The Obojima Podcast the Blog | Episode 60: Can We Write a D&D Adventure in 40 Minutes?

     In this episode, Creative Director Jeremiah and Writer Adam give themselves a creative challenge: Can they come up with an Obojima adventure in 40 minutes or less? Not something that’s just “you walk to a cave and punch a monster”, but something with some substance to it.  What’s more, they added the caveat of the adventure being replayable into the mix. 

     To start, they decided the adventure should start as a one-shot, but leave room to turn it into a larger adventure if they really start liking what they’re developing. The adventure starts in a small, unassuming town — a classic place to hook adventurers. The mysteries start right away as the adventurers find that now that they have entered the town, they cannot leave. They’re stuck by the wave of magical seed pods that have surrounded the town, capturing the residents, and are slowly turning them into plants. The challenge is now set: the adventuring party must figure out what’s happening to this town, who caused it, and figure out how to fix it in order to escape. A possible time limit of two days is suggested in order to keep gameplay focused and moving.

     Now the setting is figured out, they move on to flavoring this village and working out all the people and spirits involved in this mystery. The two creators arrive at some key plot points and elements that will govern the adventure:

• The Captor- An elder, plant-based, dragon-like spirit has been angered and is holding the town hostage until it is appeased

• The Reason- One of the townsfolk stole one of the spirit’s eyes. This eye holds immense power—it grants accelerated crop growth, magical powers, or the euphoric feeling of being an elder spirit. All of these abilities are easy temptations for one of the suspects to want to steal and keep the eye. This is something the adventurers will learn as they investigate the town.

• The Suspects-A group of NPCs are proposed. Each one of them has their own motivation/temptation for stealing the eye: greed, power, vengeance, or magical experimentation. These NPCs are what make the adventure replayable, offering a different scenario to investigate based on which NPC the Game Master decides is the culprit. 

     With the skeleton of the adventure built, Jeremiah and Adam were able to flesh out (get it? Cause it’s on a skeleton? I’ll see myself out) more details surrounding this mysterious village trapped by plants:

• Farmer Bill- Was brought up as an example of a suspect NPC. A down-on-his-luck farmer seemingly becoming successful overnight through use of the magical eye results in an identity crisis when faced with having to choose between his success and the well being of the town. 

• The Pods- An exploration of the plot point where pods surround the village, trapping everyone and putting them under magical effects. Seemingly not affecting the person with the magical eye, and the resulting suspicion and accusations among villagers.

• Morally Ambiguous Artifact Hunters- There’s consideration of a subplot featuring another party who are also seeking the artifact, their detachment from the well-being of the village serves as competition to find the eye and save the town. 

• Corrupting Influence of the Artifact- Discussion on how possessing the magical ‘eye’ could change the holder, causing compulsive or strange behavior, and possibly leading to transformation or loss of self.

• Catalyst for the Adventure- They debate on what event draws the party to the village, including rumors of people turning into shrubs and the appearance of mysterious pods.

• Elder Spirit’s Loss- There’s discussion of the elder spirit’s missing eye, and its haunting presence. There’s talk about a cryptic, repeating message to help drive the plot.

• Atmospheric Elements and Clues- They discuss ideas for atmospheric storytelling, such as the spirit’s eerie sounds, the silence of the wind, and clues for players to uncover the true nature of the crisis.

     At this point, the 40 minute mark is rapidly approaching. Jeremiah and Adam finish out this adventure construction with some more fine details. They discuss narrative hooks to get players involved in the story like encountering the pods on the outskirts of the village or seeing an increasing amount of odd hedges, almost topiary-like versions of Yokario (small monsters that usually like to make big amount of noise) sprinkled in odd spots along the road. The mechanics of the pods themselves are gone over, exploring how they actually turn creatures into shrubbery, and cementing how dangerous they are—especially when they start seeing hundreds or thousands of them surrounding the village. 

     They discuss NPCs who can serve as informational resources like the elder dragon spirit themself, a witch, a Druid, or a Fumoshiki, which is a Ranger-like character who serves as protectors of the elder spirit’s resting place. The Fumoshiki is further delved into, as not only an excellent source of knowledge, but could serve as an antagonist or ally for the party. 

     The town itself was discussed, and whether or not the town would even be friendly towards the party at all, even if they’re there to help them. Would the town have other, internal conflicts that would add the mystery or make things harder to navigate? Would there be representation of some of the common factions found on Obojima, and how would they play into it? 

     Pacing was also touched upon, and the idea of making this adventure more of a slow burn was proposed. The idea of structuring around four to six key events, the importance of the gradual revealing of information and the use of time jumps to prevent stagnation was recommended. There was also a focus on when the Game Master should introduce new elements and clues when the adventurers feel like they’ve hit a dead end. 

     Finally, the all important ending of the adventure was discussed. Which Jeremiah and Adam decided was better to leave undecided and open-ended. Firstly, due to there being multiple NPCs that could’ve been the perpetrator, there wasn’t exactly a clear cut ending. And secondly, so that you don’t get spoiled in case someone decides to run this adventure in the future! 

Not bad for 40 minutes! 

Check out the full video here: https://youtu.be/BJwPcaCddY4?feature=shared