This isn’t so much as a ‘where I’ve been’ post as a ‘where I’m going’.
If you follow me on Twitter, you might know that I’ve recently been tinkering with a low-level hexcrawl adventure. I envisage this very much as a self-contained campaign prologue in the tradition of Lost Mine of Phandelver or Dragon of Icespire Peak, but with a few improvements: richer NPCs, more alternatives to combat, and a less deadly difficulty level. There’s an implied setting of Hawk’s Rest village and the surrounding hills, but it’s generic enough that it could be transplanted pretty much anywhere.
Without too many spoilers, adventure sites include:
- A derelict manor house that has been sealed off for years;
- A ruined tower, now a breeding ground for blood hawks;
- A manticore cave (please bring snacks);
- A giant elven tree with a hippogriff nest at the top;
- An ancient burial mound with restless undead.
1st-level adventures are often far too deadly. I’m hoping mine will avoid this trend while still provide a fun challenge and pleny of cool places to explore!
To pique your interest, here is some of the art I am using, created using Midjourney:
But here’s the thing: adventure writing takes time. Prepping a three-hour session can take me as little as 15 minutes, but making a product for others to enjoy is a much more careful process. And I need your help!
If you are interested in playtesting this adventure, let me know in the comments below. Your email address will not be shared with anyone, but you will receive an email from me in due course with more information. Once the product is finished and published on the DMs Guild, subscribers will receive a discount code to download the adventure for free – so subscribe here!
In the meantime, I plan to take a bit of a break from regular blog posts in order to focus on adventure-writing. I hope you’ll hear from me again soon, though, with a finished adventure ready to share!
If you’re interested in being a part of this project, let me know in the comments below.
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I’m always interested in me adventures that won’t totally kill my adventurers off in the first encounter.
I’m very interested in helping playtest and reviewing this idea!
I would love to play-test your adventure for you.
Bruce
First level combat encounters can be quite dangerous. First level adventures can lean into social and exploration content, enabling research that can turn that deadly combat into an easier thing. Which is a great pattern to continue with at all levels.
Looking forward to see what you come up with.
Hey, I’d love to help out if you’re still looking for people.