Back in Baldur’s Gate
There’s something about Baldur’s Gate that feels like coming home. Every cobblestone and tavern bench is already burned into my head, and now I get to drag seven unsuspecting adventurers through it.
Session zero was all about getting to know the party, and somehow, we’ve got a crew of seven. Massive party. Maybe too massive but with one player leaving in a few months, and everyone else with jobs, conflicts, and lives, I don’t expect everybody to show up every week.
Descent into Avernus has the party pick a ‘dark secret’ that connects them before the campaign. Make sure to use the Dark Secret mechanic. It’s a huge boost towards cohesion. The dark secret the party chose? Thieving. A bottle of perfume they stole and never opened. The first roll of the campaign determined who knows about it. And of course, it’s Duke Vanthampur. They don’t know who that is yet. But it’s going to be delicious when that bomb drops.
Last week we closed session zero with quick solo RP vignettes, Flaming Fist soldiers rousting each character, dragging them to the Basilisk Gate. A fun technique, by the way. One‑on‑one, five‑minute scenes with each player to set tone and stakes. The gate’s about to be their first official “you’re drafted” moment.
Prep for me this week has been mostly about not screwing with the module. Descent Into Avernus runs fine by the book, tight plotting, solid NPCs, so my job is filling in blanks, not rewriting. The Basilisk Gate encounter didn’t come with a map, so I built one. Threw in peasant tokens too. My players like combat, so I want that option prepped, even if it’s just athletics checks instead of initiative.
From there, they’re heading to the Elfsong Tavern. I’ve fleshed out a couple of NPCs from the book. Fane the shipwright will shout about ghost ships drifting in from Elturel. Whaul Nightly, the rat‑catcher, will share a story about finding a hand in his traps and makes bad puns about it. (“Thought I caught me a handsome rat. Turned out it was just a hand.” It’s awful. I love it.) I’ve even got music ready, someone out there recorded the Elfsong itself, and it’s going to haunt the whole room.
Realistically? I expect them to interrogate the informant, fight the pirates, and maybe maybe peek at the Dead Three dungeon. But our sessions are short. Half the fun is in the detours. If they somehow sprint ahead? Dungeon’s prepped, ready to go.
And yeah. It’s good to be back in Baldur’s Gate. Even if the streets reek of blood and the taverns feel too familiar. Let’s open the gates.
