Another common thing I hear from would-be DMs is "I'm not imaginative/creative. I can't think up an adventure. I wouldn't know where to start!"
Well worry no more. Coming up with adventures seems daunting at first but it is achievable and I'm here to walk you through with an example in progress. And I mean the entire process. This isn't one of those "draw the rest of the fucking owl" situations. I'm gonna take you through every step as I do it. I'm currently designing the third arc of my campaign and it will serve as a perfect example. Starting with a one shot rather than a campaign is the best way for beginners and my players are currently in a stargate-like situation with a portal that sends them random places, essentially making each arc its own one shot within the ongoing narrative.
Arc 1 saw them on a traditional dnd-like world where they accidentally opened a portal to Hell instead of closing it. Arc 2 saw them trapped in a time loop on a futuristic magitech world. This second arc has been very combat-lite, with no real fights to speak of and entirely social/exploration in nature. Now is not really the time to discuss the three states of play but if you aren't already aware, a game exists in one of those three states at any given time, combat, social, exploration. Examine your own game or watch an actual play and you should be able to identify these states as play progresses.
Point is, my players are going to be itching for some combat and Arc 3 is going to deliver. Simply put, I've picked a focus for the arc. The focus for Arc 2 was a cool sandbox time loop, mostly exploratory and some social. In times like these, the focuses are obvious but sometimes your one shot won't have a specific focus and will involve all three states in fairly equal measure, that is fine too. Balanced is a good place to start for a one shot and if so, that needs to be kept in mind as we will need to design combat, social encounters and things to explore.
Theme. To explain our theme choice I need to give a little context. The three characters in my game are from different worlds. One is from Ravnica, one is from the elemental plane of air and the third, Firion, is a duskblade from a custom world called Adanis. Adanis has, historically, been besieged by barghests leading goblin armies, basically using Firion's world as a training ground both for the goblin armies and for the barghest themselves to advance with their feed ability. This is a golden opportunity to return to Firion's world for some combat. The players are level 6 going on 7 so goblins and goblinoids are the perfect challenge level. What's more, this is the perfect opportunity to blow my player's minds by revealing that the portal doesn't just take them through space but through time. We're going back to Firion's world but not within Firion's lifetime. We're going 110 years into the past, to a point in Adanis's history where the barghest invasion almost wiped out the entire population. They were eventually turned aside but fewer than 2000 people survived. Firion's people are still recovering, leaving them in an early medieval state in contrast to his companions.
And so our theme is clear. Goblins.
Coupled with our combat focus, we now have the basis for this adventure. I decided on a concept of a fort defence style arc, with the last bastion of humanity holding out against superior goblin numbers, drawing on influences from mythology and fiction such as 300 and the defence of Tarwin's Gap in the Wheel of Time. I've run fort defence style stuff before and have run these players through Hoard of the Dragon Queen in 5e so they have experienced this style of thing twice in there as well so it's an area we're all comfortable with.
I didn't want them to simply portal into the fort and begin mid siege though. I had the idea of giving them a personal stake not only for Firion, whose history is on the line, but for the other characters too and to do this, I wanted them to start in media res, as the goblins are attacking civilians. Thinking about how to achieve this I decided I wanted them to have to roll initiative as soon as they go through the portal with little chance to figure out where they are or what's going on, leaving them as confused and panicked as the civilians. To that end, I decided I needed some fleeing civilians, heading to the fort for safety. I settled on a pretty simple fight to open with. The players arrive, I describe the wild west style scenery with desert scrubland and the screams as they realise civilians are fleeing, being chased by goblins mounted on worgs, two of which are barrelling straight towards the players. This should also telegraph that this is going to be a combat heavy segment. Two goblin worg riders are EL4, not too tough for our three level 6s. They lack any dedicated frontliner or mage, having a duskblade, a rogue and a warlock. The action economy is against them initially but they only have to kill one goblin to balance that or two to shift the economy in their favour. Pretty manageable.
Then I figured that to make it clear the stakes are high, the people aren't just fleeing, they are trying to defend wagons. Specifically supply wagons. And those wagons are being attacked. I wrote a quick bit of description explaining how the defenders around one wagon are falling as it is attacked by hobgoblins riding dire wolves, giving the players an EL5 encounter to take down these tougher enemies and defend the wagon.
Once these outriders are dealt with, I plan to give the players some info. They can see the goblin army off in the distance, behind the abandoned town. They're following, but they're slower. They'll also soon realise they're heading to the fort and Firion may even realise they're on his world.
This opening section is how I do a lot of my one shot work. I find that having a good interesting opening sets me up nicely for looking at what else I can do. It doesn't always have to be a dramatic set piece but it certainly doesn't hurt to consider it. The prologue and Arc 2 opened in a similar manner with only Arc 1 opening in a cold exploration state.
But now I have this opening section done. Where do I go? Well, to the end of course. How does this adventure end, what's the win condition? I decided that the goal here is to achieve what historically happened and that is that this was the turning point in the war. This was where the first barghest general fell. So there's our finale. A fight against the barghest general, a personal milestone for Firion and a fun encounter for the whole party. But before we get there, we need to raise the stakes.
So we're looking at a fort defence where the fort is nestled between the mountains. I need two things. First, interesting encounter ideas and second, interesting enemy ideas. I started jotting down ideas and here are my exact notes, so you can follow along my thought process.
Barghest general
Fort layout
Supply details (dwindling)
Handful of NPCs (names)
Basic goblins Fighter 1? 2?
Some sort of hidden path like in 300
A traitor is using it to slip out. The fort's commander is using it to smuggle supplies in. Maybe a band of hobgoblins make it through.
Barricade repairs, sentry duty.
Excursion to destroy siege weaponry (at night?)
Goblin rogue sneaks in at night to poison the well. What if there are two threats at the same time, this and the hobgoblin band. Maybe one group try to poison the well, the other tries to destroy the armoury where the spare arrows and ballistas are. The PCs can only stop one group unless they figure something out.
One mass assault.
Defenders have low motivation.
Fort has sent for aid. When reinforcement arrives, insta refresh characters health and abilities and make one giant push to get the general.
Well, these are some good ideas to start with. Let's look at enemies. The barghest, obviously, and then some goblinoids. This being 3.5e we have plenty of options and so I went hunting through sourcebooks for goblinoids and plucked out things I liked. Basic goblins and hobgoblins of course. Blues, which are psionic goblins. The Vril from Drow of the Underdark, a goblinoid that has damage reduction (CR2). The Varag from the MM4, available in CR 1 or 5 for some interesting encounter builds, these are feral goblinoids that pack a punch. The hobgoblin duskblade (CR3) and warcaster (CR4) from the MM5. Now we have a lot of flavour to work with. We can mix and match these into some interesting encounters but we're not done. I also noted the goblin flesh herder (CR5) from Drow of the Underdark. Essentially a goblin necromancer who can command the undead. This really got my juices flowing and I began to think how this could be used.
What if the goblins have an initial reckless assault on the fort that the defenders turn aside easily? Only as the majority of the army retreat, the flesh herder starts raising the dead as goblin zombies. Zombie goblins. Zoblins, if you will. Someone needs to go out and deal with him before this gets out of hand but the archers have exhausted their arrow supply in the assault. The PCs can sally forth to face him, having to break through his wall of undead to take him on. Now, Zoblins are CR 1/2 so one Flesh Herder and 3 to 7 zoblins makes for an EL 6 encounter with a spike in perceived difficulty between 5 and 6 zoblins.
However, we can artificially nerf this a little by not having the flesh herder directly attack the PCs, instead focusing on resurrecting zombies. This gives them a sense of urgency both from the flavour text where we'll make it clear the fort commander wants him stopped before he undoes all the work they've just done killing the goblins, but also the longer they take to push through to the flesh herder the more zombies there will be. So we can start with 3 zoblins up and have him res the fourth on the first initiative count. Pretty fun stuff. If it does get out of hand the players can always retreat to the fort and leave the herder to his work (in which case, when the time comes for the final push for the general, the players will have to defeat a group of zoblins that wouldn't otherwise be there).
I'm also going to share another trick about how we can nerf this if it goes really badly with a trick I like to call Environmental Nerfing.
Sometimes, as DMs, we have to cheat. Fudge the dice. This is why we roll behind a screen. A TPK is not a desirable outcome and on rare occasions it's ok to intervene in fate. In a situation like this where the fight is manageable but the action economy is massively against the players (this is a party of three don't forget), a little deus ex machina could go a long way. Two of the PCs have very few hit points and could easily find themselves low on health and taking a crit. In 3.5, you die at -10hp. So having a method to potentially negate that, without just lying about the dice roll is a fun thing you can think up. It will seem like a scripted event in the game and the players will think you planned it that way all along. For example, let's say our warlock finds himself on 1hp and a zombie swings at him. I see a nat 20 come up and realise he's dead. Or is he? Right as the zombie swings at you, a rock falls from the battlements, squishing him where he stands. A defender looks over the parapet at you, grins and gives you a thumbs up.
Now we've turned a player death into a fun event and opened up a roleplay option when the players return to the fort. The players will think I had that little detail in the bag the whole time (which I kinda did) and they're none the wiser. Learn to do this. It will really up your game. Don't overdo it of course. But it feels a lot better on those rare occasions where you need to fudge to actually make it look like it was simply part of the set dressing.
The final note here for this part is that I want you to understand what we just achieved. We took an interesting creature idea, made it into an interesting encounter and have allowed that encounter to shape our narrative. Having this encounter necessitates the assault before it in order to form a cohesive narrative. Sometimes this will work the other way round and the story will shape the combat and that's ok too. This interplay between the narrative (the fluff) and the mechanics (the crunch) is what adventure design is all about.
So now we have an opening encounter against the outriders and an assault on the fort followed by our flesh herder encounter. This is starting to feel like Day 1 to me and so now I think about the plan. When the refugees get to the fort, what if the commander sends for reinforcements to the nearest town beyond. He estimates nearly two days travel there, two back and a day to mobilise the forces. That makes six days to hold the fort if we count today.
Ok let's refine Day 1.
The two fights against the outriders sets us up nicely but I don't really want the PCs to have to fight more groups of outriders as they approach the fort, but I want it to feel like they did. We'll let the narrative do the heavy lifting here and simply have a descriptive passage describing how the outriders make a last lacklustre attempt to damage the wagons but are turned back by the defenders and the PCs, with the defenders cheering and giving the PCs a thumbs up as the riders fall away to retreat back to the main force. This gives a little camaraderie and lets the PCs know these people accept them and clearly need their assistance. We'll reinforce that necessity when they get to the fort.
They find a man in charge who led the refugees here. His name is Barandion and although Firion doesn't know it yet, this is his great grandfather. He will tell the PCs that these people are mostly farmers and craftsman from the town of Gevel's Oasis, which we saw them escaping from at the start. He'll give some context. The goblin forces are just a vanguard, roaming ahead of the main army to find towns and villages to raid. Thankfully they were spotted on the approach and the people had just enough time to grab supplies and flee. They'll follow, thinking the group small enough to deal with but once they find the fort, they will send word back to the main army and request reinforcements. It is Barandion's hope that his reinforcements will arrive first. He sends two riders north to Betan to fetch men and supplies. In the mean time, this fort needs defending. Barandion expects the goblins will make an initial assault to test the defences and try to end things quickly. If they can turn this assault away, they stand a good chance.
Now the PCs can make some preparations. One of my PCs has a jury-rigging skill that allows him to create makeshift constructions and this will be an ideal point to let him roll to put together some barricades. Maybe the fort's one ballista is damaged and he can assist in repairing it. Another has an administration skill that can be put to use cataloguing the supplies of food and ammunition and drawing up rationing to last the six days. This frees up Firion to talk to his people, maybe even his grandfather if he's figured it out. As the most obviously martial of the group, people are looking to Firion for reassurance.
At this point I've also begun looking at the adventure Red Hand of Doom which has a fort defence against goblinoids, though designed for higher level players. Still, there's some stuff I want to borrow here. First up there's some premade enemies. Upgraded Worg Riders, Hobgoblin regulars, sergeants, veterans, bladebearers, clerics and monks, all around CR 3-5. This saves me a little work as we can pepper these into encounters too to have a little variance. There's also a couple of scenarios in their fort defence that I might borrow for subsequent days, adjusting the difficulty downwards to compensate.
So, day 1 is looking good. At this point I want to look at the end again. In my initial notes I had the idea of the reinforcements arriving and the PCs getting a refresh. HP, after all, is not a measure of wounds but of willingness to continue fighting, but in order for this refresh to feel significant, the PCs must first be beleaguered. Night 5 then, is another assault, under cover of darkness, the goblins taking advantage of their innate darkvision and the moonless night. Then, when morning comes and the reinforcements arrive, the refresh will be justified. Hell, with the supplies arriving too, the PCs will get the best breakfast they've had in days. Maybe we'll give them a buff of sorts, like the temp HP benefits of Heroes' Feast, leaving them fit and raring to go for Barandion's plan. The fort's scouts have seen the main force off in the distance, maybe a day's march away. This is the last chance. The goblins are weakened after their nighttime assault. Barandion wants to make a push for the general. His plan is to use riders to help clear a path but the newly arrived soldiers' horses are tired so they can only put together a small mounted unit using the fort's existing horses. These riders will help clear a path and with two flanking units of fresh soldiers to assist, the PCs can pierce through the army to face the general. The other solders will guard their rear and minimize interference while the PCs engage the barghest. I'm thinking they face maybe two groups of enemies then the barghest with adds (and zoblins if the flesh herder escaped previously).
Now, let's dance back and look at day 2. You'll notice I'm jumping back and forth a lot and I've left this in on purpose. I think sometimes players think DMs start at the beginning, write til the end and then dust off their hands and they're done. Don't be afraid to flit back and forth, building your framework then refining the details as they become apparent. I'm looking at day 2 now because I had an idea. On day 2, the goblins start building some siege equipment. A tower and a catapult or two. I want the PCs to intervene in this and I want them to do so without fearing that they have to face the whole army alone. So, the stuff is being built near the trees a short distance away from the fort. The PCs could take horses and engage the builders and destroy the equipment. My players are kinda cowardly so they won't go for this in case the riders come for them so I have to make it clear that they could pull off this raid without fear of interference. So, in the morning, a scout reports that the riders have left the goblin camp. The bulk have headed east and four to the west. Later, Barandion will speculate that the larger force have gone to forage for food and water to supplement the army's supplies. It will soon become apparent as they are observed that the smaller force is building siege weapons. Barandion suggests riding out on horseback to destroy them before the camp can respond but suggests to wait, in order for them to waste the day at their labours, setting them back as much as possible. The raid will take place in the afternoon.
Now, four riders of any sort would be a bit much for the players to handle so we need to account for that. Having an NPC with them would help, maybe two. It needs to be tough because the PCs will be at full strength. We'll fine tune the balancing later when we start detailing the encounters. For now, we consider this a raid with NPC allies.
Because choice is important, we'll also offer a second option here. That of waiting for nightfall then infiltrating the camp and burning the siege equipment. This gives the PCs a stealth option with either no combat or one small fight if spotted. This should appeal to the party's rogue. The warlock also has access to Disguise Self. Success here will be far more demoralizing for the goblins but failure means they can bring siege to bear during the night time assault we discussed.
At this point, I'm wondering if 6 days is really necessary. Don't be afraid of going back and changing things. I'm now thinking 4 days is a good amount to keep this whole siege action packed. That means we have day 1 sorted and day 4 (what was day 6). So we need to flesh out day 2 and then work on day 3.
For day 2, I like the idea of the PCs returning home to find that something bad happened in their absence. Red Hand of Doom has a sniper infiltrate the fort and I'm going to steal that idea and modify it. If the PCs fight the siege makers in the day, this is day 2 afternoon/evening. If they did it at night then this can be at night. The premise is that a small bunch of goblins, maybe 3, managed to sneak into the fort's chapel. They are taking potshots at people from the tower and are darn good shots. Our fort defence now has another fort defence taking place inside it. The PCs need to breach the chapel, which the gobboes have heavily trapped (because our party has a rogue) and take them down. They can try talking them down but the gobboes are having none of it. Because we like to get silly sometimes the gobboes will respond with jeers and insults and gestures of defiance like wiggling their bare bums out the windows and suchlike. Again, we'll detail the numbers later but for now, we have shaped out day 2.
We'll end the day with another assault on the walls just as twilight starts to descend. If the PCs assaulted the siege weapons at night then the assault happens in retaliation immediately after they've dealt with the infiltrators. Let's say the gobboes have built ladders out of the debris of the siege equipment. They've also waited for it to darken to minimize the effect of the fort's archers and they have got their spellslingers for support to try and keep them at bay. PCs can run around the walls, kicking away ladders and engaging groups of gobboes. Every round there's a 10% chance one of them is hit by a stray spell for 1d4 fire damage. This is what you new kids now call a lair action. Bringing the environment to life can be a fun thing. Also, if the goblins successfully built their siege equipment, they use the catapults to hurl boulders (1d10 bludge damage, ref DC 14 for half, 20% chance per round) or goblins (30% chance of a random gobbo joining any fight the PCs are in, every round). If the flesh herder is still around, the random gobbo has a 50% chance of being a zoblin. I may let a player snipe spellslingers to negate the chance, we'll see.
Day 2 is looking pretty complete so now we can look at day 3. The goblins are gonna ease off here in order to lull the fort into a false sense of security so they don't expect the big nighttime assault that leads us into our day 4 finale. Instead, they make a big show of building a useless MacGuffin as a distraction. I already mentioned how silly my group is, so the goblins are building what is clearly a Trojan Bugbear. The players can watch it take shape across the day amid concerns about dwindling supplies. The bugbear will be mostly built but clearly unfinished as night falls, hopefully making the players think that whatever dumb plan the goblins have, it will occur tomorrow. In the dead of night, the goblins attack the walls again with the same spell chance, siege weaponry and zoblin chances as the previous day. The PCs will defend again but this time, in complete darkness. Gobboes will focus archery fire on anyone holding a light source and will attempt to quench any torches they find up there. While this assault is determined, it is also another distraction. A small band of goblins has braved the mountains to slip into the fort through the rear. A breathless civilian arrives mid-assault to warn the PCs that he just saw two bands of gobboes in the fort. One was heading towards the well, another to the command centre. One band of gobboes will attempt to poison the well, the other to assassinate Barandion.
If the PCs rush to the well, they arrive just as the defenders fall, in time to stop the goblins but when they arrive at Barandion he is wounded and poisoned.
If they go for Barandion first they can fend off the assassins with ease but arrive at the well to find the defenders dead and the well poisoned.
The point here is to have the PCs choose. The strategic importance of the well over Firion's emotional attachment to his grandfather.
If they pick the well, Barandion will survive, being healed by a cleric when the reinforcements arrive.
If they choose Barandion, the cleric will instead use create water. Mechanically, I'm going to say that if they choose this option, they do not get the heroes' feast buff we talked about earlier due to the demoralizing effect on everyone at discovering the well is poisoned and the limited water rations available even with the cleric's assistance.
Ok, let's take one last look at the whole timeline in order, then we can start populating these encounters.
As we do this, remember that I started this with only two words in mind, combat and goblins. See how we've let encounters shape the narrative and the narrative shape encounters, not just by cause and effect but in reverse too, such as our refresh idea necessitating pushing the PCs to their limits prior. The effect required a cause.
Day 1 - PCs arrive outside Gevel's Oasis as the citizens are fleeing, harried by outriders attempting to cripple their supply wagons. The PCs face immediate threat from goblins riders and then are compelled to defend a wagon against hobgoblin riders. The wagons are slow and most of the civilians on foot, meaning the PCs can easily catch up. The scale of the threat becomes apparent as the group defends against the final raiders then retreats to the fort. Riders are immediately dispatched to Betan, the town beyond the pass, to request reinforcements and supplies. A response is expected in four days. The PCs have a little time after arriving to prepare their defences before the goblin vanguard arrives and launches an assault. The invasion is repelled but a flesh herder begins raising the dead. The PCs have to deal with him.
Day 2 - Riders leave the gobbo camp to get supplies while a smaller group make for the trees and begin assembling siege equipment. Players can engage these in a straight fight or wait for nightfall and infiltrate their camp. Either way, the PCs arrive back to find that a group of goblin scallywags have set up in the chapel and are sniping people. The PCs deal with this then have a brief respite before the assault. If the PCs successfully infiltrated the camp and burnt the siege equipment, the gobboes have a -1 morale penalty to attacks and damage during this assault. If the siege weapons survived, they are factored into the environmental effects.
Day 3 - The gobboes build a Trojan Bugbear to distract eyes towards the goblin camp. They leave it unfinished so the defenders think there will be no assault tonight. In the dead of night, the gobboes attack in force. Meanwhile, a handful of infiltrators have made it through the rear of the fort after traversing the mountains. They split into two groups, one to poison the well, one to assassinate Barandion. The PCs must choose which to prioritize. Failing to secure the well means they won't receive the bonus temporary hit points on day 4.
Day 4 - The reinforcements arrive. PCs get a refresh and (if they secured the well) temporary HP. Barandion outlines his plan to take down the barghest general. The PCs must fight a few groups of enemies before attempting to take him down. If successful, the army is routed as the gobboes' discipline fails them. If they fail... well, let's not consider that yet, but it could be phenomenally bad news for Firion. Maybe I'll have Barandion ride with them so we can make it a more memorable encounter. He is a duskblade like Firion after all.
I'm happy with this timeline so it's time to put the finishing touches in place. There are two things left to do. Populate the encounters, choose enemies, set ELs, work out xp and loot, the Crunch. And write some descriptive passages to set the scene prior to and following major events, the Fluff. I'm going to present them separately here to make it easier for you to follow but know that in reality, I tend to work on these simultaneously.
Learn to DM: Design an Adventure!
Learn to DM: Design an Adventure!
"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else." - Charles Dickens.
“Choose not to be harmed and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed and you haven’t been.” - Marcus Aurelius
“Choose not to be harmed and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed and you haven’t been.” - Marcus Aurelius
Re: Learn to DM: Design an Adventure!
Let's start with the crunch.
If you're coming from 5e you might wanna skim or skip this cos these numbers won't mean much to you as 5e uses a different balancing system. If I remember right, it's an xp pool that you buy the monsters for the encounter with? And as for loot, just make it up. Oh 5e, so much fun to play and yet such a nightmare to DM. Meanwhile, over here in 3.5 we have tables to roll on. ^^
Ok, let's go.
Day 1, Encounter 1 is a simple fight against two goblins riding worgs. That's two CR2s and two CR1/3s for an EL of 4. Our party consists of three level 6s for an average party level of 5.2. XP per player is 367 with a combined loot value of 1378gp. The players won't actually get opportunity to loot here so we'll be using a technique I call loot shifting. We'll record the total and add it into a future fight where it makes more sense for looting to take place.
Day 1, Encounter 2 is another pretty simple fight. Two hobgoblins riding dire wolves. That's two CR3s and two CR 1/2s for an EL of 5. A bit more challenging but should still be easy enough for our party. XP is 500 each and 1787gp of loot to be shifted.
Day 1, Encounter 3 is the assault and will be tweaked depending on how the PCs fared in the previous fight. I want them to be able to face the flesh herder and I also want this assault to be repelled fairly easily. We'll start with a group of four basic gobboes uplifted to fighter 1. This is four CR 1s for EL 4 and should be easy. 400 XP each and 1200gp loot to shift. Next up, a tougher hobgoblin makes it up. We'll have one hobgoblin duskblade CR 3 and three more of our gobbo fighters at CR 1, giving us an EL of 5, 500 XP and 1634.5gp of loot to shift. If the fight is a bit challenging for the PCs, a defender will shove a goblin off the side to even up the action economy.
Day 1, Encounter 4 is the flesh herder. This guy is a whopping CR 5 and the zombie gobboes are CR 1/2. It's debatable whether the zombies should be part of his CR or not but I'm factoring them separately because we have a party of three so combat is often tougher than normal for them. The encounter starts with thee zoblins up, EL 5 in total but with the herder raising another on his first turn. With four zoblins up, this spikes to EL 6 and becomes very difficult but the PC should be able to down one zoblin at least in this round to maintain parity. Again, if it is too much, a defender squishes a zoblin with a rock dropped off the battlements. I'm pretty confident they can win this fight which will net them 500xp each and 1634.5gp of loot. This should level them to level 7 and when they kill the herder, they can take his satchel before retreating back to the safety of the fort, collecting a total of 6434gp of loot shifted from the previous encounters as the flesh herder has been looting the bodies of the zombies he's raised. It's a nice haul and will encourage them to put some effort into defending this fort. I use the MIC method of loot generation so I'll go ahead and generate that now and compare the total value to our expected total. It's usually pretty close but if not we can adjust manually. We'll be skipping monsters with partial CR and generating any shortfall manually. Here we go.
A bejewelled ornament that you really hope isn't a buttplug worth 110gp
A bloodstone worth 60gp
A brass dragons draught (1200gp)
A bullseye lantern worth 6gp
A citrine worth 30gp
A daylight pellet (150gp)
An ornate mithril armlet worth 200gp
A small bottle of black nail lacquer worth 80gp
A small marble statue of a naked lady goblin worth 130gp
A small pearl worth 10gp
A surprisingly well carved set of wooden dice worth 7gp
A worg fang worth 9gp
An elixir of hiding (250gp)
A potion of Cure Light Wounds (50gp)
A potion of Lesser Restoration (300gp)
A potion of Resist Energy (acid) 10 (300gp)
A scroll of Baleful Transposition (150gp)
A scroll of Cure Moderate Wounds (150gp)
A scroll of Earthbind (150gp)
A scroll of Lesser Restoration (150gp)
A scroll of Resurgence (25gp)
The satchel itself, made of some kind extraplanar creature's hide and worth 70gp (Knowledge: The Planes DC 16 can reveal this is the hide of a red slaad and the bag has resistance to acid 5, cold 5, electricity 5, and fire 5, and immunity to sonic damage)
80pp
1900gp
9600sp
That's 3660gp in coin, 642 in goods and 2875 in magic items. That's 7177gp. A little over our target but I did roll 100 on one table which gave a nice boost and they will likely sell off the scrolls so all in all, it will be adequate. If things go poorly, I can swap out a scroll or two for a heal potion. Combined with the level up, this will be a fun time all round from the player perspective. This also allows me to start thinking ahead. My players are going to be picking up a lot of loot in this arc. Firion's world lacks the cash to buy it and neither do they have any magic items for sale. I'm already thinking next arc will see the players visiting some fantastically huge market where they can buy and sell to their heart's content. Oh boy. It might be time to send them to Sigil.
Anyway, let's move on to day 2.
Day 2, Route A, Encounter 1 is the fight in the woods where the siege equipment is being built. Four riders. If we use our upgraded Goblin Worg Riders from Red Hand of Doom (P119), that's four CR 3s for EL 7. Ouch. If we give our players a level 7 NPC, we're up to Party Level 7 and this will be a challenging fight. Excellent. 525xp each and 2600gp loot of which the NPC gets a share. This NPC will be Nisha, (see the fluff section later) who I intend to inject into a few moments to give some life to the defenders. We'll stat her up at the end but I'm thinking we build her as a tanky fighter. Loot as follows:
Dust of Tracelessness (250gp)
A Masterwork, Cold Iron Longsword worth 730gp. Small sized, however, if enchanted, magic items in my world resize to fit the wielder so not a problem.
Two onyxes worth 70gp each
An ornate silver brooch, shaped like a hawk, worth 100gp
A potion of Levitate (300gp)
A small amethyst worth 110gp
300gp
8000sp
I missed off a level 1 item because the table is so scroll heavy. Let's tot up and see where we're at against target. 2730gp. Cool, we'll leave that there.
Day 2, Route B, Encounter 1 is the fight if the players get caught sneaking into the goblin camp to burn the siege equipment at night. This is a fight in low-light conditions against the hobgoblin sentry patrol which consists of one hobgoblin monk (CR 4) and two hobgoblin fighters (CR 2) for an EL of 6 which should be challenging in the low light or easy if the players can negate that advantage somehow (such as using their daylight pellet, hah, like they'll think of that). That's 467xp each and 2000gp loot:
A bloodstone worth 60gp
A carnelian worth 40gp
A peridot worth 70gp
A Quaal's Feather Token, Tree (400gp)
A quartz worth 50gp
(Plus Two Cure Light Wounds)
500gp
7000sp
I left off the level 1s again. Let's tot up. 1820. I'll chuck in two Cure Light Wounds potions to bring this up to 1920 and leave it at that.
Day 2, Encounter 2 is the fight with the goblin scallywags. We'll have some traps that the rogue can disarm.
An axe on a string that swings down when the door is opened. The DC will assume that on success (80% chance) the rogue suspects the trap is there and gets the group to hold up a shield or plank when the door is opened to deflect the blow. Failure means someone takes 2d6 slashing damage (reflex DC 18 for half). 50xp.
One of the planks on the stairs has been removed but the carpet replaced. 70% chance to find this and it can simply be avoided rather than disabled. Failure means 2d6 bludgeoning damage (ref DC 22 for half) as the player's foot goes through, they lose their balance and fall through the rotted banister, landing on the hard floor below with a wrenched ankle. 75xp.
The door to the next flight of stairs has been trapped with a small amount of gunpowder which ignites when the door is opened. 60% chance to notice the smell and guess at the trap, disabling by simply standing clear and averting one's eyes. Failure triggers the trap, 1d6 fire damage to all (ref 16 for half), anyone failing a fort save DC 18 is blinded for 1 round during which time a goblin sniper takes a shot at them from above before retreating (1 attack vs FF AC). 100xp.
Finally a bag of rocks is dropped from above via a tripwire as they climb the stairs. These spill down the stairs causing adventurers to fall back down the stairs. 45% to notice due to the low light but 65% if they are using a light source. DC 16 reflex save for half, 2d6 bludgeoning damage. 100xp.
This leaves one door between the PCs and the scallywags, the final trap is essentially the readied action to fire their bows that the goblins have. No way to disable this but when the PCs open the door they each get a reflex save DC 16. On a fail they take 1d6 piercing damage as they get shot. 50xp.
With that out of the way, the PCs can engage the scallywags. Gonna get funky with this. We'll have three CR 3s for EL6. A Rogue 3, a Ranger 3 and a Blue Psion 3. That's 525xp and 2102 loot.
If the PCs investigate any other areas of the chapel looking for loot on the way up they find a stash (75% chance) under a floorboard which is a potion of Cure Moderate Wounds.
Actual fight loot as follows:
A citrine worth 30gp
An elixir of Vision (250gp)
A life ring (400gp)
A masterwork shortbow made from deer antlers (330gp)
Two red garnets worth 120gp each
A peridot worth 60gp
700gp
8000sp (halved to 4000)
That's 2690 which is a bit overboard, so I'm gonna half the sp, bringing it down to a more manageable 2290gp.
Day 2, Encounter 3 is the assault on the walls. This is where our mages come into play and if the siege equipment is up, that will be online too.
Environmental effects:
If siege was burned at night, -1 morale penalty to attack and damage for all goblinoids.
10% chance per round that a random PC is hit by a stray spell for 1d4 fire damage
Anyone holding or magically producing a light source takes 1 attack from an archer per round. (+3 to hit, 1d4 damage).
If siege weaponry survived, on odd rounds, 20% chance per round of a boulder striking the walls nearby. 1d10 bludgeoning, DC 14 Ref for half. On even rounds, 30% chance a random gobbo (or zoblin if the Herder lived) joins the fight.
We'll have a group of goblins (fighter 2) with a warcaster to start. That's one CR 4 and two CR 2s. EL 6. Should be easy but with the environmental effects, that's fine. 467xp each, 2000 loot which I'll shift to the end of the assault.
The next group will be two hobgoblin duskblades with another warcaster. That's one CR 4 and Two CR 3s for EL 7. This is a toughy, but the PCs have resources they can use such as dragons drafts and a daylight pellet among other things. 583 xp each and 2325.9 loot. That leaves us with 4325.9 loot roughly to mop up as the assault ends.
A blue quartz worth 10gp
An elixir of Hiding (250gp)
A fountainhead arrow (306gp)
A golden earring with a topaz set in it worth 200gp
A moonstone worth 40gp
A star rose quartz worth 50gp
(added) Cape of the Viper (2000gp)
13400sp
16000cp
I make that 2356. Well, turns out I rolled the duskblades on the CR 2 table not CR 3 so we'll uplift that. We're about 2000gp short so lets find a cool item worth about that. Easily done in 3rd edition where we also have loot listed in order by price. :) I like the look of the Cape of the Viper as a fun item, so I'll toss that in. Also, I know I could change the coin up to gp and pp for convenience but it's kind of a running meme in our games to get lumbered with piles of low value coin. :D
Day 3, Encounter 1 will be the fight on the walls. The PCs will only need to face one group here before they are pulled off the walls to deal with the infiltrators.
We'll have 2 hobgoblin veterans and a sergeant from Red Hand of Doom here. It's important to remember that this is the big push to exhaust the PCs so the refresh matters. I need to push them to their very limits so we start with this challenging fight, then the infiltrators, then back to the walls where I'll basically assault them until they're almost dead before having the goblin army call a retreat.
So, three CR 3s to start, EL 6. 525xp and 2102 in loot that they won't get time to grab so we'll shift it to the infiltrators.
Then the infiltrators.
We'll have a hobgoblin monk with a cleric and a sergeant to be the group the PCs choose to face first. That's a CR 4 with two CR 3s, EL 7, very difficult. 583xp and 2325.9 of loot. We'll add in the previous shift and give them 4627.9 loot for this tough fight.
A blight stone (300gp)
An electric eel elixir (400gp)
An elixir of Vision (250gp)
A Quaal's feather token, bird (300gp)
Two potions of Cure Moderate Wounds (300gp each)
Four amethysts worth 80gp each
Two jaspers worth 50gp each
400gp
17000sp
I make that 4370.
With that done, the players can pursue the second group. Four CR 2s as these are just goblin fighter 2s. I want this fight to be a little easier. EL 6, 467 xp, 2000 loot.
300gp
4000sp
38000cp
(added) A Potion of Barkskin +4 (900gp)
I skipped the low level items here so we can make up with something better. That's a hilarious amount of copper pieces. I'll make up the 1000 shortfall with a potion of Barkskin +4.
Now for the mean bit.
Back to the walls where I'll basically throw various combinations of enemies at them until they're on the brink. There's no xp or loot for this, shock, horror! The loot will be the refresh and potential buff when the reinforcements arrive. It's essentially a set piece where I'll simply pull any punches that would kill. It should feel like they're really being pushed and only just barely surviving, by luck more than anything. It might sound a bit obvious, but try and imagine it from the player's perspective as they each see their health dip into single digits. It's gonna feel like they're totally fucked. I don't think they'll realise I'm doing it on purpose.
Day 4, Encounter 1 is the push towards the general. The PCs should be at full strength or above here. If they ran out of healing potions I'll have them furbished with a few before they set off. First up, the varag pack leader from the MM4. He's CR 5. Giving him a CR 3 companion makes this EL 6 and it needs to be someone who can tank a bit for him. I'm thinking the cleric. That's 525xp, 2102 loot.
An amber worth 90gp
An emerald worth 400gp
A peridot worth 70gp
A potion of Barkskin +2 (300gp)
A potion of Remove Curse (750gp)
(adjusted) 7000sp
That's 3310. Gonna knock 10000sp off to compensate, leaving 7000. That's 2310. Pretty good.
Day 4, Encounter 2, still pushing for the general. If the herder is up, this is just a mass of zoblins. I'll have to advance them to make them worthwhile so this will be four CR 3s, EL 6, 467xp, 2000 loot. If the herder is down, this will be four hobgoblins, two veterans, one sergeant, one cleric.
An amulet of toxin delay (400gp)
A potion of Displacement (750gp)
A tourmaline worth 110gp
Two chrysoprases worth 60gp each
Two jets worth 60gp each
700gp
1000sp
That's 2300.
At this point, it's the general and how tough this is might depend on what kind of state the PCs are in. They should be good, so this fight wants to be EL 7 or 8. A greater barghest is CR 5 so adding three CR 3s makes this EL 8. The action economy is against the PCs so they need to focus one of those adds down quickly, preferably two before they focus on the general. Hopefully they're not afraid to throw everything they've got at this guy cos it will not be easy. XP is 875 with 3115 loot.
The adds will be one cleric (who will heal the barghest if they hit him), a blue psion 3 and a hobgoblin sergeant. If the PCs haven't taken a scratch so far and have plenty of resources, I'll pad this out with one to three goblin fighter 1s. If they're a little battered and having a hard time, I'll drop the psion but leave the xp and loot intact. By my calculations, this leaves them growing pretty close to level 8. That should leave them excited for the next arc, knowing that they'll level up fairly early into it.
A brooch of stability (1000gp)
A potion of Bear's Endurance (300gp)
A potion of CMW (300gp)
A potion of Invisibility (300gp)
A Safewing Emblem (250gp)
300gp
8000sp
That's 2950. I'll add a potion of Cure Moderate Wounds to bring it up to 3250 cos that was probably pretty darn tough.
As I mention in the fluff section later, I've come back here to add in the fake general fight. This will simply be the same CR3 adds but with the barghest swapped for a goblin fighter 3. There'll be no xp or loot for that fight as a penalty for the failure to identify the correct general.
And whew, we're done with the crunch. It's a combat heavy arc so there was a lot of work to do here. Next up, the narrative that will tie all this together, the fluff.
If you're coming from 5e you might wanna skim or skip this cos these numbers won't mean much to you as 5e uses a different balancing system. If I remember right, it's an xp pool that you buy the monsters for the encounter with? And as for loot, just make it up. Oh 5e, so much fun to play and yet such a nightmare to DM. Meanwhile, over here in 3.5 we have tables to roll on. ^^
Ok, let's go.
Day 1, Encounter 1 is a simple fight against two goblins riding worgs. That's two CR2s and two CR1/3s for an EL of 4. Our party consists of three level 6s for an average party level of 5.2. XP per player is 367 with a combined loot value of 1378gp. The players won't actually get opportunity to loot here so we'll be using a technique I call loot shifting. We'll record the total and add it into a future fight where it makes more sense for looting to take place.
Day 1, Encounter 2 is another pretty simple fight. Two hobgoblins riding dire wolves. That's two CR3s and two CR 1/2s for an EL of 5. A bit more challenging but should still be easy enough for our party. XP is 500 each and 1787gp of loot to be shifted.
Day 1, Encounter 3 is the assault and will be tweaked depending on how the PCs fared in the previous fight. I want them to be able to face the flesh herder and I also want this assault to be repelled fairly easily. We'll start with a group of four basic gobboes uplifted to fighter 1. This is four CR 1s for EL 4 and should be easy. 400 XP each and 1200gp loot to shift. Next up, a tougher hobgoblin makes it up. We'll have one hobgoblin duskblade CR 3 and three more of our gobbo fighters at CR 1, giving us an EL of 5, 500 XP and 1634.5gp of loot to shift. If the fight is a bit challenging for the PCs, a defender will shove a goblin off the side to even up the action economy.
Day 1, Encounter 4 is the flesh herder. This guy is a whopping CR 5 and the zombie gobboes are CR 1/2. It's debatable whether the zombies should be part of his CR or not but I'm factoring them separately because we have a party of three so combat is often tougher than normal for them. The encounter starts with thee zoblins up, EL 5 in total but with the herder raising another on his first turn. With four zoblins up, this spikes to EL 6 and becomes very difficult but the PC should be able to down one zoblin at least in this round to maintain parity. Again, if it is too much, a defender squishes a zoblin with a rock dropped off the battlements. I'm pretty confident they can win this fight which will net them 500xp each and 1634.5gp of loot. This should level them to level 7 and when they kill the herder, they can take his satchel before retreating back to the safety of the fort, collecting a total of 6434gp of loot shifted from the previous encounters as the flesh herder has been looting the bodies of the zombies he's raised. It's a nice haul and will encourage them to put some effort into defending this fort. I use the MIC method of loot generation so I'll go ahead and generate that now and compare the total value to our expected total. It's usually pretty close but if not we can adjust manually. We'll be skipping monsters with partial CR and generating any shortfall manually. Here we go.
A bejewelled ornament that you really hope isn't a buttplug worth 110gp
A bloodstone worth 60gp
A brass dragons draught (1200gp)
A bullseye lantern worth 6gp
A citrine worth 30gp
A daylight pellet (150gp)
An ornate mithril armlet worth 200gp
A small bottle of black nail lacquer worth 80gp
A small marble statue of a naked lady goblin worth 130gp
A small pearl worth 10gp
A surprisingly well carved set of wooden dice worth 7gp
A worg fang worth 9gp
An elixir of hiding (250gp)
A potion of Cure Light Wounds (50gp)
A potion of Lesser Restoration (300gp)
A potion of Resist Energy (acid) 10 (300gp)
A scroll of Baleful Transposition (150gp)
A scroll of Cure Moderate Wounds (150gp)
A scroll of Earthbind (150gp)
A scroll of Lesser Restoration (150gp)
A scroll of Resurgence (25gp)
The satchel itself, made of some kind extraplanar creature's hide and worth 70gp (Knowledge: The Planes DC 16 can reveal this is the hide of a red slaad and the bag has resistance to acid 5, cold 5, electricity 5, and fire 5, and immunity to sonic damage)
80pp
1900gp
9600sp
That's 3660gp in coin, 642 in goods and 2875 in magic items. That's 7177gp. A little over our target but I did roll 100 on one table which gave a nice boost and they will likely sell off the scrolls so all in all, it will be adequate. If things go poorly, I can swap out a scroll or two for a heal potion. Combined with the level up, this will be a fun time all round from the player perspective. This also allows me to start thinking ahead. My players are going to be picking up a lot of loot in this arc. Firion's world lacks the cash to buy it and neither do they have any magic items for sale. I'm already thinking next arc will see the players visiting some fantastically huge market where they can buy and sell to their heart's content. Oh boy. It might be time to send them to Sigil.
Anyway, let's move on to day 2.
Day 2, Route A, Encounter 1 is the fight in the woods where the siege equipment is being built. Four riders. If we use our upgraded Goblin Worg Riders from Red Hand of Doom (P119), that's four CR 3s for EL 7. Ouch. If we give our players a level 7 NPC, we're up to Party Level 7 and this will be a challenging fight. Excellent. 525xp each and 2600gp loot of which the NPC gets a share. This NPC will be Nisha, (see the fluff section later) who I intend to inject into a few moments to give some life to the defenders. We'll stat her up at the end but I'm thinking we build her as a tanky fighter. Loot as follows:
Dust of Tracelessness (250gp)
A Masterwork, Cold Iron Longsword worth 730gp. Small sized, however, if enchanted, magic items in my world resize to fit the wielder so not a problem.
Two onyxes worth 70gp each
An ornate silver brooch, shaped like a hawk, worth 100gp
A potion of Levitate (300gp)
A small amethyst worth 110gp
300gp
8000sp
I missed off a level 1 item because the table is so scroll heavy. Let's tot up and see where we're at against target. 2730gp. Cool, we'll leave that there.
Day 2, Route B, Encounter 1 is the fight if the players get caught sneaking into the goblin camp to burn the siege equipment at night. This is a fight in low-light conditions against the hobgoblin sentry patrol which consists of one hobgoblin monk (CR 4) and two hobgoblin fighters (CR 2) for an EL of 6 which should be challenging in the low light or easy if the players can negate that advantage somehow (such as using their daylight pellet, hah, like they'll think of that). That's 467xp each and 2000gp loot:
A bloodstone worth 60gp
A carnelian worth 40gp
A peridot worth 70gp
A Quaal's Feather Token, Tree (400gp)
A quartz worth 50gp
(Plus Two Cure Light Wounds)
500gp
7000sp
I left off the level 1s again. Let's tot up. 1820. I'll chuck in two Cure Light Wounds potions to bring this up to 1920 and leave it at that.
Day 2, Encounter 2 is the fight with the goblin scallywags. We'll have some traps that the rogue can disarm.
An axe on a string that swings down when the door is opened. The DC will assume that on success (80% chance) the rogue suspects the trap is there and gets the group to hold up a shield or plank when the door is opened to deflect the blow. Failure means someone takes 2d6 slashing damage (reflex DC 18 for half). 50xp.
One of the planks on the stairs has been removed but the carpet replaced. 70% chance to find this and it can simply be avoided rather than disabled. Failure means 2d6 bludgeoning damage (ref DC 22 for half) as the player's foot goes through, they lose their balance and fall through the rotted banister, landing on the hard floor below with a wrenched ankle. 75xp.
The door to the next flight of stairs has been trapped with a small amount of gunpowder which ignites when the door is opened. 60% chance to notice the smell and guess at the trap, disabling by simply standing clear and averting one's eyes. Failure triggers the trap, 1d6 fire damage to all (ref 16 for half), anyone failing a fort save DC 18 is blinded for 1 round during which time a goblin sniper takes a shot at them from above before retreating (1 attack vs FF AC). 100xp.
Finally a bag of rocks is dropped from above via a tripwire as they climb the stairs. These spill down the stairs causing adventurers to fall back down the stairs. 45% to notice due to the low light but 65% if they are using a light source. DC 16 reflex save for half, 2d6 bludgeoning damage. 100xp.
This leaves one door between the PCs and the scallywags, the final trap is essentially the readied action to fire their bows that the goblins have. No way to disable this but when the PCs open the door they each get a reflex save DC 16. On a fail they take 1d6 piercing damage as they get shot. 50xp.
With that out of the way, the PCs can engage the scallywags. Gonna get funky with this. We'll have three CR 3s for EL6. A Rogue 3, a Ranger 3 and a Blue Psion 3. That's 525xp and 2102 loot.
If the PCs investigate any other areas of the chapel looking for loot on the way up they find a stash (75% chance) under a floorboard which is a potion of Cure Moderate Wounds.
Actual fight loot as follows:
A citrine worth 30gp
An elixir of Vision (250gp)
A life ring (400gp)
A masterwork shortbow made from deer antlers (330gp)
Two red garnets worth 120gp each
A peridot worth 60gp
700gp
8000sp (halved to 4000)
That's 2690 which is a bit overboard, so I'm gonna half the sp, bringing it down to a more manageable 2290gp.
Day 2, Encounter 3 is the assault on the walls. This is where our mages come into play and if the siege equipment is up, that will be online too.
Environmental effects:
If siege was burned at night, -1 morale penalty to attack and damage for all goblinoids.
10% chance per round that a random PC is hit by a stray spell for 1d4 fire damage
Anyone holding or magically producing a light source takes 1 attack from an archer per round. (+3 to hit, 1d4 damage).
If siege weaponry survived, on odd rounds, 20% chance per round of a boulder striking the walls nearby. 1d10 bludgeoning, DC 14 Ref for half. On even rounds, 30% chance a random gobbo (or zoblin if the Herder lived) joins the fight.
We'll have a group of goblins (fighter 2) with a warcaster to start. That's one CR 4 and two CR 2s. EL 6. Should be easy but with the environmental effects, that's fine. 467xp each, 2000 loot which I'll shift to the end of the assault.
The next group will be two hobgoblin duskblades with another warcaster. That's one CR 4 and Two CR 3s for EL 7. This is a toughy, but the PCs have resources they can use such as dragons drafts and a daylight pellet among other things. 583 xp each and 2325.9 loot. That leaves us with 4325.9 loot roughly to mop up as the assault ends.
A blue quartz worth 10gp
An elixir of Hiding (250gp)
A fountainhead arrow (306gp)
A golden earring with a topaz set in it worth 200gp
A moonstone worth 40gp
A star rose quartz worth 50gp
(added) Cape of the Viper (2000gp)
13400sp
16000cp
I make that 2356. Well, turns out I rolled the duskblades on the CR 2 table not CR 3 so we'll uplift that. We're about 2000gp short so lets find a cool item worth about that. Easily done in 3rd edition where we also have loot listed in order by price. :) I like the look of the Cape of the Viper as a fun item, so I'll toss that in. Also, I know I could change the coin up to gp and pp for convenience but it's kind of a running meme in our games to get lumbered with piles of low value coin. :D
Day 3, Encounter 1 will be the fight on the walls. The PCs will only need to face one group here before they are pulled off the walls to deal with the infiltrators.
We'll have 2 hobgoblin veterans and a sergeant from Red Hand of Doom here. It's important to remember that this is the big push to exhaust the PCs so the refresh matters. I need to push them to their very limits so we start with this challenging fight, then the infiltrators, then back to the walls where I'll basically assault them until they're almost dead before having the goblin army call a retreat.
So, three CR 3s to start, EL 6. 525xp and 2102 in loot that they won't get time to grab so we'll shift it to the infiltrators.
Then the infiltrators.
We'll have a hobgoblin monk with a cleric and a sergeant to be the group the PCs choose to face first. That's a CR 4 with two CR 3s, EL 7, very difficult. 583xp and 2325.9 of loot. We'll add in the previous shift and give them 4627.9 loot for this tough fight.
A blight stone (300gp)
An electric eel elixir (400gp)
An elixir of Vision (250gp)
A Quaal's feather token, bird (300gp)
Two potions of Cure Moderate Wounds (300gp each)
Four amethysts worth 80gp each
Two jaspers worth 50gp each
400gp
17000sp
I make that 4370.
With that done, the players can pursue the second group. Four CR 2s as these are just goblin fighter 2s. I want this fight to be a little easier. EL 6, 467 xp, 2000 loot.
300gp
4000sp
38000cp
(added) A Potion of Barkskin +4 (900gp)
I skipped the low level items here so we can make up with something better. That's a hilarious amount of copper pieces. I'll make up the 1000 shortfall with a potion of Barkskin +4.
Now for the mean bit.
Back to the walls where I'll basically throw various combinations of enemies at them until they're on the brink. There's no xp or loot for this, shock, horror! The loot will be the refresh and potential buff when the reinforcements arrive. It's essentially a set piece where I'll simply pull any punches that would kill. It should feel like they're really being pushed and only just barely surviving, by luck more than anything. It might sound a bit obvious, but try and imagine it from the player's perspective as they each see their health dip into single digits. It's gonna feel like they're totally fucked. I don't think they'll realise I'm doing it on purpose.
Day 4, Encounter 1 is the push towards the general. The PCs should be at full strength or above here. If they ran out of healing potions I'll have them furbished with a few before they set off. First up, the varag pack leader from the MM4. He's CR 5. Giving him a CR 3 companion makes this EL 6 and it needs to be someone who can tank a bit for him. I'm thinking the cleric. That's 525xp, 2102 loot.
An amber worth 90gp
An emerald worth 400gp
A peridot worth 70gp
A potion of Barkskin +2 (300gp)
A potion of Remove Curse (750gp)
(adjusted) 7000sp
That's 3310. Gonna knock 10000sp off to compensate, leaving 7000. That's 2310. Pretty good.
Day 4, Encounter 2, still pushing for the general. If the herder is up, this is just a mass of zoblins. I'll have to advance them to make them worthwhile so this will be four CR 3s, EL 6, 467xp, 2000 loot. If the herder is down, this will be four hobgoblins, two veterans, one sergeant, one cleric.
An amulet of toxin delay (400gp)
A potion of Displacement (750gp)
A tourmaline worth 110gp
Two chrysoprases worth 60gp each
Two jets worth 60gp each
700gp
1000sp
That's 2300.
At this point, it's the general and how tough this is might depend on what kind of state the PCs are in. They should be good, so this fight wants to be EL 7 or 8. A greater barghest is CR 5 so adding three CR 3s makes this EL 8. The action economy is against the PCs so they need to focus one of those adds down quickly, preferably two before they focus on the general. Hopefully they're not afraid to throw everything they've got at this guy cos it will not be easy. XP is 875 with 3115 loot.
The adds will be one cleric (who will heal the barghest if they hit him), a blue psion 3 and a hobgoblin sergeant. If the PCs haven't taken a scratch so far and have plenty of resources, I'll pad this out with one to three goblin fighter 1s. If they're a little battered and having a hard time, I'll drop the psion but leave the xp and loot intact. By my calculations, this leaves them growing pretty close to level 8. That should leave them excited for the next arc, knowing that they'll level up fairly early into it.
A brooch of stability (1000gp)
A potion of Bear's Endurance (300gp)
A potion of CMW (300gp)
A potion of Invisibility (300gp)
A Safewing Emblem (250gp)
300gp
8000sp
That's 2950. I'll add a potion of Cure Moderate Wounds to bring it up to 3250 cos that was probably pretty darn tough.
As I mention in the fluff section later, I've come back here to add in the fake general fight. This will simply be the same CR3 adds but with the barghest swapped for a goblin fighter 3. There'll be no xp or loot for that fight as a penalty for the failure to identify the correct general.
And whew, we're done with the crunch. It's a combat heavy arc so there was a lot of work to do here. Next up, the narrative that will tie all this together, the fluff.
"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else." - Charles Dickens.
“Choose not to be harmed and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed and you haven’t been.” - Marcus Aurelius
“Choose not to be harmed and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed and you haven’t been.” - Marcus Aurelius
Re: Learn to DM: Design an Adventure!
Welcome to the fluff. It's worth noting here that you don't need to overdo it. If you can spin a descriptive masterpiece like Matt Mercer then go ahead, but if, like me, you're average at best, just stick to the necessaries. You'll see what I mean as we get going.
---
Day 1.
You step through the portal and emerge onto dusty, brown plains. Cacti, gulches, a large dead tree slowly succumbing to gravity. What vegetation there is is scrub and a lone tumbleweed living up to its name. And then you hear the screams.
Turning, you see a few large wagons and civilians fleeing. Off in the distance, the thing they are fleeing from. A presumably abandoned town and some sort of marching army, still distant. But harrying this desperate rearguard are cackling goblin riders atop worg mounts, equally gleeful. Two of them are bearing down on you now.
Roll for initiative:
2 x Worg Rider
---
A group of defenders are fighting to keep the goblins away from the wagons. While the goblins are hacking away at the civilians indiscriminately, larger hobgoblins riding dire wolves are targetting the wagons. One group in particular looks like they need help. As you push towards them, two defenders fall, leaving only one still standing. Two riders are almost ready to despatch him.
2 x Hobgoblin Riders
---
Together with the last surviving defender, you turn away two more assaults on the supply wagon, each raid less enthusiastic than the last. Eventually, the remaining riders fall back, retreating to join the main force still doggedly pursuing. It's clear to you now that most of these people are civilians with few real soldiers among them. You chat with Marius, the defender of your wagon and get the lowdown on the situation. Firion starts to hear a familiar tale. A mass of goblins, led by a barghest; a vanguard for a much larger force. They came across Gevel's Oasis, the town now disappearing over the horizon, and tried to take it swiftly, sending outriders ahead. Luckily they were spotted in advance and by the time they began to face the town militia, the civilians were already making their escape, wagons laden with whatever supplies lay close to hand. The surviving militia caught up on horseback just before you arrived. They are leading the people to Gamelon's Pass where a fort blocks entry to the Deshi Valley beyond the mountains where the town of Betan lies.
(If Firion cottons on at this point I'll offer knowledge Geography DC 17 to confirm that he's heard of these places though won't necessarily reveal the time frame. He doesn't have Knowledge History so if he suggests Knowledge Local he can roll against DC 23 to see if knows of any important events about these places but I'm not going to offer the roll, it has to be on his own initiative.
It's up to the players if they wish to question Marius further or speak to others or try and find out who's in charge. If they press to the front they can find more soldiers. One, a burly woman named Nisha, will tell them that Barandion is in charge and has ridden ahead with a small unit to verify that the fort is unoccupied. It's close but hasn't been used in years. At this point, I can't call for a history check because Firion doesn't have it. Don't forget, as far as Firion is concerned, much of the history of his world was lost to the goblin incursion. It's feasible he might not have ever learned his great grandfather's name. Should he query, I'll offer an int check DC 15. If he passes, he recalls his great grandfather was named Barandion.
As conversation peters out, I'll step in to describe the approach to the fort.)
---
Barandion and his scouts are waiting as you approach. The fort is nestled into the base of the mountain pass, made of sturdy stone it looks intact and formidable... from the outside. Only once you are through the entrance do you see the state of disrepair. Years? This place hasn't been occupied in decades. Vines and plants infest the area, the furniture is rotten and the masonry on the rear wall could use shoring up. There's a free standing mess hall and kitchen, as well as stabling for the horses. There's even a disused chapel to a long forgotten deity that looks in danger of falling down.
(Firion can roll Religion here, DC 24, to identify this as Aoskar, a long dead god of portals worshipped centuries into Adanis' past.
A Knowledge Local DC 22 reveals that Gamelon's Pass was the site of humanity's "last stand", notable for being the turning point in the war as the first barghest general was slain. Proof, if he hasn't figured it out already that we are in Adanis' past.)
---
(Barandion takes control, organizing his men and asks for anyone with the skills to make barricades or repair equipment as he expects the vanguard will arrive within the hour and will be keen to test the fort's defences. He also wants help cataloguing supplies. After some rolls the gobboes arrive and begin their assault.)
---
The goblin vanguard, you can see now, must be nearly 2000 strong, making Barandion's defensive force of 150 seems tiny by comparison, however, to make use of those numbers, they would need to breach the fort's outer walls. They set to it with gusto, goblins clambering over each other into a haphazard goblin pyramid until eventually they can crest the walls. The defenders await, under orders not to waste the sparse supply of arrows unless they see high value targets. All around the battlements, humans go toe to toe with the goblinoids and you are no exception as a band of four whooping goblins assails your position.
Roll for initiative.
4 x Goblin Skirmishers
---
Many goblins are simply kicked off the battlements but they soon scamper back up the pile for a fresh attempt. You kill a handful, tossing the corpses back down to keep the battlefield clear. Then a hobgoblin appears, a sword in his grip and an arcane glow playing across his fingers. Another group of skirmishers step forward, emboldened by his presence.
1 x Hobgoblin Duskblade
3 x Goblin Skirmishers
---
(side note - while this assault is ongoing, and indeed once per day, I'll be allowing Firion to roll Sense Motive {the 3e version of Insight}. This is because the barghest general will be hidden among the goblins, in his goblin form, allowing him to observe the battle. Firion will be using his training to try and identify him. The DC starts at 22 on day 1, which is an impossible DC for him. Luckily for him, the DC drops each day. DC 18 on day 2, 14 on day 3 and 10 on day 4, reflecting the ongoing observations. This will be crucial in picking the right target during the day 4 push.
We should probably talk about the concept of failing forward here. Consider this, what happens if Firion rolls a 1 every time he tries to identify the general? When you DM, you need to consider the consequences of what happens if you make a player roll for something and they fail, especially if the basic idea of failure essentially screws the game. If the players can't identify the general, they can't make that last push and kill him. This is where failing forward comes in. Redefine the failure. Here's how it works, if Firion fails every check and can't identify the general, he has narrowed it down to two distinct subjects, both showing signs of being the general and he can't decide between them. This means the players will have to take a gamble when they go for the push. We're gonna go back and add in a fake general fight, in case they choose poorly and to make it more interactive for the players we'll offer them these two goblins to choose between. The advent of AI art has made it harder and harder to find non AI images. This first one is AI but it's not bad.
Goblin A - https://img.freepik.com/premium-photo/g ... -26998.jpg
Goblin B - https://art.ngfiles.com/images/2500000/ ... 1651674555
I'm gonna roll randomly to determine which is the general so my bias doesn't give it away. Because I'm a cool DM, I literally own a D2 so this is easy. I rolled a 2, so goblin B is the general. We're failing forward, the game still continues but the failure gives the players a penalty, in this case, if they pick the wrong goblin they have to fight an extra group and receive no xp or loot for the fight. This is one of the most important skills you need to refine as a DM to make your games more fun. If failure would stall the game, leaving the players without vital info they need to proceed, redefine the failure so they can still progress but with a penalty they wouldn't have otherwise had.)
---
As the supply of willing goblins dwindles, the goblin tower disassembles itself and they scurry away to make camp far from the fort's walls and the range of its archers. Unbeknown to them, the archers have already exhausted their ration of ammunition. Barandion approaches, watching the army retreat. A defender, looking horrified, points down and Barandion looks over.
"Blood and ashes." he exclaims.
You follow his gaze and see a lone goblin with lurid orange skin, clad in fetishes and clutching a crimson satchel. Sickly purple energy flows from his fingertips. Where it touches a dead goblin, the unfortunate creature struggles to its feet, animated by the foul magic, and shambles after its new master.
Barandion turns to you.
"You handled yourselves well against that duskblade. Can I ask you to deal with him before he undoes all we have achieved here?"
1 x Flesh Herder
3 x Zoblins
---
As the herder falls, you see there is significant weight in his satchel. You snatch it up and hurry back inside the safety of the fort. With no one to maintain them, the remaining zoblins expire once more.
---
(Downtime here so the group can converse with each other or the defenders if they wish or strategise. Then they'll be levelling up, of course. The dizzying heights of level 7.)
---
Day 2.
Breakfast rolls around and finds you sat near the wall with a bowl of scrambled eggs and a couple of thick slices of bread, thinly spread with butter. Someone from the town brought chickens and the children were up early, chasing them around the fort for their eggs. A few still strut around (chickens, not children), one hopping awkwardly over Barandion's foot as he too sits nearby. Together with Ori (the party warlock) he has assessed the supplies.
"I dispatched a rider to Betan the moment we arrived." he says, setting his bowl aside. "These supplies won't last long. If we can hold this place for another two or three days, with any luck, reinforcements will come."
At that moment, one of the sentries comes down from the wall. He's a wiry teenager sporting the beginnings of a moustache. You already know his name is Wilf.
"Sir." he says, his voice in that distinct breaking stage (why do I do this to myself?), "Sir, riders have left the camp."
Barandion raises an eyebrow.
"Where were they headed?"
"Most of them went east, sir."
Barandion ponders this.
"Likely foraging for food and water to bolster their supplies. What about the rest?"
"Four of them went to the woods west of here. It's a bit distant, but it looks like they're building something."
"Siege equipment, I'll wager." Barandion grumbles. He takes a spyglass from Wilf and heads up onto the battlements. He returns moments later.
"A tower and a couple of catapults it seems. We'll need to deal with them, but we might as well let them waste the day on their construction before we destroy them."
He looks to you guys.
"You three are the best trained and best equipped that we have. You could go on horseback, deal with the goblins swiftly, smash their toys and be gone before anyone from the camp can respond. Or, we could let them drag them all the way back to camp, sneak in there at midnight and burn them to the ground. More dramatic, make them feel vulnerable, but more risky. What do you think?"
(If the PCs choose route A, Barandion assigns Nisha to assist them, otherwise, they go alone.)
---
Route A.
Barandion gives you the swiftest horses available, well trained mounts used by the militia. Nisha hucks herself up onto the horse effortlessly, clearly well acquainted with the beasts. Some of you find it a bit more tricky. Ori is too small to safely ride his own horse so he will share with one of you, clutching to your back so his wings don't block your view. (Ori is a tiny kobold around two feet tall).
The horses make swift work of the distance and by the time they notice you coming the goblins barely have time to down tools and go for their mounts before you are upon them. They were close to finishing, one catapult still being constructed. Destroying these will be quite the setback.
4 x Upgraded Worg Riders.
---
With your enemies destroyed, you set about wrecking the equipment they laboured on. It's only a matter of time til the camp sends responders.
(Firion has an eagle claw talisman that can help him break them. Ultimately they'll need to hack away at them til destroyed or burn them.)
With the deed done, you make for the fort on horseback, a band of goblins not even halfway to your position from the camp.
---
Route B.
That night, you slip out of the fort under cover of darkness. The goblin camp is unlit, them preferring to rely on their darkvision at night. As Ori well knows, that darkvision has limits and so it's simple enough to use the terrain to sneak closer to the camp. Once you get inside that range, however, things will be trickier.
Hide DC opposed by goblin sentries, Spot +2.
Move Silently DC opposed by goblin sentries, Listen +2.
---
On success.
You slip through the goblin camp like living shadows, a simple task for Krakflak, used to living under the cloak of subterfuge. You inch past tents, careful to avoid snagging ropes and tiptoe past heaps of goblins, sleeping in piles where they drunkenly passed out. The place reeks of ale, sweat and goblin farts. Every now and then a goblin will twitch and release gas from one end or the other, stopping the group in its tracks as you wait for it to settle.
The area with the siege engines is close. Three hobgoblins sit nearby, finishing up a game of cards.
Hide DC, opposed by hobgoblin gamblers, Spot +5/+2/+2
Move Silently DC, by hobgoblin gamblers, Listen +5/+2/+2
-
On success.
The hobgoblins are engrossed in their game. One accuses the other of cheating and a scuffle breaks out. You slip by unnoticed in the chaos. Before long, you are at the siege equipment.
You (burn by whatever method they planned), the flames catching quickly. You scurry off into the darkness, making your escape speedily and unnoticed as attention is drawn to the fire. You cheese it back to the fort as the siege equipment lights up the night sky and the camp erupts into shouts.
-
On fail (either section).
It's all going smoothly until (failing player) trips over a guy rope and falls flat on his face with a yell. The nearby group of hobgoblins leaps into action. You need to deal with these quickly if you are to flee before the rest of the camp awakens and descends on your position.
1 x Hobgoblin Monk
2 x Hobgoblin Fighter 2
---
Both Routes.
You arrive back to cheers from the defenders (if successful) but Barandion pulls you swiftly aside.
(Route A conversation follows, Route B amendments after that)
"We have a problem. It looks like the general realised he couldn't stop you in time, so he took advantage of our unprepared state. It wasn't much of an assault but then that wasn't the main purpose. During the initial barrage a few goblins broke through. We managed to kill most but three of them made it to the chapel without us realising. They started sniping at people from the belltower. A couple of deaths, three or four wounded, we're avoiding it now. Jadreth tried to go in after them but they've trapped the place to Gehenna and back. He was lucky he didn't lose the leg. Samara has only just finished digging the shrapnel from it. If any of you have experience in this kind of thing we'd appreciate the assistance."
(Route B amendment)
"We have a problem. It seems we weren't the only ones sneaking about in the dark. While you were gone, a group of goblins managed to slip over the wall. Three of them we think. They made it to the chapel before we realised. They started sniping... etc."
(Further description of the scallywags encounter will be adlibbed as I don't know which traps will get set off or disabled and so on.)
---
Retaliation Assault, low light on Route A, Darkness on Route B.
It seems your successful/failed attempt to destroy the siege equipment has drawn the ire of the barghest commander. The goblins assault the walls in force, driven into a frenzy by your actions.
1x Warcaster with 2 x Goblin Fighter 2s.
1 x Warcaster with 2 x Hobgoblin Duskblades
---
(It's at this point we need to have an appearance from Mystra. I know, that came out of the blue. Well, technically this isn't just a one shot and so I need to take into consideration the ongoing story of the campaign. It would take too long to fully explain why she's here, so we'll just soldier on.)
As the assault is repelled and winds down, the goblins retreat sullenly back to their camp. Both sides now exhausted and eager for some sleep.
Firion, about an hour later, you awake, bladder full and requiring attention. You mosey sleepily outside to the privy and relieve yourself. After finishing up, you turn around to head back to bed and see Mystra standing behind you, arms folded and a familiar scowl upon her face.
"I thought I felt something." she says, "Another flicker in the timestream and when I come to see what's going on, what do I find but you, where you don't belong. Again! Imagine, just how many mortals there are..."
She lowers her tone.
"And you're the one that's starting to annoy me. Where even are we?"
She looks around but you get the feeling she is seeing more than simply the fort.
"How far out is this world? Is that a temple to Aoskar? When?... Oh."
She smiles a little.
"Do you and your friends even realise?..." (PROTIP - This is the first hint that they aren't all from the same time, relatively speaking)
Then the scowl returns.
"How exactly *did* you get here?"
(Side note time. I should probably point out at this point that Firion is likely going to blab. These guys have already foolishly told some of the wrong people about the portal. They seem to love keeping secrets from each other but will happily spill their guts to any NPC I throw their way. He's probably gonna tell Mystra all about their lovely secret portal in their cleverly hidden keep. This would be a disaster. The location (and construction) of the Timeless Keep has been hidden from her on purpose and if she learns of its existence she will deactivate it. It's vitally important that Firion does not tell her a damn thing.
Under normal circumstances I am against asking players to roll Sense Motive (Insight for you 5e goobers) because the existence of the roll implies a reason for the roll. Instead I encourage players to roll Sense Motive on their own initiative and reward them for doing so sparingly. I might dig more into how to leverage insight as a DM in another article but for now, I just know Firion isn't gonna roll off his own back. Which leaves me two choices. Request a low DC roll or simply narratively tell him not to blab. Neither of these two are great options, both being a bit like babysitting. If he biffs the roll we've achieved nothing. Which means removing his free will is the only viable option here. So, immediately following Mystra's question, I'll try and dress it up as best I can.)
Firion. Something about the casual off-hand way she asks that unnerves you. The thought occurs that the Timeless Keep is buried hundreds of miles deep in the elemental plane of earth for a reason. Could Mystra's previous animosity towards Tymora be part of that reason? Perhaps it might be best to keep shtum for now.
(Now it's on him. If he blabs, Mystra goes and checks out the portal and shuts it down. They can still get home, they just won't be able to leave the keep unless they can figure out some way of doing so. If he tries fobbing her off, I'll have him roll a bluff. This is just for appearances of course. This is 3e so all the gods are statted up. Mystra is level 55 (and divine rank 18). Amazingly she doesn't have a single rank in Sense Motive, meaning she only has a +15 from her 40 Wisdom. Due to her divine rank, she gets another +18 and automatically rolls a 20, meaning her opposed check would be 53. Luckily for Firion, something distracts her before she rolls. Luckily. Did I mention Tymora? Probably not a co-incidence. Doubt the players will notice.)
Mystra cocks her head slightly, seemingly about to call you out, then her gaze flicks upward like she's thinking about something. Her avatar flickers, suddenly less substantial. Her gaze returns to you.
"It seems that is going to require my full attention."
She points an accusatory finger at you.
"Do *not* cause any problems in the timeline or I *will* send a quarut to hunt you to the edges of the planescape. You do not want me as an enemy."
She disappears, leaving you glad your bladder was already empty...
---
Day 3.
Breakfast is a disappointing bowl of oatmeal and a couple of slightly wrinkled apples. The dour mood is lifted a little as word begins to pass around the defenders that the goblins are doing something bizarre. People crowd up onto the walls to peer over the battlements at the goblin camp where they are constructing something out of wood, tentcloth, debris and scraps of whatever can be found. It looks kind of like a large clawed foot. As the hours pass by, the structure takes more shape. Two feet and thick sturdy legs, stood atop a wheeled platform. A groin follows, scraps of tent serving as a loincloth and by late afternoon, a broad muscular torso. It seems now that the goblins are building some sort of oversize statue of a bugbear.
(I'll give them some moments to chuckle about this and discuss how they wish to respond when the inevitable happens. If scale is mentioned I'll casually mention it looks like it could hold a few hundred goblins packed in uncomfortably.)
The statue isn't quite finished by the time darkness begins to fall and the goblins abandon it with the scaffolding still in place and the head absent, hoping that the players will infer that the goblins will attempt their trojan bugbear manoeuvre in the morning.
---
That night, as you're sleeping, a bugle call from the walls shatters the peace. Frantic yells are taken up. The goblins are attacking. In the blackness of this moonless night, the only lights are the torches on the inside of the fort. Bleary eyed and half asleep, you throw on your armour and make for the battlements.
(depending on what preparations they might take, I'll have to adlib a little here until the fight is over)
2 x Hobgoblin Veterans
1 x Hobgoblin Sergeant
---
As you turn that group aside one of the children comes running to you from down below, frantic and out of breath.
"I just saw goblins." she pants, "They're in the fort! They came over the back wall near where I was hiding and split into two groups. They went that way and that way!"
She points, indicating what you think is the well and the command room where Barandion would have been. More defenders are arriving to defend the wall. They should be able to hold for a little while without you. Where are you going?
(more adlib here, depending on which order they address this in. We already laid out the guidelines so from here they end up back on the wall where I beat their lily white asses old school. When they're on the brink of death...)
Finally the goblin assault begins to subside and not a moment too soon. The assault was ferocious and relentless and the losses this time were considerable. The fort can't take another attack like that. This whole place is close to breaking point. As you wearily trudge back towards your sleeping quarters there's another bugle call. Surely not...
As you look around you see defenders running not towards the wall, but the rear door to the fort. They throw it open revealing what might be the most welcome sight you've seen since the portal that saved you from your certain death. Riders. Armoured men atop horses, pikemen behind them on foot and behind them, wagons, wagons containing supplies. The chain of men continues entering, hundreds of them. This is it. The reinforcements have arrived!
The lead rider dismounts and addresses you.
"Where is Barandion?"
(adlib based on Barandion's current disposition, ultimately allowing the PCs to be present as Barandion outlines his plan. The description of that will involve some adlibbing too depending on if Firion has identified the general and whether the zoblins are still a thing. We have the outline, we know where it's going, I'll announce the refresh (and buff) and the key point that now is the time to strike while the gobboes are reeling.)
(From here I'll pretty much adlib the rest based on their performance and how they deal with the general, whether there's any attempt at dramatic dialogue between Firion and the barghest and how long they linger afterwards chatting to Barandion and when they choose to activate their bracelets that will take them home.)
And that's the fluff done. All that remains is to gather any resources I might need. The next post will have a few things I put together and my final thoughts about the whole thing.
I appreciate that the end involves a lot of adlibbing but this is often the case as the end is the most uncertain part. Adlibbing (or bullshitting) is another important skill you'll pick up as a DM as you go.
---
Resources section
Nisha stats:
The 3.5e DMG has NPC fighter stats. Yeah, sorry to keep rubbing it in for you 5e players, but the 3e DMG literally has NPC tables for every class from level 1 to 20... with adjustments for race. Seriously, make the move to 3.5 when you can, it will blow your mind how well supported this edition was.
Anyways, we'll lift the level 7 fighter stats wholesale from page 117, simply flavouring her based on choice of weapon. I fancy giving her the bastard sword, so we'll roll with that.
---
NPC images
Barandion
Nisha
---
Arrival Terrain
Fort
Nearest art I could find to the fort. Imagine less asian.
I'm no artist, but threw this together in Dungeon Alchemist just to illustrate the vague idea of what the fort might look like (note, can't do multiple floors yet in that program). Mapmaking is my weakest skill by far.
---
In closing.
If you're already an established DM, you might be looking at this and already thinking how you'd improve it. Indeed, I already have a few ideas in mind and could probably pad this out to last 6-7 days. We never used the traitor idea and I also thought about having a sickness spreading through the camp, which would be an ideal sub-plot for a party with a cleric or druid. It's important to consider your group composition and make sure there are things that lean into each character's skills.
However, this is long enough... for my group. That's the key here. Any criticism you might have of this is easily addressed with two simple points. I am not Matt Mercer and neither are my group Vox Machina. Expanding this further runs the risk of them growing bored with the scenario. This is enough content to last them 4-6 sessions by my estimation and that will hold their attention nicely. Hell, part of the reason I came up with this portal idea was so every month or two they get a whole different type of adventure, mixing familiar characters in unfamiliar surroundings, giving them plenty of variety. This is something you can only pick up with experience, and the more you play with your group the better you'll understand this. Just pay attention to what works well, who gets excited and when and why. Simply put, don't forget to observe while DMing.
I'll have more articles eventually about other techniques to use at the table including how to prep (which is another thing people often find difficult when starting out). But hopefully now you've seen the full process of how to begin and continue creating an adventure or even a campaign. From simple beginnings of focus (combat), theme (goblins), concept (fort defence), we built a framework for our story by looking for interesting enemies and imagining how they might participate in the assault. We let that dictate the narrative pacing. Then we came up with a narrative idea (the siege engines) and let that dictate more encounter styles with our split route, day 2, giving the players genuine agency in how they deal with it. If your players are more creative you could even give them no options and allow them to come up with their own ideas (again, my players will appreciate the linear with options approach). We put in a scenario that gives the party's rogue a chance to flex his skills, allowing the PC class choice to shape the narrative. We also weren't afraid to drop ideas that we didn't manage to fit in narratively (the traitor) and change things to improve the flow (from 6 days to 4). Once we had the framework in place, we built up the detail by designing the crunch and then fluffed out the narrative to bring it all to life. You've been with me the entire step of the way as we've gone from "goblins assault a fort" to a fleshed out one shot that will keep my crew happy and playing for 4 to 6 sessions (a month or two at our usual pace).
You *can* do this. :)
---
Day 1.
You step through the portal and emerge onto dusty, brown plains. Cacti, gulches, a large dead tree slowly succumbing to gravity. What vegetation there is is scrub and a lone tumbleweed living up to its name. And then you hear the screams.
Turning, you see a few large wagons and civilians fleeing. Off in the distance, the thing they are fleeing from. A presumably abandoned town and some sort of marching army, still distant. But harrying this desperate rearguard are cackling goblin riders atop worg mounts, equally gleeful. Two of them are bearing down on you now.
Roll for initiative:
2 x Worg Rider
---
A group of defenders are fighting to keep the goblins away from the wagons. While the goblins are hacking away at the civilians indiscriminately, larger hobgoblins riding dire wolves are targetting the wagons. One group in particular looks like they need help. As you push towards them, two defenders fall, leaving only one still standing. Two riders are almost ready to despatch him.
2 x Hobgoblin Riders
---
Together with the last surviving defender, you turn away two more assaults on the supply wagon, each raid less enthusiastic than the last. Eventually, the remaining riders fall back, retreating to join the main force still doggedly pursuing. It's clear to you now that most of these people are civilians with few real soldiers among them. You chat with Marius, the defender of your wagon and get the lowdown on the situation. Firion starts to hear a familiar tale. A mass of goblins, led by a barghest; a vanguard for a much larger force. They came across Gevel's Oasis, the town now disappearing over the horizon, and tried to take it swiftly, sending outriders ahead. Luckily they were spotted in advance and by the time they began to face the town militia, the civilians were already making their escape, wagons laden with whatever supplies lay close to hand. The surviving militia caught up on horseback just before you arrived. They are leading the people to Gamelon's Pass where a fort blocks entry to the Deshi Valley beyond the mountains where the town of Betan lies.
(If Firion cottons on at this point I'll offer knowledge Geography DC 17 to confirm that he's heard of these places though won't necessarily reveal the time frame. He doesn't have Knowledge History so if he suggests Knowledge Local he can roll against DC 23 to see if knows of any important events about these places but I'm not going to offer the roll, it has to be on his own initiative.
It's up to the players if they wish to question Marius further or speak to others or try and find out who's in charge. If they press to the front they can find more soldiers. One, a burly woman named Nisha, will tell them that Barandion is in charge and has ridden ahead with a small unit to verify that the fort is unoccupied. It's close but hasn't been used in years. At this point, I can't call for a history check because Firion doesn't have it. Don't forget, as far as Firion is concerned, much of the history of his world was lost to the goblin incursion. It's feasible he might not have ever learned his great grandfather's name. Should he query, I'll offer an int check DC 15. If he passes, he recalls his great grandfather was named Barandion.
As conversation peters out, I'll step in to describe the approach to the fort.)
---
Barandion and his scouts are waiting as you approach. The fort is nestled into the base of the mountain pass, made of sturdy stone it looks intact and formidable... from the outside. Only once you are through the entrance do you see the state of disrepair. Years? This place hasn't been occupied in decades. Vines and plants infest the area, the furniture is rotten and the masonry on the rear wall could use shoring up. There's a free standing mess hall and kitchen, as well as stabling for the horses. There's even a disused chapel to a long forgotten deity that looks in danger of falling down.
(Firion can roll Religion here, DC 24, to identify this as Aoskar, a long dead god of portals worshipped centuries into Adanis' past.
A Knowledge Local DC 22 reveals that Gamelon's Pass was the site of humanity's "last stand", notable for being the turning point in the war as the first barghest general was slain. Proof, if he hasn't figured it out already that we are in Adanis' past.)
---
(Barandion takes control, organizing his men and asks for anyone with the skills to make barricades or repair equipment as he expects the vanguard will arrive within the hour and will be keen to test the fort's defences. He also wants help cataloguing supplies. After some rolls the gobboes arrive and begin their assault.)
---
The goblin vanguard, you can see now, must be nearly 2000 strong, making Barandion's defensive force of 150 seems tiny by comparison, however, to make use of those numbers, they would need to breach the fort's outer walls. They set to it with gusto, goblins clambering over each other into a haphazard goblin pyramid until eventually they can crest the walls. The defenders await, under orders not to waste the sparse supply of arrows unless they see high value targets. All around the battlements, humans go toe to toe with the goblinoids and you are no exception as a band of four whooping goblins assails your position.
Roll for initiative.
4 x Goblin Skirmishers
---
Many goblins are simply kicked off the battlements but they soon scamper back up the pile for a fresh attempt. You kill a handful, tossing the corpses back down to keep the battlefield clear. Then a hobgoblin appears, a sword in his grip and an arcane glow playing across his fingers. Another group of skirmishers step forward, emboldened by his presence.
1 x Hobgoblin Duskblade
3 x Goblin Skirmishers
---
(side note - while this assault is ongoing, and indeed once per day, I'll be allowing Firion to roll Sense Motive {the 3e version of Insight}. This is because the barghest general will be hidden among the goblins, in his goblin form, allowing him to observe the battle. Firion will be using his training to try and identify him. The DC starts at 22 on day 1, which is an impossible DC for him. Luckily for him, the DC drops each day. DC 18 on day 2, 14 on day 3 and 10 on day 4, reflecting the ongoing observations. This will be crucial in picking the right target during the day 4 push.
We should probably talk about the concept of failing forward here. Consider this, what happens if Firion rolls a 1 every time he tries to identify the general? When you DM, you need to consider the consequences of what happens if you make a player roll for something and they fail, especially if the basic idea of failure essentially screws the game. If the players can't identify the general, they can't make that last push and kill him. This is where failing forward comes in. Redefine the failure. Here's how it works, if Firion fails every check and can't identify the general, he has narrowed it down to two distinct subjects, both showing signs of being the general and he can't decide between them. This means the players will have to take a gamble when they go for the push. We're gonna go back and add in a fake general fight, in case they choose poorly and to make it more interactive for the players we'll offer them these two goblins to choose between. The advent of AI art has made it harder and harder to find non AI images. This first one is AI but it's not bad.
Goblin A - https://img.freepik.com/premium-photo/g ... -26998.jpg
Goblin B - https://art.ngfiles.com/images/2500000/ ... 1651674555
I'm gonna roll randomly to determine which is the general so my bias doesn't give it away. Because I'm a cool DM, I literally own a D2 so this is easy. I rolled a 2, so goblin B is the general. We're failing forward, the game still continues but the failure gives the players a penalty, in this case, if they pick the wrong goblin they have to fight an extra group and receive no xp or loot for the fight. This is one of the most important skills you need to refine as a DM to make your games more fun. If failure would stall the game, leaving the players without vital info they need to proceed, redefine the failure so they can still progress but with a penalty they wouldn't have otherwise had.)
---
As the supply of willing goblins dwindles, the goblin tower disassembles itself and they scurry away to make camp far from the fort's walls and the range of its archers. Unbeknown to them, the archers have already exhausted their ration of ammunition. Barandion approaches, watching the army retreat. A defender, looking horrified, points down and Barandion looks over.
"Blood and ashes." he exclaims.
You follow his gaze and see a lone goblin with lurid orange skin, clad in fetishes and clutching a crimson satchel. Sickly purple energy flows from his fingertips. Where it touches a dead goblin, the unfortunate creature struggles to its feet, animated by the foul magic, and shambles after its new master.
Barandion turns to you.
"You handled yourselves well against that duskblade. Can I ask you to deal with him before he undoes all we have achieved here?"
1 x Flesh Herder
3 x Zoblins
---
As the herder falls, you see there is significant weight in his satchel. You snatch it up and hurry back inside the safety of the fort. With no one to maintain them, the remaining zoblins expire once more.
---
(Downtime here so the group can converse with each other or the defenders if they wish or strategise. Then they'll be levelling up, of course. The dizzying heights of level 7.)
---
Day 2.
Breakfast rolls around and finds you sat near the wall with a bowl of scrambled eggs and a couple of thick slices of bread, thinly spread with butter. Someone from the town brought chickens and the children were up early, chasing them around the fort for their eggs. A few still strut around (chickens, not children), one hopping awkwardly over Barandion's foot as he too sits nearby. Together with Ori (the party warlock) he has assessed the supplies.
"I dispatched a rider to Betan the moment we arrived." he says, setting his bowl aside. "These supplies won't last long. If we can hold this place for another two or three days, with any luck, reinforcements will come."
At that moment, one of the sentries comes down from the wall. He's a wiry teenager sporting the beginnings of a moustache. You already know his name is Wilf.
"Sir." he says, his voice in that distinct breaking stage (why do I do this to myself?), "Sir, riders have left the camp."
Barandion raises an eyebrow.
"Where were they headed?"
"Most of them went east, sir."
Barandion ponders this.
"Likely foraging for food and water to bolster their supplies. What about the rest?"
"Four of them went to the woods west of here. It's a bit distant, but it looks like they're building something."
"Siege equipment, I'll wager." Barandion grumbles. He takes a spyglass from Wilf and heads up onto the battlements. He returns moments later.
"A tower and a couple of catapults it seems. We'll need to deal with them, but we might as well let them waste the day on their construction before we destroy them."
He looks to you guys.
"You three are the best trained and best equipped that we have. You could go on horseback, deal with the goblins swiftly, smash their toys and be gone before anyone from the camp can respond. Or, we could let them drag them all the way back to camp, sneak in there at midnight and burn them to the ground. More dramatic, make them feel vulnerable, but more risky. What do you think?"
(If the PCs choose route A, Barandion assigns Nisha to assist them, otherwise, they go alone.)
---
Route A.
Barandion gives you the swiftest horses available, well trained mounts used by the militia. Nisha hucks herself up onto the horse effortlessly, clearly well acquainted with the beasts. Some of you find it a bit more tricky. Ori is too small to safely ride his own horse so he will share with one of you, clutching to your back so his wings don't block your view. (Ori is a tiny kobold around two feet tall).
The horses make swift work of the distance and by the time they notice you coming the goblins barely have time to down tools and go for their mounts before you are upon them. They were close to finishing, one catapult still being constructed. Destroying these will be quite the setback.
4 x Upgraded Worg Riders.
---
With your enemies destroyed, you set about wrecking the equipment they laboured on. It's only a matter of time til the camp sends responders.
(Firion has an eagle claw talisman that can help him break them. Ultimately they'll need to hack away at them til destroyed or burn them.)
With the deed done, you make for the fort on horseback, a band of goblins not even halfway to your position from the camp.
---
Route B.
That night, you slip out of the fort under cover of darkness. The goblin camp is unlit, them preferring to rely on their darkvision at night. As Ori well knows, that darkvision has limits and so it's simple enough to use the terrain to sneak closer to the camp. Once you get inside that range, however, things will be trickier.
Hide DC opposed by goblin sentries, Spot +2.
Move Silently DC opposed by goblin sentries, Listen +2.
---
On success.
You slip through the goblin camp like living shadows, a simple task for Krakflak, used to living under the cloak of subterfuge. You inch past tents, careful to avoid snagging ropes and tiptoe past heaps of goblins, sleeping in piles where they drunkenly passed out. The place reeks of ale, sweat and goblin farts. Every now and then a goblin will twitch and release gas from one end or the other, stopping the group in its tracks as you wait for it to settle.
The area with the siege engines is close. Three hobgoblins sit nearby, finishing up a game of cards.
Hide DC, opposed by hobgoblin gamblers, Spot +5/+2/+2
Move Silently DC, by hobgoblin gamblers, Listen +5/+2/+2
-
On success.
The hobgoblins are engrossed in their game. One accuses the other of cheating and a scuffle breaks out. You slip by unnoticed in the chaos. Before long, you are at the siege equipment.
You (burn by whatever method they planned), the flames catching quickly. You scurry off into the darkness, making your escape speedily and unnoticed as attention is drawn to the fire. You cheese it back to the fort as the siege equipment lights up the night sky and the camp erupts into shouts.
-
On fail (either section).
It's all going smoothly until (failing player) trips over a guy rope and falls flat on his face with a yell. The nearby group of hobgoblins leaps into action. You need to deal with these quickly if you are to flee before the rest of the camp awakens and descends on your position.
1 x Hobgoblin Monk
2 x Hobgoblin Fighter 2
---
Both Routes.
You arrive back to cheers from the defenders (if successful) but Barandion pulls you swiftly aside.
(Route A conversation follows, Route B amendments after that)
"We have a problem. It looks like the general realised he couldn't stop you in time, so he took advantage of our unprepared state. It wasn't much of an assault but then that wasn't the main purpose. During the initial barrage a few goblins broke through. We managed to kill most but three of them made it to the chapel without us realising. They started sniping at people from the belltower. A couple of deaths, three or four wounded, we're avoiding it now. Jadreth tried to go in after them but they've trapped the place to Gehenna and back. He was lucky he didn't lose the leg. Samara has only just finished digging the shrapnel from it. If any of you have experience in this kind of thing we'd appreciate the assistance."
(Route B amendment)
"We have a problem. It seems we weren't the only ones sneaking about in the dark. While you were gone, a group of goblins managed to slip over the wall. Three of them we think. They made it to the chapel before we realised. They started sniping... etc."
(Further description of the scallywags encounter will be adlibbed as I don't know which traps will get set off or disabled and so on.)
---
Retaliation Assault, low light on Route A, Darkness on Route B.
It seems your successful/failed attempt to destroy the siege equipment has drawn the ire of the barghest commander. The goblins assault the walls in force, driven into a frenzy by your actions.
1x Warcaster with 2 x Goblin Fighter 2s.
1 x Warcaster with 2 x Hobgoblin Duskblades
---
(It's at this point we need to have an appearance from Mystra. I know, that came out of the blue. Well, technically this isn't just a one shot and so I need to take into consideration the ongoing story of the campaign. It would take too long to fully explain why she's here, so we'll just soldier on.)
As the assault is repelled and winds down, the goblins retreat sullenly back to their camp. Both sides now exhausted and eager for some sleep.
Firion, about an hour later, you awake, bladder full and requiring attention. You mosey sleepily outside to the privy and relieve yourself. After finishing up, you turn around to head back to bed and see Mystra standing behind you, arms folded and a familiar scowl upon her face.
"I thought I felt something." she says, "Another flicker in the timestream and when I come to see what's going on, what do I find but you, where you don't belong. Again! Imagine, just how many mortals there are..."
She lowers her tone.
"And you're the one that's starting to annoy me. Where even are we?"
She looks around but you get the feeling she is seeing more than simply the fort.
"How far out is this world? Is that a temple to Aoskar? When?... Oh."
She smiles a little.
"Do you and your friends even realise?..." (PROTIP - This is the first hint that they aren't all from the same time, relatively speaking)
Then the scowl returns.
"How exactly *did* you get here?"
(Side note time. I should probably point out at this point that Firion is likely going to blab. These guys have already foolishly told some of the wrong people about the portal. They seem to love keeping secrets from each other but will happily spill their guts to any NPC I throw their way. He's probably gonna tell Mystra all about their lovely secret portal in their cleverly hidden keep. This would be a disaster. The location (and construction) of the Timeless Keep has been hidden from her on purpose and if she learns of its existence she will deactivate it. It's vitally important that Firion does not tell her a damn thing.
Under normal circumstances I am against asking players to roll Sense Motive (Insight for you 5e goobers) because the existence of the roll implies a reason for the roll. Instead I encourage players to roll Sense Motive on their own initiative and reward them for doing so sparingly. I might dig more into how to leverage insight as a DM in another article but for now, I just know Firion isn't gonna roll off his own back. Which leaves me two choices. Request a low DC roll or simply narratively tell him not to blab. Neither of these two are great options, both being a bit like babysitting. If he biffs the roll we've achieved nothing. Which means removing his free will is the only viable option here. So, immediately following Mystra's question, I'll try and dress it up as best I can.)
Firion. Something about the casual off-hand way she asks that unnerves you. The thought occurs that the Timeless Keep is buried hundreds of miles deep in the elemental plane of earth for a reason. Could Mystra's previous animosity towards Tymora be part of that reason? Perhaps it might be best to keep shtum for now.
(Now it's on him. If he blabs, Mystra goes and checks out the portal and shuts it down. They can still get home, they just won't be able to leave the keep unless they can figure out some way of doing so. If he tries fobbing her off, I'll have him roll a bluff. This is just for appearances of course. This is 3e so all the gods are statted up. Mystra is level 55 (and divine rank 18). Amazingly she doesn't have a single rank in Sense Motive, meaning she only has a +15 from her 40 Wisdom. Due to her divine rank, she gets another +18 and automatically rolls a 20, meaning her opposed check would be 53. Luckily for Firion, something distracts her before she rolls. Luckily. Did I mention Tymora? Probably not a co-incidence. Doubt the players will notice.)
Mystra cocks her head slightly, seemingly about to call you out, then her gaze flicks upward like she's thinking about something. Her avatar flickers, suddenly less substantial. Her gaze returns to you.
"It seems that is going to require my full attention."
She points an accusatory finger at you.
"Do *not* cause any problems in the timeline or I *will* send a quarut to hunt you to the edges of the planescape. You do not want me as an enemy."
She disappears, leaving you glad your bladder was already empty...
---
Day 3.
Breakfast is a disappointing bowl of oatmeal and a couple of slightly wrinkled apples. The dour mood is lifted a little as word begins to pass around the defenders that the goblins are doing something bizarre. People crowd up onto the walls to peer over the battlements at the goblin camp where they are constructing something out of wood, tentcloth, debris and scraps of whatever can be found. It looks kind of like a large clawed foot. As the hours pass by, the structure takes more shape. Two feet and thick sturdy legs, stood atop a wheeled platform. A groin follows, scraps of tent serving as a loincloth and by late afternoon, a broad muscular torso. It seems now that the goblins are building some sort of oversize statue of a bugbear.
(I'll give them some moments to chuckle about this and discuss how they wish to respond when the inevitable happens. If scale is mentioned I'll casually mention it looks like it could hold a few hundred goblins packed in uncomfortably.)
The statue isn't quite finished by the time darkness begins to fall and the goblins abandon it with the scaffolding still in place and the head absent, hoping that the players will infer that the goblins will attempt their trojan bugbear manoeuvre in the morning.
---
That night, as you're sleeping, a bugle call from the walls shatters the peace. Frantic yells are taken up. The goblins are attacking. In the blackness of this moonless night, the only lights are the torches on the inside of the fort. Bleary eyed and half asleep, you throw on your armour and make for the battlements.
(depending on what preparations they might take, I'll have to adlib a little here until the fight is over)
2 x Hobgoblin Veterans
1 x Hobgoblin Sergeant
---
As you turn that group aside one of the children comes running to you from down below, frantic and out of breath.
"I just saw goblins." she pants, "They're in the fort! They came over the back wall near where I was hiding and split into two groups. They went that way and that way!"
She points, indicating what you think is the well and the command room where Barandion would have been. More defenders are arriving to defend the wall. They should be able to hold for a little while without you. Where are you going?
(more adlib here, depending on which order they address this in. We already laid out the guidelines so from here they end up back on the wall where I beat their lily white asses old school. When they're on the brink of death...)
Finally the goblin assault begins to subside and not a moment too soon. The assault was ferocious and relentless and the losses this time were considerable. The fort can't take another attack like that. This whole place is close to breaking point. As you wearily trudge back towards your sleeping quarters there's another bugle call. Surely not...
As you look around you see defenders running not towards the wall, but the rear door to the fort. They throw it open revealing what might be the most welcome sight you've seen since the portal that saved you from your certain death. Riders. Armoured men atop horses, pikemen behind them on foot and behind them, wagons, wagons containing supplies. The chain of men continues entering, hundreds of them. This is it. The reinforcements have arrived!
The lead rider dismounts and addresses you.
"Where is Barandion?"
(adlib based on Barandion's current disposition, ultimately allowing the PCs to be present as Barandion outlines his plan. The description of that will involve some adlibbing too depending on if Firion has identified the general and whether the zoblins are still a thing. We have the outline, we know where it's going, I'll announce the refresh (and buff) and the key point that now is the time to strike while the gobboes are reeling.)
(From here I'll pretty much adlib the rest based on their performance and how they deal with the general, whether there's any attempt at dramatic dialogue between Firion and the barghest and how long they linger afterwards chatting to Barandion and when they choose to activate their bracelets that will take them home.)
And that's the fluff done. All that remains is to gather any resources I might need. The next post will have a few things I put together and my final thoughts about the whole thing.
I appreciate that the end involves a lot of adlibbing but this is often the case as the end is the most uncertain part. Adlibbing (or bullshitting) is another important skill you'll pick up as a DM as you go.
---
Resources section
Nisha stats:
The 3.5e DMG has NPC fighter stats. Yeah, sorry to keep rubbing it in for you 5e players, but the 3e DMG literally has NPC tables for every class from level 1 to 20... with adjustments for race. Seriously, make the move to 3.5 when you can, it will blow your mind how well supported this edition was.
Anyways, we'll lift the level 7 fighter stats wholesale from page 117, simply flavouring her based on choice of weapon. I fancy giving her the bastard sword, so we'll roll with that.
---
NPC images
Barandion
Spoiler
Spoiler
Arrival Terrain
Spoiler
Nearest art I could find to the fort. Imagine less asian.
Spoiler
Spoiler
In closing.
If you're already an established DM, you might be looking at this and already thinking how you'd improve it. Indeed, I already have a few ideas in mind and could probably pad this out to last 6-7 days. We never used the traitor idea and I also thought about having a sickness spreading through the camp, which would be an ideal sub-plot for a party with a cleric or druid. It's important to consider your group composition and make sure there are things that lean into each character's skills.
However, this is long enough... for my group. That's the key here. Any criticism you might have of this is easily addressed with two simple points. I am not Matt Mercer and neither are my group Vox Machina. Expanding this further runs the risk of them growing bored with the scenario. This is enough content to last them 4-6 sessions by my estimation and that will hold their attention nicely. Hell, part of the reason I came up with this portal idea was so every month or two they get a whole different type of adventure, mixing familiar characters in unfamiliar surroundings, giving them plenty of variety. This is something you can only pick up with experience, and the more you play with your group the better you'll understand this. Just pay attention to what works well, who gets excited and when and why. Simply put, don't forget to observe while DMing.
I'll have more articles eventually about other techniques to use at the table including how to prep (which is another thing people often find difficult when starting out). But hopefully now you've seen the full process of how to begin and continue creating an adventure or even a campaign. From simple beginnings of focus (combat), theme (goblins), concept (fort defence), we built a framework for our story by looking for interesting enemies and imagining how they might participate in the assault. We let that dictate the narrative pacing. Then we came up with a narrative idea (the siege engines) and let that dictate more encounter styles with our split route, day 2, giving the players genuine agency in how they deal with it. If your players are more creative you could even give them no options and allow them to come up with their own ideas (again, my players will appreciate the linear with options approach). We put in a scenario that gives the party's rogue a chance to flex his skills, allowing the PC class choice to shape the narrative. We also weren't afraid to drop ideas that we didn't manage to fit in narratively (the traitor) and change things to improve the flow (from 6 days to 4). Once we had the framework in place, we built up the detail by designing the crunch and then fluffed out the narrative to bring it all to life. You've been with me the entire step of the way as we've gone from "goblins assault a fort" to a fleshed out one shot that will keep my crew happy and playing for 4 to 6 sessions (a month or two at our usual pace).
You *can* do this. :)
"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to anyone else." - Charles Dickens.
“Choose not to be harmed and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed and you haven’t been.” - Marcus Aurelius
“Choose not to be harmed and you won’t feel harmed. Don’t feel harmed and you haven’t been.” - Marcus Aurelius
