I was very interested to have a look at the new adventure modules in Dragon Delves, which are the first adventures to be issued after the 2024 edition. The 2024 Player’s Handbook was much better edited than the 2014 edition, and my hope was that adventures had benefited from some of that editing expertise.

As you may know, I write adventure guides to WoTC modules (for example my guides to Radiant Citadel, Keys to the Golden Vault and the follow-up adventures to Dragons of Icespire Peak, Storm Lord’s Wrath and Sleeping Dragon’s Wake). My guides are pretty popular, and I think that’s because WoTC adventures can be difficult to scan and parse. So I have opinions on this topic.

The main difference that I can see between the new and the old adventures is that the new adventures have a kind of summary page which tells you some essential information:

• The level of play
• The amount of time
• The environment
• The “Key Plot Points”
• A set of actions to prepare for play
• A list of key NPCs, including role, location, and stat block
• A list of stat blocks used

Overall, I think this is a good page, and I think as a DM you can use it help you prepare a little better. Obviously I don’t think it’s as easy as having a one-pager with all the eight steps, but here’s how I would prepare an adventure with this kind of summary sheet.

In summary

Here’s what I would do to this page:

• Connect the characters to the plot points somehow
• Add a dramatic question to each “plot point”
• Make a separate list of secrets and clues
• Note NPCs motivations and quirks
• Note maps for each scene
• Read monster stat blocks and add CR/XP to the list on the page
• Make a treasure list

Characters

To make the start stronger, focus on how the characters connect with the hook of the adventure. Link them to an NPC, a location, or some of the history of the adventure. WoTC adventures don’t generally talk about this but it’s a really important way give players buy-in. Is one of the characters an elf? Perhaps their ancestor is one of the ghosts. Is one of the characters a thief? Maybe their old rival is one of the bodies in the Gruesome Camp (R7).

Scenes

The “key plot points” in the summary are a good précis of likely scenes, but in my opinion they do not provide for an easy way to open up for character agency. I try to always add some kind of dramatic question to these scenes, to try to make clear for myself what the major character choices are.

In the case of this adventure “Death At Sunset,” there’s some false choices in the scenes. The first scene is a straight-up quest. Take it or there’s no adventure. “They may learn from grove denizens that a new dragon lurks nearby.” And if they don’t? Nothing, they just go in unprepared. The third scene says straight out “the characters must confront and defeat the wyrmling.”

In order to give a bit more space for character agency, I’d try to think about what happens if they want to ally with the wyrmling, what could the wyrmling give them? How could it help the grove? “The characters have to choose between allying with the wyrmling or with the haunted spirits” or “The characters have to choose between the intelligence the wyrmling can offer them and the danger he poses to the grove” are both much more interesting. Going through scenes and creating real choices is the best way to improve the game, and having the scenes written out here is really good practice to see if you can articulate those choices. You might even want to write a one-sentence “epilogue”: “If the wyrmling lives,…” “If the wyrmling is killed, …” and so forth.

Secrets and Clues

Of course, I think you should still go through and highlight secrets and clues (see my article on colored highlighting of adventures). Familiarising yourself with the background isn’t enough, these adventures still tend to hide important information in room descriptions. Since the maps aren’t always steering you right, you need to make sure you have the information you need to give to the adventurers (the Information, Choice, Impact doctrine applies just as much to 5e adventures as to Old School adventures).

NPCs

Note the motivations or quirks of the NPCs. In this particular adventure, the village NPCs are drawn much more in depth than the NPCs later in the adventure. Ponder whether giving more character to the later NPCs will enrich your storytelling. For example, Marilissa, the “devoted servant” of the wyrmling, is really much more like the wyrmling’s mother. Building out her values and their relationship, even if just in your head, will help the adventure come alive. Similarly, the ghost of Ethvarn is clearly important and could become even more so if given a bit more of a story or connected to a character.

Monsters

The monster list is great, just… don’t just bookmark, actually read the stat blocks beforehand. But really this is an A+ list and so useful. I might note CR or XP just to give myself an idea. And maybe how many creatures there are.

Locations

They don’t mention it but you need a list of the locations/maps. There are three locations and two maps, so there isn’t a map of the village, but you could add one if you want. Then there is the quality of the maps, which varies by adventure. In this adventure, the map of the redwood grove itself is pretty underwhelming, and the map of the lair gives you the sense that there’s every chance you’ll miss Marilissa. By going through the maps with your dramatic questions in hand, you can see whether you have the opportunity to answer your dramatic question well. If not… you might have to take some steps to make the question come to life, like putting Marilissa out where the PCs can meet her. In WoTC adventures, maps are central to adventure design, so if you don’t like the map, you should feel free to replace it.

As an aside, wow, I really like Daggerheart location stat blocks and I might create something similar for the lair or the grove. They just get you thinking about a dynamic environment in a different way. Here’s a cursed lake stat block I made if you haven’t seen them.

Treasure

I like a list of treasure, and especially magic treasure, and the reason is simple: many players feel like magic treasure is the real reward of the session, and this is especially true if the NPCs or lore is thin. Here we have a lovely named and themed longsword, so you don’t want to forget about it. Furthermore you can add lots of lovely lore to the jade orb, the gold cup, and so forth. You also have a spell scroll of “web,” a really good wizard spell for this level. But if you don’t have a wizard or sorcerer in the group, this treasure will be largely useless RAW.

As always, if you like this post, you can get future posts in your email by subscribing to the blog (just pop your email in the form field at the bottom). Happy playing!