Intro to DnD 5E | By the Light of the Harvest Moon

About the adventure

The harvest festival is a time for celebration, but something comes on the night of the Harvest Moon that sends the revelers to bed early every year. Your adventuring group is traveling through this small hamlet and decides to stop for the festival, but stories of what happens to those found outside after dark send chills down your spine. Do you investigate? Or do you hide inside until morning with the rest of the town? This five-hour 1st Level adventure includes a one-hour How To Build a Character session for new players and a four hours of harvest festival antics complete with a fae encounter too good to ignore. Parts of this adventure will be tailored to the characters created at the table. Best for a party of 3-5 players. With this adventure, you'll learn the basics of creating a level 1 character for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, roleplaying skills for interacting with townsfolk and monstrous things, and a light exploration of combat mechanics (although that does depend on player actions). This is a great encounter for players who are new to roleplaying, who are new to this edition of Dungeons and Dragons, or who enjoy a roleplay-heavy GM style. Adventure Goals: Help with the harvest, enjoy the festival, and don't get kidnapped by fey (or do! that could be fun!)

Additional Details

How to prepare

For Online: Players will need at least a mic and a free account on Discord. For In-Person: Players will need dice or a dice rolling app, a printed character sheet, and a pencil. Notetaking ability is encouraged.

What I provide

For Online: We will use a PDF copy of the Player's Handbook and a dice rolling bot in my Discord server. We will use both voice and text channels. I will provide illustrated maps and item cards. For In-Person: We will use my physical copy of the Player's Handbook. I will also bring my battle mat, figurines, and printouts of locations.

Gameplay details

This adventure can explore combat mechanics, but is more heavy on learning to create a character and roleplay. It starts with a festival atmosphere and takes a left turn into diplomacy and bargaining. You can get through this adventure without killing anything if you play it that way. Items are important in this adventure, so keeping a thorough inventory is necessary. Fortunately as a first level adventurer, you won't have too much stuff. Content Warnings: There are themes of charmed people doing things against their will and being kidnapped. Players may roleplay drinking at the festival, but are asked not to roleplay excessive drunkenness.

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

(none)

How will character creation work

The first hour of this adventure is dedicated to learning to create a character. Before the session, players will be provided with a character creation cheat sheet that I created and a character sheet PDF. During the session, players will have access to my PDF of the Dungeons & Dragons 5E Players Handbook or my physical book if playing in person. We will walk through character creation together. Custom personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws are encouraged if you've got something in mind ahead of time. Default starting equipment will be used. We will not be using any books other than the Player's Handbook for this adventure.

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.