Tag: Dungeon’s Master

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DM Resources

5 Reasons Intelligent Undead Became Undead

Becoming undead isn’t something that many PCs aspire to; in fact I don’t think it’s an aspiration anybody aspires to. Death may be terrible and even unexpected, but why would anyone want to become undead? I guess it really depends on what kind of undead we’re talking about and why the individual wants to extend their natural lifespan.

In most cases the transformation isn’t by choice. An unsuspecting victim becomes undead because they were killed by some un-living creature. The most likely possibilities are that you were bitten or scratched by a Zombie, Ghoul, or Vampire before you died. If this happens to a PC it’s game over for that character and time for the player to roll up a new one. The character’s undeath is treated the same way as the character’s death.

For players who really want to play undead characters they have to make that decision during character creation. They can play the Revenant or Vryloka races or they can choose the Vampire class. But if these options don’t appeal to players, a willing DM might allow a few other options. After all there are intelligent creatures that deliberately and often willingly become undead, take the Lich and Mummy, for example.

It’s assumed that a lot of the intelligent undead creatures took deliberate steps while they were alive to ensure that they could live on in undead form. Although D&D usually depicts powerful, intelligent undead as evil monsters, there is a good chance that before this villain became the undead entity the party is desperately trying to defeat he was a mortal being with a solid plan and a good reason for becoming undead.

By identifying the reason behind the transformation DMs can make intelligent undead more than a stat block. After all, the being likely lived for decades or even centuries before the PCs came along. Knowing what drove the monster to become undead will give him a personality and make him a more interesting opponent. It’s even possible that the undead creature doesn’t see himself as evil at all, and if the PCs ever discover his back-story they too may come to that realization.

With that in mind I’ve come up with 5 reasons intelligent undead became undead. I see these examples serving two different proposes. The first is to enrich the undead villain’s background. The second is to act as adventure hooks. Are the PCs trying to help or stop the would-be Lich from becoming undead or willing to take steps to ensure it happens?

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DM Resources

5 Ways to Make Mindless Undead More Interesting

A lot of DMs have a love/hate relationship with undead; I know I do. Whenever I need a monster to round out an encounter I know that some kind of undead will always fill the gap. With so many different kinds of undead to choose from they can easily become the go-to monsters. However, as the party gets tougher I find that I’m less likely to use undead staples like skeletons and zombies. Sure I can adjust their scores to make them level-appropriate for tougher parties but these undead are really one-trick ponies. By the time the party reaches upper heroic tier they know the trick and they’re no longer impressed.

This is why I try to limit how often I use undead creatures in my campaign. Some of the most common undead, at least the ones you’re most likely to encounter in great numbers (skeletons and zombies) tend to be mindless. They rely on their overwhelming numbers rather than any advanced tactics. After all, how can a creature with no brain, or a rotten decaying brain, think at all? This lack of reason makes them boring and predictable.

But undead have their place in D&D and we shouldn’t just cast any of them aside, regardless of the PCs’ level. So in order to make mindless undead more interesting I’ve come up with 5 tips that the players won’t see coming and the PCs will never forget.

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DM Resources Editorial

What a Dick Move Taught Us About Party Goals

I’ve said it many times before: I want the players at my table to play the character they want to play. Unless the campaign revolves around a specific theme (like the last season of D&D Encounters where everyone had to be Drow) or some other facet that the characters need to share, I welcome whatever race/class combo you can imagine – without restriction.

We don’t usually pay a lot of attention to the EXTREME diversity in a party’s composition. Heroes of six different races each of whom represents a different class all come together and go adventuring together. It’s just a part of the way D&D works. Unless you want to make this an important part of your campaign we have learned to just accept it and move on. But for players with considerable experience they’ll often ask questions and dig deeper. What brought theses characters together? Why do they continue to stay together? As a DM and player I’m completely open to this additional character development.

Yet even when the players ask these kinds of questions and look for the deeper motivation or party goals, they know that at the end of the day the party will go adventuring. It’s certainly nice to have a common motivation that will rally the troops into action, but for most of us, most of the time, we just agree that the PCs will form a party and take on the adventure the DM places in front of them. Six strangers will work together, trust each other, and risk their lives for one another along the way because that’s what we do in D&D.

This is the norm. This is what we all expect from the other players at the table. But it makes sense that some players will eventually feel that their character really needs a stronger motivation to keep going. A time when the character will finally look around and realize that he’s got no good reason to stay on the team. The question is what does the player do when he feels his character has reached this unusual predicament?

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Council of Spiders (Week 8.)

The end is near; at least the end of this season of D&D Encounters. This week marked the finale of the Council of Spiders. The party was looking for Valan Jaelre, the instigator of the recent unrest in Menzoberranzan and possibly one of the leaders of the Council of Spiders. Valan’s defeat (and death) could quash many fires, especially if he revealed who else he was working with. The PCs were in the right place at the right time, but the task ahead was going to be difficult.

Last week the PCs ventured through the slums of Menzoberranzan to find Valan’s hideout. They had an unexpected encounter with a Priestess of House Melarn who was apparently one of Valan’s partners. The PCs defeated the rogue Priestess and her entourage before heading down a staircase and into Valan’s lair.

Unfortunately we had a very poor turnout for our grand finale. The level 3 table had a DM and three players, and my level 6 table had a DM and three players. Yet another example of why everyone in the FLGS should play the same level characters and not let some group play up. Rather than combine for a table of six or seven, we had to run two tables of three. My group had a Drow Rogue/Blackguard (f), Drow Druid (m), and Drow Wizard Bladesinger (f) all of whom were affiliated with Bregan D’aerthe.

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Actual Play Podcast at Harry T North (Week 8) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Actual Play Podcast at Dueling Grounds (Week 8) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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DM Resources

Undead of Different Races

When the DM describes zombies, skeletons or any other undead that attacks the party, how often does he mention what race the creature was in life? How often do you even think to ask?

As a player when I hear “skeleton” I always assume it’s a Human skeleton. I never ask if it was originally any other race. The same goes for zombies, mummies, and ghouls. I always just assume that it was human and now it’s undead. Even the description in the Monster Manual and online compendium just classifies these monsters as medium undead. But in a fantasy setting there’s no reason to assume that every undead you face was once Human. With so many other races represented in the world why wouldn’t some undead creatures have once been a race other than Human?

This might seem like a really small detail, but it can really change the way an encounter plays out. Not to mention it can drastically change the mood of the encounter. Think about it, how much more terrifying would a skeletal army be if they were once Minotaurs? What about a zombie horde full of animated Dragonborn corpses? What about Halfling mummies? Or Pixie ghouls? It only takes the DM a few minutes to identify what race the creature was before it became undead yet it can drastically alter how the players perceive the encounter. Where they might rush haphazardly into a group of “normal” skeletons, they may now rethink their tactic once they realize that these undead are special.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: War of Everlasting Darkness – Preview

On October 24 D&D Encounters begins its eleventh season. This promises to be very different than any previous season of the program. For starters it’s the first time PCs will advance beyond level 3. It will also bend some of the existing 4e mechanics and borrow elements from the D&D Next play testing underway right now. I’ve read over the materials and I have to say that I’m really excited. This is still 4e D&D and still D&D Encounters, but there is so much more happening this season.

This is the third and final installment of the Drow-themed Rise of the Underdark story-arc. By the end of the adventure the PCs will either crush the Drow uprising or be enslaved by the dark elves. It’s up to you to fight The War of Everlasting Darkness and defend the surface world.

Below I’ll provide a detailed preview of what you can expect this season. This will remain spoiler-free and will just give you the foundation of what you need to know to play. Hopefully it will entice more players to come out and try D&D Encounters or get veterans of the program to return and try this new format.

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D&D Encounters

D&D Encounters: Council of Spiders (Week 7)

After last week’s role-playing heavy session the party eventually convince Ash’ala Melarn, Hoshtar Xorlarrin, and Ro’kolor of Bregan D’aerthe to continue working together. They decided to stop the Council of Spiders, or at least see that those currently calling the shots be removed from power and replaced by a male with more traditional values. They also agreed to continue supporting the Way of Lolth and as decreed they would do whatever was necessary to assist with the creation of Lolth’s Demon Weave.

About a week has passed since the PCs rescued Hoshtar and discussed how to proceed in order to avoid a civil war. The house leaders summoned the PCs one more time for another joint mission between the three factions.

They learned that the assassin who captured Hoshtar was an agent of Jaezred Chaulssin, an order of assassins committed to overthrowing the tyranny of Lolth. The mastermind behind this crisis is a Drow named Valan Jaelre (a name the player should recognize from last season of D&D Encounters). Spies have located Valan’s hideout and the PCs are instructed to find Valan and put an end to his interference. They are also instructed to try and find out who Valan is working for in Menzoberranzan.

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Actual Play Podcast at Harry T North (Week 7) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
Actual Play Podcast at Dueling Grounds (Week 7) Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
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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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