Demonplague

Opening Questions

Inspiration / D&D, Demonplague, Descent Into the Demonplague Dungeon, DnD, DnD 5e, dungeons and dragons, dungeons and dragons fifth edition, Inspiration, Jeff Greiner, Tome Show, world building, worldbuilding / 0 comments

December 12, 2019

Want to win a free miniature? We’re running a Demonplague contest right now!

Publisher’s Choice Quality Stock Art © Rich Hershey / Fat Goblin Games

I recorded a recent episode of the Tome Show podcast about The Demonplague, and host Jeff Greiner asked me about something I do as a GM. He said in listening to the Demonplague actual play podcast he heard me introduce a few sessions by asking the players questions about their characters. The questions usually had to do with backstory or emotions the characters were feeling at the moment. After the players answered the questions, I awarded them inspiration.

Jeff like this so much that he uses it at the start of each of his game sessions now. He said it’s particularly good for fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons in particular, because he always remembers to give inspiration and his players use it, because they know they’re going to at least get it again before next session.

While this is particular great for D&D, the technique is something you can use in any RPG. If this is the kind of RPG that gives out bennies for good roleplaying, you can award such a thing whenever a player gives a great answer to a question (or simply answers the question if you want to encourage people giving roleplaying a try… but that’s another post!).

Would We Know the Answers?

For many players it is difficult to separate what they know and the knowledge their characters possess. When you ask one character to share a moment from their backstory or how they felt when their father’s sword was stolen, it might be hard for the other’s players to know if their characters also learn what is being shared. Luckily there’s an easy way to make sense of it all.

Player characters are usually friends. They travel to together, share meals, and often LIVE together. Even as they rest in a dank tomb or Hutt prison cell, they would naturally share stories, thoughts, and feelings with each other. Before they answer these questions, tell your players the answers were shared with the group during a meal, travel, etc. You can even have the players ask each other follow-up questions in character!

The Questions

Here’s a list of questions you could ask your players at the start of a session. Use these as inspiration to create your own! Note, they are numbered so you could roll if you like a bit of randomness or can’t think of what to ask.

Last session when you did [DECISIVE ACTION TAKEN BY CHARACTER], what was going through your mind?
How did you get your [OBJECT IMPORTANT TO THE CHARACTER]?
Tell us about an important friendship from your past.
Tell us about an important rival/bully/enemy from your past.
How do you feel about the party’s current mission?
Tell us about a form of art you enjoy and why.
What food or drink do you crave right now?
Tell us about a hobby you have to pass the time.
What is one crazy dream you have?
Tell us about the moment you decided to live your current life (i.e. become an adventurer, criminal, or hero)?
Tell us about an important location from your past.
Tell us about a nightmare you had recently.
Share a story with us about the people or person who raised you when you were a child.
What is one of your best memories?
What is one thing you plan to do when you retire?
Tell us about one of your past romantic relationships.
Tell us a story about a time you were proud of yourself.
Tell us a story about a time you embarrassed yourself.
Tell us something you dread about the future.
Share any story from your past.

Final Thought

You could also use these questions to keep the pace of your game steady, as I’ve written about previously.

If you like what you’re reading please consider supporting me on Patreon, supporting me on Ko-fi, follow me on Twitter, like World Builder Blog on Facebook, check out my podcasts, find my products on the DMs Guild, tell your friends about the blog, and/or leave me a comment and let me know you think. Thanks!

Share this post:

Demonplague Miniature Contest!

General / D&D, D&D5e, Demonplague, Descent Into the Demonplague Dungeon, dungeons and dragons, Fifth Edition D&D, miniatures / 2 comments

November 28, 2019

Hey all! Today is Thanksgiving in the states, so just a few quick updates from me before I eat all the carbs!

First I wanted to announce that I am one of the upcoming writers of MCDM’s Player’s Guide to Capital from MCDM Productions. Matt Colville has been talking about our work on Twitter and Twitch, so if you want to know more, follow him there!

Second, I wanted to talk about a little Demonplague contest Johnn Four and I are having! First, behold this amazing Xancrown (our plague demon cover boy) miniature created by Nickey’s Hatchery!

Johnn is giving away THREE of these amazing plague demon miniatures! The contest is super easy to enter. All you need to do is purchase a copy of the Demonplague then fill out this SUPER EASY Google form. You must enter before December 14, 2019. Johnn will pick three winner on December 15th!

If you don’t have a copy of the Demonplague, you can order a copy at Roleplaying Tips, on DriveThruRPG, or now on Amazon (paperback version only), which is discounted about 27% at the moment. The Demonplague makes a great holiday gift for the Dungeon Masters in your life! Check out the Facebook group and actual play for more information!

Share this post:

First Encounters in the Luna Valley

Brass Tacks / D&D, D&D fifth edition, D&D Next, D&D5e, Demonplague, DnD, Johnn Four, Roleplaying Tips, world building, worldbuilding / 0 comments

December 13, 2018

The Demonplague is on sale in both PDF and print. If you’ve got a hard copy of the book, send me a shelfie on Twitter (because they make me happy)! Last week I gave you twenty new story hooks to bring your characters into the adventure. In this post I give you new encounters you can bring to your game the first time the characters enter the Luna Valley.

Encounters on the Way to Tomar’s Crossing

When the characters enter the Luna Valley for the first time, they’re likely headed to Tomar’s Crossing, the valley’s only surviving settlement, to get some answers about what’s happening in the disaster-touched valley. Depending on the story hook you used to bring your characters to the valley, they may not realize Tomar’s Crossing is the place to seek out answers, and these encounters can help point them in that direction.

The encounters which follow are meant to be used when your characters first enter the Luna Valley. They can be supplemented with the random encounters in the Luna Valley included in The Demonplague adventure.

Baryl Harb Abduction

The characters come upon several humanoid corpses, stripped of their belongings. A character notices the bodies smell faintly of adhesive with a successful DC 8 Wisdom (Perception) check and can tell the bodies have been dead for several days with a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check.

The bodies are stuffed with alchemical glue and laid here as a trap by hidden goblins. If the bodies take at least 1 point of fire damage, they explode with glue, and each creature within 5 feet of the body must succeed on a DC 11 Dexterity saving throw or become restrained in the glue. A successful DC 12 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check made as an action breaks free of the glue.

Two winter goblins and two winter goblin alchemists of the Baryl Harb tribe hide nearby. A character notices the goblins with a successful Wisdom (Perception) check opposed by the goblins’ Dexterity (Stealth) checks. When the characters are within 5 feet of the bodies, the goblins attack, fighting until only two remain then fleeing.

If the goblins defeat the characters, they stabilize anyone who is dying and bring their victims to Fort Frostfell. Captured goblins tell the characters they are capturing displaced people on the road headed for Tomar’s Crossing and holding those prisoners alive in Fort Frostfell for their master Dourkeg with a successful DC 9 Charisma (Intimidation or Persuasion) check.

Refugees on the Road

The characters hear battle in the distance and find three scouts and ten commoners from Safeharbor defending themselves from eight Black Skull bandits. If the Safeharbor refugees notice the characters, they call for help. If the characters do not intervene, the bandits capture the refugees and bring them to Gardong Marhold. If the characters intervene and are defeated by the bandits, dying characters are stabilized and brought to Gardong Marhold.

The bandits fight until three remain then flee. If the characters defeat the bandits, surviving refugees explain that the melt has destroyed all buy one settlement in the valley, Tomar’s Crossing. The refugees are on their way there and beg the characters for an escort. If the characters get the refugees safely to the village, the refugees reward them with a pearl worth 15 gp.

Hungry Wolf

A starving female winter wolf with two levels of exhaustion approaches the characters, asking if they are looking for “the only place of people left in the valley.” The wolf offers to lead the characters to this place in exchange for food. The wolf is dying, as many of her food sources have disappeared in the melt. If the characters give her food to eat, she leads them to Tomar’s Crossing. If not, the desperate creature attacks, fighting to the death.

If the wolf is guiding the characters toward Tomar’s Crossing and the characters run into trouble from another group of creatures, she hangs back, feasting upon fresh kills, and attacking the characters if she thinks they are vulnerable enough to die quickly.

Zombie Feast

The characters come upon two plague zombies devouring a trio of fresh human corpses. If the zombies notice the characters, they attack, fighting to the death. Undisturbed the zombies feast for 1 hour on the body then wander off in search of a new meal.

If the characters examine the bodies, they notice each adult carried several large bags, as if they were out in the valley looking to forage. A successful DC 12 Wisdom (Survival) check finds the humans’ tracks in the mud which lead to Tomar’s Crossing. The humans are refugees from Sweetwater that went off to find food for the camp and were killed.

If you like what you’re reading please follow me on Twitter, like World Builder Blog on Facebook, check out my podcasts, find my products on the DMs Guild, tell your friends about the blog, and/or leave me a comment and let me know you think. Thanks!

Share this post:

20 Ways to Kickoff The Demonplague D&D Campaign

Brass Tacks / D&D, D&D fifth edition, D&D Next, D&D5e, Demonplague, DnD, dungeons and dragons, Johnn Four, Roleplaying Tips, world building, worldbuilding / 0 comments

December 6, 2018

The Demonplague is on sale in both PDF and print. If you’ve got a hard copy of the book, send me a shelfie on Twitter (because they make me happy)! In this post I’ll show you twenty new ways to kickoff your Demonplague campaign!

Extra Story Hooks

The Demonplague has twenty story hooks you can use to start you campaign. Here’s another twenty you can use that kickoff the story with a bit more action than those provided in the adventure.

d20	Hook
1	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley, which is attacked by 1d10 plague zombies. After helping defend the town, a local cleric hires the characters to head into the valley and discover where the zombie’s origin.
2	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley, which is attacked by 2d4 winter goblins. One of the goblins carries a note from Dourkeg which reads, “No more refugees on the road. Leave the valley to find victims for Ralekai,” in Goblin.
3	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley, which is repeatedly attacked by hungry animals (2d4 wolves, 1d4 dire wolves, one polar bear, or one winter wolf each attack). A local ranger figures the animals in the valley are starving and leaving to find food. The town’s mayor hires the characters to discover what’s happening in the valley.
4	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley. A merchant caravan from the valley comes into town chased by 1d4 swarms of zombie rats. The merchants tell the characters about the disaster in the valley and say that the survivors are in dire need of protectors and providers.
5	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley. A cult fanatic and 1d4 cultists from the Cult of Chaos come into town one day, preaching the end of the world has come and started in the valley. The cultists then ask people to join them and begin slaughtering any who refuse.
6	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley. A pair of mud-covered winter wolves with three levels of exhaustion each that once stayed in the valley now stalk the lands outside the town, harrassing people at night. The characters are hired to deal with the wolves. The wolves don’t put up much of a fight and agree to move further north after explaining the situation in the valley to the characters saying more monsters will come if the situation isn’t handled.
7	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley. Earthquakes have been plaguing their home, destroying property and hurting people ever since the comet hit. The mayor of the town hires them to find the source of these quakes likely somewhere in the valley.
8	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley. 2d6 bandits attack the town. If captured and questioned, the bandits reveal what’s been happening with the disaster and that there are fewer and fewer people on the road in the valley to rob these days because all refugees are amassing in Tomar’s Crossing.
9	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley. Four dretches attack the town. A local priest hires the characters to discover from where the demons came.
10	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley. A woman (berserker) dressed in rags comes over the mountains, mud-covered and ranting about a comet, a terrible disease, and dreadful monsters. She then goes insane and attacks anyone she can reach. A local wizard hires the characters to find out what drove the woman mad.
11	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley. 2d6 Ralekai skeletons come in the night and carry off as many people as they can back over the mountains. The characters are hired to save those people.
12	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley. Two decrepit clay golems come over the mountains and attack the town. A local wizard hires the characters to find out where the golems came from.
13	The characters live in a town just beyond the mountains of the Luna Valley. A passing merchant woman on her way to the Luna Valley named Ellie Mircar (Merriath the Quick) hires the characters to come with her to the Luna Valley to find an outlaw named Mara Silver (Kadra Tourmaline).
14	The characters have been hired to work on a merchant vessel headed for Safeharbor in the Luna Valley. Three vrocks attack the ship in the night, killing the crew and leaving the ship to crash on the valley’s north shore.
15	The characters have been hired as guards to work on a merchant vessel headed for Safeharbor in the Luna Valley. When they get to the city, they find it ruins, destroyed by the disaster that has befallen the valley. The characters and ship crew are immediately attacked by 2d8 plague zombies that tear apart their vessel and leave them stranded in the valley.
16	The characters have been hired as guards to work on a merchant vessel headed for Safeharbor in the Luna Valley. Before the ship can get to the city, a comet dust storm envelops the ship, slamming it against the valley’s north shore. The characters are the only survivors and their ship is destroyed.
17	The characters have been hired as guards to work on a merchant vessel headed for Safeharbor in the Luna Valley. After having a terrible shared nightmare about the end of the world due to the demonplague, the characters awake to find the ship’s crew (twelve bandits) have gone mad and are slaughtering each other and jumping into the waves. The ship crashes against the valley’s north shore and is destroyed.
18	The characters have been hired as guards to work on a merchant vessel headed for Safeharbor in the Luna Valley. From the muddy banks of the valley, a starving frost giant with three levels of exhaustion puts several hurled boulders through the hull of the ship, which crashes on the north shore of the valley.
19	The characters meet an adventurer (veteran) coming back from diving into ruins in the Luna Valley. She has tales of the disaster and plenty of newly uncovered dungeons full of treasure, including a stone table with strange writing in Goblin she found. The adventurer’s eyes turn red as she holds the tablet and she attacks the characters, fighting to the death. The adventurers companions hire the characters to find out what is going on in the valley.
20	The characters travel with a sick merchant who was just in the Luna Valley. He has stories of the disaster and being attacked by a strange monster he cannot name (a valok). Sometime later the merchant transforms into a valok before their eyes (make it clear this monster is too tough for low-level characters to handle alone). The merchant’s spouse then hires the characters to find out what infected their loved one.

Share this post:

The Demonplague in Published Campaign Settings

Brass Tacks / D&D, D&D fifth edition, D&D Next, D&D5e, Demonplague, DnD, dungeons and dragons, Johnn Four, Roleplaying Tips, world building, worldbuilding / 1 comment

November 29, 2018

Last week The Demonplague went on sale in both PDF and print. If you’ve got a hard copy of the book, send me a shelfie on Twitter (because they make me so happy)! In this post, I’ll show you where you can set the adventure that takes characters from level 1 – 20 in several popular published settings!

The Demonplague takes place in the remote Luna Valley, a once-frozen landscape now hot and humid thanks to a supernatural comet striking the land. Now one village remains in the mud-soaked valley, Tomar’s Crossing, a place for refugees to gather, monsters to attack, and intrigue to hide! The Luna Valley is packed with adventure locations unveiled by the melt and a mysterious sickness which leads adventurers to dive deep into forgotten places. If you’re unfamiliar with story of The Demonplague, you can find out more by reading the introduction!

The Luna Valley can be dropped into almost any campaign setting with almost no adjustment. While there is an ocean, the Sardon Sea, on one side of the valley, the adventure’s plot does not depend on the body of water. Any remote, mountainous region will do. Here are some of the ways you can work the adventure into your favorite published setting.

Forgotten Realms

The Demonplague stream and podcast takes place in the Forgotten Realms. It is recommended the Luna Valley be placed in the Spine of the World, a mountain range in the northern region of Faerûn. The Sea of Moving Ice makes a great stand-in for the Sardon Sea.

Greyhawk

The Corusk Mountains in Greyhawk are dangerous, ice-capped, and surrounded by the Solnor Ocean. This mountain range is the perfect place for the Luna Valley.

Eberron

Several locations in Eberron feature icy, mountainous regions appropriate for the Luna Valley. The Bluespine Peaks and Dowron’s Shield of Xen’drik make good locations, but some of the best places for the Luna Valley are actually islands of the north coast of Khorvaire. Instead of mountains surrounding most of the region, you could have icy seas on all sides if you set your Demonplague game on Ice Shear Isle, Icewhite Island, or Icegaunt Island.

Nentir Vale

The fourth edition D&D setting of the Nentir Vale is a great place to set The Demonplague. The Luna Valley fits perfectly in the dangerous Cairngorm Peaks of the cozy setting.

Dragonlance

The world of Krynn has several mountain ranges, but the Icewall is the perfect place to put the Luna Valley.

Birthright

In the world Aebrynis the frozen lands of Thaele make a great home for the Luna Valley.

Mystara

In Mystara the Viking-inspired kingdom of Vestland has many mountainous regions the Luna Valley could call home.

Dark Sun

Despite being a mostly desert world, there is SOME ice on very tops of the Ringing Mountains in Dark Sun. The glacier that once sat in the Luna Valley is there for a special reason (read the adventure to find out), so it is entirely possible to place the Luna Valley in these dangerous mountains and have the region even more devastated when the glacier melts and the land’s source of water disappears.

Midgard

Kobold Press’ Midgard setting has a frozen mountainous region called the Northlands, which makes the perfect remote home for the Luna Valley.

Tal’dorei

The now-famous Critical Role campaign setting has a range called the Cliffkeep Mountains. The northern most part of the range extends into frozen lands that make a great place for the Luna Valley.

Pax Unplugged

By the way, if you’re headed to Pax Unplugged in Philadelphia this weekend, I’ll be there too with my pals Rudy Basso, James Haeck, and Hannah Rose. Come say hey!

Share this post:

7b3ea5a01f81310769f2597cc3ea41dd_original

Pre-Order the Demonplague!

General / D&D, D&D fifth edition, D&D Next, D&D5e, Demonplague, Descent Into the Demonplague Dungeon, DnD, dungeons and dragons, Johnn Four / 0 comments

April 12, 2018

If you’ve been following this blog at all in the last two months, then you know that I launched a Kickstarter with Johnn Four of Roleplaying Tips! The Kickstarter did SUPER, DUPER well thanks to all your support, but it only ran for two weeks. I know some folks were sad about that and feel like they missed out… Well good news! Johnn has put a Demonplague pre-order page up on his site!

The Demonplague is an fifth edition adventure divided into four parts that….

Takes characters from levels 1 to 20!
Takes place in a valley that can be dropped into any campaign setting!
Has a player-driven story with tough choices and the world at stake!
Helps new DMs learn how to run a player-driven, open story!
Gives plenty of new content and a great story for DMs who have been playing for years!
Has over 20 new creatures!
Includes a hexcrawl kit to help you run awesome exploration adventures!

The adventure is written and edited, we just need the Kickstarter money for the layout and art. You WILL get this product if you back it. It only runs for 14 days, so if you’re interested now’s the best time to get in.

You can find previews of the work here and here.

Share this post: