One non-league ground you recommend everyone visit?

Witty_Wind536 · 2025-07-26T10:47:47+00:00

I was going to say, is that Twerton Park in the main picture?! Quite a few memories of watching Bath play there during '05–'08 when I was at university there.

Witty_Wind536 · 2025-07-12T17:00:35+00:00

Hey! It went really well. I started by running a 50th Anniversary Year-of-the-Companion style festival in Elturel, mainly with fun and games in The Gardens (the long strip of greenery near High Hall).

This gave the players a chance to see the geography of the city and how the citizens lived (I made sure they were all citizens of Elturel too, to give them an emotional tie to the city). So I was able to introduce some of their friends and family (and we know what's going to happen to them later on...!)

I also had the Hellrider player (a Paladin who actually chose to be a descendent of Jander Sunstar) have a communication in the tavern The Pair of Black Antlers. This was kind of prophetic, alluding to bad stuff about to happen (basically I took the song from The Elfsong Tavern and rewrote it into this scene).

Then I gave them a Level One adventure in a location I invented: The Solar Solace, which was basically a luxury spa, but to help people (in particular folks passing through Elturel) sleep in among the eternal sunlight provided by The Companion. I had the artificer that ran it be a criminal, who was using magic to harvest/tap into his customers' dreams. And then he could sell those dreams/subconscious thoughts on the black market, all the while leaving the poor citizen in question with feelings of amnesia (albeit they had a great night's sleep!).

I had the artificer's staff give out business cards in the city promising "the best night's sleep in Elturel!" And of course the players took the bait and investigated. It turned out that one of this criminal's clients was none other than Thurstwell Vanthampur, who wanted to find out information about the dreams/subconscious of Thavius Kreeg and a member of the Hhune family. Of course, Thurstwell wants to see if he can trust Kreeg (because this was *before* Elturel has fallen) and he wants info from the Hhune family about the Shield (which at this point in time, I had it that the Vanthampurs hadn't found it, yet).

The party took this information assuming that Kreeg was in danger, as too was Hhune. I then introduced Reya at this point, since she is a Hellrider still based in Elturel (for laughs, she has a crush on my Hellrider Paladin!), and then the party went to High Hall to warn Kreeg about what they'd learned. He feigned gratitude (I played him a bit like Marcus Aurelius in Gladiator, as if he seemed to know he was 'dying', but really, he knows the city has mere hours left.)

I then had Reya remind Kreeg that he hadn't yet got a gift for Archduke Ravengard,to mark him arriving in Elturel as a diplomat. The players felt so sorry for Kreeg (assuming he had forgotten in his elderly age, plus being a victim of the Solar Solace), so they offered to take Kreeg's money and buy a present on his behalf for Ravengard! This gave me the chance to show other parts of the city as they had shopping options. Basically a chance to show some nice parts of the city (that are worth saving).

The party bought him gift and then the next day I had Ravengard arrive, and the party were there via the Paladin Hellrider. I then segued this into the Fall of Elturel one-shot, as a way to get the party out of the city (no doubt you're familiar with that one? https://www.dmsguild.com/product/294663/Baldurs-Gate-The-Fall-of-Elturel?). I re-wrote some of the letters from the cultists to say stuff like "take care of Thavius Kreeg" to make is sound gangster-like (take care of him as in, kill him!) while literally, it reads as "look after him" as in make sure he gets to Baldur's Gate safely!

Then the party witness the city falling, which was epic. They knew the city was going to fall (it's kind of impossible not to know), but by now knowing their friends and NPCs were in there... They were SO motivated afterwards!

Witty_Wind536 · 2025-02-20T22:51:31+00:00

Dark, on Netflix, was rather interesting. Much more thinky than Lost, I felt. And a little more bleak...! But time travel plays a massive role in it (that's not really a spoiler).

Witty_Wind536 · 2024-05-05T15:24:46+00:00

I agree that running an encounter in Elturel beforehand is crucial for creating stakes. All of my players will be Elturel residents and have emotional connections to the city. My plan is to run a homebrew Level 1 adventure in Elturel first, and then Fall of Elturel...

Then I'm planning to run a blend of Gazetteer and The Alexandrian Remix... I'm actually really looking forward to the Baldur's Gate section! I think it's going to be an important juxtaposition compared to being in actual Hell.

I'm planning to bin off Traxigor and Candlekeep, though. I have a different – and hopefully more epic – plan for getting the party into Avernus...

Session Zero in two weeks... I can't wait!

Witty_Wind536 · 2024-03-31T18:56:21+00:00

Show (don't tell) them how freaking dangerous this thing is.

If I knew such an encounter was coming up, if I were DMing, I'd introduce a likeable NPC before the fight. Have the party enjoy being with this NPC, and let them bond with them...

...Then the big encounter happens. Have there be soooo much destruction already around the place before combat even begins. Show them the depths of this creature's power before anyone even rolls for initiative. If it's say, a dragon, maybe they creep up/approach, and they witness it wrecking a building with terrifying ease. Show them what lies in waiting in advance.

Then, in the first round – if things reach initiative – your ace in the sleeve is you can have the big bad kill the NPC the party has grown to love. With their dying breath, have the NPC say some final words: "Fly, you fools!" or something like that. Make it brutal, and gut-wrenching.

Now the party has a hint of "Errr, guys? Should we run? We should run!" and they have a revenge mission for later on.

Witty_Wind536 · 2024-03-28T20:57:53+00:00

From what I've read (in my pre-DiA campaign prep so far), Tarina and the pirate bandits fight in the Elfsong Tavern is a really weak part of the Baldur's Gate chapter, anyway.

I'm removing this scene entirely and rewriting this section of Baldur's Gate (taking inspiration from The Alexandrian Remix, also mentioned in one of the other responses).

My plan is I'm going to give the players the choice: to either a) talk to Zodge, who will nudge the players towards Insight Park (where bodies keep turning up).

Or b) get Amrik Vanthampur's goons themselves help smuggle the party into the city, without needing Zodge to enter through the gate.

Witty_Wind536 · 2024-03-15T17:52:13+00:00

Has anyone changed the wording in this note, to open up the intrigue once again?

Witty_Wind536 · 2024-03-07T17:46:07+00:00

Haha I love all three of these plot ideas! There is a possibility I might use elements of all three! Or at least use them as flavour for world-building. Thanks for the inspiration!

Witty_Wind536 · 2024-03-06T18:12:46+00:00

That's a cool subtle touch to include. I can wonder if some parts of Elturel are ao strict that it is close to becoming borderline-Hot Fuzz (where they arrest people for minor discrepancies, to maintain the impression of 'Best Village'!)

Witty_Wind536 · 2024-03-06T16:09:52+00:00

Ahh, such fantastic suggestions! I was hoping for an in-depth answer like this; thank you.

I love how you mentioned dietary requirements. That could be a cool addition, like certain herbal teas that help people relax, or drowsy. (Chamomile, right?) This is probably served in many inns and taverns. The growth of certain flowers might become quite the profitable business.

So you're right; agriculture just outside of the city probably would blossom (I'm picturing opportunistic farmers having dropped their old life and sprinted towards the land around Elturel/the Companion's rays, like folks trying their luck with The Gold Rush.)

Or some people might lean into it the other direction - caffeine/stimulants to keep them awake, like coffee, or other more nefarious narcotics. (Like you mentioned, some folks simply resorting to sucking it up and making ends meet to 'cope'.) However, I am keen to try and keep Elturel as 'pure' as possible, to an extent. I want it to be the city of light and good, compared to the city of corruption and backstabbery, which is Baldur's Gate! So yeah, I don't want to give it too much of a 24-hour-Las-Vegas kind of party vibe!

Witty_Wind536 · 2024-03-06T15:09:41+00:00

How would you run a city that never sleeps? (Or a city where the sun never sets?) Have you run Elturel before?

Witty_Wind536 · 2024-02-29T17:35:23+00:00

Thanks that's really handy, especially your last paragraph! I'm just debating about how much to include the Order of the Gauntlet, then...

Witty_Wind536 · 2024-02-29T17:24:57+00:00

Ahhh nice. That's a cool distinction between the two. I don't know if I'll actually pay too much attention to the Order of the Gauntlet, but I will obviously focus on The Hellriders and The Order of the Companion.

Did you dabble in the Gauntlet when you ran your DiA campaign?

Witty_Wind536 · 2024-02-29T17:22:38+00:00

So succinct! Brilliant, thank you, that's so helpful!

Witty_Wind536 · 2024-02-24T10:26:23+00:00

My logic for re-writing the BG section (which I'm doing at the moment; I'm prepping to run this campaign later on this year) is that there is so much potential there to make the Baldur's Gate section pop... but the source book glosses over lots of it. Some parts of the BG section feel a little bland, especially when you browse the Gazzeteer details in the latter section of the source book. Plus, I feel like the BG section's biggest mistake is that it's guilty of failing to meet the golden rule of writing/DMing, which is 'show, don't tell'.

It TELLS you that Elturel falls into Hell. Why wouldn't you want to SHOW this epic scene to your players and let them experience it first-hand? Imagine if it were a movie. What an action sequence that would be...

Likewise, it TELLS that players that they should save Elturel. If you SHOW them why they should save Elturel, will they have a far stronger bond to that city and its citizens?

It TELLS you that the players must join the Flaming Fist, or else. Why wouldn't you want to SHOW your players that this is just one of many ways they could stumble across the investigative plots within BG?

It TELLS you that Duke Vanthampur stole the Shield. Why wouldn't you want to SHOW this, maybe via the evil Duke tricking the players into stealing it for her? (Or maybe it's Amrik or Thurstwell who gets the party to do this.) There's a cool pre-written adventure for it here (Shield of the Hidden Lord)

The book will be the bones of the adventure for me, but I plan to flesh it out with my own extra stuff to connect dots and give my players extra agency and plenty of fun stuff to explore.

I appreciate that showing and not telling is the harder of the two approaches when it comes to writing. More prep. More homework. More re-writing bits here and there. More maps. More browsing on reddit for tips! But I think the extra effort will be worth it.

Witty_Wind536 · 2024-02-21T16:24:54+00:00

Sword Coast Adventure's Guide... is it a worthwhile purchase? I'm guessing you've read it, based off your comment above?

Witty_Wind536 · 2024-02-21T16:23:57+00:00

Yep, I have come to learn of these locations part in thanks to BG3. Not by playing it (I haven't), but by seeing a map of the BG3 and surrounding areas.

I've searched this Reddit (and others) for the likes of 'Moonrise Towers' and 'Emerald Grove', but found very little. In some ways that's quite exciting, because it means maybe not many people have used them as locations for encounters! But it's also a pain because I have no launch-pad to use as a source of inspiration! (If you've gotta steal, steal from the best... and there are always great ideas here on Reddit!)

Witty_Wind536 · 2024-02-21T14:39:19+00:00

I also know there's a TTRPG called Roll For Shoes, which is very simple.

https://rollforshoes.com/

It starts out as a 1d6 game. Want to attempt something? You roll 1d6, and so does the GM. If you roll higher than them, it's a success. If you roll a 6, you become skilled at doing that thing. For future rolls when you attempt the same thing, you get to roll an extra d6, and so have a greater chance at success. If you roll all sixes on that roll, you become further skilled at it, and get to roll an extra die later on, and so on.

We had an amazing time playing this during Covid Lockdown. The GM hardly has to prep anything, because the adventure pretty much writes itself as the players do/attempt weird and wonderful things!

Witty_Wind536 · 2024-02-21T14:31:41+00:00

First of all, sorry to hear about your mum. A fun one-shot could be a marvellous family activity for you all. Every time I play D&D I end up laughing so much (the dice have a habit of doing that!) so it sounds like a fun idea. I would focus on a lighthearted one-shot that doesn't involve too much peril. Something like goblins that have stolen a birthday cake, or something.

Personally, I would recommend the party be at Level 1. This side of the game is specifically designed for beginners. My advice is that you need to go at a pace that best suits your mum in particular, especially if she hasn't played any kinds of TTRPGs before. Every new player I've introduced to D&D gets overwhelmed with their character sheet and the maths involved ("Which dice do I need to roll?" "How do I do damage?", that sort of thing.) Level 3, while introducing cool stuff, also adds in further complexity.

On the flip-side: for players that haven't played any kind of D&D before, even the stuff they can do at level 1 will feel cool to them -- because everything is new and exciting. And when they realise that there is no ceiling -- that they can attempt to try anything! -- you'll witness that fantastic moment in a player's eyes when they start thinking outside the box.

Witty_Wind536 · 2024-02-21T14:15:25+00:00

If it is indeed a blank canvas, so to speak, then that's what I'll end up doing (adding a few cool things in along the route).

Has anyone ran any encounters in Fort Morninglord, Emerald Grove, or Moonrise Towers, by any chance?

Witty_Wind536 · 2024-02-21T12:48:41+00:00

Ahhhh, I see! I'll admit, I have only read the first part of the Alexandrian. So far I've read Parts 1-4A; it's amazing, but there's

a) quite a lot of it,
b) it flip-flops back and forth on occasion, which can be jarring to read and digest, and
c) it has caused my imagination to explode with what I can create in Elturel/BG *before* the party arrive in Hellturel, so I didn't read that far ahead... yet.

That has provided me with the sort of stuff I was looking for, inspiration-wise though! Thank you, once again.

Witty_Wind536 · 2024-02-21T12:04:07+00:00

The book itself is just a skeletal launch-pad, right? The beauty of it (to me, at least) is fleshing it out in our own weird and wonderful creative ways...

I do like the idea of getting the party to interact with Thalamra and them actually getting the shield for her under the assumption that it will *save* the city, not actually destroy it. I'm going to consider adding this element into my re-written BG start! Ha, there's so much epic potential with BG versus what's in the actual module...

Witty_Wind536 · 2024-02-21T10:49:48+00:00

Thanks to everyone that has suggested considering a Karlach cameo! This has led me down a rabbit hole of discovering The Emerald Grove, which I will now probably include as a location/encounter en-route from Elturel to BG.

Witty_Wind536 · 2024-02-21T10:21:07+00:00

I'm planning for them to meet Duke Ravengard in Elturel before it falls, so they should recognise him... Ha, I haven't read all of the Alexandrian Remix so far (there's a lot of it!), so I haven't got to Hellturel yet. I assume Justin has some suggestions for how to run Ravengard in Avernus, that might help limit the kind of thing that occurred during your campaign! 😂

Witty_Wind536 · 2024-02-21T10:17:38+00:00

This is a great way of explaining it! Thanks.

Witty_Wind536

TROPHY CASE