Oh Poor, Sweet Larry - A D&D Mini Campaign Set Within a Tavern!
Beneath a veneer of shoddy service and moldy walls, poor Larry Baker hides a dark secret. Will you help this destitute soul? Or leave him to his fate?
$30.00
/ Session
Details
Weekly / Friday - 5:00 PM UTC
Session Duration / 3–4 hours
Campaign Length / 4–6 Sessions
0 / 6 Seats Filled
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About the adventure
Nestled in a city like any other, Poor Larry’s taproom sits between a row of boisterous pubs and struggling slums. Easily the cheapest establishment in town, with peeling walls, festering mold, and floorboards stained with years of spilled ale; it is a haven for drunkards and would-be adventurers when coin is scarce. The proprietor, the titular Larry Baker, struggles to provide the most basic of service to his customers, looking like he’s been at the end of his rope for a lifetime. It wasn’t always like this. Keen observers might notice the sign out front used to read “Lucky Larry & Son’s” before weathering and overgrowth obscured it. Some folks reminisce of when the tavern was first built, when laughter and music filled its chambers. A pair of the “guest” rooms are off-limits, and perhaps contain deeper scars than simple disrepair. What's more, a number of peculiar figures regularly pass through this crumbling establishment. Perhaps there is more to poor Larry’s predicament than a simple string of bad luck… ‘Oh Poor, Sweet Larry’ is an adventure set entirely within a tavern! One that focuses more on investigation and social interaction than the other pillars of D&D (but don’t worry, there’s still the occasional battle, with an epic boss fight to cap things off!). The idea being that this is the place you come back to between other, grander adventures. So you go off for a couple of weeks or months, come back with new experiences and treasures. As a result, you can expect your characters to rise from level 3 to 5, and then to level 7 before the end! This adventure should take between 4-6 sessions, so please make sure you’re available for the next 1-2 months. We will discuss scheduling in greater depth once all players have joined, but here’s a few points: I intend for this to be weekly but I am open to making it bi-weekly if that works better for you. I am also fine to postpone once or twice if one or more players have a conflict, as long as this is communicated well ahead of time.
Game style
Combat Lite
Puzzle / Mystery Focused
Roleplay Heavy
Rule of Cool (RoC)
Game themes
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(12)
Less than a year on StartPlaying
10 games hosted
Highly rated for: Sets the Mood, Teacher, Creativity
Average response time: Under 1 hour
Response rate: 100%
About me
Hey everybody! You can call me Zee and I've been running TTRPGs for over a decade now. I first started playing TTRPGs back in high school when a friend invited me to play D&D 4th edition, and I immediately fell in love. 'You mean to say I can BE that ferocious beast-man with a giant sword who fights demons on Tuesdays and slays dragons on the weekends!? Sign me up!' But it didn't stop there. Before long, I got the craving to run my own game, to weave tales of villainy and heroism, to craft my own worlds, big and small, for my friends to explore and save! More than 10 years later and I've played and run games in many different systems (VtM, SW-Edge of the Empire, Starfinder, etc.), but D&D 5e has remained my bread and butter for most of that time. Lately though, I've been very excited to dive deeper into Draw Steel and Daggerheart! Last thing to mention is that I value communication and respect at my table. I work with safety tools to ensure that everyone is comfortable and has a good time. If you cannot show basic respect and kindness towards me or the other players at the table, then this is not the space for you. With all that said, I hope to see you on our next adventure!
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
For this adventure, you should prepare a level 3 D&D character using any of the official sourcebooks for 5th edition. Use the point-buy system with 27 available points. Since combat is secondary to this adventure, feel free to use either the 2014 or 2024 ruleset. Just let me know which you end up using and stay consistent; no mixing rulesets. As mentioned before, you will level up over the course of this adventure, as you leave Poor Larry’s tavern and go off on other adventures. Each time you will gain 2 levels, so be prepared to level up from levels 3 to 5, and later from 5 to 7. Also, you can give your character one common or uncommon magic item from the Dungeon Master’s Guide. While I always try to work in player backstories, understand that the premise won’t allow for the inclusion and payoff of every type of backstory. I’m happy to discuss themes and ideas if you want to make a backstory that integrates neatly into this adventure. You are also more than welcome to bring a character whose backstory has little bearing on the events of this story. It is assumed that your characters will make progress to resolving their personal conflicts while out on adventure. Outside of the tavern, the setting is largely irrelevant to the events of this story, so feel free to have fun with it! The world is assumed to be a typical, high-fantasy D&D setting where adventurers, monsters, and magic are commonplace.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
You will first need an account for Discord, which will be used for communication and voice call during sessions. When you sign up, you will receive a link to the Discord server in an email from StartPlaying. You will also need an account on Roll20, as that is the VTT we will be using. While you are not required to build your character in Roll20, it is recommended for ease of use during play. All dice rolls will be made in Roll20. The link for this will be shared through Discord once enough players have signed up.
What Zee brings to the table
I’m happy to provide assistance with building characters and answer any questions. You can message me through StartPlaying, though I tend to respond quicker on Discord. As far as my style of running the game, I typically try to provide a fairly immersive experience with in-character voices and detailed descriptions, while still keeping things light above table. I do ascribe to the rule of cool while still trying to stay within the framework of the 5e ruleset. I like to provide a little challenge with combats, but my goal here is not to overwhelm anyone, much less kill their character. I’ll also be playing ambient music and audio tracks to help immerse you into the world of the game.
Homebrew rules
Regardless of which ruleset you use to build your character, I largely stick with the 2014 rules with the exception of drinking potions. You can drink a healing potion as a bonus action, or use your action to do it and automatically receive the maximum amount of healing. I also employ “crunchy crits”, where a critical hit means that you immediately get the maximum possible damage AND THEN roll the normal damage dice on top of that (rather than doubling the number of dice you roll). This one I am open to removing if players don’t like the potential deadliness this brings to the game.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Zee creates a safe table
When you sign up, you will immediately receive a message/email from StartPlaying with a link to a Google Form, which will be a checklist of Lines and Veils on topics that might pop up in this one-shot. There will also be space for you to list any of your own boundaries in case there are topics you don't want to see that I have not listed. There will be an Open Door policy during the session, meaning any player can step away, disconnect from the call, etc. and rejoin at any time without judgement. If you need to do so for your own safety and well-being, please do so. I will not tolerate any player harassing another should they choose to use this policy. Finally, at the end of each session, we will do a quick wrap up where players are free to talk about the session and offer feedback for me. I like to do Stars and Wishes, but we don’t have to stick to that format. I just want to be sure there’s space you all to offer constructive criticism, and I hope to hear if there’s anything you really liked so I know what to focus on in future games.
Content warnings
Safety tools used