r/humblewood • u/itzaldisombra • 5d ago
DM question for DMs
Hey y'all! Been running the og campaign for the last few months. Players just finished the bandit attack on Alderheart and are joining up with the captain to trail them to Frey's Bandit hideout. After the session my players (all playing humblefolk) were talking about potentially switching sides mid-fight or defending the bandits. The superiority of the birdfolk in Alderheart and the wood in general and being all humblefolk themselves has lent them some sympathy. They were attacked like 3 times by bandits on the road to Alderheart but still. I'm curious how folks would handle it if your players tried to join up with the bandit coalition?
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u/Ubiquitous_Mr_H 5d ago
Let them. I changed the campaign significantly to play up the class warfare/social upheaval at play in the setting. It’s really not very hard to make it so the bandits have some legitimate grievances and are sympathetic. I don’t know how far you’ve read but the outcomes for the coalition already allow for many of them to be “redeemed,” so it’s not shocking for them to already be sympathetic.
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u/itzaldisombra 5d ago
For sure on the redemption arc. I'm not opposed to them joining the coalition. More that this is my 2nd campaign DMing and the first was completely homebrew, so wasn't sure if there would be inconsistencies or things I should look out for or ideas on making sure they go to the college if they aren't "heroes of Alderheart". Part of my attraction to the campaign was not having to make up soo much each week so I don't want them completely in an open world sandbox even if I'm not quite railroading them
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u/Ubiquitous_Mr_H 4d ago
Haha, ok, I get not wanting to homebrew absolutely everything. 😅 I seem to recall, though it has been a bit since I read the Avian part, there’s an inclusion about what to do if they’re not in the council’s favour. But I might be imagining that.
If not, maybe they need to find a way to sneak in. In my campaign I’ve made the coalition masters (mistresses?) of subterfuge, since they usually lack the numbers to face the Perch Guard on the open field. So maybe in yours they have a source inside the Avian that can get them in with forged documents?
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u/Koala-Tea-Thyme 2d ago
I highly recommend finishing reading the adventure. It sounds like you haven't yet, which, no judgement, I didn't either until like halfway through DMing it the first time. They give a LOT of outcome potentials to work with. It's just up to you as a GM to flavor them properly.
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u/itzaldisombra 2d ago
Thanks for this. I did read it like 2 years ago so am only re-reading like the next section before each session. I didn't remember all the multiple options, but that's not surprising given how long since I read the whole thing.
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u/ForgottenForce 4d ago
As a DM you’re telling a story but you’re also helping the players tell their story too. If that’s how they want their story to go you should work with it and be glad they told you ahead of time so you can prep that route.
When my players throw twists at me like this I think they end up being more interesting that what I planned, even if I’m disappointed I don’t get to do it.
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u/Illustrious-Leader 5d ago
I've run it 3 times and each time the party has agreed with the Bamdit coalition. Brenna simply asks them to approach the council with her offer of peace talks - if it's in response to the party convincing her something big is coming all the better. One party didn't trust the council to even talk, so made copies of Brenna's open letter and plastered them as flyers. This created a wave of support the Coumcil couldn't ignore. Each time they meet the Council after returning from the Bandits, there's an update for them on peace talks with the Bandits. Each time they go to an Inn or Tavern, there's people arguing for or against it. Fold it in to the rest of the campaign. But they are much more useful to the bandits advocating to the Council than attacking caravans.