How do you take out 28 werewolves in one single action? If you’ve ever seen the classic 80’s horror movie The Howling you might know how. But what if you’ve never seen this movie, yet to your advantage, you accidentally do that very thing? Read on to find out!
My friend Brandon (we just affectionally call him “B“) is currently running a game of Pathfinder 2E that I’m a player in. However, B was also looking for the opportunity to be a player in a game and he and I had discussed him coming to my house to let me exercise my game master skills to lead him through a couple of games.
B and I had previously done a trial run through the first chapter of the first D&D 5E Starter Set, The Lost Mine of Phandelver with me acting as the DM a couple of months ago, and we got together a few weeks ago to play a bit more. We had briefly discussed what level character he should create, and I suggested level 5 and to me it didn’t matter what class he chose, or options as long as they were official Wizards of the Coast options so he could use D&D Beyond for his digital character sheet. When we finally got started however, we decided to just have him start with a level 1 character and include a sidekick as we believed this might be an ongoing campaign we would run through as we both had time. Interestingly, that character is now a Level 5 character and I’ll detail how that came to pass in this post.
Here is one thing I’ve learned over the past couple of sessions with B. Anyone can be a game master, especially with any player who is patient and just wants to have fun. You can just wing it, and you will become better with practice. You’ll see in this post that honestly all it takes, is some creative thinking. And it doesn’t hurt if you have an experience player like B to help you along.
Advice to the reader
In order to interpret the structure of my gaming session posts effectively, it is strongly suggested that you peruse A Readers Guide to Play Sessions on The Old Bard, if you haven’t already.
To better grasp what I mean when I bring up Fate questions, you might find it useful to keep the Mythic Fate Chart accessible, potentially in a new window or tab in your browser.
The Story So Far
The party for this campaign consists of two player characters named Guy Hero and Mi Seeks. They have just arrived in the city of Eldrid looking for adventure.
Day 1 – Scene 1
ATGM: I had actually planned on doing a tiny bit of prep work the night before and morning of our game but unfortunately that didn't happen, so we decided to wing it all to get started. But to get an initial story idea together and something to get the players started I decided to use ChatGPT for a couple of ideas to get things going. I knew I wanted the characters to visit a fortune teller and that I would use my D&D Tarot Deck to seed the adventure with. I used the following text to have ChatGPT give me a reason for the characters to seek out the fortune teller: 'I'm starting a new Dungeons and Dragons game and I'm going to have 1 player character and a sidekick. I plan on using a tarot deck as a soothsayer to start the game with the character, but I need a reason for the character to come see the soothsayer' ChatGPT gave me several options, but I chose the one that read as follows: 'Reputation: The soothsayer may be well-known in the character's community or region, and the character may be seeking them out based on their reputation as a skilled or accurate fortune teller. This could be a good way to establish the soothsayer as a key NPC in the game world.' I then had it generate an introduction that I could read to the players. I did have a bit of a back and forth with ChatGPT to re-word parts of it and to give me a name for the fortune teller and the city. In the end, I was presented with the following that I then used as the introduction to the characters for the beginning of the story. I should note that B isn't one for caring too much about his characters names apparently and just calls his first character Guy Hero who is a human Blood Hunter. But whatever, we'll run with it :).
You have arrived in the city of Eldrid, and as you make your way through the bustling streets of the city, a particular name keeps coming up in conversation: that of the famous soothsayer, Madame Lucinda. According to the rumors, Madame Lucinda has an uncanny ability to predict the future and offer guidance to those who seek her out. Some say she is a fraud, while others swear by her accuracy. As you ponder this, you see a small storefront with a sign that reads “Madame Lucinda’s House of Divination.” Could this be the soothsayer everyone is talking about?
As you step through the doorway of Madame Lucinda’s House of Divination, you find yourself in a small, dimly lit room. The air is heavy with the scent of incense, and the only source of light comes from a few flickering candles placed around the room. The walls are adorned with tapestries depicting mystical symbols and scenes from ancient myths. In the center of the room, there is a large, round table covered in a dark velvet cloth. On the table, you see an assortment of objects: a crystal ball, a deck of tarot cards, and various other trinkets and charms. The room is silent except for the gentle sound of Madame Lucinda shuffling her cards in the adjoining room. You feel a sense of anticipation and curiosity as you wait for her to emerge.
Guy Hero pays 5 silver pieces for a reading. The standard price for a 5-card reading.
Madam Lucinda’s draws the first card The Knight of Wisdom and places on the table before them. “You must trust in yourselves,” she reads and draws the second card, the Three of Charisma.
“Remember though, that you cannot achieve your goals alone.” she reads as she draws the third card.
Madame Lucinda draws the Nine of Wisdom and states, “Don’t be too zealous in your thinking.” and draws the next card.
“The Six of Intelligence tells me that you need to forget your old ways of thinking.” Lucinda says to them as she draws the last card, the Seven of Intelligence.
Madame Lucinda sits back in her chair with a look of deep concentration on her face and finally tells the party “Someone isn’t who they appear to be. You must return to me once you have figured out who this person truly is, and I will reveal more.”
Guy and Mi Seeks decided to then visit the Adventurer’s Guild in the city to look for possible quests.
ATGM: I ask ChatGPT to give me a name for the adventurer's guild, and then ask that it generate an introduction to the character.
You find the adventurer’s guild in the city, The Fellowship of the Wanderer, and as you step through the doors, a tall, muscular figure approaches you with a friendly smile. He is a human with a rugged look and a scar above his left eyebrow, dressed in leather armor with various weapons strapped to his belt.
“Welcome to the guild, friend,” he says, extending a hand in greeting. “I’m Arin, the guild master. What brings you to The Fellowship of the Wanderer?”
Guy Hero informs him that he is looking for work.
Arin nods, understandingly. “Ah, I see. Well, you’ve come to the right place. We always have a need for skilled adventurers. Let me tell you a bit about what we do here.”
He leads you further into the guild hall, gesturing to various rooms and areas as he speaks. “The Fellowship of the Wanderer is a group of adventurers who take on quests and jobs throughout the realm. We’re hired by individuals and organizations who need assistance with various tasks, from monster-slaying to artifact retrieval. The rewards can vary, but we always ensure that our members are well-compensated for their efforts.”
He turns back to you with a smile. “So, what sort of work are you looking for? We have a few jobs available at the moment, if you’re interested.”
Guy asks for details on the jobs to which Arin leads you to a notice board, where several parchment papers are posted with job requests. He points to a few of them and explains the details:
“The first job is from a local merchant who needs someone to escort his caravan of goods through a dangerous forest. Bandits have been known to attack travelers in the area, so he’s willing to pay a hefty sum for protection.”
“The second job is from a village that’s been plagued by a pack of werewolves. They’re offering a bounty for anyone who can hunt down the beasts and rid them of their curse.”
“The third job is a bit more… unusual. It’s from a mage who’s seeking a rare ingredient for a potion he’s working on. The ingredient can only be found in a cave system deep in the mountains, but the catch is that the cave is guarded by a powerful golem. He’s willing to pay handsomely for anyone who can retrieve the ingredient for him.”
Arin pauses and looks back at you. “So, which of these jobs catches your interest?”
Guy decides he would like to hunt some werewolves.
Arin nods approvingly. “Ah, an exciting job, to be sure. The village is offering a substantial bounty for anyone who can rid them of their werewolf problem. Are you up for the challenge?”
He hands you a parchment with the details of the job. “The village is located a few days’ journey to the east. Once you arrive, speak with the village elder, Hilda. She’ll give you more information on the werewolves and where they’ve been spotted. And of course, if you have any questions or need any assistance, feel free to come back to the guild for help.”
Arin grins. “Good luck, my friend. I have a feeling you’ll make quick work of those werewolves.”
ATGM: B and I had already decided that he would use a sidekick to follow him along on his adventures so before leaving he should probably create one at this time. Also, considering he has no money at this time to silver his weapons which might be necessary to deal with werewolves, he decides instead to help the local merchant.
Guy decides to inquire if there are any others in the guild who may be able to provide assistance.
As Guy looks around the guild hall, he notices a few individuals who seem to be looking for work or adventure and might be willing to join him as a sidekick on his mission to escort the local merchant’s caravan through the dangerous forest.
One is a half-elf ranger, clad in leather armor and carrying a bow and quiver of arrows. He looks experienced and capable, with a confident aura about him.
Another is a young gnome wizard, dressed in a long robe with various arcane trinkets hanging from his belt. He seems nervous and unsure of himself, but his magical abilities could be a valuable asset in the fight against werewolves.
Finally, there is a sturdy halfling fighter, wearing chainmail and carrying a shortsword and shield. Despite her small size, she seems tough and determined, and mentions that she has experience with protecting caravans and travelers.
Guy approaches each of them and introduces himself, explaining the job he’s taking on and asking if they would be interested in joining him as a sidekick. All three seem interested, and Guy will have to decide which one he thinks would be the best fit for his mission.
Guy selects the gnome wizard from the bunch to aid him.
ATGM: I use two sidekicks in my solo game and didn't seem to have any problem finding either the Warrior or Expert sidekicks with all levels available to add in the "Extras" section of my character sheets. However, in this case B wanted to of course use something that was akin to a Warlock. The Spellcaster type sidekick as detailed in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything (TCOE) has the Prodigy role which can use the spell list of either a Bard or Warlock, and this matched perfectly. However, I noticed that trying to find the Prodigy type sidekick in the list of extras resulted in NOTHING. So apparently, if that type of sidekick isn't used at all in any official books, then the sidekick type isn't actually selectable as an extra. This isn't a major problem, except that I was going with the thought process that it's easy to add a sidekick at the appropriate party level to just see the stats and abilities in the digital character sheet without having to go through the work of full character management, but that doesn't seem to be the case. B decided to just create a new full PC character for his warlock sidekick to run as another full character. Since B is an experienced player, it's not too difficult for him to do so, but I wish D&D beyond would build out an actual Sidekick character sheet that reduces the number of details and just focuses on what a sidekick is limited to, that would make things easier. He names this character Mi Seeks. Yeah, he doesn't care too much about character names. He just wants to play :)
Guy is instructed to meet the local merchant, Marcus Valtor, at the north side of town.
As Guy makes his way to the north side of town, he spots a man standing next to a wagon loaded with crates and barrels. The man is middle-aged, with a thick beard and a shrewd look in his eyes. He seems to be surveying the area, scanning for any potential dangers or threats.
“Hello there,” the man says as he notices Guy approaching. “You must be the adventurer I hired to help me with my caravan. I’m Marcus Valtor. Pleased to meet you.”
He extends a hand for a handshake.
Guy takes Marcus’ hand and shakes it firmly.
“Pleased to meet you too, Marcus. I’m Guy, and I’m looking forward to helping you with your caravan,” he says.
Marcus nods appreciatively. “Good to have you aboard, Guy. This forest can be treacherous, and I can use all the help I can get. The caravan is ready to go whenever you are. We’ll be heading west, towards the borderlands. The journey should take us about three days, if all goes well.”
He climbs up onto the wagon and gestures for Guy to join him. “Hop on up, and we’ll get underway. Just keep your eyes peeled for any trouble.”
As they head west, the party travels for nearly a full day before encountering 2 Living Wicks that attack. The living wicks deal quite the amount of damage onto them and Guy falls unconscious, however Mi Seeks is able to finally defeat them. Someone was commanding them, and the party will have to find out who that was at some point.
They decided to camp for the evening and tend to their wounds.
Day 2
The next day, the party continues their travel to the west. 4 crawling claws scurry onto the wagon. The party manages to defeat them and discover that all 5 were wearing magical rings.
ATGM: I decided to roll 1d6 to determine how many of the claws actually had rings on them and the result was 6, so all the damned claws had a magical ring on them. I used the magic tables in the MM to roll on to determine the type of rings found which were:
- Ring of Acid Resistance
- Ring of Free Action
- Ring of the Ram
- Ring of Jumping
- Ring of Warmth
The party ventured on and were suddenly blocked by thousands of poison frogs swarming the road.
Mi Seeks casts Burning Hands to plow their way through the poisoned frogs.
ATGM: Unfortunately, I didn't keep great notes here, but instead of the standard damage for burning hands, I rolled 1d100 as a percentage of the number of frogs destroyed as they moved through, and another 1d100 for a chance that a member of the party was poisoned until all the frogs were destroyed. Once complete, the party decided to camp once again to heal before moving forward.
Day 3
As Guy and Marcus make their way through the dangerous forest, they encounter several obstacles and setbacks but ultimately manage to successfully protect the caravan and reach their destination. The town they arrive in is called “Hillcrest”; a small settlement nestled in the foothills of a nearby mountain range.
They retrieve 100 gp each for the completion of their quest.
Making their way back to Eldrid, they consider taking care of the third job provided, in which a mage is seeking a rare ingredient for a potion he’s working on.
The rare ingredient the party would need to collect for the powerful mage in the mountains is called “Starwort”. It’s a small, delicate plant with star-shaped petals that only grows in the deep, dark caves of the mountains. The Starwort is a key component in the mage’s powerful potion, and he’s willing to pay a hefty sum to anyone who can bring it to him. However, the caves are dangerous and guarded by a powerful golem, so the mission won’t be an easy one.
Instead, the party decides to head on east to deal with the werewolves. They arrive at the village and Guy Hero meets with Hilda, the village leader.
ATGM: B as Guy Hero, asks me how many villagers there are, I roll 1d100 for a result of 40. There are 40 villagers.
Guy Hero explains his plan to Hilda and other village leaders. He urges them to gather all the remaining villagers and have them lock themselves in the town hall until the werewolf threat is dealt with.
Hilda nods in agreement. “That’s a good plan, Guy. We’ll get everyone rounded up and make sure they stay safe until you can take care of those beasts.”
The villagers are hesitant at first, but after seeing the evidence of the werewolf attacks, they agree to follow Guy’s plan. They gather in the town square and Guy and his sidekicks help to escort them to the town hall, making sure everyone is accounted for and safely inside.
Once everyone is locked inside, Guy and his sidekicks can focus on dealing with the werewolf threat without worrying about any innocent bystanders getting caught in the crossfire. It’s a risky plan, but it’s the best chance they have of protecting the remaining villagers from the savage werewolves.
ATGM: Ok, so here is how the movie The Howling comes into play here. What B and his characters didn't know, is that I had planned that the entire freakin' village were all werewolves. And this guy had them ALL go into the town hall building and lock themselves in.
The entire evening rolls by, with Guy Hero and his party not encountering any werewolves whatsoever.
ATPC: Guy Hero asks if they hear any howling from werewolves throughout the night.
ATGM: I respond that they did not, however early in the morning they hear howling coming from within the town hall.
Guy decides to remove the plank they used to lock everyone in the town hall and opens the doors. He is presented with 40 angry werewolves staring back at him. He quickly closes the town hall doors and barricades it once again with the plank.
ATGM: I cannot express how funny it was when he realized the entire damned town villagers were all werewolves. And then he pulls a brilliant move.
Guy Hero and the party each take their torches and toss them against the town hall setting it ablaze.
ATGM: Ok, what the hell. How do I deal with this. Dammit that's brilliant. I decide that since the town hall is ablaze, I'm going to roll to determine how many werewolves are set on fire, or rather how many actually escape through the windows without dying from being burned. I roll 2d20 and the result is 28. He takes out 28 of the werewolves with this move. Holy hell. Well, it's only fair, that he gets the experience for each werewolf taken out. So, in one damned session, this guy went from level 1 to 5 for his party. I guess this Guy is a Hero after all. That son of a bitch. Of course, there are still some other werewolves to deal with.
The party then moves on to attack the remaining werewolves and encounter a Werewolf Mauler. But that battle will be saved for next time.
Bookkeeping
There was some more action with the werewolves that I need to detail, but I really needed to finish editing this action and get it posted. However, I may save that part until B and I get together for our next session. That son of a bitch.
Till next time!
Resources Used
- Dungeons & Dragons Core Rule Books
- Players Handbook (PHB)
- Dungeon Masters Guide (DMG)
- Monster Manual (MM)
- Dungeons & Dragons Rules Expansion Books
- Xanathar’s Guide to Everything (XGTE)
- Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything (TCOE)
- Monsters of the Multiverse (MOTM)
- D&D Beyond for digital character sheets and campaign management.
- Untold Encounters of the Random Kind
- D&D Tactical Maps Reincarnated
- ChatGPT for generating the initial seeds of the adventure.
- Dungeons and Dragons Tarot Deck
- Ultimate Bestiary: The Dreaded Accursed (5E) – for the nonstandard Werewolves
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