Dungeon Master's Guide

-= · I DENTIFY IMPORTANT NPCs
~a ny event-based adventures require a well-detailed
;-t of NPCs. Some of these NPCs fall neatly into the
:. egories of allies and patrons, but most are likely to
:-:: characters or creatures whose attitudes toward the
~ .>.- e nturers remain undecided until the adventurers
-:.ceract with them. (See chapter 4 for more information
;:J. creating NPCs.)
The elements of the adventure you've determined
: J fa r should provide a clear idea of what supporting
:~.a rac ters you need to create, as well as how much
:::: ail you need to generate for each one. NPCs unlikely
J become involved in combat don't need full combat
:::atistics, for example, just as characters heavily
::';olved in negotiation could have ideals, bonds, and
.:aws. If it's helpful, roll on the Adventure Allies or
-. venture Patrons tables (in the "Location-Based
~- ,·entures" section, earlier in this chapter).
- . ANTICIPATE THE VILLAIN'S REACTIONS
'-.s the adventurers pursue their goals and foil the
:.:lain's plans, how does the villain respond? Does it
a-h out in violence or send dire warnings? Does it
ClOk for simple solutions to its problems or create more
:omplicated schemes to route around interference?
Look over the villain's actions that you outlined in
:;·ep 2. For each event arising from those actions, think
about how the adventurers are likely to react. If they
:an prevent an action or hamper its success, what effect
::oes that have on the villain's overall plan? What can
·ae villain do to compensate?
One way to track a villain's reactions is by using a
:':owchart. This might grow out of the timeline that
;:!escribes the villain's plans, outlining how the villain
gets back on track after the adventurers thwart its plans.
Or the flowchart could be separate from the timeline,
·hawing the various actions the adventurers might take
and the villain's response to those actions.
6. DETAIL KEY LOCATIONS
~ ince locations aren't the focus of the adventure, they
an be simpler and smaller than a dungeon complex
or an expanse of wilderness. They might be specific
. ocations in a city, or even individual rooms in locations
·,yhere combat is likely to break out or significant
exploration is needed, such as a throne room, a guild
~ e adq uarters , a vampire's crumbling manor, or a
~ ights' chapter house.
7. CHOOSE AN INTRODUCTION AND A CLIMAX
The Adventure Introduction table in the "Location­
Based Adventures" section offers fun possibilities
:or hooking the characters into the events of your
adventure, including dreams, hauntings, and a simple
plea for help. The Adventure Climax table in that same
-ection includes adventure endings that work just as
well for event-based adventures.
For example, the Adventure Introduction table helps
you decide that an ally the adventurers care about needs
their help. Perhaps the NPC is a knight who believes
that a vampire is trying to kill him, or a friend or relative
hoping to find the knight's murderer. This NPC brings
the vampire's crimes to the characters' attention.
Looking over the Adventure Climax table, you might
decide to have the adventurers bait the vampire with a
chest of jewels stolen from its lair. As an added twist,
you decide that the vampire's true goal is to retrieve a
necklace among the jewels. The necklace is set with
nine gems, and with these gems the vampire can open
a gate to the Nine Hells. Should the vampire succeed,
the adventurers will have a more pressing threat to deal
with, as a powerful devil steps through the gate and
honors some ancient pact it made with the vampire.
8. PLAN ENCOUNTERS
After you've created the overall story of the adventure,
it's time to plan out the encounters on which the
events of that adventure will hang. In an event-based
adventure, encounters occur when the villain's agenda
intersects the path of the characters. You can't always
anticipate exactly when or where that will happen, but
you can create a list of possible encounters that the
adventurers might experience. This can take the form of
general descriptions of the villain's forces, details of its
lieutenants and minions, as well as encounters tied to
the key locations of the adventure.
S ee "Creating Encounters" later in this chapter for
guidance on crafting individual encounters.
MYSTERIES
A mystery is a form of event-based adventure that
usually focuses on the adventurers' efforts to solve a
crime, usually a robbery or murder. Unlike the writer of
a mystery novel, a Dungeon Master can't always predict
what the characters will do in a mystery adventure.
A villain whose actions are "crime spree," "one and
done," or "serial crimes" might inspire you to craft
a mystery adventure around that villain's crimes.
Similarly, if the adventurers' goals include determining
the villain's identity, that might be part of a mystery.
To build a mystery adventure, follow the steps for
creating any event-based adventure. Then consider
three additional elements for the adventure: the victim,
the suspects, and the clues .
VICTIM
Think about the victim's relationship to the villain.
Though you can create a strong scenario with no such
relationship, part of what makes a mystery exciting is
the discovery of the twisted connections between NPCs
and how those connections led to the crime. A random
killing might be just as mysterious, but it lacks that
emotional connection.
Also look for a connection between the victim and one
or more of the adventurers. One surefire way to draw
adventurers into a mystery- including making them
suspects- is to make the victim someone with whom the
characters are acquainted.
SUSPECTS
Your cast of characters should include an assortment
of other NPCs who didn't commit the crime, but who
had the motive, the means, or the opportunity to do so.
CHAPTER 3 I CREATING ADVENTURES
77