DM in need of help! [Archive] - Wizards Community

DM in need of help! [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Illithid00
11-19-07, 12:58 PM OK, I'm DMing for a group tonight, but I have no clue what adventure to run. I think I'll write my own, because all the ones I can find online have been played by my group before. What I need help with is that I have no clue what kind of adventure to write. I have all sorts of books to use, and I'd appreciate any bit of inspiration anyone can help me with. The group is first level, btw. Thanks in advance!

King

P.S. Here's a list of the books I have
Players Handbook
DMG
Monster Manual II and IV
Expanded Psionics Handbook
Serpent Kingdoms
Frostburn
Races of the Dragon
Races of Eberron
Tome of Magic
Magic of Incarnum
Dragon Magic
Complete Psionic
Complete Mage
Monsters of Faerun
Quintessential Drow
Celas Evriamytholin
11-19-07, 01:13 PM Dear Illithid00,

I know exactly what dilemna you face, and its never fun to have to figure something out last minute.

I have two immediate suggestions for you:
1) Use one of the 3.0 cliffhangers and make the minor adjustments you need for the monsters.

In case you don't know what cliffhangers are, they're essentially short and sweet, yet well-detailed, adventures Wizards used to make, and I miss them very much. They take 30 minutes tops to read through it, and understand perfectly what is going on. They are very well done, and its a shame they stopped making them.

Here is the link to one of the first level ones: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/ch/ch20000901e

2) I am currently working on an adventure path, and we are looking for playtesters anyways. I completed the first adventure (The Last Caravan), and it is free to use. Its not too complicated to read through and run, and if you have any questions, I can answer them for you. I think we added many elements, roleplaying and otherwise, that are absent in most adventures. Take a look at it if you want. Also, if ever you decide to run this one, I believe the second adventure is completed also, and we are working on the next. You could run our entire campaign if you wanted to =)

Here's the link: http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=927632

Take care, and I hope this helps! :)

*edit* If I were you, I'd just take something thats already written and modify it to my liking. It would take less time than writing it from scratch =).
Illithid00
11-19-07, 01:36 PM Thanks, those sound like pretty good ideas so far. I don't know if I want to write my own adventure, so modifying one of those sounds like it would work better for me.
Celas Evriamytholin
11-19-07, 01:39 PM My pleasure. Let me know if theres anything else I can do for you.
Illithid00
11-19-07, 02:13 PM I'm really liking the first part of that adventure path. I'm really debating using it for my group. By the way, is there a map that comes with it?
Caligula
11-19-07, 02:40 PM I think you have already received fine suggestions, but I would like to add just a few things...

It is important to prepare the session to make it really good. If you don't have time for preparations, keep it simple! Perhaps the adventurers can spend a few days in their home town, visiting taverns and inns in search of adventure? "The Book of Taverns" (www.necromancergames.com) is one of the best products ever made for D&D! I recommend you to get a copy. With this book you always have plenty of taverns ready to throw in spontaneously.

Also check out the free adventures available at wizards own site. Thet have plenty of one-nighters there that are of really good quality. I have played several of them.

Last but not least, try and buy a couple of published adventures. Besides supporting your favorite hobby, you will also receive excellent products that are second to none. Wizards official adventures such as "Red Hand of Doom", "City of the Spiderqueen", "Cormyr:The Tearing of the Weave", etc are just fabulous!

I also recommend you to visit www.necromancergames.com and look for "The Vault of Larin Karr", "Rappan Athuk" and "The Hall of the Rainbow Mage". Again, adventures you don't want to miss!

One adventure that really stands out is the adventure path "The Shackled City" published by Paizo (www.paizo.com). This mega campaign takes your character all the way from 1st through 20th level. An amazing project that you just have to get a copy of. The quality is amazing with a hardbound book and full color all through. 10 out of 10 is my mark on this one.

Good Luck! :)
Gryllmyre
11-19-07, 02:59 PM Paizo also has a free little 1st level one-shot to kick off their GameMastery adventure line: http://paizo.com/store/paizoExclusives/v5748btpy7xpy

The free download is a little bit down the page. It's OGL, not official DnD.

I hope to play Shackled City someday. I have the hardcover, just waiting to wing it at a DM :)
Celas Evriamytholin
11-19-07, 03:26 PM I'm really liking the first part of that adventure path. I'm really debating using it for my group. By the way, is there a map that comes with it?

Unfortunately, not yet.

However, the only time you would really need a map is at the last two parts, really.

Part one is on an open street, part two has no fighting and part three is on the side of the main road in a field.

Part four is in a 25' by 40' cavern, and part 5 is both inside and outside an Inn. Neither of these are difficult to draw if you have a bit of squared paper =).

I would be flattered if you decided to use our path :). If you do, please let us know how it went.
Illithid00
11-20-07, 12:50 PM I'm still looking at that adventure path, but I'm not sure if I want to use it or not. I'm hoping to have enough material for a good, LONG session of DnD. Other than that adventure path, I haven't really found a decent 1st level adventure that would work for my party yet though.
Celas Evriamytholin
11-20-07, 07:40 PM If the rest of the path doesn't tickle your fancy, you could just use the first adventure and adapt it to whatever is happening in your world and localities, but I think you'd be missing out on some good storylines.
Illithid00
11-21-07, 02:07 AM It's not that I haven't liked that adventure path, but the group I'm gaming with is only a one-off group that will only be gaming for maybe three days. So I'm kinda looking for something like a standard dungeon crawl that has no real loose ends to deal with. I'm thinking of using the adventure path in my other group though, but I'll have to make it a little bit more difficult.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Illithid00 11-19-07, 12:58 PM	OK, I'm DMing for a group tonight, but I have no clue what adventure to run. I think I'll write my own, because all the ones I can find online have been played by my group before. What I need help with is that I have no clue what kind of adventure to write. I have all sorts of books to use, and I'd appreciate any bit of inspiration anyone can help me with. The group is first level, btw. Thanks in advance! King P.S. Here's a list of the books I have Players Handbook DMG Monster Manual II and IV Expanded Psionics Handbook Serpent Kingdoms Frostburn Races of the Dragon Races of Eberron Tome of Magic Magic of Incarnum Dragon Magic Complete Psionic Complete Mage Monsters of Faerun Quintessential Drow
Celas Evriamytholin 11-19-07, 01:13 PM	Dear Illithid00, I know exactly what dilemna you face, and its never fun to have to figure something out last minute. I have two immediate suggestions for you: 1) Use one of the 3.0 cliffhangers and make the minor adjustments you need for the monsters. In case you don't know what cliffhangers are, they're essentially short and sweet, yet well-detailed, adventures Wizards used to make, and I miss them very much. They take 30 minutes tops to read through it, and understand perfectly what is going on. They are very well done, and its a shame they stopped making them. Here is the link to one of the first level ones: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/ch/ch20000901e 2) I am currently working on an adventure path, and we are looking for playtesters anyways. I completed the first adventure (The Last Caravan), and it is free to use. Its not too complicated to read through and run, and if you have any questions, I can answer them for you. I think we added many elements, roleplaying and otherwise, that are absent in most adventures. Take a look at it if you want. Also, if ever you decide to run this one, I believe the second adventure is completed also, and we are working on the next. You could run our entire campaign if you wanted to =) Here's the link: http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=927632 Take care, and I hope this helps! :) edit If I were you, I'd just take something thats already written and modify it to my liking. It would take less time than writing it from scratch =).
Illithid00 11-19-07, 01:36 PM	Thanks, those sound like pretty good ideas so far. I don't know if I want to write my own adventure, so modifying one of those sounds like it would work better for me.
Celas Evriamytholin 11-19-07, 01:39 PM	My pleasure. Let me know if theres anything else I can do for you.
Illithid00 11-19-07, 02:13 PM	I'm really liking the first part of that adventure path. I'm really debating using it for my group. By the way, is there a map that comes with it?
Caligula 11-19-07, 02:40 PM	I think you have already received fine suggestions, but I would like to add just a few things... It is important to prepare the session to make it really good. If you don't have time for preparations, keep it simple! Perhaps the adventurers can spend a few days in their home town, visiting taverns and inns in search of adventure? "The Book of Taverns" (www.necromancergames.com) is one of the best products ever made for D&D! I recommend you to get a copy. With this book you always have plenty of taverns ready to throw in spontaneously. Also check out the free adventures available at wizards own site. Thet have plenty of one-nighters there that are of really good quality. I have played several of them. Last but not least, try and buy a couple of published adventures. Besides supporting your favorite hobby, you will also receive excellent products that are second to none. Wizards official adventures such as "Red Hand of Doom", "City of the Spiderqueen", "Cormyr:The Tearing of the Weave", etc are just fabulous! I also recommend you to visit www.necromancergames.com and look for "The Vault of Larin Karr", "Rappan Athuk" and "The Hall of the Rainbow Mage". Again, adventures you don't want to miss! One adventure that really stands out is the adventure path "The Shackled City" published by Paizo (www.paizo.com). This mega campaign takes your character all the way from 1st through 20th level. An amazing project that you just have to get a copy of. The quality is amazing with a hardbound book and full color all through. 10 out of 10 is my mark on this one. Good Luck! :)
Gryllmyre 11-19-07, 02:59 PM	Paizo also has a free little 1st level one-shot to kick off their GameMastery adventure line: http://paizo.com/store/paizoExclusives/v5748btpy7xpy The free download is a little bit down the page. It's OGL, not official DnD. I hope to play Shackled City someday. I have the hardcover, just waiting to wing it at a DM :)
Celas Evriamytholin 11-19-07, 03:26 PM	I'm really liking the first part of that adventure path. I'm really debating using it for my group. By the way, is there a map that comes with it? Unfortunately, not yet. However, the only time you would really need a map is at the last two parts, really. Part one is on an open street, part two has no fighting and part three is on the side of the main road in a field. Part four is in a 25' by 40' cavern, and part 5 is both inside and outside an Inn. Neither of these are difficult to draw if you have a bit of squared paper =). I would be flattered if you decided to use our path :). If you do, please let us know how it went.
Illithid00 11-20-07, 12:50 PM	I'm still looking at that adventure path, but I'm not sure if I want to use it or not. I'm hoping to have enough material for a good, LONG session of DnD. Other than that adventure path, I haven't really found a decent 1st level adventure that would work for my party yet though.
Celas Evriamytholin 11-20-07, 07:40 PM	If the rest of the path doesn't tickle your fancy, you could just use the first adventure and adapt it to whatever is happening in your world and localities, but I think you'd be missing out on some good storylines.
Illithid00 11-21-07, 02:07 AM	It's not that I haven't liked that adventure path, but the group I'm gaming with is only a one-off group that will only be gaming for maybe three days. So I'm kinda looking for something like a standard dungeon crawl that has no real loose ends to deal with. I'm thinking of using the adventure path in my other group though, but I'll have to make it a little bit more difficult.