Next Gen Princes 04: Around Glowvein

Red Larch itself is a bloated, confusing, complicated mess.

It’s also boring.

The encounters in the surrounding lands are no better. It’s hard to tell whether they were hastily added onto the end or written at the start before there were any style guides. Either way, Princes of the Apocalypse gets off to a bad start.

One encounter is a cave with bandits in it. These bandits aren’t characterised in any way, with no links to the town. They’re just there.

Another is a cave with stirges in it. And no loot.

A third is a cursed arrow, alluding to a plot point that never pays off. Now, I’m not opposed to that in theory. There should be many plot hooks that go unresolved. For one thing, that’s part of the nature of interactive storytelling - you never know what your players will ignore, so it takes the pressure off. Also, I’m a fan of making the world seem bigger than the party. If your players can answer every question, that just makes it feel small.

But this cursed arrow is the entire encounter. One of the villagers says there’s something weird by the side of the road. The party goes there and find the cursed arrow embedded in a tree, with a note. The note doesn’t pay off later. I’d like the arrow if it was part of another encounter, but the arrow is the entire encounter. No challenge, no plot developments, no stakes.

Which means the entire encounter is a waste.

Let’s scrap these filler encounters and weave something better.

Using AI: A Wilderness Encounter

I asked ChatGPT for an encounter using the three pillars of roleplaying (exploration, social encounters and combat) and got this:

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Encounter Name: The Whispering Stones

Setting: A few miles from Ironvein, there's a series of stone pillars known as the "Henge of Echoes." Legend says they date back to ancient druidic ceremonies. These monoliths are now drawing attention due to recent reports of them emitting strange, whisper-like sounds during the night.

Combat:

As the party approaches the Henge of Echoes, they're ambushed by a small band of Kobold treasure hunters, led by a craftier Kobold Scale Sorcerer.

• 4 Kobolds: Using their Pack Tactics, the Kobolds attempt to flank and overwhelm the party members.

• 1 Kobold Scale Sorcerer: Using basic spell attacks and some buff spells to empower the other Kobolds.

Exploration:

Once the Kobolds are defeated, the players can explore the stone pillars. They'll find intricate carvings on each stone, some faded with time, others surprisingly fresh. A successful Arcana or History check reveals these symbols are tied to ancient elemental magic, possibly linked to the mountain's resources.

As the party gets closer, they hear the faint whispers. They aren't mere sounds but are instead seeking help. With a Perception check, a player can deduce the exact location of a buried chest at the center of the Henge.

Roleplaying:

Inside the chest, they find a trapped air spirit named "Zephyra." When released, she explains she was imprisoned by a rogue druid who wanted to exploit her powers. In gratitude, Zephyra offers to guide the party through the wilderness, give them a boon of "Gust of Wind" spell that they can use once, or provide knowledge about a hidden location near Ironvein.

Simple Plot:

The rogue druid, named Thalen, is seeking to harness the elemental powers of the region for personal gain. He's been imprisoning spirits like Zephyra and is rumored to be operating near Ironvein. With the Kobolds acting as his minions, Thalen is becoming a significant threat. Zephyra's information could lead to a larger quest to thwart the rogue druid's malicious plans and protect the village and its surrounding lands.

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I haven’t gotten around to telling ChatGPT that I’ve renamed Ironvein as Glowvein.

Anyway, this encounter is a good start. I want to make some changes.

First up, the renegade druid’s name (because a rogue druid implies something else). Given that this town has characters called Thalia and Elys Muran, I’m going to change that to keep it from getting confusing.

Druid, I rechristen thee Naleth.

Secondly, the kobolds are just sort of there. Let’s tie them into the encounter better. What if Naleth is charming and manipulative? Then he’s tricked the kobolds into doing his dirty work for him.

Naleth told the kobold sorcerer that wealthy scholars might investigate the henge one day soon. He implied that they’d be defenceless and carrying riches, knowing the kobold’s greed would trick him into defending the henge from intruders.

To that end, swap out a couple of the kobolds for wild animals. These are a gift from Naleth, plus a way for him to keep track of them. Wolves pair well with kobolds, so let’s not overthink this.

Thirdly, Zephyra could use some work. How clearly can air elementals see? Can the caress of a gentle breeze tell the difference between people? Let’s say Zephyra panics when the party free her, thinking they’re like Naleth at first. If they convince the elemental they’re friendly, she tells them what she knows - which isn’t much.

Naleth’s plan was to use ancient druidic magic to amplify Zephyra’s power, then unleash her on the town. He’s struggling with this but is making slow progress.

Fourthly, let’s make Naleth interested in Glowvein. He’s not affiliated with the elemental cults, but he does practice elemental magic. He (correctly) suspects the crystals contain earth magic and wants to use them to “protect nature” - that is, destroy as many villages as he can using an army of earth and air elementals.

Those bandits I mentioned above who are just there for no reason? They’re now in Naleth’s employ, although he’s been slow in paying them what he promised. As a druid, he doesn’t have a lot of coin at hand. To keep them on his side, he’s given them a bear plus some wands of minor elemental magic.

Naleth is being cautious. With the earth cult active in Glowvein and now the adventurers showing up, he will wait and see how the situation unfolds. He won’t tolerate either group meddling with his plans, though.

The party can reason with him. His methods are highly destructive and unpredictable, causing significant damage to the natural environment. Also, the earth cultists pose a much greater threat to the wilds than the villagers do. He’s reluctant to get involved, though, given how dying would ruin his long-term plans to restore the lands to a natural state.

I ended up doing a lot of the heavy lifting here. That happens sometimes, which is fine. At least ChatGPT gave me something better to work with than Princes did.

Using Tale Spire: Some Encounters

I can tell I’m learning how to use Tale Spire rapidly. I created these terrains maybe a couple of weeks ago. When I came back to look at them, they were irredeemably hideous.

I’ve put some more work into them, but they’re still very much works in progress.

Lance Rock cave entrance

Here’s the entrance to the Necromancer’s Cave - one of the encounters from Princes I haven’t scrapped. Building the base and then adding variety and doodads is good fun - something I can do with TV or podcasts playing.

Necromancer’s workshop

This needs work still, but I could run it as it is without too much hassle. The roof isn’t missing here - it just disappears when the camera gets close enough. This is a feature you can adjust using the controls on the right of the screen.

There’s a small amount of verticality in this dungeon. Next time will have a lot more.