The Knot in the Weave: A Dungeon of the Mad Mage Campaign | Beginner Friendly

About the adventure

🏆 THE GREATEST DUNGEON CRAWL OF ALL TIME!!! 💰 Treasures both mundane and magical!!! 🗡 Monsters of all shapes and sizes!!! 📜 A DM with the heart of a teacher This is a classic dungeon crawl campaign, influenced by my time as an Infantry soldier - the job is simple, the simple things can be incredibly hard, and every choice could be deadly! I strive for an all-inclusive table where every player is challenged and every character gets a chance to shine, all while laughing and having fun rolling some dice. On Rainrun Street, in the city of Waterdeep, stands a four-story stone and wood building with a slate roof. A simple wooden signboard suspended from a black iron pole over the door by chains proclaims this establishment as "The Yawning Portal". Inside the infamous inn and tavern, a stone lined well, fully forty feet across, descends from the main dining room into the stygian blackness below. This is the entrance to a labyrinthine dungeon shunned by all but the most daring adventurers - Undermountain, the Dungeon of the Mad Mage Halaster Blackcloak. Undermountain features twenty-three levels of adventures, plus the subterranean ancient pirate town of Skullport. Surely treasure and glory awaits, but be forewarned - Halaster is completely insane, luring monsters and adventurers alike into Undermountain for his own entertainment. Behind the bar a fiercely mustachioed bartender leans on one elbow as his eyes sweep over your party in appraisal. "It's a gold per body going, and a gold per body coming, payment in advance each way.", he says, picking up a mug and starting to polish it. "Make sure the lads at the betting board have your names so they can keep the odds straight on you lot coming back - assuming you're brave or foolish enough in the first place."

Additional Details

How to prepare

✅ Working microphone. (Headphones may be needed if feedback is present) ✅ Roll20 account (free is fine) ✅ Be familiar with basic mechanics of Roll 20 (complete Roll20 or YouTube tutorial) ✅ Firefox browser recommended ✅ Have read Basic Rules: Chapter 7 (Using Ability Scores) - 6 pages total ✅ Have read Basic Rules: Chapter 9 (Combat) - 9 pages total ✅ Have read Basic Rules: Chapter 10 (Spellcasting) - 4 pages total Basic rules are provided for free by WoTC via downloadable PDF here: 👉 https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules

What I provide

✅ Ambient music ✅ Sound effects ✅ DM created maps, images and videos to help enhance what the players see ✅ Roll20 Macros that will help play move quicker and are easier to use than navigating the character sheet ✅ Handouts for Roll20 journals specific to the adventure ✅ All WoTC publications

Gameplay details

✔ This is a long term campaign. ✔ Drop-in/drop-out players are welcome, although I hope once you play at my table you'll be eagerly waiting for the next session! ✔ As a disabled veteran myself, I am more than willing to make accommodations to help others participate fully in my sessions. Safety dance stuff: - X,N,O are digital in Roll20, plus you can always audible or whisper at any time. I'm all about everyone at my table having a good time first and foremost. - There will never be the following at my table: 🚫 child/domestic/sexual abuse 🚫 sexual/romantic situations 🚫 any kind of intolerance - All of the content warning tags are things that may be encountered as part of the published material. - Link to the RPG consent checklist will be sent after signup, feel free to use it or another one you like and send it privately to me in discord. - I don't do formal aftercare or debriefing at the end of each session, however I'm always available to chat immediately following the game if needed.

Content warnings

(none)

Safety tools used

Breaks
Lines and Veils
Monte Cook RPG Consent Checklist
Session 0
X, N, and O Cards

How will character creation work

✅ Characters will start at Level 6 (Story based advancement throughout the adventure) ✅ NEW players: "1-on-1" session with DM prior to Session 0 to create character ✅ EXPERIENCED Players: Create on your own if desired, but DM will review prior to Session 0 ✅ Resources: non-optional rules found in the Player’s Handbook, the Basic Rules, and all the books listed below. If a rule has been reprinted in a newer resource, you must always use the latest printing. • Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse • Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons (FTD) • Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes (MTF) • Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide (SCAG) • Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything (TCE) • Volo’s Guide to Monsters (VGM) • Xanathar’s Guide to Everything (XGE) • The Tortle Package (TP) (optional rules and other sources possible once discussed with DM) ✅ Ability Scores: • Standard array (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) • Variant: Customizing Ability Scores (PHB) ✅ Players responsible for their own backstory which they will present to the other characters in Session 0 ✅ Existing Adventurers League characters may be used, subject to providing session logs ✅ Newly created characters start with an extra 250 gp in coin/gear, plus 1 magic item chosen from the following list: • +1 weapon • +1 shield • +1 rod of the pact keeper • +1 wand of the war mage • +1 all-purpose tool (TCE) • +1 amulet of the devout (TCE) • +1 arcane grimoire (TCE) • +1 bloodwell vial (TCE) • +1 moon sickle (TCE) • +1 rhythm-maker’s drum (TCE) • Bag of holding

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.