pukunui
Legend
Hi folks,
As part of my new campaign, I really want to stress teamwork. Some of my players have a tendency to go all "lone wolf" on the others to the detriment of the party. My players are also not that good at synergizing their characters' abilities to create effective team tactics.
With that in mind, I'd like to devise a sort of tutorial adventure that is designed not only to encourage the players to work together effectively but is also to get their characters to be more open with and trusting of each other.
For the combat side of things, I've got [MENTION=6776133]Bawylie[/MENTION]'s excellent tutorial dungeon. I'd also like to include some exploration and social interaction pillar stuff, and for that, I'm feeling inspired by the "A Test of Faith" quest from Dragon Age: Origins.
So the idea is that maybe the PCs have to fight their way up through some cultists, only to have to take some tests in an Indiana Jones-style gauntlet in order to get whatever it is they're seeking. In order to keep the tests from being chokepoints, I'd make them fairly open-ended.
So the first test would be conversing with the Guardian, who simply asks the PCs some telling questions in an attempt to get them to open up about their deepest fears, regrets, whatever in front of their comrades. The test here is how willing the PCs are to be honest and emotionally vulnerable in front of their comrades. Even if they refuse to answer, the Guardian will still let them pass.
The second test would involve them answering riddles asked by spirits. If they get a riddle wrong, the spirit attacks. They can pass through to the next test simply by fighting all the spirits if that's really what they want to do, but they'll be rewarded if they make the effort to work together and answer the riddles correctly.
The third test could involve some sort of combat, though I'm wary of making the PCs fight themselves, as that would seem to run counter to the idea of building them up as a team. Unless the point is to *not* fight. Even so, I might skip this one.
The fourth test is some kind of puzzle that requires teamwork. In Dragon Age, it's a platform puzzle, but that would be too easily bypassed in D&D since you can do things the computer game doesn't let you do, like jumping, teleporting, climbing, etc.
The last test is a "trial by fire", where to pass, the character has to strip naked and walk through the wall of fire. Walk through with all your gear and you get burned, and the Guardian appears and attacks you.
Now here's the thing: The PCs are going to have a mentor. Originally I had planned on having the mentor be a silver dragon in disguise, but then I came up with idea of instead making her be a member of an ancient Order of the Silver Dragon. An all but extinct knighthood whose members vowed to uphold the "code of the silver dragon" (do good deeds, cause no undue harm, and oppose those who commit evil acts or harm the innocent; also, seek out lost lore and ancient relics).
I had thought about making the above tutorial a "test" in order to gain entry into the order, but I think in its diminished state, the order's tests would look more like Luke training in the swamps than the younglings training in the Jedi Temple. So with that in mind, I'm thinking maybe it's just a quest that the mentor sends them on with the goal being more one of the PCs learning about themselves and each other - particularly learning how to be a team - than it is about successfully completing a mission and retrieving some lost macguffin or something.
What do you guys think? A copper piece (or two) for your thoughts!
Thanks in advance.
Cheers,
Jonathan
As part of my new campaign, I really want to stress teamwork. Some of my players have a tendency to go all "lone wolf" on the others to the detriment of the party. My players are also not that good at synergizing their characters' abilities to create effective team tactics.
With that in mind, I'd like to devise a sort of tutorial adventure that is designed not only to encourage the players to work together effectively but is also to get their characters to be more open with and trusting of each other.
For the combat side of things, I've got [MENTION=6776133]Bawylie[/MENTION]'s excellent tutorial dungeon. I'd also like to include some exploration and social interaction pillar stuff, and for that, I'm feeling inspired by the "A Test of Faith" quest from Dragon Age: Origins.
So the idea is that maybe the PCs have to fight their way up through some cultists, only to have to take some tests in an Indiana Jones-style gauntlet in order to get whatever it is they're seeking. In order to keep the tests from being chokepoints, I'd make them fairly open-ended.
So the first test would be conversing with the Guardian, who simply asks the PCs some telling questions in an attempt to get them to open up about their deepest fears, regrets, whatever in front of their comrades. The test here is how willing the PCs are to be honest and emotionally vulnerable in front of their comrades. Even if they refuse to answer, the Guardian will still let them pass.
The second test would involve them answering riddles asked by spirits. If they get a riddle wrong, the spirit attacks. They can pass through to the next test simply by fighting all the spirits if that's really what they want to do, but they'll be rewarded if they make the effort to work together and answer the riddles correctly.
The third test could involve some sort of combat, though I'm wary of making the PCs fight themselves, as that would seem to run counter to the idea of building them up as a team. Unless the point is to *not* fight. Even so, I might skip this one.
The fourth test is some kind of puzzle that requires teamwork. In Dragon Age, it's a platform puzzle, but that would be too easily bypassed in D&D since you can do things the computer game doesn't let you do, like jumping, teleporting, climbing, etc.
The last test is a "trial by fire", where to pass, the character has to strip naked and walk through the wall of fire. Walk through with all your gear and you get burned, and the Guardian appears and attacks you.
Now here's the thing: The PCs are going to have a mentor. Originally I had planned on having the mentor be a silver dragon in disguise, but then I came up with idea of instead making her be a member of an ancient Order of the Silver Dragon. An all but extinct knighthood whose members vowed to uphold the "code of the silver dragon" (do good deeds, cause no undue harm, and oppose those who commit evil acts or harm the innocent; also, seek out lost lore and ancient relics).
I had thought about making the above tutorial a "test" in order to gain entry into the order, but I think in its diminished state, the order's tests would look more like Luke training in the swamps than the younglings training in the Jedi Temple. So with that in mind, I'm thinking maybe it's just a quest that the mentor sends them on with the goal being more one of the PCs learning about themselves and each other - particularly learning how to be a team - than it is about successfully completing a mission and retrieving some lost macguffin or something.
What do you guys think? A copper piece (or two) for your thoughts!
Thanks in advance.
Cheers,
Jonathan
