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I'm running an adventure for first time players this weekend
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<blockquote data-quote="BookTenTiger" data-source="post: 9193606" data-attributes="member: 6685541"><p>This weekend I'm running a D&D game for some coworkers who have never played D&D! I'm very excited. I have a lot of experience in teaching new players, and I thought I would collect some of my thoughts here:</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 22px">The Characters</span></strong></p><p></p><p>I'm going to pregenerate six or so characters, except for race. I'll give everyone fixed stats which race won't effect, but I want the players to be able to have some choice in their character. I'm going to try to focus on more easily-run classes, so I might do:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Barbarian</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Cleric (with fixed spells)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Fighter</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Paladin</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Rogue</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Sorcerer</li> </ul><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 22px">The Adventure</span></strong></p><p></p><p>I want a short adventure (2 to 3 encounters) with room for combat, exploration, or social encounters, depending on how the players approach things. Here's the summary I came up with:</p><p></p><p><strong>Tower of the Caged King</strong></p><p>A curse has beset the realm: swarms of crows blacken the skies, and descend on farms, eating everything in their shadows. The Queen has sent out adventurers to all corners of the realm, searching out any rumors connected to this terrible disaster. Locals in Wolfsback Ridge have told you of the Tower of the Caged King. Long ago, a greedy tyrant was pulled from his throne and locked up in a cage atop a tower, guarded by Knights of the Silver Unicorn. The tyrant's greed was no abated. From his cage, he trained crows to steal baubles and coins from local folk. Centuries have passed, and the tower is now abandoned, but it is said the tyrant's spirit still haunts the land.</p><p></p><p>I'm going to start the characters right at the entrance to the tower.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 22px">Encounters</span></strong></p><p></p><p>Each of the three stories of the tower will have a different encounter:</p><p></p><p><strong>Ground Floor</strong></p><p>Two Knights of the Silver Unicorn, now skeletons in armor, still guard the tower. They will focus on shoving invaders into a spiked pit, which has filled with water over the years. This encounter will introduce fun possibilities, such as shoving, grappling, and climbing, while risking little in hit point loss.</p><p></p><p>The main hall will open into two rooms: a stairway heading to the second floor, and a room with a hidden treasure.</p><p></p><p>The hidden treasure will be inside a statue of a rearing unicorn. The statue has two ruby eyes. A human thief named Bastion is unconscious before the statue, his cloak and skin singed. The statue is trapped: when someone tries to take the gems, it shoots a gout of fire from its open mouth. However, twisting the horn opens a secret compartment in the statue's base, where the characters can find healing potions, a potion of Spider Climb, and some bars of silver (worth 500 silver pieces each).</p><p></p><p>If the characters wake or revive Bastion, he will prove an unreliable ally, more interested in the legendary treasures of the Tower than helping his new companions.</p><p></p><p><strong>Second Floor</strong></p><p>The second floor of the tower was much damaged by a falling tree some time in the past; a huge hole is opened in the wall. A spiral staircase works its way up the wall, leading to a platform from which Knights used to fire arrows upon invaders. Unfortunately, a large chunk of the stairwell is missing. The characters will have to figure out how to bridge the gap, possibly through climbing the stone wall, using a spell, or tying ropes to old torch sconces.</p><p></p><p>The remaining stairway leads to a trap door to the top of the tower.</p><p></p><p><strong>Top of the Tower</strong></p><p>On top of the tower, the ancient corpse of the tyrant still swings in a rusty cage. It is surrounded by barrels of coins, gems, and shiny baubles! The tyrant's corpse wears a magic crown made of a silver band and crow feathers. This crown gives the tyrant power over crows, as well as the ability to summon a crow spirit.</p><p></p><p>The crow spirit, called the King's Crow, has the stats of Pterafolk (from Tomb of Annihilation), but it looks like a giant crow with he angry head of an old man. Its main tactic will be picking up barrels of treasure and dropping them on the characters. When the barrels explode, all the coins and gems turn into crows!</p><p></p><p>The encounter ends if the King's Crow is defeated, or if the crown is removed from the corpse of the tyrant. At that point, almost all the coins and gems turn into crows with fly off into the sky! There will still be some treasure left for the characters.</p><p></p><p><strong><span style="font-size: 22px">Pacing</span></strong></p><p>I want to make sure we get through the whole adventure in one night, so I'm going to make notes on how to shorten up encounters if needed. Here are some ways to tighten up the adventure as we go:</p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Bastion can be a corpse, or removed entirely. If he's a corpse, he holds one of the ruby eyes from the unicorn statue in his hand, to give a clue about the hidden treasures.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">The stairway to the roof can be rickety, but not broken. Characters will still have to make checks to climb without slipping, and can take precautions, but the exploration encounter will go much quicker.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">The King's Crow's HP can be reduced to 13 instead of 26.</li> </ol><p></p><p></p><p>I'm looking forward to running this adventure!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BookTenTiger, post: 9193606, member: 6685541"] This weekend I'm running a D&D game for some coworkers who have never played D&D! I'm very excited. I have a lot of experience in teaching new players, and I thought I would collect some of my thoughts here: [B][SIZE=6]The Characters[/SIZE][/B] I'm going to pregenerate six or so characters, except for race. I'll give everyone fixed stats which race won't effect, but I want the players to be able to have some choice in their character. I'm going to try to focus on more easily-run classes, so I might do: [LIST] [*]Barbarian [*]Cleric (with fixed spells) [*]Fighter [*]Paladin [*]Rogue [*]Sorcerer [/LIST] [B][SIZE=6]The Adventure[/SIZE][/B] I want a short adventure (2 to 3 encounters) with room for combat, exploration, or social encounters, depending on how the players approach things. Here's the summary I came up with: [B]Tower of the Caged King[/B] A curse has beset the realm: swarms of crows blacken the skies, and descend on farms, eating everything in their shadows. The Queen has sent out adventurers to all corners of the realm, searching out any rumors connected to this terrible disaster. Locals in Wolfsback Ridge have told you of the Tower of the Caged King. Long ago, a greedy tyrant was pulled from his throne and locked up in a cage atop a tower, guarded by Knights of the Silver Unicorn. The tyrant's greed was no abated. From his cage, he trained crows to steal baubles and coins from local folk. Centuries have passed, and the tower is now abandoned, but it is said the tyrant's spirit still haunts the land. I'm going to start the characters right at the entrance to the tower. [B][SIZE=6]Encounters[/SIZE][/B] Each of the three stories of the tower will have a different encounter: [B]Ground Floor[/B] Two Knights of the Silver Unicorn, now skeletons in armor, still guard the tower. They will focus on shoving invaders into a spiked pit, which has filled with water over the years. This encounter will introduce fun possibilities, such as shoving, grappling, and climbing, while risking little in hit point loss. The main hall will open into two rooms: a stairway heading to the second floor, and a room with a hidden treasure. The hidden treasure will be inside a statue of a rearing unicorn. The statue has two ruby eyes. A human thief named Bastion is unconscious before the statue, his cloak and skin singed. The statue is trapped: when someone tries to take the gems, it shoots a gout of fire from its open mouth. However, twisting the horn opens a secret compartment in the statue's base, where the characters can find healing potions, a potion of Spider Climb, and some bars of silver (worth 500 silver pieces each). If the characters wake or revive Bastion, he will prove an unreliable ally, more interested in the legendary treasures of the Tower than helping his new companions. [B]Second Floor[/B] The second floor of the tower was much damaged by a falling tree some time in the past; a huge hole is opened in the wall. A spiral staircase works its way up the wall, leading to a platform from which Knights used to fire arrows upon invaders. Unfortunately, a large chunk of the stairwell is missing. The characters will have to figure out how to bridge the gap, possibly through climbing the stone wall, using a spell, or tying ropes to old torch sconces. The remaining stairway leads to a trap door to the top of the tower. [B]Top of the Tower[/B] On top of the tower, the ancient corpse of the tyrant still swings in a rusty cage. It is surrounded by barrels of coins, gems, and shiny baubles! The tyrant's corpse wears a magic crown made of a silver band and crow feathers. This crown gives the tyrant power over crows, as well as the ability to summon a crow spirit. The crow spirit, called the King's Crow, has the stats of Pterafolk (from Tomb of Annihilation), but it looks like a giant crow with he angry head of an old man. Its main tactic will be picking up barrels of treasure and dropping them on the characters. When the barrels explode, all the coins and gems turn into crows! The encounter ends if the King's Crow is defeated, or if the crown is removed from the corpse of the tyrant. At that point, almost all the coins and gems turn into crows with fly off into the sky! There will still be some treasure left for the characters. [B][SIZE=6]Pacing[/SIZE][/B] I want to make sure we get through the whole adventure in one night, so I'm going to make notes on how to shorten up encounters if needed. Here are some ways to tighten up the adventure as we go: [LIST=1] [*]Bastion can be a corpse, or removed entirely. If he's a corpse, he holds one of the ruby eyes from the unicorn statue in his hand, to give a clue about the hidden treasures. [*]The stairway to the roof can be rickety, but not broken. Characters will still have to make checks to climb without slipping, and can take precautions, but the exploration encounter will go much quicker. [*]The King's Crow's HP can be reduced to 13 instead of 26. [/LIST] I'm looking forward to running this adventure! [/QUOTE]
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