Tag: D&D

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Adventure Hooks DM Resources

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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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Council of Spiders (Week 6)

With Menzoberranzan potentially looking at a civil war, the PCs found themselves in a unique position to possibly influence key members of House Melarn, House Xorlarrin and Brigand D’aerthe before they decide how to react to the coming conflict.

Over the past two sessions the PCs infiltrated the Council of Spiders’ hideout in order to rescue Hoshtar Xorlarrin who had been kidnapped. The PCs killed everyone they faced, rescued Hoshtar and successfully planted false evidence to implicate House Melarn’s involvement with the Council of Spiders – a detail they made sure to point out to Hoshtar before they left.

Accompanied by the still badly wounded Hoshtar, the party headed to their predetermined meeting place to deliver Hoshtar and share what they learned over the previous two sessions with Ash’ala Melarn and Ro’kolor of Brigand D’aerthe.

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Actual Play Podcast at Harry T North (Week 6) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Actual Play Podcast at Dueling Grounds (Week 6) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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D&D Encounters

Lair Assault Map Gallery

Last week we published the D&D Encounters Map Gallery which had pictures of every map from every season of D&D Encounters to date. Today we share the maps from Lair Assault.

Each Lair Assault is a specially designed dungeon delve that pits a party of five PCs against nearly impossibly odds. They adventures are designed to be challenging and there is a realistic expectation from the designers that many parties will suffer a TPK their first time through. In some cases the PCs only have a limited number of rounds to complete their objective, which of course adds another level of difficulty and complexity.

The maps for these adventures are often secret at the outset, but players are encouraged to replay the adventure using the knowledge they gained from their first time through. The maps are often simple and deadly; exactly what most DMs are looking for.

Some of the Lair Assault kits have included mini versions of the maps for the DM’s reference. Scans of these maps are posted below. When such maps were not provided I’ve resorted to photos of the poster map. I’ll continue to update this gallery as more Lair Assault adventures are released. I won’t post the current season’s map unless the PCs would normally have access to it at the adventure’s outset.

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Month in Review

Month in Review: September 2012

In September I officially became a professional gamer as I had two articles published in Dungeon Magazine. At the same time my home gaming group decided that we needed a short break from D&D so we’ve been trying out other board games and RPGs. I’ve realized that by taking a step back it’s provided new perspective which is serving as a great source of inspiration.

In September we borrowed from Doctor Who and Dresden Files to come up with articles on New Initiative and Collaborative Dungeon Design. Who knows what October will bring?

Last month we continued to focus heavily on D&D public play with our preview of the new Lair Assault: Kill the Wizard, and weekly coverage of D&D Encounters: Council of Spiders. Even if you’re not actively playing D&D Encounters you should check out our actual-play podcast and our weekly show “Recounting Encounters” in which we dissect each week’s session.

We’d like to thank everyone who visited Dungeon’s Master in September. Please leave us your comments and let us know what you think. We welcome your feedback, opinions and questions. I also encourage you to follow me on Twitter (@ameron_dm).

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Council of Spiders (Week 5)

Last week the PCs managed to get inside the Council of Spiders hideout where they search for the captured Hoshtar Xorlarrin. Every Drow that stood in PCs’ way last week was killed. During their short rest the PCs looted the bodies and took anything of value they could find in the upper floor of the hideout. They paused just long enough to complete their secret objective before heading downstairs.

Once they reached the hideout’s lower level they came face-to-face with a rapier-wielding Drow Assassin. “And so it begins,” he said. “Thank you, dear friends, for starting what I’m sure will be a perfectly lovely war.”

This week I ran a table of four: Drow Rogue (f), Drow Rogue/Blackguard (f), Drow Druid (m), Drow Cleric Priestess(f). All four are affiliated with Bregan D’aerthe. This party began the adventure at level 4, and they are all level 5 now.

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Actual Play Podcast at Harry T North (Week 5) [ 1:39:28 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Actual Play Podcast at Dueling Grounds (Week 5) [ 1:53:12 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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DM Resources

Collaborative Dungeon Design

It’s unusual for DMs to get the players to help them design encounters. After all, part of the fun of being a player is the element of the unknown. Players love it and DMs relish in it. The idea that the DM springs the unknown on the players is practically a mandate of D&D. I know this is how things usually work when I’m the DM. I have a vision of what an encounter will be like or where it will take place and I make it happen. I create the encounters in secret. The last thing I want is for the players to have any foreknowledge of what’s next. In fact I’ve gone so far as to change details if I discover they know something they shouldn’t about the next encounter.

During my recent introduction to the Dresden Files RPG I experienced the extreme satisfaction of being part of the collaborative city creation process. The game takes place in a city that everyone helps develop. The DM (or in this case GM) still has the final say, but all the players work together to make the setting interesting. Of course it didn’t take long to see how this exercise could be just as useful to other games, namely D&D.

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D&D Encounters DM Resources

D&D Encounters Map Gallery

Since the beginning of the D&D Encounter program every adventure has come with at least one full-colour poster map. Regardless of your thoughts on any individual D&D Encounters season or the program as a whole, you have to admit that the maps have consistently been among the best elements of every adventure. The maps have depicted a wide variety of terrain since the program’s inception. Most maps are generic enough that they can easily be used by DM after the D&D Encounters program is done.

Below is a gallery of every map that’s been used (so far) for D&D Encounters. For DMs who have run some or all of the previous seasons of D&D Encounters, this gallery provides you with an easy, quick-reference to the maps. The next time you need a map with certain terrain or other specific features, just scroll through this gallery until you find what you need.

For DMs who have not run a season of D&D Encounters this gallery can serves as inspiration when you’ve got to create maps for your own campaigns. All of these maps were created using Wizards dungeon tiles, so you can recreate them yourself if you’ve got tiles. Alternatively you can draw your maps free-hand using these as a source of inspiration.

Sharing all the maps in this way is also a good advertisement for the D&D Encounters program. One of the reasons I keep running the adventures each season is so that I can keep these great maps. At my FLGS we’re always trying to get new DMs to run a season of D&D Encounters. By showcasing the great maps that come with each season our hope is that new DMs will step up and go behind the screen for a season or two.

The map is one of the most important parts of any encounter. The more dynamic and detailed the map, the better your chances of creating a truly memorable encounter. With a solid map, the rest of the details for an encounter seem to effortlessly fall into place. So the next time you need a quick map, take a look through this gallery and get inspired. After all, no one wants to fight monsters on a map that’s just a big featureless square.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Council of Spiders (Week 4)

In chapter 1 the PCs were sent on a secret mission to find an old Drow outpost that was once used for magical research. Despite some in-fighting, the party completed their objective. They found the outpost and completed the ritual that allowed Lolth to siphon the arcane energies and put it towards the creation of her Demon Weave.

About a week has passed when chapter 2 begins. The PCs have recuperated from their adventure, leveled up and spent any gold they might have accumulated along the way. Again the PCs are summoned to a clandestine meeting and given a secret assignment by their superiors.

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DM Resources

The New Initiative – Talk then Fight

“Everyone, roll initiative.” When the DM speaks these magic words we all know that it’s time for combat. This is how D&D works. The players determine who goes in what order and then you have at it. Since initiative is tied to Dexterity, PCs with the highest Dex almost always go first. And what do you know, the powers for most strikers – Rogues, Rangers, Sorcerers, Monks, Vampires – are generally tied to Dex so this is usually their best stat. The result is that the PCs who have the best chance of inflicting the most damage will act first in combat more often than not. This is all well and good if your objective is to kill everything you come across, but every now and then don’t you think there should be an opportunity to talk to your opponents before the hot-headed striker does something stupid like acting first and killing something?

We have it so engrained in our D&D mindset that rolling initiative is the natural precursor to killing monsters that very few PCs will take a second to try and defuse a combat situation with words. And those that do usually act so far down in the initiative order that by the time they get to go the fight is already well underway. Yet talking is a free action. In-game, your PC can talk even if it’s not his turn – even if he didn’t win initiative. However, players I’ve gamed with rarely take advantage of this before combat begins. Players roll initiative and want to act in that order. So why not roll two initiatives – one for talking and one for fighting?

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Council of Spiders (Week 3)

Last week the PCs were ambushed by Svirfneblin. After barely surviving that encounter they took a short rest before heading onward to the former House Shobalar outpost of Sezz’ia. During the rest they searched area and looted the Svirfneblin’s bodies. On the corpses they found three potions: two healing potions and one elixir of invisibility. In one of the nearby passages they found a cowering Goblin.

At my FLGS we’ve been running two tables, one started at level 1 and the other at level 4. This week we only had six players, three from each group. Because we were four levels apart we couldn’t easily merge into one full party. So both tables ran with three players. At my table I decided to run an NPC to bring the party to four and to throw something unexpected at the players.

In attendance were the following three PCs:

  • Drow Rogue [female], aligned with Bregan D’aerthe
  • Drow Rogue/Blackguard [female], aligned with Bregan D’aerthe
  • Drow Druid [male], aligned with Bregan D’aerthe

The Rogue/Blackguard (whom I’ll just call Blackguard for simplicity) found the Goblin, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, and demanded information from the sniveling, cowering creature. The Goblin, who quickly identified himself as Snüt, begged for his life. The Blackguard said she’d consider taking Snüt as her slave if he provide worthy.

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