Happy Halloween, everybody! If you're like me, you really want to play in a Halloween D&D game where all the players are classic monsters: a mummy, a flesh golem, a vampire, a ghost... Man, that would be fun. Anyways, this post isn't about that. I was thinking about what to post for Halloween when I remembered a murder mystery session of D&D that I once ran.
I had never run a murder mystery before, but I knew that I wanted to do one. It required a lot of preparation, and more improvisation than I had done up to that point, but it really helped me learn how to run a roleplay-based town adventure that wasn't 'on rails'. Essentially, I created a small village and everyone who inhabited it. I gave them names and personalities, suspicions and secrets. I made up rumors about them and gave some of them motives for the murder. I made sure to throw in plenty of false leads, red herrings, and unrelated secrets. I tried to make the village feel alive, and part of that was making sure there was plenty of small-town drama.
The adventurers were told by the authorities of a nearby city that they were needed to investigate some killings performed by an unknown monster in the small village of Moulle. When they arrived at Moulle's only tavern and inn (The Giant's Bag), they were to learn that, although belief in the 'Monster in the Woods' was widespread, there was rumor going around that these killings were being performed by a townsperson.
Showing posts with label town adventure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label town adventure. Show all posts
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Friday, August 9, 2013
Sandbox Campaign Part 5: Dungeon Denizens and DMPCs
This is part 5 of my ongoing account of the sandbox campaign I am currently running. Updates are frequent, if irregular, and at the end of each post I talk about one or more subjects pertaining to the adventure but more broadly applicable to all campaigns. You can find the previous parts here.
After checking out several villages, the party returned to Castle Morbis for some R&R. Monty, meanwhile, had abandoned Crow Dance to his barbarian wanderings and finally reached the castle as well. After offending the guards at the main entrance, he bluffed his way into a postern gate. He wandered around the town, searching for his party, and ended up taking a liking to the Buxom Witch.
The rest of the party (sans Zel and Rikkit) also bummed around town, searching for a venue for Kat's bardic stylings after she rolled two natural 1s in a row on perform checks in the Rusty Glaive. They returned to the Buxom Witch - Kat in disguise since she had punched the barkeep last time - and met up with Monty. Soon, the barkeep offered to sell Monty a map to a treasure guarded by an orc horde. Monty, not realizing that this was the same map that sent Sir Hardrig to his doom, and also not wanting to pay for the treasure map, punched the barkeep, threw down a smokestick, and tried but failed to steal the map. He ended up fleeing down the street pursued by the barkeep's hired thugs, where he ran into Guy de la Rue. Guy was a seasoned fighter who had served with Sigrid's oldest brother Ranulf and had come up in search of Sigrid with her middle brother Bjorn. Now that that situation was resolved, he was just bumming around Castle Morbis looking for work. He helped Monty dispatch the thugs while the rest of the party stole the map, failed to remain unnoticed, and failed to convince the barmaids that they were just rescuing the map from a fire. The whole party fled to the dwarven smithy, where they told their side of the story to Dorninn the armourer, who promised to pass it on to the guards. The party decided to head out to the mountains in search of the rumored underground pass while the situation in town cooled down.
After checking out several villages, the party returned to Castle Morbis for some R&R. Monty, meanwhile, had abandoned Crow Dance to his barbarian wanderings and finally reached the castle as well. After offending the guards at the main entrance, he bluffed his way into a postern gate. He wandered around the town, searching for his party, and ended up taking a liking to the Buxom Witch.
The rest of the party (sans Zel and Rikkit) also bummed around town, searching for a venue for Kat's bardic stylings after she rolled two natural 1s in a row on perform checks in the Rusty Glaive. They returned to the Buxom Witch - Kat in disguise since she had punched the barkeep last time - and met up with Monty. Soon, the barkeep offered to sell Monty a map to a treasure guarded by an orc horde. Monty, not realizing that this was the same map that sent Sir Hardrig to his doom, and also not wanting to pay for the treasure map, punched the barkeep, threw down a smokestick, and tried but failed to steal the map. He ended up fleeing down the street pursued by the barkeep's hired thugs, where he ran into Guy de la Rue. Guy was a seasoned fighter who had served with Sigrid's oldest brother Ranulf and had come up in search of Sigrid with her middle brother Bjorn. Now that that situation was resolved, he was just bumming around Castle Morbis looking for work. He helped Monty dispatch the thugs while the rest of the party stole the map, failed to remain unnoticed, and failed to convince the barmaids that they were just rescuing the map from a fire. The whole party fled to the dwarven smithy, where they told their side of the story to Dorninn the armourer, who promised to pass it on to the guards. The party decided to head out to the mountains in search of the rumored underground pass while the situation in town cooled down.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Sandbox Campaign Part 4: Backstories and Town Adventures
This is part 4 of my ongoing account of the sandbox campaign I am currently running. Updates are frequent, if irregular, and at the end of each post I talk about one or more subjects pertaining to the adventure but more broadly applicable to all campaigns. You can find the previous parts here.
In the previous session, while resting in the tower, Sigurd, Zel, Kat, Daphne, and Rikkit had a discussion of their backstories. Sigurd, the third child of a Valsc raider who settled down with a Kaldish weaver, had run away from home seeking adventure and the chivalrous life of a knight. Kat and Daphne, frightened of the prospect of inheriting their father's terrible and unsanitary sandwich shop, fled north to make something of themselves. Zel, one of many illegitimate offspring of a witch and her various expendable lovers, fled her home along with her eldest brother. They travelled in opposite directions to minimize the chance of them both getting caught. Rikkit was cast out of his goblin clan by the terrible chieftain, Blackhide. He fled to an isolated manor house, where the lord took pity on him and taught him to control his budding sorcerous powers. Soon, however, Blackhide and his tribe descended on the manor and slaughtered all inside, save Rikkit who escaped with his favourite cat Bartleby. Ever since, Rikkit has hated goblin kind and vowed to one day kill Blackhide.
In the previous session, while resting in the tower, Sigurd, Zel, Kat, Daphne, and Rikkit had a discussion of their backstories. Sigurd, the third child of a Valsc raider who settled down with a Kaldish weaver, had run away from home seeking adventure and the chivalrous life of a knight. Kat and Daphne, frightened of the prospect of inheriting their father's terrible and unsanitary sandwich shop, fled north to make something of themselves. Zel, one of many illegitimate offspring of a witch and her various expendable lovers, fled her home along with her eldest brother. They travelled in opposite directions to minimize the chance of them both getting caught. Rikkit was cast out of his goblin clan by the terrible chieftain, Blackhide. He fled to an isolated manor house, where the lord took pity on him and taught him to control his budding sorcerous powers. Soon, however, Blackhide and his tribe descended on the manor and slaughtered all inside, save Rikkit who escaped with his favourite cat Bartleby. Ever since, Rikkit has hated goblin kind and vowed to one day kill Blackhide.
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