So Recently for Extra Life I was asked by my team to write and DM a short session to pad out the wee hours of the morning. After some thinking I came up with a fun two to three hour campaign for use with the starter set characters (at level five) that was easy to put together and simple to run.
The setup:
The players have been traveling for days either lost or fleeing form some figure of authority through thick and hostile forests. when they finally emerge into a clearing they find themselves looking up at a large mansion set inexplicably in the heart of the woods. The lights are on, and there is welcoming smoke pouring from the chimney's but no one is home. As the PC's approach the manor a raving mad man (perhaps an acquaintance) charges frothing out of the mansion warning of horrible sights. His clothes and hair are sticky to the touch, and his teeth are rotting out of his head. should the PC's enter he mansion they will find it a warm and welcoming place filled with opulent fixtures and overstuffed furniture. as the night wears on however a saccharine scent will draw them into the main library where they will find a strange box inscribed with one word: CANDYLAND. Inside the box is a simple game board painted with a rainbow road and several happy looking denizens of the land of candy. Along with the board are a pair of dice and if the PC's should choose to roll the adventure truly begins.
The rest of the Adventure plays out lust like Jumanji or Zathura if you want to get technical.
The players Roll dice to move along the path to the castle of king candy, and when they do they receive a message from the board and suddenly find themselves beset by danger. Any attempt to leave the house will land them in Candyland itself. The only way to get home is to play.
Every turn the message is determined by 50 cards:
5 characters
1. Mr. Mint: A lone woodsman with a sharp axe and friendly face!
Mr mint will fight with the party he has very low hp.
2. Princess Lollipop: The regal princess at the seat of her power!
Princess lollipop is a caster who will fight alongside the party, but has low hp.
3. Jolly: A jolly minstrel lost in the wilderness!
Jolly the bard joins the party. He has low hp.
4. Queen Frostine: A beautiful queen floats across the frigid ice-cream sea!
Queen frostine willbegin to melt. She will melt in 3 turns if she is not brought to the candycane forest or kissed by fresh breath. She will heal the party if she can.
5. Grandma nut: An old woman approaches!
Grandma nut has lost the plot. She can attempt to help the players but will most likely confuse them.
5 environment changers
1. Candy cane forest: The swirling stands of the peppermint trees!
To leave this room each player must make a dc12 survival check. Every turn in the room deals 1d4 cold damage.
2. Molasses swamp: Sink into the sweet abyss!
A player must make a dc 15 strength roll to escape.
3. Shugarplum orchard: An orchard full of heavy fruit and jealous watchers!
When in this room characters will make perception checks or lose items.
4. Peanut Brittle Desert: A mirage in the razor sharp badlands!
When passing through players make an intelligence check to leave the room. Ending your turn in the room inflicts 1 slashing damage
5. Gumdrop Volcano: Below you, the ground erupts in molten gummi goo!
Characters make a dc10 dexterity check or take 1d6 fire damage.
5 Big hazards
1. Candyland Express: The Candy land express arrives!
The candy train roars through the board from east to west.
2. Gloppy: From the deep recesses of the molasses swamp the denizen of that place reaches out to you.
Gloppy attacks the party.
3. Purple Gumiworm: Watch out!
A purple worm makes an attack against the party swallowing anyone it can. They will be spit out in the desert or in the foyer.
4. Redvines: Stop them now before the whole kingdom is overgrown!
The vines grow 1 room for every three round. They make the ground difficult terrain.
5. Kool aid Man: Oh Yeah!
The coolaid man will charge after the players intill it falls down stairs or goes out a window.
10 encounters
1. Giant Chocodile: a monster from the molasses swamp! (giant Crocodile)
2. Gumibear: A creature from the Gumdrop mountains! (wear-bear)
3. Sour patch kids: Demented little freaks who bite back! (Goblins)
4. Pixie stix: Faries with a grudge! (pixies and Sprites)
5. Dum dums: A pair of monsters with more brawn than brain! (ettin)
6. Red hot dragon: Run away! (young Red)
7. Candy wrapper: A stealthy predator from the Licorice desert! (Roper)
8. Sweedish fish: Babbling madmen who serve a crazed master! (several Kuo-Toa)
9. Peeps: Petryfying! (Six pack of Cockatrice)
10. Jawbreaker: Candyland’s most feared monster! (Beefed up Minotaur Skeleton)
20 small events
1. Lemondrops and Gumdrops: Oh what a rain that would be!
Players in outside areas begin to take bludgeoning damage
2. NERDS: What will they come up with next!
3. Candicorn: The most majestic beat in Candyland!
The candicorn will attack any nearby monsters.
4. Gum web: You are trapped in the web of a gumspider!
DC15
5. Fireball: Its really hot!
Fireball centered on player.
6. Magic Jellybeans: What a mystery!
Players who eat the beans get a spell slot back. If a bean is dropped in the basement a bean sprout grows.
7. Minty-fresh Breath: Fresh tastes better!
The player who draws this casts cone of cold every time they try to speak.
8. Pop-rocks: Keep away from Soda!
The poprocks form in this room.
9. Soda: Keep away from Pop-rocks!
The soda will spill from the closest water source to the poprocks.
10. Carrotcake: Vegetables are good for you!
Cure all ailments and heal for 1d10
11. Laffy taffy: Whats so funny?
Tasha’s hideous laughter
12. Rare candy: What a treat!
Player increases an attribute by 1
13. Lolipox: Don’t spread it around!
Every turn speed is reduced 5 feet and ac increces by 1 uless the player takes their action to break the candy. At speed 0 a player is petrified.
14. Popcicles: A frozen treat just for you!
Large frozen spikes fall from ceiling. Dc13. 2d4 dmg
15. Spearmints: Ahhhh!
Dc13 doge, 1d4 dmg plus minty fresh.
16. Candy from a Baby: Keep your mitts off!
The game board is stolen by a candy imp.
17. Coins: Real Gold!
Not real gold.
18. Gushers: Bursting with Flavor!
Acid filled gushers form on the walls and begin to splash acid.
19. Stale candy: Candy gone BAD!
All candy creatures are now undead.
20. Gumdrop pass: Lucky you!
Player rolls again and finds passage to any room in house.
And some random fun!
1 Candyland: In Candyland you will wait till someone rolls a 6 or 8!
1 Lord Licorice: The vile lord licorice emerges from his fortress!
1 ice-cream Ocean: Welcome to the ice-cream ocean!
The ocean floods the mansion
1 Candy Transformation: Goober Gobble! Goober Gobble! One of us!
Player becomes a candy soldier.
1 Birthday Cake: Make a Wish!
Grant wish in candy fashion!
How to play Candyland:
Basically everyone in Candyland Thinks that the PCs are a group of children sent to free them from the wicked lord licorice (Think of him as Van Pelt) and reach the Candy Castle. When they reach the castle King candy declares them heroes of Candyland and the game board shuts. The Game's Creator, a master illusionist thanks them for playing and asks the "Children" if they would like to play again. This game should push the Characters to their wits end while leaving the Players laughing through every turn.
Awesome! This might be good if we have some down time between Lost Mines and Hoard. I love to see the creativity built into this.
Looks pretty cool. I worked on a Candyland hexcrawl recently. I talk about it here and here.
...I'm creating a hexcrawl scenario called "A Hex on Candy Land" in which the characters return to visit Candy Land - having been there in their youth - to find that this awesomely whimsical land has been turned into a dangerous wasteland of civil war and strife. Lord Licorice deposed King Kandy and turned Mount Poprocks into a volcano that took out Candy Castle and much of the surrounding lands. The Duke of Swirl is fighting a losing war against the forces of Lord Licorice from his keep in the Peppermint Forest (on the cold side of the Gumdrop Mountains). It's up to the PCs to explore this place and figure out how to set things right before Lord Licorice defeats the Duke of Swirl and makes Princess Frostine his bride in order to cement his power.
Thanks! Yeah, for some reson the vague framework of the clasic children saving the kingdom combined with the American Mcgee idea of turning something whimsical dark and dealy made this game stick out big time in my mind. It also helps that Candyland is sort of a cultural touchstone for people who grew up playing boardgames. My only regret was that i had to print out a clasic candyland board instead of finding the real thing.
Wow. This is terrific and it shows great labor of love.
I'm sure it was a ton of fun.
Not my style of game but well thought out, creative and an excellent job overall! Now can you do one for Talisman? 