Over the weekend, I started a 4E campaign for Nolan and his friends. The plan is to take them through the entire Keep on the Shadowfell module, and then probably into Thunderspire Labyrinth, with possible detours into various level-appropriate Delves, or something from Monte Cook's awesome new project, Dungeon-a-Day, if it makes sense to incorporate it into the campaign. If my memories of running campaigns are any indication, they'll find some way to go storming into some tower or sewer or whatever that isn't in the actual module, and I figured I should have at least one Delve prepared, just in case.
I haven't DMed anything in ages, and I haven't DMed 4E ever, so rather than start them out in Winterhaven with the events of H1, I started them out in Fallcrest, and planned to run them through a slightly-modified version of the first level Dungeon Delve. I thought this would be a good way for me to remember how to ride the bike, and a good way to introduce them to the new combat mechanics in 4E. And I'll be honest, here: I love a good dungeon crawl as much as anyone. Because I'm running this campaign for teenagers, I didn't think it was wise to dump them into serious roleplaying right away, and I'd use a play session that was primarily combat-based to get them comfortable with each other as players, and with me as a DM.
We had a lot of fun, and played for just under five hours. I had
planned for about four hours, but I had to spend more time than I
thought I would refreshing my memory in the DMG.
We sat around the table, and I began…
"You've known each other for some time, and train together at a small adventuring school founded by your friend and mentor, Douven Staul.
"For weeks, Spring has struggled to pull the Nentir Vale out of Winter's icy grip, and on this day, it just may have succeeded. The sky is cloudless and the Sun spreads warmth wherever there is not shadow.
"Douven Staul gathers you in his small office, and says, 'One month ago, my good friend Bekar Copperknight learned that a small nearby tower, abandoned for an age, had actually been built by his ancestors. Bekar, like all Dwarves, is proud, and he took a small party of prospectors with him to examine the ruins, before he reclaimed it for his family.'
"Douven pauses, and gives you all a very grave look. 'I have heard nothing from him or his party, and I fear that foul work is afoot. I am needed…' He looks uncomfortable for a moment '… elsewhere, so I have selected you, my brightest and best students, to discover his fate."
I looked up at the three of them while I spoke. One of Nolan's friends made notes as I talked, another grinned back at me. Nolan spun a d20 on the table as he listened. I kept a straight face, but inside I was bursting with joy.
"He gives you a map. On the banks of the Winter River, about a day's journey from Fallcrest, he's drawn a small building. 'The tower is here,' he says, 'you must leave immediately, for I am beginning to fear the worst.'"
"This is what you've been waiting for," I said. "You return to your rooms and gather your gear."
Continued in Part 2…
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oh wil – geek radar is so on for this one – what a great site to behold š . click on my blog link – i have the perfect poster for the adventure š – i’m looking forward to continuing posts from the adventure. D & D FOREVER !!!! ROLL ON !!!!
http://superheroinajohnny.typepad.com
Wow…I wish my dad was that awesome. I’m a senior in high school trying to do everything I can to persuade my friends to get into a 4E campaign.
Sounds like a great campaign! The setup looks terrific. I haven’t played D&D in years…as in 2nd Ed. was still new. My husband recently found his original D&D books (1st ed. red books!), so we broke out his bag o’ dice and he took me through the one-player campaign. I have an overwhelming urge now to go kill some Orcs! Guess I’ll have to content myself playing Final Fantasy IX. Have fun and good luck with the campaign!
Awesome!
I’m generally the DM in the groups I play in, and your setup looks so much like mine. Of course, mine is 3.5 instead of 4 – not because I don’t want to play 4th ed, but because I can’t convince my friends/family that it’s a worthwhile investment.
Good luck with the campaign. My love for D&D, and all things geek really, was inspired by my friend’s father who ran campaigns for us in 6th grade. I’m happy to see you carrying on the tradition – as I’ll try to when my little ones have a few more years XP.
Squeemish glee!
This may sound like a fanboi comment but I’ll post it anyway. I am female, a bit older than you, and maybe because of that I don’t understand quite a bit of the things you blog about. This post being a prime example.
I truly have no idea what a DM is and only thru wikipedia do I know what a d20 is, but I don’t really understand why it is used. I do not get the reason why people think role playing games are fun. Yet…..yet…..I love this post. The details are not important, it is the feeling you convey. You are with your son and his friends and sharing an adventure. Something that may be small in the grand scheme of things but is large in the context of love and family. That is why I read you. That is why I will continue to read these posts I don’t understand. Bravo.
One of the guys in my campaign has that dice bag. š FTW!
A word of caution, I wouldn’t rely on that large glass of vodka you have parked there to keep the game interesting. In fact, I’m *this* close to starting a two drink maximum for one of my groups. The heavy drinker at the table keeps falling asleep after the 2nd hour of playing.
Really annoying to have your Wizard suffer from narcolepsy. I mean, that would be cool if he were ‘roleplaying’ narcolepsy. But not when the player keeps nodding off for real.
Anyhow, it’s really awesome that you are starting a campaign with Nolan. I can’t wait for my two kids to get old enough for me to do that too. We’ll have the best family game night on the whole block! My 5 year old already has her mini picked out for when she gets to play.
Thanks for sharing. š
You make me want to cast something right now….
Very cool thing you’re doing. Looking forward to more!
How can I possibly harbour any respect for a 4e DM? It is for shame. Come back to the side of truth and honour and switch your group to 2nd edition, lest your soul be lost forever! š
Okay, now I have to subscribe to your blog. What’s that you say? You thought I HAD?! Well, Wil, come ON now! We hardly know one another!
D&D–The Great Gap-Closer.
As an old DM’er from the past, reading your post makes me wish I was sitting in on the game with you! Have fun. š
This is actually the highest praise I can receive, and it validates for me one of my key goals as a writer.
I don’t try to make everyone happy, because that’s a direct path to the land of beige, where nobody is happy, but I make a real effort, no matter what I’m writing about, to write in a narrative style that can engage anyone, whether they’re interested in the subject or not.
Thank you!
Hey! That vodka is for the whole table.
Some DMs give out XP bonuses, but I hand out drinks.
(Or it’s just water. Pick whatever makes you giggle more.)
Seriously dude… i’m EXCITED for you!
It’s awesome!
I spent all day today reading the ‘Massacre at Fort Dolor’ – from Dungeon #157. I will be Dm’ing my son and my wife through it – with a few NPC’s and I’m jazzed as hell to do it.
The picture is WICKED! I wish i was there… *jealous*
PRAISE MALORA!!!
NEVER! THAC0 be damned!
Wil, what’s your problem with the Dragonborn?
# Dragons are for SLAYING, not for PLAYING. Take 2d6 steps off my lawn!7:29 PM Mar 13th from web
# There will be no Dragonborn in my campaign. I have to draw the line somewhere, godsdammit.7:27 PM Mar 13th from web
I _just_ started my Dragonborn Paladin, and I’m quite fond of him.
I haven’t done anything remotely tabletop D&D related in ages and ages, so I admit I am woefully out of touch, but…
$25 MSRP for modules? Ouch. Even with Amazon goodness, $20 seems awfully steep. But it’s cool that you’re hooking up the young ones.
I’m a cranky old man, is my problem.
My declaration of no Dragonborn in my campaign should not be taken as any comment on your Dragonborn, or your decision to play him. I’m sure he’s quite lovely.
Now, get off my lawn before your parents get a call from me.
I keep hearing this complaint from people, but I look at it this way: this module, which I picked up for about $25, is going to provide – at a minimum – 15 hours of entertainment for me and my son.
I spend more than that to take the two of us to a 2 hour movie, so it seems totally reasonable to make the investment.
Sounds great Wil! Me and my buddies just moved onto Thunderspire Labyrinth and we had a great time with Keep on the Shadowfell – in the words of our rogue Lenny, Shadowfell Keep is just known as ‘keep’ now :p
The only thing I regret is that PHB2 didn’t come out a wee bit earlier or that we started the second module a bit later so that our newcomer could take advantage of one of those new classes or that I could roll a new character for it.
Oh PS Wil, make sure they add ALL their bonuses for their attack rolls š
Peaceout from Canada!
Have you considered writing your own module?
Oh, hey, I’m not really dogging the price. I’m sure with inflation etc etc it’s actually pretty reasonable. But I think the last module I bought… well, it wasn’t actually a module, it was the first collection of Dragonlance “book” modules, the four that the first novel was based on.
This was at least 15 years ago and IIRC it cost 12 bucks. My issue is lapsed-player sticker shock more than anything else.
Wow.
I’ve been thinking about you a lot since you first Tweeted that you were going to be running a campaign for Nolan and his buds. It’s a very cool thing you’re doing. My very first D&D experience was with my father, and some of my fondest memories of spending time with him were the days when we would play for hours on end, taking a break for lunch, then dinner, then, mostly because it was getting so late, to go to bed.
One never knows the seeds being planted in a situation like this, with your stepson and his friends and all. I envy you your opportunity.
Roll on!
Natural ‘1’! You fumble, now take a shot!
My party would die of alcohol poisoning by the end of our first encounter. š
š
Yep. Remember when video games cost a quarter?
Sigh.
Yeah, but the march of progress et al.
Still, Dragons of Despair FTfuckingW. DL1 baby!
Kinda want to dig that out now…
Very Cool. Hope you have fun. Not to make a plug, but if you are ever looking for help dusting off the RPG rust, you shoudl take a listen to Fear the Boot. http://www.feartheboot.com
Enjoy the Adventure!
I haven’t played since 1991 and even then I was a relative beginner, but I have to say, I miss this, you know? No one I know is remotely interested in playing or has any experience. *heartbreak*
I’m really excited for you, Nolan and his friends. Thank you for sharing this!
Jan
Between this, and the “Jim Darkmagic Experience” I’m totally jonesing to get a game together, and the D&D: Tiny Adventures on facebook just aren’t cutting it.
It’s a shame nobody I know would be willing to sit through a game. I may have to placate myself with Neverwinter Nights. *sigh*
As long as you remember that rolling diplomacy totally works against Dire Rats, we’re all good here. š
Bwahahaha.
I see what you did there.
That is so awesome! That’s all I have to say…
Now you have to record your adventures as a podcast so we can all listen in! š
I hope you enjoy Keep! By hook or by crook, make sure your group encounters the gelatinous cube in the lower level. My current players finally made it there last night. Wow, such DM fun is rare :-).
Have you seen the gelatinous cube mini? It’s hollow, so you can actually put victims inside it!
Yep, I went by the office special to grab one. It was teh awesome!
I ran a short 3E campaign for my 11-year-old nephew over the holidays and drug my wife [uber-jock] her sister [sorority-jock] and his mom/their sister-in-law [voracious reader] in on it to so we could round out the experience for him. He loved it, although we found out his personality tended more toward a thief than the Aragorn-clone ranger we rolled for him. Didn’t like combat, but really liked gold.
I bought my wife Shelly Mazzanoble’s book and now she has been trying to get her sister and her husband to form a group and play. They bought me the 4E Scepter Tower of Spellgard to run, so I’m familiarizing myself with 4E right now. Toatally different. I guess if you’re into WOW or Guild Wars or something like that, it’s a natural fit, but it’s really different from what I’m used to. Like a friend of mine said “If it wasn’t D&D it would be an pretty cool game.”
We’ll see. Enjoyed the post, I look forward to reading more.
Oh jeeze. You’re THAT Bruce Cordell, aren’t you?
I’m totally embarrassed, now, for not catching that.
Thanks for all the insanely awesome work, man! I’m a huge fan.
I am a ginormous nerd when it comes to AD&D and to hear about playing 4th edition makes me want to crap my pants. I think it’s the old age creeping in and the complete and udder horror of change that makes me stick with my trusty 2nd Edition. However I think that playing with your son is a sweet idea and they are lucky to have you teach them one of the best games they will ever play.
My son is going to be six and he already has a little set of dice and watches one of my groups play on a regular basis so he’ll be ready when the time comes. I am not sure what edition I will use when it comes to teaching him, but one thing I do know is that I won’t be teaching him to rely on modules for ideas. Just spongebob Squarepants once said, “It’s all about the imagination”.
Great job letting us in on this wonderful moment between a geek father and nerd son. I look forward to part two and or all the upcoming parts.
Michael
I’m just stoked Wil Wheaton’s DMing Keep on the Shadowfell, are you kidding? š
Hope you enjoy it. Also, been having a blast listening to you on the latest D&D podcasts. It’s hard to be the only roleplayer at the table :-).
I did the same thing this weekend with my wife and daughter (yep you read that right…my wife). Based on Wil’s blog I picked up the three core 4th edition books and Keep on the Shadowfell.
We had an awesome time. My wife, who other than WoW, it not the biggest of gamers had a great time to.
Considering I skipped over 3/3.5 from 1st/2nd it was really like getting back on a comfortable bike. It all came flooding back. In a way im glad I skipped over 3/3.5 as I don’t really have anything other than the original to contrast it against.
Can’t wait for part 2…my families own part 2 resumes this weekend…
I dated a girl who told me that every one of her boyfriends had been DMs.
I didn’t know if that was a good thing or bad thing.
I’m still not sure.
Thanks for the post.
I think it’s so cool that you’re running a campaign for your kid. I love it when families get together and do stuff like this – I get the feeling it’s pretty rare. I remember awhile ago my dad and my youngest brother set up a campaign as a present for my mom, my other brother, and me. The premise was that we were supposed to save this village, but somehow our characters ended up unintentionally destroying it instead. It was a blast. Anyways, hope you had a lot of fun with this. š
Posts about this are going to be so awesome to read š
Just wondering… what will you be using as miniatures and where are you getting them from? If you are planning to use any that is…
You actually touch on a sore subject for me: I hate that WotC makes me buy a whole @!$%ing box of minis, blind, when what I really want is a dozen Kobolds, a dozen skeletons, five Bugbears, etc.
I know that I can go buy a bunch of unpainted minis and make them myself, but I absolutely hate it that WotC has decided that they won’t release a Keep on the Shadowfell pack, or other packs that go with specific modules or sets of dungeon tiles.
It must be some kind of institutionalized thinking there, born out of the Magic:The Gathering business model, or something like that.
I think I spent around $100 on different packs of minis, before I started to feel like a chump and decided that I wouldn’t buy another set from them. This is really stupid business, I think, because I just end up giving my FLGS money for individual figures, so WotC gets zero instead of something from me.
Anyway, to answer your question: I used the little markers that come with the 4E Basic Box set, and a few actual minis for bigger monsters. In the future, though, I think I’ll cannibalize my Descent box for monsters, and use the D&D minis that I already have.
Adventuring school?
I just read my original post. Apologies for being one of the most inarticulate people here. Clearly there is a reason you are the writer and I am not.
I am glad you got the gist anyway.
Oh wow!! (sorry to butt in here)
I *just* finished reading Plague of Spells last night and Wil himself told me about the hollow G-Cube right in time for my group to encounter it in the Keep the following weekend. Wow, did that work out in an awesome way. They’ve been talking about it constantly ever since. š I made them think the room was extra clean because of a protection aura or something, so when an obviously magical sword floated towards them in a non-threatening manner, the Paladin was quick to reach out his hand to accept it…. hilarity ensued. š
Huge fan of your work. Your descriptions of the newly changed Faerun after the Spellplague really helped me set the stage for the 3.5e guys in my group. They *love* 4E and haven’t looked back since. š
I can’t wait for the next book! Thanks so much!
Thanks for this, Wil.
My kids are a bit too young, although my nine-year-old might be able to handle it.
But I am about to re-embark on a DM voyage with a bunch of other forty-somethings, none of us whom have played any sort of tabletop RPG in over a decade.
I’m just the tiniest bit terrified.
I feel like I’m cramming for an exam, what with the way I’m poring over the PHB and DMG trying to learn 4E.
But I can’t wait to get started, either.
“I hate that WotC makes me buy a whole @!$%ing box of minis, blind, when what I really want is a dozen Kobolds, a dozen skeletons, five Bugbears, etc.”
Um, there’s this thing I heard of… it’s on teh interwebs… I think I heard it’s called “ebay” or something like that. ;D
I still don’t get how anybody can have fun playing 4E. Tried it with the family, and we all gave up on it, utterly disgusted, after a frustrating three hours spent in an abortive attempt to build PC’s. (Two nights later, we broke out the old magenta boxed set – and in three hours we not only had PC’s, but had fully explored the Keep and were headed into the Caves of Chaos!)
But, whatever works for ya – as long as everyone’s having fun!