Rainy day sessions have a great atmosphere! In these posts, I talk about my roguelike-inspired D&D campaign sessions.

Session structure

In this campaign, our sessions occupy two 3-hour blocks of a day. The first block is the combat section, where the player characters fight their way through rooms of a dungeon with randomly generated monsters. They acquire magic items and resources as they go. The second block consists of roleplay and preparation. The characters can interact with NPCs in the tavern as they compare notes and attempt to figure out what’s going on.

In this session…

The players made it past the first boss! With barely any time left, they cleared the first floor and got a glimpse of the second. I had the Astral Tabletop maps prepared in advance, so that helped room transitions go more smoothly.

I had a few things planned to shake up the roleplay section, and that worked out well. I also introduced everyone to Downtime Scenes, a supplement I created to allow for more player agency when roleplaying between adventures. We’re using Downtime Scenes here to let people make space for what they want to do during the preparation/roleplay phase.

For next time

If the party defeats the first boss again, they’ll be able to unlock a locked door in the tavern area. I’ll need to prepare the two newcomers to the tavern if that happens. And, I’ll prepare for the scenario in which that doesn’t happen, and nothing in the tavern changes.

Overall, it seems like the group is ready for more change in the tavern itself. They’re also excited to level up again soon and get farther in the Dungeon. I think I’ll reduce some of the prerequisites for things changing in the tavern area, so the players see more of a progression from session to session.