In a few weeks time I'm going to DM my second session of the Starter Set adventure.
The party has rescued Sildar from the Cragmaw cave and is heading to Phandalin.
After the first session someone wanted to swap the wizard for a new character so with the PH I helped him make a Tiefling Bard.
I'll make him start as lvl 2 to keep it the same as the rest of the PC's.
In the background that he chose it says a loved one was killed by someone powerful and that he wants his revenge.
The player has left it up to me to think of a suitable backstory.
I was thinking about making the Black Spider the killer of this PC's wife.
He could at the time have been the leader of a raiding party from the Underdark that attacked a Tiefling settlement to capture them as slaves.
His wife tried to escape and was mortally injured.
The Bard could have been out at that time. (running errands?)
He returns in the aftermath of the fight where some Drow have stayed behind to loot things.
He could have fought and killed them (explaining why he's lvl 2 in the process)
When he found his wife she told them the name of the villain before dying in his arms.
After a long period the bard who could have tracked the Black Spider to the surroundings of Phandalin.
The bard could start in the Inn where he can overhear the other PC's talking about what they discovered about the villain.
This would give him a reason to join the group.
I'm having trouble with making up the complete story though.
Some things that I'm missing:
Feel free to reference them if needed.
The party has rescued Sildar from the Cragmaw cave and is heading to Phandalin.
After the first session someone wanted to swap the wizard for a new character so with the PH I helped him make a Tiefling Bard.
I'll make him start as lvl 2 to keep it the same as the rest of the PC's.
In the background that he chose it says a loved one was killed by someone powerful and that he wants his revenge.
The player has left it up to me to think of a suitable backstory.
I was thinking about making the Black Spider the killer of this PC's wife.
He could at the time have been the leader of a raiding party from the Underdark that attacked a Tiefling settlement to capture them as slaves.
His wife tried to escape and was mortally injured.
The Bard could have been out at that time. (running errands?)
He returns in the aftermath of the fight where some Drow have stayed behind to loot things.
He could have fought and killed them (explaining why he's lvl 2 in the process)
When he found his wife she told them the name of the villain before dying in his arms.
After a long period the bard who could have tracked the Black Spider to the surroundings of Phandalin.
The bard could start in the Inn where he can overhear the other PC's talking about what they discovered about the villain.
This would give him a reason to join the group.
I'm having trouble with making up the complete story though.
Some things that I'm missing:
- Do these things make sense in the Forgotten Realms?
I know a bit of the lore, I also played Baldur's Gate 2 but I'm not sure about Tiefling settlements for example. - How would his wife have learned the name of the villain?
I imagine Tieflings don't understand Drow when they speak among themselves. - How would the PC have tracked the villain?
If I understand correctly Drow travel in the Underdark and appear on the surface more or less where they want, if there's an exit offcourse. - Where could the slaves have been taken?
Are there any Underdark cities / settlements in the neighborhood of Phandalin? - How do you RP the new PC meeting the old ones smoothly?
Or do I as DM just say "You overhear them talking about the Black Spider" ? - How did the Black Spider move up from leading a raiding party to leading his own private expedition for Wave Echo Cave?
Who was/is he serving?
Might be interesting to have an even bigger evil working behind the screens.
Feel free to reference them if needed.
