After 20+ years of Not GM'ing, I was given the chance to lead a three session game, consisting of five player characters, in a setting that I created. The game took place in a mythical land of Guanlong: a magically hidden realm, controlled by an insane Mind Flayer Arcanist. The basic idea was that he would "summon" beings from different worlds, enslaving them, and using them for sustenance, or experimentation.
After being away from gaming for such a long time, I started back up as a player, about seven or eight months ago, playing a Rogue from 5th edition, in a campaign that a friend of mine was game master for. We started playing Tyranny of Dragons, but soon deviated from the path, and kind of went our own way. Some players went on vacation, but some of us didn't and we still wanted to do something, so I offered to GM a short game, to see if I could get back into the swing of leading the game.
I had an idea to read through some pre-written stuff, to make things easier for me, but decided to instead go for some home-brew content, and keep things simple. The story would be more combat oriented, and perhaps have a tad of social interaction thrown in. I really wanted to keep it simple, so that I wouldn't botch this first attempt back with too much to think about. Turns out it was the right decision to make, because I felt that I did a decent job.
I started by choosing a basic setting, something that interested me. I've always loved those old Bruce Lee movies, so I decided to do something asian-flavored. I rifled through the Monster Manual to find something that looked asian, and found that the Gith fit the bill. Along with the Gith, came some other related monsters, such as Grimlocks, Kua-toa's, and the Mind Flayer.
There was a lot more preparation than I had anticipated, and I felt myself thinking an aweful lot about how the game would go, what monsters to choose from, how many, what their stats would be, etc.
In any case, I finally settled on Zombies, Skeletons, Grimlocks, Flesh Golems, and Scarecrows, with the Mind Flayer as boss.
I also had to think about the terrain, because I wanted to give the group some feel of the playing field being more than just a two-dimensional map, so I made them appear on a cliff, and made it possible for them to choose from three different paths: Forest, Swamp, and Desert.
I did have some contingency plans in place, but after the first session, I realized that people are incredibly unpredictable! I learned that the stuff that I want them to do may never ever come up in a game, and so the most important thing would be to present the group with simple situations, rather than any pre-built encounters. Situations, I feel, are easier to come up with, and easier to control how, and when, they come up, and how they flow, overall.
I did find the hardest part of all was the role-playing, and getting into all the different NPC's that come along with the game. Not only do you have to "play" so many different characters, you also have to know what they will say at any given moment, or do at any given time. Perhaps I could have spent more time on creating "situations" for NPC's, and devising a strategy on how to handle the different scenario's that may come up.
All in all, I thought the experience very rewarding, and incredibly entertaining. I found that letting the player's decide their own fate was the key to my success. I presented the party with several situations that would somewhat open, yet still linear enough for me to control. I do think that a one-shot would have been better, rather than a 'short-shot'.
I may or may not GM again, only time will tell, but I will say that it has been a great experience, and one that everyone should try at least once in their role-playing life.
DnD Guanlong Session 3: The Finale!
We last saw the adventurers battle Scarecrows, and Flesh Golems, just outside the palace walls, meeting the Samurai for the first time.
This last session saw us missing another two players: Lokrim, and Thor. At the same time, we were also introduced to another new charachter, Skaar. Skaar is a half-orc barbarian that a friend plays in another game. With Thor and Lokrim missing, I found it suitable to have him enter as a captive, albeit in a weakened state.
So this session saw the adventurers deciding what to do, and how to prepare for the final showdown between them and the Samurai. They correctly took the opportunity to take a long rest, and to check out the occupied cages near the palace. They also checked out some of the cages along the cliffside, quickly realizing that they were all bearing emaciated captives.
After being freed from on of the cages, Draco was able to tell the party that the Samurai was actually a demented Mind Flayer Arcanist who hates magic, and who has imprisoned all of these beings to serve as either food, or to use in some cruel experiments. This mind flayer, whose name is Guan-Long, named this realm after himself, and ironically, uses magic to detect new beings within his realm, after which he sends his flesh golems to capture, and imprison. His mind is so twisted, and the loss of his hive was so great, that he actually severed most of his four tentacles, as penance for using magic, and in hopes that this would serve to help lead him back into the hives acceptance.
So the party checks some cages, and sees that at least on of them is holding Skaar. They soon let him out, and he joins the fight against the Samurai.
Meanwhile, the Samurai is himself preparing for the fight, casting Dominate Monster on Thor, who fails the saving throw, and is put under the Samurai's thrall.
As the warriors are discussing their plans, a Gibbering Mouther emerges from one of the portals, at the base of the palace. The battle is on!
Although they quickly dispatch the mouther, Skaar does take some serious damage, and needs to be healed. During the fight, though, another five Grimlocks emerge from another door, as does a flesh golem! They didn't think I would let them win that easily, did they?
After some time, and after spending some valuable resources, they finally finish off the monsters, only to face a relatively fresh mind flayer.
Although the battle is well fought, they did have to contend with a controlled Thor, and very few resources left to battle the sinister being. The mind flayer did assume some disadvantages though, as he was insane, and did severe his own tentacles, so I did not grant him advantage to his saving throws vs magic. I also limited his own use of magic to telekenesis, and force shield, or wall of force, as well as his various cantrips. Nonetheless, he was a mighty foe!
Even with those weaknesses in place, the warriors did take one hell of a beating, and both Thor and Draco went down. Still, they beat him eventually, with Avacyn getting the killing blow in, as an enraged mind flayer stood towering over a freshly fallen Draco. Caught off guard, Avacyn was able to remove the flayer's spine, ending his evil will over the land.
This last session saw us missing another two players: Lokrim, and Thor. At the same time, we were also introduced to another new charachter, Skaar. Skaar is a half-orc barbarian that a friend plays in another game. With Thor and Lokrim missing, I found it suitable to have him enter as a captive, albeit in a weakened state.
So this session saw the adventurers deciding what to do, and how to prepare for the final showdown between them and the Samurai. They correctly took the opportunity to take a long rest, and to check out the occupied cages near the palace. They also checked out some of the cages along the cliffside, quickly realizing that they were all bearing emaciated captives.
After being freed from on of the cages, Draco was able to tell the party that the Samurai was actually a demented Mind Flayer Arcanist who hates magic, and who has imprisoned all of these beings to serve as either food, or to use in some cruel experiments. This mind flayer, whose name is Guan-Long, named this realm after himself, and ironically, uses magic to detect new beings within his realm, after which he sends his flesh golems to capture, and imprison. His mind is so twisted, and the loss of his hive was so great, that he actually severed most of his four tentacles, as penance for using magic, and in hopes that this would serve to help lead him back into the hives acceptance.
So the party checks some cages, and sees that at least on of them is holding Skaar. They soon let him out, and he joins the fight against the Samurai.
Meanwhile, the Samurai is himself preparing for the fight, casting Dominate Monster on Thor, who fails the saving throw, and is put under the Samurai's thrall.
As the warriors are discussing their plans, a Gibbering Mouther emerges from one of the portals, at the base of the palace. The battle is on!
Although they quickly dispatch the mouther, Skaar does take some serious damage, and needs to be healed. During the fight, though, another five Grimlocks emerge from another door, as does a flesh golem! They didn't think I would let them win that easily, did they?
After some time, and after spending some valuable resources, they finally finish off the monsters, only to face a relatively fresh mind flayer.
Although the battle is well fought, they did have to contend with a controlled Thor, and very few resources left to battle the sinister being. The mind flayer did assume some disadvantages though, as he was insane, and did severe his own tentacles, so I did not grant him advantage to his saving throws vs magic. I also limited his own use of magic to telekenesis, and force shield, or wall of force, as well as his various cantrips. Nonetheless, he was a mighty foe!
Even with those weaknesses in place, the warriors did take one hell of a beating, and both Thor and Draco went down. Still, they beat him eventually, with Avacyn getting the killing blow in, as an enraged mind flayer stood towering over a freshly fallen Draco. Caught off guard, Avacyn was able to remove the flayer's spine, ending his evil will over the land.
DnD: Guanlong Session 2
So in this second session, we were missing two pc's, Lokrim the Fighter, and Draco the Dragonborn bard. I had an idea on how to fit their absences into the story, and I think the session went rather well, despite being down two players.
The heroes last saw themselves fighting a bunch of skeletons, and a minotaur skeleton, a badass mofo with huge skeletal horns. A couple of flesh golems also saw their way into the combat, albeit from a distance, throwing boulders and zombies at unsuspecting warriors, from under the cover of an unnatural sandstorm.
Thor managed to turn several of the undead skeletons, making the fight easier than expected. I had hoped to roll better, but truth be told, my rolls were unusually low this night. Only the minotaur, and one other skeleton remained in battle, along with a flesh golem to the north of them, and another one to the south-east. Draco, meanwhile, was low on health, and fled to the south-east, exactly where one of the golems materialized.
Yes, the golem's, and other baddies, the party soon realized, seemed to materialize anytime magic was used. It was fun seeing some of the players figure this out, and then use different methods to engage the enemies.
The party soon dispatched the remaining bags of bone, but not before Draco had been captured by one of the golems, and unceremoniously dragged to wherever they were going. Meanwhile, Lokrim had left the party under the influence of Genghis, the dwarf they had briefly met earlier, to do who knows what.
After the battle, the party followed the path that Genghis and Lokrim had taken, and soon met up with them (well, only Lokrim), in a cleverly engineered hiding spot, in the side of a mountain. Hidden from view, and safe from enemies, the party took a long rest, and decided to instead navigate the forests towards their destination, but not before Lokrim had told them what he and Genghis had spoken about.
The heroes discover that Genghis is actually a Duergar, changed by the magic of the place, into a neutral being, and not one of pure evil, hence why he is helpful to the party, in odd ways, like allowing them to use this safe haven.
After the rest, the party decides to head into the forest. As dm, I had planned some encounters here with kuo-toa and another more hideous beast. But pressed for time, and due to the nature of the short campaign (as well, as being inexperienced with water fighting), I decided to forego the forest fight, and head directly to the "pre-main-battle".
The group found themselves at the bottom of a great chasm, opposite a wall of cages, where it looks like beings are held captive. In fact, their lost friend, Draco, is seen being put into one of those cages by a flesh golem. The top of the cliff is about 100ft high, and the chasm is at least 25 feet across. The walls to the palace are scalable, but since they are made of polished stone, the climb would be exhausting, so the party decides to split the party into a group of one, and another group of two.
Bad on me, I forgot about the absent party member, Lokrim. But in hindsight, and how the story will unfold, this kind of makes sense.
Thor decides to be Thor, and heads directly to Draco, crossing the questionable rope bridge (it doesn't break, and never was meant to, but it was entertaining to hear the group chatter about the possibilities of using this rope bridge somehow). Avacyn, and Lazarus (a Warlock replacing Guruuk), head right down the pipe, across a great bridge constructed of redwood trees, and rope.
To everyone's surprise, none of the beasts seem to notice them until they cross over into the palace territory, which is guarded by six scarecrows.
Naturally, the spellcasters of the party cast some spells, which, of course, causes flesh golems to materialize. This time only one golem materializes, guarding the bridge from retreat, but does not engage in combat, even though it had been attacked.
In the end, the party dispatches the scarecrows, with some good use of the battleground, and finally meets the "Samurai".
The Samurai telepathically speaks to them, suggesting that they rest and regroup, to prepare for an encounter between them and him. Although they could not notice anything specific about the Samurai, Avacyn did notice that he is equiped with a familiar looking Katana.
Hopefully the players enjoyed the session, as I was better prepared, and felt more comfortable rolling dice, and leading gameplay (to a small extent). Hopefully the finale will be one to remember!
The heroes last saw themselves fighting a bunch of skeletons, and a minotaur skeleton, a badass mofo with huge skeletal horns. A couple of flesh golems also saw their way into the combat, albeit from a distance, throwing boulders and zombies at unsuspecting warriors, from under the cover of an unnatural sandstorm.
Thor managed to turn several of the undead skeletons, making the fight easier than expected. I had hoped to roll better, but truth be told, my rolls were unusually low this night. Only the minotaur, and one other skeleton remained in battle, along with a flesh golem to the north of them, and another one to the south-east. Draco, meanwhile, was low on health, and fled to the south-east, exactly where one of the golems materialized.
Yes, the golem's, and other baddies, the party soon realized, seemed to materialize anytime magic was used. It was fun seeing some of the players figure this out, and then use different methods to engage the enemies.
The party soon dispatched the remaining bags of bone, but not before Draco had been captured by one of the golems, and unceremoniously dragged to wherever they were going. Meanwhile, Lokrim had left the party under the influence of Genghis, the dwarf they had briefly met earlier, to do who knows what.
After the battle, the party followed the path that Genghis and Lokrim had taken, and soon met up with them (well, only Lokrim), in a cleverly engineered hiding spot, in the side of a mountain. Hidden from view, and safe from enemies, the party took a long rest, and decided to instead navigate the forests towards their destination, but not before Lokrim had told them what he and Genghis had spoken about.
The heroes discover that Genghis is actually a Duergar, changed by the magic of the place, into a neutral being, and not one of pure evil, hence why he is helpful to the party, in odd ways, like allowing them to use this safe haven.
After the rest, the party decides to head into the forest. As dm, I had planned some encounters here with kuo-toa and another more hideous beast. But pressed for time, and due to the nature of the short campaign (as well, as being inexperienced with water fighting), I decided to forego the forest fight, and head directly to the "pre-main-battle".
The group found themselves at the bottom of a great chasm, opposite a wall of cages, where it looks like beings are held captive. In fact, their lost friend, Draco, is seen being put into one of those cages by a flesh golem. The top of the cliff is about 100ft high, and the chasm is at least 25 feet across. The walls to the palace are scalable, but since they are made of polished stone, the climb would be exhausting, so the party decides to split the party into a group of one, and another group of two.
Bad on me, I forgot about the absent party member, Lokrim. But in hindsight, and how the story will unfold, this kind of makes sense.
Thor decides to be Thor, and heads directly to Draco, crossing the questionable rope bridge (it doesn't break, and never was meant to, but it was entertaining to hear the group chatter about the possibilities of using this rope bridge somehow). Avacyn, and Lazarus (a Warlock replacing Guruuk), head right down the pipe, across a great bridge constructed of redwood trees, and rope.
To everyone's surprise, none of the beasts seem to notice them until they cross over into the palace territory, which is guarded by six scarecrows.
Naturally, the spellcasters of the party cast some spells, which, of course, causes flesh golems to materialize. This time only one golem materializes, guarding the bridge from retreat, but does not engage in combat, even though it had been attacked.
In the end, the party dispatches the scarecrows, with some good use of the battleground, and finally meets the "Samurai".
The Samurai telepathically speaks to them, suggesting that they rest and regroup, to prepare for an encounter between them and him. Although they could not notice anything specific about the Samurai, Avacyn did notice that he is equiped with a familiar looking Katana.
Hopefully the players enjoyed the session, as I was better prepared, and felt more comfortable rolling dice, and leading gameplay (to a small extent). Hopefully the finale will be one to remember!
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