If you haven't established where they are yet, you wouldn't have to move LMoP. Also, you could just have a conversation with the players and move it. Or just do the letter thing. Going from Seatle to San Diego is a long trip, but if they care about the person in question, they'd do it in a heart beat. PCs don't think much of walking across what they think of as a regional map.
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D&D 5E Bringing characters from LMoP to HotDQ?
- Thread starter Evhelm
- Start date
I think my first thoughts run along these lines:
Premise: The PCs "know" that they're near Neverwinter, along the Sword Coast. Half of them don't have a clue where that is, the other half have read somewhat widely in the FR universe and are aware of the implications of being in that region.
Possibilities:
1) Do the meta-game move; tell the players what's going on (moving the campaign location) and pick up elsewhere. This would be a fairly large problem because of how tied to the geography (Neverwinter, Thundertree, Phandalin) the characters have become.
2) Do the meta-game move; *don't tell the players*. I'm not sure this is a real possibility since I have players who are aware of the difference in locale between Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter.
3) "The Letter." The Oghman Wizard particularly has fairly little tying her to the area; a request from an Oghman hierarch to investigate something in the south--particularly if it could be tied into our Paladin's guild merchant finances--might be worth a little side trip. I'd even be willing to (A) do a few travel encounters (Cult agent on the ship? Ambush on the road? Assassin at a tavern?) to keep the PCs engaged and incensed enough to keep going. This one makes the most "plain sense" to me.
4) The flashy, superstar move. This one involves making use of the fact that this is the "high-magic" Forgotten Realms to make use of teleportation magic through one of the factions or through a "secret" or unknowingly high-powered mentor to "zap" them to Baldur's Gate. This way can be explained (the high-level mentor begs off taking care of this him/herself, but charges his mentee(s) with [insert locale-based quest here] that entangles them). Or, since my players are invested in their characters, but not necessarily in the story (I know, how can you be one without the other?), I could potentially have their mentor move them and then not tell them why "for their own safety." This could be further "trumped up" by having the mentor mysteriously disappear or be killed. This one is very cheesy, but a little cheese can go a long way, and thus far 5e has been (blissfully!) low-cheese.
I feel like this one is going to come down to timing, the requirements of HotDQ, and the vibes I get from my players after we finish LMoP.
Premise: The PCs "know" that they're near Neverwinter, along the Sword Coast. Half of them don't have a clue where that is, the other half have read somewhat widely in the FR universe and are aware of the implications of being in that region.
Possibilities:
1) Do the meta-game move; tell the players what's going on (moving the campaign location) and pick up elsewhere. This would be a fairly large problem because of how tied to the geography (Neverwinter, Thundertree, Phandalin) the characters have become.
2) Do the meta-game move; *don't tell the players*. I'm not sure this is a real possibility since I have players who are aware of the difference in locale between Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter.
3) "The Letter." The Oghman Wizard particularly has fairly little tying her to the area; a request from an Oghman hierarch to investigate something in the south--particularly if it could be tied into our Paladin's guild merchant finances--might be worth a little side trip. I'd even be willing to (A) do a few travel encounters (Cult agent on the ship? Ambush on the road? Assassin at a tavern?) to keep the PCs engaged and incensed enough to keep going. This one makes the most "plain sense" to me.
4) The flashy, superstar move. This one involves making use of the fact that this is the "high-magic" Forgotten Realms to make use of teleportation magic through one of the factions or through a "secret" or unknowingly high-powered mentor to "zap" them to Baldur's Gate. This way can be explained (the high-level mentor begs off taking care of this him/herself, but charges his mentee(s) with [insert locale-based quest here] that entangles them). Or, since my players are invested in their characters, but not necessarily in the story (I know, how can you be one without the other?), I could potentially have their mentor move them and then not tell them why "for their own safety." This could be further "trumped up" by having the mentor mysteriously disappear or be killed. This one is very cheesy, but a little cheese can go a long way, and thus far 5e has been (blissfully!) low-cheese.
I feel like this one is going to come down to timing, the requirements of HotDQ, and the vibes I get from my players after we finish LMoP.
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I would add a 5th suggestion. I think you're overthinking it. If just do a wipe and say something like "three months later, your traveling in the south sword coast when..." they PROBABLY wouldn't blink. That said, having a sentence of what your doing down there wouldn't hurt. "Three months later, after handling some issue's for Bil the Mighty's uncle's funeral and estate, you're traveling back north..." Or a wedding. Or a family gathering. Or some pedantic contract negotiations if one of them are connected to a trade family. Think of all the crap you're forced to do in your daily life. "You're in the south getting milk for your grandmother, when...." 
Basically, I've never known a player complain TOO hard that you're trying to give them an opportunity to play.
Basically, I've never known a player complain TOO hard that you're trying to give them an opportunity to play.
That absolutely makes sense.
Idiosyncratically, my players have done just about all of the side quests LMoP except that they have yet to investigate Thundertree. Since there are both dragon(s) AND dragon cultists there, an opportunity may just fall into my lap to have the cultists mention/possess some link to Greenest that is too interesting for the players to pass up
Idiosyncratically, my players have done just about all of the side quests LMoP except that they have yet to investigate Thundertree. Since there are both dragon(s) AND dragon cultists there, an opportunity may just fall into my lap to have the cultists mention/possess some link to Greenest that is too interesting for the players to pass up
Just a brief update: my players decided to investigate every nook and cranny around Phandalin before diving into Wave Echo Cave, so they spent a fair amount of time in Thundertree. In an odd turn of events, the wizard was taken hostage by the Cultists, and was (with her excellent elf hearing) able to catch snippets of their conversation. This, combined with a note found on the cultist leader's corpse after the party came to rescue the wizard (long story; they almost got themselves sold out to Venomfang), has them all wondering what's going on in the town of Greenest, and why the Cult of the Dragon is so bold all of a sudden. They've already decided that after they investigate Wave Echo Cave, they're going to pay a visit to Greenest and warn the populace.
Can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they get there...!
Can't wait to see the looks on their faces when they get there...!
That will probably be really cool. ESPECIALLY if you but a little non-essential diversion in their way and they bite on it. Then when they get there, people can outline the first couple hours of death toll the PC'S could have "stopped" without realizing the PCs knew this was coming and dawdled on the way.
All right! The party has finally surmounted the challenges presented by Wave Echo Cave (although they're kicking themselves over two big mistakes [SPOILERS]: the death of two of the three Rockseeker brothers and the escape of The Black Spider).
With that out of the way, they've officially started the content in HotDQ.
In the end, I decided that I wanted to make their transition relatively quick and nearly painless, but to not tell them exactly when the transition stopped and the new mission began (after all, on the meta-level they knew we were doing HotDQ at some point). My plan for that, roughly, was as follows:
1) Party intends to follow the hint that there is something going down in the distant town of Greenest. They travel to Neverwinter in order to find out just how distant Greenest is--and become somewhat stunned when they discover it's a thousand miles away.
2) Some brief roleplaying and shopping in Neverwinter, largely narrating how the restoration of hope to Phandalin is already having some effect on Neverwinter's mercantile elements who are mobilizing to invest in the new projects that are cropping up in Phandalin.
3) The Cleric (as a former Mintarn mercenary) had shipping connections which allowed for an easily secured passage to Waterdeep and beyond. More options for the party involved which sea route to take to Baldur's Gate: the shore-route, the traditional route, or the deep sea route.
4) Players chose the traditional route and were attacked by Sahuagin on the way (more on that in a minute) after stopping in Waterdeep for a resupply.
5) According to the limited data on hand, an attack by 8 Sahuagin was hard, but balanced for my party of four PCs. It worked like a charm. I wrote up a brief narration to put them in the mood for the attack, then had them try to save the crew from the vicious sea devils. (Narration will be at the end of the post for those so inclined.) At the end of the battle, the party was asked to free the rudder of the ship from whatever entanglement the Sahuagin had ensnared it with (the wheel was jammed). Either they had to take to the water and investigate (possibly fighting more sea devils on their home turf) or try to use raw strength to spin the wheel and break the rudder free--risking breaking the whole mechanism. The party believed the waters held certain death and chose to attempt to free the rudder by force (which they did).
6) A few--grateful--crew short, they sailed into Baldur's Gate a bit behind schedule. A quick narration down into the Greenfields and we were able to pick up at the attack on Greenest (and episode 1).
I ran Episode 1 without any upscaling and the party loved it. They still exhausted their resources fairly early on by trying to save as many people as possible. They nearly died trying to save the Sanctuary (although that was mostly because they decided to take on both the roving band and the back-door group simultaneously, believing in error that the temple would burn down if they waited even a minute for the roving band to pass). In the end, the group was suitably frustrated by the dragon, intrigued and horrified by the possibility of dragon eggs hatching, and ingratiated to the people of Greenest. The ending encounter against the half dragon was memorable. The party's Paladin--with no more healing or spells, and with only a single potion--went out to fight him to save the hostages. The party talked the half-dragon into allowing them to get a bit closer than they otherwise might, but they did not interfere and shuddered as the enemy champion pushed the unconscious Paladin to the ground, kicked him hard in the ribs, spit on him, turned, and casually walked away. Only then did they rush in. Everyone survived, but it was appropriately, dramatically, close.
Can't wait for next session!
And now for the shipboard narration:
"You're woken from a sound sleep by a silent crewman. With urgency, he bids you to head topside."
[The PCs grabbed their gear and headed for the main deck. Allow insight checks on the crewman to determine how nervous he is, but the crewman has other errands to tend and won't stay to answer questions.]
"It's a deep, dark, almost silent night. The moon and stars are obscured and the only thing that lets you know you're not alone in the universe is the gentle sway of the deck, the faint sounds of the sea, and the even fainter creaking of the rigging. The captain of the Amaranth [Gryth Blacksbore] is waiting for you as you come above-decks. He speaks quickly, in hushed tones. 'Travelers, I've been through Sahuagin-infested waters before, so I know the signs. Until now, I didn't want to believe what my experience has taught me to be true. There've been sharks in the water all day and now my navigator tells me the helm is sluggish. We lashed it in place and if I'm right, that means that the next step is for the sea devils to try to commandeer the ship. I've set additional watches, but--' The captain's directions are interrupted by a wet gurgle. Looking in the direction of the sound, you see a shocked crewman outlined in the faint lantern-light, staring at a bloody trident sticking out of his chest before a jerk from the trident sends him backwards overboard with a splash. On the railing, now visible and gleaming in the weak light, is a toothy, fish-like reptilian. The Sahuagin are boarding."
Have the Sahuagin spread out across the ship. This encounter is particularly fun if the PCs don't have darkvision--then it becomes somewhat like a horror story as the Sahuagin move into and out of the shadows and screams and blood appear as if at random. Occasional shouted orders in the fish-tongue of the Sahuagin are matched by similar cries for help and to give orders by the crew.
Best part about the Sahuagin attack encounter is that it can be dropped into any ocean-born trip when you need something to spur the PCs to action or fight off boredom in a long sea voyage
Enjoy!
With that out of the way, they've officially started the content in HotDQ.
In the end, I decided that I wanted to make their transition relatively quick and nearly painless, but to not tell them exactly when the transition stopped and the new mission began (after all, on the meta-level they knew we were doing HotDQ at some point). My plan for that, roughly, was as follows:
1) Party intends to follow the hint that there is something going down in the distant town of Greenest. They travel to Neverwinter in order to find out just how distant Greenest is--and become somewhat stunned when they discover it's a thousand miles away.
2) Some brief roleplaying and shopping in Neverwinter, largely narrating how the restoration of hope to Phandalin is already having some effect on Neverwinter's mercantile elements who are mobilizing to invest in the new projects that are cropping up in Phandalin.
3) The Cleric (as a former Mintarn mercenary) had shipping connections which allowed for an easily secured passage to Waterdeep and beyond. More options for the party involved which sea route to take to Baldur's Gate: the shore-route, the traditional route, or the deep sea route.
4) Players chose the traditional route and were attacked by Sahuagin on the way (more on that in a minute) after stopping in Waterdeep for a resupply.
5) According to the limited data on hand, an attack by 8 Sahuagin was hard, but balanced for my party of four PCs. It worked like a charm. I wrote up a brief narration to put them in the mood for the attack, then had them try to save the crew from the vicious sea devils. (Narration will be at the end of the post for those so inclined.) At the end of the battle, the party was asked to free the rudder of the ship from whatever entanglement the Sahuagin had ensnared it with (the wheel was jammed). Either they had to take to the water and investigate (possibly fighting more sea devils on their home turf) or try to use raw strength to spin the wheel and break the rudder free--risking breaking the whole mechanism. The party believed the waters held certain death and chose to attempt to free the rudder by force (which they did).
6) A few--grateful--crew short, they sailed into Baldur's Gate a bit behind schedule. A quick narration down into the Greenfields and we were able to pick up at the attack on Greenest (and episode 1).
I ran Episode 1 without any upscaling and the party loved it. They still exhausted their resources fairly early on by trying to save as many people as possible. They nearly died trying to save the Sanctuary (although that was mostly because they decided to take on both the roving band and the back-door group simultaneously, believing in error that the temple would burn down if they waited even a minute for the roving band to pass). In the end, the group was suitably frustrated by the dragon, intrigued and horrified by the possibility of dragon eggs hatching, and ingratiated to the people of Greenest. The ending encounter against the half dragon was memorable. The party's Paladin--with no more healing or spells, and with only a single potion--went out to fight him to save the hostages. The party talked the half-dragon into allowing them to get a bit closer than they otherwise might, but they did not interfere and shuddered as the enemy champion pushed the unconscious Paladin to the ground, kicked him hard in the ribs, spit on him, turned, and casually walked away. Only then did they rush in. Everyone survived, but it was appropriately, dramatically, close.
Can't wait for next session!
And now for the shipboard narration:
"You're woken from a sound sleep by a silent crewman. With urgency, he bids you to head topside."
[The PCs grabbed their gear and headed for the main deck. Allow insight checks on the crewman to determine how nervous he is, but the crewman has other errands to tend and won't stay to answer questions.]
"It's a deep, dark, almost silent night. The moon and stars are obscured and the only thing that lets you know you're not alone in the universe is the gentle sway of the deck, the faint sounds of the sea, and the even fainter creaking of the rigging. The captain of the Amaranth [Gryth Blacksbore] is waiting for you as you come above-decks. He speaks quickly, in hushed tones. 'Travelers, I've been through Sahuagin-infested waters before, so I know the signs. Until now, I didn't want to believe what my experience has taught me to be true. There've been sharks in the water all day and now my navigator tells me the helm is sluggish. We lashed it in place and if I'm right, that means that the next step is for the sea devils to try to commandeer the ship. I've set additional watches, but--' The captain's directions are interrupted by a wet gurgle. Looking in the direction of the sound, you see a shocked crewman outlined in the faint lantern-light, staring at a bloody trident sticking out of his chest before a jerk from the trident sends him backwards overboard with a splash. On the railing, now visible and gleaming in the weak light, is a toothy, fish-like reptilian. The Sahuagin are boarding."
Have the Sahuagin spread out across the ship. This encounter is particularly fun if the PCs don't have darkvision--then it becomes somewhat like a horror story as the Sahuagin move into and out of the shadows and screams and blood appear as if at random. Occasional shouted orders in the fish-tongue of the Sahuagin are matched by similar cries for help and to give orders by the crew.
Best part about the Sahuagin attack encounter is that it can be dropped into any ocean-born trip when you need something to spur the PCs to action or fight off boredom in a long sea voyage
Enjoy!
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