Mike Shea

So we can start. And one of the things I've started doing recently is thinking up secrets. So one of the specific things, and I've started doing this more recently, is during that step one of review the characters is I try to think of like, what is like a secret that the characters can pick up? That the characters would know about today's session, right?

Like if we think about the character, and I brought this up last week, too. The tip is, and I actually made it a tip on my Blue Sky slash Mastodon feeds, and it's in my tips of the week in my weekly newsletter. You can subscribe to the newsletter, and you get your tips of the week along with an article. There's an article, there's a bunch of links to like...

show notes from the shows and everything else. But then there is also seven D&D tips at the bottom of every article, seven tips that you can find. And one of the tips that I did last time was that characters are the only vehicle for a secret you can count on. And it's because the characters are actually there and they're always there.

If the character is there, they can be a catalyst for secrets, right? So characters is a catalyst for secrets. And as part of step one, we can think about that. So if we look at, we know where they are, we kind of know, we're getting an idea about where they're going.

But one of the things we can start right off with is like, what are something about today's session that the characters might know or learn? And they could just know it. It could just be because you're X, you know why. And that's a really powerful template. We'll put that in there because of X.

you know why and it could be because you're a fighter you know this or because you're a druid you know that right it could be because of this background you've got or this ancestry you've got or whatever right whatever the character's got because of this magic item you've been carrying around you know what you know x and that is a really good solid way to like tie a secret to a character very quickly and one of the tricks with that is like

Every other aspect, you can't really determine where the characters are going to learn a secret and clue because the game changes so much, but the characters are always there. So you always know that the characters are there. So I think it can really, it can really work. So we're going to, so let's take a look at those characters because I always forget who they are.

Ammavan, I think is the rogue, pretty sure. Oh yeah, Ammavan is the rogue and Rowan is not. And that's how I, I know Ammavan and Rowan because Rowan with R-O in the name, you would think would be a rogue and is not. So, Ammavan is the elf rogue cosmopolitan criminal, raised as an orphan to be a spy for the Dragon Empire. So, I think Ammavan knows the danger of killing a Akinji commander, right?

That is a, you know, kind of a secret. Like, hey, you know, even if we defeat him in combat... We're in real trouble because they're coming around. Gaudenzia is a ranger, I think. Smallfolk gnome ranger nomadic outcast runs the food truck at the 440 fingers. So I think Gaudenzia knows about the brutality of Adesha, right?

The Adesha is one of the more brutal dragon emperor, dragon, dragon rulers of the dragon empire. The Morza, one of the worst Morza. Rowan is the dwarf, dwarf fighter of, who was sent out here to avoid being part of the war. What could Rowan kind of see? He probably knows that the Dragon Empire relies heavily on mistreated mercenaries, including for dungeon delving.

And then Tolstoy is our wizard, a beast kin rat wizard outcast who wants to take down the empire. So what could Tolstoy, what could Tolstoy know? Probably that, that one secret. There are hundreds of these treasure seeking camps across the empire. So those are pretty straightforward. Not all of those are like super secrets or,

But, you know, like none of those are but they're all ways to kind of connect the character in the game. So so I dig that. So we have our facing era's dawn gaze as a scene. Then once they've defeated era's dawn gaze, my my my problem and my question was like, where are they going to go to next? And I had three paths for them.

They could go deal with the blood mages of the sanguine path, which were in the north. They're in a ruin in the north. They could go to the ziggurat of Thoth Hermes, or they could go to the pits of unending thirst.

I think I'm going to, and I don't really remember where, but I think I'm going to lead them towards the pit of unending, the pits of unending thirst to the, so we're going to travel to the pits of unending thirst. And we'll probably drop an encounter in here, right? They're going to see something along the way. Then navigating into and through the pit of unending thirst and then meeting the goblin.

We'll fill out some of this, and it's pit, not pits. So the pit of unending thirst, for example, let's see, I've got a map of that too, is a multi-level dungeon. They almost certainly need a rest, right? So they're going to have to have a rest after facing dawn gaze. This might be a good time for a campfire tale. So we'll drop a campfire tale in there. What's a campfire tale?

So a campfire tale is an opportunity. Hey, my mom is here. Hi, mom. A campfire tale is a great thing to drop into when you characters are taking a rest. And when the characters take a long rest, you can ask them a question and they can be kind of like leading questions.

And it's like, how do you feel about what's, you know, like, and then so the generic question is like, as you contemplate your, your, your past and your current position, like, where does your mind take you? Like, what do you think about where you've been and where you are now? It's not a fantastic question. I'd like to have kind of a better, more specific question.

But you want to give the players an opportunity to get into the heads of their characters and ask themselves questions about their character's place in the world. So the more specific it can be, the better.

you know and it can again be that sort of like because of x what about y and it could be you know like as someone who wants to take down the emperor or the empire how do you feel about what you just did with eris don gaze or as a former mercenary who has been part of the dragon empire in the north region how do you feel about these camps in the south and where do you you know what are your goals for for your here you know for what's going on and

You know, like the questions can be a little awkward, but when they kind of click and you really are just asking the player to spend a moment in the head of their character thinking about what's been going on in the area that they're at and thinking about what their background is and talking about that.