Tales of the Shudder Mountains - Sour Spring Hollow Recap

Our Twitch channel, twitch.tv/twentysidestoeverystory, recently started a new Dungeon Crawl Classics campaign and we kicked things off with a funnel. Each player rolled up 3 level-0 characters and I filled out our numbers with some expendable NPCs to help ease the pain (with only four players, it seemed like the best adjustment to make it playable). Here is a play report for the Sour Spring Hollow funnel from the Chained Coffin mini-campaign box set.

Actual Play Videos

Tales of the Shudder Mountains Episode 1: Newscombe Wedding

Tales of the Shudder Mountains Episode 2: Sour Spring Hollow

The Wedding Guests

• Cliff
• BB Beakman - Elf falconeer
• Sydney Fezziwig - Costermonger
• Johnny Appleseed - Apple farmer (accompanied by a pet hen)

• Charlie
• Armell - Beggar
• Marzin - Cheesemaker
• Bran - Alchemist

• Tommy
• Moonshine Davis - Beggar
• Leggy Armstrong - Elf sage
• Milton Jackson - Blacksmith

• Joe
• Jacob Manyears - Corn farmer (accompanied by pet duck named 'Feathers')
• Woodsy - Elf forester
• Jimsy Twocopper - Swindler

It was the 8th day of the Bloom, the year 991 in the Grand Course of Days (GCD). It was supposed to be a glorious day of celebration of love. People came far and wide to attend the Newscombe farm for the big wedding between Tum Dankers and Ivy Newscombe. It was a delightful little wedding with a big party afterwards. The stump whiskey was being passed left and right, the eligible bachelors and bachelorettes were flirting and dancing, and Leggy Armstrong showcased his amazing speed racing a rooster back behind a couple of sheds: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/246221872

The morning after, everyone woke up in a mysterious place. The old barns and cabins that stood around them were not from the Newscombe farm. The bride and groom embraced each other for comfort, when suddenly Ivy Newscombe's dress became stained with a deep red sanguine color. Poor Tum Dankers began to float twenty feet into the air when his entire body was ripped in half, spilling his organs to the ground below. Terror filled the hearts of the farmers and tradesfolk as they witnessed several apparitions come into view. The toothless grins and overgrown eyebrows of the phantoms were full of malice and amusement with each fatality.

Your players will give you a lot of grief if you use MS Paint for your player handouts.

It was the liquor that brought them to this mysterious place, but there was no time to investigate. They were on the losing side of a massacre as one by one the wedding party became casualties. Some brave souls tried to stand their ground and fight the spectres but their weapons simply passed through their misty forms to no resistance. Johnny Appleseed and Jimmy Two-copper led the party to a cabin nearby. Grammy Hopyard was hobbling forward, but the chivalry of one of the characters allowed her to enter first. When they entered, the cabin revealed itself to be a gigantic mimic that devoured the first 4 characters that entered and they were crushed up together into a gigantic flesh cube like a bunch of people who had just jumped into a trash compactor together.

The characters investigated the farm, avoiding the spirits, to try and find clues that might aid them in returning home.

Highlights

• The players began to discover corn husk dolls throughout the farm. Each one was dressed similarly to a character that had been slain by one of the ghosts. They believed them to be voodoo dolls. Jacob Manyears picked up the one that resembled Jimmy Two-copper. The rest they threw in an old well.
• Johnny Appleseed continued to lead the rest of the wedding party around to the cabins, but was spooked by the sight of a symbol scrawled on one of the wooden doors. He decided to lead them to the cornfields to try to hide but the spirits took advantage and took a few casualties. Eventually he was forced to lead the party back to the cabin. It turns out that the symbol was a protective ward scrawled there.

• Johnny Appleseed tried to fend off the ghosts to help the wedding guests escape. He tried to throw oil at one of them and rolled a natural 1. As he was throwing the flask of oil, quite a bit of it sprayed backward and soaked into his clothing. One of the ghosts later lifted the flint and steel from his pocket and it hovered right in front of him, causing a spark that immolated him.
• Leggy Armstrong, Woodsy and Marzin explored the graveyard south of the cabins which was marked by pine wood crosses. Leggy started digging and Marzin was spiking the grave markers into the ground. Tremors prefaced the appearance of several strange boar-dogs that crawled up from underneath them. Leggy Armstrong ran away and dove to the ground, turning onto his back with a dagger held upright and drove it right into the hound's heart as it dove to attack him. 

• The party found some illustrations that were clearly drawn by a child. It depicted a priestess who was clearly an enemy of the family that lived at this farm. She was seemingly killed, and her holy symbol thrown into the well.
• The characters coordinated and lowered themselves down in the well where they ended up finding the holy symbol of the priestess in the illustrations. Unfortunately, they also disturbed a giant bramble creature that was imbued with unholy chaotic energy. Leggy Armstrong met his end as the creature pierced through him with his branch arm. BB dropped down into the well and drenched the creature in oil that the others procured for him and they lit it up to allow them to recover the holy symbol.
• As the characters returned to the surface, the ghosts returned to torture them further. In addition, the corn husk dolls that the party had been collecting started animating and attacking them. The party with haste climbed the terraced corn fields on the western end of the farm and placed the holy symbol in the hands of a scarecrow dressed like the priestess in the child's illustrations. This ended the nightmare and returned them back to the Newscombe farm. Only four characters survived: Milton Jackson, BB, Armel and Jacob Manyears.

Favorite Quote

"My falcon sure would like to meet your duck."

Products I Used for this Adventure

• Chained Coffin Box Set - The entire inspiration for the campaign. Includes several adventures including the Sour Springs Hollow funnel. Also includes a map of the Shudder Mountains and supplements that provide rich information on the history, religion, culture of the region as well as new mechanics and monsters.
• Adventurer's Almanac - One of my most valuable game prep tools. Includes a living calendar that you can use in any setting, with holidays and important events; ability to provide characters birthdays and inherited roleplaying traits based on astrological sign; and hundreds of adventure hooks that help inspire writing an adventure on short notice.

Tales of the Shudder Mountains: A Campaign Primer

On Wednesday, March 28th at 7:30pm cst, our Twitch channel twitch.tv/twentysidestoeverystory will be debuting a new campaign entitled Tales of the Shudder Mountain. It will be a Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG campaign using Michael Curtis' Chained Coffin mini-campaign setting and will take the characters into the rich culture and terrifying unknowns of the Appalachian inspired region of the Shudder Mountains.

The Snuff Steppes

Our tale does not start in the Shudder Mountains but rather within their shadow. The region south of the Shudder Mountains is labeled on most maps as the Sotho Plains, but among its residents it is known as the Snuff Steppes. Its mild winters and long growing seasons have made it a region of abundant agriculture and cattle farming. Many families grow a variety of vegetables that they subside on, while soybeans, tobacco, wheat and rice are all common staples which are grown for the benefit of the Manncaster family. 

The Manncasters lay claim to the entire region and lease this land to the residents of the Snuff Steppes. The farmers and workers are expected to give 20% of the production of their labor back to the family as rent. This system of taxation is all regulated and managed by a lone agent named Sheriff Wex LePage. He is not a villain who exists simply as a pawn of the family, however, and is well regarded by the denizens of the plains. He is known to turn a blind eye or make "clerical errors" when folks are unable to provide their rent.

Map created using Inkarnate: https://inkarnate.com/

Religiously, people revere Justicia, goddess of justice and mercy. People are generally distrustful or even hostile to those of other faiths. Folks in these parts believe that sins carry weight based upon its severity, but that all are redeemable through good works. A common saying is that all people are guilty of sin, but all can atone through earnest labor.

People live very far from one another and tend to only come together when their children become of age to be wed. Weddings are celebrations that bring folk together, and often beget further engagements between eligible bachelors and bachelorettes. 

Commerce is limited, but some goods are traded back and forth with the "Shud folk" of the mountains. The residents of the Snuff Steppes are quick to describe Shud folk as "dirty" and "drunkards"; the imbibing of alcohol being seen very much as a sin in Justicia's eyes. Though as the gossip swirls and slanders the people of the Shudder Mountains, it is usually followed by a caveat that hopefully Justicia, in her infinite mercy, will find a way to forgive them and lead them down a path of redemption. Coal and precious metals such as silver are prized commodities that originate from the Shudder Mountains. The Shudfolk are also renowned for their quality wool products such as blankets, quilts, furniture covers, etc.

Our Story Begins With a Day of Matrimony

It is a celebratory occasion as the story begins. It is the 8th day of The Bloom in the year 991 of the Grand Course of Days (GCD) and folk gather for the union of Tum Dankers and Ivy Newscombe to be joined in marriage. Clim Wills and Son Carver have prepared a pig roast and a wide spread of dishes prepared with recipes passed from generation to generation. Jam Ranson and his three sons have come packing fiddle and flute to help folk get their shoes clicking and dancing until the sun goes down. And Father Gajers has come to officiate the wedding and give judging looks to the not-so-stealthily passed flasks and jugs of stump whiskey that the party goers likely will imbibe.

It All Begins With a Funnel

The players will all be starting this campaign having rolled up three level-0 characters. They are no heroes. They are farmers, woodcutters, and laborers who have come to celebrate the day with their neighbors and kin. Not prepared for heroics, they will soon be sent on an adventure that will change their lives forever. And not all of them will make it out alive.

The level-0 funnel is the DCC RPG way of creating characters worthy of adventure. During the course of play they will find that many of their characters will meet fatal conclusions, leaving only a select few alive at the end to advance to become full level-1 characters. It is at that point we will learn who will take on the mantle of the protagonists in this tale of sorrow and woe.

Hope you can join us at 7:30pm cst on Twitch for Tales of the Shudder Mountains! We just need 8 more followers for March to meet our goal - if we reach our goal we will be raffling off a delightful coloring book I obtained at GaryCon from Darlene the Artist. Give us a follow and share us with a friend so we can give away more cool stuff! twitch.tv/twentysidestoeverystory

Help us meet our Twitch follower goal for March so we can raffle this off to one of our viewers!

GaryCon X Highlights - Part 2

Friday at GaryCon was looking good as I readied myself for my first games of the Con as a player. My day began by hitting up the exhibition hall and scouting out things I might want to buy. In particular, I was looking for something unique to use as a giveaway for our Twitch channel. I discovered Darlene the Artist (darlenetheartist.com) who had a fantastic coloring book which I thought would be the perfect thing to give away if we meet our March follower goal.

"Color Me Powerful" is a mindfulness coloring book with each page dedicated to helping to helping one connect to an aspect of their feminine spirit. It was exactly what I was looking for. 

Darlene even personalized the book for our lucky follower who wins this prize! If you are interested in winning this item, head over to twitch.tv/twentysidestoeverystory and give our channel a follow!

My goal for GaryCon this year was to get as much Dungeon Crawl Classics experience as a player as possible. I signed up for Brendan LaSalle's "And You Shall Know Us By the Trail of the Dead." His games had been suggested to me at last year's GaryCon by +James Walls and I am very pleased I committed that name to memory! The concept of the adventure was that our characters all belonged to a 1970's rock band that was still trying to find its muse and establish itself among the greats. Hailing from Boise, Idaho we were known as Electric Potato. We were on tour and down in Georgia when we performed our largest gig yet. While we were on stage, time seemed to stop and a dimensional rift exposed itself out amongst the crowd. It turned out that the cosmic expanse we were experiencing was not from the hash oil our characters had consumed before going on stage. We met our biggest fan from the future (his name we Magpie) who came riding in on a cosmic jet plane. He told us he needed our help to defeat an enemy named Queen Coyote.

Decked out to show off my DCC fandom.

We eventually found our way to a special room aboard the flight. It contained holograms of famous fantasy characters such as Conan, Gandalf, King Arthur, etc. My character lit up a joint and headed in, examining Gandalf as he took a deep inhale and extended the arm and said "Hey man...you shall pass." I became the wizard.

Brendan was a very animated Judge who kept every minute feeling energized. Definitely created a GaryCon memory for me!

Queen Coyote eventually succeeded in getting our aircraft grounded and we had to take refuge in a tower. We descended into the cavernous undercroft and met a character named "Catfish" who seemed likely to be a demon of sorts that needed our assistance getting free from its prison, finding the "Well of Many Worlds" which seemed to have powers beyond our comprehension, and ultimately we had to play a final gig in hell to distract and keep the demons who were getting ready to invade the multiverse entertained long enough for them to miss they opportunity at cosmic destruction. Of course we rocked it out to a song I wrote entitled "Chaos is a Ladder to Redemption." Electric Potato 4LYFE. If you ever have an opportunity to play in one of Brendan's games, I highly suggest you do so.

Electric Potato - 1974 World Tour.

The final event I had for Friday was to DM for the Return to the Ghost Tower of Iverness event through D&D Adventurer's League. +Joe Alfano shot me a tweet earlier in the day asking if I was available, so I headed to the Adventurer's League area to get the module and begin doing prep. Whew! I spent some time with the module and made a few homemade visual aids before the event began. It was a blast! I had a really fun group of players who were more than forgiving when I had a few missteps as we were playing. Best part of the event was facing off against cranium rats who used dominate person spells to gain command of several of the players. It became quite a PvP slugfest with me rarely rolling anything for the majority of the encounter. Quite fun. Lots of laughs were had and they did very well with the traps and puzzles they faced. It was a fantastic Friday at GaryCon!

Adventurers League DMs preparing to be merciless during Return to the Ghost Tower of Iverness written by Elisa Teague.

GaryCon X Highlights - Part 1

If you are a tabletop gamer and you have not been to Gary Con, you need to mark your calendar now and make this a priority. This convention, which is named after the father of D&D himself, specializes in creating an intimate gaming experience where friendships and memories are made over the bonding power of rolling dice. Whether you are looking for organized play experiences through Adventurer's League, trying to find a niche game system to try out, or are interested in hearing stories from the Gygax family or gaming legends like Tim Kask or Frank Mentzer, you will have those opportunities and more at Gary Con.

The Table of Honor in remembrance of Gary Gygax (photo courtesy of Derek White)

This was my third trip to Gary Con. I was excited for a number of reasons, but the "theme" of this year for me was digging deeper into a wonderful gaming system called Dungeon Crawl Classics. I wrote about one of my first experiences with it here. I signed up to play a game with Brendan LaSalle at the recommendation of +James Walls who ran a fantastic game of a Star Wars inspired adventure at last year's Gary Con (zombie Gungans!). I also signed up to play a game with +Michael Curtis who authored one of my go-to game mastering books the Adventurer's Almanac and is the creator of the Shudder Mountain campaign setting that our next Twitch campaign will be taking place in. Finally, I was excited to run my first non-AL game at Gary Con - the Return to the Labyrinth!

Thursday

An early morning drive as I left home at 4:45am to get from my home in Oshkosh, WI to Lake Geneva. I was running on very little sleep since I was streaming the night before, but the adrenaline pumping through my system was enough to keep me amped for the majority of the day.

Getting ready to roll out to Lake Geneva!

My Thursday was completely booked with DMing. After I picked up my badge I was off to the Adventurer's League hall. I love to signup to run any of the tier 1 adventures, particularly ones that I suspect new players might jump in on. My suspicion was correct as I had quite a few first-time players as I ran several instances of City Over the Edge. It is really rewarding to help people get acquainted with our hobby and have that first convention adventure that stays with you forever. I was lucky enough to have a fantastic DM (+Joe Alfano) who ran Death House during my first Gary Con and it is a game that gets mentioned frequently in our gaming circle.

Once I completed my Adventurer's League commitments, I had to head to the Timber Ridge Lodge and get checked into the hotel, and more importantly, get decked out in my Jareth costume for Return to the Labyrinth. I forgot my eyeliner pen so I had to improvise. My friends gave me a hardtime afterwards, but I think I looked pretty fly.

After navigating through my own personal labyrinth through the basement of the Grand Geneva to find Forum C, I finally made it to my table. I had a fantastic group of players join me and they came up with a lot of fun personalities for their characters. The beginning of the Labyrinth adventure leads with the characters, all teenagers, receiving an invitation to attend Toby Williams' 16th birthday (he was the baby from the original Labyrinth film). I always pose to the group the question of how their characters know Toby. Here is what they came up with:

• Obligatory weed dealer (literally have this hook every time I run this adventure)
• Toby's former babysitter
• Pool hall owner who lets Toby hang out in his establishment for a cut of his winnings
• Foreign exchange student who trades punk rock CDs with Toby (at least until he started getting into lame shit like Fallout Boy)
• Young republican who was trying to steer Toby from his libertarian leanings
• President of the yearbook club who was attending the party to get some photos

Once at Toby's party, gifts were exchanged and the players learned that Toby was kind of a prick. One by one, each of the player's learned of a personal grievance Toby had with them. Later in the evening, as everyone was having fun and Toby brooded in the corner while playing with a crystal ball he received from an unmarked package, a bunch of goblins tour through a mystical portal that ripped through the wall. The goblins were evidently looking to abduct Toby, but were not given enough detail on which one Toby was. Not ready to return home empty handed, the goblins abducted all the teenagers and brought them to the world of the Labyrinth.

 The spunky teenagers found themselves captive and learned that soon a coronation would be held to name him the new Goblin King. Jareth showed up to share this news and offered the PCs a deal; if they could navigate to the center of the Labyrinth before Toby took the role, he would pardon them and return them home. The heroes encountered doors which gave them a look into their own closets, they navigated a very tricky set of hallways, battled the cleaners and stole their pedal-operated contraption, bribed Hoggle with loose change, and navigated a hedge maze with the help of a riddle. We shared laughs and beers and learned that one of the players had never seen The Labyrinth - hopefully the adventure was still entertaining despite missing out on the movie callbacks.

 The finale of the adventure found the party in the Escher-style chamber of dizzying hallways and improbable staircases. Jareth was present and altered the deal - he was tired of Toby's nonsense (quite an insufferable brat) and he declared that a battle royale would be held for any who wished to take his position as Goblin King. A mad scramble at the end was full of ridiculousness and it was our punk-rock foreign exchange student who grabbed his skateboard and did a grind along a banister to sweep into the throne and claim the title of Goblin King!

My Thursday was a blast and I felt so blessed to play with an incredible group of players! More to come in the following days...

Rule Books? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Rule Books!

A few weekends ago I went with some friends to spend some time in northern Wisconsin to hit up some breweries, see dog sled racing and enjoy some time in a big house reading by a fire. It was very relaxing, but the drive up there was destined to be lacking 4G and instill pressure for intimate conversation. Being super nerdy, we could not allow ourselves to get trapped by the pitfalls of other road trips playing the ABC or license plate game. We decided to delve delve into the darkest depths of our minds and use our IMAGINATIONS.

It was an interesting proposal. One of our friends had never witnessed or experienced Dungeons and Dragons before. We didn't have any guide books with us, nor did we have any dice. No problem. I quickly scrambled to search online for a simple dice simulator that would work in the web browser of my phone. My other friend began to set the scene of our tale and we began to weave tales of the characters we were playing. Let me tell you the story of our wacky improv game where the rules were made up and the difficulty checks were completely arbitrary.

The Quest for the Golden Shower Cap

It was myself, Sadie the rogue, along with a warrior and a wizard. We had traveled to a remote location deep in northern lands searching for the most elusive mythical item of them all: the Golden Shower Cap. It was said that whomever possessed this odd artifact would find themselves "showered" with riches daily, unable to spend the accumulation of wealth they could expect to come into. Upon further investigation at the tiny village that rested just outside the glacier caves, where rumor told of the Golden Shower Cap's location, the townsfolk insisted the item was well guarded in the largest cavern by a dragon (or as they called them, flying fire cats). After spending some time harassing the local bar owner and lightening the gold from the cash register, we moved on to talk with his brother, Billy Bob, who was a renowned dog sled owner.

Billy Bob was an agreeable sort, and he was inclined to help take us to our destination with the aid of his sled dogs. He had a condition, however: he desperately craved to have some venison to eat. Being a terrible hunter, he needed our assistance to bring him some fresh meat. In secret, we all realized we were in no better a position to help him with his hunting needs. Thinking we could fool old Billy Bob, we headed to the local horse ranch to test if we couldn't pass a pony off to appease his appetite.

Once at the ranch, I did my best to distract the farmer who worked there. I pretended to be a clumsy lass and he was quite irritated with me as I fell into crate after crate inside the barnyard area. As he came to clean up the mess I was making, my comrades tried to make off with the horse. In doing so, they met a stable boy who provided the names of every horse at the ranch. Knowing their names, we didn't have the heart to butcher them.

Desperate to find the Golden Shower Cap, we decided to steal old Billy Bob's sled dogs and make our way to the glacier on our own. A chase scene ensued which played out much like a round of Mario Kart with oil, sleeping bags, and various other materials being thrown to obstruct our pursuer. We soon outmaneuvered Billy Bob and made it to the glacier cave entrance.

Once inside, we were given three paths: a tunnel moving towards an incline, a level path straight forward, or one that descended into darkness. We went up and met a Snorlax guarding a heap of treasure. We tried taking some of the loot and invevitably caused it to cascade down into the room, waking the Snorlax and forcing us to flee out of the room before he could catch us. We then descended down, where we met the dreaded flying fire cat. It was sleeping and we discovered how to pacify it by simply scratching its belly. It seemed friendly much to our surprise, and it offered to simply give us the golden shower cap in exchange for something it wanted; an herb that was sealed within glass in the middle cavern. This fire cat nip was much desired by the beast, and we agreed to make a deal.

In the middle cave, we navigated a very fragile looking cavern network. My character needed to take her pants off after they were caught on a piece of stone and looked as if they would collapse the entire cavern if tugged on. We navigated through and came upon a chamber where we could see a large glass aquarium which surrounded an air pocket in the middle which contained a pedestal where the dry cat nip rested. We recognized that the fire cat probably couldn't get inside for fear of getting wet - we had no issues with becoming drenched so we went to work to shatter the glass shell of the aquarium. The water which rushed forth caused one of our party members to get rushed back into the dilapidated cavern and caused an avalanche. A hole in the ceiling was present and so we took the catnip and climbed up and out, back with a very upset Snorlax. Using a technique right out of the Empire Strikes Back scene on Hoth, we used two characters with ropes to run circles around the Snorlax to bind his feet and cause him to trip and fall. Navigating back to the flying fire cat, we delivered the cat nip and were wealthy for the rest of our days...

...At least one of us was. There was kind of a last minute betrayal by one of the party members and we were almost to our destination so the resolution of the story got kind of sloppy.

What Elements are Important for a Role-Playing Game?

This experiment with on the fly, 100% improvisational D&D got me thinking: what really makes a tabletop role-playing game? The level of fun and entertainment I had with this game was about on-par with any other one-shot I have ever played. Mechanically it was extremely dubious...we were rolling a d20 to resolve anything that happened that potentially had a consequence. No modifiers were really involved or character stats other than an abstract idea of health and mortality. The only goal or objective was to have fun.

It was a refreshing experience and reinforced the "rule of cool" - the notion that the DM should disregard the rules when it may allow for something really interesting and engaging that the players will be entertained by. I have often felt that my favorite games to run are with newbies that have no command of the rules, because they always seem more liberated to allow their imaginations run wild and describe to me what they want to try. They aren't thinking about mechanics; they are describing what they are doing and putting it in my court to interpret what they are attempting and apply the rules to their situation to resolve the outcome.

I love what Wizards of the Coast has done with 5e because they have provided a pretty well thought out system that gives me as a DM enough flexibility to allow fun ideas from the players to succeed in a fairly unobtrusive way (simplicity of skill checks and advantage/disadvantage is a godsend). I love Dungeon Crawl Classics just as much, if not more, because the system and the adventures that get written for it are just wacky and beg for players to come up with oddball ideas to accomplish their goals.

I don't have a lot of player experience so my view on game systems is usually from a DM perspective. What elements of a role-playing game do you seek out? What is appealing or unappealing about systems you have tried? Drop a comment and share your thoughts!

Using Rory's Storycubes in D&D

This past November at Gamehole Con I played a game of Original D&D with former Dragon Magazine editor Tim Kask. During our time together we played through his zany adventure that pitted us against giant squirrels and provided unexpected answers to biology questions (I wish we'd known that ants have a dufour gland that will secrete a chemicals that will attract other ants BEFORE we decided to hack to pieces a lone member of the colony). Afterwards, Tim took some time to talk about his approach to DMing at conventions and what helps him get his creative juices flowing. Before we parted, he insisted that Rory's Story Cubes are a key tool for any DM who needs help improvising ideas for an adventure, NPCs, or brainstorming in general.

Me with Tim Kask at Gamehole Con 2017

What are Rory's Story Cubes?

Rory's Story Cubes are six-sided dice that have various images printed on each facing. The cubes were originally created by Rory O'Connor and Anita Murphy through their work as creativity trainers and to help adults with problem solving. They are now used by adults and children alike to generate ideas for use in storytelling, language development and other educational purposes. They are also a wonderful resource and tool for gamemasters to use in their tabletop roleplaying games.

Fantasia themed story cubes are perfect for D&D.

How to use Rory's Story Cubes in D&D

Last minute session prep: 

Its Friday night and its been a long week. You scheduled a D&D session and everyone is coming over in 45 minutes and you have no plan. No problem; pull out your Rory's Story Cubes and let the dice decide where the story will go. Lay out your dice sequentially and let your improvisation skills interpret the cubes as story beats.

Or you could take a different approach to laying out your story. Identify one cube (or several) to frame the central conflict of your session. Pull out another to help you develop an antagonist. Use another to help you determine the setting. Maybe another helps you to brainstorm an NPC that will be useful to the party. The possibilities for coming up with wacky and fun game sessions on the fly is endless.

Character Introductions

I did a one-shot adventure of the Death House adventure from Curse of Strahd and everyone was using pre-generated characters. In order to bring some life to the backgrounds, I had all of the characters begin the session telling their stories around the campfire. I gave each player 3 dice to help them tell the beginning, middle and end of their most notable adventure to date. Some of the stories were funny, some were confusing, and some I even integrated into the session to help the players have a stronger emotional investment in the session. This worked so well that I have used this technique multiple times since and my players love it.

Critical Hits and Misses

Natural 20s and 1s are great opportunities to allow some surreal and gonzo elements to creep into your game. I try not to take my games too seriously and love it when wacky events bring some levity into the session. Rory's Story Cubes are a great tool for describing what comes next. Give one or more a roll and allow them to give you the jumping off point you need to lay out the sequence of events that occurs after a lucky/unlucky roll.

Where to start?

My first set of story cubes was the Fantasia set and was what I primarily utilize during my sessions. I also have found that the Voyages themed set has some great images that work for D&D themed stories. If you have other applications for story cubes, the original set is quite versatile and worth taking a look at (especially if you have kids...these will provide quite a bit of entertainment even outside of a gaming environment).

Do you have experiences using Rory's Story Cubes in your gaming sessions? Leave a comment and tell me your story!

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How Twitch Revitalized My Love for D&D

Why Would Anyone Want to Watch Someone Else Play D&D?

It has quite a while since I have posted anything, and part of the reason is that I have been spending a great deal of time exploring the world of streaming Dungeons & Dragons on Twitch. The concept of Twitch seems to evoke a wide range of reactions depending upon who you are talking to. Why would anyone want to watch someone else play a video game? I'm sure the answer to that is quite complex, but in many ways it is not so different from watching professional sports on television or an HGTV show about remodeling a kitchen; people with interests want to engage in those interests and that can include watching others to learn or be entertained.

While the streaming platform is primarily associated with video games, the popularity of streaming tabletop role-playing games has emerged in part due to shows like Critical Role, Maze Arcana and Force Grey (to name only a few). These shows have demonstrated that there is something alluring about being a fly on the wall observing someone else's game. The Dungeons & Dragons gaming category on Twitch has 157,000+ followers and at any given time over 1,000 viewers. Clearly, people exist that would give you answers to the question "why would anyone want to watch someone else play D&D?"

My first real experience watching Twitch was D&D's senior producer and game designer Chris Perkins and his Dice, Camera, Action series. I watched it because I was running the same campaign they were playing, Curse of Strahd. By doing so I observed new DM techniques, ideas to add to my campaign and found inspiration for how to bring certain NPCs to life.

Why would anyone want to be watched playing D&D?

I found myself thinking "this is exactly the type of D&D I want to play." It was storytelling. There was character development. There were shocking moments and drama. Each episode felt like it had plot and a narrative structure that relied on the fact that it was exactly a two-hour session. It prompted me to explore what it would take to start a Twitch channel of my own to tell a D&D story.

My primary two investments were a Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920 and a Yeti Microphone. I familiarized myself with Xsplit Broadcaster and tasked my father with creating an overlay to give our stream a bit of personality. The name of our channel, Twenty Sides to Every Story, was inspired by my primary motivation of focusing more on roleplaying than on the mechanics of the game. On September 21st, 2017 we streamed our very first episode of our Tomb of Annihilation campaign.

As our bi-weekly game evolved, I prepared each and every game with increasing anticipation. The players I had chosen for the game each created characters that I was invested in and wanted to see how their individual stories would evolve as we continued to play. The overland travel portion of the Tomb of Annihilation campaign as written can prove sluggish, but the backstories of the characters and their interests helped to develop dynamic scenarios from the random encounters through the jungle. A stop-off at a goblin settlement became a tale of vengeance and lost love. A visit to an outpost of holy paladins and clerics became a tale of shattered perceptions of one character's idolized hero.

I spend a lot more time thinking of the NPCs to develop them as important accents to the story rather than just providers of information. One of my favorite moments came recently where an NPC that had been an adversary in episode 1 made an appearance and became an asset to the party. As he made a brave sacrifice to help save some innocents and provide the party with an opportunity to enact their plan, he revealed his philosophy of living with no regrets which helped put into context some of his wantonly chaotic actions that had previously put the party in jeopardy.

What I observe from the players is a very different dynamic than I have seen in other games I have organized. The inter-party dynamic feels stronger with closer relationships and improved teamwork. One of my worries up-front was that I would have to be hyper-vigilant about playing the role of a 1st grade teacher and ensuring that everyone took turns speaking and listening. To my surprise, I have rarely had to do this. The players have all been quite conscious of not talking over one-another and I sense that a lot more listening has been happening at the table. And its not just with one another, but with me as well. The investment in the story has left me smiling after every session so far.

I have not once in my time streaming so far seen us get off track on side conversations or extreme meta-gaming. For two hours, we are completely focused on the experience before us. The "war-gaming" mentality of maximizing advantageous situations and forcing every encounter to become about combat is completely absent. Streaming has strongly influenced the direction of my game back to a story-based experience. These developments make it so much more enjoyable for me as a DM, so much so that it makes me want to bellow a mighty "huzzah!"

I can't quite explain why streaming has brought about this renewed enjoyment. Many of the elements that have made this campaign special for me could easily happen in a game where the camera is not present. Expectations can be set with players and the same level of preparation can happen with an offline game just as easily without the hassle of setting up the infrastructure required to stream. We are lucky if we have one viewer while we are live and I certainly have not developed the skills necessary for engaging an audience yet. For these reasons, I would not recommend anyone to get into Twitch streaming with the expectation that you will garner a large following. The skills for being successful at that aspect of streaming go beyond what it takes to put together a good D&D session. But that being said, something about the process of streaming has added value to my enjoyment. I would strongly encourage anyone willing to embrace the vulnerability of putting your game out there for the world to (possibly) see.

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Gamehole Con: Return to the Labyrinth

My second year attending Gamehole Con in Madison, WI was an extremely memorable one in part because it was my first time running a game that I wrote for strangers. For those wondering what the hell a Gamehole Con is, I assure you it isn't an orifice for unseemly behavior or an explicit reference of any kind. Gamehole Con is one of the largest tabletop gaming conventions in the Midwest with over 2,500 attendees. Hosted at the Alliant Energy Center, Gamehole Con is a place to meet some of the lead game designers, illustrators and story tellers in the industry, play a wide variety of games and network with other gamers.

A few months ago I wrote a post to help me brainstorm the kind of game that I would write for convention play. I wanted something that would be silly, self-contained and laced with a nostalgia factor. The idea of a Labyrinth sequel came to mind and a proper send off for David Bowie's character from the film seemed appropriate in light of his death. Over the course of the last few months the adventure I wrote underwent a number of playtests and revisions before I settled on the version I ran at the convention.

The Labyrinth...this time Jareth is out for blood.

Why DCC?

I ran the game using Dungeon Crawl Classics. The reason was because it is a system that emphasizes the absurd, off-the-wall type of storytelling that aligns with my idea of what the Labyrinth was all about. I also feel it is a system that is designed to emphasize unpredictability which is a theme that is heavily emphasized in the Labyrinth film. Sarah is constantly complaining about how the Labyrinth "isn't fair!" and this same saying is often uttered by my players when we play DCC.

That's not true Jareth, the basis for comparison is D&D 5th Edition where the characters get opportunities to make multiple death saving throws, medicine checks and utilize every character's healing abilities before they die!

The Story Hook

The adventure begins fifteen years after the original movie. Toby Williams (the baby from the Labyrinth film) is having a birthday sleepover with all of his friends (the Player Characters). Toby has grown up in privilege and his entitlement is emphasized to the PCs as the game begins. While Toby is a somewhat insufferable teenager, his parents are loaded and his birthday party is sure to be a decadent affair that none of the characters would dare miss. Prior to the start of the adventure, every player must answer the following questions:

• Tell us how your character and Toby first met.
• Name a reason that Toby and your character have a sour relationship.
• Name the gift you have brought Toby for his birthday.

Jareth the Goblin King has grown tired of his role as monarch of his drunken and impish subjects. Looking to retire from it all, he has returned to an old plan of succession to give him his respite. That evening as the teenagers are getting ready for bed, dozens of goblins pour into the room through a magical portal. They are all looking for Toby, but they did not anticipate so many children would be present and are confused as to who they are to kidnap. They end up grabbing everyone and away they go into the world of the Labyrinth.

The PCs all find themselves held prisoner within the Black Oubliette. They soon meet Hoggle, who is drunk and dispirited. It would seem that fifteen years with no visits from Sarah have left Hoggle somewhat jaded about friendship. He does share that Jareth has declared Toby the inheritor of the realm and is to be coronated in thirteen hours. Jareth himself appears and tells his captives that Toby seems eager to use the power he will inherit to punish the PCs for their perceived offenses against him. Jareth provides an insincere apology to the PCs for mistakenly being captured and offers that if they can make it to the center of the Labyrinth before Toby's coronation, he will use his powers as Goblin King to return them home. Not wanting to be victims to Toby's tyrannical plans, the PCs spring to action to solve the Labyrinth.

Highlights from Gamehole Con

• One of the players asked me five times to search the wall for a worm wearing a scarf. She never found him.
• The first door of the dungeon has four methods of opening it: a door knob, a pull handle, a shed-door handle near the bottom and a rope attached to the top which would drop the door down like a drawbridge. Which way would lead to the city at the center of the Labyrinth?
• Twisting and turning down four-way intersections eventually led the PCs to discover a pit of spikes on the floor. Later, a pit of spikes on the ceiling. Did they dare cross?
• Once the PCs came to a winding set of tunnels, they were chased by the dreaded cleaners. Every time they discovered a path leading out, the wall would seemingly move and block their exit! It was a very deadly encounter.

• Once the PCs escaped the Oubliette, they found themselves within a hedge maze that required careful navigation with the aid of a poetic riddle to escape.
• Eventually the PCs found the notorious doors from the Labyrinth (the ones where one of the heads always tells the truth and one of them always lies). Only problem when they got there...the heads were missing. They had been stolen by the Fireys and taken to the Bog of Eternal Stench. The battle with the Fireys was quite fun with the threat of being pushed into the bog and a game keep-away involving the door heads.
• No convention inspired session should be without a critical boss battle! The PCs come upon Ludo fighting Humongous as entertainment for Toby's coronation. Unfortunately, we ran out of time for this encounter at GHC.
• Once inside the castle, the PCs made their way to the iconic Escher-inspired chamber of the castle. The twist at the end brought a lot of excitement to the table and a definitive conclusion that had us off to a great start to the convention!

I found it to be really rewarding and motivating to see folks enjoying something that I wrote. My previous experience DM'ing at conventions has been exclusively through D&D Adventurer's League. Not to discount the enjoyment I get from seeing people leaving those games happy, but the flexibility and creativity that I can have over a homebrew product allowed me to give the players a little bit more agency over the unfolding of the story. In fact, there were a fair number of places in this adventure where I intentionally did not create details to see what the players would invent. The "door of many things" I described earlier with the multiple methods of opening was one such device and it turned into one of the most interesting elements of the dungeon. 

What do you think? Would you play a Labyrinth inspired DCC game? Maybe you'll have a chance to play it at KhaosKon in Oshkosh on May 5th, 2018!

Politics in Port Nyanzaru

Tomb of Annihilation's first location, Port Nyanzaru, is full of interesting cultural and social practices, history and characters that it could be an adventure location of its own. During their time in the bustling city, characters may bump into one or more of the seven merchant princes. These individuals hold the power in Port Nyanzaru and could prove very useful to the PCs as they navigate their quest to locate and destroy the Soulmonger. While each has a bit of detail given about them, I was wanting to know more about how to involve or use them in the campaign.

Our first two episodes of Tomb of Annihilation on Twitch featured the characters unwitting involvement with the political scene in Port Nyanzaru. Here I have put to paper some of the conceptualizations of the Merchant Princes that I used in my game. I do my best to outline a few bits of their personality, their political interests and relationships with one another.

Each of the merchant princes has economic interests stemming from their particular monopoly. They will nearly always advocate for these interests so that they will see their bank accounts grow. Even though they are unelected, they each have a keen sense of where their support comes from and are eager to support actions that will embolden them with their power base. Many of the princes also come with baggage or secrets that make them susceptible to blackmail or exploitation from others. These aspects of the merchant princes make for endless possibilities of adventure hooks to customize your own Tomb of Annihilation campaign.

Ekene-Afa

The main dealer of arms and travel gear (adventuring supplies, rain catchers, saddles, canoes, etc.) is a local legend by virtue of her days as a gladiatorial competitor. Her sons, local Chultans, work for the city guard, and another son has caught her talent for fame as a dinosaur racer. She has strong ties to the land and is championed by the common folk. Broadly speaking, she isn't a natural politician and often is very earnest and honest when speaking in public. She relies upon her cult of personality to keep her in power. The other merchant princes tend not to act too aggressively with her because of this popularity, making her a useful ally. Her political naiveté makes her easily manipulated and the others tend to capitalize on this.

Interests:

• Maintaining and preserving her power and prestige (continue to hold her position as a merchant prince)
• Generally against foreign entanglements 
• Unfavorable of the practice of hiring Zhentarim mercenaries as guards; would like to see more native Chultans trained
• Against closer ties with Lord's Alliance and the Flaming Fist
• Promotes expanded exploration of the jungle
• Preserving the integrity of and popular appeal of Grand Coliseum
• Generally opposed to nobility returning to power

Political Relationships:

• Ifan Talro'a and Jobal are allies in the area of exploration of the jungle, as they all benefit from selling weapons, beasts and hiring out guides to those that would dare venture into its depths. They all differ on what this would look like.
• Jobal has a mutual interest in resisting foreign entanglements, with Jobal desiring to gain a claim on the monopoly over using Chultan city guards exclusively
• Kwayothe has a mutual interest in opposing royalty to return to power
• Wakanga and Zhanthi are the allies she turns to the most; when she doubts what the right decision is (though she harbors some distrust of Zhanthi for her public support of the Zhentarim city guards)

Power Bases

• Maintains strong public support with faithful of the Church of Waukeen and Gond
• Has very strong popular support with lower class residents of Old City and the middle class due to her local celebrity
• The city guard and the private guards of the elite also have high respect for her, making her someone the other merchant princes avoid besmirching in public

Player Hooks
Ekene-afa is present at Wakanga's villa when the PCs meet him. She wishes to revive interest in the Grand Coliseum; interest which has waned in popularity versus Executioner's Run and dinosaur racing.

• Ekene-afa proposes that the PCs enter the Grand Coliseum for a tournament that she is hosting. This event will eventually pit the PCs against each other as they try to rise through the tournament bracket!
• Ekene-afa is convinced that Executioner's Run is rife with corruption in how it is administered. She has heard that many of the people who run the gambling lines work with Jessamine's custodians to rig the event. She wants the PCs to investigate and bring this to light; making this public would erode the public's enchantment with the event. 
• Ekene-afa is concerned about the safety of the dinosaur races throughout the streets. She knows that Ifan Talro'a will never cede any ground on this issue, but she wants the PCs to try to lobby enough votes from the other merchant princes to abolish this form of entertainment.

Rewards

Any of the magic shields and weapons that she sells (see pg. 25) would be great incentives for the PCs to help her with any of her interests.

Ifan Talro'a

Ifan is a very resourceful man with a highly developed spy network throughout the city. He deals in beasts and animal training. He has a strong business relationship with the Zhentarim and is one of the strongest voices for renewing their ongoing relationship with the city. Beyond being a dealer in creatures, he treasures information. The other merchant princes find Ifan somewhat intolerable, but all are wary of crossing him for fear of what secrets about them he may possess. He tends to speak ambiguously and with a hint of threat on his every breath.

Interests:

• Maintaining and preserving his power and prestige (continue to hold her position as a merchant prince)
• Advocates for continuing relationship with Zhentarim
• Against closer ties with Lord's Alliance and the Flaming Fist
• Promotes expanded exploration of the jungle
• Espionage to obtain secrets on political rivals
• Desires to see dinosaur racing become the premiere form of entertainment in Port Nyanzaru

Political Relationships:

• Ekene-afa and Jobal are allies in the area of exploration of the jungle, as they all benefit from selling weapons, beasts and hiring out guides to those that would dare venture into its depths. They all differ on what this would look like.
• Jobal is an adversary in the area of resisting foreign entanglements, with Jobal desiring to replace the Zhentarim guards with locals that are hired exclusively through him
• Kwayothe is a secret adversary for her ties to the Flaming Fist
• Wakanga is an adversary; Ifan Talro'a has been trying to out him as a Harper sympathizer for years to sell this information to the Zhentarim but he has been unsuccessful so far.
• Zhanthi is an ally due to their mutual interest in maintaining the Zhentarim as city guards

Power Bases

• The residents and merchants in Tiryki Anchorage and the Harbor Ward have a favorable view of Ifan Talro'a for the assistance his beasts provide in transportation of goods 
• The Zhentarim, though not a local power base, provide Ifan with valuable information about things happening in the city

Player Hooks

PCs may be interested in striking a deal with Ifan to gain access to some of his beasts and dinosaurs that they do not yet have coin for. If the PCs can assist him in gaining some dirt on some of his rivals, he could be convinced to part with one of his more valuable beasts (in our game, Klaus decided he wanted a pterodactyl).

• Ifan has heard that Jessamine is afflicted with a disease. Jessamine typically acts as a neutral party in matters of governance, but if he could find a vulnerability he could exploit he could get her support on many of his interests.
• Ifan wants evidence of Wakanga's relationship with the Harpers. He suspects that Wakanga may have something in his possession with the mark of the Harpers or a book/diary that provides details about his connection to the secret network. Ifan will reward the heroes if they can sneak into Wakanga's residence and obtain this evidence (he speculates that it is likely in his library or bedroom).

Rewards

Any of the beasts his dealers she sell (see pg. 26) would be great incentives for the PCs to help Ifan with any of his interests.

Jessamine

Jessamine is a self-made woman who worked tirelessly as an assassin for many years abroad. Now she is home in Chult and has positioned herself as the "swing vote" in affairs with the council of Merchant Princes. She has influenced the development of a justice system in Port Nyanzaru based off of cultural norms legitimized by the lesson of Ubtao's decree that Chultans manage their own affairs. She tends to stay out of the public eye and intentionally cultivates an image of being synonymous with justice and neutrality. As such, Chultans tend to speak highly of her partially out of respect and always out of fear. The other Merchant Princes know better than to lobby her privately, but many of their more public deliberations at Goldenthrone are crafted specifically to persuade her in hopes that she might cast a decisive vote in their favor.

Interests:

• Maintaining and preserving his power and prestige (continue to hold her position as a merchant prince)
• Neutral on relationships with foreign entities
• Favorable to expanded exploration of the jungle, but maintains neutrality regarding specific expansion plans
• Maintain public support of current government's capabilities to prevent crime and injustice
• Infiltrate and breakup the Ytepka Society
• Bring to justice the pirates of Jahaka Anchorage

Political Relationships:

• Ekene-afa, Ifan Talro'a, and Jobal all desire increased exploration of the jungle to promote economic interests; Jessamine sees this as a benefit as well but abstains from shaping specific plans to maintain image of being neutral
• Occasional friction surfaces between Jobal, as both employ human resources and occasionally overstep their mandates
• Jessamine does not know that Zhanthi is a member of the Ytepka Society, but she has an interest in suppressing the secret organization as she sees it as operating outside of the criminal justice system that she is the head of
• Jessamine keeps a close eye on Zhanthi and Ifan Talro'a for their ties to the Zhentarim; she is mindful that the Black Network are prone to undermining law and order within Port Nyanzaru

Power Bases

• The population of Port Nyanzaru at large has reverence for Jessamine and her position in society
• Jessamine frequently presides over Executioner's Run and gives her blessing before each gauntlet; the denizens of the Old City and the "beggar princes" owe allegiance to her for the peace and security they have

Player Hooks

Jessamine may reach out to the PCs directly if she learns they are working to undo the death curse (she is currently afflicted, but keeps this private). She is motivated to help them, and while she is not looking to give them ultimatums for her assistance, she may be able to convince them that they may benefit from helping her with some of her business.

• Jessamine will reward the PCs for any information about members of the Ytepka Society
• Jessamine will encourage the PCs to assist the harbormaste Zindar with hunting pirates

Rewards

Any provision of information to Jessamine may be rewarded with permission for one sanctioned assassination.

Jobal

Jobal is very Machiavellian in his approach to governance in Port Nyanzaru. He caters favor with all and measures everyone for how they might benefit him. His years of previous experience as a guide have taught him how to appeal to a wide variety of personalities, and he is very capable of being a social chameleon to appeal to the values of whomever he is speaking with. He is the most capable politician among the Merchant Princes and very skilled at managing his political relationships.

Interests:

• Maintaining and preserving his power and prestige (continue to hold her position as a merchant prince)
• Advocates for elimination of relationship with Zhentarim
• Wants locals hired for Port Nyanzaru's security (with himself managing staffing and recruitment)
• Promotes expanded exploration of the jungle
• Wants charts and maps of Chult to be his domain
• Elimination of competing guides
• Favors popularizing cultural ideas about Chultan destinies to explore and retake old cities
• Would not be opposed to royalty coming back to prominence to help capitalize on nostalgia

Political Relationships:

• Ekene-afa and Ifan Talro'a are allies in the area of exploration of the jungle, as they all benefit from selling weapons, beasts and hiring out guides to those that would dare venture into its depths. They all differ on what this would look like.
• Ifan Talro'a and Zhanthi are adversaries in the area of resisting foreign entanglements, with Jobal desiring to replace the Zhentarim guards with locals that are hired exclusively through him
• Furthermore, Jessamine does not agree with Jobal's assessment that city guards should be his domain. From her perspective, any alterations to the current system would fall under her jurisdiction 
• Kwayothe is a secret adversary for her ties to the Flaming Fist
• Friction exists with Zhanthi because of Shago, her grandson, who is operating independently as a guide at Fort Beluarian. Jobal feels she should be doing more to reign him in. 
• Wakanga is an adversary because he believes any charts or maps of Chult should be public property and not a monopolized commodity

Power Bases

• The exporters of Port Nyanzaru are all supportive of Jobal because his guides are indispensable in providing safety for excursions into the jungle for supply runs
• Jobal maintains a very close relationship with Mother Sibonseni and the church of Waukeen. He goes out of his way to very publicly donate money and be at charitable events sponsored by the Hall of Gold, which helps him to gain prominence with the middle class due to this association

Player Hooks

If you structure your campaign with Jobal forbidding guides from going into the jungle like I did, PCs will need to deal with Jobal directly to get a guide. As such, he can easily motivate them to take action to advance his agenda in Port Nyanzaru.

• Jobal wants the PCs to lobby Wakanga O'Tamu to change his position on maps and charts of Chult being public domain
• Jobal proposes the PCs venture to Fort Beluarian and intimidate Shago into paying his dues for operating as a guide

Rewards

Jobal will reward PCs who help him with his interests by setting up a private audience with all of the guides in his employ for a day of interviews.

Kwayothe

Kwayothe is known for her patience and calm. In her role as Merchant Prince, she consistently raises questions to slow down the decision making process. In between meetings at Goldenthrone, Kwayothe subtly schemes to create obstacles to prevent the Merchant Princes from making progress. She delights in gridlock because she hopes to see public opinion over time turn against the institution of the Merchant Princes. Her motivations are firmly grounded in her formative years as one of Port Nyanzaru's poor. She came to be a faithful of Kossuth and made some unseemly allies in the form of her two consorts. Of priority for her is to see society transform into a hierarchy in which the poor and destitute wield power. She is disdainful of the other Merchant Princes and in particular Zhanthi, who represents the past order of unearned privilege. 

Interests:

• Undermine Goldenthrone and the status of the Merchant Princes (wants to see a new popular movement replace it; with her as its leader)
• Replace current security regime in Port Nyanzaru with Flaming Fist mercenaries
• Has confidence she can control Liara Portyr with assistance of the succubus Ixis and incubus Indar
• Supportive of exploration of the jungle, but quietly supports Flaming Fist's sale of charters of exploration
• Supportive of expanded role of beggar princes in governance
• Extremely opposed to nobility returning to power

Political Relationships:

• Kwayothe maintains pleasant relationships with all of the Merchant Princes (including Zhanthi whom she spends the most time foiling)

Power Bases

• Maintains strong public support with the lower class citizens that live outside the wall for her advocacy of keeping the bathhouses open to all and for keeping the Red Bazaar accessible to the carts and wheelbarrows of the poorer merchants
• In public she worships at the Temple of Sune and is seen as their voice 

Player Hooks
Kwayothe seemed the most likely to play an adversarial role in the campaign, and the least likely that the PCs would be interested in assisting (her monopoly over fruit, wine, ale, etc. is not quite as rich an incentive as the boons to be gained from the others). In our campaign, she was secretly working with Liara Portyr of the Flaming Fists to arrange a proposal to bring her mercenaries into Port Nyanzaru. The PCs were tasked by a few of the other Merchant Princes to bring this conspiracy to light.

Whatever nefarious plots are afoul in Port Nyanzaru in your campaign, Kwayothe can be positioned to be the one pulling the strings. This can be particularly effective if you develop her as someone whom the lower class supports as a champion of their plight. Her obstruction will spell a political scandal that may see her removed from power (and possibly replaced with someone else...maybe a wealthy PC should they survive the rest of the campaign).

Wakanga O'Tamu

The magnanimous Wakanga is known for his hospitality and love of hosting foreigners. His charm is never in short supply and he seemingly always knows what to say. He is the most concerned with his public image and has difficulty taking hard stands on any issues plaguing the city before carefully delving into what is the most politically fortuitous position. The exception to this is his belief that knowledge, in particular maps and information related to Chult, should be freely shared and available to all. He is deeply committed to his friend Syndra Silvane and takes the news of the death curse very seriously.

Interests:

• Maintaining and preserving power and prestige (continue to hold position as a merchant prince)
• Generally in favor of closer foreign ties
• Promotes expanded exploration of the jungle
• Wants to see the construction of a public library and museum in Port Nyanzaru to hold findings of Chult's lost history

Political Relationships:

• Wakanga is the least ambitious in terms of advancing a particular agenda. As such, he maintains generally warm relationships with the other Merchant Princes. The exception to this would be Jobal, who he does not see eye-to-eye with in regards to fair use of charts and maps of Chult

Power Bases

• Wakanga has favorable to mixed public opinion within most spheres of Port Nyanzaru society. His tendency to flip-flop on issues has earned him a reputation for being politically expedient and without true convictions.
• Wakanga is supported by the Temple of Savras and has a strong relationship with Grandfather Zitembe

Player Hooks
Wakanga is likely the first Merchant Prince the PCs will meet due to his relationship with Syndra Silvane. He is predisposed to help them arrange meetings with the others Merchant Princes.

• PCs may ask him to provide them magic items; something he may offer in return for charting accurate maps of Chult and the locations of ancient ruins. Furthermore, he would gladly exchange his goods for relics of historical significance. Clever and opportunistic PCs who discover Jobal's competing interests may be able to leverage a better deal from the rival Merchant Prince.  

Rewards

Any of the magic items he sells (see pg. 27) would be great incentives for the PCs to help Wakanga secure Chult's geography and history.

Zhanthi

The "elder stateswoman" of the Seven Merchant Princes is wise and resourceful. She champions the philosophy of "keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer." She is kindly and grandmotherly, a facade that betrays the truth of her shrewdness and leads others to underestimate her. As an active member of the secret Ytepka Society, Zhanthi is committed to keeping Port Nyanzaru free of exploitation from foreign powers and internal corruption. Zhanthi's main priorities currently are ridding the city of the pirate threat from Jahaka Anchorage and eroding the influence that the Lord's Alliance has been trying to put on the peninsula through the proxy of the Flaming Fists.

Interests:

• Maintaining and preserving her power and prestige (continue to hold her position as a merchant prince)
• Public supporter of Zhentarim; privately works against foreign interference 
• Against closer ties with Lord's Alliance and the Flaming Fist
• Promotes expanded exploration of the jungle
• Monitoring and foiling corruption
• Believes Chult would benefit from seeing the royal bloodline regain prominence

Political Relationships:

• Acts as a mentor to Ekene-Afa and has committed to her that she will oppose expanding foreign influence in Port Nyanzaru if she will honor their arrangement with the Zhentarim
• Ifan Talro'a is an ally of convenience based on their mutual interests with the Zhentarim. Ifan trusts her enough that he occasionally passes information to her from his spies.
• Jobal has several competing interests with Zhanthi, but they both put up a united front when it comes to keeping the stories of Chult's royal families and legends alive with the public
• Kwayothe is an enemy and while both keep their cool in public, both are actively working to unseat the other
• Wakanga and Zhanthi are friendly, though Zhanthi sees him as politically unreliable and does her best to distance herself from him in public

Power Bases

• Zhanthi has support from older members of the public who have reverence for the royal bloodlines
• Zhanthi also holds relatively strong support from the merchant class and the sailors for putting up reward money for eliminating the pirate threat. 

Player Hooks

Zhanthi may wish to send a message directly to Kwayothe by way of the PCs. She may secretly ask the PCs to deliver an iron token with the Ytepka seal to send a message that her actions are known. The PCs are unlikely to recognize the significance of this sign and may take on the task which would seem to yield little consequence. When confronted with this sign, Kwayothe may attempt to detain the PCs and force them to reveal who sent the token.

In our campaign, Zhanthi actually asked the players to send to another Merchant Prince. Zhanthi then pointed to Kwayothe as the originator of the token in order to gain the confidence of the receiving Merchant Prince and build opposition to her.

Rewards

Zhanthi's incentives are likely to be in the form of gems and jewelry. Adventurers tend to be motivated by valuables.

Concluding Thoughts

Each of the princes has a monopoly on something that the players may want or need, so the leverage to get the PCs motivated to work with them is not difficult. In the scenario from our game, the PC's wanted to meet Jobal to arrange for a guide to take them into the jungle. They also wanted to gain a pterodactyl from Ifan. Both of these work as long as you ensure that the players must negotiate through one of the merchant princes rather than one of their underlings. For example, as written in the book the players do not need to speak with Jobal directly to secure a guide. However, in my game Jobal has put a moratorium on guides going out into the jungle because the undead threat had become too grave to put his people at risk. The PCs needed his express permission to get a guide.

I think the Merchant Princes are sorely underutilized in the Tomb of Annihilation book as they are written. Have you had success bringing them into your game? Do you plan to use them as prominent plot devices as your players get familiar with Chult? Share your stories or ideas in the comments!