I’m running the second zero session for another two players in the party: a monk named Krolm and a fighter name Direcris. I chose these two because they both have more serious, individualistic backstories. I designed their encounter to require cooperation and to build a little trust between them. Hopefully this will give them a bit of hook as they join up with the broader party.

Like last time, my goal is primarily to help these players flesh out their characters and get a bit more comfortable role playing. So even though this encounter is for a couple brawling characters, I don’t plan on having much traditional combat.

[If you want to follow along with the campaign as a story, spoilers ahead]

Instead, I’ve prepared a tournament with three challenges. After the three challenges, there’s a brief combat with a hobgoblin, but I’ve lowered the difficulty on that to make it a bit more straightforward.

To force the players to cooperate, they’re chained together. To add some tension and to keep the pace up, they’re racing against another team of two.

I wanted challenges that would give the players an opportunity to form bonds. The premise I came up with for this is that they’ve joined a tournament that’s kind of like American Idol for adventurers. As a result, the tournament tests all of the various skills an adventurer might need, rather than being a pure strength test.

A test of courage

The first challenge is a chance for the characters to trust each other, so I wanted something that requires one player to put their faith in the other, followed by something that tests that faith.

What I came up with was a pit. Midway down that pit hangs the key to the door they need to pass through. But once they’ve dangled one of the players into the pit, a lightning trap will spring and begin to charge. There’s nowhere for the top player to hide – they have to choose between undoing their manacle in order to run, or holding firm and taking the lightning to hold onto their partner.

Again, the zero sessions are supposed to be easy, just creating some fodder for the players to build their characters off of. So I inscribe on the wall “A test of courage” to make it obvious that running probably isn’t the right choice.

The pit‘s depth is also an illusion, so players could also solve the problem by both jumping in.

A test of strength

Next, the players will come to a room with a giant badger. The giant badger has a key that they need to reach the next room. They can fight the badger, but if they chatted up the guard in the waiting room before the tournament began, they’ll have found out that secretly the badger isn’t that vicious and responds well to scratches behind the ears.

A test of coordination

Finally, to create a bit of dialogue between the characters, the final challenge is a hallway. Polls will leap out randomly and I’ll have the players make dexterity saving throws. If they fail, they’re hit by the pole and knocked back 10 feet. If they succeed, they have to write where they jump in secret. If the players jump to different sides, then the pole catches their chain and knocks them back.

The poles will come out vertical, horizontal, 2 at a time, and then as 2 side by side X’s. My goal is to help them start making plans.

Final combat

After all this, the pair will be dumped into a large arena with a chalice that they need to retrieve and bring to a pedestal at the edge of the arena. A hobgoblin defends the chalice. To make the combat easier, I lowered the hobgoblins AC to 16.

They’ll have to coordinate their moves, since the chain only allows 7 feet of distance between them.

Also, depending on how well they did on the other challenges, the other contestants might show up:

• If they passed every challenge with no failures, the other contestants won’t show up at all
• If they had some failures, the other party will show up right as the players acquire the chalice
• If they failed almost every challenge initially, the other contestants will already be there fighting the hobgoblin when the players first arrive

NPCs

For this encounter, I needed a game master and a guard to explain the rules to them at the beginning:

Kliats

• Game master

• Female hobgoblin

• Red hair with orange streaks and glitter

• Black leather clothes covered in red, flame-shaped armor

• Carries a Blackwood staff with a ruby in it

• Loves to showboat, kind of has a vibe like the announcers in the Hunger Games

• Used to run the games when they were more violent, kind of misses those days now that Darguun is trying to be a more civilized country

Stusx

• Goblin guard

• His other job is taking care of the animals

• Knows that the badger, named Skritch, likes to be pet

• Is sulky, because he doesn’t like that Skritch is going to have to get into a fight. Tells the adventures not to hurt him.

I also want to set up the first adventure hook for the main campaign. The reward for winning the tournament is a meeting with a representative from the Korranberg Chronicles. Getting an in with the Chronicles is a great way to start your career as an adventurer. That NPC:

Davvry Whistone

• Gnome bard

• Young, new employee of the Korranberg Chronicles

• Believes that a good story of heroism could unite Khorvaire after the Last War

• But generally disenchanted with how many adventurers are just in it for fame and glory

• On the lookout for true heroes who’s story he can tell

• In the meantime, looking for adventurers who’s escapades he can at least spin into uplifting stories

Wrap up

After the tournament, the characters will meet Davvry. If they lose, I’ll have Davvry seek them out to say that he was impressed even though they lost. Davvry will offer to take them to Korranberg to get a provisional mission for the Chronicles.

On the road to Korranberg, the party will be ambushed in the night and Davvry kidnapped. That’s where we’ll end the session. The campaign will begin with the rest of the characters stumbling upon Krolm and Direcris (the two players for this zero session) looking around their campsite for clues.