Quarrel at the Quarry: Bottom-Up Encounter Prep
Quarrel at the Quarry: Bottom-Up Encounter Prep
Here’s how I’m building certain types of encounters in my Basilica campaign using world logic.
By world logic, I mean starting with a map based on terrain and environment details, and then having plot and gameplay wrap around that. Using biome, hex, and other relevant details from my Duskfall setting, I start with the location’s standalone logic, and build out from there.
This flow means such encounters make sense and seem realistic, make the world feel important and tactically relevant, and make prep significantly easier.
Step 0: Mission
Before sourcing a map, I need to know what type of location I need. So prior to any encounter, there’s plot or party goal. This sends the characters to a place to accomplish something.
For example, I’m prepping an encounter for Sunday called Quarrel at the Quarry.
The name is an homage to a Tom & Jerry episode, with a baked-in pun because the foes have crossbows.
The mission is simple: Baron Kellan asked the party to deal with dogmen (gnolls) harassing quarry workers. Kellan needs that stone for his fort walls.
So here’s what I had for encounter requirements going into encounter preparation:
- Location: Quarry about 4 miles / 1 hex away
- Season: Winter
- Conflict: Dogmen
- NPCs: Quarry Workers
Step 1: Location
Did you know there’s a mapping challenge channel on the Roleplaying Tips Discord? If you like drawing maps of any kind, check it out and join the fun.
@Erika is posting amazing maps there. As are other GMs.
So I started preparing Quarrel at the Quarry by grabbing Erika’s quarry map:
I then tweaked it so it’s a winter scene, and has a larger area.
Next, I created a scene in Foundry and added the map:
Ok, so how is this world-first encounter design?
The quarry makes sense for the terrain and environment. The vertical levels or “benches” on the map represent different layers of stone removal. That’s what initially made the map interesting to me.
The terrain is snowy and icy as per the current season.
The map offers different entrances and exits. And there’s a pool of frozen water at the bottom because of poor drainage.
If I didn’t have this map, I’d follow the same logic. For example, say we’re building a cavern. How big is the cavern? What created it? What features are typically in caverns made this way? How can you enter and leave this place?
Armed with a minute of brainstorming and some notes, I’d draw my cavern map.
To summarize, I find or make a map that makes sense for my world, the local area, and as a location in which to stage an encounter.
Step 2: Foes
Armed with a map, it becomes much easier populating my encounter with a conflict.
First, I make a list of foes, traps, hazards, and obstacles I want in the encounter.
Next, I place them on the map. In Foundry, they are tokens.
When placing conflicts on the map, I assess the intelligence behind the conflict and place accordingly. Dumb monsters make dumb choices. Smart ones do the opposite.
My dogman leader isn’t dumb. So I study the map and make choices like he would.
First, he’ll want to be alerted if enemies approach, such as villagers trying to take back the quarry. He’ll use scout class minions for this.
There are entrances and exits at all four compass points on the map, so I need four dogmen scouts minimum. I’ll place them so they have line of sight while being out of sight, at each entrance.
Next, I need to guard the quarry workers and make them work. So that’s a few dogmen thugs. I sprinkle prisoners and guards onto the map.
I also need to place the dogman leader. I added a bonecaster too, because the stone is also important to the villain, who needs it to rebuild the Temple of Elemental Evil (aka Basilica).
So I put both NPCs at the bottom level.
I also note several spots of ice. So I decide:
- Ground is snow-covered rock debris (half Move rates)
- Wood paths are icy (DEX save or fall)
- All ponds are frozen solid (half Move rates, DEX save or fall)
Step 3. Polish
My encounter is basically done. I could run it as-is and we’d all have fun.
However, I opened Foundry and went through the map, making tweaks to make the encounter even more interesting.
For starters, I was way over encounter budget. I needed to remove a few dogmen or guarantee a TPK. I realized that spreading the prisoners out would require too many guards, bloating the budget further.
So I clustered the workers together, requiring only a single thug to crack the whip. I put this group down on level 2 to add a bit of friction should the players want to free them. And I moved the thug to the cliff edge, ostensibly because he’s looking at what the leader and bonecaster are up to, but in reality to give players an interesting opportunity if they play smart.
Next, I removed the scouts guarding the north entrances, justifying via an over-confident leader thinking no one will approach from the hardest-route direction. I also reduced the dogmen cohort to one scout guarding east, west, and south.
Perfect. Encounter budget achieved. I’m actually still about 50% over-budget (Target: 80 points, Build: 120), but I can scale that small overage down in-game and not get too fiddly in prep. For example, I’ve set the default state of the scouts as hungry, bored, and inattentive. Smart players could get bonuses when trying stealth, guile, or ambush. The prisoners also have sharp picks and shovels and would join the fight if asked.
Finally, the bottom level is boring. The leader and shaman are just standing around. Realizing the pond is frozen, I move them onto it as if they’re looking at something interesting caught in the ice. Maybe they are…
Ok. One more tweak. I see the crane now on level two. I decide it’s got a load of stones loaded into a bucket, but it’s jammed with the load half-way up to create literal and metaphorical tension. Dogmen and PCs could try to wield this situation to their advantage.
Putting It All Together
I used to build encounters like this first by detailing them all out. Then I’d quest for or draw a map to match. Then I’d add twists and plot layers, and so on.
With this approach, when I can use the game world itself for the encounter design, I prep faster and easier. And the end result is better because it integrates with map details and reflects a believable and dynamic setting.
Prep is faster because I get the map first and mine its details for encounter details. In addition, creating a challenging yet believable scenario based on terrain and foe goal takes me far fewer brain cells than quarrying details from a blank page or high level plot outline.
Prep becomes easier because I only need answer three questions:
- What is this place in the world?
- Who or what opposes the characters here?
- How will foes and other conflicts take advantage of map and location features?
We’ve got a fantastic encounter here with the quarry. It’s a challenging puzzle because several tough foes who are organized somewhat well are present. There’s also high stakes because of the prisoners.
If I had begun by trying to design a clever puzzle on a blank page, that would’ve been a brain burner for sure. But this approach creates a puzzle organically from the situation with little effort on my part. It emerges from the questions.
Put another way, I am claiming that if you detail out an interesting location first, then add foes and party mission, you’ll have more fun during prep and get fantastic gameplay from it, without all the mental gymnastics and handwaving and kludging some other methods espouse.
Try this today, and then please let me know how it goes. I’d love to hear about any frictions and successes!
Cheers,
Johnn
roleplayingtips.com
https://discord.gg/6MxTRAqQ76
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