Hey, Hey, It’s Game Day (Aug 2025 Home Edition)

Our DnD home game is finally back on schedule after a two-month summer hiatus, so that means it’s time for another Game Day prep post!

We tend to have longer sessions while playing our home game, making it a delightful day of soothing dice rolls. Hence, this game group knocks out many more encounters in a single sitting versus our office campaign. So, let’s see what’s on deck for our adventuring crew!

The biggest accomplishment from our previous sesh was that the players successfully exited the mysterious Fissure inside D&D Beyond’s Acquisitions Incorporated free 5e module. That cavern crawl victory let the group level up (from two to three). Even better, they cashed in their first sizable reward from Omin Dran. So, with all those new gold coins burning a hole in their pockets, they explored the numerous homebrewed shops and engaged with colorful new NPCs in the vast city of Waterdeep. But what’s next?!

After speaking with local blacksmith Krufer Promentory, the players did indeed receive a new DnD one-shot mission. His dear son has gone missing (as have several other Waterdeep children), and he’s asked the players to locate his lil’ Dwarven boy and return him safely. This mission is taking us into a large home-brewed story arc that should ultimately lead to the players’ first Bastion. So, they’re leaving the confines of Waterdeep with a firm plan in hand.

Even better, they got several new side missions to complete after roaming the Waterdeep streets and stores in search of new payouts. The local magic components proprietor, Rishardo Montalwand. His shop, Castco, is in desperate need of some valuable topsoil harvested by a kooky local Gnome farmer named Huckle Riverstone. Rishardo is willing to trade some super handy restoration potions in exchange for a small bag of that dirty goodness.

Alas, one hand washes the other, so in order to get Huckle’s precious topsoil, he demands the players go forth and harvest some rare seeds from some “Pumpkins that ain’t pumpkins.”

And if those side missions weren’t enough, the players can chat with resident Gnome Tinkerer, Tink Urbelle, at her Gadgets and Gizmos clock shop. She needs the players to acquire a particular kind of grease from endangered Wooly Mangalitza pigs. In exchange, she will give them a one-of-a-kind pocketwatch that she’s dubbed the Kinda Sorta Portal.

With those solid missions in hand, they can embark on their woodland journey to The High Forest, where these events will unfold along the way:

• Rescue the Blacksmith’s son (and any other missing town children).
• Encounter the secretive local farmer and acquire his priceless topsoil.
• Retrieve some rare seeds from those “pumpkins that ain’t pumpkins.”
• Secure some unique fungi for Keanu Leaves.
• Locate the rare Wooly Mangalitza pigs and return them to the local clockmaker.
• Which will lead to the key acquisition of the Kinda Sorta Portal.

DM Ben even has NPC face cards and mission cards to help the group remember and track all these homebrewed quests.

Now, to even reach The High Forest, the party has to cross the Troll Bridge successfully. Waterdeep’s main entry and exit point is guarded by local hero, Terry the Troll. This homebrewed area has two encounters: interrupting an in-progress fight between our buffed Troll and some pesky Great Squigs, and then properly paying the toll to Terry to cross the bridge safely.

Since our work campaign already completed this encounter, DM Ben had an opportunity to learn from it and revise the troll bridge gameboard. It’s not that our original bridge setup was bad by any means, but more dungeon master time always leads to a better terrain setup.

Once the players successfully pay the toll and cross the Troll Bridge, they’ll come to Huckle Riverstone’s fantastic farm. From a distance, the players will see a wild Pumpkin House on a hill that overlooks a vast farm. Our whimsical harvester will explain how sick and tired of intruders trying to swipe his award-winning topsoil. He’s heard stories of some “pumpkins that ain’t pumpkins” and wants the adventurers to defeat them and steal their seeds so he can grow some for himself and protect his majestic estate.

So, DM Ben set up a showdown encounter map where the group will need to use their skills to prevent a surprise attack before engaging and hopefully defeating these pumpkin mimics so they can harvest those precious seeds.

From there, the group will keep moving towards The High Forest in search of those rare Wooly Mangalitza swines. Eventually, they will hear their squeals from a distance and come upon several of them stuck in a large mud patch. Alas, rescuing these sows won’t be so easy, as several mud elementals will emerge to keep the players from nabbing the prized pigs.

Last but not least, since this outdoor journey requires at least three days of travel on foot, DM Ben will utilize our free Wilderness Trek Wandering Monster Table. Our system is simple: everyone at the table rolls a d6. If anyone rolls a six, then the DM rolls on our table for the appropriate encounter. It only takes one six to trigger an unexpected event, but the more sixes, the more monsters or the tougher the opponent gets. Intermixing those potential fights with the other events above should cover a full day of pizza, dice, and nonstop laughter.

If the players somehow get through all that, then the group will go through five more homebrewed encounters on our fancy Dwarven Forge forest gameboard, which lead up to the big showdown with the Night Hag!

Until next time!