Red Wizard Detective Agency: A Cold Investigation in Icewind Dale(Drop In Campaign) (1T) (5E)

About the adventure

You are a detective. 🕵️ You work for wizard nobility who own a private investigation agency which serves the noble classes of different governments. 🧙‍♂️ Your bosses are tipped off about a lost city from the ancient Netherese civilization. 🏰 Archeologists and antiques buyers are lining up to fund an expedition to the frozen north. 🌨️ Under the guise of a traveling merchant caravan you and other operatives pose as government contractors to gain access to local records and befriend those in power. 🐕🛷🤝💰 See Icewind Dale and Rime of the Frostmaiden through the lens of mystery and political intrigue. 🔎🗡️ _____ This campaign is inspired by detective dramas such as The X-Files, Scooby Doo, Law & Order, and the vampire owned detective agency Angel Investigations from the Buffy The Vampire Slayer franchise. It is also inspired by business ownership and navigating the royal court from novels such as Banished from the Heroes Party and How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom. These adventures are designed to be heavy on political intrigue, scouting, spying, and crime/corruption investigations while serving the rich and the powerful. The nobility has other sellswords to kick in the door and fight the bad guys. If you like detective shows and the FORGOTTEN REALMS® then this campaign is for you! Join the Red Wizards Detective Agency Today! If you are interested in exploring Faerûn like you never have before join us. It’s the next best thing to having Ed Greenwood at your table. What you get: • DM with over 36 years playing and 35 years refereeing games starting with the B/X set up to 5th Edition. • 35 years of experience with the FORGOTTEN REALMS® setting including novels, video games, and comics. • A canon historical experience in Faerûn based on classic publications. • A modern experience in Faerûn updated from Ed Greenwood’s blog and Twitter posts as he continues to develop the lore of the realms. • Adventure and Intrigue set in the land created by R.A. Salvatore. • Sound effects provided by Syrinscape. • Your choice of theater of the mind or Fantasy Grounds Virtual Table Top. • All adventures include a Pacifist Path where objectives can be met through trickery, quick thinking, or a silver tongue.

Additional Details

How to prepare

• You will need a good microphone and headset. • Provide an email address which will be used for invites and login. • Follow instructions in documentation. • Respond to the Teams Invite • Log on to the Wiki. • Installing the VTT software is optional. o This table is meant to be theatrical role play. o Players are not expected to treat it as a game. o If new to D&D then just show up as an actor. o The DM will run your character sheet in the background.

What I provide

After signup and exchanging contact information you will receive an invite to our document library and wiki with close to 200 articles on the continent of Faerûn. You will also receive detailed instructions on how to create a character in Fantasy Grounds or D&D Beyond if you do not wish to use one of our Pregens. We will be bringing a Fantasy Grounds Ultimate license so you will not need to pay for Fantasy Grounds. A SuperSyrin subscription from Syrinscape is also included. The following books related to the campaign will be in Fantasy Grounds Format : Players Handbook (2014) Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014) Sword Coast Adveturer’s Guide (2015) Volo’s Guide to Monsters (2016) Storm King’s Thunder (2016) Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes (2018) Icewind Dale Rime of the Frostmaiden (2020) Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything (2020) The following references are used in the making of this campaign • FORGOTTEN REALMS® Campaign Setting (1987, 1993, 2001, 2008) • Volo’s Guide to the North (1993) • The Savage Frontier (1988) • The North - Guide to the Savage Frontier (1996) • Waterdeep and the North (1998) • Dreams of the Red Wizards (1998) • The Bloodstone Lands (1989) • FORGOTTEN REALMS® Adventuers (1990) • The Shining South (1993) • Faiths and Avatars (1996) • Lords of Darkness (2001) • Unapproachable East (2003) • Shining South (2004) • Lost Empires of Faerûn (2005) • Power of Faerûn (2006) • Dragons of Faerûn (2006) • Supplemental resources not specific to FORGOTTEN REALMS® include • Planescape Campaign Setting (1994) • Manual of the Planes (1987, 2001, 2008) • Stronghold Builder’s Guidebook (2002)

Gameplay details

We focus on the pillars of Roleplay and Exploration and spend most of our time authoring for those pillars. Combat does not make up a large segment of the game. Using violence to solve problems is a last resort, not a first choice. The characters are not law enforcement nor deputized by the authorities. Monsters may be there like the Zombie genre, but the real monsters are other people. There will also be many moral quandaries throughout the campaign. There is a heavy dose of political intrigue dealing with nobles, guild leaders, faction agents, and religious leaders. Characters will be carrying out missions for the highest ranking members of society and will be expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner befitting of the upper echelons of society. Murder hobos will likely be hunted by the authorities and their companions. This is a West Marches campaign. In addition to regular DM scheduled times a pool of players additional dates/times to participate. You may be playing with different people every time you join up. You may be in a group of all Wizards one time and the next time you might be the only wizard. Adventures are structured as episodic one shots or a serial of one shots just like a TV show. Everything that each adventuring group does influences events for the next group. You may be competing, helping, sabotaging, or cleaning up messes left by the other group. The types of players that will do well in this campaign are the Actor, the Explorer, the Storyteller, the Thinker, and the Watcher. The Power Gamer, the Instigator, or the Slayer are not good matches for a political intrigue setting. This should feel like improv theater rather than a game. The DM reserves the right to record the session to provide a text based recap/transcript and campaign journal based off the recording. We are not setup to give out recordings for players to keep at this time. Please keep all conversation in the game to in game world topics. Please refrain from real world politics, sports team discussions, etc.  SAFETY NOTICE: In most cases content will be PG-13 rated, but content up to MPAA R-Rated, TV-MA, or ESRB “M for Mature” Fantasy/SciFi/Horror are allowed at the table by players, DM, and adventure writers without prior notice. If it appeared in Conan, Beastmaster, or The Barbarian Brothers it will likely be in the game at some point. The FORGOTTEN REALMS® continent of Faerûn is a diverse place and we will not censor or “lighten” any of the content produced through its 25+ years of being known in our world. You will see the people and nation states in all the splendor and horror.

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

Open Door

How will character creation work

• Self-Directed character creation or Choose a pregen character. Instructions will be provided. • Mechanical Requirements: Level 2, 1500 gp, at least human equivalent of age 25 • Backstory Requirements: Social class (commoner or nobility), deity, political affiliation/nationality, university equivalent educational background (wizard school, clergy, spymaster school, military cadet) or enlisted military service background. • Choose Options From: • Volo’s Guide to Monsters • Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes • Sword Coast Adventurers Guide • Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything • Players Handbook. • If you reserve with less than 24 hours before start time you must choose one of our pregen characters.

Players can expect

• Find a game to join solo or search for a professional game master for you and your friends/coworkers/family.
• Book your session and wait for the Game Master to approve you.
• If you don't have a blast with your first game, your next game is on us.