Greetings, 3WD-verse! DM Chis here. In our latest Return to the Further session last Wednesday night, the players valiantly battled a Dragonborn Mummy Lord and his Green Dragon protector to remove the evil taint that had claimed the ancient elven city of Ennama. All that in two hours on a Wednesday night. Mini-session campaigns can be a great alternative to long in-person games, especially if your players live elsewhere, and a really fun way to experience bite-sized chunks of D&D during the long workweek.
The “Wednesday-Nighters” has become a fun tradition that originally started on Tuesday nights with the Heroes of the Well and the original Further campaign. It’s a weekly, depending on schedules, 2 hour (or less) session on Roll20 that starts a little after dinner. We’ve been doing it now for a couple of years, so I thought I’d share the steps I use to prepare and DM a game in short sprints.
Where are we Going?
The first thing that I do is spend some time during the week contemplating where we are and where we are likely to go. Nothing too serious, work is still a priority, but enough to get a handle on the plot and how far along the players are. The advantage of the mini-session is that it provides fine control over the story. I’m able to react and adapt quicker if things go awry. Just make sure to start off with a brief recap of the last session to get the players into the spirit.
In Return to the Further, the players are in a race against time to reclaim and reactivate the three ancient elven cities, or Myth Ath Sel Fae, before a dark lord of the Fey called The Shadow King, leads an invasion into the Further. Several sessions ago, they reclaimed the ancient elven city of twilight, Lareth. In our latest session, the players are working on reclaiming the 2nd city, Ennama, the ancient elven city of light.
The previous session had ended with them inside the tomb of a Dragonborn Mummy, but not yet deep enough to reach the boss. So I spent some time during the week thinking about the big upcoming encounter, but more importantly I thought about how this fits in with where we are going next. The increased frequency of play means that you should always be thinking ahead. A lot like traffic, it’s not necessarily the car in front of you, but rather the car in front of them that you need to be aware of.
Who are the Players?
The day of the session, I start by reviewing the characters. This is a fantastic tip I picked up from Return of The Lazy DM. It helps you to focus on the players, rather than the bad guys. This is their story. I have a bulleted list of the characters, with bits about backstory and motivation to make it easier to understand what that player wants. A record of what important magic items they have received so far finishes the brief bio. You don’t necessarily need to write down every mundane magic item they pick up, but having a list of the campaign or character altering one’s helps you to make sure that all of your players are being rewarded adequately.
The current players in Return to the Further are DM Lenny’s Drow Cleric named Guernon, DM Tony’s Human Rogue named Darius Leone, my brother, the “Monster Wrangler”, Matt’s Half-Orc Barbarian named Thokk Crushall, and our friend Luke’s Human Wizard named Jon Irenicus. In the spirit of brevity, I’ll just cover DM Lenny’s character, Guernon.
As you can see in the example below, I’m capturing enough information about the player to be able to quickly pull them up in my head on game day. It starts with name, hometown, and a little backstory info, then we get to the really important parts.
First, why is the character adventuring in your world, besides the plot you’ve given them? Call that their motivation, if you will. Guernon was drawn away from his hometown by the voice of his deity, so I focused on Faith as his guiding principle. Then comes the arc. This is a combination of the character’s guiding principle and the story you’ve created. I chose Holy Champion as Guernon’s arc – it fits with his background and calling, as well as providing me with a guideline for rewarding the player as the campaign progresses. Finally, the list of magic items of note that Guernon has collected so far. I’m focused on the items he has received that make a real difference in his character or the story. Now, with minor alterations, I have a quick reference for Guernon, and my other players, that can help me prepare without much fuss.
- Lenny – Twilight Cleric
- Name: Guernon
- Hometown: Deadworth
- Drow – Doesn’t know parents, given up to the church at birth
- Why, besides the letter, is he adventuring?
- Faith – Hears the voice of the Gray Prince, which draws him away north from Deadworth
- Arc: Holy Champion – E’Sum Ath Lareth (The Son of Twilight)
- Meets the Grey Prince, asked to find followers for an upcoming war
- Items
- Tel Lareth Aegis (The Twilight Protector) – Weapon of Warning
- Tel Lareth Tieti (The Twilight Eye) – Amulet of the Devout
- Worn by last E’Sum Ath Lareth
What Happens Now?
The opening to your session is always important, but doubly so when you’re only playing for around 2 hours. No one wants to spend their Wednesday nights in-game shopping, so I focus on the opening to set the tone and get them into action quickly. Usually, I try to get a couple paragraphs or bulleted items that set the party in some sort of motion. It doesn’t have to lead to combat, but I love using a battle to get the party going on Wednesday nights. Rolling is key to getting your players into the game quickly.
Below is the opening scene I used in the previous session of Return to the Further to get the party moving. I used the celebration in Stormtooth, the capital city of the Further, as a way to engage in some quick roleplay with the party, then had Dommus Grey (my lore NPC) show up and provide the momentum and target for the session. There are times, especially when only playing for 2 hours a week, when you need to focus the party on the goal and let the lair or encounter handle player agency. In this example, I needed to get the party to Ennama. Once they get there, then they can decide when/if to enter the Dragonborn tomb and how to proceed.
- The PCs return to Stormtooth with the missing townspeople. A great celebration ensues. The Queen and Dommus Grey meet them in the city.
- Something happened while they were gone. Many of the cultists have awakened with no memory and the forces of Somsari that were engaged with the Stormtooth navy have retreated to the depths.
- After the celebration, Dommus takes them aside and tells them about the massing of an enormous army of Shadow King forces in the Dragon Kingdoms, just across the water from the Edge.
- Invasion may be imminent, although the victory in Stormtooth is good news.
- The cities are the key – go to Ennama
Scenes and Encounters
The best way to judge the overall length of your session is the number of scenes and encounters. Although it may not be as important in a full-length session, having an idea of how long this session will last can be very useful for mini-sessions. Especially if you don’t have a lot of time to prepare. No point in expending energy for something that will end up happening the following week or not at all.
For the Wednesday night 2 hour games, I shoot for 5-6 scenes/encounters per session, with around 2 of them being combat. I’ve found that any more usually means it’s going to get cut and put into next week, while any less and I’m often forced to go full improv.
I like to think of scenes like a film director would – what are the key moments I want the players to experience as we move through the session? It doesn’t mean they have to happen, or happen in the order you list them. But with a mini-session, you want a clear and concise path leading to the goal for that night. We’re not trying to create an experience devoid of description and role play just for the sake of our 2 hour limit, but we also don’t have much time to work with.
Below are the scenes I prepared for the latest Wednesday nighters session. I wanted to get them to the ancient elven city of Ennama, introduce them to the Dragonborns that watch over the city, and get them inside the Dragonborn Mummy Lord’s tomb.
- Return to Stormtooth with the townspeople
- Celebration, highlighting the defeat of the Somsari cult
- Dommus sends them onto Ennama
- Travel to Ennama
- Arrival
- Protective barrier around city
- Meeting the Dragonborn guards, Iaingellan and Rapalford, at the protective barrier
- Brought to the leader, Dan’Dakken
- Outside the tomb with Rapalford
- Lair
Final Thoughts
Having a weekly D&D game stirs something nostalgic in me. It harkens back to childhood when we played all the time. But then life happens, and scheduling becomes the BBEG. With a little bit of work, you can recapture the magic with mini-sessions. 4-6 hours can be difficult to find open space for, but a couple hours on a weeknight is a much easier fit. Just follow the steps I’ve learned to keep it feeling like any of your other full-session campaigns to your players.
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