Happy Holidays, friends!
‘Tis the season to celebrate family and friends through a variety of unique traditions. Some of us sing holiday songs. Some of us cook incredible feasts. Some of us believe the season doesn’t officially begin until Alan Rickman falls off the top of Fox Plaza in Century City.
“Oh no. Not again.”
And some of us ring in the season with Adventure!
It’s true, I’ve made it an annual tradition to play Strahd Must Die Tonight every year at Halloween. And, well, take a peek at this one-minute clip showing how that last turned out for me:
Seriously, I don’t think my jaw’s ever dropped so far so fast. And then the full 30 seconds of panicked reading before I come to the conclusion that yes, indeed, my players had just beaten me in a completely unexpected fashion? Classic.
Well anyway, because I’m clearly a glutton for punishment, I’ve started offering sessions of another holiday-themed adventure. This time, it’s a unique 1v1 D&D 5e Module pitting a single unarmed hero against a baker’s dozen of heavily armed Drow invaders: DROW HARD.
Based on the film of a similar name, DROW HARD is incredibly challenging and a hell of a lot of fun. Last year, I challenged a member of the cast of Theatre Unleashed’s A Very DIE HARD Christmas, and well… in spite of a valiant effort on the part of our hero, the bad guys won.
This year, I challenged one of my best friends, Matt LePage, to see if he could survive this near-impossible scenario.
I’ve gamed with Matt for over twenty years now, and if there’s one thing I know about him, it’s that he knows how to build an optimized character.
So, last night, I threw down the gauntlet, and told him to bring the munchiest level 5 character he could. This morning, he accepted. And he did not disappoint. J’han of Clan Maklaine is a Custom Lineage Fighter/Rogue (Assassin) who is super fast and can do multiple rounds of disgusting amounts of damage before the bad guys can even act once.
But ask him to pass a Perception check? Heh, good luck with that.
Oh, and he took full advantage of the magic item slots I offered him, bringing goddamn Scorpion Armor to the table. I mean, it was my fault for allowing it. But still, I honestly thought that maybe, just maybe, my warriors could last long enough to land a grapple on his character, and then the joke would have been on Matt.
Sadly, that was not to be. Ah, what could have been…
That said, we had an epic session full of roleplay, adventure, and some great laughs. We’ll be talking about this one for years to come, I hope!
But don’t take my word for it. Check it out below! I won’t spoil anything for you, save to say that absolutely nothing went to plan for anyone involved in this story.
Want to play DROW HARD with GM Greg?
I have to say, Matt did pretty well. But do you think you could do better? How about you book a session of DROW HARD with me and find out! I’m offering sessions from now through early January 2024. Yippee Ki Yay, motherfuckers! Let’s go!
About DROW HARD: Three Levels of Sheer Adventure by DMDave and featuring art by Tom Cartos
Drow Hard is a solo Fifth Edition game for one 5th-to-6th level character. If more players wish to play, they can take the parts of the opposition. A character who successfully completes this adventure should earn enough experience to gain the 6th level. Although this adventure is intended to be a stand-alone adventure, it’s possible to insert this adventure into a larger campaign with a few minor adjustments. This might work especially well on game nights where only one player and the GM can show up and they both still want to enjoy a game. If you can’t tell by the subject matter, this adventure is inspired by the classic holiday/action film Die Hard. Watching the film before you run this module may help you get a better feel for the action and how it should be run.
Adventure Background
The Nagatomi Cloning Facility is one of the most prestigious research centers in all the world. Thanks to its countless innovations, the people of the world have better health, better technology, and an overall better quality of life. The facility’s current director, Josefina Takagi, has once again led her team through a year of triumphant breakthroughs. And now, with the winter festival just around the corner, she’s throwing a party for her team.
Just as everyone was settling in, a band of drow terrorists led by the cruel Hanna G’rubr entered the complex and took all 33 party-goers hostage, including Josefina Takagi. Armed with poisoned weapons and explosive wands of fireballs, no one dared to oppose G’rubr and her fellow drow.
Little did G’rubr know, a seasoned adventurer was in the master suite changing when the Drow broke in. Free of their weaponry, the adventurer hid while the Drow terrorists passed, taking to the facility’s air duct network. Now it’s one adventurer against thirteen well-armed Drow warriors.
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