House of the Dragon in D&D: Part 1 - Developing Your Story

With Season 1 of House of the Dragon coming to a close on HBO, let’s look at how we can build a D&D Campaign in the rich world that George R. R. Martin has created for us. Whether you’re a fan of the book series, A Song of Ice and Fire, the two HBO Series, Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, or all of the above, you know how special and complex that world is. 

Yes, at the heart of it all is a medieval land full knights jousting for honor, and magic that very few seem to understand or even believe exists. But what sets the world apart from others are the high stakes for every decision. Most Combat situations end in at least one death. But this world takes it much further to include Social encounters that could also mean death. With the extreme political intrigue and spies everywhere, even the standard D&D Social encounter of shopping for a new weapon could have dire consequences in Westeros. Every move you make effects the agenda of others.

THE WORLD

Let’s start on the largest scale, shall we. Although we’ve been shown a decent amount of Essos and other parts of the world, I still suggest the campaign take place in Westeros. Not to say the player’s can’t come from other parts of the world, but it does make sense to place the story in the location where we know the most about.

Power is always at the forefront of everyone’s minds, although the definition of such differs. The means of gaining power could come from the acclamation of land and wealth. It could be sought through political influence. Magic and Religion are other ways to get what you want. And others take it by force in jousting tourneys, battles, or on the back of Dragon. Make sure the players know they can choose many routes and form whichever alliance they need to in order to gain their power.

THE GLOBAL STORY

The over-arcing conflict to your campaign might be used differently than your other D&D adventures, whereas it could just be the backdrop to the real conflict between the players. It can be used as a tool to set pieces in motion for the Game, but the real goal is to see which of the players reach their individual ambitions. Some examples could be:

• Invasion: Perhaps the Bank of Braavos is tired of asking for repayment, and so they’re funding another army to get their gold back from the kingdom. Or maybe a noble in Pentos feels slighted, and rallied their banners to sail across the Narrow Sea.

• Civil War: Whether it’s due to land disputes, an insult at court, or a complete misunderstanding, war is no stranger in Westeros. You can also go the route of a revolt. Perhaps a band of commoners is tired of living in poverty while the nobles of the world are comfortable in their castles.

• Disaster: The arrival of the White Walkers can’t be the only treacherous prophecy uttered in Westeros. There is magic in the world that has only been hinted at. In a world with Dragons, there have to be other large beasts that we have yet to see. There’s a Kraken on the sigil of House Greyjoy, so what other monsters live in the sea? We’ve also seen people have the ability to raise the dead in various ways. There’s no telling what’s possible when the wrong people mess with science and/or magic.

No matter what you choose for your backdrop, the Players have to feel it’s a full threat to the realm, and to themselves. BUT, the main twist on this type of campaign is you have to get them to ask how the the Players can use the turmoil to the advantage of the Party and to their own interests.

THE PARTY

So, before they possibly fall apart, the Party should start the campaign as a seemingly unified group. Let them start as part of the same alliance. I have two different ideas on how to do that:

• The Same Banner: The Party could be affiliated with the same major House, but not necessarily all on the same level. Some could be children of the leader of the house, while others could be joined by marriage, or an individual that serves the house in some capacity (Maester, Man-At-Arms, Assassin, Red Priestess, etc.). This option would allow for a unified House goal while also allowing each player to still pursue their own interests.

•  The Small Council: This option certainly opens the possibilities wide open for betrayal. Each Party member is a part of the Small Council - the governing body of the realm. Some may be from the ruling House, but don’t have to be. They can be Hand of the King, Grand Maester, Master of Coin, Master of Ships, Master of Whispers, Lord Commander of the King’s Guard, or another title created for your game. This starts each player off with power, ambition, and interests on a much larger scale. They can all work together “for the good of the realm,” while doing what’s best for themselves at the same time.

No matter how they interact as a Party, the key point is that they have their own interests and separate alliances. A great suggestion would be to encourage secret alliances through Discord or text messages. During each session, give them a set break time (while a Game of Thrones soundtrack is playing in the background) to send “ravens” back and forth amongst each other before the action starts back up again.

So there you have it. These are my suggestions on how to bring the realm of Westeros to your gaming table. I talked about themes and ways to build your campaign. In Part 2, we’ll go over Character Creation choices for Martial Classes, followed by Magic & Religion in Part 3. I hope you enjoyed this topic!