CaptainSarathai
2016-12-20, 03:47 PM
So my friend is back in the area for the holiday and wants to get the old group together for a D&D game. I figure we only have time for 1 session, so I'll go ahead and DM.
I'm looking at about a 4hr stretch of time, and want to run a solid 1-shot adventure. I expect 4PCs, and I'll either have them at Lvl4 or Lvl6.
The idea stuck in my head right now is for a Mummy campaign. Politically, it's kinda "19th Century Colonial Egypt"
The story I have in mind is that the PCs were sent by the colonial powers to investigate why a few of their field-teams have gone missing. These teams are drilling oil out in the desert, which was once a vast ocean in the prehistoric era. The PCs arrive in a port city and have to work out where the field team was last seen. They are pointed in the direction of a massive pyramid.
I plan to break the adventure down into hourly chunks. So my plan was:
Hour 1
The PCs look for clues in the city, and are directed to 2 dramatis personae. The first is a beduin from beyond the city, who will not take them where they want to go, but offers to sell them the information leading to one who can.
This info leads them to "The Silent Man" - and old, illiterate beggar, who has had his tongue cut out. He communicates that he will take them into the desert.
--Possible Encounters: a Bedouin pickpocket girl, the pursuit of whom leads them to the Bedouin trader.
--Random Wilderness Encounters en-route to their campsite.
Hour 3-4
The "dungeon crawl" kicks off in the predawn hours at an oasis campsite after 2 days in the desert. The last watch notices the Silent Man wandering down to the water's edge. There is a strange smell in the air.
The camp is attacked by Ghouls/Ghasts/Jackalweres or a combination. After the fight, the Silent Man is nowhere to be found, and the rising sun reveals that they are lost and without sense of direction.
Searching for clues or tracks will point them to the mouth of a cave. Wandering inside brings them to the dungeon proper. Further wandering sees the cave system become more organized and solidly carved - they are beneath the pyramid.
The delve into the dungeon sees them encounter many dead adventurers and Bedouins like the one they met in the city.
--Encounters:
-The raiding party outside of camp
-Mummies? Skeletons? Ghouls/Ghasts? Naga? Wraiths? etc
--Boss Fight:
The "Silent Man" is actually a priest, attempting to resurrect an ancient native queen to overthrow the colonials. The oil-drilling has excavated the many chambers beneath the sand and finally allowed him access to the main burial site. He has been sustaining the queen for years by using the blood of his captives; the missing field teams, but also leading adventurers into the desert to be ambushed and dragged here. The Bedouins have been attempting to thwart his plans, but are not strong enough to stop him, and so they put their faith in strong adventurers like the PCs.
My guess is the Silent Man's a Cult Elder NPC. My plan is to have the Queen begin as a mummy and if the PCs don't stop the ritual quickly enough, she becomes a Medusa. Either way, before they can fully kill her, she bursts into a swarm of scarabs and flies away to safety.
Hour 4
Wandering back outside, the PCs find the Bedouin with fresh mounts, healing, food and bad news. The Queen is no doubt preparing to raise her army and attack the city. The underground ocean is connected to all the oases and wells dug, and makes it easy for her "troops" to travel unseen and appear nearly anywhere.
Returning to the city, the PCs find it under siege by the Queen's henchmen. The PCs must thwart the siege and defeat the Queen once and for all.
--
So, what I need here, is help planning gripping encounters that won't kill my players (because I dont have time for rerolling), and won't eat all of my time.
I'm thinking of running the siege scene almost identically to the opening of Tyranny of Dragons, replacing the Dragon with a Dracolich and the duel with the halfdragon as a showdown with the arisen queen.
In terms of encounter numbers, I'm planning that once they're woken by the ambush, the PCs will clear the dungeon with 1-2 short rests, meaning approximately 4-6 encounters.
2-3
Rest
2-3
Rest
Boss Fight
After the boss fight they'll need a long rest. The siege should be another 1, so something like
2 encounters
Rest
1 encounter
Boss Fight
If timing looks like it might be too tight, I can cut the opening urban sequence and even the initial ambush, and just start them at the gates of the dungeon.
Hit me with thoughts and ideas, kids!
I'm looking at about a 4hr stretch of time, and want to run a solid 1-shot adventure. I expect 4PCs, and I'll either have them at Lvl4 or Lvl6.
The idea stuck in my head right now is for a Mummy campaign. Politically, it's kinda "19th Century Colonial Egypt"
The story I have in mind is that the PCs were sent by the colonial powers to investigate why a few of their field-teams have gone missing. These teams are drilling oil out in the desert, which was once a vast ocean in the prehistoric era. The PCs arrive in a port city and have to work out where the field team was last seen. They are pointed in the direction of a massive pyramid.
I plan to break the adventure down into hourly chunks. So my plan was:
Hour 1
The PCs look for clues in the city, and are directed to 2 dramatis personae. The first is a beduin from beyond the city, who will not take them where they want to go, but offers to sell them the information leading to one who can.
This info leads them to "The Silent Man" - and old, illiterate beggar, who has had his tongue cut out. He communicates that he will take them into the desert.
--Possible Encounters: a Bedouin pickpocket girl, the pursuit of whom leads them to the Bedouin trader.
--Random Wilderness Encounters en-route to their campsite.
Hour 3-4
The "dungeon crawl" kicks off in the predawn hours at an oasis campsite after 2 days in the desert. The last watch notices the Silent Man wandering down to the water's edge. There is a strange smell in the air.
The camp is attacked by Ghouls/Ghasts/Jackalweres or a combination. After the fight, the Silent Man is nowhere to be found, and the rising sun reveals that they are lost and without sense of direction.
Searching for clues or tracks will point them to the mouth of a cave. Wandering inside brings them to the dungeon proper. Further wandering sees the cave system become more organized and solidly carved - they are beneath the pyramid.
The delve into the dungeon sees them encounter many dead adventurers and Bedouins like the one they met in the city.
--Encounters:
-The raiding party outside of camp
-Mummies? Skeletons? Ghouls/Ghasts? Naga? Wraiths? etc
--Boss Fight:
The "Silent Man" is actually a priest, attempting to resurrect an ancient native queen to overthrow the colonials. The oil-drilling has excavated the many chambers beneath the sand and finally allowed him access to the main burial site. He has been sustaining the queen for years by using the blood of his captives; the missing field teams, but also leading adventurers into the desert to be ambushed and dragged here. The Bedouins have been attempting to thwart his plans, but are not strong enough to stop him, and so they put their faith in strong adventurers like the PCs.
My guess is the Silent Man's a Cult Elder NPC. My plan is to have the Queen begin as a mummy and if the PCs don't stop the ritual quickly enough, she becomes a Medusa. Either way, before they can fully kill her, she bursts into a swarm of scarabs and flies away to safety.
Hour 4
Wandering back outside, the PCs find the Bedouin with fresh mounts, healing, food and bad news. The Queen is no doubt preparing to raise her army and attack the city. The underground ocean is connected to all the oases and wells dug, and makes it easy for her "troops" to travel unseen and appear nearly anywhere.
Returning to the city, the PCs find it under siege by the Queen's henchmen. The PCs must thwart the siege and defeat the Queen once and for all.
--
So, what I need here, is help planning gripping encounters that won't kill my players (because I dont have time for rerolling), and won't eat all of my time.
I'm thinking of running the siege scene almost identically to the opening of Tyranny of Dragons, replacing the Dragon with a Dracolich and the duel with the halfdragon as a showdown with the arisen queen.
In terms of encounter numbers, I'm planning that once they're woken by the ambush, the PCs will clear the dungeon with 1-2 short rests, meaning approximately 4-6 encounters.
2-3
Rest
2-3
Rest
Boss Fight
After the boss fight they'll need a long rest. The siege should be another 1, so something like
2 encounters
Rest
1 encounter
Boss Fight
If timing looks like it might be too tight, I can cut the opening urban sequence and even the initial ambush, and just start them at the gates of the dungeon.
Hit me with thoughts and ideas, kids!