Nearly 2 years ago, I became Dungeon Master of a small group to play D&D 5e (Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition).
I proposed a homebrew campaign/world in which the group seemed to be interested…
This coming Sunday, we start chapter 2 of the Welandar Campaign. It will be session 42. Yes, 41 Game Nights played with 3 of the 4 other members of the group. I won’t lie and say that I didn’t just type that with a little pride. I appreciate very much that the rest of the gaming group has enjoyed the campaign enough to stick with me. I do NOT consider myself a great DM. I’m not bad, but I have never believed I can sweep you away with my storytelling and game moderation prowess. So, again, it is very much appreciated that the group has hung with me for this long, and they seem interested in continuing.
No pressure, eh?
So, Chapter 2. I think I have a solid main story arc. I have even named chapter 2. I will reveal that later on since I want to make sure we get sufficiently immersed in this idea before I officially stamp the name on it 😉
I am working on making this next chapter be in line with the level of characters the group is playing. They have reached what is referred to as the 2nd tier of play in a D&D campaign. They will face challenges and dangers that can threaten things on a state and/or kingdom level. The results of some of their actions will be able to change governments and ways of life in rather large regions. If you have been following my Game Night posts, you would likely agree that they have already started doing this. While they have not yet been directly responsible for things on that level just yet, they will start taking actions that will likely have that level effect on the kingdom of Welandar.
The king is dead. The pact known as Mentari’s Secret is beginning to fail without a Welandar heir to take the throne, and the Dark Tide has been taking more and more action to make that failure complete. If that happens the devil and demon horde stranded on another world will be able to invade.
The group has recently become aware of this. They are also aware that there is an illegitimate offspring of Welandar blood. Based on their recent understanding of Mentari’s Secret, it seems possible to put this unknown Welandar heir on the throne and fully restore Mentari’s Secret. They’ll have to work out the “details” of that, of course.
So, anyway, the next Game Night begins chapter 2. I hope we all enjoy it (y’all included). I will continue my Game Night posts to keep everybody up to date on the progress of the campaign/story.
If you have questions about the campaign, don’t hesitate to ask.
Mind Racing 9 
The plot thickens! I can’t wait to see what will happen. I’m curious as to what the illegitimate heir is like, and also excited for this plotline. “Side” heirs are always a treasure trove of possibility! Here’s hoping for exciting times ahead!
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I hope it thickens a bit for sure. So, my muse kicked in the other night, and I took this heir idea and ran with it. I am hoping for an interesting story for this. The group needs to find the heir BEFORE the Dark Tide finds out about the heir. They have to protect the heir. Then they have to find out what needs to be done to get this heir back on the throne. There are many possibilities there.
I’m hoping for exciting times, too. It was a bit of a rocky start last night, so we’ll have to see.
Thanks for reading, Jay, and thanks for the comment.
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I love the idea of the heir being extremely hard to protect, but I’ll shut up and let your muse do the heavy lifting! 🙂 I’m keeping my fingers crossed that things will run smoothly on the next night!
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Any possibility that they fail to put the unknown heir on the throne and that one of the other protagonists (players) seizes the throne instead?
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Absolutely it is possible. I don’t put the story on rails. They could fail to find the heir as well. Then they will have to take a more “direct” approach to dealing with the Dark Tide. If one of them decides they want to rule Welandar, they will simply have to prove they can. Then that direct approach thing with the Dark Tide will have to be dealt with.
It is obviously in the group’s best interest to find the heir and restore order and Mentari’s Secret that way. That would make them heroes and such. The outcome of other choices would likely not be so… heroic.
Thanks, for reading and the question, Crypto.
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Did you know that “mentari” means sun in Indonesian ( Matahari in Malay, also the stage name of an ill famed exotic dancer and spy during WW1)? And that when you google mentari’s secret that you end up with a song called “love’s secret” by Mentari Senyaku?
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Actually, I did know that. That is part of why I chose the name. Mentari is the known as “Mentari the Builder” in my homebrew world. He is The Creator and effectively created the Prime Material Plane. He is also… technically… responsible for the creation of a few of other gods.
Now I did not know about the rest of the name meanings and associations. That is some interesting stuff. Thanks for that.
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