Getting Started - cavesandcreatures/the-goblins-of-whismywood GitHub Wiki
Running the Game
This is designed to be a fast-paced, lightweight DnD adventure, which can be completed in a few sessions, or replayed over and over to explore different results with the same scenarios (with the help of the time loop in the plot). It has been designed for players at level 1-5.
Choosing Characters
Players can use a normal character sheet or a simplified character sheet. Ignore things that would require counting or tracking, such as gold, food, basic "adventure" items (e.g. rope, bedrolls, etc.) The character sheet should include attributes which lend themselves to resolving some conflicts around the town (e.g. animal speaking).
If you want to treat this as a one-shot and increase engagement, players could be given random roles at the start of the night with these characters, as well as a main/secret objective. These objectives could provide people with a chance to "win" the game, or simply find ways to achieve their objectives throughout the adventure. The cards could also include personality traits if the players want to lean into those. The character sheets and the objective cards could be separate, allowing random permutations for future games.
DM Plot Knowledge
Goblins have moved into the hamlet of Whismywood, and they're outta control! Maybe a month ago the first ones showed up, beligerant and threatening, they moved into a few old houses at the edge of town. Shortly thereafter more showed up, and more, until they developed their own little town, a clunky system of government, and some makeshift shops for their friends. They spend all day outside getting drunk, climbing up on the buildings, and just generally causing a rowdy scene.
Goblins have ears everywhere, and as their numbers grow, so does their boldness-- and bizarreness. Any talk about removing the goblins is met with goblin-officiated court precedings, harassment, or worse.
Will the players decide to help the townspeople, perhaps even explore the town and get to know its citizens? Or will they decide to help the goblins, partaking in their antics and debauchery?
Oh, and one more thing. To complicate matters, everyone in the town seems to be stuck in some sort of time loop, including the players. They're unaware of the time loop created by the shattering of the Timepiece. To break out of the time loop, they'll have to find the four pieces and someone who can put them backtogether again, or else they'll be stuck forever!
Setup
I like to present this adventure as a free one that I found online, and the guy who gave it to me promised that it's one of the best adventures ever. I bring up a map of the Sword Coast and point out places as I name them. I play "The Bridge of Khazad Dum" music as I start to read the following description, but I pause the music during every other sentence to increase the sense disappointment I feel as I list all the places we won't be going:
"In the northern region of the Sword Coast, lies the MASSIVE cities of Neverwinter and Waterdeep, where one can find a treasure trove of adventure and danger! However, this story does not take place at either of those places. Between those cities, one will find Castle Naerytar towering above the swamps of the Mere of Dead Men, home of the deadly Black Dragon and the cultists who worship it! That's a little scary though, so we're not going there just yet. Head a little bit northeast to find the infamous Phandalin, where many adventurers began their journey, only to come face to face with ravenous goblins and diabolical Mind Flayers! That sounds intense, so hop southeast over the Sword Mountains and... perfect! We've arrived in a tiny hamlet called... Whimsywood... where almost nothing is happening. It's not on any maps since most people just walk by it, but you are not most people. You are an ADVENTURER looking for a safe, cozy, quiet area to think about getting started on your next big adventure, but to be clear you're not in any rush. You and two to four strangers are waking up at the (only) tavern in Whimsywood, the Cuckoo's-Perch. You've made your way downstairs (yes, there are TWO FLOORS in this tavern!) to join the locals for breakfast."
All the players are huddled around a table, and a man is speaking to them about the latest news in town.
What the players might not realize is that they're in a time loop! At the end of every session, the time loop "resets" them back to the tavern, in the middle of this initial conversation. This also resets everything they've done in the world, mostly. Think of the state of the game at the beginning of a session as a "save point", giving the players a chance to experience the same scenarios in different ways, or even "speed run" through them once they've learned the right tricks. Ultimately, the time loop can be stopped, but how?
The DM can decide whether or not to tell the players about the time loop before the first session start. However the NPCs are aware of the time loop regardless of their feelings about it.