DeviousQuail
Hero
I'm not even on deck for DMing so my prep right now is mostly waiting for level up to come out so that I can renovate what I've already designed.
D&D General What are you prepping for your next D&D session? (+)
- Thread starter el-remmen
- Start date
Nod_Hero
Explorer
I am right now at this moment picking out the minis that I'll need and getting the maps together for the "Snow Drifters" to wrap up Chapter 1 of Rime of the Frostmaiden tomorrow (Saturday) at 1230 pm EST.
Got my enemy statblock cheatsheets all done up, got my timeline reminder done and attached to the dm screen, and I got my npc interaction cheat sheet all set to go. I think I'm ready.
Got my enemy statblock cheatsheets all done up, got my timeline reminder done and attached to the dm screen, and I got my npc interaction cheat sheet all set to go. I think I'm ready.
We're going to pick up where we left off last time, where the 4th-level PCs are chasing after a necromancer and figured out the command phrase to follow him through a teleportation circle network. Now they're in an unknown city and the magic book that will allow them to teleport back to the city they came from has been taken from its niche, so they'll not only have to find the necromancer but also the book with the key on how to get back.
And to make matters worse, this city they teleported to was infused with necromantic energy years ago, such that pretty much everyone who lived there has been slain and reanimated as undead. The PCs will be fighting their way through hordes of random skeletons, zombies, and the occasional shadow...it's going to pretty much be a D&D session of "The Walking Dead." (Good thing two of the PCs have cleric levels!) And this would have been thematically appropriate for the Halloween season, but scheduling conflicts are going to postpone this game session until 13 November.*
On the plus side, after they complete this adventure they'll all be leveling up to 5th level, so I'll be building upgrade checklists for the players as well.
Johnathan
*Edit: Looks like the game's being bumped yet another week. Fingers crossed for 20 November.
And to make matters worse, this city they teleported to was infused with necromantic energy years ago, such that pretty much everyone who lived there has been slain and reanimated as undead. The PCs will be fighting their way through hordes of random skeletons, zombies, and the occasional shadow...it's going to pretty much be a D&D session of "The Walking Dead." (Good thing two of the PCs have cleric levels!) And this would have been thematically appropriate for the Halloween season, but scheduling conflicts are going to postpone this game session until 13 November.*
On the plus side, after they complete this adventure they'll all be leveling up to 5th level, so I'll be building upgrade checklists for the players as well.
Johnathan
*Edit: Looks like the game's being bumped yet another week. Fingers crossed for 20 November.
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I might be running 5e after our current OD&D campaign wraps up (unless my buddy runs a Spirit of 77 game first). Current ideas:
Anime Gothic fantasy inspired by Netflix’s Castlevania series and, umm, climate change science fiction. Might use pieces of Rime of the Frost Maiden and Temple of Elemental Evil.
Science fantasy where I give Waterdeep a Thundarr the Barbarian makeover and use a heavily-modified Dragon Heist. There may also be an invasion. From space.
Anime Gothic fantasy inspired by Netflix’s Castlevania series and, umm, climate change science fiction. Might use pieces of Rime of the Frost Maiden and Temple of Elemental Evil.
Science fantasy where I give Waterdeep a Thundarr the Barbarian makeover and use a heavily-modified Dragon Heist. There may also be an invasion. From space.
I was contemplating beginning some prep on a Ghosts of Saltmarsh campaign (in Greyhawk) or another campaign set around Furyondy / Veluna and the ongoing struggle against Iuz (also in Greyhawk, obviously), but without a planned Session 0 date for either one; like others have said, now I'm sort of on the fence and just waiting for the LU stuff to go out so I can decide if I want to run that right out of the gate, or maybe go back to a 2E campaign (which would require MUCH less conversion work.)
HaroldTheHobbit
Adventurer
After 8 months my social pillar- and roleplaying-loving players are lvl 7. After much ado they have finally broken a Waterdeep distribution network trading in the mysterious drug only known as salt. They have learned that the necromantic Black Flame Society is behind the salt production, and has taken on one of their bases south of the Regheed glacier. At the same time the learned about Goliaths and barbarians scrambling for war with each other north of Icewind Dale (which ties into the backstory of the partys goliath barbarian).
On Friday the party will start traveling to the Northern war area on the (gnomish) Aeronautic guilds experimental airship, El Gaviota Loco.
I will prep an air encounter with some save-the-balloon drama, and set the scene for the war area. I will also stat up the bad guys behind the war mongering - it's a pair of cursed twin warlocks with Fraz-Urb'luu as patron. And of course they have ties to the Black Flame Society.
I will also set the scene for Caer-Konig in Iceland Dale, where goliath and barbarian refugees have gathered. Among them is the party goliath barbarians mentor/uncle, and her former barbarian tribe lover. I may also let an old NPC favorite return, the patchwork human-of-a-kind Dr Dragomir, zombie surgeon extraordinaire, as a refugee camp help worker sewing clothes for the needy. (He is simply an Igor as in Terry Pratchett's Discworld, which the players are clueless about
).
If I know my party right they will stop at Caer-Konig and get sucked up in social and roleplaying stuff, we'll see if they manage to get to the war area next session this Friday.
On Friday the party will start traveling to the Northern war area on the (gnomish) Aeronautic guilds experimental airship, El Gaviota Loco.
I will prep an air encounter with some save-the-balloon drama, and set the scene for the war area. I will also stat up the bad guys behind the war mongering - it's a pair of cursed twin warlocks with Fraz-Urb'luu as patron. And of course they have ties to the Black Flame Society.
I will also set the scene for Caer-Konig in Iceland Dale, where goliath and barbarian refugees have gathered. Among them is the party goliath barbarians mentor/uncle, and her former barbarian tribe lover. I may also let an old NPC favorite return, the patchwork human-of-a-kind Dr Dragomir, zombie surgeon extraordinaire, as a refugee camp help worker sewing clothes for the needy. (He is simply an Igor as in Terry Pratchett's Discworld, which the players are clueless about
).If I know my party right they will stop at Caer-Konig and get sucked up in social and roleplaying stuff, we'll see if they manage to get to the war area next session this Friday.
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The first session of the first Sins of the Scorpion Age campaign will begin in media res. A group of mercenaries will be attacking a compound hidden in the caves and canyons of the scaled warren where a Sorceress prophesied to bring about a new dark age to the Scorpion Lands has been hidden away for much of her life.
A disaffected temple guardian who learned too much at the Shore of the Afterworld.
A bounty hunter seeking to balance life in the wild with the myriad lures of civilization.
And a would be hero who has lost his way through abuse and mistrust of superiors.
Will each join this band to assault the compound and capture the Sorceress so she can be brought to -True- Justice.
The Blood of the Ages flows in mid to late November.
A disaffected temple guardian who learned too much at the Shore of the Afterworld.
A bounty hunter seeking to balance life in the wild with the myriad lures of civilization.
And a would be hero who has lost his way through abuse and mistrust of superiors.
Will each join this band to assault the compound and capture the Sorceress so she can be brought to -True- Justice.
The Blood of the Ages flows in mid to late November.
Gilladian
Adventurer
My PCs are about to enter a dungeon/module, but nearby is a ruined town with a crashed airship in it. Warforged ex-crew and goblins live in the ruins, while other crew that stayed on the ship have recently been awakened and are trying to repair it. I am hoping the PCs will go explore and find a pinnace in the wrecked ship; the wizard behind the ship repair crew is crazy from varied backstory factors and they will most likely knock him off, or possibly cure him and be given a reward…
Bupp
Adventurer
Scheduling has been my groups downfall recently, so our next session has been prepped for weeks, a monster hunt for a basilisk. Seems straightforward, but I'm also introducing hints to the eventual big bad.
After that the characters will have a few weeks of downtime where we will tie up some loose ends. After the downtime, I'm prepping for the week-long spring festival.
Also been working on our spooky season one shot. I'm adapting the Town of Bridgepuddle adventure to play a zombie outbreak. Different characters for the one shot, but will tie into my campaigns main story line.
After that the characters will have a few weeks of downtime where we will tie up some loose ends. After the downtime, I'm prepping for the week-long spring festival.
Also been working on our spooky season one shot. I'm adapting the Town of Bridgepuddle adventure to play a zombie outbreak. Different characters for the one shot, but will tie into my campaigns main story line.
Jacob Lewis
Ye Olde GM
I was thinking "next campaign", but then I realized the thread was about the "next session". And "D&D". Hmmm...
Well anyway I am doing a lot of prep for... Gloomhaven.
Seriously, I've prepped sessions with less time, effort, and resources than this! (This better be freakin' amazing!!)
It is!!
Well anyway I am doing a lot of prep for... Gloomhaven.
Seriously, I've prepped sessions with less time, effort, and resources than this! (This better be freakin' amazing!!)
It is!!
Quickleaf
Legend
Players are leaving the capital pseudo-Egyptian city next session... hunting for a bastard heir in a land imperiled by demon cults... though they may want to tie up loose ends first. So I'm designing how overland travel looks in this campaign and I've been looking over various ways overland travel is handled, particularly going back to the roots of D&D to understand the Outdoor Survival board game that was recommended in the OD&D books & Tim Bannock's Old School Hacks Vol 1: Hexcrawling. Think I'm trying to merge the process-driven old school approach with a newer school character-driven approach.
toucanbuzz
No rule is inviolate
Tracking political interactions at the annual Tournament as the PC Baron and his council seek to make a name with their city-state neighbors, putting future events on the game calendar (like the regent-King will marry House L, solidifying his majority to be named king, civil war to follow), and modifying my world as the PCs make their mark.
Since my PCs take notes, I will plant an NPC, a plot, or an idea months (real-life) in advance. Foreshadowing rocks when someone flips back through their notes and says "wait...that's so-and-so," or when it becomes clear the silver speck in the sky they saw 6 months ago (real-life) was a mechanical wonder built by their neighbors and on showcase during the Tournament. Instead of me having to explain anything, the player who took the notes explains to the rest what is going on.
Most recent session also included props for the Boasting & Archery contests, wherein non-competing players could play-act the NPCs so everyone is doing something (while also finding clever ways to follow the Tournament rule of "it's not cheating if you're not caught.")
Since my PCs take notes, I will plant an NPC, a plot, or an idea months (real-life) in advance. Foreshadowing rocks when someone flips back through their notes and says "wait...that's so-and-so," or when it becomes clear the silver speck in the sky they saw 6 months ago (real-life) was a mechanical wonder built by their neighbors and on showcase during the Tournament. Instead of me having to explain anything, the player who took the notes explains to the rest what is going on.
Most recent session also included props for the Boasting & Archery contests, wherein non-competing players could play-act the NPCs so everyone is doing something (while also finding clever ways to follow the Tournament rule of "it's not cheating if you're not caught.")
Quickleaf
Legend
@toucanbuzz Sounds fun! I'm curious, what does your "Boasting" prop look like?
toucanbuzz
No rule is inviolate
These were heavily borrowed from Paizo forums for the Kingmaker "War of the River Kings" module. There is one competitor not listed who is from the host city-state that customizes a boast about being a spy in the PC barony and uncovering all sorts of sordid, outlandish secrets (e.g. in our campaign, a graffiti artist paints the walls regarding lewd acts between the Baron and Stumpy, the town's 3-legged dog). Because of this, the script varies. It's also custom the host-nation loses the overall tournament competitions, so their "champion" tanked it despite being a skilled orator. It's expected as there's a magical item reward from the host city-state for winning the week-long tourney point total.
PC rolls randomly to see which order they go in.
I had players pick, based off a mild description of the boast, who they wanted to enact, and roll the checks. Each Boast has 3 parts: beginning (introduce yourself as someone to be respected, Intimidate check (can use CHA Score), middle (the fun stuff, Bluff), and end (finish in style, Persuasion). The DC is whatever sounds good, but I went with 15. At the end, every performer rolls a Performance (CHA) check.
Because cheating is allowed (it's only illegal if you are caught), one performer gets a +5 to all checks if his bard friend isn't caught roaming the crowd casting helpful spells.
Tally the # of successes (e.g. 0 to 3). Then, multiple this by the actual Performance check. If you had 0 successes, then final score is 1/2. At that point, you're probably salvaging pride and something about the story didn't resonate. Badly.
Highest score wins the heart of the drunken crowd.
Since it was the group's first time at a Boast, they didn't have time to script anything. That's fine. We summarized the gist, audience reaction based on rolls, and played it that way. Because he'd been magically boosted with Enhance Ability, it wasn't too close.
TheAlkaizer
Game Designer
Session yesterday was cancelled. So I get to work and prepare for the following sessions in advance.
I've given them some clues and rumors as to a mountain that used to be the mountainhold, Berk Stolz, under the rule of Clan Glasseyes. In the weeks prior to the Shattering (a cataclysmic event that broke the material plane in dozen of smaller planes), the dwarven clan inhabitating it left. Months following it, they went back but found their former halls sprawling with kobolds.
Pulling inspiration from Warhammer Fantasy, the halls are not infested with both Kobolds and Troglodytes that are coming from two different collapsed mine shafts deep under the hold, and they're fighting for control.
A local mayor already told them that he had promised the dwarves help, but doesn't have the resources to. If the players manage to participate in the mountains being cleansed, he'll give them 250 gold (on top of what the dwarves could potentially reward them with).
I've started doing some plans for the mountainhold itself. I've got some cool ideas, but it'll take a few more hours to turn this into something concrete.
I've given them some clues and rumors as to a mountain that used to be the mountainhold, Berk Stolz, under the rule of Clan Glasseyes. In the weeks prior to the Shattering (a cataclysmic event that broke the material plane in dozen of smaller planes), the dwarven clan inhabitating it left. Months following it, they went back but found their former halls sprawling with kobolds.
Pulling inspiration from Warhammer Fantasy, the halls are not infested with both Kobolds and Troglodytes that are coming from two different collapsed mine shafts deep under the hold, and they're fighting for control.
A local mayor already told them that he had promised the dwarves help, but doesn't have the resources to. If the players manage to participate in the mountains being cleansed, he'll give them 250 gold (on top of what the dwarves could potentially reward them with).
I've started doing some plans for the mountainhold itself. I've got some cool ideas, but it'll take a few more hours to turn this into something concrete.
pogre
Legend
I have some work ahead of me.
The Party has switched sides and has made a deal to join an orc army raiding the Southern Baronies in revenge for a raid on an orc village by an imperial noble. I thought they would talk the orcs out of attacking by doing a task for them. But, oh no, they decided the orcs were entirely justified and decided to cut a deal with them, and aid in the revenge raid.
So, now I am prepping the Baronies defenses from the orc army and the PCs!
The Party has switched sides and has made a deal to join an orc army raiding the Southern Baronies in revenge for a raid on an orc village by an imperial noble. I thought they would talk the orcs out of attacking by doing a task for them. But, oh no, they decided the orcs were entirely justified and decided to cut a deal with them, and aid in the revenge raid.
So, now I am prepping the Baronies defenses from the orc army and the PCs!
not-so-newguy
Hero
I'm prepping for a change of the style of play within the campaign.
For the past 2-3 months, I have been running a linear/railroad style campaign, essentially picking which adventures the group would attempt next. This allowed me to introduce specific NPCs and setting info (Mystara homebrew btw) to the players. There are other reason why I chose to run a linear style campaign for the initial four levels of play, but I don't want to digress. The point I am trying to make here is that the players are used to a linear style of play within this campaign. It's worth noting that they have little to no experience with tabletop RPGs, although they have plenty of experience with CRPG sandboxes.
In the coming weeks (Nov 1 or Nov 8), the group will travel to the Isle of Dread. After we wrap up tonight's finale, the PCs will get a year of down-time before they embark. I have one major adventure hook (find the Pale Countess) lined up for them, but otherwise they have the freedom to chose what to do next. While the Tanoroa villagers don't speak the common tongue, they are friendly and will provide a bunch of adventure hooks. The party just needs to find a way to communicate.
For the past 2-3 months, I have been running a linear/railroad style campaign, essentially picking which adventures the group would attempt next. This allowed me to introduce specific NPCs and setting info (Mystara homebrew btw) to the players. There are other reason why I chose to run a linear style campaign for the initial four levels of play, but I don't want to digress. The point I am trying to make here is that the players are used to a linear style of play within this campaign. It's worth noting that they have little to no experience with tabletop RPGs, although they have plenty of experience with CRPG sandboxes.
In the coming weeks (Nov 1 or Nov 8), the group will travel to the Isle of Dread. After we wrap up tonight's finale, the PCs will get a year of down-time before they embark. I have one major adventure hook (find the Pale Countess) lined up for them, but otherwise they have the freedom to chose what to do next. While the Tanoroa villagers don't speak the common tongue, they are friendly and will provide a bunch of adventure hooks. The party just needs to find a way to communicate.
pogre
Legend
I ran the Goodman Games version of X1 a while back and my group really enjoyed it.
So I'm writing up the Lieutenants of the Bad Guy for the Blood of Ages campaign. I meant to do 2-3 lines per NPC.
Instead I'm writing 3-4 paragraphs of important character-driving pathos that gives them reasons to be the evil people that they are in a reasonable way. Some through devotion brought on by the aid given, some by greed or desire. Most through violence and trauma.
Giving them specific abilities, some of them crazy and unique, as a central idea for why they were chosen for their roles by the big bad (Some of them directly -changed- by him)...
Too much thoughts.
Instead I'm writing 3-4 paragraphs of important character-driving pathos that gives them reasons to be the evil people that they are in a reasonable way. Some through devotion brought on by the aid given, some by greed or desire. Most through violence and trauma.
Giving them specific abilities, some of them crazy and unique, as a central idea for why they were chosen for their roles by the big bad (Some of them directly -changed- by him)...
Too much thoughts.
billd91
Not your screen monkey (he/him)
The PCs are making their first foray into the ruins of the old dwarven city of Tyar-Besil via the underground stream at Rivergard Keep. I purchased the maps for Roll20 so most of the sites have already been prepared, making my job a lot easier. That said, any time there wasn't an available graphic for a specific creature type or NPC, they supplied a generic token with just a word label - so I'm supplying some of my own token graphics and testing out the dynamic lighting.
I've got up to 8 players if everyone is available, but the last couple of sessions have focused around 3-4 of them. So it has been going pretty well overall. Some of the encounters in the ruin are probably a bit much for them, but they're about as talky as they are fighty, so I think this will be interesting.
I've got up to 8 players if everyone is available, but the last couple of sessions have focused around 3-4 of them. So it has been going pretty well overall. Some of the encounters in the ruin are probably a bit much for them, but they're about as talky as they are fighty, so I think this will be interesting.
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