Last week I posted room 7. I have continued to work on this room because there is a difference between the notes I use to run (I created the thing after all) and what someone else would need to run the room. I am not a fan of the current "bullet style" but the walls of text in old modules can be overwhelming, this is my "happy medium." What do the players see, how does the room react, what else in the room - all of these questions need to be answered. Room 7 is pretty much done now.
Like monsters, I place major treasures during the first pass. They are not randomly generated because they are part of the "story" of the place, they build toward the theme of the thing. I don't need to give an extensive backstory to convey what is going here.
When I played this room I had to make some rulings on the fly which I tried to codify here. The friars invited the players in silently. At first they obviously refused and the undead started to get hostile. They attempted a turn and were able to eliminate two wights, but things started to go south from there. The players ran and noticed that as soon as they left the room the friars returned to the table. They had spotted the gold fork and really wanted it. They returned, and the friars again beckoned them. This time they decided to see what would happen if they sat. The friars were content. One of the players took the fork. Nothing happened. One of them stood up and backed out of the room. Nothing happened. Then another. When the last party member, a brave fighter retainer stood - the friars immediately became hostile. It was a riddle without an answer and was a fun puzzle in play to figure out how to get everyone out of the room (they all didn't).
Now onto the big area - Room 3: The Cloister.
D&D needs more intelligent swords. The world should be lousy with them. They are like truly famous celebrities. You have have never met one, but you know at least one person that has. The guy that hangs out with several of them is a minor celebrity just due to proximity.
In my "home base town" for my kids I have a sage. He's not some wizened librarian, he's a privileged rich guy who likes hanging out in the borderlands because its "cool." He is smart, chill, and has the resources to make himself useful. He's not brave enough really adventure himself, but he is obsessed with the trappings of adventurers. Walking encyclopedia of magic items and rumors about them - especially magic swords. Like a fantasy football fan who knows the stats of every player but couldn't tell you the win-loss record of any particular team.
This dead guy is directly related to one of the hooks at the beginning of the adventure:
Another aside - I am really having an internal debate about the role of hooks in an adventure. I know the classic "TSR" style is to have a bunch of hooks to be rolled randomly at the beginning of the adventure. It feels like a quantity over quality approach though. If I'm going to write a module and then put it out into the world for someone else to drop into their game then shouldn't I give 1 or 2 really solid hooks that are sure to catch their player's attention? And to me, a great hook has to HAVE A PAYOFF. Don't do fake hooks. Don't do generic hooks. Don't do hooks if the players bite they are underwhelming. Yay, gold! Who cares, wherever they go there will be gold. That's the point of the game.
GIVE THEM A MAGIC SWORD! If you give them a magic sword, the next time you throw a hook their way you know what they are going to do? They are going to bite. Every. Single. Time. Just keep giving them swords.
But you know what, I didn't just give them a sword. I gave them an NPC to interact with. I gave them an enemy - the Duke wants that sword. I gave them a choice, what can they get in return if they give the sword back to the Duke? I gave them questions. Who is this duke? Is he a good guy? It's a whole story that can be explored. At minimum its a new entry on the wandering monster table where occasionally some hired thugs from this random Duke somewhere else in the world show up and try to take the sword. Maybe the Peacock Blade wants to go back? Maybe Duke and Peacock Blade are in love?
Anyway, that's a fun room. It's a big open space and a relatively slow creature. The Pixies can be a problem. It's really one of those rooms where the best choice is to avoid. BUT, there is a magic sword right in the middle. Right next to 8HD monstrosity that is immune to everything. You're going to try to get that sword. It's a choice, but it's not a choice. To me those are fun choices in D&D. D&D is the most fun when the players are making the choices they know they shouldn't. They could avoid it. It's a choice being made purely out of greed. The "important" thing in this adventure isn't the sword. The heroic thing they are trying to accomplish is elsewhere. But right in front of them is a MAGIC SWORD. They're going to do it.
More thoughts and rooms next week!
