Out of the Darkness, Out of the Box: Chapter 1, Behind the Screen

 

To be clear. Running straight out of the box, this is a tricky start to a Mega Campaign.

Dead Gods has its reputation for a reason: the diverse locations and snowballing threat are exciting and epic. The game involves an amount of railroading that is likely to jar with modern players, and a lot of work is left to the DM. I’m doing some of that work so you don’t have to, but you do it your way. Don’t like my ideas? Don’t use ‘em.

DM’s Fixes

As it stands, there’s some sad stuff happening to some berks you don’t care about, and then the party has to “search” for several hours while you throw random encounters at them. Even if you explain the conceit to your players, the random encounters are mostly so-so and give the players no feedback as to whether they’re on the right track or not. So sod that.

Instead of some randomer, make the first Khaasta victim a character from the PCs’ backstory. This is why we gave our players an employee. So we can ruin their lives. Thus it came to pass that Mercy Hudson, the tiefling employee and friend of our heroes, arrived several hours late to work one day. Mercy is never late. She’s hooded, and accompanied by the elf from the book. She explains that while she’d been heading home from a gig at the Green Mill last night, the Khaasta attacked her. The players should go to the Green Mill and Look For Clues.

If you want the search for the Khaasta to take time, and for the players to get a sense of time passing, you will need encounters of some kind, and a framework to hang them on, and ideally a way of giving your players a sense of progression as they search. So I’ve used taverns. I figured that players would enjoy a pub crawl of sorts, given none of them is from the Lower Ward. Each new location contains a Khaasta victim that was attacked more recently than the last. The main “Theme” I opt for is Portals, because the players haven’t used one yet and they’re going to soon. So describe a few in the background as you go, and that way by the time the players find the Khaasta portal, they’re fucking psyched to have a portal of their own.

Portal Detection Rules

Planar PCs must automatically make a DC10 Perception check when they are near an inactive portal to spot it. On a success, they notice the portal. That's it.

Making Your Own Tavern

Taverns need: A landlord, a building, a particular clientele, food and drink, entertainment, and potentially a doorman. Nail down those details and the rest can probably be improvised.

The Green Mill

It borders the Lady’s Ward but its eponymous mill runs off water from The Ditch. How the fuck does that make any goddamn sense? I decided it’s just a really well-made sluice. Our heroes arrive in time for a song from an emotional half-elf bard. The tavern’s elvish as fuck, check out the Sigil setting books for a description.

Portal: An arch in the Green Mill, just off one of the main areas. Destination: The Beastlands. Key: A blade of grass, wet with the tears of a half-elf.

Tavern Patrons: There’s a half-elf playing a song inside a circular courtyard. Once he plays this final song to his companions, his adventurer friends are taking the portal to The Beastlands on a long and potentially fatal quest. They saw no Khaasta.

There’s a bunch of elves at a long table, various ages. The elders’ eyes feature the characteristic crescent moon shapes of elves at the end of their long lives. Some have heard of the Khaasta, but haven’t seen any.

There’s a half-orc couple quietly playing chess in one corner. The female has had her beauty stolen. The husband is blind, and hasn’t noticed the change – though her voice does sound different. The female lost her beauty on the way home from The Mermaid’s Cups, a nearby table dancing club, at about 2 hours after antipeak this morning. Her husband doesn’t know she frequents The Mermaid’s Cups, and she is highly reluctant for him to find out.

The Mermaid’s Cups

This tavern stands on Alehouse Row, a busy thoroughfare full of workers who’ve just clocked off from the Foundry and are looking for bub and a good time. Entrance costs 1sp. The tavern’s entrance is on the street, but the main lounge is below ground. Heading down the main staircase, patrons will see a stage and catwalk where dancers of various genders and races perform for gold. Private dancing rooms are available. Tonight’s lineup includes the Stone Prince, a male earth genasi; a female dwarf; and Jingle, Sigil’s sexiest kenku. For everyone's sake, save the latter for just as the players are leaving.

Encounter: A male half-elf dancer is in the process of getting fired by the barman, a male tiefling. The half-elf has had his beauty stolen and the landlord isn't willing to give the half-elf a chance. The half-elf had his beauty stolen on the way to work just a few hours ago. He was attacked near his home, near the White Casket tavern, on the border of the Hive Ward. If the party tries to talk to the half-elf, the barman insists they hire a private room (4sp for half an hour) for the chat.

En route to the White Casket, the party sees a pair of cloaked men running for a portal carrying a boot. (In my head, these were the Anarchist arsonists from the supplied random encounter, though I left out the burning building in the end, too much of a distraction.)

Portal: An abandoned doorway in the Lower Ward. Destination: The Guildhall Ward. Key: A boot with three stones inside.

The White Casket

Lying on Ragmongers Lane near the border with the Hive Ward, this area is eerily quiet. The rotting tavern board of the White Casket gently whines in the breeze. Occasional unfamiliar noises punctuate the night. Nearby, the dark towers of the Mortuary reach out through the misty darkness like spiders’ legs. (It’s a mile or so away, and Sigil’s a ring, so it’ll be somewhere prominent in the air, remember.)

Encounter: The party hears a scream in a back alley. It’s the unconscious bariaur victim from the adventure, and khaasta showdown. I changed the crawlspace detail to an abandoned tavern for reasons of sheer personal taste.

Portal: The frame of a large broken mirror. Destination: The Outlands. Key: The breath of a ginger cat (that's right! Encourage your party to get a pet cat! It can stay at home while they go planewalking. Or they can just buy phials of breath if they're wimps). 

The prep took a bit of time, but the main adventure needs a well-planned start. The players followed the trail of breadcrumbs to the portal, and enjoyed themselves while doing it. The campaign diary is condensed into the start of the next post.