I had the idea of adding Godzilla monsters into a session but I have no experience in doing so. Like I had the idea to replace some monsters with the kaiju. How would you do this and if not Kaiju what other properties would you use?

Hey guys I’m writing my first campaign for me and some of my friends. Currently the story centers around the elements and more specifically the five elemental lords. I was reading about Bazim-Gorag and was wondering if the primordial stone could be a location that the party could enter and ascend or if it was more of an item like artifact that just moves around. One thing I read was that some sages believed it could contain a sleeping and powerful slaad lord but I’m not sure if this means it’s like a location that can be entered similar to a tower or if it’s more like an egg encasing the possible lord. Any help and interpretations would be appreciated thanks!!

I was thinking of making a knight group themed around the deck of many things in my dnd game but i don’t know what to name it I need some help

Hey folks,

Three years ago, with Halloween approaching, I set out to create a horror game for my daring players that I could run for multiple groups, multiple times. The solution to add a true horror aspect to a game that would be different every time came in the form of a module designed around rollable tables to bring an element of unpredictability. It’s a tribute of sorts to the classic horror stories and films of old, speaking to one of the oldest fears: Helplessness in the face of dire odds. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of walking through a haunted mansion knowing that killers and demons lurk around the corner.

Thanks to the help of my friends and Snowy's Maps, I've spent the last year while I work multiple jobs to write this into a full-fledged adventure module that can be run as a one-shot or campaign! The Kickstarter launches 20 hours from posting this. Check it out here!

The Kickstarter is a 5th level adventure currently featuring over 40+ pages, 14 battle maps, 20 NPCs, 6 stat blocks, 3 magic items, and counting! I have three great artists working to provide some art pieces and I've playtested the game almost 17 times as a one-shot and I'm now running it as a campaign.

Here's an introductory blurb I wrote about the module.

In a forgotten land, a mysterious mansion looms in the darkness, beckoning those who dare to dance with the flickering flame of glory.Dark forces have long beseiged the near-desolate town of Horrimoor and unwelcome travellers quickly learn to beware the legend of the vampire Baron Fang-si and his sinister Mourning Mansion. Ruled by his secritive lover, the mansion is accursed with vile maledictions and terrifying monsters. Even legendary heroes have struck within, only to fall prey to its macabre nature.Only the most clever and daring might have a chance to discover the mansion's ever-changing secrets and unlock the method to the madness. Once the sun rises, any creatures within the mansion are trapped forever. Will your adventurers have the wit and might to put an end to the Baron’s dark palace once and for all?

Though I've been a rather quiet member of Reddit with this account so far, I love seeing the amazing things people have come up with on this sub. I also release free content when I can, one of which was a single-player one-shot that went viral on r/DnDBehindTheScreen earlier this year. This is my first paid release, which I'm doing while working two other jobs. I'm super open to feedback and love to chat. You can also watch my video about the project.

TLDR: Launching my first paid project, a Kickstarter for a 5th level horror adventure or one-shot featuring lots of maps, art, and stat blocks as part of multiple collabs. Check out the Kickstarter here!

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I'm hoping for some good, solid ideas from the community on how to kick off a revenge arc in my campaign. I have a great group of players who have been invested in a homebrew campaign for several years, and they are getting close to the end of Act II.
The focus of Act III is going to be threefold:

1. REVENGE.
2. REVENGE.
3. REVENGE.

Setup/The Long-Con:
Since the start of the campaign, the PCs have been employed on a series of fetch quests by a hag-coven in disguise. A much-beloved NPC with the mind of a child has been accompanying the party since the start of the campaign, and is tasked with delivering the last macguffin to the hags, who are trusted benefactors to the party.
Once the PCs get the third and final MacGuffin to the coven, the hags will escape and assemble the pieces into a key that unlocks the BBEG from his/her imprisonment, whereupon they will all wreak havoc upon the lands, etc etc.
Where Things Go Wrong:
An NPC who knows what the hags are up to has been pursuing the PCs in an attempt to stop them and will intercept the entire group moments after the trusting, lovable NPC delivers the last piece of the key to the Hags (this will probably take place at a location where the hags-in-disguise will serve them a welcome diner). Upon making a dramatic entrance, a pursuing NPC (an unknown ally to the PCs) will expose the Hags for who they are, and make a desperate attempt to seize the key and foil their plans.
The Dick Move:
I want the lovable, dimwitted NPC companion to be killed in the most traumatic way possible by the Hags. This murder will allow the Hags to escape, which should kick off the third "revenge" act of the campaign.
The Rules:

1. Resurrection isn't an option, for obvious reasons.
2. His demise is to be quick, unexpected, and utterly shocking to the players, who are emotionally invested in the NPC.
3. The Hags absolutely will get away to bring their plans to fruition

Fellow DMs, please help come up with some ideas on how I can make my players murderously angry by a shocking act of violence against one of their most beloved and trusted companions.

Hello everyone, a while ago I struck up a conversation with a D&D adventure writer on this sub and he ended up writing a guest post for my blog (no ads or monetization) - wanted to share the post here. Are your experiences similar? Has anyone here published a module who would like to share that perspective for my readers (about 30/70 DMs/Players).

https://apexadventurertournament.com/2023/09/19/making-money-from-a-dungeons-and-dragons-hobby-one-creators-experiences-with-professional-dungeon-mastering-and-adventure-writing/

All, I recently finished writing a Level 12 One-Shot for my brother's bachelor party.

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***Walkin' in Memphis*** has you facing off against a Lich Elvis and his zombie court of dead Rock and Roll Hall of Famers to save the soul of the City. Feel free to check it out (it's free!)

https://www.gmbinder.com/share/-NcpGdGeQ1gV3yX316GA

Has anyone run a short (3-5 sessions of 2-3 hours each) campaign where the players start out without any information? So they don't know their characters' abilities or what their main goal was before The Accident that removed their memories. The DM has their character sheets and the players have to figure out their characters through trial & error.
I think it sounds like a really fun premise, but may be difficult to implement for an actual game. Looking for some advice or experiences with it

Welcome back to Advent's Amazing Advice! The series where I take popular One-Shots, Adventures, Campaigns, etc. and fully prep them for both New and Busy DMs. This prep includes fully fleshed-out notes, music, ambiance, encounter sheets, handouts, battle maps, tweaks, and more so you can run the best sessions possible with the least stress possible!

We Be Goblins is one of the best-rated 1st level One-Shots for Pathfinder. In it, your players will play as a horde of malicious and murderous goblins that must set off and find fireworks hidden in a derelict ship, but first, they must prove themselves by completing a series of dangerous dares, from swallowing Bull-Slugs to braving the Dreaded Earbiter to dancing with Squealy Nord himself!? Your players won't soon forget the shenanigans they get up to here!

I've fully converted this Pathfinder One-Shot to 5e so it will run as seamlessly as any other. You'll also find all the original pre-generated characters along with 6 additional options including a sorcerer goblin, a rouge goblin, a paladin goblin, and more all converted and ready to go!

It's rare that players get to live the lives of goblins, so make sure they enjoy every ear-biting moment of it!

Without further ado:

• Google Docs Notes for We Be Goblins: DM Notes (Preview)
• Link to Adventure: We Be Goblins
• Link to: We Be Goblins Playlist
• Link to: The AAA Collection

Included in The AAA Collection is:

• A Word document with all my notes including links to music tracks for ambiance and fights
• Special PDF for all the encounters. This includes the enemy stat blocks organized neatly along with an initiative tracker and a spot to mark HP
• A Handout for Scribblefaces Map (Credits: MrVergee)
• A Spell List for Vorka
• All Player Characters fully converted for 5e along with additional options

(Credit: Biochip and alkatrazjr)

Index:
Other Fully Prepped One-Shots, Adventures, and Campaigns:

• The Lost Mine of Phandelver - Click Here
• Dragons of Stormwreck Isle - Click Here
• We Be Goblins - Click Here
• The Egg of Estyr - Click Here
• Into Ivy Mansion - Click Here
• Wolves of Welton - Click Here
• To the End of Time - Click Here
• Curse of Strahd - Coming Soon
• A Most Potent Brew - Click Here
• Moon over Graymoor - Click Here
• A Wild West One-Shot - Click Here
• The Wild Sheep Chase - Click Here
• The Drunken Treasure - Click Here
• A Grimdark Adventure - Click Here
• D&D vs Rick and Morty - Click Here
• The Wizards Treehouse - Click Here
• A Prison Break One-Shot - Click Here
• The Barber of Silverymoon - Click Here
• The Tavern at Death's Door - Click Here
• Shadow of the Broodmother - Click Here
• L'Arsène's Ludicrous Larceny - Click Here
• The Night Before Wintermas - Click Here
• The Secret of Skyhorn Lighthouse - Click Here

As always, If you see something you think I can improve, add, change, etc. please let me know. I want this to be an amazing resource for all DMs and plan to keep it constantly updated! If you'd like to support me, shape future releases, and get content early feel free to check out my Patreon!

Cheers,
Advent

Here it is: deep in the Underdark, besides a lake, there is a nice cosy village for all types of refugees, exiles and outcasts. This quaint little place is built around a well that is where the local deity, the Deep Father, is supposed to accept offerings.

The God is known to reside in the beautiful nearby lake, and is supposed to be a benevolent entity. This whole village is actually an illusion set up by an aboleth mascareding as a deity. The village is just an image, the villagers are illusions as well. The well is a colourful juxtaposition over a natural chimney that goes right to the aboleth's lair. The aboleth's goal is to make the PCs give valuable offerings to him willingly, and possibly lure a lone PC to the depths to infect him with a mind control parasite.

Now, what would an aboleth consider as a valuable offering? What material things could it want from surface dwellers?

Any D&Done shot or campaign recommendations with a similar setting?

Been playing a pirate campaign for a bit now, and all the players have gotten bounties throughout their adventures, and just recently the final two got theirs. I’m stumped to come up with a good epithet for him, though! His name is Lothar, he is a halfling druid. He’s known for turning into a bear, he just played a very key and notable part in a huge prison break, he’s very lighthearted and kinda goofy I can’t call him “The bear” though because an npc is already named “Balen the Boar” and it would feel too close to that. I’ve toyed with a few bear related things but I can’t think of anything that has a good ring to it? Aside from “bloody bear” which doesn’t really fit his character since he’s just a funny silly goofy lil guy

Some other epithets from the campaign: Tidal Wave (player character’s name is Wave) Kraken’s Cannibal Lorilla the Lucky Black Bales (named Balethor) Leviathan Piper Striker Smiling Sazza

I wanna make sure I come up with something good bc I have decent names for everyone else, and he specifically has been really excited to get one, don’t want it to be a letdown for him :(

So my group just finished a campaign a month ago but I want to help finish it off with a one-shot surrounding my character backstory. I have the story in place and have a good idea about how to end it, it’s just I’m having a hard time setting up obstacles for them in a mystery setting.

The plot is simple; my character from the campaign has gone missing and with the help of two other NPCs they go look for him. When they do they’re pulled into a political thriller of sorts and have to help stop an assassination from happening. I just need help brainstorming a way the party to get into the mystery part of trying to get through the “cloak and dagger” type portion of it all. Any help will be appreciated.

I had an idea for an encounter that I thought was awesome, and then after thinking about it a few minutes, I am worried about railroading.

So, the party hears and sees a battle going on, at the top of a high cliff in the distance. They move closer, on alert, because there is a item on a fetch quest here.

They hear a scream and a wet, meaty thud as an armored body falls and lands right in front of them. Black and white plate and helm. A Templar. A Paladin. The Laurel Wreath on his helm marks him as God's Champion.

He drops a *really* spiffy two handed great sword right in front of the barbarian PC who happens to have two handed weapon master. He's more of a hammer guy, but I digress.

It's a +5 Holy Avenger. It'll have a name, I just ain't thought of it yet.

The barbarian picks it up, and has visions. He sees the BBEG at the top of the cliff and *knows* he must slay him with that sword. He sees visions of dead warrior buddies waving him on...go this way...up there...purge these heretics, leading to a boss fight at the end, where he takes on the entity that threw the first Champion off the cliff. Planting the sword in him for the killing blow.

Is that railroading? I like the idea of idiot barbarian picks up holy sword and it make him it's champion to go kill BBEG, and the rest of the party has to deal, and clean up behind him.

What do you folks think?

As a DM, I really like to play with Warlocks in the party. It feels like the class comes kinda pre-written with its own plot hooks, which is fun! Warlocks either cultishly serving their Patron, or trying to escape from a Faustian bargain, for example. Buuuut, it's that second one where D&D kinda falls flat to me. At least 5e (Maybe other editions are better with this, I don't know).

For contrast, look at the Paladin. The rules clearly lay out what happens when you break your oath. But I have no idea what it means to break your contract. Or how a Warlock can escape their deal.

All this got me thinking, and I have written a short story with this premise. A Warlock looking for a lawyer to help them escape a fiendish pact. If you want, you can take a look at it on Deviantart. But I'd also like to hear about your own experiences. Have Warlocks ever tried to break their pact at your table? Have they succeeded? What were the consequences to that?

I am beginning to write a campaign for our RPG club at school and need to avoid drinking and some other obvious topics. What are some other options that I can include other then the classic drinks at the tavern?

Lair of the Spider Hag A Touch of Black: Chapter 10

The gargantuan spider lay dead, oozing black blood from many wounds. Its mistress, Oma Syndy Spinster, has fled into the web choked tunnels below, surely hiding in the darkness waiting in ambush. Wisdom would demand that you leave well enough alone. That you turn back. That you forsake your duty. Adventurers, even if they have it in abundance, are not known for applying wisdom to problems. So the only real option is to plunge headlong into the Lair of the Spider Hag.

ADVENTURE MECHANICS

• This Adventure is Part 10 of 10
• Target Party: 4 Level 5 Adventures
• Expected Playtime: 3+ Hours
• Tone: Dark Dungeon Crawl

GET THE FREE PDF which Includes

• Custom Maps
• Extra NPC and Location Info
• Content that was trimmed to fit in a Reddit Post
• Links to all the other chapters!

Story Flow

The Player’s employer, Lady Persephone Trellu, came to Deleran’s Crossing to do three things. Restore her family’s holdings, cure her disease stricken paralyzed body, and start a family of her own. To accomplish this she entered into a dark pact with a Hag by the name of Oma Syndy Spinster. Syndy demanded three tasks to be accomplished before she would help. Gather Dark Root seeds, retrieve a Mythical Harp, and rescue her sister’s Child from a cosmic entity known as Aberrant Black. All three tasks were accomplished and Syndy fulfilled her bargains as well. But not in a desirable way. Persephone was cured, married, and was with child, but the baby grew rapidly and the child has begun to consume its mother’s life essence.

In order to save them the players must confront Syndy, and force her to lift the curse. The group has by now followed their leads deep into the woods. (Perhaps even with the help of Aberrant Black) There they found Oma Syndy Spinster’s lair, a massive rotting Treant corpse that has been hollowed out for the Hag’s use. There they confronted the Hag, demanding that she lift the curse on their employer Persephone Trellu, but knew going into this endeavor that the likelihood of those demands being met were minimal at best. Syndy like all hags likely made counter offers, but those were nothing more than shallow attempts to once again gain the upper hand. No, this problem would have to be resolved by steel and spell.

During the conflict Syndy fled into the tunnels below, leaving the players to fight her pet gargantuan spider, Rolb. They’ll now have to hunt her down and end her once and for all, but that will be no simple task. The Spider Hag’s Lair is a network of twisting caverns formed into the sides quarter mile deep pit. She will have headed deep into her sanctum to summon infernal reinforcements. If they are to catch up to her and defeat her once and for all they’ll need to disable her wards and shut down the ritual she has begun.

Game Opening and Hooks

As mentioned, this Adventure is part of a Series/Campaign. However, some people may just want to use the nuts and bolts of the Module for their own purposes, so I have provided some alternative ideas.

• Campaign: Persephone and her soon to be newborn are under a Hag’s Curse and in grave danger. The Players must find a way to save her.
• One Shot: The Group is hired by a local to end a Hag’s Curse on their daughter.
• One Shot Alternative: The Group comes across some locals in distress. His wife is about to give birth, but she wasn’t pregnant yesterday!

PRE-GAME

Story Arcs It is down to the Players and the Hag. They have fought their way to the doorstep of Oma Syndy Spinster’s Lair, and it’s time to head inside and confront the fiend. This episode picks up right at the end of the previous one. There should be little to no pre-game work to do if you’re running the campaign. If you’re using the bones here to run a one shot, the adventure becomes a Spider themed Dungeon Crawl.

Final Notes

As we begin the last chapter in our series, I want to make you the DM aware that if you’re thinking things aren’t looking good for our players… you’re right. This is, and always has been, a Gothic Horror Campaign. Which means the chances of the Heroes coming out on top were, from the beginning, slim to none. Of course there is Hope, but only a fools hope. Give them what they need to get to the final battle. Even give them what they need to beat Syndy. But the climax is written in a way that will likely leave at least some of them dead.

OPENING CUT-SCENE: Making Myself Known

She watches from behind them. She stands in front of them. Alongside them. With them. They never notice. It is horrific to be ignored. Miserable to be forgotten. Maddening to be unseen. Her father walks past her for the hundredth time this week. He doesn’t speak. No words. Not a glance. She is invisible. Her anger boils over. Like it has dozens of times before. But what will she do? Lash out? Speak harshly? Scream? They would not hear. Her eyes fall on the wood splitting axe. To them she does not exist. She did once. But no longer. She is dead to them. But not undead. No… she is no ghost. No Spirit. Not a specter. She is simply hated and ignore because she chose to do the one thing her father refused her. She chose to marry for love. But they took that from her too, and now the entire house ignores her. Her hand grasps the axe, she wasn’t sure she meant to. She feels its weight. The consequence. The definity of it. They won’t ignore her for much longer.

ACT 1: The Hag’s Lair

They will enter into the Spider Hag’s Tunnels. Down in the bowels of the Shadow Fey. Syndy has burrowed out a network of caverns all connected by a deep central shaft. The players will have to explore the cavern and destroy three skull altars that the Hag uses to charge a ward that will keep them entering into the deepest part of her lair. There she is using the harp to empower herself. This Act and Act 2 will blend together quite a bit. I have listed the important locations on the map, they should be easy enough to identify.

Locations

1) THE ENTRANCE

You pass through the claustrophobic tunnel into a chamber. The damp earth has turned to rocky walls. Webs crisscross the tunnel and skulls with red glowing candles surround the entrance, their eye sockets seemingly fixed on you.

Likely Player Actions

• Destroy the Skulls: The skulls are basically there just to creep them out, however, this is an opportunity to alert them to the dangerous environment they just walked into. Perhaps have the skulls cast a “Bestow Curse” style of spell upon them that lasts for a while when they’re attacked. Something that they can remedy with a little magic but also something to let them know Syndy doesn’t mess around.

2) THE WEB SHAFT

You stand on the ledge of a pit choked with webs so thickly you can barely see water reflecting at the bottom, more than 200’ below you. There are also three other ledges you notice encircling the pit. Opposite you and some 40’ down. Off to the East about 80’ down, and another to the West about 150’ mark.

Likely Player Actions

• Destroy the Webs: This is possible, but will have two adverse effects. First, it will draw out the Spider Swarms that nest here, who otherwise will remain hidden. It will count as an encounter, but it may also make the final battle easier, since Syndy will be robbed of the spider’s help and her extra mobility in this room. Secondly, they’ll have to make Dexterity Saving Throws to avoid damage from the webs snapping like tight cables and whipping around. Lastly, if they burn them they will need to make Constitution Saving Throws to avoid being burned by fire and choked by smoke. I recommend the poisoned condition for an hour or exhaustion if you’re feeling a little on the mean side. I would also fill the tunnels with smoke limiting their vision and causing extra problems.

3) THE EGG ROOM

A dozen or so clusters of web woven oval objects are placed around this room. Egg sacks. They are webbed to the floor, walls, and ceilings. Creatures with the lower half of spiders and the upper body of elves skitter about tending to the sacks. Their heads are wrapped in webbing and seem to pay you no attention. Off to the south is a bone covered pedestal in a cavern niche. The pedestal displays a large skull with a burning black candle atop it.

Likely Player Actions

• Destroy the Eggs: The Driders in the room have been taken over by Spider Parasites and turned into Mindless Drones. They aren’t interested in the players until they take action against the eggs or the skull. At that point they will attack until destroyed. If the sacks are destroyed they will release a noxious gas that inflicts the poisoned condition a hard Constitution Saving Throw can be made to avoid the effects.
• The Skull: The skulls only need to have the magical candle extinguished, however, destroying it is a more likely player action. In either case the moment the players approach the skull the Driders will attack. If they destroy the skull it will fight back attacking them with “Eldritch Blast” type attack. It should have reasonable AC and Hitpoints. Simply extinguishing the candle should be a Medium Arcana Check or it will relight itself.

Encounter: Drider Drones

• These Drides have their heads wrapped in webs and dozens of Parasitic Spiders swarming over them controlling their actions. They typically operate by the commands of Syndy, or if left to their own devices with the instinctual intellect of the spiders. They have *Undead Fortitude* like ability (See Zombies) but this one is driven by the spiders not being undead.

4) DARK ROOT CHAMBER

Massive piles of twitching Dark Roots cover the walls and much of the floor and ceilings. Several corpses can be seen entangled among the roots. The air here is humid and thick with the smell of rot.

Likely Player Actions

• Destroy the Roots: This room can be simply passed through. However, they may decide to destroy the Roots, which will start an encounter, but not necessarily a combat as they may find a creative way to eliminate them. Taking out the roots will remove them as an option for Sydny’s Lair Actions.

Hazzard

• Dark Roots: As they already know these roots are dangerous and can lash out with an attack similar to the spell Vampiric Touch. Appropriate checks and rolls apply.

5) ACRID POOL

There is a large pool of viscus green liquid in the center of this room releasing an odor into the air that burns your nostrils. Periodic bubbles rise and pop slowly in the thick liquid. Otherwise the room is fairly quiet. Down in the corner is a bone covered pedestal displaying a large skull with a burning black candle atop it.

Likely Player Actions

• Search the Pool: They will examine the pool. They may even attack it. If at all possible the pool should be described as a caustic liquid with the consistency of flowing mud. It eats organic material, wood, and most metals. Touching it will cause damage and being too close to a bubble will expose them to toxic gasses. The pit the liquid sits in has some small side tunnels in it where the Gelatinous Stalker hides. There should be something in these tunnels that is recoverable.
• The Skull: The skulls only need to have the magical candle extinguished, however, destroying it is a more likely player action. This one is a trap. The Gelatinous Stalker is using it to distract intruders, hopefully giving it an edge if it attacks. The real Skull is acting as the central nervous system for the Stalker. They’ll have to face it to be able to turn the skull off.

Encounter: Gelatinous Stalker

• The Gelatinous Stalker is an Ooze in the Gelatinous Cube family. Unlike the Cube, a Stalker can be trained and commanded if it is well fed. Syndy keeps this particular pet content and it is well trained. It rests in it’s pool until something attempts to tamper with the skull in the room. It then rises silently out of the acid and attacks. It will attempt to pull attackers inside of itself and throw targets into the acid pool. The real skull protects the brain of this Stalker and can only be destroyed once the creature is dead.

6) BRAIN WEED

There is an odd looking plant in the corner of this chamber. Vines grow out like tentacles and a large pulsing fruit in the center looks more like a brain than anything plant related.

Hazard: Brain Weed

• Brain weed is an infectious plant that survives by attaching parasitic burs to living creatures. These burs drain the memories of those infected until their mind is an empty shell and dies. Once dead the Brain Weed then fully absorbs the mind of the creature into its own consciousness. Brain weeds can live for hundreds, maybe thousands, of years, and can contain the memories of whole civilizations, if they are well fed. Creatures that get too close to the Weed must make Medium Intelligence Saving Throws or consider the Weed in need of their protection and begin having their memories Drained. If the Weed is destroyed nearby victims will regain their memories, and perhaps additional ones as well.

7) HAUNTED LEDGE

There is an uncomfortable feeling in this area. The air is cold and you could swear you hear whispers in the shadows. Things move in the corners of your vision, but when you focus on them there is nothing there to be seen.

Likely Player Actions

• Investigate: There are plenty of ways that the players can interact with the “ghosts” haunting this room. Leave that up to their imagination. Many folk have perished at Syndy’s hands and tuning into lost and trapped spirits, and both beneficial and malevolent spirits haunt this place, so depending on how they engage this room could benefit or hinder the players. Do they get a restful boon, or do they have to fight angered ghosts? Use this area as a great opportunity to manage their resources.

Encounter: Lost Spirits

• If you do engage them in a combat encounter be sure to use the spirits ability to become ethereal and move through objects. Half of what makes Ghosts scary is that they can move through solid things. I usually give “ghosts” a disengage as a bonus action when shifting into ethereal forms or passing through objects. Makes them more ghosty.

8) BONE PIT

This room is filled with bones. The floor is completely covered. So much so that you have no idea how deep the pile goes. Rotting flesh clings to many of the remains and swarms of larvae crawl over the rancid meat.

Likely Player Actions

• Search the Pit: The players will be expecting something horrible to come up out of the pit. I suggest only hinting at something horrible. Bones move a little not far from them, but nothing aggressive or supernatural happens. The wind picks up. It gets colder. Whispers. Things that make them uncomfortable. If they examine the actual bones, many will have carvings on them, mostly dark runes, but some will have names on them, and the details of the deals they made with Syndy that got them here.
• Destroy the Bones: If they want to go to the trouble of destroying the bones they canbe rewarded for the work. They’re tied to some of Syndy’s power and weakening them will weaken her. If they choose to do this though, don’t let them off without a fight. Bring some spidery minions from other areas after them while they work. Some Phase Spiders work nicely, since they can come basically out of nowhere.

9) ETTERCAP NEST

Webs choke this portion of the cavern. They’re not overly thick strands but they are layered very densely making it difficult to see even a few feet beyond. There does seem to be some funneling tunnels woven into the webs, perhaps for the arachnids that dwell here to travel through. You also note the large number of severed body parts hanging in the strands. Arms, legs, and even a separated torso or two can be clearly seen. The parts are dry and cracking, almost mummified.

Hazard: Ettercap Webbing

• These webs are extremely thick up top and in most cases interaction with them alerts the Ettercaps within. Cutting them certainly does, and burning them is a bad idea. They do burn slowly with a little effort. Unfortunately this releases a toxic gas that will require constant Hard Constitution Saving Throw. Failing the save will cause the players to become poisoned for ten minutes. A Medium Perception Check will reveal that the webs could be crawled under with limited interaction if care is taken.

Likely Player Actions

• Burn the Webs: Players do this a lot, and we as DMs usually let them get away with it. However if they do that here, they will quickly find that these webs do not burn well, and what does burn releases a toxic fume.
• The Skull: The skulls only need to have the magical candle extinguished, however, destroying it is a more likely player action. The Skull here is acting as a lure bringing the players ever closer to the Ettercap Ambush. Once they are close the Ettercaps will lasso the skull with a web shot and yank it up into the webbing above beginning the Encounter phase of this room.

Encounter: Ettercap Ambush

• The Ettercaps will hide in their burrows and use the thick webs to their advantage. They are not hindered by them in the slightest. They will camouflage themselves up above the Skull and wait for the players to arrive. Once the party approaches the Skull they will shoot out Webs and yank it away, while simultaneously attacking the PCs. They will pass the Skull around to one another as a Lair Action. This begins a game of Keep Away which the Ettercaps should be quite good at. If the players are not quick enough, or if the fight turns against the creatures, the Ettercaps will dash out into the Lair and attempt to hide the skull away.

11) SYNDY'S CHAMBER

This room feels straight out of a nightmare. Your eyes first land on the small fire burning in the center of the oblong chamber. Thick red tinted smoke curls up from it, choking the air with a potent acrid smell, and feeding into a thick cloud that covers the web draped ceiling. There is a broken arcane circle on the floor near the entrance. Magical runes that you can’t decipher but cause your skin to crawl just looking at them have been inscribed in what appears to be blood all around its edges. There is a jumble of broken and web covered furniture in the north end of the room including a filth stained bed and some broken shelves that are held together by spider’s workings, their contents scattered about lying broken on the floor. In the south is what looks like a large egg sac, it’s top peeled open like the shell of a hard boiled egg.

Likely Player Actions

• Search The Room: The players will certainly want to get a close inspection of this room. Hopefully they’ve checked for traps, because there are several in here. I’ll describe them below in the Hazards section. Most of the items in here are nothing more than macabre trophies that Syndy has taken from those she has ensnared. There are some that are from still active clients and could be used to help free those under her obligations. Some of that strictly depends on what you’ve done on the side in town, and perhaps what you’d like to do. Searching around the room will reveal that Syndy likely sleeps in the egg sac and that “guests” sleep in the nasty bed. There is a book next to the bed with guests’ names in it. This too could help identify clients and lead to some follow up adventures. With some Medium Checks the Players should find a few things of note, I’d put potions and scrolls in here that have a darker tone to them. Maybe even some troublesome temporary side effects. Things like a healing potion that also causes mild paranoia. A scroll of Web that causes more eyes to form on the players forehead. Things like that.

Hazard: Syndy’s Traps

• Webs: The Webs throughout the Lair do function as an alert system. The ones in here more so. Any significant contact should result in swarms of spiders coming out of every nook and craney to attack the players.
• The Broken Seal: This ward works just fine, and only looks broken. It will cast Phantasmal Force on everyone in the room. If thye fail their saves they will believe they are being attacked by Syndy herself.
• Cursed Belongings: Syndy has put a Hex on her belongings in this chamber. anyone carrying items out of here will suffer disadvantage on Attacks, Saving Throws, and Skill Checks.

ACT 2: The Web Ward

Act 1 and 2 blend together quite a bit. Act 2 Really begins once they destroy all the skulls they find while Exploring the lair. Each with a black candle emitting eerie red light. They will look similar to the ones they’ve already found near the entrance. The major difference is that these are magical points that keep the Ward in Location 12 active. Once they have destroyed the ward will be disabled. However, that will not be a simple task. Each skull has a unique guardian that isn’t going to just allow the players to freely attack the skulls.

• Skull One is in Location 3)
• Skull Two is in Location 5)
• Skull Three is in Location 9)

12) WARD CHAMBER

You take one look into this room and immediately feel the sensation of powerful magic. There is a large warding circle on the floor in front of the passage to the south. There are three pillars surrounding it. (They are lit with the corresponding number of skulls out there lit) The circle is flanked on each side by a stone spider statue. They do not appear to be fully animated, but as you observe the room you hear the grinding of stone and watch their heads turn toward you.

Possible Player Actions

• Examine the Room: Easy and Medium checks can be made to tell them what they already know. That the fixtures in this room combine to form a deadly trap. They may even realize that the statues shoot webs and release poison clouds. Hard Arcana checks will tell them whether it is safe to pass or not. If all the skulls have been dealt with, then it is safe to pass. If not they could attempt to press their luck with the trap and ward.
• Attacking or Disabling the Room: I would allow this but it would require a series of Very Hard Checks, using both Physical and Magical abilities. Any failures at all set the mechanisms off.
• Passing Into the Next Room: If the ward is down then this happens without issue. If they are up, then they’ll find themselves having to deal with the traps of the room.

Hazard: Lair Ward and Stone Spiders

• If the trap is set into motion several things begin to happen. First the pillars around the ward begin spraying webbing. One over the north exit, one over the south, and one around the room. (Webbing has an AC of 12 and 50hp) The pillars restore 25hp each round and make the area difficult terrain. The players may attack the webbing over the doorways, but the easiest way to deal with it is to destroy the pillars (AC of 14 and 20hp). Compounding the difficulty of the room are the Spider Statues. They will spray poison clouds that fills the room doing 2d6 Poison Damage (Hard Constitution Save for Half), and add an additional 2d6 every round the trap is active.

13) VAMP-SPIDER LAIR

Beyond the Ward is a large cavern with a series of downward cliffs, dropping about 80’ before exiting out a tunnel below. Thick heavy webs cross-cross this room. Cocooned bodies of both folk and beasts hang in the webbing. Most of the cocoons look to have been here for some time as a thick layer of dust has settled on the cobwebbing. What did these poor souls trade to suffer such a fate? As you ponder this question you begin to hear a familiar sounding harp playing from the tunnel below.

Likely Player Actions

• Head Toward the Sound: Hearing the Harp will likely spur them into action. Though it may not. If they linger, have them make an Easy Charisma Saving Throw against Charm. Those who fail, can be easily shaken out of it.
• Examine the Cocoons: There are dozens of cocoons in here, I’d even put a small dragon shaped one webbed up against the ceiling if they start poking around. Doing so will distract them from some of the others and dial the tension level up. Marisilla and her family are here as well, recovering from their last battle. They should be about half restored. I would only have the players find them if they are being very thorough. However, the longer they stay in here the more intense the Harp’s playing will become, calling for more saves. They can fully destroy the creatures here.

Encounter: Marisilla

• This shouldn’t be a complicated fight. In fact it may even be the only fight that the players will have the upper hand. The Vamp-Spiders have retreated to their Cocoons (Coffins) to regenerate after being defeated by the players before. This will leave them in surprised and weakened condition. They will have to crawl out of their cocoons before they can attack, which should give the Players a round before real combat begins. However once the fighting starts the Vamp-Spiders will waste no time employing dangerous tactics such as throwing players off ledges and letting the fall kill them if possible.

ACT 3: Harp Concert

Once they drop the wards and move past the Cocoons they’ll be able to progress into the final chamber, a Ritual Room where Syndy is playing the Harp. She is using it to open a rift into the Hells, which is never good for players. They will begin their confrontation here, but it won’t stay here. Once the players enter the room she will flee out the back door while creatures from The Abyss manifest into the chamber. One of them will be Shoundra, the Shadow Demon from Sorrow Song. Shoundra will continue playing the Harp while the forces coming through the portal will run interference. They’ll need to stop her then chase Syndy down the tunnel and into the pit.

14) DARK SCANTUM

This chamber is a dome of worked stone and feels ancient. The floor is one massive dark arcane circle with red glowing symbols carved into it. Syndy is here playing the harp. Her arachnid features are extremely hard to read, but the predatory smile on her face is unmistakable. “You think you’ve won because you’ve slain my minions and found me here.” She laughs. A wretched chittering sound. “All you’ve done is present yourselves to pay our debts to a power you can’t possibly comprehend. And for that I thank you!” She steps away from the harp slinking toward the back of the room, but it keeps playing. The shadows are playing it! No… a particular shadow is playing it. Shoundra. The Shadow Demon insincerely thanks you as Syndy slips out a secret door behind her. “We won’t ever be able to thank you enough for all you’ve done for us.” And with one discordant strum tears in reality form around the room and demons begin crawling through.

Encounter: Shoundra and the Harp

• This is a wave style encounter with demons showing up every round. Shouldra will continue to play the Harp which is keeping the portals open. Every round the Harp will also force a save against Fear and Slow. It should be pretty obvious that the Harp is the Epicenter of the problems and lead them to attack it. If they do not there is a very strong possibility of a TPK. Every round brings in low level demons and a challenging one. The CR of the bigger demon should increase every round they fail to stop the harp. To end the fight they can either destroy the Harp or Shoundra, which the other Demons will be working hard to prevent. The Harp should be immune to non-magical attacks with an AC of 12 and 100hp. Once it is stopped the portals close and what’s left will disappear. They will have to kill Shoundra. She won’t just poof away.

Likely Player Actions

• Follow Syndy: After the fight they can search for the secret door and chase down Sydny. It shouldn’t be too hard to find the secret door. They know it is there, so the only issue is how long does it take them to get it open.

15) ESCAPE TUNNEL

You enter a web filled tunnel and are standing on a ledge that slopes downward and disappears into darkness below. From somewhere in the darkness you can hear slurping sounds and soft whispers, it moves on its own and shadowy tentacles writhe in your direction.

Likely Player Actions

• Navigate the Tunnel: They can climb across the walls or attempt to find a creative way to get across. The tunnel has a number of hand holds and places they could get a rope and grappling hook into. This should not be hard, but it could be frustratingly time consuming.
• Investigate the Darkness: While it feels like something akin to the Hunger of Hadar, the darkness is only an illusionary trick designed to slow down pursuit. Think of it as a blanket that covers the lower passage. It does present sound, so if they are trying to cross it and someone falls through, they cannot call back up for help. The ledge only drops down about 30’ and can be carefully walked down. A Hard Perception Check will reveal the illusion.
• Swim: The only way out is undert the water. I would have them make one or two Constitution Saving Trows for Dramatic Tension.

ACT 4: The Last Thread

We're about to close the doors on Syndy. Unfortunately, The final battle wont be an easy one. She has fled back to the main shaft and this will very quickly become a three dimensional fight as Syndy will be up in the webs and using the entire shaft to her advantage. Furthermore, she won’t be alone. Marisilia and her family will join in fighting off the players.

Confronting Syndy

"You come up from the water bellow to find yourself at the bottom of the main shaft. Syndy is clinging to a web about halfway up. She hisses is anger as she spots you. “So this is what we’ve come to. Let us get to it then shall we!” She begins casting a spell. She shrieks in furious rage as she pulls her magic from the webs and stones around her."

Encounter: The Spider Hag

Syndy isn’t cornered but she has too much pride to believe she can’t win this fight. The players have been through several ordeals now, are surely hurt, and likely very low on resources. And so the Hag will sit in the middle of her webs and taunt them. She is still hurt from the previous fight in the last chapter and may even attempt to bargain with them, though breaking her contracts won’t be something she’ll do easily. Now this may be a fight that the players cannot win, and as this is the end of the campaign it will be a great place for a glorious death. Don’t be afraid to allow them to kill Syndy and thus end her reign of terror, but still succumb to Marisilla and her vamp-spider family or the environment around them. This is a Horror Campaign after all, and no one really wins, not really.

Tactics wise Syndy will use her spells, the terrain, and her lair actions keep the players at a distance as best she can. She will also attempt to restrain and knock the players from whatever they are standing on, forcing them to make Dex and Str types of saves and checks pretty regularly. Once they do begin to close in on her or start relying on ranged attacks she will summon her Vamp-Spider thralls to defend her.

The fastest but most deadly way to end this is the self sacrifice play and them burning the webs. Now, it has already been mentioned that this is a bad idea for the players, at least as far as their survivability. But they may have forsaken that at this point. If they light the webs up, Syndy should react in a mad panic, and be consumed by the flames. If you want to let them get killing blows in on her, have her plummet down to them. However, they should not be able to simply escape the burning lair. Near Impossible Checks should be made, not only to avoid fire damage but to be able to continue to breathe as the entire cavern fills with smoke. And since they are likely at the near bottom of the lair… they cannot get out.

Syndy’s Enhanced Lair Actions

These actions Replace Syndy’s Stat Block Lair Actions.

• Entangling Webs: Syndy shoots lines of heavy webbing in multiple directions. She can target up to eight creatures or objects. A Medium Dexterity Save must be made in order to avoid becoming grappled. If they are hit twice they become restrained. A Strength Save can be made to escape. These webs Can anchor from wall to wall as well.
• Hypnotic Pattern: Sydny Spins a glittering web in the air. Those in line of sight must make an Intelligence Saving Trow or become Hypnotized as the spell Hypnotic Pattern
• Swarming Spiders: Spiderlings swarm down any Web Strands or Walls Available and attack any creatures Syndy dirrects them to. A Medium Constitution Saving Throw must be made or the targets take 2d4 Poison Damage and are poisoned. They can attempt to save again at the end of their turns. This Lair action can be disabled if the players already fought the Spiderlings in the Shaft.
• Curse of Darkness: Syndy calls upon the Spirits of those whom she has trapped to obscure the area with Minor Darkness. This Darkness only moderately obscures the area causing Disadvantage on attack rolls for the round. This Lair action can be disabled if the Players have settled the Spirits in Syndy’s Lair.
• Grasping Dark Roots: Syndy can call upon the Dark Roots if the Players did not destroy them. Anyone within 15’ of the walls must make a Medium Constitution Saving Throw or have their Max Hp drained by 2d4. Syndy is Healed for half the amount drained.

SKILL CHALLENGE: Escape

Once the Hag is dead the lair will begin collapsing in on itself. Whomever is still alive will surely want to fight their way to the exit if possible. This will initiate a multiple roll Skill Challenge that should have increasingly difficult DCs. If the cavern is on fire things should be even worse, and almost certainly should force enough saves and damage to kill some of the players along the way.

1. The Main Shaft begins collapsing! Dexterity Saving Throw as Rocks Fall (Bludgeoning Damage)
2. Allow them to use Skills and Abilities to begin their escape
3. The Main Shaft and Tunnels continue collapsing! Webs are snapping as boulders plummet and break them. Increasing risk of falling and lashing around the room like whips. Saving Throws as Rocks Fall (Bludgeoning Damage). Saving Throws as webs lash out (Slashing Damage).
4. Allow them to use Skills and Abilities to continue their Escape.
5. The sides of the tunnels begin to cave in. Debris is falling everywhere. All areas becomes Difficult Terrain. Saving Throws as Rocks Fall (Bludgeoning Damage). Saving Throws tumbling stones and rock slides threaten to knock them off their feet and bury them (Bludgeoning Damage).
6. Allow them to use Skills and Abilities to continue their Escape.
7. The Entrance Tunnel (Location 1) completely collapses. They can make a Very Hard Athletics or Acrobatics Check to dive through it if they’re quick. Saving Throws as Rocks Fall (Bludgeoning Damage).
8. The collapse subsides. Any fire has spread to the Tree above. The Lair has completely caved in. Allow them to use Skills and Abilities to possibly rescue those who “almost” made it. If the tree is on fire they must make appropriate saves and take fire damage.
9. Allow them to use Skills and Abilities to reach the exit. If they survived they can flee the tree back out into the park.

CLOSING

It is likely that some, if not all of the Players have died either in the fight or during the escape attempt. If you do have survivors the first thing they’ll notice is the Shadow Fey area that overlaps the park is beginning to dissipate and daylight is shining through. Now there are two ideal ways to end this for the survivors. They either make it back safely earning their promised rewards, and that is a wonderful way to close out the story. Or, in classic horror movie style, they escape with their lives only to have something else tragic happen.

If you are allowing them to leave rather than ending their stories here they can stumble back out into the Park and then into the city. From there they will make their way back to Persephone and the Baby. No signs of the Shadow Fey will be left in the Park, which you need to make sure they realize it is a big win for the city. Even if they’re dead they’re heroes. We will close the adventure with a cut-scene. If you are choosing to continue playing, still give them the cut-scene and then move on however you see fit. Make sure to adjust it if Persephone has died already. I would suggest a “happy” adventure or two. They’ve earned it.

But I do really like the idea of one or two of them crawling out of the burning tree back into the Shadow Fey, and having their happy ending snatched from them. It is classic Gothic Horror storytelling. Terribly burned, completely exhausted, and on Death’s very doorstep… but alive. There is an initial feeling of relief. A feeling that is quickly yanked away. But what happens then? Are they captured by Dark Fey? The curse has been lifted, but as the Shadow Fey dissolves around them does it take them with it? Are there vengeful demons left from the ritual that drag them into the Abyss? Do Syndy’s sisters come for them? Maybe an agent of Aberrant Black or some other NPC they’ve crossed shows up to deal with them? Lots of possibilities. They should still get the ending Cutscene, particularly in this case. It’ll help them still feel like they won, even if they’re dead.

However you end it. I hope it is something you and your players love.

Ending Cut-scene

"A beam of sunlight breaks through into the bedroom window. It has a natural, pure feel to it. The screams of pain and terror that filled the night slow to whimpers, then murmurs, and then nothing but soft breathing. A clean breath of air takes over the room and Persephone’s eyes flutter open, filling with tears. She is older, aged unnaturally. Her youth is gone, but her ailments remain vanquished and she is alive. The baby, now nearly two years past newborn, unlatches from her breast and begins to giggle and coo. Vaemond races to their side. He gather’s Persephone’s head to his chest and allows the babe to grasp his finger. Her champions did it. Against all odds, they lifted the curse. The “young” family weeps in relief together in their private chambers. And for just a brief moment. A fleeting moment. A moment that feels like a treasured island of happiness drifting through the dark sea that is Deleran’s Crossing. They have peace. Soon after, her father enters the room and cheers with joy to see his girl alive and awake. Servants come and begin attending to their needs. They help her up and begin to change the sheets and help the new mother into less bedraggled clothing. One moves to the window and throws it and the curtains open. Sunlight, fresh wholesome sunlight, pours in. As she turns back into the room a large black cat jumps onto the window sill. It begins to lick its paws and bathe itself, purring loudly. It watches and begins waiting. It made a deal and now must wait. And waiting is of no real consequence. It leaps to the bed and rubs its head against mother and child, purring all the louder. Afterall, what is a handful of years in comparison to the eons to come?"

THE END…

THANK YOU

I do want to take one last moment to sincerely thank you for playing an AOG Adventure. It means a lot to me as a creator. If you enjoyed it please leave me some comments on wherever you found this adventure. You can support more content like this by subscribing to our Patreon. Amplus Ordo Games https://www.patreon.com/amplusordogames

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Currently running a game for a group of 5 4th level characters who are currently in the Shadowfell. They are headed towards the domain of a fairly high level wraith known as 'The Not Mother' (name shamelessly stolen from Control). In this world, spectral undead live out an obsession that they had in their past life. The Not Mother's obsession is her namesake: She capture's children's souls in order to feed her pre-undeath desire of being a mother.

The party is headed to her domain because she has something they need. They know what The Not Mother is, what her obsession is, and that they should avoid getting into a confrontation with her. I had a full adventure prepared for it until something my player's talked about threw me for a loop: In the last session, the rogue's player mentioned that her human character is still only 17 years old.

Now I'm scrambling to try and find an interesting way to get The Not Mother to become obsessed with the character and try to trap the rogue in the domain. I want it to be a pretty significant complication without making it impossible for the rogue/party to escape with their lives. Direct combat with The Not Mother would be ill advised, but not impossible. My problem is I can't seem to brainstorm any good ideas, so I've come here for help. Any ideas are appreciated.

tl;dr The party is going to a wraith's domain, whose obsession involves capturing children and trapping them in the domain forever. The party's rogue just last session revealed that she is a 17 year old human, and I need help brainstorming ideas as to how the wraith traps the children in her domain.

So against many suggestions I decided to run Curse of Strahd as my first time being a DM. I have a party of four players all of which have a good amount of DMing experience playing to help give me pointers, but I have run into an issue. The party thought that it would be funny if they all made fighter classes for this campaign. It has really made me dislike DMing because I have had to get creative and scale back a lot of the encounters so that they wouldn't just straight up die in the get go before they even have their first encounter with Strahd. They have even gone as far as to say that if one of them dies then they can choose the next class that everyone has to be as the party dies. BUT the situation that I am running into is that on page 26 in the campaign book it basically states that the souls never leave Barovia which in my mind means that although the characters could die that they would need to come back. I am not having fun running this campaign at all because of the party choosing the characters they have chosen.

What I'm trying to ask I guess is, as a DM is there something I can do? Like if one of the characters happens to die can I bring them back as a different class? I have already told them that they can't all be the same class as they go back because I'm not having that again. Would it be bad if I allow some of them to create a new class and maybe race while rerolling stats and maybe bring back their soul into another character that way they still keep that same backstory and knowledge? I could really use any and all help. Thank you so much everyone!!

Hello all, I wanted to share a 5e module conversion I did for a 2e adventure called Return to the Tomb of Horrors. I converted the final level 20 content where the players fight Acererak (a deadly lich) and destroy his phylactery once and for all in his Fortress of Conclusion. The conversion includes room notes, monster stat blocks, and one battle map. You can download the product here: https://www.dmsguild.com/product/452011/The-Fortress-of-Conclusion-5e-Conversion. It is Pay What You Want, which means you can download it for free!

This was a battle long in the making for a campaign following the Tomb of Annihilation. I hope you find it to be useful in some way, whether adding it to your game or running it standalone. This is only a conversion, the official PDF of the Return to the Tomb of Horrors contains more details.

I'm the DM. My campaign is about to wrap. A network of bad guys have been working to raise a lesser, evil god. The bad guys have succeeded. Chaos and evil are taking over the land. The good guys are rushing to raise a deity to put and end to all this nonsense, and over the next two or three sessions, they may just succeed.

If they fail, do I just wrap the game with the world having gone to hell?

If they succeed, how do I wrap the game? Does everything end with the players watching two deities duke it out? How can I involve them more in that final outcome?

Running a DA2 campaign, and eventually the party will join Varric's expedition and descend into the deep roads to collect the lyrium idol. I'm scratching my head on how to expand the thaig a bit. I want there to be some secrets to discover and maybe some puzzles and riddles and to solve. But I'm struggling with ideas.

The party is tasked with riling up a stuffy noble's tavern (medieval setting). There's no rough housing or even loud laughter allowed in here. Just a quiet enjoyment of drinks and polite conversation. No food is served. Exactly how the party wants to shake the place up, I'll leave up to them. But I'm struggling with ideas for what they might discover while inside.
Layout ideas: Obviously a bar, connected to an underground wine cellar. There's an entertainment area with a bard on stage. A smoke room. A legal gambling room. Private seating divided by privacy curtains. Debating about included a back courtyard for guests who need to take things outside. (So perhaps only one floor, not counting the wine cellar).
Information gathering: affairs between nobles, and??? (I suppose the best use of this space would be to drop some campaign threads).
Anything interesting for the PCs to find in this tavern? Notes? Artifacts? Lost and found?
In my head, this is a stuffy boring place, and I think it's hindering from coming up with fun ideas. How do I make the NPCs interesting? Maybe one of the staff hates it there and joins in the party's fun?

So I've been running a longshot where the party have had to delve through a cave system in a volcano. They started off in a city at the foot of the volcano and made their way through.

We are now coming up to the final session where the party are going to fight the BBEG at the centre of the volcano (lava rivers, obsidian rock formations and all the like). I have the combat figured out, but I am a bit unsure what to do after the fight. Ideally I want to make leaving the caves an encounter but I am a bit stuck on what to do. I feel like there's the classic "lava fills the room quickly, run away!" But that feels a bit stale.

So that comes to the advice part: does anyone have any good suggestions on how I can jazz this up and keep it interesting?

Thanks thanks thanks

I am currently writing my own homebrew campaign to where the characters are having to travel between different stories and I wanted to do a beauty and the beast story in it that tries to stay somewhat true to the original story. So I worked in a fight in the beginning with Gaston. I have a battle when the town comes to the castle and the players have to help defend the castle, but other then the fights and maybe searching around the house I'm having a hard time coming up with maybe like a puzzle or something for them to solve. Maybe revolving around the part of the movie in which Belle is eating dinner and they sing Be Our Guest. I'm open to any ideas I'm about 30 pages into the whole campaign and I got to this story and just froze haha. Thank you so much everyone!

​

What adventures or modules are out there that have a good detective mystery to solve regardless of genre?

Ok so in the campaign I'm running right now I have a tight knit family of sorcerers as the first arc's big bad. It's going well so far, but the only issue is that I don't know what spells to give them to give a cohesive watching eye motif while also keeping them formidable in combat. I'm turning to reddit for some ideas! don't hold back I want you to be mean to my players, I promise they can take it!

I've started working on my first campaign that is very homebrewed filled but that's not the problem, I may of made it too confusing for my party.

The campaign is about a god who is thr only one left from the original Pantheon that had decided to leave the plane existing, for a while he enjoyed it as since he was the only god, he was the only one being worshipped(other than Demons and devils) but eventually he realized he couldn't keep the plane alive as it took a Pantheon of 13 to equally purify the magic and return it back to the original form of magic before a magic user draws it into them to use.

The thing is there were technically 4 Parthenon, The Ancient Ones(og gods), the The old ones(the first group of gods made by Z(the og god spoken about earlier), there not too important, then theirs the Worhsipped Pantheon and now the new one being made.

The issue comes into the fact that Z is the god of conderdiction, manipulation and humanity, he's filled twice and messes with the known history 100 years before the main storyline.

With the rising of godhood and the false history I'm not sure how to push my party in the right direction to actively look into the history of the world or to speak to the acolytes of Z(important npcs to the story and heavily involved) because are group tends to not really focus on the god part of our characters unless we specifically do something that has too, like a spell. The group tends to talk to an npc, annoy them and leave. With acolytes we all tend to be less annoying to them and get what we need to know and dip out to go do what we need to.

I feel like it may end up being too confusing, but to my groups main DM and my boyfriend says it sounded interesting and not to confusing, but I'm worried about how it'll be for the players who don't know as much as they do. If anyone could give advice I'd be very grateful.

Hello everyone! My group has been creating some really fun games and we have been publishing the adventures. I love how it turned out and this was the first adventure in a series of 12 that we recorded and put on youtube. I would love to hear what you think!
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Summary:
After the death of the Dapper Don, the head of an all-gnome crime family, the players go to a remote tropical island to pay their respects and figure out who will be the next head of all the crime families. This adventure very much relies on roleplaying, lying, and bluffing among a bunch of thieves.
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We played the game pretty loosely and had a lot of fun with it, I am sure it can be adjusted pretty easily for different systems or party levels. Hope you have fun playing it as much as we did!

Hello everyone!

I have just started playing DnD at the beginning of this year with my friend group and my brother is our dm. Now, because I really want to dm and he has a busy time ahead, I will start dming soon.

I am really looking forward to it! But I am building the world myself, because after we bought a lot of the rule books, I can't really afford to buy another book and, more importantly, I think it will be a lot of fun.

I wanted to share my first ideas about the world, after we had a session zero with my players. I'm hoping for some feedback! I have watched and read a lot about beginner's tips and all that jazz, so I am mostly looking for specific feedback on my world building and if you think this basic concept could be promising for a fun, interesting game with equal parts roleplaying, fights and riddles/mystery.

I kind of wanted to create a baseline concept for the world. With that I hope there can be a lot of overarching political conflict but also a lot of interesting, small conflicts. That way, if we play this campaign longterm, there would already be some ideas for bigger conflicts, but I could start out by something small. I am also hoping that it will give my players a lot of inspiration for their characters, because they could either play the races as they are "typical" in my world or they could go against the mainstream.

Erynhammer - The Great Federation
After centuries of war, the elves and dwarves have joined forces, creating an era of peace and stability between them. The bordering territories have been united. The cultures benefit from their respective expertise and make political decisions in the High Council of Twenty-Four. Every 3 years the Old One, the twenty-fifth, alternates between an elf and a dwarf. This occasionally leads to political conflict, as the dwarves outnumber the elves. However, since the elven people are always very pleased with the dwarven Old Ones and state this publicly, most dwarves are conversely also inclined to criticize the elven Old Ones less and not insist too much on the numerical inequality. The council members also always decide according to their conscience and very rarely only according to their ethnicity, mostly only when it comes to certain traditions.

Triumvirate - Alliance of the Gnomes
The forest gnomes, rock gnomes and deep gnomes have a loose coalition, but they are usually not very interested in the other races and try to stay out of political conflicts if possible - besides, they are often forgotten by the other races anyway when it comes to bigger conflicts. Once they are invited to congresses, they usually arrive a few days late or forget the dates completely, as they do not have a reliable calendar.
They also don't have a proper political leadership, usually they just meet at the most popular inn when there is something important to discuss, and whoever is present then makes a joint decision. Whether this is implemented is another matter.

Caravan Council - Guild of Merchants, Traders and Craftsmen
Especially the races humans, half-elves, deep-elves and halflings are merchants and craftsmen, because they don't have "own" realms on this continent.
The craftsmen and merchants, however, have a kind of transnational "government" that defends their rights, but they own only a small piece of land. This government consists mainly of elected representatives and a founder. Politically, this group can exercise power by having the merchants and craftsmen strike and block exports and imports.
Half-Orcs - Warriors and Hunters
The half-orcs live somewhat remote from the other races and often go to other continents as mercenaries. However, there are also half-orcs who roam the continent as hunters or mercenary groups.
The Fireseed Land
The Dragonborn own the land around Askefjell, Ash Mountain, a dormant volcano. This land, the Fireseed Land, is particularly fertile and provides rich harvests. The Dragonborn lease their land to various races: Harengons, Halflings, and Humans cultivate many fields, providing food for Erynhammer in particular. The dwarves, on the other hand, have built tunnels into the volcanic rock and mine rare, sometimes magical raw materials here. Gnomes often come here to acquire some of the rare earths for their inventions or, in turn, to sell their inventions to men. The Fireseed Land is thus both a place of trade encounters and cultural exchange. The dragonborn themselves live in the individual clans, which lease their respective lands and live primarily from the levies, but sometimes take a more active role in trade themselves. The various trade routes of the continent (and some from foreign continents) lead to or through the Fireseed Lands.

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I just wanted to add that I have used ChatGPT to help develop my ideas and help me with names etc. I have found it a very cool tool to give inspiration and just be a lot faster than just staring at a blank paper and trying to come up with something.

I have to say, for my first ideas, I am actually quite excited about it, but feel free to criticize to your hearts content!