Running the Game Summary #1: Your First Adventure

The Delian Tomb has become a popular adventure amongst Colvillians. To be honest, it is not one I have run myself. However, I found several key points Matt taught in this video.

Summary

“You are going to run D&D, tonight, for free, with an adventure that you made. Well, we made. Ok, I made. The principle is the same.”

There are three things you need in order to run D&D: (0:07)

1. Friends (Between 3-4, can do more or less but this is the standard) (0:11)

2. Rules (For your first time use the Basic Rules) (0:17)

- Pre-generated characters (making characters is tough to learn) (0:35)

3. Adventure (1:10)

- 3-4 hours of play is normal (1:40)

- 5-6 encounters in a day (1:45)

An encounter is anything that stops players forward progress and challenges them (1:51)

- Battle (1:56)

- Traps (2:02)

- Puzzles (2:20)

While Matt (at the time) says he would normally draw a map, he recommends a site called Dungeonographer which he used to make The Delian Tomb. (3:18)

Adding a patrol of goblins outside of the tomb makes it more dynamic. The patrol is seen by the party if scout the exterior of the building. If they do not see the patrol, they will be ambushed from behind once the patrol finds the dead guards outside of the tomb. This makes the goblins seem clever and smart. (8:53)

Conclusion

Matt shows us a classic style of making a dungeon, the 5-room dungeon. In this case a 5-encounter dungeon. I felt all the points were a good thing to remember when running an adventure, especially for newer DMs. It is so easy to overprepare, but only a few encounters are needed to make for a fun session with your friends.

There were two main points from the video that stood out to me. The first, using pre-generated character sheets. The second, making a dynamic dungeon.

When I have introduced new players to the game, I have never used pre-generated character sheets. I have always let my players know it was an option, but they always seem interested in making their own characters. I am sure they generally regret that decision once we start, but I do have my own way of simplifying the process. It is a mixture of the class cards that Matt created when he introduced some players to the game and pre-generated sheets. However, to stay on topic I will put that in a later post. Don't worry I already have a running list of future posts, unlike someone else we know. Cough cough.

The dynamic dungeons point is something I need to do more research on. I expect when I design dungeons I keep it uncomplicated, which my players have a hard time with because it doesn't always uphold the verisimilitude I aim for. I will have to find a way to add more dynamism into my game.

What are some ways you all add dynamic pieces to your dungeons? What are your experiences running The Delian Tomb?

If you would like to see anything added to the list or have any thoughts/questions post them in the comments!

Coming next: Going to make a post about my homebrew world, Eblon.