For ideas, see Merric Blackman’s account of running the campaign, Justin Alexander’s Remixing Avernus, and my own post Improve the Start of Baldur’s Gate: Descent Into Avernus With These 2 Add-On Adventures. The player characters are just sideline characters to the happy fun times lulu show where everything is actually about Zariel and not the players. I am a first time dm (other than a single session of lmop with my then 5 year old). I’ve been involved in both kinds of projects. I haven't run it, and I've only really skimmed it but everything I've seen looks incredibly straightforward. I think I’ve come up with a solution to buying into the mission to save Elturel. Using the modules as-written doesn’t do them real justice, because their maximum potential can’t be realized that way. I think you need to railroad a bit without the players knowing it, which could be a challenge for newer DMs. To the DM, the adventure seems to run smoothly, so the problem goes unnoticed by the person who could have corrected it.
Have some players include in their background that they are travelling to Elturel to meet a close friend or family member to enjoy the celebration together. But just about every adventure with a more complicated premise serves hooks from start to finish. They aren’t thinking of the game world as a real place. I suspect that higher level of plot development is something that could be improved, because we see it in several adventures (even going back to Tomb of Annihilation). That leads to the situation where all hooks by me must make sense to the characters, not just to the players, and where railroading can’t usually be utilized as an adventure advancing method, except in very rare instances, really carefully hidden. My group skipped baldurs gate and I gave a synopsis thus far, we weren’t super interested in that part as we had just played through dragonheist and it felt like a very similar and sometimes you get tired of starting at level 1 every time. Characters can be expected to peak around level 13, assuming they live that long. Everyone giving Dungeons & Dragons advice tells dungeon masters how to start an adventure with a hook.
Welcome to Baldur’s Gate, a city of ambition and corruption situated at the crossroads of the Sword Coast.
Note, this article contains spoilers for Descent into Avernus. Players starting the campaign at level 1 will find themselves around level 13 at the end of the published content, which is a perfect jumping-off point for diving deeper into the Nine Hells. It's no surprise that Dungeons and Dragons takes adventurers all over the planes with every incarnation, but few adventures are as treacherous … (This discussion includes spoilers, but hardly more than the adventure’s title.) (If the idea of leads seems unclear, see instead of plots, prepare secrets, clues, and leads.) Post was not sent - check your email addresses! I think that’s proper author behavior.
It is pretty dm friendly from my experience. Monday: 3:00-10:00 “Why does the adventure assume the characters will simply plane shift to Hell without having any reason for doing so?”. It seems decent. Press J to jump to the feed. This gives the party a meaty hook for giving a damn about Elturel. And if the designers are assuming the DM will tailor the adventure to their players, what good is it spending money on the hardcover book if no work is really saved?
It definitely looks it for the first chapter.
So, the main reason for them to travel to Avernus is to try to rescue the King itself. Authors also expect someone to sand down the edges where what they writes fits in with what someone else is writing.
In play, the party sees a lead that they know the adventure expects them to follow, so they do. Even from the foundation of character creation, things take a … That's good for this company, Tapper: Trump's messages on stimulus are dizzying, His TikTok went viral.
Do you have what it takes to turn infernal war machines and nefarious contracts against the archdevil Zariel and her diabolical hordes? Adding a bit more here. Later though, the adventure asks players to send their characters to Hell for the slimmest chance of rescuing a damned city. Related Posts. Related: Why Dungeons & Dragons (and roleplaying) took years to leave the dungeon. Running Descent into Avernus Chapter 2. by Mike Shea on 17 August 2020. The hooks that come after an adventure’s start often go by names like clues, secrets, or leads. • Dungeons Masters will entice their heroes with devil’s deals, a unique set of game mechanics designed to lure adventurers with the ultimate temptations of power and treasure.
And can you ever hope to find your way home safely when pitted against the infinite evils of the Nine Hells? To the DM, the adventure appears to work, but unless players feel numb to dutifully playing DM Simon says, they feel railroaded.
I would say it's more newbie friendly than any other recent official campaigns (minus the essentials kit). When an adventure runs short of hooks or leads, everyone notices. It takes the characters from level 1 through 13. It begins in the iconic city of Baldur’s Gate and spans an intense epic adventure into Avernus, the first layer of the nine hells. You’ve just started your adventuring career, but already find yourself embroiled in a plot that sprawls from the shadows of Baldur’s Gate to the front lines … It takes the characters from level 1 through 13. D&D blogger Merric Blackman writes, “The trip to Hell offers no reason for the characters to believe they can improve things. Baldur's Gate: Descent Into Avernus is a 256-page campaign book that will take players from level 1 to level 13. For this duration, the weapon is immune to breaking on a critical miss, if that optional rule from the Descent into Avernus book is in use.
Dr. Anthony Fauci breaks down the average timeline from when a person is exposed to coronavirus to when they start showing symptoms of infection. Because it doesn’t matter!”. In a successful narrative adventure, the DM keeps laying track by dropping hooks. In earlier posts, I favored the term “leads” because the word matches one essential purpose: Leads reveal ways for the characters to reach a goal. Often, no one does. Alternately, when hooks clearly point characters toward their goals, even linear adventures, even railroads, can work magic. by Mike Shea on 11 May 2020. Note: This article contains spoilers for the adventure Descent into Avernus. The map is a crude guideline made by an increasingly crazy person. Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Soulbound – Review. Aside By either name, hooks and leads must accomplish two things: They entice characters to pursue a goal and they reveal ways to reach that goal. It's less sandboxy and more guided than Strahd, SKT, or ToA. Continue scrolling to keep reading Click the button below to start this article in quick view. Wizards of the Coast released their Dungeons and Dragons module Descent into Avernus in September of 2019. They still get to decide whether they want to take the shield of the hidden lord with them. My players loved it. The adventure may stall, but the obvious trouble invites a solution. Cons: some of the plot threads connecting areas are rather thin, and possible to miss.
Each one shows a course that brings the characters closer to their goal, so the players willingly choose to follow. The most important technique for the railroaded scenario is to frame the meaningful choices in such a way that the players legitimately want to make the predetermined choice.” writes Justin Alexander.
At the start of a scenario, no DM dangles a hook that lacks any clues the characters can follow to the goal. While there … Friday: 3:00-10:00 • This heroic Dungeons & Dragons adventure book takes players from levels 1 to 13 as they journey through Baldur’s Gate and into Avernus, the first layer of the Nine Hells. They’re able to remain completely immersed in their characters, feeling as if the world is unfolding in direct response to their actions.”. Recently I ran AD&D First Edition. Maybe grandma was a Hell Rider and you inherited some minor magic item that gives a +2 to some minor skill like Animal Handling or Grappling. Hooks sell a goal, but they need to offer a sensible direction too. How the Flawed Hooks in Descent Into Avernus Might Make D&D Players Feel Railroaded, instead of plots, prepare secrets, clues, and leads, Improve the Start of Baldur’s Gate: Descent Into Avernus With These 2 Add-On Adventures, Why Dungeons & Dragons (and roleplaying) took years to leave the dungeon, 13 of the Craziest Quirks in the Dungeons & Dragons Rules, 4 Ways D&D’s Creators Tried and Failed to Balance Classes, DwDD – Icewind Dale, Pt 4 – Misdirected Mark Productions. “The GM never forces a card on them. It's a little bit harder to get your head around the lore than some other adventures, but I'd say this is easier than ToA and SKT. When authors are part of the design, the end result will be far superior. I could see a group spinning its wheels if a DM doesn't know how to subtly push the plot forward. The word “hook” emphasizes a second essential: Hooks entice players to chase a particular goal. I wonder to what extent this problem coincides with using different authors? “A good railroad, at a certain level, is like a good magic trick: The players won’t really believe that magic is real, but a good magic trick will let them suspend disbelief just long enough to be amazed. Descent into Avernus has been noted as D&D meets Mad Max. The rest feel railroaded. The opening hook appeals both to the treasure hunters and the do-gooders. It has fewer moving parts and stuff to track than Dragon Heist.
If these hardcover adventures are professionally written by teams of designers, what are all these designers doing if the adventures don’t really work? Start now Related: Wizards of the Coast Change Dungeons & Dragons To Address Systemic Racism. So basically I used a module to further my overarching campaign story. The MP who plays D&D.
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