looks like a cool system to take for a spin.
I chose Banewarrens for a variety of reasons. First, one of my players backed the 5E reprint of Ptolus. I own the 3E version. This gives us an excuse to crack these beautiful, epic tomes. Second, when I first read Banewarrens 15 years ago it blew my mind. The amazing high concept, combining urban investigation and dungeon crawl, along with site- and event-based encounters -- all add up to a focused but non-linear campaign. It's become the template that I've internalized for my own adventure and campaign creation. I've wanted to run it for a long, long time. Third, after spending over three years running a 1-20 campaign, I want a shorter campaign that's still complete and satisfying.
The setting will be a mashup of Ptolus and the default setting from SotDL. There's a lot of overlap between the two -- both have analogs to the Catholic church, a grand empire on the cusp of anarchy, firearms, devils loose in the world, etc. However, the world surrounding the city of Ptolus is vaguely defined and mostly uninteresting. In contrast, the default setting for SotDL is interesting and flavorful -- but it lacks a singular location that embodies the essence of the game. Looking at both of them, I realized I had chocolate and peanut butter. Putting them together is easy.
At Level 0, SotDL player characters do not have a class, only an ancestry. Mechanically, they are extremely simple. But the random tables provide a ton of inspiration and really ground the characters in the setting. They're great for DMs and PCs alike.
Some of the players already have a really clear idea of their character -- for others it's still a work in progress. For purposes of this description I'm including the class/paths the players intend their characters to take at Level 1. Here's what we've got so far:
- Human priest and gravedigger. His wife was murdered by raiders stealing the tithe from his church. Now he wants revenge. His trinket is a locket with his wife's likeness. This player has his character already planned up through Level 10.
- Dwarf warrior. Heir to a lost kingdom -- in this case, Dwarvenhearth, deep beneath Ptolus. His trinket is half of a treasure map. This player always goes for support characters, so I'm intrigued to see him play a warrior.
- Magician. Either an elf or a halfling. Further details to be confirmed. This player is a natural leader and often ends up as the party face. He played a paladin in our 5E campaign so it'll be fun for him to take on a wizard.
- Goblin. His background states he's responsible for the destruction of this tribe. This player is leaning toward some sort of rogue, but he played an arcane trickster in our 5E campaign, so he's reluctant to trod the same path again. He likes to play social outcasts taking on the rich and powerful.
- Changeling. Right now, that's all we got. This player is almost always the brooding loner. So he's off to a great start.
This is a great mix of characters well-suited for this adventure. I'm excited for Session 1!
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