Eclipsian77
2017-03-06, 05:36 PM
If you play in Sanctuary and are named Howie, Sam, Tommy, Brett, or Austin, you might not want to read on.
I am a new, inexperienced DM - I'm always looking for advice and tips that others have. I also don't want to dig myself or my players into a corner with where they can go, and so am turning to the hivemind for advice.
This last Saturday, I ran 5e for the first time, with what I feel were mixed results. My players assured me they had fun, and I did as well, but I definitely felt the session could have been improved (the fact that four of the five players are experienced DMs as well didn't help).
I am running a homebrew I worked up, partially because I enjoy the creative process involved and partially because the published adventured make me a little nervous - they seem to have even more to keep track of than a homebrew world. My goal within the world is to keep it completely open - I want the players to determine their own plot, whatever that may be. My goal is to fill in the lines, as it were - to shape the world around them without railroading them into anything in particular.
For convenience I have placed details on the world, the party, and what happened in spoiler tags
The world of Sanctuary is kind of like Terra Nova - the players come from a ruined world, overrun with warring fiends and celestials, where the entire population is confined to one ancient dwarven fortress named Bastion.
They and a number of other adventurers are sent as part of a "second wave" of exploration into the world (after a series of farms and a town dubbed Sanctuary are erected), partially to get rid of those with excessive wanderlust who are causing problems in Bastion, and partially to learn more about this completely new world.
Within the group, we have:
A half-orc ranger (UA variant, I believe he went for Deep Stalker), effecting something of a bandito persona, who is obsessed with gold and collects the ears of his fallen foes. He is primarily ranged, resorting to handaxes as his secondary weapons.
A dwarf fighter (battlemaster), who fought as a (non-lethal) gladiator and is obsessed with glory.
A lizardfolk barbarian (bear totem) who serves as our main tank and direct damage dealer. His player keeps fairly quiet, but they characterize him as pretty hotheaded.
A human artificer (gunsmith) who keeps fairly aloof and acts somewhat like a mad scientist (discredited scientist type).
A lizardfolk druid (shepherd) who acts as the barbarian's voice of reason. They are brothers and venerate the Fey. The player has expressed to me a desire to multiclass into fighter and warlock (fey patron), and as of the time of writing I believe he is a druid 2/fighter 1/warlock 1.
In addition, our fighter has a kobold indentured servant who they have outfitted out and who he intends to transfer to - at the next meet having it kill the dwarf in its sleep (the characters are all pretty amoral).
The Plot:
After something of an orientation wherein the purpose of their expedition is explained to them, the party set off into the new world.
They established that Sanctuary hasn't seen anything more threatening than a few wolves hanging around before they set off.
Around midday, they encounter a band of goblins - actually, the goblins ambushed them. I was expecting some surprise (at least some in character), both at the goblins and the fact that the world had (semi-)intelligent life, but none was to be had. The combat was short and brutal - the goblins didn't last two rounds (my first, and what I feel is my main, inadequacy as a DM - combat). Goblins were looted for (unfamiliar) money and potions, and the ranger collected their ears.
The party then decided to follow their tracks back to their camp or country (I did not provide them much of a map - just a few miles around Sanctuary, so they weren't sure), which I did not expect, but in hindsight I really should have.
They arrived that evening, getting a quick feel of the camp - twice as many goblins as they had encountered earlier were ambling around, readying the camp for the evening - lighting fires, etc. They talked to one, learning about the leader (unbeknownst to them, a hobgoblin captain) and his lady friend (also a hobgoblin). I had aimed for this combat to test them more thoroughly and stretch my combat muscles, to see if I could get the hang of combat, etc.
My players instead diplomanced their way through, the ranger (the only one who spoke goblin) talking his way in to seeing the leader (only later did we realize that he was wearing the ears of this guy's comrades) and learning about the goblins' situation - they were escaped slaves of another nation across the continent, who swiped a couple of ships and caused some havoc on their way out. They crashed ashore and damaged their ships and were currently trying to find the wood needed to repair them - their two expeditions into the woods to the south having never returned.
The ranger then asked if he could talk to the rest of the party, which was granted. Together, they came up with a plan to take over both this world and Sanctuary, using the goblins (and orcs and maybe gnolls) to "save" the other nations and place themselves as the rulers before invading the old world and taking it back.
They then present this idea to the leader, giving him "delusions of grandeur," etc. - he buys it. They also promise to investigate the woods and find the wood he needs for his boats.
As they leave, they run into one of the goblins from the first expedition, covered in webbing and bite wounds - after treatment from the druid (he stocked up on healing kits before he left), he said one word before passing out: : "spiders." The party immediately expects drow (I have something of a reputation among the group).
Here we took a brief break, as I had intended that to be an encounter, expecting them to swoop in and murderhobo the rest of the goblins. Instead they recruited (and effectively defeated) them, earning themselves a boatload of experience. Enough to level up. Twice. After a pizza/leveling break, we got back to it.
They journey back into the forest, delving deeper into it - and run into a pack of giant wolf spiders, martialed by an ettercap. This is when our fighter and barbarian really began keeping track of how many enemies they had killed each.
They continue, the forest getting darker and the webbing around them getting heavier. They enter a clearing in the trees, and in the center was an enormous, building-sized pillar, covered in webbing a foot thick. Upon further examination they see that the pillar is made of white stone, with foliage carved into it with incredible detail. As they touch it, two doors (each representing the Seelie and Unseelie fey, respectively) appear in the stone. They open them and enter.
Inside, the pillar is just one massive chamber, with a spiraling staircase around the edges that then has doors leading off. It is also covered in webs.
Once here, the players fought a horde of ettercaps (which I started too far away from them) and then monstrous spiders, which appeared every time they touched the web (feeling the vibrations from strangers in their webs) - they didn't struggle, but they thought they might eventually be overwhelmed, so the artificer set the webs on fire and basically blew the spiders up while the party took shelter outside.
They reentered, dug through the debris, and claimed the spoils that I had rolled up (oil of slipperiness, ring of swimming, and cloak of useful items). The temple was dedicated to the fey (actually anchoring the feywild to the plane), and pixies and sprites began filtering in through the doorways, returning from the feywild.
A beam of moonlight shone down from the ceiling, encompassing our party, as the Lady of the Moon descended to personally thank the group who had cleansed their temple. She gave each a gift. She let the ranger keep the ring of swimming, she gave the fighter an ioun stone (protection) (flavored as an enchanted piece of rubble), gave the barb a +1 greataxe (which will gain other abilities as he levels), let the artificer keep the cloak, and took on the druid as a vassal as he multiclassed into warlock. The party as a whole asked for her aid with a ship/fleet, which she promised them she would grant them - telling them to look when the moon was out that night.
I understand that this is (lengthy as it is) a very limited viewd, but - what advice would you give a new DM? How could I have better balanced the loot or encounters? What should I do so that, going forwards, I'm not caught off guard by my players' approach to challenges?
I am a new, inexperienced DM - I'm always looking for advice and tips that others have. I also don't want to dig myself or my players into a corner with where they can go, and so am turning to the hivemind for advice.
This last Saturday, I ran 5e for the first time, with what I feel were mixed results. My players assured me they had fun, and I did as well, but I definitely felt the session could have been improved (the fact that four of the five players are experienced DMs as well didn't help).
I am running a homebrew I worked up, partially because I enjoy the creative process involved and partially because the published adventured make me a little nervous - they seem to have even more to keep track of than a homebrew world. My goal within the world is to keep it completely open - I want the players to determine their own plot, whatever that may be. My goal is to fill in the lines, as it were - to shape the world around them without railroading them into anything in particular.
For convenience I have placed details on the world, the party, and what happened in spoiler tags
The world of Sanctuary is kind of like Terra Nova - the players come from a ruined world, overrun with warring fiends and celestials, where the entire population is confined to one ancient dwarven fortress named Bastion.
They and a number of other adventurers are sent as part of a "second wave" of exploration into the world (after a series of farms and a town dubbed Sanctuary are erected), partially to get rid of those with excessive wanderlust who are causing problems in Bastion, and partially to learn more about this completely new world.
Within the group, we have:
A half-orc ranger (UA variant, I believe he went for Deep Stalker), effecting something of a bandito persona, who is obsessed with gold and collects the ears of his fallen foes. He is primarily ranged, resorting to handaxes as his secondary weapons.
A dwarf fighter (battlemaster), who fought as a (non-lethal) gladiator and is obsessed with glory.
A lizardfolk barbarian (bear totem) who serves as our main tank and direct damage dealer. His player keeps fairly quiet, but they characterize him as pretty hotheaded.
A human artificer (gunsmith) who keeps fairly aloof and acts somewhat like a mad scientist (discredited scientist type).
A lizardfolk druid (shepherd) who acts as the barbarian's voice of reason. They are brothers and venerate the Fey. The player has expressed to me a desire to multiclass into fighter and warlock (fey patron), and as of the time of writing I believe he is a druid 2/fighter 1/warlock 1.
In addition, our fighter has a kobold indentured servant who they have outfitted out and who he intends to transfer to - at the next meet having it kill the dwarf in its sleep (the characters are all pretty amoral).
The Plot:
After something of an orientation wherein the purpose of their expedition is explained to them, the party set off into the new world.
They established that Sanctuary hasn't seen anything more threatening than a few wolves hanging around before they set off.
Around midday, they encounter a band of goblins - actually, the goblins ambushed them. I was expecting some surprise (at least some in character), both at the goblins and the fact that the world had (semi-)intelligent life, but none was to be had. The combat was short and brutal - the goblins didn't last two rounds (my first, and what I feel is my main, inadequacy as a DM - combat). Goblins were looted for (unfamiliar) money and potions, and the ranger collected their ears.
The party then decided to follow their tracks back to their camp or country (I did not provide them much of a map - just a few miles around Sanctuary, so they weren't sure), which I did not expect, but in hindsight I really should have.
They arrived that evening, getting a quick feel of the camp - twice as many goblins as they had encountered earlier were ambling around, readying the camp for the evening - lighting fires, etc. They talked to one, learning about the leader (unbeknownst to them, a hobgoblin captain) and his lady friend (also a hobgoblin). I had aimed for this combat to test them more thoroughly and stretch my combat muscles, to see if I could get the hang of combat, etc.
My players instead diplomanced their way through, the ranger (the only one who spoke goblin) talking his way in to seeing the leader (only later did we realize that he was wearing the ears of this guy's comrades) and learning about the goblins' situation - they were escaped slaves of another nation across the continent, who swiped a couple of ships and caused some havoc on their way out. They crashed ashore and damaged their ships and were currently trying to find the wood needed to repair them - their two expeditions into the woods to the south having never returned.
The ranger then asked if he could talk to the rest of the party, which was granted. Together, they came up with a plan to take over both this world and Sanctuary, using the goblins (and orcs and maybe gnolls) to "save" the other nations and place themselves as the rulers before invading the old world and taking it back.
They then present this idea to the leader, giving him "delusions of grandeur," etc. - he buys it. They also promise to investigate the woods and find the wood he needs for his boats.
As they leave, they run into one of the goblins from the first expedition, covered in webbing and bite wounds - after treatment from the druid (he stocked up on healing kits before he left), he said one word before passing out: : "spiders." The party immediately expects drow (I have something of a reputation among the group).
Here we took a brief break, as I had intended that to be an encounter, expecting them to swoop in and murderhobo the rest of the goblins. Instead they recruited (and effectively defeated) them, earning themselves a boatload of experience. Enough to level up. Twice. After a pizza/leveling break, we got back to it.
They journey back into the forest, delving deeper into it - and run into a pack of giant wolf spiders, martialed by an ettercap. This is when our fighter and barbarian really began keeping track of how many enemies they had killed each.
They continue, the forest getting darker and the webbing around them getting heavier. They enter a clearing in the trees, and in the center was an enormous, building-sized pillar, covered in webbing a foot thick. Upon further examination they see that the pillar is made of white stone, with foliage carved into it with incredible detail. As they touch it, two doors (each representing the Seelie and Unseelie fey, respectively) appear in the stone. They open them and enter.
Inside, the pillar is just one massive chamber, with a spiraling staircase around the edges that then has doors leading off. It is also covered in webs.
Once here, the players fought a horde of ettercaps (which I started too far away from them) and then monstrous spiders, which appeared every time they touched the web (feeling the vibrations from strangers in their webs) - they didn't struggle, but they thought they might eventually be overwhelmed, so the artificer set the webs on fire and basically blew the spiders up while the party took shelter outside.
They reentered, dug through the debris, and claimed the spoils that I had rolled up (oil of slipperiness, ring of swimming, and cloak of useful items). The temple was dedicated to the fey (actually anchoring the feywild to the plane), and pixies and sprites began filtering in through the doorways, returning from the feywild.
A beam of moonlight shone down from the ceiling, encompassing our party, as the Lady of the Moon descended to personally thank the group who had cleansed their temple. She gave each a gift. She let the ranger keep the ring of swimming, she gave the fighter an ioun stone (protection) (flavored as an enchanted piece of rubble), gave the barb a +1 greataxe (which will gain other abilities as he levels), let the artificer keep the cloak, and took on the druid as a vassal as he multiclassed into warlock. The party as a whole asked for her aid with a ship/fleet, which she promised them she would grant them - telling them to look when the moon was out that night.
I understand that this is (lengthy as it is) a very limited viewd, but - what advice would you give a new DM? How could I have better balanced the loot or encounters? What should I do so that, going forwards, I'm not caught off guard by my players' approach to challenges?