The following blog post is Part 5 of the Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition campaign, Dreadstorms Lost. These blogs are intended for other game masters who might want to use this campaign setting and the scenarios to inspire their own role playing games. (Free for noncommercial reuse.)

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Notes:

Guard Duty

The game begins with the players’ characters at 1st level, shiny new Protector Trainees reporting for their first day of guard duty at the south tower of Berlstrum.

If you have 6 or more players, you can split them into 2 teams. Yes! Split the party. It’s always more fun that way. If you have 3-5 players, you will start with twice that number of protectors Protector Trainees reporting for duty as players. 

Stats for several sample NPCs [Non-Player Characters] are at the bottom of the page. Note, this campaign was created for 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons. Any stats provided are 5E specific, but the rest would probably work in any RPG environment.

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Setting

♣ The tower [107] sits immediately outside the South gates, flush to the city wall to the north, the high cliffs at its back, the Free Road passing in front. The tower rises above the city wall by 50 feet. 

The roar of the Thornbreaker River passes under the land bridge to the south of the Tower. Thousands of feet below the water crashes into the Forlorn Bay. The spray from the mighty waterfall leaves everything slightly misted and damp. Incoming traffic has to cross the windy, damp land bridge before approaching the South tower. Traffic leaving Berlstrum goes through an inner gate, down a zig-zag passageway before reaching the outer gate. Neither gate has been lowered in over 10 years. The gate houses [2 & 106] that contain the portcullis mechanisms have become places to store odds and ends, rats’ nests, and spider webs. ♣

Day 1 – Marching Orders

At noon, Kazel and Foreshot Dreadstorm greet the trainees at the base of the South Tower outside the city gates. While Kazel goes over the basics, Foreshot leans against the tower wall, watching them.

Kazel to trainees:

Your mentors feel that you have successfully reached a level in your training that you should be able handle tower duty. You will be at the tower for 7 days. Your job while here is to keep on the lookout for hostiles. You are divided into 2 teams. Every 9 hours the teams rotate positions. Within each 3-person team, it is up to you to decide who gets breaks and when.

Foreshot hands each trainee a smooth, flat-dull-gray river rock with a simple etched rune. The stones are activated by licking them, which the Dreadstorms won’t tell them unless asked. The rune on the rock will glow white when activated and continue to glow until the receiver (one of the Dreadstorms) arrives.

UPPER TOWER GUARDS: One team is inside the tower, at the top to keep an eye out for large incoming groups like caravans, the Sovereign’s Patrol, invading armies, and … yes … even the entertainers parade. In the case of an incoming group – activate one of these stones, which will alert the champions.

GROUND/GATE GUARDS: Each guard should have one of these rune stones on them at all times. DO NOT activate the stone because you’re bored and want to chat. I will shoot you with magic missiles and Foreshot will probably just pummel you to pieces.

You’ve each been issued a bed roll, a canteen, a tinderbox and enough trail rations for 7 days.

Players can note these items on their inventory.

One of us will be by to check on you a couple of times during the week to make sure you haven’t killed yourselves or wandered off. Don’t worry. We haven’t needed to close the city gates in over 10 years. You’ll be fine.

Kazel and Foreshot will then leave the trainees to sort themselves out unless they have any questions.

Guard duty is dull, monotonous, and boring. The first couple of days are pretty uneventful. During this time the players have a chance to role play getting to know their fellow party members. Encourage the players to introduce themselves in character and them to tell you what they do during their guard time. The NPC group will keep themselves separate for the most part unless directly engaged by the party members.

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Optional NPCs for the other team of tower guards/NPC:

• • Amira Northwing (level 1 half-elf rogue)
  • Dorn Tallstag Eirkash (level 1 human wizard)
  • Moregore Grayfist Ironbreaker (level 1 dwarf fighter)
  • Stormy Mogwater (level 1 human cleric)

Up Next: Guard duty!? Well, this will be dull. OR will it?! What excitement awaits our players in the Guard Tower? #6 – Guard Duty! Go! – Dreadstorms Lost