The Drow are coming. On May 16 Rise of the Underdark gets into full swing as the Drow take over D&D Encounters season 9 when Web of the Spider Queen begins. This season of D&D Encounters is tied closely to Wizards’ latest product offering Into the Unknown: The Dungeon Survival Handbook which will be available on May 15 (coincidentally the day before the slot 0 character creation week). Below is a high-level overview of what you can expect during the coming season of D&D Encounters. It relatively spoiler-free.
The Adventure
This season runs 14 weeks. Week 0 is for character creation, chapter 1 covers weeks 1-5, chapter 2 covers weeks 6-9, and chapter 3 covers weeks 10-13. I think that it’s a mistake to have any chapter contain more than four encounters, especially the first chapter. We often see a lot of new players at the beginning of a season and they don’t understand that their character needs to survive multiple encounters before they can rest and replenish their healing surges. The result is characters that are out of surges by the third week. This puts their character at greater risk of dying. When it happens (and it does) the new players have a poor gaming experience and the party suffers because they’re down a man or two or three. What usually ends up happening is the DM needs to bestow surgeless healing upon the PCs who are wounded. It’s the only way to keep everyone happy.
Aside from chapter 1 being too long the rest of the adventure looks solid. The basic story is that the PCs are in Shadowdale looking for adventure when they are implored to help stop a Drow thief who has escaped into the caverns before the Old Skull Inn. From there they realize that there’s more to this plot then a simple robbery and they are in a unique position to thwart a much bigger plot that’s afoot.
At the beginning of each encounter we get a quick recap of what’s happened in the adventure so far. This was a great addition that started last season and I’m happy to see they’ve continued this time around. Each encounter has notes for the DM on how to reward characters who have themes tied into the new Dungeon Survival Handbook, similar to the way it worked in Lost Crown of Neverwinter. These aren’t crazy unbalanced bonuses but rather a way to reward people who use the new options during character creation. More on the new themes below.
Early in this adventure the PCs encounter one of the big bosses. He’s there to advance the story and is not intended to participate in the battle that week. However, there are notes for what to do if the PCs get the jump on him and manage to defeat him. I can already sense the skepticism of players who were burned during Beyond the Crystal Cave when they had to fight the Hag only to find out they couldn’t defeat her. The difference here is that the PCs can actually kill this villain and the DM has notes on how to adjust things later in the adventure. However, I will caution ambitious players that the boss is no pushover so it might be better to let him go and face him later when you’re whole party is tougher.
One encounter that stands out for me is week 6. There is no combat at all. It’s a really excellent puzzle/skill challenge. It makes the players think and it gives them a chance to really get into their characters. The puzzles are tough but not impossible. Depending on what kind of skills you’re good at, you may be able to figure out hints on how to overcome your part of the puzzle. I expect this will be the encounter people talk about the most after season 9 is all said and done.
Character Creation
As far as character creation itself is concerned players are encouraged to use the new options presented in The Dungeon Survival Handbook. According to what’s printed in the adventure this new book will include Kobold and Svirfneblin as new racial options as well as a slew of new themes. Here’s a quick teaser of what each of the new themes is all about.
Pre-Generated Characters
I know a lot of people will ask if I don’t cover this here so here goes: no new pre-gens were provided (which should come as no surprise). We got the same six stock characters we’ve had since season 4. I suspect we’ll be seeing a lot of groups with Belgos since he’s the only Drow pre-gen. For downloadable copies of every pre-gen Wizards has provided to date, as well as a wide selection of fan-made characters, visit the Dungeon’s Master Pre-Generated Character Library.
Treasure Cards
In my opinion this is what will get people talking. Players who participated in the first Drow adventure during PAX East can give their FLGS a code they were given (I assume at the con) for a special Treasure Card. Organizers are instructed to give out these cards to people with codes first and then either distribute to worthy players or use them as future rewards. Regardless of how these are distributed I think the card itself will generate significant buzz.
Although players can still earn Fortune Cards (see below) these are the real jewel of the season. These cards will give low-lever characters a defensive bonus but it also gives them a means to counteract the Drow’s racial Cloud of Darkness.
I hope this is an indication of things to come. I like the idea that we can earn new magic items for public-play. I have no idea if this item is exclusive to the card or if it will be in The Dungeon Survival Handbook (and eventually the online compendium). Exclusivity would certainly be a nice touch and it would be a great way to get more players to come out and see what public-play is all about.
It’s interesting to note that the items is called “Ruby Medallion of Lathander” since Lathander is now called Amaunator in the Forgotten Realms. Is this foreshadowing more changes to the FR pantheon or is this just an ancient relic?
Front
Back
Amazing Maps
If you’re like me one of the reasons you DM D&D Encounters is for the fantastic maps. I’ve got maps that depict the desert (Fury of the Wastewalker), the snow (March of the Phantom Brigade), forests (Beyond the Crystal Cave), sewers (Lost Crown of Neverwinter) and dungeons (The Elder Elemental Eye). This season gives us plenty of great underground caverns to add to our collection. As usual Wizards has done a great job in producing top-notch maps. I can’t wait to use them for D&D Encounters and my home games.
Initiative Tracker
Fortune Cards
Although we don’t use Fortune Cards in my games they are obviously popular since Wizards keeps producing new sets along with every season of D&D Encounters. This season players can earn up to three special promo Fortune Cards exclusive to D&D Encounters.
When a player earns 20 Renown Points, they earn the Bloodcurdling Scream (promo 6) Fortune Card.
When a player earns 40 Renown Points, they earn the Insane Defiance (promo 7) Fortune Card.
When a player earns 60 Renown Points, they earn the Cunning Misdirection (promo 8.) Fortune Card.
Instructions
Poster
Every season Wizards provides the FLGS with a poster to advertise the current season of D&D Encounters. I think this season’s poster will catch the eye of many curious gamers.
The Adventure Begins
Web of the Spider Queen is the first of three season of D&D Encounters that will feature the PCs battling the Drow in the Forgotten Realms. As the introduction to the masses this adventure shouldn’t disappoint. There’s plenty of action, adventure and intrigue. The Drow are a crafty and deadly race and the heroes will have their work cut out for them. Season 9 begins on Wednesday, May 16.
Visit the Dungeon’s Master D&D Encounters Archive for all of our ongoing weekly coverage as well as other great D&D Encounters articles and resources.
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1 2 3 Next »Note to DMs running this with DDI accounts Dungeon #201 features an article on Old Skull Inn. Great to add more background to place.
Super excited about the new season. I just finished reading Into the Unknown (my FLGS got copies they could sell before the general retail sale date), and it's full of really fun stuff. Totally worth the money.
As a quick primer, the things from the new book that'll be handy for Encounters include:
NEW RACES... Goblins, Kobolds, & Svirfneblin, each with several racial feats & optional powers.
NEW THEMES... mentioned above, with great ways to make a theme help create a backstory. Also, they're very fun themes overall.
NEW ITEMS... various dungeoneering items, like helmets that hold your light source, or alchemical tinctures that'll eat through stone.
NEW POWERS... actually, most of these won't matter to Encounters characters, at least not at 1st level. There is (finally) support for some of the "lost" classes like rune priests & seekers, though.
METHODS OF SURVIVAL... more than just the "skill check solves everything" approach, this book is full of stuff about ways to make sure you clear a room, find hidden traps/treasures, survive various hazards, etc.
No new classes or builds, which was actually a welcome relief. I was frustrated enough with the Elementalist Sorcerer's average 30 pts of damage last season, so it'll be nice to get back to basics this season.
Also, the artwork is FANTASTIC, and much of the book feels like the old AD&D and 2nd ed stuff I loved when I first started playing. There's also tons of DM advice on how to run different dungeon & Underdark encounters, so I'd totally recommend reading this before running the next (2) D&D Encounters season(s).
Ameron,
I'm going to be running this at my FLGS, and I like to use minis rather than the tokens. So, I'm trying to find out exactly what monsters the party will face this season (Drow obviously, but what else?) so I can make sure I've got what I need.
Unfortunately, my FLGS hasn't received the adventure materials yet. Typically they don't arrive until a couple of days before the 0 session.
Is there any way you can email me with a list of the monsters?
@The Gimper
Check your email, I sent you the monster list.
Any insight you can give to those of us who are wanting to play Drow in this season, to tie your last post on playing Drow together with this one on facing them? WotC seems to be anticipating some level of Drow PC's given their reference to them in the Bloodsworn theme, but I'd like to ensure I maintain some level of plausibility if I go for, say, a Blackguard. For instance, will an evil drow with a score to settle with another city be okay, or need they be good? Are Lolth-worshipping Drow totally off limits, in order for the adventure to work?
Lindevi, I'm going to guess that they'll limit classes to the Essentials books, which would remove Blackguard from the options. There're plenty of themes that'd work for a Drow though... an Outcast could have left a Drow city after his house was defeated, or because she wasn't down with the whole Spider Queen thing. An escaped Thrall might have formerly been a slave to aboleths or illithids, and no longer fit in with any society (even though he's biologically Drow). And the Underdark Envoy is a smart-talking merchant/politician that even uses a Drow as the example in the book. So yes, plenty of options for Drow PCs.
For those looking to get their Drow on, we've got some new Drow pre-gens up made specifically for the new season of Encounters. They've been written up using a new display format for ease of use for new or younger players, but are hopefully dynamic enough to still garner attention. At the very least, all the art is original.
http://dungeonsdonuts.blogspot.ca/2012/04/web-of-spider-queen-pre-generated.html
@Ameron
Thanks!
Drow are hated by everybody, especially other drow. So if you have a drow PC, you can use just about any excuse for why you are opposed to the villains of this adventure.
Now there is a widespread rule that you are not allowed evil PCs. In particular LFR does not allow evil PCs and Encounters PC are supposed to graduate into LFR. The DMs are not likely to check too closely and so if you are not too evil, you should have few problems. But strictly speaking you had best be neutral.
"Drow are hated by everybody"
And strictly speaking, since the Drow are the major bad guys in the next three seasons, any PC Drow should also experience negative reactions from just about every NPC (or other PCs for that matter) he or she encounters. Trust will have to be earned, and it won't come easy.
I know it's silly, but I'm kind of excited about Treasure Cards. I really appreciated it when Encounters DMs pre-printed the contents of the treasure tables to hand out to people. Sometimes the items the adventure refers to are not the easiest to find.
And an aside-- our party would have wasted the hag the first time we fought her if she hadn't run away!