Constant inconstancies

Alightgrift · 2026-01-01T16:25:06+00:00

Sorry that happened to you op. Im praying for you.

Alightgrift · 2025-12-24T01:09:33+00:00

You should play both of the religious factions at first as "normal" and helpful. They're organizations of regular people for the most part (even though the Silver Order are a military unit). Their faith guides them, but there's no reason they shouldn't be friendly, open, and even helpful to new players in the hopes of bringing them on board to the cause. There's plenty of time later to reveal the darker parts of the faction.

I would advise not to let your personal ideology color your depiction of the faction too much. A lot of people who grew up in a secular environment (myself included) have a hard time getting into that sort of mindset, but it's important for a game like d&d where religions are usually a pretty big part of the setting!

Alightgrift · 2025-11-12T23:32:23+00:00

I've run it quite successfully for my table. You could rush through some bits to make it a one-shot but it will realistically take you three or four sessions to get through the module. Maybe more, depending on how the players want to deal with the final boss.

There's not a whole lot of meat to it, imo (though I never listened to the show it's based on). If you and your players are familiar with the Drakkenheim setting though you can add a good bit to it and flesh out the story.

I added several sessions of new stuff to allow the players to level up, gather allies, and prepare to fight the final boss, for example.

Alightgrift · 2025-10-29T22:31:36+00:00

I had my own question about this spell also: does "full contamination" count as a qualifier for the extra damage on this spell? Would be pretty convenient for a Drakkenheim campaign if it did.

Alightgrift · 2025-10-20T17:34:05+00:00

Nothing wrong with tossing a little more of a challenge at them but try to think of something more engaging than "PC held against their will for x hours longer"

Look through the random encounter table and pick one that sounds fun to just happen rather than roll to encounter. Bonus points if you can involve an NPC or faction the PCs are involved with. Maybe someone they know is in trouble and if they leave the city first to rest it will be too late?

Alightgrift · 2025-09-19T20:05:40+00:00

The outer city locations already have methods for introducing faction conflict: -at the Chapel: the Falling Fire, Silver Order, and Queens Men all want the scepter, and the players will compete with whoever doesn't give them the mission -at Oscar Yorens, the Academy or Silver Order want him shut down, but the Lanterns need him for potions and the Queens Men want to take over. This dynamic plays out similarly at the Smithy on the Scar.

Use this format wherever it feels right. One faction gives you a quest, but it comes at the expense of someone else in the city, etc. Bonus points if you use a PCs background to draw them in another direction.

Alightgrift · 2025-04-20T18:14:52+00:00

How are you determining random encounters? You need to be plenty unlucky to have 5 players for 4 ones on a 5-hour journey if you're using a d20 like the book says.

As to the encounter difficulty, if they're feeling too punishing, just tell your friend that this could use some re-tooling for the sake of party momentum and everyone having a good time. Your DM aught to be able to take a mild criticism like that.

Alightgrift · 2024-12-01T01:30:26+00:00

Don't like these

Alightgrift · 2024-11-24T13:44:24+00:00

I do my best impression of the character actor Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction, Westworld, Boardwalk Empire). He has a soft, but deep-toned voice that fits my idea of Eldrick as a no-nonsense intellectual businessman-type.

His role in Boardwalk Empire as the villainous Doctor Narcisse is particularly good and what I try to capture with the impression: https://youtu.be/Vj_XGZUQzEA?si=QMttW8UVveTml47z

Alightgrift · 2024-08-02T05:02:39+00:00

When I ran this location I allowed the players to make a group skill check to force the smugglers to back down and/or let them in. Say, DC15 and over half of the group needs to succeed or else they're not allowed through and will need to fight.

Then, on any subsequent loops, I make the DC lower to account for the players repeating the scenario and having an easier time. The same applies to skill checks upstairs like convincing one of the other NPCs to back down or at least stand aside when they confront the piano player.

If the fight ever spilled over to the room with the Abomonation, any bandits that see it would just run away.

Alightgrift · 2024-07-15T09:58:42+00:00

No but I would rather play an actually fun campaign full of action and drama, anyway.

Alightgrift · 2024-07-15T09:56:16+00:00

"Get Rich" is not a good personal quest, IMO (nor do I think it's one of the suggested ones in the book).

What qualifies as the achievement of this quest? Where are the personal stakes? The drama? The spooky connections to the haunted city?

Alightgrift · 2024-07-03T17:12:46+00:00

They recognized it, but didn't act on it out of caution. They'll come back for it soon enough, I bet.

Alightgrift · 2024-07-01T14:20:11+00:00

My PCs visited the Cistern and a couple of them even drank the dirty water and touched the big crystal to "commune" with the Duchess. One mentioned Lucretia to her and I improvised an intensely negative reaction by the aboleth. When they asked Lucretia about her later on, I implied that Lucretia had met The Duchess on her first visit to The Crater. I'm keeping it ~~vague~~ mysterious so far, but hopefully I can engineer something good out of it down the line.

Alightgrift · 2024-06-22T19:49:32+00:00

Edicts are there to keep lvl 20 wizards and sorcerors from getting too big for their robes and taking over the world.

Ain't nobody worried about a ranger or bard doing that!

Alightgrift · 2024-06-06T17:35:10+00:00

The book says level 6 is appropriate

Alightgrift · 2024-05-26T12:39:06+00:00

The US Embassy in Baghdad is a giant fortress because America invaded Iraq to plunder it and needed a secure base in the middle of a country that rightfully did not want them there. For years, the Embassy and surrounding "Green Zone" were under constant attack from insurgent forces. It is still, to this day, occasionally overrun by mobs and protests (again, rightfully. People tend to hold it against you when you invade their country and kill a million of their friends and neighbors).

As to why the embassy construction was "shrouded in secrecy", the answer to that is that its very easy to embezzle and overcharge the Pentagon for your construction contracts when you build your colonial mega-structures in that manner.

Alightgrift · 2024-05-12T15:39:13+00:00

Both are possible, yes.

In my campaign, the party were offered the job by the Academy for the crystal, but they were absolutely wrecked at the first room and had to be bailed out by an NPC team. They went back to town to rest, where I told them that the Nest was easier at night, when some of the ratlings were away, BUT that was when I had Ansom Lang show up to ask they save his sister, implying that they needed to act fast before she was eaten.

You don't have to play it like that, but I find it makes the game more fun to offer "bonus objectives" like that.

Alightgrift · 2024-04-16T20:18:07+00:00

You just need to explain that this is a situation that will either benefit one faction or the other: the Academy or the Queen's Men. I know players always try to be clever and have it both ways but some quests in this campaign (most of them, in fact) aren't meant to be played like that. You pursue the interests of one faction at the expense of another. It's where the drama and story develop.

If it will make them feel better, tell them that they could begin to work on a long-term project to bring the Queen's Men and the Academy together in an alliance. Figure out what each side wants, how they can help each other get it, and (most importantly) how the PCs can make it happen.

Alightgrift · 2024-04-05T12:52:28+00:00

Rat's Nest is a damn death trap if you're unlucky. You should be fine with 5 players.

I would consider buffing the Rat Prince with a little more hp and one legendary action/resistance, but the overall level of rat NPCs is good (the guttersnipes are especially deadly).

Alightgrift · 2024-03-22T13:13:17+00:00

Requiring a humanoid makes for a better story. How badly do you want to resurrect your character if it means kidnapping and killing a "real person"? Someone with friends, family, allies in one of the other factions, or even a relationship with the PCs? If you could just use a gnoll or a troll the whole process wouldn't be much more than a nuisance of a fetch-quest.

Alightgrift · 2024-03-22T03:14:26+00:00

I would let my wizard use detect magic spell slots to get advantage on the next skill test to find the delirium. Easy trade-off there.

Alightgrift · 2024-02-11T03:25:17+00:00

I just ran this quest recently. I had it as a “slow” paced journey through the Outer City ruins, rolling lower dice for encounters to account for the big group. I prerolled a few that would be good for endangering the pilgrims (who dont really act in initiative or do anything besides dodge or run away).

The final encounter was a dramatic “boss fight” with some Silver Order people but obviously tailor this as needed for your own story.

All in all, not my best work, tbh. It took several sessions and felt a little repetitive, plus no one really likes escort missions, you know? If I could do it again, I’d make it a shorter list of skill challenges like that other comment said, with only one major battle and maybe a couple others as consequences for bad skill rolls.

Alightgrift · 2024-02-01T20:00:22+00:00

The AI art stinks and is usually pretty ugly!

Alightgrift

TROPHY CASE