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21 March 2024
Earlier this week, we built a new DnD one-shot centered around a group of adventurers being imprisoned by a for-hire group of Cultists via a rival adventuring group called “The Six.” Let’s see what the campfire scenarios looks like as the enemy takes them towards Waterdeep for a slave-trader payoff!
First, a quick recap. DM Ben wants to introduce a series of events so that his family game group can transition from the Lost Mine of Phandelver to the Acquisitions Incorporated DnD 5e module. Things weren’t clicking for us in the Phandelver module, so we made the tough decision to move to a new D&D Beyond module. Thus, some homebrewed DnD transition content was in order.
Four encounters need to happen:
We’ve established how the group is captured and created a prison scenario for them to gather intel and even gain some allies, so now we want to create some added suspense and even more skill checks while they’re on the long road to Waterdeep. That’s our core focus for today.
Sure, DM Ben is forcing a narrative a bit here, but all these skill checks prior to their arrival at Waterdeep will ultimately determine where the game group nets out regarding their health, possessions, next missions, new enemies, etc. The trick is to keep the players engaged by encouraging them to think of ways to identify their captures and plot potential methods of escape (through all sorts of fun skill check rolls). You need to remind your group that DnD isn’t just slash and bash – there are other ways to a successful outcome!
That leads us to the Waterdeep Express portion of this prisoner one-shot. The Cultists need to deliver the captured party to a slave trader (a sleazy elf named “Pin Bellner”) contact in Waterdeep. However, they need to make the journey from the Thundertree Ruins in Neverwinter Wood to the bustling city of Waterdeep. It’s a long ride, but the group is on horse-drawn carts, so at least everyone is on wheels.
DM Ben will explain to the game group that it’s a monotonous slog most of the time with very few resting stops, but he will do several events using basically the same setup over multiple travel breaks. One instance will be by the tents, another by the big treestump, etc. DM Ben anticipates the journey will take over seven-ish travel days (could make for a fun roll). The terrific tents are from Milestone Heroes Scatter Pack 12.
So now the big question what sort of skill challenge events can we do during these traveling pitstops?
The game group is just looking for every advantage and intelligence tidbit it can muster so they can utilize the information at the right time.
In terms of yummy DnD accessories used here, our Pack Mule miniature is from Wizkids Fangs & Talons, its tree is from Tiny Furniture, and the extra-tall canopy tree is from Dwarven Forge Wildlands. The cool pig-spit campfire is from Galladoria Games.
While the Cultists sleep in the tents each night, they make the adventurers sleep outside and at the mercy of the elements. A cranky Cultist guard named “Tybris” keeps watch over them each night. DM Ben plans on rolling a weather effect dice to introduce a few rough conditions like cold, heavy rain, etc.
Each evening, the party will need to make Con saves to see how their bodies react to being continuously roughed up and forced to deal with the harsh outdoor conditions. Failed saves will result in different levels of exhaustion. These checks are a big deal as they will determine what sorta shape the players are in during the final prison break act (Part 3: Chance to Live).
And that’s where we’ll pick up tomorrow…with all the details on the players’ chance to finally escape their Cultist captors!
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