Category: Adventure Hooks

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Friday Favourite: Adventure Hooks – Campaigns in the Cold

On Friday we comb through our extensive archives to find an older article that we feel deserves another look. From January 18, 2011, Dungeon’s Master once again presents: Adventure Hooks – Campaigns in the Cold.

This summer we ran a series of adventure hooks that featured numerous bizarre and strange happenings that occurred in the Sun & Moon Tavern (part 1| part 2). These articles have been incredibly popular and continue to be among our most widely read pages from the past six months. It seems pretty clear to us that our readers want more short, quick adventure hooks.

One of the reasons the Adventure Hooks from the Sun & Moon Tavern were so popular was that they all centered around one common location. It made coming up with the adventure hooks easier for me as the DM, but I think it also made them more appealing for readers.

Before I sat down to brainstorm more adventure hooks I wanted to come up with a theme to tie them all together. The answer was as simple as looking out my front door. I decided to put together adventure hooks that all took place in a snowy environment.

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Friday Favourite: Traps & Hazards: The Sword in the Stone

sword-in-a-stoneOn Friday we comb through our extensive archives to find an older article that we feel deserves another look. From May 19, 2010, Dungeon’s Master once again presents: Traps & Hazards: The Sword in the Stone.

What do you do when you discover an ancient red dragon living in your neighbourhood? You get adventurers to kill it, of course. But what happens if the adventurers don’t kill the dragon? It will be angry that you tried to kill it and it will likely destroy your village. If only there was a way to keep sending adventurers against the dragon while avoiding the dragon’s wrath after each failed attempt. The inhabitants of Burrow’s Scar have come up with just such a plan. Unfortunately for your PCs, they are likely to be the next heroes tricked into face the dragon.

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The United Nations… of Monsters

a-to-z-letters-uOne thing the fantastic worlds of D&D always seem to have in common is extreme racially diversity. Hundreds of intelligent races and monsters coexist on one planet, often even on one continent. In a world with magic this improbability becomes accepted as part of the campaign world. But have you ever wondered how all those monsters continue to coexist?

Think about it, why haven’t the biggest and most powerful creatures completely decimated some of the less populace races? It’s almost like there’s some kind of force in place to ensure that no matter what kind of creature, monster or humanoid you happen to be, you will never be the last of your kind. Every race will continue to live in some form or another in the world of Dungeons & Dragons.

What if the reason that no species is hunted to extinction is that the monsters themselves have some kind of arrangement or agreement in place? What if the Giants agreed not to destroy the Orcs and the Dragons agreed not to wipe out the Halflings? What if the Beholders agreed not to eradicate the Svirfneblin and the Goblins agreed not to kill every last Pixie. What if there was some kind of governing body, a council if you will, that had representation from every sentient creature on the planet and that this group met in secret to decide on matters concerning all beings in the gaming world? It could happen. In fact, who’s to say it hasn’t already happened.

Throughout April Dungeon’s Master is participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. The challenge is to write a new article ever day in April, excluding Sundays. That’s 26 articles over the course of the month. To make things even more interesting the title of each article will begin with a different letter of the alphabet. Today “U” is for United Nations of Monsters, a governing body where all the races of the D&D world come together in peace for mutual benefit and prosperity.

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Nightmares & Dreamscapes – An Adventure Hook

a-to-z-letters-n“Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real. What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?” – Morpheus, The Matrix (1999)

In Marvel comics there is an actual entity called Nightmare. He is the supreme ruler of the Dream Dimension, a pocket universe made real by the collective psychic energies of everyone asleep on the planet. As long as a singe person is sleeping somewhere in the world, the Dream Dimension continues to exist. He has the power to trap a person’s soul in the Dream Dimension. The illusion is so real that the captive soul does not realize that it’s actually in a dream.

Building on this idea, a clever DM could have an encounter, an adventure or even a full out campaign take place entirely in the dream world. Even if the PCs realized that they were in the Dream Dimension they wouldn’t know how to escape.

Throughout April Dungeon’s Master is participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. The challenge is to write a new article ever day in April, excluding Sundays. That’s 26 articles over the course of the month. To make things even more interesting the title of each article will begin with a different letter of the alphabet. “N” is for Nightmare as we look at the idea of an adventure in the realm where dreams and nightmares are real.

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Greatest Hits 2012: The 5 Ws of Treasure Maps

While the Dungeon’s Master team enjoys some well-deserved vacation time, we’re breaking out the greatest hits and shining a spotlight on a few of our favourite articles from 2012. We’ve searched for hidden gems that our newer readers might have missed and our long-time readers will enjoy reading again. Enjoy a second look at these greatest hits from Dungeon’s Master.

Although all 5 Ws are all important I find that “who” can often be the most interesting. Finding out who drew they map can be a rich part of any adventure. Assuming that the PCs don’t want to the whole world to know they have this map and are searching for information on its origins, it can lead to some very interesting role-playing. No doubt the PCs will want to consult with experts, look up answers for themselves in lost tomes, and likely be secretive about the whole thing. Perhaps they even realize that misdirection can throw others off their trail. The point is that no matter which skills your party is good at, almost every skill can be put to use in some meaningful way when it comes to finding out who drew the map.

As almost an afterthought in the original article I mentioned providing the players with a handout. In retrospect I think this point should have been given more prominence. Players love handouts. As soon as they have something tangible in their hands they’re hooked. Provide them with a rough map, throw on some unlabelled locations, a few cryptic notes in the margins, and maybe some strange symbols that they can’t immediately decipher, and you know that the PCs will stop at nothing to solve the mystery and find the treasure.

The beauty of treasure maps is that they’re equally useful in any role-playing game, any editions, at any level, and in any campaign setting. This is a big reason why I like giving the PCs treasure maps regardless of what game I’m playing.

From October 10, 2012, Dungeon’s Master once again presents: The 5 Ws of Treasure Maps.

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The 5 Ws of Treasure Maps

“Among the loot is a treasure map.”

This statement never fails to get the players’ attention. Suddenly the magic sword and the rare gems are forgotten at the possibility of even greater riches. I’ve seen players expend more energy arguing over who gets the treasure map while other magical treasures on the floor right in front of them go unclaimed. The idea that someone hid something valuable and you could be the one to find it really hits a nerve with players. Why settle for this lame flaming sword +3 when I could have something even better? Ah, the insatiable greed of players.

Personally I love treasure maps. They’re one of the easiest and best adventure hooks in D&D (or just about any other RPG). The promise of something valuable, the excitement of following the map’s directions, and the thrill of acquiring treasure appeals to an overwhelming majority of players. Knowing this, it’s easy for the DM to lead the PCs anywhere he wants them to go, because who can resist a treasure map?

But a treasure map can and should be more than a map with a big X marked on it. It certainly can be this mundane and direct, but if it is then it’s a safe bet when the PCs get there they won’t find anything worthwhile. A good map has a story all its own, a history, a personality if you will. Someone went to a lot of trouble to hide their treasure and then write down the location. The last thing they wanted was for a bunch of idiots (the PCs) to easily find it and steal it just because they got their hands on his map.

Before throwing a treasure map haphazardly into your game you should answer the 5 Ws – who, what, when, where, why (although not necessarily in that order). It may seem like a lot of extra (and unnecessary) work, but believe me it’s time well spent.

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5 Adventure Hooks: Happy Birthday

Today is my birthday. Sunday is Wimwick’s birthday. So it seemed appropriate to write an article that was in some way birthday related. The solution: birthday-themed adventure hooks. Each of the hooks provided below are tied to someone’s birthday.

As a DM I find that I’m always trying to come up with a good reason for why something happens at a particular time in the adventure. Tying it to someone’s birthday is as good a reason as any.

I’ve tried tying key events in my campaign to a PC’s birthday but I usually experience two major roadblocks. 1) We don’t track time accurately (or at all) in most games. 2) Very few players ever bother to specify when their PC was born. In the end we just say that a PCs birthday falls when it’s important to the story or whenever the player wants it to happen.

In campaigns where tracking the passage of time (and by default birthdays and other milestones) was important we used to say that every PC you play has your birthday. However, in our group there are five Virgos so all the PCs ended up having their birthday within two weeks of each other. In the end we just let the power of plot drive PCs birthdays and that’s worked pretty well over the years.

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5 Adventure Hooks: Time is Running Out

A lot of DMs, me included, have run into the problem known as the 5-miute work day or the bed problem. This is when some or all PCs expend all of their resources more quickly than expected and demand an extended rest to recharge, regardless of what is happening in the story. We’ve run numerous articles on this topic and even offered a few ways to overcome it. (See The 5-Minute Work Day: Blame the Players and Solutions.)

Today we’re examining this problem from a slightly different angle. In my experience the best way to avoid the 5-minute work day is to put the PCs on the clock. Set up a situation where resting is simply not an option. Tie something in the story to a ticking clock and make it clear that the zero-hour event (whatever it may be) will happen well before 8 hours are up. So if the PCs try to take an extended rest it’s essentially game over.

This kind of adventure should only be undertaken on rare occasions. After all, very few PCs lives as exciting as Jack Bauer and will only find themselves working under this kind of exceptionally tight deadline in the most unusual and rare of circumstances. When DMs decide that it’s time to put the PCs into one of these situations you want to make it memorable. The encounters shouldn’t seem overly forced in order to work. With this in mind we present 5 Adventure Hooks below that will help you put the heroes in a fight against time as well as the usual hazards and monsters.

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Adventure Hooks: The Legendary Sword Masters (Part 2)

You’re never too old to learn something new. Adventurers need to remember this. No matter how powerful they become there’s always someone who’s more powerful, or more skilled than they are.

In Adventure Hooks: The Legendary Sword Masters (Part 1) we suggested that at some point in your campaign the heroes may need to learn a special fighting technique from a legendary sword master. When such circumstances arise they’ll first need to find the legendary master and then convince him to train them. As he’ll likely become and integral part of the story arc, it’s important that he be interesting and memorable. Today we provide six more examples of legendary sword masters that you can use in your campaign.

It’s important to note that although we use male pronouns and refer to the PCs as masculine, the example masters listed below will certainly work if they are portrayed as female. Just look at the picture at the top of this article. She clearly looks like she can handle that massive blade like a pro. Many gamers (including the majority of the ones I play with) will hear “sword master” and assume it’s a man they’re looking for. Making the legendary sword master a woman can add an interesting aspect to the role-playing.

Regardless of the master’s sex, the character needs to be well developed and have a distinct personality. We’ve provided enough details to get you started but DMs should feel free to tweak these masters as they see fit. With the exception of the Dwarven Master none of them specify race so it’s entirely possible that they could be a race the PCs least suspect. Throwing conventional wisdom and preconceptions out the window is a good way to make any NPC more interesting.

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Adventure Hooks: The Legendary Sword Masters (Part 1)

Every hero needs a teacher. It’s a common part of many origin stories; the hero is taught by a washed-up has-been who used to be a great master in his day. Of course the hero doesn’t usually know of the master’s glorious past or the fall from grace that led him to his current predicament.

Training isn’t really a part of the mechanics in 4e D&D (although it was in the previous editions). However, creative DMs can come up with any number of reasons for the PCs to need special training in order to achieve the latest campaign goals. The idea of training and refining skills isn’t limited to just low-level adventurers. No matter what level your PC happens to be, there’s always something he can learn from a legendary sword master.

The key to making any interaction between a PC and a teacher interesting is for the master to be a fully fleshed out characters with a story of his own – the more quirky and eccentric the better. Shrouding a legendary sword master in mystery and intrigue is a sure way to get players interested. Throw in a compelling story motive and suddenly the PCs will do whatever they can to find the legendary sword master.

To help get you started here’s an example plot hook for working a legendary sword master into your game.

  • A powerful enemy has returned after a long absence (maybe a demon that was banished a generation ago?). This villain is on the verge of destroying civilization. The only way to stop him is to learn a special fighting style that only a select few sword masters know. The PCs must find one of these legendary sword masters and then convince them to teach the PC the special technique. But convincing the sword master to train the PCs may be more difficult than expected.

Below are examples of six legendary sword masters, each with a background and personality. These six are just the first of many we’ll share in the coming weeks. Feel free to use any or all of them in your next campaign. No matter what kind of adventure you’re running, I’m sure you can find a way to slip one or more of these legendary sword masters into the story. Have fun with them.

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