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3 February 2025
Fresh off our last DnD office campaign sesh, we thought reflecting on the group’s first cavern crawl and some of the things DM Ben learned from all the fun would be fun.
Last Friday was a wild game! We had spent the better part of a month setting up the underground lair of our infamous Night Hag villain. The players rapidly plowed through three rooms, often wholly ignoring any risk of traps or attracting hordes of monsters. Their haphazard playstyle was really unexpected.
Post-game, DM Ben had a chance to ponder why they tried to tackle the below-the-surface tunnels and rooms at such a crazy, breakneck speed. Turns out there were several factors:
More patient seasoned gamers would have moved more cautiously and systematically for sure. However, the kicker was our video game players. A common console tactic is to rush an area, remove that fog of war, and then slowly return with the proper strategy and firepower in hand.
Also, DM Ben didn’t do a good job balancing combat and exploration, as he made the front half of the dungeon much more of a stealthy exploration exercise. Our work group craves combat, so if it’s not there, they will move at breakneck speed to find it. Our ADHD gamer openly admitted the black fog of war coverings was eating him up inside. There are no dealbreakers here, of course, but there are definitely some learning lessons (and that’s good)!
In our dungeon master’s defense, he felt a lot of combat early on would have been odd because the powerful Night Hag certainly wouldn’t allow monsters to get too close to her doorstep. However, he definitely could have added some more dice-rolling activities early on and slipped in a few wandering monster events. So, this week, we will feature those items as we prep for the March game.
Today’s post is an excellent example of refining a previously prepped encounter to make it more engaging. The party will start hearing the faint sounds of a scared kitty cat echoing from the unexplored darkness. DM Ben was planning to have the poor little guy wedged between some of the higher natural rocks, but now he’ll add some danger to the rescue encounter.
The bigger question here is, what’s our animal companion afraid of when it first spots the adventurers below him? We’ll start with a distressing sound effect. We have several cat lovers in our campaign, so this lure attempt will be like catching fish in a barrel.
Our reminder monster to the group will be a very large and very mean swarm of bats because who doesn’t deep, dark spaces more than those red-eyed buggers? Thankfully, we’ve got the perfect miniature by Custom Miniature Maker. This bat swarm was a free download from their ongoing monthly e-newsletter.
Resident painter Kimmy Utah ain’t afraid of no bats and happily accepted the color request here. We especially liked her simplicity here and not doing too much to the column to distract from the panic of it all. Plus, a more neutral terrain color here allows us to place this miniature in multiple environments. Wise painting, indeed!
Now, the standard DnD 5e stats on a swarm of bats are a bit tame for our six-member, 5th level group: AC 12, HP 22, +4 to hit. There are ways to jazz the intensity up here!
DM Ben will treat these bats like a set of Stuka dive bombers. They will make multiple passes (and receive several attack opportunities) by trying to overwhelm the group. Yes, they’re in a swarm, so naturally, one would think they are easier to hit. However, it’s just the opposite. They’re incredibly disorientating and will quickly eliminate any light source (creating disadvantage).
Our angry bats will be a recurring theme in these long and winding tunnels. The group will slowly realize they need to move more stealthily and cautiously. When they don’t, these flittermice will sense it and rumble towards the noise source.
The bats treat the players like a buffet: zing by, take a few bites, and then hunt them out again when their tiny tummies thirst for more!
Until next time! #SameBatChannel
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