Creating My First Homebrew Campaign

When I started DM-ing my Voxels & Valor campaign, I told myself that I would do seasonal things for my players to help with immersion in the world and to show that the world went on around them no matter what they did. Like a lot of other DMs, I kept getting sidetracked by things like scheduling conflicts; adjusting for adding and losing player characters; keeping the main story going – because my players keep doing crazy stuff and making me rework parts of the it to keep up with their antics.

So, to make sure I finally succeeded in doing something seasonal, I found a group of players who wanted to do a run through of the introduction to Curse of Strahd, Death House, for Halloween. We’re still playing in the first week of December, so, you can see I’ve run into the same issues there too.

But ever since I got a second group started, I had the idea that it would be so cool to have both parties meet up at some point and play together for a session of two. Then I realized that running a game for thirteen players would be insanely difficult (for me) and probably pretty boring (for them) if I didn’t figure out a way to keep everyone engaged.

With my tail between my legs and my head hung low I turned back to working on my weekly prep for both campaigns. But the idea still nagged at me. My seasonal group’s adventure would be ending soon and Christmas was approaching. I just couldn’t let it go.

Then I saw the trailer for the movie Red One and inspiration struck! Santa – or, at least my world’s version of Santa – has been kidnapped and it’s up to my seasonal group to save him! After an hour or so of research about Forgotten Realms history and lore I had come to a couple of conclusions: first, Christmas and Santa Claus do not exist, and I would need to create my own versions of them; second, there was still a way I could get both parties together, but it would take some craftwork and some subtle guidance (no, not railroading, guidance, commentors) to do so.

If I did it right, the parties could meet and play a session together where they fight the ultimate big-bad to save Santa and Christmas! It would be giant; it would be insane; it would be chaotic…

It would be EPIC!

The Basics

My lower leveled (level 3) group from Death House will be presented with an opportunity to find and explore the Forge of Fury by a friend of a party member once they complete the dungeon and return from Barovia. I’ll have them travel north to Icewind Dale, running into enough trouble and random bad actors to get them most of the way to level 4.

I decided that the Santa Claus character would be a fey elf, an Eladrin, Warlock named who goes by the name Winterfather. His mythos is generally the same: he is a force for good, spreading joy and warmth in the cold dark depths of winter; bringing gifts to those in need – a coin in the shoe of a family fallen on hard times, a loaf of warm bread on a cold winter night, yes, even a small toy for a needy child. I’m having my characters make up tales and stories that they’ve heard about him to further invest them in the story.

Winterfather has a deeper backstory that may prove relevant later, if I can flesh it out enough in time. The simple gist is that he made his pact with the archfey the Sun Prince centuries ago. When the Prince lost his beloved Sharaea’s heart to the mortal hero Hayne Kasar and their betrothal ended, Winterfather tried to console the archfey’s grief and stop his transformation into the Prince of Frost. When he realized that his efforts to save his patron were in vain, Winterfather broke his pact with the Price of Frost, choosing to continue bringing warmth and joy to those in need.

The archfey and Winterfather have battled numerous times over the ensuing centuries, massive conflicts that have laid waste to areas of several realms, Winterfather always hoping to save his patron from his cold and bitter fate. Through the centuries Winterfather has come to represent the good in people, bringing joy, warmth and solace when times are difficult. He is most commonly associated with the Winter Solstice, with most stories telling of his actions in the weeks surrounding that event.

Once in the Dale they will learn that the mythic character, Winterfather, isn’t quite the myth they think; he’s real and he has disappeared! There is only a week until the Winter Solstice and if Winterfather is not found, terrible things could happen.

I will have them travel east to Kelvin’s Cairn, through the Dwarven Valley where they will encounter several dangerous beasts bringing them closer to level 4.

Inside the mountain, they will encounter a cult who intends to sacrifice Winterfather to the Prince of Frost in a ritual that will bring an eternal winter to the Dale, bringing the Frostmaiden’s wishes to fruition.

They will ultimately find Winterfather set to be sacrificed by the cult to the Prince of Frost and thwart the ceremony, only to find that the cult was duped and that they were not serving the Prince of Frost, but the Ancient White Dragon, who bursts into the ritual chamber and decimates the party, leaving them unconscious (I don’t plan on killing them outright). The last thing that the last party member to fall sees is Arveiaturace making off with Winterfather through the opening in the ceiling, assumingly to complete the rite herself.

This would be where my other adventurers arrive, and the epic event begins!

Getting There

One of the characters is an Eladrin and they have been having dreams lately about a man walking on the tundra who turns and beckons to them, seeming telling them to follow. The only landmark in the dream is a tall mountain on the horizon, that the characters correctly assumed is Kelvin’s Cairn. The dreams will continue periodically, leading the party to Kelvin’s Cairn and the entrance to the cult’s lair.

This party, already level 5, would travel north toward Kelvin’s Cairn and follow in the footsteps of the seasonal party, seeing the detritus and carnage they left behind as they infiltrated the temple and tried to save Winterfather. They come upon the seasonal party shortly after Arveiaturace breaks in and steals Winterfather, wiping out the party in the process. Voxels & Valor, hopefully, will revive the unconscious adventurers who will fill in the V&V party on the details of their quest and ask for help saving Winterfather from Arveiaturace before she can complete the ritual.

I took the liberty of moving Arveiaturace’s lair to Kelvin’s Cairn for storytelling convenience. The new, expanded party should then follow the dragon through the exit she made, traversing several dangerous areas and ending up in the dragon’s lair where they find Winterfather laid out on an altar and the White Wyrm preparing for the rite.

Here is where the epic battle begins! All 13 characters are to take on the dragon along with several of her guardians. The battle is designed to be unwinnable, the goal: rescue Winterfather and escape.

Let’s see how it goes. I have a few additional twists to throw out there, all to be revealed as the sessions progress. Stay tuned!