By Joseph M. Reilly
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By Joseph M. Reilly Your party is thrown into the deadliest game in the multiverse. Can they make it out alive? A Six-Hour Adventure for Tier 3 Characters (11-16). DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, Wizards of the Coast, Forgotten Realms, the dragon ampersand, Player’s Handbook, Monster Manual, Dungeon Master’s Guide, D&D Adventurers League, all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the USA and other countries. All characters and their distinctive likenesses are property of Wizards of the Coast. This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast. ©2019Sample Wizards of the Coast LLC, PO Box 707, Renton, WA 98057-0707, USA. Manufactured by Hasbro SA, Rue Emile-Boéchat 31, 2800 Delémont, CH. Representedfile by Hasbro Europe, 4 The Square, Stockley Park, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UB11 1ET, UK. Adventure Primer This adventure is designed for three to seven 11th to 16th-level characters and is optimized for five characters with an average party level of 13. Characters outside this level range can certainly participate but encounters will need to be scaled appropriately. This adventure occurs in a demiplane that is easily transferrable to any canonical or homebrew setting. The party has caught the eye of a powerful entity who has “invited” them to participate in a bloody battle to the death against 19 other parties. The last team standing wins eternal fame, while the rest are never to be seen again. Background By the time a party reaches Tier 3 content, they are considered “masters of their realm” by the Dungeon Master’s Guide. They have likely saved their plane from destruction, stopped a mad lich’s death curse, defeated a notable vampire lord, or achieved something of similar caliber. While those kinds of exploits can grant fame and fortune, they can also draw more sinister attention. Your party’s recent deeds have drawn just this kind of attention from a powerful entity. In this document they are referred to as the Game Master, a dangerous wizard with too much free time and a penchant for blood sport. For your party, however, you may want to pick a mastermind more closely tied to a campaign they finished. A party that recently finished Baldur's Gate: Descent into Avernus may have caught the eye of an archdevil such as Dispater. A party deep into Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage may instead find themselves the plaything of Hallaster Blackcloak. Before players start this adventure, decide who the main antagonist will be and consider how you want to start the adventure. Do you want to roleplay the party being kidnapped or abducted somehow or simply start in media res? One key aspect of the battle royale format is that players will start with no items, so you may want to ask your players to make another character sheet with no item-related bonuses included. Unequipping all items is simple in D&D Beyond or similar platforms but more laborious and potentially time-consuming on paper character sheets. Overview This document provides all the special rules and requisite tables needed to play the battle royale scenario as well as the narrative framing for your players. The story is spread over four parts and takes approximately 6 hours to play. The first section will largely act as a reference and guide for you while Parts 1-4 can be played through with your group. • Rules of Engagement. This section describes how the overall battle royale scenario works and explains the resources found in the appendices. • Part 1: Welcome to the Arena. The party meets the Game Master and learns the rules of the game. • Part 2: Coming in Hot. The party drops into the arena and (likely) has their first encounter. • Part 3: Outlast. The party explores the arena as the spell storm contracts, acquiring loot and facing more resistance along the way. • Part 4: Endgame. The spell storm has left only one location unmarred. Time for one last fight. Sample file Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Battle Royale (v. 1.0) 2 Rules of Engagement This section outlines how a session or series of sessions of Battle Royale will work. Rules pertaining to dropping into the arena, fighting different parties, looting, and the spell storm are described. Many subsections refer to tables or maps in the appendices. Scenario Summary If you are not familiar with the concept of a battle royale, it generally refers to a fight among many combatants where only one is the eventual victor. Battle royales have been portrayed in popular book series (The Hunger Games, Red Rising), in movies (Battle Royale (Batoru Rowaiaru), The Purge), and in video games (Fortnite, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Apex Legends). Most of them involve a large number of individuals or teams pitted against each other inside an enclosed arena. Combatants have limited or no weapons at the outset and are reliant on finding or making tools and weapons they need. In many interpretations, a constant threat of a closing ring or storm continuously constricts the field of battle to force encounters and to bring the fight to a dramatic conclusion. This version also embraces the trope of dropping into the arena from a great height and allowing combatants to land at different parts of the map. The Arena The area for Battle Royale is a 20-mile wide island with several notable features including an active volcano, a decrepit castle, and a fungal cavern (see Appendix A). The maximum time allowed in the arena before the spell storm completely engulfs everything is 12 hours. As per the description of travel distances (DMG p. 242) this could be considered a small province and players can explore 12 hexes during that time if moving at a normal pace. If they move more recklessly or acquire mounts from an event in the arena, they may be able to cover more ground. Light. All areas are considered lit by sunlight unless otherwise noted in their descriptions. Barriers. In addition to the spell storm surrounding the island, all spells such as gate or plane shift that would ordinarily allow parties to leave the demiplane do not function here. Resting. It is effectively impossible to long rest while in the arena due to the movement of the spell storm and the risk of ambush, but short rests may still be possible. Named Locations. Named locations on the map of the arena (see Appendix B) generally have better loot than random hexes and may contain secret sources of power found nowhere else that can give your players the edge they need. These locations may also contain traps or puzzles to solve as well as be the focal points for combat. Number of Encounters. While the Dungeon Master’s Guide recommends six to eight medium or hard encounters in an adventuring day, the four hours the party spends before a final confrontation leaves time for three or four combat encounters with other teams. Feel free to tune the amount of combat to your group’s speed and prowess. Traps and puzzles from named locations and travel events can be substituted for combat encounters to use up party resources more quickly. Treasure and Looting. Useful loot can be found in silver and gold chests hidden throughout the arena. Loot quality varies by region, with lower quality silver chests appearing in regular hexes while gold chests can be found in notable locations. Available loot is found in Appendix D. You will want to have a Dungeon Master’s Guide or two for players to look up item descriptions on the fly. You could also print out cards withSample item descriptions to hand out. file Not for resale. Permission granted to print or photocopy this document for personal use only. Battle Royale (v. 1.0) 3 The Spell Storm Large, swirling masses of green clouds surround the island when the party lands, and the circle of clouds starts encroaching on the island as real-world time increases. The first contraction will cut off the outermost hexes and subsequent contractions will tighten the ring of the spell storm around whatever location was chosen for the final fight. Appearance. The spell storm starts off as toxic clouds that sweep in slowly, but as time elapses the clouds start burning and swirling more forcefully. As the final contractions occur, the storm resembles a swirling arcane tornado. Timing and Damage. The ring of the spell storm contracts in real time to provide a sense of urgency to parties and discourage getting stuck in too many fights or spending too much time looting. The ring is damaging to flesh and becomes increasingly potent as time elapses. The following chart outlines the spell storm’s movement and damage over time: Constitution Force damage Time elapsed Parties Ring # save DC per round (4 hr total) remaining 1 10 1d12 (6) 40 min 17 2 12 2d8 (9) 80 min 14 3 14 3d8 (13) 120 min 11 4 16 3d12 (19) 160 min 8 5 18 5d8 (23) 200 min 5 6 20 5d12 (32) 240 min 3 Any time a character starts a turn in the spell storm or enters it for the first time, they need to make a Constitution saving throw with the listed DC. They will then take the listed amount of force damage or half on a successful save.