[5E] Storm King's Thunder

[Finarvyn]

My sister wants me to run a 5E campaign using the Storm King's Thunder hardback. She got me the book and the DM screen for the setting. I picked up the board game so I have some giant minis. I picked up the PDF so that I can print off pages as needed.

My problem is that I start reading the book and get all glassy-eyed. So much information to track, so many NPCs to remember. I'm more of an OD&D "wing it" style DM and all of this data is making my head spin.

So... anyone have any suggestions on how to organize the info in one of these hardbacks?

[Finarvyn]

NOTE: I found this

thecampaign20xx.blogspot.com/2016/09/dungeons-dragons-how-to-run-storm-kings.html

but would still like to hear suggestions from other old school gamers on this topic.

[sixdemonbag]

Good questions.

When I ran the 5E starter set (Lost Mines of Phandelver) for the first time, I too was a little intimidated by all the "text." But after that first session, I realized that all I really needed was the maps and monster stat blocks. The only true prep I did was to have a handful of the NPC's written down so I could remember their general appearance, personality, and goals.

Now, for a big hardback like SKT, I would do the same. I'd still read the book just for fun and to get a "feel" for the setting but I would still just use the maps and monsters. Pick a handful of likely NPC's they might encounter during the session and come up with 1 or 2 personality quirks for them and know their basic "motivations" and appearance. You should be able write this down a single piece of paper.

If all else fails, you could always just make something up and make it the "new" canon.

[hamurai]

I'm not familiar with SKT, but I'd advise to just read through the book, only skimming the entries for NPCs unless they're major and essential for the adventure. Then, start from the beginning and read the first two or three sessions, make some notes of the NPCs and note the page they appear on.

During play, players have the responsibility to track NPC names and affiliations etc. That's how we do it. The DM also gives the page number as quick reference in case the players want to get back in touch with the NPC. Usually at that point the DM no longer prepares notes and stuff for NPCs (unless there are still some secrets the players don't know yet), that's entirely in the players' hands.

If you have too much time on your hands, you might as well find some portraits and add them to the NPC descriptions. Faces are easier to remember, that might help the players, too. Just print the portraits with the names and stick your notes to the back with a paper clip or something. The same paperclip can hold the notesheet on your DM screen if you like, while showing the portrait to the players.

As for the rest of the information... you could make a scene map, similar to a flow chart. Put in the names of the adventure chapters. You can add notes to this, too, like dead NPCs and monsters, or found treasure, for example. When tracking time, I use poker chips or dice or something similar. It helps to not have too many sheets lying around.

[strangebrew]

Jan 30, 2019 23:52:22 GMT -6 hamurai said:

During play, players have the responsibility to track NPC names and affiliations etc. That's how we do it. The DM also gives the page number as quick reference in case the players want to get back in touch with the NPC. Usually at that point the DM no longer prepares notes and stuff for NPCs (unless there are still some secrets the players don't know yet), that's entirely in the players' hands.

Just a side note, I've been shifting a lot of the work to the players in my current AD&D 2ed campaign. I don't give them to-hit numbers anymore (except for the new guy) and they have to flesh out their homelands, religions, etc. They even track their own experience - I gave them the XP guidelines from the DMG (I'm trying to play by the book for once) and they give me a tally at the end of an adventure. It totally changed my perspective on running a game - less work for me, and the players like it because they have more agency and involvement. So I guess I also encourage @finarvyn to share the burden with your players whenever possible.

[scottenkainen]

scottenkainenland.blogspot.com/2018/03/
scottenkainenland.blogspot.com/2018/04/

I never did finish that project; it was more like self-therapy after having played it.