Tag: D&D

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Web of the Spider Queen (Week 1)

On March 17, 2010, Wizards of the Coast begin this little experiment called D&D Encounters with the very first Wednesday night encounter. Over two years later the program is still going strong and yesterday marked the beginning of season 9. In Web of the Spider Queen the PCs will be facing off against Lloth’s forces as the Drow invade Shadowdale. This is all part of the ongoing Rise of the Underdark campaign that will be dominating the Wizards’ product offerings throughout 2012.

As we’ve done from the outset of D&D Encounters we will continue providing weekly recaps every Thursday. This is our way to provide an ongoing synopsis of the story as well as share the highs and lows of our specific campaign. We will also continue recording the sessions and sharing the podcasts on a weekly basis. So get ready to fight some Drow as the Web of the Spider Queen beings.

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Adventure Hooks

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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D&D Encounters Player Resources

It’s Here! – Lair Assault: Spiderkiller

You’ve braved the Forge, retrieved the Talon and slain the Tyrantclaw, now it’s time to stick it to the Drow! On June 1 Rise of the Underdark continues with Lair Assault: Spiderkiller. Season 4 has the PCs facing off against a small but powerful band of Drow that are up to no good in the Undermountain.

Lair Assault is the Top Gun of D&D. It’s for the best of the best. Normally you don’t win at D&D, but Lair Assault changes that. You create the most optimized character possible (within the confines of the challenge parameters) and try your best to accomplish the goal. It’s not easy and Wizard expects 80% of parties to suffer a TPK during their first attempt to complete the challenge. So if you think you’re a D&D Top Gun than Lair Assault is the adventure series for you.

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D&D Encounters Editorial

D&D Encounters: The Elder Elemental Eye – Report Card

We’ve completed another season of D&D Encounters. That’s 8 for those keeping track. Before we jump into season 9 and do battle with the Drow let’s take a look back at the season that was and discus what worked and what didn’t, what we’d like to have seen and what we might have done differently.

Good Introduction to D&D

I think that many of the D&D Encounters regulars forget that the program is designed as an introduction to D&D. It’s intent is to entice new players to try the game, one encounter at a time, and see if they like it enough to buy the materials and play it at home with their friends. From that perspective I think this season did a fantastic job.

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DM Resources

Epic Level Encounter Design – Part 2: Developing Challenges Appropriate for Epic Level Characters

At the epic level the PCs are capable of acts that can change the path of history forever. The aim of this article is to help you embrace the capacity of the party and set a stage appropriately large for their abilities. This article is about spectacles that are just as big as PCs who can come back from the dead every day.

Enter: The Renascence Man, Woman or Child

In order to challenge the PC you need to respect their capability. By level 21 the party has a bag of tricks so deep that attempting to anticipate them is a fool’s errand. There are things that the PCs had to tackle at low levels that are, by now, tasks that are beneath them. The PCs at this point should not have to make Diplomacy checks to convince people that their task is important. Epic level characters shouldn’t have to make knowledge checks to recall simple details, their experience and access to information is so vast that such checks are just a waste of time and any attempt to withhold such information won’t add difficulty or strife, but will just annoy. The only time an epic level PC should be forced to make such checks is to demonstrate how far above such tasks they are.

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DM Resources Editorial Skill Challenges

Intimidate is Not the Torture Skill

How often does a player at your table want to do something – in character – that is morally apprehensible and blatantly evil? It doesn’t happen often in my games, but it does seem to come up every once in a while. When it does and the action is questioned by the DM or the other players, the player whose character is taking the action usually says something like, “I would never do this, but my character has no issue with it.” I realize that fantasy RPGs provide an escape from reality and you can play any kind of character you want, but I think it’s important to know where to draw the line.

Over the years I’ve come to realize that there are some things that are deemed acceptable in the context of D&D even thought most players would never condone or support such actions in real life. For example, slavery in the context of D&D isn’t usually seen as a big issue. Killing is also given tremendous latitude if the creature or person on the other end of the sword is evil. Theft is perfectly acceptable and is essentially what the majority of adventurers do to earn their loot. I guess it really comes down to the context of the situation and the justification for these actions. If killing an entire tribe of Orcs will make the nearby city safer for “civilized people” then the act of genocide is seen as acceptable and even heroic.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: The Elder Elemental Eye (Week 11)

Upon finding evidence that the Abyssal Plague had infected the inhabitants of the town of Easting the heroes risked life and limb to traversed the subterranean shrine where a cult of evil Dwarves in service to Tharizdun (The Elder Elemental Eye) plotted to spread the plague across the Forgotten Realms. After two days of chasing the Dwarves through the shrine, battling them and their minions, the heroes finally found and destroyed the cult leader and the Voidharrow, the source of the Abyssal Plague the cultist were using to infect the locals. With the threat of the Abyssal Plague stopped, and Easting returning to normal, the PCs venture back to Iriaebor to report of their deeds and collect the reward promised them by the Merchant Council. And with that they adventure comes to an end… or does it?

This was the final week of D&D Encounters season 9. Although last week seemed like the conclusion to the adventure there was still one more loose end that was resolved in the final encounter. We had 11 players and two DMs (exactly as we did last week) at our FLGS. My table of five remained unchanged.

  • Windsoul/Firesoul Genasi Assassin
  • Earthsoul Genasi Swordmage [Earthforger]
  • Firesoul Genasi Barbarian (Berserker) [Ironwrought]
  • Sandsoul Genasi Ranger (Hunter) [Unseelie Agent]
  • Elf Ranger (Scout)

This week’s encounter began with the PCs on the road from Easting to Iriaebor. A week had passed since they defeated the Dwarven cult and they have had ample time to rest and recover from their adventures. They presented their report to the Merchant Council along with sealed and signed testimony from Father Evendur confirming the party’s heroics. They were paid 50 gp as promised and awarded free room and board for a month at the Wandering Wyvern, one of Iriaebor’s finest inns.

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D&D Encounters Player Resources

Lair Assault: Attack of the Tyrantclaw – Round-up

The third Lair Assault has almost run its course and we finally got a chance to run a few sessions at my FLGS. I’m going to assume by now that anyone who is interested in Lair Assault has already played Attack of the Tyrantclaw. That being the case this article will contain a lot of spoilers so that I can speak to direct problems, issues, and tactics. Hopefully it will help DMs who plan to run this adventure again and it will inspire players who haven’t yet defeated the Orcs on Dinosaurs.

There was plenty of interest in playing this season but we had a lot of trouble arranging a time that worked for all of our regulars. By the time we finally got around to playing it was mid-April and the season was half over. But this actually turned out to be a good thing. As the DM for the first event I was able to search the internet for tips and tricks before I ran the first game and am I ever glad I did. Reading about some of the problems other tables experienced gave me time to review some of the rules and be ready to make the right call if similar situations occurred at my table.

Below are tips, tricks, and advice for players and DMs. We’ve also got recordings of three session of Lair Assault: Attack of the Tyrantclaw below for anyone who was unable to play this season themselves but wants to hear how much fun it was to fight Dinosaurs and try to survive. The first two sessions (which I ran as the DM) resulted in TPKs. The third session (in which I played) we won. Enjoy and good luck!

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Web of the Spider Queen – Preview

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.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: The Elder Elemental Eye (Week 10)

At the end of last week’s encounter the PCs emerged from the dreamscape Easting in a room made of black stone where they saw the Dwarven cult leader Zarnak addressing a pool of glowing red liquid with gold and silver flecks. “Why does it remain silent?” he asked no one in particular. “No matter!”

As we approach the thrilling conclusion to this season of D&D Encounters we continue seeing most players week in and week out. The other table at my FLGS had their usual six PCs while my table was down to five. The party at my table had the following PCs:

  • Windsoul/Firesoul Genasi Assassin
  • Earthsoul Genasi Swordmage [Earthforger]
  • Sandsoul Genasi Ranger (Hunter) [Unseelie Agent]
  • Firesoul Genasi Barbarian (Berserker) [Ironwrought]
  • Elf Ranger (Scout)

So far this party has done remarkably well without a leader (much better than I expected them to do). They’ve managed their few healing resources conservatively and began this week with two healing potions in their inventory. Sensible use of second wind and the understanding that dying allies need help has turned this party of strikers into a real force to be reckoned with.

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