Advice for newbie DM starting at Skinsaw

[Magnus Magnusson]

This is my first DMing job. I am finishing an adventure with my group then planning on switching into Skinsaw without having run Burnt Offerings. My plan is to have the conquering heroes return to Sandpointe where the nobles will throw them a feast in their honor. Mostly, the dinner serves as an event at which the PCs will meet Aldern and other NPCs of the town. Any thoughts on who else they should meet, foreshadowing of future events, etc. They will have conquered Nualia who I placed into the previous adventure.

Any thoughts and advice are met with my sincerest gratitude.

[Cpt_kirstov]

Magnus Magnusson wrote:

This is my first DMing job. I am finishing an adventure with my group then planning on switching into Skinsaw without having run Burnt Offerings. My plan is to have the conquering heroes return to Sandpointe where the nobles will throw them a feast in their honor. Mostly, the dinner serves as an event at which the PCs will meet Aldern and other NPCs of the town. Any thoughts on who else they should meet, foreshadowing of future events, etc. They will have conquered Nualia who I placed into the previous adventure.

Aldern is the main person to meet, but I would have it be the mayor or the town at large throwing the party, (just like the beginning of burnt offerings) instead of the nobles. With the noble houses competing for power, I'm not sure they could stay in the same room for a party/dinner, never mind organize it.

[Coridan]

If you have Rise of the Runelords I recommend running "The Shopkeep's Daughter" section out of it. It builds really well into the first murders. My players aren't sure if the murderer is Shayliss, Aldern or even the PC who got the Sihedron medallion from Nualia!

[Magnus Magnusson]

Thanks for the good advice. Does anyone have any general advice for roleplaying a dinner party?

[Lilith]

Magnus Magnusson wrote:

Does anyone have any general advice for roleplaying a dinner party?

Props.

Not quite sure how you run your games (food & drink allowed at the table or not, etc), but setting a small side table with finger foods that might resemble what's being served at the dinner party. (Roast beef sammiches with au jus, for example, might "replace" a venison roast or something similar.)

Rearrange seating. Most formal dinner parties adhered to a pretty strict arrangement for social ranking. Set yourself, the GM, at the head of the table, and whoever the NPC holding the party perceives as the "leader" at your right, and the "second" at the left.