D&D 5E need help fleshing out a campaign idea

[pukunui]

Hi folks,

I just started a new 5e campaign, and I could use some help fleshing out one of the main conceits of the campaign. My plan is for it to be an episodic-style campaign, with a series of short(ish), unconnected adventures, mostly culled from old Dungeon magazines and such. However, my players voted in favor of their PCs having a mentor of some kind.

What I've come up with is this: I've begun the campaign using the handful "Trouble in Red Larch" scenarios from PotA. While adventuring around Red Larch (which I've renamed "Larchwood" for my nebulous homebrew world), they are getting to know the local innkeeper, Kaylessa.

I've decided that Kaylessa is actually an adult silver dragon disguised as a half-elf. She is also the guardian of the Swinging Sword Inn's network of magic portals. Part of my reasoning was to clip her wings a bit - she's getting the PCs to go out and do good in the world partly because she can't, having sworn a solemn vow to protect the inn (some of the portals lead to other parts of the world, but some lead to the elemental planes and so on, and so she has to remain on constant guard lest some undesirable creature break through the inn's wards).

Once we've completed the "Tomb of Moving Stones", Kaylessa will take the PCs into her confidence and reveal the true nature of the inn and her role as its guardian, though she still won't tell them that she's really a dragon just yet. She'll then offer to help them unlock their true potential and guide them into becoming true heroes who go out and do good and vanquish evil wherever it rears its ugly head. (And possibly also - unwittingly - help her find more stuff for her hoard as a bonus ... in fact, I'm thinking that at some point, probably in the later levels, she'll want to go and check on her hoard and will ask the PCs to watch the portal network for her while she's gone ... and of course all hell will break loose at that point ...)

The main thing I want to stress here, though, is that the campaign isn't going to consist solely of Kaylessa sending the PCs on missions for her. I want her to be more of a moral compass, providing the PCs with advice/guidance and assistance - and the occasional adventure hook - but only when they need/want it. The PCs will be mostly operating autonomously. The idea is that she instils in them the morals of the silver dragon (do good deeds, don't cause unnecessary harm, and oppose those who openly do evil and harm the innocent) and then sends them out into the world in the hopes of making it a better place.

Sometimes they might go through the inn's portals. Other times they might just go by road. I'm considering making it so that Kaylessa has some kind of magic key that she can give the PCs that will let them teleport (one way only) back to the inn whenever they feel the need to go back there. Perhaps they need a safe place to rest; perhaps they're finished exploring a particular dungeon and want to sell some loot; perhaps they need to abort a mission quickly. I guess this key could function like a portkey from Harry Potter - all the PCs have to be touching it and then someone needs to say the magic words and it whisks them back to the inn. But it's not like a town portal from Diablo - they can't just sell their loot, heal up, and then jump straight back into the dungeon. If they want to go back to wherever they were before, they'll have to go the long way.

I realize this is rather rambling and I haven't really said what I need help with yet. The main thing is: I want the PCs to be free to go off and explore the world, not just the small area around "Larchwood", but I also want them to be able to have easy access to their mentor, the silver dragon. Hence the idea with the one-way teleport device. Does what I've laid out above make sense? Can anyone see any glaring problems with it? Anyone got any suggestions on how to make it better?

Thanks in advance!

Regards,
Jonathan

 

[Jester David]

Have you seen The Lost Room?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lost_Room

If not, shame on you. It's like $10 on Amazon. You'd just waste that money.
Okay, if you have (or are waiting for the order to arrive) one of the magical MacGuffins is a key that opens any door with a lock, and makes that doorway a portal to a room. The titular lost room.

What if the magic item was a key that worked on any doorway and made that door open into the inn? But so long as the door remained open, you cannot leave the inn (not just because the only door leads elsewhere but some magical effect makes the windows sealed. So you can get back to the inn almost anywhere (provided there's a door), and by closing the door you can choose remain in Larchwood, but if you leave the open you can go have a beer and ask some advice and still get back into the dungeon.

It limits its use, as not even dungeon would have doors with locks. And resting would be tricky, since the people in the inn might not fancy being trapped inside or having hostile monsters come through.

 

[Shiroiken]

I would suggest using the portals as access to a plethora of adventures without having to muck around with travel and detailing your world. The patroness would provide the adventure setup and the needed portal. There are several methods of return, each with advantages and disadvantage, so I'd suggest you decide based on the type of game you want to play. Alternatly, you could switch up the method between adventures to keep player's on their toes.

Method 1 - Two Way Portal
Quite simply, the portal works both ways, so the party simply comes back the way they left. This is great for sandbox type adventures, where the party may want/need to explore and return several times. This is less useful for story or event based adventures, where being able to run to safety and return without harm can ruin the effect. It also limits the general use of the adventure, since the players could continue to explore, even after you're done with the adventure.

Method 2 - Portkey
The party is given a magic item that will teleport anyone touching it back to the Inn. This is really useful as a "get out of jail free" type device, but comes at the cost of ending the adventure (players will be hesitant to use it). The downside is that certain types of adventures (where the party gets captured) become impossible. Also, if the party becomes separated, they may choose to leave someone behind, which can cause tension in the group.

Method 3 - Delayed Return
The patron places a spell on the party that will automatically return them to the Inn after a set period of time. This is awesome for story based adventures, because there is a HUGE motivation to hurry. The only downside is the time delay: you could either give the time in advance or keep it a mystery. If things go badly for the party, adventures can be ruined if there's a known time frame. If you keep it a mystery, players may figure out that it's a plot device only, which can be unfun for some.

Also, I would suggest against the dragon patron, and use an immortal, like a quasi-deity or hero-god. Their behavior would be explained entirely by their divine knowledge (that they only share sparingly). Even funnier is if you use some powerful creature (fiend/lich/mind flayer) that is using the PCs as unwitting pawns in some overarching game (but once uncovered, this will probably bring the campaign to an end).

 

[pukunui]

Have you seen The Lost Room?

I'd never even heard of it before. Looks interesting.

What if the magic item was a key that worked on any doorway and made that door open into the inn? But so long as the door remained open, you cannot leave the inn (not just because the only door leads elsewhere but some magical effect makes the windows sealed. So you can get back to the inn almost anywhere (provided there's a door), and by closing the door you can choose remain in Larchwood, but if you leave the open you can go have a beer and ask some advice and still get back into the dungeon.

It limits its use, as not even dungeon would have doors with locks. And resting would be tricky, since the people in the inn might not fancy being trapped inside or having hostile monsters come through.

Hmm. That's more or less the opposite of what I had in mind, but that's actually kinda cool. I'll have to think about it.

I would suggest using the portals as access to a plethora of adventures without having to muck around with travel and detailing your world.

That was part of the idea. There's a portal in the inn's main fireplace that leads to the Elemental Plane of Fire, and one in the bottom of the inn's well that leads to the Elemental Plane of Water. There'll be a portal tapestry like the one in the hunting lodge in HotDQ, and a Narnia-like portal at the back of a wardrobe, and so on.

Also, since this going to be an episodic campaign, I'll mostly be glossing over travel anyway (although I do have a few adventures that involve encountering something on the road).

The patroness would provide the adventure setup and the needed portal.

That's the thing. I'm not sure if I want their patron to be sending them on adventures or not. I don't want them to feel like her pawns. I suppose as long as I present the hooks as adventure leads rather than specific jobs, that might help. Since she runs an inn, she probably picks up on all sorts of rumors and leads from the people who pass through.

Method 1 - Two Way Portal
Quite simply, the portal works both ways, so the party simply comes back the way they left. This is great for sandbox type adventures, where the party may want/need to explore and return several times. This is less useful for story or event based adventures, where being able to run to safety and return without harm can ruin the effect. It also limits the general use of the adventure, since the players could continue to explore, even after you're done with the adventure.

This is the sort of portal I'd like to avoid. I don't want to run a Diablo-style game.

Method 2 - Portkey
The party is given a magic item that will teleport anyone touching it back to the Inn. This is really useful as a "get out of jail free" type device, but comes at the cost of ending the adventure (players will be hesitant to use it). The downside is that certain types of adventures (where the party gets captured) become impossible. Also, if the party becomes separated, they may choose to leave someone behind, which can cause tension in the group.

Yeah, I like the stakes involved with this. I'm not too concerned about the last one, because I'm putting a heavy emphasis on being a team for this campaign.

Method 3 - Delayed Return
The patron places a spell on the party that will automatically return them to the Inn after a set period of time. This is awesome for story based adventures, because there is a HUGE motivation to hurry. The only downside is the time delay: you could either give the time in advance or keep it a mystery. If things go badly for the party, adventures can be ruined if there's a known time frame. If you keep it a mystery, players may figure out that it's a plot device only, which can be unfun for some.

Yeah, I'm not sure I like the sound of this one.

Also, I would suggest against the dragon patron, and use an immortal, like a quasi-deity or hero-god. Their behavior would be explained entirely by their divine knowledge (that they only share sparingly). Even funnier is if you use some powerful creature (fiend/lich/mind flayer) that is using the PCs as unwitting pawns in some overarching game (but once uncovered, this will probably bring the campaign to an end).

I initially considered doing something like the latter but decided against it because I sort of feel like that it's been done enough that it wouldn't be that big of a surprise. I wanted to do something slightly different. Thus the patron is genuine in her motivations but still has a secret - the fact that she is really a dragon. And she can still "use" the PCs to help her collect stuff for her hoard. Metallic dragons like to secret away evil artifacts so evildoers can't get their hands on them. Silver dragons in particular like to collect relics from ancient humanoid civilizations.

I had initially planned on having the dragon be like a noble who is building a museum or something, but when I was doing some background research on Red Larch, I read in Volo's Guide to the North that the Swinging Sword Inn is full of nooks and crannies and secret passages, and there's rumors of portals in the inn or nearby. That gave me the idea of making it a whole portal network, and having the dragon be its caretaker.

The reasons I went with a silver dragon:
a) They're the friendliest of metallic dragons and enjoy spending time with humanoids
b) They have a fairly adventurer-friendly moral code (do good deeds, don't cause unnecessary harm to the undeserving, and oppose those who openly do evil and harm the innocent)
c) They like to collect stuff that adventurers often come across in dungeons

And having her be a dragon allows me to give her an ulterior motive that isn't particularly sinister but isn't purely altruistic either.

EDIT: The trouble is, that by making her an innkeeper instead of a noble, having her be a collector of rare artifacts as well seems incongruous. Perhaps I should have kept her as a noble. But perhaps the incongruity of it could be a clue - this innkeeper is not what she appears to be.