Game Club Dungeons and Dragons: The Scarlet Citadel Part 2

Last week I started a series of posts that will recap the Dungeons and Dragons game I am leading with a small group of teens from my Game Club.  These are brand-new players to Dungeons and Dragons.  You can review the introduction and explanation of the Game Club as well as the first session recap here:  The Scarlet Citadel Part 1  You can also catch my recap on the Podcast Teachers in the Dungeon.  Here is the link to that first episode:  Teachers in the Dungeon  

The story picks up in the town of Redtower where the adventurers Posun the Wood Elf Monk and Faist Roffton the High Elf  Sorcerer have assisted a caravan of raw materials to the town.  After delivery to Agneiska, she recommends the adventurers head to the Cage Tavern and Inn where they should find food and lodging.  The two head across town to the Cage Tavern and Inn.  They are immediately taken by the large rib cage bone structure outside the inn leading into the construction of the building itself.  As

they enter, they note that the rib cage is incorporated into the construction of the building.  They note the eclectic architecture when the proprietor of the Cage Tavern and Inn welcomes the pair.  Ariadna and Ambrozy Gjorski offer them a room that includes a warm meal and breakfast.  Then, noting that Faist and Posun are new to Redtower, they introduce them to another newcomer named Striker.  Striker is a halfling and a little suspicious of strangers.  Ariadna suggests that if they have come to Redtower for adventure, they have come to the right place.  There are plenty of avenues for mercenary work and adventure in the White Forest, but most come to explore the Scarlet Citadel.  Posun mentions that they were ambushed by goblins on their travels to Redtower and that the goblins mentioned the name Gellert the Gruesome.  Ariadna makes the connection to the Scarlet Citadel by mentioning that rumor has it that Gellert is likely in the Citadel somewhere.  

Ariadna excuses himself to wait on other customers.  Posun and Faist talk with Striker to get to know him when they notice an old, grizzly soldier seated at a nearby table has taken interest in them.  The soldier is a younger man who just giggles and grunts.  The man introduces himself and his companion as Ted and Squeeks.  Ted asks them about their adventures, then interrupts their answer to tell them about his forays into the Scarlet Citadel.  As Ted talks more about the Citadel and the riches, he becomes crazed and incoherent all the while Squeeks just giggles and encourages Ted.  The party ends the conversation rather abruptly, and they head to their rooms to sleep.  

In the morning they decide to explore Redtower a bit and head to the Sweet Sap Brewery.  They meet Remy Argentford and Mags Halfbottle.  They are a couple of halflings who purchased the business a while back, but they become quite obsessed with Striker.  Being a halfling, Remy and Mags are so glad to meet him.  When they ask about his family name, he tells them, a bit suspiciously, that he has no family or family name.  The two become quite distraught with this as they cry and wail that Striker has no one.  They pledge friendship to him, feed him well, and move on to do other work.  Faist and Posun find some enjoyment in the attention that Striker received, but Striker seems quite unphased by all of this fuss.  

The trio decides the next step is to head for the Scarlet Citadel to see what all the talk is about.  

This ended the play session.  I was happy that they reported they had a good time.  When playing with teenagers, it is always dangerous to have a session that doesn't include combat or other similar action, but they really enjoyed the role-play in Redtower.  The session met most of my goals as DM.  I wanted the players to continue to explore their characters' personalities and skills of their characters.  The role-play helped with all of that.  The only goal we didn't meet was to get to the Scarlet Citadel, but that is where they are headed.  All in all, the session went well.  Stay tuned to part three in a few weeks. 

Game Club Dungeons and Dragons: Scarlet Citadel Part 1

I started a new Dungeons and Dragons campaign in my high school Game Club recently, and I plan to recap the adventure here on Seeking Positivity in the Galaxy.  Why?  Because there is so much positive to playing an RPG game, and Dungeons and Dragons happens to be the game that brings me the most joy.  On top of that, I love teaching it to new players, and my entire group of students playing is brand new to the game.  

A little about our Game Club before I get to the first recap of our game session.  The club started in the spring of 2014 in the second semester of my first year at the school.  A group of about 5 students approached me and heard I had run a game club at another school, and they hoped I would be willing to start one at this school.  If these 5 students could see the club today, I am pretty sure they would be very happy with what it has become.  The club now has four different kinds of game meetings: Board and Card games, Miniatures games, Geopolitics (a game developed by our students), and RPG's (Dungeons and Dragons).  The club has over 70 students and staff who are active in the club.  Last year, the club had an attendance of 568 for the year.  This year at the time of this post we have had 306 attendance so far!  

We have eight games of Dungeons & Dragons going this year with anywhere from 3 students to 6 students per game.  Four of the games are run by staff members and four games are run by student Dungeon Masters.  

The game I am running has four freshman students who are completely new to the game.  Since it has been a few years since I have run a classic dungeon crawl, that is what I went with to teach these students how to play.  I am using the published adventure titled, The Scarlet Citadel: A Dungeon of Secrets written by Steve Winter and published by Kobald Press.  

Here is the narrative I wrote to introduce the adventure:  "You have been hired by Warren Hammerstone to protect his wagons of goods headed to RedTower.  He is pretty grumpy about having to hire someone to 'protect' his goods, but there has been just enough trouble along the road that shipments are required to have protection."  

The two characters who started this adventure are Posun a wood elf Monk and Faist Roffton a high elf Sorcerer.  They met when they answered the call from Warren Hammerstone.  Posun has turned to adventure to challenge himself and discover the world.  His village burned and his father died when he was 15 when the temple took him in.  His adoptive father gave him a rune of Tyr when he left the temple.  Faist Roffton was expelled from his school of magic when he accidentally set the library of spell books and scrolls on fire.  The fire burned the goods of the library but was not hot so Faist did not realize he was in the fire.  He is unaware, but he has a rune burned into the temple of his head.  

Posun and Faist left the village to protect two wagons of goods from Hammerstone's forge and metal works with two drivers and a salesman.  The trip was to take two full days of travel; they should arrive in RedTower by dinner of the second day.  In the afternoon of the first day they encountered two soldiers on horses looking for a merchant named Dugan Lovay whom they hadn't seen, so the soldiers continued on to the village which Posun and Faist had just come that morning.  In the evening the road moved into the White Forest and as the sun was lowering, they heard a voice say, "Looks like some nice things in those wagons" as a goblin stepped out in front of the mules of the front wagon.  Another voice in the trees said, "Gellert the Gruesome might reward us well if we brought some of that treasure back!"  An arrow sailed out from the trees, hit the driver of the front wagon, and he fell dead.  

Posun and Faist fought this group of six goblins to victory, however; the archer from the trees escaped.  The driver of the second wagon and the salesman were both kept safe during the battle.  As they collected themselves, Faist decided he would drive the front wagon.  As the wagons got back on the road, Posun walking alongside the wagons, noted some boots sticking out of the grass at the edge of the forest.  He allowed the caravan to move ahead and after they passed, he examined the boots to discover they were on the feet of a dead woman.  He pulled the body out of the grass and gave her final rights and placed a rune mark of Tyr on her hand. He thinks this could be Dugan Lovay, but he did not tell anyone else of his discovery even when they arrived at RedTower and were asked about her.  They delivered the goods to Agniezka the Smith in RedTower, and that concluded our first session. 

It was fun to work with these two enthusiastic students.  They had picked up their pre-made characters in advance, so they were familiar with certain aspects, but they didn't know anything about skill checks or combat.  They picked up on that all very quickly.  It was pretty cool to see their eyes as more table items came out like miniatures and maps.  They were sold on the game pretty quickly.  It was a great start.  

I will continue to write about their adventures through the school year, so be sure to check that out here, but I will also be recapping the adventures on the podcast Teachers in the Dungeon.  Join us there too!  

Teachers in the Dungeon Gift Guide 2021

Looking for a good gift for your significant other who plays D&D?  Maybe you are a DM and looking
for a fun gift for your players.  Perhaps you want to treat your DM to a nice gift.  Here are some ideas from Tom Gross and Dan Reem of Teachers in the Dungeon.  (any companies and individuals are pure recomendations from Teachers in the Dungeon, none are paid sponsorships)

Tom's List:  

Dice, Dice, Dice and more Dice!  Feed your #DiceGoblin and buy lots of dice.  Buy lots of dice from your local game store!! 

Dice Box:  The special dice or Game Dice need a special place to hang so they treat you well at the table. A custom-made wooden dice box is a great gift.  It gives your favorite player some swagger at the table when the Dice Box comes out to take control of the game.  

D&D Apparel:  Speaking of swagger, a classic D&D ampersand t-shirt or ball cap gives your D&D gal or guy a way to show their love of the game.  Or, check out some third-party groups that make their own roleplaying shirts.   

Roleplaying Book:  If your player is new to the game, a core rule book or a supplemental book is always appreciated, but for something unique, check out the third-party books.  Kobold Press has a great choice of really cool supplemental books for the player and DM alike.  You might also check out Cawood Publishing for some cool new books.  Also, Raven Press Maps (ravenpressmaps, Instagram) has a really cool and colorful map book with mini scenarios for quick battle opportunities.  

Character Token Sets: These are really cool little tin boxes, unique to the character class, that have a combat tracker tile the player can use to keep track of combat stats, and character condition tokens.  We have used these in our games and they are really helpful and keep you from constantly erasing on your character sheets.   

Dan's List

Minifigures: Whether you get the stock mini's or a custom figure made from a custom service like HeroForge, miniatures make great gifts for the gaming table.  

Miniature Paints: Cephalopod Studios is a small business that produces quality paints that do not need to be thinned, and any friend, player or family member who paints minatures would appreciate these. 

Commissioned Art:  Get your favorite D&D player a custom portrait of their character by commisioning a local artist or one online to create a unique work of art.  These are really special gifts and these talented artists are really great to work with.  The Teachers in the Dungeon recommend Jeremy Cole, Tatterdemaelion on Instagram.  

A quick note...

Before we wrap up, we always recommend buying your supplies and D&D gear and materials from your local game store or local creators.  It seems that you get more for your dollar buying from mass stores and websites, but the real value for your dollar is buying from your local creators and stores.  They support you and your game community in many ways.  They host product releases, they support local libraries and school clubs, they support your economy, they host game nights, they are the experts in the products.  They deserve your support.  

For more details on our thoughts about these products, check out the "Christmas Gift Guide" episode on the Teachers in the Dungeon podcast.  You can find the show on Anchor, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts and more.  On Teachers in the Dungeon, we discuss Dungeons and Dragons 5e and homebrew content from both player and DM perspectives, with additional episodes devoted to other topics related to D&D.  

Teachers in the Dungeon: An Episode Guide

Hello fellow adventurers and welcome to the Episode Guide to the Teachers in the Dungeon podcast.  

The show is a little over two months old and it has grown in ways we didn't see when we recorded our first episode over the summer.  Our goal is to discuss and analyze the games we play, and we plan to discuss other Dungeons and Dragons topics.  We also look to build a positive Dungeons and Dragons community where we celebrate content creators, game builders, Dungeon Masters and players.  Here is a quick breakdown to the different types of episodes you will find on Teachers in the Dungeon.  

Campaign Episodes: 

These episodes are the heart and soul of Teachers in the Dungeon.  We are currently breaking down the adventures of Zedi, Rix, Siv, Borem, Caersws, and Dirichlet.  They are better known as The Tiefling's Jacks.  Tom Gross and Dan Reem recap the adventure, talk about some inspiration for the setting, analyze decisions, mistakes, and successes by characters, players, and the Dungeon Master, discuss the origins of names and more.  These episodes last anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes in time.  The goal here is to make it the length of a short commute.  The Teachers in the Dungeon pack a lot into a little time.  

Random Encounter Episodes: 

Like a random encounter in Dungeons and Dragons, a Random Encounter episode could be about anything Dungeons and Dragons related.  In some upcoming episodes, Tom and Dan discuss their top three non-Wizards of the Coast resources.  You might find some interviews with players in the Random Encounters as well as a peek to the past by discussing Dungeons and Dragons rulebooks from first, second and third editions.  A random encounter is like opening up a chest in the dungeon; you never know what you will find.  

Bonus Action episodes: 

A Bonus Action is a quick and timely move, when you have one you use it!  Similarly, a Bonus Action Episode is a quick and timely topical episode.  Bonus Actions may be a timely interview from a local comic shop anniversary.  It might be a timely book or Dungeons and Dragons resource release that we discuss.  While they may be timely, they are worth a listen anytime.  

 If you love Dungeons and Dragons or just like some fun game conversation, give Teachers in the Dungeon a listen.  We also love feedback!  Leave a comment below or drop us an email teachersinthedungeon@gmail.com

Follow us: 

Twitter: @dungeonteachers

Instagram: Teachers in the Dungeon

Teachers in the Dungeon: A Podcast

I have been excited to announce a new podcast that I have co-created and will co-host.  The show is titled Teachers in the Dungeon where co-creator and co-host, Dan Reem, and I will recap and analyze the games we play and Dungeon Master (DM).  I can give you a hint from some pre-recording, we make a lot of mistakes as players and Dungeon Masters.  If anything, as listeners who aspire to play, DM, or have played for years, it will make you feel better about giving the game a try, because through it all, we have a blast playing.  

At the beginning of this journey, we will have a couple different kinds of episodes.  As mentioned above, one type of episode will be our game recap and analysis shows.  We will also have episodes called "Random Encounters" that will discuss random topics of D&D and role-playing.  Our goal with Random Encounter episodes is to work through 5e rules, table observations, educational opportunities, character creation, and any other random topics that are on our minds.  Down the road, we hope to interview players and content creators from the 5e community.  

Episode 1, to release today August 10, breaks down where the show concept grew (my brain), and a bit about our backgrounds as players and DM's.  When we "dive into the dungeon" in episode 2, you will join our merry band of third level explorers including Borem, Rix, Zedi, Caersws, and Dirichlet as they head into Telesaria a home-brew campaign created by Dan.  

Teachers in the Dungeon will release once a week on Tuesdays, so I hope you join us.  We are always looking for feedback, so hop on our social media or send us an email in the following ways:

Twitter @DungeonTeachers

Instagram:  TeachersInTheDungeon

Gmail: teachersinthedungeon@gmail.com

Website:  www.teachersinthedungeon.weebly.com

"Grab some dice and grab some fun and join the teachers in the dungeon!"