Preparing a Waterdeep: Dragon Heist Campaign

Introduction

I'm ten sessions into a Waterdeep: Dragon Heist campaign. So far, it's been great fun. Here is my Session 0 for the campaign. If I were to amend that based on what I have learned so far, I would add the following bullet points:

• Waterdeep is the campaign's central character. A goal of play is to learn about the city and its unique characteristics, especially its rulership, guilds, and factions. 
• Each character will join a faction, and completing quests for factions will provide renown and perks for the characters.
• You will quickly reach third level, and then spend many sessions advancing from third to fourth, and fourth to fifth level. The goal is to spend time getting to know the city and give each character time to gain renown in their respective faction. 
• You will have an opportunity to run your own business in Waterdeep. At early levels, gold will be scarce and important for operating that business. 
• The Guilds of Waterdeep have immense power - you might be able to negotiate with them, but it will be very hard to open your business without paying for their services. 
• Someone should play a wizard. The class is very ingrained into the culture of the city via the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors, and playing a wizard will be fun, especially if you want to collecting spells. 

Notes on Running the Adventure

• Give much more gold early than the adventure calls for. It is nearly 1500 gp for the characters to be able to open Trollskull Manor as a tavern - that takes a while at low levels. I'll note using the 2014 DMG treasure rules made it much more slow doing than the 2024 DMG treasure rules that I switched to once it came out. The 2024 DMG suggests a lot more gold per encounter.
• Don't forget about the holidays - they really give the city flavor, and the players a chance to explore their characters. Track the date meticulously. 
• I let the characters choose their season, and told them it had an impact on the story, but no more than that. They chose winter, so I am going to use Manshoon as the villain...but I like the Cassalanter arc enough I am going to pull it in as well. To that end, I am having a lot of early side treks and encounters with generic cultists who summon fiends, with the intent to tie it back into the Cassalanters later. Regardless, the players are well aware of the conflict between the Zhents and the Xanathar Guild.
• I am leaving everything with Jarlaxle out of the adventure. I probably would have pulled him in if there was a drow NPC, but without that its just not worth the additional complexity given how much I am including. 
• I'm using a 1:1 mapping of characters to factions, except the Grey Hands that the entire party joined. I've added the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors as a faction for the wizard in the group to join, and left out Bregan D'aerthe. This adds a lot of fairly low stakes adventuring content to the adventure, but so far my players have greatly enjoyed it. It very intentionally moves the spotlight from character to character each session, and makes dealing with missing players a little easier. 
• I'm still not sure how I am going to handle the amount of gold the characters can get from the end of the campaign. I have some ideas, but they all feel like cheating the players. I'm sure there will be a post on that down the road, but I am just running the game and trying to set the stage for debts or opportunities to manage that problem when I get to it. 

Resources

• Durnan's Guide to Tavernkeeping is the best resource I have found for expanded rules around running Trollskull Manor. It also has useful details for random taverns in general. 
• Waterdeep: City Encounters is a fantastic resource for quick encounters in Waterdeep. 
• Waterdeep: City of Splendors by Eric L Boyd is a book I read cover to cover and often refer to as I put my campaign together.
• SlyFlourish's notion.so template. I've used it for a while, but its really useful for a campaign with a lot of recurring locations and NPCs. Contact me directly if you would like access to it - there is a lot of character specific information, but I would guess 75% of what I have populated is reusable across Dragon Heist campaigns. 
• I am not publishing it since it uses proprietary files, but I made a custom GPT at chatgpt.com and provided it some of the resources above. I can then chat with it while DMing to get encounters, NPCs, and other random bits of information on demand.  Its incredibly helpful and a big time saver. A future post will be a side trek adventure I created an outline for and then let my GPT flesh out. While I don't think the writing is all that great, it definitely saved me time and made the skeleton of what I put together better. 

Inspirations

Here are several inspirations for this campaign:

• Sam Sorenson's In Praise of Legwork is the inspiration for what I wanted my Waterdeep campaign to be. I never expected it to be as detailed as City State of the Invincible Overlord, but I did want that to be an aspiration to strive towards knowing the closer I could get to it, the better the campaign would be. Shout out to Graham Ward for pointing me to this blog post. 
• Sly Flourish's posts about preparing Dragon Heist. 
• MerricB's musings about Dragon Heist.
• All the folks in the Mastering Dungeons discord. Its a great community for learning and inspiration, 

What's Next?

• Detailed locations in Trollskull Alley
• A side trek adventure using the Dwarven Forge Watchtower
• Posting play summaries from the campaign.
• Let me know in the comments if there is anything else you would like to see!

Dungeons and Dragons Settings 101: The Forgotten Realms (Part 1)

This is the next part in my series of 101 introductions for the most common Dungeons and Dragons settings. If it made sense to cover Greyhawk first, it only makes sense for part two to be the most prolific campaign setting for Dungeons and Dragons: The Forgotten Realms. I've been running campaigns set in the Realms for two decades, so I'm excited to dive into one of my favorite settings. 

The Forgotten Realms was created by Ed Greenwood. It was first published via articles in Dragon magazine in 1979, and Ed sold the rights to TSR around 1985. The first Realms novel, Darkwalker on Moonshae by Douglas Niles, and the original Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting were released in 1987. From that point forward TSR (and later WotC) published a plethora of content for the campaign across every subsequent edition. It is daunting to figure out what makes the cut for a "101" of the Realms, as there is so much well-known and influential content. But let's give it a go! I will focus on people and locations that play a prominent role in published 5e material. I also am going to make this a two-part post because there is a lot to cover!

History of the Realms

I didn't do a history for Greyhawk, but the Forgotten Realms has much more history, as it often had "Realms Shaking Events", especially during the transition to each new edition. I'm just going to hit the highlights - there is an excellent product called The Grand History of the Realms you should go check out if you really want to get into the lore. Also, read Kevin Kulp's history on DM's Guild - the Grand History has a really cool backstory of its own!

• The Fall of Karsus and Netheril (-339 DR) - The archmage Karsus cast a powerful spell in an attempt to wrest control from Mystryl, the goddess of magic at the time. The spell failed and sent many Netherese floating cities falling to their doom. This marked the end of the Netherese Empire and the first great humanoid empire of Faerun. 
• The Establishment of the Standing Stone and the Beginning of Dale Reckoning (0 DR) - A stone plinth is erected to commemorate the Dales Compact, an agreement between the elves of Cormanthyr and the humans of the Dalelands. 
• The Fall of Myth Drannor (714 DR) - The demonic Army of Darkness, led by the Trio Nefarious, sacked Myth Drannor, the capital of the elven kingdom of Cormanthyr. This began The Retreat, where elves fled the mainland of Faerun for the elven isle of Evermeet. 
• The Time of Troubles (1358 DR) - This event took place during the transition from 1e to 2e, as a way to explain rules changes happening in the game. Evil gods stole the Tablets of Fate from the overgod Ao who cast all of the gods into the mortal realm. Many gods died and new gods were raised. The events are detailed in the Avatars book trilogy and a series of adventures based on them.  
• The Return of the City of Shade (1372 DR) - With the advent of 3e, Thultanthar, the City of Shade, returned to the Realms. Thultanthar was a Netherse city that escaped Karsus' Folly by shifting to the plane of shadow (or the Shadowfell in 4e terms). This introduced a new and powerful set of adversaries. 
• The Spellplague (1385 DR) - Also known as the Blue Breath of Change, Mystra is murdered by Cyric and the weave collapses. This causes magic to stop working, and Toril's twin world, Abier, rejoins it. These were all changes to explain the transition to 4e, and advanced the timeline to 1485 DR. 
• The Second Sundering (1485 DR) - The Second Sundering pulled Abier out of Toril and basically reversed the changes of 4e. It also led to the fall of Thultanthar, and mostly set the Realms back to the equilibrium of 3e, restoring several famous characters from the novels to the setting.  

Heroes of the Realms

• Elminster, the Sage of Shadowdale - The Gandalf of the Realms. This is reductive, but still a good shorthand. Elminster has lived for hundreds of years to serve the goddess of magic, Mystra. He's tired and a little crazy from the centuries of responsibility. 
• Drizz't Do'Urden - The subject of many best-selling novels by R.A. Salvatore. Drizz't is a drow ranger who escaped from the evil, Lolth-worshipping city of Menzobarrenzan. He has mostly lived in the North, specifically the frigid Ten Towns. He's had many adventures with his companions, Bruenor Battlehammer, Catti-Brie, Wulfgar, and Regis. More details on his companions are 102-level material. 
• Jarlaxle - Another notable character from the Driz'zt books. Jarlaxle is the leader of a drow mercenary company called Bregan D'aerthe and is secretly a descendant of the ruling Baenre family of Menzobarrenzon. He has many magic items and tricks and is always prepared. 
• The Seven Sisters - Seven immortal women who are daughters of Mystra. 
• Alustriel Silverhand, the leader of the Silver Marches and Silverymoon.
• The Simbul, Witch Queen of the nation of Algrarond.
• Laeral Silverhand Arunson, Open Lord of Waterdeep and the widow of the former Blackstaff, Khelbun Arunsun. 
• Sylune Silverhand, the Witch of Shadowdale. Her mortal form is deceased, and she lives on as a weaveghost.
• Dove Falconhand, a skilled fighter and member of the Knights of Myth Drannor. She is deceased but lives on as a weaveghost. 
• Storm Silverhand, Harper, and the Bard of Shadowdale. 
• Qilue Veladron, the youngest and least widely known sister. She was a drow and a powerful priestess of both Mystra and the drow goddess Eilistraee. She has also been slain and lives on as a weaveghost. 
• Mirt the [Merciless, Moneylender] - Mirt is one of the first characters of the Realms conceived by Sir Greenwood. He's been an adventurer, a Harper, a masked Lord of Waterdeep, the head of Spelljammer Academy, and more. He is old, wheezing, and occasionally competent, but serves as an excellent patron for adventurers. 
• Durnan - the owner of the Yawning Portal, the entrance to Undermountain. Also a masked Lord of Waterdeep and a seasoned adventurer. 
• Volothamp Geddarm - a (in)famous bard and author of the various Volo's Guides. He isn't very dependable but does have a good heart. He's also never let the truth stand in the way of a good story. He's the primary hook for the adventure Waterdeep: Dragon Heist.
• Havilar and Farideh, the Brimstone Angels - Twin sisters, Havilar is a tiefling fighter, and Farideh is a Warlock and has a pact with a cambion named Lorcan. They were adopted by a dragonborn father, Mehen. They star in the Brimstone Angels series of books and The Adversary from the Sundering series. 
• Artus Cimber - an adventurer and former Harper, Artus is the keeper of the Ring of Winter. He is an expert Chultan archeologist. He and Dragonbait, a saurial warrior, appear in the adventure Tomb of Annihilation. 
• Minsc and Boo - Minsc is a Rashemani Ranger introduced in the video game Baldur's Gate circa 2e. Minsc has an eccentric personality and is joined in battle by his faithful companion Boo, a miniature giant space hamster. 

Villians of the Realms

• Szazz Tam and the Red Wizards of Thay - the garden variety villains of the Realms. Thay is an oppressed country ruled by the Red Wizards and their master, the Lich Necromancer Szazz Tam. He is constantly plotting to invade his neighboring countries (especially Algarond and Rasheman) and always faceplants. The Red Wizards make for great mustache-twirling villains and are featured in a line of 5e Adventurer's League adventures, Dreams of the Red Wizards. They are also the villains in the Dungeons and Dragons movie!
• Manshoon and the Zhentarim - The Zhentarim are a fractious trading coaster that dabbles in several illicit trades. They often operate in a gray zone between good and evil and are a faction adventurers can join in 5e adventures. They are often led by some version of Manshoon, an evil wizard who has created countless simulacrums of himself. When the original Manshoon died, several clones awakened at once, and all fought for control of the Zhentarim. It is believed the Manshoon that rules Zhentil Keep today is the original wizard. 
• Sammaster and the Cult of the Dragon - Sammaster was a former Magister of Mystra who misinterpreted a prophecy to believe that undead dragons were destined to rule the Realms. He founded the Cult of the Dragon to make this happen and has been thwarted twice and is now believed dead. Recently, in Rise of Tiamat, the Cult of the Dragon executed a pivot and decided they needed to summon Tiamat, the Demon Queen of Dragons into the Realms. 
• Artemis Entreri - Driz'zt Do'Urden's sometime arch nemesis, sometime ally. Artemis is an assassin who hails from Calimport and is first encountered by Driz'zt when he kidnaps Regis, Driz'zt's halfling companion, for Pasha Pook of Calimport.  Drizz'zt and Entreri crossed blades and fought side by side many times. Artemis and Jarlaxle have also vacillated between friends and foes over time. 
• Lord Dagult Neverember - Hereditary heir to the city of Neverwinter, Lord Dagult also spent some time as open lord of Waterdeep before being ousted for self-dealing. He returned to Neverwinter, but still covets the lordship of Waterdeep. He is the definition of Lawful Evil - using government and the laws to serve his own ends and enrich himself. His son, Ranaer, is a key NPC in Waterdeep: Dragon Heist and is a much more good-natured sort who often opposes his father. He has connections to the Lord's Alliance.
• House Baenre of Menzobarrenzon - The ruling drow house of Menzobarrenzon, the Baenres are for the most part true believers of the evil teachings of Lolth. They are regular foils for Driz'zt Do'Urden and have long controlled the ruling hierarchy in Menzobarrenzon. 
• The Xanathar - A long line of beholders who have ran the Xanathar's Guild in Skullport, under Waterdeep and Undermountain. Skullport and the Xanathar's Guild have been tolerated by the Lords as they keep unseemly activity out of the city proper. In Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, the conflict between the Xanathar's Guild and the Zhentarim takes center stage. The Xanathar is obsessed with his pet goldfish, Sylgar. 
• Halaster, the Mad Mage of Undermountain - Halaster moved into the dungeon of Undermountain before the founding of Waterdeep, claimed it as his own, took in many apprentices, and killed many adventurers in his dungeon. His aims are often inscrutable and capricious, as are many of his apprentices. It is believed he stocks Undermountain primarily as an amusement for himself. Halaster and Undermountain are the focus of the 5e adventure Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage.
• Iymrith, the Doom of the Desert - An ancient blue dragon known for constant scheming and manipulation. She has a lair in the desert of Anauroch.
• Klauth, Old Snarl - An ancient red dragon some say is the most powerful dragon on Faerun. He's infamous for cunning and cruelty, and manipulating adventurers to do his work for him. He may have one of the greatest hoards of treasure in all the Realms. 
• Daugothoth, The Creeping Doom - A black dracolich who dwells in the Mere of Dead Men, Daugothoth is also a master necromancer. He is one of the most feared undead dragons in the Realms and is known to hoard magical artifacts.

Ok, I am calling this "Part 1" and I will be back later with Regions, Deities, and Adventures of the Forgotten Realms.  

Sources

• A lot of this came off the top of my head, with occasional references to the wiki at https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/.
• A few references to the 3E Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, the best Dungeons and Dragons book ever published in my opinion. 

 Dungeons and Dragons Settings 101: Greyhawk

One of my players who is newer to DnD asked me a question recently:

I find I get lost when we play sometimes when names are mentioned and I have no clue who they are. I know Strahd, I know Tasha, I know what beholders are and such. But is there a resource or a series of books I could/should read so I'm more familiar with the D&D lore?

Our group has a very mixed experience level with D&D. This reaction came from Volo showing up to give the characters a quest at the end of our session 0 of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. But I've seen this same thing many times with mixed groups where some iconic D&D character shows up, and half the party is like "Whoa, Mordenkainen!" and the other half has this reaction:

So I decided to write a short summary of each setting, its main movers and shakers, and things newer players may want to know without having to surf around several wikis. I am sure I will leave some important folks out and get some things wrong, but I think I can create something good enough to be fit for purpose for new folks coming into the game. And I can always edit my mistakes later! Enough preamble - there is only one logical place to start - Greyhawk. 

Original Greyhawk Campaign

Greyhawk is predated as a setting by Blackmoor (Dave Arneson's setting that I don't plan on writing about), but for all intents and purposes, it is the first setting for Dungeons and Dragons. It started as a dungeon under Castle Greyhawk in Gary Gygax's original Dungeons and Dragons game, and eventually grew into a full fledged world known as Oerth. A number of the characters from that campaign are now iconics for Dungeons and Dragons:

• Mordenkainen: Gary Gygax's wizard. In fifth edition, you will recognize the name from Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes and Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse. Mordenkainen is a very powerful wizard. He's popped up in a couple of different published fifth edition campaigns. In Greyhawk, he founded a wizard group known as the Circle of Eight. 
• Bigby: Famous for his spells involving projecting giant hands, Bigby was an NPC turned PC for Gary Gygax. Bigby was also a member of the Circle of Eight. 
• Tenser: Famous for his floating disk. Another wizard member of the Circle of Eight, originally played by Ernie Gygax. Slain by Rary the Traitor.
• Melf: Originally played by Luke Gygax, Melf is another wizard, this time famous for his Acid Arrow. Melf was an elf, and also sometimes called Prince Brightflame. 
• Otiluke: Another wizard with many named spells, it seems he was more of an NPC than a character from Gygax's original games. He was a member of the Circle of Eight and was slain by Rary the traitor. 
• Robilar: Played by Rob Kuntz, Robilar was a fighter. He served as the commander of Rary's forces in the Greyhawk wars. He is a grim-faced man with a goatee and dark hair and wields the Blade of Black Ice. 
• Otto: NPC henchmen of Robilar. Another powerful wizard who was a member of the Circle of Eight. 
• Rary: Yet another wizard, Rary was created by Brian Blume who would go on to betray the Circle of Eight in the fiction by killing Otiluke and Tenser. For this, he gained the appellation "The Traitor". There was also apparently an in-joke where he was referred to as "Medium Rary". 

Famous Villians from Greyhawk

• Vecna: You know, the bad guy from Stanger Things. In some ways, Vecna is the original Big Bad Evil Guy of Dungeons and Dragons. Vecna starts as a mortal in Oerth, becomes a lich, and is defeated by his lieutenant, Kas, leaving behind the Hand and Eye of Vecna. Vecna eventually returns and ends up trapped in his own Domain of Dread in Ravenloft. He manages to escape and hatches a plot to usurp the Lady of Pain in Sigil and at this point becomes the multiversal threat he is in 5e. If you really want to go deep, read this explainer at What Do I Know. 
• Iggwilv: Created by Gygax, Iggwilv first appeared in The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth. Iggwilv authored the Demonicon, was the Witch Queen of Perrenland, was the lover and captor of the demon lord Graz'zt, and their child is the demigod cambion Iuz. Iggwilv is also Tasha of Tasha's Hideous Laughter and Tasha's Cauldron of Everything fame. In 5e,  her history was updated to indicate Tasha was the adopted daughter of Baba Yaga who eventually became Iggwilv the Witch Queen. Tasha is her implied good personality, and Iggwilv is the evil side. 
• Iuz: Iuz is a demigod of Deceit, Pain, Oppression, and Evil in Greyhawk. He appears as an old man or a hulking demon. Iuz has spent time trapped under Castle Greyhawk and imprisoned within Vecan as part of his rise to godhood. When he wasn't trapped, he started the Greyhawk Wars and ruled over an empire in central Oerth.
• Lolth: Lolth was also created by Gygax and made her debut in the Q series of modules, culminating as the primary villain in Queen of the Demonweb Pits. She is the drow god of spiders and just generally being evil. Her origin myth is that she was originally a member of the Seladrine (elven pantheon) who was cast out for betrayal. She was probably most popularized as the same god in the Forgotten Realms thanks to her ties to the Driz'zt Do'Urden novels, but she was always a big force in Greyhawk as well. 
• Acererak: The demilich who created the Tomb of Horrors to bedevil adventures (and players) everywhere. Acererak was born a cambion with a Balor father. Acererak may have been an apprentice to Vecna, and he served Orcus up until he achieved lichdom. Then he created his Tomb of Horrors. In 5e, he shows up as the main villain in Tomb of Ahnihilation. 
• Tharizdun: A dark, secretive god of Eternal Darkness, Decay, Entropy, and Malign Knowledge. He's featured in The Temple of Elemental Evil, has popped up as a mysterious villain in many different settings and adventures, and is sometimes called the Chained God. In 5e, the elemental cults in Princes of the Apocalypse are trying to free Tharizdun. I like him best as an unknowable threat of inconcievable evil. 
• Kyuss - The Worm That Walks. Kyuss is a demigod of worms, undeath, and corruption. Kyuss created his worms, foul parasites that burrow into their human hosts and turn them into worm-filled Spawn of Kyuss. It's rumored he achieved godhood by mass slaughtering his followers. He's also the main villain of the adventure path Age of Worms from Dungeon magazine. 

Famous Adventures Set in Greyhawk

I'm going to briefly mention the adventures here, and link their fabulous histories on DM's Guild by Shannon Applecline. I'd suggest giving those a read, I always find them interesting and enlightening!

• Tomb of Horrors: Gygax's famous PC killing dungeon. It has appeared in some incarnation in every edition of the game. It was reproduced in 5e as part of Tales from the Yawning Portal. 
• White Plume Mountain: Prevent the evil wizard Keraptis from achieving his dreams of immortality underneath the volcano named White Plume Mountain. I personally prefer the 20th anniversary update, Return to White Plume Mountain. In fact, I have a 5e conversion on DM's Guild!
• The Temple of Elemental Evil: A famous dungeon crawl created by Gygax. I really recommend reading the history on this one!
• The Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh: This kicks off a series of adventurers in and around Saltmarsh featuring aquatic foes. Many of these adventures were recreated in 5e in the adventure Ghosts of Saltmarsh. 
• Against the Giants: Actually a series of three adventures (G1-G3) that pits the characters against increasingly powerful giants around the country of Geoff. An inspiration for 5e's Storm King's Thunder. D1-D3 Queen of the Spiders is a follow-up once it is revealed that it was the drow that were riling the giants up.
• Expedition to the Barrier Peaks: Also set near Geoff, this adventure is a wild genre mash up where the characters find a crashed spaceship and get laser guns. Pew Pew! It is updated to 5e in Quests from the Infinite Staircase (along with Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth). 
• Age of Worms: The second adventure path published in Dungeon magazine during third edition, it features Kyuss as the big bad. It sits at the top of my bucket list of adventures to run - with Greyhawk coming in the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide, it might finally get its turn. 

Deities of Greyhawk

Here's a quick list of some of the more famous dieties of Greyhawk not mentioned elsewhere. They come from different pantheons, but all are worshipped widely. I've probably left out an important one or two, but these are the ones that I think are most common. I've linked a Wikipedia page with all the gods in my sources. 

• Boccob, Neutral god of magic and all things arcane. 
• Celestian is the good god of the stars.
• Ehlonna is the neutral god of the forests.
• Fharlanghn is the god of travel and the road.
• Hextor is the evil god of war and discord.
• Kord is the neutral god of athletics.
• Nerull is the evil god of those to seek to enrich themselves, with some necromancer vibes.
• Obad-Hai is the neutral god of beasts, nature, and hunting
• Pelor is the good sun god. 
• St. Cuthbert, Good god of wisdom and dedication.
• Wee Jas is a goddess of magic and death. 
• Zagyg is the god of humor, occult lore and unpredictability. 

Further Reading

An excellent map of Greyhawk. 

I've not read many of the setting books for Greyhawk, but the one I have read a good chunk of is the Living Greyhawk Gazateer. I believe it was the last setting-style book published for Greyhawk. It is a good summarization of the world. As an aside, Living Greyhawk was an organized play initiative where Oerth regions were mapped to real world regions, and if you played in D&D organized play, you had to play in the region mapped to where you were playing. I only got to play a couple such games at Gencon, but I always thought it was a fascinating concept. 

If you would like to hear more about either of these topics, Mastering Dungeons has been doing a walkthrough of the Gazateer and reminiscing their experiences playing in Living Greyhawk on thier podcast starting with this episode. 

Next up: I'm going to try to do this for the Forgotten Realms. The Realms is a very expansive setting, so hopefully I don't run out of digital ink...or time!

Sources:

• Greyhawk's Wikipedia article
• Greyhawk fanon wiki
• ghwiki
• Living Greyhawk's wikipedia article
• Greyhawk Online
• Wikiproject Dungeons & Dragons
• List of Greyhawk Deities

Planescape: Turn of Fortune's Wheel Chapter 12: Outlands Explorations 

Chapter 11: Sylvania

Whew, almost done with part 2! This final chapter provides some encounters in the Outlands. I've also provided brief details on the parts of adventure that aren't specifically in the adventure. 

I'm looking forward to finishing running part 2 in early November, and starting on my guide for part 3 then. I will pick this series back up at that time. 

Some notes on timing for the events:

• After the first town, I would run the first part of the Mausoleum of Chronepsis.
• I would run the second part of the Mausoleum of Chronepsis a town or two later, so the first scene is still fresh in the players’ minds.
• I would save the third part until the characters are near the Mausoleum or with only one or two towns left.
• Semaunya’s Bog can go anywhere, but as the adventure suggests, I would use it after a particularly grim town to provide an upbeat moment.
• I skipped Angels in the Outlands because I didn’t like it – the adventure can be silly enough as is.

Mausoleum of Chronepsis

This is a great series of encounters, but my players found it very confusing. I’ll break down the scenes and give some pointers from what I learned by running them.

• Scene 1: Adult Time Dragon
• I liked running this scene as soon as the characters finish their first gate-town, so it becomes clear things will be happening as they travel.
• It begins with a heavy crash as something impacts the caste – it’s a great call to action to start a session.
• Read the box text.
• Renesnuprah is an adult time dragon that seems to know the characters, though they will not recognize her.
• Renesnuprah doesn’t explain that she is a time traveler, though I might let a character figure it out with a DC 20 Intelligence (Arcana) check.
• Renesnuprah leaves the characters with a talisman of the sphere and instructions to “Give this to the one who sees silver.”
• Zaythir can help the characters identify the sphere if needed.
• Scene 2: Time Dragon Wyrmling
• I would run 2-3 more gate towns before running this encounter. My group ran a long single session, so I made sure it happened the same day as scene 1 to give characters a better chance of connecting the dots. 
• Again, good strong start – a panicked cry from outside the castle. I guess no one in this party ever sets an outdoor watch!.
• Read the box text.
• An evil witch named Trikante is after this wyrmling named Renee, who is the younger version of the Renesnuprah.
• Trikante is a great magical researcher who purchased the dragon in Ribcage. The dragon escaped and she wants it back.
• For a little more flavor, Trikante is one of the few remaining members of a Faction known as the Incantifiers. This former faction used to be housed in the Tower Sorcerous in Sigil. Members of the faction could absorb arcane energy as sustenance. They hoard magic items and have silver pools for eyes.
• I would make the following adjustments to the archmage stat block for Trikante to up the challenge and make her seem like a more unique opponent:
• Trikante has maximum hit points (162).
• Swap time stop with a more exotic 9^th level spell the characters may not have seen – maybe blade of disaster from Rime of the Frostmaiden?
• I’d swap lightning bolt with fireball but have her fireballs do force damage.
• The best option for the characters is to trade her an item, and they have a legendary one from a previous encounter with Renesnuprah.
• Here’s the catch – the box text describes Renee as cerulean, which means deep blue, but Renesnuprah tells the characters to give the sphere to “the one who sees silver”. This completely threw my players off. I’d replace cerulean in the description with argent, or even just silver.
• Once the characters deal with Trikante, Renee thanks them and asks if they know where her kind comes from. A character can make a DC 18 Intelligence (Arcana) check to know time dragons come from the Mausoleum of Chronepsis. Or Zaythir can step in with the assist.
• Renee asks the characters to escort her there when it is convenient for them.
• Once she is taken to the Mausoleum, she asks the characters to stay back since dragons are territorial and gives them one of her scales.
• As the characters leave, they see a massive ancient time dragon that tells the characters “Call, and I’ll be there”.

Semuanya’s Bog

This encounter is a good chance to add some levity or a change of pace after one of the gate towns.

• Meeting the lizardfolk
• Read the box text.
• The biggest of the lizardfolk and their spokesperson is named Sesspech.
• The lizardfolk are celestial petitioners, meaning they have died in the mortal realm and ascended to the lands of their deity.
• Note the lizardfolk should try to get the characters’ attention, as they are looking for a lift.
• The lizardfolk have nearly completed a years’ long ultramarathon around the Outlands, and want a ride back to Semaunya’s Bog, home of their deity.
• Semaunya is the god of athleticism, survival, and general physical prowess.
• Sesspech thinks their people back in the bog should be able to help the characters.
• Reaching the Bog
• Read the box text
• Sesspech invites characters to stay in the bog.
• Characters can stay as long as they want and get as many casts of cure wounds, greater restoration, or reincarnate as they want.
• Characters can engage in any of the contests listed while in the bog.
• Here’s some sample reptile trivia questions:
• What is the only species of reptile that has a shell covering its body?
• Answer: The turtle.
• Which reptile has the unique ability to detach its tail as a defense mechanism, which can later regenerate?
• Answer: The gecko.
• What is the largest snake species in the world by length?
• Answer: The reticulated python.
• If the characters win 3 of the 4 games, Semaunya appears. Semaunya thinks everything is awesome.
• Semaunya gives the characters an alchemy jug made from a green dragon skull and blooming flowers that can only produce spring water.
• Semaunya can’t help the characters with any information.

Other Realms

• Caverns of Thought
• Den of mind flayers and similar creatures of the Far Realm.
• Encourage the characters to avoid this area, I don’t think there is a lot here to add to the adventure at this level.
• Court of Light
• The lair of Shekinister, the Three Faced Queen of Nagas. Lots of nagas come here to get information from the Arching Flame, a repository of naga knowledge.
• There could be some value in making the characters converse with the Arching Flame, especially if it can reveal details of past lives.
• Flowering Hill
• This is the realm of Sheela Peryroyl, halfling god of agriculture. If the characters visit, it’s likely there will be a feast they can attend – and maybe it reminds a character of a glitch.
• The Great Pass
• The main route from Ribcage to Rigus. A route as unforgiving at the gate-towns. I’d have an encounter with a bone devil and a number of bearded devils to make a hard encounter given the party level.
• Gzemnid’s Realm
• This is a chance to foreshadow! Make sure you call it out to the characters – maybe each of them have a sense of foreboding, or a glitch or memory of the place.
• Hidden Realm
• Not on the map – I would only consider using it if a character had a tie to giantkin.
• Labyrinth of Life
• Realm of Ubtao, the father of dinosaurs. If they pass through I would have an encounter with a Tyrannosaurus Rex. If the characters can defeat it, they get a blessing of Ubtao that lets then summon an ankylsaurus one time for 8 hours.
• Moradin’s Anvil
• Dwarven mining realm in the mountains under Glorium. It produces the best weapons and armor in the Outlands, and trades with the city above named Ironridge.
•  Realm of the Norns
• Land of divination home to a trio of reclusive seers. Characters might travel here to get glances at their once and future selves.
• River Ma’at
• Busy waterway for planar travelers.
• Characters might run into a unicorn they knew from a former life or encounter a rampaging hydra.
• The Spire
• Use the anti-magic field near the spire to discourage characters from exploring, as they will be back here in Chapter 13.
• Thebestys
• Biggest settlement in the Outlands that isn’t a gate-town.
• Founded by follower of a god of knowledge, reportedly has answers to all things in its library – they just might take several lifetimes to find.
• Lots of philosophical debaters in the town.
• Characters could get frustrated if they end up here and it’s yet another location where they can’t get answers. You should plant a secret for at least one of the characters here.
• Wonderhome
• Divine workshop of Gond, the god of invention in the Forgotten Realms. It is populated with lots of sentient constructs.

#Planescape #DMsGuild #DungeonsAndDragons #RPG 

Planescape: Turn of Fortune's Wheel Chapter 11: Sylvania

Chapter 11:Sylvania

Chapter 10: Rigus

Editor's note: This autopublished on me before I got a chance to finalize it. This is the corrected version!

I'm picking back up posting my in progress guide to running Turn of Fortune's Wheel. I am planning on posting a new gate town each Sunday. I'll have an outline of informatin about each time (including anything useful from 2e and an outline of the adventure as written with any of my own tweaks. 

Notes about Sylvania

• Gate-town to Arborea
• Ruled by seven spiritors that are hard to find and exemplify things like passion, nostalgia, and relaxation.
• Regional effects
• Everyone knows each other’s name automatically and seems to remember each other.
• Inanimate objects make noise along with the beat of the music that pervades the town.
• All creatures have advantage on saving throws against the poisoned condition.
• Notes on running this part of the adventure:
• This gate-town is heavy on role playing. It’s got some fun elements but can feel a bit like a railroad as characters follow the giantess’ whims.
• I used both the drunken cranium rat encounter and the high fiving priests encounter. Both played well with my party and worked to set the stage and provide a break from dealing with the dramatic empyrean.
• Introduction
• Read Titanic Problem box text.
• Spiritor Danai, currently occupying a willing satyr host, wants the characters to babysit Kopoha, and petulant child of a god of storms that is trying to crash her party.
• The characters recognize the spiritor on their own (see above) and know she represents revelry.
• If the characters distract Kopoha from the event Danai is hosting, she will lead them to the gate to Arborea.
• Danai doesn’t know or care about the origin of the empyrean’s mood – she just wants to keep her from crashing the party.
• Kopoha
• Characters first encounter her trying to talk her way into the party at the Yearning Timbers. Characters need to succeed on a DC 12 Charisma (Persuasion) check to lure her away from the party.
• As the characters spend time with her and gain her trust, Kopoha will reveal some of the things that upset her:
• She’s expected to become a god someday, and it’s a lot to live up to.
• She’s very jealous of her sister Alethira, who is better at everything than Kopoha.
• Kopoha dreads becoming a god. What if she becomes a god of something lame, like smelly winds? This could be a great recurring bit of Kopoha imagining herself the god of various lame things, from poor fashion, to smelly feet, to dung sweepers.
• Celebrations: As the characters attempt to preoccupy Kopoha, they attend various celebrations where the characters must manage her mood and size.
• Dryad Dance
• Kopoha and the characters join a group of dancing dryads. The characters must make DC 14 Dexterity (Acrobatics of Sleight of Hand) checks to keep Kopoha from stepping on the dryads.
• If the characters succeed, Kopoha has a great time dancing and shares a “Titanic Pain”.
• Pixie Parade
• The Pixies of Goodberry Grove and partying hard, and if the characters and Kopoha join them they are shrunk down to pixie size (halfling size in Kopoha’s case).
• Kopoha uses her size to show off, and the characters need to make DC 12 Charisma (Persuasion) checks to make her boasting come off as funny or good natured, otherwise the pixies ask them to leave.
• If the characters succeed, the pixies encourage Kopoha, she takes a break after an hour, and shares a Titanic Pain.
• Skull Bocce
• A bunch of undead and goths play bocce in a graveyard with skulls, presided over by Jergal, the enigmatic former god of death in the Forgotten Realms.
• Characters need to succeed on a DC 14 Strength (Athletics) or Charisma (Persuasion) check to help Kopoha win.
• Jergal is a useful tool here. He is a minor god in the Realms who pulls the strings of the major gods. He has a wry sense of humor and seems to always be one step ahead of even the major powers. He could refer to the characters’ predicament or mention an encounter he had with a character in one of their other incarnations. He can also foreshadow Gzemnid or Shemeska’s betrayal.
• Widow’s Henge
• A ring of stones around a fallen menhir topped with a scrumptious feast. DC 12 Intelligence (Arcana or History) to know anyone that eats from the Widow’s Henge will disappear.
• Characters can convince Kopoha to eat the feast with a DC 18 Charisma (Intimidation or Persuasion) check, but it is an evil act.
• Characters who eat disappear and are replaced with another incarnation.
• Closing Time
• If the characters get Kopoha to share all the information in “Titanic Pain”, she reflects and resolves to go talk to her sister after rewarding the characters with a periapt of wound closure. Danai happily escorts the characters to the gate.
• If Kopoha disappears, Danai is displeased but still escorts the characters to the gate.
• If Kopoha goes on a rampage, again Danai is disappointed but escorts the characters.
• I would change this to Danai giving the characters the periapt if they are successful, so that the outcome isn’t the same with the spirit no matter what.

Chapter 12: Outlands Explorations

#Planescape #DMsGuild #DungeonsAndDragons #RPG 

Planescape: Turn of Fortune's Wheel Chapter 10 - Rigus

Chapter 10:Rigus 

Chapter 9: Glorium

I'm picking back up posting my in progress guide to running Turn of Fortune's Wheel. I am planning on posting a new gate town each Sunday. I'll have an outline of informatin about each time (including anything useful from 2e) and an outline of the adventure as written with any of my own tweaks.

Notes about Rigus

• Rigus is linked to the infinite battlefield of Acheron and ruled by six crown generals that strictly enforce rank within the gate-town.
• New entrants to the cities are given gray badges and referred to as “slates” signifying the lowest of military ranks.
• General Braahg, a hobgoblin warlord for Toril, is one of the crown generals. His regret for the lives lost in constant warfare is one of the few things keeping Rigus from sliding into Acheron.
• Regional Affect: Advantage on Charism (Intimidation) checks against people of lower rank, and disadvantage against people of higher rank.
• The populace lives in bunkers. Fetchtatter, an Arcanaloth arms dealer, frequents the bunkers looking for buyers.

The Sealed Gate

• Read the box text as the characters approach. They won’t be able to bring their walking castle close to Rigus – a harmonium captain with fly cast on themselves flies up to stop their approach.
• Read more box text, and town guards ask characters three questions:
• Have you come to join the army of Rigus or proceed on to wars in Acheron?
• What is your business in Rigus?
• Do you have any weapons of interplanar destruction to declare?
• If the characters answer reasonably, they get a gray badge.
• Unfortunately, the gate to Acheron is sealed and the guards are under strict orders to restrict access to “slates” (gray badge wearers). The guard direct inquisitive characters to their commander, Major Kalar.
• Major Kalar
• The major is no nonsense and busy hobgoblin, but he has the chant if the characters can get him to talk.
• The portal is closed after a series of attacks from Acheron.
• Assaults are common but have become much better at exploiting the defenders’ weaknesses than before.
• Kalar fears a spy.
• He will hire the characters to find out how the enemy is getting troop information.
• Kalar will introduce the characters to both captains:
• Sergeant Gauller, a cambion with no idea how the enemy is getting information and paranoid that he will be targeted next.
• Sergeant Luggik, an older woman soldier who has been replaced by a gray slaad equipped with a ring of mind shielding that renders it immune from any thought detection or mind reading magic.
• Ettin commanders from Acheron named Zot and Sotu have the grey slaad’s control gem and are using it to gather information to prepare for each assault.
• Reinforce the defenders at the next attack.

The Attack

• The characters must face off against five berserkers initially, with events occurring on initiative count 0 each round.
• Characters can take an action to make a DC 12 Wisdom (Perception) check to determine if Luggik is feigning an actual battle.
• Once the berserkers are defeated, the characters have one round to recover. If no one noticed Luggik’s fakery, the character with the highest passive perception notices it now.
• Three ettins attack as part of the next wave. Characters can make a DC 16 Intelligence (Arcana) check to realize the armored one wears a slaad control gem and that some slaadi can change shape. I’d make this one check rather than two. If outed, Luggik joins the battle in his true form.

Victory

• If the characters defeat the invaders and uncover the spy, Major Kalar grants them magic items from the armory and lets them attune the mimir to the gate.
• Potential items:
• +1 weapon
• +1 wand of the war mage
• Cloak of protection
• Dimensional Shackles

Chapter 11: Sylvania

#Planescape #DMsGuild #DungeonsAndDragons #RPG 

Planescape: Turn of Fortune's Wheel Chapter 9 - Glorium

 Chapter 9: Glorium

Chapter 8: Faunel

I'm picking back up posting my in progress guide to running Turn of Fortune's Wheel. I am planning on posting a new gate town each Sunday. I'll have an outline of informatin about each time (including anything useful from 2e) and an outline of the adventure as written with any of my own tweaks.

·    Notes about Glorium

o    Everyone is about competition and glory here.

o    Everyone has a weapon and knows how to use it.

o    Creatures in Glorium have advantage on death saving throws.

o    Any time a battle starts, a horn gets blown that anyone within 300 feet can hear.

o    House of Glory: Massive gymnasium home to many games of athletic prowess.

o    Sacred Well: A well frequented by a coven of hags who can give clues about the future.

·    Read box text as characters approach Glorium.

·    NPCs approach the characters and challenge them to games. Flyting is basically old school Scottish rap battling. Here’s some slightly more fleshed out NPCs:

o    Bjorn Ironhand (Arm Wrestling): Bjorn is a burly dwarf with a thick red beard braided with small metal rings. His muscular arms are covered in intricate tattoos of his past victories. Known for his strength and good-natured competitiveness, Bjorn greets the characters with a booming laugh and a hearty clap on the back. "Think you have what it takes to beat a dwarf at arm wrestling?"

o    Thistle Quickfingers (Pin Finger): Thistle is a lithe and nimble halfling with quick, darting eyes and a mischievous grin. She has short, curly brown hair and wears a vest full of pockets, each containing small, shiny trinkets. Thistle is known for her dexterity and challenges the characters to a game of pin finger with a wink. "Fancy a game of nerves? Let's see how steady your hands are!"

o    Greta Goldhorn (Goat Milking): Greta is a sturdy human woman with sun-tanned skin and a warm smile. She wears practical clothing, fit for tending animals, and a straw hat that keeps her dark hair out of her eyes. Greta has a gentle demeanor and a knack for handling livestock. She waves the characters over to a group of goats, ready for a friendly milking competition. "Care to try your hand at milking? Let's see if you can keep up with my goats!"

o    Erik Silvervoice (Flyting): Erik is an eloquent and charismatic half-elf with a melodious voice and a sharp wit. His long, silver hair flows freely over his shoulders, and he wears a finely crafted tunic adorned with embroidered patterns. Erik is a local bard, famous for his verbal duels and poetic prowess. He approaches the characters with a challenging smirk. "Think you can out-rhyme me in a contest of words? Prepare to be bested in a battle of wits, you twits!"

·    Approaching the Gate

o    The Gate to Maelstrom is a mile offshore. Fly or water walk are options, but a boat is the safest route.

o    Asking around leads characters to Bkol Steelbane, captain of the Courier, a jokester giant raven/longboat. I’m not sure how this works – I would treat it more like a living ship with a raven figurehead.

o    100 gp for a ride to the portal or 50 gp if a character beats him in a sea urchin eating contest. Just participating gets his price down to 50 gp.

o    Bkol and the Courier can leave whenever the characters are ready.

·    Whirlwyrm Attack

o    DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check to notice two shapes swimming towards the boat in the water: whirlwyrms (use giant crocodile stat block).

o    Once the whirlworms are defeated a character can update the Mosaic Mimir.

o    On the way back, Bkol shares that the whirlwyrm attack is unusual and could bode ill for the bariaur community of Grakenok. He wants the characters to come with him to talk to the town leader, Tyrza Bonebreaker, when they get back to town.

·    Hero Among Heroes

o    Read the box text. Basically, Tyrza issues a call for heroes to go save Grakenok from potentially rampaging whirlwyrms.

o    Two other heroes step up: Sytri, a masked Doomguard with a carpet of flying, and Tol Frostmane, a boasting equinal with a sailboat.

o    Bkol offers to pilot the characters, and all the heroes take off for Grakenok immediately.

·    Perils at Sea

o    Along the way are distractions that might let the other heroes beat the characters to Grakenok.

o    Lost Dingy: Wisdom (Perception) DC 14 to see a sailor lost at sea on a sinking dinghy. Characters can save them and lose time to the other adventurers or convince one of them to go help him with a DC 16 Charisma (Persuasion) check.

o    Whirlwyrm spotted: Characters automatically spot a whyrlwyrm as the near Grakenok. They can avoid it with a DC 10 group Dexterity (Stealth) check or get another hero to battle it with a DC 16 Charisma (Persuasion) check. If they can’t avoid it, they are delayed.

·    Beast of Grakenok

o    Read box text. A huge whirlwyrm is attacking Grakenok. Use behir stat block with a swimming speed of 60 feet and a breath weapon that does thunder damage.

o    Track damage separately, with Sytri and Tol doing 10 damage per round, and up to a 2 round head start. I tracked each character’s damage individually. If you want a tougher challenge, max the creature’s hit points and have the other heroes do 15 points of damage each round.

o    Once the whirlwyrm is defeated, the characters, especially whoever did the most damage, are lauded as heroes.

o    If the characters do the most damage, Tyra gives them a silver horn of Valhalla and your choice of one of the following:

§  Hat of disguise

§  +1 weapon

§  Cloak of protection

Chapter 10: Rigus

#Planescape #DMsGuild #DungeonsAndDragons #RPG