#ttrgs

[madcat-world]

DND: Ruined Colossi - Calder Moore

[poptabknight]

is your DnD travel boring?

I don't have a perfect recipe but this is what I do if you're someone who likes running travel in DnD. This is coming from someone who doesn't like random encounters/tables.

For each individual day of travel I do three things:

1. I have one planned encounter that is informative in some way. The players should either learn about the world or learn about a current plot arc in some way. Some examples are:

The players encounter a shrine to the goddess of magic, when they walk within its radius they are all under the "detect magic" spell and can see any magical properties either on the characters or their items.

The players encounter a lost traveler on the road who was recently lost their memories, being affected by the cult that is infesting the next upcoming town.

The players encounter a wild animal caught in a trap by the same mercenaries that are hunting the players themselves.

I also generally don't make these combat encounters unless the players are extremely aggressive and provoke them, I want to instead encourage information and exploration.

2. I roll a dice and associate each number with a player (a d6 if i have 6 players and so on) and I ask the player for one mundane thing that happens that day. They're not allowed to say anything that affects their equipment or the state of the world (they can't say "a benevolent gold dragon swoops down and gifts us her entire hoard") but something unique enough that it deserves to be mentioned. I've heard players say things like "It starts to rain today" or "We spot a herd of wild horses". I will then describe better in detail and explain how it affects the party. Sometimes it'll even call for combat depending on how the rest of the party reacts to it.

For me, this allows a randomness/variety that travel sessions are known for without just randomly rolling for what the party is gonna get attacked by each day. I also really like making my players feel like they are apart of the world and storytelling as well, which this allows for.

3. I fully describe the events that have happened that day, and then I pair two players up randomly and say something along the lines of "you find yourself in a moment of quiet with this other person, do you say anything to each other?" Basically I set up a scene of roleplay for my players. Players can then reminisce on what's happened to them that day or talk about something else if they want. And if other people want to roleplay as well, I let them.

This isnt an exact science and I definitely mix and match and switch up the order where it fits, but this is what works for me! I really enjoy not only worldbuilding and allowing my players to discover it, but allowing my players to worldbuild with me and this method has been super useful in doing that! Feel free to steal and modify however you want.

[truedarkbard]

lol

okokokokokokokokok

so like, you're party aren't noobs. When you realized that you were tracking down a werewolf, you made a pitstop at the nearest sizable town to get your weapons silvered.

Eventually you catch up to the beast, and, after a long and harrowing battle, you get the lycanthrope on deaths doors.

With a firm lunge, you thrust into the werewolf's heart, only to find your weapon slides off the ribcage, mysteriously deflected by some unknown force.

Taking use of your shock, the werewolf lunges forward. You close your eyes, fearing that your time had come, but it merely licks one of the many, many stream's of blood that run down your cloths.

Suddenly energized, the werewolf jumps into the air, where it morphs into a bat and escapes into the night.

BAM! Vampire Lycanthrope. Guess you'll have to silver some stakes now.

[rhaetiadan]

If it tastes yummy and makes me happy it's a potion. If it tastes yucky it's an elixir or tonic. Hope this helps.