Sure, yourDungeons & Dragonsplayers might spend most of their time fighting dragons and delving into dungeons, but social encounters are also an important aspect of the game. Plenty of D&D campaigns involve a ball or fancy party at some point, as such events are great set pieces to dramatically advance the plot.
While balls are hotbeds of drama and intrigue, running one during a session takes lots of preparation. While there are a lot of moving parts involved, there’s no reason to stress out. We’ve assembled a list of helpful tips to ensure your shindig is everything you want it to be.
10Do Some Party Planning
Add Character By Figuring Out The Details
Just as in real life, party planning in D&D is all about the details. Aside from the fancy party’s role in advancing your campaign’s plot, you’ll also need to figure out why it’s being held in-universe. Is this the coronation ofa new monarch? An annual charity gala attended by the city’s elites? The purpose will dictate how events unfold.
Once you’ve figured out the how and why of your fancy party, you may start ironing out the finer details. To set the scene, plan for at least a few bullet points when describing decor, entertainment, and food and drink. You should also have a map of your event’s venue if combat is a possibility, although the general layout works just fine for theater of the mind.
9Decide On Your Guest List
The Right NPCs Will Make Or Break The Evening
A ball is the prime location for dozens of potential social encounters, and you’ll want to ensure your party has plenty of options for mingling. For every player in your group, you should attempt to have three to five pre-written NPCs ready by the time the session rolls around. Ideally, you’ll want a mix of both new characters and familiar faces.
Other guests are an obvious starting point, but you should also consider the people responsible for catering and security, as well as spies, entertainers, and possible party crashers. This will help ensure that there’s someone for every party member to talk to without needing to improvise. That being said, don’t be afraid to come up with new characters on the fly to make your ball seem more lively.
8Create The Right Atmosphere
Give Your Party Some Party Vibes
Prewritten modules often contain block text: a paragraph or two of text you can read at the start of a scene to give your players an idea of their surroundings. You might want to write your own for your ball, just as you might when designing a dungeon.
Pay special attention to the overall mood among the ball’s guests. An overly expensive gala among the kingdom’s corrupt nobility might have aristocrats wining and dining without a care in the world, while a more tense affair might have everyone behaving in a more stilted, awkward manner.
7Give Your Players Prep Time
Seriously, Players Will Go Wild Preparing
A ball isn’t the kind of thing you want to throw at your players at the last minute. This is an event with the potential to advance the plot in unpredictable ways and should be taken just as seriously as an important boss fight or dungeon crawl. Unless your party utterly despises the “roleplaying” aspect of RPGs, they’re going to want to prepare for the moment.
Your players may spend time in between sessions to discusswhich NPC they want their character to bring as their dateand what preparations their characters make in-game, such as the bard teaching the rest of the party how to dance or the barbarian learning fancy table manners. Most of all, your group will probably be excited over their character’s outfits, with some even drawing or commissioning art of their PCs in formalwear.
6Figure Out Conversation Topics
Rumors And Adventure Hooks Abound
Talking will be the main activity for the ball, with your PCs spending the entire session socializing in a variety of ways. As such, it’s important that you give your NPCs something worth saying. This is a wonderful opportunity to have your playerspick up new questsor find important information on existing ones.
If you followed our advice and seeded your ball with a mix of both new and familiar NPCs, you’ll have more options at your disposal. Perhaps the PCs meet an NPC they haven’t seen in a while and find out he’s run into some bad luck since their last meeting. If all else fails, you can always throw your players into high-society drama and gossip.
5Have A List Of Important Scenes
A Simple Outline Will Do
You should keep a bullet point list of all events that you want to have happen during the ball. The list shouldn’t be too long, and could simply be along the lines of “meet and greet, fancy dinner, speech, dance, mingle, demons crash the party and ruin everything.”
If any NPCs are giving a speech, it’s advisable to write it out beforehand instead of trying to improvise, especially if the speech is important to the campaign’s plot.
Ideally, your plot beats should be spaced in between your players exploring the area, socializing, and enjoying themselves. Your party will probably also split up during the ball, so anchor your session around opportunities for them to reunite for the sake of convenience and plot.
4Have A Variety Of Activities
Give Your Players Something To Do Besides Dance
Most fancy parties in real life have a very predictable selection of activities on hand. You’ll be given the opportunity to mingle with other peoples while enjoying a fancy beverage. Afterwards, you can opt to dance by yourself or with a partner or stick to the sidelines and watch.
This is going to be the base for most balls in D&D, but you should ensure that there are at least a couple of different activities to participate in or areas to explore. Try to make them organic to the host and venue, such as a beautiful garden for the manor of a botany-obsessed noble.
3Include Something For Every Player Character
The Entire Party Needs To Shine
While you might think your high-Charisma PCs will shine here, it’s important not to forget the rest of the party. As mentioned earlier, it’s important to have NPCs from a variety of backgrounds, to give each PC someone they can relate to. That philosophy also extends to the rest of your session planning.
Before you finalize your plans for the ball, you should carefully review your PCs' connections, interests, and backstory. Try to have one or two NPCs or activities that directly relate to each character. You can also ensure the venue has areas a PC might want to explore, such as a castle’s library for the party wizard.
2Have It All Go Wrong
Nothing’s More Boring Than Perfection
If your event goes off without a hitch, it’s not very interesting from a narrative standpoint. Conflict creates engagement, and nothing helps drive the plot like having intricately laid plans go awry. There are a few different ways you can create some much-needed tension, so consider your options carefully.
If you’re planning to have a combat encounter unexpectedly occur, remember that the PCs are likely to have a lower AC due to not wearing armor.
While you could run a combat encounter during the ball, you don’t have to. There are plenty of tense social situations that can occur, such as an important guest being poisoned and the PCs being framed for the murder. Your PCs can also be tasked with ruining everything if your players are the chaotic type.
1Go With The Flow
Give Your Players Some Breathing Room
Proper planning is critical if you decide to run a ball, but there’s no need to overplan. If your players are engaged and enjoying the party, they’re probably going to want to take their time savoring their character’s roleplay scenes. PCs will also converse among themselves, giving you some time to catch your breath.
While you should have a handful of plot beats at the ready, there should also be plenty of moments for your PCs to mingle with both each other and the NPCs around them. Proactive players will also have their own plans, such as humiliating a rival or spying on important NPCs. Allow them to take initiative in advancing the plot in their own way.
